Back to picking up rocks

Its been awhile but my wrist is starting to cooperate again enough that I can get under some Atlas Stones and start training again. Ive learned a few things a long the way and definitly was more prepared for todays training session than in the past.

For starts I brought along some Slaters Brand tacky. Enough tape to roll my wrists. And a canister of WD-40 for remove the tack afterwards.

The tape is just protection for my forearms from getting torn apart. Everytime Ive left a few pieces of my arms behind on those rocks so this was a nice bonus. Unfortunately I need a better way to tape my left wrist. I still aint sure what I did to it but after the fact its still bothering me. Definitly more than before training.Although it didnt hurt at all during lifting but fast forward almost 5 hours and Im in some pain. Oh, hey, Icy Hot, whats going on?

Aight, I gotta say the tacky helps a HUGE amount. Had no idea it had that sort of impact on the initial lift. Then again if your hands/arms are half glued to the object then it all makes sense. In turn this helped my tech out quite a bit. Instead of being slow off the ground I was much faster and lapped easier. I got my arms over the stone and resulted in a higher elevation- before it was around 45" but today got all my lifts over 54". Plus was able to get more reps during conditioning work.

12 reps @ 240lb
circuit - 2 reps 240, 5 reps @ 165, 10 shoulders @110

conditioning;
165 for a minute on, minute off repeat 4 rounds.
110 for sets of 10 shouldering. alternating shoulders and bouncing off ground.

Finished the day with some speed bench and called it. Its game time.

Atlas Stone - example GPP (conditioning, fitness, or whatever)

Well my workout was a bust today. Planned on getting some heavy squat work in and mess around with the chains but got into the weight room later than planned and next thing I know im running out of time before the bus leaves for the High School District meet. Instead I had to improvise and this is about what I salvaged in a 30minute block.

Weighted box jumps 5x5

First 3 sets with 40lbs of chain on 32" box (gotta throw those in somehow, right?)

Next 2 sets were on 24" box with a 80# sandbag on my shoulders

Stone workout- 9 pickups on the 240# on single rep lifts (too much dust to reset and hit again

3 sets x 8 lifts @170# and then shoulder carry 110# for a 20yard lap

And that was about it really. Wanted to do some other things but just ran out of time. Forearms are good and tore up and the workout felt pretty good. Im starting to get the feel for the 240# and its coming up much easier as long as I can get my grip set. I think its time to invest in a heavier stone and some tacky. When my arms get dusty its almost impossible to get a grip on the 240.

Kettlebell Full Body Complex #1

This routine hits it ALL. I mean in a bad way too. Most of my clients were pretty exhausted after finishing but finish they did.

Warmup 10-15 minutes (series of swings, tech work, stretches, etc.)

1.30 each - Push Press/ Cleans/ Half Snatch - Single arm
45s each - Swings/ Clean/ Long Cycle - Doubles. Rest 45s then repeat once more.

Lower Body- 30s each, 30s rest, 3 rounds
Goblet Squat/ Alt Lunge/ Kneel Downs

Upper- 30s each, 30s rest, 3 rounds again
x2 Kb Alt Row/ Alt Press/ Ribbons

Core- 1min each, minimal rest
1/2 TGU's/ Supermans/ Windmills

Finisher- 20 ON, 10 OFF each, x1 Kb, 4 minutes total
Swings, Burpees, Split jumps, Jack Squats

Cool down stretch


Yea...they were pretty quiet after this one.

Grip4orce - Use and review

Long time ago I ran across something interesting and what I thought at the time sort of bizarre. An ad on a forums saying how great these little black rubber handles that snap onto bars and what they did for grip strength. I wasn't sure what to think since I never heard of this company nor had much experience with grip training. Not even sure what possessed me to buy them but what I do know is Im glad I did.

The funny thing is when I first bought these things they were on back order for what must have been 4 or 5 months. Their website wasn't fully functional yet but I saw they had an offer so I figured what the hell? I also bought two pairs, regular and stiff. Apparently the initial design department didnt think that there was any reason to put any sort of distinguishing mark on them as until you squeezed them you couldn't tell which was which. A pair of wire cutters taking a snip off a corner on the stiff pair did the trick. I havn't tried the newest but with all the new colors and that Im hoping they did something to resolve this issue by now.

As far as construction and cost Im pretty surprised at how durable these are. I've had them for almost a year now and have been regularly using both and they are still as good as the day I bought them. Cost was roughly $40 each minus a %15 discount on the back order which I thought was solid. And considering these can be attached to practically any bar or object the cost is well within reason.

So what do my athletes and myself use these for?
Everything.

Quite frankly theres very little in the lifting department that you cant just clamp these things onto. And compared to Fat Gripz the Grip4orce grippers need to actually be squeezed onto the bar and can easily open up during the lift if you are not careful. This really puts your grip on notice if its lacking. So all the wrist wrap junkies out there may not appreciate what Grip4orce will do to their egos.

So far what I have found most effective using the G4's is during either dynamic or high volume upper and lower days where the weight just is not as heavy and the extra reps will really blow up my forearms. Pretty good example is doing simple exercises like DB shrugs or rows for 12-20 reps. Also lower work performing deadlifts or trap bar deads really hits the hands as well.

Lately, I've noticed I have been using them more and more during heavier workouts. Can really feel my grip strength increasing and catching up to the rest of my lifts. To put it in perspective I couldn't even pick up 315 off the rack much less shrug or dead lift while not Im pretty confident with that and more. What really hammers the grip strength, bottom line, is any sort of high rep pulling work (back and bi's for example). It definitely adds a little variety to press work but not nearly as effective as pulling weight.

I still plan on getting a few pairs of Fat Gripz down the road and will definitly buy a few more pair of Grip4orce for my future gym for extra grip work. I really like the product and between the cost and abuse they are definitely worth it when considering how much they save from buying fat bar equipment.

So if you are wondering I'd highly recommend these. Check 'em out -  http://www.grip4orce.com

Chain Lifting - Accomodating resistance at its finest. Part 2

Well this is the more 'legit' post for the day/week. If you already read my previous post about the chain ordeal (which is still to be concluded btw) then hope it gave you a laugh. If not at my own expense.

So, anyways, for something a little more constructive. I wanted to put the new chains through a workout to see how it went. I will be the first to say I havn't had a good upper workout like that in awhile. I tried to get in a pretty good variety and at certain points was just banging out reps trying to get a good pump. No matter what I did the chains worked well.

Heres a rough recap of the workout. Remember, I had several sets I just either went to failure, left 2, or was just playing around to see what would happen. Some exercises worked great while others not so much.

Bench press- Worked up to max effort for 3 reps with 80lbs total chain. Hit 245 for a trip. Puts it around 305 (some of the chain sits on the ground at lock).
Swiss bar Incline Press with fat grips (theres a mouthful)- hit 4 sets for 10-12 reps. Used 40lbs chain, narrow grip, and Grip4orce grippers on the bar.
Multi-grip pullups- This one I just sort of hit reps at whatever I felt like at the moment. I think my pride on the day was the triple I had with 80lbs of chain on me. Puts me close to 300lbs. So 3 pullups at that much is pretty good for me.
Multi-grip inverted row- Same deal just hit different grips. Mixed in chains (was awkward and clumsy) and used fat bar and cannonballs.
Arms and shoulders- Just started rocking curls and raises with the cannonballs. My biceps cramped pretty hard later on.

This is a pretty heavily edited video. Didnt want to bore everyone with EVERY single rep I did.

Atlas Stone Making - First time

Glad I didnt totally screw 'em up.

I gotta say I was pretty happy with the final product. Only regret is not shaking the mold as much and buying an 18" while I was ordering the initial set of molds. So currently I have a set of 110#, 165#, and 238# stones. The 238 already tore up part of my forearm. Really should have gotten some tacky.

Special thanks to Jason for being camera man and Nate for lower the stone down without breaking the mold.

Kettlebell Workout #1

So the other day a client of mine asked me if I could start posting workouts. No idea why I havn't done this sooner so here we go!
 Depending on rest this can go from 30-45mins
Warmup routine
 30s each and switch arms
Single Arm Swing, Cleans, Press with pause at top
Mobility and stretch
30s each 2-hand Swing,Cleans, Presses

Protocol;
30 seconds each exercise straight through then switch arms. Repeat for total of 2 rounds
Swings, Cleans, Presses
2-Hand Protocol; Long Cycle Competition reps against time.
10 reps each exercise Cleans, Front Squats, Push Press Repeat 3 rounds

Core; 1 minute each
Single Arm Crunch, SA Crunch, Curlup, Seated twist

Circuit fitness; 30s each continuous for 3 rounds.
2kb Bentover Row, Reverse Lunge, Romanian Dead Lift Cool down and stretch