Heavy Resistance Cables For Strength Training Without Barbells & Dumbbells

 Weightlifting & Weight Training have a place in the world of fitness and I prefer the classic courses like Arthur Saxon's The Textbook Of Weightlifting or George Hackenshmidt's The Way To Live and of course Dinosaur Training by Brooks Kubik. These books are the pathway to success in how the old timers trained and what made them successful.

Now as great as weights can be, not everyone can afford to buy weights for their home and some aren't interested but would like an alternative. Resistance bands are great for this because for one, they're light to carry around and two, you can use them to workout anywhere and create your own gym experience.

Some of my favorite exercises are with the cables, specifically the Lifeline Fitness Cables such as the TNT System, the Chest Expander & the Power Push-up . Just these three alone can give you a killer workout. Some of the best athletes in the world use cable training like this and have been successful with them. The chest expander in particular is an apparatus the old time strongmen used (back then using Steel Springs) to strengthen the upper body and even developed great physiques using them. The legendary Earl Liederman used them as part of his course that included Self Resistance exercises similar to Charles Atlas' Dynamic Tension course. Even the great wrestler Lou Thesz pulled an expander in his day.

The idea of being able to travel and still train with cables is a great way to keep yourself going without always relying on the gym. My personal favorite is the TNT System from Lifeline because not only can you do quite a few exercises from having it on the ground, you can hook it up to a door attachment and do exercises like you would use a machine at the gym. The big difference is with cables, you have to be stable enough to work the muscles needed for the exercises you want to do and that creates incredible core, back and leg work in addition to doing pulls, chest presses, sit-ups and even arm wrestling type movements. For the door attachment exercises, I like to go a little heavier than normal to really target the back muscles because for the most part, I do a lot of exercises that require more of the chest and triceps, so when I work my back to even things out, it pans out great with the cables.

During some workouts, I'll go heavy as I possibly can and with the the TNT Cables, I would do as much as 240 lbs. of Resistance which is two black cables and a magenta cable in the three slots of the handles. They have helped me get stronger in other areas of training. The very best workout I would do with this system is do supersets of various cable exercises with Step Ups; say do 5 sets of 10-20 curls and 20 step ups back to back with little rest and then go into presses and step ups,  attach the door increment and do sets of pulldowns and step ups. This would be done with a lighter set of cables for cardio conditioning purposes and target everything with very little rest in between rounds. Some of those workouts took as long as 40 minutes, brutal.

The heavier the resistance, the less reps you'll have to do (like that doesn't sound SO obvious) but when you start going into ranges of resistance that you can only do under 10 reps, you're swimming into some deep waters of strength training and you better be prepared to really push or pull because those cables will throw you off if you're not careful. You need a strong core to stabilize you so you're not being pulled around like a rag doll. 

I made a video yesterday doing Curls with the TNT Cables that are the two black cables (100 lbs of Resistance Each) and I did about 14 total reps (7 per arm) and that was hard as hell since I really had to squeeze and pull hard in order to get them up. These bad boys are no joke and I don't know if they're many people in the world who can do this. It was quite a feat that's for sure. You don't need to go heavy in order to get in a good workout, just medium sized resistance is more than enough for most people and condition your body like a mad man (or woman) and kick ass anywhere and anytime. 

Rocky VS Drago From A Certain Fitness POV

 Different ways to get in shape with all kinds of methods and programs. What sounds better or works better depends on the goals you're trying to achieve but where does it lie with making the person stronger and more conditioned? In Rocky 4, two athletes in total contrast to one another train very differently but still get strong and conditioned from their own perspectives. 

Rocky conditioned his body with wood chopping, running and crawling in the snow, dragon flys and upside down sit-ups in the barn and getting everything he needs with practical tools. Ivan Drago on the other hand, puts his body through a more scientific approach with drugs, isolated movements, hard punching that determines the amount of force that's struck and has a team of doctors and trainers that tries to make him more of a robotic machine. Who was the more conditioned boxer? If you ever saw the movie, you don't need me to answer that question.

In reality, both men in real life were (and most likely still) on the juice and doing that kind of training without it may not be possible concerning what their physiques looked like at the time. The true question is, which of these methods is more reliable and practical? From an old school perspective, the way Rocky trained is more manly and showcases what hard work using labor, bodyweight and unconventional resistance training does and what it gives the body. From a modern perspective and the way people go gym crazy is, Drago is king on this one. Weight Training, Steroids and heavy machine type workouts seems to be more of the norm. The funny thing is, back before steroids and machines were a staple (or even existed) Weights and the method Rocky used, co-existed and were the proponent of building and conditioning the human body. Separating them became the norm by the 1970's or even earlier as far back back as the 50's.

Let's take Steroids and Heavy Work on Machines out for a moment and focus on seeing the bigger picture from a realistic POV; both gym work and old school outdoors style workouts (Wood Chopping, Sledge Work, Carrying Live Weight ect.) have a place for someone who wants to achieve specific goals and both have proven to be useful for athletes and many everyday people. Neither are necessarily bad (if properly applied) since they're used by both men and women of all ages. Some have a preference and others have changed their style around to suit their needs and goals. 

Do what works best for you and do everything possible to achieve goals without the need for drugs or PEDs to help you build a quality life and body that is functional and full of vigor. From my perspective, I'll always choose Rocky because let's face it, as a character, he's far more relatable than Drago and kicks ass with a vengeance. 

Sprinting Like A Bear

Let me ask you a simple question....Would you rather do Sprints on two legs or do Quadrupedal Sprints?

Most who have trained in Football, Wrestling, Martial Arts or just playing outside would tell you running on two legs is easier to do. Using all 4 of your limbs is (literally) a different a kind of workout animal. Just to keep balance, you have to move enough to where your arms and legs are in sync with each other and unlike 2-legged Sprints, you won't get as far. On flat ground, you'd be lucky to get 20 yards in a matter of 10 seconds (I'm guessing) as opposed to let's say 100 in just over 10 seconds. 

Sprints in the Bear Crawl is a different level of conditioning and if you do them consistently, you'd be pretty damn rugged and a fat burning machine, not to mention having lungs that will make people's jaws drop. They're hard but they're so damn simple it's not even funny. Many can't grasp the concept of being able to move fast and coordinated in that position. Just try to do 10 seconds of a Bear Crawl Sprint and if you're not breathing hard afterwards, you're not human.

When I need a quick workout and can do it in my living space, I would do up to 20 Sprints in a length of 15 ft each (equivalent to 5 yards). Sprint up, walk/jog back and repeat. Sometimes just doing that is more than enough for a training day and you're getting a good sweat going and breathing like you're going to die.

It can also be done as a finisher to a workout to get that extra calorie burn and build muscle from multiple angles in one shot. I ask myself from time to time how many sprints can I do before I say I'm done, one of these days I'll give it a shot. Timed my workout yesterday doing 20 5 yard Sprints in 4:16, I don't know what the average time is for that workout or if anyone really times but at least it's under 5 minutes and it's a killer. 

Whether you're a weightlifter, crossfit maniac, bodyweight enthusiast or just want to test your fitness, Bear Crawl Sprints are a great workout and will knock down even the strongest of men and women. Get strong, get fit and kick ass in your training everyday whether it's a small one or a big one, get it done. 

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Double The Reps Double The Fun

 Been some time since I've done circuits from Darebee, ended up doing a couple recently and both were Martial Arts based (Punching, Kicking). The latter workout was actually quite invigorating, it wasn't too difficult but it wasn't a walk in the park either. With all the goofy and fun names the people who work on the site, it wasn't too bad. 

Normally when it comes to those kinds of workouts, I would switch things up or change exercises to suit me better and also stick to 7-10 rounds with the regular reps displayed but this time I took it a step further; I doubled the reps and went 10 rounds with the only break was a few seconds marking off the circuit. This took 22 min for the full workout and it a lot of muscle groups.

So as you can see, that would be a lot of total reps. When it was doubled, you're looking at 1000 Punches, 400 Squat Hold Punches & 200 Calf Raises getting at 1600 Reps for the workout. All I can say is, this is way cheaper than Tai Bo and you get just as much benefit if not more. Darebee is an amazing website that is dedicated to binging workouts for free that would challenge just about anyone. Some workouts are pretty easy and some will knock you on your ass, you never know what you'll get until you do it.

From Martial Arts to Military to HIIT and more, you're getting workouts that last a lifetime and can be adjusted to your level and you can choose to do their Extra Credit form of rest between circuits or getting in on forming your own program. Regular workouts, 30-90 Day programs, nutrition advice, basic forms of meditation and other stuff. It's a favorite of mine when I feel like getting into something different and adjust to my style. Check them out. If you feel like donating, they have that option or you can get their workouts in book form HERE.....

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