Physical Living » 4X7

Exclusive Interview with Ryan Murdock: Faculty Coach for the Circular Strength Training System and Travel Writer with More Than a Few Good Stories From the Road

John — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:23:24 +0000

Ryan Murdock traveling in Jordan.

If you’ve been following the blog for awhile, I’m sure you know that I’m a big proponent of the Circular Strength Training system. Ryan Murdock is on the Faculty, in charge of bringing CST to the world, and he has a revolutionary way of sharing his health-first fitness viewpoints. I guarantee that you’ll learn something new by listening in on this call. Plus, Ryan is a great story-teller, and he’s gives us a glimpse into some of his travel adventures. Some of the key points we covered include:

- How martial art will change your worldview and set you on the path of personal mastery, preparing you for all of life’s challenges. (also, why CST jives with most martial artists especially)

- Why joint mobility is Ryan’s “daily minimum,” and how he uses it to stay in tip-top shape year round.

- The best bodyweight training methods for achieving your health-first fitness goals at home or on the road.

- Health and Fitness Insights we can learn from visiting indigenous people from obscure places in the world.

- How to kill giant cockroaches that scurry around your hotel room! (one of Ryan’s stories from traveling in Burma with his girlfriend)

Listen to the interview here:

John Sifferman Interviews Ryan Murdock (54 Minutes in Length)

I want to thank Ryan again for doing this interview. It is an honor to learn from someone who carves out his own path in life and sets a fine example for us all. Be sure to check out his sites:

http://RyanMurdock.com
http://rmaxstaff.com/murdock
http://BodyweightExerciseRevolution.com

Here are some ways you can get started with CST today:

Clubbell Quick-Start Training Packages can be found halfway down this page (you can find more info about clubbells on the official site here http://clubbell.tv.com)

Prasara Yoga Introductory Package – Book here, Instructional DVD here.

Joint Mobility Training Package (more info about mobility training on my site here)

As always, if you have any questions about what was discussed on the call, how to get started, or about the products themselves, please leave a comment below or use the Contact page above.

To your health and success,

Fitness Professional and CST Student

P.S. For more information about clubbell training and prasara yoga, I recommend Scott Sonnon’s programs The Encyclopedia of Clubbell Training and his book Prasara Yoga.

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Exclusive Interview with World Renowned Strength and Conditioning Coach Adam Steer: What's New In Health-First Fitness and Strength Training

John — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:09:39 +0000

Adam Steer - CST Head Coach

There’s a bit of a story behind this interview, so if you just want to listen in, scroll down and click the green play button.

Basically, it’s a technological miracle that I’m even able to bring this to you today. Upon recording this amazing interview with Adam, I logged into my teleconference service to retrieve the audio file for editing, and I was shocked to discover that the file was “corrupted.” I couldn’t download the interview! Panicking, I sent an e-mail to the customer service department for help – I just HAD to get this interview, which was pure gold! Not even the CS department could assist me, it was just a “technological fluke” that the file was not working. I continued to check the file almost daily, and then almost weekly until about 2-3 weeks ago. I decided that I would check on the file, ONE LAST TIME, and then give up for good. It was still “corrupted” and in my mind, hopeless. I gave up.

Until yesterday afternoon, when I received an email from Adam asking about the call. I decided to check the file one last time, so that I could tell him with certainty that we would never obtain the audio interview again. Well, here is where the miracle happened. When I logged into my teleconference service, the file was there and COMPLETE, with excellent audio quality. Now, I’ve been using computers ever since I was a very young child, and I know that things don’t just start working without some intervention, especially when they’ve been broken for months. Computers don’t just fix themselves.

So, needles to say, I’m ecstatic and honored to bring you this interview, which was truly fantastic.

Adam Steer has a revolutionary way of sharing his health-first fitness viewpoints, and I guarantee that you’ll learn something new by listening in on this call. Some of the key points we covered include:

- How to build a foundation of mobility that will increase your health and movement potential, making you able to pick up new skills quickly

- The number one reason why clubbells stand out among other strength training tools and how you can use them to improve your natural, athletic strength in all skills.

- The best strength training tools for achieving your health-first fitness goals at home or at the gym.

- The wisdom in following a program completely, and then transitioning into intuitive training to OWN your movement and LIVE your fitness every moment.

- How to take an active role in balancing your training with recovery and putting that into a comprehensive training program that works in harmony to maximize performance and minimize injury.

Listen to the interview here:

John Sifferman Interviews Adam Steer (62 Minutes in Length)

I want to thank Adam again for doing this interview. It is an honor to learn from someone that walks the talk and sets the bar high for everyone else. Be sure to check out his sites:

http://bettersbetter.com
http://bodyweightexerciserevolution.com

Here are some ways you can get started with CST today:

Clubbell Quick-Start Training Packages can be found halfway down this page (you can find more info about clubbells on the official site here http://clubbell.tv.com)

Prasara Yoga Introductory Package – Book here, Instructional DVD here.

Joint Mobility Training Package (more info about mobility training on my site here)

As always, if you have any questions about what was discussed on the call, how to get started, or about the products themselves, please leave a comment below or use the Contact page above.

To your health and success,

Fitness Professional and CST Student

P.S. For more information about clubbell training and prasara yoga, I recommend Scott Sonnon’s programs The Encyclopedia of Clubbell Training and his book Prasara Yoga.

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What is High Intensity?

John — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:31:10 +0000

That might be sweat, but I think it's just water...

Here’s an exercise in stream-of-consciousness…

What do you think of when you read the term “high intensity?”

Do you think of gritting your teeth, repping out, squeezing your muscles as hard as possible, running as fast as you can, or sweating a lot?

Now, let me ask you another question. When was the last time you reached high intensity in your training program?

Maybe you train with high intensity every session, maybe it’s once or twice a week, or every now and then. Maybe the last time you reached high intensity was in high school or college athletics.

I’m astonished when I hear of people doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 5-7 days a week, and still seeing very little progress towards their goals. It makes me wonder if most people really have a clear idea about what high intensity training entails.

First, let’s setup a structure to define what high intensity exercise is. I use a self-analyzed rating of perceived exertion/effort to objectify how hard I and my clients are working – this is based not only on heart rate and VO2 MAX, but also on fatigue, respiration, and emotional response to exercise. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest effort your body can possibly produce and sustain, anything at or above an 8 is considered high intensity exercise. If you only work at less than 80% of your training max, then you are not training in the high intensity “zone.”

So, what does an 8-10 range entail?

Well, I think that there are tremendous differences between an effort level of 8, and that of 10. I have only reached a 10 a few times in my life, and only with a coach right there making sure that I’m indeed performing at my maximum ability. It’s not a stretch to say that a 10 cannot be achieved solo, without some external motivator present to guide you.

My NSCA textbook says that “the numerical readings are associated with adjectives that describe the level of exertion. These ratings range from “No exertion at all” to “Maximal exertion.” Likewise, people have very specific ways of explaining their level of perceived exertion.

RPE 2 – “This isn’t so bad”

RPE 5 – “I can still speak, but I’m definitely working it”

RPE 7 – “This is challenging!”

RPE 8 – “Holy crap!”

RPE 9 – (heavy breathing, no speaking, pure concentration, fatigue setting in quickly)

RPE 10 – (no speaking, thinking “I can’t do this for long, I have to stop soon.”, “I don’t know why I’m doing this… etc. etc.” :-)

I think the NSCA textbook correctly states that “To untrained, deconditioned clients, an exercise level that produces a heart rate of 60% HRR may seem maximal because they are unaccustomed to exercise and do not really know what a maximal effort is.”

I would add in, that anyone regardless of training or conditioning, that has not been coached through a high intensity session may not know what high intensity training really entails. I have very seldom witnessed someone who personally initiates true high intensity exercise (8+/10) during their training sessions. Most personal trainers I’ve encountered don’t even have an understanding of true high intensity exercise, nor do they require it of their clients (some, for good reason). However, that doesn’t mean that high intensity exercise is unachievable. Your potential is not limited to the presuppositions of those around you – only by the barriers you place on yourself.

We are living in a culture that is not accustomed to working very hard – at least physically. In fact, I’m a walking testimony to that almost every 4th day that I visit my local YMCA. Every 4 days, I employ a high intensity training session (8+/10). If I happen to be exercising at the gym, I draw stares all across the room as I exercise. The heavy breathing, the short rest breaks, the pool of sweat that puddles around me, and the unbroken focus on my activity grabs some attention from would-be high intensity trainees. I won’t lie, sometimes I think I convict other gym members because I work so hard and they don’t. But that’s not the point, and certainly not my goal. I know that in order to best reach my physical goals, I need to work very hard to get there.

We all know that hard work will pay off better than “almost” hard work. A good effort will pay off better than a half-hearted effort. If you aren’t sure if you’ve ever reached high intensity in your training program, find a way to test yourself. I prefer a little bit of competition. Putting my ability up against another trainee is the ultimate way to light a fire under my butt and help me access the confidence and drive necessary to reach peak performance levels. You may need something outside of yourself to gain that extra edge, to push into oblivion in your training.

You can do it. I know you can, and you know you can. And if you’re the type who does HIIT 7 days a week, and is still struggling to achieve your goals, then get out of your comfort zone. Your perception of what hard work entails could be wrong. Your own self-delusion may be replacing your confidence – and you won’t excel if you don’t change.

To your health and success,

Fitness Professional

P.S. To learn what high intensity exercise truly entails, I recommend the 4X7 Training Formula which offers specific instructions about differentiating no intensity, low intensity, moderate intensity, and high intensity training sessions to help you reach peak results in your training program.

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