

The Hammer Cast
Aleks Salkin
A show about strength, health, fitness, learning languages, and becoming a more interesting person.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 23, 2022 • 5min
Ep. 306: The 'Fifth Element' of Fitness for a Lean, Youthful Physique
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com For many people, the final frontier of their fitness is training their gait pattern. Today I want to continue to talk about that frontier, and go even beyond it, into seemingly esoteric directions (though as you'll soon see, they're very much grounded in real, actionable steps). I'm gonna talk a bit about what I consider the "fifth element" of fitness and one of the least-used keys in our quest for a lean, youthful-feeling body that performs as well into our later decades as it did in our younger ones (and arguably better). Tune in to find out WTF I'm talking about...

Nov 22, 2022 • 7min
Ep. 305: 1 'No-Technique' Move to Improve Your Strength (Almost) Instantly
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com I'd be willing to bet evergreen dollars to shiny shekels that the Israelites were some pretty strong mofos after 40 years of wandering in the desert. Why? Because they practiced THIS movement pattern a whole helluva lot during that time. Tune in to find out.

Nov 21, 2022 • 7min
Ep. 304: How to Maintain Your Favorite Exercises While You Dominate New Ones
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com One of the things I've found is that when it comes to crossing over into the next step in their training, one of the most common questions people will ask me is "How do I keep all the strength I built doing X, Y, and Z exercises when moving on to new ones?" Great question. And an easy one to answer. So easy, in fact, that I dive deep into it in this short episode. Listen and enjoy.

Nov 20, 2022 • 7min
Ep. 303: 'Move Younger' While Increasing Your Strength & Fitness
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com There are 3 major things you need to know about flexibility work for better, more youthful movement. I dive into them on this fine episode, which I am sure you're gonna love (you'd better, anyway).

Nov 19, 2022 • 7min
Ep. 302: How to Work Out More Effectively and Efficiently When You're Tight on Time
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com A gal named Kristen Mitchell — a busy mom with a full-time job — wrote to me a while back after finishing one of my free programs, The Anytime, Anywhere Bodyweight Strength Program. It's an ambitious-but-sensible program I designed that uses only bodyweight exercises at various degrees of intensity with a laser-sharp focus on technique to build strength and fitness safely and surely while providing a guide on how to find the right variation/intensity level of each exercise to lead you from where you are to wherever you want to go. Here I talk about what makes such a program successful. Have a listen and enjoy!

Nov 18, 2022 • 5min
Ep. 301: 3 'Stupid Simple' Ways to Build Strength More Quickly & Efficiently
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.AleksSalkin.com Are your workouts feeling stale, boring, and unproductive? These 3 tips might just help you kickstart your long-stalled strength once more.

Nov 17, 2022 • 6min
Ep. 300: A 9 Minute, High-Rep Leg Workout for Heavier Strength
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.AleksSalkin.com One of the best (and most ignored) ways of building seriously strong stems (i.e. legs) is through higher rep sets. This might come as a surprise to anyone who has had the idea hammered into their head that low reps are the only way to go, but the truth is quite the contrary. I dish on why (and how) in this fun-filled, jam-packed episode. Here are those videos for reference, too: * https://youtu.be/RF3CGxhauAY * https://youtu.be/6xKskXoTce8

Nov 16, 2022 • 7min
Ep. 299: A Cool "Old School" Way to Get Up to 28.8% stronger (In 1/2 the Time)
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.AleksSalkin.com People are creatures of habit; we tend to find something we like and stick with it. As far as working out is concerned, kettlebells and bodyweight are a great example (and for good reason: they'll deliver strength, fitness, mobility, and resilience gains for years to come and with relatively low occurrence of injuries provided you know what you're doing). However, mixing things up CORRECTLY can be one of the best things you ever do for your strength, fitness, and overall badazzery. This episode will give youa foray into one such tried-and-proven method.

Nov 15, 2022 • 8min
Ep. 298: #1 Bodyweight Move for a Bigger Kettlebell Military Press
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.AleksSalkin.com If you've been lifting kettlebells even for just a short period of time, there's one thing you've no doubt noticed: overhead pressing is just cool. I still remember over 10 years ago when I first clean & pressed a 24 kg kettlebell over my head. It was a monumental occasion for me - and if you'd like more such monumental occasions, the tips in this episode just might help you build up your own military press faster than you can say "how much ya press, bro?" Listen, learn, and apply. Have fun and happy training! Aleks

Nov 14, 2022 • 6min
Ep. 297: 4 Mighty Effective Tips to Rapidly Boost Your Kettlebell & Bodyweight Strength
Get my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge FREE here: http://www.AleksSalkin.com Kettlebells have a long history among old school strongmen, weightlifters, circus performers, special operators, and countless other tough-as-nails men and women. The reason why is simple: The kettlebell is one of the most versatile tools around for building strength in every nook and cranny of your body. Combine them with bodyweight movements and you've got yourself a system that can forge bold new strength and crush endless amounts of weakness from here to eternity. Here are 4 ways YOU can use kettlebells (and bodyweight) to boost your strength from here to the moon.


