I’m just organizing stuff today. I have been looking over the direction of our training and I have come to a conclusion:
If Danny John would have had Dan John as a coach either he would have been one of the greats or ran screaming like a little girl…
quick question about clean form: I have read somewhere that the 1st pull (up to the knees) should be done slowly, before exploding (not literally) into the remainder of the movement. I have been doing this as much as poss, but find when I use ‘heavier’ weights I need to start explosively if I’m to complete the lift. Is this the norm? Or is the slow at first idea just a way of grooving the form of the mid bit of the lift anyway?
Hope that makes sense, I’m struggling with my basic English today.
How I teach it…Patent Pending
Two Rules:
Address the Bar
Heels!
Drive your heels through the earth and raise the bar up to the mid shin; nothing should change but the bar coming up a little.
Up!
Take the bar from the mid shin to one inch above the knee. Focus on the rear end pushing back, stretch the hamstrings, and jut the chin forward.
Jump!
Leap up and catch the bar, either in the Front Squat position or descend into the Front Squat and Recover (Stand up!)
If you read my free book on my website, you will find a lot more about your idea of the “one inch” drill or the slow pull. I can probably lift 99% of my best with a very slow pull. If I had courage…more…
excellent, thank you very much…
Coach – I am “easing into” Crossfit to lose weight and establish my basic fitness level. I am curious about kettlebells. What is your thought on them – useful tool, miracle cure, passing fad? It seems most people love them or despise them (because of the marketing hype). Do you advocate them or should people stick to the barbells and dumbells? They seem like a good tool for the ballistic-type lifts, especially if there is no place to do the O-lifts.
I think they have a ton of value…but, like everything, you can take it too far. I think they are superior for swings…no question about that…and lots of the things like windmills, haloes, bent presses, and hindu squats. They are also excellent for high reps…they don’t burst apart.
So, thumbs up from me. Do you need need them? No, you can work around it…
[quote]ERISA wrote:
Coach – I am “easing into” Crossfit to lose weight and establish my basic fitness level. I am curious about kettlebells. What is your thought on them – useful tool, miracle cure, passing fad? It seems most people love them or despise them (because of the marketing hype). Do you advocate them or should people stick to the barbells and dumbells? They seem like a good tool for the ballistic-type lifts, especially if there is no place to do the O-lifts. [/quote]
I think I finally found the perfect combination for me when it comes to lifting. I took your OLAD and combined it with a 50/20 scheme (one lift, 20 mins, 50 reps). If I don’t get fifty, I use the same weight in the next session and continue till I get fifty reps, then up the weight. Works for me so far because as hard as I work during the day, I need something efficiant (sp), quick, effective, and still allow some recovery in between(lord knows I don’t get any rest at work)
Give me a few minutes to write this out and think it through…I think I like it…
[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
I think I finally found the perfect combination for me when it comes to lifting. I took your OLAD and combined it with a 50/20 scheme (one lift, 20 mins, 50 reps). If I don’t get fifty, I use the same weight in the next session and continue till I get fifty reps, then up the weight. Works for me so far because as hard as I work during the day, I need something efficiant (sp), quick, effective, and still allow some recovery in between(lord knows I don’t get any rest at work)[/quote]
How would you best explain to a newbie the fine or most important points of tossing sheaf?
Also just wanted to say that your site is a goldmine and your articles rock!
[quote]ERISA wrote:
Coach – I am “easing into” Crossfit to lose weight and establish my basic fitness level. I am curious about kettlebells. What is your thought on them – useful tool, miracle cure, passing fad? It seems most people love them or despise them (because of the marketing hype). Do you advocate them or should people stick to the barbells and dumbells? They seem like a good tool for the ballistic-type lifts, especially if there is no place to do the O-lifts. [/quote]
I’m guessing you work with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. I think it’s a bit sad that you chose a statute as your Internet handle.
Anyway, it’s SOP for me to respond to KB posts, and I totally agree with DJ. I’ve finally managed to condense my thoughts into a concise analogy. Which would be the better set up to use to learn Olympic lifing: a fancy Eleiko bar with bumper plates that’ll you $500 or more or the Made in China special at your local sporting goods store that’ll run you $99.95 on sale? Obviously, the Eleiko set – IF you can afford it. Otherwise, the cheapo set will work just fine and you can work around not being able to drop the bar. KBs and dumbbells are kind of like that. If you can afford a set of KBs, great. They are lots of fun and have a different, I would say better, feel to them than DBs. Necessary? No. You can get the same benefits using barbells and/or DBs/
Ended up having a good day.
Got my two 5x5’s with the bench and deadlift. Benching 3 days a week and deadlifting on Wednesday. Upping bench 5 lbs. and deadlift 10. The front squats are coming along nicely.
I mentioned that DVD on the oly lifts at another board. Was it a secret? Don’t forget the dog when you tape.
If random workouts are good, is there a such thing as too random?
To Coach John and MiketheBear – Thank you for the responses. You ratted me out MiketheBear – I am an attorney who specializes in employee benefits law – hence the reference to ERISA. I use that because I can consistently get that handle pretty much anywhere (really who would want it?) and it is descriptive of my work. (Our marketing people say we should always let people know what we do.) One further question if I could – if I went the kettlebell route, would you start at the 16kg or go higher? I weigh about 250 lbs (I am a fat boy at this point) and have average strength for a guy my size.
Get a big dog. Feed him/her a dog food with a lot of fiber. Have a neighbor you hate…each day, grab a long shovel…
Wait…no one would do that…
Key: whip the damn thing. Whip it and stop it at shoulder height.
[quote]Timmytaurus68 wrote:
How would you best explain to a newbie the fine or most important points of tossing sheaf?
Also just wanted to say that your site is a goldmine and your articles rock![/quote]
I’m worried about the dog. She is getting a little old and she has NOT been feeling well. I hope…really…she makes it through the winter…winter is tough here in Utah…
I’m glad we talked today. I had a lot to do, but I thought about David. I have no real answers…but…you know, hang in there.
[quote]Gary John wrote:
Ended up having a good day.
Got my two 5x5’s with the bench and deadlift. Benching 3 days a week and deadlifting on Wednesday. Upping bench 5 lbs. and deadlift 10. The front squats are coming along nicely.
I mentioned that DVD on the oly lifts at another board. Was it a secret? Don’t forget the dog when you tape.[/quote]
Yes, read this carefully:
8 5 3Y9H WQ3 5Y3 GQEOTTT3W5 404G93JW 25Y 9W5 250P3O 3OI8W
Okay, that was me typing with my eyes closed and not starting on “home row.” It doesnt’ make any sense, does it.
In other words, without a foundation…a base…random is just dinking around. You have to have your hands in the right place to make sense…you need a base to be able to benefit from randomness.
Too random can be as crappy as bench/curl bench/curl bench/curl…
[quote]A~D wrote:
If random workouts are good, is there a such thing as too random?[/quote]
I think that is the best choice for just about everybody. I find that is one that works best for me in most of my drills. I have like seven now, but I bet I use that one the most…
[quote]ERISA wrote:
To Coach John and MiketheBear – Thank you for the responses. You ratted me out MiketheBear – I am an attorney who specializes in employee benefits law – hence the reference to ERISA. I use that because I can consistently get that handle pretty much anywhere (really who would want it?) and it is descriptive of my work. (Our marketing people say we should always let people know what we do.) One further question if I could – if I went the kettlebell route, would you start at the 16kg or go higher? I weigh about 250 lbs (I am a fat boy at this point) and have average strength for a guy my size.[/quote]
You know, it is different, but I like it. I would not repeat an exercise, though, for at least two weeks, (you could sub Back Squats for Front Squats, but don’t do Bench every week)…just to keep from roasting quickly…
[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
I think I finally found the perfect combination for me when it comes to lifting. I took your OLAD and combined it with a 50/20 scheme (one lift, 20 mins, 50 reps). If I don’t get fifty, I use the same weight in the next session and continue till I get fifty reps, then up the weight. Works for me so far because as hard as I work during the day, I need something efficiant (sp), quick, effective, and still allow some recovery in between(lord knows I don’t get any rest at work)[/quote]
[quote]Danny John wrote:
You know, it is different, but I like it. I would not repeat an exercise, though, for at least two weeks, (you could sub Back Squats for Front Squats, but don’t do Bench every week)…just to keep from roasting quickly…
ruglayer09052000 wrote:
I think I finally found the perfect combination for me when it comes to lifting. I took your OLAD and combined it with a 50/20 scheme (one lift, 20 mins, 50 reps). If I don’t get fifty, I use the same weight in the next session and continue till I get fifty reps, then up the weight. Works for me so far because as hard as I work during the day, I need something efficiant (sp), quick, effective, and still allow some recovery in between(lord knows I don’t get any rest at work)
[/quote]
Something like this then…bench, row, squat/rdl, off/ab work…clean and press, chins, deads/sldl, off/ab, off, incline , seated row, front squat, off/ab, seated military, pulldowns, goodmornings, off/ab, off repeat.
3 days on, 1off, 3 on, 2off