KB Girl wins big or goes home

[Mad Hatter]

The p-bars at my gym have bars that are perfect as foot support. I found it quite good to start from the bottom and push up using only as much leg assistance as I need. Could you do something like that? Maybe using a box?

[KB Girl]

Oh man, your challenge is crazy inspiring! Obviously because of world's but also everything else. It feels like just a few weeks ago we were almost level with the pull-ups and now you're up to 5 (almost)! Amazing progress. I'm both kind of jealous and inspired to catch up. I should also really tackle a cut your way, suffer for a few weeks and have it over and done with. I've never had a strong enough incentive, but you make me want to go for it. Maybe next challenge.

Also I love that you're serious about the KB book. Not that I didn't think you were, but more like I'm impressed that you mentioned it last week and now you're writing the index page.

This is going to be a wicked challenge!

The cutting and pullup progress do go hand in but yes, please be inspired to catch up! It actually didn't take much work, just doing a pull-up or 2 every other day.

I have been thinking about the book for a while, your encouragement prompted me to take my first real step. Thank you!

 

What's diet food? I see delicious food!

Low cal and tiny jars tho xD

 

Great job with the bakery willpower!

For the dips, I wonder if there's a good way to do a full ROM assisted dip. I'm struggling with ROM when doing ring dips, too. But, doing partial ROM work doesn't really seem to be helping me achieve a good full ROM dip. Instead, I'm just getting stronger at the top half of the move. I'm thinking of trying to rig up a band on my rings to use for assistance, and then just working the bottom third of the movement.

Just put your feet on the ground (or a box) for assist! Definitely not a fan of using bands... You'll have much more support in the bottom so still end up working only the top ROM.

 

The p-bars at my gym have bars that are perfect as foot support. I found it quite good to start from the bottom and push up using only as much leg assistance as I need. Could you do something like that? Maybe using a box?

Exactly!

[maigrey]

I wanted to look up what you're doing but you haven't started a new thread yet, gogo!

Okay okay! it's up now -->  Maigrey Slays Monsters

[SymphonicDan]

Some options to consider for increasing RoM for ring dips:

 

• negatives
• set the rings at uneven heights, so one of your arms dips a lot deeper
• shorter straps on the rings (helps stability)
• rather than affixing the rings to a bar/ceiling, make a pulley system where the rope goes over the bar and attaches to a harness that you're wearing. Then you move only half as much so it feels like you weigh half as much. If this is too easy then you can do harder variations, like adding weight or doing the reps extra fast/slowly
• experiment with doing an L-sit or bending your knee 90 degrees etc. so that you can recruit your stronger muscles. If this helps then you can later reduce the effect so that all the muscles for a proper dip get worked properly

Of course you can always work on other exercises that build strength is the relevant places (push-ups etc.) And of course your cut will help but you only have about 2kg left to go....

[Sam Ashen]

L-Sit is another item on my list.  Maybe I should write it on post-it notes and put them in random places to motivate me to think about core work more.

 

So ya - If you are trying to poach me for the Assassins, keep talking about the awesome things you are doing and dropping helpful hints.  

[Emerald_Dragonfly]

(One is chicken/cottage cheese and the other is raspberry/oatmeal/thick yoghurt.)

 

 

Yumm-o!  

 

That looks fab!

[Wolverine]

I like bands for assisted dips.  Full ROM and assistance is trackable.

 

Love the food in jar idea!

[Mad Hatter]

 

• shorter straps on the rings (helps stability)

 

So I understand why shorter straps help, but I've been wondering just how much it helps and what a "normal" strap length is (long enough it's not cheating and short enough to be not stupid) The gym rings are preeetty long especially when I lower them down for support holds, but maybe that's the way they're supposed to be and I need to suck it up.

[KB Girl]

So I understand why shorter straps help, but I've been wondering just how much it helps and what a "normal" strap length is (long enough it's not cheating and short enough to be not stupid) The gym rings are preeetty long especially when I lower them down for support holds, but maybe that's the way they're supposed to be and I need to suck it up.

There is only a normal when you consider gymnastic competitions.. for the rest of us it's whatever suits your level i'd think!

There is a ginormous difference between strap length. We have had crossfit people come over to our gym and be unable to do a muscle up on our rings. And Jaap went to a gymnastics workshop and was also challenged by that extra length. 

[KB Girl]

Remember I mentioned signing up for a local weightlifting competition? That happened yesterday. It was a bit more bad ass than I expected, there were quite a few big shots. Made me feel a little small, but definitely very cool to see/experience

 

I was conservative with my weights, because.. well obviously right? It went well, snatch technique was... awkward but not too sad. Clean wasnt very pretty either, but.. really easy. Still having some trouble with the jerk so that's fine. My lifts; 

Snatch; 35-40-45(f)

C&J; 48-53-57

 

Got the last lift on video;

[Sam Ashen]

Power Clean + Jerk?

[KB Girl]

Power Clean + Jerk?

Indeed. Or is the question more of a why powers?

[Sam Ashen]

Olympic lifts are something I know little about. I thought you can clean more than power clean.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

[KB Girl]

Olympic lifts are something I know little about. I thought you can clean more than power clean.

That's absolutely right. I can clean a lot more than 57kg, but since I wouldn't be able to jerk what I can clean I ended up with a power clean. The jerk is like that because I haven't actually learned to split jerk yet and my general technique on it is still sloppy.

[Nymeria]

 

Just put your feet on the ground (or a box) for assist! Definitely not a fan of using bands... You'll have much more support in the bottom so still end up working only the top ROM.

That's kind of what I'm already doing, except that I don't feel like there's any consistency in the amount of assist I'm using.  I generally am positioning the rings at a height such that the rings are at the depth I want them to be, and then I'm kind of using my tiptoes to push out of the hole.  My problem is that I probably only need an assist of like 10 lbs to get the full ROM.  I can do full rom dips on P-Bars, but something is off when I transition to the rings.

 

I like bands for assisted dips.  Full ROM and assistance is trackable.

 

 Me too.  My only worry with the rings is that entering and exiting seems tricky.   I'll have to play around with it and see how it goes.  

[karinajean]

hi there! super excited about your challenge. I mean, I always am! but especially THIS one.

[KB Girl]

That's kind of what I'm already doing, except that I don't feel like there's any consistency in the amount of assist I'm using. I generally am positioning the rings at a height such that the rings are at the depth I want them to be, and then I'm kind of using my tiptoes to push out of the hole. My problem is that I probably only need an assist of like 10 lbs to get the full ROM. I can do full rom dips on P-Bars, but something is off when I transition to the rings.

Simply closed vs open chain movement. If you can, try having someone steady the rings for you, while standing behind you. Just a little bit. And then less.

How is your top position hold?

hi there! super excited about your challenge. I mean, I always am! but especially THIS one.

Goodgood! I'm leaning more towards anxious atm

[Polaris]

Ooh, more exciting stuff! Subbing again.

 

Those ring pull-ups look great to me, but then again, I'm still trying to achieve one anything pull-up And congrats on your cut success so far! If I recall correctly, you were on a pretty tight schedule, but it looks like you've been cutting like a champ.

[Lilith]

Pullups looked amazing and smooth! They probably are hard for you, but the reps you make don't look hard at all! Btw what breed is your dog, if he is any breed at all? He's so cute! 

 

Weightlifting was also awesome! Hope you had lots of fun there!

[raptron]

Woo for competing anyway though!

 

Also, I totally agree with Dan's dip progressions + suggestions. And YEAH, length for the rings matters a lot and unless you are planning on doing proper men's rings anytime soon, scale away! They're mostly that length so you can do rings giants and other madness.

[KB Girl]

Weighed in 70.6kg monday morning, which probably had something to do with dehydration. I felt fine, not sore at all and really really motivated to lift.... but the reality was total crap. It might have something to do with being a bit underfed, not sure. Bit disappointed and getting more and more anxious as d-day approaches. Confidence, where art thou? :s

 

Log;

22kg snatches

plan was to do 1min-2min-2min-1min (with 1min breaks) on both arms, reality was quite different.

right arm; 1:00 - 1:45 - 1:15 - 0:45

left arm; 1:00 - 1:15 - 0:55 - 0:45

 

20kg cleans

6 minutes, one switch. 

did 3 minutes on right arm, but put it down after 2 mins on left because the skin was feeling ready to come off and can't really risk it at this point.

 

Finished with some negative dips on paralletes and played around a bit with crow to headstand and wall handstand holds.

 

Today I woke up with all the doms. Not sure if it's from monday or sunday, but yea... decided to skip my training and eat a little over maintenance for a day. While the plan was to do that with a lot of good food, there was quite a bit of chocolate involved. Oh well.

[KB Girl]

Ooh, more exciting stuff! Subbing again.

 

Those ring pull-ups look great to me, but then again, I'm still trying to achieve one anything pull-up And congrats on your cut success so far! If I recall correctly, you were on a pretty tight schedule, but it looks like you've been cutting like a champ.

Hi again! Yep, stupidly tight schedule. It's interesting what a deadline and a ton of motivation can make you do I'll come root for you and your pull-ups!

 

Pullups looked amazing and smooth! They probably are hard for you, but the reps you make don't look hard at all! Btw what breed is your dog, if he is any breed at all? He's so cute! 

 

Weightlifting was also awesome! Hope you had lots of fun there!

Thanks! The first 2 actually don't even feel very hard anymore, it just goes downhill really really fast from there

Our dog (Storm) is a mix between a Malamute (type of Husky) and a White Shepherd... Her dad was completely white and her mom kinda grey, so no idea how she ended up black! Really kinda sad it isn't a real breed, because we'd love get the same type of dog to keep her company.. Not easy to find this mix though.

 

Woo for competing anyway though!

 

Also, I totally agree with Dan's dip progressions + suggestions. And YEAH, length for the rings matters a lot and unless you are planning on doing proper men's rings anytime soon, scale away! They're mostly that length so you can do rings giants and other madness.

Competing is a lot of fun! Especially when there is no pressure on performance :X Quite relaxing for a change.

[SymphonicDan]

So I understand why shorter straps help, but I've been wondering just how much it helps and what a "normal" strap length is (long enough it's not cheating and short enough to be not stupid) The gym rings are preeetty long especially when I lower them down for support holds, but maybe that's the way they're supposed to be and I need to suck it up.

 

Proper length for men's gymnastics is 3 metres. As raptron says, that's so that tall guys (you, the kind of guys who probably aren't going to be competing in rings) can things like handstands and giants without worrying about where their feet are going to hit. They have their trainer lift them up too like a little kid at a crowded fireworks show because the rings have to be about 3 metres off the ground for similar reasons

 

I'd say that as long as you have space for your head when you do the solidest support position possible, then it can count as a dip. What any individual does for training is a different matter though of course.

 

Also it's impractical to find anywhere outside to hang rings with 3 metre straps, so that's just not happening!

 

Very nice C&J! 57kg is an impressive weigh to be cleaning and jerking (as far as I'm concerned) so I'm proud of you there That's like... 75% of your bodyweight chilling overhead.

[maigrey]

Remember I mentioned signing up for a local weightlifting competition? That happened yesterday. It was a bit more bad ass than I expected, there were quite a few big shots. Made me feel a little small, but definitely very cool to see/experience

 

I was conservative with my weights, because.. well obviously right? It went well, snatch technique was... awkward but not too sad. Clean wasnt very pretty either, but.. really easy. Still having some trouble with the jerk so that's fine. My lifts; 

Snatch; 35-40-45(f)

C&J; 48-53-57

 

Got the last lift on video;

 

That's absolutely right. I can clean a lot more than 57kg, but since I wouldn't be able to jerk what I can clean I ended up with a power clean. The jerk is like that because I haven't actually learned to split jerk yet and my general technique on it is still sloppy.

I was going to say 'woah, you have a lot left in the tank there' for your cleans, but this explains it.  But push jerks are awesome!  i can split jerk just fine, but I love me the push jerks.  Trick there is dropping under the bar as fast as you can - your timing looks a bit off; you are standing up but haven't finished the lockout yet, so have to press to the top.  That ALWAYS kills me.

 

But seriously, super impressive!  57kg is no joke.

[KB Girl]

Some random thoughts on coaching, feel free to skip!

 

For the competition in 14 days I have myself and 8 athletes to coach. (1 girl trying to qualify for pro division snatch like me, 1 veteran and 3 for amateur class. The other 3 are trying to make rank.) Two weeks out is always an interesting time, because that's when tapering and rest happens. It's kinda controversial for kb sport, opinions vary a lot on when rest should start and what it should look like. Then there is the athletes point of view; some of them go absolutely crazy if you make them do nothing for too long. 

I lean towards more rest is better, in theory strength, power and endurance do not start to lessen until after 28 days, so two weeks of rest/tapering seems very reasonable to me. Most coaches only do 3/4 days. However anyone who has ever deadlifted heavy knows that it can take more than 4 days to recover. I've just put my athletes through some grueling work the last 2 weeks  

However most of them go a little stir crazy. So I compromise by having them do light more endurance work, it doesn't risk the skin on their hands and i'm thinking the CNS is better able to handle/recover. For those panicking about forgetting how to lift in a week of rest I have them do some very short sets with a lot of rest in between. 

 

My predictions from tests are all positive, i'm thinking most (if not all) should attain their goals. Only two close calls, which would be me and one of the girls trying to qualify with 16kg. It'll all depend on how well we feel that day and how well adrenaline does it's job.  

For the pro-girl, this will be a test of performance under pressure.. she has improved but still loses her head+technique when stepping on a platform. If it goes well, she has some serious chances to take a podium spot at worlds this year!

 

So that's me rambling. I can think of little else today. 

 

Very nice C&J! 57kg is an impressive weigh to be cleaning and jerking (as far as I'm concerned) so I'm proud of you there That's like... 75% of your bodyweight chilling overhead.

Thanks! I really want to get that 100%

 

I was going to say 'woah, you have a lot left in the tank there' for your cleans, but this explains it.  But push jerks are awesome!  i can split jerk just fine, but I love me the push jerks.  Trick there is dropping under the bar as fast as you can - your timing looks a bit off; you are standing up but haven't finished the lockout yet, so have to press to the top.  That ALWAYS kills me.

 

But seriously, super impressive!  57kg is no joke.

Thanks And you're right, that timing was off.. I'm actually surprised I got 2 white lights for it.