Why Join The Matt Furey Inner Circle?

    Before I could walk again in 2005, I learned about this guy who was a wrestler, world champion in Kung Fu and practiced Bodyweight Exercises. I bought a book of his called Combat Conditioning and it seemed interesting. I didn't want to do regular rehab like most people would after an injury so I made a vow when I did learn to walk again I would do the exercises from this book to help me along the way. First month sucked as I only did the Hindu Squats, Hindu Push-ups and the Bridge. Couldn't do more than 25 squats, 15 push-ups and 30 sec. of the bridge felt like an eternity. I never gave up because although I couldn't do a damn thing at first, my legs were getting stronger and I was having more energy than I could possibly imagine. Within 6-7 months of just pure bodyweight training, I did over 1000 squats in a workout, over 300 push-ups and could hold the bridge for 5 min. anytime I wanted. I was hooked ever since I got that book and many more courses from Furey and he helped change my way of training forever. Nearly 10 years later, bodyweight training is still my main style of training adding in cables, hammers, mace and a few strongman stuff in the mix.

 

    When I first signed up for Furey's Inner Circle a few years after buying Combat Conditioning, I learned things there that couldn't possibly be worth using in public styled book or DVD because a lot of it was very different, not meant for hardcore bodybuilders or the typical gym rat. A lot of it was bodyweight stuff but adding in hill sprints, cable work and others it's just one of those things that you want to grab a hold of and never let go. I was on there off and on for a number of years but always found a way to learn something new from it and use to my style of training. You can't learn this stuff from a regular DVD/CD/Book because it wouldn't have that unique and mystical aspect of it. Think about it, if everyone knew all the secrets where is anything more to learn? In the Inner Circle you get to learn about training from a very different perspective and you get exclusive access to some of the most guarded secrets he has to offer. You think you know all there is to know about bridging? Think again. How about various squats you don't normally do or see anywhere else? I thought you knew about squat training. Why not how to run faster without adding tension to increase not only speed but to burn off fat faster than any other type of training? It's all about learning from different angles to give you the edge in health, fitness, sports and longevity.

 

    One of his recent forms of training came in the style of Neck Chi Kung. If you thought you knew about training the neck, this is goes beyond your own assumptions and what you have previously learned. It's not bridging although it helps and will make you neck stronger. This style of training is not hardcore and not meant to make you sweat hard or breathe heavily it's far from that; it teaches how to relax the neck and the body all the way down to the toes by moving in a much slower fashion to unlock and release tension from that area. First time I did this routine, I was hearing crackles from every square inch of my neck, traps, upper back and shoulders and that doesn't happen too often. I rarely if ever stay with routines because that's just how I roll but I trust Furey's judgment and do what I can to learn from him. His other style of training the neck is doing exercises based on the Tortoise because it's been said this animal is a symbol of longevity and one of its secrets is having a healthy neck. You move and hold the neck in certain positions, some I've never heard of before and they hit you like a bolt of lightning and you're not even doing a whole lot. The last thing I'll mention about this is his Bridging Chi Kung. This type of training alone is worth the price of the Inner Circle because it teaches how to relax in the hip, back and front bridges in a whole new way. Imagine holding the bridge with your arms in different positions that will make you stronger in every portion of your body and doing it only a few minutes a day; the routine lasts about 15 min. at best. Release all that tension in your back, neck, legs and torso as you sail through the day with vigor, internal power and agility unlike anything else.

 

    I like doing hardcore stuff from time to time like sprints, animal exercises, pulling on the chest expander with heavy cables, hit a tire with the Epic Sledgehammer, bend spikes, rip cards/phonebooks all kinds of stuff but I also like to train a little calmer, learn how to internalize my body and expand my energy from the inside. It's fitness on a whole other level and although it's not hardcore and bad-to-the-bone crazy, it's also tough, demanding and takes great concentration on a scale you can't find anywhere else. From walking backwards extremely slowly in 30 minutes to standing and just relaxing the body for several minutes to even sitting in a chair and letting go of the tension in my body by just breathing deeply and using a visualization technique its fitness within a different world that is needed. Do me a favor and sign up for the Matt Furey Inner Circle. At the moment you can get a yearly membership fairly cheap that is less than 10 bucks a month yet you get thousands of dollars' worth of info you can't get anywhere else. This cheap price won't last long because soon he's going to double it. It is one of the most awesome things you can do and it's far cheaper than going to a gym, buying lousy junk food, bottles of booze and even far cheaper than cigarettes that can kill your health far quicker. Be healthy and learn the very guarded secrets that will have you gaining more energy, strength, flexibility, explosiveness, stamina, mental clarity, emotional stability and can even help you in sports like never before.

 

Happy Thor's Day everyone. Be Awesome and get your hands on one of the most helpful resources on the planet.

Strengthen The Spine

    Lately I've had this one spot on the left side of my lower back that's been aggravating me. So far it's only painful when I sit or lay in a certain position but when I train or sit in a natural squat there's no pain whatsoever. So what I can I do to reduce the pain? I'm certainly not taking some kind of meds just temporarily ease the pain and unless I can't walk I'm not going to any doctor. I've decided to train my spine a little more and not just build muscles of the back (got plenty of that already) but want train the bones, the ligaments and make my spine the electric superpower it's meant to be. The spine is our foundation that is connected to the brain which wires all the nerves in the human body. If you have a spine injury, chances are you can be crippled for life or haven't learned the aspects of spinal training.

 

    One of the best ways to train the spine is by Bridging. This can be done in quite a few ways; one is what's known as the wrestler's bridge where you're on your head and feet are on the floor and the objective is to touch your nose to the floor. Another way would be is to go into a bridge where your hands and feet are only touching the floor; this called the Gymnastic Bridge or the Wheel Pose. The most common bridge you see people do is the Hip Bridge where you lay down, lift the hips off the floor and the only parts on the ground are the feet, upper back and shoulders. Bridging is one of the key ingredients to developing a healthy spine that builds that natural curvature and lengthening the torso that helps you lose fat, build muscle and have a strong body overall. In the Gymnastic Bridge you're practically lengthening the entire body and it's also one of the greatest forms of isometrics because it takes a lot of strength to hold the position. In the wrestler's bridge where you're on your neck and stretching everything from the neck down. Some discredit this exercise because it seems dangerous plus you're putting pressure on the neck when in fact the exercise helps increase blood flow to the brain, strengthens the legs and torso for the stabilizing muscles and it's regarded as a great way to get into a euphoric state or a natural high that de-stresses you and brings a calming sense of mental clarity.

 

`    An exercise I've been doing lately that really helps my spine is just hanging on my pull-up bar. By doing this, I'm stretching my entire body from the arms to the legs because just hanging there the flow of the body becomes a whole other realm of electric power within every vertebrae of the spine. This alone builds incredible grip strength, shoulder flexibility, eliminating those "love handles", creates better posture and you're getting a sense of what it's like to a wild ape like an orangutan, gorilla or Chimp. I ought to do this more often and so should you. As we age our spines start to shrink and compress until we are so hunched up that just by moving or straightening feels like a crowbar smacking every part of your body. In order to reverse this, lengthen your spine a few minutes a day and if you have trouble hanging, just do what you can and build up, eventually you'll be so strong you can hang for minutes on end.

 

    Another style of training I've used for my back from the muscles to the spine is doing DDP Yoga. You know I've written about this a few times but it bears repeating. DDP Yoga brings a whole new element to strength and stretching. Bringing the spine into play is the focal point of this because DDP learned how to recover from major back injuries from wrestling all those years ago and to bring that powerful lengthening to build a solid, strong and flexible spine to live without pain. In some of his exercises like the Cobra or the Diamond Cutter, they open up the spine like crazy and when you use Muscle Control as you move throughout the movement you're getting strength and cardio at the same time. Think about it; if you have a healthy spine you have more energy, greater sex drive, be able to flow through your favorite exercises with ease and you get to open up your breathing better. A powerful spine that is relaxed and pain-free creates better awareness and better posture. You're expanding your life force because the nerves in your body are just immensely powerful and it helps your internal organs become stronger which means better hormone levels, youthfulness, recover faster, burning off fat and living well past your prime (hell with a healthy spine you may not even peak beyond your 40's or more you'll just be in superb health).

 

Strengthen that spine everyone and live with happiness, pain-free, love and energetic power. Have a great Tuesday guys. Be awesome.

Benefits Of Animal Training

    The variety of fitness programs is endless. You have your infomercials, developing one-arm chin-ups, the next phase of bodybuilding, getting cardio from the latest trainer hell there's a way to tone your arms with a damn Shake Weight. Why do we get so caught up in all the hype and broken promises of what these programs produce? The truth is, even though there are endless ways to train only an extreme few create the best results and do so in a short amount of time that is healthy, interesting and useful. Animal Exercise is one of those extreme few and here's why; aside from the great benefits you're about to read, it's a style of exercise that can be incorporated into practically any routine, can be used to amplify your conditioning for your sport and it jump starts your cardio in a much more practical way than machines ever could.

 

    Here are a few benefits on why Animal Exercise is so powerful over many other programs….

 

1. It produces greater amount of Natural Growth Hormone:
   

   
    

   Even with the latest injections of steroids and Performance Enhancers, they still can't produce the amount that Animal Exercise produces. The reason why is because when you move your whole body through a plane of motion, you're jump starting what is already natural in your nervous system. Moving like a wild animal for up to 20 minutes fires up the lungs, making you take in more oxygen and throws in powerful endorphins that feeds the blood in your body. Growth Hormone in its natural state produces gains in strength, sexual energy, lung capacity and the ability to recover. It's the compound movements that produce fast results.
   

   
    

2. The Strength Gains become your biggest asset:
   

   
    

   Using multiple muscles in a single exercise produces a great deal of strength especially in the awkward positions animal training gets into. It's not easy moving your bodyweight in such powerful movements. Sure we can't be as strong as a gorilla or a tiger hell nowhere near the strength of a Rhino Beatle but we can adapt and strengthen our bodies in ways that weights and "human" exercise can't touch. Say you can do a few push-ups but it takes a greater amount of strength to push up like a Grasshopper because you have to jump and fire up the muscle fibers even more just to get off the ground. When you move your body in ways that you normally don't move in, your muscles fire to the point where even the smallest fibers in your legs, arms, back and abdominals become generate a huge amount of strength.
   

   
    

3. Short Workouts are essential to your development:
   

   
    

   When you go to the gym, how long does it take you to get there? How long did it take you to get dressed for your workout? How long is your workout? The thing is, the amount of time being put into from these 3 questions alone can be greatly reduced to the point where if you drove to the gym, got dressed and started on your cardio, you could've had a much shorter workout in that amount of time. It is not rocket science to know that if you want to make the most of your day, you can't be training 2-3 hours at a time because for most people it's downright impossible. With training in Animal Exercises, you can get in a great workout in less than 20 minutes without ever having to leave your house or go very far and you don't need to dress up like a fitness model, just sweats, a t-shirt and some comfortable shoes (don't recommend heals or flip flops) or go barefoot your choice. The exercises are very intense and it doesn't even need 20 minutes worth of training, 5 minutes is great if that's all you can do. You can get more done without compromising your home life. Think about it if you're trying to raise a family or have to travel for your job and the only good hour you have to anything is spending time with the people you want to be with or chill out after a long day.
   

   
    

       Getting kids involved is a priority nowadays. In this country, childhood obesity is through the roof and less than a few people are out there doing something about it. It's been said that today as oppose to 30-50 years ago, kids are mostly likely to not even outlive their parents. That is sad, I've been around children all my life from when I was in Daycare till I became practically family to the woman and her family that helped ran it and I've seen a lot of kids come and go but very few if any were obese when she took care of them. We played tag and ran around, play ball in the street, even played hockey in the living room. Most of the time exercise is boring to kids and many P.E teachers just put them through generic types of exercise like a sport or too much running that doesn't really go anywhere. Exercise is supposed to fun, exciting, teaching the value of teamwork and friendly competition without their minds going numb. Animal Training gives kids a chance to not only strengthen and build muscle but increase their level of awareness, bring down aggression and build calmness and relaxed states of mind. It doesn't matter if you're in first grade or in High School, a kid can have a powerful body from both inside and outside. Help each other, make a game out of it and you can even use it to get more out of their sport because the movements strengthen not just the muscles but the tendons and ligaments that can help reduce injury and have greater stamina during the game. Parents, get involved to. A family that trains together, bonds together because you're not just giving your kid a chance to better themselves but building a bigger love as a parent and showing them that when you work as a team and have fun.
   

   
    

   More Benefits Of Animal Training…….
   

   
    

   1. The fun you can make that produces even greater results:
      

      
       

      Most programs are rather boring and generic. When you lose interest, you can't get the results you want and it sometimes can be depressing when you feel like crap after a workout even though you sweated everything out. With Animal Exercises you can make it however you want. One of the best ways to get the most bang for your bucks is making a game out of it. Play tag with your friends, have a race or make a cartoon version of it using your favorite animal characters, sure it looks goofy (pun intended) but who cares, you're getting something out of it. When you are excited to exercise and feel like a million bucks afterwards you're not just creating a strong body but a strong connection to your emotional and mental state of mind.
      

      
       

   2. Being able to adapt that teaches you how to move your body:
      

      
       

      We can't move exactly like a wild animal because we aren't structured like them but we can however, move our bodies that simulates the best we can with our physiology. It's not easy moving in awkward positions yet we can use our bodies that is suitable to our anatomy and move with the best of intentions. Say like moving like an Alligator for example; using our own anatomy we can move in the push-up position by widening our arms and legs to simulate looking like that animal. It's about using your imagination and paying attention to level your body can handle, you may need to start moving slower to get the mechanics down or not just so high. The Frog is a favorite but because of the way my legs are I can't jump very high otherwise it will hurt like hell so I need to adapt and still get great benefit from it. How about practicing moving with less limbs say moving on one leg; if you get injured and can't use that leg your body is still strong enough to move around because you have adapted to that position. How about moving backwards to use muscles from another angle, this puts the body in another phase of strength.
      

      
       

   3. The variety of progressions that gives you a level that can work for you:
      

      
       

      Variety in this manner is a great thing to look at. We may not have the same structure to move in a powerful like someone else can. Some can jump higher, others need to jump low because of how their body is tailored to that aspect of training. The way we use our legs may not be the same, some move great with a much wider stance as oppose to someone who's more comfortable in a more narrow position. It's also important to pay attention to your level of fitness because if you're starting out you may not be able to move as fast as someone with a higher level of speed, tempo or placement of hands and feet as well. I'm very good at moving like a gorilla in a diagonal position but not very good at moving exactly forward as the exercise implies so I adapted to what my body can handle and work well into a greater level of progression. Find what works best for you and look into how you move well and moving in a manner that won't hurt you or your way of training.
      

      
       

   4. There is no isolation involved, just like an animal in the wild:
      

      
       

      The most common theme in fitness is that if you want to get strong, you have to isolate every part of your body in 50 different ways. Unless you're in bodybuilding or in rehab, isolation shouldn't even be a thought. With Animal Exercises you simply can't isolate the muscles because in order to move efficiently, you have to use more than one muscle. Multiple muscle groups are the key for a single exercise because you need more than just the arms or legs to become good at an animal exercise no matter what it is, the stabilizing muscles are involved to protect the lower back from injury and they're also used in how you balance in a specific movement or series of movements. A gorilla doesn't curl or bench press, he's climbing, walking/running on his hands and use his mighty hands to hold onto a vine in order to keep from falling out of a tree. A bird that flies doesn't do dumbbell flys or do shoulder raises; he moves his wings to reach high altitudes and holds them in position to glide and soar around the sky. Move with efficiency using the muscles needed to move.
      

      
       

          Hope you got enough to go on to understand that it's not just a program of different exercises but it's a program that brings excitement, logical variety to use the muscles the way they were meant to. Having fun and getting a kick out of making the most of your body without spending a whole mess of useless time. Build greater endurance and strength in the shortest time possible and building an awareness that you can't get from other forms of fitness and you can do them just about anywhere with no equipment and without needing to go to a machine infested gym. You can kick ass with intensity, sweat and doing it without breaking a smile. Play into them and find the right progression that you can build on to take you to the next level.
      

      
       

          Be awesome guys and welcome to a new week.