My posterior chain is a posterior pain...

Thursday

Lifting/Conditioning

Walking Lunges - 5 sets of 10 steps with two 40 lb dumbbells. Ouch. Form needs some work, but it went well. I'm gonna hurt tomorrow.

Clean and Push Press - two 60 lb dumbbells for some doubles. Didn't really work out, posterior chain was too sore.

Rowing - 10 intervals of 30 seconds on, 15 seconds off. 1,476 meters. Killed me.

Wednesday

BJJ - We did no gi today. I enjoy it a lot more and am much better at it. I am a lot more successful with my takedowns and with taking the back. I will hopefully be competing in the California Open and/or the On-The-Mat/Grapplers Games on the 18th and 19th of November. Unfortunately I will have to compete in the unlimited class, but such is life. You let yourself get fat, you've gotta deal with the consequences.

Tuesday

Lifting/Conditioning

3x6 Bulgarian Squat with 50 lb dumbbell - tough, but good. Form was pretty good, though I need to work on doing them without supporting myself on something. Also, I need to eliminate any push from the rear (benched) leg.

Clean and Push Press with two 60 lb dumbbells - a bunch of doubles and a few triples. Form on the cleans was okay - some really good, some really bad, but mostly. The push press weight was a little light, but with enough reps they still hurt. I'd like to be able to do this at a pace where it's a conditioning workout.

Rowing - 3 minutes on, 1.5 minutes off, 2 minutes on, 1 minute off, 1 minute on, 30 seconds off, 30 seconds on. Had to get back in the groove towards the beginning, but by the middle of the first round I was good to go. 103 calories and I think about 1600 meters.

Monday

BJJ - Went well. Conditioning is getting better and I feel a little leaner. Knee feels pretty good. I got new gi's at the U.S. Open - they help out mentally. Still need tons of work both on conditioning and technique.

New Program.

I've been struggling to find a training program that will work for me recently. This is my latest sketch.

Exercises

Warm-Ups:
Overhead Squats
Samson Stretch
Pike Stretch
Butterfly Stretch
Massage

Bilateral Lifts:
Front Squats
Deadlifts

Unilateral Lifts:
Bulgarian Squats
Walking Lunges

Olympic Lifts:
Squat & Power Cleans
Split Jerks

Presses:
Military Press
Bench Press
Push Press

Core Work:
Knees-To-Elbows
Back Extensions
Leg Raises
Superman/Hollow Rock
L-Holds
GHR Situps

Bodyweight Exercises:
Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups
Dips

Conditioning Exercises:
Rowing
Jump Rope
CrossFit

Sprinting Exercises
40 yard dash
25 yard hill sprint

Monday

Warm-Up
Stretch
Front Squat (series)
Squat Clean (5x3)
Military Press (5x5)
Bulgarian Squat (5x3 each leg)
Knees-To-Elbows (6x4)
Back Extension (3x10 weighted)
Pullup/Chinup (5x5 on Gravitron)
Rowing (3 minutes on, 3 minutes off, 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off, 1 minute on, 1 minute off)
Stretch

Tuesday

Stretch
25 yard hill sprint (3)
40 yard dash (4)
Dips (5x5)
Jump Rope (5 minutes, 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off)
Stretch

Wednesday

Warm-Up
Stretch
Deadlift (Series)
Split Jerk (5x2)
Bench Press (5x5)
Walking Lunge (5 steps each leg, 5 sets)
Superman/Hollow Rock (3 minutes)
GHR Situps (3x10 weighted)
Pullup/Chinup (10 negatives)
Rowing (75 calories)

Thursday

Stretch
40 yard dash (5)
Dips (10x3)
Jump Rope (10 rounds of 50 skips, rest 10 seconds)
Stretch

Friday

Off

Saturday

Warm-Up
Stretch
Front Squat (5x5)
Power Clean (10 heavy singles with good form)
Push Press (5x3)
Bulgarian Squats (5x5 each leg)
Leg Raises (10x3)
L-Holds (5)
Back Extensions (5x5 weighted, heavier than Monday)
Pullup/Chinup (10x3 on Gravitron, less assistance than Monday)
CrossFit
Stretch

Sunday

Off

Along with this "formal" stuff, there will be a lot of walking (shooting for a minimum of 4 miles a day) and mobility work.

"The Line" reworked

Did some work on "The Line", but I don't think it's quite finished yet.

“The Line”
Jacob Tsypkin

I once had a conversation with two members of a Christian fellowship at my junior college. While discussing the basis of faith in God I pointed out that many religions had texts far older than the bible, telling of their Gods and their laws, and asked why I should believe that the Christian religion is the one that got it right and that Christ is the only true way into Heaven. One of the men was very talkative and interested, but the other was mostly quiet. I was worried I had offended him when he suddenly joined in. He looked at me and said in a mildly bewildered voice “I just don’t understand. Everyday, in everything I do, I feel the Lord my God within me and around me. I feel the love of Christ, and I just don’t understand how you don’t feel it too. I don’t identify with you. I’ve crossed a line and I can’t see what’s on your side of it.”

I immediately thought this was bullshit, a way to get out of having to provide a logical argument to back up his ideas. Since when did having different beliefs from someone else mean that you couldn’t see their side of the story? But thinking on it later, I realized that I was, in fact, an idiot. People, myself included, do this everyday. It happens in everything we do, from the minor and inconsequential (“Charmin toilet paper is the only way to go!”) to the major and world altering (“Christ is the one true way to heaven!”). One may be particularly fond of Toyotas and have trouble understanding why some people prefer Fords. As an Olympic weightlifter, I just can’t figure out why every time I go to the gym I see dozens of people doing nothing but bench press and bicep curls. I have crossed a line, and I can no longer see what’s on the other side.

Everyone is searching for something better: A better car, a better house, a better partner, a better life. Most people are, in some way or another, searching for God, or a higher power, or any kind of proof that there is something else out there, something after this life ends, attempting to stifle their fear of death with the belief that it is not the end. Generally this faith is found in a Church or a Synagogue, or within the pages of the Koran or Taoist scrolls. Somehow the laws and structure of religion make it easier for people to believe – or at least to convince themselves that they believe. But this attitude seems to lead only the minority to what they’re looking for; the majority achieve only ignorance and intolerance.

Quakers believe that every single human being has a piece of God in them, and that religion of any kind is simply a way of locating that piece of God and getting in touch with it. They call this concept “inner divinity”. Aside from making the Quakers a pretty cool bunch of people – they were among the first abolitionists in the colonies, after all – this idea has spurred me on to realize something: Religion is simply finding the thing you are most passionate about, most in tune with, and staying with it. If finding God and building a relationship with him should make us ‘happier than anything else, and we are most happy when doing the thing we are passionate about, this notion could be considered nearly infallible. I rarely feel more complete than when I have my hands wrapped around the cold steel of a barbell, struggling and straining (and sometimes screaming) as I battle seemingly insurmountable odds. Sometimes I get the lift, other times I don’t – either way, I feel like I am as in touch with whatever higher power is out there (or within me) as I could ever be. A man who loves Toyotas may experience this feeling after spending a few hours in his garage tuning up his ever faithful ’91 Camry.

In everything we do, there is a line. We always start out by treading carefully right along it, like children pretending that everything on the sides of the line is hot lava – don’t get burned! But eventually the lava on one side turns into warm ocean waters, so blue and inviting, and we cannot understand what we ever saw on the other half. It is my belief that one side of that line, the side that calls to us and draws us on, contains that piece of God that can be found within each human being. Crossing that line, finding our passion, could be the answer to the eternal question: why are we here? It could be that our passion, our path to God, is the only reason. The beauty of it is, once we find it, it’s the only reason we need. With that knowledge, I can deal with the constant barrage of evangelists and preachers telling me that I need be saved and that Christ is the only true path to heaven. Good for them for having such passion.

I firmly maintain that heaven is a squat rack.

Quote Of The Day

"Impossible is a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. It is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

-Unknown (to me at least)

"Shut Up And Lift"

I wrote this for my english class, but I like the subject and I think it's a good essay, so what the hell.


Jacob Tsypkin
Dr.Johnson
English 111
18 September 2006


“Shut Up And Lift”
Athletic Benefits of Olympic Weightlifting

“I’m so tired of hearing about how hard marathoners work, how heroic they are sprinting those last yards across the finish line. Take a bar, load it up with four or five hundred pounds, and put it over your head. That’s hard work.” Daniel John, a prominent lifting and throwing coach from Utah, wrote these words in his monthly newsletter “Get Up!” In recent years a taboo has been created around the practice of heavy weightlifting due to the negative marketing by companies who introduced “weightlifting” machines, change in popular physique, and injury due to bad form – as well as a unwillingness in many Americans to work hard when there are easier options, even if those options do not achieve results. Despite these primarily unfounded fears, Olympic, power and supplemental lifting continues to be an integral part of any serious athlete’s training program.

In its essence, Olympic lifting is the practice of taking a weight, usually a barbell, from the ground to overhead. This is done through either one or two powerful jumping movements combined with dropping one’s body under the weight. The two movement variation is the clean and jerk: the clean takes the bar from the ground and onto the lifter’s clavicle as he/she drops under the bar into a front squat – thus “cleaning” the floor of the bar – and then stands. The lifter then drives the bar overhead with the legs and arms and drops below it by splitting his legs into a lunge – the jerk. The one movement
variation is the snatch: the lifter takes a wide grip on the bar, and in one jump explodes upward and then downward, dropping fully under the bar into a overhead squat – “snatching” the bar off the floor. The full Olympic lifts have many benefits. Firstly, engagement of the posterior chain – hamstrings, gluteals and lower back – becomes natural through the Olympic lifts. The posterior chain is one of the most important muscle groups in the body. It is used for standing, walking, running, jumping, bending, straightening, and stabilizing. The athlete’s balance will improve. Finally, the Olympic lifts increase flexibility in the muscles of the posterior chain, the spine, hips, knees and ankles.

Once a lifter can satisfactorily perform the full Olympic lifts, he/she may learn the power lifts – the power clean, push press, and power snatch. Like the clean and jerk and the snatch, the power lifts take the bar from the ground to overhead in one or two motions. The lifter’s aim, however, is to bring the bar fully overhead, or to the clavicle, with as little downward motion as possible – he/she will not drop into a full squat. When performing the power clean, like the squat clean, the lifter cleans the bar off the ground, but drops only as low as necessary to allow it to rest on his/her clavicle. The push press has the lifter pushing the weight overhead by bending the knees and driving upward with the legs and arms – unlike the jerk, however, he/she does not dip below the bar after pushing it overhead. The power snatch, like the snatch, takes the bar from the ground to overhead in one jump – however, the lifter drops below the bar only enough to catch it, rather than dropping into a full squat. The power lifts bear more benefits for athletes than the Olympic lifts. The explosive power they cultivate will help an athlete’s ability to jump, sprint, pivot, check, tackle, kick, punch and throw – almost any athletic action depends on the explosive activation of the posterior chain. However, athletic actions generally do not require the athlete to drop low to the ground as in the full lifts. The power lifts are more applicable to athletics, but do not allow the lifter to move as much weight, because he/she must rely solely on his explosive upward force.

In order to increase his/her ability and strength in the Olympic and power lifts, a lifter will practice the supplemental lifts. Many lifts can be performed to supplement the Olympic and power lifts, but the three most relevant are the squat, deadlift and overhead press. These lifts are less explosive and involve less technique, therefore allowing the athlete to move more weight (with the exception of the overhead press – this movement has less strength than the push press or the jerk because there is no leg drive at all, but requires more stability in the lower body and aides strengthening the upward drive required for the Olympic and power lift variations). The three main variations of the
squat are the front squat, which is the bottom of a clean, the overhead squat, which is the bottom of a snatch, and the back squat. The back squat is not the bottom of an Olympic lift, but due to the positioning of the bar across the trapezoids, it allows the lifter to move heavier weight than the front or overhead squat. The strength gained from this additional weight carries over to the other variations. The deadlift is the first half of the clean and the snatch, in which the lifter pulls the weight from the ground and jumps. In the deadlift, however, the lifter does not jump, but pulls the weight off the ground by steadily standing up until he/she is standing erect. Since there is no jump involved, the lifter can move much more weight than he/she could in a clean or snatch. The deadlift is generally the lift which one can move the most weight with – most world class heavyweight Olympic lifters deadlift eight hundred pounds or more. In the overhead press, the athlete rests the weight on the clavicle and then presses it overhead as in a push press. Unlike a push press, however, there is no leg drive involved. Though the lifter will move less weight than in a jerk or push press (in reverse of the other supplemental lifts, which allow the athlete to lift more weight than the Olympic or power lifts) due to the lack of lower body muscle recruitment, the overhead press allows him/her to focus on the muscles of the upper body more than push press or jerk does. The supplemental lifts also stress the core muscles greatly, thus increasing the athlete’s stabilizing strength.

Due to a buildup of fear, heavy weightlifting has seen a steady decline in popularity in the United States. The American public prefers Jazzercise and Jane Fonda.
Low impact, light weight, high repetition workouts are supposedly safer and more productive. There are no results to show that this is true – these programs are simply easier, and that is what the public wants. The Olympic, power and supplemental lifts, performed properly and combined with sprinting, calisthenics and plyometrics, are the best way to increase mass, speed and strength. They are practiced by high school, collegiate and professional teams all over the world. They produce athletes who are bigger, faster and stronger, and bigger, faster stronger athletes are athletes who win.

Under Construction

This essay was written tonight and is a work VERY much in progress.

“The Line”
Jacob Tsypkin

I once had a conversation with two members of a Christian fellowship based on my junior college campus. We were discussing the origins of religion and basis of faith in God. I pointed out that many religions had texts far older than the bible, telling of their Gods and their laws – why should I blindly accept that Christ is the one true path to heaven? One of the men was very talkative, but the other was quiet and contemplative. I asked him why he did not want to take part in the conversation, hoping I had not somehow offended him. He looked at me and said in a mildly bewildered voice “I just don’t understand. Everyday, in everything I do, I feel the Lord my God within me and around me. I feel the love of Christ, and I just don’t understand how you don’t feel it too. I don’t identify with you. You’re on the other side of a line that I crossed a long time ago.”

I immediately thought this was bullshit, a way to get out of having to provide any logical arguments. Since when did having different beliefs from someone else mean that you couldn’t see their side of the story? But thinking on it later, I realized that I was, in fact, an idiot. People, myself included, do this everyday. It happens in everything we do, from the minor and inconsequential (“Charmin is by far the best brand of toilet paper”) to the major and world altering (“Christ is the one true way to Heaven!”). You may be particularly fond of Toyotas and have trouble understanding why some people prefer Fords. As an Olympic weightlifter, I just can’t figure out why every time I go to the gym I see dozens of people doing nothing but bench press and bicep curls. I have crossed a line, and I can no longer see what’s on the other side.

Everyone is searching for something better: A better car, a better house, a better partner, a better life. Most people are, in some way or another, searching for God, or a higher power, or any kind of proof that there is something else out there, something after this life ends, attempting to stifle their fear of death with the belief that it is not the end. Generally this faith is found in a Church or a Synagogue, or within the pages of the Koran or Taoist scrolls. Somehow the laws and structure of religion make it easier for people to believe – or at least to convince themselves that they believe. But I don’t think that’s the answer.

The Quakers believe that every single human being has a piece of God in them, and that religion of any kind is simply a way of locating that piece of God and getting in touch with it. They call this concept “inner divinity”. Aside from making the Quakers a pretty cool bunch of people – they were among the first abolitionists in the colonies, after all – this idea has spurred me on to realize something: Religion is passion. If God makes us happy, and we are happy doing what we are passionate about, one could argue that this is a infallible notion. I rarely feel more complete than when I have my hands wrapped around the cold steel of a barbell, struggling and straining (and sometimes screaming) as I battle seemingly insurmountable odds. Sometimes I get the lift, other times I don’t – either way, I feel like I am as in touch with whatever higher power is out there (or within me) as I could ever be. You, with your love of Toyotas, may experience this feeling after spending a few hours in your garage changing your fluids and tuning up your ever faithful ’91 Camry.

So in everything we do, there is a line. We always start out by treading carefully right along it, as if we were children playing that game where everything on the sides of the line is hot lava – don’t get burned! But eventually the lava on one side turns into warm ocean waters, so blue and inviting, and we cannot understand what we EVER saw on the other half. It is my belief that one side of that line, the side that calls to us and draws us on, contains that piece of God that can be found within each human being. Crossing that line, finding our passion, could be the answer to our eternal questions. It could be the only reason we are here. The beauty of it is, once we find that reason, it is enough. So you can tell me all you want that Christ is the only true path to Heaven, and good for you for having such passion.

I still firmly believe that Heaven is a squat rack.

"I Rise, I Fall"

I rise, I fall
Soaring through the peaks and valleys that I call my life
You bring me unto the greatest heights
Propelled by your love, your beauty
Your brilliance
And once you are gone, I tear myself down
To the darkest depths
Pulled by my insecurity
My fears of inadequacy, stupidity,
Failure
Who is to say that one person is better than another?
Only one who fears drowning beneath that infamous line we call "enough"
Though what "enough" means will forever be unknown
And therefore unattainable
Stumbling occasionally onto the middleground
Never staying for long
I haven't the time to dawdle in a place that isn't more or less

"A Thought In Passing"

Am I just a thought in passing?
Fleeting as a shadow in the dark of the sun?
Am I just a thought in passing?
Slipping through the fingers of your hearts and minds?
I stay still as a rock, while you move to far away places
The winds of change and the tides of war wash over me
Yet I am unmoving, unchanging
Never progressing
Never gaining, nor losing
Never improving, nor worsening
Never anything more than what I was yesterday
And what I will be tomorrow
Is this feeling everlasting?
Or will it be blown off by the wind one day?
Am I just a thought in passing?
Or am I here to stay?

"Flow"

Flow forth from me
Break through the dam that is my skepticism
Be free from the grasp of my cynicism
Towards this earth
This life
My eternal doubt ties you into knots, unable to loosen
Forever held within me, protected
My guard shall not fall
No matter how much I will it to
I let myself fall away
Hoping you will catch me

"Breathe"

Breathe with me
Breathe slow and deep, my love
Bury yourself in me, warm and safe
Your heart beats against mine, somehow in tune
Filling in the gaps, plugging all the holes
Making me more real than I've ever been before
Yet taking me somewhere too good to be true
No one can take this from me, from us
It is yours, mine, ours
Unlock all the doors, open all the windows
Let the world see, they cannot stop us now
This is your world, my world, our world
Breathe with me
Breathe fast and wild, my love
Wrap yourself around me, fiery and passionate
Wanting it to be over and wanting it to last forever
Dig deep into me as I into you
Rip and tear and scream and scrape and do it all out of love
Moan and rise up, and fall apart
Come down, come back, fall back together
Breathe with me
Breathe slow and deep, my love
Sleep in this peaceful place
It will be gone soon
But it will always be waiting for us
Glorious and beautiful
Simple in it's perfection
Yours, mine
Ours
Breathe

"My War"

Bleed with me
Sweat dripping into my eyes
Lungs burning with exhaustion
Blood pouring over my face
Yours or mine?
Does it matter?
Beaten, broken, bloody and bruised
You are my brother
Tied with me in this combat
Too tired to look each other in the eyes
This is war
This is WAR, and I love my war
I fight you out of respect
And in the end, you are my brother
Embrace me, my brother, and rejoice
Respect is earned when there are no questions left to be asked

"Highway One"

I speak softly
So as not to disturb her unconsciousness
Held close to me as we speed along this journey
Be it life or just highway one
The surrounding cacophony does not affect her
The noises of men, drunk with glee
Or perhaps jack and coke (hold the coke)
The screeching of wheels and the driving of rain
Still, she sleeps on
Undisturbed
Unaffected
Nestled somewhere between my arms and my soul

Well, hello there...

Oooh, the internet. Maybe if I post all my shit here, I won't risk losing it because my computer has a random fit of gayness. I suppose I'll post some crappy stories and crappy poems, and maybe my workouts and random thoughts (though only a few of them, as I seem to have a lot). Or I may just forget about this whole thing by tomorrow morning. Who gives a fuck? It's only the internet. Here's a story. Enjoy it, whether that means reading it or mocking it.

“Snatch”
Jacob Tsypkin

Clunk!

The loaded bar crashed to the ground, three red forty-five pound plates locked in on either side. It was a well used bar, old but sturdy, complete with worn down knurling and that ugly browned look barbells get after years of use. The man, of medium height and powerful build, stepped onto the platform, shaking the kinks out of his muscles and the cobwebs out of his head. No room for thought here; he wasn’t here to think.

He put a hand on the bar and rolled it into place, making the sides even. The feel of the barbell was familiar, comforting. His sweat had helped wear down the texture on every bar in the gym. This wasn’t your commercial “spandex” gym. There were no leg press machines or curl bars, no treadmills or ellipticals. It was a large, dimly lit room, reminiscent of a dank basement. One wall was lined with squat racks, the opposite wall with lifting platforms. Dumbbells and kettlebells, old but well kept, decorated the back, while the center of the gym contained several flat benches. There were extra bars and plates in a corner next to the front window; the window itself simply said “Klein Olympic Weightlifting and Powerlifting. There was no need for an “Open” sign, or even a sign showing hours – anyone who needed to know, would know. Most people who came to the gym only came once; they may have asked for a “hardcore” gym, but they didn’t know what they were getting into when they came here. No spandex.

His hands grasped the familiar steel, twisting and flexing as he tested the weight. He moved his hands wide and prepared for the lift, getting into position. He recalled for a moment the first time he had taken this posture, so awkward and unnatural: lower back curved forward, shoulder blades pulled tight, butt back and chin forward, weight on heels. His hamstrings had felt as if they were about to pop; eventually he learned that this feeling was good, that it meant he was tense and ready to explode…but for a long time, it just felt wrong. But not anymore – it was second nature now, it was natural. It was somewhere he belonged.

The process is simple, or so it seems: First, lift the bar steadily up from the
ground. Once the bar reaches thigh level, jump, hard. The bar moves up, becomes weightless for a split second…and in that second, drop under it, faster than life can pass by. Squeeze everything, stay on your heels, lock your arms out overhead and stand up.

That split second is important. In that split second of weightlessness, pure freedom can be achieved. No job, no bills, no responsibility – just a bar, some plates, and a chance to go fast enough to catch up with life.

The others were watching by now, waiting for him to attempt the lift; he’d never gone this heavy before. He didn’t mind. They were fixtures, like the racks and benches. They could stare all they wanted, so long as they didn’t interrupt. This was sacred.
Butt back, chin forward, weight on heels. He squeezed every muscle in his body, looked up toward the sky and pulled. The bar started to move off the ground – that was the easy part. It moved steadily upward, up and up and up…it was at mid-shin, it was at his knee, it was at his thigh, he jumped and he was there, in that split second of weightlessness – and then down and down and down he went, landed in the bottom, squeezed and locked his arms out…he had it! He stood up, steady and solid, no wasted motion. For a moment he held the position, cherishing it.

Clunk!

The bar hit the ground again, plates rattling. He took a deep breath as they started to clap. He didn’t need that; he wasn’t here for that. He was here for that moment, that weightlessness, that freedom, and the heavier the weight was, the more it released him. He unloaded the bar, put the plates back, gathered his things and walked out the door, back into that world of work and bills and responsibility. He didn’t mind – he could always come back to the gym, to the bar, to the weight.

To freedom.