End on Perfection

I have been watching the Parisi Speed School DVD series and right now I have finished the first disc of the combine training DVD. There is a ton of great content on these discs, but one thing that really stuck out to me was something Martin Rooney said at the end of this past disc. They were demonstrating the L-drill and he said at their facility they have a rule where if an athlete performs a PR in any test that athlete is done training for the day. The reasoning was that they wanted the athlete to end on a high note and also because they wanted the athlete's Central Nervous System to feel what a perfect time felt like.

I think over the past year my mindset has changed a lot such that I am now more accepting of an idea like this. Whereas before I would continue to push myself if I was having a great training day in an attempt to see how far I could go, I wonder if this would be a better training philosophy. Martin was saying this comment in reference to speed training, and I wonder if the same is applicable to strength training as well.

I think the biggest thing to take into consideration here is the technique being used. If you hit a strength or speed PR using perfect technique, and then hit the same time/weight but with flawed technique, I think it would make sense to either lower the weight or slow down the drill such that the final set/rep can be done perfectly. Clearly it doesn't make sense to end on anything less than perfection both from a motor-learning standpoint and also from an adrenal standpoint, the latter meaning if you continue to crank out sets at extremely high intensities until you execute perfect technique, you are only setting yourself up for injury and extreme fatigue.

Overall, I would say this training philosophy makes sense, but I think it needs to be put into perspective as well, more so for strength training than for speed training. Reason being, if after you warm up you hit, let's say, a 10-rep PR on squat and you got that tenth rep easy, meaning you probably could have hit at least three to five more but you stopped because you are testing 10RM, maybe you go up in weight and see if you can't hit another 10 at a higher weight. I guess you could create a thousand different hypothetical situations in which you could excuse yourself from this philosophy, but, as a general rule of thumb, I think it makes sense for both speed and strength training.

Get big or die tryin'.

Strength Training Components of a National Title Contender

If you have been coherent for the past three weeks you have had to come across the Butler Bulldogs at one time or another. An undersized mid-major program, they payed in their second consecutive national championship game this past Monday. Here is an article by one of their assistant strength and conditioning coaches, Ross Bowsher, who sheds some light on the team's training philosophies.

The Top Five Components of Building a National Title Contender in the Physical Preparation of a Division 1 College Basketball Team by Ross Bowsher

Get big or die tryin'.

The Importance of Relative Strength

I'm a big fan of absolute strength. I have been for a while and I don't see that changing any time soon. But, that's not to say that I don't appreciate relative strength. It still amazes me how poorly people are able to control their own bodies, both competitive and everyday athletes. The problem with this is that, in sport and in life, there are often times when our physical strength is judged on a relative basis. For the elderly, being able to stand up out of a chair or walk up and down stairs is of the utmost importance. For kids, being able to climb, run, jump, and swing are everyday necessities. From teens to middle-aged adults, relative strength is often taken for granted until it is gone due to age or weight-related problems. I can't tell you the number of people I see every week who are truly disappointed in themselves because they can't do ten push-ups or a single pull-up.

Whether we realize it or not, we put a lot of importance on relative strength in our minds, so perhaps it is time to start giving it importance in our training as well. Since January I have been doing one day of body-weight circuit training a week, and my relative strength has improved dramatically because of it. Body-weight circuits are not only great for improving relative strength, they are also a great conditioning tool as well.

If you are interested in starting body weight circuits, sign up to be on my mailing list to receive my Workout of the Week every week. You will also receive my "Monster Pushups" program with this subscription. You can sign up by filling out the required information here.

Get big or die tryin'.

So You Think You Can Squat? Part 5

This Past Week (3/27-4/2)

This past week started with my last MAT Jumpstart class on Sunday before starting the internship in June. It also marked the beginning of SMS^2.4. Monday I squatted, Tuesday I bench, Wednesday plyos, Thursday deadlifts, and Friday circuits. I made the decision to cut my plyo workouts to once a week and cut my circuit training down to two sets, compared to the three I was doing before. I am also not doing anymore SMF for a while. The reasoning is very simple--I want to get big. I want to finally commit to putting on weight, and until I get myself to above 235, I will continue to do less of this high-intensity movement training and opt to add additional lifting into my days.

I have also decided to add extra lower back work and posterior deltoid/mid-trap work into my daily training. This is purely for injury prevention purposes as well as to help with my posture. I have also added more grip work into my training. I get yelled at when I deadlift and the weight hits the floor to loudly, so I figure if I can strengthen my grip and set the weight down under control they can't tell me nothin' (Kanye voice).

Early in the week I released a new article, too. It was on kettle bell training and how great kettle bells are for training grip strength. To read the article, check it out at http://selfmadefitness.com/selfmadearticles.

Also, on Friday I received word that "Self Made®" and "Making the world a better place, one athlete at a time.®" are officially trademarked! This has been a process that's gone on for over a year and nine months now, and I am SO happy that everything worked out! A HUGE, "Thank You!" goes out to Gloria Pinza and her staff at Pierce Atwood for all of their help is making this possible.

Alright, that's what I have for you all for this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.