Dan took 3rd in his State Wrestling Tournament last Saturday in the 189 lbs division! Great Job Dan!
Thursday
If needed, make up yesterday’s push press or tomorrow’s deadlift then:
Row 5k
Lift With Intent: Barbell Complex
Olympic and World Champion Weightlifter Tommy Kono like to tell his athletes that for every poor rep they will have to do three good reps to make up for the “memory” they created doing the movement wrong or without focus. Instead of “Practice makes perfect” Kono tells his athletes “Practice makes permanent.”
Some people practice piano, dance, gymnastics, or martial arts. Training in the gym is my practice. Ninety-nine percent of the time I do not workout, I practice. (Yes, every once in a while I just need a butt kicking session to “work” something out.) Practice means paying attention, focusing, and training with intention. Every time I touch a barbell is an opportunity to perfect a movement or learn something new.
Practice starts with foam rolling and various prehab movements. I am practicing “listening” to my body and learning what is sore or achy. Practice continues with the warm-up. I am trying to reinforce motor memory, checking for any sore spots that might need some attention, and noting how I feel overall so I know how hard I might be able to push or if I need to take things easy. The warm-up is also time to get focused and prepare mentally for the day’s training.
The barbell complex is one of my favorite warm-ups. When done with a light weight (65 pounds for me) and with intention it takes me at least 3 minutes, if not 5, to get through one round. I routinely see people blaze through the warm-up in a minute or even less. If you are going to go that fast and be that careless with the movements you might as well warm-up with a mindless jog, burpees, or maybe jumping rope. If you choose to be lazy about your movement when warming up or using a light weight your body will remember that when you try to go heavy.
If you ever have the chance to watch elite Olympic weightlifters, power lifters, or even CrossFitters you’ll notice their lifts look exactly the same whether they use a broomstick, an empty bar, or 400 pounds. That does not happen by accident. They are training with purpose, with intent.
In the video you can see an example of a lazy unfocused round through the barbell complex compared to one done with a bit more intention. As they like to say in the Russian Kettlebell community, being professional or elite is not a matter of knowing more tricks its a matter of doing the common uncommonly well.
Prehab and Posthab Stretching
Coach Guthrie has put together some posters and handouts of common prehab movements and post training stretching. We have posted a copy of each on the wall as shown in the photo below. There are also a couple of copies of each sheet laminated and placed in the organizer on the counter.
These should be of use to all of you during open coaching especially those of you on the strength program.
Awesome post Chris. The barbell complex is a perfect opportunity to perfect the movements you see in your training. Taking the time to study the lifts and correct flaws gives you an obvious advantage in maximizing strength gains and preventing injuries.
Good food for thought, Chris. I can associate with “going through the motions” of the warmups to just get loose for the workout, but this post demonstrates the importance of precise movements, even in the warmup phase. There is a one to one correlation of this philosophy in fitness/weight training movements and the golf swing/practice. Keep up the great work.
Awesome vid, Chris.
Also-I bet Jeff had no trouble demo-ing these pre-habs;) He does love to demo.
Way to go, Dan! Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks for the great post, Chris.
Great video and post. I tend to rush through and will slow down from now on. I always thought of it as a warmup, but I like the point about making it practice.