Changing Up The Squat In The Legs Deck Of Cards Workout

 Changing things up can be a good thing in order to keep interest and develop something new to stay ahead of the game. Although I'm not the biggest fan of High Rep Squats, I do understand their value and what they bring to the table in conjunction with Step Ups instead of just purely Squats. On Sunday, I decided to change it up doing my Legs Deck Of Cards workout since I was having a bit of  rough day and wanted to get some shit out of my system. I switched up the Hindu Squats I normally do and threw in the Pan Squats instead. 

The Pan Squats are another variation of the Bodyweight Squat or more specific the Goblet Bodyweight Squat. You can view the exercise here to get more of an idea but the point is that I wanted to see what I can do with it since it has been a while. I learned this simple exercise from Strongman Kevin Wikse who learned it from a Troupe Of Dancers when he put it out in his Leg Training course from Heroic Evolution some time ago. This exercise may not seem much like other versions of a Squat but it is a good one where it takes certain pressure off the knees and builds some decent strength & conditioning when done for high reps. 

The one big deference between this Squat and other variations isn't really the placement of the legs but the placement of the arms. You put the wrists and forearms together as best as you can like you're holding an imaginary chalice or (if you're religious and/or seen Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade) the cup of Christ which opens up the scapula while pushing the chest inward which constricts the breath a bit. I've been doing this exercise off and on for years and have done as many as 500 reps in a workout and it's a doozer. It was named the Pan Squat after the God Pan, the mythological creature that runs the forest and hones the sexual desire for the Nymphs. It's a representation of building healthy hormones by doing leg training and having a strong libido as Pan himself is well known to have. So in the Deck Of Cards, I did 500 Step Ups & 250 Pan Squats, shirt was drenched afterwards. 

I have always believed Squats have their place but not always looked at with a Dogmatic Approach. Conditioning is a platform that should be used throughout anyone's lifetime and having a healthy and strong libido even into older age is a hell of a perk to have. Things like Squats, Step Ups, Lunges, Split Squats and others are great for this and don't need to be done in high reps to make things work. You can hit them in different manners like going fast or doing them slower to hit the leg muscles hard and build strength from there. It's really a matter of your goals. In this case for the article, I tackled the Pan Squats with the Step Ups to get a different feel of my leg training. Unlike the Hindu Squats, the Pan Squats felt heavier cause I can feel it way more when I did the Step Ups. Hindus give more of a spring like movement which is great for building your cardio and speed, Pan Squats tend to put more tension into the leg muscles which in turn hits the lactic acid buildup much quicker from my experience. This in turn can bring greater strength and developing the muscles in the thighs. Imagine doing 250-500 of these, it's a nasty exercise despite its simplicity. 

Overall, it's just a different exercise that hits the muscles in another way, it's really nothing special or in terms of its name a GODLY exercise. I like them because every now and then especially in the winter time up here, my shin and ankles do tend to have more tenderness and putting pressure on them in certain formats causes major discomfort that makes me uneasy so I need to train accordingly. With these Squats, I can take the pressure off the knees and ankles and focus more on the thighs without feeling that discomfort. It feels good in that regard and although soreness comes easier with these squats, I can still do hundreds of reps whether in a row or in total without feeling tender in those areas. Not to mention I feel more testosterone build up from this exercise than I do the Hindus by maybe a good 20-30%. Give it a go.

Kevin has said in his course (which I'm sure he'll still tell you if you manage to get a hold of him) that when he learned this exercise from the Dancers, they would do this for probably no more than a thousand reps but it keeps them in superior condition for their chosen endeavor because it hits the legs to a degree where they can move with ease without pain in their joints since we know many injuries that occur in Dancing tend to be the knees, ankles and hips. This exercise strengthens those areas so these people can dance with little effort and with less injury. Now this isn't just for Dancing, it can be used for Combat Sports, Football, Wrestling, Soccer and other activities. 

Keep being amazingly awesome and get some bad ass leg training in. It's good for your health especially the heart.

Crazy Strength While Walking

    

     When it comes to Mythology, there are many creatures in certain stories like dragons, half man half beasts and many others but when it comes to pure power and strength one of the most legendary creatures the Centaur is famous for. A Centaur basically is a man with a human head to torso with a horse's lower body. When you have that much strength to go with it's not just that it's crazy speed, the tendons of a great animal and if you want to put a little humor to it you can call this guy a real horse's ass. We're going to be looking into The Chiron Program where it teaches how to handle weight while carrying it in different ways.

 
    Now one of the greatest exercises for pure raw strength is the Farmer's Walk, taking an object of each hand (hopefully with equal weight) and walking with it for distance; this could be dumbbells, kettlebells, buckets of sand and/or water putting thick grips on the handles to make it harder and other possible ways. This is truly a man's man exercise. Now imagine pressing the weight overhead and walking that way in different directions, why not clean them and walk that, it's all how you use your imagination. Being able to imagine you're this mythical creature with superhuman qualities and progressing to a great amount of weight, think with great focus. Ever see the strongman competitions that are on ESPN from time to time? These carry weight pretty much with ease, now think what it would be like to lift and carry furniture to help a friend move or being able to save someone's life if they're trapped, bringing that dead weight to your torso and just take off.

 
    Using your imagination is a key to being very successful in your endeavor, if you're too realistic and think nothing of what you only see with your eyes, you can be successful but not in a much bigger manner. When you open up your mind to the world of the possible, picturing yourself with a much stronger body and can handle greater stress, applying it productively in real time with a progressive system that gets you firing your success rate will jump. Work towards building up to bigger weight or whatever you can handle, lift with efficiency so you don't hurt yourself in the process. Imagine being a real Centaur with a powerful upper body and a superhuman lower body with legs that can kill a man with a single kick, a back that can carry a couple people and has vast energy burning within of the wild beast.

 
    Like the story of Atlas, you literally and figuratively have the weight resting on your shoulders and body. It's not easy holding up vast weight and having to carry it but it can make you crazy strong and fast. Imagine having a weight vest on and walking a mile or less with it that's around 100 lbs. more than your bodyweight, take it off after you're done and you're practically floating as you walk and doing it with speed. It is important to train and let it be useful for nearly any situation, a powerful body that can help others and not just to pose like a pretty boy. Being a beast is not always how big or bad you are, it's the strength you possess both inside and outside and using it to the best of your abilities to help one another. The weight may rest literally on you but you have the power to move and not just carry it but push and pull with great power. You can be a smaller guy and have incredible strength, it's all about how you're willing to carry the weight from a mental stand point and letting it carry over to the physical side, hint Mind/Muscle Connection.

 
Have a great Wednesday guys, be awesome and carry your weight with power and might.

Weapons Of Strength

             In Mythology, there are specific weapons that can wreck havoc but at the same time, they define the strength of the person that holds that weapon. Zeus’ Thunder Bolt is one of the all-time mightiest weapons and it puts destruction into wherever he throws it but it gives him the ultimate power over all the gods. Thor’s Hammer is the muscle weapon of Norse Mythology, like the Sword of Excalibur; only one person is deemed worthy to hold it in his hands and it gives him strength that excels over anything else and brings manly power in its grasp. Poseidon’s Trident is just flat out surreal when it’s been used at it’s maximum power, it can devour oceans, destroy ships within a snap and puts you at a stand still to how it is unmatched by just about every other weapon.

            One of the most underrated stories in American Folklore is that of John Henry and the Epic Sledgehammer. In a time where race was feared and those of different color got the shaft just for what their skin holds brought a lot of hardships, hard ache and the struggle to live among other people. Henry brought struggle to light by the use of his mighty hammer and taking on an obstacle that is practically impossible to do, he turned it into triumph and the will to fight for what he felt was the right thing to do. With the swing of his hammer, he symbolized what the weight of the world felt like and fought with every breath of him with swing after swing; he built hope and internal strength that has been long forgotten. Although he was physically gifted and was a might of man, he used the strength of his heart to conquer the demons that roamed in that time.

            The most powerful weapon is nothing physical, nothing you can see with your very own eyes and it’s certainly not a weapon that is to be underestimated and that’s the power of your mind. How we use our minds determines our strength on another scale. The way we think creates a chain reaction that pits you against the ultimate opponent and that’s YOU!!! We build thoughts, emotions and solving/creating problems by how we use our minds, the stretch of the imagination is limitless and with practice; we can devour obstacles, conquer challenges and fin solutions that have logical correction. By understanding who you are and how we perceive ourselves and change how we think we can build success and live the life that was meant for us. By projecting your Self-Image, you learn to create success that brings you happiness, love, protection from negative energy and can even create financial success with the right attitude and using your imagination.

            It’s not something to just jump in and think it’s an instant snap of your fingers. If you want to build your weapons, you need to step up and take it step by step by finding what you want to do whether it’s to build strength, lose weight, build functional muscle or even just want to build a better income; project yourself with a thirst for a positive attitude, be organic, don’t be afraid to fail and be responsible for what you want to accomplish. Nobody can create success for you; no one has your body, your health or your dreams. Be bold and look to things that give you guidance, learn what gives you purpose and how you can make yourself into a happy and high self-esteemed person.

            

       Watch the movie Field Of Dreams sometime and look to the biggest quote of the movie “If you build it, they will come.” What that truly means in my eyes is that to truly be successful, you need to build yourself from within and they (meaning the universe and your imagination) will come to you and guide you but it’s up to you to make the effort. 

Evolution Through Mythology

My Judo sensei once said to me, “a man’s reach must exceed his grasp, or else what’s a heaven for?” He was telling me about his old training schedule, the weights he used to lift, and the body weight exercises his sensei would demand that he perform. I was awestruck, doing 500 pushups, or bodyweight squats in one day? At the time I could not conceive that such a thing could even be possible.

His Judo sensei was a member of the Iroquois nation of native peoples, and while they would train he would tell them the stories about mythical warrior Hiawatha. Hiawatha is said to have wrestled the unconquerable Bear of the West the gatekeeper to the realm of the dead to a draw. Hiawatha is supposed to been able to paddle a cannon with such ferocity that he could change the course of rivers, outrun day light so he could continue speaking with the spirits of the night, and shoot twenty arrows into the sky before the first one came back to touch the ground.

Was my Judo sensei actually supposed to believe that Hiawatha preformed such supernatural feats? Well, no, but also yes, within the appropriate context. His sensei was doing from him what the Iroquois elders did for the young up, and coming warrior-braves; inspiring them to forever keep their reach exceeding their grasp. By telling the stories of Hiawatha the young warrior-braves felt encouraged to test themselves over, and over again. They sought to become as fast as the wind, and as strong as a bear. Like Hiawatha, these represent subjective units of measure. How fast is the wind? How strong is a bear? How powerful is Hiawatha? The answer will always be faster, stronger, and more powerful than you are currently. So you must always seek to improve, be better, and achieve greater.

The heroes of mythologies are meant to spark something deep within us, to light a fire that we could use to courageously explore the depth of our souls, and inner recesses of our minds. As we immerge from our own dark psychic forest, we return from what Joseph Campbell termed the “hero’s journey”, and we now have been remade more in the image what we individually believe heroic to be. These heroes are symbols and as such are mutable. They can be changed to fit societal needs, but still represent the values deemed virtuous by an entire collective, and heritage of peoples.

In my own studies of mythologies, I began perhaps intuitively, to feel as if the writers of these sagas where speaking not only across time, but speaking to more than just ancient superstitions. I started to see a deep, if not hidden wisdom within the stories. Thor’s magic glove which translates to “Iron Grip”, and his belt which literally means “earth’s power”, are what enabled him to wield his famous hammer. In order for a man to be mighty like Thor, he would need to train his hands into possessing a vice-like grip, and obtain a well develop lower back, and legs. In reading the works of old-time strongmen I found this confirmed many times. The key to superhuman strength is found in grip strength straining, and focusing on heavy lifting exercises such as dead lifting, squats, and swings.

What transpired next was an immersive study into the mythologies, and hero legends from around the world. This was the impetus of Heroic Evolution and its strength training programs.

However I wanted not only to share quality strength training, but also to promote the qualities of having good character, or at least an examined character. What is the purpose of being strong in the first place? That is a question that has a dizzying amount of potential responses, and is for the trainee to explore for themselves if they wish, and certainly worthwhile if they do.

The stories of heroes like Hiawatha, or even King Arthur, set forth a code of conduct, as well as I believe, contain physical training protocol that where meant to be discovered by young members of different warrior societies. These stories are laced with clues in not only how to get strong, tough, and fast, but also what to do with that formidability in their society, and how to act appropriately.

Embodying one of these mythological heroes is a life changing process. The hero exists only inside you, and to go within to find them is actually to find your greater potential. The exploits of the hero can never be matched; but the hero doesn’t care, as the point is that you attempt. It is in the fierce attempts at the impossible that we discover just how amazing we can be. The hero can’t ever judge you, and thereby this places all the responsibility back on you. How do you feel about your efforts? Do you feel you are meant for something greater? Do you believe you can, or should, do better in whatever endeavor you have chosen? 

Your answer to these questions can be sobering indeed.

Mythologies allow us to glimpse into our own lives, the roles we, and those around us fill. We all live out a certain “personal” mythology whether we are conscious of it, or not. The simple truth of the matter is that if we don’t like the story we are living we need to change it. The strength to change it comes through becoming our own greatest hero, by moving past our own perceived limitations, and reaching into our infinite potential to grasp at something we never dreamed we were capable of until we found the courage to try.

-Kevin Wikse

www.heroicevolution.com

Mythology & Superhuman Strength

            No matter how you slice it, we've been fans of Mythology for as long as we can remember. We've read the comic books, we've watched the movies, we've practiced certain elements that are based on the gods and we've even trained to be like them but can we really? There are different heroes and villains in the world of Mythology basing on how much we've learned about them. It’s important to have these stories but one must be cautious because we never know what we might find.

            Gods, monsters, heroes, villains, superhuman powers; these things have stretched our imaginations for eons and we still are finding more things about them than we thought to believe. The god Zeus is one of the most prolific figures in Mythology because of not just his power of the thunder bolt but some look at him as a man of great stature and superhuman entities to do good on this world, others see him as a complete asshole for wanting to overthrow his brothers Poseidon & the dark lord of the underworld Hades and control mankind to do his bidding. It is important however to know that a god like that is very powerful and can learn to use his great strength for our own way of training.

            Another great Hero or mythical figure; Thor, he’s one of the strongest gods there is and he’s famous because of that great Hammer of his. When he strikes down the Frost Giants or marches into battle, his hammer is the equivalent to a samurai’s mighty sword. The weapon is apart of who he is, it symbolizes his power unlike anything else and with that power can either be great for saving the world or destroy it b the choices we make.

            How can we tie in these mythological figures into building a foundation for fitness today? Well let’s look back to how real warriors of ancient times trained; they didn't have machines like pulldowns or cardio machines to keep them fit or have barbells and dumbbells to strengthen their muscles so what the hell did they do? Depends on the type of warrior you’re looking at, some were swordsmen, some were archers, others were snipers when they shot arrowheads and even some had special weapons made for specific occasions or battles so they’re training consisted on the type of role they played in. When you look at archers, they have strong shoulders, a keen eye and a great sense of control of on pulling isometrics. That makes me think of Strand Pulling or today’s Lifeline Chest Expander, working the same muscles as an archer did just in a different format.

            If we truly want to put in training like god or a warrior of ancient times, we can’t just march into the gym or get a certain tool of weight or cable and expect to be super strong. Like anything else we progress to become better and stronger and fitter. Think of Hercules, the strongest god of all or should we say demi-god. He was already super strong and had superhuman qualities but at first he didn't understand how to use that strength, it made him awkward and his control was horrible. After learning to use his mind and putting in the effort to control what he was doing, over a period of time his strength helped him in the 12 labors he was assigned by the Greek goddess Hera if you read the stories and the tragic entities that go with this.

            We are inspired by powerful beings, whether they’re gods, extraordinary men and women or even a certain person of status whether an athlete or strong being; it gives us hope that we can be those things to and possibly more if you put your mind to it. The power of our imagination is endless if you really understand it and continue to learn it. We all have great gifts within us and most of us don’t even know it and never learn to unlock them. Learn what you’re good at, progress and turn it into something you can proud of and you can be super strong and powerful. Use your imagination and doors will open to you that you never seen before.