Being inspired by the upcoming Tarzan Film, I'm edging my way back to doing Animal Movements. Having the ability to change things up and honing a skill I haven't practiced in a while is not only a blessing but a lot of fun. Most of the time, I have no structure when it comes to training like an Animal and why should I; the only routine an animal ever really has is when its in captivity otherwise they rely on instinct and need that jolt for when they need to eat or run from prey.
I don't necessarily do rep schemes unless its the animal dice game otherwise i'm moving and stretching by instinct and working my brain at the same time. I get it some people are very much into their routine because it gives them comfort, safety and they know what to hit. If you're out in the wild, routines are basically out the damn window. The ability to adapt and improve takes practice and learning how to use your brain from as many angles as possible. When you get caught up in a routine, there's not a whole lot of changes, the body becomes use to what you're doing and at times more than likely slows down your progress than bringing it up, granted some routines work fantastically and has made many results but at the same time its important to switch things up because in order to develop higher brain activity, you must be willing to change things up in a moment's notice and take on different tasks that develop greater nerve power.
That's the beauty of various forms of movement especially Animal moves; its a constant change and shift in the body's ability to perform sometimes out of nowhere by having strength in awkward positions, the ability to balance whether bi-pedal or quadrupedal plus being flexible in as many positions as your body can stand. Just the mere stretch of The Scorpion Reach or the Crab Reach from Animal Flow creates sensations and automated shifts in how your body performs the exercise; its awkward at first but with practice it is beautiful to learn.
I believe in Exercise Freedom, making use of what you know and what you can learn to know that helps transition from one thing to another and just playing. Too many of us are over-analytical and never take the time to just play and learn what works. Learn to expect the unexpected and have fun otherwise you just go through the motions and never realize your true potential and imagination that can not only create results in a snap but shoot them through the roof.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
An Animal Never Takes A Day Off
When I think about people wanting a day off because they're sore or there's nothing in them for that day or they're doing their split routines and having "time off" for recovery; makes me want to ask them if "you ever heard of a tiger or a gorilla taking a day off?" Does a gorilla ever say "I'm going to take a week off after climbing this tree" or a cheetah telling himself "you know what, I ran hard today so maybe a couple days off since there isn't anything to do in the jungle" its not going to happen.
Animals have it far worse than we do and i'm talking the wild ones not the ones in captivity where there's "Structure" and domestication but do they complain about back aches or hurting thighs hell do they think its cool to just shrug it off for a day or two because their muscles are just downright out of it? Let me tell you something, if an animal even remotely screws up he's someone else's prey or couldn't find enough food to live on and starved to death. Compared to us humans we have it easy, there's really no apparent reason to ever take a day off of training. We don't need to do the same intensity all the time but we always aught to do something no matter how small or big.
I've learned this new philosophy that unless you're paralyzed from the hair follicle down, there's no excuse to take a day off. You have more than enough muscles in your body that function the way they're supposed to, so if you're sore in one area, utilize another, it doesn't take a genius to know that when one door doesn't open another does and you have the opportunity to make the best of it. Motivation starts in the mind, when you transfer it to the body everything falls into place. I understand many aren't motivated but for the most part a lot of the reasons are very much inexcusable "I don't have time" you always have time, a workout can be less than 5 minutes or even 1 minute to start with, "I can't afford the gym" use your own bodyweight and do little things to start like jumping jacks, marching in place, Isometrics; "I don't have the equipment" again use your bodyweight, go to a park, use rails, do isometric pulldowns while riding the bus; "The gym is too far away" do things at home or in the yard like squat holds, push-ups, exercise in your chair; "People will laugh at me" people will always give someone a hard time but look at it this way, while they have nothing else to do, you're doing something more important for yourself.
I believe in being able to do something even for a minute and most can do things for a minute, nothing is going to happen overnight, it takes time & patience plus effort but if you can do a little effort even down to the smallest fraction and build up little by little big things will happen. I love what I do but not because its glamorous or always fun, I do it because I know what it's like to be low and not be able to do much, I had broken legs for nearly several months and it was more than damn difficult to keep up my mind and do what I felt I needed to do. I had not one person telling me to not rehab with PT, nobody gave me the motivation and most people I knew didn't believe in what I wanted to do, nobody encouraged me. I had two choices really and one of them was just give up and do what everyone should tell me to do; I chose not to do that despite what was thrown at me. Don't ever think being motivated is by having others encourage you and giving you praises and inspiration; that's not going to happen for everyone.
Animals are a bit of the same way, nobody tells them what to do, they go on instinct and what they're choices are simple and that's either survive or die that's it. There's not a whole lot of encouragement, sure there's packs of different animals in a tribe but for the most part, they're on their own and when family isn't around the chances of survival is extremely slim. Taken a day off in my mind is a sin unless its in extreme circumstance otherwise if you can turn your head, wiggle your fingers, move your toes, move your stomach forward and back or hell only able to lift your arm only mere inches that's still doing something and can be made into amazing training if you put the effort into it. Yes I can be harsh at times but its not to punish or put down anyone, its part of my self-discipline and what I choose to do on my terms and how I view things from personal experiences to mere observations.
Be like an animal, always learn what's possible and make it happen.
Animals have it far worse than we do and i'm talking the wild ones not the ones in captivity where there's "Structure" and domestication but do they complain about back aches or hurting thighs hell do they think its cool to just shrug it off for a day or two because their muscles are just downright out of it? Let me tell you something, if an animal even remotely screws up he's someone else's prey or couldn't find enough food to live on and starved to death. Compared to us humans we have it easy, there's really no apparent reason to ever take a day off of training. We don't need to do the same intensity all the time but we always aught to do something no matter how small or big.
I've learned this new philosophy that unless you're paralyzed from the hair follicle down, there's no excuse to take a day off. You have more than enough muscles in your body that function the way they're supposed to, so if you're sore in one area, utilize another, it doesn't take a genius to know that when one door doesn't open another does and you have the opportunity to make the best of it. Motivation starts in the mind, when you transfer it to the body everything falls into place. I understand many aren't motivated but for the most part a lot of the reasons are very much inexcusable "I don't have time" you always have time, a workout can be less than 5 minutes or even 1 minute to start with, "I can't afford the gym" use your own bodyweight and do little things to start like jumping jacks, marching in place, Isometrics; "I don't have the equipment" again use your bodyweight, go to a park, use rails, do isometric pulldowns while riding the bus; "The gym is too far away" do things at home or in the yard like squat holds, push-ups, exercise in your chair; "People will laugh at me" people will always give someone a hard time but look at it this way, while they have nothing else to do, you're doing something more important for yourself.
I believe in being able to do something even for a minute and most can do things for a minute, nothing is going to happen overnight, it takes time & patience plus effort but if you can do a little effort even down to the smallest fraction and build up little by little big things will happen. I love what I do but not because its glamorous or always fun, I do it because I know what it's like to be low and not be able to do much, I had broken legs for nearly several months and it was more than damn difficult to keep up my mind and do what I felt I needed to do. I had not one person telling me to not rehab with PT, nobody gave me the motivation and most people I knew didn't believe in what I wanted to do, nobody encouraged me. I had two choices really and one of them was just give up and do what everyone should tell me to do; I chose not to do that despite what was thrown at me. Don't ever think being motivated is by having others encourage you and giving you praises and inspiration; that's not going to happen for everyone.
Animals are a bit of the same way, nobody tells them what to do, they go on instinct and what they're choices are simple and that's either survive or die that's it. There's not a whole lot of encouragement, sure there's packs of different animals in a tribe but for the most part, they're on their own and when family isn't around the chances of survival is extremely slim. Taken a day off in my mind is a sin unless its in extreme circumstance otherwise if you can turn your head, wiggle your fingers, move your toes, move your stomach forward and back or hell only able to lift your arm only mere inches that's still doing something and can be made into amazing training if you put the effort into it. Yes I can be harsh at times but its not to punish or put down anyone, its part of my self-discipline and what I choose to do on my terms and how I view things from personal experiences to mere observations.
Be like an animal, always learn what's possible and make it happen.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Tarzan Is Coming Back To The Big Screen
Oh baby, I've been itching to see the Ape Man on the big screen again for some time and now its finally here (July 1st to be exact). The last Tarzan film that was reasonable was Disney's take on the Jungle Man back in the 90's (For you youngins) and I was around 14-15 years old so it was literally over half a lifetime ago for me LOL and it was and still is one of my all-time favorites. I fantasized like a lot of kids what it would be like to travel through the jungle in trees and running on the ground like a gorilla. After a number of years I've come to accept that Apes are my favorite animals and I intend to move like one off and on the rest of my life.
The character embodies the perfect man; the physique, the strength, the speed, agility & significant genius of survival, second that comes to mind comes between Batman & Indiana Jones. His movements are so keen and powerful that whether you've heard of the name or not, seeing what he can do is jaw dropping and inspiring. When it came to conditioning, one of the things that came up was how one on how to train like the ape man; training on the Charles Atlas course, high rep calisthenics & swimming were those things. I started digging more and learned a few things but nothing for me has come close to what the exercises for Animal Movements has brought.
You see, most people who knew of the Tarzan films starting back in the 30's with Johnny Weissmuller then on had a common theme with most actors such as Ron Ely, Mike Henry & a couple others where they worked out by doing nothing but calisthenics & Swimming (Good ole' Johnny) which it should be because don't get me wrong the new guy as the Ape Man looks in phenomenal shape but Tarzan doesn't lift weights or operate heavy artillery in his style so he relies on nothing but his own body and the environment he's occupied in e.g the Jungle. Animal Movements are the closest thing next to the Movement Style MovNat to actually getting into that Jungle Man mode. You crawl, jump, climb, swim, move rocks, swing, balance & run (I rather sprint thank you). It inspires me to learn how to develop my body in a unique way and have a lot of fun with it. I'm a heavy dude and am no where near Tarzan's lean, mean, fighting physique but that doesn't stop me from doing kick ass things and have the opportunity to train and move like a wild man.
This looks like the most epic version of the Tarzan Mythology yet especially with how they CGI'd the Gorillas. Read the story is a tad different but not by much. He'll be played by Swedish Actor Alexander Skarsgård (to you fans of True Blood) whom I've only heard of by a couple things so I don't have exact opinions of his acting abilities but apparently he did enough to land the role so we'll see. To get more familiar of the Character check out the old films (long before Disney) by going here.....I highly recommend the Mike Henry version since I consider him the best looking but the best acting of the character belongs to two guys; Ron Ely & Jock Mahoney. Some of the acting is a little out there but pay attention to the story and the excitement of the adventures he endures. My personal favorites however are with Johnny Weissmuller with Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane.
The character embodies the perfect man; the physique, the strength, the speed, agility & significant genius of survival, second that comes to mind comes between Batman & Indiana Jones. His movements are so keen and powerful that whether you've heard of the name or not, seeing what he can do is jaw dropping and inspiring. When it came to conditioning, one of the things that came up was how one on how to train like the ape man; training on the Charles Atlas course, high rep calisthenics & swimming were those things. I started digging more and learned a few things but nothing for me has come close to what the exercises for Animal Movements has brought.
You see, most people who knew of the Tarzan films starting back in the 30's with Johnny Weissmuller then on had a common theme with most actors such as Ron Ely, Mike Henry & a couple others where they worked out by doing nothing but calisthenics & Swimming (Good ole' Johnny) which it should be because don't get me wrong the new guy as the Ape Man looks in phenomenal shape but Tarzan doesn't lift weights or operate heavy artillery in his style so he relies on nothing but his own body and the environment he's occupied in e.g the Jungle. Animal Movements are the closest thing next to the Movement Style MovNat to actually getting into that Jungle Man mode. You crawl, jump, climb, swim, move rocks, swing, balance & run (I rather sprint thank you). It inspires me to learn how to develop my body in a unique way and have a lot of fun with it. I'm a heavy dude and am no where near Tarzan's lean, mean, fighting physique but that doesn't stop me from doing kick ass things and have the opportunity to train and move like a wild man.
This looks like the most epic version of the Tarzan Mythology yet especially with how they CGI'd the Gorillas. Read the story is a tad different but not by much. He'll be played by Swedish Actor Alexander Skarsgård (to you fans of True Blood) whom I've only heard of by a couple things so I don't have exact opinions of his acting abilities but apparently he did enough to land the role so we'll see. To get more familiar of the Character check out the old films (long before Disney) by going here.....I highly recommend the Mike Henry version since I consider him the best looking but the best acting of the character belongs to two guys; Ron Ely & Jock Mahoney. Some of the acting is a little out there but pay attention to the story and the excitement of the adventures he endures. My personal favorites however are with Johnny Weissmuller with Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Developing VRT Exercise Routines
Been going crazy over the VRT training lately and its beginning to be more addicting everyday. I test out different routines to keep the mind fresh and the body constantly adapting because as you know or may not realize, once you begin peaking and nothing really changes, that means your body is used to what you've been doing to it. To get the best results is to change things up on an often basis. No problem doing the same exercises but make sure to switch around the order and the level of intensity.
The fastest routine I can get through lately is doing the exercises in Supersets (2 exercises back to back, no rest) and continue this throughout the workout. My order has been 9 exercises, 8 of them in superset fashion. This is a great way to really jack up your heart rate hence the fat burning mechanism, intensity is a little higher and you can do it in one of two ways, do them as same muscle groups (Curl, Cable Pulls) or Opposite Muscles (Back/Chest) for example. You can create any order and do a routine any way you see fit. Some people like to do them one at a time, some done in circuits whatever is comfortable for you.
Some people have actually used VRT as a primary bodybuilding routine done on split days like the old-time muscle builders, it works great for that too. I once read that a guy does this type of training for a full hour and a half for bodybuilding. I like to be able to get done fast and over with as possible. As adventurous the system is, my brain just doesn't do well with intense training for a long period of time. I'd keep it under 30 min. more like 20 and i'm fine. Create the routine that suits your goals, the time needed & making the most out of your training. It is a beautiful system that can be done anywhere, anytime. My favorite place is outdoors getting that vitamin D while taking in fresh air, doesn't get any better than that. Some prefer indoors, that's awesome; how about listening to your favorite tunes like you would in the gym, you can do that too. Learn what you want out of it, develop a routine that aids in building primarily muscle, or boosting cardio or whatever; take the time to figure out what gets you in the habit and fire away. Make VRT your own.
The fastest routine I can get through lately is doing the exercises in Supersets (2 exercises back to back, no rest) and continue this throughout the workout. My order has been 9 exercises, 8 of them in superset fashion. This is a great way to really jack up your heart rate hence the fat burning mechanism, intensity is a little higher and you can do it in one of two ways, do them as same muscle groups (Curl, Cable Pulls) or Opposite Muscles (Back/Chest) for example. You can create any order and do a routine any way you see fit. Some people like to do them one at a time, some done in circuits whatever is comfortable for you.
Some people have actually used VRT as a primary bodybuilding routine done on split days like the old-time muscle builders, it works great for that too. I once read that a guy does this type of training for a full hour and a half for bodybuilding. I like to be able to get done fast and over with as possible. As adventurous the system is, my brain just doesn't do well with intense training for a long period of time. I'd keep it under 30 min. more like 20 and i'm fine. Create the routine that suits your goals, the time needed & making the most out of your training. It is a beautiful system that can be done anywhere, anytime. My favorite place is outdoors getting that vitamin D while taking in fresh air, doesn't get any better than that. Some prefer indoors, that's awesome; how about listening to your favorite tunes like you would in the gym, you can do that too. Learn what you want out of it, develop a routine that aids in building primarily muscle, or boosting cardio or whatever; take the time to figure out what gets you in the habit and fire away. Make VRT your own.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Creating What Works For You
As you well know i'm not a man of copying or making other people's routines my own, I take what works for my interests & develop a style that is of my own design. Its not easy being your own trainer but its far better for your mind and body to be so. There is importance in learning specific exercises and gaining technique by practice but its more important to perfect what works in your favor not someone else's.
I believe in self-mastery meaning that I take what I do seriously and put my heart and soul into creating something for myself and only myself. I have no problem training with others but I'm not going to do exactly what they do otherwise i'm missing out on who i'am. Most take the easy route by being sheep and following someone else's routine or go at the same speed, same exercise step by step. There's nothing wrong with learning an exercise and doing it right but if you want the complete package, you need to step away and also master yourself first and foremost. Some people think being your own trainer will get you hurt and no matter what you need a trainer, I disagree in parts of that area; I believe that if your technique is off and you are hurting yourself then learn from someone how to do it right but at the same time, learn the facets of your own physiology and develop technique that suits you and your needs of obtaining results.
I have learned from the very best on what exercises need good technique on and have trained alongside some of the strongest and fittest people on the planet. I had to learn on my own 11 years ago how to walk again and train my body, I worked out with people but for the most part, the training, the process of getting strong again and the some was all me and whatever technique I learned I observed it very closely in books and on DVDs. I was very good at observation and it helped me find what can work for my structure and how I've stayed less injured this whole time. Being your own trainer takes guts and its not a temporary thing, its a life-time commitment. Be your own trainer roughly 80-90% of the time, the other 10-20% is from learning from others, observing, participating and practicing.
I believe in self-mastery meaning that I take what I do seriously and put my heart and soul into creating something for myself and only myself. I have no problem training with others but I'm not going to do exactly what they do otherwise i'm missing out on who i'am. Most take the easy route by being sheep and following someone else's routine or go at the same speed, same exercise step by step. There's nothing wrong with learning an exercise and doing it right but if you want the complete package, you need to step away and also master yourself first and foremost. Some people think being your own trainer will get you hurt and no matter what you need a trainer, I disagree in parts of that area; I believe that if your technique is off and you are hurting yourself then learn from someone how to do it right but at the same time, learn the facets of your own physiology and develop technique that suits you and your needs of obtaining results.
I have learned from the very best on what exercises need good technique on and have trained alongside some of the strongest and fittest people on the planet. I had to learn on my own 11 years ago how to walk again and train my body, I worked out with people but for the most part, the training, the process of getting strong again and the some was all me and whatever technique I learned I observed it very closely in books and on DVDs. I was very good at observation and it helped me find what can work for my structure and how I've stayed less injured this whole time. Being your own trainer takes guts and its not a temporary thing, its a life-time commitment. Be your own trainer roughly 80-90% of the time, the other 10-20% is from learning from others, observing, participating and practicing.
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