Strength and health are tied together. At least that’s the way it should be.
That’s the reason that probably the greatest physical culture magazine was called by that name.
Yet today more than ever people seem to divorce the two.
There should be little if any difference in training for strength and training for your health. Performance training should not cost a toll on your body.
An old friend of mine is a bodybuilder. One day he was talking about how he would pay the price for his training in his later years. Wrecked shoulders and the like. I grimaced. That’s not the way is should be. Its certainly not the way it has to be.
At the same time there are those that go balls to the walls in their workouts. They train hard in order to become healthy and fit. But then they go and chow down at a fast food place.
It’s amazing how many people do this. They have one side of the coin but completely lack the other.
Then there are those health nuts. The vegan guy who doesn’t know as much about nutrition as he thinks he does. Avoids meat but eats ’fake meats’ that have who knows what in them. The guy who weighs 100 lbs. and couldn’t lift a barbell in the squat. (You should realize I’m using stereotypes in order to make my point.)
Jack LaLanne said, “Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you’ve got a kingdom!”
Live by that saying and you may live long and healthy as Jack has.
I show you the best methods and training tools I can on this site. I work to bring you the best.
Now I’ll be doing the same with health with a new section on the site. The Health section will feature articles, recommendations and more. The cutting edge and best information out there.
Trust me, when you see some of this information you will be blown away.
My primary reason in getting to this field is performance related. Yes, I want radiant health. But I also want my body to perform at its best at all times. To never get sick and break down. To heal old chronic injuries. To be able to marshal all its forces towards my goals in training and life.
These things are possible. I make no claims to be perfect. But I do strive for perfection. Won’t you join me?
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. And on this note I have an important message for you tomorrow.
Filed under Health, Nutrition by on May 12th, 2010. Comment. 
A new article on one of my favorite new training tools has just been published to the site complete with a video.
This is the Battling Ropes created by John Brookfield.
If you can you need to try out this training. Better yet, do it on a regular basis and you’ll see some powerful results especially when it comes to your endurance.
The Battling Ropes in action
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Conditioning by on May 10th, 2010. Comment.
Just finished a new article that covers the power rack and partials. One of my newest training tools and training methods.
Read it and then start doing it.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Partials by on Apr 30th, 2010. Comment.
I’ve reorganized the articles section on this website to make it easier to navigate with categories rather than just in chronological order of me writing them. I’ve also added two new ones that go along with the Training Tools page.
So today you can check out:
Why the Barbell is an Absolute Must for Strength Training
Why do I love the Trap Bar?
There’ll be many more articles coming soon. I’ve been challenged (or at least I took it that way) to add at least two per week. There’ll be more on the different training tools I use and why, different exercises, training concepts and much more.
Most of all I’d love to hear what you want me to write about. Comment below…
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells by on Apr 8th, 2010. 2 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 Concepts 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 Barbells and Dumbbells, Bodyweight Exercise, Conditioning, Feats of Strength, Flexibility/Mobility, Hand Strength, Health, Kettlebells by on Jan 14th, 2010. 8 Comments.
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.
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Bodyweight Exercise, Kettlebells, Odd Objects, Strength Training Concepts by on Jun 10th, 2009. Comment.
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