Blogs Of Note VI

It's been a while since I've introduced posts from other blogs, but here are a few recent outstanding ones:



*Presentation Zen*
Garr Reynold's blog is a wonderful source of inspiration for anyone who teaches and/or gives presentations and lectures. This post, The Need For Participation, Compassion, and Community In The Classroom (and lecture hall), presents clips from a documentary "Children Full Of Life". Be prepared to be moved by children's pure emotion and the skill of a veteran grade school teacher as he leads and guides his class towards a more empathetic and compassionate sense of community.



*rosstraining.com*
Ross Enamait's site is full of great resources for fighters and people interested in bodyweight and home training options. I've heard nothing but good things about his books Never Gymless and Infinite Intensity - they are on my list of books to pick up asap. In this blog post, Ross gives a homemade dipping belt recipe: Dips & Pull-Ups - Homemade Belt



*Dave Draper's Iron Online Strength Conditioning Blog*
Dave and Laree Draper's blog has GREAT guest posts from authors such as yours truly and more well-known authors like Dan John and Gray Cook. In this post, Strong Does Not Necessarily Equal Tough, Gray Cook talks about the follow of trying to coach toughness, when what we are coaching is strength - the takeaway is that toughness comes from the strength training, not the other way around.

The point is not to make things unnecessarily hard; it’s to make really hard stuff become easier, safer and more manageable, and then move to something harder. Somehow squatting weight on an unstable surface does not seem that smart or necessary. Balancing on an unstable surface is a great way to train balance reactions, and squatting with weight is a great way to get strong, but combining the activities only reduces the benefit of each in an artificial attempt to be functional. You can’t fool nature; nature knows it’s a stupid exercise. Instead of trying to make our fluffy exercises harder with awkward angles and bad lines, we should pick some hard exercises that are time-honored and technically sound, and learn the art of making them easy.

Other Blogs Of Note Posts:

Blogs Of Note I

Blogs Of Note II

Blogs Of Note III

Blogs Of Note IV
Blogs Of Note V

Squat To A Million: 553,800lbs Down, 446,200lbs To Go

After 45 consecutive days of squatting, I have logged 553,800lbs. Weekly volume has creeped upward as I've been trying to move things along. Intensity has also kicked up a little - one can only do so many sets with 135lbs, I guess. I'm hoping to finish by June, but doing so will mean daily sessions of 14000lbs+ in May. We'll see.

Please donate to The American Red Cross or to Squat Rx - every dollar will go to charity and every $5 donation will put you in our May 14th drawing for Skwat! t-shirts.

If You Want A Skwat! T-Shirt...

We're going to have a raffle! For every $5 donated to disaster relief through Squat Rx, your name will be entered for a drawing to win a free Skwat! t-shirt. You can enter as much as you'd like. Every dollar donated will go to disaster relief. Please include a shipping address and t-shirt size when you donate.

On Saturday, May 14th, I will post a video drawing four donor names and then send a t-shirt to each of them. If I draw your name more than once, I will send you more than one t-shirt.

This summer, I will be visiting family in Japan and plan to donate this money raised to a charity in Sendai. So far, all donations have gone to the American Red Cross and I am very happy with that, but I would like to donate to people in Northern Japan more directly if possible. If I am unable to visit Northern Japan due to aftershocks or other circumstances, then I will donate through the Japanese Red Cross.

Thank you so much for everything you've done so far and I hope to hear from you. The raffle will be held on May 14th - please get your name in!


*I've had several people inquire about buying shirts directly since this post - I will likely have assorted sizes remaining after the raffle, but I will be giving many of those to the largest contributors whose names were not drawn. As of right now, the chances of your name being drawn are OUTSTANDING - hopefully many will enter, but so far not so many...

Turkish Wrestling

This is a yearly event in Turkey. I'd have zero interest in competing, but it would probably be fun to spend a day watching.

Squat To A Million - Day 33

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I will pass 400,000lbs.



Please donate: The American Red Cross

Guest Post From The World's Strongest Librarian

When it comes to book recommendations, there are very few people that I have absolute trust in - Josh Hanagarne is one of them. Josh is an amazing man and writer whose blog, The World's Strongest Librarian,  covers topics ranging from book reviews, to guitar, to Tourette's Syndrome, to strength & conditioning. He offered to write guest posts for readers of his blog and I jumped at the chance. Here is his review of the book "Emotional Awareness". I will be picking up a copy this weekend without fail. Enjoy!

Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance

Book Review: Emotional Awareness 
by Josh Hanagarne

 I first heard of Paul Ekman when I was reading about how to tell if someone was lying by their facial expressions. In his book Telling Lies he really gets into the rampant deceit in the marketplace, in politics, in marriage, and in all of our interpersonal relationships.

 I first heard of The Dalai Lama when…well, I don’t know when, but it was probably from Boris, who has recommended several wonderful books of Eastern thought and philosophy to me in the past.

Emotional Awareness is a series of dialogues between these two thinkers. I think this book is the literary equivalent of the East West smackdown from Rocky IV. It seemed like an odd match to me at first, but that passed quickly.

 These two aren’t antagonists, and I’m guessing there was no snappy soundtrack in the background during their good-natured verbal checks. 

 During their discussion they cover…far too many things to discuss. This is a book of deep thoughts that you could drown in if you started meandering. But I’ll tell you what was most relevant to me. Their discussions of what the Dalai Lama calls “afflictive emotions” and afflictive psychological states.

 Some of you may have followed my Tourette’s case on my own blog. In Emotional Awareness they spend a good deal of time talking about the “states” we exist in. Our mental and emotional conditions.

 These two great thinkers have managed to articulate so many of the things that I have only glimpsed the edges of. Their ideas about “better” vs “worse” align with most of my own—I’m just not as good as talking about it as they are.

 Aristotle described the sense of falling in love with someone as something similar to what I call déjà vu. When we met a person we are entranced by there is a familiarity there that Aristotle attributed to (I’m paraphrasing) the remembering of something we already knew—this is a rough notion of Aristotelian pre-existence. That we don’t necessarily learn things, but we remember things we once knew.

 The reason I mention this is because it is how reading Emotional Awareness felt to me. Their discussions of contempt, nirvana, parenting, attachment, and other concepts all felt familiar to me. Perhaps this simply means that I used to have common sense and now it’s gone.

 Regardless, if you’ve ever enjoyed any of Boris’ or my own reading recommendations, I think Emotional Awareness will be worth your time.

 Thanks Boris.

About the author

 Josh Hanagarne reviews books and more at World’s Strongest Librarian. He is also The Dean of Dunce Academy, has cured his own extreme case of Tourette’s Syndrome,  wishes they made pants in his size, and runs a beauty of an online book club, if he does say so himself.

Why?

After 30 days and 30 squat sessions, I have logged 346,135lbs. I go to the squat racks everyday without feelings of entitlement or expectation. I hope to squat at least 10,000lbs per session, but I am not attached to that idea. If my knees or lower back are a little more noticeable than usual, I message, I stretch, I use "Atomic Balm", I look for other squatting options - so far, I've done high-bar, low-bar, manta-ray, Top Squat, and kettlebell squats (among others). Squats kettlebells, or with a sandbag shouldered to one side seem to work magic with mobility and for "evening me out". 

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far and thank you for checking in on this journey. My goal is to finish by June 1st, but no promises.

Please donate: The American Red Cross

The Few And The Proud

One of the best training partners I ever had was a man old enough to be my father - Bob was a Marine and a Vietnam War veteran. He never missed a training session. He never skipped a set. And he never, ever complained about training aches and pains. I think the closest thing I ever heard him say what could have been construed as a mild complaint was "I think I'll take an extra 'Aleve' tonight." I try to remember him as I hobble around, feeling sorry for myself.

This video has made the rounds in blog-land, but I thought it was nice. It gave me some new warm-fuzzies towards The Corp and even though I'm a Pride fan, the UFC as well.

One Month Later...

It's been one month since the tsunami hit northern Japan. I've been squatting for 28 days now. 323,215lbs completed. 676,785lbs to go. I'm going to see if I can finish by June but no promises.

Please donate - American Red Cross


Natsukawa Rimi - Asu To Iu Hi Ga

Words Of Wisdom - Dan Millman

Body Mind Mastery: Training For Sport and Life

Take this amusing test: A door swings open before you and you see a sink full of water. The drain is plugged, and the water is running. The water begins to pour over the sink's edge. Do you turn off the water and pull the plug, or do you grab a mop?

Many athletes, and others facing the problems of daily life, spend a lot of time "mopping up" - dealing with symptoms. Many couples, for example, argue constantly about various topics when they need to focus instead on communicating more effectively. Developing mental talent involves "pulling the plug" on the primary source of emotional turbulence and physical tension.

One way to appreciate your present state is to contrast it with that of a typical three-month-old. Babies store many of the impressions of movement and energy they perceive in the world. But because they can't talk, and because they don't yet have complex associations, beliefs, opinions, values, and attitudes relative to those impressions, they don't think much about anything. Children don't philosophize, conceptualize, or theorize. Their attention is entirely focused in the present moment, without judgement or expectation. While their intellects are underdeveloped, their attention is also free of the complex fears, angers, attachments, expectations, plans, biases, self-imagery, and self-criticism that characterize most adult minds. Such "ignorance" is bliss.

Babies are body mind masters in their clarity, relaxation, sensitivity, and openness to the environment, and in their simple, direct approach to life - free of mental reaction and resistance. These qualities account not only for their outstanding learning abilities but also for their innate charm and spontaneity.

When you pay close attention to what you are doing, your mind quiets; and in that moment of silence, the symphony begins.

- Body Mind Mastery: Training For Sport and Life (Dan Millman, pp. 41-42)

Man Cannot Live By Squats Alone

Squat To A Million - Day 26
After the morning session of squats and axle deadlifts, my hips and knees were aching. So, in the evening, I went back for pull-ups, Bulgarian split squats, and Twist Yo' Wrist. Not surprisingly, my hips and knees felt MUCH better after the Bulgarian split squats in the evening- it's like truing a bicycle wheel by tightening some spokes and loosening others.

I have a long way to go on this million pound journey and occasional tune-ups are going to be necessary to finish strong and healthy. To that end, I'll be careful about intelligent exercise selection and the inclusion of stretching and maybe a massage or two if I can.

After Day #26: 290,375lbs down, 709,625lbs to go.

Please give if you can. The American Red Cross

Day 25 - ガンバレ日本！

I was watching a Japanese news program on satellite tv this morning. It was tough to watch a grown-man who works at the nuclear plant in Fukushima choke up at a press conference as he reported their frustrations. It was tough listening to people relate stories of helplessly watching others being swept away. It was tough seeing people trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives after being relocated in school gymnasiums and vacant apartment units.
I had time for a short training session after watching this. I did some higher rep sets and I was about to call it a day when my iTunes (set to randomly shuffle songs) decided to spit out Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" - it's one of those tunes that always gets to me. Always has - probably always will. Maybe I keep it on my computer just to remind me that I'm not so badass. Whenever it decides to play, I end up fast forwarding through it, but not today...
Please give: The American Red Cross