The Basics For Bodyweight Training In A Circuit

 For years, I've been doing circuits since I first started doing them in the gym as a teenager which that first one ever nearly made me go to the hospital. I was about 19 at the time and experimenting different things I learned in the bodybuilding books I had like Ironman & A Bodybuilding Encyclopedia that featured workouts from the top guys that included Arnold, Lou, Franco, Boyer Coe and others. For real, I tried this circuit of weights and machines and not even halfway in, I was hyperventilating so much I rushed into the bathroom, sat down (which was a really bad idea) and nearly blacked out. For a split moment I thought I was going to die.

Didn't do another circuit after that until I was rehabbing from my accident and learned a few things based on Combat Conditioning from Matt Furey. That was my first taste of circuit training which at the time, wasn't anywhere near the level I can do now but it was an interesting experiment for me and would do it once in a blue moon. 

When I learned about Darebee after years of Bodyweight Training and Conditioning, it lit a spark in me to work on them. Some circuits were easy to get through, others were a bitch and tough as hell (Those Batman & Daredevil Workouts, dear god man). At first, I'd just work into them doing the amount of circuits it tells you what level you're at. Within some time, I wanted to go even further and do 10 Rounds of a circuit and that's where I felt it gave me the best benefit. Not just the amount of rounds but to rest as little as possible if at all. I really wanted to test my conditioning and to keep the timing down. I don't believe I went more than 45 minutes doing these, kept it between 10-30 minutes. 

The one thing I like about circuits is that they test you on the basics. You can do more advanced exercises or whatever reps you want to do per exercise but the basics is where things shine the brightest. The advanced stuff looks cool and they have benefit but in the long run, the basics are what make the difference. Yesterday, I did a bodyweight circuit consisting of Split Lunges, Hindu Squats, Push-Ups & Punches and that was it. 

10 Split Lunges (5 Each Leg)

10 Punches

20 Hindu Squats

10 Punches

5 Push-ups

10 Punches

5 Push-ups

10 Rounds with the only rest in between circuits is marking it off. Total was 100 Split Lunges, 300 Punches, 200 Hindu Squats and 100 Push-ups. Worked up a pretty good sweat. Wasn't too difficult but it wasn't easy to do either. It was great, "warming up" beforehand doing Neck Mobility & Joint Loosening Training. A workout that really kicks off the day and having that surge of strength running all around you. It was basic, simple and can be done anywhere. 

Circuits provide some good testing of mental toughness as well because you're going from one exercise to the next without a break and to stay focused while having the best form possible and learning how to pace yourself. Let the speed come naturally but at the same time, don't be slacking off either.

Come check out Darebee.com and see which workouts would work for you. You can modify them if you wish to make an exercise variation easier or harder. Mainly bodyweight style so many of these can be done anywhere you can do them in. You are your own gym, you are the equipment that has all sorts of things at your disposal. Go kill it and be Amazingly Awesome. 

That HIGH From A 1000 Rep DopamineO Workout

 Sitting here in the office, after a great shower and shave, just wanted to reflect on a workout I did on Tuesday. Brought my Dopa Band to the complex gym, had my watch on and knew what I wanted to do that day. Put on some tunes since nobody was in there and the Xmas music died down a while, put my stopwatch on and hammered out one of my 1000 Rep Circuits.

5 Exercises, 10 Reps Each and a partridge in a pear tree. Things were flowing, sweat was pouring and each song on my playlist was pumping me up like fucking crazy.....

10 Chest Flys

10 Wave Pulls

10 Butterfly Power Squats

10 Curls

10 Propellers

Each round felt greater than the last and although it was just me, the energy was roaring like the crowd in the Silverdome when Hogan slammed Andre at Wrestlemania 3. That surge of power and focus, striking each exercise with fierceness and intensity, that feeling that you can keep going and knowing you have it in you to win the battle of the band. It was like being in a meditative state where everything except the band, the music and you goes black. A universal entity that explodes with strength.

By the end, I completed 20 Rounds in 35:21. The high, that dopamine hit, nothing like it. A challenge worth the reward and a checkmark in the works for continuous conditioning training. The only real rest was marking off the circuit and getting back to it which only takes seconds. Felt invincible, a sense of relaxation yet awareness but overall, it was still that urge to want to keep going. That's the craziness in me. Maybe before the year ends in a couple weeks, I'll go for as many rounds as possible within 45 minutes to an hour.

Conditioning can be done in many ways, from weights to bodyweight, sandbags, hammers and of course bands. There is no superior method, only what gives you the greatest benefit and I believe in doing them all. If the weather was more like California, I'd be out doing these all the damn time. For now in the winter, it's bands, bodyweight and Isometrics (maybe some weights from the complex gym but that's a rare thing). The rest are in storage and they'll be ready for spring and summer. 

This band is nothing short but amazing. I love being able to move with it in so many different formations and it has made some of my other movements better and a bit more springy. I feel explosive and powerful when I use it and I love the circuits and HIIT Workouts I can do. Going for 20-30 minutes is more than enough most of the time and the rest of the day is fair game to either train some more, rest up, go for walks or hikes and just be. 

It's a feeling that's really indescribable, I can give you ideas of what it feels like but until you've done these workouts or using the Band itself for a period of time, it's not something that can easily be said. Has kept me in great shape being at 235 lbs. Always doing what I can to train my physique but for a recent photo (the only thing fake in this pic is the background, that's all me), not too shabby. Abs are coming in a bit better don't you think? 

One of the best exercises with this thing is the Propeller which anyone with this band (in good health of course) should learn to master. It hits many muscles especially the Core. Even after doing this exercise thousands of times, I'm still figuring out ways to make it better for me. It's usually the last exercise I do in my circuit training and I'll do a total of 100-200+ reps in these workouts. Rotate, Twist, Bend and Pull. Conditioning your body in a fun but unorthodox manner. Way better than any sit-up in my opinion and works well for combat sports including Wrestling, Judo, Sambo & Boxing. 

Be amazingly awesome and get your hands on one of these bad boys. Get it at Dopamineo.com and use my discount code: POWERANDMIGHT to get 10% OFF your order.    

My Sanctuary, Social Media Walk-Outs And What Helps Me At Certain Times

 We all have our struggles, our demons and what we choose to do with what's possible to keep going. I'm no different, had my fair share of battles, physically and mentally. Others have it way worse than me and I wouldn't compare myself to someone who doesn't have much but wishing they did so they can live a peaceful life. Hell, maybe it's the universe or god or whatever you want to call it that gives me a reason I'm still going strong when I was already close to death before I even knew what the word meant and able to spell. 

Have my own struggles and fears daily but also have places that I can call home, be around those I'm closest to me and be able to talk to those who care enough to listen. I'm very grateful for those things. It's never easy to ask for help but if I need it, there are people I know I can turn to. I wish others had this because many are alone in this world or feel like they're alone and have no one to turn to. At times it may be by their own mistakes or people shut them out and they end battling themselves more than what they may end up doing to themselves.

This isn't just some random rant about anything. Just what I'm thinking in my head. Have I had the worst upbringing? Hell no, but it wasn't sunshine and rainbows either. There were things I learned growing up a kid shouldn't know and understanding some of the things that could've led me down a path to drugs, drinking and smoking but didn't. I knew people who were heavy into drugs, some were and some are still very close to me. The things I saw what drinking does to people, pushed me away from it damn near to the brink where I never wanted to drink at all. Been only drunk once in my entire life and that was in my early-mid 20's and that was it. I didn't black out or anything, I was a happy drunk from what I remember but after that, having a sip of anything was the majority of the time. When it comes to drugs, I think the closest things I ever did was have a few pot brownies once and that was more than a lesson I don't want to remember. Another was when I had my sciatica injury and I was taking muscle relaxers and getting to a point I had to stop myself and just push through my own pain so I stopped taking them and focused on supplementation and other things.

There are very few things in my life that I would call my Sanctuary or things that give me a sense of peace. One will always be my workouts because when I get into them, the world shuts down and I get to create my own universe, be in a state of mind that I feel safe and get to do what makes me happy. Another is being around people I love especially my wife who's just insanely awesome and makes things in my life seem like it's a dream. Yeah, I can be a sap at times, but I'd rather be a sap than some hateful asshat with no remorse towards other human beings that don't agree with him. A third sanctuary, is my office in my apartment. Sometimes, I just sit in here, by myself and write down things, train, read or listen to music and/or meditate. It's where I'm calm, collected and get to look at things that are cool like my decks of cards, mandalas I've drawn, pictures of legends I've met and seeing what I know is me.

I've had my ups and down days like anybody else. The one thing I do believe and anybody who knows me will understand it right off the bat is that I break out into laughter at the most random things at the most random times. A certain thought I think is funny that pops into my head just has me burst out laughing to the point where people like the wife has asked "what the fuck man, the hell you laughing about." I would tell her or whoever and I get looks at times that have them questioning my sanity. In the words of Uncle Albert from Mary Poppins "I love to laugh." Either I find things funny somewhere or a random movie line/scene that comes out of nowhere just has me rolling at times. I guess that's one of the reasons why I've never had severe depression, something inside of me won't let that happen. Laughter, truly is a gift and not just a form of emotion.

For a while now when it comes to Social Media, it becomes more mind boggling how ugly it can get each and everyday. Now I still have Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tik Tok and Threads but I don't have others such as Lemon 8, Tumblr, Rumble, Truth Social or Snapchat. The first two I ended up walking away from because neither one were doing anything for me and I have no appeal for them. The rest, just a poor excuse of apps that people go on to shit talk about dumbest stuff that hold no real merit to anything relevant. Snapchat to me, is a poor man's Onlyfans. I deactivated my twitter/X account a while ago and have no desire to go back to it. It just has way too much bullshit and other things that take away other people's reach who have far better platforms than dumbasses who seem to try to be like the Mean Girls in high school, popularity that ends up hurting others. Granted some numbnuts out there have claimed that I only ended my account because of them and want credit for it and act like it's a fact. It isn't, they don't get or even deserve any credit, not to mention that they're just wanna be ego maniacs who can't fight out of a paper bag. If I were a betting man, a 16 year old nerdy girl has more fight than people like that. Besides, they're nothing more than a sag of bones that have no life and have nothing to offer other than wanting someone to put them in a chokehold just to shut him up. 

Social Media is a whirlwind but the ones I've kept, suit me well and have plenty of friends and acquaintances on them that are great people that accept me for me. There's negative bullshit on there like anywhere else but I can choose where to go and have conversations that matter. Twitter at the end of day has more people getting away with murder than anywhere else. I do miss some of the folks there like baseball fans or wrestling fans and the few friends I had there but after a while with the other stuff being shadowed, it was a "fuck this" kind of moment for me and it was a route in my journey that I didn't want to cross into anymore and I'm happy to make that choice.

Overall, sure nothing is perfect, why would it? If it were perfect, it be boring as hell. I'm in the best shape right now at 41, I've maintained and even built muscle this year I didn't expect from, I live in a great apartment with an amazingly awesome and beautiful woman, I can still train at a level that has my conditioning be where it's needed, I'm not a big spender so money isn't a huge issue and have a system in place that works, donating clothes I don't need anymore or tossing out ones that have too many holes in them and get to eat awesome food. I'd say, life is pretty damn great and it can only get better from here. We never know what tomorrow will bring but we can make it interesting. 

Hopefully you all have a great day and keep killing it. Be amazingly awesome and thank you for taking the time to read this, I do appreciate your patience.