About Cloud

I'm a coach, lifter, and writer based out of Austin, TX. Contact me at Vintage Strong.

Guest Post: Jackie and the Platform

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Cloud

Today’s article is courtesy of Jackie. She gives us an honest and frank look into her story of going from a gym-stud to fresh meat on the platform, with a little prodding from her coach. More importantly, it’s easy to see just how much the work we do with the barbell effects our outlooks in the rest of our lives. A huge thanks to Jackie and her coach Chris for bringing us this story – keep ’em coming, folks! – Jacob

When it comes to training, I have had some significant personal accomplishments. Deadlifting 300lbs, pressing the 24kg kettlebell, 32kg Turkish Get Ups, and repping out pull-ups have all been exciting feats. But I must humbly confess that these have all come relatively easily to me. Which begs the question, what am I capable of if I really applied myself? I’ve never really found out the answer, but it’s a question I hope I never stop asking myself. As a recovering fitness trend-junkie, in addition to a stubborn Italian (which is more of a character asset if you ask me), I have always struggled with training “ADHD,” and I occasionally relapse back into old habits of over-training, under-eating, lack of mobility work, and training with the purpose of vanity. This resulted in disturbed sleep patterns, inevitable injuries, mood swings, apathy and boredom. This is a lesson I have learned all too many times, and am frankly sick of getting beat over the head with it (if you’ve met my mentors, you would understand I mean this both figuratively and literally).

The truth is that I haven’t ever really worked hard for something. I mean, really worked for it. To clarify, I have applied myself in school, work, relationships, and I do have experience setting goals and meeting them. Yet, the goals I set were mediocre at best, and easily attainable. To be even more candid, if I did ever set a high standard that would require some serious dedication (which was rare) I would usually quit. Give up. Just like that. If it wasn’t executed perfectly, exactly as I expected, it was over.

But to work hard, hours on end, sacrifices, compromises, losses and gains and more losses, all for something that looks and feels so far away, and promises no guarantees? Nope. Never really knew what it felt like. I’ve been one of those people who would back out in the middle of a winning streak for fear of losing face, who would “stop while I’m ahead,” who wouldn’t pursue something because it would entail some serious effort and risk failure. I have been this person, this way, for most of my life. Which, ironically, isn’t really living it all.

For two years now, Chris Falkner, coach for Tucson Barbell, has been fighting to get me into Olympic lifting. While I did play around with the idea and techniques, it just seemed ‘too hard’ to actually commit to. Recently, however, life threw me a couple of curve balls, leading me straight to the platform. After feeling uninspired for so long, it became the only place that I could seem to find the solace and serenity that seemed so absent from my life.

Spending 1-2 hours, 5-6 days a week, for 3 months (and counting), focusing on the same movements and techniques over and over can be very humbling. You fail… a lot, and start to discover more about yourself and your “limits.” You can’t afford to use any energy on giving a shit about what you look like, what people think of you, or, God-forbid, getting “bulky.” The goal becomes the focal point, and it’s amazing how your perspective changes when you do finally wake up. It’s like seeing everything for the first time… finally. I remember watching my coach in his training session one day. I had seen him lift before, but this time I saw it differently. Before approaching the platform, he stood back for a few moments, almost as though he was paying his respects. There was complete silence, no music, not talking. It was just him, the platform, the bar, the weight and the passion to become better. Everything he would talk about, in that moment, had finally started to make sense.

A few days before the Grand Canyon Winter Open in Phoenix, AZ, Chris had suggested I register as a participant. Immediately I got flustered and scrambled to find reasons not to. ‘I’m not ready.’ ‘I have too much homework and a test to study for.’ All euphemisms for: ‘I am a chicken shit.’ Chris did what he does best and called me out, and I was fuming. (You see, when people other than myself are right, I get pissed.) I decided to do it, even if it was mostly out of spite.

At 5:30am on a Saturday morning, I braved the 2-hour drive, in pouring rain on Interstate 10 (which is scary as hell) to participate in my first official weight-lifting meet. Already sleep-deprived from the nerves the night before, I spent the entire two hours talking myself into going and not turning around back towards a warm bed. I weighed in, warmed up, and it was time to lift. The gym owner was explaining the rules, and I honestly don’t remember a single word he had said, I was so preoccupied. My hands were shaking and I had to remind myself to breath. But I remember finally setting foot on the platform and having the visual of coach training, and my teammates. In the moment before, I suddenly stopped giving a shit about anything other than the lift. In the moments between, I was too busy admiring the other girls’ lifts and paid no attention to the adrenaline rushing through my body. I ended up hitting all three of my snatch attempts, setting a new personal record at 47kg. I landed two attempts of the clean and jerk at 60kg and 64kg, and missed my last one at 67kg. Three of my teammates and I qualified for University Nationals in April. It was an amazing time, and I learned an invaluable lesson. The experience wasn’t about hitting numbers higher than the next girl, or having the best technique, but to work hard and compete with the older, weaker version of myself.

In the days following the meet, I have felt more confident in my training and technique. The gym has become a refuge and I count the minutes until I get there. I realize my numbers aren’t necessarily the most impressive. I am a little fish in a rather large pond and I acknowledge the cards are stacked against me ever becoming the “best.” But as long as I show up and am better than yesterday, I’ve found my calling.

PR Friday, 29 March 2013

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Cloud

Look, I get it. I’m “that guy.” It’s fine. I wear obnoxious tank tops in public. My beard scares strangers. I challenge crossing guards to front-double-bi-pose-downs. I trap slap my “friends” until they have bruises.

Yes, he PR’d.

I wear short shorts, and I yell “TEARDROP!” at awkward moments in romantic comedies.

I completely deny having ever gone to a single romantic comedy.

I’m not going to apologize for having fun, especially while lifting things up and putting them down. And neither should you. Next time you go to the gym, recreate this scene during your warmups. You’ll be a better man/woman for it:

And if not, well, hopefully you don’t get kicked out.

This week, Aaron wrote another article that I personally thought was fan-fucking-tastic. Some people probably didn’t think so. Those people aren’t having enough fun. The point of this site is to help each other get stronger, leaner, meaner, and more awesomer, just like our long lost brothers did back in the 70s. Think they apologized? Nope.

This site has become an awesome community, and continues to evolve into something bigger than Justin or any of us ever imagined when it was launched. We get more daily hits than ever before, and our sphere of influence continues to grow. Hell, big ol’ Mark Bell even mentioned us this week on his youtubes (if you don’t follow his selfie-vids, do it now – he’s full of great info and stupid hats). Take pride in being a part of this group, and make sure you comment here, especially on PR Fridays like today. Stop lurking, and start contributing. If you’d like to keep a workout log or ask questions, you can join the LiftHeavyShit forums (NWS, duh), or hit us up on facebook. Tsypkin answers questions every Thursday, mostly about CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting. This week, Mike took a huge chunk of time to answer every question he could find on the facebooks in this video:

(thanks to user cwhite for making a table of contents in the comments section!)

We might all be jackasses, but we’re here for you. Keep the questions, comments, and PRs rolling in!

Tsypkin Thursdays #4

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Cloud

David C asks, “If you were going to hire/follow one of the bigger CrossFit coaches out there to help you prepare for the Open, Regionals, and Games, who would you choose?”

Rudy Nielsen of Outlaw. In part because he has a deep and sound understanding of how to program effectively – but there are a lot of people with that. What Rudy has that a lot of others lack, is a deep and sound understanding of how CrossFit – the SPORT, not the fitness program – functions. He doesn’t debate silly shit like “is CrossFit too strength biased” or “has too much cardio” or whether the “definition of fitness” is legit. He observes the parameters of the sport, and trains people to compete in them.

Dave F asks, “I am training the Olympic lifts three times a week, one day being committed to the snatch, one day to the clean & jerk, and one to both. What is a good rep scheme for a novice?”

First: if you are a novice, I do NOT think that 2x/week per lift is enough. You need to be doing them 3x/week so that you can learn the patterns and learn them well.

About rep schemes…don’t worry about them. Focus on sets of 1-3, get a lot of good reps in, and when you feel great, go for a new PR, whether it be a single, double, or triple. If you’re training alone, don’t do so much that you are exhausted for the last third of your session and do nothing but shitty reps.

Vee G asks “I was trained using the ‘scoop method’ ala Coach Burgener. A lot of my fellow weightlifters have been taught in a style more similar to Coach Pendlay’s, which does not teach the scoop. What are some advantages/disadvantages of either technique?”

I’m assuming that by the “scoop method,” you mean teaching an intentional rebending of the knees – sometimes referred to as the double knee bend – under the bar before the second pull.

Did someone say scoop method?

I personally do not teach the scoop/double knee bend as such. I teach the lifter to move into the correct position, and the knees move into the right spot – slightly in front of the bar – just before the lifter extends into the finish. It is my opinion that teaching the intentional double knee bend only serves to confuse new lifters, slow down the transition, and lead to the lifter pushing the bar forward and shifting the weight onto the front of the feet too early.

Although there are certainly good coaches who have made this method work, I cannot see any advantages this way of teaching has over those which do not coach the lifter to intentionally perform the double knee bend.

Editors’s Note: Please remember to ask Tsypkin anything your crazy little heart desires on our facebook page. Otherwise, he’s going to have to come up with his own questions to answer, and that would just be crazy.

Jacob Tsypkin is a CrossFit and weightlifting coach, the co-owner of CrossFit Monterey and the Monterey Bay Barbell Club in Monterey, CA. He is available for weightlifting seminars and has excellent taste in shirts and gainz.

70’s Big Attitude

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Cloud

Aaron is a PJ, or pararescue jumper, as well as a general badass. He’s already written a couple inspiring articles for us (Excuses? No. and Lessons From Lifting). In this one, perhaps his best yet, he has a call to arms. Are you ready to answer? Ladies and Not-so-Gentlemen, are you ready for some old-school 70sBig? – Cloud

Three years ago I was drawn to this site by the unapologetic, brash braggadocio only a true miscreant could love. Idolizing forgotten mastodons wearing short shorts and high socks. Celebrating facial hair and real meals, encouraging real men and women to be real men and women in a time of androgyny, man-scaping, skinny jeans, Twilight, and other things so horrible they shall go unmentioned. Like 50 Shades of Grey. Those things are not cool, bro, and like my personal heroes Michael Douglas, General Patton, Tyler Durden, Vlad the Impaler, the Techno Viking (that guy took ZERO shits), John W. Creasy, and Walter- this aggression will not stand, man.

In the movie “The Rock”, voted “the best movie of all time in the history of the world” by NATO and the Illuminati, it was said, “sometimes the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots.” Well sometimes the tree of 70sBig must be replenished with the fuel of attitude, with the liquid reduction of our resolve. In the interest of re-focusing ourselves, I charge you to live your life a little more recklessly this next week. Just for a while, think to yourself, “What would Ricky Bruch do?” I assure you, that answer is almost always, “Get extra mayonnaise, lift some heavy shit like a damn boss, and proceed to not give a shit, two monkeys or a damn.” Would Ricky pass up an extra conditioning session? Absolutely not. Would Ricky pass up the 4th steak in 2 meals? Not up in here. Would Ricky wear long, pleated slacks and watch NASCAR drinking a light beer at a tofu tasting party, politely discussing HOA fees? I just got a phone call – the message was, “Ricky Bruch’s estate wants to kill your family for associating his name with that scenario.” It’s that serious.

“But Aaron! I am entrenched in the corporate world; I can’t go stomping around like a heathen, shirtless, scaring the villagers! Also, I don’t know any villagers and my shorts are of an acceptable length for ‘casual Friday’.” Well, first of all, that’s unacceptable. If you say “Casual Friday”, you better be ready for aviator shades and some damn boat shoes. If that’s not the case, it’s time to get your swole back. It’s time to remember who we all are, at our base. Boil us down to brass tacks, twisted steel and ball bearings, and we all realize several immutable, undeniable, irrefutable facts.

We are human. That makes us all physiologically the same, genetically capable of tasks very much the same. If you are reading this saying, “Well, X person is bigger, stronger, I don’t think that’s totally correct…” STOP IT. That’s half the problem. Who’s to say you can’t do anything you want? Me? You? Anyone? What if you just refused to believe impossible things, and simply did them? That wouldn’t make you a superhuman; it would simply mean you refuse to be limited. Do you really have limits? Do you think that’s air your breathing? That’s a Matrix reference. Keep up.

Slap anyone that uses the term “swag”, either ironically or seriously, right in the gob. They know better. Go to YouTube, and look up every video of Leonid Taranenko clean and jerking 266KG, then cook a damn steak and do some mobility. Disagree with someone. Seriously, get into an argument, and instead of worrying how their feelings will recover, wondering how you’ll be viewed, so on and so forth- just disagree. Tell someone they are wrong, and that you don’t agree with what they are saying, and that you won’t be wavering. If the term “agree to disagree” is uttered, wage total war and destroy the room. The world understands. That phrase is about 10% of the problem today. So help me Zeus, if anyone around you says “YOLO” and you do not immediately beat him or her to death, I will find your house and mail you a strongly worded letter.

Here is the hard truth- there are no trophies for 5th place, no consolation prize in real life. It does pay to be a winner, and too often in today’s environment it has become acceptable to trivialize a loss, to rationalize poor effort, to soften heartbreak. Well I am here to call bullshit. If you work hard, you get rewarded. If you don’t work hard, you lose, and you don’t get a prize for that. I don’t know when ‘Murica, – the home of first place, the inventor of competition for everything, the bastion of bacon-wrapped-filets and filet-wrapped-bacon-filled-deep-fried-chocolate-coated-turducken-sandwiches became OK with second place, but I am here to tell you it stops now, and it stops with each and every one of us. It starts with me, and it starts with you.

So this week, get up early. Stop making excuses for yourself, and stop taking excuses from others. Get to work early. Put out as a friend, spouse, significant other, parent, older sibling, citizen, WHATEVER. Stop living your life only to keep breathing and start attacking it. Look for every excuse to get better, and get nasty about it. Are you a lady that wants to get “more toned” and look “better this summer?” Get your lady parts underneath a damn bar and do something about it right the hell now. The world is, quite frankly, not ready for that jelly, and I want more ladies bootyliscious when the sun shines bright and hot in 3 months. Are you a fella that can grow a sweet ass beard, or at least a somewhat child molestor-ish mustache, yet shave every day? By the light in Kate Upton’s eyes, grow that damn facial hair, and do it while you grill some meat and write out your week of programming. Is there a charity, a group, or an organization that is worthy of your time that you haven’t volunteered for? What are you, some sort of sissy? How about you do the right thing and donate some time to something bigger than yourself.

Look into her eyes!

If you haven’t torn up in the gym, so motivated that you wanted to literally explode into a ball of flame, or flipped a table in public only to be applauded for your gusto, or uppercut a punkass into a bowl of punch at a high school dance lately – well, dammit, now is the time (editor’s note, please avoid high school dances, thank you).

Now is the time we take back that attitude, and seize life by the horns/balls/ovaries. The part you grab isn’t important, the fact remains that we must grab that part by force. It’s time to get that 70s Big attitude back. And the time starts now.

Tsypkin Thursdays #3

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Cloud

Tom O asks, “I have calf pain when squatting ass-to-grass, whether back, front, or overhead. Any ideas what this could be/what I can do about it?”

Could be quite a few things. I’d start with soft tissue and mobility work on the hamstrings, IT band, and calves. Start at the largest crossed joint (hips for hamstrings and IT band, knee for calves) and work down. You may also want to do some compression work around your calves. Finally, address the squat (and the hips) as a whole. Do some range of motion testing (there is a lot of good stuff on Mobility WOD for this) and see where you’re limited. Address those issues and see where it leads. Perhaps of greatest importance, is to remember that dealing with issues like this is not a quick fix, one-and-done kind of deal. It’s going to take some time and patience, but it will pay off.

David H asks, “I’m a new weightlifter and I have long arms. Should I utilize a wide grip on the jerk? I’ve been using a relatively narrow grip and it feels more solid this way, but I can’t help but think I’d benefit from moving my hands out.”

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Joseph F asks “Box squat for CrossFitters?”

Star Wars action figures for Trekkies?

Harry S asks, “What are some ways to improve my mobility for the snatch? My bottom position looks like a low bar back squat due to tight hips and ankles, and the couch stretch alone isn’t covering it.”

In answering this, I’m going to assume you are already back squatting high bar. If you’re not, fix that, train it for 6 weeks, and see where you’re at. Second, while mobility and stretching is great, I’m a firm believer that the biggest changes are going to happen from doing a lot of the movement you’re trying to improve. Don’t become that guy who spends 2 hours on mobility and 20 minutes lifting (emphasis added by me because this is a glorious statement. – Cloud). With that out of the way, let’s talk about a few excellent drills to help you with this.

1. This one is very specifically helpful for people with your problem: take a length of PVC or broomstick and go into the bottom of your overhead squat. Have someone stand behind you, hands on the PVC, place their knee in your low back, and push your hips forward and down. Be sure to keep your weight on your heels as the knees go forward, and actively push up against the “bar.” Have your helper push down slightly on the PVC – this will help you feel something to push up against.

2. Holding an empty barbell in your hands, squat down and place the bar across your thighs/knees. Push one knee forward at a time (it’s fine to come off your heel) and use the bar to weigh you down at the knee. You should feel a deep stretch around the achilles tendon. Do this a little at a time, switching back and forth between legs, gradually loosening up the tissues and pushing the stretch further.

Barry S asks, “What are the pros and cons of using a percentage based training program for weightlifting?”

This is a big question. I will address it as concisely as possible.

Using percentages can be helpful because it gives you a governor. When done intelligently, in the long term, it can help keep you from doing too much or too little, ensure that you’re mostly working with loads that are beneficial to you, and give you an accurate measurement of the total training load from day to day, week to week, and month to month.

However, they can also be limiting. Is 80% as valuable as 85% or 90%? In my opinion, if you are having a good training day, you’re going to get more out of taking the weight up and working heavier than just sticking to a set number. And it’s always good to have the opportunity to strike when the iron is hot and set new PRs.

This is not to say that a percentage based program can’t work. There are obviously a lot of great lifters and coaches who use percentages. And I think they can be useful for someone who is training alone, to mitigate burnout and keep the lifter from getting to the point where they’re so exhausted that they are no longer able to recognize and correct mistakes.

Dave F asks, “If you were to design a program for someone looking to compete in both weightlifting and powerlifting, what would you emphasize?”

This is another big question, not one I can address effectively within the scope of this post. But I will say this: I very strongly believe that in order to be successful at both weightlifting and powerlifting, one would need to emphasize weightlifting as the main discipline. The short version of the long answer to the question “why?” is this: weightlifting has the potential to improve you as a powerlifter far more than powerlifting has the potential to improve you as a weightlifter. There is already great importance placed on squatting and pulling strength, and the bench press can be treated as a supplementary exercise for a large part of the year. I would, obviously, shift emphasis closer to a powerlifting meet for the final preparatory period.