BEYOND STRONG

GUEST POST: Why do I fight?

 

WHY DO I FIGHT

by

Phillip Ray Tommy

 

I'm a 34 year old male that has always tried to live my life a certain way. I like to think of myself as a peace loving guy with a passion for nature.

I try to spread happiness wherever I go....wait! Don't stop reading!

I know this sounds like a cheese ball profile on a Christian dating site but I'll get to the point shortly. Stay with me!

So in light of all of this there has been a question I've been mulling over for a while now...

"Why do I fight?"

I thought I hated violence. I worked as a doorman for years in Birmingham and Wolverhampton and I've also been a bodyguard for clients all over the UK. During this time I have witnessed people being glassed, stabbed, hit with knuckle dusters and stamped on, along with a whole heap of other sh*t that would make the mind boggle.

I started to notice that every altercation I’ve had OUTSIDE of the ring has always left me feeling empty and ultimately tainted by the experience. I was never one of those Neanderthal types that loved a good punch up on a Saturday night. I'd always try and use my wit to diffuse a situation. I’d rather feed someone’s ego then get into a scuffle and I always felt so bad when I had to fight someone simply because they were unable to listen to reason.

BUT...when it comes to fighting in a competitive arena I could never get enough!

The anticipation you feel when sitting in the changing rooms before you head out into battle is electrifying. You body is at its peak and it’s functioning exactly how you want it to.  In short you feel like a GOD.

The crowd outside are on the edge of their seats eagerly awaiting the next contest. You hear your name announced and your walk out music kicks in over the P.A system and its time to go to WAR!
 
I would promise myself time and time again that I would hang up my gloves but slowly and surely the flame reignites and I'm drawn back like a moth to the flame.

So how can I say I hated violence when the very act that I enjoy participating in was of violence? What was my motivating force? Why do I fight?

I think in this day and age (dependant on which country you live in) it comes down to discovering one thing.

What makes me feel alive?
 
Being able to release 100% of your energy at the same time is a rarity these days. There are very few occasions in which this is possible. I think that is one of the reasons I loved to fight. In short being in an arena faced with an opponent that wants to kick my head in, is invigorating.

I’m aware that may sound a little odd but I think the essence of that statement is the same reason that many of you reading this article lift weights and push your bodies to extremes for your sports.

My opponent has trained hard. He wants to destroy me and he is confident he will be successful. At the same time I have also trained my butt off and I believe unequivocally that I will be victorious. I will hit harder than him and move faster. I will take whatever he has to throw at me and use it to my advantage. Every blow I land on him will chip away at his will until he is broken and that is when I will finish.

Now this belief is obviously totally baseless and the reality is that I may get knocked out in the first minute. And I’ve had my fair share of bruised ribs and black eyes. Our bodies are immensely strong but also so fragile but that has to be pushed to the back of my mind. The mindset before a fight has to be one of total invincibility. (I will talk about my views on the mind and its power another time)

Similarly your opponent is the weight you are about to lift.  Your cage/ring/arena is the gym. The poundage you guys shift is something very few will ever get to experience.
The weight working in a WWE style tag team partnership with Isaac Newton and his laws of Gravity are trying to punish you for even daring to move such weight. The iron intends to crush you for having the audacity to attempt such a herculean task.

Yet you know something they don’t. Your training along with sheer willpower negates any chance of them succeeding. You will be victorious and there’s not one ounce of you that believes you won’t be able to execute the lift in any way you desire. Every rep you do is a representation of your mastery over the iron. It will not defeat you. Your body is strong and your mind is stronger.

Now even though that weight could crush you if something went wrong, there is nothing on this planet that can stop you attempting it. Again this will seem insane to some.

Why would you attempt to lift something that may injure you? Why push yourself to the extreme?

The answer may be the same for you as it is for me. It’s the same answer for the man who chooses to base jump off a skyscraper, or the person who wants to swim with the sharks.

Ultimately we do what we do in order to feel ALIVE and FREE. Free to express ourselves in ways that we don’t usually do in every day life. It is such a unique experience and when you truly experience that feeling, it is something you will want to experience again and again. The furnace inside is stoked and that flame of vitality becomes a RAGING FIRE.

And this fire is what pushes us to be more - to be more than we were previously. To better ourselves by fighting stronger opponents, jumping off higher heights or lifting heavier weights. To surpass the limits we previously thought was where our potential ended.

We yearn to feel the rush of blood followed by the euphoria of being able to use these amazingly intricate machines we called bodies to their fullest potential in which ever task we have chosen to indulge in.

I honestly feel that in life we can end up coasting along and just existing. Sometimes we have to stop and take a moment to step outside of the familiar and have a look at life. That’s when we analyse our comings and goings and have a think about what makes us feel invigorated. Once this has been identified we should go and do it. That positivity and that fire will permeate the rest of our lives and make every day after it seem so much brighter. Feeling truly alive is a beautiful thing and a gift that many of us don’t realise we are missing out on.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’m not a writer and I’m aware that my thoughts may flow a little erratically at times. These are just my thoughts as they stand today. I’m sure they may change at some point in the future.

Either way I hope you enjoyed it and a big thank you to the big fella Nick Mckinless for allowing me to put a few of my thoughts down with you all.

In closing I’d like to wish you all the best in your individual journeys and I’d like to echo the sentiments of two of the 'wisest' people from the 20th century “Be Excellent to one another “ *

Peace

Phill

 

 

* If you didn't get that reference go and watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure!

 

I have known Phil for 8 years where we first met on the set of The Golden Compass. He is a big, scary dude that can truly walk the walk but the thing I always remember about Phil is his big smile and super friendly demeanour.

Phil has trained in many martial arts over the last 2 decades with ITF Taekwondo being his first art in which he holds a 2nd degree black belt. He has also trained in Muay Thai, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, and Boxing amongst others.  He has won multiple national hyper weight sparring titles during his time competing in Taekwondo. From there he competed in the world of MMA where he built a record of 4-0-0.
He has an interest in philosophy from all corners of the earth and tries to be a free thinker with an open mind.
Psychology is another subject that he finds riveting! He believes that by finding the keys to unlock our minds we will be able to unlock the very essence of our own human potential. We all have different locks and therefore need our own unique keys. So far he's enjoying the voyage of discovery!

29 Explanations - No. 13

If you just used Bill Starr's training programs for your whole lifting life you'd be set.

 

"Starr became one of the first strength and conditioning coaches in the NFL when he joined the Baltimore Colts in 1970. His resume includes a long list of positions held and writing for some of the biggest magazines of the era. Suffice it to say, he's been around the world of strength for a pretty long time, and knows that world like the back of his hand!" (Quote from an article by Dr. Fred Hatfield who himself is a world reknown Strength Coach, Author and Record Setting Powerlifter)

Originally Bill was a weightlifter when the Clean and Press (Bill cleaned 446lbs!) was still very much a part of weightlifting (The lifts then were the Clean and Press, The Snatch and The Clean and Jerk). He lifted for York under the reign of Bob Hoffman and soon Hoffman put his talent for writing about training to use in the pages of Strength and Health magazine.

Bill's most famous (but by no means his only) training program was the 5x5 method.

His routine focused on bench presses, squats and power cleans, done on a Monday – Wednesday – Friday rotation with heavy, medium and light days. Bill Starr popularized the “5×5″ routine – each exercise was done following a protocol of five sets of five reps. Starr’s 5×5 routine uses the three exercises which Starr referred to as “the big three”, quoting Starr:

“These are 3 basic exercises used by weightlifters to increase their strength….the football player (and you can insert Martial Artist, Fighter, whatever there) must work for overall body strength as opposed to specific strengthening exercises….In other words the athlete should be building total leg strength rather than just stronger hamstrings. He should be seeking overall strength in his shoulder girdle rather than just stronger deltoids….the program is fast, simple and, most importantly, effective. It requires very little space and a minimum of equipment….”

Bill just got it!

He just looked at an athletes needs and applied that to progressive weight training. He was one of the first to understand and implement the idea of 'show with go'. Bill wanted him and his athletes to look strong but he also wanted them to BE STRONG.

Bill also used the heavy, light medium method to allow for proper recovery and training adaption. He also touted the Incline Bench press over the regular flat Bench Press, feeling that the incline position was more beneficial to athletes (especially American Football and Throwing sports).

I have been reading Bill's work for well over 20 years and I am sure I haven't read it all.

A great deal of his writing can be found here...Bill Starr

ALL of his programs have merit and ALL of them are superior to nearly everything you will read that is 'new' today and that's because nothing is new. Bill came up with much of what you see in modern strength training and he needs to be touted as the visionary that he was and is.

All you have to do is go to the link above or type in Bill Starr to google and there are hundreds of QUALITY programs to get you bigger and stronger.

Bill's the man!

Nick

 

Bill's Books and articles can be read here

The Strongest Shall Survive

Defying Gravity

Starting Strength

29 Explanations - No. 12

There's always someone stronger

Bill Kazmaier is without a doubt one of the strongest human beings to have ever lived. Back in the 80's with limited support gear*, Bill posted a 420kg (925.9 lbs) SQUAT, an enormous 300 kg (661.4 lbs) BENCH PRESS and 402 kg (886.7 lbs) DEADLIFT.

In STRONGMAN he won World's Strongest Man 3 times (1980,81 and 82) and had immense shoulder strength, pressing a 170kg (375lbs) LOG and gym lifts of 202kg (445lbs) SEATED PRESS and STRICT MILITARY PRESS of 225kg (495lbs).

Indeed, Bill was STRONG!

Even today those lifts are ridiculous but they have all been surpassed. At one time Bill himself would confidently have called himself the Strongest Man Who Ever Lived. Or so you'd think.

In the 70's Don Reinholdt Deadlift 400k (881lbs), a mere 2kg less than Kaz. Also in the 70's Jim Williams Bench Press a ridiculous 306.2kg (675lbs), a tad more than Kazmaier. And then earlier still in the 50's and 60's Paul Anderson Squatted 540kg (1200lbs).

Today many men can Deadlift over 400kg. Not so many can Bench more than Bill or Squat more than Bill but they are out there and those lifts have been long surpassed.

Now we are talking about Bill Kazmaier here, not you and your buddies down your local gym.

Whoever, the strongest guy in your gym is, probably less than a 20 miles away is a gym with someone MUCH stronger than them training. Go another 20 miles and there'll be someone else stronger than that guy. And so on.

It's nice to show your lifts, I've done it myself, especially when it's something I've worked hard for or think will help people in an educational way. But have a little decorum and understand that there will always be someone stronger. Attempting to show off doesn't sit well with those who really lift and know the game.

So next time you post your little YouTubes or LookAtMe video remember, someone did it before you, they didn't shout and scream about it and someone not far away can do it for easy reps as a warm up. 

Nick

*(wraps, super suits etc have advanced HUGELY in recent times to allow massive weights to be used by moderately strong lifters)

Respect Your Elders (but not all of them)

 "That's the classic nature of people, though. We'll skip the basics and get pissed when the sexy stuff doesn't work." - Martin Rooney

"Did you ever notice those who criticize the strong or the elite are usually weaker or less successful than those they pass judgment on. And those who are strong or elite in their respective sports rarely condemn those who are not as strong or as successful as they are." - Louie Simmons

"Far too many bodybuilders spend too much time exercising the smaller muscle groups such as the biceps at the expense of the larger muscle groups such as the thighs, and then they wonder why it is that they never make gains in overall size and strength" - Reg Park

 

When it comes to training, the guy who's been in the gym for 10, 20, 30 or more years AND who is still in good shape, lifting heavy weights, in perfect form is almost certainly someone you should be talking to if you have only been lifting for 1-9 years.

The guys who have been lifting for 1-5 years and look amazing, lift crazy heavy weights or both, are genetically gifted and can do almost ANYTHING and get results. These guys are impressive but have no bearing on the majority of us. Admire from afar.

Here's a little 'chart'.

• Under 6 months - Just do the basics. Nothing more. You know nothing so simply squats, deadlifts, bench press, chins, dips, shoulder press, rows, curls and abs is all you need. Your probably between 15-25 anyway so let youth do it's job. Just learn perfect form and add some weight now and again.

 

• 1-2 Years - Same but up the intensity. You should be beginning to understand hard work and have done some 20 rep squats, know what 5x5 is and how to use single and double progression. Hopefully 20-30lbs heavier.

 

• 3-5 Years - Should have gained 50lbs of muscle by year 5. If not get another hobby. Hopefully you are approaching the 3/4/5 mark for the big 3.

 

• 5-9 Years - Begin to experiment on yourself whilst progressing on the key lifts. This is the time to 'add your own twist'. Sometimes you'll hit and sometimes you'll miss.

 

• 10+ Years - Hopefully you know what you're doing but MANY don't. If not. Go back to the BASICS. 3/4/5 is your minimum at this stage.

For those of you young fools taking steroids to short cut this process between the ages of 18-30 then good luck looking good (inside and out) when your 35-100! You are damaging you endocrine system which may or may not recover.

This is from a steroid site.

"There is a risk of permanently damaging your HPTA (editor note: basically your balls, your physical growth and how much test/estrogen you produce) if you take AAS too young, you could end up with symptoms of andropause and HRT for life. Symptoms could be Limp dick, low libido, depression, low energy, low endurance, erection problems and many more.......are these the types of symptoms you want to have in your 20's?.''

Not only that, why are you taking them when you have no where near reached your own genetic limits. It takes 10 years at least to max out your own genetic limits. For some much, much longer. And really, who knows your genetic limits.

I know many, many high level strength athletes from strongman to weightlifting to track and field take them in their 20's BUT...and I am not condoning them...they are making their living from their strength. Most of you are NOT!

Yes I know some people get away with it. Arnold was supposed to be taking them when he was 15-16 but Arnold WAS a genetic freak and no doubt had the ability to sustain his steroid use. Some can. MOST can't.

Steroids after 30. Make your own choice but if the goverments wanted to legalise them I would suggest they make them legal after the age of 30. That's when T Levels begin to drop for most and when people (men) tend to get somehwta more responsible.

Going back to respecting those who have trained for a long time with success. There are of course the other ones you should ignore. These are the USE'DA crowd.

"I use'da bench 500 for reps"
"I use'da know a guy who squatted for 4 days straight"
"I use'da know a guy bigger than Dorian Yates"

These guys should be avoided because they never did anything. They probably knew a a few guys who did do something, probably trained for a few years and then gave up for various reasons.

So stick to the basics. Listen to old guys in good shape who can still bench 300lbs and squat 400lbs for reps. And stay away from Use'da guys.

Nick

PS...If you don't know who those men are who made those quotes then go and find out!

Reg Park, Arnold's IDOL, bench pressing 500lbs a LONG, LONG TIME AGO!!!

 

My article at T Nation

 

 

Stuntman Strength and Action-Hero Abs

by

Nick McKinless

Here's what you need to know...

• Have limited equipment and only 30-45 minutes to train? You can still get a killer workout.
• Heavy sets combined with back-off and finisher sets are the key to building both strength and functional muscle mass.
• For abs that can take a pounding (literally), you need excruciating heavy planks and ab-wheel work.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico The set of TROY, circa 2003

 

 

 I'd been in the hospital for a few days. Special effects accident. We'd been shooting the epic night sequence on the beach and there was an explosion that engulfed me. I ran out of the ball of flames and put myself out on the sand by rolling, or rather, writhing, around in it. My right arm, shoulder, and back were badly burned and I was on a morphine drip. I was only mildly coherent when the phone next to my bed began ringing.

"Nick! It's Wade. Simon wants to shoot that horse fall you rehearsed a few months ago. You're good, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I should be okay. I'm a bit drugged up right now and my arm..."
"Great! You're on second unit. 7 AM call-time on set."

 Click. The phone went dead. The next day I had the nurses cover my arm in gauze and bandages. I then had the make-up crew touch it up with flesh colored make-up so that it wasn't noticeable for the remaining scenes. I met with Simon, the Second Unit Director, who's responsible for directing all the action.

"How's your arm?" he said.
"Fine. I got a bit fried."
"I'll get you out of here as fast as possible today."
"Thanks, 'cuz the worst thing is not my arm."

He looked at me quizzically.

"I've managed to pick up a stomach infection and I've got the shits really bad."
"Alright," he said, grimacing. "Get on the horse. Let's get this done."

I ended up doing the fall three times. Each one was more painful than the last. Each time, after I hit the deck, 20 horses would gallop past me. They could've run over me for all I cared. I was weak, in pain, and desperately hoping I didn't soil myself in front of 100 cast and crew members. Simon thanked me and I went straight back to hospital. Thankfully, the gag (stunt) made it into the movie. Brad Pitt throws a spear at Hector's general (the guy I was doubling) and I - I mean he - gets thrown off the horse and killed.

Every stuntman has these stories, but Troy was a game changer for me. Not just because of how I had to adapt my training to the constraints of a hectic schedule, but also because I had to do my job whilst badly injured, in extreme heat, and still give a top action performance.

Time Efficient Training

Blockbuster movies are relentless. You end up working a minimum of 12 hours a day, often 7 days a week. Very few jobs give you enough time to train once filming begins. Therefore, training has to be incredibly time-efficient. It also has to ensure that you get the most out of each workout. There are times I've literally done 30-minute training sessions three times a week and still made progress because I had clear goals, solid progressions, and total focus during those short, intense sessions.

The job itself is highly physical, but unlike an athlete or an actor, we're often asked to perform at a high-caliber on the spot with no warm up. You have to spring into action time and time again from a dead stop. It's virtually guaranteed you'll be performing these while nursing an injury, whether it's a bad knee, bad back, twisted ankle, whiplash, or burn. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Special Requirements

Stunt work requires extreme physicality and short bursts of energy. The excruciatingly long days take their toll but they're something you eventually adapt to. Doing the actual stunts is more about preparation than anything else. When you do a stunt it's over quickly and then repeated a number of times until every department is in sync (camera, sound, lighting, etc.), so you'll have to get up for a stunt time and time again even though you're exhausted and injured.

So How Do Stuntmen Train?

Frankly, everybody trains a bit differently because of the vast skill set that's involved in stunt work. We have champions in every sport from free-running and gymnastics to fighting sports like boxing and MMA. We have professional rally drivers and motocross riders, scuba divers, high diving champions, horseback riders, and rock climbers. You name it, someone in stunts does it!

My skills came from all-round weightlifting, rock climbing, track and field, and swimming. By the time I was qualified, I had national level qualifications and successful competition experience in fighting (boxing and ju jitsu), gymnastics, trampoline, scuba, swimming, and industrial rigging. The rest of what I know I learned on the job. Car work in particular is highly specialized and it takes a lot of trust to let someone roll a car over for a crash sequence.

During the 2010 movie, Clash of the Titans, the actors and the stuntmen had the following equipment available to us in our rehearsal area:

Barbell and weights
Adjustable bench
Dumbbells up to 100 pounds
Chin and dip station
Bands
Ab wheel
Climbing rope

That was all I needed to set up an effective training routine and schedule that was based on building strength, a steel core, and agility.

Building Strength

I used a modified version of 5/3/1 and added a back-off set and a 50% set (a set where you attempt to do half the reps you did on the previous set).

Heavy Squat OR Deadlift

I prefer anyone who isn't a powerlifter to choose either the squat or the deadlift. Most stuntmen seem to prefer the deadlift. Me? I prefer the squat. As a stuntman the lower back takes a pounding. The last thing I need is a sore back before I even start work, so I squat hard and heavy most weeks unless my hips get really sore.

Week 1: 5x5 plus a back off set of 8-15, followed by a set about 1 minute later trying to get half the reps I got the first time (a 50% set)
Week 2: 5x3 plus the same back off and 50% set
Week 3: 5x1 plus the back off and 50% set
Week 4: Sets of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 (heavy single)

I prefer this approach and start my cycles low enough so that I can usually push through to new records over the course of the training cycle. As with any training program, realistic progression is the key to results. However, being able to move your own bodyweight with ease is really important in our job. Often you're hanging in harnesses, climbing at height, or manhandling another stuntman or actor, so it's incredibly important to be able to move your body through space with strength and explosiveness.

Even so, I've never been a fan of really high-rep work for bodyweight. I prefer to be explosive, as that looks better on screen. No one has ever asked me to do 100 push-ups, but they have asked me to move faster, often with heavy costumes on whilst climbing or crawling. As such, I prefer to do weighted body-weight movements like chins and dips instead of higher rep work. We go as heavy as possible and I often use the same modified 5/3/1 for chins and dips until it gets too heavy and things start aching, reps gets missed, or form falls apart.

If you choose to try this routine, you'll want to use at least 50% of bodyweight for both exercises and include the back-off set and the 50% set.

Chins and Dips with added weight

Week 1: 5x5 plus a back-off set of 8-15, followed by a set about 1 minute later trying to get half the reps I got the first time (a 50% set)
Week 2: 5x3 plus the same back off and 50% set
Week 3: 5x1 plus the back off and 50% set
Week 4: Sets of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

Another really simple way to get a lot of volume done quickly is to attach a weight to your body, say 20 kilograms (45 pounds), and do as many reps as possible in 10 minutes. You try to surpass what you did the last time.

The other things I often include for building strength are:

Rope Climbs: 4-5 sets of 15-20 feet
Plyo Pushups: 4-5 sets of various plyometric pushups

If you have access to a climbing rope, use it. Climbing a rope is harder than chin-ups or pull-ups and far more impressive. You'll get a great upper-body workout if you combine these plyometric pushups where you do a clap or two in between reps.

Dumbbell Curl and Clean and Press:  4 sets of 8-12 reps

This is an underrated movement. Plus, since we had plenty of dumbbells and only one bar, it became a mainstay. I actually had everyone "cheat curl" the dumbbells to the shoulders and press them in one motion. You can do one arm at a time or do both together. Some of us were using the 80-pound dumbbells for sets of 12 on this and believe me, the whole upper body works. It's not unlike doing a strongman log clean and press in one motion.

Building a Steel Core

Heavy Planks:  3 sets of 30-45 seconds

I mean really heavy! Screw all that 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5-minute rubbish. Abs need to be strong. Even in rehearsals we take full-blown hits to the stomach from kicks and punches. Yes, you can "pull" your punch and that's what we're trained to do, but actors aren't. They usually just hit you.

Train planks with 30-45 second sets and work up to at least 40 kilograms (90 pounds) on your lower back. I've done over 100 kilograms (220 pounds) for sets of 30 seconds. Even better is to get someone to push, pull, and kick you whilst in the plank position. See how hard your abs, obliques, glutes, hip flexors, etc. have to work when someone's stomping or standing on your back! This is an awesome exercise for all combat athletes as well as powerlifters and strongmen.

Wheel Barrow Ab Wheel:  1-2 sets of 30-50 feet

You'll need a partner for this one. Remember when you were kids and you picked up your friend's feet and he walked around on his hands? Well, do the same thing but use an ab wheel. Hold just the feet or ankles and push them along until they're ready to drop. Make sure you're in sync with each other though as this one can get ugly if they drop and you keep pushing!

 Building Agility

Knee Jumps:  5 sets of 2-3 jumps

 

This is my go-to jumping exercise that can be done in any gym. There are a ton of variations. Choose one or two and think fast. Try not to pre-load. Instead, start from a dead stop.

Sprints:  3-5 hard sets

You can do them one of three ways:

Band Resisted Sprints
Sprints on Treadmill
Regular Sprints from different start positions

The Workouts

We had 30-45 minutes in the morning to get all of this done during Clash of the Titans. Here's an example of how we did this over 3 days:

Day 1

A. Squat or Deadlift Modified 5/3/1 plus back off and 50% set
B. Chin Same as Deadlift
C. Dip Same as Deadlift
D. Dumbbell Curl and Press 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
E. Sprints 3-5 sets of band-resisted sprints

Day 2

A. Hard Circuit Total Body Conditioning Circuit
B. Abs Heavy Planks supersetted with Ab Wheel
C. Jumps 4-5 doubles from the knees

Day 3

A. Rope Climb 4-5 sets working for speed and timing on each one
B. Sprints Starting in different positions
C. Sparring or Pad work 5-8 2-minute rounds

This is just a brief example of how you could train under difficult conditions with limited time periods and still get stronger, faster, and better conditioned. We would stretch and do mobility work or rehab work in any spare moments. Film sets are notoriously all or nothing. Either everyone is running around like crazy or sitting around waiting for the director to line up a shot. You take the quiet moments to fit in any extra training. As I said before, you rarely get time to warm up before a stunt or action sequence.

As stuntmen, we have to find time to train because our bodies are how we make our money. There are no shortcuts and no excuses. If you're injured or not feeling well, trust me, on a film set, nobody cares. When a daily activity might mean walking through fire or jumping from a building, you had better be prepared.

NICK MCKINLESS

  

 

 

29 Explanations - No. 11

Ego training will get you injured

Generally this is a problem only the 'newbie, inexperienced or just plain dumb tend to get involved in.

Because weights don't hit back, many people abuse them and their bodies with their misuse. If you've ever done any fight sports (boxing, MMA, wrestling, judo etc) you will know first hand that training with your ego is a no no. Unless you are off the chart talented (Floyd Mayweather, Rhonda Rousey, Aleksandr Karelin) you have no rights showboating in the ring or on the mat. You WILL get your ass handed to you. Confidence is good but cockiness leads to knockouts.

Weights however are just big and heavy and unless you drop them on yourself (very possible) they don't hit back. For some reason people start going to the gym and think they are all of a sudden 'tough' because they have put half an inch on their biceps and can quarter squat 300lbs. Well, let me just say that a half decent, light weight boxer will knock the biggest bodybuilder or powerlifter out with no fight training any day of the week. Weights don't make you tough, tough makes you tough and that means knowing what it's like to get hit, get choked and get kicked in the head!

But I digress...

What else constitutes ego training? Well simply lifting heavy week in week out with no plan. This will always get you niggles and nagging injuries.

• Are you one of those people who has weeks when they feel good and lift heavy only to come back the next week and have less strength? Then you are an ego trainer and you are stupid.
• Do you lift heavy because your friends are there and you want to try and outlift them no matter what? Then you are stupid.
• Do hitch every heavy deadlift? Then you are stupid.
• Do you cut short every rep of squats, bit by bit each week to make that 400lbs squat into a partial squat but, 'hey bro, now you squat 400lbs'. Then you are stupid.
• Do you bench press with a massive bounce off your chest, lift your butt, squiggle and squirm, flare your arms wildly and get your 'bros' to do forced reps and negatives every session. Then  you too are stupid.
• Crossfit...meh...too easy a target...

 

I could go on.

I rarely fail heavy weights. This year I may have failed one repetition possibly two on my top end sets. The reason is I have a plan which I generally stick to. It is realistic, has consistent but sensible progress and allows me to build into to top weights and intensity over time. I rarely get injuries from weight training. My form is good on all reps of any given exercise, it's a full range of motion and very few sets are 'grinders' where the weight is moving slowly.

You have no right to be maxing out every week. There is no need to show off in the gym every week. There is no need to throw weights down for no reason (they've done nothing to you and the gym owner will appreciate it). You owe it to your longevity in the gym to PERFECT your form on EVERY exercise. You would be advised to work through a full range of motion to maintain mobility.

Another thing. Screaming and shouting and getting psyched. Stop it! Unless your competing or going for a personal best (once a month at the VERY MOST) there is no need. Most of you don't train very hard anyway. So STOP screaming it's embarrassing. And psyching up. There's no need to do it very often. You should save 'adrenalin' lifting for your maximum effort attempts and competition. There are little chinese women who lift more than you anyway.

In short. Ego training is uneccessary. It looks silly. It is silly. It will get you injured and it does not make you tough.

 

Nick

 

For those of you who don't know...this is Karelin and he is proper tough!

 

 

 

 

29 explanations - No.10

Read, digest, experiment

I have a book, magazine and journal collection going back literally hundreds of years about the development of strength, physique and conditioning.

In the 90's David Horne, Bill Hinbern, David Webster and David Gentle sold books through catalogues or word of mouth or in the back pages of magazines. This is how most of my collection was built up. This is before Ebay or buy/sell forums. You really had to know where to look. Occasionally I would go to book fairs and quaint bookshops in the countryside scouring for a piece of history.

Today you can find much of what I own online. The Tight Tan Slacks of Deszo Ban is a fine blog which is home to a never ending myriad of good information from authors like Anthony Dittillo, Bill Seno, Bill Pearl, Vic Boff etc. These men also read, digested and experimented.

A great trainer or indeed trainee doesn't give out information just because it worked for them. They give out information that works best for the client.

I've said it before, if you just did everything Bill Starr wrote about in his articles and training programs you'd be as good as you could ever be.

When I write articles today I rarely have all my books to look up certain facts. Most of it is stored in my head. I've read all my books multiple times and will read them all again. Everything I need is right there. It doesn't however stop me reading articles by todays authors, both good and bad. I may not be the walking Physical Culture Encyclopedia of a Hinbern or a Webster but I've certainly studied it enough to know my subject. I actually believe with a bit of work I could go on Mastermind (Famour British Quiz Show) and do quite well in my chosen subject!

Now once, you've read and digested (understood) your subject, your training program or protocol you must then experiment. This is why science nerds and armchair theorists will NEVER understand proper WEIGHT TRAINING to get BIGGER and STRONGER and better conditioned. You can read and 'understand' all you want but unless you actually try it for a consistent period of time you will never know how good or bad a training program is.

Let's take an example. One of my favourites for building mental fortitude (toughness), overall strength and power, adding size and to LEARN HOW TO WORK HARD is 20 REP SQUATS. If you think that a single all out set of 20 rep squats is easy then you aren't using enough weight. If you are pumping 20 reps out with half assed form in under a minute, even two minutes, you are not doing them right. Properly programmed 20 rep squats should be do or die when it comes to your MAXIMUM EFFORT. Science might say they don't work. The guy sat on his computer typing might say that 5/3/1 or 5x5 is better but NOTHING will teach you more about yourself as a lifter than an all out set of 20 rep squats.

In the build up weeks, perhaps months to an all out set of 20 rep squats you will have pushed yourself harder and harder. This proves to YOU that HARD WORK can be LEARNED. You don't know how hard you can work. You don't! Because next week you could work harder. And the week after and so on. You must do this week in week out otherwise gains will stop and you will become mediocre at best.

So simply read and read and when something seems to resonate with you, read it some more and UNDERSTAND it. Then plan out your training for 8-16 weeks and follow the programming with PASSION, working harder and harder starting at around 80% intensity and building into FULL BORE HARD AS FUCKIN' NAILS intensity in the final weeks!

This is how progress is made. This is proper weight training. This is Beyond Strong.

Nick

Feeeee-l the intensity of Dorian training...

 

 

 

 

My article at 'SPOT ME BRO'

“How To Workout Like a Movie Star Preparing For the Lead Role in an Action Film”
by

Nick McKinless

Stuntman/Filmmaker/Strength Coach

(This article can also be read here at SPOT ME BRO)

 

Is it possible to really get in ridiculously good shape in 3-6 months?

Unless you’re starting from obese or stick thin then yes it is!

Movie stars are renown for getting in crazy shape for a movie role but I am here to tell you that they use a LOT of tricks to enhance their look. They usually have 3-6 months to get ready for a role. They will have been cast well in advance and pre-production on a movie can last months so there is time. !

Exceptions to the rule are Dwayne Johnson, Hugh Jackman, Sylvester Stallone and top action stars like Scott Adkins. These guys LOVE their training and train even when not preparing for movies. 

Movie stars do have certain advantages though.

Genetics

Movie stars by their very nature of being ‘the beautiful people’ tend to have very good genetics. Even the untrained ones can put on muscle or get lean because their starting point is usually that much better. Many movie stars were good athletes in college and they have that base to begin with. Add that to their god given talent and you have a recipe for success.

Work Ethic

Actors works hard! If you think acting is an easy career choice think again. Movies today are run virtually 24/7 and the hours are brutal. Learning lines is difficult, delivering them convincingly is even harder. If you don’t learn your lines you’ll get a bad reputation and that means no work.

I’ve known actors that get up at 4am to eat breakfast or drink a healthy shake. Then they hit the gym for an hour. After that they skim over their lines, often in the make-up room where they are being fussed over by one or two make-up girls.

Then they get to set at 7am for a full days work which might include running pages of dialogue, remembering a fight sequence with 5 or 6 stuntmen and possibly doing wire work stunts as well. 

They may then have to do press work for the film or a previous film in the evening. Attend dinners and functions and then check lines for the next day. Their day might finish at midnight and then it starts again. 

Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise come to mind when I think of actors who worked unbelievably hard for their films. They had a stunt double or two but look closely and a ton of the action is actually them fighting, falling and mixing it with the stuntmen. Make no mistake, acting and especially action acting is tough.

Drugs

Yes ‘some’ of them will take performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). However, think about it. They are not cheating anyone because there is no drug testing for movie stars. It’s not professional sports where drug testing is used and where getting caught would be bad for their careers. If anything these guys and girls are enhancing their god given talents and their exceptional hard work with the icing on the cake. No one gave a shit that Arnold was taking drugs for Conan or The Terminator, all they cared about was that he looked the part, learnt his lines and looked awesome killing people with a massive sword!

Tricks

Sometimes an actor only needs to be in shape for a few days or weeks. That way they can cheat a little by doing a water and carb loading trick that professional athletes, especially bodybuilders use to get lean fast. Of course this only works if you are already in pretty good shape.

Here’s a VERY brief explanation of how it works. Do some proper research (google) to find out the intricacies of this process.

Basically you reduce your carbs for 3-5 days whilst also increasing sodium intake. This gets the body into a carb depleted mode and the muscles looking flat. Then water loading starts. Eventually drinking up to a gallon of water a day for 3-5 days. This means being near a toilet! The final stage is to stop drinking water for 1-2 days whilst bringing back the carbs so that the muscles start to look full again. By stopping the water intake the body will get rid of the excess water as it has been tricked into losing it by the overload the previous days. Now you should have large full muscles with no water under the skin. This is probably what Ryan Reynolds did for Blade Trinity to get himself so lean.

Another trick is creative make-up and lighting. Not everyone’s abs in 300 were as defined as they seemed. Many were enhanced with shadows created by make-up and lighting effects.

Training

Everyone of those top action stars will train differently but I will give you a brief guide to how I have done it before. What you must understand is that I will train people with limited time and so every exercise and the way it is performed has to be exacting otherwise we are wasting valuable time.

Train the legs
Some will say train the squat or the deadlift. The deadliest is a great exercise but you can get very strong without adding any size with the deadlift. However, with the squat, it is rare to not increase bodyweight when weights increase. I say squat. 

Train for width rather than depth

Width will always give you the illusion of power. A thick chest might seem impressive but unless you have the width it will be lost. Width means two key things: shoulder and lats.

Train to be athletic

I’ve had to teach some actors that looked pretty good to do fight scenes and they had two left feet. basically they were all show and no go. In movies, we can cheat certain things but you can’t cheat a bad runner or a sloppy mover. Getting actors to move in their training is just as important as adding muscle.

Training example

Day 1
Squat - 5x5
Leg Press - 1x30, 1x20, 1x12-15
Leg Curl - 1x30, 1x20, 1x12-15
Abs circuit

Day 2
Seated Military Press - 5x5
Chins - 5x5
Biceps - 1x20, 1x12-15, 1x6-10
Triceps - 1x30, 1x20, 1x12-15
Various jumping exercises

Day 3
Bench Press - 5x5
Lat Pulldowns - 1x30, 1x20, 1x12-15
DB Fly - 1x20, 1x12-15, 1x6-10
Rear Delts - 1x20, 1x12-15, 1x6-10
Push/Pull Sled

Day 4
Boxing/Pad Work
Sprints

I know what you’re thinking. Is that it!? Well no. All of this is performed with PERFECT FORM, INTENSITY and PROGRESSION. I can not injure these guys so I have to work them hard and that can only be done if their form is perfect. I will use some intensity methods such as supersets, drop sets, pause reps and I will mess with them to make them more competitive with themselves. Most people really don’t know how hard they can work so I try to bring out the beast in them! I will also have progression in mind from the start, setting goals and making sure we smash them along the way. Add to this a solid eating plan and with the dedication these guys possess we get the job done.

If you wanna be the next Van Damme or Jason Statham you better be a great athlete be willing to work ridiculously hard and be ready for the fight of your life!

Nick

Next generation action star Scott Adkins...a gentleman and a superb athlete and actor.

 

29 explanations - No.9

The best physiques were built in the 50's, 60's and 70's.

Vince Gironda was probably the first modern day personal trainer with his own private facility. Vince shunned science but got results anyway. Incidentally, I believe this is because science leaves out one basic but ultra important element when it comes to research. That element is HARD WORK. 

Now Vince was as odd as they come probably coined the phrase The Iron Guru but his results were undeniable. Vince was all about physique creation but rest assured his number one tool was hard work. Vince was on a quest to create, aesthetically pleasing physiques and built a hell of a body himself. He couldn't care less how much you lifted, it was all about angles and feel for Vince.

Vince didn't give a flying fuck what you thought either and since he trained everyone from Larry Scott (The first MR. OLYMPIA) to Carl 'Apollo Creed' Weathers and Clint Eastwood to Eric Estrada (Chips) AND had the audacity to call Arnold FAT then you know he really didn't.

Now a statement like mine is obviously very subjective. I like the physiques of these decades the most as a whole. As bodybuilding grew into a a 'more size is better' spectacle, so the physiques lost much of that athletic and classic look that were still around in the 70's.

In the 80's Lee Labrada, Francis Benfatto, Bob Paris and Thierry Pastel carried on in the tradition of muscular but well proportioned physiques but they were a dying breed.

In the 70's Arnold, although huge for the time, still had a lean, tight waist. The legs of 70's bodybuilders were also not overly developed and thus their look was powerful but not blocky.

In the 80's things started to change and as we go into the 90's few bodybuilders maintained slimmer waists. I still love those huge bodybuilders and Dorian Yates for me still has one of the gnarliest physiques in history but I prefer those pre-1980.

I also believe those physiques are somewhat 'doable' for many people. Put TEN years of work in, keep your bodyfat in check and make sure you work every muscle evenly and you should have a decent physique worthy of the 50's, 60's or 70's. Always remember though that even then, genetics played a part.

Take a look back into those early years of the sport of bodybuilding and make your own mind up.

Nick

 

Frank Zane, 3 Time Mr. Olympia

Rant-O-rama returns

I am soooo over EVERYONE complicating training. It IS NOT DIFFICULT stop making it sound so difficult!!!

Here is a mid year RANT.

• Nobody needs a nutritionist.
• Most people don't need a coach.
• You don't need to go to a seminar where someone talks to you ALL DAY about macronutrients.
• You don't need to buy all organic food.
• You don't need to do the latest fitness fad.
• You are not a professional athlete if you get free protein powder.
• You don't need to try every program on bodybuilding.com.
• You don't need every single supplement available.
• Stop changing your program every week.
• Fine do Crossfit, what do I care.
• Bodybuilding isn't the devil.
• Increase your 20 rep squat by 50lbs and your bodyweight will increase.
• If your trainer looks like shit...your training will be shit.
• Crap calves? Flat chest? Find better parents next time.
• Stick to a training program for 8-16 weeks.
• No stronger than you were a year ago. You don't know what you're doing.
• Same size as you were a year ago. You don't know what you're doing.
• Training program you made up. You don't know what you're doing.
• You're probably not a genetic freak. Stop training like one.
• Ugly deadlifting does virtually nothing for you.
• Just cos you lift, doesn't make you tough. It is cute, like an angry puppy though.
• Partials are only good if you use hideous amounts of weight.
• You should put the most work into the biggest muscles.
• You will never, EVER look like Arnold.
• LOTS of bodybuilders had better physiques than Arnold. He just had a better personality.
• On the whole, humans are stronger and bigger now than ever before.
• Genetics beats hard work.
• Hard work beats lazy genetics though.
• Genetics and hard work = CHAMPION.
• First WANT IT then DO IT.
• Listen to strong people who have worked hard for a long time.
• Respect your elders. They've heard and done it all before. Well, some of them have.
• Alcohol and painkillers. Works very time and never killed anyone. Oh fuck, that's not right!
• Enjoy and cherish your training. It is your time.
• Anything is possible. What a load of shit!
• Anything is possible - within reason - better.
• Just 'cos a 'guru' makes up exercises doesn't mean they are any good.
• All those new exercises they made up...Dorian never used 'em.
• Nor did Arnold.
• Or Ronnie or Frank or Sergio or Lee or Larry...
• Stop reading shit. Start doing shit.

 

I could go on and on and on...

Nick

Zuver's Gym was a legendary gym in the 60's and 70's and had more unique training equipment than you could imagine including a 2000lbs Barbell, custom Big Wheel lat pulldown, HUGE custom built power racks and much more. A whole article is required on this amazing museum of a gym.

Here's Zuver's 200lbs (each) weight plates.