Comfort Zones And Expanding On Them

 Some people are so adamant against others or themselves being in the comfort zone when it comes to training. It has to be so hard that it makes you tough and resilient. Plus, the more difficult it is, the better off you'll be. Who the fuck really came up with that? 

Training is about discovery, the ability to find what works and expand on it. Sure some things are tough, but they become a bit easier with even the smallest of progressions. To me, once I get good at something, I want to make it better, not so difficult that I can't really do much. People throw comfort around like you're either lazy as hell or you're not willing to toughen it out. The truth is, when you become comfortable in this scenario, it doesn't mean you stay in that area. It's about expanding it and getting better. 

When I first got back into DDP Yoga, I couldn't even remotely get into positions that I can do now. I had to modify them (in some exercises still do) to where I can be comfortable to keep myself going. As I increased my flexibility, I expanded where my comfort level was in the positions I was doing. The workouts were still tough and are hard to do on some days but my comfort level to what my body can do increases as I progress little by little. 

Life can be a royal pain in the ass as is, it's not always going to sunshine and rainbows, everybody in most cases understands that but that doesn't mean that you try to be so tough that it makes you bitter and or give the right to put people down and call them names because they're not as tough or hard as you. Not saying you have to be a goodie two-shoes but it is important to have an attitude to what makes your life meaningful and what is comfortable while facing certain challenges.

When I workout, I can seem like some crazy nutjob doing all these things and making some things look easy but it's because I'm comfortable at being able to do those things and listening to my body. Do I go further into a routine at times, hell yes but it's because my body and my energy allow me to do that and I'm comfortable with it, it doesn't make me lazy or that I'm not allowing myself to go to my limits. 

You learn certain aspects of your capabilities when you progress. Once you get comfortable at a certain point, make an add on and get comfortable with that and keep using that momentum. Some things are tough to do like carrying a heavy rock or walking with a sandbag or sandbell held to your chest. It may seem uncomfortable because for one it isn't easy depending on the weight you use and the distance you do but you become comfortable with what you're able to do, next time go a little further and become comfortable with that distance and so on and so forth. Comfort is making things look easy when they're not, they're still tough but to you it's another day at the office. 

Have fun with what you do. Expand on your capabilities and progress little by little. Train with intent but don't be so gung ho that you're going to end up injured. I've been there and it isn't fun. Enhance your ability to be comfortable in what you do and expand it. It could make your quality of life that much more interesting. 

Thinking With Power

           What if you can create a world internally and have it become your greatest ally in the quest for health, strength & fitness? How would you create it, what would sound like and feel as it vibrates your body from within? The power we have in our minds is far greater and mysterious than we care to understand. We have scientists who have studied the brain and still have many grounds to cover that haven’t peaked yet and we also have masters in various Internal Arts that have such great power even though they’re small in reality. The world you can create has limitless possibilities if you believe in it.

            The power you have can go far beyond the outside. When you train whether it’s for sports, competition, to be healthier, gain strength, lose weight whatever the case may be it is important to know you can do many things and you have the power to do them. I like to do sprints because they raise my testosterone like crazy, when I go out and sprint I don’t just look t the distance and how long or fast I need to get there but I imagine in my mind I could be a superhero or a wild animal with lightning speed. When I think like this, my body changes, my muscles start to fire on their own and when I take off I’m zooming down the path. If you like to lift weights, don’t just lift and go with it, think differently, change your breathing and feel as if you are able to tackle the weight with effortless power.

            To unleash your strength, it’s not always physical. Unlocking that super strength within you takes great focus and how you think. When you change the thought, your body reacts to it, don’t think like “ok I’m going to try to lift this and see if it’s possible.” Change the thought, think how would a god like say Zeus would pick up a weight, would he say he’ll try to lift it and see if he can, hell no, he’s Zeus and he’s a mighty god of superhuman quality and he knows he can lift it just by how he breathes, how he grips it and what’s already within the power of his mind, he believes so greatly it’s undeniable. Now I’m not saying to think like this and Bench Press 1000 pounds or something like that but this is a prime example of how you can think differently and excel past your plateaus and go as far as tripling your strength and speed or more.

            It takes practice to learn this kind of thinking and feel it with intensity and focus. Like with anything else, you progress and train your mind and body as if it they were one and the same. Little by little you’re edging your way up and building strength you never thought was possible. Nobody has a giant amount of strength in the beginning, we all started out weak in some shape or form and in order to get stronger, we progress even by a tiny fraction that can lead to a massive amount later on. Believe you can get better whether by a speck or more and you’ll start to realize where that true strength lies, it’s not how big your muscles are or how much you can lift off the ground or rack, it lies deep within your soul and the way you empower the internal entity that is your mind.

Be awesome guys and have a wonderful Spring Weekend.  

Conserving Your Breathing

            The breath is the most important factor in the human body. We can for days without water, weeks without food but yet we can only live a few minutes holding our breath. The way we breathe in the fitness world is a bit strange at times. You can breathe in and out your nose or mouth; breathe in through the nose, out the mouth or in the nose and out the nose. There are many ways to breathe but during exercise apparently we have to breathe in and out one time with one rep. That’s how we’re normally taught, even in bodyweight type exercises like the squat and push-up, inhale up, exhale down or vise versa.

            What if we switched gears a bit so you can get a few extra reps without breathing in and out every single time? Learn to breathe differently, conserve your energy and your breathing. If you’re breathing too much, too early, you may get wined. It’s like a wrestling match, you need to keep your body strong and supple and part of that is your breathing, if you get winded too quickly (or as they say in pro wrestling you Blow Up), you won’t be as efficient and you won’t be able to handle the stress and possibly end up losing. What does the breath feel like, sound like and where does the driving force of it come from. Do an exercise like push-ups, inhale for 2 reps and exhale for 2 reps, you just did 4 reps in one breath. Now do it a little consistently. It’s not easy and it takes getting use to but you can get more out of your reps with the control of your breathing power.

            Doing the same old thing can lead to boredom and as the definition of insanity is; doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Here at Power & Might, I look to help you find and give information that can help you from another perspective. Thinking differently, helping you get more out of what most people teach. Deep Breathing is one of the most powerful aspects of Physical Culture because it doesn’t just help you become physically strong but mentally strong as well.

            Fluidity is another important aspect of your training. Like Bruce Lee has stated being like water, it’s fluid, powerful and can give life as well as destroy it. Moving with grace and power is far more important than grunting, making little mad faces and being narrow dimensional. Expand your power; one course that is the center of this is CoreForce Energy, teaching how to expand your power, your breathing and your imagination to instantly get stronger and faster. Open up to building a stronger body from within and take your strength to levels that you thought were impossible.

Be awesome my friends.  

Expanding Knowledge & Experimentation

            The ability to learn different things that keep your mind and body flowing is a gift in itself. Learning what you want to do makes things all that much simpler even when it gets difficult sometimes. Why is it important to learn what you want to learn? Because the more you experiment and practice, the better knowledge you'll receive and having it become a second language. Billy Robinson of Catch Wrestling legends said it best “Learn how to learn.”

            What is it you want to do? Want to learn to lift weights, practice hand balancing, move like a wild animal, become a old-time strongman or yet you want to learn them all who knows but whatever you decide to do, make not only the best of it but make it your own, you can learn the basics but it’ up to you to find what you're best at and making the habit to become self-reliant in your own style of training. We all use different patterns, moves, training ideals and what can work and what can’t but yet its how you interpret the way you experimented and practiced.

            In the commercial gyms today, you see a lot of trainers who push you when you're not ready, they'll tell you to do something and if you get it wrong they'll let it slide but then they get pissed and give you a hard time when you're just learning. I'm not saying they're all like that, I know a few guys and they're good at what they do but a lot of them just don't give a damn and rather take your money then share and help you succeed in what you want to accomplish. I’d say for the most part avoid commercial trainers. A lot of those guys don’t tell you how to be successful, they tell you to work this, work that and more stuff that has nothing to do with results, just them to keep cashing the checks.

            When you have learned a few basics and have mastered them, the next step is to climb the ladder and get better at some of the harder stuff. After a while, you'd want to put them together to create your own program to suit your goals. Nobody does things the same exact way because our body to weight ratio is different and we have to work things that suit our structure. Use what you learned, from different tempos, speeds, movements and holds that work for you.

            One of the most important aspects of expanding your knowledge and experimentation in what you want to do is this, break the rules. Sure you can learn a thing or 2 but you don't have to follow every single person’s advice, if you did, you're only closing off instead of finding what works for you. When you train, make up your own rules, you already have the basics down so why not rebel and make it your own. You're the king/queen of your own program, you know what works and what doesn't  and nobody can tell you what to do. Once you have mastered what you learned from others, break away from them and become who you want to be.

            Be creative, open up your mind and make it happen for you and only you. You can pass down what you learned but don’t give away all your secrets otherwise you won’t let them discover things for themselves.

Be sure to check out Don Powers’ new book Catch Wrestling For Cops here at Strongerman. You don't have to be a cop to make it work for you.