Hiking For A Greater Connection

When you're out in nature, it feels different; even if you're not use to it there's something special and full of fondness if you allow yourself to it. After going on a hike today with my special girl, I felt a sense of connection with the earth. I wouldn't recommend being in humid weather if you haven't done it in a long time unless you're in decent shape. It brings out a sensation in your body not just physical but internal as well. It's important to breathe as deeply as possible. If you are a shallow breather, you won't last very long and you'll need to rest more than usual. Play your way into it.

Movement can be used in many ways but it's biggest value is how you are connected with your movement in your body not just physically but by your breath, the way you sense the energy, the feeling of the environment surrounding you and the wholesome love of what you are moving to. Hiking is a style of movement to where it becomes more than just walking; it's a form of balancing, keeping your body on a narrow path and having to move your feet throughout various terrain, it's not always a straight line and you have to keep yourself stabilized throughout most of the trek. Depending on the type of trail you follow, it won't always feel the same, can be bumpier or smoother during certain periods and the weather can be different. If it's humid out you're gonna need a good load of water to carry because you will sweat. You may have to crawl sometimes, you never know what kind of trail you can get yourself into and your legs will get a hell of a workout plus your lungs.

Deep Breathing is essential in all areas of life yet the majority of us take it for granted. If you're a solid hiker, you can build some serious lung power. I've hiked up mountains at elevations as high as nearly 9000ft and it can be brutal because of the thin air and the way gravity can hit you. Learn to connect with your breath and understand it's true nature, the greater your breathing, the greater your stamina. Don't think deep breathing builds muscle? Think again. Powering up your chest and keeping the stomach tucked, you can build some serious muscle in your body, it becomes more than a leg builder, it becomes a chest builder, creating strong abdominals and you're working your arms. Connect with your breath and you will get stronger.

Build up to a level of hiking where you are comfortable and progressing each time you go. Say you only go a mile all together to start, take some time to recover or when you feel like going again, then go a little further say half a mile longer. Build up until you can do a full trail and see how your endurance has skyrocketed. I miss hiking and would like to do it more often and i'm in pretty good shape to do quite the trail, just a matter of timing and keeping up my deep breathing training. Helps if the joints are loose and you have that spring in your step. Got a place to hike? Go for it, be with nature and feel another sense of connection with the earth you can't get from a laptop or something full of wires and electronics, nature is the connection of the soul.

Play & A Challenge

I hate to see people suffer and not have the ability to move around and just be apart of the world by playing. Not talking about teasing or being an ass more like playing with different forms of movement and learning new skills or progressing your skill level. No need to analyze everything, learn what you would you like to do and make it interesting for you. It doesn't have to be like some guru who tries to program you with this or that. Have fun with your movements and play around with what can work for you; even if you're in a wheelchair, throw punches, learn to crawl on your hands (wear gloves if you're a germiphob), push yourself up the stairs whatever you set your mind to, there are possibilities.

Make the right choices of play; what I mean by that is getting into the mindset of not just blindly running around like a crazed lunatic (although there might be some entertainment in that) but learn your skills and be enthusiastic about it, don't try to rush things or feel like you are punishing yourself, live it up and practice with intent. Movement is beautiful but it takes time to learn, you can't be a master on the rings in one day or become an expert of Animal Flow in one week, it takes time and patience plus it's great to have an imagination and to block out those who say you can't do it or you're too old and need to be cautious. Make it work for you.

Speaking of play, I thought I'd play with the idea of challenging my favorite Avenger Captain America (Chris Evans) to do a unassisted handstand push-up. Calling out the man himself to do something I don't think he would do in everyday life since he's an actor and training while shooting a film as the good ole Cap. With this challenge i'am encouraging him to go that extra mile and add a small piece of element in his training. You can read about my challenge here. I believe he can do it and if he accepts my challenge I will donate $50 to a charity of his choosing. As a fan and a fitness nerd, I wanted to have a little fun and go do something a little off the wall and something I have never done. It would be a cool thing to do and since he busts his ass keeping the Cap character fit as a fiddle, let's up the ante and see if he can do one of the most difficult push-ups around. Hand Balancing is a powerful and fun way to be athletic and get super strong in the upper body, plus it doesn't hurt to get the legs worked too.

With that in mind, I encourage all of you to share this and help me spread this out to him and get his attention. I'm calling him out and holding him accountable by taking his physicality to an additional spectrum. He is a wonderful actor and there aren't too many movies left for him to play Steve Rogers possibly so let's make this happen while he still has a few films left in him. Let's give it a whirl and ask him the million dollar question....Chris, do you have the balls to take this challenge and do you accept or walk away?

Rest Is Also Training

The ability to recover is essential in any form of training. Letting the body repair itself when it needs to is a means to build and rise within your being. Push too hard all the time without truly resting can kill you more than you'll believe. The body does grow stronger but in order for that to happen you need to give yourself a break.

I don't believe in "rest" days in the sense where you don't do anything on a non training day but use those those for reflection and what I call Recovery Workouts; training sessions that aren't vigorous and builds your energy from within. You can do Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Bua Gua or whatever internal arts you wish to practice, as long as you're keeping the blood flowing in a relaxed state you can possibly recover faster.

I believe in the power of healing whether it's from physical injuries or brain trauma or emotional imbalances. It takes practice but there ways to heal yourself. Exercise is great but also learning how to rest and program yourself into a meditative state that eases your well being and other things. I like resting my body for a day after a hard workout or if I get so worked up I just train until my body is ready to shut down and my body can rest. Be productive and not violent about finding ways to rest and let your body take care of itself both internally and externally.

The real strength is not in your muscles but in your mind. When you combine the mind/muscle connection as if they were one and the same, you are capable of doing many things. If your mind is full of stress and negativity your body will follow and it's not pretty; however the same can be said about the body, if it becomes too jittery and you're all over the place and your focus isn't in the right state of mind, your brain can turn on you and bring those neurons into that level of stress that can lead to inflammation, heart problems, physical injuries, low self-esteem and could bring harm onto yourself or others if you're not careful. Give yourself the opportunity to rest and recuperate so you can function at your very best. Training is not always trying to be the strongest or who can outlast who in the gym and it's definitely not about pushing your body to the limit every single day. When you have the amount of recovery you need, your focus shifts and your strength can reach new levels. Rest doesn't always mean sleeping 10 hours a day but being able to take the time and let yourself breathe and get into that relaxed state. Cool things happen when you are rested.

Be Playful

Like the Joker says in The Dark Knight "Why so serious?" Not trying to be dark or anything but seriously though when did we stop being a playful human being and become so cautious of every little thing. In fitness some people take their workouts way too literal and try this ride or die mentality and just feel like it's Hardcore, Hardcore and more Hardcore. I'm all for pushing yourself and doing things to amplify your potential (minus the roids) but come on people, lighten up a little. There are too many things in this world that have a negative entity so how about we be a little more playful shall we.

I love the ability to move and play with different things like Animal Flow, MovNat, Hand Balancing and a few swings with the Mace & Sledgehammer. Although it's been seen a lot more lately yet not enough people realize the beauty in Movement. Using your body like the men and women of ancient times that crawled, jumped, climbed, swam and had to balance themselves in order to survive; we don't have to go into survival mode but developing these skills and making an adventure out of it brings more of your potential to a level you didn't think was possible. Yeah yeah we have these "gyms" that help you move but in reality, these are more isolated and could actually kill you more than help you live longer and healthier. When you're so limited in movement it takes away the love and nature of your body's abilities to do what it was born to do. You didn't come out of a womb to do ab crunches on a machine or use a stepper to work your legs; you had to learn to crawl first, roll over, rock yourself to get up, squat, stand up and walk, you even had to teach yourself to climb up on the couch. That's where the true learning and beauty comes from, a young toddler who doesn't over think things and thinks to him/herself "gee is my back straight to squat like this or are my legs up too high to lift" they do what they do and if they fail, they get up and keep trying.

It's important to understand technique and how to work your body according to the way your built but that's beside the point; overthinking leads to less involvement in your quest to move and do so with an open mind and doing something unique and beautiful as opposed to locking yourself up mentally and act like a stiff plus asking this and that in a very annoying way. Be instinctive, value what you can learn to create whether it's a series of exercises in a circuit, a combination of different moves, a routine that perks you up and makes you feel alive inside. It's not always what you do on the outside, its about opening yourself up from within.

A kid that plays has a wild imagination, he sees things no one else sees and moves that body to his creativity. They see scenarios in their heads we can't even fathom or remotely begin to understand (and how can we, we grew up so imagination doesn't exist with us like that anymore). You don't have act childish when you train but do your best to be more child-like; create your own world and live it as if you really could, soar through the air like a jet making sounds, crawl like your favorite animal, swim as if you were Tarzan saving Jane from a croc, duck and roll like Indiana Jones whatever your mind can come up with. Master your own way to move, be inspired by those who dare to think outside the box, have dreams that you want to see come true. Release your inner child. Magical things can happen.

Fitness On A Budget

Not everyone can afford gym memberships and even if you did pay $10 a month at Planet Fitness; it won't have the type of things that can truly make you crazy strong and feel good about yourself both in and out. Besides you can build your own gym in your home or garage on an inexpensive budget if you play it right. Trust me though, buying machines and a bunch of useless infomercial fitness will kill your wallet, like the knight in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade he says "You must choose, but choose wisely." Spend your money on things that matter and when it comes to fitness, do your research and put what you spend on for real strength and health.

When you really look at it, some of the best workouts are free of charge; things like body weight exercises, lifting heavy rocks, climbing a tree, playing on the Ape Bars and running sprints at a big track or field. When in doubt and want to still get strong, you can always have those when you look in the right places. You have options most don't ever realize and you can be one of those unique people who can expand their minds and look to fitness in a whole new light, plus it doesn't hurt having a great system of exercises you can tackle for free at Darebee, those guys show you that some of the best training is right there and don't need to pay one red cent.

If you happen to want to get some equipment, get things that are the real deal, none of those thousand dollar machines or a dumbbell rack that can turn to rust (however having a few dumbbells and a barbell with plates wouldn't be a bad stretch). Save your money for what you'd like to get. I once saved up to get an epic sledgehammer because I loved the type of training it brings. Took me a while but I made it happen, get some cool cables from Lifeline USA or the Power Wheel to really hammer out those abs you seem to want. Get DVDs that aren't in the mainstream that are unique and training that is not always heard of in the main fitness world. I'm not saying go spend thousands of dollars on a bunch of stuff, build up to it and save when you need to for your house, family, food and supplement activities. Money isn't the root to happiness.

Use your budget wisely and treat yourself to a cool "toy" to use for your next training session or get courses that spice up your learning and research what they're about. Youtube can be a great asset for research but it's nothing compared to learning from a real master of his trade and shows you what you can do for yourself and not bust your balls just so they can make a buck. Save up for a seminar you wish to go to, make it happen for you and do something worthwhile to you. Even if it takes you a couple years to save up and you only went for 1-4 days, if you're determined, it will come to you. Invest in your health, not useless knockoffs.

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Channeling Your Freedom Of Movement

Since the rebirth of natural movement (or Functional Fitness in mainstream fitness) we have been told to just move. Practice the incredible elements of movement like jumping, crawling, swimming, squatting, rotating, swinging, climbing, balancing and more. Physically moving is a powerful idea but just moving isn't always enough. Nobody just moves on body rows or balances on a bosu ball; it has to come from within to make the movement more meaningful and more of a guide than just a technique. It's more than physical; it's spiritual, openness, passion and living.

Many people love being told what to do, hell they don't always they're being sucked into the powerlessness without blinking twice. How sad is that. You have more power in you than you believe to be. Being told what to do gives you "structure", a reason to do something and you don't question it because otherwise what the hell you gonna do? I defy that crap, I learn things that give me meaning and I lead by my own example not what some shmuck with a napoleon complex thinks he can order me on. I move and train by my own principles, my philosophy and my own style of learning. Want more power over others, do certain things for yourself, learn what you're passionate about and live it fiercely everyday of your life. It's not easy and it's not always simple but it gives you more of the character that brings out the best in you.

The passion in your movement says a lot about who you are as a person. How do you breathe, where do you want to move in space, what brings you that life giving experience of moving through all sorts of planes? I believe in many systems I have learned over the years, I may not always agree with the philosophy but that's the beauty of it; creating something for you that inspires what you want to learn and continue to grow. Channel that passion, the fire that drives you and move the way you were meant to. Want to be an animal? Move like Tarzan? Do Gymnastics? Be a hand balancer? Why not all of them? It's all about what you're passionate about and sharing it to spread inspiration and love of giving back so whoever is passionate about their endeavors never feel like they can't do it.

Live in your creativity. Take it to another level and open your mind that expands the universe because when you're short minded; you become limited and you only do only a few things. Expand it to where you see yourself getting better, making something harder, more complex and unique that it's a point where you are the very best in your own style. Imitating others is great but it's not enough to reach your full potential, you have to do things that only you can compile together and makes you stand out. Be creative and let your imagination blossom otherwise you'll just be another human being trying to fit in the crowd.