DKB :
I might as well call them “deep knee bends” – they’re similar to hindu squats, but without bothering to do the arm row motion.
Instead I hold my arms in something of a boxer’s guard.
An old school name, for an old school movement, deep knee bends is the more proper term for what I’m doing – right now I’m loving the movement, it’s back to my roots of…LEGS EVERY DAY!
The other night I wrote a rough draft “the key to fitness is found in kushti”, I learned a lot studying traditional grappling from around the world, and right now my training is very heavily inspired by kushti.
While I’m lifting weights pretty infrequently, I do vanilla pushups every day with the volume creeping up, swing a tree branch like a mace every evening after work, and have started to train legs daily with deep knee bends as said and described above with some of the same made into “hack squats” as per recommendation of George Hackenschmidt by holding weight at the small of my back while trying to keep my torso as upright as possible while doing this deep knee bend.
I’m liking explosive sets of 6 on the hack squats – which feels somewhere between driving a sled and a vertical jump, right now with a 10lb dumbbell, easily scalable from here to 20lb kb or 25lb plate, then to empty bar, 35lb or 45lb plate.
(aside : the purchase of an ez curl bar would add to the outdoor dips nicely)
I intend to run this movement awhile, Hackenschmidt himself was said to have done so with 187lbs – this made out to be truly heavy, I’m curious, and besides – I feel training the movement will help with athleticism firstly, and with wind should I push the reps high enough.
Spring/Summer :
I’ve went six months without a gym membership, and definitely notice it’s getting nice out.
Some of my friends are now willing to train outside. I used to play ultimate frisbee in this large walk in group which I haven’t noticed playing since covid/2020, however pickup basketball is regularly enough possible, and on the micro scale (friends only) I could reinstate “the game”…
Ahh, “the game”, that’s what my buddy and I called it, sometimes tackle, sometimes two hand touch, punt and 20ish yd returns with a rugby ball – we’d play for hours, and never have I enjoyed cardio so much.
It was training, snuck in, it didn’t feel like training, as it was play.
This, “the game”, gave me a whole lot of jog, cut, and sprint volume, without being conscious of it being work.
We all could use more physical play, much more physical play.
Will I run? Mostly no, yet will I do short sprint repeats for hours? Yes, when it’s in a game.
Plus it’s able to be shirtless and barefoot in the sun.
Training Mace + Sword Swings :
Touched on above I swing that tree branch like a mace.
The thing is that six months of doing so every night after work has gotten me a whole lot stronger with it though I’m using the exact same implement.
Soon I may mold a little concrete on the end.
I can now swing it with a form that puts it into my biceps very well.
When I started I could only revolve it this way on my strong side.
A swing into something of a pullover was the form I used the most aside from the biceps one where I tried to get the pattern as close to the same as possible on both sides.
As time went on this happened, progressing to being able to match the pattern on each side.
I’ve started rotating it hard, then applying the “brakes” fast. This fires small upper/mid back musculature amazingly.
I’ve started wielding it like a sword, then lifting it in reverse back to start.
Simulating the heavy mace and heavy sword is a tremendous exercise in upper body strength.
Kushti inspired, after work – this outside, then inside there’s deep knee bends, vanilla pushups, and calf raises before showering up.
Am awesome zero financial dues program.
The world does supply improvised equipment, and with these odd objects and serious focused, mostly calisthenics – you will get gorilla strong.
Example :
you get here quite naturally from massive calisthenic reps – I need to get this on camera but with chick instead of dude for viral video
Persistence & Tenacity
