I Refuse

           I've been in fitness for more than 15 years and learned many things in that time. My journey has made me bleed, sweat, hurt, recover, learn valuable lessons and triumph over those that said I couldn't do it. One of the things that made me develop into the athlete I've become today is my ability to rebel and utilize my full potential by finding the very best that interests me and my goals and refuse to work with what doesn't. Here are a few things in the fitness industry that I refuse to do…

I refuse to isolate my muscles when I can use my full body towards a specific exercise.

I refuse to do the workouts the magazines sell when there are better options to optimize my creativity.

I refuse to listen to those who don’t have a damn clue to what they’re talking about and find the people who are the real deal and take bits and pieces to create my own style from them.

I refuse to be told what works and what doesn't when I can discover it for myself and not for the sake of anyone else.

I refuse to hear those who never exercised a day in their life yet they try to advise me on it.

I refuse to give up exercising every single day because someone told me I had to workout no more than 3-4x a week. I listen to my body and work with my intuition tells me to do and my recovery is my problem and I’ll come back stronger than ever.

I refuse to read about the latest gadget that promises 6 pack abs or stronger arms or whatever is advertised because the only way to get real results is to put in real effort and make the best out of your training.

I refuse to see exercise as a punishment because I see it as a blessing, something worth while and something that is interesting and fun. If it doesn't put you in a state where you feel invigorated and give you a challenge you want to conquer then it won’t work for you.

I refuse to listen to those who doubt me, are jealous and give me crap about what I love to do. They don’t have my body, they don’t see my journey the way I do and they don’t push the way I do so what gives them the right to have any say.

I refuse to be beaten down. I’m constantly growing and finding what works best for me and what I want to accomplish. I will conquer my challenges on my own terms. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

      Creativity is very important in every aspect of life, adapting to certain places, finding the best exercises that will help you reach your potential and utilizing your mind to its full potential. There are those who refuse to lead their own journey and instead just blindly follow some quack with a piece of paper on their name. You learn certain things and the right people will give you powerful tips but they can’t do the work for you, you have to put in the effort in order to be successful.

      The positive side to rebelling is learning who you really are as a person and the people that care the most and want to see you succeed. How do you do that? You observe, take notes mentally or on paper. Be creative, find what drives you and gives you a positive outlook on life. Find a way to express yourself and have fun and be around those that give you something to look forward to or help you. There are so many stuck up and stiff people in this world that hide in their own world and refuse to let anyone in that doesn't agree with them. If that works for them great but at the same time I love those that have given me the drive to use the best of my potential. I want to see those who have drive put effort into showing who they are and believe in themselves and be true to who they are and help others find their spot in this world. 

Animal Ability

           Do you want to have the strength, mobility & toughness of an action hero? Well let me tell you about my own method that I have used training myself (& others as a former fitness trainer) to work towards this goal. Let me preface this by saying if you want to be a powerlifter, bodybuilder, etc you need proper guidance for steering this toward your specific goal. Also if you play a specific sport you need to make sure you add in specific skill development.
     
        My methods will take you 80-90% towards anyone of these categories. If you want to be prepared to take on anything then this is a (if not the) style to use. Strength, power, speed, agility, quickness, mobility & flexibility are what this style will help you build.
   
       So let's jump right in & quit the yammering, the following is a guideline to the order I have found works well in most cases. Now when I say most that means it is NOT written in stone. Do not be afraid to experiment! Just don't hurt yourself doing something weird. I train six days per week, one day conditioning/cardio type movements, the next more explosive/strength/power oriented work. I use Monday – Saturday with Sunday being a free day.

       General Warm-up – I know, I know, boring, but it needs to be done. Take at least five (5) minutes of moving all or at least the majority of your joints. Do not just get on a bike for 5 minutes & think you have done good, because you haven't. Jumping Jacks or a variation are a good thing to start with, but you need some squatting/hinging, some reaching & twisting.

       Specific Warm-up – This is usually used mainly on  explosive/strength/power days as your body works best when your nervous system is stimulated. This usually (you may see this word a lot) consist of the first 3-5 exercises or movements simulating them. I even do this for explosive jumping/plyometric movements, I just do them without as much explosiveness.

       THE WORKOUT!
       Stamina/Conditioning/Cardio - I sometimes use a certain skill or skills I wish to learn at or near the beginning, but then I get into the meat. I use rounds/timed tempos with minimal rest between movements & rounds/tempos. I usually end the session with some odd work like muscle endurance in my feet, light resistance high reps.

       Explosive/Strength/Power – I usually (that word again) start with a jumping &/or sprinting drill. I try to make sure the combined rep total is 20. Depending on S/C/C day I choose drills that are not compromised from that training. This is important as it further stimulates the nervous system. This can allow stronger muscle contractions.

    Next I usually move to some high resistance lifts. I usually perform a squatting &/or hinging, upper body pull (vertical – horizontal), upper body push (vertical – horizontal), ofttimes I will follow with midsection or posterior chain work. I try to stick with certain basic movements & place specialized odd movements after basic heavier movements. Some people would choose to do it opposite, but in my experience the basic movements are so much heavier than odd movements that with focus it doesn't really matter that you have worked those muscles.
     
   A final comment before I go to the next part. E/S/P is not stamina/conditioning/cardio so take at least 0:30 or longer between movements. Having said that it is rare that I rest longer than 2:00.

       STRETCHING!!!! - This is the life saver. For the last five years I have been using http://www.yogabodynaturals.com/ method called Gravity Poses. I have no monetary interest in this company I just have found Lucas' Gravity Poses to work the best.
       RECAP:

       General Warm-up  5-10 minutes

       Specific Warm-up (especially on high resistance days) 5-10 minutes

       Stamina/Conditioning/Cardio 10-30 minutes

       Explosiveness/Strength/Power (jump, sprint, basics + esoteric) 15-30 minutes

       STRETCHING! 10-20 minutes

       Total Time S/C/C = 30 - 60 minutes

       Total Time E/S/P = 35 – 70 minutes

       You should always strive towards the lower end of the time scale. Most important take away is use the minimum amount needed to achieve your fastest gains.

       So if you wish to be prepared physically & mentally for any activity or sport try the Animal Ability style!