My 10 Favorite Bodyweight Exercises

When I train, I want to get the best out of it whether it be for 5 min. or a whole hour because not only do I want to get a great workout I want to feel good and energetic at the end of it no matter what. We all have our favorite Exercises that we like to do and we sometimes forget how good they can really be. We even change them up sometimes or make a variation of them to create a challenge. I for one have many exercises that I mastered and can do at just about anytime I wanted but theres always certain favorites I like to do every once in a while and I have picked and neither of these are any better then the next but they are very important and some are pretty difficult and some are pretty simple to learn. Without further ado here are my favorite Exercises.....

Sumo Squats

Hill Sprints

Bridging

Bear Crawls

Pull-ups

Gorilla Walks

Crab Walks

Hindu Squats

Tablemakers

Sumo Side Splits

Now why would I pick these specific exercises? Because for obvious reasons they're fun to do. Some you may notice are squat variations and I picked them because however you look at it, squats are the foundational exercises for burning off fat and building overall muscle. The legs are the largest parts of the body and we must strive to not only keep them strong but flexible because as we age one of the things we start to lose is the flexiblity in our legs.

They are a major key to how we get around places and how strong our development is. Some of the other exercises I have chosen like bear crawls and Crab Walks are because they use all four limbs in the body and can get you out of breath much faster then most exercises, do one of them and time yourself 2 minutes and see how long you last. Tablemakers are really the only push-up variation I do these days because I just have very little interest in push-ups because I get bored after doing high volume reps and with the animal exercises I can move around on both arms and legs and I get more out of it.

Not saying Push-ups are not good, they are, if one is getting into bodyweight exercises the first exercise they should learn is the push-up. Hill Sprints on the other hand are one if not the best exercise for burning off fat faster then anything else. Because of the huffing and puffing you get very quick it generates more Human Growth Hormone and the heat it builds up in your body.

Why did I choose Sumo Squats as a favorite exercise? For one its different unlike other variations. Two because of the other parts of the legs that work not only the thighs but the inner and outer portions of the thighs. Look at sumo wrestlers. They may not be the most durable athletes but they are strong, fast, agile and flexible. So why not take a picture out of their training and if you're an athlete in any sport this exercise can go a long way beyond just getting out of breath and building flexibility, it teaches you where to position the legs and the balance it requires you to take on. For wrestling these can help you very much because in wrestling you need to work the body in various angles for control and power and when you do sumo squats it shows you how to pivot the feet so when you're ready to make a move either defensive or offensive you'll know when to pivot to make your move much more explosive and powerful.

Again we all have our favorite exercises but the key is to not just do them in moderation, do them with feeling, power and will so when you train them you make them the way they ought to be. This is a major factor to learning self reliance and creating your own program for your needs of strength & conditioning.

Burning Fat & Building Muscle With Animal Exercise......

There are many ways tro burn fat and build muscle. We lift weights, use cardio machines, we run, do push-ups, squats, sit-ups or pull-ups and these are all good in some way shape or form. However you slice it the more muscles you use in an exercise the more work you're putting in and burning calories and fat much faster then working individual muscles. Many people believe you need more then an hour and a half three times a week to get great results and getting a steady heart rate to burn fat. Not true at all. One of the fastest and most simple ways to train, burn fat and build muscle quick is to get outside and move on all fours for a few min. and before you know it you're breathing hard. When this happens great things in your body begin to form as your HGH levels spring up, testosterone comes into play and muscle is being built quicker then ever. Plus with the jumps in HGH levels this will help you stay younger and stay healthy. Animal-like Exercise can carry over to many other things in your life and can even help spring up your brain activity. Eddie Baran has a course exactly for all these things called Animal Kingdom Conditioning.

When it comes down to training like a wild animal you are building a foundation of turning back the clock, gaining confidence and among other things your sex drive will go through the roof. Learn to get a great cardio workout in less then 2 min. Make your upper body stronger then the average human and create explosive power unlike anything else. Click/Type the link below and

Animal Kingdom Conditioning

Tumbling To The Top

One of the basic moves in Gymnastics is to learn how to tumble forward, backward, side to side, dives ect. It takes a good amount of balance and strength to do a backhand spring and its harder to do flips. Some of the moves I can do are pretty simple as far as basics go but I can't do a backhand spring, I'm too big of a tree to do that, plus I like falling into a bridge on my head and kicking over and back better. But if you're looking to get better at Tumbling or just starting out theres only one guy I know who can help take you to the top as far as I know and thats Logan Christopher. He's a good friend of mine and as far as I know he's one of the best trainers in the world and this is one of his specialties. Taking you from a basic forward roll to backhand springs he'll help you along the way for you to becoming a master tumbler. He's given me some awesome tips and its helped my bridging and its helped me carry over to things I want to do its that powerful. Learning from some of the biggest names in Physical Culture, he's put ingrediants together to bring the best in putting not only your Tumbling skills to the test but if you make an effort he'll even throw in a few secrets to get your training going a bit quicker. You will learn safety, what to do, not to do and where to have the best alignment to get great results for your tumbling skills. Get into and learn some of the best gymnastics without needing to be a gymnast.

How We Can Learn From Rocky Balboa

For most us we've seen the Rocky movies and how motivational they are when it comes to adversity, the never say die attitude and the way he does his conditioning. One of my all-time favorite training scenes was in Rocky IV where in Russia he moved through the snow, chopping down trees, lifting a cart of people in the press, pull-ups, jump rope and bear crawling a sled. That's the type of conditioning a true man learns to posses. As oppose to Drago who used machines, took steroids, used technology and look what happens, he got taken out by the underdog. Whether or not you feel weights make a great athlete yet in some cases they do.


In the days of the Cavemen, they needed, to adapt in order to survive, they swam, ran, threw, pushed heavy boulders, wrestled and take down some of the roughest things put in front of him. To me that's a great definition of Rocky, he adapts, he puts himself in awkward situations and makes an effort to get strong from all angles. To weightlifting is a great way to get in shape but it only goes so far as that and conditioning using different angles and training in awkward ways. Get out and train like a caveman or better yet train in a way like Rocky, something we all can learn from.

Handstand Video

Hello,




Have you ever thought about learning how to do a handstand?



Well my friend, Logan Christopher, is doing something radical. You see, he runs a site called Lost Art of Hand Balancing where he teaches people how to do just that.



He has taken one of his best-selling DVD's, something that has sold hundreds of copies at $29.95, and he is now literally giving it away online, no strings attached.



I think he’s crazy for doing this, but he is doing it!



http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4037383



What's so great about this video? In this close to half hour video Logan takes a systematic approach to the handstand. The problem with trying to do a handstand is it's way beyond the ability of someone starting out.



You can try to do it but you'll end up frustrated. That's the long slow path. In fact, many give up.



Instead, you should break it down into component parts, working on lead-up stunts, which teach you the necessary skills, but in an easy manageable way. This cuts your learning curve by over half.



Logan has laid this all out in his handstand system, including a sample nine week plan that can take you from zero to holding a freestanding handstand for 30 seconds.



Be warned. This may not be around forever so jump on this chance while you have it. Check it out.



http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4037383



Ben Bergman

Would you like to learn from 10 top strength training and endurance building experts out there?




What if it was all for FREE?



http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4037382



Bud Jeffries and Logan Christopher are putting together the Super Human Training Teleseminar Series. This is a series of interviews with people like Mike Mahler, Adam Glass, Roger Lapointe, Andrew Durniat and many more.



All you have to do is signup on this page and you’ll be able to listen in live on these calls where the experts spill their training secrets. What works for them. What works with the people they teach and train. The mistakes they’ve made and how you can avoid them.



Plus you get the chance to ask your own questions. This is top training information, from guys in the trenches on what really WORKS!



http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4037382



If you get one thing that can impact your training for the better it would be worth it. And with this lineup you’re sure to learn more than one thing.



Go to this page for more details and to signup today.



http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4037382



Ben Bergman



P.S. While the calls are free, there will be some offers made and if you take them up on what they have, which is great stuff, I may make a commission off it. That being said this comes with my highest recommendation and, after all, it costs you nothing to sign up.

Wrestling As A Science?

 For many thousands of years, the sport of wrestling has evolved from resulting conflicts to a wide spectacle of entertainment. When we hear the term Wrestling we often come up with WWE, TNA, College Wrestling, USA Wrestling. Those are the main things we refer as wrestling today but long before those terms were even thought of, wrestling was a pure sport where you had men and women fought until someone gave up or was pinned. In India and Iran wrestling was considered the national sport (might still be depending who you talk to) and had champions that were some of the most fearsome athletes in the world. One of them was/still is considered the greatest wrestler of all-time and that was Ghulam Muhammad a.k.a The Great Gama who was undefeated in over 5000 matches. Same can be said here in the U.S where you had great wrestlers such as Frank Gotch, Martin "Farmer" Burns, Ed Caddock and Ed "Strangler" Lewis. There was one wrestler that went to the Olympics and never once surrendered a point in the entire tournamant. That was a feat that hasn't done before or since and his name is the legendary Dan Gable.

 Wrestling really is by far the hardest form of physical and mental conditioning. There are awesome gymnasts, unreal baseball players and unbelieveable football players but wrestlers are of a different breed. They have to train harder then anybody else in my opinion. I'm not talking just college wrestling but wrestling ingeneral. The conditioning needed would make a highly conditioned football player cry. I once tried out for wrestling in high school and it was the roughest thing I ever went through i'm talking just about non-stop training w. running, push-ups, wrestling, bridging, bear crawls ect. At the time I hated it even though I wanted to try competitive wrestling and ended up hurting my knee and quit the team after barely a week. From every angle you need to master defensive and offensive moves otherwise you are dead and if your conditioning is not up to par, you won't last very long.

 Nowadays other then Pro Wrestling in WWE & TNA, wrestling has become very popular in MMA Competitions such as the UFC & DREAM (formely Pride Fighting) with such big names as Randy Couture, Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes & Kazushi Sakuraba. These guys are some of the toughest athletes in the last 2 decades and its not hard to find that not only are they good at what they do but they can just about take down anyone. Yet one form of wrestling is making a comeback and can be seen by such names as Brock Lesnar & Josh Barnett and thats Catch-As Catch-Can Wrestling.

 CACC has been around for hundreds of years and one of the most famous schools on this type of submission fighting is refered to as the Snake Pit in Wigan, England where big wrestling stars such as Karl Gotch & Billy Robinson trained. To me these 2 guys from what i've read are by far the most brutal wrestlers of their era. Even though they were pro wrestlers they could literally take out anyone they wanted and they knew how to break a bone or two. Billy Robinson however is one of the last remaining Wigan Wrestlers alive to be teaching and coaching other wrestlers. I have some Wrestling Training DVDs by him that are a very rare treasure to have because its like watching History unfold infront of your eyes. He may not look like the man he once was but his knowledge for wrestling is Surreal and whoever wants to learn should have these DVDs in their Collection.


 Because of the growing rate of CACC Wrestling its become moreof a science just as it was back in the old days and how you can learn to be a great wrestler not just for compeition but for self defense and taking advantage over your opponent. The man who has produced this Science Of Wrestling is Jake Shannon and he's spreading the word on Scientific Wrestling the way it should be looked and trained like. If you want to learn the best of the best in Wrestling go Scientific Wrestling Online....There are banners in the right hand corner down the page and check them out. You might find techniques that can help your training by 10 Fold and has some of the best coaches in the world on the science of Wrestling such as Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Dan "The Beast" Severn and the greatest pinner of all-time Wade Schalles. To take your wrestling to the next level get your hands on these DVDs & Books I highly recommend them and you'll find gems you can't find anywhere else.

Building Self Mastery

In fitness terms if we want to have the best program we need to find exercises to suit our body's structure and our weight to body ratios. In other words there is no way possible to train the same way if someone at 240 pounds tried the same program with someone at 150 pounds. In the magazines they slide in standard programs and ideas that would fit the average person to become super strong. For the most part the average person can't even touch an ounce of the program they Mags provide.

Back in the early 20th century where Physical Culture boomed and courses were in hundreds of thousands of young wo/men's hands and the programs were obsolete compared to the muscle mags today. A good portion of the courses gave basics to the trainee and taught intermediate and advanced programs to help the progress but unlike the mags today these courses taught how to master your own training. The intuitive part of our brains conjure up where we learn certain things and how things work or not.

When we learn the basics of exercise we should remember that the best program is when which exercises works best for us. The one person who was best at this in his time was Alois P. Swoboda with his course Concious Evolution. In his course for physical training he made custom programs to help his students achieve superior results for their body structure. This taught others how to intuitively create the exercise for themselves to control the muscles.

In lamens terms the only thing that we need to do is learn the basics then intuitively learn the program that best suits us. Work with whats best for you and you alone. Don't really need to do other people's programs.

Animal Fitness For Kids

In this day and age obesity is at a high rate and most of it is blamed on food habits, not enough exercise and pressures to be fit. Its no surprise that kids don't have the will to want to get fit. No matter how you look at it, certain fitness methods not only turn kids away but it just flat out looks dumb to them. For the most part Fitness should be fun and not have pressure to do the sets/reps scheme just go out and do it. Thats what I love about animal exercises. You just move around like a wild animal that you have a favorite of and just doing it for a couple minutes is all thats needed to start. I've worked on Animal movements and I get out of breath quick and I love that, the challenge and the motive to do better. For kids it needs to fun and wonderful experience because it can help them not get better physically but mentally and emotionally as well. When they learned how to structure a way to make it fun it can carry over to their studies and homework. Parents should be involved with them and help them. Working out as a family can create a strong bond and teach the kids how they can be happy and sociable. Check out Wild Animal Fitness For Kids and help them get on the path to being strong, healthy and very importantly happy.


Wild Animal Fitness For Kids

How to spread out your training

For those of you who have trouble working out during the day and feel that a big workout might wear you out, theres a way to keep your training going to keep your energy up and thats to spread it out during the day. I train everyday 7 days a week and there are times where I can't get in the amount of time of training I want to do so I spread out the workout during the day, doing a few stretches here and there and do some isometrics. You see you don't need to do one large workout everyday or even a few times a week. This is good for traveling as well because you can't always get to a gym and theres the trouble with jet lag when you get off a plane and try to get to a motel. Its a pain in the ass at times. So if you travel do some isometrics while waiting for your plane or even on the plane itself.

You can even workout without anyone knowing about it. Heres an example, every couple years or so I go to disneyland for either my b-day or for a few days in the summer and as I stand in line for the rides I do isometrics by pressing or pulling from different angles on the rails or ropes or even on the wall (try it sometime trust me its fun) and sometimes I would do self resistance exercises. You can workout in the oddest of places even at the happiest place on earth.

Its all about being able to adapt and improvise while on the road or even at home. Take my advise whatever you do don't press down on the fireplace in Mickey's House it would suck to have to pay for it. Thought i'd throw in a little joke, couldn't resist but the important thing is no matter where you are, you can be your own gym.

How To Get Out Of Breathe Fast & How That Can Help Your Fitness

When we workout we feel that we need an hour and a half in the gym in order to get our blood pumping and our muscles jacked up. What if we can reduced that by not just a great percentage but even drop the timing to less then 10 min. Not only can your workout be incredible and challenging but you will be building muscle and creating natural human growth hormone at the same time. My 2 Favorite ways of doing this is to pick 4-5 different animal exercises and hammer them each for 30 seconds then repeat the sequance about 2-3 times. Another favorite is running hill sprints. Doing these can amp up your conditioning to levels unimaginable. You only need a hill thats about 50-70 yards long and need to do only 4-8 sets. Now for each sprint do you need to go at 100%? No just a good percentage say 25-35%. Each time you sprint try to go a little further each set. For rest just walk back down to the bottom of the hill slowly. For the Animal Circuits take a small break to catch your breath then get back to it. Hill Sprints are needed only 2-3 times a week because of the recovery periods needed in order to let your body build back up from really hard training. If you don't have hills then run sprints on a field. Adapt to what you can do and take your conditioning to the top.

Hand Balancing & The Power Of Inverted Training

However you look at it Handbalancing is by far one of the most difficult methods of self mastery over the human body. When you're upside down it seems like a whole different world and its mysterious and very unusual feeling of not always knowing whats going to happen or how you are suppose to stay up. For the most part it takes awareness and strength to a whole new level and with enough practice you can do things that not only will it amaze people but you will have control over your body not many people in the world can do.

To get a glimpse of modern hand balancing take a look at the men and women of gymnastics or Circ De Solei, the requirement for their sport/profession is to be master hand balancers because of a lot of the stunts require to be on the hands. It is amazing and breathtaking to see some of the best athletes at what they do. I've seen a gymnastic event and seen A Mid-Summer Nightmare which had acts of Hand balancing and tumbling and martial arts and just about every time I saw a scene I was taken back by it by how it it just engulfs your mind on how these people are so strong and coordinated they are. Now not too many of us in our adult years have the luxery of joinging a gymnastics class and becoming a good hand balancer/gymnast so is there a betterr way to learn?

As a matter of fact there is and one guy that I know of has some of the best knowledge on Hand Balancing there is. He is a good friend of mine named Logan Christopher. His background is on Gymnastics, Old-time Strongman, Kettle Bell Instructor, Personal Trainer and is on his way to being one of the strongest men in the world for the thing he performs. I've trained with him and this is no joke he's one of the strongest guys I've ever met and seen him hold some pretty awesome handstands. So its safe to say this guy knows his stuff and anything he just about puts out is a gold star in my book.

Not only is Logan promoting the Art Of Hand Balancing he's helping spread the word about it as some of the best Physical Culturists in the world did many moons ago back in the days of Vaudville and Circus Acts of the early 20th Century. Some of the biggest names did Hand Balancing in their training. Men like Otto Arco, Maxick, Sig Klein, Bob Jones, John Davis, John Grimek, Bert Azzerati, George Hackenschmidt and believe it or not the living legend Jack Lalanne. All these men have done some form of hand balancing and were some of the strongest men in the world before the use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs. That should give you a clear idea of what you can accomplish with pure will, practice, patience and amazing power.

I'm not a Hand Balancing expert but I can tell you from my own experiences its hard and not easy at all (redundent I know) but I have held a handstand for a period of time thats pretty good for a guy my size at well over 235 pounds. So whether you're big, small or inbetween, this form of training can teach you what it truely means to have control over your own body. Even holding a position is pretty darn impressive but when you get to walking on your hands or doing push-ups thats in the realm of dreams and it can be yours if you practice it. Check out Legendary Strength or Lost Art Of Hand baancing websites on the right side of the screen and learn the Lost Art Of Hand Balancing and believe me they are worth every penny many times over.

Legendary Strength

Lost Art Of Hand Balancing

Fitness Tools To Spice Up Your Conditioning

If you're a lifter, strongman, body weight enthusiast or starting training you want to have top quality tools to make your conditioning that much better then the next guy. For me every now and then I would throw my sledgehammer around, do some swings, levers or holding at a certain angle to not only strengthen my grip but to get me breathing hard and when you are training hard and breathing hard, growth hormone comes into play and that helps build muscle, jack up your heart rate, building tendon strength from angles certain methods can't touch. If I were to recommend top quality tools for conditioning it be from Ryan Pitts' Stronger Grip.

From maces to clubs to hammers he's got it. I have had the pleasure of using a couple of the clubs and his hammer and I will tell you off hand they are tough as hell. If you're new to them start with a weight that you're comfortable with and can do a significant number of reps and sets. I'm a body weight guy at heart so I don't do very heavy weight when it comes to equipment but when I need that extra edge and hit muscles from angles body weight exercises can't touch then I would hit the clubs or hammer. It doesn't take much to get you breathing fast and when that happens you're burning off fat like a furnace. Check out Ryan's stuff tell him I sent you and get the quality you deserve for the best conditioning you can create for you and get stronger then the average human. Take a look on the right side of the screen and get your butt in gear. In the words of Benarr McFadden "Weakness is a crime, don't be a criminal."

Benefits Of Hill Sprinting

Lets face it many trainers feel that if you want to burn fat you do thousands of crunches, run for miles on end and needing to bounce the joints for a good period of time. Well that may be all good in a fantasy world but those guys are forgeting a few things..

1. How does it affect their health?

2. Is it really helping their natural growth hormone?

3. How bored do you have to be to do all those things?

4. How do these things not injure the joints?

Seriously though there are many ways to burn fat and build muscle but very few training methods not only build these 2 at the same time but get them done almost instant. One of those methods is Hill Sprinting. Flat sprinting is another method but Hill Sprints take on a very unique form of training that gets you out of breath quicker then anything else just about. When you get out of breath and huffing and puffing like you just ran down a gazelle your body is producing endorphins through the roof and your hormones jump up like Superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

It doesn't take that long of a workout, 50-70 yards each set is all you need to get the high of your life. No more then 4-8 sets and with consistancy 2-3 times a week you'll burn fat like a damn furnace. Besides having a quick workout that only takes minutes rather then hours is far more rewarding and fun then anything else. Isn't it cool to be able to do things that the average person can't. Thats the difference between human and superhuman, willing to go that extra inch that makes every bit of a difference.

The real benefits of Hill Sprinting are that you can produce natural growth hormone which not only have you recover quicker but keeps you younger. Your conditioning skyrockets to levels that would make an average person insanely jealous and your mental toughness become a second language so in life you will find decisions much easier to come by and you're aware of what you can accomplish. A big benefactor of this type of training is that the more consistant you make it the more chances other things in your life are gonna turn for the better especially when it comes to the bedroom. So like I said, hormones jump, your stamina is off the chain and you're getting smiles all over that significant other.

Aerobic Isometrics!!!!!

When it comes to building strength, there are many different to build it and nothing is really new about that but if theres one peice of training that takes strength training to a whole new level of mental focus and concentration is isometrics. Pick any angle and push/pull as hard as possible up to 7-12 sec. max. Doing this takes laser-like focus and the ability to contract the muscles you want to work and hammering them into submission. Its been used for thousands of years and not only does it strengthen the muscles more importantly it strengthens the tendons. Tendon strength in my opinion is more important then muscle strength because if the tendons arnt strong enough to lift a weight or hold an object you're not going to last too long no matter how big your muscles are.

 Isometrics is also another form of muscle control that was perfected by some of the greatest bodybuilders in early 20th century. Men like Maxick, Otto Arco, Eugene Sandow and even Charles Atlas (CA did not put isometrics in his course but he did learn muscle control to master his poses in competition and shows). The first big name to use the term muscle control was by a man named Alois P. Swoboda. His physical culture course Concious Evolution talked about how energy can be used by internal power. In lamins terms you learn how to contract the muscles at will through focus and learning your own physiology through a physical standpoint and a mental standpoint.

 Isometrics can be used in just about any angle a joint can handle and strengthened. When you learn to hold an isometric for a good period of time you can even decrease the amount of strength you use and add time into a hold. Say you pressed your hands together but only use about 30% worth of power and hold that for a minute. Thats quite a long time but its very beneficial because a lot of things come into play, your body begins to heat up, your mental awareness is increasing your muscles are quivering and your muscle fibers are kicking into overdrive. Aerobic Isometrics means you hold a certain position at less then 50% of your power for 30 sec or longer.

New Years Goals......Not Resolutions

Resolutions flat out suck when it comes to the new year. You say something new you're going to do then after being hungover or having a kick ass time then a couple days after the new year you just stop and let it go. To me that's just not acceptable. Goals on the other hand are a totally different ball game. You set little goals you want throughout the year and before the year is over, big changes come into play and you are proud of what you did. Even if you don't succeed in the goals you want remember you made the effort and adapt for the next year. Now even for a new year goal don't make it for the whole year, that could put too much pressure on you and you might end up fighting it if you stop that goal for a while and come back to it. Instead put in a few daily goals and make an effort to do them at best if you can. If you feel the need to take a bit of time off go do it but put it in your mind that the next goals you want to achieve that they are possible and within reach for you. Be mindful of your goals and don't hurt yourself in the process. Overdoing it can damage not only your body but your pride too. Do what works for you and don't let anyone else tell you you can't do it because if you believe them your success won't come. Its about you and making the effort to achieve what you want. Plus have fun doing it.

Who Are The Best Conditioned Athletes?

Sports.....Its our culture and our drive to compete to be the best. We see some of the greatest athletes in the world. We see heroes like Hulk Hogan, Walter Payton, Barry Bonds, Dan Gable, Otto Arco, Frank Gotch, Babe Ruth ect. These men are the best at what they did/do and how they got there (minus the steriods from a couple of the guys on this list) is no accident and pushed themselves to levels no one can fathom. Their conditioning is without question amazing and unreal but is it the best? Lets face facts athletes in any major sport at the highest level are well trained and can do things average folks can never do. Smack a homerun 500+ Feat, run well over 10,000 yards in a career, Win a gold medal without allowing a single point in a tournament, Slam a 500 pound giant and retire undefeted as a world champion. All those men achieved those goals because in order to achieve those things they have to go through many hours of training but again are they the best conditioned? Truth is their amazing conditioning is due to their sport. The training they go through is through that sport and in it alone.

We all strive to be the best we can be and become great when it calls apon us. I feel the best conditioned athletes are not the ones that are most conditioned for their sport no. I feel the best conditioned athletes are the ones that strive to master many different endeavors. In the early 20th century some athletes in the physical culture world were not only conditioned in their respected field but were conditioned in many other areas. Example would be Otto Arco, he was a hand balancer, wrestler, gymnast, weightlifter and strongman at a bodyweight of no more then 150 pounds at 5'3. To me the greatest athletes are men and women that are the master of multiple sports. Take another example would be the great Jim Thorpe. Arguably the greatest athlete of all-time. He was a great football player, a decathlete in the olympics and if I read correctly he played some baseball. So lets count here he was an athlete in about 12 different sports he perticipated in and nearly excelled in all of them. Thats a defenition of a well conditioned athlete, being able to transfer different movements at will and be incredible at it.

All in all there really is no greatest athlete but the athletes that excel best are the ones that can transfer from sport to sport without letting up and brining 100% a good portion of the time.

How do you stay motivated?

People have asked me that from time to time, mostly family and friends and I'll give you the same answer I give them and then some for you guys to learn. Its because my passion for training is like a second language that I'm fluent in. It comes natural to me and I never once tell myself to take a day off. A day off leads to 2, then 3, then 6 before you know I'm hardly training at all. A lot of people are unmotivated to train for a plethora of reasons but one main one is time. They always feel they can't exercise because they don't have the time. Well hate to burst your bubble but there are 24 hours in a day so I think its safe to say that in that period of time you can do a minimum of 5 min. worth of exercise.

Its the excuse and the negative attitude people use to think they can't exercise. I use to have that problem too. Being a teen and going to school and at times when I was in the drama club we would have rehearsals until 11 o'clock at night and we'd already be beaten up by then. Exercise back then for me was going to track practice or hitting the iron in weight training.

When I was in high school in my sophomore and junior years, I was on the track team doing the shot put and discus, have practice from 3-5 sometimes 6 everyday, have a small meet every Thursday and the big comps 2 Saturdays a month. That was rugged for me but also I was in the drama class as well before the end of my school day and if we had rehearsals (which was around usually a month or so before the big shows) we'd stay until late at night sometimes so picture this schedule.....remember this includes late in the semester too.....

Mon.-Fri---7:45am-2:45pm (School Day)

Mon.-Fri---3pm-5pm (Track Practice, Or Meet)

Mon.-Fri---6:15pm-11:30pm (Rehearsals in the month before shows)

That was up to almost 16 hours a day at times and yet I still found a way to exercise in that time. Never make excuses and do something. If you're sick then its an exception, get better and get back on the saddle, if you're sore then take it easy and stretch for the day don't overdo it. You can even workout traveling on the road (don't recommend while you're at the wheel driving) but if you're on a plane and are bored, instead of bitching move the ankles around, do deep breathing or better yet do isometrics. Its not easy if you have a hectic schedule but if you throw away the negativity and set excuses aside and just start doing 5min. of exercise and each day add a few sec. to the workout. Before you know it you're having a great workout and you'll have the feeling of accomplishment.

Also another way to stay motivated is to keep your exercises fun and fresh, don't do the same routine twice in the same week and please for Christ sake you don't need to do hours of training to get results (trust me on this) just do a maximum of 20-30min. Marathon workouts are a crock and should really only do one a week really but that's if you're in the mood otherwise don't bother with it. I don't train for more then 45 min. a day and that's spreading it out. I can do a marathon workout if I wanted to but whats the point? Make your training fun, if its sunny out go to a park and move around, play ball or act like a wild animal (don't need to act out the sounds but move like one). Be consistent with yourself and tell yourself that if you don't work out real hard then its no big deal be passive and move smoothly like in tai chi, if you wanna be aggressive then do some kettle bells or high volume squats or push-ups if you can doesn't matter. Work with what you can do. Again I train up to 3 times a day 7 days a week. If I'm not in a good mood then one workout is all i need. If you can't do any reps of an exercise then just hold the positions and your best.

Never fall short of doing your best for you. Train for yourself and train for the love of it. My biggest motivation to train is to train for me, no one else. Make yourself motivated and do whats best for you and make little goals. Like in life the small things can lead to big accomplishments.

Building Gorilla Strength

If there was one animal in the jungle that should be the king its the Gorilla. Its Strength & Power is beyond most animals and yet its pure vegetarian. Imagine being a 500 pound gorilla and tearing up whoever is attacking you and move with power and ferocious intensity. We may not be able to have the raw power of the gorilla but we can learn to move like one and get one of the best cardio and strength exercises around. Next time you watch Animal Planet and the gorillas are roaming, watch how they move. Now try to imitate it for a while and tell me you're not breathing hard after a min. or 2. I practice this exercise quite often and it gets me winded pretty quick and if you get winded quick that means your hormones jump and muscles are building. Test it out and see what results you get.

http://images.ultracart.com/aff/88F46789C0276A012D59C78437051600/index.html

How often to workout!!!!!

A lot of people want to know how many times a week do they need to workout to get such and such results. Fact of the matter is we are all different and need to work with whats comfortable to us before we start to really get into hard agressive training. For most on weights its the 3-4 day a week program but others say twice a week is all you need or work a body part once a week. The truth is whatever program you're using, chances are you won't last a month doing it and quit the first chance you get. Now most people would say a 7-day week program is just too much and you're overtraining. Pure Bullshit and you can quote me on that. I train up to 3 times a day for 7 straight days.

 For the most part hardcore training should be done twice a week, moderate training thrice a week and very smooth and relaxed training twice a week, thats 7 days. Thats just my opinion but not many of us have the time because of work, family, paying bills and watching tv when you get home. Now what if you gave yourself the time to train for 5min. a day to start? Sounds compromising and you don't need a gym when you have yourself. Getting to the gym takes time, getting dressed then hopefully when you get to a station no one is using so theres a wasted timeframe. So for safe keeping, start your first 5min. of the day doing a little exercise, actually lets make it one min. that should be enough for you don't you think? Believe it or not 1min. of exercise can be very beneficial because you start out doing a little something, then add 10 seconds each day of exercise and before you know it you'll be doing exercise for a good long time.

Another way of training for a little of your time would be to spread itr out throughout the day on what my friend John Peterson likes to call Greasing The Groove which means you do a little of exercise throughout the day. Say to start with 5 min. you do 2 1/2 in the morning and 2 1/2 at night. That could be your foundation and accomplish something. You don't need to work out for 2 hours a day to get in shape thats just nuts in my opinion. My training during the day is no more then 10-15 min. at a time. I like short workouts and the only time I train longer then an hour in one session is through stretching and deep breathing training. At times the workout goes by so fast an hour can feel like 10 min. I love those kind of workouts. Stop thinking you can't do a little exercise and just do something, make shit up. When you learn to be self reliant on what works for you that brings you closer to self mastery then anything else.

To give you an idea of what my training is like, I rarely ever follow someone elses workout. From all nearly 14 years of training I take the best exercises I have learned and mold them into what works for me. No exercise is ever the same with everyone. We're all of different height, weight even gender because there are some exercises for men that women can't do but its the same for women. Us guys are just more use to exercise (not being sexist i'm not done yet) but at the same time women can be and probably are pound for pound, ounce for ounce stronger then us guys. I'm too much guy so I can't imagine how hard it is for women to train but i'll tell you beautiful ladies this. You can do it even if its just a little stretching, you work far harder in training then us guys and need to build muscle differently. So if you feel you gained weight because the scale says it, after a little exercise I hardly doubt thats fat you're looking at, muscle weighs more then fat.

Do what you can do, even if it takes 1 min. to start give yourself a chance and with a little consistancy and patience I guarantee you you will get the results you want. Changing things up isn't a bad thing either, I change things up all the time because I get bored easily. Find out what works for you, don't let anyone else tell you different because most likely they'll just piss you off and tell you what you're doing is not in their best interest and they're program is the one-all-be-all. What works for you is the one that'll get you results.

Qi Gong W/ A Purpose

In Martial Arts there are some practices that help you calm down and move in fluid motion with the best of intentions to relieve you of stress and anxiety. There is qi gong, tai chi, yoga, nei gong and deep breathing meditation. With all of these practices I like a certain type of qi gong thats not only meditative but a bit physical to where you stand and hit or move various sections of the body that hits the internal organs and stretches/strengthens the entire body from head to toe. You don't need to practice for many hours to get the great benefits of this type of qi gong. 15-30min. in the morning is all thats needed to wake up and feel like a trillion bux The purpose of this practice is not to get in a real physical workout but to get into the inner parts of the body that helps keep you young and vibrant. I may be 26 and look like i'm still in my late teens but is there anything wrong with that? I want to able to look much younger in my later years and still feel I can conquer the world. Feeling alive every second of the day is one great goal to achieve and I think we all strive the fountain of youth and here is one of the ways to do it.

http://rechargingqigong.com/recharging-qi-gong.html

100th Post!!!

Wow after 3 or 4 years I finally write my 100th Post. Well even though this is a milestone I feel its one of those accomplishments you make as a internet writer. I want to thank all to those who have followed me through the years and actually read what I have to say. I wanna thank the mentors I have for helping along the way from my recovery to my ever enduring love for Physical Culture. I have had some bad things said about me but I don't let that stop me from doing one of my favorite things and thats writing. I have trained hard but i've written even harder and spread the word on fitness and conditioning in the healthiest forms possible. I have written about some of the most extrodinary people in the iron game as well as overall Physical Culture and they were written for a reason and that is they need to be known for what they have accomplished to keep us strong and stay positive with our lives and if I had two people who have encouraged my writing and put up with the hard breathing and the torture I put myself into my training day in and out is my Mom and my GF Maile. I love you both very much and I will continue to follow my dreams and I hope you're proud of what I have done because I couldn't have done them without you. Anyway. I will be writing more on Physical Culture and if you guys get a chance click on the banners on the right hand side and check up on some of the very best methods for strength and conditioning from wrestling to strongman to gymnastics and everything else inbetween when it comes to physical culture. I wouldn't have put these up if I didn't use their methods myself. Thank you and hopefully you'll keep reading and keep the comments coming.

Bear Crawls

The bear is the largest land carnivore in the world. It is one of the most powerful animals in the wild and its strength is so extrodinary that it can snap a man's back with the strike of his paw. Pushing boulders like its child's play. Wouldn't it be awesome to have that kind of power and strength? I as an athlete would like to think so. Of course we can never have that kind of power and speed but we can become stronger then the average wo/man. All you have to do is get on all fours and begin to run, now be careful we don't want to be tripping over but this exercise alone can increase your cardiovascular conditioning to levels that are out of this world. It is one of the most simple exercises but yet most people don't appreciate the benefits of it. Your HGH levels jump up giving you that inner strength and power and ferocious lung power and because it makes you breathe hard you'll be burning fat like a furnace and only doing this for a few min. each day can get you in awesome shape. Its better to do this outdoors because of the space but if the weather is bad its not a bad idea to do it indoors and have a little fun. Just make sure you don't knock anything over. If you have kids do it with them not only is it having fun but they're getting their exercise in and thats what we need to have our kids doing more often to get rid of obesity. Picture yourself as a bear and moving and chasing down a rabbit for dinner. Once you get into the mindset the results will become much quicker and much more efficiant.

Keeping A Journal

How does it feel to look back on all the goals you accomplished in your training and see the things you did that just takes your away? Thats one of the great rewards for keeping a training log or journal. Write down the exercises you plan to do and find out how many reps/sets can you do. Everyday you write in what you need to do for that workout and let everything else takes its toll. Fast Forward a year later and take a look of what your progress and most likely you'll say "How the hell did I do THAT." Thats what its been like for me the last couple years keeping a journal and yet i'm still hungry for better training and smarter training. I have made my goals many times over and i've even surpassed them in many ways but the one thing that makes me want more is staying motivated and determained to keep training day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year because if you don't have a goal and just go through the motions then you won't accomplish anything that will make you happy. Even if you don't achieve a goal and you feel let down the most positive thing you can do is to strive and be passionate more then ever and know in your mind that your goal will be accomplished. Don't worry about what others think, they don't matter because your goals are yours and yours alone. Find a goal write it down and keep writing and training. Train smart and train with passion. Writing in a journal is like writing your own book and you're the main character in your own story. You have your beginnings, your journy and your accomplished goal. Stay hungry and keep achieving what you want to do. Trust me writing in a journal is one of the most positive things you can do for your mind/body and spirit. Write your story and finish what you started. No matter how it comes out know in your heart you fought your way through and you kept it on the path and that friends is true victory.

Legendary Strength On The Rise

I had an opportunity today to train with one of the strongest men pound for pound at his new gym. His name is Logan Christopher. I was checking out the space he had for his gym and its pretty well done considering the finishing touches it needs but it has a serious amount of potential and if anybody can make it work its Logan. I put it in a little work with cables, push-ups, stretching, joint loosening, hammers and a some exercises on the pull-up bar while Logan did some Kettle bell work, weighted pull-ups, Kettle bell Swings, Isometric L-Sits using Chinese Block Weights and other things that came into his head.

We trained for nearly an hour and it was fun and very rewarding. I've been friends with him since 2005 and seen him do some of the most unreal forms of conditioning around, for a guy his size he's extremely strong and he's just going to keep going up. He's seen me in doing some of my first as a strongman myself, my first phonebook ripped, first 60d Penny Nail bend, first fall back into a bridge then kicking over and back ect. He is a really cool guy and he doesn't bring any bull into his training and just hammers the basics while also having.

I first met him while he was a roadie for an upcoming band named Archer which the drummer was a mutual friend of ours. He's really come into his own in becoming a strongman, entrepreneur and a well rounded athlete. If you guys ever read this blog check out my bud's stuff on the banners on the right side of the blog writings. He has vast knowledge in bending, lifting, body weight, gymnastics, strongman, Hand Balancing, tearing, kettle bells and many other forms of strength and conditioning. Taking from some of the best trainers in the world he is one lucky guy and he is one of my inspirations.

Wrestling Poem

Give up.


He’s in his peak and you’re in your own world.

How do you beat him?

How do you withstand his strength?

Ability is limitless.

Yet you are scared.

Empower your mind.

Empower your spirit.

To weaken the man, strength becomes his weakness.

Advantage your power and you will weaken his spirit.

Defeated you are not.

Bridging The Gap

Fear is your worst enemy.

You struggle to even get past the stretch.

Feeling intimidated by its core.

See yourself cross over.

Put forth past the fear.

Stretch the boundaries.

Never see you stuck.

Walk past that fear and you have crossed the Bridge.

The Keys To Nerve Force & Overpowering Strength

Walking down a brighten path does not begin with love nor does it begin with happiness. It begins taking your first breath and experiencing the growth of your own destiny. Growth is the definition of working your life through a mountain…You climb, you fall, one way or another only you have the ability to catch yourself.

We as human beings tend to find things that suit us to the way we are born and grew up on. We tend to overlook the key ingredients that drive us to the brink of success. Unfortunately most of us never give into that dream cause we don’t seem to really make it a reality.

Changes are made every second of everyday and many of us don’t seem to take a look on how we can adapt to our advantage into the things that make us successful. The mind gives you the ability to think, create and develop strength in ways that are oblivious to the average person. One of the most successful creations of man is also one of the most controversial and that’s exercise. When first using that word or the first thing that comes to mind is that of bodybuilding, Pilates, Yoga & Weights. Although these things are great and can be utilized in many ways that’s only a fraction of genres that are the most effective and the healthiest for the human body. Nerve Force is a definition where you connect mind & body together as if as a unit and using the creative powers of the mind to generate power from our own bodies.



Over 100 years ago there wasn’t high tech gadgets or the latest equipment or even yet Steroids. Yet there were men of strength and health despite the fact that in those times the life expectancy was early 40’s. Most of the men were sick kids or scrawny teens that got beat up because they couldn’t defend themselves. What drove them to be strong was wanting to be strong and believing in themselves. Sure it was a slow process for them and there were times they wanted to give up but a force inside of them kept them determined and build inner power that you just can’t find anywhere else.

Its not how you just progress to get stronger, its how you develop your own individuality and master your own destiny and create what you want and how you want it to be. Most people who want to develop a physique or experience superior health and vigor feel that you have to start with what others tried or have achieved and that’s not how things should really be. First and foremost mastering the basics for you is a must and that goes for everything else in life not just fitness or strength.

Today you look in the magazines and you see men and women from all walks of life and about 90-95% of the time you’ll find either skinny or very muscular looking models and they’re telling you to do this, that and the other but what are they really telling you? It certainly isn’t to get fit nor is it certainly what can make you have a better body and lets get real here they are just after one thing and thats “Cha Ching” money and will say anything to get it. Now does every single advertisement actually tell lies about what people should do, no but yet 9 out of 10 times you’ll get screwed and they made you fall for it.

Never believe something cause someone else thinks its great and can make you better. The best things in life are not always money, cars, women, men and anything else in between the best things in life are the true things that make you as an individual and you present yourself with walking tall and letting things hurt you go by. Its easy to dive into the things that make some people powerful and rich. You have an awesome house, a car that makes every man weep and the most beautiful woman that makes just about any guy go “holy shit I’d give my right arm for some of that ass.” Forgive the vulgar image but you get my drift.

Bridging And Its Benefits!!!!!!

In yoga, theres a posture called the wheel pose which to us physical culturists refer to as the Gymnastic Bridge, in wrestling theres the neck bridge (which too many people think is the worst exercise ever) and theres the front bridge which is also used in wrestling. In India where it is argumented that it was the birthplace for physical culture, wrestling had major ties to the country and some of the strongest and most conditioned men were infact wrestlers. I believe in all its forms, wrestling is the reason why there is yoga today. When it comes down athleticism and down right masterful conditioning one of the best exercises is infact the Bridge. The reason for this is, is that because in wrestling if you want to be the best and a driving force you start with bridging. For the average person however it can seem very dangerous and very disasterous on the human body when in reality the exact opposite is true.

Now when you see the wheel pose (aka gymnastic bridge) you might think someone is very flexible and has a decent amount of strength to weight ratio but if you saw the wrestler's bridge on the neck you would usually have a look of fear and no one should be doing it. I on the other hand believe if you take away the fear and see the beauty in the bridge you might be shocked to find out how beneficial it can be interms of strength, flexibility, stamina, mind power and mentle clarity. There are many ways to bridge and I will say its not for everyone if they have a major problem with their neck, back or spinal cord but for the most part for those who are healthy can do this with practice and patience.

There are many ways to bridge and there's actually a system that has been around for hundreds of years but the name of it has only been around for less then 100 its called Bridging Gymnastics. Its when you practice many types of bridges in a workout that takes less time to get winded then anything else there is. I have done over 500 Push-ups, 1000+ Squats, 20+ Handstand Push-ups, 60+ Pull-ups (none of them in one workout LOL) but nothing got me winded in less then 15min. then Bridging Gymnastics. An advanced version of this is to start falling into a wrestler's bridge on the head, have your nose touch the mat and begin to kick over and back and if you're a stud stand up. This also goes with the Wheel Pose as well when fall back into one, kick over and back and if you're very flexible stand back up. I have done the basics of this and it killed me within minutes and that should tell you how tough it really is.

What are the benefits of the bridge? Well with practice, patience and mentally aware, it gains you strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, coordination and believe it or not it can get you a great physique because it makes you breathe hard which increases your Hormones and builds muscle, it makes you solid as a rock because of the isometric contraction you have to make in order to hold some of the bridges. For health benefits it can increase your brain activity due to the blood flow to the brain, it can keep you flexible in order to move in certain directions with ease and a personal favorite, it keeps you from being obese and because of the HGH increase it can even help your sex life because of the way you have to hold a certain bridge. Before you judge whats wrong with the exercise how about you actually try it yourself and if you don't like it thats fine do something else that works for you but I guarantee from personal experience and learning from friends in Physical Culture, Bridging is one of the healthiest and most meditative forms of strength & Conditioning on the planet. Bridge well and bridge smart.

Advanced Bridging Course

Yoga For Building Muscle Mass

Most people think that Yoga is for people wanting to lose weight, get toned......not for building natural muscle mass. I happen to believe that its a bunch of crap. For men who wanted to build muscle and likes yoga or wants to get into it, the keys are eating the right foods and adding tension to the exercise. Do less reps if you're going to add tension and focus on the mind/muscle connection. Imagine if gravity is pulling you down and you have to put a lot of effort into the movement or holding the posture. For foods focus more on natural foods and less on the junk food. Not saying you need to be on a diet but you still can eat the foods you love just take a bit less off on the junk food, simple as that. When it comes to tension do not go all out and tense up as hard as possible because not only will you burn out easy but you can also injure yourself, use enough tension to move around or hold as long as possible.

Tools For Gripping Power

There are many ways to train your hands to get full on grip strength and power. If you don't have much money and yet you still think you can't get anything to build a great grip, think again my man because a lot of what you can use in your house can build a much stronger grip then most guys can get in the gym.

Example would involve a towel and a bucket of water. Fill the water to about half full to three quarters full, now take the towel and put it in the bucket to get it wet as possible now pick it up and start whatever end you want and begin to squeeze the water back into the bucket until it gets as dry as it can. This alone can take your grip to a new level of power and might unlike those puny wrist curls the so called "bodybuilders" use.

Bending steel fries the entire body when you put your all into it and it turns hands and forearms into cords of steel especially if you bend rebar. Another hosehold tool to use is believe it or not your towel rack in your bathroom, what you do do is if you have one of those long racks is to grip the rack, now lean back as much as you can until you get to your fingertips then shoot forward and roll the wrist, do this about ten times, now just reverse the movement by under gripping the rack and lean back until it reaches the fingertips, now shoot back and roll the wrist, do this ten times. After doing this exercises my wrists and lower arms were pretty pumped. Work into this carefully and do not overdo it, ten reps is only needed.

When it comes to equipment for the hardcore grip fanatics, thick handled bars are great especially hammers, maces, clubs because when you have to grip something just to be able to move it is functional strength in itself. Now I must caution you, I may not be an equipment fanatic but if you were to use them do them for a short period of time but do what works for you and train smart.

Another Look At VRT Bodybuilding

Recently I have been easing my way back into a system called VRT Bodybuilding which is a set of exercise that you only use tension for by visualizing weights and various fitness equipment. Say you're doing a dumbbell curl, instead of picking one up and let gravity take its toll on you, you visualize how heavy a dumbbell is then squeeze the bicep muscules and curl up as if you just lifted a heavy weight. For the most part this system is awesome for not needing to go to the gym and you get to use your imagination. You don't even need to visualize weights think in your mind what it would feel like to lift a boulder or pushing the pyramids or better yet pulling a train. Think of whatever you want and it can help you become a better trainer and using the Mind/Muscle connection at its maximum for your benefit. I practice this off and on using qi gong type movements or throwing an object, pulling on a rope or better yet pushing down the tower of piza. The keys to this system is imagination and tension and once you've mastered that you'll know the true meaning of muscle control.

Turning Sports Video Games Into A Great Workout

For those of us who like video games its always fun when you have the controller in your hand and playing out your favorite characters or players in a sports game. Thought i'd try out an Experiement and so far I'm finding out fun and enjoyable plus I get to build muscle and get in shape. I like to MLB 10 The Show on my PS3 and I'm in the career mode where I have a really great hitter I made up. He hits homeruns, drives in RBIs, smacks doubles and triples and so on and so forth. I decided that during the game I would do some pull-ups and chin-ups since its a fav. upper body workout. Before I get into the workout I'm gonna say that because you never know what you'll get so this isn't an actual set and rep scheme and if you do play a game this also includes batting practice. Also since its cutting down to if you actually workout while playing video games because not many of us gamers do workout so this is something to try every once in a while so the people you are with arnt giving you crap about sitting on your ass. Also this can apply to different Exercises as well including Push-ups, Squats, Sit-ups and various holds. So for Baseball here is a pull-up program to try and if you dont have a pull-up bar just do push-ups. So whenever you get a hit here are the following numbers. Whenever you are on a base after that hit thats the number of reps you do Example:

Single: 1 Pull-up or 10 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Double: 2 Pull-ups or 20 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Triple: 3 Pull-ups or 30 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Homerun: 4 Pull-ups or 40 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Now thats if you play a baseball game and are just doing Career Mode so its just something to try out. If you're playing with all Nine players then LOL.....Just pick at least 2 of your favorite players in the lineup.

If you're into football and want to experiement with this then you might have to cut the reps a bit untill you can do the maximum numbers that i'm giving you so if you are willing to give this a try here is something to test yourself on:

Touchdown: 7 pull-ups or 25 push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Field Goal: 3 Pull-ups or 30 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Safety: 2 Pull-ups or 20 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Extra Point After TD: 1 Pull-up or 10 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

Like I said do what you can and if you're strong enough do the amount of reps.

For Hockey its pretty basic so when you score a goal you can do 1 Pull-up each time or 10push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups each time you score.

Now I realize the chances of anyone doing this is slim and very few will actually try this yet i'm just spreading the word on fitness ideas that don't require a gym and with very little to no equipment whatsoever. If you have a Wii Console same rules apply and if you have a game that has you do exercise then just do that but for the diehard PS3 and Xbox this is all we need for now. So if fatigue sets in and you just simply can't handle it anymore then just play the game and record in a journal what you did. It be kinda cool when you have done plenty of exercise and yet play your favorite game all at the same time, your body will be happy and your love for games will be even more enjoyable. If you actually do this workout and whatever sports game you have my advise for you is that play as many games as you want but when you're not working out and just playing video games play for like an hour then go outside and do something or move around a bit so you're not just sitting there and twiddling your thumbs and fingers. Have fun with this and try other exercises and see how they work for you. Also for future refrences make sure for you young guys/girls....Do your damn homework.

Dexerity That Makes Up For Strength!!!!

When it comes to fixing things, playing the piano, lifting weights, moving your body in different directions you have to have a good amount of hand strength and suppleness. To increase our dexerity in our hands, fingers and wrists we need the right tools and exercises to create power and tendon strength in the lower arms. Grip strength is a key to do some of the most phenomenal feats ever. No matter how you put it, you can have a big chest, shapley legs, upper arms the size of cannon balls, a back of North Dakota and shoulders that can carry a mule but if you don't have strong hands you don't have anything. Work your hands the way you train your body. Imagine what it would be like to have hands that can do things with ease and never get injured or get carpal tunnel and yet getting stronger each time you work your hands with the exercises i'm gonna recommend. I've learned these from a guy I recently trained with and now I'm gonna recommend his course to you. These have helped my hands get stronger for my feats of strength in ripping phonebooks and bending long peices of steel. At the same time since using this I have not had one shred of carpal tunnel or hurt my hands in any way. One of the things this course will help you on if you're a martial artist is increase your punching power and grip your opponent unlike ever before. I have done exercises that work and have done ones that havent and this course has the right ways of training your hands for strength, flexibility and suppleness. Now I'm not endorsing this, not asking for any money and spreading the word about having strong and healthy hands that can help with whatever you need in your daily life.

Finger Gymnastics

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys, thought i'd made this short and sweet......

Wish you all a wonderful thanksgiving and be thankful for what you have and give thanks to those in need. For you trainers out there, eat what you can and train like your life depended on it (not too much) but have fun while you're doing it. I'm thankful for my family and the awesome memories and future memories i'm gonna have with them. I'm gonna have another member of our family join us as my cousin is gonna have a baby and wish all the moments shes gonna have with her new baby in the next year. I have an awesome family and I count my blessings they're here kicking and having a kick ass time. Hope you all enjoy these times in this economy and be there for one another no matter what because there is nothing sacred then family. Love will concour all those who believe in it.

The Strength Of A Vampire

Now we all know Vampires don't exist or do they? If they did and had the wisdom of centuries don't you think they would know the secrets to great strength? If we can develop that kind of power and just walts over people like they were nothing would be cool huh? Its all about how you use your power and how you can amp it up to levels that you never have imagined possible. It takes a good deal of imagination but you can create strength that not only makes you a powerful presence but can do things for you that the average person just doesn't understand or can't imagine. Things like a woman lifting a car to save her kid, a man of 6'6 stature lifting sledgehammers in weight that almost or not one can attempt or better yet move and a man holding onto a silk curtain pinch grip style gliding through the air with no net to break his fall but yet does it every night on stage while doing magic and feats of dexerity on the piano. All these things are true and with a little imagination and a bit of action you can develop strength from whatever you want to do and more if you find the right ways and the right instruction. Power through obsticals and feel the power of a vampire.

Imagination Is Your Power!!!!!

When you put a thought into action it can make or break you as an individual. Like the old saying "Imagination is the elixer of life" you create what you want from thoughts. For most the craziest ideas came from a person's imagination, Edison with films, Einstein with his theories, P.T Barnum with his Circus Empire and some of the strongest men on the planet have had thoughts of what they wanted to do and made themselves into great human beings. Everything starts with a thought and yet this can apply to anything you want in life. For me being in a hospital bed, I imagined myself walking and running like theres no tomorrow and feeling like nothing can touch me and being stronger then anyone.

Well when I finally put it into action I made it possible without putting no less then 1000%. You can do this as well with what you want to do with your life. Now the downside to this is people telling you that you cant do it or make yourself this or that and your ideas to them are just loony and way out of left field. First step to creating your imagination is to leave skeptisism behind and look forward to your accomplishments, now that might mean you'll have obsticals on the way but do not let them stop you otherwise you'll just be another average person.

In fitness you can create the body you desire but you must imagine it and feel what it would be like then put it into action. To me I wanted to be a powerful and conditioned man that could knock out walls and bend tough steel and shred a phonebook in one shot. I made it happen for myself. Now its up to you to find yourself but what will your imagination take you?

My Injury That Saved My Life!!!!

Its heartbreaking when you have a major injury on your hands (could be literal) and a plethora of things just run through your mind and for most its "Am I ever gonna walk again?" or "Will I be able to play the piano again?" and a favorite "How the hell am I gonna live through this?" Its really about how you make yourself strong or how you make yourself weak. I've taken plenty of bumps in my life and some were funny and some were just horrific. I've had sore backs, dented knees, tendonitis, burned wrists, burned hands, nearly broken ribs yet none of them were compared to my leg injury 5 years ago. Broke the tibia-fubula in half on my left leg and broke bones in both ankles. I was one of those "Am I ever gonna walk again?" kinda guys and laying in that hospital knowing what the prognosis was and knowing that its going to be tough being in a wheel chair. I figured "Screw it, I've beaten bigger things then this and I hate the fact that i'm in this" so I fought back and did it without many knowing cause they would've told me I was stupid for doing it and crazy that a thought I had was pretty far off. After I was released from the hospital I rehabbed myself and I began to get better and better and eventually I started to do things I couldn't do before the injury. So how did my injury save my life.....Tought me mental toughness that has stuck with me since and what other things that I have gone through has been a breeze. Mental Toughness is the key to overcoming personal obsticals. Learn it Live it.

Training Your Mind & Body

Even though some of us exercise and we go through the motions to do what we can its still not training our mind. Being mindful of your training is just as important as the exercise itself. On the other hand there are plenty of more people that don't exercise but yet train their minds. Thats ok in some way but you won't get the most benefit if you can't balance it out and just do one or the other. Being physical can do many things for you but if your mind isnt in the same place then you are just wasting your time. Example outside of my training doing all these things I also do my best to keep my brain active and fresh by studying history and psychology and checking up other things that interest me particularly history. Although physical culture is a hobby of mine I also learn the history of our past such as wars and fictional history like Vampires and such. This is gonna sound like a guy thing but I also do my history on the game of Baseball (not the steriod era of the game) but its true glory of why its americas game and how those men and women back in the day who didn't get paid no where near where it is today but yet most were if not better then the players of today. Other then history I'm also an observer and how to look at others' body language and how people come and go when things are down. I'm not saying we all should study everything but learn something that makes you who you are and put that into your training and why its that important. Don't just learn your form or how it came out of a book or followed on video but judge it for how it works for you and learn from the past on how it can help you in the future.

Training On CoreForce Energy

At the end of a road trip in Las Vegas I got to train with one of the best concert virtuosos in the world in the name of Garin Bader. For those who haven't heard of him he's a 13-time winner of international piano competitions and has traveled around the world doing countless shows of magic, martial arts, acrobatics and multi insturmental playing on cruise ships, major halls and in Las Vegas showrooms. What makes him stand out from others is his ability to generate power and speed and gracefulness in his performances. He draws you into his ability to not only have you listen to his music but really lets you know how he plays with ferocious determination and uncanny stamina. Outside of all the lights and stage rehearsals and being infront of hundreds of people, he has another side of himself that helps people bring out that peice of themselves to generate more power and speed from within. He teaches you how to use your imagination and create sounds to bring in more depth to your strength then ever before. His course is called CoreForce Energy which means not using just your abdominals or working out for hours on end but to create the center of your power to engulf that part of the brain that scientists say we only use 5% of. He helps you reach beyond that 5% and see how far it can go.


Now I have had the oppertunity to talk with him which was a feat for me in itself and he showed me a thing or 2 about this type of training and have used it just about all the time and its helped increase my coordinating and strength in many areas. Now to actually meet him would take a miracle because of his busy schedule and the timing to be with him would be almost impossible. Well, it just so happened he gave me an oppertunity to spend time with him and so on the last day of the road trip in Vegas I got to spend time with him in a near 4 hour span. He taught some of the most bizarre things to bring out the power within me yet I was just drawn to it and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. He showed me how to knock down a 300 pound dummy without using so much force and also showing what it feels like to be thrown around like a rag doll. First he's just over 200 pounds at 6' which is about average for a man that big but he was definitly not a small looking guy, he was bigger then I thought he was and has a good muscular physique. As for me being 5'10 around 240 pounds I look like a small Linebacker. That at all didn't mean a damn thing to him and he just tortured me by shoving me from different angles and getting a hold of me without warning and it was funny as hell but a lesson well learned.

I had a great time with him and hopefully someday I'll get that oppertunity again because I have so much more to learn. He also is one of the nicest sons of bitches I ever met and he really made me feel welcome. The way he walked through the session was just unreal and the things he showed me were unbelieveable. At the end of the session I didn't want it to end and he was just cool with everything he is that nice and he never stopped smiling which too many people don't in this world. When my dad picked me up to leave we stayed a little longer then we should've but none of us cared or even noticed and my dad got into what Garin does and when it was all over it felt like waking up from a dream but yet it was as real as you can get.

For the most part Garin seems like he doesn't get as many thank yous from people who have used his course because of many reasons and not only did I feel it was my duty as a student to thank him but just thanking him didnt mean much because it was far more then that but yet he gave me a new addition to how I want to stay strong for the things I want to accomplish and that i'm in debted to him. For the people who don't give him credit have no clue what its like to feel the surge within you to create something far beyond what you previously have done. Garin shows you how you can do that and how you can use it whenever you want. If Garin ever sees this I hope he knows that one session has changed me in a whole new light and for that my friend I salute you. Thank you for everything you have shown me and hope one day we get to do it again.


For those who wish to learn from this man I highly recommend him and he's worth more then you bargined for. Taken from someone who was actually there and took it a step further more then ever it is nothing you will ever experience again.

CoreForce Energy

San Francisco Are Now In The History Books!!!!!!

As a kid in the bay area you go to the park and watch your favorite ball players play with a passion and love for the game. You may watch them hit a dinger into the bay or hit the ball of the wall for a double and get in one or 2 RBI's, or better yet hit the ball for a triple and seeing those guys on base run home for that peice of glory of a win or catching up to tie the game. Before the Giants moved to Pac Bell/ATT Park they played at Candlestick Park when they moved from New York. One of my first games there was when I was really young maybe 8 or 9 years old and this was at the time when guys like Matt Williams, Will Clark were knocking ball after ball out of the park and hitting well .300 during the regular season. I saw Matt Williams hit a couple homeruns out and that night turned me onto the game and I started reading about the old-time ball players like Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig. My father was a huge Giants fan in the days of Mays, Willie McCovy, Orlando Cepeda and Pitching great Juan Marichal. He'd tell me stories about how as a kid in Los Gatos just less then a 45 min. drive to SF his grandfather would give him a few bux and a bus ticket to head up and watch the games live at the park. You can't do that kind of thing anymore but in the sixties it was common for kids my dads age at the time to do that. He'd tell me how Mays can hit the ball and how graceful he was in the outfield. I was just mesmerized by it.

In my Generation as a kid in the 90's it was all about the big names in baseball like Bsrry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. Rickey Henderson and pitchers like Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux. It was a great time to be a baseball fan but at the same time you questioned a lot of the guys for steriods and all that crap that went on. In San Francisco i'd go to the park and watch Bonds knock it out 500 miles and just loved the way those guys played and seeing fireworks at the end of the victories wins.

During this season I went to probably 3 games at ATT Park but those were the most fun games i've been to since they first moved there back 1999-2000 and seeing them come back from a 10-3 defecit even though they lost it was one of the most thrilling games I ever witnessed but nothing compared going to a playoff game when they faced the Philadelphia Phillies and won 3-0 to notch up their place in the National League Championship Series. It was my fist playoff game ever and it was the second for my dad since 1964 when he was nearly 15 years old. Can you imagine that 46 years without seeing the Giants live at a playoff game, man I couldn't imagine what it was life for him. When the Giants went to the World Series my dad went to the second game of the series where they won 9-0 and although I couldn't be there with him I felt like I was because of how much this meant to him. It all erupted when they won the seies last night 3-1 in 5 games in Texas. That was one of the biggest highs I ever had not only as a fan but sitting there and jumping and hugging my dad was a big thing for me. I got to share that moment with him and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Thank you dad for having share that with and will be something i'll always remember till the day I die, all those games you took me to and all the times we played catch together this all came full circle the moment that strike out by Brian Willson. You're the best man and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope all the fathers and sons of San Francisco got to have that same moment. This is for all you guys and Thank You Giants for the momemerable season in my life.

Meditation....Better moving or being still?

When it comes to meditation we all want to find out how to reach our inner selves and how we grow from the inside as a human being and being at peace. Its not easy to listen to your own mind while everything around you is cluttered and frustrating. To channel ourselves we need to find a way that works for us and whats best to be at peice. Some people sit some stand and sometimes some move. In Tai Chi you move in fluid motions for a calm and relaxing affect on your body, mind and spirit. In Yoga you hold certain postures and breathe into the body that helps you grow stronger and more efficiant. In Qi Gong you practice all sorts of different things from hitting various pressure points, moving the joints to loosen them out and do different breathing exercises that help not only your body from the outside but more importantly work the internal organs to help create a healthier body.

For me I practice mostly standing and moving but at times I just want to lay down on the floor and just let everything thats bothering me just wash away and let everything flow. Even at certain times for meditation I do movements that jump up my heart rate to the point where i'm satisfied with what I did and just let nature unfold. So thats my practice but yet it can't be the same for everyone else because they are of different structure, personality, physiology and believe it or not psychology and so they need to use what they have to improve themselves. You can't teach someone to be meditative the same way you are because thats not being a teacher and its also not smart nor logical. So can you be meditative by standing or moving well t depends who you are and once you know you answered the question without ever saying a word.

Trainers & Their Expertiese

I have been training for well over 13 years and have seen many things and one of the things that bug me are some of the personal trainers out there. I'm not saying they're all bad just some. A few friends of mine are trainers and I highly regard them for their work but at the same time some of the trainers out there are not helping the people they are training period.

I had a trainer in a class and what she taught made some sense but most of it didnt. I admire her work ethic and the way she presents herself but I feel her drawback was to teach people exercise the way she feels they are imitated and done not the way a person's body handles it. Take me for example.....I have a titanium rod in my leg with 8 pins in my left shin and have 2 pins in my right ankle. Now i'm not against plyometrics they're helpful in some areas but not for high rep and jumping as high as you can for long periods of time and arn't that healthy in the long run. This woman was having me do jumping squats and knee to chest walks that not only irritated my legs but I would sometimes have to sit on the floor cause I was in pain.

You're not suppose to teach people exercise that causes pain. Exercise should be about teaching people how to use their bodies the way thats beneficial to their structure and body to weight ratio. You can't teach the same exercise to a guy whos 240 pounds as oppose to a guy who's 170 pounds its just not ethical. You can teach how it works but the individual has to go with his/her own physiology and work with whats healthy for them. I had to quit the class because I was getting burnt out in class and was in pain the majority of the time and I started feeling pain in my knees and arms that goes back to my shot put and lifting days in high school.

Lets take another example and thats Julian Michaels. We've all heard of her on the biggest lose weight loss reality show. She has all these videos and books out on exercise and weight loss but yet she has just as many lawsuits in her way as much as her sales. People getting hurt and needed attention or couldn't handle the workout the way its laid out and so on and so forth. Don't get me wrong shes a beautiful woman and shes putting herself out there to help the world but shes not helping her cause with all these lawsuits like Lindsey Lohan is with her drug problems. Maybe not the best analogy but you get my drift. If she was smart she needs to tell people that if they can't do the way she does an exercise make it work for them not for her. Most people cannot do that kind of work load and expect a healthy body inside and out on a daily basis its not logical nor is it possible. I feel bad for the woman and if she wants to be the trainer she really wants to be she shouldn't be advertising herself with all this crap, she needs to have a bit of sympathy and make an effort to be healthy with her work load on exercise.

So in other words if you're looking for a trainer find one that will help you and help how to use your body structure for the results you want to create and have them teach you how to create self mastery. If they're teaching you how to do something but dont go over key points that are for long term health and vigor for your benefit then he shouldn't be training you at all. Stay strong guys we all strive to better ourselves in one way or another.

Towel Bar Pull-ups

Grip strength is important in many aspects whether through fitness, sports, emergency situations or weightlifting. I have been able to work up to some good strength from bending steel to ripping phonebooks or simple enough to deadlift a 120+ pound dumbbell with a 2 inch thick handle and hold for a 10 sec. isometric hold. I personally believe that if were one were to increase his/her gripping power pull-ups can do just that, they don't just work the back an biceps but grip as well. I have been experienting a variation that I came up with (nothing's new but I havent seen anyone do this). This variation was an inspiration that I got from Mr. Dinosaur Brooks Kubik not from Dinosaur Training but from his bodyweight book. He shows variations of pull-ups that are insane especially for thick bar training. Since I can't afford a thick bar I thought about what I can do to get the same benefits of thick bar training. I decided to try using a towel. Pretty simple, instead of looping over the bar I'd wrap the entire bar around the towel. Take each end and put it over the top, now roll the towel until it reaches its peak. If you have a slippery bar then it'll take a little time but its better then spending a couple hundred bucks. To create resistance just roll enough of the towel to where its comfortable enough to hang. Just hanging alone would be enough for most people. Once you can do a good amount of reps then roll and make the towel thicker. I attempted the thickest and after 4 sets I only managed a total of ten reps (3 pull-ups, 3 chin-ups and 2 sets of 2 mix grip). My forearms are still sore today and Im happy lol. The harder you make an exercise the more chances of muscle and tendon strength are being built. I may not be a weightlifter anymore but can hold my own when it comes to really tough bodyweight exercises. Try them sometime and give me your thoughts on them.

Slow Motion Exercise!!!!

When you exercise you normally think cranking out rep after rep and think nothing of it. You drive to the gym, you put on some shorts a shirt and often times a bandana. Now imagine this, waking up in the morning stretching your arms up and feel good for a bit. what you just did is called slow motion exercise. This form of training can save you time and money. With this training you are not only just doing reps or just exercising, you learn to use your mind. Your mind creates the power. Now what if you could do that just for a few min. each day and actually put on some muscle. think about doing push-ups instead of doing 10, 20, 30 or beyond how about getting into a push-up position let your mind create the resistance, flex your entire body and start to move. This is slow motion exercise. It teaches to concentrate into your body and focus into the muscles you're working. Learn to do this and you'll be doing your body good. Countless reps arn't needed for this 10 would be awesome. The more tension you create the less reps needed.

Internal Power For Super Strength

You can create strength from a variety of ways, lifting, bending, calisthenics, self resistance ect. but really most of those things are external. The real power comes from the mind. When you develop mind strength the physical will come automatically, now would that mean a 130 pound man will deadlift 700 pounds off the bat.....No unless he is trained and knows the art. Mental training is more important then physical. The more internal strength you develop the more power you can generate to the physical. Shaolin Monks know the secrets to this and they may not look like athletes on steroids but they can generate strength unlike anything you ever seen. How do they do it, where do they get it from? Learn the secrets and you can turn into a fitness machine that just won't ever stop, even when you're sleeping. Internal power is key to life as it strengthens organs and others from within. Find your power and bring it to life.


www.Shaolinsecrets.com

Ben

Animal Workouts!!!!!!

Now you may have read my post on the power of the animals, now lets take it a step further and look into seeing how this actually works in a physical sense. Picture for a moment you're favorite animal whether it be a tiger, bear, primate or in some cases maybe even a bird......How do you become that animal?

Well I would encourage you to watch Animal Planet sometime and watch your favorite animal, how does it move? When you see it try to imitate it not to the point of running for periods of time or swinging from a tree, just try something to see how it actually moves. That's animal workouts come into play. You try to imitate the very same animals we love, admire, even fear. How cool would it be to walk like a gorilla, how great it would to feel like you can soar like an eagle. Just thinking about it makes me want to make it a reality lol. We seen bear crawls, crab walks, duck waddles hell we even seen aligator walks from time to time.

Never underestimate how powerful you can be if you did your best to walk in the way of a wild animal that works to your physiology. When you can train like a wild animal you soon find that you don't need rep/set schemes or even a plan just go out there and have fun be free. My fav. animal is the gorilla, particularly the Silver Back. Walking on its knuckles and having forearms that make Popeye look skinny and the strength to hold on to a branch with one arm and yawn in the other. To me that would be my only type of training but yet have other ways to have fun. Get my point.

Now if you want to find out how to really train like an animal I would highly recommend Ed & his twin brother Andy Baran's Animal Kingdom Conditioning course. Its filled with workouts and plethora of animals to choose from over 20 to be exact and they teach how to do them effectively.

www.eddiebaran.com

Ben

Dao Zou & My Thoughts!!!!!!

I have written reviews before and I have written about some odd training ideas. This time I'm gonna take a different approach. This type of training i'm doing off and on is different then any other type of training I have done before and now.

This program was created by Matt Furey not really created but more like putting it on the Map for others to learn. It teaches you how to walk backwards now you might think "Thats easy, anyone can do that, whats so special about walking backwards", well it is simple but not as easy as you may think. It is not just walking backwards its more turning back the clock so to speak but don't take my word for it look it up yourself.

This type of training brings internal power unlike any other. When you really try out this program it gives you a high that is just off the chains. I have done this workout several times and man it makes me never wanting to stop cause it feels so damn good. Take a look at it and be prepared to feel bliss in every aspect of the word and beyond.

Building The Mind/Muscle Connection

Building muscle is a great way to improve yourself but combine it with mental training and you're getting the best of both worlds not only from a physical aspect but from the inside as well. There are many programs that develop this particular aspect of physical culture and many are good but only a few show the true meaning to the term mind/muscle connection. Take Isometrics for example you push against a wall and you're pushing and pushing but if you push the wall with your mind at the same time you may find yourself being stronger and more efficient. Another example is DVR/VRT exercise, you visualize the resistance with your mind and its connecting you to the muscles you working. You flex and move and before you know it you're building nerve force and a powerful connection with your entire body from the inside out. Building strength is great in the physical sense but mental strength is more important otherwise it will be boring. Create a connection and you will master the will of your body to move in ways you wouldn't have dreamed possible.

Push-ups & Working Other Muscles!!!!

Doing high rep push-ups is considered to be very beneficial but it isn't for everyone. Now there are people that believe that high rep push-ups is doing mindless reps and are not beneficial. Obviously they don't do that and feel they are experts. Now doing high rep push-ups throughout the day is more beneficial I believe then doing them all at once. Throughout the day your body is at recovery and when you get to a new set your body is refresehed and ready. I have done this plenty of times and got up to about 250-300 push-ups a day for a while. Do you need to do high reps....No but you can use push-ups to work into other muscles. Example on incline push-ups focus on your legs and squeeze them while your doing push-ups. For grip and finger power do fingertip push-ups. There are many ways to work into what you want and any way you choose push-ups can make you far stronger health and strength wise to your body to weight ratio.