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Other/Mixed Mountain Strong

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
I re-read an article by Rob Shaul, founder of the Mountain Tactical Institute, that inspired my programming from November thru February which I ran 2x/week. Shaul had been training endurance work and dumbbell/bodyweight work for several months and he goes into the rationale behind his strength programming upon return to the Barbell here:

 
I don’t really see the value of the bench press here… (other than maybe rounding things out). But, I don’t bench, never have, so that’s probably just a personal bias on my part. I like all the other bits of that programme.
 
I find rounding things out is what the Bench adds to this. Shaul is, at his core, a gym rat and mountain sports nut so he uses that knowledge to help the Mountain Athletes around Jackson, WY. Here's his rationale for benching:

Bench Press – Simple, great strength builder, and I like benching. As well, I’ve found that for a balanced athlete, there is a strong correlation between their bench press and front squat, so by doing both bench press and front squat in this cycle, I can monitor my own strength balance. Why not a standing military press or push press. Many coaches prefer one of these as the best measure of upper body strength, but in my years of coaching, I’ve found both put a lot of stress on the low back area, and have worked not to program military or push presses in the same session as hinge lifts. So I went with the bench press.
 
I'm a few weeks into Iron Cardio and it's going well. Two to three sessions per week, usually with double KB's to reduce the volume of squats, and always following an endurance activity. Trail running, hiking and cycling all feeling good. Been riding my cross bike in singlespeed mode while rebuilding the old road bike so that's been my "strength training" for the legs. hahahaha....
Went out for almost 4 hours yesterday of easy rambling and had no problem with recovery.
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I'm a few weeks into Iron Cardio and it's going well. Two to three sessions per week, usually with double KB's to reduce the volume of squats, and always following an endurance activity. Trail running, hiking and cycling all feeling good. Been riding my cross bike in singlespeed mode while rebuilding the old road bike so that's been my "strength training" for the legs. hahahaha....
Went out for almost 4 hours yesterday of easy rambling and had no problem with recovery.
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How long are your IC sessions?
 
An interesting metric the article suggest is having about the same BP and FSQ.

-S-
 
My turn, my turn!!

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This is the view from North Chilco looking north to the southern tip of Lake Pend O’Reille.

Chilco Mountain Trail #14 hits North and South Chilco Mountains. It’s an out and back. Not bad for doing three tame hikes and a bunch of flat pavement rucking last summer.

10.2 miles | 4:19 (2.36 mph) | 2,743 ft ascent
 

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An interesting metric the article suggest is having about the same BP and FSQ.

-S-
To his mind it's to ensure an athlete is optimally 'balanced' in terms of upper and lower body strength. I, too, find it an interesting metric. In any case this article drove some programming I've done over the past year. I've found his 'Big 24' to be a 3RM Sorta Max test then step cycling until you're doing 5x3 at your 3RM Sorta Max.

As another aside, Rob Shaul cites Mark Twight as one of his earliest programming source inspirations. With that name dropped I figured I'd also post an article about Mark Twight:

 
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To his mind it's to ensure an athlete is optimally 'balanced' in terms of upper and lower body strength. I, too, find it an interesting metric. In any case this article drove some programming I've done over the past year. I've found his 'Big 24' to be a 3RM Sorta Max test then step cycling until you're doing 5x3 at your 3RM Sorta Max.

As another aside, Rob Shaul cites Mark Twight as one of his earliest programming source inspirations. With that name dropped I figured I'd also post an article about Mark Twight:

Well… Twight may not be climbing anymore, but he’s still out there being Twight. There’s not too many people that I apply the label ‘the real deal’ to, but he‘s pretty close to the top of the list. I always looked to Mark, and some of his contemporaries as a source of inspiration as well; both in climbing, and in training. When I can get past some of his current rhetoric I suppose I still do to some extent.
 
To his mind it's to ensure an athlete is optimally 'balanced' in terms of upper and lower body strength. I, too, find it an interesting metric.
I don’t know enough to have an opinion on the validity of this as a metric, but it caught my eye because we often see charts of different lifts along with rankings like “novice,” “intermediate,” etc., but I don’t recall ever seeing two lifts being presented with equal numbers in this way.

I happen be be working on both in my current training cycle and they are, in fact, about the same for me.

-S-
 
I don’t know enough to have an opinion on the validity of this as a metric, but it caught my eye because we often see charts of different lifts along with rankings like “novice,” “intermediate,” etc., but I don’t recall ever seeing two lifts being presented with equal numbers in this way.

I happen be be working on both in my current training cycle and they are, in fact, about the same for me.

-S-
Rob Shaul's view on the Bench and Front Squat matching or being close in 1RM is unique to his strength and conditioning viewpoint. He's a tad bit of a contrarian as far as that's concerned.

I've found the 8x3 Sets/Reps scheme from the article works great for Bench and Front Squat and the Deadlift is better served with Rule of 10 type set/rep schemes.
 
Well… Twight may not be climbing anymore, but he’s still out there being Twight. There’s not too many people that I apply the label ‘the real deal’ to, but he‘s pretty close to the top of the list. I always looked to Mark, and some of his contemporaries as a source of inspiration as well; both in climbing, and in training. When I can get past some of his current rhetoric I suppose I still do to some extent.
How would you best describe Twight’s strength training philosophy/ A google search brings up a lot of different results but mainly higher intensity CrossFit style programs.
 
Well… Mark definitely (self admittedly) drank the cross-fit kool aid early on… but later found redemption. As an early Gym Jones slogan went…”There‘s a fine line between salvation and drinking poison in the jungle “

This sums up nicely his earlier philosophy: Warning PG for language


If you want to know his thoughts and methods today go to NonProphet. Again… be warned…
 
Rob Shaul's view on the Bench and Front Squat matching or being close in 1RM is unique to his strength and conditioning viewpoint. He's a tad bit of a contrarian as far as that's concerned.

I've found the 8x3 Sets/Reps scheme from the article works great for Bench and Front Squat and the Deadlift is better served with Rule of 10 type set/rep schemes.
Curious here... my front squat KILLS my bench. He's saying I should bench and squat the same? If so my bench sucks... Not that I needed a reminder of that... My front squat is usually only 25-50lbs behind my back squat, and thinking I should be benching that feels very ... Bro! haha

OK I'm gonna go wallow in my token bench problems... :p
 
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