Volume VIII Issue 2
Spring is here!
I cant be happier seeing Get Up! moving
forward again. Our first reboot issue was
outstanding and Markus does a great job
of editing. The key to Get Up!, as always,
has been the archives: Years from now,
someone will discuss some gem in this
edition and lives will change. I am confident
of that, as it happens with the old stuff all
the time.
In this edition, Mark Wilson walks us
through the journey of 10,000 swings. I
only listen to people who have DONE the
whole thing, not armchair quarterbacks
who think about it. Chris Rice has some
experience, too, and the story of his lifting
meet in Vietnam should inspire some to get
off the damn couch.
Our Mission? To Teach Everyone:
1. The body is one piece
2. There are three kinds of strength training:
Putting weight overhead
Picking it off the ground
Carrying it for time or distance
3. All training is complementary
March 2015
Dan Martin, the master of minimum, gives
us his Dan Martin Program Minimum. You
can do more, of course, but why?
We welcome Charley Radcliffe to our staff.
This is an inspiring read and his journey
(all uphillHa!) is amazing.
Also, Tom Barrett reminds us that, like the
proverbial shark, we must keep moving to
stay alive.
Finally, Vinnie is quickly making himself
our Go To Author for the new editions.
Nothing but Knowledge Bombs from
this guy!
Enjoy and welcome back!
In this Issue:
Two Decades to Tomorrow, by Dan John
Dan Martins Program Minimum,
by Dan Martin
City Boy to Mountain Man,
by Charley Radcliffe
Taking a Swing at Things, by Mark Wilson
Can Do in Vietnam, by Chris Rice
Socrates and Squats, by Vincent Tanner
Keep Moving!, by Tom Barrett
Two Decades to Tomorrow
Dan John
When an email comes in asking me to
coach someone online, I never know how
to respond. I understand that this is quite
common today, but I can never figure out
how to get across the true give and take
of coaching someone in the Real World.
Its easy money, but I always refuse. For me,
writing a program for someone takes a lot
of time and energy. Sure, we all know that.
But, it also takes a vision. I call this vision
the Twos Ladder as we need to agree and
understand each other for a fair number of
steps before I can even begin talking about
fives sets of five reps or three sets of three.
Two Decades
The foundation is Two Decades. Twenty
years from now, what do you want to be
doing? Usually, two decades is far enough
away that the glitz and glamor of the
professional sports or the physique career
will be past. Hopefully, not long past, but
generally, twenty years is far enough ahead
so we can look at health and longevity as
trumping abs and biceps.
I dont want training injuries to ruin the
quality of life in twenty years. Yes, of
course, there will be hurt, pain, injury and
agony, but lets look down the line to see if
this is going to be worth it.
Its the foundational question: what do you
want to be like and do in twenty years?
Stepping up to asking what we want in two
years usually gets us in the wishing well.
Two years seems long enough to gain mass,
lean out, improve technique and develop
the system to get ones goals.
There are some wonderful follow up
2
questions. My favorite: Will achieving this
goal make you successful? Success and
achieving a goal, like most wise people will
tell you, are not always the same thing.
Looking ahead two years also allows us to
dream a bit about the perfect future.
There will be flying cars.
From here, I take it short term: What can
we do in the next two weeks? We cant
fully make ourselves slaves to good
habits, as my college coach explained
elite performance, but we can take care
of small things. Is the bedroom dark and
quiet? Do we have the right equipment,
including shoes? Do we have a means to
get to the training facilities? These are the
little questions that make or break the two
year goals. Sometimes, shopping trumps
training. If we need something, from
equipment to supplements, the sooner we
deal with it the better. Next, lets circle a
problem and spend two weeks addressing it.
In the next two years, you will have 52 two-
week blocks to improve things. That is both
plenty and desperately little time.
Today
Next, I address Today. What can we do
today? What do you know? Can you do the
Olympic lifts? Can you hinge and squat?
If not, thats what we do. We begin with
the Fundamental Human Movements. We
begin with small movements that will lead
to complex movements. We teach, we learn
and we relearn.
Tomorrow, in many ways, trumps today. The
most important thing you can do is show
up. And, from there, keep showing up. 300
moderate and progressive training sessions
a year trump three really hard days the first
week of January.
 As fine as todays workout might be,
tomorrow is even more important.
Movement and Breathing
Finally, I think there are two sides to
training: Movement and Breathing. With
powerful movements like hinges and
squats, the breathing has to be more like a
locomotive. For planks and grinds, the high
tension (I call it anaconda strength) calls
for tight breathing that sounds like Tsssst!
Tsssst! and helps keep things strong. And
recovery work needs recovery breathing. I
tend to teach the puffing breathing, if the
person cant naturally adapt to it.
That is what we will focus on. For
movement, we will seek grace, beauty
and elegance on the road to mastery. At
the same time, we will try to increase
volume and load over time to build the
system. For breathing, we will use it as a
tool to work with movement and a general
measurement to assess what is going on
inside.
Ideally, we will work on movement and
breathing until the moment you dont move
and dont breathe ever again.
Photo: Dan John
3
Dan Martins Program Minimum
Dan Martin
Dan is a former firefigher who retired after
38 years in the department. When he is not
training, he enjoys the married life with two
grown children and three grandchildren. He
is also a founding member of the Coyote
Point Kettlebell Club and the clubs official
Maker of Sammies.
As trainees, we spend an inordinate
amount of time and energy searching for
training perfection when its the doing that
always providesresults.
Action Plan:
Warm-Up:
1. Five Minutes Concept 2 Rowing
2. Stoney Stretch
Lifting:
1. Goblet Squat x 5
2. Push-Up x 3
3. One KB Two-Hand Swing x 15
Cool-Down:
W
1. Brettzel-Stretch
2. Suitcase Walk
As far as rounds go, less is more. Any
specific number depends on you. While
variety is nice, doing them in straight sets
or in a circuit is what I would limit it to.
Dont over think it, its not rocket surgery.

City Boy to Mountain Man
Charley Radcliffe
Charley is a personal trainer based in
Chamonix, France. He works with climbers
and other outdoor athletes to make them
stronger and better conditioned. When he
is not hanging on walls himself, he enjoys
running ultra distances, swinging kettlebells
and steak. (www.themountainfoundry.com)
Its Monday morning. Im sandwiched into
a cable car lift with 40 other psyched and
eager skiers. We are climbing 2,830m from
the Chamonix valley to the summit of the
Aiguille du Midi to ski the Valle Blanche
17km ski descent over glaciers, through
crevasse fields, and under towering spires
of granite.
This is my morning training session. Just
two years earlier I would have been running
along a concrete river path in London to a
crowded gym to get my training in before
work. Two years before that and I probably
4
Photo: Charley Radcliffe
would have been dragging myself out of
bed after a few too many pints late for
work, and counting down the hours until
sundown.
It is safe to say, things have changed.
Beginnings
With the exception of a few years in the
north of Spain, I had lived my whole life in
London, UK; childhood, school, university,
and the beginnings of my professional life.
The days often revolved around music,
pubs, and clubs. Sport and fitness rarely
featured. Always overweight, I just put it
down to it not being my thing, that I was
just different from athletic people. None
of it particularly inspired me I had signed
up to gyms in January flushes of guilt, and
I had tried various hobbies and sports that
engaged me for a while, but nothing ever
stuck.
Then I was told about Mont Blanc.
Mont what?
At 27, I awoke one morning to my then
girlfriend saying Im going to climb Mont
Blanc next summer. Mont what? I soon
discovered that Mont Blanc is the highest
mountain in Western Europe and the
European Alps. At 4,810m it is a lofty
target for anyone but also achievable.
The relatively non-technical main routes
let novices with an experienced mountain
guide and a preparation and acclimatisation
week have a good chance of standing on
the summit of Europe.
Nervously, having only dated for 3 months,
I asked if I could come along. Delighted,
she said yes. It soon started to sink in what
I had let myself in for. There was every
chance I would not be strong enough for
this. I had to get my butt in gear!
The year flew by. From my first short run
to work where I had to stop and catch my
breath three times to the end of the year
where I had lost over 5kg and was sweating
something silly in morning circuit training
sessions. That summer we screamed up
to the summit of Mont Blanc and, though
physically very demanding, I found myself
in my element. My eyes had been opened
to the magic of the Alps and especially
alpinism the sport of moving light and
fast in the high mountains, self-sufficient
and self-reliant in exposed and exhilarating
environments.
Getting Strong
Over the following years, every holiday
was out in the hills; learning to rock climb,
gaining the necessary experience, and
growing my passion for the mountains. My
daily life revolved around getting stronger,
fitter, and more ready for these trips.
Without realising it, I was going out less.
5
I quit smoking, avoided drinking too much
as it would hinder my morning training, and
started to see results.
Coming late to climbing, I dove in head first
and, to no surprise, injury swiftly followed.
Too many hours in the climbing gym
created niggling issues in my shoulder that
started to impact my ability to train. Then,
the second most influential moment in
my recent life happened: I was introduced
to kettlebells. Initially chosen as a form of
rehab, a friend and Strong First instructor
said, they also were the easiest way to get
a six-pack. I was sold! I found a London-
based kettlebell community and fell in
love. Being fit, climbing well, and being in
the mountains became more and more an
integral part of my life. So much so, that I
came to a cross road.
Red Pill or Blue Pill?
I always loved The Matrix. In 2013 I found
myself feeling like I was living out the scene
where Neo has to decide to commit or
walk away. Business had been tough, I had
just closed down my startup and felt lost.
What was I going to do next?, everyone
asked. I just didnt know. Or at least, that
is what I told people. With hindsight, I now
think that I knew exactly what I wanted to
do, but maybe didnt have the courage to
admit it.
As I floated between work and jobs,
the only constants were my love of the
mountains and the progress I was making.
I felt truly alive there, with everything
coming together in beautiful harmony. The
strength I was building with kettlebells was
helping me move better in the mountains,
the hours in the hills were making me more
competent, and I was starting to climb
routes unguided and independently that I
never dreamed possible. It all culminated
in a life-altering solo climb 1,300m up the
north face of the Aiguille du Midi, the
iconic mountain towering over Chamonix.
Standing on a 60 ice slope with a more
than 1000m drop below me, attached to the
wall by tiny metal spikes on my boots and
two ice axes, has a way of clarifying things.
This was me taking the red pill.
This.
This climb was the biggest step I had taken
in the mountains and I knew: This was what
I wanted to do, where I wanted to be. That
summer I moved to Chamonix. I started
taking my training even more seriously and,
6
very naturally, have found myself several
years later as a qualified PT training and,
most importantly, learning from working
with some of the strongest and most driven
people I have ever met.
I am developing a healthy balance between
gym time and mountain time, applying
what I learn in the hills to what I need to
work on in the gym, and discovering whole
new ways to give myself the edge while out
on a climb.
I look back on the life I used to live, on the
priorities I used to have, and the person I
used to be. We all have come a long way.
Sometimes, its nice to reflect on how far.
Photo: Charley Radcliffe
Taking a Swing at Things
Mark Wilson
Mark is a 54 year old coach who also
competes in masters cycling track sprinting.
He trains weekend warriors and age group
winning triathletes and cyclists to increase
strength and mobility.
Five weeks before Christmas this year
(2015) I was looking for a change of focus
and thanks to Dans book Before We Go
hit upon the 10,000 swing challenge. In
the book, Dan states that it is good to
complete a programme of any kind, as it
imposes the discipline and focus so often
lacking in the gym.
The programme looked like this:
Day One:
10 Swings (24 kilos) 1 Press (28 kilos)
15 Swings 2 Presses
25 Swings 3 Presses
50 Swings
Five rounds completed in 55 minutes.
Day Two:
As before, but double kettlebell front squats
with 2x 24 kilos instead of the presses (Im
a goodish squatter).
Call for Authors!
Hello, you! Yes, you! Gentle reader,
have you ever wondered what it would
be like to be published in the finest
strength and health newsletter on the
web? Well, wonder no more, here is
your chance! Do you have a cool story
to tell or a nifty new trick to share?
7
Day Three:
As before, but with a 50 metre hill sprint
after each 10, 15 and 25 swings.
Day Four:
With chin up ladders, 1,2,3.
It took a couple of weeks to grow into the
programme and I rested between sets as I
felt I needed. I noticed that most sessions
start with a feeling of resignation and a
thought of How many swings today?
After 150-200 reps the rhythm sets in and
you just punch the clock until its done.
I made some changes during the time: I
increased the chins to 2,3,4 and omitted
sprints in some weeks, but the swings
happened like clockwork. The time came
down to 35-40 minutes by the final two
weeks and the rate of perceived exertion
was noticeably lower.
I learned a number of things: It takes
focus to persevere and complete the
programme. It is short enough to see the
end in sight. I lost 3 kilos of fat, down to
84KG. My wife tells me I have more back
and shoulder muscle and my work capacity
has improved. Next, I am moving onto a
strength phase with a focus on the big
movements to prepare for the competitive
season to come.
Have you maybe entered your first
powerlifting meet or your last cage fight?
Maybe you have built a new, improved
power rack or failed miserably in creating
a workout plan that combines deadlifting
with skydiving. Whatever your story is,
send us an email and get typing!
Can Do in Vietnam
Chris Rice
Chris started lifting in 1959 and has not
stopped since. Having dabbled in the normal
HS sports, most of the strength sports,
archery, motorcycle racing, triathlon, rock
and mountain climbing, grip sports, and
more, he is basically ready for anything.
Ive been in the Iron Game since 1959
starting at eleven years old on Mom and
Dads wooden floored front porch. (Not
a closed in porch and not level by any
means rain, snow, wind and heat we
chased the bar to the edge all the time
Dad wouldnt let us nail an edge board
down.) We used my sisters piano bench
for presses and you did a pullover from the
floor if no one was around to hand
you the bar. For squats you either cleaned
the weight and jerked it up and over or,
if two people were around, you could get
some help.
When I graduated High School, the next
phase of my life was a little place called
Vietnam. Now, I was a SeaBee and in no
way a hero type I worked communications
and was mostly stationed in DaNang. But
for a few months I was out far enough
to where we had no training facility of
any kind not even buildings exactly.
Someone said thered be a powerlifting
meet in DaNang on a certain date (I dont
remember what time of year, but 1968 or
9?) and we should do it. So several of us
decided that this might be fun. We had zero
equipment to train with, though. But the
SeaBee motto is Can Do, so we started out
with what we had.
Can Do!
Sand bags. We had what seemed like
millions of them, so we thought they could
8
be the weight plates. Tie a loop of rope
on them to put over the pipe and we were
good to go. Load various amounts of sand
into the bags and we could adjust the
weight. We made big bags, medium bags
and small bags well.. sort of. We had no
scale, so it was all guess work. We never
really came up with a way to keep them
dry, so weight was a real guessing game
when it rained.
Next we needed a bar so a big long piece
of pipe became the bar. So we needed a
bench for the bench press sand bags and
a board to the rescue. But no rack to be
had to hold the bar up out solution was to
build the bench really high and then to start
all the presses from the bottom. We would
slither under the bar and push. Everything
was a bottom start. We would occasionally
get a lift off/spot when others were around.
The squat was similar. We buried a 55
gallon drum to the right depth for the
bottom position then stood on it and did
bottom start squats. If there were three of
us, we could sometimes get a sort of lift off
with one guy on each end. For the deadlift,
we buried a 55 gallon drum in the sand to
the right height to stand on.
There was no social life, so we worked our
12 hour days seven days a week, trained in
the evening, and maybe drank a Bom de
Bom (Beer) or two later on.
The Day in DaNang
Come the day, we hitched a helicopter ride
into DaNang and did the competition. Now
this all happened about 1969, so I dont
remember what I weighed exactly, but 175 -
180# at 6 2 tall. I did a 400# squat, a 300#
bench press, and a 495# deadlift. (That
deadlift has haunted me all these years.
I was never able to pull 500# even in
training over the ensuing decades. All these
years and it just never happened.) Now, this
wasnt sanctioned by any organization or
course, but we did have judges etc. and the
bar and weights had been weighed. I doubt
if things were certified for accurate, but at
least an attempt was made.
I never thought much about it until I came
home and had real gyms to train in with
9
all the advantages of bars that spin and
weights you could slide on and off easily,
where you even knew what they weighed.
But over the years, when things were less
than perfect, I could always take myself
back to those times and think about those
Can Do days in the blistering heat or
driving rain and tell myself to suck it up
and get it done. Life lessons come in all
shapes and forms I guess.
Photo: Chris Rice
Squats and Socrates
Vincent Tanner
Vincent is the owner of Ocean State Strength
and Conditioning in Rhode Island. He is
studying Wellness and Movement Studies
at Rhode Island College and has a minor
in Coaching. Vincent is a certified personal
trainer through the National Strength and
Conditioning Association and has been a
competitive powerlifter since 2012.
If youre anything like I used to be, you
might not even know how bad you are.
Sorry if I just hurt your feelings, but its
true. Recently, I hopped in a pick up game
of basketball at my colleges recreation
center. Now, I played most of my life in
school and CYO leagues but I was one
of the worst players on the court in this
pick up game! And these were the kids
who couldnt make the team at my D3
school. Imagine if I played in a game with
D1 players, of which there are only around
4500 in the country! Beyond that, theres
the NBA D-League, European leagues,
the Olympics, and finally the NBA each
progressively better and better than
the organization behind it, and each
increasingly more exclusive. The NBA, mind
you, has only 420 players. Seriously, the
difference between the best in the business
and myself is hard to fathom. I laugh every
year when people rave that one of the top
March Madness teams could beat some
NBA team. People dont even realize
Get Some Perspective!
Well, lifting weights is fairly similar. A solid
goal for an average man is to build his
deadlift up to double bodyweight. If you
weight 200, you should be pulling 400. With
that kind of deadlift you might be one of
the stronger guys at any box gym around
town. But for perspective, I believe the list
10
of men who have deadlifted over 900 is
around 20 guystwo of whom have pulled
over 1,000. But if all youve ever seen are
315 pound deadlifts, you might not even
know how bad you are at 400. I once
competed in a national meet in Columbus,
OH and watched a man who weighed 181
deadlift a world record 795. Needless to
say, my 545 deadlift at 220 seemed kinda
crappy after that.
How Much More Do You Need To Know?
In a great article over on TNation (https://
www.t-nation.com/training/squat-900-
pounds), Dave Tate posed the question:
How much more do you know about
squatting now compared to when you
could only squat 300 pounds? How much
more will you have to learn to squat 700
pounds? I didnt appreciate this when I
first read it it was written in 2001, and I
probably found it for the first time around
2010. Which means I was squatting around
300 at the time. Ive since squatted over
600 a bunch of times in meets, including
a 705 squat in competition at the USA
Weightlifting Hall of Fame in York, PA. These
days, the question has an entirely different
meaning.
Its hard to appreciate the journey to
mastery as a beginner. Once I finally
squatted three plates for the first time, I
thought I had squatting down to a science.
I was the squat grandmaster of the YMCA.
I was offering people advice, wearing
gym tank tops I bought on the internet,
cockily talking trash about other peoples
workouts if they didnt squat, and I was
an ass who didnt know jack. Thinking
back, the checklist of cues I go through
now before I squat would have made my
head spin back then. The old me couldnt
even conceptualize the technical nuances
that I have mastered now. I know now that
 squatting 1,000 will take that much more
experience and knowledge that I have yet
to gain.
You Know Nothing, Vincent Tanner!
Socrates once said, All I know is that I
know nothing. Well, you know what?
Socrates is right. And it seems that the
more I learn, the more aware I become of
the vast unknown.
Mastering something takes time probably
decades. And you might never get there.
But you must always try. My friend, Dan
Photo: Vincent Tanner
11
John, once quoted Yuri Sedych, Olympic
gold medal hammer thrower, as saying,
If you improve every year, then you are
elite. (http://danjohn.net/2010/12/what-
is-elite/) I agree. Stay humble always
be aware of the upper echelon of people
above you, and look to them. Constantly
strive for improvement, and youll be ahead
of nearly everybody else. Eventually, it will
be painstaking. Raising ones deadlift from
700 to 800 may take years. But fight, tooth
and nail, for constant improvement. Never
lose the thirst for knowledge, cause as
soon as you think you know it all, youve
sold yourself short.
Keep Moving!
Tom Barrett
Tom is an army veteran living in Schoharie
County, New York, deep in the Catskill
Mountains. When he isnt writing about
zombies or kettlebells, he enjoys competing
in highland games and playing soccer with
his kids. He considers himself lucky, not
smart, and drinks milk.
Ive been injured many times over the
last 20 years never seriously, at least
not seriously enough that Ive required
anything more than ice and time to heal
up. Ive never needed surgery to correct
damage Ive done, but Ive had my fair
share of pulls, twists, sprains, and various
dings to deal with, some of them sidelining
me longer than others.
My most recent injury is one without
that sudden, What was that? moment
before the pain sets in. For example, when
I twisted the muscle in my right lower back
doing kettlebell snatches, I felt a pop before
the pain came the next day. When I strained
the area around my lumbar region (doing
power snatch warm-ups with an empty bar
of all things!), I felt the pull before
the pain settled in the region a few
hours later.
This last one, though it gave no warning
at all. I just got out of bed one morning
and could barely walk. I had to grit my
teeth and fight against a torrent of pain as
I forced my torso upright wondering what
Id done because I hadnt even lifted in a
couple of days. The last workout had been
a kettlebell session, so it wasnt like Id even
used a lot of weight, just a standard 24 kg
model. Further, Im meticulous about form
now, because of the other stupid injuries
Ive gotten from not bracing my abdomen
or not leading with my hips.
12
I figured it was just a kink that would work
itself out over the next few days. It didnt.
Seeing the Doctor
This was last spring, and when a month had
gone by with the pain getting worse instead
of better, I finally decided Id had enough of
being brave and made an appointment to
see my doctor.
After some X-rays and movement
assessment, I was connected with a
physical therapist who did more movement
assessment and gave me what turned
out to be generic advice for pain in the
lower back. The pain improved but then
plateaued, so I figured I had gotten as much
out of the the PT as I was going to get and
decided to stop seeing her. The pain had
diminished enough that I could squat a little
and deadlift a little, and that was better
than nothing.
I was prepared to just put up with the pain
for the rest of my life as it wasnt usually
debilitating anymore.
For the months of July and August that I
was seeing the PT, I was sticking to all upper
body work from a bench because I was
scared to do anything else. I tried a light
barbell squat and a light deadlift a couple
of times and, to be honest, I was so worried
about re-injuring myself that I didnt notice
whether I was actually making things better,
worse, or no difference at all.
Eventually I got sick of doing nothing but
incline bench and incline chest-supported
rows and threw caution to the wind and
picked up a kettlebell. The swing, being the
foundational movement for all kettlebell
progression thats what I tried first.
Pain.
Photo: Tom Barrett
The shearing force on the lumbar and sacral
area was just too much for my condition.
However, I found that a clean was fine. A
press was fine, too. Even a goblet squat
was fine. It turns out the goblet squat was
aggravating my condition, but I never knew
it until today. More on that later.
So, I had my training regimen for the next
however long it took before I could train
effectively with a barbell again. Good old
standard from the old DragonDoor days.
Pavel always said when asked how often to
lift: Three to five reps, three to five sets,
three to five exercises, three to five times
per week.
I went light with the 3-5 rule, lifting the
16kg bell 3-5 times per week, on occasion
trying to swing, but Id stop that nonsense
immediately as I felt that pinch in my lower
13
back where the pelvis meets the lumbar
spine.
Oh, did I mention the sciatic nerve
inflammation? This seemed pretty random
to me, and it would happen without any
provocation that I could detect. It appeared
that at random intervals my left buttock,
down the side of my leg, and left ankle
would get this intense searing pain that
wouldnt stop, and the only relief came
from anti-inflammatory drugs.
In fact, one day i was doing goblet squats
and noticed that my left buttock was an
inch higher than my right when I was in the
saddle. Thats not right.
It gave me plenty to think about, and
when the next time came around for me
to train, I noticed my left hip was kicked
out. I realized at that moment that Id
been pressing for years with my hips out of
alignment, pushing that hip out to support
the pushing motion instead of keeping a
neutral spine and hip.
Wow, that was a big surprise. All those
videos I shot of myself for movement
analysis, and Id never noticed that hip
alignment until I had the context of my
high left buttock from the previous
workout. The only corrective work I knew
for that was to stop doing it and allow my
body to work itself back into a healthy
movement pattern.
I started mixing in heavy (24 kg) days, then
heavier (double 24 kg) days, and eventually
I was cleaning, pressing, and squatting
with a pair of 24 kg kettlebells every time I
trained. My back felt much better, and I felt
like I was getting to where I needed to be to
put a bar across my shoulders and pull one
off the floor again.
It was a warm day (for upstate New York in
January), almost 40 degrees. It had been a
mild winter, and that - I knew - was going to
be plenty warm for training. I was used to
lifting in near zero temperatures in winter
in my corner of the Catskills, so 40 would
be no problem.
With 135 on the bar, I entered the cage,
dipped under, took a deep breath, braced
my abdomen, pressed with my legs and felt
the bar touching my upper back just about
mid trap and pushed. The bar came off the
hooks, so far so good. Focusing on keeping
my hips under me, I descended slowly, felt
no sliding or slipping, no crunching, kept
my hips down and pushed up with my
buttocks. In full recovery, standing upright,
no pain, no indication there was anything
wrong, I racked the bar.
14
I repeated this process adding weight each
time working my way up to 185. That was
my first sign of actually needing to exert
myself to recover the weight. I hit three
sets of five reps with 185 and called it a day
for squats. I was elated that I had lost so
little strength. I mean a year earlier Id been
squatting 335 for doubles, but I was really
expecting to struggle with 135 for a single.
I was very happy with 185 after a year off
from barbell training.
Going through the same steps for
deadlifting, I pulled up to a 225 for three
sets of five and decided not to push it,
called it a day with plenty left in the tank.
The sandwich I ate when I was done was
the best sandwich Id ever had.
The next day, when I hang cleaned and
pressed, I hit 95 for three triples and didnt
even strain. Again, it was far better than I
expected.
Do The Next Best Thing.
What I attribute this retention of strength
to is the kettlebell training. I once read from
a friend, If you cant do the best thing,
do the next best thing, and thats exactly
what I did. I couldnt keep up with my clean
and press, squat, and deadlift, but I could
kettlebell til the cows came home. Once
Id grooved a training system that didnt
hurt me, I just kept doing it until the time
came that I could lift with a barbell again.
Im convinced that repeating the training,
repeating the movements of squat, hinge,
push, and pull even at a moderate weight,
kept me healthy and relatively strong. In
fact Im sure if Id been injury free, the
addition of swings and snatches with
heavier kettlebells would have kept me
at my previous level if not pushed me
beyond that.
 Do Something!
What all this means is Do Something. Do
anything as long as youre moving and
training the fundamental human movement
patterns. I consider a 185-pound squat
and a 225-pound deadlift a victory. I didnt
allow myself to rust, and I didnt have to
start over again where I was five years
ago, with an empty bar just trying to learn
how to squat again. Im strong and getting
stronger, and that puts me where I need to
be: in the Improving column.
Now, about that goblet squat Today I
went to my massage therapist, and we
were talking about movement patterns. She
had hit a really sensitive spot right where
the focus of my back pain has been, just to
the left of the spine, right below the gluteus
medius. She said, Thats your SI joint. See
how it closes off when I rotate your leg out?
Thats where the pinch is coming from.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?
Photo: Dan John
15
After I got up, she said: Let me see you
squat. I dropped down with my torso
upright and neck extended, and she
commented: See, thats a pretty significant
turn out on your knees.
Wheels spun and a ton of information fell
into place. Remember when I mentioned
my goblet squats earlier? Opening up the
hips is not for everyone, it seems. That
external rotation was closing off my SI joint
and pinching my sciatic nerve. Thats why,
when I switched to double KB front squats,
the pain diminished so much. And thats
also why, since I started my most recent KB
cycle a week ago, the pain has been coming
back. It looks like Im going to pull goblet
squats out indefinitely and stick with
front squats.
A little knowledge is a beautiful thing.
Never stop learning. Never stop lifting.
Published by Daniel John
Markus Weel-Therhorn, Editor
Copyright Daniel John, 2016
All Rights Reserved
Any unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.