The Cult In Physical Culture

Ever since the world was introduced to Pumping Iron, fitness became a phenomenon much larger than ever before. Long before that film turned people on going to the gym, fitness was more geared towards bodybuilders that had more of a closed circuit with a following and mail-order courses were the norm with the most famous being Charles Atlas' Dynamic Tension. There were gyms around the country but nowhere near the quantity it is today.

If you wanted to get fit, you either learned by word of mouth where to find a gym or you found a course in various ads throughout countless magazines and you learned the ins and outs of lifting weights or doing calisthenics in school or through sports training. Gym training for all intents and purposes was geared towards bodybuilding, Olympic Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Some sports training. There was a time when sports coaches banned their athletes from lifting weights because they thought they had slowed them down. It turns out that wasn't always the case. 

Back to what this topic is really about. As far back as anyone that ever wrote anything on fitness, somehow, there would be some kind of following. An extreme variation of this is some authors would make claims and instead of trying to help people get fit, it would be more like a snake-oil salesman and put ideas in people's heads that they're method is the very best and nothing else will give you what that method gave. It's marketing and prying on a demographic, that's all it really was and not all courses were that bad and had great success along with people who lived their lives for the better.

When fitness goes to the level of becoming more like a cult in some circles, that's where certain tend to become sketchy. Dynamic Tension was overall very successful and promoted great ideas for fitness, nutrition and what a boy can learn to become more of a man, it worked. The pros did outweigh more than the cons but it's not a course to turn someone superhuman and like a bible thumper, many people thought of it as such. When you treat a course beyond what it is and not think for yourself, you can get caught in a trap.

Here's another example, Alois P. Swoboda's course on Conscience Evolution & Fitness Course. Back before there was Maxick, Charles Atlas and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Swoboda developed a course for exercises purely as a means for living a healthy life without needing weights or other apparatus and focused solely on tension exercises and various calisthenics. Some of the claims he made up were way out there and for all intents and purposes, he was a quack and hard to tell what was truly believable. The people he said that did his course was a list of politicians, lumberjacks, athletes and even Harry Houdini and Charles Atlas which I'll admit is reaching it. He was what you would call a cult leader and claimed nothing came close and his method was the end-all be all. Even at the point where he claimed limbs would grown back, talk about messed up.

This was the norm for many physical culturists back in the day and quite a few were far more famous than others because look at the times back then; there was no internet, no cell phones, no way to truly prove what the best was and many claims never seemed to be real to believe yet many flocked and never had a second thought. It's scary sometimes how people are more like sheep than human.

Many of these courses worked and people changed their lives for the better, some weren't always so lucky and no matter how much they followed it to the T, they either got hurt or didn't understand what they were doing and just went with it without thinking for themselves. Like a typical cult, you want to believe everything a leader tells you, you become one-dimensional and you no longer focus on your individuality, you want to escape to something and if there's any hint of realistic approaches, it becomes painful to bare. Other Physical Culturists or those that claimed to be, pried on people's emotions and self doubt asking them general questions but coming at them with an iron fist while they put a smile on as they do it.

My friend John Peterson is another example of a Physical Culturist that has been known to go off the deep end a time or two and not realize he is drowning. His heart is in the right place and I've learned a lot from him, some good and some pretty damn bad. He does get a bad rap about what he does or claims but without question, he is a fanatic about exercise especially on refurbishing Dynamic Tension in 21st Century Society. His style of training changes quite often, he'll talk about high volume calisthenics one day, weight vest training the next or recently on Isometrics. He has had a bad few years and won't go into detail what those really were and some he has talked to me about were extremely dark but he has delayed his "latest" course so many times, the number is more than the books I've read over my lifetime. I loved his work on Pushing Yourself To Power and has one of the best books on Isometrics out there (even though it's a carbon copy of 7 Seconds To A Perfect Body) but his followers treated it as a one dimensional thing and acted like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, bullshit, they were stuck in their own head and barely had a good physique to show for it.

Fitness courses in a nutshell, are nothing more than suggestions and ideas that doesn't really have anything new and takes bits and pieces of past courses and molded into a method or series of methods that reflect today's society. Don't misunderstand me, I love promoting various people and I love their work and had the pleasure of experiencing the very best but no single course that has ever been written is the GOAT. You can take the very best of what you learned and mold it to your individual goals or ideas that suit your needs. To be the very fittest you can be, you can't rely on one method unless it is all you can do and your body has extreme limitations, stick to the basics, find what suits you and what interests you. Not everybody is going to do crossfit or strongman and not everyone is going to get fit through MMA style conditioning, it's just not going to happen. Pick what interests you the most and adjust your goals to get the most out of your fitness.

Follow your own path, not strictly from a fitness manual.

Stationary Movements Have Become More Boring Than Result Producing

When I do have the chance to do calisthenics or work with cables or a wheel, I only do enough to where I feel good and I'm not stressing over things but lately around 90% of the time, my mindset is not in that mode of doing calisthenics anymore. Most who are into bodyweight training, get into that mindset and have a better will to improve on them. For me, regardless of the workout, I get bored really fast and not because i'm out of shape or anything, I've done hundreds of push-ups, thousands of squats, tons of sit-ups, step-ups, pull ups and others and quite frankly, it doesn't feel appealing to me anymore.

People who throw certain calisthenics or stationary movements down your throat and say they're the best of all fitness isn't true in the overall general sense. Bodyweight exercises do work, there's no question about it and can produce off the chain results if you do them right, but if your mind and body aren't there, no matter how good you can do them, won't bring the results you truly crave. As far as i'm concerned, if you're in one spot for an entire workout, you might as well as be in prison. That's what it feels like most of the time these days. I love to move around, feel free and go wherever I please, you can't really do that with typical calisthenics.

This is merely my observation for myself, as an individual, it is critical to understand what you want out of your workouts, stock up as much knowledge as you can and practice what suits you the best. As for everyone else, feel free to explore whatever brings you the best out of yourself. The only stationary exercises that keep me interested is Isometrics and maybe my Ropeless Jump Rope.

I use to love doing push-ups, squats and various circuits of bodyweight exercises and every once in a blue moon, if I have an itch I do them but Animal Movements to me are the GOAT when it comes to exercise period. I may not do 100 Push-ups in a row and I'm not going to do 500 Squats everyday but get me in a bear crawl or move around like an ape and you will no one happier than me. My mood is day and night when it comes to animals and calisthenics.

I'm nearing 15 years of doing exercise every single day and that's a long ass time for most people and changes have been made, things go away, some come back, others are a new experience but the most consistent form of conditioning and fitness for me has been Animal Movements. Literally 10's of thousands of animal reps/steps and I never grow bored from it, I can't say the same with other bodyweight exercises. At 35, I've experienced so much in the world of Physical Culture and when it comes to fitness over my whole life, I've been doing it for nearly 22 years. I'm still no expert on anything but I feel blessed with the knowledge I have accumulated and learned what works and what doesn't.

This isn't about trashing calisthenics or saying they're useless because they're not and should be practiced with intent and understanding how they work and experiencing some tough workouts from them but their place isn't 100% with me anymore like they use to be. They're a phase and they'll come and go. Continue to learn and develop your own evolution in your fitness journey because we are all unique and not looked at needing to be the same or worship a method like it's a cult. You have your own journey, with your knowledge, you can create anything you set your mind to. If your heart is into something, go after it with passion and fire in your soul, if you don't have the heart for it, don't do it cause it'll just bring heartache.

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.