Circling The Body For Mobility And Joint Loosening

 As hardcore training can be at times, it is important to keep the joints healthy and supple because we would hate to be a stiff all day. Starting the day with mobility drills and loosening up the joints and muscles can go a long way in how your energy progresses and keeps everything circulating. You know me and routines but if I had to be fixated on one and one that actually matters, it's being mobile and supple. 

I had just acquired the 40th Anniversary Edition of Bob Anderson's Stretching Book. Most of the stretches in there I've done for years and some reminded me of P.E class back in grade school and while some are good, quite a few wouldn't suite well for me and that's ok. We do what works for us. Stretching is a key component to health and well being and being flexible is more than just being able to touch your face to your knees, it's about keeping the muscles relaxed and release unwanted tension from the body. Some people are extremely flexible while others are so damn stiff, might as well put clothes on top of them to iron. 

Being mobile is about the relaxed flow your body experiences and preventing injuries as much as possible. As always, keep things basic and you'll get around pretty good but it is good to understand that as we get older, being mobile and supple has a bigger importance than how our muscles look. Not even the greatest bodybuilders in the world can look like competitors forever but being flexible and agile can have a lasting impact especially in those later years. 

When it comes down to a routine, my idea is to keep everything relaxed as much as possible and feel like the wind so to speak, weightless in a way but still powerful if need be. Here's my personal routine for Mobility & Joint Loosening.....All standing up by the way.

Multi Directional Movements For The Neck (3-10 reps per exercise)

Shoulder Circles (10 Reps each way)

Circling The Wrists & Elbows (10 Reps each way)

Pulling Back The Arms With Fingers Spread (Breathing In) & Tiger Claw The Fingers Going Forward (10-20 Reps)

Circling The Waist (10 Reps)

Side Bends (10 Reps each way)

Circling The Pelvis (10 Reps each way)

Tai Chi Waist Turner (50 Reps each way)

Isometric Hamstring Stretch

Dynamic Hamstring Stretch (10-20 Reps)

Ankle Rotations (10 Reps each way per leg)

Ankle Rotations While Balancing On One Leg (10 Reps each way per leg)

Knee Rotations (10 Reps each way)

Knee Rotations While Balancing On One Leg (10 Reps each way per leg)

This routine takes 20-30 minutes and if I'm short on time, I would just do 1/3rd to half the amount of reps in the routine. I always feel energized after doing this workout and it's great to help get the blood flowing and releasing tension out of the body. I will make a video of the routine sometime soon to show you how it is done. Very simple and not very difficult to do but it creates a powerful impact in how you go about the rest of the day. You can do this in the morning to wake up, if you're feeling groggy during the day or you can do it an hour before bed to help you sleep. Keep those juices flowing and get rid of that tension, god knows life is hard as it is. 

A Go To Workout For Cardio

 There are a lot of ways to get your cardio in without the need for a treadmill or doing an aerobics class. Something as simple as carrying weight for distance can be great cardio, Step Ups are another. Some like to combine certain elements to get their cardio in and that's awesome. That's a favorite of mine where I can even combine exercises to make supersets and be able to keep going without stopping.

Whenever I need a pick-me-up for cardio or just in the mood for it, I love to carry my 50 lb Sandbell around the garage and superset that with 20 Step Ups. Now the real objective is to carry a weight around one revolution, put it down and pick it up again for another revolution and then go do the Step Ups without stopping. Pick the time you want to do this but keep in mind, there's no rest so be prepared to sweat and get your ass kicked. I would do this workout for 30 minutes without a rest. I may slow down during that time but often, there's that shot of energy that kicks in and you're just going and going.

I've done this workout a few times and kept it at around 30 minutes. If I'm short on time or just don't have the energy to go that long, I'll go for either half the time or no more than 10 minutes. It's about getting in the most of what is possible and carrying a total of hundreds to thousands of pounds total and hundreds of Step Ups. At times, it's quite meditative.

I have learned to get more out of my workouts during certain periods without resting or just mark off the set and go straight to the next set. It helps keep a level of conditioning that I want to accomplish and I'm training in ways that aren't the norm. Step Ups are a hell of a leg conditioner and carrying weight builds functional strength. You don't need to carry 300 lbs. around in order to get results, even 100 lb. is more than enough. When you carry and put down, pick up and repeat over and over, at some point during the workout, it's going to feel heavier and it's the same weight. A sandbell won't always have the same way to grip so you're working your forearms along with squatting and hoisting over the shoulder. 

The key element here when you do this workout is to breathe and be as relaxed as you can. There's already a certain amount of tension being used whether it's carrying or doing Step Ups so learn to control your breathing. If I start to pant, I focus on my breath the way Rickson Gracie does it and within seconds, I'm back to breathing calmer and I can keep going. In a workout, I've only had to do that maybe once or twice during the workout so I'm in pretty good shape to do this. 

It builds functional strength in the upper body, conditions the legs, builds incredible lung power and enhances your stamina. It could be a way to help with your conditioning for sports, a great workout that doesn't take long so you can do other tasks, it can be done just about at any time and requires minimal equipment which all it is is a weight to carry and a bench or step stool that's 10-16' at best. 

Take a shot at this and if you don't have a sandbell, use a rock, a heavy hammer, dumbbells or a plate around 35-50 lbs. If that weight is too much, use something a little lighter around 15-20 lbs. Make it work for you. Focus on your breath and be sure to practice deep breathing before, during and after a workout. Getting in shape doesn't have to be complicated.  

Morning Isometrics

A long time ago, in a city of India, a circus strongman and his young companion had just watched one of the greatest wrestlers in history devour an opponent that was just one of thousands of matches he had won. The young boy decided to go talk to the mighty wrestler who's named The Great Gama. The boy learned that one of Gama's secrets to man handling opponents with ease was that Gama would tie a belt around a tree every morning and try to move it at every angle. He never moved the tree but after doing this for many years, it helped him throw one man after another and was victorious in every match. 

This is a hell of a lesson to learn here. Isometrics are one of the most powerful methods that build strength in ways many others can't touch. This doesn't mean you're going to win 5000 consecutive matches or you're going to be a superhuman wrestler, but it is possible to have strength that makes more of a difference than most care to understand. The method of Isometrics develops crazy strength beyond the muscles but the strengthening of the tendons and ligaments. 

What would it be like to have strength that not only lasts quite a long time but also helps prevent injuries as much as possible? A method that gives you a vice-like grip, tendons that are like steel-cords, incredible speed and hardened muscles that are also supple and flexible. Try doing Isometrics in the morning that gets the blood pumping and working areas of the body however you want. You can do various forms of flexing, you can do bodyweight exercises by holding certain positions, you can use a strap, a doorway, hell even your coffee table. It really only takes a few minutes to get everything going. Don't forget to breathe and if you're doing 6-12 second bursts, make the "sssss" sound as you exhale, if you're doing longer holds, practice deep breathing. 

Practicing Isometrics in the morning could help burn fat and burn excess calories since it's good to do them before you eat breakfast. This particular discipline gives not only a great pump with certain  exercises but it can kickstart your energy levels and prepare you for the day ahead. Strengthen every angle you can do. With Isometrics, you can feel lighter, faster and stronger in areas you didn't realize that could be strong. Learn from the Great Gama and tackle your training and life like he devoured his opponents. 

Disney Animals And Conditioning

 Never thought you'd read that kind of title, but than again you never know what you'll find on the internet. There are so many creative things to find for workouts these days but others might need some tune up and made for specific people. When you become creative, you enhance your ability to train at a unique level and be in better shape than someone who just runs through the motions. Creativity creates a bigger impact than the boring crap that roams around.

When I do my animal workouts, I like to find different ways to make things a little more interesting; do fight or flight workouts, tournaments, workouts for endurance and even on occasion an isometric style workout. One of the most fun is using Disney Characters for my animal workout, it creates a more imaginative setting and if you're a Disney fan like I 'am, you can find all sorts to animals to imitate. There's Baloo the Bear, Kerchak the Mountain Gorilla from Tarzan, Sabastian the Crab, Judy Hopps the little Bunny Cop from Zootopia or Kanga & Roo from Winnie The Pooh. You can get in a great workout just by utilizing those characters.

It sounds silly and childish doesn't it? The truth is, we're all looking for an exercise program that keeps us motivated and coming back for more, even when we're tired. There's nothing childish about using your imagination to make your workouts worthwhile and yes it may look silly to one but it's another person's adventure. Getting fit and in condition should be taken seriously but why not have a little fun with it to get more out of it than usual.

Some of my workouts have lasted as long as 45 min and as short as 3 minutes but regardless of the amount of time, something always gets done. My longest animal workout was a little over 82 minutes and although it was fun, it was brutal but that's the beauty of it, one minute you'll feel like the Beast from Beauty And The Beast, the next, you might feel like the wolf from the Sword & The Stone after chasing and trying to eat up young Arthur. Conditioning is a powerful asset and we want to do things that makes us less fatigued and have stamina that lasts like playing with the kids, having fun with your spouse, better focus at work and getting tasks done with greater efficiency.

If you have Disney+, there's a set of videos or clips from various animated films that is edited to create a meditative environment called Zenimation; you know like the various sounds of nature, water and serenity but in the form of Disney. It's really cool and I watch it from time to time to chill out for a few minutes. Be like a kid again and get moving doing various animals and workouts that are fun and short. 

Animal Workouts Book

Animal Workouts DVD

Animal Moves By Darryl Edwards

When Play Becomes Your Training

 We get caught up in the rigors of life and figuring out how to stay in shape for whatever reason. It becomes a matter of what gives us the greatest benefit and what gives us solace when we are need of it. That's one of the things I love about training, it's not just doing a few exercises and trying to be better than yesterday, it is a way to go to a place where you feel the most at home and give a little comfort in knowing what you are doing becomes your sanctuary.

Almost every time, something always brings me back to doing animal movements. It just becomes intuitive to want to play and get away from the routines and the hardcore training stuff. Don't get me wrong, animal movements can be hardcore too if you know which ones to use but at the same time, they're like a little game you play and go back to that child-like state where you get to play out your imagination and do things you normally don't do. It's almost like meditation.

I do believe in taking your training seriously but it's also important to make things interesting and fun in the face of challenges and testing your body's abilities. With Animal Moves, you're constantly moving, shifting directions, keeping your balance and developing the mind/body connection through play. When you treat a workout, even if it's hard like a game, it changes how you perceive things and what brings the ideal way to workout.

You know all about the dice game I play after more than a decade of writing about it, it is the GOAT of exercise programs (in my opinion, to each their own) and it does more than just get you physically fit, it also takes you back to a time where the world was simple, fun and full of possibilities. You learn skills through the art of being playful, you find things about yourself you didn't get anywhere else and you learned how to apply natural movement for motor skill and function. 

After all that I've learned and all the programs I have done, nothing comes close to moving like an animal in my eyes, I get more out of them than any squat, push-up, pull-up, lifting weights or traditional cardio. It's very simple to learn but you get a lot out of it. It's getting back to a more natural state of mind and gives you an upgrade on your fitness. 

Why It Is More Important To Be In Condition Than Shredded

 Unless you're a bodybuilder, that kind of training doesn't always help in the real world. When you look in the magazines and the ads on youtube and other social media platforms, what's the first thing that comes up? People after people looking shredded with low bodyfat and a knack for selling you damaged and unrealistic approaches to health and diet. Health is about keeping yourself strong inside and out, health is about the mind and body working together and much more.

Being shredded for the most part is overrated, if that's what you're after, more power to you but in the end, just because you look like a million bucks doesn't mean your condition is just as impressive. Being in condition is not always about looks, it's the ability to handle things for a good period of time without tiring. In workouts, honestly, you don't need more than a half to get in shape but that just sounds too arbitrary. Conditioning makes the difference in many aspects of life, not just training. Can you imagine the ability to not tire out on a hike, swimming, playing with the kids and so on and so forth? Forget being in condition in your 20's, what if you had that level of energy in your 30's, 40's and beyond? 

Not everyone has the same genetic makeup, some have a vast metabolism that even eating like a pig won't have them gaining weight but for others, no matter what they do, it's still difficult to even lose a pound after training your ass off for a month. Being shredded is impressive at times but if you don't have the ability to last when it counts, than you don't deserve that body. Some of the strongest and fittest people on the planet don't have very low percentage bodyfat and certainly not all have that model appeal, but they bust their ass and are very healthy. The last time any real form of shreddedness that was worth while and being in real shape were guys like Otto Arco, Maxick, Sig Klien and other Old-Time Strongmen and Bodybuilders. These were the guys that were doing things at a level long before supplements or steroids existed, so why are we going backwards in a since with all the technology and supplements around today? 

I'm not saying all supplements are bad, some have real value and work for many people, but it takes some knowledge and wisdom to understand what works out there and what is so damn shitty, even the name on a bottle is sketchy. Some people do very well without the need for supplementation. The truth of the matter is, the better condition you're in, the better of you'll be with developing the quality of life instead of just how long you'll live. It just makes you wonder at times that some of the healthiest people don't live past 90 while some who never exercised in their life live to be more than 100. 

I personally believe that being in condition comes first before developing an impressive physique and even then, having a physique is just a lesser part of the puzzle. It's not wrong at all to want to look good but looks don't always save lives and they certainly won't give you endurance like a Tiger. 

Keep things simple and be in sold physical condition for when it is needed at any time. 

What It Means To Be Tendon Strong

 The training method of Isometrics has some mysterious qualities to it but it also develops the body in a different manner than most programs. Fitness as a whole isn't all that complicated but there are a lot of people out there that make it so because of what they works and nothing else or how often to train, the position your body HAS to be in in order to be applied properly, the amount of sets and reps, the measure of a weight and so on and so forth. 

Alexander Zass believed in the concept of developing Tendon Strength more than just pure muscular strength. It was to power up the connective tissues in order to not just protect the body from injury but to be strong in ways that lasted longer than just temporary. When it comes to the tendons, they are the cords between the muscles and the bones, just because you have thick and powerful legs doesn't always mean they're going to save your ass. You can be a much smaller guy and have strong legs, think of the deer; most of its legs are purely bone and tendon and not very muscular like the Tiger or a Gorilla, but it can pack a wallop if it kicks you in the face.

If we didn't have tendons, we wouldn't be able to press a weight, run whatsoever and definitely would be injured quicker than you can say "ouch." We wouldn't have any real control over our bodies period. Muscles alone will not always be in your favor. When you strengthen the tissues and the ligaments surrounding the tendons, you're creating strength that could actually save a life one day and protect you from getting injured not just in sports but in everyday tasks. Have you ever hurt your shoulder carrying things? Had a hernia from Shoveling Snow? Landed wrong on your knees? These things happen but if you practiced Isometrics, these things could come to almost a halt and you'll have better protection on the joints. We can't always prevent an injury, but we can learn to lessen the impact and switch from being injury prone to injury-proof. This isn't to test if you're invincible, it's a way to understand that the stronger your tendons are, you can heal much quicker from certain injuries. 

Learn the value of Isometric Training and train to protect your body, looking good won't last forever but strong joints is highly likely you'll be able to live with better quality and have a body that won't fail you as fast even at a later age. 

Failures And Accomplishments

 Failing is a part of life whether we want to believe it or not. Whatever failures have happened in your life, just remember there are still accomplishments to be made or already have made and you just haven't figured them out yet. I have failed over and over again in my life from setting goals to relationships to jobs and setting an example in certain areas of life but I have also accomplished much more than what I have failed at. 

I've had near death experiences and still here, writing to you and I think that's quite an accomplishment. I've come back from breaking both my legs without any form of traditional rehab and made things work and have not stopped since day 1. Yes I have failed but I've also been successful in other areas too.

It's very easy to try to put someone down and only talk about their failures when you have no real clue what they've gone through to reach their successes whether they were big or they were small, an accomplishment may not mean a damn thing to one but to another, it can be life-altering. Most of the time, the world doesn't care what you have accomplished, only what you have failed at or what you could've accomplished but didn't because you didn't do things the way they wanted you to do. Sometimes, I've set myself up to fail or was set up to fail in general. 

Not everyone is going to care what you have achieved and it doesn't always mean to boost ego or anything like that, people have failed to the degree that whatever accomplishments someone else has, jealousy and anger has consumed them and throw everything negative in order to feel good about themselves but stay broken.

I love some of the admiration I get from time to time, it does feel good and I do feel I've made some leeway in the world but there are things about me that I don't wish on anyone to have. Some have told me that they would kill to have a memory like me but the truth is, it is both a blessing and a curse because of some of the trauma I have been through and when something is triggered, it's as if I was in that moment and reliving it with extreme feeling and the sight of it. My brain is very different than most people and because of the meningitis, it has caused me to fail at many simple tasks and whatever that is easy in general, I have to use my brain at a different pace in order to accomplish the same goals. What I have accomplished, made me better but also do things from another perspective.

Failure is going to happen but never make it only about failure. You will accomplish things and you'll see more success than you ever thought possible. Look at some of the famous people on the planet and learn what failures they've had that drove them to be successful in their field. You will succeed and it will teach you how to be even more successful down the road.   

Sometimes You Just Have To Cut Your Losses

Every now and then in our training, something either feels stale or it's becoming too much and it's time to make a change. I've had to make a change when I started feeling some pain after doing so many Hindu Burpees lately and needed to stop. It wasn't just discomfort or a little pain, I believe I was causing damage in my left shoulder and had to stop. 

There's such a thing as training hard but it makes a huge difference when you instinctively feel you're starting to cause damage. Some pain still believe in the "no pain, no gain" bullshit and if an exercise is causing pain or even beginning to damage an area of the body, they'll still push hard and do things even worse. I had built up a pain tolerance while I was bending steel but I never truly damaged anything until I started doing it again after a couple years or more away from it when I damaged my hands bending 60d nails and needed to recover for several weeks while focusing on other exercises.

At times, you just to need to cut your losses and take a step back. It doesn't have to be forever but you don't want to be doing things that the damage becomes so severe that it starts messing with your life and live in pain constantly. I re-evaluated my body's capabilities and almost on instinct started doing Resistance Training with Lifeline Cables and my ab wheel. Using the Chest Expander to strengthen my shoulders and even out the muscles since the problems were more around the front and side if my left shoulder. Use TNT Cables for heavier resistance and to help even out the back muscles with the shoulders, I started feeling a hell of a lot better and my shoulder pain is practically gone. For the Ab Wheel, I would just do rollouts until I get bored or felt like I've had enough. 

Isometrics have become a staple in my training again and it's been more of a self-rehab thing more than anything else and I'm continuing to lose weight and develop definition. I'm currently at 253 and have kept off 10-15 pounds for nearly 3 months. For strength training, I want to see how the cables can go and use the wheel for core conditioning. Step-Ups are for the legs for sure since I just have no interest in doing hundreds of squats these days. It is important to take care of yourself, no need to go hardcore and work yourself to death, that's what the Crossfit Fanboys are for. 

Be instinctive and listen to your body because if you don't listen, it'll bite you in the ass and you can really do some real harm to yourself. Cut it loose before any real pain or damage takes place.

Can One Exercise Truly Make A Difference?

One of the biggest debates in fitness is, what is the number 1 exercise that truly is king? The facts are, there isn't one, no matter how much we debate. Many exercises develop great attributes that build a powerful physique or give someone great strength even at a small size. Some exercises help build muscle more than others, lose weight or drop fat faster than others but not one exercises is end all-be-all.

Everyone is different and while one specific exercise works like a charm for one person could injure or over/under develop another. It boils down to what gives that person the most benefit and brings them success because if you're successful with one program/exercise, why would you change it? Yes sometimes we have to mix things up but as long as we remain simplistic and sticking with the basics, things work out great. 

Sprint Training can be considered a high ranking form of exercise since you don't have to do a whole lot and you're resting far more than actually working out. The idea is to run hard for a few seconds and rest sometimes for several minutes. The endgame for this kind of training is to burn fat at an alarming rate and build muscle much quicker than standard cardio. It builds stronger lungs, increases muscle mass and burns calories even after a workout so weight loss is speeded up as well along with your metabolism. This is facts but not everyone has the metabolism of an Olympic Sprinter or a NFL Running Back (look up the training regimens of Walter Payton and Marcus Allen) so we need to progress according to our body's capabilities and needs of recovery. 

Some people have called Burpees the king of all exercises but is it really? I mean after all, what variation of the Burpee are we talking about here? There's so many variations how do we know which one that wears the crown? In order to truly understand how the body works with that type of training, you can't just watch it and expect to know it, you have to experiment with it and get a feel with experiencing the movements. The problem is, very few people actually know how a Burpee works or at least some variations because there are a lot of STUPID people out there who don't have a clue on how to apply it but go to such extremes as to look like they're flopping all over the place after several reps. Learn the proper mechanics and experiment with it while being safe and smart about it.

So does one exercise really wear the crown as the king or in a way the god of exercises? Truth is, no, it doesn't but that doesn't mean it can't work for you. If you enjoy it and it helps you with being healthy and fit, than what's the big issue? Make certain exercises work for you and develop your body with them. You have the power to have the ultimate fitness program that is catered to you and only you. If others want to join in, let's see what they got but don't force it on anyone and teach them how to work them to their body's abilities and benefits. 

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