The Way You Should Train - The Key is to Focus on Training Movements and Not Isolating Muscles!

Are you confused about what exercises to do in terms of working out and learning what is effective? The truth is that our bodies are designed to do work. We physiologically consists of a bunch of levers and pulleys that come in the form of ligaments, tendons, bones, and muscles. All of the parts work together in the dynamic spectrum of movement to do work! Your body is the most fascinating and amazing machine on the entire planet.

So when it comes to our strength and fitness training program, I always reference the true nature of the function of our bodies to prospecting clients and ignorant people. The key is to forget about doing arm curls and leg extensions. We never execute those isolated type movements in normal everyday life in the first place, so why should we now? To build a top-notch hard body we should be concerned about "doing work" related movements! Day to day activities consist of us having to squat to pick up objects to move them. Usually we have to squat, bend, and move in ways that are challenging, yet natural to the relative operation of our bodies. This is how you should structure your personal fitness and strength program. We should always concentrate on training "movements" rather than training "isolated muscle groups." Remember to just simply include the two basic human movements in your fitness and strength program. The two movements that I am referring to are the push and pull combinations. I have written quite a few articles that are based around training these specific types of movements, and it works.

Take the time to learn and be creative with your personal program. Remember to focus on the training movements rather than trying to isolate body parts.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Body Explosion - 2 Exercise Drills That Will Blow Up Your Fitness!

Now I am here to tell you that if you are serious about blowing up your fitness with real results that you can be proud of then you need to have a good start. The key to true fitness and strength is intensity. The following 2 drills are a great combination of intense movements that will surely take your exercise program to new heights!

1. Full Range Kettlebell Swings: This is a more intense variation of the traditional double-arm kettlebell swings. For this drill you will begin by executing a proper squat to pick up the kettlebell. Your body should be fully erect and the bell should be hanging at your groin with you holding it with both hands. From here you will execute the proper hip snap motion thereby creating momentum for the bell to swing back and forth between your legs in an arc-type motion. As the bell builds momentum you want to create enough force to allow the bell to swing all the way up above your head! This is the full range portion of the swing.

2. The Full Range Kettlebell Swing & Burpee Combo: This drill is actually a combination of both the full range kettlebell swings and burpees. A burpee is basically a type of total-body calisthenic that is greatly used within the military as a conditioning drill. To execute the burpee you want to start with both feet about shoulder width distance apart. From here squat down and place your hands on the ground. From here you will want to kick your feet back and extend your body into an upright push-up position. Next, execute a normal push-up. Finally, after executing the push-up kick your feet back up underneath your torso and stand up back into the position at which you started. All of these movements combine to equate a single burpee! For a killer workout execute about 30 full range kettlebell swings and then immediately execute 30 burpees!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at: http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

What is Strength?

For ages strength has been an attractive quality that people are drawn to. I want to pose the question though, what is strength? If you have read some of my other material you know that I have defined strength as your body's ability to produce muscular tension! This tension is what gives a person the ability to lift a weight, to run, to jump, to bend nails, or to grow and develop big muscles. So with all of these examples of human strength what is considered strength?

Well the truth is that there are many ways to display strength and performance. If you look at Olympic weightlifting a lot of the competitors are lifting very heavy weights. The amazing thing is that the "big men" lift a huge amount of weight, but so do the smaller female and male competitors. As a matter of fact, body-weight to weight lifted ratio is greater with smaller female competitors than with larger male competitors! So this raises another question. Does size equate to strength? The fact is that pound for pound the smaller female lifter is stronger than the bigger male competitor. The perception is that people generally equate strength to size. Size is relative.

So if size is relative then what about big bodybuilders? Well, bodybuilders don't train for strength. Relative to their size bodybuilders aren't that strong. Their goal is to build and to get their muscles as big as possible. This also takes strength, but it is for a different purpose. For hundreds of years we have looked at strongmen and their huge muscles. The bigger and stronger the better! This is certainly the mindset in obtaining an optimal level of athleticism in today's culture.

The bottom line is that there are many forms and types of strength for humans to drive towards. Whether you have the ability to bend nails, lift hundreds of pounds above your head, or to be the biggest man around there is one common trait that can be found in all of these people. The one common factor is their mental strength! The best of the best have been proven to have an extraordinary amount of mental focus when lifting that heavy weight. So is the brain power the ultimate key to strength? Draw your own conclusions and compare this to your own fitness and strength program!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at: http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

The Fountain of Youth! The Benefits of an Effective Strength Program For Older Adults

If you are familiar with my opinion on strength training, fitness training, and exercise then you know I'm going to absolutely push this on you in this article. I never let up and I'm not going to start now. If you are an older adult then you need to read what I have to say here.

To begin, age is really only a number. I understand that there are physiological explanations of "getting older" that are unavoidable. However, many of these ailments, diseases, and disorders that eventually catch up to us later in life can and have been shown to be slowed down with the aid of exercise. Strength training for older adults is way UNDER-RATED! It should be your mission to put doctors out of business due to good health. The upside to strength training in both men and women are almost overwhelming. Increased bone density, lower blood-pressure, lower cholesterol, joint stability, flexibility, and balance are just a few examples of many that you gain from a proper and effective program design! Would you rather be laid up in some bed, in a wheelchair, or feeling pain all the time? I don't know about you, but I would rather live to 75 years of age feeling like I'm 25, rather living to a 100 feeling like I'm 200 years old. As far as I know we only get one body at birth so we should make the most of it.

With all the problems in the healthcare system today and always worrying about the cost of medicine I think the best solution is to eliminate the need for it. Effective strength training and a personal program design to make you sweat is the answer. You are not going to find the "Fountain of Youth" in a medicine bottle.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

The Intensity of Training With Your Own Body-Weight!

Too many times I have seen people try to lift weights or complain about their lack of weight-loss and all the while they can't even handle and control their own body-weight in a structured workout. To me you have no business working out with free- weights unless you are capable of effectively handling your own body-weight in exercises such as push-ups and squats. Your own body-weight can serve as a highly effective form of resistance when you properly apply structure and logic to the strength program that you are participating in.

The one variable that will get you results in any structured exercise and fitness program is intensity! If you don't intensify the weight or resistance of the load you are trying to move or lift then you can't optimally tension your body. So you are probably asking how you can do this by only using your own body-weight. Well for starters, if you are not used to moving and manipulating your own body-weight then get used to that first. After getting used to exercises such as basic push-ups and squats then change the dynamic of these exercises in order to intensify them through the varying distribution of your own weight. This is what is going to get you big time fitness, more rapid weight-loss, and ultimate strength gains.

Just remember that you can obtain a significant amount of mobility, core strength, and conditioning from the use of effective movement with your own body. Take the time to master your own weight before trying to add an additional load like free-weights. This is what will get you your desired results!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Deep Squats - 2 Methods to Teach You How to Execute Deep Squats!

In order to get the most out of developing superior muscle mass and the strength to match one must learn how to increase their range of motion. This is where one of the best exercises for building lean muscle mass like the squat is no different. You must teach yourself to increase your strength, flexibility, and range of motion by practicing. You must implement techniques that enable you to progress and to eventually accomplish these very tasks. Take a look at these 2 particular methods that you can implement in order for you to achieve blasting out deep squats.

1. Raise the toes: This is an interesting method one can put in place to modify their strength training program as it pertains to their squats. If you normally do variations of squats (front squats,overhead squats, back squats, dumbell squats) then you know the proper foot placement and technique you have to take to do the squat correctly. Normally you probably only execute parallel squats. The next time you squat make one simple adjustment in your squats to immediately increase your range of motion. Simply get a board or a couple of small 2 1/2 or 5 lb plates to place under the balls of your feet with your heels still on the ground. This will immediately start training your body to increase in the range of motion throughout the exercise further increasing the motion of your deep squat or full squat technique.

2. Adjustable Bench or Box Squats: This is something you have probably used in the past in order to mark the depth of your squats. You probably got a lot from it and developed more lower body strength as well. This is a great little method that you can use in order to be conscious of your total squat depth. As you build leg strength at a certain depth keep lowering the bench or box to go deeper. This will help you to develop the necessary muscles to stabilize and hold your body throughout the movement.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Squats - 2 Types of Squats to Give You Beach-Body Worthy Legs and Glutes!

If you want to be quick on your way to having that "beach-body" you need to participate in trying to master squats. This exercise has many benefits that all contribute to nothing less than obtaining total-body fitness. There are many variations of squats, but this article will give you 2 types that will surely give you the foundation that you are looking for.

1. Rhythm Squats: This exercise is a lower-body blast that will give you tremendous definition in your leg muscles and are also great for conditioning purposes. You can do these either free-standing or with an added load. Begin by standing with your feet about shoulder-width distance like a normal squat position. Next execute 10 normal squats. Immediately after you do the 10 normal squats execute 10 more squats, but this time pop-up onto your toes after the squat. You should execute each squat by starting flat footed as usual only coming up on the balls of the feet at the end of each squat and returning to a flat-footed position. Alternate the normal with the popping-up on the balls of your feet back and forth 10 reps at a time until you do 50 total reps! These are definite squats for fat-loss and athletic performance.

2. Rhythm Squats with a Vertical Jump: Just like the ones described above these are even more effective and slightly more advanced. Here you want to start just like I described above. Execute the 10 normal squats immediately doing 10 pop-ups on the balls of the feet, and thirdly complete a squat jump for the final 10 repetitions. Alternate each type of squat every 10 reps until you get to 60 full repetitions! All squat jumps should be done in nonstop succession. This is a seriously effective movement for developing superior fitness and enhancing your vertical jump muscles.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at: http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Real Strength - 2 Drills For the Paraplegic Athlete to Develop a Herculean Upper-Body!

I have to say that I recently was blown away by a special that I saw on the Science channel. During this special on technology I happened to catch a preview of what appeared to be a serious wheelchair racing league with a bit of the X games mixed into it. I saw wheelchair racers flying down ramps and turning back flips through the air! These guys were doing things that I have never seen done in a wheelchair, let alone any other sport. Lately I have been influenced to devote more ideas to training with paraplegics who are interested in getting competitive and back into shape again. The thing is that if you happen to be one of these guys or girls who is serious about fitness then you have to break away from the same old "bodybuilding" mindset on training. Here are 2 drills to help kick your rear back into shape.

1. Seesaw Kettlebell Presses: I understand that there are varying degrees of muscular function in paraplegics. Depending on yours you need to evaluate how you will need to execute the following drill. The less back support for this drill the better. This will force you to activate more of your trunk, therefore further strengthening your core. To begin, you will need the availability of 2 kettlebells of light to moderate resistance and equal weight. The objective here is about endurance, not power so don't worry about throwing around something like the beast. At least not yet! You must be familiar with how to properly hold the bells in a clean position at your chest level. With the kettlebells at the proper resting point and clean position at your chest press one kettlebell above your head. Make sure that you lock out both the elbow and shoulder at the top. The next step is very important. As you lower the first bell immediately start pressing the other kettlebell. This will create a pressing consistency with continuous movement. Hence the name seesaw press. Execute this lift for 30 seconds. If you aren't breathing hard afterwards you did wrong or you need to kick up the weight!

2. Medicine Ball Throws: For this drill you will need a medicine ball between 8 and 10 pounds, an open flat area, and a brick wall. Make sure it is the hard type ball and not the pillow soft type. It must be able to bounce. Next, you want to allow for about a distance of 8 to 10 feet between you and the wall. Hold the ball overhead and throw it against the wall. Perform an overhead throw and don't favor one arm as you throw it. The objective is to catch the ball on a single bounce and immediately throw it again. You will learn 2 things from this drill. You will learn muscular control and muscular power. Give it a try.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at: http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Women's Strength Training - The Importance of Training With Intensity!

  http://ryanowen.wordpress.com/

I ran across this nice picture on my good friend Ryan's Blog. Check out his blog above. Like me Ryan understands the importance of training intensity for women and ladies this little beauty above says it all! This is the result of smart training and motivation. 

Yes, ladies I am addressing you and you only in this article. I have had to break down many barriers with women when it comes to fitness and strength training. I constantly find myself repeating the same thing over and over with skeptical women when it comes to my fitness and strength program. My philosophy on training is not a philosophy based on blind guessing. It has come from years of studying, training, coaching, compiling a series of principles, experiences, and field tested measures that have been backed up with scientific fact!

Years and years of training, education, and experience pretty much bleed the same result when it comes to people. If you really want something and are willing to make the sacrifice for it no matter what then you will succeed. The question I usually get bombarded with from women has to do with training intensity. Intensity is a good thing. If you have read any of my past material then you know the importance of body tension when it comes to building strength. You should then also know the importance of raising ones' level of perceived exertion when it comes to burning fat and weight-loss. Knowing these 2 particular variables training intensity accomplishes both! If you lift a heavier weight your body reacts to the load by tensing up. This is what strength training and toning are all about. You also exert yourself more when you do tense up, therefore you speed up your heart-rate and blood pressure and burn more calories. An example could be deadlifting a heavier weight, swinging a bigger kettlebell, or utilizing your own body-weight to increase your INTENSITY.

Now please use this lesson to apply to your personal strength program. If you do and plan your strength training workouts well I promise you will get those results! The only thing that I ask from you is that if I can make you this promise that you will make me your promise by telling your girlfriends.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

The Sprinter's Powerhouse - The Glute-Hamstring Combination!

Can you run fast? Do you want to run faster? I want to explain the importance of glute and hamstring development as it pertains to SPEED!

When you think about the muscles that are involved in running we obviously think about the legs, but which specific muscles in the legs really have to "fire" to get us up to a blazing pace? The answer to this question that the muscles for sprinting are in the butt (glutes) and hamstrings (back of the legs b/w the knees and glutes).

These muscles are a powerful combination when it comes to driving and propelling the body forward in a series of quick plyometric bounds we call sprinting. These muscles are literally pulling the body forward during a sprint just like a race horse powering down the track at the Kentucky Derby. The quads (thighs) extend the leg forward for the foot to make immediate contact to the ground while the glutes and hamstrings power the pull-back or pawing-type motion to execute every stride. These muscles are developed most effectively through strength training exercises in the "pulling phase" of what I describe in my push/pull methodology of training. The development of these muscles are important for everyone whether or not you are a competitive athlete or just a serious workout junky. Most lifts that have to be executed for the development of these particular muscles generate tremendous leg power and total-back strength.

Go and work on developing your powerhouse. Competitive sprinter or not keep your edge. If you do you'll live longer and look better as you get older!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

The Fountain of Youth! The Benefits of an Effective Strength Program For Older Adults

If you are familiar with my opinion on strength training, fitness training, and exercise then you know I'm going to absolutely push this on you in this article. I never let up and I'm not going to start now. If you are an older adult then you need to read what I have to say here.

To begin, age is really only a number. I understand that there are physiological explanations of "getting older" that are unavoidable. However, many of these ailments, diseases, and disorders that eventually catch up to us later in life can and have been shown to be slowed down with the aid of exercise. Strength training for older adults is way UNDER-RATED! It should be your mission to put doctors out of business due to good health. The upside to strength training in both men and women are almost overwhelming. Increased bone density, lower blood-pressure, lower cholesterol, joint stability, flexibility, and balance are just a few examples of many that you gain from a proper and effective program design! Would you rather be laid up in some bed, in a wheelchair, or feeling pain all the time? I don't know about you, but I would rather live to 75 years of age feeling like I'm 25, rather living to a 100 feeling like I'm 200 years old. As far as I know we only get one body at birth so we should make the most of it.

With all the problems in the healthcare system today and always worrying about the cost of medicine I think the best solution is to eliminate the need for it. Effective strength training and a personal program design to make you sweat is the answer. You are not going to find the "Fountain of Youth" in a medicine bottle.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Youth Fitness! The Importance of Strength Training For Youth!

First of all, I want to say that strength training for today's youth is something that everyone should consider as long as your kid meets certain standards. Now what do I mean by standards? It is fine for a child to participate in a youth strength training program provided that the kid is mature enough to focus and follow instructions.

I want to clarify that when I say strength training, I am talking about a well-structured and competent program that is supervised and meets the needs of the participant involved. This doesn't mean competitive weight-lifting. Also, when I say supervised I mean professionally supervised. Mom and Dad, unless you are a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist don't bother trying to be the expert. Set aside your pride and let the professionals take over if you want what is best for your kid. I have been training kids and youth athletes for a long time and have seen too many problems with kids getting injured, misinformed, or burned-out due to receiving incompetent instruction from an unqualified adult. Too many problems like childhood obesity and youth onset diabetes are piling up in this country. Not only are we the fattest nation in the world, but because of the many health problems I just mentioned the same diseases we face as adults are spilling over into our youth. Strength training for kids offers a tremendous solution to these raging health issues. It gets kids used to handling resistance and developing lean muscle tissue to promote a healthier foundation further on into their adulthood development.

Get your kids involved. Youth exercise should be a priority for your child. Be a proponent of fitness and use your own health as an example to get your child involved in a strength training program!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Strength Training - Groups Vs Doing it Alone!

Having specialized and played for years in team sports I have had plenty of experience with sharing pain, blood, sweat, and tears in a group setting. I am also aware that there are plenty of individual sports and people that just prefer to engage in physical activity by themselves. In the following article I want to address the importance of team unity and the motivation of the group factor when pursuing a goal!

Like I said, I have been in vigorous training environments in the past whether preparing in the off-season for football or baseball, or by training athletes and getting involved with team oriented fitness programs. I have always considered myself as somewhat "driven" when it came to my own personal journey towards physical dominance, but it was never easy and I am a professional that specializes in doing this for a living. Based on this I want to point out the importance of having a training partner or group when trying to push yourself to the next level. From what I remember about those crazy early mornings in boot camp and football camp it was miserable.

The only comfort or solace that I had was knowing that I wasn't the only one that was miserable when I looked around and saw how bad off my friends were. This is why I would encourage you to get involved with a friend or friends if you are truly serious about taking your journey of personal physical dominance to the next level. Share your glory with others. Earn and obtain the respect, honor, and discipline of your friends and peers as you ascend to greek-god status.

Remember, if you aren't even motivated to drive to the gym how do you expect to make this journey riding solo? This is why I am a big supporter of groups over the individual. Enjoy my friends!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Athletic Development - A True Misconception About How the Athlete Should Build Strength!

I am here to tell you the truth about off-season strength training and total-body conditioning to maximize your performance for the next upcoming season of your sport. You don't need the fully-stocked weight-room to achieve optimal performance. The following philosophy is a proven fact and translates over ALL boundaries to ALL sports!

So you are thinking "what is he talking about?" Well the truth about building strength is easy, but you have to have a definite logical plan in your approach for your optimal performance development. You see the only way to truly get stronger is to maximize muscular tension. Tension is what builds absolute body strength. This is achieved best by engaging in lifts of 3 dimensional movements. Now when I say lifts I don't necessarily mean weights, I mean lifts that create resistance! You should always try to master different ways of handling a load rather than just handling a different load of weight. For instance, I may be able to deadlift 500 lbs as a football player, but to truly get stronger should I continue to increase the poundage to maybe do 550 lbs? The answer to this is no. Rather than trying to improve the poundage of the DEADLIFT I would better OPTIMIZE my strength by changing to do snatches, cleans, jerks, lifting rocks, sandbags, variation animal walks, and a engaging in an arsenal of plyometric drills.

Now what I have mentioned so far can all be varied by utilizing alternative tools to traditional weights found in a weight-room. To name a few examples: your own body-weight, rocks, sandbags, buckets of water, swinging a sledgehammer, tires, and throwing heavy objects! Creativity is underrated. Any multi-planar movement will stimulate your neuromuscular system to not only adapt to a heavy load, but to adapt to MOVING that heavy load therefore giving you OPTIMAL performance!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

The Kettlebell - My First Experience With This Tool of Fat Destruction and Muscle Construction

I have about as much of a qualified past as anyone when it comes to me lending my two-cents about anything that pertains to fitness or strength training. I am an ex-athlete and have always been very active in terms of training my body to pass the "eyeball test" ,as well as, being able to perform. I had the fortunate opportunity to serve on the football strength and conditioning staff at UGA under an outstanding program with great overall leadership. No, that is not a dig at other programs outside of UGA, but it is the truth.

With my athletic background I have always considered myself to be fairly fit and strong, but that was all quickly progressed even further when I got introduced to the kettlebell. The first one that I ever purchased was a 20kg (44lbs). I quickly learned how to execute the infamous "swing." I have always been able to execute Olympic style lifts but with the bell I had to continue to use my hips to snap and generate momentum to keep the bell moving. I quickly realized how exhausting this single lift was in my first attempt. From here it was all big progress!

I quickly moved on to the 24kg (53lbs) and further executed more intense lifts like the single-arm overhead snatch. My heart felt like it would beat out of my chest after executing 20-30 reps of these at one time. The conditioning was almost overwhelming and so was my excitement. I got even more fired up when I started doing one-arm push-ups and eventually one-arm one-legged push-ups! Now like athletes my body has a lot to do with my work, but I had not done things like this since I was in high school. Even being a strength specialist I still got impressed with this device quicker than anything else I have ever included in my personal programs.

Just like you it was all new to me at one time. I really wished that I could have had access to this gruesome tool when I was a teenager.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Exercise Myths - 2 Misconceptions About Strength Training For Women

I have always had to break down barriers with women in regards to strength training. There is an old mindset out there that women associate weight-lifting and strength training to building huge bulky muscles! This couldn't be further from the truth. I will cover 2 misconceptions and give an explanation that will inform you on the truth about why women should engage full force in a strength and conditioning program to build the body of every man and woman's dreams!

Myth 1: "If I start lifting heavy weights I will either get hurt or I will look like a bodybuilder." (Truth) You could get hurt talking on the cell phone and driving your car at the same time. The injury excuse is just that to me, an excuse. If you study and seek proper guidance on training you won't likely get injured. Of course, if you blindly walk into something then you are likely to not have a good result. (Truth) Working out with free-weights in an effective strength and conditioning program is the very best way to cut body fat and to speed up overall weight-loss.

Also, this fear of looking like a bodybuilder is absurd. First of all, women don't naturally contain enough of the muscle building hormone in their body that we know as testosterone. The women that are freakish looking are more than likely injecting something like this into their body's , as well as, spending hours and hours a week in the gym. Plus they are training their body's for size characteristics so they are getting that result. You may not like the way they look, but at least they are achieving the desired result, what are you doing?

Myth 2: "I'm just going to run off all of this excess weight." (Truth) Yes, you can run to burn off excess weight, but you can actually burn off excess lean muscle mass as well. Lean muscle mass is the very ingredient that burns off fat! If you are burning away the ingredient that burns away your fat then what? What happens is that you may lose weight but look like what I call a skinny fat person. In other words, your body is smaller but there is no definition, your skin is loose, and you have no muscular defining curves.

You can look at yourself one of two ways. You can be thinner and fitter or thinner and plain. Remember that your body will develop the way you train it. Strength training to increase a lean body is the truthful answer to your questions about these workout myths.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Vertical Jump - 2 Simple Steps to Increase Your Vertical Jump!

I want to start by trying to get your attention really fast. What if I told you that I could guarantee that you could increase your athletic strength to increase your vertical jump by almost 2-3 inches in just 3 weeks? Not only can it be done, but the 2-3 inches is the low end of the guarantee. I have seen others jump as much as 4 or 5 inches in the same time. As I explain in the steps to follow pay close attention to what I am trying to teach you. Understand that what I am talking about is obtainable if practiced flawlessly, consistently, and frequently. Note that everyone has varying levels of athletic ability and each drill can be modified from low intensity to high intensity depending on the individual level of the athlete.

Step 1: To begin, the vertical jump is a well-known measuring stick for athletic performance. It is a measure of core strength and leg power. Because it is a measure of these two physical tasks these are the two areas that have to be focused on in an attempt at increasing one's vertical jump. "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger!" Well after you attempt these simple, but gruesome drills you will completely understand that old saying. First you must include a variation of plyometrics.

Plyometrics involve specific exercises that stimulate the body's nervous system and cause the muscles to stretch and shorten by contracting in rapid succession. Some good examples of plyometrics involve bounding over hurdles, box jumps, single leg bounds, and squat jumps. The plyometric exercises that I want to recommend involves a series of box jumps and squat jumps. Depending on your level or ability you can start with box jumps with a height range from 12 inches all the way to 24 inches.

If you don't own these they can be easily constructed with plywood. The most effective progression can be multiple boxes starting at the lowest height of 12 inches and increasing every 6 inches to the highest box at 24 inches. From here you can structure your box jumps however you like, but be sure to obtain a volume of repetitions that total 80! This is an average of 20 repetition jumps at each box height. When you jump from the ground to the box you should be executing a perfect squat jump. You should be landing on the box each jump with your feet at about shoulder width distance and absorbing your landing each time by making contact with the box heal to toe. To intensify this drill you can execute the jumps by adding some kind of resistance. Holding a pair of dumbells is an excellent way to do this. Note that for optimal results these should be practiced at least 3 times per week.

Step 2: The next area to target is going to be the development of core strength. One way to do this simply in the comfort of your home or in your front yard is by doing planks. Planks involve lying prone (or face down) on the ground with only your elbows and toes (or balls of your feet) touching the ground. Your body should be perfectly straight and rigid like a plank or bridge. This is a static hold and you can start by minimally doing each set for 1 minute! Friends these are intense. You should do these on the days you do your plyometrics. You should also complete 3 sets of 1 minute in week one. Each week you should increase a minute working up to 3 minutes per plank for 3 sets in the third week!

These two steps will undoubtedly improve your conditioning and vertical jumping power. Remember that this is only a basic home drill and is merely a taste of the main course. Further modifications to this and other areas of your program can drastically improve your overall athletic performance.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com. To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html. I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Body Weight Exercise - Utilizing Your Body to Obtain Tremendous Strength and Fitness Gains!

You are probably wondering how in the world you can create a knock-out fitness and strength program without using any weights, machines, or by having to buy a gym membership. Remember that no matter your goals you absolutely have to increase your level of physical exertion in order to achieve optimal strength and muscular development. In order to do this you have to incorporate certain body movements that involve the overall tension and action of multi-joint exercise. Remember that if I want to work my chest muscles then why do a fly movement when I can do a push-up. This way I not only work my chest muscles, but target my shoulders, abdomen, triceps, and hips all from this single movement.

Lets start out by you asking yourself a question. How many exercises can you think of right now that involve using nothing but you and your living room floor or front yard? How ever many you came up with that number is a good start for this body-weight strength program. Also, thinking in this way will cause your program to be better because you have to get more creative in order to challenge yourself and to get to greek-god status! Now I'm going to start by helping you think in a creative way like a "strength and conditioning specialist" would think.

I have always thought of ways to challenge the athletes and clients I work with because a true strength and conditioning program has to be ever-changing and highly innovative. Lets look at the age old exercise that we know as the Push-up. Now you might not be capable of doing a single push-up, you might be able to do 10 or 20, or you may even be able to do a 100 push-ups! Nonetheless all levels can be improved. For instance, the individual that is not capable of a push-up should be. He or she can practice lower intensity drills like doing them on their knees or with their hands elevated on a bench putting more force on the feet instead of the upper body. As they get better at these they can eventually progress to the floor to execute ordinary push-ups. If we look at the person that can do 10 or 20 then he or she can start into practicing more intense one arm drills like the one-arm push-up. They can start their practice in ways like the no push-up group mentioned above by starting with one-arm on a bench with having more weight distributed to their feet until they are ready to go to the floor. Looking at the third group that is capable of doing a 100 push-ups we can still challenge their abilities by including even more intense drills like the very dynamic dive-bomber push-up or the one-arm one-leg push-up! These are both intense and impressive my friend.

Next, lets think of a way that you can challenge more of your legs and cardiovascular system. Here you can perform a normal standing squat. Just like the push-up you are familiar with the squat. You may not be capable of executing a proper squat, you may be able to do 10 or 20, or you may be capable of doing a 100 standing squats. Just like the push-up drills we can learn the basic squat and once mastered we can learn and execute other more intense variations of squats. For the person that isn't capable of a proper squat we can learn this technique with the use of a wall. We'll use the wall to incorporate a drill I like to call a "form drill." First, you need to walk up and face a wall with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width. You should only be about 3 to 4 inches from the wall. From here execute the form drill by squatting and lowering your body in a controlled manner down the wall. The key here is to not "frog" the knees or "bow" them out. You must descend in a controlled manner or you will bump the wall with either your face or your knees. You should feel the muscles in your spine tension. This is a proper "form squat." You want to progress by going as low as possible. Just like the push-up drills the people that are capable of doing 10 or 20 squats at a time can move on to practicing single leg squat drills with the aid of a chair or bench. You can do this by lifting a leg in front of you and then on one leg lower your rear to touch the bench or chair before standing up. From here you can lower the bench until you progress to eventually going all the way to the floor. For the people that can do a 100 squats we can incorporate similar drills and continue to challenge them with the inclusion of more dynamic movements like squat jumps and single leg squat jumps!

I think you get the picture. Hopefully you understand that the basic exercises of the push-up and squat can be utilized to create more results for you than any other method of training you have ever done. You now should understand that a basic push-up or squat can be manipulated into many variations to continually challenge you for explosive results! Think like a "strength and conditioning specialist!"

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.htmlI'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Athletic Fitness - 3 Ways to Construct an Athletically Fit and Athletically Functional Body!

I had a friend the other day that was just starting back into working out and he asked me "what is the best thing for me to do to get back into shape?" He is an ex-athlete like myself and I asked him if he remembered how hard his workouts were in college. He, of course, said yes and I proceeded to tell him that he needs to start training like an athlete again. Why, he asked? I followed up by asking him at what point in his life was he in the greatest shape and he replied "when I was doing preseason workouts for football in college." I rest my case. Most of the time people don't want to revert to doing what they used to because they have forgotten how, they are lazy, or maybe they have never had an effective training regimen in their life.

Step 1: The first step in building the ultimate greek-god or goddess-like body is to implement Olympic Lifting into your strength training program. The three main lifts that people are familiar with in olympic lifting are the snatch, clean, and jerk. All three lifts are incredible in developing explosive power, strength, and animal-like resiliency. By including these lifts and variations of them into your strength program you will find that you will get a much quicker workout because of the intensity of the lifts. Also, these lifts can be structured into your workouts as a primary lift which can be readily combined with the remaining lift and workout strategies I will explain in Steps 2 and 3.

Step 2: The second step in your journey for elite fitness status involves the inclusion of Kettlebells. Yes, kettlebells are a tremendous way to supplement your Olympic Lifts that you might execute with barbells and bumper plates, but with kettlebells, certain olympic lifts can be executed as well. Because of its shape and size many different lifts with different objectives can be executed readily with the bell. This allows you to bypass a normal training obstacle that occurs frequently with other free weights like having to slow down to change around weights, racking plates, and having to move to a different area for another lift. In other words, there is no interruption of your workout, therefore your intensity level stays in HIGH GEAR! The bell can be used for heavy explosive type lifts, conditioning-oriented lifts, and slower lifts that create tremendous muscular tension! All are effective for constructing your body and getting to greek-god status.

Step 3: The third step in getting ridiculously quick results in your program is making sure to add in Plyometrics. Plyometrics involve completing intense quick explosive movements that stretch and shorten the muscles rapidly. They stimulate the nervous system causing the muscles to react quicker so athletic movements like sprinting, jumping, and agility can be effectively executed. This is also a great way to gain tremendous conditioning and to reduce the risk of injury by stressing the body in this manner.

Remember that none of these three steps should be included into your program unless you are 100% confident in your technique. Don't be a knucklehead and do something that would injure you and put you out of commission. However, you should take the time to study, research, and flawlessly practice these steps. Once you do your INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT will be completed way before anyone else's deadline!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!