2024 - 02 - 05

Escape Velocity Week 7, Respect, Man Weights, and Avoiding Pain

Austin Haedicke

anaerobic-capacityendurance

training-log-personal

1761 Words | Read Time: 8 Minutes

2024-02-12 08:20 -0800


I never thought I’d be happy to do burpees.

Summary:

This week started with a solid F-You, but was accompanied by several important revelations and recognitions. Hard work is recognized by those who matter; if they don’t notice, the probably matter less than you think.

Grappling has continued to focus on wrestling, specifically we transitioned from upper body connection / grip fighting to lower body connection and off balancing.

The week finished with some capacity exploration which continues to highlight my deficits on O2 Mobilization and Endurance.

Contents:

  • Monday: Escape Velocity Session 22 - Strength Endurance
  • Tuesday: Escape Velocity Session 23 - Capacity / FYF
  • Wednesday: Rest (yes, they do happen)
  • Thursday: NoGi BJJ, wrestling - off-balance and lower body connection
  • Friday: Escape Velocity Session 24 - Endurance / weighted implements
  • Saturday: NoGi BJJ - wrestling, movement / angles / follow-through
  • Sunday: Escape Velocity Session 25 - Capacity / ladder

2/5/24: Strength, Level 2

Intention:

“This is a prime example of concurrent training. What you feel as a limitation can tell you where you are underdeveloped. Often, players don’t lack strength but an aerobic engine in which their strength and endurance can be expressed.”

Warm Up / Prefatigue:

50x banded disloacates
100x banded pull a-parts

Then,
3 Rounds, not for time
5x Wall Walk
15m Bear Crawl
10 Push-Ups
*for the last round add 2 x 15 lbs DBs to the Wall Walk and Bear Crawl

Work:

15 minute AMRAP (AMRAP / 15)
0-5 min max reps seated clean and press (2 x 15 lb DBs)
*EMOM - 2x Burpee Pull-Ups
6-10 min max reps hang clean and press (2 x 25 lb DBs)
*EMOM - 2x Burpee Box Jumps (20”)
11-15 min max reps clean and press (touch the ground) (30 lb DBs)
*EMOM - 2x Burpees

Result:

I actually misread / miscounted the original session as written, however, I believe it was close enough to get a glimpse of the desired effect. It was supposed to be 3x on the burpee box-jumps, and 5x on the burpees. Also, the final round was supposed to be a clean and jerk, not press.

Round 1: 34 reps
Round 2: 46 reps
Round 3: 31 reps

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
My legs are a big engine….,

What didn’t work and why:
Pressing strength is underdeveloped, as discussed last week
Interesting that I was looking forward to the “aerobic part” to get some relief

Plan for next time:
None of these loads were crazy, so having a better “aerobic engine” would help reduce “time to failure”, but my shoulders were definitely burning more than my lungs here.


2/6/24: Capacity, Level 3

Intention:

I updated the premium feature description page to include energy system definitions. With that in mind, I’ve described “capacity” as: Combined aerobic and anaerobic aspects that address breathing limitations, such as waste clearance and recoverability.

Warm Up:

10 minute clock for quality:
40-sec Machine
4x Goblet Good Mornings
4 Stiff-Leg Box Jumps
15-sec Star Plank (each side)

Work:

For Time:
10-20-30-40-50
Calories on AirBike
Walking Lunges (single count, unweighted)
*Complete 15 KB Clean and Jerks between sets

Then, cash out (with timer still running):
25x Burpees
25x Box Jump 20”
25x Box Jump 24”
25x Box Jump 30”

Result:

Warm: 4 rounds, Zone 2 pace

Work:
2 x 45 lb DBs
42:10

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Surprisingly, the grind through the “cash out” wasn’t terrible, so long as I was able to keep plodding along. Similarly, being able to regain some control over my heart rate after getting back on the bike (after the cleans) was important for maintaining the overall pace.

What didn’t work and why:
In my exhaustion and delirium I misread the prescription, again. The “box jumps” were supposed to be burppee(into)-box-jumps. That’s definitely harder, but I believe the same intention was achieved this way.

Plan for next time:
Coming out a little hotter for the 10 and 20 calorie rounds would have made this go faster, but, as always the sweet spot is in being able to see the downstream consequences you’ll have to face in the later rounds.


2/8/24: Sport, Level 1

Intention:

My grappling classes have continued to focus on wrestling. We spent several weeks on hand / grip fighting and upper body connection. This week we transitioned to more off-balancing details and added lower body connection.

Warm Up:

6-minute round of grip fighting:
Alternate partner every minute

Work:

1.5 hour class time total
*about 0.5 hours movement for me

Instruction focus was on:

  • level change
  • penetration step
  • creating angles via “connect-2 game”

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
In the first video below, Brandon calls it the 2-2-2 drill. I’ve started calling it “connect-2.” We use a combination of pushes, pulls, and feints to wear down the opponent, but only attack ourselves after we “connect 2” of the same movement (either 2 pushes, 2 pulls, or 2 feints).

What didn’t work and why:

Plan for next time:
Sweeps and takedowns work the same; you need connection, off-balance (either posture, base, or both), and follow through. Next week’s class will re-emphasize off-balancing and begin working on follow through.

Some of the content inspiring the session:


2/9/24: Endurance, Level 2

Intention:

“Since this is an Endurance session and we do not want to spike heart rates with sprinting at any point. Find a pace where you can maintain a conversation and stay there for the entirety of this session. Pay attention to what movements are more or less taxing than others and put in additional effort while maintaining a steady heart rate and back off your pace for movements that tend to blow you up.”

Warm Up:

20 minute alternating EMOM
Minute 1 - walk
Minute 2 - jog

Work:

AMRAP / 20:

20 machine calories
20 KB swings
20 Goblet Box Step Ups, 20”
50m suitcase carry (switch arms half way)

4 min rest, then

AMRAP / 20:

20 machine calories
20 alternating DB snatch (10 / side)
20 DB Strict press (10 / side)
20 weighted reverse lunges (10 / side)

Results:

Warm Up:
1.25 miles / 118 calories, 3-3 breath (Gear 1)

Work:
Leg 1 - burpees as machine, 16 Kg KB, 3 rounds + 3 cal
Leg 2 - burpees as machine, 16 Kg KB for snatch, 12 Kg KB for press, 2.5 rounds

Note:

What worked well and what allowed it:
The suitcase carry was the easiest to pace, by far. The step-ups, snatches, and lunges were easy enough to plod along. Pacing for the swings depended on the weight.

What didn’t wok and why:
Burpees were, by far, the most difficult to pace. They’re a complex movement that I’m not very efficient at. So, walking a few steps between reps kept my heart rate in the desired range.

Plan for next time:
I didn’t wear a heart rate monitor for this session, but I was able to keep my mouth closed and only nasal breathe for the entirety of the session. That means I was staying around Zone 2 / Gear 2.


2/10/24: Sport, level 2

Intention:

As with last week’s Open Mat, I wanted to keep myself accountable and focused on the material I’ve been having students work on. In addition, I wanted to try and reduce thee number of rounds off even if an “on” round only consisted of light drilling.

Results:

Wrestling (movement / follow-through): x4 rounds
Open: x2 rounds
Drill: x2 rounds
Rest x2 rounds

Work:Rest = 80% (4:1)
Focus = 60%

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Using pressure to increase wear and “pace” on opponent was an effective counter-measure. “Connect-2” also helped with this, and offensive set ups.

What didn’t work and why:
After getting caught in a front headlock, I tried to force a re-shot too soon, left a leg behind and got caught in a guillotine. Immediately, I knew the fix:

Plan for next time:
As with grappling on the ground, confidence in one’s defense goes a long way. Knowing I can tax my opponent in low-risk ways, while frustrating their offense means I don’t have to pressure myself to take bad shots or high-risk opportunities.


2/11/24: Capacity, Level 1

Intention:

“While this may be a relatively short session, it’s all you’ll need if done correctly… The trick in a way is that you cannot sandbag the first two sets of calories since the rest time acts similarly to a penalty, the longer the set takes, the longer the rest period, and the longer time to completion. Choose your poison wisely.”

Warm Up:

10 min AirBike:
30-seconds moderate to hard effort (increasing)
30-seconds “rolling” rest
*Warm up well, but not fatigued for “work”

Work:

For Time: “To Hell”
50-40-30-20-10
Calories on Machine (AirBike)
Rest 1:1 each round
*The rest is mandatory, acting like a penalty. Score is total time.

Results:

Warm:
88 calories
2 x Gear 1 (~55 rpm)
3 x Gear 2 (~60 rpm)
3 x Gear 3 (~65-70 rpm)
1 x Gear 2
1 x Gear 1

Work:
Total - 17:20 (17 cal / working minute)
50 cal / 3:00 (16.7 cal / min)
40 cal / 2:30 (16 cal / min)
30 cal / 2:00 (15 cal / min)
20 cal / 1:00 (20 cal / min)
10 cal / 0:20 (30 cal / min)

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
I didn’t look at other’s’ score until I was finished; my top-gear at the end was much more competitive than the overall score; peak during the last round was 87 rpm (about 703 watts or 35 calories / minute (ref.)) — indicates “recovery” isn’t an issue.

What didn’t work and why:
”Fatigue resistance” or O2 Mobilization is a major deficit, I lagged behind in the early rounds though I didn’t go particularly “easy” relative to myself.

Plan for next time:
More evidence of needing the hard, painful work of O2 Mobilization. Endurance work isn’t fun, but I don’t lack “grit”, so I can slog my way through just about anything. The discomfort really comes in that middle-high gear. er my abilities I paced this about right. The per-minute calories give a clear indicator that I’ve got about 10-20 seconds of “nitro”, 1:00 of “hard”, and struggle with durations over 2:00. In a grappling context that’s really interesting because you don’t see many “scrambles” or heavy exchanges lasting more than a minute — without someone flying off the mat or some kind of reset or scoring position achieved. Additionally, most wrestling rounds are 2-3 minutes.