Producing More Growth Hormone

    I'm vitally against the use of artificial steroids and always have been not because of the scientific and media crap that is portrayed but because there are better options for you than risking your health for some trophy or to look like a pretty boy in a speedo. Unless you're in need of something artificial that could be life-saving and it helps you with some major disease than maybe there's that exception but for the most part you're better off learning how to do things more naturally. With the right info and the right tools you can jump start your hormones that naturally helps you increase metabolism, healthy caloric intake, help you stay young and vibrant and even give your libido the power it had when you were a teenager.

 
    It has been shown that normal cardio routines actually diminish hormone balance within an extended period of time your muscles start to lose what is truly needed. I'm not saying endurance training is useful, it is and it's an important component for optimum health but yet if you're getting the amount of balanced muscle mass and fat burning ratio than you're just wasting your time. I believe more in fat loss than weight loss with the exception of those that are heavily overweight and need to drop the poundage needed so the body can function properly. In order to truly fire the nervous system and your muscular structure at an optimum level your training needs to be intensified so the muscles can generate as much power as possible within a short period of time. This can happen with training methods like Sprinting, Battling Ropes, Animal Exercises, heavy weight lifting/odd object lifting and various styles of concentrated isometrics. The more muscles used in a single exercise ups the ante of increasing growth hormone. After say a 30 second burst from a sprint your body shifts into overdrive and when you're huffing and puffing and feeling like you're going to die, that is actually opening up your body's system and jump starts that process of increased blood flow to the muscles and powering up the heart muscle and firing your lungs to produce more oxygen.

 
    Unlike spending thousands of dollars on artificial crap that could end up killing you, the methods I just pointed out are not only free but they're legal and they don't come with gross side effects. The media may have portrayed artificial steroids really exaggeratedly but the fact of the matter is, when you inject/swallow/insert you're putting chemicals into your body that aren't in a natural state and there can be dire consequences. Why settle for destroying your hard earned paycheck that ends up having possibly disappointing results when you can do it using your own body's capabilities and more using proving methods that has helped people get a good level of balanced muscle mass and bodyfat. When I'm talking about muscle mass I'm not talking about the grotesque look you see on bodybuilders; I'm talking about the type of muscle mass that gives you natural health and good solid levels of growth hormone that has looking young, vibrant and athletic. One of the best methods to add in for this is taking Cold Showers to learn more about the health benefits of Cold Showers check out The Art Of Manliness, it's a pretty cool read.

 
    Another thing that makes a huge difference on using natural methods and artificial steroids is the work of your organs especially the kidneys, heart and liver; when you use natural methods of quality intense training and recovery periods, your organs become stronger and generate more power to maximize your overall health and sexual energy (trust me especially for us guys we need this) as oppose to artificial injections and unnatural chemical replacement that can cause damage to the organs and inflate them in a way that puts too much strain on the central nervous system and can cause your body to internally destroy itself. Now I'm not a physician or a doctor but unless proper precautions have been legitimized (and even that is slim) but in theory it can ruin your health to lengths you can never come back from. Sure it's been said that chemically enhanced steroids have helped those with major diseases and help balance things out hormonally in both men and women but that's where the exception ends because it's medically used within the resort where there aren't too many option and/or the individual can't produce their body's system naturally. The majority of people however, don't need that artificial crap when you have methods proven by old-time physical culturists, natural supplementation in organic foods and using sleep balances. Stay strong, be healthy and use the best methods that give you the greatest benefit both long term and high quality of life.

Training Until Eighty Percent Fatigued

    From today's training with the TNT Cables I wanted to test a theory on the exercises I performed. This theory is based on your intuition, awareness of muscle fatigue and knowing when good form starts to diminish. This can be used in both a strength workout, endurance workout and/or both depending on what you want to focus on. It is performed within a percentage of your fatigue level meaning once you have hit a certain amount of reps, your muscles begin to break down. Within this concept, you do as much of the exercise you are willing to put into but you don't keep going when your form becomes poor. You can always do another set if you wish but instinctively know when to let go and move on. When I mean 80% fatigue I mean in the sense where those last few reps of good form and you have had enough, this doesn't mean you try to end the exercise by hardly being able to move.

 
    This isn't anything new but learning a different take on it may help you find that piece of training info that will give you more of the results you're looking for. You see the muscles break down within a period of time after or during such intense work and they need to repair but what if you don't completely break them down and only hit a certain spot they're just almost at that stage and move on. Taking a breather and breathing deeply and taking as much time as needed for the next exercise so your blood flow can run smoothly and letting the muscles "get some air" so do speak. Experimenting with this is only for doing a single set possibly two or three depending on your energy levels and repping it out until you only have a couple reps of good form. This isn't a speed exercise although if that's what you choose but it's more important to focus into the muscles being worked and breathing right otherwise you're just making yourself crazy and if your form becomes poor, your fatigue levels are too much.

 
    The type of training here is not for merely getting a pump out of the exercise to hit a peak in the muscles although it does feel good but what we're attempting to do here is being to hit the muscles at a certain level of degree where staying in good form reaches it's end and you'll know this when a certain amount of reps become slower to move but can still hit the range of motion needed. Training this way whether with light or heavy weight and low rep/high rep schemes using your mental awareness of how the body feels within a period of an exercise can help you find where you're getting strength and cardio at the same time. If you're a bodybuilder this can apply there as well but this is for mere strength and cardio purposes and knowing the use of good form. Odd Objects can be used for this but because of the unstablizing factor of moving a weight such as a log, heavy rock, keg, barrel; good form won't always play a factor because you may not pick a weight the same exact way as you would a barbell, dumbbell or cable but do believe in the realm of possibilities, it just takes some experimenting to figure out what works for you.

 
    The results of this is amazing and as I experiment more with this theory I'll let you know more of the results but as I theorize it, I do believe you can gain great strength from doing this and the recovery factor is being utilized in a different way. Don't do this every day but maybe 3x a week at best because you want to get the best recovery possible and letting the muscles repair themselves at a good rate. I recommend with all types of training is to take a cold shower after a workout to help the muscles speed up the process and exhilarating your metabolism and hormone levels and let the repairing go faster in a natural way. Experiment with this and let me know how it goes. Listen to your body and never go to the point where either you're using bad form or can't move the muscles needed otherwise you're fatiguing beyond what I'm telling you here. Also you don't need to do a ton of exercises, no more than 10-12 is needed because you want to focus on the exercises and using as many muscles as possible in one exercise. This is nearly like Dinosaur Training, using the basic exercises and hitting them hard with peaking at a level of fatigue that won't be painful or prone to injury.

 
      

Do You Even Lift Bro?

    Apparently that's the new generational question for fitness nuts. It's practically become synonymous with the dying old "ancient" fitness question "How much can you bench?" To me, it's one of the dumbest questions these days. Makes people feel inferior, weak and unappealing. Funny I've never been asked it but thank god I haven't, it's a bit annoying and it's usually asked by macho, stuck up pricks who think there're better than others. It's not even a general question it's more sarcastic and unfunny. And those that answer shouldn't have to open their mouth, they got nothing to prove to anyone except themselves.

 
    What I'm wondering is when people ask that are they asking if you lift weights, odd objects or bodyweight because it seems to be way too general and not necessarily specific. It's become a bit of a downer and very tedious. Sometimes it makes me want to slap those morons. Do I lift? Here's an answer for you, no I don't lift much weights but I can handle a pretty damn huge sledgehammer, lift my entire body weight in both a pullup and a handstand, I can press up heavy cables, lift some nifty rocks but if you want to call me out on it I'd be happy to oblige but not for your benefit to prove anything but only because you asked so be careful what you wish for.

 
    The real question should be "Do you even train?" Who cares if you don't lift or look like a bloated bodybuilder, as long as you train and it makes you happy so be it. Anybody can lift a weight or pick up a thing or two but training is different, it's doing something for a purpose and what gives them results. Train for what you want to do not because someone asked you about it. You don't need to lift but believe in training, finding what you're good at and believe in it. Don't listen to those shmucks. Real people don't ask stuff like that, they help and show you how to draw your own path.

 
    What matters is not how much you lift, but how much you're willing to train. Making goals come alive, seeing the results that bring meaning to you and doing what makes you happy. Take chances, break a few rules and answer by doing and not using your mouth that would only stoop to their level unless you've got some good method of psychology on them. Don't be a jackass, be smart and be honest.

What Makes You Is You Only

    People these days want to defy others by what's different, what's wrong, or praise them by great efforts/deeds and tell them what they can and can't do. It's a vicious cycle especially when it comes to parents, teachers and politicians. Some like to play favorites and tell off that the other person is not good like that kid or that councilman, or defying a person's personality by the color of their skin or religion or whatever. It's like there's no neutral compromise of what is good, bad or different. Let me put it to you this way for you Twilight fans, you're either team Edward or team Jacob, that's what society is defied in today's world there's no middle. We are so consumed of what's different and fearful when there's a whole other door to be open that is beautiful, compassionate, loving and wholesome. To tell you the truth, I'm not a religious person, I'm not all about being a liberal or conservative hell I don't give a damn what color your skin is, to me you're another human being.

 
    What defies you is not what you are but who you are. You may not be a pro athlete or were in the top 3 in a spelling bee or won best debater but you have done something you must be proud of. Awards are only an object they are not what makes you a wonderful or awful person, it's who you become through experience, mistakes, triumphs, raising up and hitting rock bottom. I have won a few things in my lifetime, made a choice to fight back to walking again, I have exceeded people's expectations of me and I have experienced certain things in my life a kid should have no way of seeing yet I'm still here. I don't look for praises, to be someone's go to guy or to be the world's greatest writer. I've been told a lot of things some negative and some positive yet I choose to not to go with one or the other, I go for what works for me and learn about what I'm good at and what I can do to share my passion with the world. Don't ever let anything or anyone defy who you truly are, the only person or thing that can defy you is you and your passion. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, Jewish, Christian, Gay, Straight, rich, poor, comedy or action lover, writer, athlete or whatever if you're passionate about something and it's part of your personality and the way you look at life and those around you that defies who you are. I may have hidden who I really am around certain people but it's not because of what I think, it's about who truly deserves to see it because I've been judged, beaten up, ridiculed, told I would never make it somewhere yet I choose to not let that scare me away from my true self, it fuels me to want it more to become better and not do it for them but for me. Finding who you are is life's greatest adventure.

 
    Stick to what gives you the greatest benefit. If your heart is set on something and you're so passionate about it, there's a good chance you'll become great at it if you practice, see it, feel it, energize you and it helps others in a productive way. Some will drive you away from your passion not because they know you'll be good but apparently they have their hearts set at seeing you fail. It is sad to feel fear, to think that people have the nerve to tell something "you're going to fail" and it's not really you they're directing at, they're directing themselves in disguise because they don't have your passion, your strength to go for what's important to you and making something of yourself. Whatever makes you happy, brings you joy, anything that gives your soul and deep universal mind peace and warmth that's what you should be doing. I have known people who work at these jobs where they are just miserable and don't have any real life to them, no enthusiasm or passion it's "just a job", sure you may make good money to provide for your family or just you but if you have no reason to be joyful and inlove with what you do what's the point? For me when I get the urge to write I make it a habit to put passion into it and my soul with deep meaning and love for it because it's a part of who I'am and what I love in this world. I don't give a damn if you're a pizza delivery boy or a lawyer for some famous celebrity, if you truly put your passion into what you do it's no longer a job, it's getting paid to have a blast.

 
    Family & Friends may claim to really know the true you and maybe some do I'm not discounting that but for those that really know you don't reject your passion or tell you it's a hobby, they encourage you, want to help you because they believe in you with no agenda, no strings attached and no hidden bullshit. I have some friends and family that could care less about what I do and wouldn't have a clue on what encouragement really means and show they're care at all but you know what, I'm ok with that because there's another group of those two things that will learn about my passion and they will encourage me and they do believe in me because they know what I'm capable of and what I'm doing about it one step at a time. You can have all the people you want to have your back and give you love and affection and praises for what you do or believe in your passion but the only person that has your back despite all the trials, tribulations, failures, success and the choices throughout your life is you. You know the real you, you know what goes on in your head, you know what you're really feeling and you know what makes you happy or sad. No matter how many claim to believe in you or not the only thing that matters is if you believe in yourself.

 
     

The Gym Is Everywhere

    About 99.9% of the gyms out there today are horrible and I want to tell you why; they have no regard for people who truly want to get fit and strong. They have no class for showing fitness in a simple manner, they make it complicated by having too many gadgets and very little amount of free weights or they play their little con games to get you to sign up. Hell there's even a gym where they have pizza and bagels once a month and yet this same gym told a beautifully fit woman to leave because she was intimidating, what a bunch of crock. One gym I went to with my sisters, cousin and brother-in-law I got a ton of odd looks because I was lifting quite a bit of weight (apparently a partial press of 465 lbs. is a little odd to them). The reason most gyms today suck because they rather cater to people who are skinny as hell and feed them crap both physically and psychologically or to those who are overweight and put them on little baby weights while putting them on a machine feeding them celery. It is a travesty and I'm not surprised if the old-timers are rolling in their graves right now.

 
    What you deserve is to be healthy, fit, strong and vital. Now I realize some programs won't work and hey that's ok because there will be something out there for you to find that will have you glowing with energy, hormones are at their peak, your strength becomes stronger, you lose bodyfat and gain muscle. Most gyms don't deserve you because quite frankly if you look deep into it, they don't give a damn about you or how unfit or fit you are. What I don't get is, you have a gym that has some great free weights to use but yet the moment you start to show some real strength they give you shit for it, it's confusing isn't it? You deserve to be happy, challenged and cared about your progress, how can that be when your gym is making you do the dumbest stuff and yet you feel miserable. That's not real training.

 
    If you open up your mind and believe in possibilities, you can train anywhere you want, it doesn't have to be in a room full of (or empty for that matter) people that don't care or have any regard for hygiene and respect for the equipment; it can be in your home, backyard, park, beach, office, grocery store, restaurant even you're damn bedroom. Buy free weights if you want them, do sprints at the school yard, jump in the lake and find a rock or two to lift. We have become so narrow minded that in order to make us happy we have to join up somewhere that costs a ton of money or very little and not go plus wait for assholes on their cell phone to finish his set. Not every gym is like that, I've been in a couple that are actually worth going to and it's always awesome in the atmosphere and the amount of encouragement you actually get without pretending. Be open to do kick ass things without being crammed into a place that looks like the cysteine chapel or Bloomingdales and make something of yourself, flip a big tire if you find one, go do cartwheels, climb, run down the field, lift a heavy rock, swing a mace, throw a keg there are so many things to choose from. I haven't been to a gym since Aug. and only went just to get away from the complex for a while and spend some time with my sister and her husband; while there I made the best of it, lifted heavy, did a few exercises with a 53lb. Kettlebell, DDP Yoga, Arm Wrestling, one arm snatches for reps and other stuff and loved every second of it. At the time it was in Lake Tahoe but my gym was the lake, the rocks, climbing the ladders, push-ups, squats, bridging and more.

 
    The real gym is out there, you can create your own gym overtime in your garage or den if you have the space. No distractions, no bullshit gym politics and you're free to do whatever you want when you want and however you want with no judgment or someone telling you what to do. At the park you are free to move and do what your heart desires, practice your hand balancing, run sprints on a nearby track or the grassy field, dance if you feel like it, just getting out in the open air does wonders for your overall health. Go to your local beach either by the ocean or lake (if it's not too polluted, the cleaner the better) and go for a kick ass swim, if there are rocks around I'm sure there will be some to lift, carry, throw, curl, squat or toss that tickles your fancy. Why not do Isometrics while you're dining out, no one really looks at what you're doing so you can curl your fists under the table or press your arm down for a few seconds, squeeze your abs (maybe not while you're actually but between eating). How about while you wait in line at the movies or at your bank, sometimes those things take a while depending on what's going on so you can do things like circling your wrists to strengthen the tendons, open and close your fist, press your feet into the ground, work your shoulders. There are so many ways to do things that don't require those pesky piece of crap gyms. Do some research, experiment with a few things, find what can work for you and be flexible about it so you can go about your day and taking care of your responsibilities. Be bold and open up the possibilities instead of impossibilities.
    

Adapt Your Training Like A Wrestler

    I'm not going to talk about guys in WWE but the type of wrestling I will be mentioning will be more towards Catch Wrestling, Amateur style and some others. You can learn all the techniques you'll need in your arsenal and you can even go for days without needing a second wind but there will come a time where you can't play out the same scenarios and play the same style everytime. It's awesome to learn things you want to do and practice those ten thousand times but yet one of the best secrets is how to adapt and still efficient. When it comes to pro wrestling I'm a fan of the more scientific portion or for you fans technical wrestling where to me that looks more believable than the crap you see mostly on TV. When you train, learn the skills that will give you the edge and practice with efficiency as best as possible but at times those skills may not always work in your favor so you need to know when that curve comes sliding in. If you ever watched a great wrestler or read about how they are so powerful in their matches or fights you'll notice one thing that separates a good average wrestler to a damn elitist is his adaptability.

 
    Whether you're training for sports or just to get in shape a key thing to remember is when and how to change things up and work within your own prowess and adapt. If you do the same things too often, sure it'll be a reflex and it can become like a second language to you but what if those skills don't always come in the way they were meant to so how can you win your own battles? Being able to adapt gives you an advantage and teaches you how to be intuitive of when the time comes and how you'll handle the situation or workout in this case. Like in wrestling, a guy may wrestle the same guy a time or two and he'll be able to understand how that guy operates but what about the next guy who he hasn't done anything with and needs to know which holds to go to and change up his motive and where to get the guy in the right spot within an accurate time? Same thing happens in workouts, you can be awesome in one workout but may not have the same energy or feel and some exercises that aren't in your routine give you another outlook on how you flow through it. You never know what you'll get into so my advice to you is learn as much as possible and research what works and what doesn't because if something doesn't work then you got problems but if you find a program or series of them and customize your own version that works for you, you are on your way to mastering the very best within your natural style.

 
    There are a variety of exercises to choose from so learn and pick your favorites that give you the greatest benefit however; every once in a while or as often as you want, learn exercises you normally don't do but have an interest in. Create an arsenal that has you being efficient in how you recover, the amount of intensity you can provide, the volume that gets you peaked and if you ever happen to get injured but still know what you can do it'll be there right inside your mind and you can turn it into action. Being adaptable takes your results to another level and using different tempos, speeds and whatever can be useful that produces what you want to progress at your own pace. Make it a habit to adapt and improvise.

 
    A lot of people can't fathom the amount of intuition they already have. Being intuitive can make you dangerous in how you do things but in a good way. A great wrestler looks at his opponent like it's a chess game, he may not always find the right moves fast but he is intuitive and feels out his opponents next move and where he'll go, he will instinctively finds the mistakes and takes advantage and go for the win, doesn't always happen in a matter of seconds it might take him a round or 2 but when it happens it's a site to see. When you train, you may know certain exercises by heart and they're like a muscle memory but you may not want to do the same old routine, so you change things up a bit. Using your intuition to read out how your workout goes and it doesn't matter if it's 5 min. or 1 hour you'll find that when you turn things around and seek out your next exercise you'll fire it when you turn on that switch. I never do the same routine in the same week, I get bored easily so in order to stay at a level that I want to be at I have to switch things up and do exercises that I intuitively go for. You may not be able to do the set up you planned for so don't give up, face it in a different manner and go with your instincts. Like a wrestler, whether he wins or loses his instincts will always get the best of him because if he makes a mistake he's done but if he finds a way to get a move on his enemy and instinctively finds the right moves at the right time he will dominate. Learn to dominate my friend.

Grip It By The Horns

    Being able to crush something in your hands is a powerful entity. What would it feel like to destroy metal in your hands, lift more weight, having to pay attention as you shake someone's hand or better yet, have a grip so powerful it makes the rest of you that much better? One of the most fascinating things about training is the variety of ways for you to become practically superhuman. Your hands are your tools to develop strength and power in ways the average person can't even fathom. Compete with a mighty grip that will have your opponents running for the hills, how about being a ball player and knocking dingers out of the park without steroids or PEDs, using your strength in an MMA fight and being to swing a heavy hammer with ferocious intensity. Having a crushing grip is a great thing.

 
    The strength to be able to grip long enough to handle a heavy weight or your bodyweight can help you in other endeavors. Rock Climbers have some of the strongest fingers on the planet and have tendons that are like eagle's claws and being to hang on one arm is just incredible. One of the most basic ways to begin doing pull-ups (or advancing for that matter) is to practice as if you were a wild gorilla or ape. No I'm not talking being an actual ape but learning to a degree how to gain grip strength just by hanging on a pull-up bar. Hanging by your hands builds strength not just in the fingers but elongates the spine, stretching the shoulders and eliminating fat from your obliques. Another great way to train is to use thick handles like Fat Gripz that you can attach to your barbell or dumbbell set (I prefer cables but that's just me) and tackle your workout like the old-time strongmen. Thick bar training has many distinct advantages and not just for building a mighty grip but build natural growth hormones, thick and powerful tendons, superhuman like power in your entire body from your neck to your toes. Why not swing a heavy sledgehammer for a long period of time, this alone builds insane strength and a grip that even Slim The Hammerman would be impressed by. Hold on tight if you want to develop grip power.

 
    The ability to squeeze with intense focus where the whole body is in play, you're on the verge to developing a powerful physique with real strength and muscle that is useful and resourceful, not petty and weak like a modern day bodybuilder. The old-timers knew of this long before this generation of roid-heads can possibly notice. Men like Reg Park, John Grimek, Bob Peoples, Brooks Kubik knew the real deal when they found it and that was training the grip in complete detail and not just using thick bars but odd objects and specific feats that required the outmost concentration on the grip and the body itself. When you have to squeeze hard enough to lift or hoist something up it doesn't have to be a barbell or dumbbell but yet you're turning on the juice in your nervous system and unlocking those muscle fibers to fire more than they normally would and unleashing your hormones into overdrive. A mighty squeeze for a mighty body.

 
    This is most crucial if you ever want to develop real strength and muscle and that's training to where if it came down to it, it can be life-saving strength you'll need to help someone in need. I've helped my family over the years (not always on free will) move other people and help carry very heavy pieces of furniture, shoulder-carrying a thick carpet, bed frames, drawer sets you name it and I was mostly called upon because they were impressed by my strength. Now helping someone move may not always be "life-saving" but if there was ever a situation and you have that powerful grip to use, make it happen and turn on that power within you. Even the most ordinary and average person can have some superhuman qualities in the blink of an eye when that adrenaline starts flowing but if you already have that within you already, imagine having a super grip beforehand. Train with intensity when you can and to make your workouts shorter but effective throw in some grip exercises to ease yourself along the way. Basic, simple and uncomplicated to create some serious packing power