Legendary Strength Blog

Meet the Vibram Five Fingers. These relatively new shoes are made to recreate the barefoot feel while still offering the protection of shoes.

Vibram Five Finger Shoes Review

It took a couple times being exposed to them, but I decided I had to get a pair. And boy am I glad I did. Now I wear them whenever I train, and many times when I’m not.

Even took them hill sprinting. Though there isn’t much padding I had absolutely no troubles. My feet felt fine even running all out on concrete.

But then the next day rolled around. Wow were my calves sore. You see the natural way to run is with your whole foot and more towards the ball. This is opposed to the regular running shoe with its inches of padding that makes you heel strike.

It’s a different way to run and how its suppose to be done. And maybe its just progression but I have gotten faster since switching from shoes to the Vibram Five Fingers.

I recommend you check them out.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

There are bodyweight guys. There are kettlebell guys. There are clubbell guys. There are barbell guys.

Some of its marketing but I think the biggest reason behind this sticking to one system is exactly what happened me.

I use to go to a commercial gym like most people seeking to get fit. And I never got much by way of results. Then I found out about bodyweight training. After a little testing I went full force into that.

This was good and bad. The good was that I focused on that training and saw lots of benefit from doing it. The bad was that since I was now getting results I thought anyone who did anything else was wasting there time.

Over time I started using some other training implements and saw the benefits in doing so. The fact, is each tool has its own unique advantages and drawbacks.

Bodyweight exercises are great because you can do them anywhere. They quickly get you in tune with your own body. And you really should have some mastery over you body before doing anything else. But sometimes in life you have to pick something heavy up, and there’s no way you can recreate that with bodyweight exercises.

Barbells are great because they are balanced, actually the perfect tool for lifting maximum weight. With plates you can incrementally use more and more weight. But for the most part the training is one-dimensional. And that balanced tool can act against you when you have to lift something that’s not made for lifting.

Clubs are great because they offer real three-dimensional training. You can hit the arms and shoulders in ways that can’t be replicated. But for building maximum strength levels they may not be your best choice.

I could go one but I think the point is clear.

In my training I use bodyweight, kettlebells, clubbells, Indian clubs, trap bar, barbells, thick handled dumbbells, block weights, grippers, the formulator, sledgehammers, nails, bands and I’m sure there are a few other items I’m forgetting.

Each tool has its purpose and that’s why I use it. In the end that’ll make you stronger and a better athlete.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Making good headway on the big project I mentioned last time. Next week I should have an update, the first details on what it is.

I got several comments after last weeks article on hill sprinting. Since I just got back from the hill this morning I’ll address the comments. And in case your wondering how this sprinting session went, I dropped my time from 30 seconds down to 29 for the first two sprints.

“I’m all about hill sprints but 6-8 reps of a REAL 30 second hill sprint would require the use of PCP or some kind of religious ritual”

Having never done PCP I can’t specifically comment on that.

Of course, you will not be able to attain and maintain full speed the entire time, especially as you get tired. At least not in the beginning. By why limit yourself to thinking you can’t improve up to that level?

An all out sprint for 30 seconds is doable. Where you are actually going as fast as you possibly can go the entire time. And if you can do one, provided you have excellent recovery between reps you could do more.

After all, isn’t the point of training to go beyond what people think is possible? And isn’t training in some regards, similar to a religious ritual?

Don’t limit yourself by thinking it can’t be done.

“I’ve recently started normal cardio (i.e., running, swimming, biking) compared to lifting at an aerobic pace or kettlebell. Sprinting up hill sounds pretty good. I’m treadmill bound for stuff like that since I am in SW Florida and we are a basin (below sea level). Thanks for the inspiration as always.

“Oh, here is a little food for thought. Since I am new to “normal” cardio. Isn’t it amazing how we can be good at one thing and another sport tires us out? Training in Capoeira for over five years now. I consider our discipline the most cardio/aerobic intense out of the other Martial Arts (in general). I can “play” for hours, yet put me on a treadmill and I am dead after two miles at a decent pace jog. Just the opposite, I have a friend who runs marathons, but she tried Capoeira one day and she was done after five minutes of the basic move, ginga.. …. Do you have thoughts on that to share with “the class”? :-)”
Nick

I’ve run into this happening many times. You think the man, a conditioning machine, from swinging and snatching kettlebells all the time.

But then you go and play a game of soccer, for example, and just a few minutes of running around gets you out of breath. You think to yourself ‘Why is this happening?’ since you know you are in good shape.

Its mostly because the body is just efficient at one form of movement over another which is why even if you’re conditioning is good, something new can throw you off. While you can swing around kettlebells like a champ, your body may not be adapted to running. So it takes much more energy to do so.

Once you get into the groove of the new movement though you should find you’ll be doing much better. And your conditioning from one exercise will transfer over.

For this reason it would be best to practice a variety of conditioning methods if you wanted to be the best all-around athlete you could be.

That just about wraps it up for today. But before I go I wanted to let you know about a certain project in the works.

It’s unlike anything that has been seen in the strength training arena before. If you’ve ever felt like you’re just spinning your wheels in your training, not making progress, or not making enough progress, this is something you’ll want to pay attention too.

And because of the format you’ll ‘get it’ 100 times better than you would just reading a book or watching a video.

I know those are some bold claims, but I plan on backing them up. And if everything goes to plan it’ll be ready sometime late June or early July.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

I woke up this morning, laced up my shoes and set out on a jog. No I wasn’t preparing to run several miles today (sorry I find that boring) but I was heading to a nearby hill.

And at the hill the jog turned into an all out sprint.

After several times walking down and sprinting back up I jogged home. Took much longer this time because I was fatigued.

The hill may have won this time, but soon I’ll be dominating. I’ve just added hill sprints back into my routine and every time I come back to this exercise I’m reminded of how much I love it.

Find out all the reason why and how I do it in this new article on hill sprints.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

P.S. I lay out exactly how I train with hill sprints. Follow the plan and you’ll get all the benefits (and there’s plenty of them).

Have you ever been training on a certain routine when for one reason or another, whether you get board, read a new training book, or whatever, you drop your routine for a completely new one.

STOP DOING THAT!

You see the secret to getting truly strong is…

Sticking to the Routine

In strength,
Logan Christopher

Just recently I moved into a new house. Probably the thing that excites me most is the gym setup we’ll soon have.

The garage is being taken over to make music but the back yard is wide open and with a little work it’ll be quite impressive. I’ll be taking before and after shots to share with you, though it may take some time.

Anyway, just because the new gym isn’t ready is not stopping me from training. Just a few kettlebells outside and I’m good to go.

Though I mostly train alone these days, yesterday was an exception when my friend came over.

Now he’s a much bigger guy then I am. Has a lot of natural strength. Hasn’t used kettlebells much but with some coaching he was doing fine. After all we were just doing fairly basic moves like double presses.

My friend had some trouble as his right arm was stronger and more stable then his left. Many times on his last rep the weight in his right arm would go up no problem but his left would struggle.

That’s have the fun about using unusual training tools (and yes to the average gym-goer a kettlebell is highly irregular). They can point out your weak points with ease. Things you wouldn’t notice pressing a barbell become quite apparent.

And when one side is weaker than the other its time to bring it up. Unilateral training is just a fancy word for training a single side at a time. There are hundreds of possible exercises and ways to do it.

Most people are imbalanced in some way. Their dominant side stronger. With proper training this can be evened out. Forcing the weaker side to try to keep up with the stronger and maybe not going all out on the stronger side is all it really takes. Over time this alone will work.

Its funny, my left side has actually surpassed my right when it comes to pressing. But they’re really close.

Even with feats of strength like bending or tearing, its would be best to train both sides evenly. I believe doing so would go a long way in making you not only stronger overall but would make you less prone to injury.

If you’ve been doing exercises that involve both limbs at once try switching to unilateral exercises. If you’ve been doing single limb exercises switch back. Often this is all it takes to get new gains.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

One common question I get when people see me doing feats of strength like tearing a phonebook or deck of cards in half is how do you get started?

When people get exposed to these feats enough, and have been training regularly, they figure they might as well give it a try.

If that describes you I’ve got a new article that gives you a few tips on how to get started in feats of strength.

On a similar note, if you’re interested in card tearing (one of the three recommended starter feats) listen up.

Until recently you couldn’t find any quality instruction on how to do this feat. Unless you knew someone who could teach you (as if there are that many people who can do this feat on the planet!) you were basically left up to your own devices.

The greatest card tearer in the world, Dennis Rogers, made a video on how to do it but it was only available for his coaching members. And, unfortunately, you can no longer get it.

But now Diesel Crew is on the job. If you’ve read their Bending ebook you know the quality and depth of the information. That book is probably more responsible for getting people bending steel than anything else.

And they just released a new ebook on Card Tearing.

Having learned from Dennis Rogers himself I didn’t know if I’d learn anything new from this book. Boy was I wrong.

This is a jam packed manual that’ll give you all the details on card tearing you could possibly want. Different techniques for tearing, tons of methods of progression, supplementary exercises, and much more.

Before you head over to the page to get your copy I want you to know I never recommend something I don’t personally use and endorse. Get the Card Tearing ebook.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

P.S. If you want to learn how to tear cards you need plenty of cards to practice on. (Besides the two techniques for practicing ripping cards without cards on pages 106-108 in the ebook.)

When you order and forward me your receipt I’ll share with you an extra technique as well as my top places to get cards for cheap. Get the Card Tearing ebook!

Just an update today. There’s two new Feats of Strength up on the site.

Pullups & Chinning

These moves have always been some of my favorites. I always include some from of pullups or chinnups in my workouts. This page includes some feats very few will work up to.

Rope Climbing

There’s a progression to follow if you find climbing a rope is too easy. Try two ropes and then go inverted. Always good for a little fun.

No videos yet but there will be more soon on this and many other feats.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

If you missed my last story about one of the exercises I saw in a commercial gym you can read about it in the post below.

But this one blow even that away. My friend ended up visiting that same gym the next day. And this is what he saw. This is no April Fools joke!

A man came over to the dumbbells and picked a 100 pounder. Using two hands he lifted it off the rack and set it straight on the floor. He then rolled the weight halfway across the gym to the bench he was using.

From there he wrapped his wrist straps round and round to make sure his hand was secured on the dumbbell. And then his set of partial one-arm rows began. They had to be called partial because he wasn’t even getting halfway up.

I wish I had seen this one first hand, but I’m afraid if I did I would have burst into laughter. And it definitely would have distracted me from my workout.

Now I know the chances of this guy reading this are very slim. However here’s just a few pieces of advice I’d give him. Perhaps you can benefit from the lessons.

First off, ever hear of a farmer’s walk? It’s a great exercise and all it involves in carrying a weight hanging by your side. Normally you use two weights, one for each hand, but you could do it with just one. Even a little work on this will save you the embarrassment of rolling weight across the gym.

Secondly, if you can’t hold onto a weight you shouldn’t be using it. Yes, in some extreme cases like a hands and thigh lift I can understand the need for straps, but in general you should be able to HANDle the weights you use. If your hands are weak make them stronger.

And lastly use a full range of movement. Many people like to cheat themselves in the efforts to use a heavier weight. Considering this guy couldn’t even carry or grip the dumbbell, this was obviously too much for him.

There is a time and place for partial movements as part of more advanced training. But in general, always go full range even if you have to use less weight to do it.

If you’ve got any stories of commercial gym insanity I’d love to hear them so send them in.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

I’m back in action after a several week hiatus. In case, you’re wondering the tour was hugely successful and a lot of fun the entire time.

Perhaps I’ll tell you more about that later but right now I gotta tell you about a visit to a gym I had in Vancouver. We were staying at a nice hotel and it was attached to a gym. Not one of the small rooms with only a handful pieces of equipment like most hotels have, but a full-on commercial gym.

Now I personally have not set foot in a gym for a long time. So I knew I’d be in for a treat.

I set out to do some heavy exercises. One arm presses with dumbbells, weighted chin-ups, barbell squats and a handful of other exercises.

I was in a squat rack doing doubles and singles in the chin. It was nice to be able to fully hang as the bar was high off the ground. I hung the dumbbell from my feet to do the exercise.

A man came over and asked, “Hey, can I work in with you?”

“Okay,” I replied as I moved the dumbbell out of the area.

Then he said, “Don’t worry about that, I don’t need to get in there.”

I was a little perplexed but I just went back to the dumbbell rack to do my next exercise.

The next time I looked over I had to stop myself from laughing. The man was kneeling on top of a swiss ball and doing a tricep extension with what couldn’t have been more than 20 lbs. He need the squat rack so he could balance himself with his free arm.

The entire gym was full of people who wouldn’t know what productive training was if it was staring them in the face. The funny thing is this guy probably thought he was doing some cutting-edge training (and yes he did more than one set of this exercise!)

There are tons of possible exercises you can do whether they be with dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells or just your bodyweight.  You do not have to waste your time with odd-ball exercises. The simplest exercises, the ones that have stood the test of time are usually your best bet.

And if you think this was bad, wait til you hear what my friend saw in the same gym. That story coming at you later this week.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

P.S. If you have commercial gym horror stories, I’d love to hear them so send them in.