This One Is For You Ryan Malone Press On… Press On…

I am sure you guys think the title of this article is a little bit odd and redundant.  However, there is a very important story behind this title.  I was driving from work on Friday morning; before I got home my gas light began to shine its amber light as an indication that I should probably get gas before I ended up stuck on the side of the road. I took this warming and pulled up to my local Kroger to use a somewhat useless ten cents off at the gas pump.  I turned my truck off; I opened the console to grab my Kroger card.  However, I was somewhat stupefied or amazed to find an old rubber band bracelet. This bracelet wasn't some dumb Live Strong bracelet, or something that was massively reproduced so that he could break on you two days after you bought it.  No, this was a bracelet that I had received while playing for The University of Mississippi Football team.  As I held it and ran my fingers through the letters P..R..E...S..S..O..N.. I began to have nostalgic flashbacks of Coach Houston Nutt in the team meeting room preaching to us and motivating us.  I was filled with happy memories and good feelings.

                

           This is where the story goes a little south! As I pumped my gas into my truck, my cell phone buzzed, it was another Facebook notification.  This time it wasn't a simple break up, or engagement, or photo, or even a stupid comment about a few sorority sisters happiness on bid day (or even one girl face planting in the grove when she was running to her new sorority house).  It was a message about a young man named Ryan Malone.  Ryan Malone was a graduate student at The University of Mississippi he was also a local who I had grown up with and one of the first training partners I ever had.  Ryan died overnight in his apartment, his girlfriend found him and rushed him to the hospital but he was already gone.  Ryan was twenty-four and was to finish his master’s degree this summer. As I drove home, I held that rubber band bracelet. 

Press On…

                

             I thought about Ryan most of the afternoon and even into training. I remembered when we were in high school and how we lifted together.  Ryan was your typical meat head and basked in the glory of being one.  He tried Power lifting, but that wasn't his love; Bodybuilding was. Not to say he didn't have other aspects that he trained.  All I could think about was Ryan and Press On.  I began to think about what Coach Nutt use to say all the time “These are the best days of your life.”  So I made a promise to Ryan and myself.  That every day from this point on, I was going to live and train because these are the best days of my life; I will train like Ryan would; attacking lifts and making progress by fighting for it.  I would press on during days that I didn't feel right or on lifts that I missed.  I won’t let others bring me down, and I won’t allow myself to bring myself down.

             Ryan, you had a profound effect on me. Without you, I wouldn't have taken pride in training. If I hadn't taken pride in my training I probably wouldn't have gone to college for football.  If I hadn't gone to school for football I wouldn't have met the coaches that opened my eyes to the profession of Strength and Conditioning, or Olympic Weightlifting.  If I hadn't opened my eyes to the profession of Strength and Conditioning, or Olympic Weightlifting, I would have nothing right now. So from the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you Ryan Malone.  Without you, I wouldn't have had anything that I have right now. I wish you the best up there and we love you brother.

PRESS ON……

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3 Week Strength Block Week 1

I stayed very conservative at the start of this cycle.  I finally got it in my head that the race is not a 100 yards that it is 1000 miles. I had been focusing lately on one thing and one thing only the Memphis Fall Open (our local weightlifting meet).  I believed this was the only chance I had to qualify for the 2013 Collegiate Nationals Championship.  It isn't.  I have a long road ahead of me and weightlifting career; I am twenty three years old, and in pretty good health.  With that in mind I decided that I would start on a foundation of strength and build from there.

With that being said I set 85% of my lifts as my 5RM.  Next, I followed somewhat of Glenn Pendley's 5x5 approach and took about 15-20% of that as my training weight.  Each week I will add ten pounds to the lifts.  If my hypothesis is correct within a four week period I will be lifting 90% or more of my 1RM for a 5RM. This will continue into my next strength block or until my coach decides otherwise. I am eager to build strength. I am eager to get stronger.  Being stronger will help me Jerk, Squat, and Pull. 

The heavy volume has helped me with my problem areas.  I feel my upper back, core, glutes, and hamstrings have gotten stronger and built up better. The addition of close grip bench press has added more strength towards my lockout in the Jerk. I have great expectations for this cycle and my overall performance.  

Great Article from Glenn Pendlay

Blue Collar Recovery

3/10/2011  by  Glenn Pendlay

Most of you are somewhat familiar with recovery methods of professional or full time athletes. Massage therapists. Cold plunges. Well outfitted training rooms. Nutritionists and supplement regimens designed specifically for the individual athlete. In short, unlimited time and money to do everything possible to recover faster, train more, and make faster progress. But you, you're working 40 hours a week and overtime when you can get it. Money is short cause the oldest needs braces and the youngest still needs new diapers ever time your turn around. The wife wants a bigger house, but you really NEED that new truck. Whether you want to add 10kg to your clean and jerk, or push your arms from 16 to 17 inches, you need to keep it down and dirty, with minimum investment of time and money. While you are not going to be able to equal the effectiveness of the recovery techniques of the best athletes in the world, you can often come surprisingly close for very little money, and a modest time investment. The cheapest and easiest investment in your recovery is simply sleep. Sure, I know, boring, right? Well, not so boring when you consider that the professional athlete can take advantage of everything at his or her disposal, and if the party lasts till 3 or 4am every night, and they are getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep, and you do nothing but get adequate (8 hours or more) sleep, you are probably better off than they are. I have heard every excuse in the book, but, in 9 out of 10 cases, all that is really needed to get adequate sleep is to shut the TV off and go to bed a little earlier. Poor diet contributes to fatigue in most athletes. Next to sleep, fixing your diet is the quickest (and possibly best) way to aid in recovery. General nutrition for the blue collar athlete should revolve around nutrient rich foods. Beef, fish, eggs, nuts, milk, vegetables, and fruits, especially berries. I have always felt that most meals should mainly feature a protein source (beef, eggs, etc) and vegetables, and carbs should be added to gain weight or taken away to lose weight. I guarantee you, you will not recover as well on a bowl of cocoa puffs in the morning as you will on scrambled eggs with onions, peppers, or spinach mixed in, ham, and an orange or apple or some berries. Frozen pizza won't get you as far as a good cut of beef or salmon and asparagus… and no, that DOESN'T take that long to cook! Center your meals around a variety of quality protein sources and a variety of vegetables and fruits. Carbs are not the enemy, but they are not as nutrient dense and as I said earlier, the amount you eat should be added to if you want to gain weight, and subtracted from if you want to lose weight. Consuming nutrients directly before and after your workout, in most cases a combination of protein and carbs, can greatly aid in maximizing the benefits of the training performed and also speed up the recovery process for the next session. Dehydration can be detrimental to performance and recovery post-training. Drinking adequate fluids before and during training can ensure that recovery following training is optimal. An adequate pre-workout meal will result in less muscle damage and will ultimately lead to greater recovery. Simple foods, with only 1-2 ingredients, tend to work best and are easy to digest. Eggs and oatmeal, a meat and cheese sandwich, even steak and potato are solid choices. For those of us who prefer not train on a full stomach, try drinking a protein and carbohydrate shake or 2 glasses of milk to get the same benefit. Post-workout nutrition is the mythical holy grail of recovery with everyone searching for the best product or optimal combination. Taking in a combination of protein and carbs, sooner rather than later, will restore carbohydrate stores of the muscle and increase protein synthesis (muscle building). Most recommendations include a ratio of 2-3x the amount of carbohydrate to protein; 100-150 grams of carbs and 50 grams protein. Any type of post-workout shake is a good option, but again whole foods can also do the trick; this is also a great time to take in foods higher in sugar (fruit, white breads). Many of the same options pre-workout also apply here but also, milk and a bagel, eggs and fruit, chocolate milk, etc. Hydrotherapy is very easily accessible even for those of you who don't have a hot tub or a pool. Hopefully you have a shower. If not, you have more problems than recovery. Contrast showers are one of the best examples of hydrotherapy out there, and its accessible to just about everyone. In general, 30 seconds of cold water alternated with 1 to 2 minutes of hot water, continued for 10-15 minutes works well. Start with hot and end with cold, try switching up the amount of time you use for each cycle so the body does not adapt, and for best use the coldest and hottest water you can stand. Another example of hydrotherapy is the good old Epsom salt bath. It's the type of thing your mom and grandmother might have used, and in my opinion this says a lot, I tend to trust stuff that's been around forever more than the latest fad. Usually there is at least some reason it's managed to stick around. In this instance it has recently been found that the magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin and raises blood levels of magnesium significantly if you do it 2 to 3 times per week. This helps with relaxation, and, there is little more important in recovery than sleep and relaxation. Put about 1lb of salts in the average bath. An example of a blue collar cold plunge that I have used myself is 16lbs of ice dumped in the bathtub and then filling the tub partway with cold water, and getting in for 15-20 minutes. This costs a few dollars for the ice, but it can be valuable say, once a week after your hardest leg workout. Ice is your friend. Any sore joint should be iced after training. Ice packs are cheap and usually a one time investment. Another inexpensive version of cryotherapy is to get some paper or Styrofoam cups, fill them with water and freeze… then, when you want to use them, peel a half inch or inch of the top of the cup… use the bottom of the cup to hold on to it and massage what hurts with the ice, or have a workout partner help with hard to reach areas. Most of us can't afford professional massages on a regular basis. I know I cant, and I FOR SURE couldn't have when I was spending more time training and less time working than I am now, lol. But you can self massage your legs, and many other bodyparts, and most "significant others" can be persuaded to give a short back massage here and there. Massage feels good and may help alleviate muscle soreness by increasing muscle blood flow. Foam rollers are not expensive, and can be a great accompaniment to massage. Work with a foam roller in a specific area may help breakdown soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue and make the muscle more pliable. Getting in a sauna once a week isn't impossible for most people. I recommend doing it after your workout on a day where the next day is a rest day, and doing 2 to 3 15 minute sessions in the sauna, separated by 5 to 10 minutes out. When my guys do this on Saturday after the Saturday workout, they ALWAYS feel better on Monday… Sunday is our rest day. A newer technique that has shown some added benefit is the use of compression garments following training. While it is an added expense, they can be used for months/years on end with no need for replacement. Compression garments, think tights for the upper and lower body, aid in reducing swelling of the muscle post-training and allow muscle recovery to occur at a fast rate than without garments. The garment should be tight, as to apply compression, but not so tight that it restricts blood flow to the area. Most of these recovery techniques will offer some small immediate benefit to your training. However, for best results, they should treated like training itself, in that prolonged consistent use overtime will go a long way to allow for harder training and faster recovery. Experiment with different combinations as time allows and find a system that works for you. So there you have it. Not much new or revolutionary, but, I would be willing to bet that not many of you are really taking advantage of all the methods at your disposal. Get enough sleep. Eat a good, nutrient rich diet, especially before and after your workout. Take advantage of your shower and your bathtub for contrast showers, homemade "cold plunges" and an Epsom salt bath here and there. Use ice to ice or massage anything that is particularly sore. Use the massage techniques that are at your disposal, there should be several of them, and, if you can, look into some compression garments. Do these things and forego the parties and late nights, and you can probably put yourself AHEAD of most of the pro's when it comes to recovery.

3 Week Strength Block

This is my new Strength block.  It will be altered as we go because the last week will lead up to my wedding day in Destin, FL so instead of five days of training that week I might have to do three and add in two session everyday prior to the day we leave.  Also, our next meet is getting close, we are going to have to tailor the next few cycles to prep ourselves for it.

Week 1-3 Week 4 Unloaded/Recovery Tall Snatch + Snatch Balance in all warmups Day 1 Back Squat 5RM; 4 x 5 @ 90% High Hang, Mid-thigh, Floor Stop Snatches x 8 @ 70% GHR 5 x 5 GHD Situps 5 x 10 Day 2 Close Grip Bench Press 5RM; 4 x 5 @ 90% Push Press + Jerk + Jerk x 5 sets @ 70% of Jerk 1RM Clean Pull 3 x 5 @ 100% of clean Barbell Row 5 x 10, not pendlay row Single Arm Farmer's Carry 5 sets heavy Reverse Hyper 3 x 15 Day 3 Front Squat 5RM; 4 x 5 @ 90% High Hang, Mid-thigh, Floor Stop Cleans x 8 @ 70% GHR 5 x 5 Pallof Press 5 x 30 sec per side Day 4 Push Press 5RM; 4 x 5 @ 90% Snatch 6 x 1 @ 90% of 1RM Pullups 5 x 10 Toes to Bar 5 x 10 Reverse Hyper 3 x 15 Day 5 Snatch 1RM Clean & Jerk 1RM Back Squat 1RM

3rd Pull Strength Cycle Week 4 Review

This was the unloading week of this cycle.  At the start of the week I felt a little pinch in my back so I altered the week a little bit.  I was originally only suppose to work up to 3RM or 5RM as normal and ditch the drop sets. However, with the sudden pinch I just decided to do a heavy (non maximal) single on certain movements.  This way I was still lifting heavy but not taxing myself too much.  For the most part the numbers I was hitting were what I would normally hit for about a 2RM or 3RM without pushing too hard.  I did cut out some of the accessory lifts and just focused on technique a little bit more with the classic lifts.  My body weight has finally come back down to my weight class as well.  This is important for me because my goal is to stay at this weight and get stronger in the up coming strength cycle.

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How funny life can be.

So in the last two month my life has gotten pretty crazy. I moved into a apartment with my soon to be wife. I left my job as a school teacher (that was a good paying position too). I have started a new job as a physical therapist tech and was let go after a month. I have been unemployed and
I have found a new job as well. I have done all this while still enrolling in graduate classes and planning a wedding.
Through all these things however I have continued to press forward and stay positive with the help of three things.
1.) Faith
2.) Family
3.) Weight lifting

Thank you Lord, thank you everyone.

3rd Pull Strength Cycle Week 3 Review

Week three is over with and in the books.  I started out this week a little bit behind due to the long Labor Day weekend.  I am not complaining about the long break but I did have to double up on Tuesday with workout sessions.  I went in think that this week would be off due to the long break; however, I couldn’t have been more mistaken.  I set not only one PR this week, I sent five of them.  That’s right you read correctly, I reach down deep this week and managed to get five PR’s.  This is how the week went for me.

Day One (Tuesday): The morning started off with two PR’s.  I Jerked 100% of my training max for a double.  I originally was trying to a 4RM but I will take a 2RM any day of the week with 100% of my training max.  Next I set a new 3RM at my current body weight (189) with an easy 315 lbs.  Normally, when I start to lose weight my strength lift numbers tend to drop.  However, during this cycle my weight has dropped and my numbers have gone up.  The afternoon I PR’d again in both my Overhead Squat where I performed a 3RM with 225 lbs. (100 kilograms). As well as Snatch Push Press with 225 for a 1RM. 

Day Two: I was really sore from the day before, I didn’t believe that the day would be that great seeing that my body had just done some amazing things the day before.  However, to my surprise I hit another PR this time on Front Squats.  Originally, I was supposed to shoot for a 3RM on Front Squats however, I was only able to do a 2RM of 270.  Although this wasn’t a 3RM it was a 2RM and again I will gladly take a PR any day of the week. I did not have a great day on my other lifts (Tall Clean and Power Clean).  By this point I was extremely fatigued from the Front Squats.

Day Three: I woke up feeling pretty good.  The night before my success was met by a very important message.  Jon North had read my tweets about my training and my PR’s and posted friendly words of encouragement to me and my training. I entered the gym extremely happy and humble.  However, my body couldn't really handle another PR.  I was also extremely pressed for time.  My wedding is coming up soon and I was needed by my soon to be wife to handle wedding stuff.  I left the gym after only being there less than thirty minutes.

Day Four: I woke up feeling a little bit more rested.  I was again pressed for time so I had to lift in the morning.  After teaching my Physical Education class at the University of Memphis I lifted in the old Fieldhouse on campus.  It was probably the best place for me to lift because it was the only place with platforms and kilo plates.  While I listened to some heavy metal I began to slap plates on the bar.  I worked my way up all the way up to 90 kilos on snatch and 110 on clean.  These two were extremely difficult for me due to my inconsistency.  I did finally hit the weight and I did finally total 200 kilograms which is a PR for me and five kilograms short of the qualifying total I need to go to Nationals.

All in all this week was by far the best week I have had during this cycle.  Week four will be an unloading week.  It will be a week I won’t completely follow the program and I will listen to my body.  I currently do not have a competition schedule until after my wedding.  I have a total of two months or eight weeks before the next competition which is plenty of time to get those five kilos.  I am not stressing and I am staying positive.

3rd Pull Strength Cycle Week 2 Review

Week two is done.  I am not as sore as the previous week.  Towards the end of the week I started to feel some tightness in my groin, so I backed off of the safety bar squats after my classic work (snatch and clean and jerk).  There were some good things that happened this week and some things that I will have to attack even more next week.  However, this is how the week went for me.

Day one (Monday): My jerks felt good.  I hit 215 lbs on my 4RM and did hit my drop sets of 4x4@90% pretty well.  This is a PR from last week. Back Squat is still a work in progress for me.  Right now, my main goal is to work on my back rounding and strength.  I believe the next two weeks will be better for me.

Day two (Tuesday): I PR'd on Snatch Push Press with a 215 5RM, which is just ten pounds away from my goal.  Still close to a PR on Overhead Squats.  I feel like getting stronger in these two lifts, and my pulls will help me with my goal of 100 kilo (220 lbs.) Snatch.

Day three (Thursday): I PR'd on my Front Squats again.  I actually did my 1RM of 265lbs. for a 3RM.  That puts my 1RM up to 290 lbs. This is huge, however, I still have to work on my back rounding still.  My T-spine was a little bit sore afterwards, and I didn't get my last rep of my drop sets of 4x3@90%. 2RM Power Cleans went the same as last week.  However, my 2RM Tall Cleans went up ten pounds (215 lbs.), which is a huge increase from the week before. I feel like the Tall Cleans are extremely beneficial for me.  It is helping my body get use to turning the bar over faster and getting myself under the bar and in the right positions faster.

Day four (Friday): I hit 90% of my snatch max for eight singles.  This is amazing seeing that the week before I had so many problems with the bar and my technique. The bar path was still not ideal.  I could feel that much.  However, I caught it low and above all, I caught it.  For Push Press, one of the other strength coaches at Faction Strength & Conditioning, Chris Moore, came up with a hypothesis.  One of my major troubles with my lifts is the bar path.  I tend to push the bar away from my body, which not only makes me fight the weight, but also gravity.  So, we decided to attach an Elitefts red mini band to the bar and put tension forward while I perform my movements, to trick my body into actively pulling the bar back in the normal path.  So far, it is being tested, however, I did hit the same 195lbs. better than I did the week before.  My stabilizer muscles we fatigued, and I couldn't really finish my drop sets. We used the same tactic on my Pendlay Rows and Snatch Pulls, which I felt really helped.

Day five (Saturday): I took Friday off and was planning on having a good breakfast and early training session on this day.  That didn't happen though.  A family emergency came up this morning, and I couldn't train or eat how I wanted to.  I got to the gym late and couldn't lift on the platform and bar I normally use.  My groin was also bothering me this morning, and it felt tender during my warm ups and lifts. My snatches didn't turn out right.  My bar path was not where it should have been.  I was still catching it in front of my body.  I did, however, have a good Clean day.  I pulled myself under the weight that I had previously not been able to.  I called it quits after the Cleans due to my groin and closing time at the gym.

All in all it was not a terrible week.  I was able to PR on several different days, and I barely missed the total I need to qualify for nationals, on Saturday.  In hindsight, that is great because nationals isn't until April and our next meet is another two months away.  That gives me eight weeks to go heavier and get stronger and better at my positioning.  These are my two weaknesses, and they are the two areas that I will be focusing on the most in the coming cycles.