The Bodyweight Exploits Of Spiderman

                

               Out of the many classic superheroes, Spiderman seems to be the most athletic in the sense where he doesn’t have the weightlifter physique or the bodybuilder look but he moves like an athlete should. He has the most control in his body to weight ratio and moves with unbelievable grace and power at the same time.

                In Bodyweight Training, you learn to control your body through movements that require no equipment (unless you do pull-ups). For the most part when people begin lifting weights they don’t realize that mastering your own bodyweight ought to be more important before even touching a weight. I’ve seen guys in the gym who can lift more than double their bodyweight but can’t hold their own in a single push-up or pull-up. Handling your own bodyweight goes a long way in learning how to contract and extend the muscles with fluidity and great power. Some use Yoga to do Bodyweight Training, others learn how to master their body through Handbalancing or Gymnastics.

                Mastering your body in various directions can give you strength that weights can’t touch. Think of it like this, a man can bench press 400 lbs. but most likely can’t do 400 push-ups; the two exercises are different but one uses more muscles than the other. I’m not saying if you could do 400 push-ups you’ll automatically lift that same number but yet you have mastered an exercise that requires deep concentration, working more than the upper body and there are many variations you can do. To master your bodyweight, you work from as many angles as possible using as many muscles in a single exercise. Karl Gotch once said “you don’t need to do much, for doing a lot.” You can have ultimate mastery when you can control your body in very difficult movements or holds like a free standing handstand, one-legged squat, finger pull-ups, front levers with one arm, the iron cross on the gymnastic rings, the various planch positions these are all examples of what great mastery can achieve.

                When most learn bodyweight training, they usually go through the motions and just learn an exercise. Now here’s a small tip to create bigger results; learn to use your imagination. Creating a vision in your mind and applying it to your exercises can generate even greater strength because a different thought creates a different result. When you do squats, instead of just counting reps and thinking of just squats, picture in your mind something cool that makes you do squats like if you have to duck from a hazardous object like Indiana Jones did in the Last Crusade or doing Hindu Squats and imagining you have to row a boat where you squat down and rowing the oars, think of the result coming out of that and how much fun it can be and not dreading just the exercise. Thinking differently with feeling can give you far greater results than just going through the motions.  Picture yourself being superhuman and training to save your city from evil.

                Spiderman is one of those superheroes most can relate to, sure he has super powers we don’t have but like anyone else, he can be hurt or worse get killed. He doesn’t have that overpowering physique most heroes have; full of muscle and all that, he just seems like a regular guy when he’s not being a superhero. Don’t forget, some of the ordinary looking people can have extraordinary gifts. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Be awesome everyone, have a badass weekend and have fun. First day of summer is tomorrow, the longest day of the year, make it a blast.

Spiderman & Bodyweight Exercise

I recently saw the reboot of Spiderman and I got to say I was quite impressed with the cast and the unknown Andrew Garfield taking on the role of the Web-Slinging hero. Each character played their roles with gusto and there were unexpected actors in the film I did not really think would be in this type of movie.

 What really impresses me about this particular superhero is that he’s one of an extreme few comic book heroes that has a more natural and sleek physique unlike the very muscular heroes like Hulk, Superman, Wolverine and guys like Captain America. Spiderman’s built like a functional athlete like a classic running back or a Charles Atlas type athlete. He doesn’t look like he’s on roids or a overbearing weightlifter, just a natural looking athlete who uses his bodyweight throughout most of his fights.

 He reminds of one animal in the jungle that just seems to fly through the air and just swings through the trees like Tarzan and I’m talking about the jungle gymnast the Gibbon. As a matter of fact, I have a comic book I bought a while back that features Spiderman and other Marvel superheroes as if they were on the Planet Of The Apes and Spiderman’s Ape-body is the Gibbon. The gibbon is the gymnast of the Animal Kingdom bar none, other apes and monkeys are good but the way the Gibbon brachiates just can’t be matched by grip agility, strength, flexibility and coordination. If you want to learn to develop this ape-like power check out what one of my buds has to show you.

 In one scene in the film, Peter (Spiderman) is learning to use his jumping and web-slinging abilities. While on top of building in New York, he holds an awesome free-handed Handstand while using only 2 fingers. I know it wasn’t real but it was beautiful nonetheless and that particular handstand reminds me of the Shaolin Monks and the kick ass performers of Circe De Soilie. Handstands are one of the most kick ass forms of not only upper body strength but just to hold one free-handed is a beauty in itself. Back in the early 20^th century, athletes from all walks of life have at one time attempted Hand Balancing, gymnasts, wrestlers, strongmen, weight lifters, bodybuilders, boxers and even Trapeze artists; all had a hand in doing some form of Handstand Training.

 Spiderman’s Grace and Fluidity is just mind-blowing and the closest to Spiderman I can think in terms of athletic strength and power is either the athletes of Ninja Warrior or Bodyweight Extraordinaire Brad Johnson, these guys just tear it up in workouts that are only seen to believe, the finger strength is just phenomenal and only can be explained by experience. Experience real bodyweight training and you’ll get a sense of what it’s like to have superhuman abilities and reaching beyond the norm. If you’re a fan of superheroes, check out The Amazing Spiderman.