KNOWLEDGE

What you know does not matter - what you do matters. Physical training produces physical memories - not simply muscle memory but a psychophysical imprint, knowledge that is instinctual rather than intellectual. This is useful knowledge. However, before you can forget and allow the unconscious to take over you need to learn it by heart and learn it well enough to write it in blood.

	DISCLAIMER Nothing on this site is a recommendation it's just what we do. And we take responsibility for our actions. You should too... more
	PRIVATE Modern fitness is defined by appearance rather than actual horsepower. A training environment contaminated by this attitude cannot produce superior fitness, physical or mental... more
	PHILOSOPHY The future development of fitness programming will derive from cooperation between scientists and experiential field workers, from the marriage (and all that the word entails) of academics, coaches, and practitioners... more
	CLARITY We have tried to be clear about who we are and what we do but apparently we have failed. In the words of Henrietta Collins, “We'll leave nothing to your imagination this time. We tried that last time and, in our opinion it didn't work.”... more
	"300" Buzz about the movie “300” increases in volume as its release date approaches. Because we were responsible for the fitness and appearance of the barely-clothed protagonists... more
	300 OPINIONS It appears everyone has an opinion about “300” and how the actors and stunt crew achieved the level of fitness – and consequentially, appearance – for the movie. I have read that it was all CGI, make-up, steroids, though no one has yet mentioned alien int... more
	HARD WORK No amount of fancy gimmicks or equipment or adoption of alleged time-saving ‘fads' will substitute for a long term program of hard work... more
	SHOULD I? When we post daily workouts we are intentionally cryptic at times. The point to posting any of this is to show a different way, stimulate thought, and to push those who are ready to be pushed... more
	IMPORTANT Physical training produces physical memories - not simply muscle memory but a psychophysical imprint, knowledge that is instinctual rather than intellectual... more
	WHY The athletes who train here push themselves to their utmost limit because top performance is the only currency we accept. I don't earn a living from Gym Jones but I learn about living from what happens here... more
	REMAKE REMODEL The psychological impact of physical effort is a common Gym Jones theme. The temporary transformation one experiences by becoming what he or she is doing carries over into other aspects of one's life. Because I presume awareness... more
	INNER CONFLICT "Self-expression in the gym is the same as behavior in the outside world. Testing and self-hazing in the gym elevates or crushes us depending on whether we overcome ourselves or fall short of our expectations and self-image."... more
	QUALITY Some "fitness" folks like to quote the Henry Rollins phrase, "two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds." At Gym Jones we say that, to ensure valid measurement a yardstick must be one yard long and two hundred pounds is only that when moved through ... more
	RELATIVE STRENGTH Size matters, but not necessarily the way you want it to. Bigger is not necessarily better, nor is bigger always stronger... more
	ENDURANCE V.2 If you train endurance exclusively you'll be weak and slow though able to go forever. To go long AND fast the program must include high-intensity work to sharpen endurance... more
	STRENGTH FOR ENDURANCE Endurance athletes often avoid real strength training due to the belief that such efforts will make them bigger and tighter and slower. The exact opposite is true (contingent on proper execution)... more
	TALENT A friend and training mentor once told me, "The secret of the pros is that they train in secret." For a while that made sense... more
	WILL AND SUFFERING The mind and body adapt to both comfort and deprivation. The difficult experiences of mountaineering may appear irrational and risky from the comfort of the armchair, but learning to deal with them is essential. Relish the challenge of overcoming... more
	ATTITUDE The training we do is the consequence of an attitude. The attitude is the meaningful fundamental; without it no benefits may be realized... more
	FAILURE Many sports, and climbing in particular are treated as goal-oriented rather than experience-oriented undertakings. All goal-oriented activities have failure as their antithesis... more
	FAILURE 2 I was reminded of the original Failure essay recently after watching a fighter admit that, although he lost, he didn't “feel like a loser.” This sort of unrealistic positive self-talk is nauseating... more
	BREATHING LADDERS From time to time we find it necessary and interesting to train aerobic endurance using weights and weightlifting movements. One method we use is called a Breathing Ladder... more
	11/25/70 It was my ambition as a young climber that started me down the path of fitness. My heroes in both the physical and literary world were fit themselves and revered strength and endurance as tools used to attain higher consciousness... more
	WEEKEND WARRIOR As a professional climber I was quite dedicated to training and had the time to do as much as I felt necessary but when life and career changed my training opportunities dwindled... more
	PROTEIN Calorie replacement during endurance effort is critical to long term energy production and speedy post-effort recovery... more
	FAT Endurance efforts are largely fueled by fat oxidation. To be sure, fats require the background catabolism of carbohydrates for conversion but (in well-trained, endurance-adapted athletes) at levels of work 70% of MVO2 or below the predominant source of en... more
	THE OLD SCHOOL (PART ONE) When I started climbing in 1980 specific training programs for the sport didn't exist. Instead my partners and I made things up as we went along, borrowing ideas from Nordic skiing to improve endurance and doing exercises that appeared to support climbing... more
	THE OLD SCHOOL (PART TWO) From 1981 until 1994 my training for alpinism was founded on three precepts: go as hard as possible in every workout, train the movements and muscle groups at the same speed as they will be used while climbing... more
	THE OLD SCHOOL (PART THREE) When I first began climbing I paid attention to what I ate about as carefully as any 20 year-old would – I was so high on testosterone that it didn't seem to matter. The only question we tried to answer was how to get enough calories... more
	TESTIMONIAL (1) On Saturday I ran my test race, the Squaw Peak 50 miler. I ran the race feeling the best I have ever felt. Of course I hurt at the end but I finished strong... more
	TESTIMONIAL (2) At the risk of exaggerating, I'm stronger and more able now than when I was 18. For the first time, I'm aware of my imbalances and how to correct them and feel like I'm developing a body that really 'works'!... more
	EASY In the early days we thought we were smart. We should have read the fine print. Surfing the web we found a workout that looked effective though easy... more
	TWITCHING Aren't you sick of being tempted by an alternative lifestyle, but bound by chains of your own choosing? Of the gnawing doubt that the college graduate, path of least resistance is the right way for you - for ever?... more
	MUSICAL INFLUENCE Dad was a music fascist. He listened to Wagner, German Drinking Songs, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, and the Clancy Brothers. He liked it loud so everyone else in the house heard to it too. I tried to revolt, but mid-70s Glam-Rock trapped every middl... more
	WARNING In an era when information is freely available on the Internet copyrights don't appear to carry the same weight they once had. But you should know the difference between right and wrong by now... more