Andrew's workout blog

[fa_jing]

1 arm DB press is good, even on a flat bench. I also like alternating DB presses, even though the core work isn't the same.

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Rarely seen training partner by- 2+ hrs
Waiting for him to show- mobility work, BT 3x, side flexions- very cool

Poon sao 20 min
4th section entry 20 min
Pulling attack 15 min
3rd entry 10 min
Showed basic bong action in poon sao, how it bred 4th entry, how same entry mechanic was present in pulling attack, how 3rd entry is pulling attack upside down
Punching 15 min- went through some mechanics based on 4th entry

Today,

Workout #1).
DE
Box squat, high bar, high box (manta ray, 16.5")
wk3-70%rm1
8x2
260
45s ri

Jerk
wk1
70% rm1
8x3 (alternating sets of r and l)
125
45s ri

speed DL of 25lb plates
8x1
60% rm1
283

1 arm DB press on swiss ball
3x8
51lbs
1min ri

DB rows
3x6
101
1min ri

Workout #2)
Training partner back from Thanksgiving- 2hrs
Hitting pad with step and single punch- multiple sets alternating w/ MB passes, shoulder strikes
Intro to shoulder strike from 2nd section
Free chi sao 20 min


Kev,

I'm planning on maxing on some stuff over the next few weeks. I expect some gains but not dramatic ones. My sense is that I need to do the competetive lifts more- the ME good mornings built some good stuff, but using good mornings for 60%+ of my ME lifts isn't a good long term strategy for a raw lifter. I need leg strength as well as back strength as a raw lifter. Unilateral leg work is necessary for me to keep healthy- my r-l imbalances are so bad that I can feel my back torquing because of my hips at various points- the split squats, split jerks, and lunges have been useful. As a relative beginner, changing the middle week of a 3 wk ME cycle to 4x2 w. 90% rm1 feels like an excellent strategy. I get much more confidence on my last week and feel like my groove is better. Upper body work is lagging- not a surprise as appearantly the loss of the standing press in oly competition lowered the age of competitors- it seems to take longer to develop that sort of strength and mass (and I've only been doing upper body work for about 2yrs). Other stuff- use a belt over 90% rm1, it's useful and feels safer, heavy work under that level seems to do ok for core development. Dropping RDLs from my assist work was a mistake; adding good mornings was a good move.

Body comp-wise, my weight hasn't moved more than 5lbs in the last 8 months, but people keep insisting I've lost weight. I think I've taken about 2" off my waist, put an 1" on my chest, and 1" on my arms. Legs have stayed the same (28" I think, but are much leaner).

More thoughts as they come to me.

I'm gonna be out of town from mid-April to mid-may or so- if you're here when I am, I would be happy to show you some k-bell stuff- maybe we could head to Venice and use my buddy's bells out on the beach. . .

Fajing,

up the single arm DB presses are total keepers. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Sparring 1+hr
Boxing- did some work just covering- working timing crashing shots and small head movement. Stayed very tight on free rounds- footwork compensating and setting things up nicely.

Kickboxing- worked on drawing leg contact, quick contact and chi gherk to foul the leg as it was being set in order to set up my hands- nice.

Multiple attackers- prepping someone for their 10SG- great interval work.

Decent night.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

rest

Today,

Workout #1).
3 hang power cleans/ 2 jerks (set r, set l)
4 sets
163
3min ri

RDL
3x6
323
1min ri

Windmill
3x5rl
61lb db

Lateral trunk flex/extend
3x8rl

Workout #2).
Training partner by 1hr
chi sao basics and changes


Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Adam Singer seminar- 3hrs
All performance coaching. When coaching, get people to go loose and a little outside your regular game; don't stick to money options, otherwise it's hard to see where they need work.

Warmups- dynamic mobility stuff- some jumping jack variants- need to dig out that ref on jjs messing w/ coordination and send it to him

Boxing- coaching point for me- putting a lot of weight on the front leg w/ the jab- watch the shoot or leg kick. Rear hand coming forward on my jab (wedge habit from man/wu)- opens me for overhands. One to burn out; he's right.
-box them at length, CM type stuff when you're closer

Boxing to clinch- keep tight, go for centerline control.

*Technique*- overhead hammerhand to neck tie from CM head on forehead. Can actually get a nice hit in on the way- much like old school MT thing GD was showing me

Boxing to takedowns- whole room needs to learn to shoot. So true

Boxing to takedown, let the takedown happen- stand up quick

Boxing to clinch- control then reset

Clinch to control- control then reset, *don't* start from pummelling

Clinch to takedowns +hits + knees- indicate takedown and reset

*technique* if in elbows tight CM-type structure open the center w/ a knee up the pipe or body shot- essentially a level change to open the hands (other obvious option would be the double, based on this idea)

Clinch to takedown +hits + knees + jits with hits

Jits w/ hits from/in
-guard
-cross/side (any side contro,l side headlock, 1/2 guard)
-side mount (mount when guy underneath is turned on side)
-mount

Q&A-
that throw I've been doing is called a pancake, and the form was ok, do it as the guy pressures in for the underhook, try to avoid letting him bury the underhook

conjugate periodization= good thing. No special max lifts

intervals for anaerobic thresh-hold conditioning

lactic acid tolerance training, different energy system work

Energy system work should fit a fighter's fighting style- balls to the wall all the time should condition differently from slow and explode, and obviously the intervals at which you explode and duration you explode would determine some of your conditioning parameters

Great seminar.

Andrew

[stricker]

*Technique*- overhead hammerhand to neck tie from CM head on forehead. Can actually get a nice hit in on the way- much like old school MT thing GD was showing me

Boxing to takedowns- whole room needs to learn to shoot. So truesounds like a really cool seminar. quick question, can you go into a little more detail about that technique, how does it compare to stardard straight punch into neck tie (beginning of dummy form)? what was the old school MT thing??

and yeah, im hearing you on the whole room needs to learn to shoot thing. they are seriously hard and theres never enough time just drilling them.

[AndrewS]

Sunday,

Seminar w/ Sifu Emin.
Basic meltdown. Fatigue caught up with me. Had to take off after 1 1/2 unproductive hours, was at that point where nothing good was coming of being there.

Yesterday,

rest

May lift some today. Still feel lousy.

Jon,

The old school MT thing was a weapon-derived attack coming from a high guard and dropping a hammerhand in crashing down, like pi chuan. What Adam was doing was keeping his hand on his head to cover, as he closed behind a punch, then, from on top of his head, slamming the hand down in a hammerfist to get the necktie, picking up the incidental hit on the way with some authority.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

'ME'
Box Squat- low box/low bar 13.5" box
90% rm1
4x2
300
3.5 min ri
Felt decent. Will max next week, see how those go. Saw a post by Kev M- good idea for testing my max PL squat- set up my box to just around parallel, and do these touch and go, rather than with the 2s pause on the bottom, just using the box as a stopping point.

Good Mornings
3x5
245
1mi ri

Split squats
3x5rl
105
1 min ri

1 arm db press
3x5rl
61

side trunk f/e
3x10 rl

Feel a little better.

Andrew

[stricker]

cheers andrew, i'll have a play with it next oppurtunity.

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Sparring 1hr 15min
Chi sao- free, 1/2 hr. Something's off, can't quite place it. Not just loss of edge, but something else. Very frustrating.

Free rounds- no great revelations. Brought the hook in against the neck tie. Using someone else's headgear- wound up riding up on my mouth for the last minute of each round- ugly.

Ground+ strikes- working on keeping people down. Got a nice 1/2 guard sweep w/ an overhook/ underhooking the far leg- gotta play with that position- think I had some more options there.

Decided not to lift.

Trying to sort out my recent exhaustion- went off Alpha Male about 10 days ago- that may have been fueling my recovery more. Will cycle back on soon- maybe I'll throw some glutamine back in the mix post-workout and see how that serves me. Clearly need more sleep.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

post call. Rough night; new nursing class seems to think that they need to wake me up every hour no matter what. Managed not to snap.

MxS- upper body
1 power clean, 3 front press, pull ups (1-3) during ri (going EDT here)
90%rm1
10x3
143lbs
24 pullups
90 s ri

Front squats
3x5
165
90s ri
No knee pain, gonna treat these gently as I add them back in.

SLDL
5x3rl
61lb db
1 min ri
The extra few inches difference between the 72lb k-bell handle and a db w/ 25 lb plates is pretty extra ordinary. Nice flexibility work- my L glut is weak, but my R is tight, harder to go low. Definitely worth working on these.

Pairing quad dominat bilateral and ham dominant unilateral work and ham dominant bilateral and quad dominant unilateral seems like a strategy I should keep.

Alwyn Cosgrove article on undulating periodization on t-nation interesting, gotta find the original ref and rational. Looks like Westside-style RE exercise cycling to me.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1). GPP/recovery
Sled-drags +89- done as bear craws, 50m
k-bell swings 53lb k-bell, alterntating 30 reps
Waiter's walks w/ 36lb k-bell, figure 8, 30s rl
5 rounds total.
Bearcrawls absolutely brutal. Gotta do these for 25 m, maxing speed. Should do wonders for my scramble

Workout #2).
RDLs
5x3
363
2.5 min ri
Could have done 383 easy.

Split squats
3x6rl
105lbs
1 min ri

1 arm db press on swiss ball
3x8rl
61lbs
1 min ri

Need to get a burst-proof ball.

The holidays have arrived- everyone is skipping training or heading on vacation, and I'm glad of the time off. Need to rethink my martial training. Lifting proving far more fun and less taxing even on ME days than training otherwise. Maybe I'll go hit Jerry's next Wensday, check that MMA school in Culver City next week. . .

On-call today,

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

post-call

Workout #1).
Rarely-seen training partner over- latest project mostly wrapped up- 2+hrs
Practice good for me mentally- been chewing over the nature of 'my' game, how others break it, how to assimilate those methods by which it's broken and how it to counter it when it's used on me, based on what others do. Messed around with that while analyzing problems this person's been having- hitting the 5year wall while some of his peers are making breakthroughs. He's a little gunshy coming in, doesn't finish his footwork, and presses limbs/lacks torso sensitivity. Did some structure to structure motion with him, showing him some body to body stuff, and the same body use with long-bridge elbow force implemented (one of Emin's sweetest games). Went off on the whole yi/chi/jing thing- he's pretty much got decent SNT structure when coached, but loses it in motion- he doesn't feel- himself or others- and lacks the strength-endurance to hold his structure- he rapidly decays. Playing through this I found a nice algorhythm to get him moving a little and build him to he can maintain good body use-
elephant chi sao
lat sao, cross punching, heavy pressure
long bridge chi sao for softness

cycled these for rounds, stopping before failure- 60-90s. Wouldn't drive him back in either of the first two unless he tried to step through me- so he didn't just try to run from pressure.

If he can do 10-12 sessions of this with me over the next 2 months, I'll bet he cracks the wall he's hit.

Pretty encouraged- got me thinking, some good ideas on how to break my own plateau right now.

Workout #2).
Evening
Training partner by- 1 1/2 hrs
Structure drills to warm up
cross punching lat sao- driving back and forth, after 3-4 rounds, brought in angling footwork-did the same 'no retreat unless you try to drive me back' thing
neck-tie pummel in between rounds of cross-punching w/ light striking and elbows
chum kiu
lan/fook transition application vs. push
-from crossed arms
-from arms down (double tie sao to fook)
-getting power on the drop back as beat #1 to set up heavy shot on the way in

lan fook-transition application in neck-tie pummel- baiting them in, slipping neck tie on pressure, power out the other side- did a bunch of rounds, including light elbows and hand strikes.

Should add heavy lat sao stuff into canned workout #2). for this partner.

Skipped lifting- trying to take it easy and not fry myself.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Phantom training partner back again- I guess the MPAA cut is done. 1 1/2 hrs
Rounds of:
free chi sao
elephant chi sao
3rd section entry
heavy pressure cross punching lat sao
long bridge chi sao

Messed around with some stuff on natural motion, moving from idealized poses to actual application, broke out the pak/fak app from 3rd vs. a slip.

Working on cleaning up his pressure. Session #2). I'll be curious to watch the training effect of this regimen.


Workout #2).
DE
box squat, high bar (manta ray) low box (11")- this puts me about 4" below parallel- nice and deep. Hips definitely hinkier the lower I get.
wk#1).
10x2
60% rm1
225
45s ri

split jerk from the rack- wk #2).
8x3
75% rm1
135
1min ri
stuck these hard. Left arm a tad wobbly on the last 2 sets- shoulder girdle giving a bit

Speed deadlift off 25lb plates
8x1
60%rm1
283
1min ri
didn't feel like there was weight on the bar. Playing with form a bit, rolling the bar into my shins. Will add a few pounds or work off a higher platform next go- maybe some chains?

Bradford press
3x8
95lbs
1min ri

Side trunk f/e
3x10 rl
1min ri

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Something I wrote up on EF-
Hey Omar,

hint- my bat signal goes off better to *Andrew*.

Caught the thread and saw Jeff Cox posting on it, 'Dr. Tzuan Tzu'.

Briefly (time for a squat workout)- my take on Wing Chun-

Most Wing Chun sucks. This is due primarily two things- unrealistic training methods (see, 'why most TMA sucks'), and the complete misunderstanding of body usage, perpetuated by the first form not being used under pressure.

As I mentioned elsewhere power in Wing Chun can be whole body, local backed by whole body, or local. The vast majority of practioners work using only local power, not even backing local power with the body.

To me (and if you run this by ReneR, you'll get a similar take)- there's one action in Wing Chun from which all others derive- the punch. *Everything* is simply a reshaping, mutation, and refinement of the forward intent of that punch and the body use behind it.

SNT is the 'little idea'- how to use the body. People usually use the arms, but to me, to do this right and usefully, each action will be backed by either subtle motion in the shoulder girdle, torso, and legs so that it is backed by whole body, or by the *intention* of motion, recruiting those elements to coordinate with the body, generating some interesting power.

-an example- the tan/jum/gwat/lau/low palm sequence- 6th section- generally this is done as hand waving. It's cannonic application is with the double knives against the long pole, stepping through and cutting, arm supported by hip, and it's classic empty hand application is against a kick above the waist, shielding with a small body turn while going in, rotating while going in and scuffing by with high low gan (the gwat), then making the lau (scoop) as the back arm lifts driven by the back hip, which converts to the low palm as you plant. When I do the form, I try to drive this section with that intent *without* motion- the power and feel generated this way are palpably different.

In some ways one could compare SNT to the classic taiji 'opening of the form' as you cycle through peng/lu/an/ji without moving your feet or turning your waist, but still are using the body.

What this, of course, does is teach people absolutely wrong motion at first, which they then spend years unlearning if they ever accept that it was wrong. Personally, I won't show a piece of form without showing the 'pure' mechanic and a couple of immediately usable apps along side it which enforce good body use.

Power drive kicking in, time for DE workout. CK, BT, and my thoughts on knives and poles later.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

More from EF-

Some more musings-

Chum Kiu- Omar, I see your point about Chum Kiu. While some claim it's the core of the system from a tactical standpoint (realizing that forms can be interpreted as codices of body mechanics, tactics, and applications), the thing is almost deliberately obscure. I have my read on how it works, and don't have a 'better' form off the top of my head, but it's so subject to mis-interpretation in terms of what optimum coordination is, that it gets utterly confusing. The double tan- bong/wu electric slide is a particular nuisance. Personally, I find the double jum/double piercing arm, double lan section to be most accessible and useful for teaching some dynamic mechanics, but the whole thing is kind of a mess if it purports to teach you what to do in motion.

FWIW- CK reminds me a lot of the jerk- body fires, elbow fires, body sets under. That seems to be a theme, yet there are places where it's more purely 6 harmonies type motion with hip/shoulder elbow/knee wrist/ankle coordination- the double tan/double bong section through double man.

Biu Tze- You're selling this one short, man. Biu Tze is the exploded view of SNT mechanics, and, perhaps not surprisingly is reminiscent of the TST's 'tien gan' exercises (at least what Alex H showed me of them). It goes through nice big ranges of motion which allow some of those tight positions in SNT to be achieved (kup jarn helps develop bong sao a lot), and the tripled up ballistic performance of many of the motions is, by my lights, low rep high intensity exercise developing speed and power by using the stretch-shortening cycle. The weird finger/wrist stuff seems to help relax your forearms, which, in my experience, helps your shock power. The whole thing can help loosen you up and get you out of that horrible 'stuck in the form' feel- it's kinda about keeping the connections while letting go a bit. More than that, it gets really in your face about torso usage and its coordination with the elbow, putting a big sign on the stuff you *should* be doing in SNT, but probably aren't. The step up biu/fak and circling steps are as obvious a statement on footwork as you'll find in the art- shift your weight to one leg- circle the other- each point on the circle is a possible step with or without a weight shift- everything from backwards on an angle to going behind- and the biu/fak is like 'hey *******, this is how your legs power and coordinate with your arms'. BT isn't necessary, but it's **** helpful.

I haven't learned the dummy, pole, or knives, but I have some ideas on them and have done a little on both dummy and long pole (more with the dummy).

The dummy is, to me, how to put it all together, examples of *how* to coordinate these mechanics so they support each other, so hand sets up other hand to set up leg to set up hand to set up. . . all working off the timing of dealing with something too big and strong to move, but with just a shade of give. I'm kinda drooling to learn this formally, given how useful I've found just messing around with it.

Long pole- using the posterior chain. High rep speed-strength-endurance work. Seems like a similar role to that of the pole in Baji, looking at Tony Yang and Bob F's articles.

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

GPP/recovery
6 rounds
sled drag +134lbs around the waist, 50m
k-bell uppercuts either 30 w/ the 36 or 20 w/ the 53 followed by 20 hot potatos- 3 of each
15min 30s

Went to a bodyworker afterwards and got some work done- rolfer who started out with craniosacral work then did myofascial release on my lower legs and hips. Interesting. Gotta see how the next squat workout goes.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Training partner by- 3+hrs- he wanted to clean his tan up
Structure drills+bw squats + carioca running + pressure lat sao rounds for warmup
Poon sao 20 min
chi sao w/ palm attack, focus on changing palm back to tan so as to open and make free- finally kinda caught this with just doing the reductionist tan from the punch/huen- went into chan sao to neck pulling hand coordinating power with the step
2nd section- crashing tan return from dummy vs. withdrawing double gum armlock- went into snatch drop and plyo out of the drop with this
Brought same tan back to poon sao
Russian arm drag from pummelling as same tan sao (from DG DVD)
Russian arm drag/tan as BT/Wooden dummy chi sao to enter from poon sao for low palm- nice little laignappe.

Today,

ME
Box squat, low bar parallel box, touch and go (15")
95x3
155x3
205x3
245x3
275x3
305x3
335x1
365x1
400xX
400xX

Very upset. Considering this should approximate my low bar PL squat, I'm at best no stronger than 6-8 months ago. Perhaps more positively- workout #1 I hit my old PR. Will hit some doubles at 345 or so next DE day.

Good morning
3x6
245
1min ri

Side bends
3x8rl
81
1 min ri

Frustrated.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Alternating rounds starting from chi sao and clinch-40-50%
10 x3 min

Decent little workout.

Played with catching an underhook, long bridge space control, shutting down legs with hands, setting up hands with legs, that weird effortless knee thing Ernie and I were talking about the other day, setups for single leg. Was trying to get my partner to connect clinch and chi sao, blur them so he realized the skills were the same, finished by doing a little technical chi sao emphasizing that the *qualities* that were working under pressure in terms of structure, intent to set up with each action, and fluidity of transition should be present in the soft stuff.

Holidays cutting into training, no lifting today.

Andrew

[stricker]

cool stuff on the forms andrew, they make a lot of sense. especially the SNT and realising its not just standing there waving your arms about. i think you sold chum kiu a little short though hahaha.

also bodywork is good stuff, had some deep massage done on my neck that gave me a permanent increase in flexibility, i could never do side to side parallel movement before.

happy holidays!

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Phantom partner- session #3).
More of the same, worked 3rd entry and jut dar sequence from 4 a bit. Got chatty and didn't get as many rounds in as I'd have liked. If he makes it by tommorrow, I'll cook him.

No lifting- holiday madness.

Hey Jon,

I've spent a lot of time on CK, and at this point I'm kind of annoyed by it. While I find it very useful, it's so freakin' oblique in places, I can't help but wish it could be put together in a way which would make it more useful as a teaching/learning tool, rather than a package for retaining material once understood.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Phantom partner materializes again- 2hrs, session 4).
Same scheme-
Free chi sao
heavy pressure poon sao moving
reps on 3rd and 4th sections
heavy pressure lat sao

Bought Hope her car.

Turned 34.

Didn't lift.

Today,
And again- 2 1/2 hrs, session 5).
As above, did some leg work- need to add that into his diet.
Benefits showing- his body is connecting up better, getting a sense of projecting force into me, clearly the lights are on when it comes to using his intent rather than chasing choreography.

All the free chi sao is proving useful for me- I'm playing around messing with my mechanics and have finally found something very interesting and distinct- playing with staying loose and soft arms and body, but then messing with holding space and keeping elbows strong while allowing *no* pressure to come to my body- very interesting whippy shock quality came out, think I found another piece of Emin's game. Have to play this one conservatively- too much footwork seems to commit my stabizilation given my mass, trying to *not* let the torso go to jelly and do the floppy body thing, but just not take the pressure on the body while holding pressure with my arms- very cool. Snappy crisp faks and chan saos popped out spontaneously without increasing pressure.

Really fun working out with this guy- good friend, and the fresh hands and fresh set of teaching problems working very light giving me a chance to play with some ideas and reopen the laboratory.

Will lift later today.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Friday,

Got some lifting in
Bar complex
Hang power clean- front squat- split jerk
4x3
165
3min ri
Fun. Jerk form suffered, and there was major drift in my grip over reps. When I do this again I'll clean from the floor, then jerk, then front squat.

RDL
3x5
343
1min ri
1st set without straps, needed them for the next two, not enough recovery time for grip

DB press on MB
3x5rl
71lbs
1min ri
This starts to become some work

Mobility work

Yesterday,

Phantom training partner by for session #5).
Free chi sao
elephant chi sao
basic structure drills, static and moving, no variability (leading up to more 3rd stuff)
pressure lat sao
legs
Found a cool little sweep from matched leg control, going to the outside- lift the knee as they plant to drop them and straighten the leg- essentially kicking- nice variant on sticking to low round kick on the way back and messing with the foot plant to set up hands.

Too busy to get anything else done.

On call today.

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Postcall-

Session #6 with phantom training partner- seems our schedules hook up over holidays- 1 1/2 hrs
Free chi sao
Elephant chi sao- single step forward and back using tan/jum to hold- need to rethink some things on this, but felt good.
Poon sao w/ releases- focusing on forward footwork, arms springing but feet covering ground so quickly arms don't reach extension- *excellent* results for bringing up his use of body and moving from technique to mechanic/feel
Single arm reflex from distance, done on closing- still chasing hands- also a useful drill for him
During free rounds- playing with locking him down and smothering him from long bridge- induced the same (bad) reaction in him that Emin gets out of me. Interesting to look at it from the other side- need to log in breaking that little quagmire using changed arm/body relation (arm soft/body strong- CK double fook idea).
Leg to leg from neck tie- fun. He has a bunch of thai experience so this is a very cool range to hang in with him. Playing with using whole leg to adhere/pressure and yield to see where it goes- wound up finding that d*mn hook kick to the kidneys from close- change the stick point creeping up the thigh over to hamstring on just below inguinal region for position- not sure how to max the power from here-sway back or counter-rotate in (drive in with opposite hip to pull same side hip back)- party trick anyway, but cool to figure out.

Have been lame on lifting lately. Will actually try to come up with a full year schedule for '06, planning on holiday lameness in December, wedding and honeymoon in April/May.

On call today,

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

post-call

DE
low box (11") high bar (manta ray) squats wk #2
65% rm1
8x2
245lbs
45s ri
Breaking forward a bit, gotta keep upper back strong. Leg strength felt good.

Split Jerks wk#3
80% rm1
8x3
145
45s ri
Easy. Form felt good. 90%rm1 lifts clearly doing something.

Speed DL of 25 lb plates
60%rm1
8x1
1min ri
Nice bar speed, figured out how to roll the bar into me and rip it off the ground. RM1 testing soon.

Split squats
3x6rl
105
1min ri

side bends
3x10rl
81
1min ri

Good to get moving again.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Phantom partner- session #7).
Still hammering basic template that's evolved, essentially same as session 6. Spent some time getting him to just close on me based off my motion to get him to step deep enough, before interrupting his force during the close- will add this in as a regular part of his diet to get him dialed in- think I have a pretty decent sense of his set of problems at this point (and, along the way, have seen where I'm doing the same things myself to a different degree)- being unable to shed pressure given when I add momentum, holding a point rather than reaching inside, failing to transition between body methods to disapate pressure.

[interesting conversation w/ Ernie yesterday- I he noticed that I tend not to bother trying to get through when I run into force- a necessity for me to improve as I'd be fairly one dimensional if I cut through everything I could cut through- should play with this part of my nature- try rather than changing or flowing around, try to feel how to cut the subtle angle at contact and go through without changing visibly. ]

Came up with a nice drill out of leg to leg- get mirror outside control, stick and drop knee to floor through other person's leg to collapse them- counter with weight shift back, relaxing collapsed leg to deadleg it out (pull it out of the bucket), go behind, perform same action- cycle. Interesting weightshift dynamic- could probably fit this into shoulder strike drill nicely.

Overall making good progress- I'll be curious to see how the interaction goes when he catches his regular training partners when they're done with the holidays. Hopefully, he'll have 4-5 more sessions in by then and will be further cleaned up.


Workout #2).
Extra workout
Standing db press
61lbs
Bent over DB row
101lbs
5x5
90s ri
(press 5l5r, row 5l5r, rest)

Good mornings
3x15
205
90s ri

Decent little workout- feel like I'm getting back in my groove.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

GPP/recovery workout
bear crawl sled drags 25m, +89lbs
8 rounds, approximately 10s ri- Tabata intervals
Legs felt ready to explode at end, barely able to stand, collapsed in garage for a few minutes and put my legs up to let blood run out. Brutal. Need to do these regularly.

Circut
k-bell swings 36lb bell 30 reps
waiter's walks 36 lb kbell 30s r 30s l
sled drag 50m, +89lbs- all directions
8 rounds total
Hip pop on k-bell swings got a bit sharper- think I picked up something new here.

Listening to Blackalicious' last disc- 'Passion' may be one of the best training cuts evah.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

New Year's Eve
PTP by again, session 8.
Mostly play time.

Garage rained out while I recover from rest of New Year's Eve.

Last night-
Field trip. Feeling systemic holes in my game- same things that were going wrong with sifu, I'm now more acutely aware of. Dropping the heavy sled drags from my regular routine has definitely weakened certain connections, but problems run deeper than that. I've seriously deteriorated in skill over the last year or two in certain areas, and find that I've hit a real wall when it comes to my development, one I have doubts about being able to get through using my present approach. Not sure what route to take to a solution. Rewriting S&C program based on present aims. Will go looking for heavyweights tonight or next week.

Andrew

[Kevin Bell]

Hey Bro,

You ever thought of looking into the High/low approach - basically a unification of of WSB - Charlie Francis method.

[AndrewS]

Hey Kev,

I haven't heard of it- I scoped Francis' and J. Smith's sites looking for details, but didn't find anything. Can you elaborate?

Andrew

[Kevin Bell]

Andrew,

It's an approach constructed by James Smith that he use's in the interest of developing very strong, powerful, fast, agile and well conditioned athletes.

He does this by breaking down the main training components of the WSB and CFTS relative to CNS impact - High CNS; Max effort, Dynamic effort, Medicine ball plyo's, Max speed sprints etc and Low CNS;Repitition effort, SPP, EMS Recovery protocols, tempo runs and the like.

He's just published a book on it called High/Low Sequences of Programming and Organising Training - got the book and it's quality and right up your street i reckon. Theres about 15 sample templates in there but of course as with anything you can tweak them for yourself.

Kev

[AndrewS]

Friday,

Workout #1).
Training partner back from holidays- 1 hr 15min
free chi sao
kwan response to indoor pak, kwan ideas, fine tuning on each hand

Workout #2).
ME
low bar parallel box squat (15") touch and go
90%rm1
4x2
335
4min ri
Definitely working in 90% land- second rep slow on last 2 sets

Good mornings
3x6
257
90 s ri

Paired
Single leg db dl
3x5rl
61lbs
side bend
3x8rl
91lbs
90 s ri between pairs

Yesterday,

Wing Chun- 4 1/2 hrs
PTP by for 1 1/2 hrs- chi sao, closing drills, pure body mechanic drills- session 9- had him working with newly returned partner who he has about 20lbs on, useful to watch them work- able to pick stuff out better, see which coaching cues are more effective.

After he took off- next man arrives- spent the remainder of the day on Chum Kiu, working through apps, mechanics, ideas up to side kick. Useful getting that many reps in, especially doing them alongside pad work and partner drills to clean them.

Too tired to lift, or for that matter, go out and do anything. Colleague returns from vacation soon, and I leave this job and take 5 mos vacation soon. . .

Today- on call

Kev-
thanks for the tip- I found the book for sale from EFS- next time they have a free shipping sale, I'll pick it (and the other sundries on my list) up.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Postcall

Workout #1).
PTP- session 10 1 1/2hrs
Free chi sao
3rd section entry
isolated single arm components of 3rd entry, reps
pure body mechanics, kao/gan defense- working on keeping power/footwork
Timing entry/defense- joining timing and mechanics
Trying to get him feeling w/ power release, not just firing
Legs- outside crashing footwork from 6th section, fak/bong dan chi, etc

Workout #2).
Training partner 1 1/2 hrs
Free chi sao
Pad work- bong/fak/lop on thai pads, to bong/fak/lop + punch, timing punch off back foot (belly pad)
bong/fak/lop+/- punch as inpak defense, how it grows from kwan
kwan review

Too tired to lift, feeling kinda sick. Slowly getting rolling.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

DE-lower
warmup
low box (11") high bar (manta ray)
week #3
70%rm1
6x2
265
45s ri

Slow coming up the last couple of reps, but form feeling better. Hips felt good.

Speed DL
-off 3.5" deficit
50%rm1
10x1
250lbs
1min ri

Wk #1 of Eric Cressey's 12 weeks to a record deadlift
<http://www.elitefts.com/documents/frequent_pulling.htm>

RDL
3x6
343
1min ri
These were work.

Split squats
3x8rl
105
Side trunk f/e
3x10

Last two setted together, 90s ri between couplets.

Can feel lack of GPP/ drop in work capacity. Need to add extra sled and k-bell work back in to regimen.

On call today.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Postcall

GPP/recovery workout-

Bodyweight- squat variant, split squat, or lunge 20 reps
K-bell swings 36lb bell 20l20r or 40 alternating
Sled-drag +89
5 rounds

Did an H&P on a buddy so he can get medical insurance- needed a MD's confirmation that at 250 and 6' w/ a 48" chest and 17 1/2" arms w/ squat and DL at 500+, he's not obese. Amusingly, it seems I'd forgotten to tell him he's one of my groomsmen- oops. He's all stoked to learn some greco, so it looks like we may go find my old coach and partner up. His wife is gonna be one of the bridesmaids, too. Good people. I'm lucky.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
PTP session #11). 1 1/2 hrs
Rounds-
Free chi sao
closing drills, no hands
pressure chi sao
3rd entry and defense- defense using only body (used footwork idea in closing drills)
legs- from clinch
lat sao- light, 1st program

Structure somewhat better, got him flowing a bit more. He's better at correcting his mistakes on the fly. Think I'll try to add pad work in to tweak his mechanics a bit more, esp. w/ no stress over getting hit on the way in. Got him to move in properly by going light on free chi sao, giving him holes randomly. Gradual process.

Workout #2).
ME
low bar parallel box squat (15") touch and go wk #3).
95x5
155x3
205x3
255x3
295x3
325x3
355x1
385x X
385x X

Frustrating- weak out of the hole. Form felt a lot better even at 355, then lost it at 385 about 3" out of the hole- *ss came up?. I'm *not* built for squatting. Some bottoms up squats from below parallel sound like a good idea for a ME exercise.

Snatch grip DL
4x3
345
2min ri
wk #1) Cressey's DL program. Felt good.

Paired
A1 SLDL
5x5rl
61lbs db
A2
side bends
5x5rl
91lbs

Had some time to kill while Hope finished up so
sled drag +99
MB slam w/ 12lb ball- 20reps
5 rounds

Low back felt a lot better w/ MB slams and backwards dragging around the waist.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
Whole gang here- 3 1/2 hrs
Individual coaching
Chum Kiu many reps + apps
Bong wu electric slide as partner drill
Sticky pak from man vs. jab
- found a nice app- when guy jabbing shoulder rolls to cover punch off the pak, pak hand winds up outside- double up on the pak, downweighting w/ body, bring rear hand in w/ rear hip, smashing into back foot w/ pak to freeze them
Kwan- idea throughout CK, SNT
Kwan vs. in-pak from chi sao- rounds w/ rotation
-focus on fook change to bong (lead)
-dan chi fook change to bong vs. steady pressure tan, vs. escaping pinning action
Lat sao- kwan idea to build either fak or straight shot

Workout #2)
GPP/recovery
Swings (36 lb kb)- alternating
100, 50
Snatch + OH squat (36lb kb)- alternating
20, 10,10,10
Swings (53lb k-bell)-alternating
50, 30

Decent day's work.

Seminar tomorrow.

Probably should have skipped that second workout.

Oh well.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Sunday,

Seminar w/ Sifu- 4hrs
Applications of 5th section- many reps
Knife defense
Stick defense
Got some work in. Picked some nice throwing stuff out of knife defense apps- think I figured out that elbow smash knockdown- will try to take it into clinch.

Monday,

PTP- session 12, 1 1/2 hrs
Pressure work
Projection w/ pulling attack
Free chi sao

As Sunday was supposed to be rest day, took rest of day off.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Private lesson w/ sifu 1hr
Applications of 6th section- many reps, technical. Cleaning up hip mechanics

Workout #2).
PTP- sess. 13). 1hr
Chi sao
Pressure chi sao
lat sao
leg to leg
time to mess with this a little- things are getting stale- needs more closing work

Workout #3).
DE
Box squat low bar below parallel box- 13"
10x2
60%rm1
225
Worked technique, especially down in the hole- driving elbows up under bar helping drive neck into bar

Speed DL off 3 1/2" deficit
8x1
55%rm1
275

RDL
3x8
343
90 s ri
These are becoming work.

Maybe 2x15-20 next, then 3x3?

Skipped last exercise pair- needed to get going

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Training partner by- 1 1/2 hrs
rounds
lat sao
pad work (tuning shots)- time for focus mitts now- his punch has cleaned up nicely
kwan- from chi sao, lat sao, distance
in-pak from lat sao- managed to convey two different flavors of in-pak- out on the end of power and in back- show how chi sao skills come in to set up action out of lat sao- connect to same thing in sparring
Heavy pressure chi sao- positions

Still taking it easy- he's still a bit beat up from seminar.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
GPP/recovery
Unilateral bodyweight exercises 20 reps
Figure 8 waiter's walks w/ 53lb k-bell 30s/ side
k-bells swings w/ 36- 40reps
sled drags +134
6 rounds


Workout #2).
Training partner by- 1 1/2 hrs
legs- 5 rounds
kicking 3 rounds to loosen up
dealing with caught kicks 3 rounds- reps only- think these may make it into everyone's diet for the next couple of months
lat sao- free to cool down

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Group practice- 4 1/2 hrs- whole gang once again!
One person with a tweaky knee (from Thurs training)- went through entering footwork, knee alignment to prevent medial meniscus strain, some foot stuff to improve ability to take and give force.
Closing- reps, into closing with angles, passing, passing with angles- good warm up
Partner work (rounds)
- closing on person stepping in, offlining in middle of closing motion- adjusting on the fly
-closing on the step in, person stepping in moves out and off (draws the close to set you up)
-gloves on- went light (10-20%)- perfect intensity for everyone to experiment, kept the rounds at a bit over a minute to avoid fatigue and injury (keeper)- step in with jab, offline for second shot to practice first drill 'live'
-gloves on- same, now with boxer drawing and moving out more
-gloves on- above+ combis/followup shots
Couple of rounds free chi sao at end

Above went on for about 1 1/2 hrs

Break

SNT
Chum Kiu-reps
CK- apps from '99 seminar notes- bong wu turns vs. gwat dar focused on mechanic- rounds. Cleaning up mechanics, nice for bringing out kwan
-app-outside jut dar (from lifting punch/jut dar transition)- focus on shock power vs. shoulder push- many reps
-closing- jut dar vs. punch
-bong to stop jut from catching wu
-wu transforms to counter jut
All above with motion
Showed jut/chuen from 2nd part 1st section out of this- makes *much* more sense to show this reverse engineered- much less mechanical.
Kwan response to inpak from poon sao
Jut/chun from kwan vs. inpak- obvious linkage of pieces of 1st section, but appearantly a revelation once the timing came out.
CK one more time

These guys make me remember why I love Wing Chun, as much as it p*sses me off.

Ran errands- too tired/late to lift. Max effort just doesn't seem right at 1045 at night when I have to work the next morning. Been very tired lately- will stop the refined carbs w/ AM meal I added in recently, cut back on caffeine, see if that helps.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Postcall- feeling sick.

Workout #1).
PTP 2hrs
Closing
Drill- step in on the other person's motion, join, displace stance with body power. Same with angling mid-trigger motion, to force midstep adjustment while still displacing- trying to train out his tendancy to 'fishtail' and bleed power out the back leg
Person being displaced- relax body, stay connected, down and solid as soon as the other person's power goes out
Chi sao- free
Chi sao- kwan vs. jut dar from 4th section
3rd section entry- reps
Displacement drill- displace, dissolve, displace cycle free- essentially pulling attack abstraction. Back to old stuff from Phillip from mid-90s

Workout #2).
Training partner 1 1/2 hrs
Rounds- vs. boxing, boxer trying to draw motion with jab to set up person to close, then move off, forcing adjusting steps
Worked some tools with this-
-sticky pak from pulling attack/ CK- riding the jab back
-converting sticky pak to heavy pak midair when the person covers chin with shoulder roll
-inpak with high elbow to open and cover other side from coming in
-gan to open when bound up long, short, or covering
Did maybe 10 rounds of this

Chi sao

Did above displacement sequence- came up with a linear variant.
Nicely looked at in series of skills
response to initial displacement
-regain balance, change weight and angle, step through
-regain balance- keep weight and angle and step through
-dissolve and displace in single beat.

Looking back this is a nice way to show the body stuff from the pulling attack, will keep this abstraction.

Lifting has fallen by wayside lately- trying to get back on track. URI sx this AM- if better tommorrow will try for AM DE workout so I'm not 2wks off schedule.

On call today.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Post call

Workout #1).
DE- redid last weeks DE w/o
Box squat low bar below parallel box- 13"
10x2
60%rm1
225
Worked technique, especially down in the hole- driving elbows up under bar helping drive neck into bar

Speed DL off 3 1/2" deficit
8x1
55%rm1
275

Got some nice technique work in- worthwhile- can feel my squat cleaning up.

Split squats
3x5rl
115
1min ri

Wheel
5x6
1min ri

Workout #2).
Sparring called on account of sickeness- partner by did 1hr ground work- about 20 2 min rounds
Mount escape w/ basic shrimping
Tight mount w/ head and arm- getting the lan in to frame and shrimp- making space
Arm triangle from head and arm control
Defending arm triangle from head and arm- found a nice way out- bend arm (pull elbow to mat) frame w/ other hand to drive head off and to side (frame hand on head if possible), other hand on hip, bridge to take weight further onto head side, kick leg out under and hook leg and arch- gotta play with this, but it feels nice.
Keylock from tight mount
Keylock defense (w/ arm triangle as option)
Free rolling.

Good workout- nice to review some of this stuff, making me hungry to get back into a class.

Andrew

[Nexus]

How is your overall health as a result of all these workouts in your blog? heights/bodyweight, how do you feel healthwise? Hows your eating habits?

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

GPP/recovery

bodyweight squat or single leg variant- 20
MB throws 10r10l
Kbell swings- alternating 53lb bell, 20
Figure 8 waiter's walks w/ 53lb bell 30s r 30 s l
sled-drag +89

6 rounds, 28 min.

Nexus,

I've stayed about 250 at 6' 1" for ages with la ittle bouncing around- I'd lean out more if I watched my diet, but in my case, watching my diet means know where the best pastrami in the city is, some spectacular mole, a pipeline for cheap grassfed meat, excellent Peking Duck, where local chefs like to eat after work, and who's cooking where, so there may be some reasons I'm not as lean as I'd like. I have shifted my body composition significantly over the past couple of years, while my weight has stayed roughly the same, putting on a good bit more muscle- waist on pants has gotten looser, the thighs tighter, etc. My blood pressure is under good control as are my LDL and HDL. When I'm not sleep deprived and overtrained, which are common, as I do 5-7 26+ hr shifts in the hospital a month while trying to keep up my training and social life, I feel great. A number of old injuries and problems have diminished significantly, and I simply feel like I move better and more fluidly, especially on the ground.


Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
PTP by 1 1/2 hrs
Free chi sao
Closing w/ angling+ displacement
3rd section entry
3rd section displacement mechanic

Much time wasted hearing how difficult this stuff is, rather than working. *sigh*

Workout #2).
Training partner by, 1 hr 15 min
No time to lift so
Chi sao- 14 2 minute rounds
-pulling attack + displacement, just working mechanics- repped out
In between rounds

Alternating hand k-bell swings w/ 72lb -20
MB slams w/ 12lb MB- 20
10 rounds

Good work.

Caught Dred Zeppelin last night- blast from the past, but much fun. Elvis impersonator fronting a reggae/ska inflected Zeppelin cover band.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Saturday

PTP by -1 hr
Chi sao
displacement drills
closing
Heavy pressure chi sao

Other folks out for the day- foot injury and girlfriend

Spent the rest of the day being manly and building stuff- now have 4 platforms made of 4x6" and 3/4" ply for use as pulling blocks, for box squats, step ups, etc, *and* built a heavy duty target for my sledgehammer (4 2' lengths of 4"x6" between 1/4 ply topped with multiple layers of rubber matting and carpet).

Sunday- off

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
ME
Low bar high box squat (pause) 18", widened out stance to nearly touching base of rack
95x5
165x3
225x3
275x3
305x3
345x2 bombed 3rd rep
345x3- easy
365x1 easy
385x1 easy
400x X bombed again- lost groove
Wider stance definitely helped. Definitely getting a better understanding of the lift technically. Will hit some doubles next time out.

Snatch grip DL- wk 2 of Cressy's 12wk program
22x3
318x3
368x3
368x3
3min ri

Paired
Single leg single arm DL
5x3
66lb db
side bend
5x6
91lbs
60 s ri

Workout #2).
Training partner and FNG by- 2hrs

Brief intro on why the weird stance
Rounds (2min)
Leg to leg
-pressure, position, leg split/ go behind
+ sweeps
+ low kicks
+ foot traps and knees
+upper body clinch

Did about 1hr- probably 20+ rounds

Step and punch vs. focus mitts 3x20
alternating w/
MB catch and pass from same mechanic 3x20 (6lb mb for the guys, 12 for me)

Got FNG moving pretty well and understanding why fast- he's pretty impressed- has a decade or so of boxing and kickboxing and moves pretty well- nice athleticism and timing. If he comes back, he'd be a decent addition.

Today,

Workout #1).
DE Upper
Front press wk 1 65% old RM1
8x3
105
45 s ri

Alternating
Pullups
5x2
Bradford press
5x6
85lbs
60s ri

Workout #2).
Block 1- 20 min
Sledgehammer 2 min
k-bell swings w/ 36lb bell- alternating- 40
5 rounds, continuous

Block 2- 20 min
Sled drag +89lb
Figure 8 waiter's walk w. 53lb kbell 30s each side
7 rounds

Feel pretty decent.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Sparring- 1hr
First practice back after 6 week break for everyone. Everyone off, *and* swinging for fences. Ugly. Got dropped by a body shot during a kickboxing round. Rang a couple of bells and started getting mean with low kicks. Nothing really felt good except my gas was a little better than I expected. Well, everything starts somewhere.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

DE workout

Low bar low box squats, medium stance wk#2
65%
8x2
245
45s ri

Felt great.

Speed DL off 3 1/2" deficit EC wk3
12x1
300
1min ri
Think I could have done twice this number without batting an eye.

Good Morning
3x5
265
1 min ri

Split squat
3x6
115
1min ri

Wheel
3x8
1min ri

Decent day's work. Wanted to do a second workout, but motivation at 1030pm was kinda gone.

Oh well, think I found a wedding ring, so at least something productive got done.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout#1).
PTP-1hr
Free rolling
Heavy pressure chi sao for positions 3-4 rounds
Closing w/ displacement 2-3 rounds 3rd entry
Catch and release, then w/ displacement 2-3 rounds
Heavy pressure chi sao, free emphasis on flow, not running away

Good, quick, focused workout. Wound up having a long chat about thai boxing afterwards- old school and dirty tricks- very interesting.

Workout #2).
GPP

Block 1- 15 min
KB jerk w/ 72lb k-bell 3r 3l, 7 rounds
Walking lunges 30m- 7 rounds

Block 2 20 min
Sledgehammer (2min rounds) 6 rounds
Sled-drag + 89lbs 5 rounds

Workout #3).
Training partner 1 1/2 hrs
Warmup w/ reps on knife and stick defenses, 2 angles on each. I hate knife and stick defenses.
Poon sao 20 min
Attacks on the wall 4x2 mi rounds
Free chi sao to cool off

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Group workout, 3 1/2 hrs
Warmup- 2nd section arm defense
Man out on dummy working inpak
One straggles in
Rounds -in pak out of poon sao- maybe 12-16 1 min rounds
Close and displace in response to person closing- 4 rounds
Close and displace in response to person closing and angling- 4 rounds
Close and displace from poon sao, one person releases at any point- 4 rounds
One wanders off
Close and displace from poon sao, person being displaced triggers displacement by walking in, other person has to feel- building the 'pulling attack'- 9 rounds
Some talk on mechanics
In-pak as feeder exercise up and back the driveway
Another straggles away, forearms with a little blood
Chum Kiu
Up and back the drive way w/ double bong double tan section
Pad work with double bong section
3 rounds of above
Chum Kiu
-continous reps 15min
-hold each position 1x through form 15 min
-1x more through form

Decent day's work

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
PTP- 1hr 15 min
Heavy pressure chi sao
closing and displacement
release drills from poon sao
release drills w/ displacement
free chi sao
Rounds of above
Things starting to come together w/ his stance statically and a bit in motion. A few more weeks of this, then some technical polishing on positions.

Workout #2).
ME

Low bar high box (18') wide stance squat
90% rm1
4x3
345
no belt or wraps- felt easy
4min ri

Snatch grip DL
4x4
368
3.5 min ri

Skipped assisted work, thought partner was coming by- he took the night off.

Workout #3).
Heavy bag 10x 2min rounds, 1 min rest
20 kbell swings w/ 36lb kbell in rest intervals.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
PTP by- 1hr 15 min
Heavy pressure poon sao-positions- 4 rounds
In-pak
2nd section
Release drills
Free chi sao

Mechanics coming together for him.
Played around a bit afterwards and got some nice coaching from him on how to get my hip into my thai kicking better- really got a nice feel for both projecting hip in on up kick and how to make turning over happen from relaxation- will see if doing it this way still hurts my hip.

Workout #2).
GPP

Block 1- 15min
Kb jerks w/ 72 4r4l
walking lunges 30m
8 rounds of each

Block 2- 20 min
Sledgehammer -2min
sled-drag +133, 60m
6 and 5 rounds respectively

Workout #3).
Training partner 1 1/2hrs
Interested in tightening up structure
Heavy pressure poon sao 4 rounds
tan/pak from jut chuen 4 rounds- started working this vs. person walking in w/ punch as trigger to make his structure come out more
Gan dar/ bong wu- 4 rounds- focused on chain of mechanics, and sequence of elbow/hip interactions
Inpak- 4 rounds
jut dar vs. kwan 2 rounds- same feel as bong wu

Decent day's work.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Sparring 1 hr 15 min
Boxing- worked on footwork/range- just hanging out on the edge letting the other person break distance then stepping so I'm in the nice tight place and seeing what came up- landing more and more nice tight shots doing this, but definitely eat a few messing with it. Seeing more stuff- it seems I do better when I throw less.

Kickboxing- working on hip mechanics for low kicking. Didn't do much with my hands or high/low setup stuff, just messed with projecting my hip into shots more, hunting legs.

Stand up from takedown w/ strikes- have a tendancy to tackle/shoot rather than base out- figured out it's because keeping my head tight makes me feel safe (and opens me to guillotines)- gotta mess with angles on the way up.

Ran my arm triangle defense by t- he's doing basically the same thing w/ a 1/2 butterfly rather than a hook, anticipating the attempted transition to side mount, riding the leg with the 1/2 butterfly and/or catching it with the other leg.

Pull elbow back more when basing.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
DE EC wk4
low bar low box (13") medium stance squat wk 3
6x2
265
45 s ri

Split squat
5x3
135
1min ri

Side bend
3x10
91lbs
1min ri


Workout 2).
Training partner by 2+ hrs
Forms
Side kick from chum kiu
-on pad
-from lat sao vs. push
-from lat sao vs. head butt as part of combi- elbow/fak/knee/side kick from the knee (unlocking motion)

poon sao
catch and release
catch and release + displacement

Workout #3)

Heavy bag (2min)- thai kicks working on hip mechanics
k-bell swings w/ 53- 20 alternating
sled drags +178 for 60m
10 rounds
First 7 done in 30, then took a couple of minutes to breathe and powered through the last 3

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Post-call. Last day- am on vacation until the end of June. Time for the Mexico, marrige, honeymoon, reading, and lots of training.

Workout-
PTP by 1 hr 15 min
Chi sao- w/ some pressure, focusing on one for one- every action full body, absorb and counter w/ full body, one guy absorbing and countering, one coming through. Did some free motion stuff w/ pak vs. jab bringing out inpak mechanics/feel into outdoor pak vs. jab to shut down hook off jab and double jab, while covering straight line. Cutting huen sao using bodyweight came in a bunch in there, too. Fun.

Spent the rest of the day running errands and sleeping.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20min
I've drank the t-nation koolaid, and am going for pre-breakfast low intensity cardio as often as possible.

Workout #2).
1 1/2hrs
CK
SNT
alternating 5x through-
heavy bag
dummy
Biu Tze

Workout #3).
DE upper
Front press
wk2-70%rm1
8x3
115lbs
45s ri

Pullups
5x3
2min ri

Bradford Press
3x8
85lbs

10 minute circut
Bodyweight stepups 10r10
k-bell swings- alternating hands w/ 52- 30 reps
Managed 4 rounds

Got most of the wedding invites out today, time for Valentine's Day dinner. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
GPP/recovery
15 min
figure 8 waiter's walks w/ 72lb kbell, 30sR 30sL
Sled-drag 60m, 89lbs
6 rounds

15 min
BW squat variant or single leg variant- 20 reps
Sledgehammer rounds (1min)
8 rounds- did 2 extra, messed up on time

Workout #3).
Sparring called on account of work
Training partner by- ground 1 1/2 hrs
16+ rounds
Mount escapes
Mount escapes vs. person striking
Arm bar from mount- reps
Arm bar from mount- defend by coming up if they don't control the leg
Arm bar from mount- defend by countering arm capture
Arm bar from mount- elbow to floor defense
Arm bar from mount- figure 4 defense
Free from mount- review arm triangle, arm bar, keylock defenses.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

No AM cardio

Workout #1).
MMA class at BHJJ- 1 1/2 hrs
Warmups
Rounds- hands, knees, hands w/ takedowns on grappling dummy hanging, ground and pound on grappling dummy

Rounds-
boxing
thai boxing
wrestling
sub grappling

Fun and a nice bunch of guys. Got tapped by the brown belt on the ground a bunch- no surprises there. He caught me with a weird keylock from the 1/2 guard twice. Very boney springy feel to him and nice transitions. He was setting up traps and letting me attack- left me puzzled as taking apart someone that good in pure sub grappling is not a problem I'm used to. Managed a nice pass on him- stapled one leg to the ground, going in one direction, underhooked his other leg and passed the other way- nice switch up and one of the few slick things I did.

May head there for some training for a bit- still looking around.

Workout #2).
Private lesson- WT 1hr
5th section- reps
Starting to flow pretty nicely- all the torso stuff in motion is paying off. Worked lan vs. pull from distance- roll it up, force along whole forearm (peng) really uproots- felt like I had the back hand lined up for a shot properly w/ hip and elbow working. Gotta remember to keep force in distal forearm- really makes a difference. Hard pull forces conversion to kick- feels great to train this w/ intent to crash w/ lan (stuttered force- give in, push the elbow/arm in even faster). *Love* this app boxing.

7th section- clean the mechanics, loose my cheats- this section keeps me honest- gotta work it w/ si-sok more.

Mellowed out the rest of the day- hips somewhat creaky.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Max Effort- week 4 EC's program
Deadlift
133x3
223x3
323x3
383x3
423x1
443x3
463x1
483x1 PR Belt, no straps, hook grip
508x X
508x X

Lost it just below the knee, rounded horribly somehow. Need more reps at 90%+ rm1. Rack pulls necessary. Did put 10lbs on my PR, but bombed on that 508- too big a jump. 493 would have been reasonable. Might have done better if I didn't triple at 443. Oh well, this was ME, not RM1 testing, gotta remember that. One single just before my working triple is definitely the way to go- Siff mentioned this in 'Supertraining' somewhere if I remember correctly.

Single leg single arm DL
3x5rl
66lb db
1 min ri

Wheel- from standing
3x3- far out as I could go
1 min ri

Workout #3).
Training partner by- 2hrs
2nd section- light to warm up shoulders, 8-10 2min rounds + explanation in between
Poon sao- 20 minutes- 3 count at each position, smooth on the transitions w/ pressure checks.
Dan chi- fook/bong transition moving, focusing on keeping shoulder connected, holding ground 8 2min rounds

Fair day's work.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20min

Workout #2).
WT 3 1/2hrs
Everyone by and in a chi sao sort of place developmentally.
Poon sao- positions- man out on dummy doing bong drills
Crashing (low) bong off dummy vs. in pak
Dan chi fook bong transition
Gan dar vs. bong dar from in pak
Heavy pressure 'hydraulic'

Workout #3).
DB overhead press
10x3rl
66lb
Bent over BB row
10x5
165lb

90s rest between exercise pairs

K-bell swings- alternating hands, 36lb bell
3x40

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Sunday,

AM elliptical 20 min

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Training partner 1 hr
Free chi sao
Closing w/ displacement
3rd entry w/ displacement from closing
Kao/gan counter- focus on stance/footwork- couple of rounds using body only- no kao
Transition same idea back to crashing bong from dummy vs. inpak

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
DE
Box squat- wide stance, high box, low bar + chains wk 1
10x2
225
45s ri

Deadlift-speed pulls off 4 1/2" platform + chains @55% wk5 EC
10x1
263
1min ri

Good mornings
2x15
225
90s ri

Split squats
3x5
135
1 min ri

Side bends
3x5
96
1min ri

Busy running about preparing for vacation, wedding.

Figured out that I'm messing up my maxes, at least by Wendler's article on EFS. I've been working off of trying to hit 90%rm1 on my last triple then do 3-4 singles going for my PR- following Prilepin's tables to hit 6-7 lifts > 90%rm1. Wendler recommends

1x5 @ 50%
• 1x3 @ 60%
• 1x2 @ 70%
• 1x1 @ 80%
• 1x1 @ 90%
• 1x1 @ 95%
• 1x1 @ 100% or new PR.


I think I'll slot this into a 3wk max effort wave as follows-

Wk#1).
Aim for 90% rm1 on last triple, then hit 2-4 singles/ doubles based on old RM1

Wk#2).
4x2-3 @ 90% rm1

Wk #3).
Wendler's table above, looking for new max.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Training partner 1 1/2hrs
Everyone out of town, so sparring got called and he and I got to work together again- longest layoff we've had in 6 yrs
Poon sao-4x5 min, each position
5th entry from distance
-crash
-kick
-either- attempt to crash, kick if pull is strong enough
Wound up feeding him BT chi sao for the last 1/2 hr or so- cool stuff

Workout #3).
Push-press
45x10
95x5
110x3
130x2
148x1
163x1
173x1
188x1 PR
198x1 PR
203x1 PR

Happy day! My last best jerk was 203 with a 183 pr on the push press. I definitely had 208 in me, maybe more.

Paired
Floor press
5x5
163
Bent over row
5x5
163

90s ri

1st time doing floor presses- picked a comfortable weight and worked on form a bit.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout#1).
Elliptical 15 min

Workout #2).
Private lesson WT, 1 + hr
6th section
many reps through each piece of cycle.
Worked in both kick footwork variants, counter from pivot back, not leading version
Kwan vs. gan dar from high fak-> lop fak counter w/ forward bong to feed under jut and fak
Issues
-don't go too deep, if too deep elbow, not fak. Pull fak side hip back more- brings shoulder back to make room for fak
-need a strong fak for me to feel it to drive bong forward enough to crash and control both arms
-coordinate under jut
Shoulder bong sequence- high fak- smash and take balance even if the shoulder covers if they only cover by raising shoulder- forward roll with shoulder and sticking with uppper back covers.
Finished w/ 7th section

Workout #3).
GPP
15 min
Jerks-72lb kb, 5r5l
walking lunges 30m
8 rounds each

20 min
Sledgehammer 2 min rounds
Sled drag+133, 60m
6 rounds each

Shoulders have had some volume lately. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Training parner 1 1/2 hr
Poon sao- 20 min
In pak
Lead punch conversion to pak/fak vs/ slip (application of 3rd section), pak/rear punch with other direction slip- focus on pak to freeze feet and slow followup combi
3rd section
Spent some time messing around with some of his thai insights, compare/contrast, working stuff out

Workout #3).
ME EC wk5
Low bar wide stance high box (19")
95x5
135x5
195x5
230x3
275x2
305x1
345x1 belt goes on
365x1
395x1 PR!
415x1 PR!!!

30 lbs over last max on this lift! 2wks ago. Have definitely been using the wrong scheme for RM1.

Rack pull- off 5"platform- a little above mid shin
3x5
403
3min ri

Single leg DL
3x5
66db
1min ri

Pair
Wheel-standing
3x3
Terminal knee extension- red band
3x20

Fair days work. Want to hit the bag some, but am packing for Mexico in AM. Wonder if I can find a squat rack in Akumal. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Back from Akumal,

got a bunch of snorkelling in- hung with some sea turtles and a bad*ss ray.

Tues-
speed bear crawl up the main pyramid at Coba, tablemakers all the way down clutching the rope through an elbow- why do I always forget I hate heights when I see tall things?

Weds
Box squat to bench
10x2
225
45s ri

Speed DL of 3" platform
8x1
290
1min ri

GM
3x6
295
90 s ri

Split squats
5x6
135
1min ri

Thurs
Push press
4x2
205
3.5min ri

Bench
5x5
165
Bent over row
5x5
165
90 s ri between pairs- figured I'd mess around with technique, having a bench to play with

Bradford press
3x6
95

Sick Saturday

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Feeling much better from Saturday/Sunday illness and flight.

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Hit 5 1 min intervals alternated w/ 1 min moderate pace in middle of this- felt good.

Workout #2).
Training partner 1hr 15 min
Poon sao 20 min
He started moving in- could feel his connection go when he started moving- pretty cool, his baseline is pretty stable statically now.
Double punches from 4th section 15 min
Some dan chi isolating this stuff- whys and wherefores
Did these working from poon sao idea (grown from poon sao)- trying to bring his stability into his motion
Interesting digression on handfighting in old school thai boxing- he's starting to connect his thai experience with this much better.
Entry and project- 3rd section 2x2 min
Palm from 3rd section entry 2x 2min
Counter to 3rd entry 4x2 min

Workout #3).
DE
Low bar high box wide stance squat + chains
wk #2- 65% new rm1
8x2
270
45 s ri

Speed DL+ chains off 4 1/2" platform- EC wk#6
8x1
290
1 min ri

Seated GM
3x8
155
1min ri
Didn't feel like doing standing GM- worried a bit about pushing it after light week, long plane ride, night of vomitting

Split squats
3x8
135
1min ri

Side bends
3x10
96lbs
alt w/
TKE
3x20

Back in the swing. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Tues,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min, w/ some intervals
10 rounds heavy bag

Workout #2).
Visitor in town plus training partner 3 1/2 hrs
Ground path
stance fundamentals
Static stance drills
Moving stance drills
Leg to leg basics
No hands takedown defense as evolution of above
Thai plum pummel
Relation of above to chi sao/body use
Plum defenses

Weds,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds

Workout #2).
Private lesson w/ sifu 1+hr
7th section
Jut/punch/kao - find the tension to get the rhythm/shock
Jut-palm
Kao- 3rd set SNT/6thset SNT/huengwat idea
Work single arm
Tok defense-3 variations- *don't* disengage shoulder
-immediate forward jut/gum (small cycle?)- will bounce force back in to disrupt other person
- dead arm, girdle connected
-kao/shan pick a side, countered with punch to create turned tan dar, huen, recycle to 7, or go to 5th, or into 3rd
Free chi sao- stop searching for force
Lift the tan, esp against down force to spread, then drop the sledgehammer

Workout #3).
DE upper
Push press wk1
70%rm1
8x3
145
45 si ri

A1
Floor press
5x5
175-missed last rep of last set- tried to do something with my lat on my left side, lost all power
A2
Bent over row
5x5
175
90s between exercise pairs

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds

Workout #2).
Private lesson w/ sifu 1hr
7th section - kicking/chi gherk elements.

Got some nice insights into nature of kick/ knee path/usage. Very cool. Fried for rest of day.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Workout #1).
Training partner 1hr 15 min
poon sao 20+ min
kao/shan vs. tok 4x2min
3rd section variations 6x2 min

Workout #2).
ME
Low bar med box squat, wide stance
Started w/ 15" box, went up to 17" as 4" drop seemed drastic
95x5
155x3
225x3
295x2
335x1
345x2
355x1
360x1
Back got tweaky on last rep.
Feeling kinda sick- more short of breath than I should be, feeling weak

Rack pull from 5" box
3x4
403
3min ri

Nose running- definitely sick

Cut rest of workout short.

Workout #3).
Training partner by- 1hr
Poon sao 20min
Gum/lop vs. tok 1x2min
2nd section chicken wing 2x2min
Lop fak from 5th section, defense 2x2 min
Lop fak vs in pak - 8SG- 1x2min feed
kao shan vs tok, counter 6x2min

Cold in full bloom, will skip run to Venice to catch Ernie and crew.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

sick.

Workout #1).
Heavy bag 10 rounds

Workout #2).
Training partners by 3 1/2 hrs
Staff figure eight, high low
double stick high forehand w/ drop back, low backhand w/ step up
empty hand pressure high low as above
Focus mitts- straight, lifting punch
Worked above with footwork swithches to bring out mechanics, them w/ feet same just using hip mechanics
Thai pummel w/ pressure, footwork switched and same
Poon sao w/ pressure
Lat sao- punch to punch technical w/ much pressure
-Jum vs. cross
-jum->gwat vs. cross w/ arm high covering opening
-Bong dar vs gwat dar from above
-In pak
-Bong dar vs. Inpak
Did rap on pak, in pak, in pak as way to train out pak, pak vs. jab (limits, why to do as w/ inpak)
Poon sao- man out on dummy doing in pak progression

Skipped lifting, head running like a stream. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Sunday, Monday- sick

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds- sticks and kicks

Workout #2).
Private lesson w/ Sifu -1 hr
7th section and free

Still not feeling 100%, skipped lifting for a friend's birthday party. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Today,

Still not 100%. . .

Workout #1).
Elliptical
20 min
6x1min intervals 1 min mod pace in the middle

Workout #2).
Private lesson w/ Sifu 1hr
Application of 7th section
More tuning, many reps, going constantly. Some technical gems, but a good bit of sweat.

Workout #3).
DE- bailed on sparring- was s*cking wind after training w/ sifu, feeling kinda like vomitting earlier in evening.
High box (19"), low bar, wide stance + chains
6x2
295
45s ri

Speed DL- EC wk 7
12x1
65%rm1
315
1min ri

Good morning
2x15
225
90s ri

Lunge
3x6
95
1min ri
Time to switch split squats for lunges

A1
Side bends
3x6
106
A2
TKE
3x20

Friend in town crashing for a few days, may get some poon sao in later tonight. . .

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Still with a lingering cold, sore throat, occasional nausea, took it easy

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min, no intervals
Heavy bag 10 rounds, kicks, hands, sticks

Workout #2).
Private lesson w/ sifu 1hr
7th section mixed
Played through 7 using variants, single arm stuff (not paired), running through other sections and melding 7 in (3rd entry transitioning to tie from gum, using tan more like 7 is obnoxious- must work that).

Workout #3).
DE upper
Push press wk2, 75%rm1
8x3
155
45s ri

A1
Floor press
5x5
175
A2
Bent over row
5x5
175
90 s between exercise pairs

5x6 next time. . .

Bradford press
3x6
95

Spent the evening relaxing w/ friend, discussing some Shuia jiao stuff he's been doing- cool to compare with greco- the leg picking skills may be something I have to add to my arsenal as a way to avoid deep level changes- nice series, too.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
heavy bag 10 rounds

Workout #2).
Guest 1 hr
Applications 5th section chi sao, reps.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Saturday,

St. Patrick's day aftermath- massive flakeout. Hangovers claim many. Friends dropped by after the mariachi band finished covering 'Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash' at 1am, so the drinking began in earnest after midnight. . .

Workout- 1hr
Poon sao w/ house guest
Dummy work
Biu Tze- few times through

Sunday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds
doing 10 b w squats or lunge variants between rounds for some mobility work

Workout #2).
Training partners by- 2+hrs
Displacement drill
Pulling attack from distance
Cutting punch (application- from distance)
EBMAS lat sao very technical
-programs 1-4, cumulative
-Intro to EBMAS 5th stuff- elbow defenses
-European 5th program- basic lan pak, my favorite version, discussed variants

Decent work.

Haven't been getting my GPP/recovery in lately, need to work to do that.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Monday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds- 20 k bell swings w/ 36 between rounds

Workout #2).
Training partner by- 2 hrs
Poon sao
Applications - 7th section
Kicking apps
Jut apps for him working on pre-emptive timing and shocking
Prehab/rehab- his knee is tweaky- medial meniscus probably.

Tues,
Training partner by 1 hr
Free chi sao
Poon sao

Lazy- had just escaped the dentist. Houseguest in from Seattle distracting me from training- cool, but off schedule. ..

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds, mobility stuff between rounds

Workout #2).
Sparring 1hr
Boxing- working looping hook off jab. Getting footwork to keep pressure on and staying tight
Standup from takedown w/ hits (light)
-get elbow back
-lan across hips works almost as well as underhook for old school variant
-double unders from side control- shuck the far arm up w/ underhook to allow myself to post back with elbow and stand
- reflexively attacking w/ knees on standing- good habit
- finally got an outside trip series semi-working

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Thursday,

Elliptical-25 min

Today,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds, mobility stuff in between

Workout #2).
ME
low bar wide stance box squats, 17" box
4x2
345
4min ri
Felt easy. Lost the groove on a couple, but powered them up. Form came together on last 2 sets. Feels *way* better than last time on this box.

Rack pulls- 4.5" platform
4x5
403
3.5 min ri
Used straps. Could probably handle more weight, but didn't want to push it.
Training partner showed so I skipped my last 2 assist exercises.

Workout #3).
Training partner by -1 1/2 hrs
Tan from distance, 2 timings, from EBMAS lat sao, from chi sao. Working hip linkage w/ tan.
Partner's forearms shredded so has to rearrange training a bit-
Application of 7th section
-tok dar, retreating, and cutting line
Old EWTO 5th program
-lan/pak
-into low shots (2,4)
-head and arm wrapup takedown
-old piercing arms progression through lifting punch and lan counters
-some BT CS overlap stuff

Good to get back on lifting track.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Saturday,

Seminar- Mr. Latosa- 4+ hrs
Working on jamming shots, counterhitting off covering hand
-knife stuff- keep body and arm connected, don't just go w/ arm w/ knife 'cos it cuts- full body power lets you spiral/crash through defensive actions
-explore all options
-Tweak on powering shots- fire rear hip w/ weight drop- may put me up on front toes, serious power jack
-3 jabs- speed, drop it over the top for power, vertical fist (structural crash)- drill vs. pads alternating jab types
-fire going forward, off to eachh side, going back w/ each (skills to develop)
-switch between double and single hand grips on double handed weapons to mess w/ people
-double push/strike when in tight to make room- makes people uncomfortable due to m multiple forces
-free flow hit for hit, all strikes legal, telegraph a bit to feed each other

Bad sunburn from working out on beach on overcast day. Useless for rest of day.

Sunday-
Workout #1).
ME upper
Front press
95x5
110x3
125x2
145x1
160x1
170x1PR
175x1PR
180x X
180x X

12lb PR, not bad, still weak as a kitten w/ pressing

Floor presses in rack (partials)
3x3
205
90 sri

DB press on swiss ball (swore I wouldn't do these until I got a new swiss ball, oh well)
3x8
66lb
1min ri

Workout #2).
GPP

Block #1-15 min
Figure 8 walks 30sR, 30s L w/72lb kbell- 6 rounds
2 k-bell C&J w/ 53lb kbells, as many reps as possible while Hope did 30 double hand swings w/ 36lb kbell
11, 8, 8, 9, 8, 8

Very, very dumb workout to do 1hr after max pressing. Very dumb.

Block #2- 15min
sled-drag +89lb 6 rounds
sledge 90s, 5 rounds

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Training partner 45 min
Pressure release drills
leg to leg
EBMAS lat sao- heavy pressure, positional

Workout #3).
DE
low bar wide stance 15" box + chains wk #1).
10x2
225
45 s ri

low back still beat up from Friday, skipped GMs

Lunges
5x8
95
1 min ri
Felt great- doing these light as hip rehab, am really looking forward to doing heavier single leg work. . .

Side bends
2x15
106
90s ri

TKE
3x20

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Tues,

Workout #1).
Training partner 1 hr
Alternating rounds
Focus mitts
Application
Catch and release from poon sao
lat sao w/ pressure
Now that he's getting some basic body use in, I'm figuring out how to bring some serious spring and forward iout of him- very cool.

Workout #2).
DE upper
Push press wk3
8x3
80%rm1
160
45 s ri

Bradford press
5x6
95
1min ri

DB rows
5x3
106
1min ri

IT band F/E
3x8
1min ri

Workout #3).
Out to si-sok's for class 1hr 45 min
7th section, poon sao and apps
Kao action- elbow down to draw in , then drilling elbow action

Today,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
30 min- 2min rounds
sled dragging +89lbs, 8 rounds
Sledgehammer 7 rounds

Workout #3).
Sparring 1hr
Boxing- working pressure, need to double up on shots more. Worked on drawing counter and going lateral. Cutting off ring well.
Kickboxing- legs running nicely. Low kick series playing well.

Timing feels smoother overall, was shelling and playing some good defense then attacking as soon as I felt a break in the pressure, staying on people.

Taking leg kicks when you have DOMS from squatting s*cks.

9 days left as single man. . .

Andrew

[rubthebuddha]

get in as many workouts as you can in the next week days, because you'll run out of time on those last few days. where you goin on the honeymoon?

[AndrewS]

Thurs-

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds

Workout 2).
Friend by-45 min
worked some of my 7, showed him apps for 5th section, traded some hooks from side control

Today,

Workout- training partner by- 1 hr 45min
Focus mitts 45 min
Chi sao- release drills, various timings, obstructions
alternating w/
Hitting pads working elbow hip coordination (same as in chi sao)

RTB-
I'll take that advice. The honeymoon is a trip through Europe- Florence, Venice, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul. Should be fun.

Andrew

[rubthebuddha]

sweet plans man. my honeymoon advice? eat. lots. the whole time. that'll give you more reason to hit the weights hard when you return, and you won't feel remiss about missing a chance to experience authentic (insert yummy food here).

[AndrewS]

Saturday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Partner by- brought new fish- 2 1/2 hrs- he did some WC for 5-6 years, appearantly was an instructor. Good physical base from boxing from when he was a kid, hs wrestler, plus yoga. Very enthusiastic, we'll see if he lasts- 5 people in 48 hrs have separately told me they 'want to be my student'- f*ckin' funny- spring is here. If half them make one session, and one hangs, I'll be shocked.

Stance
-static
-moving
-leg to leg
-with kicks
-no hands takedown defense
-pad work
-MB passes using stance to throw ball. into pad work- stance as way of evolving power.

Sunday,
ME
DL
133x5
223x5
263x5
313x3
368x2
413x1
467x1
503x X
503x X
403x1
Had friend by coaching me on form. Dunno if was helpful or not- he had me pushing my shins into the bar-different setup than normal for me. Some good points made, but not pulling quite in the style I've practiced. Very ****ed to miss 500. Will try later this week.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Mon-
Workout
Elliptical 20min
Heavy bag 10 rounds
5 front squats w/ 2 36lb k-bells between each round for hip pop- exercise Russian gave the guy coaching me on my deadlift yesterday (similar build and sticking point)

Tues
Workout #1).
Heavy bag 10 rounds, 5 front squats w/ 2 36lb bells between rounds

Workout #2).
Training partner by 1hr
Lat sao- heavy pressure, very technical
pad work
lat sao w/ changes- heavy pressure

So busy. Garage rained out. So busy. Freakin' rain driving me crazy.

RTB-
I'm right on top of that 'eating' project with my co-conspirator. We have lists of restaurants in Florence, Venice, Prague, and Vienna, and are working on the intel for Budapest and Istanbul (less interested in Athens, frankly). As Hungary is the home of goose foie gras (and I'm Hungarian on my dad's side), there has been much anticipation of the damage to be done in Budapest. Dobos torte. Chestnut puree. Duck. Roast suckling pig. Goose. Goose *cracklings*. And I plan to bring back at least 5 pounds of pistachio brittle from the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul. . .

Mmmmmm.

Thoughts of the honeymoon are all that's keeping me sane right now.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Back in Thursday night.

Friday- Elliptical 30 min.
Couldn't find the time or energy to do more- jetlag is murder.

I think I gained at least 10lbs on the trip and did d*mn near nothing the whole time. I think I'll be subbing in some extra MxS stuff for a few weeks instead of max effort work.

Appearantly the guys have been working with Reza while I've been gone and he's supposed to be a beast- I may catch him on Wensday.

I need to write up my notes on dining in various cities, post to chowhound and link to them for anyone who's interested.

Back in the game.

Andrew

[AndrewS]

Saturday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 25min
Heavy bag 10 rounds- took it pretty easy, just getting used to impact again

Workout #2).
Saturday session- 1 partner by, 3hrs
Escrima- 1hr 15 min
Counter vs. free attacks 4x2min
Some coaching in there on being more pre-emptive, options on handling attacks- box, pass, jam, counter, largo. Partner hadn't really learned passing yet.
Passing drills from point
-vs. #1, #2- decided to do these breaking pattern and timing to liven up the drill- worked pretty nicely. Next time out will also restrict hand use (only L or R for a round). Looking for counters off the pass
-feeder inserting straight shots (light to the head, push to the body- boxing glove next time) w/ #1. #2
Counter vs. free attacks- single stick vs 4 1/2ft heavy rattan 4x2 min
Passing drills vs #3 and #4, as above
Counter vs. free attacks, not breaking to reset and forcing range and timing changes to bring out need for new tool
4x2 min

Need to get helmets, gloves, pad up some sticks.

WT- 1 1/2 hrs
Partner had done a private lesson w/ sifu on 7sg stuff (counters vs. inpak) while I was gone. We reviewed what he had covered and I broke it down and tweaked him around a bit- looks like sifu has a different take on that stuff than a few years back (or maybe I've learned a bit)- hit a bunch of reps- on each, broke into dan chi to tweak some specifics.

Workout #3).
DL-conventional from floor, 90s ri
223x5
318x4
403x1
423x3
403x3
423x1
403x3
423x1

Was going to try to do a 10x3 with 423 w/ 90s ri- body started laughing at me. Maybe 403 next week, have lost considerable strength. Still, some nice work, felt good to move some weight.

Front press 90s ri
45x5
95x5
125x5
125x5
125x5
125x3
125x3
Couldn't make 5 reps on the last 2 sets- weak as h*ll. Late workout and relatively high training volume for day probably didn't help, but at least I got a start on moving again.

Andrew

[stricker]

hey andrew good to see you back man hope you & hope had an awesome time!

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Walking lunges w/ 36lb k-bell pressed overhead, 25 m (switch after each trip)
Uppercut cleans w/ 36lb kb, 15r15l
Hot potato w/ 36 lb kb 20
6 rounds in 20 min
Had to take 2 min rest after the 4th round, a minute + after the 5th to be able to keep going. Lung buster. Lunges with a weight pressed overhead on one side are brutal. Had to ice my biceps afterwards from the combination of the stabilization from the press followed by uppercuts, brutal.

Workout #3).
Sled dragging +89lbs
12 rounds in 20 min
Worked on oblique activation on waist drags natural gait and shuffling, did neck both ways, and arms overhead forward and back- nice shoulder work.

Can feel how much my work capacity has fallen.

Jon,

the trip was awesome- I had an absolute blast. Looks like you're doing nicely trying to train through your injury. You may not want to be shy about pressing and pulling with your good arm and developing imbalances; there's good evidence that unilateral work will have crossover training effects on the unused side, hence some coaches will have an athlete work the uninjured limb fairly rigorously in order to maintain strength in the injured limb during recovery. Consider doing some grip work while your upper body work is limited, too, maybe you can walk out of this able to bend a nail or two.

Later,

Andrew

P.S. I'll try to get those discs you left in my car sent off to you this week, sorry I haven't gotten to that yet.

[stricker]

andrew,

good to hear you had a good time, i bet the restaurants and markets are still recovering :p. hmmm im doing so so trying to train... im a bit directionless things keep messing me about, normally im forced into a routine by mma training. anyway ive been pressing the kb again ive missed that. the shoulders got way better, still cant jab, but some slow weight work is ok. OH pressing works ok, frontal or rowing doesnt, and it cant take the pressure to get doing bw pull ups yet. oh yeah and jeeezus christ knows how i ended up with a torn labrum. i see the surgeon on friday...

cheers for the cds id forgotten, again no problem dude i know you were super busy. youve just reminded me of something...

cheers, jon.

[sihing]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 20 min

Workout #2).
Walking lunges w/ 36lb k-bell pressed overhead, 25 m (switch after each trip)
Uppercut cleans w/ 36lb kb, 15r15l
Hot potato w/ 36 lb kb 20
6 rounds in 20 min
Had to take 2 min rest after the 4th round, a minute + after the 5th to be able to keep going. Lung buster. Lunges with a weight pressed overhead on one side are brutal. Had to ice my biceps afterwards from the combination of the stabilization from the press followed by uppercuts, brutal.

Workout #3).
Sled dragging +89lbs
12 rounds in 20 min
Worked on oblique activation on waist drags natural gait and shuffling, did neck both ways, and arms overhead forward and back- nice shoulder work.

Can feel how much my work capacity has fallen.


Interesting how the best things for us are always hard to achieve concerning effort, and the easiest to lose when we have to take a break. Nature's/God's way of the survival of the fittest.

James

[Kevin Bell]

Yo Andrew,

You apply westside priciples to your Wing Chun as well?

Congrats on getting married as well didnt get chance to email you back hectic couple of weeks

[AndrewS]

5/15

Workout #1).
Elliptical 25 min
Heavy bag 10 rounds

Workout #2).
Partner by 1 1/2 hrs
Focus mitts 5x2min each, 1min rest between rounds
Thinking about conditioning after talking about one of Robert's sessions w/ Ernie- it would be nice to stretch the round length out and add some low rep explosive stuff into the rounds or the rest intervals (turning the rounds into active recovery)

Stick defense empty hand vs. 4 1/2 ft 2" rattan, playing range and messing around, overhead and lateral

Chi sao- 2nd section- emphasize change in motion

Free chi sao

5/16

Workout #1).
Elliptical 25 min
K-bell swings w/ 53 15r/15l
7 rounds in 10min

Workout #2).
Farmer's walks w/ 2 53lb k-bells, 50m
7 rounds in 10 min- grip fried

Climbed out of shower and L upper arm had significant edema, approx 1/2" larger than R, strength and ROM preserved, but pain on straightening after prolonged flexion. ACE wrapped- suspect partial biceps muscle or proximal tendon tear. No 'popeye sign', but edema very worrisome. Motherf*cker. I did *not* want an injury right now.

James,

True to an extent, though work capacity isn't the hardest thing for me to get. While rates of decay of strength and speed have been quantified, my sense is that the longer you have had a an attribute (strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, etc.) the easier it is to regain it after a layoff.

Kev,

Westside and Wing Chun? Not really. I've messed around with a speed day and a strength day when teaching to some extent, but not extensively, due to the schedules of the folks I have to work with- I need 2 days a week consistantly and certain core skills to be in place before I can even do 'strength' work with someone (heavy pressure chi sao), likewise speed stuff. I suppose what I do is more like complex training once I have someone developed a bit- warmup w/ review, new material, then cycles of explosive, pressure, and technical stuff. The things I try to stress more are technical development of mechanics used at 'real' time, with some randomness thrown in to create unstable conditions and teach awareness, timing, and adaption. What are you playing with?

BTW- Congratulations, I heard things went well.

Andrew

[Kevin Bell]

it was more skill work. planning personalised training for students at their current level, with main skill work assistant skill work and so on.. so could be CK, then practice first section a few times, then moving on to pivoting and punching pads then integrating the concepts in Chi Sau etc.

Yeah cheers mate things went well, 37 seconds, not quite as easy as last time but sucessful none the less.

Any new S&C literature your reading?

Check out Martin Rooney's stuff if you get a chance

[stricker]

yup the rooney dvd has stuff like rounds on thai pads in between sets of oly lifts.

[AndrewS]

Wens-
Elliptical 30min

Thurs-
off

Fri-
Workout #1).
Elliptical 20min

Workout #2).
Training partner by 1 1/2 hrs
Lat sao working on high/low pressure, how openings in one are capitalized on w/ the other
Leg to leg
Leg work from section 5 to bring out some leg to leg stuff

Workout #3).
Sled-dragging+89, 50m
10 rounds in 10 min

Arm a little tweaky after the last two workouts but *way* better. Will baby it for a couple of weeks while sliding back into conditioning to avoid further injury. No grappling for at least 6 weeks, think I found a nice place to do some thai boxing nearby.

Kev,

you have a first section? Or is a fragment of someone describing one of my practices floating into your post somehow.

Jon,

I'll check out the Martin Rooney thing- I've heard much good about it. BTW- many thanks for the gift, I'll watch it over the weekend.

Andrew

[Kevin Bell]

Yep the form, at least the way "we" view it, can be looked at as having three sections. My thought behind the question was that if westside means and methods can produce results in terms of S&C could the same logic be applied to fighting skill training? Thought you may have experimented with the idea.

BTW you checked out the "prowler" on elite yet?

[AndrewS]

Sat,

WT- 45 min
Alternating rounds of ATG long pole thrusts, dummy work, BT. Opening up hips.

Sun,
Partner by 1 1/2 hr escrima
Alternated rounds of cob cob double stick work w/ double stick roof attack and outside defense into disarms

Goofing off while my arm gets some rehab time. I think holding the KB overhead using the biceps as a stabilizer, fatiguing them, followed by the throwdowns w/ the uppercuts (decelerating the bell in the extended position is what messed me up)- no grappling free for at least 6 wks, and I'm going to go easy on pulling for 2-4wks.

Weird few days- saw Lawrence Fishburne at dinner Thursday, caught opening night of See No Evil w/ friend who directed it, wound up out drinking w/ another buddy last night watching him Iron Chef as sous chef to Ludovic Lefevre. LA is doing some sort of strange display.

Kev,

Got it- first section CK, not first section chi sao (which, incidentally is CK stuff).

I've toyed with the idea of speed and power days, but for my own training I don't have anyone to give me 'max' effort as a partner drill consistantly, and the guys I'm coaching aren't quite efficient enough to get the work in. I'm starting to get to the point where they know the basic drills and have the fundamentals down enough to do a speed day and a strength day for at least one of them, and I think there could be some benefit there. Westside works for developing several qualities at once- there are limits to this, though, I think. Strength-endurance and VO2 max don't figure into the westside template quite as well, and when you add significant volumes of sparring and partner work, 4x wk lifting may be too much to recover from, especially with extra workouts on top. I'm trying to figure out what to do next, training-wise and the tier system is appealing, as it's essentially complex-conjugate work.

Andrew

[Neo]

Hi Andrew, been looking around for what you mentioned - would you be looking at Joe Kenn's work? Picked up some stuff recently on program design and SAID by JC Santana and Rhadi Ferguson as I'm working on training on judo grading competitions at mo, seems pretty good stuff. Linear periodisation I guess but seems to have worked well for me. Have you seen much coverage of their stuff in the US? Started doing a Westside program but found I was getting knackered with all the other sessions, and fitting in endurance, particularly after a hard judo session.

[AndrewS]

Yesterday,

Workout #1).
Elliptical 30 min

Workout #2).
Partner by- WT 1 1/2 hrs
Focus mitts, 5x2 min rounds, 10 MB passes during RI, 12lb for me, 6 for him. Going to gradually convert this part of the workout to more severe conditioning.

Kicking
-yup and counter
-bong and counter
-counter off initial kick to counter kick
Messing with motion- will start to pull this into free leg work as partner's knee permits.

Poon sao
technical 4x2 min
Free chi sao to cool off.

Alasdair,

yup, it's Kenn's stuff I'm eyeing now. I can see the rationale for his program design, now I need to print it out and take pen and paper and