Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Benefits Of Hill Sprinting

Lets face it many trainers feel that if you want to burn fat you do thousands of crunches, run for miles on end and needing to bounce the joints for a good period of time. Well that may be all good in a fantasy world but those guys are forgeting a few things..

1. How does it affect their health?

2. Is it really helping their natural growth hormone?

3. How bored do you have to be to do all those things?

4. How do these things not injure the joints?

Seriously though there are many ways to burn fat and build muscle but very few training methods not only build these 2 at the same time but get them done almost instant. One of those methods is Hill Sprinting. Flat sprinting is another method but Hill Sprints take on a very unique form of training that gets you out of breath quicker then anything else just about. When you get out of breath and huffing and puffing like you just ran down a gazelle your body is producing endorphins through the roof and your hormones jump up like Superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

It doesn't take that long of a workout, 50-70 yards each set is all you need to get the high of your life. No more then 4-8 sets and with consistancy 2-3 times a week you'll burn fat like a damn furnace. Besides having a quick workout that only takes minutes rather then hours is far more rewarding and fun then anything else. Isn't it cool to be able to do things that the average person can't. Thats the difference between human and superhuman, willing to go that extra inch that makes every bit of a difference.

The real benefits of Hill Sprinting are that you can produce natural growth hormone which not only have you recover quicker but keeps you younger. Your conditioning skyrockets to levels that would make an average person insanely jealous and your mental toughness become a second language so in life you will find decisions much easier to come by and you're aware of what you can accomplish. A big benefactor of this type of training is that the more consistant you make it the more chances other things in your life are gonna turn for the better especially when it comes to the bedroom. So like I said, hormones jump, your stamina is off the chain and you're getting smiles all over that significant other.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Aerobic Isometrics!!!!!

When it comes to building strength, there are many different to build it and nothing is really new about that but if theres one peice of training that takes strength training to a whole new level of mental focus and concentration is isometrics. Pick any angle and push/pull as hard as possible up to 7-12 sec. max. Doing this takes laser-like focus and the ability to contract the muscles you want to work and hammering them into submission. Its been used for thousands of years and not only does it strengthen the muscles more importantly it strengthens the tendons. Tendon strength in my opinion is more important then muscle strength because if the tendons arnt strong enough to lift a weight or hold an object you're not going to last too long no matter how big your muscles are.

 Isometrics is also another form of muscle control that was perfected by some of the greatest bodybuilders in early 20th century. Men like Maxick, Otto Arco, Eugene Sandow and even Charles Atlas (CA did not put isometrics in his course but he did learn muscle control to master his poses in competition and shows). The first big name to use the term muscle control was by a man named Alois P. Swoboda. His physical culture course Concious Evolution talked about how energy can be used by internal power. In lamins terms you learn how to contract the muscles at will through focus and learning your own physiology through a physical standpoint and a mental standpoint.

 Isometrics can be used in just about any angle a joint can handle and strengthened. When you learn to hold an isometric for a good period of time you can even decrease the amount of strength you use and add time into a hold. Say you pressed your hands together but only use about 30% worth of power and hold that for a minute. Thats quite a long time but its very beneficial because a lot of things come into play, your body begins to heat up, your mental awareness is increasing your muscles are quivering and your muscle fibers are kicking into overdrive. Aerobic Isometrics means you hold a certain position at less then 50% of your power for 30 sec or longer.

Monday, December 27, 2010

New Years Goals......Not Resolutions

Resolutions flat out suck when it comes to the new year. You say something new you're going to do then after being hungover or having a kick ass time then a couple days after the new year you just stop and let it go. To me that's just not acceptable. Goals on the other hand are a totally different ball game. You set little goals you want throughout the year and before the year is over, big changes come into play and you are proud of what you did. Even if you don't succeed in the goals you want remember you made the effort and adapt for the next year. Now even for a new year goal don't make it for the whole year, that could put too much pressure on you and you might end up fighting it if you stop that goal for a while and come back to it. Instead put in a few daily goals and make an effort to do them at best if you can. If you feel the need to take a bit of time off go do it but put it in your mind that the next goals you want to achieve that they are possible and within reach for you. Be mindful of your goals and don't hurt yourself in the process. Overdoing it can damage not only your body but your pride too. Do what works for you and don't let anyone else tell you you can't do it because if you believe them your success won't come. Its about you and making the effort to achieve what you want. Plus have fun doing it.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Who Are The Best Conditioned Athletes?

Sports.....Its our culture and our drive to compete to be the best. We see some of the greatest athletes in the world. We see heroes like Hulk Hogan, Walter Payton, Barry Bonds, Dan Gable, Otto Arco, Frank Gotch, Babe Ruth ect. These men are the best at what they did/do and how they got there (minus the steriods from a couple of the guys on this list) is no accident and pushed themselves to levels no one can fathom. Their conditioning is without question amazing and unreal but is it the best? Lets face facts athletes in any major sport at the highest level are well trained and can do things average folks can never do. Smack a homerun 500+ Feat, run well over 10,000 yards in a career, Win a gold medal without allowing a single point in a tournament, Slam a 500 pound giant and retire undefeted as a world champion. All those men achieved those goals because in order to achieve those things they have to go through many hours of training but again are they the best conditioned? Truth is their amazing conditioning is due to their sport. The training they go through is through that sport and in it alone.

We all strive to be the best we can be and become great when it calls apon us. I feel the best conditioned athletes are not the ones that are most conditioned for their sport no. I feel the best conditioned athletes are the ones that strive to master many different endeavors. In the early 20th century some athletes in the physical culture world were not only conditioned in their respected field but were conditioned in many other areas. Example would be Otto Arco, he was a hand balancer, wrestler, gymnast, weightlifter and strongman at a bodyweight of no more then 150 pounds at 5'3. To me the greatest athletes are men and women that are the master of multiple sports. Take another example would be the great Jim Thorpe. Arguably the greatest athlete of all-time. He was a great football player, a decathlete in the olympics and if I read correctly he played some baseball. So lets count here he was an athlete in about 12 different sports he perticipated in and nearly excelled in all of them. Thats a defenition of a well conditioned athlete, being able to transfer different movements at will and be incredible at it.

All in all there really is no greatest athlete but the athletes that excel best are the ones that can transfer from sport to sport without letting up and brining 100% a good portion of the time.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

How do you stay motivated?

People have asked me that from time to time, mostly family and friends and I'll give you the same answer I give them and then some for you guys to learn. Its because my passion for training is like a second language that I'm fluent in. It comes natural to me and I never once tell myself to take a day off. A day off leads to 2, then 3, then 6 before you know I'm hardly training at all. A lot of people are unmotivated to train for a plethora of reasons but one main one is time. They always feel they can't exercise because they don't have the time. Well hate to burst your bubble but there are 24 hours in a day so I think its safe to say that in that period of time you can do a minimum of 5 min. worth of exercise.

Its the excuse and the negative attitude people use to think they can't exercise. I use to have that problem too. Being a teen and going to school and at times when I was in the drama club we would have rehearsals until 11 o'clock at night and we'd already be beaten up by then. Exercise back then for me was going to track practice or hitting the iron in weight training.

When I was in high school in my sophomore and junior years, I was on the track team doing the shot put and discus, have practice from 3-5 sometimes 6 everyday, have a small meet every Thursday and the big comps 2 Saturdays a month. That was rugged for me but also I was in the drama class as well before the end of my school day and if we had rehearsals (which was around usually a month or so before the big shows) we'd stay until late at night sometimes so picture this schedule.....remember this includes late in the semester too.....

Mon.-Fri---7:45am-2:45pm (School Day)

Mon.-Fri---3pm-5pm (Track Practice, Or Meet)

Mon.-Fri---6:15pm-11:30pm (Rehearsals in the month before shows)

That was up to almost 16 hours a day at times and yet I still found a way to exercise in that time. Never make excuses and do something. If you're sick then its an exception, get better and get back on the saddle, if you're sore then take it easy and stretch for the day don't overdo it. You can even workout traveling on the road (don't recommend while you're at the wheel driving) but if you're on a plane and are bored, instead of bitching move the ankles around, do deep breathing or better yet do isometrics. Its not easy if you have a hectic schedule but if you throw away the negativity and set excuses aside and just start doing 5min. of exercise and each day add a few sec. to the workout. Before you know it you're having a great workout and you'll have the feeling of accomplishment.

Also another way to stay motivated is to keep your exercises fun and fresh, don't do the same routine twice in the same week and please for Christ sake you don't need to do hours of training to get results (trust me on this) just do a maximum of 20-30min. Marathon workouts are a crock and should really only do one a week really but that's if you're in the mood otherwise don't bother with it. I don't train for more then 45 min. a day and that's spreading it out. I can do a marathon workout if I wanted to but whats the point? Make your training fun, if its sunny out go to a park and move around, play ball or act like a wild animal (don't need to act out the sounds but move like one). Be consistent with yourself and tell yourself that if you don't work out real hard then its no big deal be passive and move smoothly like in tai chi, if you wanna be aggressive then do some kettle bells or high volume squats or push-ups if you can doesn't matter. Work with what you can do. Again I train up to 3 times a day 7 days a week. If I'm not in a good mood then one workout is all i need. If you can't do any reps of an exercise then just hold the positions and your best.

Never fall short of doing your best for you. Train for yourself and train for the love of it. My biggest motivation to train is to train for me, no one else. Make yourself motivated and do whats best for you and make little goals. Like in life the small things can lead to big accomplishments.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Building Gorilla Strength


If there was one animal in the jungle that should be the king its the Gorilla. Its Strength & Power is beyond most animals and yet its pure vegetarian. Imagine being a 500 pound gorilla and tearing up whoever is attacking you and move with power and ferocious intensity. We may not be able to have the raw power of the gorilla but we can learn to move like one and get one of the best cardio and strength exercises around. Next time you watch Animal Planet and the gorillas are roaming, watch how they move. Now try to imitate it for a while and tell me you're not breathing hard after a min. or 2. I practice this exercise quite often and it gets me winded pretty quick and if you get winded quick that means your hormones jump and muscles are building. Test it out and see what results you get.

http://images.ultracart.com/aff/88F46789C0276A012D59C78437051600/index.html



Sunday, December 19, 2010

How often to workout!!!!!

A lot of people want to know how many times a week do they need to workout to get such and such results. Fact of the matter is we are all different and need to work with whats comfortable to us before we start to really get into hard agressive training. For most on weights its the 3-4 day a week program but others say twice a week is all you need or work a body part once a week. The truth is whatever program you're using, chances are you won't last a month doing it and quit the first chance you get. Now most people would say a 7-day week program is just too much and you're overtraining. Pure Bullshit and you can quote me on that. I train up to 3 times a day for 7 straight days.

 For the most part hardcore training should be done twice a week, moderate training thrice a week and very smooth and relaxed training twice a week, thats 7 days. Thats just my opinion but not many of us have the time because of work, family, paying bills and watching tv when you get home. Now what if you gave yourself the time to train for 5min. a day to start? Sounds compromising and you don't need a gym when you have yourself. Getting to the gym takes time, getting dressed then hopefully when you get to a station no one is using so theres a wasted timeframe. So for safe keeping, start your first 5min. of the day doing a little exercise, actually lets make it one min. that should be enough for you don't you think? Believe it or not 1min. of exercise can be very beneficial because you start out doing a little something, then add 10 seconds each day of exercise and before you know it you'll be doing exercise for a good long time.

Another way of training for a little of your time would be to spread itr out throughout the day on what my friend John Peterson likes to call Greasing The Groove which means you do a little of exercise throughout the day. Say to start with 5 min. you do 2 1/2 in the morning and 2 1/2 at night. That could be your foundation and accomplish something. You don't need to work out for 2 hours a day to get in shape thats just nuts in my opinion. My training during the day is no more then 10-15 min. at a time. I like short workouts and the only time I train longer then an hour in one session is through stretching and deep breathing training. At times the workout goes by so fast an hour can feel like 10 min. I love those kind of workouts. Stop thinking you can't do a little exercise and just do something, make shit up. When you learn to be self reliant on what works for you that brings you closer to self mastery then anything else.

To give you an idea of what my training is like, I rarely ever follow someone elses workout. From all nearly 14 years of training I take the best exercises I have learned and mold them into what works for me. No exercise is ever the same with everyone. We're all of different height, weight even gender because there are some exercises for men that women can't do but its the same for women. Us guys are just more use to exercise (not being sexist i'm not done yet) but at the same time women can be and probably are pound for pound, ounce for ounce stronger then us guys. I'm too much guy so I can't imagine how hard it is for women to train but i'll tell you beautiful ladies this. You can do it even if its just a little stretching, you work far harder in training then us guys and need to build muscle differently. So if you feel you gained weight because the scale says it, after a little exercise I hardly doubt thats fat you're looking at, muscle weighs more then fat.

Do what you can do, even if it takes 1 min. to start give yourself a chance and with a little consistancy and patience I guarantee you you will get the results you want. Changing things up isn't a bad thing either, I change things up all the time because I get bored easily. Find out what works for you, don't let anyone else tell you different because most likely they'll just piss you off and tell you what you're doing is not in their best interest and they're program is the one-all-be-all. What works for you is the one that'll get you results.

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