Another amazing hand balancing stunt straight out of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Gene Jackson from New York walking across a single rail of railroad track. You can see more of Gene Jackson’s stunts in The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing on pages 122 and 124 The next …
Robert Jones Celebrates His 50th Birthday
When I was visiting my brother down near Los Angeles last weekend I noticed one of the books he had on his bookshelf. The name Ripley’s Believe it or Not was displayed on the spine. Knowing that Bob Jones had been featured by Ripley‘s nine different times, I decided …
Mental Toughness
Since returning from LA I have been using my kettlebells in long timed sets. It is devastating work and let me tell you why. In kettlebell competitions there are two main lifts. You must do the Jerk for 10 minutes straight. The other event is the Snatch for 10 minutes …
Kettlebell Juggling Anyone One?
One of my favorite ways to use a kettlebell is just to throw it around. A series of flips, catches, spins and whatnot will have you huffing and puffing in no time. Not to mention it hits just about every muscle and at odd angles. Don’t be surprised if you …
When Your Strength Training Comes in Useful
As you know I was down in LA attending a seminar this weekend. What I did not tell you was that I got stuck there until Wednesday night. And not by choice. I was planning on leaving Monday. Yep, my car broke down. Pretty bad place and time. I was …
Handstand Hold for Time
Here is a great way to finish off your workouts whether you are doing just hand balancing or anything else by doing a handstand hold. Its really simple, too. Just kick up into a handstand against the wall and hold it there for as long as you can. Try to …
Bridge Gymnastics
Check out this video of some wrestler’s bridge gymnastics. [youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD56_U–TI0] Here is another video I took while I was at my gymnastics class. Let me start by saying don’t try this at home. It took a lot of effort to work up to this level. I didn’t jump into this …
What's a Kettlebell for?
I was pleasantly surprised that Steve Cotter was at the seminar. Got to talk to him and hear his side of the story. A lot of what he said made sense. No one can deny his incredible strength.The way he sees it the kettlebell is made for repetition lifting. There …
Correct Kettlebell Lifting Technique
I have practiced some GS (girevoy sport) techniques previously. Some of the basic stuff like corkscrewing your arm downward. Although my swings and snatches were rarely done with maximum tension, I now know that what I was doing was pretty far from the real techniques used in kettlebell lifting competitions. …
Different Kettlebell Styles
Tomorrow I will be attending the American Kettlebell Club Certification under World-Champion Girevik Valery Federenko. For those of you who do not know, Girevik is Russian for kettlebell lifter. If you don’t know much about kettlebells read my article What is a Kettlebell and Why Use One? I am not sure …
Destructive Training Habits
No I’m not talking about spending 4 hours in the gym that wear you down instead of building you up. That kind of stuff will be talked about some other time. What I am talking about is a certain kind of strength training. The kind that leaves behind a pile …
Professor Paulinetti in India
The following is excerpted from the True Art and Science of Hand Balancing about Professor Paulinetti. “Early in November, 1920, the word was passed about in the city of Calcutta, India, that an event of interest would happen at noon of a certain day atop the dome of the Empire …
Bending a 60-Penny Nail for the First Time
A little while ago I bent my first ever legitimate 60-penny nail. I did this in the reverse grip meaning my hands were facing opposite directions. Since then I have bent one in the double overhand position which I am working more on. Bending steel has been something that has …
Current Attempt at a Backflip
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uja4_X-eoQQ] Just thought I would put up a short video for fun. Anyway, this is a backflip I did last night at my gymnastics class. I am doing it on level ground and getting to my feet so it is not too bad. But it still has a couple spots …
Underwater Handstand
Is doing an underwater handstand a good idea? Read below for that and other questions from readers like you. Remember that if you want your questions answered just email them to me. I can’t personally reply to all of them but I will post them for all to see. Here’s …