Rest Periods: How Long Do You Need Before The Next Set?

In my time of learning different forms of exercise, Playouts, programs & styles I have found that when it comes to rest periods, there's something bigger than you haven't completely seen yet. Most trainers would tell you that shorter rest periods are the key to developing muscles. In reality, its not good to generalize how often to rest between sets and not take into consideration what effects it has on the Central Nervous System.

You've heard of the tabata style HIT that is one of the biggest rages in fitness today or resting for no more than 30 seconds between sets. I'm going to tell you a hard to hear truth that will piss off a lot of people and hard to convince public on actual rest between sets or exercises......

Your body can only push so hard during an exercise and if you're told to go hard and then rest for an equal or shorter amount of time, that can create greater harm on your body than you can realize. That no pain, no gain line is bullshit plain and simple. If you're in pain during your training, you are doing something very wrong or you are forced to keep going even though your body can tear a joint or even worse break a bone in the process. If you're highly conditioned and your body can handle the stress, sure shorter rest periods can be ok but you at some point need to let the body recuperate. This isn't the military or training for competition and that's where many trainers are so damn stupid that they have convinced people to use this mentality.

Let me ask you something...Have you ever thrown up in a workout, passed out, bled, felt dizzy or felt that your energy is flat out gone somewhere between when you started and ended a session? I have done at least 4 of these things in my lifetime and its not worth your life to be in those situations. Its really about how an individual can truly recover and be efficient in their next set of exercise because here's a fact, if you're sloppy at any time during your session and you keep going, your body will give you a hard lesson in what its like to feel pain in places you didn't think pain existed in. If you rest too early, your energy can be depleted and you can lose the ability to recover at an optimal rate, however if you're too late to recover you're not giving the body the fuel it needs to feel the muscles. There has to be a balance there.

Here's an example of what i'm talking about; Hill Sprints: A powerful exercise where you run up a hill as hard as you can and then walk down the hill and repeat until you have done the allotted amount of sprints. The recovery process aught to be enough to where your breath is at a solid level and breathe deeply and calmly; if you haven't recovered enough, your run will deplete your energy levels and your speed will become way too slow and nowhere near the level you want it to be. Your recovery is what brings in highly oxygenated blood to your cellular tissue and builds up your hormone levels. Think of it this way, when you swim and come up for air, if you're not breathing effectively coming up and back into the water, you will be depleted and you can drown; same thing with exercise, if you can't recover you won't be efficient and you can get hurt or worse end up in the hospital with heart problems, kidney failure, floppy limbs and your chest will feel like a crowbar is hitting it every time you take a breath.

Rest is needed to get the most out of your session, the more conditioned you are, the greater your capacity is and resting at times mean just taking a few breaths and you're good to go, its all in determining what your level of fitness is at. When I do sprints, I use to do the 30/90 protocol which is better than the 30/30 or less concept in my opinion. There were times where I needed about 5 minutes or more to get into another set and be effective, others it could mean just a few breaths but I never truly bought into what someone else said because I'm very intuitive and have an understanding of my body and what I need to do to be great in the exercises I perform. Somebody can give you ideas and give you tips but in the end, it should come down to how much YOU need to be at your best. When it shoved down your throat, you can rest (no pun intended) assured that they're not looking out for your best interest. Most trainers today don't really know what the hell they're talking about and when you teach something you read out of a textbook more than teaching them to be intuitive they're not a real trainer. Through trial & error, mistakes & learning from others in the last 2 decades of being around fitness I can tell you first hand is that the more intuitive you are, the better.

A trainer ought to help students learn to rely on themselves and pass on knowledge that will give them a greater outlook that teaches about how to avoid injuries, utilize the ins and outs of being at your best from start to finish and teaching the value of recovery. I have exercised everyday for nearly 12 years, fought a few minor injuries and pushed myself in ways many can never understand but because of those experiences I have learned how to use my rest periods and be at my best whether it was for 5 minutes or more than an hour. Your rest is the key to how you perform at an optimum level. However long you rest is up to YOU not someone else.

Herb Of The Day: He Shou Wu

He Shou Wu is taken in order to slow down ageing, nourish Jing, strengthen knees, lower back, bones, muscles, tendons and fortify the blood.

Listen To Your Instincts

            For the most part in the fitness world, nobody really listens to their instincts because they buy into the latest fad or fitness gimmick on putting on 10 pounds of muscle in less than 10 days or going to an aerobics class and thinking it’s the Mecca of fitness. To really understand fitness and strength training is to learn how to trust yourself not just in the gym but be able to figure out how to do a workout anytime and anywhere. Learn to listen to that little voice.

            I have learned from a great deal of many people and have been to the gym, trained at home, at parks, oceans, lakes, even the grocery store but I never once felt like doing every single thing they teach. To trust your instincts is to listen to what matters. You can buy all the crap you want and get in awesome workouts but it all boils down to you and what works best for you. Learning from other people is great and that’s the way it should be but also it’s important to find what works best for you and it’s different for everyone.

            While I was cooped up on a hospital bed for nearly three months, I did do a little therapy but it became boring to me and not because I wanted to move along faster but my instincts were telling me that there are better ways to do this. After my third surgery and was cleared to do rehab, I shook off therapists, doctors and even my own family and friends that told me to work on rehabbing. I just had the desire to do it on my own and it took me a while but before I knew it, my legs were getting stronger, my body was shaping up and I got far better at my recovery than if I had listened to some quack with a piece of paper attached to his name. Did I get crap for it, of course I did but that didn’t matter to me and I learned to trust myself.

            Nobody has power over you but if you allow them that power, you’ll never find what works best for you and learning to find that desire to what gives you strength, health and power over everyone else. You have the power to create your own style, your own version of training and it doesn’t matter if you go to a gym or not. Learn from other people but find your own way, trust in yourself. 

You Are Your Best Trainer

            Over the last 8 years or so since I've succumbed to the Physical Culture bug, one thing has stretched in my mind more than anything else in my search for great training and that’s being your own best personal trainer. What does that mean being your own trainer? Simple really, it’s not allowing those who tell you to do something and go with creating your own way of training, being self-reliant. It’s not very easy to do because there is so much info out there that you don’t know what works and what doesn't.

          We have a plethora of programs to choose from, like bodybuilding, strongman, 8 days a week, the super programs of crossfit, the next gadget in the infomercials, how to build bigger arms, getting 12 pack abs, grip strength you catch my drift. The secret is finding what works for you. Experiment, do different programs at the same time, piss off the establishment who don’t know a lift even if they had a gun to their head (exaggeration I know but it’s a good metaphor though). Those who try to tell you what’s superior, what’s the coolest trend, how to build a program that has nothing to do with your progression; they’re the ones who keep you from making something of yourself on your own. Trust your instincts, be bold and question things.

            Nobody really just trains and has fun anymore, to quote the joker “why so serious?” We pay to go to the gym and do all these crazy programs and eventually after a few weeks we just give up and quit. It’s not how hard you push yourself, its how much fun to do something you love to do. If you don’t love training but just keep running through the motions, sure it’s better than nothing but you won’t find the results you want. Train and have fun with it, focus on what you want, use your imagination and create something for yourself. Yes I believe if you have a goal you should be focused on it, be determined and willing to go beyond it and strive to excel at your challenges but don’t become a mean asshole to get there, play a little and make it an adventure.

            There’s always someone that follows specific programs and for some it’s the end-all-be-all for others it’s temporary and the rest think outside the box. Mix things up, draw outside the lines. Here’s an example, I’ve learned from many different guys and even some women and yet I don’t worship their craft and take all of them as a god/goddess of the fitness world. I respect what they do but I don’t agree on everything they do, if you agree with everything then you might as well not have a brain of your own. I love some of these people, some as if they’re my family but I also love being creative. I take chunks out of their craft and mold it into my own thing, kind of like Michelangelo carving out David; I take chunks of concrete to create a masterpiece.

            Love what you do, be creative, feel what you want to do. Think outside the box, be weird, be a dork whatever you are who you are and should train according to who you are as a person. Be safe but don’t be lazy, progress at your own pace and train smart. If you happen to get hurt, then you need to change things around and don’t ever stop learning. Think and Grow because eventually, you’ll find something someone doesn’t like or does but only you will love it the way it is and no one can take it away from you. That’s the heart of being your own trainer. 

Building Power And Might The Old Fashioned Way

Ladies and Gentleman, this guest post is one I've been waiting years to finally put up and today's guest is the man that got me my start in the Physical Culture world, a man who's faught his way back from a back injury to bcoming one of the strongest pound for pound athletes in the world today. You know him as the Garage Warrior but also in our circle of friends he's known as the Duke. I give you Mr. Tyler Bramlett.....

The Top 11 Things You Are Doing That Will Prevent You From Being Super Human

 

By Tyler Bramlett

 It’ is well known in strength circles that the abilities of men in the past far exceed the abilities of even our strongest men today. Why is it that with greater technology, better understanding of the human body and a firm understanding of biochemistry we are becoming weaker and weaker?

 In this article I want to identify the top 11 things you are possibly doing every day that are preventing you from getting stronger, living longer and looking good naked.

Let’s get started.

 

# 1 – Not Lifting Enough Weight

 You may think your lifting heavy, but compare yourself to the weightlifting legends of the past. Guys like John Grimek, Henry Stineborn, Arthur Saxon, Eugene Sandow and Herman Goerner. Can you curl 200lbs, how about strict press 300lbs or more? In the days before squat racks Henry “Milo” Steinborn could pick a 550lb barbell off the ground lean it onto his shoulders, perform a set of squats and then return it to the ground. Can you do even 50% of this?

 If not you may need to focus on lifting heavy more often. Try to get as close to these following numbers as possible and you will be considered a strong man. 600lb deadlift, 500lb squat, 400lb bench press, 300lb clean and press, 200lb curl, 200lb bent press, 150lb one arm snatch. Go test your maxes in these 7 lifts right now and see how far you are from world class!

 

# 2 – Not Doing Enough Volume Training With Heavy Weights

 Lifting heavy is crucial, but in order to get good lifting heavy you must also practice with heavy weights. I was having a discussion with my good friend Logan Christopher recently and we both agreed that the biggest hole in both of our games was training hard moves for high volume.

 Now, this doesn’t mean repping out to failure but rather taking a challenging movement like pressing to handstand or clean and jerking 85% of your max weight and repeating it over and over again until it becomes easy. Take any move you really want to be good at and choose a challenging weight or progression and practice it over and over until you master it and it feels easy!

 

# 3 – Not Doing Enough Bodyweight Strength Training

Almost every great strongman of the past did some form of bodyweight training. The great wrestlers of India used bodyweight training to build their great strength and endurance and many of the old time strongmen used bodyweight training to bulletproof their joints and make them stronger and livelonger. So, what should you focus on?

 Here’s my top 5 bodyweight movements, handstand progressions, bridging progressions, hip and leg strength drills, pullup progressions and abdominal progressions. What are these progressions? Check out #4…

 

# 4 – Not Using Proper Movement Progressions

 The basic principal behind movement progression is that you should always be making the movements you are working on harder and harder. A simple way to think about this is in gymnastics. You don’t go for the iron cross on the first day, instead you follow a intelligently designed movement progression mastering each exercise along the way until you are the proud owner of the iron cross. For more info on this check out a new product I created called the warrior warm up a 5 step guide to mastering movement.

 

# 5 – Not Staying Flexible Enough

 Flexibility is highly underrated in the strength world of today. Very few strong men I meet have a good degree of flexibility. In fact the only 2 that come to mind are Pavel Tsatsouline and Bud Jeffries. If you can deadlift over 500lbs and do the side splits, ignore this section, otherwise listen up!

 In order for you to stay lifting in your older years, you need to build flexibility. Being flexible will reduce your chances of injuries and keep you moving for longer and longevity is the name of the game. Stretch daily and make sure you work on the following 5 stretches; Pike Stretch, Gymnast Bridge, Front Splits, Side Splits and Downward Dog.

 

# 6 – Not Doing Enough Variety (Or Doing Too Much Variety)

 Old timers all had their pet lifts, but that didn’t stop them from practicing other moves in hopes to build their balance strength and coordination. This one is quite simple. Master a handful of moves, write down 5 different things you need to accomplish before you die and work on those 5 huge goals as often as possible. From there have fun, cross train and enjoy trying different movements. This way you can have your focus but still practice variety.

 

# 7 – Always Working To Your Max

 Working to your max or working to failure sends your body a very distinct message. It says you are always close to failure or even worse in a bodybuilders case you are failing to lift this weight. The easiest way to get discouraged and lose momentum is to fail when you are exercising. So follow this simple rule…

 Never fail on an exercise, always leave when you have succeeded. I know from personal experience how many different times I thought I could add juts 5 more lbs to the bar and then failed. Take your PR’s and walk, that’s the bottom line!

 

# 8 – Not Using The Best Movements

 Obviously some exercises are better then others, if this wasn’t the caste then every dumbbell benching meathead would be all around strong rather then looking like he has toothpicks for legs. Pick exercises that work the whole body and work them hard. From there train your weak links (usually the hands and core) and you are good to go.

 Here are some of the best exercises you can choose to master; snatches, clean and presses or jerks, deadlifts, squats, bench pressing, dips, handstand pushups, pullups, bridging gymnastics, bent presses, etc. Look to the exercises that used to be done in the 1800’s to find a comprehensive list of awesome drills you should use

 

# 9 – Eating Low Quality Foods

 Fueling your body poorly will hinder you from making any real progress. The old timers ate piles of high quality natural food and did nothing else. So fuel your body with high quality organic foods and focus on eating the foods with the most bang for the buck.

 Here are my favorite muscle building foods: Organ meats (liver, kidneys etc.), bone broths, all meat, fish and eggs, all veggies, some fruits, nuts and seeds, high quality grass fed dairy and superfoods like pine pollen, goji berries and more.

 

# 10 – Not Focusing On Recovery

 To sustain hard training you also have to be an expert at recovery. Many of the strongmen of the past did this for a living. Meaning they woke up, lifted weights, practiced bodyweight movements, worked their grip, ate good food and then rested, stretched, got massages, took cold baths and slept as much as they could.

 If you want to be strong healthy and recover well from your workouts, make sure you stretch, get periodic massages, sleep well and focus on how well you are recovering. Someone once told me that there is no such thing as overtraining, just under recovering, I believe this!

 

# 11 - Ignoring Your Internal Energy

 The shaolin monks probably are one of the best examples of mastering their internal energy or life force. Their focused meditation allows them to perform superhuman feats of strength and endurance. You need this too!

 In order to build your vital life force and increase your ability to perform the impossible I highly recommend a minimum of 10 minutes a day collecting energy. This doesn’t have to be in the form of a seated meditation. You can instead go for a walk (preferably barefoot), and breathe deep, imagining your are inhaling white light and then exhaling all the bad stuff.

 Guys like Bud Jeffries and Logan Christopher are mixing meditative practices and energy work within their training to enhance their strength and power. Try adding in 10 deep breathes before each heavy lift and see what it does for your overall training.

 Well, there you have it, the 11 things I see that could be holes in your game. But I don’t want to leave you empty handed and feeling depressed because you don’t measure up to the men of the past. So here is what I want you to do so you can get the best results from this information.

 

1.      Identify which of the 11 things you are weakest in

2.      Write a plan to change that weak link and apply it for 21 days

3.      Revisit this list and identify the next weakest link

4.      Write a plan to change that weak link and apply it for 21 days

5.      REPEAT!

That’s all there is too it, Good luck!

 

Tyler Bramlett is the creator of www.garagewarrior.com a Blog dedicated to helping people get stronger, live longer, look good naked, find your purpose and live the life of your dreams. He is a highly knowledgeable expert in performance based training, nutrition, psychological motivation and he is the author of The Warrior Warm Up which can be found at www.thewarriorwarmup.com

Do This, Do That…You Know What Screw It

I really get pissed sometimes when I hear people tell others what they should or shouldn’t do because they feel they’re right and you’re wrong. Certain personal trainers just don’t really care about what the person they’re teaching is really fitness. I’ve even heard some trainers who have had previous injuries tell some poor shmuck how to do an exercise that got the trainer injured in the first place. What’s the deal with that?

 The real opportunities come with a feeling of learning to do something for you. Becoming your own trainer is like learning to be your own boss, you control certain things and you use the best resources to get your job done, unlike trying to be someone else and busting your ass so much, you forget what’s really important and that’s you. Idolizing a certain method or trainer isn’t a bad thing but remember to find out what works for you and find something that suits you.

 There are experts, and then there are “experts.” The difference between the two is that experts show the real side to having fun exercise and teach you to find who you are mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The “Experts”, steal your money and if they’re in shape, they make you feel worse and brainwash you into thinking their method is the end all be all, plus some guys aren’t even in that decent of shape and yet still have an ego the size of Candlestick Park.

 Learning for yourself and your goals are more important than trying to follow someone’s exact program. You can learn exercises but you need to find how they are suited for you. I hate routines with a passion, I get bored easily and I need something to keep me interested so I would do certain exercises I’m in the mood to do and go with it. If you like a routine that’s great but build ones that suit your goals best.

 If you want real results, doesn’t matter if its in a gym, your house or the park for that matter, use basic elements and have fun with what you have and don’t let anyone give you crap about it. Learning to use what you’ve learned to help reach your goals gives you more power than any trainer who gives crap about this or that, many guys are one dimensional and they don’t think outside the box, the day you can think outside the box, you’ll be on your way to becoming a master of your own endeavor. Take a step back and learn from as many people as you can and find the best resources that suit for you and yourself only.

 Being a first rate individual as oppose to a second rate know it all, remember the expert vs. “expert”, is not very common and when you learn to be different, you’re finding what’s more important. Bruce Lee’s philosophy was that to be the best you can be, you must find yourself and learn how to use your whole being as if it was different from everyone else. Self Mastery is a rewarding goal and being different out of the norm and telling those that this is right or that is wrong to screw off because you are better than that. We have the same muscles, same two eyes, two legs and arms so what’s so different of having two sides of the same coin. You’re getting greater benefit becoming your own trainer than to completely follow someone else. Find who you are and dare to be different.

My Secrets To Daily Training

If you want to build the greatest foundation for creating great programs for you and your goals you must absorb as much information as possible. They say knowledge is power, well the more you learn and the more you experiment, you will start becoming your own trainer.

When you train, get a feel of how the exercises are in the beginning and work your way up at a pace that's comfortable for you. Listen to how your body responds to soft training and tough & brutal type training. Work on things that give you a sense of power and a sense of well-being. Learn to use your instincts when your body gets tired and how your body responds to certain exercises. There are some exercises you shouldn't do which is fine but you need to find out which ones work and which don't.

There's a big difference between training for an hour at one time as if you trained a full hour throughout the day. Your concentration is different and your structure is different. Your speed and pace is different. This is where you need to learn on how to pace yourself in a workout. Spreading an hour throughout the day is a good ideal because you get to focus on the things you want to work on. For this benefit it helps you with your schedule as you may not have a lot of time to train but doing things here and there set the pace for how the rest your day goes.

Many people can't find that amount of time dedicated to a workout. Now working out for an hour straight or resting in between sets within the hour can be a good thing as well but your mind structure is different cause you are training for a long time and concentration is key in this case. Training at a good clip for an hour straight is also different especially on specific exercises that can be ballistic and tough plus in my experience doing tough workouts for an hour just makes you feel not that good and your body doesn't have the capacity to train hard for that long.

I feel the best benefit of training for an hour straight shouldn't be hard training at all. It should be soft, concentrated and meditative. Work your joints, tendons and ligaments while taking the time to do deep breathing because working on these elements can create huge jumps in your training later on as you can do more speed and concentration on shorter workouts and work your body the way you feel needs to.

Me personally I rarely ever train for a whole hour at one time or throughout the day as I get bored very easily. I have some ADD type moments in my workouts because ten minutes to me is too long and I need to regroup and think about what I want to do. This is where shorter workouts are more simpler then doing the same routine of 30 minutes of this and an hour of that. I have a bit more time to kill then most people ad even I can't do that much work, its boring, not fun and makes me want to punch someone in the face for whoever came up with that idea.

Pacing yourself in a training session is critical because you don't want to go so fast you lose your form and you don't want to go so slow that you get bored and just hate what you're doing. Work on finding your own pace and speed according to how your body responds an your mind is in the right place while maintaining the best form possible. Its not bad to go fast in a workout, hell that's a favorite for me because I want a great workout in the shortest amount of time as possible. Its not bad to go slow either so you can focus on certain exercises like holds and working your flexibility safely and productively.

One of the real keys to being your trainer is to change up your exercises and tempos on a frequent basis and make your body need to adapt. This is sometimes called muscle confusion but in my line of training its making progress on developing fresh and exciting workouts. I have to change up all the time but I'll use the same exercises while mixing them up and working at different paces. Some exercises I move fast on, with others its more focused and more on movement. I also hold certain positions for a certain amount of time. This works the muscles and tendons in a different setting and is sometimes more relaxing then just moving and moving.

There's no one way to train and everybody trains differently no matter how much you teach them. A lot of trainers make the mistake of trying to show a student an exercise exactly the way they think it should be taught and the student just doesn't always get it right and its not their fault. A person should work an exercise according to his/her body structure whether they're small, average, thin, muscular, overweight or tall & short. I learned this the hard way from a teacher I once had who taught us how to do side steps and plyometrics. I'm 5'10 and well over 240 lbs. and have some arthritis in my leg due to my accident years back and although its strong and flexibility in some areas, in others it isn't and she tried teaching it exactly the way it worked for her which cannot and logically cannot work the same for someone my size or smaller. I ended up hurting myself and eventually quit after nearly a month. So even with all my training experiences from doing hardcore training methods and doing stamina training that makes most people want to puke it be hard to believe that I needed to quit after going through that.

Learn the exercises you want to learn, master them and work with them as often as possible and supplement other exercises to work weak areas and to help you recover. Doing this type of progress and finding what works best for you puts you ahead of the pack and you learn the ultimate key of training of becoming your own trainer and that's Self-Reliance. Don't ever copy someone else's program but your own because you won't be achieving first rate training, you'll be a second rate wanna-be and this is something that should never happen to you. Don't go looking for a trainer and be second rate student, look to yourself and learn what you want to learn for yourself and become a first rate teacher of your own ideals and programs.

Finding Your Perfect Routine

We all look for finding the perfect routine. We want to perform a good number of reps and sets for certain exercises and want to try out routines from books, courses, videos and the muscle magazines. Some routines work and some don't. Some can hurt you, some are too easy and some are just too difficult. What if we strive for creating our own perfect routine?

In order to create a routine first you need to work on basic exercises and work them until they become a second language to you. Learn what you can and put in the work. It takes time and patience and you got to put a bit of effort into it. Once you have taken the basics to another level, this is where you must learn mastery. Take certain exercises that are at a minimum for pushing, pulling, core, legs and grip. Take at least 1-2 exercises from each category and build a mastery around them.

The perfect routine doesn't come from a book, a video, a course or a magazine. They come from within and teach you how to rely on yourself and not from anything else. Yeah you can learn exercises but you must create a routine that suits your needs and goals for your body structure and body-to-weight ratio. Being able to have your routine builds self-reliance, creativity, mental strength and the ability to adapt.

The most important element of having your own perfect routine is to have fun and be able to make changes if need be. Having fun helps relieve the stress of getting confused how hard you should work and what position to keep at all times. Fun helps build joy into your workouts and makes you feel you're not working out but almost feel like you're just just playing a game. Building this mindset can get you results faster and build better foundations for your goals. One thing is for sure you should be able to train to the point where sweat is looking like a waterfall. For this reason be able to drink plenty of water in your training.

I can't give you any specific routines to look at but I can however give you courses to look at and get in order for you to build your own routines and create yourself the ultimate body and having the time of your life. On the right hand side of the blog I highly recommend you check out Lifeline USA, Scientific Wrestling, Stronger Grip, Animal Kingdom Conditioning, Strongman Websites and CoreForce Energy.

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You Are The Experiment

One of the things about being new or getting back to or just doing fitness in general is that you can always learn new types of training that you've never done before. Experimenting in physical training is like any other kind of experiment, finding what works, what doesn't and how its suited to an individual. Most people however don't seem to understand this concept and that's sad because of all the fitness magazines and modern day technology trainers are telling you to do this for your body or a routine that's predetermined for your body which is flat out ridiculous.

One of the keys to Self-Mastery is to become your own trainer. Now why be your own trainer when someone can just have something set up for you? Well you could do that but that would just make you a second-rate person. Yes someone can show you the basics of exercises but how you do them is up to you. When I was doing weight lifting and seeing how all these "bodybuilders" were like and what they did, I tried the programs and I ended up either getting hurt or burnt out after only a week and I didn't do them everyday. After my accident, I started learning a different form of training and learned the exercises and did a few routines here and there but the routines didn't seem to help me because I felt something wasn't right. I changed gears and began experimenting my own routines that I came up with and whether a routine lasted an hour or 5 min. it felt good to realize that I'm my own trainer.

A major component to being your own trainer is to not only work the muscles, tendons, ligaments or organs for that matter but work on your mental strength creating and infusing the mind/muscle connection. Bruce Lee believe it or not was one of the most famous men for not only his muscles and strength for his size but was also one of the most intelligent men of his time. He became not just a great martial artist but also a powerful philosopher and keen sense of mind power. Another example would be the Samurai Warriors of ancient Japan. Not only did they need to be strong and powerful to just carry armor, swing a sword or fight but had to learn how to paint, write, meditate and have awareness that was second to none which is still legendary to this day.

There are many examples of learning to experiment but one thing is for sure and that's teaching yourself how to use your own physiology and how to use your body-to-weight ratio for the type of training you want to do. Face facts there is no way in hell a person of totally different sizes can do the same exact program and for good reason. Whoever is bigger or smaller cannot always do what another can. The structures are different and the way they move their body is different.

I'm a big dude at 240+ lbs. and can do some pretty cool stuff but there are just some things I can never do that a guy smaller then me can do its just not logical. Now on the other hand I carry more weight so whoever smaller then me by quite a bit tries to use something that gets him up to my size it'll be much harder for him to train because he is putting too much stress on his body then he should have and therefor can get injured, pull something or possibly cripple himself. Again not logical now is it?

Building a foundation is another key to becoming your trainer. Where do you start and what do you plan to do to achieve a goal? Find what works for you. Learning the basics in training is like learning math or English, hell even history you have to start somewhere and progress through various levels. Once you have experimented enough to know what works and what doesn't you have all the tools you need to become a great trainer within yourself. You don't need others to tell you what to do or what you should do for this or that.

Becoming a master takes practice, time, patience and a will to succeed. The Old-Timers knew this long before there were machines, gadgets and whatnot. Becoming your own trainer teaches you how to be an individual and self-reliant on the things that you want to do for yourself. It took me years to be my own trainer and now I get to teach you how you can do the same and can probably do it in less time then I did. Be the person you want to be and look into yourself and find the true power within you.