Sorry, another link backlog:
Google Blogoscoped embeds Amy Walker's "21 Accents" Video, and conducts an e-mail interview. Regional accents. Fantastic.
Chris at Conditioning Research embeds a smooth Turkish Get-up variation by Scott Sonnon.
An extension cord, garden hose, and you're set: Martin House-To-Go's Fresh Start.
Here's a workout I've tried a couple times now that I like. I apologize, but it does call for a C2 rower, although you could simulate the fatigue with a 20-second all out exercise bike sprint (on a Schwinn Airdyne would be even better). Still, your gym may have a C2. Check the dusty, unused corner of the gym reserved for pieces of equipment that cause real misery.
Anyway, the workout probably doesn't seem like much (and maybe it's just that my off-season conditioning slide is worse than I thought):
By round three I could feel the burn in my legs, and round five was pretty darn uncomfortable. Surprising, given how much rest I was allowing myself. I think what made it so hard was giving a true maximum effort. I can't pull 100 meters any harder, and on the burpees I made a concerted effort to (a) do them as fast as possible and, this is key, (b) jump as high as possible with each jump.
I don't know if you're like me, but when I do burpees I tend to short-change the jump in favor of getting the reps done faster (after all, more time in the air hurts your reps/minute). Burpees with a max. effort jump torch the legs in a hurry (and they are already fatigued from the C2 sprint).
Anyway, give it a shot, report back!
Three goodies today:
Amazing what you can do with index cards and a sharp knife. Scroll down for the time lapse video too. Funny to watch the Cheez-its in that one.
I've started deadlifting for the first time. Bought a 300 lb. Olympic weight set from Dick's, and dove right in. After a couple weeks I'd worked myself up to 330 lbs. (strapped another 30 lbs. onto the bar) and was feeling all proud of myself. I mean, at a bodyweight of 200 lbs. I know I'm not even approaching respectability until I get to 2xBW (400 lbs. for me) but I was still pleased since I'd never done anything but dumbbell work before, working at much smaller loads.
Then I did what I should have done in the first place. I re-read these three fantastic articles on the deadlift by Eric Cressey:
... and I shot some video of myself.
Holy crap, MY BACK! Slightly rounded at the bottom, very rounded at the top, and my shoulders were practically hanging from their sockets. Humiliating. I'm going back to 135 lbs., going to video every session, and only move up as good form allows. I consider myself lucky I didn't hurt myself over the past couple weeks.
I know I've read somewhere that you really can't coach yourself when it comes to lifting, and after this experience I can see why. If you're lifting without feedback it's really hard to know what your body is really doing. However, I do think the combination of excellent freely available information on the Internet and home video get your pretty darn close. I can look at a good deadlift and compare it to my deadlift and see quite clearly where I'm lacking, and what adjustments I have to make. The video was such a stark contrast to the picture in my mind. Really essential, I think, if you aren't being coached.
So, a couple quick equipment recommendations:
YouTube: Charlie Bit my Finger! I love the play of emotions across big brother's face. Probably a little bit of rebellion against our masters coming into play.