Bodytribe Fitness

Jump to Comments

My deadlifts stick out of the hole, not towards lockout. In fact, if the bar leaves the ground higher than an inch or two, chances are it’s going all the way. (These last two sentences almost seem like pirated copy from all the erectile dysfunction and penile enlargement spam I get daily). I’ll eschew deep deads (off box, with smaller plates, with snatch grip or all of the above) today for static pulls, yanking the bar roughly an inch off the ground into a super tight network of bands that won’t let it come up any higher, continuing to pull for about 5 seconds. This will be immediately followed by a triple of roughly 60% of my max for speed. Unlike a normal high set scenario for speed work, with the intense static pull, we’ll keep the sets moderate at six. So…

Static deads out-of-the-hole/speed deads. 2 bars. 5 second hold/60% max. 6 sets

Bent Rows/Cleans. One bar, 2 exercises, back-to-back. heavy, 4 sets, 6-8 reps. Video link here (towards the end).

The super-heavy-short-sweet combo: Weighted pullup/heavy sled tug/heavy farmer’s walk. 1 rep/1 length/ 50 feet. Why do all ‘combos’ have to be high reps, for time? Crossfit templates aren’t all there are, folks! I’m GPP/’metcon’ned-out, and since it is time to start working towards the max force development end of the Spectrum of Strength, I want my combo to be geared towards a greater, quicker burst of force development, but without completely ignoring workload conditioning. So throw some weight on your back and do the heaviest pullup you can muster, then attach that big ass rope to the sled, which should be loaded down big time, and tug it too you, then grab some of the heaviest farmer’s walk handles you can get your greedy strong little hands around, and carry that sucker 50 feet. Now see how many times you can do that in 5 minutes.

‘Why’ defines ‘What’

Since this sems to be the time of year everyone is trying to set some goals, I’m seeing a bunch of staggering about, tripping over our own brain cells, trying to come up with any idea of what the heck we actually want to do. Here’s a small quiz to see how the goal setting is coming along these days..
My goals are…

a) complete, measurable and on their way to completion.

b) kinda blurry, like waking up from a hangover, but I’m trying.

c) I’ll know when I get there

d) same shit, different year.

My goals involve accomplishments that have…

a) rewarding outcomes and easily identifiable indicators of progress.

b) hopefully rewarding outcomes, but I’m not sure how to proceed

c) possible outcomes… but I’ll know when I get there.

d) will get me laid.

The obstacles in my way are…

a) overcome through a planned and measurable process within my goal setting.

b) fear that i will fail, so even getting started is hard

c) coming up with the goals themselves.

d) big, like dinosaur big, if the dinosaur is named Big Lazy Sloth Beast and likes nothing more than consuming bucket-loads of cheetos and Yoohoo while watching porn. I’m going back to bed.

+

If you answered mostly A, then you’re Tony Robbins. If B or C, then keep reading. If D, I’m sure Britney Spears will need a guidance counselor soon.

(who’d win in a cage fight?)

Here’s an easy tip for setting goals:

If you can ask the question of why to pursue fitness (or strength, or whatever other category you want to put your goals under), then you instantly have the definition of what that term means to you. And defining what you’re pursuing is the first step in setting goals. What a great full circle!

Let’s try it. Here’s an almost naive, and very vague, version of why I’d want to pursue fitness: Fitness is important to me for the ability to play, move and have fun the rest of my life.

Okay, although that’s the why, it also becomes the what. Fitness is ‘the ability to play, move and have fun the rest of my life.’ There, we now have a collection of goals as well (ya know, to be able to ‘play, move, etc.). Once you have to goal (or goals), then creating the measurable steps to achieve them becomes a heck of a lot easier.

Time to lift, so until next time, be strong.