What Deck Are You Using?

Over the last few days killing it on the deck of cards workout, its gotten me into a rhythm that keeps me interested and keeps me on my toes. The workout goes by fast when you really get into it, it sucks the first time around but once you really hit a stride and your body hits into automatic mode; time just flies by. For the most part I don't like using plain old regular bicycle decks or poker cards that are just generic and boring. I've been using an app on my android that gives me this workout and I can type in the name of an exercise whether I want to do 2 or 4 exercises.

Most decks are pretty dull when you look at them so whether its my app or the decks I do have I make it interesting and shoot for a fun filled deck that keeps me motivated and having a great time kicking ass. My favorite deck to use is my Indiana Jones Playing Cards; nothing is more satisfying and more bad ass than seeing the adventurous archaeologist on the card and telling what's coming next. The beauty about this is you never know what card you'll end up getting since I never do the same workout twice. What deck do you like to use?  

I mainly use this for my bodyweight workouts and later on this summer will use them in my hammer workouts which will be no more than twice a week. Its a great tool to use on the road or just wanting to train in your home. I've done this many times and have hit high numbers from doing this doing 4 exercises to just doing Push-ups & Squats at a total of 250 & 400. It'll get you fitter, leaner, great cardio and muscular endurance training, strength, flexibility, great for speed, fat loss, muscle building & not to mention tons of testosterone building. You need only a couple other things for this and that's a towel & a bottle (gallon most likely) of water. Some workouts range from 20-40 min. Some of my workouts last a little over an hour since I like using as great form as possible and take not laying down and die rests but deep breathing in between cards and get oxygen going.

Old-Time Wrestlers used this workout to get in shape such as Ric Flair, Karl Gotch, Ken Shamrock, Tatsumi Fujinami & other Japanese stars have used this to get in phenomenal condition. You don't need to be a pro wrestler to benefit from this, do the best of your abilities, rest only when needed and do tons of deep breathing, it'll help your cardio immensly. I believe next to animal exercise & sprints the very best cardio there is. You don't need much space to do this. For the time being keep your exercises the majority of push-ups and squats; you can add other exercises too like Burpees, sit-ups, pull-ups, mountain climbers & V-ups but make at least the first two a push-up and a squat. My current exercises are the Hindu Push-up, Tiger Bend Squat (variation of the Hindu Squat taught by John Peterson), Hindu Jumpers & Mountain Climbers; this workout alone is an ass kicker and takes me around 25-35 min. to finish give and take my deep breathing between cards. Want to get really ambitious, finish off the workout with the Front & Back Bridges, its nuts and really for the insane trainees but its fun and really tests your mental game.

Have fun and rock that deck. I'll be rooting for you.

Lifelong Fitness Is Better Than Momentary Fitness

Being in shape doesn't always mean six pack abs and arms that look like cannonballs. Training for life is key and the best way to do it is to maintain your body as best as possible as injury/pain-free as possible. It's always an adrenaline to test your numbers and how much you can lift at a certain age and your endurance levels plus keeping up with a tight body those are all cool things but the truth is you won't always be able to maintain the same things in your 80's like you did in your 20's or 30's.

For those of us in our 20's and 30's are in the prime of our testosterone peaks, we can handle stress far greater than most twice our age and we feel invincible at times. I trained very hard to get where i'm at today but once I hit a certain age I do need to train differently although I'm mostly a bodyweight guy, I tend to just stick to the basics (Push-ups, Squats, Bridging & some Ab Work) while I also move around heavy hammers, qi gong exercise and Self-Resistance Training. Train to help you live longer, not beat you down and feel like a cripple.

Momentary Fitness is the type of training that is for the extremely hardcore fanatics that take exercise to levels that doesn't need to be done. Crossfit in most cases does training that lasts momentarily until someone ends up in the hospital and needs a hip replaced before their prime or have shoulder surgery and is out for 3 months. Other similar systems don't look for the long-term, just drive your body into the ground and after a few years even at age 30 some might feel like an 80 year old man; that's truly messed up and whoever pushes themselves that hard aught to get their brain scanned for insanity.

I do believe in challenges and testing yourself but not on a frequent basis and go to extremes just to prove what you can do. Most of the time people go to extremes to impress others just so they feel approval and tell everyone how fit they are. Being fit is not about impressing others or pushing yourself to keep up with someone else, its truly how you keep up with your persistence and progressing little by little and getting better at something overtime. I'm not the fittest guy in the world, no one is but I can do things at my age, my size that most can't; its not bragging (just a tad) its because I have proven to myself not someone else that I can do something and get better at it or do things because I want to and not get injured. I've had enough injuries in my time that its better to stay within a range that works and keeps me happy. I've broken both legs, cracked my head open, dented my knees, scrapped my arms, nearly cracked my ribs, taken shards of glass out of my bare hand and have been so stiff everything hurt if I moved so don't tell me about your little boo boos on your elbows or cry about having busted shoulders from your bench pressing its not going to fly.

Do things that make you feel young and vibrant, things that help you have energy well beyond your years and do things that challenge you but never need to go to the hospital for. I've read lists of people who have been in the hospital for injuries from exercising too hard. I never once in over 10 years gone to the hospital because of something from an exercise. I rarely ever have been in the ER the last few years and that is due to my judgement and how I keep my body healthy. The only time I went to the ER since my accident was for a stomach virus and was seriously dehydrated that's it.

Train with purpose but look at it from a long-term perspective. Be mindful and listen to your body.

Being In Top Condition For Life

Regardless of age it's always awesome to be in top shape. Whether you're in sports, business or just want to look awesome and be full of energy; training for life-long conditioning is a must if you want to live a quality life. Sure you can be over 80 and still be lucky to be alive but the majority of those in that age range or even 20 years before then have a lot of major issues that halts their health, happiness, quality of shining energy and more.

It's not a bad thing to look good and have a body that turns heads but if you have problems on the inside all that outer appearance won't mean jack. I don't look like a greek god or a adonis that is just so damn beautiful; i'm just a guy that likes to train and maintain good health and quality of life by laughing and learning what I can. I train for life, I don't go for max weight or reps or do anything to failure, just do things that make me happy and help me stay in shape. That's part of my current training by taking basic old school exercises and get in the best shape I can without injuring myself and feel like that one day at 19 where I couldn't even lift my head out of bed because I was so stiff.

Living a long life is a great feat for anyone but why live a long life of physical pain, full of arthritis, joint inflammation and weak legs? Train for quality, not for quantity. It takes a bigger person mentally to rather maintain their health by training and challenging the body rather than reminiscing what you were able to do. I don't plan on doing another 1000+ Squats in a workout anytime soon because why would I need to? There's no point but I want to be able to do more than 100 as I get older. It's that mindset most can't truly understand because its that "I want it now and I need it fast." Knowledge is first but wisdom becomes your greatest ally when you open doors for yourself and give the next generation a chance to learn. A painter didn't start out great and when he masters his craft he makes more mistakes than a beginner can even begin to touch. Live with purpose but live for what's important.

Make the most out of your training by developing knowledge on how to maintain your strength throughout your life and how to use it whenever you choose. Whether momentary or for long periods of time if you stay in top shape regardless of what you do, you'll be light years ahead of your peers or those in your age groups.