Getting Kids Back On The Right Track

On Saturday Night Live back in the early-mid 90's a big time comedian named Chris Farley played a character named Matt Foley, a motivational speaker who lived in a van down by the river. His antics of that character was freaking hilarious that believe it or not there are some motivational speakers out there that are almost exactly like that. Their funny to watch but its sad that they don't do what they preach to. Plus who the hell wants to learn from a guy with a big gut and has the temper of a 5 year old.

Now the kick ass motivational speakers out there that do practice what they preach help give those in need a chance. I was never fond of motivational speaking at all till I got a chance to talk to and hopefully meet the guy that is one of many that turned my life around after breaking both my legs and wanting to do something to not only walk again at a much faster clip but give me the strength to train my body and mind in a daily basis. Before I get into that I want to go over a few things.

The obesity in this country has reached an all-time high in any other time in history and its become of if not the biggest problem not just in adults but even more sadly the kids. I know what its like to out of shape and overweight that it was troubling playing with friends in basketball and football. I was the guy that was a frieght train with very little speed and although I was very big as a teenager I was still small and very sensitive towards a lot of things. I was depressed, humiliated a good few times, been called many names and also close to wanting to do drugs. Hated school and got picked on quite a bit, had balls thrown at me, been beat up and didn't have a remote chance with a girl. At 13 years old I was 5'4 and nearly 190 pounds. I had a monster gut, flabby arms and legs that were nothing to write home about. It was very hard to be a kid like that and with the friends I did have very few were there for me.

So even though at 5'10 and well over 235 pounds I'm still a big dude but in far better shape then at any time in my life. I took a stand to get in shape but it took me years to figure it out and do it the right way. Even in my late teens I was big and at one point after turning 20 I was nearly 260 pounds and most of it was fat from not training right and taking all kinds of bad protein shakes and whatever wasn't working. After breaking both my legs I began to learn and think about what I'm doing to myself both mentally and physically. I studied exercise more, I learned anatomy on my own and started becoming my own physiologist in the way where instead of treating people I treated myself and experimented. Now that I have mastered all these different things I want to pass onto you and your kids for those that have children.

From what I learned if you're going to get into exercise or want to get in shape and either lose weight, build muscle or whatever, a program should have a basic and simple foundation and progress your own way. Too many people never do basic stuff because they have this notion that if you want to get in shape you have to jog this many miles, lift this amount of weight, high reps for endurance, low reps for strength and do this for 30 min or that for an hour and so on and so forth. Who the bloody hell thinks anyone can try to do any of that stuff and be expected to get in shape. Believe me I was apart of that too and once I started learning basic forms of training my muscles grew, flab was coming off, my stamina skyrocketed and my flexibility went through the roof. Basic principles are the keys to not only get in shape but being happy, strong, healthy and mindful of who you are and what you want to do.

Children should have the oppurtinity to be fit and happy in their lives and not just sit around play video games and not joining in games. Children should be having a good time and live with a smile on their face while learning certain values, structures and ground rules so when they get older they can apply these qualities to what they do as adults. Exercise is one of the greatest things a child can learn but most exercise programs are boring and make kids quit faster before they even start. Exercise should not be a punishment, it shoul be fun and and make the person feel good when they accomplish something.

One of the best forms of exercise is moving like a wild animal. Pick your favorite animal and imitate it the best way you can. The guy I wanted to mention previously is one of my mentors named Ed Baran who has become one of the leading athorities in quick and fast results in exercise mostly basic principles in gymnastics and animal exercise. For the kids he even has a course called Wild Animal Fitness For Kids. It teaches kids and adults of all ages how to get in shape in as little as 5 minutes a day to start. Getting kids to exercise will get them on the right track to living a healthy and strong life.

Another way to get kids to exercise is to do it with them. As a family who exercises together builds bonds and being there for one another for encouragement, being competitive and teaching each other what works best for each other as a whole and as individuals. Get this course and not just for the kids but for you as well as you can get the same benefits as they will or if you want to build a level of pure animalized training get these as well....AKC: Survival Of The Fittest & AKC 2: Call Of The Wild. Get your kids and yourself a powerful body, strong heart and a great mind to boot as these courses develop brain power.

Bending Steel Documentary- Process Is Now Underway

There have been decades where when it was time for the old-time strongmen would have the opportunity to not only show what they're capable of world-wide but would it ever get to the big screen? This time, its finally coming true where we will see what its all about when you see how strong the men of this film are. Learning from one of the strongest men on the planet Chris Shoeck is on his way from having self doubts about being a performing strongman to getting on stage and showing how powerful a man of his small stature can be.

In the film it shows Chris learning the craft of the mythical and somewhat surreal feats of the old-time strongmen that were the mega-stars of the early 20th century where you had men and women performing phenomenal stuff in vaudeville and ACT shows in the peak of PT Barnum's Circus. This journey is a heartfelt and somewhat courageous act of will and determination of going beyond the norm and becoming something more then yourself. This little strongman is only 5'7 and around 160 pounds but with inner power and a fierce will of overcoming impossible odds he shines over men twice his size.

Chris' trainer Chris Rider is becoming a legend in his own time. A man at nearly 6'5 and well over 300 pounds is one of the strongest men of our generation. Learning from Grandmaster Strongman Dennis Rogers, he has become one of the best performers of our time and there is no stopping him and you will see why in this film. Performing for only a few years Rider has already jumped up to a status that most other strongmen took more then a decade to get where they're at. He has ripped the thickest phonebooks with ease, bent steel that should never be bent and has become another version of what World's Strongest Man Champion Sven Karlson refers to as "Viking Power." Rider just has that mythical viking style of look and strength that you would see in the stories of the old Norwegian Vikings in middle ages. Take it from me when I say the man is strong he is STRONG!!!!!!

Back in August of this year, Rider, Shoeck and other strongmen performed their legendary feats at the famous Coney Island, NY Amusement Park. It was the first in nearly 60 years that a strongman last performed there. In its rich history as the mecca of strongmen it was only fitting to have the past, present and future strongmen to be at this event, even the last of the remaining old timers Slim The Hammerman was there who had been performing since the late 50's. This event was one for the ages and those who performed couldn't have performed any better then they did at this level. There were many feats performed and each strongman did his own unique style that kept the audience in awe of every performance. If you were there you know what i'm talking about.

The film is now in the process of editing and getting it into theaters by next summer. Paying out of their own pocket its a bit tough to get things done when you have a deadline so with your help they are looking for donations to help get this film finished and believe me when I tell you this its worth every dollar or more you donate because these not only will thank you but you get something in return as well which should be the right thing to do. Within a certain amount you donate you will get a little something back and the more you donate the bigger you get back. If you look up at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sixkillernyc/help-finish-bending-steel-a-feature-length-documen
you will see what kick ass stuff you can get ranging from a sticker w updates to having Rider & Shoeck performing at your business, school or private event being filmed by the filmakers themselves and given a donated credit in the film. Thats a pretty awesome offer don't you think?

Last but not least I know the Mighty Atom would be proud that strongmanism is finally getting what it deserves and thats to show the world how these men of strength give everything they have to make the best of giving the people a show of a lifetime and building strength and power that is just surreal to everything else in this world. If a boy wants to become something that he believes in, a man should help show him the way and thats what this film is all about, having the heart and soul to put everything aside for that one moment that takes you from a boy to a man to a legend. Join me and others and get this film done and let it be shown the way it was meant to...A film for the ages in our sport.

Building Your Way To Greatness

Whether you're new to exercise or want to get into or even get back into the shape you use to be a key rule is to build a foundation. Start with where you're at and build from there. Doing basic exercises doesn't sound pleasing as much as people think but when you begin a program the basics are always the best. The reason why that is its because no matter how far advanced you are in any program or whatever level you're at doing the basics takes you further beyond your will to develop strength, conditioning, stamina and flexibility.

One of the main things I really don't like about most trainers is that they tend to put people on programs that is so general its stupid. Lets see how this works, take an obese person and put them through the same program that a trainer has with a skinny person who never works out. Who do you think will be in better shape? Truth is its difficult to tell on many different things. The structures are different, the shape is different they're body chemistry's are different so why put them on a generic program that a trainer "thinks will work." Fact is whether you're big, small, weak, strong or whatever, you have to train at your own pace because no one should have the same exact program. Its more efficient and logical for a trainee to set their own pace so when they get stronger the better they'll be.

I've said once I'll say it again, do not fall for that 30 min. of cardio and the hour of weights crap. Again see the generic outlook? People train differently so they're bodies need to train differently. If you start with 5 min. of exercise a day you will have a better chance at progressing then doing the boring hour and a half bulls*it. I personally cannot do an hour and a half of training because for one, its boring, two I'm very ADD when it comes to stuff like that. Give me 20 min. and I'm set easy. That works for me so I train at my own pace. Others do shorter or longer sessions which is fine but for an individual it shouldn't be so long they lose interest. I have done the 2 hours 3x a week stuff and I lasted barely 3 weeks so safe to say it sucks big time. What works for one may not work for another so that's why one needs to find what works for them.

In my friend Ed and his twin brother Andy's Baran Brothers' Basic Bodyweight Building Blocks they take the new trainee and help them through a series of exercises with progressions. Progression is one of the keys to building muscle and burning fat. Progressions help you reach from a beginning phase to a very difficult exercise. Start at your own pace and work your way up. In any program you can't just jump into an advanced program, that can lead to injuries and you can get bored or burnt out. Progressing with a starting point will help you find what works, how your body works and how your mind progresses as well.

If you're new to training a good tip to use is to see yourself in your mind how fit you are and that you are happy with not only what you have but that you want to keep going and train well. Training safely and progressively can help you lead an active lifestyle and help you be healthy and vibrant. Happiness and having a positive mindset along with patience and goal-settings you can build a great foundation for life-long health and fitness.

Generating HGH Levels To New Heights

When we use compound movements in any exercise program, chances are you’ll be in better shape then when you isolate the muscles and tendons of the body. Compound movements are of using multiple muscle groups at one particular time like in weight lifting you have the clean and jerk for barbells and presses and pulls using dumbbells and of course the squat. In bodyweight exercise believe it or not there are many isolated movements but there are more compound movements such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats and sit-ups (not crunches).

Using multiple muscle groups creates a chain reaction of how the body generates natural growth hormone which helps you stay young, healthy and strong. Say you do a hill sprint for 10-15 seconds you are actually creating more growth hormone and when you walk back down that hill your body shifts into overdrive and as you recover you are gaining much more strength and lung power which begins to burn off fat and build muscle. Now I’m no scientist or physicist but I can certainly tell the difference on how my body feels after its been cooked within a short period of time.

Human Growth Hormone usually sounds like you’re taking steroids and you’re building muscle at a rapid pace. That’s the injections aspect of it which in my opinion is pretty lame unless you need it from being severely sick in the hospital but other then that its very dangerous and injections usually come with side effects that look far worse then what its originally said. Natural Growth Hormone however comes from doing a certain exercise or activity that gets you out of breath fast and you have to try to breathe much deeper. One of the best ways to do this is doing sprints no more then 3x a week. This actually burns off fat 10x more then the leading injections and its safer and more efficient.

I do like Sprints but since I’m not a big fan of running whether fast or slow I don’t do it very often. I do however like to train like a wild animal. I believe training like a wild animal is a lot more doable because you don’t need 100 meters or a 100 yard hill to do them. Yes you may need to do them outside but there are some animals you can imitate indoors. The bottom line is doing animal movements gives you the freedom to move around and be your favorite animal and it doesn’t feel like working out, more like playing and having fun. It’s a lot more fun to do these and if you need to catch your breath every now and then do it. If you practice them well enough you can get stronger, healthier and develop more brain power.

To me the exercises in Animal Kingdom Conditioning and Animal Kingdom Conditioning2 create way better HGH Levels and take up less time to train on and it’s really all you need. Start off doing only 5 min. a day with these animals and get good at the exercises you want to master. You can do all sorts of workouts with them and do them as long as you want once you have mastered them. I do them very often and I never feel better. I love them and one day hope you will too and make them work for you as they have done for me.

Ultimate Resistance For Health & Strength

Water is one of the ultimate sources of superior health and strength and that’s a fact no matter how you slice it. You can drink it, it can fit into any container and it can take your fitness to a whole other level. Now I realize some of you either can’t swim or just choose not to go in the ocean/pool/lake for other reasons, that doesn’t mean you can’t imitate it though. For those who do swim know what its like to feel different, being in a different state of mind and clarity.

Many athletes use swimming as a conditioning tool, hell it’s an Olympic sport and for good reasons. I believe out of all the Olympic & Pro swimmers there is one swimmer who isn’t an Olympian at all but should’ve been took swimming to a level that will never be matched and that’s the late Jack Lalanne. He not only made swimming an art form but he took it to extremes an extreme few will ever attempt and most likely can never surpass good old Jack. More then half of his recorded feats had something to do with swimming. Whether being shackled and had to pull boats from Fisherman’s Wharf or just doing a few laps from his pool outside his house, Jack made swimming look awesome period.

Another great swimmer who took it to another level was fitness and nutrition pioneer Paul Bragg. Although a controversial figure in the fitness industry he got people into eating healthy, training and gave great prominence to swimming. He was one of the first known polar bears in the early 20^th century with another fitness pioneer Bernarr MacFadden. Bragg, Macfadden and others would swim the icy cold east coast oceans in New York during the winter because it gave them a new meaning to the term Nerve Force or Chi Strength. It made them tough mentally as it takes a lot of grapefruits to do that.

These 2 men are just bits and pieces of what swimming can do for you and how it can increase your strength, health and fitness. Now for practical use you don’t need to be shackled or swim in icy oceans but you can however swim laps, try to sprint, increase your lung power and move your joints the way they were made for. Swimming gives you all the resistance you need for an awesome and invigorating workout. When it comes to health, swimming can increase your mental clarity, make you breathe harder then just about anything else and it puts you in a state of mind that just makes everything seem unbelievable and beautiful.

If you have access to a pool or can go to the lake or ocean do it as often as possible. For me lately I love jumping into the pool after a hard workout and do a few laps, run around and have fun then soak in the hot tub to relax and recover. It is the perfect ending to a workout. Have fun and make swimming apart of your program whether a few times a week or everyday do it for fun not a necessity.

How Can A Swamp Dweller Turn You Into A Conditioning Machine

Animals in the wild are without a doubt the greatest athletes in the world. They’re instincts are uncanny and their conditioning is second to none and blows us humans out of the water without blinking an eye. However there are certain animals in the wild that live in not so pretty areas and can jump at you at a moments notice.

In the swamps of Louisiana and Florida there is one animal that is not only ferocious and monstrous but has speed that shouldn’t this animal shouldn’t have and can reach up to 20 mph. I’m speaking of the Alligator/Crocodile. This dinosaur like creature is by far one of the strongest of swamp dwellers and in my opinion are the wrestlers of swamp animals. Its mouth and jaws are so strong they can swing the average human like child’s play.

When it comes to upper body strength and hip flexibility along with powerful speed with a hefty amount of weight the Gator stands alone. Now how do we duplicate this animal, well our bodies are going to have to resemble a walking push-up or hold a push-up position mid-way with our bellies nearly touching the ground and the legs are spread out and start walking. This animal alone can take upper body strength/conditioning and hip flexibility to a whole new level.

In my friend Ed Baran’s book Animal Kingdom Conditioning he will show you the progressions of not only becoming a strong Gator yourself but also a wild animal that has strength and power unlike anything else. He doesn’t teach just the Gator, he has a plethora of Animals waiting for you to unleash within you that can take your workouts to levels you never imagined possible. Take it from me as I have practiced this animal along with many others and have never felt so alive in my life. This program is for just about anyone who is willing to give themselves a chance to become stronger, leaner, powerful and flexible from a variety of angles.

The PowR Walk Pro From Lifeline USA

Walking is one of the best exercises you can do, it helps you think, you can do it anywhere and its one of if not the best exercise for your overall health. I love to walk around places whether at a park, the mall or hell around the harbor from where I use to live. You build a sense of awareness and you find things about yourself from walking that you normally don't find from other exercises. Now what if we took walking to a whole new level and it not only would it help you get in shape but to give you the workout of a lifetime.

I'm talking about the PowR Walk Pro from Lifeline USA. Its a cable attachment that comes with a handle and a foot strap that will get you off and running or should I say off and walking LOL. This device may look easy and you may think its no big deal, well my friend that's where you need to rethink what you're doing here. Its far beyond what you think it is. This thing alone can cut your walking in half like a knife to butter. There are 2 levels of resistance and when you get it you will start at level 1 which is the Gray cables. They may not seem much but once you start walking with these puppies you will feel it immediately. The second Level of resistance is the Gold cables. This ups the ante and works your tendons and ligaments like you wouldn't believe.

This can help you burn off calories and get fit like never before. Now with regular walking you're mostly just working the legs but with the PowR Walk Pro, you will be working your entire body from your neck to your toes. Some people who walk take up to 10 pound dumbbells with them to get some resistance going but this thing is far better and more convenient as you can put them into a little bag when you order the product. To me its one of the best things I've ever used and I've been doing exercise for over 14 years. This will work the upper body like crazy and at a good clip you can burn up to 3X the amount the calories as oppose to regular walking. You don't need to more then a couple miles maximum but how far you can go is up to you.

I normally do 20-30 min. of walking with this thing and after that I'm spent. The first few minutes I'll just walk and do the standard cross-country skiing walk and after a few of those I would do a set of curls or lateral raises and at certain points during the walk I would hold the cables at chest level and see how long I last carrying them in an isometric fashion. There are many ways to use this thing and when you see Bobby Hinds or the other members of Lifeline USA on the DVD that comes with it, you will see first hand that you don't need long term cardio and you can either use it on a walk or use it at home anyway you choose its going to suit you the way you want. Its fun, its portable and its one of the best products to help you get a fitter you and a stronger individual.

600 Push-ups Before Noon

For some odd reason I decided to try out some push-ups after looking at the pyramid sets from Mark De Lisele's book The Navy Seal Workout and give it a go....I liked pyramid sets so I made a pyramid of my own doing 6 different push-ups....I really had no desire to persue push-ups because I do get bored after doing them for a period of time so I pretty much did these because I felt like it and what do you know lol...I have never done this many push-ups in my life in one workout and most likely never will again. Without further ado heres my push-up workout....Now for my rest periods I did deep breathing as a superset.


Standard: 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,16,14,12,10,8,6,4,2=162

Elbows In: 2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2=50

Elbows Wide: 2,4,6,8,10,12,10,8,6,4,2=72

(Using Push-up Bars) Vertical: 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,12,10,8,6,4,2=98

(Using Push-up Bars) Horizontal: 2,4,6,8,10,12,10,8,6,4,2=72

(Using Push-up Bars) Bars directed /\: 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,14,12,10,8,6,4,2=128

Finished off with 18 Standard Push-ups Totalling 600.

For most people theres no need to do that many on a daily basis unless you're a fanatic about push-ups. It took me over an hour to do them but because of looking at the Navy SEALs I just felt that I needed to do them and see how far I can go and made it happen. Although it was just something I decided to do on a whim its what goes to show that if you learned the right tools of training you can do that and find out that you can do things you normally never could of done or tried before. After the workout I went for a swim and sat in the hot tub to recover. When you do training of that caliber recovery is just as important as the training itself.

Finding Your Perfect Routine

We all look for finding the perfect routine. We want to perform a good number of reps and sets for certain exercises and want to try out routines from books, courses, videos and the muscle magazines. Some routines work and some don't. Some can hurt you, some are too easy and some are just too difficult. What if we strive for creating our own perfect routine?

In order to create a routine first you need to work on basic exercises and work them until they become a second language to you. Learn what you can and put in the work. It takes time and patience and you got to put a bit of effort into it. Once you have taken the basics to another level, this is where you must learn mastery. Take certain exercises that are at a minimum for pushing, pulling, core, legs and grip. Take at least 1-2 exercises from each category and build a mastery around them.

The perfect routine doesn't come from a book, a video, a course or a magazine. They come from within and teach you how to rely on yourself and not from anything else. Yeah you can learn exercises but you must create a routine that suits your needs and goals for your body structure and body-to-weight ratio. Being able to have your routine builds self-reliance, creativity, mental strength and the ability to adapt.

The most important element of having your own perfect routine is to have fun and be able to make changes if need be. Having fun helps relieve the stress of getting confused how hard you should work and what position to keep at all times. Fun helps build joy into your workouts and makes you feel you're not working out but almost feel like you're just just playing a game. Building this mindset can get you results faster and build better foundations for your goals. One thing is for sure you should be able to train to the point where sweat is looking like a waterfall. For this reason be able to drink plenty of water in your training.

I can't give you any specific routines to look at but I can however give you courses to look at and get in order for you to build your own routines and create yourself the ultimate body and having the time of your life. On the right hand side of the blog I highly recommend you check out Lifeline USA, Scientific Wrestling, Stronger Grip, Animal Kingdom Conditioning, Strongman Websites and CoreForce Energy.

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Meaning Of Hard Work In Physical Training

Brooks Kubik...Author of Dinosaur Training is one of the guys I admire that values the meaning of hard work in Physical Training. Why do you need to work hard to get the results? Because it takes more then just flowing through the exercises. Working an exercise into the ground can either make you or break you as a trainee. Training safely with hard training is a common sense purpose and not working so hard into the ground that you get injured.

Commitment is one of the keys to training hard. You have to be committed to the training you're doing that day and making yourself beat the exercise. Exercises can beat you at times but your commitment to at least inch your way past them is a secret of hard training. I've been doing routines for a while now on a divided schedule where I work specific muscle groups on a given day and I drive those exercises into the ground to the point where its tough to breathe and sweating like Niagara Falls. I want to make my exercises hard and keep it at a minimum time and at a max level.

Hard work in your training means you push yourself to levels at times that almost seems nonhuman to the untrained eye. Others will tell you to drive yourself into the ground until you can't get up and that's really unethical but others will also tell you that hard work is hard work and nothing else will do. Here's a real secret that those dumbasses will never tell you.....Hard Work takes mental strength, takes guts to go through a tough exercise or routine, hard work is a game against yourself and only you can win or lose. No one can really tell you how tough you are or how committed you are, the only thing that matters is you putting in the work.

Creating the machine in you doesn't happen overnight or a week after training, it has to come from within. That ultimate power within you to take your training to unspeakable levels and one of my favorite examples is from a strongman I've gotten to learn from recently and hopefully have the pleasure to shake his hand up close one day is Mike Bruce. A former Marine who had a rough childhood grew up and became a soldier, a fighter, a strongman and now a husband. He truly is what his nickname personifies and that's being the machine. Hard Work comes in all shapes and sizes but one thing that any country has the same language, hard work makes you tough as an individual.

If you are new or just a fan of physical culture I encourage you to learn about the Old-Time strongmen, wrestlers, weightlifters and bodybuilders of the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. Study how they used hard work to create superhuman results and how much it makes you a person of character when you train hard no matter what the type of training it is. Learn from them and learn for yourself. Train hard, be tough and get the job done.

You Are Never Alone In Your Training

Back in the 30's and 40's, there was a man that trained hard in the basement of a church in Brooklyn, NY and had no workout partner nor did he have a lot of people to talk to unless they visited him. The only thing he had was a barbell, a bench and a maybe a few dumbbells here and there. He went to become one of the strongest men in the world at Olympic Weightlifting. He was a World Champion, Olympian and an Senior Nationals Champion and went undefeated for over 15 years till 1953. His name was John Davis.

Why did I put a significance of this powerful man on here? Good question. You see most of his career was being Champion at so many levels and yet throughout most of his training days he didn't have a workout partner. Motivation must have been very difficult for him cause in that basement the only friends he had in his training quarters was a barbell and a freaking bench. Yet without being discouraged he pushed hard and trained like a mad man.

He is one of the perfect examples of someone who doesn't always need to have a training partner. A lot of people go to a gym because theres people there and they can either encourage you or shut you down or help keep you motivated there are many reasons for that. The truth of the matter is that you can have a workout partner or train by yourself. Never be discouraged because someone isn't there pushing you.

For me as an example most of my training is by myself. I rarely have a workout partner and for obvious reasons I really like training alone and have made it a habit. The reason why training by yourself is a wonderful thing is because you don't need to hear the negativity coming from others who don't believe in what you do and making your goals feel impossible to you. The beauty of it is its that you learn how to discover yourself and motivate the only person in the room and that's you. The difference between training with people vs. training by yourself is that there can be distractions with training with others but in some cases training with others can create bonds and friendships with one another and push each other but in other cases training with others can throw you off and they tell you to do this or that cause its either the right or wrong way to train. Training by yourself on the other can either make you or break you as a trainee. Its never easy training alone because the only thing that can keep you motivated is yourself. This is where learning who you are and giving yourself the opportunity to build the ultimate motivation.

With training with just yourself like our friend John Davis did you become friends or bitter enemies with what you have to train with. You may not have this mindset but if you have trained just by yourself long enough you can almost listen to the equipment you have or a bodyweight exercise that in your mind is either impossible or reachable and you either believe in your mind you can do it or not. Sometimes I can almost hear some of my equipment speak to me and there have been days where they are bitter and believe I can't do it but there have been other days where they encourage me and tell me I'm getting stronger and getting better. That does sound a little eerie and creepy though don't you think? You'd be surprised what you can discover when training by yourself.

Never for one moment think you're alone in your training. Training alone has its benefits. No distractions, no one to give you a hard time and no talking or shouting, no one to stand around to tell you what you're doing is wrong, none of that. Its just you and whatever you have in front of you. Listen to the things in front of you, what are they saying? Do they believe you can or can't do something? Or do they encourage you to get better and coach you. Believe it or not some of my greatest coaches are the actual little amount of equipment I have. John Davis had his Barbell as his best friend and look what it made him? A Champion. Become your own champion and let the things you have do that for you.

You Are The Experiment

One of the things about being new or getting back to or just doing fitness in general is that you can always learn new types of training that you've never done before. Experimenting in physical training is like any other kind of experiment, finding what works, what doesn't and how its suited to an individual. Most people however don't seem to understand this concept and that's sad because of all the fitness magazines and modern day technology trainers are telling you to do this for your body or a routine that's predetermined for your body which is flat out ridiculous.

One of the keys to Self-Mastery is to become your own trainer. Now why be your own trainer when someone can just have something set up for you? Well you could do that but that would just make you a second-rate person. Yes someone can show you the basics of exercises but how you do them is up to you. When I was doing weight lifting and seeing how all these "bodybuilders" were like and what they did, I tried the programs and I ended up either getting hurt or burnt out after only a week and I didn't do them everyday. After my accident, I started learning a different form of training and learned the exercises and did a few routines here and there but the routines didn't seem to help me because I felt something wasn't right. I changed gears and began experimenting my own routines that I came up with and whether a routine lasted an hour or 5 min. it felt good to realize that I'm my own trainer.

A major component to being your own trainer is to not only work the muscles, tendons, ligaments or organs for that matter but work on your mental strength creating and infusing the mind/muscle connection. Bruce Lee believe it or not was one of the most famous men for not only his muscles and strength for his size but was also one of the most intelligent men of his time. He became not just a great martial artist but also a powerful philosopher and keen sense of mind power. Another example would be the Samurai Warriors of ancient Japan. Not only did they need to be strong and powerful to just carry armor, swing a sword or fight but had to learn how to paint, write, meditate and have awareness that was second to none which is still legendary to this day.

There are many examples of learning to experiment but one thing is for sure and that's teaching yourself how to use your own physiology and how to use your body-to-weight ratio for the type of training you want to do. Face facts there is no way in hell a person of totally different sizes can do the same exact program and for good reason. Whoever is bigger or smaller cannot always do what another can. The structures are different and the way they move their body is different.

I'm a big dude at 240+ lbs. and can do some pretty cool stuff but there are just some things I can never do that a guy smaller then me can do its just not logical. Now on the other hand I carry more weight so whoever smaller then me by quite a bit tries to use something that gets him up to my size it'll be much harder for him to train because he is putting too much stress on his body then he should have and therefor can get injured, pull something or possibly cripple himself. Again not logical now is it?

Building a foundation is another key to becoming your trainer. Where do you start and what do you plan to do to achieve a goal? Find what works for you. Learning the basics in training is like learning math or English, hell even history you have to start somewhere and progress through various levels. Once you have experimented enough to know what works and what doesn't you have all the tools you need to become a great trainer within yourself. You don't need others to tell you what to do or what you should do for this or that.

Becoming a master takes practice, time, patience and a will to succeed. The Old-Timers knew this long before there were machines, gadgets and whatnot. Becoming your own trainer teaches you how to be an individual and self-reliant on the things that you want to do for yourself. It took me years to be my own trainer and now I get to teach you how you can do the same and can probably do it in less time then I did. Be the person you want to be and look into yourself and find the true power within you.

Using Different View Points To Create Your Style

Learning different view points from other Physical Culturists is quite a learning experience. You learn what works for them, how they developed a philosophy for training and what can work for others. Some of the best guys in this field have great philosophies and quite a few I agree with but yet for that same line of guys there are things I do disagree with. Its not out of disrespect its because I know what works and what doesn't. If you want to learn from the best you have to do research and experiment. Find what works for you and be open minded about who these guys are.....For example...

Bud Jeffries....A man of great strength and ferocious power is a man of god who uses the best equipment and body weight exercises to create the ultimate athlete and build strength & endurance at the same time with a separation of spiritual strength and strength using energy or qi gong. One guy I have very high respects for and one of the coolest guys I ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Brooks Kubik....Without question one of the greatest writers in the history of Physical Culture for the last 20 years. His beliefs is in Hard Work, Old School time-tested methods for super strength and muscle-building and puts a lot into basic lifts and the great methods of Olympic weightlifting. Work your exercises into the ground and master the exercises you want to do.

Logan Christopher.....A man I would def. call a brother because he's helped me over the years showing me how I can be a good physical culturist with the way I'am and have on many occasions seen him do some of the coolest feats of strength a man his size should not be able to do. He believes that to get the best results is to build a foundation to creating great strength and use the best equipment for mega results whether it be weights, bending steel, tearing phonebooks or using the Indian clubs. Whatever style of training you want to pursue learn the values of what is the best to use.

Dennis Rogers....Pound for Pound the world's strongest man for the feats he performs. A man of god as well who has taken grip strength to a level in his line of strongmanism that is as unreachable as wile e. coyote catching the road runner. The things he does should not be done by a man of his size. He is the modern day little Samson and in my opinion the man with the spirit of The Mighty Atom within him. His philosophy is based on how to develop the grip while using the body as a whole using odd objects, tools and weird looking but effective equipment to get the best out of becoming super strong without the need to be a monster.

Garin Bader....Quite possibly one of the most legendary concert pianists of the last 20 years has developed a style where he develops energetic strength through his imagination and mindful power to create surreal strength, dexterity and speed that is just off the charts. With a way to create sounds and develop the difference of muscular strength and his system CoreForce Energy anyone can provide the strength within them in a very short amount of time. Being powerful using muscular strength and being powerful with CFE is a massive difference and once you see it you'll notice right away how strong you can become.

These are examples of the guys I have researched and learned from over the years and I have the highest respect for them for what they do. Whether I agree with what they all do doesn't matter but what I have learned I have taken and developed a style of my own. You may have noticed that some of their styles are similar but at the same time very unique and different in many ways. My style of philosophy of Physical Culture is to learn the basics, transfer that to your daily life, never be hardcore all the time but never slouch either. You don't need to be big to be strong but in order to be strong you have to think big and being wise about what you want to do. Again my style is a little similar to the guys I've mentioned but yet its very different in many ways. I train for strength and power using many different styles that are the best and not use too many things.

Create your own style of Physical Culture by learning from the best and never shy away from who they are and give them the respect they deserve.

Learning How To Tap Into Your Power Within Seconds

Scientists say we only use 5% of our overall power. Now how can that be? We have some of the strongest people on the planet and yet were only using 5% of our potential for super strength? That just doesn't seem right. If you truly want to become powerful you don't need big muscles or have the physique of a Greek god. There's already a power within us that be reached with the right amount of training and its a lot closer then you think it is.

Tapping into the mega secrets of Chi Power is not in a galaxy far, far away nor is it hidden in the undergrounds of the Himalayas. Its really within the power of your own mind and imagination. Let me give you an example of super humans that have the ability to generate so much power within the snap of their fingers that it looks like it came out of comic book movie.....The Shaolin Monks are really some of the most powerful human beings on the planet. They can do things that would boggle the mind and have strength that men twice their size can't even comprehend. Whats their secret? How can they harness that much power? Another would be Strongman and one of my mentors, Dennis Rogers. At 5'8 and nearly 170 pounds has the ability to generate so much power within seconds that its almost impossible to believe a little man of this caliber has the strength to crush hundreds of pounds of pressure and mangle tools that were made to not bend. What is his secret to have these superhuman abilities?

I personally believe that one man has brought a version of this superhuman secret and taken it to a level that is beyond any one's own assumptions and gives you the keys to achieve a level of strength that has to be so surreal its not even funny. This one man has traveled around the world many times over using a few magic tricks, a piano and some crazy stunts that would make your Jaw drop. His name is Garin Bader and he is the author and authority of CoreForce Energy. Its a system of generating beyond that 5% potential that we have in us and creating the ultimate Chi Power within a short amount of time. I'm a firm believer in this system and still practice it to this day after nearly 3 years. Its helped me and thousands of others around the world achieve a level of strength and speed that can only be described by one who has experienced it. If you click on the link in this post you will find a series of how this system works and find your true potential with the power already inside you. Go to Garin's Blog and learn how he can create matrix-like flexibility and still have enough power to knock down a 300 lb. dummy full of sand,water and rock. You will be amazed.

As a Strongman and Physical Culturist I have sworn on my own oath to find the best ways to become strong and powerful and if theres any strongman out there that doesn't have a smiliar oath then he shouldn't be a strongman. This course alone can teach you the secrets of becoming superhuman and give you the power you want. Does this apply to just strongmen? No it applies to everyone who wants to get stronger. Build the strength you were meant to have. Harness the power within you to create anything you want in your life. Create strength within seconds and become a more powerful human being. Take a look at CoreForce Energy.

Bodyweight Exercises: Putting The "Fun" In Functional Strength!!!

In many circles around the web you'll hear quite a few people giving Bodyweight Exercises a bad rap and thats just not right on so many levels. First off whoever thinks bodyweight sucks is their business and their opinion but lets get the facts straight here. This type of training has given many people the world over an awesome body, great strength, surreal flexibility and insane endurance. I say this as a point with the right amount of training. Am I saying weight lifting sucks? Hell no man I just prefer bodyweight because it saves me money, time and I can do it anywhere I want.

The real keys to having a solid program is using your imagination, being creative, find goals and mastering basic exercises. Just like weight lifting, work the basics and soon enough you'll find thats all you need to build a solid foundation for sheer strength, muscle-building and all the good stuff that comes with them. It does piss me off sometimes when these morons don't know the real side of a good solid training program. Example would be some people think that bodyweight training is only good for endurance and doesn't build muscle or strength but it can give you flexibility. Ok in some cases they're right it does build flexibility and can give you great stamina but heres a kicker here folks. For those that don't know i'm 5'10 and 242 lbs. My main training is pretty much all bodyweight and so I have built strength from this type of training um lets see....

I can hold a handstand on the wall for more then a minute

I have Deadlifted nearly 400 lbs. without almost any training on it in the last 5-6 years

Easily can press a 88lb. Kettlebell

Bend Steel short and long

Held a 125 lb. Dumbbell w/ a 2 inch thick handle for 10sec.

I think I've made my point here. Will this type of training do the same for everyone like it did for me? No theres no way not because i'm dissing your abilities its because I chose to try these things and my structure is different then others. That shouldn't mean you can't take a shot at them or whatever you want to do but with a good structure and leverage with your body-to-weight ratio you'd be surprised how strong you can get. So I really don't give a flying you know what about people who say you can't be strong on this type of training.

Man I sound like an a**hole right now don't you think? Sorry guys I tend to do that every now and then. Back to why it puts the "Fun" in Functional Strength. Its fun in my opinion cause you get to be free to do what you want for exercise. When they say the best things in life are free I'd put exercise right near the top of the list in my opinion. You get to be creative and try things at different angles and for the most part you're always isolating muscles.

Working the whole body as a unit is far better then doing a ton of other exercises for specific muscles. When you work the body as One, you're putting on more muscle, burning more fat and your muscular strength & endurance go through the roof. It also saves you time from going to the gym and training in your own home, how many people at the gym can say they trained while they played video games or trained while commercials are going instead of their favorite tv show or better yet train with the music they want to listen to with no one around. That's one reason why I find Bodyweight Exercises fun.

I feel that when Jack Lalanne pioneered his fitness tv show way back in the 50's and 60's he wanted you to get up and start your day with a smile, laughing and feeling good like you were a little kid. He was the guy in my opinion that made exercise fun and enjoyable instead of being hardcore and rough and making you feel that exercise is just horrible. He wasn't just a pioneer in the fitness industry, he was also one of the most intelligent men of his generation because he not only made you bust your ass but you enjoyed it and kept coming back for more with a smile and a thirst for life. That was his true genius and no one should ever forget that.

One of my favorite forms of bodyweight training is being out in the wild and being an animal that is strong, powerful and graceful. This is where another form of freedom comes into play. You don't feel like working out but playing and having fun moving around. Theres something for everyone that can do bodyweight exercises, you can be 10 or 100 and still find a way to do great exercise to keep you young, vibrant and healthy.

Back in the early eras of Physical Culture of the 20th Century, many strongmen on the vaudville circuit, circuses and competitions actually did Bodyweight Training to help gain an advantage for what they did as performers. Many of them were wrestlers, boxers, gymnasts, acrobats and just flat out very powerful men. Otto Arco for example was a superior acrobat who can not only do great hand balancing feats but was one of the first of three men to lift double-bodyweight overhead in the clean and press or jerk if I said that right. John Grimek who has been known as the greatest bodybuilder in the non-steroid era of the sport who can vouch for bodyweight exercises as part of a token of his successful career as a bodybuilder and Olympic Weightlifter. Those 2 were examples of among many others that have used bodyweight with sucessful results.

Heres one final thing about why bodyweight exercises are fun to do for functional strength and that's being able to play with your kids. Children start the first few years of their lives doing bodyweight exercises, whether they're running, jumping, playing on the monkey bars or climbing up to go down the slides they're using nothing but they're own Bodyweight and some of them are very strong for how small they are. Makes you think doesn't it? When you learn to train like a child it can give you a whole different prespective about training. As adults we may not have the same energy as a young child but we can adapt and learn to enjoy being there and playing with them. When you train as a family, you create a certain bond and learning from each other. I want to be able to do that with my own kids one day and be able to have fun with them.

If you're looking for some awesome courses on Bodyweight Exercises then look no further then below.........

Gymnastic Abs

Animal Kingdom Conditioning

Advanced Bridging

Body Sculpting Bodyweight Exercises For Women

Pain Killers

Gymnastic Handstands

Ultimate Guide To Handstand Push-ups

Hand Balancing Mastery Course

Animal Kingdom Conditioning 2: Call Of The Wild

Wild Animal Fitness For Kids

Ultimate Bodyweight Conditioning-Squats

Ultimate Bodyweight Conditioning-Push-ups