The Burnout And Making The Best Of It

 At some point in our lives, we all have been burnt out whether from sports, exercise, work or performing as an artist in music or films. You can only go so far and at some point, you hit a peak and it's just wearing you down. We can at times push through and just toughen it out but does that really do anything for your mental health or physical wellbeing? If you're burnt out and you can't perform at your best and it consistently ends up being at your worst, how do you keep going without going insane?

Life is a pain in the ass, we know that and there are tough people out there gutting it out day after day whether they're at their best or when they're most exhausted and running on fumes just to squeak by. I respect those that push themselves to take care of loved ones or just themselves and make their living but also it can be hard going on and the light is just barely lit enough to where you're crawling and dragging yourself mentally or physically and it can lead to being a bitter person with life draining out of them. 

From a fitness POV, burnouts usually happen when one starts out and just goes for the kill without giving themselves time to progress and think their superman or wonder woman right off the bat. How many times are we going to read or hear that old cliché of going hard for a short period and than just being so broken down it takes a longer time to come back or even the will to come back? The thing is, it can happen to those who've been doing fitness for decades or even a few years and all of a sudden, that candle goes out. How do we come back from that? 

We can make the best of it by either changing something up, recharge and built ourselves back up or we can take that energy and put it into something that gives us that enthusiasm and interest. I can already hear the "easier said than done" set of shouting in my head and I feel you man, it happens to the best of us and it's hard finding a balance but without balance, you'll fall over and one extreme will come more than the other and you're left with scratching and clawing to balance things out again when you're already on your last breath or physical/mental effort. 

I've gotten burnt out from doing hundreds of squats a day, going too long on Animal Workouts, pushed the weights harder than I should've and put stress on myself that it becomes like depression when it's just not there anymore. For me, when that happens, it becomes a battle with your mental self to get back up and find something that helps you get out of that darkness and get back to that level of not just interest but happiness, the thing that makes you you and a level of willing to keep fighting but at a different intensity. When I need a break, I try to do things at much lower intensity like just doing Joint Loosening workouts or going swimming when it's nice out or go for a small walk or do mediation to clear my head. I still train every single day but it isn't hardcore or killing myself, it's about finding ways to refresh everything and powering up the batteries until I'm at my best again.

When you're burnt out, it can affect your performance and when you're off your game for a period of time, the performance can get smaller and smaller until you're so off it looks like you've forgotten completely how to do something right. Yes there is muscle memory and your reflexes are still there but if things aren't in sync or flowing, it becomes dangerous and not in a good way and could end up hurting yourself or others and it wouldn't matter whether it was physical or mental. 

When you're feeling burnt out or about to hit that threshold, do your best to breathe and slowly take a step back. I'm not saying this for every situation because that's not how things completely work but it's important to reassess, give yourself a bit of a breather and possibly slow the pace down. Listen to your body and your mind. 

The Elusive Isometric Power Belt

I was fortunate to be one of the few people that acquired John Peterson's Isometric Power Belt (The lengthier version) and ever since he gave me one (two actually) it has been one of my go-to pieces of equipment for Isometric and sometimes Suspension Training. For years since using it, I have achieved pretty good results in terms of strength, mobility, joint health and power in my tendons and ligaments. 

It has gotten some bad press by people who never shut up about the flaws John had and it's level of verbal abuse because it wasn't ever released to the public because John can be a perfectionist but at the same time, have trouble realizing that you can't keep promising something that goes on for years without showing or truly presenting something. Although it's sad it wasn't ever brought but it's a blessing in disguise because someone who actually owns one can show the awesome exercises one can come up with. With that in mind, it's not a complete waste.

There are other straps/belts out there that you can snatch up such as a yoga strap, the World Fit Iso Trainer, Rings, Suspension Trainers and others that are readily available. Is the Isometric Power Belt any more special than those other things? In reality, not really but it is special to me because it was a gift, it has many uses other than training for Isometrics and since I was given two, I gave the other one to Bud Jeffries during the week leading up to my wedding. Now that he's passed away, his wife is now in possession of it and if she finds use in it great, if not that's ok too because I know it's in good hands or would be passed on to someone. 

The original belt that John had previously put out was about 10-14 feet long and it was loosely based on the design that Dr. James Bailey used or designed for athletes (more notably used by prisoners that John had written about for the exercise booklet for the belt) to have greater variety of Isometric Exercises that you can carry with you in a suitcase. There were different designs that came and gone through the years like for example the Isometric Chain Alexander Zass used to supplement his isometric training based on what he did to escape prisons during WW1. 

In recent times, an old timer named Bruce Tackett made a somewhat crude version of an Isometric Strap called The Hook where you can attach handles to the strap and do Isometrics from there, it was also used for suspension training and a DYI version of the Chest Expander. Quite frankly it was a pretty ingenious idea and I wished I had gotten it but never got around to it even though I said I would. Most of that product went to his Sierra Fitness Forum members while one of them got pretty damn shredded from using it. Yoga straps have been around quite a while but the World Fit Iso Trainer has been one of the upcoming brands of Isometric Equipment that has had quite a bit of success. 

This version of the Isometric Power Belt is twice as long as its "older brother" and has a stronger form of handling heavy amounts of weight (like it can take up to 7000 lbs before it tears a part or something like that) so not even the legendary Zass or Bud Jeffries could've torn this thing a part bare handedly. This thing is a combination of many straps/belts in one piece of equipment. John even planned on releasing a book of exercise for the belt (the belt itself is 28ft long BTW) but never released it so it's even more elusive if not scrapped but all I did was take the exercises from the original booklet and amplified them along with making a few additions of my own like Arm Wrestling, Bow and Arrow, Handcuffed, mimicking shoveling snow and used exercises from the book Overcoming Isometrics.

The belt is just another piece of equipment I use in my training and it's neither better or worse than the rings or the World Fit but I'm glad I have it and if John ever releases it one day (which 999.999% sure won't happen) it be a nice thing to add to a collection. I'm also probably the only person with this specific belt that has filmed working out with it so if you ever want to see it in action, here are some videos.....

Fingers As Strong As Talons

Our hands are much more than a few digits that can grip and hold onto things. They're an enormous asset to how things are made; from buildings, to art, music, fitness or starting and ending wars with single gestures and signals. Many times, we take our hands for granted and don't realize how valuable they really are. Like anything else, we've used our hands for evil and have done horrible things to other creatures and human beings but we've also done wonderful things, heroic things and mind-blowing things that can be still talked about to this day. 

Some are born without hands and others have lost the ability to use their hands yet some of those same people have done great things and made the most of what they're limited to. Having a good set of hands are meant for great things but others go on paths that causes blood to spilled, use technology to derail or send messages to kill another person and have caused trauma to many who are young and old. Our hands are a gateway to what we learn and where we are going until we die. 

In the fitness world, we mainly use our hands to grip a bar and either press and pull something whether it's a free weight or machine but in other areas, we take our hands to another dimension when we develop the ability to tear things apart or bend tough steel, lever sledgehammers, snap spikes or do other crazy things. Bud Jeffries use to combine lifting with old time strongman feats such as holding heavy weight while also tearing a deck of cards or bending a spike. That takes incredible concentration and control of the nerves and muscles. Very few in the world was able to do that. 

Another great example of Hand Strength & Dexterity is the legendary Concert Virtuoso Garin Bader. Not only does he have incredible power and agile fingers to do a workout with, but also work the piano or other instruments with ease, dazzle an audience with magic and the ability to work his fingers in such unique ways it's mind blowing. If you want to know more check out his Finger Gymnastics Course. I've seen and felt first hand how powerful he is and he does it without much effort yet you feel like you're in a vice when he gets a hold of you. 

I'm not big on high reps when it comes to push-ups because to me it gets boring after a bit and if you do them too long over a period of time, you can get complications in the shoulders and elbows. I prefer Isometric Push-ups or Slow Tension Push-ups since you don't have to do much to really feel it and Isometrics really tackles the muscles and the muscle fibers than just typical push-ups. I also get a kick out of holding positions in the push-up where I can hold for a few seconds than go to the middle and bottom, working it both isometrically and dynamically. Here are a couple videos where I demonstrate the Push-up from different perspectives....

Another favorite where I don't have to do a ton of reps but get incredible benefit out of is Fingertip Push-ups. These are much harder for obvious reasons and it's a test of the strength in your tendons and ligaments. Just holding a Fingertip Plank is hard enough, now trying to do multiple reps. You'll mostly see MMA or other sports athletes do these because they have the ability to really dig into the nitty gritty of your grip strength and building those forearms like steel cords. These three videos should give you an idea of what I mean....One is just your typical form of Fingertip Push-ups, another is just using three fingers of each hand and the last is where I do 1 Push-up but it's so damn slow that it takes about a minute to complete using tension and control the entire time. 

 

As you can see, when you train the fingers, they can enhance your fitness and other things in your life that have meaning to you. Having strong fingers are great for massaging, better grip control for lifting and carrying, be able to climb better, pinch power, bend stuff, work with tools and more. Strong hands equals a strong body. 

The Game Genie Of Fitness

 I had written what the game genie was in a previous article about Micro Workouts but I wanted to elaborate a bit more of what that truly means. Here's a small "recap" of what the Game Genie is....

Back in the 90's, Video Games made huge leaps and bounds with mainly 4 consoles; The Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, the N64 & the rise of Playstation. When it came to the SNES & Sega that I knew of, there were many ways to add a little zest to a number of games or in better terms, a bit of glitches that gave you so many cool things to do and have such as infinite lives, invincibility, unlimited weapons, level selection, and power ups that gave a character a faster way to build up to the ultimate version of that character. 

The god of all cheats and strategies came in the form of The Game Genie which was a cartridge you can place in the console and "download" various codes for the game you wanted to play and then put your game in and off to the races. There were times you may not have needed the Game Genie and you can just press a bunch of specific buttons to get a cheat for various things in the game while you play or at the start menu. This is virtually non-existent today because of online gaming, no cheats or buttons to hit that can give you the ultimate advantage to pass through a game at lightspeed and it's become "too real" in a sense. 

Now where is this going when it comes to fitness? What the hell does some retro "illegal" cartridge or knowledge has to do with working out? Well, it's more of a  geeky reference to how Isometrics are unlike any other method and how one man called them the Cheat Code of exercising. The moment I read or heard cheat code, the game genie popped into my head instantly. Isometrics tackle areas of the body or as a whole that most methods can't touch.

Isometrics break down the weak points of the muscles to make them stronger from angles that can't be done with typical weights, machines and/or calisthenics. If you're having trouble with squatting and have weak knees and legs, a wall sit or horse stance will show you where those weaknesses are and how you can reassess your structure to get the full benefit of strengthening the legs without needing to move. That's a basic outlook to what Isometrics can do but there are several versions of this method that can help many not just get stronger, but provide near injury proof bones, tendons and ligaments or in better words lessen the chances of getting injured quicker. 

Why call Isometrics the Game Genie Of Fitness? Because like the cartridge, you can "download" the ultimate ways to strengthen your body to unleash it's potential by overwhelming bounds. Think about what it would be like to have the secrets to increase your pushups without hurting your shoulders and be able to control your hips and lower back from sagging, to have such strong knees and ankles that going up stairs or even getting up out of a squat is easy as hell, to have such powerful tendons that you can play with your kids, grandkids, nieces/nephews or do some crazy stuff without getting hurt or with so small chances it's microscopic. How could you not want that? 

Isometrics have been around for thousands of years and although modernized, it still has value beyond its means and gives you the "lost secrets" to developing the body and attributes that would make people's jaws drop. From Shaolin Monks to Gymnasts, from ancient warriors to weekend warriors, from royalty to commoners and from athletes to everyday people all have used or done Isometrics at some point in their lifetime. If you researched from the very best who have done them with great success, you'll be heading into a world that many today can't even begin to fathom. The strength and power is right there, the game genie is in your grasp, get the "cheats" and unleash the true potential of your character. 

Sole (Himalayan Salt Water)

Staying hydrated is one of the key elements to keeping the body healthy but with all the stuff that's out there that sells you the best hydration packets and what they represent, it can sometimes become misleading and you can't trust all the commercials and things you find in GNC or other so called "health" stores. Probably the biggest things you'll find about hydration is Gatorade and Pedialyte which the latter would be used after a knocking back a few and being so drunk that the next day you need something to keep your organs from failing from dehydration. 

I've tried different things like Gatorade, Advocare's Rehydrate products and a couple others but two things lately have been favorites to do and noticed some differences. The first has been a product I use from time to time to help hydrate in the morning and either during or after workouts has been Liquid IV which is a powder that you can pour into a glass of water or into your water bottle that has pretty good amounts of vitamins and good sodium to keep hydrated for some time. Just one packet alone is the equivalent to 4 bottles of water. The only drawback might be the Sugar content which is around 12 grams per packet, so if you're hesitant about things like that there are others out there with little to no Sugar but this has worked for me. Whenever I do feel dehydrated and need a pick me up, that does the trick almost instantly and feel energetic and ready to go. 

The other thing I've been doing a little more recently is what's called Sole or a better term would be adding Himalayan salt to water. I was thinking of other ideas to use to stay hydrated and did some research and found out about this simple ingredient to add to my water. There isn't a ton of research done on this so I'm not going to say it's the GOAT of hydration but from my experiences, it's got some pretty damn good health benefits and it's pretty easy to make. Now I must caution you that not all salts are equal since most of the salt that is used in our food supply is very limited to no true value in the minerals real salt has. Salt has been around for millions of years and has been used in medicines and the rich minerals from certain areas around the world that has kept people hydrated for extended periods of time. Himalayan salt is about as pure as you can get and has been used for adding flavor to food to help eliminate toxins for salt baths. 

I would sprinkle the salt onto the meats I eat such as steak, lamb and chicken and have taken salt baths before but let's just say I can't fully stretch out and feel comfortable in a bath tub in my house. Creating the salt water is pretty simple to make. You take a bag and pour the salt crystals into a mason jar (don't incase it in metal from what I've read) and fill it to about a quarter of the jar if that and pour as much filtered water (not tap) till the water reaches the top. Close it ands tighten it with a plastic lid and shake it up a little, put it either on your counter or in a cool pantry to leave over night and there you have it. Easy to do. The amount to take mostly depends on the person but from the research it has said you don't need more than a quarter teaspoon to one teaspoon of the salt water because that amount contains about 400-500 milligrams of sodium. 

Do some research on it and see if it can benefit you. I usually just take a teaspoon and pour it into an 8 ounce glass of regular water and feel really good right away. The benefits from my research has said it can help with eliminating toxins in the body, increases energy levels, helps with headaches, lowers blood pressure balances out ions and possibly helps with sleep. Yes we do need salt in our bodies, it's an essential ingredient but here's an idea on how to find the real thing and not that crap that is white and full of stuff that is more of a killer than a healer.