Why You Should Be Doing the One-Handed Hardstyle Swing

Hardstyle is the expression of ballistic strength. Here are some tips to help you get the most of it.

The one-handed Hardstyle swing is a great tool that builds explosive strength, powerful grip, and impressive glutes. Although the same benefits can be found in heavy two-handed swings, the one-handed version amplifies muscle activation as the body needs to stabilize the off-center motion of the kettlebell.

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Strength and Nutrition: Smart Strength With Charles Staley

Wow, a variety of reader questions this week on bicep curls, powerlifting, and paleo.

Note: Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get to the bottom of the biggest questions in health and training. Post your questions directly to Charles in the comments below this article.

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Fitness Under Fire

Shane Davis and Michael Livingston were stuck in careers that didn’t fulfill them. Then they made a decision to change their lives. In October 2013, the two opened CrossFit Luminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now their lives are constantly varied.

“Part of why I like (owning an affiliate) is it allows me to do so many different things on a daily basis and constantly challenge myself,” Davis says.

But in April 2014, disaster struck. The affiliate caught fire and almost everything was destroyed. CrossFit Luminary was forced to close for nine months in order to clean up and rebuild.

With unrelenting optimism, Davis and Livingston tried to find the silver lining.

“It happened three weeks before my wife gave birth to our first son,” Davis says. “I got to spend six months while we were closed down at home with my child—that was an amazing experience that most dads probably don’t get.”

In an attempt to stay in touch with their clientele, Davis and Livingston salvaged what they could and hosted parking-lot workouts reminiscent of old-school CrossFit in the dirt and gravel—no walls necessary.

“At least this happened when we were approaching springtime and summer and the weather was nice,” Livingston says.

Today, the two are thrilled with the community that was rebuilt along with their affiliate.

“We’ve poured our heart and soul into this place—twice,” Davis says.

Video by Mike Koslap.

7min 31sec

Additional reading: Rebuilding Hackleburg by Andréa Maria Cecil, published May 4, 2012.

The Jerk and Aging Elbows: How to Fix Your Lockout

It's a shame to see a lifter pull a huge weight but not quite make the lockout. Here are some of the causes and solutions.

In the sport of weightlifting, the key requirement of a successful lift in competition is to lift the barbell to the full extent of the arms, while under control. As such, the elbows and their associated ligaments and tendons have to be healthy if you intend to consistently get three white lights from the referees.

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A 15-Minute Yoga Practice for Better Digestion

Few things can turn a potentially great day into a bad one like a digestive problem. This simple sequence will get you back on track.

Few things can turn a potentially great day into a bad one like a digestive problem. An imbalanced digestive system affects every aspect of life and in acute forms can be debilitating. Below I’m going to share with you some yoga postures that can facilitate and support good digestion. This sequence of postures can be completed in as little as fifteen minutes.

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SS Weekly Report August 31, 2015

The Starting Strength Weekly Report 2015-08-31: Topics from the Forums: “Eight fundamental exercises” and “Death.” This week Under the Bar: Up. View report in browser View report archive var addthis_config = {"data_track_addressbar":true}; News Announcements Anna Marie Oakes-Joudy is the latest winner of the August Under the Bar prize. Submit your images to enter this month’s Under the Bar prize drawing. Articles Exercise, Government-Style: Rip highlights the deficits in the National Institute on Aging’s recommendations for endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. SS Coaches’ Updates & Blogs The 2015 Charlotte Bohn Charm City Memorial Strongwoman Contest will be held in Baltimore, MD on September 13. Participation at the event or donation is welcome. Chris Kurisko writes on the necessity of commitment for results. Under the Bar Dr.Kellner squats on intensity day at Woodmere Strength & Conditioning. [photo courtesy of Inna Koppel] 73-year-old Michael is getting stronger and moving better than he ever has at Gardiner Athletics. [photo courtesy of Peter Nathan] Jonathon Sullivan cues the chest position in the pull. [photo courtesy of Chris Kurisko] Click images to view slideshow. Submit your images to report@startingstrength.com Submission guidelines to enter this month’s Under the Bar prize drawing. Best of the Week “Eight” Fundamental Exercises rm_sidell At some point you were interviewed by Mark Barroso from Muscle & Fitness. He asked how many exercises the intermediate-level trainee should be basing their workouts from. You responded, “People trying to be strong need to use eight exercises their entire career…”. Well, I think all of us that have read any edition of Starting Strength can assume that 5 of those lifts will probably consist of the Squat, Overhead Press, Bench Press, Deadlift, and Power Clean. What are the other three lifts!? Rows? Triceps Extensions? DIPS!!!!!? This mystery must be solved. Mark Rippetoe Squat, press, deadlift, bench press, power clean, power snatch, chins, haltings/rack pulls. perman I know you’re not a fan of rows Rip, but isn’t horizontal pulling a fairly central function of the arms, shoulders and back? I’d wager a significant portion of the people here regularly does some row, maybe not barbell row though. Both the deadlift and the clean don’t do much for the arms directly and only train certain back muscles isometrically, so then you really only have chins left as a arm pulling movement. I mean you do pushing movements in 2 planes, why is it any different for pulling? For both pulling and pushing, there are both similarities and differences in which muscles gets used in the horizontal and vertical version. From a common sense perspective, only chins leave a hole then, right? Particularly for the rear delts I’d say you don’t get much work without some sort of horizontal pulling movement. Mark Rippetoe How is this not covered by deadlifts, cleans, and chins? Isn’t it interesting that both pushing and pulling are the result of precisely the same thing: muscle contraction? Best of the Forum Death rhett So as I sit here washing down my lunch of 6 eggs with a liter of milk the thought occurs to me: I may be eating myself to an early grave. Is the “caloric deficit” group correct that if you eat less you live longer? I’m certainly gaining weight, and the 60/40 lean body mass (LBM) to fat ratio seems about right, but I wonder about the long term consequences. So finally my question: these powerlifters and weightlifters in the stories on this board - are these people that made it to their 80s and 90s? Maybe it is too early to tell yet. But, anecdotally, the legendary eaters like Phil we-won’t-even-mention-the-contest-to-him Grippaldi, do they die young? Mark Rippetoe If you are more concerned about being 90 than being strong, this is the wrong board to post on. Philbert Who wants to be 90 with femur stress fractures, sarcopenia, and thoracic kyphosis? Do you know that many old people break their hips from walking and fall rather than fall and break their hips? If Oldster has a stroke and loses the use of one side of his body he will still be more mobile than half the people his age in the country. Grip strength is found in medical studies to be a useful predictor of longevity in the elderly. Go squat, and eat your yolks.

Great Coaching, Solid Workouts: "The Kettlebell Body"

Lauren Brooks has upped her game with another great kettlebell workout DVD.

Breaking Muscle receives no compensation in exchange for reviews. We received this product for free and did not experience typical customer service. The opinions expressed belong solely to the writer.

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