The Revolution – Part 2

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Exhibit A. The way it used to be.

There was a time.

A time when manliness was an aspiration. Desired. The epitome of adulthood. A woman wanted a warm, burly embrace complete with a chest hair snuggle. Nowadays the average lass cuddles with a spidery, non-lensed glasses-wearing waif who bruises from a charlie horsed leg.

HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY?

This aggression will not stand. We must rise to action. The Revolution has gained momentum; the resistance swells every day.

Your mission, brother, if you choose to accept it, is to take flannel back from the hipsters.

These vile creatures are a cancer to our withering society. They claim to be original and avoid the mainstream, yet one of their chief styles of clothing is something worn by manly men for decades. How the hell do they justify that? The result is our nation’s youth growing up to see a bunch of annoying pukes wearing “flannel”. The first decade of a child’s life is very important; their first impressions create the foundations of their mind, ethos, and philosophy. If we allow skinny hipster goobers to falsely represent a sense of manliness, then subsequent generations will aspire to be thin, incapable, and irrelevant. We cannot let this happen.

The weather grows chilly in the northern hemisphere and it is our duty as big, strong men to reset the standard. It is our density. Here are the steps to completing yet another mission in The Revolution.

1. Know thy enemy. 

Exhibit B

Ladies. Gentlemen. This is what we’re up against (Exhibit B). In your journeys you will come across a shriveled excuse for a male: the hipster. He will don the flannel, as his wont. Your goal is not to engage him in mortal combat, yet to alpha the shit out of him in a respectable manner. Enter the room with confidence and a smile; it will immediately over power his internal shoulder rotation, thoracic flexion, cervical flexion, and atlas extension. And you better believe his pelvis is posteriorily tilted.

If the enemy follows you into the room, make sure to hold the door open. After all, it’s something you should automatically do for all females, especially when you mistaken the dainty hipster for one.

If you must engage the enemy in conversation, introduce yourself with a firm, but not aggressive handshake. His limp-fished hand will tell the real story. It’ll help if your hands are weathered. You probably have accomplished this by lifting weights, but it helps if you chop wood, drink whiskey, or spend time outdoors. The hipster, for example, is not strong enough to even swing an axe.

Smile. Converse. Be polite. Be yourself. For if you act like yourself, you have already won because the hipster is trying to be something he is not. This creature wants. to. fit. in. He will do and wear anything to be a part of a group that is the pukish spawn of urban middle class poons. Christian Lorentzen of Time Out New York claims that metrosexuality is the hipster appropriation of gay culture, as a trait carried over from their “Emo” phase. He writes that “these aesthetics are assimilated—cannibalized—into a repertoire of meaninglessness, from which the hipster can construct an identity in the manner of a collage, or a shuffled playlist on an iPod” (source). They essentially think they are cooler than America — and NOBODY is cooler than America (see Exhibit C for proof).

Exhibit C. Nothing is cooler than America.

Do not try and beat the hipster at his own game (which is hypocrisy . Merely present yourself as the amiable manly man you are. It will help if you have chest hair, own at least three knives, or have recently started a fire without matches (and preferably not accidentally in a house). You don’t have to comprehend the enemy, but knowing that he aims to not conform by conforming to an irrelevant cultural style will let you conquer him with standard, old-school manliness.

2. Choosing your flannel. 

It’s very important that your flannel is not marketed toward the enemy. Don’t shop in teen or urban sections. In fact, reconsider your clothing store if it has these sections. Outdoor stores are a good start, but I’ve had success at Kohl’s and Goodwill in the past.

Note that cheaper flannel shirts are made of cotton. If you plan on doing any outdoorsy adventuring, aim to get wool or synthetic types of flannel. Cotton is death in the woods because it absorbs water and doesn’t dry quickly. It’s not manly to die in the woods alone.

Aim for the classic flannel look. Hipsters, emo kids, and skateboarders are trying to popularize obnoxious patterns and colors. Before you make your purchase, ask yourself, “Can I wear this outside in a snowy forest and not look like a fuck-head?” If the answer is no, do not make the purchase and consider burning the building down.

3. Wearing your flannel. 

Look, I don’t know anything about fashion. But I do know that you shouldn’t ever — EVER — button the top button on your flannel. Especially without buttoning the other buttons, cause then you’ll just look like Konnan from WCW. I’d also question buttoning that second button because it’s a very hipster thing to do. Why do they all do it if they all do it? I thought they were trying to avoid conformity? I guess wearing black-rim glasses, even en mass, really sticks it to the man, huh? Let your neck breathe.

A shirt is optional, but if you forego the under shirt make sure that you have chest hair. Unless they look like pubes. If they look like pubes then chicks aren’t gonna want to snuggle it. Actually, let’s just make a rule that you have to bench 300+ in order to wear flannel without an undershirt. It’ll set a good example for the kids and ensure there’s enough pec for lady cuddling (you don’t have to like cuddling for a woman to nuzzle your chest, just pretend that you do).

Exhibit D. Aim to be mistaken for the Brawny Man.

The best way to wear flannel is to role the sleeves up to right below the elbow. This allows you to tease nearby females with your forearm power, but it further establishes the stark difference between you and a hipster. Most hipsters will have bony protrusions coming out of their flannel arm holes. If you are concerned by a lack of forearm development, then promptly throw in several thousand reps of hammer curls a day. By having rippling steak forearms, you’ll fit the archetype of “man” or “lumberjack” — you know, the things that flannel-wearing emits. This is what we want and need; your flannel presence should be memorable. Not “memorable” in the sense that you drink so much whiskey that you flip tables after standing on them while air guitaring, but if someone refers to you as “The Brawny Man”, you did your job. You want people to go home and say, “God DAMN did that guy look manly in that flannel.” They should either a) want to look like that or b) want to find and romance a dude that looks like that. The latter applies to females, but if it’s two consenting dudes then I guess that’s cool too.

Fight the Good Fight

Remember, every time you clothe yourself in the morning you make a statement. Do you want that statement to say, “I will conform to how skinny, no-lifting puke-faces are shaping modern society”? Or will you say, “God damn it, I’m a man”? We shall take back America.

Join The Resistance — WEAR FLANNEL!

 

Get Her In The Gym

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I’ve always wanted to help get women in the gym and restructure their concept of “optimal body image”. I’ve written an entire series titled “Getting Girls to Train” about it. At the same time, we all agreed in “The Fat Epidemic” that while we despise excuses that prevent someone from being healthy, we will also be supportive of folks who are battling back from inactivity and poor dietary choices.

Today my friend Shana Alverson of CrossFit East Decatur (who is a 5 time CrossFit Games competitor and quite strong) put up a link showing the progress of one of her clients. Myesha has been consistently working out at CFED since 2011. She has completely altered her diet and trains at CFED at least 4 times a week. She has lost 45 pounds, dropped from a 16 to 8 in pants sized, and has gotten much stronger.

Say what you will about CrossFit, but say it can be effective. Aside from hitting the gym, you may also consider taking protein powder to help you get in good shape.

You may also consider getting into carbon neutral sports venues. You may learn more about this by checking out CarbonClick.

My friend Jeremy, owner of CrossFit Annandale, was talking to a new client in June. The girl said, “Isn’t CrossFit like a cult or something?” Jeremy, who is primarily a lifter (and has a cool barbell club class), smiled and said, “But isn’t it a good cult? What’s wrong with a group of people who like to exercise and eat healthy?” The girl was back the next day. The same thing happens with Jacob Tsypkin of CrossFit Monterey, Ruth and Sean at CrossFit Intrepid, all the folks at Amarillo Strength and Conditioning, and countless other places. Of course CrossFit can get weird, but Jeremy, Shana, and these other owners keep it real at their facilities.

These gym owners end up proving their worth with their personality and results. But more importantly, they provide a gateway. Women go to these facilities intimidated, but willing to see what it’s all about. Jeremy’s smile and Shana’s personality assure them that they’ll have a good time, and they do! It gets folks in the gym.

I don’t know if Myesha has heard of this site or cares about lifting (though she deadlifts around 360), but joining CFED provided the opportunity to a) improve her health, b) challenge herself, and c) provide the potential for getting into cool things like strongman, highland games, Olympic weightlifting, or powerlifting. I know that Jeremy has taken many people, including women, to strongman meets. One of the strongman compeitors is named Mary, who is 48 and squats 300 pounds! It all started because a woman decided to make the jump from “interested” to “trainee”.

This isn’t a post to praise CrossFit, but an emphasis on doing what we can in the grand scheme of getting women to train. Whether it’s in a garage, a fitness facility, or a CrossFit gym, helping a woman start that process of training — not just working out, but training — is the first step. At the very least it could help her get healthy, but she could turn into an example of progress like Myesha or fierce competitors like all of the girls that post on this website (and yes, you’re still girls, so plbtttttt).

Lifters and serious performance trainees aren’t going to sprout out of the air. The seed must be planted, cultivated, and developed (this is not a metaphor for the horizontal rambas). Use the popularity of CrossFit, the Olympics, or professional sports. Help your female friends by providing a gateway into the gym. It will expose them to all of the fun stuff. And who knows? They might end up loving it more than you.

Q&A – 47

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PR Friday is a joyous day where we congregate like Vikings at a wooden table and discuss the week’s training. Join the discussion in the comments.

Last Week’s Challenge was kind of goofy, but it entailed going up and down some monkey bars. I’ll give the guy who did the most a discount to one of the books.

Next Week’s Challenge: Eat as many animals as you can in a meal or day. If you’re working with different cuts of the same animal, point that out.

Week In Review: It was a short week due to adventuring and drinking a lot of beer last week (before that trip I created a few posts to auto-post but didn’t really have a computer for a bit). The “Limited Training” post provided some ideas for guys that have a lack of time or equipment but still want to get a decent training session in. The “Manly Deeds” was just a recap from a few weeks ago of some of the amusing deeds they did, but I wanted to highlight how taodoju helped a mentally handicapped girl in the gym. Since I’ve grown up with a handicapped brother (and lots of different kids at various programs), I thought it was a very nice thing to do. Don’t be afraid to say hello to these boys and girls; they and their parents will probably appreciate it.

Next Week’s Preview: Two things will hit you in the face next week. The first will be a continuation of The Revolution, but winter style. The second will be the restart of 70’s Big  Radio, a podcast. Stay tuned.

Q&A

 

Gurdeep S. asks:
Rip is now teaching the press w/ dead stop every rep but using reflex off of hips forward to initiate each rep (here) I currently press with a bounce in similar fashion to this video of AC.
Rip claims at the end of this vid that you can handle more weight in this newer way than the bouncing style because of more muscle mass involved. Is this true? I could see that there may be less chance of the bar getting forward with the newer way taught because of the exaggerated hips forward to initiate every rep. Whereas, with the bouncing style the most exaggerated hips forward initiation will occur on the first rep. Does it matter?

 

Dear Gurdeep,

Let’s break this down into a few topics.

1. What is being taught. The “hip whip” prior to the start of the press is what is being taught. It was standard ops in Olympic weightlifting prior to ’72. Exhibit A and Exhibit B show you the technique. The “hip whip” is a push of the hips forward to lay back the torso with the bar on the clavicles or upper chest, followed by pulling the hips back to push the torso forward. This applies force to the bar to push it up, thereby helping the bar off of the chest. Note that in the videos, both lifters (including Serge Redding in the first video despite the front angle) are flexing and extending their knees. It happens quickly and was apparently difficult to judge, but there is clear knee movement in their presses. They then follow this hip whip with a layback, which was sometimes excessive. Rip’s CrossFit Total or pressing rules would limit layback to a line where the axillary (armpit) cannot move back past the glute — this was not the rule in pre ’72 weightlifting. So, to clarify, the “hip whip” to start the rep is what is being taught by Rip in the video.

2. Can you handle more weight his way? On a single repetition, yes. Is there more musculature being used? Yes, but in a similar that there is more musculature being used in a push press. Instead of thinking about inclusion of musculature, we should look at what musculature is contributing to the movement. In this case, the hips and abdominals are being used to lay back and then jut the torso forward. This is different than the pressing muscles solely applying the force at the beginning of the rep.

3. As for Gurdeep’s assumption that it would be harder to get the bar forward, this is not effected by the technique as the lifter will still need to keep the bar close to their face and get under the bar in order to prevent the bar from going forward. In other words, this hip whip does not effect forwardness of the bar.

4. What is my opinion? My opinion is that I want people to use the press to increase their upper body strength, augment their bench press, and get bigger muscles with it (this doesn’t mean Rip disagrees, and I’m sure he agrees with at least the first two things). While more weight can be handled with this method, it is for a single repetition. On multi-rep sets, the lifter will need to do what AC does, and that’s seamlessly use “touch and go” reps. Touch and go creates a stretch reflex in the muscles which is why AC’s second rep is a little faster than his first. The point isn’t about the stretch reflex; the point is that the subsequent reps require different mechanics than the hip whip method.

Even lifters who have received coaching do not press or bench well. Their grip is off, their elbow position is poor, and their shoulders do not have good external rotation. It’s why I made the unnecessarily shirtless video below (“3 Press Fixes“). We lifters are pressing for one of four things: a) to have a strong upper body, b) to augment the bench, c) to have a big, legitimate press, and d) to get jacked as a result of using the press. If a person is not properly externally rotating the shoulder (and therefore keeping the elbows “in” during the movement as opposed to flaring them), then none of these things are achieved. This means that the “3 Press Fixes” are more important than anything else.

Personally, I deem the “hip whip” as a more advanced technique. Barely anyone that I’ve coached in any setting — seminars or otherwise — has pressed with optimal technique. Until they did so, I wouldn’t worry about teaching a “hip whip”.

5. Besides, there are two problems with the “hip whip”. The first is that it encourages spinal movement, whether that is with anterior/posterior pelvic tilt or movement at the thoracic/lumbar junction. I don’t want trainees moving their spine under any circumstances during any barbell movement, so I will not bother teaching them something that opens them up to do so until they have solid mechanics (and a solid trunk).

The second is that since I teach particular wrist, elbow, and shoulder positioning, it is not a requisite for the bar to sit on the clavicles or upper pecs. In fact, when people do this, it usually results in poor wrist position (see the video, the wrist is not a close-compacted joint, creates torque at the joint, and therefore reduces force application to the bar). If someone were going to hip whip efficiently, then they would want their torso in full contact with the bar — like on a push–press — to fully take advantage of the force application from the hip whip itself. The hip whip inherently accepts the fact that there is an arbitrary amount of upward force applied from the hip whip and therefore not being applied by the pressing muscles (shoulder flexors like the anterior deltoid and elbow extenders like the triceps). This fact could potentially be a deterrent for its use, though a counter point would be that there is more weight locked out at the top. Still, I’d rather have full muscle action through a full ROM as opposed to removing the muscle action in the very beginning of the movement. A hip whip press is similar, but not exactly like, a push-press in that the lower body muscles get the bar out of the bottom position.

The third problem is that the hip whip encourages knee flexion and extension. This doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be coached, but lifters will not always have someone like Rip standing there telling them to do it correctly.

6. Given that the hip whip encourages spinal and knee movement, reduces an arbitrary amount of force application from the pressing muscles in the beginning of the movement, and is overly complicated for beginner lifters who almost always cannot perform the basic mechanics (which will effect which muscles are utilized and how efficiently they act), I think that it’s not necessary to teach until someone is an advanced presser. Also factor in the fact that the press is not a competitive lift, and it just solidifies the lack of utility — especially for the average lifter — for this movement.

Instead, I would not have a problem with someone using a bit of dip on their first rep to utilize a stretch reflex. This, of course, would not be allowed in a competition, but there isn’t a sanctioned competition for pressing so it doesn’t matter. The way it differs from the hip whip is that the pressing muscles are actually applying force on the bar from the very bottom ROM as opposed to the lower body moving the bar an arbitrary amount out of the bottom. A preceding stretch reflex makes allows greater contraction whereas the hip whip does not. You can see an example in the below video (Note: I am not a great presser and I would not accept this technique in a competition, but it’s used for muscle action and strength, not for competition).

 

So, Gurdeep, for the reasons above, I do think it matters. I would only teach the hip whip to someone if their mechanics were solid and there was a competition in which the press were contested. Still, if they weren’t easily pressing over 200 lbs, I wouldn’t worry about it. Especially since a competition that will actually include the press with strict standards doesn’t occur very often.

 

Hello Justin,

What do you think about programming deficit deadlifts for a period on a TM template? I currently doing a 5rm in deficit deadlifts on the intensity day. I’m thinking about staying with this exercise for a couple of months, and will wait until my next meet (end november) to do a regular pull, and see how that goes.
Any thoughts and comments from you on this?
Thanks for a great site,
Chris BDM
Dear Chris, 
To be honest, I haven’t programmed deficit deadlifts that much or in the way you describe. Depending on the advancement of the lifter, I may be hesitant to administer them since they will slightly alter the mechanics. If a lifter’s normal deadlift mechanics are solid, then I don’t have a problem. The first instance that I would use them in would be as an “active deload” alternated every week. I got the idea from Johnny Pain in this podcast episode (also discussed a little here in the first question). Basically an active deload would alter the movement so not as much weight was used to reduce the stress. In the case of deadlifting heavy every week, a lifter may benefit from alternating that heavy week with a lighter stress day. This is what I essentially do in the Texas Method: Advanced by alternating heavy and speed deadlift days, but you could do the same with something like deficit deadlifts.
Anyway, your question is just asking about them in general. In general, I don’t really have a problem with you doing it. However, I do have a problem with you not doing a regular pull until your meet. I’d rather you get a month or so of pulling regularly because the deficit will slightly alter your mechanics. Several years ago when we were using the terrible “halting deadlift” to try and push deadlift strength (which it didn’t), it significantly altered mechanics where the fellas didn’t like it at all. I don’t know if the deficit deadlift will significantly alter your mechanics, but that’s not a chance I’m willing to take. Besides, I think you could get better progress by using a different approach (like the aforementioned Texas Method: Advanced stuff). This does NOT mean that your approach will be unsuccessful. I’m curious to see how it goes, because it will essentially allow you to linearly progress the deficit dead every week. You are actually handling less weight than you normally could on a regular deadlift, and it could possibly help your off the floor strength (though this is not typically an issue with guys who have trained properly).
Let us know how it goes. Be sure to point out what program you were using in the preceding months before going to the deficit deadlift and detail your progress by using it. I would still have you do some conventional pulling in the final month (but not anything heavy within 7 to 10 days of the meet).
Ritchie S. asks
Competed in a comp on the 6th, took a week off like you advise in the 2nd Texas method ebook, back at the gym today and feeling very weak, is this normal? How should I be implementing the TM after the week long break.Thanx

 

Dear Ritchie,

You’ll feel weaker because of the hormonal change due to the (assumed) modest peak and time off. The first week back should be considered a ramp up week. You could ascend your volume work and keep the weight a little lower on that first day. It’s also not a bad idea to do a Light-Medium-Heavy set up on that first week back. This is standard though. You’ll be back to crushing weights in no time.

 

Manly Deeds

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In “Q&A – 43” I asked readers to perform as many manly deeds as possible to win a 70’s Big shirt. They were pretty interesting or amusing, so I thought a separate post would be good.

scants on September 25, 2012 at 2:31 pm said: 

Manly Deeds:
– completed week 27 in Kabul, Afghanistan
– ran 10kms in support of the Soldier On program (for wounded troops) and the Canadian Army Military Families Fund (I DON’T run but it’s for a good cause…the choice was 5 or 10 kms and I didn’t want to be a pussy and take the easy route)
– passed my Blue Stripe test in Taekwondo.
– ate chicken fingers for breakfast yesterday.
– got a runner to start lifting.
– after a 4 month layoff from bench and pulls due to something broken in my hand FINALLY was able to start back at it…

 

cfitz on September 21, 2012 at 4:25 pm said:

Manly deeds: carried boxes of books for a teacher, created sucrose solutions of varying molarity for bio teacher(manly?), helped my elderly neighbor move junk out of her house, spread training knowledge, snatched 205 and cl and j 245 at 190 bw 3 weeks after starting Olympic lifts, and finally my highschool lacrosse coach officially dubbed me “the beast” and said I look like a man playing among boys.

Maslow on September 21, 2012 at 5:47 pm said: 

Manly deeds: 1) completed navigation and tour of the California coast with my new wife in a rented mustang convertable. I’d never been there before and neither had she. Most days I wore short shorts, except for when it was too cold I wore pants similar to vietnam-era BDUs. One day we completed a 10-mile loop through a state park in Big Sur covering stunning beaches, mountains and redwoods, all without a map. I mean I looked at the map at the entrance, then went with it from there. I didn’t want to leave. During this time I grew a beard as a place holder so that I could have a mustache (not really possible to grow a mustache solo IMHO). Day 10 I shaved the beard with a shitty disposable razor and left the mustache. When I got home my electric shaver was packed in a moving box so I shaved 18 days of growth off of my lip with a dull disposable razor. 2) This morning I noticed one of my chest hairs almost touches one of my throat hairs. They day the two sections legitimately merge will be nothing short of monumental in my life.

 

suzymac on September 21, 2012 at 11:07 pm said: 

Went for rep PRs this week after 5 solid weeks in the 1-5 rep range.

Stats: female, weight just under one fiddy

DL: 10 @ 215 (clean grip)
Also did 285 on rack pulls which is relatively new in my lift rotation.

BP: 10 @ 100

And used 135 for snatch pulls from hang position.

And my manly acts (even though I’m a girl) this week were:
Mowing the yard…twice
Having the balls to drop in unannounced on an attorney I’m trying to get a job with
Rescuing a teenager getting crushed by his bench press fail
Rejecting post-coital cuddling by shutting off the lamp and saying “no more touching”.
Watching hours of war documentaries

Currently recovering from all my pr’s and manliness with red wine, chicken thighs and roasted beets.

 

And finally, the winner of the Manly Deeds Contest

taedoju on September 21, 2012 at 4:49 pm said: 

deeds:

– helped to move my friend
– i helped em…not totaly normal girl which is overweight with exercises, she takes care of mentally disabled people (she kinda is…well in that team) but wanted to lose some weight and get more social with people, i will take care of her for some time. she can squat now, yet she doesnt quite now why she should, but we are working on it : ) it’s hard to comunicate with her, but im learning to.
– i took my friends with their girlfriends to the gym . and thought them all to squat, soo 4 people more squatting:D girls loved it. that’s all, not quite a lot..

 

Basically taedoju is saying that he helped a mentally handicapped girl in the gym. My older brother is mentally handicapped and I grew up around a lot of handicapped kids, therefore I have a special place in my heart for them. Most people are afraid to approach them since they are different, but they typically really enjoy interaction with people. Taedoju wins the manly award for going out of his way to communicate and help with the mentally handicapped girl; it’s a really kind thing to do. The kind of thing a man does.

Limited Training

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My last six nights have looked like this: camping in the truck, camping in the tent, Great American Beer Festival shenanigans, local brewery Shenanigans, GABF shenanigans, and then camping above 10,000 feet in the snow. Needless to say I was a bit knackered after all that adventuring and drinking — IT’S WHAT DUDES DO!

During those six days I trained twice, not including hiking and the inevitable core workout that comes from off-roading for hours at a time. While the first time was at CrossFit Lodo on Friday, the second time was at the gym hotel (which was equipped with machines and dumbbells up to 100 pounds). This is a short guide on training with limited time or equipment, but is mostly focused on being in a different location (as opposed to trying to get a workout at home).

This pic from the Great American Beer Festival is to make you jealous you didn’t go.

The Basics

Think about what the foundations of your fitness or performance entail: strength, mobility, and endurance. If you’re exclusively a strength athlete, that will include power and swollertrophy. High intensity conditioning and muscular endurance would be relevant to an endurance athlete, fitness competitor, or even “applied fitness” trainees (a term we use in FIT to signify someone who requires fitness for their job, like a fireman or soldier). Mobility is inherently important to all trainees and provides the capacity to get strong and muscular. At the very least your skewed training schedule will give you time to work on your mobility, and that may be enough for some people. You can create a workout that fits your training style, but you can also do something simple to “get the blood flowing”. Increasing the heart rate and moving through a full range of motion — not necessarily at high intensity — can aid recovery, relieve stress (especially if you’re on a busy work trip), and provide a positive stimulus to fuel regular training after returning home.

Bring as much as you can. 

If you literally won’t have any equipment, you can improvise with what is available to you. For example, chairs can be dipped on, stepped on, or used to elevate the feet for push-ups. Otherwise bring as much small pieces of equipment as you can. Light bands and a jump rope can easily fit into a carry-on bag for band pulls and very light conditioning. Otherwise bring your mobility gear and work on your problem areas.

What’s the goal?

Now that you clarified what type of trainee you are and have acquired available equipment, what is your goal for the session? If it’s just to get the blood flowing, just jump rope and do some calisthenics. If you are a strength and power athlete, then use speed and explosive work. If you are a general trainee, then use assistance exercises to aid the strength lifts or catch a contagious, World Health Organization-worrying pump. If you are an endurance, applied fitness, or conditioning trainee, then use the light weights and your body weight for higher rep sets for muscular endurance or go ahead and get a high intensity conditioning workout.

Explosive Work

This is probably the most under-utilized style of training in limited environments, yet the most effective. If the dumbbells only go up to 50 pounds, then press them (with a neutral, palm-in grip) for speed doubles or triples on the minute. Hold the dumbbells and do speed squats or deads. Do three pull-ups on the minute as fast as you can. Use different jumps like squat jumps (i.e. preceding the jump with a full squat), high jumps (i.e. jumping as high as you can), broad jumps (for horizontal distance), triple jumps (i.e. same as broad jumps, but using the landing of the first and second jumps as an immediate stretch reflex for subsequent jumps), or bounds (i.e. jumping for horizontal or vertical distance off one foot at a time. In the past I’ve alternated jumps with presses on 30 second intervals.

Keep the speed or plyometric structure simple and do two or three reps on a 30 to 60 second clock and do 5 to 10 sets.  The idea of timed plyo work is to demand that the muscle fibers contract as fast as possible while fatigued — the fact that they are doing it in a fatigued state is the thing that they aren’t adapted to (i.e the adaptive stress). Speed work will help improve rate of force development and neuromuscular efficiency.

Assistance

If you’re tired, unmotivated, injured, or have crusty mobility from sitting all day and don’t want to jump around, just hit some assistance exercises that will either push your main lifts or give you some maximum jackage. The former may include dumbbell or banded good mornings, weighted lunges, or even holding a heavy dumbbell and do Zercher or front squats. The latter could include a few sets of dumbbell bench or press, triceps press downs, pull-ups, dumbbell rows, or weighted back extensions. Oh, and curls. Do at least one thousand repetitions of your choice curl and then go out of your way to tell everyone about it (i.e. co-workers, hotel employees, children in the swimming pool, etc.). It’s the curl that will give you the most bang for your buck since it hits both heads of the biceps and incorporates the brachioradialis of the forearm.

Notice that most of these exercises are compound movements that will improve the main lifts, but still improve muscularity. Realistically you could forego all of this advice and just do shirtless chest flies in front of the mirror while chewing gum, but I digress.

You may also remember “When In Doubt…Train Your Back“, a post I wrote about training the back side when short on time. But don’t forget other necessary exercises like farmer’s walks and side planks. Having a whacky schedule is the perfect opportunity to do pre-hab exercises or improve your grip.

 Conditioning

It’s really not hard to get a solid high intensity conditioning workout in with limited equipment. In FIT I give plenty of examples, but aim to use compound, multi-joint exercises that use a lot of musculature to use a lot of energy to create a deficit in substrates for a quality adaptive stress. If that sentence doesn’t make sense, then read through FIT because we break it down Crayola style there.

Just Do It

The biggest issue with training during a weird schedule is actually getting off your ass and doing it. On Saturday, we were hungover and tired. In a few hours we were going to jump back into the fray at the GABF, but I decided to get a quick workout in the hotel facility. After a bit of jump rope, dumbbell bench, dumbbell front squat, machine rows, banded good mornings, and back extensions, we felt much better (I did press and weighted pull-ups the day before, otherwise I would have pressed the DBs and done the pull-ups). When you’re on a trip that has halted your training, strung you out, and possibly left you hungover, a quick muscle contraction workout will help immensely.