Falling For The End-All Be-All Crap

             For the most part in fitness, you read in the magazine about this workout or in sports you hear about this or that way to throw, shoot or kick a ball but in the end it all boils down to the individual. We don’t have the same structures and our bodies handle things differently than others. That one size fits all bullshit is just getting you to pay up for their little schemes.

            Who can you trust when it comes to your goals? I like to believe that we can always use a coach, a friend, mentor or someone to show us the ropes. We learn and we get to see in action what is being done, however; once we learn a thing or two, it’s up to us to figure out how to put into action according to our own feeling and how we see things for ourselves. I have been trained by some of the strongest and athletic people in the world and learn a ton from them but I don’t always do things their way because if I did, I’d just be a guy that follows yet I rather build my own style from the things I learned from them.

            I've come to learn that there is never one way to do things. A lot of what we see today is generic and not very imaginative. You learn certain things and you get a feel for how they work for you. There is always something different and it’s important to understand that but not many accept it. I love certain methods like Hindu Style Conditioning, Animal Exercises, MovNat, Gymnastics and Grip Training for example but I don’t always go by what I’m told to do and for some it pisses them which I’m fine with. Once you get to a certain point in your training or whatever where you’ll begin to see things from a different perspective, some might see it very clearly right away for others it takes a while. You are one person, you don’t have the same strength as another, you don’t have the type of injuries or setbacks they've faced and you certainly don’t have the same capacity to try and keep up with them. The only thing you should keep up is yourself and what you want to go after.

            There’s always a challenge in training and in life no matter what. If everything were easy it be (in the words of Danny McBride in Your Highness) tedious and boring so find the right challenges for you and don’t try to compete with anybody else. Be creative and utilize what you have learned into forming your own personal quest and not following someone else’s. It can be demanding at times but it’s more rewarding when you set something apart from the general population. There are things I've seen friends do that I would never attempt to do but there are things that I can do that they can’t, that doesn't mean either one of us is better than the other, it just means that we have different views on our goals an we set them to what can be achieved just for us.

            If you have practiced a variety of methods, you’re on the right track to expanding your mind and learning how body handles itself in certain situations. If you just focus on one thing and that’s all you know and ever want to do more power to you but you’re also narrowing your mind set and you’re shrinking the plethora of knowledge that is out there. Some people are just full of themselves and think only their style is the best and everything else is crap. Be objective and expand your horizons. You’ll be surprised what you might find. 

I Refuse

           I've been in fitness for more than 15 years and learned many things in that time. My journey has made me bleed, sweat, hurt, recover, learn valuable lessons and triumph over those that said I couldn't do it. One of the things that made me develop into the athlete I've become today is my ability to rebel and utilize my full potential by finding the very best that interests me and my goals and refuse to work with what doesn't. Here are a few things in the fitness industry that I refuse to do…

I refuse to isolate my muscles when I can use my full body towards a specific exercise.

I refuse to do the workouts the magazines sell when there are better options to optimize my creativity.

I refuse to listen to those who don’t have a damn clue to what they’re talking about and find the people who are the real deal and take bits and pieces to create my own style from them.

I refuse to be told what works and what doesn't when I can discover it for myself and not for the sake of anyone else.

I refuse to hear those who never exercised a day in their life yet they try to advise me on it.

I refuse to give up exercising every single day because someone told me I had to workout no more than 3-4x a week. I listen to my body and work with my intuition tells me to do and my recovery is my problem and I’ll come back stronger than ever.

I refuse to read about the latest gadget that promises 6 pack abs or stronger arms or whatever is advertised because the only way to get real results is to put in real effort and make the best out of your training.

I refuse to see exercise as a punishment because I see it as a blessing, something worth while and something that is interesting and fun. If it doesn't put you in a state where you feel invigorated and give you a challenge you want to conquer then it won’t work for you.

I refuse to listen to those who doubt me, are jealous and give me crap about what I love to do. They don’t have my body, they don’t see my journey the way I do and they don’t push the way I do so what gives them the right to have any say.

I refuse to be beaten down. I’m constantly growing and finding what works best for me and what I want to accomplish. I will conquer my challenges on my own terms. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

      Creativity is very important in every aspect of life, adapting to certain places, finding the best exercises that will help you reach your potential and utilizing your mind to its full potential. There are those who refuse to lead their own journey and instead just blindly follow some quack with a piece of paper on their name. You learn certain things and the right people will give you powerful tips but they can’t do the work for you, you have to put in the effort in order to be successful.

      The positive side to rebelling is learning who you really are as a person and the people that care the most and want to see you succeed. How do you do that? You observe, take notes mentally or on paper. Be creative, find what drives you and gives you a positive outlook on life. Find a way to express yourself and have fun and be around those that give you something to look forward to or help you. There are so many stuck up and stiff people in this world that hide in their own world and refuse to let anyone in that doesn't agree with them. If that works for them great but at the same time I love those that have given me the drive to use the best of my potential. I want to see those who have drive put effort into showing who they are and believe in themselves and be true to who they are and help others find their spot in this world. 

Gods And Deities That Teach Us About Fitness

           For countless centuries, we have worshiped many gods and supernatural figures that give us power and love over our lives. Not all have used them that way and have pushed the boundaries what is good and what’s evil about worshiping a god, king or supernatural force but when it comes down to it, it’s important to know that we hold some of these forces and beings in our hearts and can learn from them. In this case in the world of fitness, they’re just as important to learn from in that caliber if not more as we see them as a driving force to believe in.

            Building fitness using the very figures that have conquered World Literature and Mythology is a great way to look at how we can create the human body to a degree of strength and health that we all strive to find. For all intents and purposes, there’s no need to do drugs, steroids or any of that crap to build solid, functional strength that can carry over to everyday life. Here are a few figures in Mythology that can grasp a hold on our fitness training and how we can use them to find what works best for us.

Zeus: The All-Mighty Greek God (or Roman’s Jupiter) is a great way to look at fitness because he is that powerful, nerve forcing god that gives us the strength that we can grab a hold of and harness that force inside us to create that superhuman strength and speed that scientists say we only use 5% of at best. Think of having the hands of Zeus, grabbing something or taking in energy that surges throughout your whole body and puts you in a state where it feels like you can take on any obstacle and laugh at your challenges.

Pan: The Satyr half-man half goat that is the spirit of sexual energy and the way we harness our power and strength from our legs. When you build powerful and strong functional legs, you create that balance of testosterone which in turn gives you great health, burns off fat, powerful muscle all over and it aids in making you feel younger, stronger and more in tuned with your inner child of play and man/woman of loving energy.

Hercules: The man of Superhuman Strength. This is more in tuned with bodybuilding but more importantly, to truly understand the fitness side of Hercules is to learn to build your body that is not only powerful and solid but having nearly equal strength to go with it. The old-time strongmen had built solid and mighty physiques but at the same time, their strength was even more impressive. Men like Reg Park, John Grimek, Eugene Sandow and others that had incredible bodies but even greater strength that was just unbelievable. Don’t be a Tarzan and fight like Jane kind of Bodybuilder, harness your strength and power naturally as you build your physique. Basic lifts and basic programs are key.

            To go beyond what you’re taught, you have to think outside the box. We are taught certain things from different people but in order to be truly successful you have to look within yourself to find the best possible way to be fit, healthy and crazy strong. This goes as much for women as does men. Women do train differently because their bodies don’t have as much testosterone as men however, it’s important to know that you can build a beautiful body that WON’T GET BULKY because unless a woman is using testosterone pills or steroids that’s really the only way that’ll happen. Work with what you learned but also find what works best to your abilities. Just following someone isn't quite enough and the way you follow them isn't always in your best interest. Think for yourself at times and remember to be yourself.

            Putting your body and mind to the test has been the standard for all things for as long as mankind has been around. The Gods and their stories gave us a reason to use our bodies and our brains to think and look for what works and how we create certain things that gives us hope, strength and endurance to move forward. Some of us just think there’s an end-all be all of following and not having a right to think for ourselves. I take bits and pieces of people’s advice and methods and mold them into my own, it’s called becoming creative. Some people don’t know how and it’s sad because they have so much potential but only work with what they’re told to do. Quite frankly I hate being told what to do but I’m not opposing to listening and modifying what works for me. Become more of you and challenge the way things go.

            We may have been created by the Gods or whatever you choose to believe but the reality is that once you are born, you grow up and you learn. No one has your body and mind so what makes you think you aught to be somebody else. Find what guides you and learn to harness the power within you, not someone else and become a more powerful being. 

The Spirit of The Gorilla

          When you come across a powerful creature of immense strength, mighty spirit and tremendous power in the tendons, the Gorilla or Mighty Ape is what comes to mind in my opinion. It is extraordinary to think of the Ape as a true king of the vast Wild Jungle. As heavy as 500 lb. can still climb trees and truly wrestle the very best the animal kingdom offers in it’s surroundings. It’s spirit is so powerful it takes hold of what we as human that have evolved from stand the test of time as one of the strongest animals ever.

            We all have an animal spirit within us, it’s called our Animality. Some of us hold a special animal in our hearts, not so much the domesticated but a wild creature that has grasped our imagination, the ability to use our instincts and be able to move with grace, power and speed. When you hold onto that Animal Spirit it becomes the embodiment of what we truly strive to become and that’s a strong, mighty and powerful being and could become superhuman if we truly submerge ourselves into a deep state of mind.

            Our imagination is what binds us to create the reality that dwells within each and every one of us. We can create similar things but there’s always something different and unique to it because we think differently and channel our energy differently. What we think tends to become a reality if we truly believe in it. The world is huge and dangerous and powerful natural occurrences but it’s also very beautiful in many areas of life and we tend to overlook this concept. Our Animal Spirit is a driving force for which our imagination runs with. You can’t create something without thinking of it first. It’s that whole world inside all of us that helps us find what we seek and where we want to go. Follow your Animality and see where it leads you.

            For me my Animality is the Gorilla, that ferocious strength that courses through my veins, being able to strengthen my body from the teachings of this mighty but beautiful animal. My ability to hang with the strength of my hands; walk on my knuckles and fingertips that will bring intense power in my tendons and muscles. My love for strengthening my body from awkward positions and turning my tendons into cords of Vibraniam, not steel or iron but Vibraniam you know the element from Captain America’s Shield that is far stronger than steel. You also have an Animality that is waiting to be unleashed, giving you the strength to do what you were meant for and the surge of strength and power coursing through your body. Helping you find the best way to build your body the way you were meant to have.

            It’s that natural instinct that is now fading away because we have forgotten how to harness it’s power that doesn't come from big muscles or an ego the size of Texas but it comes from what we see from within, the spirit that dwells in our minds and our hearts that reach out to us. Listen to it and you’ll realize how beautiful it is when it speaks to you and helps you in ways you couldn't have imagined before. Listen to your Animality and when you unleash it into the world in a positive and healthy way, it becomes a reality that has been hidden far too long. 

The Ultimate Beast

            As a species we've been striving for strength since the dawn of time. The early evolution of man was to hunt, run, swim, climb and didn't have a choice to be strong, you either were or you died that simple. As we became civilized, we've lost touch of our roots of what is strength and life-long health and power not just in physical form but emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Most ancient man of strength was either in slavery, farm work, blacksmith, sporting man or soldier and no more than that. There was a time when kings were great warriors and their physical strength was incredible, nowadays most don’t value the strength they've developed or don’t realize the true strength within them.

            A key ingredient to successful physical stature of strength and fitness is to evolve backwards and it’s one key way to become naturally superhuman. Today with all these gadgets and machines, “aerobics” classes and other things, we are nearly fading in the shadow of our ancestors and forgotten more about strength and health than any other time period. If you value your body, give it strength; give it a reason to be resilient to disease and learn to control what you put into it. A great form of exercise is to move like a wild animal. Build your body that can become three times stronger than the average person. Imagine powerful tendons, a mighty back, arms with powerful functional muscle, abs that can take a punch, legs that have full of energy and build your hormones to levels that couldn't be fathom before and all with great strength, tremendous balance, graceful agility and devouring power. Think about that.

            You’d want to spend as much time outside as possible. If you live in an area where weather conditions aren't so great aka Idaho where weather is almost like Sybil and still has all four seasons, you learn to adapt. In the summer and spring when it’s warm and beautiful go outside and live around nature, be adventurous and play, in the winter, keep warm and train as much as you can. There’s no excuse to not train everyday of the week even if you only have 5 min. do something. The wild is our gym, you can lift odd objects, if you go to the gym; do some basic lifting (presses, squats, pulls) and leave the bunny weights alone. You live in an area that has snow, shovel it out of the way, that’s a great workout, got a tire and a hammer, strike it down and become more powerful than you can possibly imagine (if you don’t get that reference I feel sorry for you). You live in the city, adapt to your environment and walk to certain places. There’s always something you can do to make the best of your training. Live out in the country, chop wood, who said a gym is the only place to train.

            We all have an animal within us. In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation despite its horrible acting and overdoing the characters, there was a distinct message in there. Within us is our own what’s called Animality. Animality is the spirit within us that has a distinct animal. No one has the same form of animal and it makes us unique. We move a certain way and our Animality is what we strive to be even if we don’t know it. When you do physical animal movements, there will be at least one animal you will do more frequently, you may not know or you may come to grips with it but whatever animal comes up and you end up having more fun, more results and you do it more often because your mind is fixated on it that is more likely the animal spirit within, your Animality.

            Kids are the real inspiration for our future but nowadays that’s fading away due to obesity, the way kids are taught in school, bullying, depression and not enough love and encouragement to help them strive to be their best. One of my friends Bud Jeffries has a son named Noah, this kid has had obstacles in his life that most wouldn't dare to fight back but yet at nearly 17 he’s one of the strongest teenagers, very intelligent, is one of the sharpest shooters in the world and learned how to develop his mind in ways most can never understand. He is one inspirational kid and had great parents to get him through life. You don’t have many kids like that today and it’s sad.

            Kids should be encouraged, loved, showing them how they can be great at what they love to do. Help them find what they’re best at and have it be a positive influence. Get them to exercise like an animal, let them play, have fun create friends and share stories with them. I’m not a parent so I don’t have the luxury or the tools to tell you how to treat your kid and don’t need to but I've been around kids my whole life and observed from a lot of families including my own. Show them what a great life they can have, how they can change the world for the better and give them something to hope for, encourage them, and give them something that brings them joy.

            It’s time to unleash the best within us and become strong in every possible way whether it’s fitness, business, sports, teaching and/or entertaining, we all strive to be strong in our own way, let it bring out the best in all of us because it’s more freighting to feel locked up than to be free.