Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[Mark E. Hurling]

I've done the 2nd one with a short roller like you describe and it's not easy but doable for me, but then you're a good deal taller than I am. The really important part I found was to get the roller positioned behind your head. If you can maintain a good bridge through the unsupported hips and abs you might be able to hit most of the area that will do you the most good. Just think of driving your hips upward toward the ceiling with the push starting in your heels.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Jujitsu is over for 2010, but one of the purple belts who works at the same place I do contacted me and asked if I wanted to work out. We met at the local YMCA last night and dug up some mats from a closet in another room, which pretty much unnerved the spin class using that space. We did some multi-step counters to attacks at a speed slightly faster than old folks doing tai chi. This was useful in several respects. The purple belt kept trying to resort to compressing me downward like a coil spring which really doesn't work all that well. I recommended that he add some lateral pull to this with a step backward or forward to further add some bodyweight to the move and things started happening better for him right away. I learned myself that I had to constantly use a mental governor on my speed, because I was used to moving a lot faster than this and neither of us would get the benefit of what we were trying to accomplish.

Today was my struggle with the dragon: squats. I'm determined to master these, but they give me the willies.

5 minute warm up on the bike.

Squat:
135x5, 225x3, 275x1. I know I cut some depth on the 275 because it started to tax my lower back. This was more a matter of fear than anything else so I'm going to try this again on the next day I do squats. Most of this is mental for me.

Back Extension:
45x10, 90x1, 100x10. Piece of cake for the 100, it didn't feel anywhere near a limit weight. I just wish I could figure out how to apply the strenght I can marshal for this move to reinforcing my lower back under the bar for squats. Mind over matter I guess; if I don't mind, it won't matter. A tip of the hat to Satchel Paige for that quote.

Pinch Grip:
152 lbs. for 25 seconds.

Stretched and used the foam roller. Boy, did the old IT bands feel it after the squats!

[JM3]

!!!!SLAY THE DRAGON!!!! Congrats- and try to remain continent.... but why not just do 3x5?

[Mark E. Hurling]

Hah! Saw that continental remark huh? Thanks for the good wishes. I may try a 3x5 a little later, right now I'm going to see just how far the 5/3/1 might take me.

[Mark E. Hurling]

I did a running GXP today for variety's sake. All went well and I finished off with the usual stretching.

[Ian Kovtunovich]

GXP

Define, please?

[Mark E. Hurling]

Why soitenly! Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk. I've driven three generations of women crazy with the Stooges, I just couldn't resist.

The GXP takes 15 minutes. You ramp up intensity to 85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) over a period of 5 minutes. Stay at 85% MHR for 5 minutes, and ramp down the intensity again over 5 minutes. It's works pretty well for me as an authentic geezer at 60. It doesn't tax my recovery and it's in and out and done in short order. Clarence Bass and Richard Winnett have both reviewed and written a couple of good articles on this, but I'll be happy for more info if you need it.

[tertius]

Jujitsu is over for 2010, but one of the purple belts who works at the same place I do contacted me and asked if I wanted to work out. We met at the local YMCA last night and dug up some mats from a closet in another room, which pretty much unnerved the spin class using that space. We did some multi-step counters to attacks at a speed slightly faster than old folks doing tai chi. This was useful in several respects. The purple belt kept trying to resort to compressing me downward like a coil spring which really doesn't work all that well. I recommended that he add some lateral pull to this with a step backward or forward to further add some bodyweight to the move and things started happening better for him right away. I learned myself that I had to constantly use a mental governor on my speed, because I was used to moving a lot faster than this and neither of us would get the benefit of what we were trying to accomplish.

Today was my struggle with the dragon: squats. I'm determined to master these, but they give me the willies.

5 minute warm up on the bike.

Squat:
135x5, 225x3, 275x1. I know I cut some depth on the 275 because it started to tax my lower back. This was more a matter of fear than anything else so I'm going to try this again on the next day I do squats. Most of this is mental for me.

Back Extension:
45x10, 90x1, 100x10. Piece of cake for the 100, it didn't feel anywhere near a limit weight. I just wish I could figure out how to apply the strenght I can marshal for this move to reinforcing my lower back under the bar for squats. Mind over matter I guess; if I don't mind, it won't matter. A tip of the hat to Satchel Paige for that quote.

Pinch Grip:
152 lbs. for 25 seconds.

Stretched and used the foam roller. Boy, did the old IT bands feel it after the squats!

You squatting high bar or low bar on these, MEH?

[Mark E. Hurling]

That's something I've been wondering myself. I haven't read Starting Strength because I figured I had used up my starter boost several times already since leaving my teen years long behind me and having gone through a couple of 20 rep squat routines. I have thinking of getting it though for the form cues.

OK though, to answer your question directly, I position the bar just under the 7th cervical vertbra and across the upper part of my scapulae. I think this is a low bar squat, then I don't really have the lingo down pat. Anyway, that's what and how I do it.

[tertius]

That's something I've been wondering myself. I haven't read Starting Strength because I figured I had used up my starter boost several times already since leaving my teen years long behind me and having gone through a couple of 20 rep squat routines. I have thinking of getting it though for the form cues.

OK though, to answer your question directly, I position the bar just under the 7th cervical vertbra and across the upper part of my scapulae. I think this is a low bar squat, then I don't really have the lingo down pat. Anyway, that's what and how I do it.

That's the low bar position, yeah, but that doesn't actually make it a low bar squat, from Rip's perspective, based on his comments to recent posters. The main thing is that the high-bar style squat the motion is more 'down between the legs' and low bar is more ' ass goes backward'. So one is squatting like you would to take a crap in the woods, and the other is more like trying to find a chair with your ass. That's how I think of it, anyway. I've got a bad habit of sort of randomly switching it up, unconsciously. I can't carry the bar in the high bar position, though. Murders my spine.

I'd get the book. Seriously, 50 pages on the mechanics of the squat is no joke. Though you might wait for the 3rd edition, which should be happening fairly soonish, and you'll get the written word on the power snatch too.