I'm one of those guys who loves intense workouts such as 250 push-ups and 400 squats, lifting heavy for an hour with my boys when I get the chance, do 30 min. Animal Workouts, bend a few spikes in a row, finishers that are pure ass kickers; I love that stuff but I also love the recovery workouts as well. Most never realize how much recovery is just as important as the intense ones themselves. When I do recovery workouts its usually exercises at a lighter intensity and a good portion of the time are what I call Playful Movements; combining the elements of stretching, Animal Flow, Regeneration & Ginastica Natural where its really just messing around and playing but also have it being more meditative and fun.
The body needs to repair itself but that's not going to happen if you kick its ass day in and day out every single day of the week, you're not a pro athlete and even if you were, recovery needs more attention than you'll want to believe. I've worked out among some heavy duty guys and very few I ever say truly did some recovery training. I don't do very much of the "warm up" stretches before my workouts for a number of reasons, one being that a lot of workouts have an automatic stretching element in them so I do get limber and loose as I go throughout the training. Some days however like yesterday I had to take it easy on my shoulders and my legs after a heavy deck of cards workout and muscle control exercises so I did exercises that didn't put a lot of heavy stress on those particular muscles such as bridging exercises, DVR Exercises (Dynamic Visualized Resistance) & the Chest Expander to stretch the shoulders from various angles (awesome tool for those who've had shoulder issues).
Make recovery workouts a part of your regimen regardless of what system you're on. If you can't function at a high level you won't be at your best. Do daily training by being intense less than a few days a week and do recovery workouts on your "off' days and the reason why I put it in quotes was because there's no such thing as a day off, even if it means going for a 30 min. walk/hike or swimming or bicycling or even just to have a field day playing a sport with your buddies. Be active.
Your training is not going to die if you do a recovery day or 2; some people need a week or more because that's just how the body works. It gets to me sometimes when people are so idiotic to think that if they train the same as a pro athlete to get the results they want its going to magically happen. Pro Athletes train hard for a specific purpose and that's for their particular sport. It's not meant for the average person to be going that hard for a period of time; you need recovery, healthy food intake and the right kind of exercise meant for your body type & or leverage. I'm learning this myself but unlike the majority of brain dead people out there I know when its time to back off and do things to get me back to what I want to do. Recover well and do so being mindful and open to the idea that you know what, its ok to not be so intense all the time, its ok to take it easy and do something lighter; you're still doing something and you're keeping yourself consistent. Its not easy by any stretch but with consistency you are creating a life-long element that leads you on the path to a kick ass life well beyond your years.
Monday, May 30, 2016
Friday, May 27, 2016
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.
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.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
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.
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.
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