Sunday, August 30, 2009

Tip & Technique: Kettlebell Press Progressions

Well, I finally won that fight with YouTube.

So here you go. Kettlebell press, push press and jerk. Watch closely. Something tells me this might just show up on Tuesday.

The point of the progression is that with each step, we're transferring more of the load motivation to the lower body, thus allowing you to work with greater loads than would be otherwise possible. The body is one system. The more you train it as such, the more efficient you become and the more you can accomplish.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Tip & Technique: Kettlebell Press Progressions

Having a fight with YouTube today. As soon as it let's my video up, I'll post and let you know. Until then, here's a bonus workout.

20 minutes max rnds:

5 Pullups (assisted if necessary)
10 Burpees
15 Sutups
20 BW squats

MOVE!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Foundation X


Squat Damnit!

There is nothing more functional, nothing more applicable, and nothing SAFER in training than the squat.

End of story. I don't want to hear it. Scream whatever kind of shearing forces, compressive forces, lower back issues you want to. If you move through your day on two feet on a regular basis, you should be doing some sort of squatting.

You squat every morning getting out of bed, every time you get up from your morning constitutional, get out of the car, up off the subway seat... You squat. Shouldn't you practice to be better, more efficient and stronger at it? Knee problems, hip issues, lower back problems; there is a variant of the squat that can and actually will help you improve. That having been said, if you have any of those issues, remember, consult a licensed professional before taking on any physically exertive activities. Learn your limitations, how to work with them and get busy improving your strength and mobility.

Pick a sandbag up off the floor. Stand up off a 6” to 12” step repeatedly. Put on a backpack full of books and squat down to touch the floor, stand up, rinse and repeat. Load a bar with your 3 rep maximal load and go to town. Whatever. There is a variant that fits your level in such a way as to challenge your fitness and coordination.

You're working posture, coordination, legs, hips, back, shoulders, proprioception, balance…The sheer act of walking is a form of reciprocating unilateral squat. So find something, put it on the ground or some place that lends its self to easy loading and PICK IT UP!!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Workout of the Week

Refer to video archive for reference

50 Wallball
10 High Pulls
40 Wallball
20 High Pull
30 Wallball
30 High Pull
20 Wallball
40 High Pull
10 Wallball
50 High Pull

Keep in mind the fundamental difference in the hip movement of these two exercises. High pull is based more on the deadlift, so the hip moved back and forth in space to create power. Wallballs are essentially a progression of a squat, with a very pronounced vertical component to the hip's path.

Choosing load: On a scale of 1 to 10, you should be lifting at a 7 or 8. Go at your own pace. Be honest about your ability and scale the loads to your ability.

Loads: _____ _______
Time: _____

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Thursday Blowout

You kids better not just be getting soft at the beach while you're gone. If so, it's just going to be that much tougher when you get back.

See everyone this Thursday, 8pm at West River Health & Racquet.

Also, we're very excited to host this October's Orange Kettlebell Club NYC workshop featuring the OKC crew and Coach Denis Kanygin. Click the link below for details.

http://workoutiq.com/blog2/services/workshops-and-clinics/advanced-kettlebell-sport-workshop-nyc/

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Tip & Technique: Hydro Ball

When was the last time you were walking home from the grocery with a nice, evenly loaded, stable and symmetrical load of groceries conveniently loaded across the back of your shoulders? Or when was the last time you carrying your kid through the mall and he/she obligingly sat motionless and efficiently distributed in your arms?

The point is that more often than not, the things we're lifting, pushing, pulling and moving throughout the course of our daily grind are unpredictable, uncomfortable and often unpredictable loads. So...why not train that way?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Foundation IX

The Other Balance


You've trained yourself to balance your body, now train the body its self to be balanced. Instead of equilibrium, this time I'm talking about balanced movement. For each push, there's a pull.


You've seen that guy walking around the gym on pencil legs with the rounded shoulders, knuckles dragging the ground while he walks? That's anterior rounding. He's not working through his back and legs as much as he's working his bench and those "curls for the girls." He's also predispositioned himself for injury and back pain. Don't be Neanderthal man. Train balanced movements.


Pull a weight towards your body. Do it a certain amount of times. Now find an equivalent weight and push it away from the body in the same manner. Pick a weight up and throw it away.


Take foundations 2, 4, 5 & 7. Get outside, reach down to the ground, pick up something heavy and throw the thing as hard as you can. Ask the boys over at the Eads House of Pain how much fun it can be to throw a kettlebell on the beach.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Workout of the Week

Use the video archive for reference. Work to your capacity and be safe.

100 SumoDeadliftHighPull
10 Deck Squat Ball Slam
75 SDHP
20 Deck Squat Ball Slam
50 SDHP
30 Deck Squat Ball Slam
25 SDHP
40 Deck Squat Ball Slam

Yes, you can hate me in the morning. Suggested loads, intermediate women begin at 30# for SDHP & 10# MB. Intermediate men might want to look at 45# for SDHP and 15# MB. Listen to your body and be honest. Mark loads and time.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Thursday Blowout

Looks like the Blowout was still on summer break. Post to comments or email me at jtnett@gmail.com to reserve a space in this coming week's event.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Tip & Technique: MB Rotational Throw

Let's get into some more partner work. This one is pretty straight forward. Let's take come "core" conditioning, add in some explosive power, the complexity of throwing and catching weighted objects and the often times unpredictable nature of another human being.

Medicine ball rotational throw. Grab a challenging ball, probably around 12# or more and go to it. If possible make sure you have a Dynamax or other soft ball. You do not want to catch a wild thrown hard medicine ball with your teeth! So go at your own pace and build up from there. I suggest starting with one minute sets with a 90 second rest interval in between.

Now MOVE!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Foundation VIII

Train your balance.


In practicing Foundation II, you've already started this process.

You're on your feet, now move your feet in closer together and try the same movements. Maybe not so challenging? Now stand in a staggered stance with one foot a few inches in front of the other. Practice like that for a while. Maybe pick up one foot, balance on the other and try like that.


It's like saying "This one goes to 11!" If you've got all your stabilizers switched on and firing just by standing up, now we're ratcheting them up a little higher by challenging your equilibrium. The more you challenge your body's ability to maintain balance, the more you're challenging it and stimulating strengthening responses from the body.


It would be nice if all life's demands were thrown at us when we're standing at the ready in the universal athletic stance, but they're not. You never know when you might have to jump back up the curb because of that taxi you didn't see coming. And you're certainly not necessarily going to be standing in correct neutral posture ready to receive your luggage in the middle of the swarming throngs of people at the baggage carousel when you lunge past that blue hair in front of you to grab your bag.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Workout of the Week

50 Seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest & transition to the next movement. 5 complete circuits. Mark time and loads.

Deck Squat/ballslam ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Pullups ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Wallball ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
SumoDeadliftHighPull ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Thursday Night Blowout

Thursday Night was on summer break last week. I'll see everyone this coming Thursday at West River. Call or email me for reservations.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Tip & Technique: Deck Squats

You know, I just had another conversation with a gym goer yesterday. I've never seen and don't know that there exists a better abdominal development movement than a regular old situp. Given that you're not in a rehab focused program, just get down on the ground, go through the whole movement and teach yourself to do a real situp without sticking your feet under the couch! Grow. and challenge yourself to be strong enough not to pull yourself up with your hip flexors.

But I digress. I'm going to go on the assumption that you've already incorporated situps into your routine or have at least heard of them. Let's take it a step further; complete abdominal development with posterior chain strength & anaerobic endurance....Sounds like fun yeah? Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I give you the Deck Squat.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Foundation VII


Don't Limit Yourself to the Gym.


Get outside. Get some fresh air. One of the great fitness pioneers and one of the strongest men ever to walk the earth, Arthur Saxon himself, was a huge proponent of getting out in to the fresh air. "Outdoor work helps to develop this (pure) energy, and such sports as wrestling, swimming, walking etc. etc, keep the muscles in order and give enduring strength which steads the lifter in good stead..." (The Development of Physical Power, 1906) There were very few things he valued as much and there currently are very few things I believe allow us to connect out routines and programs to our actual lives.


Practice doing the things you enjoy doing or find yourself doing every day. Take your regular afternoon walk, but wear a backpack with a few pounds of books in it. Take the dogs for a jog instead of a walk. See how many times you can squat down and lift that 2 gallon jug of olive oil you got at Costco from the ground back up into the trunk before you have to rest. See if you can make it all the way across those monkey bars.


Make your fitness plan real and immediately related to your routine.

When you make tasks in every day life harder, the rest is cake.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Workout of the Week

3 Rounds:
5 minutes of each, 3 minutes of each, 1 minute of each

Partner Row
Kettlebell swing
Box Jumps at 18" tp 24"

If you don't have a partner, go make new friends. If you still don't have a partner, set the load on the cable row at your gym to an appropriate resistance for this kind of endurance movement. Attach the rope tricep handle to the cable and go to town.
As far as the kb swing, men try starting with 40#, women 30#, but adjust from there depending on your
own fitness
. The same goes for the box jump. Adjust to whatever height is most appropriate for your fitness level. Do not rest in your comfort zone. Push yourself, but be safe.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Thursday Blowout

Thursday Blowout went on summer break last week. We'll see everyone this Thursday at 8pm. Email me or post to comments to reserve your space.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Tip & Technique: Partner Row

Here's one for you and your workout buddy. Partner row. We're talking about serious anaerobic endurance training. The key here is that you are providing the resistance and load for your partner.

Sit facing each other, feet braced against your partner's feet. Loop a couple of towels around each other you hold both ends of one of them so you're linked with a towel chain. Pick which one goes first, and go. Lean back as you row your hands to your chest or arm pits. Your partner should give you enough resistance to allow you to move, but just. When you've finished your row, return the favor man. Resist your partner to just enough to allow them to move.

Start practicing with 20 or 30 rows each. Progress to working with time goals. What does it take to finish 10 minutes of those? 15 minutes? How many could you do? How are those forearms doing when you're done?