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February 10, 2012 | 3 Comments
Little Things I Notice
Today is going to be a post about me and the things i notice about myself on a daily and weekly basis. These little things are things that, upon further examination, you may find the same things in your life. These are simply little things that i want to bring to your attention so you will know what they mean and how to deal with them, or at least how I deal with them.
- Lack of sleep makes me tired, and Train like crap. – Ok this may be a bit obvious but when i don’t get good quality or adequate amounts of sleep, my training gets harder. The weights don’t change, they just tend to feel heavier and more technical movements become less co-ordinated
- Sugar keeps me awake. Especially if i eat it at night and close to bed time. I get all sweaty and my heart races and I feel terrible.
- Gluten gives me a reaction on my fingers that always ends in my pointer finger peeling and cracking. This is usually a 2-3 day reaction and tends to last a week while my hands heal. This is in addition to an upset belly that is a bit more immediate.
- Alcohol keeps me awake. This is not dose dependent, or time dependent.
- Oranges make me feel bad, light headed and tired. This is due to a slight Iron overload i have. The vitamin C binds to Iron and is then absorbed to make me feel bad.
- My knee hurts if i don’t supplement my training Glute ham Raises. I’m not 100% sure why this is but i suspect it has something to do with the balance between my quads and hamstrings. Regardless, Glute Ham raises make my knee feel good especially when i squat.
- I sleep better when i go through my “Going to sleep routine.” Among other things, i read right before bed which helps me take my mind off the day and relax for a nice night of sleep.
Ok, thats all for now. I wouldn’t want you guys to know too much about me. I hope this is helpful. If you have any little things that you notice, please share.
Workout:
Push Press x 6
Followed by:
500m Row x 3
February 9, 2012 | 0 Comments
Interesting Read
I read alot. Most of it below the 6th grade reading level but thats beside the point. The point is that i am always trying to add tools to my toolbox. My end goal is always to apply it to helping you and improving our services at the gym. Sometimes i run across things that are quite interesting and feel compelled to share them. Today is one of those days.
Without more rambling, here is a link i want you to check out. It is a short article but has some very important info in it. Info that, for years, we were told was absolutely correct and crucial to our health. Enjoy the read and feel free to explore Chris’s Blog. it is one of my favorites.
chriskresser.com/new-study-puts-final-nail-in-the-saturated-fat-causes-heart-disease-coffin
What have you read lately that made you go hmmm..? Share with everyone what you read about health and fitness.
Workout:
Pullups x Max reps
Wt step ups x 8
Followed by:
5 rounds
1 arm overhead lunges x 8 each leg
15 Box Jumps
February 8, 2012 | 0 Comments
Practice
You all may have noticed that we have done power cleans at least once a week for the last 3 weeks. We have also been on the airdyne quite frequently. So, you ask Why?
Well, for those of you involved in The Challenge, it would only make sense to work on the things that we will be testing… Right? The Power Clean is a high skill movement that can be improved simply by correcting bad technique. As a result of the improved technique, you are able to add points to your score at the end of the challenge. Easy Points.
Would it make sense to use a metric to test you at the beginning of the challenge and then not do it again for 4 weeks and then test you again? Not really. Would a football team practice without a football? Absolutely not.
So, just wanted to throw it out there, this week we will likely be doing lots of power cleans and interval training since thats exactly what our challenge is.
Workout:
Hang Power Clean x 3
Front Squat x 3
Followed by:
6-10 burpees on the minute
6-10 minutes
February 6, 2012 | 4 Comments
What you Know VS. What you have EXPERIENCED
We all know that there is no gravity in space. Have any of you actually experienced it? There is a bit of conspiracy theory surrounding human moon landings which i will let you explore with your free time today but it brings up the question: Can you really know something without experiencing it? (Did we ReALLY go to the moon?)
I didn’t learn much from school but something that has stuck with me for year was the fact that education doesn’t create change ( I learned that in a minority health class). You can teach people the right food to eat or tell them they can get out of the ghetto but until they experience it for themselves (they rarely do) they don’t understand it. You can see where this is going…
When I sit down with people and talk about nutrition or lifestyle changes that need to be made in order to get to their goals I can only try to educate them. With the education we try to show how easy each step is and remove any barriers we can forsee. Unfortunately as i mentioned above, You can only really know what you have experienced yourself.
The point here is that in order to understand something fully, you HAVE to experience it. Watching someone smoke pot is NOT the same as smoking it yourself right? So, you want to make some changes in your life? Identify the areas you need help with, go seek experts in those fields, learn from them, the DO. Do whatever it is that you just learned about. Experience it and know it.
Workout:
Power Cleans
Clean Pulls x 4
Followed by:
7x 15 sec sprints on Airdyne
February 6, 2012 | 0 Comments
Monday 2/6/12
Workout:
Drop Snatch No Drive x 3
Hip Snatch x 2
Followed by:
4 rounds
30 seconds on 30 seconds off
wall ball
KB swings
Row
February 2, 2012 | 1 Comment
Friday 2/3/12
This weekend will be filled with two big events at BlackBox Fort Worth. I highly recommend you come check them out if you coach people, care about your own health and how it pertains to training or want you snatch and clean and jerk to get better.
The first event will be put on by our very own Dr. Michael Hartman. He will spend 4 hours talking about and leading you through techniques on recovery and over training. It will be a hands on event with all kinds of new techniques on assessing your training and recovery and learning some new techniques to staying injury free!
Sign up here: blackboxfwrecovery.eventbee.com
The second and third events will be in the afternoon and directed towards skill development and specifically in the Snatch and clean and jerk. It will be taught by my coach, Ursula Garza, a world renowned olympic lifting coach. She has an special ability to see movement AND give you specific cues to fix it. Trust me, this is well worth attending. Sign up here: Beginner: blackboxfwursula1.eventbee.com
Or here: Advanced: blackboxfwursula2.eventbee.com
During these events there will not be any classes so if you want to get your workouts in for this week, make sure you sign up immediately!!
Workout:
Hang Power Clean x 3
Press x 5
Followed by:
8x 200m row
60-90 sec rest
February 2, 2012 | 0 Comments
Thursday 2/2/12
We will NOT be having classes on SATURDAY. We have two big events that will count for your workouts if you choose to come.
Workout:
Back Squat x 3
Good Mornings 3×10
Followed by:
3×15-20 Thrusters
30-45 sec rest
February 1, 2012 | 0 Comments
Put your Dancin Shoes on!
Some of you have picked up my subtle hints about footwear in the gym. Today i want to make it public how important these little guys can be.
Your brain is a funny thing. In fact, despite you, it is quite logical. For example, when you trip and fall, you will automatically extend an arm or foot to stop you from face planting. The brain likes to protect itself.
When you look at foot wear and specifically lifting heavy weight, either off the ground or on your shoulders, your brain wants to put your body in the most stable position possible. In running shoes or shoes with lots of cushion, that is usually where the cushion is the smallest. The toe. So as we look at someone squatting with heavy weight you will see lots of instability in feet which translates to every other part of your body. The brain is fighting to find the most stable position which usually ends up being in the toes and as a result puts lots of stress on the knees and hips, unnecessary stress.
When we put something on your feet that is stable and give you a solid platform to stand on, you are able to put your body in a beneficial position to lift heavy weights and stay healthy. In reality, bare feet work as well but the added benefit of an elevated heel will help you stay more upright longer which ends up being a better position to transfer force.
I’m not telling you to go out an buy new shoes but if you find yourself feeling unstable while lifting, don’t be afraid to slip those shoes off and feel the stability of the ground.
Workout:
Single Leg DL x 8
Pullups x max reps
Followed by:
2 rounds
12 burpees
25 box jumps
400m run
January 31, 2012 | 0 Comments
Challenge Updates
Ok, you are 2 weeks into THE challenge and things are starting to get interesting. We have some teams that are keeping track of every detail via a spreadsheet exchanged between teammates daily and some teams (mine) that hasn’t even sent one email to each other. Not to worry though since we are going to dominate everyone, there is no need to talk about it.
I wanted to list the standings so far so everyone knows where they stand and what they need to do over the next 2 and a half week (Challenge officially ends on February 18th with a big party at BlackBox)
Team 1 – 69
Eirk
Selena
Tony
Team 2 ~ 48
Gavin
Lauren A
Curt
Team 3 – 62
Meggie
Brannon
Kurt
Team 4 – 61
Katie
Clayton
Sonia
Team 5 – 65
Lindsey
Rummy
Tom
Team 6 ~ 44
Lauren L
Dutch
Nathan
Please remember that there is both a team winner and 2 individual winners so don’t mail it in if you team has given up. THis is, above everything else, a personal challenge for each of you to be better than you were last month.
All but team 2 and 6 are official scores.
Workout:
power Cleans
Followed by:
3 rounds
15 wall balls
15 Kb swings
January 30, 2012 | 0 Comments
Upcoming Events
I have been rambling about these events the last couple months and they are finally upon us! Saturday February 4th is a big day here at BlackBox Fort Worth. Unfortunately, we will NOT have saturday classes. However; you should all check out the events we are hosting as they pertain directly to your performance in the gym and keeping yourself more healthy over time.
The first event will be put on by our very own Dr. Michael Hartman. He will spend 4 hours talking about and leading you through techniques on recovery and over training. It will be a hands on event with all kinds of new techniques on assessing your training and recovery and learning some new techniques to staying injury free!
Sign up here: blackboxfwrecovery.eventbee.com
The second and third events will be in the afternoon and directed towards skill development and specifically in the Snatch and clean and jerk. It will be taught by my coach, Ursula Garza, a world renowned olympic lifting coach. She has an special ability to see movement AND give you specific cues to fix it. Trust me, this is well worth attending. Sign up here: Beginner: blackboxfwursula1.eventbee.com
Or here: Advanced: blackboxfwursula2.eventbee.com
For those of you in the challenge, either event will count for your workout for the day so do not hesitate to get your ass in here and do some learning!
Workout:
Renegade Row x 8
Single Leg Squat x 8
Followed by:
4x800m run