Friday, February 20, 2009

More HEAVY Metal

Another NO BS day Comrades. For personal reasons, I had to throw down tonight...HARD Style. Because this is a time for STRENGTH--not weakness.
Minutes sets of 24kg snatches. 10 reps at the top of each minute. 30 minutes. 300 swings. 15,900 pounds of pull. There is NO compromise in my message or actions. Enjoy the Pain! From SoCal, Coach RJ!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Throw Down!

Some heavy shit went down at work this week--and in America. I decided to apply The Lean Berets credo which is "When in doubt, throw down in the SWEAT of the moment!" This is a time for STRENGTH Comrades--not weakness.
I got back at 9:30 PM from a long day. I grabbed the 24kg and got it on. 30 minutes straight. 20 two-arm swings at the top of each minute...HARD style. 600 hundred total reps.
There is NO compromise with me when it comes to training. I don't just talk--I swing and swing HARD! In STRENGTH, Coach RJ!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Lean Berets Radio Show!

We are finally rolling HARD style with The Lean Berets Radio Show! Throwing it down tonight. We have two new shows Comrades:

Check us out. Join the Revolution...by MOVING!!!

In ACTION, Coach RJ-Avenger of Health!

Friday, February 13, 2009

HardCore360 Interview with Rusty Smith


Just wrapped up The Lean Berets Radio Show interview with Dr. Rusty Smith of HardCore 360 Gym in Santa Barbara, CA. One of the most incredible nights of my friggin' life Comrades! This guys kicks serious ass! What a healer man. A literal Shaman to me and a person that changed my life in just MINUTES a few weeks ago after a kettlebell workout with RKC Doug Nepodal.

I'm SO fired up! I'm more and more convinced by the second that the time for strength is NOW and the time for waiting and putting up with bullshit that doesn't matter is OVER! God speed to Rusty and HardCore 360 in the weeks to come. If you like it straight up, check out the interview link below with The Lean Berets-Avengers of Health!


From a wet SoCal finally...In Stength until I die, Coach RJ!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Super Bowl Workout During Commercials

I've told a lot of you the last year about a little playful deal I do each year watching the Super Bowl pre-game coverage. I do simple exercises the last hour during commercials as a reminder of what can be done during "idle" time. I still watch the commercials. It's an old Jack LaLanne type of thing, but it does make a point of what we "can" do if we are a bit creative. A client last week told me she lost weight just marching in place in front of the TV--that's it! No equipment or expensive gym membership required--JUST MOVE!

I decided to focus on max reps this year and kept it to just one exercise--the Prisoner Squat. In years past, I have done combinations of DB bicep curls, various push ups like Military, Split, Cobra, Arnold DB Presses, etc.

I was tracking elapsed time this year since one of you asked me about this the other week (30X30 concerns!), but forgot to turn off my watch once. I'm guessing total commercial time was about 15 minutes out of 60. I normally do the last hour right before the game but had to start "two hours" before game time this year then relaxed the last hour before the kickoff because I was getting too hungry. My wife's homemade pizza and my cold beers were waiting!!! I did not eat a proper lunch earlier!
The Workout:
  • 6 Sets. Reps depended upon total commercial time available. The sets were: 100, 120, 140, 120, 130, and 130. Clean form--deep squats! No bad reps allowed!
  • Total Reps in one hour of commercials=740.


Not bad for what is usually arse time! I did a hard KB clean and press workout earlier that day for about 30 minutes to keep up with KB progressions too. Enjoy!

*So what is a Prisoner Squat? Check them out here then rip off a few hundred. Let me know how it goes.
http://www.ronjones.org/Coach&Train/BodyXerciseLibrary/Legs/Squat-Prisoner.html

In Fitness and SWEAT, Coach RJ!

30X30: Day 30!!!

Ronnie, Ron, & Cade Jones @ Day 30!
Mood: 8

Workout: Did a kettlebell workout with my five year old twins Ronnie and Cade. DWU, 10 24kg KB deadlifts to work the groove, 10 24kg snatches to shake it out, then doing minute sets of 5 reps per arm at the top of each minute went 15 minutes into a snatch workout getting 150 snatch reps with the 24kg. Wanted to do 200 snatch reps but my hands started to fail at 150...oh well.

Total Time: 35 minutes

Comments: How appropriate. I finished like I started--doing kettlebells with my twins watching me. The only difference is that at the end, the twins were actually doing KBs with me instead of watching. Cade ripped 210 4kg two-arm swings in sets of 10 at the top of each minute while I was doing the overhead snatches. Ronnie did far less because she was running around like a monkey half the time and missing some of her sets. This is fine. They both had fun--that's all that matters with youth this age and exercise. Make sure it's fun. The work part will take care of itself. We have proven this with the twins--they are fitness and health machines, and we have never forced them to do any sports and fitness training!!!

Here are some closing points for everyone that has followed my 30X30 journey during January 2009:
  • I hope you learned that many times I am not "in the mood" to exercise--but I do it anyway. I force the fitness. Jack LaLanne would say, "Kick your own butt--make it happen!" Whatever you want to call it, you need to get it on and do the work.

  • Some 70% of the time, I do not want to exercise. 100% of the time, I'm glad that I did exercise! Can you see how powerful this is? Exercise=MAJOR biochemical reactions! Exercise is a huge mood enhancer. If you hit the higher intensity workouts like intervals and kettlebells, you get even more in the form of human growth hormone, endorphins, and even better moods. We are more depressed in America than ever--and this was before the stock market problems. Why? I think it largely because we sit too much. Movement enhances mood. Sitting on one's ass month after month is biochemically depressing! Want to FEEL BETTER? Just MOVE!!! It's very simple. No fancy equipment or expensive gym memberships required...just MOVE!!!

  • I'm doing my best to prepare people. For battle. We do not really know what is coming in the next few years. It could prove to be quite difficult. One this IS for certain. If we have better health and fitness, we surely will be able to handle it better. If we are obese and out of shape, we will NOT be able to handle it as well...or at all.

  • Tough people survive tough times. If you went 30 days in a row without making any BS excuses--then you have set yourself apart from nearly everyone else in America (and beyond). Most people you'll meet in developed countries will never exercise 30 days in a row. They'll make a lot of excuses, but they won't do the work 30 days in a row. No matter what your age, ability, weight, or gender, if you went 30 days in a row, you have something inside of you that is tough, resilient, and disciplined. Take this 30 day kick start--and make a great life through health and fitness! Spread it around. Get your friends and family to turn onto exercise. Without a vigorous, robust, healthy, and fit mind, body, and spirit, we are in trouble. If we are fit and strong...we can and WILL make it through these tough times and be better people because of them.

  • 30 Days...So Now What? While I would never ask anyone to go over two years in a row without ever missing a workout like me, many of you have already started into your second month. If the daily exercise thing works for you--great! From a scientific standpoint, you do not need a day of rest from an easy walk. For those that say you need a mental break from exercise, I challenge this because an easy walk IS taking a mental break! Some of the greatest thinkers in history have advocated the benefits of walking for mental clarity and physical health and spiritual well-being...think about it...as you MOVE!

  • Annual 30X30? I think doing a 30X30 each January would be a reasonable strategy to recalibrate and rededicate to DAILY exercise. I also believe that anyone completing the 30X30 will stay regular with exercise the rest of the year even if cutting exercise to 5-6x per week. 5-6 days per week is fine and especially if you have some quality programming in your week. If you want to do 7 days per week once in a while throughout the week, this has benefit. If someone wants to start the 30X30 later in the year--GREAT! It doesn't matter when you do your 30X30, just use it when you need to use it and get it on!!!

Thanks for all your hard work the last 30 days! Please give me your personal feedback so I can use your testimonials publicly to inspire others to exercise and be healthy. Send your feedback to me directly at: ron@ronjones.org

I'm also creating an on-line survey for 30X30 participants so I can gather some aggegrate data to share with others. The 30X30 has yielded some dramatic and signficiant behavioral changes for some you. We need others to see and feel the power of regular exercise when performed 30 days in a row!

In 30 days of STRENGTH, Coach RJ!