Today, I’m doing a scaled version of the CrossFit workout called "Michael". You can look up the full variation. I often do variations of this since it is such a good fundamental workout for core muscle groups. And none of the muscle groups really interfere with other work that I do.

Here is the version I’m doing today.

4 Rounds for time:
Run 400-300-200-100m (begin each round with each)
40-30-20-10 reps of–
hyperextensions (or GHD extensions)
sit-ups (regular or GHD)

Some research has shown that soreness isn’t a necessary component of muscle growth. No pain, no gain has largely been debunked. However, some would say that people who say that want the quick fix or the little pill to swallow that avoids hard work to get what you want. We always need hard work for growth. So I’ll say instead, getting sore every workout shouldn’t be a parameter that you check off your to-do list when seeking growth.

Soreness can be caused by many different stimuli. But you can almost guarantee an eccentric component is part of the picture; maybe a big part of it. Just to refresh, concentric contraction of muscle is the muscle shortening phase. If you measure the extreme ends of the muscle tendon from insertion to attachment, that shortening can be physically measured as muscle contracts. Then, when you release the contraction, the eccentric phase is the lengthening of the muscle. However, muscles don’t completely relax while it is under load. It still puts out little myosin-actin bridges or micro contractions to lower a load with control. The lengthening, or eccentric contraction, is where most soreness occurs. It happens as you lower into a squat, as you release a barbell curl to full arm’s length, and when you lower a military press from overhead to the rack position. Sometimes you want to maximize eccentric contraction with tools like negative reps and partner assisted lowering with extra pressure. It has been a big part of old school bodybuilding forever. So yes, eccentric is still essential, but soreness isn’t always the desired outcome.

So, can we really avoid eccentric contraction in a workout?

The answer is an emphatic YES! Haha, I say that tongue in cheek because you’ll see where we still go a little eccentric at times. But here are a few ideas for eccentric work:

1. Sled drags – when you pull a sled horizontally across a surface, it is nearly 100% concentric. You never have to kinetically lower a sled from a high action potential (excerpt from my days of physical chemistry). It is always on the ground. Your quads and glutes are burning on all cylinders, but its all concentric. Yes, you still may get sore because it is really hard, but once you are trained for that kind of effort, you may not get sore anymore. Movements like Farmer Carries are close to this as well because you don’t pick up the weight very high and you lower it a couple inches back to the ground.

2. Olympic weightlifting – this is where tongue in cheek comes into play—yes, there is still a squat in Olympic lifting. When you catch a clean at the rack position and lower into a squat, that is eccentric. The same is true when you catch a snatch. But, what if you used a manageable weight that you caught either in a power clean or a clean where you don’t lower when you catch. Then, it would be almost all concentric. The key is dropping the weight. So if you are not in a gym that allows weight to be dropped and that doesn’t have bumper plates, you’ll be in a jam. Again, kinetic energy. From floor to overhead is concentric, but if you use any effort to lower the weight, it adds the eccentric. Let’s say you are doing power cleans. You clean it, then drop it, then do it again. Its a great workout without any eccentric contraction.

3. Throwing/lifting movements – a strongman atlas stone or soft stone lift is perfect! You can lift it to shoulder or overhead, then drop it. Med ball slams are pretty good too. Lift it and drop or slam it to the ground. Try a 30 or 50 pound ball 20 to 100 times and you’ll realize what a sick workout it is. And its nearly all concentric. You can also do a wallball drop. You can’t catch it or that will be eccentric. This is better for a heavier med ball. Do like a wallball throw to a mark on the wall or rafters, then let it drop. Clean it and then do it again.

You can get really creative with this. Basically, anything that starts from the floor (no potential energy) to some height (maximum potential energy), then drop it. That will most likely be concentric in your body.

When do you use strictly concentric lifting?

You use concentrics when you don’t want to or can’t get sore. I teach yoga classes and I need to be able to demonstrate poses to students. If I can’t do a pushup (chaturanga) or a squat (chair pose), I’m not going to be able to demonstrate. I can’t afford cramps either, especially in hamstrings or biceps. So, either I don’t workout the day before class, or I do concentric work instead. Also, maybe you are on a deload for competition; maybe you’re running a race on the weekend; or maybe you are working as a massage therapist or tire changer and you need to be able to function at work—-that’s when you use concentrics.

I hope this gives you something to think about. Have fun and keep at it!

Train smarter!!

My YouTube feed is full of workout videos, lots of fishing, some travel, and motivational videos. And by workout, I mean Strongman, CrossFit, Olympic weightlifting, a little bodybuilding, yoga, Ashtanga yoga, animal yoga, and Tai-Chi. Yes, I end up watching a lot of Joe Rogan too.

If you subscribe to Joe’s feed, you’ll notice a lot of talk about David Goggins. Not only directly with David Goggins, but other people talking about him as well. But I was never very interested to watch. I mean, I would start and quickly change the channel.

To be honest, when I first started watching videos before YouTube or any social media, there were other venues to see such things. Often they were web pages, listservs, and bulletin boards. What turned me off about David Goggins was the same thing that turned me off about this video called "Every Second Counts". There was this brash guy who couldn’t talk without cursing every other word. Mind you, I was raised in a household that never cursed. When I got into the Army, there were guys who couldn’t say a single sentence without a curse word in it. It was just how they were conditioned to speak. I never felt the need to communicate that way. Even when I later became an Army Infantry Drill Instructor, it wasn’t something I had to do to be hard and get my point across.

But eventually, this guy on "Every Second Counts" broke me down. I started to see through the inflammatory language and get to his point. This man was David Castro. He has been the 2nd man-in-charge throughout the life of CrossFit. He was an ex-Navy Seal and instructor, so he has built this vocabulary over the years. Since I was also in the military, I gravitated toward what he was talking about; and it lead me down the path of CrossFit that I still do today. The actual video that hooked me was one called "Nasty Girls". It was a workout done by 3 ladies who got after it to the original tune Nasty Girls. They did cleans, strict muscle ups, and air squats, really killing themselves along the way. I was amazed at how they could do that. But that path is a whole other story.

As I circle back to David Goggins, all I could hear at first was the coarseness of his words. I couldn’t see through that and walls were built in my mind. But something finally broke through a month ago and I decided to give him a chance. Like my wife says, if there is good character development in a story, she can listen or watch a story or movie and be totally engaged. That’s what got me in his book. His book doesn’t start out about how great David Goggins is; it started at how broken he was. The story of his abuse as a child was my hook. I felt anxious and in pain as I read. And then I couldn’t put the book down. I ended up staying up 4 hours past my bedtime that night.

Mind you, I’m intelligent, but not necessarily a fast reader. Fortunately, I had some air travel ahead of me and that’s where I can read voraciously. I finished his book and let it settle into my mind for a while. Then I started watching Goggins Clips on YouTube and anything else I could find on him. When you go back to the broken boy, the 300 pound depressed man, and mental challenges of his intellect, it opens your mind to what he has accomplished in life. It goes beyond the physical into what the mind is capable of.

Since I have a history of ultramarathoning, backpacking, and even CrossFit, I really connected with what he was saying. I’m also a Yoga teacher. Believe me, more than any other practice in life, I feel yoga helps us deal with limitations. Either you are very strong but inflexible or very flexible but weak. Some people can bind into pretzels but can’t do an arm balance. Others can handstand for 10 minutes but can’t do a half lotus. It explores the limitations we put on ourselves and opens your mind. This is exactly what Goggins is getting at.

Goggins has reinvigorated my mind. And, in turn, my mind is changing my body. The past week has been amazing for working out. I’ve explored more of what is possible. But not only have I evaluated on paper what I’ve done, but how my mind has faced adversity. I won’t regurgitate all the ideas from Goggins book (though I probably eventually will). Let me just say its very profound. Its nothing like I’ve experienced before.

Give his book "Can’t Hurt Me" a chance. And if you’re like me, you can buy the "clean" version. I hear the audiobook is even more amazing. More to come on the after effects in my life.