Things Just Keep Coming Together With Primate Training

The power of influence and inspiration can come from anywhere even in a single moment where it only lasts for a mere 10 seconds can change your entire life from then on. That's what gives me the drive to do Primate or Ape/Monkey exercises, its having those little moments that really shine on my brain like for example seeing the updated trailer for Kong: Skull Island inspires me even greater to have that kind of strength, that kind of enormous ability to move and feel like larger than life. Apes truly are the most awesome strength giants of the Animal Kingdom.

It's not easy to walk on your knuckles, let alone be able to speed up and jump while adding in the ability to just hang from a bar for quite a period of time. Even 10 seconds from a dead hang is challenging especially if you're a big guy like myself. I take pride in learning how to move my body in all sorts of directions and mainly being able to move like a primate in the safest ways possible because lets face it, unless you're tarzan or have some secret DNA that allows you to have the tendons and muscular adaptations of a wild beast its impossible to move the same exact way a primate does. We may not be able to swing on vines gracefully but we can improvise using our structure to move through the Monkey Bars or do acrobatic feats on the swing, hang from a pull-up bar and develop powerful grip strength, Squat down and hold it like a Chimp. There are many ways to develop our own style of Primate Fitness.

Since getting back into this, I'm feeling a greater since of flexibility in my spine, my fingers are building strength in the tendons, my knees are getting stretched in the deep squat positions, my oblique are getting stronger from the hanging position, my wrists feel like solid rock, my abs are getting leaner little by little and my upper body conditioning is increasing. You don't need to be a gymnast or an acrobat to get into this, it takes practice but with the right progression for you it can make a huge difference. The power of the primate is inside all of us, whether the theory is we are descended from apes or not doesn't matter but I do believe because of the shape of them compared to us is nearly identical from the chimp and gorillas we must embrace having that possible connection.

You Deserve To Get The Most Out Of Your Hard Earned Money

I'm so F*cking psyched to share this really awesome and wonderful Idea I have for YOU this holiday season and beyond....

It's important to find the best products possible and for that I want to give something back as my gratitude and appreciation for what you decided to do.

What will happen is when you go to my Advocare Store and you make a purchase, you'll be getting more than just a product, I will personally send you a FREE WORKOUT that is circuit based and all you need is your own bodyweight. You can do this workout in the comfort of your own home and on your own schedule anytime, anywhere. If it's too difficult, let me know by email, call or text and I will send you another workout for you to start on.

I want YOU to get the most bang for your hard earned money and help you reach your goals as best as possible. You deserve to be in awesome health and whether you're a man or woman, young or old doesn't matter you will get something out of it.

Are you in sports? Building a Healthy Lifestyle? Starting a new regimen? Or just want to look awesome in your birthday suit, I will help you find the best products and workouts for your goals.

Let's work together and help you get the most out of it.

Quick And Simple Workouts Two To Three Times A Week

Many people are pressed for time when they do their best to exercise. They think in order to get in shape they need to do hour long workouts that consist of mainly cardio, stretching and lifting weights. It sucks but you're probably a good many folks who work long hours, need to take care of your kids and maybe just want to crash at the end of the day. I don't blame you, I've seen many parents and guardians just wiped when they pick their kids up from either day care or school and it takes on a toll on them.

Its never easy to start any kind of fitness regimen and even if you're fully committed, you never know what kind of day you'll get and there will be days where your routine is just off for any particular reason. A lot of fitness experts expect you to hold down the fort and do workouts they tell you will get you "in shape" that consists of being on a treadmill, do some weird stretching before you play around with the weights and the machines. There's nothing wrong with following a specific program yet there aught to be something that strikes you to keep coming back for more. Let's face it, traditional cardio at those chrome and fern gyms that suck the life out of you and fill your brain with nonsensical training methods that can most likely do one of two things; won't give you the results you are doing your damnedest to achieve or 2, end up injuring you because you were taught bad form or you went into overload and your body shuts down.

What if you can do a style of training that burns off fat, takes less than 10 minutes and be able to burn calories even hours after your workout? You can do them 2x-3x a week and get what you need done. Granted the exercises and routines aren't easy by any stretch but give you a powerful sense of accomplishment and make the most out of the time you have.

I'm talking about Workout Finishers where you take a 1-4 or 5 exercises and just blast them in a high intensity level of training. They can be done in supersets, circuits, ladders, done in as many rounds as possible all in a short amount of time. Just yesterday I did a finisher after a DDP Yoga session learning the basics and did a Superset of 5 Kettlebell Presses per arm and going straight into 5 Mountain Climbers per leg; doing this workout for only 5 minutes and doing as many rounds as possible without resting. This alone kicked my ass big time and I loved it. That's just one example, another would be doing 3 exercises for 8 minutes at a 20/10 Tabata Style workout that will have you burning fat like a furnace. You can do them immediately after your current workouts or do them on your days off to help shed off extra fat and burn calories like butter to a hot plate.

I'm not in the habit of bullshitting anyone (excuse the language but I'm being honest here) so when I tell you what can be a real bad ass in your training, better believe what i'm saying. I realize you may be skeptical and that's ok, I was too and I didn't think it work, then I decided to just do it and see what happens and holy crap I felt it immediately and my heart was thumping and my lungs were firing. I want to share with you a real balls to the wall course that is only Finishers that really put you in a state of being in a fat burning zone that occurs during and after doing a finisher that will shed fat, build muscle and have you able to eat your favorite foods. If you truly commit and build on healthy eating while developing finishers for your workouts or on days off, your eyes will pop out of your head from the shock of the type of physique you can create. I've lost fat and put on great muscle while staying at a bodyweight of over 265 and its helped me stay agile and conditioned for other favorite methods of exercise.

So come on, do it for you and check it out by going HERE and see what can be in stored for you.

Crazy Primal Strength

I've been on a terror the last couple days getting back into my favorite form of training: Animal Exercise. Doing things such as hanging, crawling, walking & jumping like a wild animal particularly Apes & Monkeys (my personal favorite type of animals). Ever since I saw the new trailer for Kong: Skull Island & watching the first two of the Planet Of The Apes Reboot series, my instincts have put me on a path to just go Ape in my training.

I build my grip strength by hanging from my pull-up bar in various positions to develop a grip that is functional and powerful; plus having the ability to elongate the spine, strengthen and put some flexibility into my shoulders adds tremendous benefit for my own development. On the ground I do different stuff from monkey walks to moving putting most of my weight on knuckles and what is bi-peddle swaggering where you walk like a chimp. For me this is the ultimate form of basic primal movement and strengthening the body from awkward angles and building on pulling power.

Many people in the fitness world like animal movements these days and why not? They're good for you, help develop new levels of conditioning and strengthen the muscles unlike our typical humanized bodyweight exercises but not all methods are created equal. Some are very good like what i'm doing, Animal Flow, MovNat and others but some are also a little out there and are too commercialized like an aerobics class having too much of a human style to it instead of feeling like a wild beast just moving and strengthening the body. I'm not saying this is a bad thing but it takes away the authenticity of moving and mimicking wild animals. Its always good to find something for everyone but whether you're a beginner or an advanced animal, its always important to move as best as possible without relying too much on the human side of it. There are some animals people shouldn't or can't do and that's OK yet the most basic animals can be taught with great progression according to one's fitness level.

I taught animal moves to people young and old when I was in college and I gave each person a certain form of progression that suited to their level and whether they can barely walk or start running down the court I let their instincts be a part of their development. You can learn the movement all you want but if it doesn't feel instinctive and it doesn't click you won't get very far. I have mastered many animals but my favorites are of the primates and do them according to my strength levels and my ability to stay in specific positions. I'm a big man so hanging from  a pull-up bar doesn't last too long but its still effective, with the ground work I just go until I need to rest or stop.

Build great real primal strength and execute moves that suit you and work for your abilities currently.

Animal Kingdom Conditioning Courses (Survival Of The Fittest & Call Of The Wild)

Hundreds Of Push Ups & Squats In A Day

Over the last few days I have been experimenting with doing Push-ups & Squats throughout the day more often in Supersets. I'm doing a maximum of 25 reps per exercise which means I'll do one variation for 25 in a row or do a couple variations until I get to 25, the Squats are 25 straight through no matter what. Multiple Variations of the Push-up is being done through what I feel like doing and keeping that up throughout the day. I don't experience almost any soreness and i'm not overtaxing my nervous system or overtraining the muscles. I recover very well and it's starting to show especially in my chest, upper back and arms. So far I'm hitting up to a total of 300 Push-ups & Squats.

I'm mastering a particular squat done by dancers and it helps take pain off of my knees. Recently doing Hindu Squats, although very good for your health and building a solid foundation on conditioning, it puts a bit of stress on MY knees and needed to change things up. As a big guy, its important to be aware of the type of exercise you do and learn what works in term of overall strength not just in the muscles but the joints so you may have to do different variations to find the one that gives YOU the best benefit. The squat in particular i'm learning and is working rather amazing so far is taught in Kevin Wikes Pan Program which is based on the deity of the half-man half-goat that represents masculinity and virility. I like how simple this exercise is but it also gives a powerful stretch in the hamstrings and groin and promotes heavy testosterone when done in high reps.

 Now why am I doing this? What's my end game here? Well its not to prove how many I can do of each that's for damn sure; its basically teaching me what I can do to be creative while keeping things simple and keep my body moving throughout the day because I do work from home and whenever I do go out its not that often especially now when my house has had big issues these past near 2 weeks. I always did workouts where I just did them all at once and that was it or do another workout later on that evening. I would work the rest of the time writing to you, researching, messing around a bit or going out somewhere so this is to help me stay fresh and strong while building muscle. My big workout really is at night when I work on my neck and my bridging exercises to stretch and strengthen the entire body doing my neck from multiple angles and doing the Front & Back Bridge for 3 min. each. This way I'm not overexerting myself and I get to do what I love while sticking with basic exercises. When it's warmer out, I go swimming or do animal movements or qi gong exercise.

Do you need to do these exercises everyday? No you can split them up into various days in the week or do one day of push-ups, one day of squats and the next bridging or do them all at once it depends on your goals. This works for ME and I'm liking the benefits from it. I don't go crazy and I don't push myself to the limit and keep an eye on how my body feels.

Going With The Fundamentals

No matter how you start or how advanced you are, you can't go wrong using the basic principles/exercises in your training. One of the things I learned early on in my adult life since I was 21 years old is that fundamentals are the key to being successful in any endeavor whether its sports, exercise, business, food & many other things. Sometimes we fall by the wayside and think because something is basic and simple that it feels demeaning and we aught to be more advanced and progressed into greater stages. When it comes to exercise people in many cases believe that the basics don't have any real meaning except as a starting point and then don't need them once they progress to a higher level of progression. Yes its important to keep progressing and getting better but at the same time going back to the basics can aid in your success and not feel like you're Demoting yourself.

The things I learned from specific people in the Physical Culture world is that in order to truly become your own expert is to learn the basics and make them a second language. For example in bodyweight exercise men like Karl Gotch, Matt Furey & others taught the fundamentals of Push-ups, Squats & Bridging as the main staple of any regimen beginner or advanced. In the weightlifting world you stick to basic lifts such as Bench Press, Deadlift, Squat, Snatches, Military Press and basic dumbbell work of those specific exercises which when mastered with good weight will put on muscle, increase strength, utilize multiple groups of muscles and hitting them hard.

I always feel the need to change things up but more and more especially since its not the best weather to workout in, I'm going into more of basic forms of exercises that I can do throughout the day like the last couple days I've been doing Push-ups & Squats throughout the day in Supersets of up to 25 reps in a row. One of those days was doing a total of 300 each which is pretty good considering I haven't done that many in quite some time except the squats. At night I would do my bridging and neck resistance exercise to aid in putting on some extra muscle in my neck and strengthen/lengthen my spine using the Front & Back Bridges holding them for 3 min. each. The squats are Hindu Squats and I keep them even with the push-ups even though the golden rule is to double the squats; this works for me and let's me recover for later sets and as I progress to about 500 each in a day in sets of 25, I will eventually add it to 50 per set per exercise and who knows one day I'll go for 1000 each exercise but until then this works for my structure and my ability to recover. With the Bridging I'll add in the Gymnastic Bridge to get a greater stretch and I do 5 exercises for the neck working it from several angles to build strength and rugged power to keep it from getting hurt and/or pinching it.

The most basic upper body movement in all of bodyweight training is the Push-up and it is the king of upper body movement period. Some call it the king of them all but I a disagree in certain areas of but its highly effective and puts on muscle when you do them correctly. Some put on muscle greater using lower reps, others do so with higher reps. It's been used by countless cultures around the world and was a staple for a lot of Hollywood actors today and more than 50-60 years ago. Men like Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster and even guys who played Tarzan such as Jock Mahoney, Mike Henry & the most recent Tarzan actor Alexander Skarsgard used Push-ups to build their physiques for roles in specific films. Seriously if that doesn't inspire you to do Push-ups something is amiss there. The funny thing is basic push-ups are not really enough for some people and try to do variations they're clearly not ready for like one-arm push-ups and plyo push-ups. Don't get me wrong many variations do wonders but there are ones that can hurt you and damage joints if your body isn't in the right setting yet. For me as a big guy at around 270 I stick with 2 arm style push-ups as best as possible and yes I can do one arm and plyo but doing them in high reps is major risk for joint damage and muscle tearing so I stay as basic as possible and have gained results because of this.

Now in terms of how many push-ups one can do, that's up to the individual in what they're goals and intentions are. You are not really competing against anyone to see how better you are or that you can do more than another person; its about training to your fullest potential without risking injury and able to do things on a consistent level. Just because you start off with a low number of something doesn't mean you're a terrible trainee, everyone starts somewhere. I couldn't imagine doing 300 Push-ups or more in a single day when I was a kid because back then to me that was impossible and I could never be strong enough to do that. Not many men my size are doing hundreds of push-ups in a single day since most of them are either out of shape, lifting weights or are strongmen so I'm happy that i'm able to do these and be able to build a physique because of them. Sure I do other things but I'm confident that I'm decently fit for a guy my size. In one workout I did a total of 600 Push-ups in roughly 90 minutes doing Pyramid sets of multiple variations and resting as long as needed. For an advanced person an hour and a half of 600 push-ups sounds pretty weak but I'm not going for records of doing a certain number in a row.

Here's a good solid book of over 60 variations of push-ups you can play with and progress on. Never be bored with dull workouts and be able to train throughout the day or in a single workout your choice. See how many push-ups you can do in a single day and build up to a number you'd like to reach. Make them count. Ultimate Guide To Push-ups

Make Your Spine Your Best Friend

A lot of people look to specific areas of the body that they find the most appealing or the most useful when it comes to sports or just everyday life. Some people look arms as a mighty thing because from the fingers to the shoulders they have the ability to build things, lift heavy weights, bend metal, carry another human to safety, knock out another person or hit a baseball far into the stands. Others like to look at legs as amazing and they are; they give you the ability to run very fast, have the power to kill a person with a single kick to the head, run hard for a touchdown, the agility to steal second base and be able to go for long periods of time in a boxing or wrestling ring. These are all good qualities and various body parts are appealing and all but nothing takes the place of the spinal cord.

The back is the second largest set of muscles next to the legs and for good reason. The spinal cord however are the bones that connect everything together and if one little bad thing goes wrong and one or more set of bones no longer function and broken, you wouldn't have great legs or powerful arms anymore. You would be paralyzed and it could end your life as a healthy individual as you know it.

Its very difficult to come back from spinal injuries and the majority of those that are crippled from a spinal injury don't ever come back and it becomes a painful and stressful life that nobody could ever live with. Look at guys like Christopher Reeve, Darren Drozdov (Puke from the WWE's Attitude Era), Roy Campenella, Issac Redman (Former Pitts Steeler) and others that live or lived with Spinal Injuries that has living in a wheelchair for the rest of their lives. We can't always control what's going to happen in the blink of an eye but we can damn sure control how we train our bodies that has potential to severely reduce injury. Here's one example of this; Brock Lesnar in his match against Kurt Angle for WWE Title at Wrestlemania 19 at the very end, does a backflip off the top rope and accidentally lands on his forehead; BTW this guy is 6'3 285 lbs. of pure solid muscle and was lucky his life didn't end right there because the average wouldn't just be paralyzed, he'd be in the damn morgue. What saved his life and a possible life threatening injury was the strength his neck and spine. All those hours from doing Neck Bridges and moving in every possible direction to build solid power in his neck made that much of a difference and that move was only if at all 2-3 seconds long. Think about that, his whole could've been over without any chance of recovering in that single moment and he came out of it just on a CONCUSSION!!!

The best thing you can do in your training is to strengthen the spine and the neck that literally can save you a hospital visit and save you hundreds of thousands in hospital bills and the cost of medical supplies to keep you alive. I train my neck and spine just about every single day for the sole purpose of staying injury-free and possibly keep me from being aggressively injured  and not able to use my bodily functions again. That's why I consider Advanced Bridging to be the number one course for building a healthy spine and a super strong neck. Don't let the title fool you, it has stuff for beginners too and teaches you everything you need to know on how to handle yourself in various bridges, specific skills and in full detail take you through exercises that build an amazing level of capacity from your neck all the way down to your feet. Because of using this course I have never had injuries to my spine and have never broken my neck or even pinched it to where it was unbearable. Save your own life by training your body in ways many consider to be dangerous and to the extreme.

Back On The Deck

Over the last couple days I've tested myself on the Deck Of Cards Workout changing it up from One variation of 4 exercises to 3 exercises using multiple variations of 2 of them (Squats & Push-ups) doing V-Ups for the 3rd Exercise. So far I've beaten the deck both times and yesterday beating it in just over 30 min. That's a hell of a workout for only 3 exercises but they each lay a foundation for building solid conditioning and building strength, flexibility and agility.

The Squats are 3 variations of the Hindu Squat (Heels up, feet flat & jumpers) where the push-ups are more than a few variations to add variety but still keep them basic (Military, Dips, Different Hand Positions ect.) and the V-ups stay the same variation since it has a full body element of it having both a sit-up and the leg lift in the same movement. I would do a total of 388 Squats, 119 Push-ups and 119 V-Ups for the whole deck. Once its completed I add 12 Squats and 1 rep each of a push-up and v-up for a grand total of 400 Squats, 120 Push-ups & 120 V-Ups. I like to keep things rounded to the closest denominator of specific numbers to even them out.

As I get better I most likely will add reps to the cards to get things even higher for conditioning purposes. I'm not so much going for being ripped or looking like world-class athlete, I'll let this workout speak for itself and the results will come the way the universe will have it. I don't like talking about my personal goals much because whenever I do, 99% of the time I end up quitting early on and when I don't mention them they come quicker. Some will be very open about goal-setting and share them with others which is cool I love that about people but i'm more private about it and believe that they're my own and no one else needs to really know unless under certain circumstances. The reason why I love this particular Deck which I call the Indy Deck because its got Indiana Jones and scenes of adventures in all 4 movies that inspires me and gives me greater energy than music and/or training with somebody else. I know what you're thinking "come on man, they're just cards like any other, what makes them all that special", for one; It's F-cking Indiana Jones and 2; It's got 3 jokers instead of the normal 2 so it adds a challenge and amps up the conditioning even more with the Squats.

Eventually i'll add back the Hindu Push-ups & Tablemakers but they'll be a part of the multi-variation team of Push-ups. This is my way of looking at what Karl Gotch use to say on conditioning "always work your muscles from every possible angle." I do want to hit the 500 Squat goal again and do 250 Push-ups and more than 150 V-ups but it will take time and i'm not going to reveal it until I have actually completed it. I do have the discipline to go after 500 Hindu Squats in a row and I've done it a couple times but I choose to do them in sets for the purpose that once I get up to a certain number in a row, I get very bored and it becomes more of a dull grind than a workout. This way I can shift from one exercise to another and still keep things fresh, fun and exciting. The workout is never the same twice, the reps are the same but each card can be different from the last workout. It builds crazy stamina, strength from doing different push-ups, adds in coordination and balance from the Squats and it gets both the upper and lower abs on the V-Ups where you're working the entire Core using a full body movement and if I had to take a break I would leave my arms overhead and straighten my legs to open up the obliques so I'm getting the most out of the whole session.

 You can do other exercises with your own deck but always use a foundation of basic exercises and keep things fresh and you'll never get bored. You want an Indy Deck of your own? Go HERE and grab them. Have fun and never find an excuse, find an opportunity to train.

What Makes The Deck Of Cards Workout So Effective And How Often Should You Do It

Spare some time? Is it cold and wet out on an Autumn Day in October? Can't get to the gym or just don't want to deal with traffic? Got any room in your hotel? All of these can still be your asset to getting a workout in. I have gone through some very effective workouts over the years and nearly at the top of the list is the Deck Of Cards Workout. It was made famous believe it or not by Late Pro Wrestler Karl Gotch who believed this workout helped enhance a man or woman's conditioning to last in a good old fashioned match and have reserves in the middle and ending of a fight. For the most part the only exercises he would put in would be the Hindu Push-ups & the Hindu Squats.

In Japan where Karl was praised as a Wrestling God, the wrestlers who trained under him would go on to be successful wrestlers and passed on the conditioning to students of their own. It's evident that if you want to get in shape fast this is a hell of a way to do it. The objective of this "game" was to get through each card that had specific exercises attached to it and as you got better, you reduced the rest periods each workout until you can burst through it without much problem. The one thing to remember especially if you've never done it or haven't done it in quite some time was to see how many cards you can go through without fatiguing and rest as long as needed and move onto the next card. I admittedly was stupid and got my ego in the way knowing I was in good shape but my body needed a little time getting back into it and ended up hurting my elbows. Don't ever make that mistake because this workout alone can get you in supreme cardio shape for practically any sport but like everything else, ease into it and build up.

Now in terms of exercises, Karl used mainly 2 exercises or variations of and made it a point to go as fast as possible and build up those lungs to where no matter what sport you're in you'll be in shape throughout the duration of a game/match. Some people do 4 exercises, some will do 3, some will do multiple variations and take on different style of repetitions. For me, I like the concept of Squats and Push-ups and have gone through the deck multiple times ranging from 20 min. workouts to just over an hour and the reps are set and stone and rarely if ever change.....

Aces=20 reps
Jacks/Queens/Kings=15 Reps
Jokers=50 Reps
2-10 are at face value

If you really wanted to be a stud and make it a little more interesting; you would double the squats and keep the push-ups at face value. Some people go way over the top and sometimes triple the numbers in all the exercises. Ric Flair in his heyday would go as far as doing a total of 440 Squats, 440 Push-ups & 440 Sit-ups with the deck and if anybody knows what Ric did in the ring or how long he could last every night you know why those cards were effective for him. For the average person, you don't need extreme high reps to be in good shape. If all you care about is getting lean and mean and have good cardio to go along with it, this workout will do it. I've seen guys in videos do things like Burpees, Mountain Climbers, Pull-ups & even used kettlebells its all about your creativity and seeing what can challenge you. I'm going to tell you its no cake walk and it never gets easier but it can be more interesting in seeing what you can come up with.

Why is it so effective? Did you not read what it could do for the Dirtiest Player in the game? It's effective in the sense where it challenges the norm and unlike other routines it changes every workout. You're not doing the same cards every time and you can change the repetitions depending on your level of fitness. When it comes down to it, it blasts your cardio greater than being on a treadmill for an hour and it gets you lean fast and I mean really fast, like you'll lose weight and drop fat almost in the same workout on the first day. During my small stint with the cards recently without ever changing my eating I dropped 3 pounds in under a week. You can take it anywhere with you and it can be done on your own schedule; if you're short on time, have an hour lunch at work, do it in your hotel room before leaving for the day or do it a park and really go nuts. The only equipment you need is 52 playing cards that's it.

Now how often should you do it? For those who are beginning to do it, start with how many cards you can do and each workout add one or 2 the most. Once you can do the full deck in a workout, start with once every 4-5 days because it is very intense and it can drain you. Once your cardio id better, do it once every 2-3 days. If you need to back off a day or 2 because you're either sore or don't have the energy than do so, you can always go back when you're fresh and ready. To really go sadistic, some people are in such world-class shape they'll do it everyday, sometimes as a warm-up before their other routine. I use to be able to do this every other day for weeks at a time and would get it done in under half an hour. My best time on the cards is roughly under 23 minutes. Now that i'm healing and really want to get back into it once i'm 100% I'll be doing once every 4 days or every other day in between workouts for HIIT. I have learned my lesson and going to instead do the 2 upper body movements I was doing before, I'll be taking on multiple variations of the Push-up and stick with Hindu Squats/Jumpers & the V-Ups. That way i'm not putting my elbows in jeopardy on one or just 2 variations and be able to hit muscles from different angles.

Here's a bonus for you.....What kind of deck is good for this workout? Well, any type of 52 cards will do but for me I like the themes and having different cultural references on the cards for motivation and having pictures and such to keep me pumped. My all-time favorite is using my Indiana Jones deck where it has scenes from all 4 movies and there's three jokers in the deck so I'm doing not one not 2 but 3 sets of 50 Squats that could start at the beginning, the middle or at the very end of the deck and its going to be challenging either way. If I don't have a deck on hand, I find an app on my phone and do it that way, typing down the exercises for each card and have it. Some apps have jokers, others don't so find the best one for you. Have fun with this workout and write me a note on how you do or have any questions on conditioning or what exercises you can start with and if you have injuries but still want to do them, I'd be happy to give you tips on that as well.

BTW,

Happy Halloween Everyone and have a great night getting candy around the neighborhood and dress up like a boss. I'm rooting for ya in the Costume Contest wherever it is.

Healing Bad Elbows

Sometimes in training certain things happen and I ended up a little hurt. Really got into the Deck Of Cards Workout based on Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning exercises and ended up in-flaming both my elbows around the joints. Got caught up in staying consistent with doing Hindu Squats, Hindu Push-ups, V-Ups & The Tablemakers. The Push-ups & the Tablemakers were the ones that pinned me down. My form wasn't that great although it wasn't terrible either and my flexibility in the Tablemaker wasn't very good. I'm only human and get so caught up in it I didn't stop it sooner. Luckily I finally let my body tell me to stop before a serious injury would've occurred.

These exercises are without question very powerful and work very well for practically anyone. This is only a setback where I plan on healing myself through other methods that have less impact on the joints. I'm not in terrible pain but when I do try a couple push-ups I feel it right away. The exercises are not to blame whatsoever, its my own fault and I paid the consequences. I never had an issue like this before so its a learning experience. I'm happy i'm able to finish the deck roughly any time I wanted and plan on beating it again one day.

Its important to listen to your body and when there's even the slightest bit of danger where your joints don't feel right stop. Joints are more precious than the muscles. Muscles heal faster but joints take a little longer. That's why for the time being I'm focusing more on Ab Work using Gymnastic Abs, Stretching through little bits of Playful Movements, VRT to work the muscles and not put a strain on the joints and most of all, the healing powers of Qi Gong. I can still move my elbows and lift stuff if I need to but not pushing hard on a workout with them; better to train smart than to train stupid.

Once my elbows heal, I might start again on Darebee Circuit Workouts or create circuits of my own and get back to doing Burpee HIIT Workouts starting 2x a week and build up to 3x a week maximum using exercises from 50 Shades Of Burpees. Just because you can't do one thing doesn't mean you can't do another. There are ways to work around minor injuries and power up on the healing process. The type of qi gong I practice is from different areas of the arts but the ones I highly recommend and have helped me immensely in the past have been Shaolin Qi Gong & Matt Furey's Chi Kung Methods which are from his Membership Site which to me is a powerful and wonderful investment.

Don't be mad at yourself if you get hurt, think of it as a learning experience and take it in with laughter. You will heal, work on getting back and do things to help prevent it from happening again. I don't plan on ever doing the deck again on an everyday basis, its just not practical and it drained me for the most and didn't have the brains to take it easy at first, I got caught up in the glory of being able to do it. Something to do maybe a couple times a week just to get some good conditioning going; not to go at it everyday and even if I do happen to do it, I wouldn't always do the repetitions, I'd do lower reps on some workouts or even a no rep workout where I just hold positions for breaths or seconds and I have experienced going through the deck that way too and it gives even the toughest men a run for their money. Make compromises with your mind and body. Take it from me, you do too much it'll bite you in the ass. I know I can do it and I will do it again but in the meantime my body is more important than the glory of beating cool looking cards.

Be In The Best Condition YOU Can Be In

It's never easy to get in shape or be healthy physically, mentally & emotionally and when we do, a lot of times is because we want to be like people we admire or want to have their figure/physique, have washboard abs and have bulging muscles. There's nothing wrong with admiring others but we can never truly be exactly like them and i'll tell you why; It's physically impossible to look and feel exactly like another human being. You can get plastic surgery, train hard, eat the same exact foods, impersonate them and do whatever it takes but in the end, you will always be you.

I wanted to train to be like Arnold when I was lifting, that didn't pan out because I got too exhausted trying his routines. I wanted to play like Michael Jordan when I was in my teens but that definitely pan out because I couldn't grow like him and had no where near 1/10th of his abilities. I wanted to be like my favorite wrestlers but I never could wrestle or be in the shape they were in because I just didn't have that kind of passion. I did however get in better shape at the age of 30 than I ever did in my 20's and it was because I made it my mission to not be like anyone else and focus being in the best shape for me.

You see, we focus so much on impressing others and wanting to look like others because for most they have very low self-esteem and have very little respect and admiration for themselves. I'm not saying you have to be a narcissistic prick to make that happen but when you learn to see you're worth something regardless of what anyone says and you have the power to make things happen for you and you alone, things become a reality. I'm no millionaire and believe in working for myself plus as much as I love getting paid for what I do I don't have thoughts on getting so much money I wouldn't know what to do with it. When I was growing up, money always made me feel weird inside because people I know and cared about used money to buy someone's love and used it against their very own blood. I'm not saying it happened all the time but money to me is nothing more than to be used to pay bills when needed, have a little spree here and there and get food. Do I think its evil, absolutely not, I think it has a lot of worth to a person's life but it should never be used against someone or make someone believe because they have money they're more important and controlling everything. Condition yourself to trust money that works for you. Unlike other people I know, when I spend money on someone else whether its for my girl, my family, friends or a complete stranger I don't ask for anything in return unless its for a purpose other than that it makes me happy to help someone or just do something nice, there's no agenda, no back stabbing and no secrets of what I want out of it.

Being in condition whether physically, financially or whatever is more on the journey than the destination. We don't realize that being in shape really has no deadline and if you push too hard it'll bite you in the ass. I exercise everyday not for the sake of being better than somebody but because its fun and I do it with my heart and soul only for me. Don't waste your time becoming someone else, that's what second rated people do, first rate people get in shape because they have something within themselves and go through the struggles to better themselves. There are things I can do a lot can't but the opposite is also true, there are things I couldn't dream of doing that others can do and you know what, that's cool with me. There's always room for improvement and its important to be around those that believe in you and when people are jealous of your accomplishments, they will do whatever or say whatever to bring you down or in so much fear of what you can do, they'll try to suck the life out of your goal setting and point out negative bullshit. I say bring it on. I firmly and passionately believe in what I do and have been told a number of times that I what I do won't get me anywhere or that people won't care about what I have to say yet I'm still going through walls like the Juggernaut bitch.

Be the best possible YOU!!!  

How Do You Spell D-E-C-K (Never Look At A Deck Of Cards The Same Way Again)

Today is my HIIT Day and I'm going to dominate it with a vengeance doing 4 different Burpees for 8 Intervals for 30 Sec. On & 90 Sec. Off; that works best for me and seeing results with this method. Yesterday however was just a brutal and a bit of a longer workout where I took out my deck of The Matt Furey Exercise Bible and hammered out Hindu Squats, Hindu Push-ups, V-Ups & Tablemakers. Normally it takes me a good 45 minutes or so to finish the deck but since its been a while it took much longer to finish but I finished it nonetheless.

When it comes down to it, using basic exercises and molding them into a conditioning workout with a deck of cards is one of the best ways to get in awesome shape period. I have done the deck in a variety of ways; from animal exercise to Squats & Push-ups and the Matt's Exercise Bible and it never gets easier every time. I train to be in the best shape possible for my size and changing things up works my brain better because if I repeat too many of the same workout I get bored and become grumpy. That's the beauty of a good deck, it's never the same and the reps change with every workout. This is the same format that Karl Gotch used on his wrestling students and beat the holy hell out of them. Although it took me a while, in between cards I didn't just lay down and die, I stretched and did plenty of deep breathing and drinking water, I was determined to beat that sumbitch come hell or high water and if it meant taking a breather every now and then I did so but when I was ready I hammered them out.

At first, you're going to need to take breaks because your body is not use to that kind of stress and if you go too fast too early you can hurt yourself and you're going to need an iron lung. Build yourself up, takes less breaks each workout, let your conditioning come naturally and never give up and break away from the cards. Remember, they're just a plastic-coated pieces of paper yet the longer you go, the more you may hear them screaming at you to quit. The more conditioned you are, the less breaks you'll take and eventually you'll be bursting through them like a cake walk and when that happens, you'll be extremely fit and you'll be looking more like an athlete with the stamina to back it up.

 This type of workout has been used by athletes from all kinds of sports like Pro Wrestling, MMA, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and many others. Some of the most famous stars have done this workout to maintain insane shape from guys like Ric Flair, Ray Lewis, Ken Shamrock and others. It doesn't have to be the same exercises you can change them up to say Burpees, Sit-ups, Pull-ups, Kettlebell Swings, Sandbell Slamming, Battling Ropes, Hitting a tire with a sledgehammer (A personal favorite of mine) or whatever you decide. It gives you variety and an ever changing landscape of building great conditioning and being in shape fast. Here are some cards to look into that are pretty awesome and can be a motivator instead of those boring generic cards....

Indiana Jones

Animals

Superheroes

Football (Oakland Raiders)

Get in shape and make it interesting. Remember my motto "It doesn't get easier, just more interesting." In the words of The Nature Boy "Learn to live with it and learn to love it."

Making A Mean Program Using Burpees

There aren't many courses dedicated to the Burpee but one I found truly does that and then some. It's written and published by MMA Conditioning Specialist Funk Roberts called 50 Shades Of Burpees. Here's the scoop on it...

Just when you think there were only a few variations of the Burpee, good ole Funk puts the cherry on top of a giant cake with 200 Variations and over 50 workouts ranging from Sports to MMA, Conditioning, Beginner & Advanced. The names alone are pretty awesome but once you see what the workouts consists of it makes it even more bad ass. Although its geared towards Finisher Circuits and Tabata Style Circuits, it can still inspire other ways of High Intensity Interval Training.

Learn the history of the Burpee and why its practically pound for pound one of the best if not the best in getting a heavy workout anywhere anytime using little to no equipment that burns fat, builds muscle and adds on HGH like there's no tomorrow. To me the price was well worth it and i'm just touching the surface of the amount of variations I've tested myself on. Understand why its a staple for conditioning for world-class athletes, military and law enforcement recruits to test the wills of individuals who seek and are demanded high quality endurance and toughness. For examples of the variations check out the Video below.

44 Of The Greatest Burpees Ever

Getting Back To The Bridge

Hey Bad Asses,

I've been getting back into Bridging lately mainly to stay in good shape but more importantly keeping my spine and abs strong especially when it comes to recovery from my Burpee HIIT Workouts. It's important to keep your neck and spine healthy even in various sports like Football, Wrestling, MMA and others. I have been off and on doing Bridging Exercises for over a decade now and even at 32 Its important to maintain that healthy spinal cord and keeping the core strong well into my 40's in the next decade and beyond. Sure I'm young and still vibrant compared to those in those in their 50's and 60's but at the same time I feel bad for those poor souls in their 20's and in my age range already having issues with their joints, aching backs and thinking they're "invincible" and testing their limits in just everything. I'm all for having a great time and testing what you're capable of but at some point, certain things will come back and bite you in the ass if you don't take care of yourself.

I've read reports on crossfitters as young as 17 already having back surgeries and tearing their joints to death before they're even fully developed. Young girls in their 20's putting on way too much muscle for their structure to handle and training hard as much as 6 days a week and busting up their bodies like its a prestigious thing to do. I get it; the excitement, temptation and the belief that if you push yourself to the max you'll go far. Actually the opposite is true; when you don't give yourself the time to recover, being aware of your body's ability to regenerate and not progressing according to your body's needs you will get hurt and have injuries you can never come back from.

Back to me talking to you about my latest bridging endeavors; whether on my days off or some time before my big HIIT Workouts I've been working towards slowly building back the type of flexibility I had back in my 20's where going into bridge wasn't all that difficult with or without a wall, hold a gymnastic bridge well and bridging for health reasons not for the glory of being crazy flexible and strong in the exercises themselves. Last night I did 3 types of bridges just before I started writing this. It helped clear my brain, felt more relaxed and getting that endorphin high that only bridging can give me. This is the type of training that opens up the body in a very meditative manner, its intense but not hardcore. Its not only a way to build strength but also put muscle on the legs, back, abs & yes the neck. Most people cringe seeing someone holding a position where their head and feet are the only body parts touching the floor and of course its not for everyone yet the percentage of that is extremely low. Its understandable but when you don't give into fear and look at what its really capable of in terms of your overall health, the way it could protect from very harmful injuries and be the very reason your spine is as strong as it can be. I could easily hold a 3 min. back bridge cold if I wanted to but doing only one type of bridge will have me neglecting the other muscles in the neck and work my abdominals from another position. The Back Bridge or wrestler's bridge extends the abdominal wall while the front bridge is the flexion of that position. You want to have your muscles working in the best positions possible working opposite areas of the body not from an isolation standpoint but utilizing the body as a whole.

Bridging is one of the areas of exercise that has helped stayed injured-free for years; I've never had a spinal injury, never bruised my neck, never had a concussion and have kept my back so strong I've never really had to take as much as an asprin or muscle relaxer when it had a spasm or two. I feel healthier and stronger when I bridge & I get into a greater state of meditation than through any other method. It puts me into a state of mind that is calming and soothing even though it is an intense contraction or isometric hold throughout the exercise. You can learn more about by checking out my friend Logan Christopher's course called Advanced Bridging. Its got info on everything he knows about the Bridge from the simple holds to doing insane athletic moves, some of which I learned personally from him. He is the main reason why I love Bridging so much, he doesn't just teach the exercises, he goes into the very depths of the underworld on Bridging and what it can accomplish with the right strategies for flexibility, conditioning and unbelievable level of strength & agility that you won't get from anything else.

Learn about it and let me know what it has done for you. Always love finding out from others what they think of courses like this.

Have a great day and keep in touch. You all are awesome.

Big Ben

4 Minute Abs

Anyone who's been around infomercials knows about the Super Core Workout: 8 Minute Abs. The type of workout that is quick and get you building muscle in less than 10 minutes a day. Let me point out that most infomercials are full of bullshite and are really just entertaining globs of crap that 95% of the time or higher have no real usage in the real world or in real based fitness elements. Those little videos of "fit" people trying to sell a product to the average person where they suck you in and make you put down money that you earned through hard work (or stole out of your nana's purse) so you can "build" the body of a greek god or goddess. Talk about marketing BS.

What if there was a way to not only cut that time in half but get greater results without the need to really hype anything and go with old-fasioned, balls to the wall conditioning that works for all fitness levels with progressions and variations that can take the weak and make them possibly nearly superhuman in the most humanly possible? Its the one exercise that can be done anywhere, anytime and will jack up your heart rate nearly or close to in the one of sprints. What if this one exercise got you winded so fast you need longer time to recover and not only that but jack up your hormones regardless of your age or your sex. Its the Burpee my fellow fitness crazies; a classic movement that has stood the test of time since it was a mainstay for World War II trainees to prepare for the fight of their lives. The Burpee puts on muscle, helps you lose weight, burn off fat and aids in your endurance all at the same time.

The Burpee not only hits the legs and muscles of the upper body but strikes into the very Core (pun intended) of your abs where stability and contraction are needed to doing a solid Burpee movement. So you're getting the best out of one exercise. When you add in the push-up it becomes an almost mystical form of conditioning where fat screams bloody murder, muscles pop up and your cardio becomes your greatest ally. How can you do this in 4 minutes? You can do 8 Intervals where you bust out a set for 30 seconds and then rest for 90; you're only working a total of 4 minutes and then dogging it the rest of the time. You can also use it as a finisher where you do 8 rounds of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds rest. Think about it, being able to train a total of 12 minutes a week and be able to burn calories like crazy even hours after a workout. No more long and boring runs on a treadmill, no more forcing yourself to go outside in bad weather (seriously, you'd have to be into S&M if you think you can workout efficiently outside during a hurricane or in a place like Antarctica where the warmest weather is -18 and your balls are sucked back into ribcage) and no more excuses that you can't do them anywhere; you can do them in a hotel room, at the park, around the corner of your building, at home or anywhere else.

This is one of the fastest ways to put on lean muscle and burn fat like butter on a hot pan and have it melt like the Nazi in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Get your lungs firing and soon enough, you'll be seeing and feeling the body in a whole new light. Go ahead, give it a shot. You might like it.

Sadistic Conditioning

Whether in sports, getting in shape or proving to your buddies, you want to be in the best shape possible for whatever an occasion calls for (mostly) not only at the beginning at something but just as much left in the tank for reserves at the end. Its important to challenge yourself and do better at your next workout but it doesn't have to be ruled like a crossfitter or a pro athlete. The average person for the most part won't last a conditioning workout like a MMA Fighter or Pro Football Player hell even a Pro Wrestler, its not meant to be like that yet you have all these magazines and "gurus" telling you that if you work out like a world-class individual you'll be just like them. Sure its great to have a fit body and have the stamina of a wrestler or the strength and speed of a linebacker but there's also hospital bills you could end up paying because you ended up injured or were sadistic enough to think you can handle it.

If i'm telling you this, why bother having a title this article says and be contradictory about it? Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat and that's developing your own style so you can be in the best shape you can be and be world-class all on your own. I have had people tell me how crazy i'am and how my strength and endurance is off the charts and all that but as fun as it is to hear that, I know there are people out there far better than I could ever be and i'm ok with that. I didn't start out being very strong and full of energy in the tank, I had to build up to it and it wasn't overnight, it took me a lot of years of experimenting, challenging myself and learning many aspects of full on conditioning. I'm no where near the level of World-Class Athletes but I can knock out 400 Squats & 250 Push-ups using a deck of cards, I can move a 30 lb. Thor Hammer and hit a tire over 1000 times, I can go a good 20 minutes doing Animal Exercise and Sprint up a hill well. I'm not saying these numbers to brag, its to tell you if you want to be sadistic and be World-Class on your own, it takes time and its never easy, hell if it was I'd have Hulk Strength & the speed of Quicksilver by now but it doesn't happen that way. Everyone is different.

The word Sadistic to many says i'm off my rocker, someone who has no regard for morals or throwing the rule book out the window yet if you were around me, I look nothing or act anything like that. To me Sadistic Conditioning is not how far you're willing to push yourself, its taking the rule book and making it my own, its willing to do something most wouldn't dare to go to, building my body through interested forms of exercise that I want to be the best at for myself and not be compared to anyone else. I see it as a way to make yourself different and not care what people say about you. I have my own levels of sensitivity and I take it day by day but in the end, I'm going to do what I love and be very good at it. Take risks man, test out things, if they don't work for you that's great, something will come along and regardless of the difficulty, if it keeps you interested you can do cool things with it. I train for myself and if anyone wants to learn, all you got to do is ask. Be sadistic in your own way but be positive about it and learn to use your mind and body to do things that are interesting to you and make you happy. People may give you weird looks but others might even join you, you never know.

"It never gets easier. Just more interesting."

Why Burpees Are The Best For Those Short On Time

Not everyone will have an hour to be at the gym or be able get in the time they feel like they need in order to get the right training going. I have had times where it was almost impossible to do the type of training I wanted to do because of either traveling, can't get away from a party, shopping or whatever else but regardless I always did something even if it was for 5 minutes.

You need to get through your narrow brain that no matter what time you have there's always something to do. That's what I love about Burpees; they are great for time crunching training either as a finisher or a HIIT Workout that requires less than 6 minutes of work. When you have a 5 minute window and you need something to do, do a set of Burpees or variations you may find online and do a couple sets of 5-12 if you can. If you're really ambitious and are in good shape, go for how many you can do in that amount of time. When you do that you're getting just as much conditioning as if you were doing a 30 min. run on the treadmill. Its a hell of a calorie burner and increases HGH like crazy.

When I'm not writing or doing anything i may get distracted by, I knock out a few burpees just to get my heart rate going and move a little. All I need to do is get off the chair here and get into a good small space and BAM i'm in. If you happen to be traveling and need a good stretch, next time you pull over at a gas station, stretch out a bit and knock out 10 Burpees and feel that sensation of energy. Waiting at the airport? Knock out a few before lining up for the plane (have a towel on hand if you get a little sweaty and maybe some Deoderant LOL). You can do them in your hotel room before you head out for a meeting somewhere or a conference, there's no reason why you can't do something. Don't overthink it and question anything, if you want to get a little something in you find a way to do so or you'll come up with an excuse. The only thing stopping you is you.

No bodyweight exercise except maybe animal movements jacks up your lungs quicker in a small amount of space than burpees. Everywhere you go, you can do them, anytime you feel ready or crunching for time, you can do them then too. Make the time count and be bold.

HIIT & Cold Showers

Sometimes you can't get enough of a boost from the High Intensity Training that you want an even greater kick. One of the best things you can do after a hard workout or enough to where you're sweating bullets like crazy you would take a Cold Shower to burn off even more fat and burn even more calories. How does that even work? From my personal experiences when you go hard in a session, you build up a lot of heat and need to cool down not just the skin but the internal organs as well. If you are still hot regardless of the amount of time after training, that can be a bit rough for the organs to still be full of heat and when you overheat, you can have heatstroke or the organs shutting down and even well dehydrated if you don't drink enough water and letting the skin cool off.

When you take a cold shower, it might suck at first but its one of the best things for you not just cooling off but it could very well save your life. Cold Water gives the skin that sensational feeling o comfort and extra endorphins after you come out of it. While in it, your body has to burn calories and carry extra blood flow in order to stay warm, that's where the redness all over the body comes into play, its forcing the body to try and stay warm so as it is doing this, its developing natural testosterone and increasing growth hormone which in turn can help you stay young, burn off fat at a greater rate and enhances sexual energy (trust me guys, after a while from being in cold water and wanting to be with your significant other, there won't be shrinkage for long, you'll be amazed at the feeling you'll get when you're in the sack.)

For guys, we need as much testosterone as possible because that's what helps the sperm count and we want those boys swimming like there's no tomorrow. For women, it brings a specific balance because whether you want to believe it or not, too much estrogen in women can lead to many problems and having the right amount of testosterone can counter that with having lean muscle but still be feminine. When you train hard and do Cold Water Therapy, you're going to be amazed at the results and look at it this way, with the afterburn affect of HIIT or in simple terms the caloric burn which stays in effect 24-48 hrs after working out through HIIT you can get an even higher caloric burn when you jump into a cold shower a few minutes after training because of the increase of fat burning in order to keep the body warm you'll have a greater chance of losing weight and having naturally smooth skin and stronger organs. The stronger your insides are, the stronger you will be overall.

HIIT Burpees On The Rise

Getting more and more into Burpees these days since I bought Funk Roberts' 50 Shades Of Burpees Program. Its one hell of a course dedicated to just one particular exercise but done in many variations and workouts. I've been reading up on this guy and he's fit dude. The course has you doing more than 50 workouts and learning 200 variations of the Burpee, some are easy others aren't and that's what I love utilizing variety.

I don't go for much of the workouts just yet but learning the variations is a lot of fun. I've made some variations of my own and the results are tremendous in less than a few workouts. The Burpee has been around a while and everyone who can do them know that after a while doing the same variation can become boring and dull. It is important to keep your sessions fresh and enjoying the different challenges. I'm sticking with the 8 sets of 30/90 Protocol (30 sec. on, 90 sec. off) and just busting them out as many as I can. Some people are good with a 45/15, some do well with 30 on and 4 minutes off and others like doing Tabata Style (20 on, 10 off).

However you do them, whether as a finisher or a stand alone workout have fun with it. Besides when you do them for a total of 4 minutes worth of work and resting the rest of the time 3x a week you're developing not only excellent cardio and building lean muscle and burning fat like butter on a hot pan but also jump starting your hormones which help you stay young and vibrant. Studies have shown that with this type of protocol of training it can boost testosterone & growth hormone by as much as 500% capacity. That is insane and you've been told the only way to burn fat is to do an hour of cardio and lift weights. The Burpee can be done anywhere, anytime and can save you literally thousands of dollars in gym fees. Think about it, one exercise and the many variations you can do or create will get you fit fast. Some athletes have done 3000 Squats, some have done 2000 Push-ups but the world record in Burpees is less than 2000; that alone aught to tell you its majestic hold over fitness. When you can get yourself huffing and puffing really fast, you're doing something right for your heart, kidneys, muscles and your conditioning. Get cracking guys.

Building A Body Of YOUR OWN!!!!

All of us at one time in our lives wanted to look like a specific person we admired whether it was a superhero, athlete, bodybuilder or someone in manual labor perhaps. Its awesome to have that and base it on a goal you wanted to make happen or already going after it. Truth is, we can't look exactly like the people we admire. Not to say it isn't possible to be similar but in reality, you can't be anymore than yourself.

I grew up on hero's like Batman & Spider-Man in the cartoons and admired athletes like Shawn Michaels, Barry Sanders, Michael Jordan and Barry Bonds; they were the type of guys I wanted to be like but sadly it never turned out that way but it's ok. I'm not black for one and i'm nowhere near as tall as some of them and my body is not meant to have that type of physique which I've chosen to accept. We search around all the time to find someone who has the coolest physique regardless of that individual's type of genre but we also stop figuring out how to have the coolest physique for ourselves. At one point I wanted six pack abs because that's what all the athletes have and the superheroes (turns out just the look in itself is most likely worthless) yet I don't tons of muscle in my core area but I'am without question very strong in that area or I wouldn't be able to do the type of training I do.

All of us have one body, its up to you on how you develop it. Don't do it to mimic somebody else otherwise you'll set yourself up for automatic failure; on the other hand, you have an opportunity to develop a body that suits your structure and helps you in areas of your life that work. Not everyone can be Arnold Schwarzenegger or Michael Jordan but they can be the very best of themselves. That's why we are born different and have different structures, brain functions, learning motor skills at different rates. We have only one body, why make it from somebody else's? Train your body with a purpose and the muscles will come the way they're meant to. Not every quarterback has six pack abs, not every wrestler has 20 inch arms, not every baseball player has large thighs and not every hero has a v-shaped torso yet we can develop those things with the right strategies for our individual structure.

I'm 5'10 and over 265 lbs. Most never believe i'm that heavy due to the muscular structure I've developed over the years, I've been told I look 20 pounds lighter or a bit more but I didn't build my body to be like someone else, it formed itself that way through my training, the way I eat, the way my structure handled the exercises and the way my direction went to get it to where it is now. Not everyone can be 6'6 or look shredded at 225 so make the best you can and always strive to improve not always by how you look but by the designing of the direction you want to go. Always be as healthy as possible and be as strong that YOU can be. Build a body that is of your own hero, the body you were meant to have as an athlete. Even if you never get to where you planned, there's progress around every corner and you have a compass to take you there, just need to look and when you find it, go after it like a bat out of hell. You have only one body, make it work for you.

"It Never Gets Easier, Just More Interesting."

Anytime Anywhere & Do It All For FREE!!!!

The beauty of Body-Weight Style Training is the fact that you can do it anywhere you want, whenever you want and make it however you want. Sure there's fancy workouts using nothing but your own body and there are hardcore, balls to the wall workouts that would make the average man puke his guts out but in reality it all comes down to simplicity and the type of goals you're shooting for. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out a few exercises to really get the job done but many people especially the ones that "write" the workouts online, in magazines and what's written on the wall of a crossfit gym really over-complicate and make it difficult to really understand the true objective of a workout.

There's nothing wrong with making a session brutal or soft or whatever but what is wrong is the fact that you or someone else puts too much into it that it becomes an overzealous and over-thinking process that is totally unnecessary and off the wall ball busting. It's not that complicated people and you don't need some infomercial or follow along DVD to tell you what really works and what doesn't. I love the variety of exercises that can be used for any day of the week yet for the most part just doing a few things in one workout or throughout the day makes things all that much sweeter. Whether you're rich, poor, white, black, green, christian, Muslim, gay, straight, transgender or a fan of Donald Trump; you will always have some of exercise that will do wonders for you regardless of where you are. Doesn't cost you a damn thing and you can learn the exact exercises for your body type and level of fitness.

There are exercises harder than others and some are far easier than we give them credit for but in the end, all it comes down to is your interest and your imagination. I firmly believe in what I call the 3 I's of fitness that brings out the greatest results and the ultimate in how they transform you; Interest, Imagination & Intention. Let's break them down so you can get an idea of what i'm talking about....

INTEREST

Many exercises for body-weight are not too difficult to do and will give you results with the right application; however, if you are not interested or willing to do them utilizing the very word interest in itself, you're only dreading just going through the motions. Interest means it catches your eye, makes you feel good about doing it whether its difficult or not and you put the effort in because it works for you.

IMAGINATION

Regardless of the exercise, just simply doing them in and of themselves will give you results with the right application; however, when you imagine the exercise in a different light and practice it using both mind and body it becomes a whole new experience even though you're doing that same exact exercise. Take for example the Push-up; everyone and their grandfather at some point did a push-up but when you create a scenario or game in your mind and apply it to the push-up it becomes a very different experience like say instead of just going up and down, picture as if something is coming at you and you have to duck down to avoid but when you go down something is coming at your face smacked in the middle and push-up fast to avoid the sumbitch. I picture being Indiana Jones in some cases where if a spear comes at me I need to get down to avoid being hit but need to come back up fast because spikes could pierce my body if I don't move it. Imagine anything crazy and tell me the experience isn't any different.

INTENTION

What is the purpose of doing your exercises? Why those ones are more important than others? Putting intent into the exercise makes all the difference. Just going through the motions may get you somewhere but it doesn't give you the full direction or potential for the results you really want. Most people who exercise just go through the motions because thy saw it on DVD or an infomercial or try to duplicate it in the gym, very few train with the intent of either mastering the exercise or getting better physically or mentally due to that particular exercise's style and/or reasoning to do it for themselves or for a group training together. Simply put if there's no intention, there's no reason to it.

There are the three I's and what they mean through my understanding and experiences. It took me many years to figure it out and on some days I need to remind myself why I do them for particular reasons. Overall I have fun when I train but I don't lack in just doing them, they're done with purpose and using creativity to aid in my interest and imagination (see where i'm going with this?)

Train with what you have and knowledge of and use it wherever and whenever without putting down monthly payments or an annual membership to do it. Save your money and learn what you can. Remember the three I's and you can't go wrong.

A Recent Workout Of HIIT

Its always fun to come across something that just strikes you like a bolt of lightning. For me it was learning a little bit more of High Intensity Interval Training aka HIIT and how it is possible to increase growth hormone and metabolism plus a plethora of other benefits. HIIT is nothing new but it has come up a lot more in recent years due to crossfit training, metabolic conditioning for athletes, MMA Fighters are using this and research being done on why it does what it does.

From what I've learned from mentors, online searching, books, my experiences and others it is one of the most powerful forms of exercise for specific reasons; first off it takes only a fraction of the time you spend in the gym, it is good for the heart although some may find it scary to do, it burns off fat like a furnace with the right strategies and intensity, it puts on muscle faster than the leading injections of steroids and performance enhancers and it gives what's called the afterburn which simply put means even hours after a session you're still burning calories.

The best thing about this is that practically any exercise that gets you winded fast can be used for this type of training such as sprints, push-ups, squats, lifting weights, pull-ups, plyometrics, animal exercise, burpees and many more. My personal form of exercise is Burpees & Animal Moves. In one of my recent workouts from this past week I did a particular method of HIIT that really hit the spot and it really helped my legs that has a bit of tension around the hips and calves. I went with a Burpee Workout on Friday where I took multiple variations of the Burpee and used a protocol that you can read here>>>>http://transformetrics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15974&highlight=HIIT it is doing 30 seconds of maximum effort (do your best to keep form so you don't injure yourself) and then resting for 90 seconds. You would do this for up to 8 rounds. What this does and I highly suggest you do some research yourself on this is that it has you work really hard for a short period of time then as you rest you engaging more oxygen to bring into the bloodstream throughout the lungs, organs, muscle fibers and even the brain which burns the cells and generates greater hormone elements.

HIIT is a form of anaerobic exercise meaning without oxygen, 30 seconds of all-out effort so when you stop and rest, oxygen comes at you like a bat out of hell and you feel that huffing and puffing throughout your body and feel like your heart is going to burst out of your chest like John Hurt from Alien. What this does for your system overall develops greater flow and breaks down the fibers of the muscles and you recover for a period of 2-3 days and even in that time you're still burning calories at an alarming rate. You can feel this in the very first workout so when you do workouts 2-3x a week over a period of time (very short by the way) your body will change very quickly into a fat burning, muscle building machine and create more growth hormone which helps you stay young regardless of age or sex. Now how much of a percentage of hormone increase can come into effect? Some are higher numbers than others but on average the most common I've seen or heard was up to 520% capacity, that's 10 times more than the leading injections athletes and actors use to bulk up muscle. Some say its 441% others even go as high as 700% or more but from a general respective when its in the triple digits and you're looking at training hard less than an hour a week that's saying something.

Most people who have done burpees say how much they suck and its not enjoyable but crucial to building a great physique; i'm sorry but if you're not enjoying your training you're not really training at all. Unless you're in the military where being yelled at and called names is mandatory, stop being such a wuss and have fun with it. If they suck so bad, figure out a way to make it fun. When you do something that sucks you're setting off a chain reaction not only in your mind but your body as well. Why have the same mindset of everyone else when you have a mind of your own? For me if it sucks I turn around and make it fun and interesting. Like my workout on friday, I didn't do the same exercise over and over each round, I made up a few variations that I found cool to do and added variety. On some of them I used my imagination to make it even more interesting for example I pretend that i'm Indiana Jones and i'm jumping, ducking and getting down from bad guys, booby traps and dangerous objects to save myself from harm. When you use your imagination, you're creating your own adrenaline and with that comes greater metabolic entities, stronger sense of awareness, oblivious to soreness and you're building greater strength. Doing an exercise and of itself can be boring, tedious and downright stupid but when you add in your imagination, you're doing the same exercise just different but more fun to do and it generates a greater love of fitness.

Playful Ginastica

When you get to play as you exercise it becomes a whole new experience. Trends in fitness today take things way too DAMN seriously and its sucking the fun out of training. Unless you're a professional athlete or having to go up against competition in a matter of weeks or months that's where real seriousness comes into play (how oxymoron of me to say) or you're in the military or law enforcement being serious about being in shape is where it's at right there. Many courses today try to plant into your brain that if you want real results you train similar to those who are Navy SEALs or Army Rangers, train like your favorite NFL Player or your favorite actor that's in a Superhero Role so in turn you buy the magazines, watch and participate from a DVD, you go to a "Boot Camp" or whatever the hell it is they want you to do. It's not realistic training people.

I get it, you want to be inspired, something to motivate you or have something mentally kick you in the ass that tells you to do this or that; in reality the best type of training you can do is the type that won't have you get seriously injured, teaches about building strength not just in the muscles but the tendons & joints as well, gives you the ability to gain flexibility that will last you beyond your years, challenges that are logical but outside the norm that's interesting and it puts you in a state where you can kick ass but feel great at the same time both physically and mentally as well as emotionally.

My training as of late is utilizing a combination of different systems little by little and molding them into my own creative "Workout" where I merely just play and use my body's capabilities to their best formations without going so hard I collapse or feel like I need to go to the ER. There's a lot of different names I use for this type of training like Playful Movement, Playful Stretching, Playful Primal and as the title says Playful Ginastica where its playing around with movements based on animals, yoga, chi kung, stretching techniques, Isometric holds, flows and many others. It doesn't last long once you get the hang of it but its super effective. Playful sounds cheery, fun, creative, positive and imaginative. That's the beauty of my style of training, you can create anything by using only your own body. Some other workouts like the Darebee Circuits are not as playful but they are great for coming up with a simple and fun theme using basic bodyweight exercise that most can do and it can be done anytime anywhere. I love the style I created and will be sharing more often with because it sucks the life out of "Working Out" and letting your imagination run wild and free, sure its important to know the mechanics, the form and knowledge of bodyweight exercises and its not easy by any stretch but it develops interesting concepts where you don't feel like you're working but playing and experimenting.

When you have the basics down and you have a keen sense of movement than you are free to create whatever you desire to do. Its great for losing weight, burning fat, building functional muscle, agility, flexibility, mobility and the only thing limited is your imagination. You can do it anywhere you wish, don't have enough space, you can do it in a small area too by using stationary exercises and combining them as you see fit. I personally use whatever space I can get my hands on and have done the training both indoors and outdoors. Is it hard, yes, its not something to be loose and slack off on it takes effort but when you let go of that negative notion of that it being so hardcore and its too fast or not enough and simply make it work for you regardless of your age or sex. Look at it this way, its like you're writing your own script in a movie and you pick out the various scenes, characters, dialogue and angles of your shots and yo get to direct it, star, produce and control your own Oscar Winning flick. You know the exercises and you know what they do so what's next but pitting them together and creating something unique and out there that is an adventure and full of wonders. 

"It never gets easier, just more interesting."

What Makes These Courses I Talk About SOOO Special?

When you hear someone talk about this course or that course and how it changed their life or made them a better athlete and all that sometimes can sound like a broken record. You heard me or in this case read so many times about my love for animal movements and conditioning and making progress its becoming sickening at times to some people. Truth is, I love to write what i'm passionate about, its not to annoy the crap out of anyone its more likely to give something a positive outlook and not look at the bull$hit that makes certain comments people make that is negative and full of bad reviews and why its total crap.

I don't just love any particular fitness course, I love the ones that make me feel awesome about myself, inspires me to train differently, not be like everyone else and break the rules. They make me feel special because at one point in time (actually more than a few) I didn't feel special towards other people, I wasn't living up to their standards or they're expectations and having to hear that its a hobby and not something to keep doing especially as you get older and things like that. Fitness at times for me is a sanctuary, a place where I can be my true self and do something that makes me happy and inlove with life. I have two loves in my life that matter more to me than anything and that's fitness and my girl. Talk about a double jackpot.

The courses I put up are special to me because they drive me and help me learn new things all the time and while growing up I had to learn in a very frustrating manner frequently learning how to be a social talker, say the right words, use my right hand more often, learn things similar to everyone else (although I was in the Special Ed System for the longest time) and act a certain way using body language and speech therapy. I had many teachers, my parents did the best they could or knew how and certain things clicked, some didn't and what didn't work usually works for the general population.

Fitness Books, CD's, Equipment and being in a seminar believe it or not taught me more about myself than all the therapy and learning in school combined in the sense where it made me discover my true self and my true calling. It skyrocketed my imagination, gave me something to focus on and enhance my learning abilities. I'm not discrediting anyone who ever taught me but yet when I discovered things on my own and went at my own pace I became smarter, stronger, willing to absorb what gave me that feeling of interest and felt good about myself. Fitness taught me about what to look for, the type of goals I wanted to shoot for, helped me find a place using skills I always had trouble with.

People can talk about the physical transformations, the praises from friends and family, the outlook of their whole existence and making a habit to spread out whatever made them turn into another person but for me it wasn't transformations or praises or talking about the stuff I do to stay in shape, its the discovery of being human and knowing that no matter what life throws at me, I will always have something that helps me be the best version of myself. That's what makes them so special. It is the love I get out of it that carries over to other areas of my life that many don't realize about me. I do hold back at times turning down the volume of my true self but those that see me at my highest volume know who I truly am and I show it. Whatever makes you feel special about yourself you should hold onto it for dear life no matter what because if it makes you happy, people will see it and whether they like it or not you'll let them see the real you and share your passion of it.  

How Many Courses Can You Possibly Learn & Master?

Something is always trending in the fitness wyrld and when someone finds it catchy they jump on it like a trampoline. Its not a bad thing to do something buts another to do it when you're told to or because it "looks" awesome than you aught to be doing it. You can learn the very best and the very worst courses on the planet from DDP Yoga to Insanity W/ Special Guest Jane Fonda and it still won't be enough to truly understand the concept of Self Discovery.

I have many books on different subjects ranging Charles Atlas style exercises to Chi Kung, Mythology Themes, Bodybuilding, Weightlifting, Animal Exercise, Gymnastics, Cardio, DDP Yoga and much more yet when it comes down to it, I just come up with my own thing and I'll tell you weye....I look at it as someone who's a MMA Fighter (Bare with me on this), you can learn 10,000 techniques and know them like the back of your hand but in a fight or competition the amount of techniques you actually use is a fraction of that. Let's take someone like Ken Shamrock who knows wrestling like its a second language, has an arsenal of submissions he can use and knows where on the body to take down an opponent yet in a fight he only used maybe a few moves and that's it to get a win.

When you have studied something or practiced many things over an extended period of tyme, you will only use a small portion of what you have learned because you have a specific goal and these are the tools to help get you there. Many fitness courses are more useless than sitting by the fire out in a hailstorm, its just not going to turn out well. Learning long ago that in order to be the very best you have to find the things most suited to your goals and objectives. You can't possibly master everything you learned at 100%, not saying it isn't possible to attempt it but chances are when you master something its because there's going to be things that tie that goal together. I take bits and pieces of what I learned and mold them into my own puzzle shapes, use what I find useful for my goals and make it a habit to learn as much as possible and use the best of what's there in that particular time.

Discover for yourself what you want to learn, be intuitive and challenge yourself by studying and participating what would work best for you. There will be days you want to do something different, that's ok. Absorb what you're passionate about and take bits and peeces of what suits you.

"It doesn't get easier, just more interesting."

Maximizing Natural HGH With HIIT

With all the animal training and experimentation lately and getting a new toy; i'm thinking of heading back to doing really hard training 2-3x a week and the rest of the time just play around. Now what would I be doing? High Intensity Interval Training. For those playing the home game, HIIT is a form of conditioning that can be done by exercising really fast for a very short period of time. Its only done a maximum of 3 times a week and can be done by training to levels that get you winded fast and I mean fast, so fast it makes fast people look not fast (sorry had a The Longest Yard moment); this can be done by doing things like Hill Sprints, Burpees, Fast-Paced Push-ups, Run hard out on the field or track, anything that makes you huff and puff faster than the Wolf from the Three Little Pigs.

My favorite style of HIIT is doing Sprints, lately due to living in weather where the seasons change, I've done more of them indoors by running hard in place for 30 seconds. When its nice out and the grass isn't very wet I would do Animal moves like Bear Crawls, Kangaroo Jumps, Frog Hops and others that tire my ass out quicker than the Rock sweating in a Ballerina studio. Now what does this do exactly? I'm not going into scientific terms since I'm not into that stuff but in simplistic terms, this type of training done properly can skyrocket your hormones and burn off fat the fastest humanly possible. Our hormones are what keeps us young and our metabolism is what burns off the unwanted excess fat from our system and keeps us lean and mean. When we reach a certain age like beyond 30 or 40 those hormones begin to break down by a small percentage every year as we age.

For most folks its nearly impossible to have that surge of hormones and burn off food and not gain an ounce of fat like we did in our teens and our 20's. I'm here to tell you that it is possible to have raging hormones even beyond your formative years by using the right tools of training, eating & balancing stress levels it is amazing what you can accomplish. I'm in my early 30's so although i'm still younger than most I've been around my body is beginning that stage to where my hormones need to be in check and not be on high alert but need to beware cause let's say I stopped doing what I do right now at 32 and laid off for 10 years, I can lose up yo 15% or more of my natural growth hormone and testosterone and begin looking like an out of shape, lethargic & flat out ugly bastard that can't do shit for exercise let alone move. I may still be young and under 35 but I'm not going to let that happen not by a long shot. I do have good genes in small areas but for the most part, I have to bust my ass to balance out the levels I want to reach.

From my experiences when you move hard and fast say like how the cheetah chases down a gazelle, your body has to produce more hormone in order to rebuild and recover the muscles being used and everything gets on fire. That's what I love about Animal Moves & sprints, it doesn't take long to really feel it and your body feels like you're going to die. So if you moved very hard whether its power-walking, swimming, sprinting, jumping rope or doing basic bodyweight or weightlifting exercise it develops a greater surge of Growth Hormone and Testosterone to the point where even hours after a workout, you're still burning calories at an alarming rate and you produce greater natural muscle. So what would be a standard protocol of HIIT? You start out with 10 seconds of really hard exercise and do that 4 times, rest as long as needed between sets, after a while build it up to 15-20 and up to 30 seconds for 6-8 sets of work. You're resting the majority of the workout yet can have a greater calorie burn than in an hour of cardio. What's one of my favorite methods? I would do a hard sprint then rest for a minimum of 90 seconds up to maybe 3-5 minutes depending how hard I really went.

How is that possible to get those kind of results if you were told to do an hour of cardio a day and lift weights 2-3x a week? For the most part they tell you that so you can pay a ton of money to join a gym or buy cardio machines that barely fit in your living room and profit from your inability to think for yourself and tell you that there's a one-all be all way to get results when in fact that's simply not true. I've been around different types of trainers for years from cocky kiss-asses to hardcore no bullshit type of guys and out of all of them less than a few really know the true value of putting on real muscle that is functional and the ability to burn fat like a furnace regardless of your age and sex.

Product Of The Day: Superhero Sprints

One of my all-time favorite courses that is simple and inspiring plus it doesn't hurt that it's Superhero themed. This course teaches you how to Sprint anywhere and provides workouts that are challenging and fun whether you're a beginner or a World-Class Athlete. What would it be like for a guy to have the lean muscle of Wolverine? A powerful and conditioned woman to have the physique similar to heroes like Wonder Woman or The Black Cat? What's the full summary of this program, simply put its Sprint Training with an addition of Circuit Training (doing one exercise after another with no rest). So you would sprint hard either in place or outdoors whatever works for you than after catching your breath and ready you do a circuit for 3 minutes tabata style (20/10 protocol). Its a 6 week program that you do up to 3x a week and progress to doing longer sprints (either for time or distance) and do a circuit of exercises after resting, you repeat this process for a specific number of sets. The longest time it'll take to finish (depending on your rest) is roughly 20 minutes for the entire workout. So you're only looking at training very intensely around an hour a week. That's pretty insane if you can grasp that thought but it is possible. Now what's really insane is the price for this bad boy. I'm sure you're thinking somewhere around $40? Nope. $25? Not even close. How about $19? Still off the mark. When I got this course, it was and still is $9. Nine freaking bucks that is packed full of exercises, info and workouts that you can use for the rest of your life. That's literally a buck cheaper than the monthly cost of a Planet Fitness membership, so think for a second how much money you can save from getting this course alone. Crazy right? This can maximize your growth hormone to levels that made your teenage years look weak. I literally have greater energy and have levels of testosterone that are far higher than I ever was in my teens and I'm in better shape now than in my 20's. So if I can pull this off, I highly believe you can too.

The Flow Of The Animals

Happy Thorsday Guys,

Thought I'd attempt to have you break away from all the politics, tragedies and Superstar Athletes' stand by kneeling by giving you something that is positive, fun & downright awesome to do. You see, as you may have read lately about my experimental Animal Fitness regimen, another form is bringing me back to the exploration of primal movements & that's the Animal Flow 2.0 Program where you learn to hold, travel, combine & even stretch the specific moves of the All-Bodyweight course. You've heard it a thousand times on how beneficial and fun bodyweight training can be when you mix in the Animals; from my personal experiences with other systems there is no other adventurous style of fitness than the animals.

Mike Fitch is the Owner & Operator of the world-renowned Global Bodyweight Training Website has developed & mastered a beautifully crafted course that is chalk-full of different ways to use the 3 basic principles of Animal Flow which are the Ape, Beast & Crab. These are are the basic animals that can be transformed into a level of fitness that suits all levels from the humble beginner to the highest of World-Class athletes. It develops coordination & agility unlike any other Animal course out there today and can be done for a variety of goals whether its building strength, attaining agility, insane conditioning or flexibility.

With practice you can come up with a variety of moves that take up every muscle in your body and stretches and tones the toughest areas around the body such as the abs, chest, shoulders and hamstrings. Although it helps lose weight and burn off fat it brings out more of a natural muscular frame where you won't have much bulk but lean muscle that gives you that athletic look and believe me you won't just look awesome you'll have the goods to back it up such as more energy, loosened joints, bodyweight to strength ratio, flexible shoulders & hips, surge of growth hormone, strong but supple wrists and many other cool goods that will developed. It can be tricky to learn at first but don't get discouraged, I was once in that same boat but I kept at it and got more agile & mobile. I mainly do this program to get more flexibility and create better mobility in my tendons and joints. At 268 lbs. that isn't easy by any stretch (pun intended) but it becomes more interesting.

Flow within your animal spirit and look into getting fit and strong the fun way that not only challenges you in the process but brings out a child-like imagination that in the long-run creates a better attitude towards fitness and strength training. Most programs can be a real pain in the ass because its either too serious, doesn't have any excitement & feels like you're putting in too much work just to get something going; with this type of program, it won't take you long to get winded, workouts are short and utilizes multiple muscle groups, teaches a variety of combos and stretches that last from a few minutes to however long you want. Once you have the basics, you can do whatever you want from there and create your own flows, combos, stretches and holds that work for you and your goals. I got in a few flow workouts yesterday and although I may still feel them, I also have a great deal of energy and loosened muscles that just has me feeling like a million bucks man.

"It never gets easier, only more interesting."

Have a great day and be AWESOME!!!