I had big goals going into the meet this last weekend. I was feeling really good for retaking the 220 squat record and making a run and bumping up the total record significantly. My weight was the lowest it had been in years going into the meet so I wasn’t worried about the weight cut and new I would be in better shape than I was used to.

However I was also pumped about helping my partner at EPC pull off a 97 person meet in record time. I pride myself in well run meets and was also looking to step up the ‘stage presence’ for our lifters. The week was busy and stressful at work and I took all my deload days and then some working late at the gym prepping for the meet. Building a steel framed 16×14 platform, automating my monolift, setting up software to manage the timing.

Thursday night I picked up Amit Sapir from the airport who had talked me into letting him do the meet despite not being fully prepped. I took Amit with me on Friday after weigh ins as I ran around town all day doing prep errands for the meet and listening to him say, “what are you doing! Your supposed to be relaxing!”.

I ended up passing out on the carpet in my sons room that evening and then waking up later and staying up till past midnight finalizing the flights and meet, results sheet, and meet software. Then instead of sleeping in I was up early running to the meet to finalize a bunch of prep and help train the table help. I tried to get a nap on the floor of my office but didn’t fall asleep but after the rest was feeling refreshed. It wasn’t till warm-ups I realized just how little prep work I had done for myself.

I didn’t have my deadlift socks, my whiskey, meet day supps, or my knee wrap pliers to name just a few things. I started warming up to late trying to sort out some of the details and then just a few lifters out pulled my knee wrap roller apart with one wrap rolled and the other one stuck on the broken machine. In a mad rush after getting my wrap rolled I sprinted to a chair and did the fasted knee wrap job on myself I’ve ever done…. And I may have pushed (thrown) an EPC teammate 20ft who was sitting in said chair. Then sprinted up the platform and to the bar. I unracked the weight still breathing hard and realizing there was no way in hell I could go down and back up with it.

My head was still messed up when I came up again and still wasn’t physically recovered. I squatted it but cut it high. At this point there was either go for it or not so I had 916 loaded on the bar for my third attempt which I didn’t come out of the hole with.

All in all it was an experience I needed. I like to think I can do everything and still keep going. And I keep talking about how I have to much going on in life. But the simple fact is its not sustainable the rate I’m going at. I have to make some dramatic changes in my life to simplify it. I will never realize what I am capable of nor share the gift and knowledge I have with the strength training community the way I want to unless I make some dramatic changes in my life. I’ve been running with my hair on fire for way to long.

It’s time for change…And change is coming.

Rudy Kadlub, 65, co-owns Elite Performance Center in Portland, OR with business partner, Chris Duffin. It’s important that you get a sense for who he is before you put merit into his content (and you should). An American and World Record power lifter in three age divisions (22 World and 23 American/National records in four federations over a 10 year Masters career), Rudy is a former college football coach (UC Davis, University of Northern Colorado, and Boise State). He holds a master’s degree in Psychological Kinesiology from UNC where he also did his doctoral work in Sports Psychology. He’s also currently the strongest drug free 60+ Powerlifter in the world!

Today, Kadlub is a successful real estate executive and developer of not one, but two of America’s most highly acclaimed master planned communities, Orenco Station in Hillsboro, Oregon and Villebois in Wilsonville, Oregon. In addition, he recently started a commercial land brokerage business in Portland, OR.

Introduction to Topic

Sport Psychology, though not new, in theory has gained widespread practice in the past two decades. Today’s athletes and teams at all levels employ professional sports psychologists to assist in the acquisition of both fine and gross motor skills and to achieve the highest mental focus and self-confidence levels necessary to optimize physical performance.

The following is the first in a series of articles that Rudy will share with readers at KabukiWarrior.com designed to improve your ability to learn and put into use the skills necessary to reach levels of achievement you may have never dreamt possible.

An Eye on the End Game

A wise man, maybe it was Yogi Berra, once said “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” To translate: without a goal, dream or purpose in your life you are adrift in a massive ocean in a boat without a sail or a rudder. With no end game in mind, millions of humans stumble through careers, diets, relationships and leisure time resulting in mediocre income, poor health, loneliness, and boredom.

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve - Napoleon Hill

The Power of Thought is immeasurably critical in the development of human behavior. Thinking about what one wants leads to an autonomic response. The thought of food may cause hunger pains or salivation, for example. Consciously bringing forth into the forefront of your mind an item one desires will set in motion both conscious and unconscious brain activity designed to help guide you in your quest. Having this goal or purpose in your thoughts lends focus to one’s actions. Philosophers, religious teachers, business authors and athletic coaches have known and preached about the secret of achievement for thousands of years yet only a small percentage of 21^st century humans have learned or applied this secret to their daily lives. The simple act of thinking about something you want to acquire or want to achieve sets your mind in motion to figure out a path to do so.

If you have had success in any area of your life it likely can be said that preparation met opportunity. One quality necessary for success is having that “ definiteness of purpose”, that is, the knowledge of what one wants and developing a burning desire to possess or achieve it.

Have you ever wanted something so badly that your heart actually hurt? A new car, or a new home for example? If you wanted it badly enough, you probably put a plan together to satisfy your desire. Maybe you got a second job or sacrificed immediate gratification like those every morning grande lattes to save your money. Because you wanted it so badly you automatically started behaving in a way that would help you acquire it.

Preparing for success in sports takes more than long hours in the gym, on the track, court or field – it requires formulating your goals (consciously thinking about what you want to achieve). There are several important steps you must take in setting your goals in order to trigger the desired behavioral response.

Goal-setting is easy if you follow these simple but important steps:

1. Think of your goal in an objective or Measurable Saying to yourself: I want to be slimmer, stronger or richer will not trigger behavioral change. You must be definite in your goals. For example, stating “I want to weigh ___lbs.” or “I want to be able to squat or bench ___lbs., or even “I want to have $____.00 in the bank” (plug in your own numbers) are definitive, measurable goals.

2. Make the goal challenging but Attainable. It is critical to your success that you set lofty goals so that you are stretching yourself, but reasonable enough so you do not become frustrated with failure of what is improbable. If you are a 175lb strength athlete, for example, you might set a challenging goal to bench press 1.5 times your body weight (BW), then after accomplishing that resetting to 300lbs, then even 2X or 3X BW. However, setting an initial goal of say 700lbs would likely just lead to failure and discouragement.

3. Set a definite but realistic Timeframe for achieving your goal. Give yourself enough time to work your plan but not so long that you procrastinate the plan’s implementation. Write down a definitive date on which you plan to achieve your goals.

4. Put together a Plan for success. Write your goals down and keep them in a convenient place so you can review them daily. Keeping your goals in the forefront of your mind is key to keeping you on track. Lay out a ‘step-by-step’ plan to guide yourself. The plan should include daily, weekly, monthly, and annual actions that you will take in pursuit of your goal(s). Write your plan down, keep them with your written goals and refer to them daily to be sure you are behaving according to your plan.

5. Picture yourself as already in possession of the goal. You must develop a belief mechanism in order for goal-setting to function properly. If you don’t believe-you won’t achieve. Mental imagery is one of the best ways to accomplish this. Take a second right now to picture yourself already in possession of/performing the goal. If you set a weight loss goal, for example, picture yourself at your perfect body weight. We will delve into this technique in detail in future articles.

6. Develop a burning Desire. The difference often times between those who succeed and those who do not is the passion of the goal-setter. Some people only make a wish, cross their fingers and hope it comes true. In the world of successful people, however, you will find that they have developed a burning desire to achieve their goal and will not give up or be deterred until it is achieved. Also-rans give up at the first sign of failure or setback, but the champion will not be denied. He or she will push through injury, minor setbacks or failure until the goal is achieved because of their unrelenting desire for accomplishment.
   

7. Share your goal only within your Circle of Trust. Be careful to share your goal(s) only with those who truly share you beliefs. A simple comment by a spouse or friend such as “I’d still be proud of you if you just did half of that” may undermine your belief system or erode your passion.

Are you ready to improve and change your life? If so, don’t procrastinate another minute. Take the time right now to start thinking your way to success. Envision your new self, write down measurable, challenging, time-certain goals. Next, write down your daily/weekly/annual plan. Remind yourself everyday how much you want it. See yourself as already having achieved the goal in order to solidify your belief system, then share it only with your Inner Circle-the people you know believe in you. If you don’t have someone, you can share it with me because I believe that ‘whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve’.

-Rudy ([email protected])

Last week I took a trip to visit my friend Mark Bell at his new facility. We had a great time shooting interviews, podcast, and some great instructional pieces I did with some of his athletes. I’m looking forward to these pieces coming available on the public domain for you to see in the coming weeks.

On the last day before catching a flight out of town we decided to do a quick Q&A from the social media following and posted up request to questions just before the final workout of the visit. Unfortunately there were so many questions that came in we were barely able to get to a fraction of them, but hope that you enjoy the ones we were able to get to.

Additionally here is the workout video for last week which covers the time at SuperTraining.

People often under value the role of a team in individual sports. That statement is not an oxymoron as team and individual performance are not diametrically opposed. While it is true that lifting can, and is, done by some individuals entirely by themselves there are substantially more strength athletes who gain from relying on their team.

The role of a team in an individual sports such as powerlifting, olympic lifting and even to some degree bodybuilding is:

• Encouragement – That encouragement or support to dig deeper and push harder
• Reality Checks - Calling out your depth isn’t good or that you didn’t lock that out. Or you just being flat out stupid with your training
• Remove Obstacles – Assisting lifters at meets, reminders to stay hydrated or just keeping the focus on a big training day.
• Physical Support – Spotting, loading, lifting off, or helping with gear

We are social beings and we simply perform better in supportive groups than when we do alone. I am a big proponent of training in teams. Even without a team physically present we can see people using social media to seek out and fill those same team roles noted above.

It’s not just powerlifting or strength training that operates this way. Many ‘individual sports’ you see today require teams to succeed. Look closely and you will see them. MMA, NASCAR, Golf you name it and there will be at least a small team supporting them.

Do you want to realize your peak potential? Then find a group of like-minded individuals that have those needed skills and create a team. This is what we have done at Elite Performance Center building numerous world Champions and All-Time record holders and what you can see with my online team at EliteFTS.

Spotters in my other hobby - saving my ass

In December of 2012 I tore my right adductor in a meet. I had actually had some minor tearing early in the year and had been managing it to keep training but with a 782 competition squat it let go on me.

After rehabbing the area I determined a need to reduce my injury risk. With squatting wide and pulling sumo it simply puts a lot of strain on this area that is sometimes slow to recover. It is also a faily common injury point with lifters.

One of the ways I have reduced this risk is with ensuring proper recruitment patterns are firing before this heavy eccentric load. This is done with a specific warmup routine and test-retest methodology before jumping under squats. I reviewed this warmup routine on Breaking Muscle.

That write up only covered that specific warmup and also skipped the hip-airplane that I often employ as part of it.

In this video piece I go into depth on the hip-aiprlane that is used before I squat and pull but also passive compression and some targeted volume work. The passive compression can make an instantaneous improvement if you have some issues in this area and also seems to improve recovery as well as reduce injury risk. I employ passive compression in training on pretty much every heavy set for this reason. A hammy band or a compression band work great. In addition to the passive compression it’s great to work in some volume work to stimulate flushing of this low blood flow area. An example of this is provided in the video as well.

This is not the be all and end all of groin health, but just the methods I have employed with success. It has allowed me to successfully move from that failed squat at the beginning to the standing world record 881 squat 2 years later with no aggravation of this injury.

Last weekend I took a trip to Las Vegas and worked with my friend Stan Efferding (Worlds Strongest Bodybuilder) and also Eric Spoto (worlds strongest raw bench presser). I have been working with Eric Spoto on his rotator cuff surgery rehab plan over the last several months. Eric has been working with his physical therapist on his rehab plan while I was guiding him on his training in the gym and other recuperative movements that fell within those parameters. With Eric’s progress he had reached a point that we could begin incorporating the ShouldeRok to deal with some of the root issues that could have led to his surgery to begin with. It was time to build the platform for ongoing strength and shoulder health for his continued dominance in the bench press, prompting this trip.

Upon learning that I was coming down I received a text from Stan asking if I could help him dial in some changes to his deadlift. At least the text was sent to my phone, but I was confused as he was referencing the “mad scientist” for assistance. Upon arriving at the Iron House gym Stan cleared up that he was indeed talking about me, as you will see in the following video. Upon reflection the nickname is fitting given my tendency to tinker with and improve everything including my machining, 4 wheeling rigs, gym devices, and human movement.

Don’t worry the actual coaching videos will follow in coming weeks: “The Mad Scientist of Powerlifting”? Stan Efferding w/Chris Duffin

Originally posted on EliteFTS.com

The following program is built to rapidly grow one’s work capacity while maintaining strength. There will still be gains in strength at this time but the goal is to make substantial gains in work capacity without sacrificing strength, as often happens. It may take a full cycle to ramp up to where you are able to work at full capacity as written in the Week 1-3 phase.

To do this, use smaller loads on the prowler, grappler, swings, or reps on the rope so that you can complete the entire HIIT session. Then over the first three weeks of the cycle, ramp these loads up as your capacity increases. In following cycles your goal is to start at that higher load immediately at week one and maintain through week three. From there, use the same weights/reps/time-on but cycle down as prescribed by dropping circuits or sessions.

[Editor’s Note: The information you see on this piece of paper is straight from the mind of Chris Duffin. Dave gave Chris a call one afternoon and asked that he help contribute to the Make-A-Wish Holiday Manuals. Immediately, and without pause, Chris sat down and recorded the precise methods he has used to help himself and other lifters at Elite Performance Center. There is no second-hand recreation or low-level journalism tactics to make this appealing. It is simply the thoughts of an all-time world record holder.]

Here is some more information about how I usually train. Based on the above workout and the basic tenants of my training methods, you can get a good idea of how you can put these techniques to use.

• The most important thing for any lifter (0:07)
• Duffin’s training protocol (0:25)
• How and why does Duffin measure the speed of trainings lifts? (3:05)
• How does Duffin adjust his training parameters based on the speed of his lifts? (5:06)
• How do Duffin’s training methods change when in preparation for a meet? (6:36)
• What allows Duffin to recover from heavy training more easily than most lifters are able? (8:12)
• How Duffin coaches at Elite Performance Center (9:53)

This post isn’t just about the rehab process. It also gives you a view into the mindset that it takes to never give up and not only overcome a major setup back. And to do so coming back stronger and more motivated than before.

In October of 2010 I tore BOTH the Sternal and Clavicular head of my left pec off their attachment to the humerus. This required surgery and installation of 3 titanium studs followed by rehab. Since that time I have continued to receive multiple emails, Facebook messages, and YouTube questions due to my rapid recovery prompting me to put this piece together. The typical recovery takes 12 months before getting a full release to train heavy, along with the caveat that you will never be 100% again. In the process I’m sharing with you here I had regained mobility within a matter of weeks and had progressed enough that I was training to compete at a powerlifting meet at 6 months. At 9 months I was in competition setting not only a personal record for a total but also landing a Top10 All-Time Powerlifting total. Given the standard rehab process and the experiences of other lifters this was a significant achievement.

The primary content of this article is the video series itself. It is important to note that there is significant risk of re-injury if you pursue these aggressive methods without the proper knowledge or supervision. If you choose to take that risk you can significantly reduce your overall recovery time, yield greater long term recovery, and develop a cascade of other injury due to overcompensation patterns.

With my current knowledge and resources I would take a little bit different approach in regards to the specific details of my recovery. However the overall process would still center on the same core concepts:

Mobility and Range of Motion

• Begin mobilizing the area and work on regaining your range of motion as soon as possible. But stay inside the pain threshold and listen to your body. Every day try to take it a little further. Find a great therapist or other practitioner that can assist you with mobility drills.

Work the Movement Patterns

• Begin utilizing and working the muscle through the movement patterns it is used in. Find a great therapist or other practitioner that can assist you with proper movement patterns.

Recovery Methods

• I spoke extensively about the use of Super Cissus in this video series.
• Also incorporate other recover methods such as foam rolling, trigger point, active release, deep tissue, graston, or stecco fascial to name a few. (I used nearly all of them and then some)

Stay Active

• Train what you can, you will be surprised how even training one side of the body will help you retain your strength and power overall.
• Don’t go INTO pain but play on the edges and continually move that boundary.

Other key points include setting aside the time and potentially money to invest in this being a primary focus. You need to be working on recovery every single day and multiple times a day. You will be pushing the limits of potentially re-injuring the area so you MUST connect with and listen to your body.

Due to the extensive number of video’s I will only embed a few of them. The rest will be linked.

The original injury was done by just being stupid and playing around. After a 2 hour bench press workout I decided I would attempt and iron cross… after never having done one before.

Week 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9bOlcROYx8

Week 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r_jdiAG1ho

Week 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEu4YRU2_8s

Week 5&6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrRrkg7ZklI

Week 20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl3uEoKfyOk

Week 26 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQN986InL4Y

Week 26 Bench pressing with Slingshot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBw1bfG4mco

Here are some excerpts of how I trained just one side of body or didn’t let my arm being in a sling hold me back. Mind you these methods are bordering on the side of ‘stupid’ in on some occasions… but it does dive home the point of don’t let anything stand in your way. I was squatting and doing 1-arm deadlifts just days/weeks after surgery

500×6 No arm squat

One arm deadlifts in a sling

Tire flips only weeks out

And finally my meet at 9 months post surgery. That 1008lb squat took a significant toll on my pec otherwise I believe I would have benched in the low to mid 700’s at this meet.

Don’t every give in and thing your done. Giving up just means your taking the easy path out. Use your obstacle to overcome as motivation to dig even deeper.

By Chris Duffin

If you watch my weekly video’s you have likely seen my hanging by one hand from a pull-up bar and asked “why”. Its’ not because I’m hoping someone will toss a banana at me, although with my current diet I would probably be quiet happy about that. As with most things I do there is a reason and it may be something of relevance to you as well.

In seeking to overcome some long standing elbow issues that were beginning to significantly impact my deadlift I was referred to Ido Portal. Ido has some interesting concepts worth exploring. One of which is hanging. This is primarily done for shoulder health, which in my case with the use of the ShouldeRök™ is not necessary.

However the tractioning on the elbow from both directions was worth exploring. I had already been doing static holds with a barbell for the last couple years to work on my grip strength and desensitize my thumb for the hook grip. With that in mind I wasn’t expecting much from the hangs and was surprised at the difference I found. In this case I began doing full passive hangs letting everything relax and hang. Doing so I found that even the grip became more challenging than when just holding on in an active movement such as a pull-up. With the passive hang everything is stretched from lats, scap, tricpes, biceps, and all the muscle of the lower arm and fingers.

I quickly transitioned from doing static holds to doing passive hangs and within a month had switched to one arm hangs. It wasn’t until the single arm hangs that I began really feeling a difference in my arm. The extra force as well as the dynamics of the hang put a lot more force and traction on my elbow from both directions. Grip also made a dramatic leap forward as I progressed with the one arm hangs. There has to be something with pulling on everything through that entire chain that helps over working the grip in isolation. This has been the first time I’ve made significant progress on regaining my grip strength since the first of my elbow surgeries 3 years ago.

In summary there are three things the single arm hangs to do for me all with one movement:

• Elbow Traction / Elbow Rehab
• Grip Strength development
• Pain tolerance development
• Hook grip maintenance (keeping thumb desensitized)

If you’re not a ShouldeRök™ user it will also benefit your shoulder health as well

From a logistics standpoint I did the single arm passive hangs 3-4 days a week for 3-4 sets of approximately 20-35 seconds each. Essentially till I had a dramatic drop off in grip strength or increase in pain levels beyond tolerance. To develop to that point I was doing 2 arm hangs until I could consistently hit 2-3minute holds with 5-7minutes total per session. I was doing this on the same frequency as noted. According to Ido some people may need to start with an Active Hang which he describes if they have shoulder health or mobility issues.

Currently I am disappointed in myself as I have fallen out of the habit of doing them after GPA worlds and the following Holidays. I will be adding a pull-up bar at my home to facilitate working these consistently into my program again.

A thanks goes out to Dr. Philip Snell for pointing out this path to me. Make sure to check out his websites myrehabexercise and fixyourownback.