Boundaries of Strength

Forward Observation

Nov 26, 2023

Attention StrengthAxis Paid Subscribers - Kettlebell Training: December, 2023 will be available Thursday, November 30.

I offer sincere gratitude to all of my StrengthAxis family and paid subscribers. Your readership inspires me to a deeper understanding of my craft and dedicated coaching expertise. Let us continue to to stand together - we are united in strength!

With love in my heart, and energy in my soul, I wish you all a beautiful end to your year. Enjoy your time with loved ones - there is nothing more valuable. Make sure to offer your body and mind the rest they need, but only after hitting your training first :)

John Parker

November 26, 2023

Zercher Cycle PR Match: 140kg (308lbs). As you’ll see in this article, this training session was probably overkill for my goals. Although it feels great to complete heavy lifts, they can overly tax the body and mind unnecessarily.

I Define My Life Through Strength

This awareness expands the limits of my knowledge: pushing my self-experimentation, intentionally challenging my perceptions, and reinforcing my unrivaled potential. Through these frontiers I realize the extent of my development.

But defining strength in the physical misinforms my intent. 25 years of hard training has manifested insight into my inner nature. Boundaries of Strength clarifies my journey toward a deeper understanding of training-informed self-consciousness.

Aesthetics - November 11, 2023. Although outward appearance is important to me, I cannot justify looking good on the outside when my body is hurting from abusing my strength training over the past several years. I have felt a dip in my hormonal output and outright motivation. Recognition is the first step toward continued improvement.

The Shift

In May of 2023, I decided that my body needed rest from a stint of multi-year heavy lifting. Instead, I rode my mountain bike, learned and trained the art of Clubbells, all while minimizing kettlebell training to specific StrongFirst conditioning protocols.

I’m amazed at the power of training with clubs. Although I typically only use a 25lb and 35lb club, the offset center of gravity forces the athlete to build three dimensional strength and exceptional coordination.

During this period, a bulk of my training was invested in the dynamics of Clubbell movements. I predominantly used a 35lb club while becoming enamored with the benefits of circular strength: rotation, midsection, grip, stability, and force application.

Clubbell Snatch: 35lbs 5+5/5. Although Clubbell intensity is lower than in kettlebell training, balance and dynamic nuance is vital in creating smooth and efficient movement.

Self-Experimentation

In my mid-thirties I realized that I didn’t need to rush my training. This is a lifelong pursuit and I can’t be good at everything (all the time). Instead, I have experimented with StrongFirst-style minimalistic training protocols and have had fantastic results.

Although strength fluctuates depending on the cycle, I believe that a balance of attributes is essential for overall wellness. Healthy aging necessitates robust power, strength, and conditioning. My Substack is my mission to discover this potential.

August, 2023 Military Press training. I am still able to press a 44kg on my right and left side. I found insane WTH effects in my grip from the Clubbells! My presses felt stronger than ever.

Although I forsook my favorite kettlebell chains for cardio/conditioning this summer, I realize that kettlebell-based strength training alone is a complete form of exercise - full stop. So the question is, what is the proper stimulus and how often?

A great marker of my overall strength is in the Clean + Press. During this training session I was able to hit a double with Double 36kg. Double 40kg x 1 would be a great marker (bodyweight C+P), but I only own one 40kg kettlebell.

A major marker I look at with my students is not them being able to hit a certain number on a lift (reps or load), it’s how often they are able to repeat it from day to day or during the session. Building the foundation of repeatability is primary.

Even though I was able to successfully make this lift, post-training I felt empty and depleted.

Longterm Goal

Consistency, Sustainability, Deliverance

In 2024, my goal is to make my health and fitness automatic: my nutrition, my sleep, my stress relief, my loading, and my programming. I know the building blocks of success - automating this process builds consistency, sustainability, and deliverance.

My mission is built on double kettlebells: 24kgs, pressing, pulling, squatting, and hinging. I will continue to build confidence with Clubbells as I see incredible benefit in circular strength, improved grip capacity, and developing tactical resilience.

Like my Burnout in 2018, I cannot risk my longterm health. Back then I developed a plan of twice weekly kettlebell chains with a maximum load of 24kg. Currently, a similar program alongside Clubbells and zone 2 cardio is what my body is craving.

Stonelifting is the only “heavy” lifting that interests me. The best thing about the stone is that you don’t know how much it weighs. I love self-limiting movements - if you can’t lift it, you can’t lift it. ~ 115kg Sedona, Az

Play the Long (Mental) Game

Because of these boundaries of strength, I must accept that building robustness for me is not in the physical, but in the mental. I am a Type A personality. It is hard for me to sit still. I struggle with mediocrity and want to push my skills to the limit.

But my body feels broken: I train clients over 30+ sessions per week, I never feel “fully” rested, and my stress comes from my anxiety about my own training and hobbies. This is not the first time I’ve felt run down, but it always feels awful.

The constraints of biweekly kettlebells and Clubbells, plus conditioning solves my programming conflict. Limiting my training load to double 24kg kettlebells and Clubbells solves the intensity portion. This frameworks allows time for deep rest.

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I have a deep seeded desire to grow my knowledge of tactical pistol and carbine training. I am currently in a certification process to become an instructor of these arts. I am dedicating my life to this new pursuit and one day will consider becoming a competitive shooter.

Carbine (AR 15) training in Scottsdale, AZ.

Challenging Perceptions

I have had to lean into change. The athlete in me craves new complexity over intensity. I want to set the example of a life well-lived, in balance, and with multifaceted goals. The ego and pride of my younger self has begun to dissolve.

I have learned my boundaries of strength. I vow to continue forward in consciousness and movement freedom. I was once bound by what I thought defined my life, only to discover that growth itself is the noble gift. My training must embody my boundaries.

Constraints set me free. I want my readers to learn from my example. Training is meant to improve the athlete’s attributes, not become a pursuit of mindless ego. More is not better, better is better. This is what moves me to develop fully as a human being.

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Now back on Instagram, I have created a framework of what I post to the online world. My content of health and fitness aren’t meant to be exciting, but to display a passion of craft, a balance of programming, and the ideals of deliberate pursuit.

Kettlebell Chains - My first and favorite of all time - Double Kettlebell Clean + Press + Front Squat: 32kg. This is more than enough to create a stimulus for improved power, strength, and conditioning. Performing simple chains like this (but likely with just 24kg) is vital in developing longevity.

Limitless Potential

Potential is the sum of our deliberate pursuits. I thought that age would mean slowing down, but nothing could be further from the truth. Age brings wisdom. Growing older grants us unrivaled possibility when we plan the work and work the plan.

Typically we’re only thrown off track by our own meanderings. I’ve always been a black or white person, striving to live in the gray. My one-track-mindedness puts me on the path of success, and for this I’ll be forever grateful. But what about balance?

Balance is a tricky word. For me, this does not mean sleeping in, it means prioritizing the important things. My woman comes first, but my training is a close second. Nutrition is automatic. Sleep is accounted for. I must always manage my stressors.

My mistake is in defining myself through my training. I have achieved freedom through creating constraints, realizing my boundaries, and knowing that without rest, none of this is possible. Sometimes witnessing our potential means taking a step back.

StrongFirst Plan 1050 Template 2 has to be my favorite program of all time: OTM Double Kettlebell Clean + Jerks provide all the stimulus I need for power, strength, and conditioning.

Summary + Action Plan

The Experiment

I needed a break from heavy lifting and decided to pursue improved cardiovascular function through prioritizing hiking and mountain biking.
I maintained kettlebell training via StrongFirst conditioning protocols. I focused heavily on Clubbell skills and circular strength training.
I saw immediate gains in body composition and sub 7% body fat. My body felt great during this period with very minor aches and pains.

The Perception

Although I felt great and had lowered my body fat percentage, I lost a significant amount of muscle mass. I dropped from 172lbs to 167lbs in three months.
I realized that kettlebell training can be the end-all solution: it provides power, strength, hypertrophy, and adequate conditioning as a standalone pursuit.
During my three month strength hiatus, I felt great purpose in my non-kettlebell goals. I built cardiovascular fitness, learned Clubbell skills, and my body felt better.

Forward Observation

Institute high-tension strength via MED Kettlebell Chains and Bodyweight+: Programming is available via my SubStack Program Design.
- Schedule: Twice Weekly
Develop high-tension circular strength via Clubbells: Research and develop heavy club programming. I will attend a TacFit Clubbell certification in July, 2024.
- Schedule: Twice Weekly
Maintain cardio/conditioning. I’ll continue Rucking Zone 2 Step Ups, hiking, mountain biking, and simply getting my 10,000+ steps per day.
- Schedule: Twice Weekly
Automating this process is about assessing my body’s current needs. It’s not about sticking to a program per se, but going based on feel of what’s needed.

Creating Boundaries

The reader has probably noticed a trend in my SubStack as of late. I am tired. I’ve been living this training lifestyle for nearly 25 years. My former-self was a die-hard fanatic. Knowing what I know now, I see that I have consistently overdone it.

I offer these feelings publicly in service to others. I barely recovered from my burnout 5 years ago. I’ve lived on the precipice of complete exhaustion for too long. If I write about this fatigue, it is my method of making sense of it to myself for accountability.

So with complete honesty I will say: strength & conditioning will always be a part of my life, but it can’t always be my entire life. I look toward a future of health, and for me, that means non-identification with my former life of constantly pushing myself.

Now I will focus on the power of strength with an eye on stimulus. My longterm goal is to become as proficient with firearms as I am with kettlebells. It is exciting to be a student again. I hope that my experience informs your own. This is the whole point.