A Gym That Fits In A Corner

 The fitness "influencers" these days like to give people the notion of getting fit in order to look pleasing when in reality, the only thing that looks good is how they "apply" exercises that only takes a person so far and only makes it work in the gym. These men and women who most of the time on Social Media either show off their ass or how bad ass they look doing exercises that in more ways than one are way too advanced for the average person. Basics and Simplicity are thrown out the window faster than Superman.

What really gets to me at times is that these kids (Yeah I' am reaching THAT age) don't have the slightest clue on how to apply any real training that is sustainable let alone understand the old school methods and folks in classic books. I'm all for wanting to make a living and promoting yourself and others but there's a breaking point. You don't want to cross that line where it becomes more of a fantasy than what it really is. If you're going to teach others how to train, I believe in teaching not only the basics but the ideals and realistic approaches to training no matter where a person works out, not just in the gym itself.

I'm not the best on how to teach people in a gym because I don't train in one very much anymore as it is but I do know the basics and how to use certain equipment because I learned how to use them and studied the old school training tools. I do however prefer the minimal equipment (Sandbags, Hammers, Cables, Wheels etc.) and use equipment that are utilized regardless if you're at home or traveling. You learn to use what's available even if it's your own bodyweight. I say to this day, if you can put a gym into a small corner that is cost effective, you're golden. You don't need machines that cost thousands of dollars a piece, hell the most expensive piece of equipment I have cost less than 350 dollars and can do more than a 2000 dollar machine can ever do. 

A gym doesn't even need to be surrounded in a corner, it can be put into a small traveling bag like for resistance cables and Isometric Straps. Less than 5 pounds worth and you can still get the workout of your life in. Some guys like to have barbells and dumbbells set up in their garage which is awesome because Strength Training wise, they can be the best pieces you have and even more so if you use Fat Gripz attached to them, I'm all for that but many in the fitness world have a one track mind and don't think 4th Dimensionally (Like Doc Brown tells Marty in Back To The Future 3). When you start thinking unconventionally with an imagination along with being as safe yet challenged, there's a whole world that can be opened up and you don't have to think like the gym is the only place to go to train. 

Some people see the gym as a therapeutic entity which I understand and I'm all for wanting to better yourself and getting out there and doing what you want to do for your physical and mental health but most of the time, people are conditioned to believe that a building full of equipment is the only way to train and outside of that, very little will work which is complete bullshit. I've reached a point in my life where if I wanted to workout at gym, I'll know exactly the type of equipment to use or adapt very fast to ones I've never done before and make it work but I don't have to do that out of necessity, I can come up with a workout in any environment I choose and that's what I want to help people understand. It doesn't matter if you have a 10 x 10 space or have a wilderness to use, exercise can be done anywhere you choose with the right knowledge and mechanics. I like the gym in a corner because I can pick out what I want and just roll with it and get something awesome out of it. 

Training is about self discovery, being creative and having the discipline & drive to train with anything you set your mind to. There's always a way to train but it starts in the mind first and then making the effort to use what's available whether it's just you or a fucking boulder in front of you. Do we need "influencers", in some cases yes because they can be teachers of what not to do and learn from the original influencers that didn't even use supplements let alone steroids. Seriously, I'll take someone like Brooks Kubik or Matt Schifferle & Bud Jeffries over just about 95% of the "trainers" today. 

Be amazingly awesome and absorb fitness with an open mind and not something that only uses a building for. 

Reached Level 38

Time to celebrate and have an amazingly awesome birthday. A couple workouts here and there, some good food and the best company a man can ask for. This past year has had its ups and downs but you keep breaking down walls and shattering the glass windows that send you into the world of the unknown. Some don't celebrate their birthday, others make the best of what they have and plenty just treat it like any other day. 

Thought I'd get a few poses in to show my progress and although I have ways to go, I'll take what I can get at the moment because that's really all you can do and keep making small improvements. I'm currently at 257 lbs which isn't bad, wanted to be at around 249 but I'll get there, just not today bro. Even in the past couple weeks since I took pics, I do seem to have a smaller waist, definition coming in and keeping the back strong. The bulk of my training has been the Overcoming Isometrics and staying active especially since we went camping and chopping wood was the big factor in staying strong. 

With all the shit going on in the world and guys my age are dying out of nowhere like a lot of athletes and bodybuilders, we still need to keep pushing forward and do our best to look out for one another. I know I've had my fair share of crap with people lately especially one guy that we'll just call Rahul. I confronted him in a lie he said about me and to be honest, it was a dumb move on my part I admit that even though he ended up writing several posts that were so one sided in his favor (which in my opinion is the coward's way instead of coming to me directly) that we both wasted precious time bickering. Overall, it is so freakishly stupid and childish to go after someone whom you'll never see in your lifetime, we both need to just move on and I'll do my thing, he'll do his despite our disagreements. He's got a good business going which he can make improvements on little by little

Every year, there are small hints of wisdom we develop and gain some knowledge on how we proceed throughout the rest of our lives but also reflect on how we can improve ourselves physically, emotionally and mentally. Make each day a little bit better than yesterday, not a ton, just small increments because as each one gets better, it builds up to a huge explosion. 

Birthdays may not be as important to some and others look at it as just another day of still breathing but for me, I take it to heart. Before the age of 2, my parents came close to losing me because of the meningitis. I've had to fight ever since then from speaking to motor skills and brain function, therapy and a whole mess of things. I'm grateful for what I can do even now and I wasn't always alone, I had a great many people to give me inspiration and creative ideas to improve myself. 

Turning 38 is really just a number but in other cases, it makes me appreciate that I'm still here and I still have people in my life that got my back. My birthday wish from all of you, is to take a moment out of your day and just say I love you to somebody. No need to give people a hard time or try to make others feel miserable especially if they're going through things you have no clue about. Three words that can be so powerful, it brightens up a person's day. Just be careful who you say it to but other than that, show some love, some compassion and bask in the glory that you have opportunities to be better little by little even down to the smallest fraction. I'll start, I love you all. Even the haters because despite your obsessions and terrible descriptions, you're a person too and I hope you have an amazingly awesome day.   

By The Beard Of Zeus

            

             Sorry I had Anchorman man on the brain this morning. If you’re a fan of Will Ferrell or Awesomely Stupid Comedy watch Anchorman & it’s sequel. Whenever Ferrell (who’s character is Ron Burgundy) is in shock or whatever he says a random set of words instead of holy shit it’s like “Sweet Odin’s Raven” or whatever comes up. I find it funny but I still like the god himself.

            Funny things aside, you can harness the power of Zeus if you apply the thought, your action and your imagination of super strength and speed by using simple techniques that can create strength by three fold. It’s teaching you to harness your strength that you already possess within you that just needs a key to unlock the door. Believe me I was skeptical at first too and I've been learning all kinds of stuff for years but I decided to put my skepticism aside and just test it, see if the guy who was teaching it was bluffing and full of shit, I was dead wrong and was in for a whirlwind.

            I was shocked when I incorporated the sounds, the imagination and the target points to what I want to do and my strength shot up like a damn cannon. I've literally done hundreds of exercises in my lifetime and even with the most difficult ones felt at ease. It’s called CoreForce Energy; a system proven to combine different elements to surge your strength in less than a few minutes if not seconds. Imagine if you’re an athlete being able to run a little faster down the field, knock the ball out of the park, have laser eye coordination while shooting a basketball have a faster and more accurate slap shot, have a better golf swing and do it all without steroids and/or PEDs, would you want that kind of power and speed?

            This isn't just for athletes but for people from all walks of life from the business man to the martial arts, to the entertainer and opera performer, to the awe strength of Circ Du Soleil to the motivational speaker who wants project a greater voice. When you get your hands on CoreForce Energy you’ll learn in small chunks how to peak your performance at the maximum level with step by step simple but effective elements of training, philosophy and the internal arts.

            Zeus is a fundamental component of the course and you’ll find out why when you hear the sounds of power and music, to feel the surge course through you with breathing patterns that give you strength instead of draining it and you’ll find the deepest secrets of Einstein’s vision of standing on the tip of the light traveling at the speed of light at 186,000 miles per second and how this one technique can increase your speed within an instant. Unlock the power that’s already within you and harness your strength like you've never seen it before. No matter how big or small you are, there’s something there for everyone and my friend Garin Bader will show you the deepest secrets of unlocking your power, your undeniable speed and the strength that is just edging to be unleashed. You have the power my friend, make it happen and perform at a level that you have been dying to have.

Expanding Knowledge & Experimentation

            The ability to learn different things that keep your mind and body flowing is a gift in itself. Learning what you want to do makes things all that much simpler even when it gets difficult sometimes. Why is it important to learn what you want to learn? Because the more you experiment and practice, the better knowledge you'll receive and having it become a second language. Billy Robinson of Catch Wrestling legends said it best “Learn how to learn.”

            What is it you want to do? Want to learn to lift weights, practice hand balancing, move like a wild animal, become a old-time strongman or yet you want to learn them all who knows but whatever you decide to do, make not only the best of it but make it your own, you can learn the basics but it’ up to you to find what you're best at and making the habit to become self-reliant in your own style of training. We all use different patterns, moves, training ideals and what can work and what can’t but yet its how you interpret the way you experimented and practiced.

            In the commercial gyms today, you see a lot of trainers who push you when you're not ready, they'll tell you to do something and if you get it wrong they'll let it slide but then they get pissed and give you a hard time when you're just learning. I'm not saying they're all like that, I know a few guys and they're good at what they do but a lot of them just don't give a damn and rather take your money then share and help you succeed in what you want to accomplish. I’d say for the most part avoid commercial trainers. A lot of those guys don’t tell you how to be successful, they tell you to work this, work that and more stuff that has nothing to do with results, just them to keep cashing the checks.

            When you have learned a few basics and have mastered them, the next step is to climb the ladder and get better at some of the harder stuff. After a while, you'd want to put them together to create your own program to suit your goals. Nobody does things the same exact way because our body to weight ratio is different and we have to work things that suit our structure. Use what you learned, from different tempos, speeds, movements and holds that work for you.

            One of the most important aspects of expanding your knowledge and experimentation in what you want to do is this, break the rules. Sure you can learn a thing or 2 but you don't have to follow every single person’s advice, if you did, you're only closing off instead of finding what works for you. When you train, make up your own rules, you already have the basics down so why not rebel and make it your own. You're the king/queen of your own program, you know what works and what doesn't  and nobody can tell you what to do. Once you have mastered what you learned from others, break away from them and become who you want to be.

            Be creative, open up your mind and make it happen for you and only you. You can pass down what you learned but don’t give away all your secrets otherwise you won’t let them discover things for themselves.

Be sure to check out Don Powers’ new book Catch Wrestling For Cops here at Strongerman. You don't have to be a cop to make it work for you.

Practice Develops Knowledge & Wisdom

          We develop certain things that make us unique. Sometimes it comes naturally for us but the rest of us have to practice these things in order to be really good at them. What do you desire to do? Do you want to be a great athlete, a business man, a writer or better yet a better coach, well in order to make that desire is to practice and believe you’re practicing more than anyone else. My desire was to be strong, and a hell of a good writer. I practiced by applying the things that helped me reach my goals and not only did I get strong but I kept it consistent in various areas of my life but writing has been my love for a long time next to fitness. I was telling stories and writing about people long before I became an athlete. I learned my writing from my mom and I expanded what I learned to create my own style, I was determined to be great at it in my own right.

            To learn is to practice. It’s like if you never touched a kettlebell but wanted to be great at snatches, juggling and presses and so on but in order to do them you have to actually do them. Now there are those that say “Practice makes perfect” but what does that really imply? If you practice and its consistently terrible, does that mean you didn't practice enough, no it means you just have a consistent application at being perfectly terrible so it’s time to switch things up. There are certain things that we’re not good at and no matter how hard we try to perfect them it’s not always going to come in our favor. If we find something we love then the practice of that might be better and you’re going to get better because you’re mind is in the right place and it’s going to happen.

            Should you practice what you want to do more or less? That’s actually a tricky answer but I believe I might have an insight to how both work but one will do more than the other. Personally if you want to be the best at something you should do more of it because if you practice more and learn how it can make you better greater things will come and you developed that knowledge by understanding how it’s applied yet you also did it and have that experience. For less practice, there are those that have certain gifts and even though they practice a little, it still has that mindset that just translates to how their bodies move, the way they think and how aware they are with that natural instinct. Both have good qualities but the more you apply the more you develop and it becomes a second language to you.

            To be strong, is to simply practice. It’s not how strong you are physically or mentally, it’s the strength to apply the things you want to be really good at. Some of us can’t be huge and have a 700 lb bench press or be able to do certain feats of strength like tearing a deck of cards or bend wrenches and rip phonebooks in half, but we can get strong in areas for those who can’t because we end up practicing differently and that’s the beauty of it. Practice what you love no matter what it is and never stop learning it. Be strong at what you do and apply it the best to your abilities no one else’s. Knowledge knows and understanding, wisdom is how you apply it into action and doing it, mastery takes a lifetime but day by day practice makes it all that much sweeter. 

A Day With A Legendary Strongman

 Just before Thanksgiving, there was a strongman traveling to a town to do a show, when I found out he was going to be heading only an hour away from my city, I couldn't pass up telling him I was near there. After his show we met up and trained outside in my backyard smashing tires with my Thor Hammers along with his Stronger Grip Sledgehammer and after getting my ass kicked while needing a few breaks this dude finishes with 1000 swings in 21 min. We ate dinner down the road and the first half was how awesome his son is doing, the other half was about training, putting knowledge and wisdom into my head and even talked some stories about Strongmen and even about his time with Matt Furey. We said our goodbyes but the story doesn't end there, there’s more to come.

 After Thanksgiving has passed, the strongman came back because he had some traveling to do shows and I caught up with him again, this time it was more than just a few hours, it was for more than a day. He did a show no more than a couple miles from where I lived, I got to help out with the show and be apart of it by ripping a phonebook in front of 400 kids plus their teachers. It was an experience I’ll never forget and being a performer from a different era of my life it was nerve-racking but exciting at the same time. I learned how he performed and spoke in his shows and how to get an audience’s attention but getting his own message across in different types of situations. I’m sorry you’re probably wondering who the hell I’m talking about, my apologies. This is Professional Strongman and Motivational speaker Bud Jeffries.

 After the show, Me and Bud packed up and were about to grab some food when he needed to get his oil done for the truck so we stopped at a shop and sat in the truck while we talked about wrestling, the old-timers and even about a cousin that was legendary in his own right, it was the Boxing Legend Jim Jeffries. He told me a story about him and Jack Johnson that was pretty awesome. After the oil was done, just before we left, he rips up a deck of cards just for kicks for the mechanics and one guy even said jokingly “Thanks for making me feel afraid of you.” We get a bite to eat at Subway and before we did this, this powerful and humble strongman tries to hook me up with a pretty girl not once but twice. Messing with him calling an a-hole it was pretty funny and I literally nearly turned purple from blushing really hard. We get dinner than its back home for the evening.

 Before I continue with this story I just need to point out that being in his presence and admiring him for years it was like if a baseball fan spent the day with just a Barry Bonds or a Albert Pujols, it was that awesome. Training alongside him was an experience you can’t comprehend, not even at a workshop and I’ll tell you why later on. I couldn't keep up with him at times but how can I? I’m just learning the tip of the iceberg on conditioning and here he is just pounding on those tires. For the most part despite needing breaks quite frequently, he just about literally broke me down because I had jut gotten my ass handed to me and although he never said it I kept thinking of him saying “Come on man, keep going.”

 This guy I felt took me under his wing and wanted to help me put things in perspective and understand what you can do to help people even more than what you’re doing now and make something happen. Learning from him was surreal and it gave me something to use for the rest of my life and do something nobody can do. I’m still young and I have far more to learn but for one night, it has given me a lifetime to use.

 Continue on with the story, we’re eating and decided to put on the Expendables 2 and while watching this, we broke into little conversations about the actors and than for a brief pause during the movie we got to talking about each other’s obstacles and sharing funny stories and let me tell you and I know he may not admit this but Bud had stories that made Jeff Foxworthy sound dull and I just couldn't stop laughing at times because the way he expressed them was just priceless. If you truly want to know Bud, making you laugh is one of the best things he can put on you and it shows that we as strongmen are not big, tough and demeaning guys; we’re just like everyone else with different backgrounds and finding ways to make each other laugh.

 After the movie was over we set everything back up, sat in the lounge chairs and went over stuff about the old-timers, steroids, guys in the upcoming Superhuman Workshop and helping me move more forward with my passion for Physical Culture and although it lasted only a couple hours, it felt like a lifetime in a good way just listening and sharing knowledge and wisdom. He truly is one of the best guys in this business and I’m proud to call him one of my brothers. He’s not just a mentor or a guy who helps you out a little bit in time, he was like an older brother and passing on his words of the business onto me. It was one of those things you just never forget.

 Before I end this I want to tell you the difference between being in an idol’s presence one on one vs. being at a Seminar or Workshop. Being at a workshop, you connect with them and get to learn what they know so you’ll get better but no matter how you slice it, there’s another person sitting right next to you getting the same teachings and doesn't have that same feel if it was just the two of you. One on one however is a whole different experience, it’s not even the same league as being taught at a seminar, it’s just the two of you and going into much deeper levels of knowledge, stories and getting to know your idol on a very different level to the point where it’s not just a few conversations, you literally feel compassion and hold a place in your heart for them that you just can’t get anywhere else.

 With Bud it wasn't just being with one of the strongest guys in the world, it was like being with that older brother you wished you had growing up and being apart of something that has a mystical feel to it and feeling like you’re a part of a family that you’ll always be happy with. Spending time with him was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I’m already getting a bit emotional just looking back on it and it’s something I’ll never forget until the day I die. I hope I get the chance to do it again in the coming years and learn from him as much as I can stand and pass on to my kids because he’s one of those people that you can’t help but like and get to be apart of something that you love and cherish. Thank you Bud and I’ll always be there if you ever need me, you truly are one of my dreariest friends and you’ll always welcome. Stay strong brother and never stop what you’re doing, you are an awesome friend, a loving husband and a damn good father to Noah, he is the luckiest kid in the world.

My Secrets To Daily Training

If you want to build the greatest foundation for creating great programs for you and your goals you must absorb as much information as possible. They say knowledge is power, well the more you learn and the more you experiment, you will start becoming your own trainer.

When you train, get a feel of how the exercises are in the beginning and work your way up at a pace that's comfortable for you. Listen to how your body responds to soft training and tough & brutal type training. Work on things that give you a sense of power and a sense of well-being. Learn to use your instincts when your body gets tired and how your body responds to certain exercises. There are some exercises you shouldn't do which is fine but you need to find out which ones work and which don't.

There's a big difference between training for an hour at one time as if you trained a full hour throughout the day. Your concentration is different and your structure is different. Your speed and pace is different. This is where you need to learn on how to pace yourself in a workout. Spreading an hour throughout the day is a good ideal because you get to focus on the things you want to work on. For this benefit it helps you with your schedule as you may not have a lot of time to train but doing things here and there set the pace for how the rest your day goes.

Many people can't find that amount of time dedicated to a workout. Now working out for an hour straight or resting in between sets within the hour can be a good thing as well but your mind structure is different cause you are training for a long time and concentration is key in this case. Training at a good clip for an hour straight is also different especially on specific exercises that can be ballistic and tough plus in my experience doing tough workouts for an hour just makes you feel not that good and your body doesn't have the capacity to train hard for that long.

I feel the best benefit of training for an hour straight shouldn't be hard training at all. It should be soft, concentrated and meditative. Work your joints, tendons and ligaments while taking the time to do deep breathing because working on these elements can create huge jumps in your training later on as you can do more speed and concentration on shorter workouts and work your body the way you feel needs to.

Me personally I rarely ever train for a whole hour at one time or throughout the day as I get bored very easily. I have some ADD type moments in my workouts because ten minutes to me is too long and I need to regroup and think about what I want to do. This is where shorter workouts are more simpler then doing the same routine of 30 minutes of this and an hour of that. I have a bit more time to kill then most people ad even I can't do that much work, its boring, not fun and makes me want to punch someone in the face for whoever came up with that idea.

Pacing yourself in a training session is critical because you don't want to go so fast you lose your form and you don't want to go so slow that you get bored and just hate what you're doing. Work on finding your own pace and speed according to how your body responds an your mind is in the right place while maintaining the best form possible. Its not bad to go fast in a workout, hell that's a favorite for me because I want a great workout in the shortest amount of time as possible. Its not bad to go slow either so you can focus on certain exercises like holds and working your flexibility safely and productively.

One of the real keys to being your trainer is to change up your exercises and tempos on a frequent basis and make your body need to adapt. This is sometimes called muscle confusion but in my line of training its making progress on developing fresh and exciting workouts. I have to change up all the time but I'll use the same exercises while mixing them up and working at different paces. Some exercises I move fast on, with others its more focused and more on movement. I also hold certain positions for a certain amount of time. This works the muscles and tendons in a different setting and is sometimes more relaxing then just moving and moving.

There's no one way to train and everybody trains differently no matter how much you teach them. A lot of trainers make the mistake of trying to show a student an exercise exactly the way they think it should be taught and the student just doesn't always get it right and its not their fault. A person should work an exercise according to his/her body structure whether they're small, average, thin, muscular, overweight or tall & short. I learned this the hard way from a teacher I once had who taught us how to do side steps and plyometrics. I'm 5'10 and well over 240 lbs. and have some arthritis in my leg due to my accident years back and although its strong and flexibility in some areas, in others it isn't and she tried teaching it exactly the way it worked for her which cannot and logically cannot work the same for someone my size or smaller. I ended up hurting myself and eventually quit after nearly a month. So even with all my training experiences from doing hardcore training methods and doing stamina training that makes most people want to puke it be hard to believe that I needed to quit after going through that.

Learn the exercises you want to learn, master them and work with them as often as possible and supplement other exercises to work weak areas and to help you recover. Doing this type of progress and finding what works best for you puts you ahead of the pack and you learn the ultimate key of training of becoming your own trainer and that's Self-Reliance. Don't ever copy someone else's program but your own because you won't be achieving first rate training, you'll be a second rate wanna-be and this is something that should never happen to you. Don't go looking for a trainer and be second rate student, look to yourself and learn what you want to learn for yourself and become a first rate teacher of your own ideals and programs.