Evolution: Thoughts on Training

I've been thinking lately about how my perspective on training has changed over the years. I started as a high school athlete trying to just "pump some iron" to get big and strong, while trying to learn as much as I could about general health.

I then moved to bodybuilding once my athletic career had ended and I went on to college.This is when I started learning through course work, personal reading, and actual training, how the body responds and is stimulated by training. However, because I only trained with the usual moderate to high repetition, one day per week for each muscle group mentality, I didn't see the whole picture of training. And so the learning continued...

I moved to weightlifting, a.k.a. Olympic weightlifting, after completing a practicum for college credit with a local sports performance center which used this style of lifting as the main focus of their program. I figured that in order to properly coach the athletes how to perform the lifts, I would have to be able to perform them correctly myself. And, as they say, the rest is history. As many of you know, this is the style of training I use for myself as a means of competition (and breathing).



Now I am more focused on my career. As I continue to wade through informational overload on a daily basis, I continue to learn what to trust and what is just plain ignorant and misguided. There are those sources that should not be trusted and those that should be checked regularly because of the wealth of information that is provided. I have been very mindful within the past year of where I read my information. It would be a HUGE waste of time to read something and find it to be complete garbage. So, be wary of where you get your information. Don't believe everything you read just because the author has a few letters behind their name. Always ask "who", "what", and "why" when you are reading new information. If these answers check out, you have a good start for learning new, useful information.

It is interesting to look back on where I started and where I am now within my own training. As my thoughts on what it is to be big and strong have changed over the years, I have come to realize that these have meant very different things. I once thought that big and strong was a professional bodybuilder strutting around at 285lbs with 2% body fat. Through the years I've learned that some bodybuilders are strong, but they cannot compare to strength athletes. If we're talking relative or absolute strength, strength athletes will win out nearly 100% of the time. I won't get into the physiology behind it, but suffice it to say that there are two types of hypertrophy adaptations in training and strength athletes get the better end of the deal.

I will continue my relentless pursuit for every detail within the realm of strength training. I know this is something that cannot be accomplished realistically, but my dad had always said that I am stubborn (and a smart-ass). Therefore, I put my head down and keep pushing for more! I suggest you do the same. Train hard, train smart!

New Training

This week I started a new training plan. I got the template from Mark Cannella when I went through the USAW level 1 course. It is actually from Pendragon weightlifting out of Youngstown, OH. It's a very simple program, but I believe I will make great gains from it. It is very weightlifting specific...5 weeks/6 days per week. Mostly snatch, clean and jerk, and squats. I'm adding a few things to it, but it is very simple. I haven't followed a program with this much frequency, so I plan on easing into the 6 straight days of training. I'll get there eventually...no need to rush.

On another note, I will post my training sessions from the past couple weeks with this new plan soon. Train hard, train smart!

Smolov: Week 1, Days 1 & 2

I started the Smolov base cycle this week. It consists of: Day 1 = 70%1RM x 4 x 9, Day 2 = 75% x 5 x 7, Day 3 = 80% x 7 x 5, and Day 4 = 85% x 10 x 3. I started this after a week of relatively no training. The reason I am doing this program is obviously to increase my squat, but also because I tweaked my elbow in the OH state meet...so I'll be giving my elbow some much needed rest for this cycle. I am still doing the weightlifting movements, but they are very low intensity and volume. It will be very interesting to see how my body adapts to this very new training stimulus. I have squatted up to 4 days/wk before, but that was a mix of back and front squats. This time it is all back squats. Train hard, train smart!

Changes in Training

So, I just competed in the state meet for Ohio on the 17th and hurt my elbow on my third snatch attempt of 102kg. Whippeeee! :( I was able to finish the meet and actually attempted a PR clean and jerk attempt of 122kg. Because of the elbow injury, I will be taking on a large task in my training. I will be starting the Smolov base program for squats. The problem with this is that my knee actually hurts now for some reason. I've felt this before and it has been something I could train through and eventually disappeared. Hopefully this happens again. Time will only tell, but I am really excited to take on this squat program. My goal is to raise my squat max to 165kg. My elbow should be good to go once this 4-week Smolov program is completed. From there I will begin to focus more one my Olympic lifts. Train hard, train smart!

The Chinese...

Are CRAZY!!!!

It's no wonder that they are so good! I went through a training session today that was similar, but minuscule, in resemblance to their sessions. I snatched and clean and jerked, but did many, many reps. For Snatch, I did (kg x sets x reps): 60x2x4, 70x3x3, 80x3x2, 90x3x1. For C&J, I did: 60x2x4, 80x2x3, 90x1x2, 100x2x2, 110x3x1. I was completely beat after this because the rest was very limited as well. I did all of that in about 55 minutes! It kicked my ass and I complained a little, but I know that it did me some good. My technique felt really tight by the last few sets. Todd saw most of my snatches and said that many of the attempts looked the same, which is really good. I guess I will try this out and see where it gets me in the next few weeks.

BS or No BS?

That is the question! And, of course, if you're a lifter you know what I'm really talking about. Yes, the back squat! Today I trained a double session, if it can really be called that. This is because I only did the back squat in the first session, and snatched and cleaned in the second. I wanted to do more in the second session, but I was just completely leveled from all of the singles I did. I didn't go very heavy, but lifted on short rest. I trained at my friend's (Eric) for the first session. I was on my second week of the second cycle of the 5-3-1, so it was sets of 3. I did 295x4 for my top set. That is definitely a new repetition maximum PR for that weight. My weights keep going up! Train hard, train smart!

First Session at Bud's

"You're not fast enough under the bar." "Your feet are too soft!" "Don't shrug your shoulders, just grip the bar and get under it fast." These are just some of the constructive comments given to me within the first few minutes of the session. Most lifters probably would have thought "whatever! I'll do what I want!", but I was there purposely to learn and get barked at a little. I enjoyed every second of it because I was learning something new about this sport I love so much. When you breathe the proverbial weightlifting dust as your oxygen, you tend to want to know as much about the sport as possible. Even if I never amount to anything past the American Open, which is my current qualifying goal right now, I would still like to know as much as I can to pass on and teach to younger lifters. Back to the session...

We obviously started with the Snatch, but in a way I am very unaccustomed to doing. I did multiple sets with the empty bar and worked on getting under it without the weight. If you've never done this before, I suggest you try it...it's really hard! Also, I did some calf stretching by kneeling down in a squat and holding the bar across both knees. From there I would shift back and forth. Bud told me I need to work at this because I have a small center of gravity, mostly because my calves are too tight and do not allow my knees to move out past my feet. The average gym-goer would grimace at this position, but I am starting to understand that most of the "old school" methods and thoughts are just that...OLD. They need to be updated, especially my thoughts and beliefs on the sport. I believe your ideas and methods are only as good as the source from where you get them. Also, it goes back to the adage; "If it's not broken, don't fix it", which, funny enough, was exactly what Bud eluded to when I asked him about my jerk. I tried my best to get under the bar fast with the small technique changes that were made. Trying to undo three years of my current technique is all but impossible, that I know, but I was a little mad I didn't progress better than I did. I only went to about 85% in the Snatch.

On to the Clean and Jerk. Again, I started with the bar and went from there. Although it was even harder than the Snatch was with an empty bar, I started to feel what Bud was talking about...getting under the bar FAST. One thing I should mention is the seemingly small technique change they made by telling me to relax and not hold my breath. Wow! That was extremely difficult because I've always felt if I didn't keep the air within my diaphragm, I would completely collapse. Even though I only worked up to about 80%, this new relaxing technique did not seem to affect my attempts. What did affect them though, was keeping my eyes focused on a spot in front of me. This helped me so I did not whip my head back. It felt very weird and restrictive to me, but my speed seemed fine.

One other thing I noticed about his lifters' training was that they only worked with singles, even with lighter sets (excluding the first few warm-ups). I guess that is how one needs to train in order to completely replicate the way a competition is held. Plus, I'm sure training almost every day of the week would call for mostly singles. When you get into multiple repetitions, you're asking for extreme fatigue by the end of the week. Also, their thoughts on the second pull are non-existent, meaning that there is no second pull. Just lift the bar fast and your body will do the rest. I like this way of thinking. It's simple and very effective...it takes the 'too much thinking' out of the lift and forces you to just lift. Tom, a lifter at Bud's, asked me if I was a good student, claiming that the best lifters are dumb. I now know what he meant by that...the smart guys go out and think too much, while the "dumb" lifters just go out and lift with no worries. Good stuff.

It will take some time to turn these new changes into productive attempts, but I'm willing to try. Even if that means starting over completely from scratch. I need to get rid of these old habits from the old school methods, and buy into a new system. Who knows, doing so may help me get to the American Open and beyond. I had a blast training there and I hope to go back and learn more soon.

5/27/10

This is my first entry...ever! Training has been on and off in the last year because of several knee injuries I've sustained. Only one of which I actually had looked at and diagnosed as calcific patellar tendonitis. Yeah, that's a mouthful. Believe you me, it hurts...a lot! It's better now, but still hurts from time to time. Anywho...I'm training today (Thursday) for the fifth time this week. I'm starting to think that the doubles are what gets to my knees. Other lifters seem to have no problem with running doubles, but whenever I do for an extended period of time, my knees start to feel it. I may back off of the doubles in a few weeks. Well, off to train! Train hard, train smart!!