World O’ Hurt

In our last exciting episode, I related some of the thoughts that I have had on my journey to creating an optimal conditioning class at my Kung-Fu school. In a decade of teaching the class, it has morphed from a pure sparring/material class (similar to what I now teach on Mondays), to a sparring/conditioning/material class, to a sparring/conditioning class, and finally to its current incarnation, a 90-minute festival of sparring and conditioning.

Similarly, I have adapted the conditioning that we do. I started out from a pure skill perspective (lots of kicking, punching, bagwork), and then discovered interval training, high-intensity workouts, and body-weight exercises. Finally, since I’ve started Crossfit, the workouts have strongly resembled Crossfit WODs.

The question in my mind is whether or not I have yet reached the best possible class that I could possibly teach. In my last post on this subject, I discussed the importance of specific skill training in the mastery of a sport. However, specific skill training does not always result in physical performance gains beyond the scope of the sport itself. As commenter P.J. said:

Does a general purpose fitness program help us become better martial artists? ‘better’ in what sense? It will make us able to kick for longer and punch stronger, but probably won’t help our coordination with weapons or knowledge of how to time attacks – unless you add higher-crossover exercises for those skills as well.

It is a good point to define ‘better’ before we talk about whether something makes us ‘better’! In this case, I believe that P.J. hit the nail right on the head. General-purpose conditioning does not make our kicks better or punches stronger, nor does it help us coordinate our weapon skills. However, what general-purpose conditioning does offer is an enhancement of the efficacy and purposefulness of skills that you already have. In other words, having a complete set of physical skills acts as an amplifier to one’s specialized purpose.

While it’s not possible to get worse at a sport or activity with better conditioning, it IS possible for the activities within sports or activities to not generate a complete set of physical skills. I believe that this is the chief benefit that my current conditioning class methodology has offered for the past six months (as well as some other details besides the workouts, such as tracking times and results). For instance, let’s look at some of the benefits of doing Katas, as well as some things that Kata work alone would neglect:

Benefits:

• Necessitates a high level of flexibility (deep stances, high kicks)
• Often requires a high level of static/isometric strength
• Requires an incredibly high level of proprioceptive skill (body coordination, grace, balance, accuracy)
• Movements contain a high level of plyometric  activity (explosiveness, power generation)
• Mentally engaging
• Diversity in movement

However, as a workout, katas are incomplete:

• Does not work on absolute strength
• Individual challenging moves often do not appear enough to exhaust targeted physiological systems (for instance, a one-legged kneebend, a beast of an exercise, might appear once in an entire kata)

Therefore, we can say that while by only doing katas, you will indeed get very, very good at katas, you will also not be as good as if you also included more generalized physical preparedness in your repertoire of training tools! Working on specific skills is, by definition, incomplete, with some sports being more incomplete than others.

I believe that one key idea is what Ben said in his comment in my first post:

Giving your students the tools to reach a new level of overall conditioning is always a good thing, but if you want them to get conditioned for something specific, just make a point of always adding that little element to your classes. Torture the hell out of them, AND make them throw kicks throughout the workout.

This, I think is the right idea. The benefit of the general physical preparedness exercises that I have been featuring in my Friday classes, such as pull-ups, full-depth squats, full-depth push-ups, etc, is that they offer a huge amount of bang for the amount of time they take to do, and work multiple physiological systems in a time and space-efficient manner. While some of the upper-level katas are incredibly taxing as well, it is probably erroneous to assume that any one person has a particular kata, let alone everyone having it. So what’s the answer?

As I formulated in a talk a while back, I think the answer is further variety, and to take the most amount of ‘good’ that everything has to offer. Isolate individual challenging moves from katas and turn them into drills. Alternatively, devote a portion of class to pure skill development.

In the coming months, I plan to find just the right mix. Thanks for your feedback, everyone!

Apparently this is a “Make Ryon do shit he doesn’t do well” week at Central. Well, bring it on! Not addressing weaknesses is a recipe for incapacity and error.

Monday

Well, not so much a “Make Ryon do shit he doesn’t do well” day here. Maybe more like a “Give Ryon a false sense of confidence the first part of the week then crush him later” week. This turned out to be a quick one. Three rounds for time:

• 7 Thrusters @ 135lb (I did 115)
• 7 Pull-ups
• 7 Burpees

My time: 4:16 and I could have gone faster or heavier, but probably not both! I had one of the quicker times that day. Going heavier is tricky for me because of my shoulder. I’m trying though, and I am looking forward to getting my shoulders in a place where I can RX the workouts again. This workout was a metabolic nightmare, and afterward we did sprints. My times:

• 400m @ 1:28
• 200m @ 37″
• 200m @ 41″
• 35m x 3 @ ?? (not timed)

I ripped a huge hole in the bottom of my toe. We’re talking Rhode Island-sized flap of skin hanging off here. I love my Vibram FiveFingers but I think I might need some toe socks to go with them. it was probably the moisture+friction that caused the blister. Plus my current pair is so messed up and ripped up I’m probably getting cut by rocks poking through them!

Wednesday

Hell on earth. If I was able to rip through Monday’s workout, it’s because I shifted the time I didn’t take to Wednesday. This was a horrible beast of a workout that prodded my weaknesses: Upper body strength, and running. Five rounds for time:

• 20 floor presses @ 55lb
• 400m Run

The floor presses were done with our upper backs on a medicine ball, and active hip (making the dumbbell presses almost a decline press). To compound things for me, I used the 1.5pood kettlebells, which, despite being “only” 53 pounds, are unwieldy and off balance compared to the dumbbells. Pressing them was just “fucked up”, as I was to exclaim after the first set. The runs were done in the relentless TX blast furnace heat, which I’m really starting to not mind all that much.

The upshot of the workout was that my shoulders still aren’t up to snuff. I managed two rounds and some change with the kettlebells, then mercifully switched to 30lb dumbbells about halfway through the workout… and STILL DIDN’T FINISH. I was 5 presses away from being done when time was called.

At least I know what I need to work on.

Thursday

Hell on earth. Again. Is this the first time I’ve had two consecutive days without finishing the workout? I think it might be, which is a good pointer as to what I need to work on!  At least today I have the consolation of knowing that almost no one else finished the workout either!

21-18-15-12-9-6-3:

• Dumbbell Snatch @40lb (I used 25lb). Note the number applies to EACH ARM, and you can’t split the reps. Finish one arm, then the next.
• Ring Dips (I used a dark blue assist band)

Hellish, hellish hellish. You are an elite athlete if you do this RX. The snatch is a soul sucking energy destroying full body movement. I got halfway through the set of 12, and 4 on the second arm when time was called. This really underscores the fact that my upper body isn’t where it needs to be, especially after the injury.

Friday

I’m actually posting this early so that Lucas, who comes to my class, can get an early start on planning to do the workout. This workout will hopefully inspire terror in my students.

The timer will be set to count down from 20 minutes. Starting out with:

• 1 Pull-up (Substitutes: Jumping Pull-up, Ring Row, Bench Dip)
• 1 Goblet Squat with kettlebell or dumbbell (Substitutes: Regular squat)
• 1 1-Arm Situp with kettlebell or dumbbell (Substitutes: Regular Sit-up, Crunch w/ medicine ball behind head)

Every round, add one repetition to each exercise, so on the 5th round, you would be doing five each of the pull-up, squat, and sit-up, for instance. The score is the number of rounds completed (with any partial rounds added as a note). Bon Apetit!

Update: I completed 10 rounds and 2 pull-ups of the 11th, at 55lb for the squats, and 35lb for the sit-ups. If you told me a year ago that I would be doing 58 pull-ups in 20 minutes, let alone the other stuff, I’d have thought it impossible. It just goes to show you how far the class has come, and I have come as well.

If you read this blog and take my class, or even just play along at home, please post your results as a comment!

P.S. Next week is benchmark week.

P.P.S. Please check out Lucas’s website and music. It’s terriffic stuff!

Crossfit: Constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity

Kata: Relatively varied encoded fighting disciplines executed at high intensity

As I’ve written before, over the past six or so months, I’ve blatantly ripped off many Crossfit conditioning protocols and exercises, adapting them in my own way to fit the unique circumstances of my martial arts class (equipment, scaling concerns, etc. I doubt you will see an RX “Fran” in my class ever), and in the process opening a Pandora’s box of fitness and wellness that I don’t really intend to close, but instead refine its contents into a perfect jewel.

As I have said before, there has been some debate over whether the steps I’ve taken are appropriate or not. Of course I’m always willing to defend against all comers, but there is an important point to be illustrated here, that of conditioning merely for conditioning’s sake, versus conditioning geared towards specific skill improvement.

The protocol that I currently have implemented in my class is similar, and not coincidentally so, to the Crossfit protocol in that they are both currently concentrating on general fitness skills applicable to a wide variety of life circumstances and general wellness. However, one can raise a good question by asking: “to what purpose are we doing these movements?”.

The idea behind a general purpose fitness program such as Crossfit or my conditioning class is to develop the raw strength and conditioning that one can then utilize towards greater skill and efficacy in one’s chosen discipline. In other words, what we do in conditioning classes is dig up more raw material from which to sculpt our skill in martial arts. But is there a different way?

Research has pretty conclusively shown that learning patterns are extremely domain specific (too lazy for cites right now). That is to say, being a world-class rugby player does not automatically make one good at anything except rugby. Such specificity even extends to the circumstances under which one trains: Practicing with a heavier baseball bat, for instance, does not make one swing the regular bat any better during a game, and can in fact hamper the motor learning such that one’s performance DECREASES under such training circumstances.

To give an example relevant to martial arts, training on a soft mat and then implementing during a tournament or demonstration on a hardwood floor, or with shoes on often leads to injury because our brains have come to expect the presence of the mat during practice. Its absence then confounds us, resulting in movement suited for the mat, but not for the floor. Subtle movement patterns ingrained into us to compensate for sinking into the mat now hinder us on an unyielding hard floor.  In the example of barefoot vs. shoes, the presence of the shoe sole (especially thick running shoes designed for a heel strike) completely changes the dynamic of movement and removes the feedback the soles of our feet give us.

If merely the addition of shoes to the movement equation can change the outcome of our training so much, what does that say about the specificity of conditioning programs? In short: does a general purpose fitness program help us become better martial artists, how would a fitness program for that goal be constructed, and for what reasons?

Thoughts to comments greatly appreciated. I will post my own tomorrow.

Everyone is doing just wonderfully in my Friday class. I’m very very proud of all my students for continually stepping up to the plate to meet the new challenges I throw at them, that are often not only of a different degree than they are used to, but of a different kind. Once or twice a year I really try and mix it up and innovate the class to point it in a new direction, to territory that has hitherto been uncharted to the students, and each and every time they rise up to meet the challenge.

The difficult part for me is thinking up new stuff after having taught the class for almost a decade! The fact that I can, and do it on a regular basis really underscores the amazing thing about doing something like Crossfit or Martial Arts (which I believe, by the way, are spiritually closely related) in that there is always a challenge, as I said above, of a wholly new kind, not merely of weight or time dimensionality. The runner may run faster or longer, but rarely does he encounter a challenge that requires him to learn new skills or move his body in an entirely new way. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, martial artists and Crossfitters do these things. We return to the well time and time again and always end up refreshed and reinvented, time and time again.

I try and log the workouts and keep track of results as much as possible, although it’s just in the last six months, after starting Crossfit, have I realized what a powerful catalyst it can be for positive change in a class or an individual. It’s easy to live life one day at a time, but this is how animals live, without thought or regard to the place from where they’ve come. If we know where we’ve been, chances are we better know where we are, and we better know where to go. Without the proper context, our present is not a reliable guide of where we should travel. Plus, it’s ever so satisfying to look at what once seemed impossibly difficult, and say “that’s easy”.

As an example of how much the class has evolved, let’s compare two classes two years apart, starting with March 30, 2007:

Tabatas (if you don’t know, Google it):

• Freestyle punches/kicks on focus mitts
• Situps with a 1-2 punch
• Mountain Climbers
• Push-ups
• Focus mitt work (second partner)

Ie Chin Chings:

• #13
• #14
• #15
• #16
• #6
• #7
• #5

This was an ‘Ie Chin Ching night’. This is not a bad workout, but it is fairly primitive. The class had not yet moved to the 90-minute format, and at this point I was not enforcing movement standards (a move for which I’ve received much derision. I can’t afford to care, as it is too important to let others’ squeamishness get in the way of what is objectively, verifiably correct.). Therefore, were the push-ups GOOD push-ups? who knows?

I am not keeping track of results or time at this point either, leaving the students with no context for their past actions. Were they getting better week after week? Who knows, as there was no empirical evidence either way. Therefore, what notion did I have about whether or not my class was effective at its objective? None.

The current paradigm shift in the class occurred on January 16, 2009, when I started keeping track of the workouts in earnest (in an orange Staples college-ruled notebook). From that point on, I believe that I hit on a baby bear “just right” formula. Let’s fast forward to two years after that 2007 class, to March 27, 2009:

“Kung-Fu Fight Gone Bad”:

With a partner/coach/cheering section. Three six-minute rounds, consisting of:

• 1″ Burpees
• 1″ Squats
• 1″ Sit-up
• 1″ Sumo-deadlift-high-pull (kettlebells of varying sizes)
• 1″ Push-Press
• 1″ Rest

There is no hiding the far greater sophistication in this workout, which takes 18 minutes, compared to 20 for the 2007 Tabata workout. Although I still use Tabatas a great deal, they no longer comprise the core of the class. In fact, I would argue that I am trying to not fall into the same ‘core workout repeated week after week slightly changed’ trap that I did in the 2007-2008 season of the class, a habit I got from the conditioning classes that I originally took part in as a student. In contrast to 2007, The workouts before and after this one were completely different.

The variety, equipment and range of motion of the workouts has increased as well. We concentrate on fundamental movements as much as possible, and we move more weight farther than ever before, and no longer concentrate on ‘filler’ or ‘peripheral workouts’ (at least when it’s avoidable. We can’t exactly do deadlifts!).

There is only so much that words can tell you about a workout.  A sterile description of what exercises we did that day cannot communicate the vast change in attitude that has occured over the past few years. The students now attack workouts, trying to beat their previous personal bests. They now never know what to expect when they get in the door (except a good workout), a phenomenon that I believe just enhances the workout. They now know exactly where they stand in comparison to where they stood before, a powerful motivator, because I keep track of them, because I care about each and every person in the class and their progress.

In some way, I’ve given even more responsibility to to students. Since I keep track of them, they know that there’s a number somewhere in that orange notebook that represents their ability on a given workout, and that next time that workout rolls around again, they have the obligation to try and beat it. It’s a uniquely human trait to have the drive to do this, and what I’ve taken from Crossfit is at least a nacent idea of how to tap into that need for improvement that seems to be one of the many sin qua non for being a martial artist.

Another reason to keep track of workouts is that we occasionally lose sight of things we have moved away from, but which held significant value. Looking at that class two years ago, I’m struck by the volume of Ie Chin Chings, terrific isometric bodyweight exercises, which are great tests of endurance, and more importantly, willpower. I’m not sure I would have realized that if I hadn’t logged that workout back in 2007, and I feel compelled to make a note to myself to do more of them in class.

I have encountered my share of negativity for teaching the way that I do, and I accept that doing something different often invites such criticism, chiefly among which states that what I’m doing doesn’t constitute “Kung-Fu”. To those who say such things, I could only reply that perhaps they should look up the meaning of the term 功夫 (gōngfu), a literal translation of which yields the term “human achievement”, an accomplishment reached by virtue of great effort.

By that standard then, what I do is the essence of kung-fu.

I do the best that I can to

set out in front of the students

achievable, incremental goals

so that through great effort

they can surpass their limits

and achieve difficult but

significant things.

As for you, naysayer, What have you done that’s kung-fu?

An important week for me! Saturday is the Spartan 300 Challenge finale. I’ve made some huge leaps and hit many of the goals for which I was aiming. The 400lb deadlift felt really good to hit. Not only was it a 30lb PR, but it was a specific goal of mine for the 6-week period! I also wanted 30 consecutive pullups, and I did get 20 last week, so I do believe that with a concerted effort, I could get 30! We’ll see if I reached my <8% body fat goal (which isn’t incredibly important to me, just a “let’s see if I can do it” sort of thing) during the weigh ins and measurements.

This week I really have to keep the diet under control and get adequate sleep and rest/recovery. I am signed up for the Level 1 challenge on Saturday (10:30, if anyone wants to watch…). I did sub-15 minutes on the level 2 during the beginning of the challenge, so I just don’t have too much more to prove there. I am going to enter the level 1 challenge with a little trepidation. I feel that it’s MUCH more difficult than the level 2, and I am going to take JDP’s advice and pretend like I already have it. I can’t afford to second-guess myself!

Monday

Crossfit workout. Brutality defined and refined. Three rounds for time:

• 100ft Lunge with Kettlebell (24kg)
• 15 Burpees
• 25 Kettlebell swings (24kg)

I finished in 13:45 I believe, maybe a minute quicker. Better to assume slower than faster, and try harder next time! This was a brutal workout. Kettlebell swings leech the life and vitality from you like nothing else.

Tuesday

Spartan 300 Challenge Workout:

• 50 Squats 2 Pull-ups
• 40 Squats 4 Pull-ups
• 30 Squats 6 Pull-ups
• 20 Squats 8 Pull-ups
• 10 Squats 10 Pull-ups

More difficult than it looks but also quick. I finished in 6:35, with all pull-ups on rings. My time was too slow for my liking but I have an unfortunate penchant for not pushing myself as hard when I’m solo. I must overcome this. I wanted 5 minutes on this workout. I saw several areas for improvement. Over the 6 weeks after this challenge, I will be going through all the workouts again, to try and get more out of them than I did this time around. This was my first Crossfit challenge, so I’ll do better on my next one. Fight Gone Bad IV, anyone???

Wednesday

“Heavy, Running Grace”. This was a beastly workout. It was a “Heavy” (20lb extra on the bar) “Running” (phases punctuated by a 400m run) “Grace” (30 Squat Clean and Jerk) for time. This challenged both my metabolism and strength to the extreme. On a side note, we had the priviledge of having Crossfit Central Affiliate Team member Kris Kepler work out with us. It’s humbling seeing a master at work. He finished the workout 4.5 minutes faster and 40lbs heavier than I did. Pretty amazing stuff. Three Rounds for Time:

• 10 Squat Clean and Jerk @ 155lb (I did 115lb, a 20lb personal best on the movement. I am moving cautiously forward due to my shoulders)
• 400m Run

I finished in 15:43, completely exhausted.

There was an interesting question posed to the class over whether it is better to do a workout lighter and with perfect form, or heavier with compromised form. I responded on Central’s blog entry like this:

It seems to me that the optimal weight is just enough to finish the workout in time.

I think there was an article about scaling in Crossfit Journal a week or so ago. As it turns out, if you go with a lighter weight and complete the workout faster, your energy expenditure is actually more than if you had done full or RX weight and taken a longer time to finish the workout.

In terms of form vs. Weight, I consider proper form to be very important. If you constantly increase your weight without considering your form and technique, you are not only reinforcing bad habits, but as above, you might not even be getting as good a workout.

I think the correct answer is to increase weight just until the point your form begins to break down, then remove a little. At some point it becomes impossible to increase weight without compromising form and correctness. I don’t think that is a bad thing, but it should be an informed decision: “You have to know the rules well enough to break them”.

To elaborate on my thoughts there, I believe there is a point where adding more weight is a long-term detrement in exchange for short-term gains.  as we see in this Crossfit Journal article, it is often a faustian bargain to always go RX weight, as this can compromise both the safety and efficacy of a workout. There is no question that for those capable of getting the most out of an RX workout, those persons should do an RX workout, but for many, including myself, the greater gains are made from scaling down the weight and concentrating on form and maximal energy output per unit of time.

I believe that since my shoulder injury, I have been just a touch too conservative with the weight, but I am still new at this, and exploring my boundaries.

Thursday

I will let this workout speak for itself:

• 50 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 50 Burpees

Gross! This workout was a nightmare. I have been working on my pullups, but chest-to-bar is a whole other ballgame. I stalled out rather early, dissappointingly enough (much to my chagrin, I was the last off of the pull-up bar), but I made up a lot of time on the burpees, finishing a close second or third with 10:10 RX. For a comparison, this was a workout at the “Hell’s Half Acre” qualifiers, and I believe that the best time was a stunning 3.5 or so minutes. Amazing.

This workout examplified some of the great things about CrossFit for me, it scales to fit all fitness levels, and there’s always room for improvement. In my case, 7 minutes worth, and that’s just for this workout.

Friday

I sat out this conditioning class workout, since I wanted a rest day before the Spartan 300 Challenge workout on Saturday. I’m pretty proud of this workout, and I think it’s very representative of what kung-fu conditioning workouts should be. It’s very metabolic but has a good strength component, and was easily scaled for different skill/conditioning levels. The after workout was one of my favorite stand-bys. The strategy was to exhaust the core during the main workout, and then finish the job after a little rest.

AMRAP 20 Minutes:

• 10 Knees-to-Elbows
• 15 Push-ups
• 20 Lunges

I gave the option of stationary or walking lunges. I was pleased to note everyone mixed it up, and received the feedback that the walking ones were easier on peoples’ knees. Interesting.

After workout. Three Rounds:

• 1 minute front plank (on elbows)
• 1 minute front plank (high push-up position)
• 1 minute side plank (each side)
• 1 minute max reps sit-ups

This is an instant classic. I will have to tell my Crossfit coach about it . It does take more time than we usually have for Crossfit after workouts, but might be idea for a shorter WOD day.

A good day today, surprisingly. I was less than kind to my body, diet-wise this weekend. I hope that this week’s workouts go a long way towards burning off the whole carton of Ben and Jerry’s “Chubby Hubby” that I devoured on Saturday. I think the reason I’m not up on my food log right now is that my weekends are just garbage, health-wise. I don’t want to be completely ascetic, but I think I’m stretching the concept of a “cheat day” a little too far!

Since I’m in the Spartan 300 Challenge, I’m going to try and wrap it up with exceptionally good eating for the remainder of the time. I want to produce a food log I can be proud of!

I have said it before, but because I love food so much, I always feel compelled to test the hypothesis on my cheat days: I just don’t enjoy rich, filling restaurant food much anymore. It tastes good going down, but immediately upon hitting my stomach, the joy is drained from me as the food sits in my belly like a lead brick.

In contrast, eating paleo generally leaves me energetic and ready for more challenges, even when I eat my fill.

Monday

GREAT workout. I felt teriffic all the way through and finished as strong as I started. I did use 24kg kettlebells for the Farmer’s Walk, but it was honestly because I thought they were heavier than 55lb dumbbells I was off by a few pounds per hand. Right now I’m telling myself that the kettlebells are are harder to hold on to due to the much thicker, untextured handles, so I’m gonna say it’s a wash… Five rounds for time:

• 10 Knees-to-Elbows
• 30 Walking Lunges
• 30 Sit-Ups (butterfly-style, on the AbMat for extra “ouch”)
• 100m Farmer Walk (RX 55lb Dumbbell. As I said above, I used 24kg Kettlebells)

I finished this in 17:45 or so, the fastest time that day up until my class. I was really quite happy with my performance. I believe I only dropped from the bar on the K2E’s once or at most, twice, and I did not drop the kettlebells on the farmer walk at all (which would have incurred a 5 burpee penalty, on molten-lava-hot pavement).

I think I’ve finally hit a stride again.

Tuesday

Spartan 300 Challenge Workout. Four Rounds for Time:

• 50 Double-Unders
• 25 Push-Ups

My time: 7:45. I think I did 10 extra push-ups somewhere along the line, but lost count and figured better a few too many than a few too few. This workout was tailored for me. I take pride in my Double-Unders.

Wednesday

A real horrible sufferfest at Crossfit for me. A combination of my three worst excercises and not feeling 100% in the first place! The good news is that I turned in a performance that was good enough to surprise me (in a pleasant way!). After several months of Crossfit, I think I’ve come to the unpleasant realization that even physically, as in so many things in life in which I have accomplished less, I just don’t push myself to my limits. I gemerally go away from a Crossfit workout thinking “I did OK, even a little better than last time, but I could have done better”.

Perhaps that’s the power of Crossfit. Crossfit doesn’t  promulgate a “I’m OK, you’re OK just how you are” ethic, where clients can build their own mental and emotional fortress, and feel safe and sound, sequestered away from any thought that they are anything but already as good as they ever will be.

Crossfit will strip away from you any delusions of adequacy or competence, or any cloak of illusion you have drawn around yourself that you are “fit”. The WODs will break you down into your component parts. The reassembly and what comes after that is up to you. It is an important decision.

Three Rounds for Time:

• 500m Row (I believe my splits were under 2 minutes, with the exception of the third, which was slightly over)
• 21 Overhead Squats (RX 95lb, I did 65lb, which felt right to me as my shoulder asymptotically nears wellness again)
• 15 Pull-ups

My time: 18:54. These were three of my worst movements.

Thursday

A good one: Crossfit Benchmark “Nicole”. AMRAP 20 Minutes:

• 400m Run
• Max pull-ups without dropping from the bar

This is a toughie. The more you drop from the bar, the more you run. I tried pretty hard on this one, shattering my previous consecutive pull-up record (29 from 10, on the first round). I managed a total of 6 runs and 74 pull-ups in 5 sets, distributed as follows:

20-12-15-15-12

Friday

I took a page from the Thursday Crossfit workout. AMRAP 20 Minutes:

• 50 Double-Unders
• Max Reps Ring Rows

I got 11 rounds and 93 ring rows. Not bad! 550 double unders is a good haul!

Not the culmination of a journey, but the beginning of one.

Knowledge as the Opportunity to Improve

The inconsistencies in my childhood ended up leading to one of the constants in my life, an island of stability in the chaos: I’ve always been a martial artist, and it does in fact form a major part of my self-identity, my vision of who I am as a person. Although I work for a large software company, I don’t see myself as a “computer programmer”. It is something I do, one more thread in my life’s tapestry.  That doesn’t, however, mean I don’t bring the peripheral skills of that job to bear in many other facets of my life. The skills and thought processes necessary to be a successful computer programmer are  as embedded in my DNA as bowing in doorways, or making a correct fist.

400lbs. Also not the culmination of a journey, but the beginning of what I now know I am capable of.

To me, the interconnectedness and universal application of knowledge have always been apparent to me; If you know a lot about something, chances are that at least some of the principles are applicable everywhere in life, if not the specifics.

My college career was as diverse as my childhood. My meandering through different majors led me to Computer Science, where, in a very theory-heavy program, I learned the intellectual rigor required for proofs and discrete mathematics.  It is this same intellectual rigor and training that I use to determinine my how best to train, and to methodically tackle problems I face while teaching, to chip away at students’ problems and barriers bit by bit.

It’s my natural inclination to use all of the tools at my disposal to increase my skill at doing what I love, teaching what I love, and being able to see a wider vista of the things that are possible. To limit my vision only to a subset of what I’ve been taught is impossible for me. It’s true to some extent that I’m always looking for “the next best thing”, and to improve on my current processes and abilities, not only for myself, but for the students that I teach, so that I can better help them reach their dreams and goals.

In some ways, failure is as important as success. It’s impossible to know if a road leads to a dead end unless one travels down it first. As the old saw goes, the worst that can happen is that you discover one more way to do things that just doesn’t work. We should all seek failure to some extent. It’s an important marker of where our barriers lie, and gives us the first inkling of a strategy to hurdle them. If we do not expand our horizons of knowledge though both new triumphs and crushing defeat, we don’t know what type of person we are now, much less the type of person we could possibly become.

For that reason, I’ve dedicated myself to trying all sorts of new things, particularly those in the physical and martial arts realm, areas of knowledge to which I am drawn like a moth to a flame. As I extinct inferior behavior, and hone my imperfect knowledge to an ever finer edge, I am irrevocably changed as a person, something that is always reflected in the way that I perform and the way that I teach.

I’m not perfect, I never will be perfect, and in many things I’m not even adequate. But I’m dedicated to never being complacent with that.

On Open Mindedness

We should always prepare to be wrong. In fact, to some extent we should hope for it. We shouldn’t look to be wrong about anything in particular, but we should accept that invariably, in some way, we are completely, undeniably, ego-crushingly, unequivocally, unambiguously wrong about SOMETHING, right now. We should seek it out, to some extent, an easy task if we are committed to studying things about which we are passionate.

Finding this chink in our armor represents an opportunity to see our knowledge fail us, and to correct ourselves to become better. We should always be ready to consider new ideas and how they impact us, and we should always be prepared to raise our heads, admit we were wrong, and do better henceforth.

The easiest thing in the world is to justify our current worldviews, to huddle in the warmth of our familiar notions and ideas, to concoct rationalizations for not accepting new data. It’s harmful. If we do this, we risk stagnating, stunting our personal growth, killing off countless opportunities for improvement and personal growth.

We should not automatically assume we’re wrong about everything. Nor should we adopt any new idea that comes along, with no critical though process in the way. We should always simply give contradicting ideas their fair time in our mental courthouse, before dismissing them out of hand.

On Talking Trash

I have often found that people are afraid of change and newness. It is threatening to one’s ego to be faced with an idea that challenges preconceived notions that may have been in place for years or even decades. As I stated above, we have some critical choices in these matters. We can either evaluate whatever the new information is, or we can choose to ignore it.

One way to justify ignoring something is to lower its status, to discredit it in ways that are not true or not relevant. Using these ad hominem attacks has a good amount of utility for the insecure. It lowers the challenging data’s status without having to risk evaluating it. It allows the challenging data to be the object of ridicule. No one would adopt something ridiculous. It raises therefore raises one’s own status such that the offending data is too low in importance to consider.

I have found that most who do this tend to do so in tightly-knit groups, with no dissenting voice. This phenomenon just makes it that much easier, as the group’s members take their respective potshots. Such echo chambers act as a feedback loop, such that the volume and intensity of attacks can continue without any interruption.

The sad part about this is that the considerable intellectual or emotional time it takes to attack new ideas could have been used to practice or get better, or hone the edge of the knowledge one already has. If you are talking trash, you’re not practicing and not getting better. You’re debasing yourself. You’re attacking others to feel better about yourself.

And you’re most definitely not improving.

As a side note, I’ve been guilty of this as well, on far too many topics to name. Lately though, I’ve tried to do a lot less of it, as it doesn’t help me, and most definitely hurts me. I guess I am sad to say that I have too much intimacy with this topic. I guess that’s why I can write with authority.

I fell off the blogging wagon again. I never really have had a lot of confidence in my ability to think up interesting things to write about, so instead, here’s some workouts and quick thoughts to fill up the space. Oh yeah, I guess I should get back on that food log too.

I’ve decided to cut some time wasters out of my life – Facebook, Twitter, IM – at least temporarily. It’s worked well for me when I’ve done it in the past. I accomplish more, and bad things that seem so immediate when I have information at my fingertips drastically reduce in importance. It’s almost magical. I can concentrate on myself and improving at things that I love and need, instead of frittering away time, reading things that concern me or that I obsess over, but are of no value to my life.

I saw the movie Up this weekend. It is a beautiful, multi-layered masterpiece. At it’s heart, I believe it is about letting go of things that weigh our lives down, that are no longer relevant to us. There is a scene in the movie where the main character jettisons from his house various flotsam and jetsam he has accumulated over his life, so that he can once again take to the skies.

I think all of our lives are a lot like that. We misplace our concerns and put so much value on things that are well past their sell-by date. I couldn’t help but feel very strongly connected in that way to Carl (the movie’s character). I become very strongly attached to people, friendships, relationships, and things that are no longer beneficial to me, merely because of how much prior emotional investment I’ve had in them. They are a comfort to me at the same time they are a consternation. Well, as we know, it’s easy to throw good money after bad in that way, and look up and years have passed.

There was a quote I read a while back. Now that I do a web search, I realize it’s apparently from a graphic designer named Milton Glaser:

…And the important thing that I can tell you is that there is a test to determine whether someone is toxic or nourishing in your relationship with them. Here is the test: You have spent some time with this person, either you have a drink or go for dinner or you go to a ball game. It doesn’t matter very much but at the end of that time you observe whether you are more energized or less energized. Whether you are tired or whether you are exhilarated. If you are more tired then you have been poisoned. If you have more energy you have been nourished. The test is almost infallible and I suggest that you use it for the rest of your life.

I decided to take that advice to heart, and really think about what energizes me and what drains me, and I’ve spent the last few days pondering this very subject, and agonizing over this thought and that. The sad fact of the matter is that there are quite a few draining influences in my life, and they’re mostly people.

I think that for me, the toxic people who Glaser refers to are energy vampires, the ones who greet my enthusiasm with a tempered scorn, or deflect what positive energy I can muster up with a frown, or some strategically placed skepticism. They would rather be “right” than happy, and revel in their misery, as though it makes them more virtuous. To try and share in their happiness is impossible, for they have little of their own. To try and help them find the happiness they deserve is impossible, it is like filling a sieve. It stays empty and exhausts the person who pours out their positive energy.

Due to some events in my life and childhood, I’ve always had a difficult time being positive. For the first time in my life (due to a combination of factors), I feel like those dark clouds are being blown away from my life by some fairly strong winds of change. It is by the sun shining – at last- through these clouds that I’ve come to see some of the people in my life under the light of the day. Their hard edges are accentuated by the light, not softened by shadows, and worse, they seem to squint and despise the same light that is finally washing over my life. These days, my friendliness is met with nods and head shakes, as if my words and concern merit not even words in return. My positive feelings and loving concern met with indifference, scorn, and a disrespectful brush-off. Apparently I don’t merit an explanation. Your contempt for me is manifest. Did you think I would put up with it? I’m sick of your shit, at long last.

A group of people who I once felt (ah, alright, still feel) close to have taken it upon themselves to start a pity-party circle jerk about me. Whispering about my dedication and my loyalty, but too cowardly to say it to my face. Are these the same people around whom I once felt invigorated? Now merely thinking about the bile coming out of their mouths just drains me. One good measure of a person is how resilient they are when faced with adversity and changing circumstances. I can recall a time when even one of those things would have crushed me and occupied my waking thoughts for days. Now I just feel sorry for them. I know that I deserve better, and I know that I am doing better right now. Maybe that’s why they’re angry. Perhaps they should get angry at themselves instead.

I have a lot to offer as a friend and a resource. I devote so much energy to finding out new and creative ways to do what I do more skillfully and efficiently. I love nothing more than to teach others and toss ideas back and forth. Unfortunately, some people have made it clear they want nothing to do with who I am becoming. Apparently they’d rather talk in high flying theoreticals about skill and practice and the way that things should be, instead of actually doing anything. Well. I’m sick of your shit.

But I can’t worry about what other people do and what other people say about me. I firmly believe that I deserve better, and I’m getting better. So why keep intimacy with those who poison me?

Now, on to the work outs!

Monday 05/25

A good one! 21-15-9 Reps:

• Row 500m
• Handstand Pushups

No, not 21-15-9 reps of Row 500m! It was four 500m rows: one to start, one between each HSPU round, and one to finish. I did well on this one, I think. 10:51 or so. I had my feet up on a squat rack for support, as my HSPU skills have declined since my shoulder injury. This was a great workout that was right up my alley!

Tuesday

Crossfit Spartan 300 Workout. Done with my pal Elliot at my kung-fu school. This was a brutal workout that would make a great WOD anytime. Five Rounds for Time:

• 20 Double-unders
• 10 Dumbbell Thrusters
• 10 Pull-ups

This was a beast. I’m a pro at double-unders, but this combination of movements makes everything hurt. I managed 9:47 or so with 30lb dumbbells.

Wednesday

Pure agony. Four rounds:

• 800m Run
• 15 Ring Dips
• 10 Burpees

Running is my mortal foe so far, although my times are improving. The ring dips I did with a dark blue band because of my shoulder, although just like the power clean workout, I tried to do them straight through with intensity (I did drop off once or twice!) Burpees, well those are burpees. I finished at about 23 minutes and some change, which impressed me. The runs are just brutal, especially under the hot May sun.

Thursday

A GREAT workout! I really dug this one to the max, as after so many running WODs, this one offered a brief respite. Although my power cleans aren’t great, I actually really like doing the movement. It’s almost like an ie chin ching for me, and it’s very technically challenging as well. My deadlifts remain my best and favorite lift. My pullups have been improving steadily over the last month as well.

AMRAP 20 Minutes:

• 5 Hang Power Cleans
• 10 Deadlifts
• 15 Pullups

I managed six rounds and two of the pullups on the seventh. This was a tough workout that was again, right up my alley. I had 85lb on the bar (up 10lb from my previous power clean best). The deadlifts were clean and smooth as I could do it, as I take pride in them (I can’t wait to blow away my previous best (370)). Pullups remain not my strong suit, but I’m sure working on them. I felt great after this workout!

Friday

Friday class time! I had a bright idea: Let’s do “Barbara”! Five Rounds for Time:

• 20 Pull-ups
• 30 Push-ups
• 40 Sit-ups
• 50 Squats

Horrible. I gave it a 30 minute cut off and still didn’t finish (I was on the last set of squats). I tried to do mostly pull-ups on the rings, but devolved to jumping pull-ups and ring rows more than a few times! Kudos to the finishers, You guys are warriors.

Monday, 06/01

A new month, a new benchmark. This month it’s Crossfit Total! The last time Total came around, it was just when I had hurt my shoulders, so I didn’t get to register a back squat, only a deadlift (370). My shoulder press was an experimental attempt at 95, so that was my official score. Well, this time I wanted to blow that out of the water. One Rep Max:

• Back Squat
• Shoulder Press

My five rep max on the Back Squat is 255 (I expect that to also go up), so I knew that my ORM would be significantly higher. I nailed attempts at 255, 275, and 285, and ended up at 295. Wow not bad!! I failed on a 305 attempt that I will most definitely conquer next time. I’m more than satisfied with my performance!

The shoulder press is another matter entirely. I’m not sure how this exercise can be so difficult, as conceptually, it’s not so bad! Just lift the weight over your head. Easy! Well, with locked knees and no inertia generation, no it ain’t so easy! I nailed attempts at 65 and 85, and BARELY got 95 over my head. The last attempt I nailed was a 115, and then failed on 125. Yikes. Still though, besting my previous injured best by 20lbs results in a thumbs up! Come on shouders, I’m pullin’ for you!

Tuesday

Spartan 300 Challenge Workout! I have a number of options, and I choose the one with double-unders! For Time:

50-40-30-20-10 reps of:

• Double-Unders
• Sit-Ups

I did this one in about 6:43 or so. I did this on my back porch and jumped in my pool immediately afterwards. By all indications of my health and happiness, this is how humans should live their lives! I didn’t feel incredibly exhausted afterwards. I think I left my abmat at my kung-fu school, so the sit-ups weren’t nearly as challenging as they usually are. So, I decided to do another workout. For Time:

50-40-30-20-10 reps of:

• Double-Unders
• Push-Ups

This gassed me utterly. I’m not sure if it was the push presses on Monday, but my arms had nothing in them. This workout took me about 16 minutes to complete. Although I feel could have done it much faster, the negative thoughts I outlined above kept intruding into my head and paralyzing me. I eventually shook it off and knocked off the workout, taking a nice refreshing cold shower afterward 300 Double-Unders, 150 Sit-Ups, 150 Push-Ups, in the bag!.

Wednesday

A great day. We finished up total today and had a little fun afterwards. One Rep Max:

• Deadlift

I made numerous attempts: 135, 225, 315 for a warm up, then hit the attempts in earnest. My previous best was 370, so I made my first attempt at that, and hit it fairly easily. My second attempt, 385 sent my previous PR out the window as well. Unfortunately, I dropped the bar instead of controlling it on the way down, voiding the attempt. I had one more. Mike A, My parter, and I stuck 395 on the bar, prompting a little good natured ridiculing from my coach. I sheepishly stuck a 2.5lb on each side to make it an even 400. My legs were shaking, but I made it all the way up and controlled it on the way down for a major PR! That brings my Total to 810. Not bad, and I will eventually join the milennium club…

We had a fun little work out afterward in the little remaining time. Taking 70% of our press PR (I put this at 70lb for myself, due to my shoulder), do 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 reps of:

• Back Squat
• Shoulder Press
• Deadlift

I finished this in 1:15. Not too shabby, and I lost count at one point so I think I repeated one of the sets. Overall a great day.

Thursday

A smoker! It took me 16:06 to finish seven rounds of:

• 200m Run
• 3 Push-Jerk
• 6 Pull-Ups
• 9 Push-Ups

Despite the running (hehe) I really loved this workout. It seemed to tax all my body’s systems and modalities and all the muscle groups. Weights, pulling, pushing, metcon, check, check, check and check! Now to just start upping the weight. My shoulder is telling me to do that gradually though.

Ah I forgot to mention: I got my first “real” muscle-up today! Truly a week of shattering barriers.

I’m back to blogging again. Hello, it’s been a long time, I hope this blog post finds you well.

I suppose I fell off the blogging wagon at the same time I found it necessary to take some time off working out because of my shoulders. As I’ve always been a kinetic, physical person, this was tremendously difficult. I would often stare at the composition fields on this blog and find myself with little to say. I suppose you could say that I was a little depressed over my injuries, especially when compared to the progress I was making.

The past few weeks have seen remarkable progress in my healing, and I’m now back to regular Crossfit classes, as well as having done the 2009 Spartan 300 Challenge this past Saturday. I turned in the fastest Level 2 time (90lb bar, 12kg Kettlebell, and jumping pullups) at 14:44.

My goal was to take the knowledge that I could have at least been competitive (although probably not have finished in the 20 minute time limit) in the Level 1 competition (135lb bar, 16kg Kettlebell, Full kipping pullups), and channel it into doing the Level 2 workout as fast as possible, with as good form as possible. And, I did it fasted.

On to this week’s workouts (this post will be updated):

Monday:

Crossfit:

• 20 Squats, 1 Barbell Snatch (RX 135. I did 20lb to give my shoulders some TLC), 1 Suicide Run
• 20 Squats, 2 Snatches, 1 Suicide Run
• 20 Squats, 3 Snatches, 1 Suicide Run
• 20 Squats, 4 Snatches, 1 Suicide Run
• 20 Squats, 5 Snatches, 1 Suicide Run

My time: 8:44. This was a wicked workout. The suicide runs are strangely harder than running in one direction for the same distance. I haven’t figured out why.

Kung-Fu: Light sparring and some Kata work. I am beginning to figure out that katas work one’s body differently than anything else, and in a way that totally compliments Crossfit. Amazing.

Tuesday:

Crossfit 300 Workout:

• 50 Pull-ups/Reverse Pull-ups/Standing Rows
• 50 Burpees

I will change the pullups to jumping pullups on the rings. The burpees will be… Burpees. Time: 5:42. It’s hard to do good jumping pullups on rings because you can’t push down. This slows the recycle time significantly.

Wednesday

Crossfit Workout. Five Rounds for Time:

• 15 Back Squat. RX 155lb, I did 95lb. I will not make the mistake of doing too much, too soon again.
• 400m run.

My time: 17:21. I felt surprisingly solid on the back squats. I need more strength, but my form is acceptable to good, and I actually felt stronger the longer I went on this. The run was another story. I felt progressively weaker each run, and I’m sure it won’t get better as the summer gets hotter and hotter! One thing’s for sure though: I’m going to be in sick shape.

Thursday

Crossfit: Cindy. AMRAP 20 minutes of:

• 5 Pull-ups
• 10 Push-ups
• 15 Squats

I managed 12 rounds and 1 half-hearted pullup before time ran out. I felt it a little bit in my shoulder (so THAT’S what did it!) and will be taking it a little easy on the pullups for a few weeks.

Bottom line: I’m back.

Friday:

Crossfit 300 Workout. For Time, Four Rounds:

• 25 Air Squats
• 10 Vertical Jumps
• 15 Pushups

My time: 5:45. I felt slow because of Cindy yesterday, but still pretty good. I try and maintain excellent form and range of motion throughout. All my squat jumps were bottom-to-top. I know this costs me time but I consider technique to be more important, and am willing to not cut corners at the expense of time. That is a faustian bargain in my opinion.

My Kung-Fu Conditioning Class:

I made these guys do a scaled version of Cindy. I think that getting the Rings to hang from the ceiling rebar was a really great choice! I can’t let those guys rest on their laurels, you know! The arms race continues!

AMRAP 20 Minutes:

• 5 Pull-Ups
• 10 Push-Ups
• 15 Squats

I decided to give myself a little rest today. I did do 5-rep sets of ring pullups occasionally while running around and correcting everyone’s form, etc.

It’s been almost two months, since I first injured the AC joints in my shoulders, and shortly thereafter pulled my psoas on a bike ride. I really have no one to blame but myself (failed to warm up, used improper technique), which makes matters ever worse in some ways.

It’s pretty cruel that all my extremities hurt where they attach to my body! I can’t do pushups, punch, or lift heavy weights because of my shoulders. Of course I can’t do squats, deep stances, or katas because of the psoas. Jeez!

I finally got wise and ceased all my exercising. I think it’s better to wait and get to 100% than to constantly have poor workouts due to my injury, so I’ve been sucking it up. Ibuprofin, icing, prayer, you name it. I think this is almost as bad as the separated rib I suffered last winter, albeit less debilitating on a day to day basis.

In the two weeks of (relative) inactivity I’ve had, I’ve made some pretty good strides, and I think I’m actually healing. To paraphrase a friend of mine, the best part about being sick for a long time is getting better, and realizing you’ve forgotten how good a human being can actually feel.

It’s pretty terrible that the things that ordinarily bring me such joy, now cause me pain. I’m also having a lot of trouble keeping on a healthy diet without the exercise component. I tend to get frustrated very easily, and tend to upend the chess set if I’m not winning (metaphorically speaking, of course. Although there WAS that one Monopoly game…)

Ultimately I have to realize that this too, will pass. My shoulders will return to normal, or even stronger than before. My psoas will get better. I will return to my normal diet. All of this will take time and effort. I also have to realize that I have the rest of my life to study and be the best that I can be at any point, and I can’t let my frustrations lead me into poor decisions such as working out injured, or overdoing it too soon after I do get better.

I want to come out of this experience, as all of my experiences, a wiser person and a better athlete and martial artist. That can only happen if I learn the right lesson from what happened.