Kettle-busts

Hope everyone is reading this and looking forward to their holidays next week. Before anyone even thinks of asking me, NO the world is not going to end tomorrow the 21st so shut it right there. The Mayans didn't believe in leap year and daylights savings so I got a huge spoiler alert, if this shit was going to happen, IT WOULD HAVE ALREADY. By some really absurd chance I am wrong about this tomorrow and the world ends tomorrow then go ahead and try to do something about it...oh wait you'll be gone with the rest of us.

Today will just be a brief blurb on kettlebells. They have become this huge ginormous craze basically since the early 2000s, thanks Pavel. I love kettlebells and incorporate them into my clients programs and progressions, the problem I have is that everyone seems to think they will instantly get in better shape, do it faster and not have to worry about hurting themselves. Wrong, huge misconception there in my humble opinion.

This craze has given us many great exercises that we probably didn't think of before our little cannon ball tools became so popular such as swings and my favorite, Turkish get-up although they were around before, again not popularized until recently. The problem I have with many of the exercises done with Kettlebells is that people seem to think that just because they are doing an exercise with them, useful or not, that their form can slip or that it's going to give them magic powers to save the universe, just because. To use a four letter word, DUMB, you can still kill your back while doing swings and goblet squats, and still royally screw up most of your body during a Turkish get-up when your form slips. Finally if you don't know how to use these things without throwing them into someone's dome, accidental or not, use the organ inside your dome and think. Ask someone that has some semblance of a clue how to use them before you injure someone, most likely yourself. Certs are nice, but most trainers worth their salt will serve you better than crushing yourself.

Have a good holiday folks, NO MORE CURLS and get after it today, if you haven't yet.

Talent Alone is Never Enough

Been a busy week here yet somehow I've managed more than one post in a week, mostly just motivation and partially because I feel a little bad leaving everyone hanging for the time that I missed. Either way I hope everyone enjoys this. I've had this whole idea for this post in my head to just take a shot at this subject and decided now is a pretty good time just because. My little idea machine also poked and prodded me to explain my reasoning for this simply to too many people. So in an effort to be efficient and not get so winded that my face turns reder than a hot dog from Maine. That's right motherland reference.

The above picture has a saying that was written on our mirror in the training room for the last 3 weeks or so, I tried to edit it so it's a bit more readable, for those that still can't read it "Hard work beats talent when talent won't work hard!" is the quote on there. Since it's been written I've really been thinking about it. I've know this to be the truth for a long time, but I never really took the time to think of all the examples there are in this world especially in sports. Following here will be the best examples I can think of in sports, no particular order, you can form your own opinion. Before you get too judgmental, live in the sports and fitness world for a day and you may have different thoughts.

Just so Pats fans can get their sports stiffy out of the way, Tom Brady. Picked 199 in his draft class, and it is well documented that he has dominated another very good quarterback for the better part of his career. For those that are really having a hard time with this one, either you don't watch the NFL or don't live in New England, the other I am referring to be would be Peyton Manning, 2 years before Brady he was picked number one overall. Now of course they both have talent, but Peyton probably had more and is more talented than Brady. Brady has done one thing to be better than him and win more Super Bowls than him, work his ass off. Being a Michigan fan I know how well documented it was that Brady was a freak for studying game film on his opponents and himself. Again not saying that Manning doesn't work hard, I'm pretty sure every NFL player works their tail off or they're cut in a blink, but Brady went the extra mile first, and in the earlier years I'd say Manning had the better supporting cast (Faulk, Harrison, Clark, you get the picture).

How about any walk-on that goes to any major university and plays a major sport (Football, Basketball and so on). Most prime example I can think of at the moment is the Swatt Man. JJ Watt started out playing TE at a smaller school and had a scholarship there, but he really wanted to go to his favorite school in Madison Wisconsin so he walked-on for the Badgers, watched more film than a movie critic and thanks to the big media frenzy over him lately, I'm sure you know the rest. Just to give another example, as I said I am a Michigan fan, their current strong safety Jordan Kovacs is a captain and has been a starter for longer than most would have gambled on. Jordan walked-on as well and has been in the top 2 in tackles since his sophomore year. He may not get drafted high, but I bet he will be drafted because these teams know it takes that type of work ethic.

That horse is beaten, next example would be the NBA Champions from 2004, Detroit Pistons. Beating the LA Lakers quite handily 4-1. Those that are sitting there and saying that Detroit was more talented than the squad that LA (Kobe, Shaq, Payton and the like) put together, I'm sorry but you are way too much of a Pistons fan and need to get an outside opinion, so here's mine. NOT ON YOUR LIFE. The Lakers probably shouldn't have lost that final, let alone at 4 games to 1. Moving a little more recently in the same arena, 2011 Champions Dallas Mavericks, yes Dirk is a beast, but do you really think that if Wade and Lebron worked as hard as Dirk did in that series they would have lost? Looking at the evidence from the following year when Miami beat another very talented team in Oklahoma City I'd say the answer is no way. Point to this guy right here.

Ok final example, one a little more close to home for me. I play for Boston Rugby as some of you may know. Last spring we had a player with the nickname of Chainsaw so we'll go with that or Saw for now. Saw sure as hell doesn't really look the part of a top flight rugger, but he played like it. In his first season he was selected to our first team squad for the Super League (don't know it? look it up), needless to say he beat out many players that have far more skills and talent than him. The reason being, and I've said this before, all Chainsaw does on the field is work work work, I swear to god he's got a 9 volt implanted up his whos-a-whats-it that just keeps him ticking. He scored so many times simply based on hustle it was ridiculous.

Finally to toot my own horn a bit, but also to prove that I know what hard work is and where it can get you. I personally have got about 1 fiber of athletic ability in my body. I'm still playing rugby while others that are probably better than me and more talented than me sit at home. I was picked and played on more select sides (aka rugby speak for all-star) in college than many players on my team and others that were more athletic and skilled than me. I worked my ass off in the weight room, on the field and in my really good years, in the kitchen (doesn't make sense to you? Give it a think). I'm proud of the work I've done and I'm not done yet. Still got good years left in my legs so I'm using them. 

These are obviously not all there is, but hopefully this made you think a bit more about how wasted talent can go. That's it for today, hopefully everyone enjoyed this post and can apply it somewhere in their life. Have a good day everyone, for those that haven't yet, go out there and get it.

Improvement, Always Make Room for It

I've decided that in the last week 3 of the biggest goats in professional sports in this country are Gary Bettman, Donald Fehr and Roger Gooddell. I'm tired of not seeing NHL Hockey on my TV and I'm tired of seeing the NFL become more and more like flag football. Seriously getting rid of kick-offs? Didn't think UMaine intramurals had gone professional. Sad sad day it will be if that happens.

Enough of the down side, let's get some upside here. Needless to say there is nothing that is perfect in this world as a whole. This includes those that are trainers/coaches doing their own workouts. That being said working out with another person, and in my case, another trainer, will help you improve your workouts and get better results.

When working out with another person the one thing that most people would agree that is advantageous about this, even if the person has got almost no clue as to what to do with the workout, is motivation and accountability. Having your bro, coach, cousin, bookie or mail man work out with you helps keep you in check. Obviously the more experienced the person is with exercise and the exercises you are performing the better, but you really don't need too much for this purpose. Being versed in proper spotting technique would help as well, but any spot will help and I'm not getting into spotting techniques, just use your brain, or try to at least.

You say you are a coach or trainer yourself and know exactly what you are doing and how to do it well? I bet if I watched one set of one exercise that you did I could find something to fix to make the exercise better and more effective. I got humbled on this subject this past Saturday working out with another trainer I work with along with one of his buddies who also happens to be a coach. I consider myself huge on technique, learning it and then applying it to my clients and myself, but trust me I still got at least 5 ways to correct my technique in my workout that day. Needless to say everyone can get better, go look at some of the big guys in the industry they will tell you the same thing. Working out with someone else brings better results than working out alone. That's not to say don't workout if you don't have one, but if you have the chance to workout with a friend DO IT!

Will both you and your bro be able to stick with the program for years and years? One can only hope, but even if you don't, the time you are able to stick with it I will bet you will see some better results than you have experienced in the past, or at least rival some of your best results. In what has become a results based society, this is an easy way to see some of your results. Just find someone and you'll probably both learn something, directly or indirectly about fitness.

That's all I got today folks, glad to be back. Go out there and get after it!

Being Thankful (Yeah Little Late)

Apologize to everyone for being on an extended hyatis from writing. Holidays and a few other things have me going in a million different directions and it's getting tough to find writing time sometimes. Recently I've been reminded of things that I should be thankful for that I have in my life and others less fortunate don't. Yeah I know it's a little late and yes it's a little sappy but Holidays do that to me sometimes and better late than never.

-My family and friends, more specifically Mom, Dad, my Brother Steve and his kids, the idiots that I call my friends and Catherine

-Having a job that I look forward to going to every day

- William Web Ellis (If there's a question mark over your head, look it up)

-Dead Lifts, Cleans and Olympic Bars that spin like ya dream

-Living in a place where I can post this blog and not face much more punishment than a bit of ridicule from those that know me

Stay tuned in next week for some more good stuff. For now have a good one and get after it today!