Including April’s full-day seminar at Practice CrossFit, I’ve attended 3 seminars and 2 certifications for Olympic Weightlifting. Each had their own purpose, but California Strength’s was one of the best.

Training Agenda

Warm-up

Dave Spitz, owner of California Strength, took the group of 20 through a dynamic warmup consisting of some walking knee pulls, quad stretches and lunges. While we continued with glute activation and hip mobility, the coach told us how using weightlifting in their NFL combine training, their athletes have broken personal and combine records. Weightlifting works.

Snatch

After the warm-up, there were no PVC drills, straight into empty barbells. Unlike the USAW certification and other clinics, Dave broke the snatch down to three simple positions, working from the top town:

Position 1: Bar pulled close against the hips, dip down, back straight up and down. Only the knees bend. This is much different from other training techniques, but while others are playing around with shoulders ahead of the bar, Cali Strength sets records.

Position 2: Now that knees have bent, the hips are sent back as far as possible, bringing the bar just below the knees. This allows the hamstrings to fire from Position 2 to Position 1.

Position 3: Bend the knees to get low into a squat. With the barbell in front, the butt needs to be back to get the shoulders above the bar.

We drilled with an empty bar for about 10 minutes then we put on weight. While we did our best to not look like fools in front of these professionals, Kevin Cornell and Mike Smith came around to pick apart our technique.

Unlike training programs like Catalyst Athletics (an excellent gym), California Strength does not use percentages for programming lifts. “Flaws are exposed at heavy loads near your one rep max.” Coach Spitz also noted the physiological benefits that come only from heavy lifts.

Next, Mike and Kevin got in their lifts, giving participants an opportunity to witness two things: how a good lift looks and how a coach gets lifters to make lifts. Weightlifting is hard — very hard. There’s a mental component, “courage” as Dave puts it, required to get under something that will crush you.

“You can’t go easy with weightlifters,” the coach said, turning from the crowd to Mike. “Anybody can miss this lift.”

Clean

The group broke for lunch and then it was back to training. The set-up was the same for the clean: drill technique with a barbell, add weight to a heavy single, watch pro’s make your weight look like a toy.

With the clean, the positions were the same, making it an easy transition from the snatch.

Jerk

The racks were brought out for the jerk and we did some drop drills while the coaches came around to fix foot position, critical to making a lift. Also key is commitment (something I’ve touche on in the past). “You MUST commit to the lift.” Dave made it clear that there has to be no doubt in your mind you’ll make this lift. We loaded up the bars and personal records were broken.

Accessory Work

As we watched Kevin and Mike get in their squats (2 sets of 5 at about 500 pounds), Dave talked accessory work. California Strength lifters squat about 3-4 times per week and it’s treated like a quick accessory movement. Dave noted, “They get in their squats and get out. We tried the Bulgarian method, squatting before and after lifts and we didn’t have the results we wanted for the time spent in the gym. We’d rather have them spend time lifting.”

Other accessory movements California Strength lifters train are weighted back extensions, unilateral death marches, and Bulgarian split squats. They didn’t mention anything about weighted chins or ab work.

Programming

After the movement demos and 5 hours of lifting, we listened to Coach Spitz lay out general programming for his lifters. In about six lifts, their athletes get up to a heavy single, get in their accessory work and call it a day. It takes about six months to a year to get comfortable and proficient in the lifts.

When asked how often their lifters compete, coach Spitz said, “as often as possible.” If you become comfortable on the platform in front of 100 people, you’ll be comfortable on a platform in front of 100 people. He does, however, taper their training to peak at meets where their lifts truly matter. In fact, they even do saliva tests and nutrition management for their sponsored athletes. Serious business, people.

There are also fun days. “Weightlifting also gets boring, very boring,” Dave said. “To keep it fun, we provide cash incentives and competitions.” “Atmosphere,” he added, “is a big part of what we do.” Here’s a recent video of a cash contest:

Review

California Strength’s seminar was one of the best I’ve attended and significantly better than USAW’s Level 1 certification. Lifters and CrossFitters of all skill levels were able to easily digest the cues and information of Spitz and crew. Hopefully, they will continue to tour and put out solid information.

Many thanks to Practice CrossFit for hosting the event and California Strength for coming all the way out to the midwest. If they ever host a clinic near you, attend. It’s worth every penny.

*Warning: Mature Language (But then again, being mature means accepting letters put together to make sounds that hurt your precious, pre-programmed understanding of life.)

Fight Club is one of my favorite movies. I’ve watched it a dozen times and each time I experience something new, mainly philosophic.

Today’s lesson: Sacrifice makes us whole.

Most of us avoid pain. We’re taught methods of coping, shielding us from a real experience. We’re taught that through conformity and following a predetermined path, we can get a degree, get a job, make money, retire and die.

Fuck that.

Real happiness is found in struggle. We miss it. We look at pain and sacrifice as something to be avoided so we can have our cushy lives.

I consider people who lie on their deathbeds experts in living. No one ever said, “I wish I wouldn’t have taken that risk. I really regret taking the uncut path.” I’d rather be the man dying on the climb up Everest than the old man rotting in his room, counting his money.

I want to be the old man with the coolest stories. The guy who said, “Despite the conditions, I decided to take a risk.” Real happiness is found in accomplishment through struggle. The something-from-nothing guy is much happier than the something-from-inheritance. 

How does this relate to fitness? I don’t know. Find your own analogy. Perhaps, it’s getting to the gym and admitting that you’re weak, but through the process you become stronger. Perhaps, it’s failing time and time again at a heavy lift and through those failures, you find the key to doing it right.

Don’t miss the struggle. Embrace it. It’s what makes us whole. Don’t live a cookie-cutter life of conformity and regret. Give up what you think makes you happy and strive for something better. Put away the feeling of false accomplishment on the elliptical and pick up something heavy. Then do it again.

Fail hard, embrace the pain and rise.

Max's serious face.

Hustle Members,

Here’s a rundown of what to expect this week.

Monday: 5/3/1 back squats for multiples & a 12-20 minute conditioning piece with running/oly lifts. Technique is key. Elbows loose, elbows high. 4pm Youth Strength & Conditioning. 7:30pm Intro Class.

Tuesday: L-Sit practice and interval work. 6pm Endurance group. 6am Intro Class.

Wednesday: 5/3/1 strict press to a new 1 rep max. Mental and stamina conditioning with bodyweight and kettlebells, about 5-7 minutes of work. 4pm Youth Strength & Conditioning. 7:30pm Intro Class.

Thursday: Rope climb practice. Strongman or sandbag movements in a 20-30 minute piece, working on fortitude when things get really tough. Like two weeks ago, you may not go fast, but you’ll want to get it done faster just to be done. 6pm Endurance group. 6am Intro Class. GORUCK Training at 7:30pm.

Friday: 5/3/1 deadlifts for multiples. We’re redoing last Monday’s clean, pushup, row workout … but backwards.

Saturday: While I’m up at Practice CrossFit to learn from the best, Ryan will be in taking you all through “TRX Cindy”. 10am class only. Bring a friend.

Here’s to another great week. Eat, sleep & drink water.

"Punch!" also keeps the wrists neutral, keeping the weight stacked on the bone. (The opposite seen here.)

Cues are key to getting a lifter to understand and perfect a movement. A statement or word that may work for one may not work for another. Here are three cues I’ve used that have helped people better understand the lift and hit personal records. They’re not better than any other, just additional tools you can use when your current tools aren’t working for a lifter.

“Drive & Punch”

On the jerk, whether split or power, I initially taught the jump and land because it’s an easy transition from the clean and snatch. The lifters understood that there were two positions that needed to be met: the dip of the drive and the catch. Unfortunately, this led to too much floating under the bar. So, I broke the jerk down to two cues: “drive” and “punch” (usually exclaimed in a louder and more powerful voice) The “drive” enforces the leg drive through the ground, causing the bar to leave the shoulders violently. The “punch” is what helps lifters understand they need to push their body under the bar faster than gravity… much faster. 

“Catch with the shoulders.” 

Why do we teach “elbows high” on the clean? To provide a solid deck to catch the bar. During the lift, I’ll yell “elbows” to reenforce the position, but before the lift, I’ll make sure they understand that the bar is received with the shoulders, not the hands. If you catch the bar with the palm of your hands, more often than not, your elbows will be low, shoulders caved in, and wrists now hating life. Tell your lifters the shoulders are the perfect place to receive that barbell.

“Let the barbell tell the elbows what to do.”

Coach Burgener’s “the arms are like ropes” is a great cue. Though I usually follow it with “Your hips control the barbell and the barbell will tell your elbows what to do.” Naturally, when you drive through the floor, the bar (or any object) will continue upward with the force created by the drive not the pull. A lot of the time, this helps the movement “click” with the lifter. 

“Shrug yourself out of the bottom.”

I hate seeing missed overhead squats! For some reason, new lifters get to the bottom and stand up like they’re coming out of a chair: shoulders slouched, all quads, chest forward. “Shrugging” or “bringing your shoulders to your ears” fixes all of those. If a lifter is losing the bar forward, check their shoulders. Those are what will bring them out of the hole. The cue to yell to the lifter is “SHRUUUUUG!”

Try out these cues. Not all cues work for everyone. Find the words that make sense to the lifter and watch better technique follow.

I want to chat about the “80/20″ rule. I’ve heard it regarding work, lifestyle, relationships, nutrition, training … you name it. And you know what I’m talking about because you’ve said it yourself, “80 percent of the time I [fill in the blank], 20 percent of the time I fudge a little. Ring a bell?

It’s cool. I’m not going to rag on the 80 percenters. Hell, I’m in your boat in about 80 percent of what I do. I want you to know where the real gold is — where those truly dedicated to their goal leap ahead of the rest.

This “80/20 principle” is everywhere.

In a workout, you convince yourself that you’ll just slow down a little bit during the squats and do them faster later. (I don’t know why, but this always seems like a good idea at the time. It isn’t. Go faster now.)

It’s often found in nutrition. Most of the time, you’re spot on. But you fall face first into a bottle of wine and a bag of chips every weekend.

How about relationships? Your partner needs some help and you spend an extra few minutes in the bathroom while they do the dishes.

You get my drift. But think about the potential in the last 20 percent. That’s where success is exponential with every percent. Each extra effort you make in your life puts you ahead of the rest because if they are working hard, they’re most likely doing it 80 percent of the time.

Be the athlete spending time dialing in technique.

Be the spouse taking extra time to give the other rest.

Be the business owner who responds to emails when you’re tired of the computer.

Be the 20 percenter. People can see the difference and you will too.

Rich Vos

CrossFit Hustle

Links

The Superhero Complex: Stretch & Activate Easily For Squats

3 Years of CrossFit and This Is What I Have Learned.

Are we underestimating how fat Americans are?

4/10/2012 CrossFit WOD

Strength/Skill

Strict pull-ups, knock out 30 at your own pace

Conditioning

“Michael”

3 Rounds:

Run 800 meters

50 Abmat Sit-ups

50 Back extensions

Endurance Group

4 Rounds:

Row 500 meters @ 90%

Row 100 meters @ 50%

Row 7500 meters @ 90%

Row 200 meters @ 50%

Hustle Barbell Club

Jerk day! Find your training here.

Use this apps to make your Wendler 5/3/1 calculations easier.

iPhone app

The iPhone app is free and easy to use. Just plug in your 1 rep max lifts and start moving heavy things. Here’s the link to the iTunes store to download Wendler 5/3/1.

The Wendler 5/3/1 app is also available for android. Download the app off Amazon.

5am Jeff

Back to a new week! I hope you had a great Easter and you’re refreshed, ready to hit it hard. We have heavier loads and some more intense work. 

Don’t forget to get in your handstand push-ups. The goal is 500 within April.

Links

Vintage weight-loss ads

The pros & cons of Oly lifting with regards to larger training goals

Why are there so few (actual) vegetarians?

CrossFit WOD

Strength

Back Squat

3@80% of training load (OTL)

3@85% OTL

3@90% OTL, no extra reps

Conditioning

For time:

30 squat cleans with kettlebell, sandbag or medball

50 push ups

30 knees to elbow

50 cal row

Hustle Barbell Club

FYI: We have been granted status as an official club of USA Weightlifting.

Find your training here.

Endurance Group

Endurance Group trains Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm.

Click here for a sneak peek of tomorrow’s workout.

Happy Monday, Hustle!

This week, we start back on Wendler’s 5/3/1 cycle after 3 months of Olympic Lifting training. Congratulations to all who have put up much better numbers through technique and strength. This month, we’ll be training squats on Monday, presses on Wednesday, and deadlifts on Friday. For those who have to miss certain days, I’ll do my best to keep benchmarks on those days. If you have to miss a Wendler day, feel free to come in a little early or stay a little later to get in your lifts. Those are the most important part of this month. Oh, and we’ll also be doing a lot more running.

GORUCK News: This Thursday, GORUCK Training is back on. We’ll be meeting at Stringtown Park in Florence from 7:30 – 9 pm. Bring your brick bag and a friend. Our goal for April 12th is to have the stairs at the CVG tower reserved for us to train. Good Livin’!

Hustle Kids our Youth Strength & Conditioning Program continues into April, now training at 4PM on Mon/Wed/Fri. $50 for the month. Kids 15-18 are welcome to train.

Thanks to those who came out for our Spring Fling and Sufferfest. It was a great time. Prizes, suffering and good people. Love this community!

April’s “I am Hustle” Challenge will be 500 handstand push-ups.

4/2/2012 WOD

Strength

Back Squat 5 @ 65%, 5 @ 75%, AMRAP @ 85%

Conditioning

6 Rounds, each an all out effort:

10 KB Swings, heavy

Sprint 150m

Walk back

So, this is an odd topic, but I’ve been wanting to write about this for a while.

First, I don’t want to discourage people from coming in to check out our facility and trying out a workout. That being said, we’ve had a few people come in that weren’t a good fit — Either we didn’t fit their needs or they didn’t live up to our expectations.

Here is what we’re looking for in members of CrossFit Hustle.

Hard Working – This should be obvious, but I’m surprised at how many people come in and are taken aback by the amount of very difficult work we do. Your coaches expect the best from you (which may vary from day to day) and so do your fellow members. There are some gimmicky slogans out there, but we’re serious about training and when it comes to getting in work, submaximal effort isn’t accepted.

Dedicated - This dedication starts in the gym and resonates throughout your life. In all of our successful members, we see changes not only in their lifts and conditioning, but in the kitchen, in exploration of new lifestyles, and to the Hustle community. We’re not asking you to accept one idea as sacrosanct, but we do expect an honest dedication toward excelling in whatever you do.

Drama Free – Training shouldn’t be like high school with cliques and “cool kids clubs”. No matter the physical ability, everyone at Hustle respects the hard work and difficulty of mastering technique and gaining strength. Drama is not productive in becoming better. If you’ve got excuses or a negative attitude, you are very welcome to check out another gym.

Practicer - I guess you could file this under “Dedicated”, but I want people to understand that those who practice movements excel faster than the rest. There’s a lot of technique that goes into lifts, double unders and handstands, we’re looking for people that want to spend an extra few minutes dialing in that technique. We end class 10 minutes early for that reason: Practice, foam rolling & mobility.

Bold – At CrossFit Hustle, we’re looking for people who are not afraid to learn, people who are willing to look at a movement and say, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Oddly, this quality is hard to find in adults. Those who are not afraid to try are the ones that will fail many, many times but succeed in the end.

Bring us your best and we’ll provide you with smart training that exceeds your expectations.