1st Full Month Of Hill Sprint Training

 When you set new goals, certain things may not show up right away and they say the big results don't show until the 3 month mark. Well, I started Hill Sprint Training on May 17th and I think I've made some pretty good progress but still have a good journey ahead of me. I have been eating a bit differently and because of doing Hill Sprints, doing less intense workouts the rest of the time and getting the most of what's possible to do. 

I just decided that after a few years and wanting to test myself in hard sprints again, they've become a joy to do. I mainly do them in the morning or early afternoon 3x a week and keep the afterburn effect going the rest of the day which is a hell of a perk. I have also come up with a little progression system where I started out with 4 Sprints the first month and each week add 5-10 seconds per burst so the first week was 10 seconds, second was 15, third was 20 and the final week was 30 seconds. This is to help progress to go a little longer on the hill each week until I can practically do the majority or the full hill in 30 seconds. Each month I would add one sprint and use the same progression system of timing.

I am also training on two different hills in my area which gives a different feel in incline and to see what speed I'm best at depending on the time needed to maintain that speed. Soon I'll just be doing only one hill but for now, each one is fun to walk to. One is steeper than the other yet just as awesome to do. When I sprint, I do what's possible to run as hard as I can to maintain speed for a specific amount of time. That doesn't mean I sprint at 100% capacity, that's nearly impossible regardless of how good you are. Even the legendary Walter Payton could only maintain speed on a sprint for the amount of bursts he did in his prime. You can't run nearly as fast on a hill as you could on flat ground but it does still kick your ass.

Say you ran a sprint for 10 seconds, you could probably do close to your maximum capacity of speed which would be around 70-80% at best which on a hill is more than the average person can do. Now if you did a 30 second burst, your speed might go down to maybe 30-40% at best because to keep the pace for that long is something a lot of people don't realize. If you tried to do the absolute maximum of speed like you would in a 10 second sprint, you would start to slow down dramatically those last 20 seconds of a 30 second sprint and within those last few seconds you have, you might as well be jogging. If you knew how to maintain speed for 30 seconds, you'd be jacking up the heart rate and you'd be burning calories and fat like crazy. Whether it's 10 seconds or 30 seconds, go at the speed that is meant for that amount of time needed for that sprint. When I realized how to do that, it made a huge difference in how I sprinted and felt afterwards. 

For all intents and purposes, Sprints are by far the best exercise to burn fat like no tomorrow and burn calories over an extended period of time, even long after a sprint session. Regular cardio such as running on a treadmill does burn calories but only burning from the session and that's it. If you look at Sprinters as opposed to a marathon runner or Olympic Runners in the 1500 meters, there's a world of difference in physique and muscle to fat ratio. 

The first month may not have a huge difference in my physique but I do feel like I've dropped some fat and put on a bit of muscle but like I said, I think I've made some good progress and making small changes along the way. There's still some work to do but this is something I want to pursue at least right now for the summer and fall before winter hits. 

 

The Outlook Of Being A Nerd That Works Out

As a kid growing up, I enjoyed cartoons such as Batman The Animated Series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Scooby Doo, He-Man and many others, read a comic here and there and played video games but it wasn't until I was older and really heavy into training and working out that these things in Pop Culture gave another meaning to how you can look at things in real life.

I wasn't called a nerd so much when I was school but as time went on, I just embraced that side of me and it makes working out that much more interesting. It's the imagination that gives me that drive and thinking like a superhero or a Jedi or Sonic The Hedgehog just thrusts into the element that you can improve with the use of the mind and body together. Many use the word nerd in a very derogatory sense but that's also because they don't understand what it's like to have that need of running from reality or seeing something so exaggerative that it becomes hero-like to a little kid. 

Certain aspects of Pop Culture such as Comic books show a fictional ideal of what society is in currently or the idea of what it could be in an alternate universe. Did you know the concept of the X-Men with Xavier & Magneto was the premise of the time centered around Civil Rights activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X? A time where certain people weren't accepted because of their race? A lot has changed in that time but there's still ideals that remain where we view the world from a certain perspective.

Now, what does all this have to do with working out or exercising? Well, imagine what it would be like to be the Flash and be able to sprint so damn fast that by the time someone said hello, that person would be in another town on the other side of the world maybe. What it would feel like to Heal like Wolverine and be impervious to injuries, could you imagine the type of athlete who had that ability or be able to train without getting injured? The true outlook of this is not always the workout aspects but the concept of understanding that if you were very fast and couldn't be caught, there's temptation there too but also the dream of being able to run from something so horrible that escaping is the only way. The healing ability is a favorite of mine because if I could heal like the man with adamantium claws, I wouldn't need to have surgery and have pins being put into my legs, my bones and surrounding tissue would just piece themselves together. It's the idea of looking at things and either wishing we had it or looking at it as to understand empathy for others who have sustained horrifying injuries.

Being a nerd helps understanding that certain aspects of pop culture have a lot of aspects of real life but in the exaggerated sense. No we can't levitate off the ground or fly without wings but we have things that make that possible such as anti-gravity and having suits that help you glide through the air without a parachute. The Noun aspect of a nerd is "a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious" and the Verb is "engage in or discuss a technical field obsessively or with great attention to detail." The weird thing is, anybody can be a nerd and not have the stereotypical aspects of a fool with glasses and never having able to kiss a girl or boy along with the obsessed outcome of paying attention to detail. A nerd can look like anybody from a bodybuilder to a maid, a blue-collar worker, a bartender, an athlete or even a School Principle and not what a certain look people have.

Someone who trains but also has a vast love for Comics, Cartoons, Science, Music & other things can be some of the nicest people on the planet and share a common trait with those who also have a vast love for things like that. If you want to talk nerdiness and someone who also works out, look at Lou Ferrigno, the guy who went from an introvert and nearly deaf kid into one of the greatest superheroes ever seen on TV and yet has a collection of various Comics, Star Wars stuff and collectable treasures that even someone like Sheldon Cooper would envy. A nerd is just a human being like the rest of us, if he works out as well, it is another cherry on top of a bad ass Sundae. 

There are a lot of nerds out there who aren't weak and frail and are crazy strong and powerful. Don't make any mistakes about it, there's a lot of good people out there that have a view on life that is as crazy as a comic book, stranger than a cartoon and certainly a lot more interesting than any video game. The biggest perk of being a nerd that trains, you look at workouts very differently and more imaginative than just a person who works out. Embrace your nerdiness, be yourself and make the most of what is possible to have the best life. 

Finger Gymnastics: Taking Hand Conditioning To Another Level

You never know what you'll find on the internet when it comes to exercise programs and platforms based on Sports Training, Conditioning, Strength Building, Developing Flexibility and other stuff. When you see ad copies that promise this and that and show almost the same type of claims or exaggerate them to make them not only sound cool but make it sound they're the hidden secrets to the lost treasure or scrolls of the ultimate way to get fit yet around 99.9% of it is pure bullshit? Well, here's that .1% that does what it says it does and more.

For more than a decade now off and on, I've practiced what are called Finger Gymnastics based on the training principles of CoreForce Energy produced by Concert Virtuoso Garin Bader. Although the name Finger Gymnastics sounds a little quirky, it shows many aspects of Hand Conditioning, Dexterity Training, Finger Strength Training & Suppleness Training all rolled into one course. The exercises aren't just your typical form of Hand Exercises, they show how to use your imagination and throw your whole body into them in order to stay strong yet flexible without developing Carpal Tunnel. Matter of fact, these exercises have incredible chances of preventing Carpal Tunnel and arthritis. 

At first I used them to warm up or cool down to prevent injuries from doing various feats of strength which puts a lot of strain on the hands. I would also use them as a standalone workout to strengthen the tendons and ligaments in my lower arm. For the most part I use them to build dexterity in my hands because as you know as a kid, using my right hand was very difficult for me. If I had known these exercises when I was like 9 or 10 years old, who knows what I could've done that would very different today. These days, my dexterity in my right hand is far from ever being equal to my left but I have made tremendous progress over the years that it shows what I can do now as opposed to when I was a teenager. 

It teaches how to supple the wrists that are very unique and Finger exercises that strengthen the tendons to an extent that it could help develop strength to do Fingertip Push-ups, strengthen the hands for pull-ups, be able to grip harder without straining and if you're a rock climber, be able to move or hold onto something longer. These also have exercises that are great for those who are Musicians, Fighters, Baseball Players, Hockey Players, Typists, they can help with your Golf Swing, greater dexterity for Magicians, Massage Therapists or those who perform in Cirque Du Soleil.

Almost all the exercises can be used without any equipment and there's a great set of Putty that comes with the course that you can do all sorts of things with that is really fun to use. For many years, Garin has performed all sorts of acts and has done so without much injury and he can do Magic, play the Piano so beautifully it has to be seen to believe, do two finger push-ups with arms straight out, glide through the air on a silk curtain and perform other instruments with ease it's unbelievable. If there's one guy who has mastered many things and knows what he's talking about when it comes to conditioning and strengthening the body, it's him.

When I met him back in 2010, it was like seeing Picasso, Copperfield, a guru and a Mythic all rolled into one human being. The hours I spent with him will never leave me and I still do things he taught me that day as of right now as I write this. He's the genuine article and has a very positive outlook on life and training that you don't see in many people today. It was an honor just to even shake his hand let alone have conversations with him and absorb his knowledge like a Sponge. The way he moves and expresses his himself in the moment is a surreal thing to see and his dexterity, strength and coordination is just incredible. You'd be missing out big time if you didn't have Finger Gymnastics in your arsenal. 

This course IMO is the GOAT of Hand Conditioning bar none. These exercises are top of the line and will give you levels of energy and power that you probably haven't experienced before or experienced in many years.  

Relearning To Write Cursive

 

From what I talked about having Meningitis as a baby, you know that the way I learn things isn't always the traditional way or what is the normal curriculum taught in schools. Some things I had to learn the hard way and what comes natural to most people, can be very difficult for me to comprehend. It becomes an issue constantly to think in specifics and understanding certain concepts one at a time and not from a generalized point of view. It's not an excuse and it's not because I can't but it is how my brain operates and I can only do what works with that chemistry of brain to body function.

When I was little and learning how to write, I never really had great hand writing, it wasn't and still isn't all that pleasing to naked eyes but I never gave up trying. When I was about 9 or 10, I was taught how to write in cursive and although it was readable (not steady but you can understand a little) that was the only period of my life where I consistently wrote in cursive. As a boy at that age, it was tough for me to understand simple concepts and being socially awkward didn't help. I did have friends but wasn't truly part of a brotherhood so I always just went along with people. 

I stopped writing cursive on a consistent basis for more than a quarter of a century and although I'd write my name in what looked like cursive was more than just a scribble of lines, I just signed my name in print. Up until about a year or so ago and as recently as Saturday night, I had learned how cursive could be a major brain building exercise and generate natural hormones. Now that does sound ridiculous as far as the hormones part but the way you strengthen the brain through various notions of exercise methods can jumpstart powerful nerve points in your body's system. I started writing in cursive again, it's not very good and as you'll see, the writing in pencil was from a year ago and the blue ink is from Saturday night. I just started practicing writing my name, my wife's maiden name, superheroes, Matt Furey's and just about those for now. 

Hardly anyone under the age of 30 writes in cursive anymore and it has become somewhat of a lost art because due to the technology we have today, we can just write or type up notes and names and such in printed formats and fonts that are extremely easy to read. Sure some type words in cursive on their laptops or design websites but how many actually write on paper in cursive?

It is hard to do and we need to utilize our brains that is rarely seen these days. Back in the day going back centuries, cursive was the norm for mainly those that were highly educated. Hell the declaration of independence is written in inked cursive for crying out loud. The fundamental aspects of writing this way, helps strengthen neurons in the brain and can raise intelligence by a good margin. Some studies even say it can raise testosterone but who knows if that's true or not , the fact is it's one of those things we should be learning again.

It takes patience and practice but as they say, practice makes perfect but I'd say, consistent practice creates better results. Like I said before, right now my cursive is not very good and probably no better than a 4th grader from the 80's or 90's but little by little it can get better and I believe it's worth perusing. 

Workouts That Can Be A Great Add On To Hill Sprint Training

 If there was one method that is the Holy Grail of burning calories, fat and building muscle at the same time, it's Hill Sprints. Just finished my 3rd full week of Hill Sprints doing bursts from 10-20 seconds starting with only 4 sprints at a time and little by little, increase one rep every 4 weeks. I'm already seeing some changes in my body, lost a few pounds in the process and put on a little muscle while reducing fat. 

I love the way sprints make me feel afterwards and when I walk back home when I'm done, I feel like I'm on cloud 9; must be the endorphins kicking in and getting that Runner's High. Because of the crazy calorie burn, I have been eating a bit more than usual but yet continue to drop weight, not a lot but as I progress, it gets more and more obvious that fat loss and weight loss are showing. 

Now, as a person who likes to go nuts when it comes to training, it is important to be smart about what you do in addition to training this particular method. Having said that, what workouts could you do that keeps things flowing but not burn you out? Since I've started back up on Hill Sprints, I've done other workouts on other days that aren't as intense but still feel like I'm getting something done.

1. Isometrics have been a great addition because you can just do certain holds for an extended period of time or you can do the intense 6-12 second contractions and get that strength training going along with burning even more calories. Along with Hill Sprints, Isometrics can put on definition and keep the fat burning going without impacting the joints.

2. Animal Movements are awesome for day after Sprints but it is important to not go full boar on them because you still have to recover as much as possible. They're great conditioners but they're also amazing for keeping up your mobility and they're fun as a treat to do so you can feel like a young kid.

3. Step Ups can do amazing things to keep your stamina going and in addition, because they're not as intense as Sprinting, they're really good for keeping your breath under control. One day after doing Sprints, I dis a superset for 30 minutes carrying my 50 lb Sandbell and doing 20 Step ups. Felt incredible afterwards and didn't feel exhausted. It was a chance to learn to breathe while focusing on building stamina and no so much on strength.

4. Club Swinging & Mace Swinging have exceptional benefits of training for mobility, coordination and conditioning. I'm going to try this out myself and see what it does because the exercises that these implements display also have growth hormone effects that keeps you healthy and strong. In addition to building flexibility in the shoulders, wrists and elbows there are strength components for the entire upper body and building muscle in the upper back, core and arms. They also strengthen the hands which also leads to brain strengthening. Just a few minutes is really all that's needed.

5. Loosening Up The Joints to me is the ultimate form of recovery exercise because we don't want to stiffen up and feel like we're walking like C-3PO. We want to relax and not have so much tension built up in our bodies otherwise we won't be able to perform the amount of training we need to do in order to be successful in our goal setting. When you loosen up the joints, you're also creating better blood flow to the body while developing suppleness, flexibility, mobility and chi energy. When we are stiff, things don't flow as well and when our mobility and energy is limited, it won't have the full effects of being able to perform the simplest tasks. 

There you have it and hope these can give you ideas of what you can do if you pursue Hill Sprinting. Don't push hard, just keep it simple and keep things flowing. If Hill Sprints are more than enough for you especially in the beginning and additional training isn't in the cards for you yet, than that's great. The idea is to recover as much as you can on your off days from Sprints but if you want to play around with the idea of other workouts because they're beneficial to you, keep the intensity levels low and rest as much as you need between sets. When you train Sprinting Hills, you're going to need that explosive power and strength to do those hard climbs.   

Do Workouts Cause You Anxiety?

 Living in an age where information is just a tap or click away, it can be stressful finding a workout that gives you meaning and suited to your goals. A major anxiety problem in fitness is that you have to count your macros, do this many reps, that many sets, do this amount of exercise per week and if that isn't stressful enough, you need to be in the right position to hit the right set of muscles otherwise results don't ever come. Now with all that, when you actually get to the workout, does it become stressful to even try to keep up with the "curriculum" of what you're supposed to do? 

Personally, there have been times with my own workouts where I felt I had to follow every step someone else said to do and it just made me feel like crap. The truth is, I really don't like it when a book or a person orders me to do this or that and if I did it wrong I'm a horrible person; fuck that LOL. My philosophy has always been to study the principles, experiment and see what works and what doesn't that pertains to me, nobody else. A workout should never have to cause an anxiety attack, it's supposed to help push it aside and give you an endorphin high and feel good about what you're doing.

There are times where your mind isn't even there and if you're trying to do a workout, it'll feel like at times you're resisting yourself and at the same time it just doesn't feel right, that can cause some anxiety and you feel forced. Not all workouts are going to cause you anxiety but it could lead to a way of doing things where if you do have anxiety, you do things to calm you down. Being hyperactive can also be a factor in certain things and that's where you need to train yourself to understand what's causing the anxiety and what is possible for me to do to pull the plug on it?

In case you haven't figured it out, I do suffer some form of anxiety and it's been that way with me for as long as I can remember and that's where my workouts are a blessing to me. When I do Hill Sprints now, they tone down the anxiety and release that high where it just feels great afterwards and I'm better focused and I handle tasks better. When I do my animal workouts, I keep going until I feel I've had enough and my mind is calmer, my body feels more relaxed and it keeps me from being all over the place. 

If you read my previous article on workouts being a form of therapy or meditation, than you understand that for some people who suffer depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, being Bipolar and other sources of mental/physical issues can't always practice standard programs like seated meditation and mainstream forms of therapy. Exercise should be a blessing and not a chore or something to feel forced on. Working out should be about taking your aggression or raising your endorphin levels or you being hyperactive and making something great out of it so you can feel like a functioning human being.

I do understand that there are medications for those ailments and for some people, medication is needed in certain cases but not everyone needs to be popping pills and looking like a damn zombie. I know what it's like to be on medication, I was on Ritalin for years when I was younger because of the meningitis and I needed to stay focused. I hated it so much that by the time I was about 8-10, I completely went off of them and it took adjusting especially for the people in my life but I managed to live my life for nearly 30 years without it. I'm not saying you should do the same, just telling you what I did.

Anxiety can be harmful, at times dangerous but it's also a teacher and we need to be aware of it and what it is causing beyond what's going on in our heads or in our bodies. Sometimes it can be harmless and you're just over anxious and nervous, it's a very human thing. If someone is suffering from Anxiety or Depression or other mental ailments, don't poke fun at them, it's not cool and it can drive a person to a place they never wanted to go but do because they just want the ridicule and mocking to stop. Do what you possibly can to not let ailments like these ruin your life and do something productive that keeps them from popping up frequently. If at all possible if you manage to rid yourself of these things, I'm very proud of you and you are amazingly awesome for overcoming them. 

Do what is right for you and if you do use exercise to get yourself off of medications, that's great. 

Why My Training Is My Therapy Or Meditation

 For the life of me, I can't do standard meditative practices very well like sitting or standing. I get overzealous easy and become hyper or feel the need to move. Some people have mastered it, others not so much and it has been that way for me since I was a kid. Throughout my life since I was 21 years old, exercise has been my go to session for meditation/solace/therapy whatever you wish to call it. From relationships to the stresses of moving to another home and even with the loss of friends and family, it has always been there for me.

When you find something that gives you a reason to rethink things and emerging yourself into an element that becomes something beyond yourself, it turns into something you'd never expect. You put yourself into a world where it is your own and only you can allow someone in or not. You've seen the videos, the pics, the articles and some will tell you what they see when I train but there's more to it than meets the eye. When I zone out, nothing around me matters and I get to be in full control of what happens, what I use and how it's going to go.

Working out for the majority of people is more about impressing others and doing what is "possible" to look good when in fact, looking good should be secondary or third or whatever is on a list except for first. Most of the time these days, people have no clue what real training is and they follow trends and do this or that because they don't have a mind of their own. It's one thing to experiment and learn new things or make a habit to train but it's a totally different world where you're zoned out and a workout becomes something beyond moving a weight or doing a hold or doing some variation of a callisthenic exercise. 

The world can be a scary place and we all have dealt with some traumatic things within that scary world but if you can find something that is therapeutic and it gives you hope, smiles and a reason to reach for something, the world for a few moments isn't scary anymore and you get to do something that makes it brighter, more fun and full of possibilities. It does feel like therapy and it becomes meditative when you have full control of your mind and your body together, not just one or the other. It's like a car being able to move with gas in the tank or a carriage being pulled by horses, it's about connection.

Create your own world, throw yourself into your imagination and build that connection to what gives you purpose and how you develop a skill to meditate in your own way. Meditation is not about Yoga Poses or humming in a seated position, it's about finding what connects you and holding onto it. 

These are things that make me feel I'm in a meditative state and get to do something fun and full of wonders. The tools and exercises aren't perfect and some may look horrible to some people but in the end, this is me and this is what makes me happy along with creating my own sessions of Therapy or Meditation.