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Valerie Hedlund - Reflecting on the Iron Maiden Challenge - interview part II

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:20:00 +0000

In part I of this interview, Iron Maiden champion Val Hedlund talked about her path towards becoming a trainer and running her own business. Here in Part II, Val talks about her preparation for the Iron Maiden, and reflects on where coaching fit in to her training.

The interview, by the way, was done in the last week of September, 2011. We agreed it would not come out until Valerie's own article came out in the Power by Pavel Newsletter on the last six weeks of her training (discussed below). That article "Demystifying the Iron Maiden" came out November 6, 2011.

Prepping for the Iron Maiden

So, now for the main questions: let's talk about training for the Iron Maiden - what was your approach?

i actually read your blog and took some of Asha training advice when the IM was just a glimmer in my eye. So thank you for interviewing and posting Asha's stuff for all of us to see [Asha Wagner also succeeded with the Iron Maiden Challenge - b2d interview here -mc]

For me, for about 6 months, I did my 'regular' training regimen which consisted of 2 days/week running, 3-4 days/week kbs (usually 1 heavy day, 1 ballistic day, 1 'stretchy' day, and then 4th would be whatever I felt I needed), and one Ashtanga Yoga day. During my kb workouts, I would do at least 1 of the 3 IM lifts with whatever weight was appropriate for the workout. Similar to Asha, I used the greasing the groove method and really focused on form. Franz Snideman, Senior RKC , helped me with my pistol and pullup form, and I would video myself and watch the videos so I could coach myself when there wasn't another coach around [see b2d interview with franz on the Beautiful swing -mc].

Way to go doing self-video. That really helps, doesn't it?

I think it was the youtube videos of people singing in the mirror or talking to themselves that turned me off to videoing myself. I'm glad I turned the corner on it though, because you really are able to see more when you're not working at the same time.

Learn a lot eh?

That felt weird (video-taping myself doing exercises alone in my basement... creepy!), but once I got over the creep-factor, I realized how important it was. I was able to see things in my movements I couldn't necessarily feel while I was doing the moves. I tried to use a mirror, but I felt like it threw off my movement- I was better off feeling the movement and then watching after.

The Hedlund IM Challenge Press

I love to press and the press was the easiest for me. The pistol I got after I continuously worked on form.

So could you unpack this a bit? Do you mean bodyweight or with load or just focusing on the foot or??

So everybody is different, but form for me was:

Performing close squats (knees and big toes together) with weight (at least 12kg), kicking one leg out, holding, switching legs, and then standing up, really rooting with both feet.

Stretching the hip flexor/quad of the non-working leg A TON before attempting the pistol. That was more of an issue for me than the working leg being strong enough to pistol. I have been practicing pistols on boxes for a long time (2+years) and my non-working leg would hang below the box. When attempting to pistol from the ground, the non-working leg's quad would cramp when I got to the bottom position (and then I would tip over) b/c of too tight hip flexors and quads and I presume fairly weak hip flexors. My Ashtanga yoga practice helped with hip flexor strength, but I found in my kettlebell practice, a good minute or two of stretching the hip flexor and quad of the non-working leg right before attempting the pistol was all I needed to turn those tight muscles off and perform the pistol without the cramp.

Rooting with the working leg. Major focus on every single part of my foot connected with the floor, especially my toes. When pushing up from the bottom position, the focus was on DRIVING that entire foot down into the floor with all of my strength. That mental picture was all I needed to get the pistol. In my training, if I lose focus or think about something else when pistoling, I fall over every time. For me, pistols are all about internal focus and the visualization of driving the foot into the ground, contracting the abs at the bottom and pushing down through the foot to get up.

Hedlund's 24k Pistol

The pullup was the toughest. I got the pullup to my chin after about 4 months greasing the groove with bodyweight and emphasis on form and then 2 months of greasing the groove with increasing weights.

So you starred with what ? An 8 and then what? Before going to a 12? How many reps in your groove would yu do?

So I started at body weight, 8-10 reps each time. And yes, I moved from bw to the 8kg to the 12kg to the 16kg and so on. I would do as many reps as I could without REALLY struggling. If I overshot and didn't get a full rep on my last attempt, I would jump up & hold the top position (like a flexed arm hang) and then perform a negative as slowly as I could on the way down.

At that time (About 6 weeks before the San Diego RKC), Andrew Read, RKC Team Leader gave me a program [given in full in Val's Power by Pavel Nov. newsletter -mc] that focused most on increasing my pullup strength and maintaining the other 2. I cut out running, my ballistic kb day, and my 'stretchy' kb day (which usually consisted of lunges, rows, plank, windmill, TGU, pushups, deep side lunges, single-leg deadlifts, lighter deep squats, etc).

That sounds harsh but I guess for six weeks...

Yes, and Andrew and I talked about this. I didn't cut out running the first week (because I'm stubborn and not used to having a coach) and I paid for it big time. I was not recovering and just felt like garbage. Thankfully, I stopped being a brat and started listening to my coach and it really paid off. =)

I kept the Ashtanga once a week (for sanity and mobility) and the rest was Andrew's program. I had 4 days/week focused on the 3 IM lifts and one day focused on TGU, snatch test, and double swings, cleans, presses, & squats- just to be sure I didn't lose my level 1 skills in the process.

Understood. Personally, the snatch test needs that weekly jolt or I start to suck wind.

Yes, especially after cutting out my 'regular' routine of weekly ballistics. I needed at least once a week of snatches.

The 4 IM days were split into 2 pullup/press days and 2 pistol/hanging str8 leg raises or pullovers (my pullups lacked ab/lat involvement). One of the 2 days of each was focused on high volume (and they took hours! because of the rest needed) and the other focused on high weight and low reps.

Do you think the L sits made a difference? Or it was more just the rest and focus?

Hard to tell. Both probably helped.

Taking out the running and ballistic training was tough for me psychologically. I have been a runner since I was 12y/o and runs are my time to get away and just breathe. I love the way I feel after a run. Same goes with ballistics. I love the feeling of finishing a killer 20-30min butt-kicking swing/snatch dominant workout.

I hear ya.

The strength-based routine is a different feeling and I had never really focused on that. The first couple of weeks I felt like something was missing in my routine, but my extra rest days (2/week instead of 2/month) were an absolute necessity. I felt sore in ways I had never felt sore before. Just total body exhaustion. Week 3 of Andrew's program, I did 18 sets of 5 reps of weighted pullups (from 8kg to 20kg) and 5 reps of presses on each arm (either 16kg or 20kg).

Would you also say a bit about what made you decide to go for this?

Well, I've had the press for a long time. The pistol I had been working on just for myself- unilateral strength is so "functional" (if you like buzz words) and really shows true strength and balance. I think good pistols should be a goal for any strength professional. So when I got the pistol with the 24kg, I had 2 out of 3 and I thought "what the heck?" and started training weighted pullups. I had never wanted to do weighted pullups before learning about the Iron Maiden.

The amazing Hedlund 24k Pull

[Updated pull up section - Dec 30 -mc) Let's pause here for a moment: the weighted pull up seems to be the bête noir of many of us. Let's talk a little bit about how you progressed your pullup: when, prior to the challenge, did you start working on the pull up?

I've always been able to do a pullup. I have an older brother who is an athlete (track and football) and I was a tomboy so I wanted to do everything he was doing. I was able to do them as a kid and then I kept up with it as I became an athlete. I think in college I was on the Wake Forest weight room record board with 22 pullups and that was my max.

You talk about 6m before really trying one of the IM moves each workout, and greasing the groove. Can we unpack this one a bit: how did you progress the weight from bodyweight to load? (eg how many reps bodyweight before adding load)

I could do 13-15 pullups with my old "body-builder" form. Once Franz helped and switched to the "tactical" form, I could only do about 3. I worked myself up to 8 before I added weight.

I had to look at my training log to see, but it was in February of 2011 that I started to add weight to pullups. I generally would hook the weight on my foot and do as many as I could. When I could do 2 or more with a weight, I would move up to the next weight. I also did a lot of weight pyramid workouts- one set with bodyweight, one set with 8kg, one with 12kg, and so on and then back down, doing as many reps as I could each set with each weight.

- could you say a bit about what your schedule was - prior to the six week plan - sets and reps when you focused on it, vs greasing the groove periods.

I assisted an RKC in April and I would have liked to IM then, but I was asked about 3 weeks before that RKC to assist and I didn't have enough time to put it all together. I wasn't really focused on the IM. At that time, I had a pretty regular schedule of 1 day of IM lifts, 1 Ashtanga Yoga day, 1 day of heavy DL, heavy swings, & weighted pullups, 1 circuit day (whatever I felt I needed that day), and 1-2 days running. One week before the April RKC, I could press & pistol the 24kg and I got the pullup with the 24kg to my forehead. It wasn't enough.

I went to Kauai for a week after the RKC (delayed honeymoon) and then didn't really think about the pullup again until June. I started working on it again, thinking that I may be able to assist in San Diego.

I wanted to see how close I could get before I started begging people to allow me to do this, so that's when I read your post with Asha and then re-read Pavel's grease the groove stuff and thought I'd give that a shot. My training business is in my basement and my husband built me a pullup bar (which I immediately painted purple, so I could feel like a girl while training for this thing...). Once a week in June and half of July, I would set a timer for an hour and when the buzzer went off, I would stop what I was doing and go down to my pullup bar & do as many reps as I could (usually with an 8, 12 or 16kg on my foot). That's when Andrew encouraged me to ask the powers that be if I could assist, wrote the 6-week plan, and that really helped me focus on the IM.

Did you work with a belt or off your feet?

Started with the bells on my feet. I got the pullup with a 12kg on each foot 6 weeks before but then when I tried it with the 24kg around my waist, I could barely pull myself up.

Gosh, that's good to know. Not with the 24 but other bells i've done the foot thing at work and gone well that's no biggie and then tied a climbing belt center hang and gone, um, am i just that much weaker today??

I had an "oh, crap" moment because it was after I had already asked to assist, was approved, and was then expected to perform the IM.

Ha (sorry - i'm not laughing at you, but at understanding the panic feeling).

That's when the video-taping came in handy and I was able to really see what I was doing. I think with the bells on my feet, I was able to engage my hip flexors and abs more naturally- I had to just to keep the bells from falling off my feet. With the bell hooked to a belt, I naturally went into my old "body-builder" form and I couldn't pull myself up. So, I had to practice technique but in the end, I was able to get it with the belt on.

Very cool insight, Val. Now, how long were you at "two inches away" ? did you experience that as a plateau?

I wasn't there too long. I had been doing gtg with the 12kg and 16kg and then one day just tried it with one 12kg on each foot and got it. But then the next day, I tried to replicate it and couldn't.

Again, thanks for sharing that - i've had this with the press and was delighted when asking other folks if once they hit a lift they'd had it come and go for awhile. Yes has happily been the reply.

It was sporadic and I didn't want there to be any shadow of a doubt that I'd be able to get it that day in August. That's when Andrew sent me the 6-week plan.

What do you think made the difference?

I think having a plan, having someone reign me in and helping me focus on those three lifts really made the difference.

I've never focused on strength like this, so I really needed someone to tell me what to do. I was just looking over old emails and Andrew's advice of "Please resist the temptation to do other stuff. This is one of the reasons so few people can do this - they get bored. It's such a short period of time - just a few weeks. Yoga is fine but please don't run, and add stuff in. The short workouts are there for a reason - to allow recovery of the CNS. If you go and add work in you're not going to recover."

I really took that to heart and after feeling so crappy after running and not taking the time to recover, it started to make sense to me. I'm a runner at heart and runners are a little nutty. My body was telling me not to run, but there was something else telling me I needed at least one run every week. That's when I really started listening to my coach and also listening to my body. I cut out running and I shuffled Andrews workouts around based on how my body felt.

And so why the challenge?

I have not been a real vocal member of the RKC and I needed a way to get noticed. I thought the IM would help with that. I still need to do more blogging, youtubing, and that sort of thing- all of that is very uncomfortable for me, but life is all about getting out of your comfort zone, so I am attempting to do that more.

Good for you!

Like I said, a very different feeling- scary and foreign, but I decided to listen to my coach and trust him (after the first week) and trust that the training would pay off.

The training paid off big time though. Once i started tapering (about 10-days out), I felt invincible.

Way to go. Exactly where you want to be. Right on.

It felt pretty good.

I was training at my friend's studio, North Beach Kettlebell, in San Clemente, 5 days before the IM and had access to kbs heavier than the 24kg. The workout was 4-6 sets of IM with the 24kg. On the 5th set, I tried the 28kg out of curiosity and got all 3 lifts with it.

Gosh that's nice! Way to go

I actually checked the kb multiple times to make sure I didn't pick up the wrong bell- that it was actually the 28kg, because it was so surprising to me. I went into the IM competition really confident in my training.

Is that where you wanted to be? I wonder if gals are just different. That we know ahead of time we can nail it and wouldn't do it unless we knew that??

Hmmm... that's a really good question.... I've been thinking about that a lot recently. Why haven't more women tried it? I think we're really hard on ourselves, especially in a strength-based community. I know I didn't want to get up there and fail. I thought it would reflect poorly on me and my ability to train if I didn't get it. I went to Andrew for the plan because I wanted to be certain, without a shadow of a doubt that on the day the RKC came, I would be able to perform every lift with confidence. I told him I wanted to make it look easy. I wanted to crush it. That was my goal. Like you said, the training was "harsh", but I wanted to be confident I could do it. Maybe that's why we women haven't had more attempts- we're too hard on ourselves.

I really enjoyed training heavy. I wanted to eat better and 'cleaner' because my body really needed it. My workouts were better when I focused on getting my protein and good fat and kept breads to a minimum. I didn't gain any weight training heavy, if anything I may have lost a pound or two. I don't own a scale nor do I weigh myself unless at the doctor, so I can only guess. I felt better and leaner than when I started the 6-week program. I did weigh myself out of curiosity at the RKC the weekend I did the Iron Maiden and I was 131.2-lbs (and I'm 5'3").

It's interesting that you think we're maybe being too hard on ourselves about the challenge. I hadn't seen it that way: it's like why would we do it if we have no sense of whether or not we can make it? I've been so surprised when guys get up and try to just wing it.

But my guess is that with trail blazers like yourself and Asha, i'm certainly hearing on the forums about more gals who want to do the IM.

I'm glad! Looking forward to seeing more women do this!

Practice Post the IM Success

Now what, in terms of your training practice?

Training-wise, I'm looking for a new focus. Thought about trying to do all 3 with the 32kg. That's still on my radar. I did a DL competition a couple years back and really liked training for that. I may do one of those.

Have you put your running back in?

Some. I have been taking my dog to a park where I can take her off leash and we run sprints together. She's really fast though =). I like sprinting. I usually do about 1/2-1mile jog warmup w/some mobility drills and then we sprint. If I feel ok, we'll jog back but sometimes I just walk.

What have you kept from those last six weeks?

Kind of went back to my old varied routine but with a little tweak- not as much running and more strength.

Staying with the diet?

Sticking with it for the most part. The day after the IM, I went to my favorite breakfast place in San Clemente, The Bagel Shack, and got a big, bad everything bagel with cream cheese, avocado, tomato, and lemon pepper. Mmmm... Then felt sleepy the rest of the morning. Got back on track after that- when you eat food that helps you feel good, you end up making better choices. I've gotten back to better choices. =)

The 6 week Plan, Stan, Redux

Anything else on the experience?

I do have an article in the next Power by Pavel Newsletter which will include the actual training plan I used for the last 6 weeks.

Would you mind sharing that again here once the article comes out?

No prob.

[Following this request i received a copy of Val's wonderfully detailed 6 week log annotations agains the plan. We started discussing this before i sat down to really look at it. Back to Val... -mc]

Table 1. Week 1 plan in black; week 1 actual in red

in black is what was planned, in red was what I did.

You can see that the first week (Table 1, above), I was not a good student. I also made some adjustments to the workouts (example, Table 2, below). I hated the batwings and so I replaced them with the hanging straight leg raises- that is a weak spot for me and I thought I needed those more. Actually back in April Dustin Miller, Beast Tamer suggested I do those to work on engaging my abs and lats more in my pullup. I think those really helped a lot.

Table 2. Sample from Week 2 of Val's last 6 week training template

How did yo hook up with Andrew on this? Thats great that that worked.

Andrew Read, Jon Engum, Valerie Hedlund

I met Andrew in April when we both assisted Team John Engum at the RKC in St Paul. Just sheer luck that we were on the same team. We quickly became friends and have kept in touch since. I was intrigued with the way he's worked himself up in the RKC community so quickly- he truly has a passion for this stuff. Plus, he has great business sense and I have been tapping his brain for information on the business side of things.

When I got close with the 24kg pullup, I asked if he could/would help with my training and he was more than happy to do that. I think he saw the business opportunity in it, which is awesome. He is a great coach and was able to put together a killer program for me. I hope that his new book coming out will help others get past their individual hurdles.

Would you change anything?

I would have been clever enough to come up with the program on my own and I'd be writing my own book =). No, I wouldn't change anything. It was great to have a couple coaches and a plan to stick to. I would have been second-guessing myself constantly if I had written my own plan. Sometimes it's nice to turn your brain off and just do the work.

[After this exchange, i took some time to really look at the training plan and the log of what Val had done. I was fascinated both by the actual plan, her revisions, which seemed to be near daily rather than just the first week, and her presentation of herself as following this plan. It seemed her approach was far more loose with the plan than what she seemed to perceive of her practice, so i wanted to dig a little more into her sense of what seemed to be her own style in her training - that her body at least had trusted her own style of training more than her conscious thoughts were owning ]

Val, can we come back to your approach to the IM for a minute again? Just to be clear, you say you had the press for a long time and the pistol for awhile.

How long before the challenge did you have the press? do you remember when you got it?

My RKC- April 2009 during the press lecture

How long before the challenge did you have the pistol?

Nov 2010 so about 9 months

The pull up?

6 weeks before to the chin (2 inches away)
3 weeks before all the way

So the whole 6 week program you shared with me was really to get those last two inches - a program you varried it seems quite a bit by feel?

Yes, that's right

I'm intrigued about what motivated you to seek outside help at that point: was it that it was getting close to the competition that you felt you just wanted that outside perspective to help with the last little way?

I probably didn't need the help to get the last couple inches- I could have done that on my own. But my goal wasn't to get the last couple inches. I wanted to make it look easy. I guess the program got me to the 28kg on all 3 and that helped me make the 24kg an easy day.

I know what you mean about sometimes trying to figure stuff out for yourself when under pressure too - it's nice to give it to someone else.

Yes, that was part of it.

also - could you let me know if the shape of your article for DD will be mainly about the last 6 weeks? i don't want to step over what you write about...

Thanks. My article was about "Demystifying the Iron Maiden". How basically I got really close on all three b/c I try to train with good form every day, use kbs as a practice, and I understand that strength is a skill. My philosophy is to seek help when I need it and then work hard to get the results I want.

I felt like after the IM, people just see me as some "freak" who is just genetically able to lift heavy things. I think genetically I am built for this type of thing, but I also had to work hard and I sought advice from people who know more than I do or have been doing it longer. I tried to make it feel "doable" for other women b/c I really think it is!

Ok, so especially with what you just said, you know I'm wondering, you really had this whole thing before you had this, you know? Maybe just like gals being conservative about (not) just winging an iron maiden, you're being a wee bit conservative about your own training genius.

(Table 3. Click on image
to see full detail)

See, I just really went over your last six weeks plan (Table 3, left).

Have you had a chance to look at what you did compared with the specified program? You were jazz improv to a score. You riffed all over that template.

So what I see is you got good support from your pal as your coach, and sounds like you felt that support was really important for your success. Am I reading that wrong?

But looking at the data, i guess I'm trying to ask have you considered that you may be selling yourself short in terms of what you did to get yourself forward? Seems like great coaching tips on form for the pistol from Franz, and some ideas for moving on to the 28 with the 6 week plan, but how can i put it? Why not propose your own book?

Thanks so much for your kind words.

No worries. Not at all.

I probably do sell myself short a bit. I have a habit of doing that.

It's that gal thing. Really - certifiably.

I guess it's easier to tell people that someone else helped me than to take all of the credit myself. It seems arrogant to say "my training genius got me here".

Well you're not doing that - just so you know.

You're not a sports psychologist, are you? LOL.

Er, well hmm. Long history in ed. psych, and coaching grad students -- ahletes and the rest of us seem to be remarkably similar. A lot of the same stuff dealing with getting better at our path. But back to you:

I did feel like I needed someone to write a program but I guess I should say it was a template. I needed someone to tell me to stop running =) and focus on strength and I wanted to check in with someone. i suppose I need to get better taking credit for what I did- thanks for the reminder.

Indeed- we all need a coach - at some times for some things. But sometimes that's guidance/feedback. And you rocked the house. Take a bow!

Would you care to speak a little bit more about how you figured out when and how to rif on the plan? A lot of folks talk about "instinctual training" but to me this feels more like the experience of a lot of reps - and i think folks at various levels of experience will be interested in this.

I suppose you're right. I think it's a lot of reps. As I said, I've never trained for this type of strength program, but I have been strength training since I was 12y/o, so I know my body pretty well.

I did stick to the intent of the template pretty well, I think.

Indeed. That's what Jazz is: we recognise the original tune - which is rather how we also recognise the artistry around that - without the base we wouldn't get the rif. So you did some riffing.

I shuffled a couple of the days around (some due to travel and vacation) but tried to stick to the template. I figured out what [Andrew] was trying to get me to do and I allowed myself some creative freedom, without compromising the goal. I think halfway around the world might be the only way I can have a coach =) because I really liked having the freedom to do that, even if that wasn't the intent when he wrote it. For example, the Aug 4 workout where the plan was 20 sets of 5 pullups with weight... I didn't think it would help to do all of them with the 12kg, which is what I think I could have done every set with. I thought it would be better to pyramid it a bit and do what I could with the weight I had that set. So, I started with bodyweight, and then moved to 8kg, on up to 20kg. I was pretty tired at the end and decided to do my last couple sets with the 12kg just to get some good reps in with focus on form to end the day.

I pretty much substituted hanging straight leg raises for batwings because I felt like they would help my form problems better. I also added them in to a couple workouts because I knew I would need them.

A couple of the changes were due to (1) attending a family reunion and only bringing one 16kg kb (July 29 & 30) and (2) being in CA with my friends and family and not wanting to go to the gym. I have a 20kg at my apartment in CA and so I modified a couple workouts (Aug 12 & 13) based on what I had available to take to the pullup bars at the beach and still accomplish the goal.

I think it's a combo of having a good template, and being confident/comfortable enough to change the template when I needed/wanted to without compromising the intent of the plan.

Yup. Cool to have the template, the structure to let you be free to rif and work rather than spend ALL cycles figuring out what to do. Nice. Reminds me of Wulf's work on motor learning (pdf): extrinsic focus (focus on effect) is better for learning than internal focus (focus on movement) - maybe similarly here, focus within a template - reducing the set of options of what to do while still facilitating choice - rather than focusing entirely each time on what to do without that plan - limitless options - is a similar thing: the frame as constraint frees the mind to move it move it. Hmm. Thanks for that.

But biggie here: way to go on your accomplishment. It's a big deal - and thank you for engaging in these reflections: they're great food for thought.

Thank you for spending the time.

Thank you. This has been really fun.

Awesome.

Thanks again to Val for spending the time talking, thinking and walking through this training practice and stepping up to the platform. Here's a few video's of her success. Thanks to Val for making these vids available.

Val's goal was to make 24k look easy. Success, no?

Next time, a few thoughts on pulling together some threads from IM discussion to date.

Related Posts

Valerie Hedlund, Path to Iron Maiden Challenge Success, Pt I

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:26:00 +0000

As the end of the year draws nigh, and desire for inspiration in the new one will be fast upon us, now may be a sweet moment, in the post christmas ennui and pre new years festivities to reflect on some successes of the past year. Or at least one more in particular. Let's take Valerie Hedlund's summer success with the Iron Maiden Challenge.

Valerie Hedlund (the one doing the pull up with the 24k bell, left) is the latest woman to pass the Iron Maiden Challenge (pressing, pistoling and pull-upping a 24kg kettlebell). That in itself is still a unique encough challenge to warrant attention. But Val is also pretty extraordinary on a number of other levels. To articulate just a selective few, she runs her own fitness business, went through physio training and had the gumption to change track to become a fitness trainer instead, and, as stated, she walks the talk. This past summer, at 5'3" and 131 at the time, she passed the Iron Maiden challenge.

Despite the business acumen and considerable personal and physical accomplishments (of which the iron maiden is but one), she can also be, as you'll see, self-deprecating to the point of being reluctant to take credit for the work she's done to achieve her goals - in this case, her strength goal with the Iron Maiden.

Like Asha Wagner (b2d interview here), Valerie's success with the challenge is an inspiration for gals in the RKC community in particular who wish to emulate her success. What's intriguing - and satisfying - are the distinct paths and practices each has taken to achieve this goal. There's more than one way to press a 24 it seems. Or pull it. Or pistol it. And there's more than one way to think about not only the task at hand, but one's self while doing it.

In order to offer some insight into this athlete's pursuit of the challenge, it seems it might be nice to understand a bit more of the story of the athlete, no? To that end, in part II, we'll look at Val's path to the Iron Maiden Challenge itself, and reflections post hoc. Here in part 1, though, Val talks about her business, her path towards becoming a trainer and where KB's fit in.

What's life like now, post focussing on the Iron Maiden (IM) Challenge?

I've been focusing on building my business here in Denver so I do what time allows. I moved from California about 9 months ago, sold my business there, and have been starting over. It's been challenging but rewarding at the same time. I have been learning new things about myself and getting better at the business side of things.

Tell us a bit more about your training background and business.

I have been a trainer since I graduated college in 2002. This was something I was going to do "until I got a real job or went back to school". About 3 years into it and about 8 Physical Therapy internships later, I realized that Personal Training IS my real job. It's what I'm passionate about and what I love to do. There aren't many people who can say they absolutely love what they do. I am fortunate enough to be one of those people who truly loves working. I suppose my business is special because I focus on the individual. I'm not in it only to make money and I didn't start working in gyms because I love looking at myself in the mirror (we've all worked with those trainers, right?). I love learning about the human body and teaching my clients what I learn to help make their everyday lives better. That's why I do what I do.

I started doing kbs in 2008 and got certified in April of 2009.

Why Kettlebells?

It's a simple tool, doesn't take up too much space, and the workouts are efficient. They help combine strength, mobility, and cv endurance all in one workout. My clients really love them (well, love/hate) and they see results using them. You can't argue with that.

I hate to sound like a commercial for dragon door, but there's no better tool out there! Plus, the instructors were always so impressive to me- the depth of their knowledge and the humility even at the highest level. I just felt like I "found my people" when I went to my first RKC/Pavel event.

Training Philosophy?

My business is called Simple Strength & Fitness and our motto is "Train Smart. Be Strong. Live Balanced."

It's not just a motto, it's how I run my business and my own training. I like being strong and training for strength, but I also like having more balance in my training and in my life. I think doing a couple strength cycles during the year would be a good goal- have a couple months of a specific strength focus and then a couple months to "play".

Also - who would you say are the folks you train the most - is it classes or one on one or??

I like to do both. I started training one-on-one initially (in 2002) and never really liked classes (always thought "step" or "cardio-kickbox" when I thought of classes). But when I found kettlebells, I found that they're really best taught in a group. I opened a studio and offered classes and I really started to enjoy the group dynamic. I keep the classes small though- no more than 12 in a class because I don't like people getting lost in the crowd. I like to punish each person equally and when the class is too big, it makes it more difficult to do that.

That's cool about leaving physio for personal training?

I think so. I grew up thinking I needed more and more schooling to get a better job. Plus, I went into personal training thinking it was a temporary thing. Add that to living in California where personal trainers are a dime a dozen and a lot of them got into it because they "like working out", it didn't really seem like something I could call a "profession". I thought about Physical Therapy because I am interested in how the body works. Who knows, I may still go back to school for it, but a couple years back after doing multiple internships in various clinics, I realized I really enjoyed what I was doing.

As a trainer, I'm able to take people after their insurance stops paying for physical therapy and help them get to where they really want to be. I'm able to look at the body as a whole instead of individual parts and help the person move better. It's such a treat to hear my clients tell me that after many years of daily discomfort, they no longer have pain after working with me. That's when I get the reassurance that I'm different from the trainer who just "likes working out".

Within this process, what was the pull towards the RKC then?

I think it goes back to wanting and craving more good information. I decided not to go back to school for Physical Therapy, but I don't want to get stale. I actually found kbs though the NSCA at a seminar. I want to learn from the best and I think the RKC is very particular about who they promote to instructors and they really seek out the best in the industry. It feels good to be a part of this group of people.

-------------------

With Val's background and training philosophy in place, next time, in Part II, we'll focus on the prep for the Iron Maiden Challenge, the success, and some of the psychological challenges around that practice.

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Easy Strength III: 33 days to Radiant Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:10:00 +0000

The hypothesis was that a bottoms up 16kg would correlate with a 20kg press; the next hypothesis was that by working easy versions of one arm push ups and headstand push ups, i could get a 16kg BU and a 20kg press - without pressing kettlbells for the 40 days of the easy strength program. That's a lot of hope and spit. In part 1 i gave the reasons for this set of hypotheses; in part II i talked about dialing in the right level of "easy" and showed how progress was measured on the road. Where we left off, i'd just successfully, actually hit target one: a bottoms up with the 16. The next test of course would be the 20.

The 16kg BUP continued
After having bottoms up'd the 16 at the office, when i got home that evening, i decided to give it

this is my quest: to follow this 24k bell
no matter how hopeless no
matter how far...heh now
wait a minute...

another go. It worked. Again. My goodness! what a day.I then tried the twenty. It didn’t go all the way, and it ended up feeling more like a side press, but that was a HUGE jump in progress.

More than that - yes - is possibly *feeling* this notion of groove that Dan John was talking about - at least i thought i might be. It seemed that to get the 16kg BU i had to change the shape of where the press happened and if felt like more of the back of the shoulder was getting into the act from this new position.

What i describe may be obvious to everyone else alive but it has not been to me.

The 20k single
The next day, Saturday Nov 5, 33 days in, i retried the 20. It was back to glued on the shoulder; recovered; bottoms upped the 16. Recovered, and retried the 20 with that groove in my body. oh wow - it got off the shoulder, and then it started to move. At glacier speed. It probably looked like it was stopped or stuck but i KNEW - i just KNEW it was still moving and still going up. What IS that??? it felt like i just KNEW those fibbers were going to recruit and get that sucker up.

I must confess i was pretty happy. I expressed a bit of a whoop.

I will also confess that while i have pressed the bottoms up 16 since then - once even for a double on the right (the left still needs coordination work), i have not repressed the 20. But i’m ok with that (more or less). The last time i got the 20 - by a very different path - i also had days initially where nothing.That it had gone up was seeming but a dream. So not surprised, though i confess further that i may have tried a little to hard over the course of the next day to re-get that 20 and my shoulder is not thanking me for it. Dam dam dam

BUT i feel like my hypothesis of correlation has at least provisionally been found credible: there is a correlation between the 16k bu and the 20k press.

A quick note about that Groove Thing
It’s taken to get that BU with a sufficiently heavy weight to really feel what the movement is to manage the whole press with that grip.

BUT, by getting the groove difference with the heavy weight i started to take that back to a lighter weight where i can get more reps grooving in that pattern. That i think is important. I couldn’t FEEL that shift along the back of the shoulder with a lighter bell; i can’t rep it with a heavier. Now i can apply the heavy bell feel with the lighter rep-able load. At least that is the plan.

What does this new groove feel like? well, at a sticky point actually past breaking parallel, where it feels hard, moving back a bit recruits it seems a bit more from the back into the shoulder and that extra fiber helps put that puppy up. At least for me.

In playing with the 12 which is my light weight in Return of the Kettlebell, i've experimented now with arm position - how in front of the shoulder the press is vs how"open" or more barbelly it is - just to feel what has a wee bit more effort or less. It's subtle but getting it right a weight that feels easy, can feel easier/smoother yet by playing with that position.

It’s a Feeling (rather than % max)
What is that right level of easy effort for easy strength to work?

I really have no way of knowing what percentage of a 1 rep max i was doing in any of the moves i did

trying to be zen
about progress

as i can’t do a 1 full rep headstand push up or a one arm push up. And pistols well, on good days there are reps; on other days i hold a door and on excellent days a KB. So i just went by feel. How far from the wall for two good reps - today - easy to adjust the bod for each rep to nail that. The one arm push up i pushed a little harder. Perfect form on the plank but initially didn’t go nose to the carpet. So less range of motion. I kept thinking hard enough to require an adaptation; not so hard i can’t do this every day. Not so hard it becomes a mental challenge to get through.

Implementation of Easy Strength: Different but Same?
My easy strength series has been a little different from what i undrestand to be the norm.

I had a goal to get my BU 16k, and from that, the 20. My understanding of easy strength is that one practices the same moves one wants to improve: to push a deadlift, for instance, do the easy strength deadlifts. Or use a thick bar for the deadlift - same but different.

I didn’t do that. I couldn’t as i didn't have those tools available.
But i did use the tools i had. Me. I am a great tool, apparently (one of the infinite tools).

It seems (though i cannot absolutely claim correlation, what else the heck is there going on), 33 days of easy strength BUT not touching a kettle bell, just doing bodyweight work in Easy Strength ways (a) got me a Bottoms Up PR and (b) got me my 20 back. Only a single, but that’s all it takes, isn’t it, to rekindle faith that yes, my shoulder IS recovering. Bodyweight to improve kb’s. That’s different but same (as opposed to same but different). Really? seems maybe so.

That 24 - the main prize - maybe just got a little closer?

And i still have 7 days left.

Update: perhaps no surprise after a month on the road and hitting a PR, an absolutely fever level cold hit me full throttle on Monday Nov - with fever, even - and according to my sense of self, and my heart rate variability, i’m in no shape to train. Indeed today (friday: 11/11/11) was the first day back to doing my easy strength in yet another hotel room. So i can either declare success at 33 days in or keep going with it for a week to get in the full 40 while i figure out next steps.

My sense? Even if i bag this round of easy strength now and step into some more regular workouts or another variant of easy strength, that’s fine too. Dan says his best gains have come around the 21 day mark and that’s a fine place to change up and over. For me, it’s been 33. Cool.

And on top of this plateau breaking, i’m also gaining some new skills. Like this bodyweight work - that’s a definite keeper for my practice. doing some handstands and one arm pushups aren’t getting in the way of anything else. And i need the reps.

Where Next?
At the easy strength workshop (and i’ll have to check through the 14 DVD’s if this made the cut) - i think i asked Dan or someone did about why ever go off easy strength to do something else after 40 days if this works so well? I do believe he turned aside and stage whispered - you don’t have to - with the high implication that you won’t believe me telling you that so we’re going to talk about other approaches that work too.

I think, though, for me, where i'm at in my practice, i have to learn to love the nudge at the bottom end. It's something i can repeat daily and find progress around.

I recall that in getting her beast challenge, Asha Wagner repped and repped with only the 16 and the 12. Dan John also saw the sense in this for several of the iron maiden moves. I personally sense the sanity and hope of that path - again - just speaking for myself. And i have my own evidence now that (a) getting the right level of "easy" effort (b) leads to transferable gains.

With my focus still on rehabbing towards an iron maiden challenge SOME day, from steady progress, i've just started playing with changing up the pistols to box pistols with the 8's for 2*5's, and will see how that progresses up in load. I know i felt that in my run last night: oh that's where the gastroc origin is. Happy to learn that.

For my hinge work i'm doing 2*20s of kb dl's - the rest is staying the same. But while i'm around kb's again i'm also practicing the bottoms up work more deliberately - but keeping it in a grease the groove fashion.

It's an exploration.

Take Aways:
I have no recommendations about where to put Easy Strength in your practice. I just know this approach

a) did bust a strength stall out (my 20 regained even if just the once right now)
b) did help my shoulder feel bolder - it likes this stuff
c) is with the bodyweight stuff teaching me new skills that i wish i’d had the sauce and insight to work on sooner.
d) shows me that showing up and punching the clock - with the right effort - in order to “nudge the bottom” as Dan John and Pavel talk about in Easy Strength highlighting work from a pantheon of progenitor easy strengthens, seems to Work.
e) i don’t have to worry about being away from the KB’s to make gains in the moves i want to improve - at least not at the moment perhaps.

And the biggest right now - the mental shot - is that i *have* to believe i’m recovering - finally - from the shoulder stuff. Now i admit i likely won’t really believe that till i press the 20 again for reps. And then i won't likely really believe it till i press something heavier than a 20, but it’s getting closer. So stay the course.

And on the other hand: that i *can* do any of this is, my shoulder issues have made me realize, a gift. So daily practice like easy strength isn't a burden or just a punch the clock thing. Really, it's a little miracle. So ya, finding a way to move every day? i'm there.

IF you haven’t read Easy Strength yet, it’s good stuff. Especially if strength work is your sport supplement, not your sport. Will be writing more about that in the near term. but for now, 33 is a magic number. Yes it is. 33.

Related Posts

ps,
the title is a ref to a line in a joni mitchel tune from the album Hejira
"Refuge of the Roads" - given the context and motivation of this experiment, it seemed apt:

There was spring along the ditches
There were good times in the cities
Oh, radiant happiness
It was all so light and easy
Till I started analyzing
And I brought on my old ways
A thunderhead of judgment was
Gathering in my gaze
And it made most people nervous
They just didn't want to know
What I was seeing in the refuge of the roads

See ya next time new interviews and strong gals.

And this was just right Easiness - Progressing Easy Strength

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:37:00 +0000

How keep progressing the weight of a kb press when on the road without weights? Last post presented a set up for a 40 day easy strength program to take on the road when i’d be away from the KB’s for over a month, and still wanted to keep progressing my press especially. The approach i decided to try used headstand push ups, pistols and one arm push ups as ‘easy strength’ variants.

ten days in:one hand work: so
much easier facing the wall
for this on

Today, i’ll go over what progress was like in what i think of a Road Blocks - the chunks of time at various sites on the road that
broke up the practice.

The First Go at Easy Strength: Too easy?
The first time i had dabbled with easy strength, i had heard that one should use only 40-50% of one’s max on a lift. So i used 8kg on doing press work, and felt like it was making zero difference. Probably it was helping rebuild my shoulders but perhaps too impatient i didn’t feel like anything was happening - and i could measure no difference. After just under three weeks i thought i’m just not getting this. I posted my experience on the RKC forum - that i had not had success - is this a gal thing - and was told that, no, women had had success with it, but a couple of folks said that they had had to nudge up the weight a bit from what they’d initially thought the 40-50% was - for it to kick in. More like around 60-70%.

The First Ten Days: getting the Load the Right Kind of Easy
That thinking of making the protocol a little more effortful - not much but a little bit - kinda pinged with me. It was a deep “hmm” moment. So this time, i thought, ok, this time, i shall adjust the level up just a touch. As it turns out, in the book Easy Strength there are two versions of the protocol where Even Easier Strength is the 40-50% version with somewhat higher reps; easy strength is indeed closer to the 70%+ zone. Alright.

That nudging the load up a bit from 50 to 70 turned out to be very easy to do and control with all bodyweight work. In the handstand press, in order to get two good reps, it became obvious immediately how far out from the wall i needed to be to get a little challenge to each rep, but not so much that getting in 5 pairs felt overwhelming.

first time with face the wall headstand presses

Likewise in the pistol. Initially i started by attaching some stretch bands to a hotel door handle and pulled on them as needed to get up. That was cool in terms of finding something new for me about the explosiveness out of the bottom of the pistol. Not that it will look fast but i felt i was getting a kind of a “snap” at the bottom with that little bit of assist. Especially on the stronger side. And i’d focus on finding that on the weaker side. Technique attention when building strength. Makes a gal feel like she’s at least doing something.

The terra incognito here was the one arm push up. I started from my knees, and i have to say that each of those two was not exactly what i’d call easy - using all the instructions from Naked Warrior about hand position, corkscrewing into the lat, hand by chest etc. My intent was to do only what i could with perfect form. My happiness has been that i could get these reps in, from my knees, without having to find another elevation from which to practice: this meant i really could do this workout anywhere.

Face the wall presses getting closer to the wall for two, ten days in

Bonus: weighted Pull Ups. Also, where i was working these first two weeks, i did have access to a pull up bar and 12kg loads. With some climbing slings and a couple caribiners i was also able once a day to do a couple singles with a 12. I really really appreciated this access as i knew that i was not going to have it for the last part of my trip. Every day then greasing the groove with pull ups, a couple loaded singles, and the easy strength program.

The first ten days of this approach was really a learning process for me. I had no real way to sense progress. To borrow another expression from Dan John about workouts, these were mainly “punch the clock” workouts: get up in the AM, do my easy strength; get to the office, pull up when going through the doorway; find a time to gear up and do the singles with load.

Unexpected Benefits:The one thing i did notice during this time is that my shoulder seemed to be feeling better - the more regular awareness i would have that some ranges of motion still felt a little hinky seemed to be diminishing. That’s a surprise.

Getting some balance with a headstand and getting a little deeper on the wall handstand

The Next Seven Days
I’m breaking up the time sequence by weird intervals, just because of the shape of my travel, and the seeming correspondence to noticing changes.

So around day 15, in my third state and as many time zones of the trip, there were some seemingly noticeable effects: the reps i was doing started to feel a wee bit easier. I seemed to be getting closer to the wall in the headstand work; the pistols i was using both hands on a band for getting up and down became single handed. Indeed, a single hand on a wall was becoming sufficient for reps.

I took some time to start playing with headstands as well - the real type where one hinges at the hips and the legs lever up. I am SO not there yet. But i saw a cool vid on technique really emphasising arm and hand position that helped.

Pit Stop
At about 15 − 16 days in, i was back home for 2 days. I checked two things: the 16kg bottoms up; the 20kg press. No on both. THe 20 did seem to leave the shoulder to a slightly greater distance. But still - i used to be able to do this for reps - so not what i’d call happy. Onwards and upwards with the 40 days.

Back on the Road: The Next, Next 7 days.

This trip took in two countries and four cities. This was the first time i found myself able to put into practice some of the ideas from Easy Strength the book. Dan John rifs on the importance of playing around with reps. 2*5, 3*3, 5,3,2

Imagine my surprise at finding myself able to do 5 reps of headstand presses. And five knee level one arm press ups.

As DJ puts it, there’s a feel: 5,3,2 is not what i’d want to do every day with this, but it ya, made sense in my body. Towards the end of this road trip - 3*3’s were explored a few times. Why? well sometimes i had to get to a meeting and i could get in three sets more readily than five. If the difference is between getting a workout in or not, it’s nice to have an option to get the three sets in. With the 5,3,2 the happiness there is just feeling in the zone enough to pull off the five and still feel submax. Mind you, not a whole lot sub max, but sub max.

I will say that doing OAPU’s from knees on bare wood floors is a kind of challenge one might not prefer. Carpet is better. A folded towel where not possible.

Oh, the other thing about OAPU’s from the knees? It regularly cracks my lower back - especially from the right side. A fringe benefit? Not sure if folks who do these full on from the feet have this effect?

Friday nov 4, 32 days in: the next pit stop: semi-retest

The 16kg Bottoms Up: I was back in the office, between meetings at work, and thought, hmm. And went to bottoms up a 16 (yes the office floor is i won’t say “randomly littered” because that would be unsafe but “coherently decorated” with KB’s). And i think i had an out of body experience: the dam thing slowly - i mean SLOOOWWWLLLLYYY - went up. Like there it was: in my fist; upside down, and my arm extended. I think i was a little stunned. Pulled off a record number of pull ups on leaving that day too. And that’s after zero PU bar access for around ten days. Gosh.

Something seemed to have been happening with this road work. Next episode, we’ll check in on the Pretty Big Idea that occurred Nov 5, day 33, and from there wrap up the 40 day experiment, reconsider the hypotheses and hopes and whither voyager.

Hope you’ll check back.

Related Posts

40 Days of Nudging Easy Strength - part I: making lemonade?

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Do the same moves, five days a week, no more than 10 reps total, and at the end of 40 days you will be surprised with your strength changes. The Big Change may even happen at the 21’ish day point; it may happen at 40. The big challenge: have faith in the program - despite how “easy” it feels to do.

This summarises pretty much Dan John’s synthesis of Pavel Tsatsouline’s “easy strength” program. And after initial skepticism from trying it for a few weeks this past summer, i had the opportunity to dial it in and really go for a full whirl this past - well - near 40 days. You judge.

Why Did I Try the 40 days?
I have been re-training my kettlebell double military presses - some of you may recall that my shoulders have been variously put out of commission, and pressing just about anything overhead had seemed a distant hope for some time. Indeed, a year ago at the Easy Strength seminar (now captured in living colour on 17 (!) DVDs), i could not complete either the snatch test or clean and jerk test for early reverting my RKCII because my shoulders were not happy. I still recall Geoff Neupert’s wincing face at my jerk saying “just put it down; you don’t have to do this” I also recall steve freid’s at my pull ups but that’s for another day.

It's a year later. Gosh time flies. Over the summer, i started to come back to pressing and went from barely putting double 8’s overhead (May) to getting to 5 ladders of 5 reps with double 16s (60reps total) (mid September). I was doing the Return of the Kettlebell cycle again (here's the first time's overview), and actually just finished the second time doing the 5 ladders * 5 sets with the 16s (third week in Sept) so that first time wasn’t a fluke; it was a personal record, though. The last time i’d gotten close to that, my logs showed, i’d only been able to do three sets of 5 ladders then had to drop the reps. Happiness

And then came the road trip
I was not going to have access to kettlebells for near about 40 days. It seemed to be a sign. Why not give the program a real go? But what to do?

One thing i have wanted to re-achieve in this process was to (re)press the 20kg - something i'd been doing for reps prior to shoulder hell and would be a Sign i was maybe not out of the op to get the 24 if i could get that back - on the road to pressing that elusive 24. Despite the happiness with the double 16’s i could not get that 20 so much as out of the rack. The force of gravity holding that thing to me seemed impenetrable.

Targets and Tests for 40 days
In going over what seemed rather an immersion in Dan John’s oeuvre of late (as per the recent dj articles/interviews), i recalled somewhere - probably numerous places - that he said working the bottoms up press really helped get the press grove right. QUick note: a bottoms up press with a KB is doing a press but cleaning and pressing by hanging onto the handle through the whole move so the bottom of the kb is pointed straight up, not laying against the arm.

I was happily bottoming up pressing the 14’s that James Breese had sent me from Kettlebell Fever - love those things: i swear they’re why i got my double 16s so strongly - and many thanks to Ken Froese (the triple, double beast man) for saying to move in 2kg increments in RTK rather than the 4kg jumps.

kj double bottoms up: to your health

To the point, I have to admit, the whole groove thing was escaping me: i did not see from that 14 how the Bottoms Up version would make a form difference. I didn’t feel it. Felt kinda like a regular press with more grip.

Strange MathThe fact was, i could bottoms up the 14s but could not bottoms up the 16. i could clean it into a bottom up position, but not move it much at all beyond that. I was not getting what was going on with the grove thing - but i did believe: if i could bottoms up a 16, i bet i could press a 20. Now why would i believe that? But yes, in my mind that seemed a reasonable correlation. A hypothesis to test.

So here’s what i thought: i shall do the 40 days while i’m away and when i get back i will test what i achieve against the bottoms up of a 16 and the press of a 20 -So that’s a target, but remember, i’m on the road sans bells. All i was asking was to bust a plateau. I’d gone from a 16 to a 20 before. I want that back PLUS this new move. From doing “something” for 40. That’s a kind of outrageous proposal: why would forty days of an undetermined “whatever” yield this breakthrough?

All i knew in terms of the whatever is my uber focus: to (see if i could) rebuild my strength to make the requirements for an iron maiden challenge: pistol, press, pull up a 24kg bell? So the easy strength things i’d work on, i’d like to relate to that. But without kettlebells. Or likely any weights. At all.

Here’s what i came up with: handstand push ups; one arm push ups; pistols

HANDSTAND PUSH UP One thing Ken Froese had told me is that the inimitable Max Shank had told him that doing just these kinds of handstand pushups helped him get his double beast press. Ok. Checking the great Beast Skills site’s tutorial on the handstand itself, there is on idea to face the wall to focus on back straightness rather than flipping up to the wall - great i thought: i can make this “easy strength”able by controlling the distance out from the wall. There’s one thing i could work on for sure. I could also test my progress from time to time with the trad handstand push up.

PISTOLS daily pistol work, 2*5’s, seemed doable anywhere. And my pistols also needed to be rebuilt from scratch. I mean i had previously worked up to pistoling a 12 and that was just gone. So good idea. Let’s be humble and suck it up and begin again.I’m going to need to do that work anyway, so now’s good.

OAPU As for the third move, with my main focus on busting out my military press - well again, Ken Froese had been asking me about whether i was doing any push ups. Hmm. Not diligently. They were more of a test move. Awhile ago i’d thought about pursuing the one arm push up a la Naked Warrior, but had let that drop when my shoulder wonked out. How could i revise the OAPU for easy strength, since it ain’t easy? Knees maybe? Indeed.

And so, i had my three main moves: handstand push up, pistol, one arm push up. Dan also suggests an ab exercise (roll outs, say) and something dynamic - like swings. Initially i added in elephant walks for abs and hindu squats for the dynamic bit.

Part II, i'll go over how the approach worked and how progress got measured. In the final part, III, we'll look at overall program success - and how that got measured.

Also coming up: interviews with strong gals Fawn Friday and Val Hedlund.

See ya then.

Related Posts

We need to move - better! UK workshop, Nov 19.

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:51:00 +0000

How are you feeling? Interested in feeling better? improving the performance in your sport or chosen activity - right now - which may mean reducing pain to move better?

As i've written about many many times, an important part of improving performance/reducing pain, is dialing in great movement - which may also mean,

improving balance,
engaging vision, and
enhancing movement function.

We'll look at learning skills and self-assessments for each of these you can test on the spot, and then take home for practice with yourself and any of the folks you train.

Workshop: Own Our Movement
- One Joint at a Time Nov 19

If you're interested in learning more, please check the info on this UK only, places limited workshop, to own our movement, and perform better. It's at November 19, at Bodyology in Bracknel (outside London, not too far from the queen's windsor palace).

Again, places are limited; all the info overviewing the workshop and how to sign up is here. Look forward to meeting you on the 19th.

UPDATE: Discounts

early registration discount of 15% by saturday, Nov 5 noon UK time

a 10% discount by Nov 12, noon

and a special 20% discount till Nov 12, noon for first responders, front line care workers and full time students.

Related Links

Strength Matters II: a wee chat with Dan John about women's strength in general and the iron maiden in particular

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:12:00 +0000

In Part 1 of this discussion with Dan John, we talked about patterns in building up strength. We focused on Dan's upcoming book Intervention (overview of differences with companion DVDs here). The motivation for the initial discussion was to get better insight into Dan's approach for thinking strength training program picking for women in particular. In Part II we get into two applications of the DJ approach to XX training: what's a measure of a strong gal, training a deadlift via kettlebells and preparing for the Iron Maiden Challenge. We close out with a few Dan spotting notes.

the Special Greetings of This Strength People

Intervention Interview Part the Second

Dan, before we get into the main topic of this part of the interview, let's set a bit of context. Last year - about just a year ago now in fact - you and Pavel did an RKC workshop together called Easy Strength (14 DVDs of it just came out, too with the book to follow).

The RKC is the Source for what's become known as the Hardstyle approach to kettlebells. It's interesting to see a senior coach get involved with and start writing so much about the value of this single implement and approach. What's the attraction?

Pavel, Brett, Dan, RKC2, Feb2010

First, of course, it was Pavel. I have known about him for a long time. I’m thinking out loud here: Jason Keen went to a twenty dollar workshop in Minnesota and wrote about it online. This is probably 1998. The guy, Pavel, interested me. We finally met in about 2003 when Charles Staley needed to fill a hole in his summit and asked me to come down. I was just “some guy.”

Easy Strength: 3 days, 14dvds. Easy

I think Pavel and I hit it off immediately. We both appreciate simplicity but are willing to dive into the depths to get there! Once I could fit an RKC into my schedule, I was lucky to have Brett Jones [b2d interview with Brett here -mc] as my Team Leader. He was put in a tough position in hindsight. I had no idea, and this is not some false modesty, that my name carried any weight or fame. So, Brett had concerns about his abilities. By God, he was amazing! So, it gave me a clue that this community was filled with people who knew lots and lots, yet were always humbled to learn more. Moreover, there is a mad thirst for “More!”

That’s why. And, the 10,000 other reasons…

Women's Strength is?
Thanks for filling that in. So it is of kettlebells i wish to speak in this part of our discussion, and in particular women's strength development with kettlebells. Last time we closed with you saying

Maybe someday I will take the time to chart out age, gender, background, injuries and goals, but the idea of mastery is simply this: get the movement right without pain. Load and reps will be decided but what you need to do from there and, yes, I know that isn’t what people want as an answer!

Thank you for raising gender. You are the one coach I know who describes himself as carrying more feminine hygiene products than his female athletes (see previous interview with Dan), so let's see if we can get a bit more particular about programs and women's strength.

Initially i wanted to ask you about any rules of thumb you may have for gals re-interpreting any of your t-nation posts for various programs - esp thinking about appropriate loads which is where i usually get stymied. It's not obvious how to translate a 315lb deadlift given as a warm up into what's reasonable for a gal, you know?

For women, we still are gathering information on things. It seems to me that women who meet their fitness, sport and physique goals “have strength.” Beyond that…and this is going to include height, weight, bodyfat and all the rest…I need more information! A 200 pound woman and a 150 pound woman seem to do “better” in sport after they deadlift 275 (125k). With guys, we would slap up a bunch of charts and tell the 200 pounder that they are “weaker.” But, hmmmm? Maybe we let the men get too good, too strong. I had great information about throwers from the 1950s and early 1960s and their numbers would be weak for a high school kid. Yet, their throws would still be world class. When “lifting is the answer” became, well, the answer, did we get ourselves so strong that other “qualities” got lost.

fawn friday, rkc: easy peasy 315 dl. we all do this - over coffee and gnosh

With women, we may be in those early glory days where ANY improvement in strength improves performance (and fitness and physique). The next generation of girls might have tremendous weightroom numbers, but, and I hope not really, lousy bodyfat and performance numbers.

So, I think the answer with women is great: lift weights! Now, I know the next question: how much? The answer would be, and this is scientific: more.

More? OK. more. Was ever thus, eh? Women = 2x work of men etc. Could we drill down on say the deadlift idea. Are there ways around this for gals who have kettlebells. That’s it. Bells. How would you get to 125?

Well, if “just” kettlebells, the barbell becomes an interesting test. As you know, many people use the Vertical Jump or whatever to test a program. What an interesting idea it would be to have a less than optimally trained person do a heavy deadlift, then learn, master and advance with kettlebells. Then, retest. Now, obviously this can NOT be Max max max deadlifts…a heavy training lift at best. But, for my purposes, I have found that when a “sorta max” goes up (one’s daily or weekly heaviest lift without peaking or any kind of firing up) increases, performance zooms up in all other areas.

So, in a sense: here are your damn tools! Quit complaining about what you don’t have and focus on what you do have! It sounds cruel, but all too often, people will find everything they lack to hold them back. What holds one back is the lack of imagination to overcome any obstacle

I’m Canadian, Dan. We don't complain; just apologize. We simply ask how to do the best we can with what we’ve got, especially relative to our more affluent cousins to the south. It’s an attitude that helps us get by, by say, oh I dunno, winning gold in men’s and womens’ hockey at the last winter Olympics against our more affluent cousins to the North. Sorry. See? all apologies...Anyway:

Many people ignore the clarity of what Pavel said about higher rep DLs in "Return of the KB" and other sources. I found it to be absolutely true...and a major reason why the book "Easy Strength" has so much dedicated to my journey in coaching heavy DLs without doing heavy DLs. Three sets of double KB DLs for twenty will awaken the deadlift beast within you. And, I don't know why it works, but it does. And, that is the only thing I focus on. I know this: if you think you can explain something about the human body, more than likely, you are wrong. You have to trust experience more than explanations. It is the lesson of coaching that life has pounded into my head. That's why Barry Ross is a better sprint coach than me: he had the courage to throw out everything save what works. Then, the research backed him up!

It's like how I coach the discus without a discus. I'm always told I am wrong, but my athletes always win.

So, get those reps in.

I sense a theme. Picky detail: what load for those three by twenties?

20-40% seems to be the right amount...with the high twenties being most sustainable.

One other point in your discussion of what you credit as “the other 51% of the population” (really it's quite amazing and lovely to have a coach - especially on t-nation - mention women and women's strength) – you do attach some values to women hitting strength-ness. We have the 125k deadlift. You also quote Josh Hillis about a gal who can do 3 pull ups and three dips and triples a 125 DL also will (a) not only be strong but (b) has her bodyweight locked down if I have that aright?

It goes back to this odd thing about women: ANY strength training seems to get them to their goals. So, Josh has his set of standards and I have been seeking my own, but the answer is going to be something along the line that women who lift weights seem to get their body composition goals. Not a great answer, no, but it is right. That is the million dollar answer, by the way, that is where the money is…

Iron Maiden Example
Could we do a worked example of this one as well? Given the unknowns, then, of gals strength progressions, and some of us wanting to do the Iron Maiden (an RKC strength challenge for women to pistol, pull up and press a 24kg bell), how would you tune your five moves/four steps or anything else for that matter to support that goal?

To nail the Iron Maiden, the woman seems to need a big deadlift.

Hmm.

The four Steps would be grand as a big general conditioning aspect, but the three challenges (Pistol, Pull Up, Press) really seem to be strength moves with a technical aspect. In my language, that’s QIII or QIV [i.e. quadrant four: increasing specialization and “rare air” – more in easy strength and in intervention dvd –mc] . The issue for those quadrants is this: do you have the courage to do what you say you will do? Can a woman focus on the single goal of the Maiden for six plus months? That’s the challenge for anyone…any gender.

Asha Wagner, IM tamer,
Pressing Out.

Um. Yes. I’ve made this point before: Asha Wagner did the Iron Maiden by working only with 12s and 16s. Talk about making use of what you have. That’s a lot of volume work with, as Asha has said, tension, focus on form, greasing the groove…

Women who want to prepare for the Iron Maiden seem to come in strong. Now, obviously, right? Andrew Read believes that the deadlift is really the best prep for the Pistol and I would go on to add here that women who seems to get that deadlift "around" 300 while maintaining some reasonable (for them!) bodyweight don't struggle with Pull Ups. Absolute Strength is and remains the single most important quality for building upon any goal.

What? When it doubt: Get stronger.

IM Pistol Many women in the community can do Pistols literally by tapping into

Valerie Hedlund,
pistoling the 24
no probs -
b2d interview coming up

their background. Our martial artists, gymnasts and former cheerleaders seem to understand the tension issues needed to do the movement. Of course, it helps if you are not completely jacked up with blown hips or knees. The one thing that I would offer, and this is just an observation, is that ankle stability for some women is an issue, yes. Bad ACLs and too much of this and that give the ankle a few issues. But, that leads us to the Pistol issue, lack of ankle mobility. So, we have that FMS test for the ankle and that should be something that every Iron Maiden challenger should iron out early in the prep period. From my observations and what I hear from others, the movement of the Pistol trumps the load, so a 12 or 16 k kettlebell for lots and lots of singles...like a corrective, not a lift...might be better prep than going heavy.

So i'm imagining
pulling a 24...

For the Pull Up, women thrive on Greasing the Groove. Again, nailing hundreds of reps (over time) with the 12 is probably a good idea as I think any failures with the 24 are going to catch up to you. One thing: in my heart, I am a thrower, so always remember my focus is going to be optimal performance. Nailing all the moves in the gym means nothing if you can't replicate on the field at the RKC.

IM Press. Women can't do enough Waiter Presses and Bottoms Up Presses. Much of the "I can't press" issue for women is the groove. Master it! I gave you advice earlier that women should press at least five days a week, not heavy, but the movement. It remains great advice.

And lives not only in my heart but my shoulders. Fellow readers, that two part discussion and program guide begins here

IM Org. From simple observation, the Iron Maiden Challenge is held at an odd time. If you are an Assistant Team Leader doing the challenge, you need to have TL who "gets it." I would release you from everything save paperwork on the day of the challenge. Get out of the sun, fill out forms, hand out some water, and don't get drained. I have seen challengeres literally say "now?" when the time came to do it. That's not optimal!

Thank you. Definitely more food for thought.

Just before we say goodbye, what’s the plan for the book’s release?

The idea behind the book is to come out as a Kindle. Then, I will add to it as time goes on. But, if you buy it when it first comes out, all the new material will be free, you just update. The price will go up each time after updates. The initial price will be low, by the way. This isn’t a money maker, the idea is to get “something,” of course, but I just want it to cover the hassle of typing it up.

And for folks who like to track all things Dan, what is your main gig these days? When's your next competition?

I’m a writer recovering from total hip replacement. I was off pain killers the second day and my Physical Therapist said he has never seen this kind of recovery. My next competition, God Willing, will be something that the mere moment of hearing my name to enter the ring or field will bring me to tears.

You've moved through a variety of sports: from your throwing work to the highland games to lifting heavy stuff. Each of these seems to require a skill set and focus. Have any of these practices with competitions overlapped, or have you focused on competing for one at a time?

Overlapping is actually a secret of mine. I think that we pick up a great toolkit in every sport. That’s my knock against early specialization: you miss those gems that come from other sports. I played American Football late into my forties and could still dominate because I was using a toolkit (like superior strength and speed, not a bad thing) that my competition didn’t have.

Where will Dan be in the near future?

I need to keep updating my website “events.” I need to keep my information in one place! But, Ireland, Hungary and all over the USA.

Thank you again, Dan. Way cool. Have a great time in the UK and Ireland - hope you see the sun.

Intervention the DVDs are out and available now; Intervention the book on kindle, is expected in November. Kindle readers are available for PC's and mobile devices - and kindles, too. Easy Strength the Book is anticipated to be out and available before the december holidays.

Coming UP: Stong Women talking about Strength featuring: a chat with Fawn Friday (who does triples with the 24 in pistols), and Fawn's thoughts on training for the IM. Also, an in depth interview Valerie Hedlund most recent RKC to succeed with the Iron Maiden Challenge.

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Intervention DVD - the UnProgram Toolkit - from Dan John

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:57:00 +0000

How do you figure out how to train for your goals? Whether that goal is to burn some fat or increase your DL 1 rep max? Do you talk with someone? read a book? a forum post? It seems most of us, at some point or other, are on the hunt for The Program - that best schedule to follow that will get us from A to well, if not Z, at least further down the alphabet.

This quest for The Program is no different for trainers or coaches looking for ways to help their athletes achieve their goals than it is for the individual.

There are likely 100s of programs promising awesome results all with fabulous testimonials. How decide? Or is everything as good as anything else? Wouldn’t it be nice just to sit back and have a trusted voice cut through all the noise, and provide some basic principles for performance? Dan John’s audio/video recording of his three hour Intervention workshop does just this: skips the programs (for the most part) and cuts to the principles, or as Dan calls them, the patterns. In a way, however, Intervention is if not the AntiProgram, the UnProgram.

the unprogram nut? says laree draper "we grow these here too"

Last week, i posted part 1 of an interview with Dan John about his book of the same name. Laree Draper, Dan’s publisher, kindly then shared the Intervention DVDs with me. While the core principles are the same in both book and DVD, the DVDs are sufficiently distinct to want to have both around. That's why i wanted to do this post in between part 1 of the interview with Dan, and part 2 coming up: why would someone want to purchase both a cool book AND a bunch of DVDs - are they the same? are they different enough? They're different enough, whether training yourself, or especially, training others.

The Phone Call; the ToolKit
As we saw in the interview, while the big take away from the book is the pattern concept in detail, the big take away from the DVD is the ToolKit - using the patterns - but more, the questions to run through one’s head when training oneself or a client. The dozen or so heuristics are the big payoff of the DVDs, both as the concepts themselves, but also applied in worked out scenarios. It’s a rich three hours.

Everything is Obvious in Hindsight
Dan’s set up the workshop around unpacking what goes through his head when someone calls him up to ask how to achieve a particular goal. The result is the ToolKit - summarised and explicated in the DVDs. The toolkit is the ta da. The important note is that there are no secrets here. There's no magic per se in any one of the tools provided, taken on their own, such as asking "how are you doing" in a way that elicits an athletes actual state.

Put together in a complete package of steps, however, guarenteed after going through them, one will feel an overarching sense of "oh wow" and "duh" combined. The magic - such as it exists - is that these "simple" insights are the results of 30 (dan says 40; he's 53 at time of recording) years of experience and consequent errors put into an effective way to work with athletes.

So this is material distinctly framed from the book with a complementary emphasis. And it’s that emphasis from Dan’s particular style of delivery that also makes the disks worthwhile.

Yes, the book is far more detailed than the DVDs (it’s a book) - that’s one reason to go for the book when it comes out in November 2011 - but part of the value of the DVDs (and associated supporting content of slides and docs referenced in the workshop) beyond the Toolkit Framing is that, well, it’s Dan John talking.

Dan is extremely easy listening. And sometimes that’s what i certainly want, don’t you? just to put the pen down and listen to someone who has chops we trust break it down in a clear way. Make sense? I mean this is why we go to talks or workshops in the first place, no? It’s not just the material (thought that’s critical) - it’s to hear it presented. When listening to Dan, as opposed to reading alone, some things in particular pop out; he puts the emPHAsis in particular places.And it’s that critical bit of emphasis or repetition where we can get the take aways.

Some of Dan’s favourite “pay attention” tropes: “i just made you money there,” “you can thank me later,” leave the cheque on the way out.” And those cues really do help make the point that if we just do X, we’ll have had a significant impact for the better on ourselves or on our athletes’ lives.

I asked Dan why he decided to do the DVD/book combo, and it’s exactly this emphasis point that underlay the approach:

DVDs having ability to show and to show the flow. When you read, one might artificially put too much emphasis on a point that really isn't that big a deal. And the opposite, I might be typing REALLY loud the importance of something and you miss it because it blends into the page. So, a DVD allows you to act out, point out and lead the viewer to the point. With reading, I can complete the whole arc of the story...so both need to be done.

In the DVDs, Dan also presents demonstrations of points that can only be described in the book. Likewise the three hour workshop can only make those Big Picture points whereas the book drills down into detail. They complement each other.

Dan John on hamstring firing for hinge movements

For instance, the DVD’s discussion of the hinge (presented on a youtube clip) is a very potent demo of how to help correct form to get the hinge working right in say a single leg deadlift. But that’s one demo. In the book, there’s a full section dedicated just to the hinge, patterning it and progressing it.

The two sources are effectively complementary.

Packaging the ToolKit and the Patterns
And sometimes it’s just nice to listen. For such occasions, very wisely, the Drapers are offering an mp3 of the audio track of the DVDs, because let’s face it, for the most part, what’s presented from the workshop as a whole is largely the remaining lecture components. I stress for the most part - the demos are very visual as are the charts Dan creates to support his points, and the third disk’s discussion of the worked examples of the tool kit is very valuable. But for the most part, one is still listening to dan. So when in transit, listening to the lecture on an iPod is great - i went back later to check the vid bits and charts i missed.

Accessibility via InterWeb
If this presentation inspires you to want to grab the DVDs NOW, the Drapers anticipated a big wish about getting DVD content fast by getting rid of the disks. Oh sure, one can buy the physical discs in a package, but they’ve also made all the material available for download, including the audio files and the supporting materials. These can be bought together or separately. The audio file alone with the supporting visual material is a sixth of the price of the physical DVDs. The DVDs downloaded are half the price of the physical DVDs. And the book will start at 4.99.

I should note the quality of the DVDs is just fine - the charts are mixed into the videos, the demos are presented in different views. The only weak spot in audio is that a few bits of audience participation questions are not mic’d directly so the audio in those spots is weak. But that’s twice in the whole thing, and a niggle not an issue. The transcript provided with the mp3 clarifies what was said in any case. Oh yes, there’s even a transcript if you’d rather read than listen to the presentation.

Dan John on"realistic reps" from Intervention

Making it so easy and affordable -with multiple options - to connect with this material - is really cool and very progressive. And a little weird. As i noted in the interview last week, Dan’s put out a lot of the material in Intervention for free in places like t-nation. You don’t *have* to buy any of this material since so much of it is “out there” on what Dan calls the interwebs.

More-ness
The reason for purchasing each of the components? The more-ness. Intervention the Book gathers that material together and expands it in the detail of the patterns and progressions; Intervention the DVD set provides the emphasis (and the comfort) of Dan’s delivery with the framing on the ToolKit, and the Draper’s presentation means that all of this great material is pretty much accessible all the time to anyone

Indeed, the plan for Intervention the Book is: free perpetual update. Says Dan:

The idea behind the book is to come out as a Kindle. Then, I will add to it as time goes on. But, if you buy it when it first comes out, all the new material will be free, you just update. The price will go up each time after updates. The initial price will be low, by the way. This isn’t a money maker, the idea is to get “something,” of course, but I just want it to cover the hassle of typing it up.

Adds Laree Draper:

This new work of Dan's is especially interesting from a publishing point of view for two reasons. First, it's the type of material that stands solid and unchanging, but it will also benefit as he develops new ideas and learns new ways to teach the Intervention concepts. The second thing is the chaos of publishing today gives us a unique opportunity to test new publishing options.

For example, we'll release the new book Intervention in its edited state in November, whatever the length at the time. ... The initial release will be sold as an ebook at $4.99. In the following months as Dan adds more meat to the bones, we'll upload a new version, and move the price to $6.99; and we'll do this again in the spring or early summer 2012, moving the price to $9.99.

The way ebooks work is a book owner can delete a book from a device, and can download it again at a later date. This means the early buyers who paid $4.99 will be able to get the updated book without paying an additional fee.

This is a wonderful way to get new material to the public quickly, while it's still fresh, without waiting through the normal book writing and publishing timeline. I'm very enthusiastic about the new opportunities in publishing, and this, while it will require explanation, is one of my favorites new options.

This is a pretty cool way for a publisher to investigate producing material with an author for an audience, and that’s partly why i’m writing this piece: i’m personally fascinated by the group’s approach to supporting athletes and coaches connect with material at the speed of the internet. Durn progressive.

I asked Dan how the Drapers became his publisher

I thought everyone knew the story: on the Power and Bulk forum, Steve needed helped moving stuff for a strongman contest. My brother, Gary, volunteered himself and his son, David, to do it. They spent the day there. While moving stuff, Laree Draper asked Dan Martin: "Who is this guy?"

Happily, Dan told Laree that Gary was MY brother and Laree should get in contact with me. Laree emailed me. The timing was perfect, she started handling my first three DVDs, then we agreed to do just a little two day workshop, which became the four part Utah DVDs...then the forum, the book, the next book, the next DVD, traveling, workshops and, well, there you go.

The Everything Else
That’s what one might call a lasting relationship. Indeed, quality social interaction plays a big role in Dan’s training principles, and in Intervention. One of the things Dan talks about in the Intervention DVDs considerably more than in the book - and that’s intriguing - is that what one does with one’s life to improve quality should make all parts of it bigger: if one trains harder, one needs not just more quality rest but more deep play, and more quality social interaction. He talks about everything we do should make each part of our lives spiral out wider.

Which brings us back to the challenge that began this post: trying to figure out what program to use to get us to our fitness goals.

After listening to Intervention, it’s pretty clear that getting to those goals is not about the program - or not about *just* the program. It’s really about one’s life. For Dan John, he mounts a pretty good case that getting stronger helps make everything better, but the bigger case seems to be that one gets stronger because of what that brings to the EVERYTHING else. One gets the feeling that for Dan John (and his grade school teacher who so inspired him to discern) it’s the quality of the Everything Else that really matters.

If you're interested in Intervention in all its manifestions, check out that myriad of options at davedraper.com

Part II of the Intervention interview with Dan John with a special focus on women's strength, coming up.

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The morning imaginary commute - getting in nepas/cardio without the whinge reflex response

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:20:00 +0000

Do you find you need to cardio of some sort when either cutting fat or needing to sustain its off-ness? Do you notice when you do it, it starts to rock the scales?

Every step we take helps that lean process. We saw a couple weeks ago that 8-11k steps with at least 3k of them being in the medium to vigerous heart range (over 60% maxHR) is a great thing for weight effects.

Lonnie Lowery is also an advocate of the benefits of fasted cardio. Lowery uses "non-panting" NEPA style cardio. On empty. Various work seems to suggest that the fasted state does good things for insulin response.

There's also recent work that John Berardi pointed to about endurance workouts prior to eating having great effects on fat burning and insulin response even AFTER the next meal. That is - workout, eat after that and voila good things just keep happening

So some fasted cardio may be part of a trifecta of

contributing to NEPAs that keep us lean
getting insulin levels primed for the first meal of the day and
continuing to have a beneficial effect on fat burning and fuel processing beyond that meal.

The challenge for many it seems is that the thought of doing cardio kinda sux.
But it seems we have a lot of choices:

we don't have to do fasted cardio; we can do our NEPAs anytime - as long as we get them in
we can do fasted nepas non-paning cardio in the morning by whatever way we wish.
or we can do some more intense morning effort prior to eating or not and still give us a great benefit for the meal following.

LOTS of options.
Any one is better than doing nothing; combining them may be very cool.

Getting Personal: Know Thyself. For me, if i'm trying either to cut fat (which i am) and then want to keep that cut stuff cut (and i do), for me, i just have to get in the cardio. I just do. I know that about me.

But (a) i hate that kiddy feeling of "oh, gee, do i have to?" that comes up in myself and i hate that "hmm" that's kinda looking for good excuses not to do it.

Getting to Work - literally/virtually

As per the recent Dan John interview - within his ouvre he speaks of "punch the clock" workouts - where you just show up and do them: they're not crap but they're not necessarily inspiring. They're showing up and getting it done. Inspiring lifter Fawn Friday recently reminded me that Rif (aka Mark Reifkind) says consistency more than intensity gets it done. So how to find the way to consist - esp. with the cardio i know i need?

Here's one way i've been looking at the trifecta that gets rid of all the head stuff - including how to weasle out of it: it's my new morning virtual commute.

During uni, i had to bike to class; in grad school, bike to uni; before i moved to england, bike to work - awesome. Now i'm within walking distance rather than a 10mile ride each way along a lake. Hmm.

The thing about when i was biking, it didn't count as a workout because it was just what one had to do to get to what one had to do. This is not to say that i did not regularly try to beat my times or find interesting new routes. But the thing was: it's the commute.

So i've been thinking: what if i think about rowing or stationary biking like my morning commute?

As soon as i started thinking about the cardio - and lately it's been rowing on a waterrower - as my morning commute - then i don't have to think about whether or not i'm going to do it - it's just what has to be done to get to where i'm going. I don't do it, i don't arrive.

I find that that attitude has taken a lot of the snot out of the whole issue about ooo but i have to do this interval pattern at that intensity for it to be worth anything. No. No, i really don't. I have to get to work. It takes 20 mins some days, others it might take 30. who knows, some day i may find a scenic route and it will take forty (or more).

With this attitude i've been finding that i can have a go at doing 15 mins of 24/36 intervals, or power ladders of 24, 26 and 28kwatts for two minutes each and back up and down, or non-panting 120BPM. I can see that my total kilometers in the same time seem to be going up without thinking about it, meaning i'm getting stronger. without thinking about it. And my fitbit attached to the handle as i row says i'm getting my nepas in, and my HR tells me i'm being sane about the cardio intensity.

And because i can do this every day, i'm passing the dan john test of can i do this every day and keep coming back - every day - without getting fried.

And i can get my workouts in. This work is not to fry myself; it's to complement and support my practice.

And it's just my commute. No biggie, but it has to be done. So no sense even thinking about it too much, sweating it, or getting carried away. It's also a great time to catch up on learning cool stuff - like listening to dan john's Intervention mp3, or my zhealth course vids' audio tracks, or any of the stanford podcasts on anatomy or anything else. There are advantages to not having to worry about the traffic and attend to the interval.

And heh it's not like i can't go for a run instead of a row - get outside get in the oxygen. Whatever. The important thing is to do. And right now, rowing is my commute mode. Maybe tomorrow it will be running. On saturday, wonderful day, it was both. I don't want to over think this about what's the more right thing to do. i just want to get there.

Not that getting there can't be beautiful. I do also think about my form when i'm doing this - so it's interesting all the little bits that can be practiced to make the commute interesting.

And the fringe benefits seem to be the trifecta of effects on strength, food processing and fat be gone'ing.

I may not love it - though when i have looked at the clock and thought i need x more minutes dam this is slow, i have tended to say yes but how grateful am i that i *can* do this. Imagine if i was injured or ill and i'd just yearn to be able to pull 20mins on this thing.

So oh gosh i hope i can keep this head space - but i have grown to appreciate the side effects of this virtual morning commute. It's changed the act from "having to get in cardio" to just doing what i need to do everyday to get where i need to be everyday. And that's just true. it's exactly what it is.

Maybe the concept of the morning (or evening) commute will help you, too?

best
mc

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Exercising options: another barefoot run insight for the wider view

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:07:00 +0000

Have you tried running barefoot yet? like really - no foot covering. unshod.

It's a revelatory experience, as per this four part chat about the topic with Dr. Mick Wilkinson, barefoot runner and researcher. interesting things happen when trying to achieve a quiet relaxed gait without footware. But so do other things.

Some context: i'm midway through reading this awesome book by Frank Forencich of Exuberant Animal called Change Your Body, Change Your World - will have more on this anon. In the early part of the book there's this great section on barefoot running.

It situates barefooting as a great way to connect with one's environment. What resonated for me in Forencich's discussion of barefooting is that one of it's biggest benefits is that one has to PAY ATTENTION. In deed, this is how Forencich deals with the question that always comes up about running barefoot and the anticipation that one will come home with a foot pierced by shards of glass and riddled with virus infected needles. Won't that happen? Amazingly enough, no. Because when running barefoot we get to PAY ATTENTION.

And here's the take away for me today from my little barefoot jaunt. It's the fall right? ok it's hard to admit that it's here but the signs are everywhere apparent: the tree detritus all over the sidewalks of leaves, sticks, nuts rather suggests this is what's going on (though if you have ever lived in manitoba it seems that the acorns drop from the trees all year long to plant your yard with the toughest little suckers to dislodge ever - but i digress).

So it's fall. there's tree kack all over much of the pavement. and i'm thinking ya right Frank i am definitely paying attention. isn't it amazing how my bod is adapting to avoid crushing these half cracked nuts through the soles of my feet; my goodness one could run forever because my respiration is not particularly challenged at this tippy tappy exploratory pace. Yup, foot's amazing - and the sole is particularly astounding.

Houston, we have OPTIONS And then - somehow - perhaps, don't know what happened but i muast have relaxed a bit - because instead of focusing on the more cack ahead and where my next foot fall will be, i look up. just a bit. shifting from my big paying attention to where im treading.

And what happens? i see this whole area of road that has no crap on it. And it's coming up. And there's no traffic. It's early saturday morning in a quiet-ish area. And then it hits me (can you hear it coming?) i don't *have* to run through this crap like i would if i had shoes on - because i'd have shoes on. but i don't.

I don't have shoes on AND
i don't have to run like i do AND
i don't have to run where i would AND
i can deek! i can go lateral
dam it, i can run right down the middle of this road.

I am now running AROUND the crap - even faster than going THROUGH the crap.

I am a genius.

I am an idiot.

Oh come on that was just a little clever

Hey, i am having fun.

and this little tune starts to go through my head like some slightly odd sesame street lesson

I don't have to go through it; i can do something else. There are no rules here - that it's not a run if i don't stay on the shod path. Over and Under Around and Through....

Openning the Field of View = Feeling Safer = Better Performance
My feet are still not used to going all day running on the outside world so i would have liked to have gone off path more, but had to head home, and that was fine too.

So i'm reflecting:
sometimes i (and perhaps you, too, once in awhile) pay attention but to the narrow rather than the broad field of view.

From the direction in this space from z-health i've had, we do seem to know something about stress/fear/fatigue - that our peripheral vision starts to narrow - to support a very particular survival oriented focus.

Maybe my ability to look up a bit more when out for my jaunt just meant i was starting to feel a little safer unshod, and so could take in more of the ambient area of action - and that gave me some more choices.

Letting Go - Deliberate Practice of - in the weirdest places
Even more connections - some of you have heard me go on about the sedona method and its perspective about letting go of "stuff" in order to get a wider perspective (here's the b2d overview). Well, maybe it's a sign - if we feel we can't let go, or more, perhaps like me this morning: if i don't even see that there is anything beyond this field of cack, i just don't know at some level i'm in a narrowly focused state of fear/stress.

We don't know what we're not seeing (there are tests). And i sure didn't see my happy run as a place where i needed to let go. But of course it was - cuz i'm learning a new skill and am both very focused on the skill rather than deploying it to enable me to reach higher and yes there's still some residual cringe around the bare-foot-as-needle-glass-nail-magnet in me.

So i'm gonna let myself off the hook a bit here.

Note to self: DO i remember to Look Up? Practice that
But it may just be if you find yourself in a situation where suddenly you get heh, i have options here i didn't know i had: congratulations to you. It may be your skill level at that thing you were doing just went autonomous enough for a moment to let you see a bit further and apply that skill to do something new. Or maybe some fear or stress calmed down.

It's a cool thing - to observe, explore and celebrate - observe that that openning happened, explore it deliberately and do a happy dance about what more is coming in on all sensory, emotional, intellectual and other channels.

To come back to Forencich, i got to keep paying attention, but to a wider field of view - to more of the environment - while still being aware of how i was contacting the ground beneath my feet. And Forenich's right: it's fun, and it feels great to connect, to attend better, more. Pay Attention doesn't have to be narrow - sure learning can be rather focused - and i guess that's how i've always thought about it: pay attention = serious/narrow band focus.

Today i think i got a sense that paying attention might also be a broader field of view, lighter, a bit more playful. Goodness that's nice. Maybe learning could be a bit more like that too and still work.

Hope you give that kind of connected attention a go - please leave a note if you do and let me know how it goes.

Meanwhile here's a little note about change your body change your world - it's certainly been changing my point of view.

Exuberant Animal from Frank Forencich on Vimeo.

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Strength Matters: Another Wee chat with Dan John (part the first)

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:23:00 +0000

How do you pick a training approach? There are all sorts of programs out there: in the strength/muscle space, t-nation posts new ones weekly. Indeed, one of t-nations best contributors is Dan John, uber coach. Even Mr John rocks out programs in multiples. The question of so many programs rather begs the question – which one when?

For example, I was at a workshop a year ago where Pavel Tsatsouline and Dan John focused on something they called “easy strength” (book of that title forthcoming). In that protocol, one lifts 5 days a week for forty days, using only “easy” weights, for 2 sets of 5. Easy. The reason? Why to get break through strength gains. Or two days a week. Or perhaps Pavel's three day a week ladders with kettlebells and or waves with deadlifts?
I have been perplexed by what appear to be contrary maxims for adding strength: to lift heavy one must lift heavy: lift every other day; to gain strength one need only practice easy strength: lift every day.

And if you’re a gal, reading articles written largely about guys, are there differences to consider?

I asked Dan if he could help me unpack some of these seeming contradictions in training council, especially for women athletes. He said “sure: here” and sent me the draft of a forth coming book called “Intervention” - a collection of augmented essays including some of the links above - and invited questions. From reading all these pieces put together in one place it it’s a nice complement to the Intervention DVDs.

What's in this Two Parter Interview. What came out of this exchange turned into a lot of material, and so, we'll do this presentations in two parts. In part one (what you're reading now) we talk about the heuristics of evolving one’s strength practice relative to core moves as foundations.

In part 2, we get more specific and look at two worked examples for gals: achieving a baseline equivalent strength of a 125kg deadlift, and especially for the interested RKC women out there, prepping for the Iron Maiden Challenge - the pistol, press and pull up with a 24kg bell. Intriguingly if not surprisingly, the discussion wraps around Dan John’s blend of tuning where health meets fitness. We might DL 125k, but if we don’t floss regularly, well really, rude health or just rude? Intervention The Book is like that.

Intervention - the Approach for Strength (and health)
If you follow Dan’s work on t-nation and elsewhere, you’ll find in Intervention is dialing in – some very “getting back to the basics” posts like the two part-er on 40 things learned in 40 years. Perhaps the biggest take-away from the collection is the role of getting Dan’s five basics dialed in.
Again anyone following Dan will no doubt have this set off by heart:

Push
Pull
Hinge
Squat
Loaded Carry

Practice these daily, wisely and well and, Dan asserts, good things will happen. Indeed, that is rather the manifesto claim of Intervention: Dan’s take between Health (visceral wellbeing) and Fitness (fit for a task). Dan’s coaching he says is for fit-ness as opposed to Health. Fitness for athletic tasks. Like throwing things really far (he’s a thrower, he’ll remind you). For which his Rx is the above five. In intervention he presents in detail the best way to pattern these basic movements. He also gives some benchmarks for knowing when one might move from the patterning of a squat to say, doing an oly snatch.

Intervention - the audience for strength
Dan John talks about intervention for fitness as a lifetime task. If one is talking with him about fitness, he may have famous quick fixes to tune athletic performance, but sometimes those quick fixes mean “oh yes, focus on the squat for two years.” Get ready for the long view.

Why this book now, Mr. John? What are some things you can point to that made you say "i have to do this or i can do this now"

Intervention? I have been writing it since the first day I noticed that I was making progress with less genetics (less puberty at the time, really). I can remember thinking that “these guys have been training with weights for two years, yet I am passing them by. Why?” Then, when I started having success as a coach, others would ask me why I didn’t have a “one size fits all template.” I thought I did! But, people could see that I pushed this here and that there. It was “obvious” to me in some ways. Of course, the big hit was when people…usually idiots…would ask me why I didn’t have grandma Clean and Jerk or whatever. “Well, she can you see, but…”

That big but lead to this work.

You write

"I am also listening to a very important clue: is this a health or a fitness question. If it is “health,” I apologize almost right away because health, as Phil Maffetone explained, is the optimal interplay of the organs. If you choose not to wear a helmet and leap down a mountain side on a bet on some kind of high speed conveyance, I can only do so much. If you have a fitness goal, I perk right up."

So you seem to suggest the coach - at least yourself - is the fitness guy - fit for purpose you say - rather than "health" guy. Why this line between fitness on the one hand and health on the other?

There is no line here. The two concepts in my definition, stolen from Maffetone, work in a unity. My health goal is obvious: to let my body have the tools to stay “optimal.” My current fitness goal is to walk without a limp, get my waistline to 36 inches (37.5 today) and find a sport I can compete in.

Who then is your audience for this particular intervention?

For intervention, the audience is really anyone who is coming to the conclusion that they can do “better” physically. Certainly, fitness professionals can use it, too, but I am looking at this set of tools as a way people can see that by adding a little here, they can get there fitness goals without more, more, more of “this.”

This book is for people who did NOT have me in the 9th Grade. You fought the good fight and you still want to make progress…so what do you do? Well, this book literally gives you the information about how I intervene.

Intervention - the Term. Can we get into a bit more then about what you mean by “intervention”? In the book you mention the concept “intervention” then describe systemic education, then say an intervention begins with a mobility screen. And then mention "tools" to help an athlete cut through "clutter and junk" and focus on their "goals." But intervention also sounds like part of this process is a sanity check around health and fitness, and “fitness in particular” As you say you here “fitness goal” you perk right up - you can help there - but have a number of stories around health and wellbeing. And dental floss. Hence - what's intervention?

That’s why you need to use the toolkit. So, what is your goal? For me, Dan, you tell me: “World Champ, Discus.” Hell, yes…I’m here for you. If you tell me, “I want to lose “this”” and grab your butt,…not so much enthusiasm from me.

But, for many trainers, they make their living getting people to lose “this.” Now, once we deal with the goal, then I demand that we think “Health or Fitness.” That one second question puts me on a better track to help you. I can’t speak for everyone, but I have had people ask me about lifting as a diabetes cure. Hmmm. I think I can support your goals here, but that diabetes issue need medical care. Now, I KNOW I can help you…from my very bones…but let’s make sure you have your blood work done. From there, the tool kit fleshes itself out.

Picking Programs From that foundation of why someone might want an intervention, and the basics that we'll touch on in a moment, how does one come into reading this book who has (perhaps like myself) been reading a lot of articles with a lot of great ideas about training, but that seem to cancel each other out? think about Get strong lifting every day two reps for five sets vs get strong or get hypertrophied by lifting three times a week (really liked the latest t-nation on hypertrophy)? how does one balance these approaches of when-ness.

The truth is a funny thing. In Religious Studies, most of us HATE the idea that “there are many roads to the same truth.” It just doesn't hold up to rigorous study. As always, “what’s my point?” The problem with most trainees is that they tend to look at lifting as a flavor of the month. Actually, it should be “flavor of the day.” My best success is when I work with somebody who has literally slaved away at something for a long time. Then, I “tweak”it and within days I hear “Oh, you are a genius!”

True, of course, but there is more. I have little “genius” when I work with someone who leaps from thing to thing, idea to idea. There is no base…no foundation! So, when someone who needs solid foundational work goes on Pavel’s “Power to the People”program (deadlifts and presses) for a while, we find amazing transformations and I am a genius. Overtrained from ten years of too many hours in the gym? Aha! Two days a week is your ticket, my young friend!

So, you see, program changes illuminate the athlete if, and only if, there has been a foundation “missing” something or overdoing something else. A small change can do wonders. This, of course, is master coaching, if you will: it takes a bit of courage to nod your head and admit that continuing to go South is not going to get you to the North Pole.

Ok if I’m hearing you aright, you’re saying that your program ideas are designed for folks who have been doing something and maybe hit a sticking point: here are some ideas of what you could do to break through – and of course having a coach with good eyes look at one to make a better “different thing to do” is likely faster than trying to do it on one’s own. Check.

Four Steps: Five Moves. In the book you pull in your work on your Four Steps – combinations for those five core movements. One example is a farmers walk with two kettlebells into double kb squats – non stop. Then you have your now famous bat wings and push ups as another combo. So why do anything else than such four step/five move combos if one is not specialising in a sport?

The Four Steps are training ideas. The pattern must be mastered. I can take an advanced athlete and make huge progress simply by making them do Farmer Walks. It is the most basic loaded carry. So, be careful here: don’t “assume” that there is magic in the Four Steps. Well, there is, of course. But, you have to really look at the athlete/person as you have them in front of you. I work with guys who “used to could” bench press a million pounds, but today can’t press 50. We need to get back to patterns here. Sorry.

No apologies necessary. This is an exercise in sense-making and pre-coaching if you will so keen to hear the refinements. Could you give a few examples where you've seen that one change - getting that walk rock solid lead to gains elsewhere - with just that one tweak?

The Loaded Carry
embodied

It is what I make my living on: the throws. We put the Farmer Walk into our practice sessions for throwing. Instead of teaching or talking about big chest and “locked down,” I just have the athlete FW. Then, we pick up the implement and say “remember this?” and off they go. It can change, for the better, an athlete in seconds.

You also talk about your "fave variation" being "really heavy for a great distance"...

I find this question funny in an odd way. As I tell people, like barefoot running, the Loaded Carries are self correcting. It literally can’t get too screwed up. I had one Strongman with the “inability” to lock out overhead, so I made him do Walks with 100 K locked out overhead. The first five steps were a lesson in the body finding an easier way to lock out! So, this “learning” always seems positive. Now, I know that some people with faster things like sleds to will discover ways to screw up, but that is why I hold them back from quick loaded work for a long time. So, pattern, pattern, pattern…then add speed.

Speaking of Speed, you have the the Litvinov sprints in your text - where one sprints out from doing a lift and that your sense is that sprint post lift lets the athlete not think about the lift "too much" but you also focus strongly on quality of reps. That "forget" the lift; just do it and run does seem an advanced post pattern mastered move?

Litvinovs are not done until one masters the patterns, grinds, asymmetry issues and even ballistics on several moves. If you follow my advice, you would never let someone try Litvie work without a fairly good assessment period. From there, you need to end a satori state with the barbell and the ballistic. I can’t be coaching you on “elbows up” or whatever in the front squat, you have to be nailed down technically and focused on the attack.

It is great for football and rugby and combat because of this. If in a collision sport, you get all caught up on your one on one fight and forget the ball carrier, you are worthless.

Got it. Patterns before Closer to Reality. Beyond patterns or perhaps as part of them, you also talk about intensity – both in the book and in your other writing. For instance, you write:

"again, the most obvious lesson of my coaching life has been reinforced: the more intense you can train, the better. Yep, you knew that. So did I. Why then don't we follow the rule?"

Would you care to unpack a bit what you mean by "intensity" Is that also "intent" I ask because in Even Easier Strength, one would sense that effort - not feeling it - not being challenged by load - is a pretty important part of that protocol so how think about intensity?

I use intensity in the classic sense, percentage of max. But, there is the rub. What is your max? In “Never Let Go,” my favorite chapter might be the one on all the max terms and how we tend to never use the word correctly. Paul Northway, for example, once pointed out that I was using 225 pounds for my first snatch warm up and 315 for my first warm up for the Jerk Off the Rack. I told him: “These are just warm ups.” So, years later, those would be my attempts on the platform! Same guy, different maxs!

So, perception of max and perception of the load are huge points in the Easy Strength program. And, and this is tough, you actually have to do the Easy Strength program to understand it. It’s like dancing. You can talk and write about it, but it might help to actually do it. I was going to say “sex,” but, well, …

Time to talk active recovery perhaps? Moving towards a potentially more dynamic pattern, and programming with patterns, at the Pavel/Dan John workshop last year, we did a whole set on tumbling. You’ve written about the value of the cartwheel – just as a worked example how does this kind of work fit in with the Idea that is Four Steps? Active recovery between sets, or…

Don’t get too caught up in the Four Steps. It is just one way to get people to “condition” with basic patterns and grinds. Tumbling should be taught in its own place. I take two days a month with every athlete to go over fall training (protecting yourself in a fall), tumbling movements, handstands and the various lowest level floor moves. It is an amazing conditioner in all senses of the word. Moreover, it is fun. It makes the body do things on the edge, but in a safe place. Are headstands dangerous? Probably! But, if you find yourself in that position in life from a collision, I have given you a chance to survive it.

My interns have told me year in and year out that the tumbling was the thing that tied everything together. I also throw a tumbling run into many of my training workouts, but this has to be something your facility can handle. So, Front Squat, Bench Press, Clean and Cartwheels is a great combo, but you have to have the space and mats to do it.

One last thing: I make a lifetime commitment to my athletes. When they are 80, the fall training they learned may save their life. And I mean that from my very heart…

I sense the blend of “health” and “fitness.” Interns in your world are?

Interns. Someone who comes out, internship, for a few months to learn how I coach. Non paying, lots of work, lots of homework…great career move!

Patterns - the Concept And just so we’re all on the same page, mastering the patterns is something you’ve mentioned a lot. Can we clarify how you’re understanding patterns? when you say master, do you mean you.ve hit your benchmarks that you provide in the book of particular loads/reps in these movements?

“Patterns” is a word I got from Brett Jones. It is the basic movement…done correctly and pain free. Your follow up question is the one that I get the most confusion from my people: it depends is the exact right answer! Maybe someday I will take the time to chart out age, gender, background, injuries and goals, but the idea of mastery is simply this: get the movement right without pain. Load and reps will be decided but what you need to do from there and, yes, I know that isn’t what people want as an answer!

And on that note
We close today's episode with Dan. Next time, we pick up focusing on women's strength: building equivalence of that sought after 125Kg pull with just kettlebells, and looking in more detail at prepping for the Iron Maiden challenge. We'll wrap up with Dan's Intervention publishing plans. So please stay tuned.

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Claire Booth: Sane And Healthy Bodybuilding (and Strength)

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:05:00 +0000

Claire Booth likes to lift heavy stuff; Claire Booth likes body building. Claire Booth also really cares about training folks to be sure they are able to train effectively, achieve their goals and not hurt themsleves. What's uncommon and intriguing about Claire's approach to BB and fitness training is that it's healthy all year long.

IF you've been around the BB culture at all, you may recognize the terms bulking and cutting - especially cutting to get ripped for competition; folks going into starvation and dehydration for long periods to be contest fit. Feeling like crap most of the time. Ironic to think of all these beautiful looking bodies feeling and functioning at crap levels most of the time, eh? So that's what i'd like to unpack a bit with Claire today - her sane approach to a gal's journey in putting on mass, shaping same, being strong and doing the happy dance.

By way of bone fides, though, let's get some of Claire's stats. Ok Claire, let's role. Tell us about your high start BB career:

2010 unanimous midlands win

I have competed for several federations, including English Physique Federation, Welsh Physique Federation, NABBA, WABBA, AIC, EFBB (now UKBFF)ANB (Assc of Natural BodyBuilding). I have won 20 competitions in total. Including National titles. I started competing in the late 1990's I got invited to the World Champs (after winning the Welsh WPF Champs and the English EPF Champs) and placed 5th and 2 years later placed 3rd, I stopped competing in 2003 and decided in 2007 I would go back and won the Stars of Tomorrow, I then competed 2010 and got 3rd at the Kent show, I was not happy I knew I could do better, I was holding a lot of fluid on my hamstrings, adjusted my prep and went back 3 weeks later and it was unanimous that I won the West Midlands. I was pleased that I decided to go back and see if I could do better, it is always a great feeling that all the judges agreed that I was the clear winner. I have decided to not compete this year I couldn't get the focus and I am just enjoying training without the pressure of a competiton!

But before we get into that, let's set the context a little: if I may ask - you were telling me a bit about your childhood and how you dealt with a number of physical issues - that was very inspiring. Do you care to share some of that with b2d ?

I was born with hip problems causing my feet, especially the left to be extremely inverted, so I struggled learning to walk. Apparently I was a very lazy baby and didn't crawl much which doesn't help with development. Also I had problems with my left eyesight which caused problems with catching balls, playing tennis, badminton etc. I still struggle if playing tennis indoors to focus on the ball, so needless to say I stayed away from racquet sports.

My mum encouraged me to take up ice-skating which helped considerably, it strengthened all the right areas, and I have no noticeable left foot inversion now. I even won a ice skating competition & it certainly built my legs and glutes. I then decided to quit ice-skating and got a pony. My mum taught me to ride as she had horses all her life, and I went to Pony Club Camp, competed in cross country. It gave me lots of confidence and I have been very lucky to have had such wonderful opportunities. I got a horse when I outgrew my pony and continued horse riding for a few years until I left school.

If i may, having horses as a kid and through school sounds either rural farming or rather affluent - at least back home that's what the choices would be. What does that mean in the UK?

We lived in a small village, I think it is the same in the UK, most people who horses either live in a rural area or are from an affluent family. We were comfortable and I was lucky enough that we were able to have a horse and my Uncle had stables.

Perhaps you could say a bit about what are a couple things you can point to that you think lead you into physical culture? Has it always been working with weights?

I started to gain weight when I left school from lack physical activity. I always was in the hockey team, netball team, trampolining, cross country running, athletics as well as the ice skating & horses so was extremely active. When I went to college I stopped doing as much sport, but carried on eating the same volume of food, and by 20 could feel I was gaining a bit of weight. I wasn't huge - probably a size 12 - but I wasn't comfortable. I went to a gym at the local YMCA called 'Pumping Iron'; one of the guys was going to compete at a show and I went along to watch. I thought the women looked amazing and I was hooked. Six months later did my first comp and I won.

I love looking and feeling strong and I think muscles on women looks great and doesn't have to compromise our femininity. Admittedly some women have taken it to an extreme. I have always preferred weight training to cardio, and find I get results fairly quickly whenever I change my training. I have decided I wanted to gain a bit more muscle and in 3 weeks from training heavier for shorter periods of time I already have filled out.

You moved from being a hair stylist to a trainer? - how did that happen? were you also running your own shop?

I had a mobile hairdressing business which was very successful, but wow, having to listen to some of the mundane conversations everyday and listening to people's problems etc. drove me nuts! It got to the point I was disliking my day job so much and enjoying doing security work at a night club a lot more. I had started studying for my personal training and nutrition exams, thinking of changing careers once I had passed my exams. I chose PT as I loved fitness and was doing well in bodybuilding competitions and thought, why not earn a living on the back of my hobby?

It wasn't an easy thing to give up, having a good business that I earned a very good living at, but when you are not wanting to get out of bed to go to work in the morning, it is time to make that change! And I have absolutely no regrets. I love people getting results, from being pain & injury free, to feeling, looking and performing better. I had a client this week say to me "thank you so much for your help and advice, I feel so much better, I have energy and my blood sugars have been stable for the first time in years!". That is what makes my job so great and makes me so happy making a positive difference to people.

That's incredible. So i have to ask: hair dressing AND security? That's an intriguing blend.

Hairdressing was just something to do, it wouldn't have been my first choice, but I couldn't get into the Police force because of my eyesight, so it was a stop gap until I decided what I really wanted to do.

I got into working on the doors of night clubs, purely by accident, there was an incident where I was attacked outside a night club and I basically came off better, (the nicest way I could word it!;-) ) and I got offered a job I always preferred to talk people down from a situation but this isn't always possible. I love people watching and getting paid to do it was a bonus, if you watch people and see the warning signs you could prevent a fight before it started, peoples body language lets you know when trouble is going to start .

I worked for a security company and then got promoted to run the doors when the head doormen left. I had a fantastic team of doormen to work with, and still keep in contact with most of them even though I left the area 7 years ago. In 4 years of door work and plenty of altercations I never got an injury. I enjoyed my time working nightclubs, but would never go back to it.

Professional Chops Ok i sense a lot of great stories there. And start to see the connection more with your transition to personal training and your own BB work. Let's look a little at what you did to get into the trainer space. You've done a number of certifications - what were you looking for in doing the ones you've done?

I found many certifications very disappointing, the poor attention to detail & the fact that anyone passes no matter how bad they are. I have studied Pilates, GS kettlebells, lots of PT courses, and the RKC and many more. I have even forgotten a lot I have done! Out of all the courses, I absolutely loved the RKC, especially the level 1; it was such a kick-ass course, it made you work but also they failed people that were not up to scratch.

I don't think it matters how many qualifications you have, you can look good on paper but that doesn't necessarily make you a good trainer. I think you have to go out there and read and practise on yourself and nothing will teach you more than working with people. Obviously you need to have learned the basics so people are safe, but you can sit in a park and analyse people and watch how they move. There is so much good info out there and some brilliant trainers that have blogs etc., Steve Maxwell, of course b2d, Phil Learney, Dave Whitley, Kenneth Jay to name a few.

Thank you for your kind words including b2d. Could you point to a few things about those particular blogs you mentioned that make them blogs you come back to? i'm sure dave and kj will be pleased to have been included, too.

The blogs and people that I have referred to are people that have been there, done it and are successful people in sport without the big ego's that so many others have. They talk the talk and walk the walk and have years of knowledge and wisdom to offer.

You do a lot of kettlebell instruction: what was the attraction to kb's - and how does that fit in with the more traditional barbell work in your gym?

A large percentage of people that come to us are desk workers who want to do the usual: tone up (I hate that phrase!!) and lose weight. The results that we get with kettlebells are much quicker than with barbells, mainly just because most people learn it much faster and can get straight into the cardiovascular side. The kettlebell lends itself to strength endurance but I do not exclusively use them; I train people on cables, barbells, dumbbells, ropes and just bodyweight, depending on the needs and goals.

A few years ago you and Roger opened Bodyology - that's a big move to start your own shop. What inspired the move and how's it going?

It was something we both wanted to do. I had worked for myself for years and run a team of doormen for 2 years and wanted to have our own business so we could run it they way we wanted to get results. In a commercial gym it is all about the money and sales targets, which I disliked. So again, it had reached the point 'if you don't like something change it!'. Luckily, all our clients from the previous gym came with us. The business is going really, really well, especially considering we started in a recession. Most of our new clients are via word of mouth, but we do have referrals from two GPs and an osteopath which helps too. When you get results with people and provide a excellent and professional service from the time your client walks in the door, you don't need sales gimmicks, the clients are your marketing tool.

Training for BB (with KB's)

With that context let's talk about bodybuilding, and the tools you use to build your body.

I use mainly kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells and bodyweight, depending on where I am in my training. For instance, I have started practising my pistol squats again, and wow, my quads are smoked afterwards and you don't need many reps! Throw in a few front kb squats, butt to the heels, leg workout done! That is what I like: short, sharp, intense, otherwise I get bored. 30 minutes for me is a max; too long and my mind starts to wander!

KETTLEBELLS I prefer kettlebells for shoulder pressing (kinder to the joints) and will use military presses, jerks, bottom-up presses just to vary it. I found pre contest using VWC snatches was an awesome way to strip body fat (b2d review of VWC here)

Since using kettlebells I have absolutely no joint pain. Before I became a qualified PT and was bodybuilding, my back, knees, hips, elbows, wrists all hurt at some point,.I dread to think what state I would be in if I hadn't changed my approach.

RKC II Claire Booth demonstrating shoulder work with
Andre du Cane at the UK's first HKC, June 2010.
Claire's gym, Bodyology, is hosting the HKC Oct 29

Self Aware My approach to training is very instinctive I go in with the intention of doing one thing but if I get

there and it doesn't feel right I change it. I know how my body feels and I hate having a program written in black and white that has to be followed. I know what my body wants and is capable of doing that day, and that is how I work. I run 3-4 times a week, but if it doesn't feel right I may run once.

INJURIES I have trained for 20 years and have no injuries so I must be doing something right. Most BBs I know all have underlying injuries, especially lower back, knees and shoulders. You only have to look along a line-up on stage and most cannot get their arms extended over head, postures are screwed up. But BBs usually train to failure & I never do. Most BBs will train bench press when it is chest night, it is chest night, even if their shoulders, elbows wrist are screaming, 'No!'. They do not listen to what their body is telling them, they will train through pain and very rarely get somebody to check them out. (I won't even get started on the Smith machines, pec-decks etc.! Lol

You are also a strength athlete and as some have argued bb is sometimes more endurance than power strength - how does your training change when your focus shifts from strength to bb?

I tend to train mainly for strength. I no longer train like a BB. I have enough muscle for what I want to do, and I enjoy being functional. I do not class Body Fitness as bodybuilding which I am sure will annoy a few people. Body Fitness is about a pleasing shape, athletic without too much bulk, so why train like a bodybuilder?

Example Cycle

Can you take us through your cycle of when you decide it's time to start prepping for a contest - what you focus on in terms of your workouts - and how you work the timing of these phases?

16 weeks out is usually when I start prepping. Better to be ready too early, you can always back off a bit if needs be. I don't really change my weights session much, though I will introduce more cardio/endurance. As I mentioned I loved the VWC snatches for this, as Body Fitness requires muscle but not too much and requires you to be lean but feminine. The timing of my training phases depends on what I am looking like - how I dieted in 2007 and 2008 was different to how I dieted last year. I started the same, but changed as my body was responding differently. Nothing is set in stone!

I plan on competing next year in a new category called Galaxy Universe and this is fitness drills (pull ups, box jumps, sprints, and many more), but then there is also a bikini round, which will be great. You have to be fit and functional, not just look it!

Would you give us an example - say you're thinking about the glutes and thighs - what will you focus on in terms of lifts and how to get these muscles to a place where you're happy?

This is where KB's are awesome! It is the best my hams have ever been since I started using KB's. On the side pose I was the only girl with a good shape on the hams! I use deadlifts throughout the year, front squats, pistols, lunges. And as I put more CV in pre-contest, the swing and snatches are giving the glutes, and hams a good blast with fat burn thrown in. Awesome! The squats and lunges will take care of the quads, and occasionally I may do some hill sprint work too.

Just to get into this example a bit more - say for your legs or upper body, if you blend barbells, kb's and db's - what would a session look like?

I would do a few light high rep dead lifts and then 2-4 working sets, depending on how I feel, then followed by front squats 1 light set 2-3 working sets, depending on how I feel, and maybe add in some lunges or pistols depending on how the legs are feeling.

Have you had areas you're trying to shape that are particular challenges? What do you do?

Always want to improve everywhere, but I think my quads are lacking, so deep front squats and pistols need to be the focus! I love that ache from these!

Posing. Makes just about too much sense, Claire: not up to where you want, work them. Speaking of work, i've seen folks write about how demanding posing is - where does this skill fit into your practice schedule?

I would practice most days the month before the show, and I love doing a routine to music too. When you are dehydrated, carb-depleted & stood under stage lights, holding poses is an absolute killer! I was disappointed last year when they decided to stop the Body Fitness girls doing routines and poses! All they wanted was quarter turns, but at least for my show in August I got to do the routine and the poses before they changed their minds later on in the year.

Nutrition

With respect to nutrition, you say you're eating differently now than a few years ago, but does your eating change and some point in these cycles? How do you adjust?

My diet is always clean in the week, I just relax at the weekends, but coming up to contest I only relax for 1 meal at the weekend, and that stops about 3-4 weeks out, again depending on what I look like. I eat 5-6 meals, which all include protein, carbs and fats. The diet doesn't bother me. Don't get me wrong, it is hard, but it annoys me when people whinge and moan about it. They have a really bad attitude and can be quite aggressive. My take is "you choose to do this, grow up, get real, and don't take it out on everyone else".

What do you find are a few of the biggest challenges in these months of prep?

I try not to let it effect my lifestyle too much. Life is too short to hide away for 16-20 weeks pre-contest, as so many do. If I have an evening out planned then I go. Most restaurants will cater to any requests and I can judge roughly the portion size and Roger will always finish what I don't eat! I don't like make my friends feeling that they cannot eat sweets etc. in front of me, so I still keep my social life.

I think the hardest thing is the lack of energy. Some days it can be tough, but I just tell myself the girl who is going to kick your butt on stage is out there training and getting on with it. Feeling sorry for yourself does not win trophies - positive attitude and hard work does!

Some folks get quite into bf% tracking - do you know what your bf% is at a contest, or sounds like, do you just trust the mirror?

I tend to go by the mirror, I only use the scales as a guide. It doesn't matter what the numbers are it is what the mirro tells you.

I take it it's the same outside of comp: no idea on the actual number...

Haven't a clue, as long as my clothes fit I don't get hung up on it. If my jeans are getting tight then time to cut back a little

Wow, that is just too advanced thinking for me. Awesome. As said your philosophy seems more real food oriented: how would you say that contrasts with some of the other folks who are doing competition?

I like to vary my food sources more, rather than just the chicken for protein and rice for carbs. I prefer to eat my calories than use a lot of supplements and I no longer use vitamins, minerals or other supplements. Interestingly it has made absolutely no difference to my performance, diet or energy levels. Goes to show that all the supplement industry, especially the side marketed towards BB is just hype!

There is no conclusive evidence that these supplements will build muscle any better than real food. Most of the research data is usually carried out by or funded by the supplement companies. They spend absolutely huge amounts on marketing, so what does that tell us??!! Sorry gone off on one! [Totally fine, Claire - mc]

Go into most BB's houses, especially pre contest, and there will be all sorts of weird and wonderful products, and before they can get out the front door they will have taken so many powders, tablets and liquids.

I suggest for the sceptics who think they have to take this powder or that tablet to go on Scott Abel's website. He has got numerous BBs ready for competitions, people ready for photoshoots for endorsing supplements and, you know what, he never used any of the products these people were endorsing. And worse of all, people like Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman etc. endorsing products, really??? They are not telling you how much HGH, testosterone etc. they are using! The supplement industry is a multi billion dollar industry and exploit people's insecurities and ignorance.

That's part of the gross side of the indusrty. On the more personal side, what are a couple things that satisfy you about competing?

That it is all down to me, nobody else. That was the part I didn't like about team sports, if there was a weak link or somebody not putting in 100% it really frustrated me. With BB comps it is the whole discipline and lifestyle that I enjoy and as the comp draws nearer you can see the changes in body composition almost daily. I always want to look better than the last time which is always what drives me, and the most satisfying thing is of course winning!

Do you see BB as a sport or something else?

More as a science: the muscle building, the fat stripping, the diet, the electrolytes, the water depletion, on the day before the contest you can really stuff up your condition. And it is knowing what works for you, everyone is an individual.

Science and Chemistry

Science - that' really interesting. Had not thought of it that way before. Science. SO considering the chemistry side of this science, plainly you've seen a lot of drug/steroid use in the gyms you've worked in and in competition: what are your thoughts on drug use to enhance performance in BB?

It is a personal choice and as with any drug there is use and abuse. It goes on in most sports, it is just that BB is more honest and open about it. If there is money to be made in sport people will always be looking for that extra edge. I don;t have a problem with people using as long as they are not going into drug-free comps. But my issue is with the 'steroid guru' in any gym telling young, ignorant people what to use. Most people get their advice from the person who is selling!!! In the age of the internet there is much better advice out there, and remember: your health is not the dealer's biggest concern.

Let's take a moment here. You don't mind if folks use drugs - that's interesting - why is that ok?

I think the most abused drugs are cigarettes and alcohol and this is seen to be ok and costs the NHS billions as does obesity, the danger of steroids are blown out of proportion by the media, like the 'roid rage etc and the liver and kidneys failing, if this was true then every BB gym in the country would be full of people kicking off every night or all on kidney dialysis. I know there are people abusing steroids, as there are people abusing prescription meds, if it is done sensibly and the person taking them is making informed choices then that is up to them. ( And that doesn't mean listening to the local gym dealer!) Who am I to say it is wrong? People like to judge, but cynical as it sounds I think drugs are part of most sports, (just my opinion and I am sure not everyone will agree, but when money and endorsements are involved people will always want that extra edge, it is human nature) as I said before BB tend to be more up front about it. Just look at the Tour de France and how many cyclists have been caught for drugs. If people are entering drugs tested shows, then no, they should not take steroids.

I knew a guy when I lived up North, who I will not name, he competed in drugs tested shows, there was no way he was drug free, it really annoyed me that he thought myself and others were stupid, he was winning lots of shows and he looked amazing, but he got caught when his test was positive! I am so glad he got caught and it was written up in the magazines and he was stripped of his titles! I hope he was ashamed of himself, he should have competed in non-drug tested shows, because all that he did win was through cheating, unfortunately a lot still do cheat, shame on them! Go compete on an even footing!

Just to say I do not condone the use of drugs, I think it is a very personal choice and it is not something I would recommend.

That's a very cool, reasoned reply, Claire. Thanks for putting that into the mix.

So lets go to another hot button topic in BB for women: breast implants. What's your thinking on this prosthetic?

I think it is a personal choice, one that I would avoid, I think putting your body through any unnecessary procedure is worrying and for the sake of a worthless trophy. It was something that I thought about, but never went into, I have seen some horrendous implants and when the body fat is low they look shocking, they are not aesthetically pleasing at all, plus if I guy had pec implants he would be disqualified, so why should it be any different for the girls??? It is a BB show, not how good is your cosmetic surgeon!

It doesn't bother me if the girls that I am on stage with have them, I was at the WPF world champs in Italy and in a line up of 25 girls I was the only girls that didn't have implants and I still placed 5th.

If ladies choose to have them done then I think they need to ask themselves why they want them: is it just to look good on stage? Make sure that they are proportionate to their physique, too big can massively affect the balance and symmetry of the physique and also cause back problems in the thoracic area from the weight, the same issues that larger breasted girls can get and they can alter the posture. Preferably have them under the muscle as this looks better when dieted down, and remember after 10 years they need taking out and new ones put in! And don't go to the cheapest surgeon! Check them out and can you realistically afford them? So many girls get them on credit!:-/

Think long and hard before you get them, going under anaesthetic unnecessarily is not something to take lightly

Again, very balanced reply Claire, thanks.

Thinking about BB Competition?
There are going to be folks reading this, thinking about getting into bodybuilding or figure. What would your three top tips be for them?

(1) Manage your expectations. Get somebody to be totally honest with you, have you got the genetics for a figure girl: wide clavicles, narrow hips, and high glutes?

You cannot change these, this is the base you have to start from. It doesn't matter how hard you train, if genetically you haven't got a good starting point you will always struggle. Sure, you can make improvements, & with the last girl I trained for a figure show I was honest and told her 'your shape isn't what they are looking for & you need more muscle', but she wanted to go ahead. In that particular federation she had always placed last, then I trained her and she placed 3rd which was a huge improvement, but the girls that beat her just had a genetically more pleasing shape.

(2) Are you prepared to take it on as a long term project?
Rome wasn't built in a day, and even if you put in the hard work needed for the diet & getting out of bed early morning to train when your energy is low, most girls probably need at least 2 years to put enough muscle on.

(3) Can you take criticism?
You are getting on stage wearing next to nothing for people to stare and criticise and sometimes it isn't what you want to hear! It is harsh, it is years of work to stand on stage for maybe 10 minutes and sometimes the judging won't go your way. I've seen some very 'political' decisions, from local contests to world championships! If you aren't strong enough to take rejection or you are just seeking adulation, don't bother.

Is there anything else you'd like to touch on?

Health & fitness is a very wide spectrum & competitive bodybuilding is one extreme. There are plenty of other points along the way, so if you don't have the resources, time or desire to go as far as competing, just enjoy finding the right level of training & nutrition that's healthiest for you.

Thank you, Claire. Inspiring (and thanks Roger McCarthy for the photos of Claire)

Claire Booth's and Roger McCarthy's gym,
Bodyology,
is located just outside of London in Bracknel, easy to reach by car or train.

They occaisionally run stunning workshops, too.
And as noted they'll be hosting the Oct 29 HKC
(if you're in the UK and want DD bells on site or before: Kettlebell Fever's your destination)

And you can also find Bodyology on facebook.
If you'd like to get some coaching or training with Claire on your BB plans, please give bodyology a shout.

Related Posts: b2d interviews with some other strong, dynamic folks:

Andrea Du Cane's Kettlebell Boomers: kb program to get stronger, fitter, more mobile at any age

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:47:00 +0000

Somewhere in the late 90s i saw results of an early study out of McMaster that showed that men in their 70's and 80's who started training with weights were building muscle. A slightly later study (from 2000) showed that men in their 70s who did a 12 week progressive resistance training program and then followed up with a 1 day a week maintenance program for 6months presevered all the gains they'd made. Since then there's been an ongoing stream of research into the effects of resistance training on variously aged populations.

2011: 91 Charles Eugster started
Body Building at 87

Adaptation for Strength and Leanness at Any Age. The results reflect the same thing: Humans are always adapting and most especially, it's never to late to start a fitness program. Some particularly recent work with "middle aged women" showed that it doesn't matter whehter that workout is 3 or 4 times a week, it's total volume (shown previously in 2007) at least in untrained athletes, which has an undeniable signficant effect on lean mass building and strength (2011 work). The effects of resistance training for a variety of factors too is just as good for older populations as for younger. For women, maintaining bone mineral density is of course one of the best known, but maintaining muscle density or enhancing it is a pretty big one, too.

With the fact that the population is aging, and that resistance training is such a Good Idea for so many reasons, you'd think the entire fitness market would turn its attention to this population. In all the pantheon of fitness DVDs how do we see that are targetted at the less active or the post-hip age group de jour? And of these what actually use dynamic work with serious load?

Andrea Du Cane, Master RKC and author of the Kettlebell Goddess DVD has started to bridge this gap with a new DVD called the Kettlebell Boomer, targetted for this massive Baby Boomer population (b2d interview with Andrea here). The goal? Show a variety of athletes in this age range with various issues still working out. Present paths for anyone to get into safe effective movement and resistance using a kettlebell.

As Du Cane says about the Kettlebell Boomer DVD:

The truth is this is not a DVD just for Boomers, this DVD is really for anyone who needs a slow, safe, progressive introduction into kettlebell training. The workouts allow people to follow each exercise at their true level. They may have a bum shoulder and healthy knees and hips or the reverse. This allows them to always follow the level that is safe and appropriate for them. And when they get stronger and more mobile they can move up to the next level without buying a new DVD.

The Content of Kettlebell Boomers
The pointy end of the DVD is its two main workouts - a strength workout and an endurance workout - but it's assets are the pre and post elements around these workouts.

Openning overview / preview of the DVD by Du Cane

A preliminary discussion presented by Du Cane previews what's in the dvd, goes over the benefits of using kb's, but also stresses safety first and how to use the demonstrations of technique for all the exercises. I found this fascinating; the preview target audience to whom i showed this video found this part of the vid "a bit long" but appreciated that it was important.

Prepatory Drills And so each movement from deadlift to press that is used in the workouts is presented before the workouts for progressions to achieve proper form. Common errors are addressed along with corrective drills to improve position.

These sections will look very familiar to folks who have done an RKC or HKC certification: the same basic concepts apply at any age. As Du Cane says of these movement choices:

I just followed the basic movement pattern of the RKC and added a few extras. The foundational exercises are important for all ages of athletes and level of experience.

Versions More than just the correctives, Du Cane presents four versions of each movement mapped to athlete strength and mobility.

Multiple Versions of each position in the warm up shown

Herein lies another clever way of presenting the material. There are four athletes, two men and two women, the youngest of whom is 58. One of the athletes has likewise had a hip replacement. It's not uncommon for videos to show variants of moves for different strengths, but the thougthful part of this DVD is that it takes into account different common limitations in this group like hip replacements, and shows how movement and strength training are still vital for continuing health. There really is a version in here for everyone.

The actual work sets have two compelemtary movements performed for timed sets. Dynamic movements like swings are blended into isometric work like planks. Each set always demonstraits the variant for current strength/ability from using different height blocks, to chairs for support.

Timed sets, with variants for moves from box height for bell to range of motion to load demonstrated

An advantage of these four variants is that as one moves from one range/ability level in a movement say, unweighted squats, the next level up, such as squat with weight to a chair, is available. By the time the athlete has done with the most challenging level, they're ready to move on to any other program they wish. Perhaps Kettlebell Goddess or Enter the Kettlebell.

Athletes
A key feature of the video is that we get to hear some of the stories of the athletes in the video, and what's drawn them from various backgrounds to using kettlebells. The interviews are surprising, compelling, delightful and interesting.

These are real people doing real work for real reasons who have lived real lives. Cool. For me, this feature alone makes the DVD worth the price of admission.

Get Up special section

All in all the preview audience who went through and tried out the video thought it was good - with only one exception.

The general feedback was that the special section on the turkish get up would have been better if if had shown the movement done by Du Cane first rather than by someone just learning and being coached through the movement.

In response to this question, Du Cane says:

Honestly, it doesn't bother me. They have me doing the full getup [after the presentation with the learner]. Coaching someone not perfect is actually a very good way to learn. Most people will do the same mistakes as the athlete, so they can learn from my coaching and then also watch me do it right. The shoot was really like the real world, and I was going for reality.

Andrea Du Cane has been working with older athletes for years now - indeed in the Hardstyle community she has a reputation for developing programs for what are often known as "special populations" Hence this video:

I...have for the last couple of years about training people's parents/grandparents. I have a lot of older clients and it was time to address a vibrant, growing population. ..I have a lot of older clients and have a certain "knack" and compassion for working with them. I see how kettlebell training can really impact their lives. Lastly, I have watched my In-laws reaching 90 yrs old and realize what kettlebell training could have done for them...Much of what is on the DVD are exercises I use when working with older or de-conditioned clients.

Of course there are a few things I have changed because it is a stand alone DVD and I'm not there coaching them...Using 4 athlete's doing the "same" exercise with different modifications and using "real" people as the athlete's with all their imperfections makes it real and approachable for the audience. I don't think I'd change a thing.

If you're interested in working with Andrea, various opportunities are on the horizon:

Well right now I'm finishing up a manual for my two day Ageless Body workshop. Much of it is based on the DVD and book, but I am adding a few extras that I couldn't put in the DVD. I will also have sections on diet, nutrition, supplements and programming.
Then I have a very detailed Windmill technique DVD [coming out].

As a Master RKC, Andrea can also be foud leading many HKC certs and co-leading RKC and RKC II certifications. She'll be at the first UK RKC in Belfast this October, 7-9 (oh ya, and dan john will be at that one, too b2d interview with dan, here)

Recommendation

IF you or someone you know has been pretty sedentary - whether younger or older - and wants to find a SAFE path into dynamic resistance training, beyond seeing a qualified coach to tune that performance, the Kettlebell Boomer DVD is a thorough presentation and easy follow along program.

If you're in the UK - reminder - you can order direct from Kettlebell Fever.

Related

b2d Kettlebell Article Index
The Perfect Rep Quest
About the HKC
Franz Shnideman's Beautiful Swing (tutorial tips)

On the Path to Lean - what does that mean? Reflecting half way there on whyfore and whatfor

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:34:00 +0000

Getting Lean. It's what i'm focused on now, and building strength on top of that. Sounds so clear and strong a resolution. But this focus began to emerge, only half baked, end of april, once the shoulders i'd been rehabbing started to feel almost usable again, and i did my first round of bioletics blood work back. I'd been working out with the ineffably named War Machine for a near month on the road (a life saver that thing in a hotel room); i was feeling stronger than i had in awhile - and I decided i wanted to explore lean. What does that mean? going from 19-20% bf to maybe 14-12% ish - not sure, but i'll know when i get there. But why am i trying, and why talk about it mid way in? That's what this post is about. I hope.

I am interested in the relationship to be found between leanness and strength. Leanness and potentially muscle. I just saw a very lean illegidly 114 pound gal deadlift 335lbs.

just imagine how much more this pull would have been if the lifter

had not been wearing squishy trainers and had not been cranking her neck back.

I heard the other day about a gal, Valerie Hedlund, at 125lbs and 5 foot 4 doing the women's "beast challenge" (discussed here with fellow women's beast tamer, Asha Wagner).

So, one can be small(er than me, it seems) and strong(er than me). Can i? What is that process like?

I'd like to share some of my process so far on this path. I feel like i'm at a half way point, so a good time to check in for later reflection.

Goals, Focus, Decision. One of the things i've come to in this process is made a descision about my strength practice vs my nutrition practice: hitting my lean target is my priority; strength goal is secondary to that. If i hit my lean target and i simply cannot get my strength target from there, well that's information, and i'll go from there. But i have no idea if that is possible or not to put the two together. So i'm not gonna prejudge that: let's go there and find out.

Fuzzy Start. Getting to that decision was not obvious initially, so i'm gonna come back to this fridgid clarity of purpose. But no, in fact the process of getting clear on process / reality of practice, was not even on the horizon. When i got my blood work results back and had my first conversation with the bioletics folks about my results and my goals, all i knew is that i wanted to burn some fat: i was frustrated with where the scales just seemed stuck, especially as i'd been picking up my workouts again with my arms much more back in commission. They made some interesting suggestions about tuning my diet first and foremost to get some of my target levels into the zone i wanted, and second how doing so would likely let me get onto the path.

The Path The suggested changes to my diet felt a bid odd. A colleague of mine, Zach Salazar, right at this time recommended the Perfect Diet - which i read. My take? some really interesting reading, interesting notes on iodine and sellenium (that i'll come back to in a future post), but gosh, i just can't do the legumes are evil thing or that whole grains (i mean whole, particularly sprouted) grains are evil either. Nutrient timing, a la espoused in Precision Nutrition, i'm all for; cutting out starchy carbs or really reducing them when trying to lean out - all over that too. But evil?

What that book did foreground for me as well was the introduction to coconut oil and the invention (i'm calling it that ) of Fat Tea, discussed here. Did that help me lose weight? No. Which i'll come onto in a moment when we discuss "less"

Back on the Road and grooving some "eat...stop...eat). The second thing that happened post biotest was that i was back on the road. Usually this is a nightmare for good food. So i took it as an to explore fasting again. What i learned is that Brad Pilon is right: fasting once (he adds "or twice") a week can really kick up some fat burning goals.

Now as a gal i'll say timing one's fast not to collide with one's pre-period may be a good idea to avoid heavy metal headache death, but otherwise, good to go, and your mileage may vary.

Eating LESS. Happiness for me was getting back from several weeks of work travel and finding that i was a bit lighter than when i'd left. Hmm. This is when i clued in to a really really really basic principle but at a very applied level: eating less works, and i had to eat less.

I had kinda deluded myself into thinking swapping out some stuff for medium chain triglycerides and all sorts of fatty goodness would somehow take the place of - eating less. But no. Nothing really moved. If we're not losing weight; we're maintaining, we're consuming at a level place for energy expenditure to more or less equal energy intake. Bummer.

Bummer Bummer

Eating less works. So I refocused to going for less, deliberately, focusing on Precision Nutrition principles of especially starchy carbs ONLY post a REAL workout, and greens and protein and any feeding along with healthy fats and, other than that - less. Of everything. With the occasional period of not eating thrown in - sometimes half a day of stop; sometimes more. When i saw the weight line moving - finally and consistently if slowly - this is when i dialed in the focus: i want to explore lean - real, athletic lean.

Exploring Lean. It's important for me to note that it was only when i arrived back at a weight i'd been at a few years ago when i was prepping for the tactical strength challenge and felt really good in my body that i thought i'm here but this isn't it. This isn't *lean* in the way i'm thinking about it. I guess part of me has been saying: i've been here before; i have had a challenge holding here before, and i don't want that to be the case; instead, i want to keep going; i'm not done with this, this time, yet.

So, what i want to know is: what does it feel like to be leaner AND stronger. I won't say "but leaner first" - i will say, with lean as the priority. My hope/goal is to hit there sooner than later - in a few months - and still have more time to build up the strength in a leanness buffer zone.

What is lean? why is that important? You know there are many health benefits assigned to leanness, true, but one doesn't have to hit below the teens for a gal to have them. It looks nice to some, especially with some muscle to shape spaces, but one doesn't have to do that to look nice or be stronger. In fact some argue that leanness may challenge capacity for strength gains. But, as John Berardi has said when he talks about his bi-annual fat shredding, he talks about it as a discipline too, along with all the health benefits. I think that is part of my motivation now, too. I want to explore this not just as an end, but as a practice. A practice of getting there.

Strength Practice Right now, i'm also back into training Return of the Kettlebell and i know what i'd like to achieve - but originally i thought i'd have till next July to hit that goal; now the meet time is moved up to April - so we'll see what can be done between now and then on the strength side. To be clear, maintaining health is the uber-if-implicit priority. Everything else bows to that. All things being equal though, lean, with strength, get to lean, focus more on strength, with lean in maintenance mode.

Why Lean?
I remember clearly how much i weighed when i was running cross country in grad school. I feel like i'm in much better shape and actually stronger now than i was then - and also heavier. So i'm curious: what is possible at that leanocity in terms of strength, with steady deliberate practice? As a more experienced practitioner now than ever a few years ago, can my training be even better than it has been - while saner and healthier (no more hinky shoulder stuff; they're still not 100%).

Tools of Support to Dial in Lean
Isn't it amazing how something as simple as burning calories can be so effortful? Simple (eat less) but effortful. All the hormonal cues and hedonic practices signaling all over the place not to stop the fuel; to enjoy the tasty succulent goodness of it all - that this one little thing couldn't possibly make that much difference. Uh huh.

SO here's what i'm using to help me monitor progress and practice:
Withings Scale This scale is so cool in design but it's one particular function that makes it awesome: local wifi. That's right step on it and forget it. One's weight, bodyfat and bmi is hived off to the Withings server where it can be viewed as a set of points and the all important trend line over time: despite ups and downs, the trend is DOWN.

What really surprised me is that the bf% calculator (impedence) with its variety of algorithmns is pretty good - off a couple of percent compared with 7 point caliper testing (again, fully described in precision nutrition) - but good enough to see the trend.

There's work that's shown that folks who check their weight more frequently have better success at sticking with their weight loss goals than those who check less frequently. I need to find that reference for y'all...

Zeo. One of the biggest pieces of the workout/nutrition puzzle for me that's been coming into focus is just how critical recovery is. Sleep is also important for weight loss. Let me rephrase that: suffient number and completeness of sleep cycles is key. With the zeo, i can see at a glance the quality of the cycles i have had and can correlate that with what i ate and especially what i did (or didn't do) the day before. One big deal: like Zeo sleepologist Stephan Fabregas has made clear, caffeine can bugger up one's deep sleep. Since pulling back on any caffeine after five pm, sleep cycles have been better and less interupted. That's better for weight loss and muscle building. AND i can see this against the scale readings in terms of weight fluctuations.

Workout Log. For many folks keeping a workout log is a reflex. What i've started to note in mine is both my workout days AND my not workout days in terms of whether or not i'm feeling fresh or fatigued; whether it's raining (default in the uk) or not. Hell if it was easy to track atmospheric presure i would do that too. I'm curious: does that affect work/recovery? The tool i'm using is a very simple daily calendar ap on an ipad (called maxjournal - no affiliate connection)

FitBit and NEPA's. I've become very keen to see if "every little helps" when one is pushing the edge towards lean, so non-exercise physical activity - and time of movement is of interest to me. FitBit, as described in the "is 10k a magic bullet for steps" article makes it easy to track steps taken, intensity of steps in any period, and when these steps are taken. My question is: does sticking with the 8k steps min a day (the low end of the 8-11k prescription from that article) help make the differences to leanness or not as per Chris Shuggart's contention?

On another point: seeing the numbers on the fit bit through the course of the day i have noticed does give me a nudge to get my stepping on if it drops off.

I also find it a particularly soothing thing to have for my recovery days to show that i'm getting Active level movement in. It's a good device

Resting heart rate and grip. Two things i've only been monitoring casually are my resting heart rate and grip strength. Time to start logging these too i suppose. Resting heart rate is a long time indicator of imrproving cardiovascular well being. So a resting heart rate that goes down overall sounds like a good thing. If it's a-typically high, and it's a workout day, a good idea to switch to mobility practice that day. A more fine grained instrument is heart rate variability - and really i haven't been tracking that at all (wrote about it here for those interested).

Instead, i've been looking occasionally at grip strength at the start of the day: i know how close i am to jamming a gripper shut: ancient russian sports science says if you're grips worse on a given day, do something else than heavy stuff (auto-regulation). Even clearer: if there's a gripper i can close pretty regularly and then can't that day? definitely a day needing some more recovery. Walk, bike, throw frisbee, do mobility. Read a book.

Data Integration
Outputs from many of these tools are being integrated by others. Our lab is looking at things like what's the best way to represent all this data: weight, blood pressure, steps, sleep, heart rate, breathing etc etc for people to make sense of it. There are some apps for iphone/android that are letting one see individual graphs from many of these sources in one place. Runkeeper is at the forefront of these efforts so far.

In the meantime, i'm looking at simple things like:

was my food intake compliant yesterday with the PN habits about protein, greens fats and when carbs
what's the reading on the scale this morning relative to that? up or down?
what's the zeo say about sleep? good or not?
how am i actually feeling? chipper or wiped?
if i'm dubious, i check my grip. When i'm sitting at night, i check my resting heart rate.

Every fortnight i also do calliper measures for the 7point scale, and measure my main measure areas: hips and waist. Those are recorded, too. They are more consistent than weight.

Daily weight /weighings: motivation

Fortnightly measures: validation

How's that for an epigram?

Progress
Progress is slow but consistent. It's slow because *i* have to re-adapt to consistently eating less than before it seems, and moving more. I feel like i mini-plateau rather frequently, and that can be a bit discouraging. For folks who may take a week to lose a pound, it take me nearly a month now to really break a pound plateau consistently. But then there's that trend line. And my other measurements that say "it's working; don't stop"

As said i'm at a half way point just passed where i've been before when training, but not this consistently, and not below that level so consistently.

My strength training has also been tuned with notes from last time with RTK from Randy Hauer (recommended coach) and double press coaching from colleague buddy Ken Froese (you remember him? the man who trained for Spite, and triple double beast pressed?).

Patience i'm learning really is a virtue, and perhaps all this data collecting is just a way to help not go mad with the pace of progress: yes there is progress in both strength and leanness. I will arrive at the one, and continue with the other.

Whither, Voyager?
This really is an experiment to go further than i've gone with a deliberate quest to explore leanness and strength. So this is new to me. This kind of discipline of eating is new - since typically i'd be done by now - i'd be at my goal weight and just going for more strength.

Reminds me of when i was a kid and i had to let go of this branch and to get back to the ground. I fell, and have this clear memory of thinking "this should have stopped by now" but i kept falling. That's kinda what this as like (though not quite so easy). I've been to this point before, and i'm finding that experience seems to be sharpening my focus for where i want to go now/next.

So why this post now? Because i guess it is at a point where i'd previously say, well that's done, and to see it now as only half done, is an interesting perspective shift. And i'm a little nervous.

I'm also wondering about the experience of a goal becoming clearer once one has passed the point of the previously known to be possible - if others reading have experienced this, and what happened?

Take aways for now
If you're interested in body comp work and strength work,

the number one place to start and spend time is still nutrition.
Then dialing in recovery awareness from a workout - including when to stop a set.
Then the workout practice itself. I find myself really enjoying the skills focus right now as i rebuild my shoulder strength. Maybe we can talk about that another day.

Within that, eating less works. Now buddy brad (pilon of eat stop eat) likes for weight loss work to eat some less overall, but to combine that with fasting full 24 once or twice a week. Awesome. Me, i like as said following the Precision Nutrition hueristics and kicking in a fast once or twice a month, and some micro stop eats within that. I find i'm just not working hard enough at this point to give myself the license to do starchy carbs right now more than half a spud at dinner if i feel like it. Even weekend pizza has become a more monthly-if-that than weekly or biweekly thing.

Moving more but not so hard. I'm keen to see if NEPAs will continue to help keep the trend going down the way i want for fat and up for lean. Blending nepas with some intervals/faster cardio a couple times a week? i was doing that till my heavy workout days got heavier - so we'll see. Recovery is still king and gaiting my workouts to support recovery is affecting everything from intervals to volume to nepas.

I guess that's about it for now.

It's kinda risky to report on a mid point. What if i don't make it and have no ta-da to report? I guess i'm also really then posting to see if i'm not alone in going past a place one has been - higher up, further in, and if i am indeed on a Righteous Path.

Hope so.

Best in your practice,
mc

Related posts:
since i mentioned shoulder rehab, here's some stories

Is 10k steps a day really a magic health bullet? Catrine Tudor-Locke suggests this may be the wrong question.

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:34:00 +0000

We hear a lot about the value of getting ten thousand steps a day. Pedometers are being sold increasingly as a way to track progress towards that magic 10k. But is there any basis in this assertion of ten thousand steps that something wonderful happens at 10k that doesn't anywhere before (or after)? And are all such steps in that 10k created equal? Are all or any of these steps the same as NEPAs or non-exercise physical activity (overview here at nopain2.org)- the movement carried out over the course of a day that is outside deliberate exercise activity, but that seems to have significant value in helping one get and stay lean?

In July 2011 a trio of journal articles lead by long time step/health researcher Catrine Tudor-Locke have come out looking at the step question, literally “how many steps are enough” - one geared at kids, the other at adults and another at elders and special populations (citations below). In this post we’re going to look over the work on steps for adults. As with just about everything, the answer to the question “is it 10k??” is “it depends.” And that perhaps more interestingly, there seems to be a gradient of effect for things like weight loss, after which more is not more.

So let’s begin with a few terms. NEPA we’ve already met. The other is MVPA - moderate to vigerous physical activity. Both are ways of describing level of effort and are important measures when talking about the effectiveness of stepping out.

There’s a kind of interesting component to trying to figure out “how many steps is enough?” - the question might be “what is someone trying to achieve”?

How to figure out Steps

CORRELATION? So we can consider what do most people who are healthy do - measure these steps and extrapolate out from that to try to determine a correlation. Indeed this is what various mortality studies have done in various parts of the world: look at the self reports of people’s activities, compare that mortality rates and say heck folks who have these many NEPAs seem to live X% longer with Y% less incidence of these types of disease. Maybe that’s because of the walking or related effort.

DELIBERATE EFFECT? Other types of measures are to do deliberate tests: we’ll monitor how much these folks walk and eat, and we’ll ask group A to walk X steps a day and the other group, we won’t encourage to walk. At the end of a given period we’ll check a bunch of measures from blood to weight to body fat and see what difference anything made.

SELF-REPORTING VS MEASURING? One of the strategies here is also to consider different ways of measuring NEPAs or steps. Recently there has been more literature where participants have pedometers but the large-scale studies described above are based on self-reports of times and distances of various activities and estimates around these. Also, not all pedometers measure steps in quite the same ways. So there’s some fuzz in the data. Science isn’t always an exact science.

TRANSLATION? Another fuzzy strategy is to try to translate one type of activity for another. If for instance 30 mins a day of MVPA is seen as an important measure of health, into how many steps (and at what speed) does that translate activity translate?

EQUATION? if daily MVPA is supposed to be over and above the NEPAs, what’s the amount of NEPAs and how translate that to steps? Total steps potentially becomes two different kinds of step: NEPA + MVPA = total.

The authors of the How Many Steps studies considered each of these components to make the best case they could for their recommendations.

Normative Data - just checking
For adults under 65, an intense review of internationally published paper came to an average of 9,448 steps/day. This surprised me. When the data is restricted to the US, the average is 5600 steps/day. That seems more familiar based on what we see of geek steps in our lab. For context, Japanese are at 7200 and Western Austrailians 9600. Ineresting, no? What information i do NOT have is how these step numbers correlate to other health markers: the studies just considered daily activity steps. Alas. But it does give us a pretty good sense of practice differences internationally.

Grading the Normative Data
The authors of the current study have been interested in steps for some time. Over the course of 2004 − 2005 they have developed and tuned a scale for understanding step ranges and have proposed

1) less than 5,000 steps/day (‘sedentary’); with less than 2,500 steps/day (‘basal activity’) and 2,500-4,999 steps/day (‘limited activity’)
2) 5,000-7,499 steps/day (‘low active’);
3) 7,500-9,999 steps/day (‘somewhat active’);
4) >10,000-12,499 steps/day (‘active’); and
5) ≥12,500 steps/day (‘highly active’).

This means, as the authors point out, the US is overall “low active”

Why bother with these Steps? Such graduation can help understanding the effects of particular interventions: if 5000 steps a day has X% incidence of cardiovascular risk, but “somewhat active” means that incidence level goes down by a factor of 10, but that between somewhat active and active there’s only a tiny difference in cardiac incidence, then one’s focus may be to get folks just to somewhat active rather than pushing to active. Indeed, 2500 steps a day improvement does seem to show modest weight loss benefit but real blood pressure improvements.

Moderate Intensity Walking - Where MVPA begins
From the controlled experiments apparently one of the attributes confirmed is that if one is hitting 100steps a minute, one is at a suitable cadence to hit the MVPA. There’s an extension peeping up here: 3000steps within 30mins is looking good for the MVPA part of the total step equation. Doing this stepping in ten minute blocks is also ok.

A great way i’ve been noticing to get up my cadence without effort is to practice barefoot walking as described in part IV of the recent discussion about barefoot running: stride changes to soften any heel striking and move more to the mid/forefoot.

Total Counts: is it 10k?
Another extension of the above gradation of walking values is a good daily step target: 3k at MVPA + the high end of “sedentary” 5K steps = a total of 8k.
that assumes a 30min/day activity level; some guidance is apparently 60mins. So we have a range of 3-6K in MVPA (100steps/min) + 5k = 8-11k steps a day, assuming the MVPA components.

As a side note, the authors show that in studies that have attached accelerometers and pedometers to people have shown that getting the right amount of MVPA seems to correlate with folks getting 7000-8000 steps a day. (accelerometers by the way are like the sensors on some smart phones that let them play light saber - detecting how fast and in what direction something is moving) In other words, as the authors note, the original framing that set “10k” steps as “active” people, may actually start as low as at 7k a day when MVPA is added in. We are getting another validation of the 8-11k heuristic proposed for MVPA + NEPA (or “free living activity” as the authors call it).

WHY STEPS?

As the authors note, people do way more things than just walk. So why care about steps so much? The authors suggest “bipedal locomotion” as a thought. We fundamentally get around and move around by walking. Walking is also apparently the most frequently reported leisure activity.

Connection with Weight Loss
Here’s some related work that the authors note in studies around stepping patterns and BMI (body mass index). Let me quote the passage:

Krumm et al. [29] examined the relationship between pedometer-determined steps/day and body composition variables in 93 post-menopausal women. In relation to BMI, a linear relationship was observed such that women who took 5,000-7,500 steps/day had a significantly lower BMI than those who took < 5,000 steps/day. Further, women who took 7,500-9,999 steps/day had a significantly lower BMI than those who took 5,000-7,500 steps/day. There was no significant difference in BMI between women who took 7,500 -9,999 steps/day and those who took greater than 10,000 steps/day.

SO this result is pretty important: BMI is a standard measure of bodyfat associated with height and weight . There are some folks who argue reasonably that there are limitations with BMI: that someone who is really in shape packing considerable relative to body fat will show up as having a higher BMI than an average person at that height and weight. Yes, this is true. But given that, that usually indicates that person is likely also pretty healthy/active and will be using other measures than BMI to assess their health, fitness and bf%. So for more average folks (the majority of us), BMI is not a bad marker of how well one is doing in terms of weight.

What that metric about steps to bmi tells us is that there are two important ranges where one can achieve *signficant* benefit: the first area is 5000-7000 is a HUGE difference than 5k and below: women have statistically significantly lower BMIs - changes in whole bmi numbers are associated with real pounds of weight loss.To think that there is yet ANOTHER significant difference from that first group to the 7500-9999 thousand steppers is golden.

For gals then thinking about wanting to change our BMI, stepping up a level is important. Just as critically though is that there is NOT seen to be a greater benefit to bmi after hitting the 10k mark. More is not always more for everything.

Again, the 8-11k a day is sounding very beneficial for correlations with blood pressure, bmi and general health.

Enough or Too Few?
Indeed, the authors consider reframing the question of how many steps do we need, to how many steps is too few? For example, fewer than 5k steps has greater risk of particular cardiovascular incidents.

Likewise encouraging folks who wish to see blood pressure or weight changes may be directed to seek particular increments rather than just going for a total. And similarly, it’s possible to get that 10k value without getting the 3k that seem necessary for MVPA work.

MAKING IT REAL: FitBit (and Zeo)
I’ve been focusing a lot over the past several months now on my non-excercise physical activity - how many steps do i get total; what percentage of them is MVPA vs NEPA and how do these simple totals connect with my lean down goals for right now. TO monitor this rather than kid myself with well i think i moved a lot today, i’ve gotten a FitBit. In fact we have a bunch in our lab.

The idea with the fitbit is that it’s both a step counter in the pedometer sense and an accelerometer - so it takes into account movement that a pedometer would not track - it can assess if you’re running or going up stairs or walking. It also calculates calories burned and distance travelled, and if you have its usb antenna plugged into a computer, it will wirelessly upload the fitbit data. Oh, and it also monitors sleep - sort of - but i much prefer zeo for this (zeo discussed here and here).

OPEN data - an aside note: zeo and fitbit both let people keep their own data. this may sound odd but try doing that with body bug - another self monitoring tool. This open data approach means that other applications can be built (like run keeper) that integrate the data from both zee and fitbit to make it easy to see how various parts of one’s performance are affecting the other.

Preliminary Conclusions with FitBit - one of the cool things about the fitbit is that if i check it and i see where i’m at - if it’s on the low side, i start to make plans for where i can get more steps in during the day and after work. If i have a workout planned for that day, i may let myself off the hook a bit. Now knowing about mvpa i can do that.

I got asked recently if FitBit counts kettlebell movements - it’s great for swings - but i’ve actually NOT been wearing it during workouts - i want to focus on movement OUTSIDE my workouts. When i’m walking and not just moving about the office for instant at work, my walking pace already is generally over the 100 steps/min - so i can usually be assured i’m getting in that 3k minimum of MVPA - but i don’t have to trust myself - the FitBit provides a chart of exactly when my steps were taken and how many in any given block; it also estimates activity level within these blocks.

Results: i have been deliberately trying to lean out over the past few months - something i'll write about in the near future. The main thing contributing to that leaning out is food: eating strategies, combining precision nutrition food approaches with as Brad Pilon puts it occasionally stopping eating for 18-24 hours in a week. Recently this once a week fast is something John Berardi of Precision Nutrition has been trying, too while minimizing workouts as an experiment. So let's just put that one on the table as it were: what i eat or don't eat is plainly the biggest contributor to my fat carving progress.

So where do the steps come in?
I really cannot say if my progress towards lean is better for getting in 8 or more k of steps per day. I know that i was motivated to check this out when a recent t-nation article by Lonnie Lowery suggested that when someone hits a wall with lowering their caloric intake to about as low as it can safely go, the only other place left to help the fat burn along is to raise caloric burn levels, and that he noticed something that makes a difference is what happens if NEPAs start to drop below 7k a day (see the NEPA factor in this article). Ah ha, thought I.

Recall above that there are two zones of steps - both under 10k but above 5k that have best effect on BMI - why, they haven't said, but perhaps there's something special getting tweaked from that kind of activity that has a metabolic switch to it. Ok. I'll go for that.

Beyond possible contribution to fat burning, I tend to feel better generally in terms of movement; i know that if i get the steps in throughout the day rather than just end of the day i feel fresher. So i’d add that in- frequency of movement throughout the day - as a variable beyond total steps, amount in MVPA, in figuring out quality of steps.

Conclusions:
To answer the question we started with, ten k a day is certainly a fine number for steps, but what Tudor-Locke's and Colleagues research and literature review shows us is that, more particularly, there are ranges of values and qualities within those ranges that will help yield the effects we may desire for health and wellbeing.

There is a way to think of steps in terms of gradations from sedentary to active
within these gradations are associated particular health benefits - after which these particular benefits no longer seem to accrue. That's not to say one shouldn't walk more that this level; just that the benefits for certain markers seem to tail off from that activity alone.
An effective target seems to be 3-6k steps in the MVPA range and another 5k in "free living activity" steps (what we might also think of as NEPAs).
A fitbit makes it very easy to see whether one is getting that range daily and whether one is getting that minimal MVPA 3k portion in particular. Keeping a record is a great way to measure and validate progress.

Take Home: when stepping out and up, rather than shoot for 10k right off the bat, we may want to think about milestones: first to get from basal 2500 to 5000, focusing on upping the 1000k blocks in the MVPA range. Then, for more health benefit, to get above those sedentary 5k a day towards 8000, with three k in the MVPA zone, and from there, if we wish to do the best we can with our walking health benefits, to 11k going from 3k-6k in the MVPA zone.

Citations

Tudor-Locke C, Craig CL, Aoyagi Y, Bell RC, Croteau KA, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Ewald B, Gardner AW, Hatano Y, Lutes LD, Matsudo SM, Ramirez-Marrero FA, Rogers LQ, Rowe DA, Schmidt MD, Tully MA, & Blair SN (2011). How many steps/day are enough? For older adults and special populations. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 8 (1) PMID: 21798044

Tudor-Locke C, Craig CL, Aoyagi Y, Bell RC, Croteau KA, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Ewald B, Gardner AW, Hatano Y, Lutes LD, Matsudo SM, Ramirez-Marrero FA, Rogers LQ, Rowe DA, Schmidt MD, Tully MA, & Blair SN (2011). How many steps/day are enough? For older adults and special populations. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 8 (1) PMID: 21798044

Tudor-Locke C, Craig CL, Beets MW, Belton S, Cardon GM, Duncan S, Hatano Y, Lubans DR, Olds TS, Raustorp A, Rowe DA, Spence JC, Tanaka S, & Blair SN (2011). How Many Steps/day are Enough? For Children and Adolescents. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 8 (1) PMID: 21798014

Dr. Mick Wilkinson Part IV: barefoot running clinic - it's all in the fall

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:17:00 +0000

In part I of this series with Dr. Mick Wilkinson on barefoot running, we looked at the biomechanics in barefoot running with Dr. Mick Wilkinson, barefoot running research and veteran barefoot walker/runner. In part II, we looked at the roll of the sole being bared in supporting barefoot economy. In part III, we looked at minimalist vs barefoot running, footwear in sport, and perhaps especially, considering the social aspects of transitioning to barefooting.

image from runningnut

Clinic Time. In this final instalment of barefoot running with Dr. Wilkinson, we check out first a wee bit about Dr. Wilkinson's research and athletic background, and second consider technique tweaking for those who have given barefooting a go and want to tune up our practice. The article wraps up with some of my own reflections about why doing some even intermittent barefooting may have huge rewards from destressing to performance.

TO give folks a little more context about you,

tell us a bit about how you came to Northumbria:

Dr. Mick Wilkinson,
barefoot running veteran

I moved here (to Newcastle) from Hull University in 2005 having previously worked at York St John's College and at Staffordshire University - all in the sport science departments

When did you get your phd?

I completed my PhD in 2009 after 7 years of long part-time study. I graduated from Sheffield Hallam University. The PhD was in physiological testing and performance determinants in squash.

Did you always know you were going into academia and sports research?

I always had questions and was always interested in the whys and hows. I took to academia because I thought I could get answers to my questions. Studying sport made sense as I was always sporty and was really interested in understanding the limiting factors in my own performance and how I could overcome them. My interest in academia as a career came about while studying for my UG degree and was fuelled during my MSc.

Why are you passionate about running? What appeals to you?

It is simply the enjoyment of travelling under the power of my own engine, of being outdoors and of trying to master the first true human art - combining breath, mind and muscle into fluent self propulsion (Chris MacDougal's words from Born to Run, I wish I could have thought of it myself as it sums up running for me beautifully)

You said that squash you did in response to injuries around running. Why

squash? hitting something?

Squash was my actual competitive sport not running, I ran for fun and as training for squash. When I couldn't run, I could still play squash but I still always wanted to run as I enjoyed it so much. I haven't played competitive (or even non-competitive) squash now for nearly two years as it does take a heavy toll on my body. Now I mainly run and commute 140 miles a week on my bike to work. I seem to get so much more from running that I did from squash, its free and I can do it whenever I like for as long as I like without discomfort or injury, so why go back to squash?

Thank you. Now to the meet of today's final post: the barefoot running clinic. These questions followed after going for a first barefoot run and walk experience. Let me say that experience was really interesting in a number of ways:

first, running in vff's for 2 years is not much seeming prep for running barefoot
second it really is an intimate experience with the foot exploring surfaces that are varrying so quickly. Indeed my feet definitely at this stage feel more sensitive than my hands. Maybe my hands would feel that sensitive if i was walking on them. Anyway.
Running stride does change again - even less lean - to lessen impact on the feet.
it's nicer right now to run than to walk
my foot strike is less ball of foot dominant than in vff's
i did get what is the intimation of a blister in the middle top metatarsals (under the second and third toe) and that's the only bit that's a little tender today.
I can see how paying attention to one's feet one could run forever because so tuned to foot placement - perhaps this will change.

But when i got home, i had some questions from Mick because i did not experience nirvana in bare feet. Pavement was surprisingly hot; grass surprisingly filled with pricklies (though cooler) and that fresh tar with big rather than small bits was no fun at all.

So my main question to Mick has been:

- how long does it take to adapt to where road running does not cause a teeth gritting

reflex?

Mick Replies:

4mm Too many between You and the Planet

So you have gone all the way, well done. Sounds like your first time was not the epiphany experience I enjoyed, but it has at least illustrated for you the enormous difference even 4 mm of rubber can make to your sense of contact with the ground and highlighted the reason why I hate to have anything between my sole and the surface I'm moving over.

Technique. It's about Technique.
Your first question is impossible for me to answer. I would imagine that improving your technique and just getting used to the additional feedback from your soles (which are probably hypersensitive from years of trying to feel the ground through the soles of your shoes!) is a very individual thing. I guess that the hypersensitivity will become normal sensitivity relatively quickly as the nervous system is incredibly plastic, this will improve the comfort of your ride automatically.

Finding the Natural Spring
My advice is to first learn how to find your natural spring.

Stand in easy balance (head balancing on the neck, torso balancing on the hips etc.) then free up your ankles and knees and let them bend (keeping the torso vertically balanced) until you feel your heels wanting to leave the ground. This will probably feel like an enormous amount of knee bend, but this is what will provide the cushioning.

When you have found your inner spring, simply practice lifting one foot a little underneath you but at the same time allowing the supporting ankle to release (let the ankle bend forward, or dosiflex, like falling forward, as per runner on right in image below -mc)

Alternate the lifting of the feet like this in place.

You should be aiming to do this without any upward movement of the torso or pushing downward with the feet. Doing it in front of a mirror initially provides good feedback.

Note the legs underneath , not in front of, the torso. Note also the ankle dorsiflexing
to allow the fall forward in the runner on the left

It is far less costly and more comfortable to simply lift the feet off the ground than to lift the torso off the ground by pushing down with the feet. I would suggest practising simply running in place until this is comfortable and it can be done without any downward pushing - here, a hard surface is a better one to practice on than a soft one.

Threat Reflex - dans le tete
Another contributing factor to discomfort is anticipatory tensing of the feet. There will almost certainly be a bit of fear about how the landing will feel and the usual response is to tense up to 'prepare' for it.

This is counterproductive as the feet and legs need to be free and loose to mould and respond to the ground. It is easier said than done to not tense up, but believe me that leaving the feet and legs alone is the biggest lesson you can learn - it is only then that the reflexes can operate without interference resulting in the gentle, light and comfortable ride that I experience.

Walking and Running and over striding
Re: walking vs running, yes, most people over stride when walking and land on the heel. It is often easier to shorten and quicken the stride to land on the mid foot when running.

You are basically learning to walk and run again but this time with benefit of a lot more information to help you. It will take time and patience. It is certainly not realistic to expect to be able to do what you have been doing in the VFFs any time soon.

One thing that surprised me, as i went for a walk barefoot with my tunes and some in-ear monitors is that i felt/heard my feet more than i anticipated - felt like i could hear my feet kinda clonking. Is that normal?

As for the pounding, you have to go up first to come down with a clunk so you must still be pushing down into the ground. I like to think of my feet and legs as passive. I simply have the intention to move forwards and I release my ankles to allow that to happen. It is simply a matter of allowing the legs to spring forward from behind and for the foot to touch down underneath me in time to stop me falling on my face.

Adaptation Time

heel vs toe
the thinner the sole goes

If I had to estimate a time frame for you to become comfortable running totally barefoot on rough stuff / pavements it would be months rather than weeks but if you approach this as an adventure and an experiment in learning how to move and with a sense of fun, the learning experience is a reward in itself. Going barefoot generally even when not running will also help and will accustom your feet to feeling and enjoying more and varied surfaces. You will never stop learning how to improve your technique, four years on and I'm still getting better and moving by learning to do less and less that is not necessary and which interferes with free and easy movement.

Enjoy the ride

THANK YOU MICK for taking the time

But i Like my Shoes (that Pass the Twist Test)
Reflections on why to Barefoot

My hope is that, even if folks don't go the whole unshod way, for all running forever, you'll find in this series at least a few reasons to give going truly unshod:
checking out changes

in stride
in running economy
in force
in walking gait
in texture
in temperature

While going unshod certainly focuses the mind on lifting the knee and letting the ankle bend to get a more elliptical movement with the gait cycle (as Ken Bob describes it), one can practice this movement with minimal footwear - it's just easier without anything intervening between us and the earth.

And there's something else: feeling textures with our feet.

Exploring the carpeting and hallway surfaces at work unshod brings a certain kind of sensual pleasure that is unexpected. Walking around outside even for brief periods is certainly making me more of a pavement-type connoisseur. Temperature is also amazing, to feel what cool or heat is like - it sounds so obvious, but it's really quite remarkable to bring attention to what the feet are feeling, not just how they're moving.

My feet are definitely still in the hyper-sensitive space of being dialed up to pick up on sensations that have been otherwise muffled, but i'm still more curious to explore the world with what feels like a new sensation than to cover this up again.

It almost seems daring - like a mutant thing: i am now going to take my shoes off and expose my NAKED FEET to feed my brain with new and powerful information that will let me walk and run FOREVER. Ok, perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but really, the unshod foot is a whole sensorium that seems to give so much info back it's pretty surprising.

More De Stressing
I used to think kicking off my shoes meant swapping trad shoes for shoes that pass the twist test, and that getting more movement helps decrease stress because the body has a clearer sense of where it is in space, letting those joints and muscles move.

This is still True. BUT
my guess is that letting the foot feel the world beneath our feet, giving that glaborus epithelium the sensation, the touch, it craves, may also well chill the stress events. I'm extrapolating about this touch craving based on how crazy we can get in a sensory deprivation tank - that that's not how we're designed to be; we're designed, it seems, to be in contact with the world. And when we are, we have more ways of telling our beings that things are fine: we have way more options to respond more quickly effectively and efficiently.

Heh Mikey, he likes it.
So, again, even if barefooting for full on runs feels like one too many for you, here's to finding a few opportunities, with increasing regularity, to feel the outside world through your feet.

Please let me know what you discover - post a comment here.

Thanks for reading,

And if you've enjoyed this series with Mick, i hope you will sponsor him on his barefoot Great North Run.

Related Links

Mick Wilkinson Part III - the physical and social adaptations of barefoot running practice

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:42:00 +0000

In part one of our series with Dr. Mick Wilkinson on the joys and reasons of barefoot walking and running, we looked at the mechanics of going barefoot. In part two we looked at why exposing the sole is a good idea for performance economy. In part IV, we'll feature a barefoot adaptation technique clinic. In this the third part of our interview with Dr. Mick Wilkinson on the joys of barefooting, we consider

the differences of barefoot vs psuedo barefooting practices (ones that still use "minimalist" footwear)
We talk a bit about footwear in sport, and also, finally and perhaps most importantly
the social issues around moving towards barefoot practice.

In part four, we'll have a wee clinic on barefoot walking and running to develop technique. Let's jump right in.

Ok, pose first. This type of running is often described as emulating barefoot running. Thoughts?
Someone running pose has a similar outward appearance to an experienced barefoot runner in terms of gait characteristics. What is different, at least from my perspective, is that pose is about 'DOING' something particular with your legs, specifically, actively pulling up the foot with the hamstrings and as the original book suggests preventing the heel from landing or at least controlling its descent.

I found great difficulty with this personally and many posts on the pose running web site cite similar problems and occasionally injuries from failed attempts to 'DO' it correctly.

As I have alluded to earlier, natural running is about NOT doing. It is about NOT interfering with the automatic reflexes of the muscle spindles in legs and feet and in fact all skeletal muscles. Allowing the stretch reflexes to operate in response to the sensation of barefoot contact results in a graceful, gentle and relatively effortless movement. Fighting or trying to 'make' movements / positions happen that will result on their own is what causes difficulties.

Humans have been running for two million years and were (some still are) very good at it. We have all been born with all the equipment we need to learn to run with ease and comfort, we don't need a book, method or any special shoes to teach us how or protect us, your own bare soles will teach you everything you need to know to run gently and easily. All you have to do is listen to them and let the movements that want to reflexively occur simply happen, just keep thinking of where you want to go - i.e. forwards and upwards - your reflexes will take care of the rest.

VFF's
I have not run in VFF's but if I had, I would never have suffered the blisters that taught me to move forward without having to actively push off as they would have shielded me from this friction. I also note a number of similar post on Ken Bob Saxton's web site about top-of-the-foot pain in people trying to transition to barefoot running in VFF's. The symptoms described are usually characteristic of sesamoiditis, that is irritation of a group of small bones in the mid foot that usually results from chronic and excessive pressure on these small mobile bones.

[perhaps i'm fortunate, but in two plus years of running and walking in vff's, i've not had this issue -mc]

As Ken Bob points out and a sports medicine expert in my own department confirms, driving the foot back and down into the ground with barely any cushioning is a sure way to irritate these bones and cause the problems described. If this action were performed barefoot, blisters would reveal the technique flaw long before inflammation reared its ugly head.

This is exactly what i experienced on my first run out:
that's a big surprise that my form is plainly still not barefoot optimal.

As I have said earlier, the sensitivity of the sole is there for a reason, to block the sensations of direct contact is to lose out on information that helps you run gently. It is like trying to learn to sing while wearing ear plugs!

- any other point you'd like to make about the value of running truly barefoot?

Apart from all the reasons I give above, it just feels absolutely great. To feel the ground, to move gently over it, the breeze cooling your feet, the sheer sense of freedom and of moving in a way that respects the way the body evolved and respects our evolutionary heritage as running animals.

o Sports and footwear

You're also an avid squash player - do you play squash barefoot?

No. When I run, I can do so in such a way as to minimise friction that would otherwise cause blisters and running is in one direction only - forward. Squash on the other hand is a multiple-sprint sport characterised by rapid and frequent changes of direction, often dictated by your opponent (especially if playing poorly!). Friction in this situation is high and cannot be avoided, playing squash barefoot would tear my feet to bits. Humans evolved to run distances not to play squash!

That said, I still place great value on being able to feel the floor so I can minimise impact and rates of loading not shield myself from the sensation of them by wearing cushioned shoes. Balance is also crucial and feedback from the foot and contact with floor is paramount. Ankle injuries are common in squash and I think this could be linked to wearing shoes that dampen feedback from the sole of the foot and of position sense in the ankle with cushioning and motion control.

I play in old style white canvas army plimsoles. They have very thin soles and no cushioning or support. That way I avoid blisters, but also get excellent feedback about impact that can help me move more gently and lightly on the court. I have practised on court barefoot, but that is when I am in control of where the ball goes or when I am simply practicing set and planned movement patterns.

As a sports person, what about sports and footwear more generally? Watching the French

Open and Wimbledon, for instance, seeing how taped up Nadal's foot was to

the point of being immobile, or looking at football players (and ankle

injuries) and more taping makes me wonder about sports that seem to assume

that feet/ankles are best immobilised, ostensibly for safety, if not

performance. Thoughts?

You can probably guess what I'm going to say. It is widely held public perception (largely based on unsupported claims of shoe manufacturers) that our feet and bodies somehow need protecting from nasty impact forces that threaten to damage our joints and cause us discomfort.

The body and feet have evolved to allow free and easy locomotion across widely varying terrains and surfaces. We have an inbuilt, fully interactive cushioning system that processes information faster than any computer. It comprises reflex loops, incredibly sensitive sensors and muscle systems that respond virtually instantaneously to carry out our movement wishes with the minimum of effort and maximum comfort.

To immobilise, cushion, elevate and 'control' limits if not prevents these finally controlled protective and performance enhancing mechanisms from operating properly. In my view, little good can come from interfering with what evolution has provided. Natural selection is a powerful force and humans would not be here today if it were not for our ancestors (barefoot) running prowess - two million years of development can't be wrong.

o Barefooting in public:

On meeting you in your office hallway, you were unshod, but also had just

come in from a run. That said, if i understand aright, you also walk about

barefoot do you not? Did that start right with running barefoot, or at what

point?

Once I began barefoot running and noticed aches and pains disappearing that returned when I wore shoes, I started going barefoot as often as possible.

Example of winter unshod runner. Looks happy?

I understand it snows in northumbria. What do you do for foot coverings in

the cold?

If I'm not running, I do wear shoes in the winter. Running barefoot doesn't make your feet tough, in fact, it is the sensitivity of them that allows you to run barefoot comfortably, my feet get cold like anyone else's.

When running in the winter, I still go barefoot but I have to limit the duration of my runs so that my feet don't get too cold. If they go numb, that is bad news as it is the feedback from them that helps me run gently without hurting myself. I find that if I wrap the rest of me up well, my feet will be good for about 20-30 mins even if it is a little bit frosty. I stick to the pavements in the winter though as wet grass and sand really sap the heat out of your feet.

I never run in the snow as I have no idea what is underneath it. There could be unknown sharp objects that could injure my feet that I could easily avoid if I could see them.

Have you had any health and safety issues raised about being in the

building unshod, whether for risk of accidents or "uncleanliness"??

Never at work no. I did get a comment from a security guard at a supermarket once about what dirt might be on the bottom of my feet, "the same as would be on the bottom of my shoes" was my reply ..... he let me go ahead and shop. In another instance, I was refused access to a roller coaster ride at a theme park unless I put on the flip flops I had with me. The reason I was told was that should the ride break down, I would have to climb down a ladder to safety. I pointed out that surely I would be safer climbing down a ladder in my bare feet than in flip flops .... I didn't win that argument and took to the ride in my 'safer' flip flops!

Is there any kind of meeting or event to which you do *not* go unshod now?

Where the social occasion demands it, I put on shoes. For instance, I generally teach and spend most if not all of the day barefoot, but if I am required to meet an important person at work or parents or for weddings (for example) or other important social occasions or in eating establishments, I will put something on. This is more about making others feel comfortable than me feeling embarrassed though which is real shame.

What strategies have you used - and/or would recommend if other folks want

to explore full on barefooting perhaps especially in the work environment,

home and play?

Just go ahead and do it. Obviously within any restrictions placed on you by your job and home / play environment. Common sense has to apply, I wouldn't want anyone to get the sacked or put themselves at risk on my recommendation. If safety and acceptance aren't an issue, go for it, there are many benefits to be had and if anyone asks you can list them - you don't have to be a hippy - I don't have any hair!

o Barefoot and Familial Concerns for one's wellbeing

Ok, so i've come back from a barefoot run and a walk and my family has greated me with absolute horror that this time i've taken my fitness eccentricities one too far. The risk to one's well being is just one too many - the glass, the nails, the nasty things that hide in the grass. Have you encountered anything like this?

About the fear thing, yes I have had that also.

My response is I promise that I will walk and run with my eyes open so if glass is there on the path before me, I will avoid it just as someone in shoes would do!

the unseen stuff is an interesting one. I believe that you will be better off barefoot than in a minimal shoe. As soon as you feel something on your bare sole, your foot will withdraw from it. Now imagine the same situation shod, you might put quite a lot of weight on the foot before the glass or other sharp object penetrates the shoe at which time you are bearing down on the object with some force and will likely cause a worse injury than would result from quick withdrawal from early and detailed sensory feedback.

Another useful fact about the sole of the foot is the skin is unique - called the glaborous epithelium. The arrangement of collagen fibres is such that pressure that might otherwise puncture the skin is dissipated in all directions offering a wonderfully resistant surface. You don't get calluses from barefooting either - I had callus before I stared, now it has all gone! The plantar surface is like well conditioned leather - soft yet very resilient.

the bottom and top of Mick's feet.
looking pretty unblistered, and no shards of glass
sticking through them

Excellent. Are there any resources you'd recommend for folks preparing to take the plunge?

Books you'd recommend - and a bit about what makes you recommend them?

Web resources? anything else?

Anyone interested in barefoot running really must visit www.therunningbarefoot.com. Read the material about how to run barefoot.

The author (Ken Bob Saxton) is as eloquent and informed a writer as I have come across on the topic and is a veteran of some 40 odd barefoot marathons (some back to back!), trail runs etc. For a non-scientist he really does have a very good grasp on the body, mechanics, physics, evolution and philosophy. The author has also recently published a book titled the complete book of barefoot running though I have not obtained a copy yet. Chris MacDougal's book Born to Run is also a very entertaining read. Whilst not generally about barefoot running, there is a lot in there to get you thinking about the need (or not) for shoes and how our approach to running as a pastime and activity has been distorted over time.

Thank you so much Mick, for the great detailed replies on these points.

Part IV of my discussion with Mick will be a bit more about Mick and his research, as well as a wee clinic in addressing the starting errors of "running" barefoot follows.

Remember, if you're enjoyng this series, please consider sponsoring Mick on his Great North (barefoot) Run.

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Mick Wilkinson Part II: The Sensitive Sole of Barefoot Running

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:53:00 +0000

For Dr. Mick Wilkinson, barefoot running has got to have sole. Exposed soles. In part I of this interview with Dr. Wilkinson, we looked at the rationale for going truly barefoot from a largely musculo-tendon and propriocpetive perspective. In part III, we look at minimalist vs barefoot running, and related social constraints, and in part IV, we'll do a wee clinic on technique and adaptation.

Now, in part II, we're gonna focus a bit more on some other mechnoreceptive action and skin types.

In other words, barefooting is really great to let a foot be a foot in terms of getting joints to move that are designed to move, and muscles to work that may otherwise get no work in a shoe, since that's a really good idea to give the brain a better idea of where we are in space.

But more than just moving joints cuz their designed to move is to consider the surface of the foot, and what it's designed to do, and how that actually also needs to inform movement - and how movement is changed because of this feedback.

So we pick up again with Dr. Wilkinson

o Gotta Have Sole

My fave stat about our feet is that 24 percent of the body's joints are in our feet - that's a whole lot of proprioception going on.

But you brought up this other incredible observation i've simply never heard before that's right there in front of us in the brain's representation of the body in the cortex: that the feet are HUGE like the hands and lips. And your observation is that this is mapping the sensitivity - the nerual activity - in the skin of the foot.

Yes indeed. The density of nerve endings in the sole of the foot - called the plantar surface - is analogous to that of the lips, finger tips and genitals, all renowned for their sensitivity.

Mapping of homunculus to sensory/motor cortex;
foot and toes take up 10% of the total sensory cortex;
in the motor cortex get this: the foot is 8%
and the ANKLE is 17% (lips are 14%). These
stats suggest those little clay models with small
feet are off in terms of representation. These Illustrations
seem to be more accurate.

Moreover, the type of nerves supplying these areas are known as type IV afferents - the fastest conducting nerves fibres in the body. Your feet are incredibly sensitive and they are so for very good reason.

I so did not know that about nerve types in the foot.
You have some really cool ideas about this sensitivity's development that

shoes obviously compromise, running from evolutionary survival mechanism to

running economy. Please, share:

I'll try to do this by combining what findings of studies have shown with what anthropologists tell us about human evolution. Hopefully that way, you can see how I have arrived at my hypothesis on the matter.

Gait Alternations with Bare Feet.
We know that gait is altered when barefoot, reduced rates of loading and in some studies reduced impact forces are associated with these gait alterations, economy is also improved (i.e. energy cost to run at a given speed is reduced) and could be linked to the altered gait pattern as well as simply removing the mass of the shoe.

Previous studies have shown a relationship between plantar sensation, impact avoidance behaviour and impact force in contrived, static activities (Robbins 89).

There is anthropological and fossil evidence that endurance running was a key survival-related behaviour for humans and that the this behaviour shaped the anatomy and biology of homo sapiens (LIEBENBERG 08). Early humans would have and indeed many existing clusters of humans still do run barefoot. Incidence of lower limb injury is lower in these barefoot populations (Carrier 84, Leibermen 10)).

hypothesis: The nerve supply is very dense in the plantar surface of the foot and those nerves are type IV afferents, very fast conducting nerves that provide great sensitivity of feedback.

Sensitive Soles

ya heel strike only once
in bare soles.
that's all it takes to
suggest a different approach

My hypothesis is that we have highly sensitive feet because the feedback received from them when walking and running barefoot results in continuous regulation and alteration of gait to minimise perceived plantar discomfort. This moderation of perceived plantar discomfort comes about by adopting a gait pattern that minimises rates of loading and peak force. It just so happens that the gait patterns that do this also seem to make better use of elastic structures in the legs and feet and also result in more economical locomotion.

Rate of loading and peak force are two known causative factors in injury, and economy is a known determinant of endurance-running performance. It would make good sense from an evolutionary perspective that highly sensitive feet, by virtue of the injury reducing and economy enhancing benefits, would be a trait that conferred a survival advantage in humans for who running was a key survival behaviour, and would thus be perpetuated by evolution through natural selection, hence we still have them. If sensitive feet were a limitation to early human runners, they would not have survived to pass on this trait.

So there you have it, we have sensitive feet so that we moderate every moment of every step to make it comfortable and we make it comfortable by altering loading rate, friction and peak force - the bonus is that these attempts to make landing comfortable also might cause reduced energy cost of movement and be related to injury prevention.

How can a running shoe top that? Two million years of evolution cannot be surpassed by an inch or two of cushioning foam rubber that in fact interfere with natural locomotion.

Awesomely sensible. You're looking at researching this sensitivity effect right now. Can you

tell us a little bit about how you're going about doing that and what the

hypothesis around running economy is?

Yes. Some fairly dated but excellent studies by Steve Robbins and co-workers in the mid-to-late eighties got there before me and really were ahead of their time. They proposed a plantar sensory feedback loop in which increased plantar sensation (imposed by pressing the barefoot down from above on to a force plate topped by surfaces of varying roughness) resulted in automatic impact avoidance reflexes the same as the withdrawal reflex when you touch something sharp or hot and a resulting lower plantar force.

bad bad bad sensation blockers

They also published some results collected from people dropping down onto a force plate from an elevated box. They covered the force plate in varying thicknesses of cushioning material used in the manufacture of running shoes or nothing at all. Impact force and subjective rating of discomfort were recorded. The findings showed that the thicker the cushioning the more comfortable the landing was perceived but the higher the actual impact force was!

So, shoes block the sensation of impact NOT the impact
which is actually worse than when barefoot. Robbins and colleagues [in the late 80s] actually warned against the deceptive advertising of running shoes saying that you buy them believing they would protect you when in fact the opposite is the case. Many more studies from this group reinforced these findings.

Revisiting Robbins on Barefoot Force/Sensitivity Adaptation
The limitation of the these excellent studies was actually also one of their strengths - they were very tightly controlled in a laboratory setting with contrived loading patterns. All I am working on at the moment is an extension of this early work in actual running.

I also want to quantify the link between plantar sensation and impact avoidance as it manifests itself in whole-body gait alteration. Briefly, I plan to have willing volunteers run at a self-selected speed both shod and barefoot over surfaces of varying roughness outdoors.Leg-muscle activation (via EMG), gait (via motion analysis), impact force (estimated from a mathematical model) and subjectively rated plantar sensation will be recorded.

I hypothesise that as plantar discomfort increases, the difference in gait characteristics and impact between the shod and barefoot run will also increase (i.e. the moderation of gait will become more extreme as the plantar discomfort increases). Though this design cannot show causality, it might provide some evidence for the link between plantar-sensory input and gait moderation that could open the door to other studies.

Running economy and Barefoot Running.
Current literature (and my own work that is currently under review) is fairly consistent in that barefoot running is less costly in energy terms, but also suggests that the advantage is most likely explained by simple removal of the extra mass of the shoe (Divert 08). There is, however, a strong theoretical basis to suggest that the gait patterns characteristic of experienced barefoot runners could also be related to energy saving. Specifically, the greater knee, hip and ankle angles could all place greater stretch on elastic elements in the legs and feet improving energy storage and the shorter ground-contact times mean that more of the energy is returned (the longer you stay in contact with the ground the more energy is lost as heat).

An interesting finding from our own lab that could also relate to energy saving is that the horizontal distance between point of initial ground contact and the body's centre of mass is much less in barefoot than shod running.

In other words, the foot land more underneath you than in front of you. This is important as the further you land out in front (shod), the bigger the braking impulse and the more you slow down with each foot strike. That speed loss has to be actively overcome to maintain a constant speed. In contrast, the reduced braking impulse of the barefoot strike means less energy to maintain speed - corresponding to my personal experience of effortlessly falling forward over the foot underneath me.

The work needed here is with experienced barefoot runners as the current literature all uses runners for who barefooting is novel. It is entirely plausible that a skilled barefoot runner will have economy advantages over shod runners that exceed that explained by the mass of the shoe - if you know any experienced barefoot runners who would be interested in this study, let me know as I haven't found many (actually any) up here!

The call goes out, and thank you for the references to related work.

And with these insights into the effect that and exposed plantar surface of the foot has on gait, we close today's post, with this request: if you try exploring barefooting this week, please come back and post - let me know how it goes. Especially if you try mulitple surfaces to notice the effect each may have on gait.

In Part III we look at other forms of running (like pose), the role of shoes in sports, being barefoot in public, a bit more about Dr. Wilkinson

In Part IV we have a wee clinic on barefoot running technique - best heard after giving barefoot running on mixed surfaces a go, when there will be more motivation than ever to hear these Sage Words. We'll also look a little bit at Making It Safe for Loved Ones to Accept your Peculiar Desire to Run Barefoot.

And for ref, this all started with Part I: the mechanical advantage of barefoot running.

Also, again, if you're finding this series interesting, please do consider sponsoring Mick on his
Great North Run in his bare feet at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Wilkinson0

See you in Part III. Remember, please do let me know about your initial bare soled experience.

Citations

Carrier, D. (1984). The Energetic Paradox of Human Running and Hominid Evolution Current Anthropology, 25 (4) DOI: 10.1086/203165

Divert, C., Mornieux, G., Freychat, P., Baly, L., Mayer, F., & Belli, A. (2008). Barefoot-Shod Running Differences: Shoe or Mass Effect? International Journal of Sports Medicine, 29 (6), 512-518 DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-989233

LIEBENBERG, L. (2008). The relevance of persistence hunting to human evolution Journal of Human Evolution, 55 (6), 1156-1159 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.07.004

Lieberman, D., Venkadesan, M., Werbel, W., Daoud, A., D’Andrea, S., Davis, I., Mang’Eni, R., & Pitsiladis, Y. (2010). Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners Nature, 463 (7280), 531-535 DOI: 10.1038/nature08723

Robbins SE, Gouw GJ, & Hanna AM (1989). Running-related injury prevention through innate impact-moderating behavior. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 21 (2), 130-9 PMID: 2709977

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Mick Wilkinson Part I: Why Barefoot Running (in shoes) Is not barefoot running

noreply@blogger.com (mc) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:18:00 +0000

There's a young term in the market: barefoot running. The irony of this term, of course, is that it's used to sell shoes. Kind of an oxymoron there. But for many of us who have grokked the value of getting out of squishy or stiff shoes that don't pass a twist test, fewer of us have actually done the full monty, ditched the shoes and hit the streets unshod.

Dr. Mick Wilkinson,
in from a run, and being
stopped from getting to the
showers by yers truly

The same reasons that people have said they fear running in this soles - glass, harshness of surface and which those of us who run slightly shod have learned to smile understandingly about and say "no biggie for me" - are the same reasons most of us fear running without anything between us and the pavement.

But researcher Dr. Mick Wilkinson of the Northumbria University has a similarly compassionate smile for the fears of the slightly shod, and many more reasons to show that even those 4mm between us and the planet can really screw up our stride. For him, a truly barefoot runner for over 4 years, barefoot means barefoot, and the distinction is pretty critical.

Mick is readily identified by his colleagues with the epitaph "you can't miss him; he's always barefoot" Wilkinson is an avid runner, competitive squash plater and senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Northumbria in Newcastle, UK. And yup, when i literally ran into Mick at Northumbria, he was indeed truly barefoot. I must admit it's the first time i felt overdressed in VFF Bikila's

What follows is a four part discussion of several rationales for barefoot running - one of the most compelling of which is just how the surface of our foot is wired. And once you've heard this, you may be hard pressed not to want to get your shoes off your feet as fast as you can.

Part I of the b2d interview with Soleful covers Mick Wilkinson on his journey to barefootness and the mechanics of the foot in running. In part II we'll look more at the role of the sole, in part III some comparisons with other running approaches, and part IV a wee clinic on tuning up the adaptation of running truly unshod.

If you enjoy this series, please consider sponsoring Mick on his barefoot Great North Run.

Mick, if i recall right, you said you started exploring barefooting about 4

years ago now? That's pretty ahead of the barefoot running curve.

Yes, it was before it all hit the headlines and became a bit of a movement, particularly in the states. I'm not sure it even has become a movement here in the UK. That said, I quickly and easily found Ken Bob Saxton's web site www.therunningbarefoot.com which has been going since 1997 and still is a fantastic resource for those interested in barefooting.

You were telling me that what lead you to barefooting was a suggestion by

your alexander movement coach to check out running in bare feet as a way to

interrogate your own movement since you were having recurrent injuries?

Maybe you'd tell us a bit about your running history, how you connected

with your coach, and your process of dipping a toe into barefooting.

That is correct. I have always run, mainly just for fitness but when I was a undergraduate student at university I also did a few cross country and road races though I was never a serious competitive runner.

I mostly used running as a stress release, particularly during exam periods where I ran everyday twice a day. I also took up squash while studying and used running as a form of training for squash (before I knew better about specificity of training!!). I began to suffer from calf / soleus / Achilles problems that recurred with monotonously regularity despite trying physiotherapy, recommended stretches, shoe inserts, different shoes, acupuncture and chiropractic. I largely gave up on running and continued with squash which didn't seem to cause me as many problems.

Some ten years later when work and family commitments made it difficult to play squash, I started to try running again but the old issues returned so I again gave up. In 2007 my father in law wanted to race in the Great North Run half marathon and asked me to join him. I started trying to train again but after only four weeks my Achilles and calves gave out again. At this point I began to think that maybe it was the way I was running that was causing the issues and explored Pose running and Chi running without much success.

I then happened on a book called Master the Art of Running by Malcolm Balk - a teacher of the Alexander Technique.

I had never heard of the AT until then, but it made much sense to me that misuse i.e. bad movement habits / unnecessary tension leads to illness and injury over time as the body is not being used as it has evolved to be used. I sought out a local AT teacher and booked a lesson.

AT teachers don't address symptoms of misuse directly but rather seek to improve overall use and coordination by helping student first become aware of harmful habits of movement, then learn to inhibit them and replace them with better patterns that result in free and easy movement.

It is essentially about NOT DOING, about stripping movements down to the bare necessary essentials and above all, not interfering with natural forces and the abundant stretch-shortening cycle postural reflexes that evolved to make movement free and easy - watch young children to see movement without interference with natural postural reflexes. Awareness of how you move while you move is key to the AT and my teacher suggested I try to get a little more in touch with how I moved when I ran by taking off my shoes and getting more information from my bare feet about how I was landing, balancing, pushing off when running.

Very cool. What was it like going from that first time shod to barefoot for a run? You

did this on a beach?

I was bit nervous first time out but, without exaggeration, there was an instant change to my running style. After a couple of painful strides where I landed on my heels, something I had not known I did until then, my stride automatically shortened and quickened so I landed instead more on the whole sole with perhaps the mid foot touching down fractionally first. I was still a bit tense but as I carried on, I used some of my AT training to release some of that unnecessary tension. As I released into it, my poise altered and I ran much more upright with (without sounding obvious) my head balancing on top of my neck, my torso balancing on my hips and freer hip, knee and ankles.

The change in balance made it far easier to land with my feet beneath me, hence landing more on the mid foot and considerably eased tension in my back that, I realised had been because I had been leaning forward which in turn had encouraged the heel strike as the foot was planted out in front of me to prevent me from falling flat on my face.

It all made sense and after only about half a mile felt very comfortable. I was careful to build up time and distance very gradually. I waited for the old problems to resurface, but they never did. Over time I moved onto grass, increased my distances and after about a year I decided to venture onto the pavement - something I wished I had done much earlier.

You were saying that someone in this space suggested start rather with the

rougher type surfaces and you agreed. Who was that and why?

Ken Bob Saxton suggested that you learn far more quickly about how to stand, walk and run lightly and comfortably when you get more feedback from rougher surfaces. That mirrored my first experience on the pavement. Until then I had thought I was running quite lightly. I was wrong! But, as with my first barefoot run on the beach, my technique altered quickly in response to the discomfort I felt through my bare soles and soon I was landing more lightly and gently and correspondingly more comfortably.

That first pavement run also taught me something else. I had a blister between the ball of my foot and big toe. I consulted Ken Bob's pages where he has excellent and very detailed instructions on technique from his years of experience. The cause of my blister it seemed was pushing backwards with my foot to drive me forward, the resulting friction leading to the blister. I quickly learned to simply lift my feet up after contact with the ground, to not actively push off, but instead to move forward by releasing my ankles and allowing my vertical torso to fall forward over my supporting foot.

The parallels with AT were always apparent to me: the less I actively did and the more I simply allowed the muscles in my legs and feet to respond to the lengthening / stretching forces imposed by gravity, and to recoil automatically with their stretch reflexes and in built elasticity, the better, more lightly and gently I ran.

Don't get me wrong, I am still learning and still finding tension to let go of and parts of my movement that I interfere with, but the more feedback I can get through my soles from rougher surfaces, the easier it is to make refinements that result in lighter and more gentle contact with the ground. I ran poorly for decades in shoes but have managed to undo lots of those bad habits in just a two or three years - all of which have been injury free.

o Science/Mechanics

So since we're now talking position,
Just to review, before talking about the foot's unmediated contact with the ground, let's review a few of the important reasons biomechanically around going barefoot: the action of the arch and the work of the achilles tendon.

Please:

The feet and legs are full of elastic tendons and connective tissues. The foot has many articulating joints and an intricate network of muscles, ligaments and tendons whose purpose is to provide an intrinsic support and cushioning system that responds instantly to variations in balance, pressure and comfort / discomfort with each and every part of every step. The mid foot has a thick pad of fat that also aids in cushioning, the heel does not and its purpose is simply to aid balance in standing and improve the lever characteristics around the ankle.

The sole of the foot also has a higher density of muscle spindles than anywhere else in the body

tendons of the lower leg that operate the foot:
like the flexors that attach on the shin:
lot of muscle spindle
and fine tuned movement
responses

with the exception of muscles in the back of the neck. These are the organs that sense change and rate of change in muscle length and through the stretch-shortening reflex, ensure that muscle resist stretch with only exactly the right amount of force to counteract it. This reflex also results in storage of stretch energy in tendons and other connective tissues that can be returned thus reducing the energy cost of a given movement. Mechanical studies of the foot have also shown that as much as 17% of the energy a foot strike can be stored and returned by the longitudinal arch of the bare foot (Ker et al., 1987).

In order to store energy, the arch is deformed by a rolling action of the foot that begins on with ground contact at the outside mid foot and progress across the middle of the foot. This pronation is entirely natural and flatten the arch which subsequently springs back assisting in propulsive forces to move the body forward.

From this view, it seems ridiculous to think that an arch needs a 'support' as seems to be the thinking of manufacturers of modern elevated heel cushioned running shoes. Gallilieo himself marvelled at the arch as a structure and saw its benefits as a supporting structure that is now common place in engineering (bridges etc.) an arched bridge for example actually becomes

and another layer of muscles
directly within the foot,
and more fine tuning of movement

stronger under pressure as its parts mesh more closely together. The sure-fire way to weaken an arch and destroy an arch bridge is to apply pressure from underneath!

The elastic properties of the arch are also found in the Achilles tendon which is really just a large elastic band.

The purpose of the Achilles tendon is also to store and return energy only in running. It is remarkable that species that do not run or are very poor runners (non cursors), an Achilles tendon is absent.

Obviously, an elastic structure is only useful when it is stretched. An elevated-heel shoe shortens the Achilles tendon reducing any stretch placed on it during the running cycle. Comparisons of barefoot to shod running have shown greater peak ankle dorsi-flexion angle (that would stretch the Achilles further) in barefoot running.

running in heels?
killing the job of the
achiles tendon

This is, in my opinion, another example of shoe designers not having an understanding of or respect for the structures and functioning of the human leg and foot that evolved over 2 million years to make homo sapiens the unsurpassed distance running mammal on the planet.

------------------------
That's it for this part on why getting squishy souls out of the way may be a good idea - and why if we stopped here we may think vff's do the trick. But that bit about blisters is important, too.

In Part II of this series with Mick, we'll look at the Sensitive Sole of barefoot running, and why that plantar surface - and getting it into direct contact with the ground is a Big Deal.

Before then, want to give some real ground a try? Believe me, it will put the above and the rest of this series in a whole new context...

Till next time,

And oh yes, if you're finding this series interesting, please do consider sponsoring Mick on his
Great North Run in his bare feet at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Wilkinson0

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