I’m a big fan of the oldtime strongmen for a number of reasons. 1) They accomplished amazing feats of strength, some of which still stand to this day.2) They did this in a time before pharmaceutical enhancement was available, so you absolutely know they’re clean.3) They tended to have more …
Shoulder Health – 6 Planes of Movement
There is something you must understand about the shoulder joint. It is the MOST movable of all the joints in the human body. As a ball-and-socket joint, it has the most range of motion. (The other ball-and-socket joint where the leg meets the hip, is comparatively severely restricted.) What does …
Getup and Press
Credit goes to my friend, Tyler Bramlett, for introducing the getup and press to me. Long ago he told me about how he used it to rehab client’s shoulders with it and I’ve used it off and on ever since. It takes the basic getup exercise (done with a kettlebell, …
135 lb. Barbell Bent Press
Happy to hit a new recent PR in 135 lbs. with the barbell bent press. I feel really good about lowering down under the weight completely and not pressing it out. But this did initiate some spin on the barbell that I had to go with and count myself as …
Dragon Pistol Squat for Reps
This video showcases a recent PR in the dragon pistol squat for me. I hit twelve reps on each leg. Now, one thing I’ve noticed is I tend not to get too 100% depth when I’m working on reps. It’s close but not quite there. So I will be working …
120 lb Barbell Getup
I’ve been working on the getup for the past couple months. And I’m happy to report that I’ve hit a new lifetime PR in the move. Watch it here: I believe I had previously hit 115 lbs. years ago when I was practicing this exercise daily thought I could be …
Masculinity Forged in the Gym
I had a hard time becoming a man. As virtually everyone in our culture, I was not initiated into manhood. We’ve forgotten how to do that. Thus, my growing up was in large part my attempts at self-initiation. A great book on what masculinity looks like, both the actualized and …
Working Out after 1 Week Fast
Bernarr MacFadden, known as the Father of Physical Culture, was a big proponent of fasting. I remember reading about him testing his strength after a long fast. So this time around, after doing a week-long fast, I decided to do the same. This video shows a couple clips from that …
115 lb. Barbell Getup
Getups with a barbell are great. They bring in a bit more of a balance challenge than kettlebells (though surprisingly enough, are not as difficult as a dumbbell.) Here is a recent PR handling 115 lbs in the barbell getup. My plan is to get up to 135 lbs. From …
Chin-ups: Two Arm vs. One Arm vs. Weighted
Been reading through The Super Athletes by David P. Willoughby. It’s quite an amazing book filled with the feats of strength and endurance done by all kinds of strongmen. As the one arm chin-up is a goal of mine, I found this section particularly interesting and thought it was worth …
Behind the Back Deck of Cards Tear
This may have been the first time I’ve ever attempted this feat of strength. That being said, the behind the back deck of cards tear went quite well. By changing the position of the hands, there is a bit less leverage than out in front. It’s a tougher angle from …
Progression Keys – Varied Wave Progression
In the previous article, I covered the linear system of progression and the double system, which looks something more like a stair step progression. Today, we cover the varied wave. It is varied in that you use multiple methods of progression, intensity, set, volume and density. It is a wave …
Progression Keys – Linear vs Double Progression
It was the summer before Sophomore year at high school. I figured if I started with 20 pushups each and every day, and added one pushup per day, by the end of Summer I’d be significantly stronger. So I started on my plan. It was easy in the beginning. Then …
How Did I Get So Strong?
“How did you ever get to where you are at anyway?? Where did you find the time and the resources to make it actually happen?” -Ricky This is a great question. For those that have ears to listen this should be quite instructive… I consider my strength training journey to …
Advanced Card Tearing
I’m been working on my card tearing as my main feat of strength for a few months now. It’s the strongest it’s ever been and here I’ll share two new PR’s. First up is tearing a mini deck of cards in half. Tearing a mini deck of cards in half …