Creativity Within Simplicity

Mastering the basics is what we must do in order to advance to greater stages whether it's in sports, business, writing and fitness. If you don't master the basics and just jump into an advanced stage without any understanding or the concept of the steps, 99.9% of the time, you'll fail. Very rarely you see someone squeeze by and thrive. Although we process things differently, it's amazing what you can accomplish if you had an understanding of the small steps to reach the biggest heights.

Basics however, in my opinion, shouldn't be boring or lacking in interest. If you find yourself bored or in need to find a way to work those steps, make it worthwhile to you. Everyone is a genius but in order to succeed, we need to find our strengths that utilize what we can do as an individual. The basics are the foundation to what success brings. The better you can climb, the better you'll be successful.

One exercise that is so simple yet tough for most people is the Ab Wheel Rollout. It toughens up the Core and conditions the body that many don't understand the concept of. Crunches and Sit-Ups are good to an extent, they can however cause an injury and too many reps won't make those any stronger. The Ab Wheel isn't foolproof for injuries either but if you have a weak Core, you'll find out soon enough but with practice and learning how to engage the muscles, it can build strength and conditioning that Crunches & Sit-Ups won't even touch. 

Athletes from all over have done some form of Ab Wheel Training and one of the most successful was Bob Backlund who used the Wheel to develop a level of conditioning the General Population can't even possibly fathom. His strength was unusual for a man his size (6' around 225-235 in his prime) and he can go into 60 minute matches without getting tired. His rep count on the wheel consistently was in the hundreds and unlike many of his fellow wrestlers, he was in constant physical condition. 

Now you don't need to do hundreds of reps to get the full benefit of the wheel, just doing them in sets of 25-50 is more than enough and if you're doing 100 or more in a row, you're in elite class. The most I've ever done in a workout was 200 and not in a row. I would use a deck of cards along with doing step-ups to mix it up, calling it the Backlund Deck Of Madness. It's a total of 500 Step-Ups & 200 Rollouts. The most I've ever done in a row was 50 before I got bored.

How can you up the intensity of the exercise? You can do rollouts from Standing (One of the toughest exercises ever and puts a ton of stress on the back), you can do rollouts with two implements for each hand, a really creative way to get some big time intensity is to slap on Fat Gripz and just do the basic rollout from the knees. This really engages more muscles and targets more of the arms along with kicking your Core's ass. If your Wheel has foam on the handles, cut them off and slap on those Gripz. Squeeze the handles and start rolling out. Don't just plant the hands and rollout, work those forearms and that will automatically engage the upper body. You won't do a ton of these for reps but you'll still be building crazy strength and conditioning.

This is just an idea of how to use your creativity with simple exercises. Make it interesting and fun. You're already busting your ass training, why not have a little imagination to go with it, you might be surprised with the results.

Here's a video of doing the basic Rollout for high reps, about 35 to be exact (I wasn't counting until I saw the video and ended up repping out my age lol, pretty funny huh?). 

Here's a pic of what the Fat Gripz look like on the Wheel. Grab a pair here and try it out on your wheel. 

Sometimes Shorter Is Better

It's never truly easy to get in an hour long workout either at the gym or at home. Many people travel everyday for work or commute and work sometimes up to 12 hours a day and have to drive back which is an even bigger pain in the ass. Training is not always about being the fittest, the strongest or the most dedicated, it is often times just getting in what you can even for a few minutes.

Exercises throughout the day can be very beneficial especially if you're incredibly time restricted. Got kids? That's an even bigger obstacle but never believe for one second it is impossible to get in a workout just because you can't do it for 30 minutes or more straight through. For the average person it takes a ton of motivation and dedication to get in a good long workout in the midst of working, commuting, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, taking care of the kids, it's a lot, but not impossible.

Get up a few minutes earlier before getting ready for work and do some stretching or push-ups and squats, that might be your whole workout for the day which is perfectly fine. Do some Isometrics on your break at work for 5 minutes or do some exercises that don't make you sweat within a minute. When you get home and you're wrecked from your shift, do some deep breathing exercises or a couple mobility drills for your ankles, knees and hips. One thing you can use is what's called the Fit Tap App that works for androids, iphones, Ipads and maybe a couple others. This App gives you exercises you can do throughout the day; they're random so you never know what'll come up next. If an exercise doesn't work, do a modified variation or skip to the next one. You can create a good workout from this or spread it out.

Exercise when done right, gives you that extra boost of energy and puts you into a better state of mind. It strengthens your immune system and gives you greater mental clarity. I love it that it also boosts your brain and keeps you on your toes to stay active. Get the FitTap App and get moving, your body will thank you for it.

Haters Need Love Too

Today is just a wonderful day; birds are singing, people out on their walks and taking my daily dose of Dao Zou Training. Just swimming in an ocean of blissfulness and positive energy. I would like to channel that energy to my adoring haters who have recently messaged me on this blog and on Youtube.

When you get good at something or do a positive thing for people, there's going to be some lovely little "man" or "men" who just want to tear you down. Sometimes they become obsessive and don't do anything more than run their mouth and just give you the hardest time because they like to take advantage of their right to troll you or go blab to their silly little buddies about what you're doing is crap and all that. The truth, it's not really a reflection on you, it's them and how they believe that being an asshole makes them hot shit.

Frankly, they're just another side of a coin that we deal with but hey, maybe they didn't get a lot of love in their life, probably weren't breastfed or didn't kiss a girl until they were 30, it happens. Maybe they got something going on in their life you don't know, they could be a secret crossdresser and like to be called Ma'am, they could be a hypochondriac but in this case, they probably haven't seen or touched a woman in years and just need some good loving or wouldn't know a hold if they held a woman's ass.

Typing and trolling is a game of words and using emojis to "express" yourself doesn't necessarily tell the whole story behind your agenda. You can't see their faces, you don't know if their laughing, crying or thinking what would Charles Manson do if he met Hitler and Ted Bundy in the same bar. The wackadoos of the web have all sorts of weird things going on in their heads but they are human beings too and everyone deserves some kind of love.

Despite your itty bitty tiny dick syndrome comments you just love to bestow upon me, I want to say thank you for all you do. You help me realize everyday what not to do as a person and see that although acceptance takes patience, you are without question a big inspiration for me to continue doing what I love to do. So if you choose to troll and try to kill my vibe, than expect the unexpected. I could respond in a fun way or maybe not at all but if I don't respond, just know that I'm kicking ass living my life and having an amazingly awesome time with the things I have.

Here's my humble and sincere salute to you and all the beautiful nutjobs, morons and ghoulish trolls that are just like you. Have an amazingly awesome day and may the force be with you.

 

A Meditation Walk To Enhance Calmness Tranquility And More

Over the weekend, I thought I'd get to practicing a moving meditation method called Dao Zou. I've written about it in the past and had good results. It's something that seemed cool to get back into to relieve stress and feel calmer throughout the day and have a better peace of mind. I do admit that I have anxiety issues that have been going on for as long as I can remember and after the last times I did Dao Zou, I felt awesome and then I drifted away from it.

So far, I have done 7 sessions of this method, it takes about 30 minutes minimum or 2000+ steps which is the required time or steps to do. I do it in the morning and at night which takes up a total of an hour a day. As of this moment, I feel very much at ease and full of smiles and happy thoughts. Is it a cure for anxiety? I don't believe so and I'm just getting back into it so I don't have a complete opinion on it just yet but I will say I would rather do this than be on medication (which I don't do anyway) and it is very simple to do.

I learned this from Matt Furey and after studying it and learning by paying attention to my breathing and thoughts, it has given me good ideas of what I can do with it. My main way of thinking into this is channeling my thoughts with my breathing by saying certain mantras or using positive imagery to spice things up. My breathing is always through the nose and out the nose and every two to three times I circle an area where I'm doing it I think the following......

Breathe In Calm Mind

Breathe Out Calm Body

Next Would Be......

Breathe In Love

Breathe Out Hate

After That...

Breathe In Happiness

Breathe Out Despair

I have a little fun since I'm a Star Wars fan and channel my inner nerd by Breathing In the word Jedi and breathing out the word Sith and imagine breathing in a blue or green lightsaber and breathing out the Darkside Of The Force to relieve the body of negative energy, fear, anger, worry and others.

It sounds off the wall and seems like some New Age mumbo jumbo and to some people, maybe it is but it is also important to keep an open mind and look at the possibilities of learning what it would feel like to go through the day feeling like a million bucks and doing things that seem effortless. Getting rid of the junk in your head without forcing anything and feeling peaceful almost every minute of the day. Seriously who in their bloody mind wouldn't want that?

Aside from anxiety, I do have a bit of ADD and always doing something whether physically moving or sitting and doing something, my brain often times is all over the place and never really seem to focus on a single thing in the present moment. This method could be something to help channel and set those things aside or maybe go away all together but I do want to get better not just being calmer and have a brighter grin from ear to ear but other things that I have goals for.

I also have a heavy intuition and a memory that baffles people and it doesn't seem believable until you're actually around me. I can recall things or pick up on certain things quicker than most people and have a pretty damn good photographic memory in which I can spell out statistics, certain trivial stuff be able to remember things in the smallest details as if they happened yesterday even though I was like 9 or 10. With Dao Zou, it has been said to enhance memory and open up the brain in a unique way, well that just tells me the sky's the limit to how far that enhancement can go. Almost like getting a dose of the Super Soldier Serum just by the way you walk.

Take a gander and see where it leads, if you feel it's not for you, that's ok. I highly encourage you to give this meditation a chance and open up to the idea of unlocking your true self, a variation of the Force if you will.

A Bear And Chimp Walk Into A Bar

Sounds like the start of a really bad joke, or a good one depending on the context. Either way, these are the two animals that are the stars of our post today. You've read for the umpteenth time about my workouts with animal movements and how awesome they are. Here's another look at how you can make workouts fun and exciting, not just to train but to aid in your conditioning and it is a great game for kids as well.

A favorite of mine is using a deck of cards and the unlimited possibilities of turning a boring workout into something that will kick your ass but love it at the same time. This deck of cards workout will have you huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf that can blow down a brick house. Using just the Bear Crawl and what's called the Chimp Walk for upper and lower body exercises, here's how it goes doing steps as reps, you can go as slow or as fast as you want however, the faster you go, the more challenging it gets.....

Red Cards = Bear Crawls

Black Cards = Chimp Walk

K/Q/J = 20 Reps

Aces = 32 Reps

Jokers = 50 Bear Crawls

2-10 = Doubled Value

This in total will be a total of 500-600 Bear Crawls and 400 Chimp Walks. This can be used as a warm up for athletes or as a stand alone workout that targets your conditioning, coordination, speed, endurance, muscular strength, stamina and more. Bear Crawls alone will put most people down but to add another exercise into the fold, a whole other level bro. How long should you be able to do this? If you can do a full deck at a good clip, shouldn't be more than 15-18 minutes, elite would be around 10-12, that's hauling ass either way but don't move so damn fast you'll be tripping on yourself.

The most elite athletes in the world have done Bear Crawls at one tie or another and for god reason, it hits just about every muscle in the body and gives you incredible lung power so you can stay in the game longer. Have a go at this this workout and give me a shout in how you did. Don't have a ton of space, just go back and forth in the space you do have. If you do have a good amount of space, instead of walking back to the cards to flip one, jog or sprint to make it interesting.

Here's a demo of how I do the Chimp Walk, normally I can go lower than this but I wanted to show what you can do if you're a beginner or don't have a lot of flexibility.

How Long Can You Hold Onto The Dark Lord Of The Sith?

Darth Vader by all accounts is the most badass villain in all of cinema, period. He's ruthless, dominating and has incredible abilities that even the best Jedi are jealous of. To even fight him in a lightsaber duel goes one of two ways; you either have a great set of balls (or chesticals if you're a lady Jedi) or you're just dumb enough to think you can even last long with him. Either way, holding him off long enough is gut wrenching as it is.

When it comes to Isometrics, it can test you in ways that regular exercise just can't. Holding a position or squeezing every fiber of your being for a few seconds takes mental strength to another level. Like training to be a Jedi, it takes patience, concentration, physical attributes and durability. Even as you succeed as a Jedi, it's a tough road, just like Isometrics but a tough road can lead you on a path to mastery and wisdom not many possess.

Isometrics by holding weight is a method that was practiced by strongmen, laborers and other physically active people of the past. Now let's take for example holding out a 3 lb. ball about the size of a softball, put it out in front at shoulder level, doesn't sound hard now does? When your arm starts to get tired, switch arms and keep going, how long did you hold it for? Now imagine a man being able to do this for 8 WHOLE HOURS; this isn't exaggerated either, the legendary Bruce Lee once did this. If anyone was a real life Jedi in his time, it was the Dragon.

When you hold weight for a certain amount of time, it tackles your whole body and takes on a life of its own as you fight to hold on and using muscles you normally don't use and hitting not just the muscles but the tendons, the ligaments, strengthening the bone structure and developing incredible endurance and durability. The Darth Vader Kettlebell weighs 70 lbs which for strength purposes isn't needed more than that but to hold it for an extended period of time can be agonizing if you haven't done it before. Picking up and holding a quarter to half squat for more than 2 minutes is a damn good feat of strength, endurance, durability and power. It toughens you up that's for damn sure.

Start this with maybe a 24kg Kettlebell and work your way up. You can go for more time if you want but the heavier you go, the more focus it becomes on the back, legs, hips and grip. Holding a heavy weight without dropping it can put you in a state you've never been to before.

Want to be faster? Do Isometrics, want that strength from all sorts of angles? Do Isometrics. An exercise like this may not seem like much but there's a ton going on that nobody else sees. Power up and vanquish the Sith Lord with a vengeance.

May The Force Be With You.

My Isometric Power Belt Routine

I have been asked what my routine is with the Isometric Power Belt and as I revealed it in a DM on Instagram, I figured why the hell not and share it with the rest of you. It's not a particular routine I would do everyday and not always in the same order and as you know, I'm not a routine guy so the mere fact that I developed one is pretty unusual for me. It's hard and a little more advanced than most who practice Isometrics. There's not a whole lot of rest between contractions because I also want to get the cardio aspect of it as well, it is also with controlled breathing as possible and meant for not only creating definition but also develop great durability, crazy strength, conditioning and powerful tendons.

This routine is less than 30 minutes which should be at level of time, it's not a speed through and trying to finish within 20 minutes or less, it takes a little time to adjust the strap for the exercises you want to do. Pay attention to your breathing and if you need a break than use it, adjust and go to the next exercise. It is a full body workout. It took me some time to develop this and working different Isometrics from a ton of angles that I picked the best ones I found gave me the most benefit. This can be added to a routine you already do or as a stand-alone (which I prefer) and it burns calories like crazy. This routine should be done at least in the morning because when you're done, you'll still burn calories for a long time and it kicks in your metabolism. Whenever I do this as a morning routine, I always feel hungry afterwards which is unusual because 90-95% of the time, it takes me several hours before feeling hungry after waking up.

Imagine having a routine that doesn't take a ton of time but gets A LOT done and can be done just about anywhere and anytime. You'll be hitting angles and creating incredible positional strength that the rest of the day just might feel like a breeze. Another benefit is that after the workout, you might feel more relaxed and energized and ready to kickstart the day. Don't have 30 minutes and need to spread it out? You can most certainly do that, that would actually be better for you if you're a beginner and do the various muscle groups one at a time throughout the day or do up to three. If you're a complete beginner, you can do certain muscles one day and do the others on other days, it is up to you. 

Here it is (Not in particular order of muscle groups).......

-BICEPS

Reverse Curl (Low, Mid & Up Positions) Each Arm

Hammer Curl (Low, Mid & Up Positions) Each Arm 

Palms Up Curl (Low, Mid & Up Positions) Each Arm

Total: 18 Contractions

-TRICEPS

Tricep Press Down (Low, Mid & Up Positions) Both Arms

Total: 3 Contractions

-BACK

Upright Row (Low, Mid & Up Positions) Both Arms

Deadlift (Low Thigh & Upper Thigh Pull) Both Arms

Total: 5 Contractions

-SHOULDERS

Overhead Press (Low, Mid & Up Positions) Each Arm

Bow & Arrow Pull Left & Right Arm

Total: 5 Contractions

(Other exercises for different days that aren't part of the routine or can be done throughout the day)

Horseshoe Pull or "Lawnmower Pull" (Inspired by Alexander Zass) x 2 Contractions

Handcuff Pull (Front & Behind Back, Mid & Up Positions Of The Front) x 4 Contractions

Shoulder Raises x 18 Contractions

Standing Chest Press x 3 Contractions

So the routine when I do it is a total of 31 Isometric Contractions. It's a hell of a routine and shouldn't be done more than 4 times a week at advanced level otherwise you'll burn out and put your body in overload. You don't want to hurt yourself and please for the love of all that is Physical Culture, breathe dammit. Never, under any circumstances hold the breath when you do the Isometric Contractions, that will skyrocket your blood pressure and cause damage to your internal organs, not to mention a highly possible Aneurysm. This routine is to be with controlled breathing using the "ffff" or "sss" sound as you exhale and concentrated on the muscles at hand. This routine is not meant for everyone so if you have any issues that can cause problems, talk to a doc and if he says don't do it, listen and don't do it. 

Isometrics is a simple method but it takes practice and not for seeing how hard you can contract a muscle. The percentage of a contraction in this routine is no more than 70% of your strength. If you wish to go higher like at 85-95% of your strength (or contraction) than you'll need to rest between exercises as long as needed or cut down the amount of exercises you do. It's about being smart in how you apply Isometrics. If you wish to do Aerobic Isometrics (Contractions at 30-50% capacity for 30 seconds or longer) Do 1 position of the exercises (eg. mid pull/push) and contract the muscle for up to a minute. There are many ways you can do this routine but for the most part, have fun with it and be careful. 

Short Plank Workout That Will Make Your Core Beg For Mercy

When it comes to Isometric Exercise, the most popular that most people know is the Plank. Very simple; just get into a pushup position on your hands or forearms and hold it as long as you can without coming down to your knees. It's simple but not easy. Some people can barely last 30 seconds and others have held it for 5 minutes or more. It does however get boring after a while once you "mastered it."

There are all sorts of variations of the plank that doing just one for an extended period of time would be just limiting yourself. It does hold certain benefits such as building strength in your core, your tendons, shoulders, upper back and more but I feel the longer you can go with a certain variation, it's time to change things up.

Most hold a plank like on the hands or forearms like I mentioned earlier but what if you held it on your fists or fingertips? How about with your arms bent in the mid position or in the superman hold? One workout I did was hold a plank on my fists for over a minute but was also wearing my 20 lb weight vest. I'm around 260-265 lbs so I'm holding up about 65% of my bodyweight in the plank position, so calculate that (260 x .65 = 169 lbs.) and add 20 to that and you have nearly 190 lbs, that's a lot of weight to be holding in that position. That is a good amount of strength being developed.

Now let's kick it up a notch (without the weight vest this time) and do a plank workout where every few breaths or so, you change the hand positions in the plank without coming down. You can change one hand at a time or both hands it's up to you but think how your fired up your core would be if you changed the positioning on a dime. Fist one hand and flat palm the other, both fists, flat hands but the arms are bent, all of that in the plank position.

Some film it to test their durability and to show that Isometrics are an incredible method and telling people to toughen themselves up. It's brutal but its the kind of training many should strive for. I do it because it's fun and finding creative ways to train that could carry over to other areas. Imagine how strong your arms would be overall if you did various plank exercises in one shot and forget sit-ups and crunches, your core will be on fire just holding yourself up let alone changing the hand positions.

In the video below, I do a plank workout where I hold for over 2 minutes changing the positions of my hands in the process. 2 minutes sounds easy but I assure you, it definitely isn't. Try it and see how you do. You will test your strength that is non traditional and working muscles you didn't think would be working. Just trying to be flat is hard enough. If you think a minute on your forearms is easy, than I challenge YOU to do this.

Happy Revenge Of The Fifth

Yesterday was incredible not only was it beautiful out but it was also me and my wife's 1st Anniversary plus it's also cool to be have it on Star Wars Day. Had a great breakfast of Eggs, French Toast & Sausages, went out on a beautiful drive by Coeur D' Alene Lake to a spot called Osprey Point overlooking the water. Taking pictures, talking about our future and spending amazing quality time together. Couldn't be any happier.

My workout mainly that day was just Isometrics using my Isometric Power Belt. Got in plenty of exercises doing curls, pressdowns, upright rows, deadlifts, shoulder presses, bow and arrow pulls and others in Iso Fashion. Hope everyone is having an amazingly awesome day. You can check out our pictures on my facebook.

Isometric Training is such a kick ass method that has you doing all sorts of exercises from limitless angles that also generates incredible strength and surging power in your system. Now for the most part it normally takes me several hours after waking up to even feel hungry but after that Iso Workout yesterday not too long before breakfast, I devoured the food me and my wife made. It's a hell of a fat burner and burning calories after the workout is a big bonus as well. I love using the Strap I have.

Isometrics alone can be a phenomenal workout but in order to get maximal results, adding in some bodyweight exercises, weights and other implements would be ideal. Some like to use isometrics as an addition to their routine, before or after a workout or just a day of Isometrics and the rest of the week do whatever. I like to use Isometrics often as something to do before I do other methods throughout the day or depending on my energy levels, do micro workouts of Isometrics or other other things. It boils down to what gets you going and where you're at that day.

Make your training meaningful and something that makes you proud to be able to do things most can't. Train smart and train with intensity and passion. You can work hard all you want but if the passion and the drive aren't there and all you're doing is digging yourself into a fitness grave, it's not worth your time or your health.

The Frank Gotch Squat Challenge

I normally don't get in the habit of doing certain challenges but one came up that I might try out just to see how it goes. After my legs heal up from some crazy soreness doing hundreds of Hindu Squats the other day I'll give this a chance. It is named after the legendary American Catch As Catch Can Wrestler Frank Gotch (1878-1917).

I first heard of this challenge by the Scottish Wonder Woman Kirsten "LittleTank" Tulloch who got it from I believe Travis Futrell but I'm not entirely sure but it seems one heck of a challenge and a hell of a leg workout. Frank Gotch was to Wrestling back in the early 20th century was what Wayne Gretzky was to Hockey, he dominated opponents and was known as a Hooker; a feared wrestler who knew how to cripple his opponents.

You can learn more about Frank Gotch by getting some of his books on wrestling and his life here.....

The Squat Challenge can be done in different ways (especially if you're a sucker for loving Leg Day) but the main premise is this.....

Hold a half squat or ass to grass squat for 30 seconds

Come up do 1 Bodyweight Squat

Hold for 30 Seconds

Do 2 Bodyweight Squats

Hold for 30 Seconds

Do 3 Bodyweight Squats

Repeat the hold and go up a number of squats until you can't go anymore. Rest 2 minutes than do 5 minutes of as many Squats as you can.

Some might do the full squat hold but I prefer the half squat since you feel more of the legs in that position and as for the squats, I prefer the Hindu Squats. It'll test you that's for sure and you'll feel your legs like jello. Conditioning is an athlete's greatest asset and the more you can outlast the next guy, the better. Challenges can be a change of pace and testing your abilities to see what kind of shape you're in. You don't have to be a wrestler to be in good condition but if you plan on being a wrestler, conditioning is your best friend before technique and sparring/competing. Have fun with this and see how you do.