"Do you suppose they will choose to make war against lean, solid dogs rather than against fat and tender sheep?"
Today's game was to sew straps onto both ends of the Steel Snake and take it out for a slither. Over 4 miles (6.4km), the Snake and I agreed on a few things: With straps added on, it slips and flops around less. That way it's much easier to carry.Since it's pretty slender, you can... Continue Reading →
The problem here isn't so much the weight as the SHAPE of the weight. Good luck resting this above your center of gravity. In the real world, when we need to lift or haul something challenging, it's less often because it's terribly heavy and usually because it's awkwardly shaped. Stones are bad. A half-filled keg... Continue Reading →
When Lars Grebnev at Survival Russia talks, I listen. First he got me into jackboots, which I like more all the time because they're weather- and terrain-proof. On slippery rocks, in muck, over a gravelly boulder-scape, in a calf-high stream, the jackboots keep you stable and dry. This time I tried them with snowshoes. My... Continue Reading →
Rigert is said to have inspired the sport's governing body to change their rule requiring a uniform of a single color so that he could wear the striped t-shirt on the platform. Soviet weightlifter David Rigert was famous for his signature telnyashka, the blue and white striped t-shirt. Originally part of the Russian naval uniform in... Continue Reading →
As Julien says, I recommend Pavel Tsatouline’s original primer on kettlebells, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge (2001), and the open-ended, unscripted training guidelines he gives there: Train 2-7 times per week.You can vary this week to week. You benefit from a certain amount of randomness in loading.Keep it to 45 minutes or less. Sometimes a lot less.... Continue Reading →
Julien, a lean, solid dog in Canada, asks: I've been thinking of buying a used rucksack (something like https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/british-patrol-backpack-30-litres-black-surplus/3779). Any advice you'd have for someone starting? Also, I saw that you seem to endorse the original RKC book for kettlebells. I got a 16 kg bell, and some extra money, was thinking of buying a... Continue Reading →
From Sgt. Sileika, a lean, solid dog in Vilnius who serves as our resident subject-matter expert in ruck marching and sentence diagramming. Living in the Baltics, he is located at the intersection (to use a fashionable word) of three of our favorite things: kvass, kettlebells, and Varusteleka. Power to you, sir!
Finally, someone who understands why they're called "shorts." At the GORUCK Heavy Challenge, after some refreshing PT, you start the 24 hours with a twelve-mile timed ruck. You need to walk it in 3½ hours or you can be disqualified. Lauren Four Boots and I were discussing this menacing prospect in the middle of a... Continue Reading →
https://www.varusteleka.com/en I was ordering camping gear from Varusteleka, a Finnish company with a winning sense of humor. Typical product descriptions are "This is hands down the ugliest motherfucking hat ever made" and "smells starkly of old mould, might be incomplete/damaged and is overall very nasty. You don't want to touch this without a full [hazmat]... Continue Reading →
A complete gym in one tidy corner: Kettlebells. One is enough, but in a happy home they multiply. Somebody to swing them. Note the bare feet--that's how you should do it too. Rucksack and boots. Insert kettlebells and start walking. Pavel Tsatouline's classic Russian Kettlebell Challenge (1999), still the best book there is on this stuff. Sledgehammer... Continue Reading →