Day 122 of 365: First Edition Strictly Strength Shirts!!!

That's right!!!

After much antipaction, I have decided to create the first-ever STRICTLY STRENGTH shirt!!!  I worked with Cris Remus of Chalk Monster to design a shirt that encompasses the brand and the lifestyle of those that live with strength. 

On the front is the STRICTLY STRENGTH logo in white and red, dead-center in the chest.  In the lower left corner is a "ghost" image of the same logo.  On the back of the shirt is where the work gets done.  Anyone that has spent a lot of time in the gym squatting big weight has undoubtedly chalked-up their back for increased friction between barbell and lifter.  In my eyes, that chalk smear is a symbol of someone that is dedicated to strength, so we have placed that iconic mark on this shirt as a sign to others that you take this shit seriously.

I am stoked to share these with you all, and hope to see "the mark" everywhere! 

This is the beginning of something BIG! 

Be a part of the ever-growing STRICTLY STRENGTH crew. 



$25 For the 1st Edition SS Shirt



"THE MARK"



Day 121 of 365: The UnderGround Returns!!!

What's up people!!!

As you may know, The Strictly Strength Project, The Strictly Strength Classes, and the way I LOVE to train were all built on the foundation of what I learned at Zach Even-Esh's UnderGround Strength Certification.  The experience I had and the awesome information I got from the certification in the Dirty Jersey has helped me create a program that is not only extrememly effective, but it is a program and training style that people freakin' love!

Needless to say, Zach's personality and energy is worth the price alone!  This dude will fire your ass up so much so that you won't be able to wait to get back home to start "Kicking Ass"!!!

I am super stoked to be assisting Zach again during this next UGS Cert.!!!  I hope to see all you bad mama-jama's out there too!  I know you will love it!

Check out Zach's website HERE for his most recent post on his upcoming visit to the Red Black Gym!!!

Days 119 &120 of 365: Playground Warrior

First off, I tried to upload this yesterday afternoon, but for some reason I getting shut-down time after time.  So, that is why there was an absent post for yesterday.

But, I am stoked to share this with you!!!

Michael Winchester and I had the awesome experience of holding a combine for the University of Texas Men's Rugby Team yesterday morning.  Some of UT's best athletes came out to show what they had to offer in hopes of being selected as one of the club's new additions.  There were some absolute studs out there that crushed every test we threw at them, but I will be honest....I was most impressed with the athletic abilities of an unassuming, middle-aged man named Pat.

Pat was wondering around the UT campus while his son was at a swim practice.  Luckily, we were around the playground the same time he was, because the show this man put on was AMAZING!!!  I will just let you see for yourselves, but more importantly than what he did was what he was doing - in the broader sense.  This guy was seeking out ways to stay active and strong, and in doing so, going against the grain of our society.  

Society says that, as you age, you need to be more cautious about the physical activities you engage in... 

BULLSHIT!!! 

This man is a perfect example of why you must continue to push your limits and live like a kid.

 

PEOPLE!!! 

GO AGAINST THE GRAIN!!!

Your life will be so much richer if you do!

Enjoy your Sunday.

Day 118 of 365: The Feather-Weight Fury Throwdown VIDEO!!!

THIS. WAS. EPIC.

I hate to use such a douche-bag term as "Epic", but this event truly embodies the word.  

I will just let you all watch this and see for yourselves!  

Amazing efforts from both athletes!!!

Feather Weight Fury - Randal Setzler v. BPalm from Media Playground on Vimeo.

Day 117 of 365: Massive Injection of Inspiration!!!

This Injection of Inspiration is super INTENSE, so I will warn you to turn down the volume if you're at work or any other place that may frown upon an extremely large human screaming as loud as possible.  It may not be work appropriate, but YOU MUST WATCH THIS!!!

Make time to sit down and take this message in. 

One final note...

The video from the Feather-Weight Fury Throwdown will be posted tomorrow!!!  I've seen the final cut and it is BADASS!  You won't want to miss it, so be sure to check back here tomorrow!

Day 116 fo 365: Weighted-Vest Warmups

Here's a question for you:

How can you easily and effectively increase your overall strength?

If you read the title of today's post, I'm sure you've figured it out, but the answer is: 

Add a weight vest in the mix!

Many of you out there probably don't correlate the implementation of gymnastics movements into your workouts and achieving ridiculous overall strength.  But, I am here to tell you that performing body-weight movements - or gymnastics - has huge potential to build raw strength that will correlate to bigger pulls, massive squats, and powerful presses.  Especially when you wear a weighted vest, which technically cancels out the gymnastics out of the movement, but you get the idea.

There are a couple reasons for this, but the one that really stands out is the idea of external loading.  It's pretty simple, but often overlooked as a extremely effective way to increase strength and mass.  The idea is that as you externally load your body - which can range from a 20# vest to a 600# standing back rack, to using the lightened method to move loads exceeding your 1RM - the body and the Central Nervous System are forced to adapt to new and extreme loads place on them.  

Makes sense, right?  

If you are building a massive house you would probably build an equally stable and strong foundation for that weight to rest upon.  Your body, the amazing machine that it is, does this automatically when it is forced to.  You just have to know how to trick the machine into making those changes happen.

This is where wearing a vest comes in.  If you usually perform a gymnastics-style warmup, an easy way to stimulate your body to grow bigger and stronger is to add a weighted vest in the mix.

This will load the body effectively and, obviously, get you warm and ready to rock and roll!

Check out this warmup and test it out yourself next time you're in the gym!

Day 115 of 365: Bad Mama-Jama Matt

As I was preparing to right tonight's post, I saw that Coach Big Mike made an awesome post on one of his clients that also happens to be one of my Strictly Strength athletes.  Matt is one of those athletes that, as a coach, you can always count on "Bringin' It"!  He is super dedicated to achieving success in his classes and helping those around him do the same!

  

I couldn't ask for a more badass athlete to be a part of my program, and Coach Big Mike feels the same.  I recommend that you all check out his post on Matt as well!  Just another perspective with the same outcome.  Check it out HERE.

Day 114 of 365: My Frankenstein

I think that we can all agree that when you find yourself in a rut - whether in a job, a bad habit, a workout routine, etc. - you will do whatever you can to get out if it.  It's a horrible feeling when you begin to dread doing the thing that you once loved.  

As a trainer, I pride myself on always coming up with new, challenging and interesting ways to push my athletes past mental and physical barriers, and keep them out of the rut and hungry for more big results!  It's not always an easy job, but it's totally rewarding when a client says, 

"How do you come up with this shit?!"

That's all the feedback I need to know that this is an effective tool to keep handy for when athletes drop in that rut.

Enough chit-chat... I'll let y'all see what I'm talking about.

Let me know what y'all think!

Days 111, 112, &113: Busy, But Loving It!

What’s up guys?!
I’m sure that those of you that follow my blog regularly noticed that I have not posted since Friday!  You may also be aware that the 5th annual Fittest Games went down Saturday!  There is a direct correlation between these two.  I’m not going to waste your time explaining detail, suffice to say, that I have been extremely busy getting everything ready for the competition, carrying out the competition, and recovering from the competition...Not leaving a lot of time to produce quality posts.  For that, I apologize.
So,  back on track. 
There is a ton to get y’all caught up on!  When I last left you, we were gearing up for the 1st annual Feather-weight Fury Throwdown.  I will tell you this…the competitiors, spectators, and “event” was ridiculous!!!  These guys blew me away with their heart and efforts!  I knew they would bring it, so I asked our very own media master, Jonathan Haynes to be there to film the carnage. 
I am stoked to see what kind of video he comes out with…I know it’s going to be SICK!!!  Be ready for that to drop soon!

In other news, The Fittest Games happened!  Yes, I know that many of you were there or at least knew about the event.  I just quickly wanted to give my two cents on the event and all the people that made it what it was.
I ran Pad 1,which, as it turns out, was the heavy lifting area.  Needless to say, I was JACKED not only to be running that section, but also be so close to these amazing athletes doing extraordinary things with extreme loads!  
Obviously, that alone is pretty badass, but on top of that, the people that were assigned to me as judges and volunteers rocked it!!!  I received many complements on how smoothly everything ran, and how impressed spectators were with how everything ran right on time.  None of that would have been possible without the hard work of my judges and volunteers.  I truly appreciate everything that each of you did, no matter how seemingly insignificant or important it was.  We ran that pad with excellence and people took notice!!!  Thank you!
One final note….I want to give a quick shout out to Michael Winchester and Ingrid Kantola for the excellent work they did to produce this outstanding event.  The countless hours of planning paid off big time.  I’m so proud of you two!!!

Day 110 of 365: BPalmer Answers The Call!!!

I'm sure many of you have seen this video on Facebook already, but for those of you that haven't....

THIS IS AWESOME!

Benjamin Palmer answered the "Call Out" posed by Mr. Randal Setzler.  

This is his response...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151199474945355

BPalmer weighing in at 132 of pure MANimal

 VS.

Randal Setzler, THE Renaissance Man...at a weight of 140 of FURY!!

Remember...this Feather-Weight Fury Throwdown goes down tomorrow morning at 9am at Red Black Gym.  There will be a professional videographer there filming this epic challenge, so as soon as I can, I will have it posted right here for your viewing pleasure.  If you live in the area, you are welcome to come witness it first-hand.  All I ask is that you bring your F*CKING "A" Game for these athletes! 

Day 109 of 365: Feather-Weight Fury THROWDOWN!!

I am excited to announce the first-ever Feather-Weight Fury THROWDOWN!!!

That's right, people!!!  We are about to witness two of CrossFit Central's lightest male athletes, Benjamin Palmer and Randal Setzler, take on an epic challenge, a dual to the death of body-weight back squats!  

It's going to be packed full of AWESOME! 

The Throwdown goes down Friday morning at 9am, so anyone is welcome to come witness and pump up our pint-sized studs!  

They may be on the smaller side, but they throw the weight around!  It will be worth missing work...TRUST ME!

Here's a little bit of a teaser, just to get you JACKED for what's about to happen.

Now, to be fair, I didn't give BPalmer a chance to make his trash-talk video yet, so y'all can expect that tomorrow! 

Day 108 of 365: Kid On Christmas

I hope this video doesn't freak any of you out...It is a bit out of the ordinary for me.  The video pretty much explains everything, so I'll let you guys go a head and watch.  

I hope y'all get something from the message.

Day 107 of 365: Boat Burners!!!

For those of you that don't know...The 2012 I Am CrossFit - Civil War challenge kicked-off a little over a week ago!  This 8 week challenge is CrossFit Central's largest and most intense.  Participants set big goals in the area of body composition, athletic performance, nutrition, and any over-arching areas that they want to make a massive impact! 

This past weekend, I set our team's first Team Boat Burners WOD.  I was stoked to see that all but one athlete showed up and kicked ass!!!  I will say that this is the most JACKED I've been for a challenge, and it's all because of the energy and intensity that my athletes are bringing!

On a semi-related note - I've also encouraged my athletes to create a vision book of their own that displays what they want for their life.  This is where our team name comes from.   

BOAT BURNERS!  

We are going to kick-start the life that we've always wanted and deserve...

We will BURN THE F*CKING BOATS to get it done.  

No hesitation.  

No doubt.  

No other option but to succeed!

I urge you all to live by this same code!

Check out my athletes crushing their first team WOD!!!

Days 105 and 106 of 365: The Race To 300

Hey guys...I have to apologize for not getting a post up yesterday.  I had a ton of trouble uploading the video below yesterday and ran out of time and resources to get it done before bedtime.

In any case, it's ready to share.  This is from Friday's Super Squats session.  Winchester and I have now thrown down the challenge to each other that whoever is the first to hit 315 for 20 reps owes the other a dinner at the restaurante of the winner's choice.  Just something to make it a bit more exciting!  I will keep you all posted on the progress we make, but this will probably be the last Super Squats video for a while.  I want to get back to more informational and instructional stuff for a while.  So, look forward to that.

Anyway, here's the video of us both hitting 285 for 20.

104 of 365:

Here's another Injection of Inspiration for you guys!  

Enjoy!!!

Day 103 of 365: Step Into Something NEW!!!

Hey Guys

I wanted to share this video of my Thursday 7am Strictly Strength class knocking out some serious lunges!  WHY?

To open your eyes to the wide variety of weighted lunges you can use to get f*cking STRONG!!!  

Remember this simple rule yet very important rule:  

If you are comfortable, you are not growing!

Day 102 of 365: Just A Lil' Reminder...

I am posting this video of some pretty serious gym injuries and accidents in hopes of keeping you guys on your toes!  A lot of these clips illistrate the importance of having a great spotter that you trust!  You'll see that many of the accidents that happen, happen in the blink of an eye.  If your spotter is not 100% there for you and your lift...GET A NEW SPOTTER!!!   

Just a personal note here:  The video is titled, "Funny Gym Moments".  Some of them are, but by no means to I take this stuff lightly.  I just want to be clear that this video is serving a purpose!

Day 101 of 365: Super Squats_Video#3

Here's the final video from last week's session.  

Check it out!!!

Day 100 of 365: Super Squats_Video#2

Here's the second video of 3 that I will be posting from our Super Squats session last Friday.  In this video, you'll see Coach Jeff McKinney and THE Lisa Bender Thiel.  

These two rocked it out!  

Check it out!!!

Day 99 of 365: Lessons From the Elderly

I was completing my 3rd trip to HEB this week this morning, and while I was waiting in line, an elderly lady was checking out in front of me.  This is usually my entertainment for the shopping experience - most older folks write checks still, and write them in even the smallest amount and take the longest time doing it - but, this lady was a bit different.  She had nearly $200 worth of groceries in her cart...none of which was quality, but we'll leave that alone for now.  

What was so cool about this lady is that she kept saying that, "Life is Good".  Not something you hear very often coming from an older person.  It was obvious that she was loving her life, even in her later years, which I admire greatly!  

But the awesomeness doesn't stop there.

As most baggers do, the young lady loading her items into bags asked if she "needed help out with that?" The elderly woman quickly responded with, "No, thanks.  I've got it."  Keep in mind that this shopping cart was packed!!!  I was totally inspired by this woman.

It's truly amazing when you get the privilege of seeing someone display their own strength when it's least expected.

Now, to bring this story to a close...the lady began pushing her cart, but before she was too far away, she said once again, "Life is good!"  

FREAKING AWESOME!

Sad to say, though, the young lady at the check stand replied under her breath with, "Yeah, I guess...  some days."

WTF?!?!?!

I wanted to tell this girl to wake the F#CK up and take a lesson from this badass old lady!!!!

There is a lot to be learned from this experience, and I am sure that each of you will come to your own conclusions.  So, I'll just let you do that!

Let's realize our own strength this week and KICK SOME ASS!!!

Day 98 of 365: More Super Squats!!!

Yesterday was the SWOD Crew's dedicated "Super Squats" day. 

 This is when we all up the weight and go for a new 20-rep max.  Now, as you'll see in today's video, each lifter performs a rep and the follows it up with 3 deep breathes.  This is what makes this training method so potent - Don't neglect that piece if you decide you want to take on your own 20-rep gut-check!

The first lifter is Cris Remus, aka Chalk Monster.  You'll see this in the video, but Cris does a excellent job with his breathing.  Again this is the key to getting the maximum benefits from the program.  You'll feel the need to rush the breaths when you start to panic around rep 12 or 13...

DON'T SKIP THIS!!!  

YOU MUST KEEP THE CADENCE.

You'll also see Crystal Nelson banging out 20 reps with ease.  It was her first go with this 20-rep experience.  You'll notice that she performs her 20 relatively easily, but to be fair, when you do this your first go, you'll most likely not go heavy enough either.  That's really not a problem.  In fact, it's probably a good thing to stay on the lighter side for your first set of 20 just so that you are introduced properly without ruining yourself completely and never wanting to do it ever again....trust me...even if you go slightly lighter, you'll still get a crushing SWOD.

There are plenty more videos from this session that I will be posting tomorrow, so be sure to check back here for some more amazing efforts and some big weights being moved for a load of reps!!!  

Lastly, I urge you guys to try this for yourselves!  This is an amazing way to develop your physical strength, your mental toughness, and cause your body to release huge amounts of beneficial growth hormones - only further promoting your physical strength.  It's straight-forward and very simple(NOT easy).  It's a beautiful thing...

DO THE WORK!!! 

Day 97 of 365: My GO-JUICE!!!

What's up people!?!?!

I gotta say...today has been an OUTSTANDING day!!!  

In fact, as I will share with you in the video, this week has been one of the best that I can remember.  

What's the reason?  

It's my attitude, my beliefs, my values and my daily rituals.  

It's that simple. 

I have made several posts recently to get you started down the path to an EXTRAORDINARY life.  

It is up to you to take the information and tools I have given you - with the help of others - and DO THE WORK!

One way to start is to implement a morning routine of absolute excitement and full-out energy as soon as you wake up.  Look back to this post I did, highlighting my new morning ritual for some ideas that you can use.  The other side of the coin is how you fuel your body first thing in the morning. 

Think about this...

You can have this amazing ritual that you use everyday that does the trick and gets you FIRED UP to take on the day, but if you're not fueling up the machine that is your body, the positive effects will quickly fade.  You have to feed the machine JET FUEL!!!  

Here is what I have found works best for me.  

Check it out!

Day 96 of 365: FireSWOD!!!

As promised...Here is just a little footage from yesterday's FireSWOD with Austin's ELITE fire-fighters. 

These guys and gal are BADASS!!!  

Check out this video, listen to my explaination of what's going on and what the SWOD entails, then knock it out for yourself!!!  

I dare ya!!!  

Haha.

Day 95 of 365: Another Dose Of Inspiration.

I have had a ton of positive feedback about my recent posts of The Ultimate Warrior's, Injection of Inspiration.  I feel the same way...this shit will rock your face off, for sure!!!  And...if you truly adopt the information he's offering to you, I have no doubt that your life will drastically change for the better!

Anyway, let's get to the good stuff!!!  

Here another dose of inspiration!!!

One final note:  

I will be posting a BADASS SWOD that my Austin Fire-Fighters knocked out today!  

I'm just gonna say that you need to check it out tomorrow!

Day 94 of 365: A New Exercise To Light You Up!!!

This is a movement that was shown to us at the CrossFit Powerlifting certification. 

Let me tell you...This will LIGHT YOU UP!!!

If you are struggling with the strength development of your posterior chain, you need to be doing these in your warmups!!!  

That's it.

Try it out during the next SWOD, and let me know what you think.  

Lastly, this is a potent movement, so I highly recommend that you start light and with lower reps.  

Otherwise, you WILL BE WRECKED for at least a week.

Day 92 and 93: Check This New SWOD Out!!!

A real quick post today, folks!

I was on the road yesterday and got home late, and now I am getting back up to speed with work and training.

I'll be back 100% ASAP.

Anyway, here is a badass SWOD that I came up with today for my client, Mike.

3Rounds

<---->Barbell Walking Lunges w/ Chains

10 Barbell Back Squats w/ Chains

20 BentOver BB Rows w/ Chains

(35# Bar + 40lbs of Chain)

Check out Mike's 1st round...