Stronger Lower Arms To Kill Tendonitis

 

During my high school days, my biggest form of exercise was weightlifting during P.E between my sophomore year to my senior year. I didn't know very much on how to stay limber and supple, I was stiff as a board most of the time and as an athlete, none of it really mounted to much. For two years I did Shot Put and Discus, mainly to carry on the tradition of my father because that's what he did. I never got as good as he did and because of my lack of discipline and not caring as much about my health at the time, I developed injuries in my shoulders and mainly my lower arms from the elbows to the wrists that also developed tendonitis and joint problems.

It wasn't until I discovered Combat Conditioning that I needed to really fix a lot of areas in my body. Even during my gym days, I had bad knees, woke up so stiff everything hurt as I moved and very little core strength let alone any real strength that lasted. Later on I found out about the Primate Power Super Strength System and wanted to try something new. I did get stronger and became far more limber than I ever did as a teenager but the fun really began when I learned how to move like a Primate or in this case Apes and Monkeys. 

The hanging exercises were just awesome on my elbows and shoulders and although I completely killed my tendonitis, something just needed that extra oomph to really tackle the problems I had when I was younger. I was determined to have the strongest lower arms not just by muscles but also making my tendons and ligaments incredibly powerful especially since I was also into Bending Steel. Moving like an Ape really opened my eyes to what could be an exciting adventure into full on animal movements. Walking/Jumping with the weight on my knuckles, hanging for a good period of time and making my fingers feel like solid bones, Primate Power gave me the strength and conditioning I truly craved for. 

Because of this course, it made my fall in love with Animal Exercises, challenged me in the most fun ways and made me stronger in my strongman feats and in Gymnastics. For nearly a year I did gymnastics at my local college and was the biggest guy in the class outweighing the next guy at 30-40 pounds (I was around 210 at that this time) and could hang pretty well at the horizontal bar and could do a good amount of pullups and dips on the rings. I wasn't any near as athletic or graceful as the other students but they knew what kind of strength I had. 

To this day, I've never had a severe injury to my lower arms. If I ever did get hurt, it didn't last long and healed pretty quickly and could Arm Wrestle with some strong guys. It's not just about developing strength to do good feats, it could also help when you're saving someone's life or your own. If you're in a fight and have strong tendons in your hands and wrists, you have a little advantage and have some good knockout power. If you're a wrestler, you can develop some serious gripping strength and your opponent will feel it, put them in a submission hold and they'll scream for mercy before either tapping or passing out. 

Get your hands on Primate Power and harness the power and might of the Ferocious Ape/Monkey. 

Felt Like Going Ape

 

No I wasn't going Bananas or swinging around the house (I could easily break things around here) but last night after some time playing around with Animal Movements, whenever I got up to get something, I would instinctively start walking on my knuckles or if I wanted to stretch my hamstrings, I would straighten my legs as much as possible and start walking on my palms. Maybe I was just so in tuned with my animalistic side that it came natural to me.

This morning at 6:30, I woke up (it was already 70 degrees outside and my body was just ready) and went out into the Dungeon and started doing some Primate Training. Did several sets of hanging exercises, walked/jumped like a gorilla, walked like a monkey to stretch my hamstrings and just felt incredible. Is this the rediscovery of something? Am I naturally feeling like a primate of the Jungle? 

On a more serious note, training this way gets back to our roots of what strength and health is all about using our bodyweight. Just the hanging exercises alone are beneficial to stretching and strengthening the spine, core, arms and shoulders. The walking movements can be trickier but you'll be making your tendons stronger and building steel-like cords in your forearms. You do them long enough, you might have to be careful shaking someone's hand.

Being able to Monkey around (or more in this case, Ape around) regardless of your age makes you already stronger than the average person. Being able to climb, walk, hang or jump like a Primate takes on another level of fitness that is more keen to our natural instincts and abilities of our Jungle cousins. Now not all of a Primate's movements are meant for humans, we know for damn sure we can't exactly swing as powerfully like a Gibbon or have the crushing strength of an orangutan, but if we adapt to what our human structures can do and progress with our natural abilities, our strengths can increase and be less prone to injuries. 

It's not all about muscle, muscle, muscle. The idea of powering up our tendons and ligaments is something we don't always understand and how to train those areas. Most of the time, we go after the muscles because that's what we see on the outside. Some guy with large arms, barrel chest, a back that looks like North Dakota and legs like tree trunks is what many consider to be an ideal of strength; that's not always true. It's what holds things together and what makes our structure strong, muscles are just a piece of the puzzle. 

Train like a Primate using the Primate Power Super Strength System and have fun in your training. Progress naturally, don't rush it and get the basics down. Like for real, go Ape guys, it's awesome. 

Can Music Increase Testosterone?

 

When you workout, do you notice a difference in your energy when certain music plays or not? What about the level of energy when music doesn't play at all? Strangely enough, when certain music plays, there's an area of the brain that is triggered and it could supply an extra level of adrenalin or decrease a level of energy. Now I'm no scientist and I'm not sure how much study has been done on specifically music targeting levels of testosterone in men and increased or decreased levels of strength due to the type of music being played.

Most people who listen to music for workouts (from my observations and knowing people) tend to tune out anything else around them and just go through exercise after exercise. Others however, use music not just as a motivator but as a way to wake their ass up and have that burst of energy, keep it there for as long as the workout goes and go into this trance where it feels like you're invincible and every exercise you do becomes a cake walk or your strength is powered up and can lift or do bodyweight exercises with solid energy. 

For us guys, going to war is a human habit and fighting for what we want to achieve. That feeling of wanting to go into battle and feeling that adrenalin rush course through our veins. Where our awareness, focus and physical abilities jump up to 11 is the pinnacle of a strong workout. Music provides a key to unlocking our mental and physical abilities and aiding our strength in ways we can't always get on our merritt. Does it increase testosterone? Depends on the type of music you hear I guess. Now I don't consider Abba or Madonna to be very manly type of music if you're going into battle with a heavy deadlift or going after 500 Squats but some people have specific preferences of what drives them. 

Now I personally feel the best music for having that testosterone fueled feeling is various types of Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Tribal Style, heavy riffs, certain classical music and just hard nosed balls to the wall Rap styles like DMX. Music can alter our brain chemistry and send us on a path that either channels our primal instincts or take us to a place we've never been before, the sound of a great tune could potentially give you a surge of power in your body and amplify your ability to withstand incredible amounts of strength, endurance and agility. 

Some feel it's best to not train with music playing because it's thought of to be a distraction from channeling your inner self. I use to think this way for a long time but nowadays, I sometimes workout with music on or off depending on what I'm feeling that day. It is kind of funny at times to do an exercise and a random song comes on that might throw you off like for example, I was doing Step-Ups one day doing my 1000 Rep workout with the cards and Blue Moon by the Marcels came on and just threw me for a loop for a second, luckily it's a favorite of mine but things happen. I don't consider Disney songs to be very powerful for fitness but if you're working out and having a good time, it isn't a bad thing in that area. 

Find the music that drives you and fuels that fire within that just makes you feel so damn powerful bullets can bounce off of you and you can tackle an exercise without fear or remorse. Strength should come from within, but music is like gasoline to a flame if you do it right. 

Here's a great song by The Hu that will make you feel you can ride into a battle and conquer your enemy with incredible strength and power surging through you. I've split wood with this song playing and felt like I had no fatigue and the splitting maul thrusted down faster and even more powerful. The amount of strength in my veins was out of this world, you may not understand the language of the song, but the sounds of the instruments just fires you up.  

Are Hundreds Or Even Thousands Of Repetitions Necessary?

 Herschel Walker, Bruce Lee, Gama, Dan Gable and Karl Gotch; what do they all have in common besides being some of the very best in their field of Sports or Art? They have literally done thousands upon thousands of repetitions of exercise over their lifetimes. They were also some of the fittest if not the fittest athletes in their time. The amount of push-ups, squats, sit-ups, sprinting, going over moves more times in a day than the average person would in a year. Were they necessary for their chosen endeavor?

These guys were at the top of the food chain in what they did. From Walker making records as a running back, Lee with his expertise in Martial Arts, Gama with his Undefeated Streak in Wrestling, Gable's unlimited endurance and Gotch's unbelievable Condition and Wrestling Knowledge. For them, being in top condition required countless reps to stay ahead in the game and outlast opponents with ease. Does the rep count in Calisthenics and Moving Weight really matter to become the very best? The truth is, in order to become the best in your chosen sport, you have to consistently do that sport to get better ad better. Very few ever reach the pinnacle of success. 

Although you can do 100's of reps per day with any given exercise, it's not going to make you a better athlete. It can have a heavy aid as a supplementation and laying down a foundation for what your goals are. Rickey Henderson was the greatest speedster and lead-off man in Major League history but after all that training and 25 years in Baseball, he was still 3 ticks shy of 300 career home runs. Karl Gotch has said Conditioning is your best hold yet some of the most conditioned fighters still lost or made mistakes. I do believe in being in great shape, but doing hundreds or even thousands of reps isn't always the key.

Nobody can outlast father time and eventually, we have to change how our bodies react and recover from certain aspects of training. If someone who's 20 years and in awesome shape can do 500 Push-ups a day, by the time he's 70, that number won't be that much of a priority. If you set goals and want to go after certain numbers either as a challenge or on a consistent basis, that's one thing but our bodies aren't always exceptional like world-class athletes, we can't train like them and anybody who says you can is a liar. Injuries can occur, reaching a level where boredom becomes frequent and recovery is as much a priority as the training itself. 

I have literally done thousands of push-ups, squats, step-ups, club swinging, hammer striking, nail bends and animal moves in over 15 years of everyday training in total, there comes a point in time where you need to reassess what you want to accomplish. Where does it end and what have you really done? People forget or haven't completely learned how to use their intuition or learned how to be aware of what their body can do and what it can't. A football player can't hold a candle to a Navy Seal and a Catch Wrestler won't always win a street fight, it's a different process of what the body can handle. Yes, it's incredible we can find ways to tap into our minds and get that second or third wind but you always seem to see that either in competition, survival modes and through a challenge, rarely ever on a whim. 

We don't need to do thousands of a ton of things to accomplish something, sometimes we only those few that will get the job done and get results that was meant for you to have. 1000 crunches won't get you six pack abs, 500 Push-ups a day isn't always going to help you in a fight and 2000 Squats a day won't always help you in an hour long wrestling match. Conditioning is a key but there's more than one way to skin a cat to get in incredible shape. High reps do crossover into other endeavors and have a helping hand but it isn't going to make you the healthiest person. 

Train with intention of what you need to accomplish and do it not for the sake of doing countless reps but to develop the quality of those reps and the quality of your body's level to be in energizer mode consistently regardless of age. The quality of life is more important than a number of reps in an exercise.

My Morning WOD

 It's one of those days where the energy levels are just right, the sun is shining beautifully and you're feeling pretty damn good. You may not get those days all the time but when the opportunity arises, take advantage of it and do what makes you happy. I got up and did a routine that I combined a few things together that opened up the body and stretched the living hell out of it without really straining and relaxed as much as possible. It was GLORIOUS!!!!

Started off with Matt Furey's 5x5 System using a few exercises from Combat Conditioning.

The Neck Chi Kung Routine were next and felt everything in my neck open up.

Joint Loosening Exercises were next and worked everything from head to toe, opening up the meridians and getting rid of unwanted tension.

Did 5 Minutes of the Farmer Burns Stomach Flattener which built up a pretty good sweat and strengthening the internal organs and deep breathing.

Finished off with 1 Minute of Shaking everything out and relaxing the entire body, opening up the lymphatic system and just feeling the great energy.

I have no idea how long this took but I'm guessing around 30 minutes or so but everything we by so quickly and with such flow and intuitive awareness. It's better to wake the body up with internal intention than just muscles, muscles, muscles. The practice of releasing energy that radiates and gives off powerful sensations of endorphins and relaxation. Power comes from within, not always how fast you move or how much you can lift, that's secondary. 

The Neck Chi Kung exercises alone can wake you up and help prevent headaches, migraines and groggyness, the rest is just icing on the cake. These are not your typical run of the mill type of routine, it is a great way to strengthen the neck without needing to bridge. It works all the muscles that keep your head in tack. 

The 5x5 System, stretches and strengthens the muscles, the tendons and ligaments that help build flexibility in the shoulders, spine, legs and hips. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.

The Farmer Burns Stomach Flattener is a no brainer but should be done on an empty stomach and start off with only a few reps until you can continue repeating the exercise for 5 minutes. It develops incredible breathing power, strengthen the internal organs and can burn belly fat within 5 sec per repetition. It can be done anywhere and anytime. 

Shaking the body out releases unwanted tension or any more tension that is left in the body. Breathe deeply and relax. It also releases toxins in the body at least that's what I've noticed and releases a great deal of endorphins and gets rid of that emotion of anger, anxiety and excess energy. 

This routine can supercharge the body within minutes and make you feel you can tackle your day with ease. If you also practice protecting yourself from Energy Vampires, having a bad day would be as rare as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro being in the same movie together. Get those juices flowing and feel amazingly awesome to get the day started.