Don't the RW Bloggers get the irony of this ad?

[RobertSeattle]

http://images.blogads.com/mdibqnboivhiifxjuudpn/hughhewittcom/3216661/thumb?rev=rev_3

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Pumping (more) irony ...

Matt Furey, the man behind the ad, isn't a run-of-the-mill Freepazoid. He married a Chinese woman, appears to be a Buddhist (or possibly Bushidoka) in his spiritual beliefs, he's well-educated and has a generally libertarian/populist outlook on things when he does talk about political issues.

What he does know is that right wing men are very insecure about their masculinity. So he is making money off of it.

He's also promoting a fairly good physical fitness program, based around body-leverage exercise. I prefer Pavel Tsatsouline's methodology, which is similar but based on Russian peasant physical culture techniques, but that's because of my personal physical idiosyncracies. And half my family is Russian/Ashkenazic.

They each put enough information on their websites so that you don't have to spend tons of money on their merchandise, which is certainly not a practice that swashbuckling free-marketeers subscribe to. The two of them may even vote Republican for all I know, but have never showed a trace of being RW ranting idiots.

If you're in need of an exercise program, look up their websites and ignore the crackerbarrel machismo. The info itself is solid. The Lee Ermey impressions are strictly for "laffs".

--p!

[RobertSeattle]

2. And I was just trying to imply the "Gannon" look of the guy!

Interesting (and amsuing) info - thanks!

[KitchenWitch]

3. I dl'ed it but it will not open

[RobertSeattle]

4. Oops - sorry

It's a 4 part gif. Two images of a "Gannon" looking guy exercising and then 2 gifs advertising.

It's on the upper right of the main page of www.hughhewitt.com (if you can stomach it) if you want to see it would load there.

[KitchenWitch]

5. that is just silly!

[Dogmudgeon]

6. Oopsie!

I forgot the links; and decided to write some brief reviews.

Matt Furey -- www.mattfurey.com -- He works the "Politically Incorrect" and "Kick Ass" and "Combat Conditioning" buzzwords like they were an underconditioned pair of biceps. He's got the right-wing poetry down to a science, but I have yet to see a single anti-lib whine or a smooch of the Bush fanny. And that takes talent.

He's also a very aggressive web marketer, and you'll get some come-ons for his money-making courses, too. They can be safely ignored ... unless you want to run an on-line business.

Similar to Tsatsouline's programs, but Furey's require a certain amount of initial physical prowess (though not very much). His program is based on three or four somewhat unusual exercises from colonial-era Indian physical culture.

The exercises resemble "divebomber" push-ups, tip-toe squats, and modified back bridges. I was unable to get much out of them because they require an amount of balance that I lack, since I have damaged inner ears.

Dragondoor Press and Company -- www.dragondoor.com -- Publish Pavel Tsatsouline's books, some articles, and links to other Pavel fan sites on the web.

The Naked Warrior is P.Ts.'s body-weight-exercise-based training program. It's an excellent program that takes little time, gets quick results, avoids the pitfalls of muscle-isolation exercise, strengthens joints as well as muscles, and can be done at any level of fitness, even if you are grossly obese, have a badly impaired sense of balance, and suffer from chronic infections and nerve pain like Yours Truly. Just don't ask me to make a public display of my Warrior technique or nudity.

Yes, Dragondoor works that "Warrior" thing pretty hard; they also have The Warrior Diet which is a pretty good nutritional approach if your health is basically sound.

Tsatsouline used to be a hand-to-hand combat trainer for the KGB and Spetsnaz; he is a talented teacher who has trained thousands of semi-fanatical fans, and his books are extremely well-written and easy to follow. Tsatsouline is also one of the major promoters of competetive Russian Kettlebell weight lifting, or Ghirevoi Sport. (For my fellow Vascophiles, the Basques developed a similar sport independently.) Kettlebell weight training is a very efficient form of resistance training, and can be much cheaper than traditional gym training. For instance, you can make your own light ghiri out of 2- or 3-liter soda bottles and sand. For heavier ones, a trip to the hardware store will be necessary. From Russia With Love is the book on P.Ts's weight training techniques using ghiri and "standard" weight equipment.

Ultimately, you have to follow your own instincts in the choice of fitness programs. But you can do much worse than to check out Tsatsouline and Furey.

--p!
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with either Pavel Tsatsouline or Matthew Furey, or their companies, or their partners, or their agents, or their succedanea, or their kine, or their raiment.