Rowing when the lakes are iced over.

Not the water rowing as it has a small but dedicated following, but the indoor C-2 rowing set that is also in many gyms and especially Crossfit boxes. I have had a Concept 2 rower since they came out in the early eighties. The Concept 2 company constantly upgrades the ergs (the mechanical frame work) but also so the computer, unique to fitness equipment. This equipment is the 4^th generation I have purchased. (A happy customer) 

            I have even competed in the indoor “ergs” at the national crash-B, where you put yourself into a stress zone you may not want to repeat too often. I will never forget my first Crash-B’s when they asked it you want to be “coached” This 20 something chick sat next to me  from the college to be my “coach”. When the horn sounded to start rowing, this “hottie” turned in to a “stroke  Nazis” ,screaming in my ear, everything except profanity, to produce cardiac arrest. I loved every minute, but thought it was inappropriate to kiss her for her assistance as being “some old Letcher”    

            It’s the best Tabata instrument you can have as it tracks and computes while you suck wind. The big element is that the equipment is Iso-kinetic(it gets harder you pull)  ,now they have a similar device for X-country skiing motion. That piece of equipment is here to stay and not a fad.  The biggest followers of indoor rowing are Crossfit boxes as a piece of mechanical equipment, has the means to induce some very hardcore fitness activation and measureable results. You have a small computer to maintain a continuous performance in your face that is what makes this equipment so evil. (Also this is why you don’t see too many rowing in” Globo” gyms)

            So my advice, if running and other high impact joint fitness is not in your program, you may want to spend some quality time on the C2 erg.If you don’t believe that in can produce training effect, just do an all out 2000 meter piece at max rate and try to stand up….surprise, you can’t!

Today’s Rowing: 8 sets of 500 meters with one min rest (rest is keep moving but no pressure)

Ken

The mission is sacred

2013 my not be a year for the chain fitness clubs.

1/14/13

 

 My  training today:

Warm-up; Stretch bands, Indian Clubs, and joint mobility  
Leg ups and wheel roll outs 4 set each
Deadlifts: 12 sets of 2 reps
Kettlebell floor press. 28, 32kg 5 sets of 5
Dumbell rowing 75# 5 x 5
Paul Dick Floor press:
Rowing 2000 meters.

2013 may not be a great year for the Chain fitness business.

Based on what I have read in the latest Club industry paper, things are not looking great for this year’s business. There are a number of things what insulated the fitness business during past recessions, but this one is on steroids. Like always there are a few issues with their business model and the changes that are taking place in the market cause may prolonged recession and market dynamics. Here are some of the issues:

1. The recession is still in our faces and the unemployment is not 7.7% ,which is a deceptive number and should be somewhere around 12% and not decreasing, as insufficient new jobs are not being created. This is now hitting all business across the nation as this recession is going on for years now. You can’t ride this one out.

2. The economy has hit the middle class the hardest, who were the largest customers of chain health clubs. With less disposable income they can no longer afford even the bargain basement clubs at 10 dollars per month. The middle class will take years to come back to the mid 2000 year’s wealth….if ever.

3. 75,000 dollars a month is not uncommon for a large chain club overhead, with fees, equipment and rent, employees etc. to ever break even at 10 dollars per client, you will have a low margin. Therefore the 10 per month club is not a great investment in a tight job market as you need more bodies to keep the lights on.

4. Private equity business have normally picked up a few of these chains like Planet Fitness, and now rejecting clubs like 24 hrs Fitness as not a great investment. Equity firms will buy any business, even low performers as long as they can cut the fat and eat the steak. Once you are taken over by Equity Corporation, you’re a pawn for a few high end Harvard MBA types, who just want to make money and could give a rat’s ass about what you are doing.  In their defense, they save some of the business from total bankruptcy, after they make the appropriate business positive corrections.

5. The Obesity problem is not going away and getting worse. Most people unfairly blame the fitness business for not altering the problem.  The chain fitness finally realizes they have a problem as they don’t have a good program or message.  They are doomed as you need a well qualified staff to monitor and program the clients instead of just handing out towels and fucked up energy drinks. That requires more overhead for trained staff, and increased employees they can’t afford now.

6. Speaking of message. One of the upper management people of a major chain was upset, when their New Years promotion resembled soft porn. The employee said”our fitness business is a fraud and all about fashion.” That person is not unemployed there anymore. You see it on TV every so often, highly fit models that probably never train in those gyms and have personal trainers to keep them ripped. Fraud; maybe, but surely deceptive.

7. The big chains are finding that their business of relying on client volume year after year is no longer working, especially when you have to drop your prices to 10 dollars and still make a profit. Some of the HVLP chains will still be out there, but if they  over expand in a poor economy, they too will have rough time as the recession shows no sign of going away for years.

8. The dirty little secret out today in the fitness business, is that the small box, Micro crossfit or private strength gyms, which has a low client volume and much higher fees is making money and growing. Then there is the specially gyms like MMA ,Kickboxing, Yoga, and personal training clubs are doing well also as they cater to the more serious client that will demand results and want to be surrounded by like individuals. Its not uncommon to pay 200 to 500 dollars a month but at those prices YOU WILL get what you pay for and the pressure is on the client as well as the owner to get fit as well as looking good.

9. with all the mergers, consolations, equity buy outs, the fitness business can never hope to sort itself out as a solid business model to help the public. It’s really the fickle consumer that is at fault as they are always looking for a quick fix, without too much effort. In fitness that is not going to happen.

10.  The Chain fitness business is driven by the people they should reject. I know of one Crossfit gym, that if you want to train there, you sign a paper stating that you will make improvements and train has hard as everyone else or you will be terminated and your money is no good. There idea is that you are not going to make their club look bad by not getting some results.

The mission is sacred

Ken

resistance complexes of Javorek

1/6/13

 My  training today:

Warm-up; Stretch bands, Indian Clubs, pushups, boot strappers, joint mobility legs mostly
4 sets of ab rollers and 4 sets leg ups.
Zercher  Squats with “fat bar”  6 sets of 5 reps. I min rest between sets.

 2 sets of Dumbbell complex: 8 deadlifts,6 front squats,4 thruster/squat clean. 2 Push press all with one dumbbell and not rest between sets.

2 sets of Kettlebell complex: 8 deadlifts,6 front squats,4 thruster/squat clean. 2 Push press all with one Kettlebell and not rest between sets

Second session:

Bike sprint intervals

Ring rows:

GHD situps
20 min on heavy bag; Mostly legs and hard hitting (last 5 mins is a “death march” )

Resistance complexes.

       For many years off and  on I have followed the training protocols of Istvan Javorek who had a very successful career as sports conditioning coach and author.(we are the same age) His training is a series of dumbbell or barbell “complexes” or various exercises put together to enhance metcom or conditioning (GPP). Now the series of exercises Javorek assembles, is structured for a physical preparation that is well designed for its intent. These complexes is not to be confused with some of the crap you see on You Tube which for the most part is a bunch of shit put together to make you sweat you ass  off,  but little else.

            Complexes are very stressful, especially if performed under time constraints and good form. Form degrades quickly using complexes like many Crossfit WODs do ,depending on the weight and exercise. You have to make sure you get full extension and flexion of the muscle groups you are training. Deep squats, full extension on presses, back and abs activated on each exercise.

            Start out with a “ken and Barbie” weights when you first go through the complex. There you can set the form and timing for the routine. After that you scale up as you need, but since they are mostly all full body, closed chain exercises, they can “gas” you out quickly, and you will have to embrace the suck big time.

            Today’s training started with some strength movement which was the Zercher squats, by themselves. Used a  single dumbbell and performed a 5 movements on each arm and rested one min. I did two rounds with a dumbbell and followed the same exercises with a Kettlebell. I did increase the weight on the second round. I did not do a third round as my squatting was getting into poor form.  Using One arm sets really overloads the legs, especially when performing thrusters or fronts squats.

            I don’t think the Javorek was a fan of kettlebells, but with my background I have more variations of exercises to use on these complexes. I find some exercises are easier for Kettlebells and some for dumbbells, but the barbell is always harder as you tend to use more weight. The very upside to this type exercise which goes fast and furious tends to be more fun than just reping out shit. I observed some real professional athletics crash and burn with some of javorek sessions, who appears to have no humanity to weakness.   Try some ever so often.

Ken

The mission is sacred

 

 

 

 

 

"Long tail" fitness business model

1/3/13

Warm up. Joint mobility, Indian clubs, bands.
5 sets of 500 meters rowing and 5 reps L/R Kettlebell snatch
Barbell good morning: sets of 5
Ring dips and pull-ups, ladders 1-10 (that was not easy)
GHD sit-ups 4 sets of 10.
Prone triceps extensions with dumbbells.
30 min on heavy bag; with some gear.

Great session!

 "Long tail " fitness business model

            This is term “Long tail business” used by the “black Irish” publishing company and the work of Steven Pressfield and Shawn Coyne. It’s a new business model to capture the business opportunities on each end of the bell curve not covered by the large corporate structures.  We are not talking about scraps left for  the “bottom feeders”. It can be significantly profitable to those who laser focus on one area that is not being addressed in that business world.

            Pressfield and Coyne and “Black Irish” publishing have self published using the available new media and by-passed the mega publishing firms that basically have a monopoly on that business. For example they publish Steven Pressfield’s book, “Warrior Ethos” to our men and woman overseas free of charge. Now a major publisher would not allow this to happen as they are not getting a cut. These are some of the things that are happening to the new media, where anyone can blog, Kindle or e-books without a publisher. Result; book stores are closing by the thousands.

            In regards to the “long tail” fitness business model, is the “small box” or garage gym part of this? This fitness business model has been around since weights have been invented. Now it seems to be coming of age by Crossfit, who has building a following of “long tail” fitness facilities that the Globe business does not cover. The owners of the Crossfit” boxes” are semi independent but still have an affiliation fee to apply to the over head each year. Very modest by franchise fees I must say. To startup a Crossfit box is one hell of a lot cheaper that starting up let’s say, a Gold’s gym franchise, plus you are about 90% independent as to how you conduct your business. Most Crossfit boxes are mostly all profitable and owner satisfaction is also high.

             There is another new adjunct business model, as an off shoot of the Crossfit model, which is more independent than being affiliated with that organization. This is the independent small gym owners. The independent gym owners always tried to battle with the gonzo-globo franchises  in the past, by using the same style of equipment and going after the same customers. That’s not the “Long tail” business structure I was talking about. The new independent goes after the more serious fitness market with low volume membership with higher cost and profit. Also they now loosely affiliate with other independent gyms to form a grouping to share training experiences and more income streams beyond the gym training.

            Another “long tail” fitness business is the DVD, no gym needed programs, as I call them. You know; Buns of Steel, P90X, Tai bo, combat Krav Maga,  insanity, etc. These are media driven programs sometimes with some cheap ass equipment, that will make you fit like the models shown in the videos. Human nature prevails here in two respects. First everyone is looking for a cheap, quick fix to get the ass in shape. Second, you will be all over it for a short period of time, but when you look in the mirror and don’t see a ripped stud, you will lose interest fast. Think about it, how many in house treadmills, rowers, fit balls and cycles are sitting collecting dust or on Craig’s list? This is a great income stream for the promoters of the programs and it can be quite lucrative. This DVD business in not to be confused with coaches, trainers and box owners that put out DVD on some of their training. They are selling training aspects but not a complete program and encourage you to get professional in house training.

            An ever increasing “long tail” business is e-books and training DVD’s. It a great second income stream to the independent gym business, plus, you can team up with other gyms to sell each other’s works. It a real winner. You don’t see Gold’s or Planet Fitness publishing, as they really have little to offer.  You see there is nothing new in the fitness and strength world that has not already been done, so the best you can do is take the basics and simplify them so it can be applied by anyone. 

            The last” long tail” business is seminars, workshops and certifications. Many of the major fitness coaches and trainers are involved or perform seminars on their expertise and most are well worth the money. If you do attend a multi day workshop or seminar, there should be some e-book or DVD that covers the content of the days as there is usually tons of information thrown at you to absorb in those few days. Some trainers don’t even own a gym and make the majority of their living, giving seminars all over the world. Cool life I think.

         Certifications, is also a second or third income stream for some gyms, that attempts to authorize you to teach or train other people in a particular exercise form. I have some of the best kettebell certifications you can receive, but there a trainers that teach Kettlebell exercise with no certifications, so what Is it true value in the market? Dam if I know.

Just a sub note: if you’re interested in Steven Pressfield works they can be found on Amazon.

I have read his,"Warrior Ethos", "Turning pro", and "The Profession", all great books and the concept of the “Long Tail” business is something to watch out for in the future in many businesses going forward. The “Globo” fitness business model is obsolete just like many functions in our goverment.

Ken

The mission is sacred 

New Kettlebell organization formed

1/1/13

Happy New Year…..it’s not going to be a cake walk fans.

My training today:

Warm-up; Stretch bands, Indian Clubs, and joint mobility,  burpees.(suck)

Barbell deadlifts:  15 sets of 2 reps. ( couple of sets with bands)

Kettlebell Long cycle Press:  single Kettlebell for “strong sport” training: 15 sets of 3.

ring rows: feet elevated. With chains

GHD sit-ups

30 min on heavy bag; with some gear.

A new quality Kettlebell organization startup

            Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman of the new Kettlebell and strength organization called    “ Strong First”, started up a couple of months ago. As you may or may not know, Pavel disengaged from the Dragon Door organization after being the primary mover of that business. Pavel is known for his RKC certifications of “Hardstyle” Kettlebell fitness, which has hundreds of certified trainers and well as a higher level trained senior or master lifters. His newly formed organization is based still on kettlebells, but more focus on other strength modalities. He has a great following so I can assume many of this senior trainers will follow him in this new venture.

            Just briefly looked at his program on his web site; http://www.strongfirst.com/ looks a lot like my mentor Jeff Martone; http://tacticalathlete.com/index.php both follow a strength, tactical and hardcore kettlebell fitness programming. I am happy for Pavel that he is moving on and looking forward to seeing where his organization develops.

            In the past I was never an active follower of Dragon Door style of kettebells when I first got involved in kettlebell lifting. I did purchase a few of those kettebells but found them too crude for my liking. I never could get in a lot of lifts without tearing up my hands due to the size and quality of the handles. Maybe it was just me, in hindsight. I even sanded to clean them up but being thick and different sizes was a short involvement for me. That’s when I found the Gervoy style kettebells (http://worldkettlebellclub.com/ ) the uniform style of sizing and hands even the ladies can approach.( remaining in my gym is two 10kg and two 40 kg “Hardstyle kettlebells, which I still use, but only cleaned and jerked the two 40kg Kettlebells once and now  just use them for swings and farmers walk)  

             I  did considered training with Pavel in the past, but he only had his certifications a couple times a year and just never could hook up. Pavel has a lot of great books on kettlebells and general fitness, especially joint mobility. I have all his books and DVD’s  which I recommend for some very practical points in regards to strength and fitness. I will continue to follow Pavel’s programming as it is one of the few out there that don’t make Kettlebells “Ken and Barbie” style lifting.

Ken

“The mission is sacred.”