Step Ups And Their Effectiveness

 A good portion of the time, a simple exercise like Step Upas can really take you down if you know the right pace and tempo. Maybe it might be too simple but is it really so? I guess it depends on your point of view. Does it replace Squats? Overall, not necessarily but some prefer the Step Ups and others prefer Squats and that's awesome. At least you're getting in some kick ass leg training either way.

Some scoff at the idea of Step Ups because to them, squats are king and other leg exercises are just second class which in and of itself is far from the truth. Some even say Step Ups are the lazy man's leg training; obviously that's pure bullshit otherwise by logic you're saying someone like Bob Backlund is lazy. How natural is Step Ups in comparison to Squats? Well, why compare their natural entities when both are natural type exercises and have pros and cons to both while their effectiveness may be different, they still generate incredible strength, power, conditioning and overall health for the whole body.

Having done thousands of reps from both of them, safe to say for me personally, I get more out of Step Ups than Squats and I'll tell you why....With Squats, they were the foundation and gave me a solid pair of legs over the years while also saving time by doing high reps either in a row or using a deck of cards. As time went on and doing other things, they became a bit more uninteresting to me and felt like they weren't a priority anymore. With the transition to Step Ups, I not only go longer & do more reps, they give me greater focus by working my legs individually. They help even out the areas where one leg seems to have more muscle than the other and it feels more meditative while being a conditioning exercise.

Step Ups are a different form of cardio and it has become grossly underrated over the years. Other than Bob Backlund advocating them, they don't get as much traction or attention in comparison to Squats and it's a damn shame. They go far beyond just going up and down and switching legs, they are a great addition to just about any routine as they can be an exercise to do instead of resting for your next set. They can be used to as a superset exercise to other movements to really tackle your conditioning and they put you in a better state of not being as sore yet get more out of it.

Despite its benefits of health and overall fitness, it has a safer aspect on the knees and lower back if you have those particular issues. We do Step Ups more often than we are led to believe because of climbing stairs on an almost daily basis so this exercise actually strengthens that form of movement along with strengthening the joints for things like biking, hiking and swimming. Training this way helps in a ton of sports and other activities.

As always, just be careful how you do them and don't go so fast that you'll slip/trip and fall on your ass; I've done it a time or two and even broke part of a step and after those, I learned to pace myself better and being aware of my footing while going at a decent clip. Got to a point where I can do 30 within a minute and do 500 in under 23 minutes. Ideally it's not a sprint exercise because like I said, if you go too fast, it's going to bite back so respect the movement and go at a clip where it's keeping your heart rate going but not in a rushed manner. 

When I train this exercise, I don't care much how many sets/rounds I do, I pick a number to do each leg and go for time whether for 10, 15, 20 or 30+ minutes straight. If I'm in the middle of a set and the timer goes off, I just finish the set and add the + to the workout lol. Numbers wise, I stay within a 10-15 rep range each leg and just keep going. Sometimes I'll speed up during the workout and other times I just keep pace and focus on my breathing and footing. Said it before, it becomes meditative at times. Better cost effective than a treadmill that's for damn sure. 

It just feels good overall and I love how my legs feel afterwards. I don't get sore almost at all and I can do other exercises later on like Isometrics, carries and even hammer stuff. It has kept me in pretty decent shape for some time now. Give it a go and maybe someday you'll put up Backlund numbers but do what's possible for you and keep improving while being amazingly awesome. 

Why Are Hybrid Isometrics So Effective?

First of all, what in the blue hell are Hybrid Isometrics? Some kind of supernatural entity of exercise? Doubled forms of fitness to create some kind of Superhuman? Although it sounds cool, Hybrid Isometrics are mainly an advanced variation of Isometric Exercise that takes you some steps further to achieving great strength and muscle building. I didn't make up the name, that goes to one of the most prominent trainers in the art of Isometric Training today and that's Matt Schifferle.

Now, what makes up of Hybrid Isometrics? It's literally a combination of Overcoming Isometrics & Yielding Isometrics. Overcoming is the style where you work against something immoveable and stay at that sticking point for intense contractions in a Push/Pull/Squat/Grip Format. Yielding in a nutshell is the type of Isometric Training where you're fighting against gravity such as a plank or horse stance for example. The Hybrid style by definition of the first two styles is the combination of hitting a sticking point while going against gravity at the same time. Here's an idea of doing a Hybrid Plank (This engages the Core far more than the regular Plank plus you're working your lower back and hips from sagging by pressing against the strap). 

How are these as affective if not more than typical Isometric Exercise? Because of the combination of both Yielding & Overcoming styles, you're generating a different level of strength training in order to successfully hold positions for either time or through the 7-12 seconds of intense contraction. It puts a different spin on what constitutes being in a position where the muscles are working harder than normal and not particularly isolating certain muscles either, you're literally working many muscles in order to stabilize yourself. The real effectiveness is that it doesn't take long to really feel it and you aren't going to last very long doing some of these exercise which in the case of plank, if you can hold the elbow or even palm plank for 2 minutes or more, the hybrid would put most people down within 30-45 seconds or less. It is very tough to do and is a plank on steroids. However, because of the short amount of time you'll hold this position, you're going to build strength in ways that the regular plank can't. 

Isometrics are a fascinating form of training and the plethora of ways to work them can turn you into a fitness machine or can help you in rehabbing injuries. When it comes to Hybrids, they rank right up there as some of the simplest yet toughest exercises you can do. I use them as an addition to my regular Isometric Training. A great product you can use to work Hybrid Isometric is the Iso Loop. For other forms of straps to work your exercises check out StrapWorks on Amazon. Get the most out of your Isometric Training and for more info on what Hybrids are and some of the exercises you can learn, grab a copy of Overcoming Isometrics by Red Delta Project. RDP also has a Youtube Channel that shows tons of exercises, workouts and other tips on fitness training. 

Have an amazingly awesome day and train well. 

Thick Thighs Save Lives

 At least from what I've seen. Can never stop advocating for the Step Up Exercise. It truly is one of the most essential yet underrated leg exercises there is. Shit if the legendary Bob Backlund can do them and the strength & conditioning they gave him, why not others? Sure it's important to make sure you're not working with potentially harmful injuries especially in the knees and ankles but for the most part, these can highly be a godsend for building incredible leg strength, health and for your cardio.

I've been doing this exercise for many years now and it doesn't seem to slow me down, matter of fact, has kept me in pretty damn good shape. I hate jogging and Sprinting in below ten weather in the wintertime here is not always an option. If you want an alternative to sprints, do the Bear Crawls bro (read about my micro workout on this exercise). Step Ups especially done in high numbers bring incredible benefits which one of the perks is that you won't get as sore as you would with squats. Now that doesn't mean squats aren't good, they're awesome, I'll do them as part of my deck of cards workout with the Step Ups. Squats have their place and are as essential as any basic movement, I just prefer Step Ups as my go to Leg Exercise. 

Although it doesn't look like much (quite frankly its the exercise equivalent to a leg exercise from Wish to some people) but for others, it brings out all the benefits of cardio training without needing a treadmill or getting burned out from hundreds of squats. You ever hear the story about Backlund and the Marathon runner? I've written about it before but it's for a repeat: So this marathon runner thought Step Ups were pretty easy since after all, he withstands 26.2 miles for a lot of years so he wanted to see if he could give a Backlund a run for his money (no pun intended). So for the most part, this guy thinks this is a no brainer but roughly 20 minutes in, Bob is still killing it and this distance runner walks out the door and is never heard from again. He couldn't take it and it goes to show that you never underestimate the power of a simple yet effective exercise.

I've done my fair share of them over the years in a variety of ways from doing them straight through for 30 min to an hour at a time to doing supersets with other exercises such as Farmer's Walks, shoulder carrying my 50 lb sandbell or bear hug carry to slamming my slam ball. The deck of cards workout where it's Step Ups & Squats ranks right up there with that Rugged Conditioning type of training. The objective is to get to 500 Step Ups & 250 Squats by the end of the deck and if you can finish it in under 30 minutes, kudos for you man; I'm just a notch above the 30 min mark when I finish it. One time, I doubled the reps that came out to 1000 & 500 respectively going back and forth between two decks of cards with barely a break. Until you've done it, it's not something easily to describe. 

 Despite it's overwhelming simplicity, Step Ups gives you not incredible leg strength and conditioning, it's a pretty damn good muscle builder too since you're working your legs unilaterally. It's had me keeping my California Redwood legs in tact so far. My dad doesn't call me a tree trunk for nothing. With natural muscle, strength & cardio, you're looking at some solid boosting of testosterone and HGH. Our legs provide the means to develop our sex organs, energy and power. When you consistently train your legs (safely of course and not getting injured frequently), you're bringing more vitality and desire into play. Don't be surprised if you start to feel like a wild teenager again, it is possible. It's important that we can increase our testosterone as we age ( with the right tools and not always go to drugs) but we also don't want to overload it because too much testosterone isn't always a good thing. Work it until you reach a certain level and maintain that. Mine's in the normal range for men in my age group and normal to elite level of testosterone is around 300 and 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL); I'm in around the 350's so for 35-45, that's pretty good. It could be better with diet and intense training but take things one at a time. 

Training and eating good gives off incredible boosts but the type of training you do should be intense and rugged like Sprints, Isometrics, Strength Training whether with weights or bodyweight and doing enough to recover efficiently. The diet is not always easy especially if you're on a budget but if you keep the junk to a bare minimum if at all, stick with a good source of meats, eggs, certain fruits and veggies along with drinking plenty of water. We all have our vices but I do love a good steak and eggs or rice with some liquid IV for hydration or make bunless cheese burgers with eggs. I usually scramble my eggs or do them fried with butter. I' am getting a bit better to not eat a ton of bread or minimize a bit more than what I'm doing now. Heavily on the Carnivore type plan but I like my sandwiches and some good Tempura Shrimp & Fries from time to time. You don't want to completely deprive yourself, enjoy things every now and then. 

Overall, add Step Ups into your routine or do them by themselves it's up to you. Start with a few minutes doing 5-10 reps per leg continuously and start adding time. You can add reps especially if you want to test yourself (like with the deck of cards) but if you work 10-25 reps each leg and keeping doing that for up to 30 minutes straight, that's some awesome cardio. I've done 1000 total reps in 41 minutes so I think my cardio is right where it needs to be. Doing Supersets with them is just another addition to boosting your body's natural levels of hormones. 

Train with intent but also make it as enjoyable as possible. Be amazingly awesome. 

 

A Performing Arts Degree Unlike Any Other

 What would it be like to go to or learn from a University that not only teaches you how to perform certain feats but gives you the tools to get paid to do it? What would it feel like to bend steel, twist rebar into shapes, rip phonebooks and do other feats that not only blows people's minds but you get to do these things while learning from the very best in the field? What would it be worth it to you to learn some of the coolest feats of strength that has baffled audiences for more than a century?

Mighty Atom

Bud Jeffries

Dennis Rogers

Chris Rider

Lawrence "Slim The Hammerman" Farman

Dave Whitley

Pat Povilaitis

All these men have performed incredible feats of strength that have taken the world by storm but by today's standards, it has become a lost art. From Bending Horseshoes to Ripping Decks Of Cards and turning steel into pieces of beautiful art, you can learn all these things and more from Dave Whitley and others at Strongman University. I've had the pleasure of performing some of these feats in front of people a good few times but never as important as performing with the late Bud Jeffries in the early-mid 2010's. I've done 3 shows with the big man himself performing up here in North Idaho in Coeur D' Alene, Sandpoint & Athol. In the middle of Bud's performances for Anti-Bullying campaigns, he brought me up to show a different type of strength that even he was doing in front of hundreds of kids and their teachers. My feats were mainly ripping a phonebook in half and bending a 6 inch spike while in the wrestler's bridge.

The bending I learned from strongmen like Logan Christopher & Tyler Bramlett but the bridge feat, I took that from John Wood. The phonebook tearing I learned from watching and mimicking Dennis Rogers who had a course on phonebook tearing at one point. I got pretty good at these to the point where I tore a phonebook in half the hard way using sock puppets to make the grip even more difficult to attempt. I've also bend plenty of steel (which you can find in my early videos like this one here). Another feat that I'm very proud of was bending a 6 inch spike behind my head with very little leverage and putting a ton of stress on the shoulders, elbows and wrists. You can view that here.

If you're interested in developing strength that is unique and way out of the norm, come and check out Strongman University and learn from the very best with a combined knowledge of well over 50+ Years in the business. Be a part of a tradition that goes back to the days of Eugene Sandow, Alexander Zass, Slim The Hammerman, Mighty Atom, Edward Aston and many other Vaudeville Style Strongmen. 

Getting The Most Out Of A Workout In Under 30 Minutes

One of the things I've always advocated about training was the importance of self discovery. Finding out what you're capable of doing and testing waters you've never been in, or at least took things to a different level. Just about any workout should be done using simplistic exercises and programming a progressive system that amplifies the workout's ability to make you stronger, more agile and as injury proof as possible. 

This workout I did yesterday went up a notch for me. Did only three exercises by doing the first two as a superset and used the third as a finisher to get that extra oomph in the conditioning department. A very rugged conditioning workout you might say that hits just about everything and can be a hell of a carryover. Here's how it went.....

-Superset (20 minutes non stop)

Bear Hug Carry 50 lb Sandbell for 20 Yards

20 Step Ups (10 per leg)

Immediately went into the finisher by doing my Bear Crawl Sprints for 10 Rounds at 10 Sec on/20 Sec off for approximately 5 minutes. 

The finisher was pretty brutal because my muscles were already hammered from the 20 min superset workout. It was a test to see what I can push on while fatigued. Just starting out on it is hard enough, imagine it as a finisher to something else. Felt great though, I didn't end up on my knees and beg the universe to let me breathe and didn't lie down to catch my breath. After it was over, I walked around and feeling everything in my body and breathing as deeply as I can. Talk about the best damn shower you can ever take. 

Once everything settled and felt "normal" (I hate that word), got some good food in me by having leftover eggs and sausage with a touch of shredded cheese and sliced up chinese pork. Tasted incredible man. Conditioning can go a long way and making you a machine. If you want to give this a shot, just remember that it doesn't discriminate and will try to beat your ass into the ground. It's simple but hard as hell and most people may not be able to handle it cause there's no literally almost no rest with the exception of walking back and getting into the bear crawl position. This isn't your typical run of the mill gym/home type workout, it's meant to try and break you and pin you to the ground. For nearly 30 minutes you're testing your mental strength and seeing what's possible without acting like you're going to die. The moment you start bringing it into your mind, you're dead. 

I never push to the brink of passing out or being so damn fatigued that I can't move my body because that is dangerous and focusing more on your ego than being aware of what your mind and body can and can't do. Do what's possible and listen to your body. The moment I was done, I got some water and jumped into the shower. Condition your body to make it stronger in the long run, not to the point where you'll end up not being able to move for a month. Training is about discovery, curiosity, grit and getting the most out of yourself possible without spending useless hours on it. Again this was less than 30 minutes and it's a bitch to pull off yet it is one hell of a workout that would humble just about anybody. 

Stay strong, keep getting better and be amazingly awesome. 

Interests, Goals & Pushing Yourself

 Realistically, training can be tough as hell depending on what you do but at the same time, it's important to understand the value of the work you put in along with finding the best ways to train suited to you and your goals. Learning new exercises can be exciting and with the way some ads like to appeal to a certain crowd whether they're everyday joes, athletes or training for specific feats, excitement can also be blinding. Remember Yoda's saying "adventure, excitement, a jedi craves not these things." Now, that shouldn't mean you don't look forward to them. I enjoy loaded carries, step ups, animal movements, sprints and Isometrics but it's not so much a craving to be excited or be adventurous, it's because they provide simplicity along with natural excitement or stimulus. 

If you're interested in something or learning something that appeals to you, it first becomes a curiosity and than it becomes something you're either going to continue doing or do something else that comes along. It has to naturally spark something in you that makes you want to continue on and if it doesn't create some form of natural stimulus, it's not going to keep you from continuing on. Some of the simplest exercises are tough but they're tough for a reason. If you'd rather just follow what the next shiny thing is, you're only going to leave your individuality behind and not learn the value of what it means to really train. 

Pushing ourselves is human nature, it's either going to be that fight or flight mode and doing something beyond our own reasoning to reach a certain level. We can't match everyone and not everyone can workout the same exact way, if that were the case, nobody would be different. We have certain strengths and weaknesses, we can surpass others and we may never reach a certain level but if you generate consistency with the idea of developing that stimulus whether physically or mentally, it leaves you wanting to learn more and create something for yourself. 

I've pushed my body at times where it ended hurt or had close encounters of blacking out but also pushed myself to other levels of strength from bending steel to doing more than 1000 Squats in a workout. I don't like the idea of pushing that hard and quite frankly, unless you're in a dire situation, training yourself to the brink of death is not the ideal way to consistently stay strong, it's a death sentence that will end up either faster or slower in the form of long term effects. It's important to find out what you're capable of and what you'll have to do at times to know what will be the determining factor of life or death but there's a difference between what your ego will do and what you can realistically do. I've pushed myself at times without being aware of it and that is another thing, we don't always know how far we go and when you're in that zone, it's like time stands still.

Goals are great to have and to achieve but at the same time, we have to be aware of the goals we are trying to achieve and what it will do to us later on. We can't 100% know the outcome of the goals we go after cause life will at times throw you curveballs and there might be days where everything just isn't there and we either push on anyway or back off a bit. We fail our goals at times, it happens but that doesn't mean we stay down and bury our heads in the sand, we get back up and try different approaches. When we achieve our goals, it's exciting and we celebrate the victory but more often than not, even if a goal is achieved, you still feel defeated somehow, the toll took everything out of you and you're mentally and/or physically drained. What is the sacrifice you're willing to make to achieve a goal, what's the endgame? What are the long term side effects? Was it worth the heartache and pain? Was it worth all the time and effort to only have it be something that lasts a few moments and then life moves on? Many don't look at these questions, some do don't get wrong but we don't always seem to be aware of the ratio of the consequences to achievement. 

Train to what suits you, be efficient in how you achieve your goals and handle the hits when they unexpectedly hit you the best way you can. Be strong and do what's possible. Times change, things that seemed impossible yesterday become possibilities today but we are still here doing the best we can even if it's so damn tiny a microscope can't even see it. Not everyone will celebrate your victories, most of the time nobody gives a shit or will criticize you. Most of the time, validation is just a thing to boost the ego and it can be intoxicating but remember to still be a human being and take your victories in as lessons and if something needs to change, do what you can to make it better. Keep being amazingly awesome everyone.     

The Bear Crawl Workout That Gets You In Rugged Condition Fast

You hear all kinds of ways to describe conditioning or some weird saying like Functional or something along those lines. Before you know it, they become a cliché and its meaning becomes meaningless. Johnny Grube describes his style as "Conditioned Strength" (whatever the fuck that really means since it's probably the most made up term for training) but it's not the worst one I've ever heard. When it comes to conditioning, it should sound ferocious, cunning, manly, old school and something that relates to those who've been through the ringer; something like, "Rugged Conditioning." To me, that sounds like something that's intense, combative, powerful and badass. 

One of the things I've seen Grube do (when he's not ranting like a lunatic and bullying anybody that doesn't share his set of "values") was go hard on his Rogue Bike for several minutes doing a reverse tabata style format which is 10 seconds on, 20 seconds off for 10 rounds (which roughly totals 5 minutes) and you know where I'm going with this. I took that concept and made it a Bear Crawl workout. Clearly I don't own a Rogue Bike but maybe one day I will but the Bear Crawl is just as awesome to do. I'll give him this, he's awesome at conditioning training and utilizes simplistic approaches to exercise that works for him and I respect his work ethic but outside of that, he just goes off the deep end doing nothing but running his mouth about people that have nothing to do with him or his family and acting like a crazy bigot. 

Let's get back on track, the Bear Crawl Workout that will get you in Rugged Condition fast. It's simple, quick and hits more muscles than you can imagine. With consistency (keeping it to 2-3x a week) it's possible to burn fat like a furnace, put on natural and functional muscle and have you be explosive so you'll be ready for anything. Did I forget to mention that it potentially makes you stronger in the long run and have crazy stamina? What's even crazier is that it can be done practically anywhere and the only thing you need is a HIIT Timer so things are set which you can find on your cell or grab one of those Gym Boss Timers. Hell, I've done this workout in my living room and I feel like a million bucks afterwards. It was one of the first workouts I did after recovering from my Sciatica Injury. 

Being in shape goes far beyond what you see on the outside, you may not look like a model or have that ripped Instagram look but if you can go hard and be able to have gas left in the tank and are healthy, looks aren't always going to matter. Hell you can look like a Skinny Yogi like Rahul Mookerjee or small like Royce Gracie and still be deceptively strong (but that may be pushing it a bit since he likes to brag about what he's "capable" of doing and Royce would destroy someone like Rahul in seconds) but the point is, you can be big, small, tall, short and still be in awesome shape, it's just a matter of what you do to be consistent.  

This would be a hell of a finisher to really kickstart your metabolism after a regular workout or it can a punishment for wrestlers/MMA Fighters to do before and after practice, whatever works. This isn't the type of workout that should be pushed to the side or taken lightly. It's hard, it's rough and it tests you in ways that you didn't think were possible. Despite the doubled amount of rest, you still barely have time to truly catch your breath before the next round. The moment those ten seconds are up you got one of two choices: 1. Stay in the Bear Crawl Position (which isn't really resting still) until you've done all the rounds or 2. Get up and walk to the starting point and get into position for the next round. As Billy Robinson once said "There's no rest in wrestling" neither do you in this workout.

You don't need to be a pro athlete to be in awesome shape but it's important to understand that to be in awesome shape, we take some things from the very best and mold them to our goals and making the most of what our bodies CAN handle.  Be safe, hope you have/had a great 4th Of July, train with great intensity and keep being amazingly awesome.