The Art of Power

Today is the 3rd May 2009. The day after Manny Pacquiao effortlessly dismantled Ricky the Hitman Hatton within two rounds. Something no other fighter, including Floyd Mayweather Jnr had been able to achieve. Pacquiao was the lighter fighter in the bout, but his power and accuracy was mind blowing.



Manny Pacquiao, under the wing of legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach displayed phenomenal power, and not just in the physical sense. Allow me to elaborate, from a simplified view;

POWER = FORCE x DISTANCE / TIME

This does not take into account the the level of awareness, or the ability of the person to exact their will. We function as an integrated unit, physical capacity alone will not enable us to successfully apply physical power. Mental capacity, or rather mental power has several components. Two major components include

1) Awareness, or Mindfullness.

"Mindfullness is the capacity to recognise things as they are."
- Thich Nhat Hanh - Zen Master

Awareness or insight enables you to see clearly, and acts as a knife that cuts through the forest to clear a path.

2) Ability To Respond; Response-Ability (responsiblity)

The ability to respond to the given situation, is the application of true power. To be flexible enough to adapt to exact your purpose, rather than rigid and set conditioned patterns only.

Freddie Roach in the post fight interview made some telling statements.

“This was no surprise, “Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch. He’s a sucker for the right hook. That’s what we worked on throughout our entire camp.
Ricky fights the same way over and over."

“I’ve watched so many tapes of Ricky in the last two months. I know him as well as my own fighter.”

(you can read the full thing at the Next Big Sports Event website).


"So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one. If you do not know others and do not know yourself you will be imperiled in every single battle." - Sun Tzu: Art of War

Cj Swaby V Svetlana Writtle

I've known Svetlana for about 5 years now. She was one of the pioneers in the first UK Kettlebell explosion. A knowledgeble teacher, an awesome athlete and a friend, Svet is by far one of the most outstanding UK Kettlebell coaches - bar none.

Never one to hold back, or shy away from saying what she thinks, when I asked Svet to put down a Kettlebell routine on video she jumped at the chance. So ladies and gentlemen, meet Svetlana....



To find out more about Svetlana, or her unique Kettlebell Training System go to her website www.powerandbeauty.co.uk

Full Throttle Conditioning: Workout of the Week

Another fast paced, total body beasting at today's class. However we still focused on quality of movement not just work capacity.

At the request of some of you who are unable to make it down each week to the class, we'll be posting up each session.

Here's what we got up to...

Full Throttle Conditioning Fitness Class

Warm up: Joint Mobility and dynamic movement: 10 minutes

Fighting Fit Circuit
(1 minute per exercise)

Skipping (Speed rope)
Burpees (Any variation)
Hand to Hand Kettlebell Swings

x 2 Rounds. No rest.

Rest 1 Minute then complete again.


Kettlebell Conditioning

Heavy Kettlebell Single arm Jerk (Sprint pace: 14 - 16 Reps per minute)
x 1 minute per arm

Double Kettlebell Rack position hold x 1 minute (drop down a weight)

This equals 1 round. Complete 3 rounds with no rest.

So for example I used a 32kg for the single arm jerks, then dropped down to double 24kg for the rack position. When doing the single arm jerk, you are not looking to develop absolute strength, but strength endurance and power. So I used a weight that I could manage a cadence of 14 - 16 reps per minute.


The Finisher Circuit

Sandbag Flips
Handstand walk outs or Handstand hold (against a wall)
Lateral bunny hops over a bench

1 minute per exercise. x 2 Circuits with no rest.


Cool down and stretch out.

Job done!!

This was a challenging session (read: Metabolloxed) that had us all making primal noises that should probably not be made by a civilised human being - no word of a lie. Tough, but good fun.

For details of class times and location check it out here:

Don't Just knock it out - lock it out

When doing high repetitions, or working for extended periods of time with Kettlebell jerks or snatches its easy to get caught up in the numbers. Sub par technique combined with fatigue can hinder your progress in the numbers game. Resist the urge to simply knock out the numbers, and spend time breaking down each component of technique that requires fixing.

From personal experience, working on the lockout on the single arm jerk reaped huge benefits for my snatch, while the lockout on the double jerk is a key component that I work on. But problems are often further down the chain. Kettlebell Coach and World Champion Cathering Imes wrote an excellent piece for trouble shooting in the lock out in the American Kettlebell Club blog. I highly recommend it for anyone wishing to improve their numbers game and perfect technique. Read and enjoy.

CJS Fitness Supports Charity 10K Bone Marrow-thon

Having lost a brother to Cancer, Charities supporting the cause are close to my heart. Couple that with a sporting event and for me you've got a winning combination. That's why I, and CJS Fitness are supporting the ACLT 10K Bone Marrow-thon this summer, 6th June 2009 at Regents Park.

The ACLT are an established charity that promote bone marrow and blood donation. The ACLT was founded in 1996 by Beverly De-gale and Orin Lewis three years after their son Daniel De-Gale was diagnosed with Leukemia. The ordeal they experienced finding a suitable donor prompted them to establish the African Caribbean Leukemia Trust (ACLT) so that others would not have to go through the same traumatic experience.

How is CJS Fitness Supporting the ACLT?

Cj Swaby will be leading free training runs 6 weeks prior to the 10K Bone Marrow-thon to make sure all participants are in top shape. The running groups will be suitable for all levels. Full details will be given when you join up for the run. You can do that here

CJS Fitness has also provided training programmes from complete beginners to advanced, so that you will have complete confidence in your ability come race day. The training programmes will be emailed to you when the ACLT have received your registration.

Cj Swaby has also signed up to do the 10K Bone Marrow-thon and will be trotting around Regents Park with the rest of the runners.

So whip out your running gear, and get going for a charity that's making a difference.

Is The Future Of Our Health In Our Dietary Past?

When we have lost our way, it is easy to resort to the past. Past behaviours, trends and habits are safe. We know what to expect, we know the outcome. But it has us stuck in the past, without the insight or motivation to move forward.

Globally, unsustainable and unethical farming methods have had detrimental effects on our collective health. The 2005 Animation The Meatrix highlights important issues, it seems that we have strayed from the path.



However, does resorting to the dietary methods of our ancestors necessarily mean it will work for us? Ori Hofmekler's Warrior Diet has been the front runner in recent years with great success, advocating a return to the ways of our ancestors. The principles outlined below are simple to introduce;
"
1. Eat One Main Meal at Night
There is evidence that humans are nocturnal eaters, inherently programmed for undereating and toiling during the day, followed by overeating and relaxing at night.

2. Go Low on the Food Chain
Researchers believe that the human genome is programmed for a late Paleolithic world. As hunter/gatherers we're better adapted to pre-agricultural food– i.e. chemical-free fruit, vegetables, roots, sprouted legumes, nuts, seeds, fertile eggs, marine food (wild catch), and dairy from grass fed animals.


3. Exercise While Undereating
It has been established that we are inherently carrying survival mechanisms that benefit us when triggered by physical or nutritional stress such as exercise or undereating. Combining exercise with undereating will amplify the beneficial mechanisms of both – increasing our ability to utilize energy, improve strength and resist fatigue."

For the warrior diet, being "OK" is just not good enough. There is a distinct difference between living and surviving.

It doesn't stop there. The organisation, Optimum Nutrition in London which has strong research and evidence based backing has recently adopted a similar stance. Optimum Nutrition have teamed up with key partners to deliver a conference on Saturday 4th April in London entitled, "The Nutritional Needs of Mankind".

Looking at current farming trends, and the implications for our future and the wellbeing of mankind, the conference will be indepth and comprehensive. Promoting key principles such as;

1. Go back to eating simple wholesome food
2. Try to obtain local produce
3. Remember we are forever linked to our environment

They go on to say, "Although we cannot go back in time, we can learn a lot from our ancestors...There is much well-being to gain if we remember that species co-evolve with the other species and that we co-evolve with our environment." Wise words.

For details of the April conference check out the Optimum Nutrition website.

UK Open Kettlebell Championships 2009 Announced

The UK Open Kettlebell Championships have been announced. The event, Sponsored by the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation (IKFF) was preliminarily mentioned at the IKFF CKT course in Edinburgh, Scotland, a few weeks back. It can now be confirmed the date is in fact 18th July 2009. Money raised from the Championships will be donated to charity.

The event promises to be the largest Kettlebell competition in the UK set to international standards, and is open to all Kettlebell Lifters (regardless of style) or nationality. The UK Open Kettlebell Championships is being organised the UK end by IKFF UK Advisor, Jonathan Lewis (of Industrial Strength London and Balance Physiotherapy) and Cj Swaby of CJS Fitness.

A group has been set up on Ning which outlines all the details to the Championships as they unfold. The site will also provide online training, programs, forums, video clips and an opportunity to get together and train with like minded individuals wherever you may be located.

While the focus of the site is currently the UK Open Kettlebell Championships, the purpose of the Kettlebell Triibe is to set the standard and help Kettlebell Competitions in the UK flourish. You can join here.

Here's a sneak look of what a competition involves