In Pursuit of Strength
Greetings,
I had a really great strength workout this afternoon, hitting a new 5 rep maximum personal best in the bench press. I took it a bit easier on the deadlifts due to a sore back & legs from snow shoveling a lot yesterday. I took care of my own home in about 10-15 minutes, but spent about an hour doing the removal for my place of work, the school. We are a small school, our campus is only about 2 blocks in length, but with wide sidewalks and other entry/exit points around the building, its a lot to maintain by hand and takes a while to do. It's a nice cardio workout in itself when you get down to it, sort of like a kettlebell endurance workout, but with less weight sometimes to shovel.
Anyway, the strength program I'm currently on is called Power to the People, a book I've often referred to as one of the best ways to pursue the route of strength improvement. It focuses on just 2 lifts for your workout: a Pull action, and a Press action. The Pull is the deadlift, and the Press can be the bench press in most people's picks as to what to do. I've been on the program now since the middle of October, and I can already see some nice improvements in not only my strength, but I've also put some muscle back on my body, which had been missing for a while. As I've often talked about, my former job as an auto detailer through the day had me doing 8-9 hours a day, 45-50 hours a week some weeks, of scrubbing, buffing, and cleaning a variety of vehicles. I'd sometimes go through 30-40 vehicles a week in my log books when I worked there. My right elbow became inflamed and it really limited my lifting abilities, so much so that I would maybe do 1-2 workouts a week, if my arms felt like it. I really got slacked in that, but what was I to do? Further increase the problems with my elbow and make it worse? It wasn't until I started my new job that my daily stress workload diminished, and my schedule has allowed me to get in some really great workouts now.
I first tried Power to the People's format back in 2006. I made some really great gains with the program, and never really went back to it until I got my own home in 2008. I tried it a bit, but as I've discussed, my body was just really worn down and I mainly stuck to basic bodyweight and kettlebell workouts. Now that I have the time again, and a healthier, less-stressed body from work, I have been seeing some great gains with the program now.
I realize we are all in a "Pursuit of Strength" when it comes to athletic preparation. This image of "Strength" is somewhat misconstrued in some people's eyes, as some believe its an image of huge muscles and bulky appearances. I guess that's why I love the PTP program format, because it takes on the 'old school', turn of the century approach to pursuing strength as a SKILL, not as a means to an end of looking huge & bulky. The muscles will get dense, firm, and more powerful, and not overly bloated-looking and bulky like a bodybuilder's appearance does today.
It also lies in a greater balance with the type of appearance and performance that an athlete should have: they shouldn't have to worry about looking bulky and bloated, but should be focused on how their strength can assist them in improving performance in the end. PTP offers this edge, and its one of the best programs I've seen out there that doesn't claim to add slabs of muscle to your frame as the end result. In some people, it does, in others, it helps trim them up. All in all, that tells me that the program is designed to help you get your 'optimum body' in the end for using strength as your skill.
--------------
If you are in pursuit of faster running in 2010, then why not sign up for the 1MileNation.com "The Big 1...On The Mill!" Race in January?
Register early and get in on this unique 1 Mile Race that you'll run on a treadmill...and get my new Guide, "7 Weeks to 7 Minutes", for free!
Email me at Rick@ASAPWorkouts.com to register, with your name, age, city, and country.
That's all it takes! Go here for all the info:
http://ASAPWorkouts.com/1MNVR.html
Also, stay alert for a major announcement with my websites. I've created a new one this past weekend that will really change how I help people out, especially for the high school athlete and their parents, who struggle with juggling all the demands of high school sports today. Every young athlete is in pursuit of something great, and my new site will help them get there!
Until next time,
Run Strong, Run Fast...
Run So As To Win!
Coach Rick Karboviak
http://1MileNation.com
I had a really great strength workout this afternoon, hitting a new 5 rep maximum personal best in the bench press. I took it a bit easier on the deadlifts due to a sore back & legs from snow shoveling a lot yesterday. I took care of my own home in about 10-15 minutes, but spent about an hour doing the removal for my place of work, the school. We are a small school, our campus is only about 2 blocks in length, but with wide sidewalks and other entry/exit points around the building, its a lot to maintain by hand and takes a while to do. It's a nice cardio workout in itself when you get down to it, sort of like a kettlebell endurance workout, but with less weight sometimes to shovel.
Anyway, the strength program I'm currently on is called Power to the People, a book I've often referred to as one of the best ways to pursue the route of strength improvement. It focuses on just 2 lifts for your workout: a Pull action, and a Press action. The Pull is the deadlift, and the Press can be the bench press in most people's picks as to what to do. I've been on the program now since the middle of October, and I can already see some nice improvements in not only my strength, but I've also put some muscle back on my body, which had been missing for a while. As I've often talked about, my former job as an auto detailer through the day had me doing 8-9 hours a day, 45-50 hours a week some weeks, of scrubbing, buffing, and cleaning a variety of vehicles. I'd sometimes go through 30-40 vehicles a week in my log books when I worked there. My right elbow became inflamed and it really limited my lifting abilities, so much so that I would maybe do 1-2 workouts a week, if my arms felt like it. I really got slacked in that, but what was I to do? Further increase the problems with my elbow and make it worse? It wasn't until I started my new job that my daily stress workload diminished, and my schedule has allowed me to get in some really great workouts now.
I first tried Power to the People's format back in 2006. I made some really great gains with the program, and never really went back to it until I got my own home in 2008. I tried it a bit, but as I've discussed, my body was just really worn down and I mainly stuck to basic bodyweight and kettlebell workouts. Now that I have the time again, and a healthier, less-stressed body from work, I have been seeing some great gains with the program now.
I realize we are all in a "Pursuit of Strength" when it comes to athletic preparation. This image of "Strength" is somewhat misconstrued in some people's eyes, as some believe its an image of huge muscles and bulky appearances. I guess that's why I love the PTP program format, because it takes on the 'old school', turn of the century approach to pursuing strength as a SKILL, not as a means to an end of looking huge & bulky. The muscles will get dense, firm, and more powerful, and not overly bloated-looking and bulky like a bodybuilder's appearance does today.
It also lies in a greater balance with the type of appearance and performance that an athlete should have: they shouldn't have to worry about looking bulky and bloated, but should be focused on how their strength can assist them in improving performance in the end. PTP offers this edge, and its one of the best programs I've seen out there that doesn't claim to add slabs of muscle to your frame as the end result. In some people, it does, in others, it helps trim them up. All in all, that tells me that the program is designed to help you get your 'optimum body' in the end for using strength as your skill.
--------------
If you are in pursuit of faster running in 2010, then why not sign up for the 1MileNation.com "The Big 1...On The Mill!" Race in January?
Register early and get in on this unique 1 Mile Race that you'll run on a treadmill...and get my new Guide, "7 Weeks to 7 Minutes", for free!
Email me at Rick@ASAPWorkouts.com to register, with your name, age, city, and country.
That's all it takes! Go here for all the info:
http://ASAPWorkouts.com/1MNVR.html
Also, stay alert for a major announcement with my websites. I've created a new one this past weekend that will really change how I help people out, especially for the high school athlete and their parents, who struggle with juggling all the demands of high school sports today. Every young athlete is in pursuit of something great, and my new site will help them get there!
Until next time,
Run Strong, Run Fast...
Run So As To Win!
Coach Rick Karboviak
http://1MileNation.com
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