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.