Training Your Mind & Body

Even though some of us exercise and we go through the motions to do what we can its still not training our mind. Being mindful of your training is just as important as the exercise itself. On the other hand there are plenty of more people that don't exercise but yet train their minds. Thats ok in some way but you won't get the most benefit if you can't balance it out and just do one or the other. Being physical can do many things for you but if your mind isnt in the same place then you are just wasting your time. Example outside of my training doing all these things I also do my best to keep my brain active and fresh by studying history and psychology and checking up other things that interest me particularly history. Although physical culture is a hobby of mine I also learn the history of our past such as wars and fictional history like Vampires and such. This is gonna sound like a guy thing but I also do my history on the game of Baseball (not the steriod era of the game) but its true glory of why its americas game and how those men and women back in the day who didn't get paid no where near where it is today but yet most were if not better then the players of today. Other then history I'm also an observer and how to look at others' body language and how people come and go when things are down. I'm not saying we all should study everything but learn something that makes you who you are and put that into your training and why its that important. Don't just learn your form or how it came out of a book or followed on video but judge it for how it works for you and learn from the past on how it can help you in the future.

Meditation....Better moving or being still?

When it comes to meditation we all want to find out how to reach our inner selves and how we grow from the inside as a human being and being at peace. Its not easy to listen to your own mind while everything around you is cluttered and frustrating. To channel ourselves we need to find a way that works for us and whats best to be at peice. Some people sit some stand and sometimes some move. In Tai Chi you move in fluid motions for a calm and relaxing affect on your body, mind and spirit. In Yoga you hold certain postures and breathe into the body that helps you grow stronger and more efficiant. In Qi Gong you practice all sorts of different things from hitting various pressure points, moving the joints to loosen them out and do different breathing exercises that help not only your body from the outside but more importantly work the internal organs to help create a healthier body.

For me I practice mostly standing and moving but at times I just want to lay down on the floor and just let everything thats bothering me just wash away and let everything flow. Even at certain times for meditation I do movements that jump up my heart rate to the point where i'm satisfied with what I did and just let nature unfold. So thats my practice but yet it can't be the same for everyone else because they are of different structure, personality, physiology and believe it or not psychology and so they need to use what they have to improve themselves. You can't teach someone to be meditative the same way you are because thats not being a teacher and its also not smart nor logical. So can you be meditative by standing or moving well t depends who you are and once you know you answered the question without ever saying a word.

Slow Motion Exercise!!!!

When you exercise you normally think cranking out rep after rep and think nothing of it. You drive to the gym, you put on some shorts a shirt and often times a bandana. Now imagine this, waking up in the morning stretching your arms up and feel good for a bit. what you just did is called slow motion exercise. This form of training can save you time and money. With this training you are not only just doing reps or just exercising, you learn to use your mind. Your mind creates the power. Now what if you could do that just for a few min. each day and actually put on some muscle. think about doing push-ups instead of doing 10, 20, 30 or beyond how about getting into a push-up position let your mind create the resistance, flex your entire body and start to move. This is slow motion exercise. It teaches to concentrate into your body and focus into the muscles you're working. Learn to do this and you'll be doing your body good. Countless reps arn't needed for this 10 would be awesome. The more tension you create the less reps needed.

Building The Mind/Muscle Connection

Building muscle is a great way to improve yourself but combine it with mental training and you're getting the best of both worlds not only from a physical aspect but from the inside as well. There are many programs that develop this particular aspect of physical culture and many are good but only a few show the true meaning to the term mind/muscle connection. Take Isometrics for example you push against a wall and you're pushing and pushing but if you push the wall with your mind at the same time you may find yourself being stronger and more efficient. Another example is DVR/VRT exercise, you visualize the resistance with your mind and its connecting you to the muscles you working. You flex and move and before you know it you're building nerve force and a powerful connection with your entire body from the inside out. Building strength is great in the physical sense but mental strength is more important otherwise it will be boring. Create a connection and you will master the will of your body to move in ways you wouldn't have dreamed possible.

Alois P. Swoboda

A man very rare you hear about in this day and age. A man of great importance is now shrouded in mystery as well as history. His impact on physical culture is still apart of our everyday experiences in exercise. His level of intelligence is very respected and honored by the people who have read, heard and knew of him. His exercise program is highly similar to John Peterson's DVRs and Greg Mangan's VRT systems. The method of physiological exercise is one of powerful subjects that continues to work even after his death nearly 80 years ago. Today you would almost need to be college educated just to understand the foundation that made him famous. Although DVRs and VRTs are more detailed today, its still an honor to learn where they were based from. Coining the term Muscle Control made sense to those who have the system even today cause after careful practice its not surprising you can control the muscles of your body. Learning this method is the quickest way to learn one's own Physiology. To learn more look at the site below.

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Swoboda/swoboda.htm

Stretching In A Gym Vs. Stretching Internally

When you go to a gym and see people stretching, how long do you think they're stretching, 30-45 sec. each exercise yet how long do you think they stretch internally. After working in a gym and the way I stretched learning from Matt, Ed and others it is a huge difference. Now we've all heard the "Stretch for flexibility and lift for strength" statement and in some cases it is true but theres a difference between truth and fact. Fact is that when you physically stretch the mental stretchng must come first and then and only then you will see the secrets to stretching internally as oppose to just stretching physically. I love it when I can touch my knee with my face but I wouldn't be able to do that if I don't mentally pictured and told my muscles to relax. Anyway the next time you see someone in a gym and see them stretch I believe you can actually tell if they're stretching mentally from how they're energies pick up.