Maximum Strength & Conditioning - The Ultimate Workouts To Coach Yourself To Supreme Fitness Part Two

Last time we looked at how to use Convict Conditioning to start yourself on the road to supreme strength and conditioning.  When you are ready to add another piece to the puzzle, Enter The Kettlebell is the next step.  This Soviet strength training tool has been around for over 300 years.  Again, as with most things you search for on-line, you will find more data than you need.  The Kettlebell is no different and unfortunately, if not careful, improper use, instruction from untrained trainers and winging it with the Kettlebell will lead to injury and a poor conception of what is one of the most effective and powerful tools to build a heart of a lion and be as strong as you look.

Squats, for example are only bad for your knees when you do them wrong.  Kettlebells, like squatting, lead to injury ONLY when you don't use them proper.   

Keep in mind, we are building up to something great.  All great things need a foundation.  We are going to use Convict Conditioning to establish a foundation of strength and get to know our body again.  Once that foundation is solid it will be time to add to that foundation.  We will begin the steps to mastery of the two most important and foundational movements with the Kettlebell.  The primary Kettlebell movement is the Swing.  It is an explosive, ballistic power move that will condition and strengthen the body.  The other foundational Kettlebell movement and perfect compliment to the Swing is the Turkish Get Up.

Adding these two movements to your strength and conditioning training will complement and enhance everything you're accomplishing with Convict Conditioning.  You will want to master the Swing and Turkish Get Up, then begin to PRACTICE the Kettlbell Clean and Press and start work on the Kettlbell Snatch.

Enter the Kettlebell is a book written by Pavel Tsatsouline who is the man who brought Kettlebells to the United States and if there was one person responsible for the resurgence of Kettlebell Training in the States, Pavel is that guy.  He is a former Soviet Special Forces trainer that has brought an immense knowledge of strength and conditioning beyond the Iron Curtain and into America to whip us all back into shape!  He's the real deal.  Period.  This book will teach you the basic Kettlebell drills and build on your foundation of strength.  Follow the progressions Pavel lays out for you and by all means, as Pavel says, "Respect the Kettlebell."

Beginner - Total Body Mastery Part 2.

After you've progressed into Convict Conditioning and believe you are strong enough to handle the Kettlebell, it will be time to start working on your Swing and Turkish Get Up.  The best Kettlebells on the market are at Dragon Door.  You can also get yourself a copy of Enter the Kettlebell there.

Putting the two together...

For one session, work on Convict Conditioning.  In another session PRACTICE your Swing based on Pavel's instructions from Enter the Kettlebell.  In another session, work on your Get Ups.

A week might look something like this:

Monday - Convict Conditioning
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Swing Practice
Thursday - Rest
 Friday - Convict Conditioning
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Turkish Get Up Practice

See the pattern?  As you develop you can start experimenting with intensity levels and combining modalities.  Here's an example:

Monday - Convict Conditioning and Swing Practice
Tuesday - Turkish Get Ups
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Convict Conditioning and Swing Practice
Friday - Turkish Get Ups
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Shoot Hoop, Bike Ride, Jog, etc (Active Recovery)

As you progress through Enter the Kettlebell, you'll start into the Clean and Press and Snatch.  So that will then look like this:

Monday - Convict Conditioning, finish with Swings
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Convict Conditioning, Clean and Press PRACTICE
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Clean and Press Practice and Snatch PRACTICE
Saturday - Convict Conditioning
Sunday - Rest

The following week up the intensity and volume of your Clean and Press, Snatch and Swing. 

GENTLY work up to a personal record and then back off 30 - 40% of where you peaked and then start back up slowly.  Pavel and Coach Wade outline some very simple protocols to help you build up your strength and conditioning.

There is a difference between practicing and working out.  Strength training should be progressive.  Look at this combo of numbers to get the idea:

1,2,3,4,5  -  2,3,4,5,6  -  3,4,5,6,7  -  4,5,6,7,8  -  5,6,7,8,9  -  6,7,8,9,10

See what's happening there?  If these numbers matched your intensity level on a scale from 1-10, 10 being maximum intensity, could you plug this into your training?

This type of progression allows you to train injury free, finish stronger and recover better all the while building on and maintaining strength and conditioning.  You can train like this for the rest of your life.  Not convinced?  Read Power To The People and get back to me!

OK, so bottom line here is step two is to work on and with Convict Conditioning and Enter The Kettlebell.  These two training paths could keep you busy for the next 20 years by them selves.  Low tech and minimal financial commitment for supreme fitness, strength and conditioning.  Not a bad deal really.  Ready to cancel your gym membership yet?

So get to work on this and in part three we will progress into the Intermediate/Advanced level of the Ultimate Strength and Conditioning routine.

Maximum Strength & Conditioning - The Ultimate Workouts To Coach Yourself To Supreme Fitness

Your quest is strength and conditioning. You can search the internet for strength exercises, training courses to get into peek physical condition, and workout routines for strength and conditioning.  You will find so much data, you will be overwhelmed and tempted to give up.  The biggest problem a person looking to get into shape has is lack of appropriate knowledge which will ultimately wind up resulting in either no results or injury. 

In this blog, we are going to look at the essentials to strength and conditioning and I will then turn you on to the lowest cost method for getting in and staying in the best shape of your life.  The strength and conditioning you will achieve will go well beyond cosmetic and into strength of mind and spirit.  Mixed Martial Artists, Traditional Martial Artists, Gymnasts, Power lifters, Runners, all develop what I call the warrior spirit.  They are willing to push themselves, get uncomfortable and suffer for their art and passion.  Mastery of the ego will also be developed as you follow the path I'm about to put you on.  There's more to this than just looking good naked.  If your only goal is to look good naked, then this will help you, but you'll probably fair better with a plastic surgeon.  True strength of body, mind and spirit requires work.  If you're not willing to put in the work, you can move on now.

We're going to split this up into two categories.  Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced.

Beginner - Total Body Mastery Part 1.

Don't let this be you!

Your body.  It's your vehicle for 80 plus years.  You need to know it.  You need to familiarize yourself with how it functions, moves and develops.  Your body is unique, just like you.  Movement is essential to knowing your body.  In this "information" age we spend so much time sitting and so little time plowing fields, hunting and gathering that we have lost the true connection with our body we've had in the past.  For centuries we have studied the development of the body but only since the last 150 years, since The Industrial Revolution, have we found the need to recapture the essential exercises that make use limber, strong and healthy.  Sitting at a desk all day is not healthy.  Period.  You must move.  Why is obesity such a massive problem right now?  We're not moving like we used to!  We're all going to wind up fat and atrophied like the people in Wall-E if we're not careful!

So, how do you reclaim your body?  Start here:  Convict Conditioning.  This book by Paul "Coach" Wade is a step by step guide to master what the book calls, "using the lost secrets of supreme survival strength."  Your current condition is irrelevant with this book.  You can be in the worst shape of your life and still do this program.  How?  You start out just moving.  Coach Wade will put you on a program that progresses over time starting you out with the basics of the basics.  Can you do a push up?  No?  No problem.  What about a push up against a wall?  The first exercise in this program is Push Ups against a wall.  What about squatting?  Can you sit in a chair and stand back up?  Can you lay on your back and bring your knees up?  These are calisthenics.  That word originates from Kalos Sthenos.  It means beautiful strength.  You have it now, you just need to let it out.

Here's the true beauty of it.  These "simple" movements are not easy.  If you're in decent shape already, you'll need to tame your ego and do them anyway.  If you're in poor condition, you will discover them to be harder than you expected.  However with practice, commitment and dedication, you can master these movements.  And that is what you will also develop.  Commitment, dedication and a unique understanding of the difference between "working out" and practicing a movement.

Coach Wade spent a good 20 plus years "inside" studying the art and science of strength and movement.  It was in this time that he developed and perfected the path to "bust free of all weakness."  Since being in a cell for 90% of the day, he found himself with only one piece of equipment.  His body.  Your body is the ultimate and cheapest piece of exercise equipment you can get.  If you are out of touch with your body, Convict Conditioning is the way to go.  Bar None.  Pun Intended.

So for you as the beginner, what you want to do now is to get locked up with Convict Conditioning.  Spend as much time on it as you want.  Take your time with it.  Coach Wade divides the progressions to strength up in to 6 fundamental Power Moves each with 10 Steps to Mastery.  Each step comes with 3 Standards.  So if we use pushups, there's 30 levels you will need to accomplish and work up to before you've mastered the Push Up.  This could take weeks, months or years and you're entitled to take as much time as you need.  What you're not entitled to do is quit.  When you buy this book, study it and decide to do it, you don't get to give up.  These exercises are progressions.  Meaning you progress through it.  You may need to tough it out at some point.  It is when you do that, that you will find true strength, develop your spirit and your will.  This will filter over into all other aspects of your life.  Guaranteed. 

Next up we will look at Part 2 of The Beginners guide to Total Body Mastery when we plug in a ancient tool to further aid you in your quest for the perfect balance of strength and conditioning.