Your UFC Fighter For Bad Bacteria

Today, I’m going to talk to you about something kinda gross. But it's something we all have.

Yes, I’m talking about bacteria. The thing is, bacteria is all over us but it only harms us sometimes.

We actually have more bacterial cells than we do human cells, which makes me wonder...

Are we bacteria? Maybe I should call you ‘microbe’ instead of calling you by your name.

Just kidding. That would get confusing real fast since I, too, am a microbe. Let’s go back to the bacteria talk for a second.

One way these bacteria can harm us is through infections. Infections come in many forms, but one of the most common is Streptococcus Pneumonia.

This tiny bacteria works its way into your lungs and then multiples, which can cause the common disease known as pneumonia.

Pneumonia can be life-threatening depending on the person, and it costs thousands of people their lives each year.

Those who have weak immune systems are the most vulnerable to this bacteria. These include older men and women, anyone battling a disease or those who are malnourished, or young children.

Luckily, your body has many enlisted soldiers ready to fight bacteria off. One organ that plays a key role in this is your spleen.

The spleen is the largest organ in the lymphatic system, and its primary function is to keep your blood healthy.

When healthy blood enters your spleen, the organ gives it the go-ahead to circulate throughout your body.

If it notices blood cells that are suspect, whether they are damaged or unhealthy, it hires a slew of hitmen known as lymphocytes. These are your body's white blood cells and their job is to destroy any harmful blood.

Your spleen also serves as your primary blood store. It can actually hold up to a cup of blood in reserve if you’re ever in an accident (God forbid) and you lose a lot of blood.

Getting back to the topic of Pneumonia, your spleen also responds to bacteria and viruses in the same way it responds to unhealthy blood cells. Meaning it hires the white cells to whack them as well. This includes bacteria like Streptococcus Pneumonia.

If you want to avoid being sick, retain muscle and joint health as you age, you must take good care of your spleen.

How you can hurt your spleen?

Consume too much alcohol or drugs
Physical trauma to the spleen (such as a sports injury)
Eat a diet rich in gluten, soy, dairy, shellfish, and any chemically processed foods
Have blood disease caused by abnormal blood cells
Breathing air filled with pollutants
If you engage in these activities too much, your spleen can become enlarged from fighting off too many harmful substances.

Symptoms of an enlarged spleen include...

Feeling discomfort, pain on the upper left side of the abdomen, especially after eating a large meal

Easy bleeding
Weight loss
Changes in appetite
Frequent infections
Anemia
Yellowing of the skin
How to keep your spleen in fighting condition?

Eat clean meats like wild salmon that are filled with omega 3 fatty acids
Consume plenty of nuts and seeds including chia, flax, and pumpkin
Increase green leafy vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and kale in your diet
Exercise 3 times per week to keep the blood and fluids moving
Regular massages or sitting in a sauna can also help detoxify your body
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Aid in blood production
Filter out blood sugars, fats, toxins so you can take some of the load off your liver/kidneys
Rich in antioxidants to help lower your risk of infection
Can help fight diseases like the common cold
Can help lower blood pressure
Do your spleen and other lymphatic organs a huge favor...
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Hear The Fat Scream Like Wicked Witch Of The West

If you heard the screams and melting elements of your unwanted fat, what would it sound like? What type of bloody murder sound would you want to hear when that fat melts like butter and switches to dense and defined muscle? To me it sounds like Margaret Hamilton just sounding off or Judge Doom imitating Margaret Hamilton. For anyone else, maybe it sounds like some chick getting killed in a Horror movie or a character you hate in another type of film dying. I don't think anyone wants to hear Darth Vader screaming NNNNOOOOO in Episode 3, that just sounds too dreadful.

With all this talk about screaming bloody murder, let's get to the nitty gritty of why you want to hear that type of sound. When we train hard, that sound in our minds can be beneficial and maybe a little psychotic on your part because you just want that unwanted fat to just die and go to a place that even the Devil himself would hate to be in. There are many ways to do a fat loss program but it takes real strategy and specific type of training to burn fat like a furnace and make it your bitch to torch and watch it go up in flames. The cream of the crop in my opinion is through High Intensity Training 2-3x a week or (if you got them) Hill Sprinting up to 10 sprints each workout 3 times a week max. This will without question will torture fat so badly it has no choice but to die in painful agony. Another powerful method is through Isometrics.

Isometric Training is a safety net compared to sprinting where you don't have to move at all but be in a position where you contract (Flex) a muscle or series of muscles hard and than relax them. What this does is create immense blood flow and with great focus can build dense muscle and have fat melt out. You can do Isometrics virtually anywhere and anytime. There are limitless exercises you can come up with and various methods of Isometrics such as holding a calisthenic exercise, Muscle Control, pitting muscles against each other and tons of others. With Muscle Control, it teaches to isolate a particular muscle by contracting and relaxing at will; Muscle vs. Muscle is like doing a curl but only in one area to flex hard enough it looks like your hands are wrestling against each other and Calisthenic Isometrics is like holding a push-up in the top, middle and lower positions as long as possible or flexing hard up to 12 seconds.

Isometrics are a classic form of exercise that has been around for eons and has been used by the greatest and toughest athletes in the world. Methods of Yoga require you to hold certain positions for a length of time more than just flexing really hard. Wrestlers use Isometrics to strengthen their grip and joints to take down or mahandle tough opponents. If a grappler has a solid hold of you and you can't escape you're screwed. Boxers use Isometrics for punching power and speed strength for various punches in certain positions. Isometrics can even make you move faster because when you hold a certain position for a period of time like a minute with 40% of your strength into it, it can make you feel light on your feet.

The greatest bodybuilders such as John Grimek, Otto Arco, Eugene Sandow and Bill Pearl used Muscle Control to build dense muscle before competitions using unique posing routines to get that extra out of the muscle and research yourself on their accomplishments using this method.

You can do Isometrics in a lot of different ways for different reasons but the main things they can do is help you lose weight, burn fat like crazy, build real muscle, make you feel lighter than air times and have you feeling incredible. I use them often and even done holding positions from Animal Movements to strengthen myself from different positions. They have aided in my weight loss from being 275 lbs. down to as low as my current weight of 246-248. They are miracle workers for sure when you really focus on them and even adding them to your routine.

When Repetitions Become Boring

I tackle certain exercises such as Squats, Pull-Up, Push-ups and V-Ups and do my best to do as many repetitions as I can whether in a row or in total.....I have done 500-1000 Squats in a row on a few occasions, 600 total push-ups in a single workout, nearly 50 pull-ups in a workout and over 200 V-ups using a deck of cards. There comes a time where doing a lot of reps in a workout just becomes let's say so tedious & boring (more boring than anything) and you have had enough. It isn't because they're not good or that they don't produce results but are you really getting the most out of them mentally and emotionally invested; in other words, are you even having fun doing them?

Don't get me wrong, calisthenics are phenomenal and do a lot of good for the body but where are you truly? If you're having fun with them than that's amazing and it makes me happy you enjoy them but after doing something of 100 or more reps, it's time to find something new. This is where Animal Movements come into play and why I'm so passionate about them. They have opened my eyes to other possibilities than doing endless reps of calisthenics. I love to have the ability to move my body in awkward positions, stabilize my core different and walk or jump in ways that calisthenics can't even touch. Let's say you can do 500 Squats consistently, why not amp it up and do 500 Frog Jumps or take 500 Steps of a Bear Crawl or Crab Walk? Even the greatest athletes might need an oxygen mask after doing 500 steps or jumps of an animal exercise.

Instead of rep after rep, how about taking steps in different directions and see how long you can go. It's all about perspective and what you really get out of it. I get far more enjoyment and a challenge when I do animal movements than when I do high amounts of reps of a regular exercise. 500 Squats is awesome to do, but once you get the hang of it, it's not impressive anymore and it becomes a cycle of doing it day after day. I want to be invested in something that gives me that thrill of a challenge and keep coming back for more, I wasn't thrilled about doing 500 Hindu Squats anymore and knowing I can do them, loses my interest; not knowing how i'm going to do the animal moves or what the dice game comes up with that day makes me anxious but in a good and I look forward to either a day of playing or a day of ass kicking (it's 50/50 everyday for me).

The "Human" aspect of fitness when it comes to calisthenics is finding out how many reps in solid form can be done (except for crossfit, most of them wouldn't know form if it was written on their foreheads) and how often to keep doing them. For guys like Karl Gotch taught the idea of 500 Squats, 250 Hindu Push-ups and Bridging as the fundamentals for wrestling/MMA, Alvaro Romano taught Ginastica Natural which took aspects of Yoga, Flow Movement and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to combine elements that condition the body for fighting and health plus others and their ideas are awesome and have worked for many people but I tend to go my own route, learn what I can use and mold it as my own. Now the Animal aspect of fitness is where you learn to coordinate your body from awkward angles, crawl, jump and utilizing the fundamental elements of nature which is the original form of calisthenics.

I love being an animal and I'm far from boredom when I get in that zone. It's playing a game and learning how to use your brain and put in a different kind of effort to live healthy, strong and vibrant. You can never get bored with Animals, they don't take up much time to even start to feel bored cause you'll want to catch your breath. Go wild my friends.

Develop Muscular Strength And Conditioning With Animal Movements

The practice of moving like a wild animal, provides more than just muscle building and conditioning the body; it amplifies how we use our brain to fire up the neurons and create a surge of powerful functions that will aid in reducing dementia, diabetes and creating blood flow to muscles not normally used. When you crawl and jump, you're putting new levels of strength into the body you didn't know has a greater natural feeling. Lifting weights is awesome, using a machine for bodybuilding and rehab has it's pros and cons but nothing brings out the body's energies like moving in a form of a wild creature.

Just walk on all fours for one minute and see how it feels. It's not as easy as it looks and needing to stabilize your core to keep you balanced and coordinating your hands and feet provides greater brain power to a degree we don't always realize or understand. Conditioning the body in this manner brings on more than just movement, it provides greater condition to the internal organs and strengthening the heart and lungs unlike many other methods. When you move using exercises such as in Animal Kingdom Conditioning and/or Animal Flow, you're moving in directions that aren't typical or straight lined. You're feeding the brain more powerful information and creating shifts, transitions and downright awesomes moves that strengthen the entire body from the inside out.

With enough practice and eating healthy, you can develop a strong physique that isn't full of bloated "Counterfeit" muscle but a physique than go the distance, provide real functional strength and endurance that combined together create "Conditioned" muscle. Plus, it is a lot of fun and you can adjust it to your level and as you get stronger, step by step working towards a more advanced set of moves or exercises that has your body taking on a grander scale to be in the greatest shape of your life. Combine these elements into your other routines and you'll find your level of knowledge and strength to be limitless. Multi-Angular movements mixed with jumping, balancing and unusual strength will feel as if you were a little kid again; having greater energy, having your imagination soar and create any workout you want without it feeling like you're working out, just playing a game.

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Book Of The Day: Psycho Cybernetics

Frustration Can Be A Bitch....So Take Your Frustration Out Productively

We're all human and there's going to be days where you're just so fed up with certain things and frustration that it can lead to something you don't want to be taking on and it's going to hurt you more than just wanting it to go away. I've been known to be very emotional and when i'm frustrated, it's mainly because I have no idea what to do but do my damndest to fix it or figure it out and it just makes it worse. When I get really frustrated, I just want to punch something or break something which I have in the past; windows, doors, walls and even toys so I understand what a person might want to do when that happens.

I have learned to take my frustration out in a different way. I have even made a productive way to take that emotion and put it to use instead of physically harming myself or an object. It was intuition really and it really started when I was frustrated in my relationships and breakups. After dealing with certain patches of a relationship or someone or me decided to leave, I train sometimes with bodyweight or take my sledgehammer (Big Bertha or Mjolnir) and just go at it so hard to either make the pain go away or just put so much focus into it until I couldn't remember what happened earlier (which is ironic since I have a very powerful memory). One time, a girl I really liked didn't think I was worth her time so after a few dates, she didn't want to be around me anymore and I wanted to see where it lead. So I took out the 30 lbs. Thor Hammer & a tire and just pounded on that thing for over 1000 reps just so I couldn't feel the pain anymore. It worked and I moved on with my life.

These days I would do something similar to just get it out because nobody likes being frustrated and it is important to take that emotion and use it in a way where it's more about calming down than just wanting to get rid of it or take away some emotional pain because regardless of what you do unless you take some form of medication where you don't feel a damn thing at all, there's always going to be frustration and emotional pain is what makes us human.

Now I don't just have a hammer to whack a tire to use, I have the Death Star Slamball to pick up and thrust down and I have a Sandbell to slam as well. These things can be used to help get some emotions out in a more productive way even though the very best way is to just walk it off and breathe for a bit because the more you stay focused on it, the more it takes away the life you want to have later, not just in that moment. Not many people can just get up and walk away and take a deep breath, I understand that but at the same time, I don't want anyone doing anything they'll regret like I did and if you have someone in your life you love more than this world, you don't want to end up hurting them in any form. This isn't telling anyone what to do, it's giving them an option of how to take frustration and put it in another perspective. Be safe and don't get too pissed off or frustrated, life has more to offer than that bullshit.

Going To The Movies In Your Mind?

Visualization isn't the easiest thing to learn but it can be a really fun experience and shift gears towards what you want and how you apply it to your life. I'm constantly learning this and seeing my goals from a different perspective that is unique and something that I get excited to do. It's more than just meditation, beyond just visualizing something and more so than just watching a flick in your mind's eye. Theater Of The Mind is a technique that has you seeing yourself achieve your goals as if it was happening on the big screen, watching yourself triumph over your obstacles, making things happen and projecting yourself into another realm of positive and amazingly awesome things.

Picture yourself in your own movie theater, sitting in your chair/row/balcony and watching from a 1st person point of view what it would be like to see your dreams become a reality. What would it feel like, what would it sound like and what would your emotions be? As a practitioner of this, it is very powerful and has helped achieve things I didn't realize at the time were possible. I have used it to lift more than 400 pounds in the deadlift, used it to achieve a solid level of sales and survive in sparring sessions of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. You can do this anytime, anywhere that is quiet and you can concentrate.

There's more to it than just looking at your goals; it teaches you what to look for, how to turn up the volume, step by step markings of what to visualize and how to plant your goals onto the screen themselves. What are your goals? What do you wish to see and what will bring you your greatest strengths, will and imagery that is powerful?

Get Theater Of The Mind and learn the deepest details of seeing your superhuman self on the big screen.

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Do You Have To Be Loyal To A Specific Program?

When we learn something new that is exciting and gets us results, we tend to stick to that program and not see the others as another form of exercise. There are some die-hard enthusiasts out there using specific programs that have either become life changing, a change of pace or that it is the one-all-be-all. To tell you the truth, I know what it's like to be die-hard and do a program that just doesn't compare to others but the fact of the matter is, no program is created equal and none are the end-all-be-all.

True there are some programs I do like that i'm head over heels for like animal movements, isometrics and using a deck of cards for reps doing hammer work when I'm in that mode but I don't have that worship, needy and desperate need to do style that many people have. It doesn't make them bad people or any of those things but there comes a time where it is ok to experiment and mix things up. It has some similarities to meeting and having a relationship with some people, it's new and exciting but you don't always know the real deal until you have dug deep into the heart of it/them and see the true side to certain things.

Many people treat one program as if it was a marriage; it's rough on certain days, it's amazing on others but in the end, you can't live without it. I see it from another perspective; I don't see just one program as a thing I would do the rest of my life, I see everything I have learned and mold it into the perfect program for me. Taking the qualities, the flaws, the pros and cons plus trusting in it what I feel that invests my time and energy. It's like Weird Science where the two kids took a computer and created the perfect woman that has beauty, brains and a bit of a wild side and although it worked, they ended up learning something out of it they never expected. I take the very best that are like puzzle pieces and create a the best picture just for me but I also nurture it, take it for what it is and let it teach me things nothing else can.

What does this have to do with loyalty? There's nothing wrong with it but if you don't have a great investment in it, how can you manage your full heart and soul into it? Loyalty is a word thrown around a lot and not just in fitness and loyalty can be deadly if it's around the wrong kind of people. It is the same thing with exercise, it may look cool and you invest yourself in it but will it give anything back? Just like a relationship, you get what you put into and it goes both ways otherwise why call it a relationship? Invest what works for you and you put what you feel is worth it and if it works the way it was meant to, it'll give back more than you'll expect. Be loyal to yourself and what you invest in and the thing you put yourself into will give back, just pay attention to it.

Magnify Your Conditioning By Doing Superhero Circuits

The best workouts should not last more than 45 min. to an hour because you want to get the most out of the session and have a tiny bit left in the tank. There's nothing wrong with challenging yourself but you also don't want your energy too depleted either. Utilize your training with purpose and passion but also be smart and use it to your advantage. That's one of the reasons why circuits play a huge role in amplifying your conditioning. Take 4 exercises or more and hit them hard using repetitions you can do and go from one exercise to another with no rest. There are so many ways to train this way but for someone like me, I like the style of using a theme that would pump someone up and want to get into it.

Superhero Circuits is a personal favorite of mine when I'm in the mood to really tackle a workout. Although my interest is mainly animals, isometrics and just playing; it's fun to do something different and have a blast with it. What if you could do a workout based on heroes like Batman, Green Lantern, Black Widow, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow & Wolverine? Maybe you're not big on superheroes but into the villains; how about Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane or others? When you have an interest in something and it gets you fired up and full of passion and love for exercise, what do you think your results will be? Chances are you'll be in far better shape mentally and physically than just going through the motions. It may be better than nothing but if you don't have that fire, they won't come the way they're truly meant to.

Circuits are no joke and if you're not ready for them, you're in for a rude awakening when you try one for the first time. The 1st time I did the Batman Workout, I could barely breathe and was shaking from head to toe and that was the first few rounds and that was with the two minute rest periods. I progressed and got it not once but several times doing 10 solid rounds. It is a hell of a workout and if you want to get in shape fast and anywhere at anytime this will do it.

That's another great benefit of these workouts is that you can do them anywhere and anytime; in a hotel room, at the park, in a cabin, on the beach, during a work break or after getting out of bed. They're also incredible for those that travel because it's not always fun to keep traveling to a gym and if you're short on time like needing to get to a meeting or going to a theme park like Disneyland, you want to be in and out stat. Hitting the weights is always fun don't get me wrong but it's ok to step back and work on just your bodyweight and enjoy yourself the rest of the time. Another great set of benefits is that you can adjust the level of the intensity by your level of fitness, if you can't do any of the level of sets with the allotted repetitions, cut the reps in half and build up until you can do it. Whatever works for you, make it happen and eventually, you'll be breezing through some of these like a boss.


To find these great gems go here from google.

Sometimes You Just Have To Let Loose And Go Ape S*it

Working out can be a real chore to some people and forcing themselves to do something for the sake of just doing it can hinder progress. Whenever I'm in a rut or just need a break from regular training, I just go all out and be wild. Moving like my spirit animal the Gorilla. It creates a more fun atmosphere and just cut loose and be me. Being yourself in your training can be scary and want to be someone else because you're too concerned of what others may think.

There are times where I just don't know what to do because i'm not a routine guy and when I try to be it doesn't last long, not that i'm not motivated, just not interested and want to be different. I love doing different workouts but there's something about moving like a wild primate that just feels right and when my instincts kick in, I don't have a choice I just go for it.

Now when I mean going Ape S*it, i'm not talking about bouncing off the walls and smashing everything in a ground and pound style; it's crawling, hanging, jumping and just letting everything out in a productive way. It's one of the things that gets me in a better mood utilizing animal movements. It's letting me have the freedom, the ability to really use my imagination and create what I WANT, not what everyone thinks I may want or have to do.

Let loose every once in a while. Might do you some good. Be wild, be free and just go. If you can't be yourself, you're not really training.

Is It Better To Look Good Than To Feel Good?

In the 80's on Saturday Night Live, Billy Crystal played a character that was an aristocrat that would rather look damn good than to feel good about himself. More like a hollow outlook on life that many people tend to follow without realizing it. The motto of his character Fernando was "Darlings, it is better to look good than to feel good you know what i'm saying?" Now what does this relate to? Well for decades, even centuries, image is a powerful thing and it has made many people successful, many others suffer but also makes it an importance beyond the reality of the body's true meaning.

Image is just a speck of the real outlook to how a person can be physically, mentally and emotionally. It brings up the targeted audience in the fitness industry where image far outweighs the feel of a person. You see the pictures in the magazines, on the stage, on tv; looking directly at you and judging the appearance. Just about anybody can look good with the right tools and elements that make up the image of that individual but yet what is the image? What is the first thing you notice about a person with tattoos, a rock hard body, the way they sit, their posture or the way they do things in your surroundings? It's a rarity to say "what do I feel" than to say "what do I see".

A lot of us have an issue with our image and who or what we want to be on the outside but what about the inside? The irony is the feelling tends to come out more what you just see from the exterior but many can also hide what they feel by projecting themselves into a world that what you see is nowhere near what's on the inside. You'll ind people that say "what you see is what you get" but the trouble is that it is more rare than we want to believe whether someone says it or says it to themselves. I at times see a horrible image of myself and hear doubts, fears and feel hopeless but yet I don't always show that. We hide our emotions and our feelings because in some cases, we are taught to do that and only show what we want you to see because if you knew the truth, it would make us vulnerable and conflicted plus it's breaking down the world we built around ourselves we strive to keep locked and sealed.

Looking good can make you successful and even maybe get you an endorsement or having your face on a box of cereal or in a commercial selling stuff that is already sketchy in the first place. Just looking good however, comes with a price and if you let it consume you, it throws away the real aspects of your true self and letting the outside judge you more on the exterior than what the interior really has in stored. I'm no model, I don't have six pack abs or 20 inch arms, for the most part I'm just solid physically but my true self has passion, compassion, emotional rollercoasters, a memory that is both a blessing and a curse, I'm very happy most of the time but I do have my downfalls of being a pain in the ass at times, it's a fact lol. I don't strive to look like a greek god or even come close to looking like a young Brad Pitt, but I do what I can to be good hearted, train to the best of my abilities, play, have fun and be good to somebody who's having a rough time.

You don't need to be crazy good looking to live a full life. The funny thing is, what you see from a good looking person is like this; they look like Zeus or Aphrodite on the outside but on the inside they can be like Medusa or Hades and you won't even know it until it becomes painfully obvious and then it's too late. Some people who don't have the MIS (Model Image of Society) are the sweetest, most caring and all around amazingly awesome people on the planet. It takes guts to really feel something than to cover it up with an image some are not proud of and are ashamed to wear.

Image on the outside is like a painting made of colors, expressions and little details that take on a life of their own but the feeling is in the self image, it goes beyond the colors, the expressions and the little details; it is a larger world that is the hardest to master and to express the emotional content and hitting a surface that for many take decades to find, some never reach it because to them, feeling something is a weakness and if you express those feelings, you're going to lose your image. So let me ask you again.....Is it better to look good than to feel? Some people have both, many have one or the other, the real question is, which one do you plan on using to make yourself real to the world?



Herb Of The Day: Sea Buckthorn 

Animal Isometrics And Developing Strength In An Even Greater Unique Aspect Of Muscular Power And Conditioning

I see things differently and not always look at one aspect of training as the end-all-be-all. Isometrics are very underrated compared to other forms of mainstream fitness yet it is one of the most important elements that will take your strength, speed and agility to a whole other realm where possibilities are endless. You can do Isometrics just about anywhere and anytime whether using equipment or not and it doesn't matter if you're a beginner or an advanced athlete.

Isometrics have been used for centuries and have been done in ways we still have yet to discover. It has helped men and women get strong and powerful from a variety of positions that are endless and have aided them in countless sports, everyday life, rehab, military training, yoga, wrestling and law enforcement. One form of isometrics that I have rediscovered is through the holding positions used in Animal style movements. Now what are isometrics exactly? It is the element that has you holding a position against an immovable object or against yourself.

For Animal Isometrics, these will build strength from angles not normally used in typical Isometric fashion. If you were to do a crawling movement, you can take a step and then press your hands and feet into the ground as hard as you can for up to 10 seconds or less. This builds the foundation for holding yourself up and engaging your body in a unique way. What about jumping or leg movements? Well for example the Frog Jump; obviously you can't hold an isometric in mid air unless you have the gift of flight so how about holding the frog jump in mid squat to full squat and contracting the muscles hard in that position. Breathe out doing an "sssss" or "fffff" sound, never hold your breath on any isometric contraction as this can lead to hypertension, unwanted blood pressure and even headaches.

For beginners, this builds that foundational strength and creates that surge of power in the tendons and joints. Balance is crucial especially for those over 40. When you can build strong tendons and ligaments, the rest will fall into place. Another great aspect of Isometrics especially utilizing in mimicking animals where you can lessen the intensity of a contraction and just hold yourself up in a position and stay there as long as you can. If you can hold a crab exercise for over a minute, that builds some serious tendon strength, how about a flamingo hold? Being able to squat or balance on one leg for five minutes is tough as hell but imagine the strength you'll have in your knees, ankles and overall leg power and explosiveness.

If you're an advanced athlete and have done animal movements for a while, start holding positions and see where your strength takes you. Imagine being a little faster, have greater intuition and developing a greater skill in the mind/muscle connection. You'll have lesser chances of getting injured and think of the strength you'll have if you're in a combat sport. If you're in MMA, think about what it be like to be explosive and take down your opponent with ease, have pinning power beyond belief, punch with such force that a knockout is inevitable, be able to slap on submissions because your grip will be so strong that they can't get away and be able to squeeze without much effort that you'll be like a freaking anaconda.

Make Isometrics a part of your arsenal, especially in the ways of the animal.



Herb Of The Day:  Thor's Hammer Formula

The Effectiveness is in the Combination
All of these together is designed to be stronger than just one alone. If you talked to a consultant you might be able to figure out which of these four steps is the needed one for you. But why not just take care of everything all at once?

Just a single herb can work wonders for any one person. However, people are different. So when you have a blend like this of five herbs, you’re better ensured of getting great effects as they all work through all the different possibly dis-functions.

And as you’ve seen, the effects of these herbs extend beyond the one main function we aim it at. There will be side effects. Good ones! Though you may take this formula for performance in the bedroom don’t be surprised when you notice better health and effectiveness in other areas of your life.*

One wife commented, “That’s the hardest your d*ck has ever been!” Another guy said, “Is this thing going to stop?!?”*

A Vacation For Your Nerves

Do you ever grab life by the throat and squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of a single experience? Maybe you escaped to a jaw-dropping beach one weekend. You basked in the glow of the red sun while listening to the ocean serenade you with its crashing waves.

Chances are, you know the sedative feeling a vacation can give you when you do it right. You’re present, relaxed and everything comes just a little easier to you.

Only problem is — you eventually go back to your day-to-day routine. The kind where you’re getting whacked at all day by a barrage of problems. Pressure to succeed at work, countless tasks to carry out and a slew of lurking issues you aren’t even aware of yet.

Soon you’re all wound up again, and those amazing feelings you felt not too long ago seem a far cry away now.

But there are ways to recreate that powerful feeling you felt on your last getaway without having to go on another adventure.

One herb, Reishi Mushroom, is designed to evoke the same sense of calm and contentment you enjoyed while away from your hectic life.

(I am also sharing this with you because to for a LIMITED TIME its on sale. Only $24.99. Check it out here)

Nicknamed ‘Tonic of the Emperors,’ Reishi contains a vast amount of these magic things called triterpenes. A Triterpene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon derived from a C30 precursor known as Squalene.

Squalene makes up half of the liver oil found in certain species of sharks and is otherwise widely distributed in nature, most commonly in olive oil. It also synthesizes hormones, including Vitamin D and cholesterol.

Upon entering the body, Triterpenes work to tonify the liver.

As you might know, your liver is an important organ in the human body. It helps cleanse your blood of any toxic chemicals like sugar, processed or fast foods, alcohol, tobacco and various environmental hazards.

The liver also works with the nervous system. Lipids, glucose and metabolites acquired from eating and drinking trigger the nervous system to make certain physiological changes.

When you tax your liver by consuming harmful substances, you can find yourself on the bad end of these physiological changes. You can feel symptoms including chronic fatigue, nausea or vomiting, and abdominal pain. This can also lead to long-term diseases such as obesity, fatty liver disease, and liver cancer.

But, when the triterpenes in Reishi work to nourish the liver, it triggers the nervous system to produce a calming and grounded effect. This puts you in a more relaxed state.

Learn more about Reishi here and and start feeling calmer and more relaxed today!

National Mushroom Months: Top 5 Therapeutic Mushrooms

Hi There,

Mushrooms are amazing. Did you know that we’re genetically closer to mushrooms than we are to plants?

And that some mushrooms do many things similar to humans such as produce vitamin D?

In nature, symbiotically with plants, fungal mycelium provides immune system benefits to plants in exchange for food.

They can do much the same for us.

Check out this complete list of Medicinal Mushrooms for health and performance here, and learn how these mushrooms can change your life.

Among the best of the best, we will talk about...

Learn all about some of the therapeutic used of mushroom here

Reishi is the most highly revered mushroom (and herb overall) in Chinese medicine because of it’s many benefits. For helping the immune system, for supporting your mood, it is hard to beat.

Chaga, the King of Mushrooms, is newer on the scene but is just as powerful…just in different ways. The key benefit of this mushroom is how it helps to support your DNA. And really there is so much more.

Cordyceps is known as the mushroom for athletes for how it helps with lung capacity and endurance. This mushroom, and the effects of it, are what got me into herbalism in the first place! We feature the lesser known, but still highly powerful, Cordyceps militaris.

Lion’s mane mushroom, given that name because of its appearance, is being scientifically investigated for its benefits to the brain and nervous system, as it supports nerve growth factor (NGF).

7 Mushroom Alchemy Tincture This 7 mushroom blend is one above the rest. Strategically designed to support in overall health this tincture contains Reishi, Chaga, Lion’s Mane, Shiitake, Maitake, Artist’s Conk, Turkey Tail. A powerful combination to support almost every function.

and... Its National Mushroom Month!!! Celebrating mushrooms everywhere you can save on your first purchase of Reishi Mushroom ON SALE until Monday 9/10/18 for $24.99

If It Is Not Interesting, Don't Do It

We at times like to push ourselves and get caught up in the moment of a workout that just fuels us up even when we're exhausted. That to me is a fun way to look at things and also yet very rarely, we do things we're not particularly interested in but we push on anyway; although some just don't have that in them, specifically yours truly.

I get so excited at times to do a workout but despite the excitement, if it doesn't peak my interest, it goes away faster than the flash. One workout recently I got excited for was the Matt Furey Exercise Bible; a deck of cards workout I have done many times in the past but whenever I do it now, I lose interest fast and it doesn't appeal to me that much anymore. Unless I'm forced into a place where I can't go out then maybe I'll do my best to push through it but for the most part, I just can't stay motivated to be in one friggin spot the entire workout. It isn't an issue whether I can do it or not but rather the issue of staying interested to stay with it doing ONLY 4 exercises and feeling others that are left out.

BTW everyone, this concerns only fitness; there are some things in life you just have to do whether you're interested or not. You can't just not be interested in pay your bills or taking care of your kid or just not do your job. What I'm talking about is that if there's a program you just flat out can't be interested in but keep doing it anyway, there's something wrong there and it could hurt you mentally as well as physically.

There have been workouts where I wanted to quit but I was so into it that it just made it more exciting to have that other side of the coin to say "keep going." That's why I love the Animal Dice Game so much; it brings excitement, challenging factors and the will to keep going even after just pouring sweat, getting exhausted and wanting to die. If I need a break, I can just do an animal that's a deep breathing exercise and keep the workout going. This workout alone, gets me more excited and motivated than regular calisthenics and can adjust them to however I want. Here's a good analogy (one that I noticed in my soon to be 9 year old niece) that being in one spot can drive a person crazy especially if you're hyper and need to move so you get up and run around and get that energy out; this is me most of the time when I'm not watching movies/shows or working/promoting. I feel the need to get up and move.

I guess a reason why I do shift to other workouts that don't involve animals is because maybe I want to make the person who came up with them proud and show that I'm like their other trainees. The problem is that over a number of years, I realize more and more that yes these programs work but they won't always work for me and I have to follow my own path in order to be happy. I'm more than willing to learn from them and pick up little things but I just cannot put myself in a position where I have to do their program down to the very "T". DDP Yoga for example; one of the greatest programs of all time, I learned it and did the workouts following along but it became too repetitive for me and if I know the exercises by heart, I have the right to come up with my own style of the program. I can't follow along a workout after a brief period because I literally hate having to follow the same speed and tempo as everyone else, it's not how I operate.

I have a unique brain setup and it makes me operate in ways that have been a struggle with me ever since I got the meningitis. Unless you've had meningitis or have a grasp understanding of someone who has gone through it, you can't possibly understand what it's like for them to do things that aren't in the norm of regular brain functioning. I don't have the luxury of having the same interests as the general population, I see things differently, react differently and even say things differently that has gotten me into trouble and even has put an end to relationships not just girlfriends but other friends as well and it has even cost me some jobs I did. Very few people in my life understand the process I go through and have stuck by me through it all. I was forced to learn things in very specific ways and don't have a firm understanding of general everyday things so in some cases, I've had to learn certain things nobody else can teach me and whoever has tried most of the time has failed or I have failed them and it wasn't through lack of trying but because my interests are unique and following through with them. The basic summary of this paragraph is that if it doesn't interest me; sooner rather than later, I'll quit something right then and there, get frustrated and overwhelmed and basically shut down mentally.

This part of the article is not about taking pity on me and I'm not asking for sympathy, it is being open and honest about who I'am and what others may go through that you may not realize. There are people out there that have a lot of interests but only made for them and the people around them just cannot connect with it or that person can't connect with others and there are some people out there such as myself that can connect with a lot of people and can be interested in a plethora of things yet still struggle with a lot of things in everyday life.

When you find things that are interesting to you, hold onto it and let it become a passion; not so much an obsession but a passion that fuels your soul and you can be excited regardless if it's on a 1-10 scale. Learn things that give you that rush and have it reap many possibilities for you.


FYI- Lost Empire Herbs is having a Labor Day Sale where you can 15% Off of ALL products. Put in the code LD15 when you checkout.

The Importance Of Stretching That I've Come To Realize

Stretching wasn't always the biggest thing with me because on many days even cold, I was just ready to go and I could go whether it was weights, bodyweight, kettlebells or animal style movements because I could get a good stretch just by doing the workout. That was when I was younger and didn't know any better. Sure I did stretching routines but never as a warm up or part of my training, mainly separate from the two. Now that I'm older and slightly wiser and understanding more from my previous injuries especially in my lower back that maybe stretching ought be a key component to enhance my performance with greater intent.

The one thing that I have gotten back into more and more is relearning the aspects of Dynamic Stretching, Isometric Stretching and keeping the joint loosened. I always felt intuitive when it came to training regardless of what it was but I began to notice how my body reacts and although I'm still in pretty damn good shape, what if I made it better even by 5% and utilized the knowledge I gained in my 20's along with supplementing certain aspects of conditioning along with my intuition. Sometimes I make shit up as I go along which I'm really good at but adding a small element to get me to another level using techniques on stretching on a more strategic level.

I have an idea to experiment with stretching that I haven't fully committed yet but going to see how it goes. Nothing definite because I don't want to jinx it, but I would start the day with dynamic stretching, deep breathing, joint loosening and working my neck using the Neck Chi Gong method that I learned from Matt Furey and than do some training later in the day and do isometric stretching as a cool down and recover quicker. I've only done this once or twice and I feel a major difference. You can have all the knowledge in the world but there will be times where even the greatest expert may have a "duh" moment or subconsciously do some stupid stuff to realize there is a right way and a wrong way to do things and things change over time and learn from your mistakes.

It is important to stretch but it's also important to stretch the right way. There are stretches out there that are not meant for certain people and some stretches can even hurt you more than help you. I have had problems from certain stretches that were taught to me but I learned some very good ones and they have helped my body in ways I cannot truly explain. It takes trial and error but in the end, if you can find the key stretches that not only work but can make you feel like a fighting machine with power behind it, you can perform at your highest level and make it look easy.

I got this book on Kindle called Stretching: Exercises Bible - Learn How To Stretch With Dynamic Stretching And Flexibility Exercises where it takes on the aspects of a multitude of stretching programs molded into one using techniques in Deep Breathing, Energy Drills, Dynamic Movement & Static/Isometric Stretching. I have seen many of the exercises in the book and have done the majority of them in the past so they're virtually identical to the program I previously have done. They were a reminder of what I need to do to maintain my body's ability to stay in shape in the long haul, not just for conditioning but lifelong flexibility that will keep me youthful in later years. This is an amazing book and has routines for specific sports and morning & night programs. You don't have to do all the exercises in the same day, use them to give your body that extra juice to stay healthy without getting injured. It doesn't matter if you're a Martial Artist, a football player, baseball player, hockey player or someone who wants to gain greater flexibility from not training after so long. It gives you the opportunity to gain knowledge and learn more about not just being flexible but mobile and strong as well. It's more than just stretching the muscles, it goes deeper to the joints and ligaments along with developing a greater connection to the mind and body.

Make stretching a part of your arsenal and not always as a warm up or a cool down but as a part of your ability to keep things loose and release tension throughout the day if needed. I use some exercises to stretch after sitting or to get things kicking if i'm groggy. Learn and form your own routines and see your results as soon as that same day possibly; others have made progress in less than a few weeks and a few in less than a week, it all depends but get the best results in the time you were meant to make.


Herb Of The Day: Men's Megadose Hormone Package