OH.....My Butt !!

Actually, it's the posterior chain (PC). What is it? Easily stated, it's the muscles used for jumping. Burpees activate the PC very nicely (Get your 50 !!). The muscles actually run from your lower back to the back of your legs. And, they run deep. You may notice them more in the next couple days. Tomorrow we will be very kind to this area and rest them with some passive lengthening movements.

Sooo....what's happening?

Does anyone feel it? The 500 snatches with a light weight. I did it Friday with a #3 and Saturday with a #2. I am noticing some serious metabolic demands. Maybe coupling them with the burpees it triggered something but my bodyweight is down and I have woken to my alarm for the past two days and that never happens. So, I think were on to something here. I am going to continue it for as long as it seems reasonable. I have been wanting to drop some body fat before my re-certification in July. I did the 500 snatches again today with the #3. I think I will alternate the 2 and 3 while snatching 500 daily. That is 13,200 lbs of work one day and 17,600 lbs the next. Today it took me 20:45 min to get the 500 snatches. That is an awesome work return on a very small time investment. Now I am off to get my burpees. Get yours. 34!!

BTW....The SSST is on the Calendar !! Time to bust up your number

A question about Burpees....

As children we did burpees. In the Marine Corps they called the 'bend and thrusts." I like that name the best. Either way we never left the ground. Meaning...when performed we did not jump in the air from the squat position. I don't know where that came from and frankly I don't care. It's a jump. Bad for ankles, bad for knees, bad for hips and bad for lower back if you have poor form and/or posture. Just bad. The hard corps wing nuts that jump with the burpees look silly after 20 (that is a generous number) and should have stopped at 5. When you do your burpees (4 today) finish each one standing up right. Chest back. Looking forward. Hips forward. Knees locked. Then do another. You don't need to be a speed freak. Use the full range of motion.

Get your 4.

DAY 3...

Like any good progression, it is totally dependent on staying on track. The benefits happen at the end. Any weight training program will start seeing real results mid-program...not the first 1/3 of the training cycle. So, changing your program frequently falls under the category of muscle confusion which is good. But if you are not on the program long enough to begin with, it just becomes 'a work-out' and not a program. I have trained with some very smart people. Too smart for their own good. Constantly changing things around and going on to a new philosophy of training before getting simple results from the training they were doing. Meanwhile, us 'over-trainers' were still increasing our weights even thou we were "over-training." And we were over-training. No doubt in my mind. But you do have to wring that rag dry before trying something new. Look at how well everyone did on the SSST and RKC Snatch test. We have not been training for this or focusing on 'so-called' conditioning. But there we were, snatching to beat all hell and posting impressive numbers. Look around to other clubs. Ask those who travel around to other clubs (Cap, Linnea, Super Dave, Big Dan...and the others) and check how we compare. We post great numbers. Which brings me to my almost annual shameless self promotion. Dragon Door has a feature on it's website to rank RKC Instructors. Here is the link. If you haven't done so in the past I respectfully request that you put in a good word to the mother ship ON BEHALF OF THE STUDIO. Please take a minute and describe your experience with NEKB. Don't focus so much on my instruction. Rather, if you would talk about the training environment I would greatly appreciate it. People read these things. Dragon Door gets a lot of traffic and it is some of the best advertising for our studio. Plus, other instructors are watching and it's nice to have a little friendly local competition.

NOW->->->->->GET YOUR THREE BURPEES !

Some thoughts....

First, I want to introduce a guy that really puts forth an effort. This is John. John and I went to H.S. together and (as fate would have it) ended up in the same series in Marine Corps Boot Camp. John is a good guy and generally nondescript. HE is a pilot for a major airline and a good family man. If you met him in a bar you wouldn't expect this kind of brilliant behavior from him UNLESS you knew him. He is stealthy, to say the least. I love this picture of him. There is another picture I love as well but I will let this one sink in and maybe post the other one tomorrow. In Johns own words," No winkies were hurt during the photo shoot."

The Burpee Progression started yesterday. Today you perform two burpees. I am dedicated to sending out and email everyday for the next 99 days to remind you. Keep the count going at home during non-class days. Class days we will start our training with the burpees due that day. If you come to class and you have already done the burpees for that day it will just be extra training for you as you do them with the class (the love never ends). The progression has drawn out some forces. We are actually 8 days behind Steve and Brenda. They started the progression unknown to me. Cap is throwing in a push-up progression and Cat' is with us in spirit. She is going to bust them out independently.

The SSST was a monster success. Everyone did better than they thought and creating new approaches based on their individual performances. Multiple requests for a follow-up test have surfaced. I will announce it again. Very soon. Weeks, not months. Personally I am still really tight in the trap'z bilaterally. tonights training will put this to bed as we work lighter pairs. I have put very specific time aside tomorrow to get the record board up on the wall. Out pet project will be to start targeting the categories and filling in the board.

CLASS MUG SHOT 2011

Thanks to everyone that could make it to the Monday class. Hard-core and Hard-Style...nothin' wrong with that !

Because They Asked.......

I couldn't be more proud. Our cycle of training has been higher than usual. It all started Jan. 1st and ramping things for the Saturday boot camp. After boot camp we had the heavy snatch day. I had comments on both days to have another boot camp or another heavy snatch day. It would seem the punishment cannot be too great. Last night was a moderately heavy press day to get the shoulders back in the game. This morning I get a request for the Secret Service Snatch Test (SSST). What ?!? More over the top efforts ? What is Feb' going to look like ? Okay...SSST it is. The request wasn't actually for the SSST. It was for the SSST, THIS MONTH !!! I think we are in a groove.

Let's review. The SSST is a timed event. It last 10 minutes. In order to pass...just 'pass' the individual must complete 200 snatches in 10 minutes. Men use a 24kg bell (#5) and ladies use a 12 kg bell. This is the SSST. NO ACCOMMODATIONS FOR AGE !! Although I think it's wonderful your in your twilight years, you can mention that as you boast your numbers. The SSST is a standard. It is hard. It is not meant to be easy. If you get <100...it's a lethargic effort. Thank you for playing. Enjoy the beer. 150 reps gets you in the game. That is one snatch every 4 seconds...half the pace/rate of the VO2. Heart is pumping and body is shaking and taking a hit. 200 let's you know you've been somewhere. It is a tad slower than the VO2. It is not an easy path. You will feel it all over. Your heart will feel like it is jumping out of your chest. The room will spin. Your stomach will flipped. Your hammies are fried. IT'S MISERABLE...for a reason. We want to get the greatest 'suck factor' out of that ten minutes. You will want to die. But, it's only 10 minutes. The bell can be placed on the ground for a rest. Do not rest more than 5 breaths or you will suffer getting the bell moving again. Resting overhead is best. It's only 10 minutes. We will partner up. Your partner will count for you. You don't have to count...just focus on the next rep, and the next, and the next, and the next. The KB stud men and women get numbers in the 230-250 range. Hard-core nuts get the 260-280 range. I have never seen or heard of anyone breaking 300. That would be the VO2 pace for 10 full minutes. One rep every 2 seconds. In-freaking-sane. Personally, I don't know where I stand. I have not attempted the SSST in a long time. I don't know how many over the 200 I can get these days. We'll find out.

Here's what will happen...someone will walk up to me and tell me they "quit early", "rested too much", "they could have done more but".....BUT NOTHING. It's 10 minutes. Dig deep and pull this out out. It's the mother event. We will do this on Monday, 31st. We will do it in both classes. It is the only thing we will do. A nice easy day. 10 min drill. 15-20 minute rest for those that finished. 10 minute drill 15-20 minute rest. Enjoy the rest of the night.

Get some rest.