Not to be too much of a pansy, but the way these people are doing these lifts does not look safe or controlled. There’s also ample evidence that using momentum (like the woman with the center weight) doesn’t do such a great job of building muscle. The guy doing the clean and jerk needs to get his head examined…his form is really suspect.

Oh, are you in for a treat!

I jumped on the ‘functional fitness’ bandwagon about a year ago, and I couldn’t agree w/your assessment more. I blog about my workouts at the website link noted above.

Thing is, 1 year into these insane workouts, and I’ve never been in better shape (for a given age) than now. I’ve dropped 20 lbs, 2 inches off my waste, and I have muscles in places that I never had before.

The only thing that doesn’t seem to change is whenever you take another step up in kettlebell size, you go through the exact same hell as when you started back when. All I gotta say is that big muscles, like your butt, require a LOT of oxygen to heft heavy loads, and they scream when they don’t get enough!

Oh, and be prepared to roll around on the ground sucking in oxygen as a normal part of your workout. You’ll recover for the next round faster! ;-)

I’m with you, Josh. I’ve worked as a trainer for 13 years, and these people are doing crazy, high-impact, plyometric-type moves that should be performed only by people who have mastered much simpler moves, first. And exercises like upright rows are contraindicated under any situation. Good pain is one thing. Pain from a torn rotator cuff is another.

Peter, stop the insanity! But I’m telling this to someone who jumps out of planes, right?

Ouch – you guys are right the form of many of those exercises people are doing in that video will first cause shoulder injury and second lower back injury. I believe in tough workout circuits and do olympic lifts in my workouts but it took me a good year of being on a powerlifting team before I did those lifts properly.

I all for tough workouts but there is tough with proper form and tough with a doctor visit in the future too…

Stew Smith CSCS