Intelligent Fitness

Three days after I posted the Kettlebell Considerations article, I glanced through a news stand copy of the December/January issue of Men’s Fitness. Knowing that the fitness/workout articles are in the back of the magazine, I flipped from back to front. I scanned the photos and to see who wrote the article. Some of the authors I know personally and others by reputations. Usually, if I see something of interest, I’ll buy the magazine. If not, I quickly put it in the rack and move on.

While flipping through the pages of this issue, I saw photos of kettlebells so I stopped to investigate. What I saw startled me. I blinked and shook my head to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Like witnessing a car wreck, I couldn’t look away. Yeah, I was right, evil Ken & Barbie had hijacked kettlebells. There was a photo of the fitness model doing arm curls with two kettlebells. Further down the page, the same model was shown doing pec-flyes on a bench with kettlebells. I felt the rage really take over my body when one of the photos showed the model standing on one leg, with his knee pointing out to his side while performing a one arm shoulder press. He looked like a circus act reject.

If I had purchased the magazine, I would have ripped it, stomped on it and then set it on fire. But since I had not, I returned the magazine to the rack. With my hands still shaking, I walked away muttering to myself. To those around me, I must have appeared to be a very upset homeless person yelling at some one in a parallel universe. Needless to say, I was pissed.

I did, however, take the time to look in the front of the magazine to find out who the idiot was who wrote the article and where did he receive his kettlebell training. In the paragraph about him, I found that he had no formal kettlebell training and it simply stated that he was a personal trainer who really liked kettlebell. Gee, sounds like an expert to me. That would be like a Playmate stating on her datasheet that she really liked to look at stars in the night sky and from that we were to conclude that she was an astronomer.

As I have stated many times before, the Russians evolved the kettlebell for over 300 years to be a brutally effective tool for developing strength, power and mutant work capacity. The necessary skills and exercises were developed and refined over a long period of time. The kettlebell was just re-introduced to the American fitness culture, after a long absence, in 2001 by Pavel Tsatsouline through www.dragondoor.com. More recently, the Russian influence continued when Valery Fedorenko, ten time kettlebell competition World Champion and Honored Master of Kettlebell Sport, came to the United States to build interest in kettlebell sport. The kettlebell is their tool and that is why I have studied with Russians. Who better to transmit kettlebell knowledge than the people who created it?

As one of the early kettlebell instructors and having been an instructor for 8 years, I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten it right by self-instruction (DVDs and books). Now, we have personal trainers with little to no formal kettlebell instruction attempting to teach others. Due to their lack of a proper kettlebell education, they just seem to make stuff up. Because they have the title of personal trainer, the public assumes these trainers know what they are doing. In this case, the public would be wrong and the concept of trainer expertise is another long rant. Most trainers do not have a clue what a kettlebell is all about and they are too arrogant to admit it. Sadly, the client and the kettlebell become victims of misinformation and improperly instructed technique. The kettlebell is too important of a tool to the strength and conditioning world to be corrupted in this manner.

You wouldn’t give a three year old a loaded .357 because you know somebody would get hurt if you did. All of you clueless trainers and gym rats, who are throwing kettlebells around without proper instruction, put the kettlebell down and back away. Please ignore any use of the kettlebell where a dumbbell or barbell would work better. And if you are really serious about using kettlebells, seek out someone who knows what they are doing. Here is a big clue; it is not Ken & Barbie!

Most of my postings have been about the dark side of the fitness world; dumb ideas, bad equipment, worthless supplements and morons in the gym. Because of my time in the fitness industry, I hope that I have been able to add a historical perspective to these issues to understand how they began, continued to exist and how to avoid some of the traps. Today, I am turning my attention to a piece of equipment and style of training that I have gotten to know quite well over the last eight years. Read the rest of this entry »

I had a long wait before my red-eye flight back to Indy from Las Vegas. The flight was to be even longer. So I picked up a copy of Born to Run by Christopher McDougall to pass the time. Several non-runners in the fitness industry that I respect have highly recommended the book. In fact, their reports have even been glowing. After I got a couple of pages into the book I understood why. Now, it is my turn. Buy the damn book and when you get a few pages into it you’ll understand why as well.

I’m not going deep into the story line but for this discussion I am going to focus on the author’s experience with running injuries and a surprising finding that pissed him off. Read the rest of this entry »

Monday began with waking up to an uneasy dread and sadness. I know a lot of people start Mondays this way but this was much different. This Monday was the day I had to take the oldest of our three dachshunds to the vets to be put down.

Spunky was 15 years old, very frail, blind and deaf. Since winter, it seems that he deteriorated at lightening speed. With each passing day, he became weaker and less responsive to the world around him, withdrawn into a dark and silent world that my wife and I could not comprehend or reach through to the spirit that was once a very active, loving dog. Read the rest of this entry »

Shortly after 9/11, Pavel Tsatsouline wrote an article for Muscle Media magazine which focused on the strength and conditioning workout of the Russian Special Forces. It centered on the use of kettlebells and body weight exercises because of the need to be both portable and highly effective. While on maneuvers, kettlebells were thrown in the back of a truck and when camp was made, they would drag out the kettlebells and rig up something for doing pull-ups. When camp was broken, the kettlebells were thrown in the back of truck and taken to the next location. As interesting as this use might be to current and potential kettlebell users, the most important concept of this article was not necessarily the use of kettlebells but rather was the workout structure and the rationale behind it. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, I cancelled my gym membership. After three years of trying to train in a public gym just three miles from my house, I called it quits. The lack of proper gym etiquette, the daily viewing of poor technique and dumb exercise choices and watching the club’s personal trainer lead his lemmings over the fitness cliff finally reached critical mass. I even tried to ignore the comic tragedy for awhile but the inane visions of clueless movements and hearing the regurgitations of some muscle rag pap broke through my defenses. It was time to leave. In fact, it was long past that time. Like a bad marriage, I kept taking to make it work but now it was over.  Read the rest of this entry »

Responsibility, Tom Brady & Buying a Car

If you have the knowledge and experience that would drastically help someone obtain their goals and more importantly keep them from becoming injured, are you obligated, even though unsolicited, to assist them? I studied under a Russian Strength coach who said that you have to allow people to be as stupid as they want to be unless they ask for your assistance. Then you had the option as to whether to help them or not. If they pay for your services, you have no choice. They are, in fact, paying for your knowledge and experience. It seems pretty clear-cut. Or is it? Read the rest of this entry »

There are no simple answers to what are the best exercises, routines and fitness equipment. The subject is just too complicated and individual needs are too varied to allow for such absolutes. However, that doesn’t stop the mass media, internet gurus and product marketers from trying to convince the public otherwise. The answer, “It depends”, is not as dismissive as it first sounds. It is truly the most honest answer that can be given. However, there are some ideas and products that just beg to be “whacked” for being logically and intellectually offensive. Just watch cable TV long enough and you’ll know what I mean. FYI, Tony Little is the Fitness Satan.

The questions my clients ask are sincere. They truly want to know the real value of concepts like; Crossfit, P90X, Kettlebells, the latest diet and the current workout in Men’s Health magazine.  They are confused by conflicting claims, the speed of “amazing” results and by programs that appear to be diametrically opposed to each other. Most of my clients know that my answer does not end with, “It depends”, it merely begins there. We explore the journalistic “who, how, what, where and when”. The concept is placed in a historical context and then compared with other current approaches. Exercise physiology, functional anatomy and biomechanics are discussed to determine if the concept makes sense when considered in the glare of that unforgiving spotlight. If the concept survives that process (and very few do), we then ask if the concept meets the needs of the client in general and more specifically, is the timing right.

Naturally, you want to be successful and reach your goals. You want to be rewarded for your investment of time, money and effort. No one wants to feel that they had been had by some stupid idea or mislead by a compelling fitness guru who is more interested in your money that in your success. Well Spunky, you have to take responsibility for your own success. No one is going to hand it to you. You have to earn it. Just the fact that you’re reading this, you obviously put out intense, consistent muscular effort. Now, it is time to match it with the same level of intellectual intensity. That means going beyond the most recent issue of some pseudo science muscle rag and actually exploring, in depth, the science of exercise.

Knowledge is power. Literally, exercise knowledge is power, strength, weight loss, weight gain, joint mobility, joint stability, athletic performance, sexual attraction and higher self-esteem. You owe it to yourself to become a gym rat with a brain. But the question now is where to begin. Here are a few suggestions to get you on your way.

The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Shuler and Alwyn Cosgrove. Lou and Alwyn destroy the common gym myths and offer a powerful new vision for program design. The book entertains and educates at the same time.

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Mark provides the best description of the “big lifts” I have ever come across. To give you an idea of the depth and scope of the information, the Squat chapter is 30 pages long. You will learn the proper architectural skeletal setup and technique guidance for the squat, deadlift, bench press, standing press and power clean. It is a must read for any serious weight lifter, personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach.

The Essentials of Strength and Conditioning, National Strength & Conditioning Association is the textbook for their CSCS exam. The reason for this recommendation is for the foundation section which covers exercise physiology from the cellular level outward. The intent of this study is to know the acute and chronic adaptations the body will make to a particular exercise choice, rep/rest scheme, exercise order, frequency and loading. In other words, you have a well thought out rational for what you’re doing.

These three books will keep you busy for awhile and you will be well on your way to becoming a true gym rat with a brain, which of course, is better than being a brainless gym rat. “Stupid is as stupid does.” – Forrest Gump

“Stupid is as stupid does.” - Forrest Gump

Since returning to a commercial gym after 25 years, I am shocked by the current gym culture. Few members understand the basic concept of “gym etiquette”; unloading bars, re-racking weight plates and dumbbells and just generally cleaning up after themselves. Moving about the gym in an iPod induced stupor; these spoiled suburban brats seem totally aware and unconcerned how their actions affect the gym experience and training quality of those around them. Examples have been recorded on various forums and websites for years but until I witnessed the stupidity, I thought that they were exaggerating for comic value and the shock effect. I was wrong. It is worse than I thought it could ever be. Read the rest of this entry »