The Mighty Mix

Down with the "women's bar"! A Rant

2012-01-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

I'd like a shot at whoever came up with this women's bar nonsense.

The 15 KG weightlifting bar, or "women's bar," as it is more commonly known, provides a lighter weight alternative for beginners or anyone who may not be ready to wield the 20 KG bar.

This bar has a thinner diameter - 25 mm, compared to 28 mm in the men's, or standard, bar. Some versions are also shorter and have differences in knurling. This difference in diameters is dramatic!

Where does this notion come from that women have smaller hands than men? Some do, but not all. I'll bet not even most do.

The problem comes when this 15 KG bar is mandatory for women in competition. I own both bars, and I've competed both in meets which require women to use this bar and those which do not use this bar at all. The women's bar does not fit my hands. Using it is a handicap.

Not only is my grip hindered, the difference in weight distribution is tremendous when you snatch in the 40s. Think about what a dramatic difference the distribution of five kilos is when the total weight is 40 KG. If I were a physicist or mathematician, I could make a quantitative argument; but what I can say is the bar behaves differently at this weight. The loaded 15 KG bar needs a different trajectory, because it wants to fly away from me when I pull it the way I pull the 20.

I spent the past several weeks training with both bars and then the 15KG bar exclusively for a meet which imposes this bar on all women. Although I did become more adept with it in training, it didn't really pan out in competition. In competition, your body retreats to its most hardwired training, and for me, that's the standard bar, the one that feels good in my hands and behaves the way I expect it to in a lift. I take responsibility for my performance and I'm not looking to make excuses, but I know this bar affects my lifts, especially in the heat of a meet. I'm going to avoid meets which require that I use this bar.

If these bars are used in a meet, they certainly should not be mandatory. Nor should they be based on gender. That's ridiculous. In some elite meets, I understand that some men use the 15 KG bar. That makes sense if it is correlated to hand size.

If this bar is designed to fit smaller hands, then only those with smaller hands should be using it in a competition. If this bar is designed for lighter weight, then let's have 15 KG bars with the standard 28 mm diameter (there are such training bars - aluminum, just 15LBS). But if it is designed to address gender, then the philosophy is fatally flawed to begin with.

Here are a couple pictures of my hands after a few weeks of training with both bars. Because my grip is different - my fingers are curled well under my palms - it's screwing up my callouses. You can see a lower second row setting in on my palm, some new ones on my fingers, and the bigger damage - the longstanding callous on the side of my hand, between thumb and forefinger, split down to the pink meat. That smarts. Almost as much as having my performance compromised because I'm forced to use equipment that doesn't fit.

Come on, folks. If you have this bar in your gym and you want to use it in your meets, fine. But give us women the choice to use it or not.

Going Under

2012-01-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

Doubt - It may lead you to confirm belief.
Question - It may lead you to understand.
Honor obstacles - For a set amount of time. Your strength to overcome them may gather.
Rest - So your energy may be restored.
Release control - To remember it is only an illusion.

Go under.
Shut out. Be silent. Give over. Lie in the darkness. Be weak for the moment. Incubate.

Emotion points you down to dwell where the mind and spirit can reset. Exercise your intelligence in these murky depths. Release your grasp so your muscles do not become rigid around an idea. You will be rigid when you are dead.

What comes from strength goes to strength. If you are on the right path and in fact strong in your footing, you will emerge renewed, enhanced and sure. Bank your embers to build yourself dynamic and hot, not a cold automaton enslaved to your higher ideals through rote and routine. Only then can you be free in your chosen path, and your fire will burn bright.

Dariotis Memorial 2012

2012-01-07T23:19:00.000-08:00

Took 2nd Place in 63 KG with a 95 KG total today at this very large meet at Thrush Sports Performance Center in Sumner, WA. That's John Thrush mugging in the background in my blurry phone pic! Wish it was clearer! Impressive facility, friendly meets, lots of amazing lifters.

Not my best performance, but after a number of significant physical setbacks the past few months, I'm plenty happy.

Bottles in Window photo retrospect

2012-01-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

The Nightlife

2012-01-03T18:30:00.001-08:00

Bumper racks

2012-01-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

My first wood project design.

That's how I don't roll!

New Year's Day haul from Goodwill

2012-01-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

Weightlifter's Chant

2011-12-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

Clarity of vision

Stillness of mind

Power of foresight

Lessons of hind

Strength in the grasp

Strength in the pull

Zen in the movement

Explosion trumps all

. . .

When function meets force

Then it looks easy

It becomes easy

It is its own reward

Xmas work out 2011

2011-12-25T19:45:00.001-08:00

Magnificent human moments

2011-12-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

Here's to moments of deliberate motion in synch with the universe in the new year.

Top 10 things I wish I'd learned about weightlifting years ago

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, gentle readers. Every year, I try to mark the changing of the calendar (by the way, got your Strength Visions calendar yet?) with a retrospective post, to force myself to digest the lessons and experiences of the training year and to set the tone for the coming year. This one's been rattling around in my brain for a while. While I hesitate to give up my secrets, I do so because I hope someone, somewhere gets something good out of it and can save themselves some time and trouble on the lifelong journey of weightlifting.

Thanks for reading. Stay strong and have smart, intense fun in 2012!

Top 10 things I wish I'd learned about weightlifting years ago

10. The first pull is a deadlift. That's all it is, pure and simple. Breaking it down into the shin line, the bar path, the direction of the pull have screwed me up for years and slowed my progress. It is only when I shut off my brain and "just deadlift" that I do this correctly.

9. No reason to bleed. What a revelation it was to me to learn that it was a bad thing to drag the bar against my shins, both on the first pull in weightlifting and in deadlifting. My coach explained only recently that all that does is create friction, which can only slow the lift. While I'd been shooting for the bar path along my midline because I thought there the force would travel best, I could've achieved that countless reps ago without the slowing or the bruised and bloody shins. Honestly, for a while there, I was afraid if someone saw my shins, they'd call Child Services. I'm going to keep the funky tall socks, though.

8. Multiple reps make for better strength gains than singles. Left to our own devices, most of us strength geeks would probably go for heavy, lazy singles rather than sets of two to five. There's a reason for that - repetition with heavy stuff is hard work. But if you're dialing in your technique, multiple reps can open that neuromuscular path to set in patterns, plus the strength gained overlaps between power and endurance forms of strength. Do lifts wrong and multiple reps can be disastrous, but if done right, the gains are right there to be had. And there are always heavy singles on the horizon.

7. Activate the core first. There are a myriad of interpretations on what this means, and up until very recently, I'd have been the first one to give you a "duh" if you asked if I used my core in weightlifting. But I've been learning a highly specialized spin on this in physical therapy that is different from anything I've ever learned, and the gains are exciting. Hint: it starts with bodyparts you don't normally associate with lifting, or really anything you'd do in public.

6. It is not normal to pee your pants a lot during work outs (see #7). (Points for candor here, people?)

5. Squeeze the bar. This sets the arms and back. Don't stop squeezing until it's time to release the grip. This is one of those cues that has been around for a very long time, but makes the list because it took me a long time to get it.

4. Set your grip the Tommy Kono way, and squeezing the bar is halfway done.

3. Invest in real weightlifting equipment. I started out in my livingroom with a preacher bar and metal weights, trying to learn the Olympic lifts by staring at an animation on the computer screen. Five years later, when I was considering investing in a real weightlifting bar, Tom Hirtz told me, "This is your sport. Don't ruin the experience with a shit bar." This extends to bumper plates in kilos, nice collars, shoes, good bra, and a platform. While humble beginnings make for good anecdotes, this really is a pretty minimalistic sport, so don't whine or scrimp out of the essentials. It makes all the difference.

2. Get professional help. Lots of it. Like Lucia Rijker said in Shadowboxers, her success was not due to her own self; it took a team to get her there. I've spent years carefully assembling my team. Be leery of blindly following gurus; as Buddha said: Believe nothing, not matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. Many are the "authorities" who audition for me without ever knowing it and do not make the cut. But at this point in my life, one of the most valuable things I've done for myself is culling my roster of true experts, in chiropractory, physical therapy, functional strength, sports massage, and of course, weightlifting. If you've made the list you know it, because dogs are not as loyal as I am when I commit.

1. Shrugging is wrong. I can be thickheaded, and the hardest part to cracking the code has been the second pull. That is in no small part due to every Tom, Dick, and Harry weightlifting authority mindlessly chanting the mantra "shrug." While that may work for a lot of people, and it probably does or it wouldn't be around this pervasively, it has robbed me of years of progress that I can never get back. Shrugging, from the common gesture to the formal bodybuilding-type exercise, means activating the very upper traps - and that's all. Do it now. Ask yourself, does the Mighty Kat make any sense? Then feel your shoulders go up and down. Pretty small movement, isn't it? Nothing below the shoulders has to get out of bed. In fact, you can do this while lying in bed. Now the second pull, on the other hand, is a massive effort which recruits all of the larger back and shoulder muscles, as well as interstitials and other fun stuff on the front and sides . . . basically, everything that's involved in lengthening your torso. It's not just your shoulders that rise, it's everything attached to your legs. Forget about your shoulders! This has been such an epiphany for me that lately, I feel like running down the street and screaming "F*** you" at everyone who has ever told me to shrug. Not a real Zen attitude, but give me time. I'm young.

new jerk floor

2011-12-17T12:05:00.001-08:00

For faster feet in the new year.... and no more wandering jerk tables!

New Bumpers!

2011-12-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

Ring a ding ding! It's a Mighty good Xmas. All kilos, all the time now. And just when I was getting the hang of conversions...

Winter Weightlifting Meet Video

2011-12-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

The meet was a success! Now to kick back - for a brief moment, anyway...

November sunset

2011-11-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

Vasiliy Alexeev - a symbol of the unexpected

2011-11-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

A giant fell this Thanksgiving weekend. The great Super Heavyweight Russian Vasiliy Alexeev died on Friday, Nov. 26, 2011. One of the world's strongest men ever and one of the all-time greatest weightlifters, Alexeev broke more than 80 world records, held the world championship title for eight years (1970-77), and won gold medals in Munich and Montreal. He was the first person to lift over his head a quarter of a ton - 501.5# - in the clean and jerk recorded below. In 1980, Alexeev performed a one-arm snatch of 231 pounds.

Beyond all of these near-incredible feats and firsts, though, is the transcendence that this man symbolized and still symbolizes, whether you know anything about weightlifting or not: Alexeev proves that excellent physical conditioning and strength does not always look like Adonis. He had a big belly. His physique is unique and distinct: there is only one weightlifter who looks like Alexeev, and that is Alexeev. He wasn't pretty. Most muscle magazines you see in grocery stores wouldn't find him fit for their covers today. He doesn't fit the mold.

If you know what you're looking for, you can see the traits of hardwon strength - the developed back and shoulders, the sturdy frame, the compact mass evenly developed throughout the body. But most people in the general public won't see it. They'll see his belly and stop there.

When I managed a training staff at one of the chain gyms, I was fortunate enough to work with a strength athlete who was similar to this build. Meek in nature, good in heart and overweight by the popular measure, this trainer was thoroughly knowledgeable in strength training from discus to powerlifting. He taught me a lot. He introduced me to lifting with chains. He tried to get me to squat below parallel but I was too ignorant and stubborn at the time to listen.

One day a well-to-do woman probably in her 50s took me aside near my office. She had a message for me, as head of the trainers. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that when she sees someone who looks like him, overweight, she wasn't inclined to train with him, and that he ought to look around and take care of himself first if he wanted to train other people.

It struck me like a knife. I was shocked. In my particular naivete, it had never occurred to me that anyone could see him as anything less than he was. He was one of the strongest men she would ever have the privilege to meet, probably one of the most knowledgeable in ways that many of our prettier trainers would never be, a true athlete who had developed himself in mind and body over many years of disciplined dedication. He just had a layer of love over his powerful frame. Was he unhealthy? He could have been healthier if he'd dropped some pounds, sure, but compared to someone like her? He was, or at least had been in his life, healthier than she could ever dream of being.

I was so thrown off that I didn't shoot her down right then and there. I simply expressed acknowledgment of what she was saying, in my polite, professional way. I've regretted that with a kick countless times over the years.

When I see Alexeev, he makes me think of that trainer. And I can't think about him without that heartwrenching moment coming back to haunt me. So while he inspires pride and joy for all the usual reasons a champion does, he also bolsters my pride and certainty as proof of the fact that strength does not always come in the packages you expect.

Many more details, including his prolific career record, are on Wikipedia .

Sugar Ray Leonard keys to success

2011-11-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

When asked about the keys to his success, Sugar Ray Leonard says (at 1:08)

Hard work
Hard work
Belief
Heart

Portland Oregon Weightlifting Winter Meet

2011-11-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to announce we are holding an unsanctioned weightlifting meet at FAST in Sherwood on Saturday, Dec. 3rd. All are welcome. Click for details

Get My 2012 Strength Photography Wall Calendar

2011-11-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the best I have to offer from the past year of travel, lifting, shooting, and dreaming on this labor of love. Thanks for your support.

Strength Visions 2012
If you love strength training, this beautiful 13-month wall calendar is for you. Each month features a powerful image of equipment or a setting from powerlifting, Olympic-style weightlifting, Crossfit, and the humble but hardcore garage gym. No people, just evocative images from training and competition to project yourself into for motivation and escape the other 22 hours of the day. Grids provide plenty of space to record appointments, birthdays or training notes, while the images will inspire you every day of the year.

November morning spiderweb

2011-10-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

Portland Oregon Weightlifting (POW) website

2011-10-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

Check out the new website for my club!

www.francosportstraining.com/Olympic-Weightlifting

(Like the logo? I made it.)

Have a strong and safe Halloween

2011-10-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Photo of Chewy (the Big Sexy) by Allyson Goble of Bodytribe Fitness used by permission

my weightlifting calendar at Bodytribe Fitness

2011-10-22T23:07:00.001-07:00

See it? On the left? That's my 2011 Weightlifting Visions calendar, hanging behind the desk in Bodytribe Fitness in Sacramento, California. Wouldn't my current one help your gym look good?

Weightlifting clinic with Jim Schmitz and Butch Curry

2011-10-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

I attended a weightlifting clinic with Jim Schmitz and Butch Curry last weekend at Bodytribe Fitness in Sacramento. I am huge fans of both of these guys, in weightlifting and beyond.

Soapbox moment – Where were you?
We handful of attendees were fortunate to have so much personal attention from these masters, but I can't get over the idea that there weren't more people taking advantage of this amazing opportunity. I don't care how many self-appointed experts there are in weightlifting today; the fact is there are damn few legitimate experts, and here are two old timers with riches upon riches to offer to all of us youngins, from the 20-something Crossfit lemmings to the 50-something latebloomer. There are only so many masters from the height of the USA team's pinnacle era, and they won't be around to pass down their knowledge and wisdom forever. The place should've been packed.

OK... The clinic. Jim led it and Butch supported it. Jim is known for working with individuals on their unique levels - in ability, goals and limitations. He is especially known for getting the most out of adults who are living busy lives. He worked us in combination exercises, introduced us to old lifts such as the split snatch and split clean, showed us historical archive material, talked war stories, and entertained us with this corny weightlifting stand-up. By the way, he may be the only person who does weightlifting stand-up in the world... How can you possibly allow yourself to miss that?

Butch is the class clown, but it's deceptive - he's a savvy one. I take things learning weightlifting seriously - maybe a little too seriously. But Butch kept my head above my whirlpool. In the process, he gave me a few philosophical nuggets to help adjust my perspective. LIFT STUPID is a big one. "You can't think about everything you have to do. There's too much to think about," he said. "I tell people to lift stupid. Don't think about it, just do it."

They are a great team on many levels. I'll treasure the experience. I know my lifting will improve from some of things they introduced. I came out invigorated and hopeful, eager to apply what I'd learned. What's a better response than that?

my weightlifting calendar is well hung

2011-10-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

My friend Kristoffer sent these pics of where my 2011 weightlifting calendar hangs at his workplace.

Kris is the genius behind Virtual Meet. My 2012 calendar just might help you maximize your genius potential, too.

The calendar in action! Actual Finns - software developers doing really big things - write important info on it, demonstrating how my calendars can help you think, create, get organized and be productive.

Wouldn't my 2012 calendar liven up your workspace? It's coming... in November...

Sugar Ray Leonard

2011-10-09T11:06:00.001-07:00

Had a great time at Fight Night Oct. 8, 2011 - Vancouver PAL Pro-Am Boxing Event. Guest of honor Sugar Ray Leonard was incredibly generous with his energy, time, attention to his glowing fans.

My favorite fighter of the night was Vancouver lightweight Sammy Perez, who made a triumphant professional debut. One to watch!

Related Post
Sugar Ray Leonard pimps book on Colbert Report

PDX Weightlifting

2011-10-07T20:43:00.001-07:00

Visited with Nick Horton at his gym PDX Weightlifting in Portland, Oregon. It's a no-frills Olympic-style weightlifting gym that is also equipped to accommodate CrossFitters looking to sharpen their technique.

There are two custom made platforms, plus a simple plywood sheet serving as a third, which is at the single squat rack in the place. The bumpers are a menagerie, including Rogue Fitness and rubber-coated Weiders. There are plyo boxes, ropes and medicine balls (leather or vinyl), and the only known "hip thrust block" made by their resident carpenter.

Nick requires all of his weightlifters to compete, and they make an impressive show of solidarity in Oregon LWC. They train aggressively; they'd have to to keep up with Nick's energy.

Nick - Nicholas Horton - is an impressive and unique guy. He's gregarious and super friendly to everyone he meets. He competes as well as coaches, keeping the split snatch form alive. Outside of the gym, he manages to keep alter identities running; he's a prolific musician (for years, he wrote a song daily and produces a high volume of his songs - all independently), perpetual student of high-level mathematics, and a prolific and skilled writer.

Nick's blog the Iron Samurai: Zen and the Art of Weightlifting, titled for his moniker, is one of the most productive and enjoyable weightlifting blogs around, collecting highlights from the web monthly and packaging them with essays, video Q&A, and updates on his team's training and competing. He produces an email newsletter which is chock full of this good stuff.

Nick strives to balance and develop all of his yin and yang aspects. He cultivates his creativity and channels it into solid contributions to the world in projects he mostly gives away.

If you're in Portland, definitely stop by to train or just to meet Nick. If you're on the internet, then get acquainted by clicking on the links I've provided. Either way, if you're into weightlifting, you gotta find out about this Nick guy...

Hip Thrusting?
If that hip thrust block got you curious, here's what that's about.

Get your mind right: peak performance is largely mental

2011-10-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Higher Brain Functioning in World Class Athletes

This is an excellent article because it gives specific, hard information on especially abstract concepts. If you want to excel, do not miss reading this and spending chunks of time digesting it for a long time to come.

Along the same lines, here's a book I worked through (took months to follow all of the mental exercises as instructed) and highly recommend.

2012 USA Master's Weightlifting schedule

2011-09-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Nationals are in Georgia in spring. Click on table below to enlarge for legibility or go to www.mastersweightlifting.org

Oregon Crossfit

2011-09-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Was able to get in a snatch work out in Bend thanks to Oregon Crossfit. Co-owner Sean didn't even charge me a day fee, just had me fill out the liability form. It's a great-looking gym. The weather was September, Indian Summer gorgeous, so having the garage doors open to this warehouse gym was terrific.

It was loaded with all the Crossfit stuff I suppose a Crossfitter could want - rows of rings, stacks of bumper plates, loads of kettlebells, a big digital stopclock on the wall sounding out Sean's drill times as he trained.

The floor is wall-to-wall rubber, and for me, anyway, there's a noticeable difference between this and wooden platforms. It's okay, but when you always train on platforms, you work with the edge that slip gives you. And when you drop a rubber plate on rubber flooring, man, does it bounce.

I loved how the natural noonday light cut across my face and hit the floor in big angular patches. The chalk was kept in little socks in the standing stainless steel bowl. The bathrooms were small and simple. The logo and T-shirts were cool. There was a couch and even a grill, which Sean said was his; he'd brought it in for a cook out earlier in the week.

It was a very nice stop to make, and it's great to know there's a place to keep weightlifting on schedule in Central Oregon.

As I was finishing up, Sean started the pitch - "Have you ever tried Crossfit?" I smiled and said, "No. I have great respect for it, but I love what I do."

Juniper Swim & Fitness Center

2011-09-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

Trained at Bend Park & Rec District's impressive Juniper Swim & Fitness Center. The fitness part of it was remodelled about three years ago, I was told. Everything seems shiny new. I had no competition for the squat rack at 1 p.m. on a Monday, unsurprisingly, while the treadmills were busy. It was a nice one, with retracting ends to the safety pins/bars, and black marker marking the level where the pins generally were used attested that the rack isn't gathering dust. The plates were rubber-coated with large holes for easy handling, the stuff of money in a fitness center.

All the general commercial gym essentials, nothing special to note. I wasn't sure where to deadlift and opted just to do it in front of the rack. Snatch grips with straps, since I sprained a finger in a meet the Saturday before. Got the feeling no one there had seen that kind of thing there before.

The facility is first and foremost about pools. If you're into water, don't miss it.

A decent use of $5.50 while on the road.

competing at Sept 2011 meet

2011-09-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Totaled 100 KG at the Sept. 17th Heavy Weight Athletics Championships at Ironworks Gym in Creswell, Oregon

I am a walking PR

2011-09-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am a walking PR.

My strength is epic.

Gravity and fatigue

are brittle wood

smashed by my rising momentum.

The more weight I lift, the easier it comes.

You don’t know what I’m capable of.

I am a breakthrough.

The mountain runs through my spine.

Ocean swells in my breast.

Fire

Torrent

Boulder

My Power

Speed

Control

Stand back.

Part the seas.

The grass is on fire.

Everything has its season.

If you are only a voice now,

Stand back.

It is my time at the bar.

This is my bar.

This is my moment.

No one else has my body.

No one else has my muscles

and my strength.

These are mine alone.

These are me.

I am force.

I have arrived

and the strength of ages

thrums in my veins.

Bam!

Sleepless

2011-09-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sleepless
because triumph
spurs the tiger in my soul
and its promise
drives me deeper
through this jungle

Tommy Kono weightlifting lecture

2011-09-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

Just getting around to posting this last bit of Tommy Kono lecture - He talks about proper body angles on pulling through the snatch, knowing your goals, and his recommendation to always work from the floor. I recorded this at Bodytribe Fitness during the weekend of the Tommy Kono Open VI in Sacramento, California.

Going Within

2011-08-16T19:54:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture I took of Christine during a powerlifting meet. I like this one a lot.

Ten minutes of sky

2011-08-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

enjoy

Christine and Roger Neff powerlifting in Portland

2011-08-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

Champion powerlifters Christine and Roger Neff medalled in the 2011 USPA NW Summer Powerlifting Open at Elite Performance Center in Portland, Oregon.

Related post - Champion deadlifter Christine Neff

Jim Schmitz on weightlifting through adulthood

2011-08-12T15:59:00.001-07:00

Tommy Kono coaching session Part 3: Hook Grip

2011-08-12T07:10:00.001-07:00

Tommy Kono Part 3: Hook Grip

Tommy Kono coaching session Part 2: Straps

2011-08-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Tommy Kono Part 2: Straps

Tommy Kono coaching session Part I: Snatch Squat

2011-08-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

I was extremely fortunate to receive personal instruction from Tommy Kono during his annual visit to Bodytribe Fitness in Sacramento during the weekend of the Tommy Kono Open VI. Here is the first installment from our time together. This addresses the snatch squat - bouncing out of the hole and proper foot width.

Tommy Kono Pt 1: Snatch Squat

Tommy Kono IV

2011-08-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Had an absolutely magical weekend at the Tommy Kono and hanging with Bodytribe for the second year in a row. Details to follow. Meanwhile, check out my PRs!

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy

2011-08-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back
Always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and Creation)
There is one elementary truth
The ignorance which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:

That the moment that one definitely commits oneself
Then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one
That would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision
Raising in one’s favor all manner
Of unforeseen incidents and meetings
And material substance
Which no one could have dreamt
Would have come your way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

GOETHE

Dumbbell maintenance

2011-07-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Painted the dumbbells with Rustoleum

Before

First coat

Second coat

July gym photos

2011-07-05T08:18:00.001-07:00

snail

2011-07-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Nick Horton split snatch

2011-07-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, there are still some lifters doing the split snatch. . . Here's Nick Horton nailing this classic. The split was surplanted by the now-conventional squat snatch after folks started copying this latest thing the Chinese were doing. Nick says he does it because it's the only way he can continue snatching due to back injuries; he doesn't say anything about how bad ass it looks.

This cool photo is by Jordan Franco.

Boxer Barbara Buttrick

2011-07-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

Pioneer female boxer Barbara Buttrick, 19040s

River pictures

2011-06-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Climbing the Mountain

2011-06-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

We are the ones who do not forget our bodies.
We are the ones who climb the mountain
not because it is there,
but because it will be difficult
and climbing it will not only
bring us closer to the heavens
but it will make us stronger.

..Ran across this forgotten poem in the back of my training journal last night...

The constant

2011-06-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

It's not that it's more important than everything else.

It's that every other thing in my life may be transient, but as long as I am able to do it, I will always be weightlifting. At the end of the work day, on my day off, on vacation, during a crisis, before a trip, after a trip, before the laundry is done, whether the housekeeping is done, before I return phone calls, after I return phone calls, before the sun sets, into the dark.

If I lose my job, I will still be weightlifting.
If I lose my house, I will still be weightlifting.
If my loved ones fade away, I will still be weightlifting.

Whether my mind is upheaved or my soul is quiet, the bar is my constant. It never wavers. It never leaves. It is always ready. Whether I succeed or fail, it is ready. When I am spent, it is still ready.

As singular and private as my love for the bar is my love for those who help me grasp it, who return to the bar themselves when I am not there, who live in this space between the rest of life's incidents, who tomorrow and tomorrow, will still be weightlifting, just like me.

Caged - 1950 prison film

2011-06-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

This award-winning film has haunted me since I stumbled across it as a child and watched it on the small B&W TV in the kitchen. I never knew what it was called until recently. This must have been my first exposure to the idea of prison in general and women's prison in particular.

Caged on IMDB

Outcast Fitness in Fairview, Ohio

2011-06-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Weightlifters, CrossFitters, and minions of the physical subculture, there is a place to train if you're in the Cleveland area - Outcast Fitness in Fairview, Ohio. It's humble, earnest, and full of soul, with all the basics and then some - Eleiko and Pendlay bars; Eleiko, Kraiburg, and Rogue bumper plates; a TRX system; a Muay Thai bag hung over a big mat; two benches, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls and a generally thoughtful and well-chosen assortment of fun things.

It's got a cool name, and also happens to be the only gym I've been in with a microbrew bottle collection in the window. Let me be the first to announce that a wine bottle collection is about to begin as well.

Outcast Fitness is owned and operated by Paul Zagaria and his wife Nancy. I had the pleasure of working out alongside Paul. He's a beast! and one of the nicest guys a weightlifter could know. Besides a slew of creds from USA Weightlifting to CrossFit, Paul is also a Cleveland Police Officer and Sergeant-in-Charge of the Cleveland Division of Police's Physical Conditioning and Defensive Tactics programs.

If you live in the area, I'm sure you'd be lucky to train under Paul - if intensity, strength and stamina are anything you're interested in. If you're passing through, like I was, he'll go out of his way to make sure you have a place to train and everything you need.

Freddie Roach has a book coming out!

2011-06-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

OMG OMG OMG! Look what's coming out! Slated to drop March 2012 - up for preorder now...

The inspiring and amusing autobiography of the greatest trainer in boxing today, Freddie Roach.

It May End up Killing You is the inspiring and amusing autobiography of boxing’s greatest trainer, Freddie Roach: an ex-pug living with Parkinson’s, the most famous white man in the Philippines, a formidable street fighter, and a millionaire who slept for years in a makeshift apartment within his Los Angeles gym, The Wild Card.

The book is organized into four parts: Boy, Fighter, Man, and Gray Eminence, beginning with tales of his abusive youth, his own boxing career, and his apprenticeship under legendary trainer Eddie Futch (trainer of Joe Frazier), before moving on to his courageous battle against Parkinson’s Disease, his relationship with Hollywood celebrities (Mickey Rourke, Mark Wahlberg), and his rise to the top of his profession as a trainer for world champions like Lucia Rijker, Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Wladimir Klitchko, and his prized pupil, the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the world, Manny Pacquiao.

Roach relates the lessons of his life as he learned them over time and muses over how they can each be integrated and applied to strategies for winning. For each chapter Roach writes, connections are drawn to larger themes or settings, enriched with research, interviews, and other anecdotes. Eventually Roach weaves these various life lessons through his work with his signature fighter, Manny Pacquiao, revealing the difference in simply identifying raw talent versus cultivating it, and how both are equally vital to success. 25 full-color photographs

About the Author

Freddie Roach is the #1 trainer in boxing today, having been named trainer of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2003, 2006, and 2008. A former professional fighter himself, he currently trains light welterweight world champion Manny Pacquiao, who is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Other champion boxers Roach has trained include Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, and James Toney. He is a 2007 inductee of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and makes his home in Los Angeles, California.

Text from product description on Amazon.com

Sugar Ray Leonard pimps memoir on Colbert Report

2011-06-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sugar Ray Leonard has an autobiography out The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring (HINT HINT - Who loves me??). Here's a terrific interview he gave on the Colbert Report.

me & Sugar Ray

Women better suited to weightlifting & boxing?

2011-06-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

A while back, I mentioned that in reading, I'd come across theories that females are better suited to weightlifting and boxing than males. Jeff, who apparently stops by my blog (a reader! How nice!), asked me to elaborate. It's taken me a while to get around to it, but here goes.

Weightlifting

I'd read the weightlifting reference at Iron Samurai, the blog of PDX Weightlifting coach and erudite writer Nick Horton. I asked him to elaborate, and he has obliged me. Here's an excerpt. You can read the full post here.

I’ve had a theory rattling around in my head for a number of years that I think has at least some merit: I think women may be better suited to the sport of Olympic Weightlifting than men are. I’m not saying that some men won’t make fantastic weightlifters. I’m just saying that statistically, women are more likely to be good at it than men are.

A couple of things I'll add.

Females are better structured for the second pull. The second pull requires keeping the bar close to the body over the thighs and into the abdomen. Ironworks coach and legend tom Hirtz has said that a good pull should tear up your underwear and rip up your shirt. Now, I am flat-out bewildered as to how men can pull this off, because their junk is in the way (read: junk interference). I could word that more P.C., but let's be frank. There is a bump in the road! Females have a smoother plane until the chest (read: girls interference).

We've all heard that females are generally built for greater lower body strength development than upper body, an inversely proportionate relationship to males. (Now I'm reporting what I believe to be scientifically accurate there, but since this has never applied to me, I can't say I buy this in my heart.) That suits the lifts.

I am interested in Nick's point that females tend to be more psychologically suited for longterm commitment to learning the minutia of proper lift execution. That's a new idea to me.

Boxing

I ran across the boxing piece in Mischa Merz's enlightening and enjoyable book The Sweetest Thing: A Boxer's Memoir. The entire passage is on pages 11 - 12. Excerpt is coming, check back if you're interested...

I promised me

2011-05-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

I've endured some extreme frustration in training lately, and I'm just starting to see the light again. I am marking this relevant moment from the Muppet Movie. . . I'm not going into it here, but suffice it to say there's a shirt on the Onion.com that says "I appreciate the Muppets on a much deeper level than you."

Start at 6:55

OHS

2011-05-21T07:34:00.001-07:00

...at Bodytribe

Get your mind right

2011-05-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Snatch work at Bodytribe

2011-05-02T20:32:00.001-07:00

Snatch work with Chip Conrad at Bodytribe in Sacramento, early morning before spring Strength Camp 2011 resumes

The fabulous crew of us at Strength Camp. You should go next time. Held twice a year. Worth the trip.

High living

2011-04-28T08:39:00.001-07:00

Thank heavens I didn't have to be without T.V. when I took to the hills.

April Gym Pics

2011-04-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

Karyn Marshall – The USA’s First Overall Women’s World Champion

2011-04-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a welcome profile on Karyn Marshall, the USA’s First Overall Women’s World Champion, from USA Weightlifting.

Here is an excerpt, describing how she sealed her pioneering induction into the USAW Hall of Fame, 2010. Read the rest here.

She made all three C&J’s, not only winning her bodyweight category by 12.5 kg, but she out lifted the athletes in the unlimited bodyweight (over 82.5 kg. at the time) category, including the Chinese athlete who won that category. In short, Marshall made the highest total in the competition, and richly earned the title of World’s Strongest Woman. It was a glorious moment for her, and for US Weightlifting. To host a historic competition and have a US athlete lift the heaviest weights in a bodyweight category under the unlimited one, was a real thrill for the American audience. And they showed their glee with a thunderous ovation as Karyn triumphantly held her last C&J (the last lift of the entire competition) above her head, with a big smile on her face. It was a magical moment to say the least!

Photos from USA Weightlifting

Keeping the sweet science alive

2011-04-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

The neighbor boys got gloves. I just had to step up. This is Jason & Alex learning da skillz in the Mighty Kat Powerhouse Gym. It's so dang cute, I just had to post!

boyz & grrls

2011-04-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

In the past week, I've read that weightlifting is better suited to women than men, and that boxing is better suited to women than men. No matter to me either way, but I'm enjoying the time I live in to witness this discussion.

Now, how about bullriding?

Legend in our time, Sarah Bertram

bad night at the gym

2011-04-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Cold Marriage

On these platforms,
we come together
to battle ourselves,
united in solitary pursuit of a common vision.
A nod, a look, a short word
is all it takes
to gauge just where the man beside you is on the battlefield.

We can understand each other,
We can see what it is,
but no one can lift the bar for another.
Each man must fight alone.

Today I lost the battle.
Alone at night I brew tea
and stew in the depths of doubt
and frustration.
My legs
move stiffly,
knees seizing with each step.
Blood red pool aches across my thigh.

Casualties, not honor.
The marks of the body
testifying to me that
I am not fighting well.
Today I lost ground.

And I harbor blame
on this body
which did not obey
which did not listen
which failed me today.

Tomorrow we will work
on finding each other again,
my body and mind.

But tonight we are sullen
in a cold marriage,
trapped together another night
in a bed that’s too small.

Knee pain and squat boosting moves from Diesel

2011-04-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

The guys at Diesel Crew have some exercises designed to prevent knee pain and improve squats. Looking forward to trying these, especially this one:

AB(Duction) Band Squats

Benefits -
No More Knee Pain
Hit Your Squat Depth
Improve Hip Mobility
Activates Glutes
Activates / Strengthens Hip Abductors
Improves Patella Tracking

Reflecting on mortality

2011-04-12T08:45:00.001-07:00

It's not because I just turned a year older, but age and mortality in the face of pushing the physical life keeps coming up lately. I was just talking with a co-worker about our boss, who's over 60, who needs to exercise. My co-worker, more than 10 years my senior, said to me, "You and I just do it, cuz we're stupid."

I've been pushing it hard lately in the gym, and I messed up my knees. Last night I went home for the second night in a week and went straight to the tub to soak my knees in an Epsom salt bath. I took fish oil and glucosamine by the handful; reluctantly popped a few more ibuprophen, and iced my knees in front of Curb Your Enthusiasm. By bedtime, like any thinking American resembling my demographic, I had Googled enough about knee pain to scare myself silly, and went to bed trying to remain calm and assure myself that my knees will recover in a few days. When I told my coach about my knee pain last week, he said, "You know what that means. Old ass beyoch." I said I don't think that's what it means. (I'm pretty sure it is from pulling off the blocks and dropping it hard on my thighs. That's what the bruises indicate. I will be more careful.)

My father is about to turn 75. I asked him, in his sagacity, what his advice is for the rest of us. He said, "Don't get sick."

An article about a 90-year-old bodybuilder went around recently. He took it up in his 80s. His attitude is, it's not about chasing youth; it's about health.

I don't have any big moral or bottomline to this spiel at the moment. I know it can only be to keep pushing, be smart about it, make adjustments; your health is all you've really got, and everything depends on it. Being fit beats the alternative. I don't feel like making a big production about that message, as it's already been before - over and over - probably since the dawn of man.

People use their age as an excuse to be lazy far too often. It's not that I deny I'm aging, I just don't see it causing problems yet. There are too many inspirational examples for me not to be confident and inspired, and I plan on becoming one of them. Hell, I got carded on the plane while buying booze on a flight back home for my 40th birthday, and the woman was dead serious about it. How many people can say that? I'm aware of biological processes and mortality, but I see no need to dwell on it. That kind of thinking can only slow you down. I enjoy being mature; it has a lot of advantages. I'm still a bad ass.

But the idea of injury scares me. A lot. I am only recently feeling fully recovered after being hit by a truck over a year ago. I am hyper aware that the awesome feeling of being strong me is only one incident away from being gone. I am so aware of how wrong things could go at any moment that I think I could excel in selling insurance or a becoming agoraphobic. There's not much to do about it, because it's true. I don't think there's a big moral to be had on this one, even if I were in the mind to soapbox. Just be careful and try not to let it overshadow living life.

So, cheers everyone, you're a little older today than you have been your entire life. You could become injured or sick or be taken out of the picture altogether at any moment. I hope you'll join me and "be here now," take advantage of everything you have going for you in this moment, and keep moving, keep pushing. Don't listen to anyone who tries to hold you back. This is your shot.

Old age is no place for sissies.
- Bette Davis

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
- Samuel Ullman

Jerk Session

2011-04-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

I love jerks, so for my birthday, I did nothing but jerks and fought to go heavier than e'er before. Gonna be a big year.

12 great things about being an amateur athlete

2011-04-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Photo of Chip Conrad by Allyson Goble

12. It's only as expensive as you want it to be. We all whine about the price of everything from dues to shoes, but come on - you find the money for it because you prioritize it. If you didn't have control over this, you'd be out of the sport or out on the street in order to do it.

11. You do not have to worry about political and economic sanctions preventing you from advancing your sporting career. There will always be a local meet somewhere, even if you have to drive a few hours. And there will probably be pretty decent parking.

10. You set the schedule. Sure, it's not ideal. I know that, because no one in this world will tell you they have the ideal schedule for their training. Want to appreciate how much control you do have over it? Compare it to the control you have over your work schedule.

9. The training options available to you are almost limitless. You're at a smorgasbord with a platter in your hands. You can dabble in other sports besides your dedicated sport. You can pick and choose whatever you like - the deadlift from powerlifting, the neckroll from MMA, heavybag drills from boxing, sprints from track, bouldering from rock climbing, snatches from weightlifting, bicep curls from bodybuilding - you name it, you have the option. Pros do not have this luxury. They can't afford it. It detracts from their goal and exposes them to injury.

8. You need not live with the fear of the wrath of the masses. Sure, competing at the amateur level can be as nerve-wracking as your personality wants to make it, but that is a completely different beast from the knowledge that if your performance is off, a stadium or coliseum of crazed fans may boo, jeer, curse, throw things at you, and you may actually be in danger. You are not in a position to disgrace your countrymen on an off day.

7. When you are injured, you can take as long as you need to recover. Nothing obligates you to go make it worse by training or competing again before your body is ready. When you do resume training, you can go as gingerly as you like and change anything you need to in order to maintain your health.

6. You probably will not have to face the dilemmas of corruption which permeate professional sports. Bribes, fixes, harassment and worse - just count your blessings. Your biggest complaint in amateur competing is likely to be that a judge got it wrong - and that's just life.

5. Your development is not on a timetable. If it takes you months or even years to get good, if you spend your lifetime perfecting your technique, that's okay. There's no rush. Any deadlines are arbitrary. Try to remember that when you're in a funk about your progress.

4. The whole world is not going to see you fail. Sure, not making your numbers in a meet may seem like the biggest devastation you've had since your last cat died, but most people in your life will not know about it, not care and not begin to understand. If you compete, that in itself is usually enough to impress the folks you'll meet in your daily life, anyway.

3. You will never be too old for this. Take it up at 30, 40, or 50 years old - live and train right - and you can look forward to enjoying your sport at age 80, 90, as long as you can manage. There is no retirement at age 24 and floundering to make a living after. You are cleverly living a lifestyle that will support your amateur sport life all the way.

2. You do not have to be the best. You may choose to focus on becoming the best you can be at your chosen sport, or you may choose to be just okay enough to play on the weekends, or even be at peace with being pretty bad. Being the best in the county, state, country and world are not the goals that must make or break your career, your livelihood, your experience in the sport, or even your sanity. Even if you're not great at it, you are still allowed to do it if you want to.

And the #1 great thing about being an amateur athlete -

1. You can enjoy it. This sport can and should be a source of joy to you. This is not always the case with pros. When you are a pro, it is your job, and even on your best day, how much do you enjoy your job? This is what you do on your own time. You do this because you love it and you get a lot of benefits out of it. It makes your life better. And that's really the bottom line, isn't it?

random spring images

2011-04-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

Little Darling, it's been a long, cold lonely winter... (add WET dat)

my statement

2011-03-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

If I get hit by a truck tomorrow and die, this is who I am... I am The Mighty Kat. I choose the weightroom for my fight. I pursue the personal glory of strength, and steel my spirit out of the intensity I can only reach by defying gravity with weight. And if I am not the best, I am legitimate, and I cannot stop pushing hard for more.

I do not do this because I am paid to do it.
I work in order to support it.

I do not do this because others before me in my family have done it.
I am the first.

I do not do this because someone said I should try it.
I sought it out.

I do not do this because I happened onto the resources.
I built my gym from nothing.

I do not do this because it is my natural talent.
I possess many different talents.

I do not do this because it is popular.
Most people are not aware of it.

I do not do this because I think I will turn pro.
That would never have been an option for me.

I do not do this because I am told to do it.
I direct myself.

I do not do this to impress others.
This is my private life.

So why then? The truth is, I do not know exactly why I do it, but I do know it is who I am. This is what I do. This is me in my most natural state.

And the world is a better place because of it.

(Jordan, I got my mind right.)

University trains musicians with boxing

2011-03-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

And now for the coolest story you've heard all day... if not longer. This just goes to show working the body and the mind is just that. BOO to the artists vs. athletes mindset. We are whole, complex organisms. Boxing crosstraining with bass playing? This is a beautiful marriage.

Eastman School double bass professor

proves to students that

pugilism boosts performance

Excerpted from March 30, 2011 University of Rochester News Release

When internationally renowned double bass soloist and Eastman School of Music Professor James VanDemark took up boxing two years ago, he saw immediate crossover benefits to his playing. VanDemark, a "lightweight" at only 5'6" and 138 pounds, immediately thought of the impact boxing could have on his students, so he sent some of his women students for a conditioning and strength-building session. They, too, came back with greater bow control, more confidence and stamina, and more energy, producing an even bigger and more focused sound from their big instrument.

This Saturday, April 2, Van Demark is sending 18 more of his double bass students, male and female, to Rochester gym ROC Boxing & Fitness for an introductory regime of boxing basics, exercises, and strength training. According to VanDemark, it's a unique sports-and-music crossover, the first collaboration of its kind between a world-renowned music school and a boxing gym.

"Boxing is the most rhythmic of sports, and many of the basic gestures of boxing have an immediate relationship to string playing," said VanDemark. "Learning how to punch involves very rhythmic use of the hands and arms. The speed bag necessitates an internal rhythm and excellent eye-hand coordination. Boxing also offers complete conditioning, building upper body and leg strength and giving a huge cardiovascular workout, all of which have a really immediate application to playing a large upright bass.”

Chrysler Eminem Super Bowl Commercial - Imported From Detroit

2011-03-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of this campaign.

this inner life

2011-03-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

All day long I am training.

In my head, I am squeezing the bar, feeling

the good drag across the thighs

the sock-it-to-me dig into the ribcage

and then the explosion

nipped quick, ass to grass.

The push.

I lean back and shrug

in my office chair

while we’re talking,

so slight you cannot see,

but it’s the movement

the pattern

the neurokinetic pathways

I’m paving as we speak.

I am thinking of how the bar feels

in my hands.

I am hearing the swell of music

from my speakers

when I drive under the bar.

A chunk of day down.

I’m making the money

that will pay my coach

and pay for the airline ticket

to the big meet

and buy more chalk.

Keyboard clicking,

inbox filling,

to-do list with bullet points.

I glance at my palm and it centers me.

It’s my hands that bear witness to my inner life,

the calluses and torn blisters,

the strange brown marks set in over time.

Steal a moment on the computer

to watch lifters like me

bend under the bar,

throw up the weight

tumble or triumph

and teach.

A chunk of day down.

I am eating to make sure

I will have energy at 5:30.

I am drinking water

So my body will be ready.

As I straighten my collar in the mirror,

I plan what will happen tonight

in the gym,

rehearse the movement I need to learn

replay the words

I need to hear

from fellow lifters

from my coach.

Replay the emotion

I let him see,

that somehow he understood.

Know I scraped the ground

and he helped me back up.

This struggle

this inner life,

it is comfortable alone

it is vulnerable revealed

and from this, growth can come.

This inner life

intensely private,

intensely shared,

intensity breeding intensity

Drives me.

Drives lifters like me.

There is lifting,

there is thinking about lifting,

and there is interruption in-between.

Weight over my head

This is life. This is real life.

One-hundred pounds

is always one-hundred pounds.

When the house is quiet

I like to turn off the TV

and go to bed early

to be in the dark,

lost in the lifting,

the gym,

the lifting talk

from the day

from last week

from what is to come

and what is to be.

Spring begins

2011-03-11T12:28:00.001-08:00

Rare snowday

2011-02-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hoover Park and Dog Park

the logic of paying dues

2011-02-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

Paid a visit to Aces MMA Gym in Beaverton. Talk about maximizing space - They've really made use of every square inch, packing in machines, a variety of hanging bags, a mat area and an actual octagon. Friendly host (Brian?) chatted with me a while. I liked this sign.

Stopped

2011 IWF Grand Prix--Women--Clean and Jerk

2011-02-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

333.3kg tandem clean & jerk

2011-02-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

at Ironworks Championship

2011-02-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

January bottles

2011-02-02T11:45:00.001-08:00

Interview with Chip Conrad, Part I

2011-01-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Chip Conrad: owner & operator of Bodytribe Fitness in Sacramento

Chip Conrad has done more than create an exercise system, build a business or attract a group of followers. He has forged a discipline of strength and mobility training with a solid and unique philosophical base, drawing worldwide from established basic training techniques and incorporating their time-honored tools, and infusing the discoveries that his intuition, experience, experimentation and dogged research have earned him.

Conrad shares his approach generously and with panache through his gym, traveling workshops, his blog, a book, videos, a growing body of DVDs and conversation anytime, anyplace. So information about his discipline is accessible. What I want to explore in this interview is the man himself. He is the embodiment of his own creation, the creation of his discipline, philosophy and lifestyle; and that is so large and bright that the man himself can vanish in its light. I want to learn about the parts that built the sum, because by understanding the history of the messenger, we are freer to examine the message.

And so we begin.

I. Personal Evolution

What did you want to be when you grew up? Talk about the significant changes to your first vision of your adult future.

Not sure if growing up was something I’d ever fully wanted to do. Once I started playing music when I was 8-ish, and that was a career path of choice for a while. Not one to embrace a standard idea of responsibility (fancy, blame-dodging speak for ‘lazy’), I wanted to rock.

What brought you to exercise? Were you involved in sports, movement or athletics growing up?

I played a season of little league and half a season of soccer, which I quit for choir, which I quit for something I can’t even remember. I wasn’t hopelessly bad at anything, more like radically mediocre… the middle kid to get picked to play. I’d rather thrash around on my BMX, climb trees, hike or simply explore; stuff that didn’t have to always have a winner and loser.

What was your introduction to physical training?

I needed a job and started working at a cross country ski resort when I was 21. I believe my eyes had never set on a pair of cross country skis up until then, but within days I was hooked. I remember my first trip out thinking myself naturally gifted because I covered an entire kilometer. Then I found a map of the resort and realized that there were over 300K worth of trails, and the average skier went out for 10-30k in one session. Oh.

But this new hankerin’ to get better at something, something physical and downright exhausting, was an exciting new trek, and I started embracing the concept of training to increase ability. Guess I haven’t stopped since.

Describe your evolution in training. What did you try, what did you like and develop, what were dead ends for you?

When I first strapped those skinny planks on my feet, I weighed about 127 pounds. Training for xcountry skiing gave my muscles something to do and they responded with a pound or two of extra weight, thanks in part to my voracious eating habits.

A few folks introduced me to a weightroom, and the introduction was so pleasant that within two years I was working in a gym. Oh, the iron bug struck big, but like most folks, my education at that time was limited to the world of bodybuilding magazines and driven more by vanity than anything else. Why should I be 130 pounds when I could be 230 pounds and look like a monster. Chicks dug that sort of thing, right?

Here’s a quick, rather personal insight:

My sexual activity stayed about the same no matter what I weighed. Muscles never got me laid as much as personality (which, thankfully, I can pretend to have when needed).

I never hit 230, by the way. Can’t possibly see how I could, even if I were putting needles in my tush. But it started mattering less and less and my motivation shifted to being able to DO, rather than just look like I could do.

What or who influenced your evolution in movement and training? Who or what has significantly inspired you and driven your thought?

Well a big chunk of my paradigm shift was simply grokking the lessons I had from the folks. Moms and Dads do have a bit of influence, and I think the lessons and support my parents gave this sort of average kid with a lot of imagination seemed to alter my thinking about training when I started asking myself why I was doing what I was doing.

The answer? I hadn’t a clue. Big muscles had no real purpose, despite my dreams of a bolstered self esteem through being bigger. Truth was I wanted to have a purpose behind my training, and that’s when I decided to start figuring our what strength really meant.

You buck the conventional, commercially-driven fitness mentality that is pervasive today. Where you ever involved in it? Did you ever buy into it? Did you cleave away from it, and if so, what was the story?

I was fitness director of a corporate gym for almost a decade. There is no better lesson in how much crap goes on behind the curtain of the fitness industrial industry then having a position of pseudo importance in said industry. There is no actual “fitness” in the fitness industry, and as I was going through a redecorating of the inside of my head to make a more comfortable pad for my spirit, the vacuum of passion and value in the corporate fitness world made it a very inhospitable place.

Do you have formal education in exercise, certifications, did you ever hold related jobs?

I’ve had over a dozen certifications (probably close to 15) and I worked not only for a corporate gym as their ‘fitness director,’ but also for a certifying body, giving the 2-day workshops that allowed people to call themselves ‘certified trainers.’ All of it crap, by the way.

I decided at some point to seek out the people doing the best work and learn directly from them. This eventually led me to the doorstep (literally) of Dr. Mel Siff, considered by many to be the leading brain in exercise physiology and biomechanics at the time.

The physical culture is still a place where we can find mentors and sit at their feet to let their sagacity trickle down to us. It is a tribal-style initiate-teacher scenario that is too rare in our modern scholastic hierarchy. I worked with a few folks like this and learned more than any college would even come close to offering. In fact I have yet to meet anyone fresh out of school (no matter how big the degree) who actually knows how to train anyone.

Are any of your family members deliberately physical? How has your family reacted to your path?

The parents were a bit surprised, mostly because I never stuck with anything for any length of time. 16 years with this particular passion (including my books and DVDs) seems to have finally convinced them I might be into something this time. Also I have the dreaded role of making people feel guilty just through my career. Who the hell wants to eat with a trainer?

How have your life goals changed since you decided to open Bodytribe?

Ya can’t change something you don’t really have, and up until I started developing the Bodytribe concept, I was a bit aimless. It takes the defining of a passion to completely own it, to become complete with it, and when I finally gave words to what I was feeling about all this movement and strength stuff, paths unfurled in front of me.

What is your vision for your empire now? Is your gym the top priority? How do you prioritize your gym with your related endeavors – writing, producing DVDs, the documentary you are filming now?

The TRIBE is the priority… the extended family of folks who grok what I do and what Bodytribe means. So much of my mission seems to be simply showing better alternatives to what is currently offered. From the fitness industrial complex tothe modern physical culture movement, folks limit themselves WAY to quickly. The first thing to be abandoned as adults who are engaged in movement again in their lives is creativity. Instead we trust our time, ducats and self-respect to modern day gurus called trainers, living free thought and our concept of frolic at home.

Something deep in our souls is vehemently screaming towards the surface of consciousness that we need movement… intense, glorious movement, sine qua non! But somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we identify movement and strength with work, not the kind of work that puts food on the table and a big screen on our walls, but the uncomfortable kind that reeks of obligation and pain. That screaming from our souls is so muffled, we feel it more than we hear it, and only in brief moments of introspection. We know it is important, but we don’t get that it is US, not something beyond us.

So when we finally make the decision as adults to once again embark on a movement quest, our immediate, media-basted lexicon isn’t full of words like ‘passion’ or ‘fun’ when thinking about fitness. In fact we want to think as little as possible, so we simply hand ourselves over the an industry that seems shiny and exciting but is actually incredibly droll, sort of icky, and in many cases, nothing short of creepy. Folks who have very little knowledge about the history or passion of fitness are the educators your average gym member has to rely on to create change in their lives. That seems like an empty quest.

And this is seeping into the groovy little Narnia I call the Physical SubCulture. With CrossFits opening like Starbucks and anyone with a laptop offering up their words of wisdom through forums, blogs and websites, there are a growing number of folks who started off a decent path, but decided to teach before they even began to learn. I like the enthusiasm, but shut up and listen for a while. Learn your history. Go sit at the feet of the masters and ASK SOME FUCKING QUESTIONS! And, for the love of all things heavy, get under a damn bar and do some things with it for a big chunk of your life before you feel it your duty to put your word (or, in most of these cases, someone else’s word) out as gospel.

In other words, there is now a frightening vacuum of creativity in the modern physical culture movement as there is in the corporate gym world. Hyperbole seems alive and well in both camps, whether it’s a million member gym chain, or a lump of metal on the ground called a kettlebell or an eating program fit for a caveman, the sheep are flocking around and the brains are being left at home.

And we’re taking it all too seriously. That’s the ultimate mistake.

Competition photos of Chip taken by Allyson Goble at Tommy Kono Open V 2010

Entrenamiento : Ruth Hossein

2011-01-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

One of my all-time favorite weightifting idol/videos for inspirational strength, grace, confidence, energy and exemplary technique. Plus, a kickin' song.

First work out of 2011

2011-01-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

Snatch work out and quick gym tour

First sunset of 2011

2011-01-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Also my first go with this HD Flip Video camera. Pretty nice so far.

Dear Warm-up: a letter for the New Year

2010-12-30T05:36:00.000-08:00

Dear Warm-up,

You've been quietly watching me do my own thing, and the time has come for me to say some things to you, some things I should've said long ago.

I should be spending more time with you. I take you for granted, overlook you when you should be the first place I turn. I get this crazy idea that I don't have time for you or don't really need you, and - this is the hardest part for me say - I sometimes am embarrassed by you. You're simple, you're easy, you're not glamorous and you don't stand out; I guess I want to get past you so quickly that I brush you aside when I need you the most.

You're always there for me. I don't always show it, but I do appreciate you. What I need to do is make a little time, relax, let go.

I know I can only go onto bigger things through you. I know that I'm better with you than without you, and I'm going to work on more "us" time in the new year.

What I'm saying is, you make me who I want to be, and I'm finally ready to admit I need you. You make me a better person, and I resolve to treat you with the respect you deserve.

Photo by Allyson Goble

Oh Taunnenbaum

2010-12-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

Bottles 2

2010-12-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

A new series has begun.

Welcome Jerk Blocks!

2010-12-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

My gym is now complete. 2011 will be HUGE.

Wheatie loves the new kitty furniture. This is him claiming the bottom of a jerk block only moments after its arrival.

trestle

2010-12-05T12:43:00.001-08:00

Idaho

2010-12-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Headshop in Sacramento

2010-12-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

Using Chain in the Gym

2010-11-30T04:58:00.000-08:00

Two great gift ideas

2010-11-29T08:02:00.000-08:00

Admirable video from Clitheroe Crossfit

2010-11-29T06:27:00.000-08:00

I love this unique treatment of showing what we do and the gym we do it in...Timelapse video taken over the course of three days for Clitheroe Crossfit, edited beautifully.

Origins of Weightlifting

2010-11-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

Hurray! Bodytribe owner Chip Conrad has released this excellent video on the Origins of Weightlifting via YouTube. This is his second installment in of his History of Fitness Series.

"We explore the roots of the sport of weightlifting, which is the most popular modern version of the age old battle of strength between man/woman and gravity."

...and yours truly makes an appearance.

Thanksgiving Virtual Meet

2010-11-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

Make Thanksgiving weekend extra special - do a virtual weightlifting meet! Registration is open

Snatch training session

2010-11-18T05:55:00.000-08:00