A Middle Aged Adolescent (who cannot possibly be the only one)

[Nunedog]

(The weekly rant is above - or on the preceding page.)

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 4/22/19 5&2 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x5*) Tom 392.5 JC 165
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 345. 347.5, 345 chains JC 170
3. Power Cleans (3x3) light JC 75 - 95
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 2* reps Tom 292.5 JC 115
2. Bench press - back off sets (8 sets of 2) Tom 260 chains JC 100
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (8.75)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 2* reps Tom 460
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 415 JC 235
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x5* reps Tom 352.5 JC 150
4. Pin squats [Hole 10] (3) 275
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands or chains;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 12x3 - 157.5 JC 47.5
2. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) barbell Tom 135 bands; JC 50 bands
3. Pull ups (5x10)
4. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
6. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s (72)
7. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
swim 1 mile

[Nunedog]

Yes, everything comes back to strength training, especially on a strength training blog, but if this ‘blacksmithing’ in the garage, as I like to call it, is a means of finding meaning and purpose in life, then a lot of things can indeed be measured against this grand metaphor.
When I don’t have the patience for classic rock radio as I lift, I’ll listen to podcasts by way of my cell phone. Recently, two different interviews made me reflect on the relationship between training and one’s purpose, in very different contexts.

In a discussion of Major League Baseball pitching, our version of ‘training’ is best compared to the constant craftsmanship that goes into making a living off skill and strength. I’ve always thought that being on the mound must be one of the loneliest and most difficult spots in all of sports, which it can be when things are going badly, but NEW YORK TIMES baseball writer Tyler Kepner reminds us that these guys know what they’re getting into. It’s a tremendous Alpha-Dog statement, to take nearly sole control of a game and dictate its terms. The Hall of Famers Kepner interviews all stress the importance of ‘mound presence.’ At best, it’s a transcendent level of emotional and physical control. Anywhere below that, it’s keeping one’s cool to take the reins of a performance that can go either way, or it’s simply not betraying one’s frustrations. Not only can the opposite team divine the next throw if he’s not careful, the pitcher himself can start to believe the messages he’s sending by snapping his glove at the catcher’s throws or glaring at the ump.
I found it very easy to relate to pitchers, from the standpoint of being in my head while facing a loaded bar or thinking long term about performance goals. It’s a constant process of practice and technical analysis. Sometimes we can pick up vital tips from people in the know, the way that Roy Halladay did from Mariano Rivera on gripping the ball for his cutter. They were teammates briefly in an All-Star Game, after which Halladay went on to develop a ferocious cutter and earn a place in the Hall of Fame - which would not have happened without Rivera’s help.

If we think of training as preparation to fill an important role - even if it doesn’t reach the level of achieving personal greatness - then the discussion of a shocking lack of preparation should cause grave concern for all Americans. While a 2017 collision off the coast of Japan between the destroyer USS FITZGERALD and a Philippine-flagged cargo ship, which killed seven Navy sailors, ‘could have been considered a Black Swan event’, a similar disaster two months later involving the USS JOHN S MCCAIN, killing 10, further revealed that the Navy’s Seventh Fleet had (has) a serious problem with its combat readiness.
Whatever you might think of our administration’s strange flirtation with North Korea, you’ve probably never worried about it a great deal, believing that we have one of the most sophisticated fighting systems in the world prowling just off their coast, and intercepting a missile would be easy enough if we ever had to. We need to rethink that assumption.

Months and months ago, in frustration at the image of little girls - those lucky enough to survive - running in terror from a terrorist bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, many of them still in their kitten ears and clutching balloons, I grasped for an image of the exact opposite of helplessness. The answer was the World War Two aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE, the original Death Star, the most formidable and accomplished warship ever fashioned by man, proven in numerous campaigns and bristling with weaponry, all of it the result of lessons hard-learned. Ships in that day were also packed thick with crews who were well experienced at the game. True, the technology was crude compared to that of nowadays, but if the film footage is any indication, combat is beyond labor intensive; it’s frantic, unbound, calling for a maximum recruitment of motor units, if you will: all hands on deck machine gunning for all they’re worth.
By contrast, according to a ProPublica investigation (as discussed in a podcast with the authors) the FITZGERALD and the MCCAIN were in terrible material condition, their sophisticated electronics by and large not functional, and manned by untrained, numerically insufficient, and exhausted crews. They had no business being away from the pier, let alone in busy shipping lanes - and especially in harm’s way. These crews wouldn’t have lasted five minutes in a scrape with one of their grandfathers’ World War Two ships.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are supposed to be among the most advanced ships afloat, capable of detecting and engaging multiple threats from over the horizon. Really, though, this presumes a couple of things:
-that the navigation and radar systems are working; that missing buttons on consoles are not taped over and technicians do not have to ‘hit the refresh button over a thousand times an hour’ to try to make the system work
-the most sophisticated weapons in the world are not actually operated with Windows 2000 software
‘The ship’s e-mail system, for both classified and non-classified material, failed repeatedly. The officers used G-Mail instead.’
-that the technicians and Officers of the Deck actually know how to use the electronic equipment. A ship that can supposedly engage numerous threats has to see them first, yet the FITZGERALD crew was unaware of a 30,000-ton container ship’s approach until 90 seconds before impact.
-the captain, ship, and crew are qualified as battle-ready before getting underway. The FITZGERALD had passed only seven out of 22 certifications - and was NOT certified to conduct anti-ballistic missile defense. The crew’s inexperience showed on three previous near misses with other vessels, prior to this mission.

This is a long way from Bull Halsey’s ENTERPRISE. In strength training, nothing is theoretical. Every workout provides feedback on the efficacy of one’s preparation and programming. Are your bench presses not happening the way they should? You find the information you need and add the dips, or whatever the case may be. Remember, Admiral Halsey ran the campaign from aboard the ENTERPRISE. He was present for dozens of battles, so he knew exactly what modifications his ships needed.
After the fatal 2017 collisions, various admirals in Washington and the Pacific pointed fingers and fired one another. Many of them, operating in the realm of the theoretical, in budget hearings and not battle spaces, ignored warnings from within the Navy as well the General Accounting Office that their emphasis on technology - at the expense of personnel - spelled trouble.

The FITZGERALD spun from the force imparted by the massive freighter and came to rest dead in the water, without power or communications. Below deck, sailors thrashed or swam through flooding compartments toward escape hatches. Seven sailors never made it out; five others were trapped in sonar rooms forward of the impact site. Still others had to beat their way through mangled steel to rescue the captain, who lay badly injured in his bunk, exposed to the open air high above the sea. The ship flooded dangerously, and as the main pumps failed, the crew had to improvise with hardware-store styled portable pumps and eventually a ten-hour, brutally exhausting bucket brigade.
The larger point is that this crippled, desperate situation after the collision mirrors the desperate state of affairs beforehand. This was a crew paradoxically undertrained but badly overworked, many of them putting in 100 hours a week on an infinite number of problems that were not their job.
As any owner can attest, boats simply start falling apart the moment they touch water. On board the Seventh Fleet’s destroyers, it would seem, maintenance issues first flooded the machinery spaces. Since no meaningful support from the command ashore existed, the pattern of neglect rose upward, through the combat information centers and to the bridges. The crews, managing what amounted at best to life support for the ships, simply had no time to develop the skills prescribed for the actual mission.
It must be very hard for fleet commanders in the Pacific to hold their heads high, knowing they’ve failed their sailors, ships, and country so badly.

Those of us swept up in the story while lifting weights are thankful we have some control over our fate, even if only in the gym.

[Nunedog]

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 4/29/19 2&1 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x2*) Tom 430 JC 180
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 345, 347.5x2 chains JC 135 chains
3. Power Cleans (3x3) light JC 75 - 95
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 1* rep Tom 310+ JC 135
2. Bench press - back off sets 8 sets of 3 with 252.5 chains or bands JC 90 chains
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (10)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 1* rep Tom 485 JC 270
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 432.5 chains JC 242.5
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x2* reps Tom 387.5 bands JC 162.5 chains
4. Pin squats [Holes 10 - 13 - 17] (3x3) 300, 350, 400
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers
were
FRIDAY
1. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands or chains;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 12x3 - 160 JC 65
2. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) kb’s 62’s, 72’s JC 30’s
3. Pull ups (5x10)
4. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
6. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s (72)
7. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
row 6000 meters

[Nunedog]

Back to the business at hand: score an early, minor victory for the bands, as I got three sets of 2 squats with 430, which was not happening three weeks ago.
These were tough sets; the bar did not fly up as if I had new superpowers, so this raises an important question: what are the bands doing for me?

First, I should probably say what they’re not doing. They’re not changing how weights feel at the bottom of the motion. The bands go slack just above parallel, so whether I was doing 352 or 392 the previous week, those were the weights being worked in the hole and through the sticking point. Consequently, 430 had no reason to feel lighter.
That’s the criticism people have about accommodating resistance: it doesn’t make any difference when it comes to training the most important part of the lift. People who don’t like the Westside brand of ‘equipped’ powerlifting contend that as strong as all the band work might make those guys at the tops of their lifts, the supersuit in the squat and the special shirt in the bench are the only things getting them through the weaker ranges of motion.
(If that sounds backwards, the criticism usually goes that equipped lifters have to work the top ends of their motions to pick up where the suit and shirt leave off.)

The bands enable me to make better use of reps in ways that might not be strictly numerical. At the top, the 100 pounds of additional force have strengthened my ability to tee up and not lose position in my chest with the heaviest loads. On the descent, all this force wanting to slingshot me into the ground faster than gravity makes me have to control the speed, yet the sensation of hitting the hole quickly and cleanly - without fighting it at the bottom - and then coming up and out without hesitation make for a very helpful motor pattern.
That’s probably what bought me those 430’s Monday, despite the fact that the bands are really supposed to prove their worth on my ascents, enforcing my focus on explosive strength. This is compensatory acceleration training, as spelled out by Josh Bryant, among others.

Bands work better than chains. Chains look meaner and tougher and are probably cheaper in the long run, but bands are more versatile. Their ranges of resistance can be altered; they can be doubled or wound around things to increase force. Their rate of increasing resistance can be greater and ultimately of greater use than that of chains.
Bands create greater velocity in the descents than do chains, so the stretch reflex is greater.
I had trained my benches with chains, mainly for the heck of it, since the chains I own would not have worked for squats. The loads were correct enough, but the effect not so dynamic. I missed my attempt at a 315 single Tuesday. I’ve gotten 310, and I threw 290 off my chest just before the 315, but hoisting three wheels on each end of the bar still awaits.
Bryant advises that folks training with bands should go every fourth week without them, which will be perfect, since 8’s are coming up.

People who do reverse hyperextensions probably say three main things about them:
1. They’re miserable.
They’re a giant production, especially if you’re lashing dumbbells between your legs. They hurt your stomach if you don’t brace the right way. You also have to pick up your feet a little, to put a tiny bend in your knees, so you don’t get this weird kind of nerve strain in your rear end.
2. You’re not really sure what they’re doing.
Most of the time you’re not in any great pain at the end of the workout, so you don’t feel like you need them. Yeah, you can feel them stretching your lower back, which you hope is far enough. They don’t seem to be adding any strength to your butt or hams.

3. Your lower back never, ever hurts.

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 5/6/19 8&3 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x8*) Tom 355 JC : 145
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 345 , 347.5 x2 JC 145, 147.5, 145
3. Power Cleans (3x3) 75 - 95 JC
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 3* reps Tom 282.5 JC 120
2. Bench press - back off sets [5 sets of 5, 75-85%] Tom 250 chains JC 110
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (11.25)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 3* reps Tom 440
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 395
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x8* reps Tom 320 JC 130
4. Pin squats [Holes 10 - 13 - 17] (3x3) 300, 350, 400
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. One 5-second sticking point isometric max effort
2. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands or chains;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 162.5 JC 67.5
3. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) barbell 135 JC 70
4. Pull ups (5x10)
5. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
6. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
7. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s, 72’s
8. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
swim 1 mile

[Nunedog]

Tuesdays, which are double sessions for me, are rough enough that I’m glad for two things: Wednesdays are off days - but first, Tuesday nights are Grog Nights, when I treat myself to a well earned beer before dinner. Really, this is symbolic; I’m not much of a drinker, so this little ritual is mainly for the sense of reward, as well as pretending I’m indulging in a little wickedness.
The other day, after my sled pull and during my runs, I found myself jonesing for a beer far more than usual. This must be psychological, I thought, in that I just want to get past the workout. Then again, maybe it’s physical: my body is sending a signal that it craves some specific nutrient.
I had also once written about my observation over the years that a beer the night before an endurance workout seemed to make me run, swim, or row a bit faster than usual. I had never gotten back to that, so this was as good a chance as any to sit down at the computer with a Heineken in a tall glass and see what I could find.
I blundered into another one of my important discoveries: non-alcoholic beer has been shown to improve athletes’ recovery capacities, to the point that it played a prominent role in the 2018 Olympics.

It’s a difficult question to answer, the effect of alcohol on performance, since a great many variables are in play. ‘Quantity, demographics, and type of exercise [make] it difficult to determine specific recommendations,’ so scientists or coaches must paint with a pretty broad brush. However, the news concerning alcohol, which is to say the ethanol itself in beer, wine, or spirits, is generally bad. Its acute use degrades motor skills, hydration, aerobic performance, and recovery. Chronic use spells trouble for body composition, nutrition, immune function, and injury risk - including prolonged and impaired healing. Heavy use has even worse effects, like cardiovascular and liver diseases, and cancer.
Interestingly, in the short term, low or moderate alcohol intake has NOT been shown as deleterious to strength or anaerobic performance. Nor has it been shown to be an aid. It can decrease endurance performance by interfering with metabolic priorities.
Recovery from exercise involves the replenishment of glycogen, the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis, and the restoration of fluid balance. Alcohol, naturally, hoses all this up, either directly - chemically - within the body, though the extent of this is a little hazy, or by supplanting the behaviors that are crucial to obtaining post workout nutrition.
So on and so on: alcohol can inhibit sleep and injury recovery, in the short and long terms, and beyond that, the discussions get into the broader risks of continued use.

My single beer on a Friday night before Saturday’s workout doesn’t fit any of the above scenarios. The studies on acute intake are all same-day or shortly before a testing session begins, and long term I’m having so little alcohol that its effect on various physical processes must be negligible.
I know this is a bit of a stretch - but assuming that ‘beer the night before a run-swim-run’ effect is real, as is the idea that my body was craving something and sending me a message, separate from the ethanol itself, is there something in beer that’s actually helpful?

First of all, as far as ethanol goes, it’s not like I’m slamming 151. A University of Granada study has shown that in healthy, young adults, beer in moderate amounts is as effective as water for rehydration and recovery. From there, discussions of beer’s health effects focus on non-alcoholic beer, and its concentration of polyphenols, which are immune boosting chemicals from the plants brewed for beer.
After a study showed that runners drinking non-alcoholic beer in the weeks before a marathon suffered significantly less inflammation and fewer upper respiratory infections than placebo drinking racers, German scientists reached a further conclusion: ‘if non-alcoholic beer helped athletes recover more quickly from grueling workouts, then it could allow them to train harder.’ It also has significantly less sugar than regular sports drinks.
At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games, German athletes drew attention for both the amount of non-alcoholic beer they drank everyday and the number of medals they won.
Non-alcoholic beer is also attracting attention for other potential health benefits. It may enhance the production and antioxidant content of breastmilk. Studies suggest that it might improve sleep quality and reduce anxiety.
Conventional beer or ‘moderate alcohol consumption’ remains associated with a number of health benefits, among them reducing cardiovascular disease risk. Scientists have placed beer on a par with red wine in this regard. Moderate beer consumption can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity. It can fight against Parkinson’s Disease and maybe rheumatoid arthritis (further research is necessary) and it’s associated with better bone health.

When it comes down to purely exercise recovery, the finding here is that non-alcoholic beer is vastly superior to regular brew, and beyond that it appears to be an aid, something more helpful than not having it at all.
Will I make the switch to non-alcoholic brew? I don’t know. The German scientist in that first study believes the effect is greater for aerobic athletes, and not so much for anaerobic or strength based movements. That might not make a difference, since our workouts do make for an hour or two of heightened aerobic output. As light a drinker as I am, I’m actually in it for the buzz, or the slight drop in RPM’s at the end of a busy day.
Still, I wouldn’t mind getting really fast.

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 5/12/19 5&2 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x5*) Tom 395 JC 165
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 347.5 JC 147.5
3. Power Cleans (3x3) light JC 75 - 95
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 2* reps Tom 292.5 JC 115
2. Bench press - back off sets (8 sets of 3) Tom 260 bands JC 100
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (12.5)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 2* reps Tom 465 JC 250
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 417.5 JC 225
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x5* reps Tom 355 bands 5x3 JC 150
4. Pin squats [Hole 10] (3) 275
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands or chains;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 12x3 - 165 JC 70
2. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) kettlebell Tom 62, 72 JC 30
3. Pull ups (5x10+)
4. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
6. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s (72) or band flies
7. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
row 6000 meters

[Nunedog]

A nice little news story flew across the landscape a week or ten days ago: an exasperated single mother in Atlanta lamented on social media that she simply couldn’t afford shoes for her 13-year-old son anymore. His feet were size 18, which doesn’t exist in regular stores, and any special orders were beyond her reach.
Come on down to Friedman’s, came a message in reply, and we’ll see if we can work something out. To their great surprise, as mother and son walked into the store, they were greeted by none other than Shaquille O’Neal, the 7-foot, 1-inch NBA Hall of Fame center. O’Neal and store owner Bruce Friedman go back a long way; when O’Neal’s family couldn’t afford a pair of shoes when he was a teenager, Friedman gave the boy a pair and waved off the cost. Throughout his 19-year NBA career, every pair of shoes Shaq wore came from Friedman’s.
‘I’ve been there,’ Shaq said to the young mother, and he proceeded to pick up the tab for 10 pairs of shoes - dress up, school, basketball, and everything else the kid could need.
However, the most interesting moment came after all the TV interviews were done. The crew kept the camera rolling to pick up some ‘B-roll,’ the extra footage they might need to put with the reporter’s voice-over as she narrated the story. The kid and Shaq started fooling around after a while, the kid with his back to Shaq, making as if he were dribbling a ball and pushing in against him before faking to one side and spinning to the other for a jump shot.
Shaq put up a finger. ‘Hang on, hang on,’ you could sense him saying. ‘That’s not how it works.’
Some news accounts show more of this than others - but Shaq instructs, Come in sideways, with your shoulder.
One news story shows Shaq explaining force. He has the kid drive one hand against his torso and lean into it. Shaq resists for a second and then brushes it away, making him fall forward. ‘You see?’
The kid furrows his brow, trying to understand.
Shaq was explaining his Black Tornado. Dribbling the ball with one hand, he’d push into the paint with the opposite shoulder and place his pivot foot deep inside or between the defender’s feet. The defender would naturally shove back at that lead shoulder, which meant he had taken the bait. Shaq would pivot away on that planted foot, and as the defender stumbled into emptiness, Shaq would rise and put away the shot.
That must have been quite the conversation between the kid and his Mom on the drive home: ‘Ma, 10 pairs of shoes . . I mean, that’s awesome . . . but seriously, he just upped my game - like 10 years!’

I don’t know whether that’s a fundamental ‘posting’ maneuver or Shaq’s Black Tornado is a trick he honed through years of practical experience, but I’m intrigued by the idea of insights from veterans of the game, particularly the concepts you never would have known otherwise. Pittsburgh Steeler Jack Lambert, as I once wrote, showed me a forearm shiver that could shed a block from an offensive lineman, if not knock someone clear across a barroom. Not too long ago, when I was working with a local police force, I was on a ride-along when we got a call about someone casing an empty house. It was late at night, we didn’t find anybody, and the street was quiet and lined with cars. If someone was prowling around, we figured, he was hiding, waiting for us to leave.
The cop walked along the street and put his hand on the hoods of the various cars, feeling for engine heat. If someone had arrived recently, then we might know whom we were looking for, which struck me as genius.

The best example of sound fundamentals combined with wisdom from an old pro is a set of 2003 YouTube videos documenting ‘Camp Nolan Ryan,’ a gathering of top tier Texas high school baseball pitchers who not only received coaching but some very sobering advice on the realities of playing in the big leagues.
Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is one of only three legendary players to have his jersey number retired by three separate teams. He pitched for 27 years - appearing in four different decades - throwing consistently in the 100 mile-an-hour range well into his 40’s. His 5700-plus strikeout record should be safe for the next century or two, and he’s the all-time leader for no-hitters.
Ryan was uniquely qualified to impart an important message to these young prospects: he’s seen hotshots come, and he’s seen them go. If you want to be anything other than a flash in the pan, you’d better know what you’re doing.
Ryan was joined by Tom House, his former Texas Rangers pitching coach, himself a one-time major leaguer, who’s authored numerous books and made a career out of teaching the mechanics of throwing. The curriculum is very thorough, stressing symmetrical, whole bodied movement: rotating the hips, transferring weight properly, and thereby not isolating and unduly stressing the arm. Interestingly, both pitchers and infielders making a throw are taught to keep their hands and the ball together in front of themselves longer than you might imagine. Their bodies must start the motion and set the direction; the arm’s launching the ball comes only when the lead foot has been committed to the ground.
‘Balance and posture,’ they stress. Ryan and House are big advocates for strength training; it was solely the key to his longevity, Ryan says to the kids. The conditioning enabled him to maintain the technique necessary both to protect his arm and maximize his mechanical efficiency. Says House at one point, ’Strength comes from the weight room. Velocity comes from proper mechanics.’
They are brutally honest with those who try to muscle through their pitches. ‘You’ve got to change your posture,’ House says to a kid at one point. ‘Read my lips. Don’t do that.’
They have plenty of stories about young stars with strong arms but neither the technique nor bodily strength to protect themselves. Those guys don’t last long, is the message. Ryan acknowledges that each the kids in attendance has the potential to go very far but tells them, ‘if you’re not prepared for the workload, it’s just a matter of time before you break down.’
‘The weakest link will show up once you’ve accumulated enough innings,’ Ryan warns.

Of course, I’m building toward one of my reasoning-by-analogy posts, though time and space won’t allow for it this week. I have some lessons about the squat which have been driven home in recent weeks with the band work and a surprisingly successful round of 5’s with 395 just the other day. I’m still working in the STARTING STRENGTH model, but I must say, there are a couple of things that only experience - and by that I mean operating in extremis - will show you. They’ll up your game if you’re 13, and if you don’t figure this out eventually, you’re not going to be in the major leagues for long.
Stay tuned.

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 5/19/19 2&1 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x2*) Tom 432.5 JC 182.5
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 347.5, 350 chains JC 150 chains
3. Power Cleans (3x3) light JC 75 - 95
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 1* rep Tom 310+ JC 135
2. Bench press - back off sets 8 sets of 3 with 255 bands JC 90 chains
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (13.75)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 1* rep Tom 490 JC 270
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 440 chains JC 242.5
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x2* reps Tom 390 bands JC 180 bands
4. Pin squats [Holes 10 - 13 - 17] (3x3) 300, 350, 400
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands or chains;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 12x3 - 167.5 JC 72.5
2. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) bb Tom 135, JC 65
3. Pull ups (5x10)
4. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
6. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s (72) band flies
7. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
row 6000 meters

[Nunedog]

1. You absolutely have to stay in your slot, the vertical plane in which the bar travels during the squat, from top to bottom and back again.
2. This could be a far more vertical orientation than you’re used to.
3. You must maintain very strict upper body position throughout the movement.
4. Hit the hole fast and fearlessly.

That’s getting right to the punchlines after I left things a bit in the air last week. I had brought up the examples of ordinary folk encountering superstar athletes like Shaquille O’Neal and Nolan Ryan and gaining rare insights into the techniques or mindset that set them apart. What made me think of this was having to tough out 3 sets of 5 squats with 395 about 10 days ago. I managed to prevail despite a setback - and despite the fact that I wondered ahead of time whether I could pull this workout off at all. When all was said and done, I had picked up some lessons that make all the difference when the weight gets real.
It was in set number 2 that things went wrong. I hit 2 reps, but my my chest collapsed - only a bit - at the bottom of rep 3, so the bar and I sank to the safety pins. I hate when this happens. I figured I’d have to wait three weeks to get back to 395 and 5’s - and this just wastes a ton of friggin’ time, I groused. I had to pull all the weight off, put the bar back on the hooks, and reload it all.
I got 5 reps again and realized that If I did things right, I could hit another 5 in a bonus round. It was a moment of mental toughness, not from the standpoint of dogged determination but of being very, very mindful of technique and position. It’s the band work that’s making these big sets possible, by teaching me how to move precisely.

1. You absolutely have to stay in your slot, the vertical plane in which the bar travels during the squat, from top to bottom and back again. From front to back, the slot is only as wide as the bar is thick, and it’s directly above the centers of your feet. The slightest deviation out of this path makes reps a great deal more difficult and top level weights impossible.

[*A physicist could find fault with this description, since the combination of the bar and the athlete’s body puts the center of mass somewhere in the lifter’s chest cavity - and this is what really has to stay centered, in this case directly above a line running from the middle of one foot to the other. Here the metaphor changes: the center of mass would be the size of a golf ball, and it would have to travel down and up a vertical pipe barely wider than its diameter. The same principles for maintaining position would apply.
For clarity, Rippetoe uses the idea of the bar over one’s feet as his baseline diagram, because when the weight gets heavy the dynamics are close enough.]

2. This could be a far more vertical orientation than you’re used to. The goal is that the descent and ascent are balanced, unwavering mirror images.
I’ve come to imagine my body and the bar as the T-shaped plunger in one of those old fashioned detonation boxes with the wires running off to the pile of dynamite. Yes, I know that my torso does not drive downward vertically; my hips have to run backwards at first, so maybe that vertical post is not so much my body as it is an awareness of the line of force that runs down from the bar, through the slot and to my feet. [or it’s the center of mass dropping down the pipe]
Whether bands are adding downward pull or it’s simply a ton on the bar, an athlete cannot afford to sway forward at all during the rep, whether this is from their upper body collapsing or their hips rising (which usually happens on the way up). I see a lot of this in various Facebook or Forum form checks, in which people drop their chests so far they cannot break parallel with their legs, or they come up out of their squats differently from how they went down. They’ve bellied down so far that the radius of their torso has extended the bar beyond the slot over their feet. They’re out of balance and cannot apply force directly to the bar, which is why their hips rise and the back strains to bring the bar along. This cannot be what Rip meant by the term ‘hip drive.’
You have to come up the same way you went down. Any shift in the inclination of your spine is a loss of leverage. Yes, follow the rules: put the bar in the right place, low on your back. Keep it over your feet. In your descent your hips run back and your knees go forward for about the first third or half of the movement - but after that everything goes straight down and comes straight up together.

3. You must maintain very strict upper body position throughout the movement.
All of the force generated in the squat comes from below the waist. The bar it must lift, along with the center of mass, is some distance away, so the torso must be an absolutely solid conduit through which force is conveyed. Any squishing between the lower body driving upward and the bar driving downward is position lost - and it’s strength lost as well, since proprioceptively your central nervous system loses interest in difficult tasks if it cannot maintain position. This is another cause of those butt-first, body wave squats.
Therefore, the athlete must be sure to keep his ribs lifted high, the shoulder blades pinched together, and the upper back as locked and loaded as the lower. Obvious as this might sound, losing thoracic extension can sneak up on a lifter. They might start a set with everything all set, but the center of their back will start to sag backward after a rep or two. It’s important to reset one’s self between reps, especially with the heaviest weights.
This is something the bands help train, by the way. I hit doubles with 390 yesterday, 90% of Monday’s load, but having bands strapped on make the top of the lift feel like 490. This strengthens my ability to maintain my thoracic position - as well as my desire to stay tall and balanced through the lift.

4. Hit the hole fast and fearlessly. The bands make this happen, and these faster stretch reflexes make for more powerful rebounds out of the hole. When the weights are crazy heavy, I just pretend that it’s bands driving me down like a spike. In fact, for deuces with 432.5 the other day, the first reps were so hard that I could only take a shot at the number 2’s with nothing to lose. I got them; they were murderous - but interestingly (I film these with my phone) the battles at the sticking points were well above parallel. Getting out of the hole was over before I realized it.
Don’t worry about depth. If you’re down feeling around, wondering if you’re low enough, that means other body parts are not locked up and vertical enough. ‘Tall and balanced,’ I often say out loud. Drive it down fast.

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 5/27/19 8&3 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x8*) Tom 357.5 JC : 147.5
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 347.5, 350x2 JC 165 including chains
3. Power Cleans (3x3) 75 - 95 JC
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 3* reps Tom 285 JC 120
2. Bench press - back off sets [5 sets of 5, 75-85%] Tom 255 chains JC 105
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (15)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 3* reps Tom 445 JC 240
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 400 JC 215
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x8* reps Tom 322.5 JC 130
4. Pin squats [Holes 10 - 13 - 17] (3x3) 300, 350, 400
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. One 5-second sticking point isometric max effort
2. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 170 JC 70
3. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) kb, bb Tom 62’s, 72’s JC 30’s
4. Pull ups (5x10)
5. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
6. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
7. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s, 72’s or band flies
8. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
swim 1 mile

[Nunedog]

Note to self: if given the choice on a holiday weekend between falling out of bed slightly sleep deprived on a Monday morning or waiting until after that day’s activities to work out, go for the early morning. You’ll be depleted and exhausted if you wait, and the workout will be nearly a total loss.
Yeah, but it was a good weekend, all three days out on the water, in high winds Saturday, rain and fog Sunday, and a pretty and easy day Sunday. Being underway tuckers a person out, so even if I had rolled out early to lift Monday, I might not have been up for heavy sets of 8 anyway.

As I staggered around the garage late Monday afternoon, any useful fuels in my body in short supply, I knew that some neurological stimulation was more important than any muscle building that wouldn’t happen anyway with lighter weights, so I loaded all the numbers the workout called for but just hit a few reps as dim reminders for my central nervous system.

I have to be aware that training could be a little less than optimal for the next few weeks. We’re pulling up stakes to transfer back to Washington - which is going to be very sad. When we came here, I was perfectly glad to escape DC, but still the major life change took a toll in the gym.
This calls for a little perspective: these 8’s, 5’s, and 2’s are at the edges of my performance envelope, and circumstances have to be ideal to make them possible. I shouldn’t be surprised by the effects of a long holiday weekend or another major transformation.
Two years ago, I struggled with getting my training back into a progression after the move. Ultimately, I probably went too heavy too soon. I didn’t miss a great number of days; I didn’t break my back lugging furniture. I think I just failed to appreciate the significance of a major upheaval. Out of frustration after two or three months of failing to find a solution, I veered off into that isotonic-isometric routine and giant 10-8-6-4 progression - which proved costly in the long term.

I don’t want to make any more major mistakes. I was too muleheaded and not enough of a seriously sensitive dude to realize this last time around, but If the numbers don’t look good in the days ahead, then I’ll drop the weights by 10 percent or so and behave myself until all the stresses and emotions subside.
As I write this, it seems strange and a little unlike me, but the numbers don’t lie. I should look around and see if others have written about performance in times of duress, in the case of a death in the family or the like. You absolutely have to tough it out, but temper your expectations.

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 6/3/19 5&2 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x5*) Tom 397.5 JC 167.5
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 350 JC 150 including chains
3. Power Cleans (3x3) light JC 75 - 95
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 2* reps Tom 295 JC 115
2. Bench press - back off sets (5 sets of 3) Tom 265 JC 110
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (16.25)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 2* reps Tom 470 JC 250
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 422.5 JC 225
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x5* reps Tom 357.5 bands 5x3 JC 152.5
4. Pin squats [Hole 10] (3) 275
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands or chains;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 12x3 - 172.5 JC 72.5
2. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) bb Tom 137.5 JC 67.5
3. Pull ups (5x11)
4. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
6. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s (72) or band flies
7. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
row 6000 meters

[Nunedog]

Leaving my home, leaving my friends
Running when things get too crazy
Out to the road, out 'neath the stars
Feeling the breeze, passin' the cars . .

(Travelin’ Man; Bob Seger)

I heard somewhere that one of the definitions of sadness is that you can’t see beyond your present circumstances. Something’s come to an end in your life, a school year, a job, or a relationship, and its absence has left a bigger void in your psyche than you ever anticipated. You don’t know what comes next. Your heart feels like a dead weight in your chest.
This is the way it’s been for the past week, saying goodbye to friends, a way of life - and the kids I coached, as we transfer from Cleveland back to Washington, DC.
Even some of the songs on the radio as I drive strike me as more melancholy than usual.

I’ve been dumped by enough women and transferred around the country enough times to know that the elements will recombine. It’s just too soon to know how.

I tell you, those are the memories that made me a wealthy soul . . .

See you guys in about two weeks.

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 6/10/19 2&1 weeks
MONDAY, June 10
1. Squat (3x2*) Tom 435 JC 185
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 350, 352.5, 350 chains JC 150 chains
3. Power Cleans (3x3) light JC 75 - 95
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 1* rep Tom 310+ JC 135
2. Bench press - back off sets 5 sets of 5 with 257.5 JC 90
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (17.5)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY, JUNE 20
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 1* rep Tom 495 JC 270
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 445 chains JC 242.5
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x2* reps Tom 392.5 bands JC 165 bands
4. Pin squats [Holes 10 - 13 - 17] (3x3) 300, 350, 400
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands or chains;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 12x3 - 175 JC 72.5
2. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8)kb Tom 62, 72x3, 62 JC 30
3. Pull ups (5x11+)
4. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
6. 4 sets kettlebell flys, 62’s (72) band flies
7. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
swim 1 mile

[Nunedog]

After nearly two weeks in town, we’ve finally been hooked up to our internet service. This, I fear, Is a metaphor for everything that Washington represents: a dizzying amount of action everywhere, a huge diversity of people pursuing an infinite number of interests and activities, a region with everything to offer - except the ability to control your own destiny. That’s the way it’s been for two previous tours.

While the house is only three-quarters unpacked, the garage gym is completely set up, self reliance being my personal act of rebellion amid hostile surroundings. The weights are always last-on and first-off the moving truck, so as the 15-year-old was stationed to put the kettlebells in order, I got the horse mats in place and started bolting the rack back together.
The 8-5-2 rotation starts up again on Monday the 24th. Last week, we hit a few sessions to tune things up.

In the supermarket the other morning, the same place where I had once stopped a parking lot assault, I caught sight of a teenaged boy sauntering in with his mother. His T-shirt sported the logo of his prep school football team, his shoulders indicated some amount of time and attention, and it was quite possible he had just come from a morning conditioning session - if the schedule my young neighbor back in Ohio is on is any indication.
Most telling was his attitude: the hands in his pockets, cocky smile, complete indifference to his mother, and the certainty everyone would find him terribly impressive.
Ah, a kindred spirit, I thought. Do your coaches know how to turn you into the beast you clearly want to be?
Maybe there’s work to be done here.

4-Day Split (8&3, 5&2, 2&1 rotation)
Week of: 6/24/19 8&3 week
MONDAY
1. Squat (3x8*) Tom 350 JC : 140
2. Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom 350 JC 150 including chains
3. Power Cleans (3x3) 75 - 95 JC
3. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 485 - 535
4. reverse hypers (3x10)
5. abs; banded pulldowns

TUESDAY
1. Bench press: Work up to a heavy set of 3* reps Tom 275 JC 115
2. Bench press - back off sets [5 sets of 5, 75-85%] Tom 250 JC 105
3. Dips: 4 sets of 8 with red bands (15)
4. Hanging Rows: 5x5 vest, 20 lb db
5. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5

Conditioning (second session)
sled pull 2 miles; 20, 0 (and six 50-yard runs)

THURSDAY
1. Deadlift: work up to a set of 3* reps Tom 450 JC 240
2. Deadlift: back off sets - 90% of top set; 2 sets of same* reps Tom 405 JC 215
3. Squats: (90% of Monday’s weight) 3x8* reps Tom 315 JC 125
4. Pin squats [Holes 10 - 13 - 17] (3x3) 300, 350, 400
5. Reverse Hypers (3x10)
6. abs: hollow rockers

FRIDAY
1. Speed bench press [8-12 sets of 2-3 reps @ 40-60% with mini bands;
with 90 seconds’ rest between sets] Tom 177.5 JC 75
2. Dead bench: Week 1 - 8 sets of 1 @60% - 185 - 30 sec rest interval.
3. Barbell or kettlebell shoulder press (5x8) bb Tom 140 JC 70
4. Pull ups (5 sets of 11 reps)
5. 4 sets 10 banded triceps extensions
6. Barbell curls: 4 sets of 5
7. 4 sets band flies
8. 3 sets kettlebell sit ups

SATURDAY - Conditioning
swim 1 mile