Training Comes With A Price

            What you believe in is your choice. Some people prefer weights over bodyweight, some loath weights and find them useless for any given strength; the truth of the matter is to find what’s suited to you and really only you. When you become comfortable in the way you train, take it a step further and challenge it a little, mix things up, make the exercises harder, experiment with different tempos, speeds and play.

            Not everyone will agree with what you do and that’s ok. You are unique and your body responds differently, so train according to how your body responds to the training you create and experiment with. Me personally, I like different styles that I mold into my own. I do a little gymnastics, a little weights, animal movements, natural movements, bending steel and whatever I can come up with. If you’re into one particular style and that’s it more power to you. I'm a big man and I've been told I shouldn't be able to do the things I do but you know what, I love it and that’s what is important.

            Be open and share who you are but also use it as a positive influence. There are great trainers and fitness guys out there who are awesome at what they do but their attitude needs a little shaping. I’m not asking you to change who you are, you're awesome in your own right but a positive attitude is a key to success. I believe in helping others and giving them tools with a smile and bringing love and care to help them be successful but there are some out there who are bitter and treat certain people calling them whiners and whatnot, this isn't the military, these are human beings trying to find what can work for them.

            Have a kick ass attitude, sometimes a little tough love to help reach their potential but to a degree. If you're overweight and want to drop a few pounds, I'm not going to tell you upfront you're fat or put you down like some people I know but I will tell you this; the battle is on you and how you win it is up to you, if you want to lose weight, take it one step at a time, I’m not going to hold you your hand but to be motivated is to believe even for a fraction that you can make something happen. If you're rail thin and need to put on some muscle, same principle applies, believe even if it’s down to the smallest fraction that it could be possible, it’s a start and progress upward one fraction at a time.

            I know what it’s like to not be motivated, to give up, being depressed because of my weight or because I'm not as strong or fit as the guy next to me in the gym, I've been there and I've had a wake up call that is a little extreme than most people. You are a very strong person even if you don’t know it yet, the power is there and it’s edging to come out. You're not a loser and you don't need to listen to some bullshit people who drag you down, you are mighty and you are powerful, it takes practice but you can bring it out. That to me is the price of training, to find your true self and how you apply it to everything else in your life.

When Is It Time To Change Things Up?

          People in fitness like to hang onto a routine, having a routine in the first place feels comfortable. Having one is used mainly as a goal, if you’re a beginner or more advanced and it’s in your comfort zone and you’re use to it. The trap however is if you keep doing the same things over and over again eventually your progress begins to die out, results aren't coming in, you’re frustrated but also those who have a routine and stuck with it for a long period of time also eventually begin to only know that routine and don’t know how to change it.

            I know what it’s like being burnt out, your body begins to take a toll on you and it’s time to make a change because your mind needs to be fresh, your body needs to re-energize and your exercise routine needs to bring out a bigger and exciting challenge. I was on a routine for about over a month doing mostly push-ups,squats and bridging using a deck of cards. What I've noticed lately is due to the excess work over 3-4 times a week is that I've gotten stronger and have more endurance but my shoulders and knees are breaking down on me and need to stop. Most likely I’ll change it to 1-2 times a week because with the cards you’re looking at a minimum of 388 squats and 238 push-ups (I make it 400/250 to make certain goals) and the bridging is hard enough as it is.

            When your body begins to hurt more than it should from a routine, change your pace, use less volume or learn to exercise the joints, tendons and ligaments so you don’t get an injury. Find something fresh and fun to do because if you overload the body without using multi-directional exercises you can get hurt and you will be in pain. Also being burnt out means your mind isn't there anymore and if you keep it up, your mind just goes dead and you’re going through exercises like a zombie, it’s not fun and you’re getting the results you want and it’s bad for your health.

            There are people (I happen to be one of them) who has a bit of ADD which means they can’t always pay attention to what they’re doing and they change things up frequently. This has been a bit of a habit for me because quite frankly I hate routines; aside from doing the deck of cards and some of the bridging for the last month and a half I’m constantly doing different exercises. This could also mean people like to go by feel, what they’re in the mood for. Some days they’ll do odd object lifting, other days gymnastics and even every once in a blue moon they’ll just hammer out whatever energy they have and try to go as far as they can go. Be careful how you do things but at the same time have fun and learn to use your imagination.

            Here’s another reason to change things up; boredom. I've been there and seen plenty of guys in the gym do this and that’s being bored as hell with what you’re doing. If you’re not having fun and your routine is dull and what I like to use from the movie Your Highness is what Prince Thaddeus refers to as “It sounds tedious and boring” then you need some serious changes my friend (watch the movie and try to say it like he does, you’ll perk right up). You should never be bored with what you do. Want to know what boring is, look in the magazines and the routines they have, most of that shit is boring to do and who the hell can finish them in the amount of time it needs? Find a way to train that gives you freedom and challenging. Find what gives you a reason to train, make it interesting and use the power of being happy with what you do. An exercise program is supposed to make you feel good, not terrible and hurt; it gives you energy and happiness not dark and un-eventful. 

            The ultimate reason to change things up is to create a new challenge. If you can do a deck of cards doing push-ups and squats in full within a period of time after a while, it gets easy, how do you make it harder? Double the push-ups and/or squats and see how far you get. That’s an example, how about doing animal movements? Eventually you’ll get the exercise down and you need a change of pace, to make it more challenging, move slower to the point where you hold a position isometrically and then take a slow step.

            Everything needs a challenge so we can learn to grow mindfully and get stronger physically because when you challenge yourself, you learn new things, how to make the exercise a bit more difficult or the tempo and timing of the workout. Maybe you’ll do a challenge once a week/month/year whatever but do it and find new ways to make it interesting and learn how to handle yourself in certain situations. Growth is a natural part of life so what makes exercise any differently? Get to it and change things up, you may find certain things more fun to do than others.

Be Proud To Wake Up In The Morning

Most people really hate getting up in the morning because they have to work or take care of kids and feel like crap from some of those nightless sleeps. To avoid this, practice your thinking and how it helps you be energized when you do wake up in the morning. The usual thinking “god I hate waking up, 5 more minutes.” How often have you heard that one whether you’re working, going to school or whatever? Changing your thinking can make you or break you as you decide what to do when you wake up.

 Creating a mindset using positive thinking and the will to say to yourself “I’m getting up and it’s going to be awesome.” Being able to create Vitality is a powerful and effective tool to build that energy that just makes you fly with gusto and vigor. Waking up shouldn’t be a bad thing, it should be a great thing because when that sun hits you in the morning and that warmth just surrounds your body, it really feels good.

 One of the best things you can do when you wake up is waking up with a smile and give your body great and powerful energy that just nourishes your system where when you get up you’re ready for whatever the day lies ahead. Exercising in the morning is a vital ingredient to your success in creating energy that gives you strength and power throughout the day. Now I’m not saying you wake up and have no choice but to exercise, what I’am saying however is that exercise, even for 5 minutes can be the best start to your day. A key component is to strengthen your body from the inside meaning by breathing deeply and when you stretch make it an Isometric exercise by squeezing the muscles for a few seconds and let that energy flow out as you exhale. Trust me it’s worth the try.

 Strengthening your joints after getting up is crucial because keeping them loose brings not only great energy but gives you great power and strength to do things throughout the day. Believe me, 15 minutes of loosening your joints is not all that long and it keeps you from being stiff and slow. A lot of people don’t do this and this is why there’s aching backs, stiff necks, tight shoulders, crackling ankles and bad knees. Being able to move without aching is a beautiful feeling and your body can move faster and more efficient when you have taken care of the pieces that hold your body together. Too many focus more on muscle than on tendons and ligaments and that’s not a good thing as that can lead to injuries you don’t want or don’t need at all, it’s better to pull a muscle than rip a tendon, I know trust me, I’ve gotten my legs broken.

 The number one key ingredient to having a great wake up call is the one thing mot take for granted and that’s Deep Breathing. There’s an old saying from Martin Farmer Burns which you can find here, said “Deep Breathing exercises alone can make many a weak man strong and many a sick man well.” When you breathe, you’re taking in life that is needed, we can go for weeks without food, days without water but can’t hold our breath for more than a few minutes before we pass out or end up dead. Breathing deeply after waking up and bringing in that powerful energy goes a long way to having better health,stronger immune systems and fighting off diseases like heart problems, diabetes, insomnia, lung issues, all kinds of things. If all else before diet and exercise, learning how to breathe should be your health’s number one priority and you can do this by meditation, qi gong, a favorite using a system to build super strength and speed or even working on Isometric Exercise. Don’t forget to breathe and wake up with power, positive energy and unlimited vigor.