Why Jackhammer Challenge! 10158076468670061 x264

Team Challenge starts 1/16/17

Favorite Meal?

What is your favorite meal of the day?  Why?  How many times per day do you eat?  My favorite meal is second breakfast.  My go to first breakfast is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or bagel usually with cream cheese.  For second breakfast I prefer 2-3 eggs over easy, 4-6 pieces of bacon, and two pieces of toast.  Some people do not even eat one breakfast this is crazy to me.  If I do not eat at least one breakfast that means I am seriously sick.

Some people can reach their physique and health goals eating 1,2,3,4, or even 8 times per day.  Some people do not care and just have to feed the machine.  I typically eat 6 times per day and probably average around 3,000 calories a day sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less.  If I ate more veggies and less processed food I would eat substantially less calories and probably lose about 10 pounds over the course of a few months.

Your taste buds can change over the course of 21 days.  In just 3 short weeks you could be on your way to a much healthier lifestyle.  Simply replace processed junk with some vegetables, do a litle steady state cardio, and come see me for some strength training, metabolic training, and small group training at Jackhammer Strength Training here in Columbus, Ohio. If you are not local we also offer online training.  Even if you are in Athens, Ohio, Biloxi, Mississippi, or Wilmington, North Carolina we can help you with all of your weight loss and strength training goals.

Self Sabotage

Self Sabotage is the name of the game.  This is what destroys bodies, minds, dreams, and souls.  Self sabotage prevents you and me from achieving our dreams, our dream bodies, our dream minds, and living the life of our dreams.   I have been a personal trainer for over 10 years here in Columbus, Ohio where their are more gyms per capita than anywhere in the world.  I have aspirations to start a second location either in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Within the realm of our health here are some common ways that I self sabotage on a regular basis.  I know I should eat lots of veggies, lean meats, and minimize processed foods.  I know I should cook healthy meals on a regular basis.  But how often do I actually eat healthy?  Not nearly as much as I should.  I like what I like.  I eat too much pizza, I eat out more than I should, and I do not eat enough veggies.  I probably eat like an average american.  But do I get sick like an average american?  No!

If I am self sabotaging with my nutrition on a regular basis how is it that I do not get sick very often?

Well, I train.  I train regularly at least 3 days a week usually 4-5.  Even on days where I do not want to do a thing I often end up doing more than most people do all week.  Yesterday I rode my bike about 7 miles, did a light workout in the morning and evening.  Today I will do long rounds on the airdyne bike, flipping the tire, kettlebell swings, kettlebell snatches, and punching the bag.  I will go as hard as possible for a short period of time, switch to an ab exercise and switch back.  3 minute rounds and then heavy box squats and 1 arm rows with a rep scheme similar to 10-6-6-4-4.

Their is no best way to get strong, to get lean, or to get healthy.  Sometimes the key is just consistency.  Can you be consistent?  Can you get better?  If you could replace just 1 bad habit with a better one what would it be and why?  Do you drink lots of pop?  What if you replaced your three cans of pop a day with green tea?  The authors concluded that 3 or 4 cups of green tea could increase metabolic rate by 4% over 24-hours. That translates into burning an extra 50 to 100 calories a day. There is still need for more human studies to understand how green tea works, but drinking green tea certainly can't hurt.

That means with 420 less calories per day and burning 100 you could in theory lose over a pound a week simply from 1 small change.  Identify your bad habits, fix one each week, become consistent with your workouts, become healthy, become resilient, become a hammerhead.  

Losing weight is great but what I really like, what I really love, where my passion is is seeing people get stronger.  I want to see girls squatting and deadlifting more than they weigh, knocking out pullups, doing adventure races.  I want all of my personal training and small group training clients when they go into another gym not only to be stronger than every one there but to have more endurance and even know more styles of training and more exercises than any trainer in the gym where they are at.  I love variety.  People ask me all the time if Jackhammer is like Crossfit?  No their is much more variety, a slight emphasis on the power lifts, and whole body workouts every single day.  If this sounds like something you want or need in your town let`s connect and see what we can make happen!  Nate

A quality fitness training program should make you feel better, feel more confident, and improve multiple aspects of fitness.  Ideally you should have a quality warmup to loosen up the muscles and get blood flow to the muscles you are training that day.  If you have movement limitations you should be doing corrective exercises to try to improve those limitations so that you can move properly.  At Jackhammer Strength Training a small group training and personal training studio in Columbus, Ohio located within 2 miles of Upper Arlington, Hilliard, and Grandview Ohio we screen all clients using the FMS system.  Rather than a 3 point scale though we do a pass or fail.  If you want to know more about the FMS check out this link right here:

http://www.functionalmovement.com/fms

At Jackhammer Strength Training it is my goal to get people as fit as they want to be while having fun in a safe manner.  Every session is different.  Some days I will have 6 completely different training plans and other times I will reuse a workout from one day to the next with little subtle changes.  The great thing about having small groups is that if you come in on Monday I know what you did and therefore you what you should or should not do on Tuesday.  Contrast that with a gym getting 15,20 or 40 people per session and they are going to be doing tons of things they probably should not be doing.  This is what causes injuries.  

It is great to have extremely challenging workouts from time to time.  These could be 3 minutes or even a whole hour.  Yesterday and this morning we did a very challenging workout called the Momentum 300 challenge :

Momentum

300 Challenge

• 25 Hip Thrusts

• 10 Burpees

• 50 Snatches (25 each arm)

• 10 Burpees

• 25 Push Ups

• 10 Burpees

• 50 Swings (25 each arm)

• 10 Burpees

• 50 Clean and Push Press/Jerk

(25 each arm)

• 10 Burpees

• 50 Mountain Climbers

(25 each leg)

I felt pretty good to get this done in 14 minutes. I used a 25 pound kettlebell for the swings, snatches, and 2 25`s for the clean and jerks.  Two people beat me Wes who is the assistant OSU rugby coach and Kelly who I invited in just so she could do this workout.  Once you are adept with kettlebells this workout should take between 10 and 16 minutes.  This can be done as a warmup, whole workout, finisher, or monthly challenge.  

One of my clients really liked this so I have come up with 5 similar challenges which I would love to help get you fit enough to complete.  The key to getting fit is a desire and the key to staying fit is consistency.  Consistency in your workouts, nutrition, sleep, and staying injury free are all key components to staying fit.  

This year I have had 2 injuries a pulled hamstring and plantar fasciitis both as a result of playing Australian Rules Football or Aussy Rules.  If you do not know about the greatest sport in the world you can check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxhqXzVBen4

You can exercise or you can train.  Not everyone should train but everyone should exercise.  If you want to train you should have a specific goal.  My goals right now are to get my heel better so I can play Australian Rules Football again.  Beyond that I want to do a 1000 pound low plank and deadlift a car this year.  Both will be difficult but I can do them if I am consistent.  If you have a goal let me help you as I know I can help you get there faster than you can on your own.  Just this summer I made a plan for my niece to follow to get her first pullup and 6 weeks later she did her first pullup.

We can do small group training, personal training, in home personal training, corporate training, and even on line training.  Whatever your budget, whatever your experience, whatever your goals, whatever your schedule we can make something work for you.

If you know anyone that might have a goal bring them on in I would love to give you both a free week of small group training and help you reach and surpass all your goals.

Thanks,

Nathan Jordan

Jackhammer Strength Training

3002 McKinley Ave. Columbus, Oh 43204

614 499-4633

Free Personal Training Session, Free Year long training plan, Free Month of Small Group Training Columbus, Ohio

What does it take to have had enough?  At what point do you say this is not working?  I can do so much better.  Some people have had enough when they get too big for their clothes.  It is much cheaper to lose those ten or twenty pounds than it is to go buy a whole new wardrobe.  

At some point you or someone you know will say enough is enough.  This could be about weight, slowing down, eating terribly, back pain, being weak, drinking too much, or not exercising at all.  I have said that`s it I am going to stop this or that and start doing this for all of these reasons.  

I want you to come in for a personal training session so I know exactly where you are with your fitness journey right now.  I have Tuesday and Thursday mornings available at 6 am, 7am, 9 am, or 330 pm.  The first three people to respond with pick me will have a free personal training session, a one year training program to follow, and a free month of small group training!

When I was 23 almost 24 I hurt my back for the first time.  I think I had two discs slip.  It sounded like two little birds eggs cracking and was incredibly painful.  I never heard the sound again but the discs seemed to slip and bring me insane amounts of pain 8 or 9 more times over the next 8-9 years.  Basically every time this happened it would take me 10-15 minutes to stand even remotely upright and even then I would not be upright and be walking like a 90 year old man.  What did I do?  I went to the chiropractor for a while but he told me to do some things that I knew were bad for me so I chose to learn more, train differently, and train smarter.  Now I have not hurt my back in over three years.

When I felt slower and less mobile I learned to train more with bands, started doing more movement stuff and less heavy lifting.  Things like band resisted side shuffles, band resisted backwards running, band resisted broad jumps.  Yesterday I did band resisted backwards running while dribbling a basketball.  That is an awesome exercise especially when you add in crossover, behind the back, and through the leg dribbles.  

If you need some help come on in for a week and I will do the best I can to come up with a plan to help you.  Maybe all you need is a little direction something like a training plan to do on your own or in your gym.  Maybe you need a hybrid plan something like a training plan to do on your one personal training session per week or two small group sessions per week or month.

I want you to come in for a personal training session so I know exactly where you are with your fitness journey right now.  I have Tuesday and Thursday mornings available at 6 am, 7am, 9 am, or 330 pm.  The first three people to respond with pick me will have a free personal training session, a one year training program to follow, and a free month of small group training!

Reply with Pick Me!
*Not available for current clients

Online Personal Trainer Columbus Ohio

Why am I getting back into online fitness training? What is this? Is online personal training even a real thing? Yes it is and it is growing.

I became a certified personal trainer through the ISSA in 2006. For five years I trained clients at houses, apartment complexes, and various parks.  Then in 2011 I opened Jackhammer Strength Training.  For a brief time I did online training before I opened my physical location.  I did not think that I could hold people accountable with their training nor had I truly developed a training style.

Now after over 5 years training thousands of hours, training everyone imaginable from police to stroke victims to triathletes I have developed very powerful training systems.  Basically strength and conditioning plans like you might get from a college strength coach but custom made for anyone based on their abilities and limitations.

An example would be a plan for a man we will call Joe. Joe wants to get stronger, lose 20 pounds, and is a very busy man with lots going on.  Joe cannot get to a traditional gym very often and is skeptical that he can get stronger while training at home.  What kind of things could make you stronger without access to a gym?  Joe has a house, with a basement that has joists.  Joe can now do pullups on the joists, or inverted rows on the support beams.  He can grab a back pack full of books and do pushups, carries, steps.  He can do variations of pushups, pullups, body weight squats, lunges, dips, stretches, things to maximize tension.  

If I find out where Joe is fitness wise I can easily make him a 3,6,or 12 month plan to help him get stronger, improve his overall conditioning, and lose 20 pounds.  Using a very powerful software program I will make a plan for Joe.

How will I hold Joe accountable?  Some online trainers do phone calls, texts, emails, skype, or video.  I will hold Joe accountable through one phone call and one video message per week.  He will be responsible for the video each week.  This video is to ensure that he is doing the more difficult exercises properly and to ensure that he is ready to move on to the next phase of the program each week.

One more way I will hold Joe or people like Joe accountable are through actual one on one or small group sessions.  Some of the biggest fitness business gurus in the world think that online training will be the fastest growing segment in the fitness industry.  I believe they are right.  I plan on offering a hybrid model of online training plus personal training, online training plus small group training, and just online training.

The biggest reason I am getting into online training though is not because of it possibly being the fastest growing segment of the fitness industry but because of the amount of people out there touting themselves as fitness experts.  I am a part of a group on a social media site with over 5,000 members.  Lots of these people probably paid $50 for a certification that they got in a couple of hours.  How much knowledge does someone have from taking a two hour test?  

Another reason I am getting into online training is that I should be able to attract my ideal customer easier.  Being in Columbus, Ohio the strongest city in the world it often seems hard to attract my ideal customer.  With this hybrid approach I hope to reach hundreds of people who want to get stronger guys who want to bench 200 and 300 pounds and women who want to squat their body weight or do their first pullup.  People who are turned off by Crossfit and do not like the idea of training with 20-40 people at a time, want to compete against themselves, get better on a continuous basis, and not get injured because they were doing a lift they were not prepared to do or were too fatigued to do properly.   

In my plans people will be training the seven primal movements squat, lunge, push, pull, jump, run, and twist or bend.  Every phase of training will hit the seven primal movements with various ab routines and complexes for conditioning.

What is a complex?  I am glad you asked a complex is a series of exercises performed in rapid succession usually 6-8 moves with the same implement.  Complexes can be geared towards strength or towards conditioning.  I prefer to use them for conditioning and use about 40 different complexes on a regular basis with a 2-1 all the way up to a 6-1 work to rest ratio.  If you do something as hard as you can for 30 seconds and rest for 5 seconds and do that for 6 to 8 exercises in a row you will be breathing hard and you will get better!

An example would be: 32 seconds on and 8 seconds of rest

Kettlebell swing

Goblet jump squat

Kettlebell high pull left

Kettlebell high pull right

Kettlebell offset lunges left

Kettlebell offset lunges right

Who would do the above complex?  Someone that can do explosive exercises, someone who has demonstrated that they can hinge properly and therefore swing safely, someone with no shoulder issues, and someone that does not have knee problems.  

If someone had shoulder and knee issues and could not hinge properly they would not be doing this complex.  I might have them do a corrective exercise complex instead which would look something like this:

Hip thrust

Cook lift left

Cook lift right

Tea cup exercise

Dynamic Back burners

Wall Slides   

The biggest problem I see in the fitness industry is these cookie cutter programs with everyone doing the exact same thing.  Insanity should not be done by most people that is why it causes tons of injuries.  Virtually every popular training regimen in the world is probably not the best program for the average person.

I have 20 years of training under my belt, a Bachelor’s Degree, many certifications, am a published author and am looking for three guinea pigs to be my first online clients.  

Special Online Offer

One Month Online Training includes

Strength and Conditioning  Plan 4 days per week

1 Video and 1 phone call per week

$200

Be one of my first three online clients

Save 50%

$100 and if you are in the Columbus, Ohio area you will also get one small group session per week at Jackhammer Strength Training

Get Stronger!

According to Louis Simmons the greatest strength coach in the world.  A man needs to be able to do 42 inch box jumps to show a minimum level of power.  My best box jump is only 36 inches at 5'9 225 so I guess I am not as powerful as I thought.  On my best jump I probably would have gotten onto a 39 inch box.

Relative Strength is extremely important when playing sports.  If you have two athletes and one can squat 450 pounds weight 180 pounds and another squatting 440 pounds at 220 pounds the first athlete has a much higher relative strength level 2.5-1 versus 2-1.

My best squat to below parallel is 385 pounds and my best box squat to slightly above parallel is 500 pounds.  These were both done in the 225-230 pound range.  When I was in high school I did not do squats or deadlifts but I could leg press 1060 pounds for six reps.  I think if I had squatted in high school I probably would have done the same as I can now if not more.  385 at 155 is 2.48- 1 ratio.  This is why I could dunk a softball in high school.

How much more can I squat?  With the right training partners?  With accommodating resistance?  With the right atmosphere?  I have no doubt that I can hit a 500 pound squat eventually.  I already did box squat that much.  Will I hit it training at my gym Jackhammer Strength Training?  Will I find a lifting partner at Beyond Limits who can push me and train during the day when normal people are at work?  Will I go to the Dogg House and become an absolute beast?  Will I get strong enough that I will be invited one day to train at West Side Barbell?

My clients keep getting stronger but just like I am not strong enough to train at West Side Barbell many people are not at the minimum level they need to be at to train at Jackhammer Strength Training.  Yes, I can train people of all levels but that does not mean that I should.  I know quite a bit about corrective exercises and what to have people do with various movement limitations. I want to be stronger than I am now and I want to help normal people be stronger and fitter than they have ever been at any stage of their life.  I want the 35-55 year olds to train with me oms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers who want to be resilient, look good, feel good, minimize back pain, lose weight, and get stronger.  I want Jackhammer Strength Training to bridge the gap between being strong in a commercial gym and the beasts that train at the reknown power lifting gyms in the Columbus, Ohio area.

Eleven days ago I hit a goal a 300 pound pullup.  That may not be impressive to you but how many times have you seen someone do a 300 pound pullup regardless of their size?  I did this at 230 pounds plus 72 pounds with the dip belt and two 35 pounders.  When is the last time you hit a big goal?  If it has been a while shoot me a message I would love to come up with a plan that can get you to your goals.  Nathan Jordan

Just because I can does not mean that I should!

The Crossfit Open 16.1 is happening.  Their are over 8,000 Crossfit gyms in the world and probably over 200,000 people will do the 16.1 workout.  I can do this workout but that does not mean that I should.  The 16.1 for a man includes walking lunges with a 95 pound bar overhead 8 burpees, 8 chest to bar pullups, and the walking lunges with the 95 pound bar again.  You do as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.  Yes I know I can do this and I could probably get 6 rounds.  But will it make my life better?  No.  Will it get me closer to my goals?  No.

These are not the reasons though that I should not do this workout.  The reason I should not do this workout is that lunges hurt and not in a good way.  Lunges really hurt my left knee.  I can lunge but I should not lunge.  This is why I will not be doing the 16.1.

My workout today will make me better, will make me stronger, will not leave me so sore that I cannot function properly the next few days, and most importantly get me ready for Australian Rules Football season.  You see the workouts that hammerheads do not only make you ready for anything but they really do make you resilient against injury and sickness.

Case in point I get sick about once a year.  In my 8 years of playing arguably the most dangerous sport in the world I have only had two real injuries a bruised rib and a minor torn mcl and these were both before I started Jackhammer Strength Training and developed all of my training systems.

My workout today will consist of:

Zercher squats
Bench Press Lock Outs
Weighted Dips
Light Barbell Military Presses probably 3 sets of 8

for cardio 20-10 rounds on the:

airdyne bike
hitting the heavy bag
a jump variation
fast short range motion pushups

If you are going to do the 16.1 and the rest of the Crossfit Open good luck. This is almost certainly going to be the easiest of the Open. If you would like something with more variety and more emphasis on the power lifts as opposed to the Olympic lifts come on in for a free week of small group training at Jackhammer Strength Training located at 3002 McKinley Ave. Columbus, Oh 43204 very close to Upper Arlington, Grandview, and Hilliard.

Jackhammer Strength Training`s top 10 cardio exercises

When most people think of cardio they think of long slow distance cardio.  Yes that can be good but their are much better ways to do your cardio.  At Jackhammer Strength Training a fitness studio at 3002 McKinley Ave.  in Columbus Ohio we do what I call power cardio. I am going to list my top 10 favorite cardio exercises that we employ to get our personal training and small group training clients incredible results.

1. Battling Rope we do many variations but the double wave with a jump is my personal favorite

2. Medicine Ball slam this will really get your heart rate up when you slam the ball as hard as you can

3. Airdyne bike as you go faster you have to work harder and harder try going all out for 20 seconds rest for 20 seconds and see how many rounds you can go

4. Burpees our standard burpee is down to pushup position, back to your feet, and jump as high as you can

5. Jump rope we do not jump rope that often and should more it is a great exercise

6. Kettlebell swings once someone can hinge properly and learns how to swing without their back hurting this can really be a game changer

7. Band resisted froggy jumps help you get stronger, more powerful, and get your heart rate up all at the same time

8. Medicine ball granny throws throw the ball up as high as you can, let it land, and repeat, the only problem is when people get too strong for our little 20 pound medicine balls and we need to go outside and it is too cold or raining

9. Complexes I use about 30 complexes of 6 to 8 exercises in quick succession

10. Ring of Fire with resistance bands band press outs, band resisted sideways running, band lunges multiple variations, band froggy jumps, band extensions, backwards running

Notice their is no jogging on this list no being bored out of your mind on the elliptical.  If you want to be skinny and weak by all means go run long distances slowly.  If you want to be fit and ready for anything start lifting and doing metabolic work like the above exercises.  If you need some help come on in we have a bring a friend in promotion right now where you both get a free month of small group training.  If I gave you $150 you would want it right?  That is what this is worth.  Hope to see you tonight at 430 pm or 530 pm or Saturday morning at 930 am.

Call me if you have any questions

Nathan Jordan
614 499-4633

The Most Important Workout of Your Life!

The most important workout of your life is the one that you do not want to do, the one you are supposed to do today.  It is not the last workout you did or the hardest workout that you ever made it through.  It is the workout you are dreading.  The one you are making excuses for.  I have heard them all and I have said quite a few of them myself.  Things like I didn`t get enough sleep, I don`t have time, my back hurts, I don`t have a ride, the game is on, I have to work.  We all get 168 hours in a week.  Are you spending 20-30 hours a week online, watching tv, or netflix?  How would your life improve if you spent just 5 of those hours training regularly?

If you are like most people you are making excuses to not go to the gym.  As the day progresses it is easier and easier to make the excuses and not get your workouts in.  Your intentions do not matter what you actually do is what matters.  What is the easiest way to quit making excuses?  I have three answers to that question

1. train first thing in the morning no time to make excuses
2. find an accountability partner to hold you accountable
3. train today

When you do the workout that you do not want to do you are making it easier for all future workouts.  If you are truly dreading your workout you may need to change it up and that is extremely easy to do in this day and age with things like Groupon, Classpass, and google.

In Columbus, Ohio you have 87 different fitness offerings featured on Groupon

https://www.groupon.com/local/columbus-oh/fitness-classes

Jackhammer Strength Training is having a bring a friend month right now if anyone brings in a friend they both get a free month of small group training.  We have sessions at 6 am, 8 am, 430 pm, and 530 pm as wells as Saturdays at 930 am. 

Come check us out at:

3002 McKinley Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43204 in the Quarry Plaza right next to the Quarry apartments and Runaway Bay.

Train Today, Bring a Friend, Be Accountable

Jackhammer Strength Training`s Top Gyms in Columbus, Ohio

Happy New Year Let the fitness New Years resolutions begin. If you want to be successful give the little guys a chance, avoid the big box gyms, do functional training, and do not drive to wait to be on cardio machines. Every one of you is more a machine than any bike, any rowing machine, any elliptical, any treadmill, any smith machine, or any other machine out there.

 If you do not know what to do their are apps, their are over 400 gyms just in Columbus. Over 27 crossfit gyms in Columbus, If I did not own a gymJackhammer Strength Training this is the list of gyms I might go to in no particular order: The Spot Athletics, 11 Athletics, YMCA especially Hilliard, Groveport Rec Center, Body By Greg, Power Shack, Premiere at Sawmill, RPAC and other OSU facilities. I am sure their are many other quality gyms but I have not been to them or know what they are doing at them. 

Where ever you go do not expect to get into shape over night. It took me 9 years of lifting to get to the elusive 300 pound bench, it took me 30 years to go from 14 to 21 pullups, it took me 20 years to hit a 514 pound hex bar deadlift. Yes I have lost 30 pounds in 6 weeks, I have also put on 50 pounds in one year. Both of those occurred when I was 23. If you would like my help with any fitness goal message me and figure out a time to come in. We do small group training think of personal training plus conditioning. We have a 6 week partner transformation challenge starting Monday and I would love to help some more people. ‪#‎gettingbetter‬ ‪#‎jackhammerstrengthtraining‬

Imagine training with someone who has trained thousands of people, taken the best things from proven systems and created their own.  That is what you get at Jackhammer Strength Training.  We do cardio strength, rounds of ten like german volume training or crossfits 12 rounds of christmas, tabata style, long rounds, hurricanes, wheels, back to uni, balance, speed, power, exercise jenga, ceck of cards, hybrid 6 weeks to super hero, reverse ladders, 5-3-1. bands, kettlebells, barbells, complexes, dumbells, body weight, body weight plus band supersets.  These are the reasons I have gotten stronger, improved my endurance, and not gotten hurt in the last three years all while playing one of if not the most dangerous sport in the world Australian Rules Football.