My Take On Isometrics

            While I was recovering from my accident and learning about Bodyweight exercises, I first learned about Isometrics in a specific manner from Matt Furey’s course Gama Fitness. Not understanding very well, I just went through the “non” motions and just tried them out. They were good and I learned how to hold certain positions especially for my legs because I was still in that stage of just getting in shape.

            While using those Isometrics and others from another book, I started noticing my strength in certain areas. My ankles were getting stronger, I was healing from arthritis from my lifting days and my days in Shot Put/Discus and my body began to repair itself to the point where there was very little pain and I was moving in ways I couldn't do as a teenager. Because of that, I strengthened certain weak points not just in my legs but my shoulders, my neck, my back and even my torso. Now granted I don’t have a 6 pack of washboard abs but because of my training, my core became pretty damn strong and when I did lift weights again every now and then, some of them got better than I ever did when I lifted full time.

            First learning Strength Feats from my boys Logan Christopher & Tyler Bramlett, they showed me about short bending and how to bend certain types of Steel. I ordered Ironmind nails to get me started and the best I got up to was the Green nail which to me was just incredible, I hadn't got to the spikes yet and was learning about phonebook tearing around that time. They gave me little hints and learning from my books on Isometrics I began incorporating that into my feats. How did it affect my strength? Let me sum that up by saying I was able to easily rip a brand new 1700 page phonebook the moment my sister gave it to me and my first 60D penny spike was at my friend Logan’s former gym. So safe to say it affected me in an awesome way.

            I have mentioned certain secret weapons I have that give me that edge in the Isometric realm but my biggest weapon has always been my will power to run through what I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to desperately bend a wrench even it was a little toughie and I did it, it doesn't look much like a wrench but damn son that S.O.B took me out after putting it out of its misery. You can have all the equipment and all the tools you want but your real weapon is what’s inside you that defies logic, reasoning and in the case of Dennis Rogers or Bud Jeffries, the laws of physics.

            Is Isometrics the end-all-be-all type training? For some that’s all they can do but to the majority, no it shouldn't because you want to be able to move and work your body from as many angles as you can both static and dynamic. There are guys out there that give this type of training a hard time and others look at it as if it was the highest honor and then there are guys that are so damn stubborn that only one type of training is all they will ever use and say it’s either that or nothing. For me, I love variety. Using different elements and styles gets my mind going and there are times where I can’t choose just one in particular so I just make it up.

            My take on Isometrics is everyone should use them to a certain degree especially if you’re in a sport or rehab. It strengthens the tendons in ways you can’t get with anything else and wouldn't it be awesome to not get injured as often? Even just for that purpose it could make a hell of a positive impact on your life. Learn them as much as you can or use them as a backup it’s up to you but the main point is, they teach you how to use your body internally more than any other method. There are thousands of different Isometrics just ask Steve Justa. Expand your knowledge and apply them to whatever you want to do, it’s shocking sometimes what you’ll find using them. 

Combination Training

Doesn’t that almost sound like Cross-Fit? Combining different elements into one method of training? Well, in certain cases you don’t need to lift a barbell than go do pull-ups.

 Creativity starts with your imagination and builds on what you have. I’m telling you from experience and practice, going to the gym isn’t your only option anymore. If you really looked around, you can workout in just about any type of place. If you lived in the woods, you can use nature to make your biggest benefit, tossing rocks, pushing boulders, swimming in the lake or climbing trees. If you lived around an industrial park, you can find little pipes to pick up, lever 2x4s, push-ups on the rails, finding a few rebar and see if you can bend them. Combining different things with what you have can create your own workout without ever touching a barbell or a machine.

 I have been training mostly bodyweight for years now but every now and then I like to use a few things like for instance a workout I did the other day consisted of a towel, Phonebook, my Thor hammer, a 10 pound sledgehammer and my lifeline chest expander. These things alone gave me a hell of a workout, one exercise I did for a combination is holding the chest expander in a one-arm press and with the other hand did swings with my Thor Hammer. In my opinion, books with exercises just teach you a certain type but yet don’t always give you something to combine them with, some do but most don’t so you’re left with “The hell else can I do”, simple, use your imagination and before you know it, you can come up with exercises that can never be found in a book or on a DVD.

 One of the best combos I’m learning right now is combining isometrics with a moving exercise but how does that work? Well remember I told you the about the Chest Expander and the Hammer? You can learn all sorts of combos especially the kick ass stuff here by my man Bud Jeffries. You want to hit as many muscles at once as possible and learning these combos with Isometrics isn’t just building physical strength but teaches how to use your brain from different angles of the left and right side.

 Doesn’t matter if you’re into bodyweight, weights, kettlebells, feats of strength or a combo of all four, hitting your muscles and tendons from as many angles is a key for foundational development as it helps hit sticking points and plateaus and the more muscles being used the better because isolated movements are more prone to cause injury as oppose to multiple muscle groups working to keep your body in unison. Some people see isometrics as isolation but in reality they haven’t done they’re homework very well. Steve Justa once told a story of Bruce Lee holding a 3-5 lb. ball, he’d hold it in his hand and hold his arm straight out, doesn’t seem that hard it’s just a shoulder exercise that works the hand just a tiny bit since the ball is extremely light but here’s where it really gets fun, do it for 8 hours straight, what seems like an easy shoulder exercise will turn into a hard fought battle for the entire body and who’s going to be the bitch at the end of that exercise, you or the ball. Never assume certain things will be easy.

 Remember the phonebook I used in my workout the other day? Well I didn’t rip it in half, sorry to disappoint you because the damn book was wrapped in duct tape from cover to cover and everywhere in between, it was giving to me a few years back from my friend Logan Christopher and ever since I had it I used it to do isometrics to rip up phonebooks for real and to say it’s helped me rip over 1600 pages in one shot would be just the tip of the iceberg. Combining this exercise and moving on to pulling down a tree is just another day at the office for me but it gives me super strength and makes my body feel like a steel rod of one unit of power.

 Using what you have can create endless possibilities for you if you open your mind and expand beyond just a regular exercise. You can turn just about any basic exercise into the most advanced exercise on the planet in a heartbeat, it all begins with your ability to imagine and put it into action. Also put some emotion into it and your results will surprise you by 10 Fold, I’m not joking about that. I have learned the best exercises don’t come from a gym, a book, a DVD or a class, the best exercises come from your own take on them and believe me when was the last time you did a isometric hold while swinging a Thor Hammer, highly unlikely ever. Learn from your own experiences and combine the best you have learned and mold them into something only you can come up with. When you do that, you’ll learn the secrets of true and creative Combination Training.

Fire, Passion & Powerful

Three words that I can describe this guy whose come right out of the bushes and began a journey of strength & health unlike anyone I’ve seen before. I’m talking about my man Matti Merzel. He’s one very unique individual that you only see once in a generation. A man who’s come so far in a short period of time that one can only wonder how far he’s going to push the limit. This is the same guy who was in the army in Israel and became a mean, fighting machine.

 There’s a lot of great qualities about him but one thing that gives him away more then anything in a good way is his intensity for becoming strong and powerful at a small size. One would not think of him as being strong but that’s where ignorance is bliss. I’ve seen and talked to some of the strongest people on this planet but Matt has that aura of him that takes on a whole new meaning to the words “holy f*cking s*it.”

 He’s a warrior by nature not only being in the military but in his specific feats of strength he performs. I’ve seen him break wrenches, rip phonebooks, held handstands and whatever the hell else he does and in every feat, there’s a fire in his veins that just never seems to wear out unless he wants it to. It’s hard to believe that strongmen have that much intensity and love for what they do but within Matti it’s a little different like with every living breathing strongman. The power he posses should not be human and most likely isn’t but nonetheless, like they say “with great power comes great responsibility.”

 There’s John Cena in the WWE who’s the face of the company and is a living, breathing athlete. The reason why I chose Cena to compare to Matti, not because of athletic ability, not for being a wild character but because like Cena, Matti has a passion for what he loves the most and he lives, breathes, eats, talks, thinks it every single day of his life and he believes nothing will get in his way of succeeding. It’s that passion that you only see once in a lifetime, it’s that passion that you can’t fathom unless you experience it but it’s also that passion that puts you ahead of many others and your only way is not to climb down but climb up and in the words of Rocky Balboa “Its not how hard you hit, its how hard you get hit and still willing to keep fighting.” You can’t teach that in a school or a gym or in an office, you learn it by fighting through it with heart and will power more then any average person. It’s that fine line between ordinary and extraordinary.

 Want to see the passion, fire and love for Physical Culture? Head over to Ferociousstrength.com and look at the already plethora of articles he’s written that are just over the top with info that not many this fast has accomplished. I encourage you to read this man’s story and find what makes me a real fire-breathing athlete in our realm of Physical Training. Give him a chance and he’ll make it worth your while and then some as he will help you take your training to a whole new level. This is a dawning of a new Era and it will be an Era all will never forget.

Feats Of Strength DVDs

Hello,

There’s nothing quite like the ferocious power needed for feats of strength.

You know like bending steel with your bare hands...

Like tearing a thick phonebook in half in a matter of seconds...

Making a chain explode...

Lifting a person overhead with a single finger...

Can you do these things? Do you want to?

Not only are they phenomenal methods of training to become ridiculously strong, but you can actually perform like an oldtime strongman.

There’s nothing quite like it to impress your family and friends.

Heck, you can even turn it into a career!

That’s just what Bud Jeffries has done. Along with his partner Logan Christopher they’re delivering some awesome information on everything about feats of strength.

Just click here to see this video showing many of them (some of which you’ve probably never seen nor heard of before).
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4424645

If you just want to watch the video that’s cool, but I highly suggest you sign up on that page as they’re going to share more videos with you that teach you the exact steps you need to get started.

Ben Bergman

P.S. Seriously go watch the video on this page now. If you’re not inspired to start destroying cards, nails and more then you can go back to lifting pink 3 lb. dumbbells in your workouts.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4424645

Dexerity That Makes Up For Strength!!!!

When it comes to fixing things, playing the piano, lifting weights, moving your body in different directions you have to have a good amount of hand strength and suppleness. To increase our dexerity in our hands, fingers and wrists we need the right tools and exercises to create power and tendon strength in the lower arms. Grip strength is a key to do some of the most phenomenal feats ever. No matter how you put it, you can have a big chest, shapley legs, upper arms the size of cannon balls, a back of North Dakota and shoulders that can carry a mule but if you don't have strong hands you don't have anything. Work your hands the way you train your body. Imagine what it would be like to have hands that can do things with ease and never get injured or get carpal tunnel and yet getting stronger each time you work your hands with the exercises i'm gonna recommend. I've learned these from a guy I recently trained with and now I'm gonna recommend his course to you. These have helped my hands get stronger for my feats of strength in ripping phonebooks and bending long peices of steel. At the same time since using this I have not had one shred of carpal tunnel or hurt my hands in any way. One of the things this course will help you on if you're a martial artist is increase your punching power and grip your opponent unlike ever before. I have done exercises that work and have done ones that havent and this course has the right ways of training your hands for strength, flexibility and suppleness. Now I'm not endorsing this, not asking for any money and spreading the word about having strong and healthy hands that can help with whatever you need in your daily life.

Finger Gymnastics

The benefits of Steel Bending and Phonebook Tearing

When you look at an old-time strongman like Dennis Rogers, Slim The Hammerman and Pat Poviliatis and the best of them all The Mighty Atom, They seem to be strong from how they look but how strong are they? Heres your answer: Hours upon hours upon hours of training and practicing. They make these feats a way of life and some of the time it could possibly kill them. People see impossible feats happening before their eyes but do they really realize what benefits they get out of it, heres how I break it down:

Steel Bending- When you can take a wrench and I mean a 10-12 inch steel wrench and bend it into a pin holder or in a "S" shape or take a 6 inch spike even a 6 inch ironmind red nail and bend it into a "U" you're building some powerful joints and ligements and it shows when you shake their hand or ask the to pinch you. Your tendons will be almost bionic and have strength beyond imagination. Now steel bending can be dangerous if you don't do it correctly or if you make a slip you can puncture your skin and really hurt yourself. No one in the world is a greater short steel bender then Pat Povilaitis, he can take a short steel rod and bend it at chest level and these take 100's upon hundredes of pressure. Talk about super strength.

Phonebook Tearing- When properly trained you can destroy the thickest of phonebooks and take grip strength to a whole new level. No one on the world can do it better then Dennis & Pat they are the dynamic duo of phonebook tearing and Pat just keeps one-upping by tearing a phonebook in 5 peices. Its just surreal. Take a phonebook, have a post arm and pulling arm, your post arm pushes down on the book to keep the tear in place and your pulling arm with enough strength destroys the book. Thats one way of doing it and probably the best way cause most people you see today would take a book and try to "pop" it by squeezing the pages together and press down to rip it. My best tear is 886 pages, my goal is get up to a thousand by the end of the year.

The only way to master these feats is by doing them, not training certain exercises to make the feats work, thats all fine if thats what you want to do but if you want to be super strong then practice the feats themselves. If you want to bend steel then practice bending or if you want to rip phonebooks then progress ripping phonebooks dont just go with something that the feat needs or is required. Simple and easy to understand. Never think you're too small to do these things cause 3/4 of these are at average height of 5'9 and average weight of 160 pounds.

www.dennisrogers.net

www.functionalhandstrength.com- (Look for the quantuple tear)

Yours in Power & Might

Ben