Straight to the Bar - Blogs

Bodyweight training

Bill_Long — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:14:55 GMT

Check out the bodyweight training I did today and give it a try.

http://bodybylong.blogspot.com/2011/...t-workout.html

Half Marathon post race report

Bill_Long — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:31:24 GMT

Well this past weekend I ran my first half marathon in Kansas City. If you missed it I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge race. It was a great event, a lot of people showed up all weekend to include Dean Karnazes, he hosted the event and had a fun run on Sunday for the kids. It was only 1K in length but cool...

read the rest of the report here....
http://bodybylong.blogspot.com/2011/...ce-report.html

Headed to Kansas City for Half Marathon

Bill_Long — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:34:30 GMT

Well I'm done working for the week and headed to Kansas City in the morning with my family for some fun and then more fun on Sunday when i compete in my first half marathon. I have run this distance before but never raced in any event running for that matter. Should be fun and a great experiance. Its the North Face Endurance Challenge. I seen the list of people running this weekend and there are thousands of people there so should be fun. I'll post more later but hope you have a great weekend!

Mizuno Wave Enigma Running shoes review

Bill_Long — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:13:58 GMT

I�ve been gone training for a while but I�ve got a great new pair of shoes for you guys to try out if your in to running. I got a pair of Mizuno�s brand new line of shoes the Wave Enigma. These shoes are the newest member of Mizuno�s neutral collection and are Smooth Ride Engineered with a blown rubber forefoot outsole design for cushioning and flexibility. These just came out July 5th and I have been using them since. I have a gait that makes me land midsole of my foot and I�ve been running a lot lately at long distances in an attempt to run my first competitive half marathon. I must say I was skeptical of the amount of cushion on this shoe since I have been running in my Nike Free 7.0 and my Vibram 5 finger�s. I�ve never even owned a pair of Mizuno running shoes! But I decided why not try out these state of the art cushioned shoes and run 13+ miles in them and see how I feel.

I eased into them by first running 3 miles the first day in them. Felt a little stiff, but not to bad. Then as the days continued I ran further with 5, 7, 10 miles on them I began to feel them break in nicely after about 2 weeks of running in them. I then picked up the amount of miles I ran in them to 30 and 40 miles a week. I mostly ran on hard ball roads (concrete) but did manage to venture off the beaten path and run some trails in them. My first thought was the amount of cushioning may cause me to roll an ankle on the uneven terrain, but things went just fine and felt great!

The science behind the shoe is that it is for the neutral gait runner and is able to go high mileage without losing support. The Enigma�s have a full length Parallel Wave Plate, AP+ and a blown rubber forefoot. The upper part of the shoe wrapping around the foot and ankle area is soft and has breathable mesh to allow your feet to stay dry on those high mileage hot runs! With the flexible rubber and breathable mesh the shoe flexes and moves the way your foot moves. So you don�t have to worry about the Wave Enigma causing you to run like you have bricks on your feet!

What does all that mean to you? It means you can try out these shoes for your self and enjoy the comfort of these state of the art running shoe's with its soft cushioning and breathablity. Not having to worry about beating up your joints and knees from long runs on the pavement! I recommend you try them out if you are in the market for a new pair of shoes. You can check them out at Mizuno and also see there full line of running shoes while your there. If you need help finding the right fit you can use there online Precision fitting system to help get you in the right type of shoe for you. The cost will be $129.99. Below you will find the men�s (top) and women�s (bottom).

The price is just right with all the other running shoes on the market and actually cheaper than some! You won�t be disappointed in the comfort and flexibility of this shoe.

The Bread and Butter for the Strength Coach

KarstenJensen — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:38:01 GMT

In last week�s blog, I wrote about the importance of having a systematic way of applying progressive overload.

One of the more advanced considerations on progressive overload is that HOW you apply progressive overload is specific to the outcome variable of the training program.

Two blogs ago, I showed a three step combination exercise to be used in the ISS block.

Here is an example of a method variation, designed for the ISS block.

Method variations are to the strength coach and personal trainer, what the hammer is to the carpenter and the knife to the surgeon. Method variation is the KEY TOOL with which we do our job:

The Initial load should allow the client to perform 10 repetitions in the first segment with a rate of perceived exertion of 3-4 out of 5.
In each subsequent workout the client can use as many rest pauses as needed to perform 12 repetions of each segment.
Perform 1-3 sets total. The number of sets is increased from week to week.
Instruct the client to increase the load with 5-1 kg when s/he can perform 12 repetitions in each segment in a continous fashion.
In next week�s blog I will share some key considerations behind this method variation.

To Your Success,
Karsten, www.yestostrength.com

How To Improve Back Endurance For The Deadlift

KarstenJensen — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:23:00 GMT

Dear Strength Coach or Personal Trainer,

Let�s say your client�s goal is to improve a 1 repetition maximum in the deadlift.

With The Flexible Periodization Method, the client would start the macrocycle with the ISS block.

In the ISS block one of the key goals is to develop endurance in key tonic stabilizers for the chosen movement pattern.

Watch this exercise to learn a 3-step combination exercise to train the deadlift in the ISS block.

The exercise shown is a part of a 16 week powerlifting routine soon to be posted on www.yestostrength.com

The "fu-fu visualization" all strong lifters use

KarstenJensen — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:54:35 GMT

There is an inverse relation between the quality of training in a gym and the amount of conversation taking place. The reason is simple: High quality training requires FOCUS � the mantra is �100 % within the body on 100 % of the body�. It is not easy.

Watch this video and learn how to strengthen your entire body with the inhalation. Do it right and you can actually feel the breath in your hands and feet. I have no science behind it � yet � but I suspect the feeling is a tightening of the fascial lines.

To Your Success - Karsten, www.yestostrength.com

Grip/Ab Q/A

The Machine — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:58:59 GMT

Late nights and PRs

njstrongman32 — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:57:57 GMT

Hey everyone! I know it has been a long time.... my schedule is insane now with all of the hours, school work, and trying to enjoy a social life. Anyways, here is my workout for tomorrow's DE-load session:

Foam rolling
dynamic warm up

Activation-

Sled pulls
battling ropes

Working-

Kettle bell front squats
tricep lockouts
rope curls
face pulls
push ups
band pull a parts
hamstring band curls
shrugs
farmers walk

**repeat 2x through**

Neck related work:

*band resisted*

front, back, left side, ride side

***repeat 3 times***

Hope everyone has a good rest of their week!

What does coffee have to do with breathing?

KarstenJensen — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:30:34 GMT

For some of us, a confrontation on the issue of how to use your abdominals when you lift weights creates similar levels of emotional response as religion or politics (enough said!).

This video shows the way I teach my clients to breathe � �French Press Breathing�.

Thanks to my friend, physiotherapist, Thomas Pilsborg, from whom I originally learned this exercise.

�Abs in�, �abs out� or �a flat wall�. What�s your take?

Cheers,
Karsten Jensen, Msc Exercise Phys, Strength Coach, Author of "5 Mistakes To Avoid When You Create Long Term Training Programs" 9 - available at no cost from www.yestostrength.com

Let the stretching begin..intro to submission wrestling.

The Machine — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:27:55 GMT

http://mikethemachine.wordpress.com/...etching-begin/

TNS gripper day 2/28/2011

njstrongman32 — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:41:21 GMT

First TNS official session so far in my grip journey (yay! lol). I am hoping this day will help with CCS closes, ultimately making my closing strength and control over the gripper increase exponentially.

Warm up:

dexterity work
IM green egg squeezes - 2 sets of 12 reps
Trainer- 10 consecutive closes each hands

working:

#1- 3x1 (consecutive)

#1.5- 2x1

RB210N- 2x1

#2- 2 right hand, left 2 misses

RB240N- 1 right hand / RB210N 3 closes left hand

#2 left- close/ RB240N right- close

#2 left- close/ RB260N- close (huge PR considering this is a stout gripper to most!)

HG300 (brand new) right- 3mm! Amazed with this :) RB240N left- miss, went immediately to #2- close

IMTUGS

Ring and pinky

#5 - 10 each hand

#6- 5 partials each hands

Middle and index

#6- 10 each hand

Workout felt great! I felt really strong considering the day before I tweaked one of the muscles attached to my thumb. I feel as though this day will really help me close bigger grippers and greatly increase my sweep strength! Looking forward to the benefits :)

Upper day 2/25/2011

njstrongman32 — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:15:56 GMT

Upper day!

First off:

I did not warm up enough apparently; while doing my first set of pull ups, I feel as though I strained a muscle in the bicep area. I guess I should start hitting battling ropes before upper workouts to really warm everything up for sure!

Warm up:

foam roll- low back/upper back/lats
softball roll- delts/chest/traps

arm circles
elbow circles
wrist rotations

band pull aparts
band shoulder dislocates
band shoulder dislocates 2nd variation

workout:

pull ups- wide grip ( all sets superset with flat DB bench)

BW 2x10
BW+25lbs 1x8
BW+35lbs 1x6
BW+45lbs 1x4

Dumbbell Bench-

55lbs 1x10
65lbs 1x10
75lbs 1x10
85lbs 1x8
105lbs 1x6

Onto the next super-set.....

DB rows- (all sets super-set with incline hammer strength press)

100lbs 1x10
105lbs 1x8
110lbs 1x6

Incline hammer strength press-

90lbs per side 1x10
100lbs per side 1x15
125lbs per side 1x8

I had a lot more in the tank but due to my bicep annoyance, I decided to cut it short and not do curls, tricep extensions, plate raises, and reverse curls.

Grip day 2/23/2011

njstrongman32 — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:39:32 GMT

What a great training session! Pushed it to the max to see what I could bring to the table... well.. it was a lot!

Started off with grippers:

#2- 4x1

#3.5- 8mm/ 3mm! huge PR (could barely get this thing past parallel)/ 4mm

#3 Left hand- 1mm (soo close! Will be closed this week)/ couldnt get a good set/ 4mm

#3 right hand- 5x1/ tried a CCS close and was only able to get to 8-10mm

Left hand

HG300- (test gripper)- close (this was to easy, jumped to a harder gripper)

RB210L- 5x1/ tried CCS close (the gap between handles is insane) was able to get it 2mm! Hopefully a close next workout or the week after!

Rep work

RB240N- 4 reps each hand (hands were fried!)

Moving on.....

Rolling Thunder- 7 total sets up to 185lbs. I attempted 200lbs but still not able to move it. I am selling this bad boy to Ben Edwards so hopefully he can get more out of it than I can :)

Have a great deay everyone!!:cool:

grip training 2/19/2011

njstrongman32 — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:53:37 GMT

What a day!!!! That week off was amazing and really helped me recover from some over use injuries that have been nagging me for some time.

Grippers-

#2- 4 sets of singles

Beef Builder Elite- 2 sets of singles. Closed on the second try! I even over crushed it for about 10 seconds! (witness- Ryan matthews, Pennsauken NJ)

#3 CCS- I have never tried this and it proved to be extremely hard! I tried this twice and the closed I came was probably about 6mm. Needs more work for sure.

Beef Builder Grand Master 5/8- My hands were fried by this point and I was only able to get it to 1mm... finished it with the assist though.

RB240N CCS closes with my right- 5 total closes! woo woo :) {left hand I just used the MMS format}

Moving on....

TTK- 3 total sets up to 12.5lbs for ten reps (done with thumb on top, fingers on bottom)

next ...

1" board pinching-

4 total sets up to 45lbs for an easy triple (both hands)

after that....

Hub trainer (hockey puck with eye hook through the middle)-

4 sets up to 37.5lbs for singles (each hand)

and then....

Medley- all exercises completed straight through with out rest

My medley today consisted of:

~T-bomb drop and catches with 30lbs/ sets of ten each hand
~Outer limits loops max time holds with 10lbs per hand
~Around the worlds with my stronger grip loadable blob
~Weaver stick reverse holds with 2.5lbs
~Grip machine both hand closes with 100lbs for 20 total reps

Circuit completed twice*

last but not least...

Rice digs for three sets of 50

ss w/

Bending

(4 grade 2 1/4 bolts, 1 6" 1/4" bolt)

Hope you enjoy :)