I see a need for another tool in the tool chest. One that allows some discussion from my students and training partners. So here I/we am/are. This will prove very interesting. As I write this I can see the direction this blog will take. It will take some organizing but I am excited by the process.
I had an early exposure to weight training as a kid. I was born the last year of the babyboomer generation. The timing of my birth seemed to leave me too young for Woodstock but too old to be the slacker Gen-Xers. I grew up with the posters of Arnold, Franco, "The Myth", Zane and all the great bodybuilders of that time. I was a very avid practitioner of every Weider Principle . This was my only exposure and ultimately what derailed any real success. The Weider Principles were based on casual observations of how the successful bodybuilders of that time were training. A little science smattered in the formula on occasion but nothing to heavy. Steroids were common and not unlawful...yet. So, the gym rats 'got big' no matter how they were training.
When I started power lifting the reps and sets decreased slightly but the structure remained. I really don't know how we had any success training the way we did in the '80's. But we did. My group had state and national champs for those of us that went to meets to compete. I simply can not imagine what my fitness level would be today if I had been exposed to the information Pavel has publish throught Dragon Door publications. Additionally, the functional movement material Brett Jones and Gray Cook have been developing is the perfect compliment to all styles of training. My back injury (L5-S1 herniation in 1991) was crippling me using the traditional approaches. I stayed active in the gyms and stayed 'safe' on the machines. When I used free weights I added a very thick lifting belt to support the structure and aid my back. The machines and the belts were just making me weaker. My bench was still in the mid-300's but I couldn't lift my forty pound daughter without my back screaming at me. After being exposed to kettlebells (KBs) I quit the gym a month later. I train strictly with kettlebells and have for the last two years. My back? Well, it now supports me just fine as I windmill with the beast.
So what's my point. The point is there are no more excuses. These guy have done the work for us. They put it in one location. All we need to do is read and heed.
