2024 - 04 - 22

We are nearing the end. In fact, as is most often the case with enduring intervals, the last 10% is the hardest because you know you’ve already done enough, more than most; it is this last 5 - 10% where you have the most to learn.

Can you spot where my back rounds? (start of thoracic spine)

Summary:

This week started hard with 3 Level-2 sessions in a row, but a mild previous week, so the recovery debt was (mostly) paid in advance. However, I want to remain critical of (especially myself) the temptation to “go medium” as I’ve mentioned many times before.

Talking with another strength coach (think 500 lb. bench press) later in the week about, of all things, endurance, we came to the conclusion that an 8-week camp probably won’t have a huge impact on your VO2max (barring “noob gains”). Why? Because, guess what, endurance by it’s very nature takes a long time — that’s why it’s called enduring!

Grappling continues to focus on leg locks and this week we addressed entering from a seated vs. kneeling position. The week ended with a “tribute” breathwork and sauna session.

Contents:

• Monday: Free Fall Program 22 - Storytelling / Recoverability

• Tuesday: Gi BJJ / Collar-Sleeve and De La Riva Guards

• Wednesday: NoGi BJJ / Backside 50/50 re-entry and escapes

• Thursday:

  • Session 1: FFP-024 Tedium (Mobility)
  • Session 2: NoGi BJJ / centerline exposure

• Friday: Off / BJJ Play

• Saturday: NoGi BJJ / centerline exposure and leg lock entries

• Sunday: Free Fall Program 26 - Paying Tribute

4/22/24: Capacity (Recoverability), Level 2

Intention:

“…the mundane laundry lists of Part A this, and Part B that, makes for a dull experience… Design your session and base the narrative on your favorite book or movie.”

Burn:

10 min bike
*increase pace every 2 min

Become a Badass:

Clean & Jerk (1+2)
10 sets / 15 min time limit

Fight Monsters:

Tank Drag + KB Front Rack Carry x 30m
Backwards Tank Drag x 30m
5 sets

Reconcile:

Backward Incline Walk (treadmill)
5 min

Results:

112 cal
135, 155, 174, 185, 195, 200, 205, 215
2 x 16 KG KBs + 3rd Gear

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
I have to admit, this was kind of fun, and allowed for a lot of work (volume) to be done. Once again, the time constraints on power / strength movements were useful in keeping ego out of the picture. My Olympic Lifts still looked solid.

What didn’t work and why:
I felt like I was a touch too comfortable in this session. That was kind of the point, to create a story you like to hear and like telling, but looking at my training logs it did remind me that I have a bad habit of “going medium” too often, which neither allows for recovery of novel adaptation.

Plan for next time:
There is a “fear” session coming up in the FFP, which begs the question, what are you afraid of and why? Is it the attachment to the outcome? Is it knowing you failed to prepare adequately for the test? Is it that you struggle with a certain movement / activity?

4/23/24: Sport, Level 1

Intention:

I stopped in for an extra Gi class this week and was able to provide some input and assist in teaching as well. Topics / positions covered included De La Riva (DLR) guard, De La X (DLX), and Collar-Sleeve Guard; with various sweeps and submissions.

Warm Up:

2 x 3 min rounds flowing through open guard positions
*collar-sleeve, lasso, De La Riva, etc.

Work:

~ 1 hour drilling transitions and sweeps
~ 15 min training live bad positions (back)

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
This was fun to mix things up a little bit. Obviously I don’t forget how to grapple when I put a Gi on, but there are some subtleties (particularly with grips) that are easy for me to overlook.

What didn’t work and why:
This reminds me how divergent specialization becomes. If I only recall a handfull of sweeps from a position that a purple belt has been drilling religiously, should I forfeit my black belt? Obviously not, but it’s humbling to be reminded that, especially in a Web 2.0/3.0 world, you can always learn something from literally anyone else.

Plan for next time:
My personal interest and emphasis remains in NoGi, but I have never shied away from or shunned the Gi. Getting outside your comfort zone is a good way to stay accountable, even if you specialize in a different direction.

4/24/24: Sport, Level 1

Intention:

Kyle’s class this week focused on backside 50/50 attacks as well as bad positions (back escapes).

Warm Up & Work:

My apologies, I got a little lax and didn’t keep my usual notes throughout the week so I don’t recall at the exact regimen was on Wednesday.

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Creating dilemmas is important in jiu jitsu. So, today I was reminded to keep my eyes open and see opportunities for upper-body (arm) attacks as my partner was expecting (reasonably so) me to attack his legs.

What didn’t work and why:
I stayed after class to work on some backside 50/50 escapes because in the moment, in class I couldn’t think of any. To be fair, it’s an absolute dog shit position to start in. Nevertheless, I was able to come up with some useful tactics after the fact.

Plan for next time:
Now that I’ve gone back to the drawing board a bit, I’d like to revisit this position in a live environment to see what’s working and what still needs worked out.

4/25/24A: Mobility, Level 2

Intention:

“Today, we would like to add some spice to something we might find bland while keeping the intended energy system… Again we aren’t changing the energy system of the workout, we are just looking to make the workout captivate our minds more.”

Warm Up:

3 Rounds (not for time):
Shoulder Dislocates x 10
Behind-The-Neck Press x 10
Overhead Squat x 10
Deep Squat x 1 min

Work:

3 Rounds (not for time):
Behind-The-Neck Press x 5
Snatch Contact + Pull x 5
Overhead Squat x 5
Straight Leg Deadlift x 5
Deep Squat x 1 min

Then,
3 Rounds (not for time):
Snatch-Grip Deadlift x 3
Contact + Tall Snatch + OHS x 1
OHS (3 sec pause) x 1
Deep Squat x 1 min

Results:

Warm Up: PVC
Work 1: Empty Barbell
Work 2: 85 lbs.

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
The session itself felt great. It accomplished exactly what it was meant to — address mobility not just with static positions, but with movement, in a way that captivates attention rather than feel like an hour of drudgery.

What didn’t work and why:
The session almost worked too well, as planned, I snuck in a lot of volume in that bottom squat position. The next day my hip flexors and spine were super sore.

Plan for next time:
One caveat here may be apply an EMOM scheme, rather than X-rounds, to put a limit on volume as I often do with strength sessions.

4/25/24B: Sport, Level 1

Intention:

We’re still working through Sean Applegate’s instructional material, but have progressed towards “entries” or connection. We’ve been working backwards from breaks, to isolation, to pins, and now to sweeps. Further, we’ve broken sweeps down to off-balance, connection, and follow-through.

Warm Up:

5 min reviewing breaking mechanics
5 min reviewing escapes
4 x 1 min pin scrimmage (no subs, emphasis on keeping hands off the ground and having higher hips)

Work:

1 hour drilling SLX (single-leg-x) sweeps all the way to a pin and break
* from a horse-stance partner, and heavy/light leg options for a kneeling (combat stance) opponent.

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
I think the “mini-reviews” and drills from previous week as a warm up for the current week are helping people a lot, especially if they miss a class (or two).

What didn’t work and why:
I need to emphasize how and why to attack heavy or light legs a bit more as an instructor. The centerline exposure concept was connecting, but it seemed like attention spans were wearing a bit thin when it came to later content.

Plan for next time:
Next week we’ll continue our mini-reviews and also get into leg entries from the standing position, using the same principles from standing-kneeling.

4/27/24: Sport, Level 2

Intention:

Keeping up with the material I’ve been teaching in class, I wanted to try and emphasize attacking heavy / light legs (off-balance) and exposing my partner’s centerline to enter leg attacks.

Warm Up:

1 x 5 min flow / fun roll

Work:

~7 x 5 min rounds
*plus or minus some drilling and discussion

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Today I wasn’t super focused. However, that allowed me to flow around and keep my attention free floating to spot a few things (below) that I need to circle back to and polish up. That sounds like a negative, but really it’s a breath of fresh air.

What didn’t work and why:
I forgot to circle back to 50/50 escapes and re-touch outside heel hook escapes. I also found that by guillotine attacks need some brushing up as do my body triangle escapes.

Plan for next time:
All the things mentioned above, are good content to go into in the next block of instruction and training. It makes a lot of sense to threaten the upper body (arms and neck) to expose create dilemmas to attack the legs.

4/28/24: Paying Tribute (Endurance), Level 1

Intention:

“Browse through the program and try and emulate a session that you think would reflect one of these styles… Think about what motivates you to train and use that to blend into the author you are reflecting.”

Warm Up:

Breathwork:
10 cycles of: 5-0-5-0 (1010)
5 cycles of: 5-5-5-0 (1110)

*Breath cadences are expressed as in-hold-out-hold and notated in seconds first, then ratios in parenthesis. For example, 1010 is an even inhale and exhale with no hold (for me that was 5 seconds each, but for you it may be 3 or 10).

Work:

40 minutes at 190’F

*no salt or water during, stop when you first breathe through your mouth.

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
It was really neat to observe my mental state, heart rate, and breath rate and compare them to intervals I experience during endurance work. On a 40 minute scale, my fist noted agitation was around 10 min (about how long most people stayed in the sauna), and my breath shifted at about 30 minutes.

What didn’t work and why:
Starting heart rate was about 55 BPM and breathing was about 5050. At ~25 minutes heart rate was ~80 bpm. At ~30 minutes breathing shifted to 3030. At ~40 minutes I took my first mouth-sip of air and heart rate was ~108 BPM.

Plan for next time:
All of this is fascinating data that, while it doesn’t perfectly map on top of endurance outputs, will make for a good upcoming discussion about heat vs. cold exposure.