The Journey To Super Muscle

           We all share a certain journey in our lives, our journey starts usually when we’re born but also there is a journey where it’s not always where you’ll go in life, it could be something you want to go after. In the case of strength training, some of us in the Physical Culture world are on a journey to create Super Muscle. What is Super Muscle you might ask? Is it having a big burly body like a Mr. Olympia? Is it having the body of a Powerlifter or is it having a body that can do all sorts of things? That is entirely up to you and what your goals are. To me, Super Muscle is having a strong, powerful and enduring body and learning to use it in many ways like lifting heavy weights, doing tough bodyweight exercises kind of similar to a Gymnast and doing high octane conditioning using various tools and programs that keeps you functional and channeling your inner power.

            There are people who say because of a certain age or genetics; they can’t build a great deal of muscle mass. Not true. Sure you may not look like another Arnold Schwarzenegger or Ronnie Coleman but you can build good solid and mighty muscle. Back in the golden age of Physical Culture there were men and women who at first were sickly, weak, overweight, and thin down to the bone but somehow managed to build crazy amounts of muscle and this was long before steroids and high level supplements became the stuff to build muscle. To give you an example, a man named Maxick who was a sick kid, didn't have a chance in hell in his youth to live a long and healthy life yet persevered and became a legend in weightlifting and bodybuilding by becoming one of the first men in his weight class (145 lbs.) to lift double bodyweight in the overhead press and was able to control the muscles in his body to move any which way he wanted. No matter what your age or by genetics big or small, you can create great muscle.

            In my opinion, Functional Muscle is far superior to today’s Bodybuilding type muscle. By functional I mean using your body to levels where it’s useful and can be used in a variety of everyday situations. Bodybuilding muscle is isolating specific parts of the body and not being able to use it in most everyday situations. Take for example my friend Bud Jeffries, one of the strongest men in the world (drug-free I might add) who’s around 6’1 and over 275 lbs. yet when you first look at him he doesn't look like the functional type of strongman but yet he’s extremely agile for his size, very agile and one of the most conditioned athletes of any size. He is one of the embodiments of Super Muscle.

            On your journey to develop Super Muscle, remember to work with other attributes because just building muscle isn’t always going to cut it. Learn to be agile, work on flexibility, build your balance and very importantly exercise your tendons an ligaments, they are the very foundation for your Super Muscle development otherwise you’re building useless muscles that can bite you in the ass. Here’s some ways to build Super Muscle…..

Lift Odd Objects

Practice Isometrics

Do Hard Bodyweight Exercises

Learn Muscle Control

Be Flexible

Do Thick Bar Lifting (Fat Gripz are optional to put on the bar or dumbbell)

Self Resistance Exercise

            All of these are very useful and you don’t have to do all of them, pick what works for you and run with it. Building Super Muscle isn't some thing you can get overnight, it takes time but you don’t have to punish yourself. Have fun, use your imagination and be creative. Your results will come when you make progress a little each time to make big gains. Do what works for you and have a blast with it. It’s only a matter of time before you achieve levels of strength you never believed at first but now are in your grasp.

            Picture yourself getting there, be mindful and get into the habit on never giving up what you want.

Superhuman Fitness

            Training has a meaning for different people and most of the time; they never take action to drive for what they really want. They want results fast but never put in the effort to put in the work it takes to get fit and strong. Some use aerobics as a workout and if that’s what they like more power to them but that’s not the kind of fitness I’m talking about. Others have used Crossfit to get in awesome shape; I’m all for pushing yourself but again not the kind of fitness I’m talking about. So what kind of fitness am I talking about?

            Taking fitness to a superhuman level requires not just effort but the will to progress by mastery. When you go to the gym, how many people do you see going from exercise to exercise like it’s a supermarket? They pick exercises and throw them in without looking at the big picture. Like a grocery list, you want to get what’s on it and not subject yourself to getting more than you have to. Take that concept and put it into training. Find the exercises you want to master. The fewer you want to master the better because it teaches you how to focus on what you’re doing and progress to a higher level of the exercise whether it’s more sets/reps, a more advanced version, changing the speed and tempo whatever. Mastery is a key to reaching superhuman potential.

            The biggest key is your imagination. Without it, you’ll just strolling along, not making any real progress, you might get some results but no where near the results you’re looking for. When you’re training, think into your exercises, picture yourself in a certain situation. Lifting Odd Objects like a keg or log for example; picture as if you’re in a place where it’s crucial for those things to be lifted. You’re in a big warehouse and those kegs of beer or whatever you see in them need to be carried onto a truck and sent out, time is of the essence and if you don’t make your quota you’re going to lose your job. Random I know but if it’s your job to make a certain quota wouldn't you want to keep it?

            You can use your imagination for anything you wish. Got a Sledgehammer and a tire, picture yourself in the woods, chopping down some lumber to take home and either built your home or bring in firewood to help keep you and your family warm so they don’t freeze to death. Each time you hit that tire, there’s more wood to put on the fire place, more wood to build something. Like Isometrics, push against the wall and picture yourself as if you’re in ancient Egypt and you’re moving blocks of heavy stone to help build the pyramids, or picture yourself in a secret chamber where gravity really takes you down (for you Dragonball Z fans) and the only way to stay up and move is by Muscle Control that gives you the strength to do any exercise you wish. 

            These are just examples but whatever you’d like to come up with be sure to focus and never let go of it. It’s like being able to fly like Peter Pan; sprinkle some pixie dust and think happy thoughts so in real life it be your feeling and energy as your pixie dust and your imagination is your happy thoughts, bring them together and magic happens.

            A food for thought if you want to become superhuman is to be challenge yourself at the right time and know when to back off but never being satisfied. When will you know to challenge yourself? It’ll come when you feel the need for a challenge, push yourself a little harder, do a few extra sets and reps, and test a new variation whatever it might be but sooner or later it’ll happen. Stepping back after a challenge doesn't mean you’re giving up, it means you want to get better and you need to rest up but again it doesn't mean you’re done. 

         Progress your way up, take a step back if you need to and challenge yourself often. A Superhuman doesn't prance around like a pretty boy, he challenges himself, he rises above those who don’t have the drive but also help those find that drive and show them how they can rise themselves. Want to be Superhuman; you have the power to be. It’s within you.

Why Old School Is Superior

             Back in the old days of the early 20^th century, you had workers in mining towns, quarries and other places where things needed to be dug up, barreled out and transport heavy equipment or rock/stone that weighed more than you can imagine. These men were extremely strong from this back-breaking work and can topple just about any modern strength athlete today. You want to talk about hard times, try being underground for 10-12 hours a day, cutting, toppling and carrying out rock, stone and coal for a living. It’s a point to learn what real strength is like.

            In my opinion Blacksmiths are some of the most underrated artists in their profession. There are paintings in Paris that are as beautiful as a smoking hot woman but when you assemble a weapon or a crafting tool by your very own hands, the labor, the grip strength, the mind and precision is just off the charts. Blacksmiths are very rare today because you have machines that cut down the object making to a 1/3 of the time. These guys were very good at what they did and the strength of their hands was second to none. I wouldn't doubt some of those guys would be able to bend tough steel or crush your hand by shaking it or squeezing it. There’s a lot we can learn from them.

            If there was the type of athlete we should strive to learn from is that of the ancient athletes of the remote past especially the original Olympic athletes of Greece and Rome long before the modern games came into play. You had guys that can most likely destroy athletes of today. In India, wrestlers were the best soldiers the old empire had because of the discipline, the conditioning and the level of strength that came when they were called upon for war. Milo of Croton would lift and carry a calf everyday, as the calf got older and bigger, Milo would still pick it up and carry him on his shoulders, when the calf matured into a full-size bull, Milo was still at it carrying this massive animal. This was one of the first documented ways to progress to a heavier weight. In the middle ages, you had to be tough as a knight because of the armor you wore was pretty damn heavy and still had to have precise accuracy and strength to fight in battle.

            How can we learn and use to create certain methods for old school strength and fitness? For starters, want to get an idea of what it’s like to work in a rock Quarry, get a tire and a sledgehammer and hit that tire for as long as you can. To simulate moving and carry something heavy, lift odd objects and/or sandbags and carry them a certain distance. Learn the ancient traditions of Indian Wrestling by swinging the Clubs and the Mace, when you’re doing them right you’re carrying on a legacy that has lasted for centuries. Don’t have equipment, learn how to handle your body in awkward positions by moving like an animal in the wild, or learn how to use natural movements that the very first men had to learn; sprinting, jumping, crawling, lifting/carrying kind of like moving like Tarzan. Push-ups and Squats are great foundational movements if you’re in a closed-in space or learn how to handle your body similar to a gymnast or wrestler. These modern fads in fitness today really cannot compare to those who actually had to bust their ass back in the day, training can be fun as I've always emphasized but to really get to what you want, it’s training hard and smart that gets you the best results. 

Superhuman Strength & Endurance Within Its Reach

To know Physical Culture is to know its history and majesty of pure and natural strength & conditioning with the fullest intent to create the ultimate athlete. Many of the men and women have come and gone. One however out of very few that has taken a grasp on the real important aspects of Physical Culture and mold the old-time methods and scrambled together the very best of what makes the ultimate athlete and that's strongman Big Bud Jeffries.

He has taken some of the biggest courses around and molded them to help you become the fittest person you can become. To develop such strength and endurance takes observation, will, believing you will get strong and work together the best to create strength & stamina at the same time. Not many people believe this is possible and if it is how is it done? Is it amount of weight? Is it amount of sets and reps? Is it conditioning along with Strength? Well its all these things and then some.

At Strongerman.com you will find the best of the best when it comes to developing Superhuman efforts of Power, Strength, Stamina, Flexibility and Muscle/Tendon building all at the same time. These methods have been passed down over the last century by men like Bob Hoffman, Eugene Sandow, Aurthur Saxon, Maxick, Otto Arco, George Hackenshmidt, John Grimek, Reg Park, Brooks Kubik, Bradley J. Steiner, Thomas Inch & many, many more.

Take a look at what you will find at this Monstrosity of a strength website.....

Twisted Conditioning 1

&

Twisted Conditioning 2

Strength & Endurance For Martial Artists

How To Squat 900 lbs.

Secrets Of Massive Functional Muscle

& More....

Bud in my opinion and quite a few others...He's a modern day Paul Anderson and has become one of if not the strongest of super-heavyweights drug-free and has overcome obsticals that would make your mother cry and he's still living large and incharge and keep a level of strength and stamina that is somewhat not human. So stop on by at Strongerman.com and find out the true and time-tested methods of our forefathers of physical culture.

Psychotic Strength Turns Into Monstrous Gains

When most people put together a strength & endurance program they end up failing and why? Because nobody really teaches them the right way to bring up their levels of conditioning they could never imagined. It’s not right to feel limited to what can have unlimited potential and create a sufficient system that can give you strength & endurance at the same time. Ok did I just say that right at the same time?

When it comes down to it most people believe that Strength & Endurance can’t be done at the same time. Well then try telling that to strongman Bud Jeffries. Believe it or not this man as a super-heavyweight now at 270 can go to levels that most guys can’t even comprehend he is just bad to the bone strong and durable. Also he’s not the only one if you’ve been playing the home game here. In the eras of the 20’s, 30’s & 40’s you will find strongmen who were not just strong but had incredible stamina, speed and energy that almost nobody in the commercial gyms can do today. Call me old fashion but I much rather rely on these guys then some dude who plays around with a machine and calls himself strong.

Lets just say for safe keeping if you want to become a super athlete you will need to work on a variety of different things but that’s not the same thing as isolating no it means you find exercises that are compound movements (working multiple muscle groups for those who are keeping up) and building foundations for what you can achieve. Why not bring all of them into play and create the ultimate workout. Take a long & hard look at Twisted Conditioning 1 and its Sequel Twisted Conditioning 2. These two courses alone can help you achieve a level of strength that would make an old-timer proud. Becoming superhuman is what we all strive to be. For us guys we want to be strong and keep our loved ones safe and protect them from harm. We also want to be the strongest and most effective athlete we can be and being a bit rugged wouldn’t be too bad either because lets face it, functional muscle can take you farther then as a bodybuilder whose best achievement is standing on stage looking pretty. For the women they want to be able to defend themselves against attackers and have that lean and mean body that not only looks awesome but at the same time can take on a guy. For you ladies unless you’re on steroids you will not get big huge muscles like us guys so stop being afraid of putting on too muscle cause it won’t happen.

Taking a chance to become strong has been the vocal point for men and women as long as civilization and even the caveman era. Being strong doesn’t always mean big muscles but it means having self confidence and being functionally fit to do whatever you please. Being strong has its benefits and when you have just as much stamina as you do have strength, its even sweeter then cherry pie. Take a look at what you will find in these 2 bad boys have to offer…..

Learn the Three Levels Of Conditioning. Not doing one level will ruin your chance at success

Train With Kettlebells

Tips For Gaining or Losing weight

Getting strong with Odd Objects

Building Strength Without Losing Endurance

Finding ways to Bend Steel

Getting good at different movements without being complicated

Building Your Maximum in Strongman Training

Learn the best bodyweight exercise for functional fitness Including Push-ups, Squats, Sit-ups & Bridging for optimal health an strength

Learn how to train with Water.

& Many More……

Just looking at what you will find should give you an idea that not only will you learn from the best but how to keep things fresh and new for every training session you do and I don’t want to imagine the level of strength you will achieve because whatever I come up with you have more of it. This is powerful, powerful stuff my friend and only Bud can deliver this kind of training system to you. Take a chance and create yourself the ultimate athlete with no strings attached, no catches, just plain hard work and the will to successful.

Lifting Odd Objects For Optimal Strength & Power

When you add Odd Object  lifting into your routine you will find that it can accelerate your strength to levels that are just surreal man. I have played around with odd objects myself (like my very wide and long 100 lb. barrel) and from the looks of things they’re not easy to do in the same sense as barbells and dumbbells. I normally don’t do BB’s & DB’s anymore but if you gave a keg or log to try I’d be right on it brother.

The real secret for this particular type of training is that unlike straight handle equipment Odd Objects reflect on needing to move at different angles in one shot. There’s no way in hell you can lift a rock the same way you lift a barbell it’s just the way it is. Now would a thick bar be considered an odd object? That’s tough to say but in my opinion in a twisted way yes I feel it is and for good reason….Its thick and your grip is going to be different and it takes your tendon strength to a whole different dimension. With Odd Objects you won’t find a boring workout because it teaches you to lift differently and grip from odd angles.

In Bud Jeffries' Odd Object Lifting Series you will find a variety of ways to take your strength to a level that could make a strongman competitor proud. It offers different ways to handle the objects themselves such as….

Barbells

Rocks

Logs

& Barrels

All of these are in a series of DVDs that will show you first hand how you can learn to lift properly, be safe and also offers you the opportunity to handle things you thought you can never do. Bud is a true expert on Odd Objects and for good reason….He is just flat out STRONG!!!! The things he manhandles are just a piece of what you will find in the video on the site. Take a peak of what you can become if you incorporate Odd Objects. Learn the secrets of the Old-time Strongmen such as Louis Cyr, George Jowett, Thomas Inch, Arthur Saxon & many more. If you’re a fanatic on strength this series is for you. If you want to gain strength to advance your way through competition this series is for you. If you want to take your grip to a whole new level, well my friend you know what to do.

Are You Up To The Outlaw Challenge?

If you're a typical weightlifter in a commercial gym there are certain rules you feel you HAVE to follow....Do this for biceps, do this for back, do this for legs blah blah blah. Well try telling that to Strongman Bud Jeffries. At 5'11 and 270 pounds he doesn't look like a typical weightlifter, hell he couldn't pass the "normal" standards of what is a bodybuilder but he doesn't care about that nor the rules.

This particular challenge is unlike anything else and something you only persue if you got the guts. Whether you're a weightlifter or not this type of challenge can take your conditioning to the next level. No matter how you slice it you will become stronger and throw away the typical "rules" of the trade in hitting the weights.

Bud Jeffries is the one guy that can make just any challenge thrown at him a walk in the park and he'll tell you flat out that its not just physical but more mental and thats not an easy thing to take and its the truth. He is not your typical weightlifting and physical training pretty boy; he is one powerful and over the top freakishly strong. Here is a list of accomplishments he has done over the years...

1000 Pound Squat (Starting at the bottom)

3000 Kettlebell Swings

Partial Squat of 1850 pounds

Lifts Rocks up to 300+ Pounds

1000+ Hindu Squats

Pulled A Bus

Bends Rebar, Flat Steel and Mangles 60D penny nails and 10 inch spikes

Thats just a small amount he has done but nonetheless he knows what he's talking about when it comes to building strength. The Outlaw challenge is lifting a 150 Pound Dumbbell 1000 times using various exercises. Are you up to the challenge? Do you got the guts to step out of the pretty boy gyms and make a name for yourself in your own training? Well lets see what you're made of and let Bud take you all the way.


Outlaw Challenge

Getting Back To Basics & Why

Isolated training is really only good for one thing and thats rehabbing. The muscles and tendons were designed to be able to do multiple things while doing a single act. Push-ups for example are not just a chest exercise, it works the wrists, chest, arms, abs, shoulders and legs. Why would you need to work one specific muscle when you can get the whole shabang. Say you're in manual labor and had to dig ditches, stack bricks, break concrete blocks or move heavy objects....all of these do not require just one type of muscle group, they work multiple muscle groups so you're getting quite a workout in and of itself. That was just an example but it doesn't matter if you're an athlete, average joe, laborer or what, yes it takes some specific muscles to work something but for the most part you want to be able to use as many muscles as you can because if you work a specific muscle group too long you're prone to injury. Exercise in working multiple groups adds more benefit then just isolating.

Working out doesn't always mean you have to work the same muscles all the time, change things up make it interesting, instead of doing lateral raises why not do presses, instead of leg extensions do squats, why not take out the pull-downs and actually try pull-ups. When it really gets down to it, basic exercises are the way to go. Ask any strongman or look at and read of the old-timers and you will find the same thing. Isolation sucks because the body was not made to function that way it was meant to move and use multiple muscles to work that movement. Even in weightlifting, basic exercises like presses, squats, curls and dealifts are really all one needs to get in awesome physical shape. If you want to add variety why not add a sandbag or a few rocks and kettlebells to the mix. Practice performing basic movements whether bodyweight or weights either way they work like a charm and can build wonders beyond your imagination.

Want to learn the best in basic exercises and take a look at the banners and texts of guys like Logan Christopher, Bud Jeffries, Ryan Pitts and Pavel. Check them out and never look at isolation exercises again.
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Secrets Of The Old-Time Strongmen

Some of the biggest names in weightlifting shared certain secrets on how to not only increase their strength but how to build tendon and ligement strength as well. Back in the early days of Physical Culture there were strongmen that didn't just lift weights and do bodyweight exercise....They added an arsenal of training methods to not only experiment with but it helped their advantage that much more. Back when gyms were just on the uprise there men across the country who couldn't get to a gym either because it was too far away or because they didn't have the money to pay for the equipment themselves to use at home so they improvised a lot and tested different methods and found exercises that not only made them very strong but it helped carry over to when they could use weights. There were exercises that tackled very differently then weights and challenged the body from different angles and were in different shapes and sizes hence the name Odd Object Lifting. Say you had a barrel laying around or a sandbag....You can do a good amount of training using these objects and can turn your body into a conditioning machine.

Odd Objects are not barbells and dumbbells they are peices of equipment that can come from whatever you have. Here are a few Examples....

Barrels

Kegs

Logs

Sandbags

Hammers

Rocks

Concrete Blocks

All these would be considered odd objects to train with. A man who has mastered these time and time again is strongman Steve Justa. If you never heard of him he is considered one of the strongest men in the world and has written a book called Rock, Iron, Steel. You can find that on the Ironmind Website or at Functional Strength owned by John Wood. Justa is best known for training in his backyard and lifting very heavy weight ranging from 500 pounds to 2000 pounds. He carries scrap iron, lifts heavy barrels and carries a yoke that weighs as much as a beetle car. I have very high respect for what he does and is a genius in the realm of strength training. Another man whom I have high respects is Strongman Bud Jeffries. He has a DVD series covering many exercises on odd object lifting and the way he teaches you how to handle them are just incredible. I've played around with Barrels, Rocks and Sandbags myself and I will tell you without blinking twice they are ass-kickers and once you learn to adapt them into your training you will get stronger.

Think of it this way, with barbells and dumbbells you can only move them in limited directions. Now what if you can move a weight in more directions and still gain strength? That be a better way to look at it in my book. George Hackenschmidt once said that to be strong overall you have to adapt to more then just limited movement. If you want to get strong you have to work different angles while working major muscle groups. If you think lifting a 135 pound barbell is the same as lifting a 135 pound barrel it isnt. It takes far more strength and stability to lift a barrel because you can't tell which way it'll go so you have to shift your weight and grip it much differently and not in the same places as a barbell. Odd Objects teaches the muscles how to stabilize differently and how it makes adapt over and over. Go check out Bud's DVD Series and then find out for yourself how awkward it really feels. Train smart and train effectively according to your training needs.

Odd Object Lifting Series