In the jungle, in order to survive you must move and be aware of your surroundings. In the fitness world, moving efficiently creates better muscular development and acquiring the ability to strengthen the body from awkward angles. Animal Exercise is a complex style of movement and in order to be great at it is to progress from beginner to advanced like an animal in the wild starting out as a baby and growing into adulthood.
The exercises themselves are very powerful, intense and fun but in order to build on getting results the quickest way possible is to visualize as that animal as you move within the action. Unlike being in a stabilized strict position where you go up and down or side to side, animal moves have you going in all sorts of places like the Wonkavator you can move long ways, short ways, move forward, move backwards, move sideways, short jumps, long jumps 10ft or 500 yards in practically any direction; animal movement is freedom to go anywhere you want.
I have been doing animal exercises again for a while now doing 20 min. sessions or play routines and its not only been fun but very addicting and intense. Unlike doing tons of burpees or push-ups and squats, moving like an animal in different directions open up the mind and body to move more freely and openly. Many calisthenic moves are in one spot only and although that is very beneficial and gives you the opportunity to train anywhere, anytime, you become stuck in one spot until you move with an exercise that makes you go to another area. I firmly believe in being able to train anywhere but unless you're in prison or have a small house and the weather sucks, its important to move in any direction possible indoors or outdoors. Because of the winter here, I've been training indoors and although I don't have the space needed like a park or field, I still manage to get in a great animal workout traveling throughout the den, living room and even sometimes the kitchen. You use your imagination and use what you have.
A lot of people feel the need to be one spot to train and that's it, for me I like to move about and do something fun as I go from one place to another. I have climbed stairs doing bear crawls, duck walks & gorilla jumps; I've used small space to do crazy animal jumps & even sprinted only 20ft doing a crab walk. Don't limit yourself to that one spot for exercise, use your environment however small or big it is. You can be very creative being in one spot and there's thousands of exercises for that one spot on the floor or ground however; you're only scratching the surface (no pun intended) and haven't completely opened up that door to much greater possibilities. When you can truly train safely anywhere you want and move wherever you, you're developing greater strength in being open minded and unlocking your potential in more ways than you ever thought possible. Get into that Jungle Fever and move wildly and with PASSION!!!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Monday, February 6, 2017
Fatigued?
Do you have physical or mental fatigue?
If so, there’s a little-known class of herbs that can help you out. These herbs, known as adaptogens, help to fight all kinds of fatigue.
Check this out…
This comes from a paper titled Effects of Adaptogens on the Central Nervous System and the Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Their Stress-Protective Activity by Panossian and Wikman, published in Pharmaceuticals 2010.
It was a review of all the other science and studies on these three amazing adaptogens.
Rhodiola rosea is a root that clearly has some amazing effects here in assisting with fatigue and more. This was the original plant from which the term adaptogen came to be.
Eleuthero, previously known as Siberian ginseng, comes in a close second.
Schisandra, a Chinese berry, may look like a laggard here, but it also has other far-reaching effects helping digestion, skin, liver detox and more.
So why choose just one?
Spartan Broad-Spectrum Adaptogenic Formula contains not only all three of these herbs but also Cordyceps, the amazing fungus from Tibet, highly regarded by athletes the world over.
You can read much more about how you can use adaptogens to fight stress and fatigue right here.
Be Awesome & Have An Amazing Day
Friday, February 3, 2017
Caffeine vs. Adaptogens
Most people drink coffee for its stimulant and energizing effects. Yet take a look at this…
Stimulants just don’t stack up to adaptogens.
If you’re not familiar with adaptogens, is a group of natural herbs and compounds that, essentially, help the body better adapt to stress.
They’ve got both physical and mental fatigue fighting abilities.
For one of the best sources of adaptogens in a well-rounded blend check this out.
Whether you need more energy for your workouts, your work life, or just back at home so you haven’t crashed at the end of your day this can help you.
Seems like at the very least you should add some adaptogens to your morning coffee!
Find out here all that Spartan Broad-Spectrum Adaptogenic Formula can do for you.
Be Awesome & Have An Amazing Day
*This comes from a paper titled Effects of Adaptogens on the Central Nervous System and the Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Their Stress-Protective Activity by Panossian and Wikman, published in Pharmaceuticals 2010.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Shifting To Other Methods At Odd Times (Being Intuitive)
I talked last about staying with doing Burpee HIIT Workouts 3x a week and doing 20 min. Animal Workouts 4x a week and see where it goes. Turns out not so good, the animal workout was so addicting I couldn't walk away from it and Burpees & HIIT went out the door for me. I needed to go with my intuition and go with a method of exercise I'm very passionate about.
You see, I think differently when it comes to training. Most of the time I don't stick with the same program for more than a couple weeks and I went practically 8 weeks with the Superhero Workouts & Burpee HIIT so that's a first for me. I needed to shift gears and go with my strong intuition. Training with Animal Exercises makes me feel more alive, open to ideas and just flat out can't get any more excited about it. To me, the animals are about freedom, the ability to move throughout as much space as possible whether its very little or an entire stadium either way I'm bliss.
Changing up your training at odd times doesn't mean you never had a chance of reaching a goal, sometimes you just feel the need to do something that makes you happy and even take yourself out of your comfort zone. Animal Exercise provides greater variety for me than traditional "human" exercises and it teaches me things that take me out of my comfort zone. Believe it or not, I like the idea of not knowing what will happen in a workout or what will come up next. Putting in a program that is so structured and full of pre-setted exercises and rep schemes that it can become predictable and predictability puts you in that comfort zone. In order to come out of that is to not only go into the unknown but never expecting what comes next.
With my Animal Dice Game, it becomes more than just training; it becomes an adventure and I never know what comes next. I know the exercises down to the letter and know all the moves like the back of my hand but with that roll of the dice, that is something that always keeps me guessing and will I have to do an animal in a beginner or advanced variation? I don't go for speed, only going with the movement and let my body tell me how fast I should go or how slow.
Back to intuition, when I feel the need to do something, I go for it and because my intuition is very powerful I go with what it tells me. Denying your intuition or fighting it is never a good thing to do. When it is that strong, there's no need to fight it, flowing with it is the law of the universe and having it give you guidance and support. Why would not want something to guide you to help you be happy and full of life? Go with your intuition.
You see, I think differently when it comes to training. Most of the time I don't stick with the same program for more than a couple weeks and I went practically 8 weeks with the Superhero Workouts & Burpee HIIT so that's a first for me. I needed to shift gears and go with my strong intuition. Training with Animal Exercises makes me feel more alive, open to ideas and just flat out can't get any more excited about it. To me, the animals are about freedom, the ability to move throughout as much space as possible whether its very little or an entire stadium either way I'm bliss.
Changing up your training at odd times doesn't mean you never had a chance of reaching a goal, sometimes you just feel the need to do something that makes you happy and even take yourself out of your comfort zone. Animal Exercise provides greater variety for me than traditional "human" exercises and it teaches me things that take me out of my comfort zone. Believe it or not, I like the idea of not knowing what will happen in a workout or what will come up next. Putting in a program that is so structured and full of pre-setted exercises and rep schemes that it can become predictable and predictability puts you in that comfort zone. In order to come out of that is to not only go into the unknown but never expecting what comes next.
With my Animal Dice Game, it becomes more than just training; it becomes an adventure and I never know what comes next. I know the exercises down to the letter and know all the moves like the back of my hand but with that roll of the dice, that is something that always keeps me guessing and will I have to do an animal in a beginner or advanced variation? I don't go for speed, only going with the movement and let my body tell me how fast I should go or how slow.
Back to intuition, when I feel the need to do something, I go for it and because my intuition is very powerful I go with what it tells me. Denying your intuition or fighting it is never a good thing to do. When it is that strong, there's no need to fight it, flowing with it is the law of the universe and having it give you guidance and support. Why would not want something to guide you to help you be happy and full of life? Go with your intuition.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
How Long Should An Animal Workout Be?
Some programs prefer time limits, others go with a free for all and sometimes they just go by feel. I like to go by feel because even though a structured system is doable, it can also restrict how you feel in a workout. When you're short on time, you want to get in and get out. You make progress or just have fun and goof off; I'm somewhere in the middle.
For the most part it depends on an individuals schedule, they're timing whether its in the morning, afternoon or night and it really depends on their preference and mood. I do believe in making the most out of the time you have but if you want to just have fun and run wild and free than that's your choice. Some of the workouts I've done last no more than 20 minutes. Depending on the physical aspects and my energy levels I keep it at a minimum of 5-10 min.
Animal Workouts can vary depending on the tempo, the amount of exercise, the timing for each exercise and how to incorporate it in a solid amount of work put into it. You don't really need to go very long because many animal movements have you using multiple muscle groups in one solid movement and because of the intensity a lot of them feel, it doesn't take long to get huffing and puffing. Now if you're a wacky speed demon, they'll last even less because you're generating a lot of strength and excess power into the movements as quite a few are very explosive and if you have to move really fast to get to a certain amount of yards, that can wear you out.
I really don't go for speed because just the movements alone and the randomness of a game I play, I challenge my body every time I roll for an animal and move in specific amount of steps. For 20 minutes, I go back and forth playing this game and focusing on the movements and seeing myself as that animal and putting as much effort as possible while maintaining energy levels. I want to be as energized or enough towards the end than what I started with. Going to failure in animal movements is never an issue because it doesn't take long for a movement to bring you down so I do enough to where I still feel it but can keep going without giving out.
Experiment your timed workouts with animal movements and see where you are fitness wise. In reality because these exercises are so much fun, you can do them as long or as little as you want, either way you're benefiting a great deal of building great strength, endurance and agility. Some workouts can wear you out in under 5 minutes if you do it right, others can have you on the ground in 20 so its a matter of finding your right niche. Have fun, be careful and have a blast.
Find out more about Animal Exercise by going to the Wild Animal Section @ ben-bergman.branded.me
For the most part it depends on an individuals schedule, they're timing whether its in the morning, afternoon or night and it really depends on their preference and mood. I do believe in making the most out of the time you have but if you want to just have fun and run wild and free than that's your choice. Some of the workouts I've done last no more than 20 minutes. Depending on the physical aspects and my energy levels I keep it at a minimum of 5-10 min.
Animal Workouts can vary depending on the tempo, the amount of exercise, the timing for each exercise and how to incorporate it in a solid amount of work put into it. You don't really need to go very long because many animal movements have you using multiple muscle groups in one solid movement and because of the intensity a lot of them feel, it doesn't take long to get huffing and puffing. Now if you're a wacky speed demon, they'll last even less because you're generating a lot of strength and excess power into the movements as quite a few are very explosive and if you have to move really fast to get to a certain amount of yards, that can wear you out.
I really don't go for speed because just the movements alone and the randomness of a game I play, I challenge my body every time I roll for an animal and move in specific amount of steps. For 20 minutes, I go back and forth playing this game and focusing on the movements and seeing myself as that animal and putting as much effort as possible while maintaining energy levels. I want to be as energized or enough towards the end than what I started with. Going to failure in animal movements is never an issue because it doesn't take long for a movement to bring you down so I do enough to where I still feel it but can keep going without giving out.
Experiment your timed workouts with animal movements and see where you are fitness wise. In reality because these exercises are so much fun, you can do them as long or as little as you want, either way you're benefiting a great deal of building great strength, endurance and agility. Some workouts can wear you out in under 5 minutes if you do it right, others can have you on the ground in 20 so its a matter of finding your right niche. Have fun, be careful and have a blast.
Find out more about Animal Exercise by going to the Wild Animal Section @ ben-bergman.branded.me
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