Gem From The Vault : The Gym Bag Essential that Could Take You to the Next Level
Jeff Wilson (Basic Instinct Fitness)
Looks simple, isn’t.
Looking At : Sep 15, 2024
Scott Andrew Bird | follow @scottbird
What’s been going on this week? Quite a lot actually.
Video : I Became Extremely Fat For A Day (Will Tennyson)
Very interesting transformation (both ways) and discoveries.
Gymchat 278 – TBA
We’re still finalising the details for this week’s discussion. I’ll post them on the blog (and X, Facebook etc) shortly. In the meantime, take a look at some of the previous episodes of the show – (there’s an example below, and a full list here). And if you’ve got any questions or comments on the various topics discussed, we’d love to hear them. Just leave a note below the video.Previously : In Gymchat 155 we discussed Triathlon Training with Ultrarunner, airline captain and insanely competitive triathlete, Chas Melichar and Personal Trainer ‘Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine. Great conversation.
NB : If you’d like to take part in a future episode – either as an interviewee, or as a guest host – just drop us a line. Love hearing how everyone else trains.
Checking Out : Gympad Bench (Compact Home Gym)
Interesting idea. The Gympad Bench is a compact gym for lightweight (80kg max) workouts when travelling. The video below will show you what I mean.The Gympad Bench.
Ever Tried Kettlebells?
If you've seen people using them but never taken the plunge yourself, here are the ones I use personally. You can also pick up a book/DVD/course if you want to learn how to put them to work.
Tip of the Week : Rice Bucket Rehab
Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via X (Formerly `Twitter`), the blog; and the newsletter. Wherever you are, there’s always a way to improve what you’re doing.In the discussion on Recovery Work for the Hands we noted several superb recovery techniques, including the ever-popular Rice Digs. If you’ve never tried doing these, the process is incredibly simple. From the post ‘Rice Digs (for Grip-Training Warmups)‘, a brief description :
The exercise is an extremely simple one; pour some uncooked rice into a bucket and repeatedly burrow your hands into it. Make fists, rotate your wrists and generally move your hands around whilst they’re surrounded by rice. To make it more difficult, use sand or even lead shot instead of the rice. Nice and painful.NB : All other things being equal, a finer material will feel more difficult. Things like lead shot have less give, and will quickly prove challenging. Rice is a good starting point. And to make things a little clearer, have a look at the video below. Great exercise.
Unlock Your Hips, Unlock Your Squat
I get a lot of questions regarding the impact of ‘unlocking your hips‘ on heavy squatting. Rick Kaselj goes into it in plenty of detail in the ‘Unlock Your Hip Flexors‘ program; and I’ve also posted a brief video below which demonstrates/explains some of the exercises.
Both (working with Ryan, and Rick’s program) are highly recommended. And as always, we love hearing your feedback – if you sample any of the above exercises or the ‘Unlock Your Hip Flexors‘ program, we’d love to hear about it.
Exercise Of The Week : TGU (Turkish Get-up)
Jeff Martone Doing TGU with his Son.
If the On Sitting and Standing article got you thinking, you may be considering trying the Turkish Get-up. It’s definitely a full body exercise.
Turkish Get-up
The idea is simple – lie on the ground, press a weight in the air and stand up with it (without it touching the ground). However, it’s a little more challenging than it sounds.
Jeff Martone writes an excellent description of the process in Tactical Athlete magazine (a great read) :
- Lie on the floor, in a supine position (i.e. face up), next to an appropriate size kettlebell.
- Use both hands to press the kettlebell vertical – directly above your shoulder. Once in position, keep your elbow locked, wrist straight, and your eyes on the kettlebell.
- Post your foot close to your buttocks (same side as your working arm.)
- Allow the weight to drift slightly forward, then push off your posted foot and sit up. It is acceptable to allow your free arm to assist slightly in sitting up.
- From sitting, slowly move to the kneeling position. This can be done a number of ways. The main thing is to move slowly, keeping your working arm perpendicular to the ground and to finish in well supported, 3-point kneeling position.
To see a video of the movement (which may make things a little easier), check out this one [.mpg, 29.9mb] from Lisa Schaffer at No Fear Fitness. If you’re just beginning your kettlebell journey, you may like to read Lisa’s Kettlebell Smart Start [.pdf, 1.3mb].
Variations
Apart from simply using a heavier or lighter bell, there are two major versions of this exercise to keep in mind. These are the lunge (demonstrated in the above video) and squat versions, and differ slightly in their basic execution.
Within the lunge style of TGU there is a slight variation possible; and this is clearly demonstrated in this video by Steve Cotter.
The squat style requires more hip flexibility, and is similar to the lunge technique in the beginning stages. Once the bell has been pressed overhead, and you’ve rolled on to your side and begun to lean forward (with your other arm providing stability), tuck both legs under and push forward into a squat (rather than a lunge). If you’re not comfortable squatting ATG, don’t even consider this variation – stick with the lunge.
Things to consider
Keep your eyes on the bell throughout the movement. The last thing you want is to unlock your elbow whilst concentrating on tucking your legs under – a faceful of kettlebell is not a good look.
This is fast becoming a popular kettlebell movement, but it’s just as effective when performed with anything heavy and slightly unstable. The picture is of Jeff Martone using his son, but a heavy dumbbell or a sandbag is also good.
Incidentally, if you’d like to get in touch regarding this or any other aspect of strength, you can contact me here. Look forward to hearing from you.
