A Mindset Beyond The Gym

 There are people who are so adamant about training in the gym, they often times become conditioned to believe that's the only place one should be training at. Not true whatsoever. Every individual who trains in the gym have their reasons, some are good, some out of desperation and others go because it is therapeutic for them. The gym has its place and if it works for someone, make it worthwhile. However; it isn't the only option.

For me, I'm just not part of that culture. I don't even feel my full potential is in those places, not anymore at least. I'm in the process of canceling my own membership because I just don't have that passion or drive to go to a building where I feel out of place, not being myself or do what works best for me. It was fun for a while and picked up on a few things again but that fire died out a long time ago and I was just going through the motions exercise wise. 

Training outside the gym has always been my thing for the last 20+ years. Strength Training through Isometrics, Sandbags, Hammers, Band and Bodyweight feels more primal and exciting to me. Barbells and Dumbbells are cool to play around with but nothing gave me that true power and fire than the things I just mentioned. The world is our gym, we have the ability to create any workout we want with the right knowledge and tools. Having a home gym in my opinion is a far better option because you can set it up any way you want, lift with what you have and never have to worry about other people around you. I like training at home, the park, the beach, in a hotel room or wherever. I don't have to wait around for anyone and I don't want anyone to have to wait on me to use something. Plus, I'm not the most social guy when it comes to the gym anyway, yeah I give others props for their training but in reality, I've always lived by my motto "Either join me, or stay the fuck away from me" when it comes to the things I do. 

 I met a few guys at the gym that were cool and had some solid strength for the things they did. They complimented me a time or two telling me that my strength was impressive to them and doing some crazy weights without using straps, my grip strength I think impressed them the most but it is what it is. It just didn't give me what I wanted out of it and I was fighting myself to either go and fight to get a good workout in or whatever. It also took a lot of time out of my day where normally, I would train for less than a half hour and either be back home in a few minutes or just go about the rest of my day at the house or whatever. I was walking 45 minutes to an hour to go to the gym, which in and of itself might as well be my cardio, lift some weights for another 45 minutes to an hour, do a possible finisher for about 20 minutes (only done it a couple times) and then have the energy to walk all the way back home. That's over 3 hours of my day just to try to get some training in. That's not who I' am and what is worthy of me to do. On top of that, I was going after goals outside of the gym that took up even more energy than I wanted to. 

I wanted my energy to be useful, not burned out of necessity just so I can try to do stuff in a little building LOL. Some days I would go with my wife so we can go together and she can do her thing and I'll help her out every now and then but even then, I barely even knew what I wanted to do, I can work any exercise in there if I wanted to and knew how to do them but being out of the gym culture game most of my adult life, I had no structure or plan for anything, I just picked up weights and if I went heavier, cool or do pull-ups and dips. I had greater structure outside of it and I just don't want to fight that, you know what I mean?

Fitness is a journey that takes you on many paths, if its in a gym, that's awesome and wish everyone nothing but success but some of us have a journey that doesn't include that and making something of ourselves that takes us beyond that mentality of being in the gym. That's just my take on it and have greater freedom to roam. I want to have that energy to do what I love, be there for others and not be so damn exhausted for just a small window of exercise, I want to be able to keep going and not push myself to the brink of possibly injuring myself. If I truly wanted to get into an exhaustive phase, I'd rather it be on the mat wrestling or some other martial art and/or moving furniture. Something along those lines or hell be able to hike and swim, I love that shit. Fuck, I rather get winded after messing with a sledgehammer than mess around with a barbell. 

All in all, that part of my journey, is not a priority for me anymore and I want to make things happen the way I feel I was meant to do. The gym will always have a place in my heart, it was my first area of training when I was a teenager during and after high school briefly and will always tell people, if you're going to be going to the gym, make it successful for you and learn the basics from the old timers and not some textbook influencer who's most likely on steroids telling you the latest trends. Train with passion, train with that fire within and give each session the best you have that day, even if you're not 100%. If that's your style of training, don't ever let it go. Be amazingly awesome and kick ass in your journey. 

Push-Ups? Who The Hell Needs Them? Just Use The Dopa Band

Some may even say the other way around but truly, who cares? Now that we got that out of the way, Certain aspects of training is different for everybody. If you took 100 people in a group and put them through the same regimen, the same exercises, the same order, the same amount of time and the same rep and set scheme, what would happen? Will they all have the same exact results? No, some may have very few changes while others have exceptional results. 

Expecting people to have the same results or better yet, think they can follow the same protocols or they're a loser and didn't do it right is a downfall for any influencer or fitness author. It's really about adaptability, finding ways to be challenged yet still have the enthusiasm to continue their journey. Remember that show The Biggest Loser? Where they took people who were morbidly obese and put them on programs that were meant for people on a near elite level of professionals? Sure they lost weight, a bunch actually but what happened was the aftermath. Many of them had complications and even gained back not just all the weight but added on. How that show lasted as long as it did boggles the fuck out of me.

We all have our own journey, our own lives and our own ways of juggling things in order to better ourselves. Some don't always make it through and other others can do things they never imagined being able to do. Some "influencers" are so desperate and dogmatic about their perfect programs that they forget how to be human to other people. They act like leaders of a cult that their way is the only way and if you're not a part of it, you're the problem and it's your fault for being a part of this perfect world of fitness. It's all bullshit.

There are programs that people aren't meant to do and not because of the program itself, mainly some don't have the time, the level it requires and at times they're injured and can't make the prerequisites. It's not the end of the world. Hell, there are those out there who expect others to drink 10 liters of water a day because it'll make them better health wise. Do the math on this for a moment...Do you know how many liters are in a gallon alone? Round it out to the closest denominator and it's about 4. Now tell people to more than double that and you're getting from a poundage stand point 22+ lbs for the equivalent of 10 liters. Regardless of weight, regardless of age or health factors, that's dangerous in and of itself and might as well be telling people to poison themselves or they're losers. Pretty pathetic. That's the type of person that expects others to do their programs that they're not ready for and have to be this extreme all the time or they are considered F*ggots. On a given day unless it's hot out, I mostly never go past a gallon and that's pushing it LOL.

Real influencers like Matt Schifferle for example, take a program and have it be adaptable and do what's possible for just about anyone. Very little of his training protocols go past basic or even intermediate levels but that's not the point. The point is, if it's just basic exercises, you're learning to control and utilize technique so you can develop the results you're looking for. Is his style the end all be all? Hell no, he'd tell you that himself and treats others with respect and dignity, not belittling and talked down down to. 

What certain things boil down to when it comes to Marketing scammers like WaterBOY above here (emphasis on the word boy) is how to manipulate and find the gullibility in others to fill their pockets with broken promises, verbal and emotional abuse (sometimes they'll act like your friend and then stab you in the back) along with believing their own hype. There are other factors but with some of the things I've seen, it's not hard to believe that guys like that are the type that would give you all the reasons to have you buying a Rolls Royce when in reality you get a POS Lemon that looks more like a loaner out of a shitstorm of a shop. 

No program in and of itself is perfect for everybody. We all know that, well maybe most of us while some people think theirs is the Queen Of England or Shiva for that matter. What it comes down to is the individual who wants to find something worthwhile that they'll find a way to put the time in, the effort and evolve in their journey. We have all sorts of information at our fingertips, but it can be overwhelming at times and it's important to find the differences between the genuine article and the asshole scammers. The asshole scammers have tactics that can be convincing they're genuine but digging in, they always slip up, some don't even hide it anymore and have this anger, this rage and need to be the best when in reality they're fooling themselves and make up the most outrageous claims that bare no actual evidence, VERY one sided and even copy and pate other people's work and pass it off as their own. Let me put it this way, I treat people like this like Voldermort, he who must not be named. 

Guys like Schifferle, Brooks Kubik, Darryl Edwards, Logan Christopher and Eero Westerburg have done the research, they don't beat around the bush and they'll tell you like it is. I've been around one of these guys and trained with him on many occasions and what you see is what you get. The genuine article and a person of humility and generosity but still have the heart of a lion and the strength of beyond the average person. Either one of these guys will bring it with a vengeance but yet have a positive influence that's memorable and full of hope that someone has a real soul for this world. 

Be amazingly awesome and find the program suited to your journey and watch out for those scammers. Some of them don't even know how to treat a woman let alone know how to help people in fitness, most of the time, they just steal other people's money and are full of hot air. Remember, you think you're getting a RR but end up with a Lemon. You deserve better.  

What Is Wrong With The Dopamineo Bands??? This Is Very Important

People will say what is great about certain gadgets and products and write about them as if they're some kind of superior thing. Now, this will be treated almost like a negative review on Amazon but bare with me guys because this isn't easy for me to write. I'm ashamed to admit, there are things wrong with the Dopa Bands that I never wanted to talk about, I mean it is one of my favorite tools in this whole wide world, which is why this is so damn hard. I can name many things wrong with them but I'll share a few with you here.....

1. It has way too many colors. Black, orange, red, green, teal and others. It's like fucking skittles without enjoying the taste of them. What a letdown man.

2. They're just not going to make you look like a Super Saiyan God no matter how much you may want it to be or in the real world, make you look like Jack Lalanne in his prime. It's not a bodybuilding type of apparatus that will have you moving boulders and doing handstands. The workouts can only do so much for someone looking to get fit.

3. They don't automatically give you the opportunity to win gold medals or win world championships. I know that's hard to read but it's true. Even some whack jobs that copy and paste other people's stuff and call it their own knows that. It only builds enough to make it through a tough session.

4. The world isn't always going to agree with what bands do or don't do, they don't give a shit. It's not like many really understand what they do anyway so why fight it? They're not meant for certain people that consider themselves "Experts". Those people are far too advanced for silly looking tubes right?

5. Why would this company market to mainly fighters and wrestlers, is nobody else worth the effort? What about those who just want to live their lives healthy? Why don't they cater to those who have never been on the mat in their lives? Talk about a wasted opportunity.

6. These bands just can't cut it when it comes to building real muscle. Weights & Bodyweight are a true warrior's form of fitness like many claim. Even ones who think they're the GOAT of one exercise out of countless, guys like that know what is up. Can't deny it, they'll tell you what really works and will die on that hill defending it and you know what? Maybe the bands don't do enough, it's beneath them after all and think they're easy as hell. They are in some aspects.

7. What really grinds my gears about these things? Yeah, they got spunk and have that rebellious outlook of "beating the man with the Iron Pills", but they can't match up with the real world lifts like a Bench Press, Deadlift, Sandbag & Squat. Those are the true measures of strength. 

I can go on and on about what's wrong with them and why I should just cut them loose and throw them in the trash since I wasted money on them. The truth is.....

 All of these things that are wrong are the very reasons why it is ridiculous to even think such things. The only real wrong thing about them is that they're not promoted enough regardless of how much publicity they've had for years from some of the greatest athletes on the planet.

They provide real world function and can help you build lean muscle that is useful. They're the perfect tool for warming up, working on technique and be able to mimic just about any gym movement. They give you that extra juice to show your efforts in a post workout session that potentially gives you a high edge over your competition or enhance your own goals and aspirations. 

Those who have never laid a hand on them and tell you how awful they are wouldn't know his ass from his elbow how incredible these bad asses can be. So what if some shmuck with an ego the size of Texas thinks of them, he couldn't handle them on his best day. It's true, they wouldn't last 5 minutes with these things, then again, probably couldn't keep up with me in a workout with the bands but hey, they're more than welcome to find out if they're willing to give it a go. Besides, most who talk a good game would get their asses handed to them faster than the length of Vegeta's Galick Gun Technique. Hot air is all they really are and live jealous, pitiful lives. Damn shame. 

It's true they won't turn you into a Mr. Olympia, but that's not the goal. The goal is to make you one hell of a machine little by little or for most, make you fitter and longer lasting than the average person. It's ability to upgrade your conditioning is one of the reasons why it's successful and it's not just elite athletes, people in their 60's and older use them to help maintain youthful bodies with great mobility, agility and durability. It's not meant to be stupid heavy you can't move them, they're meant to move with you using a level of resistance that hits the muscles from many angles. 

The colors of the bands, it's freaking awesome, like a rainbow of badassery. Each level goes with a person's weight class/fitness level and able to work them to their advantage. It's a coach and will tell you what you need to work on and what to look for in building a mastery over them. Being able to work with them for even as long as 30 minutes with very little rest puts you in a level that is high above what most gym goers are willing to do. Sure it's a different level of training but the mere fact that they can give you that lasting strength when it matters is all the reason to get your hands on them.

The bands are a tool like anything else. They work with what you're willing to put into them. They give you many health benefits and challenge even the toughest men and women in the world. They don't snap easily, quite frankly, even the Great Gama doesn't stand a chance snapping these fuckers and he was arguably the greatest wrestler of all time that had strength that is unmatched today. The type of agility you can acquire and mobility you will gain, lessens the chances of injuries and has far less impact on the joints than weights or even bodyweight for that matter but both can co-exist with the bands in great synergy. You can do all sorts of workouts with them like Supersetting with Push-ups or Squats, attach them to a barbell and not need to add weight, Crawl or sprint with it around your waist and go after a slam ball and so much more. The only limit to these is your imagination. 

You can do great things and become a stronger and fitter person than you have ever been. Add these to your regimen or on their own and you will find a pathway to many abilities some will consider to be unnatural. Take a chance and grab a band or two right now and unlock new ways to train than ever before. Be sure to use the code POWERANDMIGHT. I thank you for reading the article and hope you all have an amazingly awesome day. 

5 Updated Exercises On Youtube And Still Killing It With The Dopa Band

 Training these days has its moments where sometimes it can be a pain in the ass but other times, everything is just right and feeling like a Super Saiyan. My Dopa training has it's fair share of ups and downs of doing everyday since Jan. 1st but I'm keeping at it and have hit roughly 35,000 total reps with it doing 500-1000 a day and done a few HIIT workouts where you do as many reps as possible, so it can be brutal some days. Will I hit 50,000 by the end of the month or going into April? Who knows?

With the circuits, I would change up the type of muscles I want to work on or at least target. Not so much to isolate them cause with the band, it's never isolating, it builds stabilization and you have to be in control at all times otherwise it's not going to look very pretty LOL. Some days I'll do chest presses and rows for the chest and back but sometimes I'll hit the upper arms and do curls and pulls for the triceps. I switch up exercises doing squats by either doing my Uppercut To Squat combo, Resistance Squats where I hold the band at it's tightest, Butterfly Power Squat Combo or Hook around the arms and do squats that way. Core work is mainly doing the Propellers but I'll do another exercise that hits those particular muscles. 

When it comes to the gym, it's cool going there and playing around doing mainly Pull-Ups, Dips, Bench, DB Curls, Sandbag Work and working with the rack. I'll do Farmer's Carries with 65 lb DBs in each hand and walk the length of the gym and do sets of that. This past week, on Thursday, I decided to try Rack Pulling for the first time in ages. Partials were always fascinating to me cause you can move much heavier weight while only moving less than foot, often merely inches. So on this day, I pulled 225 for 20, 315 for 10, 385 for 5, 405 for 3 and then on the final set, I wanted to go even further. I put another 25 lb on each side and got 2 reps. Remember, yeah I'm not pulling at full ROM but I put everything I had into this and the bar came off the rack with 455 lbs. That's the heaviest I've worked with a Barbell in more than a decade. Here is one of those reps....455 Rack Pull.

With the band, I've been testing out different exercises to film and see what they can do for others and since I've had some repeatable ones, I thought I'd add some new exercises to my playlist so people can get an idea of what's possible with this. filmed several exercises and put up about 5 yesterday that got a little bit of attention right away so I'm proud of that. These 5 alone can be used for circuits or regular sets and reps schemes to work on technique, control and strength. These aren't done fast like some of the others, these are deliberate, methodical and focused based. Each working the muscles as they need to be and because it's a heavier band, the stabilization is more laid out. 

Oblique Twists

Hammer Curls

Tricep Pulls

X Reverse Flys

Chest/Push Press

Each done with more of a closeup on how they're done. My intention was to show the muscles being worked as much as I could and utilize the techniques with great detail. It was fun doing these before my workout doing a circuit of Chest Presses, Oblique Twists, Resistance Squats, Front Raises & Wave Pulls. Typical 10 reps each and only rest was marking it off. I didn't focus on speed, more on control and technique along with building strength in those areas. 500 Total reps by the end, felt great. 

Have an amazingly awesome day everyone. Keep at it and kill it out there. Train with passion, drive and heart. Don't be an ego maniac that thinks his way is the only thing that matters and if you don't go along you're a loser. Usually when I hear stuff like that it makes me think of THIS. Those people are not worth your time and effort and they're just bitter children trapped in an adult body or better yet, think they're intelligent when in reality they act like a 13 year old who didn't get past 5th grade, believe me I can say far worse things but you get my point. It happens sometimes. We can all learn how to be strong and kind like Goku, it's not always easy but it's better than acting like a person who's got that engine running but nobody behind the wheel. 

Be a part of the Dopamineo Clan and use the code POWERANDMIGHT. 

A Conditioning Powerhouse: DopamineO Bands As A Tool For Lifelong Strength And Health And How Would It Do In The Bronze Age Of Physical Culture

That's quite a mouthful of a title don't you think?

This isn't about some trendy little gadget. I’m not here peddling the latest gimmick or some gym membership. No way bro. I’m all about tools that build the kind of rugged, unbreakable body that lasts a lifetime—the kind the old physical culturists may have used if they had access to in their time. Right now, in 2026, that tool is the DopamineO Band.

You've been reading about the crazy workouts I've done with these. HIIT Style within 30 minutes, Circuits for up to as many as 20 Rounds, even knocking out reps using sometimes two decks of cards in a row because why the hell not? These aren’t your cheap rubber tubes that snap mid-set and leave you with a welt across the face. These are engineered silicone tubes—solid core, not hollow junk—with a formula that laughs at heat, water, sweat, and time. Lifetime durability with proper use, a full one-year warranty, hypoallergenic, and they come with lifetime access to over 300 training videos. Five resistance levels from Fly (perfect for kids or rehab) all the way up to Heavy that’ll smoke a 220-pound beast. Whether you’re 80 pounds or 250+, there’s a Dopa Band built exactly for you.

I want to get into the conditioning benefits, because that’s where these bands separate themselves from most pieces of equipment on the planet. Traditional weights are great, don’t get me wrong and they can be beneficial when done right and without ego lifting, but the resistance remains the same. Dopa Bands give you variable resistance: easy as you move closer to it, brutal at the peak contraction when you bring it further away. That means your muscles are under tension exactly where they need it most, building strength-endurance like little else. You’re not just moving; you’re training the way wrestlers and old-time strongmen actually moved—explosive, full-range, never stopping.

Throw a Dopa Band around a tree at the park or anchor it to your door at home and you’ve got a full gym. Pulls, pushes, squats, rows, face pulls, core crushers, wrestling-specific drills—you name it. The constant tension fires up your stabilizers, improves mobility and durability while packing on functional muscle. I’m talking real-world power that carries over to the mat, the job site, or just chasing the kids around without blowing out your back.

Now, long-term fitness and health? This is where the Dopa Band becomes potentially a lifestyle weapon. Most guys train hard in their 20s and 30s, then their joints start screaming by 40 and they quit. Not with these. The elastic resistance is joint-friendly as fuck, no heavy iron crashing down on your spine or knees. You can train daily, even multiple times a day, because recovery is faster and injury risk drops through the floor. I’ve used them for micro-workouts when I need a pick me up, five minutes here, ten minutes there and the conditioning compounds like compound interest.

Your heart gets stronger through high-rep circuits and HIIT. Next to bodyweight training in this manner, this is the next best thing. Blood flow improves. Grip strength benefits as well (especially if you pair it with the Gi Simulator Trainer for specific work like BJJ or Judo). Hormones stay optimized because you’re moving heavy resistance without the cortisol dump of marathon barbell sessions since some gym goers feel the need to train for more than 2 hours. And mentally? There’s a reason they’re called DopamineO—the endorphin rush from crushing a band circuit even within 15 minutes flat is addictive in the best way. Consistency becomes effortless. You train everywhere—hotel room, backyard, airport lounge—and that consistency is what builds the body that lasts decades, not years. It can even be a phenomenal finisher to your gym routine.

I’ve said it before and I’ll scream it from the fucking rooftops man: conditioning is king. You can have all the raw strength in the world, but if your engine craps out after three minutes or less, you’re done. The Dopa Band fixes that. You build incredible stamina while building muscle that won't look like something out of a comic book but a real world functioning physique. Long-term health? Lower blood pressure from the cardio effect, better posture from the pulling movements, stronger bones from the progressive overload, and a nervous system that stays sharp because you’re constantly adapting to new angles and tempos. This isn’t hype, this is what happens when you use the right tools every single day.

Now here’s the part that gets me fired up every time I think about it: imagine if the old timers, the legends of physical culture and catch wrestling from the early 20th century had these bands.

Eugen Sandow, the father of modern bodybuilding and physical culture. The man popularized Free Weights and other things of that era. A portable Dopa Band set would’ve let Sandow train on the road during his world tours—hotel rooms, backstage at theaters, anywhere. Variable resistance perfect for his “muscle control” routines. He could’ve isolated every angle of the chest, shoulders, and arms with band flies and presses that hit harder at the top where it counts. Sandow preached health and aesthetics over pure brute strength; these bands deliver both without the joint tax of heavy iron. He might’ve lived even longer and influenced an entire generation to train smarter, not just heavier.

Frank Gotch 

Joe Stecher 

Ad Santel

Lou Thesz

All of them. These were mat-tough legends who built their bodies through labor, conditioning drills and basic training. No fancy gyms. A Dopa Band would’ve been perfect for them: little equipment needed, unlimited workouts, and the ability to train specific weaknesses on the fly. Stecher’s famous scissors? Band-resisted leg curls and adductor work to make them even deadlier. Gotch’s chain wrestling? Band drills for explosive hip escapes and bridging. They traveled constantly, bands fit in a suitcase and never break. Injuries that sidelined them for weeks? Rehab with the Feather or Light band and they’re back in days (possibly).

The old physical culturists were geniuses of will and volume, but they were limited by the technology of their time. No portable variable resistance. No lifetime-durable tools that let you train every day without wrecking yourself. If DopamineO bands had existed in 1900-1920, these men would’ve been even more dominant, it's not even a debate (unless you believe it to be). Their conditioning would’ve been off the charts, their careers longer, their influence wider. Sandow might’ve written an entire book on “Band Culture.” And the rest of us would’ve inherited an even richer legacy of functional, lifelong strength.

Look, I’m not saying drop the barbells or your regular gym work. I'll still hit the weights a couple times a week myself. But for pure conditioning, portability, and long-term health—the Dopa Band is unmatched. It’s what the old timers would’ve killed for. It’s what we need right now. Bodyweight Training is the foundation, there's never been a doubt or even a debate about that, bands like these are the next evolutionary step where they work the body in aspects that Bodyweight and Weights can't hit. That's not a knock down, it's part of the journey. 

Grab yours today at Dopamineo.com and use the discount code POWERANDMIGHT for 10% off. Military bundles and other discounts available too. Whether you’re building the body of a modern wrestler or just want to move and feel strong into your 70s and beyond, these bands deliver.

Train hard, stay consistent, and keep being amazingly awesome. The old timers are watching. Make ‘em proud.

If you wish to get in touch with me, send me your comments (FYI, Anonymous Comments are automatically deleted) or use my linktree that you can click on the right hand side of the blog where it has my email and social media. I no longer have the Contact Form up. Subscribe & Follow to get posts sent to your email. Have a great day everyone.