What Is More Difficult With A Deck Of Cards: 500 Hindu Squats Or 500 Reps Of The Matt Furey Exercise Bible?

There are different challenges and various workouts involving high rep bodyweight training but what makes certain things more difficult than others? If you're a beginner, doing something with high reps will make you sore quick unless your body recovers faster than normal but in an advanced stage, it can vary from exercise to exercise and the consistency of what your training goals are.

Doing 500 Hindu Squats for the average person isn't an easy task and being consistent can be daunting but for an athlete or someone who is use to high rep training, it's almost the norm and once you reach 500 or more, it becomes a mental game more than anything. Doing the Matt Furey Exercise Bible is quite a challenge in itself in the beginning and it's always changing whenever you do it. Some people who have done this workout can do it pretty damn fast but some do it very slow, focusing on form and being methodical along with working repetitions. 500 Reps of the MFEB is no joke but is it as difficult as to do doing 500 Hindu Squats? I believe it depends on the perspective from those who have done both.

From my POV, doing 500 Hindu Squats with a deck of cards isn't as difficult because for one, you're literally focused on one exercise (unless you're a maniac adding jumpers and flat foot squats in the mix) and you're going through it the entire time. For the MFEB, you're focused on 3 added exercises and have to be ready whenever they pop up. These exercises have multiple variations and sure you're doing less of the squats but you're working all the muscles in your body in order to get through the deck. The concentration is different, the muscles being worked are unpredictable and your breath work is different. In each case, you're using multiple muscle groups and you're testing your conditioning levels but unlike focusing on groups that give a particular one way more attention, you're giving your attention to every muscle in the body almost equally.

For those who have never done either of these workouts, don't go diving into them like they're a cake walk, you will be sore as hell or worse. Some people think bodyweight training isn't a big thing yet if they did either one of these workouts, they're in for a rude awakening. Neither one is to be messed with and they'll get you in shape like crazy. You can do them on different days, both on the same day or if you've got some kind of fitness death wish, in the same workout. I have done 500 Squats plenty of times and done them to prepare for a little day of hiking. Doing the MFEB, I've done different variations of the exercises and did various rep schemes but even at a total of 500 Reps, it was pretty gnarly (sorry not sorry, even after nearly 9 years in Idaho, I still have my Cali Lingo).

So what do you think is more difficult? Give me your perspective if you've done reps at a high level like this. Although 500 Hindu Squats is more commonly done with or without cards doing them straight through, I've read plenty of people have done the MFEB and find it more enjoyable. You never know who might answer it in this manner.

Breath Of Fire For Endurance And Universal Power

One of my favorite scenes in a Marvel Film was in the Incredible Hulk where for a few seconds you see Bruce Banner learn a breathing technique that helps him control his emotions and stay calm. The teacher is the legendary Rickson Gracie, the red belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioner who is the best of the best in the Gracie Family. I didn't understand about this technique until years later doing research on the technique and paying attention to how Rickson does it in the Documentary Choke. 

The simplest way to explain it is similar to lamaze breathing women use for childbirth. The big difference is that although it looks like you're hyperventilating, it's a concentrated breathing pattern working the diaphragm and exhaling short and fast bursts of the exhale. It's not an easy technique to learn and I'm sure there's far more to it than the way I try to practice it. The more I applied it through meditation and throughout certain workouts, it doesn't just give you a more calming effect, it helps amplify your stamina and aids recovery like crazy.

Through practice of various breathing techniques (ones one should and should never do) I find Diaphramic Breathing the best variation with its different styles of that form of breathing. It keeps things flowing and puts more of the body and mind in tuned with movements without going into panic mode which is what chest breathing tends to do. We walk around breathing all day and don't give it a second thought but the way we breathe can have a profound effect on how our emotions play a role in that area. 

For fitness reasons, there are books out there (some nearly 100 years old or more) that teach what's call Intercostal Breathing which uses more of the chest and rib cage to tighten the waistline and breathe more upwards into the chest. That's all and good if you want to build a tight waist but in the real world, that can cause a lot of problems and put you more into a negative emotion like unnecessary anxiety/panic and fearful. You have read recently that I tried this technique and suffered for a while and had a bad case of anxiety and other problems. The moment I started breathing through my diaphragm and focused on my breathing, I was back to normal. Other people have told me that Intercostal Breathing gives them headaches and have more of a shortness of breath and have learned from the likes of Steve Maxwell and others that this type of breathing is an endurance killer.

When I was going on for nearly a month doing the Matt Furey Exercise Bible, I changed my breathing patterns on the Hindu Push-ups to have better endurance but what really made the difference was as I was getting better, after each workout I would do this technique for maybe 30 seconds as a finisher and my breathing felt incredible. I was refreshed, I wasn't huffing and puffing and my mind felt clear as crystal. It literally felt like I could start another workout at 100%. 

Yesterday, I put this technique to the test in a different way; I tried out some boxing by going 10 Rounds (1 min on and 15 seconds rest), just doing various punches and speed of punches while also using techniques from CoreForce Energy. After each round, I would do the technique as active recovery during the 15 second rest periods, with that I was able to continue punching each round without tiring and was hitting harder and faster within practically every round. I never felt weak or fatigued and my speed never really wavered, I did mess up a couple punches here and there but I was moving too fast and I wasn't paying attention to my form but once I put the focus back on my speed while paying attention to my breathing, it was as if I couldn't stop and was in that zone. Never felt that much energy and I never have done a workout like that in my life. 

As a side note, I was playing a video game on my PS4 called Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and it either gave me so much adrenaline from playing or just plain inspired me to workout but either way, that workout after playing that game made me feel like I can turn into a Super Sayian (if anyone knows that term, you know what's up) and my body was just full of surging power, energy and strength that I felt invincible and can turn into a mighty warrior with spiked blonde hair. That was what it felt like during that workout and practicing that technique. I never even warmed up, it was just there and during the rest of the day and as of right now, don't feel any soreness or discomfort/pain, just energetic. 

This is just an idea of what I experience when I practice this breathing technique and how it has changed how I work out and go about my day. It might be different for you and have a very different affect but from my personal recollection and understanding, it is by far the best breathing technique I have learned thus far, it has made my endurance go through the roof, I feel stronger, far more clear headed and has been a good practice for meditation.  

The Wild Was Calling Out To Me

For years I've watched and became a big fan of Animal/Wildlife Documentaries from the Planet Earth Series to Disney's Monkey Kingdom, Wild Alaska, Documentaries on Wolves and many others. It's fascinating how much our world is enriched with the vast species of animals, insects and the killer intelligence of the Orca. I sometimes ask myself "how could you not watch these and want to move like them?

For us humans, we can learn a lot from animals and although a trend of animal movements has hit big lately, it's been practiced for centuries or even longer where we mimic other species in different formats such as Kung Fu practitioners and hunters who learn how to stalk and kill a wild animal. Many people who practice the movements today give off more of a theme or a combination of freestyle moves mixed with gymnastics and the crawling patterns but for someone like me, I love keeping it simple and dig deep into the best possible ways as a human to move like an animal.

Last night, I just had an itch to play my animal dice game. After eating a few homemade tacos and watching Fast & Furious, I went out to the dungeon and just hammered out about 15 minutes of animal exercise and felt incredible. The surge of energy, the calming effects after the workout and the deep breathing was one of the best experiences. The ability to transform (in your imagination) into an animal on a whim is a powerful feeling and when you start crawling, jumping, side stepping and moving pretty damn fast, it goes beyond just cardio and building functional muscle.

No I don't howl at the moon or growl like a grizzly or roar like a big cat but just moving through various planes of motion and setting yourself in awkward positions makes your body in a way you're not used to. A lot of these movements are a staple in many sports conditioning programs, more notably in sports like football and wrestling. The game is just an idea but other aspects of an animal workout can turn someone into a lean, mean fighting machine and it brings out a whole other form of superhuman conditioning. Just the Bear Crawls alone can take down even the greatest athletes so imagine putting together a workout based on an entire kingdom of wildlife.

You can start at any point depending on your level of fitness and progress through various stages of movements. Treat it like a game, a way to have fun and play. The results are nothing short of incredible when you practice the art of moving like a wild animal.

I have no clue if I'll be doing it everyday for a while or when I get an itch but this type of training always seems to make me happy while staying really fit at the same time. Doesn't take up much time since most don't need more than 20 minutes but if you're really into it, you can go as long as you want. 

Training Like The Dark Knight

Within 2 years, there will be ANOTHER Batman film but this time with Twilight star Robert Pattinson. Now I know what you're thinking cause I thought the same thing "who the fuck, thought it was a good idea to have Edward be Batman?" For quite a period during the Twilight Saga that girls and fanboys flocked to root for Team Jacob & Team Edward, talk about a rivalry that made people laugh than anything else. However, from recent photos that have been roaming, they're already giving fits to how Pattinson looks in the suit. The question I have is "How good of shape is he going to be in?"

The training this time around isn't going to get him to look no more than 185-190 at best and looking more than a tweaked looking Tarzan from what I have read but than again what can you truly believe these days. They're more concerned about how the suit will fit because for a new film, they have to gear towards the guy's shape which I can understand but putting a ton of muscle on a guy that hasn't been seen with that kind of physique is going to be tricky, not impossible but it should be interesting.

Each Batman over the decades have gone through extreme changes in how they train to be the caped crusader: Michael Keaton barely did any workouts to be believable but did a hell of a job with the role, Val Kilmer was ok but had a physique that resembled more like Adam West from the 60's, we NEVER, ever speak of George Clooney, Christian Bale had the best physique of all the batmans of the last 30 years even though he was 20 pounds shy of the Character's actual weight and is probably the best Batman to date. Ben Affleck did a decent job and looked in ok shape but he had far more potential and we were left wondering "what if?"

I have my doubts as to how this will play out with Pattinson and I hope they train him right because any lean guy can put on the suit but how you present the physique on screen that captures the synergistic affirmations with the suit itself is a whole other ball game and it can make or break that actor. I'm going to take it for what it is but many people are just going to look at him as the pale and sparkly vampire. He's not particularly the kind of actor I like watching but being in a superhero film can flip that a 180 like they did with Affleck.

Now training to be Batman in this case isn't realistic for the average person and Pattinson will get his ass kicked into shape hard. Most people can't train 2 hours a day and do things so intense it'll make you throw up just by the site of how hard that person is being pushed. Training like the Dark Knight takes a level of conditioning many don't know how to get to but it can be attained with basic principles and a solid progression system. Bodyweight Training is perfect for this kind of thing and with a little imagination, you can transform your physique into something to be proud of and do so without paying a dime to a gym, trainer or coach.

Darebee.com has over 1000 workouts to choose from and they range from super easy to highly advanced, all within the comfort of your own home. They take the most basic exercises and mold them into workouts that are tough as hell but fun to do. The Circuit based workouts take only minutes a day to complete and they can be done daily or a few times a week. The Batman workout from this system is one of those tough ones where you can progress with various levels but at its peak, it's one of the best conditioning workouts ever and it's very simple to do. A full 10 Round Workout shouldn't take you more than 45 minutes to complete. I've done it within 35 where's little to no rest.

As you can see, it may not look that hard but once you get into it, it's a wake up call. You're working practically everything in this workout and it'll make you crazy fit in no time.

Workout Like Harley Quinn

Me and the wife went to see the new DC Film Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) recently and although it wasn't that great of a DC movie, it was fun to watch. The soundtrack was pretty bad ass and the stunts & fight scenes were great too. Margot Robbie does a decent job as the Clown Princess of Gotham and is more of a Siren than a Bird Of Prey.

It is interesting how mega stars get in shape for blockbuster roles; Marvel films are notorious for having really in shape actors for the characters but truth be told, being in shape in hollywood comes at a cost for the most part. The transformations alone can be admirable but it takes a toll after a while and even can cause health problems (do some research on Tom Hardy as Bane and you'll see what I'm talking about). Training and working out for a big role makes typical gym rats look like wimps but that's because you have hands-on personal trainers that take those actors to limits the average person would be put in the hospital for.

Learning what Robbie did for Suicide Squad was pretty gnarly; a lot of HIIT workouts and working with a trainer that had ballet experience added in the mix and you got yourself some hard ass work ahead of you. I don't know how much of this training was true but it's definitely not the type of training that can go long term and for specific reasons. When you're getting ready to film or preparing for a role, you're on a time cruncher and that actor has to be ready to be in shape not just for scenes to look great on screen but be able to maintain it for as long as the shooting goes.

Some of these workouts last up to an hour or more everyday of the week and often it is within 3-6 months before shooting even starts and to maintain while being on set, you're constantly being pressured to keep the physique where the movie makers need you and that means doing little workouts between takes, eating at specific times or do a hard workout before going on set that day. The thing you'll notice in most of these workout schedules with actors is very little recovery time and that's where the toll really comes in because you're training, filming, eating and filming some more day and day out until it ends. Recovery is virtually non-existent.

 Nobody in their right mind should workout like an actor has to and although many people are envious that these people can afford trainers, chefs, coaches and anything else in between, when it comes down to it still have to put the work in otherwise their spot can be taken just like that. If you want to train long-term and develop a superhero type physique, you work with realistic goals and workouts that not only aid in muscle building but give you time to recover and be able to do little things.

One of the best methods for training for general fitness is through Circuit Training. Done enough of it myself, I can tell you that when you learn the aspects of training this way and understanding your body's level of condition and strength, you can do this for quite some time and figure out when and how to properly train the body in this fashion. You don't need a personal chef, trainer or coach to make your goals work; websites like Darebee.com have so much information and over 1000 workouts to choose from (most of which is bodyweight related so you can do them anywhere) you have everything you need at your fingertips.

One of the workouts I have done and even my wife has done is the Harley Quinn Workout which nowhere near is as intense as Robbie's workouts but can save you a ton of time while working the body at a solid level. It's not on the darebee website but you can do some research on it and type in Superhero Workouts Neila Rey in google search.

As you can see, it's a heavy emphasis on the legs and punching. Yeah it's geared towards women but guys shouldn't knock this workout, I did multiple workouts with this where I did 10 Rounds with very little rest in between, it's an ass kicker for sure. Girls, if you're a Harley Quinn fan and want to get in shape, here you go. Do this workout up to 3 times a week and see the results. If you're really ambitious and want to pack on some functional muscle and burn fat like a furnace, do this workout with very little rest to none whatsoever unless to check off that set. Go for 10 rounds and see how you do. You might even see Harley working with you and picturing the Joker running like a little bitch cause he couldn't handle a woman like YOU.