Workout Bonding

For the most part, training alone for me is the ideal way to get the best out of fitness. Not just in the gym but also anywhere else you want to train but at times being alone sucks and want to have that feeling that there is someone that can exercise with you and motivate you. Trust me for nearly a decade, I have trained mostly on my own yet on occasion go to the gym or workout with my boys Logan Christopher or/and Tyler Bramlett. It's not so much the bonding but getting to hang out and just see how much we can push the limits. With bonding with another person, it adds an extra form within your relationship whether it's just friends or with a significant other and/or if you have kids.

I firmly believe that a family that trains together bonds together. Whether you're with relatives, your kids or with the one you love; being able to bond and work together as a team/group whatever the case may be, utilize your inhibitions in order to create a fun and exciting environment. Kids make awesome training partners because they mimic the movements you're attempting to make or practice and they want to see how cool it would be to do it themselves. A spouse can be a bit trickier because they seem more cautious and not as daring as a child but at the same time, it gives that person a chance to learn who you are not just doing simple exercises but making it feel wild and fun and that's where a kick ass bonding experience comes into play. I'm currently training my girlfriend Holly who you can find at This Butterfly Life and she was eager to learn but felt a little rocky at first but eventually just started flourishing really quick and has gained muscle and flexibility in a short amount of time, very proud of her. That's just an example but the principle still applies, it may be different by just the both of you starting out together and you don't know what to expect, learn your strengths and weaknesses and bring that tight bond together; magical things happen when you apply it right.

A great benefit of bonding while training is how both of you can enhance each other's motivation by bringing it up to a degree where you both are just rocking and helping each other rep things out and pushing each other. Not so much drill sergeant and calling each other name's, to me that's a big no-no. With kids, it's not always showing them the technique but how to keep it interesting for them. Animal Movements are awesome for kids because they get to live out their fantasy being an animal in the jungle in their imagination while they move. Movement is about adventure, exploring the unknown and channeling their energy that isn't hooked onto a TV or an Ipad or whatever electronic device. It builds their brain power, heightens their self-esteem, teaches teamwork and being themselves without ever telling them their exercising but playing.

I firmly believe that everyone should customize their own system because for one, if you're trying to keep up with someone else, it's only making you too much of a follower than forming your own ideals. Being self reliant in this case is a powerful tool because you are learning your own sense of individuality and creativity. By bonding you don't have to do the same program at the same speed and pace but you can encourage each other by sharing ideals and how to apply them for your own style of training. Be proud and let your significant other know that they matter and you bring a sense of inner strength for them because you give them a reason to better themselves. I don't ever want anyone to try to attempt what I do yet what I love is encouraging others to be more efficient in their own style of training and something that works in their favor alone and use that to bond with someone else. Make the experience exciting, creative and something to use for growth physically, mentally and emotionally.

Why Diets Suck

Atkins, 21 Day Fix, Low-Carb, Fruitarian, Water Fasts for weeks and many more crazy diets have you pegged a sheep trying to follow some asshole with a name on a piece of paper calling themselves "Experts" and make you suffer more than helping you. I believe that if you want the best out of losing weight, gaining weight, dropping fat than you need to manage or make the effort to do so without feeling so strict about yourself. Changing everything completely cold turkey is a complete waste of time, unless you've had nothing but junk food your whole life and knowing what the hell a fruit or a vegetable is than yeah time to make some big changes but start small. Life is not a race, it's a journey that you wrestle with and you won't always have a winning streak, losing at times can be good because it's a life lesson that could help you get back up.

What are the first three letters in the word Diet? D-I-E. Those three letters alone should have you be suspicious of anything remotely related to nutrition. I will admit my eating habits aren't the greatest and most likely never will be. I don't eat McDonalds everyday or Taco Bell, Jack In The Box or Burger Queen. I eat relatively healthy having good fats, eggs, meats, fruits and veggies, plenty of water and electrolytes and yes I do eat carbs but not so much the bad kind. I need some high level doses of food to fuel me because how hard I train. I love cookies, bacon wrapped hot dogs, coke, an occasional grilled cheese sammich and yes I do eat fried chicken from time to time. The thing is I don't feel any guilt about doing them because I know how my body works and that because of the way I train, I'll never look like an obsese person. Be noble and smart about what you eat and drink but there's nothing wrong with indulging a few bad things once in a while, you need that balance. I'm not a good or bad eater, I do my best to stay in the middle. You shouldn't have to suffer or feel like dying when it comes to food, it's choices and managing it that works in your favor for your own body.

Eating healthy isn't easy and it's not always willing to be healthy but money isn't always in your favor so it comes down to making compromises with yourself and/or the family you are raising. It can be stressful at times because of certain circumstances but it doesn't have to be negatively stressful. Being stress free means you are doing what's best but you don't feel guilty when something doesn't always work. Be honest and realistic with yourself about what you eat but don't ever feel like you have to strict yourself. Some people can't eat a ton of food but some need more than others depending on your goals and your intensity levels of exercise. Here's a tid bit of how hungry I get, after a workout say lifting a total of 20+ tons striking a tire with a 30 lbs.+ Sledgehammer i'm in no mood for little salads or those small meals i Tupperware, I grab what I can find in the fridge that is fairly healthy and devour it like a madman or go out somewhere like to subway, Quiznos or Panda Express and get as much as either two sandwiches or 4-5 entrees of food at Panda put into around two-three big boxes worth. When you're hungry you need fuel and at times you may not always get the healthiest thing because your body needs food badly. Make good choices but also listen to your body and not try to tell it what you think it needs or whatever the "plan" is on that diet sheet you think you can handle.

When it comes to Experts, I don't look for the shmucks in the fitness magazines or dumb forums and hell I don't trust nutritionists on TV like on Dr. Oz or some crap like that. I look to men and women who have been through the ringer, know that being strict doesn't get you anywhere and that food is fuel, not little bitty pieces of baby lettuce salads and 100 calorie Tupperware Meals. I look to real people who are very strong, athletic and do things out of the ordinary. It's those people I admire, not all of them have six pack abs or the body of a greek god; some of the healthiest people I know aren't the best athletic looking yet their health is even higher than those who look athletic in the first place. Most Experts have an agenda and they don't see through how some individuals don't have the capacity to fit their lifestyle with their diet ideals. Make honest choices but don't make yourself feel like shit in the process. It's tough, it can be frustrating yet eating real food is the best way to go but if you can't always make them happen, use your budget wisely and be open minded.

Top 5 Exercises For A Healthy Sex Drive

It's not an easy topic to talk about when it comes to sex and hormones because for the most part, people feel uncomfortable talking about something that is private to them or have people being refrained from sex and taking advantage for the things that bring out the very best in what makes the world great in many ways. This is isn't going to be your typical list of exercises that you see in the muscle magazines or learning the basic styles of fitness (presses, pulls, squats and ab work). What you're going to see are exercises you don't normally find that actually deliver realistic results and jump up your hormones like a rocket going into space. The importance of staying consistent with your hormones is crucial no matter what your age and sure there other factors to consider beyond exercise for some people but when you do keep it up (no pun intended), you actually have a greater chance of living a healthy life full of excitement and wonders that makes most jealous or envious.

The top 5 exercises I will be mentioning here are not just some random testing usage on a strict group of people or studying the limited facets of what works and what doesn't; these are from my own experiences and the type of training I have literally performed on. This isn't scripted or written out on a pre-made sheet of numbers and statistics, this is the real deal and doing just one of these will increase your hormone levels to heights you didn't think were possible. Do two of them, you're ascending the ladder to hormone heaven. Three and you'll be a man/woman to be feared and your lover will have no choice but to keep up with you. Four and you'll be hitting hormone city and doing all 5, you're a beast and blasting into Hormone immortality......

5. Sprints-

Short and High Intense exercise excels the levels of your hormones into the stratosphere by using strategic styling that brings your hormones to their peak even 2 hours after exercising. Sprints, especially used in the Superhero Sprint System last no more than 20 minutes maximum with the majority of you resting. You sprint hard for a good 10-30 seconds and take the amount of rest you need and then sprint again repeating the process until you can do from 4-10 sprints maximum. These alone done 3x a week burn off fat, increase lean muscle mass and turn you into a muscle building machine with the sex drive of a highly unadulterated teenager. It is one of the most incredible forms of training on the planet period.

4. Animal Exercises-

Ever mimicked your favorite wild animal from when you were little and pretending to be this ferocious beast? We all have an animal living inside us, it's part of our DNA to move and utilize our entire body as a single unit. Training like a wild animal brings out the intensity of your body's craving for natural muscle building and developing growth hormones that keep you fit, young and healthy. When you move in this manner whether you're flowing through them or just going full blast, you're using your entire body and need to tense up the Core Muscles in order to stabilize you from getting injured. The most basic animal movement is the Bear Crawl, trust a few yards of this and you'll be winded and when that happens and the huffing and puffing is obvious, it's pumping your heart with fresh blood and needing to use more oxygen in your lungs in order to elevate your body's nervous system. Doing these exercises will destroy fat and build animal muscle that gives you the hormones of a horny 20 year old on steroids. Think what it would be like for you and your partner to have intense, beautiful and possibly at times crazy sex when you're that high. Talk about going wild in the bedroom my friend.

3. Lifting/Moving Heavy Weight And/Or Objects-

Weightlifting can be a serious testosterone booster and elevate hormones at a level that is at times unexplained. However; as great weights are, moving heavy odd objects bring in another element of hormone elevation that just makes lifting weights obsolete. For instance, you are in a one-sided level of movement in using weights, going up and down in a strict formidable fashion as oppose to using every muscle in awkward positions to move a heavy weight. One of my all-time favorites is doing Hammer Strikes on the tire using up to a 30+ lbs. Sledgehammer; just the mere effort to lift a hammer that heavy using every muscle and tendon to move and stabilize brings a whole other meaning to the term "Elevated Sex Hormones." Doing high reps in this fashion at a solid pace makes your whole body come into play and the muscle generating strength needed to keep going is astounding in itself. Moving heavy rocks, logs, kegs and barrels are lifted in awkward ways because of the way you need to shift your body it's never a straight line, it can throw a curve a lot of the time and this alone generates incredible sexual energy and hormone progression. The more muscles needed, the greater chance you'll be increasing your hormones.

2. Swimming-

Talk about using natural resistance; A full body entity that just screams hormone elevation when done correctly. This type of training is hit more on the nerves than most training ideals because you can't stop moving in water or you will drown. Being in the water over a period of time hits your nerves like a bolt of lightning and when you finally relax after a day of swimming, your endorphins kick in, your nerves are so high it makes you feel alive. Not to mention it makes you hungry as hell (just ask Michael Phelps) and full of energy that needs to be dealt with. Let's just say because of swimming it makes my hormones just screaming bloody murder after a while; having that much Sexual Energy can be a disaster and make you moody as hell if you don't have a significant other. It brings out another element of calmness and awareness within your surroundings and what's going on in your body.

1. VRT Bodybuilding-

Now just because it's number one doesn't mean its the best of the best, this list was never in really any particular order but it is part of the top 5 that I have experienced. VRT is a system where you tense your muscles as if you were lifting imaginary weights or heavy objects. When you flex and extend a muscle, you are using opposing figures in the tissues going in opposite directions of each other like a bicep curl uses a flexion in the bicep and the extension is using the tricep muscle like in a pressdown for that particular muscle. This system is a modern day version of Muscle Control where you utilize a specific muscle during a particular movement or hold. When you imagine and tensify your muscles, you're squeezing out the tissues that eventually break down and need to repair to build greater muscle density. When you practice this method correctly you should be winded after a few reps or more of an exercise as if you actually lifted a big heavy weight. This can be done anywhere and doesn't require equipment whatsoever yet it is very effective on how you can elevate your hormone levels. This system generates great power into your nervous system that can lead into helping the muscles and tendons not be overused and broken down in the way that weights do. It can lead to greater density in the muscles and doesn't wear and tear on the joints, so think about it; when you are making the muscles more dense, fat becomes your bitch and you're forcing it to leave out the body's unwanted resources that can generate muscle growth and increased levels of metabolism and strength.

Sex in most cases is one of the most beautiful joys of life but people especially in our society today have made it rather messed up in order for a healthy living; porn addiction, religious outlining & restrictions, protesting against it's true inflections and intentions and not to mention the weird ass stuff that goes beyond sexual exploitation. It's a sensitive subject I get it but it's clear to me that with the right loving person, life has greater wonders and there's beauty in there somewhere even by the smallest fraction. Getting laid for the rush is just not a great route to be headed into and it's not emotional or mentally stable. When you rush things or just want the excitement and that's it, there's a piece missing in that realm where real sexual love is a rare commodity and there's not only interest but realistic unconditional love and wholesome meaning. Real sex is about love, compassion, the willingness to flow as if two people were as one unit. Sex is amazing when everything just gives off this powerful feeling of invincibility and healthy strength and livelihood. When it's personal and full of life and passion that keeps consistent, it opens up a world not many today really understand or could understand.

The power you can possess in the quest for natural sex drive isn't easy and not always simple but with the right mindset, safe strategic entities and making it interesting can bring you to heights that makes most just hideous and jealous yet want to know your secrets. I'm at an age where testosterone starts to take its toll by 1% a year from now on, even though i'm nearly 31, i'm not going down so easily, I make it my mission to stay consistent in what I do and get stronger both internally and externally, I want to have hormones raging by the time my golden years reach their peak and beyond, living with passion and fire that delivers my true strength. It doesn't matter how old you are, you can have high hormone levels that makes those less than half your age feel like chumps. Yes it gets harder to maintain it in your later years but it doesn't have to be so hard it makes you feel like you can't do it enough. Be awesome and live with passion and the will to keep up with your body strong and healthy for many years to come.

Natural Ecstasy

Did you really think I'm going to talk about drugs? Shame on you; what I will be talking about is how to get high in a natural way using a method that has been used for centuries. It is not a pill or a plant. It isn't pot or aspirin yet it is one of the greatest ways to help you relax and mellow out without any negative side effects. It's Cold Water Therapy.

Whether its a bath, shower or if you're really ambitious jump into a cold lake. Cold Water when properly applied is a very potent stress reliever that releases toxins out of the body as your cells need heat to keep you warm. The excess burning of calories to stay warm helps increase metabolism, muscle recovery, virility and fat burning properties that generate greater growth hormone. I take cold showers mostly or I jump into a lake but the shower tends to be more doable for me because I can adjust the temperature even though I turn it to as cold as it can get. It sends a signal to my brain which digs deep into whatever part of the brain makes you feel negative thoughts and when I get out, i'm laughing, full of bliss and i'm way happier. It also feels so damn good it looks like I just smoked at least a couple joints and feeling higher than a kite.

When you practice taking Cold Showers you'll notice how your nerves make a dramatic change and when you go to bed at night, for some reason you feel so comfortable and the bed feels like you're on a fluffy cloud. Like someone being on Ecstasy, there are sensations that hit you with an enhanced sense of touch and you just feel softer and calmer everywhere. I do not ever want you taking drugs, it's not a way to live and there are other remedies. Using Cold Showers, you build nerves of steel, it enhances your focus, your awareness and the tension is melted away.

Ever wanted to feel like you can burn off fat, increase muscle and generate growth hormones that have you recovering faster, open your body's senses and rest with ease; Cold Showers will do it. This method is best used after a workout and an hour before you go to bed. Do your training in the morning so you won't have to worry about it later and jump into the shower right after and make it as cold as you can take than overtime keep adjusting until you can stay in the coldest water temperature for no more than 5-6 minutes. For men this is a hell of a method for our little swimmers and gives us energy for closed door activities, for women it balances out the hormones in your body which leads to greater fat loss and putting on lean muscle mass (not bulk). Power up on your hormones by doing Cold Showers.

My Emphasis On Kettlebell Juggling

There are literally hundreds of thousands of different exercise systems but i'm going to tell you something you're not going to like and please don't send me hate mail. Around 95-98% of all exercise programs suck and are terribly boring plus shallow and pedantic and not to mention gratefully tedious. I mean seriously who the bloody hell comes with barbell squats on a bosu ball or using a kettlebell during aerobics class? Come on people, be more simplistic and not a bunch of shmucks reading out of a text book and calling yourselves trainers. Boring programs bring boring results and when you get bored, you become uninterested and you lose out.

Kettlebell training alone brings great benefits; uploaded strength and conditioning, flexibility, endurance and all sorts of ways to move that piece of iron or soft styled bell. The three main ideals for Kettlebell work is the Snatch, Clean & Swing; all three have tremendous effects on the nervous system and can help burn off fat and build muscle quicker than most systems. The type of training I'll be talking about goes beyond that....Kettlebell Juggling. You're probably thinking "What is this the circus who the hell wants to Juggle?" KB Juggling takes the training to a whole different spectrum that builds hand/eye coordination, brain activity, strength in multiple angles and places it's Core of moving the kettlebell from one one of the body to the other. What if you could flip, catch, swing under the legs, switch hands and do all sorts of cool moves that will make your conditioning that much more fun and enjoyable?

Systems I believe should have a sense of fun, enjoyment and interesting to practice. Nothing too complicated and bring a sense of creativity and aspirations for play. I enjoy most of the systems I practice but since I've added KB Juggling it takes on a life of its own and have only  done a few workouts on it using a Soft Kettlebell. It tests your strength and conditioning in a very unique way and tests your grip strength and agility to shift or catch the kettlebell from one hand to another and doing all sorts of combos and movements. It can help you amplify your basic abilities in the snatch, clean/press and swing. 

One of the things I was taught while I was rehabbing myself was to practice moving the body from as many angles as possible utilizing basic principles and simplistic sense of understanding how you use your own Physiology. Being able to strengthen your body from different positions using full body movement brings out more than just muscle development but how you become flexible, supple and adapting your body in odd positions. KB Juggling brings out some of the very best Multi-Angular Training prowess in your quest for fitness both in body and mind. Just the basic juggling moves are tough trying to catch it and time it plus keeping a firm grip on the bell to process the next set of moves. Start off with a small weight but the heavier you can juggle, the more impressive you'll be. Practice with intent and be sure to use a regular KB outdoors and use a Soft KB for indoors so it won't break anything on your floor. 

Go Beyond A Single Training Tool

In the movie City Slickers where Jack Palance & Billy Crystal are riding in the New Mexico plains, good ole Jack tells Billy the secret to life. Do you know what it is? One thing, just one thing, you stick to that and everything else don't mean shit. Although in fitness there's no such thing as a One-Way to do things, however; there is a favorite exercise tool everyone has whether it's just their bodyweight, a kettlebell, a big sledgehammer, barbells/dumbbells whatever there's one way that sticks with them and they beyond what the normal ways of using them. They take that one tool no matter what it is and make it magical for them if they put themselves in the right state of mind.

I use a lot of tools to train with but the one thing I stick to when I use them is my imagination, I create something out of them that may not look like anything to the human eye but to me, a sense of magic happens; not just physically but mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well. Magic is real and it's through the imagination that brings out the very best in your abilities. It doesn't matter what you use or how you do it, the one thing that makes it all worth while and brutally beautiful is how you make things happen. When you have a big sledgehammer in your hands and you hit a tire as many times as possible whether in sets or whatever, you develop power in your body that can't be experienced with anything else. You picture being John Henry taking on the machine or lifting and moving a mighty axe like it was in an epic movie or you sum up the thunder from the heavens like Thor, anything is possible in your imagination. With a Kettlebell, you can develop conditioning that is unique by juggling it, making it your mission to use it in many ways most won't do; it takes a special skill to utilize your mind into how you develop your body.

The way you picture, feel and sense in your imagination brings out the very best of your abilities to do something incredible. Most rather go through the motions and follow along like a little puppy and that's fine if it works for them but if you're a regular reader of this blog, i'm guessing you're not the normal type and have that odd sense of being where you want to get past that typical stuff and go beyond what your capable of. You can amplify your results just by how you picture something and putting it into action. A tool to most people is just that a tool, nothing else but for those that love that tool and use it to get themselves fit don't just see it as a tool; it's part of their livelihood, it's their sense of who they are and what they're willing to fight for. They see themselves in that very tool.

Simplistic fitness is a key to going far into your training journey. With one tool, you can create a world no one can comprehend. With a Barbell you can create strength very few people can ever create, if you're a bodyweight enthusiast you have endless possibilities to become more athletic than anyone can possibly imagine. Whatever tool you decide to use, do something with it that makes you different, keeps you on your toes and lets you live in a place where you can always go to. Just one thing and if you stick to it, the rest don't mean shit.

Your Household Is Your Gym

Many people like to believe or have been told in order to get in shape you need this or that for equipment. Sure it's important to realize that in order to build specific types of strength and fitness there are things you may not realize that can aid in your quest to get fit. Now, when people say you can train in the comfort of your own home they're mainly talking about using bodyweight styled exercise or using small pieces of easy to carry equipment you can use anywhere. There's more to it than meets the eye. What if you could you use your household items as a token of your fitness? If you want to spend the day inside due to weather conditions or recovering or whatever it is, you can and still get fit.

Believe it or not one of my favorite household items to use is my toothbrush. I know what you're thinking "how the hell can you workout with a toothbrush, it weighs nothing." I use it mainly for working my fingers and my grip by rolling my fingers until I get a full grip on the brush and hold for a few seconds then do a couple more more reps that way. Be sure to do both hands, it develops dexterity and isometric strength from the squeeze you're putting on. I don't recommend toilet paper as a workout tool but that's up to you, a smooth rounded hairbrush can work the same way or you can do push-ups on your bathroom sink; it's like a modified version of dips but to get the best benefit, tense your muscles as you go up and down, works the chest, abs, arms and shoulders. 

A good number of houses have stairs depending on the level of the house itself. With stairs you can do a variety of things that won't cost you anything; step-ups, jumps, push-ups, duck walks, dips, you can even have someone hold your legs as you walk up and down the stairs on your hands. Be simple and creative, use your imagination. During my MovNat or Darebee Workouts I use the stairs of my house for quality jumping, stepping and Push-ups at an elevated level to challenge my body in a different way. Even if all you can do is walk up the stairs barely that's great, one thing I like to do especially if I want to strengthen my joints is after a couple steps, press your feet into the ground for an isometric contraction using an "sssss" sound as you exhale. Do double steps as you walk up go sideways to strengthen the hips and gain flexibility in your hip flexors and extensors. Many ways to use the stairs.

Where is one of the best places to be after a long day at work and want to chill out? Most likely your couch or comfy chair. Now you can still get an awesome workout even in the comfort of your favorite place to sit. Want an example of what you can do even if you just want to sit and exercise....Get yourself Sofa Abs or Get fit watching your favorite movie and why not kick back and do a little workout during the commercials of your favorite TV Show. Don't make excuses, make the time to exercise in your home and get in great shape. 

Break The Rules

When you learn different ways to train its all good to get an idea on what to do, how it works for you in certain times but in the end; hiding behind a book or a DVD won't bring you full training success. In order to get the best out of your training is to follow your own path while learning your ideal methods to help you find the success you want to achieve. A DVD won't always give you results because you're following someone else's pace and rhythm while you aught to learn how your own body suits certain aspects of a program. A book can only take you so far until you realize it won't always help you in your favor.

Be open to ideals that can have you follow your own path as you train within your own style and goals. Breaking the rules doesn't mean shrugging off everything and being "rebellious", it's about not restricting yourself into the palm of someone else's hand. Some will tell you to follow your own path but are secretly getting you to follow them to boost their ego and have you splurge the good money you earn. I have had many mentors in the last decade but I don't worship them as fitness gods or allow them to dictate my success, I learn from their ideals but develop my own style that suits my personality, my body's energy and interest. Rebel by being your own person while learning what works for you.

There are some courses out there that don't want you to go to failure exercise wise and yet others will tell you going to failure will have you reach the pinnacle of your will to "beat" an exercise or system. Which one should you choose? I'd say go in the middle and pick your moments of when to test your abilities and when you go with the flow and challenge yourself but to a degree. Breaking the rules is not about who to stand up against but about making a decision that pits you in that unique group that see's not the right or wrong way but going beyond that and daring to do things that bring you a sense of self-awareness and individuality that bring you the success you crave.

You can learn from others what can be helpful but yet your way of training is a gift and it's something that you can own for yourself and not allow those assholes in the mainstream to tell you if you do this it's wrong or that your way of training is not up to their standards. You are one person finding their way and it's never an easy path due to what you may have been exposed to. I fell for it a lot trying to follow someone else's path and it kept making me frustrated. Their way is their way period. The way you do things is your choice, you choose who to learn from, where to get ideas and what style you settle for that bring you success or failure. Don't be afraid to fail and make mistakes, it's finding who you are and what makes you unique. Break the rules, it's not only fun but it exposes what's a lie, the truth and the reality of what things come about.  

Who The Hell Can You Trust???

If you plan on getting a trainer to help you reach your goals, you can't just go to any trainer and i'm going to tell you why. Most trainers try to fill their ego by throwing down way too much money a student can barely afford and many don't practice what they preach because they fill their head with meaningless books on exercise and believe because of what they read and don't really practice but just throw it on other people and think they'll actually get fit. I don't care how many seminars, DVDs, CD's and equipment or certificates you have, if you don't have an imagination and have been put through certain ringers, you're not a real trainer.

When it comes to trainer and student, two things come to mind that should be in synergy with one another from both sides to work and that's Passion & Trust. Trust is precious and has to be on mutual ground otherwise you're both just running with the motions without having any regard for one another's faith and understanding of the other. Passion is something very few trainers have and here's my take on it: Many trainers like to play out their routines for people like they've rehearsed this script they wrote for themselves and repeat these little scenes they played out over and over until they become their own star that pretends to have passion. For the very few, they treat people with respect until otherwise no matter how big, small, tall, short, thin, overweight or whatever. They have them see things the students don't always see and feel in ways that can't be described unless you've experienced it. I have been trained by some of the best in Physical Culture and all of them share one thing and that's passion. Others fill their ego and rather take someone's money than be open with them and help in not just getting fit physically but emotionally as well. Trust is earned both ways not a one way street where this guy/girl tells you things and the student just goes a long with it like a sheep that follows the dog.

The type of trainer I look for if I wanted someone to train me is someone that has passion, lives out their training like it's their livelihood, helps you find out things about yourself you didn't see before, gives you hope and guidance; let's you be yourself and push unexpectedly without ever telling you directly but testing you in their own way, not the scripted type I just told you. They make you feel good about yourself and don't drill you like you're in the damn army but give enough to where you listen and hit it. Someone that could turn things into an awesome friendship that goes beyond training and helping each other on both sides; making the trainer learn something about themselves and learn lessons that will make them better. Most of all, I want a trainer that won't bullshit me and bring out the very best in my abilities.

To get the very best out of your training from a certain trainer, you must become more than what they believe you to have and will get out of it. Most trainers rather push you and see what you're capable of but to a cold and distant degree. I believe in how expectations can back fire either way but in the end, if you the student and your trainer come out less than what is expected within one or the other something isn't right here. The best trainer is when he/she has gotten better because they made their student better for them and vise versa. Sounds confusing but here's the jist, as a trainer you have the duty to train a student and your best to make them better and it's their duty to make you great not to look good but realize just how good they really are and you're seeing results. It's mutual feedback and you're learning from each other's body language and being able to understand what the other is teaching. The moral is, be better than you were before on both sides and with trust, passion and doing the best you can, you have a high chance of both succeeding.

Get Awesome Training Through VRT

I have mentioned the fitness method VRT before but if it's your first time learning here's the main focus....VRT is the method that means Visualized Resistance Training. It bring a unique element in the fitness realm where it combines the world of Muscle Control & Bodybuilding Exercise. You can do this type of training anywhere and anytime and it takes only a fraction of the time you spend in the gym. The purpose of this is to imagine you're lifting heavy weights or objects while using muscular tension to create the movement. Now in the words of Magnum P.I "I know what you're thinking" you are probably thinking of saying something to me like "why not lift real weights" or something like "you can't possibly build muscle from this crap and there's no way in hell it's better than lifting 'real' weights." First off, this is an alternative method for those who can't afford weights but want to have that similar feel to lifting them and it's for those who may want/or have to travel and they need a workout they can do in their hotel room, the airport, during a stint out of a business meeting whatever the case may be. It is a valuable tool that one can use in any sort of program and want to do something that's quick to do and can give you a cardio/strength affect.

One of the key elements to VRT is not just what you imagine and create the tension, it's also how you breathe. Your breath control can determine the outcome of a session and be able to not only build muscle but get a killer cardio in there at the same time. Think about doing a bicep curl for example; you create tension and move throughout the flexion of the exercise, if you hold your breath, you won't get the powerful element that can help you build muscle but if you control the breath as you move inhaling and exhaling in a strong fashion that is congruent with the tension and movement itself, it causes more of the blood to flow in the muscles when you relax. Same way creating any form of dumbbell/machine exercises you can think of.

In this manner of fitness you are going to learn an important piece of info that will progress your levels in a VRT session and that's your imagination. You don't have to just think dumbbells and machines to do the exercises justice, imagine lifting other things like when doing a press, picture what it would feel like to lift a heavy boulder or instead of a tricep pressdown, picture pressing down a heavy rope that lifts a monolithic stone. How about curling heavy buckets of rocks or concrete, hell how about picturing yourself doing upright rows lifting a heavy log or set of very heavy chains. You can imagine anything you want, for you anything is possible. This develops the mind/muscle connection where along with your imagination you contract the muscles for a specific exercise and you do enough reps not to push to failure but enough to where it can get you breathing hard. This can also be used to help develop muscle definition in your bodybuilding journey if you choose to do so. An old-time gymnast and muscle controlist Bobby Pandour didn't lift weights but yet constantly flexed his muscles utilizing breath control and thinking into the muscles. He had one of the greatest physiques of his generation if not the best.

I believe Charles Atlas had a hell of a course and it gave many men around the world a hell of a body to strive for and did it for health and fitness but there was one thing missing and that's using the imagination to develop the real tension in the muscles. The Atlas course is awesome but it's nothing compared to VRT because unlike Dynamic Tension, VRT is more explanatory and it gives you a little more structure and what to strive for. Sure both courses have a similar philosophy of being your own trainer and figuring out what works best for you yet VRT just let's you run free and to think for yourself as oppose to these are the exercise, this is how you do them and then you're on your own. Think about it; what would it feel like to build muscle and get your heart rate up anywhere and anytime you want to? To get in a workout that takes less than 20 min. a Day and can be done day or night or as a finisher to your other workouts, you decide what to do not the course deciding for you. I have used bodybuilding books as research and learning the different exercises based on various parts of the body and used them as VRT exercises; it is genuinely one of the most creative aspects of fitness in the near 2 decades I've done training.

To get more details and greater info on the scientific element plus exercises you can start with, go here where VRT is sold for the extremely low price of $9. With this course alone you save yourself thousands of dollars and a many hours would've been wasted being on machines that do nothing but isolate your muscles that can hurt you and think of the money you're saving on gym memberships, equipment that won't fit very well in your house when all that money can be used for the food to feed your family, insurance to supply protection from high cost hospital bills if you got hurt, your mortgage/rent and even use it to help someone in need. You may think $9 is too cheap but that amount can also be a lifesaver and bring you a new wave of health, strength and muscle building you never thought existed. Grab a copy and unlock your potential in creating workouts that you can do however you want, you're the boss, make it work for you.

Deep Breathing Exercise

The value of Deep Breathing exercise has been taken way more for granted than most exercise systems because it's not always looked at as true exercise yet it's the most important. Certain methods vary depending on the type of breathing you want to focus on and it can be used in so many ways but it has only one goal in mind and that's to train your body from the inside out. The type of methods range from doing Qi Gong, Yoga, what's called Costal Breathing, Specialized Breathing for Posture and for various sports.

I have practiced Deep Breathing exercise for nearly a decade in full detail and different types of research and experimentation. I don't believe in just one method, I use it to help my posture, calm the nerves in my body, used in Isometric exercise and other forms of training so I don't have a particular favorite but I do know that some aren't as efficient as others and whoever claims their method is the greatest just wants to fill their ego and tear down what doesn't work for them but could work for others. Sure it is important to understand the true nature of breathing and with the right kind of training it does more than mellow you out or feel in a calming state of blissfulness; it can help heal injuries, develop greater brain cells, make you faster and/or stronger, help your flexibility and stamina to the point where you can be envious to many or admired by others of your abilities. I won't go into what methods don't work because quite frankly they aren't cut out to be a method that holds true power and longevity.

The two biggest methods in today's society at least of deep breathing are Belly Breathing & a method by Edwin Checkley called Costal Breathing have a small underground debate on which one is superior for real fitness and lifelong health. In my opinion there's only one place where it's debated and Costal is the main flavor but on a serious note in my opinion which one is better? Well let's look at what each one does when it comes to breathing....

-Belly Breathing

A method where you bring the stomach out on an inhale and pulled inward on exhale. This is meant to help relax the muscles of the body and it's been used a method in many ancient Chinese, Japanese & Indian meditative practices where you control the belly to train the organs, lungs and muscles to be in a more calming state of relaxation but still maintaining forms of postures and movements.

I've only read in one other place where Belly Breathing is considered Blasphemy because the people in their "defense" say it gives you a big gut and doesn't maintain youthfulness and health plus in Edwin's book, it's considered Lazy. I'm sorry but that is total bullshit. Babies naturally breathe this way in order for them to survive, call that lazy?

-Costal Breathing

A method where you breathe through the chest and lengthen the rib cage to open up more of the lungs and supposedly helps maintain a classic physique where you have youthful muscle tone in the core area and you hold the stomach in as much as possible to maintain posture.

This is a great method no doubt but like every form of exercise it has it's flaws. Unlike Belly Breathing where you relax the stomach and push outward and pull inward, Costal creates tension because its very difficult to relax when you're constantly trying to pull up the rib cage. This method is mainly used to maintain that "Greek god" like body where you develop a small waistline while having a more muscular structure. The problem I have with this is not the method itself, but the content and the mere snotty intent of what it's "meant" for. I do believe in having an aspiring body but certain things don't always work out in their favor. Me and certainly others have tried for a period of time doing this method almost exclusively and I have come to one conclusion, it hurts like hell and I don't want to feel tensed up trying to maintain my posture. It works for some but it's not meant for everyone.

There is good tension and there's bad tension. Good tension is when you train using form and flexing the muscles in a particular exercise like in Gymnastics, various forms of movement, weightlifting and even swimming. Bad tension is when you use too much muscular flexion and it can cause inflammation and you could hurt yourself in certain situations where unwanted tension can cause injury or worse. I do believe in the type of tension and relaxation that comes from muscle control and flexing the body in various exercises to help maintain form that's acceptable but yet I don't like where i'm forced to tense my body where it becomes painful and can cause possibly a hernia or a tear in the joints and it's not fun where you try to maintain posture but causing too much tension in the back muscles to cramp up and your stomach has a feeling of getting hit with a crowbar (trust me I've been there and it's a pain in the ass).

I have actually maintained a decent posture because of the bridging exercises I practice and it gives me enough tension to maintain form but also give me that natural spring in my torso and hips that give off that powerful posture look. Deep Breathing all together is an essential element to the way we stay alive. The power in your breath can be a breaker or a maker in your health and fitness success. Do what works for you and although there are pros and cons to every method if you read about certain methods that give off a negative vibe or try to tell you that one way is completely wrong and the one you're learning is the best and it's the only one where you live longer and can have this physique and whatnot, i'd think twice about it. Research and observe the content and practice with your own intent and not what someone tells you to do or sets you up with a huge sales pitch. Anything that can be useful in how you build a foundation for health and it gives you purpose without an agenda or a preaching sales pitch then do it. Be your own teacher.

A Muscular Core For Real Strength

Mainstream fitness see's the core muscles as these different sets of muscles that aught to be isolated....do this for the lower abs, this for the upper abs, hypertension for the lower back and a machine for the sides and other things in between. They want you to believe that in order to get a good set of looking Abs, you need to break them down into a million pieces like a jigsaw puzzle. Hate to break it to you but unless you have the patience of a monk or into bodybuilding, you'll hate working so much for very little results. The truth is, the Core Muscles are meant to work as a unit and utilized as a whole and not a bunch of little things meshed together. Train your abs using full body movements and isometric holds. The more you learn and physically do that, you'll come to realize how much bullshit mainstream fitness has fed you.

When it comes down to it, Isometrics are one of the most powerful entities in the entire realm of exercise and health. In order to even move our bodies, our Core needs to stabilize and be tightened in order to do our best forms of movement whether it be weights, bodyweight, gymnastics, bridging or anything else. Isometrics teach us a form of Muscle Control that helps us fight off injury and protects the lower back from harm. Although you are flexing the muscles themselves, the key to staying strong and durable is how you breathe. To get the most out of your Core Training specifically is to flex every muscle in the body but not to the point of bursting a vein but enough to where you feel it and being in those moments of controlling the body. Isometrics unlock plateaus that you didn't think were possible and the strongest muscles are our legs and Core.

It isn't the greatest thing in the world to have six-pack abs, but yet it sure as hell isn't a bad thing either. There are however two different types of muscles when it comes to being truly strong and just looking like it; its Counterfeit Muscles & Conditioned Muscles. Counterfeit is when you have nothing but show and you can actually get hurt fairly easily and you're left with bundles of muscles that are crap without function; conditioned is when you are functional, strong and mobile from as many angles as possible, move forward/backward, side to side, diagonal and anywhere else possible and you're less prone to injury and can withstand some hard hitting damage. If you want real six-pack abs, condition them with laser-like intentions and not showing off just because they look like they're carved out of granite.

The biggest aspect of having strong and powerful Core Muscles is that they protect you instead of working against you. They keep harm away for the organs and bone structure. Having protective muscles helps build power in the tendons and ligaments in the rest of the body. Want to have a healthy life full of vigor and vitality; strengthen the body to help protect you. You have only this life in the world, don't waste it on useless training methods, drugs and crappy food. Do the best to your abilities and become as strong as possible having the strongest Core you can possibly imagine.

Just Play

When did we begin to stop playing? Oh yeah that's right we were told by the time we reached adulthood, we had to be serious and responsible because play is for children. I'm sorry but as a society; we take things way too literal, kids losing out on having the chance of recess so they can have a longer class, we eat crap just so the corporations can keep going to the bank and the media feeds on misery and feeding us useless info that has nothing to do with us personally or figuratively. I'm not saying we shouldn't be responsible as we get older but at least let us have a little fun in the process.  One of the biggest things happening right now is the teaching of movement and bringing back the ability to move like a real human being. 

Get up and move. Do some kick ass combos you can learn from Animal Flow, do various styles of basic gymnastics like building the abs or learn hand balancing. Learn the valuable skills of natural movement like crawling, jumping, balancing, swimming, carrying, lifting and tossing. Move like your favorite animals in the wild, do Isometrics throughout various times of the team to keep up your energy and fat burning. Go do sprints that will melt fat off of you like a furnace or hell build your own little gym in your house using quality equipment to build realistic strength and muscle. Do something you enjoy and have a blast doing it otherwise you will just be like the majority of people that have told you that play is for kids and that being an adult is serious business; so is play, it can save lives and take you out of the foxhole most people call a life. 

You can be inspired by the workouts or exercises you see in the gym, on a dvd or at a seminar but we can't work the same way as the next person. We may be stronger or weaker, more or less mobile and we don't always have the same amount of stamina or drive. We do however one thing in common and that's we have the potential to develop our own style of training that is creative and work for us (or in this case plays to us). Learn what you want to do but become your own master, not be a sheep and/or try to copy someone else's workout plan. There are a lot of ideas and we can admire and blueprint those ideas but eventually the only way to be truly successful is to make your play your own. As kids we mimic the other kids we play with but no matter what we do, we end finding our own way to climb and jump and swing on the Ape Bars. There are people bigger or smaller than us, they can be weaker and others are stronger so we customize what gives us the greatest benefit. 

I personally believe in doing what comes to mind and putting it into action. Using my instincts and intuitiveness, I train according to what my mind says and my body follows. I really don't like routines because doing something over and over too many times just bore me and I want to do something new and exciting, something my body is not use to, not to confuse it but make it adaptable and constantly learning. Sure it's important to practice but certain things come up you won't expect and it's important to expect the unexpected so you train your body and mind from as many angles as possible. Think outside the box, don't always be traditional, be different and daring to do something someone else wouldn't dare to try. It is not one upping anyone, it's learning to discover what you can be best at and making that journey as you play and experiment. Move the way you were meant to and learn what playing really means and how it can bring you to a world full of wonders and imagination people would envy. Stay playful my friends.   

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.