The last time I tried a one rep max (1RM) squat I got 340 pounds.
That was a couple months ago.
Today I low-bar, ass-to-ankles, back squatted 335lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps. I feel comfortable calling this progress.
My goal for the end of November was a 1RM 375 back squat. I thought I would not hit it because of my car accident.
It now appears that I'm track to hit it.
If only my back weren't still jacked up from a car accident I might have a deadlift worth talking about as well.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Plato's Cave
Plato's cave.
Everyone knows the allegory.
The idea is that most people are trapped in a cave where they see only shadows and echoes, and that those prisoners in the cave confuse those shadows and echoes for reality. According to the allegory, while these cave prisoners are rational, while they do their very best to be understand what's going on, the cave prisoners are inevitably mistaken.
This allegory is a favorite of the "enlightened."
They love it because in contrast to the confused majority, the metaphor casts the "enlightened" in the role as the ones who have turned their heads, who have seen beyond the shadows, who have witnessed reality for what it is. In sum, the enlightened enjoy the metaphor because they like to envision themselves as the elite few who really know what's going on.
All kinds of groups of people cast themselves in this role; some of those people are pretty awesome, others are ridiculous. 5 percenters, Crossfitters, libertarians, religious people of all superstitions, the list never stops.
And that's great. I enjoy learning about them and I applaud their efforts.
Except they haven't all seen outside the cave.
Not one of the groups, and certainly not all of the groups.
A PC explanation that everyone can see outside of the cave in their own way, that a million paths to truth coexist, is bullshit.
Most of what people do is swap one flavor of ridiculousness for another ad infinitum.
And where do I get off saying this?
Wouldn't I be suggesting that I myself have seen outside the cave? The only way I could say for certain that others haven't seen outside the cave is to compare their false visions to my true vision, right?
And in claiming this position don't I just join their ranks, become just another of the ubiquitous "enlightened" assholes?
No, and no.
Because I haven't seen outside the cave.
I don't claim to have seen outside the cave.
The little bit of wisdom I'm gaining as I age is really anti-wisdom. It's learning everyday that I know less that I think I do, and that the same is true for most others as well.
As comforting as being a member of a self righteous groups is (Jesus Freak, capital (L)ibertarian, McLean Bible Church Cult member), I prefer to go without the comfort.
Instead I accept that the world is largely unknowable, and to adopt any philosophy that convinces otherwise is self-deception.
So I'll stay in the cave. I'll do my best with the shadows and the echos. And I won't pretend, to you or myself, that I'm anywhere else.
Everyone knows the allegory.
The idea is that most people are trapped in a cave where they see only shadows and echoes, and that those prisoners in the cave confuse those shadows and echoes for reality. According to the allegory, while these cave prisoners are rational, while they do their very best to be understand what's going on, the cave prisoners are inevitably mistaken.
This allegory is a favorite of the "enlightened."
They love it because in contrast to the confused majority, the metaphor casts the "enlightened" in the role as the ones who have turned their heads, who have seen beyond the shadows, who have witnessed reality for what it is. In sum, the enlightened enjoy the metaphor because they like to envision themselves as the elite few who really know what's going on.
All kinds of groups of people cast themselves in this role; some of those people are pretty awesome, others are ridiculous. 5 percenters, Crossfitters, libertarians, religious people of all superstitions, the list never stops.
And that's great. I enjoy learning about them and I applaud their efforts.
Except they haven't all seen outside the cave.
Not one of the groups, and certainly not all of the groups.
A PC explanation that everyone can see outside of the cave in their own way, that a million paths to truth coexist, is bullshit.
Most of what people do is swap one flavor of ridiculousness for another ad infinitum.
And where do I get off saying this?
Wouldn't I be suggesting that I myself have seen outside the cave? The only way I could say for certain that others haven't seen outside the cave is to compare their false visions to my true vision, right?
And in claiming this position don't I just join their ranks, become just another of the ubiquitous "enlightened" assholes?
No, and no.
Because I haven't seen outside the cave.
I don't claim to have seen outside the cave.
The little bit of wisdom I'm gaining as I age is really anti-wisdom. It's learning everyday that I know less that I think I do, and that the same is true for most others as well.
As comforting as being a member of a self righteous groups is (Jesus Freak, capital (L)ibertarian, McLean Bible Church Cult member), I prefer to go without the comfort.
Instead I accept that the world is largely unknowable, and to adopt any philosophy that convinces otherwise is self-deception.
So I'll stay in the cave. I'll do my best with the shadows and the echos. And I won't pretend, to you or myself, that I'm anywhere else.
Monday, January 18, 2010
MLK DAY
“We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny... An inescapable network of mutuality... I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
#
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
#
325 Squat, f*cking belt fell off
Back Squatted 325 for 3s x 5r
My weight lifting belt fell off in the middle of the third set. This afforded an insight into exactly what my weight lifting belt was doing for me while lifting.
I was able to complete the remaining reps, but in accordance with the earlier post, I was not as able to squeeze my abs as tightly. This made the reps more difficult, but my abs were not as sore afterword.
Verdict: BELT IS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE AND MOST EFFICIENT GAINS
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
How could Google be so totally unprepared?
Despite their secret and evil intent to rule the world, I've always thought Google was an amazing company that made the world a better place. I also thought "Man, those guys are smart."
The story below says it all.
But now, a recent article casts them in a light that makes Google appear to be retarded, at least when it comes to phones.
Did the big brains at Google anticipate the inevitable challenges that awaited them upon their release of the Nexus One? Apparently not. GOOGLE DID NOT EVEN SET UP A CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE FOR CHALLENGED CUSTOMERS TO CALL!
The story below says it all.
Google's Nexus One Customers Are Not Feeling Lucky
A week after the release of its new Nexus One smartphone, a near-total failure in tech support has proven Google ill-equipped to deal with the problems of selling its own phones. Over the past few days, Nexus One message boards have been inundated with unhappy users unable to configure their new phones, track orders, or worse, get in touch with customer service representatives. While Google did set up a help website for Nexus One users, tech support is largely self-driven, John Paczkowski notes at Digital Daily, and although this may work with free services like Gmail, customers are way less sympathetic to bad service if they've just shelled out up to $529 for a phone. At the moment, there's no dedicated phone line for tech support. Last Friday, Google executive Andy Rubin acknowledged that company has to "get better at customer service," but according to Paczkowski, there isn't a good plan in the works yet.
315lb Back Squat for 3 sets of 5 reps
Hit 315 for the first time in working sets. (6 plates)
Back when my working sets were around 280 I managed a 1RM (1 rep max) of 340.
I wonder what my 1RM would be now?
Seeing as how my goal for the year is a 400lb back squat, I'm making pretty good progress.
As soon as my back pain goes away, or I get clearance from the doctor, I look forward to resuming deadlifting.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Big Squat
Back Squatted 310lbs for 3s x 5r. (3 sets x 5 reps)
This was a significant moment because:
1) Only 5 pounds away from moving 315 for sets across, which would be 6 wheels.
2) It's further movement past what was once the 300lb barrier.
While back is recovering from accident I may have to rely on back squats rather than deadlifts to strengthen the posterior chain. Put simpler, since I can't deadlift heavy, I'll squat heavy to raise my deadlift.
This would sound counter-intuitive, but many professional powerlifters rarely deadlift and rely on the backsquat as the main mechanism to increase their deadlift. Hopefully it will work for me, for now.
This was a significant moment because:
1) Only 5 pounds away from moving 315 for sets across, which would be 6 wheels.
2) It's further movement past what was once the 300lb barrier.
While back is recovering from accident I may have to rely on back squats rather than deadlifts to strengthen the posterior chain. Put simpler, since I can't deadlift heavy, I'll squat heavy to raise my deadlift.
This would sound counter-intuitive, but many professional powerlifters rarely deadlift and rely on the backsquat as the main mechanism to increase their deadlift. Hopefully it will work for me, for now.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
20-rep-squat Tradeoff
Facts relevant to question of how to best train the Back Squat:
-Squat strength, especially the low bar back squat, correlates directly to deadlift strength. This is because both heavily tax the posterior chain. In essence, you don't just train the deadlift by deadlifting, you train the deadlift by heavy squatting.
-20 rep squats are fantastic for developing mass, mental strength, and strength-endurance. Not great for developing 1RM squat strength, and so, consequently, not great for developing 1RM deadlift strength.
I would like to use 20 rep squats to improve strength-endurance and to increase mass, but don't want my top-end squat strength to fade while doing so. That opportunity cost is counter-productive to the 500lb deadlift goal.
Plan:I've decided that I can have my cake and eat it too. Squatting 2-3 times per week I'll alternate between 20 rep squats and 3x5 squats.
Benefit of Plan: This should employ top-end strengh enough that none is lost, while simultaneously allowing for gains in strength endurance and mass.
Cost of Plan: Development of both strength endurance and top-end strength will be slower than if either plan were adopted in isolation.
-Squat strength, especially the low bar back squat, correlates directly to deadlift strength. This is because both heavily tax the posterior chain. In essence, you don't just train the deadlift by deadlifting, you train the deadlift by heavy squatting.
-20 rep squats are fantastic for developing mass, mental strength, and strength-endurance. Not great for developing 1RM squat strength, and so, consequently, not great for developing 1RM deadlift strength.
I would like to use 20 rep squats to improve strength-endurance and to increase mass, but don't want my top-end squat strength to fade while doing so. That opportunity cost is counter-productive to the 500lb deadlift goal.
Plan:I've decided that I can have my cake and eat it too. Squatting 2-3 times per week I'll alternate between 20 rep squats and 3x5 squats.
Benefit of Plan: This should employ top-end strengh enough that none is lost, while simultaneously allowing for gains in strength endurance and mass.
Cost of Plan: Development of both strength endurance and top-end strength will be slower than if either plan were adopted in isolation.
Rambling inspired by "Daemon" by Daniel Suarez
The thinly veiled caricatures are fun. Describing economic development in general, and a "Leland" that is probably Goldman Sachs, Suarez writes:
"To view Leland fund managers as immoral was a gross simplification of the word. And what was there to replace capitalism, anyway? Communism? Theocracy? Most of the Third World had already suffered nearly terminal bouts of idealism. It was the communists, after all, who had littered the world with cheap AK-47's in order to 'liberate' the masses. But the only lasting effect was that every wall between Cairo and the Philipines had at least one bullet hole in it. But nothing changed. Nothing changed because those alternate belief systems flew in the face of human nature. Or even common sense. Anyone who has ever tried to share pizza with roommates knows that Communism cannot ever work. If Lenin and Marx had shared an apartment, perhaps a hundred million lives might have been spared and put to productive use making sneakers and office furniture."
I enjoy the viewpoint that Capitalism sucks, that Capitalism manifests the worst in people as often as it doest the best, but that Capitalism is ultimately better than the alternatives.
I like the viewpoint because it's my own. I like seeing it in print because it's such a rarity.
Any system, including Capitalism, will prove highly problematic and involve painful tradeoffs for those least in a position to bear them. To deny this, as would a cultish Randian, is to cover your eyes and choose the role of cheer-leader-for-Capitalism rather than thinker. And to pretend, as would a socialist, that a cenral authority can effectively allocate resources is to replace pragmatism with optimism, an ultimately fatal formula.
Like the Buddha says, to live is to suffer.
"To view Leland fund managers as immoral was a gross simplification of the word. And what was there to replace capitalism, anyway? Communism? Theocracy? Most of the Third World had already suffered nearly terminal bouts of idealism. It was the communists, after all, who had littered the world with cheap AK-47's in order to 'liberate' the masses. But the only lasting effect was that every wall between Cairo and the Philipines had at least one bullet hole in it. But nothing changed. Nothing changed because those alternate belief systems flew in the face of human nature. Or even common sense. Anyone who has ever tried to share pizza with roommates knows that Communism cannot ever work. If Lenin and Marx had shared an apartment, perhaps a hundred million lives might have been spared and put to productive use making sneakers and office furniture."
I enjoy the viewpoint that Capitalism sucks, that Capitalism manifests the worst in people as often as it doest the best, but that Capitalism is ultimately better than the alternatives.
I like the viewpoint because it's my own. I like seeing it in print because it's such a rarity.
Any system, including Capitalism, will prove highly problematic and involve painful tradeoffs for those least in a position to bear them. To deny this, as would a cultish Randian, is to cover your eyes and choose the role of cheer-leader-for-Capitalism rather than thinker. And to pretend, as would a socialist, that a cenral authority can effectively allocate resources is to replace pragmatism with optimism, an ultimately fatal formula.
Like the Buddha says, to live is to suffer.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The RKC Rite of Passage
I first started f'ing around with kettlebells 18 months ago.
Since then my training has expanded to include lots of other modalities*, especially Crossfit and Rippetoe's Starting Strength.
Still, a big chunk of whatever progress I've made is due to kettlebells.
Looking over Pavel's "Enter the Kettlebell" I realized something, and then was left with a question.
Why, 18 months later, am I still incapable of completing the RKC rite of passage. It's tough as f*ck, but it's not undoable. The challenge is:
1) Clean and Press with each arm the kettlebell closest to 1/3 your bodyweight.
2) 200 snatches with a 53lb kettlebell in 10 minutes.
The first requirement, no problem.
The second is hard as f*ck, but again, it's doable.
This could work as an intermediate goal along the way to the 500lb deadlift. Might also restore some of the conditioning I've lost while focusing on strength.
*that term is a dead giveaway of a crossfitter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)