YOGA FOR STRENGTH ??

  It does have its place. You know I am not a fan of yoga. It just isn't for me. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate or follow some of the principles. I just don't practice yoga. What I do love to see is some one I respect that is into yoga, do something else I respect. Check out this YouTube video of Fawn Fridays dead lift session. This gal rocks.  (click here)

STEP INTO THE ZONE

  Pavel directed a thread on the forum blog  and it had to do with basics. Basic power lifting  training. The trainers focused on four things: Dead lift, squat, bench press and competition. Thats it. There is no room out side these three lifts. There is another myth that all power lifters look like refrigerators. It's just not true. The 'open weight' class may look like that but the regular weight classes (especially the ones under 200 lbs) are lean and proportioned. KB training has 6-7 basic lifts. Each has a purpose and many variations. Add the tension techniques of 'hard-style' and you get a deadly combination of strength and cardio training. The key is to reach outside your comfort zone. Step-up. Grab a bigger bell by the horns and load yourself...proper. If the KB training is boring...the weight is too light. Simple.

Train the way you live.

  One of the problems with machines (one of the gazillion problems) is they don't train you the way you live. The machines are designed for limited movement. This will be the product from using machines...limited movement. Some argue that it is 'better' for some populations due to the frail nature of their conditioning. This 'at risk' group is never short on their own expertise advice. "I can't because =insert excuse here=".  The very motion they claim to hurt them can be performed if you teach them how the joint is designed to move. Not how they want it to move. Now, just add a load and the strength comes without the use of machines and the movement is mechanically correct because your the machine. You are never using a joint outside its range of designed motion. Mass marketed fitness centers service the masses and generally do the public good. The majority will not get great results. They are just doing. They are not understanding what they are doing. Perceptions need to change and evolve for life long results.  It is a hard reality for anyone that has spent a lot of time in the gym. It's like finding out there isn't a  Santa (what?). Keep you mind open and follow the rules of training. Sport specific training is a myth. Skill specific? Yes. Sport specific? It's just marketing and people feeding a need to belong to a group and be extremed sported (if thats a word...lets make it one). Keep this is mind as we train tonight and Saturday morning. Train the way you live and keep balance.

   I love this time of season. I really do. I love the lines. I love the crazies. I love watching people kill themselves to have Christmas. It's a great time of year. We, on the other hand, kill ourselves year round. 

  Monday (regular hours) will be light....on the hands. Heavy on the tension. Static positions, crush grips, holds and other forms of love. I love this time of year. 

  If your becoming one of the crazies and I don't get a chance to see you until after the Holiday, have a very Merry Christmas!!! It's going to be a great new year. 

  Warm bells.

  In keeping with the new tradition, Fridays and Saturday mornings will be fast and furious. We will go for heavy conditioning and cardio today and Saturday. The Max VO2 was built around the snatch.  We will use the snatch for starters. Posts (two-handed bottoms up snatch) will be the next step down. Swings will be the final fall back postion. Hand care and wear...think about it. This will a test of going the distance. You can do it. No problem. Think happy thoughts or just listen to the music. See you at 5:00 pm.

HINT, HINT......

  Now that our legs have been trashed with leg work and the pistols on Monday, it's time to get into some high tension/low volume work. Easy on the limbs but work just the same. Grinds are especially good for such a thing. We will be able to stretch out the hammies, get some rotational work in as well as shoulders and back. We will do it all with one movement, executed properly. If you have long sleeved shirts for training, today would be a good day to wear them. 

THEY CAN'T HEAR YOUR CRIES......

...but I can! So I answered the cries this past weekend. First , with Marks Blazer we picked up the shelves. So, feel free to bring a shoe box or something similar so you can leave behind shoes or gloves. Second, I rigged up the whipping post for our future enjoyment...and the future is here. We will work on some very simple and safe movement patterns that are sure to please. Remember, the more simple it is ... the more sinister. The parking lot was very much like little swimming pools on Sunday. Expect crappy control now that it has frozen solid. Come in the back way and avoid the ice slide off Central until we know for sure it has been salted well. Be careful.