rss 2.0 feed
atom xml feedEstablish a Baseline
The first thing we are looking for is a baseline number of the exercise to be performed. This is simple... If the target exercise is pull ups (as it is with the current challenge), then you execute as many pull ups as possible without dismounting the bar. This is your baseline number, and the amount we will base our percentages on. If you cannot perform the baseline movement, then remedial training (aka scaled versions) can be used in the exercises place. A remedial movement for pull ups is the static hold above the bar, or negative pull ups can be used also.
When establishing your baseline, it is important that you perform this movement with the exact parameters that you will be using for the challenge. It makes no sense to do kipping pull ups for the baseline, and then dead hangs for the rest of the program. Consistency in this aspect is key.
Rest that particular movement for 3 days after setting baseline.
For the purposes of this challenge, we will establish baselines May 1, 2009
Set Rep Designation
So now we have the baseline number. Let's take that number and reduce the load to 10-30 percent of baseline. The percentage is not exact, and will vary based on your fitness level. This new number is our set repetition scheme. Variances will happen, and some sets will be higher reps, some will be lower. Just remember that these numbers are based on muscle fatigue, and not set in stone. For the ultra performers, or those performing more than 5 pull ups a set, it may be desirable to increase the load of the movement with a weight vest or a dumbell placed between the feet as you do the pull ups. Thus allowing a greater facilitation of strength endurance.
Program Execution
Baseline... Check. Rep scheme... Check. Now to execution. The goal of the program is to perform as many reps as possible, without incurring training fatigue in that particular movement. To do this, we take our rep scheme and perform the sets as often as possible throughout the day without incurring muscle failure. The key is underlined, this is the single most important aspect. If your first set of the day brings you to failure, then you need to adjust the rep scheme to allow more sets. If you blast through your set, and feel as though 1 more could have put you into, or close to, failure... you did it right.
Some days you will have more sets per day than others. And some sets will have more reps than others. Just keep out of that failure zone and keep track of the number of sets performed and reps per set.
We will be following a set template of 3 days on the program with 1 day of rest. This will allow for the continuance of existing training programs.
Basline will be re-evaluated every 10 blocks (40 days). With 3 days of rest prior and after. A final baseline taken after an additional 10 blocks. Approximately 90 days from start to finish for the challenge.
Maintaining Current Programs
Obviously some of us will be training while on this challenge. Try to avoid pull up centric workouts while doing the challenge. But don't be afraid to add pull ups to your workout or warm up as long as they do not push you to pull up failure, and ensure you count them towards your set numbers for the day.
Articles > Training Programs > Greasing the Groove: Pull ups - How to execute the program
(4) Comments •
What is Grease the Groove(Synaptic Facilitation)?
Grease the Groove is a synaptic facilitation training protocol championed by Pavel Tsatsouline of RKC kettlebell fame. In this article we will dive into this training formula and explain why it works.
The science mumbo-jumbo broken down Barney-style.
Synaptic facilitation is the strengthening of neural plasticty in the central nervous system through repetition. Basically, we can increase muscular endurance by smoothing out the transmission process across neural pathways. Think of it this way: the individual electrical impulses guiding your ability to perform a specific movement like the pullup are bullets. And the interconnected synapses that follow the path of nerves used to perform that exercise are akin to individual guns. Each gun fires the bullet to the next, and repeating until the motion is complete.
"Specificity + frequent practice = success" – Pavel Tsatsouline
Obviously, the more frequently you used a gun... the more accurate you become(hopefully), and the efficiency of each shot increases. The same is true with the inner working of the human body. Repetitive firing of synapses for a specific movement increase the efficiency of said movement. Agility, speed, and coordination are those traits most closely associated with this type of neural or learned training, but new conclusions have been drawn that this same type of adaptability holds true for the development of strength endurance.
The practice through repetition idea is not new and is inherent to our ability, as humans, to develop new skills and sharpen existing ones. It is the backbone of most fitness programs, regardless of the desired outcome. Where Grease the Groove differs is in it's approach to rest... It requires you to stop well before muscle or CNS(Central Nervous System) failure. The reason for this is simple: less fatigue allows for higher total daily reps, hence more practice of the movement to "grease" the nervous system.
| P=W/t |
For the avid CrossFitter, this will be a bit of shell-shock as we constantly drill INTENSITY=POWER!!!! And we are often left gasping for air and unable to move after each workout. We live, breathe, and die by the formula pictured above to increase endocrine response and forced adaptation . Grease the Groove is quite the opposite. We want to stack the deck for one particular movement and temporarily become a "specialist". As long as the movements specialized in is one that resides in your everyday tool box, then the gains made should remain... even after you revert back to a general physical preparedness program such as CrossFit.
This specialization for the pullups will facilitate an increased work capacity of the single movement, thus increasing the reps we can perform in one set. With a little work, dedication, and help from your peers.. expect to see your pullup numbers double. If you can't do any pullups, we are going to help with that and give you progression movements to achieve those first few, and then some.
Check out how to run a GTG program here
Articles > The Science > What is Grease the Groove(Synaptic Facilitation)?
(17) Comments •
Neuroendocrine Adaptation:
“Neuroendocrine adaptation” is a change in the body that affects you either neurologically or hormonally. Most important adaptations to exercise are in part or completely a result of a hormonal or neurological shift. Current research, much of it done by Dr. William Kraemer, Penn State University, has shown which exercise protocols maximize neuroendocrine responses. Earlier we faulted isolation movements as being ineffectual. Now we can tell you that one of the critical elements missing from these movements is that they invoke essentially no neuroendocrine response.
Among the hormonal responses vital to athletic development are substantial increases in testosterone, insulinlike growth factor, and human growth hormone. Exercising with protocols known to elevate these hormones eerily mimics the hormonal changes sought in exogenous hormonal therapy (steroid use) with none of the deleterious effect. Exercise regimens that induce a high neuroendocrine response produce champions! Increased muscle mass and bone density are just two of many adaptative responses to exercises capable of producing a significant neuroendocrine response.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of the neuroendocrine response to exercise protocols. This is why it is one of the four defining themes of the CrossFit Program. Heavy load weight training, short rest between sets, high heart rates, high intensity training, and short rest intervals, though not entirely distinct components, are all associated with a high neuroendocrine response.
Articles > The Science > Neuroendocrine Adaptation:
(2) Comments •
How to Turn Your Garage into a Crossfit Gym
This is a pictorial showing the 2 weekend adventure of converting my garage into a micro-gym worthy of CrossFit.
First you must find a friend willing to help, or as in my case.... one NOT so willing to help. Enter my best friend, Alex.
Want a recipe for fun? Take 20 rubber mats at 100 pounds a piece, add a healthy dose of rain..... then then try to move them.
To help reduce mildew and to make the mats easier to work with, we first blew them off with a shop-vac blower, and then hand dried them with towels.
After all the whole mats are in place, then we get to cut the 3/4 in hard pressed rubber with none other than a utility knife. This joyous task was left to the very bald, yet very cool guy Alex.
Do take note of the presence of the 2v6 under the mat to provide tension against the cut, and to keep the blade from slipping out and cutting him.
Also Take note of the amount of pressure he is applying to cut the rubber.
While Alex was in the garage cutting mats, I was in the attic preparing the mounting blocks for our gymnast rings.
Just to give you an idea of whats going on here. I have 2x10 beams going across my attic. I wanted to secure my rings using a 12 inch eyebolt for each strap. To accomplish this I had to notch almost 3 inches into the 2x10 and set a crossbeam of 2x6 on top of that as the weight bearing structure.
For stabilization I stacked 3 cuts of 2x6 on top of the sheetrock that is the garage ceiling and secured everything with 3 inch wood screws, 4 count in each piece of wood.
I then drilled my 1/2 hole that would fit my eyebolts, and secured them with a lock washer and washer.
AS you can see from the Garage level, it is a very clean install, with only slight cracking of the popcorn ceiling that we attributed to a large amount of plaster mud build up in that section.
Now we needed to test the strength of the rings, so we enlisted the help of my 2 year old daughter, who was dying to play with the rings anyways.
Yep they hold!
More pictures of the rings:
Now came the joyous task of assembling the following equipment: c2 rower, york press squat stands, york ghd, york commecial 2 tier db stand.
I wont bore you with all the pictures of the process but I will warn you... York's GHD instructions were lacking in instructional department. They rated high in confusion though.
Here is me putting together the 2 tier DB rack:
And now the finished project:
Any questions or comments are appreciated.
Thanks!
Chris Drewry - CrossFit Alpha
Articles > Build Your Own Fitness Equipment > How to Turn Your Garage into a Crossfit Gym
First you must find a friend willing to help, or as in my case.... one NOT so willing to help. Enter my best friend, Alex.
Want a recipe for fun? Take 20 rubber mats at 100 pounds a piece, add a healthy dose of rain..... then then try to move them.
To help reduce mildew and to make the mats easier to work with, we first blew them off with a shop-vac blower, and then hand dried them with towels.
After all the whole mats are in place, then we get to cut the 3/4 in hard pressed rubber with none other than a utility knife. This joyous task was left to the very bald, yet very cool guy Alex.
Do take note of the presence of the 2v6 under the mat to provide tension against the cut, and to keep the blade from slipping out and cutting him.
Also Take note of the amount of pressure he is applying to cut the rubber.
While Alex was in the garage cutting mats, I was in the attic preparing the mounting blocks for our gymnast rings.
Just to give you an idea of whats going on here. I have 2x10 beams going across my attic. I wanted to secure my rings using a 12 inch eyebolt for each strap. To accomplish this I had to notch almost 3 inches into the 2x10 and set a crossbeam of 2x6 on top of that as the weight bearing structure.
For stabilization I stacked 3 cuts of 2x6 on top of the sheetrock that is the garage ceiling and secured everything with 3 inch wood screws, 4 count in each piece of wood.
I then drilled my 1/2 hole that would fit my eyebolts, and secured them with a lock washer and washer.
AS you can see from the Garage level, it is a very clean install, with only slight cracking of the popcorn ceiling that we attributed to a large amount of plaster mud build up in that section.
Now we needed to test the strength of the rings, so we enlisted the help of my 2 year old daughter, who was dying to play with the rings anyways.
Yep they hold!
More pictures of the rings:
Now came the joyous task of assembling the following equipment: c2 rower, york press squat stands, york ghd, york commecial 2 tier db stand.
I wont bore you with all the pictures of the process but I will warn you... York's GHD instructions were lacking in instructional department. They rated high in confusion though.
Here is me putting together the 2 tier DB rack:
And now the finished project:
Any questions or comments are appreciated.
Thanks!
Chris Drewry - CrossFit Alpha
Articles > Build Your Own Fitness Equipment > How to Turn Your Garage into a Crossfit Gym
(16) Comments •
Page 1 of 1 pages ...