Put the Power of one of the greatest human beings alive to work for you...

In life, there are a few indisputable facts, rules, etc. Common knowledge that we all know to be profoundly true. If people don't know these, then we're all responsible for making sure that everyone knows them. If we don't tell them to everyone, then we're making grave mistakes... horrible, borderline unforgivable sins. Here are the top ones in my mind:

1. Treat others as you'd like to be treated.
2. For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction
3. R. Lee Ermey is one of the greatest human beings that ever walked the face of the earth. You didn't know that last one? I feel sorry for you. I really do! It's just a known fact that R. Lee Ermey, the greatest drill instructor in the history of film, is also the greatest, most profound source of motivation and is the most adrenaline-spiking, ass-kicking human beings in the world who exhales pure testosterone every time he breathes. Right now, scientists are studying the theory that the R Lee Ermey's piss might be nature's perfect source for hormone replacement for old men and girly, little boys.

Make sure you drink a gallon of water before you let it rip on this one, Sarge!

Lots of us know that visualization is really important for achieving goals. A lot of us think about what we want, picturing ourselves getting it as we work towards it. I also like to use mental images when I'm training to keep me motivated and keep me going. I'm sure a lot of you do the same, for better or worse. How many times have you convinced yourself you were too tired to go on with things you've done before... only to fail at these easy tasks? I'm guessing more than you'd like to admit.

Well, sometimes it's not enough to block out the notion of fatigue. It might be necessary to think of something else. Maybe some motivating image in your mind. Well, this is the reason why R. Lee Ermey is several layers of awesome!
Somewhat to my surprise, I've gotten a quite a few questions about how to make a 20-30 minute workout and how to combine weights with BW. There's no real magic or rhyme that you have to follow. So, here are a few, choice routines along with some images to weld into your head. When you feel like quitting, just think of R. Lee Ermey, breathing down your neck, contemplating which of his fists hurts more when he punches the shit out of you for quitting like a little bitch...

Rope and Kettlebell Fun
I do this one with a 57 lbs KB and my 2" thick, 12' long rope...
30 kettlebell swings
2 trips up the rope
Repeat 4 times

Sandbag+8 count bodybuilders
My Sunday Evening Workout...
30 Eight-count bodybuilders
5 get-ups on each side w/ 75 lbs sandbag
12 Good Mornings with 100 lbs sandbag
Repeat 3 times

Kettlebell + Perfect Push-up
This one murdered me the other day...
15 Handstand push-ups on PP
5 Bicep curl-clean+bent press+windmill w/ 45 lbs, each side
10 One arm Push-ups, each arm, on PP
Repeat twice

Now remember this, ladies, there's ain't no magic to puttin' together weights with BW. If you're whinin' 'bout only havin' 20-30 minutes to work out, you're just not tryin' hard enough to make the most of your time. If you're ever draggin' yer ass during a workout, thinkin' of how bad it sucks, just think of me!

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Push Pull Sled

On the back of Pat's Push Pull Sled here's another one for you avid DIYer's and welding maniac's

Great looking Push Pull Sled from Sherdog














Equipment required for the build


3 four foot lengths of thick walled 1x1 steel tubing
2 feet of regular walled 1" od round tubing
2 Hooks
1 Length of rope
2 Carabiners (sp?)
1 Thick nylon tie down (used for a harness)

Tools
Welder
Angle Grinder
Cut off Saw (optional)

Sherdog Push Pull DIY Sled

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Push Pull Sled Full Plans - Prowler

Push Pull Sled Plans

Pat from Homemadegymstuff has put up some awesome fully detailed plans of a Push Pull Sled over on his blog HMGS

Check 'em out at Push Pull Sled Fully Detailed Plans

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More Homemade Kettlebells

Another great idea for a cheap DIY Kettlebell from Instructables

Materials Required:
-1 bag quikrete pre-mixed concrete mix
-1 cheap rubber ball (under $5)
-26" of 3/4" or 1" PVC (sch40)
-Small quantity of sand
-Duct tape
-Water


Away you go! Anyone made one yet?



Related DIY Kettlebell Posts:

Tim Ferris Kettlebell Handle(as seen in the Four Hour Body

Make your own kettlebell from a beer keg

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How much and what kind of Pain to take

Strength training deals with pain. Pain comes from stressing the muscle tissue to varying degrees to, and sometimes past, the mind's somewhat self-induced limit. That forces muscle tissue to strengthen itself to deal with the stress. Pain is the by-product of this process. The mind induces limits for the safety of the bodily structure and only allows it to to exert to a point. That way, serious structural damage isn't done. Or, at the very least, excessive exertion doesn't waste potentially valuable energy reserves when such things are scarce. Remember, the body still acts like every day is survival mode, even when the the body's survival isn't threatened.

Two reasons why the mind will attempt to shut off muscle from moving. Two extremes that cause confusion in the new strength trainer. Very often, newbies are worried about overtraining. I have one boiler-plate response to questions about overtraining: if you're asking, then you're not overtraining.

Overtraining isn't what happens when you've worked out really, really hard and you're still tired two hours later. Its something that happens either over a period of several days or after a workout that's way past insane (think: triathlon horror story). It's not unlike having the flu: headaches, nausea, extreme fatigue, etc and all you want to do is sleep! Not enough sleep and/or not enough food are keys. In other words, it's a period of complete disregard for your body and a complete lack of caution. By asking the question, chances are that you're showing too much caution to overtrain in the first place.

Something that plays into overtraining and training injuries alike is mistaking the notion that you can measure the merits of your workout by how much pain you experience. Pain is a side-effect of hard training. So, the harder you work, and the more pain you're in, the better your workout is... to a point. Frankly, most newbies don't know where this measure becomes null and void. Muscular pain from fatigue can be good: it's the side effect of good work. Achy joints or pulled tendons/ligaments are not! Even worse is feeling your workout hours after it's completed. A good workout shouldn't hurt for much more than two hours afterwards. An exception would be a new exercise. The body takes more time to adjust. That's why it's a good idea to ease into a new exercise gently, on an easy day.

Let's be frank though: Too many people undertrain. They use pain as an excuse to pussy out of working hard. They pull the overtraining card out when they're tired afterwards. There's another reason to go easier the next day. It's all bullshit. As long as we get the proper amount of healthy foods and a good night's sleep, most of us are capable of pushing ourselves much harder than we do. That's why some exPURTS insist on training with other people: someone needs to deliver that kick in the ass that you need! As long as you're not insane or being stupid, you probably don't need to worry about injury or overtraining.

Pushing through pain also a great spiritual and mental exercise too. Embracing pain in life is key to getting what you want. You have to work hard to get that thing that you want. Hard work always brings on the pain. The only way that you get what you want is to accept that pain is necessary. Pain will always be there. If you don't get that through your thick-ass skull, then life will always be harder than it needs to be. It's kind of funny but in trying to make life too easy, it actually becomes much harder.

Here's a good example, relevant to the spirit of this blog...

Let's say that person x just didn't like to work out. It's painful and tiring, so person x stops reading The Bodyweight Files. It's too much to eat right too. It's cheaper to buy potato chips, ice cream, fast food, soda, hot dogs and hamburger helper than it is to buy fruits, veggies, nuts, eggs, fish and lean steak. Besides, person x enjoys the former more than the latter. So, this goes on for a while with a few, sporadic and fleeting efforts at getting in shape just to say that person x tried to. Exercise is painful, after all.

By age 35, person x shops at Causal Male XL (or maybe Lane Byrant). By age 45, person x starts having problems with blood sugar, causing the feet to ache and feel cold all the time. Then, person x need cholesterol medication. All the while, the aches and pains of carrying around 35% Bodyfat keeps taking its toll and by 55, person x has arthritis in one of the knees. That blood sugar problem warps into type 2 diabetes. So, now person x is on insulin, cholesterol medication, and a pain killer... plus something for depression. Shopping at the fat clothing store takes a toll...

Now, by 65 person x has a heart attack. The doctors manage to patch that up, for now. The effects of all of diabetes has taken it's toll on the arteries going to the feet and now simple sores on the feet turn into septic infections requiring treatment. That arthritic knee is now bone-on-bone and needs to be replaced. Then cancer...

How does that compare to the pain of working out every day for 20-40 minutes?

Be smart when you're working out, but for crying out loud... DO SOMETHING! It's really not that painful in the bigger picture.

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Should Sly just quit this muscle thing?

He's been given an lifetime achievement award Razzie as the worst actor ever. He was the very definition of the over-the-top action hero in the 1980's. He talks really funny too. Yet Sylvester Stallone is still out there, making his movies and still managing to attract enough people to the theaters to turn a decent profit off of his work. His latest movie, "the Expendables" might has made around $95 million on a $60 million budget by the time that you read this. His career seemed dead in the water for most of the last decade until he started making this latest, mini-comeback.
It hasn't been without it's criticism though. Apparently, he's way too old to be an action star anymore. Even though 80's nostalgia has been in full swing for the past few years, Stallone's brand of action hero isn't invited to the party.
These can make a comeback, but Sly can't? FOR REAL?

To top it off, a guy pushing 65 years old shouldn't look like that. That's almost as wrong as a woman doing real strength training. I remember when his last Rocky movie came out, a boxing writer said something to the effect that Stallone's physique looks something like a freaky, over-aged piece of meat. I guess people old enough to collect social security need to look old, weak and broken down.

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way: Stallone uses steroids and growth hormone. We know that he's used them for a long time. He got caught with them in Australia a few years ago and proclaimed that he loved the effects of HGH and Testosterone. I'm not a fan of steroid use so I'm not a fan of Stallone's steroid use either. What those of us who strength train know is that steroids alone don't make a physique. There's a lot of hard work behind even the most steroid-laced physique. That is what I'm focusing on, not his drug use. There is no doubt that Stallone works his ass off!

That work ethic is admirable, as far as I'm concerned. I like the fact that he hasn't given up on himself or what he loves to do just because he's in his
mid-60's. He takes good care of himself and he doesn't give up.

So, what we're kind of saying by deriding a muscular, but old, man is that we expect people to just give up on themselves at some point. Sure, we can train, get big muscles and get girls with our strength training but there comes a time, right around where we start collecting the SS check, that we just need to say, fuck it! We need to give up on ourselves and accept that rotting to death for the final 30+ years of our life is our fate.

I just can't buy into that storyline for myself. I just can't bring myself to will that upon others. Some of the key points to strength training is to exceed the limits of what we consider to be possible, do defy expectations, and discover a sense of self while we're doing it. If we stop this process, then what was the point all along? Quitting on our bodies once we're no longer young doesn't fit into this picture. The picture that it paints isn't one of real, holistic physical culture. It's a portrait of self-absorbed trend-following and pleasing other people. I don't expect Sly to do it, and I don't expect anyone else to either.

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