Listen To Your Instincts

            For the most part in the fitness world, nobody really listens to their instincts because they buy into the latest fad or fitness gimmick on putting on 10 pounds of muscle in less than 10 days or going to an aerobics class and thinking it’s the Mecca of fitness. To really understand fitness and strength training is to learn how to trust yourself not just in the gym but be able to figure out how to do a workout anytime and anywhere. Learn to listen to that little voice.

            I have learned from a great deal of many people and have been to the gym, trained at home, at parks, oceans, lakes, even the grocery store but I never once felt like doing every single thing they teach. To trust your instincts is to listen to what matters. You can buy all the crap you want and get in awesome workouts but it all boils down to you and what works best for you. Learning from other people is great and that’s the way it should be but also it’s important to find what works best for you and it’s different for everyone.

            While I was cooped up on a hospital bed for nearly three months, I did do a little therapy but it became boring to me and not because I wanted to move along faster but my instincts were telling me that there are better ways to do this. After my third surgery and was cleared to do rehab, I shook off therapists, doctors and even my own family and friends that told me to work on rehabbing. I just had the desire to do it on my own and it took me a while but before I knew it, my legs were getting stronger, my body was shaping up and I got far better at my recovery than if I had listened to some quack with a piece of paper attached to his name. Did I get crap for it, of course I did but that didn’t matter to me and I learned to trust myself.

            Nobody has power over you but if you allow them that power, you’ll never find what works best for you and learning to find that desire to what gives you strength, health and power over everyone else. You have the power to create your own style, your own version of training and it doesn’t matter if you go to a gym or not. Learn from other people but find your own way, trust in yourself. 

Up Keeping Your Conditioning

            When you find different ways to condition your body, it’s important to keep them going until you move on to the next method. However, some of us like me can’t always keep up with what we want to do or get bored easily so now what? We improvise and become creative. When I say upkeep I don’t always mean tuning your exercises or routine but my way of up keeping is to train as daily as possible whether for 5 min. or 1 hour. It keeps you on your toes and you feel a sense of accomplishment.

            Make your goals interesting, don’t always be a straight arrow and generic with “I’m doing this to lose weight or doing that to build strength” and my personal favorite “Just to look good the season.” Those are great goals to have but there’s more to them than meets the eye. Go after your goals but put in a little extra something that keeps your goals interesting like adding an animal exercise for fun or slap in some isometrics that you always wanted to learn. I always believed in the value of having fun and challenging yourself with a smile because most look at it as punishment when in reality it’s all in their head. If you’re not having fun then your goals won’t be that satisfying or worth it.

            Whether you practice one method or many, it’s important to keep yourself progressing. The upkeep of exercise is not always what you have to do on a certain day or you have to do this or that at a specific time. Make it a habit to keep up with yourself, that’s the secret to up keeping your conditioning is by up keeping yourself. I practice a lot of things so I have many ways to keep up with my mind and how my body reacts to what I want to do. For some they focus on one method and believe it’s the end-all be all which is great for them but that’s only part of the puzzle. Training is like a puzzle, in your mind there are either so many pieces to put together or you have chunks of pieces and you have only a few to put together either way there’s something to put together. You can create your own puzzle, no one can build it for you, the question is what do you want to put together that creates what you want?

            There are 24 hours in a day yet most people don’t realize they can get in a kick ass workout in under less than 10 minutes, why because they don’t have the ambition and the motivation. It’s sad because if only they knew that even one small workout or spreading your exercises throughout the day can have a profound effect even on the toughest of schedules. Learn to remind yourself that it’s OK to not have a hardcore workout and train 4-5 hours a day, that’s impossible for most people, hell to me that’s way too much, put in a few minutes here and there; on a break, do a few push-ups and squats, got kids, play with them that’s a lot of exercise in itself and before you conk out on your bed do a couple minutes of stretches, it’s about working on what’s best for you. Make the time even if it’s a small chunk of your day.

            Start with 1 min. if that’s all you have, build it up by 30 seconds each time you train and before you know it, you’d have done 15 min. worth of exercise throughout the day. It’s not complicated, make it work for you and you will find it easier to get things done. Now get to it. Want to know what’s funny, if you read this, you can certainly do a few exercises. Watch your favorite TV show and do some exercise during the commercials, doesn't have to be a lot of reps, do what’s comfortable. Keep up with yourself, don’t try to keep up with everyone else.

How To Become Tarzan In Your Own Way

            In the Jungle, you don’t know what to expect, don’t always where to eat or drink because there’s always something else that might get in your way. You’re constantly on the move and you can go from tree to tree or you run on the ground. To move like a wild animal, you must learn its moving patterns, where to plant your body when you land, which direction to use your arms to get where you want to go. Tarzan is a great reminder of how to use your body and mind.

            When you've been in a certain environment long enough, you know where everything is, you know what can be dangerous and it becomes second nature to you. You can use that to your advantage when you want to train. When you learn how to use your environment as a resource for exercise and fitness, you can take it anywhere and anytime you want. You don’t always need one specific place, when you aren't used to a certain environment, learn how you can make it your strength and learn how you can use it to get in awesome shape.

            One of my friends Ed Baran has a few words that he says called Way Of The Animal, it’s related to how you move like a wild animal in the Jungle, using your body to develop strength and muscle like an animal. It is far healthier and much more natural to move like an animal in the wild than sulking in a gym waiting to use the weights. When you head outside and go to a park, there’s a great connection there. Since kids are back in school as of late, this is the time to reflect on getting them in tuned with their animal counterparts by imitating them to fight off obesity and other forms of illness.

            A thing I have learned over the years that I’m still learning is to follow my intuition meaning how to use my awareness in a mindful way. For me, my intuition is never wrong and whenever something comes up no matter what it is, it’s usually spot on. Like Tarzan from all his time in the Jungle, his intuition is so powerful that it’s kept him alive, it’s helped form a bond with his body and mind when he senses danger and needs to protect himself. Granted yes in the movies he never dies because the script said so but there is some truth to that notion when you learn to follow your instincts and something inside of you is telling you something, you better listen.

            Have fun when you’re learning how to use your intuition, your way of moving around your own environment and practicing the movements of a Jungle animal. Too many of us get stuck in this rut where things are so downward and dull, boring and we don’t give ourselves time to relax and enjoy what we have. I understand you have certain things to deal with in your lives but that doesn't mean you make it harder on yourself to control what you really can do in a more productive and positive way. Channel your energy and learn from somebody like Tarzan, he’s got more issues then you do and yet he still has that child-like quality of him that still plays even in the worst conditions of the Jungle. Be fun and have a kick ass time. 

Discovering What You Love

            

             Fitness is about discovery, finding what drives you to be in shape and live a better life physically, emotionally and spiritually. Some find it and learn to keep it going with changes, new ways to challenge and again learn, others take years and don’t get anywhere because they don’t know what really works and drag themselves along and then there are those that just hate it and let’s leave it at that.

            Being in shape is great don’t get me wrong, you look awesome and can do cool things but it’s important to explore new possibilities. What can you do to challenge yourself and create different goals and setting them? There are people who get in shape just to look like a hot shot and impress others, more power to them for that but that can only go so far, if you look awesome but you’re an asshole what good are you? Find ways to not only stay in shape but have the strength and endurance to back it up. Explore what is out there, moving in different directions, being out of the gym and having to find a way to train. In the gym it’s automatic; there’s weights, machines, mats, cardio stuff all there for you but it’s a closed in space. Now go outside and find how to adapt and move freely with the environment around you, very different huh?

            One of the things I believe in is using your instincts, valuing intuition and sensing how you do things, feel and understand. It’s like the Force in Star Wars; you sense things around you, how you think and using your intuitive powers to find different meanings. If you trust your instincts and follow your energy and understanding it you’ll discover things you never thought before but there’s a dark side to it (just like Star Wars) you have to pay attention or your instincts can betray you. Learn and pay attention to how your body and mind respond to certain things, just because you think them doesn't always make them true. Follow how you respond to things, the more positive they are, the more likely you’ll love doing it but also pay attention to the negative things, if you are in pain or just don’t feel that something’s right, then you need to adjust and find something different.

            Have fun with what you do, keep it interesting and learn to get better at it. Learn to flow with things and do what you can to resist pushing too hard too fast (I've done it and I've paid for it). Have patience and make it a habit to be strong and believe that things will go the way they’re suppose to. The universe works in odd ways but there’s always a way to make it work for you. Learn the attitude, trust in yourself and be joyful to make things in your life happen.