BEYOND STRONG

Hectic

I wanted to warn everyone that posts are going to be rather infrequent over the next few months. Due to work committments it's going to be hard to find time to post new articles.

I managed to train with David, Alex and Elizabeth Horne this week and witness David and Alex's mammouth arm wrestling sessions! We did two workouts over a 3 plus hour period. First up was chest and tricep work playing around with the One DB Bench press and David's new Triton Bar. The One DB Bench Press is a really interesting change of pace and well worth trying if the regular bench press is getting stale in your routine. I managed a tough 65kg/143lbs whilst David easily blasted out 70kg or 154lbs.

After some lovely home cooked food from Elizabeth we resumed our efforts. Having not really trained grip properly for a year I was eager to do some light pinching and play with some other grip toys. I managed a rough not locked out (5" off the floor) 99.4kg Two Hands Pinch with the now standard Euro Pinch Grip apparatus. I was pleased with this, knowing that with 2-4 weeks of training I would be back to my best of 109kg.
With David's 'sliding ramp' technique I worked up to a few lifts with the York Blob and then picked up two 20kg plates comfortably. I guess this kind of hand strength doesn't just go away!
David worked up toan easy Level 13 on his Vulcan gripper which I failed at miserably. Level 12 was my best today.
The One Arm Curl against the wall was next. I worked up to 35kg/77lbs for 2 reps each arm and I believe David got 40kg/88lbs for one rep. Pretty impressive curling with a heavy dumbbell.

After this I witnessed David and Alex's arm wrestling sessions. David uses massive band tension which I struggled to pull over. Then Alex, who is an accomplished and super strong 17 year old arm wrestler, wrestles David over 6 bouts. The intensity was INSANE! Here's a picture...

David won 4 to 3 but they were close and tough battles!

We then went onto David's Lock 'n' Load invention. A partial range trainer for various positions on the arm wrestling table. We worked three positions and I can see the huge benefits for arm wrestlers with this machine set up. It would also be a cool way to train for a bigger bicep curl as well.
Finally,( yes we were still going), we did a combination of Orbi Grip and Lock 'n' Load. 50 Orbi's followed by 5 full range Lock 'n' Loads for 5 sets. SUPER PUMP!

Another brilliant day spent with friends just enjoying training, chatting and laughing our heads off. That's what it's all about!

Nick

Almost perfect

Here's some more info on the Life Fitness I was talking about in my last post. Actually, let's call it something else...let's call it Beyond Strong - The program for life fitness...or something like that!

I believe that most non competitive but motivated trainees require a routine that pushes them but not too much. This doesn't mean you have to be lazy or never work hard but the majority of people only really require a slightly above average level of strength, conditioning and mobility. I may not be qualifying this all that well (it's late here) with 'slightly above average' so let me give you some examples.

• Wouldn't it be nice to carry your shopping without your arms dropping off!
• If you had to help someone push a car, it would be nice if you could do it without fear of a heart attack right?
• What if a member of your family has a fall and you need to be able to pick them up off the floor and carry them to the car. Can you?
• A friend asks you to do a 1/2 marathon in 2 months time for a charity close to your heart and thankfully your regular training allows you to get in shape in 6-8 weeks
• Walking up stairs is a joy not a chore
• You can burst into a sprint to catch the bus or the train about to leave
• A friend asks you to help them move house. No problem, your strong, fit and mobile.

These are a few of the everyday things that can and do occur in peoples lives all over the world no matter what their income, race, age or gender.

In the article The Perfect Warrior from November 2007 I stated the case for the term Beyond Strong.

"Greater than average strength levels combined with excellent endurance, maximum speed recruitment and a toughness to compete with the best in the worst situation. If you add that combination to ANY sport you are going to do very well indeed."

I still believe that to be true for the athletes who compete but now I also think there are different levels of Beyond Strong. Perhaps there are 3 levels. Level 1 for the average Joe or Jill. Level 2 for those competing in their spare time. And Level 3 for the more full time competitive athletes. Level 1 is what I am talking about right now.

Ponder on this as I continue experimenting and refining things.

Nick

A far from average Allan Wells tribute. Allan was a huge influence my athletics career as a junior in the 1980's

Life fitness

Things have been quite busy around here recently. Thankfully work has picked up and although training 6 days a week (sometimes twice a day) has been great, it was nice to put that training to good use. Training has been a combination of strength, bodybuilding and conditioning. I have come to the conclusion that these are the most important elements of a great workout schedule. Of course, I would also add to that with prehab and rehab work. This would be mobility work, myofascial release and sports specific stretching.

Here's an example of a recent workout.

Warm-up - dynamic swings and joint rotations
Seated Press - 5x5
Chins - 5 sets with varied hand positions (alternate, underhand, overhead etc) 5 sets from 1-15 reps
Flys - 3 sets of 12, never locking out
Cable Crossover - 2 sets of 12-15
4 Board Press - 4x5, stressing the triceps
Bicep Machine - 4x8-12
Pushdowns - work to heavy set of 8-10 then a big drop set
Mobility - either upper body or lower body
Cardio - 20-30 minutes of Cross Trainer on 'Strength' or 'Hills' at a high Level (10 or above)

I still have a way to go to achieve the results I want. Below is a picture taken about 3 weeks ago. For reference, I couldn't see my abs at Xmas! This is part of my Life Fitness plan where I hope to maintain a good level of strength and conditioning but also stay injury and pain free. So far so good. Of course, you can't have maximum strength or maximum fitness like this. The goal is a level of all round fitness which would require a minimal phase of specialization (6-12 weeks) to reach maximum strength or aerobic capacity depending on the goal. This is an experimental process which eventually will be a part of a wider program I will share with you all in the future.

I'll have another picture of my progress in April.

Nick