Via Guerilla Fitness : Kettlebell training at the beach? Perfect [streaming, 10.9mb .flv download].
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Illustration by Sylvia Nickerson
A few snippets from this week’s health news :
- Like Cures Like Would you like to reduce the risk of developing anything from cancer to Alzheimer's? In that case, you should expose your body to heavy physical stress. So heavy that it borders on being injurious.
- Selenium pills 'may combat HIV' Taking daily selenium supplements may block the build up of HIV in a patient's blood, research suggests.
- The Older-and-Wiser Hypothesis In 1950, the psychoanalyst Erik H. Erikson, in a famous treatise on the phases of life development, identified wisdom as a likely, but not inevitable, byproduct of growing older...Unfortunately for researchers who followed, Erikson didn’t bother to define wisdom.
- Kidney health group turns to YouTube A health lobby group says it has turned to YouTube to campaign for kidney disease awareness because the federal government is failing to promote the issue. NB : The video's here [streaming, 5.3mb .flv download]
- Kids Don't Notice "Stealth Vegetables" A Penn State study shows that decreasing the calorie density of foods by adding vegetables and other lower-calorie ingredients leads to a reduction in children's calorie intake and an increase in vegetable consumption.
Oh, and "Stealth Vegetables" doesn't just mean hiding the peas under your knife. Although that works occasionally.
Taken at this year's Stebbing Scramble. Photo by David Ian Roberts.
This is the first in a series of Timeless Exercises; a collaboration with Run to Win's Blaine Moore. The Zercher Squat.
What is the Zercher Squat?
To the uninitiated, the Zercher Squat is a strange beast. Instead of the bar being held across the shoulders (slightly higher or lower for Olympic Weightlifters, Bodybuilders and Powerlifters); it's held in the crook of your arms. The inside of your elbows, if you like.
This is somewhat painful (although you do get used to it a little), however it's an extremely effective exercise. As Louie Simmons notes in Dead Lift Secrets :
It teaches you exactly how to squat. It teaches you to push your knees apart. Push your chest up. Push your buttocks out. The whole nine yards.
Origins
The Zercher Squat was one of the many cruel and unusual exercises created by St Louis strongman Ed Zercher (1902 - 1995). Zercher's own home gym resembled a junkyard more than a basement, and was filled with such toys as anvils, wrecking balls and assorted pieces of machinery. Sounds perfect.
Technique
This is one of the rare exercises where using a thick bar actually makes it more comfortable. A strongman yoke with an adjustable crossbar is great; a thick (2.5" - 3") barbell is also a good choice.
The lift comprises two stages, although it is common to see only the second one being performed in gyms.
The weighted bar begins on the floor, and is deadlifted (using a conventional, or shoulder-width stance) to a point a little above the knee. Aim for the lower quad muscles, rather than your kneecaps.
Slowly squat down; balancing the bar at this point on your lower thighs. Slide your arms under the bar until it reaches your elbows. Now stand up.
Simply reverse the process to complete the exercise. That's one rep.
NB : You may notice that this movement resembles the action of lifting a heavy stone, and it can be a great way to help train for such an event.
How to hold the bar
Regardless of how you hold the bar, there'll be some pain involved. Whilst you can probably ignore it when there's 50kg on the bar, it's a different story when the bar weighs 200kg.
There are three things to consider here. Experiment with them and find the combination that feels right to you. They are :
How your hands are -
- as fists
- clasped together
How your forearms are -
- crossed over
- bringing your hands together
- straight ahead (or at a slight angle)
What the bar is resting against -
- your skin
- a board
- something soft, such as a towel
The videos below show a variety of these combinations.
Via Kat Ricker : a great compilation by the Iron Maven showing the grace of female Olympic Weightlifting [streaming, 14.4mb .flv download].
These guys employ some unusual training methods, to say the least [streaming, 10.2mb .flv download].
Mike Demeter points to a great piece by Charles Poliquin on the Yin Stack. If you're like me and tend to have a head filled with ideas shortly before bedtime, this is definitely something to consider.
Magnesium is a wonderful thing.
Joe DeFranco still has it. A 500lb suspended chain lockout [streaming, 1mb .flv download].
Jon points to a nice piece by Matt Gary over on the EliteFTS site - Top 10 Mistakes Novice Lifters Make. Excellent advice.
Via Chuck Halbakken : Got 2 × 24kg kettlebells and a Bosu? Try the King Cobra Squat.