Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Combo' Efforts Tonight...


It's idiot proof. When it's done well. Tonight we hammer out everything KB stands for. I did this drill at 1000 this morning. It is now 1330 and I am a better man. The T-Bone I had for lunch didn't hurt either. This is a good day to check in, Gary.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

VO2 Results


There's good news...and bad news. The good news is about 18 people showed for the VO2 night. I was a great effort by a very respectable group. I wasn't kidding when I asked what someone would think if they looked in on the group. People were looking in. From the outside it must look crazy. Music thumpin'. Colored lights pumpin' to the music like a disco. Everyone thrusting weights overhead on cue. Nobody talking. Everyone staring forward. Sweating buckets. Craziness. IT ROCKED ! We will do it again in two or three weeks. We did learn some things. First, it is not about muscle strength. It is all cardiac. People stopped or changed their number because they couldn't catch their breath. Not because muscle gave out. It is a different beast. The bad news is we lost some people the next day. It was brutal on the hands. Technique is King and rules supreme. We knew that going in. But, it was really put to task after 640 snatches. This needs to be figured out by the individual. Nobody can do it for you. Figure it out. This is our challenge. It is what sets us back in training. Sore and bloody hands cannot be dismissed. They command attention and will bring you to your knees. MANY articles have been written about how to spare your hands. If one of them helps you, great! You still need to figure it out. Heal well. More work ahead.
The picture above is Caps' hand. He took a hit but finished. I see two open areas and at least one more 'hot spot'. It gets really rough when one hand has more than one open area. Heal well, Cap.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Photo Time.....


Please make it a point to come to class on Monday (18th) for the annual class photo. Let's plan on taking the photo at 6:10 pm

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Having a Melt Down ?


The heavy snatches went better than I expected. I call it the big reveal. I knew some people were sandbagging it but I had know idea how many. It was great. PR's with the men and women. Now we can all move up a weight. The bell you can hang with has changed and so has the hang time. From now on we will grab a heavy bell to hang with for single digit minutes rather than a light bell for double digit minutes. Our big light days will be VO2 days. Time to change the format and get neck deep in 'Hard-Style."
Today I tested the waters. I snatched the 24 kg (#5) seven times following the VO2 15:15 protocol. I didn't complete it I only went for 20 minutes. It is a very different beast. Next time I will go for 30 minutes and see how it turns out before I zip into the full 40 minutes. It is a different beast.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Back at it....


Backs and bells. You just can't beat the combo'. At the last session we went heavy for presses. Very basic move. Very common activity. We need to get objects over our heads. Putting or pulling items down from an overhead shelf or lifting to another person, it is a very common move. If you train controlled and heavy you will be able to bounce back from the occasional mishap when your movement patterns aren't what they should be in the field. Quite a few people pressed more than they had in the past and the women were no exception. The ladies are very capable of pressing weights that humble the average guy. It is a limitation we impose on ourselves. If you don't think you can do a lift...you are correct everytime. We will put this into practice again...tonight.