When I got into bodyweight training I started doing it for recovery in my legs and build up to a ridiculious number of squats. After that I began finding exercises that were very difficult to do and getting up past 15-20 would be in the realm of dreams for most people so I gave the handstand push-up a try. At first I couldn't hold a handstand on the wall for more then 5 seconds before I fell on my ass. I kept at it and learned various techniques and in a short period of time I was hitting numbers that most people at my size can never imagine. It is difficult to hold a handstand let alone do 1 rep of a handstand push-up. After getting stronger in this I did a little research.
For the most part if you want to get good at start something you have to start with the basics. Some people think they're more advanced but if you asked them to do a basic thing they won't get within an inch of what they say they can do. Learning a foundation is a key to great success if you want to go beyond what you're capable of. Take my friend Logan Christopher for example, here is a guy who looks like he can be a very limber individual but if you put the 2 of us together most likely at first you'll probably guess i'm the much stronger one right? I mean hell i'm 240+ pounds and can do things not many people in the world can do but I hate to disappoint you guys but the truth is, Logan is actually pound for pound stronger then I'am and I'm not ashamed to say this.
Back to my research, I discovered many techniques on how to do handstand push-ups and tried many variations but nothing has come close to what Logan teaches in his Ultimate Guide To Handstand Push-ups Course. This book will take you through all you need to start learning the basics, intermidiate and advanced variations of the handstand push-up. After learning just a few techniques from him I've become much more aware of where I'am, where my hand placements need to be and how to make the exercise harder or easier within seconds. As far as I know I'm one of the strongest men in the world to press up his own bodyweight at a considerable heavyweight level being 240+ lbs. but that still doesn't make me the smartest man in strength and conditioning. You can be strong but in order to get there you must learn balance,corridnation, flexibility and a good amount of strength.
I will tell you right now Logan & I weren't the best at what we do at first. We had a tough road to go on but with will power and a constant founding of determination and motivation we made it through but yet we still have a lot to learn. Thats the thing with all of us is that we all have a road to go through and we all need to find a source of motivation to keep us going. Why not start with a great teacher who can help you and encourage you to do the best you can be.
In the course there will be chapters on......
Basic Handstands
Handplacements For Targeting Either Shoulders Or Arms Or Both
Wrist Exercises To Warm Up
Advanced Techniques
How To Build Iron Claws For Handstands On The Fingertips
Isometric Techniques If You're Stuck
Frequency In Doing Handstand Push-ups
Specific Workouts
& More..............
I encourage you to pick up The Ultimate Guide To Handstand Push-ups. This book will help you skyrocket your strength and it can help your pressing movements in the weight room. I firmly believe that Handstand Push-ups are one of the best exercises for gaining massive strength in the upper body and building mental toughness with your awareness and sense of Kinestetics.
Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Recovery Tips After Hardcore Training
We all do some form of training where it takes us beyond a average level and takes us to limits we didn't know we had and its very difficult to recover from the next day. How do you train after doing such a brutal workout? This past Monday I did the Karl Gotch Bible where I varied the push-ups and kept the Hindu Squats. My goal was to finish the workout in 30 minutes and I surpassed it and finished in under 27 minutes. I don't know about you but damn that feels good to get pass a goal. After a few hours I did another training session doing a series of chest and arm exercises from a course called Sinkram.
The very next morning I didn't want to get out of bed I was so sore in my shoulders, chest and legs. Even though I was sore I was not going to deny a workout at least once in the day. I have been known to train 7 days a week without fail and the reason why I do that is not because I need to prove how many workouts I do, its how smart I can be to train daily that doesn't need to be brutal day in and day out. A lot of people feel that you need to train only 2-3 times a week and have to do this or that for recovery and take 4-5 days off. Well if you can do that in the long run more power to you but thats not the only way to go and heres why.
Our bodies were made to keep moving, we work different angles of the body and if you're smart this helps you stay healthy for life along with a balanced eating plan. There are times to train hard and there are times where you need recovery any one of my secrets is after a hardcore workout (day after) I would work on deep breathing exercises and some form of qi gong. If i'm very sore in a particular area like the legs or lower back, chest, shoulders ect. I woul do very little to no work in those areas until they "heal" because I want to give those areas a rest but the rest of my body is working from different angles at light to moderate intensity. This is where I like to work on muscle control and stretching/loosening the body. The only time I work the sore areas is when i'm stretching because when you're sore and you leave it sore over a period of time with no exercise it can tighten up and you may not be as efficiant in your next big time workout. Stretch the muscles slowly and with intention.
I always felt stretching is a key component in recovery periods because at my next harcore session not only do I want to be stronger but more limber then the last time. Just do a couple stretches and each day do a stretch a little longer howver don't go to the point where you're in pain, its not how far you can go or how long you stretch its how smart you stretch and the way you breathe....Breathing is the major key to recovery and for good reason.
Each day as I get stronger I amp up a workout just a bit to just about 70% of the intensity of the work I want to do in a brutal workout the next time around. My training really consists of 1-2 hardcore workouts a week along with moderate work the rest of the week until i'm fully recovered. I may not do specific routines because I get bored after a while but I always want to have at least one day where I push myself up a notch.
My keys to recovery training is as follows.....
1. Breathing
2. Stretching
3. Work at moderate pace that doesn't compromise your ability to train the next day
4. Meditate (either moving or not)
The very next morning I didn't want to get out of bed I was so sore in my shoulders, chest and legs. Even though I was sore I was not going to deny a workout at least once in the day. I have been known to train 7 days a week without fail and the reason why I do that is not because I need to prove how many workouts I do, its how smart I can be to train daily that doesn't need to be brutal day in and day out. A lot of people feel that you need to train only 2-3 times a week and have to do this or that for recovery and take 4-5 days off. Well if you can do that in the long run more power to you but thats not the only way to go and heres why.
Our bodies were made to keep moving, we work different angles of the body and if you're smart this helps you stay healthy for life along with a balanced eating plan. There are times to train hard and there are times where you need recovery any one of my secrets is after a hardcore workout (day after) I would work on deep breathing exercises and some form of qi gong. If i'm very sore in a particular area like the legs or lower back, chest, shoulders ect. I woul do very little to no work in those areas until they "heal" because I want to give those areas a rest but the rest of my body is working from different angles at light to moderate intensity. This is where I like to work on muscle control and stretching/loosening the body. The only time I work the sore areas is when i'm stretching because when you're sore and you leave it sore over a period of time with no exercise it can tighten up and you may not be as efficiant in your next big time workout. Stretch the muscles slowly and with intention.
I always felt stretching is a key component in recovery periods because at my next harcore session not only do I want to be stronger but more limber then the last time. Just do a couple stretches and each day do a stretch a little longer howver don't go to the point where you're in pain, its not how far you can go or how long you stretch its how smart you stretch and the way you breathe....Breathing is the major key to recovery and for good reason.
Each day as I get stronger I amp up a workout just a bit to just about 70% of the intensity of the work I want to do in a brutal workout the next time around. My training really consists of 1-2 hardcore workouts a week along with moderate work the rest of the week until i'm fully recovered. I may not do specific routines because I get bored after a while but I always want to have at least one day where I push myself up a notch.
My keys to recovery training is as follows.....
1. Breathing
2. Stretching
3. Work at moderate pace that doesn't compromise your ability to train the next day
4. Meditate (either moving or not)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Are You Up To The Outlaw Challenge?
If you're a typical weightlifter in a commercial gym there are certain rules you feel you HAVE to follow....Do this for biceps, do this for back, do this for legs blah blah blah. Well try telling that to Strongman Bud Jeffries. At 5'11 and 270 pounds he doesn't look like a typical weightlifter, hell he couldn't pass the "normal" standards of what is a bodybuilder but he doesn't care about that nor the rules.
This particular challenge is unlike anything else and something you only persue if you got the guts. Whether you're a weightlifter or not this type of challenge can take your conditioning to the next level. No matter how you slice it you will become stronger and throw away the typical "rules" of the trade in hitting the weights.
Bud Jeffries is the one guy that can make just any challenge thrown at him a walk in the park and he'll tell you flat out that its not just physical but more mental and thats not an easy thing to take and its the truth. He is not your typical weightlifting and physical training pretty boy; he is one powerful and over the top freakishly strong. Here is a list of accomplishments he has done over the years...
1000 Pound Squat (Starting at the bottom)
3000 Kettlebell Swings
Partial Squat of 1850 pounds
Lifts Rocks up to 300+ Pounds
1000+ Hindu Squats
Pulled A Bus
Bends Rebar, Flat Steel and Mangles 60D penny nails and 10 inch spikes
Thats just a small amount he has done but nonetheless he knows what he's talking about when it comes to building strength. The Outlaw challenge is lifting a 150 Pound Dumbbell 1000 times using various exercises. Are you up to the challenge? Do you got the guts to step out of the pretty boy gyms and make a name for yourself in your own training? Well lets see what you're made of and let Bud take you all the way.
Outlaw Challenge
This particular challenge is unlike anything else and something you only persue if you got the guts. Whether you're a weightlifter or not this type of challenge can take your conditioning to the next level. No matter how you slice it you will become stronger and throw away the typical "rules" of the trade in hitting the weights.
Bud Jeffries is the one guy that can make just any challenge thrown at him a walk in the park and he'll tell you flat out that its not just physical but more mental and thats not an easy thing to take and its the truth. He is not your typical weightlifting and physical training pretty boy; he is one powerful and over the top freakishly strong. Here is a list of accomplishments he has done over the years...
1000 Pound Squat (Starting at the bottom)
3000 Kettlebell Swings
Partial Squat of 1850 pounds
Lifts Rocks up to 300+ Pounds
1000+ Hindu Squats
Pulled A Bus
Bends Rebar, Flat Steel and Mangles 60D penny nails and 10 inch spikes
Thats just a small amount he has done but nonetheless he knows what he's talking about when it comes to building strength. The Outlaw challenge is lifting a 150 Pound Dumbbell 1000 times using various exercises. Are you up to the challenge? Do you got the guts to step out of the pretty boy gyms and make a name for yourself in your own training? Well lets see what you're made of and let Bud take you all the way.
Outlaw Challenge
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