I Get Knocked Down But I Get Up Again

 Remember that one hit 90's song? Classic. I was 13 when that song came out and it was all over the place for like a month or maybe a tad longer and then it died worse than Mel Gibson at the end of Braveheart. Every now and then it's nice to hear something retro like that (is music from 1997 considered retro?). Anyway, back to the show....

Nothing in life is ever really easy, if it really was easy, it be boring as shit. We all have moments of failure but when you get back up with a vengeance, it makes you appreciate how much failure really is a great teacher. Sometimes in this chaotic world, we just need to keep on going even when we get hit around. In the words of Steve Rogers "I can do this all day". Training is no different, we try things, we fail at certain attempts but we figure out a way to come back and make it better.

I made a video earlier today just doing a few things with bodyweight and the band but once I got into it especially the editing and then putting music to it, it turns out that it was more than just a fun thing to do, it helped ignite more of the passion I have for fitness and training. At least one thing you'll see is me Skipping rope which is extremely rare cause I've only ever filmed a couple times before, but not at the speed I was doing. After yesterday doing a few hundred jumps, I wanted to give a quick glimpse of what I do with it. Just basic jumping really, nothing special. The other stuff, some I haven't done in forever and even added in the Mirsha Dand that I'm still working on, I'll show doing more reps at another time. 

Some of my demos don't get viewed as much, others exploded a time or two but that's one of the things I like about doing them, they're not glamorous or anything, just me being me and adding some tunes to it. I don't do it to get millions of views (maybe some day, who knows), I do it cause it's fun for me and some like it which makes me happy, even a few were inspired by them. Some stuff may look cool and downright crazy at times but I don't get those the first time out. I sometimes film a lot longer than you would think. Whatever I post up, I failed multiple times and done multiple takes before getting what I want out of it. That's one of things Bud Jeffries did with many of his videos, he would often spend hours on one or a few things to get the right shot before posting anything. Some of the things he did were even things I wouldn't attempt to do and he made them look bad ass. Damn I miss the big man, it'll be 3 years since he was taken too soon from this world over a week from now. 

There are people out there who are perfectionists and try to do things that are so crisp that it looks like they never needed to practice in their life, but sadly, life doesn't work like that. Being a perfectionist has its perks for some and they thrive on it. For others, it can bite them in the ass because if all you do is chase perfection when it never comes around, you miss out a lot of things in life. It sucks but it happens.

We do what we can to get back up even when have had our asses handed to us. What is important is not to just shrug it off and rub some dirt in it, but to keep in mind that success can come when we get back on that horse. It's easy to just give in. There are some things that can't be fixed or be a solution to a problem for whatever reasons depending on the situation. We can however, move forward with what's possible and build success as time goes on. I have quit and given up on a few things in my life, things I can never share on here but those who know me best know what those are and what I've done to create my own successes later. 

Keep being amazingly awesome everyone and keep killing it in your journeys.  

The DopamineO Band Broadway Workout

 No this isn't a musical of songs and dances. There is a stage though, it's called the gym or wherever you can hook up the Dopa Band to. This is an inspiration from pro wrestling of a long and forgotten tradition. The Broadway, where a champion was in the main event and matches lasted as long as 60-90 minutes to a draw. These matches go as far back as the 40's up until the early 2000's that evolved into the Ironman Match where a competitor had to get as many "points" as possible within the time limit. Before the days of television when real matches were more common, matches at times lasted for hours. One of the most famous is Ed Lewis & Joe Stecher who went at each other for more than 5 hours. 

 Unlike a match, this was a workout that consisted of a circuit of 5 exercises for 10 reps each (my kind of circuit) and I would do as many rounds as possible within an hour. Here are the exercises:

10 Chest Flys

10 Wave Pulls

10 Uppercut To Squats

10 Alternating Skis

10 Propellers

The first few rounds weren't too difficult but once I started reaching 12-15, things got interesting. I may have gone one round where I did more than 10 reps of the propeller exercise but I kept on going. It got to a point where the knots came undone from the sweat which happens. I did a round or two without having the knots that were used to make handles but gripping it hard enough to remain efficient was tough and my hands kept sliding where the band nearly slipped out of my hands. After those rounds, I moved fast to wipe down the sweat and create new knots in them and tightened them as much as possible so the chances of them slipping out again was very slim. It worked so I was hammering away again. That was probably my longest "rest" since after each round I would mark off the circuit. 

The last few rounds were hard believe me but I still felt like I was in a groove and focused to the point where everything other than the exercises and the marking off went black. It felt like being in a different realm, I swear I thought I was somewhere else and the only thing I noticed was the band and the moves. I barely even remember what songs played on my spotify, that's how far out I was in that workout. The last three rounds, basically felt like a sprint, just going sonic the hedgehog on that fucker and keeping form as best as possible. The last round, I put practically my entire heart and soul into it before the timer went off and finish strong.

At the end, sweat pouring out of me, my durag on the floor cause during one of the rounds towards the end it got knocked off my head but I just didn't stop to care it happened, high as kite, breathing like I went into a battle and seeing how many rounds I got in was just icing on the cake. I managed 29 Rounds in 1 HOUR!!! that's an average of just over 2 minutes per round. I wanted to drop and die right there but I had to get back home somehow and nobody was in there so I don't think they'd want to see some dude lying on the floor in a puddle of his own sweat. I unhooked everything, put them in my little bag, grabbed my keys and walked out of there back to the apartment. 

Saying the shower felt like being in a rainfall in the amazon would be an understatement. Just feeling good all over, no soreness and the surge of positive energy was at peak levels. Can you say dopamine high? No drugs or alcohol, just good old fashioned post workout bliss. 

A workout like this doesn't happen all the time, quite frankly most of the time it rarely goes past 35 minutes and I wanted to challenge myself to see how many rounds I can get in 60 minutes. Safe to say I thought I'd get in at least 25 but I went more than that and I'm happy I did it. This band is a phenomenal tool you can add to your arsenal, it doesn't need to be relied on but it has usefulness that even Olympic Caliber Wrestlers would agree with. These men and women use bands like these to reach peak levels of conditioning that are unbelievable. In the recent Olympics, one woman won gold in Freestyle Wrestling at the age of 21 for the United States in the 68 kg weight class (Amit Elor) and credits Dopamineo as part of her training. Several men have medaled as well in the last three Olympics from various countries. It builds champions and world-class athletes. 

Be amazingly awesome and kill it in your own training with this band. Use my Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT to get 10% OFF your order. 

Workout System With Dopa Band That Promotes Heavy Conditioning

I do my best to keep my workouts to a minimum for maximum results that I can produce. Never waste time doing things just for saying you did something. I want to accomplish the best workout I can to get in better shape little by little each time. When your life can be a whirlwind at times and the people in your life depend on you, it's important to take the time to make an effort on your training so you can be strong and fit for those that need you. 

Experimenting with the Dopa Band has been wonders and testing out workouts has been awesome. One of the things I've come up with to get the most out of my workouts lately with the Band is to do interval training by going for a good period of time while resting only half the amount. This has led to doing a 30/15 For 4 Protocol that I enjoy doing because I can go hard, rest half the time and get in a few rounds per exercise to get whatever I need done. The idea is to work an exercise for 30 seconds, rest for 15 and repeat for a total of 4 rounds. Pick up to maybe no more than 6 exercises (you can do more if you want but the point is to be efficient and getting a workout in within 20 minutes or less) and do what you can with them. 

The most common exercises I would do are rows, chest presses (sometimes adding a squat to make it a combo), waves, sprints and lunges but also at times I'll throw in Bear Crawls, Duck Walks and shooting drills like in wrestling to really tackle the lungs. I'll even throw in the Sandbell doing a Clean & Press or a Slam by combining either a sprint or Bear Crawl to it. Doing this type of training a couple times a week will be more than enough, hell you're working more than resting and testing the limits of your body's abilities. Be sure to recover well between workouts and maintain a good level of mobility and flexibility training. This can feel like hell and it's very intense. 

I've done a few workouts with this protocol, even doing one after "warming up" with a Deck Of Cards Animal Workout that takes me roughly 16 min to complete. Do the deck, take a few breaths and went into the Dopa Workout with a vengeance. Went hard but not to push to the limit of a possible injury, you're not trying to break records here. I've only done that the one time and I wanted to sleep it off afterwards, the endorphin high was crazy. I rested as little as possible between exercises of the Dopa Workout only to mark off a set or putting tying the band around my waist. The most rest I would take is around a minute or so. 

I'm no wrestler or even a world-class athlete but I do admire the training these guys go through and want to test myself to see what I can do. I never thought I'd be doing this type of training in my late 30's going into my 40's, if I was able to do these back in high school or in my 20's, who knows what kind of shape I'd be in but certain things have led you on a path to this point and I'm able to train at a level most people in my age group think is fucking nuts. It's heart breaking seeing people my age or younger dying because of the dumb shit they put themselves through or what they put in their bodies to create this illusion of health at a rate that's scary to think about. All I care about is doing the best I can while lessening the amount of injuries. We can't 100% avoid an injury but we can reduce the chances by doing things in a smart way while challenging ourselves. The band has done wonders for me and I love what it can do to make workouts more interesting and taking less time to train for maximum results. 

Get one yourself or a bundle deal for friends, family, group classes, youth groups, wrestling/MMA school or whatever and take in the benefits of being able to train with top quality equipment that you can carry in a bag. Use my discount code POWERANDMIGHT to get 10% OFF your order. Train hard, train with intent and kick ass in whatever sport or fitness endeavor you're in. We all deserve to be in great shape. Be amazingly awesome.