Good training today

 Prep - foam roller, ASLR, T-spine, hips, rolling

 24 kg Arm bar + Get-up x 1+1
24 kg Get- up + press at each step x 1+1
24 kg Windmill x 3+3

 Circuit
 Pull-up + 28 kg x 3
SLDL double 28 kg x 3+3
MP double 28 kg x 3
FS double 28 kg x 3
HLR x 3 Swing double 28 kg x 5
X 3 circuits

 Treadmill Jog 1 mile x 6.0 speed, 4.5 incline
Air dyne intervals x 20 sec on/40 sec easy x 8 intervals

Stretch

Hit the alley again...



Quick and fun this morning since I wanted to do a little bit of what I did yesterday but still had to get the yard work done...

Alley (1/10th of a mile) work:
1/2 of the alley Backward Bear Crawl
1/2 of the alley Forward Bear Crawl
2 uphill alley runs

yard work

Stretch

If anyone is looking out their back windows while I am busy bear crawling up the alley I am sure there is some laughter and confusion but just like the Honey Badger - I don't care.
At worst I will bring a bit of amusement into someone's day

Becoming Bulletproof/Brookfield inspired training today




Bear crawls and hill runs

I have a 1/10th of a mile alley in the back of my house and I got inspired to do a little bear crawl and run training session.

One trip up the hill Bear crawl (1/10th mile)
4 Runs up the hill (1/10 mile x 4)
Half way up the hill Backwards bear crawl
stretch

Bear Crawling is NO JOKE!

This past Tuesday I had a good workout
Prep - foam roller, stretch, rolling
One arm One leg Push-up x 2+2
Pistols x 5+5

Circuit
Pull-up x 24 kg x 5
Clean and Press double 24 kg x 5
SLDL double 24 kg x 5+5
FS double 24 kg x 5
HLR x 5
X 3 circuits

Airdyne - 10 minute total
1 min easy
8 x 15 sec on/45 sec easy
1 min easy

Stretch

Blogging has been inconsistent but I am trying to get past a couple of things and will get back on consistent blogging soon.

Another day of circuits

Prep - Foam roller, ASLR, T-spine, Hips, Rolling

16 kg Get-ups
1+1 arm bar + crooked arm bar + full get-up
1+1 press at each step on the way up
1+1 In-line Windmill at in-line 1/2 kneeling x 3 on way down both sides
1+1 Open 1/2 kneeling Bent press x 5 on the way down on both sides

Circuit of:
HLR x 5
HSPU x 5
Chins +100# x 2
Pistols x 5+5
X 3 circuits

Some stretching and movement work

Ready for RKC Level 2

Upside down Abs

Really dialing in the ab activation/isometric during a handstand is quickly becoming  a favorite along with HLRs

In fact I did a brief workout on Saturday and in hindsight it was a single set of HSPU (set of 5 reps) with "maxed" out abdominals that has had my abs sore for two days - fun stuff

Another circuit day today

prep - Foam Roller, ASLR, T-spine, hips, rolling

3 Circuits of: 
HLR x 5
HSPU x 3, 5, 3
Pull-up +45# x 5, 5 - Chins +90# x 3
Pistols 16 kg rack x 3+3
Uneven push-up x 5+5
16 kg Snatch x 30+30

If the reps changed for an exercise it is noted
HSPU was on and off of being able to really dial in the abs

2 circuits of:
dips +45# x 10
Bridges x 6

Some circuits

Minimal prep

Circuit of:
Hanging Leg Raise x 5
Handstand Push-up x 5
Pistols x 10 alternating legs
Chins + 90# x 3
X 3 circuits

Circuit of:
Dips + 90# x 3
Head Bridge from CC x 5
X 3 circuits

Was able to keep really solid ab activation in the HSPU

Good day of training

Great weather for outdoor training
 Prep - foam roller, aslr, t-spine, rolling
32 kg windmill x 5+5
32 kg bent-press x 5+5
32 kg SLDL x 5+5
32 kg MP x 5+5
Pistols x 5+5
 32 kg snatches x 21 sets - density style First 10 sets 4+4 at the top of each minute Next 11 sets 3+3 Stretch

Upcoming workshops:


Don't miss these upcoming workshops - BIG discounts are about to expire....


CICS 
LINK HERE


RKC in San Diego
LINK HERE

Swings and snatches

After a little bit of grease the groove work I had the chance for a quick bit of swings and snatches

basically it was 40 sets of 15 seconds on/15 seconds off
The first 20 sets were circuits of:
44 kg  2 arm swing
40 kg Alternating swing
24 kg Snatch Left
24 kg Snatch Right

Sets 21-24:
40 kg 2 arm swing
32 kg Alternating swing
24 kg Snatch Left
24 kg Snatch Right

Sets 25-30:
32 kg 2 arm swing
24 kg Snatch Left
24 kg Snatch Right

Sets 31-40:
24 kg Swing Left
24 kg Swing Right

I just kept modifying to keep up with the fatigue etc...
Averaged 9-10 reps with the 2 arm swing
8-9 on the alternating swing
7 reps on snatches and on arm swings

Might feel this one tomorrow

RESEARCH

I found this VERY interesting:

In cancer science, many 'discoveries' don't hold up

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former researcher at Amgen Inc has found that many basic studies on cancer -- a high proportion of them from university labs -- are unreliable, with grim consequences for producing new medicines in the future.

During a decade as head of global cancer research at Amgen, C. Glenn Begley identified 53 "landmark" publications -- papers in top journals, from reputable labs -- for his team to reproduce. Begley sought to double-check the findings before trying to build on them for drug development.

Result: 47 of the 53 could not be replicated. He described his findings in a commentary piece published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

"It was shocking," said Begley, now senior vice president of privately held biotechnology company TetraLogic, which develops cancer drugs. "These are the studies the pharmaceutical industry relies on to identify new targets for drug development. But if you're going to place a $1 million or $2 million or $5 million bet on an observation, you need to be sure it's true. As we tried to reproduce these papers we became convinced you can't take anything at face value."

The failure to win "the war on cancer" has been blamed on many factors, from the use of mouse models that are irrelevant to human cancers to risk-averse funding agencies. But recently a new culprit has emerged: too many basic scientific discoveries, done in animals or cells growing in lab dishes and meant to show the way to a new drug, are wrong.

Begley's experience echoes a report from scientists at Bayer AG last year. Neither group of researchers alleges fraud, nor would they identify the research they had tried to replicate.

But they and others fear the phenomenon is the product of a skewed system of incentives that has academics cutting corners to further their careers.

George Robertson of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia previously worked at Merck on neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's. While at Merck, he also found many academic studies that did not hold up.

"It drives people in industry crazy. Why are we seeing a collapse of the pharma and biotech industries? One possibility is that academia is not providing accurate findings," he said.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Over the last two decades, the most promising route to new cancer drugs has been one pioneered by the discoverers of Gleevec, the Novartis drug that targets a form of leukemia, and Herceptin, Genentech's breast-cancer drug. In each case, scientists discovered a genetic change that turned a normal cell into a malignant one. Those findings allowed them to develop a molecule that blocks the cancer-producing process.

This approach led to an explosion of claims of other potential "druggable" targets. Amgen tried to replicate the new papers before launching its own drug-discovery projects.

Scientists at Bayer did not have much more success. In a 2011 paper titled, "Believe it or not," they analyzed in-house projects that built on "exciting published data" from basic science studies. "Often, key data could not be reproduced," wrote Khusru Asadullah, vice president and head of target discovery at Bayer HealthCare in Berlin, and colleagues.

Of 47 cancer projects at Bayer during 2011, less than one-quarter could reproduce previously reported findings, despite the efforts of three or four scientists working full time for up to a year. Bayer dropped the projects.

Bayer and Amgen found that the prestige of a journal was no guarantee a paper would be solid. "The scientific community assumes that the claims in a preclinical study can be taken at face value," Begley and Lee Ellis of MD Anderson Cancer Center wrote in Nature. It assumes, too, that "the main message of the paper can be relied on ... Unfortunately, this is not always the case."

When the Amgen replication team of about 100 scientists could not confirm reported results, they contacted the authors. Those who cooperated discussed what might account for the inability of Amgen to confirm the results. Some let Amgen borrow antibodies and other materials used in the original study or even repeat experiments under the original authors' direction.

Some authors required the Amgen scientists sign a confidentiality agreement barring them from disclosing data at odds with the original findings. "The world will never know" which 47 studies -- many of them highly cited -- are apparently wrong, Begley said.

The most common response by the challenged scientists was: "you didn't do it right." Indeed, cancer biology is fiendishly complex, noted Phil Sharp, a cancer biologist and Nobel laureate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Even in the most rigorous studies, the results might be reproducible only in very specific conditions, Sharp explained: "A cancer cell might respond one way in one set of conditions and another way in different conditions. I think a lot of the variability can come from that."

THE BEST STORY

Other scientists worry that something less innocuous explains the lack of reproducibility.

Part way through his project to reproduce promising studies, Begley met for breakfast at a cancer conference with the lead scientist of one of the problematic studies.

"We went through the paper line by line, figure by figure," said Begley. "I explained that we re-did their experiment 50 times and never got their result. He said they'd done it six times and got this result once, but put it in the paper because it made the best story. It's very disillusioning."

Such selective publication is just one reason the scientific literature is peppered with incorrect results.

For one thing, basic science studies are rarely "blinded" the way clinical trials are. That is, researchers know which cell line or mouse got a treatment or had cancer. That can be a problem when data are subject to interpretation, as a researcher who is intellectually invested in a theory is more likely to interpret ambiguous evidence in its favor.

The problem goes beyond cancer.

On Tuesday, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences heard testimony that the number of scientific papers that had to be retracted increased more than tenfold over the last decade; the number of journal articles published rose only 44 percent.

Ferric Fang of the University of Washington, speaking to the panel, said he blamed a hypercompetitive academic environment that fosters poor science and even fraud, as too many researchers compete for diminishing funding.

"The surest ticket to getting a grant or job is getting published in a high-profile journal," said Fang. "This is an unhealthy belief that can lead a scientist to engage in sensationalism and sometimes even dishonest behavior."

The academic reward system discourages efforts to ensure a finding was not a fluke. Nor is there an incentive to verify someone else's discovery. As recently as the late 1990s, most potential cancer-drug targets were backed by 100 to 200 publications. Now each may have fewer than half a dozen.

"If you can write it up and get it published you're not even thinking of reproducibility," said Ken Kaitin, director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. "You make an observation and move on. There is no incentive to find out it was wrong."

(Note: Amgen researcher C. Glenn Begley is not related to the author of this story, Sharon Begley)

(Reporting By Sharon Begley; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Maureen Bavdek)

Couple of days of training:

Friday -
Prep - Foam roller, ASLR, Brettzel, Hips, Rolling
circuit of:
Pistol x 5+5
One arm push-up x 3+3
SLDL 24 kg x 10 alternating
Handstand push-up x 5
x 2 circuits

24 kg Snatch x 25+25

Stretch

Today:
Prep - Foam Roller, ASLR, T-spine, Rolling
Pistols x 5+5
32 kg Windmill x 3+3
32 kg Snatch x 3+3 x 20 sets (density training style - reps at top of minute)
Stretch

Feeling pretty good...

Just in case you forgot what I looked like...

I know the updates have been infrequent but it's been that kind of month or so - Taxes, business etc...

But things are rolling

GoDaddy has web hosting with basic site design - now I just need to sit down and get the site loaded up so the main site will be coming soon but I will likely keep the blog here (unless the new site design has an easy blog page set up)

Training is good - lots of body weight work (HSPU, HLRs, OAPU, Bridging, Front levers, pistols etc....)

Today:
Prep - Foam roller, ASLR, T-spine, rolling, hips
24 kg Arm bar + Get-up x 1+1, 1+1
24 kg Windmill x 3+3
24 kg Snatch test - 100 reps in just under 5 min (first 80 reps without stopping, 30 sec rest then 5+5, 5+5)
A few sets of pistols, hspu, leg raises, bridging
stretch and roll

This was my first snatch test in quite a while and I am overall pleased with the effort.  First 80 reps was 20+20, 10+10, 10+10 - 30 sec rest then 5+5 twice)

Doing good and more coming once I can get the site loaded and I will try not to have any more lags in posting

Thanks for checking in

It's been a while since I posted but taxes and other "things" have kept me hopping...

Training has been sporadic but ok -
For example

today
Prep - Limited
24 kg Windmill x 5+5
Double 24 kg SLDL x 5+5

Double 24 kg Jerks
ladder of { 2 - 3 - 5 - 10 } x 3 ladders
ladder of { 2 - 3 - 5 } x 2 ladders

HLRs x 5, 5

Stretch

still keeping on the bodyweight exercises - pistols, handstands etc...

more later....

Quick training Prep - foam roller, aslr, t-spine, hips, rolling 24 kg get-up to elbow x 5+5 Pistols x 10 alternating 24 kg Snatch 20+20 2 min rest 15+15 1:30 rest 10+10 5+5 Stretch Rested as long as it took to complete the snatches Nice and easy

How to Prepare for and PASS the RKC

By: Brett Jones Master RKC, CSCS

Over the past 9+ years I have been involved in the RKC program and have  seen many certification attendees come through the three days that make up the RKC experience. My goal in this article is to provide you—the RKC hopeful—with a template that will have you prepared for the RKC. This is important because it is a physically  demanding weekend where you must still learn large amounts of technique, corrections and principles. If your body is not up to the challenge then you will not learn effectively. And that just will not do!

Unlike most 200 question multiple choice weekend certifications, you will earn your RKC with sweat and hard work. In addition, you will be tested on demonstration of proper technique in the basic RKC drills and the ability to assimilate application of the proper

corrections at the right time—it is an instructor’s course. Read the testimonials if you need proof. Again—you will  earn this certification.

Where I think the preparation process goes awry is in two main areas. These are:

#1—Too much emphasis on the snatch test

#2—Not preparing for three,  8+ hour days of work.

While the snatch test is important, it is only a starting point. It is a requirement  because we—as instructors—need to see that you have the base level of conditioning and overhead stability to even begin the course, proving to us that you have at least picked up your kettlebell and that you have some experience with the tool. But it is not ‘the test’ of the certification—as I stated it is only a starting point. Because RKC hopefuls get focused on the snatch test they tend to forget that three days of 8+ hours of practice of the basic drills and corrections await them, and this does not include the three (or more) 20-30 minute workouts during each day

Step #1 -

is to find your snatch test requirements and read and understand the rules. Ask questions on the dragondoor.com forum if you need to do so.  Now go one weight class up and prepare for those numbers. This will provide a comfortable cushion and allow you to relax going into the snatch test. Steve Freides has written an excellent article on preparing for the snatch test available on dragondoor.com. There are other excellent articles available as well, so do some reading and be prepared for your snatch test.  Also scroll down the blog here on appliedstrength.com for a post on how to prepare for the snatch test.  

Step #2 -

is to get prepared to demonstrate proper form in the basic kettlebell drills. To do this I would recommend a session with your local RKC so you can eliminate mistakes and prevent grooving any bad habits. If this is not possible, then you will have to rely upon DVDs and books. I would recommend:

Enter the Kettlebell! bookand DVD, Kettlebell Basics for Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers DVD set, and the original RKC book. This will provide you a set of resources that will give you ample information to prepare for the certification and arrive prepared.

Step #3 -

is to get physically ready to handle the RKC weekend. Below I will lay out a template of practice that will help in preparing you and I will make suggestions on mimicking the weekend so that you will not be caught by surprise and have to battle the physical demands placed on you. The template lays out three different workouts for three consecutive days where one drill will be emphasized as the other drills are practiced in between. Perform 1-3 circuits of the drills in the order listed. Perform 5-8 reps per set except on swings where you can feel free to increase the reps as long as form stays perfect. You will not need a day to emphasize cleans or snatches as you will

be performing enough of those during the other drills and with your snatch test practice (which is to be performed in addition to these workouts on at least two of the days).

Workout #1

Swing

Clean and Press

Swing

Clean and Front Squat

Swing

Get-up

Swing

Snatch

Swing

Workout #2

Clean and Press

Get-up

Clean and Press

Clean and Front Squat

Clean and Press

Swing

Clean and Press

Snatch

Clean and Press

Workout #3

Clean and Front Squat

Swing

Clean and Front Squat

Clean and Press

Clean and Front Squat

Get-up

Clean and Front Squat

Snatch

Clean and Front Squat

This is about practicing the drills and perfecting form while increasing conditioning specific to the weekend. Hence, you will be performing the three consecutive days of  training in addition to the snatch test preparations. I would even suggest that you make Friday, Saturday and Sunday your workout days—then rest on Monday and work additional snatch test workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday and then rest on Thursday before beginning again on Friday. This will get you in the groove for the weekend. You will also need to rotate intensity of volume and weight—16 kg for 5 circuits one day and 24kg for 3 circuit the next— Single Kettlebell drills one day and double  Kettlebell drills the next etc…(be sure you put time in on the drills with double KBs).

I would also recommend Super Joints drills to keep your body ‘tuned up’ and prepared for this type of training.  Be willing to reduce the volume and weight if needed—DO NOT GET INJURED preparing for the RKC. BE SMART!

So there you have it—a training template that will have you physically tuned up and ready for the demands of the RKC weekend. Nothing is more frustrating for us as instructors than people arriving ill prepared for the RKC. So put your time in and remember that you will earn your RKC. You have been warned.

Kettlebell Snatch Test Requirements

100 Kettlebell Snatches in 5 minutes

The sum of both arms is scored. Depending on the gender, age, and bodyweight, the candidate must perform the following number of reps in the specified time:

Men Open Class up to 60kg/132lbs

20kg

100/5min

Men Open Class over 60kg/132lbs

24kg

100/5min

Men Masters (50-64)

20kg

100/5min

Men Seniors (65 and over)

20kg

50/3min

Women Open Class up to 56kg/123.5lbs

12kg

100/5min

Women Open Class over 56kg/123.5lbs

16kg

100/5min

Women Masters (50-64)

12kg

100/5min

Women Seniors (65 and over)

12kg

50/3min

If you do not pass the snatch test at the Certification, you may retake the test no later than 90 days after the course. You may retake the test in person with a Master, Senior, or RKC Team Leader in your area or send the video to your team leader.

So how are you going to prepare for this requirement?

The sample training routine below is specific to the 24 kg requirements but you can adjust it accordingly for your KB weight requirement.

This is about as simple as I can make it:

Day one: Heavy One Arm Swing

32 kg One arm swing x 10 min - Goal of 10+10 x 8 sets

Day two - 24 kg Snatches

Density Training = certain number of reps at the beginning of a minute then rest till the start of the next minute and repeat

5+5 x 15 minutes

6+6 x 13 minutes

7+7 x 12 minutes

8+8 x 10 minutes

9+9 x 9 minutes

10+10 x 7 minutes

Stay with a workout until it is “easy” then progress to the next step/level

at 10+10 x 7 minutes you will have passed the snatch test + 2 extra minutes

This means 40-45 seconds of snatches with 15-20 seconds to set the KB down and shake it off and recover.

Why 2 extra minutes?

Because you should go into your RKC knowing that you OWN the Snatch test.

Day 3 - 16 kg Snatches

16 kg snatches x 10-15 minutes 

Higher number of snatches (20-30) per arm will build more grip endurance, condition the skin on the hands, and give you a day of volume without beating you up.

So you have a heavy day of swings to build power and grip, a day specific to the snatch test, and a day 

of volume for extra conditioning but not a beating.

There are many, many strategies for attacking the RKC Snatch test but this is a simple way to 

accomplish the task, save the hands and have lots of energy left for the weekend.

(You’ll need it!!)

Training today

Prep - Foam roller, ASLR, T-spine, Hips, Rolling

44 kg Get-up to elbow x 4+4, 3+3, 2+2, 1+1

Circuit of:
40 kg MP x Right x 2 + Left x 1+1negative x 3 sets
Chins - One arm Band assisted x 3+3 x 3 sets
Pistols (bodyweight) x 5+5 x 3 sets

Ropes x 12 min
(1 min alternating + 1 min symmetrical)

Band assisted one arm chins are with one arm on the bar and the other hand holding a jump stretch band - like Step 9 in the CC progressions

Another day of training...

I was sore (pleasantly) from my session Monday and only did movement work/stretching yesterday but decided to hit it again today.

Prep - Foam Roller, ASLR, T-spine, Hips, Rolling
Chins with two 16kg Kbs hanging from the feet x 3, 3, 3, 2+
16 kg Rack Pistols - Clean Right = 1 right + 1 Left - Clean Left = 1 Left + 1 right
X 4 sets
DL - 315 x 3, 3, 3
HSPU - full range x 2, 2 - 2" short of full range x 2
Stretch

Also worked (a little) on muscle ups and one arm iso holds at the top + negative

Feeling good

Great day of training yesterday

Prep - not much - did some movement work during the morning but launched right into training

Chins + 90# x 2 x 5 sets
Pistols (bw) x 10 alternating legs x 5 sets
DL (semi-sumo stance) x 315 x 3 x 3 sets
Handstand Push-ups - at various ranges using 2 adjustable steps
Full range x 1, 1
2" short of full range x 2
4" short of full range x 2
hands on ground x 5
Stretch

Also hit my first Muscle Up - haven't been practicing - just decided to do it and after a few missed reps I got it.  I'll be keeping some of these in as I work on my one arm chin.

Foam roller later in the day

good and sore today - in a great way - perfectly worked

DL was a semi sumo stance (little toes lined up with the rings on the bar) and hook grip.
Starting back nice and easy on the DL

Website is coming but this will likely be the blog for now

Thanks for reading

With any luck this will be a temporary situation and as soon as I can get my web hosting worked out and download and figure out my new Website Software I will be up and running on the website again.

For now the training has been mainly bodyweight GTG work on Pistols, push-ups, HSPU, etc...

With Kbs added in when possible.

For today for example:

Prep - Foam Roller, ASLR, T-spine, hips, Rolling

Bodyweight Pistols x 2+2

32 kg Get-up x 1+1 x 5 sets - no rest between reps or sets

32 kg Rack Pistol x Right side clean with 1 left + 1 right and Left side clean with 1 right + 1 left

32 kg SLDL x 10 alternating legs

32 kg Bent press x 5 +5

Stretch

Having fun and staying busy

On the new website I will transfer over all of the articles etc... from the other website

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you!

I have had to revert to my old blog site on blogger since Mac eliminated the MobileMe web site hosting whe you upgrade to iCloud - my first and VERY negative experience with Apple.

I will get this cleaned up and ready to roll very soon.

Thank you for your patience.

Brett