Mixture Of Training Using Different Styles

    Last night I was watching an episode of Young Indiana Jones where Indy was watching and learning about Jazz in Chicago. Although the story folds more on how Jazz creates improvisational sound it also had to do with a murder that involved a young Al Capone. Back to the Jazz, it's important to know it's not just a few instruments blended together, it's the feeling of creativity and harnessing the rhythm when they just make it up as they go. Culturally it involves different styles of music flowing together to have that sweet and fun sound. When Indy learns to play the Sax, he learns a tune but the tune is generic at first. He had to learn to talk as he played, using music as his voice. Although the song he plays is twinkle twinkle little star, it becomes more alive when he infuses his mind with the rhythm and puts a twist on it that just sounds incredible even for a kid song.

 
    When it comes to training, creativity is endless when you put your mind to it. There are so many programs you can blend together to create that unique style of exercising, just like old school Jazz, using the basics and adapting to a creative sound that just shoots out of nowhere and picking it up right away. You create something out of the norm. If you got the basics, you can find ways to use them in any way you want. It's also important to progress to a harder form of training but the basics is your foundation for a powerful way to say something without ever saying a word. The way you move and express it with passion and intensity can make the basics look more fun than usual.

 
    In exercise it's important to build your own style, use what you already have down and mix them to your liking. I like to combine certain programs because they not only interest me but they challenge my mind and they teach me what to use next, where to go and how it can be effective for me. The last few days I've been doing DDP Yoga and Animal Flow together and moving from one exercise to the next and finding my way to move with power and agility that just has that blend of grace and strength. It's not easy and I don't always know where I'm headed in the workout but that's the beauty of it, finding your own way. Some exercises I blend in come from other courses like certain leg exercises in the Pan Program based on the god/deity of the same name and put together exercises from that and add Gymnastic Abs. You make it your own. I love when certain people like DDP say things like "Make It Your Own" or my friend John Peterson would say "Becoming Your Own Best Personal Trainer" its things like that, that give me the freedom to find what is interesting and creating something out of it. You can do the very same things just in your own way.

 
    The late Karl Gotch once said "You must adapt and improvise." It is one of the most powerful quotes I've ever heard because now you find yourself in certain situations where not everything is a straight line so you have to adapt to things that come out of nowhere. Of course he was talking more about wrestling and conditioning than anything else but this applies to anything else you do. If you got the basics down that's the starting gate but you won't always be using the same things in every situation (workout in this case), you learn to channel your body's ability to move and sometimes pick things out of nowhere so you have to improvise sometimes. If you have a goal to get better that's awesome and strive to achieve it however, there can be "forks in the road" so do speak and you won't always go straight into what you want to achieve, sometimes you have to curve or change a direction in order to keep moving forward. It's like Jazz, it's not always the same tune, tunes can change in different directions and the way the sound is blended with the band to adapt and even come out of nowhere to hit that right note that just fits. Be willing to change directions that could create better results not just physically but mentally as well.

 
Be awesome guys, have a great weekend and have fun.

What Inspires Me

           To be inspired is to be motivated. Finding what you love isn't always easy to find. I have been in fitness for nearly 17 years doing many things but it goes beyond a workout, way passed an exercise and it really rolls over creating something. The way I see it is different than most people. Many look to the gym, I once did that too but that all changed just before I turned 21 and one book became my stepping stone called Combat Conditioning.

            People read certain books to find meaning whether it’s paperback, hard copy or in this day and age on an Ipad or Kindle. I don’t bother with that kindle stuff, reading a papered book just has a powerful look to it, it builds your imagination, the feeling of turning the page. I have various books on exercise, conditioning, mythology, biographies and even a few comic books. One of my latest additions to harnessing my imagination is using the Marvel Universe Encyclopedia; this book goes beyond the typical origin or bio of a superhero/villain it shares the imaginative emotional look of whom they are and that gets my attention. I’m fascinated with Superheroes and the gods of mythology.

            History has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. Want to know how far back, how about when I use to write bios in school about athletes such as Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain to men like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Walt Disney. In grade school I’d come up with these little things about those guys and made some cool collages especially about Disney, my imagination caught on fire. Watching and reading about different eras in history just became a thing for me and I always felt different because of that.

            I’m a movie buff that will be far too difficult to deny. Having many genres of films in the house including my action flicks, cartoons and childhood memories of Disney and Indiana Jones, I can never get enough of a great movie. When I was a teen, Pumping Iron was my intro into wanting to be as big and muscled as possible without drugs and steroids so I began to really hit the weight without knowing a damn thing about, just instinctive. As I got older and watching certain flicks like Superheroes like Batman, X-Men, The Avengers, Superman and the likes, it gave me new ideas to train and harness my skills in certain exercises or methods. The one saga that taught me meditation was Star Wars. Since I couldn’t afford a teacher in that area I turned to Yoda and the Jedi for guidance.

            Am I a little weird for doing these things, I’d like to think so. I love being weird and it’s my way of being a nerd. I don’t care what people think of me in that way because I love what I do and I find things that give me a reason to love training as I grow not just athletically but emotionally and spiritually. I’m not a man of religion as some of you know. I don’t go to church or praise and pray to a certain higher power like God and I don’t believe in that sort of thing but I’ am however a spiritual person. It’s tough to explain because certain people have an agenda when it comes to spirituality and religion so I explain it differently to people but it has the same conclusion and you’ll only know that if you knew the way I told you personally.

            I’m inspired differently than most people and I believe that to be true than others because we all have some inspiration somewhere but it’s not always the same. What inspires you is yours alone. Want to inspire someone, bring a part of that intensity and love of what inspires you to help them on their own path of inspiration. 

Movies That Inspire Me To Train

 Ever since I was about 3 or 4 years old, I've loved watching movies ranging from Disney to the most awesome action packed movies ever. Movies are a great way to look at things at a different perspective whether you’re into fitness or not, you’re being pulled back into a world where anything is possible and the impossible just doesn't exist. It gives you hope and realize that you can dream and make things happen. Granted there are some terrible movies out there and you know which ones so it’s better to understand the type of movies you love.

 When I began seriously training when I was in high school there was a film we watched in class when I was in Sports Occupations that gave me a sense of what I wanted to do at the time and that was Bodybuilding. It was Pumping Iron, the film that put Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno in the limelight. I've seen big dudes before but nothing compared to them. To me they were monsters of muscle and do things that would make the average trainee cringe. I wanted to be just like them, I took supplements (no not steroids), I ate like there was no tomorrow and trained like a mad man. I didn't get to that level and now I don’t want to be at that level, it’s much different but the principles are the same, train hard, eat well and rest.

 Over the years I've watched action films from Arnold to Stallone to Lundgren but one action star caught my eye after watching Rush Hour and that was the legendary Jackie Chan. This guy was fast, agile, strong for his size and just flat out incredible. Once I began studying his films which led me to guys like Bruce Lee and Jet Li, his comedy and action sequences were some of the coolest in the film industry and wanted to learn how to be fast and powerful. After my accident in ’05 I learned how to use my body alone and move with ease and increased my reflex, speed, agility, flexibility and strength all in a short period of time. I realize I’ll never be a Jackie Chan but it is a lot of fun learning your own quickness and putting different elements together.

 Overtime I've had plenty of favorite actors to some of the guys I just mentioned to Adam Sandler, Bob Hoskins, James Earl Jones, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and others but one guy stood out in my mind as an actor who just has it and became one of the biggest icons in history, forget Jack Nicholson or Tom Cruise, it was Harrison Ford that got me interested in epic film watching. As Indiana Jones it was practically the end all be all of action stars, there are great actors no question but I’ll watch Ford at any time. Out of all the actors I admire, he had a look, presence and charisma that just outshine them all, he wasn't a bodybuilder or anything like that but he had a built that I can relate to and was lean and athletic and to this day I would like to have that lean, athletic look but still have great strength and abilities under that. By far the Indiana Jones films are my personal favorites of all-time.

 The last few years, I liked some of the Comic Book movies that have been out like X-Men, Spider-Man, Dark Knight Trilogy but nothing more got me more hooked than the Marvel films of the Avengers from their separate films all the way up to The Avengers movie. Seeing guys like Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk just had me in awe the entire time and that rarely ever happens with me when it comes to movies, this style of Comic Book series alone got me into reading Comics and look at my own training and see what I can do with it. If you get a chance look up my Can You Become Your Own Avenger? Series and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Because of the Thor movie I got my own set of Thor’s Hammer and haven’t looked back since.

 This is just the tip of the Iceberg of how I’m a movie buff and if anybody knows me or seen my house they can vouch for me having a over the top collection of movies. Do I watch movies all day, hell no I love what I do and I train each day as best as possible but the point is from my perspective a movie is not just a way to kick back and have fun for a couple hours, its like studying, researching and learning different aspects of not just film making but how certain actors train or learn for their role in that movie. It’s way better than watching TV and having to listen to the BS you see in it with the dumb reality shows and all the political crap that goes with it, that’s the beauty of a movie, no commercials, no big ads in the middle, just a good solid watch and getting into the characters and settings. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and be sure to watch a good movie after having the feast of your life and have the joy of being together as a family.

The Indiana Jones Mindset

The character is the ultimate embodiment of an adventurer. Seeking new civilizations and bringing them to the forefront for all to cherish. He is a man’s man with great intentions to stop those who oppose all that is decent, resourceful and good productivity. We can all learn from quite possibly the greatest explorer in the history of film. What does this have to with training and great workouts? We can symbolize on finding that great quest on finding the greatest exercise or the ultimate workout or even the most productive program. Each workout is never complete without having some kind of adventure.

 We learn all kinds of things and the people that we learn from is just as important as the workouts themselves. There are those that are in it for the glory and never give you the right road to success. Consumed by greed, money and luxury, there are trainers out there that are like that and rather hurt you and take your money then give the valuable info that can help you live longer, get stronger and become a better individual. To me those are people like René Belog (Lost Ark), Mola Ram (Temple Of Doom) & Nazi General Vogel (Last Crusade). They want to destroy what’s awesome about real training and finding the true nature of strength, conditioning and personal health.

 The people that give us the true meaning of strength and fitness show us how we can learn for ourselves and show us the true path to becoming strong, athletic and conditioned for the things we want to do and love to do. Some do have expensive things to help us but they want to teach us, how badly do you want it, do we have what it takes and how far forward do we want to go? Training is all about learning, finding who you are, where do you want to go in life and sometimes there are road blocks…Financial troubles, not finding that magic pill, what you’re doing is right or wrong, we all have had these issues but there are ways to work around them and still give yourself that adventure you’re always craving. The best I’ve learned from taught me how to push myself in ways no one else could, they gave me a sense of hope and they gave me the power to find my own path in what I can accomplish.

 We will never know if there actually is the Holy Grail that is from the bible, the one cup that caught Christ’s blood in the crucifixion and said to have powers of healing. The truth is, we’re all searching for ultimate power of healing or even the fountain of youth. The search is the search of the divine in all of us. I believe from a fitness standpoint that the Holy Grail is finding the right way to train that keeps you young, healthy and vibrant that keeps you pain-free and live a long, happy life. Very few have found that Grail. Jack Lalanne was one of them, George Hackenshmidt, Paul Bragg, Charles Atlas and a few others. It is that one true quest that keeps us going, finding what works and what doesn’t, learning where you will go.

 Like the Temple Of Doom, you are caught in a web of deceiving jackals that want to destroy your very well being and make you believe in something that not only can bring you to the brink of destruction but destroy your own personal beliefs for life and love. In the beginning, you’re crawling through a dark, mysterious and frightening cave, never knowing where you’ll end up. You find deadly creatures that not only look ugly and fierce but can also kill you in the process. You fight off the creatures a bit and each phase of this dark tunnel; more things tend to find you challenging your deepest fears. Sharp and destructive spikes rain down and you have to fight for your life to get out. You eventually walk out but the ultimate challenge is not too far ahead. Your ultimate challenge is fighting off the one thing that you fear the most and that fear is in yourself. This fear at times can take over you like an addictive drug that controls you more then your own well being. In order to destroy it, you must find that fire within you and set that fear ablaze and bring that spark of life back into glory. Those that don’t want you to have that spark or fire within will try to take you down into the depths of hell and make you they’re own little puppet. Never become someone else’s puppet, pull on your own damn strings and use whatever fight you have left.

 When it comes to the Ark, you are looking at one of the most prominent objects in world history. It is an object that in legend if its power is harnessed, you will be invincible. Reality check, no one is invincible but we can learn to harness the power of regeneration. Our bodies heal from certain injuries and therefore can help you be stronger in some cases. The human body is one of the greatest mysteries of all-time. We can learn anatomy, physiology, neurology and whatnot but the whole mystery of how powerful the body is just incredible. Regenerating is a major key in our body’s system and helps us build ourselves back up from some of the fiercest things like disease, aging, injuries and painful mental attributes. Now there are certain things that our body can’t recover from but with the right tools and with great people to learn from, we can harness our own healing powers and prevent certain things that can destroy what we need to keep healthy the most, ourselves. For most of our society today, we have lost touch of what’s important and that’s being healthy and living a long life. Diseases like obesity, lung cancer, heart problems, drinking and osteoporosis have plagued our way of life and we need to get back to what’s important. Being fit is a tough gig but it’s never too late to start working your way up and having the adventure of a lifetime.

 People need this, want that, this works, this doesn’t, we need this type of equipment, this machine blah blah. Why not just shut the hell up and look at what you’re doing. You’re putting more on your table then you need to and you need to see what the big picture is. Look at Indy, does he have a boatload of things to carry around that people tell him what he needs and should have? Hell no. He has a small change of clothes, a satchel, pistol, whip, his body and mind. He doesn’t use the latest gadget or tries to find a local store to get food, he’s in the f*cking jungle. Having less is more then enough. In fitness, you are seeing thousands of exercises, machines beyond the radar and equipment that you can’t possibly store in a small space. The less you have, the more you might gain something. There’s nothing wrong with variety but choose the things that will suit your needs. Find the best things that will give you superior results and give you success in your workouts. For the most part all you need for life if your own bodyweight, if you want variety then go here and see what can work for you. Use what you can and become the strongest and healthiest person you can be. There’s nothing that should be stopping you.

Inspired Physique Of Indiana Jones

Whether you like it or not, The Indiana Jones movies are without question some of the best films in cinema period and no other actor could do it better then Harrison Ford did. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg did a hell of a job making the movies huge draws over many other great films but Ford brought a style of acting that was unique and different then from guys like Eastwood, Gable, Douglas (Kirk), Grant and arguably  the manliest of them all John Wayne. Ford is one of the very few of his time that had "It all", charm, charisma, a powerful presence and a physique not too similar to those of the 50's and 60's like Kirk Douglas & Johnny Walker.

In the 80's, a big boom of actors that brought a bodybuilding physique to the big screen that took notice the moment they stepped infront of the camera. Guys like Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Van Damme took over action films like a dictator takes over a country, these guys were the top of the food chain when it came to box office films but there were still guys that didn't have the bodybuilder type body that could bring action and fire to a movie like Bruce Willis and Harrison Ford. You don't always have to have big muscles and a bulky body to have presence on the big screen.

Ford is one of my favorite actors for a lot of reasons but even as a celebrity he is different then many actors young or old. In my opinion and never meeting the guy, I feel he doesn't sell out and finds himelf in a scandal and show off his lavish luxuries. Yes he's a high priced celeb and is one of the most famous men of our generation but he seems like the kind of guy that you would hang around with whether he's famous or not and he's in awesome shape for a man reaching 70 and looking like a man in his late 50's.

When he made the Temple Of Doom in the early-mid 80's, he was already over 40 and had one of the best physiques for a guy at any age. Most men at this age feels that they had their run in their younger years and feel they need to just let age take its toll. Not Ford man, he busted his ass building that body for those movies and did he get hurt doing a few scenes, believe it or not yes he did but unlike other actors who rather use a stuntman for 80-90% of their action scenes I feel that Ford went that extra mile and once he was recovered he took it even further. The best part is he didn't have 19-20 inch arms or have bloated looking muscles everywhere, he was lithe, strong and had a body that was similar to some of the actors who played tarzan in the 30's and 40's. Its that type of body I admire and would rather have because you look more functional and able to move in awkward ways.

Whether he lifted weights or not, you can build a lithe, strong and healthy body that doesn't take up a lot of time and can be done everyday for as long as 15-20 min. You do not need to have 30 min. cardio sessions or 3 hour workouts to get in shape when getting out of breath would take no more then a few minutes. You can either train like Wild Animal or do basic gymnastic exercises or better yet use a few tools here and there but you can train and have a body that you always dreamed of. All it takes is a little effort and work your way up an be patient, your strength and muscle will come and you will never have a boring workout ever again.

Like Indy whos only possessions other then clothes on his back is his hat, whip, pistol, canteen and a satchel, you only need basic things to train with and nothing more. Basically the more simple you make it, the easier your goals will be successful and you'll be happier then trying to do so many things at one time and working isolated muscles when you should be doing a few things that work the entire body.