503: No straps, shoes or belt

Well, I finally learned how to download video. Here is proof I actually did the deadlift I wrote about....not that anyone cares anymore (but my little guy still thinks I am the strongest man in the world!!!)

Me: 6'5", 215 lbs, 503 lbd deadlift. Enjoy, 'cause it ain't pretty! Click here for the video.

This will pretty much wrap up my posting here for a while until I figure out how to use this blog from San Diego!! Cheers.

BIG CHANGES

I'm in a little bit of a transition in my life right now. Career change, move....so CrossFit SurfCity is hibernating. The calendar won't be updated for a while and training has been suspended. I still went to get the 503lb deadlift video uploaded. I will resume posting stuff soon....I know it is a pain to go to a blog and see nothing new. Please check back once in a while. I'll get back up!!! Out.

503, Part Deux

I am not a very patient man. On 12-14-06, I started a typical DL workout. 225x1, 295x1, 360x1, 410x1. All smooth and easy. I said to myself, "Self, I wonder how far we can go today. Let's see!!" 454x1 no problem. 476x1, tough but solid. Oh, it's on now!! 24 lbs is nothing. I went to put 500lbs on the bar....and it wouldn't fit. My fat (as opposed to phat) bumper plates were taking up too much room! Well, I was motivated to get this done. I'm quite a handyman (NOT) so I got a bright idea. I duct taped weight on top of the plates already on the bar. I got psyched and went for the lift. The above picture accurately depicts what happened. The tape failed, plates fell everywhere....a total miss. Defeated, I put 437lbs on the bar and did 3 singles. I was disappointed but confident the 500 was right aroud the corner.

503, Part One

OK, before you guys starting thinking I'm totally full of myself, let me set the record straight. I am proud of this lift. I worked for it and earned it. However, I know exactly where this puts me in the world of lifting. I am now king shit of the little dust pile in my garage. I know several people who warmup with this weight. Heck Casey Burgener puts this overhead!!!!! (In fact, I'm not sure I even qualify on the Hoffman Standards.) I am simply posting the stuff that follows to show how I went about getting this goal. Maybe it will help someone reach a goal too. And I am doing it in a few parts because a)I'm a really slow typer and b) I'm waiting for a picture and trying to learn how to download video. So be patient. And just so you know, my little guy thinks I'm the strongest man in the world no matter what I lift, so there.

For the past couple of years my deadlift had stalled at around 442-449 lbs. (I have kilo plates mixed in so that's the reason for the weird numbers). On Nov. 1, 2006, I did a deadlift workout: 225x1, 275x1, 315x1, 361x1, 411x1. The last lift felt solid so I wanted to go heavier. I'm lazy so I didn't want to take weights off to add smaller plates, so I just put on two 10kg plates. 455x1, pretty solid. It felt good!!! I ended the workout there and put the weights away.

A while later, I said to myself, "Self, you aren't too far away from 500lbs. I'm gonna get that." So I wrote down a simple program I thought would help me get this goal (in conjunction with CrossFit workouts):

Day 1: 10x1 at 85% (387-390lbs), add 10lbs for next time if get 10 good reps.
Day 2: 5x225, 3x275, 3x320, 5x1 @ 365 (then 5x1 @ 387 on week 2, 410 week 3, 435 week 4)
Day 3: 225x1 for 10 sets, moving the weight fast, one pull every 30 seconds

That's it, along with some CrossFit workouts. Here are the notes from my training log:
11-1-06: DL 455 (new PR)
11-2-06: Military Press 5x5 (clean from floor): 5x95, 5x135, 5x145, 5x145, 5x157 (some leg)
11-3-06: 3 rounds of 100 squats, 5 muscle ups
11-4-06: DL 225x5, 275x5, 320x3, 368x1x5, with 2 min. rest, 1x6 HSPU
11-7-06: DL 225x1, 295x1, 345x1, 389x1 x10, 3 min rest approx. (later in day did 20 mins. of 5 pullups, 5 pushups, 5 squats, 5 situps--22 sets, 110 reps of each.)
11-8-06: 3 rounds of 95lb Snatch x 15/400m (13:57)
11-10-06: 135x5, 185x5, 207x5, 225x5, 242x5 pretty easy, finish with 225 lb DL, 10 singles, one pull every 30 secs.
11-12-06: 5x Max Pullups (21, 20, 20, 20, 20)/HSPU (5, 5, 5, 5, 5...I suck), then did DL 5x225, 3x275, 3x320, 5 singles at 369.
11-13-06: 7 rounds of 15 pullups/25 squats (20:36)
11-14-06: 10 x 168 lb keg lift overhead
11-15-06: DL 225x1, 295x1, 360x1, 404x1 x10 (2-3 min rest), later did 1-20 rep progression of 2 pood KB swings and a 3 mile run (yuck)
11-19-06: DL 5x225, 3x275, 3x320, five single at 390
11-20-06: Diane, then 15 muscle ups (broken sets)
11-21-06: 5 rounds of 25 squat/10 strict pullups/7 ring dips
11-22-06: DL 225x3, 295x1, 360x1, 415x1 x10, 3-5 mins rest approx., pullup ladder 1-9 reps
11-25-06: FS 135x3, 155x3, 185x3, 207x3, 223x3 + 1x15 pullups, 5 HSPU
11-28-06: 1200m run/9x95lb Thruster/9 pullups/ 800m run/15 Thruster/15 pullups/400m run/21 Thruster/21 pullups (20:05)
11-29-06: DL 225x5, 275x3, 320x3, 365x1, 409x1 x5
12-5-06: Murph (49:17)
12-10-06: DL 225x5, 275x3, 320x3, 382x1, 421x1 x5, then I helped my brother-in-law move (damn couch up three flights of stairs!!!!) and found a cool park in LA with rings and a great chin bar so did 5x10 pullups/5x10 dips/5x1 muscle ups.
12-11-06: 3x400m + Max pullups (20, 16, 13) (14:30)
12-12-06: 10 HSPU and 15 Muscle Ups

OK, I'll break here (hey wake up, damn it!!). As you can see I take a lot of days off (those are work days) and my workout schedule is quite irregular. I fit in workouts when I can. Check out Part Deux of this post soon. Out.

Christmas Came Early at CFSC

This has been good training/coaching week for me. First, I went down to Camp Pendleton with Sarge. That place is awesome. As we drove in, Sarge was pointing out the hills (more like mountains!!) he runs. Then we drove by the obstacle course and the big sandpits used for fighting and grappling. Everywhere I looked, there were pullup bars. Best of all, I got to get a sweet workout in with a couple hard charging Marines who love CrossFit. These guys were awesome. They have a nice little workout area I call "The Patch"(me not very original). Pullup bars, a BIG tire, wall ball stations, heavy logs, a perfect tree for rings and enough room to run wild. We did pullups, parallette pushups, rope pulls, wall ball, slam ball, muscle ups.....Good stuff. I will definitely be back!!!! What a great atmosphere.

Every coach has had that one group that really got after it in the weight room. Coachability, attitude, athleticism and intensity combined for superior results. At Indiana University, I had a very special group of pole vaulters I will always remember with great fondness. Whether it was ET doing 50 one legged squats each leg, DE doing 100 explosive reps of 225lb cleans at 155 bodyweight, IC doing 50 reps of chins (and 100 dips and 100 chins in 10 minutes!!!), AP's beautiful full squat cleans (and potty mouth :)) or JW smoking 315 (or 320?) at 190 lbs. This list goes on and on. These kids were incredible and were an absolute joy to coach. They kept me on my toes because I had to constantly find new ways to challenge them. I think we all remember the year-end "special workout". Good memories....

Well, those kids have graduated and gone on to start careers and families. One of them (JW) is a coach. He asked if one of his athletes, who was in town for the holidays, could get a workout in with me. I said sure, though I was a little worried I might disappoint. This 19 year old kid (JC) drove 1.5 hours to get to my place. He walked into my garage, ignored all the kids toys and other clutter, went to the platform and got ready to go. We did this: 5 sets of clean, FS, PP, BS, PP X5 with 40kg. (His cleans were fast, hips and elbows moving, speed on the bar. He has a good coach!!) Then 10x2 or 1 on cleans (power and hang) up to 90kg. Great form, full extension with quick hands and feet. And he used a hook grip without me saying anything (good coach). Then it was off to the park. 5 rounds of 5 HSPU, 5+5 Pistols, 10 pullups. JC smoked through this. Next I showed JC how to do a muscle up. He hit it on his first try and then got a double. Very nice. We finished with 20 slamball, 20 medball abs and 10 stand ups. I hope it was worth 3 hours of drive time because I had a great time. JC is a great, humble kid. He loves to lift and he is very coachable. He asked a ton of questions and talked about competing and athletics. He would have fit in nicely with our group (best compliment I can give). It's nice to see the tradition continues. Thanks JW and JC...my garage is always open for you guys.

I must have been inspired by JC. In the late afternoon, I went out to do a deadlift workout. I have been doing deadlifts regularly to hit a goal: 500 lbs. Yeah, nothing earth-shattering but just something I wanted to do. The plan was to do 10x1 at 433. But 433 was too easy. All I had to do was add 35 lbs to each side....I got the video camera, gave myself a pep talk and went to work. I wouldn't be writing this if I'd missed. 503 lbs. I was very happy and proud to hit my goal. I will put up the program, time frame and thoughts that led to me making this lift in my next post. And I'll try to get the video up. So, as you can see, Christmas was celebrated a little early in my world. Thanks to everyone one giving me these special times!!!!

People read my Blog?

I was perusing my blog (yup...bored), and I noticed some people had actually responded to my posts. Pretty cool. Thanks Rip and CrossFit King for the thoughts and comments. Now if I could only get Josh Everett to stop spamming my site.....

MURPH

A few CrossFit SurfCity members had time to get together last week. We've all been going pretty hard on workouts on our own, so it was good to get a small group together for a workout. We decided to go BIG: MURPH. Every CrossFitter knows the origins of MURPH and the hero this workout was named after. The workout has taken on mythical status, and rightfully so. A good friend of mine who was in the Teams knew Lt. Murphy. This really brought home to our group the enormity of Lt. Murphy's sacrifice and the undeniable quality of this soldier's character.

We went hard, we did our best, we suffered through and hopefully we honored the spirit Lt. Murphy intended for this workout. Thank you, Lt. Murphy--a great American.

SR: 49:17
JM: 52:40
ES: 1:05
BM: 1:02

Certifications

I'm not a big fan of certifications. In my previous post, I said if you're not learning, then you're not getting better. So how can I not like certifications? Let me explain.

I obtained my CSCS in 1998. I studied for the test, did very well and got certified. I then managed to use this credential to help me get a job as a strength coach at UCLA. Great school, great staff. I learned a ton from these coaches and my knowledge about strength and conditioning grew quickly. I also learned a ton from Mike Burgener. He taught me stuff that works in the real world and isn't taught in any NSCA certification courses.

The NSCA does a decent job of providing information. But it is a political organization that wants to make money. It basically provides dumbed down info and "faddish" trends to its members...charging them through the nose for the info and for memberships. A couple years ago, I had to renew my CSCS. I sent in my money and form and showed them what I had been doing to maintain my education as a coach. I listed my CrossFit certification as something I had done to enhance my knowledge. The NSCA told me they could not recognize (and give me credit for) the CrossFit certification. They do not recognize CrossFit and since I had obtained a certification at the event, the NSCA would not accept it as continuing education.

Hmmmm. This coming from an organization that has never gone past the 3x10, 4 exercises per muscle group, target heart rate is 220-age standard garbage you read in any beginner's textbook. They do some good basic stuff...but that is it. It's like AT&T calling it quits with the telegraph but still considering itself a leader in the telecommunications industry. And the arrogance to not accept LEARNING, regardless of whether a certification is obtained, is ridiculous. I guarantee you 80%+ of those who work for the NSCA are candidates for rhabdo.

So where do you learn? Read. Try things out for yourself. Talk to your workout partners and to the guys you meet at CrossFit events. But doing is the best way to learn.

An NSCA course is usually a talking head giving mumbo jumbo in a classroom. CrossFit certs kick your ass and let you know where you stand. Burgener's USAW course makes you sore from lifting a 2lb piece of PVC....a thousand times. That's where you need to be to learn. The NSCA believed CrossFit is not good enough for them. They were wrong...the NSCA isn't good enough for anyone who wants to go out and learn and borrow from all sorts of fitness philosphies. To me the NSCA is like my son's diapers: They are good to have at first, but you find out they're full of shit and you can't wait till you don't need them anymore. Out.

SUPER FRAN

After a few weeks of solitary training due to work schedules, family commitments and chasing women (for some of our luckier, younger members), CrossFit SurfCity got a group together for a nice workout.

This was a workout posted a little while ago o the CrossFit site, and I'd been saving it for the right opportunity. We dubbed it Super Fran: 1200m run/9 95lb Thrusters/9 pullups/800m run/15 Thrusters/15 pullups/400m run/21 Thrusters/21 pullups.

I have to say we approached this workout cautiously at first and increased our tempo as we went along. And it hurt pretty bad. This workout fried the legs and left us all pretty sore.

BM, a newcomer did all the reps and lightened the load...very wise and he did great. HUGE improvement observed in ES who has been diligently hitting CrossFit workouts on his own. And the typical stellar performances turned in by JP, JM and AC. It was great fun to hammer out this tough one on a beautiful day with some good friends.

Then SW showed us some other stuff that we will be integrating in the near future. We keep learning to keep getting better. If you're not moving forward, you're not getting better.

Times: (approx)
SR: 20:05
JM: 25:05
AC: 26:53
JP: 22:00
ES: 28:00
BM: 26:00

Great Day.