Stay tuned to this section for technique news and improvements, current raging bull clients and events going on around town!
Event
The fight against childhood obesity is a pilot project aimed to help children in the red deer community, The funds raised by O.C.T will go to this project. This is going to be a group of motivated indivials meeting at designated area running an outside circuit of TRX , Battle ropes, Sand bags , Kettebells, Running , Running Sled , Running Ladder , Weight vest . This is not personal training , We will go through each drill demonstrating how to perform it safely , take breaks as you need . everybody will push each other. All drills will be run as a circuit in sequence and within time parameters. We train hard but safe. Workouts tend to last an hour or more . Proceeds of the classes go towards a new initiative program to fight childhood obesity in our community.
Bring plenty of water and motivation.
Next one is @ 1pm Friday July 27 Lindsay Thurber Track
Bring plenty of water and motivation.
Next one is @ 1pm Friday July 27 Lindsay Thurber Track
Your Limits are in your head.
What is CNS fatigue? Ever even heard of it? Science says that it takes 24-48 hours for your CNS to recover post workout. Whats recovering?
Many trainers and magazine reading mentors think of the body as a large Mr. Potatohead. "Just a bunch of body systems stuck together, working together". Except that the body is not a uniform machine, yes you and I have the same organs, maybe 2 arms, 2 legs, BUT we function differently, individually. "Neural fatigue" has been brought up by scientists many years ago, and Im bringing it up again because of its dominant role in the gym that you dont know about.
Ever notice that some days you go in to the gym and you just destroy it. You lift heavier then ever, run a faster mile, and feel like you can knock shit down, and then there are other days where you just cant stand to set foot in the damn place. Well theres this scientist in the US of A thats put a lot of time and money into research in to this whole thing he calls "Neural fatigue". "The idea is that your brain is constantly monitoring the physical work done by your muscles and cardiovascular system, and that monitoring process is what we experience as a sensation of effort. Your brain, says Noakes (this scientist), has a safety margin which is intended to stop you from hurting yourself by pushing to true physical exhaustion. When you reach that point, the brain effectively pulls the plug on motor drive — the nerve impulses that make you go — and you experience this as a feeling of tiredness and exhaustion". Picture a bottle neck on your nerve system, up and downs. "The “inverted U” pacing strategy that Noakes describes in his research, in which we see the best performances at the beginning and end of an event, shows up repeatedly in human psychology. We come with one ruler, and everything we measure is resized to fit it. Work expands to fill the time allotted, willpower scales to the (perceived) difficulty of the challenge at hand, and now we see that even physical effort is substantially dependent on psychological conditions".
If your like me and many other fellas in the gym, you train on stimulants, caffiene, ephedrine, you take pre workout supplements, oh and you may listen to music that blasts in your ears,it gets you amped. These are all ways of artifically stimulating your neural response to push/pull heavier, sprint faster, etc. many people treat exercise with aggression. Supplements and aggressive psych-up are meant to enhance this need to “declare war” on the weights, filling in on days when you don’t feel all there. Treating the weight as your adversary means that, by definition, it’s an emotional challenge. Emotion depletes willpower, and emotion triggers physical stress. Myself as a firefighter, going through training, were told that by showing up for work after a stressful event such as a argument with your girlfriend or spouse, then responding to a fire scene, you can drain your air tank up 20% faster. "When you can just lift, without all the mental arousal and emotional energy, you’ve changed the perception. You aren’t competing with the weight and, as Noakes found, you’re no longer scaling your performance to the expectation. Being around others and competing against them (whether you realize it or not) is good. Battling your training weights is not".
Leave the emotion out =Less physical stress.
Many trainers and magazine reading mentors think of the body as a large Mr. Potatohead. "Just a bunch of body systems stuck together, working together". Except that the body is not a uniform machine, yes you and I have the same organs, maybe 2 arms, 2 legs, BUT we function differently, individually. "Neural fatigue" has been brought up by scientists many years ago, and Im bringing it up again because of its dominant role in the gym that you dont know about.
Ever notice that some days you go in to the gym and you just destroy it. You lift heavier then ever, run a faster mile, and feel like you can knock shit down, and then there are other days where you just cant stand to set foot in the damn place. Well theres this scientist in the US of A thats put a lot of time and money into research in to this whole thing he calls "Neural fatigue". "The idea is that your brain is constantly monitoring the physical work done by your muscles and cardiovascular system, and that monitoring process is what we experience as a sensation of effort. Your brain, says Noakes (this scientist), has a safety margin which is intended to stop you from hurting yourself by pushing to true physical exhaustion. When you reach that point, the brain effectively pulls the plug on motor drive — the nerve impulses that make you go — and you experience this as a feeling of tiredness and exhaustion". Picture a bottle neck on your nerve system, up and downs. "The “inverted U” pacing strategy that Noakes describes in his research, in which we see the best performances at the beginning and end of an event, shows up repeatedly in human psychology. We come with one ruler, and everything we measure is resized to fit it. Work expands to fill the time allotted, willpower scales to the (perceived) difficulty of the challenge at hand, and now we see that even physical effort is substantially dependent on psychological conditions".
If your like me and many other fellas in the gym, you train on stimulants, caffiene, ephedrine, you take pre workout supplements, oh and you may listen to music that blasts in your ears,it gets you amped. These are all ways of artifically stimulating your neural response to push/pull heavier, sprint faster, etc. many people treat exercise with aggression. Supplements and aggressive psych-up are meant to enhance this need to “declare war” on the weights, filling in on days when you don’t feel all there. Treating the weight as your adversary means that, by definition, it’s an emotional challenge. Emotion depletes willpower, and emotion triggers physical stress. Myself as a firefighter, going through training, were told that by showing up for work after a stressful event such as a argument with your girlfriend or spouse, then responding to a fire scene, you can drain your air tank up 20% faster. "When you can just lift, without all the mental arousal and emotional energy, you’ve changed the perception. You aren’t competing with the weight and, as Noakes found, you’re no longer scaling your performance to the expectation. Being around others and competing against them (whether you realize it or not) is good. Battling your training weights is not".
Leave the emotion out =Less physical stress.
I will persist until I succeed.
In the Orient, young bulls are tested for the fight arena in a certain manner. Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then rated with care according to the number of times he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite of the sting of the blade. Henceforth, I will recognize that each day I am tested by life in a like manner. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed.
I will persist until I succeed.
I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.
I will persist until I succeed.
The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. Always I will take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.
I will persist until I succeed.
Henceforth, I will consider each day’s effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today. I will be liken to the raindrop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete my undertaking.
I will persist until I succeed.
I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair, but if this disease of the mind should infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep my eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows.
I will persist until I succeed.
I will remember the ancient law of averages, and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with knowledge that each failure to sell will increase my chance for success at the next attempt. Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet, only prepares me for the smile to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck. I must have the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once.
I will persist until I succeed.
I will try, and try, and try again. Each obstacle, I will consider as a mere detour to my goal, and a challenge to my profession. I will persist and develop my skills as the mariner develops his, by learning to ride out the wrath of each storm.
I will persist until I succeed.
Henceforth, I will learn and apply another secret of those who excel in my work. When each day is ended, not regarding whether it has been a success or a failure, I will attempt to achieve one more sale. When my thoughts beckon my tired body homeward, I will resist the temptation to depart. I will try again. I will make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails, I will make another. Never will I allow any day to end with a failure. Thus, I will plant the seed of tomorrow’s success and gain an insurmountable advantage over those who cease their labor at a prescribed time. When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full.
I will persist until I succeed.
Nor will I allow yesterday’s success to lull me into today’s complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.
So long as there is breath in me, that long I will persist. For now, I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.
I will persist. I will win.
-Og Mandino’s
Well known third scroll
In the Orient, young bulls are tested for the fight arena in a certain manner. Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then rated with care according to the number of times he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite of the sting of the blade. Henceforth, I will recognize that each day I am tested by life in a like manner. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed.
I will persist until I succeed.
I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.
I will persist until I succeed.
The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. Always I will take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.
I will persist until I succeed.
Henceforth, I will consider each day’s effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today. I will be liken to the raindrop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete my undertaking.
I will persist until I succeed.
I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair, but if this disease of the mind should infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep my eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows.
I will persist until I succeed.
I will remember the ancient law of averages, and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with knowledge that each failure to sell will increase my chance for success at the next attempt. Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet, only prepares me for the smile to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck. I must have the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once.
I will persist until I succeed.
I will try, and try, and try again. Each obstacle, I will consider as a mere detour to my goal, and a challenge to my profession. I will persist and develop my skills as the mariner develops his, by learning to ride out the wrath of each storm.
I will persist until I succeed.
Henceforth, I will learn and apply another secret of those who excel in my work. When each day is ended, not regarding whether it has been a success or a failure, I will attempt to achieve one more sale. When my thoughts beckon my tired body homeward, I will resist the temptation to depart. I will try again. I will make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails, I will make another. Never will I allow any day to end with a failure. Thus, I will plant the seed of tomorrow’s success and gain an insurmountable advantage over those who cease their labor at a prescribed time. When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full.
I will persist until I succeed.
Nor will I allow yesterday’s success to lull me into today’s complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.
So long as there is breath in me, that long I will persist. For now, I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.
I will persist. I will win.
-Og Mandino’s
Well known third scroll
Looking for a little inspiration? Check out the above video. If you didnt get a chance to see the result, the French, though wearing the surrendering white jerseys, fought till the final whistle and came up on the wrong end, none the less they went against the #1 ranked team in the world, outplayed them, pushed them to the brink but unfortunetly came up on the wrong side of the score board by 1 point!
If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?
Joe Namath
If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?
Joe Namath
"The extra mile is the stretch of road that is never crowded."
"Its a lifestyle, train like theres no finish line."
"The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you're a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds."
Rollins
"Its a lifestyle, train like theres no finish line."
"The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you're a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds."
Rollins
The Prowler is used mainly for speed and power, to increase strength and boost sprinting speed. Its use is for high intensity metabolic training. I love the prowler because of its versatility. You can use it to push high, push low, pull, pull with a rope. The thing I like most about the prowler is the low, hip drive that you can incorporate in a dynamic format. The hip drive is important due to its use in almost every multi-joint exercise. The squat, the clean, the snatch, etc. The prowler, Its evil, its heavy, and you need balls to train with it.
Staying Motivated
At times all of us face low motivation to get in the gym, do our workouts, eat healthy. Here are a few points to stay motivated...
Focus on what your goals are- Why are you doing this?? why are you puking your guts out, sweating your ass off, trying to push yourself so hard? You want to fulfill your goals.
Dont forget your Critics- Number one, yourself, number two, me, and next everyone around you. You cant give up, what will everyone else think. You cant slow down, what will you think of yourself? We all have a little quit in ourselves, its up to you to overcome it.
Keep like-minded people around you- Dont hang with guys all the time if all they do is go for wings, nachos, and beers. Its not part of program, its not benefiting you and all in all, your failing yourself.
If your still in a rut, take some time off- Maybe your just feeling less motivation because you just need a rest. Rejuvenate your mind, give your muscles a break, then get back on track.
Focus on what your goals are- Why are you doing this?? why are you puking your guts out, sweating your ass off, trying to push yourself so hard? You want to fulfill your goals.
Dont forget your Critics- Number one, yourself, number two, me, and next everyone around you. You cant give up, what will everyone else think. You cant slow down, what will you think of yourself? We all have a little quit in ourselves, its up to you to overcome it.
Keep like-minded people around you- Dont hang with guys all the time if all they do is go for wings, nachos, and beers. Its not part of program, its not benefiting you and all in all, your failing yourself.
If your still in a rut, take some time off- Maybe your just feeling less motivation because you just need a rest. Rejuvenate your mind, give your muscles a break, then get back on track.
31 Heroes Day
On August 6th, 2011, 31 of America’s bravest warriors gave their lives in defense of our freedom. While we’d like to leave the responsibility of announcing their names to their families & the DoD, for now we will honor them by mentioning their roles in our military. They were 17 Navy SEALs, two Navy EOD Technicians, three Naval Special Warfare Combat Support Sailors, two Army Aviators, three Army Aircrewmen, three Air Force Special Tactics Operators, and one Military Working Dog.
These men were sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, and friends. Not only do we thank them for their service and sacrifice, but we thank those that love them for the sacrifice they have made as well -courtesy 31heroes.com
“31Heroes”
AMRAP 31 Min (As Many Reps As Possible)
8 Thrusters (155/105)
6 Rope Climbs (15 ft. ascent)
11 Box Jumps (30/24)
This is a Partner WOD – Partner #1 will perform the work listed above. Partner #2 will run 400m with a sandbag (45/25). Once Partner #2 returns from the run, Partner #1 will grab the sandbag and begin their 400m, while Partner #2 continues work wherever #1 left off.
The 31 Americans were not the only ones that died as heroes that day. While the funds raised through the 31Heroes event will benefit the families of the men listed above, we cannot forget the sacrifice of our Afghan comrades. Seven Afghan commandos and one Afghan interpreter were also killed in action and we cannot look past their sacrifice. They too are heroes and we thank them and honor them and their families. To donate vist 31heroes.com
AMRAP 31 Min (As Many Reps As Possible)
8 Thrusters (155/105)
6 Rope Climbs (15 ft. ascent)
11 Box Jumps (30/24)
This is a Partner WOD – Partner #1 will perform the work listed above. Partner #2 will run 400m with a sandbag (45/25). Once Partner #2 returns from the run, Partner #1 will grab the sandbag and begin their 400m, while Partner #2 continues work wherever #1 left off.
The 31 Americans were not the only ones that died as heroes that day. While the funds raised through the 31Heroes event will benefit the families of the men listed above, we cannot forget the sacrifice of our Afghan comrades. Seven Afghan commandos and one Afghan interpreter were also killed in action and we cannot look past their sacrifice. They too are heroes and we thank them and honor them and their families. To donate vist 31heroes.com
Olympic Lifting Funnies
The Deadlift: An introduction
Over the next few weeks, I will explain the deadlift through video, articles and diagrams. Enjoy all the information and feel free to post any comments on the blog!
Videos courtesy Mark Rippetoe