With that said, all of my training is about to take a dramatic shift for a while. I'll be pulling heavy every other week, higher rep squats, 1 legged movements, more overhead work, and just doing a lot of things I have not been doing for a while. What will happen when I go to prepare for a meet or something else, is then run a shorter (4-6) cycle and scale things back.
Like it or lump it, Crossfit is here to stay, and I have a feeling those Crossfit games are going to blow up something big. At least as big as Strongman stuff. Powerlifting is never going to be that popular and I will tell you why. Movement. People like to watch movement. In powerlifting it's all closed chain movement and the competitor barely moves (esp if he competes in certain feds, heh). He squats, benches, and deadlifts. In strongman the guy might be picking up barrels of midgets and running over hot coals with em for time. I haven't watched the Crossfit games but they are damn popular. And it's only going to get bigger.
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| What's all the f'n complaining about? |
And for better or worse, I think it's a good thing. People complain about Crossfit all the time because "it isn't this" or "it isn't that" while we have an obesity problem in this country. I mean really? We should be encouraging people to do ANYTHING anymore. Bickering about the fact that Crossfit isn't specific enough is kind of silly to me. Strongmen have to prepare for a shit ton of events, but no one says their training isn't specific enough. To me strongman training is probably the ultimate form of strength training for top shelf athletes. So if someone isn't wanting to be an NFL linebacker or shit, Crossfit seems to serve a few purposes. Get in shape and move. Besides, Crossfit is loaded with lean women with great asses, and people are complaining? I have no complaints.
I've been putting my coconut to work lately on everything that has transpired the last few months. Working my diet to get lean, then eating clean big for several months to get bigger, changing my training towards hypertrophy, then running a short meet cycle to get ready for the meet. If not for my popped quad I know without a doubt that I go at least 640-430-650. I was good for a 450 bench as well but the ass cramp on 418 threw me for a loop. So something in the 1710-1730 range, beltless. Not otherworldly by any stretch of the imagination but I've said from day 1, I am not a naturally gifted lifter. This isn't an apology this is a fact. I wasn't deadlifting 500 from day 1 and benching 350 when I was 16 and shit. I have worked incredibly hard to get to where I am at, a decent level of strength.
What I am getting with all of this is, I think you can work towards getting almost everything without compromising something else to a great degree. Think of training as a pie chart with percentages. When size is the goal, you allocate more resources (food, training reps) to that piece. You can't move more resources to that percentage without taking away from other sources (conditioning and cardio), but you can be choosy about how much you allocate. This is all rumbling around in my head right now so give me some time to work on it and I'll get it all out there.
No difference in banned breeds of dog when it comes to aggression
The above link just has a study reporting what all responsible dog owners know. "Banned" breeds are no more dangerous than any other dog. It really all comes back to the owners. And everytime I see some owner with a chain for a walking leash or some shit like that, I want to bury my knee deep into their fucking grill. Dogs are essentially the greatest non-human companions we have on this planet. They should not be used for fighting or to be your status symbol of how "gangsta" or how "tough" you are. A dog makes you neither, it just makes you a fucking piece of shit for creating an unstable dog.
The Fighter - Watched this last night. It still falls under my "generic sports movie theme" for the most part. However Christian Bale and Marky Mark were both fantastic in their roles. And on a personal note this movie hit home with me on some levels because I've dealt with family members who suffered from addiction.
I don't care what anyone says, that Fedor fight was an early stoppage. Yes he went limp for a second. Literally, for a second. 1 mississippi...2 mississi-Fedor is turning over to defend himself. But nope, Herb Dean, assclown extraordinare, calls it a stoppage. I like Hendo so it's not like I had a dog in this fight but Fedor has been rocked like that 100 times, recovered quickly, and won. This could have easily been one of those epic fights instead we get an early stoppage. At least give a guy 2 seconds to turn over and defend himself. With all that said, you gotta wonder where Fedor goes from here. I said this a long time ago about BJ Penn, eventually you slow down enough so that the people around you catch up or pass you. BJ Penn got by for a long time on God given skill without putting in a lot of work. By the time he figured out he needed to put in the work, it was too late. Now no one "fears" stepping in with Penn, and this will obviously take some of the aura out of what Fedor was. I think if Fedor cut down to 205 he could probably dominate for a while again, but the fact is, he needs to change camps and reinvent himself a bit. I don't know if that will ever happen.
What I do hate to see is all of the schmucks and idiots come out of the woodwork to dog on Fedor. The guy ran off a string in MMA that will never be matched. And while there are some tomato cans thrown in there (what guy doesn't get fed some of those in his career?) he fought wars against a lot of name guys in their prime. He's still going to go down as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, like it or lump it.
That covers most of my weekend bases. Hope everyone had a GOOT ONE. Monday's still suck.
i thought the stoppage was premature too.
ReplyDeleteyeah, there's worse things than Crossfit.
how will you structure the 2xwk split?
geoff
More than likely something like this.....
ReplyDeleteWeek 1 -
Day 1
Pause Squats
Hack Squats
Lunges or 1 Legged Squats
Abs
PBN
Chin/Row/Pulldown
Bicep
Tricep
Week 2 -
Front Squat
Block Pull
Stiff Leg or Speed Pull
Abs
Clean and Press
Upper Back
Biceps
Triceps
This is about what I am thinking.
so no inclines,close grips, chest work at all? interesting! 3xwk conditioning?
ReplyDeletei don't think fedor will change much at this point in his life. poss do some fights in europe or japan for $$ then maybe retire seems more likely.
geoff
Crossfit related article. I do completely agree with you though, whatever crossfit is, its better than the usual elliptical and 5lb dumbell workouts girls normally do.
ReplyDeletehttp://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/a_new_perspective
-Andy
Geoff - Dips will probably be included but I'm finally going to bite the bullet and see what I can do with my gifted overhead abilities that I constantly ignore.
ReplyDeleteAndy - And better than the thigh master.
i see that your boy overheem got dropped by Strikeforce after refusing to fight the next round of the grand prix? i think silva would have beaten him up but think his refusal is more than likely related to not having enough time to work his cycle out to pass the test haha.
ReplyDeletegeoff
Crossfit will be huge cuz they have hot chicks.
ReplyDelete~Barney
And hot chics are awesome.
ReplyDeleteGeoff - He got dropped because he refused to fight because of an injury. Smart guys don't run PED's that way, and I don't think it has anything to do with that actually. Reem asked the fight to be delayed until October but they wouldn't change. I thought he should fight. That's what he gets paid to do. He'll be in UFC after October. Mark my words.
I can see the argument for an early stoppage, but the only thing that brought him back to consciousness was Hendo's fist, similar to the 2nd Rampage/Chuck fight. The first blow put him out, the 2nd woke him up. I think Herb was trying to jump in as soon as he saw him go out, but by the time he got there, Fedor was back to consciousness, and he can't just jump back out at that point. But I can see the argument for letting it continue. Just as with you, I didn't have a dog in that fight, I respect the hell outta both guys.
ReplyDeletehey paul got a question for you. i just got wendlers 5/3/1 for power lifting, and i was puzzled by something. in the pre-meet training cycle it lasts for 4 weeks? so i guess what i am asking, is would you train with the 5/3/1 template, to gain muscle mass, and then 4 weeks out from the meet take singles then deload the last week? and also, what do you think about people getting this for ebook for free? i spent $40 on both the 5/3/1 books just to find out you can get them for free? i wonder if jim knows that?
ReplyDelete1. yes, sounds right.
ReplyDelete2. I think you should always support the guys that do this for a living or otherwise because Jim also gives out a fuckton of free info.
3. I'm sure he does. And he wouldn't give a crap. Not a lot bothers that asshole.
nicely put.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Fedor moving down all the way to LHW is that the fighters get more talented outside of the shallow HW division.
ReplyDeleteThat, and he would lose the speed advantage he has had his whole career. I thought he would have a strength advantage, but Hendo dominated the clinch in their fight.
Cross fit is fine. Cross fight cult members, just like the old HIT jedis, are the worst.
Actually that 205 division sucks nuts IMO. Who is in it? Jon Jones? Who has he beat besides an out of shape Shogun? Machida is a fraud. Bader was a fraud (who the fuck loses to Tito?). He could run around in the 205 division and probably have another decent run before he retired.
ReplyDeleteHey Paul,
ReplyDeleteI don't really hate anything about the crossfit games specifically, but I don't think you have ever had a crossfitter come up and act like they are so superior and more functional than you like a lot have. Some (certainly not all) act like you are useless if you don't do crossfit and give you the whole "you can't do what we do, but we can do what you do almost as well as you can" bullshit. At least their terrible form and random programming will keep pumping out slap tears and keep my profession in business.
And for the Fedor/Hendo fight, I was actually there. I am not nearly as knowledgable at MMA type of discussions as you; however, I guess I wasn't surprised he stopped the fight. The way I saw it, Herb saw Fedor basically drop limp and called it then. I figured the MMA world doesn't want to get in any heat for causing too much damage by letting the fights go on too long. If Herb would have let him drop, and then Hendo gets 4-5 nasty shots with Fedor not moving I figure the MMA world would be getting more heat than stopping it too close. I do see what your saying, though, as Fedor did seem to snap out of it. However, he clearly dropped (looking like he was out cold) and I think most refs are going to jump in as quick as they see that. Maybe they should let it go, though. I do not know.
Also, did you see the Chael Sonnen interview recently where he goes off on basically everyone, even talking about Pride being rigged and Fedor not really winning all those fights. That guy is hilarious.
I think people are being too hard on Overeem. Yes fighters should fight but they shouldn't have to fight injured if they don't have to. I think at this point Rashad could eat Fedor's lunch. He should have hung them up after fighting Silva. And there was nothing wrong with that stoppage. The only reason Fedor woke up, like Brock wrote, was due to Hendo's punches. We've seen that scenario play out time and time again. And the whole point of this sport is for the fighters to not take unnecessary damage. Fedor did a damn face plant on the mat. Any ref worth his salt would've done the same.
ReplyDeleteRobbie - I am a Reem fan, but something about this smells bad to me. As far as Fedor goes, watch his history of fights and see how many times he has been rocked like that, only to win the fight moments later. That's generally been why his legacy grew. But that's neither here nor there now. I thought the stoppage was early, but at the same time can see if someone thought it was the right call as well. But Rashad eating his lunch? Uh, no. Never. Rashad hasn't beaten anything but tomato cans. He still has a ton to prove.
ReplyDeleteAbe - Never had that problem with a Crossfit person. I know quite a few and there are very cool. I don't think it's training that makes people that way, I think that some people are just assholes and then find something to be dogmatic about.
The Sonnen interview was damn funny, but I don't buy a fucking thing he says. Wandy was a fucking machine during that time and walked through Rampage, who was a better fighter then than now, twice like he wasn't there.
Age and punishment catches up to every fighter eventually.
Well Fedor isn't Fedor anymore and neither is his recovery. And my point about Rashad is that he has great handspeed and wrestling. Enough to give anybody trouble and with Fedor losing a step I could see Rashad finishing him.
ReplyDeleteBeating him? possibly. Eating his lunch? Hell no. There is a difference. That's all I'm saying.
ReplyDeleteFair enough
ReplyDeleteHaters gonna hate!
ReplyDeleteUgh, Fedor...no further comment.
Dogs are awesome but some of the issues are in the breeding (e.g., dogs bred for "friendliness" are actually bred to be unstable). If you're interested in dogs I recommend checking out Natural Dog Training.
http://naturaldogtraining.com/
Al
Al - There is always a temperament style that comes with every dog. But there is no such thing as an unstable dog that is raised by an owner who understands how to handle that breed and the behavior that comes with that dog.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I should’ve said they have instability since I don’t think they are completely unstable or uncontrollable. Also, I would argue that many people don’t understand dogs that well (I’m still trying to understand many things myself) whether they are anthropomorphizing, misinterpreting or just misinformed. I’ve seen dogs that were raised by people who were very familiar with the breed and well intentioned end up with a tragedy. I encourage you to read that link and decide for yourself. It’s the only thing that has ever really made sense to me when it comes to dogs.
ReplyDeleteP.s. Keep up the great work on the blog.
Will do.
ReplyDeletei'm with you on Sonnen; he's really funny but full of shit!
ReplyDeleteAs regards how well certain fighters did in Pride but then either faded or "took some time to adjust" is probably related to the lack of PED testing in Japan.
Zuffa own Strikeforce don't they? in that case i dont see Overheem being in UFC anytime soon. Dana hates fighters that dont do what theyre told!
I cant see Fedor going to lght-hvy - and not sure where he'd fight if he did. i still think a coupla "retirement" fights in europe/russia/japan will be the path he chooses. btw i can see an arguement for Hendo fight being stopped when it was as well, in fact if it hadnt been Fedor (who as paul says has come back from very similar situations in past) then there probably wouldnt be too many thinkin it was premature with Hendo pounding down on them - look at what he did to Bisping (which was f*ckin GREAT btw!!)
geoff
Dana also likes big PPV's and popularity and Overeem brings that. That will outweigh everything else.
ReplyDeleteOvereem isn't very well known. I think the PPV buys and ticket sales would show that. That's not to say he couldn't blow up huge with the UFC hype machine behind him, but right now, he's (1) a guy who played bullshit games (pinky toe injury?? really??) and screwed up the Strikeforce tournament, and (2) isn't a huge draw. I think he gets sent packing.
ReplyDeleteFedor... He won't fight at LHW. He won't cut weight. He's already said that. He's done very well by using his speed advantage against guys who are bigger than him. He'd lose that at LHW.
It's unfortunate really. He has obviously lost the desire to train hard or update his style and strategy. His own coach hinted at that in a pre-fight interview, saying his success depends on whether he's willing to work hard (insinuating that he's not). He doesn't train like he used too. Looking at him, he's lost size and gotten softer. He's mellowed with age. He wants to sling sloppy bombs and tangle up, try to get a quick finish...and it's not working but he won't try anything else. He FINALLY tried the shocking idea of training with....NEW PARTNERS (!!!) this time by going to Holland (I think) to train with top kickboxers...but I didn't see any signs of that in his fight. And he trained with his brother...which is a nice storyline but his brother is nowhere NEAR a top fighter and he never was. What did you expect to happen??
His heart just doesn't seem in it anymore, and that's fine but it's time to retire. And once a guy loses heart, you RARELY see a revival (e.g., CroCop).
As for the stoppage, I don't think it was necessarily premature. He was clearly out, and then wobbly when he was helped to his feet. On the other hand, if anyone deserves a chance to get back to his feet, it's a veteran like Dan Henderson or Fedor. It's not like you're protecting a baby bird here. You're talking durable, expert, veteran fighters. In that sense, he could've been given more time to survive.
Alistair is a huge draw. Strikeforce sold out in St. Louis for his bout with Rogers. MMA isn't some backyard sport anymore, people who follow it know fighters now. And Alistair is as well known as just about anyone.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, something stinks about this whole thing. I don't know what, but there is something just not right about it.