EliteFTS Training for the Female Athlete

Weight training for women is an often misunderstood topic. I hear from a lot of women that they do not train like the boys because they don't want to end up looking like a man. This is far from the truth. In the following two articles by Joe Defranco, we find that resistance training for both men and women should following the same basic principles for optimal performance. Should Females Train Differently Than Males? talks about the subtle differences between male and female resistance training that may surprise some of you. Training for the Female Athlete shows why it is important for women to properly strength train to prevent several gender specific injuries. And for an excellent resource on women's weight training, be sure to check out Stumptuous.com, where even us guys can find useful information.

Very Nice Homemade Sled for Dragging

I am reluctant to post this site because the first item could potentially be very dangerous, but the rest of the information is too good to pass up. If you do visit and decide to make the squat stands, please please please take a lot of caution if you plan to put anything heavy on them. Now back on topic - the sled design on this site is gold. As a carpenter, I don't know how I managed to not come up with something similar when I was building my own sled. I opted for the quick and easy option of a tire, eye bolt and some plywood to load weight. Since I have all the materials necessary laying around in the garage, I'm planning on building a new sled. I'm going to alter the design to resemble The Prowler II from EliteFTS. What makes this great since I pretty much have all the necessary materials on hand is that I'm getting a similar product without having to pay $484 (shipping included). Be sure to look at the other Homemade, DIY ideas - Make Your Own Equipment

Natural, Drug-Free Knee Pain Treatment

I was at one time suffering from chronic knee pain after following misguided weightlifting advice and growing up playing just about every sport imaginable that was available to me as a young American athlete. It got to the point where I was tired of limping around campus everyday so I made an appointment with the university health clinic, which was probably a mistake, seeing how this wasn't treatable with penicillin. The "doctor" didn't have any diagnosis or advice for me other than don't do any squatting movements. This irritated me after I took the time to come in for an appointment. I wanted to ask her how the hell a person could get by in life without squatting. Was I suppose to shit standing up? Leave my shoe laces untied? Not get in and out of a car? I decided to leave it alone and left the office grateful that I never attended this doctors med school (read: I'm just an ass, this probably wasn't her area of expertise). I never did get a diagnosis. So what followed was a year of perfect form, as-to-grass and face-the-wall bodyweight squats performed almost daily in a slow and controlled fashion. I believe this along with joint mobility was what "healed" my knee pain, whatever it may have been (this is only my personal experience - you my require different corrective procedures). The treatment that worked best was what the school's doctor told me not to do. It's a funny world. If I had to do it all over again, the only thing I would do differently would be to try the advice from TreatYourOwnPain.com. This site shows a method to wrap your knee in a manner that will decrease your pain from 70-90%, during painful activities. Maybe this method could have kept me on the go while I continued to correct my knee problem. Since I no longer have any knee pain to test this on, some of you may try this out and report back. Just be sure the knee wrap technique does not become a permanent crutch that keeps you from correcting the source of the problem. Here is the site again - TreatYourOwnPain.com

Gymnastics Training

Drills and Skills is a great site for anyone interested in gymnastic type training. If you are looking to work up to some new bodyweight skills, here is the place to search. Some of the exercises can be dangerous without proper supervision or coaching, so please take the site's disclaimer seriously. A little common sense goes a long way. Drills and Skills

Steve Maxwell Calf Workout

I was digging through some of Steve Maxwell's older posts and came across this calf workout he suggested for adding on a little mass. I did this mini routine the other day after my push workout, and I'm still feeling it. If you try this, be sure to plan on not being able to do any jumping or running afterwards. "Here is a calf program that has never failed to give great results. Do 25 smooth, full range, single leg calf raises, stretch for 10 sec. and immediately do 100 single leg hops as high as you can. With no rest, go back and do 10 or 15 more calf raises, stretch for 10 sec.and perform 50 more single leg hops. Stretch the calf for thirty seconds. Now do the other side. Your calves will really be pumped. You may want to massage them to get the blood flowing. Do several sets of 20 tibial dorsi flexion on a leg curl machine or use a Dard if you have one. I have seen clients add some serious size from this workout. Steve Maxwell " If you do not have a Dard and don't feel like buying or making one, then you can do what I do and use a dumbbell. Girls, you'll have no problems. Guys, you'll have to cross your legs like a woman (hey, it's more comfortable anyways) and ignore the looks you get if you workout at a gym. Simply hold the dumbbell in position with your hands while you do the tibial dorsi flexions. The handle rests on top of your foot. I actually prefer this method as you can adjust the position of the weight as you do the exercise; making it harder the closer the dumbbell sits to your toes and easier the closer the dumbbell sits to your ankle. You could probably slide your foot in the handle of a kettlebell as another option.

Jump Stretch Band Reminder

We've been getting a lot of hits on a past post for the big list of Jump Stretch band articles. Here it is again for anyone who missed it the first go around. A Lot of Jump Stretch Articles

Grip Lessons of Yore: Tips from Old Time Strongmen - Edward Aston

1945. World War II was finally coming to an end. Hitler committed suicide, leading to the declaration of V-E Day (Victory in Europe) several days later on May 8, 1945. Out of the ashes of a devastating series of events, Edward Aston penned his treatise on hand strength in 1946. Understanding this historical context leads more bearing on the written word found in the forward to Aston’s How to Develop a Powerful Grip. Edward Aston was the World's Middle-Weight Weightlifting Champion and the British Heavy-Weight Champion Weightlifter. He also held the title of Britain's Strongest Man from 1911-1934, retiring undefeated. His ‘how to’ publication includes many useful training tips which are recycled into most of today’s articles and tips offered by the “experts.” Aston’s forward to How to Develop a Powerful Grip speaks to the importance of lower arm training. Coming out of the WWII period, the message is clear that hand strength and physical development can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. This is just as valid today as it was in 1946, while we still remain in a global conflict. Aston further asserts that hand strength and physical conditioning is important for both sexes; “In those days of enemy action every man or woman could be called upon at any hour of the day or night to use the power of their hands.” Although he was speaking towards the war, the assertion holds true in today’s unpredictable society. The forward then goes into what I believe to be one of the most neglected areas of training today: the power of the mind. Go into any gym today and I’m sure you will find 90% of the people in the building with their I-pods blasting or their cell phones glued to their ears while they workout. Some will be watching random music videos on one of the numerous television screens; others will be reading a magazine while walking on the treadmill. If only they could be reading Aston’s words; “You may perform free exercises until the cows come home with little benefit to your health, strength or muscularity if your mind is wandering from the thoughts of breakfast to your best girl, for it is only when you focus your full attention to the muscles being used that the work becomes strenuous and result-getting.” The middle section of the publication, Aston talks about the feats of strongmen such as Vansittart "The Man with the Iron Grip", Sandow, Breitbart, Marx, Topham, Samson, and the Inch. Aston describes a lot of the famous feats performed by these men and shows us why they placed a high value on strong hands. One of the points that I found interesting was how Aston spoke about the would-be strongmen who would place decks of cards into a metal sleeve and slowly bake them to reduce their strength. They would then use these cheat cards in exhibitions of strength. It seems that there will always be individuals whose egos are so fragile that they feel the need to fake a feat of strength - reminiscent of the blow-torched and foot-stomped grippers used by people today in feeble attempts to impress. The final section of How to Develop a Powerful Grip talks about the different exercises that Aston believes to be important for lower arm development. A lot of these exercises will be familiar, and there might be some new ones to you. You could also make a lot of progress taking the ideas and applying them to modern grip products, or by making your own variations using the DIY links to your left. For example, rope hangs could be performed with a standard bath towel draped over a pull-up bar or tree branch. The newspaper twisting can be effectively performed with a cordless wrist roller (two 6 – 10” sections of pipe, (1) pipe repair clamp, and (1) wing nut to fit the bolt on the pipe clamp). With a little creativity the ideas are endless. So without further adieu I give you Edward Aston’s How to Develop a Powerful Grip with thanks to our wonderful friends at Sandow Plus. Aston Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

The Forgotten Lifts: Odd Lifting

Here is a picture of Arthur Saxon performing the Two Hands Anyhow lift. Since 1905, Saxon has held the record in this lift with an incredible 445 pounds - that is with a 335 pound barbell and a 110 pound kettlebell). Much can be learned from these old time strongmen. Within the last 10-15 years, more and more people are getting interested in "functional" weight training and utilizing methods that were once popular lifting modalities by strongmen throughout the world. A lot can be learned form the study of history. This is a neat little website featuring odd lifting or the "forgotten lifting." Forgotten because these are the lifts that were popular by the old time strongmen, which have largely been forgotten in today's society. Weightlifting: The Forgotten Lifts If you want more information on the old time strongmen, be sure to check the links to the left for the Sandow Plus and the Maxalding sites. They will be well worth your time.

Product In = Product Out: Ultimate Diet "Secret" Revealed

Type 'diet' into any search engine and prepare to be bombarded: Atkins, Zone, Paleo, Fruitarian, Vegetarian, Liquitarian (wtf), Anabolic, Abs Diet, Jenny Craig, Lean for Life, Mediterranean, and countless others. While some information listed in your search results could prove beneficial, the majority of the hits will be pure junk that are better off lost in the void of cyberspace. Now before you spend a small fortune trying out the numerous fad diets saturating the market, I am going to let you in on a little secret. Lean in closely. Here it is - there are no diet secrets, and there is no such thing as an ultimate diet. That's it. This fact is nothing ground shaking and you have probably heard it somewhere before, but today's marketing is filled with misinformation that leads many to forget this simple point. Well how does this help? Any average person who gets the majority of their meals from a drive through could probably pick up a book like the Zone or Atkins and get great results if they make the necessary changes. Crossfit actually advocates the Zone as a complete diet approach to support the Crossfit methodology. This is all find and dandy, the Zone diet is actually a great resource, but before you spend any more money on dietary information I urge you to read further. Like fitness, there is no cookie-cutter approach to diet. Despite what some might have you think, we were not all created equal. We all have different body types that respond differently to different stimuli and has different needs. To top it off, people do not have the same diet goals or lack thereof. Your best bet is to really define your goals to figure out what you are eating for. Then you will be in a better position to research the different diets and find what is best suited for you. In the mean time you might find some useful starting information, or even a standalone diet, in The Whole, Fresh, & Raw Diet (WFR) article at IronGarm. This is more of a common sense diet that is most likely geared towards how the human body was built to eat. Unlike our ancestors, the only hunter-gathering you will have to do is driving to your local grocery store or farmers market. Foraging in the 21st century is an easy convenience that lacks any excuse. Just be sure to do the majority of your grocery shopping in the periphery of the grocery store, and keep away from the isles (bet you haven't heard that one before), and you will be close to following the guidelines of the WFR Diet: "Eat whatever you want as often as you want as long as it is As whole as possible As fresh as possible As raw as possible" What you put in your body really effects what you get out of it. I'm not just talking about trips to the toilet. If your goal is sports performance, increased energy, muscle gain, longevity and so on - then you really need to pay more attention to what you are putting in your body. Product in = product out: if you want a good output you need a good input. Check out the rest of the article at IronGarm: The Whole, Fresh, & Raw Diet (WFR)

New Diesel Crew Footage

Jedd Johnson is a beast. Check out his mastery over the York Blob. Be sure to click the link on the left and read through the excellent articles on the Diesel Crew site.

Gorilla Hands on Closing Grippers

A good article on the mechanics of closing grippers. It shows the difference between the sweep, the close, and the hold and what people should pay more attention to in their training if their goal is to close big grippers. This 'Rilla knows his stuff when it comes to certifying on the Captain of Crush grippers and from his experience negatives, negatives, and more negatives are the key to success. The Hand and Negatives

DIY Box Construction - Snatches, Jerks, Plyos...

Here are plans to make a pair of great looking adjustable-height boxes. The author built these specifically as a jerk box, but it looks like they could be used for a variety of activities: snatch high pulls, plyo boxes, box squats. If you follow these instructions with 2x lumber you will end up with a heavy duty box with a nice clean look. The finished product will be heavy, so you may want to devise some sort of base that is on casters for easy movement and storage when not in use. Just be sure to remove the base with the casters before use. It will be a pain in the ass but worth it in the end. Jerk Box Construction Plans Here is a vid from Mike's gym showing one use for the boxes: Jerk Practice If you get sound but no video on the above movie, you'll need to go to quicktime and download the latest free 7.0 viewer.

MIT Open Course Ware

"The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will become by year's end the first U.S. university to offer all of its roughly 1,800 courses free on the Internet, a school official said on Friday." see the full article here: Yahoo: MIT to offer its courses free online by year end In the mean time you can check out the already listed courses here at the MIT Open Course Ware site. While this will not get you a piece of paper that states you took such and such number of hours and received some arbitrary degree, you will still have access to some of the best information from one of the finest institutions in the country. For those with a passion for education this is the ticket. I find it amazing the amount of good information that you can find online. I already hold two degrees, and I'm heading back to school in the coming months to further my education. I will definitely be referencing the MIT site for years to come or as long as I can keep an Internet connection.

Grip Training Article

Here is a good article that covers several different aspects of grip training. It talks about grippers, thick bar, wrist rollers and pinch. It also give some practical training advice and some information on how to make your own equipment. It's worth checking out: Grip Training

Interactive Human Anatomy and Physiology

Get Body Smart is a good site if you are interested in human anatomy and physiology. It's worth checking out and could be helpful in studying for a class or getting that NASM cpt/cscs certification. Get Body Smart Interactive Human Anatomy and Physiology

Mike's Gym

This is the site of Mike Burgener's regional training center for USA Weightlifting based out of Bonsall, California. The training center is geared towards Olympic Style weightlifting and the site reflects that focus. The gym trains athletes with a "philosophy based on the concept of training to prevent injury as well as the enhancement of performance using the Olympic lifts, crossfit techniques, kettlebells and other heavy equipment." There is a ton of information and a follow along workout of the day on the main page: Mike's Gym. Be sure to check out the articles: Mike's Gym Articles

J.V. Askem Tribute Site & DIY Farmers Walk Bars

This is a "partial mirror" to the original site of J.V. Askem (1947-2003). Askem was a personal trainer and Olympic weightlifting coach who has held lifting records and has been published in Milo. There is a ton of information here. Thank you to the kind people who are keeping the site alive. John Victor (JV) Askem Tribute Site Askem's site also has information on a cheaper alternative to farmers walk implements. For less than $20 a pair for bars that hold over 300 lbs, you would be hard pressed to spend the money on a high-dollar commercial equivalent. You can find the plans here: Askem's Farmers Walk Bars

Don't Forget to Set Your Clocks!

In the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin; "Early to bed and early to rise / Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." As a lot of you already know, Daylight Savings Time has been moved up this year to the second Sunday of March (March 11). So remember to set those clocks forward an hour. From wikipedia: "Daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time in British English, is the convention of advancing clocks so that evenings have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour in late winter or early spring and are adjusted backward in autumn. Details vary by location and change occasionally; see When it starts and stops below. Governments often promote DST as an energy conservation measure because it substitutes summer afternoon sunlight for electrical lighting. However, in some cases DST can increase energy costs." and to think "DST was first proposed in 1907 by William Willett.[4] An avid golfer, he disliked cutting short his round at dusk." Wikipedia: Day Light Savings

Workout Timer Options

If you workout near a computer visit Speedbagforum.com Workout Timer for a simple timer you can use for just about anything. I've been using this for some time now whenever I want to get a quick Tabata session at the house. If you are looking for something more on the go try out the widely recommended Gymboss interval timer. Set it, clip it on and get to work. A great value for $20. Some of you may be feeling more creative. You can always create your own mp3's with your favorite songs using something like Audacity. This will give you total control while also letting you listen to music that jacks you up. This is a great option to set whatever intervals and rest periods you like.

Jackal's Gym 1 Rep Max Calculator

Here is a handy little tool for determining an estimate of your 1 rep max. Just plug in your numbers and hit calculate. This might help some of you in designing a program based around your 1 rep max. Jackal's Gym Calculator