Monday, 11/10/08

No Workout

Tuesday, 11/11/08

Squat Snatch:

65×2/65×2/75×2/80×2/85×2/90×2/100×2/110/110/115/125/135 pr/135/140 ps, also a pr/

Back Squat:

135×10/225×5/245×3/275/285/295/315 (93% 1RM) /315/315/315/

Wednesday, 11/12/08

Deadlift Triples:

155×5/155×5/
245/315/335/365/375/385/

Hungarian Core Blaster Swings, (HCBS) x 10:

90/100/110/115/115/

Thursday, 11/13/08

Snatch:

65×2/65×2/75×2/85×2/90×2/100×2/105/110/115 ps/

Overhead Press, 5×5:

95/115/135/145/155/

Friday, 11/14/08

Rest Day

Saturday, 11/15/08

Baggin It

Sandbag Medley, 3 rounds @ 70# x 10:

Bent Row
Back Squat
Squat Cleans
Push Presses
Shoulder Squat (10 each side)
Zercher Squat
Step-ups
Good Mornings

Sunday, 11/16/08

Squat Clean Clusters, 2+2:

90/115/135, missed #2/145/125/

Box Squats, 12×2, 50-60% 1RM:

135/155/175/175/185/185/205/205/215/225/225/225.

Back Extensions, 3×15
GHD Sit-ups: 3×10
Reverse Hypers: 3×15 @ 50#
Reverse Crunches, 3×10

Pro strongman Scott Brengel of the Freak Factory and others are planning to host a local Strongman competition to take place in beautiful Huntington Beach, California on March 7, 2009. Mark your calendar now and make plans to compete or attend. (He really has chosen a great location). You have less than 4 months to sharpen your training, so get busy. Here is what Brengel himself says about the event.

I have secured an awesome venue right on the beach in Huntington Beach.  If you saw World’s Strongest Man last year, it’s going to be in that approximate location. Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington Street across from the Hilton and the Hyatt (just a couple of blocks from Main Street and Huntington Pier). If you have been there, you know it’s the perfect spot for a show like this, there is a boardwalk 5 feet from the contest area that people pass by all day long riding their bikes, walking, skateboarding, rollerblading, uni-cycling, so there should be a good amount of fan fair. I hope that everyone can make it out.  I’ll send out another update as the event gets closer. So spread the word to anyone that you think might be interested in watching or competing.  I would love to here any ideas on promoting the contest from friends.  I’m tentatively planning on having 2 to 4 classes competing. In addition to the strongman contest, I may have a bench press your bodyweight for reps contest - $3 entry, winner takes the pot.  Same thing for the strict curl - 1/2 bodyweight for reps.  And we might do some fun contests for kids as well.  So it will be a kid friendly environment.  And don’t forget to throw your bikes or rollerblades in the car as well.

Definitely Lightweights - under 231 lbs
Definitely Heavyweights - over 231 lbs.
maybe Teen HW
maybe Teen LW

Tentative events will be:

1) An Overhead Pressing medley with a giant log, an axle press, and a couple of other heavy things
2) A giant tractor tire flip with maybe something else in there to add more fun.
3) a Farmer’s carry
4) A heavy vehicle pull with a harness and rope
5) And everyone’s favorite - the atlas stones or as many of you refer to it as the “giant ball lift”

If you have any questions just shoot me an email at scottbrengel@yahoo.com or call me at
714-423-3173.

Wisconsin native, Bill Kazmaier says “aging is tough”. At only a year older than me, Bill laments the downsizing of trucks he is able to pull. He says with obvious disdain that the days of pulling a Mack truck loaded with 40,000 lbs of coal are gone forever and has had to lower his sights on small dump trucks or tractors.

Kazmaier writes of his personal angst of aging and reminisces in a humorous article in “The Onion”,

“As An Older World’s Strongest Man, There Are Certain Trucks I Can’t Pull Anymore”.

Scott Bird also has more on Kaz.

Bill Kazmaier, world’s strongest man, the onion, truck pull, aging, pro wrestler

Monday, 11/03/08
Day off

Tuesday,11/4/08
Snatch, x2:

45×2/45×2/65×2/65×2/70×2/75×2/80×2/90×2/90×2/95×2/95×2/95×2
Not a very good session with form deterioration coming early.

Wednesday, 11/5/08

Snatch Grip Deadlift, x 4:

135×4/135×4/155×4/155×4/175×4/175×4/199×4/199×4/209×4/209×4/214×4/214×4/.

Clean Grip Deadlift, x 4:

214×4/214×4/214×4/219×4/229×4/.

Hungarian Core Blaster Swings, x 10:

80/90/95/100/100/.

Thursday, 11/6/08

Rest Day

Friday, 11/7/08

Visiting my parents in Wisconsin. I brought my empty sandbag with liners and went down the street to a local quarry to get some “local” sand.

5 rounds, 55#, :15 each exercise and 1:30 between rounds

• Cleans
• Push Presses
• Zercher Squat
• Bent Rows
• Reverse Lunges
• Thrusters

Saturday, 11/8/08

Air Squats: 50

Overhead Squats: 50/50

Sandbag, 55#

• Push Press: 10
• Squat Cleans: 10
• Shoulder Toss to Squat: 10
• Overhead Squat: 5/5

Sandbag, 75#

• Push Press: 10/10/
• Squat Cleans: 10/10/
• Shoulder Toss to Squat: 10/10/
• Overhead Squat: 4/6/5/5/

Sunday, 11/9/08

Day Off

If you exercise and sweat on a daily basis, the chances are you are deficient in the important mineral, magnesium.

So, what does magnesium do and how can you benefit from taking in adequate amounts of this important mineral?

One of the most important functions of magnesium is its role as an electrolyte, which maintains the electrical balances in the body and is lost through sweat and urination According to data, those losses could be from 10-20%.

There is significant evidence that insufficient magnesium impairs athletic performance and function and increases oxidative stress that comes from intense exercise. That said, it is not a performance-enhancing substance unless you are deficient in the mineral, and you may be. Athletes in weight-control sports like weightlifting, wrestling and gymnastics also have to make sure they get enough of the mineral as well. A deficiency state occurs in males with daily intakes of <260 mg for men and <220 mg for women.

A study of male athletes given 390 mg. daily for 25 days resulted in peak oxygen uptake and total work output during work capacity tests. Other studies show improvements in increases in endurance and decreases in oxygen consumption during sub-maximal exercise. Also, for the metcon freaks outs there, mag may actually help reduce the accumulation of lactic acid.

Again, for those of us who like high intensity work, magnesium is required for the activation of enzymes necessary for the creation of ATP which is the cornerstone process for muscular contractions.

Exercise also redistributes magnesium throughout the body for it’s metabolic functions including cardiac output, energy production and oxygen uptake. Since rest and deep sleep are conducive to the body’s restoration and growth, magnesium plays an important role in promoting a good night’s sleep.

If you don’t want to take magnesium pills here is a list of the best food sources of magnesium. Just keep in mind, however that in Western diets, magnesium is often poorly supplied.

Incidentally, there are several types of magnesium and the most bioavailable is magnesium citrate.
An interesting benefit to magnesium citrate is as a laxative. It works by attracting enough water in the intestines to induce a bowel movement and works quickly. (Trust me, I know). Ori Hofmekler recommended I take 3 magnesium citrate pills and 1 potassium pill with a glass of water first thing in the morning and don’t go too far. Good advice.

Whether you make a concerted effort to get a high amount of magnesium in your diet or you need to supplement with pills, it will pay off in your training, whatever you do. The health benefits beyond fitness are considerable. Magnesium is required for over 300 processes in the body. There is no need to worry about taking too much as excess magnesium is eliminated by the kidneys. I found out my father has a rather large kidney stone and magnesium is known to prevent them.

Future studies will point to anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. This is a very important mineral that may not get all the recognition it should with all of us, but particularly athletes.

For your overall health and optimal athletic performance, it is imperative to target your magnesium consumption.

magnesium, magnesium citrate, Ori Hofmekler, anti-inflammatory, oxidative stress, electrolytes, laxative, athletic performance

One of my favorite and one of the very best fitness blogs out there is StraightToTheBar. I have often linked to Scott Bird’s site and Scott has just posted my latest article, ” Pack Light, Train Hard” and I would love it if the readers of MFBB check it out and let us know what you think.

Monday, 10/27/08

Sandbag Ladder Combo, 3 rounds, up to 5 reps; 60#

Burpee >pushup>squat clean + Clean and Press
2 minute rest between rounds.
3 rounds was more than enough for me. That was tough.

Tuesday, 10/28/08

Snatch Clusters:

65×2/65×2/75×2/75×2/
90×2/90 (2+2)/100 (2+2)/105 (2+2)/105/110/110/110/115/115.

Clean & Press, 5×5 @ 95#.

Wednesday, 10/29/08

Back Squat:

135×5/185×5.
225×3/245×3/265×3/275×3/285×3/300×3 pr/275×3

Hungarian Core Blaster Swings:

75×20/75×20/90×20/90×20/90×20.

Thursday, 10/30/08

Rest Day

Friday, 10/31/08

Reverse Hypers x 15: 50/70/80/80

Back Extensions: 4×15

Muscle Snatch: 65×3/65×3/75×3

Snatch, power and squat: 65×2/65×2/75×2/75×2/85×2/90×2/95×2/100×2/100/90×2

Hungarian Core Blaster: 105×5/115×5/120×5/120×5/125

Pumpkin Cleans

Saturday, 11/1/08

60# Sandbag x 300

Bent Row, 3×10
Zercher Squat, 3×10
Back Squat, 3×10

–
Step-Ups: 3×10
Lunges: 3×10
Jump Squats: 3×10
–
Squat Cleans: 3×10
Clean & Press: 3×10
Stair Jumps: 3×10

Sunday, 11/2/08

Rest Day

I came across a great audio interview with the sandbag guy, Josh Henkin interviewing Olympic lifting coach, Greg Everett, who also publishes Performance Menu and runs Catalyst Athletics. They cover a lot of great topics including some pros and cons of the Crossfit protocol, training clients, the advantages and limitations of kettlebell training and a lot of great information on Olympic lift training. If you find any of these topics interesting, then you will want to listen to this interview.

By the way, I have both this book and the video and they are absolutely first rate!

Olympic Lifting, kettlebells, sandbags, Josh Henkin, Greg Everett, Performance Menu, Crossfit,

Several of my workouts have featured a device called the “Hungarian Core Blaster” which supposedly comes from Hungarian Hammer Throwin’ Olympians as an effective training tool.  Masters hammer thrower Todd Taylor is shown using the device in issue 20 of Dan John’s newsletter, “Get Up”.

I like to think of it as a “poor man’s kettlebell” at least for swings. It is really a plate-loaded pin. In the picture above, you see my version 2.0 which is a standard 2″ diameter barbell sleeve with a 1″ hole drilled near the top. The handle is just a 9″ x  3/4″ piece of pipe. (I may go to a 7/8″ piece instead). You have all the benefits of kettlebell swinging except you only need one of these, which weighs only 5 lbs. I can easily take the HCB to my gym and use the plates there, although anything larger than 25 lb plates is going to bang the inside of my short legs!

If you don’t have access to an old barbell sleeve, you can make your own core blaster out of plumbers pipe for under $15 (My version 2.0 cost me all of $5). You just can’t beat the cost to benefit ratio of this simple little device!

You could also buy one online from Sorinex Exercise Equipment. Whichever way you choose, adding the HCB to your home gym is a great addition for posterior chain work and an awesome cardio workout.

Go to straightothebar.com to see the Sorinex HCB in action.

There are several other exercises you can do with the HCB. I have done sumo deadlifts and power pull and shrugs up a flight of stairs. Let me know if you come up with any others!

Below you can see versions 1.0 and 2.0 from my “arsenal”.

Hungarian Core Blaster, kettlebell swings, Sorinex, Dave Draper, Dan John, Get Up,

Monday 10/20/08

My CNS is still down from the ME day on Saturday for the “RippeTotal” so I wasn’t at full strength. Grip work is what I selected today using the axle.

Shoulder Press, 5×5:

105/125/135/130/130.

Deadlift:

105×5/195×5/200×3/195×3/195 single and no grip left for more. On the triples my grip was going fast on the 3rd rep.

Tuesday, 10/21/08

Gonna try and keep this a light week and back off a bit.

Snatch:

65×3/75×3/85
Clusters: 90 (2+2)/90 (2+2)/93 (2+2)/93 (2+2)/93 (2+2)

Wednesday, 10/22/08

Rest Day

Thursday, 10/23/08

Hungarian Core Blaster Swings

55×25/55×25/70×25/70×25/85×15/85×15/100×10/100×10/125×5/125×5.

125×5/105×10/85×15/70×25/55×25. 60-90 second rest between sets.

Total Volume: 18, 125#

Friday, October 10/24/08

Sumo Deadlifts w/Hungarian Core Blaster

With both my feet elevated on blocks, I did the following:

95×10/95×10/140×10/140×10/185×10/185×10/200×10/200×10. 1 minute rest between sets.

Saturday, 10/25/08

Squat Clean clusters:

88 (4 singles)/108 (2+2)/131 (2+2)/135 (2+2)/135 (2+2)/135 (2+2)/135 (2+2)

Snatch clusters, from the hang:

65 (2+2)/88 (2+2)/88 (2+2)/88 (2+2)

Sunday, 10/26/08

Rest Day