begin to dig

The Changing Foot of the Vibram FiveFingeres Wearer: Review of feet size change over time

2009-11-08T17:30:00.005Z

I've been wearing Vibram FiveFingers (VFF's) for about a year now. Yup, a year. While the challenge of what to do out doors when either sub zero or wet wintery are still a mystery, wearing these shoes for this length of time has let me observe/experience an intriguing phenomena about which i've seen little (ok no) comment: feet changing size.I'll say right now that i measure my feet by my second

Getting the Rhythm of the RTK Long Cycle Dips (i think): Return of the Kettlebell Update 7

2009-11-06T11:35:00.009Z

This past Medium Day of Return of the Kettlebell was the Middle Weight Long Cycle day. Having been away from this for the past few weeks, i was curious to see if i could get back in the groove and what it would feel like. It felt GOOD. Why? i think i've got the rhythm of this sucker figured out - at least for myself. Why? i understand the double dip function better - i think - thanks to getting

Vibrams FiveFingers Update: Airports and Running up that Hill - in winter?

2009-11-05T11:52:00.009Z

Well, after months of successful walkthroughs through security at international airports in VFF's with no footwear removal requests, i finally hit an airport - Phoenix Arizona - where the staff said "those are classified as shoes; take them off" Is there no end to the in(s)anity? Is it ridiculous to see thin-soled foot wear as possible explosive material? is there a rationale for this? or have

Why Not "Train Through Pain"?

2009-11-03T11:23:00.011Z

Lately i've had the opportunity to listen to a lot of athletes talk about various injuries, ongoing problems, and how many of them have tried to "train through the pain." Probably we've all done it (do it). The way our nervous systems are wired, however, that's a sub-optimal response to pain that can often lead to more problems. This post is meant to be a quick look at some strategies on how to

Enhancing the Viking Push Press with Bone Rhythm: more Progress with Return of the Kettlebell

2009-11-01T16:41:00.009Z

While the Hard Style approach teaches tension as strength, it is also concerned with movement efficiency. One of the best and most simple techniques to bring efficiency and power into a movement is to harmonize the timing and forces of the joints used in the move. Eric Cobb in z-health refers to this as Bone Rhythm. In this article on my continuing experience with the double kettlebell work of

Move or Die? Movement as Optimal Path to Strength and Well Being, Part 1

2009-10-28T19:10:00.019Z

This post is an intro to why *good* movement is a big frikin' panacea to most of what ails us. No kidding. Move well; be well. In this series, we're going to look at different attributes of movement - joints, muscles, skin, lymph everything - but first, let's start with an overview of what movement seems to mean to our governing system - the "always on" part of our bodies that monitors and

Algae Oil vs Fish Oil & Tips to Destress

2009-10-28T17:47:00.004Z

Here's just a couple of pointers for b2d'ers.Ryan D Andrews, RD, over at Precision Nutrition has written a nice summary of why we might want to consider algae oil in lieu of the fish stock depleting fish oil.If you can't see the whole thing, the take aways are that fish stocks are being depleted at an alarming rate - some of this due to the 3000% raise in sales of fish oil since the start of the

Mobility vs Flexibility - is there a difference?

2009-10-22T03:41:00.003+01:00

Often it seems the terms Mobility and Flexibility are used interchangeably. While related, they're different, and the differences are worth considering. It's hard to find concrete references to definitions of the terms, though. The best ones i know is that flexibility is about what a movement around a joint is possible to be, whereas mobility is about the control of the range of motion one has in

The Pump: What is it, Does it Work and if so How and for What Kind of Muscle Growth?

2009-10-17T14:13:00.014+01:00

Ahnold reportedly loved "the pump" but what is the "pump" really in terms of muscle building? While it's easy to explain both what happens in generating a pump, and how to create a pump - it's delightfully easy - it's hard to find any evidence behind the incredible claims about why this effect is said to be "essential" to achieving growth.What is the Pump and How Get One?Generally speaking the

RTK Heavy Press Day OWNed me: another frickin' learning experience session

2009-10-16T16:47:00.006+01:00

I've said that so far each session of Return of the Kettlebell has been a learning experience. Usually it's been about technique. The start of this latest block, it was about reading comprehension. But no matter the type of learning, the result goes to the body - and the mind.The first time i did the RTK pressing block i did it wrong. I did it as ETK with two kb's. Even as such, double 12's for

A gal DELIBERATELY gaining "mass" (not weight). How can this be?

2009-10-14T12:25:00.008+01:00

So, i'm female, like to be lean and ripped AND i'm trying to gain mass - a new way to say "gain weight." What is that about? If awhile ago someone had told me i'd be looking at mass going up rather than down i would have paled, horrified. So what's happened?Two things:i've for a long time wanted defined strong and strong looking arms. But perhaps more importantly, over the past few years, i've

Return of the kettlebell Update 4: C&J heels fix and Balancing the Press, Swing Sets and a Pain in the Quad

2009-10-11T16:13:00.007+01:00

This entry (4th RTK update) is about high heels in the C&J, the peculiarity that is uneven pressing, and swinging between sets in practicing Return of the Kettlebell (RTK). Also a question about pistols, pain and mass gain.C&J - always learning. DangIn my last episode i'd just lost my C&J form, and got it back noticing i was doing more of a C&J GS jump in the second hop than is appropriate for

What's Flexion/Extension Eccentric/Concentric Negative/Positive - move basics

2009-10-08T14:47:00.005+01:00

I am directionally impaired. If someone asks "do you remember if we go right or left?" and i say "left" do yourself a favour and go right. Likewise when i was trying to learn about muscle action it took me ages to unpack flexion and extension from eccentric and concentric contraction.So for any of you folks out there trying to understand what a negative contraction in flexion might look like or

Why Wait till After Eating to work out?

2009-10-07T19:12:00.005+01:00

You may have been told wait at least forty minutes until after eating to work out, or to go swimming. And maybe we all kinda think we know why - if we work out on a full stomach, we'll just hurl. Hmm. Maybe.Apparently one of the actual reasons for this invective to wait is more about blood supply. When we eat, our gut gets very active. That means a lot of the blood supply is being focused on our

Return of the Kettlebell Update 3: Totally Losing It - the Jerk

2009-10-07T17:20:00.004+01:00

Have you ever lost it in a practice? Like lost your form by trying to think about what you are doing? that's what happened to me today. I wish i had today's RTK practice on tape as an object lesson in self-confusion. I totally lost it with what the heck i was doing in the jerk part of the C&J.After doing the C&J happily for rounds of RTK, i started thinking about the form on the DVD vs mine. In

B2D Readers: b2d slight reorg & invitation for you

2009-10-04T16:56:00.005+01:00

Hello b2d readers, grok'ers, folks who've subscribed by reader or email, and folks dropping by. Just wanted to let you know i've reorganized b2d a little bit to make it into what i hope will be a more efficient resource for you: adding Related posts to the end of articles for browsing a larger context, adding standing article indices to make browsing b2d easier, and casting an open invitation for

B2D General Fitness Practice Article Index

2009-10-04T15:52:00.015+01:00

Thinking about general fitness from mobility work to deadlifting to how freeing your feet is one of the best things we can do for our well being. What does the research tell us about dealing with DOMS, or about optimizing the mitochondrial benefits of cardio, or about warm ups (and whether we need one). This index will stay current with these and other topics touched on in b2d.The idea is just

B2D Select Kettlebell Articles Index

2009-10-04T10:38:00.022+01:00

What's a "perfect rep"? Where does "bone rhythm" come into the kettlebell front squat? Why "fire the lats" in the swing? What does breathing have to do with KB pressing? How alternate low and high volume presses? What's the point of the high hip bridge in the Hardstyle or Kalos SThenos Turkish Get Up? What's double kettlebell work like? What's teh difference between cardio and Vo2max work with

Nutrient timing may make difference - for strength, body comp, muscle fiber...

2009-10-03T16:09:00.008+01:00

Could changing when you have a recovery drink have a significant effect on strength, body comp and other performance factors? It may be that simple. If you like your workout routine, but want it to produce better results, you may find that changing one thing has a not insignificant effect. There seems to be significant benefit to strength, muscle fiber, body composition and muscle glycogen uptake

Return of the Kettlebell check in: relax, look and breath

2009-09-30T12:45:00.006+01:00

In the clean and jerk sessions of Return of the Kettlebell (prelim overview here) there is a still point, it seems, that comes from double kettlebell sessions and this particular move that opens up a kind of Next Level of performance - or perhaps it's just me, so let me try to explain what i mean.When i recently wrote about starting into RTK, i said it focuses the mind. I mean it. And i *really*

The reusable tea infuser for Super Great Green Tea at Work Bliss

2009-09-29T19:48:00.009+01:00

Green tea is grand, isn't it? But how have that great green tea joy at work? I've written a couple times about green tea's effect for health, well being and Fat Loss. But let's be clear: while any green tea may do, i'm always thinking not of the bagged detritus from the sweepings of the tea processing floor, but about real japanese green tea. Whether the humble genmaicha, common sencha or the

"Lean Muscle "- muscle is lean - do you mean lean mass?

2009-09-26T14:44:00.004+01:00

Just a quicky about terminology. I've heard many folks referring to building "lean muscle" and burning fat. Even seemingly knowledgeable sites do this. Consider this wikianswer response about building "lean muscle" A review of Staley's muscle logic refers to building "lean muscle mass." Or just do a search for "lean muscle" and check how many sites come back with that term in the title.The thing

P90X Review/Critque Part 3b: Workout Alternatives and Why to Consider Them - or "Life is Short & we're complex"

2009-09-22T19:53:00.054+01:00

Tempus Fugit. Part 3b of this P90X critique/review looks at alternatives to P90X workouts. Three reasons to consider alternatives: length, variety, quality. A P90X workout week is about 7hours minimum, and, as we saw in part 2, despite what seems like incredible variety, it is all one type of effort: aerobic endurance. The question posed therefore, is, is P90X optimal bang for that 7hour buck?

DOMS Part 2 - what works to reduce/eliminate delayed onset muscle soreness:

2009-09-20T16:50:00.018+01:00

In part 1 we looked at what DOMS is and what's been tried and DOESN'T work to reduce any of its markers from swelling to soreness to reduced ROM and force production.In this part (II) we look at a range of strategies that seem to attenuate DOMS in a number of ways. My goal in this article is to get to an approach that requires the least gear and seems to have the most benefit.You will be amazed!

DOMS Part 1: What is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and what doesn't work to reduce/eliminate it

2009-09-20T15:10:00.019+01:00

Ever get sore a day or two after a workout? Muscle pain, muscle soreness or muscle stiffness that is felt 12-48 hours after exercise is usually known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. The tell tale signs of DOMS are sore muscles, unable to move such muscles in normal range of motion, reduced strength in those limbs. It usually happens after trying out a new workout or doing new type of