The lift is one of the fundamental exercises of many training curricula  including Gymnasium’s. Own this combination lift and you’ll be well on your way to being an adept Kettlebell lifter, and a tremendous natural athlete (they go hand-in-hand…).

Need more reasons:

• The lifts engage and strengthen natural patterns through multiple planes of movement
• Great for training incredible natural athletic ability without racking up injury and mileage
• The perfect choice for endurance athletes and weekend warriors who want to train cardio, strength, and power–together
• Learn how to generate explosive power, while also building rock-solid shoulder stability
• Promotes both flexibility, proper body alignment (aka “bone stacking”), and movement sequencing for neuromuscular efficiency
• Learn to use your breath for maximum power and efficiency
• Great substitute or complement for Olympic lifting with bars

This workshop will cover each component of the lift in detail:

1. Swing (the more advanced and nuanced competitive swing, not the fitness swing)
2. Clean
3. Jerk
4. Clean + Jerk, aka Long Cycle

Please warm-up accordingly before the seminar begins!

March 16th, 12:00PM-2:30PM

Cost $30 per person.

This workshop will be presented by Corey “Kettle Guy” Padnos. Corey is an internationally ranked Kettlebell Long Cycle athlete who has trained and competed all over the world: USA, Israel, Hong Kong, and Japan. Corey is also:

• An Orange Kettlebell Club Team Athlete and Coach
• Winner, best Overall Lifter 16kg Long Cycle IKSFA Hong Kong Kettlebell Championship 2012
• Winner, Long Cycle 82kg Category, 24kg Long Cycle at California Open Championship
• A Multiple-World Record Holder in One Hour Long Cycle
• A Kettlebell Sport athlete who has trained under some of the best athletes in the world including Jason Dolby, Denis Vasilev, Sergey Rudnev, and John Wild Buckley

Space is limited, sign up here!

I’m not here to compete (heck, he had the good spirit to put the effort to good use!), but at least the comparison does confirm a good showing. My last long set was 75 minutes (to no fanfare whatsoever), and my goal was to hit 90. I was grooving at that point, so I kept  going. The odd total time came from deciding to finish when my favorite psych-up song from high school played. I’ll spare my reputation by withholding that tidbit! It seemed like a fitting note to end on.

The most frequent question I get is: why?

The first part of the answer is simple goal setting. 40 years ago, running a marathon was only for freaks. Now, millions of people do it every year. This just happens to be a goal that doesn’t have big charities and PR campaigns associated with it, or a sticker for the back of my car. It was truly a personal goal, in that few would know what to make of it. Simple as this: I’d set a benchmark (by accident the other year), and I wanted to better it. The physical life must have goals and progression and growth, otherwise it quickly devolves into mindlessly spinning some treadmill’s wheels or some other version of that.

The second part of the answer is to change the context. Even before the goal was finished, the effort transported me to that Quiet place. It’s commonplace to put every aspect of movement life into terms of fitness, whatever that means to someone, and these kinds of endeavors don’t compute in that context. Someone said, “Wow, how many calories do you think you burned? I bet if you did that everyday, you’d be super fit.” Well, I don’t know: a lot of calories and probably not. I’d be a freak with my head buried in my own weird rabbit hole. Fitness is just one slice of movement, and not the most important one.

This wasn’t a workout, this was movement meditation. I listened to Bach and Sigur Ros at the beginning to quiet my head and slip into the rhythm of movement and breath. I released myself to the moment. Human cultural and spiritual history is filled with examples of using the physical as a vehicle to transcend. Giving up something for lent, doing the Ironman, climbing a mountain. These are all on the same continuum. When we watch professional athletes go nuts after winning a championship, the look on their faces doesn’t come from celebrating the big bonus or gaudy new ring.  Move (much, much) further along that continuum and you reach people transcending this:

So, my potential, imaginary, self-proclaimed world record set was truly nothing at all.

There is value in setting a goal, and there is value in transcending yourself. You don’t even need people cheering for you or patting you on the back. But it helps: thanks to Anna [victory sandwich!], Ken, Taylor, Keith, Gerardo, Steve and the 9am and 10:15a folks for cheering me on and not thinking I was crazy–or at least having the tact to not tell it to my face!

–Josh

I’d actually love to know if anyone has done a long swing set before. Maybe I should call the Guinness people after all. I think I have some more hours in me

East West at work earning new fans at our last open house!

Where: Gymnasium
1001 Watertown St., Rear (We share the huge parking lot with CVS)
West Newton, MA 02465

When: March 9, 2013, 12:00-5:30pm
RSVP: By March 2 please, to gymnasium@inspiredperspiration.com

Free sports and therapeutic massages from East West Massage Newton throughout the afternoon.

Come ready to move. First time at G? Bring indoor shoes (or barefeet/socks), a mat, and a water bottle! See below for the interactive presentation schedule:

1:00p-1:50p. Active Isolated Stretching: Stretch For Mobility, Resilience, Recovery and Performance

with Peter Benjamin LMT, CPT, AIST 

Learn how this one advanced stretching technique can help you…

• Improve athletic performance
• Heal from injuries more quickly than ever
• Reprogram your brain and your body to remember new ranges of motion
• Improve your performance exponentially

The Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) Technique is ideal for athletes who are aging or dealing with injuries.

2:00p-2:50p. Twice The Results In Half The Time: Build Power, Strength AND Resilience With Kettlebells

with Josh Conway, CPT, WKC Coach, & Founder, Gymnasium

Most athletes face increased risk of injuries and grim prospects as they age as a result of demanding training regimes.

Kettlebell training, done properly, integrates strength, power and flexibility with your body’s natural movements. Learn how to increase performance AND resilience simultaneously, and be better, faster, and stronger – for longer.

3:00p-3:50p. Chiropractic And Sports Medicine: Are Your Fitness And Health Aligned?

with Dr. Karson Mui, DC

Active lifestyles rely on a strong, healthy core and spine. Learn how chiropractic and sports medicine techniques can improve your performance, range of motion and posture.

In this hands on session, Dr. Mui covers techniques including Graston, FAKTR, vibration plate therapy, flexion distraction and kinesio taping.

4:00p-5:15p. How Your Fitness Is Hurting You And What To Do About It

with Josh Conway, CPT, WKC Coach, & Founder, Gymnasium

It’s no surprise that many programs and training approaches produce as much injury as they do fitness and health. Even holistic approaches such as yoga can result in overuse and hyperextension injuries.

The solution is simple: We need to exercise in ways that mimic and enhance the body’s natural movements and functions.

Whether you’re a fitness instructor, regular gym-goer or casual walker, these 10 essential movements and strength patterns will get you to peak health and keep you there.

Punk Rope was created in 2004 by personal trainer Tim Haft to provide an alternative for those interested in a non-judgmental fitness class, which focuses on play, creativity, community, and raise-the-roof music by original artists. Some quick facts on the system:

• Punk Rope instructors can be found across the US (and in Gymnasium!), taught and certified by Tim Haft and Shana Brady.
• Punk Rope is the feet-down best place for beginners to learn to jump (or advanced jumpers to learn double unders!!)
• Punk Rope sells the best ropes around, including fitness, speed, and weighted.

Punk Rope’s programs include:

• Punk Rope: the signature class that started it all.
• Workshops: learn a creative approach to fitness in a fun, attitude-free environment.
• Beastanetics Boot Camp: high-intensity, interval-training to the max.
• The Punk Rope Games: a day of costumes, competition, and camaraderie.

Corey was first introduced to kettlebells in Hong Kong and he has dedicated himself to becoming a successful competitor in the sport of Kettlebell Lifting (many folks know the kettlebell as a funky fitness tool, but few realize that it’s actually an organized global sport, much like Olympic Lifting). Corey is en route to his next competition that his club is hosting: the California Open Kettlebell Championships.

He was looking for a place to train while visiting Boston before his next competition and he found us. Gymnasium was honored to help him on his continuing quest! Over his visit we found that we shared a lot of similar perspectives on movement and training. We particularly like his take on our workouts: “An exploration of movement and a development of skill to enhance the human experience.” And he wrote us a really nice thank you upon his return to California:

There’s nothing worse than having to travel during your training–especially if it’s three weeks before an athletic event.  Yeah, that happened to me.

I’m an internationally ranked Kettlebell Sport athlete who has assisted for The Orange Kettlebell Club Japan Certification and currently coaches workshops and clients on lifting mechanics, mobility, and sports vision techniques.  My dilemma: I needed to go to Massachusetts near the end of my training for a major lifting championship for an entire week.  I called all around the Newton, Waltham, Cambridge, and Boston areas and couldn’t find what I was looking for in the proximity.  I probably called and Googled over a dozen Kettlebell studios.  However, the competitive style of lifting that I practice requires a certain kind of Kettlebell that nobody in the area had, let alone the heavier competition grade weight that I use. It was like calling someone speaking the same language as you, but using a different dialect.

Enter Gymnasium.  The studio had everything I needed.  It was close, it had the competition grade equipment that I needed, and–best of all–housed some of the warmest people you could meet in 10F degree weather.  Josh, the owner, warmly welcomed me into his studio for a week and even took me to lunch to ask about my competitive endeavors.  In fact, one of the other coaches–Ken–even gave me a ride home one day to save me the bus fare!  What a nice group of people!

Gymnasium has the most unique atmosphere of any gym I’ve ever encountered:  It’s a wonderfully eclectic mixture of all my favorite caveman-style training equipment in a Zen-like atmosphere out of a Kung Fu goon (school).  No sight of “gym bros” to be found nor “my-or-the-highway” trainers around here.  The classes that I observed in the corner of my eye during my lifting practice exemplify what training should be:  An exploration of movement and a development of skill to enhance the human experience.

Josh and Gymnasium team, keep it up.  It was a pleasure to spread my passion for Kettlebell lifting to you and I appreciate the hospitality during my week of training.  You guys rock!

To everyone else, this is a truly special space.  I wish they had one of these in my neighborhood.

He represents the Orange Kettlebell Club as a Coach and Team Athlete, and he holds certifications with Z-Health (Level III), NASM (CPT), and Training for Warriors (Level 1).

You can follow his Competition and Quest on Facebook: Kettle Guy

If you are interested in getting online video & chat coaching for your competitive lifting technique, contact us for his info.

Working the entire body is of course the price of entry for any balanced fitness program. But the body needs more than just doing “something” for some things.

Instead of thinking about exercise or training as just something you do for body pieces or separate qualities, think of your workout as a means for practicing the body’s essential movements. You could live a vibrant, highly active life without ever coming across a use for most of what passes for exercise. But you couldn’t make a week without confronting a need to Walk, Carry, Push, Get Up, Squat, Fold, or Twist, etc.

We follow a Complete Movement Diet that includes Movement Categories & Strength Patterns. Complete in that they are the patterns that the body recognizes as natural to its design. Complete in that they are the basis for living a long, able, vigorous life. Complete in that they comprise the distilled essence of human movement.

The first set, Movement Categories, are those that humans have forever used to navigate, survive, and thrive. They are of course heavily focused on locomotive movements, necessary for negotiating the world. These are also developmental movements, inextricably linked with humanity’s evolution and every individual’s mind and body as well. You’ll notice that a child’s development passes through all of them–sometimes in one playdate!

Movement Categories

1. Walk: our principal locomotive movement
2. Run: our principal movement of getting there (or away!) fast
3. Crawl: any quadrupedal pattern across flat ground
4. Climb: any means of getting up, over, across, or down any incline, obstacles or structures
5. Roll: any means of rolling over limbs, torso, or both! From forward, sideways, backward, functional rolls  (e.g., rolling out of a fall) to advanced rolls (e.g., martial ground work, the rolls & the flips/tucks of gymnastics or parkour, the feats of contemporary dancing and circus arts)
6. Get up: any means of moving between lying, sitting, kneeling and standing
7. Carry: pick up, hold or move a load
8. Jump: any jump, hop, leap, or vault and most importantly: absorbing and controlling the return to ground!
9. Throw & Catch: throwing any load with one or two hands using an underhand, overhand, rotational, or push movement. And don’t forget it’s opposite: catch!
10. Defend: any physical means of avoiding an accident or evading/defending oneself or another from aggression (only if more advanced forms of diffusion–aka communication–fail!)
11. Swim*: any locomotive movements in water
12. Art*: (visual/dance/performance/music). The broadest category deserves some explaining. These are all of course separate forms of art.  There are infinite traditions and disciplines that have emerged within each form. But all art stems from a common root: an instinct for expression. It’s evolved along with us from the start. It’s part of every child’s development to this day. What kid doesn’t sing, dance, draw, pretend, or perform? Expression was/is critical to human development. We didn’t just migrate and survive, we grew, advanced and thrived.

*Not part of our curriculum, but are essential categories of human movement!

For the movement geeks, many of these are well-known derivations and expansions from the interpretations of Paleo exercise, most notably the work of 20th century French physical educator & movement master Georges Hebert: father of the military obstacle course and modern obstacle races, and the godfather of the tricksters of parcours (aka parkour). Many are part of the current interest in different versions of survival training. There is a growing resurgence of work to move away from exercise and toward natural movement and there are many programs dedicated to promoting their take on essential movement. Much of this reimagines the same yearning for simpler times in the physical culture spawned by the Industrial Revolution. (But there is truth in this yearning. The Industrial and now the Digital Revolutions beg to be tempered by wisdom. Technology does not a produce step forward for humanity without it.) So, we applaud and support anyone who shares this mindset, but some notable ones include:

• MovNat (a modern reboot of Mr. Hebert’s teachings)
• Exuberant Animal
• POSE Method
• Primal Blueprint

The second set, Strength Patterns, are those that we actively learn and practice to improve: to get stronger, healthier, more athletic, more resilient, more able in all pursuits (including the Movement Patterns). They are Strength in the most fundamental way. Not just flexing muscles against gravity, but Strength in the broad sense: our foundation. These patterns enhances us.  They make us better at all movement. Simply put: all movement flows from strength; no strength, no movement. Really, all training should be defined as some vision/version of Strength.

Strength Patterns are found across both traditional disciplines and modern functional/athletic training approaches. They run the gamut from weight lifting (i.e., kettlebell, power, Olympic, bodybuilding), to old-time lifting / strongman lifting, to functional training, to combat preparation, to classical and modern gymnastics/calisthenics/Pilates, to the many interpretations of Yoga. Given such a wide variety of tradition, each Strength Pattern includes infinite loaded or unloaded exercises for training it.

Strength Patterns

(Best described with a quick list of fundamental exercises. Though for each there are of course as many options out there as there are coaches and trainers!)

1. Hinge: (e.g.) Deadlift, KB swing, clean, snatch, good morning, vertical and horizontal jumps
2. Squat: (e.g.) Full, partial squats, loaded or unloaded, front or back or overhead, power presses, vertical and horizontal jumps
3. Push: (e.g.) overhead press, floor press, benchpress, push throws, power presses, sleds, planks and pushups of all angles and types
4. Pull: (e.g.) pullups, bodyweight & weighted rows, high pulls, rope climbs, sleds, tugs, and deadlifts, swings, cleans and snatches
5. Twist & Swing: (e.g.) MB patterns, 1 arm KB pulls, many gymnstic, defense and athletic movements, throws and club swings
6. Lunge: (e.g.) front, back, side, crossover, step ups, loaded or unloaded, hiking uphill or stairs
7. Fold: (e.g.) rolling/hindu  pushup, v-ups, windmills, leg raises and wipers, situps, slams, (and hinges, lunges, squats, too)
8. Extend: (e.g.) bridges, rolling pushups, windmills, up dog, back-bends, side bends, (and hinges, lunges, squats, too)
9. Brace: this isn’t a pattern so much as it is a fundamental strength-skill (it’s both!) that comes into use across patterns and movements. Easy examples are using proper torso and limb integration in a plank, proper torso engagement to draw the whole torso into a pullup, or creating tension to successfully move or carry a heavy weight, deliver power through the end of a punch (or bracing to receive one!), or stick or bat or racquet swing. Still confused? Google “hollow body” for a tough gymnastic exercise and clear example of bracing.

We’ve found (like so many before us) that it takes many years sifting through complexity to end at simplicity. And it’s an evolving process. Any guru who proclaims that their mountain (especially their specific certification array) has the final answer has given up. Even so, there are some great strength and conditioning organizations out there contributing to the greater shared path. All happen to be constantly growing and evolving, go figure! Here’s a truncated list of some worth checking out:

• Sport KB (the actual discipline of KB lifting): WKC, IKFF, IKSFA, Orange Kettlebell Club
• Fitness KB + Barbell: Strong First
• Clubs: RMAX, Indian Clubs
• Functional Training: any Perform Better Summit Coach

A good complete, training path selects and combines patterns together in a balanced and coherent way, over the course of both focused training sessions and day-to-day living. Most importantly, there is much overlap within and connection between both sets. One supports and builds on the other. Running and walking are clearly connected, rolling and getting up (or down). Crawling turns into climbing the steeper you go. Many Twists & Swings follow similar patterns as Throws. And Strength Patterns of course naturally overlap with each other and if you read any of the lists above, you’d see some exercises listed in a number of patterns. The whole point of pattern-based thinking is to break down and escape specialization. Body and mind only recognize movement.

Cross-training is best when it develops complete athletic ability through natural strength and conditioning. Specialized skills like lifting the biggest weight, isolated ability like static flexibility, or cardio on a contraption are all well and good, but often mean developing disability in other movement contexts. Many trainers simply program based on their own proclivities, often based on their own natural abilities. So you get a tall person trying to deadlift heavy, martial arts master teaching what works for his own body, or an inexperienced yoga teacher teaching inversions to a newbie. Specializations aren’t appropriate for all body types. Which helps reinforce why specialization is also often the first step toward injury and bad mileage.

Which specific patterns deserve priority would of course be different for different people and goals. A competitive runner would obviously spend more training time running than anything else. A power lifter would Squat + Carry (back squat), Hinge+Pull (deadlift), Push (bench), and Brace through them all…a lot. But many (most?) athletes become single dimensional for lack of time, willingness, or awareness and pay the price in injury and mileage. A Complete Movement Diet is similar to your food diet. Like eating right, the over-training and athletic-injury bogey men could probably be conquered by simply using a variety of patterns and movements with a variety of intensities, just like you should eat a variety of foods for a complete diet. You wouldn’t make kale your hobby and eat it all the time, ignoring other foods (as awesome and healthy as it is). Movement should do the same.

The good news is that many patterns contain exercises that work well as warm ups, finishers, or even cool downs. We cycle our priorities and emphases to keep minds and bodies fresh and not over-trained.

Lastly, Patterns also just plain feel right. The body recognizes and responds better to the movements it’s designed to perform, unlike the weird contortions we’ve invented for it. Hate exercise? There might be good reason for your distaste. Try Movement instead.

Feel like you might belong with us? Contact us!

Want to be convinced of the centrality of Movement? Watch this:

Want to read more? Start with a better fitness definition!

So why do folks hate to exercise?

In part because while the world has evolved in complexity, our movement ability has devolved. As in so many other areas of life, our quest to mold the world to our image has led us to unnaturally complicated life. Complexity has even taken over something as profoundly simple as moving our body. Our gym and studio landscape is filled with complicated machinery and contorted techniques, none of which has anything to do with movement from the body’s perspective. The body and what it needs to practice to stay healthy and able hasn’t changed every time a new exercise fad or piece of equipment comes along. In fact, most new modern technologies (e.g., Nautilus, Cybex, Hammer, elliptical machines, Pilates reformers, Thighmasters, shake weights, Bowflex, etc.), do little for natural movement. The body doesn’t recognize these forms of exercise as movement. The MovNat folks rightly calls places that use this stuff “Human Zoos”! Much of the exercise world presents the opposite of actual movement. So it’s little surprise that we’ve forgotten what real movement is and feels like. And dislike what we do in place of movement.

The allure of technology is one culprit, but so is our tendency toward complication and specialization. The meaningless puff-muscle of bodybuilders are an easy example, but so too are the fantastic (and sometimes dreadful) positions of yogis, or the red-faced power-lifters who wear special compression suits to assist in shoving more off their chests, or the growing legion of ultra-marathoners. But specialized ability is built at the expense of other qualities, and in some cases doing specialized things that the body wasn’t ever intended for, like having balloons for biceps or pretzels for legs. The stats are clear: folks often pay the price in mileage and injury for imposing specialization onto their body.

But apart from these specialized passions, much of modern exercise is lifeless and mindless. Part of the reason yoga has blossomed again is that it’s one of the few places where regular folks can bring real awareness to their body (and the exoticism and healing/spiritual promise provide other much-desired salves). But by and large, movement has been lost and forgotten in favor of mindless drudgery that requires yet more screen time to drag ourselves to do it.

As happens in all eras, when culture goes far enough in one direction, some people get fed up and look for another. We proudly stand among those people. Gymnasium contributes to the growing Mind/Body Fitness paradigm. Here’s a comparison of the old way with the new (reemergent) one:

Workouts the Old Way: Compartmentalization

• Strain muscles and groups individually to build strength
• Strain heart & lungs to build cardio with specific “cardio” movements and machines
• Stretch muscles for flexibility
• A prescription: exercise as a dreaded errand, separate from your life

Workouts the New Way: Integration

• Practice a Complete Movement Diet, not muscle / group exercises
• Train cardio, strength & mobility together, as movement
• Body & mind learn to work together
• An inspiration: Movement as a pillar, an anchor for turning up the volume on life

Results the Old Way: Mirror-and-Scale Dominated

• Shape & tone “problem areas”
• Pumped & fluffed muscles = strength
• Skinny = healthy

Results the New Way: Ability-Dominated

• How well do you move? Are you moving into more or less pain?
• What can you do both in and outside of the workout?
• Are you both transforming your shape and gaining ability?
• Are you increasing your capacity for miles without putting on mileage (aka Resilience)?

To successfully move beyond the old mindset, we need a better path and perspective and a better workout for delivering them. We propose:

1. Replace the old perspective of fitness with a more complete perspective and definition.
2. Replace technology with the body and simple tools that align with how the body is designed to move: bar/dumb/kettle-bells, mats, sandbags, clubs, medicine balls, jump boxes, hanging ropes and bars, jump ropes; hills, trees, fields, obstacles, water, and the world outdoors.
3. Effectively apply the Complete Movement Diet to every body, every age, every level of ability, and for every obstacle and adventure in life.

And to deliver workouts:

1. That deliver physical transformation, awe-inspiring ability, and resilient health.
2. That are social, team-based, and driven with supportive competition.
3. That challenge people to move, to think, and to engage more profoundly with themselves, with others, and the world outside the workout.

From this perspective, we move forward toward a more inspired, natural path. One that we walk (run, crawl, jump, throw, and lift, kick…) together. Join us!

Okay, okay. So, what is a Complete Movement Diet?

If yes to any of the above, this is your workshop.

The injury rates among runner and triathletes are staggering (as your feet, ankles, knees, hips, and lower back may well know). Why? Most often it’s a combination of overtraining on top of weakness and bad movement. And the truth is that overtraining could be a single run if it’s done with enough weakness and bad movement.

So, before you step another foot in front of the other, join us! We’ll cover two critical aspects of running:

1) The best exercises and movements patterns for a strong suspension system and body resilience
2) Critical gait adjustments to keep you on your feet and out of pain

Skinny-strong dudes represent!