Gymnastics For Non Gymnasts

    Sounds like a contradiction don't you think? Isn't Gymnastics specifically for athletes in that sport? Not always because Gymnastics before it was a competitive sport was entitled for those who wanted to become efficient in movement and skills that required practical strength and agility. It is the style of Calisthenics at another level of athleticism but not everyone has to be a gymnast in order to benefit from this. Some of the old-time strongmen were masters over their own body in such as ways as Hand Balancing, Acrobatics, Ring Work, Climbing and other styles of natural movement. The way I'm to let you learn is how to master your bodyweight not like a competitive gymnast but something you can do when done correctly can be used throughout your later years without the nagging injuries or age-speeding process those in the competitive field experience.

 
    Anyone with a brain can move some sort of weight around and be able to pick on things quicker than trying to master your bodyweight. A military press is far easier to learn and master than a Handstand, Pull-Downs are so freaking easy a 5 year old can manage it but how many can master the Rings; trust me I firmly believe I'm one of the heaviest men around to actually train the Rings and I'm telling you it's way harder than it looks. Just to stabilize and flex every muscle in the body just hold a steady pull-up let alone those insane skills like the Muscle-Up or Iron Cross. This isn't some Crossfit exercise to mess around with on "Fran Day" the real skills don't involve kipping or breaking your shoulder just to do little witty dips, it takes full on concentration with the muscles in proper alignment and control to make even the most basic moves look insane. Mastery over your own body is a difficult but fun task if you apply yourself with the right mindset. Being able to balance yourself in certain positions are crazy feats of strength within themselves and not just making a couple moves but a whole sequence that you can create on the floor, the rings and the Parallette Bars.

 
    When you practice these moves to create a new skill set or a new level of different skills performed you can develop sequences of movements that are not only bad ass but help you build muscle and burn fat like nothing else on the planet. Sprints may be the ultimate fat burner but bodyweight movements especially as close to Gymnastics without the hours of training as you can get are the most difficult strength feats known to man. These moves can have a profound effect on your psyche even in the beginning stages; think how cool it would be to have ninja-like moves, hold a Handstand with ease, doing incredible skills on the rings and move through the air with such strength and grace. Be able to switch from one move to the other in the blink of an eye, impress your friends with skills they never dreamed of and take on a creative plethora of skills that help you feel young and vibrant as if you were playing.

 
    These are in no shape or form isolated movements like tricep kickbacks or building an upper chest with leg extension machine; these are full body movements that require you to develop laser-like focus on the muscle control of your movements. Your Core will be tested to stabilize every muscle in your system and you will need to learn how to keep the body as straight as possible in many movements but for the most part you'll learn to jump, squat and press/pull with precise technique that will take you to new progression levels as you get better. Have some fun and learn great moves that work every muscle and do so with crazy strength and agility it'll being that awe dropping athleticism you were meant to have.

Power Of The Jungle

    It is a known fact that the more muscles you use in a given movement the more muscle is developed. We as humans can practically adapt to nearly anything within the right mindset and the right amount of logic and environment. You don't see Gorillas in the Squat Rack, you don't see a Cheetah running on a treadmill and you certainly don't see a Cricket doing the bench press. It takes a lot of strength to move in a fast way because in order to work the movement, your core needs to strong and need a good solid base within the arms and legs. We will never be strong or as fast as a wild animal (maybe not even Tarzan for that matter) but we can have an upkeep on our levels of realistic and functional fitness based on the animals we all love, admire and fear.

 
    Breaking through the "Human Exercise" concept is a physically philosophical way to look at what we can achieve in terms of real strength, stamina, speed and agility using our bodies to move in an adaptive way like the animals. When I talk about human exercises I'm talking like toe touches, lunges, push-ups and Jogging; two of these are very good no doubt but mostly everything else gets boring fast in a lot of cases. Once you have mastered a typical "Human Movement" where's the challenge after that? I'm not referring to training like MovNat or the Ido Portal Method, these are incredible forms of movement that expands the human anatomy in how we find ways to move in the most basic to advanced levels of that formality but yet Animal Movements are a different breed of training and that one should practice from time to time because you're moving in awkward positions and forming patterns of movement you can't fit in weighlifting or the machine crap. You're opening up the possibilities of finding ways to move that is more natural, vastly strengthening the tendons and organs and adding tons of Human Growth Hormone without drugs or injections. Think about that; being able to increase testosterone to fight off fat and build lean and powerful muscle, super strong tendons that are like Iron Cords and a Core that is so insanely powerful it can help you be less-prone to injury.

 
    I love moving weights (or odd objects better yet) from time to time when I feel the need to but because of the knowledge and exercise wisdom I have developed and participated in, I've kept up my strength and fitness using methods based on realistic movements and Animalized Training. I can still pick up hundreds of pounds, curl in the 70 pound range and even Row up to a 150 lbs. Dumbbell with no straps or belts or anything. When you can add in Animalized Movements into your routine or by themselves you can develop strength in areas most methods won't even touch because it is that unique and it is that damn powerful. I have learned how to adapt in how I train. It took me a long time and I still have plenty to learn but when it comes down to it, when you can adapt within other areas and develop a variety that you can be great at; you're developing knowledge most won't achieve because most people are so narrow minded they're forgetting what can be truly useful in how their potential can climb.

 
    I've said this before; we all have an inner animal within us because we have those instincts that is within our blood, that fight or flight mechanism which makes us part of the animal world in a different light. Due to the lack of what society has going on right now, it's more important now to stay as fit as possible in the long-term to help fight off disease, have a good metabolism, make better food choices not diets (the word die is already killing the word, pun intended) and build a solid base on how to stay fit with less to no injuries, stronger bones and a developed immune system. We are lacking in all these things today yet we have more resources than we know what to do with. Bring out your inner Animality and bring forth your right as a living Animal (a good portion of animals share the same blood color) to reach potential levels that the average man/woman can't even comprehend and have that advantage that will rise even among your offspring because strong children mentally and physically help create a better world.

The Art Of Movement

    We were not built to functionally utilize our universal gift of strength and athleticism through isolation. Unless you're in rehab or a "bodybuilder" that's the closest to isolating the muscles you'll be noticing or taking on. Functional is being overused and it has become a joke among the mainstream media of fitness. Functional in reality really means being able to move with whole body or certain sets of muscles in a state of realistic use. Sure you can curl a good amount but can you do a pull-up have the skill to climb? Sure you can balance a little on a bosu ball but will that really matter if you can't balance on an uneven stretch of a sidewalk? Wow you can bench press 300 lbs. good for you but will that come in handy if you need to lift up a log or a heavy boulder off of somebody? When you utilize every muscle into one given movement or series of consecutive moves you're building real functional power along with agility and awkward type strength. What I consider moving weight I'm talking some real heavy stuff none of this 3 pounds crap or 10 pound lateral raises I'm talking heavy presses, pulls, odd objects, squatting and have some crazy grip strength.

 
    When you can creatively move in various ways to achieve newfound levels of athleticism; you're developing aspects of the human body that is useful, real functional strength and putting your body in awkward positions. Whether it's Hand Balancing, Animal Flow, Gymnastics, Lifting, Crawling, Jumping & Squatting you're programming the body to be used what it was meant for. Real world training is not always up and down or left and right; it's working into positions that seem out of element to the human eye. Sure you can do a pull-up but will that fair out if you need to change positions while rock climbing? Think about it, it takes a great deal of skill and strength to move in the most amazing ways. It takes practice and a well-rounded mind and body to do things that go beyond the normal level of fitness. It's amazing to watch someone who is over 200 pounds to do Cartwheels (they're fun but I'm far from perfect) or someone with a shredded physique lifting some serious weight (without the use of steroids) and it's even amazing to be able to do what I call chain movements; mixing different moves into one fluid motion (watch Ido Portal or Mike Fitch) it is mind-blowing. Being able to climb a tree or jump in perfect motion into a lake or ocean with a beautiful dive. Be creative in how you move, when you do that, movement becomes Artistic.

 
    When you truly want to progress in how you move, there's no time table from start to finish. Progression is key but if you're constantly timing and speeding up without understanding the concept of technique and awareness you're decompressing your progress and not expanding your level of achieving great strength and agility. Timing and speed is good to a degree for testing out what you can do but the real progression is when you develop in your own timeframe and it doesn't matter if it takes you 2 minutes or 2 years; it's still your way of reaching what you want to achieve.

 
    Movement is life, we spend 1/3 of our lives practically sleeping but the other 2/3 is being on the go and using our bodies in various ways. Movement is freedom, expressing your love of what you can do and creating opportunities for yourself to move even if you're in a wheelchair or have no arms, you can make things happen when you learn to believe in the possibilities instead of the limitations. How you create those possibilities is up to you and the way you live your life through your own set of possibilities. Not everyone can perfect everything or master everything but you can however master what you see as a possibility and make things work for you in your own unique way. I was taught to do this or that or get a normal job or go to rehab when I broke my legs and do what people tell you to do and if they say you can't do it it's most likely true; but you know what, I say screw it I'm going to do what I love, I'm going to rehab by myself even if not one person is behind me and I certainly can care less what people say I can or can't do because I find the possibilities and firmly believe in what I can accomplish even in the toughest situations. Move the way you want to because you are capable of doing amazing things and that's the beauty of movement, it is an aspect of life that can be used in a variety of ways regardless of your age, sex, creed, religion, sexual orientation or possible deformity that people will ridicule you on; so show them what you are capable of despite what has become of you. Be movement and be free to challenge the norm and open the window of possibilities.