American Parkour

Hey all,

I've been absent for a while, but it's just that life sometimes gets in the way of the internet for me.  I'll be trying to play a bit of catch-up on some of the more recent topics.

Training's going strong, life is back to semi-normal, and I've been missing the boards.

-joe

This topic has been moved to Parkour.

http://www.americanparkour.com/smf/index.php?topic=39652.0

What I was doing: Standing Barbell Row with #255 (the very first rep.)
How it happened:  I rolled my back forward at the top of the pull.
What I could have done to prevent it: Not break form, dial back the weight for higher reps, warm-up better (drilling form.)

My head wasn't really in the game this morning.  I did a few sets of Pull-Ups, a few sets of seated cable row, and then racked up #255 and went to do a standing row.  After the first one, I just set the bar back down and called it a day.  I knew I had screwed up, and that it's my own fault for being a moron. 

I had it rolled out (OMG that is uncomfortable.)  I'm going to finish out the week without performing anything that places stress on the lower back, and reanalyze the discomfort later.  If all seems well, I'll be doing some light PT of a weightless reverse hyperextension.  It seems to be located around the quadratus lumborum, but it's hard to be certain.  There's a lot of stuff in that general location.

Note:  I (of all people) should know better.  Learn from my mistakes, and don't break the lordotic curve under load.

So our competiton on July 27th will be on point system. of the seven events here:
*team attack. as the name suggests. its team on team.
*parkour challenge. itll be a 2 on 2. straighnt parkour only.
* freerunning challenge. 2 on 2 . you can do anything there.
*speed challenge. we have an obstacle course set. the total of each teams members times will be added together . fastest overall time wins.
*Flow challenge. 1 on 1. anything. can be used. judged on who connects there moves better.
*Parkour H-O-R-S-E. 2 on 2. and name suggests parkour horse. both members have to do the move on each team. if one cant. thats a letter.
*True Parkour. team on team. can use no man made structures. only naturally made. such as trees or the ground.
Arrr, This be pleasin' to me eye. ·


Spring Park in Searcy. Its a competition but afterwards were gonna grill there and jam :] thats why we want everyone

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w43ezAJoLoA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w43ezAJoLoA</a>

I can't even see what this is supposed to allegedly do.  Would someone who has a CSCS explain it to me, because obviously, I'm too old school and stupid to get it anymore?

Is it tai-chi + crossfit + bosu ball?
Is it a strongman implement for not so very strong people?
Is it a douchepipe?

...the fitness industry blows my mind on a regular basis.

Edit: The homepage of the douchepipe!

I'm about to get borderline scientific on something that I've been wondering, and even though I'm what you might call a "meathead," I think I can get the basics of my thoughts out there for you smarter folks.

Speed Deadlifting to increase lockout:

In both experience and study, I've found that I perform better using a sumo-stance for deadlifting, which can be attributed to higher mechanical efficiency and the fact that I train squats wide.  I made the switch a few months back after I got the loads around 3xBW and noticed that my starting position on the pull wasn't the standard 45-degree angle, and closer to a 15-degree angle, placing a significant level more stress around the L4/L5 (as studied by Cholewicki et al (1991){Medical Science Journal of Sports Exercise. Vol 23}) vertebrae.  This relieves a great deal of stress on my back, but has the neuromuscular disadvantage that it's not something that I've worked as speed strength.  PCleans tend to carryover to a conventional DL very well, but the changes in hip activation from widening the feet totally change the feng-shui of the lift for me (and since you guys like science...this is backed by (Piper & Waller, 2001) {Strength and Conditioning Journal. Vol 23, No. 3}).

My question starts where I tend to struggle with the lift.  With a conventional stance, if the bar would ever leave the floor, I could get it to lockout.  The breakdowns were always the start of the conventional pull, or grip issues when attempting multiples above #400.  Currently, I really struggle with the last 20% of the lift.  Acceleration off of the floor isn't an issue, but I slow down greatly as I approach the final lockout position.  As I understand it, the sumo-stance is used to keep the spinal erectors under less load at the beginning of the pull, and the erect position is maintained much more rigidly throughout the entirety of the lift.  This would lead me to believe that the top portion of the sumo deadlift should behave much like the top portion of the wide stance squat.  As Siff and Verkhoshansky pointed out in Supertraining v. 6, the quarter squat permits higher loads than the half-squat position, and since I don't have an issue with stalling at the top of the squat...I'm assuming that I'm simply not recruiting at the same rate of force development as I would under similar loads in the squat.

That being said, since a PClean doesn't really translate to having your feet about 5' apart, I'm looking at training this using CAT with about 50-60% of my current PR, so double plates+some form of dynamic loading.  I know that many of you guys (ahem, Steven!) understand biomechanics better than I do, so what would be the pros and cons of such an attempt?

EDIT:  I also am very much convinced that the other possibility is because the weights are just really f***ing heavy and that over time, I'll still be slow at the lockout, but with more weight in my hands.  This is generally my answer to everything: "You're just not strong enough yet."  So, if I'm over-thinking it, then so be it.  Just wondering if the risk v. reward for speed deads makes them worthwhile.

I found this study interesting.

Many of the practices within the strength and conditioning communities are more theological than scientific, and so when I run across something like this, I try to share it.

This topic has been moved to Socialize.
As it should have been posted in Gabe's "motivation" thread.
http://www.americanparkour.com/smf/index.php?topic=37359.0

This topic has been moved to Parkour And Freerunning.

http://www.americanparkour.com/smf/index.php?topic=37186.0

I know that I posted a question while I was trying to figure out how to best program event training about 2 months ago.  I feel that it would be wrong of me to not share the information that Andy Deck so nicely shared regarding what he's done/is doing.  It's not for everyone, but if anyone is interested, here's the response.

Joe,
You can modify pretty much any form of periodization for strongman with the possible exception of body building. And I am pretty sure that it could probably work in that framework as well, though I have yet to see it done successfully.

I have had the best results using various iterations of conjugate periodization(i.e. Westside) and 5/3/1 while doing one main event day on the weekend. The program I am on now is a hybrid of the more beneficial aspects of several different programs I have used in the past and would not be appropriate for most people as it is tailored specifically for me and for getting ready for nationals.

I recommend picking one program to start with and sticking with it for 3 months minimum to test the viability of it. Jumping from program to program every 3 or 4 weeks because you didn't get instant results is a sure fire way to be as mediocre as you can be. Make sure that you have some way to assess whether or not what you are doing is working for you. This could be 1RM testing, rep testing(5RM, 10RM, etc), speed testing, conditioning testing, or whatever measure you want to use to determine if your training is working. It usually works best to do your overhead pressing and deadlifting during the week and then do any other events on your event day. This does not mean that you can't also do a press or deadlift on your event day, but doing the bulk of that during the week allows time for events that you can't necessarily do in the gym due to lack of equipment, space, spotters, setup and cleanup time, etc. Unless of course you have the good fortune to train at Iron Sport in Philly, Brute Strength Gym in Virginia Beach, or some similar place.

Whatever periodization you decide to use, you will likely have to modify somewhat to make room for the event day. So if you are doing conjugate training, you will probably not be able to train 2 max effort days, 2 dynamic days, and an event day also. Usually 2 or 3 days a week in the gym and 1 day on the weekend for events works well. A couple examples of this would be:

For conjugate method:
Mon - DE Press
Tues - ME Lower
Wed - Off
Thurs - ME Upper
Fri - Off
Sat - Events
Sun - Off

OR

Mon - Off
Tues - DE Upper
Wed - Off
Thurs - DE Lower
Fri - ME Upper
Sat - Off
Sun - Events

For 5/3/1:
Mon - Off
Tues - Squat/DL (squat 1 week, dl the next)
Wed - Off
Thurs - OHP/Bench (OHP 1 week, bench the next)
Fri - Off
Sat - Events
Sun - Off

OR

Mon - Bench
Tues - Squat
Wed - Off
Thurs - OHP
Fri - Off
Sat - DL/Events
Sun - Off

Hopefully that will get you started. If you have any followup questions or want some further clarification, let me know.

 

Always train to be better than you are now,
Andy Deck

Since my original post, I've been simply modifying implements (like Deadlift Assistance with an axle), and have been making steady progress with a standard 5/3/1 programming template.  I did think that I would share this for the sake of getting some really useful information out to anyone who might find it interesting.