The 12 Days Of Combat Conditioning

For almost 2 weeks straight, I've been doing the Matt Furey Exercise Bible that consists of Hindu Push-ups, Hindu Squats, V-Ups & Tablemakers. I haven't been this consistent with this area of the Combat Conditioning System in a very long time and I'm glad it's becoming a habit again; slowly of course.

The first few days were tough as hell and felt like quitting multiple times but I just couldn't let go of feeling that the deck could be my best friend instead of a competitive enemy. It got better each day though and although some days are harder than others, you get through it despite having some mental lapses. It is a rediscovery of what gave me the strength and stamina to build my legs back from the severe breaks in my shin and ankles.

My timing on the cards isn't a priority of mine and i'll tell you why; I hate having to compete against the clock for one and 2, I just want to enjoy the journey. I used to do just push-ups and squats and would finish within 18-25 min but because of the tension I carry in my lower back if I go too fast, I'm risking injury. I'm letting speed come natural and focus more on my breathing and form than compete against time. I do love that I'm getting in better shape and it makes me work hard but I need to be smart as well. I keep my timing around 38-45 min of a workout.

As I get better and able to relax more as I move through the deck, I'll add a few more of the Combat Conditioning Exercises. Although these four exercises are more than enough for most people, I like to do things throughout the day so as I progress, I'll throw in some Reverse Push-ups, Jumpers, Bridges, Handstand Holds, Skipping the Ropeless Jump Rope and others. For me, it's about the journey and being able to move fluidly and not rely on timing, if I only have a few minutes, I'll do some exercises and be happy with it.

Some people feel that they need to do a minimum of 30 minutes or more straight of exercise because that's what they believe will keep them in shape and that's what they were taught to do, my wife tends to have that mindset and although noble, it doesn't help her much if she's also trying to work an 8 hour shift, drive to and from work at a minimum of 40+ minutes and also try to calm down and eat dinner after dealing with various people all day. I do have a tendency to get on her about that and I know I come off like a dick about it but I'm doing the best I can to come from a place of love and encouragement. Slightly going off topic but if you're one of those people who wants to get exercise in, use the time that is possible and do what you can in the span of time you have. Very rarely these days where people have sometimes 2-3 jobs to support themselves or their families have 30 minutes they can devote to exercise. Learn the time you are open to doing or get up earlier before work and do maybe a few push-ups and some squats, do 10 minutes of jumping rope if that's all you have for the day to do and nothing else, don't always let the difficulties of life steer you away from being fit.

Fitness is hard work and it takes discipline, patience and mental toughness but it doesn't have to be a chore and felt like you are going to hate it. Not everybody can be fit like those in the infomercials and not all programs are created equal. Find what gives YOU the best benefit and adjust to what you're willing to devote time to. I'll admit, I'm one of those rare people who devotes to exercise 365 days a year and have been for nearly 15 of those years so I can't see myself in somebody else's shoes but I do encourage YOU to exercise even for a few minutes each day or 2-3 times a week if that's all you have. Life as it is can steer you away from so much but it is up to YOU to fight back and train the best way at the time and fight back without putting so much stress on yourself. Treat exercise as a way to feel better and never treat it like a necessity or something you HAVE to do and feel miserable.

That's what I love about Combat Conditioning, you can do it whenever you want, virtually wherever you want and it doesn't take up a ton of time. Whether for 2 minutes or 2 hours, this system can be used how you see fit and make your own schedule. Make the most of what you can, not what you can't and not force or cram in so much it'll make you anxiety-prone. It is a journey, not a destination and everyone has 24 hours in a day, if you want it bad enough, you'll get the time in.

Mental Conditioning By Using The Theater Of The Mind Technique

When we train, sometimes we psych ourselves up to be prepared for "battle" and fight the exercise(s) that stand in our way of becoming a stronger version of ourselves in physical form. What we envision takes action and at times, surprises us with results we didn't expect. As I go into a workout, I don't expect a damn thing but I do want to discover that hidden strength that fuels the fire within me to keep going even though I don't always express it from the outside.

When I started back on the Matt Furey Exercise Bible, I just wanted to see if I was still capable of doing it after being away from it for quite some time. I kept picturing myself as if it never left me and pretended I was like one of the Hindu Wrestlers, training for the next series of matches and thought of nothing but my conditioning and the way I saw myself breathing and making the exercises not about speed but about precision and awareness. I have so far done this workout everyday for 9 straight days without fail which is the most consistent in years.

As each day passed and kept beating the deck, I started using different techniques to not only protect myself from injury but use mental imagery and literally put certain electrical spheres around my body as if I had something in my hands even though there was nothing there. I naturally gravitated to Garin Bader's CoreForce Energy System and it paid off big time as it increased my strength and endurance really fast. With that in mind, I'm also naturally setting another bar to my repertoire of conditioning my mind to get better not only for this particular workout but for whatever else outside of it.

For a while in the past, I did the Theater Of The Mind technique with my own version of how I saw things play out and set it in motion. From workouts to writing to even picturing as if I was sitting next to fictional characters from comics and mythology and they talk me through what they see for me and how I can apply what they see. Yeah, it sounds that i'm whacked out and off my rocker but that's just how my mind operated and it worked. Seeing yourself as more than what you are is what we all strive to accomplish, many of us see far less than our true selves and when we think that way, it transitions into our reality. Our imagination is a powerful tool that shouldn't be taken too lightly and the more we learn to understand it and learn from it, the better our way of seeing the world becomes.

When we think of something bad, it shifts to how we view the world and see bad things happen all around us even though at times nothing ever happens in front of us. I do realize people come from broken homes and have seen shit nobody should ever go through yet some of those very same people saw something entirely different in their mind and despite the anger, the heartache, the abuse and the torture, they became successful and transformed themselves into amazing human beings. The opposite has also happened, people who come from happy homes have had visions of a bad world and it consumed them so much they became broken and prisoners of their own reality.

Practicing the Theater Of The Mind technique isn't easy and it's not something you can learn in a day, it takes time, patience, concentration and above all, a sense of awareness of what you see. My way of the technique was that I would picture myself as if I was in a movie theater but instead of being there by myself, I sat next to certain characters say like Pan the Satyr for example; he would show me what I was and will be at my very best not only in how strong and conditioned I was but showed me my writing style getting better and seeing more and more by people who were not only interested but learned from it. Someone can have a very different technique in this method and make themselves the strongest version of themselves.

What if you can picture as if you were Superhuman? Be able to accomplish things with very little to no effort, absorb energy that is full of life, powerful electricity running through you and feel as if you can do anything you set your mind to. It doesn't matter if you're a waiter, a businessman, an athlete, someone who wants to get in shape or a garbage man; if you can see yourself at your absolute best with no limitations, how far does it go? We have the power to become stronger than we have normally perceived to be and the more we see and believe in what is in our Theater Of The Mind, the more it'll transition into our physical reality. In our imagination, we can be whatever we want, do things we don't physically do and be able to say something as if it was so easy it's not even funny. Think of it as mental steroids.

Harness this technique with your own goals and ambitions and see where it leads you. Become more powerful in your business, get stronger and better at your sport, feel music like never before and if you even happen to be a Pizza Delivery person, picture what it would be like to be the very best in that profession. The power is within you and it's time to become the best version of yourself.       

 

3 Days Straight Of The Matt Furey Exercise Bible

On Monday, I had an urge to do Matt Furey's Exercise Bible which is a deck of cards consisting of Hindu Push-ups, Hindu Squats, V-Ups & Tablemakers. It's been a long time since I completely went through the deck and the last few attempts recently I stopped because it got boring. Apparently I had a bug up my ass and felt the need to actually finish it this time. I changed the repetitions around so I'll be able to do it without feeling boredom.

2-10 Were Face Value

Face Cards Were (K=13, Q=12 & J=11)

Aces Were 14

Jokers Are 25-50

The first day, it was rough and had to adjust the V-Ups in certain variations just so I don't hurt myself. I made it through but because I haven't done these exercises together in quite some time, I felt out of shape. If I needed rest, I would do slight stretching or use my Ropeless Jump Rope to keep myself going cause if I rested like most people would, I wouldn't have the strength to continue. The second day felt slightly easier and hardly did other variations of the V-Ups and rested slightly less as went through the deck. Today however was the toughest because I do feel quite sore and I wasn't sure of myself if I was going to pull through. I wanted to die around the middle of the deck but something told me to keep going and that I got this. To say it was a rude awakening would be an understatement but felt so rewarding when it was over.

I have beaten the deck on a number of occasions with various exercises such as 500 Hindu Squats with one deck, 200 Ab Wheel Rollouts & 500 Step Ups with another, over 1000 reps striking the tire with my sledgehammer and of course just Hindu Push-ups & Hindu Squats. Doing 4 exercises with a deck can be a completely different animal and because the exercises come up at random, you never know what will show up. I had reduced some numbers for the exercises because its been some time since I pushed that hard with those exercises in particular together. It was an experience that's for sure and I will one day get back to where I was doing numbers that Furey provided for the cards consistently. 

As you may or may not know, deck of card workouts are no joke and it has been said that if you're supreme condition, you would speed up through a deck in a certain amount of time. My times on the cards throughout the years varied from 18 minutes to just over 45 min. and I've done different workouts where I varied in speed and tempo. My objective regardless of the workout is not to always rely on speed because if all you do is trying to go fast, fast, fast, you could end up losing form and your breathing might get out of whack. I want to be able to journey through the workout, be aware of my breathing and be in control throughout the workout. I also want to let my body naturally speed up as I get stronger and better but I'm not looking to set world records.

One way to do this workout isn't to do reps at all but do Isometric Postures either for seconds or for breaths. I have done both and neither one will be a cake walk, matter of fact, you might love doing reps more than holding positions. Just an Isometric workout with these exercises will test your strength in ways you never knew existed. I was so damn high after one workout it felt like time stood still and my body was in the most beautiful blissful state. It is one of the best experiences of all time when it came to training. It brought a whole new meaning to the term Isometric Conditioning.

If you can't get a hold of this particular deck, you can create it with your own deck and here's how you determine the exercises.......

Diamonds= Hindu Push-ups

Hearts= Hindu Squats

Spades= V-Ups

Clubs= Tablemakers

How long will I continue to do this routine, no freaking clue. If I'm determined, I'll keep up with it, if I've had enough, take a little time off but it is a hell of a workout and it's awesome to do practically anywhere and anytime. Conditioning for the whole body and can be done in a variety of ways using different variations of the exercises. Have fun with it and if you are, try doing it twice in a row. 

Why I Never Sit Down In Training

When you do a workout, at times after finishing a set, you'll want to sit and chill for a bit or play around with your phone and twiddle your thumbs and text somebody or something; this is a bad idea. Training is a sacred time and it's better IMO to keep moving and not stopping because you're focusing most of your energy into the exercises you do and what is called active recovery keeps your body from going into complete rest mode.

Now unless you're an athlete (Pro or Ameteur), it's a different ball game because you're training for a specific sport and the set up is quite different than someone who is just working out. Competing or training for competition takes a different mindset and rules of engagement in how your workouts are set up. Personal Trainers have a different set of rules in how they apply the set up for the person their training; each person is different and they'll either work them to death or aren't always clear how that person handles their way of doing things.

My way of training even by a year has been very different. I haven't done 500 Hindu Squat Workouts this consistently since 2017 and even then the workouts were night and day. These days, I don't do 500 straight through, I use the deck of cards which I have written about and if I need a break, it is because at times I carry a lot of tension in my lower back and need to let it wind down, this brings me to the point where the title of this post becomes relevant. If I end up sitting down in the middle of a workout or even an exercise, I might as well end it there because I could get too comfortable and not want to continue, so i'll either walk around so I can keep moving or I would grab the Ropeless Jump Rope. This keeps me from being too comfortable in the middle of my training.

Personally, I don't like sitting down, especially if i'm breathing really hard because certain things in the body can be rushed too fast and one of two things can happen when you get up....One, you're either struggling just to stand and your body might end up aching like crazy or two, you stand up too fast and you get dizzy AF and you'll have to rest even more just regain your damn composure. That's an extreme way of putting it. I've pushed myself so hard that one time in the gym, I nearly blacked out and felt like I was having a heart attack, this was at 19 years old BTW.

The best way that keeps me going these days where I don't have to sit down and continue working out is using Active Recovery. Using the Ropeless Jump Rope as a way of "rest" keeps my mind sharp and helps with my breathing so when I'm ready for another set or number of reps with the cards or during my animal workout game, I'll have the strength and endurance to go at it again. This keeps up my endurance and works my conditioning as well. When I do Circuit Workouts like from Darebee, my objective is to not rest whatsoever unless I mark off the set and then move on to the next without hesitation, this is a real test of your conditioning.

If I'm going to be sitting, it's either writing, watching a movie or tv show, talking to people or messing around on my phone promoting stuff or hell when my wife works out and needs my help pointing things out to her, never when I actually train. The sign that tells me that you absolutely have to sit down in a workout is you pushed a little too hard. I look at it like it's a wrestling match at times, there's no rest in wrestling so when you workout, you keep moving, you can slow down a time or two but never stop. You tweak a few things or you listen to your body but the less time you completely rest, the more in shape you'll be.

You could say that completely resting is a weakness, it is to an extent so I'm not completely throwing it out. If you're a beginner and learning how things go than sure, take a seat if you need to or you're at an advanced age but if you're in good shape or even pretty damn awesome shape, sitting shouldn't even be an option unless it's a wall sit. Keep moving and if you need to slow down, do so but DO NOT STOP until your workout is done. This is a test of mental toughness.

Bodyweight Exercises For Real Life

From a general POV, Bodyweight Exercises have a lot to offer in terms of a solid construct of fitness. The problem with today's aspects of Bodyweight Training is that it's not treated as a sacred area of developing practical and proper applications for real world situations and is treated mainly as a source believed only used for endurance and doesn't generate a lot of strength. You can develop insane skills and build a crazy physique like those Barstarzz guys or do things that create great skill for certain competition but where does it go in the real world?

In things like Crossfit, they push to their absolute limit without regard for safety and practical applications. Most of the time, the pull up in that system isn't a true pull up and they're setting themselves up for injuries beyond their understanding. A real pull up develops strength for real life and has a greater rate of building an injury proof back, shoulders, arms and core. If you want to test your endurance and your lung power, go for a good hike, one of the best exercises for developing stamina for hiking is the Step-Up.

The basic principles of Bodyweight Training is to develop what Johnny Grube refers to "Conditioned Strength", you know I've written about him in the past and even though I don't agree with him on certain things, I have high respect for his conditioning. If you can't carry firewood without getting winded or be able to walk up stairs easily, there's something you need to do in order to counter those things. You're not going to be able to chop firewood from benching or able to swim by doing machine curls but if you apply exercises such as animal movements, squats, core work and sprints, you'll be in shape for days.

I have said that most Bodyweight Exercises are boring to me because once you get into the high reps within the triple digits, where do you really go after that? That doesn't mean they don't work like a charm, they most certainly do and I can attest to it by being able to do things that don't get winded in real life, I've hiked for long periods of time, chopped wood without losing strength and can swim pretty well. A key aspect to have a hold on is how you breathe, the better your breathing, the more endurance you have period. This is a critical element in a combat situation and I learned the hard way that if you can't control your breathing, you might as well be dead. In No-Gi Grappling, at first I was putting too much emphasis on my strength and not seeing how my breath work went and I was gassing out quicker than you can say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." Little by little, I relaxed a bit more and focused on my breathing while rolling and was lasting longer in rounds.

You don't need to do hundreds of crunches and you certainly don't need to do muscle up upon muscle up to use your training in the real world. Use the basics down to a T and that's really all you need. You can gain more advanced skills but the basics will save your ass more than those advanced moves ever will. Also, if you're getting injured in training more than in the real world, there's something wrong there. In training, it's more controlled and applying things that are useful and learning what works, but in real life, not everything is in our control and sometimes injuries at times are inevitable but we do the best we can to not let that happen.

Get in condition not just to look like a million bucks but to use it when the time comes to either go on hikes, help a friend move, do some labor as a job or to help people in need or to even save a life.