A lot of you need to sack up and compete in something soon. f you’re still on the fence, you are invited required to participate in the Tactical Strength Challenge this April. Results will be submitted between March 25 and will end Sunday night, April 17 (there will be a sticky post up).
The events are simple.
1. Max deadlift. You get three attempts to find your max pull. Do it meet-style. If you make an “AC-jump” between your first and second attempt, there is no going back.
2. Max pullups. Dead hangs. No chinning (palms must face away), and absolutely no kipping. Kippers will be shot, killed, and then banned from posting here.
3. 5 min Kettlebell snatch test. You may set the weight down or switch hands as necessary. If you absolutely can’t find a kettlebell, use an equivalent dumbbell and mention that in your results.
The 3 major divisions are as follows:
Men’s Elite: 10kg weighted pullups, 32kg kettlebell (70lb DB)
Men’s Open: BW pullups, 24kg kettlebell (55lb DB)
You must make a minimum of one deadlift, pullup and snatch or you score 0 in the above divisions.
Women’s Open: BW pullups, 16kg kettlebell (35lb DB)
It’s worth noting that in the heaviest division, strong adult males have a significant advantage because pullup and snatch reps will be lower, thus deadlift contributes more of the final score. Everyone is encouraged to enter the hardest division they can complete. Novice and masters divisions are also available. Full rules and scoring are here.
Perform the 3 events in one session, and rest at least 15 minutes between each, even more if you have time. Perform the TSC and post your results by April 17 on the results sticky which will be up by the end of March. Get your friends that lift to complete the TSC with you and post their results with yours. If you don’t have kettlebells, dumbbells or cool friends there is a list of locations around the world that might be hosting a TSC on April 9. If one’s near you make sure to contact them ahead of time to confirm they’re still on for spring. They’re required to be free and this is a great way to meet lifters in your area and test the waters of competition.
For more info on the TSC, go here.
For past 70’s Big TSC results go here.
For kettlebell snatch instruction go here. (video was made private on youtube)
Newsflash: insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the body. Anabolism is the process where smaller units are made into molecules. For our purposes in training, it means growth and recovery. You can not — repeat, NOT — get optimally strong without it.
When food is eaten, particularly carbohydrates, insulin will release to induce the cellular uptake of substances, particularly glucose (sugar) and amino acids (various effects on metabolism, but most importantly are building blocks of protein). The domino effect of insulin being released induces an anabolic state that is necessary for recovery. During training, muscles are damaged. The stress/adaptation process will not only repair the muscles, but repair them so that they have a higher threshold. The higher threshold culminates in increased strength (when on a proper program). Anabolism is an environment that is necessary for recovery to occur; if the body is wasting away in catabolism (the opposite of anabolism), it can’t help build the structures back up for recovery.
Neglecting carbohydrates dampens the anabolic effect of insulin. Since insulin is such a significant contributor to building the body, its volitional neglect is a decision that says, “I would prefer not to get big and strong right now.” And that’s just fucking weird, folks.
Carbohydrates aren’t the necessity for strength and muscular growth; protein and fat play significant roles in recovery. The point is that you need all three. Neglecting carbs has been a savvy thing to do lately. It’s a result of the demonizing on insulin. Well, guess what? If you aren’t lifting hard — training to get stronger and bigger muscles with compound movements like the squat, bench, press, and deadlift — then insulin is less critical. If you are sedentary or primarily do conditioning workouts — a training emphasis that induces adaptations in the cardiovascular/respiratory systems — then insulin probably should be avoided since it isn’t required for an environment of growth. Let me be clear: training only to get conditioned, by definition, isn’t stressing the body to grow and get stronger. However, someone who wants to get strong (with or without conditioning) will not only benefit from a growth environment, but will need it if they are going to be efficient with their time. It’s the intelligent thing to do.
Both Alice Cooper and Insulin are not actually evil
I’m not suggesting you have giant carb meals to create an insulin response. People forget that exercise, particularly exercise that induces a state of growth (like lifting) will increase insulin sensitivity. Fish oil also increases insulin sensitivity, and most people that read this site are taking it. You won’t need crazy amounts of carbohydrates to induce a solid insulin response — unless you’re a Skinny-pain-in-the-ass-Guy. I do want to point out that “crazy amounts of carbs” is a relative thing since a lot of people are eating melons, berries, and pine tree bark as their daily carb source (it’s what Lucy ate, after all). Unless you’re a fat person — and you know if you’re fat or not — aim for a similar amount of carbs and protein. You should be eating significant protein compared to your sedentary friends (at least 1g of protein per pound of body weight, and guys need much more than that). Some research would indicate that it really doesn’t matter when you have that protein during the day, but you’ll feel better if eat it throughout the day. However many protein grams you’re eating, eat an equal amount of carbs. For the hard training lifter, that really won’t be a lot. But it is a fuck-ton more than what most of you are eating because you’ve been told carbs and insulin are evil like the Alice Cooper.
Of course you’ll be adding on plentiful amounts of fat along with that diet. Glenn Pendlay told our chat room last Tuesday that he considered fat (with plenty of cholesterol) to be more important than protein (his lifters are obviously getting significant protein — I’d assume well over 1g of protein per pound of body weight). It’s the Grandma Principle in action. The Grandma Principle states that you should eat meals that your grandma would have cooked; whole meals with legit foods like cooked dead animal, vegetables, and potatoes. For more on Granda, go HERE.
On a similar note, I Socratically asked Pendlay, “Do any of your lifters eat paleo?” I knew what the answer was, and he said something like, “Are you fucking serious?” to which I replied, “Fuck no, but that’s the point.” Nobody is going to get strong — and I mean fucking above average strong, not deadlifting 400 — by eating tree bark.
Insulin is the most anabolic hormone. By choosing not to utilize it throughout the day in at least two or three meals is a decision that says, “I don’t want to be as strong as I could be.” It’s analogous to wearing Vibram Fucking Five Fingers in the gym or choosing to squat with the bar on top of your head — it isn’t fucking optimal. And folks, people who make a blatant decision to not be strong give me the willies.
The following was written by Tamara AKA T-Bone on this site.
Question: What do you do when your trip to the 70’s Big Workshop gets canceled because your kid has a 102 fever?
Answer: You spend the weekend glued to the computer watching weightlifting at the Arnold and drinking Makers 46.
The 2011 Arnold Weightlifting Championships were streamed live on the web via ustream. This allowed everyone a chance to watch the action…when the feed was working. The feed on Saturday was especially spotty with much of the Women’s Elite session happening while the feed was down. Thanks to ustream you could also join in on the live chat, which on Saturday evening featured some of the biggest douchebags and trolls on the planet.
I missed the morning Friday sessions because I was still hoping that God would intervene and allow me to drive to Atlanta to hang with Real Men With Facial Hair Who Weigh Over 200 Pounds. Sadly, God was not on my side, reaffirming my belief that there is a special place in hell for me. Fortunately, Friday night featured some of my favorite lifters, including three of the four California Strength guys who were competing at the meet. Rob Blackwell went 119/140, Jared Enderton went 141/168, and Jon North went 152/189. Despite being a 77 and lacking significant body hair (although he apparently weighed in at a whopping 79.70) and being French Canadian, Laurent Goyette-Demers impressed me with a 117/155. Little dudes can be strong too, even if they aren’t as hot. The evening wrapped up with quite a surprise. After his third jerk attempt, Jon North whipped out an engagement ring and proposed on the platform.
On Saturday, I was really looking forward to the Women’s Elite Session. Unfortunately, ustream had other ideas. Apparently, getting a better internet connection at the Arnold venue cost $700, which was not in the budget. So, the shitty connection resulted in frozen screens, off-air time, and frustration on the part of viewers. Still, these women didn’t fail to impress. Amanda Sandoval was the winner of the Women’s Open Division as a 58 lifter with an 87 snatch and 110 jerk. Natalie Burgener went 94/103, Aimee Anaya Everett went 88/111, and Jackie Berube went 80/99 as a 58 lifter at age 40. Superheavys Holley Mangold and Chioma Amaechi threw up some big numbers. Mangold went 98/127, and Amaechi went 100/131 to take second in the Women’s Junior Division.
Saturday afternoon exhibited the hyped Men’s Islands vs. Mainland competition, which featured Dutch Lowy, Caleb Williams, Chad Vaughn, Phil Sabatini, Zach Krych, Kendrick Farris, and Pat Mendes lifting for the U.S. Vaughn was the winner of the Men’s Open Division as a 77 lifter with a 147 snatch and 183 jerk. He makes me want to try harder to like men who weigh less than 200 lbs. Kinda. After snatching 143 and missing his attempts at 148 and 150, Krych pulled out of the jerk portion of the session as a precaution. Farris hit a 155 snatch and then missed all three jerk attempts at 197. He put up quite a fight on the third attempt and collapsed on the platform. All eyes were on Mendes after the “Unofficial Junior World Record” video of his 207 snatch. I think it’s fair to say that Mendes disappointed. He opened with a 175 snatch and then missed 182 and 183. He power jerked his opener at 207 and then missed both attempts at 217. According to Average Broz, he tore a tendon in his shoulder after that 207 snatch and didn’t lift again until four days before the meet. Despite what anyone thinks, the dude is fucking strong, and he’s just a kid, and I’m ready to see what he can do at Nationals.
Saturday evening had some solid lifting as well, but as stated earlier, the level of douchebaggery on the live chat reached an all time high and eventually drove me to log off. Sunday featured the School Age and Junior lifters. The littlest ones were adorable, even if some of them were easily snatching my jerk PR. Arnold himself made an appearance on stage on Sunday morning, although the shitty sound quality prevented me from hearing what he was saying.
Sunday afternoon was what I was waiting for. Okay, not just me…scores of other panting women around the country were also tuned in to watch Spencer Moorman. Apologies to all of the other guys lifting during that session, but I didn’t pay you the slightest bit of attention. And Spence (yes, I will call him Spence) did not disappoint. He hit a 155 snatch and then opened with a 185 jerk. As a Real Man With Facial Hair Who Weighs Over 200 Pounds, he understood the importance of Go Big Or Go Home. Spence knows how to Man The Fuck Up and went for a 192 jerk, although he missed both attempts at that weight. I am sure he earned more than one new fan. As another viewer said, “Guess whose picture is now on my desktop. Who would have thought that I’d ever find a big bear-like man hot as hell?” Indeed. Thank you, Spence. We are all glad that you are legal.
Complete results from the weekend are at www.columbusweightlifting.org. You can download the recorded sessions at www.ustream.tv/channel/arnoldweightlifting2011. Thanks to reneelee, smithb9 and yoshidragonaga for their thoughts on the meet also.
It was a rough weekend for me given that the three days leading into the workshop I probably ate a combined 1,500 calories (Note: Don’t drink from the water fountain at the park). The 70’s Big Workshop itself was a lot of fun. The updated presentation had more of a focus on programming. I aimed to give everyone the conceptual understanding of programming with guidelines so that they can implement it.
I liked programming to mathematics; there are fundamental rules that create the boundaries for the language, yet once there is a solid understanding of those fundamentals, then you can get creative in how you apply the language to new things (I heard this explained by a quantum physicist on the radio when I was driving Friday — most of us won’t ever have the capacity to be creative with math, but my analogy still makes sense). We did discuss specific programs like various linear progressions and how to program intermediate level trainees, yet I’m more interested with someone understanding the guidelines of creating a stress dose to illicit a response, and knowing how it will effect the system and local structures.
In any case, hanging out with everyone was a lot of fun.
This past weekend also marked the 2011 Arnold Sports Festival, including a weightlifting and powerlifting meet. We’ll have recaps of that over the next few days. If you went to the festival or were watching online, then I’m interested in having you type out a recap post of what you saw. I already have someone doing the weightlifting meet, but shoot me a message or comment here if you want to help out. I drove to Atlanta Friday, did 12 hours of presenting, coaching, and eating food for the workshop on Saturday, then drove back to Florida on Sunday, so I didn’t see any of the Arnold.
One Wednesday evening I contracted the bubonic plague and have been out of commission since. Tomorrow there will be a workshop in Atlanta — it’s still on of course. List your PR’s or training updates to the comments.
