Slowly crawling to liftoff

This is getting about as exciting as its getting annoying.

Talking about a few things dealing with the new 'gym'. I say it that way as there is not an actual gym as of yet. Regardless Im slowly knocking out the essentials.

Name registry- Not so much a pain in the ass as it is confusing. There is A LOT of info on the Secretaries web site to sift through but luckily the bank manager was helpful in pointing me in the right direction. Just hoping Im not spending money on the wrong damn things now. The new name?
The Body Forge - Strength Systems
Just a slight change. Im shying away from fitness as that wont be my core clientele.

Whats next? Insurance. That will get renewed later today as I now have some errands to run.

So what else do I need?

Off the top of my head I still need some equipment. I was so close to landing a stellar deal on a dumbbell set but the guy already sold the stuff. I mean 650 for 1000lbs of dumbbells is a steal. So I cant be too surprised. That and squat racks. Everywhere Im looking theyre shit. Like utter shit. Or its a Smith Machine. Which, frankly, calling a smith rack shit is a insult to the word.

So whats good news? Well word is I should be expecting a call back from the facility Im trying to move into. If this works I will have such a badass place to start Im getting twitchy from thinking about it. And its not the 2 cans of monster Ive already had this morning. I mean we're talking 800sq/ft of concrete and cement with a 2 story high ceiling and a 250'x200' turf indoor field 10 feet away! Holy $#%!!!


Other good news- Ive been getting a lot of positive feedback from potential clients. Seems there is some severe animosity going on at a certain gym that athletes are just not happy about. And the more this starts bubbling up the more my results are becoming visible. Well, its tough to ignore improvements of 50-100lbs in a matter of weeks as far as strength tests go. Even I was impressed with our last strength test and some of the guys are chomping at the bit for next weeks test day. After some of the following; girl trap deadlift= 340, boys front squat= 315, boys vert 29.5@210lbs, and hang snatch of 200lbs...Im getting a little excited too.

Anyways if things go well I could theoretically have 20-60 clients day 1...but thats SEVERE optimism bubbling up. Ill be happy with 5 on day 1.

But in the meantime I have some more stones to make and a budget to put together. Somehow 1200 bucks needs to buy me, well, EVERYTHING I need now. 

British Circuit - Crossfit crack

This is my template for a brutal and almost infamous workout amongst my athletes that quite frankly will send chills down anyones spine to whom I mention it to - The British Circuit. A circuit involving higher rep sets using Olympic lifts mixed with squats and choices of supplement exercises to induce a severe system shock. Sounds fun right?

Well lets get some background first.

A few years ago (few meaning around 8 or more) I attended a clinic for track that happened to have a popular guy named Jud Logan speaking. If you dont know this man you probably havn't done your homework. The topic was off-season conditioning and strength training. The big one that struck out amongst some of his other ideas was, as the title mentions, The British Circuit. Now mind you this came out LOOOONNNGG before Crossfit was even thought in any public sense. In fact I think 10 years ago there were only a handful of 'boxes' floating around the country compared to the thousands now...but I digress.

As Jud went on to discuss the circuit and I scribbled it got me excited to try it out. Sounded simple enough;
-Clean
-Squat
-Snatch
-Squat
-Overhead
-Core (a REAL core exercise...not some lazy crunching shit)
6 reps each with about 2-3 minutes rest between sets and start with roughly 55% of max in each lift.

So here Im thinking '55%? Sure whatever.' So I went home and next day gave it a go....<blurp> goes what little substance I had in my stomach by round 2. WTF just happened?!?! Jud was not joking when he said he puked his first time out as well. Damn was I not expecting that. So like any sadistic coach I immediately implemented it into my athletes workouts. Only one incidence so far of yack attack is when a shot putter a few years back thought he was hot stuff and went with 65%. He made it to the second round of snatches before I saw him dump the bar and run into the locker room. Another thrower/hurdler went at it pretty hard and afterwards didnt say a word to me the rest of the day. Good times.

So, anyways, fast forwarding to the present I have been playing around with that method and got some pretty nice results as far as off-season conditioning. Now, mind you, this is NOT a strength development program. And its tough to manage with a large group but is an excellent tool for strength conditioning and work capacity. Or just GPP for short (General Physical Prep).

Above was the original template I got but below I am outlining my variations and modifications I have made since then. Really its just about playing around with different equipment and reps/sets to see what works best.

This is the basic template. Further down are actual workouts we've done currently or in the past.
Each set 6-10 res for 2-4 rounds. Normally 2-4 minutes rest between rounds with minimal rest between exercises. Minimum of 6 complex movements with 1-2 core exercises. Advisable to start with 50% and work up. Its much tougher to start too heavy and work down.

-Pull (clean, dead lift, swing, swiss bar or log clean, etc.)
-Squat (back, front, box, single, squat jump)
-Fast pull (snatch, db snatch, kb snatch, med ball throw, tire flip)
-Light Squat (front, bulgarian, lunge, split jump)
-Overhead (push press, jerk, kb variation, mb push throw)
-Complex core (landmines, good mornings, curl ups, dragon flag)

There is definitly a lot of variety that can be thrown together. So its not just limited to oly lifts either although that was the original idea presented to me. Either way below is some ideas you can use to start off or just throw in your own!

BC for strength endurance/power;
6 reps each. 3-4 minutes rest between rounds. 55% of max starting week 1. Add an additional 5-10% each week or even each round to increase strength. Can be done 1-2x's a week.Continue for 3-6 weeks.
- Power Clean (or deadlift)
- Back Squat
- Hang Snatch (or tire flip)
- Front Squat
- Push Press
- Good Mornings
- Curl ups x15reps

BC for volume/hypertrophy/work capacity/stomach purging;
8-10 reps. 2-3 minutes rest. 50-55%. Add weight when desired. 1-2x's a week. 3 weeks continuous.
- Hang Clean
- Back Squat
- Hang Snatch (or close grip snatch)
-Front Squat (kettlebells or heavy bags/ stones work too)
-Dumbbell Push Press
-Romanian Dead Lifts

BC for SPEED
8-12 reps. 4-5 minutes rest. Relatively light weights.
-Trap bar deadlift (or dumbbells)
-Squat Jumps
-Swings
- DB Snatch (split reps- if doing 10 then perform 5 each hand)
- Split jumps
- Glute ham raise or Glute Bridge
- Reverse Hyper or Back Extension

BC for STRONGMAN
These numbers are up to the lifter due to the variety of the lifts. Continuous circuit stays the same. This is designed more as a conditioning circuit and speed endurance. 
-Deadlift
-Squat
-Stone to Chest
-Drag
-Axle Press
-Yoke Walk
-Hold (Ive used two cannonball handles attached to kettlebells for this one. works well)

BC for the kool aid drinkers
(honestly I just drew this up as Im writing this blog so try at your own risk! how many times can you get through?)
8 reps each. Continuous for 10 minutes.
-Power Clean
-Squat
-Snatch
-Walking Lunge
-Push Press
-Deadlift

Im sure if a Crossfitter saw this they can apply it to their own training with some different variations. My experience with the 'cult' is pretty minimal and unfortunately only a handful I've talked to left a positive image the rest not so much.

Enjoy!

Throwers T-Shirt hitting ebay

Well I still have a bunch of these to unload so figure lets give a crack at ebay and see what we can sell off. If you happen to catch this blog and like the shirt hit up my website store: http://thebodyforgeaf.com/store.html

OR

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150802506290?var=&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

either one works.

Sorry but am currently sold out of XL.

Atlas Stone making

Well the kids are asleep. Its day 1 of their existence and hopefully they live a long and healthy life.

No not real kids but bit 100-250lb balls of concrete that are currently sitting in my track shed curing. Today I spent the better part of my afternoon putting together and filling stone molds for my very first Atlas Stone set. Just 3 to begin with and then many more to follow. So to start Ill have a 110ish, 170, and 240. These are all approximate and up to when I actually measure the final product. All I know is I cant frigging wait.

Just a note if you decide to order some Slater Stone Molds and build your own Number 1: Use concrete that has fiberglass fibers in it but also Number 2: when using fibrous concrete DO NOT use your bare hands. Mine hurt like all holy hell right now from the cuts, abrasions, and whatever else is embedded in my finger tips from digging out concrete and pouring into random ceramic balls.

Anyways 3 stones took about 2.5 hours to pour this morning by hand and by myself. Granted theres probably some simpler way to do it but thats how it was done. Got a decent tan in the process. One of those rare days in Ohio that the weather is actually 'decent'.

Anyways, Ill follow up on this sometime next week but likely Saturday since these stones need at least a week to cure in the mold and we have a track meet Friday.

Gym Update 4/19/12

Well I figured this was going to happen. Ran into yet another speed bump. Instead of having a good small and cheap location to settle into for the moment well lets say plans fell through. So I suppose I get to jump ahead a few months into my 'plan'....of course we all know plans RARELY go how you want them to.


So lets start with some good news. Im still expanding my network client base, got a lot of interested prospects that want to train at least over the Summer, and am constantly expanding what equipment I have available. Heres a shakedown of what I have thus far. After reading you may ask; "wait, arn't you missing something vital?' If you know what it is kudos, Ill explain later, and yes Im a little worried about that factor. Anyways...
-2 ropes: 50'x2" rope and a 50'x1.5"
-Med balls: 8,10,12,15 (broken but useable), 18, 25, and 30
-Sandbags: 30,45, 80, 100lbs each
-Sledgehammers: 2x4lb mallets, 6,8,and 16
-45lb Rogue Beater Bar
-35lb Swiss Bar
-25lb Fat Bar
-2 olympic adjustable dumbbell handles (can load from 10-200lbs each)
-290lbs of Bumper plates (335 with bar total) 90 more if you count the two beat up 45lbers
-Grip Strength: 100,150,200,250, and a 300lb gripper
-2x Rogue Cannoballs
-2 pairs of Grip4orce bar grippers (reg and heavy set)
-Band Platform
-Bands:4-micros, 10 mini, 10 light, 4 average, 4 heavy, 1 MONSTER (lol this thing is ridiculous) and a pair of each short bands from EFS
-Kettlebells: 18,26, 30, 40, 2x50, 2x60, 2x70, 125lb
-Stone Molds: Just ordered a set of stone molds to make stones at 10", 12", 14", and 16". Basically 100lbs up to 280lb stones can be made.
-Tires: 2x70s, 150, 200, 300, and 400 something....nobody knows.
-2 sets of 1-5 boards
-Rollers: 1 Reg full sized Rumble Roller, 1 short stiff RR, 3 36" Foam rolls, 1x18" Roller and Rolling PINS!! Because we all LOVE those! hahah
-2 Agility ladders
-(coming soon) 4 pairs of chains @40lbs each
-(coming soon) PVC custom hurdles (homemade since buying things is overrated)
-(coming soon) Plyo and Stepup boxes (once again homemade since apparently Im pretty good at making heavy duty boxes)
-(coming soon) Slater Pine Log (about 120lbs with bars for added weight)
So thats what I have so far unless I missed something.  Did you notice some VERY vital pieces missing? Take another gander......anything?

If you said "well thats awesome but what about squat racks, plates, dumbbells, or benches???"
...yea, about that. Well the place I was to move to had all that. So now I need to scramble for finances to get the 2 racks, benches, bars, and plates to replace these. I can manage without dumbbells for the moment but not for long.

Anyways, thats just my update. Things are going well otherwise. Just need to find a home and some more pieces of equipment and Im ready to rock!

Kettlebell Workout #1

So the other day a client of mine asked me if I could start posting workouts. No idea why I havn't done this sooner so here we go!
 Depending on rest this can go from 30-45mins
Warmup routine
 30s each and switch arms
Single Arm Swing, Cleans, Press with pause at top
Mobility and stretch
30s each 2-hand Swing,Cleans, Presses

Protocol;
30 seconds each exercise straight through then switch arms. Repeat for total of 2 rounds
Swings, Cleans, Presses
2-Hand Protocol; Long Cycle Competition reps against time.
10 reps each exercise Cleans, Front Squats, Push Press Repeat 3 rounds

Core; 1 minute each
Single Arm Crunch, SA Crunch, Curlup, Seated twist

Circuit fitness; 30s each continuous for 3 rounds.
2kb Bentover Row, Reverse Lunge, Romanian Dead Lift Cool down and stretch

Rogue Cannon Ball Review

Oh man its another equipment review time. This one is awesome. Ill just get that out of the way. A solid investment for sure. Im talking about the Rogue Cannon Balls. Two 3" 2lb balls of finger and wrist destroying steel sadism.

These little bastards make any workout into something either extremely difficult or extremely hazardous. So first off I guess with anything I seem to buy the negatives are probably the cost. About 70 bucks when it was all said and done. Really after that I can think of any. The construction is solid. The straps are doubled layered and feel extremely durable with almost zero stretch under tension. The carabiners are tough and of high quality. The balls themselves are welded nicely and powder coated for a slight added grip but believe me it does not add much. As for exercises theres many more than just the typical pullup variations. Obviously pullups are the choice but lets go over a short list of good choices and some bad ideas (but still fun). Good stuff- Pullups (duh) Inverted Rows Kettlebell, Chain, or Cable Curls Cable holds (similar to the strongman Hercules Hold) Simple gripping (attach to something and pick up and hold) Triceps Extensions (various methods similar to curls) Attach to a truck hitch and pull said truck Grip attachment for front squats (similar to using lifting straps) Bad ideas- Kettlebell swings Cleans Swinging anything really Using as fake grenades Using as an actual cannonaball Launching from stretch band slingshots Any form of throwing while indoors Giving to freshman and turning your back for 13 seconds. Embarrassing clients who claim to have a strong grip but can pick up any weight with a ball attached Id say if you are looking to improve grip strength along with a pair of Grip4orce trainers Cannon Balls are a great investment and easily portable. You can get them here. http://www.roguefitness.com/cannonball-grips.php Enjoy!