Training Log

Totally slacking lately - 
Training log - Monday 5/28
Back squat - worked up to 225x12
Clean pull - worked up to 275x2
Band Kneeling Crunches - 3x15


Wednesday 5/30
Bench Press - worked up to 205x14
Kroc Rows - 100x20 (best is 30 - didn't have much in the tank)
Band Pushdowns - 4x25

An Ethical Dilemma

The same question seems to pop in my head every time I hear an ad for the latest fat loss supplement sure to not work:

Which is worse - mistakes of ignorance (not knowing something, even though they should), or knowing that you are wrong, but doing something anyway?

Obviously it's nothing more than a thought exercise, but I always wonder when listening to these commercials - do these idiots actually believe what they're saying? Or do they know they're wrong, and still say it anyway? Both are bad (because the information proving them wrong is readily available, so they should know better), but which is worse?

Training Log

Finished up week 2 of the inverted Juggernaut Method:


Friday:
Power snatch - 9x2 @ 120 lbs., 1 min b/w sets
Deadlift - 10x3 @ 260 lbs, 1.5 min b/w sets
Kneeling band crunches - 3x15


Saturday:
Military press - 10x3 @ 115 lbs., 1.5 mins b/w sets
Assistance - 3x10 for everything:
Bent-over row - 115 lbs. superset with
Band tricep pushdowns
Barbell shrugs - 315 lbs. superset with
Band curls

Who Influenced You?

Influenced might not be the right word, but I couldn't really come up with a better one. But who do you think has had the most impact on you? How you think? Act? Speak? Respond? I think it's a much tougher question than we probably think. And spare me the bullshit that some people spew about "doing it on their own." There are very, VERY, few people who legitimately can claim minimal outside help. Sure, we all have decisions and actions that must be carried out on our own, but to insinuate that there weren't many people who guided you and led you along the way is asinine. (Sorry, I've actually heard someone say this before - "I did it ALL on my own, no one helped me, blah, blah, blah." And I knew the person. I can assure you, that was not the case).
Family is the first answer that springs to most peoples' minds, because, by proximity, they are most likely to have had the greatest impact (via sheer volume of contact, including during one's formative years). And, if you are basically the same person you were at 18, then that is probably true. And, obviously different people could have different levels of impact on you, in different areas of life. But at the same time, if you abide by different principles in different areas in your life, then maybe you need to reflect a bit. For instance, I think things like honesty and integrity are vital, whether it is in your personal, professional, or any other area of life. It astounds me how everyone expects others to act so righteously, but when it comes time for them to make the same decisions, they will excuse and talk away all responsibility for it.
Whoa, got quite a bit off track there. In any event, I think the point I was trying to make is that, for instance, my parents had a large impact on me (no shit, Sherlock). They instilled values in me that I try to apply and use in every facet of my life. Whether decisions will hurt my bottom line in business is not my #1 concern - decisions will be made based on whether they align with my values. And that is due to what was instilled in me from a young age. It may not get me "ahead" in life monetarily - but I'll feel a lot better about myself, and I think it will work itself out in the long run.
Professionally, there are probably too many people to even list as to who has impacted me. But it's also interesting to note that, while I am a business owner and strength coach, there are people from other industries who have influenced me, probably more than I realize. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - underlying principles can carry over through any industry.
I realize this post was probably pretty weird and didn't really have a constant stream, or theme, and was really shittily written. But I'm tired, had some thoughts running through my head, and wanted to get them down. And it made a lot more sense when I was thinking about them. And I'm doubting many people read this anyway. But in any event, I think it's an interesting thought exercise to do sometime. You might be surprised what you find.

Training Log - 5/23

Day 2, Week 2 Inverted Juggernaut Method:


Bench Press - 10x3 @ 185, 90 seconds rest b/w sets, 2-3 chins b/w sets


Assistance:
Yates Row - 4x10 @ 185 superset with
Band Tricep Pushdown - 3x25


Barbell Curl - bar x 20


Yep, still weak.


------

While reading an article by Dan John one day, he built off a quote by Dan Gable:

“If it’s important, do it every day, if not, don’t do it at all.”

It’s a great concept, and I think it’s probably something that most successful people do, either consciously or unconsciously. Additionally, this is essentially the concept of setting process goals as opposed to performance goals – meaning that the goals are set to guide your actions, as opposed to setting your sights on the end result you want. The problem with that is, it doesn’t give you any idea what to do on a daily basis to get to that end goal, and once you reach the end goal, where to you go from there? For lasting success, you need good habits.

These are what I came up with, for me personally, that are important:

• Get 8 hours of sleep
• Floss, brush, and fluoride twice per day
• Let loved ones know I care about them
• Write
• Read
• MOVE
• Put good food in my body
• Take supplements (fish oil, probiotic, multi mainly)
• Ice my balls

As you can see, it’s a pretty extensive list, and admittedly, I don’t get many of those in every single day. But, I think that is part of it, too. Realizing where the weak points are, and working hard to rectify those issues you have. In my case, I need to do a better job of organizing and planning my days and getting shit done in a timely manner. I often end up feeling like I didn't get enough accomplished, and therefore stay up late to try to finish. Instead, if I were to set accomplishment goals on a daily basis, shoot to complete those, and be happy with that. (Note: Happy, not satisfied). Over time, continue to keep honing in on what needs to be done, and get better at it. So figure out what’s important, do it every day, and start marching toward your goals.

Training Log

Monday was Day 1, Week 2 of inverted Juggernaut Method:


Squat - 10x3 @ 200 lbs., 90 seconds b/w sets
Clean Pull from blocks below knee - worked up to heavy triple at 275
Ab wheel - 2x10

I’ve often said that your success or failure in most endeavors is NOT based on the “big” decisions. Those choices are so few and far between that waiting to make them or expecting them to make or break you is futile. The fact of the matter is that your success will be made with your day-to-day, hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute decisions. Those decisions end up adding up to far more than you could ever hope your big decisions add up to. The most obvious example, to me, is in the weight loss arena. So many people want to make one big decision, work hard on that for a little bit, and reap the rewards. The problem is, very little generally will come of it. Or, even if something does, it is short-lived. It’s nothing more than a daily grind. The willingness to do what is needed to reach the goal, as opposed to what you want to do. It’s easy to do at first, because the motivation to achieve is there. But that will wear off, and you will have to actually force yourself to do things you don’t feel like doing. In closing, I’ll leave it to someone who has said it better (as is usually the case), Jim Wendler:

I hear a lot of things from different people who are just miserable in their lives and I want to shake them and let them know they have a choice; sometimes it takes awhile to make a change.  But ultimately, YOU have a choice in your life.  It is easy to be miserable and accept things as they are.  It is hard to be happy.  It takes sacrifice.  It takes some pain. But it is up to you to make a change and morph yourself into the person with the life you want.  You have one go-around on this planet – don’t waste it.  You don’t have to make a million dollars or be the greatest – sometimes “success” is simply following the path your heart takes you.

Training Log

Log from the last few days:

Friday:

Power Snatch - 12x2 @ 100 lbs. - 1 minute b/w sets

Deadlift - 10x5 @ 230 lbs. - 1 minute b/w sets

Kneeling band crunches - 3x15

Saturday:

100 band pull-aparts in the warm-up and sets of 2-3 pullups between each set of military

Military press - 10x5 @ 100 lbs. - 1 minute b/w sets

Assistance (all were 3x12, minimal rest):

DB Shrugs - 100's superset with

Band Curls

Bent-over Rows - 115 lbs. superset with

Band tricep pushdowns

Man, about the only NBA I can stomach watching at this point is the playoffs, but even this shit is getting ridiculous with the flopping and bitching at the refs. Seriously, it's fucking disgusting. And the fact that anyone defends the shit just boggles my mind, though oftentimes they're soccer fans (shocker). It's easy to romanticize "the good 'ole days," but I would like to go back and watch some Bulls-Knicks games from the mid-90's just to see the difference. Jordan may have tried to sell a few calls, but I think most of the time he was trying to make sure he was putting himself in position to dish out just as much punishment as he received. Would be fun to see, though. Well, I'm working on about 8 different posts to go up here in the near future, but until then, stay thirsty, my friends.

Training Log

Didn't get my workout up from yesterday -
"Tempo Intervals" - that is, basically staying in an aerobic zone (roughly 120-140 beats per minute) utilizing lower-intensity intervals. I don't use a heart rate monitor, so it is admittedly guesswork, but basically I'm just trying to keep my heart rate up without accumulating lactic acid. Often I simply do steady state work on the treadmill (incline walking), but with the weather getting nice outside, it gives me a chance to get some sun. Did some low-level sprint technique work, dicked around with some kettlebells, sandbags, and barbell. Just set the watch for 30 minutes, move as necessary, rest when you feel like, and if it feels like the heart rate is coming down, get moving again.

Writing

“Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.” –Cyril Connolly

I came across this quote today and thought it was quite apropos. The main purpose of this blog is to get my thoughts out there, and really just to practice writing and also as a place to vent. As I stated in my initial blog - there probably won't be anyone who is interested in what I have to say, if they even come across it at all - but that's really irrelevant. There are plenty of people who will change their stance or writing on a whim, simply to please readers, but I really don't give a shit about any of that.

Training Log & the Ice Age

I've decided I will also use this as a de facto training log. Much like the rest of the writing, I assume no one will really give a fuck, but it will serve as another way to keep me accountable.
2nd day using the Inverted Juggernaut Method (bench press today). Bench has been going to shit lately, but being able to use a regular grip and wrists straight made a huge difference. I've been having a tendency to "trap" the weight up on my heavier sets - that is, my upper traps activate and pull my shoulders into a different alignment. It's not painful, but over time can cause some issues. I'm hoping by hammering good technique with the lighter weights, this won't be such an issue over time. Felt like shit during the warm-up, but got 100 band pull-aparts in in addition to everything else.


10x5 @ 165 - 1 minute between (with 2-3 pullups after each set)
1-arm DB Row - 3x8 @ 100
Band Tricep Pushdowns (fast) - 4x25 superset with
Barbell Curls - 4x8 @ 65
Lateral Raises - drop set (20, 8, 8 with ~25 sec b/w) with 10's


Yes, very weak.


Men, ice your balls for about 20 minutes per day. Thank me later.

Most Popular vs. Best

Popular is easy, because it's measurable. What has the most of whatever we're trying to measure? That's the most popular. "Best" is, admittedly, a subjective term.
It's kind of funny - as middle of the road as most people are, they do tend to extremes quite often. They either want to go to the most popular place - likely because they assume because it is popular it is best (or at least good), or they want to go to a very sparsely-populated place, for a variety of possible reasons (such as wanting to appear "different," or possibly wanting to discover a place before everyone knows about it, or maybe they just like being places where it isn't very crowded, among other possibilities). This is why "most popular" is such an important marketing tactic - people almost automatically associate most popular with best. Unfortunately, this is not always the case (and quite possibly, often not the case). As to the particular reason that brought this topic to mind, I was listening to ESPN Radio, and they mentioned that their podcast stream is the most popular sports podcast, or something to that effect. Now, many people I'm sure love ESPN. And for as big of a sports nut as I am, I use to be a huge ESPN fan. But honestly, outside of their baseball stuff, and some of their website stuff, I really can't stand them. Now, they very well may be the best, but they definitely aren't as good as they use to be. From humble beginnings, the originators of ESPN worked very hard to make it what it is today - however, what it was even a few short years ago, it is no more. They focus far too much on the non-stories, and not enough on the games. I guess the point of this whole rant is, that what is most popular can stay that way for quite some time, even if it is not the best. While word can travel fairly fast, it doesn't travel that fast. And obviously, depending on the industry, there may not be many competitors (making it difficult for others to overcome), or perhaps they serve a very large segment of the population (meaning it would take a pretty large shift for someone else to take over the mantle of most popular). So the next time you're thinking about the criteria you use to make decisions, just remember that what is most popular won't necessarily be the best choice.

Regrets

Jim "Smitty" Smith of the Diesel Crew wrote a post a little while back about some advice he found from a hospice nurse. This nurse wrote down the top 5 regrets people had before dying:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I won't expound on any of them, but I think there are great lessons to be learned in there.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone is as fortunate as I to have a great mom. If you do, let her know.

Great Expectations

Reading a newsletter I subscribe to a few weeks ago, there was an article on expectations and just how much they can affect our response to situations. I found it particularly interesting when you sit back and think about just how much this can affect your daily life. Think about times when you are running late. If you are running late for a doctor or dentist appointment – you may be a bit frantic, but chances are, you probably don’t expect that things will be running on time, and therefore, if you’re a little late, it won’t be the end of the world. Conversely, if someone is late for an appointment with you, you are likely to be pretty perturbed – you expect that they will be on time, and are a bit aggravated when it doesn’t happen. Or perhaps you buy an old junker car to ride around in – if it breaks down, it’s a bit frustrating, but certainly not unexpected. But if your brand new car breaks down? BIG problems. This isn’t to say this is a good or bad thing – but framing things and point of reference are huge in our daily lives, likely without us even noticing. The more aware we become of ourselves and why we react the way we do, the better. So the next time something really bugs you, take the time to think about perhaps the expectations you had for it. Were they maybe irrationally too high to begin with? Or perhaps you have every right to be upset, but you still need to gather yourself and go about changing it. Food for thought.

"I don't have time..."

Should always be followed by "...because I don't think it's important enough."

When (& Why) to Hire a Coach

If your goal is to simply be “good enough” at something – hire a coach. Note – this doesn’t mean that being “good enough” is a bad thing. There are many aspects of your life in which you simply can’t, nor need to be, the best at. Especially if you are trying to be the best at something else. That is going to consume much of your time and energy, and leave you with little else to give in other areas. If you want to be the very best at something – you should probably go it alone. Now, hear me out. This doesn’t mean you should tune out the input of every other person – that would be dumb. But, there are a wide range of ideas, opinions, and evidence available to you. By hiring a coach or mentor, and using only their word, you are severely restricting the amount of information you are going to receive. They have taken info, whittled it down, and used it to form their own opinion about what is best.

“Read everything or read nothing” –Louie Simmons

Read as much as you can, and use that information to form your own philosophy and ideas. If your goal is simply good enough, you don’t need to know everything. You only need to know enough to get whatever the job is done. This is a bit how I view my role as a strength & conditioning coach. An athlete is putting a lot of time into becoming their best in sport – they don’t have the time or energy to read as much as they can about more training on top of that. My job is to take the information available, whittle it down, and put to use what I feel is the best way in that situation. I hope, one day, to be the best at what I do. This means I’m going to spend a shitload of time on that, and not so much on other things.

I love reading Jamie Lewis’ stuff –he’s clearly intent on being the best in the world at what he does – getting strong. In order to do so, he studies, tests, and walks the walk. That doesn’t leave him a lot of time to get good at doing his taxes, or fixing his car (he may do just fine at those things, I don’t know). But, he can hire somebody else, whose job it is to be good at those things, to do it. Now, I don’t expect that everyone wants to be the best at lifting weights – they just want to get better at it. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to hire a coach. If you want to be the best, you may look for guidance, but ultimately decide to go it alone – that’s your call.

Getting to the Point

One thing I hope to accomplish by my daily writing is learning to be a bit more concise and succinct in my writing. I'm always amazed by Seth Godin's blog and his ability to say so much with so little. I know I have a tendency to talk, and write, waaay too much. Unfortunately, part of this is due to the fact that there are sometimes assumptions made as to what your audience knows when keeping things short. I try to make as few assumptions as possible as to what my audience knows. But for today, I'll try to keep it to the point. While I really won't get much into politics on here, but here's one for today:


I think a lot of our division along party lines would be changed (probably for the better) if liberals realized that all of their politicians are rich assholes, too. Yes, CNN was on while my wife was getting Lasik today.

Got a Case of the Mondays?

"Somebody's got a case of the Mondays." -Office Space


My case of the Mondays is quite different than most. Monday is actually often my most productive day of the week. I like to lounge for a lot of the weekend if possible. But often, by about mid-Sunday, I start thinking about the list of things I need/want to do for the upcoming week. Some of it I start on Sunday, but often, I start preparing for Monday, so that I can attack the week by getting a lot done at the beginning. I also know, however, that there are many for whom Monday is the most dreaded day of the week. They hate their job, they loathe the end of the weekend, and are nearly terrified of the coming week. If this is you - get a new job, or find something to be passionate about in life. Martin Rooney writes more about the subject here.

Seminar Overview

So, one day in and I've already managed to miss out on a post. However, in my defense, I was out of town at a conference with zero time and no internet access. It could be said that if I really wanted to, I could have gotten it done - but I didn't, so there. In any event, I figured the conference would make for a good blog topic. 
It was the NSCA North Central Region Conference in Minneapolis (well, technically Bloomington, but close enough). Overall, it was pretty good. There were a few presentations and presenters I wasn't a big fan of, but for the most part, I learned more than a few things I could take away and use - so that's a win in my book. Listening to Mike Stone talk was outstanding. He presents a lot of references - and I'm generally not one for those who base most of their case on research (as often, the subjects used and study design present so many issues as to render it useless to infer from), but he presented many good points with solid studies to back them. It's clear he has spent a great many years studying this stuff. Likewise, Cal Dietz was great to listen to as well. He goes a mile a minute, and tends to jump around a bit - and yet still gets his points across very well. Again, it's very clear the guy is passionate about what he does, and has spent a TON of time learning his craft. I also got to listen to a presentation by my old strength coach, Jed Smith. Jed is an awesome speaker, and it was over a topic I hadn't heard him speak on before, so that was great, too.
Probably the one other thing that struck me (and has struck me at other conferences) is how out of shape some coaches are, and how poorly some of them move! This was the 2nd conference I've been to with a "practical" session - that is, some of the presenters actually take you through some of the things they presented about, in an effort to learn by doing. It is amazing to me how many of the coaches struggle with even basic movements. It quickly becomes apparent who were athletes, or at the very least train like one, and who simply has "show muscles" (or spends too much time reading and not enough time applying).
I'll have a post probably in the next week or so going a bit more in-depth about some of the issues I had, not even specifically with this conference, but the state of the industry in general. In any event, I'll be back with something tomorrow - count on it!

Intro

My name is Brock Leggins. I am owner and operator of Ultimate Athlete Development in West Des Moines, IA, a facility aimed at improving physical preparation for athletes of all ages and ability levels. I started this blog in an effort to improve my writing skills. As Dan John has said “If it’s important, do it every day” (I’ll expand more on this in the coming days). Writing is one of those skills that I feel is a “do every day” thing for me, as being a better and more effective writer will help me in many areas. I have also heard that, the more you do it, the better you become at it. So in that vein, I have started this blog, in an effort to hone my writing skills a bit. While a am a coach of physical preparation (or strength and conditioning, whichever you prefer – while they are not exactly the same thing, the difference is pretty inconsequential for most lay people, and I will use the titles interchangeably from time to time), not all of the posts will be in regards to training. I am an avid sports fan, so you can be sure I will write about that, as well as just observations on daily life. Again, this blog is nothing more than a forum for me to express my views and improve my writing ability and actually publish something every day. This is also something that Seth Godin preaches. So, to that end, it’s quite irrelevant to me if anyone reads this or not. If so, I would love to hear from and interact with people. And if not? No sweat off my balls, I’m still accomplishing my goal of writing every day.