Crawling On The Wild Side

For being stuck at home, you can only do so much until that feeling of being closed in kicks in and cabin fever is hitting you like a Mike Tyson punch. Let's take a trip to the wild, maybe not the chaos or going out to a masked filled crowd kind of wild but in our imaginations. A few of my recent workouts have been 10 minutes of my Animal Dice Game with some deep breathing at the end to recover and it has had me feel like a million bucks and letting everything just bask in the glory of blissfulness.

Working out at home can get boring at times and often it's because people end up doing boring, traditional exercises. Animal Movements not only save you a ton of time but you don't have to a ton of exercise either to get the job done. I don't know if you want to turn yourself into a wild animal and terrorize the house like a beast locked in a cage, that might be too easy to do since being on lockdown feels exactly that but moving outside or using a little space to move back and forth can really put you into a state of mental clarity and just having fun. After all, isn't that what we need at the moment, to have a little joy in these dark times?

One of the best exercises you can do is the Bear Crawl. It's very simple, get on all fours and start moving. You won't last very long but it does give you the ability to develop strength, conditioning and other attributes that can actually be lifesaving. You've done a bear crawl at least once in your lifetime; races, football practice, warm up drills in wrestling, testing how long you can go until your arms fall off or playing a game. It has become more of a recreational exercise than for long-term health training. There are different variations you can do but my personal favorite is the way wrestlers, football players, Navy SEALS do them and if it works for them, well.....You don't have to do them fast either, walk slower and still get great benefits.

A good workout would be to do Bear Crawls in your driveway and just go until you have nothing left. I do a demonstration of just putting on some Gardener's Gloves, getting into position and just crawl until I come back around. Takes just under a minute but in that time, i'm hitting every muscle in my body, my arms are like a second pair of legs and focusing on my breathing. There's more to it going on but you get my point, it's a natural form of movement, it takes out the guessing game and makes it painfully obvious if your coordination isn't right, you're going to fall on your face or tip over. There's nothing complicated about doing Bear Crawls, you'll learn first hand if you're doing it right or not.

Have fun, be safe, get strong and be healthy everyone. If you have something to share, feel free to send me a shout.

Care For A Stroll?

Even in the darkest of days, it's good to take a little walk and give your body some fresh air and the blood pumping. Walking is not only a healthy form of exercise but it gives your brain a little boost as well. Every now and then, I'd take a good stroll around the neighborhood for about a half hour to an hour or more and check out the cool houses, the beautiful trees surrounding the areas and getting a beautiful clear view of the Lake. It just puts me at ease and a way to just let everything go for a moment.

Yesterday however, I thought I'd take a different stroll but not around the neighborhood but in my driveway. I took out my Power Wheel, put on some Gardener's Gloves, strap myself in and started walking on my HANDS. This is a hell of an upper body conditioning workout in and of itself. Working everything from head to toe to try to keep balance and not fall off. I haven't done this in a while but it felt good just to test myself out a bit. Needed to take a break a time or two but that's what happens when you try to work your arms as if they were legs.

This really stresses the entire body, mainly the shoulders, arms and wrists. The strength and power you can possess if you did this often is incredible and the condition your core will be in is Epically beneficial as well. Walking in this manner takes incredible concentration and it will bite you in the ass if you don't have the right balance. The idea here is to develop incredible conditioning that lasts and gives you real world functional strength in the long-run. Take your time and as a beginner, just hold yourself up and learn how to balance yourself, take small steps and work your way up.

Be Safe, Stay Strong & Be Healthy.

Thor Catches Loki

The love/hate relationship between the God of Thunder and the God of Mischief is nothing new and brings a lot of metaphors to how we see our relationships in our lives with people. This however, is a lot more Epic even though there's still mystery behind the world of the Vikings and their Legendary Myths and Gods. We also are legendary for having a love/hate relationships with ourselves.

If you have seen any of the Marvel films involving Thor & Loki, it shows that even though there's bitterness, there's still light within the brothers of Asgard (even though Loki is adopted and was born to the Frost Giants). They are polar opposites in just about every way but their opposition is what is the yin and yang of the world, a balance between good and evil and even though we hate to admit it, without Loki or the likes of him, the world would be out of whack. You can't be victorious or a failure without an obstacle, you can't strategize in war without conflict and you certainly can't have god without the devil (the demons within that we face everyday and battle).

In fitness, it's the battle of getting fit or strong or flexible and battling the constant changes our world raves on us but we conquer or set goals to keep ourselves from ever going back to where we were before. It's Muscle vs. Fat and much like Thor & Loki, we need both to survive, one cannot exist without the other yet we keep pushing or inevertantly putting on more of one or the other.

One exercise that depicts the battle of Thor and Loki is an exercise that needs one implement heavy enough that when you work it, you're finding out you're working more than just what it's said to do. In this case, we will use a sledgehammer, another tool anyone can add to their arsenal of becoming incredibly powerful. The best sledgehammers you can find are at strongergrip.com. This exercise I learned from Strongman and Myth enthusiast Kevin Wikse called Thor Catches Loki where you take a heavy object (Mace or Sledgehammer would be do) and start working your hands up and down for a minute or more and you're gripping and catching the implement as fast as you can without putting it down. Think of this exercise as a similar thing to when you were a kid and played baseball with your buddies and one captain tried to grip upward until it reached the top to see who got to bat first.

This exercise will test your Grip Strength, Agility, Coordination, Reflexes in the Hands and Core Strength. The longer you go, the more brutal it gets and if you have a heavy one (25 or more lbs), you won't be having soft hands for long. 5 Minutes of working up and down will feel like forever but that's the gold standard of working this exercise. I made a video where I use Big Bertha (My 59 lb Epic Sledgehammer) where I do this exercise in a Horse Stance (talk about building crazy leg strength) and go for about a minute or so before putting it down. Although a demo, I felt so many muscles in that moment that everything was just on fire. It is no joke.

It can actually be a fun exercise if you use your imagination and pretend your hands are Thor & Loki (or other Rivals that resemble the Gods like Zeus vs. Cronos, Jesus vs. Satan, Shiva Vs. Kali) whatever works for you use that to make the exercise more interesting. It's a constant battle until the fall of the world (putting the heavy object down) comes to an end. It puts things in perspective and you learn not just testing your grip skills and speed but you're learning what it takes to keep the world going until the battle is won or lost and it revitalizes itself again to bring balance.

What Is Your Workout Playlist?

When I use to go to the gym, there was some good music playing over the speakers around the place but sometimes, some songs don't always cut it and I love music that fires me up and gets the adrenaline pumping. You can always wear headphones and play some tunes on your phone which was what I did when I would warm up in the MMA room before grappling or just to get away from the rest of the gym pack but nothing at least to me is more meaningful than listening to your own list working out by yourself at home or wherever except the gym.

I'm pretty big on metal and hard rock which a lot of gym owners play but when you can make up your own list at home or play music suited to you in your home gym, it just fuels you up more. I'm big on playing bands many have heard of but plenty of those that big fans of the genre listen to and the rest of the world doesn't know who the hell they are. Those heavy riffs, the epic poetry of the lyrics and the fire that burns within when a certain chorus just hits you in the gut and makes you push harder.

I've broken many PR's listening to good tunes and anything I find that is new to me, I add it to the list. The power, the rush, the hard focus and the fuel to just make you bust your ass and have a blast doing it. It almost becomes meditative and you're in this trance of epic proportions, nothing scares you, everything else in life becomes a blur and the drive that pushes you to the very limit, that's how music should be played when you train.

My list is pretty long but here are a few songs that put me into a state where once I get going, very few people will last with me......

Rebellion by Van Canto

Break Me Down by Our Waking Hour

Torn By Disturbed

Seven Windows Weep by Sirenia

Master Of Puppets by Metallica

Stillborn by Black Label Society

Bloodbound by Hammerfall

Declaration Day by Iced Earth

Hail To The King by Avenged Sevenfold

Resist And Bite by Sabaton

Breakdown by Beasto Blanco

That's basically a full album alone to listen to. Some of these bands you'll never hear in a gym, the majority yes but at least 4 I have never heard in a gym. There's a reason music can be incredibly powerful to have and be in a hypnotic state of seeing epic imagery and hearing sounds that make you feel strong as hell or have stupid endurance. If you don't have a training partner, this list alone will pump you up and just hammer shit out.

Do you have a specific playlist? Some people aren't into metal or hard rock which I can understand and other forms of music are more their style, Brooks Kubik for example is a big fan of Epic Orchestras that play songs like the Flight Of The Valkyries. Some classic music is very workable for certain people, however, I just don't understand how people can work out to bands like ABBA or Michael Jackson LOL; I want to train hard, not dance the night away. Subtract that with Judas Priest or even Jimi Hendrix and you're golden bro.

Playful Stretching For Those Dark Times

Let's face it, although it's safe to be home during this period of time, it also can suck if you're having trouble figuring out what the hell to do. One of the best things you can do is train and not just for trying to not be bored or going through the motions but to also keep healthy, strengthen your mind and body and to keep having a positive attitude.

Stretching can be kinda boring which is why I don't do a ton of it but when you can be creative in how you stretch, it becomes something entirely different. It can be meditative, it can be something that will have you sweating but feeling like a million bucks but it also can channel your brain and develop new skills that will keep your body strong in the long run.

Yes it is easier to just be on the couch especially since many people can't go to work but it's very important to have your body be supple and flexible in order to do certain things, plus it can be very fun. One of my favorite things to do for stretching is combining different methods and combining them together to create a fun routine where all bets are off and you can change exercises on a dime while thinking quickly and testing your skills of mind and body as a single unit. I have practiced quite a few methods including Animal Flow, Ginastica Natural, DDP Yoga, Gymnastics and regular calisthenics but what if we put all those methods together to create a super routine that brings the creative side of exercise and get fit at the same time.

Although we have a lot of time on our hands these days, there are still families out there that have a few kids at home and that alone can be a workout that seems to go on forever and you're about to keel over just after playing in the fort for hours on end. A good routine that lasts no more than a few minutes can really save your sanity and it can be used throughout the day when you need a break or don't want to workout too long.

I made a youtube video of doing a routine that lasts just over 5 minutes that will have you moving and holding all sorts of exercises, can be used as a warm-up or as a standalone workout if you're short on time and need to get something in while the kids nap or something. It can be done anywhere, can be modified to your level and it makes your body work as a single unit. It stretches everything and opens up the hips, stretches every area of the back, works your core, teaches you to control your breathing and if you move fast (safely of course) it can be a good cardio workout too.

Create your own flows and holds and stay blissful during these dark days. Be safe, stay strong and make things work for you.

 

Swing Away My Friends

"Now that's what I call a Swinging Party."- Baloo The Bear


Getting fresh air can be a good thing since we've been told to stay home. In your backyard or out on the front lawn, getting in a good workout can really get you into the "swing" of things. Recently, on a nice sunny day, I went out and swung my Monster Mace that weighs about 25 lbs. Doing various exercises to really target my grip strength, coordination and a little cardio. The Mace is a great tool that has been used for centuries by Indian Wrestlers training in the ancient art of Kushti.

In modern day fitness, it is used to help those get fit with minimal equipment and work exercises that hit muscles that most weight training exercises don't. People like Mr. Maceman Rik Brown, Jake Shannon of Scientific Wrestling, Zenkahuna, Ryan Pitts and others have made Mace Swinging an art form and bringing back an ancient art of building warriors and conditioned people.

If you do some research on the Mace, you'll find that it's not always how heavy the mace is, it's the performance of the movements with the Mace that take on a entity of itself. Unlike a barbell where you do limited planes of movement, the Mace forces you to stay coordinated and balanced in a very unique way. There are all sorts of exercises you can do that will strengthen your core like crazy, build a powerful grip and challenges the way you move your elbows, shoulders, hands and wrists.

This implement is a lot of fun to use and you can play around with a lot of exercises that gets you fit and develops functional strength and power.

Are You A Bold One?

"General Kenobi...You are a bold one."- General Grievous


Being geeky just adds the fun to things. It's no fun being on lockdown but that doesn't mean you can't make the best of it right? This is a time of self-reflection, channeling your imagination and enhancing your creativity. Since many gyms are closed, what the hell do you do now? There's still a way to get fit while in quarantine and you don't need any special equipment to do it. All you need is your own bodyweight and the will to push through your mental strength. A workout that doesn't take up a ton of tie but gets the job done.

We can go out for a run or a walk but for the most part, being told to stay home is the primary objective and if you want to get your cardio in, you'll have to find a way to do it. I have a solution that can really amp up your lungs and help build strength, conditioning and speed. It's three exercises done in a circuit for a few rounds and that's all you'll have to do.

It may look easy but it's not something you want to mess with. You'll be doing Push-ups, Squats & Punches, sounds pretty simple but even simple can kick your ass. It's called Bold Choice, a circuit workout from the world of Neila Rey and her website Darebee.com. You can do this anywhere and barely a few square feet of floor space. Do you think you can handle it?

I also have filmed doing this workout so you can see how it's done. It is important to note that if you're a beginner, rest when needed between rounds and go at your own level. I don't rest at all and go straight through it to really fire up my conditioning. Have fun and be sure to check out other workouts on the website where you can download programs, nutrition info and much more. Help support this site by donating or ordering their workout programs in book form on Amazon. 

The Transformetrics Isometric Power Belt Workout

The beauty of Isometrics is how they can be used just about anywhere with no special equipment whatsoever, but there are some things or specific equipment that can help hit muscles in certain areas that free-hand, weights or your environment don't hit so you can strengthen those areas. I have written in the past about the Isometric Power Belt from Transformetrics/Bronze Bow Publishing and how it's been a secret weapon of mine to strengthen my body from more angles than I can count.

The belt itself is just a tool, it's nothing really special in reality, it's not the end-all-be-all Isometric Apparatus and it's not going to make you a superman or wonder woman but it can enhance levels of strength from virtually limitless angles, the only thing it'll lack is your imagination. I was given two updated belts by John Peterson himself and we were going to see what I can do with them. I was very successful with it and because I didn't really need a second belt, I gave the other one to Bud Jeffries as a gift for being the man that married me and my wife.

Because of the length of the belt, you can make double loops with it and add more exercises to the repertoire as opposed to the original belt that was much shorter. Personally, I' not a fan of the double loops and it takes up more time than I want when it needs adjusted to the exercise I want to do. I love single loops better because I can focus on one arm at a time and I won't have to feel like I'm stepping on the damn thing or having the buckle push into my back. While reading the pamphlet for the original belt and coming up with exercises on my own, I never truly needed the updated version of the belt pamphlet/book and I'm sure I came up with exercises that the book won't have.

John Peterson has made countless claims on what the belt can do, most of them are exaggerated as hell but his heart is in the right place but like I said before, I have made great progress with it like; keeping weight down (My heaviest was 275 and with additional training with the belt, I've stayed within 250-260 ever since), developed definition in my forearms, back, shoulders and arms, increased strength in my tendons and ligaments to where I rarely ever get injured and when I did, I recovered pretty fast, my speed went up so when I do my regular training, I was quick on my feet and other benefits. It goes without saying that John so far has not been able to publish the new book with the new belt and keeps piling on projects that don't seem to get anywhere and this was his last attempt as a truly good fitness publisher. You can still buy the belt (as far as I know) but it is 100% certain the book will never be published. Wayne Gretzky once said "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take", this applies really well to John and as a friend, I feel sorry for him.

Another sad thing is, there really isn't a single video displaying the Belt and the exercises you can do, the closest thing you'll get is from a an named Greg Newton who lives in the Carolinas and is a gun enthusiast and fire fighter. However, yesterday I made a video not just on Isometric Exercises with the belt but how you can adjust it to various exercises, how it packs up and how to roll it back up into the little pouch it comes in. It's an 11 minute video of instructing you with my training, I don't talk or give an introduction like I've done with past videos on youtube. You'll see on hand what you can do if you wanted to do Curls, Presses, Rows and other fun stuff. I don't really stop or anything for rest, I breathe as calmly as possible and just adjust the belt to the next exercise, no BS and no messing around.

This youtube video will most likely be the only real training video for the updated Isometric Belt. There isn't any special lighting, no music, no pretty stuff, just me, the belt, my camera phone and the dungeon I train in at home. You'll find that you can adjust it just about any way you see fit and you'll see I don't fake anything. Hope you enjoy it and if you do get a belt, use it to make your goals come true and if it's too pricey for you, there's a link in the description about a strap you can get on Amazon or just click on the link that's on the right side of this blog.

The Power Of Meditation

Workouts are always awesome to do especially since we are dealing with a virus named after a beer but even at times, working out or just training can only put you at ease for so long. We will get through this but it is also important to focus on keeping yourself calm, relaxed and not overhyped up. Coming from someone like me who is prone to anxiety and ADD should be the last person to give you advice on staying calm and collected. That's the thing though, I understand what it's like to go through that and practicing what I can and helping you get through it together.

Aside from the Isometrics that have been my main source of fitness lately, I have also been practicing meditation. From various forms of it, meditating has been a blessing to me and although it could be better especially since being stuck in the house and trying not to go crazy when your wife is at home on her days off. I really have to give my girl credit for putting up with me and doing her best to deal with my stuff along with hers. She is just fighting to stay sane at this point and on her days off, she needs to rest as much as she can just to recharge. It has been a tough test of wills but we are one strong couple and it's going to make those days when this is over all that much sweeter.

I'm sure you know by now that meditation isn't a cure-for-all but the benefits alone can aid in how to keep your spirits up and find that it is more powerful than it is credited for. In these dark times, seeing a light shine is the biggest thing we can hope for and believe that times like these won't be pitch black and bring a stronger entity to our mental and emotional wellbeing. Our thoughts can go into our physical form and generate either good or bad factors that will determine how we go forward. The more we sink into the black hole of bad thoughts, it's going to bite us in the ass and the choices we make whether consciously or subconsciously will make our bodies worse or better.

The power of meditation puts you into the driver seat on how you see yourself, what you want out of yourself and how you can heal/regenerate yourself just by breathing and processing your thoughts. I sometimes will do the Theater Of The Mind technique to picture and energize in my mind what I want to be better whether it's myself or those around me. I sometimes will do the Magical Imagineering Theater audio to give myself extra juice on how I see my goals and take pictures in my imagination of my successes and get that positive vibration through seeing my excitement, the flow of electricity running through my body and seeing what I want to accomplish from an eagle's view. Most of the time, I would just meditate in the seiza position (sitting on the shins), do my breath of fire exercise to enhance my deep breathing after a few seconds and just sit, listen to the Force, breathe as deeply as possible and shut my eyes.

There are many ways to meditate but do what gives you the best benefit. You can stand, you sit, you can move, you can listen to music or whatever but use a style of meditation that helps relieve your stress, keeps you calm and helps you focus at your best. The more relaxed we can be, the easier we will get through this. I am with you on this and I want to send you as many positive vibes as possible because we all live on this planet and although we are a speck of dust in the universe, doesn't mean we can't be big in our hearts. Stay strong, stay safe and keep yourself relaxed and calm as best as you can.

Isometrics And Quarantine Part II

Calisthenics are essential to developing real world conditioning for sure but there are certain things or areas they don't hit and that's where Isometrics come in. I bet by now you've got Cabin Fever and if you're stuck with the kids, thank the universe you haven't gone completely insane. Isometric Exercise hits the little spots that other methods don't and for strength, it can come in handy.

With the Isometric Power Belt I have and the Wooden Dowel I use, I've been coming up with all sorts of different Isometrics to work with since Calisthenics and Animal Moves have burned me out lately, I'm just trying to keep things flowing by doing different things, test out different angles, strengthening areas that needed some work and develop better definition while still being a big guy.

It does suck that grown ass people are in a subtle way forced to stay home unless you're an ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEE and can barely make ends meet as it is at times. Yes staying home is better safe than getting sick but what most don't get especially fucked up politicians is that not everyone is meant to stay at home and if there's abuse at home, you're basically adding gasoline on engulfed flames. It's basically like locking a beast in a cage and you're aiding that animal-like instinct to where if it's not treated, someone will fucking lose it.

I want to help as much as I can, even if it's helping someone have a light bulb go on in their head and they get a cool idea to exercise. There are plenty of assholes out there who want to cash in on "Quarantine Workouts" but if you look hard enough, there's plenty of people who want to help and they don't charge a dime. Plenty of youtube videos of various workouts you can do, people like Melody Schoenfeld, Kristen Tulloch, Bud Jeffries and others that share workouts during this tough time and make it a mission to make sure you don't only stick to your goals but you'll have a blast doing it too because they make them interesting and throw in some humor because in these dark times, they are the light at the end of the tunnel.

Let's get back to Isometrics shall we. Because you don't have any movement, you have virtually limitless exercises to choose from especially in the house; you can use your kitchen table, your doorways, the walls, a dowel, a towel, the doors themselves, your bed, your pillows, your couch, a chair, the stairs, I can go on and on but I think you get the point. Exercise doesn't always involve the gym, it doesn't always involve being outside and you can come up with all the excuses you want but just by sitting and running off the excuses, you could've done more than 10 exercises in the process. Isometrics can be done by practically anyone at any age, the simplest Isometrics would be to just stand there for 5 minutes or hold a push-up in a variety of ways.

Being stuck in the house sucks, we all know that but it doesn't mean we can't make the best of what we have at the moment. Just as an experiment, for 5 minutes, do some Isometrics while you're sitting on the couch like holding your legs straight out for up to 10 seconds, press your hands together in a prayer-like fashion, flex every muscle in your body for 7 seconds, hold bicep curl positions, make a fist and squeeze as hard as you can for a few seconds, press your feet into the ground as if you can go through it, make your hands like claws and squeeze your fingers as if gripping flesh like a Tiger. You have just been given a free workout that doesn't take a ton of time and gets your blood flowing.

Be safe, take care of one another, do everything you can to not lose your shit and get fit without ever having to move a muscle.

STICK To Isometrics

Do you remember as a kid playing with a stick and pretending its a gun, a baseball bat, a lever, a sword, a paton, an oar or whatever your imagination conjured up? Was it fun, exciting and full of creative ways to play or practice an art? What if you could do that again but add in fitness to it, better yet, Isometrics?

Being creative is part of the fun when exercising. I'm talking about the kind of creativity that keeps you interested, makes you fit with long term abilities and strengthen the body without ever moving. Since we're in quarantine, might as well make the best of it right? What if you could strengthen not just the muscles, but your tendons and ligaments just by doing Isometrics with a stick by creating exercises based on only your imagination. Be able to strengthen the swing of a bat, be faster with a sword, quicker reflexes with a hockey stick or if you're a sadist, have crazy strength in your submission game in MMA/Catch Wrestling.

Yesterday, I made up a video of doing Isometrics with a stick from various angles where you're pushing, pulling, gripping, squatting and even squeezing using leverage. From sword play to a submission hold to pulling, bending, angling, holding the squat and more in less than than a couple minutes. Just an idea of developing world class strength without moving a damn muscle. One Isometric that I loved doing in this video was practicing the Catch Wrestling submission, the Double Wrist Lock or the Kimura for BJJ guys. This isometric can make your forearms feel like crazy strong pipes when you apply the hold; the hardening of the bones will make an opponent want to scream bloody murder. I learned this Isometric from Don Powers' book Catch Wrestling For Cops. Just this exercise alone can possibly tear an opponent's arm and put them in the hospital.

Isometrics go beyond just exercise and getting stronger. It's putting in work that can enhance your physical abilities and possibly reduce osteoporosis and reduce injury. A lot of injuries tend to be more on the tendons and ligaments, muscles heal much faster than a torn ligament. Old school Karate and Kung Fu masters did similar Isometric exercises to hardened the bones of their elbows, shins, wrists, fists and ankles. Although small, these guys were freakishly strong and deadly (Bruce Lee anybody?) and if they hit you, it could be fatal. In MMA or in other sports, not only Isometrics reduce injury but create an insane amount of durability and longevity that can aid a team or in a fight and if you happen to get into one on the streets, it can come in handy.

Muscles can only do so much and since so many people focus on the muscles, they forget that an overload wears down the tendons and ligaments so you're having a greater chance of tearing something and having to rehab for a fucking insane amount of time. After my accident, I was determined to be the strongest I can be without always resorting to or relying on the weights, so when I started practicing Isometrics along with the bodyweight exercises, my injury rate as opposed to when I was in high school and going to the gym went down incredibly and only got injured maybe once or twice but never anything severe.

A stick to some people is just a stick, to me and others with an incredible imagination, it's lifesaving and makes us stupid strong for the things we do in our lives. Get a hold of a stick and see what Isometrics you can come up with.

Can You Stand It?

Throughout the chaos of the Coronavirus, it is important to still stay calm as possible because when you get frustrated, angry and/or sad, people can sense it around you whether it's through body language or the way the energy is felt. As an empath, I understand how mental and emotional energy can be felt on another person and it can be draining. Let me ask you this....Have you ever walked into a room or walked by someone and something just felt off? It may not be the room or the person themselves but the energy or that feeling you get when something just isn't right. Some people are empaths, some aren't and others can be very intuitive while others don't know what the hell their sensing.

One of my biggest focuses lately is through meditation in various ways. The last few days I've done the Wu Ji Standing Posture for up to 20 minutes at a time, sometimes with my eyes open, sometimes with my eyes closed but all in all it just looks like i'm standing there. Things aren't always what they seem, you see just standing in a posture becomes more than what others see. It's like a restart for your body that creates internal energy from within and commanding the body to relax and let things sink. Now that doesn't mean you become so loose there's no strength, with the right mindset and the way your posture is, you're gaining strength from another point of view and energizing your system through breathing, mental imagery, relaxing the muscles and letting everything be.

It takes a lot of patience and coming from someone who has a form of ADD, it becomes a mental game more than anything. Can you stand still for 20 minutes? It's not easy lol, but if you allow yourself to program your mind, take command of your body and empty the garbage can of your brain of thoughts and fears, things will start to unravel. It's like feeling the Force or the universe speaking to you and teaching you things about yourself. That's within the deep levels of meditation and although I have felt things and learned some things, it still needs practice and haven't hit seafloor deep yet but still deep.

Meditation through this time is a hell of a way to keep yourself focused, recover mentally and physically, enhance your breathing capacity and feel more collected and staying cool. Recovery is just as important as physical training and one cannot exist without the other, if you do nothing but physical things, when will you rest or give yourself a break but if you just meditate and do nothing physical, your body won't function the way it needs to. Some need more physical activity than others and some need more time to recover. There should always be a balance. If one is thrown off, the other has to pick up the slack.

Some of the things I've experienced in my meditations whether they were standing or sitting have been somewhat of a wake up call. Without actually trying, I have seen myself in my mind wrestling (or doing the style of Catch As Catch Can) the relaxed version of myself and the tense and anxious version of myself and it was a battle, non stop fight and trying to break one another. Watching that in my mind was an experience. Other things were like a voice telling me flat out my addictions and causes of my anxiety and telling me how to handle them. It wasn't screaming or anything like that but it came at me head on with no filter and gave me something to reflect on. I wasn't mad or frustrated, I just listened and felt the energy I was feeling and accepting what was and not resisting what was going on.

Most of the time, the biggest fear we have is ourselves and not accepting who we are and resisting help even from within. Right now, we are living in constant fear, anxiety, worry, desperation and letting the outside world dictate our way of being. Yes it sucks that businesses are closing down and the only things standing is the Essential Employees and the news is telling us one thing after another about the research, the symptoms, the methods of treatment, being told to stay home, it really does fucking suck but a lot of the things that are happening are not within our control and we want to think we are. We can only control so many things and a couple of them is controlling our emotions and our reactions. We can't help that a business can't use its employees, it's not our fault that this virus popped up and it sure as hell isn't a child's fault he/she can't be in school because of the fear and super cautious people keep them from having an education.

The biggest things we can do right now is make this as positive as possible like meditating, making a person smile when it's been hard, donate to a charity, hugging and loving our loved ones, read a fun book, watch a favorite movie, buy what we need and get the fuck back home lol, there are some things we can control but it is up to us to do what is possible. One of the biggest problems we have is acceptance, we have trouble accepting the fact that this won't last forever, accepting the fact that kids being home is the safest thing even though they can be annoying and extremely patience-testing and accepting that working from home is a far better option than not working at all and not being able to afford the needs for your family or just yourself.

Practice meditation, learn to accept what is and what will be, take care of yourselves and each other and for the love of the god damn universe, laugh it up and smile when the opportunity arises. Can you stand it?

Having Cabin Fever Can Be A Struggle

It's getting worse before it's getting better with this fucked up Coronavirus thing. Being basically told to stay home while trying to live a regular life. Not being able to stand more than 6ft away from somebody or even shake a hand when making a new friend, physical contact has become scarce because of the potential of getting sick. It's almost becoming like a futuristic version of Demolition Man where you can't even high five somebody and physical contact is basically against the law.

Even with working from home, I get Cabin Fever myself and I will admit, it has gotten the best of me at times. The frustration, the inability to go out where you'd like to go, not be able to even eat at a decent restaurant because of the shutdowns, not being able to go to a freaking library or the movies, for real going to a movie now is nearly considered dangerous. If you have kids at home from schools being shut down, that's got to be a total pain in the ass and you have y sympathy, luckily I'm glad that kids are at least safe and some parents love having their kids around but that still takes a patience that tests that sanity. One of my sisters has three boys at home (10, 4 and a 17 year old stepson) and I wish I could help her out, my other sister has a 17 year old High School senior doing school on a laptop and having a teenager quarantined with you can't be easy.

Although we are "saving lives" and practicing Social Distancing during these hard times, it can't be good when a newborn is coming into the world in this state and possibly growing up not knowing what a freaking hug feels like. I know this virus won't last forever and maybe some kids will experience unconditional love through physical contact but that's the way the human race is these days. I'll admit, as a person who is a hugger and loves to shake hands and high five people, it's driving me nuts. My wife calls my way of being with people a Love Language because yes I do like to hug people and if some aren't like that than I tone it down but I care about people and comforting them whether they're happy or sad or whatever, that's the compassionate side of me which only those who are around me understand. When you're barely allowed to do that, it tears you up and breaks your heart.

I firmly respect boundaries and I get it that there's an epidemic that is potentially fatal but come on now, some form of physical contact is a stress reliever and aids in those who suffer from depression and anxiety. I don't have severe depression thank god but I know what it's like to have high anxiety and have empathy so I feel for those who could use a hug and a smile to brighten their day. When you start taking away a natural stress reliever and a person's right to share unconditional love because of fear, you're aiding gasoline on the fire on the notion that because of how bad it's gotten, people are being conditioned to stay away from each other. It's one thing to understand safety and learn how to keep yourself healthy but the coronavirus isn't within every square inch of somebody and out of over 7 billion people in the world not even 1% have gotten it. 

Be safe and healthy, share some love with someone even if you can't even hug them at the moment. If you go out, protect yourself but don't go to extremes and for the love of the damn universe, thank a store clerk, a nurse, a small business owner, a teacher, trucker and others that have to keep going out into the chaos to get a paycheck.

This may be too soon to do but for those who are stuck at home and need a little pick me up, turn your Cabin Fever from a negative to a positive and remember, this won't last forever.

Building Powerful Forearms Using Isometrics

Our lower arms and hands have built the tallest structures, crafted the most most beautiful yet devastating weapons, created some of the coolest cars on the planet and have also been a lifesaver whether it's holding onto somebody, made the difference in a fight, won or lost a game or literally saving someone from danger. We at times take our hands for granted and not realize that what can create, can also destroy in the blink of an eye.

One of my favorite sports has been Arm Wrestling and when I get an opportunity, I don't hesitate to take someone on. Maybe it's that thing about testosterone us guys have and an urge to test our strength. I have arm wrestled some pretty strong guys; took on three generations of men in my wife's family (two of them were loggers for many years and both are bigger than me), my friend and brother in strength Logan Christopher, big man named Travis who's 6'3 and around 250-260 at the time, and a friend of my dad's who's a practicing buddhist and weightlifter. It took me a lot of years to build the strength I have and a large part of it was due to Isometrics.

Although I have swung heavy hammers, torn phonebooks, bent short and long lengths of steel; Isometrics were a major key component to keep myself injury proof and strengthened my muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. One of my favorite exercises that I haven't done in a while is Isometric Arm Wrestling and hitting angles that gave me incredible strength. In No Gi Grappling, it was hard for guys to armbar me and the extreme few that did, learned the sweet spot to get me but it was interesting the way they tried.

On a more serious note, it does take quite a bit of work to build the lower arms and strengthening the hand and wrists. Some solid movements are great especially if you're into things like Arm Wrestling but hitting different angles in an Isometric fashion can give you a incredible advantage where if you get caught up in a fight and you need that punching power or be able to squeeze your opponent in a choke hold and have that vice-like grip, that shit can save your life. If you're a member of law enforcement, the military or a firefighter, grip strength is an essential ingredient of being able to save someone's life or apprehending a suspect.

Using a thick handle for various exercises can build serious forearm and hand strength. I use to love doing pull-ups with the fat gripz or wrapping a thick towel around the bar, those were brutal. One exercise that really gave me the strength to rip thick phonebooks was actually trying to rip a phonebook that was completely wrapped in duct tape, I still have that book and was given to me by Logan Christopher. Because Isometrics were such a key asset to my training, they've helped me tackle weights I rarely ever touch but can still do like 60 lb db curls, 130 lb one arm db rows, picking up a 335 lb deadlift in the rack and still able to bench around 300.

It's amazing how some blue collar guys, old time farmers, arm wrestlers, football players and wrestlers have phenomenal grip strength even in their later years. One of the most fascinating to me is old time pro wrestler Danny Hodge whom had grip power that broke pliers, turned apples into mush by squeezing them and made opponents his bitch just by getting his hands on them. The best modern day grippers or men of hand strength are guys like Dennis Rogers, Bud Jeffries, Mark Henry, Chris Rider, Jedd Johnson and others. If you want to build stupid strong hands and steel cord like forearms, go with Isometrics.

Remember, what you can create, can also bring destruction, so train with intent and use that strength to help others when an opportunity arises. 

Isometrics & Quarantine

Since we the people were told to stay home, might as well make the best of it right? Good thing I work from home anyway or wherever the hell I want if internet is up. I'm more of a homebody anyway and when I do go out, its for a good walk, shopping with the wife (good thing we don't have to break anyone for Toilet Paper), spending time with family or being out on the patio getting some sun. Although this is a serious virus and I know I'm not invincible, I still don't feel threatened to it and I'm so grateful my wife hasn't gotten it considering how many people she deals with all day.

Where we live is beautiful, surrounded by trees, next to a golf course, awesome neighborhood and some good hiking trails nearby so fuck you Coronavirus. Anyway, since we're cooped up here, let's keep ourselves in shape and stay as healthy as possible. Over a period of weeks, I was doing the Matt Furey Exercise Bible which I got really good at and gotten incredible results as you have seen recently. However, as I naturally do, I switch things up to keep from doing the same thing over and over, so I switched over to mainly Isometric Training.

Some of the best info on Isometric training is through the Facebook group Vim & Vigor (Isometrics And Beyond) where you'll find like minded people who have a very positive spin on the subject, a great file section on Isometric Training and loads upon loads of encouragement and inspiration. For me, some of the best people to learn the subject of Isometrics are people like Bud Jeffries, Jarell Lindsey, Batman (Paul) O'Brien, Steve Justa and others.

Isometrics in and of themselves can be a hell of a workout and it doesn't take a ton of time. These would be the perfect workout to do while in Quarantine. You can do exercises from your couch, your bed, in the kitchen (maybe not while cooking lol) on the wall, in the doorways, hell even while you take a shower. The main summary of Isometrics is that you're using force without actually moving, you can also hold a certain position with less force and hold it for an extended period of time. The most common Isometric people do is the Plank where you're in push-up type position on the hands or forearms. 

Although the Plank is a good starting point, it's good to progress to other positions or hand placements to make the Plank more interesting such as holding it with your fists, holding in the mid position, on your fingertips, one arm, switch hand placements every 30 seconds, one legged and way more different variations. You can do virtually thousands upon thousands of exercises without ever moving a single muscle but in all fairness, I think around a dozen should cover it within a 10 minute period. They're phenomenal fat burners, can amp up your cardio (if you know how to do right, you'll never need to be on a treadmill), build real world strength and speed, possibly lower blood pressure, build muscle that is less prone to injury and strengthen the tendons and ligaments.

I mix up various Isometric Exercises ranging from using a Strap or Belt, Pushing against the wall or doing wall sits, free handed exercises, Gymnastic Type Holds, Yoga Poses, planks, Muscle Isolation such as Muscle Control, Chair Exercises, weighted holds and plenty more depending on what type of mood i'm in. They can also be very meditative such as holding the deep squat for several minutes, Horse Stances, being on one leg, holding a handstand, Wu Ji Posture like in Qi Gong and others. Isometrics are more than just flexing or holding a wall sit, they give you strength that not many possess and if you're an athlete, they can prolong a career. 

Being in Quarantine freaking sucks big time and with having time on our hands, avoiding cabin fever can be a chore in itself. A few minutes a day doing Isometrics can also alleviate stress and help you be calmer and more focused. Let's face it, we hate it when we have to be forced to stay in our homes but we can make the best of it and do our best to keep a positive attitude while getting fit in the process. 

Take care of yourselves, your loved ones and have positive vibes. This thing won't last forever.