HIT has always been the way.

March 31th

" younger women,faster airplanes, bigger crocodiles"

Authur Jones motto.

WO du jour:

warmup: dips, back extensions, situps, KB joint mobility.

"bad Fran"

For time 21-21-21-21reps

KB 2-20kg thrusters

Pullups:

16:22 Not and easy session. last two sets of thrusters make you want to cry.

I could write endless stories about Arthur Jones, known for his Nautilus fitness equipment. A high school drop out who never made it past 9th grade, but was making 300 millions dollars a year selling has Nautilus machines. Bush Pilot in Africa, carried a .45 pistol all the time, had one of the largest Private exotic animal farms in the county. Arthur Jones was one of the first to promote HIT or low rep, heavy weight, high intense resistance training.

Prior to the 1970, you never saw a machine in any YMCA or gym in the US, the only fitness equipment was free weights and maybe a pulley arrangement. Arthur Jones is almost single handed changed the way we train in fitness clubs with his 30 min. circuit of machines still in vogue.

All you have to do is meet the guy once and you will walk away always remembering the encounter. I first met Arthur Jones through the exotic animal business, but later become involved in the Nautilus club business as one of the trainers. I did not stay with it long even though high intense training was the way to go, just not with machines.

He died rich in Aug 2007 at the age of 81.

So the next time you are using a fitness machine in a club, like Nautilus or Hammer Strength( owned by Jones' son) it is the brain child of a high school dropout, who smoked cigarettes, lived on coffee and scrambled eggs, hunted wild animals in Africa,flew big jets for fun, walks around with a .45 in his belt, and married 6 women ages 16-21 you can thank Mr. Jones.

Powerlifting or how the other haft lives.

March 29th sat.

"verity is the spice of life, as long as you don't get caught"

WO du jour:

100 abmats

100 20kg KB swings

100 pushups

100 snatches;

100 squats

16:18 for a short session first thing in the morning.

Worked at a local powerlifting meet. This was a Small meet as it is one of the first to the year for USA Powerlifting, featuring a bench and deadlift combo. A meet like that goes real fast, because when you leave out the squat, it save 50 percent of the time. Powerlifting as well as Olympic weight lifting has a very small following for such a large county with prides its self on being strong. If you truly want to be strong, then you need to work in some powerlifts and OL lifts into your routine.

New kettlebell exercise.

March 27th
" Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."
R. Collier



WO du Jour:
warmup: bands, KB light passes and swings, helos, renegade rowing 30 reps of 45#, 100 abmats, goblet squats 50 reps 14kg.


for time: three rounds AFAP

• 500 meters rowing
• 30 reps each hand KB floor press with 28kg.
• 30 reps barbell sumo high pull #85 lbs.
• 16:54 time.

Found a new exercise with the Kettlebells, but I am not sure if I seen some one else do it before or maybe I just got creative all of a sudden. Anyway it is a two hand swing into a squat on the up swing of a basic two hand swing. It adds some more effort to the swing especially when you make it an overhead type. This combo is also a good hamstring burner. Now do we need another Kettlebell exercise? No but if you can get more variety in your training, why not.

The Girevoy sport people say you don't need any other exercise other than clean and jerk and snatch done is long numbers. They are right to some extent, and you can also get basically fit running on a threadmill, but if you use kettlebells for general exercise and fitness, then you will need to expend on your techniques, depending on you fitness goals.

back from vacation

March, 26th

" Take calculated risks. That is not like being rash you know.

George Patton.

WO du jour:

warmup: abmats 100,pushpushs50, squats: 100 pullup 20. bands warmup for shoulders.

14kg swings: 100 reps.

barbell: power cleans 95# 4x10 reps.

Its good to be back at the grind.

15 mile bike ride: not an easy ride with all the rest, plus having a cold, however it was good weather for a ride, so you just suck it up.

I had a conversation with a young lady that was trying to find out what the best way to loose the fat around her abs and get in better physical condition for summer. Her current fitness program consisted of 1.5 hours on a treadmill and some ab machine crunches. I asked just how long she expected the continue this program without getting borded or injured.Well she was already frustrated for lack of progress as she had been at this for a month and making no progress. I asked her about what she was doing in regards to diet. She was trying to eat better, but she was having some trouble purchasing good food as it cost too much money on a limited budget. fast food is cheap compared to good fruits, veggies, and good meat. Yes, there is some financial sacrifice to eating good clean food or you can end up like a lot to residents that are obese or just plan fat. Eating low grade food is mostly a chose of selection and not always cost, but uneducated people tend to eat poorly do to lack of knowledge of what is good eating.

One lift at a time.

March 16th.
" About the only thing that comes to us with little effort is old age"
G. Pitzer.


WO du jour.
30 min. on the bike roller....snowing out.


Barbell Dead lift: 250lbs doubles, overhand grip, AFAP
Olympic Dumbell press 60#, one arm, standing unsupported, pronated grip, AFAP/.
Keep going from DL to Press without stopping for 20 min.

Kettlebell bottom up press: 14,16,20,24,Kg. Missed the 28kg.

It not effective to do high reps all the time as you need to train typeIIB muscles, with low reps and speed.

Why be dumb, use smart exercise.

March 15th.

"The two most common elements in nature is hydrogen and stupidity."

Harlan Ellison

WO du jour:

Warmup joint mobility and foam roller.

Cross fit "Barbra" rounds for time.

time: 17:14 great time as I did not rest between sets, but did slow on the pullups.

40-5 reps, 32kg-10 reps, 24 kg-20 reps........ ladder rowing, then floor press
3 continous sets.

The reason why people join health clubs is to get fit and look good. However, the success rate in achieving those goals is poor, especially retaining members long term. Majority of club members, are bord or lack energy to train after only a few months of membership. You will see a new members join, attend day after day and slowly the frequency diminished as the months go by to where they are not showing up at all. Most will tell you as they come in to quit, when asked why they are leaving, you hear basically the same reply, " I am board, I don't use it that much and need to do something else. " The picture at the right is a "dumb lift"

Well I would be bord out of my scull too if I did the same dumb exercises they were doing. Hell I would not last a week! whats dumb about exercise? simple arm curl, or seated press.

Reeling back a few years, there was an Olympic weightlifter named Norm Schemansky who won 4 metals in his 25 year lifting career. After lifting to a gold metal in 1956, he came back to the US where no one met him at the airport, so he took a bus home. Thats a true story. That is also why OL lifting was never a strong sport in the US.....no support. Anyway the man was well over 220 lbs and ripped hard muscle , so when he was being interviewed just prior to his retirement, a mullet from a body building magazine asked him what kind of curls he did to get his 20" biceps. His answer, was simply, " I have never did curls, and don't know if they would help my lifting any. You see up until 1968 Olympic weightlifting was a three lift event, Press, snatch, and clean and jerk. To train for the press you did a lot of heavy rack presses so naturally your arms were engaged to the max. Most OL lifters in that era had big arms, unlike the 2 lift competition we have today.

So what your point besides asking dumb questions? The curl like many of the body building exercises are body dumb......or lacking functional challenge for total development. Without constantly increasing challenge or complexity, we stop growing. what that happen next, we just stop trying, quit, do something else. Now I not totally righting off a simple exercise like the curl, However if I was bodybuilding, I would be doing more "complexes". A complex takes several exercises, sometimes as many as 6 or 8 in a string of continuous movements without setting down the weight, however mostly compound exercises, standing close chain. Example would be a highpull, deadlift, clean, push press, and front squat, then a scots press as one set. The complex can be done as singles or double for beginers and up to 6 each for advanced.

The pricture at the right is of Vickor Sots who invented the "sots press", that is going into a full squat clean,press the weight overhead then stand. That's is what is called a very "smart lift"

One of my favorite simple complex exercise is the "Manmaker". That is performing a deadlift with a dumbell or kettlebell, clean, push jerk, squat, squat thrust, pushups and back up to a deadlift. Its a real killer cardio beside working every muscle in you body.

Being bored is an unnecessary affliction with all the exercises, and tools available. Train smart, change exercises and combinations often. Make your routines challenging by always training to add power, speed, endurance and volume. Make it a goal to lean one new exercise each week to add to your tool box of workouts. It going to take a life time to learn them all.

no I am not "dirty harry"

March 13: Thursday

"Man is so made that he can only find relaxation by one kind of labor by taking up another."

Unknown.

WO du jour:

warm up: Joint mobility:

Grip-taskic kettlebell routine for 10 min.

#1 "crusher gripper" 10 reps each hand

at the range:

100 rounds of reload .44mag shooting at 50'

100 rounds of .22 Olympic style target.

I focused on one of the basic fitness components and that is accuracy. When shooting a gun especially a pistol requires a combination of eye control, endurance, grip strength and low pulse rate. I Ideal shooter is one that has no pulse, total concentration, and muscle control of one finger you can hit any target. As we all now, we have a pulse that constantly moves your body no matter how well you relax. Therefore the fitter you are the lower you pulse rate.

There is a endurance issue in shooting so that you can hold the weapon for long periods of time in a relaxed state. This is difficult in an experienced shooter and and even a 30oz pistol become like a lead weight after a few minutes of shooting. This is where work capacity comes in. Remember doing 100 push ups? There the gun will not feel that heavy in the long term.

Anyway, I have not been to the range in some time, but since my pulse rate is lower than the last year my score was improved without shooting practice.

My .22 shooting was right on. and my .44 mag shooting was solid and did not have the hand fatigue as in the past with all the kettlebell work.

The high cost of oil and sex

March 12 wed.

" Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place."

Billy Crystal

WO du jour:

warmup: heavy bag for 10 min. and foam roller.

500 meter c2 rowing: AFAP ......much better starting pull.

25 ring pushups

25 abmats

for 20 min.

Its hard to determine which price is going up faster, oil or hookers. Our now New York State x-Governor was alleged to have paid $5K for a hooker services, which to me sounds a little extravagant even for a very rich man. However, that is the my point with our current cast of political leaders. they are all rich and can afford the excesses of life what ever they desire,therefore have no reason to campaign to bring price in line. On the other hand the average Joe has to mortgage his kids college fund to pay for gas to go to work, because our leaders are spending their lives making themselves feel good at our expense.

we are loosing too many

March 10th. monday

" an emeny is anyone who will get you killed, no matter what side he is on"

Joe Heller.

WO du jour:
warm up: bands, foam roller, 100 abmats, 100 pushups,
grip-tastic for 5 minutes.
Kettlebell rowing: 32kg, 36kg, 40 kg.
floor press: 16kg, 20kg, 24kg, 28 kg.


Yesterday we lost 5 solders in Iraq to a IUD. It was setup to be a safer operation with no car traffic as the men combed the area. However, some nut-job strapped on explosives and blew himself up in the name of religion. When is this madness going to end.

when is it going to end! gobal warming my ass.

March 9th. Sunday.

"Rich bachelors should be heavily taxed. Why should some men have more fun than others."

Oscar Wilde

WO du jour:

Warm up: foam roller, bands, abmat,push ups and heavy bag for 10 min.

3x10 reps rope around the body passing with 16kg. kettlebell

4x2min 16kg swings.

4x2min. 16kg. snatches

2x2min 16kg. long cycle press.

3 reps bottoms up press. 12,14,16,20,24kg. for speed.

5x20 reps reverse ring rowing.

The weather sucks. you can't even walk the dog unless you wear every thing you own. Yesterday it rained all day while others in the nation were pelted with heavy snow up to 2 feet. Where is this global warming the sentinels of your environment been, not where I reside? Its been cold since the first of November and show no signs of changing. today's temperature is in the low 20's but at least the sun is out and the rain has stopped. Anyway its at least good sleeping weather.

The problem of global warming is not the environment, but the many agencies, educational institutions and think tanks, that the government and Private industry will be handing out money to determine the scope of the problem. Until the money runs out, we will be inundated with concepts of how our earth will survive only a few more years unless, we stop driving our cars, eat less, and shutdown all the power plants. North Korea has already did this so you have some idea what life will be like if our planners have their way. Marvelous simply marvelous.

How many kettlebells do you need?

March 8th.

"Mankind can not stand much more reality."

T.S. Eliot.

WO du Jour:

400 meters run:

100 air squats

400 meter run

75 air squats;

400 meter run

50 air squats

400 meter run

25 air squats.

14:10 cold and raining. suck it up.

How many kettlebells do you really need? It depends on you fitness level, type of lifting you will be doing, age, sex and disposable income. If you are going to lift in Girevoy sport, you need special kettlebells made for that activity at a 100 dollars or more each standard kettlebell. depending on weight, age and sex you may need 12kg, 16kg for woman, 24,and 32kg. for men. you may want two of each weight when performing the "long cycle".

However, if you use the hard style kettlebell(RKC) training,that performs all types of exercises, you may want more weights, also depending on your fitness level and disposable income. However, most get more than they really need but if you can afford it its no big deal. If you have limited funds then 12,16, 24, 32kg will be sufficient to get a good workout any day. If you are real strong, then you can go to the 40 to 48 kg for mutants. Or if you are doing fitness classes, then you may want to stay on the lower end of 4,8,10kg.

Once again the number of bells you will need is contingent on the exercise you will be doing and you fitness level. Example, if you can press a 16kg 15-20 times, then you can go to a 24kg. however the change in weight is 20 pound jump and you may have to jerk it of assist it up until you have the strength to press the 24kg by itself. or if you only have a 16kg, you can add, bands or chains to increase resistance.

How many do I have? I lost count at 30 and thinking of my next acquisitions. It like ladies having a shoe fetish, you can never have enough kettlebells.

3000 years of training science.

March 6th.

" let each man exercise the art he knows"

Aristophanes

WO du jour:

"grip-tastic" for 10 min. 12kg KB

Bike ride:

20 miles easy pace on my hill ride. Its early but there is hope. Snow is melting away but lots of sand on the roads. watch the turns.

I was discussing with one of my clients yesterday the difference in western VS Asian fitness training. Like Yoga and many of the martial arts date back over 3000 years of history and development, unlike US fitness sports which not even 300 years has yet to survived the test of time . Take Kettlebells as an example, there are pictures dating back two thousand years in India and China of kettlebell like implements used to strengthen the body. Most any art or physical study in Asia was a total physical/mental process to make the body healthy and above all functional. There was always a life's skills conponent as an end result of your training.

n

When I was studying Tang Soo Do in the early 60's, it was not just to be able to kick someone ass, but to be healthy and strong in mind, spirit and body. In those days you never saw a black belt that was fat or over weight regardless of age, unlike what you see today in US schools. Our daily training activities included, running outside regardless of weather, basic body weight exercise for strength(something like crossfit in work volume only more) joint mobility, skills instruction, speed training, core work, mediation and stretching. If you maintained the training constantly for at least one year, you were well on you way to becoming a black belt and fit has hell. Few Americana's survived or continued the training when they saw how intense and hard, even for military personal. However, any one who continued to train found that belt awards did not mean that much as you finally realized what was really important, and that is the physical benifits you were gaining as a result of such total training. You also found by working with others students that had gained black belt status, that it was really the beginning of a long journey that never ends. It was not unusual to see 40,50 year old black belts you did not really want to fight as you were usually about to get a ass whipping from them.

Now when I stated to training in US schools, the training was dumbed down physically and mentally so you can assembly line people to a black belt AFAP, make money and not get sued for physical abuse. Basically you could buy your black belt or any color belt as long as you stayed with the time and payed your fees. It was like a navy SEAL trying to stay fit doing step aerobics classes. I did start up a school in the in the 70s during the era that Bruce Lee made martial arts famous, but after I begin to see that all people were interested in getting a black belts so they can show there friends how bad they were. I eventually shut my down my school and never put my Tobak back on again. That was also during the time of 20 year old 10th degree black belts and 30 year old masters, who now invented their own art with their vast experience.

So whats remains today is a mixed bag of fighting systems called Mixed Martial arts, which is not art at all, but a sporting event, featuring a bunch of young white males, with a lot of anger to quell on each other, and who show who is the cock of the rock. Basically bloodsport. Yes, those who find this kind of sport to their liking are usually in good physical condition, but it seems to be limited to young males. Its not lightly you will ever see females, mature or senior citizens participating in cage fighting. The end result once again, is to pervert a method of physical development into some form of ego boosting activity which has limited benefits for the few.

jump down and give me 50.

March 4th,

" Evil to him evil thinks"

King Richard the III

WO Du jour:

50 abmats: great for back.

50 box jumps: 18" too early for 24"

50 jumping pull ups: they may be fast but not that easy.

50 16kg snatches:

50 lunges with 2-10 kg kettlegbells. Not that easy as well

50 KTE kettlebell style

50 push press: 2-12 kg kettlebells (52 lbs) I did 30 then 20 reps. Punked out.

50 good mornings with 24kg kettlebell.

50 wall balls with 14 kg kettlebell (30#) that was fun.

50 burpies: save the best for last.

When I was in the military and later studying Tang Soo do from the Koreans, we were told to drop to the floor and pound out 10 or 20 pushups for not doing the right thing. I look back now, if I was in change of this discipline that number would be a lot higher. There is not usually a day goes by that I don't drop down today and punch out 25-50 pushups, 75 when I feel good, and a 100 when showing off. However, that's the standard pushup, but we all know that if you can do more than 20 pushups you need to do another variation to get more training effect, like a handstand pushup. Anyway for those who can not do at least 20 good pushups; in plank position, full extension from floor, there is really no need to use weights until you can.

Nothing more pitifull seeing a healthy male or female doing light DB presses who can't do one good pushup.

Workout, say what?

March 3rd.



" The sign of a celeberity is that their name is worth more than their services."
Dan Boorstin.





WO du jour:



"Linda:" using barbells today for a change.


10,9,8,7,.............1 reps for time.


Dead lift:


bench press:


power clean;


15:10



2nd session:
15 mile bike ride on the roads. Weather was great! 15MPH pace. 1st ride on the roads in a month.


Last weekend I found out they are having a third season of the reality show, "Workout" which features a Beverly Hills, ultra high end fitness spa owner Jackie Warner and her marry band of personal trainers. Yak and double Yak! Now Jackie Warner owns this one of a kind spa over looking some of the most exclusive real estate in the country. Jackie is a hot looking chick, with great abs, but forget about her guys, she likes girls. She should be saying" I don't know which is giving me more problems, my cheating lesbian girl friends or my gym of dysfunctional trainers".


As for the trainers, they all have real backgrounds in some form of fitness, but only trainer Doug looks the part of a fit trainer who believes in what he is instructing. However, during the last season, he really did died at a fit age of 44. His boy friend was devastated.


I watched the show to see what a personal trainer does to earn over a 100+ dollars an hour to make his or her clients look good. If that all it takes by what they push their clients to do, every one who has ever jumped on a treadmill, will be signing up for the profession ASAP. One show had a young lady client who was at least 100 lbs over weight on a fit ball doing light dumbbell curls to loose weight. At the rates she is most lightly paying, she should be bankrupt before she can get into her first bikini.


Real celebrity personel trainers, are expected to get their famous clients fit quickly. They pay well, but their famous clients are busy people that want real results with no BS, as their stock in trade is their looks. Therefore to service celebrity clients, you have to be very effective with no non sense training sessions, something the show "Workout" does not do.

Hybrid kettlebell training.

March 1. (march already? where does the time go?)





" Do something. If it does not work try something else. No idea is too crazy.

Jim Hightower.





Session1: warmup with bands and joint mobility.


" kettlebell Angie"


100 pushups:

100 situps: abmats

100 air squats:

100 kettlebell 24kg. America swing.

100 pullups: band assisted no kipping. ( I REALLY NEED TO IMPROVE MY PULLS UPS)

time: 14;52

session 2: 100 air squats then jump on the rollers for 30 min. at 100 RPM.




Hybrid or sometimes called MET( metabolic enhancement training) , is the basic system I follow most of the time since I stopped competing in a sport. it allows me to do the following: Therefore I use any tool or method necessary to make life a little unconfortable.

• more work capacity with less time. more time to enjoy pain.



• more blood flow to all muscle groups all the time.



• no mental or physical staleness, always ready.



• more changing of movements from pushing and pulling variations, each routine.



• power, speed and movement concentration all the time. However speed is prime.



• more joint range development. Big concentration this year.
  


• full body exercise most of the time. who the hell wants a haft a body working!



• functional movements most of the time. walk and chew gum too.



• Hormone activation. No sex change however.



• intense protocol all the time. What else.



• Use of many types of fitness tools(including hammers) for functional movement.



• Higher level of fitness. Why be normal.



• Ever changing program. Boredom sucks.



• look at fitness in a more global instead of the aerobic or bodybuilding modes.


• better body compostition. Look good naked.

Man with the plan

Feb28th.

" Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.

Peter Drucker

Session:

warmup: foam roller, bands, air squats, heavy bag, and light KB joint mobility.'

Dumbell clean and press warmup: 35#x12reps, 45#x10 reps ( goal is the Sig Klien standard of 75# clean and PRESS for 12 reps from floor to overhead)

Kettlebell presses: 20Kg,1,2,3, reps,24kg 1,2,3 reps, 32kg,1,2,3 reps, 36kg, 1,1,1,

Kettlebell rowing: 40kg, 3reps after each set of presses or 12 sets.

100 ab mats cool down.

Peter Drucker was a high priced management consultant to organizations and author of many books on planning and getting the job done in business. I had the pleasure of attending two of his seminars, complements of the organization I was employed by, to provide us with the best education on managing our objectives. ( we were responsble for postive results on our objectives)

Planning can be as simple as set of objectives laid out in your daily planner, 3x5 card, white board or it can be a complex time line project management program, taking days to prepare. However, without a plan laid out, it is unlikely you will fulfill your job assignment efficiently, if at all.

When it comes to fitness, going into the gym without a plan is like going to the prom naked, you got there, but you got little nothing else. A simple plan can be; set the days you will be training each week, allot the time each training day, the type of exercise you will be doing, and how much time spent on that exercise. Now that is what the vast majority of club members do to fulfill their fitness objectives. It's alright, but you can't expect to stick with this program unless there is more defined objectives and feed back systems to insure progress.

You don't need a real complex, mind draining system, like a 52 week periodzation plan the the so called professionals use. That is too hard to follow and may even lead to over training, if you can't keep up. However, you do need to at least write down some basic training plan of what kind of work load you will on doing each session, what kind of fitness level you expect from that training and at the completion of each session, note what was accomplished in a training log. Then review the training log weekly and adjust the work load based on the feed back from previous training. That way you can keep on track and at the some time have a work in progress system that can be adjusted based on growth and life style changes. Sounds simple, but few ever do this type of planning, and therefore get the results that lead to little progress.