Resolution Dissolution

It’s February and by now something like 80% of New Years Resolutions have already been broken. I’ve never seen any specific survey results but I’m sure many of these were diet and exercise resolutions that fell short. It’s too bad, and I feel for the people who are really trying to make a difference (although I’d argue that if you didn’t even make it a month you’re not trying hard enough). Habits can be hard to break and lifestyle changes are difficult for many people to make on their own. Of course, a lot of it comes down to how bad you want it. I have little sympathy for the people whose only effort at making change is lip service. Exercise is a participatory activity - you have to get out there and “do” it. Same thing with your diet – don’t cry the blues on your way home from McDonalds – I don’t want to hear it! Either you are ready to take control over your health or you aren’t.

Yet still there are others who are ready to take control but just aren’t sure what to do. With all of the information out there, all of the gadgets, all of the programs and all of the people out there trying to make a buck, it’s not hard to see how folks are being led in the wrong direction. I bet a lot of those broken resolutions are because of a lack of results. Let’s get real though, 4 weeks is hardly enough time to see changes in body composition, and I know that’s what most people are looking for. You’d really need to work hard to see results in 4 weeks and the reality is that most people don’t LIKE to train hard, don’t know HOW to train hard or don’t know they HAVE to train hard.

Look at any new fitness gadget that hits the shelves at Wal-Mart or makes a debut on late-night infomercials. Almost without exception, they are designed to make exercise easier or more comfortable. This is aiming at people’s natural desire to take the path of least resistance, but this is also aiming in the wrong direction! Training is about making progress! This is why people lift heavier weights and run longer distances. It’s about stepping outside of your comfort zone and making things harder, not easier!

Getting fit is a very simple process but it is anything but easy. You should be skeptical of anyone claiming otherwise (although eating right actually IS pretty easy). Much of training is really just common sense and the need for progressive resistance is not that hard to figure out. The hard part is committing yourself to progression and make a habit out of pushing your limits.

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense."

- Thomas Edison

Progressive Pulls Workout

This was a good workout. Not the heaviest lifting I've done but I feel pretty good about my form. I originally edited this video to look at my pulling technique and how it changed with different exercises and as the weight got heavier. Once I put it all together I just had to put a title and some music to it.

I haven't lifted like this in over a year. Just didn't have any desire. I had other things I was focusing on. Now, I've got a goal to deadlift 600 on December 31, 2010 and I am totally fired up about doing heavy barbell work again.

Whether or not you are into posting your workouts on the internet, I highly encourage you to video yourself so you can analyze your form, especially on the more technical exercises. You can also ask others who know more than you do to have a look as well. Master RKC Geoff Neupert was kind enough to point out that I was leaking power in my snatches. Notice how my back rounds as the bar leaves the floor. That's something I missed; I was just happy that I was getting full extension and not bending my arms early (something I've had problems with in the past).

As always, I've got some things to work on. I've been practicing the quick lifts on and off for nearly 10 years now and I still have haven't mastered them. Maybe I never will? That's OK, I enjoy working on it and I get stronger in the process.

The 100 Rep Test

"100 REP Challenge is the Simple Strength practice of performing 100 Reps everyday. It's up to you what exercises you use and how you divide the reps. The only thing that matters is you get your 100 reps, no matter how, no matter what, everyday!"

Taken from Rannoch Donald's "The 100 Rep Challenge" Facebook page

I don't know about everyday, but I do know about the 100 rep challenge, or the "100 rep test" as I like to call them.

What's so special about 100 reps? Nothing, other than it's a three-digit number. It's not much different than 10 or 1000. Who cares? Do whatever you want. Just be sure you time it and seek to improve - that's what makes it a 100 rep test.

There are all kinds of 100 rep tests. The Marines do 100 sit ups in 2 minutes, the RKC does 100 snatches in 5 minutes, random guys in their basement are doing 100 push ups as fast as they can.

Sometimes the goal isn't even in reps but in weight. 100lbs can be a milestone lift of any exercise for any person who follows the United States customary system (English units). There were oldtime strongmen who used to make their students do 100lb turkish getups before they were allowed to do any other exercise!

100lbs in the turkish get up is not that big a deal to an intermediate lifter of average build (which I suppose is why the oldtime strongmen required them). I've been doing 100lb TGU's for years now. Also, for years, I've been hearing about people doing 100 REPS in the TGU. Certainly not as popular is the 100 rep TGU. Everytime I heard anything about that kind of volume I rolled my eyes. I had absolutely NO interest in doing that and could only imagine how boring that would be.

I could only imagine. I had no first hand knowledge because I lacked the experience. Yes, I was ignorant.

Nothing wrong with being ignorant so long as you eventually move out of it. Without getting too philosophical, the more you learn and the more you do the better, right?

Well today I learned what it was like to do 100 reps in the turkish get up. I did 100 reps with the 16kg in 44 minutes. Which doesn't matter at all because nobody cares. There's no military agency or fitness organization testing peoples ability to do 100 turkish get ups. Except me. I'm the random guy in the basement and I'm the only one who knows what it was like to do that workout.

I'm willing to bet you don't know what it's like to do 100 reps in the TGU. You're probably like I was, ignorant. You're either thinking, 1) "What's a turkish get up?" 2) "Not worth my time" or 3) "No way, it's too hard!"

Here's a tip: it is worth your time and it is hard!

If you have done it, congratulations! You basically did 100 sit ups, 100 bridges, 100 lunges and 100 presses - a good workout by anyone's standard! Lots of individual exercises make up the TGU and stringing them together into one balanced and fluid movement is what makes them special.

I've honestly never been a much of a fan of TGU's. It's one of those exercises that I know is good for me and even though it offers a lot of benefits, I've never been excited about doing them. I can't say this workout has changed that. If anything, I probably dislike them even more. I do however have a new appreciation for them. I have new insight. I have learned something, if you will. I have learned that this is a VERY difficult workout and once again reinforced that the "100 rep test" can be a great workout, warm up or finisher. It all depends on the difficulty of the exercise that determines if you should do 10, 100 or 1000.

Overhead, off the ground and carried

Hi everybody,

I just wanted to do a quick post about this last training week.

Saturday I did a strongman show at York Barbell for the Kettlebells for Warriors event (a great event put on by Mike Krivka ) and came home with bunch of cool new training tools!























150lb pressing stone, two 50lb chains and two 25lb chains. I got a few more things that I'll save for another time. Lets talk about rocks and chains!

After the show, and before we went out for my birthday dinner at Fogo de Chao, I had to hit a quick workout. NO WAY am I going to miss the opportunity to precede a red meat buffet with a good workout!

It took me three attempts to press the rock but in about 10 minutes I did 3 sets of 3 and went in for a single set of deadlifts at 245 x 20. Cleaned up and had a huge feast with good friends!

On Tuesday I was dying to do something with the chains. Once again, I was a little pressed for time so I simply slung the 50lb chains (100lbs) over my shoulders and went for a walk. I walked to the closest hill I knew of and walked up, down and around a graveyard. I'd estimate about a mile in 15 minutes. I felt pretty good the rest of the day.

Today I had a little more time and did a workout I've done many times before.

Overhead press
Pull up
Farmers Walk finisher

I used a ladder format for the presses & pulls.

2, 3, 5 reps each set and matching every press with a pull up.

Example:
2 reps press, 2 pull ups, 3 reps press, 3 pull ups, 5 reps press, 5 pull ups. Repeat 5 times.
Beast farmers walk (106 per hand) for 1/4 mile in 7:45.

Great workout! Picked some berries out of the garden and made a protein shake.

It just goes to show you that you don't need a lot of time or anything too complicated to get some good training in. I pressed and pulled twice this week, and I did two carries.

I hope your training is going well and that you are enjoying the summer!

-Dan

The 3 Step Get Up

40kg Turkish Get Up

How Grip Training Could Save Your Life

Every exercise program should contain some element of grip training. With a few simple exercises and 5 minutes of your total workout time, you could strengthen your hands exponentially. You can be far stronger than you probably think is possible in such a short amount of time. Motor learning, neural processes and muscle recruitment play a much larger role in hand strength than training time, muscle size, age or gender. I will discuss those things in a future article. The most compelling argument there is to train your grip is the simple fact that your life could depend on it.

In the countless ways there are for people to check out, I can think of at least a few that could be prevented with stronger hands.

Being attacked by another human being. This is actually why I started exercising in the first place. My dad is a martial artist and holds advanced degree blackbelts in several disciplines. You can bet I was taught how to fight and defend myself. As long as I can remember we’ve had free weights, punching bags and grippers laying around the house. Hitting back was encouraged, as was protecting your little brother and your lunch money.

The unfortunate reality is that there are people out there that may try to harm you and/or your loved ones. Having strong hands will help you to protect yourself, your belongings and those around you.

Think of the role of the hands in self defensive situation. Someone grabs you, tries to steal your purse, jack your car, threatens your child, attacks your friend, whatever; your reaction will probably involve a hand-to-attacker maneuver hopefully thwarting any negative outcome to you and yours. There has been at least two occasions in my adult life where by simply squeezing someones neck I defused an attack (there are also other places that are vulnerable to squeezing, however specifics escape me at the moment). Once was when my soon-to-be wife’s jealous ex-boyfriend charged me, and another was when a drunk started a fight with my friend outside of a pizza shop. On both accounts, I was forced to react to a situation that I did nothing to provoke and in no way could have prevented. I am proud that I “won the fight” but sorry that the situation occurred in the first place. It’s not likely that either encounter was a life or death situation, but you never know. The point is, it was the strength of my hand that stopped the attack.

Being attacked by an animal. Long gone are the days we had to wrestle saber tooth tigers, but everyone knows someone that was bitten by a dog. Strong hands are of little match for a set of sharp teeth, but you could wield a bigger weapon with a pair of mightier mitts. The difference between shaking a stick and swinging a bat could be the difference between life or limb against a rabid dog off his leash.

Natural disaster. Tsunami in Indonesia, hurricane in New Orleans, earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Nashville; did anyone who survived do so simply by “hanging on”? Probably. I don’t know of any specific stories but I know better climbing, holding, digging or swimming could only be a good thing in such a situation. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who lost loved ones in those tragic events.

Military/Police/Fire/Rescue. You know what your job entails better than I do. No need to say any more.

In my opinion, there really is no other better reason to be strong than someones life may depend on it, which is why this article is first in this series. In the few minutes it takes to squeeze a gripper and do a set or two of wrist curls, it’s in your best interest to train your grip.

In the next article, How Stronger Hands Means a Stronger Body.