If it's important, do it every day.

I have a man crush on Dan John, yup I admit it. I have yet to find a strength coach who simplifies complex things so well. He always say " If it's important, do it every day." This holds true to so many things, here are some thoughts:

Training

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat more protein.

3. Learn something new about YOUR body.

4. Sleep.

5. Stretch-it feels good. I don't care about the studies on static stretching, it feels good so I do it.

6. Foam roll- again, some say it works and others don't. It works for me so I will roll with that.

7. Hip band work- yup, these prep drills look like something out of a Jane Fonda video. I don't care, my hips and back always feel better after.

8. Stretch my hip flexors- man I can't get enough of this. We sit all day in a flexed position. Do yourself a favor, stretch those puppies out.

9. Side- lying-Tspine rotations- aka rib pulls...these always feel great. Sometimes I get a few cracks too. Who needs a chiro?

10. Turkish get ups- do I have to explain

http://skillofstrength.blogspot.com/2010/08/veggies-and-get-ups.html

Life

1. Tell your loved ones you love them.

2. Learn from someone younger and less experienced than you.

3. Open doors for people.

4. Teach at least once a day.

5. Give more than you get.

6. Buy a cup of coffee for someone in the military. They give it all so we don't have to. Spend a few bucks and say thanks

7. Say "Your welcome" and "Thank you"

8. Leave a good tip for a waiter/waitress during the holidays. If they do a good job, spread the cheer

9. Listen more, talk less.

10. Be patient.-Good things come to those who wait. If you don't get it when you want it, you weren't ready for it.

11. Breathe- never underestimate the power of breathing.

The Hardest Workout EVER!!

I always here people say " Man, that was the toughest workout ever." Hard workouts are easy to formulate, and here is the secret.

Stupidity+Tons of Reps+ limited recovery+poor choice of weight+ highly technical lifts performed while fatigued = a dumb/hard workout

One more thing, a high powered stimulant always helps

So if you want a hard workout, here you go. Oh, and by the way these are very dumb workouts and if you try them you may be a bit soft upstairs.

10 dumb/hard workouts

1. 45 minutes of jumping jacks

2. 1 mile 200lb sled push

3. Deadlift your bodyweight in reps with no rest. Here is an example.

You weigh 175lbs, you must deadlift 175lbs for the 175 reps with no rest

4. 1/4 mile farmers walk with 125lb dumbells, if you drop the weight you must do 25 burpees as a penalty. Burpees are done every time the weight is put down.

5. Step into the ring with a pro MMA fighter, if you lose you must run a full marathon.

6. Unrack all the dumbells in your gym, load them into your car, Push the car for a 1/4 mile then load the dumbells back into the gym. Repeat twice

7. 20 weighted vest triple clap push-ups. If you fail you must perform an opposing limb bear crawl for 1/2 a mile. Remember, you have to use opposing limbs. I.E...only your right leg and left arm can touch the ground, or vice versa.

8. Perform the Tabata protocol with a 300 lb sled while hungover. If you are not hungover, drink a gallon of milk before the workout.

9. Perform 100 push-ups, then 99, 98, 97....all the way down to 0. Once finished do the same with pull-ups.

10. Swim a mile with your right arm only, but you can only swim the mile in a clockwise fashion.

This was fun, if you need more workouts please ask :)

DISCLAIMER- if you do any of these you are foolish.

Earning the deadlift

The deadlift or health lift has been around for a couple hundred years. Most strength professionals comprehend the benefits of this amazing lift but few know how to utilize it. Here are the most common mistakes with the deadlift.

1. Pulling in lumbar flexion- Unless you are competing in Powerlifting, their is no reason to pull in flexion. To be honest, it's really dumb

2. Lack of tension- In order to execute the deadlift, tension must be created. I see way too many people jerking the bar of the ground. The deadlift is a grind and not a ballistic movement.

3. It looks like a squat/deadlift/weird way of picking up weight thing- I see this alot, it's not a squat, it's not deadlift, it's a mix of these but both are done poorly. It looks as if someone is picking up a giant load of crap. Yup, let's call this the CRAPLIFT. Google deadlift on youtube, you may even see the infamous craplift.

4. Disconnecting the shoulders- most people don't understand how to connect the arms via lats. If you see rounded shoulders and a flailing torso, I am pretty sure the shoulders aren't connected. If you find a strength coach and they haven't mentioned the shoulders connecting at all, run the other way. While running the other way,throw in a tabata, its great fitness :)

Ok, back to the article. The deadlift must be earned. Several things must happen before one earns the deadlift. Here are a few recomendations before you starting deadlifting.

1. Get screened- get an FMS from a certified screener. He/she will let you know about any imbalances that may create problems for you and your training regimen. Fix the issues then progress

2. Find a strength coach that teaches and practices deadlifts a lot- Find a coach that can teach a deadlift to anyone. Their are many types of deadlifts, a good coach may teach you a different variation depending on your body type, injury history, training age etc. I also prefer strength coaches that practice what they preach. To me, this goes a long way.

3. Master the hip hinge- A symmetrical hip hinge it vital to a good deadlift. Master the hip hinge before you pull from the floor. This will ensure low back health and well as proper posterior chain development. The Active Straight Leg Raise or ASLR from the FMS is a great screen for the deadlift. If your hips are off, so is your deadlift.

4. Bring the floor to you- If you do not have the mobility to pull the bar of the floor with a neutral spine and good hip hinge then elevate the weight. Place the weight on a bumper plate, small box, or something stable. The will allow you to load the deadlift without compromising your low back. Remember safety first

5. Get your reps in- Practice the deadlift. It sound simple, but practice your technique as much as possible. You can practice every day, just make sure that you vary your loads and not fry your CNS. I love practicing 4x8 and 5x10 with newbie deadlifters. With proper weight and tempo, this will develop work capacity as well a create a healthy neurological pattern for the deadlift. Most athletes aren't ready for a true 5x5 deadlift routine day unless they have earned the pattern with thousands of good reps. Remember, Skill is a Strength :)

The deadlift is awesome, it's actually better than you

Here is some motivation :)

A message to new RKC's

The RKC weekend is a life changer. The people are passionate, High Fives are flying around like moths on street light. People are pressing giant kettlebells, networking, flexing their abs and are all fired up. You leave the RKC and you say to yourself " I can't wait for RKC 2, and the CK-FMS. I am gonna sign up asap.

Here is my advice....don't. I am not saying that you shouldn't take the courses, I am saying that you should wait. Wait and take the time to apply what you have learned. It's great if you can accomplish the basic lifts but teaching it is a whole different story. Once you have taught 50 different clients how to do the basics well, you will have a deeper understanding of the basic lifts. Then after the 50 clients, you will still have much to learn.

I am amazed at newly minted RKC's that create DVD's a week after the certification. Props to them that they have taken the initiative but IMO, its a bit premature. Just because you can regurgitate verbatim what you learned at the RKC doesn't mean it's time to create your own DVD.

I am not ripping on you, I am just saying that you should take your time and learn how to be a great coach. A great RKC is a great coach, this means that you can teach anyone how to perform the lifts.

Take your time and enjoy the ride, strive to be better, teach for free, learn, screw up, learn again and repeat for life.

ARC trainer from Hell

I hate cardio equipment, for the most part I think it's useless. But, if you must hop on a piece of equipment, try the Cybex ARC trainer. It has a few programs that aren't too bad. Here is a true butt-kicking workout on the ARC trainer.

Caution, this will drive your HR pretty high, please exercise with caution!!

Hit the Strength button

Enter your weight

Select Level 10

Keep your strides per minutes over 135 for 10 minutes. Regardless of what the program does, always keep your strides over 135.

Enjoy and report back

The 20 minute kettlebell workout

Here is my new favorite kettlebell routine. It takes 20 minutes, thats it ;) It's very simple but not easy. Here are the basic rules:

Pick 1 size kettlebell, I use the 24k for this. Choose wisely, your goal is to not change bells.

You will stay moving for 20 minutes, do not stop.

:30 of 2 handed swings

:30 of Goblet squats

:30 of pushups

200 meter run.

Repeat this for 20 minutes without rest. This is not an "all out" crossfit type routine. Quality reps is key. If you do not know how to manage fatigue yet then this workout is not for you. Keep track of how many "rounds" you finish and try this twice a week for 4 weeks.

If you are gassed, use the 200 meter run as a active recovery, if you can fly on the 200 meter runs, go for it.

The average male KB'er should start with a 20k or 24k while most women (not all) should use a 12k, 14k or 16k bell

Pace yourself, it's a long 20 minutes

Todays training 10/5/10

5x2 weighted pull-ups

45 x2

55 x2

65 x2

75 x2

85 x2

RKC snatch test with a 20k

4 min flat

Gettin back into it again :)