Some of you new readers are probably thoroughly confused, so let me explain. After I prematurely left graduate school, I was trying to find a situation where I could coach and learn. To make a long story short, I ended up at Rippetoe’s Wichita Falls Athletic Club for eighteen months. When I first arrived in January of 2009, I sat in my truck eating some food because Rip was not at the gym yet. Out walks an Asian kid carrying a gym bag with a frizzy fro sticking out six to eight inches off of his head. I sat there and thought, “Boy, he must be a real weightlifter.” I could not have been more fucking wrong.
This Asian was Brent Kim — my most peculiar and irritating best friend. Brent and I became friends, we added Chris, and we hung out and trained regularly. After painstaking effort — and by that, I mean two months of yelling arguments across the gym — I convinced Brent to do a linear progression. I also fixed the soft tissue issues in his proximal biceps, which allowed him to begin bench pressing again (breaking the scar tissue up was a lot like this). I always say that I created a monster because Brent didn’t talk a lot until he did the linear progression. Whether it was his growing strength or his growing belligerence as a result of Chris and I picking on him, Brent was a rabid verbal sparring partner. It was like yesterday that I remember him telling Cliff, a mutual friend, to “get fucked”.
Brent is an interesting creature. He historically is afraid of talking to women, goes to bed really late, sleeps through important events, enjoys being insulted, and generally has a self deprecating outlook. He weighs under 160 pounds, yet he squats more than the majority of people reading this sentence (over 405 regularly and could do over 450 no big deal). He has pretty good mechanics and has learned the utility of mobility, but he is notorious for not being coachable. My favorite story is Glen Pendlay recalling Brent not really heeding any advice he had at all, ever. And Brent has a lot of respect for Pendlay!
Anyway, Brent has an interesting personality that comes out in his former training log and now through his website MopeilityWOD.com. The name stems from the effective MobilityWOD.com — Kelly Starrett’s engine of self mobility work — as well as the idea that at their core, every person truly is a mope. Yet this acceptance should be celebrated and shared. The translation is that MopeilityWOD is a humorous, satirical world view infused with experiential truths. But you’ll never hear that from Brent.
Still not convinced to check it out? Then this will entice you: the first time I went to Australia in 2011, I had a nearly 50 year old man ask me if Brent actually acted the way he portrays himself. The answer was an irrevocable “yes”.
PR Friday: Post your training PR’s and updates to comments. This gives you chance to communicate with like-minded readers, get encouragement or tips, and to be a part of our community.
The whole gang (AC, Brent, Chris, Mike, and Shawn) surprised me by showing up to Utah last Saturday. I thought I was just picking Chris up from the airport. He got in the truck and rolled the window down and was looking around.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask.
“Oh, I thought I saw something.”
I start driving away and a guy runs in front of my vehicle and I have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him. He looks up with a clown-like look of fear and I recognize AC’s face. He sprints around the truck and opens my door. We hug and he starts getting in, and I continually ask him, “Where’s your bag?” He avoids answering the question and we start driving away and then Mike suddenly appears and opens the other back door and climbs in, hitting his head in the process. As I get out of my door to greet him, I see Shawn standing there clapping his hands and laughing like a king witnessing a good jester show.
We put all of their bags in the back — which is now completely full — and all of them squeeze in the back seat of my 3rd generation 4runner. To emphasize this point, I’m the smallest guy at 212 pounds, and of the three guys in the back seat, AC is the smallest at 220ish. Shawn is in the 230s and Mike is in the 270s. Chris is in the front seat coming in over 300 pounds. And we still needed to get Brent an hour later…
Long story short, we had some adventures. We got down to Xcel Fitness in Salt Lake City for a training session. Thanks to owner Nate and my friends Randi and Ryan for accommodating us (Zoe helped too). This is the first time that all of us have gotten to train together in a couple of years, and the first time that Shawn trained with all of us. The following is a long video that has all of the lifts we actually filmed in chronological order. Chris and Mike are benching and pressing, AC is squatting, Brent is snatching, I’m power cleaning and push-pressing, and Shawn is deadlifting. There are funny tidbits sprinkled throughout, but it’s not a collage video like AC makes (it would take me a year to do that).
Also, who is gonna win the conference championships this weekend?
This winter I’ve been training in a garage in Utah, and it has taught me a few things about training in the cold. This probably won’t help the experienced guys that lift in cold weather every winter, but the following tidbits may reinforce what they already know or educate less experienced cold weather trainees.
Night time temperatures have dropped below zero Fahrenheit a few times, but daytime temperatures usually hover in the low teens. When it snows, the temperature will rise to the 20s. My garage temperature is warm enough to slowly melt ice and snow off the truck, but cold enough to make every breath misty. I would not recommend training or storing your equipment outdoors. If you know you’ll regularly be training in a cold room, basement, or garage, then get a space heater. If you already have a heating system, you may schedule a portland furnace repair home service to inspect or fix your heating unit. If you have a heat pump, then you want to get it serviced to ensure it is running as efficiently as possible. Professional bellevue heat pump repair is highly recommended to ensure your heat pump receives the care it deserves.
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Your attire will vary
The type of fabric you wear isn’t really a big deal since you’ll just be lifting in a protected environment. If you were going to be outside for longer than an hour and away from shelter, then avoiding cotton would be imperative. Nevertheless, dress in layers and cover your head. Avoid excessive layers and bulky clothing; you don’t want it to impede on your movement. This isn’t a big deal if you’re only deadlifting and pressing, but it is for squatting, cleaning, and so on. Layers will allow you to peel them off if you get too hot, but realistically you would only need pants and a long sleeve shirt with a sweat shirt.
Don’t be a Tommy Tough Guy; it doesn’t make you cool to have less clothing on if it is very cold (though the opposite is true in football). You need to keep your muscles and tissues warm and pliable, especially when you aren’t adapted to the lower temperature.
Warming Up
I suggest warming up inside the house if possible. If your tissues are cold, it won’t be possible to stretch or perform soft tissue work on them (i.e. mobility stuff). If mobility work can’t be done properly, then most readers will have crappier mechanics when lifting, not distribute force across all of the necessary musculature, and ultimately have a less efficient workout. I prefer to wear the clothes that I’ll wear in the garage while doing mobility work; it helps to warm my body temperature and tissues up prior to the general and specific warm-ups. Take more care doing specific lifting warm-ups with the bar; you may need to do a few more lighter sets to make sure your body is primed for the heavier lifting in the cold environment.
Intensity
Training intensity is the percentage of 1RM that is used (Note that this is completely different than having an intense attitude while training). Generally speaking I would not expect to lift at a high intensity when in cold weather, especially when it’s cold enough to see your breath. In fact, I’d go so far as to make other programming plans, like reduced intensity volume work. While intensity lifting is important for top end strength — especially in powerlifting — the potential injury from non-pliable structures isn’t worth the risk. Just don’t expect to be at your best when it’s cold, and especially keep this in mind when you aren’t adapted to it.
Conditioning or Running
If you’re going to do conditioning in the garage itself, it isn’t a big deal to take the sweat shirt off. Conditioning, by definition, is not a high percentage of 1RM and therefore keeping structures warm and pliable isn’t as important. Besides, if you are conditioning after lifting, you’ll be warmed up and primed for the activity anyway.
Keep in mind that the cold air will provide a very different stress than warmer air. First, the temperature itself is colder and will provide a unique stress on the lungs. Second, the relative humidity will increase as air temperature drops; cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air. Whether it’s the higher relative humidity or simply the cold temperature, cold air will put a serious hit on the lungs and alveoli — the sacs and ducts that exchange gases with the capillaries to transfer oxygen and carbon dioxide. The lungs receive a general stress from the higher ventilation rate due to the intensity of the activity, the trainee’s work capacity, and the adaptation to the type of air that is being breathed. The result is an inflammation that causes a phlegmy cough that will often be gone in the morning (Note that this type of stress and cough can occur in warm weather too).
As for running, or any other horrible-ass activity done outside of the garage, be aware that your structures and tissues will be cold. Progressively adapt them to the activity over a couple of weeks and implement a comprehensive warm-up. Be aware of their exposure to the elements.
Summary
Basically I’m providing the message, “Be careful when training in the cold,” to general strength and conditioning trainees. Athletes or applied fitness trainees (military, LEO, etc.) may need to thrive in this environment and may take more risks while training in it. However, the premise behind training in adverse environments is to take the time to adapt to it instead of barging into it like a pervert in a sex shop. Prepare thy body; make it ready.
If you’re a regular cold weather trainee, add your suggestions in the comments.
PR Friday: Post your training PR’s and updates to comments. This gives you chance to communicate with like-minded readers, get encouragement or tips, and to be a part of our community.
There are several different things that I’ve responded to this morning that result in today’s post. They all collide into a common theme: people who are unwilling to do what they need to do to be successful.
This is a timely post on 70’s Big. In December I made the point that waiting for the New Year to start a new habit was stupid; “If something is important to you, do it right. fucking. now.” Then I asked everyone to commit to a competition and explained what to do after committing. This is the time of year when gyms swell and nutrition challenges are everywhere.
Yet everyone looks for a short cut. And it drives me fucking insane.
I’m currently reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography. I’ve read his previous biography and have always been a fan of his drive and determination. But reading this recent, more in depth life account shows two things: 1) Arnold always did everything he could to achieve his goals, and 2) None of us are anywhere near that level of commitment (including me). Even in the first decade of his acting career, he was diversifying his portfolio by investing such as investing in Indianapolis real estate, buying and selling properties, selling cars to buyers like used cars for cash Wollongong, running his mail order business, and traveling the world to promote every movie he made. He is the epitome of undying motivation. He always gets professional help from conveyancing solicitors to ensure a smooth transaction. In addition, if you’re thinking about your children’s future, ISA options for young investors are the best for them.
For guidance on real estate investments, he also consults a reliable real estate agency such as Sarabi Realty Group, whose expertise ensures that his property transactions are handled efficiently and strategically to maximize returns. He also consults an estate agents in Canary Wharf to find the best property with a good location. When exploring international options, he considers Your Koh Samui Villas for unique investment opportunities in a picturesque setting.
While Arnold fights to succeed, all of us accept laziness and sloth. When Arnold heard businessmen talking about how hard they worked for 10 or 12 hours, he’d say (and this is a direct quote from the book), “What the fuck are you talking about, when they day has twenty-four hours? What else did you do?”
Right now there are paleo challengers who want to know if they can use artificial sweeteners, there are veteran lifters going to bed late, and there are sedentary people considering exercising but not actually doing it.
These are the same people — some of you, even — that look at someone successful and think, “They are a genetic freak,” or “I wish I could have as much money as them.” And that is such bullshit. I’ve gone on this rant before, but all my life I’ve been accused of using steroids or just having superior genetics, but I’m the one who has squatted every week with hardly any breaks for 12+ years. I’m the one who made the decision to stop drinking soda at 13 years old. I’m the one who felt like shit, but woke my ass up at 7 in the morning or walked into the garage at 10 at night to train. And I’m not even anywhere near Arnold’s motivation!
Write your goals down. What do you want to do? What do you want to be? What do you want to have or know? WHO do you want to be? Do you think squatting 405 is a big deal? Then do it — because I believe every man can squat 405. Do you want to drop your body fat below 15%? Then do it. Anyone can accomplish these basic training tasks. But they are harder than being a slack-jaw piece of shit, they are harder than deciding to eat the candy, and they’re harder than being content with a sub 350 squat.
In last weekend’s seminar I made a reoccurring joke about “the naysayers”, something Arnold has talked about in various speeches. These are the people that think your dreams aren’t possible, that they are too lofty. The naysayers aren’t always out there in the world talking you down. In reality, the naysayer is you.
For gods’ sake, when you have that moment of weakness in managing your time, going to bed, eating the junk food, or going easy in training, have the courage to tell the naysayer — yourself — to go fuck himself. When you’re done telling yourself to go fuck yourself, stop whining, stand up, and start productively working towards your goals. I leave you with a quote from Arnold:
“When you’re out there partying, horsing around, someone out there at the same time is working hahd. Someone is getting smarter and someone is winning, just remember that.
“You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.”
