Bridging & Testosterone

We all can't be young forever (or can we?) and we reach a certain age when we start "winding down" and begin that process of aging and losing hair, gaining bodyfat and worse of all especially for us studs, we begin to lose our testosterone. The power of natural testosterone is a bold one and vitally important to our existence as men of Virility and Vitality. When we start to lose it, it gets us depressed and having us think of our youth. I just started that age (I'll be 31 next month) where the meter starts to go down. I don't believe in taking drugs to increase hormones unless it is a far off last resort and you're on your last leg. Personally I can't stand drugs, the only thing I truly take is a melatonin to help me sleep. We don't have to let our manhood wind down, there are ways to keep it going and do so without artificial help.

One of my favorite all-time exercises is the Bridge or what some call the wrestler's bridge or back bridge. It's more than just working the neck, it hits you everywhere from the head to the toes. It's an exercise that builds incredible internal energy and because of the positioning, it hits greatly in the hips and groin area (where our testosterone is spotted) and gives off that energizing effect you can't seem to grasp unless you've experienced it. I'm no expert but after practicing Bridging off and on for 10 years I can tell you without a doubt it is one of the most powerful exercises for your body both internally and externally. It builds radiant energy, puts you in a euphoric state that keeps you calm and aware; it's a feeding ground for super-charged strength in your legs, torches bodyfat, a strong neck and it builds great lung power from the practiced deep breathing.

I'm not saying I have an extremely high level of testosterone but I do however have powerful energy radiating through me throughout the day and my body festers in the essence of Physical Spirituality and part of the reason is from bridging; it puts blood flow into my brain, puts me in a trance-like state of relaxation and also has me feeling more fueled up than an 18 year old at his peak. One of the main keys of this is by how I breathe; I use to be a shallow breather and still have my moments but the moment I get to bridge whether it's for the front, back, wall walking or the gymnastic bridge I learn to breathe as deeply as possible and when this happens, I get stretched more, I unlock that internal energy all the way from my toes going up and feel like i'm on steroids; full of energy and fat burning metabolism running through my veins and having that "wild" feeling in certain areas where guys just can't get enough of. Breathe deeply in the bridge and you'll feel things you wished you had long ago.

Don't practice just one variation of the bridge, learn the very best of them and when you get into doing a sequence o what's called Bridging Gymnastics, it becomes a whole new realm of super-powered strength, flexibility, agility and high levels of fat torching nothing else can touch. I dare you once you're able to; attempt that style of training. You fall back into a bridge, kick over and kick back and repeat. The most I've ever done in that sequence is about 30 reps total and I came out looking like I just ran a marathon. This can be in either the back bridge or the gymnastic bridge whatever you feel would work for you. 15 minutes of this type of training will have you spanked and down for the count but don't fret, the benefits are all worth while. I highly recommend you keep water on site and I encourage you to take cold showers because you will sweat and you will be heating up a bit. Cold water therapy enhances the fat burning process and juices you up naturally & helps with recovery big time. This type of training is not to be done everyday, do what you can up to 3 times a week, 4 at best and get plenty of rest. You think you won't gain new levels of testosterone after this type of training, find out for yourself. Even basic bridging exercises hit your body like crazy and if that's all you want to do cool, you're still making progress on beating the aging process.

One Pathway To Stronger Arms

There is no one all-be all of doing things but certain things work out in more ways than others do. For us guys at least most of them want to have those mighty python arms of cannonball biceps and triceps looking like horseshoes and shoulders that scream strength. For Women, it's having more toned arms that have an athletic appeal since they don't want that fat hanging over their arms. So what are the possibilities of building stronger arms; lifting heavier weight, hand balancing, pushing and pulling heavy objects, pull-ups, push-ups all kinds of ways but one of the toughest and most rewarding I believe is by Walking On Your Hands. There's Handstand walking but that could take a ton of time to learn although I still say make an effort, the wheel barrel exercise where a person holds your legs as you walk on the hands or you can strap yourself into the Lifeline Power Wheel and learn to stabilize your core while walking on your hands.

Our legs are the strongest in our bodies period. Imagine for a moment, you can possibly have the equivalent of legs to arms ratio in terms of potential strength. You know how powerful you would be? Especially in your favorite sport? The possibilities are endless. Now I realize that could never happen because our legs can take much more mass and have greater structure compared to our arms; however, if we were to strengthen our arms by walking on them and for a brief few moments feel as if they were our legs, our strength can skyrocket from this type of movement alone. Super powerful tendons and muscular strength/endurance very few will ever achieve.

The power in walking on your hands is unlike any other. Sure enough you don't want to overdo it and want to work the back as well. The stabilizing muscles make you work harder than you can imagine. Just walking 20 yards alone can create some serious strength yet there are those who can walk 100 yards or more on their hands; that's crazy strength and endurance going on there. In order to get into position with the Power Wheel, you need to strap your feet in get into a plank and start taking one step at a time, the balancing at first is awkward as hell but as you learn to control the legs and Core Muscles, you can go for a longer walk but your arms will tire out eventually and it might be only a few feet in the beginning. When you go from feet to yards or meters it takes some serious core strength to do this and six pack abs won't always help you, the look isn't nowhere near the amount of real strength needed to pull that off. Some of the strongest men on the planet have trouble walking a few feet.

Some people like to specialize in certain muscles to get shape, well walking on your hands will very much shape them up because if your arms are weak you won't get very far. The Power Wheel teaches you how to control your core and legs in the confines of the straps and will tell you how weak or strong you are. At first you may wobble trying to keep the wheel from going to the side and learning to contract the legs and core isn't easy to do but it is possible with the right practice. Start just holding a plank, then begin doing push-ups, when you first walk; take a step with one hand and isometrically press into the ground then do the same with the next hand build that strength, eventually you'll be walking with relative ease. Want to make it harder after that, do walking push-ups or power push ups by plyometrically jumping forward. Walking on your hands is serious training and it's fun to play with if you got some good space to move around. Go for it and see what happens.

The Benefits Of Qi Gong

Qi Gong is the practice of building your body from the inside out. It's the elements on which you practice more than just building muscle, you're developing strength and power in your tendons, ligaments and joints. It is not something you want to rush in like a cardio workout; you'll get enough just by practicing the deep breathing and various movements. Qi Gong isn't a race, it's an enduring journey on finding your inner self and making it stronger and more powerful.

In each of us there is a spirit that is connected with our body; some call it god, others say it's universal and some even believe the yin and yang of our spirituality, there are 2 sides to everything sometimes 3. I believe there is such a thing as Physical Spirituality where we learn to connect ourselves internally through physical application. I'm not referring to weights or bodyweight exercises in general but movements based on the flow of energy and using the guiding power within our bones and not always our muscles. We become so obsessed with the outer appearance that we forget that our internal body is neglected. Both must be treated equally and learned through our mind and body as if it were one thing.

The benefits of Qi Gong go way beyond training the body to relax and have a soft but effective power behind it. You could heal injuries, develop your tendons with such fierceness people would be in awe by it. Imagine living pain-free, have a spring in your step, flush out toxins, have a powerful body for sports, move with greater agility yet become so strong it would be tough for someone to move you. Your energy filled to the brim that generates flexibility and strength at the same time. Open up your esteem with smiles and looking younger and brighter. Expand your brain cells and develop greater memory that could whip Alzheimer's' ass and have a more calming demeanor.

For the most part, most of the population these days care about muscles; how big they are, are they worth the strength based on the look alone and most of the time they aren't unless you're in strongman, mma or working hard manual labor. Qi Gong goes beyond the muscles, it develops them in a way that is ancient and full of various possibilities that are better health wise than the size of your biceps or your chest and it certainly doesn't give a rat's ass how sculpted your abs are. Qi Gong is about strength that has more value than the look, it channels real power in your bones and the importance of your internal organs. Anyone can build muscle in some form but if your organs aren't doing so well, no supplement or highly trained doctors might be able to save you. I've been practicing Qi Gong off and on for a few years and I've learned that it's not always the technique that gets you energized, it's the flow and the ability to relax and be loose. My energy has skyrocket since going back to it doing different styles for my neck, legs and wrists that connect with the entire muscular structure. If you're not flowing right, you become tense, disoriented and could amplify blood pressure and low lung capacity; if you're flowing with the right training you are more relaxed, agile, practically pain-free in both the brain and the body itself. You have greater speed, flexibility and mobile with a sense of buzzing energy in your veins.

To learn more about Qi Gong & its extreme benefits I highly recommend you look into Matt Furey's Furey Faithful Program and learn the ancient secrets to longevity, flexibility, health and fitness that goes beyond bodyweight exercise and/or using implements. I trust his judgement and because of his teachings I've added other things that are feeling easier to do and I have greater sense of awareness and intuitive power that is intense and yet relaxed at the same time.

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?