A Workout Blaster Of Pure Heavenly Brutality

 Quite the title don't you think? In reality, the workout I put myself through yesterday was hard as fuck but it didn't feel like a chore and I loved it. It's probably the hardest workout I came up with since getting over the sciatica injury. It was another test to see what I'm capable of and the work I've put in. 

For some, it is annoying that I've mentioned the injury several times now and quite frankly, it is especially if it's on your brain everyday like mine. The thing is, it really has opened up my eyes to look at training from another perspective and to see a workout beyond the movements and the mysticism of it. Although they're simple, they're not meant to be easy and when you go hard, you learn what you made of. I may not be the fastest, the strongest or the most coordinated, but I do make up for it by finding ways to push myself to a different level than I was before. It's really a testament to having invested in the Dopamineo Band. 

I never reach failure in any of my workouts and for good reason, there's really no need to because you can still go hard without feeling like you can't get up and walk with some gas left in the tank. I do however, learn what my body can do and make it stronger and a bit more resilient as I pay attention to how it operates during workouts. I've always believed training is about discovery and coming to grips with what it can do and what it helps reach as time goes on. This workout hit a little differently and it made me learn where my conditioning was and how I can move forward.

Here's the Workout......

I started a "warm up" of going through my Animal Deck Of Cards Workout in full to get things going and get my energy up because I knew I wanted to do something more. Usually it takes me 15-16 min to complete.

After a short break going through the deck, I had the Dopa Band prepped and ready for another exercise that lasted a total of 6 1/2 minutes which was 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 20 Rounds doing the Alternating Wave exercise. I'm still learning the kinks of keeping the wave smooth but all in all, it was awesome and got some killer lungs firing as well as keeping my core tight and working my arms and shoulders. 

Not done yet....

Next was another brutal exercise of doing 10 seconds on, 20 seconds for 10 Rounds of the Bear Crawl Sprints with the band on my waist. The energy was there and my conditioning was on it. I was breathing hard but I didn't feel tired. I went through it and it was amazeballs.

But wait there's more. The final stretch....

I finished off with two exercises with the Band for 100 Reps each (in sets of 50) doing Curls and Chest Presses. Two simple exercises to target specific muscles (Pulling & Pushing). After doing 50, would take a small break to write down the numbers and return for another set. 

So here's what the full workout was in full.....

Animal Deck Workout 

10/10 For 20 Rounds Alternating Waves

10/20 For 10 Rounds Bear Crawl Sprints

100 Curls (50, 50)

100 Chest Presses (50, 50)

This took all together including resting was about 30 minutes or so I'm guessing. It was like a light that came on and my level of energy was just crazy. I did all that yesterday and still had gas in the tank. It didn't make me want to take a nap but I was hungry as hell so after putting things away and taking a shower, I cooked myself 5 Fried Eggs, 5-6 pieces of bacon and four slices of buttered toast to make a couple sandwiches out of them. Washed it down with some great juice and just felt euphoric on top of  the high I was already feeling from the workout. 

I won't be doing that kind of workout all the time but it's one of those that just clicked and I felt at my very best at that moment. That was for the record, a full on conditioning workout and it was tough. Tougher than some of my other ones but I made it through and it was another day of feeling like myself again. Make it count, but always feel like you can walk out after with your head held high, gas left in the tank and feeling like a kid again. Some people never get that chance, some don't have the drive and others haven't discovered it yet but those that do, understand that it's important to have those entities and never take them for granted. Keep being amazingly awesome and get cracking.

Be sure to snatch up some bands and use the bad ass discount code I got for you. Take 10% OFF your order when you enter POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Awesome deals going on right now especially if you grab a hold of a bundle you can use for athletes, the wife and kids or for building a team of great fighters/wrestlers. Even right now, you can get a 1 For 3 Deal where you can order a band and get 2 extra bands that can be used for stretching with a string bag so you can take them anywhere. 

Sprint Training With The Dopamineo Band

 The workouts are getting better and better and today was no exception. I've done sets of sprints with the band in recent workouts but haven't done a full on sprint session until a while ago. I would do Bear Crawl Sprints (which to me is tougher than normal sprints) but today, I wanted to see how many Hard (Bipedal) Sprints I can do in a workout. Granted you're not going very far and the band can only be stretched out so much but nonetheless, I would do a set, rest and repeat until I feel I've had enough. 

I haven't done a full exclusive sprint workout since probably April when I first got hurt but I've been training hard getting back into shape and workouts with the Dopamineo Band are paying off. Today, I did a total of 60 Sprints (10 of them on film) just going hard until I hit a peak, walk back and repeat. Did them in sets of 20, 10, 10, 10, 10. My legs felt great, no pain or even discomfort. Rested as long as I needed since these are brutal and you're doing shorter distances than say on a field or a hill. 

This was one of my goals and I achieved it. I have done sets of 10 until I reached 30 but that was part of a workout that included various exercises but this was full on, in your face, being explosive as possible sprint training. I cannot stress enough how awesome an investment this thing has been. Very grateful and being inspired by the Degastani Wrestlers and American Athletes that use this thing is just incredible to be a part of. 

Sprint Training has been a favorite for years doing Hills and doing them animal style and this is now a part of my arsenal and could be a powerful tool to use in the winter to stay in solid shape. This band goes beyond most other ones and mainly just turns athletes into machines. Wrestlers use these either on active rest days or to train with after a wrestling workout when they've already brutalized themselves, that's just insane. I started studying and researching on wrestlers from Dagestan and the style is similar to what is done in Freestyle, Greco-Roman, Judo and BJJ but these guys up the ante and have a higher level of relentlessness. These are some of the toughest athletes in the world. 

This type of sprint session may be only once or twice a week cause there are other exercises to do that give you that full body work that just hits like a freight train. Other days are doing punches, animal crawls, squats, waves, rows, jumping and other things. Keep the variety open. I like to do combos like a Squat & Push Press or Upper Cuts mixed with pulls, whatever comes to mind. Training with this a few times a week would be enough for most and it can be used as a warm-up, full session or a cooldown to keep the calories burning after a hard workout. Find what works for you and get your hands on a band that's suited to your size or weight class. 

Train with a vengeance and strike down your goals with intense prejudice as you become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Keep being amazingly awesome.   

Animal Conditioning With The Dopa Band

 Finding different ways to train with the Dopamineo Band is turning into a habit and the more I've used it, the stronger and better healed up I've gotten. I can't get enough of it and it's one of my top equipment to promote right now. It is a game changer and I'm testing myself doing hard workouts, methodical and a bit slower, intense, rugged and just plain having the time of my life with it. 

You can do so many exercises with this thing that even with all the instructional videos, there's something to discover. Today was one of those discoveries as I did another test to see where I was at; I did my Animal Dice Game Workout while I had the Band around my waist and went a few rounds. The objective in this workout was to go as far out as possible and repeat as many times for a specific animal so one rep was going as far as you can stretch it. Bear Crawls, Crab Walks, Tiger Crawls, Primate and Frog Jumps; did a total of 60 reps and that was more than enough. Rested when I needed to but my lungs were firing and was feeling it in my legs and my shoulders. Full Body workout that every exercise hit multiple muscle groups.

I would say that was a hell of a conditioning workout that really took that particular Animal Workout to another level. Normally I can go for 20 min or more without much of a rest other than rolling the dice but this was just nasty and because of the resistance, you're fighting a hell of a lot more and it just tortures the muscles more. Although shorter than usual with that workout, I made it count and went as far as my body allowed me. That's the point of training is to work with what's possible and intuitively know when you've had enough.

Wrestlers & Football players have done similar workouts but I don't know about this specific using a dice to come up with a random animal and go hard. They've done Animal style movements forever and there's a good reason why they're incredible for conditioning. Grab a band for yourself and try a few animals and see how you feel. Hell, I'll even throw in a discount for you by throwing in 10% off your order when you use the code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Check out the instructionals, find the type of band suited for your size (just like weight classes in wrestling) and have at it. If you want multiple bands, you can get discounted for those as well by customizing your own bundle and use my code for even more of a discount, how bad ass is that? 

Train well, get fit and keep being amazingly awesome. 

Here's another video of doing Duck Walks, these particularly are torturous when you do them for several times going out in a row. 

Being Smart About Training

 Training for the most part is about discovery and learning the ins and outs of what gives you the best benefit and what doesn't. We get excited and full of enthusiasm but sometimes that could blind us because if we don't find that focus on the mind and the muscles synergistically, it could bite us in the ass. When my sciatica was over the first time around, I literally jumped for joy like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins almost doing Step In Time and it felt great. I was excited and so eager to get back to being my best self again. For a period, it was awesome and was doing the things I was able to do before, but it didn't last as long as I hoped and it came back at me with a vengeance, I was blinded by the excitement and it bit me in the ass.

Dealing with the pain, the boring stretches and trying to move around, I had to rethink things and make decisions for myself I never thought I had to. Once the pain slowly subsided over the next few weeks and I was moving better without feeling like dying, I had to think more intelligently about how I did things and what I needed to do to become stronger. Being more methodical, deliberate and with stronger intentions, I focused on the technique, where I was feeling it and making the most of my capabilities instead of going gung ho like a dumbass. My flexibility and strength was coming back and the pain was going away. I was being smarter about what I was doing.

This thing is basically done, just some tenderness in my hip but it's manageable and I'm getting more explosiveness in my movements. I didn't do Step In Time this time around and I channeled my excitement into my training with better focus using my brains as well as my body. Because of the recent demos I've done with the Dopa Band and doing actual workouts where the big focus is on the legs, it has made a huge difference in my recovery and rehab. I'm not going as hard as I could be but that's ok because I'm being smart about letting things come naturally and it shows. Weeks ago, I couldn't do jack shit what I could do right now and I'm proud to have pulled it off. 

I discovered new things about myself and I've wised up and saw things in a different light. I love to train hard and making it count but it's important to utilize intelligence in order to train for the long haul. Being smart about when to go hard and when to back off is a bit of a process but that's part of the journey. With the Dopa Band, it makes you want to go gung ho but there's a way to modify it to train your body without having to go all Rocky 4 on it. It is as of right now one of the most bad ass equipment I've ever invested in and I believe many can benefit from it. Sure it's mainly used by wrestlers and MMA fighters but come on, I'm no wrestler by any stretch (at least no where near the level of what these people demonstrate) but I do believe in being prepared and having enough conditioning to fall back on that's inspired by wrestlers and MMA Fighters. Doing drills, punches, squats, step ups, bear crawls, duck walks, modified sprints and even suplexes. 

Right now, I'm just training to just feel good really and let my attributes naturally come on their own. I have no desire to be competitive except only to myself and who knows if I ever get on the mat again. My workouts are meant to just to stay healthy and being ready if certain situations occur, other than that, I don't want to fear having to look over my shoulder or have this macho need to fight unless I have to. Train to be ready but you don't have to act as if you're walking down a dark alley 24/7 anxious about someone jumping you, that's no way to live. Live peacefully with as awesome vibes as possible. Keep being amazingly awesome.    

Don't forget to check out the Dopamineo Bands and get 10% OFF your order when you use my discount code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. My gift to all of you. 

Does Batman Train With Resistance Bands?

If the Dark Knight trains in Martial Arts, Combat, Bodyweight, Weights here and there, I would imagine he would hit a band or two. There's a quote out there somewhere that says Batman never skips leg day which I always found funny because it's true. He might as well be the first Superhero to "practice" Parkour cause of all the jumping and running in between buildings chasing and catching baddies. 

Resistance Bands have been around a long time and there's always innovative stuff coming around like the X3 Bands for example and of course the Lifeline Bands such as the TNT cables but when it comes to longevity and having a hard time breaking or snapping, it seems that the latest style of cables called Dopamineo have stood head and shoulders above the rest. Maybe they're just regular bands for wrestlers to some but for guys like me who's always researching and learning, these bands are legit. Ever since I got them, I've trained solid on them and it has only been a few workouts.

From day 1, I tried many exercises, some I learned on the website and youtube  and others I tried on my own like Crab Walks, Gorilla Jumps, Hindu Jumpers and others. This band is just so much fun to work with and getting the most out of a workout in a short amount of time. The last workout was the other day doing Sprints, Hindu Push-ups, Frog Jumps, Hindu Jumpers, Crab Walks, Gorilla Jumps and a couple more. I would go until I hit a certain number of reps or until I got out of breath, rest and repeat a set or two. The workouts aren't long and I feel high as a kite afterwards along with getting stronger again. 

I had filmed doing about three exercises or so wearing my Batman shirt and using Batman Music to have a little fun with it and noticed something; even a couple months ago, that shirt was ok to wear but my stomach would pop out every now and then and felt a little tight, since I lost the weight, it felt comfortable and not as tight. I guess losing weight because of no appetite does have its perks LOL. In all fairness, I don't wish that on anyone because when you've been in that much pain and it consumes you at times, it's not an ideal way to lose weight. I' am healing and I don't feel pain in that area anymore, just annoyance and keeping up with maintenance. Hell I did a full Isometric Workout yesterday for the first time in over a month and I'm glad I did. I couldn't do Isometrics the way I wanted to when this whole thing with me was going on and I needed to test myself. 

The Dopa Bands have been a godsend in getting my body back into shape even in the first few workouts. Each workout, the pain levels kept going down and my stress was going down as well because of the endorphin high and lessening the Heat and Ice afterwards. I'm probably about 85-90% healed now and just need to pay attention to the discomfort levels and slowly build up my speed and strength. Like I said no pain but I also don't want to be pushing so hard something might flare up again so I'm gradually getting stronger and training my legs and back building those nerves and retraining those muscles. If you've read this blog long enough, you know that I'm very stubborn and rehabbing myself has worked for me. 

It's not much longer before I'm at full capacity and devouring my workouts hard again. I may look like I'm going hard but I'm not and it's not my best but that's just part of the process and being smarter about workouts and listening to my body more. This is my life and I want to continue making the best of it when it comes to fitness and avoid injuries for as long as I can. This has been the worst injury I've had in years and in a span of 5 months, I got seriously hurt twice. I've had minor aches and pains that easily were manageable and healed quickly and hurt my back back in 2017 which has since healed, but never this bad in that short span of time in the last 18+ years that I've been training everyday. It is a wake up call I'm not going to lie.

Train to the best of your abilities but within reason and be mindful of what you can do. We're not going to be training the way we did in our 20's and think we are so damn invincible that injuries never happen, they do and we can't 100% avoid them, we can however keep them at bay for as far in between as we can. I hate it that people are in pain all the time or just accept it, living with pain especially if it's excruciating for years on end is no way to live. In some cases, certain aspects of pain is inevitable but it's manageable and you can be comfortable. The idea is to live pain-free as much as possible and getting great quality out of life instead of quantifying the days until you're ready to die. Be mindful and do what's possible along with being amazingly awesome. 

Don't forget that you can get these bands at a discounted price when you use my code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Get a bundle pack of bands and find even more discounted stuff. Get them for group classes, your MMA Gym or wrestling room for your High School or College Athletes. Wrestlers in the world championships right now that are winning matches uses some of these very same bands. Go kill it.