Like Being In A Hypnotic State

            I like the idea of hypnotism, where you can be transferred to a state of mind in which it’s full of relaxed, calm and powerful entities. There aren’t good ways to be hypnotized at least from certain people who know how to do it but from the people I know it can be very helpful and aid you into becoming stronger. What if you learned to hypnotize yourself? Consciously drive into your own mind and put yourself in a state where you channel your focus on what you want and everything else is blocked off. Gather your focus and energy into being so in tuned; you get more results from your training.

            It’s not easy being able to hypnotize yourself because it takes concentration, an intense level of focus and blocking out what you don’t want within your mind. Meditation can help, going into your own Movie Theater, thinking of various colors that relax you whatever you find useful. The reason why I feel being hypnotized and going into a state of mind as you train is because there can be too many distractions around you and you want to put the effort into what you want in terms of results. This happens a lot at the gym. You go in, some douche is talking on his cell phone or the energy is so great it just makes it difficult for you. This is one of the reasons why I like training at home or at a park where it is just you and your thoughts. I get so fired up sometimes I don’t see, hear or look at anything else other than the training I’m putting myself through.

            Look at it this way, this your time to do what you want to do, be free. The next time you’re alone, do this before you work out, sit, stand or lie down whatever is comfortable, close your eyes or keep them open whatever works, let yourself relax, ease out of your tension one body part at a time starting with your neck and slowly drip downward, learn to listen to that inner voice or spirit within you helping you take all the junk out. Breathe deeply; think to yourself Calm Mind/Calm Body. Picture what you want to accomplish in your workout, focus into the muscles you’re working on. See the intensity as if it was on a big screen TV, you are calm and focused but you’re slowly building your adrenaline, now listen to that inner voice saying “You’re coming out focused, strong and ready. Snap your fingers three times and you’ll awaken ready for action.” This should take no less than a few minutes, at first you may struggle to think like this but let it happen, be like water on a smooth river bank, its flowing but also can grow in strength.

            No matter if you’re at the gym, at home or wherever, you’re not competing against others, it’s you against yourself. We all have that one opponent and it’s our inner selves. He/she can be your best friend or your greatest enemy; you must choose which one to take. When you’re competing against yourself it’s like a chess match, which moves will be your best chances of winning. When you compete against others it’s not as bad winning or losing cause another person will always come along but when you keep losing against yourself, it’s far more severe because you’re hurting what matters most.

            Going into another state of mind and learning how to win is a challenge but if you keep persevering, telling that bad side of you it’s either with you or against you, you’re creating a powerful way to unlock your true personality. It’s finding who you are from within and how to use those positive vibrations we all have. Some have more negative than others because of certain experiences and how we react from a mental perspective but if you go inside yourself and learn to find those positive parts of yourself, find a way to increase their strength, grow bigger and more powerful so they outweigh and can crush the larger number of the negatives. On the other hand if you have more positives than negatives, it’s a little bit easier but can still be a challenge, again go inside that state of mind and grow and outweigh those bad boys and crush those negatives even more.

            We’re all different and we sometimes find it easy to go into another state of mind but also it’s not so easy and can be a struggle because we of our experiences, the energy we surround ourselves with and how we react to these things. It’s like being in a hypnotic state, the way you control it is up to you and how you converse in your mind of creating what you want and listening from within. 

Building Your Mental Powers

            Without question, the mind is far more powerful than the human body. When you open up your mind, you open a door to a whole new world. A world filled with possibilities, opportunities and creative ideas that make the planet look like a green pea. When you are closed off and narrow minded, you’re a little more rigid, more cautious, question too much instead of letting it flow. I’m learning this myself every single day because even though I have a strong intuition and I’m open minded, I tend to fall off the wagon so do speak as we all do and it makes us human. To strengthen your mind, you have to be willing to let go and create new adventures for yourself.

            A big key in developing mental strength is how you project your self-image. The self-image is how you see yourself in your minds eye, the attitude and habits you portray are attributes to your self-image. I have read a book or 2 on this subject and even taken on different techniques to enhance the image I want. This isn't one of those voodoo religious type stuff or even a spiritual thing, it’s how you live in the way you see yourself. For example, if you’re living with the image of being broken down and you feel there’s no way of getting out of it and you whine and you complain about your appearance and/or how people or how you see yourself, that will project how you have created that attitude and letting those habits grow. On another hand, if you see yourself as confident, relaxed, poised, building yourself creatively without outside negative energy and you build ideas and run with them, that’s the attitude and habit of having a strong image of yourself. The way you see yourself can make you or break you depending on how your energy manifests itself to the things that surround you.

            One of the most powerful tools of developing mental strength is using your imagination. How you see things no one else does, the wide open plethora of another world that only you can create. You see things that give you strength, give you a reason to shoot for a goal and pointing you in the direction of getting there. I have a vivid imagination and sometimes I have to stop myself if I’m in that state of mind where it’s just frustrating and upsetting, so I go into a place where I let my imagination run like a madman and point out what can work and what needs to be erased. Whether you want to create instant strength or enhance your self-image, resistant-free to run your business and/or build an energy defense system where you block negative vibes; your imagination will help you build it if you apply yourself with the right tools.

            Last tool I like to use every now and again is what’s called Theater Of The Mind. This technique is incredible where you breathe powerful energy into your body and go inside your mind where you’re in your own movie theater with a big screen and a seating area where you can view it any way you want. You use this to create what you want and how you can rehearse it as you see it on that big screen. I don’t want to give away all the details of this technique but I can tell you, if you want something or want to create something, you view it as if it has already happened and it’s giving you little steps to get you there. Try it out and you can create anything you want that is within the limits of your imagination and how far you’re willing to go productively and with strong intentions. 

It’s Hard Being Alone

            Some people like to train alongside someone, others prefer training alone and some even make the choice to be alone. Why is that, is it better or is it more distracting when you have someone training with you? Certain people train alone because there’s more freedom, do what you want, unless you’re in a gym and you have that issue waiting on someone but yet when you’re really alone in your workouts, there are no distractions, you’re the king/queen of your own challenges and the only thing that stops you is you.

            Every once in a blue moon, I train with other people, very rarely these days since I’m not much of a gym guy and there’s an extreme few who actually want to put in the work instead of walking around like a zombie. Friends however can be the best thing about your training, if they have a similar enthusiasm and love for training, they’ll be there to kick your ass and push you to levels you couldn't do on your own. In my own experiences I've been around enough guys that just made me want to be better and be tougher when I do get to be on my own because I’ll be hearing them in my head.

            When you are alone, it’s tough but it makes you learn things about yourself that is different than just training with other people. You learn that you’re the only competition and there’s no one to tell you any different. Self reliance is one of the keys to finding out what you’re best at and what to do when things don’t work. You can always ask for guidance but in the end, it comes down to you and how you want to make things happen. Challenges go deeper, your thinking is different and the way you push yourself goes far beyond anything else. You’re competing with yourself and when you fail, you can’t blame anyone but yourself.

            If you truly think you’re alone when you train, in most cases you’re not. Yes you have no one physically around to get you going but remember Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, you have that conscience within you to help guide you to whatever it is that you want to achieve. If you listen closely, it can be your best friend or your greatest enemy but if you learned to use your mind and use your imagination, you can have the greatest workout without anyone there but in your mind, someone was there all along cheering you on, telling you to keep going, driving harder and taking you on a roller coaster ride that doesn't always want to end. It’s always great when you train with friends but when you train by yourself with that little piece of imagination it can create a major impact and show you the true meaning of Training.  

Embrace Being Criticized

 I use to think anyone who thought what you do was negative than you don’t seem to be doing anything right and the positive notes come and go. Realizing after knowing a few guys and what the represent, negativity is like a block for them. Being criticized should help you, not wear you down. There’s going to be people no matter even one’s you’d never expect will give you a harsh time about what you want to do or already doing.

 If you do something that’s going to get people riled up, you’re still getting noticed. There’s an old saying, “it’s better to be hated than ignored.” Sure you’ll get positive feedback and that’s awesome let them come in but the negative feedback is very unique. You’ll get people talking about your stuff and most of the time, not always you’ll get some dumb idiot who has no clue what he’s talking about and at times has nothing to do with what you say or do, they just run their mouth but you’re still getting noticed.

 The only person you should really be a critic on is yourself. Not saying you should think of yourself in a negative way but embracing what your strengths and weaknesses are and keep improving yourself. It’s kind of like shadow boxing, you’re fighting your most difficult opponent and that’s you brother/sister. Be better for yourself and learn to block that negative vibe but embrace what is happening with it. One of my favorite courses I have is from Mattfurey.com which is called Psychic Self Defense. It teaches you how to handle negative energy and using visualizations and feel on what you can do to block that energy from a variety of ways, most teach offensive strategies, this is one of extreme few to teach a defensive strategy and like they say a great defense brings a great offense.

 Being motivated isn't easy but look at from this angle like on a coin, one person is motivated to get things done no matter what it is, the other person just goes about his life not making progress and not making himself what he wants to be. I realize motivation is hard, I go through it all the time and plenty of other guys I know, some of them it’s pretty easy, for others it’s a pain in the ass but it still keeps them going. Find ways to be motivated, find a friend, listen to music for inspiration, watch a rugged action movie whatever it might be use it to motivate yourself just make sure it’s illegal because I don’t want you to put yourself or someone else in harms way for the sake of motivation. One other thing on that note, when you’re doing something that gets you going, someone else is going to envy you because they can’t do it themselves so they’ll be on you like white on rice at times.

 Never try to change who you are, you can adapt and learn different things to improve yourself but never change the type of person you are because you are a good person deep down and you want to be something beyond anything else, it’s up to you to make that choice and help improve yourself. The more you improve yourself the more others will bitch at you because they don’t know any better and they don’t want you to be happy, just be unhappy like them, never do that. Let the criticism in and learn to take a punch every now and then. In Rocky VI he says “It’s not how hard you hit, it’s how hard you get hit and keep getting back up to fight.” Keep on working your goals and make things happen; if someone gives you a hard time, so what, you’re doing something they don’t know how to achieve. Have fun and until next time, keep living the dream and achieve the things you want to happen.

Do This, Do That…You Know What Screw It

I really get pissed sometimes when I hear people tell others what they should or shouldn’t do because they feel they’re right and you’re wrong. Certain personal trainers just don’t really care about what the person they’re teaching is really fitness. I’ve even heard some trainers who have had previous injuries tell some poor shmuck how to do an exercise that got the trainer injured in the first place. What’s the deal with that?

 The real opportunities come with a feeling of learning to do something for you. Becoming your own trainer is like learning to be your own boss, you control certain things and you use the best resources to get your job done, unlike trying to be someone else and busting your ass so much, you forget what’s really important and that’s you. Idolizing a certain method or trainer isn’t a bad thing but remember to find out what works for you and find something that suits you.

 There are experts, and then there are “experts.” The difference between the two is that experts show the real side to having fun exercise and teach you to find who you are mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The “Experts”, steal your money and if they’re in shape, they make you feel worse and brainwash you into thinking their method is the end all be all, plus some guys aren’t even in that decent of shape and yet still have an ego the size of Candlestick Park.

 Learning for yourself and your goals are more important than trying to follow someone’s exact program. You can learn exercises but you need to find how they are suited for you. I hate routines with a passion, I get bored easily and I need something to keep me interested so I would do certain exercises I’m in the mood to do and go with it. If you like a routine that’s great but build ones that suit your goals best.

 If you want real results, doesn’t matter if its in a gym, your house or the park for that matter, use basic elements and have fun with what you have and don’t let anyone give you crap about it. Learning to use what you’ve learned to help reach your goals gives you more power than any trainer who gives crap about this or that, many guys are one dimensional and they don’t think outside the box, the day you can think outside the box, you’ll be on your way to becoming a master of your own endeavor. Take a step back and learn from as many people as you can and find the best resources that suit for you and yourself only.

 Being a first rate individual as oppose to a second rate know it all, remember the expert vs. “expert”, is not very common and when you learn to be different, you’re finding what’s more important. Bruce Lee’s philosophy was that to be the best you can be, you must find yourself and learn how to use your whole being as if it was different from everyone else. Self Mastery is a rewarding goal and being different out of the norm and telling those that this is right or that is wrong to screw off because you are better than that. We have the same muscles, same two eyes, two legs and arms so what’s so different of having two sides of the same coin. You’re getting greater benefit becoming your own trainer than to completely follow someone else. Find who you are and dare to be different.

Follow Blindly With Pride

When you first really learn something, you don’t know what to expect, if you did, learning wouldn’t be that fun or adventurous. When you first learn to walk as a baby, do you research and follow the mechanics, no because you don’t know any better and you learn to do it yourself by putting one foot in front of the other than before you know it you’re off and running. People have this belief that following a certain people blindly without looking into who they are or what they really represent feel that it’s stupid and you don’t know what you’re talking about.

 In the strength training world or in fitness for that matter, we follow all kinds of people, programs, diets, exercises and all sorts of things. Even the “experts” who have big egos try to take down those who don’t believe in their system and that they are blind to what they should really strive for. Hate to break it to you buddy but as cool as your name is on a piece of paper doesn’t make you god among men. Not all people in this industry are like that but it’s very annoying when they give you this B.S about facts and scientific methods that are proven and they expect you to believe them. This is where instead of listening to what they say; find out for yourself what works and what’s proven in your own experiment. Testing the waters is one of the best to learn from.

 When you train, don’t just go through the motions, followyour instincts and find what works for you and when that right program just hits you and you find a passion for it, support it and use it your advantage to what makes that program work for you. I’m not saying go out door to door like a Jehovah’s witness and preach that it’s the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel, talk about it as if to encourage it. Not every program works for everyone, hell I have followed more methods than I care to count and yet I don’t do all of them. I take the very best things I’ve learned and mold them into something that gives me and only me great benefit. I give my insights and encourage those to try it out at their own pace.

 When it comes to following a blind method of training, nothing broke that barrier more than how Slim The Hammer Man became the world’s strongest man for the specialty feats he performed such as chain-breaking, scrolling steel and his trademark, Hammer Levering. An old man taught him the best ways to tap into the mind and go after a feat that just seemed impossible yet made it happen. This was decades before the internet and cell phones, so the only way to do something is just that do it and see where it leads you. In a sense, Slim followed this old man’s methods blindly by just focusing on what worked and didn’t work. He eventually found that itch and developed his own style of training just by experimenting with his own research and look what happens, he became a beast of a legend, sure he hit a few rough patches along the road to success but it didn’t matter.

 There are millions of blind individuals in this world and it’s a shame that they can’t see the world and look into the eyes of the people they treasure the most but not all is lost, sometimes if you watch really closely (no pun intended) those same individuals develop other senses that are more powerful than the gift of sight. The main proven method today is Eco Location where the senses are sought by vibration kind of like a bat in a cave where the method came from. Why am I telling you this? Have I gone off course and just went off topic? The answer is no I haven’t. I’m telling you this because like blindness, when you follow a certain program or experiment with it, you might find some new senses and find that although you can’t tell if it’s going to work, your body will tell you to either adapt or fail. Your mind is very strong, your muscles adapt and your awareness gives you a keen sense of how certain things will play out. When you find that right moment and all that experimentation pays off, you’ll increase these senses and you’ll be able to adapt to that program however you want.

 One of the greatest masters of wrestling Billy Robinson pointed out that in the beginning, you learn, yet in the end you’re still learning. There’ really no such thing as ultimate mastery. If you stop learning and act like a total expert with an ego than you really haven’t learned a damn thing. Mastery is learning how to learn. You never stop finding that key program or exercise or method that keeps you going for life, you develop new things, new ways to come up with what you learned. Also kinds of like Yoda’s quote “You must unlearn what you have learned.”  If you stop learning and not using your mind, how will you be able to know who you really are and what you can help teach others? Teaching is great tool but yet teaching while also learning about yourself gives great insight to how you follow something while others do the same. Following someone blindly isn’t always a bad thing, just make sure you don’t get hurt or end up killing yourself, give it time and if it doesn’t work for you, move onto something else, keep learning and keep building your own senses to what brings you that ultimate high.

There Is A Magic Pill

Now that I have your attention, got you didn’t I? In reality nothing gives you results like a serum given to Steve Rogers turning into a Captain America. However, you can get magical results from putting in the effort and finding a whole new you in the mirror after doing great workouts and giving yourself the rest you need. Tablets can kill you, putting in the effort is actually safer and more efficient. If you want magic, find a wishing lamp, good luck with that.

 With a realistic approach and finding the right resources and programs for your goals, you can achieve great weight loss; build great strength, staggering flexibility and surreal stamina that triathletes would envy. It’s the time and effort that you put in that gives you the best results you can achieve. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym and working out so hard you pass out; you can bring that magic with only less than 30 minutes a day and doing less than you need to. Let’s face it, for most people, you don’t have a lot of time but you want to make the effort to get in shape but don’t know how, it’s really much simpler than you’d think.

 Morning workouts are best if you’re in a hurry to get to work or dropping kids off at school. Stretching is a key ingredient to start off your day, get up a little earlier than usual and do less than 20 minutes of stretching that loosens the joints and ligaments while also building good solid functional strength and flexibility. Magical results happen only in the Disney movies so what would be the point of just wishful thinking when you can make the results happen. If you want to be in the best shape, you got to learn from the best. Building a foundation from the very people who want to help you instead of just taking your money and making you feel like crap is one of the keys to achieving the results you want. Real magic comes from effort and making it happen.

 Do you think a magician just happens to make his tricks seem as easy as apple pie, no? He makes the effort to make magic look believable and awe-dropping. Magic doesn’t happen overnight like Cinderella or Aladdin, it’s a journey of learning who you are and what you can teach your own body and mind to create the things you want. Magic is creativity and magic knows what to create without anyone else knowing the secret.

 I’d like you to meet a real, world-class magician that has taken audiences to new levels of awe-inspiring tricks and spectacular ways of controlling magic as if it was so real you would never know if it was. His name is Garin Bader and this man alone has revolutionized strength training and entertainment in a way that can’t be duplicated and is one of the best entertainers of his time. Do you think he just happens to know magic and music along with strength training on a whim or at the snap of his fingers? At the moment he does but it’s more than a 20 year journey that goes into that effortless result of tricks and power. Let’s put it this way, a man who paints a five minute masterpiece was asked “wow, you did that so fast, how did you do that?” the painter says “that’s more than 20 years that went into that 5 minutes.” Now I’m not saying you need to do 20 years of training to make the best results but the real magic is making the journey to get the best results you want and whether it takes you a few weeks, a few months or whatever, it’s all about Mastery, making it second nature, real magic isn’t about tricks, it’s about mastering your own being and making the impossible possible.  

Finding The Flow Of Your Training

All of us have different perspectives about the flow or high we get when we train. It can be a real hardcore workout, smooth and methodical, powerful or having the feeling of just taken on the world and won it in a glorious fashion. When you find how you flow through your workouts, you’ll be getting a sense of what true strength and power lies, not in the muscles but in the mind.

 What is the perfect workout? Is it hitting a certain sets and reps? Is it perfecting the very best exercise performance? Or is it just finishing everything and going home to rest? The answer can be any of those three things but to me the perfect workout is neither one of them. The very perfect workout is when everything comes together and you flow through it like the waves of the ocean. It’s when you create something special that you rarely ever do and it’s powerful and strong but at the same time it’s peaceful and vibrant. Very few people experience that but again it’s never the same for everyone so your definition will most likely be different then mine but that’s the beauty of it.

 Nine times out of Ten your workouts will be great or boring or even good to call it a day afterwards but that one time, that workout will make everything else look like nothing but you accept it and it gives you a sense of accomplishment. All leading to that one moment where you feel the world is yours and you take it in your hands and you felt like you were Zeus himself on the top of Mount Olympus. It may for you often or very rarely it doesn’t matter, what does matter is how you portray that one conquering moment where everything falls into place and you enriched in glorious freedom of power and might that even for a brief second, it consumes you and you want to keep that moment.

 There will be times in your workouts where everything falls into place and you have secured your perfect training session. How can you make this happen? Well, honestly it takes more then a couple workouts. Takes practice and patience and never expect the perfect workout to come, let it come to you and when you least expect it, it’ll happen like a bolt lightning.

 Don’t just find your flow in your workouts, you can find your flow in other things. Did you know the ancient samurai weren’t just warriors of combat and lived/died by the sword? They were artists, poets and men of honor. Like them, the Shaolin monks, the Vikings, the Romans and other ancient warriors of combat they learned many aspects of life that had nothing to do with war or fighting. When you learn many other things, that’s where everything with you comes together to create your own moments of self-discovery and find how things work for you. Find your flow and you’ll find who you are as a person.

Becoming An Outlaw In Strength Training

We are very different in what we do but at times we try imitate or even try to duplicate our teachers' lessons and in the case of developing strength we tend to follow someone else's program and see how it can work for us. That's fine if you want to do that but the real principle of strength training is to find what makes it different and how you can make it unique that it could even surpass your own assumptions and make you stronger then the next guy. That's one of the beauties of being an outlaw in the world strength, you do it differently then the establishment.

Your first rule of becoming strong is to not only want it but take it by the horns and hold on for dear life. Learn the exercises you want to master. Work them into the ground and take them as your own. You have the ability to take what's yours in your own program and making it work for you and one of your important priorities as a trainee is to make it work for you in ways it shouldn't work for others.

Most gyms or fitness magazines have programs that are too easy, too hard and even there are one's that flat out scare the living s*it out of most people. If there's anything I learned from my days to reading that crap and hitting the iron to making my own programs today is that if you want to be different then you need to be more different then they are. When you build your own program and making it a challenge not only for yourself but make it so others don't ever want to touch it and run away like a scaredy cat.

Another way to look at being an outlaw in the world of strength is that you master your own program to the point where if others saw you, to them it looks like you're putting yourself through hell, fire and brimstone but to you it's another day in paradise. You are more then just a gym rat going through the same ordeal again and again. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. You are the man/woman when it comes to your own style of training.

A good friend of mine named Bud Jeffries is by far one of the strongest men to walk on the planet. He is one of those men of superhuman strength that just blows anyone out of the water and all because he decided to be different then the mainstream chrone and fern type gyms and put himself through the toughest and most enduring workouts you can ever imagine. He is his own best personal trainer and constantly finds what can make him stronger, be more durable and how he can withstand the toughest and heaviest of weights imaginable while also creating endurance workouts that'll make marathon runners and Ironmen for the hills. That's what makes him so special and unique that no matter what he teaches its still going to be him at the top of that mountain.

There are some good looking gyms out there and if you want to be apart of the celery sticks, pumped up roid posers and little milkshakes that taste like crap then by all means go do it but if you want to be different and say f*ck you to those that don't know a lift or a bodyweight exercise from their ass to their elbows then join the few who want real-world strength, never ending endurance, real animalistic power and have the greatest tools to use and turn yourself into the unique and different strongman that resides inside you and has that animalistic rage of becoming stronger, faster and more powerful without the need of steroids or over-priced supplements or doing those damn messed up looking aerobics crap.

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.

Captain America & The Ability To Overcome

I would think most of you would remember at a time in your life where you were weak, frail or overweight and could barely lift a bar or do a push-up. I've been there too and like many of you, hated the way I was. When you realized you had enough of being picked on, laughed at and wanted to stop others from calling you names you made a choice to get better, get stronger, grow muscles and be a powerful beast.

If you saw the movie, you noticed that Steve Rogers had a series of serum shots to help shoot up his muscles and make him stronger and taller. This really is a romantic version of what steroids can be and for all intents and purposes its a myth. In reality steroids can make you stronger and bigger but there's a price to pay and have to keep a surveillance on what you do otherwise if you cycle wrong well to be blunt you're s*it out of luck. Rogers' only side effects really of his powers is that he has 4x the capacity of the average man's metabolism and can't get drunk. Side effects of using real steroids can result in increased estrogen, acne, enlargement of chest that can look like a woman's breast and low testosterone if not used properly. That's just the basic things that can go wrong.

The real ways to increase strength and metabolism is to work multiple muscle groups from as many angles as possible whether its working out like a wild animal, lifting odd objects, basic weight lifting, using clubs, maces and hammers its apparent to train the muscles the best way possible without ever needing the use of steroids or P.E.Ds (Those playing the home game that stands for performance enhancing drugs). Real strength however is from using your mind and developing the mind/muscle connection. Practicing this is tougher then just doing exercise but its well worth the training because you can go even further in your training.

If you want fast results that are quicker then a hiccup then take the shortcuts but if you want real results in a fast amount of time then you have to think like a wo/man of strength and power. Example if you practice a Animal Exercise, you have to think like that animal, move the way it does, picture yourself in their environment, when you can do that the better you can make that exercise. In this factor of Captain America, picture as if you were him or picture him being there next to you and helping keep going. Having this type of mindset goes a long way then just going through the motions. You develop will power, perseverance and the thought of not being just an ordinary person, you are strong, powerful and mighty and you will do the best you can.

Like the Captain himself, he puts through others before he puts through himself and is a compassionate hero and makes himself a man amongst men. A bully however takes what strength he has for granted to tortures the weaker person for personal gain and doesn't know the concept of the consequences. A lot of trainees are like that, not all but quite a few and tell people that they should just give up and not go beyond what they're capable of and never encourage them to get better. Don't ever be one of those people cause you at one point were weak and helpless so instead of being an ass, show them a few things as encouragement not for correcting them and giving them crap about it.

Never underestimate the true powers that are inside you. You have the ability to create powerful and ferocious strength and speed and all it takes is a little imagination and a few simple techniques that can help the rest of your life and not just fitness. The Captain uses what he has to defend himself and others and thats one of your important keys to remember, the real thing is train for knowledge and defense, never for attacking or using for personal gain.

Four Products That Can Turn You Into A Muscle Building Machine

My friend Logan Christopher at Legendary Strength has put up four new products that will turn you into a strength machine in ways that have been lost and now are found again here at Four Courses Product Release. These four courses will show you the lost secrets of strength that haven't been seen in many years and after years of research and training they're all here in one package. Here's what you will be learning.

---Arthur Saxon Power Pack

Learn the secrets of what you will learn about the only man in the iron game to put 370 lbs. overhead with one arm.

Why light weights are for pansies. Are you One?

Find how you can learn about the Bent press from the best on the planet.

How you must think outside the box in order to build the best results.

Secrets of One-Arm lifting such as the bent press, snatch, clean & jerk and much more.

Use "Trick" exercises to make any crowd be in awe and how you can do that.

Plus many more from this pack.

---Mastering The Art Of Muscle Control

Be able to do muscle control anywhere, anytime and be able to impress friends and family

How Maxick used muscle control to aid in his lifts to become one of the first three men to officially press double bodyweight overhead.

Building strength using muscle control

Can you do "The Rope"?

This one muscle control exercise can increase your vitality and improve your health dramatically.

Learn Progressions that will take you from here to there fast and safely.

Do muscle control exercises that even Mr. Olympia contenders will pay attention to.

Can you contend with Muscle Control acts that true masters flaunt?

How to Structure a Muscle Control Training Session


& Others that will take your muscle training to a whole new level.

---Drills that raise Strength, Flexibility & Athletic Prowess

If you want to be skilled & coordinated then you must do this before any session.

How to fix your energy for Weightlifting

Are you Energy Deficient? Learn these exercises for Testing and how you can improve over time.

One drill that will shoot your flexibility through the roof by rubbing specific spots on the body.

All this and more on this DVD.

---Explode Your Body With Bodyweight Exercises

Learn 3 Major Training Formats to develop Unstoppable Speed.

What is the number one exercise for Expolisivness? Learn it here

Brutalize your workouts combining Kettlebells & Bodyweight Training.

Find your weakenesses and turn them into your strengths.

You can get these packages seperatly or you can get them all at once. These will get you on the right path for strength & conditioning and put you ahead of your competition. These won't be around for long so get them sooner then later. You never know when this sale will end.

Generating HGH Levels To New Heights

When we use compound movements in any exercise program, chances are you’ll be in better shape then when you isolate the muscles and tendons of the body. Compound movements are of using multiple muscle groups at one particular time like in weight lifting you have the clean and jerk for barbells and presses and pulls using dumbbells and of course the squat. In bodyweight exercise believe it or not there are many isolated movements but there are more compound movements such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats and sit-ups (not crunches).

Using multiple muscle groups creates a chain reaction of how the body generates natural growth hormone which helps you stay young, healthy and strong. Say you do a hill sprint for 10-15 seconds you are actually creating more growth hormone and when you walk back down that hill your body shifts into overdrive and as you recover you are gaining much more strength and lung power which begins to burn off fat and build muscle. Now I’m no scientist or physicist but I can certainly tell the difference on how my body feels after its been cooked within a short period of time.

Human Growth Hormone usually sounds like you’re taking steroids and you’re building muscle at a rapid pace. That’s the injections aspect of it which in my opinion is pretty lame unless you need it from being severely sick in the hospital but other then that its very dangerous and injections usually come with side effects that look far worse then what its originally said. Natural Growth Hormone however comes from doing a certain exercise or activity that gets you out of breath fast and you have to try to breathe much deeper. One of the best ways to do this is doing sprints no more then 3x a week. This actually burns off fat 10x more then the leading injections and its safer and more efficient.

I do like Sprints but since I’m not a big fan of running whether fast or slow I don’t do it very often. I do however like to train like a wild animal. I believe training like a wild animal is a lot more doable because you don’t need 100 meters or a 100 yard hill to do them. Yes you may need to do them outside but there are some animals you can imitate indoors. The bottom line is doing animal movements gives you the freedom to move around and be your favorite animal and it doesn’t feel like working out, more like playing and having fun. It’s a lot more fun to do these and if you need to catch your breath every now and then do it. If you practice them well enough you can get stronger, healthier and develop more brain power.

To me the exercises in Animal Kingdom Conditioning and Animal Kingdom Conditioning2 create way better HGH Levels and take up less time to train on and it’s really all you need. Start off doing only 5 min. a day with these animals and get good at the exercises you want to master. You can do all sorts of workouts with them and do them as long as you want once you have mastered them. I do them very often and I never feel better. I love them and one day hope you will too and make them work for you as they have done for me.

Learning How To Tap Into Your Power Within Seconds

Scientists say we only use 5% of our overall power. Now how can that be? We have some of the strongest people on the planet and yet were only using 5% of our potential for super strength? That just doesn't seem right. If you truly want to become powerful you don't need big muscles or have the physique of a Greek god. There's already a power within us that be reached with the right amount of training and its a lot closer then you think it is.

Tapping into the mega secrets of Chi Power is not in a galaxy far, far away nor is it hidden in the undergrounds of the Himalayas. Its really within the power of your own mind and imagination. Let me give you an example of super humans that have the ability to generate so much power within the snap of their fingers that it looks like it came out of comic book movie.....The Shaolin Monks are really some of the most powerful human beings on the planet. They can do things that would boggle the mind and have strength that men twice their size can't even comprehend. Whats their secret? How can they harness that much power? Another would be Strongman and one of my mentors, Dennis Rogers. At 5'8 and nearly 170 pounds has the ability to generate so much power within seconds that its almost impossible to believe a little man of this caliber has the strength to crush hundreds of pounds of pressure and mangle tools that were made to not bend. What is his secret to have these superhuman abilities?

I personally believe that one man has brought a version of this superhuman secret and taken it to a level that is beyond any one's own assumptions and gives you the keys to achieve a level of strength that has to be so surreal its not even funny. This one man has traveled around the world many times over using a few magic tricks, a piano and some crazy stunts that would make your Jaw drop. His name is Garin Bader and he is the author and authority of CoreForce Energy. Its a system of generating beyond that 5% potential that we have in us and creating the ultimate Chi Power within a short amount of time. I'm a firm believer in this system and still practice it to this day after nearly 3 years. Its helped me and thousands of others around the world achieve a level of strength and speed that can only be described by one who has experienced it. If you click on the link in this post you will find a series of how this system works and find your true potential with the power already inside you. Go to Garin's Blog and learn how he can create matrix-like flexibility and still have enough power to knock down a 300 lb. dummy full of sand,water and rock. You will be amazed.

As a Strongman and Physical Culturist I have sworn on my own oath to find the best ways to become strong and powerful and if theres any strongman out there that doesn't have a smiliar oath then he shouldn't be a strongman. This course alone can teach you the secrets of becoming superhuman and give you the power you want. Does this apply to just strongmen? No it applies to everyone who wants to get stronger. Build the strength you were meant to have. Harness the power within you to create anything you want in your life. Create strength within seconds and become a more powerful human being. Take a look at CoreForce Energy.

Building Self Mastery

In fitness terms if we want to have the best program we need to find exercises to suit our body's structure and our weight to body ratios. In other words there is no way possible to train the same way if someone at 240 pounds tried the same program with someone at 150 pounds. In the magazines they slide in standard programs and ideas that would fit the average person to become super strong. For the most part the average person can't even touch an ounce of the program they Mags provide.

Back in the early 20th century where Physical Culture boomed and courses were in hundreds of thousands of young wo/men's hands and the programs were obsolete compared to the muscle mags today. A good portion of the courses gave basics to the trainee and taught intermediate and advanced programs to help the progress but unlike the mags today these courses taught how to master your own training. The intuitive part of our brains conjure up where we learn certain things and how things work or not.

When we learn the basics of exercise we should remember that the best program is when which exercises works best for us. The one person who was best at this in his time was Alois P. Swoboda with his course Concious Evolution. In his course for physical training he made custom programs to help his students achieve superior results for their body structure. This taught others how to intuitively create the exercise for themselves to control the muscles.

In lamens terms the only thing that we need to do is learn the basics then intuitively learn the program that best suits us. Work with whats best for you and you alone. Don't really need to do other people's programs.

How to spread out your training

For those of you who have trouble working out during the day and feel that a big workout might wear you out, theres a way to keep your training going to keep your energy up and thats to spread it out during the day. I train everyday 7 days a week and there are times where I can't get in the amount of time of training I want to do so I spread out the workout during the day, doing a few stretches here and there and do some isometrics. You see you don't need to do one large workout everyday or even a few times a week. This is good for traveling as well because you can't always get to a gym and theres the trouble with jet lag when you get off a plane and try to get to a motel. Its a pain in the ass at times. So if you travel do some isometrics while waiting for your plane or even on the plane itself.

You can even workout without anyone knowing about it. Heres an example, every couple years or so I go to disneyland for either my b-day or for a few days in the summer and as I stand in line for the rides I do isometrics by pressing or pulling from different angles on the rails or ropes or even on the wall (try it sometime trust me its fun) and sometimes I would do self resistance exercises. You can workout in the oddest of places even at the happiest place on earth.

Its all about being able to adapt and improvise while on the road or even at home. Take my advise whatever you do don't press down on the fireplace in Mickey's House it would suck to have to pay for it. Thought i'd throw in a little joke, couldn't resist but the important thing is no matter where you are, you can be your own gym.

How do you stay motivated?

People have asked me that from time to time, mostly family and friends and I'll give you the same answer I give them and then some for you guys to learn. Its because my passion for training is like a second language that I'm fluent in. It comes natural to me and I never once tell myself to take a day off. A day off leads to 2, then 3, then 6 before you know I'm hardly training at all. A lot of people are unmotivated to train for a plethora of reasons but one main one is time. They always feel they can't exercise because they don't have the time. Well hate to burst your bubble but there are 24 hours in a day so I think its safe to say that in that period of time you can do a minimum of 5 min. worth of exercise.

Its the excuse and the negative attitude people use to think they can't exercise. I use to have that problem too. Being a teen and going to school and at times when I was in the drama club we would have rehearsals until 11 o'clock at night and we'd already be beaten up by then. Exercise back then for me was going to track practice or hitting the iron in weight training.

When I was in high school in my sophomore and junior years, I was on the track team doing the shot put and discus, have practice from 3-5 sometimes 6 everyday, have a small meet every Thursday and the big comps 2 Saturdays a month. That was rugged for me but also I was in the drama class as well before the end of my school day and if we had rehearsals (which was around usually a month or so before the big shows) we'd stay until late at night sometimes so picture this schedule.....remember this includes late in the semester too.....

Mon.-Fri---7:45am-2:45pm (School Day)

Mon.-Fri---3pm-5pm (Track Practice, Or Meet)

Mon.-Fri---6:15pm-11:30pm (Rehearsals in the month before shows)

That was up to almost 16 hours a day at times and yet I still found a way to exercise in that time. Never make excuses and do something. If you're sick then its an exception, get better and get back on the saddle, if you're sore then take it easy and stretch for the day don't overdo it. You can even workout traveling on the road (don't recommend while you're at the wheel driving) but if you're on a plane and are bored, instead of bitching move the ankles around, do deep breathing or better yet do isometrics. Its not easy if you have a hectic schedule but if you throw away the negativity and set excuses aside and just start doing 5min. of exercise and each day add a few sec. to the workout. Before you know it you're having a great workout and you'll have the feeling of accomplishment.

Also another way to stay motivated is to keep your exercises fun and fresh, don't do the same routine twice in the same week and please for Christ sake you don't need to do hours of training to get results (trust me on this) just do a maximum of 20-30min. Marathon workouts are a crock and should really only do one a week really but that's if you're in the mood otherwise don't bother with it. I don't train for more then 45 min. a day and that's spreading it out. I can do a marathon workout if I wanted to but whats the point? Make your training fun, if its sunny out go to a park and move around, play ball or act like a wild animal (don't need to act out the sounds but move like one). Be consistent with yourself and tell yourself that if you don't work out real hard then its no big deal be passive and move smoothly like in tai chi, if you wanna be aggressive then do some kettle bells or high volume squats or push-ups if you can doesn't matter. Work with what you can do. Again I train up to 3 times a day 7 days a week. If I'm not in a good mood then one workout is all i need. If you can't do any reps of an exercise then just hold the positions and your best.

Never fall short of doing your best for you. Train for yourself and train for the love of it. My biggest motivation to train is to train for me, no one else. Make yourself motivated and do whats best for you and make little goals. Like in life the small things can lead to big accomplishments.

How often to workout!!!!!

A lot of people want to know how many times a week do they need to workout to get such and such results. Fact of the matter is we are all different and need to work with whats comfortable to us before we start to really get into hard agressive training. For most on weights its the 3-4 day a week program but others say twice a week is all you need or work a body part once a week. The truth is whatever program you're using, chances are you won't last a month doing it and quit the first chance you get. Now most people would say a 7-day week program is just too much and you're overtraining. Pure Bullshit and you can quote me on that. I train up to 3 times a day for 7 straight days.

 For the most part hardcore training should be done twice a week, moderate training thrice a week and very smooth and relaxed training twice a week, thats 7 days. Thats just my opinion but not many of us have the time because of work, family, paying bills and watching tv when you get home. Now what if you gave yourself the time to train for 5min. a day to start? Sounds compromising and you don't need a gym when you have yourself. Getting to the gym takes time, getting dressed then hopefully when you get to a station no one is using so theres a wasted timeframe. So for safe keeping, start your first 5min. of the day doing a little exercise, actually lets make it one min. that should be enough for you don't you think? Believe it or not 1min. of exercise can be very beneficial because you start out doing a little something, then add 10 seconds each day of exercise and before you know it you'll be doing exercise for a good long time.

Another way of training for a little of your time would be to spread itr out throughout the day on what my friend John Peterson likes to call Greasing The Groove which means you do a little of exercise throughout the day. Say to start with 5 min. you do 2 1/2 in the morning and 2 1/2 at night. That could be your foundation and accomplish something. You don't need to work out for 2 hours a day to get in shape thats just nuts in my opinion. My training during the day is no more then 10-15 min. at a time. I like short workouts and the only time I train longer then an hour in one session is through stretching and deep breathing training. At times the workout goes by so fast an hour can feel like 10 min. I love those kind of workouts. Stop thinking you can't do a little exercise and just do something, make shit up. When you learn to be self reliant on what works for you that brings you closer to self mastery then anything else.

To give you an idea of what my training is like, I rarely ever follow someone elses workout. From all nearly 14 years of training I take the best exercises I have learned and mold them into what works for me. No exercise is ever the same with everyone. We're all of different height, weight even gender because there are some exercises for men that women can't do but its the same for women. Us guys are just more use to exercise (not being sexist i'm not done yet) but at the same time women can be and probably are pound for pound, ounce for ounce stronger then us guys. I'm too much guy so I can't imagine how hard it is for women to train but i'll tell you beautiful ladies this. You can do it even if its just a little stretching, you work far harder in training then us guys and need to build muscle differently. So if you feel you gained weight because the scale says it, after a little exercise I hardly doubt thats fat you're looking at, muscle weighs more then fat.

Do what you can do, even if it takes 1 min. to start give yourself a chance and with a little consistancy and patience I guarantee you you will get the results you want. Changing things up isn't a bad thing either, I change things up all the time because I get bored easily. Find out what works for you, don't let anyone else tell you different because most likely they'll just piss you off and tell you what you're doing is not in their best interest and they're program is the one-all-be-all. What works for you is the one that'll get you results.