5 Updated Exercises On Youtube And Still Killing It With The Dopa Band

 Training these days has its moments where sometimes it can be a pain in the ass but other times, everything is just right and feeling like a Super Saiyan. My Dopa training has it's fair share of ups and downs of doing everyday since Jan. 1st but I'm keeping at it and have hit roughly 35,000 total reps with it doing 500-1000 a day and done a few HIIT workouts where you do as many reps as possible, so it can be brutal some days. Will I hit 50,000 by the end of the month or going into April? Who knows?

With the circuits, I would change up the type of muscles I want to work on or at least target. Not so much to isolate them cause with the band, it's never isolating, it builds stabilization and you have to be in control at all times otherwise it's not going to look very pretty LOL. Some days I'll do chest presses and rows for the chest and back but sometimes I'll hit the upper arms and do curls and pulls for the triceps. I switch up exercises doing squats by either doing my Uppercut To Squat combo, Resistance Squats where I hold the band at it's tightest, Butterfly Power Squat Combo or Hook around the arms and do squats that way. Core work is mainly doing the Propellers but I'll do another exercise that hits those particular muscles. 

When it comes to the gym, it's cool going there and playing around doing mainly Pull-Ups, Dips, Bench, DB Curls, Sandbag Work and working with the rack. I'll do Farmer's Carries with 65 lb DBs in each hand and walk the length of the gym and do sets of that. This past week, on Thursday, I decided to try Rack Pulling for the first time in ages. Partials were always fascinating to me cause you can move much heavier weight while only moving less than foot, often merely inches. So on this day, I pulled 225 for 20, 315 for 10, 385 for 5, 405 for 3 and then on the final set, I wanted to go even further. I put another 25 lb on each side and got 2 reps. Remember, yeah I'm not pulling at full ROM but I put everything I had into this and the bar came off the rack with 455 lbs. That's the heaviest I've worked with a Barbell in more than a decade. Here is one of those reps....455 Rack Pull.

With the band, I've been testing out different exercises to film and see what they can do for others and since I've had some repeatable ones, I thought I'd add some new exercises to my playlist so people can get an idea of what's possible with this. filmed several exercises and put up about 5 yesterday that got a little bit of attention right away so I'm proud of that. These 5 alone can be used for circuits or regular sets and reps schemes to work on technique, control and strength. These aren't done fast like some of the others, these are deliberate, methodical and focused based. Each working the muscles as they need to be and because it's a heavier band, the stabilization is more laid out. 

Oblique Twists

Hammer Curls

Tricep Pulls

X Reverse Flys

Chest/Push Press

Each done with more of a closeup on how they're done. My intention was to show the muscles being worked as much as I could and utilize the techniques with great detail. It was fun doing these before my workout doing a circuit of Chest Presses, Oblique Twists, Resistance Squats, Front Raises & Wave Pulls. Typical 10 reps each and only rest was marking it off. I didn't focus on speed, more on control and technique along with building strength in those areas. 500 Total reps by the end, felt great. 

Have an amazingly awesome day everyone. Keep at it and kill it out there. Train with passion, drive and heart. Don't be an ego maniac that thinks his way is the only thing that matters and if you don't go along you're a loser. Usually when I hear stuff like that it makes me think of THIS. Those people are not worth your time and effort and they're just bitter children trapped in an adult body or better yet, think they're intelligent when in reality they act like a 13 year old who didn't get past 5th grade, believe me I can say far worse things but you get my point. It happens sometimes. We can all learn how to be strong and kind like Goku, it's not always easy but it's better than acting like a person who's got that engine running but nobody behind the wheel. 

Be a part of the Dopamineo Clan and use the code POWERANDMIGHT. 

Training & Update

 Been a tough road for the past month or so as my sciatica came back and with a vengeance. It started up again slowly while I was in Lake Tahoe visiting family. Was able to walk around and swim and all that but the moment we left, I was in various amounts of pain and when we got home, it hit me like an aluminum bat over and over on the right side of my body. The pain got so bad that often times, standing upright felt impossible and it took a toll on my physical and mental faculties. Bathing was excruciating and getting food to eat was unbearable to the point where I had little to no appetite. 

Mentally, it made me irritable, frustrated, angry and even depressed. I got no one to blame but myself for this and have been beating myself up over it. I'm not saying to make anyone feel sorry for me and not using it to throw a pity party, I'm saying this because this can happen to anybody; young or old even to world class athletes and we aren't 100% immune to it. It has been so painful that it nearly takes the cake over my broken leg injuries all those years ago. Am I showing my age? Maybe, but I'm certainly not dead and would never want anyone experiencing this, even those who've talked shit about me. I have a lot to make up for once I'm better and have made a vow to double my efforts to make up for lost time recovering.

Despite the pain and the emotional toll, I still train everyday no matter what, even if its for a couple minutes just stretching and/or do beginner level animal moves. Is it getting better? Slowly, yes and my flexibility, strength and agility is coming back in micro steps. I've done nothing but stretching, casually walking until I need to squat down and doing increments of the animal exercises from Vahva Fitness. Sometimes I do push through the pain but anybody can only tolerate so much. I know it has taken a toll on my wife and I'm just so grateful for her and what she has done to take care of me, she's strong and pushes me to get better everyday. She truly is my best friend and not just a companion but the ying to my yang, the crazy that matches my crazy and the far better half. I tell her everyday since this happened that the moment this thing is over, she'll be treated beyond the level of a goddess than I already do and going to make up for all things I was meant to do for her, even the little things. My mom has always seen us as the Bobbsey Twins and is quick to remind us of that often. We take care of each other and always have each other's back, I couldn't ask for such an amazingly awesome woman.

Although the workouts are brief, I know I'm getting stronger. I'm standing upright longer now, lasting better in my walking and have taken measures to stretch using my Isometric Belt to generate greater flexibility and even doing certain stretches Isometrically targeting my hips, hamstrings and glutes. I'm definitely feeling it but it's no where near as painful as it was in the beginning. I've only talked about this closely online with the Facebook Group Vim Vigor & Vitality that consists of those who practice Isometrics and other alternative forms of exercise and fitness. These guys are so supportive and have made awesome suggestions. One guy in particular, Batman O'Brien told me that because of what I was going through, he wrote up a series of exercises for me personally to keep up on and that he couldn't let this thing with me go on and insisted on helping me. It was such a powerful gesture and most of what he sent me I was already doing except a few things here and there. He even called me a legend in the Physical Culture world, the guy is twice the author and fitness advocate than I'll ever be and he calls some dude from Santa Cruz a legend. That was so profound and humbling to me that I told him that as much as I appreciate the gesture, I would never refer myself as that because to me, I don't feel worthy of that word. 

It may not be over yet, but soon, I'll be back doing what I love and making it more of a habit to keep up the maintenance so I can be at the type of strength and conditioning I know I can be in. This has been the worst I've felt in years but I can't give up nor can I allow this to go on. Pain may tell you you're not dead but pain can change your brain chemistry and turn you into something you don't want to be. It can be depression, full of negative emotions and it can make you mean at times and it's not right, it's not natural and sure as hell isn't someone I want to become. We're all human and we all have lived with some sort of pain in our lives but it's not natural to feel pain especially heavy sciatica pain 24/7 for the rest of your life. Take care of yourself and be amazingly awesome.