The deadlift. One of the central "slow lifts" and a mainstay in powerlifting and strongman competitions. You're probably already familiar with this movement, but we're going to break it down in a little more detail, pointing out some common mistakes, and get you pulling more than you ever imagined.

The deadlift varies from most other movements in that it begins concentrically - that is, you pull the weight "dead" from the ground, without creating a stretch reflex by passing through the eccentric (or negative) portion of the movement, thus it's popularity as a brute strength movement.

It is one of the most taxing lifts, recruiting multiple muscle groups and putting a high level of stress on the central nervous system. Due to its difficulty and impact on the body, the deadlift is an essential part of everyone's program - regardless of goals. You can't get big without getting strong, and the deadlift will make you very, very strong. It has a number of uses, variations and modifications, but we will begin today with the basic barbell deadlift.

Chip Conrad is the owner and head trainer of Bodytribe, a Sacramento-based gym specializing in progressive, full-spectrum fitness. He has been active in the strength and conditioning world for over 15 years and has trained with such Physical Culture luminaries as the late Dr. Mel Siff, Dan John, Tommy Kono, Dave Tate, amongst others. He regularly blogs at his own website www.physicalsubculture.com and has written articles for www.wannabebig.com, www.elitefts.com and more. His book, Lift With Your Head and DVD Strength Rituals are available on his website or at Amazon.com . He is currently filming for his next DVD entitled Brutal Recess.

Preregistration for the Oct 10th and 11th workshop series with Chip Conrad at Second Nature Fitness is now open. Register for the whole weekend before Monday, October 5th and receive a $10 discount! And don't forget to inquire about group rate discounts - the more people you bring, the greater your discount!

Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details and registration forms.

Chip Conrad, strength coach, owner of Bodytribe in Sacramento, CA (www.bodytribe.com) and physical culturist extraordinaire will be coming to Milwaukee to present a series of workshops at Second Nature Fitness this October.

We will explore fitness, movement and program design from top to bottom over 2 exciting days.

Day 1 (Sat) will kick off with a 2-hour program design workshop in which we discuss the philosophy of Physical Culture, the Spectrum of Strength and how to combine these concepts to create exciting, effective and fulfilling fitness programs.

The bulk of Day 1 will be spent exploring barbell exercises - new ways to understand familiar movements, and some new exercises, too! We'll spend 3 hours tearing into core lifts like the squat, bench, deadlift and overhead press. We'll also break down the Olympic lifts (snatch, clean and jerk) and talk about how to successfully incorporate these movements into your workout schedule.

We'll end Day 1 with an hour-long workshop on mobility - the unification of flexibility, stability and strength. A combination of traditional bodyweight exercises, yoga, and pre-habilitation, mobility is an essential part of any exercise program. We'll discuss how to use it to cap off a great workout, increase strength & range of motion and prevent injury.

Day 2 Sun) will begin with a 2-hour kettlebell exclusives workshop: we'll dig into the history of the kettlebell and explore how to use this tool to its fullest capacity. Even if you consider yourself to be a mini Pavel, you'll still learn some new tricks!

Once we've mastered the kettlebell, we'll move on to building combos out of dumbbell and barbell movements: oft considered to be tools of limited use, we will bend, twist and warp your understanding of these chunks of iron until you view them in an entirely new light. This 2-hour workshop will cover some new movements and how to incorporate old & new into crushing combos.

The weekend will conclude with Chip's newest brainchild: Brutal Recess. We'll learn how to combine mobility and bodyweight movements to create killer workouts with only ourselves and our minds. Expect fun, hard work and some outside play time (weather permitting).

Each seminar will be $20 each, or $50 per day. You can attend as few or as many as you like - we, of course, encourage you to join us for the whole weekend party, but it's not mandatory.

Pre-registration will be available beginning Monday September 22nd and an early bird discount will be offered. Also, refer a non-member (Neutral Ground or Second Nature Fitness) for a discount on your admission!

Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.