Monday, October 29, 2012
Kettlebell Ranking (Win A Free iPad)
Hello,
Yes that’s right.
Logan Christopher is giving away an iPad as part of a special deal to promote kettlebell juggling.
He’s come up with 20 levels of progression for you to work through, from easy beginner to advanced skills. And when you submit a video of you doing any of them you get entered into the contest.
Not only that but you can even get ranked and Certified as a Master of Kettlebell Juggling.
There’s a whole lot more than I care to explain but you can get the full details here.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4876514
Ben Bergman
P.S. Make sure you check it out soon. This contest doesn't last long. That means you need to watch this video today, start practicing your skills, and send in your videos as quickly as possible.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4876514
Can You Juggle Kettlebells?
Hello,
I've played around with kettlebell juggling in the past and had some fun with it.
But if you truly want to master this art than my friend Logan Christopher is your man.
He's giving away 35 minutes of video on getting started and advanced skills from a workshop people paid up to $1000 to attend.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4872433
If you do anything with kettlebells you owe it to yourself to check out this video. You'll see all the benefits these fun skills can give you.
This isn't just for advanced people, although many people may think it is. Whether you're just starting out, or have been lifting kettlebells for years, you'll surely learn something new here.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4872433
Ben Bergman
P.S. And that's just the start. He's got some even more amazing things in store that will change the way kettlebell juggling will be done in the future.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4872433
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Kettlebell Juggling ON FIRE!!!!
Hello,
Leave it to Logan to come up with this idea.
As if juggling heavy weights isn't enough of an impressive skill...
He decided to light a kettlebell on fire and then juggle it!
Watch the video here.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4872432
Ben Bergman
Friday, October 26, 2012
Pull-ups: Can Women Do Them Or Not?
October 25, 2012, 12:01 am
Why Women Can’t Do Pull-Ups
By TARA PARKER-POPE
This column appears in the Oct. 28 issue of The New York Times Magazine.
While the pull-up has been used by everyone from middle-school gym teachers to Marine drill instructors to measure fitness, the fact is that many fit people, particularly women, can't do even one. To perform a pull-up, you place your hands on a raised bar using an overhand grip, arms fully extended and feet off the floor. (The same exercise, performed with an underhand grip, is often called a chin-up.) Using the muscles in your arms and back, you pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. Then the body is lowered until the arms are straight, and the exercise is repeated. The Marines say a male recruit should be able to do at least 3 pull-ups or chin-ups, but women are not required to do them. In school, 14-year-old boys can earn the highest award on the government's physical fitness test by doing 10 pull-ups or chin-ups: for 14-year-old girls, it's 2.
To find out just how meaningful a fitness measure the pull-up really is, exercise researchers from theUniversity of Dayton
found 17 normal-weight women who could not do a single overhand pull-up. Three
days a week for three months, the women focused on exercises that would
strengthen the biceps and the latissimus dorsi - the large back muscle that is
activated during the exercise. They lifted weights and used an incline to
practice a modified pull-up, raising themselves up to a bar, over and over, in
hopes of strengthening the muscles they would use to perform the real thing.
They also focused on aerobic training to lower
body fat.
By the end of the training program, the women had increased their upper-body strength by 36 percent and lowered their body fat by 2 percent. But on test day, the researchers were stunned when only 4 of the 17 women succeeded in performing a single pull-up.
"We honestly thought we could get everyone to do one," said Paul Vanderburgh, a professor of exercise physiology and associate provost and dean at theUniversity of Dayton ,
and an author of the study. But Vanderburgh said the study and other research
has shown that performing a pull-up requires more than simple upper-body
strength. Men and women who can do them tend to have a combination of strength,
low body fat and shorter
stature. During training, because women have lower levels of testosterone, they
typically develop less muscle than men, Vanderburgh explained. In addition,
they can't lose as much fat. Men can conceivably get to 4 percent body fat; women
typically bottom out at more than 10 percent.
So no matter how fit they are, women typically fare worse on pull-up tests. But Vanderburgh notes that some men struggle, too, particularly those who are taller or bigger generally or have long arms. This is related to an interesting phenomenon: if you compare a smaller athlete to an athlete who has the same exact build but is 30 percent bigger, the bigger athlete will be only about 20 percent stronger, even though he has to carry about 30 percent more weight.
"We're a combination of levers; that's how we move," Vanderburgh said. "Generally speaking, the longer the limb, the more of a disadvantage in being able to do a pull-up. I look at a volleyball player and wouldn't expect her to be able to do a pull-up, but I know she's fit."
Why Women Can’t Do Pull-Ups
By TARA PARKER-POPE
This column appears in the Oct. 28 issue of The New York Times Magazine.
While the pull-up has been used by everyone from middle-school gym teachers to Marine drill instructors to measure fitness, the fact is that many fit people, particularly women, can't do even one. To perform a pull-up, you place your hands on a raised bar using an overhand grip, arms fully extended and feet off the floor. (The same exercise, performed with an underhand grip, is often called a chin-up.) Using the muscles in your arms and back, you pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. Then the body is lowered until the arms are straight, and the exercise is repeated. The Marines say a male recruit should be able to do at least 3 pull-ups or chin-ups, but women are not required to do them. In school, 14-year-old boys can earn the highest award on the government's physical fitness test by doing 10 pull-ups or chin-ups: for 14-year-old girls, it's 2.
To find out just how meaningful a fitness measure the pull-up really is, exercise researchers from the
By the end of the training program, the women had increased their upper-body strength by 36 percent and lowered their body fat by 2 percent. But on test day, the researchers were stunned when only 4 of the 17 women succeeded in performing a single pull-up.
"We honestly thought we could get everyone to do one," said Paul Vanderburgh, a professor of exercise physiology and associate provost and dean at the
So no matter how fit they are, women typically fare worse on pull-up tests. But Vanderburgh notes that some men struggle, too, particularly those who are taller or bigger generally or have long arms. This is related to an interesting phenomenon: if you compare a smaller athlete to an athlete who has the same exact build but is 30 percent bigger, the bigger athlete will be only about 20 percent stronger, even though he has to carry about 30 percent more weight.
"We're a combination of levers; that's how we move," Vanderburgh said. "Generally speaking, the longer the limb, the more of a disadvantage in being able to do a pull-up. I look at a volleyball player and wouldn't expect her to be able to do a pull-up, but I know she's fit."
Ok, what’s wrong with this picture (or words)? This article suggests that women are pretty much incapable of doing pull-ups. As I do agree to a certain peak about the levels of strength compared to men and women, it still pisses me off that this article doesn't really know a damn thing about Pull-up training. First things first, if you're going to do pull-ups what do you do, you do pull-ups dumbass. Can't expect someone to lift weights using arm and back exercises and have them do pull-ups for a test. I’m sorry but that’s just flat out dumb.
Yes it’s proven that women aren't as strong as men and our testosterone levels are much higher but that doesn't mean a woman can’t be strong at something. To overcome this notion that a woman is incapable of doing pull-ups, you don't listen to bullshit like this and if you really want to do pull-ups, do them and make it happen for you, the mental game is just as important as the physical. Its people who wrote this article don’t know the real capabilities of both men and women. Don't ever feel that as a woman you are weak and not worthy to become strong. You are more than just a beautiful person, you’ve got heart, will and brains to become something that nobody can use against you. You have 2 eyes, 2 arms, a torso, a neck, 2 legs, 2 ears, hair, 5 fingers, 5 toes and 2 feet, what makes you think can’t do some of the same things as a man can? I've seen women overpower men much bigger than them and are stronger in some cases than they are.
My personal take on it is that out of all the scientific crap thrown in this article they messed up on more than 5 different things one of which is about doing what you need to do to do pull-ups. He talks about how they used weights and Isolated the arms and back, hate to burst your bubble pal but crap like that doesn't carry over to pull-ups, if you want to get strong in pull-ups you do exactly that, common sense don't you think? Another is how he talks about men struggling as well, you can't do pull-ups very well if you're this big or have long arms and this and that. I'm more than 240 lbs. This article suggests that because I'm too big I’m not capable of doing many pull-ups but yet I've surpassed 10, where is your logic now? Structure has some factors but if you trained in pull-ups with the right amount for your level of fitness you have the capabilities of doing plenty of pull-ups and it may take you a long time or a short period but in the end, if you are willing to pull yourself (pun intended) you will do one or more pull-ups.
Don't ever fall for crap like this. I realize this was a test for schools and such but if you can't train someone to actually do pull-ups how are they suppose to be able to do them in a test? Women aren’t very capable to do pull-ups, please, look at Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2, whether it was her or a stunt woman, a woman was doing pull-ups or the other chin-ups. One other thing this moron talks about is that pull-ups are a back and arms exercise…Wrong it’s Back, Shoulders, Abdominals, Arms, Grip and Chest in other words the entire upper body, an exercise of that caliber needs multiple muscle groups to even stabilize the muscles let alone pulling yourself up.
Women are more than just beautiful people; they are more than capable to pulling off strength feats. I firmly believe that pound for pound, ounce for ounce women in some cases are stronger than men. I once saw a woman press up more than half her bodyweight with a kettlebell with one arm. Even if a woman can do more than one pull-up or chin-up that still proves that crap wrong that women are more than capable of doing pull-ups with the right training instead of isolating them. This is an article that is incapable of showing any real logic or common sense and still tries to put women down. Women are strong in more ways than people like this give them credit for. Testing on something while training a completely different thing isn't going to help your cause, that’s like asking a baseball player to train for football in baseball season; he’s not going to get any better at baseball and might even diminish his levels, so why test a woman on pull-ups if you're training them in weights? To do well in pull-ups, you train in pull-ups plain and simple.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Your Biggest Critic
We learn as we get older who we are and what we become,
sometimes it’s early sometimes late and very rarely at the right place at the
right time. The bad thing about that is people will tell you what you can and can't do to be successful but in the end it’s up to you how your life is made.
There will be people who want to bring you down yet those
same people should be your biggest motivators. You have dreams and goals and
you either don't accomplish them or you do, one way or another the one person
who’s going to criticize you the most is the one you're looking at in the
mirror. Those same people who want you to fail not only got you to fail but
made you fall for the things they said about you. They didn't really make you
fail; it was you who failed yourself.
It’s not easy being motivated to go after something you want
to accomplish. No matter how many excuses you come up with or how many people
tell you can't do something the one person holding you back is you. If you want
something bad enough, you'll find a way to get there with or without someone’s
encouragement. In fitness there are as many critics as there is in Art,
Sports, Business and Politics, when you want to accomplish something, there
will be some people who will hate you for it not because of your ambitions but
because they're too damn scared or can’t understand so they radiate negative
energy towards you. Never let this happen to you.
I've had many setbacks in my life, I've cheated death a few
times, didn't understand how my body worked when I was recovering from
meningitis and I was told I wouldn't be able to very athletic and strong. It
happens to all of us but the point I'm making it is if you want to go after
something, you do it period. I can tell you stories about some of the guys who
have overcome major obstacles in their life but it’s all just words, actions
speak louder than words and it’s up to you who you want to become. Are you
going to sit there and let people give you all the crap and let you fail, or you
going to make things happen and show them that if you're going to fail or
succeed, you're going to do it on your own terms?
You've been told either your whole life or at some point in
your life that you're either going to be successful or you'll fail so when is
it enough for you? You are your biggest critique, not them not anything else, you
are the one who will take a stand or just plummet like the others who just let
themselves go and not get anywhere. Criticizing yourself can make you or break
you which one is it?
Look to where you want to go, feel that power of
accomplishment before it even happens then set it to action, listen and learn
how to make yourself better little by little. Build a foundation for what goals
you want to accomplish, don't forget that 2 sided coin of those who encourage
you and those that want you to fail, believe it or not they're both important
because when you do accomplish something the ones who did encourage you will
help you even more, the ones that wanted you to fail are the ones kicking
themselves and feel even more crappier then they did before and might even give
you a bit of a clap because you triumphed over your obstacles and did something
they didn’t believe you could do. Get in the habit of making yourself successful
no matter what the challenge is, I believe in you, there are others that
believe in you, don’t let your goals and dreams die, they’re a key to making
your life the way you always wanted.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Why Do We Do It?
We all have our own way of exercising; we have trainers, do
it for a number of reasons but why really do it? What comes out of it for you?
A lot of people workout because they don't have a choice, use it relieve stress
from a bad day, force themselves to do it because if they don't they'll hate
themselves or they just go through the motions and have no real emotion like a
zombie.
There are two types of trainees, one has passion and the
other does it but not in it and I'll tell you the difference. The passion is a
desire to make something of yourself, you make an effort that’s real and
emotional, you don’t go on the treadmill and watch TV, you don't wait around
for someone to be done, and you find a way to make things happen and with fire and
vigor. The other exercises but isn't in it for the long-run, they do it because
its there and don't put any real effort. They get done too early or get hurt
because they didn't bother to learn proper form or didn't care what happens,
just show up and do a few things and that’s it it.
I'll tell you why I do it, it’s because it gives me a sense
of hope, a form of responsibility to myself and make things the way I want
them, I have sweated, bled and ate, slept and breathed exercising because its
not just fun, its an adventure and it brings me life that you can’t get just by
showing up. I remember an interview with WWE wrestler Triple H back in 1999
when he just came out of shell as a character and became one of the biggest
heels (bad guys) of the time, one of the things that made me realize now about
what he said was about being a student of the game, like him in the wrestling
business I’ve done the same with exercise. I dedicated my life to being in
great shape, take in knowledge like a sponge, make goals instead of excuses and
put in hard and tough workouts to make what I’ am today.
What do the Old-Timers and Modern Warriors of fitness today
have in common? They created results; they found ways to build themselves with
no excuses and made an effort to get what they wanted. It’s not everyday we wake
up and want to do it but yet it’s second nature and we sometimes don't go as
hardcore but the heart and passion is still there. Most don't realize what they're missing out on, I do sound like a prick and you might think it’s all
hardcore and a punishment but in reality its not. Working out is not just doing
an exercise and pray you'll turn into a beautiful god/goddess, you know what,
let’s take out the words working out and put in fun and adventure, its not all
blood and going to failure, its getting you get off your ass and have some fun
and excitement in your life. Whether you're a weightlifter, bodyweight enthusiast or have a zest for animals, training is a matter of creating
something and building it with emotion, effort and love.
One of my favorite movies Peaceful Warrior has a lot of
insights into what is unique and what you can learn to make something of
yourself. Nick Nolte who plays a philosopher once said to his student Dan
Millman “You practice gymnastics, I practice everything.” The real Dan Millman
is a former gymnast and now an author of many books and one of the coolest guys
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and learning from. Back to the subject, Dan
practiced only one thing but has left everything else out including things he
should pay attention to but Nolte’s character Socrates practiced everything
else meaning he didn't set his eyes on one thing; he absorbed knowledge and
wisdom from many different elements and gave insight to each of what he learned.
Most people only do less than a handful of things that makes them who they are
but miss out on the real important things and forget how they got there in the
first place. Learn as much as you can with an open mind and be open about your
passions and instead of making excuses, make an approach to get better.
Knowing certain things is only half the battle, sure you can
squeeze by on knowing but it’s the doing that yields the benefits. Don't just
do something, do it with heart and emotion because there’s a huge difference in
that area and I'll let you figure it out for yourself. Why do we (Exercise
enthusiasts) do it? Because it makes us who we are, we learn, we teach and help
others find that same passion maybe even help them become better than we are.
One of my good friends Bud Jeffries has trained his son into becoming quite
possibly the World’s Strongest Teenager, Noah has learned a number of things on
his own but the one thing he figured out and still has many years to learn is
how to give back what he’s learned, in some cases he’s surpassed his dad in
many elements of strength and I don't believe Bud could anymore proud of his
son. That’s what I want to give back to my child and do it with a smile on my
face.
What are you getting out of it? Finding your place in
training and learning where you want to go and what you want achieve is all
within your grasp, learn how you have that passion and fire to become the best
you want to be. Get something out of it, don't just throw yourself into a
workout and hope for the best, make the best of it and know that sooner or
later you will have results and it’s not just from busting your ass, you busted
your ass with a smile and the desire to improve and make things happen. At your
next training session, ask yourself “Why am I doing this?” You'll be surprised
what you might find and if it’s a negative thing turn it into a positive, if
its positive make an improvement to get better. I'm sure you'll find a way.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The Gateways To Herculean Strength & Blazing Speed
I'ma huge fan of Mythology and Superheroes and a personal
favorite is a demi-god we all loved by his strength and courage but also hated
for his vices and troublesome behavior depending on your version and that’s
Hercules, the son of Zeus and a man that was born into chaos and a mystical
time of mystery, magic, sorcery and dangerous creatures. The reason I got into
him and why I believe he’s a great choice for this article is because really,
he is the ultimate synonym for strength and the ability to overcome obstacles
in the most daring and unimaginable fashion. Get ready to learn the very
secrets of how to obtain some of the glorious and powerful strength.
There are always debates about how to get strong in the
fitness world. Sometimes we rely on one exercise to determine a level of
strength, at times we rely on a specific fear or skill and even in some cases;
we determine who can be the strongest in 3 lifts or more. For me the best
answer to determine strength is how you are efficient in various ways to
exercise plus exerting an amount of force. You're strong in some areas, other
areas you're weak in, it’s a simple fact. Others try to make one thing and blow
off the other. Why not work different elements like Strength & Endurance in
the same workout? How about the idea of hitting a heavy weight then moving onto
an exercise for high reps? It breaks out of the norm and it gives you a sense
on what you can measure for your own strengths.
Most people believe that if you want to get stronger, move
onto weights but it’s not always that simple or that quick to judge. BodyweightTraining when done right can be much tougher and more exhausting than hitting
the weights. One of the most effective exercises to build strength from
multiple angles is to move like a wild animal. Animals in the wild are far
superior in strength than man is period, there’s no question how abundantly
strong they are so why not mimic them the best way we can. Just to hold a
certain position takes strength right, now let’s move in an awkward direction
and see if we can keep tight in that position while in a moving process.
Believe me if you can get strong in the most awkward positions you have
strength in ways most can't match
A key to learning effective strength and power is through sound. Sound, how the hell do you determine that? Think about, a punch for
example…BAM, BAM, did it sound powerful and super strong? It sounded more
straight edge and a little dull, it’s powerful but it doesn't have that spark
of real strength. Here’s another one…WAA-KAHH..How did that sound? To me it
sounded fast, powerful, directional with a specific point of torque. Want to
know the best way to look for that sound? Ever heard of Bruce Lee? I rest my
case.
One of the simplest ways to get better at Bodyweight
Exercises is through Progression but what’s the best way to determine that? You've done 100 push-ups, great how do you make them harder? First off what
type of push-up did you do to get those 100 reps? Did you do them military
style or did you do in a handstand against the wall, how about your feet
elevated on a stool or even your hands between two chairs? If you did them
military style, how about trying the same amount of reps while doing 4 seconds
going down and 4 seconds coming up, if you did them in a handstand I want to
shake your hand because only less than a handful of people on the planet have
done that, feet elevated do them going down fast and come back in 5 seconds.
Tempo and position is a great way to determine progression in push-ups and many
other exercises.
What do Michael Johnson, Marcus Allen, Walter Payton and
Kurt Angle all have in common? They all did Sprints to build that explosive
speed and undeniable power in the entire body plus they all build high levels
of Natural Growth Hormone, the thing that has the ability to burn fat like a
furnace, build muscle like crazy and expand the lungs like there was no
tomorrow for high levels of endurance. Sprints done 2-3 times a week is one of
if not the fastest way to burn fat and builds natural muscle. It gives you that
high kick of endorphins after a workout which can be no more a few minutes tops
but isn't it ruled that you have to do 30 minutes of cardio and an hour of
weights to burn fat and build muscle, dude get with the program. Really no more
than 8 sets at about 15 seconds per burst is all you need and if you can't do
that at first start with 4x8sec. And work from there.
The number one key to open the door to superhuman strength and speed is to have an open mind. Too many people are skeptical and afraid and avoid the very possibility that they will be able to achieve levels of muscularity, strength, health and stamina. Being open to ideas and find what works and what doesn't for you is a sure thing you’ll find what you're looking for. Too many follow this, avoid that and are sheep to those that think they know best, nobody knows your body better than you do. Find your own ways to get to where you want to be, I advise to avoid drugs and PEDs as much as possible if not at all, learn the natural ways to get strength, your body will be better for it.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The Only Drug You Should Be Taking
There are all sorts of ways to take this to relax and that
to wake up but most of it is drugs or meds that can most likely kill you than
help you. Even modern bodybuilders take drugs to build extra muscle to gain an
edge in their competition just like other athletes and such. Drugs for the most
part is the easy way out f your problems and lets face it, those commercials
where they tell you the side-effects are far worse than what you're trying to
get rid of. Unless you're dying than maybe but seriously, there are much better
ways to get yourself healthy.
If there was one drug that has no side-effects and works
better than any drug or PEDs out there is consistent work ethic and training
smart with an effective exercise program and eating good foods and stay away
from junk food as much as possible. I may not have the best nutrition going on
but I do my best to keep it going and keep building muscle and energy. When you
build a goal and you set on training with consistency and putting in the time,
you will accomplish what you want.
The old-time strongmen of the early 20th century
such as Maxick, John Grimek, George Hackenshmidt, Charles Atlas and others
never even took drugs because they didn't exist in their time and yet with
smart training and good nutrition they built some serious muscle and lived
longer than your average bodybuilder or athlete today. Finding a program isn't easy to find or is it? Seriously though when you look at certain methods that
have worked for god knows how long and gave you a sense of overcoming your own
obstacles wouldn't you want to use that to have the body you want?
Back in my late teens, I was a big kid (still am but as an
adult) and I got up in lifting heavy weights rather quickly and every now and
then either as a joke or actually asking I was asked if I was taking steroids
because I had already reached 300 pounds in the deadlift and leg pressed nearly
950 while benching 260 and curling with 50-60 pound dumbbells but I was nowhere near the shape or strength that I have now compared to back then and yet
I got asked that sketchy question that many athletes go through but to this day
since I was asked it I continue to say no and you know why? I wanted to earn
those lifts and earn the strength I wanted to gain. I'm much stronger and more
built now and still say I'm earning it. A shortcut in your training is like
cheating on a math test, you see the answers but what are you really learning
from it. If you are looking to build great strength, awesome flexibility and
insane endurance, taking a shortcut will do you more harm than good, trust me I've tried it by skipping progressions and ending up hurting myself. If you
want something bad enough, earn it and earn it with passion, heart and will to get
what you want.
The best program you can do won’t come from a magazine or
following someone on a DVD, the best one is the one that works for you no
matter what your schedule is and no matter what you want to do. Make it work
for you and stick to it, one way or another you'll find the right one. Things don't happen overnight, they are earned with sweat, a work ethic and heart to
create something out of nothing. Don't take the short way out, you won't like
what you’ll find in the end if you do, taking a shortcut in most cases is
dangerous and however cool it looks now, it'll bite you in the ass in the end.
Respect yourself and your body by earning and using consistency to create your
best physique along with lifelong strength, vitality, flexibility and stamina for
years to come.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Ultimate Kings & Queens Of Bodyweight Exercise
Usually most people look at bodyweight exercise as a waste
of time and don’t hold any real value for fitness. Even many trainers would say
that if you want to get strong you advance onto weights and machines. The
problem with this notion is that many people don’t know how to handle their own
bodyweight. When you learn the real styles of Bodyweight Exercise, you’re
learning how to use your body from multiple angles, work more muscles one
exercise at a time and you burn more fat. Those who tell you it doesn't do
anything either can’t do it themselves or they’re trying to make a buck and
don’t really give a damn who they hurt to get by.
To be a stronger person physically, you can and should learn
to build strength from multiple angles, the more muscles you work at one time
the better. In Gymnastics, strength is built all over the place from your neck
to your toes. Now I never said you needed to be like a gymnast to have that
kind of power but learning certain basics won’t hurt very much either. It does
take practice but with time, your strength can skyrocket to levels you never
imagined before. Think about it, what it would be like to hold a perfect handstand, be able to switch from exercise to exercise without pain or fatigue
or better yet, have the strength to hold even the most basic positions and
still look good doing it. It could happen if you just believe and take action.
Gymnasts and even Acrobats have the most fluid and graceful
movements that are strong and cunning. Even a ballet dancer is very strong once
you start paying attention. The power of a movement even in basic positions isn't how it looks; it’s how it’s presented, straight and tight. The best way
to describe those straight and tight movements is how you are flexed in that
position. In other words, you’re looking at Isometrics. Think of a guy on the
Rings in the Iron Cross or in a Handstand, that is a form of isometrics.
Isometrics is the form of strength training where you’re throwing all your strength
in a fixed position.
Have you noticed that one of the key components if not the
key component to a gymnast is their powerful abdominals? It has been said that
Gymnasts have the strongest abs in the world, why? Because without strong and
powerful abs, they can’t move or better yet hold the most powerful looking
positions. A lot of us look to having strong abs, but the majority just want
abs to look which is not a bad thing but I’ll say it won’t look good on your
resume if you’re trying to do certain things. Your Core is the center of your
whole body, the key that holds everything together, from the lower chest down
to near your pelvis, that’s the Core that holds it all. Building strong abs= A
strong body.
Every time you watch Gymnastics, Acrobatics, Ballet or
anything that has nothing but their own body moving through the air or holding
some pretty awesome positions, you’re in awe and think “how the hell do they
get like that?”, besides years of training, they all started somewhere, some of
them had natural ability, others were terrible but with practice got better and
better. We all start somewhere, I didn't get into Gymnastics till I was in my
20’s when that’s the retirement age for most gymnasts, a good friend of mine didn't start till he was in his mid 30’s when most would say he was too late
and won’t be able to withstand those exercises. No matter how old you are or
what your current fitness is, beginning an exercise program is a great way to
go up that latter, it’s like learning math, you start with arithmetic and work
your way up to calculus. Start with where you’re at and progress to the best of
your abilities.
One of the coolest ways to look at training with Bodyweight
Exercises is that it doesn't take up a lot of time, hell no more than 15-20
minutes a day is all you need and if you don’t have time, start just doing a
few seconds, work up to a minute. You can even do separate exercises throughout
the day. It’s all about making it work for you. Those who say you need 30
minutes of cardio and an hour of weights don’t know a damn thing about your
lifestyle, the majority don’t have that amount of time to do all that but its
not impossible to do something during your day. Doing a few minutes of training
is really all you need, you used many muscle groups, you don’t need to do more
than a few exercises and best of all, you can make them fun and exciting, not
dull and used as a punishment. Do what you can, your body will thank you for
it.
Getting stronger is not far out of reach but you got to want
it bad enough, not to the point where you’re taking short cuts that’s the
cheating way. The true value of being strong and healthy is practice, practice,
practice. Consistency is a key and whether you exercise for one minute or one
hour it still counts. Make it happen for you, you can think all you want and
nothing will come of it, it’s the action that gets the job done. Your body is
what you make of it, don’t let certain things or people get in the way of what
you want to do. You can have a beautiful, powerful and strong body if you
believe in yourself and find the right resources for you to develop what you
want to achieve. It’s not that far away but it’s up to you to reach out and
grab it by the horns and run with it.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Creating Your Own Story
Ever since we were children, we were always fascinated by
stories of courage, fearlessness, worthy battles and the power love overcomes.
Young girls wanted to be princesses and fair maidens, guys wanted to be a
superhero or a prince that saves the day. Many of us grew up watching our
fantasies, even when I was little I had books read to me, mostly Disney stuff
and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We love these stories because they show
us what a world would be like of exotic creatures, powerful men, beautiful
women and sights that only imagination can with hold. Why not build your own
story later on in life or even at a young age?
A lot of parents go through a lot for their children; it’s a
fact and no matter how hard your parents get to you, just remember what they
sacrificed to get you going somewhere. Some parents just put too much on their
kids and way too soon too, hate to burst your bubble but I've seen kids my age
back in the day either being too spoiled or gotten nothing at all. Even certain
children are destined to do something because it’s written out for them. To me
if you want to learn anything on your own, it’d building your own destiny. Not
saying you should defy your family but for the most part, not one person knows
you better than yourself. What is your true destiny? It’s a matter of what you
learned growing up and finding your true calling.
Some kids get so spoiled that on one side of the coin, they
take it for granted and just feel like life is given to them and don’t have to
take on any real responsibilities, on the flip side, they hate being like that
and want to learn what it’s like to not have everything on a silver platter and
look to things that make them happy. Being happy is about being who you are and
no matter what life throws at you; you’re at peace at what you do. It’s
difficult to find true happiness but it’s not impossible. It takes practice but
with the right resources and environment you can create your own happiness and
look to people to share it with.
I've fought all my life to be strong, be smarter, learn to
use my own disabilities as strengths instead of weaknesses and learned to
educate myself later on in life. For years I've had issues mentally, physically
and very much emotionally that after so long it’s come down to how I create
what I want for myself. I've been helped many times and still do on certain
things but instead of taking them for granted, I’m thankful and take advantage
of what I've learned to create what I always wanted to do. Being helped is
never a bad thing, it’s the right time to be helped is when it gets complicated
at times but in those moments, you know who the right people are who have
helped you succeed.
The real fight is not battling who’s the better man, it’s a
pleasurable struggle to find what’s best for YOU!!! We have belief systems, laws, rules and many
other things in between but when you fight for the right reasons you are a
stronger person for it. Certain people follow others either because they’re so
into what they believe that they lost track of themselves or follow because
they’re desperate and nothing has worked for them or they’re the rare ones who
follow to learn to become a leader themselves. I don’t follow any one person
that sparks my interests but I learn from how they do things and create ideals
from their influence. Fighting is another look at rebelling but fighting with
the right intentions builds a foundation to how you build your own destiny.
Do Fairy Tales exist? In some ways I’d like to believe so.
It doesn't matter if you believe in Dragons or true love’s first kiss or even
marching into battle to save a kingdom from annihilation, the real fairy tales
are the ones that fight to find happiness and get it when it was at its peak of
ending and triumphed over darkness. No matter how you look at fictionalized
stories, it’s your story that makes everything worthwhile and who knows, true
love could be right around the corner or it’ll take you a few years one way or
another you will find it and it will make your life the way you always dreamed
of.
Every one of us has a story. We are born, we live, we die
simple as that or is it? Your life has many beginnings and part of many eras
but it’s how you write it in your mind and your actions that build that dark or
light void that we all come to grips with but it isn't your destiny to have
your story written out by someone else, you write it yourself and take action
with it than you’ll learn to true meaning of your own ending. How do you want
your story to end? Think about it.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Building Eagle Claws
Building strength in the fingers, hands, wrists and the
entire lower arm can make you or break you in a workout or anything you need
your hands for. We need our hands to build things and create things so is it
essential to build a level of strength, flexibility and dexterity that helps us
in our everyday lives? I believe so. There are many ways to build a solid steel
grip but there are other ways to keep the tendons strong and durable no matter
what you do.
The lower arm area all the way down to the fingertips is the
most neglected parts of the human body in exercise. You won’t get by much with
just wrist curls and a few isolated circular movements; you are learning to
build that area by squeezing, flexing, extending, push, pull and working the
individual fingers. It is important to master all these factors because if you
don’t have strong hands, you won’t be able to pick up a weight no matter how
big your arms it’s not going to happen. What if you need to fix something with
a wrench or screwdriver and don’t have the hand strength to twist and turn,
that would suck and if you work using those types of tools you won’t be at your
job for long.
When I talk about building eagle claws, I’m not just
referring to training the entire lower arm to claw somebody in a fight or
having great strength to do amazing things, I’m referring to creating great
strength, flexibility and dexterity no matter what you want to do with your
life. It doesn't matter if you’re a musician, athlete, entertainer, carpenter,
construction worker or landscape artist, you will have great attributes if you
gave yourself the chance to learn. How about curing Carpal Tunnel and never
needing to wear a brace ever again, be less prone to injury and be able to heal
quicker with exercises that work the entire region and not just that area but
the shoulders, the arms and the trapezoids.
One of the best conditioning programs ever assembled is the
use of Animal Exercises. You can learn how to move like an animal in the wild
and teach your body to burn fat, build muscle, increase the strength in your
organs, tendons, muscles and so much more for only a few minutes a day. Now how
about amplifying those exercises once you have mastered them, begin to do some
on your fingertips, this type of training alone can build crazy strength in
your lower arm in ways you can never get from machines. Having a solid steel
grip and power in your lower arm can help increase your strength in other
areas, it’ll help you pick up weights better, and it’ll help your grappling
game much more efficient and if you’re into Arm Wrestling, look out because
you’ll be ripping those guys up in no time.
Getting started is like everything else, begin where you’re
at and progress from there, work certain exercises that keep the blood flowing
and ready to go. Spread exercises throughout the day so you can keep that
energy flowing and use certain tools to help the grip. One of the coolest tools
I like for building grip strength is called Fat Gripz, these babies will take
thick bar training to a whole new level and you can attach them to just about
any dumbbell or barbell but if you’re a bodyweight guy, you can attach them to
your pull-up bar to increase the difficulty. I use these for building strength
and endurance in Arm Wrestling using my lifeline Chest Expander. Progress is a
very important factor because once something becomes easy; you want to continue
to challenge yourself so you increase the difficulty by a small percentage.
Even Rock Climbers have to progress otherwise if they jump in too soon, they’ll
fall off much quicker and that can mean certain death so it’s important to
build progression.
No matter how you slice, strong hands equals a strong body
because when you have the strength to pick up really heavy weight or be able to
twist off certain objects with a wrench or even pick up groceries for that
matter, your hands are the tools that open doors to everything you pretty much
do. Even doing certain Feats Of Strength requires strong hands, you can build
as much strength as you want in every other area in your body but if you’re
hands aren't up to par, you’re pretty much done. Complete the whole package by
training as many areas as possible including your lower arm, you’ll be amazed
how weak or strong your hands are certain situations so my suggestion is make
those hands work for you and build a foundation to have the strongest and most
functional hands as possible.
Friday, October 5, 2012
The Difference Between Believing & Not Believing
There are a lot of skeptics out there who don’t believe in
certain ideals or they do believe in certain things but it’s by tradition and
rules when in reality they don’t have the slightest notion of how to be open
minded. For those wondering, when I speak of this article, I’m talking about
fitness and health not religion or politics, that’s way out of my league and
have my own views of what they are. Back to the task at hand, many skeptics are
the ones with their guard up and never want to take it down and that’s not a
good thing because they miss out on many things that they can work on.
One of the best quotes I've learned since I was 13 was “For
those who do believe you don’t need an explanation, for those who don’t believe
no explanation will do.” Want to know where I learned that from? Believe it or
not a pro wrestler named Jeff Jarret on the Unreal Story Of Professional
Wrestling, talk about weird. A lot of people sometimes including myself feel
like we need to explain our beliefs and what they’re all about but in the end,
people need to figure it out for themselves. Its one thing to throw something
at a skeptic but it’s a different ball game on how they figure it out
themselves.
One of my biggest peeves is people who do believe in
something but only because they listened to someone’s word and not use common
sense or research. The traditional belief in fitness is do a half hour of
cardio and an hour of weights to get strong, eat less to lose weight, do push-ups
for warm up and do bench presses to get a big chest and my all-time favorite,
bodyweight exercises are only good for endurance once you reach a certain
number of reps and than you don’t build strength. I’m sorry but tradition has
never really been my style and going on someone’s word is just (excuse my
language) bullshit. If I want to believe in something I’m going to try certain
things out, do a little research and experiment a little to see what works and
what doesn't.
For you skeptics out there, drop your guard a little, not
all the way but a little and try certain things, you never what you’ll get out
of it. I know what it’s like to be a skeptic, I've been there many times before
and still a skeptic to certain things but with a purpose and not just because
someone says something and that’s it. Opening your mind is like opening a new
door to a world you never seen before. To give you an example, I was skeptical
about being athletic and agile as a big man, these guys told me try gymnastics
and try hand balancing and all these different things but I was just so guarded
about who I was that I can’t do all this stuff but the moment I dropped my
guard just a little, I opened up a whole new door and kept an open mind and
gave a shot at few things I felt I could do but get better at and low and
behold, I got stronger, more flexible, more agile and more durable than ever
before and never looked back since. Dropping your guard a little can be a big
impact on how you do things. It’s up to you to do it, no one can really do it
for you.
To me the true meaning of believing is not by someone’s word
and just believe because they said so but believe in your heart that it works
for you and you've done some things to find that belief. A true believer is
someone who wants to find what he’s looking for and believes in oneself and not
from this or that, he/she believes this does work and it does give me something
to do. Fitness wise, you can be a sheep and follow everyone’s word or you
actually do something about it and find your own belief and create something
out of the norm and make it your own tradition. Like before you don’t need an
explanation as a believer, it’s there it works, you understand it from all
angles and you learned how it works for you. Believe in yourself and trust it.
It took me many years to figure that out but and I’m still learning a thing or
two but it’s a journey and that I believe will go a long way to make me better
at what I do and so can you.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
A New Age Of Vampires
In the old books of the Creature Of The Night, we have
romanticized it’s characteristics, it’s strengths, weaknesses, it’s funny side
and even it’s very much larger darker side but let’s not forget how we as a
culture come to love and hate vampires. We all know the tales of blood,
immortality, fear and the biggest name of them all Dracula. What if we took
these old tales and turned them into something that is what we crave for
centuries; a longer life, having super human strength & speed and the
ability to have a high dose of great emotional power.
Certain vampires you’ve seen in the movies and comics are
different and either funny as hell or as dark as you can get. From Boris Koloff
to Edward Pattinson, we have loved and loathed the idea of what it is to be a
Vampire. Personally I prefer the Warriors of vampirism such as Blade and Kate
Beckinsale’s character in the Underworld saga but this generation prefers the
Twilight and True Blood types. We all have our likes and dislikes to Vampires
but the truth of the matter is, we can use those capacities to become a
stronger and healthier human being. We can become a much stronger human with
the right tools and resources and not resort to taking shortcuts and making
ourselves weaker as we age. Sure we won’t have the unlimited power of age
compared to a Vampire but we can use methods to live longer, be stronger and
have vitality beyond the average human.
When I talk about Vampires I’m not talking about dressing up
in gothic crazy costumes or having night clubs devoted to a cult, that’s for
children and demented overzealous freak shows; what I’am talking about however
is the ability to look outside the box and look to ways in the fitness world
where knowledge for strength, speed, energy, flexibility and building a body
that you can be proud helps bring life to what you want out of it. Does that
make a freak in some way? Hell yes it does and I’m proud of it and I love being
to learn how to keep my life the way I want it to be and move forward with it.
Vampires have strength and energy beyond our own
imaginations so how do we apply that notion for ourselves. We certainly do not
need to suck someone’s blood for a life continuing capacity but we can keep our
bodies fresh and ready to go by using small effective exercises and build our hormones naturally so we can look younger and have the strength of a wild animal. It’s something we can look at from a different perspective as a nation
that has become accustomed to the growing disease of obesity. Being unhealthy
isn’t a good thing no matter how you slice it, it eats your life away and you
are just sucking energy just to even get off the couch and that’s sad.
Do you want to have a life where you can energy that can go
on for hours on end, have the strength to help others and what about being able
to move pain-free and not have aching backs and busted knees? You can create
the life you want, all you got to do is take one step in the beginning to start
and build yourself up whether physically, mentally or emotionally, if you don’t
move, you’re stuck in the same place. Remember that.
The ability to move with grace, power and super human speed
takes practice but at the same time, practicing with mindful intentions creates
an even bigger place of building great strength and power in ways you can’t
imagine unless you've experienced it. Certain things don’t just happen
overnight, most people can’t get the concept of that because they want more
than what’s already been given to them and than they want more than that. It
takes time and patience. Think of a Vampire who has lived for a couple hundred
years, don’t you think he’s learned patience and in that period of time? I’d
like to think so in some cases, if he/she can live that long I believe you
don’t have an excuse for something you wish to have at this very moment. It’s
like saving money, you put a little in your account every now and then and
before you know it, you have quite a bit of money built up, same thing with
building a body and creating strength and agility, takes time and before you
know it you’re far stronger and more energetic than when you started.
Unlike a Vampire, you don’t need a thirst for blood, you
should however learn to have a thirst for exercise, not to the point like a
crack addict but using it to keep your energy levels up for things you need to
do throughout the day like your job, taking care of kids, being energetic at a
gathering, in the office writing up reports or delivering mail. It’s all about
consistent action and reminding yourself that you don’t need a gym or a trainer
to get you awesome shape, you can learn to do it yourself and save your money
for the things you need in life. The only person that makes your life
complicated is you and you can either keep running with the flow, or you can
make something of yourself and be happier, live longer, have great strength and
be able to handle things even your friends couldn’t do. Make it happen and
learn from the Vampires. They’re not as messed up or dark as you might think.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
TV Will Never Be The Same To You Again
Television is a window to the world and it has its blessings
and its bad habits. There are movies, shows, infomercials, sports, news ect.
With all this information, why can’t people realize that watching TV can be one
of the best reasons to get in awesome shape? Most never see it as an
opportunity to develop strength and health, not saying you should spend all day
at the TV, in reality you should avoid as much of it as possible. To be honest,
I haven’t watched a single show that had commercials or changed the channel in
over a month and a half, I watch Movies.
If you’re a fan of TV and want to watch something either by
yourself or with family & friends, you should make an effort to do some exercises. Most shows have commercials and we all know how annoying they can be
with ads that don’t really have any real morals for other people, so why not
put that into an exercise program. When your show has taken a break and gone to
the commercials, use it as a reminder to exercise. Do Push-ups, Squats, Sit-ups
and Isometrics whatever you can do until your show came back on.
Most commercials are pretty stupid and those god awful meds
ads. I guess stupidity runs in advertisement, the only thing that commercials
are good for are movies and those funny Super Bowl ads other than that you’re
better off doing something to pass the time. One of the most famous athletes in
the world Herschel Walker performed hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups while he
watched TV and exercised during the commercials. There’s a lesson there that we
all should learn.
Would it be nice to enjoy your favorite show and get a
workout in at the same time? I believe it be pretty freaking sweet if you ask
me. Exercise done right gives you energy and that extra spring in your step. Sitting
on your ass the entire time isn't always the wisest choice as you can burn
calories faster and amp up your energy when you have time to do a few exercises
for like what 30 seconds, that seems good don’t you think? Give yourself
something to do while you watch TV instead of just sitting around looking like
you just came back from a marathon. When a commercial comes on, do a few
push-ups, the next do squats or hold a certain position. Make it work for you.
Monday, October 1, 2012
In 30 Minutes Or Less
Hate to disappoint you people but the title does not mean
I’m talking about ordering a pizza. I love pizza as much as the next guy but
this is something more important than food. This is about learning to exercise
with the little time you have as possible. Training for 30 minutes isn’t always
about cardio training or doing one 30 minute workout, why not spread those 30 minutes throughout the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)