MOVED

Got tired of this site messing up my friends' computers. here's the new blog

http://ironphoenixathletics.com/

HAPPIEST PERSON I KNOW

["The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son." ]

"Who is the happiest person you know and why are they happy? What can you learn from them? Also, according to research reviewed by Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, happiness is… 1. Having perceived control over your life… 2. Feeling that progress is being made… 3. Having relatedness/supportive connection to other people… 4. Having a vision/meaning (being part of something bigger)…"

This was yesterday's Facebook status of Craig Ballantyne creator of Turbulence Training Fat Loss and all-around fitness bad ass.

Who is the happiest person I know?

That would have to be my father. He's a Vietnam Vet. that fought in one of the worst battles of the war. (ref. "When We Were Soldiers" movie) He has been through hell & back, literally.

 After the war, he came home and busted his ass for over 40yrs at a job that he hated, in order to support the family he loves. He has been a devoted husband for 40 yrs (which is uncommon nowadays) and a loving, but stern, father to 3 girls and 1 kick ass boy. 

Despite all the curve balls life threw at him, he has got to be the most optimistic person I know. I've got some tough shoes to fill when I become a father in May. As long as I keep my father's outlook on life in my heart, I think I'll do just fine. Thanks dad for not only serving your country, but more importantly, for being a real life "Superman."

EVERYONE ELSE IS INSANE, I'M TOTALLY MAKING SENSE

[I guess he found the "fat burning zone"]

(This is more of a rant than anything. So, there's no rhythm to it. Fuck it! That's what blogs are for)

You've been on and off the scale, worrying about your "BMI" , trying to eat a specific amount of calories, and doing 45min - 1hr of useless cardio on your stair stepper all your life ...How's that been working out for you?... Are you a number or are you somebody?

i guess i need to clarify that the cardio i am referring to is the steady state, 45-1hr low intensity, high impact crap many people think is the key to fat loss.

you want an effective weight loss routine? stop eating shit, lift heavy things a few times a week, sprint like f*#k'n race horse once in a while, and play every day. 

don't get me wrong, 45min - 1hr jogs and/or hikes are not only enjoyable, but are also good for overall health. however, they are just a small piece of a bigger puzzle.

too much of any one aspect will have negative results. strength trainig w/o adequate recovery will lead to injury and illness quicker than you can say "squat."

a lot of my old clients were "cardio-aholics" thinking that the reason the didn't lose that last 10-15lbs was due to the fact that they only did 30min on the recumbent bike instead of an hour.

they would bust their ass doing 30min on the treadmill ( fight the machines!) b/4 a session, then i would put them through the worst 15-30 min of their life, then they would come in on their days off and lightly jog for 30min-1hr complaining that they were sore and tired from our last session.

at this point they had stopped burning fat and started destroying muscle. then, they would get insanely hungry, go next door to the smoothie shop and order a jumbo PB smoothie, down it in about 5min, spike their insulin levels, increase their fat stores, and repeat the process all over again.

they would eventually come to me and ask why they haven't seemed to lose any fat. i told them that their diet sucked and they need to stop doing so much damn low intensity cardio, but they were not ready to hear the truth.

insanity- doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

same could be said for stupidity.

in regards to not being able to burn fat in less than 30 min, you can burn fat in less than 3min in my version of the "fat burning zone." a.k.a the kitchen.

you wanna burn fat? eat less and of the right types of foods.

plain and simple, you can't out run a bad diet.

here's an effective "fat burning" routine you can do in 4min

TABATA PROTOCOL:

*20sec of work / 10 sec of rest x 8 rounds

*kettlebell, dumbbell, or barbell front squats

* try to get as many reps as you can w/ perfect form w/in the 20sec.

* no sissy squats either. ass below parallel (ass to the ground even better)

* same goes for the weight..no sissy, that is.

* be aggressive and explosive.

* pretty soon you'll be begging for that 4th min to end.

* if not, you need to put down that pink 2.5 lb baby toy you call a weight and pick up some real tonnage.

Check out these links for more info on bullshit cardio and tabata protocol.

KETTLEBELL JEDI ACADEMY DAY 1

So it begins.

I have accepted the fact that my blade is in serious need of sharpening. That's why I decided to enlist the help of a Senior blacksmith to melt me down, and build me up again; so that I am strong as steel and razor sharp.


I got a fever, and the only cure is more Swings and Get Ups.


You are either a student of many schools or a master of one. My destination is the latter, and my fuels are Get Ups and Swings. From now on until I hear otherwise, the prescription is 100 Swings and 10/10 Get Ups every day. How I choose to break plan it out is up to me; however, the key is to stay fresh.


It was a beautiful day yesterday so I decided to take the KB to the park. I did 5/5 TGU' slow and controlled, rest for about 5-6 min (laying on the grass just looking at the clouds), then I did 5x10 KBS. I rested another 5-6min and repeated. All with the 16kg I might add. We've recently rekindled our relationship.

Indiana Doug And The Quest For The Perfect Rep.

Staying fresh and controlling my fatigue will help me find that perfect rep. How I break up the sets is really going to depend on the day. I'm pretty busy when I'm not at the station, or at the station, but on the paramedic squad. Taking long breaks b/t sets just won't cut. There's no telling if I'll be running to a business meeting or doing CPR on patient. On these days, I have to do my set in blocks of 3-5 depending on how I feel.


Today is Sunday and I'm on the pumper. I should have a little more time to break the sets up a bit more today. I started the morning off early at 4am w/ 5/5 TGU's. I just watched a few respectable You Tube videos trying to really see where I need to improve. (This one by Dan John, RKC is awesome.) I'll be taking a few more notes then heading out to the apparatus bay for a few more Get Ups. The 100 swings will come later after some much needed R&R.

And here we go!

VWC FOR 102008

WARM UP

10 Goblet Squats w/ 16kg
10 Swings w/ 16kg
5/5 Sampson Stretch
* 2 Rounds

CONDITIONING

VWC 15/15: 7/7 w/ the 16kg. Got 40 sets in today. Going to add 5 or more sets each time I do this until I reach 80

FINISHER

 B/T 5 and 10 min of KB Feestyle

30 MIN STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING WORKOUT

WARM UP

5 Min TGU w/ 24kg 1/1

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

AMRAP In 30 Min Of:

Dbl 24 kg Clean and Press x 5
Fighter Ring Pull Ups x 5,4,3,2,1
32 kg Swings x 30

*Completed 5 rounds today in about 21 min. I could have gone for at least 7 rounds, but I felt good with where I stopped. I didn't want to push myself to hard todaty becasue I thought that I'd be on the pumper, but as usual the rotation system failed again.

* Forgot to mention that I did the 5min RKC snatch test yesterday w/ the 24kg. Got 93 reps. Almost there. The Iron Tamer pointed out that I was lifting my heels off the ground. Didn't notice, but will fix it.

BREAK THESE CHAINS: (WOD For 101609)

* I am quickly finding out that trying to put a business plan together and scouting out possible locations for our warehouse gym takes a lot of time out of your day.

* Needless to say, 730pm shows up pretty fast when you've got about 1,000 things to do in 24 hrs. (including getting ready for the next day and sleep)

* I had about less than 30min to get my workout in so I decided to try a kettlebell circuit I got from a You Tube post by Zach Even-Esh and David Whitley called a "Kettlebell Chain."

* In the vid, Coach Z states that you need 4 or more kettlebells of ascending weight to really make this effective. I started w/ 16kg, 20kg, 24kg , and a 28kg.

* The series of lifts in the "Chain" are as follows; Snatch, Rack, Strict Press, Clean And Press. Do 1 rep of each exercise on the left then 1 rep of each on the right

* Move to the next heavier kettlebell and repeat the sequence until you move to the top of the "Chain" and work your way back down.

* I threw in some fighter pull ups between chains. I think I got through it 5 time.

* There hardest part for me (other than the lifts themselves) was remembering the order of exercises. You'll see in the video where I stumble forward on the 20kg twice b/c I almost cleaned it instead of snatching it.

THE KETTLEBELL CHAIN

DINNER WITH THE BROWNS

PRESSED FOR TIME ON 101409

* My soon to be business partner called me yesterday afternoon and invited Lisa and me to dinner w/ him, his wife, and their two amazing kids. I had about 1:30 min before we met up with them, and I still hadn't done my workout.

* I was up for heavy Dbl KB presses, but decided to go for this quick 15 min single KB workout.

W/ One 24 KG Kettlebell.

AMRAP IN 15 Min.Of:

5 Goblet Squats

5/5 Military Presses

5 Pull Ups.

Check it out here.

LIVING LIKE A WARRIOR

                                                        [ The Original Viking Warrior]

WARM UP

Kettlebell Free Style w/ 16kg
Pumps

CONDITIONING

15/15 Viking Warrior Conditioning w/ 16 KG @ 26 sets of 7/7 = 182 Snatches

COMMENTS

*Trained w/ A.C. for the first time and killed it. It's always good to have a partner to bounce things off of.

* First time doing VWC in a good while. I'm hoping it will help me w/ my snatch test numbers, but I don't want to overtrain it. The tendancy is there so I have to watch it.

WOD 101209

WARM UP

3 Bent Rows
3 Military Press
3 Front Squat
3 Pumps
* 3 Rounds

STRENGTH

A1) Dbl 24kg Military Press 5x5
A2) KB Pull Ups 4,3,4,3,3

B1) Dbl 24kg Front Squats
B2) Dbl 24kg Single Leg Deadlift

C1) 10 Min TGU 1/1 @ 8 Totalw/ 32kg

COMMENTS

* For some reason, I was a little weaker in the pull ups today. I tested my pull up numbers the other day so that could have been the reason why.

* I decided to do 10min of 1/1 TGU instead of 4 sets of 5/5 reps. I felt it was starting be too much and it was taking me longer to recover.

* I'm going to try to get at least 1 foam roll session in per day. I can already feel how much it is helping me.

SATURDAY STRENGTH DAY

WARM UP

3 Pumps
10 OH Sqts
5/5 Cossack Stretch
*2 Rounds

10 Goblet Sqt w/ 16kg
5 MP Lt/Rt
5 Windmill Lt/Rt
* 2 Rounds

STRENGTH

A1) Db 24kg C&P 5x5/5
A2) 7kg Ring Pull Ups 5x4

B1) Dbl 24kg Front Squats 5x5
B2) Dbl 24kg Windmill 5x5/5

CONDITIONING

24kg Snatch 8x5/5 "On the Minute"

YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT AND MY MORNING CUP O' JOE.

WARM UP (Yesterday)

3 Dbl 16 Kg Bent Rows
3 Dbl 16 Kg Front Squats
3 Dbl 16 Kg Military Presses
3 Pumps
X 3 Rounds

STRENGTH

A1) Dbl 24 Kg Military Press 5x5
A2) Dbl 24 Kg Bent Row 5x5
B1) Dbl 24 Kg Front Squats 5x5
B2) 24 Kg TGU 4x5/5
"Cup O' Joe" CONDITIONING (Today)

A1) 50,40,30,20,10 Swings w/ 32 Kg
A2) 10, 20 ,30, 40, 50 Sledgehammer Tire Chops w/ 8lb Hammer

COMMENTS

* I'm getting a lot deeper in my front squats, which means my hip flexibility is improving. I haven't felt any strain in my lower back since going heavy on these, which is good. I can attribute that to staying tight during the eccentric part of the life and snapping my hips forward at the top of the lift.

* My TGUs are feeling really strong. I feel I'm right on the threshold of the 5th set.

THE WASP THREAT HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

WARM UP

Foam Rolling

2x16 kg Dbl Front Squat to Military Press 5,4,3,2,1

STRENGTH

A1) Dbl C&P w/ 2x24kg 5x5
A2) KB Pull Ups w/ 7kg x 4,4,4,3,3

B1) Dbl Front Sqt w/ 2x24kg 5x5
B2) TGU w/ 24kg 4x5/5

FINISHER

Driveway Dbl 16kg Lock Out OH
Dbl 16kg Swings x 10
Driveway Dbl 16kg See Saw Press
*2 Rounds

COMMENTS

* Felt great today, but I need to get out there a little earlier. I replaced the double 24kg swings in the strength portion and replaced them w/ the TGU that way I can have two days to focus on conditioning with the swing and snatch.

HIGH OCTANE CARDIO SESSION

WARM UP

30 Pulls On ATS ROWER

5/5 KB Snatch w/ 16kg

* 3 Rounds

HIGH OCTANE CARDIO

200 M Row On ATS Rower

10/10 KB Snatches w/ 24 kg

*5 Rounds

*finished in 11 min. Going for 10min next week.

CORE

30/10

Spider Man Plks

MC Flex

Side Plk Lt

Side Plk Rt

Super Plk

REHAB

Foam Rolling and Joint Mobility

WOD 100209

WARM UP

10 min of Chaos

STRENGTH

A1) Dbl 24kg Military Press 5x5
A2) KB(7kg) Ring Pull Up 5x4

B1) Dbl 24kg Front Squat 5x5
B2) Dbl 24kg Swings 5x5

C1) 24kg TGU 3x5

FLOO PRESS? I'D RATHER OVER HEAD PRESS.

WARM UP

10 min of kettlebell "free style" w/ walking w/ 2x16kg locked out over head (used 16kg for the free style)

STRENGTH

A1) KB Floor Press 3x5w/ 2x24kg & 2x5 w/ 2x31 kg (gripped two 7kg w/ each 24kg)
A2) KB Bent Row 5x5 w/ 2x24kg

B1) Dbl Front Sqt 5x5 w/ 2x24kg
B2) Dbl Snatch 5x5 w/ 2x16kg

C1) Dbl Windmill 5x5 w/ 2x24kg

COOL DOWN

Walked Jack to the park and did 5x5 Hindu Push Ups and 5/5x5 Sampson Stretch

Stretching and Foam Roll when I got home.

COMMENTS

* Didn't really get into the floor press. It's not one of the lifts taught at the RKC so I'm going throw it out and stick to overhead press variations.

* The Dbl Front Sqts w/ the 24 were hard, but I know they will make me stronger. Think I'll use them as a warm up when I go back to ROP.

*Dbl Windmills rocked, but really need to focus on TGUs

GRIP AND REHAB

REHAB

3 Pumps
10 OH Squats
5/5 Windmill
*2 Rounds

Joint Mobility
Stretching

GRIP

5,4,3,2,1LR COC T

Walked Jack to the Park w/ 8lb Sledge Hammer

10/10 Sledgehammer Cast
2/2 COC 1
4/4 Sledgehammer Lever
* 3 Rounds

Walked back home

5,4,3,2,1LR  COC T

KETTLEBELLS FOR SIZE AND STRENGTH

WARM UP (w/16kg)

30sec Sling Shot L
30sec Sling Shot R
30sec Halos
30sec Goblet Squat
30sec Swing Mix
30sec High Pulls L
30sec High Pulls R
30sec Clean L
30sec Clean R
30sec Snatch L
30sec Snatch R
* One Time Through w/o Rest

STRENGTH

Round 1: Upper Body (5 Sets of Each)

A1 - Dbl 16kg Clean and Press x 5
A2 - 7kg KB Pull Up x 3

Round 2: Lower Body (5 Sets of Each)

B1 - Dbl 16kg Front Squats x 5
B2 - Dbl 16kg Swings x 5

Round 3: Finisher

C1 - 25kg TGU 1 set of 5/5

COMMENTS

* I fasted today so I didn't want to go too heavy since this was my first time to do this routine. I will be  following Mike Mahler's The Kettlebell Soulution For Size and Strength for the next 4-6 wks. I'm more interested in increasing strength than size, but a little more muscle wouldn't hurt.

* I chose this program b/c it still uses the foundational lifts, but with double kettlebells. Mahler states that;

It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that most of the above kettlebell exercises require two kettlebells. Why? The reason is obvious more resistance equals faster hypertrophy and strength gains. Lets use the example of the Double Military Press to illustrate this point further. When you press one 70lb kettlebell overhead your body is working against 70lbs total. When you press two kettlebells overhead, your body is working against 140lbs. I say body, as the military press requires a full body effort when executed properly. To lift the most weight overhead, you need to flex your butt, legs, stomach, lats, shoulder, triceps and biceps. The more weight that your body has to work against, the more intense the exercise is and the more hypertrophy will be developed. If lifting one kettlebell were superior or even just as effective, then why do thousands of bodybuilders and athletes focus on basic compound barbell exercises?

Makes since to me. I only did 1 set of TGU's instead of 5. Like I said before, just getting a feel for it. Wed will have heavier weight and more TGU sets

DOUBLE KB LADDERS

WARM UP

5 Wave Squats To YSquat Stand Up
10 Push Ups
10/10 Hurdle Steps
10/10 Halos w/16kg
3 Pumps
* 3 Rounds

STRENGTH

DBL C&P w/ 2x16kg 1,2,3,4,5
                                   1,2,3,4,5
                                   1,2,3,4,5

Ring Pull Up 1,2,3,4,5
                    1,2,3,4,5
                    1,2,3,4,5

COMMENTS

* I missed my bells. I've been doing mostly bw workouts this week. to giv emy body a rest form the the high volume c&p's, swings and snatches of last month. I felt the need to get under a bit of weight. I could have gone for 4 or 5 ladders, but I decided to stop it at three. After all, this was supposed to be a week off.

*Not sure what the  plan will be for the next 4-6weeks, I could either continue on w/ ROP w/ the 27.4kg, or Dbl KB, or I was thinking of follwoing a kb strength program written by Mike Mahler. Either way, I will be working on solid technique and improving my strength and conditioning w/ the kettlebells.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT

WARM UP

Kali Indain Club Drills

CONDITIONING

3 Ring Dips
500 M Row
20 Sqt Jumps
500 M Row
3 Ring Dips
500 M Row
20 Sqt Jumps
500 M Row
3 Ring Dips
500 M Row
20 Sqt Jumps
500 M Row
3 Ring Dips
500 M Row

COMMENTS

* I went light on the ring dips b/c I was still sore from Monday. I should have gone 10-15 on the sqt jumps b/c my legs are still sore. I really wanted to go "balls to the walls" today, but I have my 1st session with Mike House RKC II tomorrow morning. Think I might need to reserve a little fight for tomorrow.