Dopa Brutality From A Possible Psychotic Mind

When you think about what you want to do for a workout, sometimes you have to come up with challenges or go deep into your mind and find that brutal level of "Oh This Is Fucking Happening". On Tuesday, I might as well have been on a whole other realm because that workout, just about killed me.

I had mentioned in my post about Ad Santel (Catch Wrestling Icon) that I did the Dopa Band Circuit & Sprints in honor of the old timers and tested my conditioning with pure vengeance. Today, I'm going to cover it and give some insights to what it felt like and what the aftermath was.

Training by yourself and learning your capabilities tests what you are willing to put in in order to get the best out of it. This was not only challenging but it gave me a profound perspective to what it takes to "Stretch Your Limits" as the guys at Dopamineo would say. Conditioning is a powerful asset but in this case, it set a higher bar to why it's so powerful.

Earlier in the morning, I did some Neck Mobility and Joint Loosening to get my body going for the day. Had some food and a while later went to the park to set things up and hammer one of the craziest sessions that someone can possibly do and to do at nearly 42. I set the goal in mind, I left it all out there and gave it everything I could without hurting myself or training to failure. Here was the workout with the Dopa Band.....

5 Exercises

10 Chest Pulleys

10 Wave Pulls

10 Hook Under The Arms Squats

10 Alt Front Raises (AKA Skis)

10 Propellers

20 Rounds. The Finisher: Wrapped the Band around my waist, set my timer for 5 Rounds of 30 Sec on, 30 Sec Off and blasted off doing short but very explosive sprints.

The 1000 total reps (with little rest at all) was already nutty enough and was a bit fatigued but I wanted to step up my game and see how I can push myself adding the Sprints. In life, at times we have to keep going and to do what must be done, even when we're on the brink of exhaustion. Not saying this happens all the time or should be done all the time but there might be a time where you have to dig down and find that inner strength to fight that could be life saving. 

The high I was feeling after catching my breath breathing like a maniac who had just been in a war zone was incredibly relaxing that it lasted for hours. It was just pure bliss, didn't feel anxious, nervous, worried or have a care in the world. Just in a mediative state of happiness and clarity.

In reality, the only thing Psychotic about me is the workouts, not someone who is clinically psychotic and needs to be locked up somewhere. There are people out there with whacked out and screwed up entities that need to be dealt with but then again there are those who "claim" to be psychotic but do nothing but rant and act superior living out some delusional fantasy. 

This workout was something I never tested out before and granted I've done sprints and a number of workouts that went up to 1000 Reps whether it was a circuit or doing the deck of cards twice in a row but never mixed the two beasts together to form a nasty session that would make the average guy quit within a few minutes. A wrestler or even someone in MMA most likely can do far better at this than I ever will but to me, this was something I wanted to find out for myself what my abilities could do when I put my mind to it. Will I do this kind of training again? One day maybe but for now, stay on track to becoming a master of these bands and conditioning myself for the long haul. 

Find what can be a challenge for you and see what you can do. We all have our own journey and we all have our own challenges but we are also more capable than we even give ourselves credit for. In a nutshell, we are our own worst critic, even more than the ones who despise and hate on us but can't stop reading or discussing about us. Be amazingly awesome and kick ass in all your endeavors. Go to Dopamineo.com and grab a band or two and get up on that horse to get in bad ass shape, use the promo code POWERANDMIGHT. Be mindful, be resilient, breathe and take control of your fitness journey.  

HIIT Workout In 30 Minutes Or Less With The Dopamineo Band

 One of my favorite workouts to help my conditioning is working the Dopa Band in interval fashion with heavy emphasis of resting very little. This is a way to keep going and as you rest, you're only able to change the position of an exercise and then work with what is possible. 

This is more of an advanced form of training so if you're new to it or experience at an intermediate level, start with doing it only a couple times and then build up. The way I like to do it is to take 5 exercises, do each for 45 seconds and then 15 seconds rest. A couple of rounds takes only 10 minutes at best. Once you start getting in better shape, start adding rounds like 2-3 every 3 weeks or so. This type of training is really only to be done 2-3x a week tops. If you're training for a sport like wrestling, maybe 4x a week tops. It's harder than it seems and it isn't some just little cardio session either. It tests limits, makes you work not only your physical capacity but your mental as well. You will sweat, you'll be firing your lungs and it'll be a full body blast.

Once you can hit enough rounds of this type of Interval timing, it should be no more than 30 minutes for the entire workout. If you wish to go longer, that's up to you but for me, 30 minutes is the sweet spot and have gotten results from this. I don't do it all the time like I i have with the circuits and cards lately since I have other training going on that if I go too hard without backing off a bit, it can bite me in the ass. When I do it, I keep the pace at a clip where it's kicking my ass but I'm not going so fast I burn out. What my true goal is when I do this, is to control my breathing as best as I can so in the later rounds, I still have that gas left in the tank to where I can finish strong and not feel like I'm about to collapse from exhaustion. So usually a day after this workout, I would do a circuit but with longer rest periods in between and my pace is slightly slower than doing the intervals. This has worked for my recovery and avoid getting too fatigued.

This type of conditioning works well to keep your mind sharp and have that long lasting strength and endurance. Some people can go for 15-20 minutes and that's their sweet spot, wrestlers would do this kind of training possibly as a post practice finisher to work on certain drills for less time so they can get that last bit of endurance training as they prepare for a match or tournament. For the sake of training with the band on its own, keep in mind that it is a taxing workout and not something that should be taken lightly, You will feel it so let things naturally come, don't force anything and progress according to your level as you ascend. For a 30 minute workout, it's only 6 rounds and even in solid shape, around the 3rd or 4th round, things will have you mind bending shit to find out what you're capable of. 

I would believe because of the use of cables and bands wrestlers have used since Russians have been dominating for a number of years, when it comes to our American style (Catch, Freestyle), old timers like Lou Thesz and Billy Wicks would get a kick out of these bands. Maybe even kept Ed Lewis leaner who knows but these Bands are unique, durable and fun as fuck to do. Seriously, with the kind of conditioning Ed Lewis had, one can only imagine if these bands added even 1% of what he was capable of in his prime. If you knew how long that guy can go on the mat, it would blow your mind just on that principle alone, get an extra 1%, he would have given someone like Gama a hard time or even beat him.  

Be amazingly awesome, get in killer condition and do what's possible for you. Go get it and see you later. Get bands here at Dopamineo.com and be sure to use my code POWERANDMIGHT. Join the family and help support these great athletes. 

Slamming With Pure Vengeance In 5 Minutes

 

Short Workouts can be not only beneficial to your fitness but also can be very therapeutic when it's so intense that once it's over, you feel like you're walking on Cloud 9. Getting something in as little as 5 minutes with great effort, can have as much of an impact on your conditioning and long term strength within a regular 1 hour workout. 

One of these entities is the classic Slam Ball Slamming. Just picking up a 10-20 ball and slamming it hard to the ground with such such fucking force, you'd think you have hatred in your heart. Just this exercise alone generates incredible benefits of conditioning, strength, explosiveness, lung power and turning you into a machine. They've been used in Wrestling, MMA, Football, Crossfit and other formats of training. They can be used as a finisher, in between sets or as stand alone. 

As a finisher, it is as nasty as it gets, you've already obliterated a workout but you still need to go through hell to get that last bit of a tank you have left and burn more calories than you already have and enhance your muscular endurance. 2 workouts I've done recently were using a slam ball as a finisher, busting ass for 15 on, 15 off for 5 minutes. First workout, I would get in about 4-5 reps a round, the second, I was able to get 6, that's a PR for me. 

For a stand alone, my idea was to get as many reps as possible in 5 minutes which on paper may not sound like much but when you're constantly picking up and slamming as hard as you can and torching the muscles especially the Core, it becomes a mental game of how much you're willing to take. My personal record with a 20 lb Ball is 105 reps in 5 minutes. If you're new to it, take a breather every few reps or so cause you will feel it practically off the bat. Keep a record of how many you've done, each session, try to rest a little less and see if you can get a few more reps in. Little by little keep going until you're able to keep going practically without stopping. Pace yourself and let the speed and explosiveness come naturally. You may not be at the same speed in the beginning and you may slow down as time goes on but you can still go. To do an average of 20 or so reps a minute is pretty damn fast. DO NOT TRY THIS EVERYDAY!!! 1-2 times a week is more than enough, it's practically sprinting without the running. 

This is the type of training where you may not tire out as quickly doing other things and it can enhance your endurance for possibly hiking, swimming, jogging, climbing stairs or doing labor. It will definitely give you boosts of HGH and give you that driving power for takedowns in wrestling, tackles in football and throws in MMA. It is one of the most intense forms of exercise around and it can make you a damn beast either on the mat or on the gridiron. It's simple, yet hard. Short, yet hellish and it will question your sanity whether as a finisher or by itself. 

Be amazingly awesome and never underestimate the power of short workouts and/or finishers, they will make you question your life choices but at the same time, they build toughness and strength that isn't easily described.  

Brutalized Conditioning: Animals & Slam Ball Hell

 On Monday, I wanted to test myself to see where my conditioning was at and safe to say, it was one of the hardest workouts I've done in a while. Did other workouts where they were a challenge but nothing like where it tested your sanity along with making the lungs seem like you're going to die LOL.

Thought I'd get into some animal training since it has been a while. Used my deck of cards to do the 4 Animals/Exercises I normally do....

Bear Crawls

Crab Walks

Half/Quarter Squat Walk (Bigfoot Walks)

Duck Walks

Doubled up on the reps and even about 10-15 cards in, I felt like quitting and I was breathing pretty heavily, I kept going anyways. These are no joke and will test you like no other. Finished with a 1000 total reps of these and yet, the workout wasn't even over.

I wanted to really amp it up by doing a finisher with the 20 lb Slam Ball I have and target my explosiveness. Went for 5 minutes doing a 15 on, 15 off protocol. Got in about 4-5 slams per round and slamming that fucker on grass just hits different. This wasn't just a finisher, it was to burn more calories like it was going out of style and build that mental toughness. More than just cardio, it's hell on earth and the battle rages on you against the system you created for yourself. This is the type of training where with other things, you won't tire out as quickly. This is not the typical workout you see many 40 year olds doing so, I wanted to find out what my capabilities were. 

Sometimes you got to go through hell to see what you're made of and what you expect out of yourself. This type of training is more than just exercise and getting in a few quick things, this is the type of hell that makes humans question their mental and physical stability along with testing themselves at peak levels of conditioning. No question pro/world class athletes can probably do this far better than me and it would be hard to try to keep up with that kind of person but at over 40 and not a professional or even calling myself World Class, I believe I did pretty damn well with this and I'd love to test this out with somebody sometime.

Conditioning comes in many forms and the idea for even as you get older is to maintain a level where you don't get tired doing things and can go as long as needed and have that lasting strength and endurance. When you have the ability to go and able to wear out others, it's a great feeling. Karl Gotch said it best "Conditioning is your greatest hold". Fitness is more than just trying to look good, it's about feeling better, being able to do things with less chances of getting injured and being able to have strength that lasts rather than temporarily. The world seems different when you are able to be fit and handle things with grace yet powerful at the same time.

Hellish workouts have their place as a challenge but don't frequent them as it can come back to bite you in the ass. Will I try this again, maybe or switch things up doing the dopa band and sledgehammer work. Strength & Cardio is part of the puzzle but when you throw in the mental aspects, it teaches you how precious and important having those attributes is. Be amazingly awesome and do what's possible. Challenge yourself but don't go so far you can't move or get injured. 

2 For 1 Sprint Training With The Dopa Band

 Always experimenting and finding exciting ways to train, I wanted to give something a go that would put that extra spring in the step and give off nasty fat burning vibes. Last night after a fun date night of Red Lobster and seeing The Iron Claw (great movie BTW, might write a review on the next post) I got in some at home Sprint Training to shed off some of the Holiday Feasting this past weekend and start creating new goals early for the coming year. 

Tying myself to the Dopa Band, I wanted to try something new (at least to me) and really tackle some Explosive Conditioning by doing a Superset of Bear Crawl & Bipedal Sprinting. The idea is to do a Bear Crawl Sprint, walk back and do a regular sprint. The two different sprints is the equivalent to 1 rep and you repeat it as many times as you can, in this case I did 5 Reps per set. Totaled 6 sets of 5 Reps for a total of 30 or 60 Sprints all together. 

This actually felt really good and somehow didn't feel I overdid anything and still had gas in the tank at the end. You may not get very far because of the band but when you explode out and keep doing it for a short period of time, it can be a bit crazy. Sprint Training is not always done out on a track, hill or grassy area, you can do them at home doing modified versions that can still give you a run for your money (pun intended). It is always good however to get Sprints going outside whenever possible 2-3x a week but if you want to kick your ass at home, you have that option as well. I believe it's a great option because when you're done, the shower is within feet of you, you don't have to drive anywhere, you can get it done within minutes and take a nap or rest on the couch and put on a movie or something right there. For some that sounds lazy but if I can get a workout in and then have things I need right there afterwards, why the hell not?

This doesn't mean your home is the only option to do this, you can do this workout at a park, in your hotel room, at the beach or wherever you can hook the band up (safely and efficiently). Being outside is ideal and training in an area where you breathe fresh air and have a good time while focusing on your goals is always important. That's the beauty of this thing, it can withstand quite a bit because of its flexibility and durability along with being very difficult to break. What are the benefits of this workout: It gets you in rugged shape fast with consistency, it develops a great level of explosiveness, mental toughness, takes only minutes to complete, gives you greater options and places to train, can be modified to your level of fitness, could help reduce injuries, enhance HGH levels, produces spikes in Testosterone, burns fat like crazy and hell of a calorie burner. 

Sprint Training is a favorite of mine and when it's warm out, I would hit the hill or the field by the house. Winter isn't always ideal although it does build a different level of toughness but at the same time, it can be slippery out there and you could be asking for a disaster if you're sprinting hard and hit some ice that is slicker than cooking oil. This also could be useful for those who've had previous injuries and helping you with your posture for regular sprinting. For me, it reduces certain acts of pain in my shin and ankles. When I do Sprint on a hill, it can be discomforting to the point of slight pain because of the rod and pins in my legs so I do have to be careful with that but with the band, it lessens those things and I can go hard without feeling any discomfort or pain. I have a small threshold for pain but when it becomes too much, I can't be at my best. So if you need to modify, do so but don't let it get to a point where you can potentially end up in the ER or worse. 

This also can be done for people who are new to Sprint Training and get a feel of what's possible so when they are going out and hitting a hill or track, they have some of the mechanics embedded into their brain. It's still important to know the basics and mechanics of sprinting with or without using a band because although there are similarities, some techniques are different so learn the proper techniques to get the most out of it. Overall, it's a great workout to test yourself on and only has to be done no more than 3x a week, 2x a week is great for most people but if you're ambitious than do it 3x a week. 

Have fun and get those legs cooking man. Be amazingly awesome. Get 10% OFF the Dopa Bands by punching in the Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT when you checkout. Grab one for yourself or create your own custom bundle.  

A So Not Walk In The Park Sub 45 Min Workout

It was intense, insane and one of the longest workouts I've done in a while. I keep raising the bar on myself and just making things more interesting and finding out what I'm willing to push to see what my body can handle. Some might call my workouts crazy but even for me, that should've put me in the nuthouse (maybe). 

The other day, I wanted to see what I can do with Supersetting the Dopa Band and Step Ups. Haven't tried it before so I figured what could possibly go wrong? Not only did it go right but it made me sweat so much, I thought I was going to need a gallon of water to get all of it back (slight exaggeration). In all seriousness, this was a workout I needed and elevating my conditioning. The only real rest was marking off sets and getting right back into it. The weird thing was, by the end, I was moving faster and had that "runner's high" feeling where I went into a state that felt great and my focus was at its peak. 

The idea was to do upper body movements with the Band and just do bodyweight with the Step Ups. Here's the workout...

100 Lateral Raises (4x25)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

100 Curls (4x25)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

100 Chest Presses (4x25)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

200 Alternating Rows (4x50 - 25 per arm)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

Total: 500 Reps Of Upper Body & 800 Step Ups 

Time- 44:09

Each superset was 25-50 reps of a Dopa Exercise and 25 Step Ups per leg. I take great pride in being able to do this but it's also important to be humble in that to not fill my ego because this isn't meant to be done all the time unless you're one of those insane Dagestani Wrestlers that are just machines with levels of conditioning that rank right up there at the top of the food chain. 

Yesterday, I did another workout that hit my legs a little differently which is why I most likely will end up just "taking it easy" today and do low level work with the band and doing isometrics. This workout was to work as many reps as possible while taking in 20 breaths and doing drills and techniques of going out as far as the thing can stretch 10-20 times going Forward, Sideways & Backwards. The reps taking in breaths were waves, tricep pulls, alternating rows and ski jumps and the legs were a walk out or a slower version of a shooting wrestling drill for 40 total reps (20, 10, 10), 20 walking at the side (10, 10) and drilling backwards for 40 (20,10,10). This hit a lot of the muscles in the legs especially in the hips since it's been a while doing side to side movements. 

Practically everyday there's been some kind of workout with the Dopa Band and just love experimenting and finding ways to work with this thing. There's so much you can do with it and it will humble you. This band has been the closest to wrestling since I was on the mat years ago, I know it doesn't have the same flare of actually wrestling but the drills, the conditioning, the fight against the resistance, the intensity and the ability to strengthen the body in ways that are new to you are all part of the process. 

I even weighed myself today and I'm sitting at 241 lbs. Only gained back about 3 since I've had my appetite back and doing what's possible for me workout wise. I was feeling it yesterday after some frustration with something in the backyard and felt it in my hip but other than that, I feel much stronger, more explosive, energetic and my stamina has skyrocketed. I'm telling you without thinking twice about it, the Dopa Band is a fucking game changer and it makes training a bit more fun and interesting. You don't have to be a wrestler or a fighter to get the benefits out of it, just a good old fashioned workout is more than enough for most and there are so many ways to use it it's practically endless. 

Use my Discount to get 10% off your order by using the code POWERANDMIGHT. You can even do custom bundles or have pre-set bundles that give you even more discounts. Get some for your family, group classes, gym, Fight School, Wrestling Room or just to get a great workout in at home, there's tons of options. Keep killing it guys and stay amazingly awesome.