DopamineO Sprinting

Taking on a challenge can be very rewarding especially if it's through a workout. On Friday, I wanted to test Phil Campbell's Sprint 8 Protocol with my DopamineO Band just doing Sprint Outs. The protocol is going hard for 30 Seconds and resting/active recovery for 90 seconds and repeating this for a total of 8 rounds. This was brutal but I really enjoyed it. You sprint out as much as the band can handle, walk backward to the starting and repeat the sprint until the 30 seconds are up. During the rest, do marches, side to side jacks or focusing on deep breathing.

This type of training builds explosiveness, added resistance to target more of the muscles during a sprint, conditioning, fat burning and a hell of a calorie burner. I felt it but it was a great challenge to me. Unless you're in a sport or training for competition, you don't see a ton on Sprint Training using bands for typical workouts. You usually find this type of conditioning in Wrestling, MMA, Football, Soccer and other sports. Did some research on it and with the knowledge I have on Sprinting, I wanted to see what I can do. Safe to say it was a success.

Today, I wanted to try the protocol with Bear Crawl Sprints. These are more for Wrestling & Football so I wanted to see what I was capable of. These weren't as challenging to me but it was still one hell of a workout. If I wanted to push it, this would be more on the 30 On, 30 Off approach but for most people, the 30/90 would be nasty to them. I did feel I got a lot out of it and during those 30 seconds, I would get in a total of 5 Sprints at a time so by the end I would be around 40 total Bear Crawl Sprints. It's still brutal because you're going against the resistance and you're running on all fours as fast as you can. This is for really getting in rugged condition hitting practically every muscle in your body. 

I've only found a few videos on this type of training and the Dopa Website shows the exercise but not always in a full workout format (at least from what I gathered) and what other videos show is more of a shorter band and you crawl back instead of walking, I like the walking back cause it feels more natural to me. For the most part, you will notice things right away doing Bear Crawl Sprints; where your weaknesses are, your balance, your speed and how quickly you use the arms. It still burns many calories even after the workout and because you're fighting the band, you're hitting more muscles than in a regular sprint in that position. Builds muscle, generates a crazy level of HGH and you're getting optimal rest so when the next set comes you're exploding out as if you're hunting down a jack rabbit. 

Doing these workouts no more than 3x a week can yield many benefits including fat loss, weight loss, the afterburn affect which has you burning more calories even hours after a session, high levels of energy, a rugged physique and building a powerful set of attributes including strength that lasts, speed and cardio. I've used this protocol with different exercises so these are just another outline of what the possibilities are. Workout like an animal and feel the surge of that animalistic strength and power. For a great discount, enter POWERANDMIGHT at checkout to get 10% OFF your order, get a bundle and save more. 

A Setback Can Be A Blessing In Disguise

Injuries happen and we can't always be in control of when they happen but we can choose to either work with it (depending on the significance) or give up on ourselves and let the injury completely defeat us. Although pain tells us we're not dead, it's not a great thing to deal with either (unless you got some twisted fetish when it comes to pain LOL). 

Back on Friday April 28th, I was going for my Hill Sprint Workout when by the 2nd or 3rd sprint, the lower right side of my body just about collapsed on me and there was an excruciating amount of pain that nearly resembled the pain I felt when I had my leg injuries. If I would've kept going despite the pain, I would be rolling in a ditch next to the road and wouldn't have been able to get up and go home and I didn't have my cell on me to call anybody. My instincts kicked in to immediately stop and truly assess the pain I was in. It was so bad that to me it was a miracle I was able to walk back home. 

I knew exactly why this happened and I only have myself to blame. A few days earlier, I was going for a workout with the 70 lb. kettlebell doing deadlifts and do shoulder carries with my 50 lb. sandbell. In the first round of the wotkout, something tweaked in my lower back on the right side. I knew I had to stop and just do something else. I went out the next day doing Sprints and I felt a little something but still managed the 6 sprints I was going for. Took it slightly easy on that Thursday but on Friday it just took me out. It was literally hitting me around 3/4 of the way into my 3rd sprint when the pain was too much to go on. 

I got an appointment with the chiropractor and the pain went down slightly and my posture was better but it didn't 100% fix the problem. It's most likely a sciatica injury and it has shifted from my lower back to my right hip. The pain comes and goes and my flexibility is limited to not even sit in a lotus position without being in pain. Heat and Ice was barely doing anything. Me & my wife went on our anniversary trip to Quinn's Hot Springs the following Monday the 1st until we came home Friday on the 5th. It was difficult being comfortable and the pain would shoot up to about an 8 every couple hours or so. Although it was a fun trip, it could've been better if I had not been in agony the majority of the time and I feel bad that I put her through that. In the pools, it helped lessen the inflammation and pain especially in the cold plunge they had there that was between 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn't a bad trip by any means, we had a blast and met new people and ate awesome food and chilled out by the pools as much as possible, just sucked that I wasn't at my best. 

Throughout the trip, my training mainly consisted of Joint Loosening, Deep Breathing, Isometrics and walking to the pools. Stretching little by little to not feel pain as much as I could but I wish I could say it wasn't hurting when I stretched. It's a big lesson to learn when you sustain an injury and do whatever you can to heal up. I won't be doing almost anything hardcore including Sprints until I feel 100% which can take a couple weeks. I'm not giving up on my training, just need to let things die down, reduce inflammation and rejuvenate. Focus on flexibility, Isometric Training, some Suspension work and do Step Ups for my legs. The Step Ups are a godsend in this manner since I don't feel as much pain on a scale 1-10 which for the Step Ups is no more than a 3. 15 minutes is my max time and no more than 12-15 reps per leg. 

Pain and Injury is a teacher and it gives you an opportunity to learn what you're capable of mentally and understanding the value of instincts, being aware of what can be done in the moment in time along with making the choices to give yourself time to heal. I'm not the type of person that scarfs down pain pills, muscle relaxers to make myself better. The only things I've taken pill wise to help reduce the inflammation is nothing more than something similar to aspirin and so far since this happened I've only taken them twice. I hate meds with a passion and unless I'm in a hospital bed, you won't see me take anything more than an Advil.

I will get back to full strength soon enough and kick ass the way I was meant to. Take care of your body as much as you can without going overboard. Be smart in your training and keep the injuries to a minimum. I've said it before that we can't 100% prevent an injury but we can reduce the chances significantly if we keep ourselves in check. Stay strong, take care of yourselves and keep being amazingly awesome. 

Over 100 Done So Far

 The journey continues as I keep grinding with my Hill Sprint Training. Thought I'd share my results so far. There isn't a huge difference but I'll take what I can get and keep getting better and better. I've now reached over 100 Sprints since I started a little over a month ago. Had to reduce the amount of sprints after the first three workouts since I was doing too much just to begin with. I was doing 10 sprints a session and reduced it to 5 each for the next three weeks, I'm now in my second week of 6 sprints a session for 12-15 seconds each. 

Results don't come easy for me and I've actually changed my eating habits around since I started this up again. I've cut back on a number of things and focused more on Steak, Rice, Eggs, Homemade Shakes with Milk & Raw Eggs, Chicken Salads from time to time and some other good stuff. On my days off from sprints, I'll do mainly Isometrics but I also go on walks, play basketball, work with hammers, do circuits and even one workout where I managed 105 slams in 5 minutes with my 20 lb slam ball. I thought I was going to die from that one and that felt more intense than the sprints LOL. 

Isometrics help a lot with the recovery and some days I'll do the intense 7-12 second contractions but other days I'll do 30 seconds or longer doing various positions. Overall like I said there isn't a massive difference in my physique and I still have quite a road ahead of me but I'm loving it and I feel different. I feel lighter even at around 255, my legs feel springy, the definition in the legs is awesome too and haven't felt I lost any strength. Stamina keeps getting better little by little and the endorphin highs are just flat out incredible. 

Not planning to look like Zach Efron from Baywatch but the idea is to slim down more, eat better, drink more water, harden the muscles up a bit and just be in better shape. This is my last year in my 30's and I want to be in the best shape I can be in when 40 hits. Getting a head start isn't a bad thing now is it? I don't want to feel like an old man and still want the ability to keep up. Too many people I know let themselves go after they approach 40 and many younger than me are already starting to wear down from injuries and even dying because of certain lifestyle choices. Although looking like you're in shape and actually feeling and doing things that keep you in shape are different things, I just want to get better little by little and feel like I'm not wearing out and can't keep up. Conditioning and Flexibility becomes more crucial as we age and staying strong is part of that puzzle. 

Sprints are more than just running hard for a few seconds, it's about fighting yourself and discovering where your true strength and will lies. Keep at it and keep being amazingly awesome everyone. 

Mar 20th

Today Apr 24th

 

The Difference Between Being Euphoric And Being A Zombie

 

The first 3 workouts of my current sprint training program didn't start off on the right foot so do speak. I started out at 10 sprints a session and without realizing it, it just didn't seem right. Something was off especially after the sprints and walking back home. When I did my third session and finally understood what I was feeling, I changed it up and went down a few notches. After each of the first three sessions, I was feeling like a zombie walking home. No energy, walking on fumes and feeling dead inside. It felt like shit and my body didn't completely respond well until I decided to make one change. Reduce the amount of sprints to half of what I was doing and progressively build up to 8-10 again.

When I made this one small change, it became something bigger than the previous three workouts. Cutting the sprints down to 5 not only changed my outlook on the workouts but felt the complete opposite of what I was doing before. I felt that I did enough but still had something left in the tank. I felt a sense of euphoria, that happy energy and bustling with life and vitality. Walking back home felt great and easy. Here's the main difference between the two opposing effects of being euphoric and feeling like a zombie: The feeling of euphoria is like a 70's Hippie in a meadow, just feeling great and high without an ounce of hate or negative feelings towards the world. Feeling like a zombie however; feels like nothing matters, the world goes on but you have no life in you, there's no usefulness and the feeling of no purpose, you just don't give a shit. Your body is moving or being still but there's nothingness as well, the energy feels empty and no sense of vitality whatsoever. 

This isn't just a feeling from sprint training, these can happy during any form of training or having such a long day at work or during work that it either sucks the life out of you or give you a reason to be happy and full of life. To me, training is about having something left in the tank but also feel like there's vigor and power that still runs strong while feeling great at the end. If your workout ends where there's nothing left and there's no life or energy coming from you internally or externally, there's something wrong there. If you're a competitor training for a sport, sure you want to work hard and make efforts to go against the competition but if there's no energy left for when the game even starts and you're just playing without an ounce of vital energy, what good was all that practice for? Practice with the intention of being at your best before, during and after whether it's a workout, training for a sport, at your job or whatever that keeps you being vitally strong. 

Now when it comes to awareness, you should always be aware of your surroundings. When you're naturally high and full of euphoria, you still know where you are and what's going on. When you're high out of your skull and have no sense of awareness whatsoever, that has a very high risk of killing you. Overdosing and things like that is what I can't condone and taking drugs to feel good just isn't right. Be vital and strong in your euphoric state with a solid sense of awareness. Don't go so far that that not only life is sucked out of you but there's no energy and strength left to do anything that it seems like you're dead but still moving. Be amazingly awesome and live with happiness and strength.   

Sprint 8 Without The Machinery And Summer Results So Far

Changing things up can be a good thing so you can stay interested and take on a different style of the training you're working on. Since about late May, I was working on Hill Sprints and up until now did around 60 Sprints in that time ranging from 4-5 per workout at 10-15 seconds each. I would take about a 20 minute walk to the hill, do my sprints and walk back 20 minutes. It was good for a while but was feeling burnt out and needed to change things up. Doing research and seeing what could work for me, I found the Sprint 8 Program.

Doing a couple workouts with Sprint 8 so far and it's tough but I have greater energy and the timing is better for me since I can practically do it anywhere and not always exhaust myself. If you ever read the course by Phil Campbell it's simply a workout where you do an exercise for 30 seconds fast and "rest" for 90 seconds for 8 rounds. The workout itself takes less than 15 minutes all together and only 4 minutes of intense training.  

The program itself is not really that new and the concept itself as I recall was originally "founded" by Dr. Lawrence Moorhouse who had athletes do this with Burpees or Step Ups (can't remember which one exactly) but it's a good program. Campbell updated this protocol in the modern age by using it for cardio machines that's actually pre-set to the protocol. There's a warm up period, the workout and a cool down which all together takes 20 minutes. This is to be done 3x a week which the trial run is 8 weeks. 

I don't use machines so I just do Burpees for this particular workout because as a bodyweight exercise, Burpees are the closest to the most intense, fat burning and weight loss exercise you can do next to sprint training. The rest period is just walking it off. I would start with a few minutes of Joint Loosening and than get right to it. When I'm done, I hop in the shower and do recovery work the rest of the day. The workout itself is less than 15 but if you include the joint loosening its about 18-19 minutes) and that is perfect for me. 

You don't need machines to do this workout (which I just showed), you can do this with slam balls, bodyweight exercises, sprints in place, Burpees, Step Ups, weights just about whatever your imagination can come up with, just do something fast for 30 seconds and actively rest for 90 for 8 rounds, that's it. With the Hill Sprints and this workout so far, I've lost 7-9 pounds and put on some muscle but it's still a work in progress and got a ways to go so I just need to trust the process. I didn't even diet that much if at all and the pounds were still slowly but surely coming off. 

Who knows where I might go with this but at the moment, I like it and it could lead to my best physique ever but I'm not looking for the beach body, just be in better shape and be in better health little by little. As of July 4th, I've gone from 267 lbs. to 258 lbs. (Pictures at 258), would like to be a little under 250 by the time I turn 38. Is it possible? We shall see.

Hill Sprints: It Does A Body Good

The ultimate form of explosiveness and speed is through Sprint Training period. The funny thing is, you can do all sorts of exercises to play with that will give enormous fat burning effects but the cream of the crop, the big cheese and James Bond of all exercises to burn fat faster than the wicked witch screaming "I'm melting" is hitting Hill Sprints.

The very best athletes on the planet have used Hill Sprints to generate incredible speed, power and explosiveness. To name a few, Ricky Henderson, Marcus Allen, Kurt Angle & others. These types of Sprints are only done a maximum of 3x a week and within a short amount of time, you will burn flab like no tomorrow, have incredible surge of testosterone, recover with greater ease, sleep like a log and have an appetite that would make strength athletes blush (last one was slightly exaggerated).

Because of the way gravity works, the best way to keep solid form as you speed up the hill is stay leaned forward and bringing them heels to that ass. This will help you move with an extra spring and help prevent injuries. I use to do Hill Sprints for weeks nearly months at a time and always felt amazing each session. You don't need to do that many to get the full effect. Doing no more than 10 at 30 seconds per sprint is enough to really kick start your hormones. When you combine this type of training with a solid foundation of healthy foods and (optional) supplementation such as Pine Pollen, Muscle Gain, &/or Titan Post Workout Formula, it will make you feel like a young kid again.

Take a cold shower after session and burn even more calories; think what that can do to shed unwanted pounds, burn fat like butter to a hot plate, grow muscle like a sprinter and have energy that would make friends jealous and your woman or guy wanting you more because of your stamina in the sack. Believe me when I tell you it is the fastest way to burn off fat and you'll be doing far more recovery than running. The recovery should be up to 3x or longer than the sprint time because your body builds up an insane amount of lactic acid that needs to fueled by fresh blood that is being rushed throughout the body, get rid of bad cells and strengthening your tendons.

This is the season to get into Hill Sprints and if you don't have one, sprint on a field or track. Get outside and run like the Flash.

Never forget to....Playout, Not Workout.

Burning Fat With Sprints

 
    Trying to lose weight, burn fat, build muscle and all that stuff yet most would tell you to do an hour of cardio and weights. Hate to break it to you but it always happen that way, however; you can get things done in a far shorter amount of time and that's through High Intensity Training (HIT). We've all heard this before but does it really work? Hell yes it does but a lot believe you need to do it everyday. There's no way in hell you can go that hard everyday without either blacking out, burning out or just plain die from exhaustion. At best 2-3x a week should be the maximum, for beginners once a week is enough.

 
    Sprint Training is the focal point to HIT because it's a far shorter workout, you're resting more than training. Your body is filled with powerful cells and has a very strong sense of recovery. Although different people recover differently the principle still applies. Now when some mention sprints they think running either or up a hill or flight of stairs; it's not always running something it could be other things like skipping rope, battling ropes, moving like a wild animal; it's moving as fast as you possibly can for a short burst. Thirty seconds should be the peak. At first only a few seconds is all you can do which is fine it's a start. In my personal training when I do sprints, most of the time 30 seconds is the whole workout not one set at a time. When you go hard at a fast pace, you're opening the fast twitch muscle fibers that unlocks every muscle in your body that's firing.

 
    There's just no way your body can move fast without every muscle firing because if you did it in isolation and only working a specific set of muscles those muscles would be far drained and you'll be looking like a goofball. Whether it's running, swimming, battling ropes or whatever, most likely your whole body comes into play because it needs to work in unison. Hitting the body that hard produces natural growth hormone which creates a level of burning fat, building muscle and releasing more cells to the bloodstream. Think about all those dumb lethal injections people do to stimulate growth hormone when in reality you can produce it naturally and have it be 10x more than the latest pill or needle in your arm or wherever. Unless your hormones are so low that exercise wise it won't come no matter what you do than see a doctor about it but generally your body is meant to naturally grow from within, it's a beautiful piece of work.

 
    Think of it like this, who in the hell has a lot of time these days to get in awesome shape? You work like a madman, got a family to feed and you think an hour and a half everyday is going to get you somewhere? So why not have shorter workouts that produce far more than standard cardio. It's building your body without the hassle. Even if you spent a few short minutes a day doing a crazy style of Yoga can help you and progress even by the smallest fraction. On your "days off"; stretch, breathe deeply and recover. There are days where you hit hard one day and go a 180 the next or you go hard and the next day you do about half or a third of the previous day. Listen to your body and get a feel of how you recover, your level of energy and the intensity you bring yourself. Don't always listen to some shmuck that ghost writes, do what's best for you. Shorter bursts produce better results in my opinion but it's also just as important to recover and let your body repair itself. Practice it and you'll start to see changes you never knew was possible.

 
Have a great weekend everyone. Be Awesome.

In 30 Minutes Or Less

 Hate to disappoint you people but the title does not mean I’m talking about ordering a pizza. I love pizza as much as the next guy but this is something more important than food. This is about learning to exercise with the little time you have as possible. Training for 30 minutes isn’t always about cardio training or doing one 30 minute workout, why not spread those 30 minutes throughout the day.

 One of the most powerful exercises you can do is Isometrics, more so what some people call Power Postures, meaning holding various positions at odd angles. Think of some of the Yoga Postures like the Downward facing dog or what we call the Hindu Push-up, just holding for time in the three positions can build internal power like you wouldn’t believe. How about holding a horse stance like the Shaolin Monks do, that builds some serious leg strength. These two examples can be used as a foundation to build your body from the inside out.

 Ever watch TV? Of course you do, you have a favorite show or movie you like to watch and take hold of the drama or one-liners that unfold, than the dumbass commercials come on and nobody likes those right except the trailers for upcoming movies. Why not use that time to get in some exercise, remind yourself to exercise a little bit, do a few push-ups or squats during the commercials, hold your leg(s) up in your chair for a few seconds, do jumping jacks, these are all things you can work on while the commercials are going and when your show comes on, take a break. Continue this until your show is over and there you go, you just did a workout within a 30 minute period.

 Stop thinking you need to do an hour of this or an hour of that, you don’t have a lot of time. When you wake up in the morning do a few stretches for about 15 minutes to get your day started, you’re at a red light in your car, while you wait push/pull and/or squeeze your steering wheel, and you can get in great shape no matter where you go. The people who tell you have to do cardio and an hour of weights to get in shape are the ones who are stealing everyone’s money and think they have full on expertise on what is good or bad for you in exercise. The less time you can workout, the more you can actually gain, not just physically but mentally and emotionally because you can have more time to do the things you have going on in your life. It’s all about making little effort that can turn into big impacts in a productive way.

 Don’t ever feel you have to go to a gym and use a cardio machine because someone told you to because it gets you in great shape and listen to your iPod or watch TV while on the treadmill, ask them to do 500 Hindu Squats and so how long they last, bet you a few bucks most likely he won’t be able to do it and he’ll be so out of breath he’s going to feel like dying. Real cardio won’t have to be 30 minutes, if you really learned it, it doesn’t need to be more than 15 at best. Cardio is a term that exercising to keep the heart rate at levels that burn fat and build muscle, most cardio methods only diminish muscle and yes you’re burning fat but not the way you really want it too. Doing a few squats for several minutes gets your heart rate up real quick and maximizes fat burning levels faster than anything else with the exception of sprinting which you only need to do for a few seconds at a time. Build your way up and make the best of the exercise time you have and believe me, it’s better to do exercise for a few minutes and feel awesome than doing exercise for a long, long time and feel like crap afterwards.

Cheetahs & The Way Of A Lean, Mean, Fighting Machine

The Cheetah is the fastest cat in the animal kingdom bar none. It is said that this lean and powerful cat can reach speeds up to 70mph, that's more then most cars can go up to especially when the cheetah can hit it in 5 seconds when a car takes 7. Its just breathtaking when you see a wild animal just surge through the jungle at a blazing speed that can take you down within a heart beat. Because of this wild cat its influenced sports and physical training in a way that needs to be seen to believe.

Once a day, the cheetah hunts for food and when he spots its breakfast/lunch/dinner that's when it just soars like a lightning bolt and charges it's prey. After he eats he rests and meditate throughout the rest of the day and is very much at peace (until trouble roams). For the most part we need to learn this type of philosophy from the wild cat. After you have had a wild and exhilarating workout, take a rest and meditate. Let your body sink in for a while and let the flow of super energy flow everywhere on your body.

The biggest influence from the cheetah is the Olympic sprinters who are the wild speed demons of sport and competition. The lean and muscular physiques of these athletes are second to none and are the fastest people on the planet. How do they get that way? By just sprinting and tearing up the pavement. Yes there are other exercises involved in their training but at the same time, they use all they have just to go for short run.

Another influence of the cheetah is other sports like football, baseball, basketball and many others. Football players for example are dominant in the running field (no pun intended) and the most muscular guys on the field in my opinion are the running backs and the linebackers. For running backs, sprinting is a major key to out maneuver their opponents. I'd say one of the greatest running backs, Walter Payton took on a whole new meaning to the term "out running." He was one of the most fit guys in the history of the game and whats one of his secrets? By doing Sprints particularly Hill & Stair Sprinting.

When you do a Sprint you're building up levels of hormones that burn off fat and build muscle faster then the leading injections and can increase your HGH levels as high as 530%. That's an extreme high percentage which is a good thing because with that percentage you are going to feel younger, you'll get leaner and you will have energy that you haven't had since you were a kid at the playground. Whats the leading growth hormone injections percentage increase? Believe it or not its just over 50% which is more then 10x less then if you trained on sprinting. How sad is that and all these athletes and celebrities use them to what? Look good, hit a ball harder, run faster, swim with ease? Its all crap.

The best steroids you can take without any bad side effects is running hard or exercise very hard for a short period of time. For 8-20 seconds, you don't need any more then that. You can have a 15 minute workout where most of that 15 minutes is rest. After a hard sprint, walk back to the starting point and just for a few minutes catch your breath and when you're ready hit another set. Do this no more then 8-9 times. In the beginning, 4-5 is fine and never go at 100%, that alone can get you injured so hit a sprint as hard as you can without killing yourself. Work up to a comfortable hard sprint.

If you don't want to do hard sprints then another way would be to just turn yourself into a wild animal. Whether you're a bear, gorilla, tiger or whatever you can do this as well and get yourself huffing and puffing in no time flat. This is one of the fastest ways increase your speed, agility and strength all at the same time and you don't need to do for an hour or even a half hour, 20 minutes is all you need and if you're a beginner 5 minutes would be a great start.

Train like this no more then 2-3x a week and on your off days, do some stretching, deep breathing and meditation as your recovery training. Recovery is just as important as physical and when you sleep, your HGH levels will take on a life of their own as they help your body recover quicker. Whether as a cheetah or any other wild beast, get the body you always wanted and have fun while you do it. If you have kids they will get in the action too as being a wild wo/man brings just as many of the benefits as the adults.

Captain America & How You Can Become Your Own Super Solider

I was watching the First Avenger movie last night with my girl and I couldn't help but be in awe of how powerful the character is and how strong he became. The movie was awesome and I'm always looking for what others can do to become a very strong individual. In the film Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) starts out as this skinny little kid from Brooklyn who wants nothing more then to tackle bullies and do something that's more then himself. Unfortunately every time he enlists, he always gets turned down. He's too small, has symptoms that army recruiters laugh at and just let the kid go. That's similar to what young boys back then were like and hated being small and weak. With guts and the right people to look up to they became strongmen and got what they always wanted and more. Stories like this are from men like Charles Atlas, John Grimek, The Mighty Atom and one of the most fascinating from weak to strong stories of the great Doug Hepburn.

The Army in the film are looking to build a new breed of super soldiers and they found someone to experiment on and that's little Steve. The night before the procedure one of the Doc's who discovered Rogers sat down with him and told him why he was chosen. Doc believed in him because he sees whats in his heart. If someone was big and powerful, he may take that strength for granted and lose value but if a weak man wants strength he values its gift as he learns to be strong. The next day Rogers is put into this little capsule with wires and other stuff strapped to him. He's injected with a certain serum that can turn him into a very powerful man. The experiment works and Rogers transforms into this mountain of muscle. With this he can regenerate quicker, has the metabolism 4x higher then the average human and has the speed of a cheetah.

One of the exercises I learned about Evan's training for the film was doing Handstand Push-ups as one of his primary exercises for bodyweight training. This exercise alone can build killer upper body strength in ways that cannot be done by any other exercise. You are practically in a vertical position upside down and pushing your whole body up. I've always liked this exercise and it made me feel good and admire that an actor trained on that exercise and got super results from it. Now he did do other forms of exercise to get beefed up for the film but its good to know that some trainers know the value of functional strength.

Now can anyone do this type of exercise? A good percentage can but some people lack the structure and body-weight ratio no matter what they do. Those that can practice it can go here at Ultimate Guide To Handstand Push-ups and for advanced trainees can go here at Gymnastic Handstands. This exercise was practiced by the old-school bodybuilders and strongmen of the 30's and 40's and they all had great successes and results from doing this. If you want to do weights along with bodyweight exercise then look no further then here at Strongerman.com where you'll find the very best at learning how to create massive functional muscle without the use of drugs or supplements.

Remember what I said about the Captain's speed? Well you can also do this type of training as well as Sprinting builds lung power and strength in the whole body unlike anything else. You don't need to do a vast amount of time to do this, go to a track or park or better yet find a hill and sprint hard for 8-15 seconds, take a few minutes rest and sprint again, no need to do more then 10 sets of this. If you're a beginner take it easy on this an progress. Do a powerwalk and each session increase the speed. 2-3x a week is all you need to burn off fat like crazy and increase your HGH Levels 10x more then the leading supplements or injections. This helps keeps you fit, young, vibrant and full of energy.

Now we all can't be like the Iconic Capatain but we certainly can become much more powerful then the average human and build a body that will have heads turning. It takes practice, patience, goal-setting and the will to keep driving. Build your foundation and never give up. Just like Captain America the hero that never gives in. For encouragement picture as if the Captain himself is cheering you on and pushing you to get better. If you can keep that in mind you may find yourself looking like him and being as powerful as a grizzly bear.

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.

My 10 Favorite Bodyweight Exercises

When I train, I want to get the best out of it whether it be for 5 min. or a whole hour because not only do I want to get a great workout I want to feel good and energetic at the end of it no matter what. We all have our favorite Exercises that we like to do and we sometimes forget how good they can really be. We even change them up sometimes or make a variation of them to create a challenge. I for one have many exercises that I mastered and can do at just about anytime I wanted but theres always certain favorites I like to do every once in a while and I have picked and neither of these are any better then the next but they are very important and some are pretty difficult and some are pretty simple to learn. Without further ado here are my favorite Exercises.....

Sumo Squats

Hill Sprints

Bridging

Bear Crawls

Pull-ups

Gorilla Walks

Crab Walks

Hindu Squats

Tablemakers

Sumo Side Splits

Now why would I pick these specific exercises? Because for obvious reasons they're fun to do. Some you may notice are squat variations and I picked them because however you look at it, squats are the foundational exercises for burning off fat and building overall muscle. The legs are the largest parts of the body and we must strive to not only keep them strong but flexible because as we age one of the things we start to lose is the flexiblity in our legs.

They are a major key to how we get around places and how strong our development is. Some of the other exercises I have chosen like bear crawls and Crab Walks are because they use all four limbs in the body and can get you out of breath much faster then most exercises, do one of them and time yourself 2 minutes and see how long you last. Tablemakers are really the only push-up variation I do these days because I just have very little interest in push-ups because I get bored after doing high volume reps and with the animal exercises I can move around on both arms and legs and I get more out of it.

Not saying Push-ups are not good, they are, if one is getting into bodyweight exercises the first exercise they should learn is the push-up. Hill Sprints on the other hand are one if not the best exercise for burning off fat faster then anything else. Because of the huffing and puffing you get very quick it generates more Human Growth Hormone and the heat it builds up in your body.

Why did I choose Sumo Squats as a favorite exercise? For one its different unlike other variations. Two because of the other parts of the legs that work not only the thighs but the inner and outer portions of the thighs. Look at sumo wrestlers. They may not be the most durable athletes but they are strong, fast, agile and flexible. So why not take a picture out of their training and if you're an athlete in any sport this exercise can go a long way beyond just getting out of breath and building flexibility, it teaches you where to position the legs and the balance it requires you to take on. For wrestling these can help you very much because in wrestling you need to work the body in various angles for control and power and when you do sumo squats it shows you how to pivot the feet so when you're ready to make a move either defensive or offensive you'll know when to pivot to make your move much more explosive and powerful.

Again we all have our favorite exercises but the key is to not just do them in moderation, do them with feeling, power and will so when you train them you make them the way they ought to be. This is a major factor to learning self reliance and creating your own program for your needs of strength & conditioning.

How To Get Out Of Breathe Fast & How That Can Help Your Fitness

When we workout we feel that we need an hour and a half in the gym in order to get our blood pumping and our muscles jacked up. What if we can reduced that by not just a great percentage but even drop the timing to less then 10 min. Not only can your workout be incredible and challenging but you will be building muscle and creating natural human growth hormone at the same time. My 2 Favorite ways of doing this is to pick 4-5 different animal exercises and hammer them each for 30 seconds then repeat the sequance about 2-3 times. Another favorite is running hill sprints. Doing these can amp up your conditioning to levels unimaginable. You only need a hill thats about 50-70 yards long and need to do only 4-8 sets. Now for each sprint do you need to go at 100%? No just a good percentage say 25-35%. Each time you sprint try to go a little further each set. For rest just walk back down to the bottom of the hill slowly. For the Animal Circuits take a small break to catch your breath then get back to it. Hill Sprints are needed only 2-3 times a week because of the recovery periods needed in order to let your body build back up from really hard training. If you don't have hills then run sprints on a field. Adapt to what you can do and take your conditioning to the top.

Benefits Of Hill Sprinting

Lets face it many trainers feel that if you want to burn fat you do thousands of crunches, run for miles on end and needing to bounce the joints for a good period of time. Well that may be all good in a fantasy world but those guys are forgeting a few things..

1. How does it affect their health?

2. Is it really helping their natural growth hormone?

3. How bored do you have to be to do all those things?

4. How do these things not injure the joints?

Seriously though there are many ways to burn fat and build muscle but very few training methods not only build these 2 at the same time but get them done almost instant. One of those methods is Hill Sprinting. Flat sprinting is another method but Hill Sprints take on a very unique form of training that gets you out of breath quicker then anything else just about. When you get out of breath and huffing and puffing like you just ran down a gazelle your body is producing endorphins through the roof and your hormones jump up like Superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

It doesn't take that long of a workout, 50-70 yards each set is all you need to get the high of your life. No more then 4-8 sets and with consistancy 2-3 times a week you'll burn fat like a damn furnace. Besides having a quick workout that only takes minutes rather then hours is far more rewarding and fun then anything else. Isn't it cool to be able to do things that the average person can't. Thats the difference between human and superhuman, willing to go that extra inch that makes every bit of a difference.

The real benefits of Hill Sprinting are that you can produce natural growth hormone which not only have you recover quicker but keeps you younger. Your conditioning skyrockets to levels that would make an average person insanely jealous and your mental toughness become a second language so in life you will find decisions much easier to come by and you're aware of what you can accomplish. A big benefactor of this type of training is that the more consistant you make it the more chances other things in your life are gonna turn for the better especially when it comes to the bedroom. So like I said, hormones jump, your stamina is off the chain and you're getting smiles all over that significant other.