Today is my HIIT Day and I'm going to dominate it with a vengeance doing 4 different Burpees for 8 Intervals for 30 Sec. On & 90 Sec. Off; that works best for me and seeing results with this method. Yesterday however was just a brutal and a bit of a longer workout where I took out my deck of The Matt Furey Exercise Bible and hammered out Hindu Squats, Hindu Push-ups, V-Ups & Tablemakers. Normally it takes me a good 45 minutes or so to finish the deck but since its been a while it took much longer to finish but I finished it nonetheless.
When it comes down to it, using basic exercises and molding them into a conditioning workout with a deck of cards is one of the best ways to get in awesome shape period. I have done the deck in a variety of ways; from animal exercise to Squats & Push-ups and the Matt's Exercise Bible and it never gets easier every time. I train to be in the best shape possible for my size and changing things up works my brain better because if I repeat too many of the same workout I get bored and become grumpy. That's the beauty of a good deck, it's never the same and the reps change with every workout. This is the same format that Karl Gotch used on his wrestling students and beat the holy hell out of them. Although it took me a while, in between cards I didn't just lay down and die, I stretched and did plenty of deep breathing and drinking water, I was determined to beat that sumbitch come hell or high water and if it meant taking a breather every now and then I did so but when I was ready I hammered them out.
At first, you're going to need to take breaks because your body is not use to that kind of stress and if you go too fast too early you can hurt yourself and you're going to need an iron lung. Build yourself up, takes less breaks each workout, let your conditioning come naturally and never give up and break away from the cards. Remember, they're just a plastic-coated pieces of paper yet the longer you go, the more you may hear them screaming at you to quit. The more conditioned you are, the less breaks you'll take and eventually you'll be bursting through them like a cake walk and when that happens, you'll be extremely fit and you'll be looking more like an athlete with the stamina to back it up.
This type of workout has been used by athletes from all kinds of sports like Pro Wrestling, MMA, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and many others. Some of the most famous stars have done this workout to maintain insane shape from guys like Ric Flair, Ray Lewis, Ken Shamrock and others. It doesn't have to be the same exercises you can change them up to say Burpees, Sit-ups, Pull-ups, Kettlebell Swings, Sandbell Slamming, Battling Ropes, Hitting a tire with a sledgehammer (A personal favorite of mine) or whatever you decide. It gives you variety and an ever changing landscape of building great conditioning and being in shape fast. Here are some cards to look into that are pretty awesome and can be a motivator instead of those boring generic cards....
Indiana Jones
Animals
Superheroes
Football (Oakland Raiders)
Get in shape and make it interesting. Remember my motto "It doesn't get easier, just more interesting." In the words of The Nature Boy "Learn to live with it and learn to love it."
Monday, October 24, 2016
Friday, October 21, 2016
Making A Mean Program Using Burpees
There aren't many courses dedicated to the Burpee but one I found truly does that and then some. It's written and published by MMA Conditioning Specialist Funk Roberts called 50 Shades Of Burpees. Here's the scoop on it...
Just when you think there were only a few variations of the Burpee, good ole Funk puts the cherry on top of a giant cake with 200 Variations and over 50 workouts ranging from Sports to MMA, Conditioning, Beginner & Advanced. The names alone are pretty awesome but once you see what the workouts consists of it makes it even more bad ass. Although its geared towards Finisher Circuits and Tabata Style Circuits, it can still inspire other ways of High Intensity Interval Training.
Learn the history of the Burpee and why its practically pound for pound one of the best if not the best in getting a heavy workout anywhere anytime using little to no equipment that burns fat, builds muscle and adds on HGH like there's no tomorrow. To me the price was well worth it and i'm just touching the surface of the amount of variations I've tested myself on. Understand why its a staple for conditioning for world-class athletes, military and law enforcement recruits to test the wills of individuals who seek and are demanded high quality endurance and toughness. For examples of the variations check out the Video below.
44 Of The Greatest Burpees Ever
Just when you think there were only a few variations of the Burpee, good ole Funk puts the cherry on top of a giant cake with 200 Variations and over 50 workouts ranging from Sports to MMA, Conditioning, Beginner & Advanced. The names alone are pretty awesome but once you see what the workouts consists of it makes it even more bad ass. Although its geared towards Finisher Circuits and Tabata Style Circuits, it can still inspire other ways of High Intensity Interval Training.
Learn the history of the Burpee and why its practically pound for pound one of the best if not the best in getting a heavy workout anywhere anytime using little to no equipment that burns fat, builds muscle and adds on HGH like there's no tomorrow. To me the price was well worth it and i'm just touching the surface of the amount of variations I've tested myself on. Understand why its a staple for conditioning for world-class athletes, military and law enforcement recruits to test the wills of individuals who seek and are demanded high quality endurance and toughness. For examples of the variations check out the Video below.
44 Of The Greatest Burpees Ever
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Getting Back To The Bridge
Hey Bad Asses,
I've been getting back into Bridging lately mainly to stay in good shape but more importantly keeping my spine and abs strong especially when it comes to recovery from my Burpee HIIT Workouts. It's important to keep your neck and spine healthy even in various sports like Football, Wrestling, MMA and others. I have been off and on doing Bridging Exercises for over a decade now and even at 32 Its important to maintain that healthy spinal cord and keeping the core strong well into my 40's in the next decade and beyond. Sure I'm young and still vibrant compared to those in those in their 50's and 60's but at the same time I feel bad for those poor souls in their 20's and in my age range already having issues with their joints, aching backs and thinking they're "invincible" and testing their limits in just everything. I'm all for having a great time and testing what you're capable of but at some point, certain things will come back and bite you in the ass if you don't take care of yourself.
I've read reports on crossfitters as young as 17 already having back surgeries and tearing their joints to death before they're even fully developed. Young girls in their 20's putting on way too much muscle for their structure to handle and training hard as much as 6 days a week and busting up their bodies like its a prestigious thing to do. I get it; the excitement, temptation and the belief that if you push yourself to the max you'll go far. Actually the opposite is true; when you don't give yourself the time to recover, being aware of your body's ability to regenerate and not progressing according to your body's needs you will get hurt and have injuries you can never come back from.
Back to me talking to you about my latest bridging endeavors; whether on my days off or some time before my big HIIT Workouts I've been working towards slowly building back the type of flexibility I had back in my 20's where going into bridge wasn't all that difficult with or without a wall, hold a gymnastic bridge well and bridging for health reasons not for the glory of being crazy flexible and strong in the exercises themselves. Last night I did 3 types of bridges just before I started writing this. It helped clear my brain, felt more relaxed and getting that endorphin high that only bridging can give me. This is the type of training that opens up the body in a very meditative manner, its intense but not hardcore. Its not only a way to build strength but also put muscle on the legs, back, abs & yes the neck. Most people cringe seeing someone holding a position where their head and feet are the only body parts touching the floor and of course its not for everyone yet the percentage of that is extremely low. Its understandable but when you don't give into fear and look at what its really capable of in terms of your overall health, the way it could protect from very harmful injuries and be the very reason your spine is as strong as it can be. I could easily hold a 3 min. back bridge cold if I wanted to but doing only one type of bridge will have me neglecting the other muscles in the neck and work my abdominals from another position. The Back Bridge or wrestler's bridge extends the abdominal wall while the front bridge is the flexion of that position. You want to have your muscles working in the best positions possible working opposite areas of the body not from an isolation standpoint but utilizing the body as a whole.
Bridging is one of the areas of exercise that has helped stayed injured-free for years; I've never had a spinal injury, never bruised my neck, never had a concussion and have kept my back so strong I've never really had to take as much as an asprin or muscle relaxer when it had a spasm or two. I feel healthier and stronger when I bridge & I get into a greater state of meditation than through any other method. It puts me into a state of mind that is calming and soothing even though it is an intense contraction or isometric hold throughout the exercise. You can learn more about by checking out my friend Logan Christopher's course called Advanced Bridging. Its got info on everything he knows about the Bridge from the simple holds to doing insane athletic moves, some of which I learned personally from him. He is the main reason why I love Bridging so much, he doesn't just teach the exercises, he goes into the very depths of the underworld on Bridging and what it can accomplish with the right strategies for flexibility, conditioning and unbelievable level of strength & agility that you won't get from anything else.
Learn about it and let me know what it has done for you. Always love finding out from others what they think of courses like this.
Have a great day and keep in touch. You all are awesome.
Big Ben
I've been getting back into Bridging lately mainly to stay in good shape but more importantly keeping my spine and abs strong especially when it comes to recovery from my Burpee HIIT Workouts. It's important to keep your neck and spine healthy even in various sports like Football, Wrestling, MMA and others. I have been off and on doing Bridging Exercises for over a decade now and even at 32 Its important to maintain that healthy spinal cord and keeping the core strong well into my 40's in the next decade and beyond. Sure I'm young and still vibrant compared to those in those in their 50's and 60's but at the same time I feel bad for those poor souls in their 20's and in my age range already having issues with their joints, aching backs and thinking they're "invincible" and testing their limits in just everything. I'm all for having a great time and testing what you're capable of but at some point, certain things will come back and bite you in the ass if you don't take care of yourself.
I've read reports on crossfitters as young as 17 already having back surgeries and tearing their joints to death before they're even fully developed. Young girls in their 20's putting on way too much muscle for their structure to handle and training hard as much as 6 days a week and busting up their bodies like its a prestigious thing to do. I get it; the excitement, temptation and the belief that if you push yourself to the max you'll go far. Actually the opposite is true; when you don't give yourself the time to recover, being aware of your body's ability to regenerate and not progressing according to your body's needs you will get hurt and have injuries you can never come back from.
Back to me talking to you about my latest bridging endeavors; whether on my days off or some time before my big HIIT Workouts I've been working towards slowly building back the type of flexibility I had back in my 20's where going into bridge wasn't all that difficult with or without a wall, hold a gymnastic bridge well and bridging for health reasons not for the glory of being crazy flexible and strong in the exercises themselves. Last night I did 3 types of bridges just before I started writing this. It helped clear my brain, felt more relaxed and getting that endorphin high that only bridging can give me. This is the type of training that opens up the body in a very meditative manner, its intense but not hardcore. Its not only a way to build strength but also put muscle on the legs, back, abs & yes the neck. Most people cringe seeing someone holding a position where their head and feet are the only body parts touching the floor and of course its not for everyone yet the percentage of that is extremely low. Its understandable but when you don't give into fear and look at what its really capable of in terms of your overall health, the way it could protect from very harmful injuries and be the very reason your spine is as strong as it can be. I could easily hold a 3 min. back bridge cold if I wanted to but doing only one type of bridge will have me neglecting the other muscles in the neck and work my abdominals from another position. The Back Bridge or wrestler's bridge extends the abdominal wall while the front bridge is the flexion of that position. You want to have your muscles working in the best positions possible working opposite areas of the body not from an isolation standpoint but utilizing the body as a whole.
Bridging is one of the areas of exercise that has helped stayed injured-free for years; I've never had a spinal injury, never bruised my neck, never had a concussion and have kept my back so strong I've never really had to take as much as an asprin or muscle relaxer when it had a spasm or two. I feel healthier and stronger when I bridge & I get into a greater state of meditation than through any other method. It puts me into a state of mind that is calming and soothing even though it is an intense contraction or isometric hold throughout the exercise. You can learn more about by checking out my friend Logan Christopher's course called Advanced Bridging. Its got info on everything he knows about the Bridge from the simple holds to doing insane athletic moves, some of which I learned personally from him. He is the main reason why I love Bridging so much, he doesn't just teach the exercises, he goes into the very depths of the underworld on Bridging and what it can accomplish with the right strategies for flexibility, conditioning and unbelievable level of strength & agility that you won't get from anything else.
Learn about it and let me know what it has done for you. Always love finding out from others what they think of courses like this.
Have a great day and keep in touch. You all are awesome.
Big Ben
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