Great comment received!!! More please...

Its amazing really - I have been doing this blog for a while now - since early 2007.


Since then I have not been adding as frequently as i would like.....experimenting a little....

discovering what the possibilities were and thinking how exactly to best utilise the Industrial Strength London website and club. How it could benefit the most amount of people and promote the best use of physical training for fitness, performance, health, wellness and well-being!


I know a few people who read this blog when they get a moment but few people leave comments which I used to think was fine. I put that down to either me not saying anything of note or there not being anything more to add.

I have never posted a comment in response to a blog, but i am going to start now because when someone comments its a great feeling!!!

I had a very weird comment on the posting of 5th Feb 2008 so i wanted to share it here publicly. the politically correct would say it was xenophobic, maybe it is. But seeing as its supposedly a national characteristic of the English, and i am in some parts English, to laugh at ourselves i thought i would publish it.

"England sucks, the people and the country"

I would guess that "Anonymous" comes from the North America as thats were " x sucks" comes from! other than that how bizarre!

so i welcome all comments - although i am not necessarily inviting abuse. But it brightens up the day and it would be good to start some kind of dialogue amongst all those who are interested.

Anyway thanks for listening!!!

Next Industrial Strength session is this coming Sunday - 9.30am - 12 midday. The club for strength, fitness, athleticism. Will be using kettlebells and bodyweight with quality our major aim. We will be at Balance Performance Physiotherapy, London, UK

Arsene Wenger - an impressive attitude

I was impressed when i read these words of Arsene Wenger prior to the match against Manchester United (which Arsenal lost).

It is another fine example of an attributes required to achieve success, and then sustain it, in any field - whether professional or personal.

"I realise you need a kind of animal force. To motivate people you need the hunters animal instinct. You must want to win. When you're a young manager your animal instinct is strong but your knowledge is small.

With age the balance changes - the animal instinct shrinks and the wisdom becomes dominant.

Then you get to the stage when you have only wisdom. That's when you have to say goodbye.....

Life is only interesting if you have targets. You must be destroyed when you lose and happy when you win.

I personally believe winning and losing matters to you until the last day of your life."

I believe that this kind of attitude can become re-awakened in everyone: it is an instinct that many allow to be conditioned out of their being from childhood onwards. Getting in touch with yourself physically through movement and physical training is a powerful way of getting back to the instincts that drive us to success and satisfaction.

Whatever the situation you find yourself in, whatever the life you lead, Industrial Strength hopes to inspire this attitude of success.

Picture originally from www.lastkick.com/?m=20070119

The Best Kettlebell Exercise for Groundfighters - from Scott Sonnon

A nice variation on a Turkish Get up -



We will be trying these out for sure on March 9th at Industrial Strength - Londons only "not for profit" kettlebell, bodyweight, fitness and conditioning club. Learning effective training techniques and drills from one another.

Unlock your fitness with kettlebells - http://news.uk.msn.com/rss_todaystopstoriesonmsn.aspx

Steve Aish of London Kettlebells was featured commenting on the world's number two fitness tool on the world's 5th most popular website - MSN.

Unlock your fitness with kettlebells by Izzie Knowles

They may look like a cannonball with a handle, but kettlebells are a traditional Russian exercise tool which are great at improving strength, endurance and balance. No wonder kettlebell fitness programmes are becoming increasingly popular, says Izzie Knolles.

When I look at or think of kettlebells, I automatically associate them with men and muscle building, and shy away from them out of fear of looking like Tessa Sanderson. Recently, however, I discovered that kettlebell training is a mode of working out that is effective for anyone wanting to burn fat, calories and increase metabolic rate.

Read the rest of the article here..:

Unlock your fitness with kettlebells - http://news.uk.msn.com/rss_todaystopstoriesonmsn.aspx


At Balance Performance Physiotherapy we now act as a retail outlet for kettlebells produced by London kettlebells. If you want to try before you buy and get a 15 minute session then come to Balance in Clapham North, London SW4. If you'd rather get your kettlebells online just visit London Kettlebells direct

Old article -

Just experimenting and seeing what comes up on google when you search for kettlebells in the uk. This old article still comes up on the first page of google....

Rise of the kettlebell | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited: "Rise of the kettlebell


They used to be the preserve of musclebound strongmen, but now they're the latest celebrity fitness fad. Kate Carter gets swinging

Tuesday August 21, 2007
The Guardian

In an ever-changing world, there are some things you can count on: seasons will change, rich people will complain about taxes and Geri Halliwell will change shape. Unlike her last transformation, though - when she shrunk to near-emaciation - Halliwell is now looking healthy and strong and has been parading her six-pack around the south of France in a selection of fetching bikinis. And, if you believe the hype, her new look is all down to the latest fitness craze: kettlebells.

Quote of yesterday: Courtesy of Charles Staley - strength and conditioning author

thanks to cj for forwarding this to me:

"Performance (or progress) improves only when weak links are identified and fortified" - Charles Staley.

So get plugging the weak links:

Come and see one of the strength and conditioning coaches at Balance Performance Physiotherapy, Clapham SW4. Someone like Cj, he found the quote after all.

Quote of the day, courtesy of Clapham North tube

"Its better to fail in something than to succeed at nothing."

Every day at Clapham North tube station on a wipe board at the top of the escalators a "quote of the day" is written.

As the main business, Balance Performance Physiotherapy, is based in Clapham I have ended up copying a whole bunch down when I have the time and inclination.

I thought I'd start sharing some of the best. Whether they are motivating or just a bit clever.

I ran past this too quickly this morning, leaving Balance to get to a client, to notice who said it. In fact I ran with such speed (or maybe my eye-brain co-ordination is too slow) that I only got the first half of it and had to finish the sentence myself....but I like it even if I am misquoting.

Jonathan Lewis
www.balancephysio.com
www.islondon.com

mobile:+447960861267
tel:+442076272308

London strength and conditioning session - more conditioning than strength

Industrial Strength London - session 19th January 2008.

This one was for a select crew.....the cover models to the right.

The idea was to do a total conditioning session, a drop of strength work, moderate rep kettlebell sets of the essential Russian kettlebell drills of snatch, clean and jerk, and swing.

A large helping of bodyweight drills, trunk strength (core stability for readers in the fitness industry), some density training (a la Charles Staley), and despite the unsavoury nature of it I put 1k on the treadmill mto the circuit.

There were minimal rest periods, a maximum in quality movement, and optimal use of time.

How it shaped up:

• Joint mobility warm up - Glenn Cumiskey led us through a completely floor based and thoroughly effective routine that targeted the hips, pelvis, spine and shoulder girdle.

• The duration of each of the circuits 12 sections was approximately 4 minutes. As soon as each of the exercises listed was completed you start again
  

• the rest between each piece lasted only long enough to qualify what the next section entailed for each of us.

1. 4 min (or 1km) treadmill run
2. dynamic flexibility style "straight leg swing", "high side reach"
3. kettlebell clean and jerk
4. drop squat 10, mountain climber 20, step back lunge 10, press up 10
5. hand to hand kettlebell swing 20, jingo (step back stay low) 20, high speed sit up 10
6. penetration lunge 10, rolling press up 10, squat jump 10
7. kettlebell snatch 10, burpee 5, snatch 10, rest count 10
8. Barbell back squat - density style (i.e max reps in available time)
9. TRX suspension abdominal rollout 10, TRX tuck from prone support 10, high tension knee in from plank or prone support posn 10
10. weighted side flexion with reach to sky of unweighted hand 10
11. handstand hold 20 count, atlas jumps 20 (thanks Phill Ireland for making me do the atlasjumps last weekend at his thai boxing pad work course)
    
12. 1 arm rows 5, grasshoppers 20

All in all it was a satisfying way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Next session will also be at Balance Performance Physiotherapy on

Sunday March 9th - 9.30am - 12pm

Plans for 2008 - Londons only Strength and Conditioning training club run "not for profit"

The focus of Industrial Strength London in 2008 is in continuing to be the only strength, fitness training and conditioning club in London that is run "not for profit"/virtually free.

Every 6 weeks we want to meet either at Balance Performance Physiotherapy in SW4 or outdoors - either Battersea Park or Wandsworth Common.

The idea is not to impress anyone or work like a maniac but to learn, improve and develop our knowledge of how to gain athleticism.

Thats not to say at the sessions you cant have a good training session, develop your work capacity, strength and psycological endurance if you like, its a bit like Cross Fit with more understanding and less vomit (we can do that in our own time).

We hope to share ideas: stimulate our brains into considering how we put our physical training programs together.

Improve technique in:

• Kettlebell lifting
• Bodyweight exercises
• Flow drills
• Bodybuilding - ok we don't do "get MASSIVE!" mass and sculpting

The next session is Saturday - January 19th - 4-6pm @ Balance. Maybe see you then.

Jonathan Lewis
Industrial Strength
mobile:+447960861267
tel:+442076272308