Music That Just Enters Your Soul

 Throughout my life, I've listened to all sorts of music from Louie Armstrong to Peyton Parrish and whatever else in between. I did choir back in junior high and even performed some concerts with the group, wasn't that good but I did ok. We did songs mainly from the 60's and 70's and they were fun to do. Later on in High School, I did musicals such as Brigadoon, Wizard Of Oz, Once Upon A Mattress and Singing In The Rain (the last one was only in two scenes and had the only speaking role of in my entire time in the Theater). Music has been a part of my life ever since I was little. My own brother is a musician and had stints throughout the years in his own career doing mostly rock and blues music, he has a gift.

In my fitness career, music has been a part of that off and on listening while training. Sometimes I just go at it without it and other times, I put on my Spotify with either headphones or speakers depending on where I 'am and just get deep into it. Some of my best workouts were with music playing and it'll vary but mainly go with hard rock and metal. If you ever seen my tik tocks you'll find out quickly what kind of music I'm into. With this sciatica shit, I would put on music from time to time and just put my focus into it. I' am getting stronger again and I'm doing more walking and being more physical with my movements animal style (building my speed back up). Still have trouble sleeping but I know this won't last forever.

One of the biggest moments I've had during this process was something that is hard to explain. I was anxious to move around and do something quick to calm my body down. My wife was reading a book on the couch and I put my headphones on and put on a song and something crazy happened; I was so into the song, the riffs and the vocals that my body just went into this auto mode of moving and it almost felt like an out of body experience. I knew what I was doing physically but mentally something else came over me and I was flowing through the animal exercises like they were nothing and I was moving fast, strong and agile. I felt like myself again for a few moments without pain and when it was over, I started crying not because of sadness but because I felt happy and had a sense of hope that I knew this is almost over. I felt it in my soul and it was just beautiful. That song that got me into that state of mind was a Journey cover of their song Separate Ways by Eva Under Fire, the girl's vocals and the music behind her is just incredible and imo, is probably the top 2 best versions of that song. 

I'm sure others have had experiences like that with their own taste of music when they train but for me, it was an experience that I can't get out of my head. It almost seemed similar in a sense when Rickson Gracie got in tuned with his body with the Ginastica Training he learned from Orlando Cani and went into such a meditative state that he couldn't hear or see anyone and just moved with such agility, power and grace for nearly an hour. I was only in a state for maybe a minute or longer but once I looked back on what I did, my brain immediately went to that story about Rickson. Whether he was having music going is neither here nor there, I just know that for a brief time, I got to experience such a state of meditation that it was my way of slowly getting back to where I want to be again. Music gave me that.

Some believe that music is a distraction, from a certain point of view it can be but on the other hand, when you become in tuned with it while training and the syncing of mind and body through the instruments and/or vocals is at that right spot whether for a minute or more than an hour, it puts you into a state that potentially brings out the very best in you and makes you the strongest, fastest and the most powerful you've ever felt. Hell you may break personal records or just so far gone that your body goes into automatic pilot and you're just along for the ride. It courses through your veins, your brain, your nerves, your internal being and letting into your soul and trusting what it's doing for you to be in the zone. Music is that powerful and some never see it that way which is understandable to an extent but in the end, if it works and it makes you that much stronger and feel more alive, why question it? 

Whatever your taste is, I hope it brings you positive results in your endeavors and you get to experience things that others have trouble processing. Let the music flow through you and get in touch with your strongest self. Keep being amazingly awesome.  

The Double Whammy Of The World Fit Iso Trainer

 When it comes to equipment, very few can top the other but depending on the goals you have, the type of equipment is more suitable to what you want to do more than just having tons of stuff laying around. Over the years, I've gotten Sandbells, Resistance Bands, Hammers, Clubs, Mace, 60d Penny Nails and have a few ab wheels and they're all essential to my regular training but a personal favorite is the Worldfit Iso Trainer. I got the thing on accident as it was part of the wrong order I ended up getting since I ordered the Worldfit Pull-up Handles originally. I got the handles eventually but the Strap was a blessing in disguise.

The Iso Trainer is not just a thing for Isometrics, it doubles as a Suspension Trainer as well. I call it the double whammy because you get more out of it than you think. Having it as a Suspension Trainer adds variety and a whole other plethora of exercises to choose from. I've done Pull-ups, Push-ups, Rows, Rollouts, even Tricep Extensions with this thing and it just feels awesome. The handles are very comfortable and the strap is very sturdy and durable as it can hold up to 400 lbs from what I understand so many people are able to use it. 

You can mimic many exercises of isometrics and when I train with it along with my other Iso Strap, it gives me some of the best workouts I've ever had. It brings that old school vibe like the way Alexander Zass did with his Isometric Chain exercises. You can mimic practically the same exercises as he did and build serious muscle along with developing the tendons that look like they were carved out of granite. It's also very simple to use and van be put into a carry on bag for traveling. I would take it to the park with me, put it around the back of the basketball hoop and do some suspension work or do Isometrics on the ground. Very light as well.

Equipment should be versatile and utilized to the degree where it gives you a good workout almost regardless of where you are. Since my Sciatica is healing up, I will be getting back to Isometric Training and it's making me anxious to whip out that strap again. Isometrics is one of my all-time favorite styles of training and have written countless times about the awesomeness of Overcoming Isometrics. Some days, Isometrics is all I want to train on and it fuels that relaxed yet at the same time ready type of energy and strengthens those weak areas. 

How much does this thing cost? Well certainly not more than 200 bucks like some "Bodyweight Exercise Guru" sells for a single book (fucking ridiculous man), it's roughly 40 bucks which is crazy since you are able to make up so many workouts and learn way more exercises than you would've thought of. When you add Red Delta Project's Suspension Calisthenics book for maybe another 10 bucks on Kindle to the mix, you get a great variety to create virtually any type of workout you want almost anywhere. That's less than the cost of the average monthly gym membership. You'll learn the ins and outs of what works and what doesn't along with having fun with this bad boy. If you throw in a door attachment, there's no reason you can't do some solid suspension training at home and progress. These three things can make the world your oyster and train in ways that didn't seem possible before and it's very well within most people's budget. 

That's one of things I love about training is finding things that are suitable for a budget that works and get the most out of it without needing to use up your paycheck. I'm sorry but I'll take those things over a book some shmuck who thinks it's worthy of pricing that looks like shit and can't make it affordable to people that could use it for their benefit. If it's worth it to you and you've saved up enough to get it, go for it and I really hope it brings you incredible results but it shouldn't take you weeks or even months to save up for something like that, that's a lot of money that doesn't involve groceries or bills. It's robbery in my opinion and full of snake oil crap. There's a difference in someone being cheap and someone who's on a budget, learn it. I believe in top quality things that are in a comfortable range for someone, never should someone be guilt tripped into choosing either a book that costs more than a family meal or getting groceries for your family for the week, that's just not right. 

Anywho, I hope you find this article interesting and take a chance on the Worldfit Iso Trainer, the book and door attachment can be bought later if you want or not at all, it's up to you. I just want to give you an idea of what is possible without the need of a ton of equipment and you can snatch it up and use it for long term health and fitness. Be amazingly awesome and keep at it. 

Training & Update

 Been a tough road for the past month or so as my sciatica came back and with a vengeance. It started up again slowly while I was in Lake Tahoe visiting family. Was able to walk around and swim and all that but the moment we left, I was in various amounts of pain and when we got home, it hit me like an aluminum bat over and over on the right side of my body. The pain got so bad that often times, standing upright felt impossible and it took a toll on my physical and mental faculties. Bathing was excruciating and getting food to eat was unbearable to the point where I had little to no appetite. 

Mentally, it made me irritable, frustrated, angry and even depressed. I got no one to blame but myself for this and have been beating myself up over it. I'm not saying to make anyone feel sorry for me and not using it to throw a pity party, I'm saying this because this can happen to anybody; young or old even to world class athletes and we aren't 100% immune to it. It has been so painful that it nearly takes the cake over my broken leg injuries all those years ago. Am I showing my age? Maybe, but I'm certainly not dead and would never want anyone experiencing this, even those who've talked shit about me. I have a lot to make up for once I'm better and have made a vow to double my efforts to make up for lost time recovering.

Despite the pain and the emotional toll, I still train everyday no matter what, even if its for a couple minutes just stretching and/or do beginner level animal moves. Is it getting better? Slowly, yes and my flexibility, strength and agility is coming back in micro steps. I've done nothing but stretching, casually walking until I need to squat down and doing increments of the animal exercises from Vahva Fitness. Sometimes I do push through the pain but anybody can only tolerate so much. I know it has taken a toll on my wife and I'm just so grateful for her and what she has done to take care of me, she's strong and pushes me to get better everyday. She truly is my best friend and not just a companion but the ying to my yang, the crazy that matches my crazy and the far better half. I tell her everyday since this happened that the moment this thing is over, she'll be treated beyond the level of a goddess than I already do and going to make up for all things I was meant to do for her, even the little things. My mom has always seen us as the Bobbsey Twins and is quick to remind us of that often. We take care of each other and always have each other's back, I couldn't ask for such an amazingly awesome woman.

Although the workouts are brief, I know I'm getting stronger. I'm standing upright longer now, lasting better in my walking and have taken measures to stretch using my Isometric Belt to generate greater flexibility and even doing certain stretches Isometrically targeting my hips, hamstrings and glutes. I'm definitely feeling it but it's no where near as painful as it was in the beginning. I've only talked about this closely online with the Facebook Group Vim Vigor & Vitality that consists of those who practice Isometrics and other alternative forms of exercise and fitness. These guys are so supportive and have made awesome suggestions. One guy in particular, Batman O'Brien told me that because of what I was going through, he wrote up a series of exercises for me personally to keep up on and that he couldn't let this thing with me go on and insisted on helping me. It was such a powerful gesture and most of what he sent me I was already doing except a few things here and there. He even called me a legend in the Physical Culture world, the guy is twice the author and fitness advocate than I'll ever be and he calls some dude from Santa Cruz a legend. That was so profound and humbling to me that I told him that as much as I appreciate the gesture, I would never refer myself as that because to me, I don't feel worthy of that word. 

It may not be over yet, but soon, I'll be back doing what I love and making it more of a habit to keep up the maintenance so I can be at the type of strength and conditioning I know I can be in. This has been the worst I've felt in years but I can't give up nor can I allow this to go on. Pain may tell you you're not dead but pain can change your brain chemistry and turn you into something you don't want to be. It can be depression, full of negative emotions and it can make you mean at times and it's not right, it's not natural and sure as hell isn't someone I want to become. We're all human and we all have lived with some sort of pain in our lives but it's not natural to feel pain especially heavy sciatica pain 24/7 for the rest of your life. Take care of yourself and be amazingly awesome.    

A Rule Of Thumb For Those Who Call Themselves Gurus

Many trainers and and so called Fitness Gurus have their hearts in the right place and do what's possible to help others while making a living. I get it, you're building a brand/image and want to be seen as someone people can go to for solid ideas on training and getting the most with a Customer/Owner relationship. A big issue with some of these guys is that the "Guru" throws himself into this character as someone who tries to come off as this near god like being and smothers himself in ego and narcissistic tendencies in order to reel in an audience. It's understandable that some ego can be a good thing to an extent but Narcissism is a whole other ball game when they're only out for themselves and couldn't care less about others unless there's green involved.

If you read between the lines, you can see guys who have a bit of an ego and others who believe in their own hype. Many fitness programs work, there's no denying that and with the right tools, there are a lot that have a little something for everyone but not all programs are created equal and for good reason. A lot of the time, the Fitness Industry is a lot like High School, you have your various groups that segregate themselves, it can be very cutthroat and have people stab you in the back, you have the weirdos, jocks, valley girls, the hams, those who end up in the back, the popular crowd and those who think they can get away with murder because their daddy is a hotshot lawyer. 

There are those who don't take any bullshit and cater to a specific crowd or audience that they should feel worshipped by. Now that doesn't mean all of them are bad. A prime example would be the late Bud Jeffries, he was not only one of the strongest (naturally) people on the planet and had staggering charisma, he was also humble and would help you if needed. Sure he got paid for training and sold plenty of courses but if you needed a tip or two every now and then, often he wouldn't hesitate and put his hand on your shoulder (metaphorically or physically if you hung around him). He was also a guy who didn't take shit either and wouldn't work with those who tried to piss him off or shimmy around him, he knew tricks and had you at checkmate before you even had a thought. He was awesome at reading people and seeing the words between words when you spoke to him through DMs or Emails.

Another one I highly admire is Matt Schifferle of the Red Delta Project. From the looks of him, he looks like he's related to John Cryer & Matt Furey but when you hear him speak or talk with him, he's also humble and has an incredibly powerful positive attitude. His books are very easy to read and treats his videos as if they're a one person seminar as in he shows as if you were there with him and training. The man trains hard and uses simplistic exercises but treats you and the training with respect and dignity. He's got a no bullshit mentality to an extent but gives everyone the opportunity to understand not only the concepts of his style but makes it interesting to listen to. He's the type of guy you want to hang out with and doesn't show a lot of ego in his books and videos. 

When it comes to someone like me, there are names and praises I've gotten over the years that are just downright not I would ever call myself. I have been called a guru from time to time, I've been called someone who's in the top 3% of the strongest people in the world and other things. The truth is, I never liked being called those things, I'm no guru or blue collar guy, I would never put a percentage on myself when it comes to strength because to me that's not fair to others who make me look like a chump. All I care about is training, giving people ideas and pointing them in a direction that will benefit mainly them, not me. Do I have a bit of an ego? Maybe, but it's more about confidence in what I can do and what I know but I don't go around telling people that I'm the only guy with any real knowledge and I'm this much stronger than somebody else, in reality, I'm literally just a guy who fell in love with fitness after having severe leg injuries that's really the jist. 

I've had my own dealings with some guys who just love to hear themselves talk and if you disagree with them, they'd want you electrocuted just for having an argument. Some even love to talk shit yet never say it directly to me cause they're a coward and don't have the balls to say something, another guy tries to justify his actions/words and tries to make himself look like hot shit even though he can't when I called him out on stuff. These are the type of guys that have no regard for others and have sociopathic tendencies which leads them down a path of not only being mean bastards but can't let people live their lives the way they see fit. They write out or record rants for everyone to see, have grievances for the most irrelevant things (not to mention their stupid political outbursts) and treat others who aren't like them like trash when they don't even know any of those people in real life. 

There are great gurus out there and then there are shitty ones who only care about themselves. Shit even one guy can't stop talking about three things if you ever come across his stuff: How awful his wife is, mocking fat/overwight people and pull-ups in the same sentence and how his stuff is the very best on the market. A fourth would be either "friends" of his you never see one pic of or repeatedly mentioning an alleged pedophile along with his repeated hatred towards LGTBQ folks. Another guy who is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to basic workouts using the term "conditioned strength" and can go even at 55 but it's overshadowed by his long and dubious rants on how weak men are, the decay of society, his repeated outbursts of how he hasn't had a drink in 30 years, repeats how old he is and how many kids and grandkids he has. He's an egotistical prick with a napoleon complex that just loves to piss people off and doesn't show any compassion for those that don't share the same "values" as he does. 

It's like a car wreck with these guys, you know it's wrong but you can't look away and be curious but at the same time, it's better to just stay away from these people because we don't know what's happening in everybody's lives and what's the point of shitting on everyone? What's to be gained from that really? Where does it end? I believe in doing the very best to be kind to others until there's a reason not to and give others the benefit of the doubt and see through the bullshit as best as possible. Not everyone can be saved and not everyone is going to live a healthy life, we just do what we can starting with the people closest to us. Social Media has its perks and there are good people out there but there are some nasty motherfuckers too that try to sell you a bill of goods and tell you all these wonderful things but their true nature tends to come out when you least expect it and when you don't fall in line with them, they can make your life a living hell and will do whatever to make themselves look innocent. 

Little by little, be a bit better at helping others without an agenda and show compassion as best as you can. Life is too damn short to be so damn bitter that you have to take out your frustrations out on the internet and share how much the world sucks repeatedly yet you say you're happy, that's not how that works man. Be amazingly awesome and keep doing what you love. 

The Rugged Conditioning Entities Of Karl Gotch

It can be argued on who brought the rugged style of bodyweight training to the masses. Matt Furey certainly brought it out to the world and became a living legend in the world of fitness with Combat Conditioning that is still used to this day. However; years before Matt took the world by storm, two men in Florida recorded a series of exercises that were basic, unusual at times and would put most men on their knees within seconds. The demonstrator was Tom Puckett (or Ferrer to others) but the man narrating was the God Of Wrestling himself, Karl Gotch. 

I never met Gotch but I did know Tom for a short period of time. He lived 45 min from during that time and would come down to my neck of the woods in Idaho twice a week to hit the gym. The gym is called Peak Fitness and after he would do some conditioning work, he would hit the weights, even then when he slowly started falling ill to cancerous stuff he received during his time in certain aspects of Law Enforcement he was still a machine that just blew me away. He didn't like taking credit for that though, he was tough yet humble. He would tell me stories about Gotch and the real work ethic the man had. Some things never leave you.

Gotch was about as rugged as you can get and by definition, he was probably the top guy to use that word for. His workouts as you know if you looked into him are not just legendary, they're downright almost mythical as they sounded so unbelievable, you would've thought he was at the level of a real life Superman. He would put guys through workouts that he thought were the definition of what a wrestler should train for; the push-ups, the squats, the bridges, the drilling, gymnastics, animal moves and others were the foundation for a wrestler's arsenal for building not only a physique but the endurance and strength of a Super Athlete. He used to torture wrestlers with his deck of cards workouts and every now and then he would put them through more than 500 Hindu Push-ups and 2000+ Squats just to add fuel to the fire. 

His personal workouts would put even most athletes today to shame because he was never satisfied with just typical numbers. He solidified the pinnacle numbers for push-ups and squats to such a degree that they became the gold standard for pro wrestlers for decades to come. Now there are exercises that might be better and with the training programs that are coming out in droves in this day and age but it's also important to note and respect for the old school style that made a lot of champions. He had his gold standard for students but what he was doing on his own is nothing short of just jaw-dropping. Guy Chase who was another Gotch Protégé told me that the man in his prime was doing in the ball park of 5000 Squats frequently to stay in top condition along with the other stuff he was doing, that's in the realm of Gama and Chase has said that Gotch was doing Squats at a rate of 150 per three minutes. That's insane.

Now does this mean you have to do the same numbers to get the same results? That's tough to say because everybody's different and everybody trains in different ways but I will say this; in reality, doing those kind of numbers just to be like the men of the past won't always work in your favor. You can weigh differently, your structure may only allow you to do certain exercises and there may be previous injuries there, we don't 100% know but we can train in ways that is beyond the comprehension of the average athlete. You don't always see what numbers Dan Gable did yet look at what he accomplished. Same can be said about Alexander Karelin and Rolan Gardner, two polar opposite looking Greco-Roman wrestlers yet we all know who won that gold at Sydney. The main fact is, their conditioning was incredible and practically superhuman yet didn't do the same style of training Gotch did. 

Gotch's influence in retrospect should be respected and noted because he laid the groundwork by opening the doors to pre-MMA fighting and his works for conditioning are still respected and done even today. He took the crazy workouts from Indian Wrestlers and molded them into the treasure of gold that athletes from all walks of life use in some ways right now. To say he was a tough son of a bitch wouldn't do it justice unless you experienced it for yourself and the closest I came to that training wise was with Tom when he put me through just a slice of a what Karl put him through and put me through those bone breaking holds of the crossface, standing neck crank and even Karl's version of the Double Wrist Lock. Tom even trusted me to repeat these holds on him to show me how to apply them without needing much strength at all. These I will never get out of my head and still have nightmares from time to time of how they felt and the sound of neck and back cracking. Tom wasn't even a big dude, he was maybe 160 soaking wet and 5 foot 6 maybe 5'7. 

Some wrestlers today still do some of these same workouts and exercises, others pay homage to them in other ways and became champions themselves but the level of respect will always be there and the mere fact that one man became a god among wrestlers and has legendary status that has lasted for decades goes to show that despite certain aspects of wrestling is a dying art, the training is still firing after all this time. Furey may have kicked the door open with these exercises but Karl had the tools first to build that door.