Getting Ready For The Indian Clubs

One of the things I've been wanting to get for a long time is finally coming true and that's having a set of Indian Clubs. I have a Mace and a couple Thor Hammers at home that I use from time to time in Indian style training but knowing that having the classic style Clubs will be in my possession is another layer of icing on the cake.

For those playing the home game and wondering what the hell the Clubs are; they're an ancient training tool for the middle eastern wrestlers that dominated their variation of the sport for centuries and arguably started the Physical Culture evolution. There are heavier weighted clubs you can grab but that's mainly for strength purposes and only for those particular athletes that are at an advanced level of elite competition. Wrestlers were considered the elite group of athletes in India for many years and were some of the most feared in their time. The most famous and arguably the greatest of all Indian Wrestlers was the Great Gama who was undefeated in 5000 Matches over a 50 year career.

Back to the Clubs; the lighter sets focused more on mobility and conditioning to keep the body healthy and targeting the shoulder joints and arm agility. This helped keep wrestlers in shape especially with the way they grip, these guys could squeeze the living hell out of you and they're serious business. In addition to calisthenics, wrestling, running, rope climbing and gymnastic type movements, they were in far better condition than many of the elite wrestlers around the world. The lighter Clubs became a staple for Physical Culture within the British Army in the Victorian Era as soldiers were taught a series of exercises that educated the musculature structure and evolved this style of training for health enthusiasts in Europe and eventually in the United States.

In the 20's and 30's, Club training started winding down due to up and coming training methods brought on the weightlifting popularity that took the world of fitness at the time by storm. Gymnasiums becoming more like a Health Club and revolutionizing fitness to whole new era. In the last decade, the Indian Clubs have slowly started making a comeback due to bringing back the ideal methods of functional movement and increasing the health of the joints and ligaments regardless of age.

Companies such as Onnit, RMAX, Atomic Athletic and others provide variations of the Indian Clubs from modern craftsmanship of Metal and Wood to the classic development of the Persian Meels that were a staple in Indian Culture. I got my Clubs from here and started training my shoulders to prepare for them using the Chest Expander and doing various exercises to hit from many angles as possible. I snatched up a 2 lb. pair of Clubs and sure the weight may seem like nothing but when you dig into the movements and keeping a solid grip and utilizing your core, shoulders and arms, they can give you a workout that will blow your mind. Kids at a young age can do them, people in their 40's, 50's, 60's and beyond can do them, they're amazing for combat athletes and can aid the average joe in getting him/her into amazing shape.

Grab a pair for yourself and open up a new door to a world of fitness that has become nearly a lost art. Do the very same exercises as soldiers from the 1800's to the athletes of early 20th century. Be a part of history again in the technological age and get your body fit in the old school style.

Taking A Literal Hit This Holiday Season And The Vast Roller-Coaster Of The Aftermath

This Christmas was probably the worst one I've ever experienced in my life and am ready to talk about it. One week ago today, we were having a nice Xmas eve and found out about my outfit for my wedding, so we had to deal with that since we waited a month for it. As we were coming back home from being at the post office within mere seconds, a guy decided to pull a fast one and tried to yield left as we were going through a green light and we crashed into him.

My fiance was driving, my mom was in the passenger seat and I was sitting behind my fiance. It was about a cluster fuck as you can get and the mixed words of who was at fault. We at 1000% had the right away and it was this jackass's fault and it was determined earlier this week that we were in the clear but not without emotional trauma and the mere fact that my girl's car was totaled and is now forced to get another one because even with insurance claim, there isn't enough to pay off the damage done to her car.

I have had to do my best to take care of both my mom and my fiance on a mental and emotional level just so things didn't escalate to a severe breakdown by all three of us. I don't know how she did it but my girl still found a way to get to work and we went to a Xmas gathering at her dad's which was fun and had a good time but that was the only fun we really ever had this whole week. Back to the accident; from witnesses to members of the driver being there, it was just full of adrenaline, placing blame and talking to cops with the best composure we can muster. It was cold as hell and the warmest thing had on were my sweats along with a t-shirt and shoes. I was so irate with one witness I almost lost it. I did apologize to him but than he had to egg some shit on.

My fiance's ex sister in law was at the scene literally coming out of an area from a bank that was just next to the sidewalk where the scene of the accident was. She did her best to be there for us and I'm thankful for what she did to help my girl out. The cops were night and day in terms of dealing with us and it didn't help much when one cop is being nice one way and a dick the next but another cop was amazing and worked with us and took whatever statement we gave him and remained professional.

In the midst of all this, despite having thoughts of hurting this guy who ruined our Xmas and traumatized me and the two women that are most important to me in my life, I'm glad neither he or his girlfriend who was his passenger was hurt physically. There wasn't very much sleep this entire week and even with insurance, there's only so much that could be done and my girl is so devastated about her car that she worked so hard to get and now being taken away from her just crushed a piece of her. On a good note, there's a high possibility that she can get a new car exactly like the one she had down to the very year and model. It's only a matter of time and negotiating to make it happen.

I can't say what else we are able to do as we move forward from this but it made me step up as a man and be there not just for both of them at the same time but to give them something to be positive about and understand that although we went through this together, things could've gone way more up shits creek and we are universally lucky that car saved us because if it was in my mom's car and my mom was by herself, she could've easily been in the hospital with severe injuries. Despite my issues and dealing with my own line of PTSD, I didn't care about me and focused everything I could on my mom and soon to be wife. I still did my workouts and I'm so thankful not one person on either side got injured in that accident plus making the most of what I can do.

Although this article didn't come on a good note and is the very last one before New Years, I want to wish all of you a safe and happy New Year. Take care of each other, love one another and do the best in your abilities to make the New Year a mighty one and cherish what you have and what you can look forward to. Don't make resolutions so far out of your reach, shine bright with goals that will benefit you not just for the year but more importantly just to make the day a little better even for a single moment because the littlest things down to the very fraction, can create the biggest impact both short term and long term.

What Do You See When You Look In The Mirror?

Most people dread getting up in the morning and having to go to a lousy job and feeling like crap. When they look in the mirror, they see what they feel and think. Your reflection homes the image you create and what you will let in for the rest of the day. We have all been there and we're human, it happens. Some days, I feel great and my body just generates what I see; other days, I feel like crap and my body and expression shows it.

We can't be perfect all the time and why should we? We can only do so much but yet we can improve on what our day will be the first few seconds we get up. Even on days off, we still build an image and it reflects what we see. It's not easy building our self image and automatically have it reflect so we form habits and habits transition to what we feel, see and do without thinking about it.

In the Theater Of The Mind, we can create whatever we desire and what we feel and what we WANT to see, not just take a glance but to put energy, commitment and strengthen what we see of ourselves. I'm constantly learning this and using this technique in different aspects and goals I desire to do. I've used it to help me with my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and although I have long road ahead, I'm moving faster, lasting longer and edging closer to applying submissions. I have used it to aid in my self confidence and have made choices that have created income, generated great strength in my workouts and more.

Create what you want to see, strengthen how you see yourself in the mirror in your mind and put powerful energy into it. What you put energy into, will reflect what you see in physical form. Strengthen who you are, tackle those mental obstacles and build confidence in how you want to see yourself. Nobody likes seeing themselves looking like crap but yet we automatically channel our energy into it out of habit and become or see what is reflected.

No matter how strong your image is, there's always room for improvement. Think of this analogy on Disneyland....It will never be finished because there's always room to add something incredible. Everyone has a Disneyland in them even if you're not a fan of Disney or the cartoons and movies because like the park itself, you never have to stop improving and strengthening the most awesome version of yourself. The room for improvement is always expanding and there's always a great big and beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away which means in your mind, you are an expansion and have the ability to build a more powerful and beautiful version of you.

So the next time you look in the mirror, practice this analogy and apply it to your self image and what you want to see in that mirror.

Do Animals Play Poker?

If you have a WILD and crazy imagination, it wouldn't be too much to think you can see certain animals playing cards. Poker back in the day (maybe even now) was a guys game where you had your boys shooting the breeze, kicking back, guzzling some beers and have a cigar (at least that's the stereotype) but you don't need to gamble away to have a good time. In fitness, a deck of cards workout is quite the challenge and can be used in a variety of ways. It was made popular by the late Karl Gotch in Japan where he had his wrestlers do Squats, Push-ups and other exercise to torture them to get the most out of their conditioning. Other athletes have used this form of workout such as Ric Flair, Ray Lewis, Mike Tyson and others.

Although it has become a type of trend, there's no denying that when it comes down to the nitty gritty, it can take your cardio to a whole other dimension. With the right exercises (mainly bodyweight style), you can increase your muscular and cardiovascular endurance, speed, long-term strength and overall fitness. I loved doing Hindu Push-ups, Hindu Squats and other exercises in the DOC workout and have hit high numbers when finishing the deck at one time but with my focus on Animal Movements, I switched things up to doing 3-4 Animal Moves and work my way through the deck. This can be done just about anywhere, hell I did it in my own living room.

I took the numbers game I learned from Matt Furey's Exercise Bible and made it into the Animal Realm. I don't like being stationary and love to move around so I felt the need to make it fun for me. The numbers are each step you take and are very simple.....

1-10= Face Valued Reps

Face Cards= 15 Reps

Ace= 20 Reps

Jokers= 50-100 Reps Of Your Choice Of Animal

Pick the animal(s) you want to do and have at it. It's a lot of fun and really kick starts your cardio into overdrive. This is a great combo for athletes in many sports especially in MMA. It takes me roughly 18-20 minutes to complete this workout and it feels incredible every time. Don't like the numbers? You an always lower the face cards and aces & jokers or if you're in crazy shape, you can double or triple them. If you plan on doing Burpees, I'd recommend you keep solid form as possible for those cards because once you become sloppy, you can hurt yourself, let's not let that happen ok.

Although it is a challenging workout, it won't feel like a workout and you're just playing a game. You can do this with a partner where you can either flip a card for each of you or you each have a deck and see who's the fastest to get through it. For the animal moves, you don't have to do reps, you can take it outside at a park or in the yard and go for feet, yards, meters or whatever you choose to do. It is your game and do what you makes you feel good to do it.

Kids can play this game as a way to get out that excess energy and if you have a kid that needs an emotional uplift, this can be an awesome idea. Kids are normally energetic and need to use it productively and if they have friends to play with, it makes it even more awesome. I love these kinds of workouts because it brings out a side of me that is extra joyful, having that spring in my step and creates a phenomenal endorphin high. It helps me stay coordinated forcing to use my brain and my body that isn't in the norm. Whether you're 10 years or over 80, having strong motor skills and being in solid mental and physical condition keeps you healthy and produces strong brain cells and increases in memory, functioning of the organs, strong lungs and gives you greater power in your joints and ligaments.

Have fun with this and don't be alarmed if after a while, you'll have a greater sense of awareness, longer lasting strength, energy that would baffle the average person and for someone older, feel young again. I use this to get my cardio up for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and taking on some guys nearly half my age. Make it a part of your program and see what happens. What have you got to lose?

Abdominal Isometrics

Our Core Muscles are a key component to living in great physical health. The problem with today's methods is that they don't go beyond just the muscles. The old-time strongmen had some of the strongest Abs on the planet and they weren't from doing endless sit-ups and crunches. They took the time and effort to train these muscles beyond the muscular structure; they trained the organs as well.

One of the greatest wrestlers in American History was the legendary Martin "Farmer" Burns taught a series of exercises in his mail order course Lessons In Wrestling & Physical Culture. One of these exercises is known today as The Stomach Flattener where you contract the abdominals for a few seconds and repeat. It is a powerful exercise that can be done anywhere and at anytime. The way to do it for best results is to inhale as much as possible and than as you exhale, you breathe out making the "SSS" sound for 6-8 seconds.

Crunches and Sit-Ups are good beginning and intermediate training and Sit-Ups have been a staple for conditioning in various sports. However; you can only take these types to a degree when there's a whole other world of Ab training that can help not just build muscle but strengthen your insides very strongly. Isometrics for the Abs can be done in a variety of ways; one comes from the course called 7 Seconds To A Perfect Body. You can do Isometrics for the abs in another course called Gymnastic Abs where you take your Core Training to another level, learning the conditioning methods of a Gymnast.

There are certain exercises that can weaken the abdominal chain and can put a strain on the lower back so it is important to find the best ones suited for you. After learning about Abdominal Conditioning through Isometric training, I never done an ab machine workout again. I once did 1000 crunches in a workout and have done crunches for a while when I was a late teen cause that's what I thought built abs when all I got was a hurt back, strained hips and abdominal pain. After training on exercises that focused on the whole body and using deep breathing techniques, my core got stronger and gave me awesome stamina and strength.

Train like the old-timers and learn the real aspects of Abdominal Training. They're more than just bits of muscle.