I first met Christine Mooney when she walked in The Dragon Gym - spouting her fist as a fitness professional and writer.

I'm typically not one to judge a book by it's cover, but I'll admit I was a bit dubious...

Then I saw her deadlift 275lbs and knew she was serious.

Then I saw her press the 20kg and knew she was VERY serious.

Then I saw her pistol squat the 20kg kettlebell and made her my girlfriend.

:P

Am I biased?

Absolutely. But a girl this strong and knowledgeable needs to be sharing her story.

I hope you all enjoy this inspiring interview with Christine and all of the amazing content that she intends to provide on her newly launched site Beautiful-Strength.com.

Who is Christine Mooney? What is your athletic background?

To pay the bills, I am currently a consumer and market analyst in the retail world.

But I really identify myself as an athlete, a writer, and a certified personal trainer...and now the owner of Beautiful-Strength.com, a site dedicated to women in strength and conditioning.

I am very lucky in respect to having an athletic background. My family is a very active bunch. My dad is an avid basketball player. Even now, in his mid-sixties, he still plays basketball…and beats the kids who are decades younger than him! The man is a powerhouse.  Mom was a top swimmer on Long Island (New York) as a kid, and I grew up watching her do yoga on a regular basis. My brother, whether he was playing roller hockey or basketball, or later on, excelling in Army Special Forces, has always been athletic.

When I was little and we were living in San Diego, Mom really got into healthy eating. We never had soda in the house, no junk food. There was a hot breakfast every morning and a home-cooked meal every night.  I think we only went out to eat once a month maybe. I know that’s an anomaly, and I am extremely grateful for it. My upbringing and the excellent example my family set for me has made me confident that I know what to do, I know how to get back to “healthy”, even if I’ve strayed for a while (e.g. freshman year of college).  

 I’ve used kettlebells off and on over the years, but it was never as in-depth and as (almost) exclusive as now. Previously, kettlebell training was always something that I did just to break up dumbbell, barbell, or bodyweight training. It was more of a “novelty”. Oh my, how things have changed!

Describe your first experience using kettlebells. How did you feel after using kettlebells?

I don’t remember the absolute first time I used kettlebells. It was probably at a Crossfit gym in North Carolina, but I really don’t remember. But what I certainly remember is my first time working with "Pat Flynn" and kettlebells.

I write a fitness column for a local newspaper, and I had decided to write a piece on kettlebell training. A quick Google search and a phone call later, I was scheduled for kettlebell session at Dragon Gym. This first session wasn’t so bad. It was an orientation, and the trainer I was scheduled with didn’t go nuts. She took it slow, showed me the basics…

It was the second time I came in to train that I was with Pat. I think we were just doing swings and plank, and I almost threw up. I remember thinking, “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is gonna make me yak? No way.”  I was strong. I was fit. How could a 12 kg bell do this to me? So I decided I had to keep coming back until I proved to myself that 25 pounds wasn’t going to own me like that.

And well, I’ve just kind of stayed.

As for how I feel after using kettlebells, I’ve never felt this good. Over the past 20 years, I’ve been a competitive swimmer, basketball player, long distance trail and road runner, and triathlete. But now. Wow. I feel like I’m finally coming into my own as an athlete. I finally feel like I’ve found my sport and that I’m living up to my true athletic potential. I always knew I was athletic. I’ve always gravitated towards sports, but in my training over the past seven months or so, something truly incredible has happened—I’m performing better than I thought I ever could and finally fulfilling my athletic potential.

I’ve been training exclusively with the metabolic conditioning and single rep strength outlined in Birth of a Hero for the past several months, and the gains I’ve made have been phenomenal. I kind of thought that after six years of regular strength training, that maybe I had just reached my peak, that I had gotten as strong as I possibly could. I’m finding out how wrong I was, and I couldn’t be happier about it!

What are your current goals/aspirations? Are you training for anything in particular at the moment? If so, please tell us a little bit about that…

In September, I’ll be going for my RKC. We’re still quite a few months out, but I already have a very good handle on all of the components of the certification so I’ve decided to set the bar even higher for myself with the Iron Maiden Challenge, which is a weighted pull-up, military press, and pistol squat with the 24 kg kettlebell.  Very few women have succeeded at the challenge. I’d really like to be one of them. So far so good, but I’ve still got some progress to make.

After September…man, I just don’t know. I’ve always been interested in martial arts but never tried it. Maybe I’ll give it a go. That’s one of the great things about fitness—no matter what you’ve achieved so far, there’s still so much more you can do. The goal is always a moving target. You can always progress, always grow and make gains. There are so many ways to quantify your efforts, which make fitness-related endeavors very gratifying. I’m looking forward to the next challenge, whatever that may be!

You have your own fitness website, Beautiful Strength (http://www.beautiful-strength.com), could you please tell us a little bit about what your vision for that is and where you want to go with it?

With the fitness industry as saturated as it is with bad information, I’ve struggled over the years to find a place to go for good, solid information as a woman in fitness. I’ve certainly found what I have spent years looking for here at Chronicles of Strength, but there is still a desire to cater to women. I knew that if I wanted something that I couldn’t find, that I simply needed to do it myself. That said, I recently launched a women’s strength and conditioning site--www.Beautiful-Strength.com—with the goal of providing women with the same level of quality info that COS provides but with more of a female focus.

Very early on in my weightlifting career, I distinctly remember telling someone my goal was to get strong but “not bulky.” I think that’s pretty typical for women. We tend to think there’s a female version of Arnold Schwarzenegger living inside of us, just waiting to pop out at the very moment when we start hauling around significant weight. But I also know that there are a significant amount of women out there who know better. They know that to get strong, you have to practice at being strong, and they don’t shy away from hard work and big weights in the gym. For those strong women, I want to create a well-informed, intelligent, inclusive space to help guide them in their fitness “career”, whatever that entails.

Any final words?

Thank you so much to everyone reading this post. I’ve had a great time, interacting and learning from all the people on Chronicles of Strength. I love the atmosphere on this site. You rarely find such an intelligent approach to strength and conditioning, and I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome it is to get to interact with other people who understand that.

I’m also very excited about Beautiful-Strength.com. As we grow, you’ll find a lot of great information over there, albeit a bit different than what you’d typically find on Chronicles. So please, come on over, check us out, and don’t forget to sign up for our Cast Iron Wisdom newsletter!

You can also find me on Twitter @Kallos_Sthenos and on Facebook.

In strength,

Christine

Personally, I've never been attracted to frail women...

But maybe that's just me. Please share your own thoughts in the comment section (of course this is all subjective, and let's keep it cool... like the Fonz would...)

There are many kinds of strength, but the kind that impresses me the most is what I would call "hidden strength". Christine is a pristine (hardy har har) example of this. Just by looking at her build you could safely assume her to be an athlete of sorts, but if I had a nickel for everyone who has underestimated her deadlift based on her appearance, well I'd probably be writing this post from a yacht...

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"

When an individual is more receptive to information that reinforces their preconceived notions, regardless of whether or not that information is true, they are said to have a confirmation bias.

To put it more simply, if you suffer from a confirmation bias (which we all do at times), then you are more likely to seek out information that coincides with your beliefs, and cast aside any information that contests those beliefs. In some cases the confirmation bias can be related to sheer stubbornness.

This is a sad truism of human nature, but ultimately one that we must overcome if we wish to develop and prosper. A productive life is measured by one's prosperity. If we are not prospering, growing, and learning, then we are dying. To suffer from a confirmation bias inhibits our potential development.

Let's look at a few examples of how and when a confirmation bias may negatively effect our lives.

We will start in the framework of relationships. I’ll keep this one simple and to the point.

Boy likes girl. Boy wants girl to like boy. Boy has already developed a confirmation bias without even knowing it. Why? Because his emotions have gotten the better of him. He is now much more prone to accept only information that supports a conclusion of girl liking boy, whether or not that information be true or false. He is also now a great deal more likely to reject information that does not maintain the conclusion of girl liking boy. His perception is distorted through his confirmation bias. Girl may not like boy at all (she may downright despise him) and she may exhibit many signs of this that boy refuses to identify. Girl may not be good for boy, she may even be toxic in the long run. But boy is likely to ignore such signs as well, as they do not support the conclusion favored by his emotional confirmation bias. There may be another and much better looking girl living right next door to boy that is also much better suited for boy, yet boy will continue to ignore such facts for as long as his confirmation bias exists.

Relationships are the classical example of the confirmation bias. Many important aspects that are the foundation of a healthy and sustainable relationship may be ignored to a stern degree depending on the severity of one’s confirmation bias.  Toxic and abusive relationships are often a result of a failure to overcome a confirmation bias.

But the key to a prolific life is to ultimately rid yourself of all toxicity. In the context of relationships you must recognize which ones to develop and which ones to sever. YES, certain relationships can and SHOULD be severed. I’m sure you can think about a friend, that despite how much you may have cared for him/her, he/she severely brought your down and limited your personal development. A toxic relationship is something that we all will come across at one point or another, but it how we choose to handle that toxicity that determines the end result. If we accept and surround ourselves with toxicity, then we inescapably become toxic ourselves. Unfortunately emotions and biases garble your acuity and often hinder your better judgment. This is where the ability to take an aerial view is such a crucial skill to learn. To overcome a confirmation bias requires that you place upon your head an objective thinking cap.

Moving on to the realms of fitness and nutrition, where I personally have struggled with many a confirmation bias. I recall the first time I was introduced to the ketogenic diet by my mentor Brian Petty. A low carb diet? PREPOSTEROUS! For years I followed a low-fat diet (Again, at this time I was a stubborn high school punk with a strong confirmation bias). For a while, regardless of the amount of information Brian provided me to support his theories behind a low carb lifestyle for optimal well being, I rejected it, simply because it did not support my emotional conclusion that fat was the enemy.

And Jogging isn’t the best way to lose weight he told me. Lifting weights are. I’m calling bs on this one! I’d been jogging for years, and although I was never very strong, I was fairly lean. So ultimately I only favored information that favored me. I wasn’t very good at lifting weights. But I was good at jogging. So I was more receptive to information that promoted jogging and aerobics as the end all be all.

I was stubborn. I was plagued with the confirmation bias, and I was suffering from it. For a while I was not prospering because I was too stubborn to let go of what I believed to be true, even though all the facts were against my beliefs. An unclear perception was my infection.

I was thin, but far from muscular. And what I wanted was the hardened and sinewy look of a Spartan. I took a long look at myself and my belief system one particular night. What I became conscious of is that my inflexibility bred my limitations. My stubbornness gave birth to personal restrictions. I knew I was born to lead a prosperous and fruitful life, yet my biases were so strong that I was failing to live up to my potential.

I came to know that if I were to grow emotionally, physically, and spiritually, then I must overcome my confirmation bias.


Admitting that you could POSSIBLY be wrong is the most difficult step to take. You must audit your belief system and evaluate any potential biases you may have. Uncover why and how you may have developed a confirmation bias, and it will be that much easier to over come it. Do you favor something because you are good at it? Or because it has worked for you before? Perhaps it has to do with your upbringing. The possibilities of how a confirmation bias may develop are endless, but if you are unable to understand why you are biased, then you will be incapable of conquering it.

As a preacher of lifestyle optimization and an exercise specialist, I deal with confirmation biases day in and day out (I still struggle with letting go of some of my own). I am not here to change anyone’s belief systems. That is on you. I am here to present information that you all may use to develop the architecture of an optimal lifestyle. Whether or not you are receptive to that information is your decision.

Dr. Charlie Weingroff and I met a few weeks back. I was fortunate enough to have one of the most gifted physical therapists on scene when I suffered my pesky shoulder injury. Thanks in large part to Charlie's advice (which you will hear about in the interview), my shoulder is back to 100%. Realize that I went from not being able to mobilize my shoulder in any manner without excruciating pain, to returning to heavy sets of double clean press and my full strength routine within three weeks - pretty amazing stuff huh?

Anyways if you remember last weeks post about cervical extension, then consider this the answer to that question.

Please pay very close attention to what Charlie has to say ( you may have to take out a dictionary and anatomy chart in order to interpret a lot of it :p), as this information has the ability to alter your training philosophy for the better - should you choose to be receptive to it.

Aside from the topic of cervical extension, Dr. Weingroff and I also discussed:

1. His progressions for aerobic/anaerobic conditioning
2. His approach to improving rotary stability
3. Strength through the practice of movement

The amount of content I'm putting on this post is simply ludicrous. I could have saved myself a lot of work in the future by diluting much over this over multiple posts, but that wouldn't be as much fun now would it? Also, if you haven't signed up for our newsletter be sure to do that, otherwise you are missing out on a lot of exclusive content!

First up is a neat little upper body strength complex consisting of a vertical push, horizontal push, and horizontal pull coupled with core stability. I call it ... "The Upper Body Kettlebell Strength Complex with Vertical and Horizontal Pushing/Pulling" - less than stellar of a title I know, but the complex itself I assure you is not. Enjoy!

As soon as I posted this video I received a comment informing me that I should be on some sort of medication - because only an ill fella would ever want to do something like this.

This may be true. But that doesn't mean this isn't a fantastic quadrupedal locomotive movement, especially for stability purposes.

The reception to my short technique reference videos was great, so I will continue to post content like that often. These videos are primarily around to supplement the material found in my kettlebell and barbell strength training eBook (be sure to get your copy of the 120+ page behemoth).

Here are quick tech-ref vids for kettlebell double clean and press and barbell front squat.