Quality, Patience, Quiet, Strength - Shahaf's Training Log

[Shahaf Levin]

09.11.2018
Morning prep
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 24 breaths

OS resets

Rest of day
Rest. I had no true rest day for a long time, thought to take one before I'll have to. OS throughout the day.

10.11.2018
Morning prep
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 24 breaths

OS resets
OH wall squats x >5
OH hack squats @ricebag x 5
Farmer's carry @68kg x 40m

Afternoon - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some club swings

Practice
10 min Gada swings @2.5kg

360+OH360 x 4 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 to 360 mix x 2 x 1 min​

Evening - Swing session, dead-stop
Dead-stop OHS @{24kg , 28kg , 32kg , 36kg} x 1 + 1

Notes

• Gada - OH360: Didn't count but it feels like the OH360 is around half the amount of 360.
• Gada - 10 min session: Easy. Taking the time with 8 min sessions and using it to learn the swings made the transition to 10 min easy. Time to look for Bamboo poles for a ~5kg Gada.
• Dead stop swings: Re-patterning the swing. Dead stops helps me find the leaks - mostly in connecting my left arm to my body on the left side down-swing. Was noticeable in the 32kg and plane obvious with the 36kg.
• No bent press: New block. Next post.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

Why I terminated the last block before the end of the week
Well, I took an extra day off and than thought today about what Paul McIlroy wrote about his modified Justa bench variations. When the load is ~80% and the rep count is climbing the routine might stop being manageable. While it still definitely is, and the last session was far from hard, it on the border of stopping being EES. I came to that conclusion not because of hard sessions but because I started thinking about days off (and taking extra one last week). Since this is EES routine I think it is best to keep it this way.

New block
Goal (singular):

Re-introduce neglected hip hinge training, while keeping the overall full body sync and balance gained in the last block.​

Guide lines:

• Low resource
• Explosive hip hinge is a priority
• Auto-regulated training - while scripted programs are important for me it feels that switching block form scripted to timed sessions might be good for me.

Subjective preferences and self observation (based in log mining):

• PHK/OS based morning prep - it makes me feel great
• Near daily sessions - I respond well to high-frequency training
• When the bent press is present in the block I tend to gravitate towards it since I feel it is very beneficial to me. However, this is exactly the reason to drop it for a while and work on other qualities.

Daily morning prep:

• PHK meditation - both hands lift the sky + stance training
• OS resets
• Some from of loaded gait - OSP

Balance part
Or actually balance+. I will use the Gada swing for this aspect. While it is ballistic I expect it to maintain most of the capabilities gained with bent pressing (analysis here). I will probably bent press from time to time for singles. This will serve both to check my assumption and honestly to keep it around so I won't forcefully integrate it in a half-a#@ way to this block.

The Gada progression will continue to follow Paul Wolkowinki's guidelines.

Next two benchmarks are:

• OH360 for full minute each side
• Learning OH10-2

Bounce part
10 min timed auto-regulated sessions of swings. After today's test session 24kg will be my start weight for continues one hand swings, 24kg/28kg for dead-stop OHS, 40kg for THS. Continues swings will start with sets of 5, Dead-stops at 1+1.

Starting with mostly dead-stop sets and replacing them with continues as I feel the pattern gets more consistent.

Since it is auto-regulated rep/load increase will happen by quality of movement and feel of freshness at the end of sets.

Length of block
Start at 4 weeks and evaluate.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

11.11.2018
Noon prep (was suppose to be morning)
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 26 breaths

Farmer's carry @68kg x 30m
TGU with press, SOS get down @12kg x 1 + 1

Noon - bouldering
More of freestyle as opposed to last week. Mostly V3 work, some V4 work

Evening - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some club swings

Practice
10 min Gada swings @2.5kg

OH360 x 2 x 1 min
360 x 4 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
​

One word - Flow!

Night session - swing
Prep
Goblet squat @24kg x 5
Some rocking, both 6 and 4 point

Practice - fresh & flawless
10 min of

Dead-stop OHS @24kg x 1 + 1 - alternating starting side each series
OHS @24kg x 5 - alternating sides each series​

Notes

• Gada - OH360: Was not planned to try a full minute. As I launched the Gada I thought to start one handed. Swings were fluid, when the timer beeped for the end of the minute I just switched sides. That was the hardest technique for me to learn and I am glad that attention-full practice did it's thing. Flow.
• Swings
  • Session structure: I like this structure for now. The switch between dead-stop and continues swing let me focus on the details while also working on fluidity.
  • Dead-stop swings: Those sets of 1+1 swings takes more than 5s. The TUT in the hinge between swings drains energy. It also ingrain the bottom of the hinge well and allow me to work on connecting the arm to the ribs on the back swings easily.
  • In session recovery: While subjective and "by feel", I feel I recover faster between sets, which I use not to increase volume but to be fresher, which leads to higher quality swings. Might be a side effect from the Gada

 

[Shahaf Levin]

12.11.2018
Morning prep (beach)
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 26 breaths, in the water

OS rolling, push ups & squats sequence
Backward crawling series @ sandbag x 3 (first 2 - neck, last - torso)
Walking @towing sandbag x ~6 min - feet and ankles worked allot

Afternoon - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some club swings

Practice - one arm swing practice
Series 1:

OH360
Hand switch 10-2
OH10-2 - with off hand helping the stop​

Watched some Paul Wolkowinski OH10-2 video during the rest

Series 2:

OH360
OH10-2 - proper​

Swing session
Prep
Rocking
Goblet squat @24kg x 5

Practice - fresh & flawless
10 min of

Dead-stop OHS @24kg x 1 + 1
OHS @24kg x 5​

Beach volleyball session
Bad lighting at the beginning lead to allot of bad timing for me. I have hard time seeing in bad lighting, worse than most people. When switched to a better lit court things got better, but it was hard for me to get back in pace.

13.11.2018
Morning prep
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 28 breath

Noon - bouldering
Mediocre at best. Not on point. Actually most of my friends there was at on off day... Maybe it's the weather changing affecting us...

Evening - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some club swinging

Practice
>10 min of Gada swing @2.5kg

OH360 x 2 x 1 min
360 x 4 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
OH10-2 practice - not timed, got better with each swing​

Swing
Rest. Grip feel to used up from bouldering. Haven't felt like this in a while, but haven't swung for a while neither.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

14.11.2018
Morning prep
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 28 breaths

OS roll/push ups/squat sequence
Backward crawling sequence x 3
Forward crawling x the way back
OH hack squat x 5

Noon - evening - GTG swings
GTG alternating

Dead-stop OHS @24kg x {1+1 , 2+2 , 3+3 , 1+1}
OHS@24kg x 5 + 5​

Decided to test GTG swings as opposed to timed auto-regulated swings. Feels good. Will keep comparing and see pros and cons of both systems.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

15.11.2018
Morning prep (beach)
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 30 breaths

OS resets
Walking and marching @sandbag on head x 7 min - some squats thrown in as well

Noon - bouldering
~3 hrs. Every thing from v0 to V5, mostly V2 and V3.
Some OH Gada work at home before going bouldering.

Evening - GTG swings
Dead-stop THS @40kg x 2
THS @40kg x 5
THS @40kg x 1:2:3 - 1 swing - dead-stop - 2 swings - dead-stop - 3 swings
THS @40kg x 5

Short on time due to unplanned BVB. Should have done a timed session.

Evening - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some club swings

Practice
10 min Gada swing @2.5kg

OH360 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
OH10-2 x 2 x 1 min
OH360 x 2 x 1 min​

Started reading Hanuman Power. Read until the Gada section. I am using the body sway much more actively now (as opposed to in response) as suggested in the book. Makes the OH work much more efficient. This is the correct taming-of-the-arc of Gada swinging.
The last sets of OH360 were hard with some sub par swings. Around 4-5 on the right side and 1 or 2 on the left were I re-focused and made sure I sway properly.
At the end of the session I felt the full body involvement in the swing.

Night - beach volleyball session
Played well mostly. After the second break I came back cold, both physically and mentally. The weather is getting cooler and it is not helping staying focused. My deep hit were good, both along the line and middle. Cross hits and cuts were not towards the sideline enough which made them easy to dig.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

16.11.2018
Morning prep
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 27 breaths

Noon completion of morning prep
OS resets

Throughout the day - GTG swings
OHS @24kg

Dead-stop x {1+1 , 2+2}
Continues x 5 + 5 , 5 + 5
Mix x 1 : 2 : 3 , 1 : 2 : 3​

Evening - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some clubs swings

Practice
11 min of Gada swings @2.5kg

OH360 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 x 3 x 1 min - Accidental 3 min, didn't hear the buzzer
OH10-2 x 2 x 1 min - Last minute was estimated since the timer stop after 10 minutes. I videoed the session - 55 sec, close enough​

Easy.

Notes

• Swing - GTG vs. timed sessions: Pretty much the same volume. In GTG I push a more in each set since there is no in-session recovery constraints. Still on the fence.
• Swing technique: Inspired from the Gada and PHK I emphasize breathing and the fluidity and let the tension cycle handle itself. In Hanuman Power Marcus Quijas calls the Gada and Jori swing flexible-strength. Lets see what it will do tom my swings.
• Gada: The accidental 11 min session shows I am ready for a heavier Gada. Need to find quickset concrete and and a 2.5-3 liter container. Will go shopping next week. Meanwhile I'll keep working on the body sway technique.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

17.11.2018
Morning prep
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 27 breaths

OS resets - later at the beach

Late morning - beach volleyball session
Goodbye party for a friend who is going traveling for six month. Some matches, some beer, some snacks.
Played well most of the matches. Played poorly the last one - out of focus after a long break.

Evening - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some clubs swings

Practice
10 min of Gada swings @2.5kg

OH360 x 2 x 1 min
360 x 2 x 1 min
Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
OH10-2 x 2 x 1 min​

 

[Shahaf Levin]

18.11.2018
Morning prep (beach)
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 29 breaths

OS roll/push-up/squat sequence
OH hack squat x 5

Noon - bouldering
~2 hrs. Mostly V3 work. Should go back to organized training. It feel my skill got dull.

Evening - Swing session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Rocking (neck banded)
Some club swings
Long push press @20kg+16kg x 2 x 3
Push press @20kg+16kg x 2 x 5

Practice
12 min of fresh & flawless

Dead-stop OHS @24kg x 2 + 2 - last set @28kg
OHS @24kg x 2 x 5​

Session felt smooth and fluid.

Building a Gada
Found some quickset cement suppliers around the city. They sell it for as much as iron. I found some online suppliers as well and waiting for a price quote. Should be cheaper ~30% even with overpriced shipping costs. I have a bamboo poll that was left from the previous tenants, a little thinner than what is the "norm" but shouldn't be a problem for a ~5-6kg Gada. I might just buy a bamboo fence which should give me bamboo for around 50 Gadas. Definitely the cheapest way for the long run.

Maybe for the first Gada should just go with a 5kg bag from the local guys and buy online bulk for future Gadas. Should make it nice looking and start swinging at the beach - maybe could sell some...

Notes

• Push press: Not really prep, but not "official" practice. Last time I used the PP in my program it seemed I had better footwork bouldering. Probably something about rooting and dynamic linkage with the arms. Put LPP as well to add some grease to the squat.
• Swings
  • Timed sessions won (for now): Feels better than GTG, mostly cause I am not next to weights most of the day. GTGing in a 2-4 hour window feels in-between structured practice session and the throughout the day "learning moments". This in-betweenness seems to miss the advantages of both methods. Maybe I'll give a try again in blizzards. Also, my 24kg takes chalk badly and I don't like chalking multiple time throughout the day...
  • Load: Should start with 28kg for dead-stop next session, its less effective as evaluation tool at the end. Second swing on the left was not as good as the first. The 24kg feels light but will give it some more volume, at least until I smooth the 28kg DS.
  • A+A: Allot of A+A post lately, might go for A+A swings on the next swing block.
• Swinging everything block - Gada & KB: While it's only a week in it feels that the predictions of @Stuart Elliott and myself of being a good combination are correct. While I haven't felt bad in a looong time I have yet to feel so free and flowy.

 

[Stuart Elliott]

@Shahaf Levin good to see the swings and gada are proving to be a good combination. I'm hoping to get my first gada next month, interested to see how it pairs with the snatch.
I think you are right about the PP linkage between legs and arms benefiting your bouldering. I see this with the snatch when playing cricket, my lower and upper body movement is much smoother and sharper towards a moving ball, appears my reflexes have greatly improved, but I think it's the continuous linking between lower body and upper body in the snatch greasing the grove.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

@Shahaf Levin good to see the swings and gada are proving to be a good combination. I'm hoping to get my first gada next month, interested to see how it pairs with the snatch.
I think you are right about the PP linkage between legs and arms benefiting your bouldering. I see this with the snatch when playing cricket, my lower and upper body movement is much smoother and sharper towards a moving ball, appears my reflexes have greatly improved, but I think it's the continuous linking between lower body and upper body in the snatch greasing the grove.

If Gada pairs well with swings I see no reason for it not pairing well with snatches

 

[Shahaf Levin]

19.11.2018
Morning prep
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 29 breaths

Some club swings
Some hand switch 10-2 Gada swings

Noon - building a Gada
Bought some quickset cement, took an old bleach container and built a Gada. Should be around 5kg, will weight tomorrow. For next time - the quickset is really quick - use more water so I can work faster. The poll is perpendicular but a little off center. I hope it will have no ill affect. I will let it set for over 24 hours before swinging and will take for the beach for the first session. If I did a bad craftsmanship then I prefer it will fall apart outside my apartment. Will do some pendulum swings at home as a basic test.

Afternoon - learning more club swings
Reading The Indian Club Exercise by Sim D. Kehoe. I understood why FMS call their online course Club Swinging Essentials, Kehoe has some intricate choreography in the book. Experimented with exercises 1 through 11 and felt my brain melting.

Afternoon - Gada session
Lifting the sky
Some more club swings, my usual routine before Gada

Practice
10 min Gada swing @2.5 kg

OH360 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 to 360 mix x 2 x 1 min
OH10-2 x 2 x 1 min​

Evening - Swing session
Prep
Rocking, neck banded
BB armbar @12kg x 3 + 3
Long push press @20kg+16kg x 2 x 3
Push press @20kg+16kgx 2 x 5

Practice
12 min of fresh & flawless

Dead-stop OHS @28kg x 2 + 2
OHS @24kg x 2 x 5 first round, than 2 x 7 - can start with 7 next time​

 

[Shahaf Levin]

20.11.2018
Morning prep (beach)
PHK

• Lifting the sky
• Stance training x 29 breaths - should have been 31, didn't check the log

OS resets and squats and push-ups sequence - squats leaned towards OH hack, PU towards Hindu
Walking and marching @sandbag on the head x 7 min

Noon
Some more Sim D. Kehoe club swings

Afternoon - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some club swings

Practice
10 min if Gada swing @2.5kg

Hand switch 10-2 x 2 x 1 min
10-2 x 2 x 1 min
OH360 x 2 x 1 min - much more challenging mid-session
10-2 to 360 mix x 2 x 1 min
OH10-2 to OH360 mix x 2 x 1 min - easy​

Evening - Gada playtime
Couldn't resist, played with my new Gada, which, by the way, weight 5.5kg.

Freestyle Gada swing @5.5kg

360 - some swings at all four directions/hand position combinations
10-2 - several rounds throughout the evening​

No doubt the 5.5kg commands more attention. In the programming section in Dynami Cook and @Brett Jones say that the proper weight is the one that requires correct alignment and force application but doesn't push you into compensating. Too light weight (in ballistics) will flop or feel out of control. This was spot on trying the heavier Gada. Any alignment and timing errors and imperfection were magnified, therefore the heavier weight lead to higher quality swings than with the 2.5kg. I don't have a heavier one to test, but the 5kg-ish feels Goldilocksy.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

21.11.2018
Morning prep
Lifting the sky
PHK stance training x 31 breaths
Some club swings - from Sim D. Kehoe's book

Noon - Gada session - at the beach
Prep
"Rucking" @6kg x 10-15 min (another round on the way back)
Lifting the sky
OS sequence

Practice
Gada 10-2 @5.5kg x 6 x ~1:15 min

• Sets were not timed, did it by feel with hand position switches mid set. Videoed the session so I know sets were from 1:00 - 1:30 min, mostly around 1:15 min. Rest periods to recovery.
• That was allot of total volume with the 5kg, haven't felt that tired at the end of a session in a long time. Got carried away. Will start the previous protocol tomorrow. It worked well with the 2.5kg.
• Definitely felt the full body work. And brain.

Evening - swing session
Prep
Rocking, neck banded
Goblet squat @24kg x 5

Practice
12 min of alternating

Dead-stop THS @40kg x 3
THS @40kg x 7​

• My back and shoulders worked allot in the noon session so dropped the push press from the prep and went for a less demanding THS
• Recovery was way slower than normal. I assume it is part of the cost of the over-reaching noon session.

Noon session

 

[Stuart Elliott]

@Shahaf Levin great pic, guessing its your new 5.5kg Gada

 

[Shahaf Levin]

@Shahaf Levin great pic, guessing its your new 5.5kg Gada

Thanks
Yeah, this is the new addition to my body, mind and soul development toolbox.

 

[Shahaf Levin]

22.11.2018
Morning prep
Lifting the sky
PHK stance training x 31 breaths
Some club swings (Sim D. Kehoe)

Noon - bouldering
~2:30 hrs, playing mostly. Will start structured training next week.

Afternoon
Some Hindu pushups
Some OH hack squats
Some OH squats doubles @5.5kg Gada, switching side each rep

Evening - Swing session
Movement prep
Hindu PUP to Hindu (or hack) squats

Practice
12 min of

Dead-stop OHS @28kg x 2 + 2
OHS @24kg x 2 x 7 - should take back down to (mostly) 5s, 7s call for noticeably longer recovery​

Later that evening - Gada session
Prep
Lifting the sky
Some club swings

Practice
4 min Gada swings @5.5kg

360 x 4 x 30 sec : 30 sec - start-stop : non-stop​

I thought about taking a rest day, but I feel so good after it that. Not overdoing the Gada like yesterday take back to its meditative and therapeutic nature.

 

[jhpowers]

Can you say more about the meditative aspect of the Gada?

I’ve got a shoulderok that I’ve rarely used. Do you think it can be essentially be used in the same way. I’ve always considered it a warm up to loosen up the shoulders. What are the benefits of doing it for a prolonged period (e.g. 10 min).

 

[Shahaf Levin]

Can you say more about the meditative aspect of the Gada?...
...What are the benefits of doing it for a prolonged period (e.g. 10 min).

Sure, happy to.

First of all, for the subjective description of how I feel. During the session I focus on breathing and fluidity of movement, as I do so I loose track of time and, in some way, the details of the movement itself. It becomes sort of breath-and-stare (stare- stopping the Gada at the right point with your eyes). When the volume of my timer is low I often miss the switches, or have these "was that a beep I heard a while back?" moments. After the session I feel very focused, centered and relaxed - these actually carried out from the session. The relaxation part comes out a bit after the session when my body settles down - I do feel a "power surge" when I the Gada down.

As for my speculated reasoning for the meditative swinging, I think it is rooted in the nature of the movement and session. The movement itself require allot of fluidity and accuracy (in the application of force). This, the cyclic nature of the movement and sub-maximal long sessions call for long periods of time of focus on breath and fluidity. IMHO this what makes it meditative.

In addition, it follows all three OS pillars of human movement - diaphragmatic breathing, activating the vestibular system and a contra-lateral pattern. The brain like these kind of things so it tends to make them feel good.

I’ve got a shoulderok that I’ve rarely used. Do you think it can be essentially be used in the same way. I’ve always considered it a warm up to loosen up the shoulders.

I don't see a reason not to use it like a Gada. One of the first hits in Google for shoulderok is a video of Gada swinging. Since it is solid metal the weight distribution is different, and essentially makes the effective lever shorter, like in a steel mace. It will feel differently when swinging and the timing will probably be different than from a bamboo Gada. Having never swung a mace/shoulderok I assume these differences are not big enough to justify not swinging them. Accept from the fact that bamboo Gada is just way cooler

Load it light and give it a try. I suggest Paul Wolkowinski's https://www.indianclubs.com.au/gada-mace/ as a good place to start learning.

EDIT: Shouderok and Gada differences
Thinking about it as the weight is lighter the difference in feel is bigger. Light loaded shoulderok will probably have the center-of-mass about at half-handle length, which is not bad for the few first sessions, but than one want longer levers, and adding weight don't feel the same. I think as you get heavier the differences become more negligible... but than you have the rigidity of steel pole and the flexibility of bamboo... ahhhhhhhh... forget about it and swing your shoulderok

 

[Shahaf Levin]

23.11.2018
Morning prep
Lifting the sky
PHK stance training x 33 breaths
OS roll-Hindu PUP-Hindu squat sequence
Some club swinging
Frmer carry @64kg x 30m (64kg = 28 + 36 by mistake)

Gada & KB swinging - rest

Throughout the day
Some club swinging