I enjoyed the discussion of the NFL combine with a few of you last night. I don't feel the bench press or straight 40 yard dash have much to do with identifying elite ability in the skills required to play Football at an elite level. Here are my alternatives:
20lb medicine ball clean and horizontal throw for distance
60 yard dash in a figure 8 pattern for time
maximum reps of 155lb power clean and jerk in 1 minute
standing broad jump for distance (maybe)
vertical leap for height (maybe)
Joe asked how I would prepare an athlete for the combine. Essentially, I would incorporate the programming I currently implement (functional movements performed at high intensity) with a modicum of specific work on the events. Maybe a few times per week, prior to a workout when the athlete is fresh. It all depends on how much the individual athlete needs to improve to get the contract he wants.
What we do will not, in and of itself, make anyone a world class sprinter, Football player, Rugby player, etc. It will expose and strengthen weaknesses in the fitness of the athlete in an efficient way, thereby allowing the athlete more time and energy with which to practice his or her sport.
Plus it makes you harder to kill than the average person. I think I got that from Rob Shaul (Mountain Athlete).
Keep the input and questions coming.
Friday, February 27, 2009
An extra WOD
3 rounds for time
30 box jumps w/a 20 inch box
30 pull-ups
30 dips
Scale reps and rounds as needed.
30 box jumps w/a 20 inch box
30 pull-ups
30 dips
Scale reps and rounds as needed.
The Roux House
Come unwind with us at The Roux House tonight (Friday) at 8:45. We'll be the best looking people in the joint!
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=roux+house+143+3rd+street+baton+rouge,+la&ll=30.44823,-91.187553&spn=0.021791,0.037766&om=1
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=roux+house+143+3rd+street+baton+rouge,+la&ll=30.44823,-91.187553&spn=0.021791,0.037766&om=1
02.26.09
Run Grace, run!
For Time
pull-ups x 15
run 400 meters
135lb clean and jerk X 15
run 400 meters
135lb clean and jerk X 15
run 400 meters
pull-ups X 15
Kyle, Joe, Stephen, Cory, Brady, Peggy, Becky, Chris, Brad, Chris, John
For Time
pull-ups x 15
run 400 meters
135lb clean and jerk X 15
run 400 meters
135lb clean and jerk X 15
run 400 meters
pull-ups X 15
Kyle, Joe, Stephen, Cory, Brady, Peggy, Becky, Chris, Brad, Chris, John
Thursday, February 26, 2009
02.25.09
21-15-12-9
40lb manmakers
sit-ups
double unders
Jennifer, Jean, Danielle, Peggy, Andre, Brad, Kyle, Chris, Garrett, Jordan, Dwayne, Becky
40lb manmakers
sit-ups
double unders
Jennifer, Jean, Danielle, Peggy, Andre, Brad, Kyle, Chris, Garrett, Jordan, Dwayne, Becky
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
On Posture
Esther Gokhale is a posture expert who works from an anthropological perspective. Her research of the carriage and movement of indigenous and ancient peoples is enlightening. I have posted a clip from a talk she gave to Google. It is well worth the near hour long run time, even if you must watch it in chunks.
While I don't completely understand it, the apparent correlation between optimal posture and optimal health is intriguing. I feel it goes beyond maintaining back health (although this is certainly important). There seems to be a connection with how we feel (mentally, emotionally and physically), how others perceive us and our postures. Gokhale alludes to this in her talk.
Also, the picture perfect stiff legged deadlift posture employed by the native women on one of her slides is fascinating. These ladies gather water chestnuts for seven to nine hours a day! No back pain. No arthritis. Just tired at the end of the day.
I would be too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yYJ4hEYudE
While I don't completely understand it, the apparent correlation between optimal posture and optimal health is intriguing. I feel it goes beyond maintaining back health (although this is certainly important). There seems to be a connection with how we feel (mentally, emotionally and physically), how others perceive us and our postures. Gokhale alludes to this in her talk.
Also, the picture perfect stiff legged deadlift posture employed by the native women on one of her slides is fascinating. These ladies gather water chestnuts for seven to nine hours a day! No back pain. No arthritis. Just tired at the end of the day.
I would be too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yYJ4hEYudE
Monday, February 23, 2009
Reminder
We will not have a group workout on Tuesday, February 24. The YMCA is closed for Mardi Gras.
02.19.09
5 rounds with each flight leaving at the 4:00 mark. The clock runs continuously.
run 300 meters
1/2 body weight dumbbell push-press
run 300 meters
1/2 body weight dumbbell push-press
Thursday, February 19, 2009
02.18.09
3 rounds for time
135lb power clean X 10
pull-ups X 25
squats X 50
Kyle, Chris, Joe, Jordan, Conrad, Becky, Jean, Garrett, Dwayne
135lb power clean X 10
pull-ups X 25
squats X 50
Kyle, Chris, Joe, Jordan, Conrad, Becky, Jean, Garrett, Dwayne
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
02.17.09
10 Rounds for Time
225lb sumo deadlift X 5
burpees X 7
Chris, Brad, Doug, John, Chris, Joe, Brady, Cory, Peggy, Jean, Jennifer, Danielle,
225lb sumo deadlift X 5
burpees X 7
Chris, Brad, Doug, John, Chris, Joe, Brady, Cory, Peggy, Jean, Jennifer, Danielle,
Monday, February 16, 2009
ME Workout for the Week Ending 02.21.09
front squat 5-5-5
hang power clean 3-3-3
Unless you have significant experience with the power clean, keep the weight light. You want to be able to move the weight quickly.
hang power clean 3-3-3
Unless you have significant experience with the power clean, keep the weight light. You want to be able to move the weight quickly.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
02.12.09
For Time:
25 handstand push-ups
50 squats
25 pull-ups
50 lunges
25 handstand push-ups
50 sit-ups
25 pull-ups
50 dumbbell swings (55lbs)
John, Jean, Peggy, Brad, Kyle, Chris, Dwayne, Chris, Brad, Joe, Brady, Cory
25 handstand push-ups
50 squats
25 pull-ups
50 lunges
25 handstand push-ups
50 sit-ups
25 pull-ups
50 dumbbell swings (55lbs)
John, Jean, Peggy, Brad, Kyle, Chris, Dwayne, Chris, Brad, Joe, Brady, Cory
Exercise and Weight Control
Here is an article from New York Magazine discussing the role exercise plays in weight control.
http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/
Let me preface this by saying it is my contention that correct exercise is essential for maximizing healthy gene expression, promoting insulin sensitivity, maximizing cognitive ability and slowing the aging process. It also appears to do a pretty good job of promoting muscle growth and increasing bone density. It probably does a lot of other cool things as well. It does not, in my opinion, lead to sustainable weight loss.
Defining healthy exercise is another post for another day. Needless to say, it's not what the American Medical Association or most trainers prescribe. The eat less exercise more crowd lives in a deprived and sometimes sadly obsessed state of overwork and under feeding. It is unsustainable and no fun.
Please forgive me if this is preaching to the choir. Pass this blog along to your friends, family and co-workers who may benefit from its content.
An Excerpt:
The job of determining how fuels (glucose and fatty acids) will be used, whether we will store them as fat or burn them for energy, is carried out primarily by the hormone insulin in concert with an enzyme known technically as lipoprotein lipase—LPL, for short. (Sex hormones also interact with LPL, which is why men and women fatten differently.)
In the eighties, biochemists and physiologists worked out how LPL responds to exercise. They found that during a workout, LPL activity increases in muscle tissue, and so our muscle cells suck up fatty acids to use for fuel. Then, when we’re done exercising, LPL activity in the muscle tissue tapers off and LPL activity in our fat tissue spikes, pulling calories into fat cells. This works to return to the fat cells any fat they might have had to surrender—homeostasis, in other words. The more rigorous the exercise, and the more fat lost from our fat tissue, the greater the subsequent increase in LPL activity in the fat cells. Thus, post-workout, we get hungry: Our fat tissue is devoting itself to restoring calories as fat, depriving other tissues and organs of the fuel they need and triggering a compensatory impulse to eat. The feeling of hunger is the brain’s way of trying to satisfy the demands of the body. Just as sweating makes us thirsty, burning off calories makes us hungry.
One More:
If it’s biology, and not a lack of willpower, that explains why exercise fails so many of us as a weight-loss tool, then we can still find reason for optimism. Since insulin is the primary hormone affecting the activity of LPL on our cells, it’s not surprising that insulin is the primary regulator of how fat we get. “Fat is mobilized [from fat tissue] when insulin secretion diminishes,” the American Medical Association Council on Foods and Nutrition explained back in 1974, before this fact, too, was deemed irrelevant to the question of why we gain weight or the means to lose it. Because insulin determines fat accumulation, it’s quite possible that we get fat not because we eat too much or exercise too little but because we secrete too much insulin or because our insulin levels remain elevated far longer than might be ideal.
To be sure, this is the same logic that leads to other unconventional ideas. As it turns out, it’s carbohydrates—particularly easily digestible carbohydrates and sugars—that primarily stimulate insulin secretion. “Carbohydrates is driving insulin is driving fat,” as George Cahill Jr., a retired Harvard professor of medicine and expert on insulin, recently phrased it for me. So maybe if we eat fewer carbohydrates—in particular the easily digestible simple carbohydrates and sugars—we might lose considerable fat or at least not gain any more, whether we exercise or not. This would explain the slew of recent clinical trials demonstrating that dieters who restrict carbohydrates but not calories invariably lose more weight than dieters who restrict calories but not necessarily carbohydrates. Put simply, it’s quite possible that the foods—potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, pastries, sweets, soda, and beer—that our parents always thought were fattening (back when the medical specialists treating obesity believed that exercise made us hungry) really are fattening. And so if we avoid these foods specifically, we may find our weights more in line with our desires.
http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/
Let me preface this by saying it is my contention that correct exercise is essential for maximizing healthy gene expression, promoting insulin sensitivity, maximizing cognitive ability and slowing the aging process. It also appears to do a pretty good job of promoting muscle growth and increasing bone density. It probably does a lot of other cool things as well. It does not, in my opinion, lead to sustainable weight loss.
Defining healthy exercise is another post for another day. Needless to say, it's not what the American Medical Association or most trainers prescribe. The eat less exercise more crowd lives in a deprived and sometimes sadly obsessed state of overwork and under feeding. It is unsustainable and no fun.
Please forgive me if this is preaching to the choir. Pass this blog along to your friends, family and co-workers who may benefit from its content.
An Excerpt:
The job of determining how fuels (glucose and fatty acids) will be used, whether we will store them as fat or burn them for energy, is carried out primarily by the hormone insulin in concert with an enzyme known technically as lipoprotein lipase—LPL, for short. (Sex hormones also interact with LPL, which is why men and women fatten differently.)
In the eighties, biochemists and physiologists worked out how LPL responds to exercise. They found that during a workout, LPL activity increases in muscle tissue, and so our muscle cells suck up fatty acids to use for fuel. Then, when we’re done exercising, LPL activity in the muscle tissue tapers off and LPL activity in our fat tissue spikes, pulling calories into fat cells. This works to return to the fat cells any fat they might have had to surrender—homeostasis, in other words. The more rigorous the exercise, and the more fat lost from our fat tissue, the greater the subsequent increase in LPL activity in the fat cells. Thus, post-workout, we get hungry: Our fat tissue is devoting itself to restoring calories as fat, depriving other tissues and organs of the fuel they need and triggering a compensatory impulse to eat. The feeling of hunger is the brain’s way of trying to satisfy the demands of the body. Just as sweating makes us thirsty, burning off calories makes us hungry.
One More:
If it’s biology, and not a lack of willpower, that explains why exercise fails so many of us as a weight-loss tool, then we can still find reason for optimism. Since insulin is the primary hormone affecting the activity of LPL on our cells, it’s not surprising that insulin is the primary regulator of how fat we get. “Fat is mobilized [from fat tissue] when insulin secretion diminishes,” the American Medical Association Council on Foods and Nutrition explained back in 1974, before this fact, too, was deemed irrelevant to the question of why we gain weight or the means to lose it. Because insulin determines fat accumulation, it’s quite possible that we get fat not because we eat too much or exercise too little but because we secrete too much insulin or because our insulin levels remain elevated far longer than might be ideal.
To be sure, this is the same logic that leads to other unconventional ideas. As it turns out, it’s carbohydrates—particularly easily digestible carbohydrates and sugars—that primarily stimulate insulin secretion. “Carbohydrates is driving insulin is driving fat,” as George Cahill Jr., a retired Harvard professor of medicine and expert on insulin, recently phrased it for me. So maybe if we eat fewer carbohydrates—in particular the easily digestible simple carbohydrates and sugars—we might lose considerable fat or at least not gain any more, whether we exercise or not. This would explain the slew of recent clinical trials demonstrating that dieters who restrict carbohydrates but not calories invariably lose more weight than dieters who restrict calories but not necessarily carbohydrates. Put simply, it’s quite possible that the foods—potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, pastries, sweets, soda, and beer—that our parents always thought were fattening (back when the medical specialists treating obesity believed that exercise made us hungry) really are fattening. And so if we avoid these foods specifically, we may find our weights more in line with our desires.
Epistemocrat
In his smart, funny book entitled The Black Swan, Nassim Taleb coined the term epistemocrat. He defined an epistemocrat as "someone of epistemic humility, who holds his own knowledge in greatest suspicion." I do my best to be a good epistemocrat.
The workouts I prescribe and the nutritional information I disseminate are based upon what I have learned through research and tinkering. If and when I discover better methods and technology, I'll share them. I am no expert and I "know" very little. I am still figuring out the right questions to ask. Maybe that's what makes it fun.
The workouts I prescribe and the nutritional information I disseminate are based upon what I have learned through research and tinkering. If and when I discover better methods and technology, I'll share them. I am no expert and I "know" very little. I am still figuring out the right questions to ask. Maybe that's what makes it fun.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Paleo Study
This study came to my attention after visiting http://www.marksdailyapple.com/. The study is from the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. The last sentence is telling.
Conclusions:Even short-term consumption of a paleolithic type diet improves BP and glucose tolerance, decreases insulin secretion, increases insulin sensitivity and improves lipid profiles without weight loss in healthy sedentary humans.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 11 February 2009; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.4.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19209185?dopt=Abstract
A bit off topic, but natural fat is nothing to fear. It is a wonderful source of energy and nearly hormonally neutral. This means you won't have a huge insulin spike when you consume fat. Remember, big insulin spikes signal the body to store energy as body fat. Enormous amounts of anything may trigger an insulin response, so don't eat the whole jar of almond butter as I once did!
Grass fed, free range beef and chicken, wild salmon and the like are all great sources. When you consume feed lot meat, I'd trim the fat a bit. The ratio of Omega 6 fatty acids to Omega 3 fatty acids is very high in animals that have been fed the atrocious low fat grain diet. The best ratio is 2:1 or 1:1.
Skip the man made fat (trans fat, partially hydrogenated stuff, etc.). They are terrible.
Conclusions:Even short-term consumption of a paleolithic type diet improves BP and glucose tolerance, decreases insulin secretion, increases insulin sensitivity and improves lipid profiles without weight loss in healthy sedentary humans.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 11 February 2009; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.4.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19209185?dopt=Abstract
A bit off topic, but natural fat is nothing to fear. It is a wonderful source of energy and nearly hormonally neutral. This means you won't have a huge insulin spike when you consume fat. Remember, big insulin spikes signal the body to store energy as body fat. Enormous amounts of anything may trigger an insulin response, so don't eat the whole jar of almond butter as I once did!
Grass fed, free range beef and chicken, wild salmon and the like are all great sources. When you consume feed lot meat, I'd trim the fat a bit. The ratio of Omega 6 fatty acids to Omega 3 fatty acids is very high in animals that have been fed the atrocious low fat grain diet. The best ratio is 2:1 or 1:1.
Skip the man made fat (trans fat, partially hydrogenated stuff, etc.). They are terrible.
02.11.09
For Time
21 reps of 135lb hang squat cleans
25 double unders
15 reps of 135lb hang squat cleans
35 double unders
9 reps of 135lb hang squat cleans
45 double unders
Kyle, Stephen, Chris, Brad, Garrett, Conrad, Peggy, Kyle, Joe, Brady, Cory
21 reps of 135lb hang squat cleans
25 double unders
15 reps of 135lb hang squat cleans
35 double unders
9 reps of 135lb hang squat cleans
45 double unders
Kyle, Stephen, Chris, Brad, Garrett, Conrad, Peggy, Kyle, Joe, Brady, Cory
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
02.10.09
maximum rounds in 20:00
run 400 meters
bear crawl 2 laps
15 pull-ups
Chris, Stephen, Chris, Kyle, Dwayne, Dawn, Doug, Brad
run 400 meters
bear crawl 2 laps
15 pull-ups
Chris, Stephen, Chris, Kyle, Dwayne, Dawn, Doug, Brad
Monday, February 09, 2009
ME Workout for the Week Ending 02.14.09
back squat 3-3-3-3-3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kawBY5p29fQ
push-press 5-5-5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcntfkyXbM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kawBY5p29fQ
push-press 5-5-5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcntfkyXbM
Friday, February 06, 2009
They Were Wrong
Heart surgeon Dwight Lundell penned a fascinating piece concerning the erroneous advice given by doctors concerning heart disease. I've posted the entire article below. Here's an interesting excerpt that really hits the nail on the head:
The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream diet that is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels. This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity. Let me repeat that. The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet that has been recommended for years by mainstream medicine.
What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.
http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/2009/02/heart-surgeon-admits-huge-mistake/
The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream diet that is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels. This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity. Let me repeat that. The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet that has been recommended for years by mainstream medicine.
What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.
http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/2009/02/heart-surgeon-admits-huge-mistake/
02.05.09
3 rounds for time
run 400 meters
95lb thruster X 21
hyper push-ups X 12
John, Chris, Peggy, Stephen, Chris, Dwayne, Conrad
run 400 meters
95lb thruster X 21
hyper push-ups X 12
John, Chris, Peggy, Stephen, Chris, Dwayne, Conrad
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
02.03.09
1 40lb manmaker
1 lap farmer's walk
2 40lb manmakers
1 lap farmer's walk
Go up the ladder for 10:00.
2:00 rest
30 burpees for time
Chris, Conrad, Kyle, Chris, Stephen, Dawn, Dwayne, Brad
1 lap farmer's walk
2 40lb manmakers
1 lap farmer's walk
Go up the ladder for 10:00.
2:00 rest
30 burpees for time
Chris, Conrad, Kyle, Chris, Stephen, Dawn, Dwayne, Brad
Monday, February 02, 2009
ME Workout for the Week Ending 02.07.09
deadlift 3-3-1-1-1
glute ham developer sit-ups 15-15-15
ab wheel roll-outs 10-10-10
glute ham developer sit-ups 15-15-15
ab wheel roll-outs 10-10-10
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