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.

Another 40 kg TGU and a workout 5/29/11

Ok, so I did it again.  Turns out this might be an improving skill and not just a fluke!  Another TGU with the Bulldog I like to call George.

On this day, I warmed up with Super Joints, Jumped rope for 5 minutes, did 3 sets of Overhead Squats and Pump Stretches and then settled into another set of Turkish Get Ups with an 88 pound Kettlebell.

How did it go this time?  Well I filmed it, as you can see.  This was stronger than the last one for a couple reasons.  First, I didn't rest between sides.  Last time I rested about a minute.  Next time I will do the same.  It's important to note that next time I will also pay closer attention to the decent on left side as the final portion was rushed.  In retrospect, I think my mind got in the way.  Meaning I realized what I was doing!  It's important to own each movement of the Get Up.

Next time I will also drive more from the heal in the beginning.  I feel like I have a solid grip and handle on the bell so I will devote a little more attention to the drive and get my arms more at a 45 degree angle in the beginning of the movement.  This will help with control.  I rolled up instead of drove up. 

So I got a few things to work on, but am still quite proud of this achievement.  I am looking forward to fully owning the Bulldog TGU.

The rest of the session included some Goblet squats, Windmills, Club Swings and 1 descending ladder of 24kg Snatches.  14/12/10/8/6.

Pipes and Cogs

Saw this video called Pipes and Cogs on Facebook courtesy of Ken Froese, RKC II.  Needless to say I am jealous of these young men as this to me is how a gym should look and function.  Finding a spot like this in Los Angeles would probably indicate the Second Coming.  Bally's, L.A. Fitness, 24 Hour, Crunch, Equinox...  forget about it.  Give me a retired bomb shelter, some welding equipment and a few Kettlebells and I'm a happy man.  Old School strength, passion and grit.  This video is beautiful.

What's Your Excuse?

Inspiration and humility all in 6 minutes and 10 seconds!  A buddy from High School posted this video on Facebook last night.  As it turned out, I too went to High School with this gentleman.  What was most moving for me was that when I was in High School, somehow, this concept of "do it anyway" or "push your limits" and "blast through your alleged limitations..."   Somehow, I just didn't get it.  At least not like I do now.  Perhaps I wasn't ready for that wisdom.  This video showed up today to remind me that any limit I put on myself is just that.  A limit of my own design and making and certainly not an excuse.  I'm going to go do some snatches now.

Pull Ups: How To and How Come

Pullups: How to and How Come

Another article for Hub pages!  Actually this turned out to be my 100 Hub.  I've been writing on Hubpages just over a year now and to hit 100 feels pretty good.

So for this article, I take a look at the ins and outs of the pull up and a few progressions on how to get there if a pull up is currently beyond your reach.

Let me know what you think, click the link!

Pullups: How to and How Come

40 Days

Doesn't seem like a long time does it?  Trust me, it's not.

Here's what I'm working on.

Recently I got a CD called Mantra:  A Practice for Power, Peace & Prosperity.  In it is a challenge to practice Mantra for 40 days.  Mantra is energy.  It is vibrational sound energy that can be used to stimulate growth, awakening, healing, abundance, peace, and transformation among many other blessings.

This 2 disc set talks about what the Mantra is and what it is not.  What I enjoyed most about it was that there is no Dogma, no preaching, no "rules".  There is a constant encouragement to find what works for you and an invitation to practice in a way that best meets your needs and helps you with whatever it is your working on in your current situation.  From there, Niurka and Larisa Stow guide you through several options on how to practice Mantra.

So, why 40 days?  Well, here you will find yourself listening to two women talk about a practice that is considered by most a Hindu or Buddhist practice and when it comes time for the 40 day challenge, they mention Jesus.  That's the level of tolerance and wisdom behind this CD.  It's all good.  They've taken "religion" out of the equation and instead aligned themselves with finding a way to connect with Source.  Source can be so many things for so many people.

Now, I accept the challenge and since there are no "rules" here's the plan.  I don't have any beads (yet) and the most sacred space I have that I can be in twice daily unfortunately is my car.  The real job has me in the car twice a day for at least 15 minutes both ways.  I have examined and isolated what I want to focus on in my Mantra.  In a nutshell, I want to clear a path for myself and get out of my own way while attracting more abundance, prosperity and freedom in my life.  This sounds like a job for Ganesha.  Which brings me, an Irish Catholic Registered Republican, to another miracle hidden within this CD on Mantra and a sidebar.

There is one true Source, one true God, but many paths to God.  God speaks to us in many ways.  Your challenge is to be open enough to listen and hear.  What if the Hindu gods/deities are really just reflections of our own conscientiousness?  Hmmm...  just be with that for a moment.  If you're a Christian or like me, a Catholic this is important to realize.  This isn't about worshiping an Elephant or a woman with four arms.  It is about getting in touch with ourselves and our own divinity  Remember, God mad man in His image.  Look how different and unique man is!  Yet, somehow genetically, we are all so similar.  We are all part of his divine creation and it is the uniqueness of all religions that affords each citizen of this planet the opportunity to experience the divine.

The plan will be to listen to and sing/chant along with the Ganesh Mantra from Larisa Stow's CD Reaching In.  I will do this once on the way to work and once on the way home from work.  On my days off I'll do it on my way to training (exercise) and after training.

40 days.  There we go again.  Jesus was in the desert for 40 days.  Noah had rain for 40 days.  Moses?  40 days on Mt. Sinai.  The whole tribe was in the desert for 40 years.  40 is a significant number.  It is where habits are formed and clearly 40 is associated with transformation, enlightenment and discovery.  So 40 days it is. 

And with that in mind and considering that this is a blog dedicated to Inner Strength through the development of the body I will also lay out for you my 40 day exercise plan as well.

Physically the last 5-6 months have been a strain on my body with Periodontal surgery in July my system has been rocked.  I've been up to a lot of Qi Gong Recharge and Super Joints.  Kettlebell training has been sporadic.  Last week I had a cold, this week I'm ready to return to regular activity.  That cold felt like my body releasing the last bit of negativity from the surgery and it's now time to once again play full out as Niurka puts it.

Workouts 1 & 3

SuperJoints to warm up
Goblet Squats 16kg bell and Pumps 3 sets of 5
Practice Movements 1-5 with Indian Clubs while alternating 1+1 TGU with 32 kg KB
12 minutes of Snatches with 24kg bell (workout 1 go for it, workout 3 medium intensity or plug in Tabata protocal)

Workout 2 (EDT)

SuperJoints to warm up

20 minutes of alternating: 
Clean and Squat 24kg 5+5
Pullups 5

15 minutes of:
Ring Push Ups 10
Chest Expander 10

Hanging Leg Raises 5 sets of 12

Workout 4 (EDT)

SuperJoints to warm up

20 minutes of alternating:
Clean and Press 32kg 3-5+3-5
Box Pistols 3-5+3-5

15 minutes of:
Bulldog Swings Man Maker style

Hanging Leg Raises 5 sets of 12

I'll train 4 to 5 days a week.  I'll monitor fatigue, eat right and often and practice my Mantra twice daily.  40 days.  This adventure will set forth Sunday 11/7/10.  Sunday really is the first day of the week as far as I'm concerned.  I don't know if I'll be able to check in with this blog everyday, but I'll make it a point to continue journaling the experience as I go through it.  You are all welcome to tag along!  In my last posting, I put forward this challenge.   If you'd like to read the last post for an idea as to how this all started, CLICK HERE.

Last Night's Smoker

Well somehow I got roped into participating in wifey's Thai Pad class at her Krav Maga studio in Sherman Oaks. 

The class consisted of Thai Pads (of course) plus bodyweight exercises, stretching and some Kettlebells thrown in at the end for good measure.

We started with jumping rope.  I haven't jumped rope since Rocky III!  Needles to say I tried in vein to look cool but spent more time getting my feet tied up then actually jumping rope.

From there we moved into shadow boxing which did nothing but leave me in a complete state of self consciousness considering I've never shadow boxed (in public) in my life.  There was one cool move we did though here which was: shadow box, shadow box, shadow box, drop and sprawl, hop back up with a right knee.  That one was fun.  Like a martial burpee!

Then we did some bodyweight exercises and stretching.  Push Ups, Squats, Sit Ups, Downward Dogs, etc.  The pace was fairly high and the sweat really started in.

When the Thai Pads came out there was a lot of punching and kicking.  Not a martial artist, I did my best to kick high and punch well.  Mrs Bradley coached me and encouraged me to keep going and the Instructor was patient with my first timer ass.  Multiple combinations of punching and kicking, push ups and sit ups.  Trading off with my partner (in more ways than one) I had a blast training with Mrs Bradley.

The main part of the workout and what I think is the main reason for the cesspool of lactic acid in my calves and hams was this combination of punches and kicks that worked like Ladders almost.

1 right jab, 1 left side kick
2 right jabs, 1 left side kick
3 right jabs, 1 left side kick
4 right jabs, 1 left side kick...  all the way up to 10 and then switch sides!

Then Push Ups on your knuckles with the gloves on and then this flipped over to:

1 right kick, 1 left jab
2 right kicks, 1 left jab
3 right kicks, 1 left jab
4 right kicks, 1 left jab...  back to 10 again, switch sides and try not to fall over.

After a quick breather and swig of water the Kettlebells came out.  We did about 1 minute of each of the following:

-Still Legged Dead Lifts
-Sumo Squats
-Right Arm Cleans
-Right Arm Clean and Press
-Right Arm Press
-Left Arm Cleans
-Left Arm Clean and Press
-Left Arm Press
-Crush Curl
-Crush Curl+Press+French Press

Cooled down with more stretching and Yoga-esc poses and wrapped it up.  All in all the class was about an hour and 10 minutes, thoroughly invigorating and a nice change up for this Hard Style Kettlebell fanatic.  All in all a good time was had by all.  I enjoyed the challange and was happy to have kept up and not completely embarrased my dear wife!

The Rest of the Story...

Russian Fatigue Cycling from Beyond Bodybuilding by Pavel Tsatsouline is a training program designed to keep things simple while creating enough variety for you and your body to not get bored and stagnant. 

In Power to the People, Pavel taught us about the traditional, simple and highly effective power lifting cycle.  Train often, add a little weight each time, when you reach your max, take a couple days off, reduce the weight and start climbing again.  Kind of like a self-imposed Sisyphus style of training.

What Russian Fatigue Cycling basically looks like is this.  You take a group of exercises with the same sets and reps and then arrange them in a comfortable line up that targets the whole body.  That will be Workout A.  Workout B will be exactly the same as Workout A except you will change the order of the exercises.

This style of training will have you training a lift once early in Workout A, but then training the same lift later in Workout B.  Essentially cycling your fatigue.  For example if your Workout A starts with pull ups and you can bang out 4 sets of 8 pull ups when your fresh, can you still knock out 4 sets of 8 after doing 5 other taxing lifts?

Training and planning your training can be confusing.  When you change things up, you're sore as hell the next day because your body has been introduced to a new stimulus.  But does that mean new gains?  Not necessarily.  Programs sold on T.V. endorse "muscle confusion" as the end all be all of training.  When you look at Wikipedia's description of P90X, it has this to say:

"P90X's advertising emphasizes "muscle confusion", a method of cross-training and periodization achieved through switching the order of exercises and incorporating new and varied movements. Muscle confusion prevents the body from adapting to exercises over time, resulting in continual improvement without plateaus."

Is the last sentence as confusing to you as it is to me?  If the body can't adapt, how can it improve?  Beyond Bodybuilding puts it like this:

"Scientists who study complex systems - the human body is one of them - know that in order to thrive, these systems must teeter 'on the edge of chaos'...  If the training schedule is totally erratic...  you get very sore but you are not building much muscle and even less strength."

Think about it, the last time you helped someone move, did you get ripped or just sore?  A buncg of lactic acid  pooling in your arms and legs does not necessarily mean you're getting buff, ripped or stronger.

Fatigue cycling will give you the best of both worlds.  Structure that allows the body to actually adapt to the stimulus you're giving it and enough variety to keep it guessing.

So what happens when you plug Kettlebells into the mix?  That's exactly what we're going to find out...

I have an affinity for the past.  I have always been drawn to the Old Timey Physical Culture type stuff.  So why wouldn't I exercise in a similar fashion? 

The warm up I use is either Qi Gong Recharge or Super Joints.  From there we get into training.

Workout A

• Pull Ups 4 x RM
• Renegade Rows with 24kg 4 x 5
• 1 Arm Clean & Press with 32kg 4 x 5/5
• 1 Arm Clean & Squat with 24 kg 4 x 5/5
• Push Ups between 24's 4 x 10
• Iron Cross with 16kgs 4 x 5
• Chest Expander 4 x 10
• Hanging Leg Raises 4 x 12

Workout B

• Push Ups 4 x 10
• Iron Cross with 16kgs 4 x 5
• Chest Expander 4 x 10
• 1 Arm Clean & Squat with 24kg 4 x 5/5
• Pull Ups 4 x RM
• Renegade Rows with 24kg 4 x 5
• 1 Arm Clean & Press with 32kg 4 x 5/5
• Hanging Leg Raises 4 x 12

I've also thrown in a conditioning/active recovery session to be done in between workouts A and B.

Workout A1

• Goblet Squats and Pumps 3 x 5 in a circuit
• Club Swinging Practice Movements 1 - 5 alternating each movement with 1/1 TGU's with a 24kg
• Snatches 12 minutes EDT style
• Stretch out

Workout B1

• Same as Workout A1 only I'm doing Swings with George the Bulldog instead of snatches

I'll do Workout A, take a day off, then A1.  Workout B, rest a day, B1.  Then repeat.  This is how I've been spending the last part of September and how October looks.

As I am still working on writing one Hub (on Hub pages) for all if David Whitley's 101 KB Workouts, I will be plugging Stacking and Tabata into the conditioning parts and some of this will pop up on YouTube shortly as well.

I'll keep y'all posted!

So what's been going on lately...

Well there was periodontal surgery in July.  That was fun.  August was recovery.  September found my immune system still trying to reset.  I started back to training, even slowly at first.

1 Workout would look like this:

• 1 Arm Bulldog Swings  1 x 3/3
• 1 Arm Clean & Press @ 32kg 1 x 3/3
• 1 Arm Bottoms Up Press @ 24kg 1 3/3
• Pull Ups & Dips Superset 1 x 5
• 1 Arm Front Squats @ 24kg 1 x 3/3
• Finish with 12 minutes of Snatches sets of 5/5

Workout 2 would repeat the above except sub in 12 minutes of Bulldog Swings instead of Snatches.  I worked up to sets of 5, then 2 sets of 5 with a goal of 5 x 5.  On each Swing/Snatch workout, I'd try to add a rep or set just; improve slightly each time.

All the while my immune system was/is trying to reset after the surgery.  Amazing how the oral surgery wreaked havoc on my body systemically.  I started getting canker sores, sore throats, nasal drip, allergy attacks that seemed stronger than just the normal hey fever that would pop up this time of year.  My system was rocked.  Even on such a light (for me) routine, I quickly became over trained.  I felt sluggish, depressed and like I was coming down with something.  Just blah!

So...  I backed off.  Way off.  AGAIN!  Not happy about it, but not interested in getting hurt or sick either, I down shifted to Qi Gong Recharge, Super Joints, and Club Practice when I felt like it.  Once or twice a week, tops!

On 9/26, I thought, OK.  What have you wanted to do KB but haven't tried yet, workout wise?  I need to regain my strength and strength endurance while not slipping back into an over trained condition. 

Beyond Bodybuilding Has a section Pavel titled Russian Fatigue Cycling and I've wanted to plug KB's into that for a long time. 

In my next blog here, I'll tell you how I did it, where I'm at now and what my next move will be...  so stay tuned, kiddies!

Tuesday Heavy Day and a Visit from God...

After working with two clients, it was my turn.

Superjoints to get the ball rolling
TGU's 2/2 @ 16kg, 2/2 @ 24kg, 2/2 @ 32
32 kg Clean and Press 4 ladders of 1,2,3,4
Bulldog Swings 1 x 26, 1 x 24
Pump Stretches, Hanging Leg Raises

Today God stopped by to let me know I am on the right path.  He was, however, disguised as a 72 year old former Russian soldier.  He said his name was William, but that didn't fool me. 

William looked at my 32 kg like he just saw a pet from childhood.  He was walking 2 little lap dogs through the park.  He was short and stout.  His accent clearly Russian.

"That is 2 pood," he said.
"Yes it is," I replied amazed.

William then went on to talk about trianing with Girya's in the Army and as well as the weightlifting.  He said guys like us were called "Culturists."  He talked about, "large American man of strength...  what was his name?  He came to Moscow.  I saw him do demonstration.  Very strong.  Anderson, I think..."

"Paul Anderson?" I asked.

"Yes, yes.  You've heard of him.?"

"I have.  He was a very famous guy."

When we shook hands, his hands we rugged, warn tough, and warm.  His grip still strong as ever.  It was such a pleasure to meet this older Girevik and to see his eyes light up as he went back to a time long, long ago.   

So, what did I mean by comparing this guy to God?  I have had too many coincidences in my life to believe in accidents.  When two people converge like this it is not by accident.  William showed up today as God's way of letting me know I'm on the right path.

How Does God Talk To You And A Word Or Two On Strength

A quote for Strength of all types taken off the wall in my father's office:

"When flowing water...  meets with obstacles on it's path, a blockage in it's journey, it pauses.

It increases in volume and strength, filling up in front of the obstacle and eventually spilling past it...

Do not turn and run, for there is nowhere worthwhile for you to go.

Do not attempt to push ahead into the danger...

emulate the example of the water:

Pause and build up your strength until the obstacle no longer represents a blockage."

(Taken From:  
To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love)

Now, I haven't read this book (yet).  Clearly, as of last Wednesday afternoon, it is on my list.  I'm just starting Journey to Ixtlan by Carlos Castaneda and well...  this will be next.  Interesting how this quote should appear before me and how rare it is I'm in my father's office.

But that bodes the question:  How does God talk to you?  The days of burning bushes, I think, are over.  My assumption is God is more subtle.  The thing is, are you listening?  Are you open?

Keep in mind, God doesn't have to be the Old Guy with the beard that kind of looks like Mel Brooks.  Who God is and what he/she looks like is up to you.  We're not going to worry about how God looks nor should we try to define God.  But once we commit to the existence of a higher power with conscience intelligencer, clearly there's a potential for communication here...  are you listening?

So, here I am in my father's office working with him on publishing my up-in-coming book, How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone, and I look on his wall and see this amazing quote.

From everything I've learned as a practitioner of strength, from how to execute a proper deadlift, to how to press a Kettlebell, this quote is like a Zen Master's instruction of strength.

Now, how can you incorporate this into daily life?  Strength of will and determination.  What habit's are you trying to develop and what habits are you trying to kick?  What obstacles are you using?  What are you allowing to block your progress?

This is the time to pause.  It doesn't have to be a long pause.  Just long enough to recognize the gap that lies between stimulus and response.

The Kettlebell Clean and Press is a great drill to learn the pause.  Swing the bell back and launch it forward as you would in a normal swing.  But instead of an arc out, you pull up and "tame" the arc.  The Kettlebell lands home resting on your forearm and shoulder, the rest of your body braced for impact, tight, rigid and rooted to the ground.  Energy bounces from the ground to explode out as you press the bell skyward.  That is the moment before the press where in the rest of your life you get to choose to press on or crumble under the weight.

In the physical realm, the Kettlebell will act as your obstacle.  Whatever it may be.  For me it has been addiction, grief, and low self esteem, to name a few.  Learning how to press on when it seems too heavy is something worth training for, wouldn't you agree?