So Nice, Did It Twice

 Get your mind out of the gutter, what is wrong with you?.....

For real though, being in shape isn't just a necessity, it's part of maintaining a good quality of life that keeps you on your toes, keeps you young and brings you amazing benefits. With my recent stints with the Dopa Band, testing out exercises and doing my 500 Rep Deck Of Cards Training, thought I'd spice things up. Thought I'd take a page out of Karl Gotch.

His idea of decks of cards training to maintain extreme conditioning was to do a full deck twice in a row. Doing this consistently with Hindu Push-ups, Hindu Squats, Jumpers & Half Moon Push-ups, it was painfully obvious that this was one of the reasons why the man didn't know the word tired or fatigued on the mat. He was just a beast and can hold his own with practically anyone. Gave this idea a shot with the Band.

The other day, I tested myself with the following exercises for the workout...

Chest Flys

Wave Pulls

Uppercut To Squats

Ski Jumps

Propellers

I really wanted to test myself with this and see what I can do. Did the workout doing a full deck twice in a row in under 45 min. (43:55 to be exact). It wasn't so much the difficulty of the exercises, it was to keep going while maintaining good breath control and focus. This was a total of 1000 reps which isn't always easy to do. The idea wasn't to tire myself out, it was to keep a good level of cardio while keeping the joints safe and the muscles worked to be stable for muscular endurance, durability, flexibility and lasting strength. 

That's the great thing about these bands, they don't strain the joints and can increase or decrease the level of resistance just by positioning how the band is stretched, the longer you stretch it, the harder it is. It's important to be at comfortable levels of resistance to not only work the muscles but not have it be so loose either that it doesn't do anything. Which is why I enjoy it so much.

I love maintaining my conditioning that it keeps things intact and don't need to go as hardcore but have the ability to keep going. The 500 Rep workouts give a variety of exercises to do so there's always something to do. At times I'll do Chest & Back stuff for the upper body, other times do the arms, for the legs I like to do squats and jumps so those can vary with the uppercut to squat combo and ski jumps to Hindu Squats and Jumpers where unlike swinging the arms, you're pulling the band slightly to smooth out the swing which takes a bit of focus and balance to be in control of the speed and rhythm. 

Full body workouts in a short amount of time is key. I'm not trying to keep up with these wrestlers who use them, I can't and there's no way I can maintain that level of intensity at 40 and not be injured. Got to go at your own pace and focus on what benefits you. Conditioning may be your greatest asset whether you're an athlete or not but it's important to keep your joints healthy as well in order to keep things flowing with the body. So nice, it's fun to do it twice.

Be amazingly awesome and as always don't forget to use my discount code to get 10% OFF your order with the bands using POWERANDMIGHT at checkout.   

Keeping Up With The Basics With Dopa Band

Workouts are short but they get the job done. Whether it be circuits are HIIT style training, the Dopa Band is a hell of a piece of equipment that any athlete would love to have in his arsenal. Although there are advanced movements especially if you're an aspiring wrestler or fighter, sticking to the basics always works best. Some of these guys mimic drills in wrestling practice to embed the skill sets into their brains for fights or matches on the mat whether it be for Division 1 Tournaments, World Level or Olympic Level. 

The basics however seem to create more of a stride and keep your conditioning in tact while also keeping the joints healthy. Some of the exercises are as follows....

Chest Press

Rows

Alternating Side Pulls

Squats

Lunges

Curls

Overhead Triceps Extensions

Ski Jumps

Jumping Jacks

Waves (Two-Handed or Alternating)

Sprints

That's more than enough for most people and you can switch them up and use them however you see fit. There are youtube videos that demonstrate all of these and more which give you an idea on how simple yet challenging you can make them. You can do certain combinations of them like a 2 in 1 type movement for example the Chest Press & Squat combo that works both the upper and lower body so you don't have to sets and reps of one or the other. 

I prefer to keep the reps at a minimum of 10-20 reps in a circuit of 5-6 exercises and time myself to see how fast I can get 10 rounds in, depending on the adjustment and focusing on the right order and not skip one or the other accidently because at times you get so into it that your mind goes to a different place. I also focus on keeping form at best as possible because if you're sloppy, the band will let you know about it and it won't be pleasant so keep at a pace where you can keep going but you're in control the whole time, never let the band control you.

The basics are always ideal and they're the backbone for your conditioning, coordination, speed and durability. You can do HIIT type training, I've done it a time or two keeping at a clip of a few rounds of an exercise for 30 on, 15 off. Just a few exercises with that protocol and you can get in a great workout that can be really intense for 15-20 minutes and then be spent.

The mere fact that top wrestlers use these bands at a very high level AFTER their practice, not before or during and those wrestling workouts are some of the craziest in the world. Imagine how insane you'd have to be to go that hard and then work with a band for an extra 15-20 minutes. You're looking at superhuman athletes with a hint of cookoo for coco puffs in order to become the very best. To the average person looking in on that, you would hurt just by looking but if you took that mentality and just put it towards the bands not the wrestling practices, you may understand the idea to get in awesome shape in the shortest amount of time. 

Just working the bands alone can be tough, so learn how to wisely utilize your fitness level to how you work the bands. Some days for me they're fairly easy to get through depending on how I'm feeling that day but other days, it's so intense that I don't even know how I pulled it off. That doesn't mean they're a chore and you HAVE to go so hard, just playing with them and getting into a rhythm can feel easy yet look like you're killing yourself to an outsider. 

Grab a band or a set of bands for you and friends/family who love to work out and have fun with them. There are special deals you can find at Dopamineo that have family bundles, bands for kids, team bundles, bands for female athletes, groups in mma schools or personal training and more. As a bonus, no matter what deal you find, you can get an extra 10% OFF of that when you use my discount code POWERANDMIGHT. Even right now, even with my discount, you can get a deal on getting 2 extra bands and a carry bag for FREE. Be amazingly awesome and keep up with your journey and hit your goals with a vengeance.