Triple Threat Bodyweight Circuits for Beastly Gains In Strength – by Travis Stoetzel
The 1920′s Knew Fitness, We Just Forgot… – End of Three Fitness
Movement Standards – CrossFit Ireland
Carb Cycling For the Non-Counter – Dan Trink
Lean Gains & CrossFit Football – Talk To Me Johnnie
Last Saturday I was dinking around in the yard, came in and sat at the computer for about 15 minutes, and when I got up I couldn’t walk. Long story short, my hip has been hurting ever since, hence the lack of workout updates.
Of course, yesterday I decided it was time I was diagnosed. So I fired up google and searched “hip pain”, because what other way is there to diagnose except on the internet. Pshaw, fancy doctors. Who needs ‘em?
As it goes with internet self-diagnosis, within a few clicks I learned that I either had spinal stenosis or cancer.
Ok, maybe that wasn’t the best idea. After I cried a little bit (no, not really – ok, maybe a tiny little bit), I decided to check mobilitywod.com, because K-Star would never tell me I have cancer.
Sure enough, within a few minutes I narrowed it down to my psoas. Or as K-Star puts it, my filet mingon.
I been stretching. I been M-Woding, and I must say I was feeling much better. In fact, I felt so much better that last night I did a quick workout:
10 rounds
10 power swings
5 jerks per arm
25# kettlebell, rest as needed between rounds
2 rounds
10 hanging leg raises
30 yard farmer’s walk, 25# per hand
Then today we branded about thirty calves. It was a very bad, horrible, no good branding day. I got kicked, my toes got smashed, I got hit in the head by a steel gate, I got slammed against the fence, and my fingers got squeezed in the calf table. By the end of the day, everything but my psoas hurt.
So to sum things up, my self-diagnosing cure for psoas pain is kettlebell power swings and being brutalized by large farm animals.*
*I’m joking. Don’t be stupid. Go to one of those fancy, modern doctors if you are in pain.
Training Tips: Farmer’s Walk – by Charles Poliquin
Using the Kettlebell to Build Strength Endurance – by Andrew Read
My Dad Died of Alzheimer’s Last Week and It Wasn’t My Business to Save Him – by The Primal Parent
If ads for your pointless athletic gear were honest. – Jockular
No Equipment, No Excuses: Could You Workout in a Box? – by Dave Hedges
Daniel Patterson’s Poached Scrambled Eggs – by Kristen Miglore, Food 52
The Get Up: Why It’s My Favorite Exercise – by Andrew Read
I’m Pissed – by Glenn Pendlay
My Mad Methods magazine is having a sale on their digital subscriptions. The magazine is chock full of good training articles, equipment reviews and general strength and conditioning goodness.
How to Perform Grappler Pull-ups – by Diesel Strength
Traveling? Gymless? Not a problem for Travis Stoetzel – San Diego Throwdown
More meat melons, only this time it’s a Turkey Melon and David purchases and cooks it. I so wish they sold those in South Dakota.
4 Quick Steps to Self-Hypnosis and Weight Loss – by Jessie Grigsby (some interesting theories discussed about habits and willpower)
Sorry, but I just HAVE to share this article. Probably the best celebrity food journal ever written. Please, please be sure you read to the very last line to see what she juices with her kale.
(I really hope she is not literally juicing that with her kale, but who knows about Courtney Love.)
Also, I love her name dropping. She goes to her buddy Mario Batali’s restaurant with Michael Stipe and “some people” from U2. Some people? Like which one of the four people that make up U2 are just “some” people?
…and one last thing: Courtney Love acts? How did I miss that?
Here is the article, in all its glory:
Awhile ago I was reading Melissa Joulwan’s blog and she recommended a site called Breaking Muscle. I poked around there quite a bit (it’s a very good site) and noticed many links for a “Women’s Workout.” I didn’t pay it much mind, in all honesty probably because the first thing I thought of was three pound pink dumbells and LuLuLemon yoga pants. Pshaw. I don’t need no Woman’s Workout. So I went and read through the strength and conditioning workouts instead.
After a week or so of looking through the site, I decided on a whim to click on the “Women’s Workout” banner. Probably I subconsciously wanted to giggle at the silly pink dumbells. Uh, yeah. No pink dumbells in sight (except me, that is. I’m a dumbell and sometimes I also get very pink.)
The first thing I noticed was the workouts were programmed in cycles. Score one. I loves me a cycle.
The next thing I noticed was there was lots of kettlebell stuff. Score two. I loves me a kettlebell.
The last thing I noticed before I thought “let’s do this!” was all you needed for equipment was a pair of kettlebells, a pull-up bar and maybe a box (the kind you jump on, not the kind you go work out in.) Score three. I loves me a kettlebell cycle with minimal equipment requirements that perfectly matches up with the three month challenge I just cooked up for myself last week.
Today was day one:
A1. Double Kettlebell Clean 2 x 5
A2. Double Kettlebell Press 2 x 5
A3. Push Up 2 x 10
Rest as needed between sets.
B1. Double Kettlebell Front Squat 3 x 5
B2. Jumping Squat 3 x 10
Rest as needed between sets.
C1. Renegade Row 2 x 8
C2. Double Kettlebell Swing 2 x 20
Rest as needed between sets.
When I looked at this last night I thought “That doesn’t look too hard.” Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Right.
I misunderestimated a little bit. I did 3 reps on the press. I should have done three presses and then push pressed or jerked the last two reps. Next time. I also only did two sets of jumping squats because I could feel my hammie about to rip. I also split the double swings into four sets of ten.
The double cleans and the front squats are no problem for me at 12kg. The rest of the stuff is doable at 12kg, but would be easier at 10kg (the presses and swings, for instance.) But one of the reasons I picked 12kg instead of 10kg when I cooked this little scheme up is sometimes I take the easy way out and don’t push myself hard enough. Having to use 12kg will hopefully make me better and stronger, as long as I’m careful and smart about how I do it.
Lamb Melons by David Lebovitz (this has nothing to do with strength & conditioning, but.. they’re lamb melons.)
Beautiful – by Jenna at Cold Antler Farm
300 Opinions – by Mark Twight
Minimum Training for Maximum Results & Sample Workout – by Nia Shanks
The Primal 6 Model: Creating Killer Bodyweight Workouts – by by Jon Celis, My Mad Methods
Fitness is… Recovery – by Blair Morrison
The Top 10 Movements to Build Explosive Power for Athletes – by Wil Fleming
Tweaks and Geeks of the Lower Back – by Dave Lipson
(Mikko!)
I am having so much fun with my minimalist One Girl, Two Bells experiment. In fact I’m having so much fun I feel like this guy:
Yes, nearly-dead man, I think I’ll go for a walk, too!
Another factor in my happiness is the fact that on Tuesday afternoon the last heifer had her calf. When I walked in the corral and saw that the blessed even had transpired, I started whooping and yelling and raised my arms in the air in celebration. This confused the heifer and she jumped up and started looking around, apparently wondering when we’d scored a touchdown.
I was thrilled when I could go to bed that night – and for the first time in over a month – not have to be jerked awake by my alarm at 3 A.M. So imagine my absolute delight when I woke up at 4 A.M. all on my own. Even better, the next night I woke up at 3:30 A.M.! When I didn’t have to!
Stupid internal clock.
But for the last two nights I have slept like a rock and I feel like a million bucks.
Here is a run down on my last two workouts:
Thursday
Body weight warmup
(jumping jacks, lunges, squats, pushups, mountain climbers, band pull-aparts, inchworms)
Turkish Get-Up
2 per side, 12kg
Halos
10 per side, 25#
One arm KB press
5 x 2 per side, 12kg
One arm KB floor press
5 x 2 per side, 12 kg
30 seconds work right / 30 seconds work left / 30 seconds rest x 4 rounds of each movement
One hand swings
One arm cleans
One arm push press
Cool down – 2 hand swings
5 x 10, 12kg
Friday
Double KB Swings (sumo)
5 x 10, 12kg & 25#
Goblet Squats
3 x 10, 25#
A1. Sled drag, 80 yards (sled + planter)
A2. Double KB rack carry (25# & 12kg)
1 1/2 mile walk with dogs
The rack carries are absolutely brutal. The first 40 yards aren’t too bad, but then the last half the bells start to push the air out of your lungs and you just want to be doing pretty much anything else in the world – except maybe Airdyne sprints. Luckily, I had my coach there to keep me motivated.
C’mon maggot, move it! We still have a game of frisbee to get done tonight!
Getting nipped on the backside is a great motivator.
The weather was absolutely perfect, so we went for a walk when I was all finished with my workout. It was one of those evenings when the air was thick and golden and smelled like perfume. The grass is growing, the bushes in the yard are flowering, the smell of coming rain is in the air, and the sky was tinted rose and purple. I imagine that’s how people who live in Hawaii or Santa Barbara feel all the time. For one night at least, I too, lived in paradise – and I enjoyed every minute of it.
“Today spiritual cultivation is very shallow in this society. You think, people today, they have everything they have. Are they happy? They are not happy, because they can feel their life is missing something. What’s missing? The spiritual side of cultivation, of understanding. Are you righteous? Can you show respect? Are you humble? All these things are required to make yourself reach higher levels. If I can conquer myself to do what I want to do, I have my life.”
