outdoor workouts in Woodridge

There's a group of folks doing some FREE outdoor workouts in Woodridge's Castaldo Park. These functional fitness workouts are heavily based off CrossFit's methods and movements.

The group called Amplify Fitness is led by Anthony G and Mike V. They are both CrossFit Level 1 trainers. I don't know Anthony, but I've met Mike a few times at various fitness events and competitions.

Workouts are every TUESDAY at 6:30PM, at the park near 71st St and IL-53. I've been told these workouts will last through September. If you are interested, email Anthony at anthony@amplifyfitness.com.

BJJ fighter's testimony for functional fitness

Dan E has been with us since the start of our organized stair workouts. He came to us with a history of strength training, and was looking for something different. Dan continues to push us through different aspects of fitness. He's always bringing out his beer keg, sledge hammer, tire, and sandbags. He sent our group this email this past weekend after a martial arts tournament. His story is inspiring.

Yesterday I competed in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament, Corral's Combat Classic (C3) held in Indiana. I competed in two different divisions: Blue Belt Absolute, which was a winner take all 22 man bracket consisting of all weight classes; and the Blue Belt Adult Superheavy weightclass, which had five competitors in it.

In the Absolute division I won my first match my submission and lost my second by points, 2-0. In the Superheavy class (which goes from 210 to unlimited, I weighed in at 235 lbs.) I placed third, winning one match by submission and losing one by points.

Irregardless of how I did or how I won, I learned a few things about my BJJ game and my level of fitness. But to tell that tale I need to lay down some backstory...

I started training BJJ in March 2005 and competed in my first competition in May 2005. I was about 285 lbs when I started and really only lifted weights. Sure, I did squats, deadlifts, overhead pressing, Oly lifts, etc. but didn't train aerobically or anaerobically. I figured I trained BJJ three times a week and that was enough "cardio," for me. I competed sporadically and did well, but always either gassed and had to hang on for the win or lost due to a lack of conditioning. But, I didn't change how I trained outside of BJJ.

Fast-forward to this year... January 2009 I weighed 275 lbs. and decided two things:

1. I weighed too much and needed to seriously do something about it.
2. I needed to step-up my training away from the mat and change how I ate.

I greatly increased my functional fitness training, tracked my diet, and saw some great results. I've lost forty pounds, increased my aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, and really saw my BJJ game improve. I'm able to roll hard for the full six or seven minute match and can push the pace of it. Moreover, I'm able to recover quicker. I saw this in action during yesterday's competition. Even after a hard six minute match I recovered within a few minutes and was ready to go again. Even later that night and the next day I felt pretty good. There was some soreness, but nothing worse than what I've felt after a hard Swallow Cliff workout.

Today I talked to a training partner who also competed yesterday. He trains as hard as anyone on the mat, but away from it his training only consists of running on a treadmill. I asked him how he felt and he replied that he was exhausted and sore enough that he might take the week off from BJJ. Me, I spent an hour in the water scuba diving today and can't wait for Tuesday's BJJ class.

I learned alot yesterday, and realized one more thing- I'm too small to compete in the superheavy class and need to lose another 26 lbs. to get to the heavyweight class.

So, thank-you to everyone I've trained with and who pushed me hard in our workouts. You've helped me achieve some of my goals and given me the tools to achieve the rest.

One of the things I like most about Dan's personality is his open-mindedness....he'll try any workout, any format, any movement, any structure. His open mind has allowed him to reach another level. Take a lesson from him. Try something new!

StrongMan competition

Lifetime Fitness in Orland Park, IL, hosted a StrongPerson competition. Enough with the gender-neutral stuff. It was a StrongMan event!! Tom M, Ann M, and I participated.

The eight events in my weight class (230-265#) were as follows:

• 400# tire flip. 50 feet.
• 240# farmers walk (120# ea hand). 100 feet.
• As many reps of 305# deadlift in 60 seconds.
• 17,000# semi-tractor pull. 50 feet.
• Sled pull (4 car tires plus 90#). 50 feet.
• Sandbag shuttle run. 6 from 40-58#.
• Barrel shuttle run. (keg, blue barrell, steel barrell).
• Keg toss. 3x20# and 3x10#. Over a 10-ft barrier.

Dave (event coordinator) did a most excellent job at organizing the entire event. Ruane Construction volunteered their people and trucks for some of the stations.

Ann M posted quite a few photos in these galleries: one and two.

How did we fare? Don't know yet. We left before any results were tabulated.

CrossFit definately prepared the three of us well for this contest. However, as I have always preached: CrossFit (and functional fitness as a whole) absolutely MUST be more than 20-minute MetCon workouts consisting of body weight movements and low weight/high repetition formats. It MUST include strength-building portions that use heavy weight and low repetitions.

Going Overhead

Enough babble. Here is some eye candy. Check out some of these faces during overhead lifting. There is exhaling, grunting, groaning, and even one that's glazed over. In case you're trying to add up weight plates, everyone is lifting 75# in these photos.

Poll Results...and New Question Posted

Results are in from the most recent online poll. My fitness weakness is...

• 13% - Gymnastics (or BW exercises)
• 7% - WOW! I'm so out of shape!
• 7% - Aerobic endurance
• 5% - Anaerobic work capacity
• 4% - General strength
• 3% - Coodination, Agility, Athleticism
  

I can see how "gymnastics and bodyweight exercises" took top honors on this one. However, I had imagined more balance among all the options. Frequently as adults mature, they begin to lose athleticism and agility. Also, anaerobic work capacity is something that is rarely targeted outside of specific sport training/conditioning. One almost never sees anaerobic training at a health club. As always, I enjoyed watching the numbers come in as our readers voted.

Please check out our newest poll question in the right column:

Moisture-wicking performance clothing like UnderArmor or DryFit....is it worth the price, or just a scam??

Exercise of the Week: KB Pummeling

Today's session included three movements, one of which was KETTLEBELL PUMMELING. Dan E sent me this video a few months ago, but hadn't incorporated it into one of our workouts until today.

At one point I recall uttering, "I'm not exactly sure what this is doing other than kicking my butt!" Much like most of kettlebelling, there is no one specific muscle group that is being targeted here. The shoulders, forearms, traps, abs, and glutes all find themselves under tension at one time or another during the movement. The rotational aspect of pummeling is unique. Of the seven basic movement patters, trunk rotation (or anti-rotational) is likely the most ignored. It seems as though most rotational exercises are done with such a light load/weight that little progress is made in this arena. Thoughts?

For starters, you need two matching KBs of a proper weight. We used 40#KBs today...which was a decent weight. I also recommend using a space large enough to allow all that funky movement. Then make sure there isn't foot traffic around...someone is bound to get whacked with a swinging KB if they're not paying attention. Getting smashed with a 40# pendulum is going to leave a mark!

Try KB pummeling. It's a complete departure from what most of think of when we hear weight training!

Daily Southtown article

Check out the Daily Southtown newspaper's article about Swallow Cliff's staircase:

It's not about the destination, it's about the climb, by Carole Sharwarko.

I have to call BS on the height of the stairs. Our great friend Tom G had a survey crew measure the rise to be 75.69 feet. Far from the article's stated 185 feet. If you don't believe me, take this estimate: For it to be even 126 feet, each step would have to average 12 inches. We all know that to be FAR from reality. For it to 185 feet tall, the average step height would have to be over 17". Definitely not the case!!!

Regardless of the falsehood, this article is sure to gather more interest out there.

Events: Barbell seminars in July

• Fundamentals of the Squat
• Saturday, 07-18-2009, 1100-1300hrs
• CrossFit DuPage, Lombard, IL

• Fundamentals of the Deadlift
• Saturday, 08-01-2009, 1100-1300hrs
• CrossFit DuPage, Lombard, IL

Mary Licko (above) will be running some barbell lifting seminars later this month. First off, Mary is a NASM-certified personal trainer. She is also heavily educated through CrossFit with certifications in: Level 1 trainer, Barbell, Olympic Lifting, and Nutrition.

Nate at CrossFit DuPage is bringing in Mary to teach the above listed two (2) seminars. Each costs $50 to attend. Class size is limited to six (6) attendees each. This is a real deal for near-personal training for two hours. You do NOT have to attend both. Each is a separate curriculum. From what I hear, some of the slots are already taken....so get on it soon if you'd like to attend. E-mail Mary at marylicko@hotmail.com for more.

My editorial: There is some serious debate among weightlifters as to whether the squat or the deadlift is the more "perfect" exercise. It's a great argument either way, and enjoyable to listen to and partake in. They are both extremely functional and practical, demand the highest degree of focus and balance, and recruit the greatest number of muscles to perform. So whether one of the exercises is the best or second-best, it really doesn't matter. If you are not including BOTH the squat and deadlift into your sessions, you are severely lacking the two most critical components of fitness building blocks.

Exercise of the Week: Ring Dips

Suspension systems such as the TRX, Bandit Loops, or gym rings have made a niche within many functional fitness systems. I personally own two sets of gym rings, and found many ways to incorporate them into my sessions.

RING DIPS are one of my least favorite...which means I suck at them. Which also means I do them often. They are considerably more difficult than dips on a fixed-bar. Some trainers estimate the difficulty to be 3-4 times that of their counterpart bar dips. That equates to substituting one ring dip with 3 or 4 bar dips!!!

Gym rings move in what is called a "frictionless plane." The rings require the participant to STABILIZE him/herself during all phases of the movement: top, lowering, bottom, and raising. This stabilization is extension-flexion (front-to-back) and abduction/adduction (in-to-out). It took me almost three weeks of skill work on the rings to even be able to balance myself in the top position without falling onto my face. I would balance for as long as possible in the top position (isometric), then move over to the fixed-bar dip station to go through the range of motion (isotonic).

One of the problems I see with participants on the rings is lack of full range of motion (ROM). There are two points in the movement that can be cheated: at the top by not fulling extending the elbow, and at the bottom by not fully closing the elbow. This shallow movement obviously cheats the musculature that the exercise is made to target. Please be sure to "go deep" and then fully extend to the top. Full ROM ensures the best results.

Whatever fitness level you find yourself in, you can always put dips into your sessions. For extreme beginners, maybe time on a Gravitron counter-balance assist machine is in order. Further scaling options include using rubber assist bands (such as those from Iron Woody). For beginners, I recommend a solid foundation of fixed-bar dips before ring dips. One should be able to complete 10 bar dips before venturing onto the rings. Prematurely getting onto the rings can be demoralizing and discouraging. I do, however, believe in simple balance work on the rings as soon as possible! For those with the highest abilities, try weighted ring dips! I imagine that's about as difficult as it gets!

Last week, I found myself scaling some boulders. I needed the skills and abilities identical to a dip motion to press myself up onto a raised ledge. So is the dip a functional movement? You bet it is.

Event for Women: FITNESS FRIDAY

For you ladies, this is a special event just for you!  Lucy is a women's fitness apparel store, one of which is located in Burr Ridge, Illinois.  From what I understand, they host a regular event called Fitness Friday.

This event will be locally held this Friday, July 10th, from 4p-7p, at the Burr Ridge store (555 Village Center, at the new mall near Countyline Rd and I-55). Our friend Mary Licko is the event presenter.  She's a personal trainer and holds certifications through a myriad of respected physical fitness organizations such as NASM and CrossFit.  She currently trains out of MBC Fitness in Westmont, Illinois.  Mary is extremely passionate about fitness, and has a great motivating personal tale about her own physical changes.

Please do what you can to be at Lucy in Burr Ridge this Friday. You will surely learn more about high-intensity functional movement and strength training from a few hours with Mary than from reading a stack of women's magazines piled high to the ceiling.