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Interview with World Record Holder Alicia Weber

posted on June 29, 2010

A long time ago, I set a club record for the 500m ERG Concept II indoor rowing.  It was 1:27 of pure hell.  Basically I broke the race plan down to about 47 strokes.  I started with 7 very hard pulls (to use up my ATP/CP) followed by counting 30 strokes hard but very relaxed with a good rhythm and good breathing patterns, then finally the last 10 pulls I stopped counting and pulled for dear life!

The secret is having a plan.  But what are the thoughts going through your head during the 1 minute of hell?

Do you count steps or reps?  Even UK marathoner Paula Radcliffe counts steps for a mile.

I asked Alica Weber, holder of numerous rep-based WR, this question.

SpeedEndurance:  Congrats on your 35 push up WR on med balls.  What is on your mind when performing repetitions for a WR?  Are you actually counting the reps?  Is someone yelling out every 10 reps for you?  Can you describe some of your mental strategies on your other world records (i.e. pull-ups, chin-ups)?  Tell us more on your other med ball pushups WRs!

Alicia Weber:  I gauged my pace and counted my reps in my mind for my 3 med ball pushups. In other exercises and longer exercises, I may have someone call out reps or I count and call out my reps every so often.  I block everything out and enter my own world when I am record-setting.  From my practice sessions, I knew I could do 35 reps correctly in 1-minute.  For this record, I am required to start the video at 0 with my arms in extension and end at 1-minute with my arms in extension.  My full body must be in the view of the camera at all times with no distractions.  Med ball pushups and regular pushups must be completed on a hard surface.  My legs must stay straight with a flat back (no hips sticking up and involved) with only abs working.  I am required to have a full-body side view and full-body front view.  The arms must come to 90 degrees or break parallel for pushups.  The record-setter must wear clothing that shows the arms and legs (i.e. tank top or short-sleeve shirts and shorts or other form-fitting clothes). NO long sleeve shirts and/or baggy clothes.  Proper clothing is mandatory to accurately assess proper form for the exercises.  This is a standard in any physical fitness test setting.  If any of the above rules are not followed correctly, the record attempt will be thrown out.

READ  Interview with Jimson Lee (by Joel Smith)

Due to the intense concentration and balance involved in 3 med ball pushups, I learned to find a rhythm and keep it. If I get off my rhythm or go too fast, I will lose balance.

The balance aspect puts this exercise in a class by itself. I will have a different sport psychology with this balance exercise than in pushups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, sit-ups, etc.  In general, I practice the exercises so much that I begin to formulate a rhythm.  Unlike the med ball pushups, I can learn to go really fast, while keeping proper form with all the other exercises. The muscle memory kicks in and I know what to expect in each exercise.

Official WR Double Screen of the 35 reps/min Med Ball Pushups:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=105585062

*The 3 med ball elevated leg pushups are 2 times more difficult than the 3 med ball pushups and the 2 med ball tricep pushups with the elevated leg (with the chest touching the med ball for a rep to count) are 10 times more difficult than the 3 med ball pushups.

On March 9, 2010, I completed 25 reps a minute of the 3 med ball elevated leg pushups.  Also on March 9th, I completed 6 reps a minute of the 2 med ball elevated leg tricep pushups.  Here are double screen highlights from those record exercises:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=104605863

I hope I answered the questions well and gave readers some things to think about!

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Jimson Lee

Jimson Lee

Coach & Founder at SpeedEndurance.com
I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.
READ  Move over Matt Bogdanowicz, here comes Alicia Weber!
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Jimson Lee

Filed Under: Fitness Testing, Interviews Tagged With: Alicia Weber

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

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  • Alicia Weber’s 45 Minutes of Maximum Strength World Records! – The Weber Way to Wellness says:
    September 15, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    […] pullups/chinups and handstand pushups will not be published because those categories are not open. The international governing body needs to restrict categories and the rules are very strict.  Alicia’s Ring L position Dips were declined a world record, since not all the reps were […]

    Reply
  • Alicia Weber – 24 World Records in 2010 & 10 Sports in 2009 – The Weber Way to Wellness says:
    January 8, 2011 at 8:21 pm

    […] Feb 6-March 9, 2010-Alicia Weber started her 33 day “5 Areas of Physical Fitness Challenge” with a 30 minute pull up world record enroute to a new mind-blowing 1 hour pull up record where she blew away her old record by 161 reps for 721 reps.  The one hour event is very grueling because you need to find a pace and keep it the whole hour.  She kept a pace of 12 reps a minute.  Then, 21 days later she did another mind blowing endurance feat with 680 chin ups in an hour (145 reps over her former record)!  These 1 hour events are taxing on the muscles, but she is so well trained that in between these two endurance feats, she wasn’t recovering, but setting more records (one every 2 and ½ days)!  In between these feats, she set 6 world records ( 2 shorter duration chin up WRs, 2 single-leg speed jump rope WRs, a jump rope running WR, and a Ring Dip (L-feat) 1 minute WR)!!  Then, March 1-9, Alicia set 4 more world records in pushups as she increased the level of difficulty by adding medicine balls to pushups. […]

    Reply
  • Alicia Weber “The Machine” – World Records – The Weber Way to Wellness says:
    April 6, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    […] – Pushups on Medicine Balls – Pushups, 1-minute while balancing on 3 medicine balls (with 22 cm diameter) Current Record with RecordSetter.com:  52 See Video Former Record:  38 reps on May 7, 2011 Clermont, FL, Former record:  35 reps March 6, 2010  VIDEO 1  VIDEO 2 *Pushups, 1-minute while balancing on 3 medicine balls (with 22cm diameter) with an elevated leg 25 reps March 9, 2010  (Details on this are in rare strength feat section here) *Pushups, 1-minute while balancing on 2 medicine balls (with 22cm diameter)with an elevated leg 25 reps (The chest must touch medicine ball for rep to count details here) VIDEO DEMO Former Record: 10 Nov 19, 2010 at Live Show, Former Record: 6 March 9, 2010  Read More about Alicia’s Medicine Ball Records here […]

    Reply
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