Coach Szolek's OCS Prep. PHASE III

[Doug Szolek]

11-25-03 morning

Swipe Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Basic Arm Swing: 1set of 7 RPE=5 RT=10

Spout: 1set of 7 RPE=6 RT=8

Cossak: 1set of 7 RPE=8 RT=8

Swipes: 20sets of 7reps in 20 minutes (w/ 1 bonus set) RPE=7 RT=8-9

Notes: Jumped right into PHASE III trusting that my monstrous work load lately would have already prepared me for the Heavy Class Clubbells. The swipes are so grooved, or should I say groovy :wink: and I'm loving the high volume with the shoulder load.

Mid-day Warrior Wellness will be mandatory to make it through this.

[Doug Szolek]

11-25-03 mid day

Dynamic Range Of Motion

Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar: Infinities, Diagonals, YinYangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles
Shoulders: rolls, Arm Screws, Infinities, Circles, Waves
Elbows: Circles, Infinities, Rolls, Waves
Wrists: Circles, Infinities, Diagonals, Rolls, Waves
Fingers: Circles, Rolls, Waves
Pelvis: Infinities, Diagonals, Yin Yangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles, Alternating Hip Infinities.
Hip, Knee, Ankle: Infinities, Circles, Waves
4Corner Balance Drill Advanced Level: Slow flow through all 7 positions, 2reps each leg.
Feet: Rolls, Waves.
Vibrational Drills: Squats, Strikes, Projections, Sweeps.

Notes: feel great after the walk to and from the gym. Shoulders still floating from the Heavy Swipes. Big release of low back tension during this session.

[Doug Szolek]

11-25-03 evening

Mill Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Sabre-Grip Inward Pendulum: 1set of 12(6L6R) RPE=6 RT=8

Short Whip: 1set of 12(6L6R) RPE=7 RT=10

Taskmaster: 1set of 12(6L6R) RPE=7 RT=9

Mills: 20sets of 12(6L6R)reps in 20 minutes RPE=8 RT=7-8

Notes: Lovin' the Mills. Need to polish my form on the left side but it's on its way. Arms felt monstrous afterword. I can't wait for Feb.

[Doug Szolek]

12-1-03 morning

Swipe Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Basic Arm Swing: 1set of 8 RPE=5 RT=8

Spout: 1set of 8 RPE=6 RT=7

Cossak: 1set of 8 RPE=9 RT=9

Swipes: 19sets of 8reps in 19 minutes RPE=8-9 RT=8-9

Notes: Little bit of overtraining in my left triceps lead to the week off but all is strong and in charge now. Dug up something deep today. Nearly speaking in tongues by the end of the 19th set. Took a bit of warming up though but after cursing the name of all creation during the Cossaks (man those things are heavy) I was ready to eat my clubbells and ask for seconds. My main performance goal through the Swipes is keeping up my RPMs through the later sets this leads to some inhuman effort. I love it, I am so psyched for OCS.

[Doug Szolek]

12-1-03 mid day

Dynamic Range Of Motion

Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar: Infinities, Diagonals, YinYangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles
Shoulders: rolls, Arm Screws, Infinities, Circles, Waves
Elbows: Circles, Infinities, Rolls, Waves
Wrists: Circles, Infinities, Diagonals, Rolls, Waves
Fingers: Circles, Rolls, Waves
Pelvis: Infinities, Diagonals, Yin Yangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles, Alternating Hip Infinities.
Hip, Knee, Ankle: Infinities, Circles, Waves
4Corner Balance Drill Advanced Level: Slow flow through all 7 positions, 2reps each leg.
Feet: Rolls, Waves.
Vibrational Drills: Squats, Strikes, Projections, Sweeps.

Notes: Much needed to loosen the shoulders after killing myself this morning. Low back is feeling great and even been toying with some contortion after "Cirque Week" on bravo last week.

[Doug Szolek]

12-1-03 evening

Mill Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Sabre-Grip Inward Pendulum: 1set of 12(6L6R) RPE=6 RT=9

Short Whip: 1set of 12(6L6R) RPE=8 RT=10

Taskmaster: 1set of 12(6L6R) RPE=8 RT=9

Mills: 19sets of 12(6L6R)reps in 19 minutes RPE=8 RT=7

Notes: Minor tenderness in left elbow. Also a few form defects in the left arm lead me to clipping my left cheekbone with the knob of the Clubbell on two occassions. No swelling thankfully :wink: Huh well, the plight of a giant mellon. Much fun otherwise looking forward to more torture.

[Doug Szolek]

12-3-03 morning

Swipe Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Basic Arm Swing: 1set of 8 RPE=5 RT=10

Spout: 1set of 8 RPE=5 RT=10

Cossak: 1set of 8 RPE=7 RT=9

Swipes: 20sets of 8reps in 20 minutes RPE=7-8 RT=9-10

Notes: Something Monstrous this way comes :twisted: I was only intending to do 18sets of 8 to continue my progression up the density ladder but once I got started there was not stoping me. I can't say enough about how grooved these Technical Swipes are, the entire motion is like a trampoline that drives from my hip-snap then loads and explodes out of Back Loaded Position and folds right back to the hip snap. My reps have been amped up to a speed of 3seconds per rep which seemed impossible only months ago (with lighter weight!)

I'm not trying to tute my own horn here, I'm saying this more out of surprise than anything. I have dug deeply within during this session and found the refining fires that drive me to destroy limits. Life is a foundry and the tortorous depths of Heavy Density are my forge.

[Scott Sonnon]

Bro, with Heavies going faster than 3 sec reps appears virtually impossible. That's 20RPMs, bro... and even as a Heavyweight competitor if you can nail that throughout the 10 minute event, you're almost at IMS without even touching the Mills.

Beastly, amigo... just beastly.

[Doug Szolek]

12-3-03 mid day

Dynamic Range Of Motion

Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar: Infinities, Diagonals, YinYangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles
Shoulders: rolls, Arm Screws, Infinities, Circles, Waves
Elbows: Circles, Infinities, Rolls, Waves
Wrists: Circles, Infinities, Diagonals, Rolls, Waves
Fingers: Circles, Rolls, Waves
Pelvis: Infinities, Diagonals, Yin Yangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles, Alternating Hip Infinities.
Hip, Knee, Ankle: Infinities, Circles, Waves
4Corner Balance Drill Advanced Level: Slow flow through all 7 positions, 2reps each leg.
Feet: Rolls, Waves.
Vibrational Drills: Squats, Strikes, Projections, Sweeps.

Notes:Did most of this session directly following my Swipe Practice. My arm/shoulder pump was extreme to the point of hindering my arm screws and similar movements. I felt like I was wringing out a giant sponge the whole time. What's strange is that by implementing the Grip Mechanics presented in my OCS Training Manual, this pump in no way fatigued my grip. Honestly I felt like doing 40 sets of Swipes this morning but I know that the Mills are waiting for me tonight and the "Over-Train" could be heard pulling into station. At any rate I am oh so ready to kill the Mill tonight.

[Doug Szolek]

Bro, with Heavies going faster than 3 sec reps appears virtually impossible. That's 20RPMs, bro... and even as a Heavyweight competitor if you can nail that throughout the 10 minute event, you're almost at IMS without even touching the Mills.

Beastly, amigo... just beastly.

I appriciate the kudos, but be careful, you're giving me dangerous ideas :wink: :twisted:

[Doug Szolek]

12-3-03 evening

Mill Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Sabre-Grip Inward Pendulum: 1set of 14(7L7R) RPE=5 RT=9

Short Whip: 1set of 14(7L7R) RPE=7 RT=10

Taskmaster: 1set of 14(7L7R) RPE=8 RT=7

Mills: 18sets of 14(7L7R)reps in 18 minutes RPE=9-10 RT=9

Notes: Got my speed in the Mills to just a hair over two seconds and heard plenty of comments from the peanut gallery about me looking like a "wind-mill" the laughter reinforced my performance breathing :wink:

Still tweaking the Sweet-Spot Clubbell grip and even tried to hold it through out the entire repetition of the mills. This lead to some of the smoothest reps I've yet to perform in the Technical Mill. I have a feeling that this is the key to cutting my speed to an even 2 seconds per rep and still being able to maitain a hold on the Clubbell throughout the session.

For the first time ever I think, my Clubbell training is leading to mild DOMS in my deltoids, interesting type of sore.

Also for the first time I'm beginning to respect the Mills as much as I do the Swipes. Just a bit of rivalry between two jealous lovers :wink:

Tomorrow is lots of DROM and active recovery. I am having too much fun to get hit by the "Over-Train".

[Doug Szolek]

12-5-03 morning

Swipe Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Basic Arm Swing: 1set of 9 RPE=6 RT=10

Spout: 1set of 9 RPE=6 RT=10

Cossak: 1set of 9 RPE=7 RT=9

Swipes: 18sets of 9reps in 18 minutes RPE=9 RT=9

Notes: One bonus set over my OCS quota for today's workout. Wanted to do two more but they just weren't there. Emotional issues hindering the purity of my work. Normally they are purged during the work but not today. Just a rough day all around.

[Doug Szolek]

12-5-03 mid day

Dynamic Range Of Motion

Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar: Infinities, Diagonals, YinYangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles
Shoulders: rolls, Arm Screws, Infinities, Circles, Waves
Elbows: Circles, Infinities, Rolls, Waves
Wrists: Circles, Infinities, Diagonals, Rolls, Waves
Fingers: Circles, Rolls, Waves
Pelvis: Infinities, Diagonals, Yin Yangs, Clover Leaves, Revolvers, Circles, Alternating Hip Infinities.
Hip, Knee, Ankle: Infinities, Circles, Waves
4Corner Balance Drill Advanced Level: Slow flow through all 7 positions, 2reps each leg.
Feet: Rolls, Waves.
Vibrational Drills: Squats, Strikes, Projections, Sweeps.

Notes: Stress still tainting today's work. Much more tension than usual to relax through this afternoon. The more I get frustrated with my movement, the more I tense and the more my movement is corrupted...

A viscious cycle to pull myself out of indeed.

[Doug Szolek]

12-5-03 evening

Mill Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Sabre-Grip Inward Pendulum: 1set of 14(7L7R) RPE=4 RT=9

Short Whip: 1set of 14(7L7R) RPE=5 RT=10

Taskmaster: 1set of 14(7L7R) RPE=7 RT=9-8

Mills: 17sets of 14(7L7R)reps in 17 minutes RPE=9 RT=8

Notes: Became my mantra of "must go harder, must go faster" tonight. Burned most to the remaining stress from my frame and powered through with much effort. I'm beat.

[Doug Szolek]

12-7-03 morning

Swipe Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Swipes: 16sets of 10reps in 16 minutes RPE=7-8 RT=9-10

Notes: Cut out the component practice exercises because I think I've grooved the skill of the Technical Swipe as smoothly as I can for now. More work with them would seem to only compete with my actual performance of the Technical Swipes for recovery ability.

Did two bonus sets above my quota of 14sets of 10 for my OCS numbers. Let's just say I like a big cushion in case of problems at the event.

Incedentally this may be the last of my structured OCS prep workout days till early January as I don't plan to run myself into over training during my upcoming nation wide tour. That will leave me with plenty of energy to really drive home the power of Clubbells to all those attending my upcoming workshops.

[Doug Szolek]

12-7-03 evening

Mill Practice (w/ Heavy Class Clubbell)

Mills: 15sets of 16(8L8R)reps in 15 minutes RPE=8 RT=9

Notes: I will miss these distant cousins of the turbo-prop engine for the next few weeks. One week of active recovery and skill refinement leading up to my nation wide CST Workshop Tour will have me chompin' at the bit to share the strength knuckledragging with so many eager participants.

See you on the road...

[Doug Szolek]

Time to catch up the log to show just how I plan to make IMS at the upcoming OCS Championships.

1-12-04
Swipe Practice AM
9reps per minute for 16 minutes
144 total volume

Mill Practice PM
no Mill practice because I pulled my left triceps doing too many One-Handed Bruiser Swipes.

1-14-04
Swipe Practice AM
10reps per minute for 14 minutes
My Grip failed on the 9th rep of the 11th set and again on the 7th rep of the 13th set. Will have to repeat this session on 1-16-04. Oh yea, I jammed my right thumb boxing Coach Chomycia the night before so I had to adjust my grip just a bit to allow it to work.

Mill Practice PM
14reps(7R7L) per minute for 17 minutes
RPE=8-9 RT=9=10

1-16-04
Swipe Practice AM
10 per minute for 14 minutes
Got lost in Flow on the 7th set and did 13 reps, then added a bonus set for a total of 15 sets.
RPE=8-9 RT=9-10

Mill Practice PM
16reps(8R8L) per minute for 15 minutes
A OK! RPE=7-8 RT=9-10

1-19-04
Swipe Practice AM
11 per minute for 13minutes
Did 12reps on sets 7 and 8 and then did 10reps on sets 11 and 13 so it evens out. RPE=9-10 RT=9-10

Mill Practice PM
18reps(9R9L) per minute for 13 minutes
RPE=9-10 RT=9

1-21-04
Swipe Practice AM
12reps per minute for 12 minutes
From set 9 on I only did 9reps per set, added an extra set to even up the total volume but failed at about 6 on it, have to repeat this step.

Mill Practice PM
20reps(10R10L) per minute for 12 minutes
Did well, these are getting easier than the Swipes which is strange to me.

1-23-04
Swipe Practice AM
12reps per minute for 12 minutes
Grip failed on set 11at about rep10, then again on set 12 at rep 10 Have to repeat this step again with an additional day of rest before the attempt.

Mill Practice PM
22reps(11R11L) per minute for 11 minutes
Completed well enough though I want to repeat this step to keep my Mill progression in time with my Swipe progression. Also this was nearly constant work, my target volume of 240reps (both arms) in 10minutes will leave me zero rest time, should be fun :twisted:


And that's where I'm at right now, barreling down the highway with open headers and bald tires knowing that I can't stop until I make International Master of Sport in OCS. Hope to see you all there.

[Doug Szolek]

Surprised myself today :shock:

1-27-04
Swipe Practice

My goal was to do 12sets of 12reps in 12 minutes. I got a little carried away on sets 3, 4, and 5 and went up to 14reps for each of these Making my total volume for this session 150Swipes of the 25 lb Clubbells in 12 minutes! Also, to get used to the competition form I didn't set the Clubbells down between sets but rested them in shoulder park instead. Totaly brutal but oh so fun. :twisted:

Tonight I have Mill Practice and am looking to 22reps(11R11L) a minute for 11 minutes again, then the next step will be my competition numbers.

Due to the ever shortening time until the first OCS Championships I'm jumping my Swipe Practice right to the precreation of the event on my next training day probably Friday. Need lots of time, food, and movement to recover from the this hellish volume.

[Scott Sonnon]

Right on, brother. Keep 'em burning. :twisted:

[Doug Szolek]

1-27-04

did my Mills last night in fine form 8) and managed to up my tempo to allow time for the last RPM that I'll be adding Friday.

So I've got 22reps (11L11R) per minute for 11 minutes the next session is the precreated event. Here comes the hurt :twisted:

[Scott Sonnon]

Sick! :twisted:

[Doug Szolek]

1-28-04
Active Recovery

AM Session of Dynamic Range of Motion.
35-40 minutes
focusing on Clover Leaves and Revolvers with warm up and finishing circles in each range of motion.

PM Session of DROM
40 minutes
same focus to work out shoulder, elbow, and upper back stiffness brought on by the high volume.

Getting Really deep in my tension release, learning new things about myself everyday and liking what I find :)

1-29-04

AM DROM Session
40 minutes
Feeling the burn and making notable progress in the 4Corner Balance Drill due, it seems, to my inclusion of lower body clover leaves.

[Doug Szolek]

1-29-04

PM DROM Session
40 minutes with emphasis on Cloverleaves and Revolvers Sandwiched between Circles. Still more development in the 4 Corner Balance Drill.

Eagerly anticipating tomorrows OCS Event Precreation :twisted:

1-30-04
OCS Event Precreation

Swipes:
125 in 10 minutes, (Did the motions for 135 reps but due to a performance rule reguarding the use of shoulder park while resting I ended up losing a rep each of the 10 sets so I'll know for sure upon my next precreated event probably tuesday whether or not I'll get the 140 reps that I want).

Mills:
120Right arm
119Left arm

Maintained an uber-steady tempo the whole ten minutes but just came up about a second and a half short at the end on the left arm. All in all a super accomplishment. I feel so unstopable when I'm just cruisin' back and forth from arm to arm every 12 reps, flow is a beautiful thing.

Total Rep Points in this 1hour period= 244 That looks like IMS to me (and then some) :oops: 8) :D

I can't say enough to credit Coach Sonnon and his PHASE IV protocal for Strength Endurance, here's to the beginning a beautiful new Stength Endurance Sport.

Lot's of DROM and food between now and tuesday, see you all then :D

[Scott Sonnon]

Uber-natural numbers. :twisted:
See you on the platform. Rep-for-rep, brother.

[Jay76]

on the mills...are you doing over 100 reps straight or switching hands after every *** rep or so?????

Jay

[Doug Szolek]

Jay, in this workout, I was working to swith hands every 12 reps. This kept my tempo at exactly a minute for 24 (both hands) so by the end of 10 minutes I had 120 (nearly) with both hands.

What's great about this is that it's 10 straight minutes of constant work. Super effects on core strength and endurance. Not to mention the obvious strength gains.

[Jay76]

when working one arm the other is resting in the MILLS

SWIPES..since using both arms..do you rest?

[Doug Szolek]

Jay, the legal rest position for the Swipes is Shoulder Park. My strategy at this recent competition was to do 12reps then rest for around 20-30 seconds depending on how long it took me to perform the 12. This worked to get me to my goal but my new goal for 25lbs OCS Swipes is 150 in the 10 minute time period for the October Championships, and my trainning and performance strategies are evolving to accomodate. Stay tuned to the OCS forum for reports on how these strategies are taking shape.

After working the Bruisers for OCS numbers as I plan to do after the Arnold, then I think I may drop back down to the 25s and work for an even more brutal goal of 200 reps none stop at a speed of 1rep every 3 seconds. I'd like to make this goal by the end of the year.

Also I'd like to get my OCS Mills to peak out at 30 rpms (15each arm per minute) Still haven't torn this one apart yet to rethink the strategy, but it shouldn't be too divergent from the Swipes strategy.

Let me know if this helps and if you have any questions reguarding your own OCS prep, I'd love to help and perhaps see you Las Vegas in October.

In Faith,

[Scott Sonnon]

Ah, the race begins... :twisted:

Take notice Tribe... this man is an inspiration :!: