Monday, January 21, 2013
The Strongest Man You Never Knew...Till Now
150 lb. dumbbell side raises...WOW!
25 modified handstand pushups at a bodyweight of 320...CRAZY!
5 time IPL Raw Bench Press World Champion...
Do you know who this is?
Meet Dru Patrick.
In this video you’ll find all about this man and the training cycle he created which has led to massive size and strength while easily avoiding (and sometimes even rehabbing) injuries.
No sign up required (but if you want even more you can grab more at the bottom of the page).
Ben Bergman
P.S. I don’t know about you but watching this makes me want to lift more and get ridiculously strong!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Let’s Go Clubbing
And you thought I was going to tell you to hit the bars, go
dancing and have a night on the town. Wrong again. Having fun can be one thing
and there’s nothing wrong with going out and having a good time but for right
now, health is the focus point here and I’m going to share with you some
history, training, ideas and things to try on to get you up to a higher level
of strength, flexibility and super power in the joints and muscles.
The club wasn't originally known as a group of people or a fitness place to go to or
even the name of some pampas ass rich people’s venue. This club or series of
clubs was the training tool for wrestlers in the middle east for their sport
called Kushti, similar in style to our Greco-Roman but still can use the legs
for take-downs and such. Each morning a typical coach or Guru would have his
athletes get up before dawn, run a couple miles, come back and do warm up
drills, wrestle, eat/drink and get back to training until the day was over. In
the middle of these sessions, the wrestlers would often swing what’s called the
Jori or the Gada/Mace in various weights and proportions. These tools would
help the wrestlers learn to move weight in various movements mostly circular.
When the
British colonized in various Middle Eastern countries such as India learned the
skills of club swinging and other exercises and took them back to the English
colonies in Europe and eventually to the Americas most notably in Northern
America and trained with these very same tools for battle during the American
Revolution and other wars soon after. It became a hit in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries as you had Physical Culturists from one
side of the earth to the next teaching the various movements of the Clubs.
Unless you were an advanced athlete, you had to get a weight heavy enough to
work but the majority of Clubs used were very light in weight no more than
10-20 pounds and even less than that. The less weighted clubs were used to aid
and strengthen flexibility in the arms, shoulders and elbow joints of the upper
body giving you that awkward but effective range of motion if you were an
athlete or just an average guy looking to be in shape.
The most
famous Wrestler of that era in India
was The Great Gama, if you ever read my articles you would know who he is by
now. He is considered by many to be the most feared wrestler of his generation,
not even the legendary grapplers Frank Gotch & George Hackenshmidt wanted
to face this beast of a man. At 5’7 and no more than 270, Gama was at his peak
the best conditioned athlete, although his numbers are exaggerated by any
stretch he like many other students at that time wrestled, swam, did hundreds
of calisthenics such as squats and push-ups and being on a diet that the
majority was vegetarian. At times during his 5000 undefeated winning streak,
Gama would receive a basket of tropical fruits and vegetables as a championship
trophy in his honor as a vegetarian. One of the most famous pictures of the
legendary grappler is of him standing with a massive club on his shoulders.
This club wasn’t used for training but was considered a Trophy for a big time
championship. The club is said to have weighed at 80 lb.
Club
swinging when done properly takes strength training to a whole new level. You
can lift as many weights as you want but if you tried to swing a 30 or 40 lb.
club you’d getting your ass kicked in the first minute. With lighter clubs
however these can help strengthen the joints in your upper body to peak
condition. Clubs have been used by top MMA athletes, Football players, baseball
players, strongmen, gymnasts, wrestlers, war vets as far back as the Civil War.
Some Clubs are made out of natural wood but you can also get them steel made or
with very hard rubber. Two guys I can think of that have really cool versions
of the Club are Ryan Pitts at Strongergrip.com and Scott Sonnon at
Clubbells.tv. Each of them have their own style of swinging and one of them
believe it or is used in Yoga to get that extra edge from doing free-handed postures.
Like with
everything else, it takes skill and practice different movements in precise dynamic
fashion but they’re a lot of fun to do. I can’t wait to get my own set of clubs
that I can play with but for now I’m settling with what is just as fun and even
cooler than the clubs and that’s a couple Thor Hammers that I have. The Thor
Hammer is just as effective as a regular club for swinging but the extra
benefits of hitting it with a tire and the fact that the handle is much thicker
than a regular hammer or club makes it that much more effective for grip
strength, hand/eye coordination, tendon and joint building and the ability to
just hold it for a period makes it a hell of an isometric exercise. Get your
hands on your own sets of clubs or hammers and jack up your strength and
conditioning faster than ever before. Keep it interesting and have fun, that
what it’s all about.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Warming Up Like A Warrior
You know those miracles that happen often in this world?
Some people come back after major injuries, horrific experiences and yet they
still find a way to fight to keep living. One of my dear friends has done just
that and beyond. In our group of friends he’s known as Duke but as of late he’s
gone by another nickname that has become a hit in the undergrounds of Physical
Culture known as the Garage Warrior, his name is Tyler Bramlett.
After
getting injured by getting hit by a car, Tyler
wanted to find out how to get back into shape in ways he never thought of
before. I've known Tyler
going on for well over a decade and when he sets his mind to something he’s
going to find the best strategy to make it work. He’s done the bodybuilding
thing at a time, lifting weights like the great builders of yesteryear and
buying the crazy supplements and doing workouts from the magazines, but
something wasn't working.
During his
recovery phase being in pain that was excruciating at times, he tried a few
different things like Kettlebells, Bodyweight, Gymnastics, Odd Object Lifting
and some of the oddest training methods you can think of, believe it or not
they worked. He began combining different elements of training instead of just
picking random exercises, plus testing out nutrition strategies. He gained some
muscle and came back stronger than ever. The lethal combinations of workouts he
devised became practically fool proof strategies that transformed him into a
near superhuman warrior.
We all have
the warrior spirit within us, it’s our nature but very few of us know how to
unlock it from within and release it for strength, health, power and wellness.
It doesn't matter if you’re a male or female the principles still apply while
learning our own styles of how to bring that spirit to life. He has created one
of the most unusual ways to train to help fight with that warrior spirit and no
name is more perfect than the Warrior Warmup. It combines different elements of
exercise that gives your muscles a run for their money whether it’s for
strength, endurance, flexibility or just to get in shape either way you’re
going to get them all in one complete package.
You know
they say you warm up before doing a really big workout, well it won’t be long
before you start noticing a few things from the Warrior Warmup, hitting muscles
you didn't know you had, progressing a little easier in some of your other
workouts and your body will change for the better because you’re giving the
muscles the fuel they need for the hard stuff later on. Another great thing
about this is you don’t need to use it as a warmup, you can use it for a
workout in and of itself. You can choose however you want to do it but with the
advice and legit expertise of the Duke here, you’re in for the ride of your
life and your body will love you for it. You will never look at a warmup the same
way again.
Last thing
before I make this Father to be blush is that he’s not one of those guys that
just takes programs and tries to rip them off as his own, he gives credit where
it’s due and he’s one of the coolest dudes on the planet and I have enjoyed
being friends with him. I’ve trained alongside him many times from doing hand
balancing to gymnastics, from lifting heavy weight to using some gnarly ways to
do Kettlebells and he’s the first guy that got me into this crazy world of
physical culture. Changing my life because of him would be an understatement.
He’s
practiced a numerous amounts of things and is literally one of the strongest
guys on planet earth. He embodies the warrior spirit and will do whatever he
can to help others achieve a level of potential they've never seen before. If
there’s one guy to that knows his stuff it’s my boy Tyler. Now that I've made
him blush, have fun and let him help you, it’s what he does best.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Animalize Your Exercise
What do a tiger, a gorilla, a spider and a kangaroo all have
in common? Every one of them is super S-T-R-O-N-G. Do you see a gym anywhere in
the wild, no and so how do these animals stay fit and powerful? Simple answer
because they have to be for survival and to take down what their food is for
the next few days. They scratch, claw, climb, maneuver and have super strong
tendons to boot. If there’s anything we should imitate it’s the strength of a
wild animal.
Am I saying weights aren't worth it, of course not they have
their place but unless you have a truck, I highly doubt you’ll be able to
travel with heavy equipment. Animal training is the type of fitness that can be
done just about anywhere at any time. To get the best out your training, start
where you’re at even if it’s taking little steps, you learn to progress. Once
something becomes easier, challenge it at that level. People talk about doing
30 minutes of cardio and an hour of weights 3x a week and maybe throw in some
of that aerobics crap that has god awful club music in the background.
Want to know how many hours a week I train for the things I
do, it’s not 10 hours, not 6, def not 4, it’s less than 2 hours and this goes
on all week long. Training with this type of duration gives you rest, plenty of
time to recover and still be able to do things you love to do, isn't it fun to
gain than the average person?
Kids today have it worse than when I was a kid. Back in the
90’s, there were issues like heart disease and such but obesity wasn't at a
high level of concern, once I left high school, that’s when the obesity
generation blossomed, it’s not on adults anymore, more and more children and
teenagers develop bad habits. When I graduated high school almost a decade ago,
Ipods barely were getting off the ground, ipads didn't exist, Myspace was the
top social network and texting wasn't that big yet, today these kids have way
too many privileges and don’t have the right sense of earning those privileges.
One of my biggest concerns for these kids is the way they
socialize, half the time they’re texting friends but when their sitting next to
them, they get bullied on Facebook and deal with pressures of having the newest
cool gadget while trying to look cool for their peers. Damn sad if you ask me.
Teaching the kids how to exercise not for punishment but for fun and learning
how to push yourself productively and safely.
One of my mentors Matt Furey let his song Frank watch Winnie
The Pooh but Frank had to earn that privilege so Matt tells him “Do your
exercises first, pick ones you want to do an how many reps and when you’re done
you can watch your movie.” Frank was hesitant at first but he did it and was
proud of himself and was so excited to finally put on the movie. That to me is
wicked cool because you’re not punishing your kid or forcing him to do it but
if he/she wants something bad enough, sometimes they’ll have to earn it but encourage
them to choose what they can do. It teaches how to accomplish something, it
sets boundaries, rules and structure without making it look like you’re in
hell.
A child is already fit when it’s born, it’s very flexible
and is learning on it’s own to strengthen themselves. As we get older, we lose
sight of how we can stay fit and healthy; you start eating too much junk food,
not enough exercise, no play time and rarely socialize anything with a pulse. Teaching
the Way Of The Animal at a young age can set the tone for what they can
develop, better brain power, strengthen muscles, define motor skills,
productive competition, learning a sense of accomplishment, bring up self-esteem
if you’re depressed, more relaxed if you’re hyper and create a better physical,
emotional and spiritual state.
Another component of training like a wild is something we've all striven to find, freedom. You’re out in the open and free to move and have
fun while building your body to its natural state of muscular development and
breathing deeply for a higher form of super endorphins. There are many ways to
train like an animal, you can play tag, roll a dye, treat them as cartoons,
train for 5 minutes or 1 hour it’s up to you that are true freedom. A key to
freedom is to not analyze the workout hell don’t call it a workout call it
going out and play, pick the way you want to do it and run with it, don’t worry
how bad you are or if the other guy is better, just have fun and imagine
yourself in the wild.
One of the beauties of being human is that we have a certain
set of hormones. Men have Testosterone, Women have Estrogen and we learn how to
balance these hormones for optimal results. As we get older, our hormones begin
to go down by as much 5% a year by age 30, I still think its 25 but I could be
wrong. In order to keep a balanced hormone levels we train according to our
levels some people train hard and fast, others train mostly with for form and
endurance but the principles still applies and because of Animal Training, it
helps build those hormones we need to keep looking naturally young, have a
spring in their step, live with confidence and happiness and if you’re looking
to keep that spark with your significant other, it’s not a bad idea to train
like an animal and fool around like an animal.
A lot of people look at exercise as a punishment or
something they feel they have to or just don’t do it all. This type of thinking
is why people hate to exercise and feel they won’t get results. Instead of
thinking this way, shift gears a little just a little. Start with what you can
do, instead of going through the motions like a robot, think as if you were
that animal, you’re either running from a predator or catching your prey,
picture as if you’re a gorilla defending your community, an ibex climbing the
highest of mountains with ease, feeling graceful like a heron and one of my
favorites a Mandrill just looking it was carved from granite with powerful
washboard abs and the strength to break a man’s wrist if you grabbed it.
Imagination is a beautiful thing to practice and using it with animalized training makes it that much more fun and exciting.
Last but not least about the great benefits of moving like
an animal is that it’s very simple, just imitate as if you saw a wild animal at
the zoo or on TV. Granted there are moves far beyond our limits but the ones we
can use can give us strength that the average human can’t fathom. Never need to over analyze how you should move and which arm or leg goes where and if you can
only move either straight or sideways, just do go with it, you’re learning to
use muscles you normally don’t know that are there. Simple is better period.
Give it a chance. Train with kids if you have them because whether they know it
or not they crave structure and want to learn how to be better people and this
can help that in ways that I can never explain. Have fun, be yourself and get
your ass happy because nothing is more sacred than being happy.
Monday, January 7, 2013
A Great Workout Is like Writing A Great Song
Some of the greatest music in history is not even written by
the artists who sing them. I get that some Record labels have lyricists to help
certain groups or an individual who doesn't know good song writing but come on.
You’re in a band and you’re doing the best to your ability to make it big, a
key factor is to do well to great songwriting. It’s the same with exercise, if
you want to unlock your potential; you learn to create your own style.
What do Black Sabbath, Lady Gaga and Metallica have in
common? They write their own stuff and it’s made them legends. When you write a
song that works not only does it make you feel more alive inside but to share
it with the world is a phenomenal experience in itself. Sure you’ll get haters
and people trying to shoot you down but in the end if you can create something that
are worth it, nothing people can say that will make you feel less than larger
than life.
In the realm of fitness, people will try to sell you what’s
right with certain things and what is wrong, there’s good stuff to use but if
it doesn't work to you specifically than you need to change that. I've seen a
lot of people come and go and how they want results but expect too much of
themselves or the program that’s written for them is what they really want.
It’s not wrong whatsoever to learn the principles of how an exercise is used
but the order and structured way to do them should be up to you not the person
training you. Being trained is one thing; training for you is a very different
experience. Most of my adult training life has been on my own, looking at
exercises from different courses and DVDs and mixing them together for one
complete program, its never the same.
Like writing a song, you want that perfect sound, that
melody of each instrument working in harmony and raising the level of not just
the lyrics but the emotional content that goes into the lyrics. The tune that
just hits you and pulls you back in at the same time, it’s not just you making magic
it’s building inspiration for others. It’s the same thing with an exercise or a
series of exercises, you want to be able give your body that great shape, doesn't have to be perfect but you do want to build a foundation, play with the
basics, progress and use your imagination. The movement is great for your
structure, it’s fun, its exciting and gives you a reason to shoot for a certain
goal.
Granted in some cases in music there are terrible songs,
lyrics don’t go well with the riffs or beats and sure as hell there are some
bands you have no clue what the hell they’re saying. Exercise has it’s fair
share of some pretty horrific ways to train, bad routines, injuries occur, too
much too soon and the ultimate sin of all, using the no pain no gain bs. It’s important
to challenge yourself to progress to a higher level but you don’t have to be
better than everyone else, hell I can name at least 5-10 guys that are far
smaller than I’am in both height and size and I have no aspirations to do the
certain things they do, its out of my reach and I’m good at what I do. Learn to
use your imagination, build something for yourself that no one can match no
matter what size or shape, you created it and nobody can take it from you.
Music and Exercise have many similarities, they both share
creativity, they build foundations, they have harmony when everything flows and
they both have a sense of magic that can’t be explained, they have their flaws
sure but in that moment where everything comes together, there’s a twinkle in your
eye, your body feels invincible and you know right then and there it’s just
perfect. Moments like that don’t always happen, but its fun to practice finding
it and building up to it isn't easy but it’s worth every single second of what
you put into it.
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