Travel Training

             I love to travel when I have the chance, sometimes for an extended period of time over a few weeks. If you're into fitness or learning and doing certain things it’s important to remember that when you travel, you may not have the same luxury in a different town or state so don't be limiting yourself. Many people believe that to get in shape you need to be in a gym and hitting the iron or the machines but believe it or not it’s not always that possible to do so. I have a friend that travels constantly and needs to be in shape for what he does but he uses his imagination and realistic approach that gives him the tools to travel in awesome shape no matter where he is. Don't limit yourself.

            Expand your horizons. If you can't get to a gym or your hotel doesn't have what you need, do things a little differently. Instead of focusing on what you need to lift when you travel, think of moving your body around, do push-ups and squats in your hotel room, hold certain postures, travel with a chest expander that works your upper body like crazy yet easy to travel with.

            Here’s a little tidbit for you; when I was 25 I went to Disneyland with someone in my family. When we were there we went on rides and stuff but we also we went out on our own at times, I was going to do The World Of Tomorrow where in order to get in you stand and the ground rotated to get to the entrance, I decided on a whim to do a free standing Handstand while the thing was rotating and I actually held it for quite a bit. It was awesome and that was the only exercise of the day that was it. When you travel, be creative and have fun, don't rush things.

            If you're going to travel with something to workout with, travel light. It’s not easy carrying a dumbbell or a kettlebell in your bag so why not cables like the Chest Expander or the PowR Walk Pro; they're easy to carry around and they’re there when you need them. I like to travel with some cables and an Isometric Belt that I have that’s about 14ft long and practice my isometric training. One of the best ways to train is to do it in nature. About every summer my dad’s family goes to South Lake Tahoe for about a couple weeks and get a couple cabins, go to the beach and chill out. When I go, that’s the perfect opportunity to do some great swimming, lift heavy rocks, crawl, balance and climb on the rocks as well. Training in nature is just different, exciting, and spontaneous and you never know what you're getting into.

            I emphasize this with great intent that no matter where you go whether it’s in a big city or the Fiji Islands, utilize your imagination and use the environment to get an awesome workout in. I get more out of creating something than trying to find something that can be too far away or whatever. When you learn to channel your mind and being aware of your surroundings, you can create any type of workout you want. I've been in some crappy places and even some gorgeous and beautiful places too and still found how to train without an excuse. If you want to stay in shape bad enough you will find a way to do it. Create opportunities and take advantage of them. A gym is just a gym but why not use the world as your gym. 

The Parasites You Should Avoid

            There are a lot of negative people out there; people that hate, loath, disgusted and can't stand who you are and what you represent as a person. I'm a very positive person who believes in what people are passionate about in a loving, caring and enduring matter. Sure I have certain views on things but that doesn't mean I don't want you to succeed. A lot of people out there hate on what is not up to their standards and make people feel like shit about it. I’m going to help you find these crazy nut jobs.

            In the training world just like in life, there will be those who want to turn you away from what you want to do because to either “protect you”, don’t want you doing good and being successful at it because they're afraid what they don’t understand so they go to extreme measures to keep you from utilizing your potential. Some like the “one way and that’s it” bullshit, others who don't believe in anything else will be on your ass because it’s not what they believe and then there are those who feel that if you're hardcore and too passionate it’ll turn you into an obsessed freak. Man I've heard plenty of crap about what I do and been told I should do this or that and what I do is merely a hobby. Don’t be afraid of who you are.

            You are of flesh and blood just like the rest of us, you may have different views, opinions and what works and what doesn't but in the end we spill the same blood and are human. I don't care what your bench is, how many squats you can do, how high you can jump, what sexual orientation you are, what your religion is or color your skin is; you're a human being with a beating heart just like mine. A lot of people forget that being human is a gift and to be awesome takes practice; some do it to show off, others try to be awesome to be apart of something but in my opinion, to be awesome is to be you and treat your fellow man with love and respect.

            There are different people to avoid and the key types are ones that prevent you from learning who you want to be and one’s that try to steer you away from your passion and belief in yourself. There are plenty of other types but these two in particular are most common. I love mixing things up in my training because it makes me happy and it helps learn what my body is capable of. I've been told many times that I should be a weightlifter because of my size or being told that because of my size there’s no way for me to be flexible and mobile but you know what, I love what I do and there’s nobody to tell me otherwise. Most haters hate themselves because they're not doing what you do and they just flat out can’t stand it. When they hate on you, it’s not you they really hate on; it’s themselves because they're looking into a mirror and can’t stand what they see.

            Learn to balance positive and negative people in your life. When people whine and complain about what you do and who you are, look at it this way; it’s better to be hated than ignored, when people talk about you, you're making them think and that’s one hell of a gift. Being hated isn't the greatest thing in the world but on the other side of the coin, you also have people that are inspired by you, love what you do and want to learn more about it.

            When it comes to certain things, I’m in the middle and don’t really hate anyone, sure certain people get on my nerves and want to smack them sometimes but in the end, I want to be positive about who’s in my life and yes I have cut off relationships and friends but not because I hate them or wish them harm, it’s because of how they treated me and I don't deserve those types of people. Don't hate on for who someone is, be awesome to them, encourage what they're passionate about and help them in any way you can because there’s more to love in this world than the crap others put themselves through and the way they treat certain people. Be awesome and call in a mental exterminator every now and then because you don't want parasites clogging up your happiness and what you love. 

Training In A Different Area Can Be Scary

              

               Going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier later on today I thought I’d share with you an aspiring way of how training in different areas like Cap getting used to a new world while he was frozen under ice for many decades. Steve Rogers comes from a totally different era where men wanted to save our world from Nazis and life was vastly different. As a young man roughly early-mid 20’s he fought with the best intentions and was a wholesome type guy with a few touches of being a superhero. After being frozen for many decades, he’s living in an entirely new world where everything he knows is gone and needs to learn fast how to adjust to life in an era where image, war, relationships and technology are vastly different. What does this have to do with training?

            Exercising and working out in a different area than you’re use to can be night and day and very scary. You’re not use to moving and exercising muscles and joints in awkward positions and usually you’d be on a treadmill, pumping up muscles with isolated exercises and going to an aerobics class it’s not a bad thing. However, moving like a wild animal or attempting Handstands is very different and requires a whole other realm of coordination, concentration and technique so how would you adjust to that or better yet adjust to smaller workouts using compound movements that hit the whole body? It can be scary I know.

            Like Cap, to better yourself in a totally different area you need to have the intent on getting better and at first you’ll most likely fail but that’s how you learn and pick yourself back up. Use your imagination and believe each day you’re getting a little better even down to the smallest fraction. Learn to utilize what you already experienced and work with using that part of you to create a better version that will have you getting results. Some people just stick to one thing only and they’re so use to it, it scares the living hell out of them when something different comes along. The world changes and so does training certain things, if you do the same things over and over you’ll be getting the same results and it can get boring.

            Be who you are no matter how the environment seems. Be a little open minded, it’s ok to be skeptical but don’t just push it off, give it a chance even if it’s for a short period of time. We all adjust differently and how our bodies respond to the way we do things, certain things work, some don’t and we have to fin what works best for us. I feel for Captain America who has to adjust to a life that no longer holds up to what he knew before he was frozen and that’s how fitness is, it’s so different from when our parents were kids and how over the years things evolve and some just don’t cut it so we learn to adjust and learn various things that bring us results and do better at them because it’s what we love to do.