When it comes down to building upper body power and strength there are many ways to develop it since most bodybuilders and other fanatics are upper body crazy. There's the Bench Press, there's lat pull-downs, dead-lifts, push-ups, chest expander ect. But I feel the best and most healthy way to develop super strength is through 2 exercises that take you beyond the levels of strength and that's Pull-ups and Handstand Push-ups. Either one of these is not easy to do and to me that's a good thing.
Pull-ups build super strength in the back, grip, arms and shoulders. When you can do these at about 15 reps you got something going my friend. Why does this exercise seem like the strength builder? Look at the gorillas, they're strong, agile and massive, they have powerful looking back cause why, they climb and pull themselves up on a daily basis and they do this to survive and they start learning to hang as babies like a human baby learns to walk, apes do the opposite. I like to train in ways of the primates cause when you learn to swing around and grip and pull you're building strength in places you didn't know you had.
Handstand Push-ups are the upside down version of pull-ups, now holding a handstand alone can be difficult so you're already building strength by holding one. Once you get to the point of going down and back up you're building more power. It takes a great deal to pull off 1 HSPU but if you keep working on them you'll eventually hit 10 or more, my best is 25 consecutively at a body-weight of 230 pounds so think about how much strength I'm building pressing my own weight. This exercise was used by some of strongest men in the world and are a common exercise for gymnasts and look how strong they are. HSPU build strength in the arms, chest, grip, back, shoulders and abs.
When it comes down to it I find no other exercises for building great power in the upper body, walking on your hands is also a great exercise to build that kind of strength but just these 2 where you go up and down. If you want pull-up and handstand strength then check out these guys below and they're courses will get you to where you want to go.
Ultimate Handstand Push-ups
Pull-up Strength Training Workout
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Brooks Kubik & Dinosaur Bodyweight Training
Brooks happens to be one of my top favorite fitness authors and is tough as hell when it comes to training. 5-time Bench champion and record holder in his age group when he was champion. A firm believer in hard work and the right ways to develop strength/power in every area of the body. All you gym rats and strongman know Brooks by his book of Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets Of Strength & Development. Fascinating book and well deserved in the fitness world. Great talk on thick bar training and teaching the trainee to built the power he/she so desires and built heculean-like strength without the use of drugs or steriods.
He was a writer for Milo Magazine one of the biggest strength magazines in the world and he wrote countless articles on strength training and the types to get super strong. After a few years his body started to tear from the weights and needed an althernative. All who read on him know he had to come up with something. So he wrote a course that was unheard of and had a row of exercises many never thought of putting in a book. This book was to be known as Dinosaur Bodyweight Training. What exactly is this course and why would it be a BW course knowing that this man who looked he was carved out of granite was a 5-time national champion in Drug Free Powerlifting?
He came up with the idea that with certain elements and change in exercise you can develop a physique thats the symbol of a Greek Statue. From reading this course and doing most of the exercises personally I believe it. I didnt become a Greek Statue but I did develop muscle mass I never put on before. People get the idea that BW training can't get you muscle mass and you have to lift weights to get stronger. Thats pure BS cause once you see a video or picture of brooks doing the exercises the man is massive and is strong as hell for his size so he proves it works.
There are 100's of exercises he put in that cover every part of the body even exercises that build muscle in places you didnt think were working. The course has a vareity of equipment that is used during some exercises and he clearly states you don't have to use them to get in a great workout. They're great to a degree where if you want to increase the difficulty its a good idea to use them. Theres rings, pull-up bars, push-up bars, ab wheel, stability balls ect. So you have a great deal of equipment to use for BW exercises.
Is it worth getting the course well you be your own judge, the course sells at $197 plus 15 for shipping. In my personal opinion its worth getting cause its different then anything you've seen or done before. If the price is not your cup of tea, then get it on ebay if you can find it or don't get it all you've got other things you can try but take my word for it. If I didnt have it and can afford i'm right there. Its an awesome course and the DVDs that follow from his site can give you a better prespective watching him then reading about it. He goes into greater detail on the DVDs so if you don't want the book then get those seperatly or all together.
www.brookskubik.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
He was a writer for Milo Magazine one of the biggest strength magazines in the world and he wrote countless articles on strength training and the types to get super strong. After a few years his body started to tear from the weights and needed an althernative. All who read on him know he had to come up with something. So he wrote a course that was unheard of and had a row of exercises many never thought of putting in a book. This book was to be known as Dinosaur Bodyweight Training. What exactly is this course and why would it be a BW course knowing that this man who looked he was carved out of granite was a 5-time national champion in Drug Free Powerlifting?
He came up with the idea that with certain elements and change in exercise you can develop a physique thats the symbol of a Greek Statue. From reading this course and doing most of the exercises personally I believe it. I didnt become a Greek Statue but I did develop muscle mass I never put on before. People get the idea that BW training can't get you muscle mass and you have to lift weights to get stronger. Thats pure BS cause once you see a video or picture of brooks doing the exercises the man is massive and is strong as hell for his size so he proves it works.
There are 100's of exercises he put in that cover every part of the body even exercises that build muscle in places you didnt think were working. The course has a vareity of equipment that is used during some exercises and he clearly states you don't have to use them to get in a great workout. They're great to a degree where if you want to increase the difficulty its a good idea to use them. Theres rings, pull-up bars, push-up bars, ab wheel, stability balls ect. So you have a great deal of equipment to use for BW exercises.
Is it worth getting the course well you be your own judge, the course sells at $197 plus 15 for shipping. In my personal opinion its worth getting cause its different then anything you've seen or done before. If the price is not your cup of tea, then get it on ebay if you can find it or don't get it all you've got other things you can try but take my word for it. If I didnt have it and can afford i'm right there. Its an awesome course and the DVDs that follow from his site can give you a better prespective watching him then reading about it. He goes into greater detail on the DVDs so if you don't want the book then get those seperatly or all together.
www.brookskubik.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Life Without The People In Your life!!!!
When I was growing up I didnt have the luxery of having tons of friends and have a great group of family to back me up in my goals and being the best I can be. Most of them wanted me to be what they thought I should be and so I rebeled against them. In my teens I didnt have the best of athletic ability or have a killer physique. I dont have much of the latter even now but thats ok its who iam even though I wanna drop a few just to experience it. Anyway, Over the years i've dealt with deaths, depression, crying a lot, getting beat up both ways and being put down by some of the very people i love and care for but yet its hard to imagine me going through that cause most people see me as a nice guy who doesnt bullshit anybody. I used to keep many things to myself and its pissed quite a few people off but you know what I dont care anymore lol.
I'am who i'am and I can never change it. The thing to remember is that with everything going on you can't not think about the people who got you here even the ones I rebeled against got me to where I'am but the people who encouraged me to do what I love to do best. There are many people I can name off who inspired me and admired so i'll just name a few:
John Peterson- The man that has put me through torture and brutal workings through his books and dvd. This is the guy that can never put you down for what you believe in and if you have something to ask hes got the answer. The few times i've talked to him I get nervous but excited cause i'm just not talking to any old physical culturist but I a wonderful human being. Thank you my friend.
Josh- One of my new friends that has helped me push even further into my writings and training. A kick ass guy that doesnt stand down for what he believes in and does his best. I'm honored to call this soilder and fellow physical culturist my friend and i'll always have his back as well as he'll have mine. Keep it up bro and I know someday we'll put each other through torturous workouts.
Matt Furey- For introducing me to bodyweight exercises and teaching me how to strengthen my legs again through Combat Conditioning and Gama Fitness.
Never fall short on who is pushing you or inspires you or motivates you cause those are the true people to have in your life and the ones you dont want to let go. Thanks guys and you know its gonna get better from here.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
I'am who i'am and I can never change it. The thing to remember is that with everything going on you can't not think about the people who got you here even the ones I rebeled against got me to where I'am but the people who encouraged me to do what I love to do best. There are many people I can name off who inspired me and admired so i'll just name a few:
John Peterson- The man that has put me through torture and brutal workings through his books and dvd. This is the guy that can never put you down for what you believe in and if you have something to ask hes got the answer. The few times i've talked to him I get nervous but excited cause i'm just not talking to any old physical culturist but I a wonderful human being. Thank you my friend.
Josh- One of my new friends that has helped me push even further into my writings and training. A kick ass guy that doesnt stand down for what he believes in and does his best. I'm honored to call this soilder and fellow physical culturist my friend and i'll always have his back as well as he'll have mine. Keep it up bro and I know someday we'll put each other through torturous workouts.
Matt Furey- For introducing me to bodyweight exercises and teaching me how to strengthen my legs again through Combat Conditioning and Gama Fitness.
Never fall short on who is pushing you or inspires you or motivates you cause those are the true people to have in your life and the ones you dont want to let go. Thanks guys and you know its gonna get better from here.
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Bridging- Pros & Cons
When it comes to fitness there is one subject that very few talk about (mostly in martial arts) and thats bridging: Hands alone, head alone and hands/head. There are many people who believe bridging isnt good for you and you're going to snap your neck and ect. These are the people that never bridged in their life and want to give other a bad rap about it cause they feel if they can't do neither can anybody else. Now lets take a look at the pros and cons of bridging and see what we can come up with.
Pro- When done properly it energizes the body by releaving nerve force which causes new life in the bloodstream and to the organs of the body.
Con- First who start out will be fearful of being upside down and are not used to being bent backwards.
Pro- Builds strength/flexibilty/endurance throughout the whole body and with the proper breathing it can a calm and relaxing exercise
Con- Causes of bit of pressure to the head even in the proper position and the trainee must caution himself to not over do it.
Pro- After a period of training and mastering certain elements of the bridge the trainee can use to develop the body and the thickness of his/her neck .
Con- Most people don't see how it builds neck strength and do it improperly.
Pro- Once going through the process of bridging gymnasics (kick over and falling back) the trainee has a key sense of kenistetic awarness of his/her surroundings.
Con- People get scared of not knowing how aware and strong they can be and want to avoid the bridge.
There are many more but i'm sure you can come up with a few more. No matter how you put bridging works like a charm but it isnt for everybody and thats ok we need different structures and people feel limited to what they can really accomplish if they look hard enough. For me I love it and wouldn't be anywhere without it and all its elements and still got a bit more to learn but hey we all have to learn something. Bridging to me makes me feel like a million bucks, if I can pull off a 3 min. back bridge or hold a good gymnast bridge everything else seems easy cause not only is it challenging it builds character.
Once you get over the fear then you know you've come a long way. Keep learning and keep challenging yourself cause thats the only way to grow.
If you want to learn more about the bridge look up these sites that I feel are best to look. For Matt Furey's site go to his daily archives at the bottom of the site and you'll see some bridging articles, great reads. For the other site look for posts in the forum and there should be some there.
www.mattfurey.com
www.bronzebowpublishing.com
Advanced Bridging Course
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Pro- When done properly it energizes the body by releaving nerve force which causes new life in the bloodstream and to the organs of the body.
Con- First who start out will be fearful of being upside down and are not used to being bent backwards.
Pro- Builds strength/flexibilty/endurance throughout the whole body and with the proper breathing it can a calm and relaxing exercise
Con- Causes of bit of pressure to the head even in the proper position and the trainee must caution himself to not over do it.
Pro- After a period of training and mastering certain elements of the bridge the trainee can use to develop the body and the thickness of his/her neck .
Con- Most people don't see how it builds neck strength and do it improperly.
Pro- Once going through the process of bridging gymnasics (kick over and falling back) the trainee has a key sense of kenistetic awarness of his/her surroundings.
Con- People get scared of not knowing how aware and strong they can be and want to avoid the bridge.
There are many more but i'm sure you can come up with a few more. No matter how you put bridging works like a charm but it isnt for everybody and thats ok we need different structures and people feel limited to what they can really accomplish if they look hard enough. For me I love it and wouldn't be anywhere without it and all its elements and still got a bit more to learn but hey we all have to learn something. Bridging to me makes me feel like a million bucks, if I can pull off a 3 min. back bridge or hold a good gymnast bridge everything else seems easy cause not only is it challenging it builds character.
Once you get over the fear then you know you've come a long way. Keep learning and keep challenging yourself cause thats the only way to grow.
If you want to learn more about the bridge look up these sites that I feel are best to look. For Matt Furey's site go to his daily archives at the bottom of the site and you'll see some bridging articles, great reads. For the other site look for posts in the forum and there should be some there.
www.mattfurey.com
www.bronzebowpublishing.com
Advanced Bridging Course
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Push-Ups: Better then the Bench Press?
Thats been one of the world's top questions in fitness and there have been many answers, some good, some bad and some just plain stupid. Heres how I would pan it out by experiencing both. The bench press is the leading exercise in weightlifting and the most famous question "What can you bench" has been going on for decades since the 60's maybe longer. Benching can make you stronger but you will suffer many consequences as you progress to higher weight. Shoulder problems, tendonitis in the elbow, blown out triceps, chest pain, neck problems and torn trapizius joints. There are men and women that are some of the strongest people on the planet yet an extreme few can do push-ups. Whats wrong with this picture? People hitting a hardcore upper body developer and cant do some simple push-ups with their own bodyweight.
What people don't realize (and if they're smart to notice) is that push-ups build the entire body from head to toe from 100's apon 100's of angles. I can name quite a few but hey i'm sure you enthusiasts can come up with them on your own. Push-ups build a different kind of strength then from benching and yet there are very few injuries from push-ups then benching has. Push-ups create the body you want and deserve whether you want to lean and cut or big and burly. After experiencing both i've come to the conclusion that push-ups are far healthier and better yet have far more veriaties then benching.
If you want to build upper body power and become a true fitness machine here are the go to guys.
Ultimate Bodyweight Conditioning- Push-ups
www.transformetrics.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
What people don't realize (and if they're smart to notice) is that push-ups build the entire body from head to toe from 100's apon 100's of angles. I can name quite a few but hey i'm sure you enthusiasts can come up with them on your own. Push-ups build a different kind of strength then from benching and yet there are very few injuries from push-ups then benching has. Push-ups create the body you want and deserve whether you want to lean and cut or big and burly. After experiencing both i've come to the conclusion that push-ups are far healthier and better yet have far more veriaties then benching.
If you want to build upper body power and become a true fitness machine here are the go to guys.
Ultimate Bodyweight Conditioning- Push-ups
www.transformetrics.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Gama Fitness
Probably my top 5 program out of tons of books I have on strength/conditioning. A program by the controversal Matt Furey that was formulated after the greatest wrestler of all-time The Great Gama of India who was undefeted in 5000 matches and trained like an animal day in and day out. It was said by many articles of the great champion that he trained in thousands of calisthenics plus hours of swimming, running and wrestling and with these sayings its very exaggerated but at the same time you knew this man of a beast trained hard.
In this course you are taught how to develop strength in many areas including the mind. In each lesson out of 12 you will exercises that focus on ways to get your mind and muscles work in ways that are rarely taught today. If you learn what to do in this course alone you can do anything you wanted to do. It even teaches you how to gain/lose weight through the power of the mind and exercise and the obvious by eating.
Get into it, focus on what you want and just go with maximum force and make goals that will make you happy, feel energized, feel like a strong bear or gorilla and never put a bad thing into it and you will go far. Heres the lessons in this course:
Lesson One- Making goals and what to do to achieve then. this is probably the most important lessons in the course.
Lesson Two- Variations of Hindu Push-ups/Squats that increase muscular strength/endurance and flexibility.
Lesson Three- How to increase speed and explosiveness through hill sprints and various equipment.
Lesson Four- Going beyond the bridge and get into whats called Bridging Gymnastics.
Lesson Five- Keys to building incredible Pull-up strength and overall upper body development in that area.
Lesson Six- Isometrics used by Gama and some of the greatest athletes in the world in a series of non moving flexing and squeezing muscle groups.
Lesson Seven- Building strength and power using the Chest Expander. If you're a combat athlete or strongman you'll love this.
Lesson Eight- Exercises (other then Hindu PU's and Squats) that build great cardiovascular conditioning through the Power Wheel and Jump rope.
Lesson Nine- Stretches that simutaneously build Strength/Flexibility at the same time. Dont always believe in the fact if you want strength lift and stretch for flexibility.
Lesson Ten- Ways of rejuvinating the body after vigerous training.
Lesson Eleven- The keys to gaining/losing weight while training and how it can affect the body.
Lesson Twelve- The Muscle/Mind Connection and how it pans out for daily life and how you can use it effectively to achive anything you want.
This course sells at 215 bucks on Matt's site and well worth the dough but if you feel you dont want to pay that much then go to ebay, you'll see it somewhere. This is by far the course when it comes doing high levels of conditioning even for the elite. Have fun and hope you get a kick out of it.
www.mattfurey.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
In this course you are taught how to develop strength in many areas including the mind. In each lesson out of 12 you will exercises that focus on ways to get your mind and muscles work in ways that are rarely taught today. If you learn what to do in this course alone you can do anything you wanted to do. It even teaches you how to gain/lose weight through the power of the mind and exercise and the obvious by eating.
Get into it, focus on what you want and just go with maximum force and make goals that will make you happy, feel energized, feel like a strong bear or gorilla and never put a bad thing into it and you will go far. Heres the lessons in this course:
Lesson One- Making goals and what to do to achieve then. this is probably the most important lessons in the course.
Lesson Two- Variations of Hindu Push-ups/Squats that increase muscular strength/endurance and flexibility.
Lesson Three- How to increase speed and explosiveness through hill sprints and various equipment.
Lesson Four- Going beyond the bridge and get into whats called Bridging Gymnastics.
Lesson Five- Keys to building incredible Pull-up strength and overall upper body development in that area.
Lesson Six- Isometrics used by Gama and some of the greatest athletes in the world in a series of non moving flexing and squeezing muscle groups.
Lesson Seven- Building strength and power using the Chest Expander. If you're a combat athlete or strongman you'll love this.
Lesson Eight- Exercises (other then Hindu PU's and Squats) that build great cardiovascular conditioning through the Power Wheel and Jump rope.
Lesson Nine- Stretches that simutaneously build Strength/Flexibility at the same time. Dont always believe in the fact if you want strength lift and stretch for flexibility.
Lesson Ten- Ways of rejuvinating the body after vigerous training.
Lesson Eleven- The keys to gaining/losing weight while training and how it can affect the body.
Lesson Twelve- The Muscle/Mind Connection and how it pans out for daily life and how you can use it effectively to achive anything you want.
This course sells at 215 bucks on Matt's site and well worth the dough but if you feel you dont want to pay that much then go to ebay, you'll see it somewhere. This is by far the course when it comes doing high levels of conditioning even for the elite. Have fun and hope you get a kick out of it.
www.mattfurey.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Monday, March 26, 2007
Strongman And Feats They Attempt
What makes a person strong and powerful that no matter what they do its going to be a jaw dropper? Is it proper training? Is it genetics? Or is it pure fire and determination to pull off such a risky attempt at something dangerous?
Well any one of those things can be a factor but the fact of the matter is there are human beings in this world are just flat out strong as hell small or big they're tough. What are some of the feats these people pull off?
Pulling Boats
Tearing Phonebooks
Deadlifting 800 lbs.
Bending very tough nails
Benching 1000 pounds
Human Turkish Get-Up
Closing The Number 4 COC Handgripper (365 lbs. of pressure)
These are all the things strongman around the world have attempted and some even went beyond what the feat even required. I feel if you want to get strong you have to put in hard work and go through intense mental conditioning to train for your feat(s). I love watching strongman competitions and it never ceases to amaze what these men and women pull off. Theres an old saying "Everyone loves a strongman" and its very true to its highest extent. No matter what you do around the world you will see someone do extraordinary things with extreme objects (weights, nails, books, hammers ect.) and one way or another your jaw will drop and your eyes will pop out.
There are 6 billion people on the planet but just under 1 million are strongman. These are the men with high level talents and pure raw power. You wont find a strongman in a gym lifting pink dumbbells and doing pussy weights on the machines. Those are the big men of the iron game. There are other strongman out there that look like the average joe or jan but have extraordinary gifts. Can you imagine 165 pound man tearing a phone book thats about 1000 pages but tears it with his thumb and forfingers, not likely but there is one out there and he's considered pound for pound the strongest man on the planet for the feats he performs. Can you see a 230 pound man holding a one-arm handstand against the wall on his weak arm. Not likely but there is a guy out there who can do it.
Never asume a person can't be strong cause of his size and age, thats what most people look at and yet feel like an idiot when they see that person do something that they couldnt imagine them doing. Theres a strongman inside of all of us, the question is can you bring it out and will you use it? Never sell short you can't be strong.
If you want to have the strongest hands on the planet these guys will help get you there whether you're a beginning strongman or an world-class powerhouse.
www.dennisrogers.net
www.functionalhandstrength.com
www.oldtimestrongman.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
Well any one of those things can be a factor but the fact of the matter is there are human beings in this world are just flat out strong as hell small or big they're tough. What are some of the feats these people pull off?
Pulling Boats
Tearing Phonebooks
Deadlifting 800 lbs.
Bending very tough nails
Benching 1000 pounds
Human Turkish Get-Up
Closing The Number 4 COC Handgripper (365 lbs. of pressure)
These are all the things strongman around the world have attempted and some even went beyond what the feat even required. I feel if you want to get strong you have to put in hard work and go through intense mental conditioning to train for your feat(s). I love watching strongman competitions and it never ceases to amaze what these men and women pull off. Theres an old saying "Everyone loves a strongman" and its very true to its highest extent. No matter what you do around the world you will see someone do extraordinary things with extreme objects (weights, nails, books, hammers ect.) and one way or another your jaw will drop and your eyes will pop out.
There are 6 billion people on the planet but just under 1 million are strongman. These are the men with high level talents and pure raw power. You wont find a strongman in a gym lifting pink dumbbells and doing pussy weights on the machines. Those are the big men of the iron game. There are other strongman out there that look like the average joe or jan but have extraordinary gifts. Can you imagine 165 pound man tearing a phone book thats about 1000 pages but tears it with his thumb and forfingers, not likely but there is one out there and he's considered pound for pound the strongest man on the planet for the feats he performs. Can you see a 230 pound man holding a one-arm handstand against the wall on his weak arm. Not likely but there is a guy out there who can do it.
Never asume a person can't be strong cause of his size and age, thats what most people look at and yet feel like an idiot when they see that person do something that they couldnt imagine them doing. Theres a strongman inside of all of us, the question is can you bring it out and will you use it? Never sell short you can't be strong.
If you want to have the strongest hands on the planet these guys will help get you there whether you're a beginning strongman or an world-class powerhouse.
www.dennisrogers.net
www.functionalhandstrength.com
www.oldtimestrongman.com
Yours in Power & Might
Ben
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