Category Archives: Iron And Ink

Leap Year’s Resolution

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Hey everyone. If you don’t mind, set those kettlebells, sandbags, and ropes down for a moment, grab some water, and let’s have a little talk about a cool little paradigm-shifting website that might help you with motivating you to the next level of your life and fitness. It’s an interesting twist on the traditional New Year’s Resolution… Check it out: Leap Year’s Resolution.

Do You Have New Year's Resolutions Out The Wazoo?

Do you have New Year's resolutions out the wazoo? Give yourself permission to change your life and the world in a four year period instead of one unrealistically crammed year. If your New Year's list is too long, you may get discouraged and give up.

Their tagline “4 Years 4 Change” says it all. For those who get frustrated when they don’t meet their goals by the end of the year, this approach gives you permission to encounter difficulties, and more importantly, take the time and effort to OVERCOME those difficulties, rather than give up since the resolution is shot. Four years is enough time to see most major goals through, from beginning to end.

For example, a New Year’s resolution of losing 50 pounds in a year may seem daunting and, for many, impossible. A person who loses 35 lbs. that year, while he may be happy with his progress, may end up disappointed that his original goal wasn’t met. This is not exactly positive reinforcement for such a great accomplishment. The following New Year, the resolution might be dropped to a “more realistic and reachable” 30 lbs. Or worse yet, no resolution might be set at all.

While 50 lbs. in 1 year may seem aggressive, 100 lbs. in 4 years (25 lbs. per year) doesn’t seem as unattainable. The same person who loses 35 lbs. in his first year will be extremely ecstatic for the same amount of progress and motivated to do even more. Even if he does comparatively worse his second year and loses only 15 lbs., he’s still right on target for his four year goal.

Why “Leap” To A Four Year Plan?

Having a four year plan levels the playing field some. I know a personal trainer or two who seem to proudly live in some sort of personal mental bubble and are convinced that life’s problems can not and should not ever get in the way of your workout. If that is your personal mental attitude, the more power to you. It takes a special personality that can look fearlessly in the eyes of adversity without flinching. But for the rest of of us who are realists and not blessed (depending on who you ask) with such bold A-Type personalities, we know that bad things sometimes happen. A four year plan gives us permission to handle those issues as they come up, without feeling like we’ve “failed” from our original goal.

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Forget Disney World… I’m Going To FBS2010!

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Gang, I received the biggest news this morning!

I received a mailing-list email today from the one and only Bedros Keuilian (the man behind PTPower.com). When I saw it, it perked my attention, since I had entered his giveaway for a ticket to the Fitness Business Summit 2010, as well as a hotel room for the summit. Not that I thought I’d win. After all, there were many, many entries, each with its own very good reason for why they needed to win.

Bedros Keuilian - The Man Behind The #1 Fitness Business Website On The Internet

Bedros Keuilian - The Man Behind The #1 Fitness Business Website On The Internet

But what the heck. I thought I’d check it out anyways and mentally congratulate the winner. I right-clicked on the link to get it to open in another window. I thought “Eh. I’ll check it in a minute. I’m sure I didn’t win. I never win anything.”

Then, sure enough, the way I think… I thought on… “Of course, it’d be cool if I did win. That’d be really cool. But I won’t. Oh well. Don’t get excited, Tom.”

I read a couple emails, then I went to the other window and read your post. Sure enough, I didn’t win. But it was ok. I wasn’t surprised… and the guy who one really seemed to need it more and I was happy for him.

Then I kept reading…

“B-U-T we have another winner too…”

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Are Russian Kettlebells Just Another Fitness Fad?

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Unlike Many Popular Fitness Trends, The Iron Kettlebell Is Here To Stay

Are Russian kettlebells just another fitness fad?  To be blunt, no.  Unlike Suzanne Sommer’s epic Thigh Master, the Aerobic Striptease series (the currently very popular “striptease aerobics” that makes Jane Fonda (“Barbarella”) look like an old fogey fuddy-duddy) by Carmen Electra, and the Body Blade (which actually has some value if you don’t mind looking like a total idiot), the Russian kettlebell is here to stay.

Why can we say this?  Well, for one thing, kettlebells have been used for a couple hundred years now by the Eastern Bloc.  Kettlebell training were always an integral part of the workout curriculum of athletic coaches behind the Iron Curtain.  The kettlebell has been a relatively unknown workout tool to Westerners and, so, gave the Russians a distinct advantage in many sports.  Kettlebells is part of the reason why the Soviet Union was able to dominate much of the Olympics for so long.

Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease - The Very Popular Striptease Aerobics That Makes Jane Fonda Look Like An Old Fogey Fuddy-Duddy

Carmen Electra

Now that kettlebell training has made a revival in the United States (it was a favorite of many 19th century strongmen), the popularity of the kettlebell has climbed exponentially, with no end in sight.  Interestingly enough, the western world’s adoption of the kettlebell as an boost in strength building has fanned the flames of popularity even further in Europe as well.

Kettlebells are very effective in helping one build strength in a very efficient manner. Its age-old design has no need of silly packaging or advertising gimmicks. Unlike a fad that just comes and goes, kettlbells aren’t going anywhere except to gyms, garages, and backyards all around the world.

The Coming Of Age For The Russian Kettlebell

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The Russian Secret Weapon Breaks Out Into Mainstream Popularity

For centuries, the iron kettlebell was Russia’s best kept strength and fitness secret. Just a few years ago, there were but a handful of Americans who had ever heard of the Russian kettlebell (known in Russia as a “girya”). Of this handful, a few of those began to actually train with one. Thanks to the propaganda of Pavel Tsatsouline (aka “The Evil Russian”), along with the backing of John DuCane’s Dragon Door Pubications, the western world watched as the iron curtain was drawn back to reveal this most effective and efficient piece of exercise equipment.

Suddenly, the 100 lb. bag of fertilizer seemed lighter. The sledge hammer swung with greater force. And playfully tossing junior up into the air could end up accidently throwing him into orbit.

While many scoffed at the appearance of the kettlebell and at the odd exercises performed with one, the open-minded gave the kettlebell a chance and discovered what is known to gireviks (the Russian term for “strongman” and usually used to refer to one who uses a kettlebell) as the What-The-Heck (or, for preference, you may substitute the other H word) effect. The return on investment for a kettlebell was unheard of in the strength training world. Atheletes were consistently reporting new PRs (personal records) in strength, speed, endurance, and so on. But not only were the gains great in the areas specifically trained for, these same people found that working out with the kettlebell also gave them unexpected, residual side-effect strength for everyday life. Suddenly, the 100 lb. bag of fertilizer seemed lighter. The sledge hammer swung with greater force. And playfully tossing junior up into the air could end up accidently throwing him into orbit. Hence the term What-The-Heck (WTH).

So eventually, the handful of gireviks became a community of people from all backgrounds, from Olympic powerlifters to wrestlers to basketball players to couch potatoes, all gathering together on the Dragon Door Forum to discuss with Pavel Tsatsouline the principles of girevoy (the Russian term for the sport of Kettlebell lifting) as discussed in his articles in Muscle Media magazine as well as in his first kettlebell training book, “The Russian Kettlebell Chalenge”, and his unorthodox weight training book, “Power To The People”.

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Expand Your Horizons

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Sometimes Your Workout Just Needs A Change

One thing that you will notice in the gym is that most of the regulars seem to have a routine that they are very comfortable with. Johnny Bravo over there lives by the workout he was taught by the football coach way back in high school… Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are upper body, and Tuesdays and Thursdays are, of course, for the legs. Meanwhile, Trixie religiously does the stairmaster every morning for 30 minutes while Leisuresuit Larry watches from behind on his treadmill. Sure, they may change their workouts up once in a while, but for the most part, it may appear that their workouts are etched in stone. Why? Because they get into a comfort zone.

Johnny Bravo over there lives by the workout he was taught by the football coach way back in high school... Meanwhile, Trixie religiously does the stairmaster every morning for 30 minutes while Leisuresuit Larry watches from behind on his treadmill.

Johnny Bravo over there lives by the workout he was taught by the football coach way back in high school... Meanwhile, Trixie religiously does the stairmaster every morning for 30 minutes while Leisuresuit Larry watches from behind on his treadmill.

This comfort zone is not always such a bad thing. For the overweight guy or lady who was inspired by “The Biggest Loser” TV show or who may be going through a Body For Life 12-week transformation, the comfort zone may actually be crucial in encouraging a person to make it a daily routine. Some people don’t care about all the rocket science behind building muscle and burning fat… they just want to be given a brainless routine that will give them the results they are looking for.

However, what happens when the regularity is there, but the results do not seem to be as profound anymore? What about when the body gets used to the routine and and the workout becomes lackidaisical? When you are standing on a plateau with your physical fitness, what do you do?

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