Do You Swing?

It's always fun finding something that peaks your interest or you want to try out certain things. I normally don't do swinging movements when it comes to training but I decided to give them a go by making a video of doing various swings (1 & 2 Handed) with different implements that hit different muscles but also at different weight. The way I was taught kettlebell swings was kind of funny by one of my friend's brother. I could rep out ok when it comes to the swings but they weren't a big priority.

One of the guys in my Isometric & Alternative Fitness group on Facebook was talking about Kettlebells and something got inside my head that I should get a video going of swinging not just the Kettlebell. It was fun actually and made it a bit of a Micro Workout. For the most part, swinging a Kettlebell can be beneficial but there's technique involved that should be trained properly so you don't hurt yourself. It's explosive and can get you into decent shape with practice. It was one of the things that helped Bud Jeffries with his big weight loss years ago.

The implements I used were the loadable Soft Kettlebell, the Thor Hammer, Sandbell & Darth Vader Kettlebell. They ranged from 30-70 lbs which is more than enough for most people and because of the change in how you hold them in order to swing, you are hitting muscles not normally associated with the typical swing. There's a pinch grip, a vertical grip and the normal grip. Doing these one handed can be tough especially with the hammer and sandbell, those made me work extra hard just so I don't drop them.

I might incorporate the swing into my training more since it's a fun move especially with the Vader one. A few rounds of that with sledge work and/or step ups, be a hell of a workout. 

I Will Be Iron By Bud Jeffries 

Hiking And Step Up Challenges

 Leg Conditioning can go a long way in how to determine your true level of fitness and not always how you look. Strength is always a good thing but how long does it last? A few minutes, an hour, all day? Some do Leg Work either for sports reasons, bodybuilding or to maintain some level of endurance and or strength endurance but what would the main point be?

Challenging ourselves is a good way to test our abilities but how often should you do them and the intent behind the challenges? People train for months on end to just compete in the Crossfit Games (don't get me started on that) or do a Tough Mudder or Spartan Race, so where does it end? The purpose of a challenge is not just doing the physical aspect of it but also where and how we set our minds to those challenges. My biggest purpose is to maintain a certain level of conditioning for whatever comes up at a moments notice and that's where I like to test myself with Step Ups and as recently (or at least for a time) hiking.

One of the Step Up Challenges I've done recently was doubling up the amount of reps per leg with the deck of cards. The most I've ever done with a deck doing Step Ups was 1000 and that was a doozy. I wanted to see what I can do by doing twice as much on a card and testing my cardio more than anything. For the cards I did, I made it to 436 and that was the amount I was willing to do that day. Normally with a deck for a joker would be 100 reps (50 per leg) but this time when that asshole came up I had to do 200 (ended up doing 2 sets of 50 per leg since it was my first tie trying it) and already had done a few cards prior that were 12-20 per leg. It was a hell of a challenge and sometime going to see how much further I can go.

As for the hiking, that was always fun for me. I've hiked around the mountains of both the east and west coast and some were pretty nuts like some in Lake Tahoe and in the Redwoods. A couple times now, I wanted to test myself to see what my conditioning would be like to hike up around here wearing my 40 lb weight vest. The first time was a couple weeks ago on a Thursday and just hiked up this hillside near the house that had some steep areas and came back which took about an hour, not too bad. Last week, I wanted to go even further, so I hiked up to a further area and just before coming back down, I went through a forest trail that's above the road leading to the lake and did a portion of that, than I went back to the hillside and back home. The whole hike/walk took 73 minutes which is one of the longest I've ever gone with a weight vest on. Came home covered in sweat like I was just under a waterfall and ended up losing 3 pounds in the process during that hike. 

Hiking is a great form of exercise but adding a weight vest to it is a whole other animal and I'm happy I got to experience it and can't wait to do it again. I love being in nature and seeing what's possible for me to do. Was I sore when I came back from that hike? I felt the affects but not to the point where I couldn't walk the next day. It's a hell of a conditioner and it was more of a mental thing than physical. After maybe the first 20-25 minutes, it felt smooth and my breathing was really good and the last 10 minutes or so, I had this burst of energy and was basically power walking back home and didn't feel fatigue. Maybe it was just adrenaline but I loved it. 

Test your abilities and see what's possible for you. Get out in nature and just experience what has to offer. Our world these days is just crazy and full of people hating on each other and not experiencing the beauty of things. Find the beauty and hold onto it. It is out there, you just have to look. 

Play To Get Stronger

 When we were kids, we played all kinds of games that kept us physically active. Played football, baseball in the streets, the different variations of tag and that goofy duck, duck, goose game. It's to help us fine tune our motor skills and establish foundations for how we handle or bodies and our brains in other areas of life. As we get older, we succumbed to the things in life where we utilize certain skills in order to even make a few bucks and at times, have made us miserable and we wish we could be a kid again.

These days, being playful is considered taboo and childish because we have to be hardened and just live through life and roll with the punches because let's face it, as an adult, we can't be child-like. Now, that doesn't mean that we run away from our responsibilities as an adult because we do need to take care of ourselves and do what we can to live a life; with that being said, why can't we still find the time to have some fun and find that level of happiness that we had as kids?

The older we get, the more we need to establish the fact that yes, we don't have the same exact energy and spry we had as kids but we can still be playful and use certain forms of exercise to keep us active and maintain our motor functions because we don't want to be like those old folks who fall and break their hip. Being active can be hard, especially when we reach a certain age and the attributes begin to diminish like our flexibility, our strength, agility and coordination. 

Some people play sudoku to strengthen their brains, others use the gym to help maintain their strength in their muscles and tendons but also make use of their time by gardening, help carrying things and hiking. A favorite exercise I like to do every now and then is flipping and catching something. I would use all kinds of stuff but my absolute favorite is flipping and catching my sandbells. With the 20 lber, I would sometimes do it with one hand or flip and catch with the opposite hand. With the 50 lber, it's a little trickier and takes a lot more strength because it's not like trying to catch a ball, the coordination and strength need to be on point, plus it adds in having solid grip strength and agility cause you don't always know if you'll be catching it with a palm grip or pinch grip. 

Now you don't need to flip and catch with a heavier weight, just regular flipping or even learning to juggle is more than enough. For developing a stronger body overall, playing around with things like Animal Flow, Ginastica Natural, Gold Medal Bodies and other movement protocols are awesome at that. Hell, just being active is a solid start and developing a habit out of it. Age is just a number, it's up to us to defy the aging process and make the most out ourselves to live a quality life and not feel weak as we age. 

60 Seconds Throughout The Day

 A minute may not sound like much but you can get a lot done in that time more than you think. What if you could do one stinkin' minute of exercise throughout the day? How many exercises can you get done if you were to do one on the hour every hour? Sometimes as a busy person, you might have to do that in order to get what you want out of your training. It happens at times.

Not many believe that you can get any form of exercise done in a minute....If that was true, than do one minute of Burpees. Not many can do that especially in good form but it is an ass kicker. How about something easier like, a minute of Hindu Squats or a Wall Sit? Why not a fist plank or punches? You see, some exercises are very simple to do but they're certainly not easy.

Short or Micro Workouts throughout the day, have many benefits as to how we can make exercise and fitness productive. Not everyone has the luxury of getting in one full hour of training let alone maybe 30 minutes so this alternative can make a big impact on how you can get what you need done and give yourself little windows of time and make the most of it. 

Here's an example of spreading your exercises throughout the day. A program Darebee has in this section, one minute HIIT workouts can be done either all in one session or you can spread the workout throughout the day if you wish. You don't have to go all 30 days and do all three levels. This is ust an idea. 

Some exercises or intensity may be too hard for you which is understandable, you can lower the intensity and/or do an easier variation to make that small workout doable for you. Make it work to your advantage and get the most out of it because in the end, one minute is better than nothing. 

Some of my workouts on various days are micro like doing 60 seconds of Hindu Squats or Step Ups, within an hour I would do another 60 seconds of let's say Bear Crawls or Duck Walks, later on do Burpees or go hard on the tire with Big Barry (25 lb Giants Hammer), it just depends on what I'm in the mood to do. It can be very energizing and satisfying. 

Last but not least, you can't go wrong with 60 second Isometrics. Just hold a certain posture throughout the day has great benefits such as: Strengthening the tendons, keeping the joints healthy, cardio (because of the breathing), no joint impact, it's quick and you can do a limitless amount of exercises that won't damage your body. Work with what you have and keep windows open for the exercises you want to do or can do. Compromise with yourself and you health. 

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Hammer And Burpee Combo For A Conditioning Recipe

 Experimenting different things can be fun and it makes you work your brain. If anything, experimenting with different combinations can make your training interesting. With the resurgence of Hammer Workouts since I got the Stronger Grip Tactical Sledgehammer, I mainly use it to do a couple variations of the Sledge Strike and as a form of training like the Mace. 

Conditioning is just a favorite of mine and doing what's possible to keep myself from being bored. I use decks of cards for high reps in my hammer workouts ranging from 100 to about under 600 these days. I also do my supersets to make things interesting instead of always doing one exercise or one variation at times but I don't always combine 2 exercises as if it was one thing that's blended. 

One of my biggest inspirations is Bud Jeffries and his constant encouragement to experiment and making workouts look amazingly awesome. His creativity and simplicity just builds you up and makes you want to do things you've never done before. One of them is through his Sledgehammer Course which you can find here....The amount of exercises being shown is just the tip of an enormous iceberg of ideas and training modalities that take on a life of its own at times. I saw a demo he did on Youtube where he took a sledgehammer and combined it with striking and a burpee. I wanted to give this a shot.

I don't have any real experience with this combination so it does look awkward from a certain point of view but I don't care, I wanted to give it a chance and put it on film. Since I got the hammer with the San Francisco Giants logo, I also wanted to just have fun and make videos of my workouts while decking out in my Giants Shirt (Willie Mays #24) and my hat on Tik Tok and adding heavy metal to them. I have even added them to the baseball pages on Twitter like the Giants and the MLB, it felt exciting to do that. It's not something you see people do often, talk about being a Super Fan.

That's the beauty of training is that you can do all sorts of stuff and have fun. I love training at home or anywhere, the gym can be great but it's really just a building, you can create a gym anywhere if you have the right mindset and basic understanding of exercises. Since getting the hammer, I feel my condition has gotten better, gaining speed, my grip is getting stronger, putting on some muscle and gaining power in my tendons. Although it's just a tool in reality but in my imagination (and anyone who's worked out with hammers can relate to this), it's a tool of the gods that grants me strength that I didn't know I had before and makes me work harder to make the most of what is possible.