Sunday, September 7, 2008

Monday 080908: Rest

Today's a rest day. The heat is not off though; a day of hard training or a day resting brings us 24 hours closer to competition. Recovery needs to be taken seriously; additionally, rest day means gym time which means more stretch time.

I'm going to be asking for some feedback on this post on a few forums so, before going into the plans for the next week, I'll give just a little run-down of how things have gone so far.

This past week was the first one at full scale. I'm sore but nothing unexpected. I've been drinking about 1/3 to 1/2 of a gallon of milk a day, eating lots of meat, fruits and vegetables, as well as olive oil, nuts, and avocados.

Below is my plan for the next three days which will wrap up my second strength week (weeks start on Saturdays and are 2 on 1 off 3 on 1 off). I'm generally trying to follow the philosophy at Performance Menu/Catalyst Athletics regarding doing a high volume of exercises to strengthen the body to begin to perform these movements when connected together (more on that, infra).

Tuesday, the workout will be at a gymnastics facility, and I can plan on having approximately 1:45 to complete the following:
~30 minutes of swings and dismounts into pit
~Cross pullouts with elastic band support: 3-3-3-3-3
~L-sit, press to handstand, inverted cross, press back to handstand with counterweighted harness rig (effectively halves user's bodyweight): 7x1
~Spotted 30sec. handstand hold on rings: 3x1

Wednesday, the workout will be at a local gym (Rocky Top Rec. Center in Charlottesville). There is a set of rings with long straps, and places to mount lower rings. The owner has asked that only non-technical, strength-based moves be practiced there. Any major swinging or handstand elements are out. Here's the plan:
~On low rings, L-sit (5 sec. hold): 5x1
~Hang, inverted hang, spotted back lever, inverted hang: 5x2
~Bulgarian dips: 3x8
~Hang, inverted hang, spotted front lever, inverted hang: 5x2
~Dumbbell rows (rehab program for winging scapula): 3x10
~Maltese postition dumbbell presses: 4-4-4-4
~Short metcon (under 10 minutes)

Thursday, the workout moves back to the gymnastics gym:
~30 minutes of swings and dismounts into pit (again)
~Dislocates practice drill: 15x1
~Backwards roll to support: 5x1
~Muscle-up to L-sit: 4x3
~Spotted jump-to-maltese hold: 5x1
~Maltese to iron cross with counterweight harness: 5x1
~Short metcon (under 10 minutes)

Friday is a rest day. One of the weekend days, I'm going to try to get on rings but facilities may be extremely limited (travelling to Philadelphia); the other day I'll be doing deadlifts or other heavy weight training, most likely a 1-1-1-1-1-1-1.

***


The other aspect to this training to which I am soliciting feedback is the macro plan. As is described at the very bottom of the page, I've been inspired by the Performance Menu / Catalyst Athletics program of a 4 week strength and then 4 week Bulgarian style training program, and am attempting to adapt this to my training.

The way that works is that the first and third 4 weeks are focused mainly on developing raw strength, getting the body used to the many positions and holds that will be required by my final competition rings routine. I'll be doing a lot of volume with crosses, presses, and levers. I'll also be specifically working on some of the more difficult connecting moves. I'll be working on swings and dismounts as well, generally 30-40 minutes per day when in the gym.

In the second and forth 4 weeks, I'll be doing considerably less volume in terms of raw strength, but will be doing a lot more of the "putting it all together" work. During these weeks, Here, I will put the competition routine together and go through it with a spotter a few times per practice session with a long rest period between efforts. When not working with a spotter, or when at a gym restrictive of certain elements, I'll be putting together routines with allowed moves which are approximately the same length as the competition routine. Because these workouts will be shorter, I'll be also able to focus more on working technique moves, spending even more time developing my swing, dismount, and other technical parts of the routine.

***

So, that's the plan in general. I would very, very much appreciate any sort of feedback on this concept, either from the micro or macro side.

My main question in terms of the macro programming is whether a 4 week/4 week schedule would be best, or if changes to that might be better. For example, starting with 4/2 right now to build strength, then do 4/3, 4/4, 3/4, 2/4 as competition approaches (plan on February or March 2009) and time becomes better used perfecting elements rather than building them. I realize that we're probably into theoretical/experimental ground here, but even some discussion and dialogue would be extremely helpful.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Chadron

The program looks pretty good to me. Let me initially disclose my shortcomings: First, I am very familiar with performance menu but I don't understand how their programming applies to what you're doing. Secon, I have some rudimentary gymnastic skills and have taken and taught tumbling classes but I have not trained anybody in preparation for gymnastics competition. I would defer to your gymnastics coaches for the final word.

That being said, I would look at your training from 3 points of view: strength, skill and conditioning.

Generally speaking I would train strength moves at relatively low volumes. Train to increase the load or the leverage of the move. For example progressing from pushups to weighted pushups to planche pushups. Same for Dips, Pullups, Muscle Ups, Etc.

Skill training includes perfecting form and linking moves and working on the details. These also require strength but require focus on form and should be done when fresh.

Finally, conditioning workouts for time where you push your anaerobic limits. Moves should be relatively easy and allow you to train really hard and fast. A lot of the workouts on my site crossfitvirtuosity.com focus on this.

IMHO skill work should be done every training day. Strength workouts and conditioning workouts should be alternated to allow for variety and recovery.

It seems like you are more or less doing that so my final advice is that if you are preparing for a competition then you should work on your routine every waking moment to make it flawless. Practice it forwards and backwards and be able to do it in your sleep.

Good luck.

Programming

The current goal is to put together a competition-ready rings routine for club-level competition. There are a number of meets in the first few months of 2009 where this will be possible.

I am developing my own programming, but am actively seeking out assistance with this. I have drawn guidance from Crossfit, Performance Menu, Gym Jones, postings on various message boards, and numerous other fitness blogs. My thanks for making their information public, I hope to continue in this same spirit with my own experiment.

Note that I will be changing this plan as time goes by and I get advice from the many people who have offered their help with this process. I will be making notes for changes in italic font; anyone using this blog in the future will be able to gather more information by looking at the process of what I've learned and changed than by just observing the finished product.

The plan is for a 2/1/3/1 schedule. The reason for this is that the gymnastics gym is going to only be available Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The equipment available there is far superior to that available elsewhere, both for skills and strength work.

Here’s the main idea of the programming:

Saturday: Ring Strength, MetCon
Sunday: Lifting
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Ring Technique, Ring Strength, MetCon
Wednesday: Ring Technique, Ring Strength
Thursday: Ring Technique, Ring Strength, MetCon
Friday: Rest

Lifting

Once a week perform Olympic lifts and their component parts, as well as other activities using the big muscle groups. Go heavy on these days, but also use the time to make sure that technical proficiency on these lifts does not backslide during this period of stepping out of normal programming.

MetCon

Two or three times per week, perform a short, intense workout, generally a combination of multiple exercises. The workout should last between three and ten minutes, and should be done at a very high level of intensity. Combinations of different movements, not necessarily all ring-focused are favored.

Ring Strength

This is the main portion of the programming geared exclusively to reach the goal of building and perfecting a routine. Inspired by Catalyst Athletics / The Performance Menu, the idea here is going to be to program in 4-week intervals.

Strength elements will generally be trained at relatively low volume and near-maximum capacity.

The odd-numbered four week cycles focus on building strength for the individual components of the routine while improving technical proficiency throughout. For elements already learned, this means repeating them, sometimes with weight added, with an emphasis on holding correct form. For elements which have yet to be learned, this cycle will focus on developing the correct form and technique, which means more assistance and repetition, and repeating the same exercises more often through the week. Expect a great deal of work with elastic bands and harnesses as well as work with weights and other exercises off the rings.

The even-numbered four week cycles focus on developing the entire routine, connecting elements together, and increasing the ability to train elements at or near maximum exertion on a frequent basis. For elements already learned, this will mean connecting all of them together in a single effort to practice execution of a competition-length routine. For elements which have yet to be learned, training will be low in quantity but performed at a maximum level of execution, preferably with a spotter rather than bands or a harness.

Ring Technique

Practice the more technical elements of the rings routine in large quantity. Focus on swinging, balance, and dismount elements, repeating them at great quantity, limited generally by fatigue preventing proper execution technique.

These will require strength but also focus on form and will generally be done when fresh.

Other Elements of Programming

In addition to this schedule, at least twice a week, do other activities such as swimming, running, or playing any sort of other sport. Keep lose and keep sane. Make sure that at least one of these activities is some sort of outlet in which performance is not tightly tracked and measured and is instead done just for the fun of it. For me, that’s playing volleyball or going hiking. The concept is to retain sanity and prevent burnout; although that does not mean that this part is less important than any other component of the programming.

Additionally, and somewhat conversely, do a mental workout once every few weeks. These are workouts that, while not necessarily physically draining, they are mentally demanding. Examples serve more for definition than anything else: 10x25 meter underwater swim on 1:00 intervals; muddy trail run during a rain storm with belly-crawl component; or a mile sand bag carry.

The idea is to push yourself toward a goal that you know you can physically do, but may or may not be able to push through mentally. You have to keep your mind sharp and will yourself to finish the workout. Once you’ve gone through this type of thing to reach your goal, you will be less likely to drop out of the program. You’re quite literally hazing yourself.

***

That is the programming schedule in a nutshell. I am very much open to feedback on this: it’s the primary reason I started this blog in the first place.