Mid December Recap

Eating well has been tough at work. Shit. Cookies and fudge and shit every day. Man. Here's what I've done since the Tuesday, Dec 7th workout with George (in which I failed - quite spectacularly - to lift 3x12 at 175/185/185.

Saturday, December 11th -
Went to the Y with Laura. I wasn't feeling particularly strong...I did 3 sets of 8-10 squats at 175 lb or so. We also did pull-ups, core, and some weight circuits.

Sunday, December 12th -
Went to the Y with Laura and Agan. Went over what I knew about squat form with Agan. Did some squats, dead lifts, jump squats, abductors, adductors, and glute extensions. I didn't go for my squat goals, obviously, having worked out the day before. It was a good workout, though. My legs were a little tired the next day.

Tuesday, December 14th -
Went to the Y with Laura. I tried to rack 175 lbs for the squat but my legs felt weak from the get-go. I barely managed sets of 8, unaided. We did our pull-ups and core as well. We ended with a lower-body focused mini conditioning mile, except we ran 400m each time and only ran that 3 times. My legs were clearly a bit overworked at this stage, so I planned to take 4-5 days off from squat attempts

Sunday, December 19th -
Went on a 35 minute interval run with Laura. We jogged for 4 minutes, then strided out for 1 minute...doing the circuit 7 times. I have done a longer run like this in a while and my legs were feeling it by the end. Laura was pretty much done. We also hadn't really eaten anything and it was already 3pm. The plan was to then go and lift, but we were useless at the Y so we called it.

Tuesday, December 22nd -
Went to the Y with Laura. It'd been a week since I lifted (and, per above, I haven't been eating particularly well), so I wasn't sure what to expect. I started at 175 lbs and did a set of 12. The last one was a bit tougher but I felt good enough to go for my 3x12 175/185/185...which I got. I was very happy, especially since I had not come close two weeks prior. We also did the requisite pull-ups and weight circuits. Laura is seeing some returns from the gym trips too, so she's encouraged as well.

Which brings me to today. Now that I finally got my 175/185/185 workout, I plan to continue as I had originally designed and will increase weight while bringing reps down from 12 to 8...my next workout will be on Saturday and will be 3 sets of 8 reps at 185/195/195. Then onward and upward from session to session. I'm looking forward to jumping into the sprint season with a stronger leg base than in past years. I want to continue to increase my leg strength over the next 5 months and think it will be the difference maker. Also high on my priority list - athletically - is to get more serious longer interval runs in...and do some of the running-type crossfit workouts that seem to challenge folks well. Now is the time to do that, so I'm looking to you, George and Jammin, to lead the running effort, babies! I need to have a better strength endurance base.

On a related note, one of my sports-academic goals over the next month or so is to do some technically-savvy note taking on the athletic books I bought early this year. One thing I just brushed up on, though, and that I thought I'd share, is the difference between strength and power and how/when additional strength yields decreasing returns...

Strength is force exerted...which is closely estimated by a 1RM (maximal force is actually exerted when you exert against a weight heavy enough such that velocity is 0...imagine dropping into a squat and then being unable to move upwards but also not collapsing). Power, though, is actually quite different from strength. Power is force*velocity, and it is power, not strength, that is more highly correlated with athletic performance. Elite strength levels for squats is around 2.5 to 3x body weight. For someone my weight, this translates to 412 to 495 lbs for a 1RM. By my current estimates, I'm somewhere in the high 200s right now, so I clearly have a long way to go. As I increase up to this elite level, strength gains will translate into power gains. I will see both effects (adding stuff like jump-squats, which are more power-oriented, certainly helps). But, the interesting thing is that once you *get* to this elite level, lifting high weight actually doesn't help your power nearly as much as lifting more moderate weight in an explosive manner. Yes, it's true that all the great athletes can squat a shitload. *But that is an end of rather than a means to greatness.* I would bet you a ton of money that even in the average NFL weight room, you'd see explosive, moderate lifts by the runners on the team. You would also see jump squats and plyos...and this is for a strength/power-focused sport, unlike ultimate...as-in, football is at the very high-end of the spectrum. The average foot contact with the ground is less than a second when running. Why would an elite athlete rack 600 lbs and spend 4 seconds on a rep when they can rack 350 and spend 2 seconds...or 300 and do a jump squat? Kantor, it seems like you're the only one on this group who is at or close to this elite strength level. I'd bet that you'd see vast gains in speed and power if you starting squatting more consistently in the high 200 lb range with high reps...and doing jump squats in the mid to high 100s (for starters). That's what I'd do if I were as strong as you, anyway, and there seems to be a lot of evidence for it. I'd still mix in some high-weight days, but I bet those lower-weight lifts are where the gold is.

Have a great break, laddies. See you in the new year.