JONES TOWN CREW

DAVE TATE ON HUMAN POTENTIAL.

2012-01-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

Both wise and humorous, Dave Tate is not only a great former Pro-Powerlifter and current Strength entrepreneur with his company but also an extremely insightful man when it comes to the potential of each and every person on this planet. This discussion covers the taboo subject of 'ANABOLIC STEROIDS' but digs deep into the realities of sporting greatness. This is a great clip which deals with a touchy subject in an honest and realistic manner.

Speaking of Human potential I have been beta testing some theories of mine on my self and a number of my male clients, the results are quite startling and the learning curve of what is actually possible when you apply some mind over matter is very impressive. I hope to have the numbers crunched soon and have the graphs ready to roll out so you can see that an average 30% strength increases, massive cardiovascular strength increases and 14+ pounds of muscle and improved skills in the quick lifts can be achieved in only 28 sessions. It sounds too good to be true, I know. But I was there and its real. It just requires dedication and intestinal fortitude.

If you would like to have a go at increasing your strength, Cardiovascular strength, and a whole host of good things then mail me at wantboxing@gmail.com and we can have a chat about personal training. Or if you just want to train in a totally unique environment with heavy strength tools and Strongman kit give me a shout. Peace.

THE WORLDS SINGLE ARM DEADLIFT RECORD BY MARK FELIX

2010-12-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

If you want to see something awesome, then check out the link below. Worlds Strongest Man competitior and all round nice bloke Mark Felix lifts 225Kg /495lbs with his left hand. This is a pretty decent two handed lift and when you consider that he is actually right handed then it just keeps getting more impressive.

And as he say's he lifted 240kg in training so he obviously has much more in the tank and like a true showman is keeping some back for next year.

30 YEARS OF PAIN: WORLDS STRONGEST MAN COMPETITION.

2010-12-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

The definitive documentary about the phenomenon that is 'STRONGMAN'. See how a novelty Television show went from a side show spectacle to becoming one of the most awe inspiring events on the planet, the Worlds Strongest Man Competition.

LARGER THAN LIFE: The story of Jon Pall Sigmarsson.

2010-12-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Jon Pall Sigmarsson will always be held in great esteem by those who know about strength. He was a true legend in the strength sport world and his loss will always be felt. This is an excellent documentary about his life and I recommend it highly.

SVEND KARLSEN: 'Viking Power'

2010-12-12T05:26:00.000-08:00

As Christmas is approaching I got to thinking about Strongman competition...as you do! Which got me to thinking about some of the greatest strongmen in recent History, which brought me to Svend Karlsen winner of the 2001 Worlds Strongest Man Competition. A funny likeable guy with a very competative streak, here he is with Colin Bryce (WSM Master of ceremonies) discussing his training, life and taking us through some typical days in his training calendar...Enjoy!

RICHARD SKOG: Worlds Strongestman Competitor 2010

2010-12-12T04:30:00.000-08:00

Its getting clse to that time of year when all of the pointless asscrack talent shows shove off and the Strongmen make their presence felt. Here is Richard Skog from Norway training for this years worlds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Skog

The Jones Town Crew has a new Home.

2010-10-21T02:14:00.000-07:00

The Jones Town Crew has moved to a new location, we are now located at Nalder Estates in Challow near Wantage, Oxfordshire. We are the only gym in Oxfordshire that specialises in Strongman training and Powerlifting. We also run a Boxing club and had our first Kick Boxing session last night with Pro kickboxing trainer Martin Carter.

Boxing and Martial arts

Power Cages, Benches, 2", 2.5" and Olympic Barbells and lots of weights


Kettlebells, 2" Bouncing Axle bar, Heavy sandbags

These Photos were taken during the initial opening stages and the place looks much nicer now. We have painted the flooors and also have a large runway down the middle for tire flipping and odd object lifting and carrying.

The benefits of Strongman style training are many, but superior fitness and phenomenal strength are just two. You can also add injury prevention due to the awkward nature of many of the objects lifted. This is achieved by the shifting of the weight when lifted, creating a totally different movement each time, thus avoiding over use injuries due to lifting the same thing in the same way week in week out. So if you think this is for you then pop me an email at wantboxing@gmail.com and we can talk about getting you fitter,stronger and more robust than you ever thought possible.

Monster Stone Lifting and Monster Front Squat.

2010-07-24T01:56:00.000-07:00

I just got this from a chap on Youtube, check it out. It has to be one of the most impressive and scary feats of strength I have ever witnessed. How he avoids destroying his toes is beyond me.

And while i was trying to work out how to import the embed I followed the thread along at came to this little doozy. This is a Monster weight for the front squat and the Guy performing it is only 22 years!!

So you think you can Bench? A master class For Beginners by Dave Tate.

2010-07-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

Dave Tate of Elite Fitness training Systems in Ohio U.S.A. takes us through a Beginners guide to bench Pressing. Most people who train, know how to bench press, but do they know how to do it RIGHT? that's the big question. Personally I wrecked my left shoulder benching badly as a youth, due to a Gung Ho attitude and too little instruction. By implementing proper form and treating it as a whole body exercise (lifting with a powerlifters approach) has made benching heavier and much less painful for me, and it has become much safer aswell. This is a great series of tips and advice, so if you want to bench then bench the right way and have many years of healthy heavy lifting. Rather than a few years of glory and a life time of pain!.

Under the Bar --2005 publication.

Dr Yuri Verkhoshansky has passed away.

2010-07-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

On The 23rd of June 2010 Yuri Verkhoshansky passed away due to illness. He was best know in sports circles as the man who changed the training paradigm. He was also
Scientific Consultant to the National Olympic Committee of Italy, former head of the Theoretical and Methodological Center at the Russian Research Institute of Sport, former head of the Russian Central Institute of Physical Culture and Sport Scientific Research Laboratory, father of Natalia Verkhoshansky PhD and the man who gave the world 'PLYOMETRICS'. Although in his native Russia this training methodology was better know as 'SPEED STRENGTH' training, which is probably a more apt and descriptive name.

If you are aware of the WESTSIDE BARBELL methods then you will already know about Verkhoshansky, because Louie Simmonds Owner and creator of the Westside method was one of the first westerners to use and develop Verkhoshansky's system for superior training protocols. Verkhoshansky wrote several books which should be in every coaches library because his works and he will be sadly missed by al of those who value innovative and intelligent resaerch to further the understanding of Human physical potential.
Here Dr Michael Yessis explains how Verkhoshanky's methods were superior to the western methodology and consequently lead to Soviet sporting dominance in the Cold War years.

Gripper Training with Jedd Johnson from the Diesel Crew

2010-06-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

Gripper training is great fun and extremely inspiring for bigger and better crushing power. But when you hit a sticking point it is often very hard to advance, Jedd Johnson of the 'Diesel Crew' and 'The Grip Authority' lays it down for you to get a real head start on the competition. If grip strength is something you are interested in (if you play any sport it should be) then you need to listen to this man, because he has one of the strongest grips in the world and is incredibly knowledgeable about grip training. Enjoy.

Advice on avoiding Osteoporosis. By Michelle Aultman

2010-06-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

A Foxy young thing on an Eliptical Trainer

Give me a few minutes and I will show you some exercising recommendations to avoid
weak bones About 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and another 34 million have
low bone mass, (osteopenia). A disease without symptoms, osteoporosis affects about
20 percent of men and 80 % of women.
Given that the bones gradually become weaker, they are more likely to break from a
minor fall or, if left untreated, even from something as simple as a sneeze.
The most frequent fracture sites include the hip, wrist and spine, although any bone
in the body may be affected. A diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis can be scary,
leading a number of people to avoid exercise because of fear it will cause fractures.
The reality is that those with low bone mass should make sure to exercise often.
Being active is shown to not merely assist in preventing osteoporosis, but slow bone
loss once it's already begun. Before beginning a training program, you will need to
talk to your physician for guidelines, as degree of bone loss determines what type
of workout is best.
Physicians can assess bone density and fracture risk by scanning your body with a
special kind of X-ray machine.
Along with exercise, treatment may include dietary modifications and/or estrogen
replacement therapy.The more knowledge you have relating to this condition,
the more you can do to help prevent its onset. To make strength and bone mass,
both weight-bearing and resistance training exercises are ideal.
Weight-bearing exercises are those that require the bones to fully support your
weight against gravity. Examples are walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing or
using an elliptical exercise machine.
Non-weight bearing exercises include biking, swimming, water aerobics and rowing.
Weight-bearing activities like walking as little as 3 x a week may benefit the bones.
Strength training places mechanical force (stress) on the body, which in turn
increases bone density. Start by lifting light weights,

(Editors Note: At Jones Town we tend to favour ridiculously heavy weights,
but it's your choice)

moving in a slow and controlled manner, increasing resistance when you become
stronger.
It is usually important that folks with osteoporosis avoid the following kinds of
activity:

* Step aerobics and high-impact activities like running, jumping, tennis.

* Activities that involve rounding, bending and twisting of the spine.

* Moving the legs sideways or across the body, especially when performed against
resistance.

* Rowing machines, trampolines.

* Every movement that involves pulling on the head and neck.

Exercise Tips:

* Even if you don't have osteoporosis, you need to seek advice from your health care
provider before you begin a training program.

* Make sure to warm up before starting and cool-down at the conclusion of each
exercise session.

* For the best benefit to your bone health, combine several different weight-bearing
exercises.

* As you build strength, increase resistance, or weights, rather than repetitions.

* Be sure you drink a lot of water whenever exercising.

* Vary the types of exercise that you try weekly.

* Combine weight bearing and resistance exercise with aerobic exercises
to help improve your general health.

* Bring your friend along to assist you continue or in addition to this,
bring your family and encourage them to be healthy.

* Add more exercise to your day; take the stairs vs. the elevator,
park further away, and walk to your co-worker's office instead of emailing.

Put LIVE into action!

L - Load or weight-bearing exercises make a difference for your bones

I - Intensity builds stronger bones.

V - Vary the types of exercise and your routine to maintain interest.

E - Enjoy your exercises. Make exercise fun so you will continue in to the future!

Certain factors increase the likelihood of developing osteoporosis.
While a few of these risk factors are controllable, others are not.
Risk factors that can be controlled are:
Sedentary lifestyle, excess intake of protein, sodium, caffeine and/or alcohol,
smoking, calcium and Vitamin D deficiencies
and taking certain medicines. Body size (small frame), gender, family history and
ethnicity are risk factors that can't be controlled.  Women can lose up to 20 percent
of their bone mass in the five to seven years after menopause, which makes them more
vulnerable to osteoporosis.  It is never too soon to start considering bone mineral
density.
About 85-90 % of adult bone mass is acquired by age 18 in girls and 20 in boys.
Nutrition and Exercise for Healthy Bones when people are young and Adolescent.
Much of the reserve of healthy bone is built in youth and before the age of 30.
Women may be more vunerable to an inadequate foundation process at this time than
Men. Sufficient calcium intake,a structured diet with a lot of vegetables and fruits
and load-bearing exercise are the tips for solid bone growth when you’re young.
Then, with continued exercise into old age –- and this applies to men too --
bone density decline might be kept to a minimum.
Although women will be the main focus of data about osteoporosis and low bone density
(osteopenia),
some men are also seriously afflicted by this problem.
Even if you do all of the right things while maturing and into adulthood,
your inherited characteristics –- your genes -–
can present you with bones that are susceptible to osteoporosis.
This is even greater reason to maximize your lifestyle to prevent poor bone health.

About the Author - Michelle Aultman writes for the
elliptical trainer benefits blog,
her personal hobby blog focused entirely on suggestions to prevent osteoporosis
trough home fitness.

Author's note: The info provided on this document are designed to support,
not substitute, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and
his/her physician. Michelle Aultman has no professional intent and does not accept
any direct source of promotion coming from health or pharmaceutical companies,
doctors or clinics and websites.
All content provided by her is based on her editorial view and it’s not driven
by an advertising and marketing purpose.

1000lb Rack pull! and a 900lb Squat!

2010-05-12T01:09:00.000-07:00

Here is another classic example of how strong you can get using partial lifts inside a power rack. Noah Jeffries is only 13 years old and already heading in the same direction as his famous father, Strongman 'Bud Jeffries'. Here we see him pulling some astounding amounts of weight for someone so young...hell, if you can lift that much even an inch at any age you can run around bragging forever!

Just to show that his Dad is no slouch when it comes to massive strength here he is when he bagged a 900lb bottom position squat, which is the hardest squat you could ever do because you have to overcome inertia without the aid of the muscular elasticity that you get when you squat from the top down. He also performed this without a squat suit and totally drug free (lifelong drug free lifter status confimed). He had no knee wraps either, only a thick powerlifting belt. Check it out its 'AWESOME'.

The Knee level Rack Deadlift.

2010-03-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

Having never lifted this weight ever before, and considering that it is only a little less than 3 x his body weight I think congratulations are in order.
Straps were used as a tool to enable the higher rep range which will translate into more muscle and more strength. I don't promote the constant use of straps because it short changes the grip. But if used efficaciously then they are an exellent training aid, same holds true for weight lifting Belts.

This lift used to be known as the 'Health Lift' because of excellent benefits to spinal health that it delivers. It is also a great as an assistance lift for the Deadlift because it allows the joints conective tissue and muscular system to adapt to greater and greater weights. I would recommend doing this one week and lifting from the floor the next. This will allow your CNS to recover from the heavy session and not lose any strength from the floor.

I am a massive fan of the Power Rack and find that with the exception of the barbell and requisite weights for lifting. It is the most important and versatile of strength gaining tools. So if you own your own gym and haven't got one you need to get one. If you frequent a commercial gym and they don't have one then it isn't really a gym, its really a pussy palace. So have a word with the owner and get him to invest in one. If he or she wont do this then go somewhere else and find a gym that will.

Dinosaur training is the greatest book written about getting strong and has a section specifically for rack training:

GRAY HAIR AND BLACK IRON: Secrets of Successful Strength Training for Older Lifters.STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER.

A Twisted approach to Ab training.

2010-03-23T02:24:00.000-07:00

You may not know this but the Human body moves through space using 3 planes of motion. They are the Sagittal Plane, which is forwards and backwards movement. The Frontal Plane which is side to side movement, and then there is the Navicular or Coronal plane which is basically twisting or rotational movements. Most people who exercise know that to hit the Abs you have to perform 3 trillion crunches and a hand full of reverse curls to get a wicked six pack, also a sore neck tight chest and shoulders and flattened lumbar spine which all contribute to an atrocious posture and a lifetime of back pain and sleepless nights. But did you know that the most overlooked Ab dominal movement is any that involves some form of twisting? Just check it out for yourself, when you walk your obliques twist on one side while staying fixed on the other before swapping roles. Your six pack supports your spine an stops you flopping forward (unless you have spent all your time doing crunches, in which case you probably spend a lot of time looking at the ground). This situation increases if you run or sprint, so it behooves you to include some rotational work in your training. Some of the best rotational exercises are the cable or Medicine ball/Dumbell/Weight plate wood chops, you could do some twisting crunches or standing up with a broomstick across your back but then I would have to kill you if I saw you because they are crap.
Taking this to the next step would be to make your rotational work athletic and my favourite exercise would be a Tornado Ball, which is a hard rubber ball with a 1.5" piece of rope knotted through the middle. You then stand with your back to a wall sit down slightly and then slam the ball from side to side. Tornado Balls are quite costly though so I have come up with a Free alternative. All you need is an old car tire and to watch this short video.

This should be performed as fast as posible but with safe effective performance being upper most. This was Robs third set so he can be forgiven for being a bit slow, as he had already blown him self out on the last set and I made him do another for the camera.

This is what a Tornado Ball looks like and how it should be used...

The Over Head Press: A greater test of strength and manhood than the bench press.

2010-03-23T01:36:00.000-07:00

Joe Wells warming up with the 'Jones Town Bouncing Axle Bar' The 2" bar requires a much stronger grip and works the wrists and forearms much harder than a normal Olympic bar. This piece of equipment is a 'Jones Town Special' designed by yours truly.

Paris working up to body weight with the Log Trainer Bar. This bar places a much greater emphasis on the triceps when pushing away from the body and Brachioradialis of the forearm during the clean to chest.

Ellis hitting a Personal Best with the Bouncing Axle Bar

He had never done that weight before and here he goes and gets 2 easy reps, nice one!

What I am going to say is probably going to piss a few people off but I shall qualify my satement thus. Any variation of the overhead press is superior to the bench press for athletes unless you are a Powerlifter, this is because in sports the only time you would lay on the floor and push away from you is if you are a Wrestler or MMA fighter trying to get an opponent off you. For nearly all other sports overhead work should be given equal if not superior status to the Bench Press.

Some who are watching this might wonder why they all do so few reps? The reason is simple, none of them are body builders and so don't need to do as many reps as a body builder would. Plus the name of the game is strength cultivation and speed of the repetition. This is where any hypertrophy (muscle building) will occur, and when quick reps are performed the nervous system becomes more efficient and strength increases are more rapid than when hard grinding reps are performed. This means that the weight range will be no higher than 90% of 1 Rep max and generally lower. As a man over 40 years of age I now aim to be working primarily in the 80% range because I can still increase my strength considerably (50Kg gain on my Max Deadlift in the last 13 months) but I am also able to recover much more quickly than in the days when I pushed to failure.
In fact, if you want to get bigger and stronger and more athletic then going to failure is probably the worst thing on a regular basis because it demands so much from your nervous system and recovery becomes so impacted that any positive aspects go out of the window. That is why Former 5 times Mr Olympia Dorian Yates sometimes took 13-14 days before training the same muscle group again. Simply because as he grew stronger, he cut such deep inroads into his recovery that it took that long for him to repair (compensation) and then add more muscle (super-compensation) to his frame from the previous workout, and he was a user of Anabolic steroids etc. So if you don't use any pharmaceutical assistance then think carefully about how you train and how you recover from a given workout.

The great thing about standing overhead work is that it hits so many nails on the head. First you are hitting your Deltoids Triceps and Trapezius hard, but also consider the clean required to get the bar to the chest, that is working the biceps and in the case of the log trainer bar the Brachioradialis and the forearms hard. Then you have the leg drive which works the hips glutes and quads. Plus the calves have to stabilise the ankle joint and also assist in the leg drive to get the bar overhead. Then there is the chest and the back. So its hard to see what you aren't working when you are working overhead. And finally the best part is because it is so damned hard, it becomes a real challenge, which for me keeps me driving on to outperform myself constantly.

If you would like to know more about the equipment featured here or you would like to purchase either piece then email me directly on wantboxing@gmail.com. They are bespoke made equipment and so are a little costly but will last a lifetime due to their robust design and manufacture. I can also tailor the design to your specific requirements.

For a deeper understanding of why overhead pressing beats bench pressing read Dinosaur training by Brooks Kubik and he has a few other books out that cover the cultivation of strength from every angle and a guaranteed great read:

GRAY HAIR AND BLACK IRON: Secrets of Successful Strength Training for Older Lifters.
STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER.

Louie Simmons: A master class in the correct technique for the Bench Press.

2010-01-26T01:38:00.000-08:00

I just got this from world class Powerlifter A.J. Roberts, a master class in bench press technique. The fine points that can make all the difference. I know that I was benching wrong for over 20 years. I blew out my left shoulder twice doing heavy inclines and then once doing dumbell shoulder press, and my right shoulder once going for a 1 rep max in the flat bench. As soon as I was instructed to bench correctly my weights shot up and the constant pain in my Acromio-clavicular joint disapeared.
Louie Simmons has coached 30 athletes to to bench over 700lb/318kg or 50 stones plus. So he knows what he is talking about. Also see Travis Bell (Black shirt on bench) and A.J. himself (blue shirt) giving small aswell, this is well worth the investment in time. Plus it could help you to bring up your strength and avoid injuries like mine!!

http://journal.crossfit.com/2010/01/setting-up-the-bench.tpl

Just copy and past the link into your browser, the link offers several ways to view this footage. I tried windows media and it took too long to load. Quick time on the other hand was almost instant.

For a better idea of what the Westside barbell Club and Simmonds are all about check out the Westside book of methods:

When life gives you Lemons...

2010-01-25T01:49:00.000-08:00

...Make lemonade, and when the snow makes travelling to work impossible the go out and play. Build a snow man, have a snowball fight, or go sledding. We decided on the latter option. Here's some footage of Rob having fun on a bitterly cold but bright and sunny day.

Rob takes out the Jones Town 'GROWLER' for a drag. This sled has both pull and Push capabilities.
Its not called the 'GROWLER' for nothing. In its pull mode it will beat your ass into the ground. But in its push mode it will break you. Not for the aerobics and spin crowd!!
WARNING: Training in sub zero temps with just T-Shirt is not big or clever, its just the way we roll.

After a general warm up and then specific warm up using the head harness, Rob then loaded up 105kg/213lb and put the strength of the harness to the test.

If you would like to get your hands on a 'Growler' then drop me a line in the comments section and I'll get back to you asap.

Polish Power: Olympic weight lifters from the '70s in training

2010-01-13T01:14:00.000-08:00

This footage shows Polish Weightlifters from the mid 1970's performing the accessory lifts that go into building up the 2 competitive events of weightlifting, the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. Notice how they perform only 3 reps per movement or less. This is to maintain bar speed and recruit the high threshold fast twitch fibres, thus making each attempt more efficient and therefore stronger and faster. Even on the machine exercises they perform the reps as fast as possible, and even though the audio is in Polish it is obvious to me that their instructions from their coaches would be to stop as soon as the movements start to slow down. This concept is being used by Christian Tibadeau in his latest training break through for bodybuilders.
You can see what he is up to at www.tmuscle.com
It appears that he is adapting the Westside methodology for hypertrophy, and Louie Simmons who is the main man at Westside barbell Club got his ideas from the Russian strength authors Verkoshanski and Zatsiorski. The Russians and the former Soviet block nations dominated the strength sports during the 1970's.
Using fast low reps builds greater fast twitch dominance which have the greatest ability to hypertrophy.

During the following films you will see how the Polish team prepares for competition and the various techniques employed explained in English. You will also see various competiton footage from the the late 70's including the first successful 250kg Clean and jerk in competition.

Learn the secrets of heavy lifting from the father of plyometrics and linear periodisation:

YouTube - Deadlift Fail

2010-01-12T01:09:00.000-08:00

This is what can happen when you exert yourself too hard. Pretty good lift supersetted with flying dumbell headbutts. A novel combo that i dont see me doing anytime soon. Bless him.

Why the gym is never good value - Credit crunch survival guide - MSN Money UK

2010-01-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Tis the silly season where gyms across the country are stormed like the Normandy beaches during D-Day. The gyms are over crowded but the club makes its money. The regulars get to be marginalised by the flock of wanabes hoarding the benches and dumbells performing the few exercises they know how to do poorly, and then by the first week of April its all back to normal and the newbies are back on their sofas and bar stools forgetting that their membership will continue to extract money from their account for the rest of the contract. That is why I and my buddies prefer to train in a lock up garage which is currently freezing in the snow and humid as a jungle in summer. Thats what you get for having a flat roof and a need to move kit outside to perform over head work, plus the benefits keep on mounting. Once the equipment is payed off its yours to keep, you dont get idiots hogging the kit because its yours and you only invite those you want. You can play the music YOU want, so as to motivate rather than being subjected to 80's electro-pop on a loop. You can cover the place in chalk dust and not have to suffer from whiney gym bunnies complaining that 'we aren't that kind of gym' because yes we are that kind of gym. And if you want to train butt naked then whos going to stop you? No-one thats who! And best of all you can train when you want as long as the missus says its ok : )

Why the gym is never good value - Credit crunch survival guide - MSN Money UK

The worlds Strongest Man 2009

2010-01-06T07:16:00.001-08:00

Well its started the 2009 Worlds Strongest Man competition has started being transmitted on Bravo and Bravo+1. But as a special sneek peek heres a quick compilation of what to expect, for those who follow it I think this competition will throw up a few surprises.

Phil Phister on Nutrition,, complementary Therapies and the spirituality of lifting heavy stuff!

2010-01-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

For those that are unaware Phil won the 2006 Worlds Strongest Man and has been competing in the sport for 11 years at the time of this interview (shortly before the Arnold in Columbia).

For more from Phil in action click on the Amazon button:

Worlds Strongest Man 09' .

2010-01-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

The Worlds Strongest Man 2009 competition is being televised on Bravo from Monday the 4th of January. Each week they will show one heat leading up to the final. So if you love Strongman competitions then you should love the 'Worlds' and let everyone know that the greatest spectical of Strength is on.

Heres a little taste of what to expect,British athlete Laurence 'Big Loz' Shahlaei
competeing in the 08' squat lift in Charlestown Virginia, enjoy!

Tis the season to get stronger.

2009-12-15T01:40:00.000-08:00

Here we all are again, winter is upon us and Christmas is only few days away. It was dark out when I woke up and its still bleak and uninspiring as I gaze wistfully out of my window. But the good news is that over the Christmas period Bravo will be showing Strongman competitions to ease the misery of the silly season, a time when we are forced to share time with others who may not be deserving of our attention and are forced by our nearest and dearest to stop going to the gym and peel some potatoes. I didnt want to spoil the surprise but seeing as how its all over the net and youtube have videos popping up all the time here is a little video highlight of the current champions career so far...can you guess who won this year?

I got to meet Zydrunas Savickas back in October at the London International Strongman Champions League competition along with two of all time my heros from this sport Mark Felix and Terry Hollands.

Me and Terry Hollands

Me and Mark Felix

I also got to shake hands with Polands second strongest man Jarek Dymek and also had to treat Simon Sulaiman who had a partial tear of his right Biceps femoris (hamstring).

From the left Me, Simon Sulaiman, and Jarek Dymek

So as the silly season builds to an extravagant cresendo and we all eat and drink far to much and share in the Bon Homie that is de regur at this time of year be warmed by the knowledge that visions of the Worlds Strongest Man competiton 2009 which was held in Malta this summer will be beamed onto our T.V. screens in January to warm our chilly hearts and hopefully the wife wont object too much to me watching the whole thing.

Merry Christmas and a Happy new year, keep it together and Stay Groovy people!!

7 Critical Bench press tips.

2009-11-10T03:24:00.000-08:00

If you would like to increase your bench press poundages without a commenserate increase in potential injuries then read this PDF report from Bench Press specialist Mike Westerdal owner of www.Critical Bench.com

http://www.hulsestrength.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/IncreaseBench.pdf

(you will have to highlight this link right click on copy and paste it into your web browser)

Get stronger and Stay Groovy y'all.

Guy

If you Dont have your health, what do you have?

2009-11-10T01:26:00.000-08:00

The sun has dropped lower on the horizon and it wont be until December 23rd before it rises again. And the sky is full of clouds and the ground is masked by fog. The kids are back at school and coughs and colds are on the rise. It may seem fair to consider the Flu vaccine as a safety net for you and your loved ones, think again. The Canadian health authority has changed its policy to allow individual states to opt out. Read here to find out why.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/10/Canadian-Provinces-Suspend-Seasonal-Flu-Shots-and-Recommend-Vitamin-D.aspx

And if that doesn't piss you off enough, then read this next link and find out why we are all being urged to get the flu shot even though the majority of their evidence shows that these shots are untested in a major population study (maybe this is why we are all being pushed towards getting the shots, it beats having to pay for test subjects when you can dupe the world into finding out what the results will be) and that the likelihood of getting ill immediately after having the vaccine and then becoming permanently screwed later in life from all of the problems associated with the general adjuvants they cram in there to cause a greater immune response.

http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/26440

It may seem reasonable to take no chances with the threat of a global pandemic heading our way (or so the papers and T.V. pundits keep telling us) but U.S. researcher R. Edgar Hope Simpson linked lowered Vitamin D levels in the majority of people contracting colds and flu at this time of year (due to diminished exposure to the sun) as the major cause of seasonal infections way back in 1981. Whether the vaccine to stop either the seasonal flu or even the dreaded swine flu is of any use, consider this. If you have the vaccine you are twice as likely to get the flu, that is a statistic that came from a massive study that had 19 thousand people in it, much larger than the study that said it was safe for children which only looked at 65 children between ages 5 months to 5 years.

So guess what an increasing number of experts are recommending as natural alternatives to the cocktail of nasties they want to inject into you and your kids. Its amazing because its so simple, get more exercise and eat a balanced and nutritious diet that contains high levels of Vitamin D during the winter months. Who'd a thunk it??! Its time to become your own physician, I havent been to a doctor since I left the army 6+ years ago. Because I have had no need for one. So become informed, its your health and the health of your loved ones at risk.

Here are a selection of recommended resources to help you better understand the state sponsored deception and derailment of the publics health. And how to take back the reins of control for you and for those you hold dear:

Stay healthy and be Groovy people

Guy

Normal Kid meets Powerlifter.

2009-11-05T04:22:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of the Back Squat and have also advocated heavy Squats for years. But as we all know (if we are honest with our selves) that there are always more than 2 sides to every story. Check this video out because it highlights issues on both sides of the Bodybuilding/powerlifting argument..... and its also very, very funny.

Stay Groovy

The Kettlebell Users Manual. For Free.

2009-09-30T03:21:00.000-07:00

This was my first attempt at writing a training book. I started it back in 2005 as a 20 or so page print out for the students of my Kettlebell courses. It Then Ballooned into what you see before you. Please feel free to down load it and enjoy for free. Not bad in a world where big profiteers are charging more for less and bailing each other out like its some kind of game and public money is theirs to play with.
Oh yeah, please feel free to send it to anyone you know who might like to read it, spread the word, and stay groovy!

The Kettle Bell Users Manual, 2006-11-29

Terry Hollands Deadlifting 420kg

2009-09-30T01:40:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen it yet scroll down to the last post and watch Big Tel pop 200kg off the floor 27 times like it aint no thang! But Heres the crusher. 420kg for 1 mighty rep. Yeah hes wearing a deadlift suit! Yeah hes wering a belt! Yeah his form is nasty and he has to ratchet it up his thighs to lock out! So Fucking what! That 420kg, and I guarantee you, anyone going for a max single is going to have lift in an ugly way if its an honest rep max effort. check it out its an awesome feat of strength.

Told ya it was awesome, Stay Groovy!

Terry Hollands Deadlifting 200kg for 27 Reps!

2009-09-28T03:16:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of 'Big Tel' Deadlifting 200kg for 25 easy reps, plus another two for good measure. My best this year was 200kg for 5 strong reps, which I was well proud of (265kg x 1 back in August 2007 is my all time best lift, it took off 2 calusses from my left hand and 1 from my right). So for me this puts my efforts into stark perspective, plus he's 12 years younger than me and has a way to go before he hits his strength peak.

For more footage of the big man zip over to youtube and join Terry Hollands channel.
Also before I forget, he and Mark felix Britains best hopes at the Worlds Strongest Man Competition will be competing against some of the best in the World at the Strongman super series, Wembley arena on the 18th of October. I will be there helping out behind the scenes with massage and injury therapy. I hope to have some footage or at least a photo or two of some of the greatest strength athletes in the world, so stay tuned and stay groovey. Heres a bonus vid of Mark Felix hitting his deadlift stride. Probably the best deadlifter in the world!!

Official Home of The World's Strongest Man Competition

2009-09-10T04:18:00.001-07:00

Official Home of The World's Strongest Man Competition

At last the WSM has a real live website, check out this years events and the atheletes competing in the greatest show of strength and conditioning on the planet!

Shared via AddThis

Englands Strongest man 2009

2009-09-07T03:32:00.000-07:00

I have just found this short clip of Englands strongest man 2009, Compered by Colin Bryce this clip shows Terry Hollands beating the previous best time for the Atlas stones. I am a massive fan of Terry who as Colin says has only been in the sport for a short time and yet competed at the very highest levels. Check it out.

If you would like to see the whole competition, then watch the video, at the end credits there is are several contact addresses where you can purchase this 'RAW POWER' double DVD set. I just got mine last week and it is a great competition, although the sound quality isn't that great in places.

The Last Conditioning session of the Summer

2009-09-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

Previous to this footage Rob had completed 50 Parallel dips inside 5 mins.

10x each hand Swing pulls
5x each hand Snatch and Press
5x Each hand Bent press
Followed imediately with a 30m sprint. This forces the nervous system to go from high intensity long duration low impact upper-body work, to high intensity high impact lower body short duration work. Thus making first foot speed faster and therefore more efficient.
This was then followed by 60m Farmers walk with 50kg each hand and then 60m with 60kg each hand.
Total duration 47 mins. Not including warm ups and stretching/mobilising work.

Worlds Strongest man 2009.

2009-08-10T04:52:00.000-07:00

I was checking out Face Book yesterday..as you do! and I saw something that made my blood boil. You see the bean counters at Channel 5 have decided to drop Worlds strongest man from their scheduled line up. This could possibly be because they feel they don't have enough insipid reality based shows already. Possibly they feel they need another fashion show hosted by an ethnically diverse homosexual, or another cookery program hosted by some miserable arsehole who treats his fellow humans like shit on his or her shoes. Or maybe they just dont have enough police/hospital dramas to fill their demographic. What ever the case they are FUCKING WRONG!!!

The Worlds Strongest Man is the finest display of athletic ability barring the Olympics, but unlike the Olympics it should be on every year, with your support it will be. Most of these men work real jobs to be able to afford to compete because there isn't that much money involved. Only a handful are professionals although the professionalism shines through. They brave extreme events that exhaust the body beyond the comprehension of the average sofa spud. And when they get injured they tend to rip tendons and tear muscles, only to come back next year bigger, stronger and more impressive than before.
Worlds strongest Man needs your support, please log into www.facebook.com and join the worlds strongest man- petition to make it happen group. God will save a seat at the back of the bus going straight to heaven for doing this. Otherwise Christmas will suck and there wont be anything to look forward to ever again.

Stay groovy and keep on sippin' the cool aide and Bless you one and all.

Dinosaur Training author Brooks Kubik, in his element.

2009-08-10T04:10:00.000-07:00

To make up for the previous posts video, I thought it would be good to show 'A how to do it RIGHT'! section. So here are a few videos of Brooks Kubik the author of Dinosaur Training (my personal favourite book on strength and conditioning bar none.

This first video shows him psyching up for a heavy single in the bottom position squat. This is an extremely challenging exercise which will require an ego check when you first start. Because you will need to drop the weights considerably.

Here we see him psyching up for a push press, incidentally the music is Wagners Ride of the Valkyrie. One of Adolf Hitlers favourites as well.

Unfortunately the next embed was disabled by the author, but you can watch this by pasting the url to your command bar or just going direct to http://www.youtube.com/ and typing brooks kubik into the search bar. It will be well worth your while because here 'The Dino man' himself explains the ins and outs of sandbag training. Check it out below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viOvTwD7oaI

Here we see Brooks competing at a drug free Powerlifting meet and nailing his bench press weight selection of 183kg or 405lbs without a hitch.

In this last video we see him growling at himself and probably freaking out the only other gym user as he nails a 206kg or 455lb bottom position bench press single. Once again this is an extremely difficult exercise because the elasticity of the lowering or concentric portion of the lift is eliminated, making it that much harder to complete. Brooks nails it easily, which basically means he is one strong hombre!!

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you are interested in the man himself you can check out his website on http://www.brookskubik.com/ I also highly recommend his book 'Dinosaur training' which I first read in 1996 or there abouts and it changed my life and my approach to strength and training in general.

To buy his books click on the Amazon button:

LEGACY OF IRON. STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER. GRAY HAIR AND BLACK IRON: Secrets of Successful Strength Training for Older Lifters.

Stay groovy and keep on sippin' the cool aide!!

Join 'The Jones Town Crew'

2009-08-01T09:26:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I started 'The Jones Town Crew' Facebook group. Please join up and become a member of an elite organisation. Within minutes we had 18 members and I hope that by Christmas we will have over 1000! Tell your friends and family, its free to join with no obligations at all, but the benefits are that you will be able to ask questions on matters of strength, conditioning for sport and daily living and nutrition. Plus any subject that springs to mind, it is a non-politically correct place of sanity where censorship will not be tolerated unless it delves into the really unpleasant realms of sexual perversion and brutality, in which case you can email me directly because my enquiring mind needs to know, and I am very rarely shocked!

Stay Groovy and Keep on sippin' the cool aide!

Summer fun part 3

2009-07-31T01:22:00.000-07:00

Alan hoisting a 32kg Kettlebell

As each week of summer conditioning passes, the weights decrease slightly but the intensity increases. The exercises become easier but the rest times are diminished.
The program for the next 3 weeks will look somthing like this with slight variations so as to discourage staleness.

Monday.

warm up

A1. 3 x 20 rep box squats 5 mins recovery between sets

B1. 10 x 20 rep Kettlebell swings with ascending weights. Each set followed by a 30 meter sprint

Cool down

Wednesday.

Warm up

A1. 50 chin ups performed as fast as possible with good form.

B1. 10 x 10 reps each arm Kettlebell snatch in ascending weights. Each set followed by 30 meter sprint.

Friday.

Warm up

A1. 50 Parallel Dips to be completed in the best time with the best possible form

B1. 10 x 10 reps double Kettlebell clean and press with ascending weights. Each set followed immediately by a 30 meter sprint.

If the weather improves next week I want to take some of the kit up to the park and run a kettlebell, sandbag, barrel and tire throwing circuit or two. But this being England you can never rely on the weather unless you bet on the chance of rain.

Stay Groovy, Oh and remember to keep on sippin' the cool aide!

Food poisoning and bad sleeping patterns: The link to less than stellar performances

2009-07-23T01:54:00.000-07:00

On monday I stuffed down some left over beef and rice, then rushed 17 miles to work. Arrived before my client and set up. He stretched and mobilised under my guidance and we kicked off with the first installment of his new program. Somewhere around the 4th set I started to sweat, then the wave of nausea hit me and I started to salivate, but not in a good way. I excused myself and gingerly trotted to the Gents only to find it shut for repairs. Mild panic ensued as the next wave of nausea and the certain knowledge that my food wasn't staying down hit me. All I could do was run for the furthest toilets and hope for the best. Damn the cubicle was occupied, but it did'nt matter because I projected my lunch at the sink, mirror and wall 3 feet away also hitting the floor in the process.
After a further 3 trips one which involved me with a mouth full of regurgitated food and two fat chicks performing a routine from the 3 stooges, I managed to get away having performed my working duties to mine and my clients satisfaction. I left for home empty, strained and completely spent. I crawled onto the bed when I got home and passed out. Julia my love woke me up when she got home from work and fussed around me and In the distance I could hear the boys training in the garage. 3 x 20 squats, 3 x car push and 5 x up and down the driveway with the sled. Needless to say I stayed in and decided the better part of valour was to curl up with the wife and recover. That night I didnt sleep much.

Tuesday was another such tired and washed out day, so no training. But come Wednesday I was back in action only to perform so badly as to be slightly sadened by the whole affair. It took me 26 minutes to perform 50 wide grip pull ups. I only got 6 reps on Jerk press before having to drop the weight (last week I held back on 8 whilst still having 2-3 left in the bank and expecting 12 good reps this week). The only thing that went well was the sandbag loading, but even then due to the ripped up flesh on both middle fingers from last week I wasn't able to add the grip and rip to the movement and so it was only half as good as last week.

The moral of this story is 'Don't eat dodgy food in a rush and get lots of quality sleep, or else your training will suck., and you will feel sad'

Stay Groovy, and keep on sippin' the cool aide!

How not to Squat!

2009-07-21T01:52:00.001-07:00

This is a quick jaunt into the land of how not to do something. Today we will discuss the barbell back squat.

When we are in the brown and smelly stuff the mind will focus on finding a solution. Sometimes it comes too late to save our ass and sometimes it just comes too late to save our embarrassment.

If you want to learn how to squat properly then check out 'Super Squats' by Dr Randall Strossen Phd:

And 'The Complete keys to Progress' By John McCallum:

Summer Fun!! Part 2.

2009-07-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Just coming to the end of the second week of summer conditioning here are the scores on the doors so far.

Last Monday.

A1. Back squats Body weight (on the bar) x 30. This was a harsh wake up, we have been doing low reps (except for the Festival of St. Conan where we did 100 reps with body weight on the bar, see post below for details)So the higher rep range has been unpleasant to say the least.

B1. kettlebell swings x 10
B2. Kettlebell Snatch x 10/10
B3. Farmers walk with my shiney new handles 50 kg each hand 60 meters
B4. Kettlebell Clean and Press x 5/5
B5. 50 kg Tire pull 60 meters. This is hard on the grip due to the rope being quite thin combined with the distance and the inertia of rubber on concrete.
B6. Farmers Walk 70kg each hand 60 meters

C1. Car push up a 1-2% incline for 150 meters. This is a timed event.

Wednesday.

A1. Wide Grip pull ups 30 reps. Rest as needed.

B1. 1 x Clean followed by 8 Jerk presses
B2. Bent over row with suppinated grip x 30 reps
B3. Snatch grip deadlift x 30 reps
This sounds easy but when done with little or no recovery between exercises this becomes a grip and cardio beast.

C1. 45kg Sandbag loaded onto a high platform for 5 sets of 10. This would be a great workout in and of itself. Very hard on the grip if you pinch the material and great for explosive hip and back work. This also has a nice carry over to the Atlas stones. It also works the Biceps and Brachialis hard as well as the core.
Friday.

A1. Dips x 30 reps. Rest as needed

B1. 70 kg Sandbag Bear hug 60 meters carry. This is a Jones Town staple, which is universally hated and feared.
B2. 55 kg Barrel shoulder run 60 meters. Stop at the turn around point and change shoulders.
B3. 70 kg Zercher sandbag Carry 60 meters. This is the newest and most horrible addition to the plan. I dare you to try this, If you drop the bag due to asphyxiation you have to pick it back up. If you keep going you risk passing out and or vomiting on your self.
B4. 55kg Barrel carry by the chines 60 meters. This is almost like resting in comparrison to the sandbag work.

C1. Big tire flip 60 meters
C2. Farmers Walk 70kg per hand 60 meters
C3. 80kg Sled drag 60 meters
C4. Farmers Walk 100kg per hand 60 meters

D1. Incline sit ups on bench with 20kg plate 3 sets x 20 reps

This week we added 10 reps to the Pull ups and Dips, Squats stayed the same weight, except they were even more horrible this week. We changed some of the exercises for the sake of variation due to last week being so gripcentric that I feel like I have shin splints in my forearm flexors. But on the whole it was harder but from my point of view my Jerk press was a lot tighter and I could have done at least 2 more reps and still had 1 left in the tank and my Pull ups have increased by 8 reps before I start to lose form. I will keep you all posted as to what this week has delivered and what the next few weeks have in store. Until next time

Stay Groovy

Summer Fun!!

2009-07-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

The Jones Town crew have just come to the end of phase 1 of this summers training goals. We started with 6 weeks of Advanced German Volume Training with a slight Jones Town twist. The 6 weeks were split up into 2, 3 week blocks of Back to back exercises such as Flat or inclined bench press coupled with Log Bar or olympic bent over rows with 1 minutes recovery between sets. We warmed up with sets of Both exercises until the working weights for each were reached which generally took around 20-25 minutes, ensuring that muscles, connective tissues and nervous system were firing on all cylinders. The set up worked like this;

A1. Bench press x 5 reps The first week

A2. Log bar Bent over row x 5 reps

As each week went by, the reps came down by 1 per set and the weight increased. At the end of the first 3 week block we had followed a 5/4/3 rep schedule using increasing weights and the same 1 minute rest interval betwqeen opposing sets. During the second 3 week block we changed the exercises used and went back to 5 reps per set with 1 minute recovery, the scheme looked like this;

A1. Incline Bench Press x 5 reps

A2. Olympic Bar Bent Over Rows (palms suppinated) x 5 reps

The same 5/4/3 reps per set, with 1 minute recovery scheme was played out again.
This had the triple whammy of increasing strength in the Mid repetition range, Increasing Hypertrophy and also adding a conditioning element due to the short rest intervals.

But Now we come to the summer Fun part where conditioning takes centre stage. Where the weights lifted drop but the rep ranges go up, more running is involved, car push times need to come down and a general level of vomitting is to be expected.

At this point I have no footage of our efforts (should have somthing in the next couple of weeks) but for now here is some footage of us doing some Heavy sandbag loading back in December. Enjoy!!

That was a great way to spend an otherwise boring Sunday, lifting huge bags of sand and making strange noises. Stay tuned for more installment of this years training.

Stay Groovy!

Benedict Magnusson. World record holder in the Deadlift.

2009-06-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Watch Benedict easily lift 1100lbs in the Hummvee tyre Deadlift. That is 500kg! or 78.57 stones imperial. What a beast!!!

Derek Poundstone, pounds the (Atlas) stones

2009-06-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

529lbs, that is 240kg or 37.78 stones in old money!

Derek is a full time police officer from Carolina in the U.S. last year he narrowly lost out to the great Marius pudzianowski at the worlds strongest man competition which was held in Charlestown Virginia U.S.

Still wasting all your shoulder workouts doing flyes?

2009-06-25T02:59:00.001-07:00

The Apollons wheels at the Arnold Classic 2005

Think you got a big deadlift, think again...unless you are one of these guys!

2009-06-25T02:54:00.000-07:00

Heavy deadlifting competitiona t the Arrnold classic 2005

Check out the Governator in an interview from 1978

2009-06-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

In the name of St Conan check this out.

'I think he makes some interesting points, especially regarding the concept of the optimum physique.

More from Arnold:

The Festival of St Conan. A new religious holiday for the patron saint of exercise related pain.

2009-06-18T02:43:00.000-07:00

St. Conan.

Simply put, take an exercise such as the Barbell back squat, the barbell or Trap bar Deadlift, Bench press or Military press and do 100 repetition with at least 70% preferably 85% of your 1 Rep max of the chosen exercise. There is no time limitm, (so take a peri-workout drink with you so that we dont have any low blood sugar oxygen depleted vomiting). Then do 100 reps, thats all there is to it, nothing too difficult a very simple protocol. The only caveat is that all reps have to be full reps, so squats have to be to parallel or below and bench press has to pause at the chest. Oh yeah and because it is a week long festival of physical pain and spiritual growth you must complete 3 such events on...Oh lets say Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In between you should spend time in quiet contemplation of the sufferings of Saint Conan as he pushed that wheel for years and years until such time as he was released to become the greatest warrior of his age.

After this week of suffering and contemplation take a week off to celebrate, feast, Rest and refill your tanks. Then come back a week later bigger stronger an better.

Spring training 'Red in Tooth and Claw'.

2009-04-07T01:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a few shots of last nights training session

It was intense but a lot of fun.

Springing into action!

2009-04-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Spring is here again and that can only mean one thing, apart from new life sprouting from the ground and from the womb. The one thing I refer to is 'SPRING TRAINING' of course. So here is a glimpse at what the 'JONES TOWN CREW' will be getting upto for the next 8 weeks.
We will still be hitting the static strength hard and working in the 80-90% of 1 rep max zone for the core lifts ( Deadlift, bench press and parallel squat). We will also be upping the cardio with a variety of strongman related events and also hitting the kettlebells for a High Intensity Cardio finish. This helps us to keep the heart rate up and also add extra grip, core and flexibility components to our training without adding to our overall time spent training. So here is our program of events for the next 6 weeks, the last 2 being test weeks, which I will write up when we have completed them.

Day1 week 1.

Static Strength

Barbell deadlift

from ground. 12 sets of 2 reps with 80-90% 1RM. This will act as a base line for the coming 6 weeks. We wont be adding any weight just reps. The weekly repetition split will be ;

week 1 = 2
week 2 = 3 Here we add a third more volume than last week
week 3 = 2 Here we back off and allow some adaptation and active recovery to occur and we use the trap bar for a change of pace
week 4 = 3 Still using the trap bar
week 5 = 5 Here we go into the cage and lift from below the knee with a straight bar
week 6 = 2 Active recovery before the 1 RM test on week 7

Strongman medley

65kg barrell shoulder carry for 60 meters

1 min Rest

65kg Barrell chine carry for 60 meters

1 min rest

65kg sandbag bearhug run for 60 meters

1 min rest

2 x 60kg sandbag farmers walk/run for 60m

1 min rest

65kg Tire flips for 60m

3 mins recovery

1% incline uphill car push 150m

( when I first started doing this it took between 4 and 5 minutes, dependant upon the road conditions. Now I can complete it in less than 2)

kettlebell medley

A variety of 3-5 kettlebell moves completed as a complex with minimal or no rest between exercises. Rest as appropriate between complexes aiming to be done inside of 10 minutes. Each complex is to be completed 3 times.

Day 2

Bench press

Each week follows the same rep range as above and all are to be performed with a full range of movement. In the first 2 weeks we will use the olympic bar, then from week 3 onwards we will be using a 2.5 inch bar.In weeks 5 and 6 we will be performing each set from the sticking point to the lockout position.

The same strongman and Kettlebell principles apply except that the kettlebell medley uses different exercises performed from the last time.

Day 3

Parallel Squat

The same protocols as above.
week 1 and 2 are to parallel, weeks 3 to 6 are box squats.

By sticking to the basics and only doing isolation and weak point training on seperate days as and when needed as opposed to being the mainstay of our programing we have managed to keep getting stronger and gaining weight in a steady progressive manner. If you think it looks fun or that it is too simple to be any good then give it a go...I dare ya!

Till next time when I will tell you about a new religious festival I have cooked up called

'St Conans day'

Stay Groovy

Guy

The Weak stink of defeat, but happily they taste like Chicken!

2009-03-14T03:58:00.000-07:00

The Cage of Power

2009-03-14T02:24:00.000-07:00

If you were to ask someone what their favourite thing was the list would range dependant upon who you were talking to and their particular personality type from litre steins of Bavarian larger to sizzling spoonfuls of Heroin, sex with multiple hookers or naked skydiving whilst strumming a Banjo to name but a few, and if these are what floats your particular boat then cool, I am happy that you have a hobby that keeps you off the streets and makes you smile. Crack on and enjoy your self you deserve it!
If you were to ask me what my favourite thing in the world is, I honestly couldn't say because it changes with the seasons and the fading of the light. But if you were to ask me what my favourite piece of gym kit is. Hands down it would have to be my 'POWER CAGE'. Now I know that without the barbell and the weights to go on the bar its pretty useless, so yes I also love my barbells, but the cage is where its at for me, as I shall explain.

British worlds strongest man competitor Lawrence Shahlei squatting 250kg
(photo courtesy of http://www.wheyconsortium.co.uk/) The best source for good, cheap whey protein. (P.S. I dont get anything for endorsing their products, I just like their stuff and I like the prices even better).

You see I often have to train on my own due to the hectic, eclectic nature of my work and until I had the room to put up a 'cage' I would often fail to train to the maximum of my ability due to the fear of being crushed. And I never went close to my maximum in the bench press after a near decapitation experience back in 93' when my spotter couldn't lift the bar back onto the uprights so decided to pull it up towards my throat as I was pushing the bar down towards my feet all the while gurgling to them to 'fuck off and let go' . At which point rather than see me die they bolted leaving me with the unenviable task of extricating my neck and head from that weighty dilemma.
Now that I have a 'Cage' I can reach the point of failure or miss a particular maximum weight in the bench press, content in the knowledge that I wont decapitate myself. I can also perform partial range movements with supra-maximal weights ( every joint has a 15-20 degree carryover in strength to the next joint, which means that if you can only parallel squat 100kg but you can squat 6 inches with 200kg then the carryover will affect the next joint and so on down the chain, plus the extra weight being sustained through out the whole body means that over time you will become much stronger and consequently gain more muscle as a bonus).
This has the added benefit of making your training much more interesting because you can see massive increases in the weights lifted over fairly short periods of time, plus your body will find it harder to adapt to your regime and so with a few subtle changes every few weeks you can push the envelope further without the worry of burnout or nervous fatigue or from over use injuries. You are also able to employ a graduated technique that the legendary Paul 'The Wonder of Nature' Anderson used. By using weights that are way too huge for you to get a full range movement in say the squat, the Deadlift or any pressing movement for only 2-4 inches of movement. Then working at that weight and range of movement for as long as it takes to get competent enough to lower the pins on the rack another 1-2 inches. Then repeat the process over and over again until you are performing a full range press, squat or deadlift with more weight than you ever dreamed of lifting. Now repeat that process over and over again for the rest of your life and see how strong you can become?
There are a few down sides to owning a 'power cage' the first is that your wallet is going to take a big hit when you need to keep buying new clothes because the old ones are all ripped and shredded like you lent them to the 'HULK'. you also have to have the floor space and head room to fit it in, and they aren't particularly pretty. I worked at a gym in my home town of Wantage, near Oxford in England and when I suggested that the owner purchase a 'Power Rack' he told me that they were ugly and would detract from the image that he wanted to project to the existing and prospective clientele. So if you are a gym owner and you too think that 'Power Racks and 'Power Cages' are 'U-G-L-Y' then you need to look at your 'G-Y-M' and realise that it is actually just a health club and that is why you clientele are weak and insipid and and you are contributing to the politically correct loser mentality that is choking this world to death.

If on the other hand you already own a 'Rack' or a 'Cage' then you probably know what I am talking about and probably train at home in the sanity of your own space un-encumbered by the inane and insipid A-holes that frequent the local 'Health Club'. That is also why you are stronger and better than them, because you don't have to listen to their conversations about hair gel and tanning lotion between sets and don't have to wait for them to stop doing bicep curls in the 'Cage'. Or whining because they have been training forever but aren't as strong as you, so you must be using heroic doses of anabolic steroids because you just cant get that strong without them! Or my current pet hatred, using lifting straps on every exercise that requires a modicum of grip strength, like deadlifting half their body weight because they have the hand strength of a little girl!

This is the greatest book ever written on strength training and just so happens to have a section on rack training:

Here is a selection of racks and extra bar hooks if this article got you thinking in the right way:

Rant over.
Until next time Stay Groovy

Guy

Easing into spring training

2009-03-14T02:11:00.000-07:00

Spring is here at last, thank the lord. Its a bit bright in the morning but I can live with that considering how revitalised I feel at the moment. That last flurry of snow we had a couple of weeks ago sent me into hibernation and getting into the gym let alone doing anything in the cold was areal struggle. But now its time to shake off the winter and drop some of the accumulated belly lard.
The previous training phase went really well and as expected yielded some nice little strength gains for all concerned. This week (except those on the injury list, Justin Gregory being the most note worthy due to a suspected double cruciate rupture from collegiate Judo competition) we all performed 1 rep max tests for The deadlift on Monday, Flat bench press on Wednesday and Back Squat on the Friday. Everyone has added over 10 kg to each of these lifts with some making personal bests in all lifts.
Now it is time for training based upon percentages of these 1 rep max scores between 50% and 90% dependant upon the exercise in question and the stated aim of that particular effort.
Tune in soon for the next thrilling installment as we move deeper into spring training.

Until Next time Stay Groovy

Guy

Training program for late 2008 and early 2009

2009-01-11T07:01:00.001-08:00

I have been asked by a few people recently to lay out my training protocols so they can see what I do and how I do it. There are no routines never before seen, there are also no esoteric tricks of the eastern masters and I have no Russian or Bulgarian tricks up my sleeve. Just plain old compound movements and a good work ethic.

For me the training year began back in September with some crossover training from the previous protocols and intergrating the new training protocols, prior to which I had focussed heavily on fitness and muscular endurance, consequently I created a lot of new capiliaries which came in handy when the focus changed to Strength and Hypertrophy the emaphasis on both being in that order. Strength first and Hypertrophy as a close second. 2009 kicked off with the reverse emphasis, Hypertrophy first and Strength second, I aim to use 80%+ of my former 3 rep best on each of the basic compound movements for each lift and then move on to equal and potentially eclipse those numbers, here is the training year from October 2008 until April 2009.

Day 1.

A1. Log Bar shoulder Press 5 sets of 3 reps
B1. Trap Bar Deadlift from the ground 5 sets of 3 Reps
C1.Log Bar Bent over Row 5 sets of 3 reps

D1. Strongman finishers
30m Tire flips with 65 kg Tire
30 m 50kg Sandbag Bearhug run
30m 140kg Trapbar Farmers walk
30m Tire flips

Day2.

A1. 2" Fatbar Bench Press 5 Sets of 3 Reps
B1. Bulgarian Squat 5 Sets of 3/3 Reps
C1. 2" Fatbar Cleans 5 Sets of 3 Reps
D1. Weighted Situps 5 set of 3 reps

E1. Strongman Finisher

500m 50kg Sandbag bearhug stroll for time

Day3.

A1. Parallel Squats 5 sets of 3 Reps
B1. Weighted Pull ups 5 sets of 3 reps
C1. Trapbar Shrugs 5 Sets of 3 Reps
D1. Isometric and repetition gripper 5 sets of 3 reps

E1. Strongman Finisher

500m Farmers walk sprint with 2 x 25kg kettlebells for time

The next week I repeated the same but increased the reps to 5 sets of 5 reps. On all of these sets the recovery period was between 3 minutes and no longer than 5 minutes. The next week I went only 3 repetitions again). On week 4 I increased the weight and repeated the process. Each second week aiming to be stronger due to an increased output and each 3rd week backing off using this week to recover from the previous 2 weeks but in the meantime still kepping it heavy and thus keeping it real!

On the last week before Christmas I dropped the routine and gave into a desire to play. My Training partner Alan got hold of a couple of Beer kegs and we filled them up with varying amonuts of water and had a right old time cleaning them and pressing them in a variety of different ways. In fact it was so much fun that we killed over an hour just doing the Kegs and I got a text from Julia my better half telling me in no uncertain terms that play time was over for that particular day and that I should say good bye to my little chums and come in cos it was bath night. Ah the carefree bliss of my childhood years, but now I am 40 it doesnt seem the same

Photo courtesy of www.wheyconsortium.co.uk

I had also built a loading platform for my power rack beacuse I intend to make some Atlas stones when the weather gets warmer and I started practicing with heavy sandbags. 100kg seems to be the heaviest that I can lift due to the circumference and general awkwardness of such a load. This also proved to be a lot of fun and made for many laughs as attempt after attempt failed due to poor position and balance. But once the beast was tamed and we all started to get it up the competative edge took over and we all tried to outdo each other for sets and reps.

I also wanted to test out my deadlift that week because it had been getting harder to increase either the weight or the reps and I had a certain weight in mind for finishing on before the Christmas break and it appeared that I would not be getting it. So in a spirit of exploration I set out to see what I could do. I began with 2 sets of 10 for light quick lifts then 2 sets of 8 with slightly heavier resting no more than a minute or 2. Then 2 sets of 5 with heavier but easy weights then 5 sets of 3 with ascending difficulty the last 3 rep set being only 5kg off of my projected finishing weight for the year and then I finished with 1 rep at 5kg over my projected finishing weight. I then played with the barrels, and the 2" fatbar bench press and finished the session off with 3 sets of 5 reps on the sandbag loading to above shoulder height. The last set ended up being only 3 reps at 95kg due to complete fatigue and what with it being Christmas eve and me being expected to do the family thing that night and the next day I withdrew from the field of battle in good order to come back another day stronger and bigger.

January 5th was day 1 week 1 of the new year, I felt rested after 12 days off and uncontrolled gorging this day also brought with it the change of emphasis I had mentioned earlier. From Strength to Hypertrophy But at the same time aiming to stay strong if not stronger than before Christmas. The recovery periods for this next phase are week 1 90 seconds. Week 2 140 seconds and Week 3 60 seconds.

Day1.

A1. 2" below Knee level Deadlift 5 x 5
B1. Barrel Shoulder Press 5 x5
C1. Logbar Bent over row 5 x 5

D1. Sandbag loading 5 x5

Day2.

A1. Close Grip Bench press 5 x 5
B1. Romanian Deadlift 5 x
C1. Kettlebell Bent press 5 x 5/5
D1. Trap bar Shrugs 5 x 5

E1. 500m 50kg Sandbag shoulder sprint for time

Day3.

A1. Barbell Squat 5 x5
B1. 6" partial front squat + Partial push press 5 x 5 (very heavy)
C1. 2.5" Fatbar bicep curls 5 x 5

D1. 250m Car push 125 m flat to decline 2nd half mostly up hill ( a real killer, I didnt know what would pop first my heart, my lungs or my calves)

Next week the sets drop to 4 and the reps increase to 7 recovery will also increase to 2 minutes 20 seconds between sets, the week after the reps drop to 3 and the sets increase to 8 with only 60 seconds recovery.
Watch this space to find out what happens next!

Until next time
Stay groovy

Guy

The 3rd and Last Super Strongman Sunday of 2008

2008-12-20T02:26:00.000-08:00

GET STRONG OR BECOME FOOD. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

Sunday the 21st of December 2008 will be the last of the year. Last Sunday we had 13 show up for fun and pain fuelled eforts. The 500 meter Sandbag stroll has been a real hit with the new comers who have posted some real good times like Kieran who came in at 5.18 and Justin (Bearman) who got 5.32 but hammered out a 1.35 for the first 250 meters which is the record for 2008 on the short course, something I will be investigating more deeply next year. But this week will be devoted to getting some good numbers on the Heavy sandbag loading, some patrial lifts and some Kettlebell snatching. A very merry Christmas to you all, eat drink, make merry and come back stronger than ever in 2009.

Stay strong, and stay Groovy

Guy

A poor show but with loads of go!

2008-12-09T01:42:00.000-08:00

Good morning world,

Well the 'SUPER STRONGMAN SUNDAY' was great, except for the poor turn out. People were still texting to find out when it was on and what was happening right up to the wire. Then they didn't bother to turn up. That was their loss, because those of us who did show up were able to bang out 3 hours of alternative cardio in the form of tire flipping, high repetition kettlebell work, running with medium and heavy sandbags and tire hammering. Followed with some fat bar bench pressing and heavy sand bag lifting. I built a platform for my power rack over the saturday and we used that at various heights to load a Dutch army kitbag with a capacity for around 120kg of builders sand and filled it first with 50kg then 60kg on up to 85kg and then we started loading it up to various heights. The messages of pain I have recieved since sunday are very encouraging. I myself ache all the way from the tips of my fingers right across my chest via my biceps and down into my waist. The big bag just wants to fight you all the way, just getting it off the ground is a feat of octopus like wrestling skill. and then finally landing it on the platform at shoulder height was not only extremely rewarding but the blooper reel will be hilarious. See you all again next Sunday for more of the same.

Stay groovy
Guy

SUPER STRONGMAN SUNDAY

2008-12-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

Many apologies for my lack of posting lately, due to other working commitments and the need for at least half an hours sleep per night I had to let it drop. But we are back with a vengence, because as of tommorrow sunday the 7th of December 2008 betwen 2pm and 4.30pm
The JONES TOWN Crew will be hosting...SUPER STRONGMAN SUNDAY. A fun Strongman (and woman) inspired training camp. This will continue every sunday weather permitting until Christmas. Come and join in for £3 per body or just come and watch, and cheer us on. The emphasis will be on fun but with a little rivalry and a naturally high level of testosterone flying about the place we are expecting some friendly competition too. After that at 8pm on FIVER (new T.V. channel) you can watch

'THE WORLDS STRONGESTMAN SUPER SERIES GRAND PRIX'

What a perfect end to a perfect day!

For more details Phone 07510771784

Stay Groovy

Guy

The Machine starts to look rusty!

2008-11-18T05:18:00.000-08:00

Ellis 'Slim' Cleary

Last night (Monday 17th November 2008) The A- Team plus Paris (Prettty boy) Cleary and Ellis ( Slim) Cleary met up for the Monday night session. Over head log press, Trap bar dead lifting Bent over log row and then The 500 meter Sandbag stroll. Ellis and Paris both burned their previous bests at 30kg for Ellis with 4.18.1 and 40 kg for Paris at 4.35.0. Alan 'The Machine Patrick 'couldn't play due to a partial subluxation of the shoulder joint at the British Judo Council championships the day before. Where he narrowly missed out on Bronze due to the first round injury and excessive use of Lucozade and nitrous oxide and caffein drinks. I was unable to attend the training session due to prior working commitments (and shall be training later today). However this morning at around 10am GMT 'Big Joe' Waite slapped the machines record of 5.04.2 aside and cruised home in spectacular style with a new team and world record of 4 minutes 58.1 seconds. The man is a god in human form, Alan has his work cut out and I must once again be content with Bronze. But I am still winning the Kettlebell farmers walk (sprint) by a country mile.

Stay Groovy Brothers and sisters

Guy

Paris 'Pretty boy' Cleary

Quote of the week

2008-11-13T03:18:00.000-08:00

'Once again Guy your fitness advice is spot on! I stretched out my wrist in the manner you described and my hand already feels loads better, thanks mate'.

Alan'The Machine' Patrick

Alan is suffering from some tendon-sheaf inflammation due to his Judo practice.

The Machine is set to ....'DOMINATOR'!

2008-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

The Machine hits 60kg log press

Me 3 years ago doing Kettlebell snatch and looking sexy!

Alan 'The Machine' Patrick just keeps getting stronger and faster

R.J. not the Big show but 'The No-Show' Kandola

Rob 'The Man with no (nick) name' Dunlop

'Like it or not, we remain the possesors of potentially strong muscle, bone, sinew and nerves, and these hard-won commodities demand our attention. They wer too long in the making to just be ignored, and we do so at our peril!

Mark Rippetoe, 'Starting strength'.

Last night was the usual Monday Night training session, Just me, Alan (The Machine), R.J. (not the Big show but, The No Show..Because he keeps missing training) and skinny boy Rob Dunlop. I hit a personal best for this year in the Trap bar deadlift of 160kg for 5 crisp easy reps. I am on course for 185 x 5 before Christmas, which means that my max single should be up around the 210kg mark, which is nice. But then came the 500 meter 50kg Sandbag stroll, Rob went first and stripped
2 minutes 28 seconds from his former best of 10 minutes 53.2 seconds with his new personal best of
8 minutes and 25.8 seconds. So congratulations to Rob (the man with no nickname...as yet). Then R.J. (The no show Kandola) went next, and dropped a further 40 seconds from his previous best time of 8 minutes 38.3 seconds, with his new P.B. of 7 minutes 58.4 seconds. Not too shabby, then it was time for 'The Machine' to step up. Having been out all Saturday night carousing with members of the opposite sex and consuming alcohol he was slightly reticent as to being able to put forth his best and so with much mumbling about ' Not wanting to do this....' Alan went out of the starting gate like a bat out of hell, hit the turn around point, paused and then blazed a trail right back to the finish line and even though he was wasted from a weekend of sinful behaviour he dropped a further 11 seconds from his former P.B. of 5 minutes 15 seconds dead. with a new record for this year of 5 minutes 4 . 2 seconds. Then last of all it was me and feeling exhausted due to staying up late on Saturday night to watch the Calzaghe Vs Jones fight, an early start that morning and getting over psyched for the deadlift and having nothing left to play with by sandbag o'clock I went off quickly and started to slow even quicker, it had been raining and the bag was by now soaked, the bottom was thick with wet leaves and I dropped it several times due to slippage. My plan went to pot because of this and every step of the last 3/4 was a lesson in suffering. I got back in 6 minutes 59.5 seconds which was 1 minute and 6 seconds slower than last week, so I felt that I had failed my crew, pussied out on success and a whole lot of other mental beatings that I felt I deserved. Then on further examination I became aware that even though I was much slower than last week I was still 31 seconds faster than the week before last. So all in all not a bad nights work.
Then this morning 'Big' Joe Waite came down to train and after his normal session he dropped a further 13.2 seconds from his previous best of 6 minutes 32 .6 seconds with a blinding 6 minutes 19.4 seconds. We are all still improving and all still getting stronger, plus I have a new bunch coming in to try their hand at man sized training with the pay off of real strength and fitness increases on a week by week basis.

Until next time, Stay Groovy!

Guy

Big Joe Waite muscles up the 32kg Kettlebell

Massive upset and new record at Jones Town!

2008-11-07T06:40:00.000-08:00

On Friday the 31st of October a new record in the 50kg 500 meter Sandbag bear hug stroll was created. Smashing 'Big' Joe Waites impressive record, Alan 'The Machine' Patrick cmae in at
5 minutes 15 seconds dead. Knocking nearly a minute off his brevious best and toppling Joe from his throne at 6 minutes 32.6 seconds.

Alan 'The Machine' Patrick.

I didnt do too badly either coming in a blowing Joes best time away with 5 minutes 47 seconds. So I am back in silver medal position again, but I still win the 25kg Kettlebell 500 m eter sprint every time! ( more on that later). Its good to be a winner!!

Guy 'Juggernaught' Jones

Stay Groovy brothers and sisters and stay strong!

Guy

Late (Record) Breaking News!

2008-11-01T02:19:00.000-07:00

'Big Joe Waite'

If you are a regular to this blog then you will be aware of the trial by pain that is 'The 500 meter 50kg Sandbag bearhug stroll', a feat of grit and determination that will have you blowing like the Santa-anna winds of southern California. For those who are new here let me explain, it just plain hurts there is no two ways about it, what ever is your weakness it will find it and root it out, leaving you in a ruined state needing rest and food, unable to be of any use to loved ones or yourself for the rest of the day.

I do this horror show every Monday after my regular training session just to finnish myself off
and ensure that I have worked to the maximum of my ability, and take it from me 'This hurts'!!!
Oh and did I also mention that it was a timed event? One that we all aim to complete in a faster time than before? So this week my training partner Alan and I both blasted our former personal bests (P.B.) Alan is 20 years younger and fitter than me, so he obviously was in the lead by a comfortable margin. But this Friday October the 31st 'Big Joe Waite' came from way behind and smashed his, mine and Alan's former times. But get this, he did that after already doing a sterling effort 15 minutes before. After his normal training session Joe completed the Sandbag bearhug stroll in 7 minutes and 19.0 seconds. His previous best being
10 minutes and 26.4 seconds. But what came next is the most remarkable thing, he stood there hardly showing any sign of fatigue having just completed the stroll and decided that he wanted to go again. We had a cup of tea, psyched up and off he went, this time coming in at a record breaking 6 minutes 32.6 seconds which puts him well in the lead, Alans nose well out of joint and me way back in Bronze medal position. Well done Joe what a magnificent effort, and if you dont think it is anything to brag about then get yourself a 50kg Ex-Army kitbag, fill it with 50kg of sand or gravel ( see previous post for the ingredients), then bearhug it to your chest (no shouldering thats too easy)
and then walk or run with it for 500 meters and then tell me 'it aint no thing'.

Her comes Joe flying into the finishing post!

Until next time Brothers and sisters stay strong, and stay groovy

Guy

Quotes of the week!

2008-10-29T05:08:00.001-07:00

Welcome to.....

Alan.
'Oh man I feel F***ed, which is nice'!

R.J.
'I feel as though My soul has been molested'.

Mikey

'It hurts to eat, and I can hardly move'.

Rob

'I feel as though, a herd of cattle have run over my lower back'.

Until next time people, stay strong, be strong!

Guy

The League of extraordinaryGentlemen !

2008-10-29T04:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to...

This is the second week of the blog and in keeping with the man sized training ethic of this organisation I have decided to create league based around the various tasks I have my students (and myself, no torture is inflicted upon another before I have experienced it myself). So far we have had a new record set by Alan in the 500 meter Sandbag bearhug stroll with a blistering

Alan

6 minutes 47.5 seconds.

Which I have to say is one of the hardest tasks I have ever set myself or anyone else. It is pure torture in the best kind of way. I have also trashed my previous time of 8.23.3 with a new personal best of

7 minutes 30.0 seconds.

The baffling part for me is that the last time iI performed this nightmare I put forth a huge effort, gave it all I could and was pleased with a 100% effort. This time around I knocked off 53 seconds from my previous time but I felt that I was going slower.??? Oh well, It just goes to prove that with a maximum effort each time out of the gate we can and will get stronger of body and stronger of mind. I urge you all to challenge yourselves with a similar trial by combat, what have you got to lose except your lunch!

Joe has a total time of

10 minutes 26.1 seconds. I know that he wants to beat this time soooo bad!

To do the sandbag stroll you will first need a 400-500 meter route, that is safe and away from serious traffic (you don't want to be thinking about stopping for speeding cars when your lungs are about to burst). Next you willl need a sturdy container, the cheapest and best option is an Army-surplus kit bag, these come in between £10 and £20. Next you will require up to 60kilograms of sand or pea gravel, I go with the gravel because its easier to clean up when you have a spill. Next you will require as many small sturdy bags of the dog pooh/freezer bag variety and several rolls of gaffa tape. Fill the small bags with 1 -2 kilos of sand or gravel and tape them up well (think of the packets of coke and heroin you see in cop movies and you wont go too far wrong). Then fill your kitbag with your smaller bags begin with 30kg and work up to as much as the kit bag will hold. Then take the bag for a stroll, thats it nice and simple 500 meters carrying the kit bag in a bear hug, this is the real killer part because that baby will try to prize your grip apart, press against your diaphragm , tweak your lower back and basically root out weakness from where ever it finds it. I urge you to give this a go, its really good fun and will make you a stronger better man (or woman).

Until next time stay strong, be stronger

Guy

Quote of the week!

2008-10-21T04:47:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of open and honest governance, I shall share the text, email and verbal messages that I recieve on a daily basis from my students concerning their feelings about their training, both physical and emotional. I will delete expletives for those of a gentle disposition whilst still maintaining the spirit of those communications. Please feel free to comment on any of these posts, I welcome discussion both positive and negative, because only through open and honest debate will we all come to understand the truth in all things.

Quote of the week.

' My Abs are killing me, I feel like I've eaten a Handfull of glass'.

Joe.

Yeah Joe you are smiling now, just wait till next time buddy!

Your Friend and Brother

Guy

This is not madness, this is Jones Town. A 100% wuss free environment.

2008-10-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

In 1978 the Reverend Jim Jones promised the chosen few a heaven on earth instead he created Hell for them. In short he was a very sick and twisted fellow, rumoured to have been a C.I.A. operator involved with the MK-Ultra mind control program. While his acolytes were forced to drink poisoned Cool-Ade or be shot by his armed guards (no religious cult leader should be seen without a cache of automatic rifles and the odd flame thrower), he shot himself in the head, leaving a big pile of corpses for the authorities to clear up.

For more information concerning the Reverend Jones, The peoples Temple or 'Jones Town, British Guyana The go to;

www.culteducation.com/jonestown.html

20 years later Jones Town is back, a place of suffering (as yet no deaths, fingers crossed) but where as Reverend Jims plan was crazy and ended in misery, my plan is crazy but will end in stronger, fitter and leaner people. And religion, politics and other forms of mind control will merely be topics of conversation for after the misery has ended, and that's a promise!

Here are a few of my students at play.

This week I have introduced some of my stronger students to the 500 meter 'Sandbag stroll' utilising the bearhug just to emphasise the bloody minded misery.

Here we see Joe on the home-ward leg of his journey, if you look above his head you will see the top of a street light, that was the 250 meter turn around point. By this point he was blowing hard and beginning to realie that what I had said about this being horrendous was actually not a joke.

To give Joe his druthers he completed the first 250 m in 1 minute 36 seconds which set a blistering pace and I was convinced that we had a world record on our hands. Unfortunately this proved not to be the case because he was much slower on the return, finishing in 10 minutes and 26.1 seconds.

Here he comes into the finish point just in front of the camera. He is too far away to see the pain etched into his face but take it from me when I say He collapsed into a sweaty heaving mess and I had to scrape him off the floor afterwards.

So far the fastest time was set by Alan with 8 minutes 11.4 seconds, with me trailing in second place with a best effort but no cigar at 8 minutes and 23.1 seconds.

Thats Alan finishing a previous Sandbag excursion only 30kg that time though.

If you think you can have what it takes then come and train at Jones Town. Where unlike 'Club Tropicana' drinks cost money but suffering and pain is free!

Your Friend and Brother

Guy Jones

jonestownathlete@gmail.com

wantboxing@gmail.com