Wednesday - A Short Prime Time

In my opinion, August is the time of year when we start thinking/planning out the Fall and Winter training. As the fun stuff of summer is starting (yes, it is hard to believe) to come to an end, it is time to start discussing structured training again.

Any thoughts?

It’s all summer training here in Phoenix.

Dan, I have taken your advice to heart about staying back on my heels in the various O-lifts. I have added kettlebell training to my regime – most as GPP on “cardio” days. I find it much more difficult to keep on my heels on the KB snatch. Is this common. Should I even worry about it with one-arm snatch?

[quote]Danny John wrote:
Any thoughts?[/quote]

Coach … two parts … not what I think, but what I know:

b Women are insane.

(2) Why?[/b]

Bastard

Kbells and One-hand lifts are different. Just watch someone do them from the side and you will see. You do them different…because you can! Heels only does work well in Kbell swings and snatches, but people let themselves creep on the toes. I say “heels only,” but you can force yourself to do it wrong.

I don’t think they are. Of course, summing up 51% of the population of the Earth with one statement might seem to some “over the top,” but what the hell do I know?

[quote]BFG wrote:
Danny John wrote:
Any thoughts?

Coach … two parts … not what I think, but what I know:

b Women are insane.

(2) Why?[/b]

Bastard[/quote]

What do you think about Art Devany’s article and all the reaction to it? I believe I read some stuff about him from one of your articles/site ect…

Thanks

Maybe it is just me. I thought I would throw it out there, as some of the best Dan Johnian revelations are bestowed upon the most random issues. Life stuff …

[quote]Danny John wrote:
I don’t think they are. Of course, summing up 51% of the population of the Earth with one statement might seem to some “over the top,” but what the hell do I know?

BFG wrote:
Danny John wrote:
Any thoughts?

Coach … two parts … not what I think, but what I know:

b Women are insane.

(2) Why?[/b]

Bastard[/quote]

Dan,
My job requires me to be fit and prove it twice a year. All my fitness scores had been on the decline for years. Since I started following your advice in December 2004 my fitness scores have made a huge jump. I can’t thank you enough.

Today, I add the front squats with sprint as you described in the “Carried Away” DVD. Also I lost 25 lbs, since December, eating the MLB way. Yesterday, found an accomplished olympic lifting champion to work with me on my technique too. Everything is looking up. Thanks again.

You know, I am a fan of his work. It doesn’t mean I appreciate the way he answers questions or his dogmatic beliefs or whatever…

He gave Old Lance Armstrong a bit of a whack on his blog and I first I thought “heretic,” then I did an odd thing…I read what he wrote. All I generally ask of people is to make a point and provide some level of human thought (evidence, by the way, is not always something I demand…often, a logical discussion will have little real world evidence to back it up…like “Treat People Nice” has very, very little evidence in human history, but we may all agree it is worthy of discussion and perhaps developing into a life pattern),

So…yep. Like his stuff. Do I wear “A dV” on a headress and sell flowers in his name at the airport…no.

[quote]cbichsel wrote:
What do you think about Art Devany’s article and all the reaction to it? I believe I read some stuff about him from one of your articles/site ect…

Thanks[/quote]

You know my best topics:

  1. Mowing a good lawn.

  2. Fiber and the next day

  3. The goals of an evening of Scotch tasting…

Other than that, why ask me anything?

[quote]BFG wrote:
Maybe it is just me. I thought I would throw it out there, as some of the best Dan Johnian revelations are bestowed upon the most random issues. Life stuff …

Danny John wrote:
I don’t think they are. Of course, summing up 51% of the population of the Earth with one statement might seem to some “over the top,” but what the hell do I know?

BFG wrote:
Danny John wrote:
Any thoughts?

Coach … two parts … not what I think, but what I know:

b Women are insane.

(2) Why?[/b]

Bastard[/quote]

I swear by all that is Holy to me that this post made my week. Thank you. You:

  1. Took it upon yourself
  2. Tried the stuff
  3. Followed through
  4. And, I appreciate this, thanked me (and all the others I thank daily…many of whom have gone before us)

Congrats. Can you give us specific numbers (age, weight, fitness test results). If you want to be anonymous…that is fine, but…hey!..brag yourself up!!!

[quote]jamej wrote:
Dan,
My job requires me to be fit and prove it twice a year. All my fitness scores had been on the decline for years. Since I started following your advice in December 2004 my fitness scores have made a huge jump. I can’t thank you enough.

Today, I add the front squats with sprint as you described in the “Carried Away” DVD. Also I lost 25 lbs, since December, eating the MLB way. Yesterday, found an accomplished olympic lifting champion to work with me on my technique too. Everything is looking up. Thanks again.[/quote]

Dan, two questions:

  1. Do you think a carb cycling approach would mesh well with your OLAD program? I realize the only way to know for sure is to try it out, but I wanted your opinion.

  2. What advice do you have for someone thinking about getting into the S&C field who doesn’t have an academic background in kinesiology.

Thanks Dan, I appreciate all your help.
-Greg

Hello Mr. John,

I must be having an addled moment or three. I have read repeatedly about your DVD but I have yet to find a place to pruchase it. Can you help me out here?

Incidentally, any tips on a do it yourself caber? I can’t seem to get the games organization here in Las Vegas to reply as to whether there are open house days or someone’s back yard gym to test out the caber.

Thanks.

Yes, go find Chris’s article in the archives “Eat Like A Man.” Do that. It really works well for the power athletes I have had do it.

I’m a perfect example of someone who took no classes and was able to figure out some of this stuff. I think you become a S and C guy by results. If someone wants to argue…fine. I give talks to lots and lots of “certificates” who no nothing about training. I would argue a few things:

First, be in sports and around good athletes. Listen. Learn. Shut up. Write it down.

Second, learn and compete. You can be terrible, but at least get on the platform and O lift, do a HG, something. Take all that lecture stuff and put it on the field.

There: I said it.

[quote]novamcglone wrote:
Dan, two questions:

  1. Do you think a carb cycling approach would mesh well with your OLAD program? I realize the only way to know for sure is to try it out, but I wanted your opinion.

  2. What advice do you have for someone thinking about getting into the S&C field who doesn’t have an academic background in kinesiology.

Thanks Dan, I appreciate all your help.
-Greg[/quote]

Well, there is a thread here about it and I don’t want to use the PT as a time to sell my stuff. Email me or something maybe…or someone else might post, but I am not comfortable selling during someone else’s time.

Train for the Caber? Well, my buddy, Mike Rosenberg, wrote a great article on turning the caber the first time. It is in one of the first Get Ups…see my site. danjohn.org

Basically, he did two brilliant things. One, he listened to me. Two, he did a lot of Clean Grip Snatches.

After the pick, the most important rule…at least the way I do it…is to think “I’m throwing it behind me.” Physics kicks in and the thing turns.

A warning: every rep with the caber is a lot of sand out of the bag of energy. A lot. Figure a caber is like a year of your life. Every toss is slowly killing you (think about that scene in “Princess Bride.”) So, don’t take a bunch of “learning” reps the day of competition. Ask around…try one…talk to God…and hope you did those Clean Grip Snatches…

[quote]quan2m wrote:
Hello Mr. John,

I must be having an addled moment or three. I have read repeatedly about your DVD but I have yet to find a place to pruchase it. Can you help me out here?

Incidentally, any tips on a do it yourself caber? I can’t seem to get the games organization here in Las Vegas to reply as to whether there are open house days or someone’s back yard gym to test out the caber.

Thanks.[/quote]

Dan

I tried your new OLAD squat workout (day 2 I think). I have a few comments on this:

1: Thanks. That is the single best workout I have ever done, period.
2: You might want to add something to your saying “Someday you will thank me, today is not that day” . My suggestion is : “Tomorrow doesn’t look good either”.

I am now a committed OLAD trainer. Thanks.

[quote]Danny John wrote:
I swear by all that is Holy to me that this post made my week. Thank you. You:

  1. Took it upon yourself
  2. Tried the stuff
  3. Followed through
  4. And, I appreciate this, thanked me (and all the others I thank daily…many of whom have gone before us)

Congrats. Can you give us specific numbers (age, weight, fitness test results). If you want to be anonymous…that is fine, but…hey!..brag yourself up!!!

jamej wrote:
Dan,
My job requires me to be fit and prove it twice a year. All my fitness scores had been on the decline for years. Since I started following your advice in December 2004 my fitness scores have made a huge jump. I can’t thank you enough.

Today, I add the front squats with sprint as you described in the “Carried Away” DVD. Also I lost 25 lbs, since December, eating the MLB way. Yesterday, found an accomplished olympic lifting champion to work with me on my technique too. Everything is looking up. Thanks again.

[/quote]

As requested: 48 years almost 49. December 2004, 215lbs, today 190. Dec’04, 3 pull ups. Recently got on the bar, palms away, did a frog, followed by a pull up, followed by a frog. Switched so palms faced me (never dropping off the bar), did another frog, followed by a pull up, follwed by a frog. Reversed grips (without dropping off the bar) and repeated until I had 10 pull ups and 20 frogs. December over head squat oly bar only was a struggle. Recently, over head squat 100 lbs for 100 reps in 35 minutes. Yesterday 10 power cleans with 155, mil press 125, front squat 155. Finally, I haven’t run since I started reading your Web Site last December. My only cardio was hard Oly lifting - just ran 5K in 22:50. Dan’s edict: “work hard simply” is the golden rule of athletic progress.

Just wanted to let you know that your Bulgarian twist is working great for me. Basically squat first then do Olympic lifts.

I basically have two different workouts:

1

Front squat
Power clean and power jerk
Other stuff (press, rows, curls etc)

2

Overhead squat
Power snatch
Other stuff

I am over 220 in the power clean + power jerk now. As soon as my front squat for doubles or triples goes up my power clean goes up also. So why not work the squat first a la Bulgarian twist!

Didn’t it look easy on paper???

Good job…really, glad to hear it.

[quote]gadget wrote:
Dan

I tried your new OLAD squat workout (day 2 I think). I have a few comments on this:

1: Thanks. That is the single best workout I have ever done, period.
2: You might want to add something to your saying “Someday you will thank me, today is not that day” . My suggestion is : “Tomorrow doesn’t look good either”.

I am now a committed OLAD trainer. Thanks.[/quote]

jamej, I have a little newsletter called “Get Up” where we encourage people to share their stories. Would you mind adding some photos (before and after) and maybe some of your diet ups and downs and writing a short (three or four page) essay? I am sure…seriously…that you will get a lot of it and I am positive the readers will.

This is just good stuff.

[quote]jamej wrote:
Danny John wrote:
I swear by all that is Holy to me that this post made my week. Thank you. You:

  1. Took it upon yourself
  2. Tried the stuff
  3. Followed through
  4. And, I appreciate this, thanked me (and all the others I thank daily…many of whom have gone before us)

Congrats. Can you give us specific numbers (age, weight, fitness test results). If you want to be anonymous…that is fine, but…hey!..brag yourself up!!!

jamej wrote:
Dan,
My job requires me to be fit and prove it twice a year. All my fitness scores had been on the decline for years. Since I started following your advice in December 2004 my fitness scores have made a huge jump. I can’t thank you enough.

Today, I add the front squats with sprint as you described in the “Carried Away” DVD. Also I lost 25 lbs, since December, eating the MLB way. Yesterday, found an accomplished olympic lifting champion to work with me on my technique too. Everything is looking up. Thanks again.

As requested: 48 years almost 49. December 2004, 215lbs, today 190. Dec’04, 3 pull ups. Recently got on the bar, palms away, did a frog, followed by a pull up, followed by a frog. Switched so palms faced me (never dropping off the bar), did another frog, followed by a pull up, follwed by a frog. Reversed grips (without dropping off the bar) and repeated until I had 10 pull ups and 20 frogs. December over head squat oly bar only was a struggle. Recently, over head squat 100 lbs for 100 reps in 35 minutes. Yesterday 10 power cleans with 155, mil press 125, front squat 155. Finally, I haven’t run since I started reading your Web Site last December. My only cardio was hard Oly lifting - just ran 5K in 22:50. Dan’s edict: “work hard simply” is the golden rule of athletic progress.[/quote]