Hiking DDP Yoga And Dopamineo Conditioning

 Taking into account of what you can do on certain days or using the energy you have with using the time to do other things can be a bitch. However, we can do things in the capacity of how we utilize the discipline and the awareness of what is possible at the time. For busy beavers, micro workouts is always a great option, I do them myself often with the other things I do but some if that's the only option people have in their present state, use it to your advantage. 

Working with the DDP Yoga Program is not only giving me greater flexibility and durability, it has also given me great endurance that goes along with other methods I do. Some days I'll just do one workout from the program, other days I'll mix and match various workouts into one bigger workout like doing the Fat Burner & Energy workouts together or work with a 10 min warm up and then one of the hour long ones like Diamond Cutter. I even tried out the Extreme Psycho Workout for the first time in years and although that needed modifying big time, I did the best I could to get through it. Some of the push-ups from Extreme were pretty tough but hey it's all about learning right? DDP Yoga is definitely my go-to training system for now.

 Train to what you can handle and progress little by little. The Dopa Workouts are coming back more and more doing circuits of 10 rounds totaling 500 Reps within 15-20 min depending on what I do. One day this past week, I went a little further testing my conditioning by doing a Fat Burner DDP Yoga Workout and immediately going into a Dopa Workout. That was nasty but effective and the total time was just under an hour. I'm not doing the Dopa Band Training everyday like I used to which isn't a bad thing, I like to do other stuff and when I do, I go after it with a vengeance. I filmed some exercises one day day and then did a full workout, didn't time that one but I wasn't resting much either. 

There was a song back in the day by the Country Bear Jamboree called "Ain't nothing like the great outdoors" so I would take my Dopa Band with me to a park or in the video below, my backyard and just get after it, being in the sun and just having a good time. Can never get enough of this band. The other day, I did a HIIT Workout where I took 5 exercises and did them 3 times for 30 Seconds on, 15 Seconds off each for a total of about 11 minutes. Short, quick and effective as hell. 

Yesterday, me and the wife went on a Hike for the first time in a long time and this particular Hike we haven't done since we first met more than 9 years ago. It was out on the outskirts of Coeur D' Alene Lake called Mineral Ridge, the loop was roughly 2.5 miles long (the grand total of the entire trail is just over 3) so we did a good portion of it. At the top you get a beautiful view of the lake, might see some Bald Eagles or Hawks and just awesome scenery. With all the Step Ups, Squats and other leg work, this Hike felt great and I was wearing my new Bareway Shoes which surprisingly did a hell of a job holding up the rugged terrain. The narrow pathway made my ankles feel a little weird and awkward but it came out ok. It'll get you a bit with some of those steep climbs but that's all part of the fun right?

Make the most of what you can and train to do great things in life. Go on adventures, test yourself out with certain things and have the time of your life man. Get in awesome condition to do fun shit. Have an amazingly awesome day.  

New Shoes And Getting My Hammer Swing Back

 

I was contemplating getting new shoes and most of the time usually grabbed a pair from either Big 5 or Walmart but this time around I wanted to try something different. Was browsing around one day on social media and a few ads popped up on Barefoot Shoes. I've seen those before and years prior, I've seen the ones where you stick your toes in individually. Heard great things about them for some time and did more research recently to see what could be useful and beneficial. I ended buying a pair that was on sale by this company called Bareway.

Was a bit skeptical and read about the benefits of Barefoot Shoes but it was one of those things where I felt like a change was in order and do something I normally don't do. Picked out the size I wear, they came in and the rest is history. Wore them a few times now and they're stupid comfortable. No slip in the heel, good soles and just enough padding to feel the ground but not feel uneasy that some shoes have.

Always had strong feet and train most of the time barefoot unless I'm working with hammers or something at the park if I'm not playing basketball. Wearing socks as an option rather than a necessity is a hell of a perk. They're light, very flexible and perfectly stabilize my feet. My shoe size is a men's 11 and most shoes I've gotten that were 11 didn't always stabilize my feet and seemed to be off at certain points but I just tolerated it for years and wore them. With these things, holy shit it felt so different and foreign at first but once I started walking, it felt like walking on air. It was unbelievable.

I gave them a whirl doing my DDP Yoga Workout yesterday doing the Double Black Diamond workout that lasted an hour. That workout is fucking insane and was dripping with sweat like a faucet man. With the shoes on, they worked really well and for some reason, made the workout not only more interesting but slightly easier cause I wasn't sliding, most of the time with those workouts I don't but every now and then some moves slip up on me a bit, with these shoes on, not a single slip or slide the entire time.

I highly recommend you get a pair yourself. Like I said they're comfortable and feel amazing walking around. They're water resistant, you can go on hikes, you can run in them, workout in them, practically whatever and reap the benefits of building stronger feet. The type of shoe I got was their Elite Series. You can choose other shoes that are more suitable to your lifestyle or whatever, there's the Nature Series  and the Explorer Option you can look into. Did I forget to mention they were breathable as well and relieves pressure on the joints. 

Aside from getting these bad boys, I also tried out working with my SF Giants Sledgehammer again to see what I can do. Not ready for the more explosive stuff yet, wanted to just work on technique and keeping my back and legs more aligned with the thrust down. I even made a demo of getting back into it and I think I haven't missed a step and my form felt right. Back is straighter, worked a half squat as I brought the hammer down and just did it instinctively. Check it out....

You do what you can in the moment. Like I said, just working out the mechanics again and seeing what I can do without doing anything stupid. I'm not going gung ho on some things like I used to and play around. I still do carries with my sandbells from time to time and doing the sledgehammer strikes again felt comfortable and see what I can progress with. Train to what you can do and build from there. Exercise is about long term health, not temporary moments that may come with regret. Nothing wrong with making a record, just don't make a habit of busting your ass you can't do anything later in life. Be bold but be aware. Too many injuries add up so do what you can to live as pain free as possible. 

Slowly Getting Back Into The Dopamineo Workouts

 Spending the majority of the time on DDP Yoga, I've also been getting back into working my neck more consistently and even thickened it up a bit along with developing greater mobility. That type of training is merely just standing and working the neck in different directions doing 10 reps each way. On the 10th rep, I would hold the position isometrically for a 10 count and move onto the next move. That has helped my spine a lot and its a great short workout before or after a DDP Yoga Session or as an addition to doing Joint Loosening Training.

Another thing that I've been anxious to get back into is the Dopamineo Workouts. Done a few of them so far and filmed doing some basic stuff at a park. I always enjoyed those workouts doing 15-30 minutes of a circuit. Most of the time I was hitting 10 rounds totaling 500 Reps but I also did workouts that went sometimes up to 12-15 rounds within a 30 min. period. Since my recovery however, I've had to either switch things up or slow the pace down and focus on technique which isn't a bad thing. Not trying to be a wrestler or a fighter in training, just keeping myself in shape and being aware of what I do. 

I love circuit training, to me it's one of the best forms of conditioning and keeping yourself going at a good clip while resting as little as possible. With these workouts now, it's more technique than speed. The intensity is still there but I'm not focusing on being so explosive, just enough to where I can keep going with a comfortable pace. Some workouts I won't time them because I don't need to beat the clock or set some kind of record all the time. Enjoying what I can do and have fun doing it while making little goals. 

The video I did was doing some basic moves that I'm getting back into at a park down the road from the house here, it's really no more than like 3-4 blocks if that. Set it up on a tree using my Iso Strap as an anchor and have at it. 

Some moves can be tricky to learn at first but with time and practice, they become like a flow, a sequence if you will of understanding the body's mechanics and mobility. The objective of the band isn't to stretch it so you can't really do much, it's to work just enough resistance so you can feel a movement without being stiff. It's about being smooth, in control and having technique as if you're drilling like in wrestling or martial arts. 

Although inspired by wrestling, it can be used for a lot of other things like swimming and doing road work on the beach or something. I love it for the fitness and cardio aspects of it. It's a great experience to do exercises that are different and formulate a program based on movements used by the most conditioned athletes on the planet. What's even cooler is that these same bands are now being used to train Olympic Athletes such as Freestyle & Greco-Roman Wrestlers and Judo Players. One female Freestyle Wrestler is officially the first to be a 3-time Olympian and part of her training was with this specific type of band. If someone who's dedicated to her sport can pull off an accomplishment like that, imagine the possibilities you can achieve in your own training whether it be for sport, fitness, group training or whatever. 

You can create all sorts of workouts with these bands and take them virtually anywhere. You can use them in a pool or in the ocean, take them to a park, hook it up at home or at the gym, in your hotel room, do a quick session during a break at work, take them on a hike and work them on a trail, in a parking lot or wherever. If you got a partner to train with, he/she can hold the band while you do drills and then switch. Do little games or work together in sequence, use them to challenge each other and whatever can work. 

Don't forget to use my Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT to get 10% OFF your order. These are some of the most durable and flexible bands in the world. Some of the best athletes have trained so hard on these that it's a miracle the band hasn't snapped. They're so incredibly strong that Superman would have trouble snapping these. Grab a set for yourself and/or your friends, training partners, family members or students in group sessions. There's bands for kids to use to train for youth groups and to help them stay healthy and have fun with. These things are worth every penny.  

Taking It One Day At A Time

 Being aware of what you can and can't do can be hard at times but it's also important to know what you need to do in order to stay healthy in the long run. DDP Yoga has done wonders for me beyond the healing of my sciatica and it's one of the things I will continue to do regularly, not as a necessity but as a program to enjoy so I can do other things as well. I've even started filming again and getting back into doing what I love such as the demo below showcasing some of the moves I do in DDP Yoga. 

I don't flare up as much anymore and have been doing more walking lately especially wearing my 40 lb weight vest which I have done 2-3 times now. Another thing I'm excited to have done again was 500 Step Ups which I hit last night. Paced myself and listened to my body. The last few times I started at about 50, then 100 and 250. Last night, I hit 250, it felt easy and did 300 and felt like I can keep going and 500 wasn't too difficult so I went after it. No pain, no flare up or anything. I got a little emotional afterwards because Step Ups is one of my favorite leg exercises and doing 500 reps again made me incredibly happy. I have to thank DDP Yoga for giving my legs the strength and conditioning to pull that off again. 

Today, did a 25 min or so DDP Yoga workout from the APP called Super Body Flow which Dallas would transition from one move to the next in quick sequence fashion and it felt great. Mostly just basic stuff but it got me loosened up and get that heart rate going. Normally just stick to the DVDs which are great as is. Have yet to do the Extreme Psycho Workout again, have done the Diamond Cutter & Double Black Diamond workouts a couple times now which are roughly an hour to over an hour a piece. Those are nasty motherfuckers to do so I'm building myself up. Most workouts are around 30 minutes to an hour doing either stand alone workouts or doing a mix of workouts into one to keep things flowing like Fat Burner & Energy, The 10 min Warm Up mixed with Below The Belt or something like that. 

I've even tried a couple Sandbell Workouts recently as well doing my 2x shoulder carry workout using my 20 lber to work up to doing that type of training again. Did a 10 min workout with that and then filmed myself doing a 5 min micro workout of rowing to chest and shouldering my 70 lb Sandbell. That was hard to do since it has been a while and didn't go as fast as I normally would but I did ok with it being some time away from it. There were concerns about my form but I' am good and I will do better next time. It's a work in progress to training myself to do some of what I did before. There are things however that I won't be doing again and that's doing explosive twisting movements again like I did with the Dopa Band or hundreds of squats in a row, if I'm doing hundreds of squats again, it'll be a deck of cards type workout mixing in step ups but doing 500 Squats in a row isn't in the cards for me, I get plenty of Squat Work with the DDP Yoga, doing slower and holding positions and that feels way better to me than doing hundreds of squats. 

It's all about taking it one day at a time man and doing things that are of value to you in the long run. I'm just itching to get the hammer back out and hitting the tire again, carrying a rock, swimming in the lake, hiking and doing all sorts of stuff. You do what you can and make the most of it. Train to do things that help yourself and others and strengthen your body while being flexible and able to keep the blood flowing to the joints. Mobility work is a key ingredient to having a healthy body long term. Strength is definitely a part of it but temporary strength will only get you so far, be able to use that strength as long as needed and not always what you can lift in the moment. 

Have an amazingly awesome day and hope you have a good start to the week.   

 

It Is Quite A Habit

 Making the DDP Yoga workouts my primary training program has been a godsend, more than just recovering and rebuilding my body again. It has enhanced the flexibility in my back and staying strong in positions I haven't done in years. If I start to have even a slight flare up in the morning, a warm-up and a main workout really makes it fade and I can go about my day. 

It has become quite the habit and I love. I would do a different workout almost everyday and every few days or so I would do a really hard one or go for more than 45 min to an hour and still able to keep up. Modify from time to time in every workout but I manage to stay in solid positions pretty well. The beauty of it is that Dallas wants you to make it your own and you don't have to exactly like he does or the others, just do what you can with what's possible at the time. Some moves I'm not very flexible in, some I can go into easily but regardless, my flexibility gets better each time.

I've added a few things throughout the day after my initial morning workout. I've added some Neck Mobility doing various directions and on the 10th rep of each exercise I would Isometrically hold it for a count of 10 to really sink into it. Keeping that neck strong and elastic man. I've also now done a couple Dopa Band Workouts and did a circuit on the second one where I did 10 Rounds of 5 Exercises for a total of 500 Reps with little to no rest. I felt excited as hell on that one and kept them basic, nothing super fast or explosive, just enough to where I can keep going and be able to focus on my breathing as well. Conditioning is definitely back.

One of my next steps or ideas for getting back into great shape is rucking with the 40 lb Weight Vest again. Start around the neighborhood and work up to hiking up the mountain next to the house. Always loved going for walks with that thing on and would sometimes end up going 3-4 miles door to door. Going up the mountain and back home would take an hour door to door when I was doing things like that. The other night, I even managed 250 Step Ups for the first time since my recovery, wasn't easy and I paced myself but I was determined to get at least 200 in. Was thrilled about that too and little by little I want to hit 500 Step Ups again. 

It's getting a little easier day by day to be at my complete best again but I'm still pacing myself, not going as hardcore as I normally would and just do what I can in the moment. Not looking at what happens at the end of a workout, only looking at what's possible in the moment of time. Breathing deeply and being a bit more active. Putting in the work to be healthier and being more aware of what I can do hasn't been easy but it's not impossible either. Not pushing to be better than anyone, it's not worth the effort, the only thing that matters is that I'm a little bit better than I was the day before and the only person I compete with is me. There will always be someone better than me, I may do certain things that others don't do or haven't achieved yet but it's not my place to be superior to them. I have my own journey, they have theirs.  

Build habits that help you climb the ladder to your success. Be mindful of what is possible and set aside the ego trip. Be a little stronger, stretch a little longer and be in a bit better condition each day. Before you know it, you'll be doing things that seemed impossible at first and they become your greatest victories. There is the importance of discipline and making the effort but at the same time, be in control of the things you can do right now and expand on it little by little. The more you can expand even by the smallest fraction, the more you'll see what can truly be possible. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this, I really appreciate you and I hope you have an amazingly awesome day.