Kool Kettlebells ll

Hear the news? 

My blog Kool Kettlebells is changing. It will now be Kool Kettlebells II.
I've got a new post for today, 11/16/2013.
Go see it now.

RDL, EZ Curl, Reverse Grip Press

Here's my E Z curl bar in action:

Take a regular palms-up grip on the bar. Perform a Romanian Deadlift, or as we used to call them a Stiff-Legged Deadlift.
I keep a slight "variable" bend in my knees. The "variable" knee bend allows you to keep your knees slightly bent and moving while performing the exercise. I like the "variable"  knee bend because it works the hamstrings and calves better too.
At the top of the DeadLift, perform a biceps curl.
At the top of the curl, press the bar overhead.
I think this type of press is called an English Press? I can't find my Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding right now to look it up.
After locking out at the top of the press, reverse direction and bring the weight to the shoulders, reverse curl the weight to the waist, then bring the weight all the way down to the floor with the knees slightly bent. Repeat for the required number of reps. I usually do ten reps..
I did this exercise after side presses with the E Z curl bar. That's another great exercise.
Two full body exercises with an E Z curl bar designed to strengthen hamstrings, calves, lats, shoulders, torso muscles, rotator cuffs and elbow flexors (biceps).

E Z Curls

 This is my E Z curl bar. I made this bar 30+ years ago in shop class at Tartan Sr. High. 

I put multiple coats of Rustoleum on it several years ago to make it look prettier. 

I started using it on September 9th after reading an article about strict curls. Strict curls were part of powerlifting meets years ago and are now making a comeback. With an E Z curl bar, simply curl as much weight as you can while keeping your backside and upper back against a wall. 

I've been curling with it on one of my two or three days off from work. I usually work up to 50 to 70 pounds with a good range of motion for 6 to 10 reps per set. I don't really do a lot of sets, maybe five to eight per workout.  I curled 90 pounds for two reps with some "body thrust" last week. Curls, with this bar, for me, have helped eliminate almost all elbow pain from constant overuse at work. 

Curls help me stay strong for my job. That's "functional training".

-Joe

P.S. Doesn't this look like the RKC eagle? 

 It's from an album cover The New Andre Kostelanetz- Wonderland of Sound- Star Spangled Marches. It's from Columbia Records. I couldn't find a date on the album cover but I would guess it's 30+ years old. The cover drawing is by Charles Goslin.

Cool.

The Ground is your friend.

The Ground is your friend. 

What the heck am I talking about? 

What is ground work? It's forward and backward rolls from your knees or feet. Lying down to standing up and back down to the ground. Rolling left, rolling right. Low squats to kneeling/ lunging positions. Circular movements of your knees, elbows shoulders, feet and legs on the ground.

This is ground flow demonstrated by Ken Froese and Zuzana Light. 

Ground flow, rolling, water flowing underground ( just heard that song on the radio from the Talking Heads).
Flow like water. Think for a minute how water flows underground. It doesn't go through obstacles, it runs into a rock, backs up, then when it builds up enough back pressure, flows around it and keeps going.
That's what ground  flow should be like. Water flowing underground.