A Character That Brought Intensity

            This past week, another WWE Legend passed away and that was of Jim Hellwig also known as The Ultimate Warrior. He died at the young age of 54 and pretty much said his final goodbyes at his Hall Of Fame induction and his speech on Monday Night Raw. I grew up in the Attitude Era of the late 90’s and only saw Warrior’s final matches in WWE first at Wrestlemania against Triple H and a couple other ones. I wasn't much of a fan and didn't really understand his character. Now that I took a look at his career watching his new DVD set and knowing what I know now from training, I admire the guy.

            As a wrestling fan, my type of characters is the ones that are the in-ring technicians or guys who can wrestle more than just entertaining. I never really liked the muscle bound guys like Hulk Hogan or John Cena but I admire their intensity in the ring. Warrior was far from being a wrestler, he practically didn’t know a wrist lock from a wrist watch but his character was unique, intense and just flat out nuts (watch his promos and you'll know what I mean. As an athlete and a Physical Culturist, I thrive at intense training and focused intention on what I'm doing. I’m not a fan of guys on roids but that’s a different story.

            The man literally changed his name to Warrior a little over 20 years ago and at first like everyone else who watched him, I thought he was off his rocker and was a total nut job but I began looking at it from another angle; he was a man living on his own terms and built this intense passion for life and was a warrior at heart. I saw a video of Zach-Evan Esh talking about his many conversations with warrior and who the man was, it got me thinking and it’s awesome to find that even though a man had some inner demons still took the time to be apart of something that he felt was right to do. He truly was a warrior.

            In the end, it made me learn that when you have an intense passion for something, it makes life that much grander. Here is my version of an Ultimate Warrior Quote:

“Do you call upon the gods to bring forth the strength and will of your soul? It is no doubt that the power of the warrior is fueled like a rocket blasting into the atmosphere of parts unknown. The power of the warrior is unbreakable that nothing can shatter its strength to withstand the mightiest of powers and you will feel the wrath of my will when my unbreakable spirit runs through the soul that you shall no longer have as The Power of the Warrior will live forever.”

How’s that for the proud warriors?

Travel Training

             I love to travel when I have the chance, sometimes for an extended period of time over a few weeks. If you're into fitness or learning and doing certain things it’s important to remember that when you travel, you may not have the same luxury in a different town or state so don't be limiting yourself. Many people believe that to get in shape you need to be in a gym and hitting the iron or the machines but believe it or not it’s not always that possible to do so. I have a friend that travels constantly and needs to be in shape for what he does but he uses his imagination and realistic approach that gives him the tools to travel in awesome shape no matter where he is. Don't limit yourself.

            Expand your horizons. If you can't get to a gym or your hotel doesn't have what you need, do things a little differently. Instead of focusing on what you need to lift when you travel, think of moving your body around, do push-ups and squats in your hotel room, hold certain postures, travel with a chest expander that works your upper body like crazy yet easy to travel with.

            Here’s a little tidbit for you; when I was 25 I went to Disneyland with someone in my family. When we were there we went on rides and stuff but we also we went out on our own at times, I was going to do The World Of Tomorrow where in order to get in you stand and the ground rotated to get to the entrance, I decided on a whim to do a free standing Handstand while the thing was rotating and I actually held it for quite a bit. It was awesome and that was the only exercise of the day that was it. When you travel, be creative and have fun, don't rush things.

            If you're going to travel with something to workout with, travel light. It’s not easy carrying a dumbbell or a kettlebell in your bag so why not cables like the Chest Expander or the PowR Walk Pro; they're easy to carry around and they’re there when you need them. I like to travel with some cables and an Isometric Belt that I have that’s about 14ft long and practice my isometric training. One of the best ways to train is to do it in nature. About every summer my dad’s family goes to South Lake Tahoe for about a couple weeks and get a couple cabins, go to the beach and chill out. When I go, that’s the perfect opportunity to do some great swimming, lift heavy rocks, crawl, balance and climb on the rocks as well. Training in nature is just different, exciting, and spontaneous and you never know what you're getting into.

            I emphasize this with great intent that no matter where you go whether it’s in a big city or the Fiji Islands, utilize your imagination and use the environment to get an awesome workout in. I get more out of creating something than trying to find something that can be too far away or whatever. When you learn to channel your mind and being aware of your surroundings, you can create any type of workout you want. I've been in some crappy places and even some gorgeous and beautiful places too and still found how to train without an excuse. If you want to stay in shape bad enough you will find a way to do it. Create opportunities and take advantage of them. A gym is just a gym but why not use the world as your gym. 

The Parasites You Should Avoid

            There are a lot of negative people out there; people that hate, loath, disgusted and can't stand who you are and what you represent as a person. I'm a very positive person who believes in what people are passionate about in a loving, caring and enduring matter. Sure I have certain views on things but that doesn't mean I don't want you to succeed. A lot of people out there hate on what is not up to their standards and make people feel like shit about it. I’m going to help you find these crazy nut jobs.

            In the training world just like in life, there will be those who want to turn you away from what you want to do because to either “protect you”, don’t want you doing good and being successful at it because they're afraid what they don’t understand so they go to extreme measures to keep you from utilizing your potential. Some like the “one way and that’s it” bullshit, others who don't believe in anything else will be on your ass because it’s not what they believe and then there are those who feel that if you're hardcore and too passionate it’ll turn you into an obsessed freak. Man I've heard plenty of crap about what I do and been told I should do this or that and what I do is merely a hobby. Don’t be afraid of who you are.

            You are of flesh and blood just like the rest of us, you may have different views, opinions and what works and what doesn't but in the end we spill the same blood and are human. I don't care what your bench is, how many squats you can do, how high you can jump, what sexual orientation you are, what your religion is or color your skin is; you're a human being with a beating heart just like mine. A lot of people forget that being human is a gift and to be awesome takes practice; some do it to show off, others try to be awesome to be apart of something but in my opinion, to be awesome is to be you and treat your fellow man with love and respect.

            There are different people to avoid and the key types are ones that prevent you from learning who you want to be and one’s that try to steer you away from your passion and belief in yourself. There are plenty of other types but these two in particular are most common. I love mixing things up in my training because it makes me happy and it helps learn what my body is capable of. I've been told many times that I should be a weightlifter because of my size or being told that because of my size there’s no way for me to be flexible and mobile but you know what, I love what I do and there’s nobody to tell me otherwise. Most haters hate themselves because they're not doing what you do and they just flat out can’t stand it. When they hate on you, it’s not you they really hate on; it’s themselves because they're looking into a mirror and can’t stand what they see.

            Learn to balance positive and negative people in your life. When people whine and complain about what you do and who you are, look at it this way; it’s better to be hated than ignored, when people talk about you, you're making them think and that’s one hell of a gift. Being hated isn't the greatest thing in the world but on the other side of the coin, you also have people that are inspired by you, love what you do and want to learn more about it.

            When it comes to certain things, I’m in the middle and don’t really hate anyone, sure certain people get on my nerves and want to smack them sometimes but in the end, I want to be positive about who’s in my life and yes I have cut off relationships and friends but not because I hate them or wish them harm, it’s because of how they treated me and I don't deserve those types of people. Don't hate on for who someone is, be awesome to them, encourage what they're passionate about and help them in any way you can because there’s more to love in this world than the crap others put themselves through and the way they treat certain people. Be awesome and call in a mental exterminator every now and then because you don't want parasites clogging up your happiness and what you love. 

Training In A Different Area Can Be Scary

              

               Going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier later on today I thought I’d share with you an aspiring way of how training in different areas like Cap getting used to a new world while he was frozen under ice for many decades. Steve Rogers comes from a totally different era where men wanted to save our world from Nazis and life was vastly different. As a young man roughly early-mid 20’s he fought with the best intentions and was a wholesome type guy with a few touches of being a superhero. After being frozen for many decades, he’s living in an entirely new world where everything he knows is gone and needs to learn fast how to adjust to life in an era where image, war, relationships and technology are vastly different. What does this have to do with training?

            Exercising and working out in a different area than you’re use to can be night and day and very scary. You’re not use to moving and exercising muscles and joints in awkward positions and usually you’d be on a treadmill, pumping up muscles with isolated exercises and going to an aerobics class it’s not a bad thing. However, moving like a wild animal or attempting Handstands is very different and requires a whole other realm of coordination, concentration and technique so how would you adjust to that or better yet adjust to smaller workouts using compound movements that hit the whole body? It can be scary I know.

            Like Cap, to better yourself in a totally different area you need to have the intent on getting better and at first you’ll most likely fail but that’s how you learn and pick yourself back up. Use your imagination and believe each day you’re getting a little better even down to the smallest fraction. Learn to utilize what you already experienced and work with using that part of you to create a better version that will have you getting results. Some people just stick to one thing only and they’re so use to it, it scares the living hell out of them when something different comes along. The world changes and so does training certain things, if you do the same things over and over you’ll be getting the same results and it can get boring.

            Be who you are no matter how the environment seems. Be a little open minded, it’s ok to be skeptical but don’t just push it off, give it a chance even if it’s for a short period of time. We all adjust differently and how our bodies respond to the way we do things, certain things work, some don’t and we have to fin what works best for us. I feel for Captain America who has to adjust to a life that no longer holds up to what he knew before he was frozen and that’s how fitness is, it’s so different from when our parents were kids and how over the years things evolve and some just don’t cut it so we learn to adjust and learn various things that bring us results and do better at them because it’s what we love to do. 

Take A Walk To Get Stronger

           Walking is the simplest thing in the world. You put one foot in front of the other and you’re off. Walking is both a mind and body tool. You can lose weight by walking, you can build great ideas from walking and you can get stronger both inside and outside from walking, walking while training is a powerful tool as well. A course called Muscle Reminders has one part on how to exercise as you walk. Another great tool is Lifeline USA’s PowR Walk Pro where you use cables for your arms as you walk an alternative to using little dumbbells. There’s always a way to make yourself strong as you walk.

            The one exercise I’ve been experimenting with lately is the farmer’s walk. This exercise consists of one or 2 objects that you pick up and start walking with whether it be kettlebells, dumbbells, gripping a sand bag in each hand or whatever. I like to use buckets because it’s cheap and easy to set up. You can get a bucket at just about any hardware store as big as you need it. I got my buckets at Wal-Mart for about 5 bucks each and they’re huge. I feel it up with water and a rock/stone I have around the yard. I get it set up and grip the handles then pick up and start walking around the yard. The weight comes out to 123 lbs. total and it’s brutal.

            To make the farmer’s walk more of a challenge, I use my Fat Gripz and attach each one to the handles. Now this makes things more brutal and it will get you breathing hard quick even more than if you just used the handles. Imagine picking up that much weight with the handles being thicker and needing to grip harder just to keep from dropping them. Some use a little pipe to attach and that’s great too if you want but I like the fat gripz because they’re available right there.

            Building mighty hands while walking is pretty bad ass in my book. This helps build your grip like crazy especially if you’re in sports or a weightlifter/strongman or whatever you’re into. Grip strength is essential for overall development and when you use thicker handles your body goes into overdrive and you can be breathing harder faster than usual. You don’t need weights but if you got em, go for it but using simple tools can also be beneficial and can cost you far less money and still get more bang for your buck. Take a walk on the wild side and utilize it to build strength, get in great condition and develop stamina like a madman.