A Greyhound Of The Mat That Was A Machine

 Arguably the greatest Amateur Wrestler in history, Dan Gable was just an insane entity on the mat. Strong, fast, explosive and incredibly powerful despite his small size. The moment he had his hands on an opponent, the guy knew he was there. If he got you on your back, according to other wrestlers, it was like quicksand and there was almost no chance of getting out of it. The pinning power was legendary.

How is that possible? The guy was maybe just under 155 soaking wet and barely 5'9 but safe to say, because of the plethora of Isometrics did during his reign of terror in High School & College, chances were he had something very few ever had. That strength made him so insanely powerful, his positioning made guys twice his size look like weaklings. Although he did weights, this was probably one of the best things that gave opponents even a hint of a fighting chance because in addition to the isometrics, the amount of calisthenics he did gave him endurance that is unmatched, if he had drop the weights and just did bodyweight and isometrics, nobody would come close to even matching him.

This is just an idea of how great Gable was and how important Isometrics are to an athlete of that caliber. The only man to not allow ONE SINGLE POINT in the Olympics, his conditioning and strength was just unbelievable and when you tackle those kind of attributes, what could be possible for you. Not only do Isometrics make you strong as hell when it counts, they can also give you speed too. Think of Bruce Lee, his speed was so fast, he was told to slow down while filming The Green Hornet cause the Cameras couldn't keep up with him. A good part of that reason is through Isometrics. They are what I call The Game Genie Of Fitness, a cheat code to enhanced abilities that might make you put up video game numbers.

Want to know some of Gable's "Secrets" of success? Check out his coaching book Coaching Wrestling Successfully where he shows you the blueprint for what made him the most dominate coach in NCAA history. It's not just Isometrics, you're going to find out the heart and soul of what made him a legend in the second part of his career. Even long after retiring from the mat as a champion, he would get on the mat with students and man handle them with ease and some were bigger than he was. Goes to show you what training using Isometrics as part of your arsenal can really do.  

Care To Poke The Bear?

One of the most intense workouts around is not only so simple but takes only 5 minutes to do and it will have you breathing harder like you're ready to die. Great for wrestlers, conditioning enthusiasts and fanatics who just love to find out what they're made of. All you do is simple Bear Crawling.

Now, we're not talking about some little four legged animal move that kids play (although it is fun), you're going to be sprinting or moving as fast as possible for 10 Seconds, rest for 20 Seconds and repeat for a total of 10 Rounds. Done this workout many times and if I had to create a list of brutal sessions, this makes at least top 5. 

What does it really do? It pushes you to work everything with such intensity, your lungs will be screaming louder than a teen camper about to be the next victim of Jason. The idea is to move all 4 limbs in unison and working together synergistically, if you're uncoordinated, you may fall on your face so build up by doing slow sessions without sprinting, just get used to the movement, as you get better, pick up the pace until you can move quickly in all sorts of directions.

Bear Crawls is one of the most basic conditioning exercises that gives you a starting base for building animalistic strength in your arms and legs. Wrestlers have done it forever, football players cringe at it cause every time they do it, at least 3-5 players want to kill their coach and Gymnasts use it as a starting base for building arm and core strength for hand balancing in later stages. Learned about that from my old friend Ed Baran. 

Kids love to mimic animals and as we get older, we phase out of that child like state and become analytical and overthink a bunch of shit. Sometimes injuries have plagued people from going back to that playful state of exercise but if you're in good health, might want to give the move a go. There are several variations you can do but when it comes to the sprints, ass up to the heavens and legs spread out a little wider than shoulder width and take off running. You're using just about every single muscle imaginable and it builds incredible toughness and durability. 

How often should you do this? Depends on your goals but a couple times a week or so should do the trick, seriously who wouldn't want to only train for 5-10 minutes a week? That doesn't mean you don't do other things throughout the rest of the week unless you're so sore you need to recover more. Go for walks, work isometrics, do some band training, hike or whatever, just keep the intensity lower so when those sprint sessions come, you'll be ready to tackle it like the legendary Ray Lewis.

Another great workout that is a favorite of mine is to mark off 5 yards, crawl as fast as you can without falling over, stand up, walk back and repeat for at least 5-10 times to start. When you can get to 20 of these, you're hitting gold. The most I ever did was around 45 but that was really a test of what I'm capable of. You won't most likely go 100% full boar after a certain number so don't always worry about numbers. This workout if I were to do 20 of them, at a good clip took me just under 4 1/2 minutes to complete. It's nasty but it gets the job done if you're short on time. 

Check out some other ideas for Animal Type Movements HERE!!! Be amazingly awesome and go have some fun.   

Is The Bigfoot Walk Another Move To Increase Strength In The Legs

This is one of my favorite moves to train my legs and for good reasons: They're fun, they can be a challenge and it gives off a hell of a burn in the thighs. IMO, it's really underrated. Many people don't know what it is and if they saw it at 1st glance, they may think it's some silly move and why the fuck would you want to move in this manner? Why is it even called The Bigfoot Walk? Is it something that an actual Bigfoot does? Well, we've never actually seen one so why call it that?

The truth is, it's just a name, what it really is, is walking in a quarter to a half squat that digs into the quads and glute muscles and it has similarities to a wrestler's stance. Very effective and it's more than what people may perceive it to be. When seen at first, it doesn't seem like much, after all it's just a rinky dink goofy ass move right? Shit, where's the resistance when you do it, the range of motion is just a tiny part of a squat right? Give it a go, see how it feels after 30 seconds or so. Seems easy doesn't it, the fact is, you're in constant tension and when you keep going, there's that build up that might make those legs scream like Drew Barrymore in E.T. 

Many people (most likely men) may see it as some kind of exercise that only pussies do. It's part of that dogmatic mindset where if you want real strength, you lift heavy, have greater ROM, you get results like a man. They'll have you believe Heavy Squats & Deadlifts are the true kings of Lower Body Development. Bro, might want to pull that stick out of your ass and come back down to earth. Here's a fun fact (and might come as a shock): Many athletic movements are in a partial range position. How about this for a kicker, many movements are dynamic, semi unilateral & semi bilateral, kind of like the Bigfoot Walk here.

What you may call a sissy, poor excuse of a move might just save your knees and your quads that has more use than a loaded squat. Don't get me wrong, squats with or without weight are essential depending on your goals but it's not the Zeus of all leg exercises. In Martial Arts such as Wrestling, Muay Thai, Boxing, Kung Fu, this is the type of strength you need in the legs where you only need to go down a bit but not in a complete squat. Because of the constant tension along with the shifting from one leg to another, you're putting a greater long term strength into the muscles. It's not a matter of pure strength that is temporary, it's about that strength lasting. 

Like I said earlier, give it a go for a minimum of 30 seconds or even a minute if you think it's easy. If you feel it right away, that means you have some work to do. I would do this for up to 5 minutes 1-2 times a day and go longer sometimes. I don't do it everyday but it would be a change of pace, some who have gotten into it will go longer or do them in sets like 3 sets of 3 minutes. This is only a piece of the puzzle though, an idea if you will of what Animal Movement Training does to condition the body. Our fitness culture has this obsession of heavy squats that i n reality isn't 100% productive for long term health. It is impressive as hell at times and if that's your thing, cool and I hope you're able to minimize injuries. 

For more info on Animal Based Movement & Training, give MOVEMENT 20XX a glance, very powerful stuff and some of the best conditioning & strength training methods on the planet. 

Baseball Has Begun

Good start yesterday for my fav. team the San Francisco Giants. Solid win with a 3 run Homer at the top of the 9th to get a 6-3 lead and win 6-4 in the end. Finished my documentary of Ken Burns' Baseball Documentary the other day that I watch every year before the season starts.

Been a fan since I was a little kid going to Candlestick Park and eventually now Oracle Park. Watching guys like Will Clark, Matt Williams, Barry Bonds, Rob Nenn, Buster Posey, Madison Baumgartner and others. 

Some of the training those guys go through can be unique from typical weight training to oddities for helping them hit, pitch & run. Some guys even back in the day didn't train much at all or did things in the offseason. Guys like Mickey Mantle & Hank Aaron didn't lift weights but did labor work, Rickey Henderson was famously known for doing Push-ups, Sit-Ups, Sprints (And Ice Cream) and guys in the minor leagues would do things like Step Ups & other calisthenics since salaries are much lower so they would do what's possible with coaches that they have. 

Branch Rickey who was a former player himself and then turned to management helped establish the Farm System that developed the Minors to work with players and give them opportunities to reach their potential beyond just talent and skill. However, one coach for a college team helped build his squad to go 14-1 one season while using Indian Clubs as part of their training. Coach Judson Hyames had his boys work the clubs as part of extensive training before their season (Were undefeated for two years prior). It gave his players great Wrist Strength/Mobility along with Suppleness & Flexibility.

This guy was like the John Wooden of his time, his career record as a coach is 166-62-2 which is pretty damn impressive and makes you wonder what he could've done with guys in the majors. That college is now known as Western Michigan University and the field there now is named after him. Taking something that came from India and reached the training ideals for the Baseball Diamond goes to show that with great word of mouth, many styles of training can make it to championship sports teams and athletes. 

If Clubs can build a championship squad, what else could they do? It's one of the reasons I love training with clubs because they're great for joint health, complex but awesome for keeping the body healthy, builds brain power because of the patterns used in the swings and works with motor skills. Be amazingly awesome and grab a pair of clubs to train with and help carry on the tradition that has been going on for centuries. 

  

The Finer Points Of Suspension Training

 For the most part, Suspension Training is one of the most effective yet simple forms of bodyweight exercise around. Some advantages include the portable and versatility but there are lesser known advantages that people may not be aware of or even realize. 

For starters, it offers a wider base than typical bodyweight training because of the greater resistance you can apply. It fills in gaps that give a boost or even a harder outlook to regular Push-Ups & Pull-Ups. They can be used in a variety of ways such as: Those who are starting out and want to lay a foundation, work around injuries and give even a seasoned veteran of Physical Culture a run for their money. If you're limited in your Range Of Motion, this style of training can also bring a flexible entity into how you can build yourself up despite that other side of the coin. You can virtually create any workout you want within your capabilities.

As you're aware, the most basic rule of effective Strength Training is to utilize the format of Pushing, Pulling & Squatting. With Suspension Work, it can build a bigger branch of accessory training such as working curls for hitting the biceps or working on hip abductions. This is most likely a greater option to not only save money on gym memberships but even more cost effective on fancy equipment. It works like a gym that fits right in your backpack. 

It also creates greater freedom to train practically anywhere from your home to the park, in your hotel room, at the office or wherever on your own terms. If you're traveling, you can get in something quick like waiting for your flight, stretching your legs from a long car ride or getting the most out of it after a long day at work. Being able to move more freely is just the cherry on top of a kick ass sundae.

Because of the wide variety of exercises, some sources will list either very few or dozens upon dozens of exercises. Some of the things listed can seem overly repetitive (like many of Ric Flair's matches) because they really are more of a variation of one thing or another. In reality, you would only need a few exercises at a time to get the most benefit, you can do all of the exercises until the cows come home but are you really benefiting from them? Once you learn only a few for each muscle group or Chain of Muscles, you'll have a broader base for what to work with to truly enhance your physical training. Modify if needed and focus on the goals you set for yourself.

Go kill it and keep being amazingly awesome.