Sun Bathing And Mace Swinging

 Training outside is such an awesome way to get fresh air, feel the warm sun on your skin and moving your body among the blue sky. Mace Swinging is an ancient form of exercise Middle Eastern Wrestlers used for centuries to get in crazy shape for their sport and utilize not just strength and muscle building but also working on mobility, stretching and developing coordination. 

There are quite a few exercises you can do with the Mace but the two main exercises you'll see people do are the 360 Swing and the 10-2's. These main exercise lay the foundation for building well rounded strength and conditioning as it involves pushing, pulling and rotating. In India, there are some competitions on who can swing the most reps with a certain weight. Some Maces weigh more than 60 pounds yet very few can even manage a single rep. 

For the most part, it's best to swing the Mace outside where there's more than enough space to swing and be in control of your surroundings. It is possible to swing Indoors but you need a ceiling more than high enough so it won't hit anything and to never do them around household objects. I always train the Mace outside and just a few exercises will do the trick. Doing no more than 20-30 minutes you can still cook up a great pump in the forearms, working your shoulders, obliques, the trunk and your Core. Right now my Mace is around 25 lbs but wouldn't do more than a couple hundred reps total, it can get brutal sometimes and if you sweaty palms, just trying to grip that sucker is a challenge. 

To learn more about the practices of Mace Swinging, check out Rik Brown, one of the most authoritative figures on the method today. 

Here's a Demo of my swing style doing about 50 Reps while bathing in the sun. Great exercise and a beautiful way to get a good sweat going. 

 

Learning To Shut Out The World As You Train

 I have been training on my own since I was 21 years old. When I first learned how to walk again, I had to learn how to concentrate hard enough to where everything else around me didn't exist. It does get lonely at times but it taught me how to be self-reliant and to challenge myself not to let anyone else help me unless I was desperate enough. When I was in college, yeah I worked out around people and gave them a helping hand as well as learning from them but I was at my very best when I put myself into that mode of "it's just me and nothing else."

Training by yourself has its own rewards and you learn more about yourself than when training alongside others. The only time I have ever truly felt comfortable training with others was other strongmen and not feeling like an outcast or someone who didn't belong. By myself, it becomes a mental game more than anything. The cons really of training alone is that if you're stuck or you get hurt, you're on your own and have to figure out how to save your own ass; it's not the same as being in a gym, they're there to make sure you don't do anything stupid and if you're training by yourself and do something stupid, there are those close by.

Unless there's a training session with my wife, my workouts are nothing but me, some music and whatever I end up doing. I take my training seriously to the point where I shut everything out around me and put on some music and don't stop until I'm ready to call it a day. Some days, my mind runs ragged and I can't always concentrate (we're human, it happens) but most days, I just want to be left alone to do my thing and take care of me. That's one of the true benefits of working out is to give time to yourself and do things that put you into a state of mind where you're in control and you get to choose your challenges and schemes.

On those days where I do up to 1000 Step-ups, I put on music and just go, nothing in the world matters but being in those moments of exercising not just physically but getting in tuned with your inner self. With those Animal Workouts, before every animal I move as, for a split moment, I visualize myself transforming into it and believe that it is the strongest and most powerful it can be. I shut out everything except the music and the movement, I make it feel as if they are one with me. 

What training alone has really taught me was to be open with yourself and understand the only competition you have is just you and making the most of your abilities. I get to pick and choose what I get to do, I can make the choice to do something easy or extremely hard and what pace I get to go as. I'm in no competition with anyone, there's always going to be someone out there faster and stronger than me but not everyone can do what I can do. I figured out on my own how to develop my own program, how to go hard when it's the right time and when to back off. 

I rarely have let anyone coach me, really only a few have ever worked with me and showed me the ropes, everything else I have read, watched and mimicked. I have literally taught myself to shut out the world, some days are not as easy as others but my style is what I live by and what it has given me. I would love to train people but as I've gotten older, I realize that my style of exercise and my way of training someone isn't always compatible with someone else who wants to train. 

When you can shut things out and just focus on the task at hand, you'll start to understand what it takes to make things happen. I've pushed myself for so many years especially in the beginning because for the most part, other than learning a thing or two from dear friends, I had no one to rely on but myself. When I'm training, two things will happen if you try to jump in, you're either going to try to keep up or get kicked out, I don't allow anyone to work out with me unless they're prepared to work, I don't give a damn who it is. I'll be having fun with some things but my pace, my attitude and my dedication is about as serious as a heart attack.

Train according to your style, not everyone is willing to train by themselves, if you're at your best with partners than have at it but if you're on your own, only let in who is worthy and shut everything else out until you're done. 

National Geographic And Fitness

 

Ever since I got Disney+ for me and my wife (yes we are Disney Geeks, deal with it LOL), the majority of the time I spend on it is watching National Geographic, specifically the animal specials. I've always been fascinated by Animals ever since I was a kid but didn't really give it the real attention I do now. There aren't too many Zoos around here and the closest to an Animal Sanctuary I've been to is called Wolf People up near Sandpoint here in Idaho where there's a lady that educates people and raises Wolves on a piece of land. The last and only time I was there was when my friend Bud Jeffries came up here for a few days and he was doing some shows up here and stayed at my house. 

I've also seen some wildlife up close quite a few times around here and when we go to Tahoe for our family vacations. A few bears walking along near our cabins, deer constantly around our house feasting on our lawn and bushes, a couple of moose while camping and wild turkeys roaming. These shows are just a lot of fun to watch and get educated on the vast habits of wild animals. My personal favorites are on Primates (Gorillas, Bonobos and Chimps mostly) and the strength they possess is just inspiring. 

Because of my love of Animal Movements, these specials or at least an episode or two just make me want to get up and crawl around the house or have a little workout out in the Dungeon. The pure and natural aspects of moving like a wild animal pulls me in like the Tractor Beam did to the Millenium Falcon in Star Wars: A New Hope, it puts me into a state of mind where the freedom to roam is the best option. There's nothing wrong with doing stationary movements whether it's weightlifting, bodyweight, cables, club swinging or just doing Isometrics but the ability to move as animal-like as possible opens up another world of Fitness Potential.

The longest time I ever did an animal workout was 1 hr 22 min. and haven't gone anywhere near that long since but it was fun and never knew I went that long until I saw the stopwatch on my phone. I wanted to see how long I can go. Normally now I don't go near more than 30 and on average I do about 10-20 minutes depending on what I'm feeling that day and my energy levels. It is by far the most fun training I've ever done. All I do really is play my Animal Dice Game and just go. Having done literally in the 10's of thousands of Steps/Reps of Animal Movements, it's safe to say it's my all-time favorite training method. I love Combat Conditioning and doing Step-Ups and playing around with a Hammer and Mace but Animals are truly my go-to method of exercise bar none.

Watching what animals can do is an experience that truly shapes the way I look at certain things about life. Most people today don't appreciate the value of the Wild and what it means to be strong and fit in order to survive. We live in a world where we have become accustomed to showing off our bods, eating more and moving less, confused what is the best exercise program to do, sharing memes more than ideas and believing Bodybuilders pumped full of roids and supplements are the way to health. You don't need to be 5% body fat to be healthy and you don't need to look like Frank Zane or Arnold but it is important to use our bodies for long-term well being and be able to move with less chances of getting injured. 

Wildlife is unpredictable, there's no question about that, some of the most deadliest animals sometimes become friendly with other species you wouldn't expect. Animals do whatever it takes to protect their young although often if an offspring is too weak, it gets left behind which hurts to see and hear but if it means a way of needing to survive, you just see it unfold. The point is, movement is life but not to the point where you feel broken at a young age and overwhelming yourself with stress. We can't control what happens around us at times but we can choose how to adapt to it and overcome the odds.

Take the opportunity to move like a wild animal, not for the sake of just exercise but to feel the body from a different perspective and feel what it's like to be free and use your imagination. Imagine the results you can achieve that goes beyond weight loss and muscle building, imagine the possibilities of doing tasks with greater stamina and strength and what you can harness when you have to use your brain in order to work the movements. 

10 Minute Step Up Challenge

 Care for a challenge today? It's one exercise and all you need is a sturdy step stool, bench or the second step of a flight of stairs. The challenge is to do as many Step Ups or at least keep a solid pace and go for 10 minutes non stop. That sounds easy doesn't it, after all it's only 10 minutes right? 

For most, doing this exercise is extremely tough and for good reason; it's a tough exercise and it challenges your cardio big time. It builds incredible stamina, strengthens the muscles in all of the legs, doesn't pound on the joints so it is a much safer option than long distance running and it's a hell of a conditioner if you're an athlete or a laborer or just someone who wants to get in shape. There are great benefits to this exercise.

A lot of people today don't realize what it means to be fit; not just to look like a million bucks but to use your fitness in other endeavors. Some work out to pass the time, others don't care and just go through the motions and there are some that push themselves to the brink of death. When it comes to this exercise, it doesn't take long before you're huffing and puffing. Test it out yourself for even 5 minutes and tell me it doesn't do anything.

Here's a story that makes this exercise so effective, that it made one guy leave the gym without saying a word because he couldn't keep up: One of the most legendary wrestlers of the 1970's was Bob Backlund who became the second longest running champion in the WWE. He became an advocate of the Step Up and the Ab Wheel and made them the foundation for his unrivaled strength and conditioning. One time, a marathoner challenged him in the Step Up because it looked such an easy exercise and if he can run 26.2 miles, doesn't seem much of a challenge right? Bob accepted and told the guy to be prepared to work very hard, after about 20 minutes, the guy gives up and storms out of the gym, never to be seen again. That should tell you flat out how badass this exercise is.

This isn't some ricky dink exercise, it will test your lungs and put on some good functional muscle. Ladies, if you're looking to tone up and shape your butt, this exercise can do that for you. If you can get passed ten minutes without dying, it's a good indication that you're in pretty good shape. You can vary the reps, when I do my workouts with this exercise, I set my watch and do 12 reps per leg, that works for me. When I want to really challenge myself, I'll do 1000 Reps using a deck of cards and keep going with little to no rest. I'm very thankful for this exercise. It feels great on my knees and ankles because although I've done thousands of squats in the past, when I do squats, I feel more tension in those areas because of the rod in my shin and the pins in my ankles. I don't feel tension whatsoever in the Step Up, I do feel my legs working but it makes me feel like the Rod and pins aren't there.

Are you up for the challenge? You think you can go 10 minutes doing this? See what you can do. If you can't do 10 minutes yet, that's ok. You can build up to it doing various sets and reps and taking as little rest as possible each workout until you don't have to rest at all. For safety sake, if you're using a step stool, make sure it's sturdy and can hold a great deal of weight. Most stools can hold up well over 200 lbs. My step stool holds up to 300 lbs. Don't go Speedy Gonzales on this exercise unless you've been at it long enough and you have a good sense of balance. I made the mistake of going like the Flash and ended up tripping and hurting myself twice, I never made it a third time since. I like to keep a steady pace because quite frankly I don't need to sprint on that thing, I feel awesome just getting my heart pumping from the pace I do. 

Do what works for you and do your best to focus on your breathing as well. You'll be huffing and puffing as it is doing this but if you can control your breathing as best as possible, you can go for a much longer time. My first 1000 Reps, I had to take several breaks because those cards will never tell you whats coming. My second time, took less breaks and was feeling pretty good, the third time, I felt like I blasted through it and was in the zone. It becomes a mental game after several minutes cause once you hit 100-200, the mind becomes more of a target than your body. Be sure to find a Stool or Bench that doesn't go past your navel point when you step up; you don't want to overuse the hip joint because this is a full leg exercise not one to overstress the hips. 

Here's a video of me doing the 10 Min Step Up Challenge. 

Some Days Are Short And Others Go Longer

 Although good training results come from consistency, we can't always control the days we do train. Some workouts last shorter than others and other days we'll go longer than normal because the energy is there, our minds are clearer and we just love to keep going. 

A good mini workout on certain days is better than nothing at all. You can do a quick superset of squats and push-ups for 5-10 minutes, you can grease the groove (spread out throughout the day). Rest and Recovery are important no doubt but being active goes a long way as well. Depending on the type of work you do, some people have more time, others only have a certain window of opportunity but how often will they take it? 

We train according to our time frames, our energy, our motivations and what goals we want to strive for. Some talk so much but don't do a whole lot, others don't need to say a damn thing and go after it but overall; what puts you into a state where you want to make things happen?

I'm not a routine guy as I have said in the past, I don't know why I can't stay with a consistent program very long. Maybe it just doesn't come natural to me, my brain processes things differently than most people and I go by my instincts and intuition. Some days I'll have the urge to do 500 Hindu Squats, others go for 1000 Step Step Ups, another day might be a circuit or go for a swim. I go on what my body tells me and how far my mind is willing to go. Here's another example: I tried for a good period doing hundreds of Step Ups a day and so far tackled 1000 Reps 3 times in succession but the challenge didn't feel tough anymore after a short while and didn't feel satisfied or that I accomplished anything. 

At times I feel, why the hell am I really doing this? To prove that I can keep up with others, that i'm in the same league as someone smaller or bigger than me? That despite brain damage that has surrounded me practically my whole existence I should be in the same company as a Professional Athlete? What is really the actual point? The truth is, although I have accomplished so much in my fitness life and it has carried over to things that have helped others in various ways plus I wouldn't be the same person if I went a different route after my accident, the only person I need to prove is myself. The same can be said for anyone. You are your own competition in the reality of no matter how strong or fit you are, there's always someone stronger, healthier, more motivated, more driven, less than fit as you and not everyone is going to love what you're doing. 

Some workouts whether short or long may not always appeal to you or you won't always have a happy place for them in your heart but if you made a choice to do something rather than take a load off, you're already ahead of the majority who don't have a clue to where they can go. You are capable when you push yourself no matter how small and if you have to change things up, do so. Find a challenge, utilize your knowledge and be wise enough to understand your good days, your bad days, short or long. Learn to compromise with yourself. 

Stronger Lower Arms To Kill Tendonitis

 

During my high school days, my biggest form of exercise was weightlifting during P.E between my sophomore year to my senior year. I didn't know very much on how to stay limber and supple, I was stiff as a board most of the time and as an athlete, none of it really mounted to much. For two years I did Shot Put and Discus, mainly to carry on the tradition of my father because that's what he did. I never got as good as he did and because of my lack of discipline and not caring as much about my health at the time, I developed injuries in my shoulders and mainly my lower arms from the elbows to the wrists that also developed tendonitis and joint problems.

It wasn't until I discovered Combat Conditioning that I needed to really fix a lot of areas in my body. Even during my gym days, I had bad knees, woke up so stiff everything hurt as I moved and very little core strength let alone any real strength that lasted. Later on I found out about the Primate Power Super Strength System and wanted to try something new. I did get stronger and became far more limber than I ever did as a teenager but the fun really began when I learned how to move like a Primate or in this case Apes and Monkeys. 

The hanging exercises were just awesome on my elbows and shoulders and although I completely killed my tendonitis, something just needed that extra oomph to really tackle the problems I had when I was younger. I was determined to have the strongest lower arms not just by muscles but also making my tendons and ligaments incredibly powerful especially since I was also into Bending Steel. Moving like an Ape really opened my eyes to what could be an exciting adventure into full on animal movements. Walking/Jumping with the weight on my knuckles, hanging for a good period of time and making my fingers feel like solid bones, Primate Power gave me the strength and conditioning I truly craved for. 

Because of this course, it made my fall in love with Animal Exercises, challenged me in the most fun ways and made me stronger in my strongman feats and in Gymnastics. For nearly a year I did gymnastics at my local college and was the biggest guy in the class outweighing the next guy at 30-40 pounds (I was around 210 at that this time) and could hang pretty well at the horizontal bar and could do a good amount of pullups and dips on the rings. I wasn't any near as athletic or graceful as the other students but they knew what kind of strength I had. 

To this day, I've never had a severe injury to my lower arms. If I ever did get hurt, it didn't last long and healed pretty quickly and could Arm Wrestle with some strong guys. It's not just about developing strength to do good feats, it could also help when you're saving someone's life or your own. If you're in a fight and have strong tendons in your hands and wrists, you have a little advantage and have some good knockout power. If you're a wrestler, you can develop some serious gripping strength and your opponent will feel it, put them in a submission hold and they'll scream for mercy before either tapping or passing out. 

Get your hands on Primate Power and harness the power and might of the Ferocious Ape/Monkey. 

Felt Like Going Ape

 

No I wasn't going Bananas or swinging around the house (I could easily break things around here) but last night after some time playing around with Animal Movements, whenever I got up to get something, I would instinctively start walking on my knuckles or if I wanted to stretch my hamstrings, I would straighten my legs as much as possible and start walking on my palms. Maybe I was just so in tuned with my animalistic side that it came natural to me.

This morning at 6:30, I woke up (it was already 70 degrees outside and my body was just ready) and went out into the Dungeon and started doing some Primate Training. Did several sets of hanging exercises, walked/jumped like a gorilla, walked like a monkey to stretch my hamstrings and just felt incredible. Is this the rediscovery of something? Am I naturally feeling like a primate of the Jungle? 

On a more serious note, training this way gets back to our roots of what strength and health is all about using our bodyweight. Just the hanging exercises alone are beneficial to stretching and strengthening the spine, core, arms and shoulders. The walking movements can be trickier but you'll be making your tendons stronger and building steel-like cords in your forearms. You do them long enough, you might have to be careful shaking someone's hand.

Being able to Monkey around (or more in this case, Ape around) regardless of your age makes you already stronger than the average person. Being able to climb, walk, hang or jump like a Primate takes on another level of fitness that is more keen to our natural instincts and abilities of our Jungle cousins. Now not all of a Primate's movements are meant for humans, we know for damn sure we can't exactly swing as powerfully like a Gibbon or have the crushing strength of an orangutan, but if we adapt to what our human structures can do and progress with our natural abilities, our strengths can increase and be less prone to injuries. 

It's not all about muscle, muscle, muscle. The idea of powering up our tendons and ligaments is something we don't always understand and how to train those areas. Most of the time, we go after the muscles because that's what we see on the outside. Some guy with large arms, barrel chest, a back that looks like North Dakota and legs like tree trunks is what many consider to be an ideal of strength; that's not always true. It's what holds things together and what makes our structure strong, muscles are just a piece of the puzzle. 

Train like a Primate using the Primate Power Super Strength System and have fun in your training. Progress naturally, don't rush it and get the basics down. Like for real, go Ape guys, it's awesome. 

Can Music Increase Testosterone?

 

When you workout, do you notice a difference in your energy when certain music plays or not? What about the level of energy when music doesn't play at all? Strangely enough, when certain music plays, there's an area of the brain that is triggered and it could supply an extra level of adrenalin or decrease a level of energy. Now I'm no scientist and I'm not sure how much study has been done on specifically music targeting levels of testosterone in men and increased or decreased levels of strength due to the type of music being played.

Most people who listen to music for workouts (from my observations and knowing people) tend to tune out anything else around them and just go through exercise after exercise. Others however, use music not just as a motivator but as a way to wake their ass up and have that burst of energy, keep it there for as long as the workout goes and go into this trance where it feels like you're invincible and every exercise you do becomes a cake walk or your strength is powered up and can lift or do bodyweight exercises with solid energy. 

For us guys, going to war is a human habit and fighting for what we want to achieve. That feeling of wanting to go into battle and feeling that adrenalin rush course through our veins. Where our awareness, focus and physical abilities jump up to 11 is the pinnacle of a strong workout. Music provides a key to unlocking our mental and physical abilities and aiding our strength in ways we can't always get on our merritt. Does it increase testosterone? Depends on the type of music you hear I guess. Now I don't consider Abba or Madonna to be very manly type of music if you're going into battle with a heavy deadlift or going after 500 Squats but some people have specific preferences of what drives them. 

Now I personally feel the best music for having that testosterone fueled feeling is various types of Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Tribal Style, heavy riffs, certain classical music and just hard nosed balls to the wall Rap styles like DMX. Music can alter our brain chemistry and send us on a path that either channels our primal instincts or take us to a place we've never been before, the sound of a great tune could potentially give you a surge of power in your body and amplify your ability to withstand incredible amounts of strength, endurance and agility. 

Some feel it's best to not train with music playing because it's thought of to be a distraction from channeling your inner self. I use to think this way for a long time but nowadays, I sometimes workout with music on or off depending on what I'm feeling that day. It is kind of funny at times to do an exercise and a random song comes on that might throw you off like for example, I was doing Step-Ups one day doing my 1000 Rep workout with the cards and Blue Moon by the Marcels came on and just threw me for a loop for a second, luckily it's a favorite of mine but things happen. I don't consider Disney songs to be very powerful for fitness but if you're working out and having a good time, it isn't a bad thing in that area. 

Find the music that drives you and fuels that fire within that just makes you feel so damn powerful bullets can bounce off of you and you can tackle an exercise without fear or remorse. Strength should come from within, but music is like gasoline to a flame if you do it right. 

Here's a great song by The Hu that will make you feel you can ride into a battle and conquer your enemy with incredible strength and power surging through you. I've split wood with this song playing and felt like I had no fatigue and the splitting maul thrusted down faster and even more powerful. The amount of strength in my veins was out of this world, you may not understand the language of the song, but the sounds of the instruments just fires you up.  

Are Hundreds Or Even Thousands Of Repetitions Necessary?

 Herschel Walker, Bruce Lee, Gama, Dan Gable and Karl Gotch; what do they all have in common besides being some of the very best in their field of Sports or Art? They have literally done thousands upon thousands of repetitions of exercise over their lifetimes. They were also some of the fittest if not the fittest athletes in their time. The amount of push-ups, squats, sit-ups, sprinting, going over moves more times in a day than the average person would in a year. Were they necessary for their chosen endeavor?

These guys were at the top of the food chain in what they did. From Walker making records as a running back, Lee with his expertise in Martial Arts, Gama with his Undefeated Streak in Wrestling, Gable's unlimited endurance and Gotch's unbelievable Condition and Wrestling Knowledge. For them, being in top condition required countless reps to stay ahead in the game and outlast opponents with ease. Does the rep count in Calisthenics and Moving Weight really matter to become the very best? The truth is, in order to become the best in your chosen sport, you have to consistently do that sport to get better ad better. Very few ever reach the pinnacle of success. 

Although you can do 100's of reps per day with any given exercise, it's not going to make you a better athlete. It can have a heavy aid as a supplementation and laying down a foundation for what your goals are. Rickey Henderson was the greatest speedster and lead-off man in Major League history but after all that training and 25 years in Baseball, he was still 3 ticks shy of 300 career home runs. Karl Gotch has said Conditioning is your best hold yet some of the most conditioned fighters still lost or made mistakes. I do believe in being in great shape, but doing hundreds or even thousands of reps isn't always the key.

Nobody can outlast father time and eventually, we have to change how our bodies react and recover from certain aspects of training. If someone who's 20 years and in awesome shape can do 500 Push-ups a day, by the time he's 70, that number won't be that much of a priority. If you set goals and want to go after certain numbers either as a challenge or on a consistent basis, that's one thing but our bodies aren't always exceptional like world-class athletes, we can't train like them and anybody who says you can is a liar. Injuries can occur, reaching a level where boredom becomes frequent and recovery is as much a priority as the training itself. 

I have literally done thousands of push-ups, squats, step-ups, club swinging, hammer striking, nail bends and animal moves in over 15 years of everyday training in total, there comes a point in time where you need to reassess what you want to accomplish. Where does it end and what have you really done? People forget or haven't completely learned how to use their intuition or learned how to be aware of what their body can do and what it can't. A football player can't hold a candle to a Navy Seal and a Catch Wrestler won't always win a street fight, it's a different process of what the body can handle. Yes, it's incredible we can find ways to tap into our minds and get that second or third wind but you always seem to see that either in competition, survival modes and through a challenge, rarely ever on a whim. 

We don't need to do thousands of a ton of things to accomplish something, sometimes we only those few that will get the job done and get results that was meant for you to have. 1000 crunches won't get you six pack abs, 500 Push-ups a day isn't always going to help you in a fight and 2000 Squats a day won't always help you in an hour long wrestling match. Conditioning is a key but there's more than one way to skin a cat to get in incredible shape. High reps do crossover into other endeavors and have a helping hand but it isn't going to make you the healthiest person. 

Train with intention of what you need to accomplish and do it not for the sake of doing countless reps but to develop the quality of those reps and the quality of your body's level to be in energizer mode consistently regardless of age. The quality of life is more important than a number of reps in an exercise.

My Morning WOD

 It's one of those days where the energy levels are just right, the sun is shining beautifully and you're feeling pretty damn good. You may not get those days all the time but when the opportunity arises, take advantage of it and do what makes you happy. I got up and did a routine that I combined a few things together that opened up the body and stretched the living hell out of it without really straining and relaxed as much as possible. It was GLORIOUS!!!!

Started off with Matt Furey's 5x5 System using a few exercises from Combat Conditioning.

The Neck Chi Kung Routine were next and felt everything in my neck open up.

Joint Loosening Exercises were next and worked everything from head to toe, opening up the meridians and getting rid of unwanted tension.

Did 5 Minutes of the Farmer Burns Stomach Flattener which built up a pretty good sweat and strengthening the internal organs and deep breathing.

Finished off with 1 Minute of Shaking everything out and relaxing the entire body, opening up the lymphatic system and just feeling the great energy.

I have no idea how long this took but I'm guessing around 30 minutes or so but everything we by so quickly and with such flow and intuitive awareness. It's better to wake the body up with internal intention than just muscles, muscles, muscles. The practice of releasing energy that radiates and gives off powerful sensations of endorphins and relaxation. Power comes from within, not always how fast you move or how much you can lift, that's secondary. 

The Neck Chi Kung exercises alone can wake you up and help prevent headaches, migraines and groggyness, the rest is just icing on the cake. These are not your typical run of the mill type of routine, it is a great way to strengthen the neck without needing to bridge. It works all the muscles that keep your head in tack. 

The 5x5 System, stretches and strengthens the muscles, the tendons and ligaments that help build flexibility in the shoulders, spine, legs and hips. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.

The Farmer Burns Stomach Flattener is a no brainer but should be done on an empty stomach and start off with only a few reps until you can continue repeating the exercise for 5 minutes. It develops incredible breathing power, strengthen the internal organs and can burn belly fat within 5 sec per repetition. It can be done anywhere and anytime. 

Shaking the body out releases unwanted tension or any more tension that is left in the body. Breathe deeply and relax. It also releases toxins in the body at least that's what I've noticed and releases a great deal of endorphins and gets rid of that emotion of anger, anxiety and excess energy. 

This routine can supercharge the body within minutes and make you feel you can tackle your day with ease. If you also practice protecting yourself from Energy Vampires, having a bad day would be as rare as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro being in the same movie together. Get those juices flowing and feel amazingly awesome to get the day started.