Wednesday:
Day class good. Great rolls with Matt, and Big John. Night class was great. I learned a choke and arm-bar from one of my favorite sweep set-ups.
Thursday:
Jerks:
worked up to 185, 4x2.
Again flexibility still an issue. If I'm going to really move any big weight on the C&J I'm going to have to be able to jerk the bar with a wider grip.
Did a couple more sets at 135, just to play with some technique stuff.
Bench, 1 arm rows super set.
rows 8/8 at 85
bench 10 at 135
rows same
bench 8 at 185
rows same
bench same
rest
bench same
Chins at bw: some
I'm a little concerned that I'm already a little cranky. This is a major shift in my training, and a pretty major increase in my volume. We'll see how it goes when I get a few weeks in.
Mahalo.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
First day with the big O.
Man, I forgot how taxing the Olympic lifts were.
Workout:
worked up to 1 full clean, and 3 front squats at 185 did 3 sets.
4 sets of 2 clean and jerks at 155.
Thoughts:
I'm starting off at weights that are technically challenging, but not difficult.
My first pull is not upright enough. I am strong enough to deadlift the weight up with a lot of speed, but I'm out of position for my second pull.
I end up chasing the weights a lot at the top of the clean.. probably related to the above problem. The lighter weights felt smoother, pull from the floor, pop the hips, pull under the bar and drive through it. I'll take it for day 1.
Front squats were solid, I have to pay attention to them, keep my weight back and drop down between my knees.
Jerks were good. I need to work on my over all flexiblity I'm carrying the bar too narrowly. That will also come with time and practice.
Mahalo.
Workout:
worked up to 1 full clean, and 3 front squats at 185 did 3 sets.
4 sets of 2 clean and jerks at 155.
Thoughts:
I'm starting off at weights that are technically challenging, but not difficult.
My first pull is not upright enough. I am strong enough to deadlift the weight up with a lot of speed, but I'm out of position for my second pull.
I end up chasing the weights a lot at the top of the clean.. probably related to the above problem. The lighter weights felt smoother, pull from the floor, pop the hips, pull under the bar and drive through it. I'll take it for day 1.
Front squats were solid, I have to pay attention to them, keep my weight back and drop down between my knees.
Jerks were good. I need to work on my over all flexiblity I'm carrying the bar too narrowly. That will also come with time and practice.
Mahalo.
Monday, February 22, 2010
110.
Thoughts on UFC 110:
The folks in Sydney were one of the more educated, and respectful MMA crowds I've seen. It was actually kind of refreshing to hear people cheer good ground work instead of booing guys who are actively trying to finish the fight (on the floor, but finish none the less).
We learned almost nothing from the Cro-Cop fight. Anthony Perosh was well out of his depth, even against the aging Croation. Game dude though.. good on 'em for that.
Keith Jardine needs to make some sort of change. Tactics, weight class.. something. He just can't throw sneaky leg kicks and eek out victories when people know he's going to try to throw sneaky leg kicks and eek out victories. I don't know how hard the cut to 205 is for him, and if 185 is feasible, but he's got to change something.
Ryan Bader showed that he has heavy hands (which we knew) and has no real plan C. (plan A: land a right hand and knock the guy into next week, plan B: takedown and lay and pray) I would like to see the UFC brass put him in against someone who isn't tailor made for him.. someone who will drag him into deep water and see how he responds...Thiago Silva would be interesting.
I had a sneaky suspicion that George Sotiropoulos would give Joe "Daddy" fits, but I had no idea he would so completely dominate him. Stevenson just had no answer to the Aussie's boxing, and while I'm not a fan of 10th planet style jiu-jitsu but Sotiropoulos has the physical skills to make it work very well (I don't.. which is my problem).
I was hoping that Wanderlei Silva would have the confidence to go out and Knock Mike Bisping's face off.. Unfortunately, in spite of the pillow-throwing brit's lack of pop, Wand showed him a lot of respect (probably the product of a couple of highlight reel KOs in recent history) and beat him even if he didn't beat him up.
Wanderlei becomes a gate-keeper at 185 and is still a draw against up-and-comers and way-back-downers. Bisping is in difficult territory, he's got some wins and a few losses against gatekeeper level talent, but at the same time is the face of the UFC in the UK. The powers that be will continue to feed Bisping more guys they think he can beat, at least until Paul Daley, Ross Pearson, or Dan Hardy (or someone else for that matter) are ready to take up the promotional baton.
I was worried that Cain Velasquez would be too fast, too athletic for Nog. I was worried that Cain would beat him to the punch over and over. That Nog wouldn't be able to stand, and wouldn't be able to take the fight to the ground before he got his lights put out. My worries were not unfounded. There is a significant separation in size and athleticism between the top of the Heavyweight division (Fedor, Lesner, Carwin, Velasquez.. maybe Mir.. tbd) and everybody else. It's created a heavy middle class of fighters with good skills, who just aren't big/strong/fast enough to compete with the top guys.
It'll be interesting to see how the promotions shake that out. There's talk of a 220 or 215 weight class.. which only makes sense if you're going to raise the heavyweight ceiling to 285.. which would cause a lot of work for the sanctioning bodies (who are notoriously lazy and bureaucratic.. but easily influenced by certain promoters) All that aside it would be a good place to stick popular fighters like Couture, Nog, and the like, but ultimately that would just be watering down the talent pool to keep likable guys afloat, and only for a short time at that.
we'll see how it shakes out.
Mahalo.
The folks in Sydney were one of the more educated, and respectful MMA crowds I've seen. It was actually kind of refreshing to hear people cheer good ground work instead of booing guys who are actively trying to finish the fight (on the floor, but finish none the less).
We learned almost nothing from the Cro-Cop fight. Anthony Perosh was well out of his depth, even against the aging Croation. Game dude though.. good on 'em for that.
Keith Jardine needs to make some sort of change. Tactics, weight class.. something. He just can't throw sneaky leg kicks and eek out victories when people know he's going to try to throw sneaky leg kicks and eek out victories. I don't know how hard the cut to 205 is for him, and if 185 is feasible, but he's got to change something.
Ryan Bader showed that he has heavy hands (which we knew) and has no real plan C. (plan A: land a right hand and knock the guy into next week, plan B: takedown and lay and pray) I would like to see the UFC brass put him in against someone who isn't tailor made for him.. someone who will drag him into deep water and see how he responds...Thiago Silva would be interesting.
I had a sneaky suspicion that George Sotiropoulos would give Joe "Daddy" fits, but I had no idea he would so completely dominate him. Stevenson just had no answer to the Aussie's boxing, and while I'm not a fan of 10th planet style jiu-jitsu but Sotiropoulos has the physical skills to make it work very well (I don't.. which is my problem).
I was hoping that Wanderlei Silva would have the confidence to go out and Knock Mike Bisping's face off.. Unfortunately, in spite of the pillow-throwing brit's lack of pop, Wand showed him a lot of respect (probably the product of a couple of highlight reel KOs in recent history) and beat him even if he didn't beat him up.
Wanderlei becomes a gate-keeper at 185 and is still a draw against up-and-comers and way-back-downers. Bisping is in difficult territory, he's got some wins and a few losses against gatekeeper level talent, but at the same time is the face of the UFC in the UK. The powers that be will continue to feed Bisping more guys they think he can beat, at least until Paul Daley, Ross Pearson, or Dan Hardy (or someone else for that matter) are ready to take up the promotional baton.
I was worried that Cain Velasquez would be too fast, too athletic for Nog. I was worried that Cain would beat him to the punch over and over. That Nog wouldn't be able to stand, and wouldn't be able to take the fight to the ground before he got his lights put out. My worries were not unfounded. There is a significant separation in size and athleticism between the top of the Heavyweight division (Fedor, Lesner, Carwin, Velasquez.. maybe Mir.. tbd) and everybody else. It's created a heavy middle class of fighters with good skills, who just aren't big/strong/fast enough to compete with the top guys.
It'll be interesting to see how the promotions shake that out. There's talk of a 220 or 215 weight class.. which only makes sense if you're going to raise the heavyweight ceiling to 285.. which would cause a lot of work for the sanctioning bodies (who are notoriously lazy and bureaucratic.. but easily influenced by certain promoters) All that aside it would be a good place to stick popular fighters like Couture, Nog, and the like, but ultimately that would just be watering down the talent pool to keep likable guys afloat, and only for a short time at that.
we'll see how it shakes out.
Mahalo.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Planning the new plan.
AKA "the big O"
I have decided change things up and do a few months of Olympic lift specific training.
So my weeks will look like this:
Clean day:
clean and front squat.
clean and jerk.
Snatch day:
snatch and OHS
deadlifts.
Jerk day:
Jerks from rack.
rows.
bench.
chins.
Three week period. with weeks of low, medium, high, deload volume.
Intensity will stay reasonably consistent within the month but, go up from month to month (similar to 5/3/1 methodology).
post thoughts and considerations to comments.
I was looking for "put the 'O' back in country" but couldn't find a decent version.. so to heck with it.. I like this song better any way:
Mahalo.
I have decided change things up and do a few months of Olympic lift specific training.
So my weeks will look like this:
Clean day:
clean and front squat.
clean and jerk.
Snatch day:
snatch and OHS
deadlifts.
Jerk day:
Jerks from rack.
rows.
bench.
chins.
Three week period. with weeks of low, medium, high, deload volume.
Intensity will stay reasonably consistent within the month but, go up from month to month (similar to 5/3/1 methodology).
post thoughts and considerations to comments.
I was looking for "put the 'O' back in country" but couldn't find a decent version.. so to heck with it.. I like this song better any way:
Mahalo.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Not much to report.
Tuesday, I got through my upper deload workout. Last night we worked on one of my favorite armbar setups. Throw the triangle, then work the arm. Simple, but it works.
Sparred a couple times. Felt good, in control and comfortable. All in all a good night.
Tonight I might take the day totally off.. might do some light intervals..haven't decided.
Mahalo.
Sparred a couple times. Felt good, in control and comfortable. All in all a good night.
Tonight I might take the day totally off.. might do some light intervals..haven't decided.
Mahalo.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Bring me down.
Deload week started Friday.
I was deloading, Joe had just gotten doored on his bike, and Paul was fighting a cold.. needless to say Friday workout was nice and short:
1 minute rounds:
dips at bw
battling ropes
rest
x3
TRX scarecrows
kb swings
rest
x3
Saturday:
open mat, couple of good rolls. Focused on technique and staying tight.
Sunday:
went to the market with the little woman, and bought fruit, veggies and Piroshki... mmm.. delicious piroshki.
Monday:
My hip was killing me for some reason. Went through a long warm-up with my training clients. Had a good technical no-gi roll with Paul before class. Then worked some basics, talked about some details with a few folks and called it a day.
Today is going to be an upper body deload.
I'll work up to 5 at 175 on bench, and 5 at 115 on ohp.
do some face pulls and call it good.
Bring me down.. or don't.
Mahalo.
I was deloading, Joe had just gotten doored on his bike, and Paul was fighting a cold.. needless to say Friday workout was nice and short:
1 minute rounds:
dips at bw
battling ropes
rest
x3
TRX scarecrows
kb swings
rest
x3
Saturday:
open mat, couple of good rolls. Focused on technique and staying tight.
Sunday:
went to the market with the little woman, and bought fruit, veggies and Piroshki... mmm.. delicious piroshki.
Monday:
My hip was killing me for some reason. Went through a long warm-up with my training clients. Had a good technical no-gi roll with Paul before class. Then worked some basics, talked about some details with a few folks and called it a day.
Today is going to be an upper body deload.
I'll work up to 5 at 175 on bench, and 5 at 115 on ohp.
do some face pulls and call it good.
Bring me down.. or don't.
Mahalo.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Seriously, who throws a shoe?
I don't know what this title means. I'm tired.
bench work on tuesday:
worked up to 6 at 220
1a rows:
10/10, 8/8, 6/6 at 95
chins:
some
squat work today:
took forever for my hips to open up.
Over head squats:
4-5 sets of 3 at 95
1 clean, 3 front squats:
worked up to 185.
Progress is progressive.
Deload starts tomorrow.. I need it. I'm pooped.
Mahalo.
bench work on tuesday:
worked up to 6 at 220
1a rows:
10/10, 8/8, 6/6 at 95
chins:
some
squat work today:
took forever for my hips to open up.
Over head squats:
4-5 sets of 3 at 95
1 clean, 3 front squats:
worked up to 185.
Progress is progressive.
Deload starts tomorrow.. I need it. I'm pooped.
Mahalo.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Whadya think I saw..
Did a lot of watching this weekend, with UFC 109 and the Pro Football championship.
Friday I did some moving:
4 man rotation.
1 clean, 1 front squat, 1 jerk
1 clean, 2 front squats, 2 jerks
...
1 clean, 10 front squats, 10 jerks.
all at 135.
Brutal. I'm finally able to squat with some volume, my hips are moving, and my back is holding up. I'm going to keep the weight down and volume up for a while to rebuild my foundation, but it feels good to be back after it.
Saturday, I worked for 7 hours in the morning, and missed jiu-jitsu. My abs, upper spinal erectors, and right quad were sore as hell from the previous night's workout.
That night I watched UFC 109. thoughts:
Rolles Gracie looked horrible on Saturday. He's talented jiu-jitsu player, and a nice guy (I met him at pan ams a couple years ago) but his conditioning was terrible, and he either needs to work on his stand up or his wrestling (either make the other guy take you down, or take him down) . I am afraid of what would have happened if he had fought Mostapha Al-turk (a much better fighter than Joey Beltran).
I am sure his cousin Renzo is still yelling at him about his performance. I hope he gets it together, because I am a fan, and would love to see him do well. Very disappointing.
Phil Davis looked very tough, but someone needs to teach this kid how to finish a fight. Brian Stann looked horrible. He did well in lesser shows by the virtue of having heavy hands, but in the UFC you have to have some sort of ground game. That said, this was a hand picked fight for Davis. Stann is notoriously bad on the deck. We'll see how he holds up against someone more polished.
Melvin Guillard looked good on Saturday. Training under Greg Jackson seemed to help him a ton. Melvin has all the physical tools in the world, but was easy to bait out of his game plan and drag into deep water. Saturday he was calm and followed the game plan and put on an impressive showing. His opponent Ronys Torres was unlucky to have run into the new Melvin Guillard, and looks to be a solid fighter that can beat a lot of guys in the UFC.
Mac Danzig, the world's toughest vegan, looked pretty solid this weekend. He still lacks pop but his tendancy to fade late in fights seems to have been solved. He looked solid and well rounded. His guard in particular was very dangerous, we'll see who Joe Silva sets him up with next.
Matt Serra looked great, and Frank Trigg is done in the UFC. I have never been all that impressed with Trigg, I think he gets press because he's a good interview. I've never really seen him beat anyone worth mentioning: Mayhem Miller, Dennis Hallman, and Kazuo Misaki are the only name fighters he's beaten in the last 10 years, and while they're good guys, they're not names to build a reputation on.
I am glad Matt Serra did well, and will be in the UFC for a while longer, that guy is good people.
Demian Maia is back on track with an ugly win. Good 'nuff is good 'nuff.
Beautiful choke by Paulo Thiago put Mike Swick to sleep. Thiago is a tough guy, and it will be interesting to see who the UFC lines up for him to fight next.
I was happy to see Chael Sonnen beat Nate Marquardt. Most people (including the UFC brass probably disagree, but hear me out) Marquardt had his shot, he got his butt kicked. I am tired of the UFC and the WEC continually giving guys title shots (COUGH-Uriah Faber-COUGH). Bring in some fresh talent, build the title holder. The WEC in particular are treating the 145 lb division like it belongs to the California Kid.
I want to see a champion be a champion and fight several guys. I want to see a contender/fallen champion EARN their title shot. I think Sonnen has earned a shot. he's fought everyone they've ever put in front of him. Let's see how he does in a 5 round fight. I feel like Marquardt is a defacto challenger. Let someone else have a crack, and then if they win.. maybe you get the next shot.
Randy Couture is still a viable fighter (probably not the dominating fighter he was) but still on any given day can beat most anyone else at 205. Mark Coleman is done. You can tell by his physique that his body just doesn't have what it takes to perform. He isn't nearly as explosive as he was, and just hasn't learned enough 'old man' tricks to make up for it. Couture is cagey, and still very fit. He makes up for his lack of snap with conditioning and tactics.
I watched some football on Sunday and made some (too much) food.
Feeling fat an happy on Monday.
Good class last night, re-learned a choke that I used to love. Worked some open guard, and just had a good night.
Mahalo.
Friday I did some moving:
4 man rotation.
1 clean, 1 front squat, 1 jerk
1 clean, 2 front squats, 2 jerks
...
1 clean, 10 front squats, 10 jerks.
all at 135.
Brutal. I'm finally able to squat with some volume, my hips are moving, and my back is holding up. I'm going to keep the weight down and volume up for a while to rebuild my foundation, but it feels good to be back after it.
Saturday, I worked for 7 hours in the morning, and missed jiu-jitsu. My abs, upper spinal erectors, and right quad were sore as hell from the previous night's workout.
That night I watched UFC 109. thoughts:
Rolles Gracie looked horrible on Saturday. He's talented jiu-jitsu player, and a nice guy (I met him at pan ams a couple years ago) but his conditioning was terrible, and he either needs to work on his stand up or his wrestling (either make the other guy take you down, or take him down) . I am afraid of what would have happened if he had fought Mostapha Al-turk (a much better fighter than Joey Beltran).
I am sure his cousin Renzo is still yelling at him about his performance. I hope he gets it together, because I am a fan, and would love to see him do well. Very disappointing.
Phil Davis looked very tough, but someone needs to teach this kid how to finish a fight. Brian Stann looked horrible. He did well in lesser shows by the virtue of having heavy hands, but in the UFC you have to have some sort of ground game. That said, this was a hand picked fight for Davis. Stann is notoriously bad on the deck. We'll see how he holds up against someone more polished.
Melvin Guillard looked good on Saturday. Training under Greg Jackson seemed to help him a ton. Melvin has all the physical tools in the world, but was easy to bait out of his game plan and drag into deep water. Saturday he was calm and followed the game plan and put on an impressive showing. His opponent Ronys Torres was unlucky to have run into the new Melvin Guillard, and looks to be a solid fighter that can beat a lot of guys in the UFC.
Mac Danzig, the world's toughest vegan, looked pretty solid this weekend. He still lacks pop but his tendancy to fade late in fights seems to have been solved. He looked solid and well rounded. His guard in particular was very dangerous, we'll see who Joe Silva sets him up with next.
Matt Serra looked great, and Frank Trigg is done in the UFC. I have never been all that impressed with Trigg, I think he gets press because he's a good interview. I've never really seen him beat anyone worth mentioning: Mayhem Miller, Dennis Hallman, and Kazuo Misaki are the only name fighters he's beaten in the last 10 years, and while they're good guys, they're not names to build a reputation on.
I am glad Matt Serra did well, and will be in the UFC for a while longer, that guy is good people.
Demian Maia is back on track with an ugly win. Good 'nuff is good 'nuff.
Beautiful choke by Paulo Thiago put Mike Swick to sleep. Thiago is a tough guy, and it will be interesting to see who the UFC lines up for him to fight next.
I was happy to see Chael Sonnen beat Nate Marquardt. Most people (including the UFC brass probably disagree, but hear me out) Marquardt had his shot, he got his butt kicked. I am tired of the UFC and the WEC continually giving guys title shots (COUGH-Uriah Faber-COUGH). Bring in some fresh talent, build the title holder. The WEC in particular are treating the 145 lb division like it belongs to the California Kid.
I want to see a champion be a champion and fight several guys. I want to see a contender/fallen champion EARN their title shot. I think Sonnen has earned a shot. he's fought everyone they've ever put in front of him. Let's see how he does in a 5 round fight. I feel like Marquardt is a defacto challenger. Let someone else have a crack, and then if they win.. maybe you get the next shot.
Randy Couture is still a viable fighter (probably not the dominating fighter he was) but still on any given day can beat most anyone else at 205. Mark Coleman is done. You can tell by his physique that his body just doesn't have what it takes to perform. He isn't nearly as explosive as he was, and just hasn't learned enough 'old man' tricks to make up for it. Couture is cagey, and still very fit. He makes up for his lack of snap with conditioning and tactics.
I watched some football on Sunday and made some (too much) food.
Feeling fat an happy on Monday.
Good class last night, re-learned a choke that I used to love. Worked some open guard, and just had a good night.
Mahalo.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The lesson as always is..
I am an idiot.
Some days more than others.
5/3/1 dead day.
rolled through, and decided that if 430 went up smooth then I'd just do a single and try to set up for a pr.. why.. I have no idea.. see above.
430 went like buttah.
So do I set up 485 to tie my pr, then move on nooo. I set up 5 bills.. I grab it, take one good look, ask my self what the hell am I doing and strip it down to 405 do 2x3 there.
strip to 315 do 3x2 (very fast) here, and call it a day.
I'm on low cals, my bw is down, I'm fried from training hard the past 3+ weeks: was I going to hit a pr? Hells no.
More over I knew it, I didn't even have to pull it to know it wasn't going anywhere.
Why am I telling you this? So that you can learn from my mistakes.
Going after a goal is fine, but you have to think holistically. If you had a crap training session yesterday, and you're at the raggedy end of a training cycle, perhaps today is not the day to get after a 1rm.
I have to get my head ironed out.
All in all it was a good session (momentary idiocy aside).
Mahalo.
Some days more than others.
5/3/1 dead day.
rolled through, and decided that if 430 went up smooth then I'd just do a single and try to set up for a pr.. why.. I have no idea.. see above.
430 went like buttah.
So do I set up 485 to tie my pr, then move on nooo. I set up 5 bills.. I grab it, take one good look, ask my self what the hell am I doing and strip it down to 405 do 2x3 there.
strip to 315 do 3x2 (very fast) here, and call it a day.
I'm on low cals, my bw is down, I'm fried from training hard the past 3+ weeks: was I going to hit a pr? Hells no.
More over I knew it, I didn't even have to pull it to know it wasn't going anywhere.
Why am I telling you this? So that you can learn from my mistakes.
Going after a goal is fine, but you have to think holistically. If you had a crap training session yesterday, and you're at the raggedy end of a training cycle, perhaps today is not the day to get after a 1rm.
I have to get my head ironed out.
All in all it was a good session (momentary idiocy aside).
Mahalo.
Groundhog week.
Good week of training so far.
Monday night class we worked on my favorite sweep from butterfly guard which was good, but butterfly guard always kills my back so I'm a little sore even today.
Tuesday military 5/3/1 week 3
worked up to 5 at 155 then 2x5 at 135
1a rows: 3x8 at 95
chins: some at bw.
Wednesday: good class on the basics. I had a great roll no-gi before class and then rolled like crap after. Got caught in an omo plata trying a new pass, and then it sort of all went down hill from there. My mood was crappy and I was cranky as hell. Got home and got some food and my mood improved dramatically.. must have been out of fuel.
Today is dead day. I'll update my numbers after I lift.
Mahalo.
Monday night class we worked on my favorite sweep from butterfly guard which was good, but butterfly guard always kills my back so I'm a little sore even today.
Tuesday military 5/3/1 week 3
worked up to 5 at 155 then 2x5 at 135
1a rows: 3x8 at 95
chins: some at bw.
Wednesday: good class on the basics. I had a great roll no-gi before class and then rolled like crap after. Got caught in an omo plata trying a new pass, and then it sort of all went down hill from there. My mood was crappy and I was cranky as hell. Got home and got some food and my mood improved dramatically.. must have been out of fuel.
Today is dead day. I'll update my numbers after I lift.
Mahalo.
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