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.

What Inspires Me

           To be inspired is to be motivated. Finding what you love isn't always easy to find. I have been in fitness for nearly 17 years doing many things but it goes beyond a workout, way passed an exercise and it really rolls over creating something. The way I see it is different than most people. Many look to the gym, I once did that too but that all changed just before I turned 21 and one book became my stepping stone called Combat Conditioning.

            People read certain books to find meaning whether it’s paperback, hard copy or in this day and age on an Ipad or Kindle. I don’t bother with that kindle stuff, reading a papered book just has a powerful look to it, it builds your imagination, the feeling of turning the page. I have various books on exercise, conditioning, mythology, biographies and even a few comic books. One of my latest additions to harnessing my imagination is using the Marvel Universe Encyclopedia; this book goes beyond the typical origin or bio of a superhero/villain it shares the imaginative emotional look of whom they are and that gets my attention. I’m fascinated with Superheroes and the gods of mythology.

            History has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. Want to know how far back, how about when I use to write bios in school about athletes such as Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain to men like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Walt Disney. In grade school I’d come up with these little things about those guys and made some cool collages especially about Disney, my imagination caught on fire. Watching and reading about different eras in history just became a thing for me and I always felt different because of that.

            I’m a movie buff that will be far too difficult to deny. Having many genres of films in the house including my action flicks, cartoons and childhood memories of Disney and Indiana Jones, I can never get enough of a great movie. When I was a teen, Pumping Iron was my intro into wanting to be as big and muscled as possible without drugs and steroids so I began to really hit the weight without knowing a damn thing about, just instinctive. As I got older and watching certain flicks like Superheroes like Batman, X-Men, The Avengers, Superman and the likes, it gave me new ideas to train and harness my skills in certain exercises or methods. The one saga that taught me meditation was Star Wars. Since I couldn’t afford a teacher in that area I turned to Yoda and the Jedi for guidance.

            Am I a little weird for doing these things, I’d like to think so. I love being weird and it’s my way of being a nerd. I don’t care what people think of me in that way because I love what I do and I find things that give me a reason to love training as I grow not just athletically but emotionally and spiritually. I’m not a man of religion as some of you know. I don’t go to church or praise and pray to a certain higher power like God and I don’t believe in that sort of thing but I’ am however a spiritual person. It’s tough to explain because certain people have an agenda when it comes to spirituality and religion so I explain it differently to people but it has the same conclusion and you’ll only know that if you knew the way I told you personally.

            I’m inspired differently than most people and I believe that to be true than others because we all have some inspiration somewhere but it’s not always the same. What inspires you is yours alone. Want to inspire someone, bring a part of that intensity and love of what inspires you to help them on their own path of inspiration.