I'm Back

It is time to revive the blog. It has been on life support for some time but is showing signs of recovery.
I am currently getting ready to offer classes at Crossfit Upland.
The classes will run Mon through Friday at 8 AM and will be focused on the specific needs of older adults.
We will explore movement and play and develop the strength you need to enjoy them.
So that's it and now you must raise a cheer for the Growing Old Getting Strong blog because, it...is...alive.

Now what?

Although not the right forum for this I thought it was necessary to share some feelings on what happened in Orlando. As is usual the first reaction is horror. It is not, how can this happen here horror any more. It is, how can this happen again horror. The right to bear arms people are polishing up their rhetoric for the inevitable onslaught of criticism, they will come up with all sorts of reasons why controlling access to guns will not solve the problem but they are, quite simply, wrong.
If the psycho in question had walked in with a knife there would have been one maybe two fatalities before he was taken down.
Gun violence is caused by guns and access to guns and that is it.  You can squeal and yell about protecting your freedoms all you want but the fact remains that 49 people had their freedom to stay alive cut short because you want to play cowboy.
It appears to me that this country and its citizens are just not evolved enough to be allowed to have guns.
Guns do not protect freedom, Consciousness protects freedom. Awareness protects freedom. Tolerance protects freedom.
...and that is all.

When Is It Time To Say Enough is Enough.

I heard that question in a movie once. It went like this: If you love someone, truly love them, when is it time to say enough is enough? The correct answer is never and I hope that is the way you feel about my extended absences from posting.
Do ya truly love me?

I have been doing Alwyn Cosgrove's program from his New Rules of Lifting For Life and I am almost finished with a full 12 weeks, rare for me to complete a program, but since I have been making my bed every morning I feel like a new man.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
Original Strength Warm Up
Elbow whip roll
Baby Crawl box (30 steps forward/30 Lateral Right/30 backward/30 Lateral Left)
Rock x 10
Nod x 10
Dead bug x 5 each
Bird dog cross crawl x 5 each

W/O
Tabata Row.
Total Meters 709
Average Pace 1:52.8
Average Stroke Rate 34

I will try to be more consistent

Why Are Young People so Weird?

     I was talking to a young person on the phone today and I got the sense that he did not have any idea how to interact on the machine. It was as if he were on another planet. There seemed to be several things going on while he talked and he did not have any filters so all the events occurred at the same time and this confused him.

     I think it has something to do with the concept of multi-tasking. The idea that they are capable of doing several things at once and actually making any one of those things work has taken over. The simple truth is that no one is good at multi-tasking. There are those who can do several low level tasks at the same time but none of them will be done well.

     I am convinced that this is why they are strange. Their world requires that they be connected via the device at all times but then never tells them how to go about it and it drives them crazy and then they get weird.
   
     I am not 100% convinced that older people are that much better because, now, they are adopting the habits of younger people and, in my opinion, failing miserably.

     The point of this whole thing well, there isn't any point. Just me taking up your valuable time to rant about how strange I think young people are.

All Sciency and S**t

It recently came to my attention that some companies will use scientific studies to prove the efficacy of their product or contention and that they were relatively secure in the knowledge that no one would actually read the cited studies. They were right.
I decided to test this by writing an article on why I am the smartest person on the planet and one of the few who possess superpowers. Judiciously choosing keywords that I knew would produce results in Pub Med I was able to fill the references section of the piece with scientific studies that backed my contention. I came very close to publishing this article to see what sort of stir I could scare up, but, integrity got in the way, again, and I stopped myself.
The point is; the next time you see a claim by a supplement company or clothing manufacturer or widget maker that makes claims, backed by science, for the product in question I would suggest that you actually read the cited studies to make sure they refer to what is being sold, or, save your dollars and don't buy the pill that will make you burn fat faster or increase your recovery rate or send massive amounts of protein flooding into your muscles or will make all the rabbits in your yard go away or turn your dog into a water buffalo.
Here is an article that debunks the current bulletproof coffee "science".
Another one.
Here is an article about quacks that use fake science to back  their claims.

Some sites to peruse for better info.
Evidence based Fitness
Alan Aragon
Examine.com
Bret Contreras

There was another article which was the original inspiration for this piece but I can not find it right now and so will post it at a later date.

After an extended absence...

It appears that I have a much easier time bingeing  on Netflix series' than writing on the blog. I shall try to put that to rest.
During the time I was gone many things have happened. I have been spending Sunday mornings working with the amazing Dr. Mark Cheng at kettlebells Los Angeles. It has been an unequaled educational experience. He emphasizes slow controlled movement and mastery something that almost everyone else in my neck of the woods ignores in favor of balls out speed.
Slow and controlled translates into fast and controlled but not the other way around. So I have slowed everything down to practice control and it has reaped huge benefits in my overall movement skills.
I have also begun the process of infiltrating a crossfit gym in the hopes of being able to effect changes from the inside out. This, to date, has only been marginally successful. I do have my own class period, 7 to 8 AM Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
My own workouts currently consist of a combination of Doc Cheng's warm up with some original strength, Dan John patterning moves and Jon Engum Flexible Steel stuff. This is followed by Deadlifts on Monday, Presses on Wednesday and various carries on Friday and after that I will do Kettle bell swings, 10 - 20 on the minute for 10 minutes and then Turkish Get ups for 5 minutes.
...and then Pirate/Ninja skill practice (the subject of a different post)
The world of things to check out has expanded and I recommend that everyone take a look at The Natural Method recently translated from the French by Phillipe Til. Well worth the price of admission.
We'll talk soon.(I promise)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

...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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.