TNT Cables And Fat Gripz

 The TNT Cables from Lifeline Fitness have been one of my favorite tools of resistance band training for years. Off and on, I kept the exercises simple and basic. Hell of a traveling apparatus as well since you can fit the handles and the cables inside your duffle bag. With the door attachment, there are many exercises you can do just like you may do in a gym. Very versatile and a great idea for training.

Every once in a while, I'd like to spice things with them and attach my Fat Gripz to the handles to simulate Thick Bar Training. Usually just keep to about 4 Exercises (Curls, Pulldowns, Rows & Chest Presses) and do one arm or two arm versions of those exercises. For a period, I would have a set number of reps and work with that and use heavy resistance (around 100-200+ lbs of resistance) depending on the exercise I do. Lately, I've gotten back into that kind of training; the exercises stay the same but the set/rep scheme has changed. I would do just one set of the exercises but do enough reps where it's a challenge but I'm not going to failure. I try to keep it around enough reps where I have at best 2-3 left in me but make that enough to stop.

This has been a very good workout to work my grip strength and achieve greater muscle activation in the exercises. With this type of training, it's important to not focus so much on speed or resting very little which in most of my workouts is a focus. This is meant to focus more on technique, hitting the muscles hard and resting as long as needed for the next exercise. It's purely more about strength than anything else. For the rest period, I'd say give it 1-5 min depending on how the set goes but that's just an idea, take as much time as you need to feel ready, have the mindset that when you go into the next exercise, you go with a vengeance. Don't hurt yourself and sure as hell don't try to break records or anything, it's not ego lifting.

You can use the Fat Gripz on your dumbbells, barbells and machines to enhance your exercise. Don't try to do so many exercises for so many sets and reps, focus your attention to simplistic exercises as best as possible and keep the amount of exercises short. The old timers knew this very well and had great success because of methods like this. If you're really ambitious, work up to the Fat Gripz Extreme which is close to 3 inches in circumference, this will test you big time. I've only done the Extreme a handful of times ever but I made it count and they're to be respected. Build strong hands for a strong body. 

Thick Bar or Handle Training is no joke and you won't do as many reps as you normally would, it cuts the reps to about from what I understand to 1/3rd of what you would normally do so if you could say Bench 315 for 10 reps with an olympic bar, with these Gripz (especially the extreme) the reps would be no more than maybe 3, 4 max so that should tell you how tough these bastards are. I like them because I don't have to spend a ton of time training and don't do as many reps because I want to dig into the muscles hard and get stronger. How often would you work with the Gripz? With consistency, probably no more than twice a week, if you're an advanced trainee that is geared toward pro ranks, maybe 3-4 times a week but that's pushing it. For beginners, if you decide to go that route, start with once a week or every 10 days because these are crazy to work with. 

Train with intent, listen to your body and make every workout count to take those steps towards your goals. Be amazingly awesome everyone.  

Isometrics, Cables, Step Ups & Dopa Training

 Some days I get in one workouts, other days more than a couple like 3 or 4 but every now and then, sometimes a couple workouts where one huge one just hits the spot and your energy is just there. On Saturday, it was one of those days.

In the morning I got some Isometrics in and felt really good. Later on in the day sometime after having a kick ass shake, I went through another one that I made up on the spot and just went with whatever was going to push me. First part of the workout was doing the TNT Cables with 180 lbs Resistance and Step Ups. Do a set with the cables and either rest or go after the Step Ups doing 50 (25 per leg), 5 sets of 10 Curls and 100 Step Ups. Next was Pulldowns and doing sets of 40, 20, 20 and another 20 with 100 Step Ups (25 per leg in between sets or so) and last was Rows doing 5 sets of 20 and another 100 Step Ups. So all together was 250 Reps of Cable Work and 300 Step Ups.

The Dopa Workout was more of a finisher than anything and just an add on to what I just did to make it one big workout. Merely did three exercises for 100 Reps each. First was doing Hooks with a pull like movement doing a couple sets of 50 (25 each arm), next was Chest Presses for 4 sets of 25 and finished off with a combo exercise of a squat and alternating row where you squat and then pull one arm at a time for 4 sets of 25. Sweating like a waterfall would be an understatement and just feeling you're on top of the world.

When you have that energy and you use it productively whether training or working, it makes some pretty interesting results and getting stuff done. Fitness is more than just developing a physique, losing/gaining weight and getting rid of unwanted fat; it's finding out what gives you the most benefit with nothing to lose in the long run. Doing the same shit that rarely ever works won't do jack shit for you but learning and adapting to exercises that are useful to your goals and changing things up to keep things fresh often brings another entity of excitement and interest to your training.

You can do micro workouts throughout the day, do circuits that last for 20 minutes to an hour or go with whatever you're feeling that day, do what works for you. Some days when I don't have a ton of energy, I work on more mobility training and little workouts doing flows or do a couple hundred step ups. It depends on what you're willing to do within the time you can use. No matter what, get some form of training in daily, even if it's going out for a walk or playing a sport. Make the time that is important even if it's for a few minutes. I've always believed in conditioning and maintaining levels of strength and endurance but at times, it's best to just train so you can feel good and go on about your day. It doesn't have to be hardcore all the time or so easy it doesn't do anything but do something that gives you that accomplished feeling like a daily chore for yourself that keeps you on your toes and playing with it.

Workouts like the one posted here isn't for beginners but once you're in the type of shape to do those things, it becomes an adventure. Hell, you can spread out the damn thing for all I care, that might be better for you, it's about experimenting with what you know and what you can adjust to. This wasn't even planned, I made it up as I went and used my knowledge for when to go hard and when to rest a bit to let things sink in. As time goes on, yeah mostly I like to keep going as much as possible without taking a breather but I also have no problems walking it off to get my bearings and then go again; it's instinct and understanding of what you want to do in that time. When you've done workouts every single day without failure since you were barely old enough to drink, it doesn't just become a habit, it becomes like second nature. Very few people can do that. 

Take small steps, gain knowledge, learn the value of daily training and have it take on a life of its own as you keep going day after day. Stay amazingly awesome. 

Resistance Cables That Are Affordable

Because of the awesome response from my Chest Expander Article, thought I'd add some more things to the cause for building a body for those on a budget. Even though the most free method of exercise is bodyweight training, some might want to go the extra mile but can't always make it to a gym or afford a weight set which can set you back tens of thousands of dollars. It's more of a construct really and money can be tight for some people especially if you have to take care of a family, a mortgage and the skid mark of life we call BILLS!!!

They say money can't buy happiness and in many cases that's true and even if you're the richest man in the world (or a tanned Cheeto that we called a president at one time), it still can't make you feel as good as kick ass exercise can. That's where if you're on a budget, Resistance Cables can be a great option. Now, there are elastics out there that cost a horrendous amount of money which I never truly understood. Shit there are bands that cost as much if not more than half of a rack of dumbbells. That's why I have stuck with Lifeline Fitness for as long as I have been training the last 17+ years.  

Resistance Cables such as the Chest Expander, TNT System, Portable Power Jumper & Power Push-up Plus can be very beneficial and convenient if you're traveling. Imagine getting in a workout that can be done in your hotel room, while camping, being at a nice park, in your New York penthouse, your cabin in the woods or at a beautiful lake, it can be done just about anywhere. The ability to do all the exercises a gym provides that can be stuffed into a small bag is about as awesome as you can get. Some of the greatest bodybuilders and Physical Culturists such as Fred Rollon, John Grimek, Eugene Sandow and Earl Liederman all used resistance type cable training (originally spring loaded) to aid in their development and had some of the greatest physiques that even to this day can be seen in awe. Think for a moment being able to do the same exercises they did 50-100 years ago. 

You've seen some ideas for the CE especially with a video I put up and how Rollon was said to have built his mighty physique from the Expander almost exclusively. The TNT System is longer and can be used for exercises like the machines in the gym and then some. Get your pulldowns, rows, flys, curls, presses and more with just a simple apparatus that you can adjust resistance in seconds or go from one exercise to the other in a heart beat. I have used this to do supersets with Step Ups that give me the workout I need to stay in top condition and maintain my long-term strength. You can always switch to squats or lunges and still get a great workout in. The Portable Power Jumper is mainly for explosive leg training such as squats, lunges, jump squats and others. I've used it to where I added resistance to Hindu Pushups and the Back Bridge (just be careful not to whack yourself in the crotch area LOL). From time to time I did sets of Hindu Squats with it and puts you in a whole other state of hitting the quads and back.

For the Power Push-up Plus, it goes beyond just doing Push-Ups, you can essentially get in some awesome deadlifts, rows and good mornings for the back to even things out. There's more exercises but I'm just giving you an idea here. Be able to adjust it just by sliding a clip on and make as easy or difficult as you'll need. With all this how much is the cost of these? Overall, depending on your budget, the Chest Expander Set with the handles is around 27 bucks, this alone can be your entire gym for the upper body, the TNT System starts out at around $42 and the cost for additional cables van vary due to the amount of resistance but even the heaviest set of cables is around 20 bucks. The Portable Power Jumper is around $52 but you could find a cheaper price on Amazon like with any of these. You don't need to get any additional cables for this, for the most part, just the set it comes with would be more than enough. The Power Pushup is around $42, I don't know if you need heavier cables for this so just the set alone is really it. Total here, less than $165 for a full starter set. That may sound like a lot but compared to the amount any machine costs that's a fucking fraction. You don't even have to get these all at once and on Amazon, you can find them cheaper and get the same quality. 

For those that are worried about the wear and tear on these cables over time, I got something cool to lay on you guys. I've had only maybe 2-3 cables snap on me ever and had some of the same sets of cables for more than a decade. The thing that I use to keep their elasticity strong for an extended period of time is Armor All Wipes. Just take a sheet and smoothly go up and down on the cable for maybe a few seconds if that and that's it. Very simple and easy to do. You deserve great quality and use simple tools that will get the job done regardless of your budget. I never want you going broke or having to spend your paycheck. Getting in shape shouldn't always cost you an arm and a leg. 

Be strong, stay safe, save some money and be amazingly awesome.