CST Breaks the Age Barrier

[admin]

An amusing incident happened to me today. My wife had scheduled our annual carpet cleaning. The young man who showed up to do it was bright, energetic, and he obviously worked out. He looked healthy and strong, with a body builder’s physique, and when I enquired about his workouts, he told me he did benches, arms, legs, etc., about four days a week. After working his way into the room I have my Clubbells and kettlebells in, he asked me about those ‘funny looking bats’.
So I showed him some simple exercises, Swipes, Hydras, Gamma Casts, simple Cleans to Orders, etc. Then I gave him the Clubbells and asked him to give it a go. Both of us were totally amazed. I was surprised that someone who looked that strong was struggling so much with the Clubbells. He was surprised someone 30 years his senior (read old man) to his 26 years could move those seemingly light ‘bats’ so effortlessly in ways he just couldn’t do.

The lesson here? Circular Strength Training delivers! It has made me functionally stronger than I even realized. I tend to compare myself to Scott and Doug and Chris and Jack and others who totally rock with Clubbells. But here I was out-doing someone less than half my age. And why? Because I have trained my body as a whole, for functional real-world strength and fitness, using an approach and a tool that is simply superior. Its one thing to feel and believe this, it quite another to see it in real life. This fellow had approached his body as a pile of parts. CST engages the whole body. Bar-bells make you look strong. Clubbells make you be strong. I don’t know how else to put it.

Friends, this was a real eye-opener for me. Obviously, I already love CST. But this incident showed me how effective it truly is. Never doubt it. Keep doing WW and BB and CBs and BMEs and you are going to amaze yourself and your friends.

[Scott Sonnon]

Great report, Michael! See you soon, amigo!

[rbibbs]

Great story Michael! Imagine what "carpet-boy" would have felt like watching 115# 18yo girls do the exercises he was having trouble with! :twisted:

Coach Szolek was here in December and did an abbreviated workshop with my kickboxing students. We've been doing adapted CST work with handweights for a couple months, and they could do all the Clubbell basics smoothly and confidently.

Having the proper tools is definitely the way to go, but the real magic is in the CST concept.

Rick

[Jarlo Ilano]

Though I absolutely do not doubt that CST training is better than whatever "pumping" exercises the young man has done...

Wouldn't specificity of training be a part of your ability to wield the clubbells better than he?

And also I would also say that barbells have a long history of creating strong men, not just strong looking men.. John Grimek and Tommy Kono come directly to mind of men that not only had great physiques but wonderful functional strength as well.

Not to be contrarian, and I thank you for sharing your story, it is very inspirational. But I also believe that it is more than just the tools, but also the effort and intelligence that is brought to the tools, whether they be barbells, clubbells, or heavy rocks.

Again, your achievements are very motivating, and I hope to achieve some degree of your success with the clubbells I have just ordered. I just wanted to throw my unsolicited opinions in there! :D

Jarlo

[rbibbs]

Congrats Jarlo, you'll enjoy the Clubbells.

I think perhaps the distinction is, that lifting freeweights makes one very adept at lifting freeweights, and articulating Clubbells makes one very adept at articulating, which can be more applicable to real-life and athletic strength applications outside the 'lifting' idiom.

Could John or Tommy scratch the middle of their backs? With your Clubbell strength, you'll still be able to. Devil's in the details. :twisted:

Aloha,
Rick

[Jarlo Ilano]

Rick,

Well, John Grimek was well known for his debunking of the musclebound strongman myth, when he performed handstands, full backbends, into the splits. Definitely one of my favorite strongmen. And having lived here in Hawaii, you must know the legend that is Tommy Kono, he built himself up from a sickly kid in the the japanese internment camps, to an Olympic weightlifting champion. But that's just details. :twisted:

Again, its not that I doubt the clubbells power to optimize structure, its just that I believe that proper use of the barbell can also be very useful as well. Maybe it is just another way of saying what you summed up in your statement.

"Having the proper tools is definitely the way to go, but the real magic is in the CST concept. "

Because as Michael stated "the fellow had approached his body as a pile of parts". Which is definitely the wrong approach to take, barbell notwithstanding.

Perhaps Clubbells and CST make it "easier", because it facilitates using the body as a whole. But that doesn't necessarily mean that barbells can't take you there as well, it just requires a better approach, as it could lend itself to you treating your body as "parts".

But perhaps this is just dogs barking at the moon :) . Though I am young, I just have a soft spot for a loaded York barbell, and the athletes who transformed themselves with it, because for a period of time, I considered myself one of the those transformed.

Thanks for the conversation, this forum is consistently filled with great thoughts from great people.

Jarlo

[rbibbs]

Thanks Jarlo, and you're right. There is a 'smart way' to work barbells and dumbbells productively. Sure wasn't the way I tried it initially, I pulled tendons I didn't even know I had. :roll: I guess the rule for dumbbells I overlooked is, the user has to be smarter than the equipment.

Rick