A Simplistic Approach For New Resolutioners

 Day 4 of the New Year and most likely the New Year Resolutioners are still out in droves just itching to go over the top to only fail after burning out quicker than a Camp Fire. It's the overwhelming expectations we have on ourselves or others expected of us to do better and to create habits in a forceful and unrealistic manner. This is especially true for those who want to get fit and become stronger. Getting fit and stronger is about the journey, not trying to reach the end like fast forwarding a movie, it doesn't work that way and many never seem to get the memo. 

What if there was a simpler approach to things that not only help you stay consistent but actually give you realistic goals to reach and have a new found sense of purpose to be fitter and stronger using progressions that dig into the very soul of training. One of these methods is using the old school style of weight training used by the men and women that pioneered the industry before steroids and PEDs. I'm talking about working with simple exercises and progression systems based on the writings of Brooks Kubik whom by far is one of the greatest writers and physical culturists of the modern era. He takes what made bodybuilders and strongman of the past the fittest than many even fit folks today. His style of what's called Dinosaur Training has paved the way for achieving real strength that actually has real world applications, not just in the gym. Learn the treasured secrets and training programs of the all time greats from Arthur Saxon to John Grimek. 

If your approach is more bodyweight based, no problem. Bodyweight Training is a great approach to fitness that not only is more versatile but can be done anywhere and anytime. A great style of Bodyweight Training is through circuit training where you go through a series of exercises in a single set, rest and repeat for as many sets a circuit requires. The very best place to learn about circuit training is Darebee where you can find all kinds of workouts that range from beginner to advanced levels and be able to work around these workouts to your own fitness levels. Best of all, it's completely free so you can save thousands upon thousands of dollars in fees. They have themed based workouts that cater to those who have a knack for things in nerd culture and fun things based on Yoga, Mythology, TV Shows, Films and even Video Games. You can always substitute certain exercises so you can progress to ones you're capable of achieving to do the full workouts. There are even places to find research on nutrition, meditation, if you've had previous injuries and where you can start. 

If you're still into Bodyweight but want a different approach like working with minimal equipment like Suspension Training, that's a great option as well and the best courses out there today on the subject is from the Red Delta Project with books and youtube videos showing a simplistic approach to strength training and muscle building using your own bodyweight. I would say this type of method with what RDP brings to the table is the bodyweight equivalent to Dinosaur Training. 

These are just ideas you can use and not get overwhelmed with all the craziness that most fitness trainers today try to force upon you. These methods aren't easy but they teach you things that make you feel a bit more at ease with formats that aren't complicated or have confusing aspects to what you should or shouldn't do. They get down to the nitty gritty with exercises that are very easy to learn but make you earn the results you want. These programs aren't watered down and BS entities that others try to push you away from, these are real, time tested methods that show you what real strength and fitness can be. You don't have to spend hours on end to do them either, they teach you how to realistically apply them to the degree where you'll perform exercises that dig into the very muscles you want to work and often use your whole body as a unit. You don't have to do a bunch of exercises either with tons of sets of reps, just a few of them with sets and reps schemes that get the job done and can have you be done within 45 minutes or less so you can go about the rest of your day doing what you need to do. 

I want you to have the best year yet and be in the best shape without the hassle and stress that many put on today. Do simple things to get the best results possible. Be amazingly awesome.  

SCT: Superset Conditioning Training

 When it comes to a top level favorite of workouts, working with Supersets ranks right up there. For those who've been living under a rock, Supersets are taking two exercises and doing them back to back for a certain number of reps or sets. You mostly see this in gyms where someone would do a set of let's say Bench Press & Curls back to back for one set without stopping, resting and repeating. In that instance, some will do lighter weight or mix it up doing heavy with one exercise and lighter with the next or do heavy with both. It's a style where it gives off more of the pump along with certain cardiovascular effects.

The style I like to do is take two exercises and do them back to back without stopping for a certain period of time. I set my watch to some arbitrary number like 10 min, 15, 20 or an hour. Keep at a good pace where I'm not moving like Speedy Gonzales on a Coke binge but I'm not moving so damn slow the Mars Rover is outpacing me. I use this purely for strength and conditioning purposes mainly in the realm of carrying an object and doing Step Ups. I've done supersets of Push-ups & Squats in the past or do Bear Crawls one way and do Duck Walks going back as part of a sequence. The carrying and step ups provides the idea of using real world application. 

With these workouts, the idea is to rest extremally little or none whatsoever. This teaches your body and mind to keep going even when it gets tougher. Carrying something like a 50 lb Sandbell a couple times and then straight to step ups may not sound tough but over a period of time without stopping, it becomes something more than you would expect. One of the crazy workouts of this magnitude would be to Carry a Sandbell for ten yards on one shoulder, drop and carry 10 yards with the other shoulder, 20-30 step ups (10-15 per leg) and repeat that for an hour straight. That sounds more like a Tri-Set but to me, carrying something one shoulder at a time is one set. I did this workout for 46 supersets without a break (920 Step Ups and Carrying 4600 lb for a total of 920 Yards). 

You can do whatever exercises you want to do, the objective is to keep going. If you're a bodyweight maniac, set a timer for 15 minutes and do 25 Squats and 10 Push-ups without stopping. Micro Workouts are great for this kind of thing. You can also do Isometric type training where let's say you do a 30 second Horse Stance and then go into a 30 second Fist Plank and keep repeating that for as long as you can. If you absolutely need a break, take it between supersets until you're ready for the next set but for the most part, if you need a break than you're exhausting yourself too soon. Utilize a pace where it's not so easy but it's not going slow you down either and you can go without having to stop. 

Supersets are awesome for building high levels of conditioning and fat burning effects. If you really want to take it to the next level and shed fat faster than butter in a pan, do Sprints and Circuits as a hybrid superset where you sprint for let's say 10 seconds, walk back and do a series of Push-Ups, Squats, Jumps, Burpees or whatever a circuit may be and than rest for as long as needed. Repeat for a few rounds and that's it. This is more of a HIIT type of workout where even 3x a week might be pushing it so don't do workouts anymore than that, 1-2x a week is ideal. I did something similar to this for 6 weeks and dropped a considerable amount of bodyfat, lowered my blood pressure by a huge margin and was leaner despite only losing a few pounds. That's going hardcore and not a beginner type level of training. 

Another great workout would be doing Farmer's Carries and Step Ups or Squats. Example would be to carry a kettlebell in one hand for x amount of yards, switch hands and carry the same amount of yards and then do step ups or squats. Repeat this for as long as you wish or can handle. Some would take two exercises and do them with deck of cards to really up the ante like Hindu Push-Ups & Hindu Squats, work your legs hard with just Step Ups & Hindu Squats or whatever you choose to do. 

This type of training is very effective and goes beyond just working muscles, you're working your cardiovascular system, you're testing the mental aspects and training muscle groups that are often ignored. Make it work for you and be sure to recover efficiently. If you're into weight training, do supersets that work opposing muscles like a Chest & Back Exercise or Tris and Bi's, Thighs & Hamstrings or Mix and Match. It's not complicated, it's very simple and as long as you stick to the basics, you're golden.

Train hard, recover just as hard and keep up your conditioning so you can last when it counts. Keep being amazingly awesome.

Lost Empire Herb Of The Day: Cistanche 

My Theory On Pro Wrestlers Training

  

>>>>>Don't Believe It All<<<<<

            I've always advocated since I was 20 years old to not believe everything that is said in the muscle magazines especially with a celebrity on the cover. I've never done pro wrestling or even trained to become one but I have put in a lot of study, trained in the old-time strongman game and looked into a lot of athletes and the way they trained so that’s why it’s a theory. Don’t believe all the training you read about a wrestler in a magazine because you may not realize that it’s not all there.

            For the most part when you read about a wrestler’s routine in the magazines or on the net or whatever, you've got to look at another angle from what you're reading or listening to. For the most part I’m not doubting those guys bust their ass day in and out but they're not telling you the whole story. When you read a routine you automatically think that’s exactly what they do, not all true. Think about it, for a full-time wrestler, they travel up to 300 days out of the year at best, they get if they’re lucky a good hour or so of training at the gym or so and eat, than get to the arena for the night’s show to cut promos, tapings and do a 10-30 min. match. There’s no way in hell they can train that hard nearly every day or up to 4 times a week and not be completely exhausted. Most of those guys train pretty simple while on the road and I’ll talk about that in just a bit.

            Back in the old days when the bodybuilding craze was just for those who were actually into it, athletes who traveled a lot like wrestlers did, gyms weren't that popular, you'd be lucky to find one in a few cities in the entire state. Most of those guys relied on what they can find useful but for the most part did bodyweight training and wrestled. Let me give you an example: Lou Thesz, one of the all-time greats who can go an hour with just about anyone who can keep up with him, he probably lifted a few weights here and there but mostly Push-ups, Bridging and Wrestling were his mainstays on the road. Ric Flair; 16-time world champ and the king of hour long broadways, carried a deck of cards with him and at the studios where promos and most of the matches occurred, he would put himself through Push-ups, Sit-ups & Squats, if he happened to find a gym on the road he used it to the best he could. Karl Gotch did practically nothing but Bodyweight exercises on the road and it kept him in phenomenal shape.

            Superstar Billy Graham was practically the first wrestler who took the bodybuilding look and made it the focal point of today’s wrestlers such as John Cena, Batista, Triple H, Scott Steiner and others. When you train like that plus are on the road for practically a full year with only 7-10 days being at home, it puts a whole new level of perspective and how really all that contributes to the way they eat, rested and what have you. Simplistic Training for a Pro Wrestler is doing enough exercise for both strength and endurance that are at a very different level than most athletes and using compound and full body exercises.

            Today, gyms are practically in every damn city in the entire country and provide training for every type of sport or athletic endeavor there is. Most wrestlers today can go to a gym for a little while before heading to a show and be ready for the night’s matches and promo cuts. I'm not putting these guys down because they’re awesome of what they're capable of and plenty of them are in pretty damn good shape but they don’t share their true training ideals because a lot of the public really only looks at the hardcore stuff they do in the gym and think that they have a lot of time in there to stay fit and read about the routines in the magazines or what they might say on WWE’s Websites but the reality is, they do train their ass off but not as extreme as some might put on paper or an online interview.

            Take away the drugs, pills, injuries or whatever those guys endure and take and you have an athlete that trains by a necessity and has to be efficient in their training to stick to be able to matches that can go as long as an hour and many of them can’t unless you're a Antonio Ceasaro or a Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and guys of that caliber. They really do in my opinion do pretty simple exercises but I'm not doubting they do the isolated crap either yet in the end, they can't afford to spend 3 hours at the gym and muster up enough muscle and all that to go into a match or cut many promos in a single and not feel like collapsing. They train when they need to, to be in top shape and keep their build as long as possible.

            So the next time you want to be inspired by a pro wrestler and want to train and be like them, be a little more realistic, use common sense and think about what could be going on with them if they actually 100% trained like they write about in those magazines because you'd be surprised what they go through if it was remotely true. Although I stopped watching Wrestling on TV, I still have DVDs that have wrestlers talk about the real side of how they trained, got into the business and what they put themselves through on the road for that long period of time. I admire some of these guys but I love realistic, no bullshit and fun old school training for any sport or just being in awesome shape as well. 

Getting Back To Basics

           Basic exercises are the true measures of what can be done in fitness whether it’s weights or bodyweight the principles still apply…

Presses

Pulls

Squats

Grip

            It’s important to use these principles with the best intentions because you’ll get the best results using these elements, you can add in supplemental exercises for extra variety but the more consistent you use these four the more you’ll get out of it.

            Sometimes we progress to higher stages of development that we move on without thinking too much of how we got there in the first place. Yes it’s important to progress and advancing yourself to harder types of training but in the end it all comes back to the basics and how it gives us the foundation to bring us higher and higher to where we want to go.

            The single most important ideal for being a great trainee is to not copy someone else’s program but to create your own with the basic principles and there are endless ways of doing them. Doing what works best for you is the journey of finding one’s self and that although you can get ideas on how to do things you’ll want to learn how you can create something on your own that you enjoy and making it challenging for you and you alone.

            There are countless attributes but the best ones stay within the realm of the basic principles and that’s…..

Strength

Stamina

Speed

Agility

Reflex

            All five of these attributes should be planted into your brain at all times not because it’s just a few words but when it comes down to it you’ll need them in whatever you’re doing whether it’s in sports, training for conditioning or whatever. For some who have read, I like saying to have fun and although it’s important to have that, there’s also times to get down to brass tacks and get the job done whether it’s for a specific goal, in competition, in training and in life. Do what you can but never be satisfied, keep moving, keep driving and keep achieving the things you want to do. No matter how tough things are, come back to the basics and use them to bring you back up because they will always be there when you need them. 

Going Rogue

            We all want to find the best ways to get results in the fitness world. Some use equipment, some don't and the rest just make shit up. You don't to have equipment to get the best but yet you can find what’s useful to you and make it worth your time to go at it hard. I love using certain things because they give a sense of purpose and meaning when I want to create something exciting and having the tools provide that.

            When it comes to equipment in a gym, there are two types of gyms that have a complete different type of world, the health spa and the underground gyms you see in various parts of the country including one of the craziest in New Jersey. The difference between the two is that a health spa consists of “beautiful” people with chrome and fern machines, state of the art treadmills, most weights in the dumbbell rack go up to about 50 lbs. and you see plenty of people wanting to look like Tarzan or Arnold yet have the strength of Jane. The Underground guys are bad to the bone (yes even the women), some are tough as nails hitting iron, flipping tires, lifting, dragging, carrying, pulling, pushing and even a few becoming a machine instead of focusing on one. This is the type of gym that turns little boys into tough hardcore men with strength to go with their look like the old school strongmen of legends past.

            If you want to use equipment to get results, you want ones that are productive, basic and simple to use because in the end, the basics give you the most out of everything else. The true weapons of Mass Destruction are your Barbells & Dumbbells which you only need to consist of a few things, Presses, Pulls, Squats and the occasional Grip Work which you can add with to your training by going to Stronger Grip to give you that extra edge. To supplement, you can use medicine balls, Kettlebells, Jump Ropes ect. It doesn't need to be complicated with all the crappy machines like a Lat Pulldown or a leg extension.

            In the Military, our forces need the proper training to stay in the best possible condition for battle, stealth tactics, running towards enemy fire and the ability to fight in self-defense so why not give them the best deal there is and help them fight for our country so they can come home safe and sound. Not all Military personnel lifts weights but if we showed them a foundation of Monstrous proportions, they’re be able to handle the rough and tough terrain of lifting, carrying and throwing with ease that can save their life and those of their troop or squadron.

            One of the most fun types of training in lifting is being able to lift a heavy ass weight. My good friend Bud Jeffries knows what it’s like to lift some super heavy weights and not always in a full range of motion but in a Partial. Partial Lifting is moving a weight from a specific range of motion which you can lift heavier and heavier weights than usual. Some people think Partials don’t do anything, some think they're the best to help their range of motion for a full lift, I personally feel if you're going to lift some crazy weights, you ought to progress the lift to the point where your best lift is at full range. Say your best bench is probably 400 at full range, you can lift far heavier if it was at lockout or quarter lift say for instance like as high as 600 at a lockout or 525 at a quarter and work your way down, it may be less weight at the longer range of motion but you're still building crazy strength in order to reach that point. My best deadlift is around 400, not a great amount of weight to right home about but yet I rarely ever lift weights, so far my best quarter DL is at 475 for 4-6 reps which I'm proud of considering I never moved weight in that type of lift in any other part of my life but anyway you catch my drift. In order to do partials you're most likely going to need a good solid Power Rack which you can adjust the range of motion to any lift you want.

            Have fun with these things and get as strong as you can. Whether you lift weights or not, it’s best to create what you want to get the best possible results and study the best in the best people who are drug-free and have great knowledge in how real strength and physique can be obtained through sheer hard work, balanced eating and rest. The simpler the better.

The Living Legend Returns

           

            Who do you think I’m referring to? It could be anybody, there are a lot of powerful guys who had their best days and now are returning to the place that gave them that glory but I’m referring to quite possibly the most popular Professional Wrestler of the 60’s and early 70’s and that’s Bruno Sammartino. He defied an era when pro wrestling still had colorful characters but also had a more mat based style to some of the guys who fought in the ring.

            His style of wrestling was some mat-based with a plenty of power moves and a brawler type style as well. Even though his wrestling isn’t as popular as his strength, he still can go the distance with some of the biggest names in the business at the time. His strength was the stuff of legends. One of his first tastes of glory was picking up 640 lb. Haystacks Calhoun in 1961 if I recall and it was a big deal at the time and still is a feat that no one did to him after. Bruno’s lifting power was just incredible, he was one of the first men to Bench Press over 560 lbs. At 5’10 and over 260 lb. he was a force not to be messed with.

            Back in the 60’s where the most popular stars had an ethnic background Bruno was at the top of the ladder because of his Italian background and his love with the fans especially at what might be called the house that Bruno Built Madison Square Garden in New York. No one guy before or since has headlined the World’s Most Famous Arena more times than anyone 211 headlines with 187 sell-outs. Color TV was very low and only less than a handful of shows had color the most popular being Batman so whenever you saw Pro Wrestling it was 99% in Black & White. You had guys like Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, Fritz Von Erich, Pat O’Connor, Lou Thesz, Walter ‘Killer” Kowalski, a young Harley Race and even Karl Gotch but nobody made the money like Bruno did.

            His training was legendary, picking up heavy weights, hundreds of squats and push-ups and had endurance like some of the other greats who can go do hour long marathons in the ring. Many guys couldn't keep up with him and he even wrote a short book on how to build the body from basic strength training and muscle building and he did this (hopefully I’m right) all without drugs, steroids or PEDs when it was the boom of its time. He was a man of hard work and will to become the very best and wrestled the very best.

            He had the longest reign of any champion in history going on nearly 8 years as the champ when he beat Buddy Rogers in 1963 till he lost to Ivan Koloff in 1971. He won it back in 1972 I think and lost again to Superstar Billy Graham in 1977. Nobody ever since held the world title for that long and that tells yeah how important the man was to the business at that time. He fiddled around a while longer before retiring and became a commentator for WWE.

            He ended up leaving the business for good because of what Vince McMahon was bringing to the business and Bruno would have none of it. He was bitter about the business for the longest time about its direction and what was changing with the business until recently a man who has a hold on the company in certain areas especially in Talent Development is Paul Levesque aka Triple H got to talking with Bruno and told him what was going on really. Because of this encounter, Bruno started learning to love some of the business again and finally broke down after turning down so many offers to be in their Hall Of Fame has finally come to an end. The Living Legend will be at Madison Square Garden one more time being the headline but not in the ring, not in an interview but on stage as a WWE Hall Of Famer.

            I've been watching wrestling ever since I was 11 years old and learned so much about the wrestlers that I wanted to learn more about the history and how it came to be and how we as fans can improve it. I like more of the mat style wrestling than the colorful antics of the wrestlers. My first glimpse of Bruno was in a Video Game, Legends Of Wrestling 2 where they did interviews with big names like Hulk Hogan, Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Snuka, The Road Warriors, Eddie Guerrero and Paul Orndorff to name a few and I was fascinated with how they portrayed Bruno. The powerful man that he was and how he talked about his matches with Killer Kowalski was just great. It made me love the old-timers ever since then and I kept learning more about real style wrestling and pro wrestling.

            I don’t know if its because I’m of Italian descent or because of my love for wrestling but I felt connected to Bruno’s career and wanted to learn more about what he did, who he wrestled and how he trained. I’m glad one of the best finally gets the respect he’s deserved for so long and be enshrined for the test of time. I never got to see Bruno during his Career because he retired not too long after I was born give and take a couple years but at least I and others my age who are in love with wrestling get to see some of his work through youtube and some other wrestling sites and be in awe of what it would be like to be in that era. Welcome back Bruno and thank you. 

5 Tips To Help You Gain Muscle

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. Drew Stegman. I looked over his site and I find him very interesting in his approach to weightlifting, bodybuilding and Nutrition. Its basic, simple and no B.S when it comes to building the muscle you want. Without further ado here is the 5 steps to help those who want to gain muscle fast.....

With everybody these days trying to lose fat, it’s fairly easy to forget about the importance of muscle on your body. Whether you simply want to increase your metabolism or look at yourself in the mirror and know that you’re totally hot and ripped, muscle mass is necessary to do so.

Here are five simple ways to build muscle, rather you’re trying to pack on a few pounds or you want to look like a professional bodybuilder:

1. Cut Back on the Cardio: Doing cardiovascular exercise is fantastic if your goal is weight loss, since it allows you to burn additional calories and gets your heart rate up into its target zone. But if your goal is to gain muscle, I’d recommend cutting back on the cardio a bit. Too much cardio can actually burn muscle, which is the case with the long-distance marathon runner; sure they might be lean and have no fat on their body, but they’re lacking in the muscle department. This doesn't mean that you should ignore cardio completely, but definitely cut back on the long distance stuff. I would limit your cardio to no more than three 30-minute sessions each week and spend the rest of your time and effort focusing on lifting weights.

2. Don't Overdo It: Many bodybuilders, weightlifters, fitness enthusiasts and even average gym goers all make the same mistake – they overtrain. When it comes to most things in life, more is better, but when it comes to building muscle, doing more will simply end in failure. If you overtrain, you’re either going to get injured or simply get burnt out. Whatever the case, you won’t be able to build any muscle and if you get injured, obviously you’ll be out of the gym for weeks or months at a time. So keep your weightlifting sessions under an hour and don’t workout more than 5 days per week. Even with five days per week, you’re still pushing it – I’d even recommend scaling that back to 3-4 days per week.

3. Mix Things Up: Why would you want to do the same thing over and over again anyway? Variety is what keeps people from getting bored in life and when it comes to packing on muscle, things are no different. Your muscles (and body for that matter) all operate under one simple principle. Once they get comfortable with what they’re doing, they stop adapting. And when they stop adapting, they stop growing. Always make sure you’re switching up your workouts every 4-6 weeks, so you can keep your muscles constantly confused and in the state of muscle growth. Trust me, you won’t regret this decision once you finally decide to give it a full-blown shot.

4. Keep Eating: Many people focus on calorie restriction when trying to lose weight, which is completely understandable. But when you’re trying to gain muscle, you need to play by a different set of rules. Quite simply, you have to eat big to get big. If you’re not supplying your body constantly with the nutrients and calories it needs to grow, then don’t expect to get very big. But you can’t eat anything – you need to consume a constant balance of protein, healthy fats, complex carbs and fruits and vegetables as well. If you starve your muscles, they’ll wither away, so don’t let that happen to you.

5. Take a Break: Remember point two. Even if you’re mixing up your workouts and continually confusing your body, you won’t gain much muscle if you workout too much. In fact, you’ll probably find that you gain the most amount of muscle when you’re resting. Many people don’t realize that muscle growth does not occur in the gym; it occurs outside of the gym when you are resting and eating. When you hit the gym, you’re breaking down your muscles and then your body has to go back and rebuild those muscles once you've broken them down. But if you’re always working out, you’re body won’t have enough of an opportunity to rebuild these broken down muscles, so they won’t grow. Every six months or so, take a rest week and you’ll be amazed at the effect it has on your body; not to mention your state of mind. Your mind and body will make a full recovery and you’ll be more than ready to hit the gym once this rest week has ended.

This was an article written by Drew Stegman. For more muscle building tips check out his website: http://how2gainmusclefast.com/

Building Eagle Claws

Building strength in the fingers, hands, wrists and the entire lower arm can make you or break you in a workout or anything you need your hands for. We need our hands to build things and create things so is it essential to build a level of strength, flexibility and dexterity that helps us in our everyday lives? I believe so. There are many ways to build a solid steel grip but there are other ways to keep the tendons strong and durable no matter what you do.

 The lower arm area all the way down to the fingertips is the most neglected parts of the human body in exercise. You won’t get by much with just wrist curls and a few isolated circular movements; you are learning to build that area by squeezing, flexing, extending, push, pull and working the individual fingers. It is important to master all these factors because if you don’t have strong hands, you won’t be able to pick up a weight no matter how big your arms it’s not going to happen. What if you need to fix something with a wrench or screwdriver and don’t have the hand strength to twist and turn, that would suck and if you work using those types of tools you won’t be at your job for long.

 When I talk about building eagle claws, I’m not just referring to training the entire lower arm to claw somebody in a fight or having great strength to do amazing things, I’m referring to creating great strength, flexibility and dexterity no matter what you want to do with your life. It doesn't matter if you’re a musician, athlete, entertainer, carpenter, construction worker or landscape artist, you will have great attributes if you gave yourself the chance to learn. How about curing Carpal Tunnel and never needing to wear a brace ever again, be less prone to injury and be able to heal quicker with exercises that work the entire region and not just that area but the shoulders, the arms and the trapezoids.

 One of the best conditioning programs ever assembled is the use of Animal Exercises. You can learn how to move like an animal in the wild and teach your body to burn fat, build muscle, increase the strength in your organs, tendons, muscles and so much more for only a few minutes a day. Now how about amplifying those exercises once you have mastered them, begin to do some on your fingertips, this type of training alone can build crazy strength in your lower arm in ways you can never get from machines. Having a solid steel grip and power in your lower arm can help increase your strength in other areas, it’ll help you pick up weights better, and it’ll help your grappling game much more efficient and if you’re into Arm Wrestling, look out because you’ll be ripping those guys up in no time.

 Getting started is like everything else, begin where you’re at and progress from there, work certain exercises that keep the blood flowing and ready to go. Spread exercises throughout the day so you can keep that energy flowing and use certain tools to help the grip. One of the coolest tools I like for building grip strength is called Fat Gripz, these babies will take thick bar training to a whole new level and you can attach them to just about any dumbbell or barbell but if you’re a bodyweight guy, you can attach them to your pull-up bar to increase the difficulty. I use these for building strength and endurance in Arm Wrestling using my lifeline Chest Expander. Progress is a very important factor because once something becomes easy; you want to continue to challenge yourself so you increase the difficulty by a small percentage. Even Rock Climbers have to progress otherwise if they jump in too soon, they’ll fall off much quicker and that can mean certain death so it’s important to build progression.

 No matter how you slice, strong hands equals a strong body because when you have the strength to pick up really heavy weight or be able to twist off certain objects with a wrench or even pick up groceries for that matter, your hands are the tools that open doors to everything you pretty much do. Even doing certain Feats Of Strength requires strong hands, you can build as much strength as you want in every other area in your body but if you’re hands aren't up to par, you’re pretty much done. Complete the whole package by training as many areas as possible including your lower arm, you’ll be amazed how weak or strong your hands are certain situations so my suggestion is make those hands work for you and build a foundation to have the strongest and most functional hands as possible.     

Maximize Your Strength & Conditioning In Short Time

 To get the biggest benefits in your strive for strength and conditioning, you learn to maximize your efforts with the best intentions. This doesn’t mean you go hardcore everyday, you want to have great recovery as well, maximum effort doesn’t mean going the hardest or the fastest, it means putting in the effort to where you're efficient and consistent with your exercise and your recovery. Doesn’t matter if you’re in the gym, at home, at a park or on the road, building effort with great intention become your greatest asset.

 Now a lot of trainers don’t always start out with giving their “pupil” a foundation and just throw them to the wolves and hope they make it out alive meaning they just have go all out all the time and believe it or not that can lead to injury, complications to your organs, brain trauma and too much too soon. The number one rule for starting out no matter what you want to do is build a foundation. This helps find where you’re at and where you want to keep going. I understand what it’s like to jump in and just hammer it out and expect results in two days or less, that’s the arrogant thinking, the key is patience. Set goals to improving, this is called Progression, it’s like Math, you don’t jump to calculus on the first day, you learn arithmetic, than multiplication, than division and so on and so forth.

 A great way to understand your goals to maximize your workouts is to learn to harness the power within yourself. From the mind to your organs to the outer body, using your power source from within will tell you to stay strong or keep off. Whether it’s Deep Breathing or learning to control your adrenalin, inner power is much stronger than your outer appearance.

 Cardio is an overrated form of conditioning that not too many people quite keep up the aspects of what they really know. If you’re running on a treadmill for 45 minutes, you’re working your body but at the same time, you’re diminishing your real lung power. Not saying cardio is bad but in my opinion, if you’re training hard and you’re out of breath after a couple minutes hell even a few seconds, chances are you’re building much stronger lungs than you would running for quite a bit. Anaerobic exercise makes you far stronger in the shortest amount of time than aerobic exercise because the difference is one gets you out of breath and the other keeps your breath going. Both are good but rarely anyone uses both when mostly they use one or the other. Using both in different workouts makes you a machine.

 To maximize your workouts, you work as many muscles as possible at one particular time. Basic principles train the muscles at their peak levels and the basic exercises are Sprinting, Presses, Pulls, Squats and Grip all of which give you the foundation to build levels of strength and conditioning you never imagined having and all work multiple muscle groups. Isolated exercises don’t have the luxury of making you very strong, you’ll only get strong in one particular area and neglect everything else. It’s like a kick ass looking salad, you don’t just put lettuce here, tomatoes there no you put croutons, beets, lettuce tomatoes, carrots, nuts and dressing so it’s all mixed and matched TOGETHER!!!

 Don’t just throw all your eggs in one basket meaning in this case don’t just put all your effort into one workout and you’re don’t for the day, spread your exercises around so your energy levels are always there and when you have that big workout, do it with a vengeance and after, rest and cool off. Again your day is not done yet and there are people out there who don’t have that amount of time to do one big workout, if they can go for it but for those who have very little time, could spread out their exercises throughout the day so they can have that sense of accomplishment. Make the effort to exercise as best as you can no matter where you are.

 To get great benefit, you need tools to help you along the way. If you got weights, do them when you have the time, stuck at a red light in your car, do isometrics by pushing and pulling on the steering wheel, got a ton of room to train, move around like a wild animal, only have a short amount of space, do push-ups and/or squats. These are all things you can do to help you keep in mind that exercise is key to keeping a long and healthy life and you make the effort to do something. There is 24hrs in a day, use the free time you have whether it’s a couple minutes or whatever and do something, you don’t have to do much to get a ton of benefit.

What Are You Prepared To Do?

What a burning question that is. You know who's famous for saying that many times in one movie? It was the original James Bond himself Sean Connery who said it to Elliot Ness played by legendary actor Kevin Costner in the epic movie The Untouchables. This is one of my favorite quotes of all-time and it can be applied to anything but in this case its applying to strength.

It's a question we don't often ask ourselves when we want to become strong or fit. I think it's because we never really find what we need to do to become what we dream about and making it a reality. I have thought of this question many times throughout my physical culture career and always wondered what I can do to be better, stronger and more enduring then for a man my size. Sometimes I get scared about what I do, I even sometimes get shocked out of my wits when I surpass a goal or scared s*itless when there's something that is just out of my reach.

The one thing I'm always prepared for is the most important aspect of any strength or fitness program and that's never settle for less then what you want to do. However being scared at times can be a good thing because you're learning what you can do to overcome that fear and take your training by the horns.

Being a wild man also has its benefits as you are learning to channel your energy to what lies ahead but always be prepared to take things for what they are. Going through a hard fought workout is like wrestling your own life and whether you win or you lose, never settle for less then what you had put into it. You are more powerful then I can ever tell you and being prepared for that challenge is never an easy one so here's my question for you, are you willing to hit hard and make something of yourself or are you going to be so scared of your own goals that you'll chicken out? the question remains, what are you prepared to do?

What's stopping you from building the body of your dreams? You already have a dream of being strong and powerful so what are you going to do to make that a reality. What I'am going to tell you is if you want to become something beyond what you dream about you have to learn to sweat, take a chance and put effort into everything you do. Whether you're into bodyweight exercises or lifting weights or working with odd type tools, your mind must bring the power into your body and focus on what matters to you the most. I'm going to ask you again, what are you prepared to do?

Lost Secrets Of The Old-Timers

In the Golden Era of Physical Culture you had mail-order musclemen teach the best ways to train and become strong and vibrant. Even bodybuilders of that era of 1900-1960 ran, swam, lifted weights, wrestled, boxed and performed feats of strength that would blow any one's mind out of the water. They taught you the most simple exercises whether it was bodyweight or weight lifting and the more basic the better results you made. Presses, Pulls, Grip Work and Squats were the mainstay and used Barbells, Dumbbells, Odd Objects, Push-ups, Pull-ups, Free Squats, Hand Balancing and Gymnastics.

This was before Steroids became a hit and wasn't used as much as it is today. Back then they relied more on guts, good food, hard work and old fashioned muscle building. Machines weren't big at this time and even today they're as useless as a fart in church. Record lifts in this time period are still unmatched in today's modern era of weights and strength. They didn't take supplements to "help" them get stronger, they used Progressive Resistance Training and did the best they could of their natural abilities. Today, you can't break a record in sports without having suspicion of someone using something to give them that edge and it's a damn shame.

Modern trainers can learn a thing or two of the old-timers in their programs. Back then, you didn't have the Internet, you didn't have hip hop abs or the biggest loser, hell not even P90X and yet those guys were far stronger and more importantly far healthier then the overly cautious and paranoid fitness nuts of today. Back then the average age capacity was 45-60 and a lot of them surpassed that, some lived to be 90 and one old-timer lived to be 104 and didn't die of natural causes. This is where one needs to learn what the important key is. Be happy with what you do and develop challenges. Yes our age capacity has risen in the last 50 years but a lot of it has come with a price. On another note more athletes today are dying younger then the athletes of yesteryear and its mostly due to drugs, drinking, steroids, very low or very high food intake that isn't safe and even fame has gotten through to their heads to the point where they'll do anything to stay at the top.

Courses and Programs back then (the good ones from top notch strength advocates) were much simpler and easier to understand unlike today where you have programs that actually can injure you and put you in the hospital. Basic programs build superior results period. All of this specialization isolated crap today doesn't make you any stronger then a plastic door, you go through it and it rips apart just like that. A lot of programs today don't make much sense when if you move inch the wrong way, your exercise is shot to hell or you have to do this many reps or that many sets to determine if you're strong or weak. It's never common sense anymore and people end up quitting as fast as they started.

In my personal opinion using steroids for personal gain is just about the dumbest thing you can do to yourself. Steroids using injections and pills to gain an edge is just stupid. There's controversy as to how steroids are used either in sports or in medicine. In sports they're used to recover quicker, run faster, jump higher, gain enormous amount of strength, build more stamina and create over the top levels of testosterone . In medicine its to help patients with low levels of testosterone, help skin tone and help their immunity system. No matter how you slice it, there's side effects with artificial steroid use with the creams, pills and needles to which if not used wisely or correctly, it can cause almost the opposite effect of what its originally used for. It has to do with more pressure these days to be bigger, stronger and faster then your competition and plenty of men and women take it too far either as an addiction or for purely selfish reasons. Back in the day where steroids weren't in the public or even heard of there were athletes that looked far better and had longer careers then most athletes today and that was purely on how simple their training was and some of their records are still up today.

To become naturally strong and be a good athlete or strength fanatic yourself, look to the history of what those who trained in the past and how you can adapt their styles with yours. Don't do the same things they did, just learn the basic principles of what they taught and use them to build a style for yourself. In today's era we have very unhealthy people in and out of the fitness world and its time to get back to our roots of what hard work and busting your ass really meant.