"Do you suppose they will choose to make war against lean, solid dogs rather than against fat and tender sheep?"
So it feels like an ever-new mystery to get overpowered in fight training by short, thin, or otherwise gracile people who, it seems to me, can’t possibly have as much power. Not just outmaneuvered and outskilled, but manhandled or just plain pounded. I’m talking thin teenagers, featherweight women, even a girl who’s too young for PG-13 and weighs less than my checked luggage. What gives?
Good news: The “core” isn’t the all-important missing link anymore. The cool kids have moved on. Now feet are the new core. Thank heaven, because I got bored of direct midsection work long before the fools in marketing renamed it the “core.” When did they coin that phrase anyway? I missed the Nineties, living in... Continue Reading →
What I've been busy with Lean, solid dogs, it's been entirely too long. I've missed you! Since I last posted, I went "operational" on the county Search & Rescue team and started climbing a steep learning curve in any number of training courses--K9 search operations, swift water rescue, rope rescue, emergency medical response--and a handful... Continue Reading →
The jerk rewards a lot of Gumby-like flexibility in the hip flexors and shoulder girdle. Each of these bells weighs 32kg (70lbs.), and during the 10-minute set, your only chance to rest is in this position, but you need flexibility. (battlebell.ru) Whereas the snatch is a pulling exercise—you feel it most in your back and... Continue Reading →
In the snatch, if you’re going to last the full 10 minutes, you must spare your grip. How? Use your legs. After you “pull” the bell up, bend at the knees and dip down. That way you won’t have to pull as high. Even more importantly, when you drop the bell back down, rise up... Continue Reading →
In Russian, a kettlebell is called a girya. As an adjective, it becomes girevoy. And someone who lifts kettlebells is a girevik. (Provenance of photo unknown.) Russians have been lifting kettlebells for health for a long time. They originally used them as "counterweights ... to weigh out dry goods on market scales. People started throwing them around for... Continue Reading →
Russian training methods and Russian sports science. Raise your hand if you (a) love these things but (b) don't read Russian. Then you probably owe almost everything you know to Pavel Tsatsouline, THE great interpreter of that subject and almost the most influential voice in American exercise. Pavel created an appetite for English-language popularizations of... Continue Reading →
I weigh in for my first kettlebell competition in 2001 as Com. Angelo looks on. That day I weighed 156lbs. Granted, I had to cut some weight, but these days I'd have to cut off a leg. This is an experimental post, summarizing my training for the past week. If I continue to publish these... Continue Reading →
Feeling fat, looking fat, and being fat are three separate things. You can “feel fat” without looking or being fat. I’ll hazard a guess that it's mostly emotional, but even when you’re not being particularly neurotic, you can feel fatter or leaner depending on the fit of your clothes and your posture. You can also look... Continue Reading →
Did Hemingway invigorate himself to run with the bulls in Pamplona by blowtorching his lungs doing Crossfit? Hell no. Papa knew how to pace himself. Part 5 in our series “Tao of the Lazy Badass.” Find the first four installments here, here, here, and here. You already know the First Law of the Lazy Badass:... Continue Reading →