I can’t be happier seeing Get Up! moving forward again. Our first reboot issue was outstanding and Markus does a great job of editing. The key to Get Up!, as always, has been the archives: Years from now, someone will discuss some gem in this edition and lives will change. I am confident of that, as it happens with the “old stuff” all the time. In this edition, Mark Wilson walks us through the journey of 10,000 swings. I only listen to people who have DONE the whole thing, not armchair quarterbacks who think about it. Chris Rice has some experience, too, and the story of his lifting meet in Vietnam should inspire some to get off the damn couch.

In this Issue:

• Two Decades to Tomorrow, by Dan John• Dan Martin‘s Program Minimum,

by Dan Martin • City Boy to Mountain Man,

by Charley Radcliffe• Taking a Swing at Things, by Mark Wilson• Can Do in Vietnam, by Chris Rice• Socrates and Squats, by Vincent Tanner• Keep Moving!, by Tom Barrett

Volume VIII Issue 2 March 2015

Our Mission? To Teach Everyone: 1. The body is one piece

2. There are three kinds of strength training:

• Putting weight overhead

• Picking it off the ground

• Carrying it for time or distance

3. All training is complementary

Dan Martin, the master of minimum, gives us his Dan Martin Program Minimum. You can do more, of course, but why? We welcome Charley Radcliffe to our staff. This is an inspiring read and his journey (all uphill…Ha!) is amazing.

Also, Tom Barrett reminds us that, like the proverbial shark, we must keep moving to stay alive.

Finally, Vinnie is quickly making himself our “Go To” Author for the new editions. Nothing but “Knowledge Bombs” from this guy! Enjoy and welcome back!

Spring is here!

MF

Two Decades to TomorrowDan John

When an email comes in asking me to coach someone online, I never know how to respond. I understand that this is quite common today, but I can never figure out how to get across the true “give and take” of coaching someone in the “Real World.” It’s easy money, but I always refuse. For me, writing a program for someone takes a lot of time and energy. Sure, we all know that. But, it also takes a vision. I call this vision the “Twos Ladder” as we need to agree and understand each other for a fair number of steps before I can even begin talking about fives sets of five reps or three sets of three. Two Decades

The foundation is “Two Decades.” Twenty years from now, what do you want to be doing? Usually, two decades is far enough away that the glitz and glamor of the professional sports or the physique career will be past. Hopefully, not long past, but generally, twenty years is far enough ahead so we can look at health and longevity as trumping abs and biceps. I don’t want training injuries to ruin the quality of life in twenty years. Yes, of course, there will be hurt, pain, injury and agony, but let’s look down the line to see if this is going to be worth it. It’s the foundational question: what do you want to be like and do in twenty years? Stepping up to asking what we want in two years usually gets us in the wishing well. Two years seems long enough to gain mass, lean out, improve technique and develop the system to get one’s goals. There are some wonderful follow up

questions. My favorite: Will achieving this goal make you successful? Success and achieving a goal, like most wise people will tell you, are not always the same thing. Looking ahead two years also allows us to dream a bit about the perfect future. There will be flying cars. From here, I take it short term: What can we do in the next two weeks? We can’t fully make ourselves “slaves to good habits”, as my college coach explained elite performance, but we can take care of small things. Is the bedroom dark and quiet? Do we have the right equipment, including shoes? Do we have a means to get to the training facilities? These are the little questions that make or break the two year goals. Sometimes, shopping trumps training. If we need something, from equipment to supplements, the sooner we deal with it the better. Next, let’s circle a problem and spend two weeks addressing it. In the next two years, you will have 52 two-week blocks to improve things. That is both plenty and desperately little time. Today

Next, I address Today. What can we do today? What do you know? Can you do the Olympic lifts? Can you hinge and squat? If not, that’s what we do. We begin with the Fundamental Human Movements. We begin with small movements that will lead to complex movements. We teach, we learn and we relearn. Tomorrow, in many ways, trumps today. The most important thing you can do is “show up.” And, from there, keep showing up. 300 moderate and progressive training sessions a year trump three really hard days the first week of January.

2

3

Dan Martin‘s Program MinimumDan Martin

Dan is a former firefigher who retired after 38 years in the department. When he is not training, he enjoys the married life with two grown children and three grandchildren. He is also a founding member of the Coyote Point Kettlebell Club and the club‘s official „Maker of Sammies“.

As trainees, we spend an inordinate amount of time and energy searching for training perfection when it‘s the doing that always provides results.

Action Plan:

Warm-Up:

1. Five Minutes Concept 2 Rowing 2. Stoney Stretch

Lifting:

1. Goblet Squat x 5 2. Push-Up x 3 3. One KB Two-Hand Swing x 15

Cool-Down: W 1. Brettzel-Stretch 2. Suitcase Walk

As far as rounds go, less is more. Any specific number depends on you. While variety is nice, doing them in straight sets or in a circuit is what I would limit it to. Don‘t over think it, it‘s not rocket surgery.

As fine as today’s workout might be, tomorrow is even more important. Movement and Breathing

Finally, I think there are two sides to training: Movement and Breathing. With powerful movements like hinges and squats, the breathing has to be more like a locomotive. For planks and grinds, the high tension (I call it “anaconda strength”) calls for tight breathing that sounds like “Tsssst! Tsssst!” and helps keep things strong. And recovery work needs recovery breathing. I tend to teach the puffing breathing, if the person can’t naturally adapt to it. That is what we will focus on. For movement, we will seek grace, beauty and elegance on the road to mastery. At the same time, we will try to increase volume and load over time to build the system. For breathing, we will use it as a tool to work with movement and a general measurement to assess what is going on “inside”. Ideally, we will work on movement and breathing until the moment you don’t move and don’t breathe ever again.

Phot

o: D

an Jo

hn

City Boy to Mountain ManCharley Radcliffe

Charley is a personal trainer based in Chamonix, France. He works with climbers and other outdoor athletes to make them stronger and better conditioned. When he is not hanging on walls himself, he enjoys running ultra distances, swinging kettlebells and steak. (www.themountainfoundry.com)

It’s Monday morning. I’m sandwiched into a cable car lift with 40 other psyched and eager skiers. We are climbing 2,830m from the Chamonix valley to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi to ski the Vallée Blanche – 17km ski descent over glaciers, through crevasse fields, and under towering spires of granite.

This is my morning training session. Just two years earlier I would have been running along a concrete river path in London to a crowded gym to get my training in before work. Two years before that and I probably

would have been dragging myself out of bed after a few too many pints – late for work, and counting down the hours until sundown.

It is safe to say, things have changed.

Beginnings

With the exception of a few years in the north of Spain, I had lived my whole life in London, UK; childhood, school, university, and the beginnings of my professional life. The days often revolved around music, pubs, and clubs. Sport and fitness rarely featured. Always overweight, I just put it down to it not being my thing, that I was just different from athletic people. None of it particularly inspired me – I had signed up to gyms in January flushes of guilt, and I had tried various hobbies and sports that engaged me for a while, but nothing ever stuck.

Then I was told about Mont Blanc.4

Phot

o: C

harle

y Ra

dcliff

e

5

Mont what?

At 27, I awoke one morning to my then girlfriend saying „I’m going to climb Mont Blanc next summer.“ Mont what? I soon discovered that Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Western Europe and the European Alps. At 4,810m it is a lofty target for anyone – but also achievable. The relatively non-technical main routes let novices with an experienced mountain guide and a preparation and acclimatisation week have a good chance of standing on the summit of Europe.

Nervously, having only dated for 3 months, I asked if I could come along. Delighted, she said yes. It soon started to sink in what I had let myself in for. There was every chance I would not be strong enough for this. I had to get my butt in gear!

The year flew by. From my first short run to work where I had to stop and catch my breath three times to the end of the year where I had lost over 5kg and was sweating something silly in morning circuit training sessions. That summer we screamed up to the summit of Mont Blanc and, though physically very demanding, I found myself in my element. My eyes had been opened to the magic of the Alps and especially alpinism – the sport of moving light and fast in the high mountains, self-sufficient and self-reliant in exposed and exhilarating environments.

Getting Strong

Over the following years, every holiday was out in the hills; learning to rock climb, gaining the necessary experience, and growing my passion for the mountains. My daily life revolved around getting stronger, fitter, and more ready for these trips. Without realising it, I was going out less.

I quit smoking, avoided drinking too much as it would hinder my morning training, and started to see results.

Coming late to climbing, I dove in head first and, to no surprise, injury swiftly followed. Too many hours in the climbing gym created niggling issues in my shoulder that started to impact my ability to train. Then, the second most influential moment in my recent life happened: I was introduced to kettlebells. Initially chosen as a form of rehab, a friend and Strong First instructor said, they also were the easiest way to get a six-pack. I was sold! I found a London-based kettlebell community and fell in love. Being fit, climbing well, and being in the mountains became more and more an integral part of my life. So much so, that I came to a cross road.

Red Pill or Blue Pill?

I always loved The Matrix. In 2013 I found myself feeling like I was living out the scene where Neo has to decide to commit or walk away. Business had been tough, I had just closed down my startup and felt lost. „What was I going to do next?“, everyone asked. I just didn’t know. Or at least, that is what I told people. With hindsight, I now think that I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but maybe didn’t have the courage to admit it.

As I floated between work and jobs, the only constants were my love of the mountains and the progress I was making. I felt truly alive there, with everything coming together in beautiful harmony. The strength I was building with kettlebells was helping me move better in the mountains, the hours in the hills were making me more competent, and I was starting to climb routes unguided and independently that I never dreamed possible. It all culminated

6

Photo: Charley Radcliffe

in a life-altering solo climb 1,300m up the north face of the Aiguille du Midi, the iconic mountain towering over Chamonix. Standing on a 60° ice slope with a more than 1000m drop below me, attached to the wall by tiny metal spikes on my boots and two ice axes, has a way of clarifying things.

This was me taking the red pill.

This.

This climb was the biggest step I had taken in the mountains and I knew: This was what I wanted to do, where I wanted to be. That summer I moved to Chamonix. I started taking my training even more seriously and,

very naturally, have found myself several years later as a qualified PT – training and, most importantly, learning from working with some of the strongest and most driven people I have ever met.

I am developing a healthy balance between gym time and mountain time, applying what I learn in the hills to what I need to work on in the gym, and discovering whole new ways to give myself the edge while out on a climb.

I look back on the life I used to live, on the priorities I used to have, and the person I used to be. We all have come a long way. Sometimes, it’s nice to reflect on how far.

Taking a Swing at ThingsMark Wilson

Mark is a 54 year old coach who also competes in masters cycling track sprinting. He trains weekend warriors and age group winning triathletes and cyclists to increase strength and mobility.

Five weeks before Christmas this year (2015) I was looking for a change of focus and thanks to Dan‘s book Before We Go hit upon the 10,000 swing challenge. In the book, Dan states that it is good to complete a programme of any kind, as it imposes the discipline and focus so often lacking in the gym. The programme looked like this:

Day One:

10 Swings (24 kilos) 1 Press (28 kilos)15 Swings 2 Presses25 Swings 3 Presses50 Swings

Five rounds completed in 55 minutes.

Day Two:

As before, but double kettlebell front squats with 2x 24 kilos instead of the presses (I’m a goodish squatter).

Hello, you! Yes, you! Gentle reader, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be published in the finest strength and health newsletter on the web? Well, wonder no more, here is your chance! Do you have a cool story to tell or a nifty new trick to share?

Call for Authors!

Day Three:

As before, but with a 50 metre hill sprint after each 10, 15 and 25 swings.

Day Four:

With chin up ladders, 1,2,3.

It took a couple of weeks to grow into the programme and I rested between sets as I felt I needed. I noticed that most sessions start with a feeling of resignation and a thought of „How many swings today?“ After 150-200 reps the rhythm sets in and you just punch the clock until it’s done.

I made some changes during the time: I increased the chins to 2,3,4 and omitted sprints in some weeks, but the swings happened like clockwork. The time came down to 35-40 minutes by the final two weeks and the rate of perceived exertion was noticeably lower.

I learned a number of things: It takes focus to persevere and complete the programme. It is short enough to see the end in sight. I lost 3 kilos of fat, down to 84KG. My wife tells me I have more back and shoulder muscle and my work capacity has improved. Next, I am moving onto a strength phase with a focus on the big movements to prepare for the competitive season to come.

7

Have you maybe entered your first powerlifting meet or your last cage fight? Maybe you have built a new, improved power rack or failed miserably in creating a workout plan that combines deadlifting with skydiving. Whatever your story is, send us an email and get typing!

8

Can Do in VietnamChris Rice

Chris started lifting in 1959 and has not stopped since. Having dabbled in the normal HS sports, most of the strength sports, archery, motorcycle racing, triathlon, rock and mountain climbing, grip sports, and more, he is basically ready for anything.

I’ve been in the Iron Game since 1959 – starting at eleven years old on Mom and Dad’s wooden floored front porch. (Not a closed in porch and not level by any means – rain, snow, wind and heat – we chased the bar to the edge all the time – Dad wouldn’t let us nail an edge board down.) We used my sister‘s piano bench for presses and you did a pullover from the floor if no one was around to hand you the bar. For squats you either cleaned the weight and jerked it up and over or, if two people were around, you could get some help.

When I graduated High School, the next phase of my life was a little place called Vietnam. Now, I was a SeaBee and in no way a hero type – I worked communications and was mostly stationed in DaNang. But for a few months I was out far enough to where we had no training facility of any kind – not even buildings exactly. Someone said there’d be a powerlifting meet in DaNang on a certain date (I don’t remember what time of year, but 1968 or 9?) and we should do it. So several of us decided that this might be fun. We had zero equipment to train with, though. But the SeaBee motto is Can Do, so we started out with what we had.

Can Do! Sand bags. We had what seemed like millions of them, so we thought they could

be the “weight plates”. Tie a loop of rope on them to put over the pipe and we were good to go. Load various amounts of sand into the bags and we could adjust the weight. We made big bags, medium bags and small bags – well….. sort of. We had no scale, so it was all guess work. We never really came up with a way to keep them dry, so weight was a real guessing game when it rained.

Next we needed a bar – so a big long piece of pipe became “the bar”. So we needed a bench for the bench press – sand bags and a board to the rescue. But no rack to be had to hold the bar up – out solution was to build the bench really high and then to start all the presses from the bottom. We would slither under the bar and push. Everything was a bottom start. We would occasionally get a lift off/spot when others were around.

The squat was similar. We buried a 55 gallon drum to the right depth for the bottom position – then stood on it and did bottom start squats. If there were three of us, we could sometimes get a sort of lift off with one guy on each end. For the deadlift, we buried a 55 gallon drum in the sand to the right height to stand on.

There was no “social life“, so we worked our 12 hour days seven days a week, trained in the evening, and maybe drank a Bom de Bom (Beer) or two later on.

The Day in DaNang

Come the day, we hitched a helicopter ride into DaNang and did the competition. Now this all happened about 1969, so I don’t remember what I weighed exactly, but 175 - 180# at 6’ 2” tall. I did a 400# squat, a 300# bench press, and a 495# deadlift. (That deadlift has haunted me all these years. I was never able to pull 500# – even in

9

training over the ensuing decades. All these years and it just never happened.) Now, this wasn’t sanctioned by any organization or course, but we did have judges etc. and the bar and weights had been weighed. I doubt if things were certified for accurate, but at least an attempt was made.

I never thought much about it until I came home and had “real gyms” to train in with

all the advantages of bars that spin and weights you could slide on and off easily, where you even knew what they weighed. But over the years, when things were less than perfect, I could always take myself back to those times and think about those “Can Do” days in the blistering heat or driving rain and tell myself to “suck it up” and get it done. Life lessons come in all shapes and forms I guess.

Phot

o: C

hris

Rice

10

Squats and SocratesVincent Tanner

Vincent is the owner of Ocean State Strength and Conditioning in Rhode Island. He is studying Wellness and Movement Studies at Rhode Island College and has a minor in Coaching. Vincent is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has been a competitive powerlifter since 2012.

If you’re anything like I used to be, you might not even know how bad you are. Sorry if I just hurt your feelings, but it’s true. Recently, I hopped in a pick up game of basketball at my college’s recreation center. Now, I played most of my life in school and CYO leagues – but I was one of the worst players on the court in this pick up game! And these were the kids who couldn’t make the team at my D3 school. Imagine if I played in a game with D1 players, of which there are only around 4500 in the country! Beyond that, there’s the NBA D-League, European leagues, the Olympics, and finally the NBA – each progressively better and better than the organization behind it, and each increasingly more exclusive. The NBA, mind you, has only 420 players. Seriously, the difference between the best in the business and myself is hard to fathom. I laugh every year when people rave that one of the top March Madness teams could beat some NBA team. People don’t even realize… Get Some Perspective!

Well, lifting weights is fairly similar. A solid goal for an average man is to build his deadlift up to double bodyweight. If you weight 200, you should be pulling 400. With that kind of deadlift you might be one of the stronger guys at any box gym around town. But for perspective, I believe the list

of men who have deadlifted over 900 is around 20 guys—two of whom have pulled over 1,000. But if all you’ve ever seen are 315 pound deadlifts, you might not even know how bad you are at 400. I once competed in a national meet in Columbus, OH and watched a man who weighed 181 deadlift a world record 795. Needless to say, my 545 deadlift at 220 seemed kinda crappy after that. How Much More Do You Need To Know?

In a great article over on TNation (https://www.t-nation.com/training/squat-900-pounds), Dave Tate posed the question: „How much more do you know about squatting now compared to when you could only squat 300 pounds? How much more will you have to learn to squat 700 pounds?” I didn’t appreciate this when I first read it – it was written in 2001, and I probably found it for the first time around 2010. Which means I was squatting around 300 at the time. I’ve since squatted over 600 a bunch of times in meets, including a 705 squat in competition at the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in York, PA. These days, the question has an entirely different meaning.

It’s hard to appreciate the journey to mastery as a beginner. Once I finally squatted three plates for the first time, I thought I had squatting down to a science. I was the squat grandmaster of the YMCA. I was offering people advice, wearing gym tank tops I bought on the internet, cockily talking trash about other people’s workouts if they didn’t squat, and… I was an ass who didn’t know jack. Thinking back, the checklist of cues I go through now before I squat would have made my head spin back then. The old me couldn’t even conceptualize the technical nuances that I have mastered now. I know now that

11

squatting 1,000 will take that much more experience and knowledge that I have yet to gain. You Know Nothing, Vincent Tanner!

Socrates once said, “All I know is that I know nothing.” Well, you know what? Socrates is right. And it seems that the more I learn, the more aware I become of the vast unknown.

Mastering something takes time – probably decades. And you might never get there. But you must always try. My friend, Dan

John, once quoted Yuri Sedych, Olympic gold medal hammer thrower, as saying, “If you improve every year, then you are elite.” (http://danjohn.net/2010/12/what-is-elite/) I agree. Stay humble – always be aware of the upper echelon of people above you, and look to them. Constantly strive for improvement, and you’ll be ahead of nearly everybody else. Eventually, it will be painstaking. Raising one’s deadlift from 700 to 800 may take years. But fight, tooth and nail, for constant improvement. Never lose the thirst for knowledge, ’cause as soon as you think you know it all, you’ve sold yourself short.

Phot

o: V

ince

nt T

anne

r

12

Keep Moving!Tom Barrett

Tom is an army veteran living in Schoharie County, New York, deep in the Catskill Mountains. When he isn‘t writing about zombies or kettlebells, he enjoys competing in highland games and playing soccer with his kids. He considers himself lucky, not smart, and drinks milk.

I’ve been injured many times over the last 20 years – never seriously, at least not seriously enough that I’ve required anything more than ice and time to heal up. I’ve never needed surgery to correct damage I’ve done, but I’ve had my fair share of pulls, twists, sprains, and various dings to deal with, some of them sidelining me longer than others.

My most recent injury is one without that sudden, “What was that?” moment before the pain sets in. For example, when I twisted the muscle in my right lower back doing kettlebell snatches, I felt a pop before the pain came the next day. When I strained the area around my lumbar region (doing power snatch warm-ups with an empty bar of all things!), I felt the pull before the pain settled in the region a few hours later. This last one, though – it gave no warning at all. I just got out of bed one morning and could barely walk. I had to grit my teeth and fight against a torrent of pain as I forced my torso upright wondering what I’d done because I hadn’t even lifted in a couple of days. The last workout had been a kettlebell session, so it wasn’t like I’d even used a lot of weight, just a standard 24 kg model. Further, I’m meticulous about form now, because of the other stupid injuries I’ve gotten from not bracing my abdomen or not leading with my hips.

I figured it was just a kink that would work itself out over the next few days. It didn’t.

Seeing the Doctor

This was last spring, and when a month had gone by with the pain getting worse instead of better, I finally decided I’d had enough of being brave and made an appointment to see my doctor.

After some X-rays and movement assessment, I was connected with a physical therapist who did more movement assessment and gave me what turned out to be generic advice for pain in the lower back. The pain improved but then plateaued, so I figured I had gotten as much out of the the PT as I was going to get and decided to stop seeing her. The pain had diminished enough that I could squat a little and deadlift a little, and that was better than nothing.

I was prepared to just put up with the pain for the rest of my life as it wasn’t usually debilitating anymore.

For the months of July and August that I was seeing the PT, I was sticking to all upper body work from a bench because I was scared to do anything else. I tried a light barbell squat and a light deadlift a couple of times and, to be honest, I was so worried about re-injuring myself that I didn’t notice whether I was actually making things better, worse, or no difference at all.

Eventually I got sick of doing nothing but incline bench and incline chest-supported rows and threw caution to the wind and picked up a kettlebell. The swing, being the foundational movement for all kettlebell progression – that’s what I tried first. Pain.

13

The shearing force on the lumbar and sacral area was just too much for my condition. However, I found that a clean was fine. A press was fine, too. Even a goblet squat was fine. It turns out the goblet squat was aggravating my condition, but I never knew it until today. More on that later. So, I had my training regimen for the next however long it took before I could train effectively with a barbell again. Good old standard from the old DragonDoor days. Pavel always said when asked how often to lift: “Three to five reps, three to five sets, three to five exercises, three to five times per week.”

I went light with the 3-5 rule, lifting the 16kg ‘bell 3-5 times per week, on occasion trying to swing, but I’d stop that nonsense immediately as I felt that pinch in my lower

back where the pelvis meets the lumbar spine.

Oh, did I mention the sciatic nerve inflammation? This seemed pretty random to me, and it would happen without any provocation that I could detect. It appeared that at random intervals my left buttock, down the side of my leg, and left ankle would get this intense searing pain that wouldn’t stop, and the only relief came from anti-inflammatory drugs.

In fact, one day i was doing goblet squats and noticed that my left buttock was an inch higher than my right when I was in the saddle. That’s not right.

It gave me plenty to think about, and when the next time came around for me to train, I noticed my left hip was kicked

Photo: Tom Barrett

14

out. I realized at that moment that I’d been pressing for years with my hips out of alignment, pushing that hip out to support the pushing motion instead of keeping a neutral spine and hip.

Wow, that was a big surprise. All those videos I shot of myself for movement analysis, and I’d never noticed that hip alignment until I had the context of my high left buttock from the previous workout. The only corrective work I knew for that was to stop doing it and allow my body to work itself back into a healthy movement pattern.

I started mixing in heavy (24 kg) days, then heavier (double 24 kg) days, and eventually I was cleaning, pressing, and squatting with a pair of 24 kg kettlebells every time I trained. My back felt much better, and I felt like I was getting to where I needed to be to put a bar across my shoulders and pull one off the floor again.

It was a warm day (for upstate New York in January), almost 40 degrees. It had been a mild winter, and that - I knew - was going to be plenty warm for training. I was used to lifting in near zero temperatures in winter in my corner of the Catskills, so 40 would be no problem.

With 135 on the bar, I entered the cage, dipped under, took a deep breath, braced my abdomen, pressed with my legs and felt the bar touching my upper back just about mid trap and pushed. The bar came off the hooks, so far so good. Focusing on keeping my hips under me, I descended slowly, felt no sliding or slipping, no crunching, kept my hips down and pushed up with my buttocks. In full recovery, standing upright, no pain, no indication there was anything wrong, I racked the bar.

I repeated this process adding weight each time working my way up to 185. That was my first sign of actually needing to exert myself to recover the weight. I hit three sets of five reps with 185 and called it a day for squats. I was elated that I had lost so little strength. I mean a year earlier I’d been squatting 335 for doubles, but I was really expecting to struggle with 135 for a single. I was very happy with 185 after a year off from barbell training.

Going through the same steps for deadlifting, I pulled up to a 225 for three sets of five and decided not to push it, called it a day with plenty left in the tank.The sandwich I ate when I was done was the best sandwich I’d ever had.

The next day, when I hang cleaned and pressed, I hit 95 for three triples and didn’t even strain. Again, it was far better than I expected.

Do The Next Best Thing.

What I attribute this retention of strength to is the kettlebell training. I once read from a friend, “If you can’t do the best thing, do the next best thing”, and that’s exactly what I did. I couldn’t keep up with my clean and press, squat, and deadlift, but I could kettlebell ‘til the cows came home. Once I’d grooved a training system that didn’t hurt me, I just kept doing it until the time came that I could lift with a barbell again. I’m convinced that repeating the training, repeating the movements of squat, hinge, push, and pull even at a moderate weight, kept me healthy and relatively strong. In fact I’m sure if I’d been injury free, the addition of swings and snatches with heavier kettlebells would have kept me at my previous level if not pushed me beyond that.

Published by Daniel JohnMarkus Weßel-Therhorn, EditorCopyright © Daniel John, 2016All Rights ReservedAny unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

15

Do Something!

What all this means is Do Something. Do anything as long as you’re moving and training the fundamental human movement patterns. I consider a 185-pound squat and a 225-pound deadlift a victory. I didn’t allow myself to rust, and I didn’t have to start over again where I was five years ago, with an empty bar just trying to learn how to squat again. I’m strong and getting stronger, and that puts me where I need to be: in the “Improving” column.

Now, about that goblet squat… Today I went to my massage therapist, and we were talking about movement patterns. She had hit a really sensitive spot right where the focus of my back pain has been, just to the left of the spine, right below the gluteus medius. She said, “That’s your SI joint. See how it closes off when I rotate your leg out? That’s where the pinch is coming from.” Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

After I got up, she said: “Let me see you squat.” I dropped down with my torso upright and neck extended, and she commented: “See, that’s a pretty significant turn out on your knees.”

Wheels spun and a ton of information fell into place. Remember when I mentioned my goblet squats earlier? Opening up the hips is not for everyone, it seems. That external rotation was closing off my SI joint and pinching my sciatic nerve. That’s why, when I switched to double KB front squats, the pain diminished so much. And that’s also why, since I started my most recent KB cycle a week ago, the pain has been coming back. It looks like I’m going to pull goblet squats out indefinitely and stick with front squats.

A little knowledge is a beautiful thing. Never stop learning. Never stop lifting.

Phot

o: D

an Jo

hn