Introducing the Karma Wheel of Fortune!

You know, it's really not fair. We all know we're supposed to be "good people", but being bad is often a lot more fun! And aside from the whole karma thing, there usually isn't a whole lot out there to help keep us motivated to do the right thing...

Well, the Chronicles of Strength is here to help you restore your Karmic chain and prove that it does pay to do the right thing!

Martin Luther King Jr. once claimed that the universe tends to lean towards the side of justice.

It's time to put that to the test, by allowing you to pay whatever the freak you want for the brand new
Fireside Chat with Dr. Charlie Weingroff.

Now before we get into the details of how this game is played, let me first tell you just a little bit of what you can expect to find answers to in this hour-long interview with Dr. Charlie Weingroff:

• General Physical Preparedness vs. Specific Physical Preparedness - Which is more crucial for athletic development and why
• Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) - What it is, why it's important,and how Dr. Weingroff uses it in his practice
• The concept of joint centration and how training from a centrated position will make you a stronger and more functional athlete
• How Dr. Weingroff utilizes kettlebells in his own practice, as well as with his athletes
• Dr. Charlie Weingroff's approach to mobility and flexibility and why "just stretching" is rarely the answer
• Why everyone is "open-minded" until they've found out that they've been doing everything wrong
  
  

The Fireside Chat with Dr. Charlie Weingroff could easily be priced well over $99 for the vast amount of rare and valuable information presented within, but instead we are going to take a bit of a different approach with this one and give you the ability to put some good karma into the bank.

We're going to let you pay what you want to pay for this.

But in order to help you do the right thing, we're going to provide some "karmic incentives". Some of you may think, "Well, aren't I just really paying for the additional 'karmic incentives'?"

You mean like buying Karma?? Well, that's just poppycock!

Sure, you could think of it like that. Or you could think of it the right way, which is that you are simply reaping the positive consequences of good Karma! Remember, we really just put these incentives together in order to help you restore a positive balance to your karmic chain. That's all. Really...

                                                                            :D

The game is simple, folks - You make the decision, you pay the scrilla, and you get the Karma (and potentially a helluva lot more, depending on the amount of scrilla)!

Happy bidding!

Oh, and by the way - there are ONLY FIVE ultimate enlightenment packages available. So you better act quickly if you want to guarantee that you don't suffer the unfortunate fate of becoming eternally trapped in the cycle of rebirth. That'd be a major, major bummer.

Along with the invaluable Fireside Chat with Dr. Charlie Weingroff (a $99 value), we are offering the following Karmic Incentives:

Karmic Incentive #1 – VIP Package to the Athletic Enhancement Seminar with Doctor Charlie Weingroff, which includes admittance to the entire seminar, an FMS screen from Dr. Charlie Weingroff, and a night out networking and socializing with the best of the best in the strength and conditioning industry
(total value =  truly priceless, but for the sake of quantification $499)

Karmic Incentive #2 – Every single Chronicles of Strength eBook known to man, including The Birth of a Hero (total value = $78)

Karmic Incentive #3 – Two thirty-minute coaching calls with Pat Flynn and Som Sikdar, regarding either technique, coaching tips, or marketing help (total value = $100 x 2 = $200)

Karmic Incentive #4 – One year subscription to the SuperHero Development Program
(total value = 12 months x $9 = $108)

Karmic Incentive #5 – One Hundred Million Positive Karma Bonus Points and Four Big Thumbs Up. No chance of being trapped in the cycle of rebirth.

Total Value of Enlightenment Package =  99 + 499 + 79 + 200 + 108 = $995

Super Bonus Karmic Incentive #6 – 20% off Dr. Charlie Weingroff’s Training = Rehab, Rehab = Training six-piece DVD set when you purchase it at the seminar!

Along with the Invaluable Fireside Chat with Dr. Charlie Weingroff, we are offering the following karmic incentives with the awakening package:

Karmic Incentive #1 – One ticket to the Athletic Enhancement Seminar with Dr. Charlie Weingroff in Exton, PA on June 3rd. (total value = $199)

Karmic Incentive #2 – The Birth of a Hero eBook ( total value = $29)

Karmic Incentive #3 -3 months of the SuperHero Development Program
(total value = 3 months x $9 = $27)

Karmic Incentive #4 – Very high probability you won’t spend eternity stuck in the cycle of rebirth. No guarantees, but the odds are in your favor.

Total Value of Awakening Package =  99 + 199 + 29 + 27 = $343

Along with the exclusive Fireside Chat with Dr. Charlie Weingroff you get an undisclosed super secret karmic bonus.

And no.

We aren’t going to tell you what it is.

Then it wouldn’t be an undisclosed super secret karmic bonus.

It would just be a karmic bonus.

And no, it’s not a ticket to the seminar.

Total Value = $99 + ?? Secret Bonus ?? = ??? (at least $99!!).

There may be hope for you, but it’s starting to look a bit grim…

Monetarily you can’t beat this package, since you get The Fireside Chat with Dr. Charlie Weingroff (a $99 value) for free. Just note that the unquantifiable expense of spending an eternity trapped in the cycle of rebirth far outweighs the pain of any initial cash outflow.

And just out of pity, we will still give you a free one month subscription to the SuperHero Development Program (again which you can opt out of at anytime if you so wish to continue traveling down the path of bad karma).

Moving on.

For this week's technique critique we have our friend Rambo who is currently training for his RKC. Rambo has done a more than stellar job training around nagging injuries and not losing sight of his goal. Let's see if we can help him out with his front squat.

I'm going to do things a bit different this time and hold my critique until after the first three comments, so please give Rambo your most valuable feedback!

Remember, if you want to be on technique critique, shoot me an email at Hardstylekettlebells@yahoo.com with the subject line of "technique critique"

Today we will examine our friend Leo's two hand swing and turkish get up. Let's see if we can't help out our buddy Leo.

Remember, technique critique is a way for everyone to gather free and valuable feedback from both myself and the COS community. It is my responsibility to point out any technical flaws that I find, but ultimately your responsibility to figure out how to fix them. Different correctives work better for different people, and as much as I would love to, I really just don’t have the time. It’s just not humanly possible. I can only cast light onto the problems and to help to set you in the right direction.  And often times that’s really all that folks need, is to know what they need to work on, so that they can go forth and work on it. It's hard to know what you don’t know. And that’s what technique critique is here for.

But of course I will always take the time to offer my recommendations in the comment section to any specific questions anyone has regarding potential correctives.

I realize I am incredibly backed up on technique critique, and my most sincere appologies for the delay for all of those who have sent me videos! The response has been awesome and please keep sending your videos in!

If you want to be on technique critique shoot me an email @ HardstyleKettlebells@yahoo.com with the subject line of technique critique. I will do my best to get at least two technique critiques up this week.

Now, let’s see if we can help our friend Leo out with his swing and get up.

The Two Hand Swing

Here’s a few of the things I see, post your comments and suggestions for Leo below!

@ :30 seconds – Hips need to be set lower at the set up – Although the exact position will vary slightly from individual to individual, hips should always be higher than your knees, but lower than your shoulders (In Leo’s case his shoulders are lower than his hips). There is also some mild rounding in the lumbar (lower back) and the tailbone is tucking under. Furthermore, there is an excessive amount of capital and cervical extension going on (looking up and cranking the neck back). See video above on the importance of “packing in the neck”.

@ :32 – the flexion and rounded back problem becomes more apparent once under load. Funny because even with Leo looking up and trying to pull himself into cervical extension, this actually does not seem to initially trickle down into his lumbar. Sort of like reverse trickle down biomechanics. Interesting… Hmm... Hmmmm

Regardless, I believe a proper set up with his hips a bit lower will go a long way for correcting this, as his initial hike-back will be deeper, his spine hopefully more neutral, and in turn his tibia (shins) a bit more vertical.

@ :33 And we have the lockout! Leo has a nice explosive hip snap, but the lockout needs a little cleaning up. Starting from the ground up – Leo’s knees look like they are coming a little short of full extension. Quads short be forcefully contracted even at the top of the lock out – knees fully extended, and knee caps even “pulled up”. From there Leo seems to actually be compensating for lack of knee extension with mild overextension of the hips. Fix the knees and I believe it will also help to fix the hips. Hard to tell with the clothing but lumbar looks fairly neutral at the top, my primary concern is now with Leo’s cervical region – as he has the classic “chicken neck” head position going on – which is when folks tend to leave their head behind and end up in an awkward position of cervical protrusion (pushing their chin/head forward).  Learning to pack the neck will do a great deal to solve this.

All of the aforementioned problems continue to occur throughout Leo’s set of two hand swings.

Note that overall Leo’s foundation is very solid. He no doubt understands that the swing is a posterior chain driven power movement, as he has a very clearly defined hip drive. Schweet.

The Turkish Get Up

@ 1:20 – Major valgus collapse (inward bowing of the knee) on the planted foot. Also a great deal of trying to “sit/crunch up” into the first position of the get up, which in turn has led to a considerable deal of flexion throughout the spine. Rather this first portion of the get up should be a tactical roll (pushing from the heel of the planted foot and pulling from the planted elbow) and not a modified sit up or crunch. You want to lead with your sternum, and not with the arm that is bearing the weight, as this will lead to the shoulder coming forwarding and unpacking which is the case here.

@ 1:22 – Back arm elbow is lacking full extension and planted too far behind and out of line with the hip. As you will see, this will make Leo’s sweep through his hip bridge considerably more difficult than it has to be.

@ 1:27 – Ah yes, just as I predicted! Leo is unable to sweep his leg back far enough to get his knee in line with his planted hand – again a consequence of what went on @ 1:22. This led to Leo having to jump his hand forward (and give up a point of contact fromhis base) to place it back in line with his knee and some major instability/wobbliness. Again, it all goes back to taking the time to invest in and find the most appropriate set up position for the structure of your body.

@ 1:28 – Leo sort of twists/contorts into the lunge position. A lot of folks are able to get away with this when using a relatively lighter weight, but this will not be the case once the big boy and big girl weights come into play. Rather one needs to sit down into that L-position first before “windshield wiping” the back leg and utilize hip flexion and extension in order to come into the lunge position. See video below to see what the freak it is that I’m talking about.

@ 1:39 – On the descent again Leo is reaching his arm behind him, rather it would behoove him to reach it out more in line with his hip.

@ 1:46 Elbow breaks before it should and his shoulder is being yanked back into more extension than necessary.

What else do you see? What recommendations do you have for Leo to fix his swing and get up? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!

I will save my critique of Leo’s snatch and clean and press for another date, as Lola now requires my full attention, but please give Leo your feedback on these techniques as well in the comment section!

Overall, I must say great job to Leo. Remember technique critique is not here to beat people up, but rather to lift them up, commend them for the awesome job they’ve done, and then help them improve. Because nobody is beyond being able to improve. And it takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like this, and that alone is rather commendable. Thank you Leo for doing

“But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward” (Rocky Balboa)

Training should always be purposeful practice.

Never just “working out”.

That to me is silly.

Training is never about the “sweat factor” – that is merely incidental.

This is what I am continuously forced to tell new clients of mine because for some reason a lot people still just don’t seem to get it.

eh.

But hey, if you really want to pay me to whoop your ass,  I have no problem with that. It actually makes my job a lot easier. I have no doubt in my training abilities that I can beat you down to your knees, praying for the sweet release that only death can bring, with some of the downright nastiest metabolic conditioning routines you could ever imagine.

But what I tell my clients is that I’d rather make them better instead – and that there are lot better (and a heck of a lot more enjoyable) ways to make themselves sweat and throw up, if that is truly their end goal. Seriously, I do. Ask me about it.

Remember – just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

There needs to be a clear delineation between training and working out. Following the Birth of a Hero is training. You are working towards something specific and doing so in an intelligently structured approach.

Zumba (which wouldn’t be all bad if they served alcohol) is working out (if you can even call it that…).

Just strolling into a Crossfit gym and doing the “workout” of the day, is well, just working out. Now don’t get me wrong, you may very well get better at some things by “just working out," just never as good as you could be getting through a proper and intelligently designed training regimen.

Now one thing that Som and I like to often test to see how productive our training has been is to examine our “toughness factor”, or how well our training holds up under severe amounts of stress and fatigue.  (This has a lot to do with us being martial artists – but I believe it to be of equal importance to all athletes) because ultimately, as an athlete, if your training and poise don’t hold up under pressure, then something’s wrong...

So what we do to test this is commit the ultimate sin.

And for one day –we just workout solely with the malicious intention of whooping our own asses and finding out just how much we mere mortals can handle.

Because the truth is, as athletes and coaches, we need and want to be pretty damn tough. We take great pride in being the guys who have always walked the walk. And part of our training is designed to make us tough(er).

So how do we test that? How do we know if we are actually getting any tough(er) and/or more resilient? Such things aren’t so easily quantifiable – and of course there will always been semantic noise in regards to what “tough” really is. But for our purposes, we will focus on one’s physical and mental resilience and endurance.

Again, what we do to test this is commit the ultimate sin.

We work out with nothing more than the grand idea of complete self-destruction in mind.

The absolute foulest, filthiest, unrelenting, and unforgiving “workouts” you could ever imagine, a workout so punishing and so arduous that it will surely separate the true men from those who are just barely removed from their mother’s teat.

Each one always nastier than the predecessor.

If we survive and make it – we deem ourselves tough(er). And then it’s Miller Time.

So far, we’ve never not had Miller Time…

The system works, folks.

Strong(er). Lean(er). And tough(er).

Today, I am going to take you through one of these tests of merit. Keep your puke buckets nearby and the paramedics on speed dial.

NOTE: Never do you push through into bad form. This is all about how tough you can be, yet still maintain poise under pressure. Slopping through something is just slopping through something. That’s not tough. That’s sloppy. Completing something with integrity is what we are after here.

For today's episode self destruction - I warmed up with the 100 rep RKC snatch test. Clocked in my 100 reps in 3 minutes and 47 seconds.

The System Works.

Get ready for the big nasty.

And share some of your favorite self-destruction routines in the comment section!

Before you start Miller time, I want you to CLICK HERE immediately.

Seriously folks, this is a serious public health announcement.

And it's FREE

I want to give you exclusive access to a day in the life of a SuperHero...

A SuperHero Development Program member that is!

First off, I want to personally thank all of you that have already enrolled in the SuperHero Development Program. Everyone's continued support has been incredibly heartwarming and encouraging, and I'm super pumped for you all to see the next issue - as it is just filled to the brim with great saucy content.

So what I have for everyone today is a sneak peak of just a little bit of what you can expect to get as a SuperHero Development Program member.

What we got for you is an entire follow along full body strength routine (easily plugged right into the Birth of a Hero Program on SRS days). I'm sure you are going to love this. We lift some weights. And we even crack some jokes.

Get out the big boy and big girl weights for this one. You'll thank me later.  Oh, and post some love in the comment section!

Enjoy. And Please Lift Responsibly.

We're pulling out all the stops here folks.

The response to the SuperHero Development Program so far has been INCREDIBLE! But if you have yet to sign up, well... WE WANT YOU!

That's why I'm going to give you the first month for FREE! Because I know once you try this out and see just how great this program is and just how much value we pack into each issue, that you will quickly agree with me when I say it will be the best $4 investment that you ever make!

But hurry, because this offer ends at midnight three days from now (March 22nd).

And if the FREE access offer isn't enough to have you immediately running over to The SuperHero Development Program Page, these FIVE free gifts will surely do the trick.

* Bonus 1: Blacktop Muscle Follow Along Kettlebell Workout!

This exclusive follow along metabolic conditioning kettlebell workout is available ONLY to SuperHero Development Program members and is yours FREE when you sign up. This is a no holds barred and relentless kettlebell metabolic conditioning workout guaranteed to strip fat from your body in no time! Note that this is meant to be plugged directly into the Birth of a Hero Program!

* Bonus 2: The Metabolic Reset eBook!

For an extremely limited time we are giving away our famous Metabolic Reset Nutritional eBook to all who enroll for their first FREE month in our SuperHero Development Program! This is a RIDICULOUS offer for this eBook alone!

* Bonus 3: Metabolic Reset Accountability Journal

As if the Metabolic Reset alone isn’t enough, we are even giving you the Metabolic Reset Accountability Journal so that you can track your workouts, food intake, and even sleep hours. Remember, “what gets measured gets managed”!



* Bonus 4: Complete One Hour Metabolic Reset Webinar Recording

To further supplement the Metabolic Reset and to ensure your long term success, you will also gain exclusive access to our one hour webinar presentation on the Metabolic Reset where we dispel common nutrition mistakes and map out exactly what you need to do in order to lose the fat once and for all.

 

* Bonus 5: Price Lock Guarantee!

Finally, when you sign up TODAY for your first FREE month of our SuperHero Development Program, you can rest assured that the price will remain only a MEASLY four dollars a month after that. FOREVER! The amount of value here along with the bonuses is far beyond measure, but you have our promise that you will NEVER pay a cent over $4 for as long as you remain a member. And remember, you have the ability to cancel at any time! Hurry, because once this offer ends, the price will go to $9!

WHEW! That's a lot of goodies ... and you get it all FREE when you try our SuperHero Development Program for FREE for the first month!

Go here right now and get access before it’s too late!

With all the tough love in the world,

-Pat

P.S. This super-ridiculous special offer ends at midnight on March 22nd

PPS - This is my Saint Bernard Lola. She is the sweetest and the most goofiest. Sometimes she drools. And sometimes she smells bad. But she is always the most wonderful. And she is a member of the SuperHero Development Program. Don't you want to be a member of the SuperHero Development Program with my Saint Bernard Lola?

:P

Sign up for your first FREE month of the SuperHero Development Program to get your FREE follow along kettlebell complex workout.

WARNING: This is NOT a beginners workout! These complexes are intense, brutal, and wholly unforgiving of bad technique. But when done right, results are GUARANTEED!

Note: You will receive an email with instructions to access your free follow along kettlebell workout video once you register for your first free month of the SuperHero Development Program.

If you ain't got semi-nude, semi-awkward pictures to back yourself up then what you got???

The truth is I know a thing or two about fat loss.

Why?

Because:

1. I used to be a fat kid.
2. I'm no longer a fat kid.

The great thing about good science is that it is repeatable. And good science is exactly what the Metabolic Reset and Birth of a Hero programs are assembled upon. Whatever the given input, we can predict the output, because the system is in place and it can be applied across the board.

Now I don’t know about you, but nothing annoys me more than that “fat guy” telling people how to lose weight. And there seems to be a lot of "that guy" out there nowadays.

If you've been following this blog for a while then you know the following to be true about me:

1. I don't use or recommend any sort of "fat burner" or magic diet pill.
2. I don't oil myself up.
3. I don't go tanning (clearly...).
4. No special effects or lighting.
5. I'm not "special" (unless you ask my mom) or genetically gifted by any means.
6. I am unable to grow a truly strong beard like Som
7. Yet I maintain single digit body fat year round.

And I am able to do this because the system works. And I know what works and what doesn't work, because I've been there and have struggled trying to figure the whole "fat loss" thing out. It took me a while. But dammit I got it now. And I'm here to share it with you.

Now that’s not to say that “that fat guy” may not have some decent information, and he may even be a great dude who knows a lot about a lot of neat things. And maybe it's just me being me, but I'm about just as willing to take fat loss advice from a fat person as I am to take investment advice from a poor person (or ethics advice from Bernie Madoff). There’s something to be said about having successfully embarked on the fat loss journey yourself that gives you a certain amount of insight that can’t be acquired by any other means. Furthermore, it must be known that it is equally important to not only embark on that journey, but to ensure that you did so in a sustainable fashion and have not since regressed.

I not only have taken that fat loss journey, but I have also only maintained and/or improved my level of health, strength, and leanness over the past ten years since I took those first grueling steps towards the betterment of myself. And believe me, I remember how difficult those first steps were to take.

I guess that goes to show that there really is no final destination, and that it is the ongoing journey and pursuit that truly matters. There is no end to self improvement.

If you’ll permit me, what I’d like to talk about today is why and how.

Why the science behind metabolic conditioning and the Metabolic Reset is so damn effective for fat loss, and how it came to be.

I define metabolic conditioning in the Birth of a Hero as:

Moderate to Heavy Strength Efforts + Elevated Cardiovascular Stress (while simultaneously switching between muscle groups and energy systems) = Metabolic Conditioning

Now “burning fat” actually requires that two things occur. One is that we mobilize fatty acids into our blood stream and the second is that when then utilize the fatty acids that are floating around.

Now high intensity exercise – such as heavy lifting, sprinting, etc , will stimulate the release of adrenaline which helps to dump fatty acids into the blood stream. The problem with stopping there is with re-esterfication, which is when we don’t actually utilize those fatty acids floating around and they simply just move back into our cozy fat cells. So mobilizing the fatty acids into our blood stream is only one piece of the puzzle. What we have to do once the fatty acids are mobilized are to burn them suckers up!

(BIG NOTE: What I'm preaching about today is "advanced fat loss" - meaning calculated and clever tactics I use to maintain a single digit body fat percentage. And what if you are just starting out? Like I said before, the system works and can be applied across to the board. No matter where you are at in the game, you can and should implement these strategies now!)

We know that the phosphagenic and glycolytic energy systems are great for mobilizing fatty acids and for EPOC (that "afterburn"), but not so great for burning them off. That’s what the oxidative energy system is for.

The rare beauty of metabolic conditioning is that since the aim is to improve the efficiency of all three energy systems (phosphagenic, glycolytic,  and oxidative) you can bet that we will spend time utilizing and taxing each one. The high intensity movements utilizing the phosphagenic and glycolytic energy systems will stimulate the release of adrenaline to dump the fatty acids into the blood stream, and then through keeping the system under prolonged stress through properly constructed complexes we tap into our oxidative system which will deliver the final blow and burn up the circulating fatty acids.

Now you may be wondering why can’t I just perform 15 to 20 minutes of high intensity exercise, and then spend 20 to 40 minutes working traditional “cardio” or some other sort of lower intensity/oxidative type of exercise. Well you could, and it wouldn’t be “bad” option per say, but why do any more work than you have to? Remember, doing any more than the bare minimum is just silly. Why not get the same output(fat loss) with less input (time).  You can get the job done with The Birth of a Hero program in half the time. That my friends is efficiency.

This is why I will always turn towards metabolic conditioning for the most drastic fat loss results. Short of liposuction nothing is as effective.

Now we must turn our attention towards nutrition. A lot fitness professionals would claim that nutrition attributes to 80% of your fat loss results. I would argue that percentage to be higher, probably more so around 95% (especially for those of us that are not so genetically gifted). Even with the power of The Birth of a Hero, it still remains true that you cannot out-train a bad diet.

That is why I would like to personally invite each and everyone of of you to our Metabolic Reset Webinar which will be conducted at 2pm(eastern time) tomorrow! This Webinar is FREE to all members of our SuperHero Development Program - and since the SuperHero Development Program is FREE for the first month, that essentially means that this webinar is free to everyone! So HURRY and sign up for the SuperHero Development Program, because you do not want to miss the information that I am going to present tomorrow at this webinar!

But what if you can't make the webinar?!?

I got you covered! All members of the SDP will be able to download a digital copy of the webinar to enjoy at their own convenience!

Here are just a few topics that I will be covering at our Metabolic Reset Webinar tomorrow:

• How to hit the "reset" button on your metabolism through tactical binging
• The science behind the metabolic reset and why it is so damn effective for sustainable fat loss
  
• The premise behind concentrated carb dosing and finding the minimum amount of carbs you need to fuel your workouts and make you strong without an ounce of fat gain
• The power of water fasting for fat loss, vitality, and longevity
• Selecting optimum carb sources to ensure there is no overflow into "fat town"
• Open question and answer forum for all attendees! I will not stop until all questions have been answered!

That is by no means an all inclusive list, but clearly you do not want to  miss the information being presented at this webinar if you are at all serious about discovering the sustainable fat loss solution. The key word there of course being sustainable!

I hope to see you all there! Remember, this is FREE when you sign up for your first FREE month of the SuperHero Development Program!

Now if you are unable to make the webinar tomorrow but want some specific questions answered - please post them below in the comment section or email them to me at HardstyleKettlebells@yahoo.com and I will be sure to address them during the webinar!

Now before we go onto the technique critique enjoy the following double kettlebell complex and low carb recipe! Like this sorta thang? Then join the SuperHero Development Program for tons more!

This week's technique critique comes from our friend Tina! We will begin by examining her military press.

Again, the response to this has been overwhelming - so I will begin cycling submissions and trying to work in more than one video per post.

Remember, if you want to be featured on Technique Critique shoot me an email at HardstyleKettlebells@yahoo.com with the subject line of "technique critique" and links to your videos!

First off, very strong work here by Tina! I'll cover the major points that I see, then leave it open for all of you to contribute your feedback as well! Remember, all feedback is valuable - so don't hold back. Everyone who takes the time to film a video and subject themselves to a public technique critique deserves the most honest feedback that we ca provide!

1. The clean needs a little "cleaning up". And this is not something that is uncommon. Som and I were discussing this the other day, and we feel that people simply just don't practice cleans enough. Too often folks only clean when they absolutely have to - like once before a set of presses - rather than in between each press. But remember, the clean sets you up for the perfect press, and your press will only be as good as your clean. So this goes out to everyone - take the time to clean up your clean and develop a strong, clean, fluid movement. You will be amazed as to what this will do for your press. Watch this video here for some tips.

2. Pressing groove is not bad - may just want to keep it a little tighter and not flare out so much. But again everyone is an individual and I wouldn't expect everyone's groove to look the same. So long as there is strong lat engagement throughout and the forearm is as vertical as possible then we're cool.

3. My primary concern lies within Tina's stability - especially towards the lockout. This is particularly noticeable in her core/lumbar region. Again this is not uncommon - as most (not all but most) folks are hypermobile in their CT and TL junctions - and this is often pronounced under load - exactly what we don't want. Lumbar needs stability under load, not mobility. There is also some shoulder and hip instability as well going on. This goes to show that there is value in picking up heavy weight every now and then for assessment purposes- as it will often unveil issues such as these. I'm sure this would not be as noticeable with a 12kg kettlebell.

What I would first recommend Tina to do is spend some time performing some very slow and controlled turkish get ups with a strict focus on stability throughout each position - really keep the butt and the belly as tight as possible. Some rack holds, overhead holds, and overhead walks may also be an appropriate prescription - but again only to the extend that Tina is able to maintain a neutral spine and strong engagement. Of course, planks may help as well - but again, doing a bunch of planks doesn't necessarily ensure core stability.

There are many tools that one can use. But of course some tools are better than others in certain circumstances. I believe that heavy, slow get ups will benefit Tina a lot in terms of developing the stability needed for the press.

The instability and broken position is most noticeable at the 1:16 mark - as Tina has broken at the lumbar (is overly lordotic/extended) and is compensating to keep the bell overhead with a lack of shoulder flexion (notice the position of her bicep in regards to her ear - it is too far forwards). What needs to happen here is the bell and butt need to tighten up, the ribs need to be pushed back and the belly shortened (rather than elongated through lumbar extension), and there needs to be more shoulder flexion (arm needs to be farther back).

Again, this is not uncommon at all! I see a lot of people "breaking" under the weight in this manner. And I've fixed a lot of people by prescribing slow and moderately heavy get ups with a strict focus on stability at each position. I believe this will be equally appropriate for Tina as well - and it surely won't hurt anything.

This was a great video - as it highlights a common problem with the military press - which is the broken lumbar position and lack of stability.

But overall this is a very fixable problem and Tina is a VERY strong lady! I have no doubt she will have this solved in no time and provide us with a video to prove it. Excellent work Tina. Please provide Tina with your own feedback in the comment section below!


- Pat     

I will first make it clear that “proper” is contextual. What is proper or most appropriate for one situation or one individual, may not be what is proper or most appropriate for another.

I could stop there and have that be my easy way out, surely avoiding the possible controversy that may ensue from this post.

But homie here don’t play that game.

Over the past six month I have experimented and researched this topic extensively and plan to share and support my current conclusions with you today.

Also make note that I am not here to tell anyone that they are wrong.

Only why I believe that I am right :P

We will begin with analysis of the feet straight ahead position:

What is it most appropriate for: Mobility Work and Assessment


I’ve always loved this as a mobility test, and it’s no coincidence that the overhead squat test in the Functional Movement Screen utilizes the toes straight position, as it allows one to assess ankle mobility as well as hip mobility with regards to maintaining pelvic position with relative internal rotation.

Where I don’t necessarily see the toes straight position being optimal is when it comes to moving the big boy weights. And here’s why…

There is a lot floating around about generating torque and externally rotating in a closed circuit environment (against a fixed point). With the squat this looks like feet straight ahead to start and pushing the knees out as you descend – as I demonstrate in this video.

Below is what I have found to be true both through my own experimentation and with my conversations with Dr. Charlie Weingroff.

If executed properly you will certainly generate torsion forces and feel quite taught and springy at the bottom position with toes straight, but what we have to realize is that this is loading our passive hip structures – particularly posterior hip capsule.  

Dr. Weingroff describes it like this – “Now, if you have toes straight, you are automatically starting with relative IR, meaning length-tension in the posterior capsule.  This is clearly an e-brake. The posterior capsule will "catch" you as you drop in the hole.  Now make no mistake about it, some very good lifters can find a very good groove with toes straight and combine that passive restraint with whatever the glutes can do.  It's almost like a reverse band lift. The e-brake though neurologically is that the brain always knows what it can or can't do or what it needs/doesn't need to do.  These messages are transmitted through fascia which many have demonstrated does not mobilize with the same drills that mobilize our joints.  The fascia relays to the brain that the toes straight position yields more capsule tension.  The brain says, "OK, I'll tell glute max and hamstring that they don't have to contract as hard then.". That's the e-brake.  You may move weight, but you are depressing the CNS as a result of the inefficient choice of joint position.”

Just like how we want to rely on authentic inner core stability rather than the structural support of our spine when deadlfting (or any other lift for that matter), the same goes for not wanting to depend on on the passive structures of our hip when squatting.

So in summary and by the same token that when we rely on the structural support of our spine while deadlifting it sends a signal to our brain saying “hey buddy we got support from our buddy the spine down here, you can turn down those inner core stabilizers”, when we rely on the passive structures of our hip it is now sending yet another message to our brain saying “Ayo buddy, we got things covered down here again, so you can turn down them hamstrings and glutes”. In short, when we hang off and load the passive structure of our hip, it inhibits cocontraction of the agonists and antagonists of the movement – meaning we just won’t be as strong as we possibly can or want to be. For me personally, it is a constant struggle against a valgus collapse when I squat in this position with any sort of significant load.

Furthermore from this position you throw yourself out of centration (maximal surface area contact of joints) which is the point where the stanchion of the joint can hold the most load with as little muscle contribution as possible. Dr Weingroff also made this clear about maintaining joint centration -  “What is also quite accurate is that in this position, there is equal co-contraction of agonists and antagonists.  There is an ideal line of pull for the stabilizers to function reactively, thus allowing maximal neural flow to the glutes or whatever mobilizing muscles you so choose.” Again you are strongest in a centrated position, and feet straight ahead with knees out throws you out of centration.

Conclusion: toes straight ahead for certain mobility and assessment purposes, and may be acceptable/optimal for SOME athletes SOME of the time (dynamic movements in particular).

Now let us examine the position of toes slightly out:

What is it most appropriate for: Certain Mobility Work and Moving the Big Boy/Big Girl Weights

Let us first note this disclaimer from Dr. Weingroff which is“the natural morphology and degrees of version in every person's hips may lead to either choice being ineffective or detrimental.”

So we must take into account that everybody is an individual and there will be circumstances where one position is most appropriate for a particular individual, but inappropriate for another. But what we are here to examine today is what is most common in respects to the strongest foot position when squatting and why that is.

Dr. Weingroff puts this in clear context for us -  “with toes turned slightly out, there is an opportunity for maximal surface contact of the joint.  Sahrmann calls this PICR.  Kolar calls it joint centration.”

From above, we can conclude that since toes pointed slightly out allows for maximal surface contact of the joint that it will allow for equal cocontraction of agonists and antagonists. Meaning that toes slightly out a stronger squat does it make.

Hmm…

From an anecdotal standpoint, when I squat with toes slightly out with knees tracking toes I do not have the same valgus collapse issues that plague my feet straight ahead squat. Hmm…

For more on the nitty gritty details of why this is please review Dr. Weingroff’s article on this HERE.

So there you have it.

For the majority of folks the strongest squatting position is going to be toes slightly out with knees tracking the toes, not feet straight ahead with knees out. But as I previously stated, everyone is an individual, and I would like to hear your own experiences with this. Please share them below in the comment section!

For a visual of this position please enjoy the video below – again try not to distract yourself with the cuteness of Lola (she was quite a handful while filming this one…)

On part three of this squat series we will begin moving some weight around - starting with a breakdown of the goblet squat. Stay tuned. Stay Frosty



- Pat

A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to submit a video for critique. I have had an incredible response and have been doing my best to get feedback to everyone who submits a video to me. The video's I select to be publicly critiqued however are one's that I feel will be of the greatest value for all of you super awesome Chronicles of Strength viewers. And please note that you do not have to be an "expert" to offer your own pieces of advice - often times beginners pick up some of their most useful tidbits from other beginners. Don't be shy about sharing what has worked well for you.

This week's second technique critique comes to us from our friend Jacqi Guillory over at theincredibleevolvingworman.wordpress.com. Incredible and evolving is right! Jacqi is has so far been completely self taught in regards to never working one on one with a trainer or RKC - which is something I greatly admire, and not because there isn't value in proper instruction, but because she is consistently seeking out ways to better herself and her practice. That doesn't mean that she couldn't greatly benefit from working in sessions with a great coach - but sometimes for people this is just not a feasible option - and what I admire is that Jacqi has not let this limit her!

Remember, if you want to have your technique critiqued then shoot me an email at HardstyleKettlebells@yahoo.com with the subject line of "technique critique"

So let's take the time to help out Jacqi.

First we will begin by Dissecting her Get Up:

1. Set up is not bad. I would place the hand of the free arm closer to being in line with the hip however (not next to, but more in line with - how in line that should be will vary from individual to individual), as downstream this will make for a much smoother and easier sweep through after the high bridge.

2. Trying to "crunch/sit up" into the forearm position. Rather this should be more of a  "roll", utilizing a push through your planted heel and a "pull" from your planted elbow. This will allow for one to keep their spine neutral and for a much stronger get up!

3. Planted arm not staying locked - This has to do with her having to "scootch" her hand up towards her hip and again could be solved by fixing the set up position.

4. High bridge looks pretty good! Nice mobility - now we just need a deeper sweep and a better landing L-position. One reason the sweep seems so difficult is because her hand is so far behind her (once again a problem solved with a proper hand more in line with hip set up position). Also, Jacqi is trying to sweep more into a direct lunge position rather than the desired L-position where we want her lead leg pointing forward and the knee of her sweeping leg to land in line with her hand. This will allow for a much more stable base.

5. Head position - watch the bell at all times except during the forward lunge position and standing position where you want to look straight ahead

6. Jacqi is pushing from plantar flexion (toes pointed) on the back leg coming off the lunge. Get them toes planted and push from ball of the foot.

7. Working to and from that lunge position (especialy on the way down as she goes to plant her hand) I notice some lateral bending. Rather this should be completed through hip flexion and extension - very difficult to explain via text, but I will do a video on this asap!

8. Also on the way down as Jacqi goes to plant her hand she would greatly benefit by "windshield wipering" her back leg to establish that L-position - that way she can plant her hand directly in line with her knee. The L-position also allows for one to keep the spine neutral and move from position to position through hip flexion/extension - much stronger and much safer that way!

8.And of course the big one that a lot of folks miss when performing get ups relates to shoulder position. We know we want to pack the shoulders in and keep the lats engaged (think anti-shrug), but too often people only focus on the shoulder holding the bell and not the shoulder of the planted arm - and you see that shoulder cramming up towards the ear. Be sure to be cogniscent of shoulder position for BOTH of your shoulders - that is certainly not exclusive to Jacqi - as I even catch myself forgetting about that a lot.

Speaking of catching myself doing that - I want to make it known that I have been practicing Get Ups for years and have never performed a single perfect Get Up. And the truth is I never will. I don't believe anybody will for that matter. "Perfect" is simply an ideal and a standard to strive for, but we must never stop learning how to move better. I am continuously in pursuit of ways to better my movement.

On the next post we will take a look at Jacqi's swing, clean, and press. Please offer Jacqi your feedback in the comment section!

And again, if you want to have a chance to be featured on Technique Critique and get a shout out to your site/business - shoot me an email at HardstyleKettlebells@yahoo.com.

Here's a video of me doing a nasty little get up complex where you can see the clear hip flexion/extension into and out of the L-position that I'm talking about.

The time has finally come my friends!

This Tuesday at 2pm (Eastern Time), we will be hosting our Metabolic Reset webinar - free to all of those that are members of the SuperHero Development Program and/or purchased The Birth of a Hero with the added bonus package.

Hurry and register while there is still time to obtain access to this webinar for FREE and save yourself the $29 access fee by subscribing to the SuperHero Development Program today!

Trust me, if you are at all serious about learning what you can do in order to optimize your hormones so that you ensure both maximum and long term fat loss, then you need to be at this webinar.

Topics that will be covered include, but are certainly not limited to:

• The philosophy behind Concentrated Carb Dosing and how to perfectly time your carb intake in order to maximize both athletic/training performance and fat loss.
• How to prevent "re-esterfication" and ensure that the fatty acids being dumped into your blood stream after an intense workout session are actually being burned off!
• How to implement a tactical binge day in order to hit the reset button on your metabolism and put your body back into the optimum fat burning environment all while giving you a well deserved break from the shackles of dieting!
  
• The power of fasting and how to properly implement it into your nutritional protocol to expedite the fat loss and recovery process.

On top of all that we will be conducting a large question and answer session at the end so that you can voice any and all questions that you may have about the metabolic reset protocol.

All enjoyed from the comfort of your own home (or work... I won't tell anyone)!

SUPERB!

Again, If you are already a member of our SuperHero Development Program and/or ordered The Birth of a Hero with the bonus package, then you will be receiving your email invitation with the link shortly!

If you are not however, then there are still two ways that you can secure yourself a place at this webinar.

1. Join the SuperHero Development Program Right This Instant! First month is free of course, so you've got nothing to lose there. It's like you're just getting to go to the webinar for free!

2. You may also purchase access to the webinar below.

The choice of course is yours!

I look forward to having you all there!

Post any questions you have about the webinar below.



- Pat

I’ve always wanted to have a cool, sticky saying.

I’ve always been jealous of people that have come up with a saying that could be applied to just about any situation.

You know, like “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” or “don’t count your chickens before they hatch”.

Even my dad used to have a cool saying…

 It was “not now son, Daddy’s drinking. Daddy’s gotta drink.”

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I still don’t really know what that one means. But I think once I’m a little bit older I’m sure I’ll figure it out!

But without any further ado, I present to you my own contextually malleable piece of wisdom:

Don’t ever strive do anything more than the absolute bare bones, bare assed minimum.

(with my luck, I’ll find out this has been said just like that millions of times over by millions of other people, but for right now, let me bask in my moment of glory will ya?)

What does the word “minimum” mean to you?

Does it stir up negative connotations and implications?

I bet it does.

But it shouldn’t.

If you’ll permit me, I’d like to take a stab at changing the way you think.

Because, the minimum to me means putting forth the least amount of input(s) necessary to get the desired output. And from that definition, it would seem like just common sense to only put forth your best MINIMUM effort at everything you do!

Let me give you a little background story…

In my chubby years of adolescence (middle school) I was naturally an overachiever (and no, not just when it came to the ingestion of mini tacos… hardy har har…). I always put my absolute all into each and every academic endeavor. And by doing so I achieved my desired output, which of course was to maintain straight A’s (Looking back I’m still trying to find that value in that…). What I didn’t realize at the time, is that I could have attained that exact same output, with significantly less effort.

This seemingly obvious revelation dawned on me in high school math class, when “homework” no longer became mandatory and we were evaluated solely on the our exam performance.

Now, for some reason or another I have always excelled at test taking. In middle school homework was obligatory, as it was collected each week and weighed heavily on our final grade. But since this was no longer the circumstance, I decided to run a minor self-experiment. What I decided on, was that I simply wasn’t going to do homework anymore. Sounds wonderful, like something every kid would do if presented the opportunity. It was wonderful. And for me homework was nothing more than time consuming, as I fully grasped the material simply from class participation. The desired output was still the same, I wanted straight A’s, but now I was attempting to hit that same output with fewer inputs (the inputs in this case being time invested into studying).

MAJOR NOTE: I am in no way saying that homework doesn’t have its place and that nobody should ever do homework! This is MY anecdotal example. Please take it for what it is. And not what it is not! (shame I even have to put disclaimers such as these!)

Now this experiment didn’t turn out to be all apple pies and motherhood. As I quickly became known as “the slacker” and un-favored by many of my high school math teachers and students alike. Whenever the teacher asked me to publicly bring forth the answer to the assigned homework problems I could do nothing more but shrug my shoulders and offer an innocent grin. More often than not this greatly irritated my instructors (along with many of my college professors… which we will get to shortly). But what did that really matter? I still got my straight A’s. I still got my honor roll. I still got my desired output. And I got it all with much less input.

SPLENDID!

Throughout my high school years I impressively refined my minimalistic approach. Constantly seeking and striving for that perfect bare minimum. Finding that holy grail of the ABSOLUTE least amount of effort that I had to put forth in order to get my desired output was consistently my goal in everything academia. This lead to a reputation of me being “that smart jackass that doesn’t have to do anything but still get’s all a’s”. Ok. I’ll take that J ( I never thought the jackass part was very fair, but I could sympathize with their sentiment – I’d be annoyed to if I was consistently working harder than someone else yet receiving no additional recognition for it!) - but what people who thought this of me didn’t realize, is that in many ways, if only they too could have adopted my minimalistic approach, then they too could have saved themselves countless hours of valuable time. Time after all, is something that you can never get back, and is of the utmost value to me, as I hope it is of the utmost value to you as well. That is why finding that bare minimum is so important, because it grants you the gift of “more time”. Now that’s not to say that everyone could have gotten away with doing almost zero homework, but I guarantee that every one of those other straight  (again still trying to figure out the value of that…) students could have done less of SOMETHING and still gotten their desired output.

This was reaffirmed to me yet again as a musician. Throughout middle school and half of high school I would practice my craft for hours and hours on end.

No.

Not the flute. (not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

I was an ax man! And I got damn good. But what I didn’t realize until my later high school years is that I was practicing WAY too freakin’ much! Is such a thing possible? Absolutely – especially when you have so much free time from never having to do anything homework! Somedays I’d practice for up to 12 hours a day, often until my fingers bled.

Then it hit me again. This time in an even more abrasive and obvious fashion. I was at my weekly guitar lesson, and after three years under this particular instructor, I finally conjured the sense to  ask the question of “how much do YOU practice”. To my complete dismay, he told me that he practiced for only about an hour to two hours a day, three to four days a week.

So here’s a guitar virtuoso, who for all these years I just assumed that throughout his life that he’d ever have gone a second without a guitar in his lap, telling me that he only practices for two to three hours a day! And only on four out of the seven days of the week.

Heresy!

But the truth is, is that was all that he had to do to get the desired output, which was to be as good of a player as he was. His practice sessions may not have been all that lengthy, or even all that often, but rather they were incredibly focused and productive. He was doing the bare minimum. And he was doing it damn well.

So I cut my playing time back. This in turn forced me to make each session more focused and efficient. And to my amazement, I not only maintained my current skill level, but continued to improv, and at a rate unlike I never had before.

One part of the lesson there is not only was I doing too much, but I was also doing too much of stuff that that really didn’t matter or just wasn’t focused/productive. By scaling back to the bare minimum, you are often forced to focus only solely what does matter and that one or two couple of things that have the biggest impact on reaching your end goal. When you strive for the bare minimum, you have no choice but to weed out any unnecessary efforts!

Fast forward to college. (Last piece of my personal story – I promise it won’t be too long winded) I go in as an accounting and finance major and of course had every intention of doing nothing more than the absolute bare bones minimum to get the my degree and to be on some Dean dudes list. Come my sophomore and junior year, since I was a student with one of the highest GPA’s in the major, I was repetitively approached by my one accounting professor (who I had the displeasure of being stuck with for four semesters) to submit my resume to his friends at certain prestigious accounting firms “as a personal favor to him”.

I never did.

This naturally pissed him off.

And I guess I can understand why.

But I still don’t (or didn’t) care.

And that’s because my desired output of college was never to work for someone else, but rather to work only for myself. Contrary to what many folks attend college for, I actually wasn’t there to be taught to work for someone else. I was there to better myself and to be better at my own thing. Which is exactly why I refused to put forth any effort towards anything that didn’t contribute to obtaining that what I wanted!

Was I was being selfish by not doing this man his “personal favor”?

Damn right I was!

And that’s what you need to be too!

Realize that you need to take care of yourself first, before you can ever truly take care of someone else. Being selfish is not always such a bad thing.

Had I taken the time to tailor and submit my resume to one of these firms, I would have had to waste my time (and theirs) explaining to them why I never really wanted to work with them in the first place. And wasted time is something I will never get back. That’s too valuable to me.

If nothing else, you should always learn to think in terms of opportunity cost. What are you potentially giving up by doing what you are doing right now? Think,” what is the best alternative that is now forgone by me doing what I am currently doing”. By taking the time to tailor my resume, I would have been giving up valuable time that I ended up devoting towards developing super awesome content for Chronicles. It’s not that I’m not a nice guy and don’t like to do people favors, but the opportunity cost was simply too high, and the effort put forth wasn’t even a viable input towards generating any sort of progress towards obtaining what I wanted!

For some people it is their dream to work for a big four firm, and that would have been a worthwhile effort. But for me, accounting doesn’t make me any sort of joyful. And I refuse to live a single second pursuing something that is not fulfilling. Perhaps that professor of mine will read this someday and realize why I was the way I was.  

He was a very nice man anyways…

Enough of my anecdotal history. Let’s put this into something you can really use. Like putting the bare minimum into strength practice.

Getting strong is no different! It’s all about finding that beautiful bare ass minimum baby. Because doing anything more than that is a malinvestment of your time, and will only result in diminished, if not negative returns. But realize that the tough part is not implementing that bare minimum, but rather finding it. How much is too much? How little is too little? And I’ll admit it, this was a tough one for me too. Even though many programs yielded substantial gains for me, I couldn’t help but always feel like I could still do LESS and be just as stronger, and/or just as lean.

I was right.

I was doing more than I needed to.

Let me take you back to the year that I pursued ketosis.

Eh…

What a fun year that was… heh.

The truth is however, I had never been so lean in my life. But the amount of effort I was putting forth to be that lean was RIDICULOUS! Think about it. I had to just about give up all carbs and live off a high fat diet for a year! By no means an easy task.

But what did that really mean??

It meant no beer!! Not even COLD beer (which just so happens to be my favorite kind)!

Clearly, the inputs in this case were personally not worth the desired output of maintaining sub 8% bodyfat :P

So that’s when I began figuring out what could I possibly do less of, yet still maintain my single digit body fat percentage. And let me the first to tell you that it was no easy process figuring that one out. For a while I just thought that being ketogenic might actually be the bare minimum.

But through due diligence and careful research I yet again found myself putting forth more effort than was needed to obtain my desired output.

That was when I came up with the Metabolic Reset through utilizing the power of fasting, tactical binge days, and concentrated carb dosing. Now the amount of effort I had to put forth was significantly decreased, with no negative correlation on the output – as I am still able to maintain a single digit body fat percentage throughout all four seasons. And I get to have my COLD beer! I simply just had to work smarter. Not harder. This is the power of investing the time to seek out that bare ass minimum my friends. And what a powerful and worthwhile investment it can be.

But being the straight shooter that I am, I don’t want you to confuse the “bare minimum” with “easy”. The bare minimum is often times still a lot of work. And personally, I work my freaking ass off at everything that I do.

I am not presenting you with the task of finding the easy button. Rather I am presenting you with the task of finding the efficiency button!

My point is that you should NEVER do any more than the absolute minimum amount of work that is necessary to obtain the results that you want. And for my purposes, and many others, that bare minimum for fat loss is the Metabolic Reset.

Now let’s talk about finding that beautiful bare ass minimum in terms of getting strong(er), leaner, and more conditioned.

Wait a minute!

I’ve already got it!

It’s The Birth of a Hero!

Voila!

But for real! In this eBook I offer three possible “minimums” to ensure that you find exactly what the least amount it is that you have to do, in order to reach your goals – whether they be strength, conditioning, or fat loss related – so that way you have more time to spend doing the things you love and less time In the gym. (But what do you do if what you love is exercising like me? I’m still trying to figure that one out myself… I should probably find some new hobbies…and maybe some friends too…)

Did I provide you with the bare minimum amount of information to persuade you to start changing the way that you think about putting forth effort?

While I may have been practicing on honing this craft for many years, I am still far removed from mastering it! But what I want you to get out of this is that you should never do anything more than the absolute bare bones bare assed minimum in order to get what you want. Anything more is well… just silly!

Drop some love in the comment section below. If I’m feeling sprite, I may give out a free T-shirt or eBook. Maybe :P

I'm by no means a bully and I really don't like having to call people names.

But if you haven't signed up for our SuperHero Development Program yet, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to go ahead and accuse you of being downright silly!

This is only four bucks a month right now folks - for an utterly ridiculous amount of content! But don't take just my word for it - check out what others are saying HERE in the comment section!

Anyways, here's a sneak peak of what you can expect in next months issue that you can incorporate right into the Birth of a Hero Program...

The thruster is a pretty cool full body movement, and a great smoker if that is your intention. But I wanted to fix a few things. First off - stop bouncing and hanging off your passive structures at the bottom of a squat. This is unnecessary and I often see some major inward bowing of the knees (valgus collapse) when this is going on. Control the eccentric, pause at the bottom, then explode up all the way through the press. And to add even more sizzle to the steak I have continued the movement with a unilateral "tag-along" - meaning you go from the squat thruster, right into a lunge thruster in order to up the misery... ahem, I mean fun index!

Enjoy this. And be sure to sign up for our SuperHero Development Program if you haven't yet. Seriously guys and girls, it will be the best four dollar investment of your life!

This week's technique critique is sent to us by our friend Mark Limbaga. Mark is currently in pursuit of RKC and has offered something pretty cool for us - which are two videos highly the progress he has made in the past month and a half with his goblet squat. This is some awesome progress made by Mark and deserves some serious Kudos - as he was suffering from a plethora of restrictions just as our previous submitter Big Pete was as well!

Here is Mark's first goblet squat video:

Right off the bat my primary concern with this would be how hypermobile Mark is in his CT and TL junctions. Meaning he is just too damn mobile in his spine - which is never a good thing to be when under load. Lumbar in particular needs stability first and foremost.

On top of that there is some hyperextension going on past terminal range and his depth is clearly restricted. Little hard to tell because he is moving so fast but it looks to me like he's trying to back squat his front squats as well - sitting back more so than sitting down.

Again, can't really tell much about the footwear - but if those are running shoes, then ditch em'.

Tailbone tuck going on there too.

Now onto Mark's second video:

Drastic improvement!

Much more stability in the spine and depth has greatly improved.

Oh, and look - the shoes are gone! Schweeeeeeeeet.

Still a little tailbone tuck and some undesirable mobility in the spine, but at his rate of progress I'm sure he will have this cleared up in no time.

Improvements such as these need to be acknowledged and commended! Mark has been training both hard and smart and it is showing!

Please offer any feedback you have for Mark on how he can improve his squat in the comment section below!




- Pat