A Deck Of Wild Cards

I was reading an older article of mine yesterday and it got me thinking; a workout that was simple, basic but fun to do and can be done quickly so I ended up doing it. It was a deck of cards workout that would be cool to share with that can aid in amplifying conditioning in a very cool and very unboring way.

So for today you don't get 1 but 2 workouts that can get you going. This was a very cool session of flipping a card and getting to move like a wild animal. The objective is to get through the deck as fast as you can but still on good form and getting them lungs firing. It didn't take me too long to get through the deck so it wasn't difficult but wasn't easy either. Most of the cards had me bending my legs either in a full deep squat or partial squat that really hit the muscles everywhere. You pick 4 animals to the regular cards like spades, clubs ect. but the jokers if you had two or three you pick up to 2-3 animals so you can get a variety of movement that isn't on one area of muscles but multiple muscle groups.

I have a deck of Indiana Jones playing cards that are just bad ass to use working out or not and that alone fires me up because come on man its Indy. If you can find a deck of wild animals on the cards that's even better because it gives you a better visualization; oh wait a second I think I found some here. This kind of workout can be done by anyone and you can go as fast or slow as you want all that matters is its fun and doesn't feel like working out. Here is the example I'm speaking of...

Spades= Bear Crawls
Clubs= Monkey Crawl
Hearts= Duck Walks
Diamonds= Chimp Walk
Jokers= Octopus/Starfish/Condor

You can pick other animals if you wish, be creative and do your favorites. For reps its very simple; face value is 2-10 as you see on the cards, Aces are 11-20, King/Queen/Jack is 10-15. Set a timer and have at it. If you can't get through the deck at first that's ok keep building up. Once you beat the deck go for time and really spice up the intensity but don't ever lose form and get sloppy, we want you to be safe and have fun not be lazy and injure yourself. Pay attention to your breathing, count out loud if you want I do that but my motto is to count backwards instead of forward. If it becomes too easy no matter animal you throw in the mix, double the reps and really make it interesting. Normally a deck of cards for training is usually doing Push-ups & Squats which are great i''ve done it many times but I tend to get bored with doing the same one or two movements; my philosophy is to make things interesting and enjoyable but challenging as well. Push-ups & Squats are foundational exercises for sure but eventually it can wear thin and its going to be really boring going just up and down. With Animal Exercises you move in all sorts of directions and your imagination is more open to possibilities.

Have fun with this workout and let me know how it goes for you.

Product Of The Day: Animal Kingdom Conditioning

My all-time favorite fitness book. This course takes away those "human" exercises that can be so tedious and boring and take you to a world full of wonders, possibilities and most of all the imagination. Learn about the strength of animals as you go through this course and mimic the very best of the wild kingdom. There's exercises that have going on all fours, jumping on two feet, hopping on one leg and having you moving more naturally forward, backwards, side ways, long ways, up ways and down ways (sorry got into my willy wonka mode, I miss Gene Wilder RIP bro). It takes you into the jungle that can aid in building functional strength, conditioning, endurance, mobility, brain activity, tendon strength and much much more.

Darebee Of The Day: The Ivy Workout

Now this workout does have simple bodyweight exercises but you can make them even more fun when you ladies imagine yourself as Gotham's Villainous Goddess of Plants World (that was a mouthful). This fun workout has you doing movements that are based on that of the Ballerina & Yoga that strengthens and tones the muscles in the arms, legs and butt so you know you're training those hard to develop type muscles that women are frustrated with. Takes roughly 35 minutes to complete or you can make it shorter by either doing only 3 sets at Level 1 or you can build yourself up progressively by cutting the reps in half and go from there. If you're a lean and mean Goddess of Plants you can double the reps and see how far you get or go for 10 sets of the regular reps, if you can pull that off you would make the majority of men envy of your conditioning and not to mention having an insanely built physique of a Greek Goddess. Enjoy....

Does Music Have An Importance In Training?

I'm part of a 2-sided coin o whether to listen to music while training. Now hear me out (no pun intended) I do believe music is great to workout with but at the same time, it depends on the type of training you do. If you listen to any type of music that you love do so but look at this type of perspective; Music is great but also focusing on your mind and body as one is just as important.

Some people listen to music while training because it revs up the adrenaline and gets them into that "zone" which is awesome I do it too but also at the same time, its very difficult to pay attention to your breathing and focusing on the mental aspects of training like utilizing visualization & internal energy. Sometimes music can be distracting when it comes to training in certain aspects like Qi Gong, Yoga & other meditative practices. Maybe its just me but my preference is to listen to music during intense training where I can move with the beat and shred it up with the movement yet when I train in qi gong, DDP Yoga or Theater Of The Mind meditations I do without any music whatsoever for specific purposes; I want to pay attention to how I breathe and I want to view my mind's eye without any distractions because it works better for me that way.

It is important to have motivation and spice up that energy to train at your very best but its also important to quiet your mind and listen to your inner self so that's where music can be very distracting because you're not just blocking out your mind, you're blocking out the energy of within that can generate greater power than you think. I listen to tunes while I write because the sounds enhance my brain waves thus having more creative ideas but I also look within without music and see the writing without needing to hear the tunes.

So is music really that important? depends on your preference but in reality you want to be a master of being able to train with or without tunes; its very different when you shut out the world and your mind and another thing when you open your mind without a shred of distraction. Do what works for you but read my words and learn the difference between training with or without music. It all comes down to how aware you are and how you feel when you have done both. Trust me its very tempting to listen to tunes but for a few sessions go without tunes and focus on the breathing plus the movement. If you can't hear yourself breathe, you're not breathing correctly.

Product Of The Day: Upgrade Your Breath

Our greatest sense of power and strength doesn't come from how big the muscles are or how good we look, its the way we breathe and how it can be our greatest asset in our training or being our greatest enemy. It can help us relax, increase our endurance, enhance our speed & strength and it can even put us in a state of mind where you are calm in every sense of your surroundings. Most of all, it doesn't cost you a damn thing and yet we take it for granted. You can go weeks without food, days without water but you can die in a matter of minutes or less without breathing. Breathing is what made the weakest become the strongest, breathing is what helps you fall asleep, breathing is what gives you that strength to lift the heaviest weight, breathing is what gives you the greatest endurance & its breathing that can increase your flexibility & youth. Double your lung capacity just by using breathing techniques, activate your organs by these breathing techniques that enhance digestion, energy, blood flow and more. Grab this course and power up on the breath.

Darebee Of The Day: Boxer Endurance

How do these athletes have such crazy stamina to last 12 rounds or more in the ring? By training for that specific reason. Get those lungs firing by testing your will in this workout that will make you sweat, breathe harder than usual and breaking down those muscle fibers down to the smallest crease. Some boxers back in the day fought for more than 25 rounds. The closest I can think with that kind of endurance are wrestlers that need stamina to stay in a match from start to finish. You want an idea on how much conditioning is worth in a fight? Look up the UFC Fight between Maurice Smith & Mark Coleman.

The Way Of The Animal

With all the latest fitness fads today and the body shaming its no wonder we are confused, disoriented, quick to judge and killing the spirit of helping one another. I'm not putting down those that do Crossfit or practice extreme levels of fitness that's great for them and wish them the best but what needs to be realistic is the notion that in order to be fit you need to push yourself to the very brink of puking, passing out, getting injured just to prove how fit you are is sadistic, cold-hearted & just plain psychotic. I know what it's like to nearly pass out and get hurt in training and i'm telling you right now its not worth it. If your body can handle the stress that's one thing but if you're taking unnecessary risks to make yourself fitter its not worth killing yourself.

The human body can only take so much and putting it through so much stress that it ends up in the ER over a stupid workout will only add pain into your later years. I too have gone into the unknown of how far to push the body that was according to my size, age, stress levels & the will to go as far as I was willing to and i'm going to tell you right now your life is more precious than that. I do believe in being mentally tough to go through physical training but not to the brink on a daily basis or prove to myself that no matter how hard I train its never enough. That's why I train in the way of the animal.

Animals strive because they know they're not perfect, they don't give a damn what other animals think of them; they survive, they are predators & preys, they fight or run like hell & the offspring learn how to develop these elements by playing. Animals move naturally, they don't jog, they sprint like its a life or death situation, they have nothing to prove but be an animal living among other animals. We are the only species on the planet that fears more than we can talk about, we strive for perfection instead of striving for true development of our bodies and minds. Even in the fitness world, if you have a physique that is full of sculpted muscle & low bodyfat that somehow makes you superior than anyone else. Animals don't care how muscular you are or how much you can bench or how you compete to lift the heaviest weight, if they get a hand on you, chances are you'll die instantly if not live long enough to be in excruciating pain and die from injuries.

Moving like a wild animal builds real strength, develops functional muscle instead of grotesque comic book muscle, burns fat and put on lean muscle mass that increases hormones, metabolism, energetic stamina (I know redundant lol) and strengthens the brain. Moving like a wild animal gives you protective strength meaning builds strength in the tendons and opens up the joints so in turn can develop mobility and flexibility. This type of training is simple, to the point & isn't complicated to learn. If I were to learn any other method besides this and Isometrics it would be developing real man strength and old school muscle building that develops a crushing grip, hardens the tendons, makes you hungry as hell afterwards and creates an injury-proof body.

The power of the animal is not just in the movements, its the development of going into another state of mind that pits you against you, not against a clock or a series of obstacles that will cause you to break your leg or tear joints because of a misplaced area of the weight. Animal Movement is freedom, its structured but at the same time can change just by a single placement of an hand or leg and doesn't have strict rules.

Product Of The Day: Baran Brother's Basic Bodyweight Building Blocks

How many B's can you find in one title of a course LOL. Seriously though, for most, its tough starting a fitness program where it can be a struggle to keep up or feel that its too tough or not enough for you to start with. That's where this course comes in, it lays out a foundation where you're in the driver seat and the exercises are your key to put in the ignition. No confusion, no playing around the bush and no BS about where to start and how to progress. Be able to exercise anywhere, anytime without useless equipment and the freedom to listen to any music you want and do exercises that take off flab, build muscle and increase energy all in less than 20 minutes a day.  Do them at any age and its for all fitness levels from the complete beginner to world-class athletes. I do some of these very same exercises in my own training to help me recover, pick a variety on those days where I don't want to be so intense and they help me regenerate when I push myself hard.

(DOD): The Highlander Workout

"There can be only one." This workout gives you a piece of the type of training to prepare for battle of the sword and get ready for the quickening. An immortal is only as powerful as his/her conditioning and awareness for survival. If you're not ready for the fight you might find yourself getting your head cut off. Be ready for what lies ahead and be in the best shape because there are those that are gunning for you and they won't stop until your head is clean off your body. If you want more training then you'll have to look for Connor or Duncan Macleod of the Clan MacLeod's.