Just last night my friend, Jedd Johnson from the Diesel Crew, told me he’s having a sale on his Card Tearing ebook.
Let me tell you, if you ever have thought about learning this feat of strength, this is your roadmap. There are so many effective techniques and methods in this book its crazy.
It’s normally $29.97 but through the rest of this week it’s $10 off for its birthday celebration.
He’s even coming with a number of bonuses including the teleseminar I just did with him and Bud Jeffries. (Great, informative call by the way.)
You’ll even see my testimonial at the top on that page. Now, card tearing is certainly not for everyone. But if you’re one of those rare individuals that likes to destroy things with your bare hands, drop the 20 bucks and get this book.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Affiliate Disclaimer: Did you know it’s law now that you must proclaim any paid incentives or relationships in everything you do online? So the FTC doesn’t come and raid my house and lock my gym up as ‘evidence’ here’s all the legal writing. I was originally given the Card Tearing eBook, just like I‘ve given Jedd some of my products for reviewing purposes. But its good so I recommend it to others. (I have received products free in the past that I didn’t promote because they weren’t good or worth the money.) I will make a small commission if you decide to buy this product today which I may then spend on a burrito or filling up my tank of gas an eighth of the way full. Would I recommend this product if I wasn’t compensated? Absolutely! It’s the best thing available today on how to tear decks of cards in half with ease.
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength by on Mar 4th, 2010. Comment. 
I just moved into a new house. It’s great. Tons of room and space for everything.
This picture here is of my temporary gym…if you can call it that. Really its just all my weights and tools piled in a place that’s kind of out of the way.
My Temporary Gym
In order to get the setup I desire and to avoid the elements (I hear there’s suppose to be thunderstorms here tonight) I’ll have to do some construction.
There’s two points to this. The first is that in no way am I going to wait for that time to train. Even if I had no weights I could get the job done just using my own body. Even if I didn’t have a large gym or yard to train in. For a long time I trained in my bedroom in a few square feet of space. You can’t let any excuse get in your way.
But the second point is contrary to the first. My goal is to become one of the strongest people in the world. I’ve never stated that in exact terms here but if you’ve been following me for awhile you may have guessed as much.
In order for that goal to come true, I must train not only hard but effectively. To do the best job I need certain tools. For example to build incredible brute strength, I plan on adding heavy partials to my training. For that I need a power rack and am therefore getting one soon. I want the BEST setup I can possibly have. If a single tool or technique can help me reach my goals better or faster it would be stupid of me not to obtain it.
If you have a goal you need to do certain things in order to reach it.
Another goal of mine is to grow my business. So another thing my new house has is a dedicated room for my office. To use a colloquial term, by pimping out my office this will allow me to further increase my productivity and get more done. I’m talking about a second desk for more workspace, a second computer monitor for more digital workspace, and a huge whiteboard wall for mapping out projects.
Just like before, I certainly didn’t start this way. I started my websites with a small laptop (running out of my bedroom again) on a wireless connection “borrowed” from a neighbor.
You can’t let anything stand in your way. But once you get going you owe it to yourself to give yourself everything you want and desire in order to reach your goals.
Do you agree with me? What are your goals that you can rearrange your life for? Comment below.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. I’ll be doing my first workout in this new house in just a bit. I know it’ll be a good one.
Filed under Barbell Training, Bodyweight Exercise by on Mar 3rd, 2010. 11 Comments.
This weekend they held an RKC in nearby San Jose. While I was not an assistant this time, my friend and I decided to stop by just to say hello. Great to get to see and chat with guys like Pavel Tsatsouline, Dave Whitley and many others.
While I was there I decided to see how my training was going. As you may know one of my goals is to do the Beast Challenge which is to lift a 106 lb. kettlebell in a one arm press, pullup, and pistol. I hit the pistol for the first time the other week and I’m working towards the other two.
After focusing on the one arm press for a significant amount of time I decided to switch it up and focus on double presses. As this move is harder I had to drop down in weight regularly working with the 70 lbs bells. As I’ve only done two arm presses for a few weeks now I was curious if it was making my one arm press stronger.
Now I found out it was. I had access to a 44kg bell which I don’t have at home so I decided to attempt a press.
This video shows the second rep. After pressing it once each side I decided I should have got it on film. The second rep was not as nice as the first. While both had side action going on this one was a bit more.
Just one step closer on my path. Are you moving forward?
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Kettlebells, Videos by on Feb 25th, 2010. 2 Comments.
What time is it? Time to train!
We sent out a survey at www.Strongerman.com the other week and the results we’re quite interesting.
One of the most insightful questions was “What would you say is the biggest thing holding you back from getting as strong and enduring as you want?”
As this was an open ended question there were many responses but they could be broken down into a number of categories.
You know what the number one answer was? That over one forth of all people attributed to holding them back?
TIME
I must make a distinction. There is a difference between having enough time to get a decent workout in versus having enough time to do all the training you would want.
If you’re in the second group that’s good to be reaching for an ideal. Not everyone’s a professional athlete whose job it is to train. But I think most people fall more towards the first group.
Does it take time to train? Yes. Some people work a full-time job or even more than that. And then you have other responsibilities like family or friends. At that point working out can seem like something you just don’t have time for.
Here’s the thing. Workouts shouldn’t take long. I’m a big proponent of doing short workouts. I’ve done effective workouts shorter than 10 minutes. And if you don’t have ten minutes you need to take a good look at your schedule and find out where you can find that time.
Now not every workout is that short, but to be honest most of my workouts are under 30 or forty minutes. I haven’t done a workout longer than an hour in a long time. Not only are those marathon sessions unnecessary but they can be counter-productive.
As a concrete example, last week I did a kettlebell snatch test. The goal: in ten minutes to do as many snatches as possible. With a 32 kg bell this is an absolute brutal workout. I not only got 160 reps but I did it without setting the bell down (but with multiple hand switches) a new record for myself.
Ten minutes is tough. For beginners even with a lighter bell you won’t be able to last that long. Do eight minutes or even five. Since this is such an effective exercise working the entire body that’s all you need.
Now if you’re after certain goals you’ll have to play around with what you do and the timing in order to reach them. But it can be done.
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to train. That’s the worst excuse there is used by the lazy to mask their laziness. I can guarantee that you have the time somewhere
Stop making excuses and do it. If you train smart and effectively everyone has the time to train.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Kettlebells, Strength Training Ideas, Workouts by on Feb 18th, 2010. 3 Comments.
Hill sprints are always an excellent choice
There are many possible circuit training ideas. I’m going to list some just off the top of my head.
- Pick three exercises. Do each one for a minute before moving onto the next with no rest. Repeat this all for five rounds.
- Pick a strength exercises that you can only do for one to five reps. Have a conditioning move you can do a hundred reps in. Go back and forth between the strength exercise and conditioning exercise for a number of rounds. (This builds the ability to apply maximal strength while fatigued. Great for fighters.)
- Have 10-20 exercises of varying difficulties. Do as many reps of each before moving onto the next. Keep track of the reps for each exercise and your total time.
- Have an implement like a kettlebell on one end of a field. Do a set number of swings with it. Sprint to the other side of the field. Do a bodyweight exercise like pushups. Run back and repeat.
- Pick a number of exercises to work the whole body. Do a set followed by jumping rope for a minute. Go onto the next exercise then jump rope for a minute. Continue in this pattern stopping after you’ve done each exercise or just going once through them all.
There you have five potential workouts. With variations of each you could use these for the rest of your life.
Personally I like to mix it up with my circuits. Plan something then go after it. As long as you keep track of your workouts you can do something similar a month down the road and see how you’ve improved.
Alternatively, you can add a few reps or a bit of time to each exercise thus making each circuit harder. Do this on a regular basic and you have a formula for improvement.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. As for calve work as David mentioned about his Convict Conditioning Routine I haven’t directly worked my calves in even distant memory. Sprinting and/or jumping rope is all you need.
Filed under Bodyweight Exercise, Conditioning, Kettlebells, Workouts by on Feb 11th, 2010. Comment.
425 lbs. held in a wrestler's bridge
There are many ways you can strengthen the neck. Here are a few basic exercises you can do.
Bridging – To me this is the king of neck strengthening exercises. But it gives you much more than that. It build flexibility and works the spine as well as the whole body. In fact, I devoted an entire course to bridging exercises and many variations. Work into it slowly, but over time you’ll build a neck strong enough to scare people. (And I mean STRENGTH, not size.)
Shrugs – Shrugs of many variations (my favorite is the trapbar) primarily work the trapezius muscles. Being that this is right next to the neck and the muscles cross over this is a good neck exercise. Go heavy!
Neck Isometrics with Hands – You can work your neck quite well with just your hands. To the front, to the back and to the sides. Resist with your hand as you move your head back into place.
Plate lifting – I learned this one from Mike Bruce. Lay across a bench, placing a plate across your forehead (you may want to fold up a towel as a pad to make it comfortable), using your hands to keep it balanced, but drive with the power of your neck. You can do this from the rear and to the sides as well.
Harness lifting – If you have a head harness or lifting strap you can lift weight in a variety of ways.
That’s a number of neck strengthening exercises I’ve given you now let me tell you how I do it. While I gave you many exercises I mostly just do bridging variations. I’ve done a 10 minute wrestler’s bridge on a couple occasions. But that took too long plus it wasn’t as much resistance as I wanted so I started adding weight. My current best is the 425 lbs. pictured on this page.
I typically train my neck twice a week. I usually do a single set each of two different exercises. All my neck training in about 5 minutes a week.
Simple exercises = BIG results. This is a missing key to training almost everyone neglects. Don’t let that be you.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Barbell Training, Bodyweight Exercise, Strength Training Ideas by on Feb 10th, 2010. 3 Comments.
David asked a follow up question regarding his Convict Conditioning routine. “Two questions: I forgot to ask, how would you add grip, neck, & calf work in there too; and can you give a more in depth outline of circuit training – how you would plan it?”
In today’s post I’ll cover hand strength training. For grip work I would train the hands two or three times per week. You could probably even get away with one session a week and still make good gains. Pick one to three exercises each time and go after it. These are the main types of hand strength but these are the main ones. Depending on your goals you may need other exercises.
Wrist levering – This can include wrist rollers, sledgehammer leveraging, dumbbell wrist curls, etc. Even handstands are good.
Crushing grip – This is usually done with steel spring grippers but can be trained in other ways.
Working the pinch grip with a block weight
Pinch grip – Pinching plates is the easiest form, block weights are great too, and then you can do feats like card and phonebook tearing.
Support grip – This is any type of holding. Kettlebell swings certainly work this. Farmer’s walk is probably one of the best exercises.
And many exercises cross over in different area. Bending nails works the wrists and your crushing and support grip. Plate curls will work your wrists and pinch at the same time. If you’re short on time I’d advise doing exercises that give you more bang for your buck.
Also for better hand health you should look at doing exercises like finger extensions especially if you go heavy into working the grip.
You don’t need to do heavy volume. Just one to a few sets is all you really need for your hand strength training.
In the next couple posts I’ll cover neck training and circuit training.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Hand Strength by on Feb 9th, 2010. 1 Comment.
I received this question the other day after my post on Convict Conditioning, and since it was well thought out I’m going to give an in depth answer.
Hey Logan,
You obviously have far more experience than me and I don’t even compare to you in terms of strength/conditioning. You’ve done an awesome job from what I can see! I’d like your opinion, please I read Coach Wade’s “Convict Conditioning” and I want to do the “Big Six” moves!
Goals – strength in the “Big Six” and mutant conditioning.
Preference for the kettlebell swing.
‘Decent’ recovery abilities.
Equipment – barbell, dumbells, 35lbs & 70lbs kettlebells, & pullup bar.
Not much money.
I was planning on trying out the ‘Veterano’ routine with swings three times a week (light, medium, and heavy swing days). A concern–over training with back bridges and swings.
Do you think this a great way to reach my goals?
Is ‘Veterano’ not enough strength work?
Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you & God bless!
David
Considering your goals and equipment, I think what you have laid out is a good plan. If you want to get good at these moves you should do them. Adding in a conditioning component with the kettlebell swing makes it even better.
For those of you who don’t have the book yet the Veterano is a routine that consists of doing a few sets of one of the six exercises each day. In my opinion, since the volume is already kept minimal I believe this program would be better with more frequency.
These moves require a high degree of strength but also a high degree of skill. So practicing them more often should result in faster gains. One thing I learned from Pavel is that its better to do one set of an exercise everyday then six sets one day a week.
For this reason I would modify this routine to do two exercises each day instead of one. One arm pushups and bridges. Handstand pushups with hanging leg raises. And one leg squats with one arm pullups. This way you do each move twice a week instead of just once. Adjust the volume if you have to but I think this will give better results.
I wouldn’t worry about overtraining with the bridges and swings. If you’re knew to bridging or swinging just be sure to ease into it.
A light, medium and heavy swing days is a good way to approach it but I personally never liked light and medium days. When I train I want to go hard all the time. If it works for you do it but here is how I’d approach it.
While swings are one of my favorite exercises I caution you against relying on just one movement for your conditioning. When you do this you may become real efficient at that movement and your conditioning may not actually improve that much.
Its good to have a conditioning goal like a number of swings (see Bud Jeffries recent Kettlebell Swing article) to go after. But its good to have some variety too. Personally I would focus on swings one day a week and do some sort of circuit conditioning on another day. You can mix swings and snatches with other exercises like sprinting, burpees, jumping rope or many others. This’ll give you a different feel and end up being better for your endurance.
In fact this is what I am doing in my training right now except I’m focusing on kettlebell snatches instead of swings.
I hope that helps you out and if you have to ask any follow up questions. Be sure to let me know how you progress.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you want to check out Convict Conditioning, click here.
Filed under Bodyweight Exercise, Conditioning, Workouts by on Jan 27th, 2010. 6 Comments.
It looks like a lot of people enjoyed my last post listing my top 5 training tools of 2009. There were many comments and questions so I’m going to try to respond to them today.
Sonnon with a Clubbell
Many people had some variety of leverage tool in their top five. Clubbells, maces and sledgehammers. And there was one question asking about how 1 lb. Indian clubs could possibly give a workout when the starter clubbell is 15 lbs. (BTW, Clubbell is the name of the specific tool put out by Scott Sonnon and RMAX.)
Let me start by talking about leverage tools in general. The whole idea behind them is that a relatively light weight on the end of a long lever is going to make the weight feel incredibly heavy. Depending on the weight and length of the tool will depend on what you can use it for.
Maces generally are the longest objects. They’re almost always swung with two hands and are still popular among Middle Eastern and Indian wrestlers.
Most clubs, including clubbells, are a bit shorter then the maces, but they come in a variety of weights. Depending on which one you use you can go one or two handed.
Clubs can be swung in a wide variety of ways. There are whole DVD’s and books filled with the different possible movements you can do. Any sort of swinging can bring a real three dimensional training into your program however you do it.
Indian Club Swinging
The light Indian clubs are really more of a weighted joint mobility. Done properly with certain swinging patterns you’ll be able to do moves you couldn’t possibly do with 15 lbs.
The leverage and force of the swings makes them such great tools. For this reason they are targeted in building coordination and keeping healthy more than building muscle or strength.
Neither one is better or worse, they just have different uses.
Another common implement was some sort of cables. These are a great tool and something I plan to use more in the near future.
Cables provide a resistance unlike any other. While with a weight the pull of gravity and the weight is always constant with the cable it is not so. The longer you stretch the cable the greater the resistance becomes.
There are cables of different sizes and they can be used in many ways. You can mimic standard weighted moves like presses, curls, squats and more. But cables can be used in ways that cannot be done any other way (except expensive machines) like the behind the neck pressout or front chest pulls.
The Lifeline Chest Expander
So why would you want to use cables? By this point I hope its obvious. You can target and hit muscles in ways that you can’t do any other way.
Both tools, the cables and Indian clubs, are great for rehab as well as taking preventative measures against injury.
Another common top 5 was some kind of odd object. I’ll have more on that another time.
An important thing to realize is that there is no top 5 training tools. Its going to depend on the person and their goals, to discover what should and will work best for them.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Clubs, Flexibility/Mobility, Health, Strength Training Ideas by on Jan 19th, 2010. 3 Comments.
I figured I would do something special for the end of the year and that would be to list my top 5 training tools of 2009. It was hard to pull from all the things I use and do but I believe this is a fair list, when I look at what has been my focus in training, what have I seen results in, and what I believe has benefited me in ways that aren’t as simple as pounds and reps.
Great for shoulder and arm flexibility and health
#5. Indian Clubs
I picked up a pair of 1 lb. wooden clubs from John Wood over a year ago and I’m glad I did. I’ve used them steadily in the past year usually for sets done between presses and pullups. I find this helps to keep the shoulder girdle and elbows healthy especially when you’re lifting heavy.
You’ll also be amazed at the coordination you develop from swinging these light clubs. For me it seems like the swinging patterns I do are easy but I’m always reminded that that’s not necessarily so when my friends give them a try. I’d rank Indian Clubs as essential for working on some of the smaller muscles and attributes of fitness.
I’ve also worked some this year off and on with heavier clubbells which I enjoy too, but that’s quite different from the light wooden clubs.
Ideal tool for pullup training and more
#4. Gymnastic Rings
I would list bodyweight as a tool but some might construe that as cheating so I’m selecting a tool that is used for bodyweight training, and that’s the gymnastic rings. I haven’t delved into doing an Iron Cross or Maltese or anything that major yet, I just love them for pullups.
The natural groove of being able to rotate the hands and arms as you pull makes this exercise better then on a straight bar. You can lift more and its also better for your joints as you’re not locked into one path. This is important when you do heavy weighted pullups as I do.
My ideal tool for brute leg strength
#3. Trap Bar
Some people love squats. Some people love deadlifts. Using a trapbar is more like a combination of the two. And I find it suits my body and long limbs better than squats or deadlifts with a barbell. I have never hurt my back on the trapbar, which I can’t say the same for barbells.
I only really use it for two exercises, the deadlift and shrugs. Even if it was just for the first exercise it’s a must own piece of equipment for me. I was able to pull 200 kg. or 440 lbs. on it this year which is good progress for me.
Strength and Fun in one small nail
#2. Nails
I love short bending. Other bending like horseshoes, scrolling and braced bending is great too but I’ve stuck with short bending the longest and gotten the most out of it. In 2009 I went from barely bending Grade 5 bolts occasionally to killing them with a fair amount of ease. My best so far is to bend 15 in a workout. I also did 50 60D nails in half an hour this year.
If you’re familiar with bending you can probably guess my goal is to bend the red nail and I’m working up to it. I just got Grade 8 bolts and while my first attempt stopped me, I know I’ll get it soon.
Bending is great for not only hand and wrist strength but developing whole body strength that you can channel towards one single thing. It’s an addictive training and it can be over-done so know what you’re doing. I recommend the Diesel Crew’s Bending eBook to get started.
So many kettlebells, so many uses
#1. Kettlebells
Considering my main goal has centered around completing the Beast Challenge I’ve been using kettlebells steadily in presses, pullups and pistols throughout the year and am continuing to do so. These same moves could be done the same or similarly with dumbbells but I find that kettlebells are just plain fun. I own a lot of them so I might as well put them to good use.
However the real beauty of kettlebells comes in the ballistic exercises. Obviously I’m a big fan of kettlebell juggling but I’ve been concentrating on the 10 minute snatch test recently and just hit a big goal. More on that later. This is a place where dumbbells can’t come close to matching kettlebells.
I hope you gained something out of reading this list. If you’re inspired to go out and get one or more of these training tools all the better.
You don’t have to go into as much details but comment below and list your top five of 2009. I’d love to hear from you. Plus it may have to be something I go out and try.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Barbell Training, Bodyweight Exercise, Conditioning, Feats of Strength, Flexibility/Mobility, Hand Strength, Health, Kettlebells by on Jan 14th, 2010. 8 Comments.
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