Now everyone of us in their lives has done weights and we all did them for a number reasons but the number 1 reason was to what? Get stronger by any means. I have been doing bodyweight training for over 2 years now and one of the best things I learned from was a method John Peterson wrote in his book Pushing Yourself To Power where you work exercises called DVRs which means: Dynamic Visualized Resistance. This method is what I like to call Invisiable Weightlifting. What you do is say you want to do an overhead press so you have your arms out like your holding a barbell now visualize that your lifting extremely heavy weight and you flex your muscles and lift the weight. Now you may think "this is goofy why not just hold a real barbell." Well what we are doing here is bringing imagination to life with exercise. You contract and press up as high as you can. Can you get strong and have an awesome physique with this method? Why hell ya you can, I did it and my arms are now reaching the 17 1/12 inches mark. You can do this method just like using weights only they're not there. You learn muscle control and your working your body into nerve force and bringing life into your body's system. From contracting the muscles you are giving your body the fuel it needs to grow to a more natural and efficiant state. When you practice these exercises on a daily basis, you're putting strength and vitality into the body and will create a new physique for you to look at in the morning. If you want the full version of this method go to:
www.bronzebowpublishing.com
Here is a exercise you can test for yourself and see what you think and if interested get Pushing Yourself To Power and build the body you've always dreamed of.
Bicep Curls: Picture in your mind that you're lifting more weight then the mighty samson and you know you're strong. Now flex and curl and flex as you come down & repeat for nine more reps. Give this a shot, you'll feel a tingly sensation from working not only the biceps but the triceps and foearms.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
John Peterson- Conditioning Master!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to talk about one of my heroes of Physical Culture and thats none other then John Peterson. He grew up having physical culture in his family through his grandfather and his uncles. At ten years old he suffered from polio and it went into his leg muscles. In order to stop this from happening he would have to have both of his legs broken at the same time w/out anestisia (hope I spelled that right lol) and had to have a good and long recovery. After his recovery he began his normal ways as any young kid and like young kids growing they got picked on by bullies and John fell right into this. In order to feel better about himself he wanted to learn exercises that'll built his confidence up and this began the realm of what he would become today.
His uncles and grandfather taught the lessons in Dynamic Tension by the great Charles Atlas. As soon as he began learning about this phenomenal course it started to make him not only stronger but far more energetic then his peers at that time. Its said in his books that in school they'd have these tests of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups and he outlast every one of his classmates. All that from DT. Damn if that worked for him it could work for anyone willing to give it a shot.
Over the next few decades John would participate, study and research in various forms of bodyweight conditioning and then he started teaching what he has learned and made a few books here and there because of it. In the last decade or so he has developed a system of exercises and methods called Transformetics and put together possibly the best form of conditioning anywhere. While studying and creating this system he was into the martial arts and still is to this day I believe but one of his teachers he spoke of quite fondly and now is upstairs looking on the earth was a man named John McSweeney and taught John a method of training called DVRs which stands for Dynamic Visualized Resistance. After learning this method he decided that he was going to make a book that not only featured what he had learned from Dynamic Tension but put together the DVRs plus calisthenics from various courses for example Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey. This would be the first of successful courses in his Transformetics Training System.
At nearly 55 this year he has had what most people would find unbelieveable starting with polio at 10 years young and grew up to be one of the top names in Physical Culture today. I can't describe how much I admire this man for how he has done himself in his life for his students and his family. I'm very proud to be apart of his system and from talking to him by phone every now and then i'll tell right now he's one of the most honest people i've ever talked to and he always knows what to ask and never says a bad thing about anybody and thats a rare thing to have in this world. He's one of the most conditioned guys around and almost no one in his age group can do what he can. All in all if you have a chance to talk with this man and be apart of the forum you will be apart of what seems like pure gold and treasured information.
In my part I just wanted to say if he ever reads this I would like him to read this:
John,
I have had a tough road these last few years. I've been through broken bones, frustrated families, being put down for a lot of things for very unessasary reasons and i've put up a lot of crap in my life where at one point I was told by family that as a baby I had a ailment that came to the point where i'd either be dead or being mentally challenged for life. I count my blessings that neither one happened. To get to the point, you have taught me through your books these last couple years a method that not only made me stronger physically but far stronger mentally then i've ever been in my 23 years on this earth and I can't thank you enough for it and no matter what you teach i'll be right there following it to the day I die. Thank you for what you have giving back to me and thats strength, health and vitality. I'm grateful that i'm apart of not only transformetics but apart of your legacy and this I will always cherish. You will always be a friend to me and I will always be your student.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
His uncles and grandfather taught the lessons in Dynamic Tension by the great Charles Atlas. As soon as he began learning about this phenomenal course it started to make him not only stronger but far more energetic then his peers at that time. Its said in his books that in school they'd have these tests of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups and he outlast every one of his classmates. All that from DT. Damn if that worked for him it could work for anyone willing to give it a shot.
Over the next few decades John would participate, study and research in various forms of bodyweight conditioning and then he started teaching what he has learned and made a few books here and there because of it. In the last decade or so he has developed a system of exercises and methods called Transformetics and put together possibly the best form of conditioning anywhere. While studying and creating this system he was into the martial arts and still is to this day I believe but one of his teachers he spoke of quite fondly and now is upstairs looking on the earth was a man named John McSweeney and taught John a method of training called DVRs which stands for Dynamic Visualized Resistance. After learning this method he decided that he was going to make a book that not only featured what he had learned from Dynamic Tension but put together the DVRs plus calisthenics from various courses for example Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey. This would be the first of successful courses in his Transformetics Training System.
At nearly 55 this year he has had what most people would find unbelieveable starting with polio at 10 years young and grew up to be one of the top names in Physical Culture today. I can't describe how much I admire this man for how he has done himself in his life for his students and his family. I'm very proud to be apart of his system and from talking to him by phone every now and then i'll tell right now he's one of the most honest people i've ever talked to and he always knows what to ask and never says a bad thing about anybody and thats a rare thing to have in this world. He's one of the most conditioned guys around and almost no one in his age group can do what he can. All in all if you have a chance to talk with this man and be apart of the forum you will be apart of what seems like pure gold and treasured information.
In my part I just wanted to say if he ever reads this I would like him to read this:
John,
I have had a tough road these last few years. I've been through broken bones, frustrated families, being put down for a lot of things for very unessasary reasons and i've put up a lot of crap in my life where at one point I was told by family that as a baby I had a ailment that came to the point where i'd either be dead or being mentally challenged for life. I count my blessings that neither one happened. To get to the point, you have taught me through your books these last couple years a method that not only made me stronger physically but far stronger mentally then i've ever been in my 23 years on this earth and I can't thank you enough for it and no matter what you teach i'll be right there following it to the day I die. Thank you for what you have giving back to me and thats strength, health and vitality. I'm grateful that i'm apart of not only transformetics but apart of your legacy and this I will always cherish. You will always be a friend to me and I will always be your student.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Self-Resistance Exercises
In the early 20th century, a young man weighed around 97 pounds at the age of 15-16 years young and got beat up in an alley by a punk kid on Halloween night. He was so humilated that he did the best he could to not let that happen again but still he got pummeled by bullies. At the beach one day this scrawny teenager along with his girlfriend at the time were having fun having some laughs and coming up to them was a guy with a physique that can make a woman blush kicked sand into this kids face and walked off with his girl. Now he had gotten himself into a mess he didn't know how to handle so he started lifting weights to feel good about himself. This didn't do too well for him. He went to the zoo one day where he went to think and began noticing certain things animals demonstrated and began to realized how these animals strengthened their bodies in nature. He got himself a course from a man named Alois Swoboda and learned the lessons of physical culture through Bodyweight Exercises. He came up with a way to adapt to this course by pitting one muscle against another. This is the true story of Angelo Siciliano A.KA the world famous Charles Atlas. He worked his body using what I and other members at Transformetics call Dynamic Self Resistance exercises where you work one muscle against another. Not only did this work for Atlas but it made him a legend in Physical Culture. He created a course that had the same exercises he developed his body with and it made him a millionare over night. For over 50 years his course helped break the mold of how to develop a body without the use of equiment and not get "sand kicked in your face." This went on well after his death in 1972 and his course still to this day is being used by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world developing strength and will power by these exercises. If you want to build the body of your dreams check out these sites and order the course Dynamic Tension or other books similar to it brought on by students of Atlas, John Peterson & Jim Forystek.
http://www.charlesatlas.com
http://www.bronzebowpublishing.com/
http://www.flexerciseworkout.com/
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
http://www.charlesatlas.com
http://www.bronzebowpublishing.com/
http://www.flexerciseworkout.com/
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Monday, September 3, 2007
Eddie Baran- Modern Day Gymnast!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A man that grew up in the Silicon Valley in Nothern California wanted to be in the best shape he could possibly be in. He put his heart into everything for 20 years (Weightlifting, Endurance Training ect). He trained most of his life in Bodybuilding, Olympic Weightlifting & Powerlifting and became a powerful 215 bulky lidter. It was difficult for him to realize what he was doing to his body was actually tearing him up and wanted to find a way to make better use of his strength abilities. He met an upcoming internet guru by the name of Matthew Furey and Furey taught him in the ways of bodyweight exercises for condition strength not maximal strength. Baran was extremly skeptical about this "bodyweight" Idea and thought that this was was going to be a walk in the park. Sadly he realized that not only did he fail what was made for him but it proved to be too much for him.
Now after being frustrated and discouraged he was determined that bodyweight exercises would not only make him stronger but more agile and flexibilty, he dropped the weights and focused exclusively on these exercises. This led him to go to the biggest source for bodyweight exercises and thats Gymnastics. He took up the sport for the conditioning not the competition. He began training at the odd age of 35 when most gymnasts at that age are long retired and became coaches for the new generation. Baran began at 35. It wasn't long until he became such a hit with the coaches that they had him start teaching the kids his new found conditioning. Eddie has become an author and co-author of several fitness courses including:
Gymnastic Abs
Animal Kingdom Conditioning
Body Sculpting Exercises For Women
Gymnastic Handstands
These courses have helped put Ed Baran on the map of being a physical cultrist in this modern day and age. He has helped trained thousands of people in turning their conditioning levels from weak and overweight to lean and muscular machines. If you ever want to get into the best shape of your life, this is one of the true men to go to.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Now after being frustrated and discouraged he was determined that bodyweight exercises would not only make him stronger but more agile and flexibilty, he dropped the weights and focused exclusively on these exercises. This led him to go to the biggest source for bodyweight exercises and thats Gymnastics. He took up the sport for the conditioning not the competition. He began training at the odd age of 35 when most gymnasts at that age are long retired and became coaches for the new generation. Baran began at 35. It wasn't long until he became such a hit with the coaches that they had him start teaching the kids his new found conditioning. Eddie has become an author and co-author of several fitness courses including:
Gymnastic Abs
Animal Kingdom Conditioning
Body Sculpting Exercises For Women
Gymnastic Handstands
These courses have helped put Ed Baran on the map of being a physical cultrist in this modern day and age. He has helped trained thousands of people in turning their conditioning levels from weak and overweight to lean and muscular machines. If you ever want to get into the best shape of your life, this is one of the true men to go to.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Karl Gotch......May he R.I.P
A true legend in the world of physical culture died this past saturday nearing the age of 83. A man of moral character and a great student to wrestling was known throughout Japan as "the god of pro wrestling" for his shoot-fighting style and conditioning training. In the united states though he wasn't a popular hit so he never became a big figure in the ways of other famous athletes. Up until recently this man was very private and kept a strong eye on the people who felt should be trained for wrestling. He knew that if you werent in condition you're not worth a damn and if all you wanted to do was learn a few moves then he'll kick you out the door. He was considered by a few peers and students as arguabley the greatest wrestler of all-time. He wasn't always a wrestler though, he was a survivor of world war ll concentration camps and became a soilder of the US army. He was an olympian in 1948 and became a pro throughout the 60's and 70's. He put his heart and soul to the sport he loved and created many friends and equally as many enemies but through it all he was just a man that squeaked by with a few injuries and a determained will to keep on fighting. A few years ago, he took on a student that was different then most of his others and taught him the ways of wrestling and conditioning. He turned this man's life upside down and for the better and is now known as "the zen master" Matt Furey. That was just one of thousands of students that he made a wrestler out of. In some circles he was considered brutal, viscious and unmerciful when it came to conditioning. Thats the fun of it cause thats how he was not only hated but also respected knowing that cause thats what he was taught and he made it his own unique style. Be as it may he wasn't the biggest public figure but he was a true loyal man and believed in what he loved and how life should go through one's life. Rest in peice Karl and thank you for the powerful impact you've put on us through your conditioning and ways of wrestling that can never be matched.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Is it possible to gain strength/flexibility/stamina all in one shot?
To answer that question you have to look at the type of people who know and those who don't. Its common in todays gym rats, high-tech loving and hardcore trainees who believe without question that in order to get these attributes you need to lift for strength, stretch for flexibility and run on the tredmill for a half hour just to get a decent amount of endurance. Now thats all good for them and they can all of that as much as they want but its not always true. It is possible to get those three major attributes into one exercise. The people i've mentioned don't want to believe that cause thats what they were taught and you don't see trainees talk about the important factors anymore cause its "outdated" and science proves new theories for the fitness industry. Its what I have learned in my 7 years of weight lifting. Up until my freak leg accident I learned an researched the old ways of strength training and decided that weights and scientific theories arnt my idea of conditioning. Mother nature with a few peices of equipment are my choices.
Now back to what I was saying..........When you look at animals in the wild by looking hard enough you notice they don't do seperate things to keep them strong and fit they tie everything together from their body structures and survival skills to keep everything strong. The old-timers knew this and adapted to their styles of training. The thing to remember is don't always look to the future in fitness but look to the way you adapt old styles for the future for yourself. Take in what you know and adapt. Its a lot simpler then it looks just find out for yourself and find a unique way to enhance all three of these attributes. The secret to this is to adapt and improvise never repeat.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Now back to what I was saying..........When you look at animals in the wild by looking hard enough you notice they don't do seperate things to keep them strong and fit they tie everything together from their body structures and survival skills to keep everything strong. The old-timers knew this and adapted to their styles of training. The thing to remember is don't always look to the future in fitness but look to the way you adapt old styles for the future for yourself. Take in what you know and adapt. Its a lot simpler then it looks just find out for yourself and find a unique way to enhance all three of these attributes. The secret to this is to adapt and improvise never repeat.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Saturday, July 14, 2007
New Strength Feat
Last night as an experiment I attempted to rip up a phonebook (around 1000) but with sock puppets (using socks as gloves) and got it on the first try. I was shocked and happy at the same time. It took a great deal of strength to pull this off and Isometrics can help you build that power. When it comes to ripping phonebooks you want to start by just tearing it in half. Simple right? Not nessesarely, you have to not only build up the kind of strength just to tear but you want to progress onto thicker books. If you can rip a 3000 page phonebook without too much trouble then you got super-human strength. One of the key elements to ripping a phonebook or anything else for that matter is through the use of isometrics. This particular type of stength training has been overlooked in the last couple decades and to me thats just sad.....Anywho I want to film this feat and prove that with bodyweight training and learning proper technique in feats of strength you can achieve anthing you wish when you use the mind/muscle connection and just sheer will. Until then keep training and have fun while you do it even when it gets difficult.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Powerflex In The Air And Of Course On Land!!!!!!!!
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
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
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
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