Hammer Conditioning

 

 There are many ways to get in awesome shape, you can use your bodyweight, work with weights or better yet use cool tools that are not only awesome looking but you’re getting more bang for your buck than you can imagine. Ever heard of training with a Hammer? Of course you don’t, you’re either one of those people that goes to a gym, play around with a few machines, work very light weight and call yourself in shape or you’re one of those guys or gals that doesn’t get anywhere no matter what you do and you just quit at the drop of a hat. I’m here to tell you that getting fit is not only a cool thing to do but it also keeps you energized and have a zest for life you didn’t think existed. The best fitness advice anyone can ever give you is to have fun with what you do. Training with a hammer, better yet a Thor Hammer gives you that mystical feeling that you’re training like the warriors of generations past.

 

 

 Training with this particular tool can give you great possibilities to train with, most of them involve swinging but the main point is when you work different areas while consuming your exercise using your whole body as a unit, you will find yourself having off the charts strength and conditioning that only a few ever know about. Even training with a sledgehammer is a cardio workout that will have you gasping for air if you do the exercise right. One of my heroes named Slim worked in a Rock Quarry for many years, doing labor for as long as 12-14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week cutting and destroying rock with a 16 pound sledgehammer. Now 16 pounds doesn’t seem like a lot of weight but when you’re smashing things for hours on end, you’re using your whole body and it makes cardio machines look like a cake walk. If you had a tire or half tire, along with a hammer, try hitting it like a guy working at the Quarry, do it for 5 minutes and tell me if you’re not breathing harder than you would doing 30 minutes on a cardio machine.

 I would bet if you had just a hammer and a tire, which would be the only equipment you need to get a cardio workout that will leave you with sweat, strength and overall fitness in ways that can only be explained by experience. A great course I have practiced off and on is to me one of the only if not the only course out there that gives you tips specifically using hammers is my man Bud Jeffries’ DVD Hammers and Maces from his Alternative Conditioning series that has a plethora of different ways to work your body into the ground. Hammer training is another look at what you can do to get in awesome shape, up until a few years ago, there weren’t many places to learn this kind of stuff, now guys in the NFL, MMA, WWE and even in Olympic training have found the Hammer swinging style are using it to get their athletes in incredible world-class shape.

 

 

 

 

 Ever seen the movie Thor? Ever wondered what it would be like to have that much power and strength using that cool ass looking Hammer? Well you can get your hands on your own Mjölnir and feel what it’s like to swing that little son of a bitch and learn the golden keys to Super Muscle and Superhuman Strength. Conditioning this way is a lot more fun than just pulling down a machine that really won’t do much movement wise and just going for a stroll on the cardio machine, this way teaches you how to use your stabilizing muscles in other words your Core and work your whole body as a whole. Look at it this way, because of it’s structure it helps you figure out how to stay balanced and helps you learn certain muscles needed for certain swinging movements. Hell one of the best exercises I’ve done for a few hundred reps is using it like the Kettlebell swing and I think it’s much harder than the regular KB swing because the hammer is longer and the handle is thicker. Also if you had a tire, you can have a glimpse of what a blacksmith feels like by whacking the hammer. If you don’t have the movie Thor, I suggest you get yourself a copy which you can find on the right hand side of this blog under Physical Culture links below the Incredible Hulk series and film.

 Another side of training with a Sledgehammer and Thor’s Hammer is using them in the old tradition of India’s training program which dates back hundreds of years using them in the style of Wrestling called Kushti. This traditional style of training consisted of the Mace (which you can use with the Sledgehammer) and the Gadas (you can use with two sets of Thor’s hammer) which they swung and worked different muscles to get in shape for Wrestling. Now you don’t have to be a wrestler I’m just giving you a history lesson along with a perspective of what you can do with these tools.

 

 

 Having fun with your exercise is a golden key to great fitness and strength training and nothing looks cooler than a hammer, it represents strength and even having one in your hands just has a mystical feel to it, like you’re apart of something special. It’s not just a workout, it’s an adventure, and you can even pick exercises out of your own imagination. Think of some of the workouts you can think and imagine in a time where you had the power to destroy anything you wanted, in one workout, you’re John Henry and pounding spikes into the train tracks, the next workout, you’re in India over 100 years ago, exercising outside in the wrestling pits before your match and destroying your opponent, another workout would be you’re working at a gold mine in the old west, smashing rock to find that treasure of gold and after so many powerful whacks, you have found that gold and you’re jumping for joy and even you can imagine being Thor smashing the Frost Giants and conquering a battle over monsters and demons.

 These are things to think about when you’re training and you should never walk into a workout thinking it’s going to suck, be creative and use your imagination; it’s one of the biggest keys of all time. Make it interesting and use it to your full advantage and give it everything you have, it could last a few minutes or last over an hour, hell you’d get so into the workout that you lost track of time because you had fun doing it, that’s the beauty of it. Give yourself a chance to shine and Hammer your way to glory on your terms.

Put Your Back Into It

Stretching the spine and back muscles is one of the most important aspects of Physical Training and that’s because the spine gives us that electric charge from the brain to the cord itself. You can get injured with a broken wrist, I’ve had my legs broken and had my ribs nearly crushed but having a broken back if worse a broken spinal cord, the chances of coming back are slim to none. Keeping yourself flexible in that area gives the rest of your body that power and supercharged.

 That electrical energy in your body is really at that cord that’s in the middle of your back and the stronger it is, the stronger your body is. It connects to everything from your muscles to your nerves, all the way towards the brain where it all brings the rest of the body together. There are many ways to stretch the back but there are those that actually teach the wrong way and don’t realize that they can get hurt doing some of these things. Do your own research and you’ll see what I mean.

 One of the best exercises you can do for your back is the Bridge. This exercise alone can help bring that powerful charge in the spine into a level of strength you couldn’t have imagined before, you can do this in the Wrestler’s Bridge (aka neck bridge) on the head or the Gymnastic Bridge (wheel pose for you Yoga maniacs). There are many ways to do the Bridge and you can even do certain athletic moves while in those positions.

 

 

Another part of the body that many neglect is your neck. Your neck is a series of muscles and tendons that help hold your head up and held up with the muscles of the back. You see everything has to work together otherwise we’d be pretty awkward looking. Too many people forget to work the body as a whole but you have these wackjobs as experts in the gym telling you to do this for this muscle and that for that muscle, it’s all crap. When you work on the whole body but focus on a specific part, you get a different perspective on what it takes to work the body as a complete piece.

 Quite arguably the greatest Catch Wrestler of all-time Karl Gotch taught his students that if you want to be a complete wrestler, you must first learn the bridge because it teaches how to work the body in unison and it’s one of the best forms of Physical Conditioning. Now you don’t have to be a wrestler or a world-class athlete to do this stuff, with the right instruction and the will to practice, the majority of people can learn this stuff. There’s even Bridging in Yoga if you haven’t figured that out already and Yoga is one of the most popular forms of training.

 Like I said before, you don’t have to be a wrestler, gymnast, Yogi or another type of Athlete to understand and learn how to keep your body specifically your back and spine in great shape and it’s a great time saver. You don’t need to do cardio or an hour of weights to get in awesome shape, you can if you want but I can assure you from personal experience and from a couple I’ve trained, working exercises that target the back and neck while using the while body will get you breathing harder than an asthmatic finishing a 10 second sprint.

 

 Your body will become a fitness machine and it doesn’t take more than a few minutes a day. At 240+ lbs. I can hold a wrestler’s bridge for three minutes anytime I want and can hold quite well on the gymnastic bridge and am in better shape because of these exercises than I ever did when I was training with weights in my teens. I’ve even become stronger in the weights through some of this type of training and I’ve kept getting stronger every time I go to the weights without touching them for months at a time. Not saying this can happen for you but with practice and learning different things, you’ll be surprised what you can do outside of that type of training. Keep your back strong and spine stronger, it’ll thank you in the end, I guarantee it.

How To Feed Your Vampire Strength

 

Being a fan of vampires ever since the Blade films has had me gotten me quite anxious as to how they have their powers, from reading books to watching the films to learning Physical Culture there has to be some way to have that type of power. I realize some of you aren’t vampire fans and don’t like seeing someone being bit on the neck and have blood gushing out but come on, in some cases you got to look outside the box and lurk into the mystery, romance and fierce power of The Creature Of The Night.

 When I’m talking about Vampires I’m not talking about that Twilight crap, sorry but as much as I love coffin rising dead bites, Twilight just never cut it with me and will never understand it. Back to the task at hand, having that Vampire Strength and power just has an aura of unbelievable proportions and to obtain it is not that far of a reach as you might think and it doesn’t take being bit on the neck to get it, if you don’t believe me look to my man Cees de Kok who knows a thing or two about being a Vampire.

 

 

To get a perspective, vampires need to feed off of blood to stay immortal, keep away from crosses, garlic and holy water, for the real world, to keep your powers from slipping, moving your body throughout the day doing little effective exercises that don’t drain you but feed your energy and power and staying away from people who give you that negative energy, people that don’t believe in what you’re doing and also people who think they’re better because they have some kind of “expertise.” A vampire has the wisdom of centuries, knows every little trick about strength, stealth and combat, in your mind, clear out all the crap that you think won’t work and be open about it. Cees has been an athlete all his life and has knowledge in Acrobatics and Gymnastics that most trainers will never comprehend therefore if he knows what goes into being ready for anything, people should stop and listen.

 In regards to sleep, every creature needs it, even vampires. Sleeping helps the body rejuvenate itself and helps you bring all that energy back when you get up in the morning. Now I realize some of you don’t always sleep very well and some have trouble even getting out of bed but if you’re willing to learn, I would think some of you can find a way to teach your mind to tell your body that “When I wake up, I’m going to be ready, be strong and be energized.” Have you ever heard of a vampire who was an insomniac? Didn’t think so, he’d have to be very sneaky to find a way to stay out of the daylight if he wants to stay up but for the most part they’re pretty much dead during the daytime (pun intended). Look at it this way, in your mind, when you go to sleep, you’re building your superhuman powers, when you wake up, you’re as strong if not stronger the day before.

 Every little thing counts. When you learn to exercise throughout the day, you’re feeding your energy to increase your alertness, strength and fitness, do not do so much it drains you, doing tons of reps on every exercise is not always the thing to do, putting in too much can make you weak, it’s like a vampire taking in too much blood when he/she feeds, take too much, it could die. Whenever you can, sneak in an exercise and just do enough to wear it gets you fired up, you can even do it when you wake up or when you’re ready for bed. You do have power beyond belief and to harness them, we must use our minds and our bodies together in unison to create that perfect harmony and consistency just for you. Find your inner Vampire and learn to use the powers already within reach, it’s only a matter of time before you have been bitten, risen from the dead and have new, profound strength and monstrous power that nobody can take a hold of. Have you been bitten yet?  

Becoming A Monster

I don’t always lift barbells and dumbbells but when I do, I want to feel like one of the legendary Old-time Strongmen from generations past. Back in the day before cardio machines and the chrome and fern palaces of Cosmetic Bodybuilding, if you wanted to be fit and strong, you busted your ass in the gym or wherever you wanted to workout. Training in the gym like at York Barbell or sunny Venice Beach, you put in workouts that made you come back for more. Back then, you had guys that were monstrous not just in size but just as equaled strength and fitness.

 Today has become a billion-dollar industry where supplements roam wild, machines are cranking and some of the free weights are left to dust unless someone happens to pick up anything about 50 lbs. or less. It’s a bit of a shame that once was the pinnacle of developing super strength and fitness has just become not so super and hardly any real functional strength developed and fitness that just confuses everyone. If you picked 10 people out of a gym, and asked them who John Grimek, Otto Arco, Arthur Saxon, hell even maybe Reg Park, bet you dollars to donuts that not one of those 10 people know who they are. That’s the majority of fitness goers today, no sense of history and would rather look good without a shirt on than have that plus being super strong and healthy.

 One of the best things I love about Physical Culture is that you can learn to do things out of the norm and make it a habit to use and use given secrets that have worked for well over 100 years and still make great progress. Very few people you’ll find today that share that thread of knowledge and understand the values of historical training that can be used today. One of these few is to my knowledge one of the most powerful men on the planet that just by listening to him, you can learn things you never thought existed, and I’m talking about Mr. Super Muscle himself, Bud Jeffries.

 

 An idea that Bud brings to the table is not new but to most people today, they would think it’s from a different planet and that’s using weights in a circular fashion. Conditioning in circles is a relatively cool concept where whether with bodyweight or using a dumbbell, you learn to use exercise in a clockwork type fashion. This type of training from a different perspective can aid in your conditioning workouts, now I’m going to let Bud tell you about that because he’s got more in his brain on it than I do.

 You know that fishing line “Catch & Release”? What if I told you, you can do that same concept using a Barbell? Most people can’t fathom putting up a weight in the air and catching it, it just seems doesn’t it, but its fun. Being able to catch a weight takes balance, concentration, strength and agility and that’s just a few of things you need for Functional Fitness. Conditioning in this manner puts your mind to a different ideal and to train like this for a period of time takes up the whole body from your neck to your toes and that’s just the beginning.

 Another style of training to becoming a monster in the gym or if you’re a garage gorilla, is the concept that made many athletes back in the day including the Iron Master himself Arthur Saxon, was One-Arm Training. How would you like to have so much strength that while you can lift plenty of weight with one arm when the majority of people can’t do it with two would be awesome wouldn’t it? Another great strongman of the past who made One-Arm deadlifting an art form was Hermann Görner. This type of training teaches how to balance and coordinate your body into moving weight from an odd angle or position.

 You can learn all this and more from the man that has single handedly lifted more weight and conditioned his body Drug-Free than almost any other strongman to date and that’s my boy Bud. Monster Conditioning will change your way of thinking about lifting weights in a way you have never seen before and if you believe there are no secrets in weight lifting, guess again people. You’re in for the ride of your life and take your training to a level that makes most bodybuilders and pumpers look like chumps.

Getting In Shape While Gambling

 When was the last time you heard about doing that? When you gamble, you usually sit at a table or a slot machine and sometimes you stand at the Roulette wheels. Now this might be the most interesting and very unusual way to stay in shape while money is being won or lost so let me give you my take on it.

 Billions of dollars are being put into thousands upon thousands of slot machines and being thrown down on the tables just edging for someone to get their ass kicked or get rich and possibly come out even. Now think about this for a moment, there’s another set of dollar making business that people waste their money on and that’s the typical chrome and fern commercial gyms that they put a few bucks down and don’t bother showing up and their bills get rung up. The difference is, you can win at Gambling but in the gym you have to earn your body and that’s where most people give up and just drop the gym all together.

 If you live in places like Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Coeur D’Alene or the eastern parts of Washington, there are a few places to go to put your betting money on. I can bet you can get in shape while at the casinos and no one will ever know. This is no way of saying, you should workout at a casino because come on, as funs as it would be for you, there are others who don’t give a damn and will walk away from you. This is just a simple suggestion to use to remind your muscles that you can do something in between pulls on the machine or doing something while playing the cards or the wheel. Let me give you an example, you sit at a slot machine, doesn’t matter what it is (unless it’s that kick ass Wheel Of Fortune), you can do Isometrics or Muscle Control while you play. After your first pull, squeeze the lever as hard as you can for 10 seconds, that’s it, than you play and while those things are spinning you can press your hand against the side of the machine. See you just did a little of exercise.

 One of my favorite types of training is from the Charles Atlas course and doing self resistance exercise. After I do a turn on a machine I would do curls by resisting one arm against another and after do another turn, than I would do something like squeeze my feet down on the ground to build some tendon and leg strength. Don’t waste your energy just sitting there like you just threw your house away, if you want to play a little bit, why not give your body a chance to do some work, in a small twisted way, you’re paying money to exercise, plus if you win, it makes things that much sweeter.

 To me Gambling really is a waste of time and there are people who are addicted so bad with it that they end up losing everything. This is for those that want to put a few dollars down and have a little fun with no reason to overdue it. It’s like exercise, if you overdue it, you can get hurt, when you gamble and you’re putting too much into it, you can hurt your mental state and I better hope you never have to use a loan shark and get your legs broken, that to me for yourself is adding insult to injury, literally. If you want to have a little fun, why not give your muscles a run for their money and use small but effective exercise which you can learn where no one will ever know you’re doing them. I know what it’s like to win big and lose just as bad so hopefully you never have to go through losing a bunch of money. There’s time for fun and there’s time to just walk away, like exercise, you can only do what you’re body is capable of and there are times when you just need to catch your breath and call it a day, gambling might be a bit harder but it’s the same thing, if you’re losing and its not helping you, walk away and move on or just get out and go home. Be safe and get your exercises in my friend.