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The Obstacle is the Way (was S&S and PTTP)

Almost done my first two blocs of training and the heaviest dl weight for this bloc is done. So now it gets interesting. What will the dl feel like when I come back to it? What will the swing and getup feel like on Monday? I’m excited. I’m hoping for what some call ‘super-adaptation’, although I don’t think I’ve pushed hard enough to see that.

I appreciate the comment “with my shoulders” - but it was my injuries that led me down this path. I was unable to continue training with my crew. I couldn’t do half the movements I was programming in. Then I developed tennis elbow in my left arm due to too much pull-up training. I knew I had to scale back. I’d tried some of Pavel’s workouts with my crew previously but they got bored quickly. Not me.

I’d read somewhere that the swing can be done with a wide variety of injuries. Tried it and voila - S&S seemed like a natural. In particular because I’d kept track of Pavel Macek’s prodigious journey. I’d considered previously combining with PTTP.

My “aha” moment came upon re-reading Pavel Tsatsoulines comment along the lines of “the press is just the cherry on the deadlift sundae.”

I knew my press was going to suck, but I was thinking “Who cares if I have a small shrivelled cherry if I have a tasty sundae?”

The two week blocs just seems to fit. It gives me a natural ‘waviness’ for my dl and let’s face it - at my age and with my previous level of adaptation that is a really good thing. It’s almost a variation of conjugate training - in the hinge blocs of grinds and ballistics.

I’ve got some operations on the horizon, but I think I’m positioned for quick recoveries.

All thanks to Pavel T and his stunt double Pavel M. I’m relatively pain free right now and enjoying my gym time once again.

My original goal was to move well, be able to enjoy my grandkids and set an example for family & friends. I kept telling myself to enjoy the process - no expectations. (cue Rolling Stones). But that really isn’t true. I love being strong and I do have a dl number in the back of my mind. “It would be nice to dl …”

We will see. I’m focused on focusing on the process.
 
Hobbes said:
Almost done my first two blocs of training and the heaviest dl weight for this bloc is done. So now it gets interesting. What will the dl feel like when I come back to it? What will the swing and getup feel like on Monday? I’m excited. I’m hoping for what some call ‘super-adaptation’, although I don’t think I’ve pushed hard enough to see that.

I appreciate the comment “with my shoulders” - but it was my injuries that led me down this path. I was unable to continue training with my crew. I couldn’t do half the movements I was programming in. Then I developed tennis elbow in my left arm due to too much pull-up training. I knew I had to scale back. I’d tried some of Pavel’s workouts with my crew previously but they got bored quickly. Not me.

I’d read somewhere that the swing can be done with a wide variety of injuries. Tried it and voila - S&S seemed like a natural. In particular because I’d kept track of Pavel Macek’s prodigious journey. I’d considered previously combining with PTTP.

My “aha” moment came upon re-reading Pavel Tsatsoulines comment along the lines of “the press is just the cherry on the deadlift sundae.”

I knew my press was going to suck, but I was thinking “Who cares if I have a small shrivelled cherry if I have a tasty sundae?”

The two week blocs just seems to fit. It gives me a natural ‘waviness’ for my dl and let’s face it - at my age and with my previous level of adaptation that is a really good thing. It’s almost a variation of conjugate training - in the hinge blocs of grinds and ballistics.

I’ve got some operations on the horizon, but I think I’m positioned for quick recoveries.

All thanks to Pavel T and his stunt double Pavel M. I’m relatively pain free right now and enjoying my gym time once again.

My original goal was to move well, be able to enjoy my grandkids and set an example for family & friends. I kept telling myself to enjoy the process - no expectations. (cue Rolling Stones). But that really isn’t true. I love being strong and I do have a dl number in the back of my mind. “It would be nice to dl …”

We will see. I’m focused on focusing on the process.
Click to expand...
Funny how often the old adage "the obstacle is the way" proves to be true.
 
lais817 said:
Glad to be of service! I just finished reading the book of the same name so it seemed appropriate.
Click to expand...
Good read. I’d always used a similar homily when I got injured or life circumstances change. ‘When one door closes another opens’.
 
Today’s practice
Bike 3.5 miles to and from gym
3 rds of 5 pry goblet squats, 5/5 halos and 5 tables
Side press 5,3,2 reps with 16 kg kb
Deadlift 5, 3, 2 reps with 335 lbs
(Long rests with rope turns & SuperJoints between sets as active rest)
20 minutes of movnat type practice - including brachiation

Deadlifts felt very light today. But I’m lifting later in the morning as my wife hasn’t been doing her morning wo. So I did Press Reset earlier, will do a SuperJoints session later and the finish with some stretches this evening. Typical day - I take movement breaks from work.
 
Today’s practice
Bike 3.5 miles to and from gym
3 rds of 5 pry goblet squats, 5/5 halos and 5 tables
Side press 5,3,2 reps with 16 kg kb
Deadlift 5, 3, 2 reps with 345 lbs
(Long rests with rope turns & Fast & Loose between sets as active rest)
90/90, QL and hangs
 
Reflections on first month of practice.

1. Love the 2 week blocs and the two different practices. It gives me the variety I like and I think will provide a good base of strength and conditioning.
2. My Press Reset practice is not sufficient to help my joints - in particular my shoulders. This is my fault as I just don’t explore enough within the movements. So I’m going back to SuperJoints and treating it as discrete training. So Part A is daily and Part B is going to alternate with Relax into Stretch. Fast & Loose is going to be part of my active rest in S&S and PTTP.
3. I need to walk more. This is going to form the base for recovery from upcoming surgeries.
4. I can have all the intentions I want to explore movement, but in practice I don’t due to time snd space limitations. So prepare a base - SJ & RIS. Like coach Sommers said “the strongest athletes in the world are stretching their asses off…”

I’m interested in getting prepared for climbing & hiking. So it really isn’t rocket science. I don’t have space for flows, as much as I like them. And remember - if I coach myself I’m being coached by an idiot. So I’m really embracing Pavel T as a coach.
 
I should add - reading the medical imaging reports on my shoulders was scary. Signs of deterioration in the acromial/clavicular joints on both shoulders. Frayed biceps tendons. Blah, blah, blah. Made me realize I need to focus on joint health during this phase of my life cycle. Hence SuperJoints as a training program. It is no longer ancillary to other training. It has to be the base.
 
SJ, RIS, FS, and OS in combination have been integral to my training for quite a few years now. It is part of the reason I can maintain a fairly high (for me) amount of volume, frequency, and intensity in my training and life (cycling, climbing, running). I won’t say that it has made me 100% injury proof, but it has helped in that regard, plus allowing me to rehab quicker…
 
offwidth said:
SJ, RIS, FS, and OS in combination have been integral to my training for quite a few years now. It is part of the reason I can maintain a fairly high (for me) amount of volume, frequency, and intensity in my training and life (cycling, climbing, running). I won’t say that it has made me 100% injury proof, but it has helped in that regard, plus allowing me to rehab quicker…
Click to expand...
This is actually an idea that I need to adapt. I tend to get dogmatic. “Do this”. What I should be considering is the framework behind. So SJ goes through joints from extremities to core. But it can be augmented - the idea is to move your joints through a full ROM. Even within the book there are four alternatives given.

So I’ve got a lot of tools in my belt.
SJ, RIS, Press Reset, Shaolin, QiGong, Maxwell Daily Dozen, Animal Flow, Body Flow, GMB, etc.

The point is to prioritize these.
 
Dogma is usually bad unless you are talking about Pinarello bikes.

I find that whilst I have a core set of mobility routines I do on the regular, I also add (or sometimes subtract) other stuff as needed or to adapt to a specific situation or set of circumstances.
 
Start of second bloc of S&S

I did a 3 mile ruck and then biked to and frm the gym on my Raleigh Back Alley. No Pinarello for this guy - single speed steel frame bike.

Then I did:
3 warmup rds with 5 16kg goblet squats, 3/3 16kg halos and 5 tables.
8 rds of 10 36kg 1h swings, 2 rds of 40kg 1h swings
5 rds of 1/1 12kg kb getups
15 minutes of movement skills, include brachiate.

I don’t think I lost anything in the swing. 40 felt easy and strong. But the getup hurt enough I was muttering under my breath. It was unrealistic to expect to work hard enough to build capacity on such an unstable joint. Good enough just to move it comfortably.

I tried a 16kg getup with the bell in ny right hand. Pressed it out and then basically said “no way”. Didn’t even try.
 
3 mile ruck in am
At noon biked 3.3 miles to (and from) gym
Then:
3 warmup rds with 5 16kg goblet squats, 3/3 16kg halos and 5 tables.
8 rds of 10 36kg 1h swings, 2 rds of 40kg 1h swings
5 rds of 1/1 12kg kb getups
10 minutes of movement skills, include brachiation

Getup felt better today - focused on technique and tightness. I’m not comfortable trying to increase weight - maybe later next week. Swings were crisp and explosive.
 
3.2 mile ruck to gym
3 warmup rds with 5 20kg goblet squats, 3/3 12kg halos and 5 tables.
8 rds of 10 36kg 1h swings, 2 rds of 40kg 1h swings
5 rds of 1/1 12kg kb getups
15 minutes of movement skills, include brachiation

I should have done 2-handed swings today. My focus was a bit off - I had to watch the personal trainer ‘teach’ the power clean and jerk in front of me. Or should I say the dip to a reverse curl and push press without a catch?

I don’t know why people who have no training or personal experience at all think they can teach a complex movement like the c&j. This trainer got certified back in the 90s as an aerobics instructor. Never done a c&j herself - simply tries to mimic the movements without any understanding of forced being generated. I’m okay even with some iffy CrossFit stuff. But this was just unbelievable.

Ok. Rant over. Back to regular programming.
 
Ok. Not done. And why bb c&j for a client who just wants to lose a few pounds and look better? Just pisses me off.
 
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