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It finally made sense to Tiff
So, a couple of months ago, Tiff and I were sitting at the bar here at the Piper Down, our favorite place in SLC. This short guy comes in and starts talking about being a “Navy Seal” and just came back from the Middle East “teaching the locals how to fight.”
Overhearing this, Tiff leans in and says: “Listen to this guy.” The more I listened, the more I wanted to kick his ass. In fact, I may have noted it out loud.
As many of you know, I am on the road a lot teaching people how to stay fit and sane in all kinds of situations. One of the keys, and there are terms for this for the top end guys, is that you shut up.
For the record, I’m sick of it. I get so tired of guys introducing themselves as “this or that” bad ass thing and then trying to sell some BS on top of it. I had a nice talk with a guy the other night with the Congressional Medal of Honor and he was still fired up because we don’t recognize the spouses enough. That’s the kind of guy I want to buy a beer for, not some guy full of crap at a SLC bar.
I guess it made more sense to Tiffini, too. We were in this situation where we had a nice meal for those of us who help out anyway we can. At the function, Gary Sinise, our own “Lieutenant Dan” from Forrest Gump came over to introduce himself to Tiff and Me and, to be honest, I was star struck as much as anybody. He was as kind and as generous and as modest as one can imagine.
He is also a much better actor than that jerk at the bar in SLC.
Well, there you go…
I am moving to California. It’s not easy leaving Utah after 35 or so years of collecting crap! It’s a lot of friends and a lot of family and a lot of stuff.
I’m in Burlingame right now and I was really wondering what the hell was going on. We drove past a place and I liked it, but I didn’t want to say much. We drove down a little farther and Tiff says “Hey, look shot putters.” So, I went out of my way to find the area and stopped by. The coach, Coach Lewis, used to coach at Oceana. I introduced myself and he says “I was just asking about you.”
So, that was my sign. I’m moving back to a place where throwers still throw and people love what I do. So, we celebrated at an Irish Pub with my new best friend, Declan, and I realized that maybe even if I have to leave my daughters, there is still some life in the Bay Area.
I would hate to say “I’m home,” but I certainly thought that this was a sign.
Two years already?
This “stuff” has been pouring through my head for over two years. We were getting ready for Easter in South Bend, Indiana. I had come out to be a sponsor for Seth Rosenberg and his dad, noted lifting enthusiast, Mike Rosenberg, was encouraging me to write about training scholastic athletes. Mike and I have had a series of adventures and he has been one of the major engines driving me to write articles from Slosh Pipes to One lift a day.
Mike had been telling me about his frustrations at a local gym where high school football players train with Bench Press, Lat Pulldowns and Curls. They read the muscle rags at the supermarket and pour creatine in their twenty-five soft drinks every day. More importantly, they don’t listen to old men who are twice or more stronger than them. Mike’s great insight about these young men and their training is simple. They only listen to Farmer Ted.
“Yeah, but the thing is I’m kinda like the leader, y’know…kinda like the King of the Dipshits.”
It’s a quote from Anthony Michael Hall playing “Farmer Ted,” in the movie “Sixteen Candles.” Yes, I think the movie is great and well worth watching. For many of us, we would like to be the painfully sad rich kid with the hot girlfriend. Many of us know those who follow the Farmer Teds of this world. And, one day, we look around at our local spa and realize that we are Farmer Ted. The King of the Dipshits.
For the bulk of those in the gym and spa, they gleam their information from these dissected and sliced up bits of hearsay and heresy that someone selling us something made up about a bodybuildings champion’s training who also spend five figures a month in supplements you can’t get from the grocery store. The kids at Mike’s local gym cut out the routines of the “champs” and follow the workouts exactly as written…except for the leg day, the back day and the shoulder day because, and I quote, “I don’t want to get too big.” Don’t worry, I will call you the day before you look like Mr. Universe and remind you to back off.
The issue is something that has been crashing over me for the past four months. The point was best summed up at the Charlie Francis Seminar when he simply said: “Most people’s highs are too low and their lows are too high.” The vast majority of people who train tend to swim towards the middle: middle reps, middle sets, medium intensity, medium recovery.
In other words, most of us train like Farmer Ted. True success in training is realizing that your “highs” have to be very very high, and your lows just tend to be above walking the dog. Most of us, however, compromise the really hard days by making the easy day a little harder than necessary basically insuring that there will be a lessening of what should really be hard. This is the secret behind training sprinters like Charlie Francis. Honestly, when you study the training schedules of Charlie’s sprinters, they perhaps train only 1% or LESS of their total training day. Of course, he has sprinters who bench over 400 and squat over 600 (for six reps) and go one hundred meters in under ten seconds.
I listen to Charlie Francis. I also listen to Dave Tate. I loved his point about most people’s training programs that he noted at testfest. Basically, he said that any time he saw any workout with lifts over 90%, he stopped looking at it. For him, it might take months of training to sneak up to 90% and anybody who thinks you can do 90% weekly or for reps simply doesn’t’ understand how far they have to go. Dave’s famous four levels of training are “Shitty, Sucks, Good, and Great.” When Dave and his Westside powerlifters go heavy, they go very heavy. They go so heavy that I noted a few years ago that my 400 pound bench is shitty.
What?
Listen to the best. Listen hard. Do your best to keep humble. Have a great Easter!
Some old stuff that I am reworking…and love!
Years ago, John Powell and I had a long conversation about training past the age of forty. John, for those of you who may not know, is the former world record holder in the discus and holds two bronze medals from the Olympics…as well as a Silver medal from the world championships at age forty!
John broke down “past forty” training into two basic “phases:” Phase One, which may last from 30 days to 30 years, and Phase Two, the key to superlative performance in not only the Master Athlete, but everyone else, too.
Yet, none of this came clear to me until after the Northwest Regional Masters Track and Field meet when George Mathews mentioned that “the problem with being a Master is the loss of muscle mass.” He noted that at a certain age, you suddenly become frozen, it seems. Hypertrophy, the building of muscle mass, seemed to be the answer.
The problem? The traditional means of periodizing, building up one’s training over a few months was shaped like this: Period One: Hypertrophy (Good old Bodybuilding) Period Two: Basic Strength Time (Go Heavy, Go Hard, Go Home) Period Three: Basic Power Stage (This is when one starts lifting faster in the weight room, more emphasis on speed on the track Competition …compete Period Five: Recovery (an active rest period of a few weeks where one backs way off and lets the mind and muscles heal.
For the older athlete, this may still work, but John noted that there was a key element missing Passion! George also pointed out that the loss of hypertrophy (muscle mass) was the missing.
An overview: Phase One
This could last as long as a whole career. Basically, it is the “nerve and muscle” stage. One learns the techniques of the sport and ingrains a simpler and smoother method of performance. Ideally, one would begin with a full blood profile test, I would argue for HDL and Triglycerides to be monitored throughout one’s adult life. John Powell added testosterone and DHEA levels for men, too.
During training, one strives for, first, correctly performing all the movements…from lifting to jumping to the competitive movement. Second, John recommends repetitive, but rhythmic, sets of “big lifts,” i.e. squats, cleans and snatches.
John had an illumination in his throwing career when he talked with World Shot Put champion Peter Sarul and then members of the British Javelin team…who were very
successful at the time. They told him about this workout:
Power Clean: 60K x 10
Squat: 70K x 10
Power Snatch: 50K x 10
Front Squat: 60K x 10
Crunches: 25
You did these in a circuit, one after another, then tracked your heart rate on completion. You did this cluster for three sets. As your heart rate would go down (over time), obviously your conditioning was better. Also, your total circuit time should try to go down, too.
John discovered that these “fast”workouts focusing on speed and condition, led him to his lifetime best throws. For basic training, John believes that repetition is the mother of instruction in Phase One. He though any drill that one could do over and over…while focusing on making the technique simpler and simpler…would be the key. For a discus thrower, he recommended doing the turn forwards and backwards (without throwing) with an overweight implement, then going through a workout.
In every sport, there are drills that ingrain technique.
But how to move on?
Phase Two
John had only one word: Passion. From the Latin, “to suffer,” I can’t think of a better word to describe the Love/Hate/Suffer/Fury that is required to improve as an athlete. Sadly, many young athletes have all the physical gifts, yet no passion. “The Love of the Game” is a perfect title…for a disappointing movie.
Passion. Well, how do we get it? Master athletes can teach the youth here:
1. Travel to a lot of meets.
2. Hang out with your competition for long periods afterwards.
3. Read everything, watch everything you can about your sport.
4. Travel some more. Hang out some more. Learn more.
5. Spend your money on your sport! 6. See number four above!
Yet, something is missing. I think George hit it on the head when he discussed hypertrophy. For Phase One, we can focus on speed and technique (nerve and muscle), but in Phase Two…as we build passion in our hearts…we need to build muscles in our body. The more I think about this, the more I KNOW IT IS RIGHT!
As a matter of interest, short spurts of intense training increases the natural Growth Hormones of the body…the anti-aging drugs. In Phase Two, a serious attempt to both raise GH and build muscle are a yin-yang relationship!
The research, although it is tough to discover, seems to point to several things, if you want to increase GH (and hypertrophy).
1. Eat some protein before lifting…ten to twenty grams.
2. Monitor rest periods between sets (one minute rests have shown, in some studies, to spike GH)
3. Use “full body” lifts, such as my favorites:
Power Clean and Front Squat Power Curl Clean and Press Overhead Squat
Good Morning or variations Clean grip snatch Power snatch
With Kettlebells, are you kidding me? Goblet Squats, Swings, Snatches, Get Ups, Clean and Presses…the whole RKC!
4. Don’t be afraid to “bodybuild.” Get those arm curls, triceps extensions, pull upswhatever. Put your time in during Phase Two building your Passion and Body.
That’s Good Advice!
I know some that I have can help one rekindle the passion that drives great athletes. Let’s look at a few obvious ideas:
1. Keep a journal. If I could recommend only one thing, it would be to keep this on-going conversation with yourself. As you link the days together and watch the ebbs and flows of your training and life, you can pick out the clues that lead to success in your life …athletically and real!
2. Buy books and videos on your sport. Brian Clay’s discus technique has changed my vision of things! Read magazines, books and internet articles that apply to your sports and try new things!
3. Practice both single and wide focus in your sports. Single focus would be bowling alone on one lane trying to just throw strike balls …ignoring all spares. In your sport of choice, you should occasionally strive to fix just one thing: all your resources should pour into attacking or improving one aspect of training. Wide focus is what a football coach does: the coach measures and adjusts his 92 man team, seven assistants, four managers, bus drivers, et al to deal with the opposing team and the whims of the officiating staff. Both, single and wide focus can be exhausting…but for different reasons.
Single can be “boring,” yet every athlete needs the “groove” from multiple repetitions. Multiple focus can simply over stimulate the senses. The Highland Game experience is a study in multiple focus: dancing, piping, drinking, eating, noise…and up to ten different athletic events with only a few that share any technical skills.
A couple of ideas for training multiple focus: listen to music you hate while you train; train for three sports (throw, lift, carry, whatever) in a single training session; train in extre mes…cold, heat, fasting, time of day, odd locations; learn a new sport!
Finally, invent new ways to train your current sport…seriously, “think outside the box” and restructure your whole training…or just one aspect of training.
“Passion” fuels the athlete far beyond the next workout, the next week or the next season. It also may be the secret cure to aging!
The Middle of the Strength Universe
I am pulling up to school this morning and Master RKC Brett Jones calls me. I get in and Mike Brown has a bunch of new FMS ideas. My emails have piled up with some of the best and brightest names in strength training.
In my mailbox later in the day, Lyle McDonald has some personalized diet ideas for me. Later, I work on refining my Get Ups with the 32s with several quality people critiquing my work.
For whatever reason, that’s a typical day of mine. Gant Grimes, noted strength coach and lawyer, dropped by yesterday and, to be honest, it is a rare day that somebody from the “know” doesn’t pop by the gym. Why?
For one thing, I think I never actually came out and said “I know it all” and all of you are wrong. It’s rare in this field. I learn so much everyday. Socrates, a man of poor squatting but fine academic rigor, said this:
When I heard the answer, I said to myself, What can the god mean? and what is the interpretation of this riddle? for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great. What can he mean when he says that I am the wisest of men? And yet he is a god and cannot lie; that would be against his nature. After a long consideration, I at last thought of a method of trying the question. I reflected that if I could only find a man wiser than myself, then I might go to the god with a refutation in my hand. I should say to him, “Here is a man who is wiser than I am; but you said that I was the wisest.” Accordingly I went to one who had the reputation of wisdom, and observed to him – his name I need not mention; he was a politician whom I selected for examination – and the result was as follows: When I began to talk with him, I could not help thinking that he was not really wise, although he was thought wise by many, and wiser still by himself; and I went and tried to explain to him that he thought himself wise, but was not really wise; and the consequence was that he hated me, and his enmity was shared by several who were present and heard me. So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows. I neither know nor think that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him. Then I went to another, who had still higher philosophical pretensions, and my conclusion was exactly the same. I made another enemy of him, and of many others besides him….therefore I asked myself on behalf of the oracle, whether I would like to be as I was, neither having their knowledge nor their ignorance, or like them in both; and I made answer to myself and the oracle that I was better off as I was.
I think I know what he means!
I can’t believe the progress in my hip
Before I begin my usual hyperbole, I should note it has been over a month since I reinjured it, but, honestly, after my humiliation in San Jose, I think I finally “get it.” Mike Boyle has a wonderful book (available at davedraper.com) that I practically read every day. This morning, I got my copy out and laughed at his insight about distance runners: Injury-Rehab-Train-Injury-Rehab-Train.”
I got myself so convinced of my immortality that I forgot the performance pyramid: first, movement, then ramp up the power. I’m sure that skills or techniques go on top, but when you ignore the base, really, what is point? So, my intern and full time mom, Mike Brown, has been working overtime making sure that I do “what I say I will do.”
So, each day, I do my Get Up style twists, my half kneeling presses, my various stretches, my rolling (usually twice a day), take my fish oil, hot tub for half an hour, sit in the Goblet Squat (yes, without pain) and do the things I say I will do.
And, it works. I feel miles better. I am living close to barefoot which seems to help me. I am really eating clean which seems to help as much.
I’m even back to doing one legged deadlifts which may go down as the least appreciated move in history. In other words, I am doing what I should have done two plus years ago.
And now, for our cultural heritage!
I thought this was a great point…the song is amazing, too.Ed Ames on Exercise and the importance of Following
Finally, a Chance to Sleep
I have been going at a rate that I can’t sustain. It is track season, so we had three meets in four days. The head coach is an idiot for scheduling like this. The next time I look in the mirror I will point that out. Last weekend, we had St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and I had the Blessing of the Kegs and a number of formal events and my workshop in Sunnyvale and the relocation people came over (if you missed it, Tiff and I are moving to California) and, well, there is more.
Today, I got to sleep in a bit and I am a new man. There is a wonderful chapter in Parkinson’s Law, find it-buy it-love it, that talks about a busy man being given a task. He does it in one minute. Mike Boyle has a wonderful last chapter in “Advances in Functional Training,” find it-buy it-love it, where he gives advice to young coaches. One great part is that “if you can answer an email in under a minute, do it.” The busier I get, the more emails I get! So, I answer them. My college classes start Monday, so with ‘all of this’ comes even more.
You know, my life is going to ease up quite a bit and I’m worried about it. Will I be able to be as productive with a lot of free time? It’s an honest question. Right now, I have this little daily goal:
100 KB snatches
Some Goblet squats
Work on the KB Windmill
Do the Hips Stretches from RKC II
Do some pressing.
It is my minimalist program for staying sane in track season. It’s a good program! With more time, will I just waste time? It’s something I think we all need to ponder: if I had more free time, what would I fill in?
My challenge is to continue to work on the mission. The problem is…my mission statement has radically changing as my daughters slide off to college and I walk away from teaching. For the next few weeks, I will be rethinking my core values (yes, it sounds like bull, but it works for me) and deciding what I want to be when I grow up!
Workshop in Sunnyvale
I have to tell you that if you missed these two days, you missed a lot. A lot of quality instruction, a lot of quality people. Yes, of course, I was brilliant, but there was a vast amount of quality information and hands on work for everyone.
I noted a couple of things. I know that people pay a grand for a one or day workshop to “master” dozens of different sports and moves. Someone may tell you that you have a back issue in squatting from this workshop or cert or clinic or add a point about your O lifting pull or make a general statement about this or that.
It’s probably not enough. I can fix most people’s squats in a second or two. As you enter the site, click on all the little buttons and enjoy all the free stuff. That video is old now and I like to think I have improved my skill set since then, but that little video has helped a lot of people. It is free. It is good. For those asking me about “Complexes” the list is right there as well as the JD Warmup.
It is free. It is good. Quality coaching does NOT come from a blitz weekend where much of the time is spent demeaning others. (As a note, this may sound like I am demeaning others, but I am not…I think I am making a point) You KNOW when you work with a master. My good friend, Pavel, calls this the “A-HA! Moments” as everything suddenly makes sense. With one touch, one push, one shove, you instantly understand the principle and usually never forget the feeling when everything links in perfectly.
That’s what I liked about this workshop in Sunnyvale. Our mobility work this morning was so good, I was taking notes while twisting apart. The review of simply the differences between the Olympic lifts and the Power lifts was probably as clear and eloquent as anything I have ever heard. The friendly environment was amazing, but everything flowed. One should come away from a weekend like this with clarity.
As always, a big thanks to my brother, Gary, who bravely shuttles me around to these events. He has his own following now and is pestered by fans at these events. He endures it with humility and grace.
And, now, a little taste of my next book:
I think I could make a fortune with a book entitled “Eat your way to success.” Honestly, the three best mental images I have for success involve eating. From what I have seen across the vast landscape of America, I think that eating is not a rarity for many here in these United States. Sadly, my “Frog, Elephant and Alpo Dog Food Diet” might lose customers simply by the title. Every time I fly, I see an advertisement for something called the “Cookie Diet.” That can sell. Somehow, even if it was “The All You Can Eat Frog, Elephant and Alpo Dog Food Diet” still might not break the top ten bestseller list.
If there is an axiom for a successful life and having any chance at achieving any goals, it would be the following:
“You can’t do everything, but you can do something.”
Let that sit before you for a moment. If I could do anything for my legacy to this fine planet earth, I would hope and pray it would be “Do something.” For years, at workshops I have been preaching my “secret” two words to success: show up. I need to add “Do something,” too.
My favorite story about the magic of simply showing up happened in 1984. I was standing in line, after a long train ride to get to there and probably no real sleep in two days, to register for my intensive Turkish language class. Quick, imagine me standing in line because that is all I was doing. If you have ever stood in line, use that imagine if that is easier for you.
A guy behind the registration desk slammed a phone down, looked up at me and said;” Do you want $1500.” My answer was “uh, yes.” It turns out that another student just decided to quit and had been given a nice stipend just to show up. I was given a check in the next three minutes for $1500 for simply standing in line.
If you want to be a national champion, you really need to get to the stadium on time. If you decide to get married, the ceremony starts at 11. Be there. Showing up is underrated as a life skills success clue.
Of course, showing up is only step one. Step two is to do something. When I counsel/mentor/coach/teach/help others in goal setting it often only takes a few minutes to outline a list of goals in every single area of life. Warning: be careful about setting goals, because you may attain them. Almost every time I have had one of these goal setting experiences, the person looks up and smiles from this sheet of paper, then their eyes go wide and they ask: “Well, uh, what do I do?”
Do something.
Easy to type. Easy to read. And, actually, easy to do. The problem for most people is that the enormity of a goal seems to explode like the Big Bang before them. You want to get your college degree? Well, you have to register, get a parking pass, find the cafeteria, buy a school sweatshirt, find a lifetime friend to have several funny experiences, go on a roadtrip, write and lose the Great American Novel, read a book simply from Cliff Notes…hey, you have a lot to do! For me, when someone says to college, I have a refreshing mental image of fun, study and free time. Why the disconnect? Well, I’ve done it!
Yeah, I’m that guy…
At this moment, I am sitting in the Delta Crowne Room sipping a Maker’s Mark and working on my next book(s). Today, we had the annual St. Patrick’s Parade and Tiff always jokes that I am running for mayor here. I have former students who ask about things that happened thirty years ago, current students who ask about track practice, friends, neighbors…well, everybody.
Halfway through, I get an urgent tap from Father Carley and we rush out in a snow storm to save kegs of Guiness from evil and I end up wheeling several kegs through wall to wall humanity. I get several “Hey Danny!s” as I drag the stuff through.
That’s why we lift weights. We lift weights so that when the time steps up to move kegs, we are at the ready. We are a noble brother and sisterhood, ready at any time to rally up and move kegs. Or whatever.
Off to Sunnyvale. It’s going to be another busy weekend.
An odd thing
My Godchild, Amanda Long Clark, teaches with me at JDCHS. It’s nice and I visit to bug her class whenever I can. Today, I looked the presidents and noted something: there have been 44 presidents. I have lived through 11 of them. I’m 1/4 of this “thing.”
I notice 52 sometimes. Today, we had an intersquad track meet and the icy wind was brutal all afternoon. My joints took a hit, to say the least. But, I feel good. Master RKC Brett Jones sent me a bunch of stuff about getting my hips back and it is humbling stuff. It’s my version of the Program Minimum Minimum: at least 100 snatches or VO2 max every day, a get up or get up stretch, a goblet squat, a press and then serious work on the “issues.”
Just doing the stuff helps. Just doing the stuff is a workout. I think people miss this all the time, they try to bang bang bang away and miss the stuff that is going to help long term. Hey, I know I did/do. I probably will forget all of this again when I get better. I do that kind of thing. It’s funny how I keep learning the same lessons.
I was named a Senior RKC today. To be honest, I think I have a ways to go before I am qualified. I have skills and I think I know my stuff, but kbells expose me to the world unlike anything I have ever tried. An honor…and I will celebrate.
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