Make Your Own Ingredients

           Thought I was talking about food didn't you? Seriously why would I do that to you after just having the biggest feast of the year? Damn you guys need to pay attention. What I’am going to talk about is creating recipes for workouts, finding those little things that can help build your body like you were cooking an incredible meal.

            It’s important to pick the right ingredients to create something great and exciting. You don’t always know how to find those ingredients so what do you do, experiment. Find the best exercises for you that will give you a run for your money and have you begging for more or you've had enough. To me creating workouts is a lot more fun than looking at someone else’s. Think of it this way, would you rather have crappy Taco Bell or would you like to make your own kick ass tacos with the things you put into it? That’s what a lot of the muscle magazines and other types of training the fitness industry offers, it looks awesome advertised but in the end it’s just going to make you sick and not want to exercise. Build your own set of exercises you learned and see how they work for you and your goals.

            Sometimes every once in a while you want to spice things up. You want to add that extra kick that’ll get right in the heat of your training. I like to work on legs and grip these days because it gets me fired up and I just love challenging those exercises, every now and then my mix of those methods can get a little stale so I’ll add in a couple things like some flexibility work or move around like an animal in the wild just having a good ole time. Sometimes spicy even just a touch can make all the difference just like in your food; even just a hint of something will make it taste completely different than usual.

            Now I know what you’re thinking “dude you have been talking about food so why would you compare workouts with food?” Good question, yes I didn't want you to think about food but at the same time food & exercise go together like a horse and carriage, the carriage isn't going to pull itself now is it? The ultimate ingredient for having a great workout isn't always what you came up with, there’s only one that is missing that most people don’t put into and it gives them that extra push, that will to keep going and that’s your determination, add that in with everything else and see how far you go. Without it you’re just having random mixes and you don’t have the right idea how to turn it into something incredible.

            Create what you want, find your own recipe and experiment with it. It’s not always going to come out good but once you find the right ingredients it’ll be the best workouts you've ever had and it’s organic and full of freedom. Don’t copy someone else’s ingredients otherwise you’re just second guessing yourself and don’t have the will power to say “What can I do with this and how can make it be just as good if not better?” Be yourself and turn into a mighty chef of fitness. Get to it and have fun.

Giving Thanks

            It’s that time of year again where we give thanks to what we have and what we have been given. As much as I love this powerful attitude, we don’t need a single day where we give our thanks to others. However I do believe it’s a powerful thought and a great attitude to have to be able to bring joy and happiness to others and being thankful for doing so.

            Within the universe, we are given strength inside and outside our physical bodies and our spirit within. I’m very thankful for the strength I've been given and the power to keep driving to be better and build my strength physically, emotionally and mentally one day at a time. Each one of us should not only be thankful for what our strength creates but to keep progressing not just from a fitness standpoint but also as a person and be open to give others a chance to learn.

            One of the greatest things you can do is to pass on your knowledge to a new generation. Some people keep their secrets hidden because it could fall into certain hands or believe their secret is just not worthy for others no matter who it is to see. I personally believe that there’s always one person to pass down your knowledge and wisdom but not for them to be like you but to become more of themselves. I’m thankful for what I've learned and I love passing that down to those who are willing to learn. Learning is a gift and giving that gift is a treasure. I do believe however you don’t have to pass on every single secret because the real secret is finding out for yourself and being thankful that you have done it.

            I want to thank those who have come before me and those that have used what I have to offer because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. You guys are awesome and are wonderful people. You give me a reason to do what I do and you've helped me grow in ways I can never describe. I salute you and I’m thankful for what you've given me. Have an awesome Thanksgiving everyone and Happy Holidays J. Have fun and be safe and for my sake, don’t trample each other on Friday.

The Most Natural Steroid

             It doesn't take injections to build a healthy and strong body. A lot of people feel that if you’re in shape you look beautiful and have big muscles and can do anything. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. Sure there are some kick ass looking people out there but that doesn't always mean they’re in great shape from within. What most don’t realize is that how you train the body from within puts a whole new emphasis on what comes out as you see. Some athletes take steroids to amp up their game and most end up looking like a cartoon character than a healthy human being. There are more natural ways to gain lean healthy body mass and still have great strength both inside and outside.

            When it comes to growth hormone, it’s that component that gives us natural mass and great beautiful skin that also keeps our metabolism high which means more fat burning and more natural muscle. When our growth hormones are compromised especially as we age it becomes even more important because if we just let things go and be a past thing and believe we can’t have a beautiful and lithe natural muscular body then our bodies will become frail and we’ll lose bone density and become old and withering. To prevent this, it’s been said that intense training at a short amount of time helps keep the metabolism high and the fat loss more stable.

            Sprint training is one of the fastest fat burning methods that have ever been done. When you do sprints right and you can do them on a track, a hill or maybe you can sprint in place you don’t last very long, maybe no more than 30 seconds at a your best clip. You can do this up to no more than 2-3x a week. The reason why you don’t need to do them everyday is because they jack up your system so high that you have no choice but to rest and recover. Believe it or not when you sprint, the majority of your workout is resting. Build up and if you’re ballsy enough for 1 day a week, do one sprint at a very long distance say a maximum of 200 yards. This type of training alone can increase your growth hormone by more than 500%, that’s 10-15x more than the latest injections or artificial steroids.

            A very important factor to remember is that to get the best out of building lean body mass and healthy muscle is to do plenty of leg training. Our legs are the very foundation to how our bodies generate the sexual energy in our system. Think about it, our lower body has more than half the strongest parts in the human body. I’m not saying you should neglect your upper body but yet I've seen more than my fair share of men and women who have a great upper body but have flamingo legs. Paint them pink and people will mistake them for a freaking bird lol. Train the legs often and have fun with them. Some of the strongest legs on a human come from Ballet, try it sometime, it’s not as easy as it looks. Animal training has plenty of leg work like Frog Jumps, Duck Walks, Bear Crawls, Kangaroo, Rabbit and others. Squats are very powerful in building muscular strength and vitality as well as virility. Great leg training increases sex drive, incredible energy and mighty endurance to keep going in what you love to do.

            Build strong and powerful legs and you’ll see how far you get in your endeavors. For men you can build natural testosterone and have muscular and mighty thorough bread legs, for women, you can have those firm, tight and enduring legs that will make men’s heads turn. Strength & Vitality at it’s best.

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.