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Off-Topic Al Ciampa podcast

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+1 for the Podcast episode with Al, and I can say that although it's packed with good stuff, it only scratches the surface of what he has to say and teach.

For anyone who doesn't know this already, I can say with 100% certainty that I am here because of Al. He started a physical training and kettlebell program on the military base where I work, and I was smart enough to take the class starting in March of 2013. Actually, it took me a year to get smart; it was March of 2014 when I finally realized THIS IS THE WAY, not just another fitness class among the endless cardio and little dumbell stuff I had been doing for so many years. For the first time I started to understand strength training, progression, and what sort of potential there was down that path. My mind was totally blown when I read a copy of his PT manual, and I've never thought about fitness the same way since. In fact if I had to point to one single thing that had the biggest influence on my entire fitenss journey, that would be it. Although he left this location soon after that, he has continued to mentor me as I've gone thorugh SFG I and the preparation for it, bodyweight class, SFG II, SFL, and becoming a peronal trainer at the base -- in fact, I'm currently teaching most of my sessions with students in the gym that he built while he was here. We have great discussions via email and he's truly a great friend! I know I can never really repay all he's given me... all I can do is try to pay it forward to others. In this way we continue the shared learning and community around strength training and being our best selves.
 
I am another person profoundly helped by Al through a few e-mails. He gently pointed out the “elephant in the room” which was my weight and motivated me to address that reality. About three e-mails and some blunt but gracious challenge and I was on my way to a 50 pound weight loss and substantial improvement in strength. I doubt Al is even aware how much he helped.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention Ryan Talbert who honed my skills in the swing, getup, and goblet squat. He filled in the gaps of skill development that I could not do remotely with Al.

Thanks to Al for getting me on the right track and for the idea of A+A as a focus.

Jim
 
Count me in as another stray dog Al has taken in, it's been said things happen for a reason and I think I'm proof of that.
I was going nowhere significant and becoming more and more frustrated dealing with injury and setbacks in training (old injuries) when I decided out of nowhere to go for SFG1 testing in Dec last year. After which I became active on the forum and really started to play with training concepts to see what was a fit for me.

Looking at and experimenting with A+A was what I knew in my gut to be the path for me. It's a beautiful system yet simple and foolproof. Thanks again @aciampa !
 
Enjoyed it as well. Cleared up some of my confusion regarding the relationship between strength, aerobic function, KB, and Maffetone that came from reading forum posts. I thought the discussion of the downsides of high intensity were well explained.
 
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