Time For A Fresh Start

            Hope everyone had a great Christmas and had tons of fun, food and love from relatives and friends. To me this was one of the best holidays yet; got to spend time with the people I love and spend time with the most kick ass friends. The holidays is not always about finding gifts for the kids or getting something you've been wanting all year, it’s about connecting and giving back to the people in your life that gives a beautiful meaning. Now that it’s over and the New Year is just a couple days away, it’s time to reflect and build new chapters, learn different things.

            A common thread of the New Year is what people call Resolutions or better yet, change or create something huge that will only last you less than 2 weeks. To me, Resolutions is complete bullshit. In the fitness world, most really put it out there and believe just because they can jump into something it’s going to stick with them like going to Crossfit when you haven’t even done any technique yet nor do Insanity/P90X workouts instead of building up and progressing. I like to look at it as New Years Goals. Start small, if you’re new to exercise for example, do little things here and there. Start at 1 min. of exercise and build up to it, find exercises you’re interested in and have fun with them. Too many people want to jump in and try to lose 20 pounds like it was that easy.

            It’s about progressing and building a mindset where it’s not a punishment, it’s an adventure and exciting with knowing how to set your limits and challenges. When people jump into advanced type training, it’s exciting that they get to do all these cool things but when they actually do them, it will hit them like a strike of lightning and they’ll realize how crazy it is and that it can cause pain or even worse an injury. Think of it this way, in math would you jump from arithmetic to calculus just like that? No, you need to go through certain steps, like climbing a ladder; you don’t just climb 4-5 steps at once, its one thing at a time. It’s the little things that create the biggest gains. Sure it’s fun to be hardcore but you got to earn it and experience a small struggle to get to where you want to go.

            For some, exercise may not always be a priority, you might want to add something to your business as a goal, make little changes in your household and find what you can improve on as a family. I have a few goals but it’s important for me to not jinx them, I’ll tell you this though; A goal of mine is to save money and buy an Epic Sledgehammer because as an athlete and a Physical Culturist, I’m always looking for ways to improve my body by conditioning it in different ways using something heavy or light or even just my own bodyweight. I find things that interest me and create new ways to have fun with those interests, it keeps my mind sharp and it helps me focus on what I want. Another would be to increase my intuitive powers through meditation and being aware of what’s around me by feel and more.

            You may not get any of my goals and nor will I mostly get yours but one thing is for certain and that we strive to be better at certain things in our lives and it could mean anything. Make this New Year your bitch, take it one day at a time and before you know, you will have accomplished something you've never one before. Find things that interest you, experiment, have fun and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. 

The BIG 500

For those that haven’t read or counted, this is officially the 500^th article written for Power & Might. For some 500 doesn't seem much in certain standards but to most, 500 is a golden number among elite groups of people in popular culture such as sports, exercise, books and in Television. In sports like baseball you hear the gold standard for a big-time power hitter is 500 homeruns. In Exercise there are 500 reps of an exercise like squats and push-ups, in weightlifting there’s the 500 lbs. mark in top lifts like the Bench, Squat & Deadlift. This number is significant to me because it marks a long and enduring journey to get better and provide quality articles for you guys.

            I’ve been honored to have had some very distinct and incredible guest writers throughout the years and although the number is small, it still has had a big impact on this site. From Strongmen, Martial Artists, Expert in Isometrics, World Renowned Physical Culturists and a young man that is making his mark in Physical Culture faster than most I've ever seen. You guys are my inspiration and tremendous athletes in your own way. Thank you for all you've done and continue to do. I've been friends with every one of these people and I’m grateful you took the time to help build this site because I love helping others out and give them exposure in another way.

            Some people look at my site as just a series of articles but to the untrained eye, they go far beyond that. I take a different approach to how things look to me and I know for damn sure I've offended someone but you know what so be it. The evolution of Power & Might is a great one. I don’t like boasting about what I do but I’m damn proud of what it has become and what will continue to grow in the future. This site gives you a variety of choices from top quality experts in their field and it provides insight that a lot of other sites are too damn scared to write. Some are controversial, some are funny, some are spiritual and others have a mystery to them that only those that read them can recite them in their own way. I don’t look for people to read and follow my advice, I want people to read these articles and find their true calling within themselves that give them the strength to follow their own path. Yes I’ am opinionated but it’s because I see so much out there that isn't written and needs to be.

            500 entries is a lot for one site and yet it continues to evolve and at times take on a life of its own. I want to inspire future writers whether they write blogs or books or whatever and help them find the one thing we all strive to get; seen. I’m no millionaire by any stretch, I’m not a professional athlete or a celebrity but what I’ am is a man who loves to train and share various philosophy, spirituality and exercise that gives even the weakest person hope that there is something you can do to make your life better. I can write up anyway I want but the true inspiration I get is from people of all walks of life all over the world, that’s what I strive for is to help you be better than yesterday and help you on the road to your own success.

            Thank you all for who have read, listened, commented and shown love for this wonderful place. It is a safe haven for anyone who is willing to take a chance and become stronger, healthier, more vibrant and do it with heart, love and admiration to be the very best that you can become. Keep your dreams alive and do what’s best for you my friend no matter how big, small, easy, hard or tough it is, you have the power to make things happen. 

Up Keeping Your Conditioning

            When you find different ways to condition your body, it’s important to keep them going until you move on to the next method. However, some of us like me can’t always keep up with what we want to do or get bored easily so now what? We improvise and become creative. When I say upkeep I don’t always mean tuning your exercises or routine but my way of up keeping is to train as daily as possible whether for 5 min. or 1 hour. It keeps you on your toes and you feel a sense of accomplishment.

            Make your goals interesting, don’t always be a straight arrow and generic with “I’m doing this to lose weight or doing that to build strength” and my personal favorite “Just to look good the season.” Those are great goals to have but there’s more to them than meets the eye. Go after your goals but put in a little extra something that keeps your goals interesting like adding an animal exercise for fun or slap in some isometrics that you always wanted to learn. I always believed in the value of having fun and challenging yourself with a smile because most look at it as punishment when in reality it’s all in their head. If you’re not having fun then your goals won’t be that satisfying or worth it.

            Whether you practice one method or many, it’s important to keep yourself progressing. The upkeep of exercise is not always what you have to do on a certain day or you have to do this or that at a specific time. Make it a habit to keep up with yourself, that’s the secret to up keeping your conditioning is by up keeping yourself. I practice a lot of things so I have many ways to keep up with my mind and how my body reacts to what I want to do. For some they focus on one method and believe it’s the end-all be all which is great for them but that’s only part of the puzzle. Training is like a puzzle, in your mind there are either so many pieces to put together or you have chunks of pieces and you have only a few to put together either way there’s something to put together. You can create your own puzzle, no one can build it for you, the question is what do you want to put together that creates what you want?

            There are 24 hours in a day yet most people don’t realize they can get in a kick ass workout in under less than 10 minutes, why because they don’t have the ambition and the motivation. It’s sad because if only they knew that even one small workout or spreading your exercises throughout the day can have a profound effect even on the toughest of schedules. Learn to remind yourself that it’s OK to not have a hardcore workout and train 4-5 hours a day, that’s impossible for most people, hell to me that’s way too much, put in a few minutes here and there; on a break, do a few push-ups and squats, got kids, play with them that’s a lot of exercise in itself and before you conk out on your bed do a couple minutes of stretches, it’s about working on what’s best for you. Make the time even if it’s a small chunk of your day.

            Start with 1 min. if that’s all you have, build it up by 30 seconds each time you train and before you know it, you’d have done 15 min. worth of exercise throughout the day. It’s not complicated, make it work for you and you will find it easier to get things done. Now get to it. Want to know what’s funny, if you read this, you can certainly do a few exercises. Watch your favorite TV show and do some exercise during the commercials, doesn't have to be a lot of reps, do what’s comfortable. Keep up with yourself, don’t try to keep up with everyone else.