You Can’t Train Indoors Forever

    I hate winter, ok maybe not hate it has it's perks up here in Pre-Canada Idaho but when it comes to training, I don't find it fun at all training in 20 degree weather or when it's snowing. I'm not bitching or anything when I train I'll do it however I want even if it means going out in Winter Wonderland but I'm a born and bred California kid ok, freezing to the general population is 32 degrees give or take more or less but on the California coast, to them freezing is like 50-55. I've kept myself stuck training indoors since late October and I'm already getting Cabin Fever and it sucks man lol. Before I moved up here, I exercised practically every freaking day outdoors, sprinted up hills, rolled around like an animal at parks, Handstands on the wharf (ok that one time back in early '06), Training with my boys in the rain and walking on my hands in the driveway, it was a blast. Don't get me wrong I still have fun moving around in my house doing Animal Flow, Handstands, Mace Swinging, MovNat and best of all Qi Gong but when I'm outside in the fresh air and the weather is sunny and warm; I'm a damn maniac. I'm telling you when Spring and Summer come in, stay out of my way or try to keep up cause I'll swimming, lifting rocks, sprinting like The Flash, listening to the birds chirp as I move with flowing energy in Qi Gong Styles and playfully moving my body doing all sorts of stuff that is fun and exciting.

 
    Training indoors can be fun if you're at home or in your favorite gym but nothing beats training out in the fresh air, being free of artificial appliances and planting your feet in nature and it teaches you something that doesn't involve your cell phone, iPad or that asshole next to the dumbbell rack texting his friend about the hot mamacita doing squats next to him. Time to blossom sweetheart, when that warm weather catches your eye and feeling the warmth of the sun it just feels good. Some people do like training in the snow and on occasion I'll mess around on the tire or do some bear crawls around the yard but for the most part those people are far tougher than I'am and I have a ton of respect for them. You have all this open space (even in places like New York or Chicago you can move around in many places), it's all about your creative imagination. My friend Bud Jeffries trains in the backyard of his house and even does sled pushes down the freaking street that is bad ass in my book. Do some cool stuff on the swing set, go run some sprints up your favorite hill, go swim in your favorite lake or the ocean, do some primal moving smacked in the middle of Central Park if you can, you have freedom and tons of things to practice and learn. When I'm down at the Lake even around a ton of people in this small area of a beach I play around with Handstands and dynamic stretches in between jumping in the water and doing different strokes (no pun intended). Make it your chance to shine even if you are terrible and just learning how to move just don't hurt anyone and don't feel bad about being embarrassed it's all apart of the process brother, in my handstand craze at the beach I have held for a short amount of time and I've also fallen on my ass looking like a complete idiot but I didn't care because I'm having fun.

 
    When people say there are ways to train anywhere and everywhere doesn't mean you do it indoors at every freaking place you go to, come on man live a little. While a couple family members are paying 20 bucks to hit the gym for an hour 20 minutes away, I'm at the beach lifting heavy rocks, swimming for meters on end, sprinting off the docks and climbing/crawling on the bigger rocks by the shore, that's the type of guy I choose to be, sure I would hit the gym a time or two but it's for one purpose only, to see how much weight I can muster to move within the time I'm there. I love being inside at times where I don't feel like going out and have plenty of options for that anyway but holy shit, you get me outside my imagination catches fire like a moth to a damn flame. There are places that are much better done outside than inside. I don't like being in just one spot to do exercise or play, I want the whole damn field, swim around the entire lake or move around a good stretch of grass just for the love of movement. Can you tell how excited I'am for the spring?

 
    The sun is not always your enemy, some people do have a condition where they're extremely low on Vitamin D and they burn up faster than usual in the sun but with that exception I think the general amount of the population can suck it up and get some sun. Sure it can get pretty damn hot in certain places so indoors is a good idea and it can also get ridiculously colder than Jack Frost's Gene Pool so, find the balance that works for you. Granted some people train in practically every type of weather, hell if acid rained from the sky some insane dude with a death wish will go train, I wondered if a guy ever got caught in a tornado while he was training for the bench press out next to his trailer park? Maybe some beautiful woman with a slim sexy body training for the Ironman get's blown into Hurricane Terrence in the middle of South Beach Miami (sounds like a slightly gay hurricane don't you think); you never know what type of weather people will train in, why not an athlete training in the middle of nowhere Siberia wearing 100 pairs of clothing in 100 below freezing winter just because he wanted to get a few minutes in before he kicks back in his cozy little house and possibly watch some Russian Stand-Up Comedy? All in all, get your Vitamin D in naturally and feel the love and warming touch of that perfectly crisp and lemonade chugging weather where you have the freedom to bask in nature's training arena and take on something you never done before and have a blast doing it.