A Workout Blaster Of Pure Heavenly Brutality

 Quite the title don't you think? In reality, the workout I put myself through yesterday was hard as fuck but it didn't feel like a chore and I loved it. It's probably the hardest workout I came up with since getting over the sciatica injury. It was another test to see what I'm capable of and the work I've put in. 

For some, it is annoying that I've mentioned the injury several times now and quite frankly, it is especially if it's on your brain everyday like mine. The thing is, it really has opened up my eyes to look at training from another perspective and to see a workout beyond the movements and the mysticism of it. Although they're simple, they're not meant to be easy and when you go hard, you learn what you made of. I may not be the fastest, the strongest or the most coordinated, but I do make up for it by finding ways to push myself to a different level than I was before. It's really a testament to having invested in the Dopamineo Band. 

I never reach failure in any of my workouts and for good reason, there's really no need to because you can still go hard without feeling like you can't get up and walk with some gas left in the tank. I do however, learn what my body can do and make it stronger and a bit more resilient as I pay attention to how it operates during workouts. I've always believed training is about discovery and coming to grips with what it can do and what it helps reach as time goes on. This workout hit a little differently and it made me learn where my conditioning was and how I can move forward.

Here's the Workout......

I started a "warm up" of going through my Animal Deck Of Cards Workout in full to get things going and get my energy up because I knew I wanted to do something more. Usually it takes me 15-16 min to complete.

After a short break going through the deck, I had the Dopa Band prepped and ready for another exercise that lasted a total of 6 1/2 minutes which was 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 20 Rounds doing the Alternating Wave exercise. I'm still learning the kinks of keeping the wave smooth but all in all, it was awesome and got some killer lungs firing as well as keeping my core tight and working my arms and shoulders. 

Not done yet....

Next was another brutal exercise of doing 10 seconds on, 20 seconds for 10 Rounds of the Bear Crawl Sprints with the band on my waist. The energy was there and my conditioning was on it. I was breathing hard but I didn't feel tired. I went through it and it was amazeballs.

But wait there's more. The final stretch....

I finished off with two exercises with the Band for 100 Reps each (in sets of 50) doing Curls and Chest Presses. Two simple exercises to target specific muscles (Pulling & Pushing). After doing 50, would take a small break to write down the numbers and return for another set. 

So here's what the full workout was in full.....

Animal Deck Workout 

10/10 For 20 Rounds Alternating Waves

10/20 For 10 Rounds Bear Crawl Sprints

100 Curls (50, 50)

100 Chest Presses (50, 50)

This took all together including resting was about 30 minutes or so I'm guessing. It was like a light that came on and my level of energy was just crazy. I did all that yesterday and still had gas in the tank. It didn't make me want to take a nap but I was hungry as hell so after putting things away and taking a shower, I cooked myself 5 Fried Eggs, 5-6 pieces of bacon and four slices of buttered toast to make a couple sandwiches out of them. Washed it down with some great juice and just felt euphoric on top of  the high I was already feeling from the workout. 

I won't be doing that kind of workout all the time but it's one of those that just clicked and I felt at my very best at that moment. That was for the record, a full on conditioning workout and it was tough. Tougher than some of my other ones but I made it through and it was another day of feeling like myself again. Make it count, but always feel like you can walk out after with your head held high, gas left in the tank and feeling like a kid again. Some people never get that chance, some don't have the drive and others haven't discovered it yet but those that do, understand that it's important to have those entities and never take them for granted. Keep being amazingly awesome and get cracking.

Be sure to snatch up some bands and use the bad ass discount code I got for you. Take 10% OFF your order when you enter POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Awesome deals going on right now especially if you grab a hold of a bundle you can use for athletes, the wife and kids or for building a team of great fighters/wrestlers. Even right now, you can get a 1 For 3 Deal where you can order a band and get 2 extra bands that can be used for stretching with a string bag so you can take them anywhere. 

Sprint Training With The Dopamineo Band

 The workouts are getting better and better and today was no exception. I've done sets of sprints with the band in recent workouts but haven't done a full on sprint session until a while ago. I would do Bear Crawl Sprints (which to me is tougher than normal sprints) but today, I wanted to see how many Hard (Bipedal) Sprints I can do in a workout. Granted you're not going very far and the band can only be stretched out so much but nonetheless, I would do a set, rest and repeat until I feel I've had enough. 

I haven't done a full exclusive sprint workout since probably April when I first got hurt but I've been training hard getting back into shape and workouts with the Dopamineo Band are paying off. Today, I did a total of 60 Sprints (10 of them on film) just going hard until I hit a peak, walk back and repeat. Did them in sets of 20, 10, 10, 10, 10. My legs felt great, no pain or even discomfort. Rested as long as I needed since these are brutal and you're doing shorter distances than say on a field or a hill. 

This was one of my goals and I achieved it. I have done sets of 10 until I reached 30 but that was part of a workout that included various exercises but this was full on, in your face, being explosive as possible sprint training. I cannot stress enough how awesome an investment this thing has been. Very grateful and being inspired by the Degastani Wrestlers and American Athletes that use this thing is just incredible to be a part of. 

Sprint Training has been a favorite for years doing Hills and doing them animal style and this is now a part of my arsenal and could be a powerful tool to use in the winter to stay in solid shape. This band goes beyond most other ones and mainly just turns athletes into machines. Wrestlers use these either on active rest days or to train with after a wrestling workout when they've already brutalized themselves, that's just insane. I started studying and researching on wrestlers from Dagestan and the style is similar to what is done in Freestyle, Greco-Roman, Judo and BJJ but these guys up the ante and have a higher level of relentlessness. These are some of the toughest athletes in the world. 

This type of sprint session may be only once or twice a week cause there are other exercises to do that give you that full body work that just hits like a freight train. Other days are doing punches, animal crawls, squats, waves, rows, jumping and other things. Keep the variety open. I like to do combos like a Squat & Push Press or Upper Cuts mixed with pulls, whatever comes to mind. Training with this a few times a week would be enough for most and it can be used as a warm-up, full session or a cooldown to keep the calories burning after a hard workout. Find what works for you and get your hands on a band that's suited to your size or weight class. 

Train with a vengeance and strike down your goals with intense prejudice as you become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Keep being amazingly awesome.   

Animal Conditioning With The Dopa Band

 Finding different ways to train with the Dopamineo Band is turning into a habit and the more I've used it, the stronger and better healed up I've gotten. I can't get enough of it and it's one of my top equipment to promote right now. It is a game changer and I'm testing myself doing hard workouts, methodical and a bit slower, intense, rugged and just plain having the time of my life with it. 

You can do so many exercises with this thing that even with all the instructional videos, there's something to discover. Today was one of those discoveries as I did another test to see where I was at; I did my Animal Dice Game Workout while I had the Band around my waist and went a few rounds. The objective in this workout was to go as far out as possible and repeat as many times for a specific animal so one rep was going as far as you can stretch it. Bear Crawls, Crab Walks, Tiger Crawls, Primate and Frog Jumps; did a total of 60 reps and that was more than enough. Rested when I needed to but my lungs were firing and was feeling it in my legs and my shoulders. Full Body workout that every exercise hit multiple muscle groups.

I would say that was a hell of a conditioning workout that really took that particular Animal Workout to another level. Normally I can go for 20 min or more without much of a rest other than rolling the dice but this was just nasty and because of the resistance, you're fighting a hell of a lot more and it just tortures the muscles more. Although shorter than usual with that workout, I made it count and went as far as my body allowed me. That's the point of training is to work with what's possible and intuitively know when you've had enough.

Wrestlers & Football players have done similar workouts but I don't know about this specific using a dice to come up with a random animal and go hard. They've done Animal style movements forever and there's a good reason why they're incredible for conditioning. Grab a band for yourself and try a few animals and see how you feel. Hell, I'll even throw in a discount for you by throwing in 10% off your order when you use the code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Check out the instructionals, find the type of band suited for your size (just like weight classes in wrestling) and have at it. If you want multiple bands, you can get discounted for those as well by customizing your own bundle and use my code for even more of a discount, how bad ass is that? 

Train well, get fit and keep being amazingly awesome. 

Here's another video of doing Duck Walks, these particularly are torturous when you do them for several times going out in a row. 

Being Smart About Training

 Training for the most part is about discovery and learning the ins and outs of what gives you the best benefit and what doesn't. We get excited and full of enthusiasm but sometimes that could blind us because if we don't find that focus on the mind and the muscles synergistically, it could bite us in the ass. When my sciatica was over the first time around, I literally jumped for joy like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins almost doing Step In Time and it felt great. I was excited and so eager to get back to being my best self again. For a period, it was awesome and was doing the things I was able to do before, but it didn't last as long as I hoped and it came back at me with a vengeance, I was blinded by the excitement and it bit me in the ass.

Dealing with the pain, the boring stretches and trying to move around, I had to rethink things and make decisions for myself I never thought I had to. Once the pain slowly subsided over the next few weeks and I was moving better without feeling like dying, I had to think more intelligently about how I did things and what I needed to do to become stronger. Being more methodical, deliberate and with stronger intentions, I focused on the technique, where I was feeling it and making the most of my capabilities instead of going gung ho like a dumbass. My flexibility and strength was coming back and the pain was going away. I was being smarter about what I was doing.

This thing is basically done, just some tenderness in my hip but it's manageable and I'm getting more explosiveness in my movements. I didn't do Step In Time this time around and I channeled my excitement into my training with better focus using my brains as well as my body. Because of the recent demos I've done with the Dopa Band and doing actual workouts where the big focus is on the legs, it has made a huge difference in my recovery and rehab. I'm not going as hard as I could be but that's ok because I'm being smart about letting things come naturally and it shows. Weeks ago, I couldn't do jack shit what I could do right now and I'm proud to have pulled it off. 

I discovered new things about myself and I've wised up and saw things in a different light. I love to train hard and making it count but it's important to utilize intelligence in order to train for the long haul. Being smart about when to go hard and when to back off is a bit of a process but that's part of the journey. With the Dopa Band, it makes you want to go gung ho but there's a way to modify it to train your body without having to go all Rocky 4 on it. It is as of right now one of the most bad ass equipment I've ever invested in and I believe many can benefit from it. Sure it's mainly used by wrestlers and MMA fighters but come on, I'm no wrestler by any stretch (at least no where near the level of what these people demonstrate) but I do believe in being prepared and having enough conditioning to fall back on that's inspired by wrestlers and MMA Fighters. Doing drills, punches, squats, step ups, bear crawls, duck walks, modified sprints and even suplexes. 

Right now, I'm just training to just feel good really and let my attributes naturally come on their own. I have no desire to be competitive except only to myself and who knows if I ever get on the mat again. My workouts are meant to just to stay healthy and being ready if certain situations occur, other than that, I don't want to fear having to look over my shoulder or have this macho need to fight unless I have to. Train to be ready but you don't have to act as if you're walking down a dark alley 24/7 anxious about someone jumping you, that's no way to live. Live peacefully with as awesome vibes as possible. Keep being amazingly awesome.    

Don't forget to check out the Dopamineo Bands and get 10% OFF your order when you use my discount code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. My gift to all of you. 

Does Batman Train With Resistance Bands?

If the Dark Knight trains in Martial Arts, Combat, Bodyweight, Weights here and there, I would imagine he would hit a band or two. There's a quote out there somewhere that says Batman never skips leg day which I always found funny because it's true. He might as well be the first Superhero to "practice" Parkour cause of all the jumping and running in between buildings chasing and catching baddies. 

Resistance Bands have been around a long time and there's always innovative stuff coming around like the X3 Bands for example and of course the Lifeline Bands such as the TNT cables but when it comes to longevity and having a hard time breaking or snapping, it seems that the latest style of cables called Dopamineo have stood head and shoulders above the rest. Maybe they're just regular bands for wrestlers to some but for guys like me who's always researching and learning, these bands are legit. Ever since I got them, I've trained solid on them and it has only been a few workouts.

From day 1, I tried many exercises, some I learned on the website and youtube  and others I tried on my own like Crab Walks, Gorilla Jumps, Hindu Jumpers and others. This band is just so much fun to work with and getting the most out of a workout in a short amount of time. The last workout was the other day doing Sprints, Hindu Push-ups, Frog Jumps, Hindu Jumpers, Crab Walks, Gorilla Jumps and a couple more. I would go until I hit a certain number of reps or until I got out of breath, rest and repeat a set or two. The workouts aren't long and I feel high as a kite afterwards along with getting stronger again. 

I had filmed doing about three exercises or so wearing my Batman shirt and using Batman Music to have a little fun with it and noticed something; even a couple months ago, that shirt was ok to wear but my stomach would pop out every now and then and felt a little tight, since I lost the weight, it felt comfortable and not as tight. I guess losing weight because of no appetite does have its perks LOL. In all fairness, I don't wish that on anyone because when you've been in that much pain and it consumes you at times, it's not an ideal way to lose weight. I' am healing and I don't feel pain in that area anymore, just annoyance and keeping up with maintenance. Hell I did a full Isometric Workout yesterday for the first time in over a month and I'm glad I did. I couldn't do Isometrics the way I wanted to when this whole thing with me was going on and I needed to test myself. 

The Dopa Bands have been a godsend in getting my body back into shape even in the first few workouts. Each workout, the pain levels kept going down and my stress was going down as well because of the endorphin high and lessening the Heat and Ice afterwards. I'm probably about 85-90% healed now and just need to pay attention to the discomfort levels and slowly build up my speed and strength. Like I said no pain but I also don't want to be pushing so hard something might flare up again so I'm gradually getting stronger and training my legs and back building those nerves and retraining those muscles. If you've read this blog long enough, you know that I'm very stubborn and rehabbing myself has worked for me. 

It's not much longer before I'm at full capacity and devouring my workouts hard again. I may look like I'm going hard but I'm not and it's not my best but that's just part of the process and being smarter about workouts and listening to my body more. This is my life and I want to continue making the best of it when it comes to fitness and avoid injuries for as long as I can. This has been the worst injury I've had in years and in a span of 5 months, I got seriously hurt twice. I've had minor aches and pains that easily were manageable and healed quickly and hurt my back back in 2017 which has since healed, but never this bad in that short span of time in the last 18+ years that I've been training everyday. It is a wake up call I'm not going to lie.

Train to the best of your abilities but within reason and be mindful of what you can do. We're not going to be training the way we did in our 20's and think we are so damn invincible that injuries never happen, they do and we can't 100% avoid them, we can however keep them at bay for as far in between as we can. I hate it that people are in pain all the time or just accept it, living with pain especially if it's excruciating for years on end is no way to live. In some cases, certain aspects of pain is inevitable but it's manageable and you can be comfortable. The idea is to live pain-free as much as possible and getting great quality out of life instead of quantifying the days until you're ready to die. Be mindful and do what's possible along with being amazingly awesome. 

Don't forget that you can get these bands at a discounted price when you use my code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Get a bundle pack of bands and find even more discounted stuff. Get them for group classes, your MMA Gym or wrestling room for your High School or College Athletes. Wrestlers in the world championships right now that are winning matches uses some of these very same bands. Go kill it. 

First Workout With The Heavyweight DopamineO Band

Yesterday, my new DopamineO cables came in and the excitement I had was probably indescribable. Heard a lot of good things about these things and just got the urge to tear the bag a part to get to them. The hook up was a little tricky because I'm not use to tying knots with cables. Once I figured it out (or the best way I tried), I just went at it but not so explosive I might hurt myself. I modified a few things and it turned into a hell of a workout that had me sweating and breathing hard like a maniac. These things are the real deal and the fact that wrestlers make these look easy goes to show they're the best and most conditioned athletes in the world.

Bear Crawls, Downward Thrusts, Punches, Sprints, Curls, Tricep Extensions, Lunges, Backwards Sprints and a few others just to see what's possible. I didn't feel pain and everything felt great. Had a huge endorphin high and the energy was there. This is now the hardest workout I put myself though since this fucking thing started and the first time not feeling pain while going nearly full out the best that I could. I'll take it as a sign things are getting better and my body is reacting well to the training again. 

I stumbled upon these a month or two ago and just thought they looked cool because these wrestlers from Russia were just killing it. The more I looked into it, the more it made me want to snatch one up. I got what they recommended for people at over 205 lbs (or a heavyweight athlete) and learn something new for me. Day 1 and I'm in love with this band. Once you get the hang of it, you learn to be explosive and challenge your body in ways that typical bands can't hit. You literally feel like you can take on challenges you didn't know existed. I wrote this before that I know I'll never even remotely come close to what these elite guys can do with this thing but damn sure I'll make the best of what's possible and use it to not only condition my body but amplify what I've already done. Training with this band was brutal but it was fun and it gave me a hell of an opportunity to get better and find new abilities to develop. 

Take your workouts to another level and don't be afraid of the intensity. If it starts to feel heavy whether in the beginning, middle or towards the end of a workout, lighten the load by going in closer and keep going. This is the type of training where it gives you short enough workouts that are so intense, you won't get tired doing other things or at least have a stronger sense of stamina and endurance. 

To make this special for you guys, I now have an opportunity to give you all a bad ass discount that you can use. Whether you just want to get in shape, want some bands for your martial arts school, High School, Collegiate or do group workouts with clients this can save you some solid dough. Enter POWERANDMIGHT at checkout for a 10% Discount on any of the products on the site and save even more when you can snatch up bundles. 

Keep being amazingly awesome and find new ways to train.  

What A Looker....No, A Hooker

That line makes me laugh, think it was either in Castle, Psych or Supernatural; it's got to be one of those three right? Anyway, despite the meaning behind it, there's another term for Hooker most people don't know and that's to describe a wrestler. It's a term used back in the days of Lou Thesz, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Ad Santel and Karl Gotch. By definition, this means a wrestler was at the top of the food chain when it came to such serious submissions to the extent that these holds were not only dangerous, but could cripple a person in the blink of an eye. In other words these guys were the nastiest bastards in the sport. 

Today in some circles, hookers are also called Rippers meaning the submissions they would use would tear most people to shreds by crippling an opponent by ripping their tendons and bones. There was a story in Lou Thesz's Bio about one of his mentors George Tragos teaching a boy not only a lesson but by today's standards would be thrown in jail. This kid was cocky and thought he can take on the old man and Tragos proceeded to not only tear this kid apart but finished him off by tearing his shoulder in a Double Wrist Lock. The guy just put enough pressure on to break him and the kid ended up having that arm amputated because there was no anti-biotics back then and that arm developed a hideous infection of Gangrene. That's just pure cruelty man.

The closest I ever came to understanding even a few of these holds was when Tom Puckett put them on me while we were working out at this gym down the street from me. Cross Face, Double Wrist Lock, A Couple Neck Cranks and another one that slips my mind but I felt them all. Neck and Back were cracking and he didn't let up on me because he wanted me to understand what these holds can do to a person. Thank god I didn't end up like that kid. I'll never forget how those things felt and he hardly put any strength into them, it was incredible. 

Hooking in retrospect is a lost art in wrestling and very few in comparison to the old timers know them with such intensity. Guys like Joel Bane, Harry Smith (son of the British Bulldog), Josh Barnett, Sakuraba and some others are the last remnants of an earlier age and are incredibly skilled at these submissions it's almost baffling that these holds still exist in this time. If you haven't been put in these holds, you can't understand the magnitude of what they feel like and that near fear of them tearing you apart if you pissed these guys off. Catch Wrestling is rising from the ashes but unless you've been around someone who even remotely has small knowledge of the sport or even one of the holds, most don't even know what Catch is. Catch is more than just hooking, it's the violent art of wrestling that even some of the best freestyle wrestlers would be afraid of. Say if you took Ad Santel in his prime against Dan Gable in his Olympic days, it would be a decent match but no disrepect to Gable, Santel would most likely end up putting him in a hold that would have him begging for his life. That's just my opinion, other than that by today's standards, most wrestlers in Gable's weight class would have a hard time with him. 

  Catch and Hooking are fascinating aspects of wrestling and it's important to understand the History and the men that defined the term Superhuman when it came to the sport. Think only a few women on the entire planet have definitive knowledge of Catch and the current famous one is WWE's Shayna Baszler who learned some stuff from Barnett & Fujiwara (Fujiwara was Karl Gotch's best student according to the man himself). It might be inappropriate to call her a Hooker since some would take it completely the wrong way but in terms of wrestling and the knowledge of dangerous submissions, think it might be safe to say she's the only woman right now who can claim that title. 

If you like the shirt above, grab one for yourself here and support Catch Wrestling. I've got books, dvds and have been in the company of a man trained by Gotch himself, I fully support these guys and have a great deal of respect for them. Keep being amazingly awesome.  

Healing Up And Taking On Different Style Of Resistance Cable Training

 Very grateful this thing is almost over and making up some lost time on training and other things. I'm walking way more now without pain; putting my headphones on listening to bad ass metal and going for 15-20 minute walks to ease back into it. Working on various flows of animal movement at a steady pace (using exercises from Movement 20XX) especially for my legs like last night which felt great and slept a little better but it still needs improvement. Things are definitely looking up. 

While researching some new ways to train, I came across these bands from this company called Dopamineo which is based on the west coast I think that these two phenomenal wrestlers started. They took the concept of bands that have been used by Russian wrestlers for decades and developed bands that lasted longer, have a greater stretch and takes the format to another level. Although the bands are more used for wrestling (Folkstyle, Freestyle, Greco-Roman), these can be used for many other sports and MMA style training. The size of the bands (or how they're stretched) utilizes a weight-class formula to determine which set is best. I ordered the heavyweight cable which is for athletes or people over 205 lbs. 

I know I can never even remotely do what these bad ass athletes can do with these things but I took a chance on them and want to see what I can do for maintenance training and eventually get back to strength and conditioning. They should arrive tomorrow or at max another couple days so I'm excited to test this fucker out. The videos I've seen these men and women do are insane and take training to a different level, hell one demo clip showed three wrestlers on their rest day and even the exercises they were using were explosive, powerful, fast and incredible to watch. If that's a rest day than I wouldn't want to mess with these guys even at their most vulnerable, the conditioning is just out there.

I've always admired wrestlers and their style of training from Frank Gotch to guys like Jordan Burroughs and Cain Velasquez. I went out for wrestling in high school but it didn't pan out for me and to this day I wished something was better to make me keep doing it. BTW, in that same room training, a future MMA Fighter was cut above the rest and was one of the go to guys on that team and that was Luke Rockhold. Even back then, he was awesome, I wish I got to know him more. Over the years, I learned about many wrestlers and watching guys like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle were favorites but researching guys like Lou Thesz, Frank Gotch, George Hackenshmidt, Alexander Karelin, Ad Santel, Farmer Burns, Dan Gable, Karl Gotch and many more made me understand the true aspect of history and what it took for those guys to still be mentioned either long after they were gone or retired from the mat. 

Cables has been a part of my training for more than 15 years using mainly lifeline cables such as the Chest Expander, TNT Cables, Portable Power Jumper and a few others. They've helped immensely in keeping me in shape. I've rarely ever used cables outside of Lifeline's because that's all I really knew when it came to that kind of training. I've seen cables other athletes used and seeing skits of Lesnar training for his Summer Slam match with the Rock way 20+ years ago but never ventured out on other styles of cable training until now so this should be interesting. Always looking to evolve and gain knowledge so this specific cable is going to be fun to use. 

Because of this recent weight loss, it's going to be different in the way I train. I'm not going to be as explosive yet and hell I have some strength and conditioning to make up for so working with this cable methodically and at a pace that gives me a foundation isn't going to be easy but sure as shit is going to make things physical and test me in a different light. Am I nervous about this thing? A little but if I'm going to get strong again, adding this will be awesome. Hell, I wish I found this years ago when I was in BJJ or just doing my conditioning training but hey, it's time to slowly get back to being me again and maybe, just maybe be even fitter and better conditioned than before. I did say that when I turn 40 that I want to be in the best shape of my life and this is another tool to get me there. 

Time to crank up the volume and get my ass kicked by an object that weighs less than a couple pounds used by some of the very best athletes on the planet. Keep at it everyone and never stop being amazingly awesome.     

Weight Loss, Animals & Rollouts

 Yesterday I weighed in for the first time since this injury came back and last I checked I was around 248, just a touch below 249. The pain levels vary from a 3 to a 9 depending when it flares up but when I'm in pain, I literally have little to no appetite so whenever I ate, it was when it was at bay enough to eat. That didn't happen a whole lot. I'd be lucky to eat once a day, very lucky to eat 2 meals but they weren't very big. When I weighed in, I was shocked that I lost quite a bit of weight in a short amount of time. It came up at 238.8 lbs and that scared the hell out of me. It was mainly the little appetite I had and the mere fact that I haven't done workouts to maintain muscle mass.

Sometimes things like that give you a wake up call. It's good to lose weight but at the same time when you're in pain and you can barely even eat or walk around long enough to do much, losing weight can suck and not the healthy way to do it. My appetite is slowly coming back but it's no where near what I can normally eat. Regularly, I can eat a good steak and rice or have nearly half dozen eggs with bacon without issues but I haven't eaten any of that and even if I did, the stress prevents me from even finishing my food which isn't good. 

My workouts have been almost nothing but stretches, squatting down throughout the day to ease the pain from walking and occasional animal workouts. The animal training is getting better little by little since I've focused on mainly just moving with technique, coordination and paying attention to my flexibility. I did try to focus on speed at one point but something didn't click yet so I switched to being more methodical, deliberate and just the technique with a slower pace. It started working where I went from doing 7 rounds of a flow (from Movement 20XX) that was a struggle to 12 rounds (5, 5 and 2) doing movements that focused on coordination, flexibility and agility. That animal workout yesterday felt great and didn't feel pain and did some heat and ice afterwards. 

I wanted to try something today that I was hesitant to do since I didn't want to fuck anything up. I wanted to see what I can do with the Ab Wheel and test out my Back & Core Strength. After the first couple reps, it started to feel good, kept going and nothing felt wrong or anything and before I knew it, I did 25 Rollouts in a row. That was enough because I didn't want to push it any further than I had to and it was a good mini workout. Didn't feel pain but I knew where the point was on my back and it was annoying than painful so I took it as a good sign that my strength is coming back even microscopically. 

The thing I really need to figure more out now is being able to sleep decently. Since this whole thing started back up, 4 hours of sleep a night was my luck of the draw and if I was relaxed enough during the day, I would doze off for a bit but not long. It sucks and the thing that helps with recovery mostly is sleep and I barely get that. It is what it is but I'm doing what's possible right now. With this weight loss as well, it may help the recovery process but it's not the ideal way to drop weight and I can't let myself develop atrophy and lose the muscle I worked so hard to build. Hasn't been easy and have had bouts of anger, depression, frustration, doubts and being on an up and down mental state. Just hate it man. 

I hate seeing anyone suffer and it's not living a good life if you're in pain to the point where you alienate yourself from loved ones. I've done it and I'm not proud of it because I can be a very social person. When you have been in such pain that you go into this dark and depressive episode where you don't want help and distancing yourself from the people you love, if you let it go on too long, it becomes something you never wanted. Do what you can if you're in pain but don't let it destroy your humanity. Keep being amazingly awesome and stay healthy physically and mentally as long as you can. You never know what could pop up on you.   

The One Company I Shouldn't Have Been Involved With

 I've been an affiliate for years now and signed up with various companies starting with Logan Christopher and Legendary Strength. My first paycheck with that company was $10.48 and it was the most pivotal moment when it came to making money. I had worked other jobs outside of affiliate marketing before and got paid more but this was actually the one I'm most proud of because I got to make a few bucks promoting what I'm passionate about and I got to be under a very good friend who handed me the check himself.  Since then, there have been highs and lows but eventually I got around to making decent money and even sold some tickets to seminars and bundle packages. 

Over the years, I've worked with other people and companies such as Amazon, Onnit, Stronger Grip, Lifeline Fitness and others. I promote mainly fitness but I dabble in selling movies, cd's, books, equipment and many other things and I help others from time to time on what products to look for and help research. It makes me happy and I love what I do. I've made mistakes here and there and some companies shut their affiliate programs down for whatever reasons but always managed to keep on going. 

Most companies treated me well and I could do a pretty write up using their product in my articles and posts. I've never really had personal issues with them except maybe one other one and it was all on me and I take the heat for it. I made a crucial mistake that cost me thousands of dollars in commission but hey, you live to fight another day right? One company however pulled a 180 on me and once I found out what the owner was really like, it became clear that it was a mistake.

Over a year ago, I sent an application to this website ran by Rahul Mookerjee called 0 Excuses Fitness. I saw some of the ad copies for products like his Animal Course and Pull-up Book and his main one called Fast & Furious Fitness or the same title as his website. A lot of the ads were very Matt Furey-esque so I wanted to set that aside and try to look at things from another perspective. My application went by the wayside for a few months until he found it and we started exchanging emails. Figured this guy was ok and see where it went. I had asked him at least a couple times if he could send me a copy of one of his books so I can get a better idea on how to promote it and the website itself. It wasn't about wanting free product and then just ditch him, I gave him my word that I would promote the hell out of that book or books because I can't just go on an ad copy and paying for one of those books was steep as shit and I think he tried to do a discount thing with me but it was too little to even mean something.

A month goes by and we're exchanging emails and I'm promoting his stuff the best way I can with what I was allowed to go on. He even wrote a comment on my blog saying how well written one of the articles was on Push-Ups, here's what he said "Awesome article, Ben! I love your stuff - but you've got it spot on about pushups - exactly what I keep telling people (as you've read in my newsletters) about FORM etc. I can make 10 pushups harder than a 100 is not just an axoim, it's nigh TRUE. Crossfitters, kipping pull-ups - ugh. Kipping does have a place in the Army etc where you "get your body over the bar by any means possible" - but for pure strength and health (or the other way around, it should be) purposes - FORM! Well written!" 

Nothing was clicking and it didn't work out which happens sometimes and I have no real ill feelings towards the guy. I told him what I'm telling you now and we parted ways (or so I thought). I started reading his blog a bit more and signed up with his newsletter before all this happened and the more I looked into his style of writing, the more red flags started popping up and didn't think much of it until he completely went off the deep end and hammered the shit out of me verbally on his blog and on youtube. 

The first thing he posted up was a video talking about price wankers and all that and once I started reading between the lines, he was mouthing off about me. He even mentioned my name in later videos saying how fat I was and that I can't do pull-ups and I couldn't make a sale to save my life along the lines of being a cheap skate and wanting free product. I've never encountered that kind of bullshit before and it started becoming more and more obvious that he's a bit of a narcissist and a Misogynist that will hound anyone that doesn't agree with him. Weeks earlier, this guy said how well written I was and even used one of my pics to use for his Grip Training Course yet flips a 180 and starts telling his little flock all this negative crap that aren't true and even threw my wife in the mix and that I wasn't going to tolerate. I wrote to him personally many times without one single response. After a while I gave up on that.

Aside from the steep prices on his books (I get it he wants to make a ton of money but where does the line draw in that), I've seen samples of one of his books and the quality isn't all that good, I've seen shit courses but these kind of take the cake. He openly belittled his own wife even to the point of calling her a C-nt in a couple of his posts and the more he praises about himself, the less he cares about others and looking to make a buck off of cheap knock off writing and training styles that uses a lot of Matt Furey type sayings even by verbatim quotes he pawns off as his own. His inspirations are more of the steroid users and threw his own daughter under the bus a time or two. Him and his wife are now divorced from what I understand or at least separated and he continues to bitch about her. 

I did troll him, I'll be honest about that. Not my proudest moment and his blog is like a train wreck, you know it's wrong but you can't look away. In his videos, he demos many exercises, the majority of them are pull-ups which is his thing and I respect that. He has gone to great lengths to even bash me that I don't show workouts because I'm too fat or out of shape to do them yet he demos almost the same as me and rarely shows an actual workout that he can even perform decently in. I will say this, he's a hell of a promoter and loves putting himself over (in a very egotistical way) which is understandable but he's not really that special and most of the time, his camera angles suck and couldn't really do an arms extended push-up or a SAFE ab wheel rollout to save his life. He's good at pull-ups and does ok with certain push-ups but in all fairness, he's no pioneer, he doesn't do anything remotely positive to promote fitness and apparently doesn't do very well training at a park and people happen to interrupt him. I understand people are curious but even I have had encounters with people looking and even asked me a question or two but I would either keep on training or just smile and say a few words and keep going, no need to be an ass or talk shit behind their back, that's the coward's way in my opinion.

I do humbly regret signing up with him but it is what it is and I can almost guarantee you he'll read this because he's said it himself he reads my stuff without needing to mention my name and he's going to mention this in both his blog and youtube if not one or the other sooner or later. Again it's about reading between the lines and maybe he's got some fetish or looking for a way to promote himself to his cult-like following. Amazon has even dropped his ass and I've never seen that happen. I almost feel sorry for him. All in all, I really don't wish him ill harm and if what he does works and gives him a decent life, that's awesome and I truly do wish him the best. He most likely needs some psychological help and needs to get off his high horse and not be such a coward. He can talk shit all he wants, it just keeps proving who he is and I really hope he comes to grip with things. I just wanted to tell you my first hand experience with him. I'm a terrible liar and would out myself if it came down to it. Hell, he'll even claim he fired me which is not true, you can't fire someone who sent them an email basically being nice telling that person they quit. Anyway, be careful who you run into online and do some research first cause you never know if someone gives you the keys to the city and then turns around throwing you into the pit of blood with vampires. Be amazingly awesome and keep on training that gives you a reason to be your best self.      

Music That Just Enters Your Soul

 Throughout my life, I've listened to all sorts of music from Louie Armstrong to Peyton Parrish and whatever else in between. I did choir back in junior high and even performed some concerts with the group, wasn't that good but I did ok. We did songs mainly from the 60's and 70's and they were fun to do. Later on in High School, I did musicals such as Brigadoon, Wizard Of Oz, Once Upon A Mattress and Singing In The Rain (the last one was only in two scenes and had the only speaking role of in my entire time in the Theater). Music has been a part of my life ever since I was little. My own brother is a musician and had stints throughout the years in his own career doing mostly rock and blues music, he has a gift.

In my fitness career, music has been a part of that off and on listening while training. Sometimes I just go at it without it and other times, I put on my Spotify with either headphones or speakers depending on where I 'am and just get deep into it. Some of my best workouts were with music playing and it'll vary but mainly go with hard rock and metal. If you ever seen my tik tocks you'll find out quickly what kind of music I'm into. With this sciatica shit, I would put on music from time to time and just put my focus into it. I' am getting stronger again and I'm doing more walking and being more physical with my movements animal style (building my speed back up). Still have trouble sleeping but I know this won't last forever.

One of the biggest moments I've had during this process was something that is hard to explain. I was anxious to move around and do something quick to calm my body down. My wife was reading a book on the couch and I put my headphones on and put on a song and something crazy happened; I was so into the song, the riffs and the vocals that my body just went into this auto mode of moving and it almost felt like an out of body experience. I knew what I was doing physically but mentally something else came over me and I was flowing through the animal exercises like they were nothing and I was moving fast, strong and agile. I felt like myself again for a few moments without pain and when it was over, I started crying not because of sadness but because I felt happy and had a sense of hope that I knew this is almost over. I felt it in my soul and it was just beautiful. That song that got me into that state of mind was a Journey cover of their song Separate Ways by Eva Under Fire, the girl's vocals and the music behind her is just incredible and imo, is probably the top 2 best versions of that song. 

I'm sure others have had experiences like that with their own taste of music when they train but for me, it was an experience that I can't get out of my head. It almost seemed similar in a sense when Rickson Gracie got in tuned with his body with the Ginastica Training he learned from Orlando Cani and went into such a meditative state that he couldn't hear or see anyone and just moved with such agility, power and grace for nearly an hour. I was only in a state for maybe a minute or longer but once I looked back on what I did, my brain immediately went to that story about Rickson. Whether he was having music going is neither here nor there, I just know that for a brief time, I got to experience such a state of meditation that it was my way of slowly getting back to where I want to be again. Music gave me that.

Some believe that music is a distraction, from a certain point of view it can be but on the other hand, when you become in tuned with it while training and the syncing of mind and body through the instruments and/or vocals is at that right spot whether for a minute or more than an hour, it puts you into a state that potentially brings out the very best in you and makes you the strongest, fastest and the most powerful you've ever felt. Hell you may break personal records or just so far gone that your body goes into automatic pilot and you're just along for the ride. It courses through your veins, your brain, your nerves, your internal being and letting into your soul and trusting what it's doing for you to be in the zone. Music is that powerful and some never see it that way which is understandable to an extent but in the end, if it works and it makes you that much stronger and feel more alive, why question it? 

Whatever your taste is, I hope it brings you positive results in your endeavors and you get to experience things that others have trouble processing. Let the music flow through you and get in touch with your strongest self. Keep being amazingly awesome.  

The Double Whammy Of The World Fit Iso Trainer

 When it comes to equipment, very few can top the other but depending on the goals you have, the type of equipment is more suitable to what you want to do more than just having tons of stuff laying around. Over the years, I've gotten Sandbells, Resistance Bands, Hammers, Clubs, Mace, 60d Penny Nails and have a few ab wheels and they're all essential to my regular training but a personal favorite is the Worldfit Iso Trainer. I got the thing on accident as it was part of the wrong order I ended up getting since I ordered the Worldfit Pull-up Handles originally. I got the handles eventually but the Strap was a blessing in disguise.

The Iso Trainer is not just a thing for Isometrics, it doubles as a Suspension Trainer as well. I call it the double whammy because you get more out of it than you think. Having it as a Suspension Trainer adds variety and a whole other plethora of exercises to choose from. I've done Pull-ups, Push-ups, Rows, Rollouts, even Tricep Extensions with this thing and it just feels awesome. The handles are very comfortable and the strap is very sturdy and durable as it can hold up to 400 lbs from what I understand so many people are able to use it. 

You can mimic many exercises of isometrics and when I train with it along with my other Iso Strap, it gives me some of the best workouts I've ever had. It brings that old school vibe like the way Alexander Zass did with his Isometric Chain exercises. You can mimic practically the same exercises as he did and build serious muscle along with developing the tendons that look like they were carved out of granite. It's also very simple to use and van be put into a carry on bag for traveling. I would take it to the park with me, put it around the back of the basketball hoop and do some suspension work or do Isometrics on the ground. Very light as well.

Equipment should be versatile and utilized to the degree where it gives you a good workout almost regardless of where you are. Since my Sciatica is healing up, I will be getting back to Isometric Training and it's making me anxious to whip out that strap again. Isometrics is one of my all-time favorite styles of training and have written countless times about the awesomeness of Overcoming Isometrics. Some days, Isometrics is all I want to train on and it fuels that relaxed yet at the same time ready type of energy and strengthens those weak areas. 

How much does this thing cost? Well certainly not more than 200 bucks like some "Bodyweight Exercise Guru" sells for a single book (fucking ridiculous man), it's roughly 40 bucks which is crazy since you are able to make up so many workouts and learn way more exercises than you would've thought of. When you add Red Delta Project's Suspension Calisthenics book for maybe another 10 bucks on Kindle to the mix, you get a great variety to create virtually any type of workout you want almost anywhere. That's less than the cost of the average monthly gym membership. You'll learn the ins and outs of what works and what doesn't along with having fun with this bad boy. If you throw in a door attachment, there's no reason you can't do some solid suspension training at home and progress. These three things can make the world your oyster and train in ways that didn't seem possible before and it's very well within most people's budget. 

That's one of things I love about training is finding things that are suitable for a budget that works and get the most out of it without needing to use up your paycheck. I'm sorry but I'll take those things over a book some shmuck who thinks it's worthy of pricing that looks like shit and can't make it affordable to people that could use it for their benefit. If it's worth it to you and you've saved up enough to get it, go for it and I really hope it brings you incredible results but it shouldn't take you weeks or even months to save up for something like that, that's a lot of money that doesn't involve groceries or bills. It's robbery in my opinion and full of snake oil crap. There's a difference in someone being cheap and someone who's on a budget, learn it. I believe in top quality things that are in a comfortable range for someone, never should someone be guilt tripped into choosing either a book that costs more than a family meal or getting groceries for your family for the week, that's just not right. 

Anywho, I hope you find this article interesting and take a chance on the Worldfit Iso Trainer, the book and door attachment can be bought later if you want or not at all, it's up to you. I just want to give you an idea of what is possible without the need of a ton of equipment and you can snatch it up and use it for long term health and fitness. Be amazingly awesome and keep at it. 

Training & Update

 Been a tough road for the past month or so as my sciatica came back and with a vengeance. It started up again slowly while I was in Lake Tahoe visiting family. Was able to walk around and swim and all that but the moment we left, I was in various amounts of pain and when we got home, it hit me like an aluminum bat over and over on the right side of my body. The pain got so bad that often times, standing upright felt impossible and it took a toll on my physical and mental faculties. Bathing was excruciating and getting food to eat was unbearable to the point where I had little to no appetite. 

Mentally, it made me irritable, frustrated, angry and even depressed. I got no one to blame but myself for this and have been beating myself up over it. I'm not saying to make anyone feel sorry for me and not using it to throw a pity party, I'm saying this because this can happen to anybody; young or old even to world class athletes and we aren't 100% immune to it. It has been so painful that it nearly takes the cake over my broken leg injuries all those years ago. Am I showing my age? Maybe, but I'm certainly not dead and would never want anyone experiencing this, even those who've talked shit about me. I have a lot to make up for once I'm better and have made a vow to double my efforts to make up for lost time recovering.

Despite the pain and the emotional toll, I still train everyday no matter what, even if its for a couple minutes just stretching and/or do beginner level animal moves. Is it getting better? Slowly, yes and my flexibility, strength and agility is coming back in micro steps. I've done nothing but stretching, casually walking until I need to squat down and doing increments of the animal exercises from Vahva Fitness. Sometimes I do push through the pain but anybody can only tolerate so much. I know it has taken a toll on my wife and I'm just so grateful for her and what she has done to take care of me, she's strong and pushes me to get better everyday. She truly is my best friend and not just a companion but the ying to my yang, the crazy that matches my crazy and the far better half. I tell her everyday since this happened that the moment this thing is over, she'll be treated beyond the level of a goddess than I already do and going to make up for all things I was meant to do for her, even the little things. My mom has always seen us as the Bobbsey Twins and is quick to remind us of that often. We take care of each other and always have each other's back, I couldn't ask for such an amazingly awesome woman.

Although the workouts are brief, I know I'm getting stronger. I'm standing upright longer now, lasting better in my walking and have taken measures to stretch using my Isometric Belt to generate greater flexibility and even doing certain stretches Isometrically targeting my hips, hamstrings and glutes. I'm definitely feeling it but it's no where near as painful as it was in the beginning. I've only talked about this closely online with the Facebook Group Vim Vigor & Vitality that consists of those who practice Isometrics and other alternative forms of exercise and fitness. These guys are so supportive and have made awesome suggestions. One guy in particular, Batman O'Brien told me that because of what I was going through, he wrote up a series of exercises for me personally to keep up on and that he couldn't let this thing with me go on and insisted on helping me. It was such a powerful gesture and most of what he sent me I was already doing except a few things here and there. He even called me a legend in the Physical Culture world, the guy is twice the author and fitness advocate than I'll ever be and he calls some dude from Santa Cruz a legend. That was so profound and humbling to me that I told him that as much as I appreciate the gesture, I would never refer myself as that because to me, I don't feel worthy of that word. 

It may not be over yet, but soon, I'll be back doing what I love and making it more of a habit to keep up the maintenance so I can be at the type of strength and conditioning I know I can be in. This has been the worst I've felt in years but I can't give up nor can I allow this to go on. Pain may tell you you're not dead but pain can change your brain chemistry and turn you into something you don't want to be. It can be depression, full of negative emotions and it can make you mean at times and it's not right, it's not natural and sure as hell isn't someone I want to become. We're all human and we all have lived with some sort of pain in our lives but it's not natural to feel pain especially heavy sciatica pain 24/7 for the rest of your life. Take care of yourself and be amazingly awesome.    

A Rule Of Thumb For Those Who Call Themselves Gurus

Many trainers and and so called Fitness Gurus have their hearts in the right place and do what's possible to help others while making a living. I get it, you're building a brand/image and want to be seen as someone people can go to for solid ideas on training and getting the most with a Customer/Owner relationship. A big issue with some of these guys is that the "Guru" throws himself into this character as someone who tries to come off as this near god like being and smothers himself in ego and narcissistic tendencies in order to reel in an audience. It's understandable that some ego can be a good thing to an extent but Narcissism is a whole other ball game when they're only out for themselves and couldn't care less about others unless there's green involved.

If you read between the lines, you can see guys who have a bit of an ego and others who believe in their own hype. Many fitness programs work, there's no denying that and with the right tools, there are a lot that have a little something for everyone but not all programs are created equal and for good reason. A lot of the time, the Fitness Industry is a lot like High School, you have your various groups that segregate themselves, it can be very cutthroat and have people stab you in the back, you have the weirdos, jocks, valley girls, the hams, those who end up in the back, the popular crowd and those who think they can get away with murder because their daddy is a hotshot lawyer. 

There are those who don't take any bullshit and cater to a specific crowd or audience that they should feel worshipped by. Now that doesn't mean all of them are bad. A prime example would be the late Bud Jeffries, he was not only one of the strongest (naturally) people on the planet and had staggering charisma, he was also humble and would help you if needed. Sure he got paid for training and sold plenty of courses but if you needed a tip or two every now and then, often he wouldn't hesitate and put his hand on your shoulder (metaphorically or physically if you hung around him). He was also a guy who didn't take shit either and wouldn't work with those who tried to piss him off or shimmy around him, he knew tricks and had you at checkmate before you even had a thought. He was awesome at reading people and seeing the words between words when you spoke to him through DMs or Emails.

Another one I highly admire is Matt Schifferle of the Red Delta Project. From the looks of him, he looks like he's related to John Cryer & Matt Furey but when you hear him speak or talk with him, he's also humble and has an incredibly powerful positive attitude. His books are very easy to read and treats his videos as if they're a one person seminar as in he shows as if you were there with him and training. The man trains hard and uses simplistic exercises but treats you and the training with respect and dignity. He's got a no bullshit mentality to an extent but gives everyone the opportunity to understand not only the concepts of his style but makes it interesting to listen to. He's the type of guy you want to hang out with and doesn't show a lot of ego in his books and videos. 

When it comes to someone like me, there are names and praises I've gotten over the years that are just downright not I would ever call myself. I have been called a guru from time to time, I've been called someone who's in the top 3% of the strongest people in the world and other things. The truth is, I never liked being called those things, I'm no guru or blue collar guy, I would never put a percentage on myself when it comes to strength because to me that's not fair to others who make me look like a chump. All I care about is training, giving people ideas and pointing them in a direction that will benefit mainly them, not me. Do I have a bit of an ego? Maybe, but it's more about confidence in what I can do and what I know but I don't go around telling people that I'm the only guy with any real knowledge and I'm this much stronger than somebody else, in reality, I'm literally just a guy who fell in love with fitness after having severe leg injuries that's really the jist. 

I've had my own dealings with some guys who just love to hear themselves talk and if you disagree with them, they'd want you electrocuted just for having an argument. Some even love to talk shit yet never say it directly to me cause they're a coward and don't have the balls to say something, another guy tries to justify his actions/words and tries to make himself look like hot shit even though he can't when I called him out on stuff. These are the type of guys that have no regard for others and have sociopathic tendencies which leads them down a path of not only being mean bastards but can't let people live their lives the way they see fit. They write out or record rants for everyone to see, have grievances for the most irrelevant things (not to mention their stupid political outbursts) and treat others who aren't like them like trash when they don't even know any of those people in real life. 

There are great gurus out there and then there are shitty ones who only care about themselves. Shit even one guy can't stop talking about three things if you ever come across his stuff: How awful his wife is, mocking fat/overwight people and pull-ups in the same sentence and how his stuff is the very best on the market. A fourth would be either "friends" of his you never see one pic of or repeatedly mentioning an alleged pedophile along with his repeated hatred towards LGTBQ folks. Another guy who is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to basic workouts using the term "conditioned strength" and can go even at 55 but it's overshadowed by his long and dubious rants on how weak men are, the decay of society, his repeated outbursts of how he hasn't had a drink in 30 years, repeats how old he is and how many kids and grandkids he has. He's an egotistical prick with a napoleon complex that just loves to piss people off and doesn't show any compassion for those that don't share the same "values" as he does. 

It's like a car wreck with these guys, you know it's wrong but you can't look away and be curious but at the same time, it's better to just stay away from these people because we don't know what's happening in everybody's lives and what's the point of shitting on everyone? What's to be gained from that really? Where does it end? I believe in doing the very best to be kind to others until there's a reason not to and give others the benefit of the doubt and see through the bullshit as best as possible. Not everyone can be saved and not everyone is going to live a healthy life, we just do what we can starting with the people closest to us. Social Media has its perks and there are good people out there but there are some nasty motherfuckers too that try to sell you a bill of goods and tell you all these wonderful things but their true nature tends to come out when you least expect it and when you don't fall in line with them, they can make your life a living hell and will do whatever to make themselves look innocent. 

Little by little, be a bit better at helping others without an agenda and show compassion as best as you can. Life is too damn short to be so damn bitter that you have to take out your frustrations out on the internet and share how much the world sucks repeatedly yet you say you're happy, that's not how that works man. Be amazingly awesome and keep doing what you love. 

The Rugged Conditioning Entities Of Karl Gotch

It can be argued on who brought the rugged style of bodyweight training to the masses. Matt Furey certainly brought it out to the world and became a living legend in the world of fitness with Combat Conditioning that is still used to this day. However; years before Matt took the world by storm, two men in Florida recorded a series of exercises that were basic, unusual at times and would put most men on their knees within seconds. The demonstrator was Tom Puckett (or Ferrer to others) but the man narrating was the God Of Wrestling himself, Karl Gotch. 

I never met Gotch but I did know Tom for a short period of time. He lived 45 min from during that time and would come down to my neck of the woods in Idaho twice a week to hit the gym. The gym is called Peak Fitness and after he would do some conditioning work, he would hit the weights, even then when he slowly started falling ill to cancerous stuff he received during his time in certain aspects of Law Enforcement he was still a machine that just blew me away. He didn't like taking credit for that though, he was tough yet humble. He would tell me stories about Gotch and the real work ethic the man had. Some things never leave you.

Gotch was about as rugged as you can get and by definition, he was probably the top guy to use that word for. His workouts as you know if you looked into him are not just legendary, they're downright almost mythical as they sounded so unbelievable, you would've thought he was at the level of a real life Superman. He would put guys through workouts that he thought were the definition of what a wrestler should train for; the push-ups, the squats, the bridges, the drilling, gymnastics, animal moves and others were the foundation for a wrestler's arsenal for building not only a physique but the endurance and strength of a Super Athlete. He used to torture wrestlers with his deck of cards workouts and every now and then he would put them through more than 500 Hindu Push-ups and 2000+ Squats just to add fuel to the fire. 

His personal workouts would put even most athletes today to shame because he was never satisfied with just typical numbers. He solidified the pinnacle numbers for push-ups and squats to such a degree that they became the gold standard for pro wrestlers for decades to come. Now there are exercises that might be better and with the training programs that are coming out in droves in this day and age but it's also important to note and respect for the old school style that made a lot of champions. He had his gold standard for students but what he was doing on his own is nothing short of just jaw-dropping. Guy Chase who was another Gotch Protégé told me that the man in his prime was doing in the ball park of 5000 Squats frequently to stay in top condition along with the other stuff he was doing, that's in the realm of Gama and Chase has said that Gotch was doing Squats at a rate of 150 per three minutes. That's insane.

Now does this mean you have to do the same numbers to get the same results? That's tough to say because everybody's different and everybody trains in different ways but I will say this; in reality, doing those kind of numbers just to be like the men of the past won't always work in your favor. You can weigh differently, your structure may only allow you to do certain exercises and there may be previous injuries there, we don't 100% know but we can train in ways that is beyond the comprehension of the average athlete. You don't always see what numbers Dan Gable did yet look at what he accomplished. Same can be said about Alexander Karelin and Rolan Gardner, two polar opposite looking Greco-Roman wrestlers yet we all know who won that gold at Sydney. The main fact is, their conditioning was incredible and practically superhuman yet didn't do the same style of training Gotch did. 

Gotch's influence in retrospect should be respected and noted because he laid the groundwork by opening the doors to pre-MMA fighting and his works for conditioning are still respected and done even today. He took the crazy workouts from Indian Wrestlers and molded them into the treasure of gold that athletes from all walks of life use in some ways right now. To say he was a tough son of a bitch wouldn't do it justice unless you experienced it for yourself and the closest I came to that training wise was with Tom when he put me through just a slice of a what Karl put him through and put me through those bone breaking holds of the crossface, standing neck crank and even Karl's version of the Double Wrist Lock. Tom even trusted me to repeat these holds on him to show me how to apply them without needing much strength at all. These I will never get out of my head and still have nightmares from time to time of how they felt and the sound of neck and back cracking. Tom wasn't even a big dude, he was maybe 160 soaking wet and 5 foot 6 maybe 5'7. 

Some wrestlers today still do some of these same workouts and exercises, others pay homage to them in other ways and became champions themselves but the level of respect will always be there and the mere fact that one man became a god among wrestlers and has legendary status that has lasted for decades goes to show that despite certain aspects of wrestling is a dying art, the training is still firing after all this time. Furey may have kicked the door open with these exercises but Karl had the tools first to build that door.