The VRT Man Is Now Among The Gods Of Physical Culture

 Another dear friend and mentor has passed on. Greg Mangan died yesterday at the age of 72 and it was one of those unexpected accidents that just didn't end well. I talked to his son Greg Jr. just mere hours after it happened, wanting to reach out out of respect for Sr. and get more of what happened. It still baffles me and just trying to wrap my head around it, it just hurts. No where near as much as it's hurting Jr., his brother Pat and their mother Nancy. I had a lot of respect for the man and the way he showed kindness towards me all the years I knew. Never met the man directly but we shared a mutual friendship and understanding of one another.

Some may know him better as the man who had a hand in developing an exercise system that was in the realm of using muscular tension to simulate lifting weights. It was called Visualized Resistance Training and the premise is similar to the idea of Muscle Control, Dynamic Tension & Visualized Mental Training all rolled into one. A cousin to VRT was doing DVRs or Dynamic Visualized Resistance that was brought on by one of my first mentors John Peterson. The difference between VRT & DVR is that VRT utilizes more of the focused muscles in their positive positioning such as doing a Bicep Curl where you flex and curl the forearms, elbows and biceps and once you reach the top position you relax the muscles when you bring them back down. DVR Exercise in this instance would be to work the positive and negative motions of a Bicep Curl by flexing and curling the arms to the top position and while keeping tension, you reverse the movement coming back down. 

VRT Exercise was one of the first 5 methods of Training I learned after recovering from my leg injuries. It really started around 2006 since I went through those first few months doing Combat Conditioning and the system that John Peterson put on. I learned about Greg when we were both on John's Forum and learned a few things about one another. I initially bought a pamphlet and DVD version of his VRT System and worked on that for a period. It was a good course and essentially one of the most underrated in my opinion. Greg's knowledge of Muscle Control through Biological Science is quite in depth and understood how the muscles worked with extensive practice of Muscular Contraction mixed with Mental Imagery incorporating a killer idea of the Mind/Muscle Connection.   

As always with everybody else I learned from, I took bits and pieces of his style of training and molded it to many things I still do today. The funny thing is in DDP Yoga, Dallas uses what he calls Dynamic Resistance to build up your heart rate as you go through certain movements. It's literally another version of VRT Exercise in the form of a unique style of Yoga Training. A part of Greg's legacy is utilized in a very cool way. I've always admired him and had many conversations with him over the years about life, fitness, working out, history and other things. He was so proud of his boys Greg Jr. & Pat. Don't think he ever said one negative thing about them even when they were teenagers LOL. I knew about those boys for a long time and he was just so in love with his wife Nancy, don't think we had a conversation where he didn't mention his family and how much he loved them. 

After some time, he wanted me to be one of the new faces for VRT because of my background and knowledge of the system. I didn't think I was worthy cause I didn't feel I had the physique he was looking for at the time so I turned him down. As much as I wanted to still help promote his system, he ended up pulling away from John Peterson after some issues both professionally and personally that didn't go very well. He branched out and formed a new booklet that added another element to what he wanted and sold it on amazon. I figured when that happened, that would be a better way to help promote his system. I would do my version of the exercises and use that to get something going as an Amazon Associate. It did ok and the potential is still there. I still have the pamphlet, DVD & book in my possession as part of my library. 

He lived quite a life and raised amazingly smart and equally awesome attitude in his sons. I will miss our conversations and will always have a soft spot for what he taught me from my early 20's to today. You were a hell of a man Greg and I wish you nothing but happiness as you take your place in the halls of the greats in the big blue sky above. RIP my friend. 

Flex Friday

 Every now and then, I'll post up my progress and show off a bit of my results. It's never a bad thing to show what you've accomplished as long as you're being humble about it and not act like a dick thinking you're hot shit. It's never easy building muscle and your body reacts differently to various types of training. I'm proud of what I've obtained and doing my best to keep at it. That's all you can do right?

Results are what you've put into it and the outcome is what it is. I've never wanted to really look like a bodybuilder and quite frankly I don't have the discipline to look like some monster out of a comic book, I'd rather look like the old timers or at least a rugged guy that can go if needed. I didn't really start putting on any real muscle till I was in my 20's because as a teenager, I was strong in some things and did shot put and discus but I looked pretty normal and didn't have much muscle to write home about. 

As great as my results have been for me at least, I don't believe I've even peaked yet. For the most part, I just do my best to stay in shape so I can do things with my wife, friends and family like going on hikes without tiring, swim and play with my nephews in Tahoe, chop wood, play basketball, play the animal dice game with one of my nieces, climb stairs without getting blown up, go on walks, being flexible and mobile and other things. I train to enjoy life as much as possible cause this is the only one we have. 

To tell you the truth, it's not easy for me having a picture taken. As long as I can remember, there was a picture taken at every damn get together with my family on my dad's side. From family photos to random moments in time, someone took a picture of it. Most of the time I didn't smile cause it just didn't seem to work in a lot of cases, being self conscious is a bit of an understatement. I didn't start really being comfortable with my pic being taken until about 10 years ago or maybe later when I started showing my results or taking a pic with friends. My smile didn't even really come out until we took engagement photos and our engagement party. Actually now that I think about, my wife was truly the one who brought out my smile. 

When it comes to my results, I do my best to find a good angle and go with it and if I smile, great if I don't, I don't fret about it. I don't have a pretty physique, shit I'd rather look like a prime Arn Anderson or a 50's Dick The Bruiser (names you normally don't see on here). With the weight loss however, I think I've got better definition and my shoulders pop a bit more but I'll take what I can get and keep improving. 

I do love having muscle on me though, I've never been shy of that and it has protected me for a long time, kind of hard to pick on a guy up close who's got some beef on him. I bounced once for a band I knew and nobody tried me, I can handle a mosh pit as much as the next guy and going to downtown Santa Cruz at night when the crazies, hookers, pimps, gang bangers, homeless and junkies were as common as a corona, never once got jumped or robbed and the majority of the time I was walking around with no back up. Around here, it's a lot more subtle and peaceful. Don't have to worry at all cause unless you're in Spokane, WA it's not as nuts as it was when I lived in California. I don't recommend testing any theories though but it's nice to feel safe when you don't look like a bean pole or a guy that seems skittish in a weird neighborhood. 

I believe in training to not always look like a Greek God (if you wish to do that, awesome but no one around this type of blog is looking for modeling jobs) but to train so you can handle yourself if needed and have enough muscle that is tough and not brittle. Strong tendons and ligaments should always be a priority but it's not so bad to have some old school muscle on you either. 

From Isometrics to Dopa Training, Hammer Work and Animal Exercises, there's something you can do to keep yourself in top condition so you can live the best life. Keep being amazingly awesome and train accordingly. Don't forget to punch in POWERANDMIGHT for your 10% Discount at Dopamineo and get some of the best resistance bands on the market today.