Good luck, bad luck....what's the difference

One of my favorite lessons, stories, what have you, is the farmer and is it good luck or bad luck...

"There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"

Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?

Who knows?"

     This story means more and more to me as I get older.  I've tried to stop investing in my own outcome and realizing that "you just never know" how things are going to ultimately turn out.

     I think the most compelling proof of this is losing my job at 24 and getting separated from my wife at 40.  Both felt like the end of the world but created wonderful things in my life years later.

     Good luck, bad luck?  Who knows....

Why I think Rich Froning snatches in Nanos

     Lots of snatch PR's post the extra note of "in nanos".  It's VERY rare that someone boasts of a clean and jerk "in nanos" though.  I suppose it happens.  But let's talk Rich and how he snatches exclusively in nanos.  By the way, Rudy Nielsen of Outlaw had a funny quote at a camp that I loved:

"I'm sick of hearing people say they hit a lift "in nanos".  That's like Michael Jordan saying he dropped 40 points wearing a pair of Christian Louboutin's!!  If he would've had basketball shoes on he would've done even better!!!"

When attacking the Clean ladder at the 2012 Games and the C&J ladder in 2013, Rich wore Oly shoes...

      Enough about Rich, let's talk about me.....I snatch "better" in flat shoes.  I have been hitting PR's lately in my INOV8 192's.  They have a 0 mm drop from heel to toe and weigh 192 grams (or 6.8 oz).  That makes them flatter than nanos (4.0 are a 4 mm drop) and MUCH flatter than Oly's which are usually 16.5 mm.

     When I went to the Donny Shankle seminar I was coming off of a 178.2 lb snatch the week before in my INOV8's.  Up till then I was stalled at 165 for a WHILE.  I was ALWAYS catching on my toes in my Oly shoes for some reason.  Donny broke it down by telling me I didn't know how to pull right in Oly shoes and needed to practice.  (I've been practicing for years Donny....I suck)

I couldn't figure it out, I just thought my calves are tight or maybe I'm not moving fast enough to get my heels down.  And then the day in mid Jan where I just kept adding weight in my flat as a board INOV8s and I kept making lifts....I even did a heat check and pulled under 185 that day but missed... badly....

     In any case, Donny wouldn't allow us to use anything but Oly shoes.  I made 160 at his camp and missed 165 and he immediately told me to drop weight and work on technique.  Meanwhile everyone else was PR'ing their lifts and I'm over in the corner at 70%....

     So I came to the realization that in my flat shoes I am able to stay back longer on my heels.  I wasn't being "tipped" forward onto my toes.  So when coaches talk about being patient and staying back on the heels while the shoulders are still over the bar through that 2nd pull, I guess I'm just too weak to do it or in too much of a hurry.

     In the bottom, Oly shoes will make up for a host of mobility issues.  I don't have those problems and look fine in my bottom position with flat shoes.  So the trade-off for me is that I have a better pull and the bar stays closer and I'm not chasing it.  ALSO, my feet move much faster in the 192's due to the weight.  The Reebok 2.0 lifters are a whopping 408 grams (14.6 oz) and I use INOV8 335 fastlifts which are 335 grams or almost 2x more than my 192's.

Ok so back to Rich.  I think that his feet move faster into landing position and he can stay back longer in his pull to generate more power with nanos.  That's what I think.  And as far as me being able to snatch more in Oly shoes.....I can't.  I'm a crossfitter though and if I can snatch in metcon shoes, then isn't that better anyway?

Oh and today I hit 179.4 on my snatch!

Making friends with the worst outcome

12 years ago my then 2 y/o son had a cerebellar brain deformation "accidentally discovered" that is not usually discovered until the person is in adulthood and has problems from it, 3-4 years ago my wife and I separated for 7 months, 2 months ago a friend of mine had a traumatic brain injury and is fighting to recovery speech, movement, and a his normal life.  The list goes on and on in life for all of us.  Things that either are going wrong or might.  Things that worry us to no end.

     While it is HARD to do, it is imperative that we make friends with the worst outcome in things.  That's not saying that we give up and don't fight for the outcome we want.  But we must understand going into the fight that indeed we do not have the ultimate control over things.

     My friend may never be independent again, my son may wake up on his 21st birthday with a headache and motor loss that won't go away, my wife and I may not make it to our next anniversary (We're actually doing GREAT so relax).  The thought of all 3 of those things bothers me.....but I accept them as a possible reality.  I have taken them to their final worst outcome in my head.

What do I do then....?

     #1  Try to live each day knowing that its a gift that my buddy is still alive, that its a gift that Noah is healthy, that its a gift that I have the privilege to be married to my best friend.  These are the things that need to influence how I take on each day.

     #2 Try to understand that if the day(s) come that I am faced with the worst outcomes....I need to have already met them and accepted them and try to move forward at that moment.  I need to cherish the moments and recovery that my friend does have, I need to deal with the problems Noah may have at that time, I would need to be respectful of the woman who gave me nearly all of the happiness in my life and 3 beautiful children.   I can be sad, but I can't stop living because the worst outcome came to be.

What do I want?  

     My friend to recover completely, Noah to never have symptoms from his Chiari, Kathy and I to celebrate our 50th anniversary.  What am I going to get?  I have no idea.  But I've made friends with the worst outcomes I may get.


     I leave it with a quote from Tom Hanks character in Castaway:

 "And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day, my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back in Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I got to keep breathing. Because tomorrow, the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"

Donny Shankle weightlifting seminar

     Let's start with a list of Donny's coaches he's had in his career: Zygmunt Smalcerz, Ivan Abadjiev, Mike Burgener, and Glenn Pendlay.  It makes you realize very quickly that Donny is a WEALTH of info and experience.  (And his stories were awesome.)

     One of the most important things I took away from the seminar:  THE DARK AGES- This is where time can pass without any PR's off the floor and it can last a LONG time sometimes, but it is building your strength still and with consistency you will break through.  He discusses being stuck at 170 kilos on his C&J for (I thought he said) years!!!!  And then he broke through and picked up 10-15 kilos in the coming months!  It makes me see that misses, that plateaus, are all part of the building process and they are not spinning your wheels but are adding to your ultimate progress.

     He had 12 keys:

1. Vertical strong back-He called this "the golden rule".  Everything seemed to come back to this.

2. Hips low-this he tied deeply into mobility

3. Use your hips (violently) to move the bar.  Bar contact was VERY important to him.

4. Move your feet quickly

5. Eyes forward (helps tighten up back) "And there's nothing down there that's going to help you"

6. Bar close to body

7. Relax-do not fight the bar

8. Fast under

9. Be aggressive-key to everything else 

10. Stay off your toes-or bar is controlling you

11. Gear.  When he asked Coach Abadjiev, "Uncle, what about wraps and sleeves and all that gear people wear?".  His reply, "Donny....if it make you lift more...use"

12. Warmup (peaks and valleys was a cool lower back warmup he did that is like an inchworm push up and then a back extension stretch), aside from that he did a pretty standard warmup

SNATCH positions plus (cues)

From hip-Bar stays on hip as knees bend, chest up and shldrs back just behind the bar.  Most people drop the chest as soon as the knees bend, don't (coordination & speed)

Above knee-keep knees bent as you take a bow, keep knees bent as u come back up, slide & drag (power).  He talks a lot about the slide and drag.  He really wants to hear the bar slide and drag on your thighs as it moves to the pocket.

Below knee-trigger of hamstring tension at midpatella causes hips to drop (center of gravity)

Floor- begin how you intend to finish.  This was good because he said that your set up position should look like your finish position except your arms are overhead with a bar in it.  Line up youbar over 1st shoe eyelet.  (All rise)

JERK

5 points of bar contact (throat clavicles shoulders)

Control dip & not forward, wt back

coordinating bar oscillaton is key on this

Think back knee down and that will cue you to really drop under.  Too many people keep the back knee too straight.
He did agree that the back foot should make contact 1st but said he tries not to cue that.

Feet should land about 3 steps of spacing apart.  Chalk the floor and see where you land

CLEAN

Front squat- 1st make sure you have a good front squat

from the Hip-bar contact is high on thighs with a knee bend wherever the bar falls when you are holding at the hip

from above knee-keep the knee bend and take a bow, slide and drag again
from below knee-hips drop

from Floor-pull in to shins, back tight, patient just like snatch, again beginning how you intend to end

SUBORDINATE exercises.

Variation on the lifts-powers, hangs (these get the back strong), blocks (only after mastering hang-these work power-no point in block work if you haven't mastered positions), no hook no feet (works speed), muscle (keeps bar close), On the minute work x 20 min (works consistency), pushpress (trains the dip-this was interesting to me because he made us see the multi rep pushpress as an exercise done exclusively to get better at receiving a heavy bar and re-loading in a perfect dip for the jerk ), power jerk (trains the drive because you better drive the shit out of the bar if you aren't splitting), negatives and breaking or pausing on the way off the floor (creates a stronger back)

Posterior chain-GHD hip extensions, back extensions, glute ham raises, etc....rows, chins

Additional-plyometrics, complexes, things that you like to do to make it fun

PRINCIPLES

Always train speed, make pr's, make lifts.  These were his big 3.  He wants PR's at EVERY session to keep you motivated.  If you aren't PR'ing your snatch, then PR your hang triple, PR your front squat double, etc...find something to succeed at every session.

Train footwork 1 day a week.  This would be considered a light day.  These days were still Oly lifting but the weights were light enough that you focused on your footwork.

If u can get better w singles then just do singles.  Only train other schemes (doubles triples) to improve the single.  He said that if you are improving and making lifts hitting heavy ass singles then don't mess with it.  Only change when the single isn't being made. 

Training template on his blog-he passed these out and they were pretty cool

Monthly need a minimum weight that u know u can always hit.  This was a handout also that took into account the minimum snatch, C&J, and front squat you were hitting in sessions compared to your PR's that month.  He wanted you to be within 5 kilos with your minimum and PR's to know you were ready for a competition.

Weekly u r pushing maximum weights.  Period.

Vertical jump and grip tell recovery.  This was interesting and came from his European coaches to know if you needed more recovery.  They would log your vertical jump and if it started to go to shit you needed an extra recovery day.  He also said that Uncle Ivan could tell just by asking you to squeeze his hand each day as hard as you could. 

Competition plan-squats, hangs, blocks, floor.  You want to compete, then do things in this order/progression and don't move on till you have it right.  He talked about keeping one of his lifters at the hang for a year one time.....

He trains 3 weeks hard and then has a deload week.

Adaptation trumps everything.  He went back to the video screen over and over to show beautiful lifts and lifts that were technically very inefficient that people were making because they've adapted to that style of lifting.

He had a continuum that on one end was beautifully efficient and on the other end was inefficient.  If you are going to lift inefficient you better be damn strong.

COMMANDS-virtues.  This piece was all about the mindset of a champion weightlifter.  Which is probably why it didn't 100% resonate with me and my mind of a kitten.

1. Make ready-acceptance.  This is that place you address the bar with your head down and are loose.

2. Set-fearlessness.  This is when you get tight and eyes are up, ready to lift. 

3. Break-patient (bar in hips).  This is the point that you are in the pocket.

4. Finish-pride.  And this is the way you finish the lift.

Favorite quote: "Some coaches out there might disagree with some of what I say....but FUCK them!  I'm out here competing while there coaching, they're talking while I'm doing".

There was soooo much more but these are the things that stood out to me.  He wanted everyone to PR and I was bummed because he also won't let you miss much at all before he pulls the plug on you.  I snatched 165 then missed 170 but knew I could get it (my PR is 178) and he waled over and said plainly, "Clean and Jerk".  I'm thinking, "I only missed it once....give me another shot here".  But I listened and moved on.....

Do people change?

     I recently had lunch with a friend who said, "How's your neighbor?"  And my reply was, "I can't stand that guy".

     But in reality, I haven't spoken to him a quite a while.  Even now, typing this, I'm brought back to the whole reason why I'm not a fan of this particular neighbor.  It riles me up and makes me want to write the whole story.....but I won't.

     So at the end of the day, how many people get asked at lunch, "Have you seen Travis lately?" and reply, "That asshole?".  Because as many of you know, I could ruffle some feathers back in the day (like my 1st 40 years).

     And it got me thinking, Do you just write folks off based on your past interactions?  Do you go back over and over expecting they will at some point mature and grow and be different?

     I have a handful of relationships that are no more.  Some because I was a jerk, others because they were jerks.  But before the fallout, some of the relationships were quite meaningful at some point.  On one hand I wonder "if they knew me now" would things be different or I think "are they still the way they used to be" and would we click now like we once did....

     So at the end of the day, I suppose it boils down to forgiveness and grace and the understanding that people can change (I did).  And also understanding that some folks aren't good forgivers and painful memories may sometimes be too great to overcome.

      But I for sure miss some folks from my past whether it was them or me that cut the other out.  Is life too short to hold on to offenses or is it too short to hang out with people who've hurt you?  I have no idea.....

Butterfly pull ups-updated

UPDATED PIECE: I guess I never realized it till I cued my buddy yesterday but the arch/hollow cycle is easier if, as soon as you see your toes in the hollow, you whip them back and initate your arch portion. This creates a tighter circle and much more explosion to allow you to rise. 

Here is what I know about butterfly pullups and the bulk of it came from Outlaw camp as few years ago.

1. Kipping, banded, and strict pull ups are all an up to the bar movement.  Butterfly pull ups are a circular movement.

2. The movement is initiated and maintained by the arch hollow cycle in the hips.  It is NOT a reverse bicycle, this technique only results in an up to the bar style and is not efficient or sustainable.

3. Therefore, the knees must not be maintained as straight as possible the whole time.  Think of a bow and arrow.  The bow is your body in the arch position and the knees bending would ruin the power of the bow and its ability to propel the body back into a hollow.  Straight legs allow the circle to be small and tight vs. the big loopy butterfly technique seen by many.

4. Maintaining constant "connection" to the bar is easier with a tight quick circular cycle vs. the loss of connection that usually occurs with the loopy style where the knees are constantly recoiling.

Here we go, this link starts at the pull ups. Watch the technique Eliz Akin uses on her pull ups. She hits her 1st 18 pull ups in 15". Staci Tovar meanwhile hits her 1st 18 in 19 sec. before dropping.

http://youtu.be/JD3jEwlv650?t=7m15s

Arguably the best women's pull-up athlete there is, Camille, took 17 sec to do her 1st 18. Her style is the loopy loose legs but it works for her because she can go forever without stopping and is a bodyweight freak. So if we look at both Eliz and CLB who went unbroken for the 30, Eli still beats CLB by a second in the 30 pull ups. And has her by 30 lbs....

http://youtu.be/izpr_cibpic?t=6m4s

How to learn:

1. Practice the circle and don't worry about the chin getting over the bar. It'll take a bit of time. Took me about 2 weeks of practicing a few times a week.  Then it all the sudden clicked.

2. You will get tired and then you will start to bend your knees to generate power, but you likely will do it before you realize and so its a great idea to have a partner cue you to not do this as long as you can

3. Rather than accumulating a lot of time on the bar, spend a short time more often.  Doing a warm up of strict for 30 sec of max strict, rest, then 30' sec max reg butterfly pull-ups, rest and then 30" max C2B. These need not be unbroken, but eventually you get to a place that the unbroken # increases and you don't ruin your hands by spending very much time on the bar.

I surprised everyone in the gym with my score last year on the OHS C2B open work out (including me) and it has become a strength of mine even though my raw pulling power (strict pull ups) is terrible.  Butterfly pull ups and C2B are literally all technique.  If you are good at pulling then you can get away with less efficient technique.  But if you do it right (like the gymnasts) then you become very good.

A tale of 2 energy systems....

     I am going to highlight the differences in 2 different energy systems by giving an example of my friend Cory and my different approaches to a workout.  Know your strengths, do work better.

The WORKOUT

   Our box owner programs the Lullaby WOD from time to time (he came up with it).  If you are unfamiliar, it is as follows:

Buy into each minute with 5 power snatches at 95lbs and complete 100 burpees.  Then after you've accumulated the 100 burpees, you must accumulate 500 Double unders.  This time you have a buy in on the minute of 5 overhead squats with 95lbs.  There is a 40 minute time cap.

The ATHLETES

     I started crossfit at 40 and prior to that was an ultramarathoner and adventure racer for 13 years so I had an abundance of aerobic capacity.  The first 2 times I tried this WOD I didn't finish it

     My buddy Cory is a former Collegiate soccer player and is a lumbersexual.

The ENERGY SYSTEMS

ATP-This is what we use for energy.

Phosphagen system.  Used for durations of up to 10 seconds. Neither uses oxygen nor produces lactic acid. Primary system behind very short, powerful movements like a golf swing, a 100 m sprint, or powerlifting.  Replenished by creatine phosphate in the muscles.

Glycolitic system.  Known as anaerobic glycolysis.  Used for exercises that are performed at maximum rates for between 30 seconds and 2-3 minutes without enough oxygen.  Refers to the breakdown of sugar to supply the necessary energy from which ATP is manufactured. However when sugar is metabolized anaerobically, it is only partially broken down and one of the by-products is lactic acid.  As a result, muscles lose their ability to contract effectively, and muscle force production and exercise intensity ultimately decrease.

Aerobic system.  Used for long durations.  By 5 minutes this is the dominant system.  Requires oxygen to give a lot of ATP, but...you have to wait for it.  Steady work where breathing stays under control.

Aerobic and anaerobic systems usually work concurrently. When describing activity it is not which energy system is working but which predominates.

The APPROACHES

Cory.  Finished just after the 29th minute.
Cory planned to get 10 burpees a minute.  He also planned to take a few "Barbell Only" minutes when at RedLine (which mostly happened because planned reps took him to the end of a minute)

He had about 3 barbell only minutes during the Burpee portion and finished at about 14 minutes.

He would start his DU's at the 30 second point of each minute and do as many DU's as he could until the top of the minute then do his 5 OHS and then wait till the middle of the minute to do more DU's.

He had another 3 barbell only rounds during the DU's.

Travis.  Finished just after 30th minute.
The last time I tried this WOD, I set out average 7 burpees a minute hoping to finish in 15 minutes.  It killed me and I finished burpees in 24 minutes.  So this time I knew I had to do something different because my HR was jacking up too much last time and I could barely do 4 burpees on some minutes and I HAD to take barbell only minutes.

So out of the gate I chose to front load my burpees and go for 10 burpees in the 1st minute, then 9 the next, then 8, 7, 6 and on down to 5 per minute.  Once I got to 5 per minute I held that pace until 80 reps and then adrenaline got me to do 6,7,7.  Done in about 17 minutes.  

Now I KNEW I was likely to finish if I stuck to the plan.  I decided to just do DU's until I had 20-25 seconds left each minute (like the burpees) and then I would rest.  I averaged 35-40 per minute and got done at 30:40.  Not only finishing but KILLING my last 2 tries at this WOD.

The ANALYSIS

Cory's ability to work anerobically made his strategy of pushing hard for 3-4 minutes and then resting for a 1 minute to recover work fantastic for him.  When I tried that last time, it didn't work at all because I just could not come back from 3-4 minutes of hard work.

I on the other hand turned it into small intense bursts of work in the beginning when I had the capacity and then turned it into a very slow controlled grind with built in recovery periods.  I take creatine supplements daily and I'm very good at working at 80% for a loooong time.  But ask me to work in that anerobic system and I suck.