BEYOND STRONG

Time to get serious again

I have spent more time since August getting drunk then I have lifting weights.  I think that this is something I have to go through.  Not sure why, but it started mid August when I took a week off from work for vacation and spent it on my front porch sucking down beer a thirty pack at a time for 7 straight days.  That kind of kicked it off.  Amazingly, I havent gained or lost any weight, just kinda rolling along.  I am at that point now where I no longer get hang overs and I wake up after a night of drinking craving a beer.  Some might call that alcoholism, I call it dedication to the cause.  As my friend and fellow biker Johnny says, "No one likes a quitter!"

My training crew is still involved in football, and the weekends spent slinging weight with them will once again roll around.  For now, I need to get up and dust myself off and get back to what I love to do. 

My training will be basic and brutal.  I will be doing the basic lifts: squats, deads, rows, benches, barbebll curls, overhead presses, close grip bench presses, etc.  3 days a week, for 3-5 reps 3-5 sets.  For cardio I will be using the prowler on off lifting days for 10 sets of sprints of around 30-40 yards alternating high and low hand holds.

I will get back to posting the workouts, just keep in mind, I have been away from the weight room consistently since August so I will be WEAK as hell.

And so it once again begins...the battle between good and evil.

Pay attention to the last few minutes of this.

Bare Essentials

I was asked by the editor of this women's online magazine to contribute an article or two about my experience and training for film stunt work. The magazine is very interesting and will have interest for men too (if only for some of the pictures!).

The article is HERE on pages 8 and 9.

Inga, the editor and creator, has a great sense of design and the magaizne is very well laid out and put together with a myriad of interesting health and fitness based articles. Well worth a read.

Nick

Nick




10/20/08- Dear Blog....I trained today!

What a break through!  I actually went to the gym after work and got in a decent chest and biceps workout.  It was straight out of FLEX magazine, but it was a workout and I felt decent afterwards.  I have lost a ton of strength...no big deal.  I have learned from experience that strength comes back fast.  I am more interested right now in just getting back to the gym 3 days a week with some consistency.  It is turning cold, so the bike will be retiring until warmer weather is here again.  Don't get me wrong, if we get another warm spell, I will get 'er out again!

This winter will be spent trying to add some quality mass and getting back on track.  Looking forward to it.  I have a ton of shit going on right now, so training will be a huge stress reliever and maybe, just maybe, I can find that fire that got me training 19 years ago.

-Rick

Priorities

I had a quiet summer but things seem to be picking up. I was on Sherlock Holmes last weekend with Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. A true gent, a genuine film star and an inspiring actor. Guy Ritchie was directing and he is a very enigmatic man. I was fortunate enough to be involved in the opening fight which should look pretty cool. Can't really say much more than that!

My training has been going quite well. I hit a nice 215kgx2 rock bottom squat (just a belt) last week with more in the tank. Chins were up to 60kg for doubles and I've even been doing some deadlifting. I also went to see an osteopath and she has already helped me re-evaluate my priorities. The good thing she is not averse to strength training and all it's avenues. Indeed, she is a keen kettlebell and clubbell enthusiast.

The worst things are my posture which has exposed a virtually flat lower back and a flat middle back/trap area. I know how bad my mobility is as well but this was evident with some of the tests we went through. My previous injuries are certainly not helping. I am a bit of a mess!

Still I am now focused on improving these problems and will put big strength goals on the back burner. At 38 I need to address these things now. As she and my wife said, 'You move like knackered old horse!'. Charming...but true.

Ideally my priorities should be something like this:

1. Mobility - especially in the shoulders, lower back, hamstrings.
2. Postural - middle back and lower traps, specific chest work, lower back curvature.
3. Conditioning - multiple short busts of between 30 seconds and 4 mins.
4. Strength - the usual!

Right now I don't need to change much. The first thing is to try and loosen up some of the back with manipulation, trigger point therapy and acupuncture. At least then I will have a chance and improving rather than fighting against the tightness that exists. It will not be a short process.

As always I will leave you with a bit of fun. This is a promo for a new comedy series featuring two friends of mine, Mike and Mark Duncan, twins in fact! They are doing all the cool stunts in this clip and star as the two delivery drivers/riders. Very Ethnic Australian but very funny. Enjoy...

Swift and Shift Couriers SBS commercial
Nick

New Ads

You'll notice some new flashing images in the right hand side of the blog (which is a change as I noticed nearly every other blog was set up like this!). These are affiliated to Beyond Strong but they are all products that I have used or still use.

Kelly Baggett's Vertical Jump Bible is really one of the best Jumping programs there is. Just recognizing what type of jumper you are (which Kelly explains here) is worth the price of the book. Highly recommended.

Firebox.com is a company ran by, well, geeks! Actually I have a friend who works there and they have the best prices on some of the coolest and most stupid (!) toys, gadgets, games and gifts you can buy. Stuck for a present? Firebox will have something I guarantee it. Highly recommended.

T3 magazine is more gadgets and technology. I've been buying T3 for well over 10 years now. I've bought it here, in Australia and in the states. If you want all the up to date information on gadgets and tech then T3 is your mag. Highly Recommended.

SpiderWeb Marketing. Ok, this may not be your thing. In some ways it's not my thing but I have found that it works and it's FREE. If you want to make a little extra cash on the side, have a few hours spare to listen to a loud, sales pitching American (sorry my Yankee friends but he is a loud son of a gun!) then give it a try. You simply follow the steps, sign up to all the income streams and once you build a small network of people you start making money. Once it's set up it is is easy to maintain. Not for everyone so only recommended if you really want to earn some extra money with Internet Marketing.

The rest you know about and of course they are all highly recommended.

Sorry for the ad talk...more articles on strength and health coming soon...I PROMISE!

Nick

Update

As you have probably noticed I haven't been posting my workouts recently. I was starting to get less motivated with having to log it online (I still keep a workout log book of course). I've been going to the gym just twice a week recently and then training at homes with bands, the power wheel and various other things. At the moment I am maintaining 95-96kg and feel reasonably good strength and injury wise. The Oly stuff was destroying me and not in a good way. I am back with the basics and enjoying it.

Although work for me has been quiet things seem to be picking up nicely. Later this week I am working on Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock and with Guy Ritchie directing. This should be a lot of fun!

I have some nice new articles coming soon including one on Hard Core Core Training! You are gonna love this and it's going to spin those exercise 'gurus' right out.

For now check out this great deadlifting video...

Nick

Fall is nice, but I miss summer!

What's up all you BEYOND STRONG readers?!?  I was out last week, 40 hours of class room/practicum, and I am now officially a Hostage Negotiator, certified by the state of PA, and recognized by the F.B.I.  Wow.  That carries a huge amount of responsibility and I take it VERY seriously.  I could save a life, or cause a life to be taken.  That is huge.

The class was amazing, and the scenarios were out of this world.  A hostage situation is full of so much controlled chaos, sitting in that chair and talking to someone who holds another life in his hand is like standing in the eye of a hurricane.  People are running every where, checking intel, giving you info, writing, calling, etc.  Fucking nuts.  You learn a lot about people, but you also learn a LOT about yourself.

It is getting cold.  I got home today and took the bike out, and even with a hoodie and my leather jacket, I was still a bit chilled.  I am going to miss being on the bike this winter, but it will make me appreciate spring and summer so much more.  Also, the fall/winter months will allow me to get my ass back to the gym.  I am not sure how long it has been since I touched a weight.  I am thinking August...

If you have FX, check out the new series, Sons of Anarchy on Wednesday nights at 10.  Sweet show, and the lead character is Australian.  You know him Nick?

I am headed out again tomorrow.  Headed north for some cold Labatts and pool shooting. 

-Rick

Who's your daddy!!

WE have a daughter!! Born 27th of September, at 3.55 in the afternoon in Denpasar, Bali...