Adam T Glass' new grip product "Industrial Strength Grip"

I need to tell you something right now. You have a huge hole on your fitness program; it's costing you pounds on your lifts and inches off your arms. This missing link is affecting your sports performance; your golf game, your bat control, your mat control and slows you down in everything you do. There is no need to leave anything on the table, the time to reclaim what is yours is now!

I'm talking about grip and wrist strength. When was the last time you trained your fingers, thumb, hands, and wrist? Oh and before you say you squeezed a tennis ball last week, I mean real grip training- pinch lifting plates, crushing grippers, thick handle work, levering, tearing, bending. The kind of training that builds thick steel tendons in the hands and dense muscle tissue throughout the entire lower arm. Haven't lately? I understand. Grip training has unfortunately become a lost science in the modern fitness world. It's not the easiest information to find, even now in the age of information. You see most trainers, even the very top fitness authorities just don't know that much about hand and wrist strength. To learn about hand and wrist strength I am going to send you to meet my friend Adam T Glass. Adam is a competitive grip athlete and performing strongman. He is kind of out there. He doesn't just lift weights like you and I, he bends steel bars with his hands, he rips decks of cards and phone books in half in a second. He twists horseshoes and lifts up hundreds of pounds with one finger. Adam owns the world record in the 2" vertical bar deadlift with a 353 lbs pull at a body weight of 204lbs. He has closed the Ironmind Captain of Crush #3 (for many reps) and bent the famous Ironmind Red Nail. Not only all of that, but Adam has been acknowledged not only for his hand and wrist strength, but also for his teaching skills. Look at your arms right now and imagine how they would look with an additional inch on them.

Adam has prepared several free videos for you on his page www.IndustrialStrengthGrip.com where he is going to teach you some things and inspire you to get started. Below is probably my favorite video of him tearing a phone book.....a whopping 7 full seconds!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6nHq46PhJ4&NR=1


Just an extra 5-10 minutes per workout and you can add inches to your arms. Go there and sign up, get the free videos, and get started.
=> http://www.industrialstrengthgrip.com/?AFFID=38886

How times have changed

Since my last post on July 21st, I cannot even begin to tell you how much my training has changed. After having a way too busy first half of the summer and struggling to make gains, Adam T Glass of Grip N Rip fame opened a gym 7 miles from my house on August 1st. The gym is appropriately named The Movement Minneapolis http://www.movementminneapolis.com/

Having ATG at your disposal results in phenomenal changes to your lifts and physique. In one month's time, my deadlift increased from 365 with a belt to 405 sans a belt! And the beauty of it all the next day I really wasn't that sore, and had no low back pain at all. How did I do this? By working in a variety of movements that tested well for me. The gym movement protocol says that all movements that test well are corrective exercise. Believe me, everyone needs some correction. Especially you desk jockeys stuck in your cube farm all day shortening your spine and tightening your hip flexors.

After the initial Gym Movement workshop I had to write up what I needed to do to reach my goals. Among the list of items included more bodyweight movements, including the animal frolics, bands, chains, sledgehammers et al. Lifting at a home gym is great, but you need more space to really do the things I needed. In short, I needed to work my parasympathetic system more - in other words my light duty and novel work. Not just lifting heavy in a single plane of motion.

I encourage anyone to stop down at the gym and check it out. You will see the results of the people that work out there - and that my friends is the only thing you are looking for...RESULTS.

Pain is not the answer

I got this video from a website I visit frequently. After watching this, I may never visit the site again! What a complete joke.....do enjoy it though!!!!!!!LOL

http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=7E208362CF5BD3C1BCAB9ADCCED1629B

Use your instincts to break PRs

Had another great weekend at a family reunion up in the big town of Euclid MN, about 4.5 hours away. Had a few beers, got terrible sleep in the hotel but somehow or another, PRs are continuing to fall.

Recent PRs busted up:

Chinup intensity - 10 reps
Chinup volume - 35 reps
Close grip bench - 215
Conventional DL volume - 8,260 (375 matrix)
Conventional DL density - 236

What I'm saying is that you need to be flexible (and smart) to continue to break PRs. I had two workouts last week that were interrupted by relatives dropping by. No worries - I broke volume PRs both days. Tired from a big weekend? Break volume and density records in the DL. Tonight was the best conventional has tested in a looong time. Why tonight? I have absolutely no idea. All day long I could just feel I was due because I had been increasing intensity, volume, and density in both the thick bar DL and the Trap Bar (Conventional did not test well at any point in the last few weeks). In fact, I had not gone over 315 for about a month. Tonight I did 345 for 3 singles intermixed with a lot of volume. I was very happy about this, and you will too if you LISTEN to your body and ROLLLLL with it. GM rocks!

Grip N Rip DVDs for Sale!

I have now become a Grip N Rip affiliate! What does that mean for you? It means you can buy this outstanding product right off my blog. I can preach for a long time on the Gym Movement protocol but it is important that you hear it from the people who invented it - Frankie Faires, Brad Nelson and Adam T Glass! These two DVDs are amazing and will bring together all the things I have been talking about. My infamous saying? TEST IT!!!!!!!!!!

Just click on this link to get yours:

http://www.grip-rip.com/?AFFID=38886

You will not be disappointed, I guarantee it!


Brad

Happy July 4th: Training & Fireworks

Happy July 4th to all! I hope people think about what the day really means, as independence is something we all take for granted. Whether or not you believe we should be in wars across the world doesn't matter, people are risking their life for YOUR freedom. Enough said.

As for the title of this blog, I wanted to use fireworks as an analogy for training. Don't you hate when your firecracker is a dud? You wait for the boom and instead you get nothing. Sounds like training to me. Why? Because adaptation (either good OR bad) is occurring everytime you workout. It's either a dud workout or one that is going to get you closer to your goals.

But now when I look at it, maybe this analogy isn't that great. If your training is a dud you would be simply wasting your time. However, if you do exercises that your body hates, you not only waste your time but you also go BACKWARDS. So, the Russian adage of two steps forward and one step back is a waste of time! Yes, it is true. Make Gym Movement your protocol and see continued progress...ALWAYS.

Case in point, just got back from a great camping trip of three 85 and sunny days. Got the full wealth of Vitamin D, that is for sure. They say August has the lowest incidence of illness - something to do with the sunshine and Vitamin D? Further research required.

Training today: Felt that I didn't drink enough water over the holiday and it had a slight impact. Nonetheless, PRs were dropping (as expected)!

Bench: Got the 255 Matrix for the first time in probably two years and a total volume of 6,490 for a PR.

LCCJ: Got 17 with double 36s for a PR. Was gassed and only did 2x5 after that.

Hammers: 3 sets with double 35# dumbells: 8,5,3. The 8 was a PR

Plate curl: 10# got 7 on each arm for another PR

Biofeedback part 78

Biofeedback just cannot be stopped. Did a volume PR on bench on Monday - big surprise that any upper body exercise today went lousy? My chest, shoulders and triceps were toast but I thought hey, I need to do snatches. The 24K felt like the 40K so I aborted. And yes, it tested BAD. Went to chinups, tested OK and got a PR of 9 so I was happy with that. But basically, upper body work seemed difficult today. So lower body it is.

Double OH deadlift on the thick bar: 150x1, 220x1 (HEAVY). Since 220 felt tough, I went 4x5 with 150 for a volume PR and density PR.

Goblet squat: Bulldog for 10 reps! Previous record was 6 - nice!

EZ curl bar: narrow and wide tested fine. 3x5 at 65# in 3 minutes.

Going to Jellystone in Warrens WI for vacation. Have a great 4th everyone!!!!!

It's vacation time and then back to reality

Greetings! Just got back from the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was a great family trip, and I needed to get away from it all. I'm not into the market so to speak but I did hit the lotto for weather. Every day was between 75-80 and sunny with a light breeze and no humidity to speak of. The pictures we took were fantastic, can't wait to get them all developed!

When mingling around in public places like Mount Rushmore, you really do see a lot of different people and shapes. When I look at the older people there, I often ask myself, how will I feel in 30 years? Will I be able to move well? Will I even be on the planet? I plan on saying "yes" to both of those questions. As it is and always will be, the ability to MOVE will be paramount for a full, enriched life. I saw many, many old people who could just barely move at all. They were struggling at every step and every hill with a grade. I'll admit I was huffing at times! But it's not relegated to just the old folk. The GAIT of some middle aged people was so horrendous that there is no way they will be enjoying life 20 years from now. They will be in constant pain, guaranteed. It is sad.

But of course, in a very short while the Gym Movement protocol will be spreading throughout the land. And they will have a chance to redeem themselves as the body is AMAZINGLY resilient. How do I know? Because I am living it. Case in point, I did joint mobility every day I was on vacation and it tested well. However, on the 4th day in I got a quick workout with my 20K kettlebell, doing 100 single arm swings in 3.5 minutes. My mobility after that? FANTASTIC! What does this mean? It means that corrective exercise is WAAAY better than simple small joint mobility sessions. Case closed, there is no more. And it happens every single time I work out. So plan on listening to your body and reaching your peak potential.

Get into the swing of things

Pardon the pun, but I just had to report about today's brief workout. Sometimes when time is tight I focus on breaking intensity PRs, but today the weights felt a bit heavy so I decided to shatter a volume PR. First, I started with trap bar deadlifts (TBDL) as they tested best. Did 7x5 with 185 (35s) and they went easy. Did it in 11 minutes for a density PR. Then went to chinups and got 8, a PR, then did 4x3 before running out of gas. In other words, while they still tested well, they became slow and tough. Teach your body it is EZ or quit and go onto the next exercise.

I finished off with one arm swings. It has been quite a while since I did them and remember that they seemed very difficult for some reason. I had done 62# for a set of 5 each arm and it was ugly. Today I did 10 super EZ reps on each side! Why did this become easy? Because I snatched the 70# 42 times last Saturday, that's why. This is precisely why Mike Nelson reminds me that it is imperative that I do lots and lots of swings if I want my snatch to go up. My real goal is to snatch an 88# bulldog, which seemed impossible when I tried it 2 months ago. Haven't tried it since, but how could it not help to be doing many, many one armed reps with the 88? I will try the BD once I hit an easy 88x10. This is very motivating to me. I can't tell you how important it is to be focused and excited about your next workout. That is the value of the Gym Movement protocol.....as evidenced by my client Craig Robley. See his training below, which he is doing while under tremendous time pressures of both work and coaching. He is self motivated because he is breaking PRs every time he works out.

Workout 1

Sntach
48x16K = 1728
20x24K = 1060
Total snatch volume: 2788

pushups
2x10
Total volume = 20

BUP
36x36 = 1296

Workout 2
100 snatches with the 16K in 5 minutes

Workout 3
pushups
2x11 = 22

goblet
20x24K = 1060

Swing
10x24K = 240

1 arm swing
20 x24K = 480

Workout 4
snatch
1-5 ladders
30 reps x 53# = 1590

pushups
1x25! Huge PR, and sandbagged!

Competition

They say people are either competitive or cooperative. I tend to be more on the cooperative side, but I really drive a hard bargain with myself. That is why the Gym Movement protocol is so excellent for me. Yesterday I pulled a 365 deadlift, the first time I have done that in a loong time. Strangely enough, my last workout was a tribute to Don Blue, with 135 for 10...1. Why did I choose to attempt a max? Because 275 flew up. Why did I do the Don Blue program last time? Because 275 felt very heavy. Listen to your body and you will be rewarded.

Today's workout was PR mania. Snatches tested well and felt light, got 70x6 each arm for a PR and could have done more. Then went down 5-4-3-2-1 for a total of 42 reps with the 32K, a PR. Took a relaxed mode and got it done in 12.75 mn, but I was still sweating up a storm. Then did pistols with the blue band for 40 reps in 7 minutes for a PR. Finished with OH dumbell extension PR for intensity (50x10), 1150 volume PR and density PR doing it in 5 minutes. Did a thick bar bicep curl with 80x2 PR.

Speaking of sports competition, it was announced today that Nebraska is joining the Big 10. While some are reluctant to it and think it's only about the money (which may be so) it really is a good thing from a competition standpoint. I have been a Husker fan for quite a while, but especially in the 90's when they dominated with a nasty running attack. Their weight room and strength program were legendary. After Tom Osborne left, they had Frank Solich who was OK, and then they downgraded with a NFL reject, Bill Callahan. I happened to know a player for NE at that time and I asked what happened? He said they removed all the power racks from the weight rooms and went for the "HIT" high intensity protocol. Result? The worst stint in Nebraska history and snapped a string of 35 straight bowl appearances. Any coincidence? I think not. Bottom line: Brewster and the Gophers need to step it up. Good luck with that.....

Audits

Audits. You got to love them if you are a bean counter. In actuality, they really are a pain. But with every audit or analysis, something is learned. And often times, things are changed forever because of what was discovered. When things change there is pain. But there is also growth.

Of course this applies to all mental, physical and spiritual endeavors. Corporate internal audits, while not mandatory, are usually very productive. External or mandated audits are often unproductive and time wasting. Nevertheless, they need to be done to remain in compliance. What big corporate does should also be done on a personal level. Taking inventory of your life is not a necessity but it sure clarifies goals and helps to determine your focus.

Bottom line: Most people live unexamined lives because there are no mandatory audits for personal and spiritual fulfillment. While the IRS and other legions of regulatory bodies have specific, defined methods, looking at your own physical, spirtitual and mental well being should be done regularly. And that is why DOCUMENTING is crucial. During an IRS audit you will be asked to produce many different documents. Why would training be any different? To do the Gym Movement protocol you will need impeccable record keeping in order to break records on a continual basis.

Speaking of physical: The gym movement scores again - I listen internally only:
Pullups: 31 reps in 15 minutes for a volume and density PR
KB flipping: 10 minutes, getting 10 reps for back flips and 5 for front. Front are very difficult at this time but all tested well.
Standing dumbell hammer curls: double 50s x 2 reps (PR) then 35# for 10 reps

Client #1 CR:
Day 1: 80 snatches (70 at 16K, 10 at 24K), 20 pushups, BUP 36 reps with 16K
Day 2: 100 snatches with the 16K in 4:55

Insidious improvements

I've been doing the Gym Movement protocol for less than three months and while my lifts and body comp are improving, there is often insidious improvements that occur as well. Case in point, I met with two business colleagues recently and both said I looked really good; like I was handling the stress very well. I replied thank you and thought to myself, they really don't see me at my worst:) But truth of the matter is, people can see a difference. I just read an article about non-verbal clues and it was fascinating. It focused more on how to look powerful without saying anything. That is not my goal but I also don't want to look like a spineless wimp either - so keep your hands out of your pockets! By moving better, I'm sure I appear more confident; I know I feel a heck of a lot better. And my ROM has been simply outstanding, a definite PR. On Friday a co-worker saw me crossing the street and asked if I was in a hurry. I said no. He said you must have been because I was bookin'. Well, if your movement is good you can actually walk in a straight line (physics based) and you do get there faster! I had to laugh.

Training:
Pushups tested well: 26 PR intensity 75 volume PR and done in 10 minutes for a density PR.

Goblet Squat: 4x10 = 40 reps with the 24K in 10 minutes was a volume and intensity PR

Hammers: 5x5 with the double 35# dumbells in 5 minutes was a PR for volume/density

Today: just did snatches: 44# for 130 in 14.75mn for volume PR. Want to get to 150 in 10 minutes. As Mike Nelson told me, upgrades in volume will eventually translate to intensity PRs.....gotta love it!

A typical day at Mike T Nelson's house

Had a great Memorial Day with the family just being outside and active. Got some paperwork done and then decided it was time to go to Mike T. Nelson's garage gym. Actually, the goal was to work on a few new things. They were juggling and falling/rolling so we actually went out to the yard. Flipping the 12K was about all I could do for my "First rep is the worst rep" try. Talk about FUN! It wasn't that bad but I destroyed a Target cardboard box of his as well as a few holes in the ground (sorry Mike). All I know is that I can't be trying too many things at once - just stick to basic progressions and do a few. Mike said this exercise has helped his sports vision more than any other protocol. Gross to fine applies here - doing juggling is much more real world and "gross" than doing simple eye tracking. So I got PRs in front and back flips and the open hand snatch. Great stuff!

Moved on to falling and tumbling. While this seems so easy, it is a VERY important concept to learn. You never know when you could be in this situation and you want to be sure to spread the load by using your elbow to brace your fall and not your hand. If you do it right you can really feel the difference. Started by standing but it was too hard - it is best to progress from a crouch position to standing. So I crouched and ground out probably 5 reps on each side. When Mike asked me to do it on my left side I began to laugh. Why? Stress response! As I am right handed, it seems everything I do on my left side is a little weak. I should probably do twice as much work on the left than the right to make up for this.

We finished up with some deadlift form work, from which I felt as comfortable as I had in about a year. And then did some LCCJ hitting double 53s for PR of 3. Mike did 2 OK reps at the double 32s for a PR! Nice work!

I told Mike everytime I go to his house I learn new exercises, break PRs and move better. Any questions with that? Go to see Mike if you want to take your training to a new level. You'll be glad you did!

Metabolic flexibility Part Duece

I hope you all had a great Memorial weekend, and I hope that everyone remembered what the day off work was really for.

Knowing my family and I were going to my mother and father in-laws house in Alexandria, I knew this would be another great test of the concept of metabolic flexibility. Why you ask? Because my M-I-Law doesn't always prepare the most healthy meals (while delicious) and the majority of the time bakes cakes and Carmel rolls. Add to that, a gluten laden mix of several different breads, all of them the white variety washed down by whole milk. The easiest thing in the world is to spineless, so I said, hey I'll eat everything she throws at me this weekend and see what happens.

To combat this I decided to bring my 20K kettlebell and offset some of the food. Snatches tested well so I started Saturday with a PR in volume of 5,280 on 120 reps in 13 minutes for a density of 406. After a gluten laden lunch of a sandwich and Carmel roll I went out to help my in-laws take down three trees that had died in their yard. Not large ones, but it took some effort. Not willing to take the entire stump out of the ground I used an axe to chop them down below ground level. This took about a half hour or so and in the 90 degree heat was pretty tough. It was great exercise and was contra to the snatches. No big surprise: these tested TERRIFFIC! That was so cool, and was probably why I felt so invigorated. My reward? Another Carmel roll! My gluten sensitivity was too much and I had to take a nap after that. I awoke to watch the Twins crush the Rangers 8 to 3 and did some more work on my book.

Sunday started with gluten pancakes and bacon, preceded by a PR in volume for the press. I did 72 reps in 14.5 minutes for a load of 3,168. Judging by the soreness, I now realize why some kettlebellers have fantastic arm development. Snatches really work the biceps and the presses the triceps..tada.

Back to the diet, I will tell you I felt like crap all day Sunday. Loading up on the gluten was too much for me and I was very crabby - even though I moved quite well. I am happy to report that by Tuesday night I was at 100%. While this is not optimal, completely recovering in three days is much better than I used to be - heck I would feel like crap for up to a week! I am counting this as a victory and again proving that metabolic flexibility is alive and well. Enjoy!

Goal setting & the Movement

Who hasn't heard the mantra "Those who fail to plan are planning to fail." Well, there have been many plans that have failed because they were based on a faulty premise. Realism must be at the forefront, meaning they most be realistic and attainable. For myself, I must have simple goals AND no more than three at a time. While the movement calls for PRs every night, it is important to do the RIGHT exercises that will increase the likelihood of achieving your goals.

In addition to the right exercises and doing them properly, you must live by the ultimate litmus test: TEST IT. You must also decipher how you feel as well, as per my last post where bench tested well but bar speed was slow. Then major fatigue set in. Now remember - this is only MY results. Your body may react totally different based on your body type or even your job.

On that notion, I did snatches tonight for the first time in a looong time. They always test well so that is great. But lately I have been breaking intensity (% of max) PRs and gotten away from volume and density. It appears that my belt is a little tighter and my waist line not so good. So I went after a volume record for snatches tonight, which I did at 5,020. Problem is, my wind was gone! It took forever and my lungs were really pushed to the max using only the 20K bell. My goal is to snatch the 40K and here I am dinking around with the 20K. Not what I want. But at the same time I want fat loss so I need to do higher reps. What a delema! While the 88# is an ultimate goal, I really do want to nail 100 reps in 5 minutes with the 24K (my best is 83). The other reason is I want to compete at the TSC. I need to at least be competitive in this last portion of the contest! So bottom line I have a decision to make.

Since it is summer time, I am really going to push for lowering body fat and getting my five minute numbers up. While the movement will tell me which PR to break (intensity, volume, density) I need to snatch EVERY week and maybe multiple times, not once every 2 weeks (that's only twice a month!). And the records need to fall HARD. When I see a 125# Kathi Burger getting 100 reps in five minutes and Mark Wilson getting 100 in 3.5 I realize I have work to do. I don't have the goal to run a marathon but I am tired of getting winded easy - so jacking cardio is a key goal at the present time. For me, that makes the most sense, and my adrenals will thank me for it. Enjoy:)

Flying too close to the sun

The title is a saying that Mike Nelson always uses when referring to overtraining. Well, after Saturday's hard workout I was at the burning point. While bench press tested OK, bar speed just wasn't there. So what did I do? Kept on pushing. Wrong answer. I felt like taking a nap soon after my workout and then proceeded to have no energy the rest of the weekend. In other words, I taught my body that this workout was DIFFICULT. I had pains and tension on Sunday something terrible. My neck was totally whacked, a sure sign of struggling and maintaining high tension. Took until Tuesday night to feel better. I lost a few pounds and had sleep disturbances i.e. 5 hours Sunday night. These are all symptoms of overtraining and overload of adrenal stress. Time to quit working on intensity and start breaking PRs in density and volume!

Busy at work, baseball game until 7:30 so training was abbreviated. Shattered my BUP intensity, volume and density PRs tonight! Started off with the 16K for 12r and 10left, easy PRs. Then got 56 in 10 minutes for volume and density. And it was fun and EZ. No grimacing, no tensing. As soon as it got tough, I took 'er down. Did swings and would have broken a PR but had bad record keeping. That won't happen again!

On a side note, watched the Biggest Loser finale. The guy who won dropped 264 pounds. Wow! The only thing better than that is not weighing 526 to start with. Problem is, the guy moved like crap. His legs were so externally rotated I couldn't imagine him running or doing any kind of sport. Ouch! Movement protocol emergency!!!!

Variety is the spice of Life

Who doesn't like variety? That is why the Gym Movement is the ONLY system you need. The variety is necessary for growth. In the past, I only changed exercises when I was nursing an injury. As such, my training consisted of about a dozen exercises - talk about boring! In addition, it makes you look like a gym exercise. Have you ever seen guys who bench all the time? Their shoulders are rounded in and they walk funny. Is this the look a fluid athlete? Granted, that may not be their goal. But in the long run it WILL result in imbalances and eventual injury.

Case in point, when I went back to training my old way 2 months ago I started to get all knotted up and had to get several chiropractic adjustments. With the gym movement protocol, it is self correcting. Case in point: One of my goals is to increase my bench. When I started this protocol I was bummed that bench tested poorly for the first six weeks; I had to do dips and pushups. Funny thing is, now that I'm getting more balanced, neither of these test well and bench is going up!

Along the same lines, Mike and Adam strongly recommend long cycle clean & jerks (LCCJ). So I decided to try it after bench today after a volume PR of 5,870 (240-245 Matrix). I started at a baseline PR of double 12K for 3x10 in 5 minutes. This gets you working, guaranteed! Hardstyle magazine always talked about how people were gaining up to 15# of muscle doing LCCJ and I always wondered how. That is Frankie's idea of large to small - hard work on large movements is THE best way to stress the body. The body reacts to stress by laying down lean tissue - resulting in weight gain! NICE.

Workout: Bench PR Volume: 135x10 165x8 190x5 200x3 225x1 225x1 225x1 195x5 = 5,870 in 30 minutes

LCCJ: Double 12K for 3x10 in 5 minutes (hamstrings got tight!) Baseline PR

Double DB hammers: 30x6 30x6 30x4 30x3 19reps at 60# = 1,140 density PR in 5 minutes

Metabolic flexibility & the Gym Movement

Has my constant talk about Gym Movement become tiring yet? Well it's about to get even "weirder" so to speak. Both Adam T Glass and Frankie spoke about the fact that fixing your movement skills under load will help you become more flexible with your diet and your ability to use any substrate for energy. I was highly skeptical, having fought off several food sensitivities and allergies over the years. Several guys at the cert, most namely Mark Wilson, eats everything in sight and was lean as can be. And he is over 40 years old - so no excuse there. I wrote it off to great genetics and forgot about it.

Go back 6 weeks ago (right before I started on this protocol) I decided to go back to "old school" training to see what would happen. I started gaining some strength, but at what cost? Soon I felt terrible, my movement suffered and next thing I knew, I was going to the chrioprator three weeks in a row! Movement cost AND monetary costs....not smart in today's economy. But the thing I noticed the most is that after eating a certain protein bar during this period I began to feel bad after eating it. I started having digestive trouble. I became bound up and was no longer "regular."

Fast forward to the Movement training: I ate the EXACT same bars with no dire effects: Digestion - fine. Elimination - fine! Not that I have begun to eat terrible or anything but somehow or another I am able to handle things I couldn't. I am going to continue to try different things and TEST IT. Note: I spoke to Mike Nelson on this and he has been doing the same. He will be putting together an e-book on this difficult subject. Can't wait for that!

Training tonight: Chinup volume - 30PR. Overhand thick bar DL: 220 (PR) "G" gripper 40/40 and 30/30 PR volume & intensity. Had a huge pump from this simple workout, something I expect each and every time I work out. Can you say the same?

PRs and biofeedback

Once again, biofeedback rules! After a weekend with the guys and a somewhat lack of sleep I wondered how things would test today. I was looking to do a chest movement, pistols and triceps. After a month of testing well, bench presses tested just OK. Dips haven't tested well for at least a month. So I was hoping pushups would do the job - yes they did! As a baseline PR (have done pushups only once since starting biofeedback)I did 70 in 10 minutes, starting out with 25 for a initial intensity PR. This was a lot harder than I had imagined, but wow what a pump! That is always a nice signal that things are working well. Next went to pistols and got 30 with the blue band. Again, lack of sleep or whatever this was difficult, done in 10 minutes. What a difference a band makes - the green was simple, the blue all the way to the floor. Exactly what I need. Finished off with 6 sets of lying dumbell tricep extensions, volume PR of 760 in 7.5 minutes. All other tricep exercises tested junky, so crank it!

Interview with Craig Robley

My good friend and colleague Craig Robley was kind enough to drop by and discuss why he wants to use Top Notch Personal Training to get him into top shape. Craig will be starting his venture next week when he comes back from a trip he earned to Hawaii for excellent production at work (he is an advertising consultant for Dex). Craig is a former wrestling standout and All-American at Luther college in Iowa. As he states in the interview, he is tired of "being tired doing minor things." I can help him with that! Best of luck to Craig, and I will be posting his progress...stay tuned!

Targeted for Termination

Since my son's favorite movie is Terminator, the title above has been running rampant around my house. It of course also applies to the real world, as the company I work for has been doing some "house cleaning" as of late. While it's never fun, I always remind myself that it's business, not personal - so I felt OK about the termination early Monday AM. Then, on the way home from work I got a call from my friend who said he was let go last Thursday. It was kind of like "touche"!

Why do I bring this up? Because terminations/firings apply to many things in life. Especially in training. #1 hint: if your trainer gets you hurt, they are an idiot. It really is that simple. I've heard horror stories of clients doing kettlebell bear crawls down a concrete embankment and getting injured - all done to "make things harder" (sounds like a well-known kettlebell guru to me). Any endeavor you take on in life you are told to be relaxed so you can perform at your best. Of course, to everything except kettlebells. Wrong answer.

So in looking at my giant pack of books and DVDs I have begun to think of ideas and protocols that need to be terminated -exercises and routines that use someone else's internal feedback. Why this is coming crystal clear to me is due to my jumping on "The Gym Movement" bandwagon which focuses on personal biofeedback to determine an exercise's effectiveness. It's time to weed out the junk and focus on what works. There is so much info out there you need to know what you DON'T like to know what you DO like. I have an inner peace I've never had before and its great! So when the next DVD or book that comes out touting its effectiveness, please throw it against the wall to see if it sticks. If it's not listening to YOU it will not help YOU.

Training tonight: Broke TBDL volume PR (via the 380-385 Matrix) got 7,705 in 25 minutes, and a density PR as well. Then did 100 lunges in 7.5 minutes (PR)which really kicked my butt. I had to watch and make sure the tension wasn't ramping up to much - there were times my breathing was hosed up and had to back off a bit. Did a little grip work but I was shot. Great workout!

Keep the PRs coming

Thur workout: DL volume PR 4,485/regular grip pullup volume PR: 26 reps/1arm swings 24K density PR 80 reps in 4.5mn. Sat workout: KB Press volume PR 2904 in 10 minutes. Used the 20K for 66. Lying tricep (BB) 65x5 baseline PR, volume of 1,225, density of 153 (8mn). DSP gripper PRs 2415 in 5mn/density 483. Decided to do pistol work tomorrow, I want to focus on that.


As I stated in my last post, it is not HARD to break PRs. You have a goal every single workout and you just "Do it". It really is a great feeling to know that you are getting better every single day. "Get your reps in" is good advice, but you need to know how many and how fast you did it (in perfect form of course). Deadlift for instance, my volume PR is 4485. How can I not improve when I get to 5,000 or more? Your body responds to stress by laying down tissue - and this is noted in me gaining 5 pounds "mysteriously" since the cert three weeks ago. As Frankie said, the only limiting factor is TIME.....who knows where I'll be by year-end? Great stuff!

PR nite

Frankie Faires of the Movement program said adaptation is a never ending process. You are getting better or worse every single minute of every day. You cannot FORCE adaptation, no matter what your externally focused personal trainer may tell you. Besides, no one knows your body better than YOU. 'Nuff said.

PR night included 225# Bench matrix (+ a few extra reps) = PR volume 4,725. Goblet squat intensity PR 88x5; volume PR of 1,840 and density PR of 184 (done in 10 minutes). BUP went a lot better than I thought. Got a PR of 10 with R and 8 on the L with the 36#er. Got a total of 38 reps in 7.75 minutes for a volume and density PR as well.

I am happy to inform you that breaking records all the time does not mean you will be broken. The funny thing is I don't feel tired at all. I am sleeping more soundly than ever and lately have even been getting up a bit earlier! The biggest thing to all this is taking meticulous record keeping. Because I destroy records every week I must re-write the record books each Sunday night in preparation for next week's onslaught. As FF says, TIME is the only limiting factor.....is this awesome or what?

The Biofeedback craze

Greetings,

Lots has happened since I last posted, and fortunately for me most of it is VERY good! About a year ago Mike Nelson introduced me to biofeedback training and last month Frankie Faires and Adam Glass put on a seminar on it (Mike attended as well). All I can say is brilliant! Just when my training had gotten to an all-time confusion and frustration level, this came around. I just can't say enough about the concept of PRs everyday. You have to feel it to believe it. I will be posting on several of the key points in the post to come, in addition to my and my clients training results.

05/03/2010 workout:
Snatch:Volume PR of 4,988 in 25 minutes included 40 reps with the 32K, also a PR. My goal is to snatch the Bulldog so its important for the 70# to feel like a breeze - Mike figures 10 smooth easy reps and I'll be there. I'll try some max numbers soon.

Pistol: Did 65 reps at a variety of heights; my pin ladened left ankle has always been an issue so I will keep cranking on this and making it look EZ.

Reverse curl: done with my thick bar, I did 4x6 with 30# just to get my feet wet and get a baseline PR. This program is so fun because it "forces" you (bad word oh well) to change up your exercises. Change up = fun times!

More soon..........