I have mentioned Powerflex aka Flexercise in a couple posts but I never mentioned how valuable it is for a traveler or a bodyweight enthusiast. I will be going to Pennsylvania as of tomorrow and gonna do nothing but Powerflex training the entire time there. It'll be great to get an awesome workout using my own resistance and strength to build up. Me and my gf will be going there to visit her best friend whom she hasn't seen in over nearly 2 years. I'm sure glad flexercise will help keep my energy up on the long flights, 3 to be exact in a 12 hour period. I'm very blessed that I know what to take with me to stay strong and energized. I've written about 7 workouts 1 each day while were there and if anybody knows this my specialization training will be on the gorilla flexes and all of these workouts will be at level 2 repetitions. Its gonna be tough but i've dealt with things far worse so this makes me happy. Its gonna be a joy having people look thinking "what the hell is he doing." Jim Forystek created one of the best bodyweight programs around and not many can match it its a program all on its own.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Having Fun Whenever You Can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are times when people worked hard all day and need to just eat dinner and go straight to bed. There are other times when you need excitment and feel left out from doing something either cause your bored or you just dont feel like you fit in. No matter how bad life gets no matter how hard wee ourselves feel like we do something but never do it heres what I gotta say: Have some fun man even if you act like a goof and just cant stop yourself at times just think of it this way. Its better then nothing.
Tonight was one of the best times of my life. Went to a concert where a couple buddies of mine were playing in the battle of the bands. It didnt matter if they won or not the important thing is they put on one of the best shows in their careers and nobody would stop them from having the time of their life and neither were us arrowheads. Life goes by fast and theres always that one regret we have that we didnt do. Most of the people in this world regret far more. Never regret anything and do what you feel shoul;d be fun for you. Take advantage of what you have cause it might not happen again. I choose to go to concerts played by my friends and no matter how bad I feel during the day they always cheer me up by letting me hang with them and just being guys talking about this and that.
Its one of those things that cant help but feel good inside cause you get to show your true self. It doesnt have to be a concert but no matter what find whats fun for you and take advantage of it. You never know if its going to end or not. We always tell ourselves "Man i wish i could've done that" dont wish do it. No matter where we go or what we do in life at least one time just time you want to say to yourself "That was one of the best times of my life." My late stepdad once told me "Never sit around thinking somethings gonna happen. You need to make it happen." I've stood by that saying since he last talked to me man to man just before he died. I'll never forget it as long as I live and i'm not gonna stop listening to those words in my mind.
We never know how long we will live so do what you can to make the best of it cause things dont just come out of thin air you gotta make it happen.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Tonight was one of the best times of my life. Went to a concert where a couple buddies of mine were playing in the battle of the bands. It didnt matter if they won or not the important thing is they put on one of the best shows in their careers and nobody would stop them from having the time of their life and neither were us arrowheads. Life goes by fast and theres always that one regret we have that we didnt do. Most of the people in this world regret far more. Never regret anything and do what you feel shoul;d be fun for you. Take advantage of what you have cause it might not happen again. I choose to go to concerts played by my friends and no matter how bad I feel during the day they always cheer me up by letting me hang with them and just being guys talking about this and that.
Its one of those things that cant help but feel good inside cause you get to show your true self. It doesnt have to be a concert but no matter what find whats fun for you and take advantage of it. You never know if its going to end or not. We always tell ourselves "Man i wish i could've done that" dont wish do it. No matter where we go or what we do in life at least one time just time you want to say to yourself "That was one of the best times of my life." My late stepdad once told me "Never sit around thinking somethings gonna happen. You need to make it happen." I've stood by that saying since he last talked to me man to man just before he died. I'll never forget it as long as I live and i'm not gonna stop listening to those words in my mind.
We never know how long we will live so do what you can to make the best of it cause things dont just come out of thin air you gotta make it happen.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Monday, June 4, 2007
Hindu Push-Ups
Some people call this exercise too stressful to the shoulder, some call it the same version of a dive bomber and others call it the the greatest exercise in the planet. Here's a little history of this exercise and then I'll state my opinion.
For thousands of years this exercised was being demonstrated in Chinese culture, Indian culture, yoga, it was even possibly used in the new America before the name Columbus was mentioned. This exercise was knowingly used in Indian wrestling cause it builds tremendous strength, endurance and flexibility. The great Gama used this very same exercise in his training and know how he did, won 5000 matches. Now for my opinion.
This exercises should be used in any regimen in strength & Fitness cause once you start performing it a very intense and unique level you develop a power and mind that most exercises can't touch and you need that kind of sense of training. When you feel like the wave-like movement you put in it becomes a sense of power and strength you cant get any other way.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
For thousands of years this exercised was being demonstrated in Chinese culture, Indian culture, yoga, it was even possibly used in the new America before the name Columbus was mentioned. This exercise was knowingly used in Indian wrestling cause it builds tremendous strength, endurance and flexibility. The great Gama used this very same exercise in his training and know how he did, won 5000 matches. Now for my opinion.
This exercises should be used in any regimen in strength & Fitness cause once you start performing it a very intense and unique level you develop a power and mind that most exercises can't touch and you need that kind of sense of training. When you feel like the wave-like movement you put in it becomes a sense of power and strength you cant get any other way.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Monday, May 28, 2007
Musical Conditioning
Music brings power, joy, sadness, grief and happiness to us all. When we work out theres a variety of music people listenining to all sorts of music from opera to rap. Many people have different opinions on what kind of music works in order to workout. They'll sometimes tell you "Dont listen to that its not gonna get you pumped" or "If you listen to this you will work out harder and better then ever." You know what I gotta say to those guys. Go listen to yours and i'll do the same. You're only gonna get pumped by what you listen to not theirs or anybody elses just yours.
For me it hard rock or heavy metal because I go a little faster but I always watch my form while I train, I dont listen to death metal like canibbal corpse no more like metallica, Iced earth or my boys archer at www.archernation.com. It gets me in the mood to go higher and higher reps like in the 300 range for hindu squats or 10-15 handstand push-ups. We all have different tastes but dont tell me what i can and cant listen to. You can have your opinion i just won't apply it. Never listen to people who tell you what you can or cant listen to. Its your choice and your preference.
Find the music for you and see what works for you
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
For me it hard rock or heavy metal because I go a little faster but I always watch my form while I train, I dont listen to death metal like canibbal corpse no more like metallica, Iced earth or my boys archer at www.archernation.com. It gets me in the mood to go higher and higher reps like in the 300 range for hindu squats or 10-15 handstand push-ups. We all have different tastes but dont tell me what i can and cant listen to. You can have your opinion i just won't apply it. Never listen to people who tell you what you can or cant listen to. Its your choice and your preference.
Find the music for you and see what works for you
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Practice Of Deep Breathing!!!!!
When you take a breath you're not only giving power and oxygen to your body, you're taking in life-force. Breathing deeply over a period of time and practice can turn you into somewhat of a superhuman. Look at some of the most famous practioners of this subject:
Yogies
Shoalin Monks
Military Personell
Old-time Strongmen
Wrestlers
Gymnasts
Thats just to name a few but you get my point. Deep breathing creates your inner power and with a focused mind, you can control anything in your body you want. This type of practice is not for people who like to rush things and rather focus on the outside then on the inside. When you wake up in the morning, take in a few deep breaths and realize how energized you get just doing a few of these. Training is not about rushing it but going along with it smoothly and with flow. Never believe those people who say "Deep breathing doesnt make you strong and you have to run and do aerobics to get lung power." Nothing can be further then the truth, truth is when you practice this not only will you be stronger but your organs will make everything in your body do things you never thought possible.
This has been done for millions of years if not billions. Deep breathing is the healthiest form of exercise there is and when you add other exercises watch your strength, stamina, agility, flexibility and lung power skyrocket. Its the ultimate anytime, anywhere way of training and if you're a bridging practioner, your timing will go through the roof and you would think you wern't it that long when you were holding for a long time. Theres an old saying from an old-time wrestler "Deep breathing alone can make a weak man strong and a sick man well." Try it sometime and you'll know what I mean.
If you'd like read some articles on this subject and see for yourself how powerful this life-force is.
www.mattfurey.com
www.transformetics.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Yogies
Shoalin Monks
Military Personell
Old-time Strongmen
Wrestlers
Gymnasts
Thats just to name a few but you get my point. Deep breathing creates your inner power and with a focused mind, you can control anything in your body you want. This type of practice is not for people who like to rush things and rather focus on the outside then on the inside. When you wake up in the morning, take in a few deep breaths and realize how energized you get just doing a few of these. Training is not about rushing it but going along with it smoothly and with flow. Never believe those people who say "Deep breathing doesnt make you strong and you have to run and do aerobics to get lung power." Nothing can be further then the truth, truth is when you practice this not only will you be stronger but your organs will make everything in your body do things you never thought possible.
This has been done for millions of years if not billions. Deep breathing is the healthiest form of exercise there is and when you add other exercises watch your strength, stamina, agility, flexibility and lung power skyrocket. Its the ultimate anytime, anywhere way of training and if you're a bridging practioner, your timing will go through the roof and you would think you wern't it that long when you were holding for a long time. Theres an old saying from an old-time wrestler "Deep breathing alone can make a weak man strong and a sick man well." Try it sometime and you'll know what I mean.
If you'd like read some articles on this subject and see for yourself how powerful this life-force is.
www.mattfurey.com
www.transformetics.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Wrist Rolling- Strength Training for the Grip
Grip Strength these days at most gyms are very neglected and yet is one of the most important training elements in Strength & Conditioning. When I'm talking about grip strength i'm not just talking about the hands and foearms no i'm talking the entire lower arm: Elbow, Foearms, Wrist, Fingers and most importantly the tendons that give all of these the strength to grab and pinch things. There are many ways to strengthen these areas, wrist curls, fingertip push-ups, holding onto a pull-up bar and doing wrist flexibility but as of late one of my favorite peices of equipment for strengthening the grip is Wrist Rolling.
You can do this almost with anything you can imagine, take a long smooth stick about 9-10 inch and roll your hands up and down. Another way would take a smaller stick, wrap a string around the middle and let a long peice hang, put very small pounds on it and roll it up until the weight reaches the top and let it drop and repeat. Now the way train the wrist roller is having whats called the Sports Grip from Lifeline USA. Its a thick 10 inch rubber line with black foam covered and you twist it, bend it, grip it, roll on your neck, shake it pretty much anything you can try. I like to grip it pretty tightly and start rolling it back and forth and visiualize i'm rolling up 100's of pounds and making my grip as strong as possible and it doesnt take that long to start feeling it.
Now i'm all for bodyweight training I can go all day doing it but its nice to have a change of pace and train on something to get strong tendons. Because of using this and doing the combo grip and roll I have been able to bend tough nails, screwdrivers and tearing phonebooks. Wouldnt you want to be that strong. Train the grip and you're strength training will skyrocket.
If you want strong tendons and dont want have to hit the gym. Heres the place take your grip to the next level.
www.lifelineusa.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
You can do this almost with anything you can imagine, take a long smooth stick about 9-10 inch and roll your hands up and down. Another way would take a smaller stick, wrap a string around the middle and let a long peice hang, put very small pounds on it and roll it up until the weight reaches the top and let it drop and repeat. Now the way train the wrist roller is having whats called the Sports Grip from Lifeline USA. Its a thick 10 inch rubber line with black foam covered and you twist it, bend it, grip it, roll on your neck, shake it pretty much anything you can try. I like to grip it pretty tightly and start rolling it back and forth and visiualize i'm rolling up 100's of pounds and making my grip as strong as possible and it doesnt take that long to start feeling it.
Now i'm all for bodyweight training I can go all day doing it but its nice to have a change of pace and train on something to get strong tendons. Because of using this and doing the combo grip and roll I have been able to bend tough nails, screwdrivers and tearing phonebooks. Wouldnt you want to be that strong. Train the grip and you're strength training will skyrocket.
If you want strong tendons and dont want have to hit the gym. Heres the place take your grip to the next level.
www.lifelineusa.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Monday, May 14, 2007
The benefits of Steel Bending and Phonebook Tearing
When you look at an old-time strongman like Dennis Rogers, Slim The Hammerman and Pat Poviliatis and the best of them all The Mighty Atom, They seem to be strong from how they look but how strong are they? Heres your answer: Hours upon hours upon hours of training and practicing. They make these feats a way of life and some of the time it could possibly kill them. People see impossible feats happening before their eyes but do they really realize what benefits they get out of it, heres how I break it down:
Steel Bending- When you can take a wrench and I mean a 10-12 inch steel wrench and bend it into a pin holder or in a "S" shape or take a 6 inch spike even a 6 inch ironmind red nail and bend it into a "U" you're building some powerful joints and ligements and it shows when you shake their hand or ask the to pinch you. Your tendons will be almost bionic and have strength beyond imagination. Now steel bending can be dangerous if you don't do it correctly or if you make a slip you can puncture your skin and really hurt yourself. No one in the world is a greater short steel bender then Pat Povilaitis, he can take a short steel rod and bend it at chest level and these take 100's upon hundredes of pressure. Talk about super strength.
Phonebook Tearing- When properly trained you can destroy the thickest of phonebooks and take grip strength to a whole new level. No one on the world can do it better then Dennis & Pat they are the dynamic duo of phonebook tearing and Pat just keeps one-upping by tearing a phonebook in 5 peices. Its just surreal. Take a phonebook, have a post arm and pulling arm, your post arm pushes down on the book to keep the tear in place and your pulling arm with enough strength destroys the book. Thats one way of doing it and probably the best way cause most people you see today would take a book and try to "pop" it by squeezing the pages together and press down to rip it. My best tear is 886 pages, my goal is get up to a thousand by the end of the year.
The only way to master these feats is by doing them, not training certain exercises to make the feats work, thats all fine if thats what you want to do but if you want to be super strong then practice the feats themselves. If you want to bend steel then practice bending or if you want to rip phonebooks then progress ripping phonebooks dont just go with something that the feat needs or is required. Simple and easy to understand. Never think you're too small to do these things cause 3/4 of these are at average height of 5'9 and average weight of 160 pounds.
www.dennisrogers.net
www.functionalhandstrength.com- (Look for the quantuple tear)
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Steel Bending- When you can take a wrench and I mean a 10-12 inch steel wrench and bend it into a pin holder or in a "S" shape or take a 6 inch spike even a 6 inch ironmind red nail and bend it into a "U" you're building some powerful joints and ligements and it shows when you shake their hand or ask the to pinch you. Your tendons will be almost bionic and have strength beyond imagination. Now steel bending can be dangerous if you don't do it correctly or if you make a slip you can puncture your skin and really hurt yourself. No one in the world is a greater short steel bender then Pat Povilaitis, he can take a short steel rod and bend it at chest level and these take 100's upon hundredes of pressure. Talk about super strength.
Phonebook Tearing- When properly trained you can destroy the thickest of phonebooks and take grip strength to a whole new level. No one on the world can do it better then Dennis & Pat they are the dynamic duo of phonebook tearing and Pat just keeps one-upping by tearing a phonebook in 5 peices. Its just surreal. Take a phonebook, have a post arm and pulling arm, your post arm pushes down on the book to keep the tear in place and your pulling arm with enough strength destroys the book. Thats one way of doing it and probably the best way cause most people you see today would take a book and try to "pop" it by squeezing the pages together and press down to rip it. My best tear is 886 pages, my goal is get up to a thousand by the end of the year.
The only way to master these feats is by doing them, not training certain exercises to make the feats work, thats all fine if thats what you want to do but if you want to be super strong then practice the feats themselves. If you want to bend steel then practice bending or if you want to rip phonebooks then progress ripping phonebooks dont just go with something that the feat needs or is required. Simple and easy to understand. Never think you're too small to do these things cause 3/4 of these are at average height of 5'9 and average weight of 160 pounds.
www.dennisrogers.net
www.functionalhandstrength.com- (Look for the quantuple tear)
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Are You Too Small To Be Strong?
When you look at the strongmen today compared to yesteryear its a huge margin and I don't mean the number of men but by physiques. When you think of strongman you think of weightlifters, big burly monsters who can deadlift well over 700 pounds and bring up a 800 pound tire or lift super heavy stones. As you keep looking at what these beasts can do you're forgeting that there are much smaller guys who posses a different kind of strength that no monster can touch.
Let me make a point that these men are well under 200 pounds and know how to set their mind to take on feats that require 100's and 100's of pounds of pressure and I mean steel bending, phonebook tearing, horeshoe bending, nail biting, ect. When you try to visualize what these guys can do you're first thought is its impossible and you'd have to be a giant to pull them off. Well heres a few guys i'm going to name off the bat that can do feats that would make even a 300 pound lifter's jaw drop.
Joe "Mighty Atom" Greenstein- Pound for pound one of the strongest men to walk the earth. Grew up in a really bad and tough polish town and was told by doctors at a young age he wouldnt survive his 18th b-day. Made a solem vow that will never happen and learn the ways of internal power and preserveriance. In many years to come he would be a vaudville star and a powerful strongman at only 5'4 and 150 pounds. Even at that weight he broke steel chains on his chest, bent the toughest steel bars and spikes and even laid on a bed of nails while a truck went up sat on him and went back down. He lived to be in his late 80's and even then he was a force to be wrecking with, had tendons that were like steel rods and was a good catch wrestler so he had the best of both worlds. His legecy lives on in some great men old and modern and in the iron game he's never forgotten.
Dennis Rogers- Possibly without question the strongest man at 168 pounds. This is a guy like Charles Atlas was puny as a teenager and didnt show in any way of muscular strength. As a young man in his 20's he became an Arm Wrestler at 140 pounds and beating some of the best in the world even heavy weight armers. Its said he has won many many awards in the sport and yet didnt satisfy him so he learned the tricks of the trade and became a strongman. He became content with the fact that even at 165 pounds and only 5'8 he wanted to very strong and have powerful tendons. His big break came in 1993 when he held back two airplanes for a matter of 20 seconds i believe. From that day on he traveled far and wide putting on shows for more people then any strongman dead or alive and went on countless television shows mostly Oprah and Regis And Kathy Lee. One of his greatest feats next to holding the planes was the ability to snap off shackles and chains. Overall never underestimate the power a man of small size can posses and no matter how you put it he always has something to prove.
Pat Povilaitis aka The Human Vise- Like Dennis and Atom he isnt a big man but yet has the strength of one. An upincoming master strongman Pat has shown what it takes to put himself in a feat where it could either hurt him or kill him and he can pull off any feat thats thrown at him or what he comes up with. He even owns a couple records that can never be touched unless you're a smartass and wanna die young. His most shocking feat is not bending steel and closing a number 3 COC gripper (280 pounds of pressure) but tearing a phonebook in 5 peices vertically which is called a quantuple vertical tear. Now if someone can have that kind of strength I would love to posses that. He's a great asset to the iron game and will be breaking records many years to come.
If you want to get a glimpse of what these guys do and what feats they used i'd reccomend these 3 sites that can help any strongman or strongman entusiast posses strength beyond imagination. Here you go:
www.dennisrogers.net
www.humanvise.com
www.functionalhandstrength.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Let me make a point that these men are well under 200 pounds and know how to set their mind to take on feats that require 100's and 100's of pounds of pressure and I mean steel bending, phonebook tearing, horeshoe bending, nail biting, ect. When you try to visualize what these guys can do you're first thought is its impossible and you'd have to be a giant to pull them off. Well heres a few guys i'm going to name off the bat that can do feats that would make even a 300 pound lifter's jaw drop.
Joe "Mighty Atom" Greenstein- Pound for pound one of the strongest men to walk the earth. Grew up in a really bad and tough polish town and was told by doctors at a young age he wouldnt survive his 18th b-day. Made a solem vow that will never happen and learn the ways of internal power and preserveriance. In many years to come he would be a vaudville star and a powerful strongman at only 5'4 and 150 pounds. Even at that weight he broke steel chains on his chest, bent the toughest steel bars and spikes and even laid on a bed of nails while a truck went up sat on him and went back down. He lived to be in his late 80's and even then he was a force to be wrecking with, had tendons that were like steel rods and was a good catch wrestler so he had the best of both worlds. His legecy lives on in some great men old and modern and in the iron game he's never forgotten.
Dennis Rogers- Possibly without question the strongest man at 168 pounds. This is a guy like Charles Atlas was puny as a teenager and didnt show in any way of muscular strength. As a young man in his 20's he became an Arm Wrestler at 140 pounds and beating some of the best in the world even heavy weight armers. Its said he has won many many awards in the sport and yet didnt satisfy him so he learned the tricks of the trade and became a strongman. He became content with the fact that even at 165 pounds and only 5'8 he wanted to very strong and have powerful tendons. His big break came in 1993 when he held back two airplanes for a matter of 20 seconds i believe. From that day on he traveled far and wide putting on shows for more people then any strongman dead or alive and went on countless television shows mostly Oprah and Regis And Kathy Lee. One of his greatest feats next to holding the planes was the ability to snap off shackles and chains. Overall never underestimate the power a man of small size can posses and no matter how you put it he always has something to prove.
Pat Povilaitis aka The Human Vise- Like Dennis and Atom he isnt a big man but yet has the strength of one. An upincoming master strongman Pat has shown what it takes to put himself in a feat where it could either hurt him or kill him and he can pull off any feat thats thrown at him or what he comes up with. He even owns a couple records that can never be touched unless you're a smartass and wanna die young. His most shocking feat is not bending steel and closing a number 3 COC gripper (280 pounds of pressure) but tearing a phonebook in 5 peices vertically which is called a quantuple vertical tear. Now if someone can have that kind of strength I would love to posses that. He's a great asset to the iron game and will be breaking records many years to come.
If you want to get a glimpse of what these guys do and what feats they used i'd reccomend these 3 sites that can help any strongman or strongman entusiast posses strength beyond imagination. Here you go:
www.dennisrogers.net
www.humanvise.com
www.functionalhandstrength.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Friday, May 4, 2007
Movies That Inspire Fitness
Whenever I watch a movie that inspires a certain subject I like to look at from a fitness stand point and see what kind of dtermination and mind/body/spirit that represents it.
1. Vision Quest- The story of a high school wrestler who wants to drop an extreme amount of weight in a dangerous short period of time just to take on the top guy in the division. He puts himself through diets that can probably kill the average human being, runs a great deal on a daily basis and with all this going on, he falls inlove with an older woman. It never ceases to amaze me that a young man at that age goes from a confused hormonial boy to a determained and strong man.
2. Pumping Iron- This movie takes place a few months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia Contest where the top dog Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on the best of the best plus a newcomer in Lou Ferrigno. The focus of this film was to see how grueling the training is to be a top bodybuilder and to see how the mind works against the competition. Arnold in Venice Beach, CA is putting up hard workouts and using phsycology on his gymmates to make them either work harder or go home even though these people put on the same thinking caps, Arnold was running the ship. In New York, young Louie at 6'5 nearly 300 pounds was the largest bodybuilder at that time and pretty much doing things on his own under the guidence of his estranged father. You don't have to be an expert to understand how hard he fought not just for himself but to beat his idol Arnold.
3. The Longest Yard (2005)- A washed up football player is sent to prison and gets blackmailed into coaching and playing with his fellow cons against the sadistic guards. Not knowing how he's gonna pull it off he recruits some of the meanest people you can find and puts them through a typical NFL type training program but yet they don't have the heart and mind to play as a team. When you have 40 cons assembling as a team and some of the strongest and basddest people on the planet I don't believe a top 3 college or NFL team can stop them.
All in all, no matter how you put it fitness always plays a role in film whether its through the mind or through physical activity and i'm not talking about pansywaist machines or pink dumbbells or even a few toe touches no i'm talking hardcore, in your face do or die will power and don't give up. There are many movies that represent this so you can pick out what you want but give these 3 a try and see how you feel about them.
1. Vision Quest- The story of a high school wrestler who wants to drop an extreme amount of weight in a dangerous short period of time just to take on the top guy in the division. He puts himself through diets that can probably kill the average human being, runs a great deal on a daily basis and with all this going on, he falls inlove with an older woman. It never ceases to amaze me that a young man at that age goes from a confused hormonial boy to a determained and strong man.
2. Pumping Iron- This movie takes place a few months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia Contest where the top dog Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on the best of the best plus a newcomer in Lou Ferrigno. The focus of this film was to see how grueling the training is to be a top bodybuilder and to see how the mind works against the competition. Arnold in Venice Beach, CA is putting up hard workouts and using phsycology on his gymmates to make them either work harder or go home even though these people put on the same thinking caps, Arnold was running the ship. In New York, young Louie at 6'5 nearly 300 pounds was the largest bodybuilder at that time and pretty much doing things on his own under the guidence of his estranged father. You don't have to be an expert to understand how hard he fought not just for himself but to beat his idol Arnold.
3. The Longest Yard (2005)- A washed up football player is sent to prison and gets blackmailed into coaching and playing with his fellow cons against the sadistic guards. Not knowing how he's gonna pull it off he recruits some of the meanest people you can find and puts them through a typical NFL type training program but yet they don't have the heart and mind to play as a team. When you have 40 cons assembling as a team and some of the strongest and basddest people on the planet I don't believe a top 3 college or NFL team can stop them.
All in all, no matter how you put it fitness always plays a role in film whether its through the mind or through physical activity and i'm not talking about pansywaist machines or pink dumbbells or even a few toe touches no i'm talking hardcore, in your face do or die will power and don't give up. There are many movies that represent this so you can pick out what you want but give these 3 a try and see how you feel about them.
Never Stop Learning
Whenever you hear some know it all fitness expert say "Do what I do and you'll go far" or Never do this or that" obviously he hasn't learned much and whos to say is the ultimate expert in physical fitness. There is no ultimate expert but a man or women who knows fitness like the back of their hand doesnt stop learning what works and what doesnt, not "this works and thats all i'll ever do" thats fine with them and more power to them but will it go for other trainees and? I don't think so.
I started learning physical fitness at the age of 13 and it all began with weights and machines. I picked up a few things here an there for the last decade and to my knowledge I still got more to learn. No matter if you're a fitness enthusiast or a business man or a military officer you still learn things on a day to day basis, if you believe you know everything there is to know then you shouldnt be living or at least brag about it. Its not who knows what works and what doesnt and whos the smartest to learn from the best and act upon it.
My knowledge in fitness is pretty high at my age but yet there is at least 10 people in the world who have much greater knowledge and learnings then I have so i'm not calling myself an expert but a learner. No one has all the answers to every single question in this world even some of the smartest people in the world don't always have an answer. Its who has the answer for themselves not for everybody else.
Call me a prick or an asshole but whenever I see a gym full of dumb ass looking posers with skimpy shorts and lifting the entire rack and calls himself a fitness expert and knows how to be healthy I would just laugh and say "If you're such an expert why do you hurt so much" and not the sore feeling either but being in pain after lifting so much weight. I'm not saying he's not a strong guy thats call good with him but dude how can you can be in pain after that. Training is not about pain or strain its about feeling good and knowing that after a hard session you got some more ground to cover.
No matter what we do in life we always learn something even small things make a difference. Don't listen to people who call themselves experts and let them tell you what to do. Use your mind and heart and listen to your inner-self. Learn to observe things and act upon them in your daily life. Since I won't put any sites up for this post, thought i'd let you be the judge and see whats right for you not what I think is or what my opinion is.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
I started learning physical fitness at the age of 13 and it all began with weights and machines. I picked up a few things here an there for the last decade and to my knowledge I still got more to learn. No matter if you're a fitness enthusiast or a business man or a military officer you still learn things on a day to day basis, if you believe you know everything there is to know then you shouldnt be living or at least brag about it. Its not who knows what works and what doesnt and whos the smartest to learn from the best and act upon it.
My knowledge in fitness is pretty high at my age but yet there is at least 10 people in the world who have much greater knowledge and learnings then I have so i'm not calling myself an expert but a learner. No one has all the answers to every single question in this world even some of the smartest people in the world don't always have an answer. Its who has the answer for themselves not for everybody else.
Call me a prick or an asshole but whenever I see a gym full of dumb ass looking posers with skimpy shorts and lifting the entire rack and calls himself a fitness expert and knows how to be healthy I would just laugh and say "If you're such an expert why do you hurt so much" and not the sore feeling either but being in pain after lifting so much weight. I'm not saying he's not a strong guy thats call good with him but dude how can you can be in pain after that. Training is not about pain or strain its about feeling good and knowing that after a hard session you got some more ground to cover.
No matter what we do in life we always learn something even small things make a difference. Don't listen to people who call themselves experts and let them tell you what to do. Use your mind and heart and listen to your inner-self. Learn to observe things and act upon them in your daily life. Since I won't put any sites up for this post, thought i'd let you be the judge and see whats right for you not what I think is or what my opinion is.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Matt Furey-Modern Day Fitness Icon
In this day in age there are many heroes and icons and men of immortality in the depths of time and yet I havent heard Matt Furey being mentioned in that category. Most of you know him as a controversial fitness/conditioning writer and being mentioned as a scam artist and full of shit. With all that being said heres what I would say about the guy. Hes got balls coming into the fitness world going from a highly stressed trainer to millionare businessman and still has tricks up his sleeve.
Heres a guy who grew up in Iowa in America's "Wrestling State" and became a champion wrestler/swimmer and football player, learning all the tricks and traits of some of the strongest wrestlers and conditioners. In his teens he learned wrestling and conditioning from many books and his coaches at the time and won a few matches here and there but in college that was the beginning of the greatest years as a wrestler by being trained under legendary coach Dan Gable and showing him some of the best tricks to win a match and put him through some of the most brutal workouts that would make world-class athletes come to their knees.
After three years he transfered to Edinboro University and put some big numbers and won the Division II championship in the 167 pound class i believe. After college he bacame a personal trainer working long hours to support a wife and make ends meat and trained in the martial arts more knowingly Shauio Chuo (Oldest Style Of Kung Fu) and won world titles and national championships. In one championship he trained for the World Championship in China. Now bare in mind that no american at the time has won a world title on chinese turf in that martial art.
He didnt have the money to support the trip so he made a video that showed how he trained and what he used to keep him fired up and alive. It became a huge seller and it made more then enough for the trip. The day after Christmas in 1997 Furey did the unthinkable and beat the chinese on their home turf and became now the only american to do so. This would be a stepping stone of whats to become of him. After spending 16 months training people and making champions and working hard to support a family he would another trip that would change his life forever.
He met who argue the greatest hooker of all-time (submission wrestler) Karl Gotch and he made a believer out of Furey that what he was currently doing was way off and in no way good for the body and for combat. He taught him the value of bodyweight training. It only took a couple exercises to convince him that this is the safest and most effective program. Some of Gotch's workouts were considered barbaric and inhuman and totally outdated and yet the exercises he put him through are thousands of years old and no matter what you put you're money on it can either kill you or give you a hard time, Furey used the ladder and began a program that would lead to his Best Seller: Combat Conditioning- Functional Exercises For Fitness & Combat Sports!!!!!
Matt has written many other books and courses that take you to a whole new demension in physical fitness. Although every one of his courses are very valuable and very useful Combat Conditioning is his foundation. You can check him out and theres going to be some bad things and good things said about him one way or another you have to give the guy credit for making a living supporting his wife and 2 children Frank & Faith plus giving other people second or many other chances of reaching new goals in their lives that doesnt need to involve fitness. He may be a controversial son of a bitch but he can bring out the best in all of us one way or another.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Heres a guy who grew up in Iowa in America's "Wrestling State" and became a champion wrestler/swimmer and football player, learning all the tricks and traits of some of the strongest wrestlers and conditioners. In his teens he learned wrestling and conditioning from many books and his coaches at the time and won a few matches here and there but in college that was the beginning of the greatest years as a wrestler by being trained under legendary coach Dan Gable and showing him some of the best tricks to win a match and put him through some of the most brutal workouts that would make world-class athletes come to their knees.
After three years he transfered to Edinboro University and put some big numbers and won the Division II championship in the 167 pound class i believe. After college he bacame a personal trainer working long hours to support a wife and make ends meat and trained in the martial arts more knowingly Shauio Chuo (Oldest Style Of Kung Fu) and won world titles and national championships. In one championship he trained for the World Championship in China. Now bare in mind that no american at the time has won a world title on chinese turf in that martial art.
He didnt have the money to support the trip so he made a video that showed how he trained and what he used to keep him fired up and alive. It became a huge seller and it made more then enough for the trip. The day after Christmas in 1997 Furey did the unthinkable and beat the chinese on their home turf and became now the only american to do so. This would be a stepping stone of whats to become of him. After spending 16 months training people and making champions and working hard to support a family he would another trip that would change his life forever.
He met who argue the greatest hooker of all-time (submission wrestler) Karl Gotch and he made a believer out of Furey that what he was currently doing was way off and in no way good for the body and for combat. He taught him the value of bodyweight training. It only took a couple exercises to convince him that this is the safest and most effective program. Some of Gotch's workouts were considered barbaric and inhuman and totally outdated and yet the exercises he put him through are thousands of years old and no matter what you put you're money on it can either kill you or give you a hard time, Furey used the ladder and began a program that would lead to his Best Seller: Combat Conditioning- Functional Exercises For Fitness & Combat Sports!!!!!
Matt has written many other books and courses that take you to a whole new demension in physical fitness. Although every one of his courses are very valuable and very useful Combat Conditioning is his foundation. You can check him out and theres going to be some bad things and good things said about him one way or another you have to give the guy credit for making a living supporting his wife and 2 children Frank & Faith plus giving other people second or many other chances of reaching new goals in their lives that doesnt need to involve fitness. He may be a controversial son of a bitch but he can bring out the best in all of us one way or another.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Friday, April 27, 2007
Poker Conditioning
One of the best ways to get in super condition is not through bike riding or running for miles on end. Take out a deck of cards and draw/shuffle them 2-3 times. Now flip a card over and do a number of reps of squats or push-ups. Try finishing the entire deck with good form. At a good clip this shouldn't be more then 25-30 min. Its one of the most brutal workouts you can be put through just ask the japanese wrestlers.
This type of training was built by one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time Karl Gotch. Nicknamed "The God Of Pro Wrestling" in Japan cause not only did he influence pro wrestling and martial arts but a real test of ones conditioning training. He put the wrestlers through workouts that would make Dan Gable think twice about. Not only can you get a hell of a workout but it makes your mind much sharper and more balance for your workout and how much you can handle.
Try out the push-up and squat workout and after doing the entire deck try other exercises like v-ups, isometrics ect. If you want to get into super condition w/out the use of weights and find other forms of training in the deck of cards these are the way to go.
Matt Furey
Scientific Wrestling and look for Submission Master and Conditioning For Combat Sports
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
This type of training was built by one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time Karl Gotch. Nicknamed "The God Of Pro Wrestling" in Japan cause not only did he influence pro wrestling and martial arts but a real test of ones conditioning training. He put the wrestlers through workouts that would make Dan Gable think twice about. Not only can you get a hell of a workout but it makes your mind much sharper and more balance for your workout and how much you can handle.
Try out the push-up and squat workout and after doing the entire deck try other exercises like v-ups, isometrics ect. If you want to get into super condition w/out the use of weights and find other forms of training in the deck of cards these are the way to go.
Matt Furey
Scientific Wrestling and look for Submission Master and Conditioning For Combat Sports
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Strongest Bodyweight Practitioners: The Gymnasts
You won't find another athlete that is as strong using his/her own bodyweight then a gymnast. Gymnastics is a sport where you must use your body from many angles and most of them are very difficult. You would see a gymnast on the still rings, pommel horse, high bar, platform ect. and notice how they move themselves through such grace and power. There are well over 200 elite gymnasts in the world and there is a reason for that. Today when it comes to Olympic Gymnastics you first think of the Hamm twins. They're probably the greatest brother duo on the planet no question and they're huge for they're size at what 150 pounds.
The women are just as awesome as the men but I wish that the women had the chance to do other routines like the rings, you never see a female gymnast on the rings, I certainly havent. How awesome would it be if you saw a female athlete on the rings and having the strength to swing, hold and do the iron cross. Unfortunenitly many people don't see women having that kind of strength, to me thats total BS. They can already do unbelieveable routines and yet the one event they never do is the rings. I hope one day we see an olympic female gymnast do that event and win the gold.
Back to my writing here lol. Gymnastics is one of the hardest sports in the world next to wrestling. It takes balance, coordination, strength, flexibility and speed. One of the main ways to develop strength in gymnastics is through handstand training: walking on your hands, HS push-ups, free hand hops and walking up steps. It takes such great strength just to hold one of these, and you must keep the body tight at all times or you're on your ass or head. I haven't gotten up to free handing yet but I can do pretty well walking back and forth, side to side on the wall and i've put up some good strength in my upper body. Nothing makes you stronger then walking on your hands, think about it, we walk on our legs all day cause thats how our body is developed but imagine having the ability to walk on your hands, you know how much strength you're building. Crazy.
Whenever I watch gymnastics on TV i'm always impressed by what they do and I never believe the judges give them enough credit. My favorite event is obviously the rings cause its the one event where it tests your entire body through range of motion, your grip, muscle control, your core, shoulders, arms, back, hams, quads every muscle needs to be controled in order to hit the right movement or you're gonna fall. Hope I go to a USA Gymnastics event soon cause that'll be huge to me cause I practice a bit of gymnastics every day, even just doing bridging or walking on my hands with the Power Wheel its still a form of the sport.
If you want to see how gymnastics are in film check out the movie Stick It. Good story and a real teenage flick but has some surreal stunts.
Want to learn how to walk on your hands or practice handbalancing heres a couple guys that'll help get you there and one of them has a book coming out very soon keep checking daily with John Peterson's Site.
www.bronzebowpublishing.com
www.mattfurey.com
www.superstrengthtraining.com
Gymnastic Abs
Gymnastic Handstands
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
The women are just as awesome as the men but I wish that the women had the chance to do other routines like the rings, you never see a female gymnast on the rings, I certainly havent. How awesome would it be if you saw a female athlete on the rings and having the strength to swing, hold and do the iron cross. Unfortunenitly many people don't see women having that kind of strength, to me thats total BS. They can already do unbelieveable routines and yet the one event they never do is the rings. I hope one day we see an olympic female gymnast do that event and win the gold.
Back to my writing here lol. Gymnastics is one of the hardest sports in the world next to wrestling. It takes balance, coordination, strength, flexibility and speed. One of the main ways to develop strength in gymnastics is through handstand training: walking on your hands, HS push-ups, free hand hops and walking up steps. It takes such great strength just to hold one of these, and you must keep the body tight at all times or you're on your ass or head. I haven't gotten up to free handing yet but I can do pretty well walking back and forth, side to side on the wall and i've put up some good strength in my upper body. Nothing makes you stronger then walking on your hands, think about it, we walk on our legs all day cause thats how our body is developed but imagine having the ability to walk on your hands, you know how much strength you're building. Crazy.
Whenever I watch gymnastics on TV i'm always impressed by what they do and I never believe the judges give them enough credit. My favorite event is obviously the rings cause its the one event where it tests your entire body through range of motion, your grip, muscle control, your core, shoulders, arms, back, hams, quads every muscle needs to be controled in order to hit the right movement or you're gonna fall. Hope I go to a USA Gymnastics event soon cause that'll be huge to me cause I practice a bit of gymnastics every day, even just doing bridging or walking on my hands with the Power Wheel its still a form of the sport.
If you want to see how gymnastics are in film check out the movie Stick It. Good story and a real teenage flick but has some surreal stunts.
Want to learn how to walk on your hands or practice handbalancing heres a couple guys that'll help get you there and one of them has a book coming out very soon keep checking daily with John Peterson's Site.
www.bronzebowpublishing.com
www.mattfurey.com
www.superstrengthtraining.com
Gymnastic Abs
Gymnastic Handstands
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Monday, April 9, 2007
The Lifeline Power Wheel
This unicycle device can turn you into a machine, period. It has 2 sets of ways to work the core and entire body, one way is holding onto the handles and the other is strapping your feet in. Our midsections play a major role in our muscular development. Our abs built our entire strengths and weaknesses so in other words if you don't have strong abs you won't go far. Now with this device we can built strong, powerful abs without having to do sit-ups and crunches.
One of the best exercises that this 5 pound unicycle gives you is the ability to walk on your hands. Now our lower body is 3 times stronger then our upper cause we walk around all day long, but if you knew how to walk on your hands imagine the strength you will create. Its one of my favorites and my #1 reccomendation for a strong core and a powerful upper body. Although that exercise is a major one, the one exercise everyone knows is the Roll Out where you grab onto the handles and roll out as straight as possible either from standing or from the knees.
No matter what if you're a strongman, a tri-athlete or better yet a professinal/olympic gymnast the wheel can give anyone a run for their money. This is by far the best piece of abdomanial equipment and far better then the "ab sissor" or that crazy stupid looking "Boflex" The wheel can make those abs like granite and like it says "Strong abs create phenomenal power and might."
Want the Power Wheel here are the 2 best people to buy from.
www.bronzebowpublishing.com
Lifeline USA
Lifeline Power Wheel
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
One of the best exercises that this 5 pound unicycle gives you is the ability to walk on your hands. Now our lower body is 3 times stronger then our upper cause we walk around all day long, but if you knew how to walk on your hands imagine the strength you will create. Its one of my favorites and my #1 reccomendation for a strong core and a powerful upper body. Although that exercise is a major one, the one exercise everyone knows is the Roll Out where you grab onto the handles and roll out as straight as possible either from standing or from the knees.
No matter what if you're a strongman, a tri-athlete or better yet a professinal/olympic gymnast the wheel can give anyone a run for their money. This is by far the best piece of abdomanial equipment and far better then the "ab sissor" or that crazy stupid looking "Boflex" The wheel can make those abs like granite and like it says "Strong abs create phenomenal power and might."
Want the Power Wheel here are the 2 best people to buy from.
www.bronzebowpublishing.com
Lifeline USA
Lifeline Power Wheel
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Sunday, April 8, 2007
The Power Of The Animals
Theres an animal inside all of us and we all at one-time or another leashed out the animal in us on a rare occassion in fighting, business, bedroom endeavours (had to bring that up sorry if I offended anybody) and most obviously in the fitness world. Some of our personalities take on the form of a wild animal and most of us never really know how to use that trait. Mine consists of the powerful gorilla and its physical and mental strength. Now none can have the actual strength of one such creature but we can attain some and even that is enough.
In working out when us human train very hard and I mean where we are pounding iron hitting very difficult angles in BW exercises some people would say to us "Damn man you're being an animal" which is true. Now there are many ways to train the human body, we can lift weights, do BW exercises and we use certain peices of equipment to get is going but nothing makes you train harder then moving like the animals in the wild. I'm not saying we should pound our chests or jump and feed on prey or speed up and take action no i'm saying move in the form of any animal, a tiger, bear, crab, gorilla, chimpanze, lion ect.
When you see animals in the jungle theres always one thing you notice about them (this goes out to every expert who thinks weights is the only way to make you stronger), theres no barbell, no dumbbell, no machines, no racks and certainly NO WEIGHTS!!!! These creatues of nature are far stronger and far better skilled then us human beings. They stay strong to survive and to defend themselves. The bear chasing down a rabbit at a bw of 800 pounds and run on 4 legs, the gorilla pulling himself up onto a branch with one finger or the cheetah having the ability to take off faster then 350 horsepower muscle car in a matter of seconds. These are all the things we can learn from to increase our cardiovascular conditioning and over muscular strength.
If you haven't noticed already my fav. animal is the gorilla. The king of strength and overall power. They are the first to be developed into humans during the prehistoric age and gave us the ability to create superhuman strength. You notice a gorilla by the way it walks and how it climbs up and down the largest of trees and branches. Although we as human beings don't always understand how intelligent these creatures are but we should damn well know how to create their strengths. The strength of a 400 pound gorilla would be equivilant to the strength 10 heavyweight olympic weightlifters (check out Animal Planet sometime), wouldn't anyone of us would love to achieve that. I certainally would and i'm a big fan of great strength.
You see if you're a fitness fanatic and whatever animal you feel is connected to your personality or you feel you take "shape" of and by that I mean if you're lean and athletic you would have the animalistic shape of a cheetah or a chimpanzee or even a certain preditorial bird. If you're body takes an animalistic "shape" of a big, burely and thick billed you would take on as a bear, gorilla, rhinosaurs or a thick muscled lion. One-way or another we all have the personality or "shape" of an animal thats inside all of us. Which one are you?
Want to train like the wild animals heres the place to get you started and if you're like me and want to feel having somewhat of the strength of a powerful gorilla heres another place you can find.
www.wildmantraining.com
www.mattfurey.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
In working out when us human train very hard and I mean where we are pounding iron hitting very difficult angles in BW exercises some people would say to us "Damn man you're being an animal" which is true. Now there are many ways to train the human body, we can lift weights, do BW exercises and we use certain peices of equipment to get is going but nothing makes you train harder then moving like the animals in the wild. I'm not saying we should pound our chests or jump and feed on prey or speed up and take action no i'm saying move in the form of any animal, a tiger, bear, crab, gorilla, chimpanze, lion ect.
When you see animals in the jungle theres always one thing you notice about them (this goes out to every expert who thinks weights is the only way to make you stronger), theres no barbell, no dumbbell, no machines, no racks and certainly NO WEIGHTS!!!! These creatues of nature are far stronger and far better skilled then us human beings. They stay strong to survive and to defend themselves. The bear chasing down a rabbit at a bw of 800 pounds and run on 4 legs, the gorilla pulling himself up onto a branch with one finger or the cheetah having the ability to take off faster then 350 horsepower muscle car in a matter of seconds. These are all the things we can learn from to increase our cardiovascular conditioning and over muscular strength.
If you haven't noticed already my fav. animal is the gorilla. The king of strength and overall power. They are the first to be developed into humans during the prehistoric age and gave us the ability to create superhuman strength. You notice a gorilla by the way it walks and how it climbs up and down the largest of trees and branches. Although we as human beings don't always understand how intelligent these creatures are but we should damn well know how to create their strengths. The strength of a 400 pound gorilla would be equivilant to the strength 10 heavyweight olympic weightlifters (check out Animal Planet sometime), wouldn't anyone of us would love to achieve that. I certainally would and i'm a big fan of great strength.
You see if you're a fitness fanatic and whatever animal you feel is connected to your personality or you feel you take "shape" of and by that I mean if you're lean and athletic you would have the animalistic shape of a cheetah or a chimpanzee or even a certain preditorial bird. If you're body takes an animalistic "shape" of a big, burely and thick billed you would take on as a bear, gorilla, rhinosaurs or a thick muscled lion. One-way or another we all have the personality or "shape" of an animal thats inside all of us. Which one are you?
Want to train like the wild animals heres the place to get you started and if you're like me and want to feel having somewhat of the strength of a powerful gorilla heres another place you can find.
www.wildmantraining.com
www.mattfurey.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
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