physical. 04/30/11
If you picked “Path 1″ yesterday, complete “Path 2″ today, or vice-versa.
If you were off, choose either 1 or 2 based on your training week thus far.
As soon as Paths 1 or 2 are complete:
30 Power clean @ 50-75% of BW
mental. (re-post from 07/09/10)
“The manner in which a warrior carries himself is of the utmost importance both physically and mentally. You are undoubtedly familiar with men who are quiet and strong and seem to be doing nothing.
They do not appear to be tense and do not appear to be in disarray. They simply appear. This is exactly the appearance for which they strive. When it is necessary to attack, they do so with complete resolve, sure of themselves, neither over-bearing in attitude nor with false humility.
They attack with one purpose and one purpose only- to destroy the enemy.
They do not take false postures when they prepare for attack.
They simply attack with all their heart and soul…
Whether on or off the battlefield, there is no difference in spirit.
The warrior sees all of life as the battlefield.”
Miyamoto Musashi, from his “Book of Five Rings” as interpreted by Hanshi Steve Kaufman
______
My first real martial arts instructor, Carlos Macias, gave me the book the above quote is taken from about 2 years into our relationship. It was his personal copy, and was painstakingly highlighted. Contained within were concepts that felt very familiar, though I had never seen them on paper or known their origins. I was aware of the importance of strategy in fighting and in business, but never had I seen clearly how important it was to carry that type of discipline and mentality throughout everyday life.
As I moved on to different physical aspects of martial arts, the gift of the book from Mr. Macias enabled me to learn more thoroughly, find incredible importance in the smallest of details, draw knowledge from any and all fields of expertise, and most importantly, introduced me to the difference between a “warrior” and a “sport” mentality.
Though Musashi was writing from the perspective of an ancient Japanese swordsman, the theories and ideas he put forth are timeless, and transferrable to almost anything.
If you are struggling with the path you are on or simply want to take the path further, you may find value in reading “Book of Five Rings.”
physical. 04/29/11
Pick either Path 1 or Path 2 based on your training week thus far.
Path 1
15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 of:
Box Jump
Workout runs on a 15-minute clock. If in the 15 minutes you reach the bottom, start again from the top.
Path 2
12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of:
Dumbbell pushup row
Wallball
In between each set (12, 10, 8, 6, 4, & 2) and at the end is a :20-second Airdyne sprint.
physical. 04/28/11
“Odd Lifts” Thursday!
Maces, hammers, and kettlebells.
Today we did:
3/1 ratio, “Odd Lifts” vs. “Get Your Ass Off The Ground”*
1 set of 90/ 30
1 set of 60/ 20
1 set of 30/ 10
*All “GYAOTG” movements must be performed with the corresponding “Odd Lifts” implement in hand.
Stick with one implement per set (I.E. don’t use hammer & mace in your “90″ round) and no more than 2 motions per set in both “Odd Lifts” and “Get Your Ass Off The Ground”.
physical. 04/27/11
Measure:
Vertical Jump
Do:
Waiter’s walk, Farmer’s walk, rack walk, or any hybrid of- 15yd. x 30
L-sit- 30sec. x 10
OH Squat- 4 sets x 15 reps @ starting weight
Intersperse and partition sets as needed while adhering to distance, time, and rep specifications.
Read:
Introducing the Wolf Brigade “Subject Matter Expert” Program
physical. 04/26/11
10 KB halos*
10 Weighted Abmat situp**
x 4
*Keep the halos heavy & tight.
A good goal is not to drop below your regular swing weight.
**Use as much weight as you can while keeping your ass on the ground at the bottom of the situp and your posture straight & strong at the top.
A good goal is not to drop below your halo weight.
event. 05/07/11
Our friend Alex has organized a strongman competition that will be occurring within the “Imagine RIT” festival on May 7th.
Events like this are always a blast to watch (or participate in…) and are few and far between in this area, so please make a point to attend!
physical. 04/25/11
1 Windmill/ TGU each side*
3 FRHP (Full-range high pull)**
5 DB Burpee***
x 7
*Weight in WM/TGU stays locked out OH during transition between motions. Today, 1L + 1R= 1.
**Use as much weight as you can lift safely from ground to overhead on FRHP. Scale when you need to, not when you want to.
***Feet may land outside the DB’s or between the DB’s on return to standing. The outside foot position resembles our suitcase lift, the inside position resembles our KB C&P.
physical. 04/23/11
6 80% max “Short” KB swing*
3 80% max DL**
x 6
*On our “Short Swing”, back remains flat and as upright as possible, hips move back, legs bend minimally, and the hamstrings & hips propel the KB to chest level, not above. Breathe in on the way down, hold breath tight, breathe out on the way up to add power to the drive.
**Start @ 80% of 1RM, scale immediately if form breaks down.
Note start & end weight.
physical. 04/22/11
4 rounds for time of:
10 “Complex Motor Skill” to box jump*
10 Double KB Clean & Press or Snatch
*The complex motor skill leading up to the box jump can be a reverse lunge, burpee, or rocking chair.
The goal is an immediate jump on to the box as both feet come back to center after part 1 of the motion.
Whenever possible, avoid a “second hop” towards the box, and try to use momentum from part 1 to propel the jump.
physical. 04/21/11
Thursday noon class each week focuses on “Odd Lifts”, which for our purposes include sledgehammers, maces, and kettlebells.
After shoulder mobility & circular range of motion warm-up consisting of 2-second OH swings & KB halos, we chose two KB “Odd Lifts” motions and did:
20/20
15/15
10/10
5/5 of each
(For 1-arm motions, number denotes reps each arm)
Following that, we spent 20 minutes working on stabilizing rotating weight as applied to the mace pendulums, pull-overs, 10/2′s and 360′s, and the 1-handed sledgehammer tire smash.
physical. 04/20/11
“Airdyne/ Row vs. Jumprope”
Partner workout, 20 minutes.
1 partner completes 30-second sprint on Airdyne or 200m row while the other is jumping rope. Switch immediately when time/ meters are complete.
The switch between implements is not a rest period.
Measure total distance covered on Airdyne/ meters pulled on rower for scoring.
Then:
“Isometric Evaluation”
Travel slowly through full ranges of motion on our most common movements, hold when needed to find your sticking points, and spend time mobilizing those areas. If you are commonly ROM deficient in a specific movement that should be your starting point.
physical. 04/19/11
10 1/2 BW suitcase lunge*
50 Abmat situps/ V-ups
x 5
*1/2 BW (50% of what the scale says you weigh) is recommended weight today, but meeting the prescription weight if form is sloppy, inefficient, or dangerous is never acceptable and even less useful.
In our version of the suitcase lunge, hands stay attached to your sides, and do not rock to-and-fro. In the same way we don’t “kip” the bodyweight row with a hip dip, we don’t “kip” the ascent from the suitcase lunge with swinging weight.
physical. 04/18/11
30 Slam ball
15 “Get Your Ass Off The Ground” movements*
x 5
*GYAOTG motions include elevator, rocking chair, TGU, hip-up to standing, back roll to/ from standing, “Tactical” get-up.
Motions today are performed with weight and may be alternated each set, but not during.
mental.
We post every day outlining what we did, but haven’t posted in a while regarding what we do…
Put simply, we want you to and will show you many effective ways to:
Move your bodyweight safe and fast.
Get your ass off the ground.
Lift heavy shit.
In here, and in our version of fitness, one is no more important than another, and one without the others is incomplete.
We want to be as efficient, learned, and technical as we can in performing all tasks relating to these objectives.
Move more, move faster, get stronger.
Eat, rest, recover, repeat.
physical. 04/16/11
6 1-arm High Pull (3L, 3R)*
12 KTE (knees to elbows)
8 rounds or 12 minutes, whichever comes first.
*Use max sustainable weight for HP.
Hasty completion of 8 rounds with insufficient weight and knees not touching elbows in every rep is not a successful mission.
In our 1-arm High Pull, several things we look for are present here: elbow high & outside (always higher than the wrist and the KB), bottom of the KB facing out, not down, and hand moving toward your chin, not outside your shoulder.
The weight pictured here is a demonstration, not a recommendation.
physical. 04/15/11
:30 second rounds of:
Burpee broad jump
Hollow rock
OH squat hold (at bottom) with dowel or empty bar
x 5
physical. 04/14/11
Thursday noon class each week focuses on “Odd Lifts”, which for our purposes include sledgehammers, maces, and kettlebells.
After shoulder mobility & circular range of motion warm-up consisting of 2-second OH swings & KB halos, we did:
10 Macebell virtual shovel/ gravediggers
20 Kettlebell slam dunk
30 2-hand tire smash
x 4
Wolf Brigade – Kettlebell Slam Dunk from Wolf Brigade on Vimeo.
physical. 04/13/11
1 Deadlift, 1 power clean, :45sec. Airdyne sprint x 5 @ 75% of 1RM (clean)
1 Deadlift, 1 power clean, :30sec. Airdyne sprint x 3 @ 90% of 1RM (clean)
1 Deadlift, 1 power clean, :15sec. Airdyne sprint x 1 @ 1RM + add to failure
(clean)
Today, we are deadlifting the same weight we are lifting in the clean in order to emphasize DL mechanics and focus power output on the clean.
Stay attached to the bar between DL & clean.
mental.
Not unlike many people, I put things of this sort in my wallet and they tend to accumulate. Then I put them in this little box that my Grandmother gave me.
15 years later, I have probably 500 “fortunes” that were interesting enough to keep.
Expecting a funny, oddly worded quip about my luck changing or how good a friend I am, you can imagine my surprise when I pulled this one from its little gold shell. Twice in a row. From different restaurants. 12 days apart.
True story, and an even truer message.
