Unleash Your Creative Potential

           As long as I've been training since I learned to walk again in 2005, I always believed in finding a creative way to train. It’s been my mission to find certain exercises that are unique and out there because when you do the same old boring crappy workouts that these magazines or infomercials are telling you do, it’s diminishing your right to find what works best for you. I have no problem doing basic movements but I also wanted to add an element of fun to them.

            The best way to use your creativity is to use your imagination. The way you think into your exercises will define how you believe the workout to be. One of my favorite exercises as of late has been what I call being a Thorsmith; what that is just basically taking a heavy Thor Hammer and hitting a tire with one hand. Now to most that just seems pretty boring but not if you think differently. The way I look at it as, I’m not hitting a tire and my hands are bigger in my mind than they normally are, plus I'm imagining I’m in an awesome place where strength is instant, I’m building my body from within and I don't imagine a tire being there but something that I'm building from scratch and it’s not a sword or a wrench but my muscles and my tendons. This is one example of how to turn a simple exercise into a super charged workout with just your thinking.

            Although the word workout may have a different meaning to some people but to me whenever I hear the word work-out two things cross my mind; one being if you don't have a positive thinking process and are too serious you’re just working and not getting anywhere. On the other hand if you feel alive and just effortlessly train without thinking harshly you're really playing and having a blast and getting results out of it. That’s where your imagination comes in and the way you apply yourself to your training.

            There are a number of dumbasses out there that tell you that they're way is the best and whoever is different doesn't know any better and being different makes you weak. Screw them. You are one person, you train however you want and if it’s different than everybody else so be it. I'm encouraging you to be unique and different because you can’t do the same things everyone does. You will always be stronger in something that someone else isn't; it’s not yours or anybody’s fault and being different is a gift not a curse. Don't let anyone tell you that you can’t do something great. If you have a vivid imagination, use it it’s yours and you have the power to make yourself successful. Whoever tells you different and gives you crap about it, they're jealous of what you have and they don’t look at you when they say it, they look at themselves and hating that they can’t do what you’re capable of. Show who you truly are and share it. 

Build A Connection Outside

            Training out in the open has a special feeling to it, out in the open air, building that connection to the earth and gaining a perspective of what it was like to do things from a long time ago. It’s fun to go run, jump, play and do all kinds of things with the right imagination and having a bit of that inner child in you.

            Unlike a closed in space of a gym, you have total freedom out in the open, go running on the grass or on a field at a park, move around like an animal out in the wild and give your body that Vitamin D it needs to help the skin. Being free gives you opportunities you can’t get from other places. Imagine being at a park, running around, having a good time, do a few exercises here and there or if you’re like my good friend Bud Jeffries, try to find some heavy ass stones to lift.

            The ability to go anywhere and do all sorts of things is our birthright, exploring, trying different things, being in beautiful places and making the best of it. Training outside is more natural, getting out in the sun or maybe even in the snow a bit. Being in the snow builds a level of toughness and you burn more calories I believe in the snow because your body is like an automatic heater, it has to keep warm and your body’s nervous system kicks into a different gear. In the sun like in the summer, your body’s cooling system is shifted and you have to hydrate more.

            The best time I believe to train outside is in the morning, the air is fresher and the connection is better between you and the earth. When it comes to weather however I prefer the summertime when the sun’s out, its warm, bringing something to drink to keep you hydrated and just have a grand old time, if you live by the ocean or a lake, go jump in and go swimming, got a pool, use it and have fun. The snow can be fun too but you might not last as long and you want to wear what you can to keep you warm but being in the snow has it’s benefits. In the snow it builds a different type of mental toughness and it builds character in a certain way, sometimes you have to walk somewhere and it’s less than 20 degrees out, that’s just insane and I wouldn't do it in shorts trust me.

            Get your ass outside as much as you can, there’s a whole world to see and you can train in ways you never have before, it’s like being a kid again and you’re playing on the playground. Have fun, be adventurous and explore. You never know what you’ll find.