Mixing Muscle Control Into Your Workouts

            The Art of Muscle Control was a staple for many of the old time physical culturists such as Otto Arco, Maxick, Sandow, John Grimek, Saxon and also the mighty George Hackenshmidt. When you think into the muscles and learning your own physiology, you’re finding out how your own body works in ways no one else can. In your workouts where you’re lifting maybe heavy weights, pull-ups, kettlebell snatches and/or working with Sledgehammer; mixing in Muscle Control can give you that extra edge in the flow of blood moving into the muscles and keeping them fresh and going just a tad longer.

            I've been experimenting with this lately because I want to find out how I can last a little bit longer or flow better in my workouts so after I do a set of an exercise say swinging the mace 100 times; I would superset it with a muscle control exercise. There are many ways to do Muscle Control but my style isn't just flexing and relaxing it’s moving through an entire range of motion, this style is called FMT a.k.a Focused Muscular Tension kind of the Charles Atlas Tension exercises. There are a series of exercises in FMT and all of them require a focus on the muscles being worked so not only am I building certain muscular power in my training but also keeping my mind focused and breathing deeply so that when “Resting” I’m really adding more flow to my muscles by giving them oxygenated blood. This is one way to look at building your Chi or life-force in your body so you can keep your body going more smoothly, more focused and not just resting the muscles.

            Deep Breathing is a key factor in any exercise because it can make a huge difference in how weak or strong you are. Correct Breathing with natural flow of your body’s movements creates a much more complete image on how you build muscle, utilizing the stabilizers and where you’re focused in. If you plan on doing this, experiment with your own style of muscle control, mix things up to get a feel for what has you flowing and keeping that “Strength/Endurance” factor that helps you down the road to burning fat, building natural and functional muscle and tendon strength.

            When I say mix up I mean keep doing what you've always planned on training but after each set do a Muscle Control Exercise and mix those up and try different ones. This is after you've mastered the Muscle Control Exercises in and of themselves because if you haven’t you’re not going to find that same effect that controls the flow of your muscles and the blood you want flowing. At first these exercises may be a bit unusual and feel a bit weird but keep practicing, find the ones that keep you interested and fresh.

            This is the beautiful part of Physical Culture where you learn how to listen to your body and find different exercises that build a puzzle of how you want to build your body without the need of those crappy supplements and steroids that eventually destroy your body more than give you that life-long process of health, super strength and crazy vitality. Be bold, be different, utilize what works best and throw out what doesn’t. It makes life interesting, more open and more beautiful. Take it in and experiment with it.

Developing Meditative Power

           

               Exercising doesn't always have to be physical or moving. A lot of people firmly believe if you go hardcore, that’s all you need but in reality the opposite is true. In meditation practices, the most powerful ways to gain inner strength is just by not moving and by relaxing (not loose and lazy) and strengthening the power of your mind and strengthening your organs. Shaolin Monks are one of the prime examples of developing super power in a meditative state. We've all seen how great they are with jumping abilities, breaking bricks and they’re crazy endurance but where do you think all that power comes from? Sure from practicing those things but it’s the power of chi or life force that brings all of those things together.

            A great meditation practice especially if you’re going after a goal or want to be better at something is to think, see, and feel as if you’re in a movie theater, just you watching a movie on the big screen. You’re watching your accomplishments unfold in front of your eyes, your past and future goals come alive and with love and celebration you’re starting to see it as if it was your favorite movie. You’re the hero vanquishing the villains (aka negative and dark energies) that want you to fail but you don’t give in. Each time you watch that movie, it becomes more powerful, clearer, more alive and before you know it, it jumps right out of the screen and that movie becomes your reality. You’re excited, invigorated and far stronger than you ever were before. Something within you becomes something Superhuman and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.

            Powerful meditation usually pits you in an offensive strategy but not so much in a defensive position. Ever heard the expression a great defense is a great offense? That’s like teaching people to swing the bat and hit a homerun but where’s the pitcher, the catcher and the outfield? That batter might be your dark energy and you don’t want him on base or having him soar that ball over the fence. Your team is on the defense and you can’t let the other team score. Sometimes you throw a fastball or a curve ball and they might get on base but they haven’t scored yet. If you learn to feel and know it, you realize you still have the best defensive team on that field, picture having the greatest players at their position on your team like a bunch of all-stars working together. See guys like Satchel Paige as your pitcher, Josh Gibson at Catcher, Lou Gehrig at First, Rogers Hornsby at Second, Cal Ripken Jr. at Shortstop, Brooks Robinson at Third and your Outfielders are second to none with names like Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Rickey Henderson. Its one hell of a strategy don’t you think?

            This is just an example and you can name other players of your choice but the principle stays the same and there are other ways to use defensive strategies in meditation. It’s like building a giant bubble over you and no one can get to it, or in this case using Baseball analogy you cover the wall of the field as one massive bubble so there’s no way they can hit it out of the park and your players get an out more than a good number of times, hell you can make the batter strike out cause the moment you throw that ball, it’s so fast he can’t see it and it’s right in the catcher’s glove before he knows what hit him. Make it work for you.

            The physical side to meditation is a useful tool more than you think. In Qi Gong; you learn to harness your energy through movements that flow with energy and smooth harmony. Tai Chi is the same thing just in a different format of energy flow but yet it’s still there and the more you harness that energy, the more powerful you become. Another look at physical meditation is through the use of CoreForce Energy; the ability to harness strength and speed using sound, torquing points and cutting edge power with the mind and body working together. It is used in any situation whether it’s through exercise, talking, writing, playing an instrument or whatever it is you want to do, it’s harnessing that inner power that generates strength in all its aspects.

            There are more ways to develop meditative powers so learn and find what works best for you, make it a habit to meditate the best way possible and be less resistant as possible. This world does have it’s beautiful side but it’s up to us how we see things and how we can our lives richer in health and well being. See what you can find, it’s a great way to make life that much sweeter.

A Gift Of Health Is Far More Rewarding

 Today is Black Friday and that means the plague of shopping for Xmas and getting deals left and right that just boggle the mind. It sucks mostly because it’s really the only day where people get ran over or run over for things after a day of what they’re thankful for. Sad isn’t it? The one thing good about Black Friday is that you do the best you can to get your family something special later on next month but with the right leverage, you don’t need to get trampled all over the place.

 A real gift that you can use for a lifetime rather than a few times out of the year is really the gift of health. Help those who are in need to be fit and strong. I realize exercise may not be on your mind because you’re clawing your brains as to what to get for your loved ones especially your kids. Training however can relieve stress on the mind and body if you give it time to relax and breathe. Your body can take only so much from the stress of getting something at a fast clip.

 The biggest shopping day of the year can be used to your advantage and here’s why, in my opinion almost everyone has a computer these days and has an internet hookup so why not use that to get what you want instead of running off to some store where the crazies just go nuts and become something they’re not normally as. If you don’t have internet or a computer, shop a little before Black Friday by a small percentage, this way if you saved up enough and do your research, you can find better deals long before thanksgiving and store them so the kids don’t see it, it can be effective and you won’t have to get your ass kicked all over the place.

 For the most part if you want to give a great gift, I believe exercise is a better option because it’s not just for you but your loved ones as well. Exercising together as a family creates bonds and helps teach kids rules, boundaries and how to earn what you want. Don’t need to force them or anything like that, find a positive and productive way to get fit for the holidays. If you really want to be an animal than I suggest you start here. Kids love toys, I get that I was part of that generation too and wanted every toy from tv show I watched from Spiderman to the Power Rangers and these days kids love Justin Beiber and Spongbob Squarepants. Kids and families deserve a little something so why not earn it and put a little effort in it. One of the greatest gifts I ever got as a kid in the late 90’s was a ticket from my dad to go see WWF Royal Rumble ’98 at the San Jose Arena long before it became the HP Pavilion, I was massively into Pro Wrestling at that time and got to see guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, The Rock and Triple H when he was with Degeneration X. I never forgot that night and it’s stuck with me for life.

 Not saying you should spend a lot to do something but the key is that having something for a lifetime rather than a few times is far more awesome in my opinion. Exercise is a lot like that, you can do whenever you want at anytime when you want or need to do it and you can use it for the rest of your life. Be sure to have fun this holiday season and don’t stress so much about what to give someone and hurt yourself in the process of doing it because as much as you love someone, you don’t want to go through the trenches of World War 3 to do it. Be safe and happy holidays everyone.