featuring a double curved shape, these cast weight plates measure 11.25” in length and 9.25” in width, making them compatible with the 5.11 TacTec Plate Carrier, Condor Sentry Plate Carrier, and other similar weight vests on the market. Sold by the pair, they are available in 5.75, 8.75 and 13.75 lbs. The reason for weights is that when they are added to a standard 2.5 lbs vest, the three plate size pairs create total weights of 14 LBS, 20 LBS, and 30 LBS, respectively.
The Star Wars license can be found all over the place, from the expected – toys, games, clothing, collectables, to the weird – instruments, cookbooks, and even a sick bag. This line of fitness equipment from Onnit edges more towards the weird side, not so much because it’s fitness equipment with Star Wars licensing, but because it consists of items including a Death Star slam ball and a Boba Fett kettlebell. After all, there’s no better way to get in shape than cleaning a galactic bounty hunter’s head, or doing yoga on Han Solo’s carbonited body.
The CamelBak Hydration Calculator is an interactive application on the CamelBak website that determines how much water you might require during an activity. By inputting your weight, age, gender, color of urine, how much you sweat, outside weather and temperature, along with your chosen activity, time, and intensity, the calculator will give you a rough measurement on how much water you should consume per hour. It’s not the most in-depth calculator, but for a complementary tool it’s pretty good.
The sequel to Nathaniel Morrison’s ‘Combat Conditioning’ is now available. Building upon the foundations of the first ‘Combat Conditioning’, Volume 2 further details methods to obtain peak fitness and nutrition, including: strength training loads, in-depth exercise descriptions, optimal eating, supplements, and much, much more. Additionally, included with the price of the e-book is access to worksheets, videos, and the Combat Conditioning membership site.
Onnit’s limited edition run of zombie themed kettle bells come individually in .5, 1, 1.5, and 2 pood sizes or as a complete set. They’re cast from chip-resistant iron, feature enlarged handles for enhanced grip strength, and are perfectly balanced. As previously stated, supplies are limited, and when they’re gone, they’re gone.
Combat Conditioning, Nathaniel Morrison’s latest fitness training e-book has just been released. Combining the secret of the Spartan’s success with Soviet sport science, Combat Conditioning offers a truly universal training program that works you hard, but is surprisingly simple, and offers amazing results. If you’re looking to improve physical performance and health, boost testosterone, and have your vitality and well being skyrocket, then Combat Conditioning is a program to look into.
Go Ape Treetop Adventure Courses are a chain of treetop obstacle courses where you’re secured to lines using a harness and pulley system, with a zip line at the end of every course. Running through the entire thing generally takes between 2-3 hours and there are splits in many of the courses with different obstacles for different skill levels. There’s also a junior course for the little guys. I went to the Freedom Park location in Williamsburg on Saturday and had a great time with the family. Plus, Go Ape contributes a portion of their proceeds and stewardship services to the parks they’re located in.
Weeks one and two of my internship with Morrison Industries focused almost exclusively on introduction and preparation, most importantly undoing years of bad posture and technique. After an initial mobility assessment, this was accomplished through morning sessions of joint mobility drills, stretching, and squats, coupled with long walks or trips to the gym. Proper technique for exercises including deadlift, one and two-handed kettlebell swing, overhead press, Turkish getup, and different squat patterns and techniques were introduced. Additionally, I had some chiropractic and soft tissue work done, which helped to straighten my posture and improve my overall movement.
Other notable skills, techniques, or information I learned include proper breathing techniques, lateral, forward, and backward rolling, using foam rollers, physical culture history, Flowfit and sitting in seiza. I, of course, am still improving upon much of this, while still being introduced to further knowledge.
Last Thursday, I braved two plane rides, a 3-and-a-half-hour layover in Atlanta, and two time zone changes to intern with Nathaniel Morrison of Morrison Industries, LTD for the next few months. The past few days has served as a sort of introduction/area familiarization along with some initial number crunching and testing to determine exactly where I am physically in addition to my medical history, dietary concerns, etc. The highlight of those days was definitely the trip up to Pike’s Peak. I got some great photos. I also suffered a bit of hypoxia on the summit, which was easily cured with some carbs and a steady decrease in elevation. In any event, the real training starts today, so expect a full report next Monday, along with more photos.
For those not in the know, Ironskull Fitness is a company that sells custom skull-inspired kettlebells, 100% made in the USA. Their latest addition to their product line is the 62 lb Skullbell. Unlike the other kettlebells available from Ironskull, the Skullbell is completely modeled after an actual human skull, giving it an irregular shape which makes it more appropriate for 2-handed swings than for cleans and snatches. The Skullbell also features a “Gunshot entry wound on front and exit wound on the back with handle exploding through skull”, a nice little design addition if I do say so myself.
Kettlebells are arguably one of the most simple-and-effective exercise tools avaiable today. The foundation of working with kettlebells, the kettlebell swing, is a great exercise that builds lower body and core strength while improving cardiovascular fitness. Just remember to use proper form when doing this exercise, since it’s not uncommon to see even workout veterans doing their swings wrong.
Deadlifts are one of the most important weight training exercises for overall muscular development. A deadlift, properly done, will work the lower torso, lower back, quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles, and forearms. As with all exercises, proper form is extremely important, especially in regards to the lifter’s spine. Failing to maintain a neutral spine can result in serious back injury. When it comes to a proper grip, overhand and alternating are suggested, with the later generally used in lifting greater weight. As expected, this is a common lift in CrossFit, and has easily become one of my favorites.
No, you’re not expected to jump that high when you first start.
Box Jumps are an excellent plyometric exercise that works heavily on the lower body. Because of the explosive power and muscle contraction requred from that part of the body you’ll build strength fairly quickly and see an increase in jumping ability i.e. height.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit my vertical isn’t great. I can’t use the standard boxes that are set up at the facility I use, even if its only by an inch or two. Instead, I stack a few weights up until they reach a slightly lower height and I’ve been working from there. That’s one of the best things about Box Jumps, though. They require no specialized equipment and can be done almost anywhere, at massive benefit.
Steps are as follows:
-Set up a box. If you don’t have a box handy, stack up a few weights, aerobics steps, or use a sturdy chair/bench. Work within your means and abilities.
-Stand in front of the box, feet shoulder-width apart.
-Jump on top of the box, planting both feet firmly on the surface.
-Hold for roughly a second, then jump down, bending your knees as you land.
-Repeat explosive movement as necessary.
If you’re finding your jumps too easy, don’t forget you can add more height, carry weights while you jump, and/or try other variants, like Box Jump Burpees, for a more gainful and intense exercise. I highly recommend trying Box Jumps out if you haven’t already.
Having recently started CrossFit, I can safely say I’m getting a good workout every session. To celebrate this, each week I’d like to introduce one of the various exercises we… endure. And where better to start than the classic burpee?
Origins according to Wikipedia: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the exercise was named in the 1930s for American psychologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed the Burpee test. Consisting of a series of the exercises performed in rapid succession, the test was meant to measure agility and coordination. It is not clear whether the exercise itself was invented by Burpee, or if his test merely popularized it.
I can’t personally confirm the statement above (it is Wikipedia, the encyclopedia anyone can edit after all), but I think it goes without saying that whoever developed the burpee was obviously more machine than man. For those not in the know: you start in a squat position, hands on the floor in front of you. Next, you kick your feet back to a pushup position, then immediately return to the squat position. From there, you leap into the air, as high as you can. Repeat as necessary.
Basically, done right burpees are one of the best, most exhausting exercises anyone can do. Plus, with all the variations available, such as one-handed burpees and pull-up burpees, there’s potentially no part of your body burpees can’t work out. Give them a shot if you haven’t already. The results may surprise you.
I wouldn’t normally pick up a Reader’s Digest, but after seeing the cover story for February’s issue, I just had to. It’s about low-carb dieting, something I am very much in favor of, and it’s a very good read. Maybe this is the first step in seeing Paleolithic dieting go mainstream.
But how is this achievable? Mostly through the driving principle behind the book: the MED, or Minimum Effective Dose. A simple practice that values doing only what is absolutely necessary to achieve your goals, whether that be losing fat rapidly or quickly gaining muscle. For example, the Slow-Carb Diet described in the book promises to cause you to lose 20 pounds of weight in about 30 days without any exercise. Other techniques further assist with whatever cause you are currently pursuing.
Of course I mentioned the sometimes lack of practicality of this book. Mostly, it would really benefit from a companion publication. A “4-Hour Body Manual” or something similar, which would better define and simplify the information contained within. I say this because it’s a common occurrence to have to read through the author’s personal take on everything before you finally learn what you were looking for. Also, the author went through a wide volume of testing and describes some procedures that aren’t necessarily available or affordable to every reader.
Despite this, it’s a very good buy. It provides some very valuable information and the stories are generally entertaining. Also, the original title of the book was to be some variation of the term “Body Hacking”, so you know you’re in for a treat.
“The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet” by Robb Wolf describes a method called Paleolithic dieting, which involves eating foods that closely mimic what our hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed. In layman’s terms, this means no grains, dairy, or legumes of any kind but rather eating seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seafoods, and land animals, preferably organic and grass fed. Unlike many books on dieting, the technique is easily accessible and includes well-researched information on the benefits of paleo dieting, testimonials, a simple to follow 30 day meal and exercise plan, and even a bit of humor spread throughout.
I bring this to your attention because of the not so recent news about military personnel struggling with their weight and turning to methods such as liposuction and crash dieting to achieve their goals. I’m not claiming this as a definitive method for weight loss and long-term health, but like anything else it’s worth a shot. So pick up the book and follow it’s contents for a while. You might end up liking paleo dieting, or at least the results it brings.
