Beginner's ABC Double D

[casey]

At Coach Sonnon's suggestion I will be doing an AM/PM split density cycle with the two ABC movements I can currently manage for multiple reps in good form (the ABC Front Clean and ABC Side Swing). This work will lay a solid foundation for further ABC progress, while giving my shoulders a rest from overhead movements.

I have avoided doing a density program until now because I don't like counting alot (seriously) and because it always seemed intimidating.

I did an experimental first step on Sunday of 20 sets of 5 in 20 minutes of the Front Clean. I began in earnest this morning with:

AM
Neck and Shoulder Circles, Hip Circles, Arm Screw (10 minutes)

ABC Front Clean 18 sets of 6 in 18 minutes, alternating Right and Left grip

RT: 8 RPE: 5

PM
Short Warrior Wellness routine emphasizing hips and lower back, shoulders and hands. (10 minutes)

ABC Side Swing 20 sets of 5 in 20 minutes, alternating Right and Left swings

RT: 7 RPE: 7

This was very tough on the grip. I found myself doing finger circles and waves in between every set and still having trouble. But it has only been 5 days since I got my Bruiser and I remember the first time I tried a Side Swing. Improvement comes very quickly with Clubbells.

Later, some Biomechanical exercises and kinetic chains. My legs are still very sore from Debkah (Arabic folk dance, which utilizes alot of quick rock bottom squats like Russian folk dance) so the FCBD is out for today. I just need to relax.

Which brings me to the question, is it always better to do a DROM session between Double D workouts? It seems to me doing it afterwards would help resolve some of the tension that the second session would bring. Today I just didn't feel like I had the energy when I got home to do a comprehensive Warrior Wellness routine, so I went right into the PM work.

100 reps seems easily attainable on the Front Cleans, but the grip is going to be trouble on the Side Swings.

Casey

[casey]

Wednesday:

AM Warrior Wellness: 15 minutes focusing on hips and back

PM Warrior Wellness and some BMEs: 20 minutes. Afterwards, although I didn't do anything differently, my shoulders feel looser and more open than they have in a long time. Maybe because in this cycle I am not doing alot of (any, I guess) overhead work.

Also I already feel the effects this cycle is going to have. From the ABC Front Cleans together with Side Swings my back feels great. I sometimes judge how my routine is doing by how it effects simple daily activities. I noticed yesterday that lifting and stacking chairs in the conference room at work felt fantastic. The chairs were weightless. I think this is directly becuase of the way working with the Bruiser accustoms one to moving a weight further out in front of you than the usual weight training implements do.

CPR

[casey]

Thursday:

AM

A few hip and shoulder circles, shoulder rolls. (10 minutes)

ABC Front Clean 16 sets of 7 reps in 16 minutes (alternating right and left grip)

RPE: 6 RT: 8

These are coming along very well.

PM

Warrior Wellness Advanced (15 minutes)

ABC Side Swings 19 sets of 6 in 19 minutes, alternating right and left swings

RPE: 8 RT: 6-8

I did an extra set because I was not happy with my technique. The grip was really giving me trouble and throwing off the rest of the groove. But I finally really concentrated on keeping my shoulders locked down, tight and packed. This really helped me hold on to the club a lot better, not to mention making the swings easier and smoother. So I will move up in reps next time. At first I thought I should stay with this step until I could do it better, but I think I figured out what my problem was.

I've had the Bruiser for one week now. At first I could clean it (ABC style) for maybe three reps. Today I did it 112 times. And I could barely swing it side to side at all. I think the Double Density program is supreme because it gives one the opportunity to really groove technique at the beginning, then quickly adds on the intensity.

After the ABC Side Swings: FCBD Basic 20 seconds in each position (except 15 seconds to the side). Vibration drills, Spinal Rock.

My back felt a little tweaked around where I have an old injury after the swings. But this completely (100%) disappeared after the FCBD and Spinal Rocks. :lol:

I will take two days off to make sure my grip recovers. And because I am going to a 4 hour ROSS workshop on Saturday!

CPR

[casey]

Friday and Saturday:

Didn't do too much of any kind of work Friday because I knew I would be going to a 4 hour ROSS Breathing, Movement, Posture and Russian/Cossack Dance workshop on Saturday. See my post on the workshop in the Open Topic forum.

CPR

[casey]

I just realized that I was supposed to put my name in the topic heading. Dang. But since there are already a lot of letters in there, let me add my initials to the title: the new correct name will be Beginner's ABC Double D by CPR.

Sunday:

I figured I didn't need any Warrior Wellness to warm up becuase of yesterday's long session of breathing, movement, posture and dance exercises. Hmmmm. :?

AM

ABC Front Clean 14 sets of 8 reps in 14 minutes (since I got the C4 manual, first right grip, then left grip)

RPE: 6 RT: 8

It's amazing how quickly the the rest periods - which seemed so long a week ago - diminish. Still, this death march looks to be perfectly at my level. Challenging but not too much.

In the afternoon practiced Debkah (Arabic folk dance) for an hour or so. I saw some steps which my friend referred to as 'Armenian' style which looked alot like the Russian/Cossack steps we learned on Saturday in Millersville.

Still no DROM work though.

PM

ABC Side Swings 18 sets of 7 (first Right grip then Left)

RPE: 8 RT: 5-8

Still not quite getting it. I will repeat this step. The grip is giving me trouble.


Thanks for reading.

CPR

[casey]

Monday:

PM Finally a solid Warrior Wellness session. I spent over an hour actually working through the normal WW Advanced program plus cloverleaves and throwing in some new ideas I got from the ROSS workshop with Scott Fabel. I feel great! :lol:

Tomorrow back to swinging.

CPR

[SteveB]

I think that performance of dynamic range of motion exercises is critical, especially if you are working close to the edge of your recovery capacity. Don't underestimate the intensity and depth of these workouts!

Steve

[casey]

Steve,

You are absolutely right. I am trying to get over the habit of thinking of the weight lifting/swinging segment of my personal practice as the most important, and everything else as secondary. That is, I still come home and think "I only have 20 minutes. I feel stiff and tight but I need to make my next step in the Density cycle." When I should think "I only have 20 minutes, I could lift now and get injured, or complete all my reps but with bad technique...or I could work through the tension, fully recover and feel ready for anything."

One thing I am learning (slowly :oops: ) from CST is the importance of patience and full development of all of one's attributes. I really cut a lot of my usual volume out to do this Double Density cycle ( thinking, of course, on the in between days I would do other stuff, more swings, presses, swipes, etc.) and the immediate result has been... I am stronger on everything. And have much more energy. Just yesterday I was fooling around with a few ABC moves and some combos with the 25 that I'd never done before and I am twice as strong. All I've been doing is Front Cleans and Side Swings, but I'm stronger everywhere. Alot of it has to do with the program itself, but alot is just training at a reasonable enough volume to let my body recover and express its strength. One phrase from the C4 manual keeps popping into my head. Training to Live instead of Living to Train. I think I am finally learning what this means.


With all this in mind, yesterday I woke up feeling crappy and not at all recovered. Even though it was a Double-D day, I skipped my morning session. Later on I felt very energetic, so I decided to do the repeat of last time's Side Swings which had gone badly. This will make my AM and PM sessions match up better next time, instead of one going way ahead of the other.

PM

Warrior Wellness
ABC Side Swipes 8 sets of 7 Right Grip, 8 sets of 7 left Grip

RPE: 6 RT : 8

Finally these are getting easy. Although I skipped the morning session and that probably made my grip less tired than usual, I think my overall technique was a lot better, and I am looking forward to these now rather than dreading them. :lol:

Thanks for reading.

CPR

[Scott Sonnon]

A case study, amigo. Beautifully done.

[casey]

Wednesday:
PM Warrior Wellness. I am really beginning to feel loose in the multi-planar back bridge via hip ROM. Really pulling the hips and pelvis the opposite direction from your torso allows you to go so much further. (e.g. really turning the pelvis up when leaning forward.) I am also experimenting more with the ideas from Scott Fabel's ROSS seminar, opposite simultaneous arm and leg circles for instance. I had forgotten that the capacity for sophisticating these drills is infinite. I was waiting for the next Warrior Wellness tape (Level Extra Advanced :wink: ) to come out and getting bored while I had all the tools to continually sophisticate my practice in front of me. Or hanging at my sides anyway.

CPR

[casey]

Thursday

AM

DROM warm-up (10 minutes)

ABC Front Cleans 6 sets of 9 Right Grip, 6 sets of 9 Left Grip in 12 minutes

RPE: 6 RT: 8

PM

Warrior Wellness, thorough session, 30 minutes

ABC Side Swing 7 sets of 8 Right Grip, 7 sets of 8 Left Grip in 14 minutes

RPE: 8 RT: 7-8

The last time I did these was a turning point. Repeating the 7 rep step, and doing it by itself without the Front Cleans in the morning, gave me the confidence and technique practice I needed. These Side Swings are still not easy, but I feel good about them.

The Double-D is amazing. My back feels great, I am getting stronger in ranges of motion I am not actually working with these two drills, and I am getting noticeably more muscular. :twisted: If anyone is hesitant about this type of cycle, as I was for a long time, try it. You won't be disappointed.

[casey]

Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon:

This whole weekend I was very disappointed with the amount of time I made for personal practice. I had a very full schedule, and great times with friends and family. I wouldn't trade a minute of it. And I hadn't planned to do any more on my Density cycle until Monday. Nevertheless, I was simply not successful in finding the time to explore all of the physical areas I had planned to. So I put off my club swinging one or two more days and really concentrated on making the most of Monday. Over the weekend I only managed twenty or thirty minute Warrior Wellness sessions each day, but I was still pretty tight come Monday. So Monday evening I planned and completed three separate 30 minute sessions comprising first, Warrior Wellness, second, dance practice and third, mostly biomechanical exercises and the FCBD. Oddly enough, I also got a lot of other work done that I had not gotten around to for weeks. So this goes to show (me, at least) that the time is there, I just have to pin it down. And when certain segments of time are carved out with intention and deliberation, others seem to open themselves to full usage with little or no additional effort.

Also, I got the Body Flow tapes today. :P

Thanks for reading,

CPR

[casey]

Tues:

Some DROM in the morning and throughout the day. I was still feeling pretty loose from last night's practice, so not that much was necessary.

PM:

Debkah (Arabic Dance) 6:00-9:30

Longer than usual session. But my legs and lungs held up very well. Multiple sets of medium to high reps with a ballistic exercise like any clubbell swing are the perfect preparation for this kind of work.

Wed:

AM

DROM warm-up (10 minutes)

ABC Front Cleans 5 sets of 10 reps Right Grip, 5 Sets of 10 reps Left Grip in 10 minutes

RT: 8 RPE: 6

I hadn't done these in a while (6 days) but it was pretty easy to pick up where I left off. I had forgotten how painful the Bruiser can be on the hands, but I quickly remembered how good this exercise makes my whole body feel.

PM

Warrior Wellness (20 minutes)

AC Side Swings 6 sets of 9 reps Right Grip, 6 sets of 9 reps Left Grip in 12 minutes

RT: 8 RPE: 8

Still the main difficulty is the grip. But I found myself choking up a little and concentrating more on the tight-loose-tight protocol; releasing my grip (almost) at the points of weightlessness. The combination of this and the ABC Front Clean does wonders for the back.

Thanks for reading.

CPR

[Mike]

Excellent work my friend. The side swing and front clean are great exercises despite their simplicity. I can't stress how important the 'easier' movements are for total development especially with swings and cleans because the hip snap is such a huge factor in clubbell training.

Keep up the great work! Remember......explode, explode, EXPLODE!

[casey]

Explode! Yes, exactly Mike! But sometimes I feel like the Bruiser is going to explode right out of my hands. Any specific grip tips for getting used to this thing? My grip is definitely improving, but of course I am also increasing the reps and decreasing the rest periods each time. So it remains (on the ABC Side Swings) close to my limit.

Thursday:

PM

Warrior Wellness (1.5 hours)

This was a long, relaxing exploratory session. I was really trying to loosen everything and go deeply into every ROM. For instance, I went through small circles in every quadrant (like only in the right front quadrant for instance) before going into diagonals, figure eights or cloverleaves. Basically going from the Basic ranges of motion to the most advanced I can handle. Then I did a lot of Spinal Rocks, Pike and Butterfly and the FCBD Basic with a 10 second move to each position and a 10 second hold in the position. Coach Sonnon recommended combining these protocols (super slow movement and isometric holds) in an old post and it was a lot tougher than working them separately. I found the most difference in my planted leg and glute. Very exhausting.

Tomorrow I will do the 100 rep death march with the ABC Front Cleans, but I don't think I can manage the Side Swings as well. Single-D from now on! :wink:

Thanks for reading,
CPR

[Mike]

Explode! Yes, exactly Mike! But sometimes I feel like the Bruiser is going to explode right out of my hands. Any specific grip tips for getting used to this thing? My grip is definitely improving, but of course I am also increasing the reps and decreasing the rest periods each time. So it remains (on the ABC Side Swings) close to my limit.

Obviously the easiest thing would be to stay away from your limit in order to prevent your grip from slipping. A little thing I do is picking the club up one handed and gently swinging it back and forth. You don't have to clean it or do full range swings, just pick it up with the clubhead down and crush grip it while swinging. This kind of mimics vertical bar lifting but the load 'increases' as you swing it. Other than that, you'll see your grip strength improve greatly just from the routine you're doing now!

[casey]

Mike,

Interesting exercise. My grip is definitely improving quickly, but the Bruiser is really a monster. Your exercise made me think of one of the gauges I use to keep track of strength increases. Today I picked up one of the 5 gallon water jugs we use at work for the cooler with one hand easily and cleaned it. It felt so light, and it didn't use to. This is real, practical strength.

Anyway this is the end of this training log! :lol:

On to bigger and better things...

Friday:

Couldn't wait to finish the density cycle, but missed the morning workout, so I just did one part.

PM: ABC Front Cleans 50 Right Grip 50 Left Grip

RT: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, etc... RPE: 11

Wow...amazing. I was doing the abbreviated Density cycle. My last step before this was 10 sets of 10. So I have never done more than 10 reps in a row. And since this is not a compound exercise it only takes 2 seconds or so per rep. I was still getting a lot of rest. So the first 50 reps with the right grip were, if not easy, at least solid. I was ecstatic. What a tremendous effect from this type of training! This is less than three weeks of training with the Bruiser! But, after the grip switch things got ugly. I had to park for short rests when the Bruiser began to slip out of my hands. No worries though, I remember Coach Sonnon's first Double-D log ended about the same way! :wink: Total time about 5 minutes.

Later:

Warrior Wellness and some Body Flow BMEs. Just working my way through the tapes.

Saturday:

Feeling very sore in the arms, hamstrings and upper back. But still 'buzzing'. Like my CNS is still excited. So I decided to do my final step with the Side Swings and finish that cycle on Monday, since I had the day off.

PM: ABC Side Swings 5 sets of 10 reps Right Grip 5 sets of 10 reps Left Grip

RT: 9 RPE: 6

Much easier than before. My grip is so much better, but only when I keep my shoulders tight and packed and elbows locked.

After this I was so excited to start a new cycle I did the following:

Parry Cast 25 pound Clubbell 5 sets of 5 each arm

Forward Pendulum 25 pound Clubbell 5 sets of 5 each arm

Both RT was 7 or 8. For the Parry Casts the RPE was 8, Pendulums 5.

Sunday

Mostly relaxation.

Monday

AM

Warrior Wellness

ABC Side Swings 50 reps Right Grip 50 reps Left Grip

RT: 7 (overall) RPE: 10

Tougher than the Front Cleans but I am so glad that I made it through. Once again the effects in three weeks are amazing. I at least could clean the Bruiser when I first got it, but I could barely budge it from side to side.

My first Density Cycle completed, and more to come. :D

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more.

CPR

[Scott Sonnon]

Casey, you rock! :twisted:

[Disabled Policeman]

I've belonged to other boards and groups and have found it beneficial, as in most literature, to spell out something the first time you use it (as in acronyms, monikers, and unfamiliar jargon), e.g. as was done with DEBKAH...Arabic folk dance.

Being new I would have to either read every thread or jump around to find the meaning of a new term just to be able to speak intelligently with others or to even under stand what they mean.

With that being said, can someone tell a newbie what ABC stands for and DROM? I will look around, but without a primer to read to keep up...well you get the idea...

DP



At Coach Sonnon's suggestion I will be doing an AM/PM split density cycle with the two ABC movements I can currently manage for multiple reps in good form (the ABC Front Clean and ABC Side Swing). This work will lay a solid foundation for further ABC progress, while giving my shoulders a rest from overhead movements.

I have avoided doing a density program until now because I don't like counting alot (seriously) and because it always seemed intimidating.

I did an experimental first step on Sunday of 20 sets of 5 in 20 minutes of the Front Clean. I began in earnest this morning with:

AM
Neck and Shoulder Circles, Hip Circles, Arm Screw (10 minutes)

ABC Front Clean 18 sets of 6 in 18 minutes, alternating Right and Left grip

RT: 8 RPE: 5

PM
Short Warrior Wellness routine emphasizing hips and lower back, shoulders and hands. (10 minutes)

ABC Side Swing 20 sets of 5 in 20 minutes, alternating Right and Left swings

RT: 7 RPE: 7

This was very tough on the grip. I found myself doing finger circles and waves in between every set and still having trouble. But it has only been 5 days since I got my Bruiser and I remember the first time I tried a Side Swing. Improvement comes very quickly with Clubbells.

Later, some Biomechanical exercises and kinetic chains. My legs are still very sore from Debkah (Arabic folk dance, which utilizes alot of quick rock bottom squats like Russian folk dance) so the FCBD is out for today. I just need to relax.

Which brings me to the question, is it always better to do a DROM session between Double D workouts? It seems to me doing it afterwards would help resolve some of the tension that the second session would bring. Today I just didn't feel like I had the energy when I got home to do a comprehensive Warrior Wellness routine, so I went right into the PM work.

100 reps seems easily attainable on the Front Cleans, but the grip is going to be trouble on the Side Swings.

Casey

[wiggy1]

If I recall properly,

ABC= Anabolic Bruiser Conditioning

DROM= Dynamic Range of Motion

[wiggy1]

I've belonged to other boards and groups and have found it beneficial, as in most literature, to spell out something the first time you use it (as in acronyms, monikers, and unfamiliar jargon), e.g. as was done with DEBKAH...Arabic folk dance.

Being new I would have to either read every thread or jump around to find the meaning of a new term just to be able to speak intelligently with others or to even under stand what they mean.

With that being said, can someone tell a newbie what ABC stands for and DROM? I will look around, but without a primer to read to keep up...well you get the idea...

DP

DP,

Here is a CST Glossary that Connie Brown has put together. It is a good resource for some of our CST acronyms. (Heck, the entire site is a great resource.)

www.conniesclubbellcafe.com/cstindex.htm (http://www.conniesclubbellcafe.com/cstindex.htm)

Note: I can't seem to keep this website from entering the registered symbol after the word Clubbell, so you are going to have to cut and paste to your browser's address bar, then delete the symbol.