Summer Is Around The Corner

           

           It’s almost beach season, school’s almost out, weather is getting warmer and people are flocking to beach sites. Some of you want that beach body that gives you a reason to take your shirt off, go jump in the water and make certain people make their heads turn. It’s a great goal to build a cool looking body. For women they want that toned abs, sexy, legs, one hell of an ass and a chest that makes guys say “daamn.” For guys it’s the powerful arms, washboard abs, legs that can go on forever, broad shoulders, maybe some mighty mitts and a chest that makes you stand out. It’s human nature to have attraction and magnetism so we focus mostly on the physical part. Not a bad thing but there’s still something missing.

            Physical appearance has had its share of good and bad sides to it and some people will do whatever it takes to look incredible but yet it costs them their health. Some people get Botox injections, take steroids to build extra muscle and some even get plastic surgery just to get a certain look but come on. We were made for a reason and we have the choice to do what we want with it but in my opinion if you truly want the confidence with your appearance, make the time and effort to do it, gain strength both internally and externally along with being as healthy as possible both inside and out, physically, emotionally and spiritually. If you’re going to look like a cover model, might as well be strong to go with it.

            When it’s hot out, your body needs more water to hydrate because when you sweat, although toxins are fuming out of the body, you still need to keep your body running. Drink as much water as you can. Vitamin D is essential to your body’s nutrients and the sun is perfect for that. You remember if you use too much of anything it’s not good for you? Well the sun is no different. Keep your time out in the sun as best as possible because if you’re out too much, it’ll get you burned and you’ll be peeling skin for days.

            Sun screen is debatable when it comes down to it; there have been studies that it has a chance to cause cancer so if you plan on using it, don’t use a ton. I rarely ever wear it in the summer and I've done just fine, keep yourself in the water, when you need to dry off, go for it but throw a shirt on to keep your torso cool (don’t ever wear black, I've learned the hard way), put the towel around your legs and just kick back in a chair or on the sand or whatever. A good hour in the sun is pretty good as far as I know. If you’re  planning on spending an entire day at the beach, do intervals of being in water, drying off and keeping cool till the next time around. Getting a natural tan is good so I’d stay away from those shitty tanning beds, it’s not good for you so be safe.

            For the most part, have fun. Summer is about having a great time. Out with friends, family, kick ass BBQ’s, going to the beach, playing ball, run on the sand, jump off docks and best of all, kicking back in the sun and feeling like a billion bucks. If you want to build a body that you can be proud of, make the effort and do it within reason, train hard, eat as clean as possible, rest up and be yourself. Swimming is a great exercise and works the whole body from head to toe, not big on swimming, lift weights, do some hand balancing, be a wild animal do whatever you want, it’s summer damn it get your ass out there and make things happen for you.

The Difference Between Believing & Not Believing

 There are a lot of skeptics out there who don’t believe in certain ideals or they do believe in certain things but it’s by tradition and rules when in reality they don’t have the slightest notion of how to be open minded. For those wondering, when I speak of this article, I’m talking about fitness and health not religion or politics, that’s way out of my league and have my own views of what they are. Back to the task at hand, many skeptics are the ones with their guard up and never want to take it down and that’s not a good thing because they miss out on many things that they can work on.

 One of the best quotes I've learned since I was 13 was “For those who do believe you don’t need an explanation, for those who don’t believe no explanation will do.” Want to know where I learned that from? Believe it or not a pro wrestler named Jeff Jarret on the Unreal Story Of Professional Wrestling, talk about weird. A lot of people sometimes including myself feel like we need to explain our beliefs and what they’re all about but in the end, people need to figure it out for themselves. Its one thing to throw something at a skeptic but it’s a different ball game on how they figure it out themselves.

 One of my biggest peeves is people who do believe in something but only because they listened to someone’s word and not use common sense or research. The traditional belief in fitness is do a half hour of cardio and an hour of weights to get strong, eat less to lose weight, do push-ups for warm up and do bench presses to get a big chest and my all-time favorite, bodyweight exercises are only good for endurance once you reach a certain number of reps and than you don’t build strength. I’m sorry but tradition has never really been my style and going on someone’s word is just (excuse my language) bullshit. If I want to believe in something I’m going to try certain things out, do a little research and experiment a little to see what works and what doesn't.

 For you skeptics out there, drop your guard a little, not all the way but a little and try certain things, you never what you’ll get out of it. I know what it’s like to be a skeptic, I've been there many times before and still a skeptic to certain things but with a purpose and not just because someone says something and that’s it. Opening your mind is like opening a new door to a world you never seen before. To give you an example, I was skeptical about being athletic and agile as a big man, these guys told me try gymnastics and try hand balancing and all these different things but I was just so guarded about who I was that I can’t do all this stuff but the moment I dropped my guard just a little, I opened up a whole new door and kept an open mind and gave a shot at few things I felt I could do but get better at and low and behold, I got stronger, more flexible, more agile and more durable than ever before and never looked back since. Dropping your guard a little can be a big impact on how you do things. It’s up to you to do it, no one can really do it for you.

 To me the true meaning of believing is not by someone’s word and just believe because they said so but believe in your heart that it works for you and you've done some things to find that belief. A true believer is someone who wants to find what he’s looking for and believes in oneself and not from this or that, he/she believes this does work and it does give me something to do. Fitness wise, you can be a sheep and follow everyone’s word or you actually do something about it and find your own belief and create something out of the norm and make it your own tradition. Like before you don’t need an explanation as a believer, it’s there it works, you understand it from all angles and you learned how it works for you. Believe in yourself and trust it. It took me many years to figure that out but and I’m still learning a thing or two but it’s a journey and that I believe will go a long way to make me better at what I do and so can you. 

Guiding Your Way To Handstand Push-ups

In any form of training we all have to start somewhere and that's at the basics. Building foundations are keys to successful training with learning the basics comes with intelligence. When you start out its new and sometimes difficult to understand but as time goes on you become smarter and smarter.

With the case of Handstand Push-ups, you are learning the basics of Hand Balancing in this manner with using the wall. Now contrary to popular belief this type of training does not mean its working just your arms but the entire body and with good reason. You are practicing your body as a unit and with the arms you have to use the stabilizing muscles such as your core, chest, shoulders, back and yes even your legs.

When doing push-ups in this manner yo have to use the body as one solid piece just like a steel rod. If you don't master this first, you won't have much to do and holding the position won't help either. Once you have mastered this there are many ways to do Handstand Push-ups.

Take for example your hand placements can determine whether the exercise will be easier or harder. Even shifting your head from looking at the floor to looking forward will make a huge difference to see how far down you can go. The ability to overcome these differences is up to you and see how far you're willing to go to create awesome push-ups.

If you're a weight lifter, Handstand Push-ups can help increase your pressing power because this type of training increases your awareness on how you apply the body and its also a full body press. Because of this type of training I'm able to press a 88lb. Kettlebell without that much effort and even did it the first time I picked one up. Will that hapn with you? Maybe, maybe not but when you practice this regularlly you can rest assured your pressing strength will go through the roof.

Now that the physical part is out of the way you still have to learn how to use your mind. At first it can be scary being upside down and not know what the hell to do. This is one of the true tests of mind over matter.

The ability to overcome fear to increase your strength. Take into consideration the olympic gymnasts and acrobats on how they do their hand balancing stunts. They make them look easy as if they're a cake walk but deep down they are just like you and me. They started out fearful and learned to practice over and over again to overcome that fear and become strong and powerful. Now does this mean you have to be a gymnast or acrobat to understand this? No. You just need to learn to infuse your mind with your body and develop the way its meant for you.

Learn to become im"press"ive with Ultimate Guide To Handstand Push-ups and learn the basics that has taught some of the strongest men on the planet on how to become strong and powerful.

Powerful & Graceful....The Handstand Is

Over the last 100 years, hand balancing has been one of the most impressive sights to see when it comes to bodyweight training. Some of the strongest men in the world have had experiences in hand balancing such as Bob Jones, Otto Arco, Charles Atlas, Sig Klien, Bert Asserati, Maxick, Earl Liederman, Doug Hepburn and Jack Lalanne to name a few. Talk about big names but the list goes on and on but the point I want to make here is being able to stand on your hands is one of the most powerful things you can do with your body.

Building a foundation takes tons of practice and the right kind of practice. Where your hands should, arching the back or not and keeping a solid base of where you want to be. Awareness is one of the major keys to doing hand balancing. Doing a handstand against the wall is a great way to start. Begin to feel aware of your surroundings and tap into that mental block that has kept you from getting strong in that position. It is scary at first no question but you learn to practice it over and over with the right steps.

Is hand balancing the greatest bodyweight feat of all-time? Well thats hard to say but it is one of the most coolest feats there is and whoever says handstands are for gymnasts and acrobats only is full of it. The men I have mentioned above, some of them are big dudes and one weighed over 250 pounds. Can you guess which one though?

If you check out Lost Art Of Hand Balancing.com you will find the best info on how to become a master hand balancer and you will find the true secrets to this great art that has amazed people from all walks of life fot 100+ years in the circus, backyards, parks, vaudville, film and pictures. Help carry on a tradition that has been passed on from one generation to the next. Become a master on your own two hands. I highly recommend these courses especially these two....

Ultimate Guide To Handstand Push-ups

&

The True Art & Science Of Hand Balancing

Handstand Video

Hello,




Have you ever thought about learning how to do a handstand?



Well my friend, Logan Christopher, is doing something radical. You see, he runs a site called Lost Art of Hand Balancing where he teaches people how to do just that.



He has taken one of his best-selling DVD's, something that has sold hundreds of copies at $29.95, and he is now literally giving it away online, no strings attached.



I think he’s crazy for doing this, but he is doing it!



http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4037383



What's so great about this video? In this close to half hour video Logan takes a systematic approach to the handstand. The problem with trying to do a handstand is it's way beyond the ability of someone starting out.



You can try to do it but you'll end up frustrated. That's the long slow path. In fact, many give up.



Instead, you should break it down into component parts, working on lead-up stunts, which teach you the necessary skills, but in an easy manageable way. This cuts your learning curve by over half.



Logan has laid this all out in his handstand system, including a sample nine week plan that can take you from zero to holding a freestanding handstand for 30 seconds.



Be warned. This may not be around forever so jump on this chance while you have it. Check it out.



http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4037383



Ben Bergman

Hand Balancing & The Power Of Inverted Training

However you look at it Handbalancing is by far one of the most difficult methods of self mastery over the human body. When you're upside down it seems like a whole different world and its mysterious and very unusual feeling of not always knowing whats going to happen or how you are suppose to stay up. For the most part it takes awareness and strength to a whole new level and with enough practice you can do things that not only will it amaze people but you will have control over your body not many people in the world can do.

To get a glimpse of modern hand balancing take a look at the men and women of gymnastics or Circ De Solei, the requirement for their sport/profession is to be master hand balancers because of a lot of the stunts require to be on the hands. It is amazing and breathtaking to see some of the best athletes at what they do. I've seen a gymnastic event and seen A Mid-Summer Nightmare which had acts of Hand balancing and tumbling and martial arts and just about every time I saw a scene I was taken back by it by how it it just engulfs your mind on how these people are so strong and coordinated they are. Now not too many of us in our adult years have the luxery of joinging a gymnastics class and becoming a good hand balancer/gymnast so is there a betterr way to learn?

As a matter of fact there is and one guy that I know of has some of the best knowledge on Hand Balancing there is. He is a good friend of mine named Logan Christopher. His background is on Gymnastics, Old-time Strongman, Kettle Bell Instructor, Personal Trainer and is on his way to being one of the strongest men in the world for the thing he performs. I've trained with him and this is no joke he's one of the strongest guys I've ever met and seen him hold some pretty awesome handstands. So its safe to say this guy knows his stuff and anything he just about puts out is a gold star in my book.

Not only is Logan promoting the Art Of Hand Balancing he's helping spread the word about it as some of the best Physical Culturists in the world did many moons ago back in the days of Vaudville and Circus Acts of the early 20th Century. Some of the biggest names did Hand Balancing in their training. Men like Otto Arco, Maxick, Sig Klein, Bob Jones, John Davis, John Grimek, Bert Azzerati, George Hackenschmidt and believe it or not the living legend Jack Lalanne. All these men have done some form of hand balancing and were some of the strongest men in the world before the use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs. That should give you a clear idea of what you can accomplish with pure will, practice, patience and amazing power.

I'm not a Hand Balancing expert but I can tell you from my own experiences its hard and not easy at all (redundent I know) but I have held a handstand for a period of time thats pretty good for a guy my size at well over 235 pounds. So whether you're big, small or inbetween, this form of training can teach you what it truely means to have control over your own body. Even holding a position is pretty darn impressive but when you get to walking on your hands or doing push-ups thats in the realm of dreams and it can be yours if you practice it. Check out Legendary Strength or Lost Art Of Hand baancing websites on the right side of the screen and learn the Lost Art Of Hand Balancing and believe me they are worth every penny many times over.

Legendary Strength

Lost Art Of Hand Balancing

Legendary Strength On The Rise

I had an opportunity today to train with one of the strongest men pound for pound at his new gym. His name is Logan Christopher. I was checking out the space he had for his gym and its pretty well done considering the finishing touches it needs but it has a serious amount of potential and if anybody can make it work its Logan. I put it in a little work with cables, push-ups, stretching, joint loosening, hammers and a some exercises on the pull-up bar while Logan did some Kettle bell work, weighted pull-ups, Kettle bell Swings, Isometric L-Sits using Chinese Block Weights and other things that came into his head.

We trained for nearly an hour and it was fun and very rewarding. I've been friends with him since 2005 and seen him do some of the most unreal forms of conditioning around, for a guy his size he's extremely strong and he's just going to keep going up. He's seen me in doing some of my first as a strongman myself, my first phonebook ripped, first 60d Penny Nail bend, first fall back into a bridge then kicking over and back ect. He is a really cool guy and he doesn't bring any bull into his training and just hammers the basics while also having.

I first met him while he was a roadie for an upcoming band named Archer which the drummer was a mutual friend of ours. He's really come into his own in becoming a strongman, entrepreneur and a well rounded athlete. If you guys ever read this blog check out my bud's stuff on the banners on the right side of the blog writings. He has vast knowledge in bending, lifting, body weight, gymnastics, strongman, Hand Balancing, tearing, kettle bells and many other forms of strength and conditioning. Taking from some of the best trainers in the world he is one lucky guy and he is one of my inspirations.

Training Your Mind & Body

Even though some of us exercise and we go through the motions to do what we can its still not training our mind. Being mindful of your training is just as important as the exercise itself. On the other hand there are plenty of more people that don't exercise but yet train their minds. Thats ok in some way but you won't get the most benefit if you can't balance it out and just do one or the other. Being physical can do many things for you but if your mind isnt in the same place then you are just wasting your time. Example outside of my training doing all these things I also do my best to keep my brain active and fresh by studying history and psychology and checking up other things that interest me particularly history. Although physical culture is a hobby of mine I also learn the history of our past such as wars and fictional history like Vampires and such. This is gonna sound like a guy thing but I also do my history on the game of Baseball (not the steriod era of the game) but its true glory of why its americas game and how those men and women back in the day who didn't get paid no where near where it is today but yet most were if not better then the players of today. Other then history I'm also an observer and how to look at others' body language and how people come and go when things are down. I'm not saying we all should study everything but learn something that makes you who you are and put that into your training and why its that important. Don't just learn your form or how it came out of a book or followed on video but judge it for how it works for you and learn from the past on how it can help you in the future.