Workout of the Week

Refer to last Saturday's video for reference.

Choose a challenging but manageable weight. Take stock and be honest about what you can lift today. If you need to adjust in the middle of the workout, do it.

Complete as many rounds of the following in 30 minutes as possible. Record your loads.

5 H.S. Burpees

5 Pullups (or assisted if necessairy)

5 Barbell Pushpress

5 Tuck Jumps (jump, knees to chest in the air)

Now MOVE!

Thursday Night Blowout

No Blowout this week kids. See you this Thursday, 8:00pm at West River Health & Racquet Club. 

Email me or post to comments here to reserve your space.

Tip & Technique: Burpee Combos

Power, speed, coordination, maximum energy expenditure, time efficient.

General goals for any good workout. Hence why I'm a fan of one of the world's most detested movements, the dreaded burpee...

The thing is, say you've become proficient at your body weight, are looking to incorporate some heavier loads, but don't want to lose the skill sets you've developed, or the high intensity endurance you've developed. There's a thousand ways to do that, high intensity weight training is a very complex, very advanced area of training. So, in order to transition in there, I'm going to build on some skills we've already covered.

So begins, the Burpee Combo Series. We'll be getting more and more complex with these combos over the next few weeks, so be sure that if you decide to try these out, make sure you've got a serious hold of one before moving on to the next. This week we're building off last week's movement, the hang squat.

I'm using a standard bar with practice plates on the in order to not disrupt the view of the movement. Choose a weight that is challenging to you. I'd probably go up a bit on this in a real workout, but that's just me. Be honest with yourself. Start slow and build up.

Now MOVE!

Taking another Look

It's about time we went back to take a look at some of the underlying principals of our training philosophy. Why do we train the way we do? How can we make our workouts more efficient?

For the next few Thursdays, I'm going to go back over our 10 Foundations. Starting...now.

Part I: Train your body weight.

Start with body weight. If we can't move our own body weight efficiently through space, what right do we have to be lifting external weight? Become proficient at moving your body through space. Develop, or relearn healthy movement patterns that will decrease your chance of injury and increase your effectiveness in your workout.

If we look at training for athletic performance, you're not going to see a basketball coach worth his salt putting his players on heavy squats before they can handle themselves on the court. Why should the rest of us be any different?

Life demands athletic performance of each of us every day. I guarantee you, if you learn proper body weight squats, body weight rows and pushes, you will progress at substantially higher rate with increased safety over more traditional training. That way, when you get around to lifting the heavier external loads, you'll be using you time much more efficiently and see elevated gains as a result.

Workout of the Week

As always, be honest with yourself. Pick loads that are challenging, but safe for your performance level, turn up the music and MOVE!

Refer to the video archive for movement instruction.

30 hang squats

2 man makers

25 hang squats

4 man makers

20 hang squats

6 man makers

15 hang squats

8 man makers

10 hang squats

10 man makers

5 hang squats

12 man makers

 

Hang squat load:

Man maker load:

Time:

Thursday Blowout

Thursday blowout went on hiatus this week. I'll see everyone next Thursday, 8pm at West River Health & Racquet. Email me or post to comments to reserve your spot.

Tip & Technique: Hang Squats

"Slow down!" "Count to ten" "If you go that fast, you're just using momentum, not actually lifting that weight!!"

Sound familiar? I'd venture that any one of you that's spent any substantial amount of time in a gym, or varsity training center has heard that one. The thought is that if the weight moves too much, then it has momentum that takes a portion of the work from you so that, in effect, you don't have to exert as much through out the entire movement and thus lose the benefit of the movement.

Ok, well...I only have one question. If that load has momentum, where the hell did it come from? A barbell doesn't have the ability to spontaneously generate dynamic momentum. A dumbbell isn't going to accelerate its self out of your hand of its own volition. Now, stick with me here, this is the part a lot of hard headed fitness folk out there have a hard time following. If an object you are moving through space has momentum, chances are...YOU GAVE IT THE MOMENTUM IN THE FIRST PLACE.

That my friends is called power development. (Force x Distance)/Time = Power. Time is the speed. You have to move something of weight relatively fast in order to impart dynamic momentum that takes load away from your slow, grinding type of strength. 

I give you, the hang squat. This is a plyometric movement, so therefore it has a huge demand and is a very complex movement. So proceed with caution. This is a fantastic movement, but like all others, can be dangerous if you're not honest with yourself about your ability and fitness level.

Your goal is to go from standing with a barbell held down at arms length into a deep squat with the barbell out in front of you at shoulder height, then back up to standing. You drop down, the bar comes up. You come up, the bar drops back down. Repeat immediately. 

Like always, you're going to see this one on Tuesday, so get to practicing. 

Now MOVE!

North Jersey Kettlebell Competition

So, somewhere around six weeks ago, I caught wind of an upcoming kettlebell coaches cert here in the NYC area. Somewhere between making sure I'd completed the requisite pre-certifications and wrapping my head around a completely different movement language, I decided it'd be a bright idea to try my hand at a regional competition. You know, not that serious, seasoned athletes spend years training for these events or anything (the problem I'm encountering here is not being sure you actually caught the copious amounts of sarcasm slathered over that last bit there).

Not long thereafter, my bright shiny new pair of 24kg bells arrived and I was off. For those of you not in the know as far as this relitavely esoteric competition goes, basically you have 10 minutes to complete as many repetitions in your chosen event as possible without putting the weights down. Just because I'm a glutton for punishment, I chose the long cycle. That's a goal of 10 minutes of bilateral kettlebell clean & jerk under a 106# load. No touching the floor. No resting other than the recovery you can get holding the bells in rack position at chest level.

Anyway, back to me and the shiny new bells. So, of course I have to go ahead and give it a try. 1 minute and 5 reps into the thing, I was seriously began questioning the moral consequences visited upon the b*stard that came up with this crap (that coming from a guy who has no hesitation asking his clients to complete 250 ball slams, burpees and pushpress in the first half their workout).

Cue "Highway to the Danger Zone" and a Rocky styled training montage. Owing everything to my fantastic coaches, Lorna Kleidman & Mike Stefano, I ended up getting my ass handed to me day after day, set after set for the next five weeks. But then, what should you expect when your coaches are a two time world kettelbell champoin and a master coach as your mentors? I've experienced numerous physical changes over the years due to my training. The leaps and bounds my conditioning made to meet the specific demands of these movements over subsiquent weeks was really quite astounding. Honelstly, Lorna and Mike, I owe you guys a lot of thanks. Your guidance really got me through this.

The key here is that this vein of kettlebell sport is based on a very different style of movement. Whereas everything I have done and taught, kettlebells or otherwise, is based on the universal athletic position, soft style girevoy (kb) sport tends to be more rounded, using the body as a whip. For me it was a bit like learning Greek. I can't even rely on the background familiarity I have with gramatical structure, very different. I knew I wasn't going to contend, but to learn.

June 13th rolls around and at the end of the day I'm one of the few that did not finish the allotted time. I did however finish with a personal best of 6:05 and 22 reps at a total of 6 weeks worth of training. I'll take it.

Thank you to Mike Sanders and his crew for putting this whole thing together. above it all, I'm an information and learning junkie. I 100% appreciate you guys facilitating my being able to learn this in a way I couldn't have if the North Jersey Kettlebell Competition hadn't happened.

Yes, I'm going to keep training. Yes, I'll keep you posted as to how it's going.

Workout of the Week

In honor of our out of town guest this week, we're calling this one the O.G.

3 sets.

5 minutes, 3 minutes 1 minutes. No rest in between.

Burpee into jumping pullup

Ball Slams

Total burpee pullups:

Total ball slams:

Thursday Blowout

Thursday Night took a break this week. See everyone this coming Thursday at 8pm at West River. 

Tip & Technique: Practical Application Day

No tip and technique today kids. I'm actually headed out to NJ to put into practice everything I've been preaching. 

I'm competing in my first kettlebell competition today. Jumped in the deep end on this one. We'll be kicking of at about 10am, so wish me luck. I'm there to learn and that's just what I intend to do. 

I'll let you know how it goes.  Well wishes and positive energy are always welcome!

Generational Curse

This is one of those that’s going to get me in trouble.

Somewhere between coming back from WWII to the dawn of highly processed, prefabricated suburbia and the self obsessive, angst driven narcissistic me generation of the late 20^th century, we as a culture have learned to fail at one of nature's most basic metrics for success, successfully raising offspring to ensure the survival of the species.

I've said before that we're failing our children by allowing our 10 year olds to become pre-diabetic from nothing other than lifestyle choices. But it goes beyond that. We're failing our species. We're failing nature's most basic test. Pass or fail. Survive or not. Somehow giving the next generation a increased risk of cancer through a glut of hydrogenated oil and saturated fat doesn’t read as surviving very well to me.

Why? How? There isn't a single person out there that has yet to understand McDonalds is bad for you. We know sugar levels in Pepsi & the caffeine levels in Mountain Dew are so off the charts they'd keep Goliath buzzing for a week. So why is it still happening? Why are our kids still getting fatter?

Is it because we can't stomach "denying" our children their favorite tasty treats? Because we can't stand to see that pitiful pouty face they make when they don’t get the chocolate pop tart with the sugar sprinkles in the frosting? By continuing to feed our kids as we are, we’re denying them an exponentially improved chance of avoiding diabetes. We're denying them a head start against heart disease & cancer. But you know what, they got their happy meal, so it’s all good.

But “it's ok to be fat." “I’m proud of who I am.” I've also heard this next one too. "I know my kid has a gut. I have one too. I'm comfortable with that." Get past the insecurities and the damage done by schoolyard teasing. Be proud of yourself. Understand that you and your child are wonderful, complex & beautiful people. BUT, the extra 60lbs of fat will kill whoever happens to be carrying it around, you or your kids. It's not an "if." You're not bad, the extra fat is. If you don't respect your own life enough to take control, love your child's life enough to help him/her.

Please.

Workout of the Week

Check the left hand side bar. One of the big pieces of feedback I'm getting is in regards to the demo videos. So I've added in a video archive of all our past demos to use as a reference for these workouts. Any new videos will appear there as they're published. Now, on to the workout.

Here it is:
50 medicine ball cleans
6 man makers (choose a challenging weight. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. Push, but be safe)
40 medicine ball cleans
7 man makers
30 medicine ball cleans
8 man makers
20 medicine ball cleans
9 man makers
10 medicine ball cleans
10 man makers

Record time, dumbbell weight and medicine ball weight.

MOVE!

Thursday Blowout

There must be a call issued by our Thursday gathering, something akin to a dog whistle, or the sound the air makes before a storm the kind of a call only a select few that can hear. Canines 

hear what we cannot. Animals know to barricade their dens before the first gust of wind even begins to shift. We humans stand oblivious as nature flees before us.

 The same can be said for our Thursday athletes. I've yet to meet a mere human in our class. Thursdays call out the beasts, even when they themselves don't know wilder things live inside. I stand amazed every time.

"I don't strength train," yet she tears through the program. Beginning the evening with "Why are there skull & bones on the waiver? Isn't this about being healthy?" Then 20 minutes later through sweat and gritting teeth "I get it now," as she cranks out one more repetition.

Last week's newbie shed his human skin again for something far tougher. Gifted for finishing first with an extra helping, he still found encouragement & strength to lend his fellow athlete.

We might just have to close out next week's class by adjourning to the roof and howling at the moon.

How far can your body go? How much can it accomplish when given leave to function as one single machine, not separate parts? I think they just about found out.

Awesome work guys.

Tip & Technique: Clean Variants

I'm not going to even go into trying to teach an olympic clean via the internet. However, being such an incredibly  important with such versatile application, we need to take a look at a couple of variants at least. 

We're leaving the heavy load, one off power behind and focusing on developing whole body coordination, speed, anaerobic conditioning, and stability. 

All three examples in the video, all cleans in fact have the same three basic parts. 

1st Pull: Knees straighten and the torso maintains a consistent angle to the ground.

2nd Pull: When the knees have straightened, the hips thrust forward with as much power and  speed as possible as you shrug the shoulders and high pull.

Catch: The weight should be moving with enough energy that you've thrown it vertically. Release your grip, fall slightly back towards the ground and reposition your hands under the weight.

As with anything else, this takes practice. Then more practice. 

Be safe, listen to your body and have fun. Now  MOVE! 

100

For better or worse, here we are 100 posts down the road. Seriously, you have no idea. I considered making this a theme day. In celebration of the 100th post to Netterville Fitness, I thought of all sorts of fantastic, anaerobically challenging, mentally taxing and generally exhausting tasks and workouts I could throw out with "100" as a theme. But I actually want to turn this post around.

I ask for feedback and input on postings pretty regularly. Some of us have had some really interesting and thought provoking conversations stemming from those requests and I greatly appreciate it. This time I want to take it a step further. I'd like you to write this post.

Click on the comments link. I'd like you to post your opinion and input. In the last 100 postings, what have you found that's particularly important to you? What, if anything have you been able to take from our discussions and demos? What would you like to see more of? What have you had enough of and would probably be happy never seeing any more of? Whatever. We've had a lot of silent partners out there coming back day after day. I'd like to hear what everyone has to say.

Above all else, thank you all so much for coming back time and time again. I truly appreciate your support and participation. I hope that I've been able to contribute positively in some way to your fitness goals and that you've had a little fun along the way.

Workout of the Week

Beginning weight suggestions:

Experienced Men - 95# barbell

Novice Men - 75# barbell

Experienced Women - 75# barbell

Novice Women - 45# barbell

Be honest with yourself. It is ultimately your responsibility to be honest and safe when choosing loads. 

Start a running clock. Do one front squat in the first minute, two squats in the second minute, three in the third and so on until you cannot complete the requisite squats within the minute. 

Record your time, weight and reps.

Move.