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How to add X [exercise] to Y [program]... - WITHOUT burning out

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I think it’s once again time to visit this question as keep receiving A LOT of emails about it… But first, you know who Ip Man was? He was a Wing Chun sensei in China and Bruce Lee’s teacher. Very unassuming looking individual, yet he’d beat you down in a heartbeat. Why are we talking about Ip Man? Well, that’s kinda how a lot of people describe my programs - very unassuming. They look easy on paper, but they “put a hurt” on you. In fact, most customers “warn” others to start easier and lighter than you think you need to. So, that being said, if you use my programs as written, and do them will all your “gusto” - full engagement, not checking email and posting on the ‘Gram between sets… … You, like most others, will be shocked (in a good way) with your results. Ok, that warning shot fired across the bow, here are 5 ways I recommend “adding to” any of my programs: 1- Technique Practice Let’s say you wanted to learn the Double Kettlebell Jerk but still wanted to do your Clean + Presses, e...

The Kettlebell Snatch - for Shoulder REHAB? - PART 2 (And the tight hip flexor conundrum)

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Your hips are vitally important because they help you create the “hinge” necessary for all modern kettlebell training. The hinge is used in: Swings Cleans Snatches Deadlifts High Pulls … And all variations both single and double. Remember, in KB lifting - “The hips DRIVE, and the arms GUIDE.” So you can see that without proper, healthy, and normal hip function, you’re not really going to be successful with your KB training. And in most cases, faulty hip function creates / causes lower back pain. The glutes don’t work, so the lower back takes the brunt of the work - which it’s not supposed to do. Why do the hips fail to work? Well, it’s obvious - Tight Hip Flexors! (We’ve all known that since about 2002, right?) … Or so the theory goes, anyway. Simply stretch your hip flexors and you will magically unlock your glutes! And Voila! Hey Presto! You’ll be able to use your hips again! YAYYYYYYYYY! If you detect more than a hint of sarcasm here, you are correct. Yes, stretching tight hip flexo...

The Kettlebell Snatch - for Shoulder REHAB?

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Yeah, I bet that sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Most people think that the kettlebell Snatch can DESTROY shoulders NOT rehab them. And yet - behold this forum post which we’ll put up here on the screen: So to quote Slim Pickens from Blazing Saddles, “What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is going on here?” Well, the Snatch is like a scalpel - a tool. Used correctly in the right hands, it can be used to facilitate healing. Used incorrectly, and in the wrong hands, it can be used to “destroy.” (As in tearing the long head of the biceps tendon, for example.) How exactly does this work? Well, admittedly, I rarely talk about this because it is just so misunderstood. But I have been using the Snatch to rehab shoulders since the late 1990s. The Snatch is basically an accelerated form of the PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation - a rehab system) D2 flexion / extension (D= Diagonal) pattern. Here’s what it looks like: Look at the yellow highlights - “D2 Extension” and “D2 Flexion.” That’s ...

I was so happy with how I looked I stopped. 🤪

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LOL… I was emailing back and forth with Steve the other day about access to one of my programs. Apparently, he suffers from the “Big Thumb Smart Phone” syndrome that I have. You know the one - where your big thumbs get in the way and you accidentally mistype whatever info you’re trying to type. We were talking about results he’d gotten from one of my programs and he said - “I was so happy with how l looked I stopped.” CLASSIC. That falls under the ol’ category of - “This is working so well, help me screw it up.” Here’s an excerpt from his email (check the video) As you can see, in 8 weeks using “The King-Sized Killer,” Steve - “... dropped from a puffy 208lbs to a much tighter 194lbs.” 14 pounds in 8 weeks isn’t half-bad (as my British friends say). Has that ever happened to you? What you’re doing for your training is working, so you stop doing it instead of keeping going? I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I have. So I want to encourage you: If your training is going well right no...

The Whole Enchilada: The simplest “variety based” method for summer ‘GAINZ’...?

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It’s all about “the GAINZ, Bruh!” I’m only kinda joking. I mean, seriously - what’s the point of training if you don’t notice or can’t measure any changes? It’s like sitting in a parked car with the engine running, but going nowhere. Know what I mean? Which brings me to my point: Variety. Some care for it or crave it. Others don’t. Me? I go through phases of needing it and being perfectly content with not having it. Many times summer is one of those seasons. And it’s fast approaching here in the Northern Hemisphere. As a result, one of my favorite things to do is take my bells outside and train on my deck or in my backyard where I can stare at the mountains between sets. The Sun + Fresh Mountain Air + KBs = Peace / Tranquility + GAINZ. And since summer is usually filled with family activities, I find the easiest way for many folks to get their variety in and cover all their bases - [+] Strength [+] Conditioning [+] Time efficiency [+] Beer & BBQ mitigation Is the good ol’ fashioned...

The SIMPLEST way to get stronger using kettlebells (DMW Method)

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Everyone with 30 minutes of gym experience bashes on kettlebells as a “conditioning tool.” “Bruh, kettlebells are just for kun-dish-uh-ning!” Because, you can’t create enough “ovah-load.” (Overload.) Here’s a method I’ve been using since practically the beginning to getting everyone - regardless of age or sex - stronger since I started using ye olde cattle-ball: The DMW Method. DMW = Do. More. Work! You either - [a] Do more total reps in the same amount of time (start here) Or - [b] Do the same amount of total reps in less time VERY SIMPLE. When you max out [a]... Work toward [b]. Again… VERY SIMPLE. Yes, there are some nuances… 1- Weight selection 2- Rep (range) selection (This is often called “Density Training.”) Here’s how you set it up: 1- Pick your strength exercise(s) of choice. 2- Set your timer for X number of minutes. 3- Do as many high quality reps as you can in X number of minutes. 4- Do MORE reps in your next workout. 5- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you no longer can. Again -...

How the Kettlebell Snatch makes your Pull Ups Stronger WITHOUT Doing Pull Ups

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I get it. It doesn’t make sense. How can the Kettlebell Snatch make your Pull Ups STRONGER? ESPECIALLY if you’re NOT doing Pull Ups? It can be hard to swallow. Maybe even smells like a big ol’ heaping pile of cow pie. The two don’t seem to be even remotely related. I’ve never heard or read anyone try to explain it, so I thought it’d be “fun” to do that here in this email. Let’s use a pic first, ok? The primary muscle group that pulls your melon over the bar in a Chin Up (palms facing you) or a Pull Up (palms facing away from you) is your lats - your left and right latissimus dorsi. (That’s Latin for “V-taper.” … Just kidding.) The sloppy big green circle is its origin - from T7 to T12, the top of your pelvis (iliac crest), throughout your sacrum, the 9th-12th ribs, and even on part of the shoulder blades (scapula). And the sloppy little green circle on the right arm is its insertion - which is on the front of the upper arm (humerus) in the bicipital groove. When you’re doing Pull Ups, ...