Does Batman Train With Resistance Bands?

If the Dark Knight trains in Martial Arts, Combat, Bodyweight, Weights here and there, I would imagine he would hit a band or two. There's a quote out there somewhere that says Batman never skips leg day which I always found funny because it's true. He might as well be the first Superhero to "practice" Parkour cause of all the jumping and running in between buildings chasing and catching baddies. 

Resistance Bands have been around a long time and there's always innovative stuff coming around like the X3 Bands for example and of course the Lifeline Bands such as the TNT cables but when it comes to longevity and having a hard time breaking or snapping, it seems that the latest style of cables called Dopamineo have stood head and shoulders above the rest. Maybe they're just regular bands for wrestlers to some but for guys like me who's always researching and learning, these bands are legit. Ever since I got them, I've trained solid on them and it has only been a few workouts.

From day 1, I tried many exercises, some I learned on the website and youtube  and others I tried on my own like Crab Walks, Gorilla Jumps, Hindu Jumpers and others. This band is just so much fun to work with and getting the most out of a workout in a short amount of time. The last workout was the other day doing Sprints, Hindu Push-ups, Frog Jumps, Hindu Jumpers, Crab Walks, Gorilla Jumps and a couple more. I would go until I hit a certain number of reps or until I got out of breath, rest and repeat a set or two. The workouts aren't long and I feel high as a kite afterwards along with getting stronger again. 

I had filmed doing about three exercises or so wearing my Batman shirt and using Batman Music to have a little fun with it and noticed something; even a couple months ago, that shirt was ok to wear but my stomach would pop out every now and then and felt a little tight, since I lost the weight, it felt comfortable and not as tight. I guess losing weight because of no appetite does have its perks LOL. In all fairness, I don't wish that on anyone because when you've been in that much pain and it consumes you at times, it's not an ideal way to lose weight. I' am healing and I don't feel pain in that area anymore, just annoyance and keeping up with maintenance. Hell I did a full Isometric Workout yesterday for the first time in over a month and I'm glad I did. I couldn't do Isometrics the way I wanted to when this whole thing with me was going on and I needed to test myself. 

The Dopa Bands have been a godsend in getting my body back into shape even in the first few workouts. Each workout, the pain levels kept going down and my stress was going down as well because of the endorphin high and lessening the Heat and Ice afterwards. I'm probably about 85-90% healed now and just need to pay attention to the discomfort levels and slowly build up my speed and strength. Like I said no pain but I also don't want to be pushing so hard something might flare up again so I'm gradually getting stronger and training my legs and back building those nerves and retraining those muscles. If you've read this blog long enough, you know that I'm very stubborn and rehabbing myself has worked for me. 

It's not much longer before I'm at full capacity and devouring my workouts hard again. I may look like I'm going hard but I'm not and it's not my best but that's just part of the process and being smarter about workouts and listening to my body more. This is my life and I want to continue making the best of it when it comes to fitness and avoid injuries for as long as I can. This has been the worst injury I've had in years and in a span of 5 months, I got seriously hurt twice. I've had minor aches and pains that easily were manageable and healed quickly and hurt my back back in 2017 which has since healed, but never this bad in that short span of time in the last 18+ years that I've been training everyday. It is a wake up call I'm not going to lie.

Train to the best of your abilities but within reason and be mindful of what you can do. We're not going to be training the way we did in our 20's and think we are so damn invincible that injuries never happen, they do and we can't 100% avoid them, we can however keep them at bay for as far in between as we can. I hate it that people are in pain all the time or just accept it, living with pain especially if it's excruciating for years on end is no way to live. In some cases, certain aspects of pain is inevitable but it's manageable and you can be comfortable. The idea is to live pain-free as much as possible and getting great quality out of life instead of quantifying the days until you're ready to die. Be mindful and do what's possible along with being amazingly awesome. 

Don't forget that you can get these bands at a discounted price when you use my code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Get a bundle pack of bands and find even more discounted stuff. Get them for group classes, your MMA Gym or wrestling room for your High School or College Athletes. Wrestlers in the world championships right now that are winning matches uses some of these very same bands. Go kill it. 

First Workout With The Heavyweight DopamineO Band

Yesterday, my new DopamineO cables came in and the excitement I had was probably indescribable. Heard a lot of good things about these things and just got the urge to tear the bag a part to get to them. The hook up was a little tricky because I'm not use to tying knots with cables. Once I figured it out (or the best way I tried), I just went at it but not so explosive I might hurt myself. I modified a few things and it turned into a hell of a workout that had me sweating and breathing hard like a maniac. These things are the real deal and the fact that wrestlers make these look easy goes to show they're the best and most conditioned athletes in the world.

Bear Crawls, Downward Thrusts, Punches, Sprints, Curls, Tricep Extensions, Lunges, Backwards Sprints and a few others just to see what's possible. I didn't feel pain and everything felt great. Had a huge endorphin high and the energy was there. This is now the hardest workout I put myself though since this fucking thing started and the first time not feeling pain while going nearly full out the best that I could. I'll take it as a sign things are getting better and my body is reacting well to the training again. 

I stumbled upon these a month or two ago and just thought they looked cool because these wrestlers from Russia were just killing it. The more I looked into it, the more it made me want to snatch one up. I got what they recommended for people at over 205 lbs (or a heavyweight athlete) and learn something new for me. Day 1 and I'm in love with this band. Once you get the hang of it, you learn to be explosive and challenge your body in ways that typical bands can't hit. You literally feel like you can take on challenges you didn't know existed. I wrote this before that I know I'll never even remotely come close to what these elite guys can do with this thing but damn sure I'll make the best of what's possible and use it to not only condition my body but amplify what I've already done. Training with this band was brutal but it was fun and it gave me a hell of an opportunity to get better and find new abilities to develop. 

Take your workouts to another level and don't be afraid of the intensity. If it starts to feel heavy whether in the beginning, middle or towards the end of a workout, lighten the load by going in closer and keep going. This is the type of training where it gives you short enough workouts that are so intense, you won't get tired doing other things or at least have a stronger sense of stamina and endurance. 

To make this special for you guys, I now have an opportunity to give you all a bad ass discount that you can use. Whether you just want to get in shape, want some bands for your martial arts school, High School, Collegiate or do group workouts with clients this can save you some solid dough. Enter POWERANDMIGHT at checkout for a 10% Discount on any of the products on the site and save even more when you can snatch up bundles. 

Keep being amazingly awesome and find new ways to train.  

What A Looker....No, A Hooker

That line makes me laugh, think it was either in Castle, Psych or Supernatural; it's got to be one of those three right? Anyway, despite the meaning behind it, there's another term for Hooker most people don't know and that's to describe a wrestler. It's a term used back in the days of Lou Thesz, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Ad Santel and Karl Gotch. By definition, this means a wrestler was at the top of the food chain when it came to such serious submissions to the extent that these holds were not only dangerous, but could cripple a person in the blink of an eye. In other words these guys were the nastiest bastards in the sport. 

Today in some circles, hookers are also called Rippers meaning the submissions they would use would tear most people to shreds by crippling an opponent by ripping their tendons and bones. There was a story in Lou Thesz's Bio about one of his mentors George Tragos teaching a boy not only a lesson but by today's standards would be thrown in jail. This kid was cocky and thought he can take on the old man and Tragos proceeded to not only tear this kid apart but finished him off by tearing his shoulder in a Double Wrist Lock. The guy just put enough pressure on to break him and the kid ended up having that arm amputated because there was no anti-biotics back then and that arm developed a hideous infection of Gangrene. That's just pure cruelty man.

The closest I ever came to understanding even a few of these holds was when Tom Puckett put them on me while we were working out at this gym down the street from me. Cross Face, Double Wrist Lock, A Couple Neck Cranks and another one that slips my mind but I felt them all. Neck and Back were cracking and he didn't let up on me because he wanted me to understand what these holds can do to a person. Thank god I didn't end up like that kid. I'll never forget how those things felt and he hardly put any strength into them, it was incredible. 

Hooking in retrospect is a lost art in wrestling and very few in comparison to the old timers know them with such intensity. Guys like Joel Bane, Harry Smith (son of the British Bulldog), Josh Barnett, Sakuraba and some others are the last remnants of an earlier age and are incredibly skilled at these submissions it's almost baffling that these holds still exist in this time. If you haven't been put in these holds, you can't understand the magnitude of what they feel like and that near fear of them tearing you apart if you pissed these guys off. Catch Wrestling is rising from the ashes but unless you've been around someone who even remotely has small knowledge of the sport or even one of the holds, most don't even know what Catch is. Catch is more than just hooking, it's the violent art of wrestling that even some of the best freestyle wrestlers would be afraid of. Say if you took Ad Santel in his prime against Dan Gable in his Olympic days, it would be a decent match but no disrepect to Gable, Santel would most likely end up putting him in a hold that would have him begging for his life. That's just my opinion, other than that by today's standards, most wrestlers in Gable's weight class would have a hard time with him. 

  Catch and Hooking are fascinating aspects of wrestling and it's important to understand the History and the men that defined the term Superhuman when it came to the sport. Think only a few women on the entire planet have definitive knowledge of Catch and the current famous one is WWE's Shayna Baszler who learned some stuff from Barnett & Fujiwara (Fujiwara was Karl Gotch's best student according to the man himself). It might be inappropriate to call her a Hooker since some would take it completely the wrong way but in terms of wrestling and the knowledge of dangerous submissions, think it might be safe to say she's the only woman right now who can claim that title. 

If you like the shirt above, grab one for yourself here and support Catch Wrestling. I've got books, dvds and have been in the company of a man trained by Gotch himself, I fully support these guys and have a great deal of respect for them. Keep being amazingly awesome.  

Healing Up And Taking On Different Style Of Resistance Cable Training

 Very grateful this thing is almost over and making up some lost time on training and other things. I'm walking way more now without pain; putting my headphones on listening to bad ass metal and going for 15-20 minute walks to ease back into it. Working on various flows of animal movement at a steady pace (using exercises from Movement 20XX) especially for my legs like last night which felt great and slept a little better but it still needs improvement. Things are definitely looking up. 

While researching some new ways to train, I came across these bands from this company called Dopamineo which is based on the west coast I think that these two phenomenal wrestlers started. They took the concept of bands that have been used by Russian wrestlers for decades and developed bands that lasted longer, have a greater stretch and takes the format to another level. Although the bands are more used for wrestling (Folkstyle, Freestyle, Greco-Roman), these can be used for many other sports and MMA style training. The size of the bands (or how they're stretched) utilizes a weight-class formula to determine which set is best. I ordered the heavyweight cable which is for athletes or people over 205 lbs. 

I know I can never even remotely do what these bad ass athletes can do with these things but I took a chance on them and want to see what I can do for maintenance training and eventually get back to strength and conditioning. They should arrive tomorrow or at max another couple days so I'm excited to test this fucker out. The videos I've seen these men and women do are insane and take training to a different level, hell one demo clip showed three wrestlers on their rest day and even the exercises they were using were explosive, powerful, fast and incredible to watch. If that's a rest day than I wouldn't want to mess with these guys even at their most vulnerable, the conditioning is just out there.

I've always admired wrestlers and their style of training from Frank Gotch to guys like Jordan Burroughs and Cain Velasquez. I went out for wrestling in high school but it didn't pan out for me and to this day I wished something was better to make me keep doing it. BTW, in that same room training, a future MMA Fighter was cut above the rest and was one of the go to guys on that team and that was Luke Rockhold. Even back then, he was awesome, I wish I got to know him more. Over the years, I learned about many wrestlers and watching guys like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle were favorites but researching guys like Lou Thesz, Frank Gotch, George Hackenshmidt, Alexander Karelin, Ad Santel, Farmer Burns, Dan Gable, Karl Gotch and many more made me understand the true aspect of history and what it took for those guys to still be mentioned either long after they were gone or retired from the mat. 

Cables has been a part of my training for more than 15 years using mainly lifeline cables such as the Chest Expander, TNT Cables, Portable Power Jumper and a few others. They've helped immensely in keeping me in shape. I've rarely ever used cables outside of Lifeline's because that's all I really knew when it came to that kind of training. I've seen cables other athletes used and seeing skits of Lesnar training for his Summer Slam match with the Rock way 20+ years ago but never ventured out on other styles of cable training until now so this should be interesting. Always looking to evolve and gain knowledge so this specific cable is going to be fun to use. 

Because of this recent weight loss, it's going to be different in the way I train. I'm not going to be as explosive yet and hell I have some strength and conditioning to make up for so working with this cable methodically and at a pace that gives me a foundation isn't going to be easy but sure as shit is going to make things physical and test me in a different light. Am I nervous about this thing? A little but if I'm going to get strong again, adding this will be awesome. Hell, I wish I found this years ago when I was in BJJ or just doing my conditioning training but hey, it's time to slowly get back to being me again and maybe, just maybe be even fitter and better conditioned than before. I did say that when I turn 40 that I want to be in the best shape of my life and this is another tool to get me there. 

Time to crank up the volume and get my ass kicked by an object that weighs less than a couple pounds used by some of the very best athletes on the planet. Keep at it everyone and never stop being amazingly awesome.     

Weight Loss, Animals & Rollouts

 Yesterday I weighed in for the first time since this injury came back and last I checked I was around 248, just a touch below 249. The pain levels vary from a 3 to a 9 depending when it flares up but when I'm in pain, I literally have little to no appetite so whenever I ate, it was when it was at bay enough to eat. That didn't happen a whole lot. I'd be lucky to eat once a day, very lucky to eat 2 meals but they weren't very big. When I weighed in, I was shocked that I lost quite a bit of weight in a short amount of time. It came up at 238.8 lbs and that scared the hell out of me. It was mainly the little appetite I had and the mere fact that I haven't done workouts to maintain muscle mass.

Sometimes things like that give you a wake up call. It's good to lose weight but at the same time when you're in pain and you can barely even eat or walk around long enough to do much, losing weight can suck and not the healthy way to do it. My appetite is slowly coming back but it's no where near what I can normally eat. Regularly, I can eat a good steak and rice or have nearly half dozen eggs with bacon without issues but I haven't eaten any of that and even if I did, the stress prevents me from even finishing my food which isn't good. 

My workouts have been almost nothing but stretches, squatting down throughout the day to ease the pain from walking and occasional animal workouts. The animal training is getting better little by little since I've focused on mainly just moving with technique, coordination and paying attention to my flexibility. I did try to focus on speed at one point but something didn't click yet so I switched to being more methodical, deliberate and just the technique with a slower pace. It started working where I went from doing 7 rounds of a flow (from Movement 20XX) that was a struggle to 12 rounds (5, 5 and 2) doing movements that focused on coordination, flexibility and agility. That animal workout yesterday felt great and didn't feel pain and did some heat and ice afterwards. 

I wanted to try something today that I was hesitant to do since I didn't want to fuck anything up. I wanted to see what I can do with the Ab Wheel and test out my Back & Core Strength. After the first couple reps, it started to feel good, kept going and nothing felt wrong or anything and before I knew it, I did 25 Rollouts in a row. That was enough because I didn't want to push it any further than I had to and it was a good mini workout. Didn't feel pain but I knew where the point was on my back and it was annoying than painful so I took it as a good sign that my strength is coming back even microscopically. 

The thing I really need to figure more out now is being able to sleep decently. Since this whole thing started back up, 4 hours of sleep a night was my luck of the draw and if I was relaxed enough during the day, I would doze off for a bit but not long. It sucks and the thing that helps with recovery mostly is sleep and I barely get that. It is what it is but I'm doing what's possible right now. With this weight loss as well, it may help the recovery process but it's not the ideal way to drop weight and I can't let myself develop atrophy and lose the muscle I worked so hard to build. Hasn't been easy and have had bouts of anger, depression, frustration, doubts and being on an up and down mental state. Just hate it man. 

I hate seeing anyone suffer and it's not living a good life if you're in pain to the point where you alienate yourself from loved ones. I've done it and I'm not proud of it because I can be a very social person. When you have been in such pain that you go into this dark and depressive episode where you don't want help and distancing yourself from the people you love, if you let it go on too long, it becomes something you never wanted. Do what you can if you're in pain but don't let it destroy your humanity. Keep being amazingly awesome and stay healthy physically and mentally as long as you can. You never know what could pop up on you.   

The One Company I Shouldn't Have Been Involved With

 I've been an affiliate for years now and signed up with various companies starting with Logan Christopher and Legendary Strength. My first paycheck with that company was $10.48 and it was the most pivotal moment when it came to making money. I had worked other jobs outside of affiliate marketing before and got paid more but this was actually the one I'm most proud of because I got to make a few bucks promoting what I'm passionate about and I got to be under a very good friend who handed me the check himself.  Since then, there have been highs and lows but eventually I got around to making decent money and even sold some tickets to seminars and bundle packages. 

Over the years, I've worked with other people and companies such as Amazon, Onnit, Stronger Grip, Lifeline Fitness and others. I promote mainly fitness but I dabble in selling movies, cd's, books, equipment and many other things and I help others from time to time on what products to look for and help research. It makes me happy and I love what I do. I've made mistakes here and there and some companies shut their affiliate programs down for whatever reasons but always managed to keep on going. 

Most companies treated me well and I could do a pretty write up using their product in my articles and posts. I've never really had personal issues with them except maybe one other one and it was all on me and I take the heat for it. I made a crucial mistake that cost me thousands of dollars in commission but hey, you live to fight another day right? One company however pulled a 180 on me and once I found out what the owner was really like, it became clear that it was a mistake.

Over a year ago, I sent an application to this website ran by Rahul Mookerjee called 0 Excuses Fitness. I saw some of the ad copies for products like his Animal Course and Pull-up Book and his main one called Fast & Furious Fitness or the same title as his website. A lot of the ads were very Matt Furey-esque so I wanted to set that aside and try to look at things from another perspective. My application went by the wayside for a few months until he found it and we started exchanging emails. Figured this guy was ok and see where it went. I had asked him at least a couple times if he could send me a copy of one of his books so I can get a better idea on how to promote it and the website itself. It wasn't about wanting free product and then just ditch him, I gave him my word that I would promote the hell out of that book or books because I can't just go on an ad copy and paying for one of those books was steep as shit and I think he tried to do a discount thing with me but it was too little to even mean something.

A month goes by and we're exchanging emails and I'm promoting his stuff the best way I can with what I was allowed to go on. He even wrote a comment on my blog saying how well written one of the articles was on Push-Ups, here's what he said "Awesome article, Ben! I love your stuff - but you've got it spot on about pushups - exactly what I keep telling people (as you've read in my newsletters) about FORM etc. I can make 10 pushups harder than a 100 is not just an axoim, it's nigh TRUE. Crossfitters, kipping pull-ups - ugh. Kipping does have a place in the Army etc where you "get your body over the bar by any means possible" - but for pure strength and health (or the other way around, it should be) purposes - FORM! Well written!" 

Nothing was clicking and it didn't work out which happens sometimes and I have no real ill feelings towards the guy. I told him what I'm telling you now and we parted ways (or so I thought). I started reading his blog a bit more and signed up with his newsletter before all this happened and the more I looked into his style of writing, the more red flags started popping up and didn't think much of it until he completely went off the deep end and hammered the shit out of me verbally on his blog and on youtube. 

The first thing he posted up was a video talking about price wankers and all that and once I started reading between the lines, he was mouthing off about me. He even mentioned my name in later videos saying how fat I was and that I can't do pull-ups and I couldn't make a sale to save my life along the lines of being a cheap skate and wanting free product. I've never encountered that kind of bullshit before and it started becoming more and more obvious that he's a bit of a narcissist and a Misogynist that will hound anyone that doesn't agree with him. Weeks earlier, this guy said how well written I was and even used one of my pics to use for his Grip Training Course yet flips a 180 and starts telling his little flock all this negative crap that aren't true and even threw my wife in the mix and that I wasn't going to tolerate. I wrote to him personally many times without one single response. After a while I gave up on that.

Aside from the steep prices on his books (I get it he wants to make a ton of money but where does the line draw in that), I've seen samples of one of his books and the quality isn't all that good, I've seen shit courses but these kind of take the cake. He openly belittled his own wife even to the point of calling her a C-nt in a couple of his posts and the more he praises about himself, the less he cares about others and looking to make a buck off of cheap knock off writing and training styles that uses a lot of Matt Furey type sayings even by verbatim quotes he pawns off as his own. His inspirations are more of the steroid users and threw his own daughter under the bus a time or two. Him and his wife are now divorced from what I understand or at least separated and he continues to bitch about her. 

I did troll him, I'll be honest about that. Not my proudest moment and his blog is like a train wreck, you know it's wrong but you can't look away. In his videos, he demos many exercises, the majority of them are pull-ups which is his thing and I respect that. He has gone to great lengths to even bash me that I don't show workouts because I'm too fat or out of shape to do them yet he demos almost the same as me and rarely shows an actual workout that he can even perform decently in. I will say this, he's a hell of a promoter and loves putting himself over (in a very egotistical way) which is understandable but he's not really that special and most of the time, his camera angles suck and couldn't really do an arms extended push-up or a SAFE ab wheel rollout to save his life. He's good at pull-ups and does ok with certain push-ups but in all fairness, he's no pioneer, he doesn't do anything remotely positive to promote fitness and apparently doesn't do very well training at a park and people happen to interrupt him. I understand people are curious but even I have had encounters with people looking and even asked me a question or two but I would either keep on training or just smile and say a few words and keep going, no need to be an ass or talk shit behind their back, that's the coward's way in my opinion.

I do humbly regret signing up with him but it is what it is and I can almost guarantee you he'll read this because he's said it himself he reads my stuff without needing to mention my name and he's going to mention this in both his blog and youtube if not one or the other sooner or later. Again it's about reading between the lines and maybe he's got some fetish or looking for a way to promote himself to his cult-like following. Amazon has even dropped his ass and I've never seen that happen. I almost feel sorry for him. All in all, I really don't wish him ill harm and if what he does works and gives him a decent life, that's awesome and I truly do wish him the best. He most likely needs some psychological help and needs to get off his high horse and not be such a coward. He can talk shit all he wants, it just keeps proving who he is and I really hope he comes to grip with things. I just wanted to tell you my first hand experience with him. I'm a terrible liar and would out myself if it came down to it. Hell, he'll even claim he fired me which is not true, you can't fire someone who sent them an email basically being nice telling that person they quit. Anyway, be careful who you run into online and do some research first cause you never know if someone gives you the keys to the city and then turns around throwing you into the pit of blood with vampires. Be amazingly awesome and keep on training that gives you a reason to be your best self.      

Music That Just Enters Your Soul

 Throughout my life, I've listened to all sorts of music from Louie Armstrong to Peyton Parrish and whatever else in between. I did choir back in junior high and even performed some concerts with the group, wasn't that good but I did ok. We did songs mainly from the 60's and 70's and they were fun to do. Later on in High School, I did musicals such as Brigadoon, Wizard Of Oz, Once Upon A Mattress and Singing In The Rain (the last one was only in two scenes and had the only speaking role of in my entire time in the Theater). Music has been a part of my life ever since I was little. My own brother is a musician and had stints throughout the years in his own career doing mostly rock and blues music, he has a gift.

In my fitness career, music has been a part of that off and on listening while training. Sometimes I just go at it without it and other times, I put on my Spotify with either headphones or speakers depending on where I 'am and just get deep into it. Some of my best workouts were with music playing and it'll vary but mainly go with hard rock and metal. If you ever seen my tik tocks you'll find out quickly what kind of music I'm into. With this sciatica shit, I would put on music from time to time and just put my focus into it. I' am getting stronger again and I'm doing more walking and being more physical with my movements animal style (building my speed back up). Still have trouble sleeping but I know this won't last forever.

One of the biggest moments I've had during this process was something that is hard to explain. I was anxious to move around and do something quick to calm my body down. My wife was reading a book on the couch and I put my headphones on and put on a song and something crazy happened; I was so into the song, the riffs and the vocals that my body just went into this auto mode of moving and it almost felt like an out of body experience. I knew what I was doing physically but mentally something else came over me and I was flowing through the animal exercises like they were nothing and I was moving fast, strong and agile. I felt like myself again for a few moments without pain and when it was over, I started crying not because of sadness but because I felt happy and had a sense of hope that I knew this is almost over. I felt it in my soul and it was just beautiful. That song that got me into that state of mind was a Journey cover of their song Separate Ways by Eva Under Fire, the girl's vocals and the music behind her is just incredible and imo, is probably the top 2 best versions of that song. 

I'm sure others have had experiences like that with their own taste of music when they train but for me, it was an experience that I can't get out of my head. It almost seemed similar in a sense when Rickson Gracie got in tuned with his body with the Ginastica Training he learned from Orlando Cani and went into such a meditative state that he couldn't hear or see anyone and just moved with such agility, power and grace for nearly an hour. I was only in a state for maybe a minute or longer but once I looked back on what I did, my brain immediately went to that story about Rickson. Whether he was having music going is neither here nor there, I just know that for a brief time, I got to experience such a state of meditation that it was my way of slowly getting back to where I want to be again. Music gave me that.

Some believe that music is a distraction, from a certain point of view it can be but on the other hand, when you become in tuned with it while training and the syncing of mind and body through the instruments and/or vocals is at that right spot whether for a minute or more than an hour, it puts you into a state that potentially brings out the very best in you and makes you the strongest, fastest and the most powerful you've ever felt. Hell you may break personal records or just so far gone that your body goes into automatic pilot and you're just along for the ride. It courses through your veins, your brain, your nerves, your internal being and letting into your soul and trusting what it's doing for you to be in the zone. Music is that powerful and some never see it that way which is understandable to an extent but in the end, if it works and it makes you that much stronger and feel more alive, why question it? 

Whatever your taste is, I hope it brings you positive results in your endeavors and you get to experience things that others have trouble processing. Let the music flow through you and get in touch with your strongest self. Keep being amazingly awesome.  

The Double Whammy Of The World Fit Iso Trainer

 When it comes to equipment, very few can top the other but depending on the goals you have, the type of equipment is more suitable to what you want to do more than just having tons of stuff laying around. Over the years, I've gotten Sandbells, Resistance Bands, Hammers, Clubs, Mace, 60d Penny Nails and have a few ab wheels and they're all essential to my regular training but a personal favorite is the Worldfit Iso Trainer. I got the thing on accident as it was part of the wrong order I ended up getting since I ordered the Worldfit Pull-up Handles originally. I got the handles eventually but the Strap was a blessing in disguise.

The Iso Trainer is not just a thing for Isometrics, it doubles as a Suspension Trainer as well. I call it the double whammy because you get more out of it than you think. Having it as a Suspension Trainer adds variety and a whole other plethora of exercises to choose from. I've done Pull-ups, Push-ups, Rows, Rollouts, even Tricep Extensions with this thing and it just feels awesome. The handles are very comfortable and the strap is very sturdy and durable as it can hold up to 400 lbs from what I understand so many people are able to use it. 

You can mimic many exercises of isometrics and when I train with it along with my other Iso Strap, it gives me some of the best workouts I've ever had. It brings that old school vibe like the way Alexander Zass did with his Isometric Chain exercises. You can mimic practically the same exercises as he did and build serious muscle along with developing the tendons that look like they were carved out of granite. It's also very simple to use and van be put into a carry on bag for traveling. I would take it to the park with me, put it around the back of the basketball hoop and do some suspension work or do Isometrics on the ground. Very light as well.

Equipment should be versatile and utilized to the degree where it gives you a good workout almost regardless of where you are. Since my Sciatica is healing up, I will be getting back to Isometric Training and it's making me anxious to whip out that strap again. Isometrics is one of my all-time favorite styles of training and have written countless times about the awesomeness of Overcoming Isometrics. Some days, Isometrics is all I want to train on and it fuels that relaxed yet at the same time ready type of energy and strengthens those weak areas. 

How much does this thing cost? Well certainly not more than 200 bucks like some "Bodyweight Exercise Guru" sells for a single book (fucking ridiculous man), it's roughly 40 bucks which is crazy since you are able to make up so many workouts and learn way more exercises than you would've thought of. When you add Red Delta Project's Suspension Calisthenics book for maybe another 10 bucks on Kindle to the mix, you get a great variety to create virtually any type of workout you want almost anywhere. That's less than the cost of the average monthly gym membership. You'll learn the ins and outs of what works and what doesn't along with having fun with this bad boy. If you throw in a door attachment, there's no reason you can't do some solid suspension training at home and progress. These three things can make the world your oyster and train in ways that didn't seem possible before and it's very well within most people's budget. 

That's one of things I love about training is finding things that are suitable for a budget that works and get the most out of it without needing to use up your paycheck. I'm sorry but I'll take those things over a book some shmuck who thinks it's worthy of pricing that looks like shit and can't make it affordable to people that could use it for their benefit. If it's worth it to you and you've saved up enough to get it, go for it and I really hope it brings you incredible results but it shouldn't take you weeks or even months to save up for something like that, that's a lot of money that doesn't involve groceries or bills. It's robbery in my opinion and full of snake oil crap. There's a difference in someone being cheap and someone who's on a budget, learn it. I believe in top quality things that are in a comfortable range for someone, never should someone be guilt tripped into choosing either a book that costs more than a family meal or getting groceries for your family for the week, that's just not right. 

Anywho, I hope you find this article interesting and take a chance on the Worldfit Iso Trainer, the book and door attachment can be bought later if you want or not at all, it's up to you. I just want to give you an idea of what is possible without the need of a ton of equipment and you can snatch it up and use it for long term health and fitness. Be amazingly awesome and keep at it. 

Training & Update

 Been a tough road for the past month or so as my sciatica came back and with a vengeance. It started up again slowly while I was in Lake Tahoe visiting family. Was able to walk around and swim and all that but the moment we left, I was in various amounts of pain and when we got home, it hit me like an aluminum bat over and over on the right side of my body. The pain got so bad that often times, standing upright felt impossible and it took a toll on my physical and mental faculties. Bathing was excruciating and getting food to eat was unbearable to the point where I had little to no appetite. 

Mentally, it made me irritable, frustrated, angry and even depressed. I got no one to blame but myself for this and have been beating myself up over it. I'm not saying to make anyone feel sorry for me and not using it to throw a pity party, I'm saying this because this can happen to anybody; young or old even to world class athletes and we aren't 100% immune to it. It has been so painful that it nearly takes the cake over my broken leg injuries all those years ago. Am I showing my age? Maybe, but I'm certainly not dead and would never want anyone experiencing this, even those who've talked shit about me. I have a lot to make up for once I'm better and have made a vow to double my efforts to make up for lost time recovering.

Despite the pain and the emotional toll, I still train everyday no matter what, even if its for a couple minutes just stretching and/or do beginner level animal moves. Is it getting better? Slowly, yes and my flexibility, strength and agility is coming back in micro steps. I've done nothing but stretching, casually walking until I need to squat down and doing increments of the animal exercises from Vahva Fitness. Sometimes I do push through the pain but anybody can only tolerate so much. I know it has taken a toll on my wife and I'm just so grateful for her and what she has done to take care of me, she's strong and pushes me to get better everyday. She truly is my best friend and not just a companion but the ying to my yang, the crazy that matches my crazy and the far better half. I tell her everyday since this happened that the moment this thing is over, she'll be treated beyond the level of a goddess than I already do and going to make up for all things I was meant to do for her, even the little things. My mom has always seen us as the Bobbsey Twins and is quick to remind us of that often. We take care of each other and always have each other's back, I couldn't ask for such an amazingly awesome woman.

Although the workouts are brief, I know I'm getting stronger. I'm standing upright longer now, lasting better in my walking and have taken measures to stretch using my Isometric Belt to generate greater flexibility and even doing certain stretches Isometrically targeting my hips, hamstrings and glutes. I'm definitely feeling it but it's no where near as painful as it was in the beginning. I've only talked about this closely online with the Facebook Group Vim Vigor & Vitality that consists of those who practice Isometrics and other alternative forms of exercise and fitness. These guys are so supportive and have made awesome suggestions. One guy in particular, Batman O'Brien told me that because of what I was going through, he wrote up a series of exercises for me personally to keep up on and that he couldn't let this thing with me go on and insisted on helping me. It was such a powerful gesture and most of what he sent me I was already doing except a few things here and there. He even called me a legend in the Physical Culture world, the guy is twice the author and fitness advocate than I'll ever be and he calls some dude from Santa Cruz a legend. That was so profound and humbling to me that I told him that as much as I appreciate the gesture, I would never refer myself as that because to me, I don't feel worthy of that word. 

It may not be over yet, but soon, I'll be back doing what I love and making it more of a habit to keep up the maintenance so I can be at the type of strength and conditioning I know I can be in. This has been the worst I've felt in years but I can't give up nor can I allow this to go on. Pain may tell you you're not dead but pain can change your brain chemistry and turn you into something you don't want to be. It can be depression, full of negative emotions and it can make you mean at times and it's not right, it's not natural and sure as hell isn't someone I want to become. We're all human and we all have lived with some sort of pain in our lives but it's not natural to feel pain especially heavy sciatica pain 24/7 for the rest of your life. Take care of yourself and be amazingly awesome.    

A Rule Of Thumb For Those Who Call Themselves Gurus

Many trainers and and so called Fitness Gurus have their hearts in the right place and do what's possible to help others while making a living. I get it, you're building a brand/image and want to be seen as someone people can go to for solid ideas on training and getting the most with a Customer/Owner relationship. A big issue with some of these guys is that the "Guru" throws himself into this character as someone who tries to come off as this near god like being and smothers himself in ego and narcissistic tendencies in order to reel in an audience. It's understandable that some ego can be a good thing to an extent but Narcissism is a whole other ball game when they're only out for themselves and couldn't care less about others unless there's green involved.

If you read between the lines, you can see guys who have a bit of an ego and others who believe in their own hype. Many fitness programs work, there's no denying that and with the right tools, there are a lot that have a little something for everyone but not all programs are created equal and for good reason. A lot of the time, the Fitness Industry is a lot like High School, you have your various groups that segregate themselves, it can be very cutthroat and have people stab you in the back, you have the weirdos, jocks, valley girls, the hams, those who end up in the back, the popular crowd and those who think they can get away with murder because their daddy is a hotshot lawyer. 

There are those who don't take any bullshit and cater to a specific crowd or audience that they should feel worshipped by. Now that doesn't mean all of them are bad. A prime example would be the late Bud Jeffries, he was not only one of the strongest (naturally) people on the planet and had staggering charisma, he was also humble and would help you if needed. Sure he got paid for training and sold plenty of courses but if you needed a tip or two every now and then, often he wouldn't hesitate and put his hand on your shoulder (metaphorically or physically if you hung around him). He was also a guy who didn't take shit either and wouldn't work with those who tried to piss him off or shimmy around him, he knew tricks and had you at checkmate before you even had a thought. He was awesome at reading people and seeing the words between words when you spoke to him through DMs or Emails.

Another one I highly admire is Matt Schifferle of the Red Delta Project. From the looks of him, he looks like he's related to John Cryer & Matt Furey but when you hear him speak or talk with him, he's also humble and has an incredibly powerful positive attitude. His books are very easy to read and treats his videos as if they're a one person seminar as in he shows as if you were there with him and training. The man trains hard and uses simplistic exercises but treats you and the training with respect and dignity. He's got a no bullshit mentality to an extent but gives everyone the opportunity to understand not only the concepts of his style but makes it interesting to listen to. He's the type of guy you want to hang out with and doesn't show a lot of ego in his books and videos. 

When it comes to someone like me, there are names and praises I've gotten over the years that are just downright not I would ever call myself. I have been called a guru from time to time, I've been called someone who's in the top 3% of the strongest people in the world and other things. The truth is, I never liked being called those things, I'm no guru or blue collar guy, I would never put a percentage on myself when it comes to strength because to me that's not fair to others who make me look like a chump. All I care about is training, giving people ideas and pointing them in a direction that will benefit mainly them, not me. Do I have a bit of an ego? Maybe, but it's more about confidence in what I can do and what I know but I don't go around telling people that I'm the only guy with any real knowledge and I'm this much stronger than somebody else, in reality, I'm literally just a guy who fell in love with fitness after having severe leg injuries that's really the jist. 

I've had my own dealings with some guys who just love to hear themselves talk and if you disagree with them, they'd want you electrocuted just for having an argument. Some even love to talk shit yet never say it directly to me cause they're a coward and don't have the balls to say something, another guy tries to justify his actions/words and tries to make himself look like hot shit even though he can't when I called him out on stuff. These are the type of guys that have no regard for others and have sociopathic tendencies which leads them down a path of not only being mean bastards but can't let people live their lives the way they see fit. They write out or record rants for everyone to see, have grievances for the most irrelevant things (not to mention their stupid political outbursts) and treat others who aren't like them like trash when they don't even know any of those people in real life. 

There are great gurus out there and then there are shitty ones who only care about themselves. Shit even one guy can't stop talking about three things if you ever come across his stuff: How awful his wife is, mocking fat/overwight people and pull-ups in the same sentence and how his stuff is the very best on the market. A fourth would be either "friends" of his you never see one pic of or repeatedly mentioning an alleged pedophile along with his repeated hatred towards LGTBQ folks. Another guy who is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to basic workouts using the term "conditioned strength" and can go even at 55 but it's overshadowed by his long and dubious rants on how weak men are, the decay of society, his repeated outbursts of how he hasn't had a drink in 30 years, repeats how old he is and how many kids and grandkids he has. He's an egotistical prick with a napoleon complex that just loves to piss people off and doesn't show any compassion for those that don't share the same "values" as he does. 

It's like a car wreck with these guys, you know it's wrong but you can't look away and be curious but at the same time, it's better to just stay away from these people because we don't know what's happening in everybody's lives and what's the point of shitting on everyone? What's to be gained from that really? Where does it end? I believe in doing the very best to be kind to others until there's a reason not to and give others the benefit of the doubt and see through the bullshit as best as possible. Not everyone can be saved and not everyone is going to live a healthy life, we just do what we can starting with the people closest to us. Social Media has its perks and there are good people out there but there are some nasty motherfuckers too that try to sell you a bill of goods and tell you all these wonderful things but their true nature tends to come out when you least expect it and when you don't fall in line with them, they can make your life a living hell and will do whatever to make themselves look innocent. 

Little by little, be a bit better at helping others without an agenda and show compassion as best as you can. Life is too damn short to be so damn bitter that you have to take out your frustrations out on the internet and share how much the world sucks repeatedly yet you say you're happy, that's not how that works man. Be amazingly awesome and keep doing what you love. 

The Rugged Conditioning Entities Of Karl Gotch

It can be argued on who brought the rugged style of bodyweight training to the masses. Matt Furey certainly brought it out to the world and became a living legend in the world of fitness with Combat Conditioning that is still used to this day. However; years before Matt took the world by storm, two men in Florida recorded a series of exercises that were basic, unusual at times and would put most men on their knees within seconds. The demonstrator was Tom Puckett (or Ferrer to others) but the man narrating was the God Of Wrestling himself, Karl Gotch. 

I never met Gotch but I did know Tom for a short period of time. He lived 45 min from during that time and would come down to my neck of the woods in Idaho twice a week to hit the gym. The gym is called Peak Fitness and after he would do some conditioning work, he would hit the weights, even then when he slowly started falling ill to cancerous stuff he received during his time in certain aspects of Law Enforcement he was still a machine that just blew me away. He didn't like taking credit for that though, he was tough yet humble. He would tell me stories about Gotch and the real work ethic the man had. Some things never leave you.

Gotch was about as rugged as you can get and by definition, he was probably the top guy to use that word for. His workouts as you know if you looked into him are not just legendary, they're downright almost mythical as they sounded so unbelievable, you would've thought he was at the level of a real life Superman. He would put guys through workouts that he thought were the definition of what a wrestler should train for; the push-ups, the squats, the bridges, the drilling, gymnastics, animal moves and others were the foundation for a wrestler's arsenal for building not only a physique but the endurance and strength of a Super Athlete. He used to torture wrestlers with his deck of cards workouts and every now and then he would put them through more than 500 Hindu Push-ups and 2000+ Squats just to add fuel to the fire. 

His personal workouts would put even most athletes today to shame because he was never satisfied with just typical numbers. He solidified the pinnacle numbers for push-ups and squats to such a degree that they became the gold standard for pro wrestlers for decades to come. Now there are exercises that might be better and with the training programs that are coming out in droves in this day and age but it's also important to note and respect for the old school style that made a lot of champions. He had his gold standard for students but what he was doing on his own is nothing short of just jaw-dropping. Guy Chase who was another Gotch Protégé told me that the man in his prime was doing in the ball park of 5000 Squats frequently to stay in top condition along with the other stuff he was doing, that's in the realm of Gama and Chase has said that Gotch was doing Squats at a rate of 150 per three minutes. That's insane.

Now does this mean you have to do the same numbers to get the same results? That's tough to say because everybody's different and everybody trains in different ways but I will say this; in reality, doing those kind of numbers just to be like the men of the past won't always work in your favor. You can weigh differently, your structure may only allow you to do certain exercises and there may be previous injuries there, we don't 100% know but we can train in ways that is beyond the comprehension of the average athlete. You don't always see what numbers Dan Gable did yet look at what he accomplished. Same can be said about Alexander Karelin and Rolan Gardner, two polar opposite looking Greco-Roman wrestlers yet we all know who won that gold at Sydney. The main fact is, their conditioning was incredible and practically superhuman yet didn't do the same style of training Gotch did. 

Gotch's influence in retrospect should be respected and noted because he laid the groundwork by opening the doors to pre-MMA fighting and his works for conditioning are still respected and done even today. He took the crazy workouts from Indian Wrestlers and molded them into the treasure of gold that athletes from all walks of life use in some ways right now. To say he was a tough son of a bitch wouldn't do it justice unless you experienced it for yourself and the closest I came to that training wise was with Tom when he put me through just a slice of a what Karl put him through and put me through those bone breaking holds of the crossface, standing neck crank and even Karl's version of the Double Wrist Lock. Tom even trusted me to repeat these holds on him to show me how to apply them without needing much strength at all. These I will never get out of my head and still have nightmares from time to time of how they felt and the sound of neck and back cracking. Tom wasn't even a big dude, he was maybe 160 soaking wet and 5 foot 6 maybe 5'7. 

Some wrestlers today still do some of these same workouts and exercises, others pay homage to them in other ways and became champions themselves but the level of respect will always be there and the mere fact that one man became a god among wrestlers and has legendary status that has lasted for decades goes to show that despite certain aspects of wrestling is a dying art, the training is still firing after all this time. Furey may have kicked the door open with these exercises but Karl had the tools first to build that door.  

A Rollercoaster Of Craziness

 Damn, it has been 18 days since my last entry. It has been a whirlwind of emotions, laughter, tears, growth, loss and craziness. Other than the excessive heatwave we've had here in Idaho, around the time of my birthday, it became a time where I couldn't think about me and my celebration, it was a time of mourning and a time to be with people I truly cared about. My wife lost her stepdad to cancer and other things that went wrong with him that I'm going to keep to myself and our family. Very hard to see this man go that I knew for 8 years and those moments that we shared talking about music, comics and movies. 

I did the best I could to be there not just for my girl but her brother, their mom and our niece because all I wanted to do was to comfort them and be present. Life is way too damn short to bicker and be divided, when something like this happens, it's about family, togetherness and protecting one another. It wasn't as hard on me than it was for them because that's the man they knew for many, many years, close to 20 if I recall but it hit me a little differently because a little over 20 years earlier, my own stepdad passed that just tore me up and happened just before I finished high school. I never got to say my peace with him. Now, with theirs, I got a second chance in my own way. I got the opportunity and permission from their mom to use the music for his walk out before taking him to the funeral home, it was one of his favorite bands that did a cover of Lynyrd Skynard's Simple Man. 

We laughed, we cried and just did what was best to make the best of things, regardless of how hard it was. Now, the twisted thing about all this is the time he died. I don't know if this was the man's last joke or some kind of cosmic way of making us laugh a little but the man died at 4:20am and he was an advocate on weed LOL. Some things that'll never leave your mind and puts in perspective why this life is so precious when it comes down to it. From there, we went from tragedy to being prepared for seeing my dad's side of the family for the first in roughly 4 years, going to Lake Tahoe.

The last time my wife saw my family was our wedding and the last time I did was in Nov of that year for my dad's 70th birthday so this was a major thing for both of us. Traveling for 12 hours in planes and cars, it could've been John Candy's & Steve Martin's Planes, Trains & Automobiles but with without the train. When I saw my dad, I just broke down and held him for what seemed like forever even though it was maybe 30 seconds. Did the same to my sisters, my stepmom and other relatives. It was like a huge wave of emotions coming out that I needed because this is the longest time in my entire life not seeing all of them. 

Being back in Tahoe was the boost we both needed and spending time with each other was just incredible. Made some breakthroughs with my sisters and spending some time with my niece and nephews especially the youngest one. Going to the lake and jumping off the dock, exploring on the rocks, climbing the staircase that is a monstrosity, getting workouts in (mainly Isometrics & Swimming) including an Animal Workout near the stairs to the water and plenty of activities.

Went on a boat ride one day around the lake with my girl, dad, stepmom, aunt, uncle and my stepmom's friends from Boston (Accents and all). We went around an area called Emerald Bay where the water is not just crystal clear but as green as you would see in the Wizard Of Fucking Oz. Got to swim with my dad for a bit near a mountain with a small castle at the top called Valhalla (I so wish I had my Epic Sledgehammer with me, that would've been one of the coolest shots ever, hoisting it up and putting lightning in the background). Went around an area called Meeks Bay which is really cool because that's my wife's Maiden Name and she has distant relatives that owned or still operate it today. Overall, it was exciting and a lot of fun.

Another day was going to Virginia City in Nevada with my sister, her boys, her besties with her two daughters and the most awesome woman on the planet. I use to love going there when I was little, it was like time stood still as in you're in this old western town that seemed to never die out, you have shops where you can see paintings of men and women of the time, churches that just stand out in time and the cool saloons where cowboys and others drank, fought, cheated and died in. One of the most famous saloons in the town is the Bucket Of Blood where you can see this incredible view of the desert hills. Some of these places are said to be Haunted and I've been in some areas where Ghost Hunters came in and did investigations. Bought some souvenirs including decks of cards, a couple Street Signs for my nephews that says Beware Of Attack Brother just to make my sister laugh even though she at first gave me this cold stare and bought my sister a pink rose quartz crystal bracelet that she really loved. Holly brought her camera with her and put her Photography skills to the test and quite frankly, its unbelievable how these pics turned out. 

After Virginia City, we headed out to Reno to meet up with our other sister and her husband with their party. Took the boys to Circus Circus across the way to go play in the arcade. Had a lot of fun there shooting hoops with my niece, winning lots of tickets, tried my hand at the punching bag and see what my score was; the highest they had was 956 and my best was 899 so not too bad for a guy who doesn't do a ton of boxing training. Bought my nephews Panda Express and went back to the cabins on our merry way. Spent a little one on one time with my dad, wished we had a bit more but hey when there's nearly 30 people in 4 cabins all together, you're bound to be hanging around others. Had beautiful moments of growth with my sisters and spent some time with my stepsister and her hubs that are officially going to be parents (Stepsis Macky will be a great mom and her hubs mike is a great guy that lives life to the fullest). 

There was a bit of family drama but that's not only to be expected it might as well be mandatory (we do put the fun in Dysfunctional after all). I won't bore you with the details but peace was made in the end and that's what truly matter right? Overall, it was one of the most fun trips I've ever had since going there as a baby. In fact, now in 2023, it is now been 50 years since my dad started all this so it has grown to 4 generations of our family going there. Wish we didn't have to leave but got to face reality and move on to the next trip. We started our trek back around 7am and didn't walk back into the door at home until about 11:15pm, that was a day man but we got home safe, got in a short workout at the airport and finished off with 1 min of isometric push-ups at home. 

Yep, that's been the highlights of these last near three weeks and things will be calmer and back to normal but then again normal is just overrated LOL. Keep being amazingly awesome guys and I'll be back to writing a lot more often. 

Step Ups And Their Effectiveness

 A good portion of the time, a simple exercise like Step Upas can really take you down if you know the right pace and tempo. Maybe it might be too simple but is it really so? I guess it depends on your point of view. Does it replace Squats? Overall, not necessarily but some prefer the Step Ups and others prefer Squats and that's awesome. At least you're getting in some kick ass leg training either way.

Some scoff at the idea of Step Ups because to them, squats are king and other leg exercises are just second class which in and of itself is far from the truth. Some even say Step Ups are the lazy man's leg training; obviously that's pure bullshit otherwise by logic you're saying someone like Bob Backlund is lazy. How natural is Step Ups in comparison to Squats? Well, why compare their natural entities when both are natural type exercises and have pros and cons to both while their effectiveness may be different, they still generate incredible strength, power, conditioning and overall health for the whole body.

Having done thousands of reps from both of them, safe to say for me personally, I get more out of Step Ups than Squats and I'll tell you why....With Squats, they were the foundation and gave me a solid pair of legs over the years while also saving time by doing high reps either in a row or using a deck of cards. As time went on and doing other things, they became a bit more uninteresting to me and felt like they weren't a priority anymore. With the transition to Step Ups, I not only go longer & do more reps, they give me greater focus by working my legs individually. They help even out the areas where one leg seems to have more muscle than the other and it feels more meditative while being a conditioning exercise.

Step Ups are a different form of cardio and it has become grossly underrated over the years. Other than Bob Backlund advocating them, they don't get as much traction or attention in comparison to Squats and it's a damn shame. They go far beyond just going up and down and switching legs, they are a great addition to just about any routine as they can be an exercise to do instead of resting for your next set. They can be used to as a superset exercise to other movements to really tackle your conditioning and they put you in a better state of not being as sore yet get more out of it.

Despite its benefits of health and overall fitness, it has a safer aspect on the knees and lower back if you have those particular issues. We do Step Ups more often than we are led to believe because of climbing stairs on an almost daily basis so this exercise actually strengthens that form of movement along with strengthening the joints for things like biking, hiking and swimming. Training this way helps in a ton of sports and other activities.

As always, just be careful how you do them and don't go so fast that you'll slip/trip and fall on your ass; I've done it a time or two and even broke part of a step and after those, I learned to pace myself better and being aware of my footing while going at a decent clip. Got to a point where I can do 30 within a minute and do 500 in under 23 minutes. Ideally it's not a sprint exercise because like I said, if you go too fast, it's going to bite back so respect the movement and go at a clip where it's keeping your heart rate going but not in a rushed manner. 

When I train this exercise, I don't care much how many sets/rounds I do, I pick a number to do each leg and go for time whether for 10, 15, 20 or 30+ minutes straight. If I'm in the middle of a set and the timer goes off, I just finish the set and add the + to the workout lol. Numbers wise, I stay within a 10-15 rep range each leg and just keep going. Sometimes I'll speed up during the workout and other times I just keep pace and focus on my breathing and footing. Said it before, it becomes meditative at times. Better cost effective than a treadmill that's for damn sure. 

It just feels good overall and I love how my legs feel afterwards. I don't get sore almost at all and I can do other exercises later on like Isometrics, carries and even hammer stuff. It has kept me in pretty decent shape for some time now. Give it a go and maybe someday you'll put up Backlund numbers but do what's possible for you and keep improving while being amazingly awesome. 

Why Are Hybrid Isometrics So Effective?

First of all, what in the blue hell are Hybrid Isometrics? Some kind of supernatural entity of exercise? Doubled forms of fitness to create some kind of Superhuman? Although it sounds cool, Hybrid Isometrics are mainly an advanced variation of Isometric Exercise that takes you some steps further to achieving great strength and muscle building. I didn't make up the name, that goes to one of the most prominent trainers in the art of Isometric Training today and that's Matt Schifferle.

Now, what makes up of Hybrid Isometrics? It's literally a combination of Overcoming Isometrics & Yielding Isometrics. Overcoming is the style where you work against something immoveable and stay at that sticking point for intense contractions in a Push/Pull/Squat/Grip Format. Yielding in a nutshell is the type of Isometric Training where you're fighting against gravity such as a plank or horse stance for example. The Hybrid style by definition of the first two styles is the combination of hitting a sticking point while going against gravity at the same time. Here's an idea of doing a Hybrid Plank (This engages the Core far more than the regular Plank plus you're working your lower back and hips from sagging by pressing against the strap). 

How are these as affective if not more than typical Isometric Exercise? Because of the combination of both Yielding & Overcoming styles, you're generating a different level of strength training in order to successfully hold positions for either time or through the 7-12 seconds of intense contraction. It puts a different spin on what constitutes being in a position where the muscles are working harder than normal and not particularly isolating certain muscles either, you're literally working many muscles in order to stabilize yourself. The real effectiveness is that it doesn't take long to really feel it and you aren't going to last very long doing some of these exercise which in the case of plank, if you can hold the elbow or even palm plank for 2 minutes or more, the hybrid would put most people down within 30-45 seconds or less. It is very tough to do and is a plank on steroids. However, because of the short amount of time you'll hold this position, you're going to build strength in ways that the regular plank can't. 

Isometrics are a fascinating form of training and the plethora of ways to work them can turn you into a fitness machine or can help you in rehabbing injuries. When it comes to Hybrids, they rank right up there as some of the simplest yet toughest exercises you can do. I use them as an addition to my regular Isometric Training. A great product you can use to work Hybrid Isometric is the Iso Loop. For other forms of straps to work your exercises check out StrapWorks on Amazon. Get the most out of your Isometric Training and for more info on what Hybrids are and some of the exercises you can learn, grab a copy of Overcoming Isometrics by Red Delta Project. RDP also has a Youtube Channel that shows tons of exercises, workouts and other tips on fitness training. 

Have an amazingly awesome day and train well. 

Thick Thighs Save Lives

 At least from what I've seen. Can never stop advocating for the Step Up Exercise. It truly is one of the most essential yet underrated leg exercises there is. Shit if the legendary Bob Backlund can do them and the strength & conditioning they gave him, why not others? Sure it's important to make sure you're not working with potentially harmful injuries especially in the knees and ankles but for the most part, these can highly be a godsend for building incredible leg strength, health and for your cardio.

I've been doing this exercise for many years now and it doesn't seem to slow me down, matter of fact, has kept me in pretty damn good shape. I hate jogging and Sprinting in below ten weather in the wintertime here is not always an option. If you want an alternative to sprints, do the Bear Crawls bro (read about my micro workout on this exercise). Step Ups especially done in high numbers bring incredible benefits which one of the perks is that you won't get as sore as you would with squats. Now that doesn't mean squats aren't good, they're awesome, I'll do them as part of my deck of cards workout with the Step Ups. Squats have their place and are as essential as any basic movement, I just prefer Step Ups as my go to Leg Exercise. 

Although it doesn't look like much (quite frankly its the exercise equivalent to a leg exercise from Wish to some people) but for others, it brings out all the benefits of cardio training without needing a treadmill or getting burned out from hundreds of squats. You ever hear the story about Backlund and the Marathon runner? I've written about it before but it's for a repeat: So this marathon runner thought Step Ups were pretty easy since after all, he withstands 26.2 miles for a lot of years so he wanted to see if he could give a Backlund a run for his money (no pun intended). So for the most part, this guy thinks this is a no brainer but roughly 20 minutes in, Bob is still killing it and this distance runner walks out the door and is never heard from again. He couldn't take it and it goes to show that you never underestimate the power of a simple yet effective exercise.

I've done my fair share of them over the years in a variety of ways from doing them straight through for 30 min to an hour at a time to doing supersets with other exercises such as Farmer's Walks, shoulder carrying my 50 lb sandbell or bear hug carry to slamming my slam ball. The deck of cards workout where it's Step Ups & Squats ranks right up there with that Rugged Conditioning type of training. The objective is to get to 500 Step Ups & 250 Squats by the end of the deck and if you can finish it in under 30 minutes, kudos for you man; I'm just a notch above the 30 min mark when I finish it. One time, I doubled the reps that came out to 1000 & 500 respectively going back and forth between two decks of cards with barely a break. Until you've done it, it's not something easily to describe. 

 Despite it's overwhelming simplicity, Step Ups gives you not incredible leg strength and conditioning, it's a pretty damn good muscle builder too since you're working your legs unilaterally. It's had me keeping my California Redwood legs in tact so far. My dad doesn't call me a tree trunk for nothing. With natural muscle, strength & cardio, you're looking at some solid boosting of testosterone and HGH. Our legs provide the means to develop our sex organs, energy and power. When you consistently train your legs (safely of course and not getting injured frequently), you're bringing more vitality and desire into play. Don't be surprised if you start to feel like a wild teenager again, it is possible. It's important that we can increase our testosterone as we age ( with the right tools and not always go to drugs) but we also don't want to overload it because too much testosterone isn't always a good thing. Work it until you reach a certain level and maintain that. Mine's in the normal range for men in my age group and normal to elite level of testosterone is around 300 and 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL); I'm in around the 350's so for 35-45, that's pretty good. It could be better with diet and intense training but take things one at a time. 

Training and eating good gives off incredible boosts but the type of training you do should be intense and rugged like Sprints, Isometrics, Strength Training whether with weights or bodyweight and doing enough to recover efficiently. The diet is not always easy especially if you're on a budget but if you keep the junk to a bare minimum if at all, stick with a good source of meats, eggs, certain fruits and veggies along with drinking plenty of water. We all have our vices but I do love a good steak and eggs or rice with some liquid IV for hydration or make bunless cheese burgers with eggs. I usually scramble my eggs or do them fried with butter. I' am getting a bit better to not eat a ton of bread or minimize a bit more than what I'm doing now. Heavily on the Carnivore type plan but I like my sandwiches and some good Tempura Shrimp & Fries from time to time. You don't want to completely deprive yourself, enjoy things every now and then. 

Overall, add Step Ups into your routine or do them by themselves it's up to you. Start with a few minutes doing 5-10 reps per leg continuously and start adding time. You can add reps especially if you want to test yourself (like with the deck of cards) but if you work 10-25 reps each leg and keeping doing that for up to 30 minutes straight, that's some awesome cardio. I've done 1000 total reps in 41 minutes so I think my cardio is right where it needs to be. Doing Supersets with them is just another addition to boosting your body's natural levels of hormones. 

Train with intent but also make it as enjoyable as possible. Be amazingly awesome.