A Performing Arts Degree Unlike Any Other

 What would it be like to go to or learn from a University that not only teaches you how to perform certain feats but gives you the tools to get paid to do it? What would it feel like to bend steel, twist rebar into shapes, rip phonebooks and do other feats that not only blows people's minds but you get to do these things while learning from the very best in the field? What would it be worth it to you to learn some of the coolest feats of strength that has baffled audiences for more than a century?

Mighty Atom

Bud Jeffries

Dennis Rogers

Chris Rider

Lawrence "Slim The Hammerman" Farman

Dave Whitley

Pat Povilaitis

All these men have performed incredible feats of strength that have taken the world by storm but by today's standards, it has become a lost art. From Bending Horseshoes to Ripping Decks Of Cards and turning steel into pieces of beautiful art, you can learn all these things and more from Dave Whitley and others at Strongman University. I've had the pleasure of performing some of these feats in front of people a good few times but never as important as performing with the late Bud Jeffries in the early-mid 2010's. I've done 3 shows with the big man himself performing up here in North Idaho in Coeur D' Alene, Sandpoint & Athol. In the middle of Bud's performances for Anti-Bullying campaigns, he brought me up to show a different type of strength that even he was doing in front of hundreds of kids and their teachers. My feats were mainly ripping a phonebook in half and bending a 6 inch spike while in the wrestler's bridge.

The bending I learned from strongmen like Logan Christopher & Tyler Bramlett but the bridge feat, I took that from John Wood. The phonebook tearing I learned from watching and mimicking Dennis Rogers who had a course on phonebook tearing at one point. I got pretty good at these to the point where I tore a phonebook in half the hard way using sock puppets to make the grip even more difficult to attempt. I've also bend plenty of steel (which you can find in my early videos like this one here). Another feat that I'm very proud of was bending a 6 inch spike behind my head with very little leverage and putting a ton of stress on the shoulders, elbows and wrists. You can view that here.

If you're interested in developing strength that is unique and way out of the norm, come and check out Strongman University and learn from the very best with a combined knowledge of well over 50+ Years in the business. Be a part of a tradition that goes back to the days of Eugene Sandow, Alexander Zass, Slim The Hammerman, Mighty Atom, Edward Aston and many other Vaudeville Style Strongmen. 

The Dying Art Lives Again At Coney Island

           Strongmen have been apart of American Culture since the early 20^th century and have performed countless feats in various cities across the country. One of these areas however holds a special place in the heart in some of the modern strongmen today and that’s the infamous Coney Island Strongman show in Coney Island, NY where legends like Warren Lincoln Travis, Joe Greenstein aka The Mighty Atom and others performed some of the most awesome feats in history. For many decades after the vaudeville shows were diminishing and slowly dying out, there have been a small group of people to help bring back the one show that got people’s attention way back as far as the 1920’s or earlier.

                       

            Imagine being able to perform or even witness a strongman show that just has so much history it hurts to think about at times. Your best feats performed at the very same spot where a little man stood out more than men twice his size and opened up his heart by performing feats that gave people hope and love for an awesome show. Ever thought of performing at your best with the best by your side?

            Think of what you can create to put on a show that makes people’s jaw drop, cheer loud and see your passion at hand right in front of their very own eyes. Perform at a level unlike anything you’ve done before and learn the very secrets of how to hone your creativity to perform better than at any other time. You have a passion to do wicked awesome feats like Bar Bending, Tearing Decks Of Cards, Rolling Frying Pans, Tear Phone Books like a piece of paper and other feats that will be shared.

            The man that will teach you these very same skills, techniques, crowd control and other facets of the Strongman game is Chris Rider; a world-renowned strongman has performed some of the craziest feats and not just bending steel and tearing phone books but doing feats with his hair and has coached some of the strongest performers today. He is hosting a seminar that will teach you various feats that you can perform in a show and will give you insights on what materials to use, technique, develop showmanship, how to train for your feats and much more in one 8-hour workshop. Here at the Coney Island Strongman Spectacular Seminar you will find out more details on where this awesome seminar will be and perform at a whole other level.

            Will you rise up and become a better performer? Chris and his friend Adam Realman will show you key ingredients to take your strength and your mind to the next level in a way that only Rider & Realman can do. It is your opportunity and your chance to shine and amp your potential even higher. They’re looking for up-incoming strongmen to go even further not just in strength but as a performer and show the real deal in a show. Better hurry up because this will go out fast so jump on the bandwagon and hone your skills to greater heights.

The Fun Of Doing Feats Of Strength

          Back in the vaudeville days of the early 20^th century and even today in some areas, there were men and women performing various feats of strength that would get the crowd roaring and make their jaws drop in amazement. In the fitness world today, almost nobody does even a few feats because it’s not up to their standards and don’t want to go to that other level but I believe you’re a little different. You can learn various feats because the human body is capable of doing things we still haven't discovered yet.

            When you train in certain feats whether it’s nail bending, card tearing, ripping phone books in half, scrolling steel or even pick up an awkward heavy object; make it interesting, find what makes them fun to do and perform in a way that’s geared towards who you are and what you represent. I've seen guys who try to copy another’s performance or try to be something they're not but I've also seen guys who have a unique way of performing or even just training to where yes it’s a little odd but it’s cool at the same time. Being unique is never a bad thing, you are one person and you have the right to become anything you want to be if you set your mind to it.

            Even if you don't aspire to be a performing strongman you can still make the most out of your strength feats by just playing around and build your body a little differently. Some people take aerobics classes, run on the treadmill, lift weights, do complicated programs (Insanity anyone?) but then there are those who do things a little out of the ordinary, they use their bodies in ways most would run away from. Imagine steel that’s not meant to bend just melt in your very own hands or tearing up decks of cards like a piece of paper or lever heavy sledgehammers to your face without smashing into it. It is beautiful when you get it down to a “T”. One of my favorite feats which I have performed in front of more than 600 kids and adults is where I bend a 6 inch spike into a U while holding the wrestler’s bridge with my nose touching the floor. Most people can't even hold a bridge like that let alone bend a spike that big so it’s an awesome feeling to be able to do that. Work on different feats and find ones that you find exciting to you and want to perform the most of, this helps you find your niche and find your creative side.

            Taking certain feats to a new level is the fascinating thing in the world of Physical Culture. On video I've seen a guy rip a deck of cards while being hung by his neck, another in person where he had a plate on his stomach and someone from 8-10ft up drops a bowling ball on top of it, why not rip a phonebook while hanging upside down; there are many unique ways to do a feat but I advise you to not go so crazy like a WWE show but you can do things that nobody else can do and that’s where taking it to another level is just that much sweeter. You have more power in you than you would believe and you have gifts that people would envy but never think you’re not good enough. You want to be different and you are different so do what makes you happy. Don’t be someone else, they’re already taken, be who you are and have fun with it. 

The Very Best Physiques?

           When you look back on the legendary facets of Physical Culture, you’ll notice that some of the classic bodybuilders of their era had some of the greatest physiques even by today’s standards. These men didn’t just rely on bodybuilding, they also relied on their strength as well that was unheard of in that time especially since quite a number were strongmen.

            One of these very exceptional specimens was the great Eugene Sandow; he looked like he was carved from granite. Others that were like him had mighty biceps, powerful torsos and as some of them were also had narrow waists. In that day and age they were the object of perfection.

            A great way that some of these guys did to achieve that muscular, rugged and chiseled look was by bending tough steel, in this case; long bar bending. They took these lengthy pieces of steel and mold them into designs with their very own hands doing such shapes as a fish, paper clip and even clover leafs. It was jaw dropping for most people to believe that a man would have the guts to take steel and make it something into a form of art.

            This type of training alone required very intense pushing and pulling while the body moved in different directions during a particular bend. It is also one of the most intense forms of isometric contraction so the fatigue factor in the muscles is often equaled to at least an hour long workout although it would take as short as 10-20 min. to complete a bend.

            Jedd Johnson one of my friends in Physical Culture has become quite the expert in the art of Steel Bending. Although he has dabbed in conventional weight lifting, muscle building and strength workouts, he loves to bend steel with a passion. Here’s a list of the things he has bent over the years that would blow your mind and I’m not kidding you these are tough, rough and hard steel to even budge let alone complete….

-Frying Pans

-60D Penny Nails

-Horseshoes

-8 inch adjustable wrenches

-10+ ft long steel bars

Here’s a pic of Jedd himself doing what’s called a Scroll.

            He has also just released a powerful 2 DVD course that teaches you The Art Of Scrolling. These DVDs will show you the inside secrets to how the old-time strongmen were masters at this art. He shows you how to make beautiful designs with your bare hands and with strength you cannot get anywhere else.

            Along with fellow strongman and strength giant Bud Jeffries, they bent 6 different pieces of steel on this DVD series and donated them to a benefit for the daughter of of of Jedd’s old high school classmate who’s got a severe form of brain cancer and it was a huge hit. If you want to challenge yourself in a different format of strength training, this could be exactly what you’re looking for.

            Wouldn't it be awesome to feel the steel in your hands as it gives way in your wrath? Even if you have no desire to be a strongman you can still forge your body into a modern day Sandow filled to the brim with mighty muscle and iron cord-like tendons. Click Here To Find Out More.

            Remember now, this was just released so the price right at this minute is the lowest it’ll be for a short period of time. If you happen to live overseas you can get the course immediately by getting the digital download without the hassle of shipping costs or any of that customs stuff. Get The Art Of Scrolling today and never look at training the same way ever again.

The Scrolls Of A Dying Art

              What is a dying art? It is a system of something that once thrived long ago and in the modern day has started fading away into a memory or became a joke even to the point where it’s not taken serious anymore. In the fitness world, lost arts from 100+ years ago have begun to fade into the memories of those who done them in the past and/or very few still do them for example: Muscle Control was an old-time art of the bodybuilders from the 1890’s to about 1950’s/60’s. This art thrived as it was a way to learn how to control your body from within to create muscular definition and/or mass naturally with the body’s structural alignment. This is one of many but only one had many exciting qualities that are now coming out of the ashes slowly and with power.

            One of these dying arts that are slowly rising like a phoenix is the Art Of Scrolling. What is scrolling you might ask; it is a style from the old-time strongmen that used long pieces of steel from thin to relatively thick that were bent into shapes or designs using only the hands and body. In the old books from the early 20^th century called this coiling or shaping steel. This was a mighty task to take because it works the body in ways that you have never felt before. To shape steel with your hands can be taxing but if you do it right it builds the tendons and muscles with strength that is unbelievable.

            I have personally have done some scrolling with tough steel and I’m going to tell you, it’s tough, it’s hard but it’s way more fun than most feats in the world of strongmen. You don’t need to be a strongman to get the best benefit. This can be used by athletes from all walks of life from martial artists to arm wrestlers to baseball and more. If you’re not interested in sports and just want a great workout, this will get the job one. The way your body has to shift to move the steel is uncanny and a lot of it has an isometric component to it. It will make you sweat and once you start to move the steel you have to keep going until it’s too difficult to move a single portion of the bend. You can create many designs that your mind can come up with and they may not always be the same.

            Today, very few people practice this art and some are incredible with various designs and shapes that boggle the mind. Imagine creating a wine holder with your own hands; a bow-tie, a couple loops, a swan and more with the power of your imagination and physical strength. Two guys that are keeping this art alive and giving you an opportunity to shine are Bud Jeffries & Jedd Johnson, two extremely strong and intelligent men that will show how to safely and with precise coordination how to turn a steel bar into a thriving piece of art that even Picasso would be impressed by. It is an art that has been fading for decades but with your help, we can bring this art of strength back into what it once was or what it could be with the modern strongmen of today. Build tendons of Iron Cords, build strength within every inch of your body and utilize your mind to create something that is beautiful and strong with character and imagination. 

More On The Hands

              

             Having powerful hands can be life saving. The grip power and strength you build from different methods gives you that raw and ferocious power of being able to lock anything within your grasp. When you bend steel, you wrap up the nail, wrench, screwdriver or whatever; you squeeze with everything you have and you work the wrist along with the whole body and you give that object no mercy. Ripping a deck of cards gives you that mighty twisting strength in your hands and your wrists while taking your body to a whole new level. Gripping a odd object and doing whatever you want with it, even though it’s awkward, it gives you the strength that forces you to stabilize the muscles and tendons.

            Not all grip work should have a focus on strength because if all you do is strengthen the hands and lower arm, you’re missing out on creating graceful and supple hands that can create magic within the flick of a wrist or using your fingers in the way a ballet dancer gracefully uses the legs. Move your hands with power but not like a tense beast, but a mobile and majestic form of flexibility and suppleness. If you’re a fighter who needs to slip out of holds, your supple hands can come in handy. A magician has very supple hands and you’ll know why, the beauty and the majesty of moving their hands with key target points and precise accuracy that can only be measured by how they present themselves.

            The hands can be your greatest ally or with the right leverage and training, they can cripple you within a heartbeat. Back when Catch Wrestling was at its prominence; there were wrestlers called Hookers who can hook you into a hold that would most likely break a bone if they had anything to say about it. Just putting the bone of your wrist on guy’s arm, leg and/or neck in a locked hold can hurt like a bitch; I've felt it first hand so never underestimate it. The Hookers were feared by those who challenged them and if they got a hold on you, you better pray they’re in a good mood and just make you tap otherwise you’re going to be in a brace pal. If you’re looking to build “soft” hands meaning strong but gentle, they can be useful if you’re into massage, pleasing your spouse and they can be useful when you have that touch that just makes everything feel incredible. The hands can do many wonders.

            When it comes down to tools, there are many things you can use to build mighty mitts but none are equal to each other because one can build your hands a certain way or another but never in the same way in terms of building the tendons and muscles of the lower arm. Sledgehammers build strong hands period. They make you work otherwise you won’t have a chance with them. Grippers build that crushing strength but also if you do isometric holds, this alone can be beneficial if you want to save someone’s life one day. Various Feats Of Strength build your hands in ways that are virtually impossible for dumbbells and barbells can withstand. The simplest tool for your twisting strength can be the use of a towel, by this I mean you get a bucket, put the towel in and soak it up as best as possible and then from one end to the other you twist and squeeze the water out back into the bucket; this exercise alone can turn your hands in steel rods and turn your tendons into granite.

            Use your tools wisely because you never know when you’ll need your powerful hands for a certain occasion. Your hands are the works of what was meant for you. The stronger and supple you make them, the stronger your body can be. Do it and you will go far.

The Stronger Your Grip Is, The Stronger You’ll Be

           Why is grip strength so important? It’s essential to our everyday lives and not just for training or getting in a good forearm workout but it has the ability to save a life or help someone in need. A surgeon needs his hands to construct, repair or save another person’s life, a massage therapist needs strong and supple hands, an athlete needs strong hands to throw a ball or tackle someone, even in soccer at one point you need to throw the ball out into the field to get the best advantage of scoring a goal. A parent has to have some strength in their hands to carry groceries, help keep their baby up, play with them and so on. Catch my drift here?

            Your grip is a major key and I’ll get into different types of grip strength in a second but let me point a few things out. In the world of the strongman, your grip cannot be neglected because if you’re going a specific feat of strength, the majority of the time you’re going to be using your hands. You can’t bend steel if your grip isn't up to par, you can have strong wrists but you need to keep a lock on a bar a spike, if you’re Ryan Pitts at Stronger Grip you can’t swing another human being on his human swing set without having a solid grip and if you’re like Dennis Rogers, there’s no way in hell you can lift a fridge with one finger without training your grip. Now the majority of us aren't strongmen or a specific athlete or really big with genetic gifts of strength; most of us don’t realize how important our grip is, to hold onto a child, to carry a gurney to put in the ambulance to take someone to the hospital, to rescue someone from a burning building, to fight in combat as a soldier. The stronger your grip is, the stronger you’ll be.

            There are different types of grip strength; there’s pinch gripping which is having that alligator type snap, crushing strength like from grippers and thick bar lifts or using fat gripz, working the fingers like fingertip push-ups, twisting strength, working the wrists, playing an instrument like playing the piano or guitar hell even the drums, for carpentry you need precision and accuracy in your hands to build and carve things and also lifting something like the blob; there are many ways to develop your grip but focus on the ones that geared toward a specific goal. The more you focus on a particular type of grip strength, certain things fall into place where your whole body becomes apart of the exercise. A lot of people think isolating the lower arm will make them stronger, which is true in certain cases but when you engage your whole body as you focus on the lower arm, bigger things arise like your conditioning, strength in other place, muscles being used that aren't normally used. Think of Arm Wrestling, its not just slamming another guys arm down, it’s a full body effort.

            Mighty hands build mighty things period. A key thing to remember is to focus on the tendons and ligaments when you’re training your grip, this is where it’s most neglected because people mostly focus on the muscles and only do half the work. The more you focus on the tendons the more you realize that’s where your strength falls into place and will prevent you from getting injured. Using different implements like Sledgehammers for example to strengthen the tendons will help you succeed in your life. The most common injuries in sports and the work place are torn tendons/ligaments and carpal tunnel, you can prevent these if you focus on your tendons. Isometrics work very well with this because it gives your body the maximal effort without moving a single muscle. Steve Justa makes this very clear and it keeps things in perspective. Make it a habit to include grip strength in your training and you’ll see how much stronger your body will become just adding a good amount of tendon work. 

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. 

My Take On Isometrics

            While I was recovering from my accident and learning about Bodyweight exercises, I first learned about Isometrics in a specific manner from Matt Furey’s course Gama Fitness. Not understanding very well, I just went through the “non” motions and just tried them out. They were good and I learned how to hold certain positions especially for my legs because I was still in that stage of just getting in shape.

            While using those Isometrics and others from another book, I started noticing my strength in certain areas. My ankles were getting stronger, I was healing from arthritis from my lifting days and my days in Shot Put/Discus and my body began to repair itself to the point where there was very little pain and I was moving in ways I couldn't do as a teenager. Because of that, I strengthened certain weak points not just in my legs but my shoulders, my neck, my back and even my torso. Now granted I don’t have a 6 pack of washboard abs but because of my training, my core became pretty damn strong and when I did lift weights again every now and then, some of them got better than I ever did when I lifted full time.

            First learning Strength Feats from my boys Logan Christopher & Tyler Bramlett, they showed me about short bending and how to bend certain types of Steel. I ordered Ironmind nails to get me started and the best I got up to was the Green nail which to me was just incredible, I hadn't got to the spikes yet and was learning about phonebook tearing around that time. They gave me little hints and learning from my books on Isometrics I began incorporating that into my feats. How did it affect my strength? Let me sum that up by saying I was able to easily rip a brand new 1700 page phonebook the moment my sister gave it to me and my first 60D penny spike was at my friend Logan’s former gym. So safe to say it affected me in an awesome way.

            I have mentioned certain secret weapons I have that give me that edge in the Isometric realm but my biggest weapon has always been my will power to run through what I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to desperately bend a wrench even it was a little toughie and I did it, it doesn't look much like a wrench but damn son that S.O.B took me out after putting it out of its misery. You can have all the equipment and all the tools you want but your real weapon is what’s inside you that defies logic, reasoning and in the case of Dennis Rogers or Bud Jeffries, the laws of physics.

            Is Isometrics the end-all-be-all type training? For some that’s all they can do but to the majority, no it shouldn't because you want to be able to move and work your body from as many angles as you can both static and dynamic. There are guys out there that give this type of training a hard time and others look at it as if it was the highest honor and then there are guys that are so damn stubborn that only one type of training is all they will ever use and say it’s either that or nothing. For me, I love variety. Using different elements and styles gets my mind going and there are times where I can’t choose just one in particular so I just make it up.

            My take on Isometrics is everyone should use them to a certain degree especially if you’re in a sport or rehab. It strengthens the tendons in ways you can’t get with anything else and wouldn't it be awesome to not get injured as often? Even just for that purpose it could make a hell of a positive impact on your life. Learn them as much as you can or use them as a backup it’s up to you but the main point is, they teach you how to use your body internally more than any other method. There are thousands of different Isometrics just ask Steve Justa. Expand your knowledge and apply them to whatever you want to do, it’s shocking sometimes what you’ll find using them. 

Practice Develops Knowledge & Wisdom

          We develop certain things that make us unique. Sometimes it comes naturally for us but the rest of us have to practice these things in order to be really good at them. What do you desire to do? Do you want to be a great athlete, a business man, a writer or better yet a better coach, well in order to make that desire is to practice and believe you’re practicing more than anyone else. My desire was to be strong, and a hell of a good writer. I practiced by applying the things that helped me reach my goals and not only did I get strong but I kept it consistent in various areas of my life but writing has been my love for a long time next to fitness. I was telling stories and writing about people long before I became an athlete. I learned my writing from my mom and I expanded what I learned to create my own style, I was determined to be great at it in my own right.

            To learn is to practice. It’s like if you never touched a kettlebell but wanted to be great at snatches, juggling and presses and so on but in order to do them you have to actually do them. Now there are those that say “Practice makes perfect” but what does that really imply? If you practice and its consistently terrible, does that mean you didn't practice enough, no it means you just have a consistent application at being perfectly terrible so it’s time to switch things up. There are certain things that we’re not good at and no matter how hard we try to perfect them it’s not always going to come in our favor. If we find something we love then the practice of that might be better and you’re going to get better because you’re mind is in the right place and it’s going to happen.

            Should you practice what you want to do more or less? That’s actually a tricky answer but I believe I might have an insight to how both work but one will do more than the other. Personally if you want to be the best at something you should do more of it because if you practice more and learn how it can make you better greater things will come and you developed that knowledge by understanding how it’s applied yet you also did it and have that experience. For less practice, there are those that have certain gifts and even though they practice a little, it still has that mindset that just translates to how their bodies move, the way they think and how aware they are with that natural instinct. Both have good qualities but the more you apply the more you develop and it becomes a second language to you.

            To be strong, is to simply practice. It’s not how strong you are physically or mentally, it’s the strength to apply the things you want to be really good at. Some of us can’t be huge and have a 700 lb bench press or be able to do certain feats of strength like tearing a deck of cards or bend wrenches and rip phonebooks in half, but we can get strong in areas for those who can’t because we end up practicing differently and that’s the beauty of it. Practice what you love no matter what it is and never stop learning it. Be strong at what you do and apply it the best to your abilities no one else’s. Knowledge knows and understanding, wisdom is how you apply it into action and doing it, mastery takes a lifetime but day by day practice makes it all that much sweeter. 

I Want YOU To Become An Animal

 I've written out about Animal Training a few times before but it’s something worth mentioning time and time again because people should learn about this great style of strength & conditioning training. As we get older our hormone levels drop a certain percentage every year starting at around 25 I believe. I'm a couple years shy of 30 and I want to be able to have that great level of metabolism and natural growth hormone levels by the time I hit that age and beyond, I can't imagine the percentages someone over 40 or older has dropped.

 Animal Training is a system where you imitate and move like an animal in the wild, simple as that. One of the most famous exercises in fitness when it comes to bodyweight is the bear crawl, walking or sprinting on all fours and you can do it for reps, time, distance hell even play tag whatever you can do is up to you. It’s one of the most fun exercises there is plus many more. In my experience, I have received awesome benefits from this type of training including….

Better Awareness

Endurance

Strength in Awkward Positions

Higher Metabolism

Stronger Abs

Muscular Definition

Increased Agility

Last But Not Least….Increased Growth Hormone

 These are just the tip of the iceberg from what I received and I'm a big guy over 240 lb. and yet feeling like Tarzan. I don't care if you're big, small or whatever, this will give you lifelong fitness if you take a chance and learn it. I love it and it gives me a hell of a workout or should I say play time in short durations.

 Children these days don't do enough fitness and have gone off the deep end with becoming overweight, lack of strength, water being replaced by soda and not getting enough brain activity to study but yet rather watch TV and text/talk on their cell phones it's ridiculous. I'm not saying you should force your kids to get fit but it wouldn't hurt to help teach them, better yet not letting them know they're exercising but rather playing and having a good time. We all have a favorite animal so why not put it to good use. Studies have shown that exercise increases Awareness, Strength in the brain, increased energy, high endorphins, stronger metabolisms, natural muscle growth and bone density, wouldn't it be awesome to have all those things and more. Parents I encourage you to exercise with your kids, it'll help bring a bond that a family that trains together sticks together. My parents when I was growing up didn't do that with me and rarely ever do it now and have to learn all on my own which isn't a bad thing but I always wondered what if so don't let your kids slip away from you on that notion, work with them as stress-free as possible. Time flies by and before you know it, your kids are gone and going after their own thing, spend time with them before it’s too late.

The biggest benefit of this type of training is not what you get from it but how you do them. Exercise is suppose to fun, exciting and something to look forward to and not looked at as a punishment or feel you need to do it or force yourself into it. Make it worthwhile. One of my favorite workouts is taking Animals and making them like Cartoon characters like the Bear Crawl can be turned into Baloo from the Jungle Book and playing with mowgli, another can be a cricket and turning him into Jiminy Cricket, even turn the Gorilla exercise into becoming King Kong the larger than life Ape. My all-time favorite animal is the Gorilla and as an Avenger Fan I got to see both of that in a Comic Book which you can find right here. The more you realize its fun, the more benefit you'll get out of it.

Being fit for decades to come is a goal we all strive to achieve, some have even made it, one of my mentors is in his 60’s and acts like a man in his 20’s, one man is approaching his 80’s and still has the strength to lift the heaviest of hammers and one of my favorite strongmen can do feats of strength that makes guys in our generation look like weaklings. Its how you put your mind to it, building that Mind/Muscle Connection. Make it a habit to have fun for you, your friends, your children maybe even grandchildren, it’s never too late to be strong and healthy.