You know those days when you’re just ON? Everything is going according to plan, things feel great; you definitely woke up on the right side of the bed? Well, Thursday was one of those days. My classes went well throughout the day, I had two great conversations with professors, and really enjoyed working on the floor at the JCC. When I was done providing training tips to others, it was time to train myself. Foam rolling, mobility work, the single-footed box jump and some kettlebell swings, and it was time to deadlift.
My training schedule for the week was a little messed up, and I was pulling heavy on a Thursday, because of the upcoming Perform Better One Day Learn By Doing Seminar that was on Saturday. I performed all of my trap bar deadlifts against one of the 1″ Super Band from Perform Better, which really forces me to create some bar speed off of the floor. The Perform Better website lists the 1″ band at 50lbs of tension, which would put the ‘bar weight’ at the top at 465lbs, which is my PR. In actuality, I have no idea what the resistance from the band was, so I just call it 425lbs+1″ Band. I’ve never done ‘heavy’ deadlifts with the bands, so it was a chance to see how different they felt. I wasn’t really sure where I was going to go with my sets, but after I tripled 365 and smoked 405, I decided that one last rep with 425 was going to be easy. Sometime between putting on my belt and chalking my hands, I heard what could be the worst sound ever.
Really? You want me to leave the gym now? Screw that, I’m picking this up first. After re-starting my iPod and taking a few breaths, I pushed out against the belt, pushed my hips back, grapped the bar, and ripped it picked up rather slowly off the floor. As soon as the bar hit the ground, I grabbed my phone and headed outside with the other bewildered people.
Several of the maintenance workers confirmed my suspicion that it was in fact a real fire alarm, and that we’d have to wait for the Oceanside Fire Department to come take care of everything. I wasn’t happy to be outside in 40 degree weather, and decided that running some sprints would be a good idea. One of my good friends who is serving in the Israeli army was back in town, and decided to jog some laps around the parking lot, while I convinced one of the high school students to run some 40-60 yard sprints with me. It was as much about staying warm as it was about continuing to train for all of us.
We had finished 8-10 good sprints before they cleared the building, and then shuffled back inside to finish up. If you’ve ever run sprints before trying to do Zercher reverse lunges, I wouldn’t recommend it; they suck in that order. Kettlebell swings also suck post sprinting, and you might call your workout a few minutes early since you sprinted anyway. Not that I did that…but I did.
It’s not very likely that your gym has issues with its fire alarm going off, but in the case that it does, you should probably run some sprints in the parking lot. Not only will you stay warm, but you’ll also do one of the most effective workouts of your life. Hopefully, you’re not waiting for a chance fire alarm to send you outside hauling down the pavement. If I could program for everyone reading, I’d certainly include sprinting in the programs of those who are capable of it. I’ve included that sprinter/marathon runner comparison so many times that I won’t even use the picture this time. Instead, I’ll link to a recent post, 26.2 vs 1RM, where I discussed shifting the balance from aerobic training to strength and anaerobic performance training.
*When we were outside, one of my fellow trainers from the JCC, laughed and said that “This will be in the blog!” Alex, you were absolutely correct.
Harold Gibbons 