Monday, March 27, 2023

The Historical Significance Of Movement Training

 Today is going to be a history lesson (sounds boring but I'll do my best to make it as fun as I can). We're going back in time to look at the origins of Movement Training. Some good info here along with learning the benefits, positives and even the negatives. Sit back, put pedal to the medal and let's jump time at 88 miles per hour.

The time? About 10,000 years ago. As you may know (but just in case you didn't), animals don't actually need to do any form of exercise, our ancestors before the age of Crop Circles or the Agriculture Revolution didn't need to do any form of exercise either. Based on the harsh and cruel realities of life as it was, the environment of that time forced the man to be strong, incredible agile and about as athletic as it could get. Now we can even go back to the future into the 20th century (A century of our modern times) and you'll find that the most common person was in pretty good shape from the physical labor they put themselves through. The greats like Farmer Burns, Bob Peoples and others were laborers that went on to become legends in their chosen endeavor. For back then, it was part of people's lives.

Even before the 1900's, there wasn't a need to do movement type training or exercise unless you specifically wanted to obtain a physique or be fit for war, dance or even sports for that matter. From a human race perspective, we've always been interested in the potential of what the human body can do and what it could develop into in terms of building a mighty physique. When the first Olympics were going on many thousands of years ago and the rise of martial arts throughout the centuries, the ability and capability of the human body was tested in every way you can imagine. Rituals are still practiced to this day in various formats. Innovations in our modern world today have made life a bit easier and had us feel a little laidback so to speak but also stressed as hell in many cases. The quality of life has skyrocketed but in terms of the physique, it could use a tune up big time. When that vitality and vigor starts to dwindle, the mind will soon follow suit.

Many people today do lack mental toughness which could use a tune up as well and our emotional resilience does need some tough love but not so brutalized it drives a person to insanity so it's more of an individual thing. Physically moving and doing things like carrying, lifting or similarities to labor were a natural part of life and has gone by the wayside. It can create issues but we can do the best we can to move daily and as often as possible. Go for walks, lift rocks, carry sandbags, sprint on a hill or some grass, climb, hike, ride a bike, swim; whatever you can do to keep yourself from turning into the Vampire Blob from Blade. 

What else can be a solution to this? Learn from the masters of the early 1900's that took these problems head on and formed the era of Physical Culture. The precursor to MovNat was started by George Hebert whom developed the method of Natural Movement where he utilized patterns that many needed for optimal health. These included running, walking, stretching, throwing, lifting, climbing and many other things that consisted of what a human is capable or "relearn" what it means to move like a human. Bodybuilding was right alongside this with the likes of Eugene Sandow, Bobby Pandour, Maxick, Fred Rollon and others due to performing strongmen who displayed incredible muscularity. This wasn't just about muscle building either, this was more on the emphasis of function. Before the steroid era, guys like John Grimek experimented with so many things and even invented a few things as well to build an incredible body that helped many around the world. He was even an awesome gymnast, talk about training everything even though he was considered at the time a Heavyweight. 

Bodybuilders of that time were geniuses at finding what was possible to train with real intentions and not turn to drugs. If anyone really connected bodybuilding and mental power was the great Maxick. The guy could make any muscle be on their own and move with ease. Another thing was the use of light weights instead of going heavy to reduce the wear and tear on the joints. From the heart of Germany, another Physical Culturists emerged by the name of Joe Pilates. He was originally a gymnast and bodybuilder who went to become a boxer, circus act, a wrestler and a self-defense teacher. His study of Yoga and the movement of wild animals was intense. This level of experimentation was incredibly high to the degree where his method of training that now bares his name taught you how to focus the mind and control your body with such effectiveness that it was insanely efficient.

In the Eastern part of the world, many martial arts masters were so far ahead of their time that it's mind blowing like the ways of Qi Gong. From the east as well, yoga masters taught incredible aspects of flexibility and breathing techniques. Before it became a run of the mill McDonalds level of franchising, Yoga was a pinnacle practice of keeping the body healthy and strong long into old age. The real practices still go on today but few and far between.   

In the era of PED's and marketing, we've become so sidetracked it's not even funny. The days of old have seem to become more of a "lost art" and a way of saying like Indiana Jones "It belongs in a museum" type of mentality. However; in the last 25+ years or so, the style of Natural Training has brought on a second wind of popularity due to people like Rickson Gracie who learned his conditioning techniques from Brazilian Yoga teacher Orlando Cani. Gracie learned the aspects of animal crawling combing the elements of Pilates and Yoga. In Russia, Systema was a hit after the fall of the Soviet Union which is now considered to be a Martial Art. It's more than just a self defense system; it puts a high emphasis on Strength Training and Breathing Techniques. 

As the years go on, we keep developing and re-introducing the old style with modern twists and progressively bringing back that heart and soul of what the old-timers did so long ago. With the help of people of Mike Fitch, Eero Westerburg, Erwan Le Corre, Matt Schifferle and others, we can make a difference in how we bring back not only that quality of life but the practice of movement and play/experimentation to stay strong and healthy until the day we die. 

Hope this was a good learning experience and it shows you what we can do to keep the ball rolling. Be amazingly awesome and get moving.  

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

100 Seconds Of Fat Melting Training Like Nazis Standing Next To The Ark


 


Certain aspects of training can be hard as hell and you do the best of what your body allows you. Even with a strong mind, your body is quite capable of more than we give credit but there's always a limit that reaches maximum. In Sprint Training, no matter who you are, your top speed only lasts mere seconds. In those seconds however, you are training your body to tackle fat like Kevin Greene took down quarterbacks; hard, fast and with ferocious intensity. 

Sprints separate the men from the boys and turns them into lean, mean fighting machines nearly as fast as the Flash. You can have your life flash before your eyes and still see what it would be like to go so hard that you are fighting for your life at the same time. Sprints are primal, intense and full of benefits that we often ignore because of the various things that it does or doesn't do. In simple terms, Sprint Training gives off Warrior Vibes.

For 10 seconds at a time, you can imagine many things to make this as intense as it's meant to be: Chasing down somebody, running from an animal, racing your shadow, being a character, being a real life superhuman or whatever you choose to do, make it so you're creating the fastest version of yourself. Those 10 seconds can determine the ability to burn off fat at a rate that's almost unbelievable to comprehend. Now imagine working those 10 seconds multiple times and rest 2-3x as long in order to recover. It's Strength Training in its simplest form; no complicated things to do, no machines, no gym noise, nothing but you and the ground. 

Hill Sprints however make fat burning the ultimate workout that ground sprints doesn't get passed. Even by mere inches, Hills make your ground work better and you take on a whole new meaning to the words "Mental Toughness." This past Thursday and yesterday, I took on a Hill nearby the house and went as hard as my body allowed me for 10 Sprints at 10 seconds at a time. I wasn't always my fastest, but went hard as I possibly could and made each sprint and my recovery count. It's that time of year where flowers bloom, the weather gets warmer and the days are longer. It's time to hit the Hill to really make the most of what you want to achieve in having a lean physique fast. 

Like the Nazis standing and getting melted by an ancient and powerful box, your fat won't stand a chance with Hill Sprinting. Like always, pay attention to form but at the same time, pay attention to your intentions as well. This isn't some climb up a hill and going for a hike, you're going to work at the hardest you can possibly make it for those few seconds of training. Intensity is the key and your will to go hard as if your life depended on it. 100 seconds is all of the time it takes to induce the largest amount of Growth Hormone and Testosterone possible. Be able to breathe better, sleep better, eat more and feel that urge of sexual energy that every guy wants to feel. 

Training this way is only needed 2-3x a week and it's best to start off with a small number of sets and seconds if you haven't done them in a while. 4x8-10 seconds would be a good starting point, that's a max of 40 seconds of work. Each month, add one sprint and a few seconds to progressively get more out of it. Max sprints IMO shouldn't be more than 20-30 seconds and on most days, 10-15 is more than enough. Max amount of Sprints shouldn't be more than 10 because you're training merely to get leaner and stronger, you're not trying to match Walter Payton who did so many damn sprints it's a miracle his legs didn't fall off his body. At full speed may not be more than a few seconds and probably no more than 10. It's very difficult if not impossible to stay at 100% speed for 30 seconds. 

To build a program on Hill Sprints, check out Josh Bryant's 6-Week Sprint Training Guide to get you started. Also check out his Speed Training book.

Be fast, run hard and keep being amazingly awesome. 



Friday, March 17, 2023

A Realistic Outlook On Bodyweight Leg Training

Over the years, doing various aspect of Leg Training from Squats to Animal Movements and Sprinting has given my legs some serious strength and overall conditioning. From doing 1000 Hindu Squats in 33 minutes, 10-10 Sec. Sprints, Horse Stances, Overcoming Isometric Squats, tons of Duck Walks, 1000's upon 1000's of Step Ups, it has been a blessing to be able to do these things and still make progress. 

From a realistic stand point, it doesn't come right away and had to make adjustments and modifications along the way but training the legs goes beyond just building muscle and being strong long-term, it's about finding ways to prevent injuries as much as possible, train hard but not get so sore that you can't get out of bed or even be so stiff that walking hurts (at 19 I know what that was like and don't wish it on anyone). It's the ability to train and strengthen the bones, tendons and ligaments. Another plus to consistent leg work is the ability to generate great levels of HGH and natural testosterone. 

Now granted the things I've been able to do are nothing compared to people I know and have witnessed first hand so I'm no superman or world record holder. I do however know how to adapt, what to look for and who to listen to when it comes to training using simple and advanced methods of training. There are people out there who are far more skilled than me so I learn from them and work with what makes it work for my body. Logan Christopher is one of those guys. His knowledge is unbelievable and teaches far better than most people. 

In this case, I'm going to give you a small rundown on how he can help you jack up your leg training to another level utilizing simple bodyweight movements and a couple implements to create some killer workouts. His feats alone are worth the price of this type of training. What does some of this training entail? Let's take a gander....

Gaining A Full Range Of Motion Squat

For us humans, a natural position is to go all the way down and sit in a full squat. In most places in the world, this is a position where games are played, eating some good food and even resting. Here in the states however, it's not so much of these things and we treat the full squat like it's some kind of demon that tears down our knees and we sit in chairs way too much. Ultimate Guide To Bodyweight Squats can teach you how to reverse this. It teaches how to create the best form for you since not everyone learns the same way to go to Ass To Grass. Breathing patterns for performance, squatting mistakes to avoid and also to use a time challenge to hit your comfortable spot and stay there. 

Learning this and from other people, I can hold a deep squat for 10 minutes or more if I felt like and not feel pain or strain whatsoever. It helped build my flexibility and mental state. I've even meditated in this position and time just flew by. 

Squat Variations

With a variety of Squat Exercises to choose from, you can learn how to take your leg training to another level and not just hitting a certain number of reps. I'm talking about building a great level of flexibility in the hips, ankles and knees. Be able to explode on command with variations that makes you jump like a wildcat in the jungle. How to utilize multiple variations so you can get the best out of your training than just sticking to one type of squat for extended periods of time. You're getting more than 20 Variations here.

Building Up Reps For Conditioning

A short but important video on how you can build up to doing 500-1000 Squats in a single set that is effective in how you move forward in your quest for awesome leg conditioning. This is great for those who've hit plateaus and want to up the ante to amplify their training for sports, challenges and daily training. 

Tips On The Pistol Squat

This is for the nutballs who want to take their leg training to another stage of the game and perform awesome Pistol Squats. Learn specific exercises to help with your flexibility. The way you breathe and place your hands to make them easier while also using a Stomp. If you want to make Pistol Squats your bitch, this is for you crazy fuckers. 

Beyond The Pistol

Take your one-legged training up another level that separates you from the crazy to the clinically insane. Shrimp Squats, Dragon Squats, Weighted Pistols and other exercises to really test the limits of your leg training. Learn about assisted squats to help you progress to each phase, how come many big men never pull off the Dragon Squat, stretches that specifically target the exercises and exact hand positions that are crucial to the Shrimp Squat and Double Shrimp Squats (this one's a doozer). 

Get invested in your leg training. With more than 15 years of training with various Squats, Logan has been through the ringer and has tested everything he has learned so he can pass it onto you and show you the do's and don'ts of progressive leg training. When it comes to pricing, this is a steal in comparison to most courses and not some rinky dink Squat Course that charges you 149 bucks for a damn hardcover or 50 bucks for a KINDLE of just typical variations and that's it. With this course going on right now, you can get the videos and e-book for less than $100 and you'll get far more variations, instructions on what to do to progress, safety guidelines to avoid injuries at a much greater rate and train for real world flexibility, strength, conditioning, balance and a hell of a lot more. Don't settle for low quality at a ridiculous price, set your sights on the real deal that makes your investment worth while and get treated to one of the best Physical Culturists of the past 20 years. 

Get those legs going, have fun and keep being amazingly awesome. 

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