Give it a try!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Mobility:
Row 250m
10 Leg Kicks each side
10 Arm Swings each side
Internal Rotation w/ Bar
15 Good Mornings w/ Bar
15 Behind the Neck Presses w/ Bar (Hold overhead position for 2 seconds each rep)
15 Lunges w/ Bar
15 Strict Pull Ups

Gymnastics Warmup:
15 minutes to practice chest to wall Handstands.

Notes: The goal is to find a hollow position that is basically nose and toes to wall. If this is easy, then begin to try shoulder touches without allowing the torso or thighs to collapse against the wall.  Use a spotter if necessary!

Workout:

3 Rounds, with exactly 30 seconds rest between movements:

7 Seated DB Shoulder press, heaviest possible
7 Good Mornings, heavier than last time
20 KB Stepups to 20″ box (hold front rack position)
7 Unbroken Weighted Muscle-Ups, Strict Pullups or Dips

Notes: Stepups are 20 total alternating steps. Use a challenging weight, but do not use so much that you allow the trail leg to touch the box before the stepping leg is fully extended.  If you cannot perform 7 UB of the gymnastics movement without weight, try to get as large of a set as possible, but do not add load.

Cool Down:
German Hang, 1 minute
10 Slow PVC Dislocates
Stripper Pose w/ PVC, 1 minute

Chalk Fiends!

I am going to talk about Olympic Weightlifting in this post. I usually do and sometimes I talk about myself, sometimes I talk about technique, and sometimes I wax philosophical about the sport and the lifts and the living breathing entity that is a loaded barbell. But today I want to start by talking about you guys, our members. I have been saying this in many of the classes when we do the lifts but I want to write it here that as a whole you guys are moving SO MUCH BETTER! No one is perfect and many people still have various frustrations with the lifts but more and more lately I see entire classes of 15+ people of varying athletic levels moving pretty damn well with the snatch or clean and jerk. This not something to take lightly. These movements are damn hard and I know that other gyms do not look like this on a daily basis. It’s amazing to see people want to get better at these movements for no real reason at times other than its just really challenging (and we make you do them a lot).

All that being said, some of you guys may want to get better at the movements with a more specific goal in mind. Like competing! Just doing a meet and being forced to have laser focus for your six attempts is an incredible experience. There are myriad levels at these events and the sport itself is small. There is very little bravado or chest beating and the weights on the bar almost do not matter. Everyone is too busy pissing themselves worrying about making their own lifts to even notice their are other people competing. I loved my experience this last Saturday and I am going to compete at every USAW meet I can.

So, come with me!

If anyone is interested in lifting at a meet, let us know. To compete at a USAW sanctioned event, it requires a USAW membership which costs $50 for the year. But there are unsanctioned meets as well. In fact, there is a local unsanctioned meet coming up! It is already listed on the Upcoming Events tab. The LC Empire Weightlifting Classic on November 17th. This meet is meant for beginners and all levels and would be a great first event. If you are at all interested in giving it a try, please sign up and then let one of our coaches know. As the event approaches I want to work with everyone competing to hone their technique, talk logistics, and get people pumped! It will be a great kickoff for the Paradiso Barbell Club and guarantee anyone competing will get something out of it.