Arnold Schwarzenegger is responsible for some memorable quotes.  We all remember Pumping Iron when he said the getting a “pump” in the gym was just like cumming for him.  He went on to say that he was cumming all over the place in the gym.  That is only something Arnold would say.  Another not so memorable quote from Arnold is when referred to the moment just before performing a limit set as the “maximal arousal mode”.  This is the state at which the trainee performs the psyche and gets ready to exert maximal effort, sometimes going beyond their previous physical limit.  It is said that a proper psyche can add as much as 10% to your maximal lift.

In order to enter the “maximal arousal mode” or the “zone” as it is most often referred, we must first start with a quite mind.  To achieve this, we must learn to control our breathing and strip away any outside thoughts and eliminate all external distractions.  Once we reach this state of zen, we then vividly visualize a successful lift.  You will want to play the lift in your mind like a movie in as much detail as you can muster.  If done properly, you mind will not be able to tell the difference between the imagined event and the actual event.

Jack Nicklaus made this kind of visualization popular among professional athletes.  Jack would visualize ever shot in grand detail before he would physically make the shot.  Today, this kind of visualization it common place among golfers.  All of the top pro’s do some type of visualization before taking the shot.

There are two techniques that have a synergistic affect when used in conjunction with one another.  They are Shikantaza meditation and the Auto-Visualization Ideo-Motor Checklist.  This is not the place to go into the details of either but here in a nut shell is how they work.  With Shikantaza meditation, we will learn to quite the mind in preparation for you mind movie.  Once the mind is quiet, we perform the steps outlined in the Auto-Visualization Ideo-Motor Checklist.  These technique would not be used for every lift, only those big sets or PR”s.

Both techniques are described in great detail in Marty Gallagher’s book, “The Purposeful Primitive” along with loads of additional information to benefit any serious strength and conditioning athlete.

However you plan to proceed, learning to control your mind and create the “right” thoughts will serve you well in and out of the gym.

Cheers,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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One of the most frequent requests I get from athletes and weekend warriors is to recommend a workout routine for them that will specifically help them perform better at their chosen sport.  Everybody always wants to know what they should be doing in the gym to help them play football or baseball or golf or whatever sport they engage in better.  While there are specific exercises that may benefit a football player more then a golfer and vice versa, it is more important for people to understand that before engaging in sports specific training, it is imparative to develop a general strength foundation.

In his book, “Coan: The Man, the Myth, the Method”, Marty Gallagher asks the question, “Why do we lift weights?”  He answers, “We lift to increase physical strength and muscle size.  No other answer is correct.”  In the same book, Ed Coan states, “I firmly believe that everybody should train basically the same regardless of age, sex, height, weight, degree of fitness, percentage of body fat, etc.  I have a method for developing strength and muscle…Why should you train different from me?”  Who can argue with Ed Coan, he is considered the greatest powerlifter of all time.  Ed has squatted in excess of a 1000 pounds and pulled well over 900 pounds.  In training, Ed once pulled 900 pounds for 2 reps.  His strength cannot be questioned nor can his methods.

Sports specific training has become popular in the United States to the detriment of overall strength.  In Russia, the athlete cannot progress on to sports specific training until he has demonstrated a good overall strength foundation.  Broken down into even simpler terms, you must develop general strength before you can develop specific strength.

General strength is built by sticking to the fundamental lifts like the press, squat and deadlift.  Each one of these lifts requires overall strength and utilizes the fundamental we talk about most, engaging the entire body during every workout.  Yes, the squat for instance primarily targets the lower body but heavy squats require your entire body to be strong.  The same holds true for the press and deadlift.

I appreciate the fact that not everybody is interested in perform powerlifting exercises or engaging in the type of cycling and discipline required to build massively strong muscles.  If you are an athlete though or you are a person who is interested in getting strong, really strong, you absolutely cannot ignore these powerlifting lifts.  Some athletes today would rather participate in the “fun stuff” rather then putting in the hard work required to get strong.  This becomes detrimental to them and hinders their future progress.

I cannot think of a sport in which being strong would not be of some benefit.  Overall strength then can do nothing but make you a better athlete and offer you an advantage over your not so prepared opponent.

Remember, you don’t put up the walls or install the appliances before the foundation of a house is laid.  Similarly, you cannot develop strength in your chosen discipline before you develop generalized, overall strength.  The work is hard and demanding but the dividends paid in the future are priceless.

Kill It!

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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We talk a lot about proper form, about how many sets and reps to perform for any given workout, about how much rest we need, what exercises to perform, and what to eat.  All these factors and more contribute to our success or our failure when striving to achieve our fitness goals.  Often the one factor that can truly make our break our efforts in achieving success is our mental state.  More specifically, what we say to ourselves.

We tend to say things to ourselves and about ourselves that we would never think of saying to somebody else.  These negative thoughts have an enormous affect on how we perceive ourselves and whether our not we reach our goals or fall short.  It is literally possible to talk yourself out of accomplishing what you want both in and out of the gym.  This kind of negative talk is tragic because is it unnecessary and 100% controllable.

The great athletes know and have mastered the power of the mind.  They know how to control and eliminate negative speak within their own minds, replacing it with a clear understanding of what they want to achieve and how they are going to achieve it.  A vivid mental picture of success is formed.

It matters not if you are an elite athlete or just an average fitness fanatic trying to transform your body, the power of the mind can make or break you.  I am by no means an expert on the topic but I have studied a great deal about how the most successful people in the world think and more importantly, what they are saying to themselves.  This I can tell you with one hundred percent conviction, there are times in my life where I have literally willed myself to win and then when the time of reflection comes, I have wondered how it was I did what I did.  This is the power that we all possess and it can make us or it can break us.

In future posts, I am going to offer up my thoughts and opinions on the topic of mind power or whatever it is you want to call it.  For now, I just want you to be aware of what you are saying to yourself and how that affects you attitude toward the task at hand.  This is an oft times neglected topic in the fitness world, but one of extreme importance and relevance.  I can tell you that at the highest levels of human achievement, the power of the mind is at the forefront.

Yours in Success,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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When performing the military press, our goal should be to press as much weight as possible while protecting the shoulder from injury.  Of course good form is key to preventing injury in any exercise but an added tip when performing the press is to “pack the shoulder”.

Packing the shoulder works like this.  Clean the kettlebell to the racked position.  Before starting your press, pull your shoulder down as far as you can while pulling your elbow in slightly toward your navel.  This pre-stretches the shoulder which not only puts it in a safe position but increases your pressing power.  It is important to keep the shoulder pulled down during the press for the entire range of motion.

If you are having trouble feeling this, try this.  Stand in a door way and take up a position that simulates pressing the top of the door frame through the ceiling.  Now start pressing with a moderate amount of effort and think of as if you are trying to push yourself away from the resistance.  This way of thinking will cause your shoulders to pack in the socket.  This is the position you are trying to achieve when performing the press be it with a kettlebell or a barbell.

When pressing an actual weight and not a door frame, visualize yourself pushing away from the kettlebell.  This will further assist in keeping the shoulders packed and enable you to move more weight safely.

Kill It!

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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Don’t be offended by the title of this post.  I’m not suggesting that you are a weak person because you use machines, I’m saying that machines do not build strength like free weights do and thus are weak.  Now, if the title of this post does offend you, then you are easily offended, meaning you are weak, but that’s for another discussion.

Obviously free weights were the original piece of workout equipment although they weren’t free weights as we know them today.  They were in essence, rocks.  And wow, have we evolved over these past million years or so. Just take a look at one of the most sophisticated pieces of workout equipment in use today, the kettlebell.  The kettlebell is basically just a rock made of iron with a handle.  Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

There have been many advocates for the use of machines in the past who state that machines are safer then free weights, especially for beginners.  Well I guess it is true that you can’t drop a machine on your head or your toe but that is hardly a reason to employ machines in the beginning.  If you want to get strong, you will absolutely have to employ free weights into your regimen, no doubt about that.  Since that is a fact, it is better to begin your education in weight training with free weights from the very start when you are at your weakest and don’t have the ability to lift a lot of weight.  If you wait until you are stronger before picking up your first barbell, dumbbell or kettlebell, you will be learning with more weight then you would have been had you started from the beginning using them.  Since you are now lifting more weight as a novice, your chances of hurting yourself are greater then they were if you were learning with less weight.

The next argument for machines, and this is my favorite, is that they are easier to use then free weights.  Why on Earth would you want to make your weight training easier?  The name of the game is strength and conditioning and that only comes from hard work, not easy work.  Heck, as we get stronger and the lifting gets easier, what do we do, we add more weight to make it hard again.  As the great Homer Simpson is fond of saying, “Duh”!

There are two absolutely devastating arguments that discredit any pro machine position.  First, we should be weight training for real world strength.  Remember, we want to be as strong as we look.  The real world is full of lots of situations in which we will be asked to demonstrate the strength we have build in the gym, from tackling a running back to hitting a baseball to fending off a rapist.  And what do all of these situation have in common, the ability to employ strength in a three dimensional environment.  Machines are only one dimensional.

Secondly, and we mentioned it above, we want be strong all over and at every angle and in any position and from every angle and every position.  Machines restrict the movement to only one plane, meaning any strength gain you get, will also be restricted to that one plane of movement.  Do an experiment one day at the gym.  Do a bench press on the bench machine of your choice.  Take the same weight you just performed on the machine and load it on a barbell and then evaluate which one is harder.  Take it one step further and pick up two dumbbells equal to the weight you just performed on the barbell and evaluate which is harder still.  The dumbbell will be the hardest by far followed by the barbell and then the machine.

As you worked your way from the machine, to the barbell and then dumbbell, you add another dimension to the lift, thus making the lift harder.  You also had to employ more muscles in order to stabilize the barbell and even more to stabilize the dumbbells.  You are in fact, training more muscles in your body by using dumbbells.  Again, in real world situation, you will need ALL your muscles in order to perform at your best.  Machines simply don’t allow you to train all your muscles.  Your grip is probably the area of strength that is most neglected when using machines.

Yes, machines do have a place in the fitness world.  They are a great way to rehab certain injuries because you can target the injured area or even work around an injury by isolating it.  They also look good when you look in the gym window.  I employed machines into my regimen almost exclusively for years because quit frankly, they were easier to use then free weights and because their usefulness was hyped up by the so called gurus.  My strength was poor, especially my grip, and didn’t improve until I got away from machines and started using free weights exclusively.  I now employ only two pieces of equipment for getting strong; the barbell and the kettlebell.  Yes, I do rip phonebooks and card, bend nails and I employ things like free weight plates and sledge hammers to work my grip but for the most part, barbells and kettlebells are my weapons of choice.

I always say that we should keep it simple in the gym and you don’t get any simpler then barbells and kettlebells.  Sounds like a good title for a song don’t you think?

Kill it!

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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I am a big fan of Star Trek the Next Generation.  I don’t go to conventions or dress up like a Klingon but I enjoy the show a lot.  I have always fantasized about going into space so I guess that’ why I like it so much.

Anyway, in the show, the captain of the ship, Jean-Luc Picard played by Patrick Stewart always utters the word “engage” to the helmsman which signals him to hit the gas.  Nothing happens until the captain says “engage”.  What the heck does that have to do with kettlebells and strength training you ask, everything.  You see, in order to push a significant amount of weight overhead or off your chest, you must learn to engage the lats.

Most people link of the body as being made up of muscles that pull and muscles that push.  The delts push and the lats pull, or so most people think.  Truth is, powerlifters have known forever that benching a lot of weight is more about the lats then the pecks.  This holds true for any kind of pressing.

In this example we will discuss the kettlebell military press.  We know from our training that a good press is set up by a good clean.  When we rack the kettlebell, we want to be tight, our muscles primed to explode the bell overhead.  Part of being tight is to flex the lat.

Stand up and pretend that you have just cleaned a kettlebell into the racked position.  Now, without pressing the weight with your triceps or delts, try and push it overhead.  You’ll note when you do that the lats engage and your elbow actually lifts off you chest a couple of inches.  This only happens when you properly engage the lat.

The picture on the left shows the lat not engaged and in a weak position.  Note how close to the body the elbow is.  The picture on the right is after engaging the lat.  Note how the lat pushes the elbow slightly away from the body.  This is a strong position to be in.

Now, in one continuous motion, start pushing the kettlebell overhead by pulling your tricep across your chest and towards your lat while you push with your delts and triceps.  Image that you are trying to scrap peanut butter off of the underside of your arm, up near your arm pit.  This visualization helped me get in the grove.

Once the kettlebell is overhead, actively pull the bell back down into the racked position and repeat.  If you are having difficulty getting into the grove from the racked position, start by first snatching the kettlebell and starting the press from the top down.  Some people find it easier to engage the lat by first pulling the bell down and then pressing it back up.  Either way is fine.

Give this a try and watch your pressing power in all the pressing disciplines skyrocket.

Kill It!

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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I have gone on an on in the past about what makes a kettlebell such a fantastic tool to build overall strength and conditioning.  We have talked about it’s portability, it’s versatility and it’s effectiveness.  The long and the short of it it, you can take it anywhere, you can perform tens if not hundreds of different lifts or combination of lifts and kettlebells get results.  I want to take a minute to talk about the results part because after all, none of the other stuff matters if the results aren’t there.

In order to get the most out of a kettlebell, you have to adopt a new way of thinking when it comes to how you approach your workouts.  It’s this new way of thinking that is really the foundation that creates the results most people experience with kettlebells.

The hardest part of teaching somebody something new is breaking old habits.  Most people who start using kettlebells have already been workout out in one way or another so they already have a certain mindset when it comes to working out.  As we know, change doesn’t come easy.  A lot of times it requires someone to forget what they think they know and trust that what they are being taught works and works better then their old way of doing things.

Most of us, me included, started out in the gym performing some type of variation on a bodybuilding routine.  We performed our barbell and dumbell curls and our dumbell flies and cable crossovers and our leg extensions and crunches.  These are all for the most part isolation type lifts.  They target a few specific muscles while omitting most others.  This is absolutely fine if you are in fact a bodybuilder or if you like spending hours in the gym each week but for most of us, the results we want don’t come soon enough if at all with this type of routine.

With a kettlebell, we learn to train our bodies as one whole unit because that is the way our bodies work.  We also learn to target our muscles from several different angles.  A kettlebell is the perfect tool for doing this because of it’s compact, dense design and the handle which makes it easier and safer to control then dumbells or barbells.

In addition to training our entire body, I teach people to limit the number of exercises per workout and to approach their day in the gym as practice and to not just mindlessly throw the weight around.  The focus on practicing only a few lifts at a time allows for the individual to get good at performing that lift.  They are able to hone their skills which produces better results in a shorter period of time with less injuries.   As I stated, there are hundreds of different lifts or variations there of that we can perform with a kettlebell, but that doesn’t mean we have to practice them all at once.

Lastly, we preach short, focused workouts, no more then 40 to 45 minutes and never to failure.  You should leave the gym energized and not demoralized.  This keeps people coming back for more, again improving the results we see.

These principles are definitely different than what most people were taught when they started working out.  In fact, most people weren’t taught at all, they just saw what others were doing and followed.  Most people don’t know what they are doing so you can see where this leads.

Commit yourself to becoming a student of fitness, not just a mindless gym rat.  Exercise should be an enjoyable part of your life and not looked at as a burden or a necessary evil.  We tend to become better and more consistent when we enjoy an activity then when we dread it.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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You hear and read all the time about how you should feel during and after your workouts.  “You gotta feel the burn”, they say or, “your goal during the workout is to get pumped’.  Remember the old Saturday Night Live skit with Hans and Franz?  “We’re here to pump, you up”!  Funny stuff but not grounded in reality.

After the workout everybody evaluates how good the workout was by how exhausted they are leaving the gym or how sore their muscles are the next day.  All bull shit!  The only thing you should be concerned about is results, period!

I never experience a “pump” during a workout, only feel a burning sensation when performing high rep lifts for conditioning, absolutely never leave the gym exhausted and haven’t been sore after a workout in years.  Despite that, I continue to make progress, meaning, I get stronger each and every year.  That would be called getting results.  What do I care about the other stuff?

All that other crap comes out of the old stale bodybuilding playbook.  All those “feelings” that people who don’t know what they are doing tell you you should be having mean nothing.  Don’t fall for the trap of thinking you should feel a certain way during or after a workout.  I felt all those things for many years and didn’t see results, and results are ALL that matter.

If you are employing the lifting strategies that I am teaching, the strategies that I learned from others who had achieved, results are what you will experience.  Leave all the other stuff for the gym rat with big muscles who looks stronger then he really is.  It’s all about results, results, results.

Kill It!

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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