EXERCISE OF THE WEEK: Truck Tire Flips

With the acquisition of a new lighter 360# tire for our guys and gals, I should post some educational videos. Keep in mind the largest of the three tires still tips the scales at 505#. The ambulance tire is only ~150# and is a great depth gauge for air squats and wall balls.

What exercises pair up nicely with flipping? Any trunk flexion movement: situps, HK2E, sledge hammer strikes, chopping wood. Battling ropes/firehose. Wallballs. Overhead presses. Pushups. Ring Dips.

What to avoid during a flipping workout? Deadlifts. Lunges. Power Cleans. Snatches. Front Squats.

For more on tire flipping, you can always click the label TIRES.

Flip away. Everyone is doing it!

RESULTS: regional SWAT competition

Congratulations to FIAT Green Squad (posed above) for being named overall champions during a local Police SWAT competition yesterday. L-R is Hurt, Nicky G, Josh, Jew, Soup, and The Reverend. These guys put out not only physically, but with stellar marksmanship and teamwork. Even though these guys beat my FIAT Black Squad, I'm so proud of them -- afterall we're one team!

Two of the above photos were taken during the O-course, hence no gear or weapons. The telephone pole maneuvers called for coordination among members. So did the climbs up and over the shipping container with the heavy red rescue dummy.

The event consisted of five courses, with the fifth and final course being the dreaded physical exertion course (or obstacle course). Each tactical course lasted around 4-7 minutes (raw times), and the O-course lasted between 15-25 minutes.

All the competition squads put out an outstanding effort. - DuPage Sheriff SOS, Bolingbrook PD REACT, Illinois Dept of Corrections TRT, and FIAT SWAT Taskforce. To those two teams who backed out last week: You missed an incredible experience. Thanks too to the "Red Hats" - the safety officers and judges who scored targets and kept the event rolling. This was an inaugural event that will surely grow in future years. I can't believe there hasn't been a statewide competition/challenge in Illinois for years! Hopefully this will become that event! Here are the top standings:

1. FIAT Green (tie breaker with IDOC)
2. Illinois Dept of Corrections
3. FIAT Black

I won't bore you with all the details, but here are few talking points -- especially how they relate to physical fitness:

• Markmanship: Each course was scored by completion time. Missed pistol and rifle shots came with 20-sec penalties. Missed sniper shots has a 60-sec penalty. Simply put, you cannot out-run or out-maneuver those time penalties. You MUST make shots. And to make shots, you must pace your running and exertion, have the fitness and wind to control your heart rate and breathing, and stay concentrated on the task. It makes no sense to sprint to the firing position, only to wait until your breathing is controlled. It's better to jog or lollygag to the position and get shots on target faster. Hits count.
• Procedures and Rules: All of the events were simple enough so members could remember the rules, procedures, or orders of tasks (at least in a calm and controlled state). However....with a little bit of stress and a lot of fatigue, rationale and logic began to fade. Focus turned from the course rules to physiological functions such as breathing and elevated heart rates. Yet again, without a solid base of fitness, thinking became jarred.
• Teamwork: Working as a coordinated six-man unit is just as critical as being a squared-away individual. Team members need to have an understanding of several strategies during each of the events. Also, team members need to recognize when to change strategies or responsibilities, specifically when it relates to shifting a physical burden to a more able member. Few strategies last an entire event. Team captains and members have to have to call "audibles" like a quarterback in football. And the team needs to not only understand the requested change, but be able to transition immediately.
• Physical fitness: Functional fitness is king. Obstacle and tactical courses do not distinguish between strength or cardio. All job-simulation courses demand a hybrid fitness and preparedness. Bodybuilders with "huge guns" don't necessarily fare well. These courses couldn't care less about what you look like in a mirror. Performance counts. Peak fitness allows quicker recovery between event courses, reduced chances of injury, ability to keep your mind and rationale while exerting energy, able to fire a weapon more accurately and quickly, and make movements more efficient and effectively. The time durations of 4-7 minutes reflect those peak moments during critical incidents seen in the field. Short duration = high intensity. If one is not prepared to work inside that intensity level, performance drops.

Sponsorship: the following vendors, distributors, and manufacturers donated various prizes and gifts to participants and course winners and the overall winner. These folks are asked to donate to so many great causes and events each year. They choose to support this event as one of their few. Thanks again.

• Streicher's (Jim Rund)
• Smith & Wesson (Mike Fisher)
• 5.11 Tactical (Tyler Janny)
• SureFire (Rob Robinson)
• Safariland (Shawn Mayfield)
• Chicago Army-Navy Supply (Bob Scott)
• Original SWAT Footwear (Erin Cabezut)
• Fitness Factory Outlet

Personal Note: First and foremost, I had been looking forward to this event for months. Physically, I prepared for it by wearing my vest in the gym and carrying sandbags and kettlebells. For marksmanship, I did a decent amount of live practice coupled with dry fire. During the competition, my pistol shooting sucked. I only hit 6 out of 18 shots. At least my rifle was shooting straight! On a real up note, my squad did a fantastic job on the O-course. We had that hybrid fitness of size, strength, endurance, stamina, wind, and agility. We had strong teamwork and communication throughout the course. It allowed us to make those critical mental changes, and have the steam to carry out the plans.

Again, great job FIAT Green Squad. We're very proud of you guys!

I can't wait until next year!

VIDEO: Practical application of kettlebell swings

And you wondered how KETLLEBELL SWINGS were functional???

Watch the laborer on the ground with these one-handed bucket swings to the second story!!

GYM: ZombieFit

Thanks to Dan E for turning us onto ZombieFit.

There is a group of us (albeit a small one!) that has discussed adding a few SIMPLE parkour moves to our list of abilities and skills to develop. We can start with jumps, both up and down. That's simple enough for now.

Click on the above ZombieFit link and check out how they are incorporating free-running and parkour with functional fitness. Pretty cool. And to think they're right here in the area!!

TRAINER: Mike Barwis, Univ of Michigan

This is Mike Barwis. He is the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Michigan.

Listen to his answer to the question: In the grand scheme of things, how different is your training program than other programs around the country?

This is the sort of enthusiasm and passion you want from a S&C coach!! He has a real method and philosophy. You can tell he believes in it.

Thanks to Steve W for sending us this video.

Toilets and Range of Motion

Range of Motion (ROM) is an often neglected term or idea in the fitness realm. The most popular cardio machines in health clubs (elliptical, bikes, recumbent bikes, skiers, treadmills, stair steppers) do not address ROM issues. In many cases, they actually build on the problem!!

What does a toilet have to do with Range of Motion?

We just renovated a bathroom in our home. The one-level style of our home caters to older folks, and we wanted to add another feature that might increase this appeal....a taller-than-normal toilet. Old people like these thrones because they are easier to get on and off than a standard one. These bowls are no longer called "handicapped" models, but "comfort height." What troubles me is not how many younger people request these models, but rather why they are needed! Read on.

What is "the ROM issue?"

ROM is the degree to which certain joints bend, stretch, flex, hold, and articulate. Those people with poor ROM have difficulty getting into and out of certain body or joint positions. Those with exceptional ROM easily manipulate their bodies into and out of not only normal positions, but the extremes at which their bodies are capable of. Simply put, we should strive to reach the maximum of ROM in all of our body's joints and movements. But we do a bad job at maintaining this pre-programmed condition. Enter the ROM issue. Or should we say "epidemic."

It is proven fact that our muscles are weakest at the maximums or extremes of ROM. Take climbing stairs for example. A staircase made of 6" tall stairs is easy to climb. The ROM required of our hips, knees, and ankles is nominal. However, stretch each stair riser height to 12". Now we see increases in the ROM required in all of these joints and muscles. It becomes more difficult because our muscles are forced into positions where they aren't as strong. Now stretch that stair riser height to something even taller!

Take the "lunge test"

I just walked around my home with a measuring tape. My bar stools are 30". I was able to get one flat foot on top of the barstool and step up onto it (beware of the ceiling! If I hadn't had tall ceilings, I'd have knocked myself out.) I encourage you to try the same. Find something taller than 12" and sturdy and climb up on it like a stair. No hands! For those of you who are adventurous, find the maximum height you can get a foot up onto. For me at 74" height, the 36" kitchen counter was about 1" too high to plant my foot onto. Getting up onto it would be another challenge!

This diminished strength at maximum ROM is normal to ALL people. It is nature. The problem is that many of us can no longer even get our bodies into the position in the first place, let alone get out of it.

Old people begin to fail at taller stairs, then normal height stairs. This ability decreases until any stairs are impossible.

Problems with "luxurious" cardio machines

In the article Third World Squat by Craig Weller, the author believes all humans should address poor muscular balance and flexibility. He doesn't see these imbalances in those who live in third-world countries for the reasons listed in his article. These indigenous peoples have maintained the natural ROMs programmed into our human design. They have not allowed comfort equipment or safe-to-use cardio machines to adversely affect their bodies' ROM.

So what happens as we grow older? We allow ourselves to adapt to our surroundings: chairs, elevators, Rascal scooters. We lose muscular and joint flexibility. We find comfort in using fitness equipment that keep our joints from these maximums of ROM. Take the above listed cardio machines. They limit our ranges of motion. Why? One reason is that there is a smaller chance of injury in operating in these narrow ROMs...leading to fewer lawsuits against the manufacturers and health club. Another reason is that the human body does not get as sore when kept within comfortable ROMs, and we "feel good" after the workout...which keeps us paying membership dues and buying the equipment. So we use them. Lastly, these machines are open for use to a wider variety of skill level for those with poor flexibility...because beginners have to begin somewhere!

Users of these machines leave the club feeling good. Yet they generally leaving without working on one of the most neglected aspects of fitness: wide Range of Motion.

These machines are not all bad. They serve a purpose. A limited purpose. The problem lies in the belief that these machines are the end-all-be-all. These machines are good for warmups, rehab, and beginners with limited flexibility and ROM. But we should aim to advance beyond them! Into a program that includes ways to optimize our abilities to get into and out of these extreme positions. Ask yourself if YOU condition your body within wide degrees of joint movement or not.

Flexibility

Being flexible is a very positive physical trait. However, muscular flexibility on its own is not enough to claim "wide ROM." Wide ROM factors in strength and balance at those extreme positions. You might falsely believe you have ROM because you have a terrific stretching routine. Don't be fooled. You might be missing something.

Another test

Here is another at-home hands-on segment. Some call this the "box squat test." Find something low to sit on. Maybe it's a 5-gallon bucket, a milk crate, or a cinder block. Maybe it's a stack of Olympic weight plates, two cases of beer, or a stack of phone books. Maybe it's the toilet seat. Sit down. Put your feet bottoms flat on the ground. Yes that means your heels too. Stand up without gaining momentum or rocking to your toes. Can you do it? Keep messing with different heights to find the lowest measurement you can. As our friend Tom G poetically rhymes, "Get your ass to the grass!"

To do this test well, you must have muscular balance. Most deficiencies are in the posterior chain of hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Not just flexibility. But strength.

The soft couch at the family party

You've all probably been told at some time, "Don't let grandma sit in that chair. She'll never get out!"

Have you ever been to a family party where an older uncle or grandma sits down in that couch with soft cushions? A couple of you had to reach out your hands to pull him or her up? But of course not after he or she gave all the effort possible to get out on their own accord. They shifted momentum. Tried to rock themselves to the edge. They tried to press down on the couch or chair arms (mimicking a dip position). But they had to resort to you and your cousin pulling them onto their feet.

Back to the toilet

Talk about "functional fitness." Wow. Who'd have thought that ROM and practical real-life fitness would have an application in the bathroom? And who'd have thought I'd sink down to actually write about it?

We are catering to this adaption of narrow ROM in our powder rooms when we put in comfort-height toilets. The problem is that it seems as though the people who NEED these items are getting younger and younger. It's a sad state of affairs when middle-aged folks need to rock themselves off the potty.

We will all get old and weak and feeble. Hopefully I get to live that old. But I'm not going down without a fight. I'll continue to bash cardio machines and poor ROM. I'll steadily suggest and make a case for third-world squatting and wide lunges....for those in preschool, the nursing home, and everyone in between. I really truly believe that working within and striving for wide ROM as a young person, and continuing into older years, provides for the highest probability of a high quality of life into old age.

The day might come when I am too old, weak, or injured to get up off the toilet by myself. But it is not today. And if I have a say-so in it, it's not anytime soon either.

Please make a commitment to increasing your ROM. Do something about it today.

MORE: For more on ROM and scaling issues, please read George Demetriou's article here.

SWAT shuttle run

This photo is of not only the 40# and 80# sandbags, but also of some of the heavier punching bags. The following shuttle run was the most recent SWAT fitness exercise:

• 40yd sprint
• 40yd with 80#SB
• 10x 80#SB Zercher squats
• 40yd sprint
• 40yd with 40#SB
• 10x 40#SB getups
• 40yd sprint
• 40yd with 35#KB
• 10x 35#KB two-handed ground-to-overhead snatches
• 40yd sprint

Here are the results as promised:

• "788" 2:19
• "45" 2:26
• "200" 2:29
• "8" 2:30
• "65" 2:40
• "146" 2:45
• SH 2:45
• "111" 2:46
• Tree 2:46
• Jew 2:56
• "787" 3:09
• "474" 3:10
• "315" 3:10
• "736" 3:25

Great effort by everyone. This was a really intense exercise. It was go-go-go from the start without letting up!

GYM: Nick's garage gym equipment

I asked Nick to send some photos of his growing garage set up. As you can see, there isn't much there...or is there actually a whole lot?

The heavy bag on the left is a seabag filled with 83# of wood pellets (I call most every heavy bag a "sandbag" whether it contains sand or not, and abbreviate it "SB"). The ruck on the right holds another SB, this one 40# for hikes, stairs, hills, and step-ups. The tire is for flips and jumps. The sledgehammer is for striking the tire (awesome core plyometric). And of course no functional home gym is complete without a kettlebell and a pair of hex dumbbells. Not pictured is the pullup bar contraption mounted to the ceiling.

So his gym consists of:

• truck tire
• sledgehammer
• pair of dumbbells
• 35# kettlebell
• 83# SB
• 40# SB, and pack
• pullup bar

Nick's actually got enough equipment to stress each of the seven primary movement patterns and more. Anyone who participates in a functional fitness program will look at the above photo and tell themselves, "Man, that's a pretty sweet setup. It's got everything I need." Anyone who attends the local health club argues, "What about an elliptical trainer, a leg press sled, or a curl bar? This dude must be crazy." How different the mindsets are....

There is group of our SWAT guys who have been doing a lot of SB training lately (Nick included). They are still learning a lot of new movements with their 40# and 80# SBs. They're big into SB get-ups, Zercher Squats, and clean-and-presses. I'm on their informal email list, so I get updated on their workouts and performances. As I get more photos and testimony from them, I will post.

Thanks Nick for sharing your gym with us.

VIDEO: Pole climber

Just sit back and appreciate the various components of fitness: strength, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. This man obviously has mastered some of the more neglected aspects of well-rounded physical fitness.

Does anyone know what this event/skill/art is called? I have NO idea.

Memorial Workout: SSG Shannon Smith

SSG Shannon Smith, US Army

545th Military Police Company,

Arctic Military Police Battalian

Fort Richardson, Alaska

Killed: 08 SEPT 2009, Baji, Iraq

Smith served with one of our friends Woody in the US Army. In Smith's honor, the Oak Brook (IL) Police Department's Fitness Group held a memorial workout. (Scroll through the OBPD Fitness Group blog to read more.) Let us also remember two other fallen soldiers, Zachary Myers and Thomas Lyons.

The 4-person team workout was a Full Mission Profile...done in operation-briefing style with a clearly defined mission and objective. Here was the workout:

OPERATION MAN-DOWN.

Situation: While conducting a security patrol in Baji, Iraq a US Army Hummvee was hit by a RPG during an ambush of their patrol. The Team Leader in the Hummvee was able to radio for help and requested immediate rescue for personnel with life threatening injuries. The rest of the convoy has been cut off from the Hummvee and is currently engaged in a fire fight with the enemy forces. It was decided a small rescue team of four would extract the injured personnel and recover or destroy any sensitive equipment.

Objective: The primary mission of the Rescue Team will be to conduct a rescue of the injured personnel and move them to the Evacuation Point and stand-by for the Medivac. The secondary mission will be to recover and/or destroy any sensitive equipment at the attack site to ensure it does not end up in enemy hands.

Insertion: Conduct tactical insertion into Kill Zone to evacuate and treat injured personnel and remove all sensitive equipment if situation allows.

Actions at Objective: Load injured personnel and sensitive equipment for extraction

Evacuation: Move at a fast pace to evacuate vehicle with personnel and equipment out of kill zone to an area where Medivac can safely evacuate the injured

Stand-by for Medivac: Quickly and efficiently destroy sensitive equipment to reduce your load and speed up your own extraction.

Extraction: Move injured personnel to the Medivac for Extraction.

This related to the following exercises and tasks:

Insertion

• 75 Yard Sprint

Phase 1-Load Injured and Equipment

• Load following into (or onto) sedan vehicle
• 1x Rescue Randy
• 4x Heavy Bags
• 4x Tires
• 4x Sledgehammers
• 4x 35# KBs
• 4x 25# plate

Phase 2-Evacuate

• Push Vehicle 75 yards

Phase 3-Unload and Treat Wounded

• Carry following 50 yards (only 1 item per trip, per team member)
• 1x Rescue Randy (Carry on Litter)
• 4x Heavy Bags
• 4x Tires
• 4x Sledgehammers
• 4x 35# KBs
• 4x 25# plate

Phase 4 - Destroy Sensitive Equipment

• 3 Rounds AFAP of:
• 15 Hammer Strikes on tire
• 15 Overhead Squats (25# Plate)
• 15 Heavy bag flips
• 15 35#KB Clean & Press-L
• 15 35#KB Clean & Press-R

Extraction

• Carry Rescue Randy on litter to start (125 yards).

The individual event is similar to the team workout.

For more Full Mission Profiles, visit Brass Ring Fitness.

Results: Indiana SWAT Challenge

The 2009 Indiana SWAT Challenge is over. What a terrific event this year!! Congratulations to the Indiana State Police ERT for taking home both First and Third places, and to PD Columbus Indiana SWAT for Second Place!

1. ISP ERT - North
2. Columbus (IN) Police SWAT
3. ISP ERT - Central
4. FIAT SWAT Taskforce (IL)

We took Fourth place out of sixteen total teams. The courses proved to be quite challenging on many fronts...physically, mentally, and emotionally. Firearms targets were small. Loads to be carried were heavy. Hills were tall. Gas masks restricted breathing.

We competed against a lot of familiar faces we haven't seen since 2006. And a real suprise was to hear how many of them are following functional fitness routines...many of them following CrossFit mainpage workouts!

Here is a summary of the five team events this year. Each event was completed by five officers out of the six members:

1. Officer Down. Teams began in a SWAT truck. Snipers broke away to take an unknown distance shot at a silhouette target (with head shot being a 90-second bonus! The distance ended up being 388 yards). Operators got into a zodiac boat and crossed a pond. Operators then ran 200 yards, put on gas masks, breached a door with a ram, ran 50 yards to targets, and shot static clay pigeons at 15 yards with handguns. Sniper ran up a hill and shot at a static clay pigeon at 100 yards through a slit opening from a half-squat stance. Operators carried a rescue dummy back 50 yards.
2. Chariots of Fire. Four operators carried an 8-ft telephone pole with the fifth operator "riding" the pole, for 75 yards. All operators then had to shoot targets, and return to the start by carrying the same.
3. The Money Shot. Four operators and a sniper pushed a squad car 50 yards. Then carried an 8-ft telephone pole up and over a range birm, put on gas masks, shot some targets, took off masks, carried the pole up and over another range birm, crawled on elbows and knees, shot more targets while the sniper shot at a challenge coin (size of silver dollar) from 100 yards. Then the team carried the telephone pole 150 yards to the finish.
4. Beaver Creek Run. Teams ran through approx quarter-mile through a creek bed with water ranging from ankles to crotch. Operators then ran 150 yards to silhouette targets and shot on them from behind and over squad cars. Operators then carried ammo cans (approx 25# each) up and over a range birm, shot more targets, carried the ammo cans back up and over, and then crossed the finish line.
5. Obstacle Course. The O-course is always the best challenge, left for the last event. It contained elements such as cargo net, rope climb, rope wall, attic entry, commando line, Jacob's ladder, monkey bars, balance beam, belly-buster, under-over, and more.

All events were challenging. Two officers had to be carted off the courses by ambulance, 0ne more by golf cart, and two carried off by teammates. Our team left banged up and sore, but managed to remain serious injury-free. Functional fitness is an absolute must-have during this week: carrying, lifting, climbing, pulling, dragging, pushing, jumping, and crawling. Officers must be able to perform at near-maximum efforts from the widest in ranges of motion. The O-course yet again is an event that allows officers to GIVE IT ALL. Nothing is left out on that course!

FIAT was hanging in Second and Third place for two days...but dropped to Fourth after some CrossFitting state troopers absolutely smoked the O-course!!

I was fortunate enough to compete this year, and captain a team of some very talented and courageous officers. This was the first competition for two operators and one sniper (who hit the Money Shot and was one of three total snipers who hit 388-yd head bonus!). I am very proud of all your efforts and abilities. I look forward to competing alongside you all again.

FIAT...we got some!

Indiana SWAT Challenge

This week is the 9th annual 3-day Indiana SWAT Challenge.

The local FIAT SWAT Taskforce (comprised of police officers from DuPage, Will, and Cook County Illinois departments) will be sending a squad of 6 officers down to Muncie for the competition this year. The Delaware Co (IN) Sheriff's Office is the host agency for the ISOA....and we expect another great event, as always.

This competition has proven itself as a great test of technical abilities and FITNESS....but not fitness in the sense of endurance athletes. Instead, these courses are short and intense!! Most events last under 5 minutes. They require speed, agility, coordination, running under load, flexibility, and accuracy....which are some of those much-neglected DynaMax "10 components of fitness." Much like real police SWAT missions, success in this competition does not require endurance, but rather serious abilities in short-duration high-intensity struggles.

I was recently contacted by a sergeant friend from the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Team (ISP ERT). His team and ours have always been very competitive yet supportive of each other. He wanted to let me know that most of his ERT has been CrossFitting. Well..... most of our 6 officers on the competition squad have been CFting as well....so there! (We love trash-talking.)

Some of you might recall my personal tale of embarrassment that this same competition gifted me a handful of years ago in my CrossFit Journal article SWAT Shapes Up. (If you're not a CFJ subscriber, I can get you a free copy if you email me. Also this free ITOA News article was the precursor to the CFJ article.)

FIAT...Let's get some!

StrongMan competition

Lifetime Fitness in Orland Park, IL, hosted a StrongPerson competition. Enough with the gender-neutral stuff. It was a StrongMan event!! Tom M, Ann M, and I participated.

The eight events in my weight class (230-265#) were as follows:

• 400# tire flip. 50 feet.
• 240# farmers walk (120# ea hand). 100 feet.
• As many reps of 305# deadlift in 60 seconds.
• 17,000# semi-tractor pull. 50 feet.
• Sled pull (4 car tires plus 90#). 50 feet.
• Sandbag shuttle run. 6 from 40-58#.
• Barrel shuttle run. (keg, blue barrell, steel barrell).
• Keg toss. 3x20# and 3x10#. Over a 10-ft barrier.

Dave (event coordinator) did a most excellent job at organizing the entire event. Ruane Construction volunteered their people and trucks for some of the stations.

Ann M posted quite a few photos in these galleries: one and two.

How did we fare? Don't know yet. We left before any results were tabulated.

CrossFit definately prepared the three of us well for this contest. However, as I have always preached: CrossFit (and functional fitness as a whole) absolutely MUST be more than 20-minute MetCon workouts consisting of body weight movements and low weight/high repetition formats. It MUST include strength-building portions that use heavy weight and low repetitions.

New Equipment - Tires

I've been talking up a big game about truck and/or tractor tires lately. The delivery was made this morning just before 6am. And the first official workout was completed 30 minutes after that.

This photo really doesn't do justice to how huge these Yokohama Y-524 loader tires are. They are over 20" wide, and up to my chin in diameter.  The man who dropped them off first weighed his empty truck, then with them in the bed...for a change of 1000 pounds. Based on the accuracy of his scale, they're each within the 495-505# range.  I checked the manufacturer's specs on these and learned their new weight is 753#.  Thank goodness for wear!!

Joe and I first did flips of 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, and 1.  (I'd do 1, then he'd do 1. I'd do 2, then he'd do 2. etc) Then we did 3 rounds of alternating running 1/5th mile and flipping.  I got sets of 9, 8, and 8 while he ran.    So I finished with about 50 flips this morning with what it took to get them off the truck, in position to workout, some practice, and then put away.  I quickly learned how important not only proper form is, but also a durable shirt! A tough BDU blouse is probably in order, as well as tough gloves. My ignorance allowed me to try barehanded with a sleeveless t-shirt. I bruised and scraped my biceps from shoulders to elbows before refining some technique.

You'll be seeing more of these monsters.

Adding Realism to Training

For most, weight training consists of either "free weights" or "machine weights."  Almost always the weights store bought and manufactured specifically for the fitness industry.

Free weights are those that move freely around (duh!). Barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells.  The bars range in size and shape: straight bar, EZ curl bar, trap bar, or hammer grip bar. Barbells and kettlebells are generally the implements used in functional fitness training.

Machine weights have factory-designed and controlled paths of movement. Examples are a Smith rack, leg extension chair, or any cable-and-pulley system. While generally safer to use, the pre-designed range of motion and isolation of specific muscles is not very natural.  These machines are excellent for rehabilitation patients, and weight training beginners.  These machines do severely limit the potential gains for the user.

There is another sect within weight training: Odd Object Lifting.  It's not only not nearly as popular as the other two forms, it is hard to find someone who does it. And harder for someone who effectively teaches it. OOL has a very committed and creative following.  Here are some odd objects or movements we've used:

• sledge hammer swings
  
• military ammo cans
  
• sandbags
  
• heavy punching/MMA bags
  
• truck/tractor tires
  
• rocks and boulders 

Dan E is our resident Odd Object Lifter.  In the above photo, he's doing cleans and overhead presses with a beer keg.  No it's not filled!  He's drained all the beer and replaced it with water and disinfectant. While the actual weight is not quite known, we've estimated it to be around 55 pounds.  Dan is gradually adding more water until it gets up to 75 pounds....so he can use it for the Police Week Memorial Workout in May.  Seventy-five pounds turns into a whole different animal: from a nice balanced and easy-to-grip barbell to a cumbersome beer keg with sloshing water inside!!

Another easy way to break into OOL is to start unbalancing your barbell. Try working out with 15# on one side and #25 on the other, but maintaining a symmetrical grip. It changes the game for lifts like DLs or C&Ps. Just be sure to flip around during your workout to maintain muscular balance. Here's a video link to the CF workout Uneven Grace. I started using two kettlebells of differing weights when I didn't have two that matched.  I had to make sure I was switching hands mid-workout so one side would not develop differently than the other. Now that I have a lot of equipment that matches, I keep forgetting how taxing those unbalanced workout were! I guess it's time to return.

Weight training is not all about fancy plates and dumbbells.  Use your imagination to add realism into your conditioning program. Find something lying around the house or garage...and lift it. Actually, lift it a lot of times.

Poor Excuses

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful." -- Mark Victor Hansen

There are re-occurring excuses for not beginning a functional fitness program. It sounds a lot like:  "I'm not ready for that stuff yet," or "I need to get in shape before I start that."  The variations include "too fat" or "too old." All are poor defenses, none of which I can accept.

Here's why I cannot accept excuses like this:

First, it tells me you might not have an understanding of how functional fitness (FF) programs are designed, or why they work.  FF is rooted in the concept of real-life, natural, practical movements.  Many of the movements replicate your daily activities...lifting, pulling, carrying, squatting, walking, bending, rolling over, getting out of a low couch or chair. These are human movement patterns that all people use during daily existence.  An exercise like a clean and press looks very similar to lifting a travel suitcase into an airplane's overhead baggage compartment. There are no funky contraptions that are popularized in most health clubs. We use simple weights and equipment. No intimidation here.

Secondly, your excuse tells me you may have not been introduced to all-important adjustments for YOUR abilities. FF programs pride themselves on scalability and modifiability.  Scaling a workout refers to down-adjusting weight (or load) or reducing the number of repetitions.  For example, if a specific day's workout calls for a weightlifting exercise using 275# (and you surely cannot use that much weight), then you might scale the weight down to 185#....or even 100#. Basically you make adjustments to avoid injury yet still cause positive adaptations in your muscles. 

Modifying a workout is another way to adjust a workout. Modifications may be made for several reasons: lack of equipment, injury, inflexibility, poor range of motion.  For example, if you cannot yet perform an L-sit on parallettes, then a substitute might be a knee tuck sit.  The best modifications are similar to the subbed exercise.  Another example might be doing inverted rows in place of pullups. Both of those movements work "pulling" musculature in your upper body.

As another example, examine dips. Dips can be scaled or modified in a number of ways.  It doesn't matter at which level you begin. It does matter that you do the exercise in a safe and proper way, with the goal to advance through the motion's various levels of skill and difficulty.

• parallette dips
  
• jumping dips
  
• chair or partner assist dips
  
• counter-balance machine assist
  
• bar dips
  
• ring dips
  
• weighted bar dips
  
• weighted ring dips

Adjustments are good.  Most athletes and participants cannot do all of the crazy FF workouts without some form of modification or down-scale.  For me personally, each time I find myself doing a workout "as prescribed" (also noted as RX'ed), I get a sense of satisfaction. As each month goes by, I have to substitute and adjust less. That's progress enough!!!.....to discover I am increasing my physical skills and abilities.

Thirdly, I might begin to think you don't believe me that all this nonsense about FF actually works.  By "works" I mean it produces results.  Results in the functional fitness world are measured by Power Output (force times distance divided by time). This means in a specific time period, you can move heavier weight, for more repetitions, longer distances, at a faster pace. Power output is measurable and repeatable. The "benchmark" workouts are periodically repeated to gauge performances increases.  Do more in less time. We use stopwatches for a reason!

To summarize, you do not have to get in better shape to begin this stuff.  What you need to do is scale and modify the exercises and movements to your abilities and injuries. I will help you do that.  Use less weight, for less repetitions, for shorter time, at a slower pace, and within safe ranges of motion. Just start. It really is for almost anyone!

Firefighting Circuit

I had the pleasure to jump into a workout with a group of firefighters yesterday. This group is big into functionality...just like me. Their workouts generally consist of a circuit, with some stations being job-task simulations. Yesterdays workout was:

• 4 rounds
• 60 seconds each:
  
• Versa-Climber
  
• Medicine ball decline situps with twist
  
• Axe swings (actual axe handle attached to waist-level cable stack)
  
• 95# barbell clean-and-press
  
• Heavy bag rescues (lifts from ground to shoulder, alternating shoulders)
  
• Medicine ball wood choppers (ground to overhead, straight-legged)
  
• Rest
  

This was a 27-minute hell. Most every station required engagement of core musculature... completely taxing:

• Trunk flexion
  
• Trunk rotation
  
• Trunk extension
  

Compliments have to go out to those guys, even if they're on the other side of the public safety house ;)   In the gym, the firefighters have a pike pole, axe handle, and hose w/nozzle that all are modified to clip into a cable stack.  They adjust the height of the cable pulley  and orient their bodies to simulate tasks needed for rescue and fighting fire.  They also have an  air (SCBA) tank to wear during other exercises.

Seven human movement patterns

The human body is an extremely sophisticated machine with a very large number of components that combine to produce an infinite variety of postures and movements.  

- Everett Aaberg

Human movement is complex. No matter how many weightlifting machines are invented -- with as many cables, pulleys, pads, or greased pivot points -- none can accurately replicate the intricacy of the human body.  No robot will ever move with the fluidity of the human machine. There are natural movements that we all make. Imagine standing up out of a chair, or rolling out of bed, or carrying a bookshelf up a set of stairs.  Those physical acts are nearly indescribable.  

In the book Muscle Mechanics by Everett Aaberg (link has preview of book), the author explains how we can classify much of human movement into seven basic patterns:

• Pushing
  
• Pulling
  
• Squatting
  
• Gait (Lunging)
  
• Trunk Flexion
  
• Trunk Extension
  
• Trunk Rotation
  

All movements become combinations of these simplified actions. I'll keep my blabbering to a minimum today, as long as you promise to review the above link to Aaberg's book. ;)

Think about the exercises you do and how they each fit into one or more of the above patterns. And more importantly, which patterns are you neglecting??

Job Task Simulation

This series of posts comes after some interesting discussion about Job Task Simulation. First, here are some casual (and oversimplified) definitions:

General Physical Preparedness: The idea that one can be a "jack-of-all-trades." If a list of physical tasks were to be dropped into a lottery hopper, a person with good GPP would be "generally well prepared" to handle any of them. Obviously a professional marathon runners do NOT have GPP. They are excellent at one task, but surely terrible at others. A person with GPP is a well-balanced athlete. GPP is a foundation upon which more skills can be built. More and more sports are turning towards GPP as a baseline for conditioning. CrossFit prides itself on integrating 10 listed aspects of: strength, stamina, balance, accuracy, coordination, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, power, speed, and agility.

Specific Physical Preparedness: Also called Sport-Specific Training. The method by which one practices or trains within a specific aspect of fitness. For example: a front row (by the net) volleyball player needs a strong jumping ability. Overall strength is not all that important to a volleyball player. Since the events of a sport are highly predictable, those events should be practiced and prepared for. Another example is the above-mentioned endurance runner. If the endurance runner does not specifically train for running long distances, s/he will not be competitive.

Job Task Simulation: Certain jobs or tasks can be practiced or tested. For example, dragging a rescue dummy or carrying a hosepack are popular job task simulations for firefighters. Climbing walls, ascending stairs, and moving heavy items might all fall into the JTS field. If you examine a military or police obstacle course, many of the elements simulate job tasks. JTS begin to fall into SPP, since some of the tasks become more predictable.

Functional Movement: Human movement patterns in a gymnasium environment can replicate actual movements needed in real life. Functional movements are generally performed with many joints and muscles working TOGETHER. Examples can be weightlifting exercises like Deadlifts, lunges, farmer's walk, or overhead presses. Medicine ball throws and box jumps are plyometric functional movements. Most kettlebell exercises are considered "functional movement."Other less "controlled" practical exercises might be sandbag carries or truck tire flips.

Isolated Movement: Isolated movements are those that separate certain joints and muscles. These are great movements for weightlifting beginners, and especially the injured. Rehabilitation exercises are often isolated to a certain joint, muscle, or connective tissue to repair or re-train that component of the body. Bodybuilders use isolated movements so they can target specific muscles to grow. However, when looking for increases in overall human performance, isolated movements are not very effective. They do not allow the coordination of joints to produce maximum power output. Examples of isolated movements are arm curls, tricep pushdowns, leg extensions, and leg curls. Each of these targets only one body part at a time.

Summary: None of these definitions can be mutually exclusive of the rest. GPP and SPP are two main philosophical approaches to fitness, but again, not completely exclusive to the other. Job task simulations, functional movement, and isolated movement do not have rigid lines of distinction between them. These "gray areas" tend to allow for a great deal of debate and confusion. I myself get quite turned upside-down every now and then.

Fitting your program and exercises into clearly delineated pigeon holes is not as important as making sure you are programming to reach your goals....now just figure out what your goals are!!!