A Bad Ass Journey To A Stronger Neck Using The MMB Pro Neck Flex Series

 

As you build your temple, whether you train alone or with a pack of your strongest allies, you’re going to develop what many neglect. Training your neck for epic strength & conditioning is the key to a door that leads to a world where other Mortals train for vanity and forget what keeps their head on straight.

One of the most valued weapons in your arsenal to build a neck that isn’t just for show, it’s a symbol of those who came before with the intent to build levels of power that isn’t easily described. The MMB Pro Neck Flex Series Kit. Being a part of the Neckzilla Family along with it’s maker Mike “The Machine” Bruce, is not just of honor, but responsibility to teach the masses about what the possibilities are for training the neck. If you want to look for the Godfather, look no further than Mike.

Most harnesses are either knock offs, outdated or don’t have the necessary needs to train the neck efficiently. Some have their perks and can work well for beginners and old school students of the game like Fighters, Football Players & Wrestlers. However; there’s a reason why the Neck Flex reigns as the King and that’s the ability to choose to use a Band or to use Weights. Lethal options that prepares you for War.

Most harnesses only have 2 or maybe 3 D-Rings to hook up to, this son of a bitch has 6. What you’re getting is next level training options to move your neck in all sorts of directions and safely I might add. Clean force that doesn’t slip, twist or give you garbage angles to train. Another is the amount of weight you can use. Hooking up a chain or a machine, it is strong enough to withstand more than one can bare to attempt. Others mainly can barely hold more than 100, some even less than 30. We’re talking close to 300 lbs with this thing. The same amount of weight Mike himself has lifted with his neck for 2 reps.

With the band, the sky is the limit to what you can accomplish. For me, I work this thing for 500 Rep sessions across several exercises with control, tension based entities and technique that has kept my neck at 18+ inches cold. In those sessions, it could hit 19 or more. Is it necessary to do that level of Volume? No, it’s not meant for everyone. You can though train using less sets and reps with greater tension and slower pacing. I like to move fast but not jerking anything. The band itself barely weighs anything, so you can travel with it and workout anywhere. The amount of tension is only 19 lbs which doesn’t sound like much but trust me, it’s more than enough for everyone.

Could you combine this with other neck exercises like Bridges or Self Resistance? Absolutely, there’s no rule that says you can’t. It is important though to work around what your goals are. If you’re just wanting a strong neck but aren’t a wrestler or Race Car Driver, Self Resistance & Neck Flex Band Work is more than enough. It’s about health and injury prevention, not making a statement to how superior your training is to others. Train it with intent to limit or even prevent Concussions. Neck Training that builds thickness but also mobility create shock absorbers, a stronger jawline and better posture.

Be amazingly awesome and get your hands on the king of neck harnesses: MMB Pro Series. It’ll put you in a realm of men that are hard to kill or even choke. Use my Coupon Code POWERANDMIGHT to take $11.11 off your order. Browse around for other kits if you’d like. Go kill it and remember….Even the smallest fraction of progress still leads to the big picture.

Core Conditioning With The Dopamineo Bands: An Epic Engine Of Power And Might

 

Crunches aren’t always going to save your ass. If there was an exceptional tool that not only targets the muscles but demands the trunk to fight, produces force and stabilizes; the Dopamineo Bands are one of those tools.

Traditional or even conventional weights have their place when strengthening the Core, but in most cases, there’s a way to cheat using the one plane of motion. The real exception would be doing halos with a plate or kettlebell. Otherwise, you’re facing more of the gravitational pull where throughout the range of motion, it’s the same weight. With the bands however; when anchored and pulling, tension increases throughout the range of motion. The abdominal muscles, transverse abdominis, the obliques and lower back can’t be isolated or have one try to compensate for the other. It’s constant micro-adjustments that prevent you from being out of position.

This is the aspect of realistic conditioning comes into play. If you develop a six pack with this, you’ll have the go and not just show. Utilize the idea of becoming fit with Core Strength that has the go and can slim down the chances of injuries.

Here are a few exercises of what I mean of targeting the Core. It’s not even isolating the surrounding muscles themselves, it acts as a full unity of the whole body.

5 Core Exercises With Dopamineo Band

As you can see from watching the video, each exercise works beyond the muscular structure and aids in the ability to generate speed, explosiveness, power and control with precision. This isn’t training like a bodybuilder, it’s an act of a fighter’s conditioning methodology. This still can jack the heart rate up so you’re getting the cardio benefits but also taxes the grip and creates a level of stamina when you’re tired.

Work into these exercises slowly, learn to control the movements but also keep a focus on the muscles being used. As you get stronger, start speeding up little by little but don’t hurt yourself. Start with a lighter band and work your way up, or use what I work with and that’s the Chosen Higher Green Band which works for everyone from Beginner to Seasoned Vets. If you want to work with a heavier band such as a Middleweight or the Heavy Band, that’s up to you and you’ll be feeling it one way or another.

Skip the boring ass crunches and train your Core like a beast. Get it so freakishly strong that it can take a hit but also is injury-preventing. Be amazingly awesome. Go to Dopamineo.com and choose your band. Use my Code POWERANDMIGHT to take 10% OFF your order. Anchor that son of a bitch, brace yourself as if you're about to take a hit and start chopping, twist, pull and rotate.

The Real Truth To What Being Fit Means

 On Social Media, I have seen many people say about getting fit and telling people they need to be this or that. They act like they know what they’re talking about and put in all their generic opinions or textbook ideas to tell people to be fit. The thing that really hits me at times is that, they never have a definition to what being fit it. When I ask to define it, most of the time it’s complete silence and no replies. Out of maybe a few dozen times if that, only 2-3 people have ever defined it the way that is realistic and actually accurate. Other than that, it’s either complete silence or I get “being able to walk 10k steps a day”, do “X mount of push-ups” and whatever copy and pasted standardized tests that may seem good on paper but still hit a foul ball when it comes to the true aspects of fitness.

Different people define fitness usually what they’ve been taught or read about. Very few experience exercise or working out as part of a journey and not to bounce off some influencer’s arbitrary idea of where someone is in order to be considered fit. It is true that as an individual, being fit can be subjective because not everyone lives up to the same ideals and lives by the same code of a trainer or an author of best selling books. Hell, I never say one method as the end-all-be-all that is the kind of being fit. I have tried so many things in my life from weight training to gymnastics, isometrics, kettlebells, sports specific training, prehab, rehab and other things but I always broke them down to what gives me the benefits for that period of time.

In some cases, people will define fitness by the method they use and believe that’s the way to be fit because it will solve all of life’s problems; do burpees everyday, lift weights 3-4x a week, do cardio after weights, do 100 push-ups before breakfast, 500 Squats within this period of time. See how all are different or at times intertwine with each other? It’s selective through sometimes fixed or manipulated efforts to control the narrative of what it means to be fit. Some will say Yoga is better than weights or that the Bench Press is a better indicator of upper body strength than a Pull-up or whatever other compound movement. Says who? Certain tests change as time goes on kind of like the science that is constantly evolving or in some cases, loses common sense in order to trust it more than trusting yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in scientific aspects of fitness and some of the growth it has accumulated but I don’t put 100% of my trust in it because I’m also an individualist who practices what gives a person their best chance that isn’t always meant for the other person. Growth also comes from experience, the mistakes, the accomplishments, where you were and where you are now. Things change and fitness for better or for worse doesn’t always cater to individuality, it caters to in many ways what is popular and profitable in comparison to changing a person’s life that creates real success not always through the exterior but internally, psychologically and where their path leads.

What is the true definition of what it means to be fit? The truth isn’t always in black and white, you have to think of the gray areas as well and understand that it’s not about this, that or the other thing. My idea based on experience, perspective and my own journey…..

Being fit is the practice of being capable. To do things that carry over to aspects of life beyond the equipment, the rep/set schemes and the protocols of various methods. You don’t have to look like a Greek God in order to be fit, some of the fittest LOOKING people on the planet aren’t as fit as they appear and those who don’t always fit the standard of a beautiful physique are often overlooked. You can do all the squats, the lifts, the HIIT classes and Pilates you want but if you get injured quicker, don’t have the stamina or strength that lasts as long as needed outside the gym or a sport and putting what you believe to look good instead of strengthening the organs that keep you alive, your fitness acts more of a facade than the realistic outlook.

Looking good has its perks. There’s nothing wrong with it in and of itself but if it’s overprioritized and used in a manner that doesn’t balance out being able to maintain certain things, all that will do is bite you in the ass and create heartache. Fitness is more about being able to do things and continue to evolve or adapt once the peak physique can’t stay at a high level anymore. Now, if you have the ability to look like a million bucks but also have the condition that benefits real life situations, that’s awesome and can be a lethal combo. Very few people in the world achieve this and it’s not in the realm of impossibility but it is important to be realistic of what is achievable for you and not what someone else forces you to believe to make money off of you. That’s the nature of the beast sometimes and the best thing we can do is to so what’s possible in the moment, not push or force what could be a decade from now.

What does being fit mean to you? It’s not as easy to answer as you may think so set your mind to meditate on what is believable and real according to your own understanding and experience. I would love to know what you come up with.

Until then, be amazingly awesome. Be mindful and remember that even the smallest fraction of progress still leads to the big picture.

Will You Let The Cards Intimidate You???

There are many interesting ways to workout and enhance your creativity to get the results you desire. Although we have different needs and have different goals, the important thing to remember is to have your workouts keep you interested and utilize common grounds of the following: Realistic entities, injury-proofing the body as much as possible and take small steps to create your big picture.

I’ve done enough workouts in my lifetime that when it comes to the boring stuff, it decreases my enthusiasm and wanting to keep it going. Many are taught to just suck up the extreme stuff and the harder you make it, the better the results. Maybe there is some truth to that but it sure as hell isn’t the best option or even the only option.

One of my favorite methods of training in this thing we call life, is using the Deck Of Cards. It’s not a trendy little system that has come and gone. It has been a staple for many athletes for decades. One of the all-time greatest Catch Wrestlers Karl Gotch, used this to torture his students in practice before or even after they being on the mat and sparring. His style was to use mainly Hindu Push-Ups, Half Moon Push-Ups, Hindu Squats & Hindu Jumping Squats. It wasn’t an exclusive type of conditioning method but he put them through the ringer almost as much as he put himself through. Don’t remember the numbers he used at the top of my head but for him, he would often do 2 decks in a row to enhance his conditioning. There was a reason he always had gas in the tank and this was one of the reasons.

Karl didn’t invent the workout but it did blossom into the minds of other athletes after he made it famous in wrestling circles. NFL Legend Ray Lewis used this for doing his Push-ups, Nature Boy Ric Flair did it often while on the road when he couldn’t get to a gym and Iron Mike Tyson would do Squats with a deck by laying a card out on floor, bend down to flip a card and do Squats, move forward to the next card and so on until he completed a deck. My old mentor Matt Furey had to do a push-up deck in the sauna once during wrestling season at the University Of Iowa I believe. 

My first experiences with a deck was after healing up from my leg injuries back in 2005-2006ish and basically just doing push-ups and squats. Felt like Bill Mazeroski when he hit the walk-off homerun in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series the first time I completed that deck. It was a humbling moment for sure. That’s the thing when you accomplish something that means something to you. It may not matter to anyone else but to you, it’s a moment you cherish.

Since that time, I’ve done the deck multiple times doing different things and even went on to doing it twice in a row using my Dopamineo Band. Each time I complete it though, it always brings a smile to my face. Now, I have laid off those kinds of workouts for periods of time and when I always felt about jumping into them, morely in the bodyweight department, sometimes the cards did beat me and couldn’t finish them, so I would have to build myself up again which didn’t take long and eventually killed it again. With the band, it’s just another day at the office but with the bodyweight stuff, it is tough but that’s just part of the journey.

Lately, I have been working a deck I’ve had for many years based on Matt Furey’s Course Combat Conditioning. He had a deck made of his likeness in cartoon form called The Matt Furey Exercise Bible which consisted of Hindu Push-Ups, Hindu Squats, V-Ups & Tablemakers. I would say those are the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse of CC. Just 4 basic moves but yet have quite an effect on the body and if you’re not used to them, they will humble you. I’ve done several workouts with that deck recently and the first couple times, I would walk it off to catch my breath after a few cards here and there. Today, didn’t walk it off once. Did my reps, flip a card and kept going. Focused on the techniques, my breathing and not force the speed to the point of getting sloppy. Felt incredible to be able to do that again. Total for this particular deck for me is 500 Reps.

100 Hindu Pushups 

200 Hindu Squats 

100 V-Ups 

100 Tablemakers 

There are many ways to decks of cards workouts but each one has a lesson about aspects of life. We never know what to expect and just when you thought things got a little easier, BAM!!! You get hit with a heavy card that has you doing lots of reps and gives you that curveball. That’s life, we can only react to what comes at us and do what’s possible to get through it. Learn to adapt when things become unpredictable.

The cards can be intimidating but in the end, they’re just little pieces of plastic with numbers on them. They can’t hurt you and they don’t fight back. The only thing stopping you is you alone. Will you let the cards intimidate you, or will you break down the fucking walls and rise victorious? You have the choice, you have an obstacle and only you can make the decision to keep going or quit. Each decision will have you learning what you’re made of or let it break you. 

Have a blast with this and see what you’re capable of. Be amazingly awesome and get going. Do this workout anywhere and make it worth your time and put effort into doing it with fierce determination.

Is Circuit Training The Best For Strength & Conditioning???

 It’s one thing to focus on one exercise for a number of sets and reps, it’s another to do one exercise and move onto another and another until you’ve done your station to station of exercises. Circuit Training has been around a while and it has its pros and cons like anything else, but it holds something different compared to other methods or exercise schemes.

In weight training, you can go from barbells to dumbbells and machines in a span of a few minutes per round, with bodyweight you can switch from push-ups to squats, pull-ups, dips and lunges almost in the blink of an eye. You can even do it with animal movements or band work. It’s a matter of what your goals are and what you want to work with.

The first time I can remember attempting to do a circuit, I was 19 years old in a Gold’s Gym in Santa Cruz, CA and I was doing Bench, Deads, Leg Press, Pull Downs and something else, I think a crunch machine or something. I had no clue what the hell I was doing and I was doing weights consistently since I was a sophmore in high school back then but I never did anything like that until that point. In a nutshell, it was a very bad idea and I blame myself for it. I ended up so overwhelmed and my condition was shit to the point where I became so hyperventilated that I went into a stall in the restroom and nearly blacked out. I wasn’t completely aware of what was happening to me but I knew something was wrong and just let my body calm itself down. Once it did, I got the hell out of there and went back home which was only a 10-12 minute walk.

I didn’t attempt that kind of thing again for another year or year and a half until I was experimenting with bodyweight exercises after an accident I had. Sometimes, it’s hard to take those walls down and see what the possibilities are. Over the years, I tried many things and didn’t have a consistent routine which in most cases was never my thing anyway. I found a website that does bodyweight circuits and shows what can be good for beginners or vets in the game and I gave it a shot. I was in shape to do circuits again by 2012 or so and I loved the themes from this website. It’s called Darebee. Completely free with workouts, nutrition plans, programs and all sorts of stuff.

The superhero themes were the most fun to do and modified some of the exercises to what I knew from doing Combat Conditioning and other forms of bodyweight training to help me stay interested. One of my favorite workouts to play around with was a Batman Themed Workout which you can see below….

Modified exercises to suit me and at one point was able to do 10 Rounds in 45 minutes. One of the most brutal workouts I had done. That’s the beauty of Circuit Training, it gives you opportunities to keep momentum going doing one exercise after another instead of focusing on just one for an extended period of time. It’s a great test for your Conditioning & Strength-Endurance. In my opinion, Bodyweight is the very best for this.

So, for a few years now since I became a fanatic with the Dopamineo Bands, I took the type of circuit training I did from Darebee and molded it to Circuits with the Band and began doing hundreds to over 1000 total reps in various workouts focusing on exercises that work well and can switch from one to another without stopping. This amplified my cardio to such a degree that when it became consistent, I wasn’t getting tired doing them, they just made me feel stronger and helped lean me out more.

Below you can get an idea of what I mean….

Are circuits truly the best method for conditioning and strength building? The truth is a little more complex than that LOL. In reality, it all depends on the goals you have and there’s no one way to go about it. Now, if you’re into weight training and want to do circuits, I would keep the equipment to a minimum and it’s not always advisable to do this kind of training at the gym because of the unpredictability of people coming in and wanting to those machines and/or free weights. If you had a home gym set up, that’s the perfect way to do this and you can go from station to station without interruptions or having people wait on you.

If you want to see what a circuit where it combines heavy lifting and cardio style exercises in the same sequence, my friend, the late Bud Jeffries works a heavy partial squat, dumbbell swings and rolling. Although it’s more like a tr-set but you can make it a circuit style and the idea is to keep moving and testing your strength under fatigue. One of the things that made him one of the most conditioned big men of this generation. This is one idea, another would be doing a kettlebell style where you can combine Presses, Pulls, Squats, Cleans and even Push-ups if you’d like.

You can do circuits everyday if you’d like if that’s your goal but I recommend you do some hard circuits one day, lighter ones another and pace yourself. If you’re new to it, a couple times a week for a few weeks and bump it up to 3x a week is more than enough for most people. For a period this year with the Bands, I was doing a minimum of 500 total reps almost daily doing circuits, deck of card workouts and HIIT style from January to April and accumulated more than 60,000 total reps with the Bands. It’s not for everybody and I don’t recommend you do that, sort out what you would like to accomplish in your own journey.

One of the recent circuits I did was with bodyweight exercises doing Hindu Push-Ups, Hindu Squats, a Jumping Jack variation, V-Ups, Tables & Mountain Climbers. Would practice deep breathing in between sets or circuits. Did 10 Rounds which came out to 800 Total Reps. Sweated like a waterfall and felt great afterwards. Fitness can be so much fun when you set your mind to it.

If you’re not a fan of circuits, that’s ok, there’s plenty of other options and if you would rather focus on one exercise at a time for a set and rep scheme, go for it. Learn from my mistake the first time I tried a circuit. Get in condition first or have a better pace of what you use and the type of reps and rounds you do. I don’t want anyone going through what I did or worse, it’s not fun and it can come back to haunt you if you’re not careful. That’s one of the downsides to doing this is not learning what could go wrong when you’re not ready yet.

Do things that give you the tools to continue your journey with vitality and excitement. Some days may be lousier than others but see it as an opportunity to create something that will blossom later. Be amazingly awesome and keep killing it.

Go to dopamineo.com if you're still interested in the Bands. Use my code POWERANDMIGHT to get a cool discount on your  order.

Training The Neck Safely While Building Strength

 If there was an area of the body that shows the most neglect, it’s the neck. Unless you’re a football player, wrestler or martial artist, there isn’t a ton of people training their neck. First off, mainly those who do teach it, even with good intentions may not showcase the bigger picture and focus on this or that. The real truth: It can be scary with the way it is shown at times.

Most who attempt to teach people how to train their neck show mainly machines or using some form of weight along with Bridges that don’t have progression systems in place. The Bridges are often the most “Screw this” reaction than to even using weights because you’re having the top of your head on the floor and the only things supporting are the hands and feet. Does that mean Bridges are bad overall? That depends. I’ve done Bridging exercises for many, many years and never had neck issues that were a cause for alarm but it’s because I learned how to properly progress and control in how I perform them. 

This doesn’t mean Bridges or even weights for that matter are for everyone. If you have spinal injuries or have spurs, it isn’t wise or even worth your health doing those things. Now, if you are healthy and need guidance in training the neck using those things, I would highly recommend Advanced Bridging by Logan Christopher where he teaches you even the most basic exercises to train not only your neck but the spinal cord and overall body development. For the weights, I would look into the Neck Flex and learning ideally from Mike Bruce who knows a thing or two about training those muscles efficiently. 

What would be the alternative to these where you can still work your neck without having to do those things. You can do Neck Mobility Drills like I show on Youtube, you can do Self Resistance Exercises working the neck in several directions where you are in complete control of the tension you use, or you can use a resistance band with the Neck Flex.

For the record, I never really used weights to train my neck, the closest thing would be bending steel in a wrestler’s bridge on my head but other than that, I didn’t necessarily need to do weights. So what makes training with a resistance band any different than training with weights? Resistance is resistance right? In a nutshell, weights have the same level of resistance throughout the range of motion but with a Band, the more you stretch it, the more it fights against you instead of staying the same.

From a personal stand point, I believe using a band is a very powerful alternative because you can train in different directions when you hook it up to the D-Rings on the Harness and train safely while also building size and strength. Because of my own training with it, I have maintained a 18 1/2 inch neck and don’t have any problems in those areas or in my spine. I can still do Bridges if I wanted to but in terms of maintaining size, mobility and keeping it strong for things that matter, it truly is the cream of the crop for those attributes. The resistance isn’t stupid heavy and it can be for beginners or seasoned vets in the game.

As we get older, safety becomes more of a priority than ego lifting or doing better than everyone else. We want to build that strength and mobility that keeps us lasting longer and as injury proof as possible. That doesn’t mean you have to be paranoid or overly cautious, it means you learn to be aware of things from a focused perspective. I’ve had enough injuries in my lifetime to understand that it’s not worth your health if you can’t enjoy the greater things in life. Too many people become crippled or worse because they don’t train their bodies in a safe manner to keep things going smoothly as they can. We can’t 100% avoid injuries but we can learn to be aware and do our best to control what can be prevented and be able to have that durability without testing our egos on theories of how far we’re willing to push. It’s one thing to challenge yourself, it’s another to punish yourself in the attempt of being healthier and stronger.

Train your neck wisely and be in control in how you perform movements or even holds for that matter. Having a strong and healthy neck can mean saving your life.

Be amazingly awesome and share your experiences with me on Neck Training or have questions about the Neck Flex by shooting me a comment. Be sure to use my code POWERANDMIGHT when you have an opportunity to order the Neck Flex. They may even be having a sale going on and my code will shave off even more of that. Subscribe to have articles sent to your email and may you continue to kill it in your journey.

Are High Volume Calisthenics Really Necessary???

 Debates are a time honored tradition and in the manner of fitness, it adds some heated discussions at times. Let’s look at the idea of them but also, perspectives on what they can be beneficial for and/or their possible limitations.

In a short version of this context, it really boils down to what your goal is and what type of training you’re shooting for. Now, what can make this a little more interesting? Shall we turn the key and open up the door?

From my own experiences, I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum. I’ve done hundreds of push-ups and squats throughout the years in various workouts. Sometimes using a deck of cards, sometimes in sets using ladder methods or countdown versions at certain points in time. Heard those say it’s junk volume and not really building strength or muscle. Mostly endurance. Well, they’re not totally wrong but at the same time, they don’t necessarily have the right idea either. On the other side of the coin, I’ve felt in certain cases, high volume doesn’t have the advantage one may believe.

Let’s make a case for High Volume in and of itself:

In reality, it can be hard to beat when your goal is to enhance your conditioning, strengthen your work capacity and build serious mental toughness. Calisthenics in this manner are awesome for that. When you push past the 300-400-500 thresholds, it’s not the muscular aspects that change, it’s the breathing that becomes honest, technique that has to hold up when your gas tank is hitting that breaking point of fatigue and learning how to compose yourself when you start to run on empty.

There’s real transfer there. That level of High Volume work builds an engine like a locomotive. The raw reality of strength endurance that hits you like bricks.

Bodyweight Exercise can be done anywhere and at anytime. It doesn’t matter whether you’re chilling at the beach, tackling a few reps after chopping firewood or getting a tan on the dock by the lake. It’s not just Push-Ups & Squats, there can be lunges, burpees, leg raises, bridges and all sorts of things.

Here’s an outlook on what we can build a case for going against High Volume:

Is it really necessary for everything? The end-all-be-all high and mighty? Hell no and I’ll tell you why? 

High Volume is not the same as maximal strength. You can get very strong in certain parts and you can be much leaner and better conditioned, but don’t expect to work like a powerlifter hitting a shit ton of weight. If you want more out of it, focus on utilizing tension. Tension is the key and that leads into progressive overload. What normally can be done at 50-100 reps of whatever can change course but still yield results by contracting the muscles and concentrate on the movements at a slower and more controlled rate. Some do very well hitting numbers while maintaining tension but sets of 15-20 can have a great impact in how you control the muscles.

Another important lesson to look at is the way your technique goes when you start chasing numbers. If you’re pushing into the hundreds but your form looks like you’re a fish out of water, it’s going to bite you in the ass and cause problems you don’t want. You can also burn out and have a bit of psychological damage due to the overwhelming physical trauma you put yourself in. This in turn can affect your sleep along with your ability to eat that turns discipline into problematic eating.

Some say High Volume is the only thing that matters to be fit but let’s face it, how many people in their 60’s and 70’s are doing hundreds of crazy calisthenics on a daily basis? The numbers would shock you how very few in the world per capita are doing that. It’s better to train smarter than chase numbers that can potentially derail you than make you better.

Is it truly needed???

Here’s my take on it: For wanting to be well conditioned, tough and resilient, doing High Volume work does have it’s benefits. Some of the greatest athletes in the world were heavily into it like Herschel Walker, Dan Gable, Karl Gotch, Rickey Henderson, Charles Atlas and Jack Lalanne for example. Being exposed through progressive training bolds well in many areas and not always on a daily basis unless that’s a goal you have in mind.

To be as strong as possible, that’s going to take more than a few hundred squats. High Reps isn’t a whole tool box, but they are a tool of the trade. Build a base, use them as finishers or as a way to recover. It’s not that complicated as some may think, as long as you keep it simple and be able to adapt when needed, you’re golden. Be aware of how you perform and do things that help you recover and not blowtorch to where you’re waiting another week or two to feel ok again.

Could High Volume work outside the realm of exercise itself? Fuck yes it can. Because it could have some awesome benefits to be able to work better and move better throughout the day. You don’t need to live on it though, just value of how you get there and when to take a step back so you don’t create overkill. Remember, even the smallest fraction of progress still leads to the big picture. Keep being amazingly awesome and kill it in your journey to be even 1% better each day.

Why Are Dopamineo Bands Such A Powerful Conditioning Tool???

From a certain perspective, developing levels of conditioning isn’t about getting tired. It’s about giving the body the opportunities to keep at it when the easy way out would be to just end it.

When it comes to valuable tools, these bands are an ideal outlook on my view of being in great condition. The legendary wrestler Karl Gotch said “Conditioning is your greatest hold” which leans more to the sport (more specifically Catch As Catch Can Wrestling) but on that similar idea, my style is through a fitness perspective by saying “Conditioning is your greatest asset.”

The bands do provide resistance, just not the same way as you would do with weights. The more you stretch the band, the more tension it creates which increases difficulty compared to weights where the resistance is the same throughout the entire range of motion regardless of the exercise. they also provide consistent feedback. It’s not just simply going from one area to another, the resistance is constantly there and changes when you move further or closer to its anchor point. Controlling the body, maintaining tension, focused breathing and producing effort that is continuous.

That’s one of the brutal truths of conditioning. The workouts can be very hard or they can be very light depending on your goals, level of fitness and what you need to do. If you have read another article I’ve written here about using a Deck Of Cards, you’ll understand why it’s a favorite of mine. I have also dabbled quite a bit in circuit training to keep a pace that is intense but have the ability to keep going round after round without wearing down. Some of the best athletes in the world who use them do warm-ups, finishers, work on their athletic development or use them to be able to move better throughout the day so they can be more productive.

A gym isn’t always a requirement, it’s an option. I personally have used these bands in a a gym as a finisher after using weights for 45 min to an hour doing circuits that went up to 500 total reps in 20 minutes or less. Only a few times but it still put me in a state where I felt fucking great and didn’t get sore or have issues walking back out the door to go home.

It’s not complicated to set up and you don’t need to go for hours on end to get a beneficial session going. Hell, on average, my workouts lasts less than 30 minutes depending on what I want to do, if I go for 20 rounds doing 5 exercises for 10 reps each, the timing varies from 30-40 minutes. It’s another reason why I believe they’re valuable at any age.

A young athlete like in High School or even in Pee-Wee sports, can develop their conditioning using bands like the Fly, Feather or Light so a parent/coach/mentor can teach them work capacity. For heavier athletes, the Middle to Heavy Bands can turn them into lean, mean fighting machines that have exceptional endurance and be able to strength train without always relying on heavier external loads. For those who have been at it for decades such as myself, they can be used to maintain health and cardio to continue to move efficiently.

One component however really opens the doors to be a fit individual with these bands and that’s hitting your mental game on another level. A solid level of conditioning is also a teacher of being able to deal with discomfort. That’s not the same as reaching to aspects of pain or doing something stupid to hurt yourself, discomfort is the big word here. What’s the major difference?

The ability to work through a demanding band workout whether it be a circuit, set and rep and scheme or whatever, the mind will eventually start to play tricks on you and throw several reasons to slow down, give up or just prance on through like it was meant to be easy. This is where things get very interesting. They teach you how to handle your composure in times of fatigue. Be able to control your breathing in the midst of pressure and maintain your technique when it gets tough. These bands will work with you when you learn to respect them and work alongside them as one entity instead of fighting yourself or them.

That specific mindset is very important to carry over into other aspects of life, not just sports. It’s not easy cause life can be hard as it is. There’s never 100% mastery over this but it is part of the journey of becoming even 1% better. Even the smallest fraction of progress still leads to the bigger picture. Being uncomfortable doesn’t always indicate of giving yourself the reason to stop.

It’s a valuable lesson regardless of age. This is why I favor them so much beyond just being able to get through workouts. You can make them as challenging or as “easy” as you want without making it so damn complicated like with other programs or methods. Being able to manipulate the pace, change exercises on a dime and make your rest periods long or short is up to you. They’re the kind of tool that allows freedom in ways you may not get with weights, they’re a great addition to weight training but you may not be able to travel with a barbell or dumbbell so much LOL.

I have taken these bands to many places such as……

The Beach

The Park

At A Lake

Even In A Rec Center

Start putting in the work and you’ll start to see things in ways that are not only fun and enjoyable but it aids in how you can stay fit or increase your fitness. Simple, adaptable and portable.

Make those efforts count. Be amazingly awesome and check out Dopamineo.com and see what kind of bands can suit for you and your goals. Use the Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT to get a some bucks off your order.

Playing Like A Kid Again!!!

 When we were little, we had wild imaginations, putting thoughts out into the world and create something out of only by what we dream about. As we get older, we become more analytical, cautious, only use what we see and not what we can think of. We become the entity that loses that fire and passion to be creative out of necessity. Is it too late to feel that drive again? To be creative, passionate and to use our thoughts into action? I firmly believe we can and it starts with what we already did as kids and that’s moving like a wild animal.

Remember what it was like to pretend we were bears, apes, tigers, snakes and such? We mimicked our favorite beasts and critters by playing games like tag and racing each other. What happened to that? Being realistic in the adult world is what happened and we went from crawling, jumping and playing to office desks and bringing people bad food in restaurants LOL.

Now, there are things as we get older we need to be aware of and we aren’t always able to play the way we used to and bounce back like it was a cake walk, but we can however; make a difference in how we still can have that child-like quality but put into action how we apply it to what our bodies are capable of in the moment.

Off and on for more than 20 years, I have practiced the art of Animal Movement and it’s multiple styles depending on who teaches it and what is utilized. From crawling to combo moves to HIIT, Tag, Races, Dice Games and others, I am always finding ways to make workouts look like play because I still am a kid at heart, even in my 40’s. I still want to feel what it’s like to mimic an animal in the wild.

Where to even start if you’re just getting back into it? Well, it’s best to start with the basics and work up to them in a variety of ways. One would be to start Bear Crawling which is the simplest Animal to practice. Start with 1-3 sets of 10-20 seconds of just getting the feel for it again. Don’t need to rush or speed up, just focus using opposite arm and opposite leg patterns until you become good at it. As time goes on, build up until you can go for 1-2 minutes non stop. If you want to really be ambitious, one of my favorite workouts takes no more than 5 minutes where you Sprint in the Bear Crawl for 10 seconds, rest 20 seconds and repeat for a total of 10 rounds. 2-3x a week max for this.

Some days, I would wake up, Bear Crawl for 1 minute, rest, Gorilla Hop/Jump for 1 minute, rest and then do a Tiger Crawl for 1 minute. 3 minutes of movement is often all it takes. This is particularly a good workout to build cognitive strength because of the constant movement and patterns being used. It potentially can wake you up better than a cup of Coffee.

At the park, I would sometimes do different crawling patterns, combine different animals together to create a hybrid or do one movement after another and switch on a dime. When I rest, I walk around focusing on my breathing until I’m ready to go again. Sometimes I’ll do this kind of training for 10 min, 20 min or even a few minutes just to get a good sweat going. I get to play and challenge my brain to see what can be done next.

In the video below, you can get an idea of what I mean by this….

When I do these things, I feel like a kid again, living out my imagination and having the time of my life. Sure we have responsibilities and need to do things in order to live amongst our means, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn to play again and make things in our lives interesting and playful. You can too with a little practice and doing what’s possible for you.

One course in particular I use that teaches you all kinds of moves and blending them together is called Movement 20XX where it combines the elements of Calisthenics & Animal Movement. Learn and have fun with it.

Fitness is not always about reps and sets schemes or having to go to a gym and face the unpredictability of what to use and maybe wait for people, things like this give you the freedom to explore your inner child and building strength from another perspective. You can do these at a gym if you’d like (preferably in an area where it won’t be in anybody’s way) or do them on off days to keep things flowing. They can be done as warm-ups, finishers, 2-A Days or whatever you like, the choice is yours. That’s the beauty of it.

Be amazingly awesome and let’s keep the imagination and play alive so we don’t have to get stuck in a damn nursing home later in life.

On a side note, a new era has begun for Power And Might as I have ventured out into a new space to write and share my love for training. If you'd like to check out the new spot, go to the comment section or send me an email using the Contact Form and type in POWERANDMIGHT and I will send you a link. 

The Deck Doesn't Care About Your Feelings: Only If You Got The Guts

A great workout should never be complicated. When it comes to your conditioning, it is one of the best assets you can ever have and it's important to know that you don't need some manual telling you to use 12 pieces of equipment or get lost in the shuffle because some dude decided you're better off making it harder than it needs to be. 

One of my personal favorite workouts to stay in solid condition is using the Dopa Band and a Deck Of Cards. That's really it. The cards are your coach and unlike a typical training partner, that deck doesn't negotiate. 

Here's the setup I use:

Hearts = Chest Flys

Diamonds = Wave Pulls

Spades = Squats (Underhook is my go to)

Clubs = Dopa Skis

Jokers = Propellers

Now for the numbers game:

2-10 = Whatever that card is

K/Q/J = 10 reps

Aces = 16 reps

Jokers = 50 Propellers

One full deck is 500 total reps in this capacity.

Can't have a crazed workout without a joker. There's a reason behind that. The propeller is the king of the conditioning exercises in the Dopamineo Arsenal. 

Start shuffling and be ready to pull the cards. You may start with 5 Chest Flys, seems easy enough right? A 9 of clubs comes up and you got Squats to do. 10 Diamond and you've got your Wave Pulls. All of a sudden, the Joker appears. The deck has decided that if you thought you had it easy, it doesn't care, it will kick your ass whether you like it or not. 

What is the Outlook on this kind of Conditioning???

It's not always about the reps. It's the constant change that truly makes the difference. Moving from exercise to exercise which can start out hard or easy. It doesn't settle something predictable throughout, so you have to constantly adapt. The randomization isn't some gimmick, it's more philosophical or a different view point of how life can be. Things aren't always planned out. You have unexpected challenges and things can change in the blink of an eye. Just when you thought you were comfortable, a joker will laugh and say "you're shit out of luck, get to work or quit." That happens in life often. 

You're not always in control of the cards you're dealt with. You can however, learn to control how you react to them and be prepared to deal with it. This lesson is more than just a workout, it's expecting the unexpected. You never know what what will come up so you adapt to what will be in front of you. A carryover beyond the aspects of conditioning. 

Care to attempt this twice???

Going through this monstrous workout a couple times in a row creates a unique amount of work that forces you to maintain pace and technique as the fatigue builds up. Trust me, I've done it and although I enjoy a challenge, this will test your sanity. Getting through the first deck consistently may seem comfortable but doing a second time may have you questioning your life choices. Can you keep up with yourself? Maintain form with precision? Be able to follow through the work volume without falling apart? This is where your conditioning is truly tested. 

It's not about survival. It's the development that builds the ability to withstand a workload that is unpredictable and having the guts to keep performing. That in turn is useful more than you may want to believe. The real world won't always warn you what will come next which makes the deck no less different. 

Get to shuffling....

The band is the resistance and the cards provide the randomness. A joker will sooner or later be a reminder that you should have read the fine print. You provide the effort. Can't control what comes next, the only thing you can control is the reaction. That's real conditioning with a bit of philosophy thrown in. Shuffle the cards, start flipping, do the work and repeat until you can do a full deck. 

Be amazingly awesome and hope you succeed in your endeavors. Go to Dopamineo.com, pick your band, get familiar with the exercises and see what you're made of with the Deck Of Cards workout (Use Code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout). One of my favorite decks to use is the Dark Knight Deck from Theory 11.    

Lighten Up Will Ya?

In my last post, I talked about (in not so many words) what happens with either ego lifting or understanding that we are all human and we mess up sometimes. That was based on me handling a 45+ lb mace getting both solid reps in and making mistakes. 

This time around, I lightened the load and brought the weight down to just under 27 lbs. (26.7 to be exact) and that was a comfortable weight for me to swing with and build back up again. Eventually if I stayed consistent, I probably won't go higher than maybe 35 lbs. because in reality, I'm not about one rep maxes, I want to be able to rep it out well and have greater control than to just haul it and try to set some kind of crazy record. 

Here's doing the 10-2 exercise and it actually felt great. Filming wise, there aren't any BTS stuff where I hurt myself again because that never happened with that weight. Smooth, crisp and in far better control.

Although the Mace isn't something I swing often, I do like messing around with it and being able to get some good training in. Might show some other stuff sometime like Gravediggers and one of the exercises back in the day I learned from Strongman Kevin Wikse called Thor Catches Loki. 

Doing 360's is the most basic exercise to learn with the Mace and building some good grip strength along with honoring those who came before me. One guy I had a conversation with recently who's known as Mr. Maceman Rik Brown and knows that with those little progressions, I'll be spinning a mace like a propeller LOL. His words, not mine. This guy is incredible and is one of the most highly decorated teachers in the U.S on teaching how to use Maces and Clubs. From complete beginners to world class athletes, he teaches it all and has trained alongside wrestlers in India and has taught Mace swinging all over the world. A valuable part of modern day Physical Culture. Shit his training with a 7 foot Mace is bad ass. Here's my set of 360's below...

Training is part of the journey and learning what's possible and what to correct so you can get better. There are those who would rather steal your money than to see you succeed and believe they're the only ones that you should learn from. That's pure ego and not someone that's worthy of being trusted. Hell, they contradict themselves a lot and don't even realize it. Calling themselves the best at this or that when even someone like me who can name 10 guys at the top of my head who are not only far better than guys like that, but are actually more successful, don't act like Controversial dickheads who are desperate for attention and con people into buying things that are just copy and pasted bullshit LOL Nothing original and plagiarize others' work including mine. 

Let's lighten up shall we? Be real and learn things that carry over to other aspects of life. Real winning is inspiring others and making a difference that leaves you being remembered for things that matter. Losing is thinking you're above everyone else, acting like you got some high IQ for fitness and anyone who disagrees with you is coping or a loser. Losing is telling others you need to be skinny in order to look good and drink more water than an ultra marathon runner on a daily basis. Not to mention the fact that some of these guys are heavy smokers and look anorexic, that's pretty bad if you ask me.

Make the effort to get a little better, even by the smallest fraction because it will lead to a bigger picture. Swing the mace with pride, swing with power and swing to honor those of the past. Have fun and keep being amazingly awesome. 

What's The Worst That Could Happen?

 Training isn't always pretty and sometimes shit happens. Earlier this past week, I wanted to go out to the park and play around with the Stronger Grip Monster Mace which I filled to 45+ lbs. Wanted to film a some stuff and even go shirtless which I rarely ever do and I know I need to work on my physique a little better (being modest here). The strength and condition is there but the look could use some improvement. 

Moving this son of a bitch wasn't fun and I did end up hitting myself a few times which you can view below.....

I originally didn't want to show these bloopers cause I've always been a guy who would just do the exercises the best way I could and go with it. This time, I figured what the hell and show that I can be vulnerable and it was scary as hell. In many cases, you're expected to have the perfect physique, picture perfect form and put on a little facade that you're above others because if you're even a tad normal compared to those who don't work out or show more vulnerability, you're not portraying what some people think you need to be. 

We make mistakes, we have our own struggles, even from doing this for decades. In my years of filming, training and putting myself out there, I have failed more times than what was the end result you end up seeing on social media and on this blog. I wanted to give people a glimpse that I do screw up sometimes. I didn't purposely hurt myself and reveal that it's ok to hurt yourself. Never want someone to hurt themselves but to give insights that even what we do to inspire others is that, accidents do happen and it's important to learn and correct our mistakes. 

I did eventually was able to rep the mace with that weight, even if it was just a few. See that below...

If I hadn't shown the bloopers, you may have thought that yeah, I am able to do this and it was on the first try. The truth is, like many times BTS, I've had to do several takes of things which in some aspects are a workout in and of themselves LOL. 

I don't have the perfect body, quite frankly there's no such thing but I also know I would like my physique to be better than what it is right now. I don't care much about being an IG model or be on some magazine cover, that's not part of my journey. I know I can do better, it just takes time and patience which the latter wasn't always my strong suit. I have ideas in, certain training styles and better eating to get me there and I may not show anything shirtless again for a while. I'm still grateful that I weigh far less than I was at my heaviest at 275. I'm now in the 230-235 range mostly these days and have stayed in that range for years now. 

Can still handle certain stuff well and I have no problem in the cardio department, it's now really a matter of just looking a little healthier and gaining better habits. It's all part of the journey right? 

Change is hard and I know for a fact there are some people out there who want to see me fail and will do almost anything and say anything to make sure I do, but I'm still standing and I won't stop fighting. I've got better things to do than to listen to some jealous shmuck with a grudge (not to mention a very disturbing obsession) that sends me sick and sexualized notes on a daily basis using aliases that show the same behavioral patterns and moronic high school trash talk. 

Anyways, the world isn't perfect and too many people chase perfection which in some aspects isn't a bad thing but if you're going to beat yourself up because you're not perfect to others, things will never happen the way you want them to. It's more important to get better at things little by little and do them with solid technique. Chasing perfection can become an addiction and addictions can bite you in the ass if you're not careful. Chase becoming better than you were before. You may fail at times but you don't give up and don't stop becoming a better version of yourself, even by the smallest fraction. Every tiny percentage of becoming better, leads to the bigger picture. 

A Hammer And A Kettlebell Walk Into A Bar

 Ok, that sounded like the beginning to a terrible joke but hey, I have that weird sense of humor. Yesterday was a fun outing at a park in town on the eastern side. My wife wanted to practice her photography, so we did some filming and photo shooting of me doing stuff with my 70 pound Darth Vader Kettlebell & my Giants Hammer which I emptied out to its original weight of 13 pounds cause I wanted to build some greater speed and explosive. 

We were out there for quite a while, a couple hours max and I couldn't tell how many reps I did moving those damn things. For the filming, we tested out some things with angles and where some good shots of me lifting the bell and slamming down the hammer. Yeah, I rested in between takes and all that but it was still pretty tough to do to maintain my strength with one implement and going in short bursts with another. Hell during one set of filming, I was being so fast with the hammer that it didn't catch one of the reps I wanted to do. Took several takes to get it right but we got it. 

I don't know what was worse LOL, the filming or the photo shooting. With the photo shooting which I will put up a few here and on SM soon, I had to hold the hammer at certain points and yeah that was easier to do cause it is much lighter, but the Kettlebell? Holy shit, There were a few shots where I had to hold it overhead in lockout for an extended period of time because she wanted to get some good shots both straight ahead and from the ground looking up a me. It's one thing to hold up a good 25-30 pounder for promo purposes but to hold up a 70 that is awkwardly shaped? That's a whole other ball game. This is where I'm glad I have strong tendons and ligaments along with functional muscle to do this. 

Some of the photo shooting was to get the idea of how I would slam the hammer down and the power of the thrusts nearly frame by frame. All she told me to do was to rep it out as much as I can which felt like a damn sprint and maintaining that explosiveness. The last of it was doing Kettlebell swings which I don't do very often and don't have the greatest technique but I can do them without killing myself (even with a KB that heavy). So for a 2-3 sets or so of that, I was told to swing for as many reps as I can muster until she told me to stop. It was under 10 reps at a time but you didn't know how many were needed done so you just kept swinging. 

To say that whole session was a workout would be an understatement. With also not even eating anything that day until we got home from the park, I built up a hell of an appetite. Still was a blast though and she just loved getting the practice in. 

Before the session, I got in a little workout of O2 Training for a few minutes and some DDP Yoga for mobility and flexibility. Did a few push-ups and self resistance exercises to get some blood pumping as well. After the session before bed, I did some more O2 Training for several minutes and a Core/Hip Exercise along with an Animal Combo. 

Like I said earlier in the post, I'll put up some of the shots she took and another video of doing Hammer Slams where the camera moves almost in a circular type fashion instead of stationary (maybe). For now, I edited some of the videos to what I wanted to do which you can view below....

Overall, as tough as some of this was, it was a lot of fun and would do it again. One of the videos that I'll eventually put up is hitting 25 reps in under 40 Seconds. That's just freaking nasty man and if you want to talk about a lung burner, it ranks right up there. 

Be amazingly awesome, kill it in your endeavors and train with an adventurous mind. 

 

If You Want More Strength, Don't Ignore The Power Of Tension

 "Tension is the stimulus and Isometrics generate a lot of it."- Paul O'Brien

Simple statement that hits the bullseye. Our muscles don't give a damn whether resistance comes from a machine, our own bodyweight, a barbell or even a band for that matter. The response comes from the work being put in. It responds to the tension.

When it comes to Isometrics, it hits hard in this case. Within Isometric Exercises, it stops being about moving mindless weight from one direction to another. You are the one that is deliberately building and ultimately maintaining the tension. Pushing/Pulling/Squatting by bracing and resisting at a stopping point or in other words generating force by going against something Immovable. Overcoming Isometrics if you will. 

That's the beauty of Isometrics I love the most. Being able to create my own muscular force without relying on a bunch of equipment. Straps, Walls, Rails, Trees and my own bodyweight can be more than enough. Create the tension and make the muscles work with a vengeance.

There are way too many people who are conditioned to believe that when it comes to training, it only counts when things are moving or having some crazy weight on a bar. That's complete bullshit. Movement in and of itself is a tool, just like Isometrics is a tool and when done with proper application, can build powerful amounts of effort.

The big key word here is EFFORT!!! If you're just simply standing there like and acting like you're pretending to push or whatever, it isn't going to matter much. True value comes from the intent you put into a hold. When you perform an Isometric Contraction, you put real power and tension into it, almost as if your life depended on it. Put your mind into the muscles you're working and apply that power and force with pure control. Once those few seconds are up, let yourself relax and recover. 

Isometric Training fits into practically any regimen or goal you want to achieve whether it's getting stronger, more conditioned, rehab/prehab, being more capable as you get older and even being more mobile. It's not a replacement of anything, but ignoring them because you were taught they don't hold any merit from some arm chair twig, makes you miss the bigger picture. 

What it all boils down to at the end of the day, the muscles don't care about a gym membership or whatever equipment you use, the tension is what will get it done and Isometrics provides that in more ways than you may believe. Be amazingly awesome and get your ass going with some Isometrics today.   

Training With Resistance Bands: Great Tools You Can Take Anywhere

 If there was exercise equipment that is grossly underrated, it's Resistance Bands. Many times, the credit for them goes unnoticed and it's practically shameful. Some will barely give bands a glance due to being lightweight but for the most part, they don't understand the magnitude of how powerful they can really be.

They provide crazy resistance training while giving you the opportunities to learn control throughout various ranges of motion, changing speeds & tempos, the amount of tension along with positioning. Usefulness couldn't even begin to describe them but that's the beauty of it. Whether your goals are building strength, boosting your conditioning levels, staying functional for the long haul and keeping up with your mobility (This is particularly important for those over 40). 

A personal favorite advantage I believe in is that you can train well without beating up on your joints. Now, this doesn't mean you'll avoid injuries 100% of the time but when you learn to control the resistance, work on technique and intelligently building realistic progressions, it can help train those who are limited while building stabilization and strength. It even gives you lessons to respect recovery because it is important to know that adaptation becomes your best friend as the years pass by. 

Here are three distinctive styles of Bands that can you full body workouts (one in particular working specific muscles):

-Neck Flex 

A great example of applying resistance to target one of the most neglected areas of the body. Many look at training as an afterthought and that can bite you in the ass if you don't pay attention. Controlling the resistance that allows for targeting muscles at various angles. You can even do Isometric holds rather throwing your head around and thinking that's best. (Coupon Code POWERANDMIGHT)

-Dopamineo Bands

If you want to expand your horizons in mimicking exercises in the gym, on the mat or wherever, you're looking at arguably one of the best tools on the planet when it comes to working with bands. Be able to manipulate the resistance just by going towards or away from it and hit more muscles at practically any given angle. Conditioning Training at its finest. More than just a a warm up, they're a go to for some of the best athletes in the world including Olympic & World Champion wrestlers. (Coupon Code POWERANDMIGHT) 

-Lifeline Fitness Cables

Don't be confined to a machine or just dumbbells and barbells as these can target the same exact muscles. The biggest difference is the resistance, with Cables, the resistance increases throughout the range of motion while BBs and DBs remain the same throughout a movement. Practicality, versatility and portability is what give these a bad ass option.

A key component where all these shine the brightest: The traveling.

With any of these systems, you can throw them into a bag and be able to train on the road. Staying at a hotel? Getting a tan at the beach? Vacationing in Hawaii? Doesn't matter. You can have a fully equipped gym without the stress of paying for day passes or having to haul extra luggage. Consistency beats perfection. 

Be able to challenge your conditioning throughout continuous movements that keep muscles working and targeting your cardio at the same time. Adjust the intensity however you like or how you apply it to your goals and not worry that harder always means better (it's not unless you choose to do so). Many miss this and don't realize that it's not always about competition. It's about adapting, recovering and getting the most out of yourself without tearing yourself apart. They're not a replacement for things like Bodyweight Training, they're an add on and sure as hell aren't some magical tools. They're an option when things like weights aren't practical in certain situations and compliment your current training. 

Be intelligent, resourceful, in control and most importantly, listen to what your body is telling you. This is how you can consistently train for many years to come. Where are your favorite places to travel? Let me know in the comments or use the Contact Form to DM me. 

Be amazingly awesome and kick ass in your endeavors. 

Why I Never Used Weights With A Neck Harness?

 For the longest time in my journey, training my neck was nothing more than Bridges & Self Resistance Movements. I never even thought of a Neck Harness until I got one in late 2025 because in most cases, guys used weights for them using chains and so forth. I was already content with what I built in my neck.

I avoided the harness really because I only thought it was used with weights. Sure it looked bad ass but you can't really travel with weights plus, I wasn't fond of trying to control weight while moving my head in limited directions. There weren't many movements to work the neck using weights and it's not ideal to use the same weight for every direction, it could put a kink in things. 

As you know, when it comes to weights, I do things more unconventionally and although aspects of weight training are great and have promoted them with the courses that Brooks Kubik has published and want to give people that option of how the old timers trained. The best weights I have ever reacted well to have been hammers, sandbags and kettlebells. Can still do a solid level of barbells and dumbbells like heavy shrugs with more than 315 and can curl in the 60's along with benching around 300 but they just never gave me the type of strength I craved.

Neck Training is essential for many reasons beyond the mats and the gridiron. Having a strong neck isn't about the muscle that is built, it's the strength of the bones and tissues that keep it mobile and elastic. You can have a thick neck but if you struggle to turn it or have stiffness that causes spinal issues, it's not worth developing that. You'd want to train the neck in every possible angle that makes it durable, strong, flexible and strengthens areas of the spine. Hell, when I was doing Bridging Gymnastics (Kicking over on the head), it was fun and I loved being able to accomplish that while not being a wrestler or a fighter but eventually, I drifted away from that and merely kept up doing Self Resistance Exercises up to 200 Reps working in different directions.

I understand the reasons to use weights with a harness or a machine and they have good intentions, but they're not meant for everybody. It just never entered my mind to do them that way. When I finally got the Neck Flex being inspired by Mike The Machine Bruce, I figured it was time to give something like this a chance. Since it came with a Resistance Band, that was just up my alley. It was a little tricky to understand at first since I'm not used to wearing equipment on my head. I trusted Mike and his judgement because our mutual mentor Bud Jeffries took a chance on us, Mike's reputation in fighting and knowledge of Neck Work was also a major factor. I got better and better at it to the point where I'm doing 300-400 Reps per session working my neck with the Band hitting every direction I can think of and learned. 

Since using the NF, my neck is just as strong, durable and mobile than ever before. The Bridges and other things still work well but there's something about the NF that those other things haven't quite caught on. Because of the use with the Band, I can control the resistance with greater efficiency and work a pace that's comfortable yet challenging at the same time. 

I highly encourage you guys to grab one or either of the bundles. You can still work weights with it as you wish and still get bad ass benefits but I personally believe the Band does wonders especially since its portable and you can train your neck anywhere you want. Shit, you can even get a discount of them on me using my coupon code POWERANDMIGHT, even with the affordable pricing the company already has compared to other places. 

Fun Fact: The Legendary Powerhouse Mike Tyson used a Neck Harness along with Bridging to develop his 20 inch neck for absorbing punches. At his age now, he may bridge a little but if he had a Neck Flex using a band, it could help with those old injuries. 

Be amazingly awesome. What has been your experience with a Harness and how have you managed to build your neck with one? Let me know in the Comments or DM Me using the contact form.  

Training For The Long Haul After 40 Using Dopamineo Bands

 

When we hit a certain age, there are things we will need to adapt to. Doesn't mean we stop going after things that matter, it's just another route that leads to places where we can still thrive. We do need to train with a bit more sense once we reach 40, 50 and beyond which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The main goal isn't to punish ourselves and go to limits that lead to injuries. It's to be able to build that continuation in our journey that keeps us capable, strong and conditioned. 

This is where I believe in the Dopamineo Bands and what they represent, beyond the ability to train for specific sports and turn people into explosive machines. It's another aspect of Resistance Training to help maintain muscle and strength as we get older. However; we don't need to suffer in every workout in order to make this a possibility. These bands give you the opportunities to develop these qualities without relying on gym equipment. Is it the end-all-be-all? Hell no, but if you like training at home or want to get in some solid training while traveling, these are top notch for that. 

You can push, pull, squat and all sorts of things that keeps things flowing and come out of it feeling like a million bucks. Use them for circuits, intervals, high rep work, build technique through slow and controlled movements or combine them to your current routine whether its bodyweight or weights. Use them as a warm up if you like or as finishers to your gym work, so many options. That's how versatile they are. Versatility is a key ingredient when you're training for the long haul.

Some of the mistakes people make (myself included, I'll admit) as we get older, is believing progression is about hammering out more and more reps and making exercises harder than they need to be. Making an exercise harder can be subjective whether it be another variation of something or creating more tension. The thing is, in most people's definition of harder is through the difficulty of an exercise itself and stop making it just a simplistic move which is bullshit. Simplicity is the real key, not turning an exercise into some circus act where you end up trying to balance on a slam ball with a barbell on your back or something ridiculous. Progression can mean greater endurance, better control and utilizing range of motion to a better quality of movement. It could also mean less fatigue during the same types of workouts. 

That's the type of stuff the "Extreme Workouts Everyday" crowd tends to forget. It's not possible to adapt well if you end up beating yourself into the ground all the time. Do you really think you can stay consistent if you're injured the majority of the time? Not on your life. It's not about tolerating the punishment you put on yourself and try to train for decades doing that. It's going to bite you in the ass if that is your goal. Our bodies need time to adapt and recover with efficiency. In my own sessions, I don't push so far that I can't walk out without looking like I was in a war, I do what's necessary and hit certain levels of fatigue that I can still come back when I'm ready or do other workouts that are less intense and recover that way. 

The major aspects of the Bands is that they're portable as well. Hook them to the door at home, to a tree at a park and be able to change exercises on a dime. Throw them in a bag and be able to take the gym with you everywhere. I've used them at lakes, on the beach, at parks, in hotel rooms, gyms, rec centers, shit even in the damn parking lot. It just makes the process and journey less complicated. Sometimes we need that.

After 40, we shouldn't really need to prove to anybody how much we can dish out or show up some moron on the internet who's only purpose in life is to be an asshole and make everybody else feel less along with practicing being superior even though it's insecurity. It's about staying as capable as we can for the next 30-40 years or more. Maintaining our levels of strength and keeping our conditioning up. Moving our body and performing tasks while also enjoying the activities we love. Stop trying to train like you're 20 years old again. It has come and gone but that doesn't mean your journey stops. It just means you put in the work that sets aside the ego trip and do things that have you moving forward as you celebrate life. 

Keep finding ways to better yourself, adapt with gusto and do the best to your abilities to keep moving forward. Be amazingly awesome and grab some bands so you can become fitter and healthier as time goes on. Use the coupon code POWERANDMIGHT to get a percentage off your order. 

Want anymore info on them, use the contact form below or find me on social media through my linktree.

Don't Let Another Immortal Release The Power Of Your Quickening

One of the most common themes of the Highlander Franchise is in order to have the strength and power of another immortal is to decapitate them using the stroke of a sword that releases what's called the quickening. In other words, if you won the fight, you gain power and knowledge of your opponent. Enhancing the abilities of the victor.

So, what the hell does this have to do with fitness? Well, in a nutshell, it's the training of the neck. A fun little tidbit of developing real strength and conditioning for one of the most neglected body parts in the Fitness Culture. Unless you're a football player, MMA fighter or wrestler, you don't see a ton of programs involving Neck Training. 

Working your neck is more than just building muscle, it's the possible prevention of injuries and concussions that occur a lot with Spinal issues and recurring neck problems. Many don't train their neck in a typical gym setting or even at home because there isn't a ton of information and whatever is, usually involves using weights, bridges on the head and merely using a wall or laying on your side as you only use the head. Weights have their place in training the neck and bridging is a cornerstone for building a strong neck to prevent being pinned down or getting out of a jam if you're fighting on the ground but it doesn't always constitute the idea of working the neck for longevity and strength.

If you know anything about what I love doing, it's finding exciting and cool ways to train using practicality and realistic ideas to keep things going in the long run. Neck Training is no different. I've done Bridges, Mobility Work and Self Resistance stuff for many years and rarely ever got injured in my neck. Had plenty of soreness at times but I feel grateful that I've never had a concussion or had to wear a neck brace from having whiplash or worse.

One of the best pieces of equipment I've ever used so far since earlier this year has been the Neck Flex that was the baby of the man known as Mike The Machine Bruce, a Marine with a background in shoot fighting and wrestling. Also is dubbed the man with the World's Strongest Neck, holding records such as Neck Curling with 300 lbs, having rebar and horseshoes bent across his throat and other things. In his prime, had a 20-21 inch neck that you really couldn't get a good choke hold on. He inspired me to get this crazy looking thing. Since I've had it, I've done thousands of reps doing exercises in various directions. Working up to 300-400 reps per session, sometimes more with experimenting the door anchor style. 

I use the resistance band variation of the NF because it's just my preference and I can hook it up to the D Rings and just go to town man. Here is my Demo of exercises and some Neck Curls using a strap. This has kept my neck thick, strong and mobile. I plan on testing out more exercises in the near future, even might work on Isometrics using chains, that would be bad ass to do LOL. For real though, you don't have to be a wrestler or a fighter to train your neck, it's an add on to what you can do for your current program or do Neck Work on off days so you can give the other muscle groups a break, whatever is comfortable for you. 

When you train the neck with intent and safety, you're learning to value the body from another perspective. We have to keep our heads up high and let people know we are strong. Guys like George F. Jowett knew this, Farmer Burns and others that made the importance of building a powerful neck worth the effort. In a nerdy sense, there would be more immortals in Highlander if those people knew how to truly their neck and those swords would have a much tougher time to cut. Then again, the villain The Kurgan had his throat cut and didn't get decapitated the first time, maybe there was some special training he did because you never see that happen at any other time in the films or tv series. 

Be amazingly awesome and remember.....THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!!

*If you click the link to the Neck Flex, you can get a special discount off your order if you use the code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout.