A Micro Workout For The Core

 When I trained at the gym back in my teens, I had no idea what Core Training meant or even understood the importance of it since all I knew back then was if you were to develop abs you had to do hundreds of crunches, that's really all I did for my abs. Although I did lift and all that, I rarely ever focused on the abs or obliques. Paid a price for it a time or two. When I transitioned to Bodyweight Exercises, it became very clear that there was more to Core Training than just upper abs, lower abs, obliques and lower back individually. They needed to be trained as a unit in order to perform better.

My first taste of really tackling those muscles was the bridging from Combat Conditioning and from there, I started gaining strength and flexibility in that area. I got Combat Abs and was learning the basic exercises from there, the next course I used in Core Training was Gymnastic Abs that Ed Baran put out which became a favorite. It had some cool stuff and really helped strengthen areas I was lacking from the others. It kept going from there.

One of the things that really tested my Core Strength and flexibility was doing the Bridging Gymnastics where you would fall back into a bridge, kick over and kick back. I was never into the Human Flag or those crazy barstarzz workouts but the Bridging Gymnastics was pretty fun to do. At a point in time, I was doing workouts 2-3x a week where I would do kickovers and flipping back on my head and hands in the bridge up to I think 30 reps in a workout and that was exhausting as hell. I stopped after a while and moved onto more of the Power Wheel, Ab Isometrics and Animal Movements.

Over the last few years, training the Core comes and goes and I'll do things like Bridging, V-Ups, various holds, the Ab Wheels to the point where I managed to do one standing rollout and back (haven't been able to do it since so maybe it's time to train that again), farmer's carries and hoisting up the 50 lb sandbell many times. I don't train necessarily for a 6 pack (not really my thing) but for function and resilient to injury as much as possible. One workout I've done on a few occasions is a Tabata Style Isometric workout that I learned from the Red Delta Project which you can find here...It's intense and it's only 4 minutes long. Another that I tried out was not only just as intense but I did it a little differently to make it interesting.....

It's based on the Gymnastic Abs exercises I learned and made them into a Tabata Workout with a 1 min finisher. It's very simple and you can do them in the beginning stages or advanced, depending on where you are.

Hollow Body Hold for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Side Plank (Start whatever side you want) for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Arch Body Hold for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Side Plank (Opposite side) for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Repeat this 1 more time for a total of 4 minutes. The finisher is 1 minute of V-Ups using as good form as possible on the reps. If you have the control, keep the legs as straight as possible with little to no bend in the knees and arms straight overhead. All together, this really is a 5 minute workout you can do practically anywhere and gives you a Core quite a kick. This is great if you're short on time or want something done quick before whatever it is you're doing. If you're ambitious and have enough strength, do the Iso Holds and V-Ups but add in the Gymnastic Bridge to really stretch the abs, spine and everything else. Just hold as long as you can even if its for less than 10 seconds, add 1-5 seconds per workout until you can do a minute or more. Including rest time, you can get a complete Core Workout in under 10 minutes. If you have progressed to more advanced holds and movements, work them in or do a workout on their own. It's up to you.

Hundreds of Crunches & Sit-Ups can get boring and some exercises can put a damper on your spine and neck so utilize Holds & Movements that help strengthen those areas instead of hurting them. A strong Core doesn't need to be a 6 pack, but strong enough to take a hit and/or perform better with all your other exercises along with resistant to injury. Having a bad back is no joke I've been there and it can be painful as hell and it becomes much more common as we get older, train your abs with intensity beyond just the muscles, strengthen the lower back, obliques and groin area (save the jokes). You don't need to do hundreds of reps of an exercise unless you have a goal in mind.

Build that Core, stay strong and keep being amazingly awesome. Looking for workout ideas to build your abs? Check out the Darebee Ab Workouts for FREE!!! Some of the best exercises for building Core Strength is from Movement 20XX from Vahva Fitness.

Lost Empire Herb Of The Day: Horny Goat Weed

There Is A Problem With Gut Inflammation

In fact, did you know that according to the CDC, 1.4 Million Americans will suffer from IBS, Chron’s Disease or other debilitating inflammatory gut diseases?

That’s bad, but what’s even worse is that gut inflammation affects WAY more then just the 1.4 Million people who’ve been diagnosed. So… How do you know if you gut is inflamed?

Take a second right now to imagine what you look like in the mirror. Specifically, picture what your waist at your belly button looks like. Do you have what women refer to as a pouch belly or muffin top and men call their beer gut?

If you do, I have BAD NEWS for you :(

You are most likely suffering from some degree of gut inflammation!

This is where the lining of your intestinal walls become inflamed and causes your belly to stick out more then it has to.

There is good news though…

There’s a new 72 hour gut inflammation solution that you can follow to quickly shrink your waistline so you can:

LADIES:
- Fit into your skinny jeans again
- Not feel trapped by your waistline when your sitting down for a meal
- Stop relying on stretchy clothes and get back to wearing sexy outfits that shape to your body
- And just plain feel good in your body again!

GENTLEMEN:
- Walk around shirtless without feeling fat and bloated
- Look in the mirror and be proud that your gut has finally disappeared
- Show off your shrunken waistline to your wife or girlfriend
- And just plain feel good in your body again!

Ok… I’m sure I’ve peaked your interest but I have even more great news for you :)

TODAY ONLY you can get The 72 Hour Gut Inflammation Solution as a complimentary bonus for ordering the NEW 0-6 Pack Abs System. Pretty cool, right?

Check it all out here…

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Here’s to shrinking your waistline in 72 hours!

Be Awesome my fellow bad asses and get your abs in incredible shape.

0-6 Pack Abs Awaiting At Your Door Step

It’s Monday and instead of the usual articles I put out, I wanted to hook you up with a surprise…

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You've got 48 hours from now to check it out. I promise you won’t be disappointed with this :)

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That’s all for today!

Be Awesome guys and get your core going harder than ever.

Healthy Abs

            When it comes Abdominal Training what many people think it is, is that you’re doing sit-ups, crunches and using crazy gadgets to get six pack abs. They believe if you do good ab work, you’re strong and healthy plus you look like a million bucks. Not so true. Just because you have a great waistline, ripping muscle all over the core area doesn’t mean you’re strong and healthy, some crack addicts have six pack abs.

            The real thing about having healthy abs doesn’t always concern on what’s on the outside but what is inside that counts (sorry had to use a intro line from Aladdin). A powerful core is not just muscle but the strength within the internal organs and the core isn’t just the abdominals  but the obliques, lower back and the transverse muscles all working in unison. When you isolate the abs you’re missing out on the other important muscles that tie together. Back in the early 20^th century, men like Eugene Sandow, Maxick, Otto Arco, Alexander Zass and others didn’t rely on sit-ups, crunches, machines and gadgets because they didn’t exist back then, they relied on what they were training in certain lifts, isometric contractions and Muscle Control. These men were the pinnicle of Physical Perfection and they are still admired to this day.

            Although some of the old-timers had great musculature, it wasn’t about looking great. It was about achieving strength and health from both inside and outside. You can have the most muscular abs on the planet but if you can’t move and your organs are shot than what’s the point? Some people believe if you have a 29 inch waist and weigh less than 185 lbs and are around 6’ than you’re awesome looking and have a triangular torso with mighty abs to show off, it doesn’t happen for everyone. Sit-ups and Crunches can give you some muscle but if your neck and back are weak than you’re not going to get anywhere. Believe it or not, some of the strongest and healthiest people in the world don’t have six pack abs but are still agile, flexible and supple. To get the most benefit for strong and healthy Core Strength and power it’s important to tie in as many muscles as possible throughout your training.

            To build a powerful core, you play around with exercises that target that but the whole body comes into play. Lifting odd objects, strengthening the neck and back with Bridging, doing basic Gymnastic Movements, moving like a wild animal takes a lot of core strength, contracting the abs during plyometrics to protect your back from injury and even Sprints develop powerful abs because your whole body is fired up and you need to stabilize the core as you run because if you don’t you’re wobbling and could hurt yourself. Powerful abs is not always about the look, however, like the old-timers you can have great abs and still be extremely strong. One of my friends Logan Christopher is around 6’2 and about 190 lbs. or less, that’s pretty skinny for a guy that tall but yet is one of the strongest athletes pound for pound and has an extremely powerful core with great musculature. It’s true to build a powerful body, you need a powerful Core because the muscles there give a protective shield, helping you make the most out of your training.

            I’m 5’10 and around 255 lbs. I don’t have six pack abs and quite frankly don’t really care but at the same time my core is very strong and mobile, flexible and supple. Without a strong Core I can’t fall back into a bridge, I wouldn’t be able to bear crawl efficiently, my stretching wouldn’t be that good and most of all without a strong core I couldn’t hold a bridge or do the TNT Cables/Chest Expander very well because I would collapse and my body wouldn’t be able to handle it. So you see even for a big man like myself, it’s still possible to have strong abs and still have strength to keep going. Cardio and crunches won’t help your cause, it takes real training to get what you want and it’s very basic. Start out slow and build up, believe me it feels like a dead end at first but as you get better, you’re getting closer to being strongest you can be.

            If you want six pack abs than go for it but look to old school methods to help get you there and have fun with it, if you don’t desire to have muscled up abs but still want strength you can do that too. Be awesome and kick ass on your journey wherever it is.

Jackie Chan: Hardcore Athlete

Bruce Lee changed the way Martial Arts films were made and was a pioneer in the quest for what being an action star and dramatic actor was in films throughout Asia and the U.S. If there was one man who would be a successor to Bruce Lee and take action/comedy to a whole new level would be Jackie Chan. Chan personifies the qualities of a martial artist, action star and comedic actor all in one body.

 Martial Arts films are a genre that is unique and different among other genres. When you add comedy in the picture with awesome chorography, you have a blend that is a style all on its own. Chan’s skills are second to none as he doesn’t just know how to kick, punch and maneuver from many angles but the plethora of strength, agility and flexibility is one of the most surreal aspects that not many people realize. Growing up and training in a school for academics, athletics and theater, he took on a life most kids at that time was the norm unlike a child growing up in the U.S where you have school, do some form of extra-curricular activity and do homework, there was a guy who went to a school of hard-knocks as some of the training he was into was grueling and insane to western society.

 At a young age, Chan would go to the Theater and watch on the big screen, the legendary physical comedian Buster Keaton of the Silent Film era. Watching the actor became a passion and made the young prodigy love the world of acting and physical comedy. Although loving acting, Chan’s regimen in conditioning was legendary even at a young age doing hand balancing, various horse stances, high kicks, variations of extreme push-ups and sit-ups, fast pace punches that only a few including Bruce Lee ever achieved I mean it goes on and on. When it came to Abdominal Conditioning, Chan is far above than the majority of people in most cases. When you look at some of his films, the muscles on his abs are not just cool looking but they’re extremely powerful and can withstand quite a blow. When you have powerful abs like that, your whole body is powerful because training the Core is training the center of your strength and conditioning.

 Speed is another one of his phenomenal traits and I can think of only two other guys that have speed faster then the average person, those are of Bruce Lee and Jet Li, maybe Donnie Yen. You know you have phenomenal speed in a movie when the crew tells you to slow down by a huge margin; Bruce Lee was a perfect example of that when he was doing the short lived Green Hornet TV show. When you get good at going at a fast clip and with good form, your body’s nervous system will shift into overdrive and your growth hormone will ring up faster then any other attribute which means you can look young,burn fat, gain muscle and have energy unlike anything else.

 Jackie Chan has done countless movies throughout his career from Supercop to the Rush Hour trilogy but if there was one movie that is a must see that’s not only funny as hell but awe-dropping training methods at the same time with awesome Kung Fu to boot is one of his early films from the late 70’s called Drunken Master. I won’t give away too much of the film but there are certain scenes where his chorography is just incredible from a scene in his father’s Dojo to the grueling exercise regimen with his uncle doing horse stances, push-ups, sit-ups, crushing walnuts ect. It’s one of those films that have lots of comedy, awesome fight scenes and awesome messages about training.

 Chan is now in his late-50’s and shows no signs of slowing down and still has the grapes to do most of his own stunts which only an extreme few actors at that age can muster. He truly is the Bruce Lee of our generation and only a few after him can remotely have that type of status but there can be only one Jackie Chan.

Abdominal Training For Superior Strength

When you think of Ab training, you mostly hear about crunches and little side bends and mostly isolating the Abs with little rockers and machines. This is not real world Ab strength training. Our body’s core is all the muscles of the Abdominals from below the breast line all the down just to the top of the sexual organs.

 A lot of people think if you want six pack abs you need to do this many crunches, eat less, do 100’s of side bends and whatever crap that others come up with. Not saying a six pack isn’t a bad thing but really what does it really matter when you have a washboard stomach that can’t take a punch and your organs aren’t strong enough to hold off diseases? Karl Gotch once put it that there are two types of muscles for an athlete or bodybuilder and that “Conditioned Muscle” & Counterfeit Muscle.” These two variations have obvious statements but let me clarify a little, conditioned means that it’s strong, can take a lot whether in a workout or a fight, it’s useful, functional and the organs are strong, counterfeit means basically it looks awesome but than no further than that as you can have great development but that won’t amount to anything if you’re prone to injury.

 Real Abdominal training comes from training the entire body as a unit while keeping a major focus on the Abs. If you look back over 100 years ago, the old-time strongmen had some of the most powerful Abs on the planet. Men like Otto Arco, Maxick, Sandow, Farmer Burns and others all had what would be called punch-proof Abs. Their developments were off the charts and this was long before machines and gadgets. They developed this kind of strength and power by utilizing Muscle Control, full body training, Gymnastics, various sit-ups and Deep Breathing. They became so strong that would be able to handle certain feats that were beyond their own bodyweight. This type of training didn’t take hours a day and never isolated yet some of them had muscles that are still better than the bodybuilders of today.

 One of the true kings of Muscle Control was Otto Arco of Poland. A master of abdominal training that had the ability to wrestle, lift heavy and was one of the purest acrobats in the world at that time. Many came after him but there is only one Otto Arco and unlike bodybuilders today, Arco not only looked incredible but had pure strength and power to back it up. For one of the first 3 men in history to lift overhead double bodyweight it was a real feat to be reckoned with. The ability to control any part of his body was a sight to be hold and very few then can match and chances are slim to none no one can match him today.

 Another facet of phenomenal Ab Training is the Bridge. To most the bridge is either a neck, back or a shoulder exercise but really it is an exercise that works the core to a level unlike any other. If you don’t have good solid strength in your abdominals, the bridge will be difficult to do. Holding a posture is one thing but to do lethal and acrobatic maneuvers is a whole different ball game. Ever heard of the burpee? I’m sure you have, it’s a staple of conditioning that’s practiced in many areas but what about the Bridge Burpee? This makes a regular burpee look like a cake walk as you fall into a bridge either on the hands, head/hands or head alone and you kick over and back, if you’re really athletic you would do this then stand back up. A good bridge builds functional and powerful abs and with power of deep breathing, your core will be difficult to hurt.

 A key ingredient in all of Physical Culture is one of the most neglected forms of modern training and that’s learning to breathe. We today take our breathing for granted but what if I told you that your breath is the source of all your power and strength. Breathing gives us life. We can go long periods of time without food or water but we can only hold our breath for only a few minutes before we start to give out and die. The number one secret to true core strength is in how you breathe.

 You don’t need the skills of a gymnast or the body of bodybuilder and neither do need to have the skills of a wrestler, all you need is a few minutes a day of working your body as a unit and focus on the abdominals. Muscle Control is a healthy practice as it teaches you how to use your mind and body’s connections and with basic gymnastics that anyone can learn from a humble beginner to an advanced athlete. The stronger your core inside and out, the stronger your whole body will be. Learn to take control of your body and your strength & fitness will skyrocket to levels you can’t imagine.