Isometric Straps

We're always discovering something in the fitness world and some of it is downright laughable but there are others that are worth value beyond the dollar. Although Isometrics has been around for centuries and the most convenient form of Isometrics is through resisting limb against limb, it's good to find things that target other areas of the muscle and build tendon strength from angles Bodyweight won't apply.

The only strap I use is John Peterson's Isometric Power Belt and it has worked great for me but I would also experiment with other forms of Isometric Equipment when the time comes. Say for example the WorldFit Iso Trainer would be another awesome option and would be cheaper for most people to buy. They're both travel friendly, you can adjust to do various exercises and can help you achieve incredible strength. 

When it comes to equipment, very few can have both dynamic and isometric components and the Hook from Bruce Tackett is one of those ingenious pieces of equipment. The Hook can be used in a variety of ways that is top notch and that is the use of Isometrics with a strap or you can use the handles to put bands in and use it for expander training. That's pretty damn cool. Cable Training, Suspension Training & Isometrics can all be used with this thing and one day I will have it in my hands. Virtually no limit to what you can achieve.

Strength Training goes beyond just muscles, it's about training the tendons and ligaments to a different level and having strength that is useful, practical and even lifesaving. Isometrics has exercises you can do at so many freaking angles, it would take a lifetime to figure out them all. Some of the greatest athletes have used Isometrics to their advantage and when it comes to experimentation, guys like Steve Justa, Bud Jeffries, Bruce Lee, Alexander Zass and Dan Gable are the top of a list that extends more than I can mention. 

Steve Justa used Isos to heal his body and strengthen himself in ways that would baffle even the slightest expert on the subject today. Bud Jeffries has worked tirelessly on building strength from every angle in so many aspects it would take an encyclopedia to name every exercise he has experimented on and Isometrics is no exception. Alexander Zass is the Godfather of Isometric Training and has claimed that title for well over 100 years; getting caught 4 times as a POW in WW1 and not only escaping but tearing apart what was meant to shackle him and doing feats of strength an extreme few would ever have the balls to attempt. 

Bruce Lee was one of the biggest names to ever come out of Hollywood and Hong Kong Cinema through his philosophy and background of Martial Arts that people still talk about and practice to this day. He used Isometrics to strengthen a terrible back injury and through his practice of this method, had one of the best physiques for a man his size. His striking was so fast that directors and cameramen had to tell him to slow down because they couldn't see his punches. 

Dan Gable's Pinning Strength was one of the many results with using Isometrics in his quest to dominate the Ameteur Wrestling scene. Even wrestling guys twice his size made them feel they were in quicksand when Gable would have them down on the mat. He would practice Isometrics as often as he could and even broke a desk or two in his classrooms. Although an advocate of high volume calisthenics, weight training and running, his conditioning wasn't complete without Isometric Training. At the '72 Olympics, not one opponent scored a point on him and getting a gold medal was practically in his grasp from the very first round. 

What can you accomplish with Isometric Training? Whether it's with equipment or not, it can be essential and even crucial to your success either in sports, health or everyday living. Train with the best and learn the key elements that make Isometrics work in your favor. 

Rope Skipping Can Be Your Best Friend

Now that the new year is here, it's time to discover other possibilities to make your workouts interesting and keeping up with your ability to keep going. As you know, I'm a fanatic on certain areas of conditioning and learning different styles to test my mental and physical abilities. I know full well I'm not a pro athlete and as a fan of real wrestling like Catch & Folkstyle/Greco-Roman Amateur Wrestling, I can never be in the type of condition those men and women are in, but I can however, learn how to handle my body to stay healthy but challenge the norm of just working out.

Rope Skipping has been a staple for athletes for decades from Combat to Football, Olympic Champions, Soccer Players and Wrestlers; so it's safe to say that it can be very beneficial and sometimes overlooked with the way technology is today. I'm not very coordinated with the typical jump rope, I never really was and couldn't put myself through getting smacked all the time. That's where I went with the Weighted Ropeless Jump Rope (sounds like an oxymoron don't you think?) where it cuts out the smacking and do exercises that a regular jump rope provides.

When I would do workouts like the Animal Dice Game, Deck Of Card Workouts, HIIT or swinging the Indian Clubs or the Mace, I would walk around and breathe deeply as an active recovery, I didn't want to just stand there or sit down, I wanted to keep moving but every now and then, I would feel fatigue set in faster from that and my recovery didn't feel right. I started trying something different which I'm sure many athletes learned either from themselves or by a coach which was to use the rope for the active recovery. During my Animal Workouts, if I felt fatigue set in or to the point where my breathing was hard, I'd back off for a bit, take up the Rope and work my legs with focused breathing until I felt ready again. So this has been successful for me and it keeps my endurance levels going and was able to accomplish, 500, 600, 700 and even 800+ Reps/Steps of a workout still feeling energized and not fatigued.

Even if you use a regular jump rope or speed rope, this can be a hell of a step towards developing some serious physical conditioning. It keeps the calories burning, it strengthens the heart and the lungs and builds real world fitness. Start with a warm up of a couple minutes just to get the blood flowing, do your workout and as you "rest", skip until you feel ready again, keep going and then use it a finisher (optional).

Test this out for yourself and see how you do. You don't have to sprint as you recover, just do enough where you're moving at a moderate pace, pay attention to your breathing and have at it. This can help keep you from being tired and able to keep going with less risk of injury. Some like to sit and rest or walk around and breathe deeply like I was but in order to be in awesome shape, you have to keep moving and give your a body a "break" without actually fully resting. Train until you feel like you've done enough. You can be crazy strong but if you don't last long, it can bite you in the ass later. Be healthy, stay in top condition regardless of your age and have a blast wit what you do.

Last Workouts Of The Year

I envy those who don't have to shovel slush and powdery snow lol. It is quite a workout and today I had to do it twice. Snow shoveling all in all is real world fitness where you are tested in many ways including cardio, conditioned strength, grip, rotation and pulling. This is where I do feel blessed to be in shape and not get tired and have strong tendons along with functional muscle.

Today along with shoveling, just keeping my joints healthy and strengthening my tendons and ligaments with Isometric Exercises using John Peterson's Isometric Belt. If you haven't picked that up, I suggest you do, great piece of equipment and a hell of a traveling companion for strength training on the road. If you prefer a cheaper route for Iso Straps yet still very effective, grab the WorldFit Iso Trainer or Bruce Tackett's Isometric/Suspension Trainer. Either one will build great strength and it can be a hell of a cardio workout if you do it right.

Yesterday I did Joint Loosening, Matt Furey's Neck Chi Kung Workout (which I learned from his Membership Site), 500 Hindu Squats and finished off the night with the Front & Back Bridges for 3 minutes each. Some days, I take it easy and do less intense exercise and others, I see what I can do to push myself. It's a learning process and you pick up on things while listening to your body and being aware of what is worth doing and not getting injured in the process.

I mainly shovel snow to help my wife get out of the driveway so she can go to work and take care of the Berms that block the driveway when the ploughs come. They can be a royal pain in the ass but I like making things a tad easier for my girl and helping out a neighbor doesn't hurt either. Believe it or not, I do like to shovel snow and put on some tunes to let the time pass by. If you do have to shovel snow, it is good to be in shape because you never know how heavy or how much snow you need to get rid of in order to either get to work, an emergency pops up or just for the sake of being safe lol.

I'm grateful that Isometrics, animal movements, bridges and keeping my joints healthy helps me do things without getting injured and be able to keep my body strong so I can be helpful when the time calls for it. I would hate it if I got injured and couldn't help my wife cause then she'd have to get up even earlier to get the snow out and try to get ready for work at the same time. She just got a new position at another Albertson's store that's a 40-50 minute commute and it would suck if she had to do that on her own. I'm so proud of her and being able to move up in her company is an amazing achievement so I make sure she does have the ability to drive off without getting caught in the driveway.

Train with a purpose and be able to help out when you can. Be strong to be helpful and condition your body with long term strength and great cardio that lasts. Happy New Year everyone. Be safe, have fun and welcome to 2020.

Star Wars Slamboree

Conditioning comes in many forms and utilizes different aspects for building lung power, long-term strength and endurance. Some exercises to develop solid conditioning are very useful like certain bodyweight exercises like Hindu Push-ups, Hindu Squats, Punching Sit-Ups, Step Ups, Bear Crawling and others but it's not always easy to stay interested. It takes a lot of discipline to do these things and not just for a sport but to stay in top shape in the long run.

Certain equipment can yield incredible results with being in great condition like Battling Ropes, the Clean & Jerk for reps, airdyne bikes and so on but how far does it go with certain equipment? You can't always take a rope or a kettlebell with you on the road, so you do what's possible with what you have in the moment. In my garage gym, there's plenty to go around to get in a brutal workout but very few can top the Death Star Slam Ball.

Slam Balls are a phenomenal workout tool especially for developing conditioning in an explosive manner. That sudden burst of speed and power and firing up the lungs with great intensity. From time to time, I'll play around with the DSSB and make up little things to get going or use as a finisher. From circuits to finishers, it can kick your ass in ways very few can.

This thing weighs no more than 20 lbs but even that can help turn you into a machine with the right exercises and tempo. Just slamming it alone for 30 seconds will get you winded but what about rotational movements, tossing it over the shoulder or picking it up and pressing it over head? One of my favorite exercises is to toss over the shoulder for as many reps as possible in a certain amount of time. I once did 62 reps in 5 minutes with this exercises and that was a hell of a lung burner.

Unlike a Stormtrooper, don't miss on having the best tools to get you in awesome shape and do so that is fun, tough and full of awesome results. Slam away and obliterate the unwanted fat like the Death Star destroying a planet. It is good to be in shape but it's also fun being a geek/nerd at the same time. It is more common these days to be a part of Fandom and be in awesome shape.

It Is Time For A Fresh Start

The New Year is upon us. Many people starting fresh with goals, resolutions and more. For me, it's not goals or resolutions but creating intentions. I intend to take things one day at a time, build relationships, work with better enthusiasm and keep away from the damn forums lol.

This year has been a hell of a rollercoaster, some great, some awful and others pretty damn amazing. Got married, read a few more books, had many reflections on who I'am supposed to be as opposed to who I WANT to be. Learned a little more about myself and what keeps me happy and developing acceptance. There were a few times I've lost sight of myself and focused so much on what others thought of me instead of what I truly thought of myself.

I will admit, I got caught up way too freaking much of the forums online. My brother in strength, Bud Jeffries advised me so heartedly to stay off of them, my wife did the same thing and I'm ashamed that I didn't listen or even hear enough with the best intentions. I was addicted, getting frustrated with myself and was driving myself crazy almost daily with updates of the latest thread that was putting a mental strain on psyche. It was like a train wreck that I couldn't help but stare at and just felt miserable but in awe at the same time.

I've been called many names on these different places, a couple I've mentioned on this blog and got caught up in engaging and making it seem like I have split personality when in reality, I couldn't see what I was really doing and that was pouring gasoline on the fire in my mind and giving those jerks what they wanted. One forum had a couple people that were cool with me but others intended to call me out and just sucked me into the rabbit hole of "keyboard fighting" and I hated that I put myself in that position. The other was nothing more than a bunch of guys who spend their time calling out someone else and play school girl gossip games of "who can we go after today?"

I have to let that part of me go, one day at a time. I love my friends, my wife, my family and I appreciate the positive feedback I get from time to time. I know I'm putting a target on my back for some and it is time to just accept for what it is, although they're being negative and I've been negative towards them, I do appreciate in some sick and twisted way of what they do because if you don't get the best from both positive and negative points of view, how do you know if you're doing something right?

There's always going to be some troll or some group that will criticize everything you do and make up their own assumptions without knowing a damn thing about you on the deepest level. I pity them and I hope they find peace someday. Anyone who has truly been around me for an extended period of time knows who I really am on a deeper level and has accepted me for me. All in all, I can get along with just about anybody young or old and I do my best to treat people the way I want to be treated and I help those I love and care about without hesitation and if I have your back, you know I don't shy away from it.

A fresh start isn't about changing who you are, it's about learning who you become from moving forward and taking things one day at a time, it's a journey and no matter where it leads you, make the most of what you have and love with the best intentions. Those forums aren't meant for me anymore, I have made friends, I've made "keyboard enemies" and I don't regret WALKING away from them. It's time to make 2020, the best year to come.