Better Is Better

Knock, but don't go in...

I was going through some Intu-Flow stuff with a client yesterday and the conversation turned to Rate of Perceived Discomfort.  In order to stimulate the body to regenerate, we need some discomfort.  We can call this Eustress (positive stress).  In CST, we use the threshold of RPD-3 on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being essentially no pain and 10 being the worst pain you have ever felt).  So you can, and must, go up to a 3 on the RPD scale but you can't go beyond.  This way you shave off tension and restriction daily while staying under the radar of any protective reactions.

My client told me about an analogy that her physiotherapist uses.  He says that you can knock on the door of the house of pain, just don't go in!  Sage advice.

Posted by email from coachsteer's posterous

CST In A Tree

Dunno why, but CSTers always seem to find time to do the 4 Corner Balance Drill in strange places. ;-)

So here I am in a gum tree at Perisher Blue in Australia in my ski boots...


 

CST Singapore Group Photo

I think you can see from the faces in this photo that we had a great seminar with a fun and adventurous group of CST Athletes.  Thanks again guys for making it a memorable experience!

Fancy Language or Common Tongue?

A word only bears the meaning to which you attribute it.  That can make communicating across varied backgrounds challenging.  Singapore is a good case in point.  Although the first official language is English, what is generally spoken is a dialect which is affectionately referred to as Singlish.  Consequently, I often only understand about half of what is going on when I’m in a group of Singaporeans!

But barring such an extreme example, I’m sure all of us have had an experience of speaking to someone of the our own “dielect,” as it were, and just feeling like neither person was really “speaking hte same language” or fully comprehending what the other was trying to express.  Two people of the same language, from the same city, and even from the same neighbourhood, can have a total quid pro quo conversation using what one would think of as a shared bank of meaning attributed to their words!

Now imagine two athletes, from different sports, living half-a-world apart, discussing training approaches and methods.  Now that sounds like a recipe for chaos!  Yet this happens seamlessly every day on the RMAX forums.  How can this be?  We have a common language.

Jerry, one of the participants in the recent CST Singapore event, noted that he found what he coined the “Fancy Language” of CST to be a barrier to entry.  Not understanding the conventions of language adopted by the system, he found it difficult to wade in to the practice when he first stumbled on us.  But upon discussion he also told me that he saw the value in sticking to a universal set of terms and ways of describing movement which can be understood in the same way across a wide spectrum of sports and backgrounds.

I wrote about this before in relation to a judo workshop I did with Coach Hurst.  I am not a martial artist and have done no judo.  But I had no trouble following the directions given throughout the workshop and applying them with a partner.  This is because both the verbal and movement vocabulary came straight from CST.  This allowed us to communicate across sports in a way that would never have happened if I had thrown myself into a judo environment without the benefit of that common tongue.

Like any language, it may take a bit of study and practice to become proficient in “speaking CST,” both verbally and through doing the movement, but the payoff is worth it.  Our common language allows us tremendous flexibility to share ideas across what would normally be formidable barriers.  Vive le CST!

Finally A Chance To Train!

I finally got a breather today and a chance to really train hard for myself.  It felt exquisite!  The accompanying picture shows local Singaporean James in the background and me using his Bruiser in the foreground.  Well today I got a hold of Jame's Clubbells and "went to town."  I let my intuition guide me and this is what I came up with...

Slow and deep Intu-Flow warm-up.

1. Supersets of:
Handstand Pushups (on wall) x 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 5
Front Planks x 2:30 min, 2:00 min, 1:30 min / 15 lb Clubbell Tic Toc abs (yet to be revealed) x 3 x 45 sec

2. 4 sets of 25 Shoulder Park Squats with the Bruiser - switching hands on the swing each rep

3. 3 sets of 10 swings with the 32 kg kettlebell

4. 1 set of 100 continuous Swipes with 2 15 lb Clubbells

Vibration drills and a dip in the pool to finish.  I feel GREAT!

CST’s Baptismal Fires

I’m not sure if it is the name, the numbers or the mystique which strikes fear in the hearts of CST Instructor candidates as they contemplate their Trial-by-Fire test.  But I do know that there is a fair amount of trepidation which surrounds it.

What most don’t realize is that the Trial-by-Fire is a lot more about efficiency and great technique than about physical attributes.  You don’t have to be the biggest and strongest and have the most endurance to put up great times.  Just look at me.  I’m 5’6” (I like to add the “and a half” - but it really doesn’t make much difference) and weigh in at a whopping 149 lbs.  And right now I’m sitting at the fastest TBF time for both the 15 lb Clubbells (14:57) and the 25 lbs Clubbells (22:06).

What counts when you are swinging in such high volume is an uncanny application of CST’s 7 Key Components of Structure according to a few pivotal principles.  And I think the guys who did their TBF in Singapore this past weekend are a perfect example.  All of them did a fantastic job.  All three who had done it before set new PRs.  Two guys who did the TBF at the seminar had never even picked up a Clubbell previous to this weekend!

The secret to their success was methodical application of a few key principles.  We were very thorough in identifying the vital elements for each of the three TBF exercises and applying sound bio-mechanical principles to them.  The seminar participants worked diligently to execute on what I was asking them to do.  And the results speak for themselves.

Sure, it is still a trial, and that is its intended purpose.  But it can also be tamed.  That is why I think it is such a great measure of CST athleticism.  Our system honours not only the quantity of work you can do but the quality of that work.  The TBF tests not only your strength and endurance but the grace, timing and efficiency with which you apply it.

Congratulations to this last round of CST athletes baptized in the Trial-by-Fire!

Sowing Seeds in Singapore

The inaugural CST Singapore Seminar wrapped up yesterday and I just wanted to take the time out to express how impressed I was with this group of open minded and forward thinking athletes.  I don’t bandy about the term athlete loosely.  And I apply it to this group because each and every one of them spent the last three days striving with great heart to achieve their maximum level of proficiency in the skills of Circular Strength Training®.

CST does not discriminate.  Each of these individuals had their own strengths and challenges.  And each of them faced both with equanimity yet determination.  Some athletes stood out from the rest, but all shone!  Damien, one of my private online students, set a new personal record in his Trial-by-Fire test and managed to skim the 20 minute mark.  And I watched Micheal, after a lifetime of teaching his body to be immobile during a career in business and finance, tap into a new well source of movement joy and awaken to the possibilities which are just waiting to be unlocked through consistent physical practice.

I could continue on and say a word about each and every one of the fine individuals who went through the course this past weekend, but suffice it to say that I was impressed with each and every one of them.  I am excited to see what they will do with their own expression of CST.  But I am even more eager to see what this seed of CST, planted in the fertile soil of Southeast Asia, will become.

PS I chose the above photo to prove to Coach Murdock that I do on occasion where sleeves...

Gettin’ Down With the Singaporeans

After our first full day at the inaugural CST Singapore seminar, I think all the participants have full brains and tired bodies.  Everyone did a great job, worked hard, and had great questions.  As with previous times working with Singaporeans, I noticed today the same tendency to be quite analytical and thorough in their approach to learning.  This led to lots of good discussion about the principles upon which CST is built.

But talking, as interesting as it is, took a back seat to moving today.  One of the things covered was the FlowFit(™) program.  I must say that it was a great joy to teach FlowFit to this group for one important reason.  They all find the flatfoot squat so easy compared to North Americans.  That is always one of the big hurdles that I need to get over when teaching this flow to Westerners.  So many of them have too many restrictions to get into a decent flat-foot squat.  But here, it is built into the cultural movement patterns and all the candidates seemed to drop into it quite easily.

However, my student Damien from Thailand, who is also here at the seminar, was telling me some time ago that he has noticed this ability is starting to disappear amongst the younger affluent generation where he is in Thailand.  Probably attributable to a more sedentary lifestyle and a more westernized diet, many young Thai are no longer able to just drop into a natural flat-foot squat.  Sad.

At any rate, this group of CST althletes all have great squats and picked up FlowFit without a hitch.  But they still found our little 14 minute test run to be a good challenge!