Strength Is Nothing Compared To What’s Within

          Too many of us use what’s outside of ourselves to make us stronger physically, we lift weights, do weird cardio, hell we even do Crossfit from time to time. The strange thing is at least to most people is that strength really comes from your mental power and not so much your physical power. When you break it down mentally, your body will perceive it to follow and that’s where your true strength comes into play.

            Everything starts with a thought, when a certain thought occurs, sometimes action takes place. We all think about something every single day but we can’t take action for ever thought we have otherwise we’d be burned out, exhausted and just flat out torn up so we use specific thoughts to create action later. What the mind sees is not always what we believe to be unless you have a strong intuition and something within you sees something that involuntary focus on that, your body reacts. This is one of the basic subjects of the Mind/Muscle Connection, what we see in our minds; our bodies react in certain ways.

            One of my favorite Superhero movies to watch is the origin story of Dr. Strange. A man with a lot of guilt for the death of his sister became bitter, cold and dark yet became a great neurosurgeon. Don’t want to give it all away but the point is, because he needed his hands to help people, he couldn't and he nearly gave up until he met a Tibetan Monk who made him learn how his mind perceives certain things and not all things are what they seem when it comes to the Physical. How you perceive something is not always what they seem for example, doing a certain feat of strength, most in their mind see this as too much and most likely won’t be able to do it, however if you shift your mind to believing it’s not and you feel your body infusing with great power, you can do it pretty well. Not saying it be light as a feather and you can do whatever you want but using your mind with a connection to the body, you can do things you never thought were possible.

            To really unlock the secrets of great strength and superhuman power, you must learn how to focus your Energy with pinpoint accuracy. It’s not easy by any means but you can harness great energy to do your bidding whether it’s strength training, talking to people, being in a sport or activity, hell even if you’re an entertainer you can still create something that’s already inside you. You can unlock this energy in different ways, it can be through meditation, seeing yourself doing something extraordinary or better yet infusing your breathing with certain sounds and torquing points that will make you so strong at the snap of your fingers you won’t know what hit you.

            Be open to unlocking your mind to limitless possibilities, progress with great intention and focus on what you want to happen and you’ll be surprised what you’ll find. Most won’t do this because they’re too damn scared or rather listen to some shmuck tell them that they don’t have it in them. You have far more power within you than you perceive it to be, let it go and unleash it with vigor and great admiration because nobody can give you that power more than you can. 

Fight For What’s Important

             If you’re truly committed to something, whether it be training or whatever, fight for it with everything you have because it’s worth making something happen. Some people half-ass it, some barely do anything an others don’t do anything at all but the real one’s who make the commitment go places. It takes practice to find something you want to achieve or have a lifelong goal.

            Taking a stand in what you believe in takes guts. In the case of training whatever it might be, if you believe in what you’re doing, no one can tell you right from wrong. Gymnasts bust their ass day in and day out for years and for what, to get a medal around their neck? Not all do this and more power to them if that’s what they want to shoot for but for some it’s much more than that. Many athletes have this same mentality but the difference is how they believe in themselves and in their sport. Michael Jordan is another prime example of believing and taking a stand on what he wanted to do to be better than anyone else.

            Your instincts are what separate you from the rest of the pack. Sometimes it’s all you can rely on but another thing to look at is listening to your heart. Your instincts help you be aware but your heart is what you feel and that can mean a lot of things but in the end you’re either going to go after what you want or you won’t. Value what you have but keep challenging yourself. Fighting for a goal makes you stronger and reliant on your instinct to make something happen but also feel it at the same time.

            If you value what matters, you’ll fight for it while being smart about it. Fighting for something can only take you so far and eventually you’ll have to rest and rethink. Think about what you’re doing and ask yourself “is this truly what I want?” I value what I have and have fought for what I believe in, not just myself but what I want to do. After my accident, there were times where I thought I wouldn't be able to walk or do the same things again. It became true but I fought back and believed that if I wanted to get stronger, I’d be damn sure find a way to do it. Making things happen puts you in a class very few achieve and the more committed you are mentally, the more you’ll want to shoot for. Fight for what’s important and do it in a way only you can do it.  

Just a reminder, there's less than 3 days left of the House Sale Logan Christopher is putting up at Legendary Strength, get on the bandwagon and you'll even find a course that's only $7. Everything is ranging from 20-80% off. Hell of a deal.

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. 

What Are You Prepared To Do?

What a burning question that is. You know who's famous for saying that many times in one movie? It was the original James Bond himself Sean Connery who said it to Elliot Ness played by legendary actor Kevin Costner in the epic movie The Untouchables. This is one of my favorite quotes of all-time and it can be applied to anything but in this case its applying to strength.

It's a question we don't often ask ourselves when we want to become strong or fit. I think it's because we never really find what we need to do to become what we dream about and making it a reality. I have thought of this question many times throughout my physical culture career and always wondered what I can do to be better, stronger and more enduring then for a man my size. Sometimes I get scared about what I do, I even sometimes get shocked out of my wits when I surpass a goal or scared s*itless when there's something that is just out of my reach.

The one thing I'm always prepared for is the most important aspect of any strength or fitness program and that's never settle for less then what you want to do. However being scared at times can be a good thing because you're learning what you can do to overcome that fear and take your training by the horns.

Being a wild man also has its benefits as you are learning to channel your energy to what lies ahead but always be prepared to take things for what they are. Going through a hard fought workout is like wrestling your own life and whether you win or you lose, never settle for less then what you had put into it. You are more powerful then I can ever tell you and being prepared for that challenge is never an easy one so here's my question for you, are you willing to hit hard and make something of yourself or are you going to be so scared of your own goals that you'll chicken out? the question remains, what are you prepared to do?

What's stopping you from building the body of your dreams? You already have a dream of being strong and powerful so what are you going to do to make that a reality. What I'am going to tell you is if you want to become something beyond what you dream about you have to learn to sweat, take a chance and put effort into everything you do. Whether you're into bodyweight exercises or lifting weights or working with odd type tools, your mind must bring the power into your body and focus on what matters to you the most. I'm going to ask you again, what are you prepared to do?

Black Widow: Rising Superhero For Women

I don't know the orgins of the Black Widow from the movies and comics or how she came to be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D but I can tell you she is one of the toughest looking chicks on the plent. Her martial arts skills are second to none and has leverage of strength that many men cannot fathom plus she is smoking hot all at the same time. For real I wouldn't want to mess with a chick like that. She's good looking but there's the old expression "looks can be deceiving." In this case a beauty that can beat the living s*it out of you is a kick ass woman in my book.

There are more famous female superheroes then she is but I feel that the success of The Avengers and the already Box Office hit of Iron Man 2, this character will be apart of the new breed of influential superheroes. Probably the most famous female superhero is Wonder Woman. Whether you're a nerd or a fan I don't care it is what it is and there's no debate. However, Wonder Woman is a powerful woman, but at the same time she just can't live up to the "boots to asses" mentality of Black Widow. That may be the nerd in me talking but I know the difference between beauty and ass kicking and BW has it over WW any day of the week. Anyway...Widow has a unique personality as she uses her beauty to get where she wants to go in life but if you mess with her a broken arm would be more of a compliment then a total destruction of getting your ass kicked to the point when you have children they'll be born with a black eye.

I firmly believe if they market the character right, Black Widow will be a Major influence on younger women on how they can be beautiful but still have the ability to defend themselves if need be. Beauty however in this country is way overrated and our generation of beauty is a far cry then what beauty was back in the 50's and 60's. Back then women were more curvy and had a certain "pop" when they moved and people took notice, in my generation and for the last 20-25 years or so that curvy ideal became outdated and became the skinny, twiggy, drink diet coke and be bulimic/anorexic type body and its become a damn shame. For the me an influential woman of modeling and media should be strong, has some natural muscle and have awesome hips and upper body that is more natural and good looking.  Women were meant to be strong both in and out and be the focal point of what a powerful woman should be and not have this dumb f*cking idea that the skinnier you are the more attractive you'll be in a magazine or on camera or better yet real life. Trust me who would you rather be with, a bag of bones or a nice and well made steak with some flavor?

Don't get me wrong I love women and know a few who know the term "ass kicking" with a capital A. I just feel bad for women in the media who are suckered into this notion that if they slim down to outlandish proportions and have this much makeup on and have to eat that much less then the average woman they will get somewhere in life. They do for a while but it will be biting them in the ass down the road. Now Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow) busted her ass to become that character and do a hell of a job creating that body that is suited for some of her stunts and the martial arts she learned for the fight scenes. Is that how she is in real life, hell no but again I wouldn't know im being observant here.

Women are the mot precious beings on earth next to children but can improve their bodies in a natural nature (Redundant I know shut it) and make use of what they can do to make themselves stronger, healthier and more vibrant. I've said it before I believe women are pound for pound stronger then most men. Yes men are stronger because we have more testosterone and can build more muscle and lift heavier objects more then our own bodyweight but women however can do things none of us can do. For one carrying a kid for 9 months, hold groceries for long periods of time, shift things around and believe it or not with proper training can lift more weight ounce for ounce. I've seen a woman swing a kettlebell that weighed 106 lbs. Shes no more then 102. Thats pretty damn impressive. Now you may ask "106 isn't that heavy if you think about it." Ok smart ass you try swinging a weight that just a few pounds more then you are, say you're 200 pounds, I highly doubt you'll last a while swinging a 206lb KB. So I think its safe to say a small woman can be very strong when it comes to certain things.

Having the body of your dreams doesn't happen overnight, it takes time, patience and practice. Keep in MIND what you want. Here is a good place to start and believe in yourself tha you can get strong without weights, steroids or the feeling of getting too buff for your weight or size. You do the best you can to improve yourself and make it a habit to keep improving with a poitive attitude and the will succeed. You don't need to be a crimefighter to be the best damn woman you can be. A real woman is strong, vibrant, powerful in and out and makes the best of things no matter what life throws at them. Most of the women you see on TV these days aren't that healthy and most likely arent practicing what they preach on those infomercials and don't give a damn about other women. So if you some skinny little twat that thinks she so surperior ten anyone else be sure to be the exact opposite and become strong, healthy and happy the right way and help other women do the same thing.

Can You Become Your Own Avenger? Pt. 3!!!!

As children we fantasize about being something more then we already are. Something bigger, something stronger and something more meaningful. We use our imaginations to get through the day and play at the playground or in the front/back of the house. We want to see ourselves bigger then our regular size, we dream of having superpowers to conquer our enemies and save a damsel in distress. As a young boy from the 30's up until now, comic books were our savior of what was happening in our regular lives and wanted to get away from painful stresses at times as well. You read about your favorite superheroes like Superman, Batman, X-Men, Doc Savage and others, dreaming of being them and having great powers to brush through your enemies to save the day. Well look no further cause one comic book team is coming to the big screen big time in The Avengers. Its been a build up for a few years now and the timing couldn't be any better to bring four some of the best superheroes ever together and create a colossal adventure with action, drama, humor and the will to avenge those in need.

"With great power comes great responsibility." A famous superhero tag line for generation after generation and it doesn't make any exception if you develop strength and power in real life. Strength comes from driving over adversity and creating something more then yourself. Power is building a foundation for how you can be creating strength and speed over your obstacles. True Strength & Power together form the ultimate alliance for what goes with the rest of your life. In strength training this is no exception. You wish to become strong the best way possible or you rather do other things like stay in shape, lose weight, build muscle and get rid of unwanted fat. Either way when you learn to understand the true concept of real world-class strength and power, you will learn that the simplest things can make your training that much more complex and formal then using bits and pieces of smaller things that don't really matter.

Becoming an Avenger yourself can be a rewarding experience, whether its for daily life or the pursuit to show others what can be done to help themselves when their time comes. Whether you train to be a superhero or not there's no excuse as to how you can develop your body and mind beyond your own assumptions and limitations. The first rule to being strong is having the will to believe. Believing you can get strong is far more important then just thinking you can lift this or that and do great things and you'll just be strong, no. Belief is the key to all things that you want to achieve, without belief your mind wonders, your body won't do the things you ask it to do and you won't find something to look forward to when you put up a goal you want to reach.

Whether its weights, bodyweight exercise, Chi Training or training with different types of tools, you must believe in yourself that you can get strong at mastering them. Most people look to others to try to believe in them for what they want to do instead of learning to believe in themselves. I've fallen into that trap many times in my life and so have other people I know but once I learned to stop trying to prove to them and believe in myself and believing that I will accomplish something, I became stronger, more powerful, flexible, agile and all with the right tools to get me there but I first needed to believe in myself.

Now there are people out there that are very strong but take it for granted and feel they're more superior then anyone else. They put themselves first before others which in this case makes them look very foolish, stupid and down right ignorant. Now there are weaker people out there who use others that are strong to do what they can't do themselves and put them in the crossfires then themselves (Hence Hitler and look what happened to him). Ignorance is bliss but that shouldn't be an excuse to be something more then yourself. Being strong in reality has real values that almost anyone with a brain can learn from. Real World-Class Strength & Power doesn't always mean you lifted this or do that many reps in a handstand or performed great muscle control, it means that you are a unique individual that can use his strength to help others that are weak and help be better for themselves.

I believe the real superheroes in the world are the ones that help those in need and put themselves on the line then anything else (Firemen, real Uncorrupted cops and pure athletes). I mentioned athletes because there are some out there in pro sports that give back and help the young kids get better then the other pro athletes who like the spotlight and see that they're paid to do charity work. As a master of strength you have a responsibility whether you like it or not. You can help those that have potential to be strong and teach them to be stronger then you.

Now with everything that's meaningful it comes with a price (not always money you greedy bastards lol). Becoming strong in anything requires to go through things that are not in your comfort zone and need to build your strength from your weaknesses. Everybody is different so we all need to find our own to create a goal that we want to achieve. However the benefits of being strong outweigh the things that we're not always comfortable going through. I've been bruised, broken, twisted even was near death as a baby all to come to this moment where I'm still breathing, kicking and pushing through my own demons. We all have demons inside of us, some more powerful then others and there are some of us who control them and not let them affect our lives, others however have let their demons get the best of them and have either died or haven't made a brush with reality.

Being able to tap into your mind and create powerful strength takes effort, practice and the will to want it. Certain types of Chi Training can be less difficult then others but when you learn the best ways to achieve it, you will find yourself having more power surging through your veins all with the power of your mind. Chi Gong is the chinese version of whats called Life Force. Its the power inside you that gives the ability to generate great strength and create ultimate internal power. Some say that's adrenelin but that can only go so far as Chi is the energy that creates power all around you and once you learn to harness it, you are your own weapon of strength, power and might.

Having great tools to build strength does not always mean equipment or machines but tools to help you build your mind and be creative like books and exercises. Some equipment however is not a bad thing if you know how to use for functional strength training. For example, Thor's Hammer is a great tool to have to be creative and to learn to focus your mind on being something more then yourself. Yes it is possible to have this thing in your hands and make you feel like the God himself and believing you can get strong and you can tackle things that run your life. Not to say using it to strike people, no I don't want you doing that, its for tackling and finding that powerful being within you and training to be the strongest person you can be. Since I've had these hammers myself, I feel stronger and more powerful. I'm seeing muscles in a short period of time, my cardio goes up a litte each time and I feel more like Thor and having superhuman powers (grip strength, keen awareness, flexibility and endurance). You can be the same in your own way if you get your hands on them with practice. Use what you can and learn nothing more then the very best so in the words of Bernarr McFadden "Weakeness is a crime, don't be a criminal."

Can You Become A Real Life Avenger? Pt. Two

"Another Avenger article? Are you kidding me? You're such a nerd man." Damn right I'am and proud of it. If you don't like the Avengers, good for you keep moving and let those who do read about them. Yes its a few months away for the premiere but I don't give a shit, I'm a fan, I'm into them (so are millions of people) and all I can say is....Avengers Assemble.

Lets get down to brass tacks here, none of us however we try can't have super powers like our favorite superheroes. However, inside all of us we have powers that scientists can't fathom. We literally have the power to generate super strength and speed that can just be so incredible to have we never really learn its full potential. The mind/muscle connection is one of your greatest weapons in your arsenal of training, daily life and whatever you want to accomplish in your life. Master this and you will create superhuman levels of strength that you never thought possible.

For a moment I want you to not think about your typical Barbells, Dumbbells, Kettlebells and Machine type training routines or programs. They're good in their own right but there's far more then your typical type equipment. Its about time you looked outside the box and look for whats been in front of your faces all along. You can lift nature's weights and get strong....Sorry I meant to you can get Hulk Strong lifting logs, rocks and you can even take on some man-made stuff that will build real world-class strength and power through kegs, barrels and tires. Cavemen didn't have hand-held peices of iron to get them alive and strong on survival. They moved logs, carried wild beasts, pushed builders of rock and stone. These men were the incredible hulk of Evolution and we should embrace what they did to build our own ways of functional strength and power.

When we think of the Hammer what pops in our minds? Construction, building, fighting through, domination? I think the word of one powerful tool that in one way or another can give you strength and conditioning unlike anything else. Here are some Hammers for you to look at and find which one suits you. Thor's hammer would be my recommendation. Think about it. What if you had the ability to train and move like the God himself and build powerful wrists and grip strength that would envy those around you. Wouldn't it be cool to swing and move that Hammer around have awesome physical strength that even Thor himself would be proud of. I'd say that be pretty damn sweet.

I love these superheroes because each one has a somewhat cocky but unbelievable personality that you can't help but love. Tony Stark (Iron Man) is another version of Bruce Wayne/Batman as in he uses his fortune to create the best weapons for him to take down the fiercest of enemies and underneath the metal suit he's a playboy, billionaire, philanthropist and good hearted guy that wants to make a difference.

Thor is the god of all the Avengers and has been one war hungry son of a bitch but needed to learn the hard way that just creating a war and celebrating with your friends while trying to prove yourself as a warrior isn't the real way of being a true hero. Like Hercules you must use your strength and power for whats really meaningful and build whats more important.

Bruce Banner (Incredible Hulk) has a fiery rage within inside of him that if provoked turns him into a over-powering, jaw dropping muscular Hulk. His anger fuels his strength and destroys anything in his path and doesn't always know whether its right or wrong. Controlling that anger and using it to Avenge those that are in need is more important then getting pissed off and going on a rampage.

Steve Rogers (Captain America) is a compassionate, selfless and enduring figure of inner strength and will power that not one of the other Avengers can fathom. He's a man integrity, character and stands up to bullies when others are knocked down and don't want to fight anymore. There's nothing really cocky about him but I'm sure someone who has read the comics or saw the film can find a way. He values the strength he has been given when some others take it for granted and use it in ways that just aren't right and don't have any real necessary meaning. When you value your strength, you understand its true meaning and use it to help others who are weaker and show where it comes from, not just your muscles but from your mind.

As a team The Avengers are the best of the best. Its arguable since there's the X-Men and the Justice League but I feel they're the very best because they bring something that's unique and gives you another prospective of what you can have when you have four guys that can take names and put boot to asses time and time again. The point I'm making here is when you create the best of the best in your arsenal you are unstoppable and there's nothing that can stand in your way.

When you train, train with fire, be mindful about what you do, don't let anyone tell you you can't achieve something great when I and others believe in you and will help you take it to the next level and beyond. Don't ever stop believing in yourself. Its tough to get through things in life but when you are challenged, take it and make it your bitch.

Bring the power inside you out and believe that whatever you face you will give it everything you have, even if you fail, there's still challenges to tackle and you will one way or another be sucessful. Be the Avenger you were meant to be.