2HP
Well, I've come full circle with my 2HP experiment.
Last night I did the same 40+ rep workout that I have repeated at different widths for a couple of weeks. I realized I cannot make 56mm with my combination of inserts, so I skipped straight to 58mm. My old standby.
Not only did all the warm up reps feel incredible; I easily lifted the 155# which had stopped me in the previous workouts. So I moved on to what would be a PR on my plates. 161#. I clarify that because I have lifted 172 on Jedd's rig, and 178 on Adam's rig. Around the time I pulled 178 at WSH, I had just hit 160# on my own plates at 58mm.
So 161#. I took three attempts. They all came off the ground, the first one about 1/2 way up and the second two about 1/4 way up! This confirms for me that I am unquestionably stronger at this 58mm width. I feel I have given this enough attention that I can stop thinking about it for a while.
Also, despite the 161# being a max effort--and I got them off the ground--and they were not successful lifts--that's usually the perfect recipe for a tear. Which has been common problem for me at the 58mm width. However, last night there were no tears! I can't exactly explain why except that I did not "lose" the weight; I just had to set it down. I attribute some of this to getting stronger at the other widths and that helped me avoid a total slip. Which was also common for me.
So here I am at 58mm. Same as it ever was. I would still like to play with 56mm and will probably cut another insert some rainy day to make that possible. Otherwise it's time to do more work.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
A FEW UPDATES, NEW GOAL GRIPPER
RUNNING
Running is going well and I’ve set a few 5k PRs recently. Next run on the treadmill should be under 25:00 for sure. Overall I would say my conditioning is that of a mediocre runner. It feels great, but if I’m being realistic, the pace is not really that impressive. I am really happy with the progress, which I guess is what matters most. On top of that, I’m pushing myself pretty hard to improve so possibly in the coming months the times will get more impressive.
GOAL GRIPPER
Borrowed a 164# Quad Band from Adam Glass. Not only do I need to bridge the gap between my 155 BBGM and my 167 BBE, this will help prepare me for another run at MM2. The sweep on this Quad Band is wicked nasty. First real workout will be this weekend, and I’ll get a baseline video. I predict about a ¼” miss initially, which is an approachable gap. The sweep is going to “eff” with me.
BODY FAT GOALS
My weight has settled in at 148-149 every day. I have not been out of that range for quite a few weeks. Strength training is still going well in theory, although I lost about 2 weeks recently where nothing was gained or lost. First week was a bout of “neuritis”. The bullcrap diagnosis for some of the nerve pain I’ve been getting in my arms. I only say bullcrap because I’ve never heard of this before and neither has anyone else. Something else is going on, I’m just not sure what. So I mainly focused on running that week. The week after that I got horribly ill. Probably an influenza virus. I’m still on antibiotics and strength is back. Stamina might be taxed a little, but that is coming back too. I am pretty sure I still saw an improvement in abs definition during this time. Maybe from being dehydrated…ha! I know body fat is still creeping downward slowing because I’m getting more vascularity in my abs, legs, arms, all the time. There is still a pesky small amount right at my belly button. I’m not sure what it’s going to take to get that. Maybe just more time?
2HP
I think I’m closing in on the optimal width. I recently performed the exact same workout twice in a row, once at 52mm and then again at 54mm. The workouts were identical. No tearing and I could not lift any more or less at either width. I still did not pull a PR on my plates however. That is really the ultimate goal. To pull 160# on my plates and not tear. This time of year still sucks for friction lifts. I might just have to wait until this summer when it’s a little more humid. I’m not ruling that out as a variable, but would like to pull a PR no matter the time of year. Next workout is at 56mm. I will probably do it once at 58mm as well just to make sure what I’ve learned about hand position won’t eliminate tears at that width, which has historically been my strongest.
Now, GO OUTSIDE!
Running is going well and I’ve set a few 5k PRs recently. Next run on the treadmill should be under 25:00 for sure. Overall I would say my conditioning is that of a mediocre runner. It feels great, but if I’m being realistic, the pace is not really that impressive. I am really happy with the progress, which I guess is what matters most. On top of that, I’m pushing myself pretty hard to improve so possibly in the coming months the times will get more impressive.
GOAL GRIPPER
Borrowed a 164# Quad Band from Adam Glass. Not only do I need to bridge the gap between my 155 BBGM and my 167 BBE, this will help prepare me for another run at MM2. The sweep on this Quad Band is wicked nasty. First real workout will be this weekend, and I’ll get a baseline video. I predict about a ¼” miss initially, which is an approachable gap. The sweep is going to “eff” with me.
BODY FAT GOALS
My weight has settled in at 148-149 every day. I have not been out of that range for quite a few weeks. Strength training is still going well in theory, although I lost about 2 weeks recently where nothing was gained or lost. First week was a bout of “neuritis”. The bullcrap diagnosis for some of the nerve pain I’ve been getting in my arms. I only say bullcrap because I’ve never heard of this before and neither has anyone else. Something else is going on, I’m just not sure what. So I mainly focused on running that week. The week after that I got horribly ill. Probably an influenza virus. I’m still on antibiotics and strength is back. Stamina might be taxed a little, but that is coming back too. I am pretty sure I still saw an improvement in abs definition during this time. Maybe from being dehydrated…ha! I know body fat is still creeping downward slowing because I’m getting more vascularity in my abs, legs, arms, all the time. There is still a pesky small amount right at my belly button. I’m not sure what it’s going to take to get that. Maybe just more time?
2HP
I think I’m closing in on the optimal width. I recently performed the exact same workout twice in a row, once at 52mm and then again at 54mm. The workouts were identical. No tearing and I could not lift any more or less at either width. I still did not pull a PR on my plates however. That is really the ultimate goal. To pull 160# on my plates and not tear. This time of year still sucks for friction lifts. I might just have to wait until this summer when it’s a little more humid. I’m not ruling that out as a variable, but would like to pull a PR no matter the time of year. Next workout is at 56mm. I will probably do it once at 58mm as well just to make sure what I’ve learned about hand position won’t eliminate tears at that width, which has historically been my strongest.
Now, GO OUTSIDE!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
GRIPPER PR
Over body weight gripper PR.
155# BBGM closed at 148# body weight.
I decided to just forge ahead with my right hand gripper training and ignore my left for a while since it's so tweeky right now. Managed a PR in the process!
155# BBGM closed at 148# body weight.
I decided to just forge ahead with my right hand gripper training and ignore my left for a while since it's so tweeky right now. Managed a PR in the process!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
2HP AND OTHER DELIGHTS
I have a few thoughts to post about.
GRIPPERS
Something about grippers doesn't agree with me lately. I'm still interested in them, but training them with any intensity seems to bring on some nerve symptoms that I do not enjoy. And by "with any intensity" I mean even one decent workout...per month... The symptoms are identical to the problems I was having last Fall and a doctor at that time called it "neuritis." General inflammation of the nervous system. I've been crippled by some sickness for about a week, and the doctor said that being ill can bring this about, but I just think it's stupid that apparently I get "neuritis" a couple times per year and nobody else has even heard of the condition? Sounds made up to me. And it seems specifically irritated by grippers. So I need to get a second opinion, or continue to focus on other things like 2HP, or both.
VOYEURISM
I've recently found the value of reviewing photos or video of training. Not only my own, but others as well. Initially I was looking for ways to improve my 2HP. More on that to follow. Recently I was reviewing the Frostbite Challenge photos. I noticed in all my bearhug deadlift pictures that my legs are way too wide.
This is not a powerful position. You look at every other competitor, most of whom are otherwise accomplished heavy lifters, and their shins are almost totally vertical. Duh. I need to be more mindful of this for any lift. I think my feet are too wide in a 2HP lift, for example. Take video of your training sometimes; it can be priceless! You don't know what you don't know.
TWO HANDS PINCH
So I've had some super-bug for the last 7 days. Antibiotics finally kicked in and won the fight. But this afforded me entirely too much time to lay around and think about training. One thing I believe will make all the difference in my hand positioning. Usually my approach to setting up has been to get the back plate in the right spot on my thumbs and then get a good, deep wrap with the fingers. What tends to happen is that the finger side of my hand gets too much ground because I'm not paying attention. Think of it this way: the whole point of a pinch lift is that your fingers oppose your thumb like a sock puppet talking. The more ground your fingers get, your hand starts to straighten out like a karate chop. You're simply not going to be able to squeeze as hard. I guess others keep their fingers opposing their thumb without much thought, but somehow this is not natural for me. (Like the leg position for power mentioned above. Others have already thought about this, or don't need to think about it, but apparently it's not natural for me...or I needed to think about it!)
So after I've already set up poorly, once I begin the lift it gets even worse. I think this is also why thin widths felt ultra-super-crappy-lousy for me. I tried setting up on 52mm today with a focus on keeping my fingers evenly opposing my thumb. I only lifted the empty pinch apparatus, but the grip did feel totally different with this setup, which I felt was promising. I am immediately going to test this more. So this is what I think about when I'm deathly ill; sock puppet talking versus karate chopping to help your pinch lift.
FROSTBITE PHOTOS
Finally, here are all the Frostbite photos. There are some incredible shots in there. Thanks again to Adam Glass for having a pro on site to shoot the contest. This is one of my favorites.
GRIPPERS
Something about grippers doesn't agree with me lately. I'm still interested in them, but training them with any intensity seems to bring on some nerve symptoms that I do not enjoy. And by "with any intensity" I mean even one decent workout...per month... The symptoms are identical to the problems I was having last Fall and a doctor at that time called it "neuritis." General inflammation of the nervous system. I've been crippled by some sickness for about a week, and the doctor said that being ill can bring this about, but I just think it's stupid that apparently I get "neuritis" a couple times per year and nobody else has even heard of the condition? Sounds made up to me. And it seems specifically irritated by grippers. So I need to get a second opinion, or continue to focus on other things like 2HP, or both.
VOYEURISM
I've recently found the value of reviewing photos or video of training. Not only my own, but others as well. Initially I was looking for ways to improve my 2HP. More on that to follow. Recently I was reviewing the Frostbite Challenge photos. I noticed in all my bearhug deadlift pictures that my legs are way too wide.
This is not a powerful position. You look at every other competitor, most of whom are otherwise accomplished heavy lifters, and their shins are almost totally vertical. Duh. I need to be more mindful of this for any lift. I think my feet are too wide in a 2HP lift, for example. Take video of your training sometimes; it can be priceless! You don't know what you don't know.
TWO HANDS PINCH
So I've had some super-bug for the last 7 days. Antibiotics finally kicked in and won the fight. But this afforded me entirely too much time to lay around and think about training. One thing I believe will make all the difference in my hand positioning. Usually my approach to setting up has been to get the back plate in the right spot on my thumbs and then get a good, deep wrap with the fingers. What tends to happen is that the finger side of my hand gets too much ground because I'm not paying attention. Think of it this way: the whole point of a pinch lift is that your fingers oppose your thumb like a sock puppet talking. The more ground your fingers get, your hand starts to straighten out like a karate chop. You're simply not going to be able to squeeze as hard. I guess others keep their fingers opposing their thumb without much thought, but somehow this is not natural for me. (Like the leg position for power mentioned above. Others have already thought about this, or don't need to think about it, but apparently it's not natural for me...or I needed to think about it!)
So after I've already set up poorly, once I begin the lift it gets even worse. I think this is also why thin widths felt ultra-super-crappy-lousy for me. I tried setting up on 52mm today with a focus on keeping my fingers evenly opposing my thumb. I only lifted the empty pinch apparatus, but the grip did feel totally different with this setup, which I felt was promising. I am immediately going to test this more. So this is what I think about when I'm deathly ill; sock puppet talking versus karate chopping to help your pinch lift.
FROSTBITE PHOTOS
Finally, here are all the Frostbite photos. There are some incredible shots in there. Thanks again to Adam Glass for having a pro on site to shoot the contest. This is one of my favorites.
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