I’m liking this show right now, and I’ll tell you why.

In a society where pills, surgery, and other shortcuts seem to be the norm,  the show’s trainers (Bob and Jillian) emphasize a good diet and hard exercise. And they work their victims to the bone too.

On top of that, they use real exercises for strength training. I don’t think I’ve seen them doing concentration curls or tricep extensions.  They do squats, deadlifts, thrusters, etc.

This season I think I’ve seen kettlebells in each episode. They have also used battling ropes, and the other night they had Danny whacking the tractor tire with a sledgehammer – followed by some tire-flipping.

Plus, call me a softie, but I like seeing people who have struggled with their weight their whole lives finally see some success.

So, maybe you’re skinny and don’t need to lose weight. I don’t really think that matters. The point is; be disciplined in your diet and workouts. I haven’t been lately and I can tell.

However, a good diet and regular exercise will turn your body into what it was meant to be. The problems come with eating too much junk and sitting in front of the TV or computer. This is how these contestants ended up where they are.

But, it’s never too late to turn it around. Some of these folks are way past unhealthy. This season, Shay started at almost 480 pounds at 5′ 8″.

Watch some of these folks work their butts off and see if you don’t get inspired. Grab your trusty kettlebell and a patch of grass and get to work.

Once again I have gone too long without adding new content to this site. I’ve also been slacking off in my training as well.

However, I’ve recently decided to make some commitments, and part of that involved getting back into my training, as well as beginning to post here again.

I’ve always had an interest in “old time” stuff, and strength training is no different.  Strength athletes from the late 1800′s up to the 1950′s and 1960′s have interested me almost since I started training.

These guys built crazy strength (and also had the physiques to show it) with remedial equipment, little to no nutritional supplements, and no steroids (until the 1950′s I believe).

So, I’m thinking about maybe starting a new category just for this stuff. I’m not going to turn this into an “old time strength training” site, but do plan on posting more methods, advice, and techniques from the old days.

Basically, a slosh pipe is a length of PVC pipe that you fill with water, capping both ends (use a screw-top on one end). In his example, he uses a 9.5′ length of 4″-6″ PVC. When filled with water it weighs in at about 40 pounds. It doesn’t sound like much, but the way the water sloshes from end to end makes it harder to handle than you would think.

I haven’t actually made one yet, and I’m not sure when I will, but it certainly looks like a great tool. It would likely work your entire body from multiple angles. Obviously you’d be working the muscles you’d expect to (shoulders and triceps for overhead presses, for example), but would also bring the stabilizer muscles into play. This would make for a functional training session. I’d bet your grip/forearms would get quite a workout as well.

Although I haven’t made one, I’ve been thinking of a few other applications for this idea.

I’d try this; get a regular birthday party balloon, and cut off the skinny end. Then take the large part and wrap it over the end of the PVC pipe before attaching the endcap or screwcap. It seems that this would help keep the water in better than the caps alone.

What about a 2″ or 3″ pipe? This would be much lighter than a 4″-6″ pipe, but you would be able to grip it with a normal grip – but like a thick bar. For this idea, I was thinking something along the lines of two of them, being used for the farmer’s walk. But, one long one may still be enough for some people.

What if you filled it with sand instead of water? It wouldn’t “slosh” as much, but it would still be unstable. What about BBs (like a BB gun)?

What about two short ones used like clubbells?

When you see a tool like this, get creative. How could you make it harder? Easier (if you’re a beginner)? What about more portable?

If you want more details about Steve’s experience with the slosh pipe, visit his site: Maxwell Strength & Conditioning and click the link to his blog.

It’s around 2 1/2 hours of no-fluff basics of kettlebell training. From the sample clip, it looks like the video/sound quality and editing is similar to the Boys Are Back in Town Kettlebell Workshop DVD, which I have and recommend.

Right now, he’s got special pricing on it, and you’ll get a free copy of his Kettlebell Workshop Manual. Check it out here.

If you want to buy a ready-to-go sandbag, you can get one from www.ironmind.com . I haven’t used one, but Ironmind has an excellent reputation for quality. They’re pretty expensive though.

Personally, I just went to Academy (a sporting goods store) and bought a good duffel bag. You’ll want one that is fairly heavy (mine’s nylon). Mine was $10 (a few years ago). They also had some cheaper, thinner nylon bags that can work as inner bags. And even with them, I put the sand in small plastic trash bags.

So, I put the sand in several plastic bags, then those inside a few thin nylon bags, then put them inside the main heavy nylon bag. This gives you a few layers of protection to keep the sand from spilling out. It also allows you to adjust the weight of the main bag. Say you make five thin inner bags at 20 pounds each; you can use four for 80 pounds or all five for 100 pounds, etc. Or, even if you just have one or two thin inner bags, you can still adjust the weight by adding/removing the plastic bags. One other tip: remove the air from the plastic bags before tying them closed. Leave the empty space, but remove the excess air. This will allow the sand to still move around inside the bag, without the air taking up so much space.

The way I built mine might be overkill, but it works for me.

For sand, you can just get play sand from a home improvement store.

If you do all this and the sandbag still isn’t heavy enough for you, you can add something heavier to the bag. A barbell plate or dumbbell buried in the middle of the inserts can work, though I haven’t tried it myself. You could also use a chain, or gravel to add to the weight.