Art of Strength - Old School

Old School

What women want…

By mike mcfadden

Well, if I knew that, I wouldn’t be 32 and still single! See and you thought I was going to say something profound…But over the years as a trainer, wellness coach, and since joining the Art of Strength family, I believe I have a good idea of what women want as it applies to training, nutrition, and real life.

So here it is…TRUTH! Women want and need to hear the truth. The truth as it pertains to proper training techniques, proper nutrition, and how they come together to produce real, lifestyle changing results.

Training Tip #1

DO IT RIGHT!

Ladies, you don’t need to train or have a trainer standing over you, watching you do an exercise just for the sake of doing it. You need to be taught and corrected to ensure you get the maximum benefit out of your training. Correct training leads to reduced injury, sustaining the longevity of your program, and obviously greater results. Remember this “minimal effort produces minimal results.” I know that I’m not going to stand by and watch you doing a snatch that looks like a lazy version of a clean that rolls straight up into a press! At the same time, we’re not stepping of into “Boot Camp” either…don’t even get me started on that subject!

I realize that some trainers will take the approach of “get ‘em moving and we’re burning calories.” I guess that is a valid point. So how about this moms? The next time you are teaching your kids their ABC’s or how to tie their shoes…teach them A, X, G, S…or just put the laces in a square not and send them on out the door…

HEY! at least their doing something! But what are the long term results going to be from that?

Whether you’re a professional athlete or a stay at home mom, you want to be your best. You want to give your children the best. They way you become the best is: learn all you can, train hard, make mistakes, correct them, and strive for the best results.

Learn from the best, train with the best, ask questions, expect to be BOTH corrected and congratulated, and don’t allow yourself to train or be trained by someone who will compromise the integrity of the training.

Perky Purple Arms Goes Old School

The color of my nails is Perky Purple. Wait, that was last week’s color. Okay, I kept the same color again this week. That happens sometimes. I find something I really like, and I stay with it. Like I did with the nail polish, like I did with kettlebells, and like I’m doing with strongman.

I don’t know why, but I find overhead pressing easier to do than other exercises. I could do those for hours at a time. Well, no, not really. On the other hand, Kat prefers deadlifts, pulling weight up from the ground, because, she says, it uses her raw strength. It’s a huge adrenaline rush for her. The day she deadlifted 230lbs, she said she felt like she could take on the world.

Is that corny? Well, I feel the same way about holding heavy things above me. That’s what makes me feel like I’ve done something. The satisfaction is in getting there each time. As Anthony says, “Enjoy the journey.” That doesn’t mean it’s a pleasure trip. It’s about completion but not contentment. The work is vicious, but that’s what makes a person tougher. Getting through it shows me each time that I can do it.

That’s what I’ll really be striving for at the competition. I’d like to win it, but mostly, it’s just another training day, only with lots of people watching me and maybe even an award at the end. I wonder if this is how others there feel, if it explains the camaraderie at these events? Do they feel as I do, that the training makes us, in a way, more real than anything we’d get from another kind of workout?

For example, in the distant past, gyms did not look like the modern, luxury gym; they sort of looked like Punch, and as such, they were more effective – and more real. In the training we do, our movements are innate. They carry over into general life. We lift stones and flip tires, because these are full-body exercises that work all the muscles in concert, the way they should be. The point is to not isolate them. After one session, I remember my biceps were sore as if I had just done a hundred curls, but I had not done any. It was just the effect of other exercises. Functional movement workouts are for body health, not just image. Working the core in this way, without a hundred crunches, connects the lower and upper body and literally holds one up. The goal is not just bulging biceps, or “guns.” It’s to have no muscle imbalances. This is what prevents injuries. The whole point is to have overall strength.

That’s why the exercises are not layered as they are in other gyms, doing arms one day, legs another. We do it all in a coordinated and integrated way. Our approach is wholistic. The net result is to clear away the BS – we just need basic equipment, we just do basic movements and exercises.

And what most says such strength to me, is holding something heavy over my head. There’s not much more I find exhilarating than looking above me to see a heavy kettlebell. It reminds me of the vintage pictures I’ve seen of oldtime strongmen from the early 1900’s. They were not always big, but they were stronger than they looked. They didn’t have any enhancements, like steroids, or accessories to help them, yet many of their records still stand. They had true strength that inspires me today.

They represent something raw and genuine in an age of computerization, drugs of all kinds, comfort, and luxury gyms. Strongman training renews the oldtime sense of strength over image. It compensates for modern pressures with simplicity. Strongman, oldtime and contemporary, cuts through the bull and excess for a sense of peace and balance.

Oldtime strongmen usually wore only shoes, trunks, and generally, handlebar mustaches. They didn’t have a lot of equipment. Actually, they didn’t have any equipment, except for their dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, and medicine balls. That was all they needed; that’s all that’s really needed today.

SPECIAL FEATURE

I hope everyone had a terrific Mother’s Day weekend. I had a great time at the Jersey shore – we managed to eat in a lot of our favorite spots within a 24 hour period! As enjoyable as it was, I was glad to get back on track Monday by doing an Isagenix Cleanse Day. Nutritional cleansing is the cornerstone of the Isagenix program and their Cleanse for Life drink is a delicious part of the program. Cleansing the body at an internal level has become a very hot topic. We live in a very toxic world where herbicides, petrochemicals, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, food additives and synthetic drugs may negatively impact our health, our internal organs, right down to the cellular level. Cleansing has been practiced throughout history to help remove impurities and encourage natural weight loss and optimal health. Using Cleanse for Life, either on its own or as part of the full Isagenix Cleanse and Fat Burning System may help to combat the effects of our toxic environment. Here are 7 excellent reasons to begin to Cleanse for Life:

1. Strengthen the Immune System: Cleansing impurities and flooding the body with high grade essential nutrients allow the internal body to strengthen its immune system.*

2. Support Your Vital Organs: Gentle cleansing allows your vital organs (liver, colon, urinary tract, sweat glands, skin pores, lymphatic system, etc.) to perform efficiently.*

3. Eliminate Unhealthy Cravings and Support Healthy Brain Chemistry*: Cleansing and replenishing allows the internal body to convert nutrients into healthy brain chemicals that create an environment that craves good nutritious food.

4. Slow the Effects Of Aging: Cleansing and replenishing allows our cells the ability to attack the effects of aging* head on.

5. Lose Weight and Feel Great: Cleansing aids the body’s ability to flush fat and increase metabolism.*

6. Love Your Liver: A clean healthy liver supports metabolism and fat burning ability.*

7. Restore Antioxidants*: Antioxidants are substances that block and destroy free radicals.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Cleanse for Life is different from other cleanse products because it contains botanicals, vitamins and minerals that aid in cleansing while supporting improved overall health. It actually nourishes your body as it cleanses. I would encourage you all to visit the Isagenix website to learn more about Cleanse for Life and all of the other wonderful Isagenix products. You deserve to reach your peak performance level and optimal health!

This information, plus much more, can be found on the Isagenix website. So check it out, order some Isadelight and enjoy a delicious, guilt free indulgence!

STACI PICK

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Eat This

Hey!

This one is for my new favorite sandwich that I invented on the 30 Day Cleanse.

It’s just 4 slices of low sodium turkey (Boar’s Head is my favorite), with a cup of fresh baby spinach (raw) and a ¼ of an avocado sliced into chunks, with less than a teaspoon of mustard (I use Pilsudski - it’s got the fewest ingredients and is also low in sodium). All on 2 slices of whole wheat bread toasted. It’s only about 450mg sodium, but it’s also a great source of potassium and iron, the “good fat” from the avocado instead of the “bad fat” from a slice of cheese, and it’s got about 26g of protein. I usually have it with a wedge of red bell pepper so I have something crunchy and sweet, and maybe a serving of raw snap peas. Really delicious, very filling, and it helped cure me of a nasty cheese habit!