Monday, November 10, 2014

After an Extended Absence...He...Is....Alive!

I can hear the cheers and a rising tide of applause as I step back onto the stage of the blog world.
Re: my last post. The Justa singles program went along fine until the presses started to aggravate my shoulders, so I stopped.
Did some miscellany for a while and then in a fit of anger I dropped all my gym memberships. I have a decent bar, some weights,  kettle bells, a set of rings, some indian clubs, a tire for dragging and some dumb bells. This is more than enough to keep me happy and at home for a good long time. I appear to not like people all that much.
I  made it through 30 days of a 40 day program and then the ADD kicked in and I stopped, a pattern developing?
So today is the first day of something else fun: KB swings + pullups, KB swings + presses, KB swings + goblet squats on M/W/F and just KB swings on T/Th/Sa - and  Turkish Get Ups everyday.
I am signed up for Dean and Tony's big adventure  and if you live in the LA area you should think about going to this or just go to it without thinking. If you do go and you put my name on the pay page (Michael Campi) I get some credit.
These two guys are great and there will be guest fitness celebrities in attendance.
I have also, at long last, signed up for Kelly Starrett's show at Axiom crossfit in January.
Me: I'm back
You all: You don't know how happy that makes us.
Me: Thank you and good day.

Monday, September 8, 2014

A New Day

Here it is. I have got an extended period of uninterrupted months coming up and so I can run a program straight through.
I am going to be doing Steve Justa's singles program. For general development I will add in weighted pull ups on day 1, push up ladders on day 2, carries on day 3 and ab wheel on day four. I am using Tim Anderson's preset and reset as a warm up and cool down and doing 5 minutes of unweighted Turkish get ups in the warm up.
Since there is a rowing competition coming up I am going to row every other day and crawl for 5 minutes on non rowing days.
I'll bet you are thinking, "my god this guy knows how to have fun." and you would be right.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
preset + TGU x 5 minutes
DL       5 @ 135 w/u
             5 x 1 @ 235
Press    5 @ 45 w/u
             5 x 1 @ 85
Push ups 2 x 2/4/6
Crawl x 5:00  :20 spiderman crawl/:40 baby crawl x 5
I am going to work this up to 5 minutes of spiderman crawl and then start working on backwards crawls.
C/D
reset
and out.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Fun, Fun, Fun.

The Crunch gym I am going to just got a heavy bag today and a trap bar yesterday, although I couldn't find it when I went looking.
I am going to fool around for the next few weeks because I am going out of town in early September and don't want to get involved in anything that I will have to interrupt.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
500 M row

Row 10 x 100M with 1:00 RI
Lots of rest so I can keep the pace faster than race pace and I did, keeping all but the first 2 intervals below  a 1:45 pace.

KB snatch
3L/3R on 1:00 for 5 minutes

Press 1 x 20 with just the bar working on tension and form.

CD
 250M row

At some point today I will go and do another 5 minute crawl.

More fun stuff.
A new Dan John article
An interesting piece on Self Myofascial release
A good piece on exercising by Melody Schoenfeld

Have fun...Or Else.

Monday, August 18, 2014

What's Outside The Door?

Today was another recess day. I have found the parks to be more conducive to having fun and playing than the gym will ever be. Yesterday I went to a park and set aside 10 minutes to just goof around. I rolled, rocked, nodded, did somersaults, climbed a tree, jumped over a railing, walked on a wall and jumped off a wall and into a roll. Good fun.
Today's Workout
OS preset:
Roll 3 times each way upper and lower
rock x 10
nod x 10
Baby crawl forward, backward, and lateral for 5:00

KB swings:
10 x 10  alternating between 2 sets of two handed swings and 2 sets of single hand swings

Climb a small tree.

Skip out and back about 150 yds. with a downhill and an uphill

preset/reset
March x 20
Rock x 20
Baby crawl x 20
Belly breath x 3:00

5 Minutes of super slo mo indian clubs

The more time I spend outside the less inclined I am to go into a gym. I will, however, keep the membership for this year so I can do some row training for the Beach Sprints in February.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Heeeeres Johnny

A great cheer rose up as the populace realized that, after having gone missing for many months, he (me) had finally returned.
I have been playing around with a lot of stuff lately. I got to spend a quality day at Bodytribe fitness in Sacramento attending a seminar with Chip Conrad. If you get a chance definitely go up there sometime.
November 1st and 2nd, 2014 would be a good time as both Chip and the legendary Dan John will be sharing.
I did a month of Power to the People and then a 10,000 KB swing program based on Dan John's piece in T-Nation and now I am working on a chassis building program based on Pavel's Simple and Sinister and Tim Anderson's Original strength.
It goes like this:
5 rounds of:
10 two hand KB swings
Crawl 20 ft
1 TGU (L)
Crawl backwards 20 ft
10 two hand KB swings
Crawl 20 ft
1 TGU (R)
Crawl 20 ft backwards

Right now I alternate rounds of two hand swings with rounds of one hand swings that looks like this:
Round 1- 10 two hand swings
Round 2 - 10 L/10 R
Round 3 - 10 2 hand swings
Round 4 - 10 L/10 R
Round 5 - 10 2 hand swings

After a couple of weeks of this I will change it and do rounds 1,3,5 as single hand swings and then after a few more weeks I will go to all one hand swings.
I am doing naked TGU's working on the form and will begin to weight them once I have the moves down.

I have also been attending Aboriginal Skills workshops. It involves a trek through the woods to learn about the edibles and practice making fire and rope and camping out for the night if you want.

So...I'm having fun. How about you?

Thursday, June 26, 2014

On and On and On Dear Prudence

Who the hell is this Prudence person anyway? This title and question are completely unrelated to the blog post.
I went up to Sacramento last weekend to hang out  at Bodytribe and absorb the wit and wisdom of Chip Conrad. I always learn a lot when I listen to him.
Just finished up with 3 weeks of a Power to The People program and have started Dan John's 10,000 KB swing challenge. It goes like this:
Day 1
5 rounds of:
10 KB swings
1 Press ea side
15 KB swings
2 Presses ea side
25 KB swings
3 Presses ea side
50 KB swings
Rest 3:00
These are done with the 16K bell
Day 2
5 rounds of
10 KB swings
15 KB swings
25 KB swings
50 KB swings
Rest 3:00
These are done with the 20K bell
Day 3 OFF
Day 4
5 rounds of:
10 KB swings
1 Pull up
15 KB swings
2 Pull ups
25 KB swings
3 Pull ups
50 KB swings
Rest 3:00
These are done with the 16K bell
Day 5
5 rounds of
10 KB swings
15 KB swings
25 KB swings
50 KB swings
Rest 3:00
These are done with the 20K bell
Day 6 Off
Day 7
5 rounds of:
10 KB swings
1 Push up
15 KB swings
2 Push ups
25 KB swings
3 Push ups
50 KB swings
Rest 3:00
Day 8
5 rounds of
10 KB swings
15 KB swings
25 KB swings
50 KB swings
Rest 3:00
These are done with the 20K bell
After a day off the process starts again.


Monday, June 2, 2014

The Apologists

With the growing popularity of crossfit a lot of people who used to think, and rightly so, that CF was BS are now crawling back like whipped dogs in the hopes of ingratiating themselves with the cultists and, most likely, capitalizing on the suckers.
This article by Christian Thibaudeau is typical of the lot.
This article by Todd Bumgardner is a much more reasoned and non apologetic piece.
Apology pieces are showing up with increasing frequency as former critics realize that there is a ton of money to be made by fleecing the rubes, as it were.
While that may not be their motivation it sure seems that way.
Started a Power to the People protocol today.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
3 rounds of:
Hinge pattern x 5
Squat x 5
Plank x :10 seconds
Farmer walk x 20 yds @ 90lbs
Halo x 5 ea. way.

W/O
Dead lift
5 @ 225
5 @ 205
Bent Press
5 ea @ 15
5 ea @ 12.5
the presses were way easy but I must stay the course maybe I will retitle the blog growing old and turning into a little girl.

Row
10 x 100M/:30 RI
total meters 1,000
time 3:32.3
AP 1:46.1
SR 34

Monday, May 26, 2014

...and the problem is...

Just read an amazing book by Jonathan Foer called Eating Animals. It is one of the most well reasoned and thoughtful books on the subject of vegetarianism that I have read. He does not, however, address the real issue. We are as a group eating more meat than ever before and the meat industry has come up with ways, not ethical but profitable ways, to fill that need. The real issue is that there are just too many people. If, tomorrow, everyone decided that chia seeds were the best thing to eat than the chia seed industry would have to ramp up production and, perhaps, engage in some unethical practices to feed the growing need for chia seeds. It is not a problem of what we eat but of how many of us are eating it. Population is and has been, for some time, the crux of the issue. We long ago exceeded the planets ability to support us. Something to think about.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Patterning 3 x 5 of hinge, squat, plank, batwings and carries.

W/O
3 x 40 to 50 yds @ 130/140/150
done with dumbells

3 rounds of:
KB Clean and Press ladder 1/2/3 with 16K
Pushups 5

On the push ups I am working on keeping my shoulders locked down and increasing the range of motion. I still get some pain but I am working that out.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Science Gets Bitch Slapped...or not.

Mark Rippetoe's recent article on T-Nation The Problem with "Exercise Science" is more of a condemnation of the university programs offering exercise related degrees than it is a condemnation of exercise science in general. He points out, and rightly so, that there is no program offered in the schools that will actually prepare a student to become a competent strength coach and he suggests some remedies for this situation.
In Greg Nuckols article Exercise Science: What Is It Good For? He does an in depth analysis of the scientific process and how it relates to the exercise field.
Both of these articles were excellent but, in my opinion, they both missed an extremely important point, that being: You get what you pay for. The tobacco companies employed some of the most highly payed research scientists ever to come up with reasons why cigarette smoking wasn't bad for you. Questionable at best but it begs the question of whether or not some exercise science tests and their results are not just the product of the needs of the groups funding the research. It would not do, for example, for an individual receiving research grants from Gatorade or Powerade to come up with a study that contraindicated those companies party line on hydration. It would make for a very short career.
So this, as with most things, is a "follow the money" scenario. The validity of any study is based entirely on who stands to gain from positive or negative results.
Just you all keep that in mind.
On a lighter note there have been several really good articles posted lately.
This one from Geoff Neupert on T-Nation.
This one from Pavel on Strong First
And I already posted the one from Al Ciampa two days ago.
So much fun and so little time.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
3 rounds of patterning

W/O
Press
3 x 10 @ 45/50/55

Crawling at the park
3 rounds of 1:00 on and :30 seconds off of Spiderman Crawls

...and out

Monday, May 19, 2014

The Myth of Productivity

It seems as though the words productivity and busy ness are interchangeable these days. I am constantly getting hold of people who tell me that they did not answer a simple text or e-mail because they were too busy. Productivity when used to describe being busy all the time is a myth. Busy is an excuse to not do things, usually things you should be doing (like returning my e-mails). The cult of busy ness has its roots in the, still ubiquitous, notion of puritanical work ethic. This was wrong 300 years ago and it is no less wrong today. Somehow people have managed to convince themselves that the mere act of being busy makes them, somehow, more productive than folks like me who are really busy figuring out ways to avoid  being busy all the time. I have found that I am most productive when I am not being productive. Looking out the window or staring at the garden is inherently more satisfying and productive than running around like a mad man trying to keep busy.

Its a backoff week just for the heck of it.
W/U
3 rounds of
Hinge pattern x 5
Crawl x 10 steps
Squat x 5
Plank 10 seconds to a high roll
batwings x 10 seconds
suitcase carry x 40 yds @ 55 (out L/back R)

W/O
dead lift
3 x 10 @ 45/135/155

some foam rolling, some chatting and out.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Null And Void

This article by Al Ciampa pretty much nullifies anything CF has to say about prepping soldiers for combat duty.  Crawling, walking, Turkish Get Ups, KB swings, Deadlifts, Presses, Pull ups, KB C & J or Snatches and some sprints. I didn't see any stupidity in there. Its a solid program that minimizes the possibility of injury and gets real soldiers ready for deployment.
So...all you CF "warriors" and "elite" athletes take heed there is a vast difference between what you want and what you need . (kind of like a little poem what with the rhyming and all)

TODAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
 Play around: some crawls, some squats some power cleans with the bar, some haloes and some single leg bridging

W/O
4 x 40 yd. farmer walks with dumbells (much harder than with the trapbar)
120/140/160/180
Row
5 x 3 min. with 1:30 RI

Then off to the park for some rolling and spiderman crawls.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Who Are These People?

I woke up this morning with the tail end of a dream still clear. There was a woman involved and I began to wonder who these people are that populate my dreams. She looked familiar but I didn't know her. Where did she come from? Is she real somewhere? I may never know.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Original Strength reset
3 rounds of:
5 haloes ea way
5 glute bridges

W/O
5 rounds of:
20 KB swings (24K)
20 leopard crawl steps
5 push ups
walk back recovery

It took 11 minutes and 7 seconds and I left the gym feelin' good.
I saw my friend Jason today. He started to go to a cf gym but had to come in to get some bi's and tri's. He must miss it.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Anger and the Damage Done

I have noticed that I am feeling better physically, as of late, and that has translated into being less angry. I have been angry for a long, long time. As my sense of physical well being increases I am less inclined to indulge in things which affect that feeling. Anger affects that feeling in a big way. Don't get me wrong, I am not going to stop hating on stupid but I am going to scream less in the car.
The research I have been doing lately and the conversations I have had in the recent past are leading in the direction of me embracing a vegan diet. The paleo thing is coming under fire lately as having nothing scientific to back it up. Alan Aragon's presentation at the NSCA conference The Paleo Diet Claims versus Evidence was what got me started. Reading Mike Mahler's articles on a vegan diet gave me some clarity. And finding the Vegan Fitness website opened some doors as well.. Since I love to experiment on myself this seems like a good choice.

TODAY'S WORKOUT

W/U
OS reset at home
 3 rounds of:
 10 hinge patterns and and 5 squats.

WORKOUT
Dead lift
3 x 5 @ Bar/135/155
3 x 3 @ 200/220/240
3 x 1 @ 245/255/265
Bench press (still giving my shoulders a tweek)
Bench 3 x 3 @ 45/95/105
Batwings 3 x 10 seconds with 30 lbs
Plank 3 x 10 seconds
Row 5 x 1000 meters/:20 RI
rate changes 25/22/25/28/25 each 1,000 meters
I made every one except the 28.

I am going to get to the bottom of the shoulder thing before I load it again.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Practical Application

I went to the park today to do my original strength resets and decided to baby crawl my way to a tree and then transition to a leopard crawl and go up the tree. Worked out nicely. There was not the sense of imbalance I had when I last tried this.
Today I rowed 12 x 250 meters with :45 RI it felt good. Then I tried some trap bar farmer's walks I did 3 sets x 40 yds with 135/185/225. So I made basic strength standards for farmer's walks...bodyweight for 40 yds. the standard is actually BW x 50 ft. so I am off and running.
I ordered the Essential Somatics book and DVD set 2 days ago and I can't wait to try it.
I promise to keep you posted.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Out From The Shadows

Well, here I am again. Full of good intentions and dedication. We'll see how long this lasts.
I have changed my workout structure considerably since the last time we talked and here is what I am doing.
For a warm up I am doing Original strength coupled with patterning moves from Dan John's book Intervention
It goes like this:
Farmer walks plus cross crawl
Batwings plus segmented rolls
Planks plus neck nods
Squats plus six point rocks
Hinge pattern plus leopard crawl

Then a lift:
Deadlift
Press
Squat
Kettlebell swings
Farmer walks

Then some conditioning on the rower on M/W/F and longer crawls on T/Th or Sat.

This is making me feel good and I like things that do that.

Friday, March 7, 2014

I've Seen This Somewhere Before.

It is I. Returned, for the moment, from an hiatus of sorts. Just finishing up a 4 week cycle that consisted of 1-2-3 ladders of dead lifts, one arm dumb bell presses and towel rows. I got the dead lift back up to 315 and the press up to 50 lb DB's. The towel rows are good for grip strength. Throw a rolled up towel over a bar and row away.
This will be short today as I am realizing that I don't really have all that much to say.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Leisure Movement

I decided the other day that we have built a society that values mindless productivity over mindfull leisure. I would like that to change, and with the aid of a friend, I have started the Leisure Movement. The primary tenets are that you have an understanding of and an appreciation for the act of leisure. Just doing something, especially if it is work, it pointless and overrated. One can be more productive and less angst prone when one is looking out the window on a nice day rather than toiling away at some ridiculous form of work. So get out there, spread the word and stop work before it stops you.
I have been spending the last few weeks working on Pavel's Simple and Sinister program and I am liking it. Check it out if you have some time.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Funny How Blogs Die

I feel like someone sneaking back into the house after having attended my own funeral. There has been a lot of activity lately and that has parked adding to internet chatter way in the back of the lot. I will now walk out of the shadows take the long trek across the vast, empty space and dust off this blog and see if it will still start.
First: New things in the L.A. area, Tav Byerhoff, formerly of Bodytribe Fitness in Sacramento gives classes on Wednesday morning at 7 AM at the foot of Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica. If you are familiar with Chip Conrad's work you might want to check this out. Tav's group is called Ritual Fitness.
Second: Ken Froese offers groundflow classes in Culver City on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. (e-mail him for times and location) This looks interesting and fun although I have not, yet, been to one of the classes. I will probably go next week after my stupid back gets better.
I promised a few tidbits on content versus quality so here they are:
I believe that being able to satisfy the interwebz insatiable appetite for more, more, more has diluted the quality of the information to such an extent that it is almost laughable. I have friends who want to start blogs on various subjects and are not looking for writers but  for content producers. The depths to which this has sunk is indicated by the proliferation of content mills that pay writers ridiculously low rates to just produce internet friendly content (one or two paragraphs) to fill their gaping maws. This has produced an environment in which writers are having an increasingly hard time making a living. Most of the writers I know, who are making a living, started out and got established when print was still the dominant medium. Chew on that for awhile and buy a book, a real book and keep it by your bedside. You can read them without turning anything on. You can also throw them across the room, mark up the pages with highlighters and scratch notes in the margins. The funniest thing I saw recently was a book on how to survive grid crash that was only available as an e-book.
I attended a Strong First Kettle Bell course last weekend and it was great. I hope to write a review of this for publication soon and I will keep you posted.
See you soon. If I can get this thing to turn over. I might have to push start it.