The Spirit of The Gorilla

          When you come across a powerful creature of immense strength, mighty spirit and tremendous power in the tendons, the Gorilla or Mighty Ape is what comes to mind in my opinion. It is extraordinary to think of the Ape as a true king of the vast Wild Jungle. As heavy as 500 lb. can still climb trees and truly wrestle the very best the animal kingdom offers in it’s surroundings. It’s spirit is so powerful it takes hold of what we as human that have evolved from stand the test of time as one of the strongest animals ever.

            We all have an animal spirit within us, it’s called our Animality. Some of us hold a special animal in our hearts, not so much the domesticated but a wild creature that has grasped our imagination, the ability to use our instincts and be able to move with grace, power and speed. When you hold onto that Animal Spirit it becomes the embodiment of what we truly strive to become and that’s a strong, mighty and powerful being and could become superhuman if we truly submerge ourselves into a deep state of mind.

            Our imagination is what binds us to create the reality that dwells within each and every one of us. We can create similar things but there’s always something different and unique to it because we think differently and channel our energy differently. What we think tends to become a reality if we truly believe in it. The world is huge and dangerous and powerful natural occurrences but it’s also very beautiful in many areas of life and we tend to overlook this concept. Our Animal Spirit is a driving force for which our imagination runs with. You can’t create something without thinking of it first. It’s that whole world inside all of us that helps us find what we seek and where we want to go. Follow your Animality and see where it leads you.

            For me my Animality is the Gorilla, that ferocious strength that courses through my veins, being able to strengthen my body from the teachings of this mighty but beautiful animal. My ability to hang with the strength of my hands; walk on my knuckles and fingertips that will bring intense power in my tendons and muscles. My love for strengthening my body from awkward positions and turning my tendons into cords of Vibraniam, not steel or iron but Vibraniam you know the element from Captain America’s Shield that is far stronger than steel. You also have an Animality that is waiting to be unleashed, giving you the strength to do what you were meant for and the surge of strength and power coursing through your body. Helping you find the best way to build your body the way you were meant to have.

            It’s that natural instinct that is now fading away because we have forgotten how to harness it’s power that doesn't come from big muscles or an ego the size of Texas but it comes from what we see from within, the spirit that dwells in our minds and our hearts that reach out to us. Listen to it and you’ll realize how beautiful it is when it speaks to you and helps you in ways you couldn't have imagined before. Listen to your Animality and when you unleash it into the world in a positive and healthy way, it becomes a reality that has been hidden far too long. 

What Is My Fascination With Tarzan????

             Ever since I was little watching guys like Arnold, Stallone, Ford, Van Damme, Jet Li, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and others, I always wondered what a picture perfect athlete would be like. Yes I even got a kick out of Brendan Fraser in George Of The Jungle being a Tarzan wanna-be. As I got older and transitioned from a weightlifter to a bodyweight guy I loved the way certain athletes moved through the air like a gymnast or an acrobat in the circus and how they’re built not like a bodybuilder but like a real and graceful athlete. In reality (contradiction I know) Tarzan to me is the picture perfect athlete.

            The beauty of Tarzan’s development is that he is forced to adapt to his environment in the jungle, swinging, climbing, moving in awkward positions and being free out in the open. There have been a lot of Tarzans in films over the years from Johnny Weissmuller to George Scott to even the original Highlander Christopher Lambert. To train is to think and very rarely you see that today in your commercial gyms and health spas because too many people just go through the motions, hop on the treadmill reading a book or watching TV, even blasting their ipods while lifting weights not even paying attention at times to what they're doing.  

            When it comes down to it, they say the lion is the king of the jungle but I believe when it comes to sheer power, size, forced to adapt and having the most powerful grip strength pound for pound are the primates like Apes and Monkeys. You won't see a lion swing through trees jumping from place to place, he'll run, chase and wrestle you to the floor but an Ape can crush your bones just by squeezing them and have tendon strength that most animals don't have. The Wrestlers of the Jungle are the Gorillas and Chimps, the acrobats are the Gibbons and smaller primates. They move with power yet with grace at the same time. Yes they're structure is a little different but yet we can adapt to what can work for us.

            Training shouldn't be a hassle or something you need to punish yourself with but what it can be is an adventure. Think about it, being out in the open, having fun, putting yourself in different situations with practical application and having the time of your life. If you can't get outside due to bad weather or there’s trouble out or whatever, you can still have fun inside and maybe not move so much like a wild animal but adapt to what you have and the space you have to do what you can. Karl Gotch once said “adapt and improvise” this meant that you can do things anywhere at anytime but yet improvise with what you have to make use of what you can do. Be open to ideas and have some fun.

            As some of you know, one of my favorite styles of training is moving like an animal in the jungle, stalking its prey, jumping and speeding up on an object, using my imagination to make things more exciting. As of late I've been trying different things and one of them is a system called MovNat which is using only your body and the environment to create different situations which are used in crawling, jumping, running, lifting, climbing and carrying different things to build your body from adaptation. Erwan Le Corre is the founder of this type of training and is one of the fittest guys in the world today. It’s pretty interesting considering some of the things he does is almost a spitting image of Tarzan. Check out some of his Youtube stuff. It gives you a different perspective to how you move and put yourself in different ways to adapt and improvise in a practical and safe way.

Gorillas & The Avengers

Never thought you’d read those two things in the same title huh? For the most part, the movie is F-ing awesome. It’s the top grossing film of the year by far and I’m glad to share in the fun. Seen it three times so far and it never gets old. Seeing four of the coolest superheroes is a joy to be hold.

 Ever since seeing it and writing my Can You Become Your Own Avenger series (which you can find on this very blog), I’ve gone Avenger crazy, buying shirts, video games and even the comic books which I’ve never really done in my entire life. If anything brought me into the world of comic books it was the Avengers. You might say I’m overly obsessed with the Marvel Comic but truth to tell, I’m not just a fan and reading & writing stories but I’m also looking for the next best thing in revolutionizing fitness with methods that can go hand and hand with superheroes like peanut butter and jelly.

 I was at a bookstore the other day and wanted to pick up a couple comic books of the Avengers and out of the plethora of graphic novels and short stories I picked up what looked like to me the most bad ass Avenger comic and that’s Marvel Apes. Now it’s not everyday that you find cool superheroes but they put a spin on them using your all-time favorite animal in the jungle as the Ape-vengers. I’d say that’s a double whammy in my book.

 Now I realize this comic is a bit of a spoof with a little gore and graphic violence but really it’s just another great concept that people can relate to. Apes are our original ancestors whether we realize it or not and to be awe of their strength and agility would be an understatement. Training like an Ape should be a natural thing to do but because of civilized laws and the way to be proper and better yet the way you exercise is very “controlled.” Developing Ape-like strength and fitness is essential to staying fit and young. Having fun at a playground or going to the park an moving like a wild animal is a kick ass way to keep yourself healthy both physically and mentally.

 Studying Apes and Monkeys is an ongoing research and sometimes they take that research a little too far and I won’t go into detail because you’ll just want to beat the hell of the people who do push the boundaries of right and wrong. In my opinion, these primates are extremely intelligent and in some cases they’re far smarter than we want to believe. When you see a silverback gorilla, some will think it’s violent and that’s just not true. It’s only violent if it’s provoked and to protect his family and followers. I would never want to mess with a primate, they’re strength and agility is just off the charts and freakishly powerful.

 Moving like an Ape teaches the body how to move in awkward positions and strengthen the tendons and ligaments in ways that can’t be duplicated. Whenever someone says “Get Gorilla Strong” most likely they’re referring to extreme heavy weight lifting which isn’t a bad thing if you’re into that but “True Gorilla Strong” means you move, walk, run, climb and swing like a gorilla or other primate.

 Back to the Ape-vengers, reading these stories is like reading about superheroes from the Planet Of The Apes, it’s the same characters but more well let’s face it, Ape-Like and in some ways I prefer that than the human Avengers. Imagine for a moment that if the Avengers were already tough and physically intimidating, than you add in having the strength of an Ape, whoever stands against them would be the dumbest villain ever.

 What would it feel like to see Captain America swing on the vines with ease, what would it look like to see a version of Spider-Man moving like a gibbon, how about Ironman looking like a Mandrill and not only having great brains but will beat your ass to a pulp in a fight and what if you had Ape-Like Wolverine or a Gorilla version of Thing from the Fantastic Four? I’m sorry but unless technology is used, the chances of any villain winning a fight are going from slim to none. Find your own inner Ape and take your strength to levels that will stand the test of time in your life.

Gorilla Power & Creating Animalistic Strength

Lions are known as the kings of the Jungle but I feel the incredible hulks of the Jungle are of the Gorilla. Gorillas have strength that surpasses more then 10x of the strongest men. Yes they're structure is different when it comes to walking but yet with chimps they're the closest to us humans, they have hands, they have feet and have torsos that resemble a human. They walk different because they're arms are longer then their legs and need to adapt to walking on their hands.

I personally feel that if we were to get strong then we need to reverse evolution from our modern methods of today. Today in most fitness circles we can't compare to the old school ways of training and that's most likely a good thing. Today we have people who are more overweight then any other time in world history, we have gyms that have just lost its roots to whats really important and looking good and being overly cautious has taken over. Very few of those that know the real secrets to strength & health look to what the animals and early men have done to become strong. Animals don't lift weights and try showing off their muscles, they use their strength to survive and early men strived to survive harsh weather conditions and move boulders to help shield themselves and swam to catch fish, run as hard as they can to get away from predators and used spears to kill their food of some of the wildest beasts of the time.

Getting strong using weights has its own benefits but modern trainers make it look like a joke and those old-timers from the golden ages of strength would be rolling in their graves. If you're going to use weights, do the simplest one's and stick with that, Presses, Pulls, Abs, Grip Work and basic leg training is all you'll ever need. Isolating muscles is only good for one thing and that's rehab other then that it's useless. When it comes to weights, the simpler, the better...Dumbbells, Barbells, Kettlebells and a few odd objects here and there is all you'll ever need.

When you learn to become strong, its best to look at not only the muscles of the strongest animals or the strongest of humans but take a good look of how strong the tendons are. I'd say the best animals with the strongest tendons are Gorillas and Wild Cats because they have to reach, climb, crush and pounce while defending against predators and/or fighting for food. It's better to pull a muscle than tear a tendon. Huge difference between the 2. Pulling a muscle recovers quicker, tearing a tendon however can put you out of commission a lot longer because the tendons are the things that help keep the skeletal structure together while the muscles are the tissues that cover the skeletal structure. Tendon strength creates a chain reaction of how strong you really are. Take a bodybuilder for example in this day and age. He's more into building muscle so he can look as big and powerful as possible but does little to no training in the tendons and chances are he's going to get injured quicker then any other athlete including fighters and major sporting athletes.

Developing Ape strength without weights is very simple an doesn't take that much time to learn or do. Look at the basic things they do, climb, walk, pull, push and move in awkward positions. Learning basic elements in their evolution can help you become 3x stronger then the average human. This of course means you won't build the strength that they do because its the way their structured and their nature is used but that doesn't mean we can't adapt. Some of things they do might seem silly but if you're open minded and look at another prespective you might realize that you can become stronger using those so called "silly" stuff.

The only time you'll ever see an Ape lifting weights is if researchers experiment to find out how strong they are in that area and if you see some knucklehead meatball of a bodybuilder trying to lift some weird looking weight. Apes carry strength that makes most weightlifters look like chumps and who's to say we can't try to imitate and build superior strength ourselves. We can really learn the true secrets of creating Animalistic Strength with the simple points of observation, experimenting and adapting. In the world of fitness it's not a bad thing to turn reverse evolution and become the strongest person we can be.

The Power Of A Primate

The thought of training like a Ape or Monkey might seem a bit silly and downright dumb but if you leave skepticism aside for a moment, you can actually develop superior grip and tendon strength. I believe it is important to train like a primate in the sense where they're closest to us in evolution and although structurally different we can still build great strength around what they do in their daily lives.

First thing to do when training like a Primate is to observe their movements and how they walk. An Ape walks on its knuckles and can climb trees with ease. Now instead of climbing trees just start with hanging and with practice slowly start doing pull-ups. Walking like a gorilla build strength and power in the upper and lower body and when you run like a gorilla you will be getting a strength & endurance workout second to none.

When you learn to hang like a primate you're not just stretching out the limbs and just dangling there, you're building a foundation for a powerful tight grip. You are building powerful tendons and ligiments that can be used for important things in your daily life.

Once you begin training like a Primate you're on your way to becoming stronger then the average human not just through a strength ratio but with the body you develop you will look strong as well as being strong.

Go check out my bud Ed Baran's Animal Kingdom Conditioning Programs One & Two. Each program has a great Ape & Monkey Program and much more animals to develop a strong and powerful physique.

Building Gorilla Strength

If there was one animal in the jungle that should be the king its the Gorilla. Its Strength & Power is beyond most animals and yet its pure vegetarian. Imagine being a 500 pound gorilla and tearing up whoever is attacking you and move with power and ferocious intensity. We may not be able to have the raw power of the gorilla but we can learn to move like one and get one of the best cardio and strength exercises around. Next time you watch Animal Planet and the gorillas are roaming, watch how they move. Now try to imitate it for a while and tell me you're not breathing hard after a min. or 2. I practice this exercise quite often and it gets me winded pretty quick and if you get winded quick that means your hormones jump and muscles are building. Test it out and see what results you get.

http://images.ultracart.com/aff/88F46789C0276A012D59C78437051600/index.html

Animal Workouts!!!!!!

Now you may have read my post on the power of the animals, now lets take it a step further and look into seeing how this actually works in a physical sense. Picture for a moment you're favorite animal whether it be a tiger, bear, primate or in some cases maybe even a bird......How do you become that animal?

Well I would encourage you to watch Animal Planet sometime and watch your favorite animal, how does it move? When you see it try to imitate it not to the point of running for periods of time or swinging from a tree, just try something to see how it actually moves. That's animal workouts come into play. You try to imitate the very same animals we love, admire, even fear. How cool would it be to walk like a gorilla, how great it would to feel like you can soar like an eagle. Just thinking about it makes me want to make it a reality lol. We seen bear crawls, crab walks, duck waddles hell we even seen aligator walks from time to time.

Never underestimate how powerful you can be if you did your best to walk in the way of a wild animal that works to your physiology. When you can train like a wild animal you soon find that you don't need rep/set schemes or even a plan just go out there and have fun be free. My fav. animal is the gorilla, particularly the Silver Back. Walking on its knuckles and having forearms that make Popeye look skinny and the strength to hold on to a branch with one arm and yawn in the other. To me that would be my only type of training but yet have other ways to have fun. Get my point.

Now if you want to find out how to really train like an animal I would highly recommend Ed & his twin brother Andy Baran's Animal Kingdom Conditioning course. Its filled with workouts and plethora of animals to choose from over 20 to be exact and they teach how to do them effectively.

www.eddiebaran.com

Ben