My Cubicle

I know some of you can relate.

From the Blob to Captain of Crush - A Bender's Story

To the left in the Grip links, I have indexed the site of Eric "Bender" Godfrey who is a certified Captain of Crush (CoC) and a bending fanatic. Instead of taking the traditional route to certifying on the #3 CoC, Eric to a page from John Brookfield -"Blockweights equal hand strength." Eric became addicted to bending and lifting blockweights. As his strength continued to grow, he would occasionally test himself on the grippers, "for fun." The hard work paid off, and Eric certified on the #3 Captain of Crush official list. Check it out. There are a ton of good things going on at Bender's Page And start pulling on those Blobs!

The Tactical Ten: Burning the butter in 10 minutes

Jeff Martone gives us a couple of bodyweight + kettlebell complexes that anyone can use to get a killer 10 minute workout. These are similar to some of the complexes that Martone shows in his TAPS dvd. You think that you can't get a good workout in 10 minutes? Try these and get back to us. Everyone has at least 10 minutes a day to spare. The Tactical Ten

More on Soft Tissue Work

Some of you may have caught a recent post on Self-myofascial Release and have found some benefit in applying it to your routine. Are you looking for more? Tony Gentilcore has written an article for T-Nation on soft tissue work that he sees as a progression for those using the foam roller. Nothing ground shaking, but a good summary of the information that is out there. Soft Tissue Work for Tough Guys If you feel like spending some money here is a highly recommended book on trigger point therapy: The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief and if you like the idea of using tennis balls for therapy, here is a book I have pulled information from since the '90s: The Acupressure Warmup: For Fitness, Athletic Preparation and Injury Management

DIY Fitness Equipment Update

For those of you who read my post on Building Your Own Fitness Equipment and are interested in bringing some of the ideas to life; take a look at McMaster.com for a lot of the harder to find materials. They carry a ton of items that you will not be able to find at most Lowes or Home Depots and will probably beat other local parts suppliers in prices. I've ordered from them several times, and the service was excellent and the shipping was very fast. A great resource for your homemade projects. Highly recommended. I've added a link in the DIY section on the left.

Crossfit: Forging Elite Fitness

Forging Elite Fitness. Well, it is unlikely Crossfit will take you to elite status, but it is a pretty good general physical preparation (GPP) program. Taking a look at the Athletic Skill Standards provided by Crossfit North, anyone who makes it to the top will truly be a well-rounded, multifaceted athlete - no one trick ponies here. Yet, I don't really see anyone making it to the top. Well, not performing all of the skills at the same time. There are just too many markers that would require specialized training to achieve. Don't take my word for it, look for yourself at the standards: Crossfit North's Athletic Skill Standards. The skill standards go from Level 1 Beginner status up to Level IV Elite Athlete status. It is a good list to give you plenty of goals to shoot for but don't bank on being able to do them all at one when you get into the top tiers. Anyways, back to Crossfit. Many people have convoluted notions on the definition of fitness simply because there are so many different definitions. Everyone has an opinion; like Clint Eastwood says, "Opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one." Crossfit has formulated its own opinions on the methodology of developing balanced and "total" fitness. Taking into account numerous modalities like gymnastics, bodyweight exercise, Olympic lifting and so on, Crossfit emerges as a great set of principles for top shelf GPP. You can follow the workout of the day on the main webpage of Crossfit's site, or you can take the initiative and use the principles of the Crossfit program that suit your training needs and tailor a program around you own individual goals. Check out Crossfit journal 6 for a nice breakdown of the Crossfit template. For more information on Crossfit, and the Crossfit definition of fitness, browse their free article from the Crossfit Journal, which can be accessed at Crossfit Journal: What is Fitness?. If the article peaks your interest and you want to know more about the Crossfit methodology be sure to check out the following article provided by Crossfit: Crossfit Foundations

Sandow Plus - York Hand Balancing Course

Sandow Plus.UK has two excellent resources for anyone interested in training for free-standing handstands and beyond. The old York Handbalancing courses from the late 1940s offers practical suggestions that remain relevant to this day. The York Handbalancing Course #1 The York Handbalancing Course #2 I'd give anything to be able to do some of the movements in the second course; The 1-Arm balancing is just plain sick. I may have to start practicing the material in the first pamphlet. Either way, it is great information on displays of athleticism.

Build Your Own Fitness Equipment

I have always been a do-it-yourself type of guy - an acquired taste from years in the construction industry. Luckily for me, I discovered several Internet gems that will no doubt save you some money and give you a sense of accomplishment. Just don't do like me and turn a hobby into an obsession, building equipment just for the sake of building it. Your spouse will kill you. My personal favorite: Grunt & Shen's Workshop This site has a ton of useful ideas that will save you a lot of money from buying commercially built equipment. I've used numerous ideas from this site to construct some pretty functional fitness tools. Other useful homemade equipment sites: Brian Long's Site Aptdwler's Site

The Seal Quest: BUD/S Preparation

I have not visited the The Seal Quest Website for a while now. It seems like they have made a lot of changes and added a lot of new material. They have adopted a Crossfit style training program with their Seal Quest Daily Workout, mirroring Crossfit's Workout of the Day. This would be a wise decision given current military PT protocols. There are also some pretty good articles. If you have read my blog entry on Self-Myofascial Release, there is related article on the Seal Quest that can be accessed through this link - The Seal Quest: Self-Myofascial Release Article

Ross Enamait - Hardcore Training

Check out the article on a recent experiment by Ross Enamait: Hardcore Training Ross Enamait's no bullshit, no nonsense, no misconceptions approach to fitness is steadily growing an almost cult following. I'm not normally one to so easily admit my admiration for anyone, especially anyone in the overly saturated fitness industry, but Ross Enamait is someone that is to be admired. As a family man and recent father, who spends his days training athletes, I find it hard to imagine the energy Ross has to put into his pet projects like Rosstraining.com. He routinely answers the same questions that are asked ad nauseam on his forum with a grace and patience that I've long forgotten. He is readily available to answer emails and provides answers to questions without the obscure nonsense of other fitness charlatans who try to sign you up with their "Inner-Circles." Enamait's site is definitely one to check on regularly.

EliteFTS

I was just reading through some of the recent articles over at EliteFTS.com and am absolutely amazed at the quality of information that the contributors to EliteFTS put out there. It is a one of a kind resource for anyone interested in overall athletic and sports performance, and I am more than happy to pass this along to all of you that have not had a chance to check it out: EliteFTS Articles