A year has gone by and a new one begins. A fresh start for some, for others, it's a continuous grind that never stops. It doesn't matter what your ambitions, goals or resolutions for that matter, what is important to you will come and if you have the will, you'll make it as bad ass as you can. We all have something we want to accomplish but is it realistic and better yet, will it benefit you as an individual?
There those who will tell you flat out what they're goals are or what they plan on doing. The truth is, talking can be very convincing to another's ear yet where is the heart of the person saying it. I sure as hell have goals in mind but I'm not going to talk about them because most of the time, I'll end up talking myself out of them later so instead I shoot for what I want to do and then talk about it another time. It's a process for me but it's also part of my journey as a person.
I have talked about showing the Neck Flex after doing some workouts with it which I have and filmed a demo......
Obviously it's a demo and not a full workout, I wanted to show the exercises I've been doing and the form of control I'm using to give you an idea of how I work this thing. A big workout for me is doing 2x25 Reps per exercise with the six exercises shown here which is a total of 300 Reps. The other times, I would do a 10-count hold and then a 1-2 count for reps until I reach 10 reps with these with an added exercise of doing circles.
As you can see, I don't have a small neck and for good reason. Off and on for many, many years I've trained my neck to the point where I've done Bridging Gymnastics where I've fallen back until my head, kick over and back, held the front and back for as long as 3 minutes or longer (My longest in the back bridge is 7 minutes), Wall Walks, Gymnastic Bridge, even bent a 6 inch spike in the back bridge several times, even performed this feat in front of an assembly of kids when I was with Bud Jeffries when he came around here the first couple times.
As you read in one of the recent posts, I've never worn a harness until this came and even with getting a feel for it, I'm enjoying it cause it's another tool in my arsenal to building a strong body that lasts. It feels great afterwards and it has even helped me sleep a little bit better at night and I'm a night owl. Training the neck is one of the most crucial elements in physical training yet it's one many don't do out of fear when in reality, they're not shown the true aspects of Neck Training that can be tailored to those who aren't wrestlers, fighters or football players.
I don't have any plans at the moment to use weights with this, it's not my style. Doesn't mean I won't try it one day but for now, I have plenty of exercises to choose from that don't include a plate or hooking up to a machine. Using the band even for the majority is more than enough because it's a teacher on how to control your movements. If you jerk your neck the wrong way during training, things can go south. We can't avoid injuries 100% of the time but we can choose to find ways to prevent them as much as possible and that starts with being in control. The reps will come but it's not about how many you can do, it's about making each rep or hold count for something that will lead to greater strength and condition.
Hold your head up high and make the New Year great for you. Keep at it and if you fall, get your ass back up, it's either going to happen on your own or someone may lend a hand to get you back on your feet. You never know what's on the horizon. Set goals, be amazingly awesome and welcome to 2026.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and had tons of fun,
food and love from relatives and friends. To me this was one of the best
holidays yet; got to spend time with the people I love and spend time with the
most kick ass friends. The holidays is not always about finding gifts for the
kids or getting something you've been wanting all year, it’s about connecting
and giving back to the people in your life that gives a beautiful meaning. Now
that it’s over and the New Year is just a couple days away, it’s time to
reflect and build new chapters, learn different things.
A common
thread of the New Year is what people call Resolutions or better yet, change or
create something huge that will only last you less than 2 weeks. To me, Resolutions
is complete bullshit. In the fitness world, most really put it out there and
believe just because they can jump into something it’s going to stick with them
like going to Crossfit when you haven’t even done any technique yet nor do
Insanity/P90X workouts instead of building up and progressing. I like to look
at it as New Years Goals. Start small, if you’re new to exercise for example, do
little things here and there. Start at 1 min. of exercise and build up to it,
find exercises you’re interested in and have fun with them. Too many people
want to jump in and try to lose 20 pounds like it was that easy.
It’s about
progressing and building a mindset where it’s not a punishment, it’s an
adventure and exciting with knowing how to set your limits and challenges. When
people jump into advanced type training, it’s exciting that they get to do all
these cool things but when they actually do them, it will hit them like a
strike of lightning and they’ll realize how crazy it is and that it can cause
pain or even worse an injury. Think of it this way, in math would you jump from
arithmetic to calculus just like that? No, you need to go through certain
steps, like climbing a ladder; you don’t just climb 4-5 steps at once, its one
thing at a time. It’s the little things that create the biggest gains. Sure
it’s fun to be hardcore but you got to earn it and experience a small struggle
to get to where you want to go.
For some,
exercise may not always be a priority, you might want to add something to your
business as a goal, make little changes in your household and find what you can
improve on as a family. I have a few goals but it’s important for me to not
jinx them, I’ll tell you this though; A goal of mine is to save money and buy
an Epic Sledgehammer because as an athlete and a Physical Culturist, I’m always
looking for ways to improve my body by conditioning it in different ways using
something heavy or light or even just my own bodyweight. I find things that
interest me and create new ways to have fun with those interests, it keeps my
mind sharp and it helps me focus on what I want. Another would be to increase
my intuitive powers through meditation and being aware of what’s around me by
feel and more.
You may not
get any of my goals and nor will I mostly get yours but one thing is for
certain and that we strive to be better at certain things in our lives and it
could mean anything. Make this New Year your bitch, take it one day at a time
and before you know, you will have accomplished something you've never one
before. Find things that interest you, experiment, have fun and don’t be afraid
to challenge yourself.
