Muay Thai and Overhead Squats

A quick note before I go into the usual. I start my first year of residency tomorrow meaning I will now be working 80 hours a week. I will try to update this blog as often as possible, but there is no way I can be as faithful as the first half of this year. For those of you who get their workout ideas from this blog, I highly recommend checking out the other blogs I've mentioned in previous posts, or those I list to the right. I highly recommend www.crossfit.com which is where I get around half of my workouts. Be careful, the workouts listed there will (and are meant to)challenge Olympic-level athletes. However, with proper scaling, they can be done by anyone. Those of you who personally know me are always welcome to contact me for questions about the movements, scaling, substitutions, etc.

Workout 30 June 2009:

Muay Thai training and conditioning, 30 minutes

Overhead Squats, five sets of five reps

Results (OHS): 85lbs x 5
Previous best: none

First was the Muay Thai training. I worked on improving my hooks by throwing them farther away from my body since I tend to throw them short and tight. Sure, they hit hard like that, but you also have to be right in an opponent's face for them to connect. Afterwards, I did several 3-4 punch combination drills focusing on power. At the end of the session, I did three different punch pyramids instead of the usual one. First uppercuts, then hooks, then straight punches. The power drills left me drained, but I was able to find my turbo button and make it through. Painful, but great session today.

After 10 minutes of recovery, I did a 5x5 of overhead squats. I used a moderate weight that I knew would be enough to challenge me, but also not force me to struggle and put my back at risk since it is improving nicely. I should easily be able to go up 10lbs next time.

If you're new to overhead squats, I highly recommend going very light. I started out with a broom handle and 6' section of PVC pipe and it took me probably six months of practice before I could safely go heavier. First, most people don't have the core strength to hold weight overhead. Sorry, but your Power Ab class just doesn't cut it. Second, and perhaps most important, is that nearly everyone doesn't have sufficient flexibility. When I first started, I didn't have enough flexibility to even do an OHS with a broom handle. Focus on your hamstrings, adductors (groin muscles) and shoulder/rotator cuff. At some point, something will just click and you'll be able to go overhead and start lifting heavier weights.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Real-world applications are generally not as friendly as the barbell is."