Do You Swing?

It's always fun finding something that peaks your interest or you want to try out certain things. I normally don't do swinging movements when it comes to training but I decided to give them a go by making a video of doing various swings (1 & 2 Handed) with different implements that hit different muscles but also at different weight. The way I was taught kettlebell swings was kind of funny by one of my friend's brother. I could rep out ok when it comes to the swings but they weren't a big priority.

One of the guys in my Isometric & Alternative Fitness group on Facebook was talking about Kettlebells and something got inside my head that I should get a video going of swinging not just the Kettlebell. It was fun actually and made it a bit of a Micro Workout. For the most part, swinging a Kettlebell can be beneficial but there's technique involved that should be trained properly so you don't hurt yourself. It's explosive and can get you into decent shape with practice. It was one of the things that helped Bud Jeffries with his big weight loss years ago.

The implements I used were the loadable Soft Kettlebell, the Thor Hammer, Sandbell & Darth Vader Kettlebell. They ranged from 30-70 lbs which is more than enough for most people and because of the change in how you hold them in order to swing, you are hitting muscles not normally associated with the typical swing. There's a pinch grip, a vertical grip and the normal grip. Doing these one handed can be tough especially with the hammer and sandbell, those made me work extra hard just so I don't drop them.

I might incorporate the swing into my training more since it's a fun move especially with the Vader one. A few rounds of that with sledge work and/or step ups, be a hell of a workout. 

I Will Be Iron By Bud Jeffries 

Hiking And Step Up Challenges

 Leg Conditioning can go a long way in how to determine your true level of fitness and not always how you look. Strength is always a good thing but how long does it last? A few minutes, an hour, all day? Some do Leg Work either for sports reasons, bodybuilding or to maintain some level of endurance and or strength endurance but what would the main point be?

Challenging ourselves is a good way to test our abilities but how often should you do them and the intent behind the challenges? People train for months on end to just compete in the Crossfit Games (don't get me started on that) or do a Tough Mudder or Spartan Race, so where does it end? The purpose of a challenge is not just doing the physical aspect of it but also where and how we set our minds to those challenges. My biggest purpose is to maintain a certain level of conditioning for whatever comes up at a moments notice and that's where I like to test myself with Step Ups and as recently (or at least for a time) hiking.

One of the Step Up Challenges I've done recently was doubling up the amount of reps per leg with the deck of cards. The most I've ever done with a deck doing Step Ups was 1000 and that was a doozy. I wanted to see what I can do by doing twice as much on a card and testing my cardio more than anything. For the cards I did, I made it to 436 and that was the amount I was willing to do that day. Normally with a deck for a joker would be 100 reps (50 per leg) but this time when that asshole came up I had to do 200 (ended up doing 2 sets of 50 per leg since it was my first tie trying it) and already had done a few cards prior that were 12-20 per leg. It was a hell of a challenge and sometime going to see how much further I can go.

As for the hiking, that was always fun for me. I've hiked around the mountains of both the east and west coast and some were pretty nuts like some in Lake Tahoe and in the Redwoods. A couple times now, I wanted to test myself to see what my conditioning would be like to hike up around here wearing my 40 lb weight vest. The first time was a couple weeks ago on a Thursday and just hiked up this hillside near the house that had some steep areas and came back which took about an hour, not too bad. Last week, I wanted to go even further, so I hiked up to a further area and just before coming back down, I went through a forest trail that's above the road leading to the lake and did a portion of that, than I went back to the hillside and back home. The whole hike/walk took 73 minutes which is one of the longest I've ever gone with a weight vest on. Came home covered in sweat like I was just under a waterfall and ended up losing 3 pounds in the process during that hike. 

Hiking is a great form of exercise but adding a weight vest to it is a whole other animal and I'm happy I got to experience it and can't wait to do it again. I love being in nature and seeing what's possible for me to do. Was I sore when I came back from that hike? I felt the affects but not to the point where I couldn't walk the next day. It's a hell of a conditioner and it was more of a mental thing than physical. After maybe the first 20-25 minutes, it felt smooth and my breathing was really good and the last 10 minutes or so, I had this burst of energy and was basically power walking back home and didn't feel fatigue. Maybe it was just adrenaline but I loved it. 

Test your abilities and see what's possible for you. Get out in nature and just experience what has to offer. Our world these days is just crazy and full of people hating on each other and not experiencing the beauty of things. Find the beauty and hold onto it. It is out there, you just have to look. 

Play To Get Stronger

 When we were kids, we played all kinds of games that kept us physically active. Played football, baseball in the streets, the different variations of tag and that goofy duck, duck, goose game. It's to help us fine tune our motor skills and establish foundations for how we handle or bodies and our brains in other areas of life. As we get older, we succumbed to the things in life where we utilize certain skills in order to even make a few bucks and at times, have made us miserable and we wish we could be a kid again.

These days, being playful is considered taboo and childish because we have to be hardened and just live through life and roll with the punches because let's face it, as an adult, we can't be child-like. Now, that doesn't mean that we run away from our responsibilities as an adult because we do need to take care of ourselves and do what we can to live a life; with that being said, why can't we still find the time to have some fun and find that level of happiness that we had as kids?

The older we get, the more we need to establish the fact that yes, we don't have the same exact energy and spry we had as kids but we can still be playful and use certain forms of exercise to keep us active and maintain our motor functions because we don't want to be like those old folks who fall and break their hip. Being active can be hard, especially when we reach a certain age and the attributes begin to diminish like our flexibility, our strength, agility and coordination. 

Some people play sudoku to strengthen their brains, others use the gym to help maintain their strength in their muscles and tendons but also make use of their time by gardening, help carrying things and hiking. A favorite exercise I like to do every now and then is flipping and catching something. I would use all kinds of stuff but my absolute favorite is flipping and catching my sandbells. With the 20 lber, I would sometimes do it with one hand or flip and catch with the opposite hand. With the 50 lber, it's a little trickier and takes a lot more strength because it's not like trying to catch a ball, the coordination and strength need to be on point, plus it adds in having solid grip strength and agility cause you don't always know if you'll be catching it with a palm grip or pinch grip. 

Now you don't need to flip and catch with a heavier weight, just regular flipping or even learning to juggle is more than enough. For developing a stronger body overall, playing around with things like Animal Flow, Ginastica Natural, Gold Medal Bodies and other movement protocols are awesome at that. Hell, just being active is a solid start and developing a habit out of it. Age is just a number, it's up to us to defy the aging process and make the most out ourselves to live a quality life and not feel weak as we age. 

60 Seconds Throughout The Day

 A minute may not sound like much but you can get a lot done in that time more than you think. What if you could do one stinkin' minute of exercise throughout the day? How many exercises can you get done if you were to do one on the hour every hour? Sometimes as a busy person, you might have to do that in order to get what you want out of your training. It happens at times.

Not many believe that you can get any form of exercise done in a minute....If that was true, than do one minute of Burpees. Not many can do that especially in good form but it is an ass kicker. How about something easier like, a minute of Hindu Squats or a Wall Sit? Why not a fist plank or punches? You see, some exercises are very simple to do but they're certainly not easy.

Short or Micro Workouts throughout the day, have many benefits as to how we can make exercise and fitness productive. Not everyone has the luxury of getting in one full hour of training let alone maybe 30 minutes so this alternative can make a big impact on how you can get what you need done and give yourself little windows of time and make the most of it. 

Here's an example of spreading your exercises throughout the day. A program Darebee has in this section, one minute HIIT workouts can be done either all in one session or you can spread the workout throughout the day if you wish. You don't have to go all 30 days and do all three levels. This is ust an idea. 

Some exercises or intensity may be too hard for you which is understandable, you can lower the intensity and/or do an easier variation to make that small workout doable for you. Make it work to your advantage and get the most out of it because in the end, one minute is better than nothing. 

Some of my workouts on various days are micro like doing 60 seconds of Hindu Squats or Step Ups, within an hour I would do another 60 seconds of let's say Bear Crawls or Duck Walks, later on do Burpees or go hard on the tire with Big Barry (25 lb Giants Hammer), it just depends on what I'm in the mood to do. It can be very energizing and satisfying. 

Last but not least, you can't go wrong with 60 second Isometrics. Just hold a certain posture throughout the day has great benefits such as: Strengthening the tendons, keeping the joints healthy, cardio (because of the breathing), no joint impact, it's quick and you can do a limitless amount of exercises that won't damage your body. Work with what you have and keep windows open for the exercises you want to do or can do. Compromise with yourself and you health. 

Bundle Of The Day: Crescent Wolf Essentials Bundle

Herb Of The Day: Cognitive Enhancement Tincture

Hammer And Burpee Combo For A Conditioning Recipe

 Experimenting different things can be fun and it makes you work your brain. If anything, experimenting with different combinations can make your training interesting. With the resurgence of Hammer Workouts since I got the Stronger Grip Tactical Sledgehammer, I mainly use it to do a couple variations of the Sledge Strike and as a form of training like the Mace. 

Conditioning is just a favorite of mine and doing what's possible to keep myself from being bored. I use decks of cards for high reps in my hammer workouts ranging from 100 to about under 600 these days. I also do my supersets to make things interesting instead of always doing one exercise or one variation at times but I don't always combine 2 exercises as if it was one thing that's blended. 

One of my biggest inspirations is Bud Jeffries and his constant encouragement to experiment and making workouts look amazingly awesome. His creativity and simplicity just builds you up and makes you want to do things you've never done before. One of them is through his Sledgehammer Course which you can find here....The amount of exercises being shown is just the tip of an enormous iceberg of ideas and training modalities that take on a life of its own at times. I saw a demo he did on Youtube where he took a sledgehammer and combined it with striking and a burpee. I wanted to give this a shot.

I don't have any real experience with this combination so it does look awkward from a certain point of view but I don't care, I wanted to give it a chance and put it on film. Since I got the hammer with the San Francisco Giants logo, I also wanted to just have fun and make videos of my workouts while decking out in my Giants Shirt (Willie Mays #24) and my hat on Tik Tok and adding heavy metal to them. I have even added them to the baseball pages on Twitter like the Giants and the MLB, it felt exciting to do that. It's not something you see people do often, talk about being a Super Fan.

That's the beauty of training is that you can do all sorts of stuff and have fun. I love training at home or anywhere, the gym can be great but it's really just a building, you can create a gym anywhere if you have the right mindset and basic understanding of exercises. Since getting the hammer, I feel my condition has gotten better, gaining speed, my grip is getting stronger, putting on some muscle and gaining power in my tendons. Although it's just a tool in reality but in my imagination (and anyone who's worked out with hammers can relate to this), it's a tool of the gods that grants me strength that I didn't know I had before and makes me work harder to make the most of what is possible.

Conditioning The Legs Using Step Ups

 Don't you hate running? I do too. The only thing that will give me a reason to run is by sprinting which is far more natural and meant for humans than jogging. What can be an alternative to running or even squats for that matter? The next best thing would be the Step Up. Hey if it worked for Wrestling legend Bob Backlund which he still does in his 70's, could it work for you? 

The Step Up has been around for a long ass time and it's a great test for cardio and how to determine certain levels of fitness. From a conditioning stand point, it's one of the very best especially since it has far less impact on the joints than running or sprinting and for some, it's easier on the knees than squats. Off and on for years, I did hundreds of Hindu Squats and doing 1000 or more on a couple occasions and as great as they are and are a great conditioning tool, I always had weird days after doing them. When I got into Step Ups, I had greater results and it gave me better focus to strengthen and condition my legs one at a time instead of both at the same time. Some days I'll do 10-20 minutes straight, others go for 30 and on a few occasions do 1000 or more reps in under an hour. I find them much more enjoyable than Squats.

Where did the Step Up originate? Nobody really knows or sure because throughout eons, we've done some for step ups like stair climbing, hiking and some form of lunging but the Step Up itself was a test of endurance and heart rate testing in 1942 called the Harvard Step Test where an individual was tested to see where his heart rate was by performing 25-30 reps a minute for 5 minutes and where his recovery rate was. The height to perform this test was 20 inches for men and 16 inches for women. In my opinion, this is a gross overestimated and hurtful idea to test a person because for one, 20 inches for men could overextend his hip joints if he's a short man (under 5'8) and 16 inches for women could be too short because not every woman is under 5'4 so the height roles could be reversed unless the test was conducted for those specific heights for men and women. Also not every man or has the same upper and lower body ratios. For me, a 12-14 inch step up is perfect and doesn't extend the hip joint to a higher grade. For someone like my wife who's 4'11, a 10 inch step up works great for her legs.

Although the Step up is geared towards more aerobic exercise (or exercise using oxygen), it has incredible benefits of improving cardiovascular conditioning and strengthening the lungs as opposed to regular aerobic exercise where there's some lung strengthening but no where near the level of a step up or fast squat and/or sprint. Ric Flair in his early days would do Step Ups to increase his cardio in the ring, later on in the late 70's to about mid-late 80's, he would work with a stair climber and work with that for extended periods of time, still does it to this day I believe in some capacity. 

One of my favorite benefits of Step Ups is the joint strengthening and cardiovascular work for hiking. Hiking is a great form of exercise and awesome for getting in some fresh air and being out in the woods or the mountains. At one point in my life, hiking was tough for me and my cardio was nowhere near where it is right now and these days, it is damn near impossible for me to get tired on a hike. I might want to sleep when I get home because the endorphins are kicking in but on a hike, I can go for quite a while without getting winded. A lot of that was because of Hindu Squats & Step Ups. 

This is an awesome exercise for people who want an alternative to running and can't do a lot of squats or don't want to do squats. Start with 10-20 Reps per leg which would take about 60-90 seconds at a decent clip and work your way up little by little to 100 total (50 reps per leg) and go from there. When you can go 10 minutes without a break, that's a pretty decent workout, 20-30 minutes, you're in pretty damn good shape, if you can go an hour or more without a break, you might want to call Mr. Backlund and see if you can work out with him because he's the man to really give you insights into conditioning with the step up. You can even test yourself with a weight vest and/or ankle weights but you might want to get into better shape to do this. 

Here's a 10 min workout I did with Step Ups while working with a Sledgehammer to get more out of my conditioning and work capacity. 

Walking And The Things You Think About

 On Saturday, I went for a stroll around the neighborhood wearing my 40 lb weight vest. Still a great way to get cardio in without having to run. As I was walking along, getting in tuned with my breathing and just taking in the fall air, I tend to think the most random things and for some reason they pop up without notice. I think about where I've been and how I got to this moment, I think about random movies like Spaceballs and just start cracking up laughing. That's the beauty of walking and letting your mind free to wonder and learn things about yourself and the things around you.

Sometimes I think about certain people and visualize how they're doing or what it would be like to talk to them. I think about Bud Jeffries often and hope he's doing ok and kicking ass as usual at the things he does. I think about Johnny Grube at times and how hardened he is and if that dude ever shows any compassion for anything with a pulse and just live life without having to tear many things apart like it's ever going to do anything. I wonder if he has a small hint of compassion in his soul?

There's never a day when I'm not thinking about something and at times that can be both good and bad because if you think too much, you won't sleep as much and it becomes freaking exhausting. Many become overinflated when we hear, see and react to things we notice online, in the news and in the political arena. This country is so damn divided it's ridiculous. We have become a country that hates on people who want to use pronouns, the lgtbq+ is a disease (it isn't) and someone either gets verbally or literally slapped across the face for not wearing a mask or didn't get the vaccine. Seriously, the world is a mad, mad, mad place in certain areas.

Despite what you, we and what others think, in reality, it's up to us as a whole to make things a better place and whether you get the jab or not, consequences go with both and there's risks to both and we should make the choice to take those risks without getting hate for it. Even now at this moment, like others I'm still learning to just let people be and if you're an asshole, make asshole friends, if you're a good person, make friends with good people that share your values. It is just so damn easy to hate on others because at times we don't always understand what the hell we're hating on. 

I do feel blessed to live in an area where many do get along and crime rates are far lower than where I came from and being able to hang out and have fun with good people. I hope you do as well. These are the things I think about not just on walks but throughout daily life. The one thing I hope gets better (without personal agendas or deception) is others show as much compassion as possible and not try to tear each other a part because in reality, many people higher than us want that and we can't let those assholes win. 

Hammer And Slam Ball Tag Team With A Kettlebell As An Enforcer

The Road Warriors, the Rock And Roll Express, Edge & Christian, the Steiner Brothers and lets not forget the Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Ole & Gene Anderson); all incredible legendary tag teams in Pro Wrestling. The strength, the agility, the athleticism, the power and whether you loved them or hated them, they got your attention when they came into the ring. A great tag team were two people who had chemistry and flowed with each other to create an impact on opponents and captivate people's imagination. 

Some tag teams had an enforcer but for the most part, the team alone were more than enough. When there was an enforcer, it was someone to keep them in check or get that extra pop with the crowd to get more out of the match and end it with great importance or as a set up for the next event. Now, what the hell does this have to do with exercise? Good question, here's your answer.....A lot of my workouts are based on conditioning and tackling areas of strength, agility, muscular endurance and cardio all at once if possible. Using Supersets to really dig into the nitty gritty of physical work (If it were 4 exercises, in pro wrestling analogy that would be a stable) and just put as much as possible into that kind of training.

I mainly like to use Sandbells, Step Ups, Bear Crawls & Cables for Superset Training but the other day, I wanted to try something different that I've never done before and that's mixing Hammer Work with a Slam Ball. What I ended with was SEVEN + MINUTES OF HELL!!!! On top of that monstrosity of a workout, I added a couple exercises with the Darth Vader Kettlebell as a god damn finisher. I must be out of my damn mind to do something like that. Am I crazy? Most likely. Shit man, I was breathing so hard it made Sprints feel easier. Micro Workouts can be very demanding if you can figure out the right intensity. 

Doing about 10-11 Rounds of the Superset & 10 Presses/10 Swings with the kettlebell, that was more than enough for me for the day and did it with practically no rest. It was brutal but that isn't a workout I want to attempt again for a while. The hammer was my 25 lb Tactical Sledge and the Ball was a 20 lb Death Star Slam Ball. The objective was to do 10 Sledge Strikes (5 each side) and slam the ball 5 times, continually repeating that as many times as you can. 

Just because a workout is super short, doesn't mean it isn't an ass kicker. You will breathe hard like crazy and it's a hell of a testosterone booster along with building natural HGH. Who needs steroids when you can train like this? For real though, there's really no need to juice up when there are better alternatives to strengthening your manhood so to speak. Train with intent to kick ass at many things and make the most of what you have even it's just you and no other form of equipment. 

 

Relaxation Lovers Rejoice

Fall is in the air, and maybe you’re in a climate where that gentle, chilly breeze is starting to fill the air. Lost Empire Herbs has an herb known to make people feel cool and calm on the inside as well. It’s one of their most powerful tinctures for stress and it’s now back in stock. 

Ashwagandha, known as Indian Ginseng, has been the go-to for lowering cortisol (the stress hormone) and increasing relaxation for the people in India for thousands of years.  

Studies on the herb have shown it can reduce cortisol levels by up to 26% in humans!

Not only that, it has also been shown to......

·       Increase memory and focus so you can master skills quicker.

·       Faster reaction time to help you flow through activities without hesitation.

·       Promotes anti-aging activity for a youthful appearance.

·       An easier time falling asleep and higher sleep quality.

·       Supports testosterone and sperm health in men.

·       Can help with Thyroid issues, especially in women.

·       Shown to increase endurance, strength and muscle mass.

This Ashwagandha Tincture is anything but average. It’s biodynamically farmed which allows for the highest quality roots and most nutrients to start the process. 

It is cultivate it right on a farm in Oregon, making it the only commercially available Ashwagandha in the United States. How much Ashwagandha you consume is largely up to you, but many studies use a dose of 300-500 mg. Lost Empire recommends you experiment until you maximize its effects.

Hammers And Anger Management

Every now and then, we need to blow off steam and just let loose. Sometimes we get carried away because anger can consume us and take over our emotions. Anger can be a very powerful emotion that at times can blur the lines between reality and what we think we're angry about. Many times, it's just in our heads and need to get it out of our system but in a productive way. There's no need to hurt someone or hurt yourself, that's just bad ju-ju magumbo.

We would vent about our anger by going on social media and tell everyone why we're angry especially about how society is run today. Other forms of getting rid of anger is talking to someone you trust, going to therapy, get drunk, eat a bunch of food till you're in a coma, watch funny movies, read a good book and than there's exercise. Exercise is a very productive form of anger management because it gives you something to do, it channels your energy and focuses on a task that requires skill, coordination, sometimes speed and velocity and we'll work it until that emotion leaves our system.

Have you ever heard the quote by Yoda on Fear? here's a recap....."Fear is a path to the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." When we are led to anger, it can put us down a path that would be very difficult to come back from and for some people, it has consumed them so much that anger and the path that unlocks that door closes behind them and the key is thrown out never to be seen again. Like I said before, sometimes we just need to blow off steam, so where's the true nature of anger and it's destruction to a person's path? If we let anger consume us to a breaking point, we suffer for it and others around us suffer it as well.

Exercising with Hammers can be very beneficial to a certain extent. It's not a 100% cure for anger issues just like there's no cure for the common cold but we can learn how to channel it to our advantage and not do damage to ourselves or others. No you won't be 100% immune to an injury with exercise but with the right training, you can prevent injury as much as possible and still become strong and resilient. Hammers are a great tool because when you hit a tire, it becomes more than a tire, it becomes something you are doing battle with and productively battling your own demons. In reality, a tire is just a tire to use as target practice but in your imagination it's something else.

There are workouts with hammers I have done where at the start, I would just want to go off like a loose cannon but the more I got into it, the more it became meditative and focusing on my breathing while forming as good of a technique as possible because one screw up and you can have issues for a while. That's the beauty with training, you can have all the emotions you want or feel so many things but if you can't channel an exercise to the degree that you can't pay attention to what you're doing, you can get hurt. Regardless of what I'm feeling, when I swing or thrust down a hammer, I would go until the pump in my arms or the tension becomes something I need a break from. Walk it off and breathe and than go again till I'm done.

Depending on your strength and conditioning, if you need to blow off steam and use the hammer and tire, I would recommend a light hammer (no more than 25 lbs) because if its too heavy and you can barely handle it, if you are in that angry state and trying to handle an object too great for your britches, you might end up with broken toes or horrible back and shoulder pain. With a lighter hammer, you can use it for speed and velocity as you go to town on that tire. 

Is it a boss you hate? A co-worker that rubs you the wrong way? Having a bad day? Can't stand how society is and just want to slap everyone upside the head? Channel that anger and make it productive in a positive way because being negative about it over a period of time will be less valuable to everyone. There are times where we are angry and we don't know why but we don't want to keep it in our system. Every time I go out there and smack a tire with Big Barry (my Giants Hammer), I always come out feeling better, less tense and have an overwhelming sense of calm and tranquility. What's your idea of handling Anger in a positive way?