A Full Body Exercise That Hits Just About Everything

Key words to remember "Just About Everything" but still, this exercise is one of the best for overall health but it also is tough to do at first and makes you focus on so many things it's not even funny. It's the Gymnastic Bridge or as it's called in Yoga, Chakarasana or the Wheel Pose. It truly is one of the GOATs in fitness and Physical Culture in general. 

When I first learned it many moons ago, it was just doing the Push-up version of it or as they were called Reverse Push-ups. They're tough to do when they're part of a routine in your arsenal but once you get the idea and hold the top position, you're going to feel one of the biggest stretches ever. Regardless of what size you are, it takes strength to get into and it takes even greater strength just to hold for a period of time. I remember the first time holding it and 10 seconds felt like an eternity. Have no idea what my longest time is in that thing but I do know that in my early 20's, I went to a party once for a cousin of mine at her house and kids were roaming around, so I decided in her living room to hold the Gymnastic Bridge and a number of kids were crawling under me back and forth for a period. Thought that was going to kill me LOL.

The Gymnastic Bridge is just another variation in a series of Bridging Exercises that target multiple muscle groups and forcing the body to work as a single unit. You see this exercise a lot in Yoga circles or in Gymnastics (obviously) and in Wrestling. Guys like Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson would teach this exercise to students to get them in amazing condition in addition to Hindu Squats, Push-Ups and the Wrestler's Bridges. It is a favorite that's for sure.

The idea of it as an Isometric Exercise is to hold it essentially with just the hands and feet on the ground. At first, having the heels up is a good starting point and as you progress, lower the heels until you're completely flat footed. Just the hands and feet alone would be enough but some have been strong enough to take away limbs and hold the exercise with one arm and both feet on the ground, one arm and one leg or do a sequence called Around The Clock which I learned from Logan Christopher. This is more of a skill than anything and yeah it's cool to do if you can do it but the point of the exercise is to feel the stretch, the full body concentration and breathing as naturally as possible.

Once you get the hang of it and can hold it, so many benefits are being thrown into the mix: Control Over Your Body, Strength that is functional, Spinal Health, Agility, Flexibility, The Opening Of The Lungs and hits the Core Muscles unlike any other exercise. Some powerful stuff comes out of doing this exercise. You can do the Reverse Push-ups and get benefits from them too but once you're able to hold it for even 30 seconds to a minute or more, you're getting far better benefit out of it in my opinion. 

I would consider this exercise for the most part a Yielding Isometric meaning that you're fighting gravity in order to hold it. Although I'm a bigger fan of Overcoming Isometrics, some Yielding ones are just awesome and this is one of them. I would sometimes use this exercise as a finisher or as part of my Isometric Training to hit the muscles from everywhere I can think of. Practice this with intent and do a little dynamic "warm up" to help with easing into the exercise like working the wrists, shoulders and hips. These areas are essential to getting into the position because if they're weak, you won't get very far and you'll just be stuck but hey, we all start somewhere. Here's a Demo of what the Gymnastic Bridge looks like.

500 Hindu Squats Or 500 Step Ups? Which One Is Better For You?

The numbers game in fitness and Physical Culture for that matter has been a standard for more than a century sense the time of the Mail-Order Courses. Setting a goal to hit a certain number in an exercise or set of exercises has worked for many but others got stopped in their tracks for whatever reason as well. When you hit a certain number, what's next after that? Going for more sets, more reps, greater tempo, what's the endgame here?

One of the gold standards for numbers in exercises (Push-ups, Squats, Powerlifting) has been the number 500. Who in their right mind came up with that specific number? Why is it a gold standard in powerlifting to have a 500 lb Bench or Deadlift or Squat? What about 500 Push-ups or 500 Hindu Squats? Why does that number have significance? It isn't a knock to it or anything, more of a curiosity in something so arbitrary that was made up by someone or a group of people to sell the idea that it is the real number to tell someone how strong or fit they are. 

The number 500 is a good number and many people have done far more than that in many exercises especially in Powerlifting. After all, isn't it just a number? Does it have any real historic significance especially since that number has been surpassed more times than I care to count. One of the first guys to Bench 500 was I believe the legendary Bodybuilder Reg Park whom by all accounts was one of the last generation of Bodybuilders to train as naturally as possible before Steroids became the staple of Bodybuilding. When Hindu Squats became popular around '99-2000, 500 Hindu Squats was the gold standard to test a person's conditioning. Matt Furey popularized it but the standard itself was "patented" by Karl Gotch that set the tone for a wrestler's test of stamina and physical/mental conditioning which gave the idea of doing 250 Hindu Push-ups, 500 Hindu Squats and a 3 min Bridge to even get in the door as a wrestler. 

Don't get me wrong, I've done 500 Hindu Squats many times from doing a countdown based method, to the 80/20 Protocol (80 Squats, 20 Jumpers) for 5 sets without a break and doing it using a Deck Of Cards that I picked up from an article I read where Catch Wrestler Billy Robinson mentioned the idea of using cards to help with reps. Unless you're a fan of the exercise or want to stay in relative condition for daily life or in sports, it isn't that magnificent of an exercise. It has it's perks and I'll do reps from time to time but after doing 500 so many times, it became boring and it didn't have that spark of excitement to do that many anymore. A few hundred sure, but I don't need some standard to tell me how fit I 'am. If you don't feel a spark or excitement when you exercise, you're just going through the motions and it becomes typical and tedious.

Now on the idea of 500 Step Ups? When it comes down to it, the exercise itself is just like any other that has its perks and drawbacks but for some reason I'm far more drawn to it than the Hindu Squats. Do I think it's better than the squats? Both yes and no. The yes part because I've gotten more out of it than I ever did with the squats and it gives me an opportunity to work one leg at a time which the squats don't. The no part is because in reality, it's just an exercise that I happen to like better, it's not mystical or magical, it's just different. Personally, I'd rather do 500 total reps with Step Ups because it just feels right and gives me a better sense of cardio. I've done 1000 on several occasions (fastest time being 50 minutes) and after hitting that number, it just got boring so whenever I do circuits, I add in those in substitute for squats and would total in most workouts around the 200-300 mark and I'm good. I would also just go for time (10, 20, 30, an hour whatever) and work on sets of 10-20 per leg. 

In reality, 500 of anything is really just a number and it's a great one to set a goal for. If you're into numbers like that, that's awesome and if it makes you happy and keeps you strong and fit, keep doing it. What suits you better, 500 Squats or 500 Step-Ups? The real question is, which one better suits your goals and needs? They both work very well and either one will get in you amazing shape so it's not like one or the other are terrible for you, one just suits better than the other according to a person's fitness and possible interests. With the Squats, you can virtually do them anywhere you want cause all you need is the ground. With Step Ups, since it's in the name (no shit sherlock), you'll need something to step up on like a stool, a log, stairs, rock or whatever but you can find those in most places so it's not like you can't find a place to do them. There's also no reason you can't do both, I've done a workout or two using both myself. 

Use what works for you and harness the enthusiasm and love for them. Sometimes you may hate them because they're tough to do but yet very simple exercises but in the end, love your exercises even if they're hard because the real benefits is what you get out of them both physically and mentally. Train awesomely everyone and have fun. Training is meant to be an adventure, not a chore or something that will make you feel bored. 

Isometrics As A Cardio Workout?

When most think of cardio; it's running or jogging on a treadmill or going around a town or neighborhood or even doing some kind of aerobics like spin classes. Those have their pros and cons like anything else but the real form of cardio comes in so many other things we tend to forget. You can chop wood or swing a sledgehammer smashing a tire, do sprints, work with the slam ball, do hundreds of squats or step ups, hell even do plyometrics. All of these give off a powerful cardio affect that actually is a lot more functional than just pure jogging. However; does Isometrics count as cardio?

The legendary Steve Maxwell has said that some of the best cardio is from strength training and he was referring to more on the Isometrics side of it and for years, I didn't think much of it cause I didn't even think it was possible. Cardio in a nutshell is just exercising to get the heartrate up to a certain level and keeping it there for a good period of time or raise it and lower it in intervals like from Sprints for example. When I started to really understand how easy it was to get the heartrate up during Isometric Workouts, it became clear that Isometrics are one of the best methods for getting in a great cardio session. If you really think about it, you can get some killer cardio from Yoga especially DDP Yoga.

When it comes to Isometrics, you learn to provide how much tension is used within the amount of time you're working a hold. If you don't use a lot of tension say 30% of your strength, you can do a hold for a good amount of time like say trying to do a 5 minute Horse Stance; it doesn't sound like that long but when you keep the tension at a certain point and the muscles start to burn and controlling your breathing, at a certain point, it becomes harder and harder to keep a steady breathing pattern. Your heartrate goes up and starting to sweat and you're not even moving. How crazy is that? Now how about using tension where you only last 7-12 seconds? The amount of tension normally would be around 65-80% of your strength so you're really digging into the hold hard and your breathing pattern is different. It's not the same as if you're using lighter or decreased tension. 

Both short and long duration holds benefit the body well and your breathing is a key in both. Never hold your breath whatsoever in Isometric Training or in most training methods for that matter. Last night I did an Isometric Workout where I did both Overcoming & Hybrid Isometric Exercises for 45 seconds each doing a curl, squat, deadlift, plank, bent arm pushup and dead-bug. Those kicked my ass because after each exercise, I was feeling my heartrate go up and I was pushing/pulling/squatting more in the 60-65% strength range and it felt like an eternity, they were that tough. I was sweating, breathing hard and feeling the pump in some of them. I wasn't even moving yet I came out of that feeling like I just ran a marathon. 

Never underestimate the power of Isometrics. They'll kick your ass in ways you didn't think were possible and can build muscle like crazy (not over-bloated type muscle like in today's bodybuilding) and I mean the type of muscle that hardens and is tight. It teaches how to handle tension and controlling it. Strength & Power beyond belief man and with the cardio aspects of it, that's just icing on top of a killer cake. Now that doesn't mean Isometrics are the end-all-be-all, movement is life after all so do plenty of training that's dynamic to get the best of both worlds. Be strong but be safe as well, training is meant to help prevent injuries, not cause them and Isometrics when done right is one of the safest yet most powerful methods to help build an injury-proof body. 

Lions & Tigers: Hybrid Isometrics To Develop Awesome Strength

Now I know what you're thinking, "What the f*ck do two different wildcats have to do with Isometrics?" Good question...You've heard of the Liger right? The offspring of a Lion & Tiger? They do exist along with nearly a dozen other animal hybrids. A hybrid can take on features and combined levels of that wild strength to develop exceptional DNA that is rare and off the charts powerful. 

Hybrid Isometrics may not have the same realistic comparison but it is a style of training that is a little more advanced than your typical Isometric Exercises. They're the combination of Overcoming & Yielding Isometrics; the ability to go against gravity while also trying to push/pull through a immovable object at the same time. Both styles of Isometrics have their pros and cons like anything else and have used both many times doing Horse Stance Holds, Fist Planks, Curls, Deadlifts, even Arm Wrestling. Combining the two is a whole other level level of Holy Shit.

I first learned about the Hybrid when I read Matt Schifferle's Overcoming Isometric Book. Quite frankly it's one of the best books ever written on the subject and the idea of Hybrid Isometrics fascinated me. It takes the best qualities of the two styles and promotes strength and muscle on a different scale that does take practice to truly understand. The way he puts it is actually pretty simple and not very complicated which I like because in many cases through the fitness industry and social media plague of trainers, complicated explanation and training seems to be the norm and it shouldn't. 

One of the best exercises that targets practically everything is the Hybrid Push-Up which simply enough, you take a strap long enough to wrap around the upper back and be able to give you that stopping point in the pushup with the arms bent and hold it. Even 30 seconds of this can feel like forever and you're shaking like a leaf. Some want to give the idea that the yielding version of the mid pushup plank will develop a harder body and build that mental toughness to create strength which in reality it can but sometimes, once you reach a certain time, what the hell is it really doing? The Hybrid version here builds strength on a different level by fighting both gravity and staying at a sticking point at the same time. The longest time I've ever held this was just over a minute and it just took me down. It's very hard once you understand it and it tells you where your weaknesses are. Here's a 40 second video of me doing it. 

Another great Hybrid Isometric is something you won't find in the Overcoming Book and it's something I thought of that takes the traditional Horse Stance with a Push Press. In Martial Arts like Kung Fu or Karate, the Horse Stance is a staple of many benefits to build strength and endurance in the legs and the longer you hold it, the more the body comes into play. At times to make it even harder to fight gravity, they'll use heavy rings on the wrists and hold the arms outward at chest length. Another idea from this is how football players hold the blocking position and push the Blocking Shields as hard as they can. My Isometric Exercise combines the Blocking Position while Pushing The Dummies basically. I didn't invent this obviously but it was just a thought of in my head and went with it. I held this for about two minutes and it hits so many muscles and really tackles the tendons and ligaments in the knees, shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles. 

These exercises will give you a different set levels of strength that can be used for real life and harness a different level of the mind/muscle connection that puts things in perspective. I said before, they're an advanced level of Isometrics so learn the mechanics and holds of both Overcoming & Yielding. I've written that Overcoming Isometrics are basically the Game Genie Of Fitness and Yielding is like a secondary cousin but together, they'll skyrocket strength levels you didn't think existed. It's helped my strength in many areas but I'm also just learning more about them and testing exercises that are not in my normal state of training so my analysis isn't there yet. Grab the book from Matt and his other books like Micro Workouts, Grind Style Calisthenics & his new book Suspension Calisthenics.  

Bridging Between Worlds

The world between mainstream fitness today as opposed to yesteryear can seem like night and day but in a sense, they blend together but in a different context. Back in the day, fitness had it's share of quacks and posers but the real deal focused mainly on conditioning, flexibility and control. Plenty of muscle to go around but in the true sense of what muscle could achieve (this was before the days of Steve Reeves & Reg Park) with the other attributes. Guys like Arco and Maxick were the true muscle gods of their time but they were also very flexible and had greater control over their movements than practically any bodybuilder today.

When you can control your body and become flexible in several positions, there's a sense of well-being there that have a lot to do with how you can go through life. I'm not even talking about Yoga type flexibility but the type where it can be a continuous process of utilizing movements to make things in life better. It's one of the reasons I've always been fond of the Bridge or a blend of Bridging Exercises to establish a solid level of flexibility and condition. The Bridge has become a various blend of training that is used in different systems like Yoga, Gymnastics & Wrestling. It's not even about just training the neck but to control the whole body and developing the awareness of using the body as a single unit.

The two favorites are the Wrestler's Bridge & The Gymnastic Bridge where you practically bend the body to looking like something to cross over. I'm no yogi but over the years those bridges have been a life saver and have given me flexibility, strength and agility that I never thought I'd be able to accomplish in my teenage years. These two have several progressions and each one can be very beneficial but they're not for everyone and I can understand that. For those who do wish to learn them, blend into them little to by little, they're not some exercises you can just jump into, it takes quite a bit of strength to do some of them and takes a certain level of awareness in order to be comfortable being upside down or bending backwards.

When it comes to the Gymnastic Bridge, to me is one of the greatest stretches ever but the strength to get into it can be quite a feat when you're not in the 120-160 lb range lol. To build the strength takes progression but it also takes some coordination and working the body in unison. 

The progressions do need to be proceed with caution but at the same time, can be fun and teaches you how to control your fear of going backwards or getting into the realm of "Bridging Gymnastics" where you learn to fall into a bridge and do kickovers. For the most part, just learning to do the Wrestler's Bridges and Gymnastic Bridges are actually awesome in and of themselves because you don't need to be an Olympic Wrestler or Gymnast to do them. Hell many big guys can't do these so even a 50-100 lb lighter person would have a better speed of progression. They're incredible for conditioning the body in a different light than purely regular stretching or strength training. They can be lifesavers as I've mentioned before.

It is best to learn from a coach who knows how to do them but money can be tight for many so learning from someone who's been there and done that can be learned in a cheaper setting such as this awesome Gem!!! I started out with Matt Furey's Gama Fitness when it came to more of the Bridging progressions but Logan Christopher helped me fill in the blanks and has witnessed me up close and personal do my first kickover in the wrestler's bridge. He truly is one of the gifted ones and I can't thank him enough for that and that day will live with me forever. I've done plenty of stuff since then doing kickovers in workouts, holding a 3 min bridge whenever I feel like it and making the Gymnastic Bridge a go-to for getting that perfect stretch. 

These days, bridging workouts come and go and have done demos on YouTube and Tik Tok to give people ideas on what the progressions look like and how I've performed them. It has become a bridge between worlds as these exercises showcase what the ancients knew all along and what they've evolved into. They do however, have benefits that we still have yet to explain and you can do research on them but for the most part, they develop our bodies in ways that are beautiful and old school. Be careful but also make them a part of your training and see the benefits for yourself.

  

I've Failed And The Lesson I'm Learning From It

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life...And that is why I succeed."- Michael Jordan

Failing is a powerful teacher that comes often in our lives. I've failed to do 100 Burpees in a row, I've failed to keep a program going for more than 6 weeks and most importantly, I've failed myself for believing that certain things whether from a fitness standpoint or personally would make me happier or fall in love with because others have told me to. One of the biggest things I've ever had to deal with in my life was letting others down because I didn't live up to the hype or the expectations. Most of the time, very few people give a shit what you do and the rest just don't care but want to spew how much of a failure you are. 

I've said it over and over again that when I talk about what I'm going to do or what my goals are and end up failing because I've talked about it just puts me in a dark state yet I've repeated it time and time again. Many get it, but many also just want to tear you a part for it because you're not what you're expected to be. I'm no fitness god or some perfect specimen, I'm just a guy, one of 7 1/2 billion on this planet who's had some success but plenty of failures like anybody else. Just a speck in the universe. If you don't like what I write or have an issue with what I say, than walk away. Don't read my stuff, no need to make asshole comments just so you can be noticed, the more you hassle somebody because you can't stand them, the more it says about you than the person writing. 

That's easier said than done because I've gotten caught up in the web of making snarky and negative comments towards people and have failed over and over to just walk away. I need to take my own advice on many things and learn to take things for what they are and pay attention more to who I really trust in this world. Very few in my life I trust and one of them isn't here anymore that I can talk to. I understand this article comes off as a pity party and I'm just begging for attention when the truth is; this is just me being human and sharing with you a side of me that is about as real as you can get until you've actually been around me and not just go by what I've written.

There is this fear people have of being open about their failures. I'm no exception but I also know who will tell me the truth, the real truth because they know me best. If you don't know me outside of the web, you have no reason to tell me the truth or have the faintest idea of what the truth is with me. So if you plan on making any comments good or bad, think twice about what you plan on saying.

Being happy in reality, is a mindset. I know this and it's a constant learning thing for me. Exercise and fitness makes me happy but very few methods I'm in love with. The type of love for exercise where I know regardless of how I do it, I never will have a movie star body or have heads turn from every other person walking down the street but I will bust my ass for the thing that I love and gives me joy. There's always going to be someone stronger, faster and far better looking than I'll ever be but that's ok. My expectations are from myself, not from somebody else and how I do things is not perfect, never will be and the way I train is what makes me happy. 

You'll never see me do the best looking pullup or the most awesome pushup, I don't have the patience to do 1000 or even 500 Squats anymore, I don't have a great looking set of Core Muscles but I know how strong they are, I move weird in certain animal exercises but that's what the universe gave me. I know what I can do and constantly learning what I'm capable of. What I can do has kept me strong and durable for the longest time, what I can do, helps others and what I can do, inspires a lot. I've also failed at doing things that weren't meant for me in the first place and tried to live up to others' ideas. 

I'm not meant to do someone else's program to the "T", I wasn't meant to live up to those who don't really matter and I'm damn sure I wasn't meant to be affiliated with a company that by all accounts, has a guy who thinks he's hot shit and acts like he's god's gift to fitness when he looks like Twiggy and can't properly set up a camera to get a good angle for exercises. If you feel the need to film yourself being in a dark ass room and nobody can see you but you want everyone to listen to you, you might want to just put out an audio. Anyway, the real lesson here is, failure is a part of life, the real success is how we break through it and keep fighting to get what makes us successful. 

Sprint 8 Without The Machinery And Summer Results So Far

Changing things up can be a good thing so you can stay interested and take on a different style of the training you're working on. Since about late May, I was working on Hill Sprints and up until now did around 60 Sprints in that time ranging from 4-5 per workout at 10-15 seconds each. I would take about a 20 minute walk to the hill, do my sprints and walk back 20 minutes. It was good for a while but was feeling burnt out and needed to change things up. Doing research and seeing what could work for me, I found the Sprint 8 Program.

Doing a couple workouts with Sprint 8 so far and it's tough but I have greater energy and the timing is better for me since I can practically do it anywhere and not always exhaust myself. If you ever read the course by Phil Campbell it's simply a workout where you do an exercise for 30 seconds fast and "rest" for 90 seconds for 8 rounds. The workout itself takes less than 15 minutes all together and only 4 minutes of intense training.  

The program itself is not really that new and the concept itself as I recall was originally "founded" by Dr. Lawrence Moorhouse who had athletes do this with Burpees or Step Ups (can't remember which one exactly) but it's a good program. Campbell updated this protocol in the modern age by using it for cardio machines that's actually pre-set to the protocol. There's a warm up period, the workout and a cool down which all together takes 20 minutes. This is to be done 3x a week which the trial run is 8 weeks. 

I don't use machines so I just do Burpees for this particular workout because as a bodyweight exercise, Burpees are the closest to the most intense, fat burning and weight loss exercise you can do next to sprint training. The rest period is just walking it off. I would start with a few minutes of Joint Loosening and than get right to it. When I'm done, I hop in the shower and do recovery work the rest of the day. The workout itself is less than 15 but if you include the joint loosening its about 18-19 minutes) and that is perfect for me. 

You don't need machines to do this workout (which I just showed), you can do this with slam balls, bodyweight exercises, sprints in place, Burpees, Step Ups, weights just about whatever your imagination can come up with, just do something fast for 30 seconds and actively rest for 90 for 8 rounds, that's it. With the Hill Sprints and this workout so far, I've lost 7-9 pounds and put on some muscle but it's still a work in progress and got a ways to go so I just need to trust the process. I didn't even diet that much if at all and the pounds were still slowly but surely coming off. 

Who knows where I might go with this but at the moment, I like it and it could lead to my best physique ever but I'm not looking for the beach body, just be in better shape and be in better health little by little. As of July 4th, I've gone from 267 lbs. to 258 lbs. (Pictures at 258), would like to be a little under 250 by the time I turn 38. Is it possible? We shall see.

Isometrics As A Recovery Tool

When we push ourselves, more than likely we will be sore the next day or feel less than 100% of what we can do the next day. Many of us have experienced this and sometimes it's because we do things our bodies weren't ready for yet or just went a little bit further than we should've but it happens. At least being sore means you're not dead but very often, being sore also means you pushed more than what you needed to progress. In reality, you just feel slightly worn down but not out. 

There are different kinds of soreness but the most common one is the muscles aching and you're feeling it the next day or have trouble sleeping. I've been so sore that when I was a teen, I couldn't get out of bed and felt like an 90 year old man just wanting to die. I've also been sore that although I can feel it everywhere, it didn't stop me from training and doing something else to stay active. Funny how things are as you get older and wiser.

Recovery is as important as the training itself and we sometimes forget that. It's the yin and yang and we need to find that balance. I do believe in doing something everyday even if its for 5 minutes regardless if I'm sore or not. Most days, I can just go and not feel sore at all but every now and then, one of those workouts that just rocks you and tries to tear you down. Recovery should be about resting, lower impact training and time to work on keeping the joints healthy as the body repairs itself. This is where Isometrics can be an incredible recovery tool.

Using Isometrics as a method of recovery is essential and we don't always understand that. It doesn't have any impact on the joints, doesn't take up much time and they can be just as cardio based as they can be strength based, just need to know which buttons to push for that. Overcoming Isometrics are amazing for this. Yielding can be just as good but Overcoming (from my experiences) harness a level of strength training without the fear of pushing so damn hard you'll be out for a week. Whether using a wall, a strap or yourself, Isometrics can work the body without overlapping what you're recovering from fitness wise. If you get injured, that's a whole other thing and it isn't the same as having sore muscles for a day or two.

Most days, I never feel sore and can go pretty hard but every now and then, one of those workouts that just knocks you on your ass and you need time to repair happens but it shouldn't stop you from training. That's what I love about Isometrics, I don't have to push myself hard to get in a good workout and I'm still getting quality recovery. They're a go to whenever I want to do them and get some awesome cardio benefits from doing 45 sec to 1 minute holds. Most of the time I don't go beyond a minute because mainly of my attention span otherwise it's just a boring hold and testing the "endurance" side of it. A minute may not seem like much but if you truly understood how Isometrics work, it can be the longest minute of your life (just try the hybrid push-up). 

You don't need to bust your ass every single workout. Some people can get away with it but if you push beyond the soreness, it can lead to injury. I'm not saying you shouldn't challenge yourself but to be efficient in your training and everyday life, you need to have quality "rest" and being active to the degree where you're giving yourself proper recovery without going gung ho all the time. Stay as active as you can but don't overexert so much it puts you in bad positions where you can't work or do what you need to do. The older we get, the more quality of training we must be able to maintain and at some point, Isometrics would be a godsend to have in your arsenal. 

Recover well guys and get the most out of your training with quality exercises and tools to stay in shape regardless of your age or sex.  

It's Not A Chore...It's An Adventure

Exercise was never meant to be easy because if it was, we wouldn't understand the meaning of the words Progression, Strength, Perseverance & Physical/Mental Conditioning. That doesn't mean it can't be fun or made interesting. Have we lost our sense of imagination to get the most out of our training? I don't think so, many have really just suppressed it and locked it up whether they knew it or not and don't know where the key is. When we do find it and use it to as much of its potential as we can do, it becomes in a sense "effortless" to reach for as high as we want to go. 

Take into consideration what gives us the greatest benefits and proceed to make it the most kick ass thing we can do. Training, in a realistic sense, teaches us to hone skills and build strength within ourselves to be the best we can be. Sure we go through phases and follow certain programs or protocols but in the end, it's up to us to make the most of it. Yeah we do stupid stuff sometimes but going through the stupid stuff helps us grow and understand what not to do yet for some, doing stupid stuff is all they know and don't know any better and that's a damn shame.

The adventure part is when we don't know what's out there on the horizon, but there is something out there for us to find. There's a buried treasure hidden and when you find it, utilize its contents to your desires or you can hang onto it for dear life and find a way to make the most out of that treasure. We all have a chest of precious gold and jewels hidden away somewhere (e.g, the best programs in our arsenal) but we can't always use them the same exact way as everyone else, there's spending and trading which is common but in this sense, it's about investing in what gives us great benefit to thrive and get back more in our investment. 

We may make mistakes on our adventure but we also learn what makes us work hard and play harder to have the time of our lives. Exercise really is an adventure but we must find it in ourselves, no one is going to do it for us. Be adventurous and be on the lookout as the sun sets and/or rises because you never what's out there in them open waters. 

Sprint 8 Protocol

Grind Style Calisthenics

Thor's Hammer Herbal Package

Overcoming Isometrics

Two Workouts, One Morning

At least that's better than 2 and 1 of something else (kudos to who gets the joke) but that's when you're just ready to go at a quarter to 5 in the morning and have some energy to burn. First workout this morning was 20-5 Yard Bear Crawl Sprints because that's what I felt like doing. That kind of workout will humble anyone and get those lungs firing like a mofo. This particular workout is great if you want to get in something quick and that'll kick your ass. 

I'm really not a morning person so if I happen to be up in the morning, I have to do something in order to get some endorphins kicking in otherwise leave my ass alone LOL. Training in the morning is actually one of the few things that puts a smile on my face. Hell on the day me and my girl left for Auburn, WA for a concert, I did Hill Sprints just so I can feel ready for the trip. Most days, I do one or two workouts during the day but rarely two in one morning so I guess I really needed to just let shit out.

The second workout wasn't as intense but it was just as good and that was doing some several Overcoming Isometric exercises for 45 seconds each. Been a while since I've done a full Iso Workout so I figured what the hell and just hold certain positions (Curl, Deadlift, Wall Sit, Dead Bug for example) for a brief period. Felt really good and really enjoying the flow it gives after a workout. The last exercise was the Hybrid Pushup for 45 seconds and that made me shake like leaf. It's actually not as easy as it looks and the longer you hold it, the more you'll feel it. 

Doing several workouts throughout the day can actually be a good thing because you're keeping yourself active and you're giving yourself plenty of time to rest. Short and Intense is the key but sometimes, those short workouts can kick your ass so hard that you'll need a nap afterwards. Not a bad idea since that will release HGH which helps put on leaner muscle and burn calories like Margaret Hamilton does to Water. 

Whenever I finish playing the animal dice game, I would kick back on the couch, let everything sink in and just feel relaxed and at peace, been known to fall asleep for about a half hour and waking up feeling like I just had a good night of sleep. It puts you into a better mood that's for sure. Every now and then, you might cough up a little since you put your lungs through the ringer, just be careful. It isn't uncommon to happen but that's basically giving your body a chance to release some crappy toxins and help you be healthier. At least that's what I've experienced. 

Train with a vengeance but also train with intent. Get the most out of it and have a blast.