It’s funny how certain people define training ideals. When
you do something different or even “traditional” you’ll find how people see
you, sure they’ll ask what you’re doing but they’ll always go to the “Wish I
can do that” comment. In fitness there are many ways to get in shape, you have
crossfit, animal training, Functional Movement, even that P90X or Insanity crap
but the one thing to remember is that no matter what you’re doing someone will
always give you a hard time and 99.9% of the time they’re the ones who don’t
have a clue what real training is.
In
Commercial Fitness; you know the lame ads about the new gym in town, the deals
of a lifetime, home workouts that you see in the infomercials and don’t get me
started on those idiotic ghostwriters in the overrated Muscle Magazines, all of
these don’t give you any real benefit of how to be successful in your training.
They don’t give you in-depth details about starting from scratch, how to
progress at your own level, teach you the value of self-discovery and relying
on your own intuition to what can work for you.
If you plan
on using a gym, use equipment that’ll give you the most bang for your buck and
that’s being as basic as possible, Barbells, Dumbbells, Racks, pull-up bar and
keep the amount of machine work to a minimum if at all. Don’t research on the
latest gadget or what machine can give you but instead look to the strength
giants of olde, look to how they made their progress and became fit without the
use of drugs, heavy supplements or protein shakes. These pioneers used basic
formalities to create simple, progressive and useful functional strength and
health. There are very few of these guys left and many of them never seem to
get the credit when it’s due.
I firmly
believe in the power of intuition, having a sense of feeling through your
energy and mind. In order to practice this, it’s best to think outside the
norm, using your mind and body together to create an effortless affair of
sensing what works, what’s wrong and how to use it to your advantage. Some
people can learn fairly easily, others have a tough time and then there are
those that have it but can’t accept it because it feels like you’re a crazy
person and people will misread the difference between psychic energy and
intuition, trust me they’re two very different things. You can follow along
with these mainstream fitness fads all you want but in the end, you’re only
hurting what’s really inside you, the gift of feeling what gives you the sense
of what is useful to you.
I've gotten
looks and even some in my own family give me a hard time about my intuition and
make it sound like I’m nuts. When you feel something, there’s energy to it, to
me intuition is a version of the Force like in Star Wars. If you learn to
believe and listen, you can hear your intuition speak to you. I’m not saying
there should be voices in your head or believe in paranoia but what I’m
pointing out is that there’s like a Jiminy Cricket, letting your conscience be your
guide, telling you and your body what seems right or wrong and how to use it to
make yourself successful in anything you want in life. I’m no expert on this
and have no clue the science behind it but I really believe when something
comes to you and it might be random at times or there’s a sense of energy
you’re having don’t just knock it out and move on, listen to it, let it help
you. I've learned for nearly a decade that if I want to build on something
whether it’s writing, training or even listening to my favorite meditation, I
listen to my intuition, it doesn't always have a voice but it gives energy that
can be good or bad and I pay attention to it and when that happens, it hasn't
failed me yet and whether I like it or not, it’s helping me find my true
calling and what works for me in my own training.
What do you
really see? When you train, what feels right to you, what pushes you, what
drives you to do the very best or put your best effort? To understand this stop
listening to others and learn what you can do that works best for you.
Want to
know a secret? When you watch a DVD of a guy training and ask you to follow
along, sure it’s great to get a workout in but in the end it’s just a man or
woman working out on your TV, that’s it. To follow the same pace as your DVD
trainer is just tedious and boring because you don’t have the same body type,
the same speed, the same tempo and don’t always have the same height, the only
person you should keep up with is yourself. Learn a technique or two but use your
own pace to make your progress. Learn your body’s energy, create your own speed
and tempo because you shouldn't need to be as fit as some other person, they’re
already taken. See yourself getting fitter each day, learn to be effortless but
at the same time make the effort to use what works best for you. Now go do that
voodoo that you do so well.
