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.

A Satyr For Thought

    

       As you may have read in your Greek Mythology or Roman Mythology books (or watched Chronicles Of Narnia), you may have noticed a god that is both human and animal and not as ugly as the Minotaur. It's a half-man and half-goat creature known as a Satyr or Faunus to the Romans. This creature can be seen as beautiful or terrible looking but in the end he's a god that is different, unique and misunderstood. To Christians (most of them at least) he's looked at as the devil that is the sin of desire, pleasure, drink and sexuality but sinned because of being born not from nature. For the most part, you can't really condemn the poor guy, hell he's half-goat for crying out but he's also a god of the wilderness, the burning desire to love and sing with heart and beauty. His legs and horns are the mere foundation of his powerful strength and unadulterated superhuman hormones. This outlook is what draws those (except for Nymphs) to learn how to get that kind of strength, how would you develop that kind of leg power and hip drive?

 
    Every single human being on this planet has the desire to do something whether it's good, evil or ugly its nature and we are the most complicated species on this earth. We desire something that we hold dear, some go after a job they worked hard to get into and have a passion for it, some join a convent to desire the will of god and help among the word of the bible, others just desire certain they either have or can't have but yet it burns within them and many things can come out when it comes to passion. What the Satyr teaches us in desires is to live with life and desire what you please and although it can get out of hand that's where you channel your passion and what you want to be successful in anything you wish to accomplish. In our bodies, the strongest and most enduring are legs from the hip all the way down to the feet; we dance, we jump, we run, we walk, we kick, we squat and do all sorts of things. Our lower bodies give off the most powerful hormones because that's where our sex organs are and we need those to reproduce offspring but they can do other things too like give off great energy if you apply them the right way (not talking just sex here). Training the legs feed energy and power into those muscles, tendons, bones, joints and even the organs because if you move with certain intentions you're unlocking the true secrets of our natural growth hormones.

 
    There are two sides to practically everything in life and there's no questioning that. You can say there's only one or maybe 4 and 5 but usually ends up being one side or the other of the coin. Within all of us there is both good and evil. I really hate to break it to you but not every single person who has killed or broken someone's heart hell even tortured somebody is evil and not every goodie too shoes has a rainbow personality to them, it's a matter of balance of that individual and what drives to be either one or the other or both. I for one have a good personality, I can get along with just about anyone, I'm a loving person and very caring but if you do something to me or anybody I love and care about I will find a way to destroy you one way or another and I won't think twice about it. We are all capable of killing someone although most likely it will never come to that but if an opportunity arises you have no idea what they're capable of especially when it comes to parents or other types of people. On the other side if you are a person who is loving, helpful, caring and is happy you will feed off that energy around people whether you or they realize it or not. In the beginning I mentioned the Satyr has been known in many religious formats as a horned and ugly figure because of not just his looks but his personality and the desire for lust, drink and sex but if you truly looked up close he's a creature with love, song, dance and is one hormonal son of a bitch but he feeds off powerful energy that is complex.

 
    As a god the Satyr or as we call him in Greek Mythology Pan, loves what he does; he sings, he dances, he chases girls and is an underrated creature that desires life to the fullest without people giving a damn what they think of him. Although he was born a unique creature, he lived with a purpose and is even a savior in some stories as he played a mighty role in helping the Olympians defeating the Titans. I'll let you figure that out on your own. So you see, he is also a hero but yet still feeds of the energy of his powers of the wilderness. Physically we can have a powerful fit body by training our legs in different ways yet mentally if you apply it right for you, certain exercises for the legs can be the most brutal forms of training but still drive you to build powerful muscle, natural hormone levels and expand your strength both physically and mentally. Truly love what you were meant to do, give off great energy with what you do, share with those that you feel deserve to hear and never forget to understand the true power of your nature.

 
Happy Thor's Day everyone, be awesome and get those legs moving.

The Inspiration Of A Half Man Half Goat

    

     In various religions, there is a symbol of man of with horns on his head and goat legs; they like to think of this creature as a sign of the devil and that evil lurks in all those that look like him. The Satyr however is more so the opposite in my opinion. His story if you look at Greek/Roman mythology (Roman would call this Satyr Faunus) is a tale of living life to the fullest. Letting our desires become a reality in a loving and free-spirited fashion. Living life being who you are, love whom you want and celebrating until you are no longer on the earth. Does that sound like a symbol of the Devil to you? I'm not against anyone who has religious points of view but I don't like certain views that makes it sound like it's trying to control everyone and make them feel unworthy because they don't believe in what you do. Pan really loves all kinds of things (especially Nymphs but that's another story) and doesn't want you to feel unworthy. Sure we have urges that we could balance out but not controlled.

 
    Pan is a dancer and uses music as his voice. However no matter how much study I put into on this awesome symbol of love and celebration he'll always sound Irish in my head for some reason, I'll let you sink that in for a second. Back to the task at hand, one of the key aspects of his life playing the "Pan" Pipes and dancing is that he does it with passion and incredible strength and agility. Most who look at Ballet Dancers think of this prissy, stuck up and bad acting when in fact if you look close enough, Ballet has pound for pound the strongest legs in the world because it's not just tip toeing around a stage, it's using graceful skill and using the legs as the voice of the play that is taking place. Salsa Dancers at their best are absolutely incredible and the women with their beautiful bodies and amazing strength to move in ways that can make a man blush (it happens trust me). For women, they move in ways no man can and I'm not saying this to be sexist, men can move too but have to move more weight because we are denser and have greater amount of hormones being thrown out. Dancers in reality are known for not just incredible leg strength, agility and flexibility but how they use them with undeniable passion.

 
    When it comes to leg training, nothing builds your natural hormone levels greater. The leg muscles are the strongest in the human body and can withstand greater stress than any other parts. One of the best basic forms of building leg strength is the squat. Now granted I'm not just talking putting a barbell on your back and going up and down, there are many variations of the squat. One of my favorite exercises is the way Sumo Wrestlers do their squats; We know that Sumo guys are these big, humongous beasts that are mostly covered with fat and look like they can't move around very well, truth is they may not have great endurance but their legs are incredibly strong and very agile. Believe me do 100 Squats Sumo Style and you'll be feeling wobbly afterwards, they're tough. Beyond the squat, there are sprints, lunges, wall sits, jumping and moving like a wild animal; think of moving like a frog, a kangaroo, a stalking lynx or hopping with great power like a Jack Rabbit, your legs will become stronger, your tendons will burst with strength and your explosiveness is off the charts. Your Growth Hormone will shoot up and this will help you gain strength, build a powerful metabolism and help you stay young. Wouldn't that be awesome?

 
    Leg training when you do it correctly and not risking injury or trying use so much that you tear something; you extend your energy to your sex organs. Wow did I really just write that, did I break the fourth wall? Sex is a beautiful thing, sure there are idiotic ways of showing it but true and passionate sex is incredible. When you learn to do incredible training with the legs it jump starts the system in that area more than anything else. Add in flexibility training and you got yourself a winner. It's not all about how much muscle you have or how flexible you are (it does help in some ways) it's about how you bring that passion and energy into it and then using that energy for something else. It's learning to channel yourself and understanding how you balance yourself. It's different for each individual but the common theme is that good and smart leg training will lead you to great health in many forms. No matter your age, you can increase your hormones naturally if you apply yourself the correct way for you. So next time you think Pan is the devil and all that, think of it in a different perspective. The power he possesses with his legs can actually show you ways of strengthening your body that you didn't think of before. Love one another and share this incredible life with as many people as possible and channel your energy in a very positive and productive way.

 
Happy Monday everyone and get your hands one of the most unique systems on the planet the Pan Program.

 
    

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.

Get Them Legs Moving

            For most of us guys, our legs were meant to be strong, powerful and muscular, not look like a bird. I've seen guys in the gym, at parks and other places where their upper bodies look like they were made out of granite but from the waist down, they look like a flamingo on a bad day. Granted I understand for some people, muscle isn't built that easily but yet some have pretty damn strong tendons and a body that is more ripped, defined and looking like iron cords but yet at the same time, they’re still strong in some form or another.

            To get an understanding of how the legs are vastly important, when done right and at a certain pace that’s built up, the legs are the very core to our fertility and our growth hormone levels that help burn fat, build muscle, recover faster, burn calories and balanced increase in Testosterone. Ever heard of the Satyr Pan? He is one hell of a god (or deity whatever stories you read). He can teach us more on leg training than most care to learn but for certain reasons, we would rather give him crap for his lust, uncontrollable sex drive and for “looking like the devil.” In the stories I've read, he has a passion for life and loves the ladies (in this case Nymphs) but he also teaches us how to be free and explore our true selves while being happy and living with gusto and virility. In my opinion, when it comes to leg training, he shows more on how to gain “Our loins” than anybody else by dancing, having a zest for life from within and building our testosterone levels that can go to great lengths without the need for drugs or any of that crap.

            Powerful legs go a long way (literally and figuratively) because we follow them wherever we go, we walk, we run and we even them to exploit our “Assets” in the media. Think about it, for women, legs are the very foundation to get someone’s attention, beautiful and lithe legs with a great waistline and a beautiful butt. For guys, our legs are the key to gaining virility, super strength and boost in natural growth hormone that builds muscle, loses fat, gain strength and testosterone that shoots through the roof more than any lethal injection combined because it gives that natural balance in muscle and tendon strength.

            Think of the energy you can possess if you used real, basic leg training that gives you a meaning to your life, be able to run, jump, squat, dance and be able to live with strength, unimaginable endurance and a love from within that has you smiling without thinking twice about it. Real physical power comes from the legs and it can open the door to health and fitness like you've never had before. Build up patiently and you’ll see the many wonders of health and strength from using your legs.

Gods And Deities That Teach Us About Fitness

           For countless centuries, we have worshiped many gods and supernatural figures that give us power and love over our lives. Not all have used them that way and have pushed the boundaries what is good and what’s evil about worshiping a god, king or supernatural force but when it comes down to it, it’s important to know that we hold some of these forces and beings in our hearts and can learn from them. In this case in the world of fitness, they’re just as important to learn from in that caliber if not more as we see them as a driving force to believe in.

            Building fitness using the very figures that have conquered World Literature and Mythology is a great way to look at how we can create the human body to a degree of strength and health that we all strive to find. For all intents and purposes, there’s no need to do drugs, steroids or any of that crap to build solid, functional strength that can carry over to everyday life. Here are a few figures in Mythology that can grasp a hold on our fitness training and how we can use them to find what works best for us.

Zeus: The All-Mighty Greek God (or Roman’s Jupiter) is a great way to look at fitness because he is that powerful, nerve forcing god that gives us the strength that we can grab a hold of and harness that force inside us to create that superhuman strength and speed that scientists say we only use 5% of at best. Think of having the hands of Zeus, grabbing something or taking in energy that surges throughout your whole body and puts you in a state where it feels like you can take on any obstacle and laugh at your challenges.

Pan: The Satyr half-man half goat that is the spirit of sexual energy and the way we harness our power and strength from our legs. When you build powerful and strong functional legs, you create that balance of testosterone which in turn gives you great health, burns off fat, powerful muscle all over and it aids in making you feel younger, stronger and more in tuned with your inner child of play and man/woman of loving energy.

Hercules: The man of Superhuman Strength. This is more in tuned with bodybuilding but more importantly, to truly understand the fitness side of Hercules is to learn to build your body that is not only powerful and solid but having nearly equal strength to go with it. The old-time strongmen had built solid and mighty physiques but at the same time, their strength was even more impressive. Men like Reg Park, John Grimek, Eugene Sandow and others that had incredible bodies but even greater strength that was just unbelievable. Don’t be a Tarzan and fight like Jane kind of Bodybuilder, harness your strength and power naturally as you build your physique. Basic lifts and basic programs are key.

            To go beyond what you’re taught, you have to think outside the box. We are taught certain things from different people but in order to be truly successful you have to look within yourself to find the best possible way to be fit, healthy and crazy strong. This goes as much for women as does men. Women do train differently because their bodies don’t have as much testosterone as men however, it’s important to know that you can build a beautiful body that WON’T GET BULKY because unless a woman is using testosterone pills or steroids that’s really the only way that’ll happen. Work with what you learned but also find what works best to your abilities. Just following someone isn't quite enough and the way you follow them isn't always in your best interest. Think for yourself at times and remember to be yourself.

            Putting your body and mind to the test has been the standard for all things for as long as mankind has been around. The Gods and their stories gave us a reason to use our bodies and our brains to think and look for what works and how we create certain things that gives us hope, strength and endurance to move forward. Some of us just think there’s an end-all be all of following and not having a right to think for ourselves. I take bits and pieces of people’s advice and methods and mold them into my own, it’s called becoming creative. Some people don’t know how and it’s sad because they have so much potential but only work with what they’re told to do. Quite frankly I hate being told what to do but I’m not opposing to listening and modifying what works for me. Become more of you and challenge the way things go.

            We may have been created by the Gods or whatever you choose to believe but the reality is that once you are born, you grow up and you learn. No one has your body and mind so what makes you think you aught to be somebody else. Find what guides you and learn to harness the power within you, not someone else and become a more powerful being. 

Thoroughbred Legs Are The Driving Force

            They say if you have strong legs, you have a stronger body. When it comes down to it, our legs are the driving force for superhuman conditioning. In football, you need strong and fast legs to run down the field, in basketball, you need quick footwork in order to defend or move with the ball, in Baseball; your hips and legs help hit homeruns and steal bases and also running down the ball for a diving catch. If you’re in the military, we need our legs to carry our comrades, our equipment and to run down the enemy in combat. Law Enforcement needs strong legs to take down suspects in the toughest of situations. Let’s face it; our legs are our best weapons.

            In mythology, one of the strongest deities is the Satyr Pan. Although he has a reputation for having a crazy sex-drive and having courting many nymphs, he’s one of the strongest and most agile creatures in the stories. His entire lower body is that of a goat which gives him a distinct advantage in running down his enemies but also defend himself with powerful legs. He is a symbol of virility and superhuman leg strength. Our legs give off more energy than just about everywhere else in the human body because it is the center of our hormones.

            Our legs are the center of our hormones. If you do it right, we give off natural growth hormone which helps us in health, vitality, strength, stamina and an increase of testosterone. For men this is crucial and it’s important to put in good amount of time dedicated to leg training. Our bodies shift into overdrive when you use our legs. One of the key ingredients for mighty legs is to do sprints. For up to no more than 30 seconds we run down somewhere as fast as we can muster. Marathon training is good in some cases but if you want lean muscle mass than you better move fast. Like the Satyr, Animal Training is very good in increasing your testosterone levels to a great degree, say like doing frog jumps, duck walks, running like a bear or sprinting like an Emu, these will create a shift in the body that will develop powerful muscle but increase your conditioning at the same time.

            The foundation for powerful legs is the Squat. You don’t need to lift weights to get an awesome leg workout but with the right tools, you can have that option and is just as powerful. Bodyweight Squats however give off more hormone induced energy in my opinion because there are many ways to do a squat but if you do them in high numbers, a Satyr might have some stiff competition. Another great form of training to get your legs going is doing Isometrics. When you do Leg Isometrics, you’re working the body from all sorts of angles and strengthening the tendons and ligaments that keep the body together. Imagine being on the gridiron and pivoting, running and moving in a diagonal direction on the field and never getting injured because of your strong tendons.

            How many injuries can you count where an athlete or the average person got injured and it was due to torn muscles and ripped tendons in the legs? Countless. I definitely share some ground with this from my injury back in 2005. I had to rebuild my body from scratch and constantly had to work my legs to where it was pain-free. To this day I still have some discomfort because of the rod and pins holding my bones together but can still knock out over 100 squats without batting an eye and maintain great flexibility in my legs that I could never do when I was in my teens. Take the time to work on your legs. For women, you want those sleek and toned but strong legs, squat and get in some leg work because strong legs create a strong person. If you got legs, make them super strong, fast, agile and powerful because it becomes crucial when you need them the most.