Wednesday 22 February 2012

Hear the meaning within the word-

Thud, thud, thud…”Why in the hell is my left knee hurting during this morning run?  Two more miles and I’ll call it quits…”  Fast forward 1-2-5-10-15 or however many years later and you know what?  Watch this video if you dare!  (The video is real and graphic – Just like life if you can’t handle it stop beating yourself up daily)

Total-Knee-Replacement-Surgery

After you finish up watching the video take a gander at this excellent piece:

The Nonsense that is CrossFit

Mr. Able simply breaks it down for all of “You People” that stop by here daily.

Raising Our Kids to Think, Feel & Be Healthy

Now to set up the above article and we know this is hard for some of you (like the 482 peeps that emailed yesterday).  The writer ties together nicely in a polite sociable sort of way what we would spend a whole week banging you over the head…”Hey wait aren’t you guys doing that right now?!?”

Does your training prepare you for this? Probably not!

The Plan-

We always like to present our fair readers with unique and challenging programs to consider.  So on that note check this out:

40 Day Challenge

The Workout-

Trail Run/Bike/Swim/Hike or whatever you honestly enjoy and do not say you enjoy running with sand bags, for about an hour.  Followed by:

2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 Perfect Pull Ups (each set of two is with a different and unique grip)

5 Thread the Needle Reverse Lunges (each leg) and 5 Lateral Lunges (each leg) between each set of pull ups duh!

We feel as though due the increase in Random Fitness readers over the past month to preface this workout:  It is not a balls to the wall kill yourself for time event!

A majority if not all of you will not even break a sweat doing this, oh and no bands on the pull ups either!  “Hmm I wonder why pull ups and lunges are important…Oh well I never ever use abductors when running a marathon anyways.  And since when are abductors important to the overall health of my knees?”

If you do this above program properly and with the correct muscle activation…tomorrow is going to be hell!

Notes:

Be safe peeps and as always feel free to experiment and let us know the results, ENJOY!!!


Tuesday 21 February 2012

The man is happiest who lives from day to day and asks no more, garnering the simple goodness of life

We generally hope you know that acute pain signals an injury, we hope?  As you reach out your hand to “accidentally” touch a hot stove; you pull your hand away in response to the pain. Give or take a few days and before you know it all is healed and you are prepared to go at it again.

If only it was the simple huh?

The discussion we want to have today touches on pain and self-awareness (feel free to comment on something blatantly unrelated to what we just wrote…)

One of the major problems we have is a mind-body disconnect.  A really good book to pick up is the:  Science of Flexibility by Michael J. Alter

A few examples of a mind-body disconnect you see almost daily maybe in yourself or others:  Doing back bends in yoga after not bending like that for 35 years, Glute/Ham Sit-Ups for no apparent reason, Bench Press with your mate after WOD’ing (what a ridiculous term!) for six months and claiming the bench is too functional, kipping Pull Ups.  The list is long so hopefully these will touch a nerve in you?!?

As we try to tie this together today let us get back to our original message concerning the hot stove.  We know there are a few X-Fit apes and yoga moms reading today that simply don’t get the point and continually reach out and touch the hot stove over and over again feeling the pain each time, becoming conditioned to enjoy it as the scars grow bigger and bigger.  Just as we preach about playing like a kid and enjoying life…How many times does it take for a kid to touch a hot stove to learn his lesson?  That’s what we thought peeps!

The Plan-

Simple day today, really simple!

The Workout-

Not for time…

500 Swings

250 One Arm Press (each arm)

100 Hinge Walk Out Push Ups (Arms sore from yesterday?  Good!)

If you don’t move throughout the day as effortlessly as the slinky above you need to watch this gif all day long then.  Who would have ever thought you could learn how to lift and learn from a slinky?

Notes:

Stay safe Random Fitness peeps and good luck to our X-Fit/CultFit open peeps, ENJOY!!!


Monday 20 February 2012

Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning-

Not so Breaking News:  My Active Faith v. The Cult of CrossFit

We will be paying attention to what happens above…stay tuned peeps this is going to get interesting quick!

How do you begin to form a sense of self-respecting awareness?  Follow us here at CultFit HQ as we explore the path that is often overlooked.  We apologize to those of you reading at Starbucks this morning for allowing us to take a break the last two weeks, kicking the proverbial can down the road.  We do take Random Fitness seriously.  Just not after surgery and mega doses of painkillers and Arnica Oil rubdowns.

Insanity, P90x, ReeBok CrossFit, Yoga-Mom Yoga, Pilates, Group Fitness, Boot-camps, late night infomercials (Hell anything else you can think of?) fail you and us on so many levels.  We are not opening the floor up here for debate whether or not these programs work.  Some do and some don’t, understand?  We’re digging much deeper here than the yoga instruction PDF that came with your recent P90x purchase or broad times and modial domain rubbish that X-Fit was founded on!

Talking points for the next fortnight:  Pain is a gift, foundations, awareness of breath, small muscle groups, range of motion AROUND the joints not through them (we are currently penning a book touching on this subject and something a majority of you need to address soon.)

There will be more added to the list and as always expect some douche bag antics along the way to keep things light.  Did you read that?  Don’t take yourself too seriously Greek yogurt addicted Random Fitness albóndigas!?!

The Plan-

9 out 10 emails we receive a week touch on this subject:

If you had to put our CultFit style/theory into a “Family History” definition of sorts?  Consider us fourth cousins second removed from holistic fitness.  Some call us the “back packing across Europe cousins of X-Fit” and the “holiday in Peru Grandparents” of a brash young crowd consisting of hipster Random Fitness peeps.

Required Reading  <—Take time to read this!!!

If you fail to see the angle from which we write you from after reading about the great Jack LaLanne in the above article?  3-2-1 continue picking your programs from the netz, paying out $$$ for gym memberships on a yearly basis and trying quick fix remedies for your fitness aliments.

“There’s a bullying strain to the modern fitness ethos, a blurred line between cheerleading and hectoring. And it’s hard not to wonder whether that kind of intimidation — in addition to the social and economic realities of diet and exercise — helps explain the paradox that for all the newfangled aerobic machines and reduced-rate January gym memberships, Americans aren’t noticeably haler and healthier.”

The Workout-

Our journey this week is predicated on the belief  to avoid pain when you work out.  Pain is to be treated as a gift to give us feedback about what we are doing wrong.  Do not confuse pain with difficulty, exhaustion, pushing the limit etc.  Pain from here on out is a feedback tool to let you know you are an insufferable idiot!

If you are already mid-stream in a rugged, proven, goal oriented and tested (like our tested links to the side here) program you can use a majority of what we do on your planned recovery days.  Over the 270 posts we have written: 97.4% of the our Workouts push you to the limit.  These are no cheering squad “Box” workouts where the entire class performs band assisted pull ups and lives vicariously through your impressive lifts.  We need to look deep whiten ourselves and find the motivation to succeed.  Uncle Mo is still feeling the side effects from competing in the X-Fit games back in 2008 with three cracked ribs (yeah we were competing in the X-Fit games before you knew it was cool…Gosh you really do take yourself that seriously?!?).  Pin these thoughts in the back of your mind as we gather steam for the next few weeks.

An old favorite that in its simplicity humbles so many peeps…

45 Second Hand Stand Hold

35 Perfect Push Ups

45 Second Hand Stand Hold

30 Perfect Push Ups

45 Second Hand Stand Hold

25 Perfect Push Ups

45 Second Hand Stand Hold

20 Perfect Push Ups

45 Second Hand Stand Hold

10 Perfect Push Ups

45 Second Hand Stand Hold

5  Perfect Push Ups

Notes:

We know some of our readers are scratching their pretty fragile brains right now.  Here’s why:  As the snow starts to melt and the self-proclaimed ELITE athletes around the world come out of hibernation to prove themselves (yoga mom 5k’s, X-Fit Games, princess marathons).  Injuries are going to happen to you for some very vain reasons, ENJOY???


Friday 17 February 2012

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above them-

Today’ s sign of the Apocalypse:

Pinterest Profile-  Who really cares?

The Plan-

We can’t help but sit up and take notice when our crack research department chimes in and tells us that our readers require constant hand holding and pats on the back.  “No, no you need to eat this and do this exercise little pal.”  “Oh don’t worry that your life sucks and has virtually no meaning.  Just check out these 10 things to let you know you suck to cheer you up!”

It really is that easy fellow peeps!

The Workout-

Pick two of the following numbers: 100-200-300-400-500-600-700-800-900-1000

Pick two of the following movements: Push Up-Pull Up-One Arm PressLunge-Goblet Squat-Swing-Hinge Walk Out-One Leg Dead Lift-Bent Over Row

Over the weekend:  Bent Over Row-Lunge 800/900 respectfully broken up into nice little sets throughout the weekend.  Rest assured this can be done!  Part of the master plan this week was to intertwine movements into your daily life and routine.  Perfection and quality, remember?  Beating yourself up doing high rep pull ups is pretty silly and self-serving at the least.  25 or 50 here and another 15-30 there and before you know it you get off the couch and drop into 50 push ups?  Obviously some of the movements this week work better than others, it’s part of the bigger picture we try to present to you.  Old Uncle Francis here has a squat rack in his garage and he goes through this same program almost weekly.

It all boils down to forming good habits that are easily repeatable and can be maintained.

How many of you feel like this after a week of pulling Random Workouts from the Netz?

Notes:

Word to the wise bloggers lurking out there on the inter-webz:  It’s Friday, three long days since Valentines Day…Have an exciting and safe weekend peeps, ENJOY!!!

Update:  For those of you that are in the know- Please Enjoy!!!


Thursday 16 February 2012

In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends-

We often talk around these parts about what it takes to be ELITE and what better way to illustrate our point: Pictures and videos!!!

Certainly not ELITE...

Everyone else is bowing to the pressure of Linsanity, so why not us?  Pressure, great odds, embracing the moment?  Sniff, sniff…Linsanity passes our Official Sniff Test here at CultFit HQ!?!

The Plan-

Let us not forget about the countless hours we spend blogging for no apparent reason…“Dammit this is my forum to let all of you know how important I am over here!”

The Workout-

Almost done peeps!  Did you set yourself up for failure from the start?  Saving the best for last (we hope)?

Pick two of the following numbers: 100-200-300-400-500-600-700-800-900-1000

Pick two of the following movements: Push Up-Pull Up-One Arm Press-Lunge-Goblet Squat-Swing-Hinge Walk Out-One Leg Dead Lift-Bent Over Row

Today:  One Leg Deadlift/300 and Push Ups/600

Hint-Hint-Hint peeps!!!  For those of you that actually read this here bloggy thing you instantly noticed that there were only nine movements posted for a reason.  Those who emailed were given the tenth movement, what’s your excuse?

Notes: 

It’s ok little buddy.  You only read 5.67% of what you look at during the day, ENJOY!!!