Why Learn Your History

               In the world of fitness, you learn a few things here and there but not many want to learn where certain things started or how they got there in the first place. In just about every program there’s a historical significance to it. Say you wanted to learn about Barbells and Dumbbells so you can get strong and usually the first people they learn about is Arnold Schwarzenegger or a today’s Ronnie Coleman or Jay Cutler. There’s a difference between lifting strength and bodybuilding. If you really want to learn about those two pieces of equipment you could really learn from guys like Reg Park, John Davis, Doug Hepburn, Arthur Saxon and quite possibly the strongest of them all Louis Cyr. The more you glimpse of what lifting’s history the more you’ll want to take it up.

            Strength Training dates back thousands of years as far as ancient India with the wrestling sport of Kushti where you learned to wrestle, run, swim, swing clubs and the mace which were used as weapons during a period when battles required the utmost of strength. In the golden eras of Greece and Rome, they had to train harder than most can fathom today and especially as soldiers because they learned how to handle a heavy sword or shoot tough arrows so they used a style of Isometrics in order to increase the strength and speed of the arrows in battle. Here’s something you may not have known but in the time of Leonardo da Vinci at a young age he was quite the athlete and even had strength to bend horseshoes.  You see, fitness and exercise ends up in places you didn't think were possible. Some of these vary same things are what makes training today even though mainstream training has become a nuisance.

            We've all seen records broken right after another but there are records that most people don’t even know exists. We've all heard at one point in sports like Basketball where the Boston Celtics won what 8 straight titles but what about one man who went 15 years undefeated in weightlifting in three different decades 1938-1953, that man was the legendary John Davis. How about another record that most likely will never be broken, The great Gama won 5000 matches in wrestling and not lost once, you know what record is more popular than that, Rocky Marciano’s Boxing record of being undefeated. Records come and go all the time and whenever we see one today there’s not much of big thing about it but think about what record breaking was like back in the 20’s, even when the 1900’s rolled in, it was huge. How about this, did you know that back in the early 20^th century, pressing more than 350 lbs. overhead was unheard of and was the talks of the town, now imagine that weight being pressed overhead with one arm, got nothing to say now huh?

            No matter what you’re in whether its sports, music, weight lifting, Archeology or even certain types of science, learn the history, educate yourself. Continue to use your mind and you’ll soon understand why using the mind and body work together, not just in exercising but with everything. Something always started somewhere, learn where it came from and learn about the people that made those things happen. I just wish they can put the history of Physical Culture as an academic curriculum in schools such as High School and College. There’s a lot to be learned in this world and the more educated you are with the right tools of mind and body working together, you’re on the right path. 

A Phoenix: The Story Of The Rising Generation

My name is Jarell Lindsey, age 20 circa August 16th. Strength has been a lifestyle for me since youth. It may not have been my strength, and it may not have been physical, but strength was always surrounding me. My father was a man who had great endurance; he worked long hours in order to provide for my brother and I, albeit there was not always enough to sustain us properly. Even when suffering a series of strokes and heart attacks, he kept his naturally sarcastic demeanor and vitality. He was my hero, and I looked to him for my own strength. Even when he passed (I was age 10), I felt that his pure endurance kept his spirit around to protect my brother and I. 

My mother was a woman who had great mental strength. She possesses a series of unfortunate ailments, the most distinguished being diabetes and multiple sclerosis. By the time I reached age 4, her legs could no longer support her and she had to use a wheelchair. Steadily, she lost the ability to write or feed herself, her speech deteriorated, and her overall health just went south. Yet her mind, amidst all the turmoil she faced, stayed fresh. There was rarely a moment when you could not catch her smiling. All other troubles began to feel trivial to me; what troubles, I wondered, could I truly have when this woman has looked multiple times in the eyes of the reaper and smiled! All of her intelligence, incredible memory, and wisdom stays with her even to this day.

My brother-in-law and uncle were men of great physical strength. My brother-in-law is a man of average stature (around 5'10”, 180) with the capability to lift the rear of a car, perform incredible sets of pushups without a notion of tiring, and enduring a baseball bat strike to head and shaking it off. He refused to allow limits to be associated with him. He actually introduced me to some isometric exercises young, way before I knew what they were or their capabilities. Furthermore, my uncle is a man of almost equal stature. He performs morning runs often, and has the capability to bench press upwards of 240 lbs. He is also 80 years old this day. He refused to allow the supposed limitations of age prevent him from having the strength and physique he desired. 

So what did this mean for me? I was not the weak and sickly child turned superman. My entry into this world was rather lucky; I was a month premature and suffered from chronic sleep apnea and asthma, but I grew out of both into an averagely healthy young child. Yet, seeing such instances of strength around me, even in sickness, gave me the drive to pursue the world of physical culture. But, where would I begin?
When living with my uncle, I attended the local YMCA with him quite often. I would lift weights there, but I disliked that I would perform such taxing exercises with very gradual strength development. I put my all into the exercises, but I felt that there could be more. I did as any kind in the modern era would do for a problem: I consulted my friend Google. The results that I found were endless, but I understood what I wanted; I wished to have a great level of strength without adding too much bulk to my stature. Reading about Bruce Lee gave a lot of insight on having a small stature, yet with power and strength. 

My uncle taught me to search for the definition of words I didn't understand, so I did so for this one word I saw: isometrics. I couldn't fathom the results I found. A man named Alexander Zass could snap chains across his chest? This diminutive fellow called the Mighty Atom could drive nails with his hands? There was an Indian catch wrestler with over 5000 matches, no losses? Considering all of these men performed isometrics, I felt as though I'd found a jackpot. It didn't seem I even needed to spend money I didn't have on training equipment for this. By coming across Paul “Batman” O' Brien's website (Isometric-Training.com), I was able to learn many training methods and transform my physique in a short amount of time. Yet I sought more. I read Chinese philosophy texts. I read Shaolin training manuals. I read the Yi Jin Jing and qigong books. I even came across Maxick (my personal favorite strongman) who possessed complete control over every ounce of muscle at his disposal. Upon discovering the Power and Might blog, I learned about all of these things and more at once, fueling my thirst for knowledge even further.

Perhaps I have performed more knowledge amassing than actual training, as my physique is nowhere near my goal in strength (having a similar level of muscular control as Maxick). However, if I can manifest just a fraction of the strength of the people who have impacted my life, I'm sure that those goals are less than impossible. If you have any interest in learning the things I've learned along my strength journey, visit my website at www.muscularstrengthsystem.com

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at jarell@muscularstrengthsystem.com

Breathe While You Train

             I've said it before and I’ll repeat till you get it through your thick skull, learn to breathe while you train. It is the single most important aspect of physical and mental conditioning. It is the one thing that keeps us alive more than anything else. You can go days without water, weeks without food but a few minutes without breathing is killing you. The power of the breath is essential as it can help you stay in the game far longer than if you just started hyperventilating in the first couple minutes.

            Breathing helps you conserve energy and the more you practice it, the more energy is reserved. Its power can be used any way you want if you know how to use it. It can be used to help you in a strength exercise or it can help your endurance over a period of time. Different athletes use different breathing patterns for how they stay in their sport but the principles stay the same, if you can’t conserve your energy, you won’t last very long. Learn to breathe and learn when to use it to your advantage.

            Deep breathing is an awesome way to keep your energy intact and granted sometimes if you’re in a fight or in a match against another opponent or team your breathing tends to be tested which is a good thing because you learn how to handle it when it’s time to make it count. Even in a training session in the gym or your home workouts, you want to learn how to breathe while you exercise and while you’re in between sets because after a while it takes a toll on you so you learn to keep your breathing as best as possible to keep going.  It’s the reason it keeps you focused no matter what you’re doing.

            There are tricks to help your breathing while you train. When I do my deck of cards training, sometimes once I get to a certain part of the deck I have to keep my breathing intact because it becomes so intense you have to take in as much air as you can. After you do a set of push-ups or squats for example, although you want to keep going without much rest as possible there’s that other part you can use where you take in as many breaths as the number of reps for the next set, that way you’re not taking up too much rest and you’re conserving your energy. You can use this method for different exercises and different areas of fitness. Another great trick I learned to keep your breathing at bay is what I learned called the Hoffman Walk which was termed in Brooks Kubik’s books on the adventures of the old-time strongmen Legacy Of Iron series, after you do a set of an exercise, you walk and breathe deeply till you’re ready to tackle the next set, you’re not sitting down and you keep moving without stopping so this helps with your endurance.

            Get the concept of breathing and how it can help you in any endeavor and it doesn't always have to be training, it can be how you prepare for meetings or conferences in business, or how you handle shopping without tiring out before you get to your car (this happens with a lot of people believe it or not) and it can help you stay in the game in your sport so you can keep up that reserved power to stay driven and help your team keep going. Breathing is life and life is breathing. 

It’s Hard Being Alone

            Some people like to train alongside someone, others prefer training alone and some even make the choice to be alone. Why is that, is it better or is it more distracting when you have someone training with you? Certain people train alone because there’s more freedom, do what you want, unless you’re in a gym and you have that issue waiting on someone but yet when you’re really alone in your workouts, there are no distractions, you’re the king/queen of your own challenges and the only thing that stops you is you.

            Every once in a blue moon, I train with other people, very rarely these days since I’m not much of a gym guy and there’s an extreme few who actually want to put in the work instead of walking around like a zombie. Friends however can be the best thing about your training, if they have a similar enthusiasm and love for training, they’ll be there to kick your ass and push you to levels you couldn't do on your own. In my own experiences I've been around enough guys that just made me want to be better and be tougher when I do get to be on my own because I’ll be hearing them in my head.

            When you are alone, it’s tough but it makes you learn things about yourself that is different than just training with other people. You learn that you’re the only competition and there’s no one to tell you any different. Self reliance is one of the keys to finding out what you’re best at and what to do when things don’t work. You can always ask for guidance but in the end, it comes down to you and how you want to make things happen. Challenges go deeper, your thinking is different and the way you push yourself goes far beyond anything else. You’re competing with yourself and when you fail, you can’t blame anyone but yourself.

            If you truly think you’re alone when you train, in most cases you’re not. Yes you have no one physically around to get you going but remember Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, you have that conscience within you to help guide you to whatever it is that you want to achieve. If you listen closely, it can be your best friend or your greatest enemy but if you learned to use your mind and use your imagination, you can have the greatest workout without anyone there but in your mind, someone was there all along cheering you on, telling you to keep going, driving harder and taking you on a roller coaster ride that doesn't always want to end. It’s always great when you train with friends but when you train by yourself with that little piece of imagination it can create a major impact and show you the true meaning of Training.  

Earning Your Keep

            

            In order to get what you truly desire, you got to earn it. There are so many things people are just handed to, cell phones, ipads, a new car for your kid’s 16^th birthday, even in certain sports like Wrestling for example; they just want to learn takedowns, holds and escapes but they don’t want to put in the work to get there. Not everybody is like this and no matter how hard certain people work certain things won’t come or they get turned down for the things they want to get and it’s a shame.

            With training, a lot of people just want results at the drop of a hat but won’t put in the effort to get there. Some people are gifted and results come in very easily but for the general population especially those over 40 needs to put in a great deal of effort to make results come true. Now granted those who put in the effort but are unhappy with the results are so overwhelmed by it that they just quit and make excuses.

            You can enjoy what you put into it. It’s very easy to train like it’s a punishment and you just move along until you’re burned out and you just hate what your results look like. On the other hand, if you enjoy going after a goal even at times when it’s at its hardest, you can accept the outcome because you didn't quit. If your results didn't come the way you planned, that’s ok you still made an effort and might have to switch gears to make it happen next time. Whatever you put into, you have earned those results and you strive to be better.

            What’s the ultimate competition when it comes to getting what you want? It’s you versus the person you see in the mirror everyday. Comparing yourself to others is like comparing apples to oranges, it’s not the same fruit and neither is you being the same person they are. If you really want true competition, it’s going up against yourself. You started out with certain things you can’t possibly do at an advanced stage but you work your way up, as you get better you’re beating what you couldn't do before, you’re climbing that mountain when that part of you at first couldn't grasp it.

            Imagine this for a minute, you’re below a mountain that is so high up it just seems impossible to get there yet there’s someone else up there just having a ball, you grab the binoculars and you edge the lens to zoom in who’s just have the time of his life and out of all things to see, you see yourself and wonder “how the hell did I get up there.” He sees you and he has the power to zoom in without any help and waves at you. He wants you to come up and if you look closely you can read the lips “You can do it. I’m right here waiting.”

            You want to see how far you’re willing to go. You start to climb the mountain and there’s obstacles standing in your way and it’s tough for you to fight them but that part of you won’t let go of the fact that there’s someone holding your spot at the top. It takes a while and you are tested in ways you couldn't possibly imagine before and you struggle at times but there’s that piece of life left to keep going. Sometimes you have to take a break because let’s face it; this mountain has some crazy ass trails. There are times where it’s so overwhelming that you just feel like you can’t go any further and that’s when that person starts coming down the mountain with ease with a smile on his face, looks at you from a distance and says “you’re almost there, smile. It’s beautiful up there and it’s all for you.” You get that second wind and keep driving, seeing the top a little closer and closer, that last piece of the mountain is so steep it’s just begging you to fall but you climb it anyway come hell or high water you want to get up there so damn bad you can just feel the wind brushing you back and the air is at it’s best.

            You’re mere inches away and that last form of struggle won’t let you go but you fight it anyway. You have beaten it, you climbed up to the top and you see yourself standing right in front of you and he says “Welcome, I knew you can do it, I’m proud of you.” He disappears into the earth and you’re standing at the top just by yourself, you've covered more ground than you possibly imagined and only 5 words come to mind “Damn it’s beautiful up here.” 

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