Creating What Works For You

As you well know i'm not a man of copying or making other people's routines my own, I take what works for my interests & develop a style that is of my own design. Its not easy being your own trainer but its far better for your mind and body to be so. There is importance in learning specific exercises and gaining technique by practice but its more important to perfect what works in your favor not someone else's.

I believe in self-mastery meaning that I take what I do seriously and put my heart and soul into creating something for myself and only myself. I have no problem training with others but I'm not going to do exactly what they do otherwise i'm missing out on who i'am. Most take the easy route by being sheep and following someone else's routine or go at the same speed, same exercise step by step. There's nothing wrong with learning an exercise and doing it right but if you want the complete package, you need to step away and also master yourself first and foremost. Some people think being your own trainer will get you hurt and no matter what you need a trainer, I disagree in parts of that area; I believe that if your technique is off and you are hurting yourself then learn from someone how to do it right but at the same time, learn the facets of your own physiology and develop technique that suits you and your needs of obtaining results.

I have learned from the very best on what exercises need good technique on and have trained alongside some of the strongest and fittest people on the planet. I had to learn on my own 11 years ago how to walk again and train my body, I worked out with people but for the most part, the training, the process of getting strong again and the some was all me and whatever technique I learned I observed it very closely in books and on DVDs. I was very good at observation and it helped me find what can work for my structure and how I've stayed less injured this whole time. Being your own trainer takes guts and its not a temporary thing, its a life-time commitment. Be your own trainer roughly 80-90% of the time, the other 10-20% is from learning from others, observing, participating and practicing.

Your Body And Your Imagination

Most equipment in fitness these days are way overrated and most of the time don't even work. The stupid gadgets, cardio machines, smith machines, Bosu Balls and others are just things that take up way too much damn space. Very few things are worth while having like maybe a rack to use for squats, a pull-up bar, a hammer, mace, kettlebell & Steelbell other than that its not worth putting your money on. I like to move heavy things from time to time but I always have a better use for my body by doing things that are fun, realistic, unconventional & imaginative.

The more stuff you use the less you get in the habit of using your imagination. Less is more. That's part of the beauty I love on bodyweight training, there's so much you can come up with but only need a fraction to get what you want. Training using a ton of equipment takes away the purpose of putting real effort into your training. Its very important to use both your body and your brain in the best way possible and trust me, having a ton of machines will diminish your progress rather than have it climbing. There are also certain forms of training that can't mach certain others, take calisthenics for example, there is so many variations that are possible but like any other method it doesn't hit everything. I love doing squats, push-ups, pull-ups, v-ups, handstands and others when i'm in the mood but even those components cannot touch or even scratch the surface of other methods.

This is why I like the VRT method of exercise, you can have all the equipment you need in one form of training where your imagination is the key. Think about it, being able to have all that equipment by just focusing on it in your mind and programming it to the muscles in your body. Be able to take the gym anywhere and do it whenever you want. VRT gives you freedom that you never experienced before. The benefits of this system are amazing in more than just developing muscular growth, it also enhances cardio, endurance, heals possible previous injuries, doesn't wear and tear on your joints and get this; you can wear whatever you want or nothing at all when you do a workout. You can do it in a long or short period of time and you can do it with your kids or grandparents, hell do it for students in a P.E class. This is a system meant for everyone from 10-100 years old, it isn't easy but it can be very interesting and it can really get you out of breath when properly performed.

When I need a break from regular forms of bodyweight training I go to this but lately its become so addicting I've been doing it and a variation of the system for weeks now and haven't even felt the slightest bit of a burn out. Target the muscles you want worked in mere seconds just by thinking then moving in a range of motion while maintaining tension. You control the amount of resistance being used and you have the freedom to come up with any exercise you want. Instead of thinking of regular, boring dumbbells, why not think of a car, heavy chains, a strong rope, picking up heavy bricks, pushing the pyramids, rowing an extremely heavy oar, squatting with a boulder on your back or even pulling a train full of gorgeous women; there's a limitless amount of things you can think of to hit the muscles you're working. You are powerful and this system can give you amazing energy and insane control over your whole system; be able to flex and relax your muscles at will, putting your thoughts into the muscles to create that surge of strength & power plus become enthralled in developing muscle that stands out and gives that natural glow on your structure.

There's nothing like doing the VRT Workout and no other form of muscle control gives you more freedom and lends you a limitless amounts of ideas that can create a workout that not only is out of this world but puts you in the front seat and gives you the tools to ride your own ship.

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True Intent Creates The Very Best Results

Its not hard getting some results from certain methods o training; not easy but not too difficult either. When you set a goal, your mind is set on that goal and regardless of what may get past you, you intend to get that goal. Most people can't fathom that. They set a goal but often times go through the motions and never put any real heart into it.

The best results in a training program should not only excel at a physical level but a mental & emotional as well. You fight to get what you want but at the same time, be at peace and emotionally invest in the time you want to get the results in. Some will try to tear you down not because you can't do it but because they don't want you succeeding. I've literally heard people tell me to my face that what I do is pure bullshit, its a hobby, something that doesn't cater to society and that I should do something real. I've been training in different methods for over 11 years without one single day off and never once thought about it; its not a hobby, its my addiction, my livelihood and a powerful form of safety net that I can't live without. When I hear people tearing down other people's dreams and choices that could do good for this world, makes me want to punch somebody.

Train using every bit of your soul into what you want to accomplish, its your choice and what comes of it will be what its meant to be. Not everyone can be an athlete, but they can be a part of sports or athletics in one form or another, not everyone is meant to lift 1000 pounds but you can become very strong in ways most people can't even dream of. When you are intent to do something and you make the best of it on your terms, results will happen one way or another; often times when you least expect it. Nobody can be an Arnold Schwarzenegger, but they can be the best versions of themselves and have something even the former Mr. Olympia can never have. You have the power to get amazing results but they need to be done with great intent. True intent creates the very best results.

Less Time Using VRT

Training within a period of time has always been a learning experience where its not just the time being used its the quality of the time. I take what I can get and train in a manner that my mind is set at a point in time and just do what pops up and make the best of it. Lately its been on Muscle Control and hitting my body using the DVR exercises from transformetrics.

For the past few weeks I've really hit these exercises hard doing 7-12 of them at a time where its three sets of 10 or 10 each arm. I clocked it once at 35 min. & 25 sec. for a full routine and felt amazing. I've decided to change things up and add in VRT Exercises to supplement some of the DVR exercises to get not only less time but put more focus on particular muscles such as the shoulders & upper arms. VRT is a beautiful style of training where you mimic the use of weights by flexing or extending a muscle by contracting and relaxing from a specific range of motion instead of a full range of motion. I've talked about and used this training in the past many times and always learn something new. With DVR's you control the contraction by utilizing your mind and muscles as if they were one and the same, VRT has a similar protocol but you use more of your imagination to truly make the contraction even greater.

I believe in what works and yes I have gained significant strength from this method especially in pull-ups and arm wrestling. It doesn't just give you a "pump" it goes beyond that where you infuse the mind and visualize what you're lifting. Your muscles can't tell the difference in what is being used or not used. You can virtually mimic any form of weights, machines & more by seeing in your mind's eye what the weight & implement you want to mimic; it even goes beyond weights, it could even go as far visualizing lifting a car, pulling chains like Samson, pushing a pyramid, pulling a really thick rope, gripping hard on a metal ball, Pressing a boulder your exercise is limitless.

It doesn't really take a lot of time to do this type of training, for the most part 20 minutes is really all that's needed. You can do more but its not necessary. I only go longer because its my choice. When I need a break from Calisthenics, Yoga, Circuit Training or Animal Moves I go to this method of exercise. I never make an excuse to not train because if I stop, it'll set me off and I'll literally hate myself for doing so; plus my brain is just not wired for it, I'm constantly learning and making adjustments to what methods work for me. Can this make you strong, absolutely but not in the manner you may want it to be; you can't lift a thousand pounds after doing VRT but you can however, generate real muscle & functional fitness without wear and tear on the joints plus you create rapid blood flow, endorphins and tapping into your own physiology. This has helped me learn how to control my body that has carried over to other areas like Isometrics & heavy lifting. It didn't make me crazy weightlifting strong but because of the way my body can contract and relax it has helped me in lifts I rarely if ever touch.

Use this method to put on awesome muscle and challenge the mind and body in a different manner than the norm. Don't be giving it a hard time if you never used it. It has its place more than you're lead to believe that it may not by some quacks who just want you to do their stuff otherwise you're just dumb. Its amazing for cardio, help lose bodyfat, lose weight, gain muscle, target muscles that won't be in isolation because in order to get the full benefit, you have to use multiple muscles for any specific exercise. Trust me, when you're strapped for time and you don't have the energy or transportation to get to a gym, this is a great alternative. It can be done practically anywhere from the park to a hotel room, at a banquet, a restaurant, lunch breaks at work, between meetings, sitting at a red light (And only at a red light NO DRIVING), in your chair watching a movie, while you're cooking or at the beach its up to you and you can pick any exercise that your imagination can utilize.

Use the VRT System to your best advantage and make the best of it no matter what time you have.

Do High Repetition Calisthenics Really Matter?

Often in training there are little things that can be up for debate for what works best and applying to a particular style. I've been through many styles of training; high rep workouts, heavy lifting, sprinting, focused tension on specific exercises, animal moves and circuit training; the thing I've come to grips is working best on a style of training that gave me the condition to not always rely on high rep workouts such as push-ups & squats in the triple digits or higher. Not that I don't believe they work, they do but there's far much more to training than focusing purely on high rep calisthenics.

What I look for is specific elements that don't take a long ass time and focusing purely on specific exercises that can be as effective strength wise either through high repetition or utilizing tension for lower reps. Take the push-up for example; I've been through the ringer of only as much as 5 reps in a single set and have hit more than 500 in a single workout; the true effectiveness for me is using muscle control that gets me only a few reps but just hits me like a Mack truck. I do believe High reps works beautifully but after a period in my eyes, it becomes boring, drags along and I don't have the energy to do anything else. The only true purpose to do this type of training is if you're an athlete and needing to be in top condition for your sport or to test yourself to see how far you can go.

I prefer Isometrics & Bridging over most these days and because I've become so enthralled with DVR Exercises, calisthenics is more of a background thing. You don't need to do a ton of reps in order to get in shape. Its great to have that kind of strength & endurance but sometimes you need to step away and test out other things. High reps is also time consuming so if you only have a few minutes, you won't be doing 500 reps of anything but you can do Isometrics, Yoga, Qi Gong, DVR Exercise, Bridging and Gymnastic Type Exercise. I believe in the quality in movement and isometric holds so wouldn't it be better to do a movement that demands quality or just go through the motions and screwing up your form in the process because trust no matter how you slice it, very high reps will cause you to lose your form in one manner or another and if you do it too often that leads to injury. The other thing on that count is how you recover, its important to rest up or do something a little different otherwise you can strain something and it'll bite you in the ass.

Do they truly matter? That's up for you to decide and depending on what you focus on. I love the excitement of training and putting together a workout or sets of workouts throughout the day that takes in quality breathing, energizing effects of particular exercises and making the most out of it and not always striving to do a great level of repetition and lose my sight on what's important or other things. High reps have their place and its ok to not do them if you don't want to but its also important to learn what you're capable of  and making a note that you have the ability to do something amazing. Regardless of what you do, learn the value of quality over quantity.

The Miracle Seven Exercises

Almost sounds like something on fitness in church. Dumb joke aside, the exercises I want to share with you that I've been practicing for a little while are incredible when it comes to building health, natural relaxation, blood flowing and the ability to contract and relax the muscles at will & how it can be done anywhere, anytime. The truth is muscular tension exercises are as old as exercise itself and over a period of time, the exercises may have changed or evolved but the principles stay the same. Using the mind to focus on specific muscles to contract and relax isn't easy to do but with practice can be done one of two ways, either in and of themselves as a training program or using them as a supplement to your current regimen.

I first learned these back around 2006 when I first got the book Pushing Yourself To Power by John Peterson. I didn't exactly care too much on some of the religious aspect of it, all I cared about was what exercises can I use and how I can apply them. Now granted knowing what I know now, its a expanded version of the Charles Atlas Course Dynamic Tension and with it were not just calisthenics and self resistance exercises, there were exercises purely based on muscle control utilizing movement within the tension being used. They were a little odd to me especially the name of the style called Dynamic Visualized Resistance (DVR). I tried them out anyway and they were great but they just didn't click with me at the time. As I was collecting more and more fitness books I came across another of John's books, The Miracle 7.

These were 7 exercises that were also in PYTP were the main emphasis for this particular book and as a curious trainee figured I'd check them out. Practiced them and were great for a while but ended up backing off. 10 years later I'm back at them and for a specific purpose other than learning; I wanted to truly find out what these can truly do when I applied my style with the exercises themselves, changing up the feet placement and putting my own spin on the 3x10-20 protocol. After practicing for weeks now, they have become a part of my daily life and I practiced them as my first workout of the day. Adding in the other 5 from the first book to do the complete routine from head to toe it has given me a different perspective on how to really expand the mind to exercise and use them as a workout exclusively and use other forms of exercise as training. Because of this I train from 1-3 times a day challenging my mind and body to control the muscles from amazing angles.

This type of training alone has greater benefits than just regular calisthenics. As much as I love push-ups, squats, bridging, v-ups, pull-ups and the best of them all  animal movements, DVR Style Training gives me a greater purpose to train for health especially because of the injuries to my ankles and shins I can't always keep up with the jumping, high rep workouts on a daily basis because it does burn me out and I need to take time off from them. Not the DVR Exercises, I can do these practically whenever I want and never get sore or bored, hell I don't even have to run or go too fast and lose my form; this thing is all about moving using muscular tension and focusing on the muscles without putting much or little stress on the joints and ligaments. They can be used in a variety of ways, they can be used for rehab, building muscle, train throughout the day or in one shot, doesn't take too long depending on what you do, generates an insane amount oxygenated blood down to the smallest capillaries, can be used as a warm up or a full workout, create flexibility, teaches how to breathe naturally, can be used on days off or (aught to be done) everyday. They help regenerate mobility and create muscle that isn't full of bloated skin, teaches you how interact the mind/muscle connection, can teach you how to use other forms of training by how you contract and relax the muscles in specific positions and can help restore injured muscles to their natural ability to heal and strengthen.

You can learn the Miracle 7 Exercises from here >>>>http://transformetrics.com/exercises and look for these exercises.....

Ab Contraction
Barrel Squeeze (Full Range Pectoral Contraction)
One-Arm Chin
Shoulder Roll
High Reach
Wrist Twist
Half Squat

To learn the Full 12 Exercises grab Pushing Yourself To Power. Very powerful exercises that open up the body and mind in a whole other realm. I like to do these out in the open where you can breathe in amazing air, get vitamin D (sunshine) and feel the body in a more natural setting. Doing them indoors works great too and is great for those that either can't go outside due to bad weather or just want to train and chill in the house afterwards. Can help build a naturally developed physique, very relaxing effects from post-workout, creates amazing endorphins and did I forget to mention can rave up your hormones especially for those over 40? Trust me, its worth a look at.

Cold Showers In The Summer

If you live in a hot climate in parts of the country you know that staying cool is more than a priority, its practically life-saving. Some people are natural heaters, I happen to be one of them so in winter time even up in northern Idaho I still dress in California style clothing. That's just the way my body tends to operate so the heat on my body helps me stay warm in the winter but in the late sprint to late summer that can almost be deadly. 

Staying cool for me lately is taking Cold showers which in turn helps me maintain temperature. Sure I can use fans around the house but for the most part it doesn't help my body much and its not fun watching a movie while the fan is blasting at the same time. Cold showers are my best friend and i'm talking like deep cold. Some people are more naturally cold so heat does get to them but they have a faster rate of dying down after a while, like my girl, she's cold very easily so I tend to be the heat rock. Those who can be colder can maintain a good amount of heat, i'm the exact opposite, I need cold just to maintain body heat.

Cold Showers can help not only maintain the body's temperature but can also aid in improving skin tone, weight loss, fat loss and open up hormones to the sexual organs. This in turn can lead to irony where because I need cold water to maintain my body heat in hot climate, my body burns calories just to stay warm. Believe me, they never get easier but they can be interesting if you do practically nothing but cold showers and only warm water a few times just to clean yourself has many benefits. In the winter it helps build a tolerance for cold weather so as long as its not so cold that your spit freezes in mid air you should be fine. The body has to burn off twice as many calories just so you can stay warm so look at the benefit from that. Make it a habit and get that amazing feeling on your skin and as much as you may not believe, cold showers do increase testosterone (it'll hit you once the body is at the best temperature of warmth). 

Twice A Day

For maintaining muscle and quality training, I believe in the art of training twice a day whether its in the afternoon and evening or morning and evening. If my energy is good i'll work out sometimes 3-4 times in a day but two is actually very good to do. You don't have to do hours upon hours who really has time for that? That was the ideal for Charles  Atlas and other athletes of that era. 

If you only one session for the whole day that's great at least do something. Do some energy drills or Push-ups & other exercises in a 15 minute period in the morning and do another one after coming home from work; chill for a bit, eat up and then train after digesting. This type of way helps the muscles stay fresh and can help give you some quality sleep. Don't train so hard you'll be hurting just get enough to where you're knowing you got some work in and its helping you die down but have some energy left for those endorphins. 

I like to sometimes do Bridging at night to help me get those endorphins going and feeling so good it helps me pass out. I might do DVR's at night which really helps the blood flow to the muscles and energizing the body while it brings everything down to help fall asleep. Training a little after waking up gives you that get-up-and-go feeling of supercharging the body and get those impulses firing for the day. If you can get a small increment of training on your lunch break go for it but don't waste so much energy you can't function for your second half on the job. Power up twice a day and you can't go wrong.

Bodybuilding That Heals

Some people won't like this and i'm not knocking bodybuilding in general; I believe in the power of healing, strengthening & supply my body with realistic training methods that rejuvenate & expand the body's energies from the inside out. Bodybuilding today is not something that is appealing in most cases unlike yesteryear with guys like Arnold, Otto Arco, Charles Atlas, Bobby Pandour, Bill Pearl & Maxick; these men believed in the art and superhuman effort to build the body for a purpose that went beyond just the symmetry & musculature. These guys were legitimately strong in their own right. Bodybuilding was life and wasn't always about competition although that helped but overall they did things most guys won't do today and have no way of ever catching up with them.

When I watch little posing routines from guys like Arco, Pearl & Arnold; they all had one thing in common and that was taking it to a level that made sense in their time and were far stronger than most guys today. The big exercise system I've been into lately has been the Muscular Tension exercises that create a full range of motion while thinking and flexing the muscles. Weights are great in many aspects especially for old school muscle building which I believe is far superior but when it comes to what's called Focused Muscular Tension, you have more control over your body than controlling a weight. Some will knock it as a joke that this type of training doesn't build real muscle and doesn't generate any real strength. Hate to break it to you home boy but it does generate great muscle especially developed density but also create natural musculature that isn't going to wear and tear on joints or ligaments. It also creates amazing strength results because once you can control your muscles in a flexed/relaxed state whenever you want it'll help with other crossover training.

That may sound like a pipe dream but I'm also proof that this stuff works; if it didn't I wouldn't be able to do my strength feats in a much more rapid pace of progress. This helped me do more pull-ups, helped my bridging gymnastics even as a heavyweight, put me in a state of pure power with my sledgehammer training, generate greater power into my steel bending, rip phonebooks easier and even help me deadlift over 400 pounds without any specialization. It takes practice and a great focus. I'm doing even more of it now to shed fat off muscles I'd like have greater density on. It is very powerful stuff. Best yet, I don't have any injuries from it or feel soreness or severe joint pain. They are healing exercises for sure and everyone should add these to their repertoire even if its for off days, they give you a high very few things can and because of the rapid blood flow to your nervous system, it generates even greater flow to the internal organs and strengthens the joints.

The closest to it I can think of is the VRT System which is available here....These systems don't just heal the body but maintain for life when kept consistently.    

Bridging For Real Strength & Flexibility

The back bridge was one of my first exercises when I was building my leg strength after my accident. Nothing made me stretch as much as the bridge did and holding it or 30 sec. at first felt like an eternity. I eventually built up to 3 min. and more plus learning the old school style of Bridging Gymnastics; being able to fall back into a bridge, kick over and back.

To me from my personal experiences both internally & externally, the bridge and its amazing variations like the front bridge, Gymnastic Bridge & the Rainbow Bridge (holding with hips high, legs straight as possible & without hands support) have given me real strength & flexibility that has carried over to other areas of training and its given me the greatest endorphin high ever. Who needs weed and drugs when you can bridge for a period of time?

Its not the easiest exercise but it truly opens up the body like no exercise has ever done. When you apply the full details of bridging in your training you're going to experience one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and that's turning back the clock and slowing down the aging process. Because of the way the bridge is taught, it goes beyond a neck exercise or just a stretch, it strengthens the organs, unlocks strength in the tendons and powers up on natural growth hormone. The flexibility you will develop gives you energizing affects and goes to levels most exercises can't touch. With its isometric components, Bridging makes every muscle in the body strong as hell for true functional strength and flexibility. Did I forget to mention it helps develop a wicked sex drive? When you apply the bridging techniques you'll feel and notice why.

To get the most out of bridging read up on Advanced Bridging by going to Legendary Strength and grab the course. There's nothing like it and its one of the most unique courses ever developed. Don't believe me, see for yourself.....

Using Exercise To Heal

Whenever you hear the phrase "no pain, no gain" don't you just want to throw up on the person that said it to you? Unfortunately its been etched into the minds of many people in the fitness world that have this notion that in order to get what you want, you go through some kind of torture and "pleasurable" pain. I'm sorry but if you need pain to get results you're either sadistic or just plain full of brain farts. True exercise is suppose to help heal and build, not be painful and torturous.

For most people, they need to understand that building muscle & training the body in general does take effort but it certainly should never be painful; discomfort is one thing I'll take that but pain is just plain dumb. When I was getting back on my feet, I used exercise to heal my body and built on developing great blood flow into the muscles themselves. Some exercises are very tough and can be crazy to work up to but don't ever believe that pain is going to get you somewhere, it can and its called Misery and i'm not talking the Kathy Bates kind either.

I still to this day train to stay healthy both inside and out, I've gotten back into doing the healing exercises called DVR's (Dynamic Visualized Resistance) which are done by tensing the muscles than moving throughout a range of motion in full fashion. Think of it as if you're driving with the brakes on. This type of training alone can be beneficial in how you energize the body, increase blood flow into the muscles down to the smallest capillaries & developing natural muscular definition. This isn't to build massive muscles like in bodybuilding but they can be used to develop the body's natural musculature and create healing strength and promote healthy flexibility in the shoulders, back, chest, thighs, calves & upper/lower arms. Even the Abs get an amazing workout because of the contraction using an exercise throughout the entire range of motion. No you won't be able to lift massive amounts of weights but because of the control you have to tense & relax the muscles it can certainly help if you're a weightlifter. What it truly does that it helps the muscles and tendons create an expansion of the range of motion in particular movements, basically another version of Muscle Control.

DVR's aren't necessarily new but have been used in various ways throughout the centuries in Yoga, Martial Arts, Bodybuilding & many other ways. The main component is not just to tense the muscles but truly connect through the mind/muscle concept where you think into the muscles. This type of training can be very taxing if you overdo it but with correct tension you can strengthen the body from the inside out. One of things they truly can do is put you in a state of pure blissfulness and mellow you out with pure peacefulness. Give them a shot. Its worth it.

Recover Well

I'm one of those guys who loves intense workouts such as 250 push-ups and 400 squats, lifting heavy for an hour with my boys when I get the chance, do 30 min. Animal Workouts, bend a few spikes in a row, finishers that are pure ass kickers; I love that stuff but I also love the recovery workouts as well. Most never realize how much recovery is just as important as the intense ones themselves. When I do recovery workouts its usually exercises at a lighter intensity and a good portion of the time are what I call Playful Movements; combining the elements of stretching, Animal Flow, Regeneration & Ginastica Natural where its really just messing around and playing but also have it being more meditative and fun.

The body needs to repair itself but that's not going to happen if you kick its ass day in and day out every single day of the week, you're not a pro athlete and even if you were, recovery needs more attention than you'll want to believe. I've worked out among some heavy duty guys and very few I ever say truly did some recovery training. I don't do very much of the "warm up" stretches before my workouts for a number of reasons, one being that a lot of workouts have an automatic stretching element in them so I do get limber and loose as I go throughout the training. Some days however like yesterday I had to take it easy on my shoulders and my legs after a heavy deck of cards workout and muscle control exercises so I did exercises that didn't put a lot of heavy stress on those particular muscles such as bridging exercises, DVR Exercises (Dynamic Visualized Resistance) & the Chest Expander to stretch the shoulders from various angles (awesome tool for those who've had shoulder issues).

Make recovery workouts a part of your regimen regardless of what system you're on. If you can't function at a high level you won't be at your best. Do daily training by being intense less than a few days a week and do recovery workouts on your "off' days and the reason why I put it in quotes was because there's no such thing as a day off, even if it means going for a 30 min. walk/hike or swimming or bicycling or even just to have a field day playing a sport with your buddies. Be active.

Your training is not going to die if you do a recovery day or 2; some people need a week or more because that's just how the body works. It gets to me sometimes when people are so idiotic to think that if they train the same as a pro athlete to get the results they want its going to magically happen. Pro Athletes train hard for a specific purpose and that's for their particular sport. It's not meant for the average person to be going that hard for a period of time; you need recovery, healthy food intake and the right kind of exercise meant for your body type & or leverage. I'm learning this myself but unlike the majority of brain dead people out there I know when its time to back off and do things to get me back to what I want to do. Recover well and do so being mindful and open to the idea that you know what, its ok to not be so intense all the time, its ok to take it easy and do something lighter; you're still doing something and you're keeping yourself consistent. Its not easy by any stretch but with consistency you are creating a life-long element that leads you on the path to a kick ass life well beyond your years.

What Deck Are You Using?

Over the last few days killing it on the deck of cards workout, its gotten me into a rhythm that keeps me interested and keeps me on my toes. The workout goes by fast when you really get into it, it sucks the first time around but once you really hit a stride and your body hits into automatic mode; time just flies by. For the most part I don't like using plain old regular bicycle decks or poker cards that are just generic and boring. I've been using an app on my android that gives me this workout and I can type in the name of an exercise whether I want to do 2 or 4 exercises.

Most decks are pretty dull when you look at them so whether its my app or the decks I do have I make it interesting and shoot for a fun filled deck that keeps me motivated and having a great time kicking ass. My favorite deck to use is my Indiana Jones Playing Cards; nothing is more satisfying and more bad ass than seeing the adventurous archaeologist on the card and telling what's coming next. The beauty about this is you never know what card you'll end up getting since I never do the same workout twice. What deck do you like to use?  

I mainly use this for my bodyweight workouts and later on this summer will use them in my hammer workouts which will be no more than twice a week. Its a great tool to use on the road or just wanting to train in your home. I've done this many times and have hit high numbers from doing this doing 4 exercises to just doing Push-ups & Squats at a total of 250 & 400. It'll get you fitter, leaner, great cardio and muscular endurance training, strength, flexibility, great for speed, fat loss, muscle building & not to mention tons of testosterone building. You need only a couple other things for this and that's a towel & a bottle (gallon most likely) of water. Some workouts range from 20-40 min. Some of my workouts last a little over an hour since I like using as great form as possible and take not laying down and die rests but deep breathing in between cards and get oxygen going.

Old-Time Wrestlers used this workout to get in shape such as Ric Flair, Karl Gotch, Ken Shamrock, Tatsumi Fujinami & other Japanese stars have used this to get in phenomenal condition. You don't need to be a pro wrestler to benefit from this, do the best of your abilities, rest only when needed and do tons of deep breathing, it'll help your cardio immensly. I believe next to animal exercise & sprints the very best cardio there is. You don't need much space to do this. For the time being keep your exercises the majority of push-ups and squats; you can add other exercises too like Burpees, sit-ups, pull-ups, mountain climbers & V-ups but make at least the first two a push-up and a squat. My current exercises are the Hindu Push-up, Tiger Bend Squat (variation of the Hindu Squat taught by John Peterson), Hindu Jumpers & Mountain Climbers; this workout alone is an ass kicker and takes me around 25-35 min. to finish give and take my deep breathing between cards. Want to get really ambitious, finish off the workout with the Front & Back Bridges, its nuts and really for the insane trainees but its fun and really tests your mental game.

Have fun and rock that deck. I'll be rooting for you.

Lifelong Fitness Is Better Than Momentary Fitness

Being in shape doesn't always mean six pack abs and arms that look like cannonballs. Training for life is key and the best way to do it is to maintain your body as best as possible as injury/pain-free as possible. It's always an adrenaline to test your numbers and how much you can lift at a certain age and your endurance levels plus keeping up with a tight body those are all cool things but the truth is you won't always be able to maintain the same things in your 80's like you did in your 20's or 30's.

For those of us in our 20's and 30's are in the prime of our testosterone peaks, we can handle stress far greater than most twice our age and we feel invincible at times. I trained very hard to get where i'm at today but once I hit a certain age I do need to train differently although I'm mostly a bodyweight guy, I tend to just stick to the basics (Push-ups, Squats, Bridging & some Ab Work) while I also move around heavy hammers, qi gong exercise and Self-Resistance Training. Train to help you live longer, not beat you down and feel like a cripple.

Momentary Fitness is the type of training that is for the extremely hardcore fanatics that take exercise to levels that doesn't need to be done. Crossfit in most cases does training that lasts momentarily until someone ends up in the hospital and needs a hip replaced before their prime or have shoulder surgery and is out for 3 months. Other similar systems don't look for the long-term, just drive your body into the ground and after a few years even at age 30 some might feel like an 80 year old man; that's truly messed up and whoever pushes themselves that hard aught to get their brain scanned for insanity.

I do believe in challenges and testing yourself but not on a frequent basis and go to extremes just to prove what you can do. Most of the time people go to extremes to impress others just so they feel approval and tell everyone how fit they are. Being fit is not about impressing others or pushing yourself to keep up with someone else, its truly how you keep up with your persistence and progressing little by little and getting better at something overtime. I'm not the fittest guy in the world, no one is but I can do things at my age, my size that most can't; its not bragging (just a tad) its because I have proven to myself not someone else that I can do something and get better at it or do things because I want to and not get injured. I've had enough injuries in my time that its better to stay within a range that works and keeps me happy. I've broken both legs, cracked my head open, dented my knees, scrapped my arms, nearly cracked my ribs, taken shards of glass out of my bare hand and have been so stiff everything hurt if I moved so don't tell me about your little boo boos on your elbows or cry about having busted shoulders from your bench pressing its not going to fly.

Do things that make you feel young and vibrant, things that help you have energy well beyond your years and do things that challenge you but never need to go to the hospital for. I've read lists of people who have been in the hospital for injuries from exercising too hard. I never once in over 10 years gone to the hospital because of something from an exercise. I rarely ever have been in the ER the last few years and that is due to my judgement and how I keep my body healthy. The only time I went to the ER since my accident was for a stomach virus and was seriously dehydrated that's it.

Train with purpose but look at it from a long-term perspective. Be mindful and listen to your body.

Being In Top Condition For Life

Regardless of age it's always awesome to be in top shape. Whether you're in sports, business or just want to look awesome and be full of energy; training for life-long conditioning is a must if you want to live a quality life. Sure you can be over 80 and still be lucky to be alive but the majority of those in that age range or even 20 years before then have a lot of major issues that halts their health, happiness, quality of shining energy and more.

It's not a bad thing to look good and have a body that turns heads but if you have problems on the inside all that outer appearance won't mean jack. I don't look like a greek god or a adonis that is just so damn beautiful; i'm just a guy that likes to train and maintain good health and quality of life by laughing and learning what I can. I train for life, I don't go for max weight or reps or do anything to failure, just do things that make me happy and help me stay in shape. That's part of my current training by taking basic old school exercises and get in the best shape I can without injuring myself and feel like that one day at 19 where I couldn't even lift my head out of bed because I was so stiff.

Living a long life is a great feat for anyone but why live a long life of physical pain, full of arthritis, joint inflammation and weak legs? Train for quality, not for quantity. It takes a bigger person mentally to rather maintain their health by training and challenging the body rather than reminiscing what you were able to do. I don't plan on doing another 1000+ Squats in a workout anytime soon because why would I need to? There's no point but I want to be able to do more than 100 as I get older. It's that mindset most can't truly understand because its that "I want it now and I need it fast." Knowledge is first but wisdom becomes your greatest ally when you open doors for yourself and give the next generation a chance to learn. A painter didn't start out great and when he masters his craft he makes more mistakes than a beginner can even begin to touch. Live with purpose but live for what's important.

Make the most out of your training by developing knowledge on how to maintain your strength throughout your life and how to use it whenever you choose. Whether momentary or for long periods of time if you stay in top shape regardless of what you do, you'll be light years ahead of your peers or those in your age groups.

I'm Back & Ready To Get @ It

I'm back and it is crazy awesome. Disneyland was the best trip yet with my favorite girl and making awesome memories and did a ton of walking plus Isometrics. I have written before about Theme Park Isometrics and that it helps with boredom and keeps you on your toes. While in line for various rides and meet & greets, I did Isometrics from many angles and intensities ranging arm wrestling poles, pulling on chains, isometric wrist rotations, pulling up on rails, pushing against the walls, gripping the handles of a ride, chest presses, isometric punches, wall sits and much more. It gave me insane energy as we walked on average 8 miles a day in the parks and to/from the hotel.

I even gave an Avenger a run for his money during a photo op in California Adventure near the Animation Academy & the Hyperion. See For yourself.....

I had him on the ropes and I could really do this all day but the guy needed to have fun meeting fans and keep up with another Marvel hero that was just crawling with charisma; think you may know the guy....

Isometrics just give you that insane internal strength & power you can't get anywhere else. You can literally do them anywhere, anytime and at virtually every angle. I think even a Star Wars villain was sensing my strength and needed to be sure he can use his own abilities on me but he just couldn't come to grips with it. Tried to get in my head....Poor bastard never had a chance...

To truly learn the value of Isometrics within the beauty of training in reality is the ability to expand your mind to possibilities you didn't think existed. There are many that are so shallow & can't grasp the concept to truly train anywhere anytime. You have strength in you that hasn't reached its greatest potential. Adding in Isometrics with you give great power but as Uncle Ben says "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. 

Time to get back to doing my thing and remember no matter what, you can do things that can make a greater impact than you can imagine. Kick ass & be awesome. 

Off To The Happiest Place On Earth

Well my fellow readers I'm sad to say i'll be leaving you for a while. Ok maybe 10 days. I'm off to Disneyland with my one and only on our first travel together to California. Its her first time in both the state & at the parks. An adventure we have set out since last year and have been saving up since.

It'll be nearly 7 years since my last walk into the Magic Kingdom and the time has been way too long. Never thought I'd get back there let alone with an awesome woman who has never set foot on California soil. Will this affect my training? Somewhat but its manageable. Still going to do my superhero sprint training but also a ton of walking around all the lands including the construction of the new Star Wars Land. So excited for that.

Everyone should go to Disneyland at least once in their lifetime and from my experiences, it is a trip that is worth it. A place to go to let reality walk out the door for a while and just be a kid again. Can't wait to see all the new stuff the parks have in stored for us and I cannot be more happier than to be with my favorite girl and create memories that we'll never forget. Make it happen for you and and/or your family to go and make it memorable.

Like I said my superhero training is still going on and I plan to really kick ass with it when we're not in the parks. The best part of training anywhere, anytime is that once you've got your training in, feel free to get out and have fun. Live in those moments that can only be felt once in a lifetime for most people. Disneyland is a treasure, regardless of how expensive it is, if you truly want to enjoy its glory, you will make it happen to go even if it takes you ten years. Memories are beautiful in more ways than one; see to it that you can create them.

Great Stretching On & Off Sprint Days

Whether on my days off or on from sprinting workouts, I do my best to stretch no matter what but for the most part I make stretching either part of the workout or way earlier or later in the day because I do recover quickly and even cold I'm pretty well limber. I don't necessarily believe in the warm-up stretching or the cool down method because I feel great already before and after my workouts and as far from my experience I haven't had any severe injuries.

As I get older sure stretching will be more of a priority but not the type of stretching mainstream "trainers" have you do, the toe touches and the aerobic style of stretching; my thing is to do what combat athletes do or Animal Flow/Playful Movement where you develop flexibility, mobility & dynamic/static stretching that isn't passive or typical. This style works for me especially for my lower legs because as you know I have a rod and altogether 10 pins in my legs holding my bones together. I do pull a muscle from time to time but never to the point where I can't walk or the arms are completely immobile.

Most stretching systems don't really care about the tendons and the ligaments, mostly just the muscles and that's where a lot of injuries are becoming more reoccurring than ever. The true power is in the joints so when they become strong you become stronger. Muscles are needed but everything is connected and when you neglect one thing, that other side becomes more stressed and becomes overused. When I sprint, I do my best to get the workout done as best and fast as possible while recovering well and fresh. When you combine flowing movement with key point stretching and holding deep squats you're developing crucial elements that stick within your body and as long as you maintain it, you can live a full quality life of pain-free and powerful mobility.

One of my favorite forms of mobility is the Regeneration Exercises from Mike Fitch's Course Bodyweight Athlete where you can do simple movements that hit muscles and joints in a specific way that can practiced practically anywhere and puts you into a state of mind where functionality is at a high level of precise mobility and flexibility that transcends many other forms. Don't believe me? Grab the course for yourself and develop your entire structure through powerful movements, crisp flows, regenerate your body on off days and hone amazing skills that take your training into the stratosphere. Although i'm merely mentioning this for sprints, this type of training can be used for any other training. Make it a point to not just stretch to get better but develop greater quality of life in your body that can help you do amazing things no matter what your age.

Recovery After Sprint Workouts

In order to get the best results from the program is to really get enough recovery for the body to repair itself and build a higher tolerance of training. I do recover very quickly from HIT workouts but I still want to keep myself in top condition no matter what day it is. That's why I do recovery workouts: Qi Gong, Dynamic Stretching, Mobility, Joint Loosening & others.

Recovery is equally or more important than the training itself. I've pushed myself on many occasions & still come out having great energy. Its not the best thing to be intense all the time, I've learned that the hard way doing many days of Animal Exercise and for a while was doing a deck of cards workout up to 4 times a week which even for me was overdoing it and ended up with a bad shoulder which i'm still working on to get to being pain-free. I'm a very energetic guy and when I really push myself I need to chill out; you're only as efficient as how you use and conserve energy.

Since getting back into Sprint Training with some extra bonuses, my appetite has gone up a bit and my energy levels are great but my biggest focus is how I can recover well in order to be optimal next time around during the week. That's why I like doing various stretches and joint mobility, you still have something to do just on a smaller scale. I recover the majority of the week which is best for most people, if you're a pro athlete or superhuman, sure you may go a little more but for most even above average or higher level of trainees need more time to recover or tone down the level of intensity and only go so high no more than 3x a week. Some muscles recover faster than others and there are those that have insane levels of strength & conditioning that recovery doesn't need to last very long.

People forget that yeah when they have that adrenaline everything becomes a blur and you can all sorts of things without realizing it but it does in fact wear off one way or another and you're going to need repairs and let your body fuel up. Don't forget to take time off or do much smaller portions of workouts on a day off from very intense sessions because if you are too intense the majority of the week, your body will break down real hard and you can get yourself injured or end up in the hospital. That's the thing I can't stand about most crossfit workouts, too many people don't get the recovery they need because for one their not listening to their bodies and are completely full of brain farts & two their trainers are putting them through workouts where technique is virtually non-existent including those dumbass kipping pull-ups and crazy unrealistic injury-prone muscle-ups on the rings and end up in the hospital.

Recover and know the difference between kicking ass both intensely and in recovery and getting your ass kicked negatively by some stupid shmuck who doesn't know his ass from his elbow on real recovery. Train hard, train smart and kick ass in your recovery sessions.

Making Sprints Awesome By Using The Superhero Sprints System

Sprinting is truly the key to unlocking super growth hormone & fat burning torching elements. There are many ways to do interval training but Sprints is the ultimate period. What if we spiced it up and made it the ultimate anytime, anywhere workout where you only need 1 hour a week of training this way and just do little things on your days off. The type of training where not only has the calorie burning of sprint training but combined with strength/conditioning exercise circuits that will make fat not only scream bloody murder but just might literally run out of your body and be afraid of you for life.

Weight loss is the big thing that people want to do these days but for the most part, they're doing it for the wrong reasons. Sure you lost weight and feel a little better but how is your muscle mass coming along? Are your your energy levels at a higher rate than 200% of what it was before? Is your metabolism kicking in faster? How about your natural growth hormones? Funny thing is, you can still weigh the same but have greater muscle density and lower body fat. Yeah you lost weight but there's still fat hanging around that just doesn't seem to go away and you're left with that "loose skin."

I know what it's like to not have a lot of muscle and carry around more fat than I care to mention; I understand about stretch marks and having a gut hanging over you like its meant to take gravity. You're not alone but in order to get the very best out of your goals you're going to have to put in effort. Sorry pal but there's no such thing as a magic pill or a supplement that burns off all the sugar & fat to make you look like an Adonis. However; you don't need to put in a ton of hours in order to get the physique you want. Train in a way that takes less than a half hour and keeps burning calories even hours after your workout.

Superhero Sprints is high up on the fitness food chain that takes you from flabby to looking insanely better in a matter of weeks, practice for a few months and it'll even make you look greater than that, hit a year and holy crap you can look far leaner and more muscular than you did in a 5-10 year span. This course has the makings of looking like a real life superhero with boundless energy, insane speed, incredible endurance and strength that is functional and realistic. You're a beginner? Why didn't you say so, this course has that too as it can be your introduction to The Superhero Physique University. You're not big on wanting to train outside? Unless its raining cats & dogs, snowing or meteor showers are hitting the ground, get your fresh air but it does have a program for indoor training, so really you have no excuse.  

How about the Cost? I've literally spent hundreds of dollars on top notch courses and have spent time with some of the greatest minds in the fitness field but this course is not only the cheapest course I found, its literally worth more than 100X its value. This course costs less than a monthly payment to Planet Fitness for crying out loud, less than the typical bodyweight course, less than the cost of a typical fitness video from Wal-Mart (imagine that). $9 and here's what you'll get.....

A Main Manual of the Superhero Sprints System
Indoor Sprint Training
Superhero Supersets
Backyard Intervals
Nutrition Plan
Videos Of All The Exercises in the System

You'll be able to download all these ASAP and can get them all onto your hard drive or highlight them in your browser. Get a physique like the Flash, Wolverine, Gambit, Catwoman, Ms. Marvel, Spiderman. Make the Superhero Sprint System your own (I did and got insane results from it in a few weeks).

Strong Core=Strong Body

Its always cool in some form to have muscular areas around the body like washboard abs, toned arms, big chest, a back the size of Texas and legs that looked like they're carved from granite but at most having rippling muscles aren't always going to save you. When it comes down to it, your center line is one of the main reasons to keep you alive. Having a six-pack is awesome but in reality if its not strong and powerful, you're SOL my friend. Funny thing is, some of the strongest people in history didn't have six-packs yet lived for many years.

To build some solid, insanely strong abs and overall core is not crunches or isolated sit-ups. Unless you're in rehab or a beginner in exercise, crunches are more of a killer than anything else when it comes to Core Work. Most people people believe the Core is just abs, in fact from the bottom of your chest to your pelvis is the Core area. Those muscles working in unison develop a stronger foundation of health and fitness that virtually anything else next to legs, neck and grip. Isolating them is more cause for an injury than you were told about. You can do crunches till the cows come home and you'll never truly achieve mighty abs. Train the body as a unit with a main focus on those main areas; upper, lower and obliques.

The best exercises that I have found that truly hit these muscles are ones used in Gymnastics, Combat Sports & Sprint Training. Save your energy by learning exercises that hit all those muscles at the same time like Bridging, V-Ups, Sprinting Uphill, Side Planks, Full Body Sit-ups & others. Nothing replaces these because when you truly engage the core in compound exercises they put a mark on what brings out the very best within those muscles together instead of individually. The stronger your Core, the Stronger your whole BODY!!!

May The 4th Be With You,

Ben Bergman

Top 10 Metabolic Conditioners For Fat Loss, Increase In Metabolism & Putting More Lead In Your Pencil

That last one you didn't expect to read huh? Well increasing testosterone and keeping it at a high level regardless of age for both men & women is crucial to living a healthy life. The type of testosterone I mean by is not using steroids or Performance Enhancers where there's all kinds of synthetic chemicals that when taken improperly or overuse in a period of years basically makes men turn into women (high vocal chords, Moobs, testicular shrinkage & damaged organs) and women into men (lower vocal chords, acne, increased hairy areas other than the vagina and enlarged clitoris). You can get testosterone for free by doing High Intense Training 2-3x a week doing short bursts of exercise that lasts at max 30 seconds and resting a minimum of 1-2 minutes.

I'm sure you've heard it all before and believe me when certain things are repeated they become annoying but in this case; people need to get their head out of the clouds and stop doing what the next trend is going on. I'm sorry but very rarely a trend stays around and works. The best type of training is what's been around for centuries and continues to flourish despite the wacky world of machines, infomercials, fad diets & silly little pink dumbbells (sorry guys it ain't cute).

Natural testosterone as you may or may not know stops being stable by ages 30-35 and each year the percentage drops. I'm over the age of 30 so my levels are just starting to drop unless I do something about it. I might get a test done one of these days to see where I'm at but for the most part I think i'm safe with the stuff I'm already doing but as they say, always a way to improve. Training, eating better and being active are great ways to keep things going but to really spice up your junk or flower it takes a specific type of training that creates more blood flow, more fat melting elements & hitting that sex drive is a must otherwise your body will turn to shambles. I have a saying where "its not easy but you can make it interesting" by training hard for only a small amount of days but making it interesting for you to keep at consistently. Because I'm getting back to HIT I feel like its my duty to give you helpful tips and exercises that really turn you into a stud or a sexy goddess. So for that here are my top 10 Exercises for making these things very possible......

10. Burpees: One of the ultimate anytime, anywhere exercise that hits the whole body and pounds the fat into submission. Do basic or other variations and you'll be swimming in testosterone.

9. Animal Movements: From Bear Crawls to Frog Jumps, animals are the true inspiration for putting on functional muscle and increase in growth hormone. These alone are beneficial and when you do them fast, you won't last long.

8. Bridging: Most notably the Wrestler's Bridge & Gymnastic Bridge are full body exercises that can be done virtually anywhere and develops strength in the spine, back, abs, neck and legs (arms for the GB). On a consistent basis 3 minutes of these exercises will open up channels in the body that not only target muscles but sexual energy that in turn can help burn fat and increase sex drive.

7. Hindu Squats: Done in high numbers, this variation of the squat turns boys into studly men. The metabolic effect on this is chalk full of testosterone building and hardcore hormone happiness. Get into the 500 rep range and you will be having energy very few these days have ever experienced.

6. Moving Heavy Weight: In partials or full range, moving heavy weights builds growth hormone because of the amount of force needed, your body goes into overdrive and smacks into of the heart of your hormones.

5. Circuits: Exercises done one after another are incredible for enhanced conditioning and can be used using the above or other exercises. Darebee.com has the very best circuits that target muscles from head to toe and some workouts can be done by not so normal men and women.

Workout Finishers: A series of exercise(s) done after a workout to hit the calories even harder in the face. These are done within 1-5 minutes at best. Say you did a 30 minute workout and after a few minutes you do another 5 of exercises to really hammer the hell out of that blubber.

4. Tabatas: Exercises done in a 20 Sec. On/ 10 Sec. Off element that can go for 2-8 minutes that target fat like a sniper to the enemy in combat. This can be done with virtually many exercises (Bodyweight is best) and puts you into a state that makes you sweat like Niagara Falls.

3. Thick Bar Training: A bar ranging from nearly 2 inches or more thick in diameter really puts the whole body in overdrive regardless of the exercise. Attach Fat Gripz to your barbells/dumbbells and/or machine handles and you have a fight on your hands. Your reps will be cut in half or more just by doing this. Stick to compound movements such as Presses & Pulling. Doesn't hurt to have an insane grip in the process.

2. Step-Ups: Done in a fast paced fashion and these bad boys will make you scream bloody murder. One of the greatest and most conditioned wrestlers of all-time Bob Backlund swears by this exercise and does them in high numbers that are in the realm of superhuman. As one of the main staples of his regimen, its helped stay in top condition throughout the majority of his career in pro wrestling. This is a better alternative to running as it's easier on the knees and can be done anywhere that has steps.

1. Sprints: The mecca of making fat cry like a little bitch. Whether on flat ground or on the hills, sprints will make a man or women out of you whether you like it or not when done on a consistent basis. These suckers not only blow torch fat like a furnace but have you burning calories for up to 72 hours after a workout even while you eat and sleep. For guys if you really want to get those boys swimming and feel like you're 18 again this is the type of training to do it. For ladies, you will make fat scream louder than a house wife from Beverly Hills fighting for a prada on sale. Its the ultimate target for making hormones grow like beautiful leaves in Springtime.

There you have it. Make your training fun and get those hormones raging and turn that body into something you can not only be proud of but can possibly make you the elephant in the room (all eyes can't help but be on you).

Speed Demon

When your life is on the line and someone is chasing you, jogging isn't going to be on your mind. You will burst through and run like a bat out of hell to get away. Sprinting is not just a workout, it could very well save your life and hit your body to drill up some adrenaline in order to survive. Being a speed demon was a staple of ancient times and it's the quickest way to not only burn off fat but put on muscle that is realistic, functional and worth the effort because if you're weak and couldn't move very fast it was your ass.

When I sprint I use my imagination in a variety of ways that has one thing in common and that's to go hard and fast as possible. I imagine things like a wild animal chasing me, running down a villain like the flash, catching dinner like a cheetah, outrunning prey like a greyhound, hauling ass to away from the boulder like in Indiana Jones. There are so many ways you can increase your speed but it all starts with your thoughts. That's where the course CoreForce Energy really helps me, it helps me tap into a place I normally don't go to and not only puts me in a state of mind where my environment changes and my body naturally goes into that mode where I become invincible, ready and powerful. When you truly tap into the power of Sprint Training, you will become a fat-burning machine that has explosive strength, mighty lungs, hormone producing & muscle building.

To get the most out of your sprint training, don't just sprint and get all the benefits of what it comes with, learn the technique so you can prevent injuries which can occur if you're not careful. In the old adage of Spiderman "With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility" so you have not only the power to do sprints but you are responsible for how you achieve it and make the best of it. Learn the techniques and the will to get better.

When you become proficient in Sprints and the fat is melting off your body you can hear the voice of the Wicked Witch Of The West screaming and crying like bloody murder and picture. What better way to imagine the fat melting than that LOL. If you're a horror fan, you can picture it melting by seeing your favorite character slicing and dicing victims. Anyway you want to imagine it make it your goal to hit it hard and just picture in your mind how you want the fat to melt or sound. Be a speed demon and make that workout your bitch.

Two Superheroes Inspire To Burn Fat Fast

I loved superheroes as a kid, watching the old x-men cartoons, Batman The Animated Series, Superman, Spiderman and others but I didn't get really inspired by them until a few years ago when the Avengers movies were coming together. From then on I did crazy research and different ways to train in Superhero Fashion. Of course I didn't put on a cape or mask but I was inspired to train differently and enhance my imagination. That's why it helped me get in better condition and use my imagination for workouts based on heroes like Batman, Thor, Hulk and others. What I found to be one of my biggest inspirations is the Superheroes-inspired sprinting.

DC's The Flash & Marvel's Quicksilver are the speed demons of Comic Book Culture and my biggest inspirations for doing Sprint Training. Out of the two clearly Flash takes the cake. He's more humorous and just has that bad ass outfit with the lightning bolt attached to the center. Whenever I do sprints he's one of the first to have me imagine having that speed, the force to drive hard and run hard for short bursts. Sprints are at the top of the food chain for burning off fat faster than any other method period. I was never much a jogger even before my leg injuries but for the most part, jogging isn't going to help you develop muscle and burn fat the way you think it does.

Not saying running isn't good cardio exercise if that's what you enjoy cool but if you plan on developing powerful legs and burn calories like crazy, long distance cardio won't get you there. HIT workouts burn off far more because of the amount of exertion that is applied and the ability to really tackle insane fat burning and muscle building (functional muscle that is). Jogging can burn calories no question but it isn't going to store energy the way sprinting does. Look at the difference between a sprinter & a distance runner, its pure night and day. The distance runner has great stamina but has very little muscle to show and looks like a person who's about to wither and die as oppose to a sprinter that has a great deal muscle mass, far lower bodyfat and looks like he could be on steroids.

Sprinting intensifies the Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers and stores more energy into the cells and speeds up your hormones that create better recovery, makes you look younger and fills your lungs with oxygen more than you know what to do with. Although you're breathing far harder and feel like you're going to die, you're actually making your body produce more hormones in order to facilitate those energy cells to the lungs. I'm no scientist or biology professor but I know how my body feels after sprinting and it helps with my legs because I have a rod and 8-10 pins in my legs that hurt at times just from walking but no pain from sprinting.

Quicksilver is an amazing speedster and burns off more fat than any other hero in the marvel universe so he needs to eat like a madman just to keep fueling his muscles. For that much speed to run on and the amount of calories burned a person of that caliber would need to eat up to 20,000 calories a day or more so for a human, it be maybe 25% less than that depending on the person. Don't always assume because someone eats a ton their going to look like a beast; some people have very high metabolisms and need more calorie fueled intake in order to satisfy the body's needs. Some of us like myself have lower metabolisms meaning we can't burn off as easily and our bodies store more. I'm training myself to increase my metabolism in order to burn off the stored fat my body that isn't easy to get rid of. I do train hard as you have seen some of my past workouts but I'm also learning to be a bit more strategic, I do still eat quite a bit because of the muscle mass I produced over the years and keeping to a better minimum of not eating and drinking too much crap (I like food leave me alone lol) so I have to train differently to where unwanted fat has no choice but to burn to a crisp and putting my body through higher intense cardio. That's where sprinting comes in.

Its not easy but this is the fastest way to make this happen and little by little making better choices of food (I still eat a good amount of veggies & fruits) but I like sprints and its warmer out these days and see where it'll take me. Speed up and get cracking on those sprints brother, no more than 2-3 sessions a week.

The 2 Most Famous & Leanest/Fastest Animals That Teach You To Burn Fat Fast

In my latest quest to transforming into a Wild Jungle Man (My girl calls me Monkey Man), I've been learning through self-experimentation that burning fat isn't that easy but if you stop and think about what really hits everything in order to get that fat burning machine running? I've done it many times but I always wondered what animals are the fastest of their species and how do they stay lean their entire lives. Although most animal movements generate great levels of natural growth hormone and metabolism only less than a handful are the pinnacle of burning off fat like a hot plate to butter.

Next year will be 20 years of being in fitness starting with lifting weights in junior high and in all that time I have found only maybe 3 methods that truly target metabolism-increase, natural hormone-growth and the ability to decrease fat faster & that was Sprinting, Animal Movements & Isometrics. When I went to get my physical for the first time since I was in High School, I found out my metabolism was low and my blood pressure was quite high so I went back to the only thing I can think of that hits those 2 things in very different ways by one thing going up and the other going down. I went back a few weeks later and my blood pressure dropped 30 points and my metabolism went up a percentage.

That one thing I came up with was doing my Superhero Sprints program 3x a week and making it my mission to make those numbers hit in opposite directions. It worked like a charm but I went off the wagon a short time later. Although I still have those numbers in good hands I've just changed things around.

So what are the most famous speed demons of animal kingdom? Would believe their a Dog & Wildcat? It's the Cheetah & the Greyhound. These lean, mean, fighting machines are insanely fast and have muscles in places that are surreal. A Greyhound can run the 100-Meter Dash in under 5 seconds which hits at about 45 MPH, that's freakishly fast and the cheetah's highest speed on record was roughly 70 MPH. How long do they last at their top speed? Most likely no more than a few seconds to a minute. The need for recovery is greatly increased but because of the stupid crazy amount of fat and calories being burned even completely at rest, its increasing their hormones and it helps put on lean, functional & insane muscle from their necks down to the damn paws.

Humans are such a complex and mysterious species but nonetheless, we can get nearly he same effects of that kind of phenomena. No we can't run that fast no matter how hard we try, the top speed on record I believe is 28 MPH and that's less than 10 seconds at full blast. However, do due the nature of our body's unbelievable system of blood flowing, strong organs & mighty powerful hormones we can create great effects on the nervous system to generate greater amount of hormones than the leading lethal injections that pro athletes use to get ahead in their sport. When you sprint hard for 8-30 seconds you are generating insane amounts of blood in order to oxygenate the organs while also expanding your lung capacity plus increasing growth hormone naturally to recover and strengthen all the muscles in the body to produce your metabolism. There's an old saying "You don't need to do much, for doing a lot." This applies very well with sprinting.

Now are there other ways to do this other than sprinting? Yes, there's jump roping for 10 minutes, swimming hard for 25 meters, doing animal movements really fast for a short burst; anything that gets you out of breath fast. Sprinting however is the cream of the crop on this in my opinion. This even helps burn fat even if your diet isn't that good; its possible and I've seen changes in people. No more than 3x a Week and if you're a complete beginner, power walk as fast as you can until you need to catch your breath and build up to a full on sprint. This is the ultimate way to fat loss and builds muscle fast.

Train To Master Yourself

Its not a bad thing to follow someone's methods but its not the best thing to follow someone else's pace or workout. If you do so, you will become second-rate in a third rate system. The very best body shapers & conditioned trainees molded their style all on their self mastery. Train in the exercises you're interested in and learn the technique; the rest is up to you. I like the way certain workouts are put together but like to put my own touches on them because I want to feel they're mine.

Mastering yourself takes discipline but it can be interesting. Learn systems that make you feel amazing and feel like you can accomplish anything. However; following someone else's pace to me most of the time is completely boring and unless you're in a team sport, its best to set your own pace, your own style and your own life. Following someone at their pace takes away a piece of yourself because you're a slave to their style. An extreme few of these systems let you have freedom to do what you want and live with real purpose.

Make use of what works and throw what doesn't in the trash. Its really not fun to be someone else because for one their lives are not always as glamorous as you think and plus even if you could keep up with them you can't look exactly the same as them so why bother trying to do the same speed and tempo on a video that for all you know is just a marketing scheme to program you into their little foundlings. Be your true self and master your own body inside and out.

Progression For Improvement...Not Taking Your Body To The Limit

When I finally got out of the hospital after the three surgeries on my legs, I was cleared to start rehabbing. For those that don't know my story, you can find it in the archives of the blog. What i'm about to say might piss people off and even may confuse them to what they were "taught" at the gym by those so called "experts" that tell you the only to get better at something is to push the limits. For the most part at least in my experience is complete bullshit and I don't care what your reaction is, I'm telling it from my point of view and outlook on my philosophy.

Training early on in my self-rehab was a pain in the ass, i'm not going to lie, it hurt and I couldn't do much but I never pushed it to the absolute limit otherwise i'd be back in the hospital. I started out doing only squats, push-ups and bridging; couldn't do jack for squats, barely can handle a few push-ups and was nowhere near my nose touching the mat. I instinctively learned how to progress through those exercises without pushing myself too hard. I was determined to improve my body's ability to heal and progressed little by little everyday without fail and why? Because if anyone was going to screw it up I rather have it be me than putting a burden on some Physical Therapist. I believed down into my soul that I was going to improve. Once I hit greater numbers I moved on to other forms o exercise and training and used that same philosophy of progression.

The truth is, the more you push to the limits the greater the consequences become to get injured, out of commission and doing something you'll end up regretting. I get it that you want to find out how far you can take it and in a certain period of time. It's human nature to test the limits and when it comes down to it in certain situations we either go all out for a specific purpose or something else. Our bodies are very well equipped with a natural healing, cooling, heat & nervous system but if we compromise those natural settings, how can we properly function in good, solid health? When you progress through natural productivity and mindfulness with the intuition to listen and feel how your body reacts when it is starting to reach its peak you're starting to see the bigger picture. Its very difficult to control how our Adrenaline hits and we are so pumped we forget what's going on in our body and lose sense of what's happening in our surroundings.

I've taken my body to heights I had never experienced as a teen so since I was 21 years old I've hit levels of strength some people I know thought was ridiculously impossible; like being able to one-arm hang on your weak arm at far over 200 pounds is no easy feat, it doesn't look like much but when you had an illness that nearly killed you and switched your brain chemistry that hit the nerves in your body it becomes rather miraculous. How about not being able to do one pull-up at 18 to do multiple reps by 22, do over 20 handstand push-ups in a row with only less than a few weeks of handstand training, go from hurting after 10 squats to doing over 1000 in less than 6 months after surgery. This isn't to brag or show off my accomplishments, its to remind you that if you're willing to progress with intent and belief on improving yourself, you don't need to push the limits. Progression unlocks the door to ultimate strength and doing so as injury-less as possible. Pushing your limits in my opinion 95% of the time will make you weaker than stronger because you can only be so strong or fast or endured for a short period of time.

I hear about all those injuries people put themselves through with some of those crossfit workouts where there is no regard for safety, recovery and progression and just bust through regardless of your body's ability. It's not just crossfit, its other areas as well. In sports, military, law enforcement and survival training are the only true areas where pushing to the limits is in my regard because they train that way in order to fulfill a requirement of specific conditioning, training and mental toughness that the rest of the population can't seem to comprehend. We are taught to train the same as pro athletes or world-class military men and women and that's not practical. Train to improve, not to go balls out because it looks cool. The body is not meant to be put on that level of stress and if you believe you can train the same as these high level athletic people than you're more naive than I thought; even the highest level of athletic and tough people have gotten injured, broken bones, killed during drills & even have made multiple mistakes where it cost others either lives or other problems.

Progress through your own area of mastery with the intent to become stronger, faster and more endured on natural levels of the body's abilities to be strengthened, recovered, levels of stress (Physical & Mental) and the functioning of your brain. That's right your brain is affected in how you train because if you push too hard regardless of what you can do, the brain sends waves into the nervous system and will break down your ability to function by the stress of your organs, tendons, joints, ligaments and muscles you keep trying to build. When you progress through realistic application and the will to improve; overtime you will learn to deal with greater stress, your organs can flow with greater ease in advanced levels of training, the strength in your brain can send more powerful neurons into your body to deal with greater strenuous holds or movements and your joints can take more physical demands. When you push the limits, its going to peak whether you like it or not and your body will begin to break down starting with your nervous system, keep pushing, your tendons can split and you'll break out pieces of what's holding you together in the first place, keep pushing even further, your organs will break down and by then if not beforehand you could die and for what, just so you can be the tough man in his big boy pants?

Be smart about your training regardless of what it is; you are one person with one body that sheds the same blood as the rest of us. Do what works for you but also listen to your body. Push it on a scale that helps you get better without hurting yourself or going to failure. Don't throw your body away just because you wanted to be a big shot and wear the big boy panties, strengthen to become better not to grow weaker.    

Isometrics & The Animals

Got back into Isometrics lately doing the Self Resistance style pitting muscle against another muscle so I can put on some definition. This is mostly due to changing things up and getting my mind out of boredom. No I'm not giving up on my animal exercise but I might tone it down to a few times a week instead of everyday because as much as I love it I get bored easily.

Making a certain method an integral part in your training can possibly enhance your strength and conditioning so that's where the Isometrics come in. It hits your muscles from a static position with max effort or at near max effort. Most don't realize that this particular method is one of the most difficult to concentrate on because unlike moving your body or a weight, your focus needs to be on point of the muscles you're pushing or pulling. Next to Sprints, Isometrics are the next best thing to burning off fat and building dense muscle plus being able to do it wherever you want.

Doing Animal movements can be taxing so its important to know when to back off and keep your joints healthy and your tendons strong. Some animals you can do everyday but a number of them require jumping or brachiating and that is something to watch out for if you're not used to it. Its fun as hell but you got to protect your body too. I took a day off of animal stuff due to some crazy weird thing with my right foot, just walking on it felt like a crowbar hit it so I stepped back but didn't stop training, just went a different route.

Animals do Isometrics too but not like us humans where we are so damn analytical; animals use a natural state of it to survive in some cases like the Sloth when he holds on to a tree branch; you know how much strength you need just to hold in that position for a period of time? Its crazy. The big cats when they stretch, they flex every muscle in their body, ants hold up to 50x their body weight as they carry food to their home; that's pure isometric strength there.

Do some Isometric Exercise and you can't go wrong.

New Influence By Superhero Beast Boy

Unless you're a hardcore DC Comics Reader and a fan of Teen Titans, not many know about the young superhero Beast Boy. I just learned about him a couple days ago while watching the new DC Animated Movie Justice League Vs. Teen Titans. Hell of a story and one of the best coming of age stories I've seen in a while. The one character that caught my eye that I believe stole the show was the young and green skinned kid named Beast Boy (real name Garfield). His power is the ability to transform into any animal that he has seen whether illustrated or up close; that to me is one hell of a superpower and has struck me in the heart because I love doing animal type movements.

How he got his powers is more tragic than awesome; growing up with parents that practically abused him and ended up contracting a disease that is deadly to any animal including humans except for a West African Green Monkey. The only way the kid can be saved was by being injected with a serum that turned him into a Green Monkey to wear off the deadly virus.  Unknowingly, this cured him but with a heavy price as it kept his green skin from ever turning back to its natural color and surprisingly gave him the ability to morph into any animal of his choosing through his mind. Some good came of it as he went on a path to make something of himself and join up with a group of kids that were a team of basically the younger version of The Justice League the Teen Titans.

For nearly a decade I've practiced different styles of Animal Movements that always has me running back to no matter what I tried otherwise. It has become a part of me to practice this form of exercise and conditioning; my love for it grows everyday and I do my best to get better and be in better shape for it, its the only form of exercise that is fun to me and it's helped shape my philosophy towards fitness in general. Learning about this Superhero just hit me like a strike of lightning, I find myself drawn to this character because like him when I set my mind to an animal I start moving like one, the only drawback is I can't morph into one like him which makes me a bit jealous but what can you do.

The ability to become an animal as you see fit is a very awesome thing to do; in the real world we can't have that luxury but we can adapt to move like one and picture ourselves in our minds to be that animal. Imagine having the strength of a gorilla, the speed of a cheetah, the endurance of a tiger & the agility of a gibbon; being able to hone your body's abilities to strengthen your muscles from the most awkward angles and moving with crisp precision of a wild animal. Just seeing this Superhero and having that ability has now convinced me that moving like an animal is my destiny and embrace it more than any other method. I don't mind lifting heavy weight from time to time, smashing a tire with my Thor Hammer or slamming a Sandbell to the ground but nothing compares to moving like a wild animal. It gives me greater purpose in my fitness journey and allows me to be free without stricting to a single method of rules and sets/reps that determines strength or endurance.

Move like an Animal & you can't go wrong......

Animal Kingdom Conditioning: Survival Of The Fittest
Animal Kingdom Conditioning 2: Call Of The Wild
(Get The Kids Involved) Wild Animal Fitness For Kids
Animal Workouts DVD
Animal Flow 2.0

Not Just Primate Muscle

Many love to see muscles whether big or small on a man. For the most part, being muscular in a realistic sense (not bodybuilding muscles of today) can make you look intimidating but never underestimate the power of what's within your muscles. To me muscles are cool to look at from time to time on some people but in the end, I always wonder if there's real strength behind those muscles? Believe it or not a small portion of the muscle building world has very strong people. The reason why is not just the muscles but the strength of the tendons and ligaments that truly hold the muscles together.

Since I've talked about animal moves lately I should warn you that when you train this way, you'll build muscle but not grotesque looking muscle and you'll be strengthening your joints and the tendons throughout your movements. This builds functional muscle or what I call Primal Muscle. This goes beyond the world of muscle muscle muscle and digs deep into the cortex of your body's natural order of things. Building Primal Muscle takes work, a lot of work but it doesn't have to be boring and dull, it can be fun, exhilarating and very unconventional.

When you strengthen your tendons, you're strengthening the entire core of your physical structure and over time your body begins to change; abs begin to show, denser muscle begins to appear in your shoulders, arms, back, feet & legs, solid power in your fingers, elbows, ankles and knees plus new found flexibility and stamina. You won't see the type of muscle that's in a magazine where it's painted, brushed & photo-shopped, there will be real useful muscle that can be used in any situation and can amplify your way in sports, military, law enforcement & competition. Some of the very best athletes & personnel have used animal moves to build speed, power & intense strength and you can do the same.

Work & play towards developing primal muscle that is useful, practical and realistic. Doesn't matter how old you are whether just a little kid burning off energy or someone older wanting to relive their youth in a different format it is possible when you do the moves that suit you and your goals. Kids love imitating animals and don't care how goofy they look and people who want to do something fun will test out different things. Build Primate Muscle folks, its an adventure.

Daily Animals

Regardless of your training whether for competition, conditioning, strengthening or developing a highly good looking physique there always should be an animal you aught to do between workouts or on your days off. Animal training builds the muscles in different positions that other exercises can't touch. That's because most exercises have an up and down, side lift position as oppose to an animal exercise that hits you from so many angles its not even funny. When I do other workouts like circuits, bridging, VRT or whatever I do my best to move around like an animal the rest of the day because I love to move and keep my body energized.

People like to cram their workouts within a short period of time (an hour or less) and that's fine more power to you but I feel regardless of time, do little things throughout the day so you stay freshed until you're ready to pass out at bed time. When I travel and am around people I don't always have time for a major workout until its night time; I make it a point to exercise no matter what I'm doing, do some work while waiting at the airport, do some jumping movements before my family photoshoot back in march, do isometrics at a restaurant while waiting or in between eating my food. Unless you're at a job 24/7 you can make time to exercise regardless of how busy you are.

Do something for me this week or during your current regimen, on your days off or in between sets of your exercise, do one animal that you like for 5 minutes; it can be 1 minute here or there, 5 minutes straight, 2 min. in the morning, 1 min. in the afternoon and 2 min. at night or however you do within a total of 5 minutes. If that animal is too difficult for you, do bear crawls or hop like a frog in place I don't care, you only have to do one animal for 7 days straight. Build a habit of doing something different that you don't normally do or haven't done before. Don't just rush into an advanced movement, start slow, get the mechanics down, learn the awareness of your body's positioning.

Animal movement is far better for you than those machines at the gym, sure they're good from time to time but unless you're in rehab or plan on doing a bodybuilding comp, stay away from the machines as much as possible and use your natural body to move. Its scary and it may look silly but you know what, you might burn off more fat and build denser and defined muscles just by moving your body around for a few minutes in different directions. This gives you a complete outlook of being an overall trainee. To learn more about animal style training check out my Wild Kingdom section at ben-bergman.branded.me. Get your daily animal in, no matter what. Have fun and be safe.