My Fair Lat

Those of you who know me, know that I have a fair 'thing' for the back.  I am not the average abs and pecs kind of girl, a man with a perfect v-taper is a man with a mission.

Another thing that is common knowledge is my slight obsession with the pull up, so a man with a master pull up is a man with a master v-taper.  Yum.

Not only is the pull up hardcore to perform but smashing out rep after rep is an honest feat of strength.  The pull up primarily targets the 'latissimus dorsi' which without a doubt is a power muscle of note.  This muscle hand in hand with the pull up is an obvious favourite of mine and gets little attention when much attention is due.

I am not going to go into full anatomical detail and explain its origin at the spinous processes of thoracic T7-L5 and send the meathead into overdrive, but what I am going to do is bring to light the awesomeness of this humble bundle of fibrous tissue and give it the credit that it is due.

The weekend warrior is so obsessed with their show muscles that they forget what gives the 'show' a 'go'.

Strong lats keep your hips, back and shoulders healthy, they effect the way you breath, the way you perform, adds to your endurance, to your speed, it has so many functions, you only need to learn how to use them.

The obvious exercise for strengthening your lats are your chins and your pull ups and what most people don't realize is that the lats are the powerful stabilizers of your spine and are hugely responsible for the ability to lift big.  The squat and the deadlift demand from this area like a nympho at an orgy.

The lats play a huge role in your important lifts, the benchpress, squats, deadlifts etc.  We are so busy staring at our reflections while we curl those dumbells for the umpteenth time, working on our massive biceps and smashing crunch after crunch after crunch aimlessly trying to develop a six pack and are forgetting about those muscles that make real men and real women.

Strong lats play an important role in your body, they dont just work for pull ups , they dont just hang around back there, they are one of the most influential muscles in your body and strengthening this muscle and learning how to activate it will enhance your every move, in lifting and in life.

Not only does a mean lat look gorgeous, not only does a lat of steel allow you to lift heavier than your opponent but its the muscle that surgeons turn to for cardiac support.  For the failing heart the lats are wrapped around the heart and by electostimulation this procedure improves the cardiac output.  That's a pretty hardcore job for a humble muscle.

I think its time we raise our protein shakes, and acknowledge the greatness of the fair lat.

The gospels according to T

A guest post by Terence Mitchell

I have done some stupid things in my life and for that I have paid the price many times over.  What most people don't know,  is that I have had a life times fight against anger, anxiety, degrees of depression and self harm.  Like I said I have done some stupid shit and I have plenty physical and emotional scars to show for it.  However, even during those times, I have somehow managed to get stuff done knowing that if I had to wait for the day when I was feeling great to start taking action, I would be waiting for the rest of my life.  That and the fact that I have always hated feelings of self pity.

It is time for me to be honest, to share with you the only thing that counts.  The truth.  At least, as how I see it.


1.  I hate excuses.  Those who know me, know this.  I have lost hundreds of times in my life, but never once to a pussy excuse.

2.  The thing that irritates me the most, is people assuming that there is some magic step that will bypass the dog work.  They forget I started in a garage, with a few bells  training a couple mates for peanuts.  I got on with my own shit.  I kept my head down and I plugged away.  I did not need to re-invent the wheel nor did I feel the need to 'get my name out there' I just looked at what the best in the world were doing and I followed suit. I am never going to be Louie Simmions or Dave Tate and I don't need to be, before trying to be THE BEST, try to be good.


3.  Which brings me to my next point.  I HATE social media.  Not all of it, but 90% of it.  I use facebook and twitter to follow a few people and converse with a couple guys whom I actually give a damn about.  However in the process I get sick to death of reading about the daily 'awesome' 'incredible' training sessions.  What ever happened to good sessions? Solid sessions? Decent sessions or even average sessions?  I am no pussy in the gym but in reality I probably have one or two 'great' sessions a year.  The rest are just me keeping my head down and slowly grinding away for the long haul.  Yes, I know guys and girls get excited about things but I personally like to save the big words for big occasions.  God is AWESOME, a birth of a child is AMAZING, your 160kg deadlift and 100 frog jumps are not.  On that note, the day my mother joins facebook, I'm out.

4.  People wanting shit for free because they are X, Y or Z is shameful behavior to say the least, yet the sign of the times it seems.  If I had to write out my experiences here it would take all afternoon and you would be shocked.  Here is something to think about, a stranger walking into my gym demanding a discount is no different from a stranger walking into my kitchen in the evening and asking what is for dinner.

5.  'Men' worrying about their diets and counting calories like a bunch of prom queens.  The only thing men should be counting are reps in the gym and money in the bank.  I am just so sick of physically weak men arguing over diet fads and six pack abs.  Ever notice how it is only the fat chicks who talk about diets?  The hot ones are too busy getting action elsewhere.

6.  Money, everyone wants it, less know how to handle it and even less want to work for it.

7. Ladies, the outfits are getting tighter but the asses and hips are getting bigger? Sadly, we cannot blame the rap music this time.

8. There are many ways to push a prowler and many surfaces to push it on.  Things will never be equal here so lets move on.

9.  Squats and deadlifts don't make me a man.  My cock and balls do.  Well at least in theory.

10.  If you want to improve your life, take 100% responsibility for your successes and downfalls.

11.  Instead of doing 'cardio' on the treadmill like a soccer mom, adopt a dog.  Take said dog to a big

park and sprint with him, until the dog, or you, or both collapses in a heap of exhaustion.  This will

result in one very happy hound and one pretty conditioned person, you.

12.  Your parents will let you down.  They are not perfect.  They are still people.  They are still your parents.  Listen to what they have to say.

13.  Unless your name is Andrew Durniat, Adam Glass or you are that crazy guy from Finland, the odds are you have a weak grip.  Train it.  The correct way for 3-4 years, and then get back to me.  I don't want to hear the line "my grip is my weakness bru" when in truth, YOU are a weakness to your grip.

14.  Man VS Woman.  Do not mess with a girl at her own game.  She will win and you will lose.

15.  Please try work my hours, train like I train, while following your ZERO carb diet.  Lets see what happens.

16.  Anabolic steroids.  Using them to extend your pro rugby/football career by 5 years and therefor increasing your earnings to another 5 million is one thing.  Using them to make your high school first team is lame, weak and pathetic.

17.  I've missed a raw 275kg deadlift at the same place several times.  Deadlifting like pimping aint easy.  It will happen, one day, when I'm stronger.  It really is that simple.

19.  I cannot remember the last time I watched TV during the week.

20.  I have sat through 'Sex and the City' not once, not twice, but 3 times.  That right there is sacrifice.

21.  Conditioning:  Simple rule here really.  Hill sprints, prowler and walking with heavy stuff in your hands.

22.  You should always be at 95% on any given day.  The fact that many wannabes need 12 weeks to get into some kind of shape shows their true weaknesses and laziness.

23.  Raw cocoa is the most nutrient dense super food you are not including in your diet right now.  I am not going to go into detail here.  That is what google is for.

24.  The most lame, most weak, most pathetic excuse is "I am too busy to eat enough/healthily"

25.  Every time I think of 'King Julian' from the movie Madagascar.  I laugh.  Every time.

26.  If you want to learn what Crossfit is about, find a legitimate Crossfit coach/trainer who has had years, yes years of experience and listen to what he has to say.  The best Crossfit coaches are the ones who were lifting and coaching years BEFORE Crossfit came into play.

27.  I write down my workouts and ideas on paper.  Yes, paper, as shocking as it may sound.  Remember folks, before the days of training blogs, there were training log books.  Words on paper still mean things.

28.  This past weekend I was asked if my gym was a 'functional gym', I said no.  Its only a gym.

29.  When people burst through the doors of my gym uninvited declaring who they are like medieval knights did back in the middle ages, yes I will get pissed off.  No matter how awesome you may think you are, you are no more important to me than the client I am currently training.  Make an appointment, then knock at my door.  That simple.

30.  I met a man who without a hint of shame in his eye, told me that he eats McDonald's daily.

31.  Write down your thoughts, express your feelings to those you love, be kind to animals, train your body, don't let people walk on you because they will try.  Sprint.  Take hot baths in Epsom salts.  Look after your hands.  Look after your eyes.  Look after your teeth and skin.  Stand up for wo-mens in groups (to be read in a Borat accent) and take life seriously but not yourself too seriously.

Take it to the playground

As a little critter growing up, I'd spend my play time hanging from monkey bars, crawling up the slide and swinging upside down.  These times on the jungle gym with my mates left me feeling happier than a fat kid in a donut shop.  

If it were a little more socially acceptable for an adult without any children to be found hanging around a playground, I would do it far more often.  However, grabbing some mates and hitting the park together for some fun is not as frowned upon.  Throwing in a day outdoors into your training and enjoying the challenge of defying gravity with your own body can be fun and serious at the time time.

Sometimes you need less structure and more play, sometimes you need to just kick back and use the body that you have built.

The 21st century fitness world loves throwing the word functional around, the majority of the training world spends their days picking up heavy things, rowing them, pushing them, pulling them and shouting about how functional their training is.

If this is the case, if you are being 'functional' get outdoors and see what you made of. Put your training and your body to the test.  Climb the ropes, dip from the parallel bars, work on your pull ups, row from the low lying bars.  There are hundreds of combinations to workout a sound program that will probably give you a harder training session then you would have gotten indoors, playing with the TRX and the bosu ball.

Not only are you challenging your body but you're outdoors, hell, it'll make you feel alive and far less tense afterwards.  You're in a park, so there's open space, finish your workout with some field sprints, drop in a higher level of conditioning than you would have received in the gym, on the treadmill, staring into the abyss.

You do not need a membership, spandex tights and the latest Reebok trainers to get in a solid workout.  All you need is a playground, your bare feet and the drive to challenge your body.  You can still walk away with some serious callasus, a sweat soaked t-shirt and pounding muscles.

The hills have eyes and the prowler never lies

Whether you're an athlete, soccer mom, weekend warrior, samurai or built like a Greek God, there are some things that you cant go without.  Conditioning.

Its these things that will break down the weak, and build up the hard.

Strength to conditioning is like orgasms to sex.  You cant have one without the other, or you can, but the results are never good.

I love this side of training as much as a seven year old loves broccoli. When my coach puts me on the prowler, I don't just suffer from prowler flu, I endure full blown bitch flu, I fall off the wagon straight into radical pneumonia.

However at the same time its that physical stimulation of pushing yourself beyond your last session that freaks like me thrive on.  Now when we talk building lung capacity, building endurance, putting the body under stress, increasing your speed and cardiovascular fitness, we talk conditioning.

Your strength is useless if you run out of gas.  If you are training you must be conditioning.

If you want to be faster, stronger, more efficient and look hot in spandex,  for ultimate conditioning you want to push prowlers, pull sleds, battle ropes, smash the skipping rope, tackle those hill sprints and fight the building stairs.

Why?  Because these are the shores upon which the weak are broken

The prowler is probably thee most effective training tool, I am no expert but I have spent the last 2 years on

the prowl.  I have learnt that this simple piece of equipment builds your lungs, your hips and your legs and leaves you wanting to throw up a body part.  There is little room for wear and tear on the knees, shins and ankles and the gains I have experienced surrounding my level of conditioning are irremovable, whether you are a beginner, an athlete or a world class sportsman the prowler should fall in as part of your workout.
Walk into any garage style facility and you are going to find some powerhouse out of breath, red in the face and grunting like a troll.  Its not about looking fabulous its about getting results.  Battling ropes build muscular endurance, increase lung capacity, works your grip and is an invaluable tool for speed and endurance.

When does your body start adapting to the stress? Never ever.

Hill sprints and stair sprints are probably the most lethal in my books, making your strong, fast and lean while building your mental strength.  Another great exercise that only requires the outdoors, that target your legs and your lungs while attacking your mind.  As South Africans we have no excuse to be indoors staring into the screen on the treadmill, adjusting to an incline while your personal trainer barks "pick up the pace" from the side lines, this gets you results like McDonald's salad gets you nutrition.

These tools and this knowledge are not going to just make you hard, but make you hard to beat.

You have to make time for conditioning or make time for failing.

Tips for the aspiring ninja

Everyday each one of us tackles our own demons, faces our own personal challenges and crosses our own bridges.  Whether we choose to move forward with a giant leap or remain on a constant plateau while the world around us gallops forward is our choice.  Only you are responsible for your current status.

As an aspiring superhero I have committed to rising to the challenge, to going beyond the call of duty and to not being mediocre as I choose not to live a life below my potential.

Whether you are an accountant, school teacher, strength coach or soccer mom you have the choice to become a ninja in your own right.  Why settle for average?  Why just do the bare minimum?  Normal, typical, fair, ordinary, standard, vomit.

Bring out your inner ninja and strive for greatness in everything that you do, everyday, all the time, every time.

Some things I like to keep in mind in my quest for being my best:

•  Being exceptional comes not from 'just practicing' but 'practicing efficiently'.  I do not just push the repeat button and reiterate the mundane, every time needs to be better than the last time.  
• Exchange is a constant process of life, in order to more forward and improve on yourself constantly you need to replace the bad with the good. Bad habits with good habits, lack of confidence with confidence, faith with fear.
• Feed your mind.  With knowledge comes power, ninjas are very knowledgeable.  The more you know about what you do, the better you are going to be at it.
• Never be too old, too good or too complete to learn, never assume to know it all, when that point comes when you think you know everything. You have failed.
• Extraordinary is a lifestyle, be incredible in every small thing that you do and make it a fixed attitude.

I few weeks ago I read Mike Mahlers - Live life aggressively -  there was a lesson on every page of this book but what really stood out for me was something he said about passion.  He spoke of being prepared to read at least 25 books on how to achieve success in your field, or in my words, ninja status.  If you are not prepared to do that then you should choose another field, as 25 is the minimum that you should read about something for which you allege a passion.

Aspire to be the best ninja at what gives you ecstasy, if you are passionate about what you are doing - be a ninja at it.

Aristotle said "We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"

Femme Fatale: Bring it Barbie

Ladies, its time to step up to the plate.  We are more deadly than the male.  Take that title and own it.  

Women seem to have this illogical fear of turning into the incredible she-hulk overnight, after lifting a 1kg barbie bell, when they have been lifting and carrying washing baskets and babies all their lives.

The age old excuse "I don't want to get bulky" is as bad as a pair of granny panties on Demi Moore.  Women break out into a sweat just looking at a weight, in fear that with any sudden movements, litres of testosterone will  pour from their systems and instantaneously turn them into world class warriors.

Women can not and will not develop muscle at the rate that a man does, no matter what the 'You Magazine' has told you - it is not true.  Women don't bulk up from weight training, purely because genetically we do not produce as much testosterone as men do.  Those women who grace the pages of the muscle magazines look the way they do because they have had the aid of anabolic supplementation and growth hormones, aka steroids.  

Men produce 10 times more testosterone than women,  we have a similar biological ability to develop strength but do not acquire the same muscle mass due to hormonal differences, but we will derive all the same benefits from a strength program.

Stop striving to be the queen of cardio and aim to be the empress of strength if you want the key to the body that you want.  Another great justification for avoiding the man cave is that women are 'afraid of the environment'  I can relate to this statement however being in the game, I face this with a smile on my face.

Women do not want to be surrounded by muscle maniacs who are grunting and heaving while they attempt to show off their strength, nor do they want to be hit on by men who are in the weights section waiting around for a barbie they can perv over.  These idiots are everywhere.  

The truth of the matter is that serious lifters are not going to waste valid time lifting, on you.

For that bikini body, model posture, abs of steel and winning arm wrestling abilities you need to get out those guns and play with the big boys.  I've said it once and I'll say it again - Women should train like men.  

However the problem with that statement is that in reality, men do not train like men.  Men have weak pain thresholds and more often then not don't push their own boundaries. I work with men so I see this on a daily basis, women will push themselves till they bleed, men will drop their weights and take a break.  So women should in fact train like athletes.

Ladies, summer is around the corner.  Its time to get your shape on, get out of the spandex, get off the treadmill and enter the man cave.  We were built for power, let that inner Joan of Arc come out to play

A glimpse into my training

Some people spend 40 hours a week in an office crunching numbers, or 40 hours at a computer designing, coding, scripting, facebooking or whatever it is people do when they leave their houses at 7am every morning.

I spend that time coaching, guiding and motivating athletes to soccer moms to weekend warriors on how to be stronger, faster, fitter and leaner.

However, when it comes down to coaching myself, I am as effective as eating cereal with a fork.  I'll walk into the gym to train myself and will be side tracked within 5 minutes by the pretty moth on the wall or the grubby mark on the window.  I have an attention span of a goldfish.

I too need guidance.  Enter my delegators:

I have two trainers, a strength coach - Terence Mitchell, and a kettlebell coach - Sean Temple.

Since I've given my body to them (not like that you pervert) I've seen some incredible changes physically, strength wise and mentally.

Terence has converted me from plain Jane to Ninja over night, my body composition has changed drastically and my strength accomplishments are forever escalating.  Where as Sean has tackled my mental strength and built endurance and stamina most real athletes would be jealous of.

Together they have created an awe inspiring machine in me.

Now, I am not an athlete, (as much as gym junkies of this decade like to refer to themselves as 'athletes', sorry, if you are not competing you are not an athlete) so my training is kept to an average of an hour a day 6 days a week.

I generally spend 3 days a week at Mitchell Strength under Terence's guidance, his workouts are tough, demanding but fun as hell.  Here's a snapshot of what we covered today:

* Soft tissue work (foam rolling)
* Dynamic warm up
* 10kg loaded chin ups
* 20kg loaded dips
* Pull ups
* Ring push ups
* Incline rope rows
* 24kg db rows

Our workouts vary on a day to day basis, I don't want to bore you with too much detail but lets just say it's been an interesting couple of months.  Terence is an excellent strength coach, his knowledge, guidance and down right bad ass training styles have got me in the best shape of my life.

When I'm not hanging from a bar in Ballito, I'm with Sean at Flux Motion in Umhlanga, I try and spend at least 2 days a week under Sean's watchful eye.  We focus on my conditioning through the use of kettlebells. These tools have increased my aerobic capacity, improved my mobility, flexibility and contributed to my overall strength gains.

Sean's style of training centres around GS where this technique promotes explosive power, fitness and endurance.  A peep into a general workout with Sean will include:

* Joint mobility warm up
* Energy system work (kettlebell swinging, pulling and pressing)
* Various kb exercises predominantly following the HITT principles
*  Recovery and static stretching

These conditioning workouts differ from session to session but are concentrated around high intensity exercises and leave you wanting to throw up a kidney, aching in muscles you never knew existed and yet you find yourself begging for more.

Sean thrives on the natural high generated by these tools, and his energy just leaks into you and keeps you going long after you think you cant.  The mental strength Sean has built inside me through his crazy conditioning methods have me smashing feats I never knew imaginable.

That's me, in a day with the people that keep me going.

That's a wrap

Girevoy sport is not just cricket

It seems that in this country the word 'kettlebell' is as fashionable and as common as crocs in Brakpan.

All the globo gyms are handing out coaching certifications like its a Friday night at the soup kitchen.  Hell, a lot of trainers are just attending a couple kettlebell classes and claiming mastery.  Its a revolution!!!

Then there's those trainers who invest their time and their money into spending weekends with some of the worlds greats.  Learning, performing and enduring the mental and physical stresses of  legitimate, world class certifications. Not just in kettlebell fitness but are also fortunate enough to be moulded into athletes of 'girevoy sport' by these masters.

Something that cannot be given to you for 'mahala' by some Mickey mouse claiming to be a guru.

We pay the price, we learn the skill.  We become athletes in our own right.

Girevoy sport was popular amongst the old school strongmen both in Russia and the western circles.  GS has been around since the late 40's and is internationally recognized, in fact it will make its first appearance at the Olympics in 2016.

GS is the pinnacle of kettlebell training, athletes who compete are lifting significant loads for extended periods of time.  A competitor weighing in at 65kg can be lifting 2 x 32kg kettlebells for 10 minutes straight.  Training in this sport builds a blend of power and endurance.

I have met many people who have laughed at the kettlebell lifters, many people who have claimed to have the strength of an animal.  Give us 10 minutes of your time and you may want to rethink your abilities and your statements, these tools will humble just about anyone.

The average sportsmen, gym junkie, soccer mom or weight lifter who trains in GS develops this incredible raw strength as well as focus, patience and discipline.  When you completing a 10 minute biathlon or 10 minute long cycle you have to have monumental strength endurance, 10 minutes weighted is massive volume.  Not only is this a colossal test of power but you need an exceptionally high pain threshold.

At very high levels of GS you see athletes performing amazing feats of strength, Valery Fedorenko of the WKC and world champion kettlebell lifter completed 50 reps of the 'jerk' with a 60kg kettlebell.  That is strength.

You have to become comfortable with discomfort.

An athlete who develops the sort of durability obtained from training in GS is going to be harder, stronger, faster and more energy efficient than the average gym goer.  This is the guy you want on your team, this is the guy you want fighting for your win.

We do not just lift kettlebells, we do not just follow hard style training techniques as many coaches have pointed out, we train for volume, power and strength endurance.

This is what sets us apart.

Myself at Synergy in Motion and the team at Flux Motion are not offering the latest buzz, we are offering an opportunity to rise above the mainstream.

We combine the elements of kettlebell training into techniques that enable us to sustain our energy levels for long periods of time.  Skills needed for sport and for life.



We don't just lift kettlebells, we lift boundaries.

20 random things I learnt in 2011

1. Strength is a skill that must be practiced, it is not defined by the size of your biceps, or how 'toit' you look in a gym vest. Strength is defined by technique and your ability to generate a force under any given condition.

2. You're the average of 5 people that you spend the most time with.  Its cheesy but its fact.  So surround yourself with enlightening people.

3. Pick up heavy shit and move it around, its incredible what this will do for your body.

4. Not everyone is going to like what you have to say, every time, all the time.  Remind them that we do not live in a communist country and you will continue to say   it how it is, whether they like it or not.

5.  Education is free this century.  Read books, google, research, ask questions, and don't be afraid to look stupid.  Don't be shy, and get out of your comfort zone, you may just learn something.

6. Pull ups will change your body for life, this simple exercise will improve your lifting, your pressing, your pushing and your pulling abilities. Plus, they look a whole lot more hardcore than how you look doing bicep curls in the mirror with your hat backwards.

7. Hip Hop really does bring out the bad ass in you

8.  Push ups are hundreds of years old, they are effective, they work, they build machines - don't screw them up by removing essential elements.  Do them how they were done 100 years ago.

9. Carbohydrates are your friend.  Who ever believes otherwise also believes in unicorns.

10. No matter how hardcore you think you are, or how hard you klap the gym, do yoga, the benefits of concentrating on your breathing, your mobility and your flexibility will improve your lifting potential and in turn improve your strength abilities ten fold.

11. Deadlifts, pull ups, squats, kettlebell work and prowlers make beautiful bodies, not ellipticals and pec-decs.

12. Telling the truth does not give you a hall pass to being a bitch, you can still be honest and kind at the same time

13. Coffee is good for you, with all good things, moderation is key.  Enjoy your coffee and its cancer preventing qualities.

14. As South Africans we really need to take charge, we need to stop talking and start acting against rhino poaching. Deeds not words (more on this shortly)



15. Eat local, drink local and shop local


16.  There is no exercise as invaluable as the squat. In its pure simplicity the squat wins hands down everytime.

17. If you know what's good for you, you really shouldn't use gloves while lifting kettlebells.

18.  If you are passionate about something, go back to school and get qualified, you are never to old to be legitimate. Also, it helps avoid getting sued.

19. Never claim to know everything, never be afraid to admit you don't know something, and never fall for anything because you will stand for nothing.

20.  Anabolic steroids, growth hormones, testosterone variants and others were developed for weak minded people who cannot adjust to the heat of the game

A rant for the chics who don't workout

Let me get one thing straight, I am not a muscle junkie.  I am not obsessed, I am determined.

This may confuse people, in fact I know it confuses people.  I was recently accused of being self-obsessed with my physique.  Yes, I am concerned about my figure.  If you meet a women who tells you otherwise, shes lying. Simple.

I spend a good portion of my day in the gym.  I train hard, I eat clean.

I do not spend my weekend smashing bottles of wine, and sitting around fires feeding off fatty pieces of meat.  I choose to be fit, I choose to be healthy and I choose to be strong.  I don't go out of my way to tell people I follow a strict routine, I do not bop my head to "Girl look at that body, I work out"... one look at my body and you'll know that I don't sit on my ass, eating donuts and moaning about where I could be physically.

In no way am I saying that I have reached the pinnacles of physical perfection, but I am saying that I work my ass off to get where I'm going.  Nobody cares about where you want to be, if you not willing to commit to getting there.

I hate to disappoint but the concern surrounding my will to work hard on my body, is not for narcissism, arrogance, pretension or self-worship.  Its for longevity, its for the ability to combat sickness, to recover quicker, to self protect, for efficiency and most importantly,  as a women, a sister and a daughter it is for when my children come, to be strong and able to run with them, climb with them and simply be with them for a very long time to come.

I am not here to make you feel bad, or lecture you about your unhealthy diet or current levels of fitness.  I am here to stand up for what I do,  for what we fitness 'chics' do. I don't do it for the vanity, I do it because its the one thing I have control over.  Its the one thing that I own.

You can take away everything, my property, my cars, my investments and my finance but I'll always have my body.

My body is a vehicle to transport my brain and my brain deserves a ride that offers extraordinary performance.

Interview with Terence Mitchell

I finally managed to get a few minutes alone with Terence, in between his busy training schedule, active lifestyle and devotion to his clients, as owner and strength and conditioning coach at Mitchell Strength in Ballito.

Terence hails from a background of old school training techniques, where his methodologies are based on styles that have always worked, no gimmicks and no fashion.  His no nonsense approach to training has earned him the respect of coaches across the country and continues to be an inspiration to students and athletes across the board.

Terence has worked with EFC pro fighters Neil Diesel and Stirling Shaw as well as pro boxer Zane Mundel, not only is his practice effective for sportsmen but the countries top strongman competitors Marc van der Haer and Gerhard van Staden found themselves working under Terence's direction and guidance.

Here is what the Mitchell had to say:

Mitchell Strength has been a part of Ballito for the last year and a half now, and in that time you have created quite a noise along the coastline with your old school methodologies and garage style training techniques.  Where does your experience draw from personally and how do you find your approach to training more effective to those of the commercial facilities?

Well firstly everything begins with the barbell, if we going to talk strength.  This simple tool has proven itself for decades.  The basic compound barbell lifts have built super human strength in lifters and athletes, lifts such as the overhead press, the deadlit, the squat and the bench press.  At MS I don't reinvent the wheel.  I guess my major influence is real warehouse/garage style gyms found in the USA and the Eastern block of Europe.  In these gyms all the shit and clutter of the modern world is stripped away and what is left is the flesh and bones, the stuff that gets the job done.

I literally started training guys in my garage in 2007 and even in those early days we lived on the basics, heavy kettlebell and barbell press, weighted pull-ups, deadlifts and squats.  When I didn't have enough actual weights we would just use very heavy sacks of grain and sand and large stones and anvils.  For conditioning we flipped heavy tires and dragged heavy sleds outside on the road.  People would drive past and think I was nuts, and basically tell me I'd never make a success of this craziness, yet I cared little for their thinking and knew my path.  Almost 5 years later, the results and success of my methods have been shown.

How do you feel about the current hype surrounding functional training methods and how do your styles differ from the commercial antics of today's training techniques?

I hate hype and I hate trendy!  All through my adult life I have kept as far away as possible from those very things, and right now it seems everything under the sun is hyped to be functional.  Look at it this way, if Joe X can deadlift over 200kg for reps, squat his body weight on a barbell for +20 reps, press heavy bars, bells etc, crank out reps with extra weight hanging around his waist on pull-ups and dips, sprint hills, hammer out heavy prowler and sled sprints and trains his wrists and grip for show stopping strength, is he functional?

Damn right!  Would you want him on your team? Would you want him on your side in a fight? Think about it?  All this 'functional' bullshit is a last minute ploy by all the globo gyms and wannabe trainers who are trying to cash in on a 'cool and trendy' term when REAL people have been doing legit functional training for the last 90 years.  

Walking is functional, breathing is functional, movement is functional.

You have inspired me to be a better coach and a better student, what is the greatest advise you could give an aspiring strength coach?

Wow, thank you, those are truly kind words.  Here goes:  Get respect before money.  It does not work the other way around.  Maybe for a short while but the fall will be hard and fast.  Your integrity as a trainer is and will always be your foundation.  People are not stupid, they will work you out sooner or later and see through any deception if you don't value yourself and live and die for what you believe in.  This is not a get rich quick game, be prepared to work and suffer and sacrifice.  

One word that nobody wants to hear is SACRIFICE.  I have not taken a holiday or break from my gym since 2009, when I went to the US to meet and learn from a top US strength coach, not live the dream in Thailand.  Early mornings, long days, always rushed AND always thinking about the performance of others.

Get used to investing in other people as you not only become their trainer but 90% of the time you become their friend, and they will start to trust you so don't blow that trust or abuse it.

You have worked with many renown coaches worldwide, and have earned yourself much respect within the industry locally, where to next for you?

I've been fortunate enough to get to know Andrew Durniat and since meeting him, we have become very good friends.  Andrew is everything I have explained in my previous answers and everything I hope to become as a world class strength and conditioning coach.  Over the many years I have followed the work of many top US strength coaches such as Joe Defranco, Eric Cressey, Chad Waterbury, Adam Glass, Jedd Johnson, Zach Even-Esh, Mike Bruce and last but not least Mike Mahler, whom Ill be fortunate enough to meet and work with later this year.

On a daily basis you work with people from beginners, to athletes to weekend warriors, what inspires you the most working with such a diverse group of people?

The unmotivated and unconditioned people need to be pushed BUT the elite and professional need to be held back to a degree and harnessed otherwise they end up going ape shit and completely wrecking themselves in the gym.  The balance of working with middle aged soccer moms and pro fighters is off the hook and this keeps me on my toes.  I truly get more pumped and inspired when my clients achieve a legit PR than when I get one myself.  In the videos of my clients you can always hear me going nuts in the background because I live for their continued progress and success in the gym.

Terence, thank you so much for your time, your encouragement and your ongoing support.  Your advice goes a long way.

Fashionable Function

My profile describes me as a local modern girl with old school philosophies.  I train hard and I train mean, and I strive to follow in the footsteps of those that gained real results from real methods for real reasons.  The Romans, the Greeks, the Soviets trained for optimal performance, not for show.  I believe in these methods because I train for 'go' and not for 'show', all though the 'show' comes nicely along with it.

Lets focus on the old school philosophies.  The word that has gotten my attention the most of late is 'functional', this term is being thrown around like a loose woman's name at a frat party.  This buzzword is being described as something that is 'new', a 'novelty' and the fitness giants have latched onto it like sharks to an open wound.

Over the last few years there has been a huge transition in the fitness industry towards functional training, and facilities are branding this dynamic form of training as something new, advanced and cutting edge.  The only thing that is remotely new about this form of training is the tools that are being implemented into the training and being sold and misinterpreted entirely.  The bosu ball, the balance dome, the TRX, the bloody pvc piping and other bits of balloon that are being fed to the public as forms of functionality.

Functional training is and was where it all began, before the scientifically engineered machines came onto the scene, before our gyms were littered with false plastic gimmicks.  Functional training mimics every day activities, training the body for practicality.  At no point during your day, if you are classified normal, and not a circus act will you be balancing on one hand hanging from a cable from the ceiling while shifting heavy foam pipes with your eyes closed.  That is not practical, that is stupid.

Training is not meant to be entertaining and fun, we do not paint faces and bounce around like the Easter bunny.  Training is only fun if you, like me, enjoy feeling the gradual onslaught of pain surging through your muscles, if you entertain the feeling of numbness through your entire body and enjoy the sensation of energy.  Yes to us, that is why training is fun.

Your training is your time of day you dedicate to improving your bodies performance, improving its function, strengthening its every element.  Doing this requires dedication to the boring, as my coaches always say to me, boring works.

Training like they trained back in the day, the old school way.  For unbelievable strength in the glutes, hamstrings, and back - you deadlift and you squat.  For core strength and upper body power you tackle the bars, your lift kettlebells, you drop and consistently tackle the push up, you flip tires, you do it again, and again and again.  For conditioning you push sleds, pull sleds, battle ropes, lift kettlebells and you do it again, and again and again.

These methods work, kettlebells, pull up bars, dipping bars, bar bells etc are what were used back in the day before the commercialized fad of gyming hit the world, these methods were tried and tested by soldiers in battle.  These methods work, and have always worked, they are not new, they are not advanced and they are not a fad.  They are effective.

Today's functional is dysfunctional.

Analyzing my Snatch

I am infatuated with the kettlebell snatch.  The mechanics behind this technical move, the energy systems involved, the plyometrics and dynamics of this power exercise gets my blood pumping and my adrenaline surging.


It is not something I have mastered yet its something that I strive to perfect.  In order for me to do this I need some constructive criticism, I have started blending a mix of techniques into my snatch routine to activate different muscle groups and prolong fatigue where possible.


The first video is me performing my normal snatch, thumb facing forward with little rotation in the swing and pull.

Analyzing the pro athletes of GS especially the woman, I noticed that the preferred technique is some what different to the methods I find myself using.  


The next video is of myself performing the snatch using the technique more popular in GS, this style is new to me yet I find it far more effective than the method I have been using, effective in the terms of prolonging fatigue and sustaining endurance.


If there are any identifiable areas that can be improved, I would love some feedback

Fat free kettlebells

So its January, and some of us are sitting with that ghost of  the Christmas pudding hanging a little too comfortably around our waists.  No doubt the majority of the population had their fare share of candy canes, mince pies and one or two glasses too many of the fortified wine.

Now three weeks later, we back at the grindstone and sitting uncomfortably behind our stomachs. With more than half of you having set a new years resolution that included the words exercise, fitness or health.  My advice to you is to get up and grab everyday by the bells.

Kettlebells are not just strength tools but tools that melt fat off the body.  With correct coaching, within a matter of weeks you will be flushing Boney M's last Christmas track down the toilet.  When training with kettlebells for fat loss it is essential that you lift heavy and explosively (with progression of course).

When lifting heavy and lifting explosively your body makes use of the strongest of the muscle fibres.  Lifting heavy requires more energy, the higher the energy output, the more energy is required, resulting in a higher rate of calories burnt.

The majority of kettlebell movements are performed balistically and these movements such as the swing, clean, snatch and jerk all demand a high energy output.  High energy output again equals high calorie consumption.

Spending 40 minutes of your hour long gym session staring into the abyss while running on a treadmill is just not going to give you the kind of results a kettlebell workout will.  No doubt the treadmill will burn calories, but once you step off, the calorie burn stops.  Kettlebell training combines strength and cardio into its movements, so once that bell touches the floor and you walk away, you are still going to burn calories and this is due to the post exercise oxygen consumption being so high.

The natural movements performed, engage all your muscles, whereby your muscles work together in synergy, the more muscles working as an integrated unit the higher the consumption of oxygen and energy.  With the movements involved in kettlebell training, often your body is in an unbalanced or dynamic state, for example when snatching, there is more weight being distributed to the one side of your body than the other, and this state triggers a plyometric response from your body which results in a higher caloric burn.

There is just no waisting of energy when it comes to these awesome bells, you have to use a lot of energy to lift them, so with every lift, every swing and every movement you are generating a burn.  

Make the change today, find yourself a certified coach and get fitter, get faster, get stronger and get leaner.

Listen closely, and write this down, the only time it is ever too late to change yourself is when you're dead.  Until then, you are simply making excuses or lying to yourself.

Bank on hormones: Jason Lezak

I am one of those people who loses my breath when I get over excited.  As a sports fanatic, whether it be football, athletics, or curling, watching the final moments of a battle can be a life or death situation.  Ussain Bolt's 100m world record left me hyperventilating.  Jason Lezak's historic split literally had me blue in the face.

To put you on my page, you need to go back to the Beijing Olympics of '08 - men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay.

Possibly thee most exciting chlorinated race of all time, in my opinion anyway!

Jason Lezak, an American Olympic swimmer, all though a well regarded figure amongst the HTH henchmen, this single feat propelled him right into the sporting hall of fame. Lezak is no doubt an elite swimmer, who has no personal coach and in '08 he was the oldest man on the US swim team.

He rose from behind in the final 25m of the 400m freestyle relay event, being led by world record holders France, who were convinced and had already claimed bragging rights to the Gold medal prior to the start of the race.  Lezak tailed Alain Bernard by a full bodies length advantage, yet split a 46 flat in the final moments, making it the fastest 100m freestyle split in the history of the sport.

I've attached this clip so you can really understand the sheer exuberance of the race:

I have watched this video over and over, I have downloaded several versions of the race to allow me to dissect every stroke.  Lezak smashing a historic split in the time that he did is phenomenal, it is almost as if someone hooked him and dragged him like a tuna on steroids through the final meters of the pool.

Getting behind the physical swim I saw that Lezak gets into the water at 2.38, to a first time viewer his stroke looks pretty similar to his french opponent.  His first turn is at 21.50 next to Bernard's 21.27, he is trailing behind like a dead fish, yet in the final 25m he runs down Bernard like he has been fuel injected.

Analyzing Lezak, I learnt that he is a full inch shorter than Bernard. His swim form displays a change in the last 50m, his left arm delays longer than the right which causes an interference with his breathing, therefore he is taking in less oxygen, which just poses more questions.

The lack of oxygen  effects the maximising on the purchase of the water and looking at Bernard, his efficient strokes vent smaller bursts and Lezak is literally launching his torso further out the water, requiring more energy, so physically how did he propel forward at such a pace?

I just cant get my head around it, the change of form, the interfered breathing, the energy required to plummet his body further out of the water, yet he rockets a full 9 inches forward in a matter of seconds to win the race!

I can only put it down to chemical synthesis.  Epinephrine or adrenaline as we know it, caused this incredible feat.  When the body surges adrenaline there is an increase of energy sent to the muscles, which boosts their ability to react.  Adrenaline finds its way to the heart which immediately boosts its rate and strength which increases the respiratory exchange.  More oxygen equals better performance.

Lezak is the human equivalent of a formula 1 car with fuel injection.  The science behind this victory is mind boggling.

Simply amazing feat of strength and power!

Elite Fitness

I am an aspiring superhero.  The desire for being a ninja means that it is my duty to master all trades.  I owe that to humanity.

In my inquiry for these required skills and knowledge, I have come across all kinds of fitness training methods.  The one that got my attention in particular, solicits different methodologies and combines them into one giant heap of confusion.

I believe in cross training as it improves your fitness, enhances your efficiency, increases power, and the list goes on.  However it is all determined by how your methods are combined.  The illogical programming of taking several different exercises and combining them together into three day long battles and calling it cross training is not quite the science one would have in mind.

Yes, it may keep people excited about their workouts but that's like bringing a clown to make balloon animals to a thirtieth birthday party.  Utterly pointless.

These training organizations that are integrating Olympic lifts at maximum aerobic capacities and blending them with high intensity kettlebell snatches and overhead swings (might I add, that these overhead swings can cause impingement of the shoulders, and virtually wipes out the entire point of the lateral force a swing is supposed to generate) are making a mockery out of some serious specialisations.

To add fuel to the fire, the trainer certifications require no basic knowledge of anatomy or biochemistry, so the coaches running the show have attended short courses on how to master an Olympic lift that would take a normal strength coach years to perfect.  Concerning? a little.

The lack of quality control is what gets my goat the most.  Watching recent competitions televised locally had me on the edge of my seat, not from the sheer excitement of the event but because it was nauseating and I may have needed a quick escape to ruminate.

How does one possibly screw up an exercise such as the pull up? This must be the easiest move technique wise to get ones head around.  All it involves is pulling ones self up from a static position, over a bar.  However some organizations have added the infamous 'kip' to a pull up, so much so, that its almost as if, if it wasn't included it wouldn't be right.  Kipping makes pull ups child's play.  Since when does momentum build muscles? I was always under the impression that controlled movements built muscles.

Another great exercise included in the workout battle, is the power clean, except in this circumstance it is completed at high repetition.  What is the purpose of a power clean?  Is it to get you into better aerobic shape or is it to build explosive power from the ground up?  High repetition power cleans cause injury.  That's my only explanation.

So, in closing, my findings are in focus.  Finding one specialization and mastering it, is the answer.  Once I have mastered my first specialization only then will I move forward.  Or I will find myself on a list of statistics.

Get a grip

I used to be absolutely shocking at kettlebell snatches, a few months ago I'd hang from a bar like a dead fish, and doing one rep of a deadlift (correctly) was something I always struggled with.  Training for hours every week made me physically strong and fit, no doubt, but I just wasn't performing as optimally as I knew I could.

Doing high repetition drills were nightmarish, I felt like I had the physical strength, but my hands just couldn't keep up with the pace. The same goes for my pull up power, I could pull off one rep of a chin up, on a narrow bar while kipping, but the chance of me completing a strict wide hand pull up on a 2" bar was as believable as Bill Clinton's statements surrounding Monica Lewinsky.

It just made me realize that there really is no such thing as a person with weak hands and a strong body, it just does not work that way.

The sad reality of the situation is that very few people actually work on this area of strength, and we can only put that down to ignorance.  If you are going to attack the gym day after day with no guidance from a professional, its an area you are going to think very little about.  Improving your grip strength has a positive correlation on your over all strength.

Try flipping a tire or grabbing a sandbag and actually pressing it, running with it, rowing it, or throwing it.  If you cant hold the damn thing, how are you going to move it? Weak hands are going to effect your potential in so many areas.  Weak hands, wrists and fingers are only going to limit your potential.

Improving this strength is not only for enhancing your lifting potential but is essential for combat athletes too.  Weak hands are disastrous for performance in battle, your hands are what generates and transfers your strength throughout your body.  Weak hands produce very little force and strong hands do damage.  Weak hands equal weak fighters.

A strong grip improves your dexterity, enables you to lift heavier, builds endurance in your hands and builds injury resilience.  Then again its also not what you do, but how you do it.  There are so many gadgets on the market today for improving your grip strength, but if you don't want to get your ass handed to you its going to take a lot more than some mechanism to enable you to bend horse shoes.

When using kettlebells probably one of the best things you could do is juggling, and anything that involves bottoms up moves and pinch gripping, otherwise incorporate bar hangs, rope work, rope pull ups, wrist rolling (I was recently introduced to this, and it has already done wonders for me) otherwise if you with a trained professional work on levering and plate pinching.

I still have much to learn about grip strength, but with the little work I have done improving this area I can already feel the vast difference and have already broken more personal records having incorporated it into my training.

So come to grips with your weaknesses and get a grip on your strengths.

Mitchell Strength

A few months ago I was contacted by Terence Mitchell of Mitchell Strength in Ballito.  

I was extended an invite to experience a taste of what this strength and performance training facility had to offer.

I was completely magnetized by every aspect of this garage style gym. In its pure simplicity, Mitchell Strength empowers everything that is truly functional.  Nothing is out of reach and there are no limits to what your body is capable of achieving under Terence's watchful eye.  There are no gadgets, fancy mechanisms and empty promises, there are only true methodologies, old school philosophies and serious strength tools.

Mitchell Strength is a playground for relentless lifters, who are real about training, from dipping bars to pull up bars to kettlebells, battling ropes and the infamous T-Rex prowlers.  This gym is not about fancy cardio machines and looking pretty in spandex, its about hard work, dedication and training methods that work. 

Woman want those bikini bodies and men want that elemental strength, this gym undertakes your deepest physical desires and turns them into your realities.  Women and men are often misconceived about how to achieve their goals, and turn a blind eye to the style of training offered here, they couldn't be more wrong.  Mitchell Strength awakens your senses and seduces your inner beast.  In the three months I have trained at this gym, I have collectively gained 3kg of raw muscle, I've set personal records I never dreamed possible, and I have learned to OWN the pull up bar, something most woman are afraid of.  

Terence encompasses functional training, his styles are practical and his results are evident. Nothing is outside his limits, nothing is unattainable or abstract.  Everything is within his reach and his passion for people truly makes his gym, a special place to train.

Mitchell Strength Ballito is universal, its alive with energy and churns out beautiful bodies and powerful muscles like a real gym should.  

Durban's Poison

I am a gypsy.  I have lived in fourteen different cities around the world, five of which have been in South Africa alone.  Two years ago I found myself moving to Durban, and have not looked back since.  This has got to be one of thee most prismatic, diverse, and captivating cities of them all.

As I am up at dawn, grabbing life by the bells, I am constantly surrounded by some of Durban's finest poison.  These addicts are unlike the common habitue, they don't have excuses for anything.  These guys are getting high no matter what the circumstance. From the honest cyclist, runner and athlete, to the soul surfer, the paddlers, the rugby boys and the serious lifters.  These guys are out their searching for their natural high, pursuing their passion, chasing that perfect wave, beating the odds, and smashing their limitations.

As well as these Durbanites, there also comes the infamous weekend warriors, MMA wannabees and gym junkies filtering through the atmosphere.  This special lot are just as feisty by week day.  Smashing the machines, chugging down the top of the range supplements, trawling the local gyms for a taste of the exercise high and smashing back cold beers by night.

Regardless of whether the locals are serious about sport or serious about having six packs to flash the beach babes on the weekends.  Durbanites are passionate about being active.
 
Whether thier goal is to complete the comrades, win the Mr Price Pro, bring home the World Cup Rugby trophy or simply to look amazing in a gym vest while you cruise the beachfront with your hat backwards, each one of these ninjas need a sound gpp program (general physical practice) to make them better, faster, stronger, harder and fitter!

Combining the conditioning from kettlebells with the strength work from calisthenics into their daily routines will blast their fitness levels straight into Superman's underpants.

Whilst kettlebells develop your posterior chain, building solid cores, improved athleticism and strength endurance, bodyweight training gives you reaction power, improved co-ordination, balance, synergy and raw strength, making you more efficient, effective and functional on the field, in the water and on the beach front.

We are proudly Durbanites, we are proudly active and we are damn right colourful. Getting out there and involved in real training the real way, forgetting the tug toners, bosu balls, pec-decs and treadmills and getting a taste of ballistic training with kettlebells and old school strength training will give you that edge above the rest.

Practical methods of training will improve your sport, your life and your functionality no matter what drives you.  No matter what drives Durban.