The Future of Fitness and Four Great Workouts by Josh Henkin

Here's a great article by Strength and Conditioning Coach, Josh Henkin. He's known making sandbags popular again, but clearly uses many tools to get the job done. These workouts are money. The Future of Fitness And Four Great Workouts By Josh Henkin Those that read this are already ahead of so many people trying to improve their fitness, health, and sporting performance. Why? You have already filtered through the garbage information that so many of us are fed through mainstream media. The marketing of unrealistic physiques, unsafe reality programs, and drugged up celebrities has led most people down a path of confusion to how to be fit and healthy. Before the internet, Youtube, cell phones, and mass media, the greatest exposure of fitness and health was through magazines. Yes, before they were “Flex”, “Men’s Health”, and others, there were classics such as “Strength & Health” and “Ironman”. These magazines were written by true strength athletes that were covering strength, wellness, and physique development that were never thought of separately. Our modern version of the old time was truly resurrected by the reintroduction of kettlebell training. Since then people have begun to see what was missing since the classic days of true strength training. Often I explain my form of training to be “athletic based fitness training”, that is to develop all the physical attributes of sport. Of course, some may say they don’t play a sport and just want to be fit. These principles are the same, as the most fit people are generally those that regularly participate in athletics. This is true even if you just want to be a more fit parent! My L.I.F.T. (loaded integrated functional training) system is based around four implements that are truly unique and fit the criteria that I just explained above. These four implements are kettlebells, sandbags, suspension training (typically using the Jungle Gym) and bands (most often we use the versatile TNT cables). Using these four implements in a systemized manner can deliver very powerful results in fitness and sports performance training. These implements are unique in their feel and versatility. They are perfect for individual or team training, beginner or advanced, integrated with existing programs or used as a stand alone system. These four implements can not be replicated by other tools either. I selected them just because of these reasons. Below I am going to list a few of my favorite routines that work the body from head to toe, strength to cardiovascular training, fat burning to increasing functional muscle mass. Workout 1: A1. Kettlebell Clean and Jerk x 5 A2. Sandbag Zercher Squats x 10 Repeat series 4-5 times with a 60 second rest interval between sets. B1. Band Rows for 30 seconds B2. Suspended Leg Curls x 15 Repeat series 3-4 times with 30 second rest interval. C1. Sandbag Shoulder Get-ups x 3 each side C2. Suspended Fall Outs x 10 Repeat series 2-3 times with 30 second rest intervals. Workout 2: A1. Sandbag Snatch to Overhead Lunge x 3 each leg A2. Jungle Gym Chin-ups x 5 Repeat 4-5 times with 90 second rest interval B1. Kettlebell Floor Press x 8 B2. Sandbag Half Moon Snatch x 10 each side Repeat 3-4 times with 60 second rest interval C1. Band Resisted Runs x 30 seconds C2. KB Janda Sit-ups x 6 Repeat 3-4 times with 30 second rest intervals Workout 3: A1. Kettlebell Snatch Left x 10 A2. Kettlebell Snatch Right x 10 A3. Suspended Body Rows x 12 Repeat 3-4 times with 30 second rest intervals B1. Band Push Press x 30 seconds B2. Sandbag Shoulder Lunge Left x 10 B3. Sandbag Shoulder Lunge Right x 10 Repeat 2-3 times with 45 second rest intervals C1. Suspended Side Plank Right x 15 C2. Suspended Side Plank Left x 15 Repeat 2-3 times with 30 second rest intervals Workout 4: A1. Sandbag Squat Clean x 6 A2. Kettlebell Clean and Press x 5 Repeat 3-4 times with 60 second rest interval B1. Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift Right x 8 B2. Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift Left x 8 B3. Suspended Push-ups x 15 Repeat 3-4 times with 45 second rest interval C1. Band Twists Right x 10 C2. Band Twists Left x 10 C3. Sandbag Around the World x 30 seconds each side Repeat 3-4 times with 30 second rest intervals As you can quickly see these workouts have great variety, training methods, and are very powerful with their effectiveness. I recommend doing the above four days a week. To see more of these workouts sign-up for our free newsletter at http://www.sandbagexercises.com/ I'm definitely drawn to these type of workouts more than I used to be. I used to have the "go heavy or go home" attitude. I know barbells are useful (depending on your goals), bit lately I've been rethinking my views on this after reading Dave Lemanczyk's work. Especially for basketball players. Something to think about.... - Max

Self Improvement-10 point plan

A simple plan from the infamous Jack Lalanne:

1.Exercise

2.Nutrition

3.Positive thinking

4.Good habits

5.Grooming

6.Smile

7.Posture

8.Help others

9.Relaxation

10.Faith

There's a few I could improve on....How about you? - Max

Today's Quote

"Success means doing things that others don't." - Motivational Speaker Rory Vaden Are you? - Max

Check Out This Blog and Websites

Check out Dave Lemanczyk's blog when you get a chance. He hasn't updated it in a while, but go back through the archives and read his previous posts. He's a guy who knows what he's talking about. He played profressional ball overseas, so yeah I'd take his advice pretty seriously. How many other former professional athletes have websites where they give out fee advice on how to make it? WARNING: Dave tells it like it is and doesn't make up fancy crap to try and attract more people. He did VERY basic stuff (which works, it's just that everyone thinks you need something 'special') and just busted his tail. Here's his other websites: Basketball Strength (I don't often promote products from the internet, and believe me I own quite a few - most are crap, but this is probably the best product I've ever seen. Don't expect anything flashy or fancy from this guy. If you have $50 I'd HIGHLY recommend it) Keg Conditioning (If this product is up to the level of his other one, it's probably pretty dang good as well. Both are excellent if you're sick of the typical gym scene and want something better) Even if you don't want to buy these (which is fine, I'm not getting anything for promoting them), sign up for his "newsletter/tips" on each website. He sends them out almost daily and I've learned A TON from him so far. Great stuff. Train hard. Don't let your lack of equipment or money be an excuse. All you need is yourself. - Max

I Walk the Line

There is no ONE best way to achieve results. Get that in your head. Every method, program, system, etc. has it's drawbacks. The truth, is usually somewhere in the middle, not on the EXTREME right or EXTREME left side of the road. Sure, some are better than others, but even the "perfect" workout program you stumbled upon DEFINETLY has it's pro's and con's. In the training world, it seems everyone has to pick one side of the road. Whether it's plyometrics, HIT, powerlifting, bodyweight training, kettlebells, exercise bands, explosive lifting, olympic lifts, machines, strongman equipment, etc., there is NO ONE WAY. All of these things can be useful at times, but none of them are perfect and depending on your goal, should probably not be use exclusively. There's a saying that goes, "It's not WHAT you do, it's HOW you do it." Read that again. Guess what? People have have increased their vertical leap, athleticism, and speed with all of those things. Would some of them have been better off taking a more balanced approach, considering over-use injuries, training their weaknesses, blah, blah, blah? Maybe, but I guarantee they had two things going for them: 1) Hard work. Anyone who's achieved a respectable goal will tell you that they busted their butt everyday. 2) Consistency. They stuck with it. They kept improving no matter what. No excuses. Stop worrying if your doing the right thing, get off the couch and actually DO. Stop thinking, planning, resting, and whattever else and TAKE ACTION. As Nike says, "just do it". If you actaully have common sense, this isn't a bad motto. You can have the best program in the world, written bt the top trainer in the world, SPECIFICALLY for your needs....and if you don't WORK at it CONSISTENTLY, you'll get crap results. Take that same person and have them just do push-ups and bodyweight squats, but have them do it like THEIR LIFE DEPENDED on it and they will become a stud. There's nothing magical about kettlebells, box jumps, squattin' heavy, olympic lifts, weighted vests, etc. They are just TOOLS. Really, all you need is your body and desire....and you can get AMAZING results with anything fitness related. Ok, to recap: 1) Effort - Work your butt off. Recover. Repeat. 2) Consistency - Work your butt off. Recover. Repeat. Your body can't adapt to whatever it is you're trying to achieve if you train once every three weeks. Pretty simple, eh? Stop wondering, worrying, complaining, thinking, and just DO. And don't think this just applies to fitness, either. "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU DO, IT'S HOW YOU DO IT." - Max

Fun in the Sun

So far, I've been lovin' summer and about 95% of my training has been outdoors. I've been doing mostly kettlebell stuff for a quite a few weeks now, and I can definitely tell my body is ready for some heavy iron again. Since I've been enjoying working out in the sunshine and fresh air so much, I decided to bring my crappy, home barbell set outside and do some damage. I don't own enough plates for me to max out on squat or deadlifts, so I decided to go with some High Pulls. I used density training (setting a time limit & seeing how much you can get done in that amount of time) for the high pulls and then finished normal. The time limit was 15 minutes. I started with 3 reps and kept going until fatigue set in, and then obviously lowered the reps until the time was up. This is a backward approach to how most people train (which is why I like it), similar to Charles Staley's EDT method of training or Wake Forest's Strength Coach, Ethan Reeve's take on density training.

Here's what it looked like:


- 10 min. Joint Mobility warm-up w/ some tumbling drills

A1. (EDT - 15 min.) Barbell High Pulls x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1
B1. Heavy Sandbag Squat x 4, 3, 3
C1. Light Sandbag Lunge Matrix (forward/side/reverse) x 2 ea. leg ea. direction x 2
rest: 30 sec.
C2. Kettlebell Swing w/ band 2 x 8
rest: 60 sec.
D1. Barbell RDL's 2 x 10
D2. Sandbag Pistol Squat 2 x 2 ea. leg
rest: 45 sec.
E1. KB Windmill 3 x 3 ea. side
E2. Sandbag Rotational Throw 3 x 2 ea. side
rest: 45 sec.

Time (not including warm-up): 43 min.

After I finished I cooled down with some advice from Eric Cressey I read. He says sometimes, instead of static stretching at the end of his athlete's workouts, he'll just have them run through some more mobility/dynamic flexibility drill and just have them hold each position longer than usual. I liked it a lot...nice way to cool down.









- Max

The Step-up : a real squat alternative?

I'm a big fan of squats, especially box squats, but very few people (at least at my gym) squat correctly. No wonder everyone thinks they're dangerous and hurt your knees. To quote Dan John, "Squats don't hurt your knees. The way YOU squat hurts your knees."

Heavy Step-Ups might be a great alternative to squats. Read this great article on them over at Straight to the Bar. Not saying you should give up squatting all together. Keep working on your form with bodyweight squats or try box squats. You could also do some heavy squat variation once a week and some heavy step-ups on another day or do a three week cycle of squats followed by a three week cycle of step-ups. This would be a nice way to keep punishing those legs while taking stress off your back and letting your CNS recover.

I think heavy unilateral work (one limb) is HIGHLY underated. Everyone's in love with heavy squats and deadlifts (me included), but have you ever tried HEAVY step-ups, split squats, bulgarian split squats, lunges, and pistols??? Not easy at all.......

Don't give up the basics. They work. Always have, always will. Just don't be afraid to substitue heavy unilateral work for a few weeks to give your body a break once in a while.