Kids & Exercise

When you’re a baby, everything is new to you and you explore all sorts of things. Babies are the most observant at this stage of life. As things progress, you begin to crawl, stand, take a few steps than before you know it, you’re off and running. As we get older, we lose sight of being observant and wanting to explore and new things.

 “The world is a mighty big place” which was said by great author and Physical Culture specialist Brooks Kubik. As we get older, the ability to learn increases but the will to learn is very different. Exercise should be one of those frontiers that needs to be explored as much as possible to see what works for us and what doesn’t, gives us the best results, helps us recover after a hard workout and what to use to make our bodies stronger. Wild animals are no different except for the fact they don’t know or even realize that they’re training. A young cub or ape learns its environment through movement and observing the surroundings plays with its own kind to train them for survival.

 Getting older is something we can’t control but we can also grow younger by using the right mindset. Taking a lesson from Peter Pan who never grew up (Unless you saw the movie Hook), he gave us the chance to see what it’s like to have fun and smile with the best of intentions also fighting for what we believe in. My best friend’s dad is the ultimate grown up kid in my opinion and although he lives a responsible life helping his wife and having raised 4 kids, he still treats everyday as if it were a kick ass day (most of the time).

 Training like a wild animal teaches both kids and adults how to have fun and not worry of just exercising but making it worth while and get to explore new ideas of movement and wonder. Kids today need more of that structure than ever before because of the rise in obesity and children not getting enough exercise in both school and out of school. When I was a kid going to daycare, I ran around all the time and playing with the other kids and doing wild and crazy imaginative stuff, I still get to do that for myself now in my late 20’s and still wanting to explore and shoot for new ideas to play around with.

 Kids deserve to be healthy and strong and teaching them a structured form of exercise is not only to keep them from getting diseases like heart problems and diabetes but exercise has been shown to increase the strength of the brain which means they can grow smarter in certain cases so the blood flow is just right. You don’t even have to tell them its exercise it’s more like play and adults can learn this too. Play tag, race, and create an obstacle course or whatever you’d like to do but also do it with them. Family exercising is a great thing to do not just to help you get in shape but for your kids as well and only needing a few minutes before they play video games or watching TV. There are kids however that have certain issues like a disability or are hyper even at a low self-esteem and exercise can help balance those things out.

 Nap time is crucial for a child’s development when it comes to growth and giving the adult some time to relax, put the kid through a little animal exercise by helping him pick out his favorite animal, play with him and sooner or later he’s going to want to sleep whether he likes it or not.  Children need structures but it doesn’t need to have corporal punishment or as a way of torturing the kid but to help him enjoy his disciplines and giving him/her the chance to learn responsibility in a safe and fun manner. It’s all about giving them what they deserve without them ever knowing it.  

There’s No Suffering In Exercise

Back in the early 90’s there was a baseball movie called A League Of Their Own and one of the most famous lines of that film was “There’s No Crying In Baseball.” If you ever get a chance, check it out it’s a great movie and one of Tom Hank’s best performances after Big. Now what does that have to do with exercise? Well, some of us do cry while training, sometimes if we get hurt and others when we accomplish a goal. Many people in fitness feel like exercise is torture and think its just another day in the gym, in the end they end up suffering and that’s something that should never happen. “There’s no suffering in exercise.”

 Most trainees put so much stress on themselves that they drain their emotional strength and mental strength to keep up with them. That’s one of the ideal problems with the fitness magazines and routines they put in there. Forget for one moment trying to look like a Ronnie Coleman or a Jay Cutler and try to realize how ridiculous these routines actually are. Almost every routine you’ll find has no realistic approach to progression and people don’t realize how painful some of are as well. I had bought a Iron Man encyclopedia when I was weight lifting back in the early-mid 2000’s and tried every possible routine to see which one worked and at one point one did work but only for a short time. I was promised that I would build strength and muscle if I did this routine often but yet one came, the other didn’t and I’ll leave that a mystery to you readers.

 You suffer because someone told you to do this for strength, that for endurance, the other for flexibility and some go awful crap for building big chests and biceps I mean seriously, who the bloody hell can manage all that let alone doing 30 min. of cardio before doing your weights and god forbid that if you can’t handle it, they’ll tell you you’re weak and shouldn’t train at all. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. To get out of your suffering, research what you want to learn, test exercises you want to do, work on the technique that suitable to your body’s structure and build your own routine. Everyone can be good at something, just because some trainer tells them their lousy and have no real strength tells me that they’re nothing but low-life scumbags. The real way to get results is to make a goal, find what works, work on technique and make the damn thing fun.

 Flipping the coin of suffering and enjoying yourself doesn’t have to be one or the other, your goal is to enjoy yourself, challenge yourself and master what you want to learn. Trainers come and go but your health is a life-long quest and if you want to make the best of it, quit seeing it as suffering and set your mind to looking forward to it and have a smile at the end. I have suffered just like everyone else at the gym and I hated training at one time and if you hate doing something you love there’s a major problem there. Mentally program yourself and you will find that if you make one little change, it can have a big impact not just building your body but building your life all together. Don’t suffer, be happy and make things happen for you.   

A Top Notch Method For HGH

Quick fixes are the biggest trend in fitness today. They want results fast, easy and with little effort as possible so for fitness trainees and celebrities alike for a movie they inject themselves with pills, steroids and needles to get that look that they always dreamed of. Not saying all do this but a good sum of them does and they’re more likely killing themselves than getting healthier.

 Artificial enhancements are quite dangerous and I’ve seen what it’s done to people and very few ever stay healthy with the right cycles but that’s another thing all together. Generating natural levels of Hormones is actually a lot simpler than you would think. Sure as we get older our hormone levels begin to drop as much as 5% by age 30 possibly younger and that shouldn’t be happening. To get the best out of saving money on supplements, pills, injections and those “creams” that some athletes use, work on specific type training. Moving at a clip where it takes a short amount of time to start breathing really hard is a sign that you’re building high levels of hormones which growth is a factor.

 Sprint Training done up to maximum 3x a week is a sure way to get your hormones firing like crazy. Hill Sprints are even better but if you don’t have a hill near by then find a long track or a big stretch of land. Now if you wish to not do sprints there is another option and that’s moving like a Wild Animal. Animal Training gets every muscle group in your body going right off the bat and the more muscles being used the more chances of fat being burnt, muscles are building and your growth hormone will skyrocket faster than a speeding jet. Think of it this way, imitating a wild animal isn’t just building great hormone levels but it also helps you stay young and fit plus its fun to do.

 The greatest athletes are of the Wild Animal Kingdom. They’re strength; power and agility are the most inspired forms of our world. Think of a silverback gorilla doing a one finger pull-up out of the crack of its enclosure or a lynx trending many miles with its incredible endurance and let’s not forget one of the largest cats in the jungle and that’s the Tiger, it’s tendons are insanely strong and can drag its prey weighing well over 500 lbs. Who wouldn’t want that kind of strength? Functional Movement is keen to our development and makes the body function far better than isolating the muscles which can cause injury and destroy joints. Moving like a Animal is the type of fitness that cannot be duplicated by any other method.

 The great benefit of doing this form of conditioning is that it’s more like playing than working out, you are free to move however you want and you get to build muscle without straining yourself so much. The key ingredient is not just physical but mental as well. When you stop using the word “workout” and use “play” your mindset changes completely and believe it or not when you play around with these movements, your results will come faster than expected and you’re having fun in the process. It’s never too late to feel young again and progress at your own pace and play your way up to a challenging animal. Have fun and make it a habit of playing instead of working when it comes to exercise, it’s a whole different feeling.

Gorillas & The Avengers

Never thought you’d read those two things in the same title huh? For the most part, the movie is F-ing awesome. It’s the top grossing film of the year by far and I’m glad to share in the fun. Seen it three times so far and it never gets old. Seeing four of the coolest superheroes is a joy to be hold.

 Ever since seeing it and writing my Can You Become Your Own Avenger series (which you can find on this very blog), I’ve gone Avenger crazy, buying shirts, video games and even the comic books which I’ve never really done in my entire life. If anything brought me into the world of comic books it was the Avengers. You might say I’m overly obsessed with the Marvel Comic but truth to tell, I’m not just a fan and reading & writing stories but I’m also looking for the next best thing in revolutionizing fitness with methods that can go hand and hand with superheroes like peanut butter and jelly.

 I was at a bookstore the other day and wanted to pick up a couple comic books of the Avengers and out of the plethora of graphic novels and short stories I picked up what looked like to me the most bad ass Avenger comic and that’s Marvel Apes. Now it’s not everyday that you find cool superheroes but they put a spin on them using your all-time favorite animal in the jungle as the Ape-vengers. I’d say that’s a double whammy in my book.

 Now I realize this comic is a bit of a spoof with a little gore and graphic violence but really it’s just another great concept that people can relate to. Apes are our original ancestors whether we realize it or not and to be awe of their strength and agility would be an understatement. Training like an Ape should be a natural thing to do but because of civilized laws and the way to be proper and better yet the way you exercise is very “controlled.” Developing Ape-like strength and fitness is essential to staying fit and young. Having fun at a playground or going to the park an moving like a wild animal is a kick ass way to keep yourself healthy both physically and mentally.

 Studying Apes and Monkeys is an ongoing research and sometimes they take that research a little too far and I won’t go into detail because you’ll just want to beat the hell of the people who do push the boundaries of right and wrong. In my opinion, these primates are extremely intelligent and in some cases they’re far smarter than we want to believe. When you see a silverback gorilla, some will think it’s violent and that’s just not true. It’s only violent if it’s provoked and to protect his family and followers. I would never want to mess with a primate, they’re strength and agility is just off the charts and freakishly powerful.

 Moving like an Ape teaches the body how to move in awkward positions and strengthen the tendons and ligaments in ways that can’t be duplicated. Whenever someone says “Get Gorilla Strong” most likely they’re referring to extreme heavy weight lifting which isn’t a bad thing if you’re into that but “True Gorilla Strong” means you move, walk, run, climb and swing like a gorilla or other primate.

 Back to the Ape-vengers, reading these stories is like reading about superheroes from the Planet Of The Apes, it’s the same characters but more well let’s face it, Ape-Like and in some ways I prefer that than the human Avengers. Imagine for a moment that if the Avengers were already tough and physically intimidating, than you add in having the strength of an Ape, whoever stands against them would be the dumbest villain ever.

 What would it feel like to see Captain America swing on the vines with ease, what would it look like to see a version of Spider-Man moving like a gibbon, how about Ironman looking like a Mandrill and not only having great brains but will beat your ass to a pulp in a fight and what if you had Ape-Like Wolverine or a Gorilla version of Thing from the Fantastic Four? I’m sorry but unless technology is used, the chances of any villain winning a fight are going from slim to none. Find your own inner Ape and take your strength to levels that will stand the test of time in your life.

The Ultimate Warriors Of Strength & Health

Sounds like a kick ass title huh? Well hate to disappoint you but this isn’t such a positive one. This is mainly a comparison of an 80’s wrestler that took the world by storm but led a series of downfalls and how that’s like with a lot of guys in the fitness industry today. Back in the mid-late 80’s a mighty wrestler full of muscle, charisma and drawing ability captivated crowds and was even thought to be a successor of Hulk Hogan. The man’s name was Jim Helwig better known as The Ultimate Warrior.

 Like anything in business, sports, entertainment you want to make an impact, being different and having a unique look. Warrior certainly had that impact as his ability to draw a crowd was only matched closely to the likes of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and a few others of that era. The way he would run to the ring and shake the ropes, clothesline his opponents and press them up overhead and toss them like rag dolls. The last time I ever saw him wrestle was during his last run in the mid 90’s in the WWE. Warrior certainly was cool looking and was built like he was carved from granite.

 Charisma can be a powerful tool and it captivates someone’s attention and draws them in. That’s a lot like the fitness experts and bodybuilders of today, you’re drawn to their look and how they present a presence that you can’t help but notice. This is where looks can be deceiving and no matter how much you’re drawn to their presence, there’s a dark cloud hanging over them, not all but quite a few.

 One of the things you will learn about Warrior was that as much as he was a crowd favorite, the fact of the matter is he was a horrible wrestler, didn’t know any good holds, had the reputation for not making too many moves look good and didn’t really care at all for wrestling. Money and Fame was his primary goal and I would find it hard to believe he had any history of the business and just wanted to be a crowd pleaser, take his check and just go to the next town. A lot of trainers today are like that too, they’ll show you a few things then leave you in the dust just to get a large check. If you took on at minimum of 10 trainers in gold’s or spa fitness gym, how many actually know their history? Truth is less than one most likely and the only two people they would ever really know of are Jack Lalanne and Arnold Schwarzenegger, maybe Lou Ferrigno but that’s about it. It’s really sad to say the least.

 It pisses me off so much at times that you have an expert in the field of fitness and they hardly have any history background on the world of Physical Culture. Go to a modern gym just about anywhere today and mention names like Otto Arco, John Grimek, Maxick, Martin “Farmer” Burns, Bernarr MacFadden, Karl Gotch, Fred Grubmeyer, The French Apollon, Arthur Saxon and quite possibly the original Hulk George Hackenshmidt. You’d be lucky to find one trainer that knows two of those names, if any higher; he’s not your typical modern trainer.

 Another unique and quite frankly a bizarre trait of the Ultimate Warrior is the way he did promos and interviews. 80% of the time you wouldn’t know a damn thing of what he just said, it sounded cool but it was confusing the rest of the time. He almost like he spoke in tongues and was high as a kite for some of the things he talked about, like the planets or some evil warlock on a distant earthly place and the gods in the heavens it was just breathtakingly awful. Some guys today have that same concept, they try to tell you an exercise and some of the time you wouldn’t have a clue of they’re actually saying. The way they hype themselves up like on the cover of a magazine or bring out a fresh new product on the infomercials that looks great at some point but in the end when you get the product it looks like crap and you thought it would great to get because of what was advertised. It’s one thing to believe in what you’re doing is right, it’s another thing when you show no signs of any life when you keep going in different directions and people won’t know where you’re coming from.

 It’s really deceiving when someone believes in their own hype. Warrior is no exception when his ego reached a brink when he actually changed his name to Warrior and got rid of his original name Jim Helwig. Why he did it, no one knows but one thing is for sure, that spotlight will always have a glare in his eye and never wants to let go of it. Fitness gurus have some of those same problems and never realize it is a problem till it’s too late. One bodybuilder who I won’t mention was a semi big star in his time and had muscles everywhere and had 23 inch arms and can pull off the best poses of his competition, after doing so much steroids and drugs over the years the guy can’t even curl a 45 pound barbell anymore because of the overbearing muscle he has and his tendons are shot to hell.

 It’s never a good idea to let fame get to your head no matter how famous you are because it will take a toll on you physically, emotionally and psychologically. Once that light goes out, it’s very difficult to get that back. Money and Fame are just words but people take it beyond levels of bad nature and just lose sight of what’s really important. Never lose sight of who you truly are and although you can be quite a character, don’t ever turn into that character. Find who you are and stick with it, be your own person and not some outlandish figure with a thirst for power. Make use of who you are and don’t ever forget where you came from good or bad because in the end, somewhere in your heart there’s good in you and you have the power to make that happen.