Sandbell Front Squats And Squat To Stand

 Sandbag Training can be a hell of a method to getting some of the kinks out of your training and teaching you how to stabilize the body with an object where the weight shifts. When it comes to Sandbells, it's a great way to utilize this in that regard. From Shouldering to Carrying to doing all sorts of stuff with these things.

Training the Legs with a Sandbell offers great resistance and added benefits to working the muscles to a greater capacity than with a typical barbell or dumbbell which could add some cool benefit to what you're already doing. 2 Exercises that I've worked on for a couple days now that hammered out the legs hard was doing the Squat To Stand and the Front Squat or a better name for it, the Bear Hug Squat. The STS is an exercise similar to lifting a stone where you get the Bell into position in a deep squat and once you have it in a good grip, stand up, drop it and repeat. Because of the shifting of the weight, it's not always easy to get a good grip every time. Here's a demo here to see what I mean....A few sets of these and you'll be feeling it.

The Bear Hug Squat is pretty damn simple, pick up the Bell, squeeze it against you and start going up and down. Unlike a barbell, dumbbell or kettlebell for that matter, you're working a bit more of the core in my opinion as you work on keeping the back steady and in control. You may lean a little bit and create more of that natural feel like picking up a box or a sack of flour. When you work these like a madman, you'll be jacking up some hefty hormones and building some incredible strength. Some guys work light or heavy depending on their goal. I've only got the 70 lb which in itself can be a bitch and others work as heavy as 200 lbs or more (strongmen mostly) but for the best weight in this manner, 100 lbs would be more than enough for many. Personally, I may go 150 if I work hard enough but that's the highest I'll go, maybe 170 if I'm ambitious but I don't need to go that heavy to get something cooking.

These two simple exercise will give you some insane strength and power. With a good clip, you can get some serious cardio out of it as well especially if you're an athlete training for a sport like Football, Wrestling or MMA. It's the classic moves of the Old Time Strongmen that gave rise to what is possible to have that ruggedness and mental toughness. Squats are no joke and Sandbells or Sangbags for that matter are just going to murder you with a vengeance. It builds real strength.

You know you busted your ass when you feel things you normally don't feel after a training session as you'll find out your fingers may be sore, your core is sore, your shoulders are on fire and your traps feel like they went to war. Not saying being sore is the greatest factor to determine a good workout, I' am saying that your muscles are being used in a way you're not used to because of how awkward the bag is. Go old school and you can't go wrong. Have an amazingly awesome day and I'm going to check out the Freestyle Wrestling that starts today at the Olympics....USA USA USA!!!

40th Birthday Shenanigans

 This past Sunday, I officially turned 40. A new decade of my life begins and getting the most out of a great celebration. My wife surprised me the night before that we were going to the resort we've gone to twice before called Quinn's Hot Springs in Montana. She also surprised me with a cool cake of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, one of the first cartoons I grew up on which the Turtles also turn 40 this year from the first comic. 

On the day of my birthday. before we packed up for the Hot Springs, I took some photos to celebrate the building of my physique and going to the gym with her. Did some Farmer's Walks, Overhead Presses, Shrugs, some pulldowns, worked on Kettlebell Presses and other stuff. 

Got to the Hot Springs, checked in and just spent every moment of the trip relaxing and being together. At the pools, they have various temperatures from a Cold Plunge that was about 64 degrees all the way to a hot 105 degrees. Guess which one I always did first LOL. Interacted with people from various places and just felt happy. 

We would mostly have dinner at this little tavern next to the pools and ate mostly burgers and fish & chips, the first night I got a steak and garlic mashed potatoes. Wasn't too bad actually. The only breakfast we had there was from yesterday morning which for me was probably the biggest breakfast I've had in ages...A sausage and egg sandwich which already had a big patty, 3 scrambled eggs, 3 more sausage patties, Hashbrowns and 2 glasses of Orange Juice. Built up an appetite from an Isometric Workout before grabbing food. All the workouts I did was O2 Training 2x a day, 7-12 Second Isometrics hitting the full body and my Neck Mobility Work. At the pools, I would sit in the cold plunge for several minutes where my head was the only thing at the surface and hit the hottest pool to balance out, then go to the pool where my girl was and hang with her. 

Very beautiful place surrounded by trees, mountains and other things. It's on the outskirts of a highway about 25 minutes out from this little town called St. Regis. The first two times were for our anniversaries so this was a quite a treat to do a summer stay there. Family Friendly and has really good food. It's next to the Clark Fork River which is just awesome to look at. 

 Had a ton of fun and just getting to chill, watch the Olympics in the room at night, had some rain on Tuesday but still fun and tasted a few drinks that were pretty good. If anyone knows me, I'm not much of a drinker and wouldn't do enough to get buzzed or drunk but I'll try some things every now and then. Can't go wrong with a good Buffalo Burger though, holy shit that thing was just awesome and the Beer Battered Cod was tasty as hell. Can never get enough of this place, I recommend everyone go there at least once to experience the beautiful country next to it and hit the Sulfur Pools. 

This was a really great birthday and I'll cherish it for as long as I live. Love being 40 and get to continue to do kick ass stuff. 

High Rep Training Or Isometrics: Which One Is Better As You Get Older?

 With advances in science, nutrition and fitness training, it still boils down to how an individual adapts and maintain throughout their lives. High rep training can be very beneficial when it comes to being in top condition, hell I'll do up to 500 Step Ups in a workout and have written about it a time or two, also do 500 total reps in circuit workouts with the Dopa Band. To an extent, it has its perks and can do wonders. However, certain exercises are not meant to be done in high reps like one arm push-ups or hundreds of burpees, what's to be gained from that? Where's the long term benefit? 

The greasing the groove method of high rep training is a lot more beneficial than trying to hundreds of reps within a fixed time. Do pushups here and there throughout the day, pull-ups or whatever BASIC movement. Gives you time to rest and be fresh when you get to a new set. Herschel Walker was a big advocate for this and other athletes. Do what works for you. As you get older, you might need to do as high of reps or total reps. You're not going to see many people do hundreds of squats and pushups at 70 or 80, some can at that age and it's incredibly impressive but how necessary is it?

With Isometrics, it can benefit just about anybody. If you've never worked out a day in your life or are a seasoned vet, you can enjoy the benefits of Isometrics. Once you feel it, even at a small percentage, it can work your musculature like a charm and develop strong tendons and ligaments. There are different types of Isometrics but the Yin & Yang are Overcoming & Yielding Isometrics. Overcoming is doing a hold at a fixed point and you can't go any further. Going against something immoveable. Yielding is holding a position where you fight against gravity and keeping that position as best as possible (plank, horse stance, wall sit, L Sit etc.). Now there's a way to combine the two called Super or Hybrid Isometrics where you take a position where there's a stopping point but you're fighting to keep that position using a strap or a loop like putting a strap on your legs to squat up but you stop and hold that position while fighting gravity at the same time. 

Isometrics can be extremely adaptable and virtually done anywhere and depending on the intensity, it can be short or long with the type of goal you're going for. Isometrics can be used in a variety of ways to warm ups, cool downs, in between sets, working around injuries, strengthen an area of the body to even things out, a workout in and of itself or as a method to use for purely strength training and do activities the rest of the time. 

What method of training is better for you as you get older? In a nutshell, neither is better or worse than the other. It comes down to what benefits you the most and gives you the type of quality training that helps you live long and prosper (for you Trekkies). Both have their pros and cons but both can be used in different ways. They can be used on alternate days, used for recovery, used as supersets, do splits for certain muscle groups, whatever keeps you strong and going. We all follow different things and make changes but it doesn't mean we can't do what we love. Train to what helps you. I've done both in the same workout and on different days or done one exclusively for a period and changed it up. 

Keep training and make the most of what's possible and learn the basics. Have an amazingly awesome day. 

The O2 Trainer From Bas Rutten

 "Deep Breathing exercises alone can make many a weak man strong and many a sick man well."- Farmer Burns 1914-1937.

Having control over the breath is one of the most essential things you can do to have a better quality of life. Everybody breathes right? Cause if you don't, you die. It's that simple. We can go for weeks without food, days or so without water but can't go a few minutes without breathing. Training to control your breathing can make or break your performance not just in sports but in other areas of life too. In combat sports such as Catch Wrestling, BJJ, Boxing and others, you can tell a person at times by how much gas he has in the tank and if they start to wear down too early, they're done.

Having strong lungs and being in good condition has its merit in how you do in certain situations especially if you can overcome asthma. I'm always experimenting with different things and testing my abilities when it comes to training. When I was in BJJ, I was strong and worked with what I could but not understanding how to handle certain situations in sparring, I wasn't breathing properly and didn't know how to be calm and rely on my strength which bit me in the ass a time or two. Once I understood how to breathe in that particular environment, I improved and was able to keep up and go rounds with guys, even my coach noticed it. Wasn't easy and one day hope to get back on the mat.

I've been a fan of MMA for years and knew of guys like Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes. One guy I would hear about from time to time was Bas Rutten "El Guapo" who was one of the best fighters of his time that specialized more in Kickboxing & some Submission Grappling. One of his claims to fame was being a former UFC Heavyweight Champ and working against some of the best in early MMA. Years after his career, he wanted to get something going to help others achieve great levels of fitness and worked on what is now the O2 Trainer. It's a breathing apparatus that supposedly mimics high altitude training and help with those who struggle with Asthma. 

I heard about it for a while but only got it just recently. Like I said, I'm always experimenting with certain things and wanted to give this a shot. It first came up when me and my wife were talking about how she can continue to lose weight and improve her cardio (she's already lost more than 60 pounds and has great cardio that continues to amaze me) so we did some research and the O2 Trainer popped up. I figured, if she wanted to try that, I'll give it a shot too to improve my own cardio and conditioning. For both of us, it was a little tricky to understand how it works but after a couple sessions, wasn't too bad. It comes with 14 different levels of the apparatus to create resistance for the inhale. Because of my strong lungs from years of doing Squats, Step Ups, Sprints and other things, I really got things going working with the #6 level. 

There are 3 exercises he shows to really work it and have you focus on more of the inhale along with training using the Diaphragm & Intercoastal Muscles. One of the exercises is lying down on the back and using the trainer from there breathing in lifting the stomach and breathing out pulling the stomach in. Normally this isn't that hard to do but with the trainer and inhaling with a bit of force, it's a different ball game. I like laying on the back since I get more out of it and feels comfortable. Still an ass kicker but it works well. The idea is to do about 4 minutes a day or do 30 Breaths and alternate the exercises on different days. If you're an athlete, you can do it twice a day which I just started doing only a few days ago. I would do a total of 300-400 Reps before moving onto the next level, the #5. After maybe 500 total reps with that I'll move on to the 4 but probably train with no more than the 3 after that. 

This for me is more of being able to not only maintain cardio but also keep good levels of energy for other things like hiking, swimming and just enjoying life. I start out with the trainer in the morning and do a second session later in the day or evening doing 30 reps each time. It can be quite a workout once you get into it. Experiment with it yourself and see what it does for you. Research it and then make a decision, if it's not for you, that's ok there are other things out there but I do encourage you to give this a chance. Whether you're in a sport or just want to have better lung power, it has a lot of benefits that even I am still finding out.  

Have an amazingly awesome day and breathe with power and vitality. 

Athletes And Everyday Folks With Dopamineo Bands

 The amount of info and equipment used for certain methods can be overwhelming and trying to find a good routine or type of workout to keep things in tact isn't always easy. Quite frankly, it's not meant to be easy. It doesn't however, need to be complicated. Some people think you need the gym as if it's the only option out there to get healthy and fit. Some even think that you need to train for X amount of time to get Y results. The truth is, you don't need a building to go do something unless that's a goal of yours or just want to utilize what can be beneficial to you.

Sometimes it makes my head want to explode with the crazy shit influencers these days try to "promote" and although some are very creative, many just don't fucking get it or want to make someone feel like if they don't do it their way, you might as well jump off a cliff. We have the same 24 hours like everybody else but we don't live the same lifestyle or utilize the time we need in order to be efficient. If you make time for the gym and have a consistent routine with that, that's awesome and want you to continue that but you don't need to tell people "If I can do this, so can you", that's not always how life works.

When it comes to Athletes, it's very specific because they train for purposes that aren't meant for everyday people nor are they on the same level. You're not going to see a high school or college football player train  the same way as a 60 year old man who hasn't trained in decades and is just getting back into it. You're not going to see a 50 year old that's jacked train the same way as a 21 year old Olympian. We all train according to what our bodies can do at the given time whether starting out or been around the block longer than John Cena has been in the WWE. The idea is to train with intent and getting the most out of what is useful and with the time we are able to use.

One of the perks of Dopamineo Bands is that they can be used either by Athletes or Everyday People who could use a boost to keep things in check. You can use just about anywhere, even the gym. You don't need to follow the same rules as many influencers try to put on you like "you need to do this for that" or "you have to work out for an hour or more that includes cardio and weights", you can learn exercises and routines that don't take up a ton of time and can get results. Athletes need to train in order to become better at their sport and formulate methods with or without a coach that ensures they're prepared for upcoming fights, games and practices. For others, it can be a leisurely thing where they can get something going and be able to tackle their day with vitality and energetic entities. It could also be for maintaining health and wellness while also keeping up with or developing better attributes to sustain quality of life. That's what the beauty of the Dopa Bands provides. 

These bands may have been inspired by wrestlers and other combat sports but they also bring something much more; an idea that you can have an incredible physique and great levels of fitness by training only minutes a day, you don't need an hour unless that's what you choose to do. Pick a few exercises and have at it. Hell most of my workouts with them aren't more than 20 minutes on average and always feel like I can take on the day. If I wanted to go longer, I have that option and that's the point, you have options. The bands are fun to use and have so many exercises to choose from it's crazy but you only need to do a few to get yourself going. The exercise library is expanding and the types of routines you can find or create on your own is another perk. The bands can be used in many ways from learning certain techniques without a partner to basic exercises you normally would use in a gym. Some use them everyday, some only a few times a week. You can use them as a stand alone, as a warm up, cool down or even in between sets with your regular routine. Many athletes use them to warm up to get themselves ready for the hard training ahead but also quite a number use them at the end of a practice to get extra conditioning in so they have an advantage over the competition.

I've written about using them for Circuit Training and/or HIIT Workouts because they're a favorite and get to move in all sorts or directions. Make them work for you and be sure to learn the techniques for the exercises cause there are right ways and wrong ways to do them. Another perk is being able to do them on your days off of your regular gym routine where they can be used as a recovery tool to keep muscles loose and stretched. They are unique and they pack a punch but they get the job done and turn into a fitness beast.  

Get more bang for your buck by using my Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT to get a cool percentage off your order. Let's get fit together and have a kick ass time with bands that even some of the very best Olympic Caliber athletes use. 

Comfort Zones And Expanding On Them

 Some people are so adamant against others or themselves being in the comfort zone when it comes to training. It has to be so hard that it makes you tough and resilient. Plus, the more difficult it is, the better off you'll be. Who the fuck really came up with that? 

Training is about discovery, the ability to find what works and expand on it. Sure some things are tough, but they become a bit easier with even the smallest of progressions. To me, once I get good at something, I want to make it better, not so difficult that I can't really do much. People throw comfort around like you're either lazy as hell or you're not willing to toughen it out. The truth is, when you become comfortable in this scenario, it doesn't mean you stay in that area. It's about expanding it and getting better. 

When I first got back into DDP Yoga, I couldn't even remotely get into positions that I can do now. I had to modify them (in some exercises still do) to where I can be comfortable to keep myself going. As I increased my flexibility, I expanded where my comfort level was in the positions I was doing. The workouts were still tough and are hard to do on some days but my comfort level to what my body can do increases as I progress little by little. 

Life can be a royal pain in the ass as is, it's not always going to sunshine and rainbows, everybody in most cases understands that but that doesn't mean that you try to be so tough that it makes you bitter and or give the right to put people down and call them names because they're not as tough or hard as you. Not saying you have to be a goodie two-shoes but it is important to have an attitude to what makes your life meaningful and what is comfortable while facing certain challenges.

When I workout, I can seem like some crazy nutjob doing all these things and making some things look easy but it's because I'm comfortable at being able to do those things and listening to my body. Do I go further into a routine at times, hell yes but it's because my body and my energy allow me to do that and I'm comfortable with it, it doesn't make me lazy or that I'm not allowing myself to go to my limits. 

You learn certain aspects of your capabilities when you progress. Once you get comfortable at a certain point, make an add on and get comfortable with that and keep using that momentum. Some things are tough to do like carrying a heavy rock or walking with a sandbag or sandbell held to your chest. It may seem uncomfortable because for one it isn't easy depending on the weight you use and the distance you do but you become comfortable with what you're able to do, next time go a little further and become comfortable with that distance and so on and so forth. Comfort is making things look easy when they're not, they're still tough but to you it's another day at the office. 

Have fun with what you do. Expand on your capabilities and progress little by little. Train with intent but don't be so gung ho that you're going to end up injured. I've been there and it isn't fun. Enhance your ability to be comfortable in what you do and expand it. It could make your quality of life that much more interesting. 

Train With What Your Body Will Allow

 Every now and then at times we push ourselves to get a workout in or get in a good training session. It feels good and our bodies do thank us but other times, it can be daunting and making a change or two isn't the end of the world. Since about late April, I've been doing DDP Yoga as you know and doing workout after workout every single day has helped me immensely getting my strength, cardio and flexibility back. After taking a couple days off from it this past week due to just needing a break, I found that doing it has been great but start doing it more like a few times a week and focus on other things.

I still love DDPY but it isn't going to kill me to not do it all the time plus some of those workouts do take some energy out of you. I don't mind spending 30 minutes to an hour doing that stuff but at the end of the day, I still want to do other stuff too and not make it my life. Putting energy into other things is good too. I've been going down to the lake lately here which is a mile and a half down the road. Sometimes I'll carry either my Thor Hammer or a kettlebell or the clubs down with me and make that my ruck day or something. Swinging the hammer by the water and looking at the mountains is just awesome. Swimming for a bit and chilling out listening to tunes and watching the world go by. I'll get a few looks here and there but I don't bother anybody and nobody bothers me. 

Training is not always about one thing, you do what your body can do and switching things up is never a bad thing. There are still things you love to do but it's important to not push yourselves so hard that it becomes a burnout. It does happen to the best of us. As great as DDPY has been to me, it's there when I need it but also want to keep doing things like Rucking, working the hammer, do my Dopamineo Workouts and be more in tuned to what makes me happy. Fitness in and of itself is great and it's essential to your quality of life but if it starts to feel like a chore and it stops being something you enjoy, it's time to rethink things. It's about finding that balance, life is already tough for most people so why do something with your workouts that's going to turn into something you hate? It's not worth it. 

Work and play with what your body will allow and enjoy the journey. It'll be tough at times but always utilize what is possible and switch things up every now and then to keep things fresh and consistent. Hell, ever since I learned the Propeller Exercise with the Dopa Band, it has become one of my favorite moves. It's a great exercise, do I do the band all the time? No but when I do it, I know what I'll get out of it. Another focus I've been at recently is working my neck and doing Joint Loosening work again to get things flowing to the areas that feel stiff especially in my knees and ankles. Wanting to thicken my neck a bit doing this routine I came up with that I learned a couple "new" moves and doing a isometric and dynamic move mix. This routine feels incredible and my neck has increased a bit in size because of it and it hits all the muscles while strengthening and stretching it. No, it doesn't involve bridges or resisting with my hands.

Do something everyday, if you only have a few minutes that's awesome, got some time on your hands, great but do something that will benefit you and make it worthwhile even when it can be tough. Those Dopa workouts can be nuts at times and mixing various DDPY workouts together are tough as hell but if it's something you can get enjoyment out of it and you look forward to it, that's what makes it worthwhile. If you need to backoff a bit and do something else, do it. Listen to your body and expand that comfort zone. I'll be writing more about the Comfort Zone thing in a later article and it's not what you think it is. 

Have an amazingly awesome day. 

I Sell Shoes...Have I Become Al Bundy?

Well, I may not have scored 4 touchdowns in a single game, drive a beat up car that needs a screwdriver to start it, hell I never even built a bathroom to get some peace and quiet from the wife. I also am not cruel to plus size women while I work but hey, that's just me. But like Al Bundy, I do sell shoes, but not the type of shoes you normally see in a mall or Walmart or even Target. These shoes are freaking bad ass and are great for your feet. They have a great toe box so it's comfortable for the toes, have an option to wear socks or not and there are a variety of them to suit you daily routine. 

I wanted a change of pace with the shoes I normally wear and see what the benefits can be. Safe to say, with the short time I've used them, already feeling better and lighter on my feet. I've worn them hiking, going on a regular walk, did DDP Yoga in them along with other workouts and just having a good time in them just for the hell of it. Like a lot of people, I loved having the support cushion and rigidness but I also like being barefoot and doing what I love. I gave the Bareway Shoes a chance after seeing them in a number of places on Social Media. I got the Elite Series and from the first steps in them, it felt like I was walking on air. 

They're very light, flexible and aren't stiff in the soles. They feel more natural and are durable as well. I never really had foot issues but that doesn't mean I don't want to keep strengthening them so I can avoid injuries there as much as possible. Having healthy feet especially as we age can be crucial to how our bodies stay in a quality state. Although comfort can be a good thing from time to time, it's also important to be grounded and feel the earth and take comfort in a whole other realm. Strong feet is part of having a strong body and not just in the muscles but the ligaments and tendons as well. Foot injuries can be a real bitch and it's no fun when every step feels like pin needles or having heaviness in that area. Like physical fitness, we should strengthening our feet as much as we can. 

The Elite shoes are just a piece of what you can use for daily life. There's the Boot Series which has a more vintage type feature that can be used for those who love to hike and work in a blue collar type environment. There's the Nature Series that's geared for outdoors and has that look made for camping in the woods or going on nature walks. All these shoes still are flexible, durable, waterproof and give you sensory feedback. You can do many things with these shoes and all are beneficial to giving your feet quality life and comfort while keeping them strong and mobile. 

Unlike Al who hates being a shoe salesman, I enjoy helping others find resources that will help them be in healthy condition and bask in the glory of a strong and confident mind and body. Find the type of shoe suited for you and look into what they can benefit you in the long run, not just a temporary style that lasts a couple years. Go kill it and have an amazingly awesome day. 

The Propeller Exercise From Dopamineo

 Always finding ways to train so I can get the most benefit out of a workout. Off and on with the Dopamineo Band, doing circuits and HIIT Workouts hits the spot in many ways to tackle my cardio, coordination, agility and explosiveness. One exercise in particular I held off on doing until recently was the Propeller exercise. I've seen several videos of people who own Dopamineo and other athletes do this exercise at various speeds and style and I figured it was time for me to learn it. 

The reason why I held off on it for a long time was because for one, it's a complex movement that hits muscles where I was having my sciatica and was afraid of getting hurt again because of the way the band moves and the way you have to move with it. The second reason was because I wanted to get good at some of the other exercises that were complex as well but not as difficult coordination wise. Once I felt I was good enough to where it felt automatic, I started putting effort into this crazy looking exercise.

The Propeller Exercise in itself is a workout just to not only get the movement right but it also hits many muscles and there's a reason many wrestlers use it to condition their bodies. It does like a Duck Under like move where you shift the body and can duck under an opponent for a takedown and/or utilize the Fireman Carry Technique. Take it slow to get an idea on how you unify the band and your body together to work in sync. Start speeding up little by little as you get better and before you know it, it makes you look like you're spinning. At a certain clip, it becomes quite the conditioning exercise and will get you breathing hard. 

Before I did a workout with it, I tested the waters and did what I could with it. It can be a bit of a brain teaser because there's many things coming into play with the arms, the shoulders, the slight squatting, the turning of the torso, working with the band instead of against it. Once I got going, it tested my breathing because of the intensity. You don't stretch the band to the point where you can barely move, you get it just long enough to where it creates resistance but also is in a "relaxed" type state yet not "loose". In the workout, I did a circuit of exercises of my usual 10 reps of 5 exercises and did this last. Did a total of 100 reps with the Propeller and out of all the exercises I did in that workout, that was the hardest one and the one that tested me the most. It is a fun exercise once you get the idea of the mechanics of it. It's not easy and I still need practice on it but it is getting better. 

In the video below, I took the band out on a windy day at a park behind a church down the block from the house. It took a few takes, not because of the wind or anything, I had a good set up with my phone and able to keep it steady with one of my bags, it was the movement itself along with angles, speed, not messing up smacking myself and doing reps to get the amount of time to show it for more than a few seconds, I really wanted to show the progress without making a blooper out of it. I hate messing up. After several takes and several minutes of doing the exercise, it turned into a mini workout cause it wore my ass out. This was the end result and like I said, it still needs work but in time, it's going to be a hell of an exercise to work with.

Some people do this movement with a twisting motion of the torso, some just twist the arms, I'm still figuring out which way to go on the up position at the end. It's all about experimenting and having fun. Don't forget to grab one yourself or for your athletes if you work with wrestlers, MMA Fighters, BJJ, Judo or other combat sports. These are also great for training and playing with Kids. There are bands for little ones as young as 4 years old. Great piece of equipment to get kids moving and playing. Play along with them to create bonding experiences. Get a cool discount when you punch in POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. 

The VRT Man Is Now Among The Gods Of Physical Culture

 Another dear friend and mentor has passed on. Greg Mangan died yesterday at the age of 72 and it was one of those unexpected accidents that just didn't end well. I talked to his son Greg Jr. just mere hours after it happened, wanting to reach out out of respect for Sr. and get more of what happened. It still baffles me and just trying to wrap my head around it, it just hurts. No where near as much as it's hurting Jr., his brother Pat and their mother Nancy. I had a lot of respect for the man and the way he showed kindness towards me all the years I knew. Never met the man directly but we shared a mutual friendship and understanding of one another.

Some may know him better as the man who had a hand in developing an exercise system that was in the realm of using muscular tension to simulate lifting weights. It was called Visualized Resistance Training and the premise is similar to the idea of Muscle Control, Dynamic Tension & Visualized Mental Training all rolled into one. A cousin to VRT was doing DVRs or Dynamic Visualized Resistance that was brought on by one of my first mentors John Peterson. The difference between VRT & DVR is that VRT utilizes more of the focused muscles in their positive positioning such as doing a Bicep Curl where you flex and curl the forearms, elbows and biceps and once you reach the top position you relax the muscles when you bring them back down. DVR Exercise in this instance would be to work the positive and negative motions of a Bicep Curl by flexing and curling the arms to the top position and while keeping tension, you reverse the movement coming back down. 

VRT Exercise was one of the first 5 methods of Training I learned after recovering from my leg injuries. It really started around 2006 since I went through those first few months doing Combat Conditioning and the system that John Peterson put on. I learned about Greg when we were both on John's Forum and learned a few things about one another. I initially bought a pamphlet and DVD version of his VRT System and worked on that for a period. It was a good course and essentially one of the most underrated in my opinion. Greg's knowledge of Muscle Control through Biological Science is quite in depth and understood how the muscles worked with extensive practice of Muscular Contraction mixed with Mental Imagery incorporating a killer idea of the Mind/Muscle Connection.   

As always with everybody else I learned from, I took bits and pieces of his style of training and molded it to many things I still do today. The funny thing is in DDP Yoga, Dallas uses what he calls Dynamic Resistance to build up your heart rate as you go through certain movements. It's literally another version of VRT Exercise in the form of a unique style of Yoga Training. A part of Greg's legacy is utilized in a very cool way. I've always admired him and had many conversations with him over the years about life, fitness, working out, history and other things. He was so proud of his boys Greg Jr. & Pat. Don't think he ever said one negative thing about them even when they were teenagers LOL. I knew about those boys for a long time and he was just so in love with his wife Nancy, don't think we had a conversation where he didn't mention his family and how much he loved them. 

After some time, he wanted me to be one of the new faces for VRT because of my background and knowledge of the system. I didn't think I was worthy cause I didn't feel I had the physique he was looking for at the time so I turned him down. As much as I wanted to still help promote his system, he ended up pulling away from John Peterson after some issues both professionally and personally that didn't go very well. He branched out and formed a new booklet that added another element to what he wanted and sold it on amazon. I figured when that happened, that would be a better way to help promote his system. I would do my version of the exercises and use that to get something going as an Amazon Associate. It did ok and the potential is still there. I still have the pamphlet, DVD & book in my possession as part of my library. 

He lived quite a life and raised amazingly smart and equally awesome attitude in his sons. I will miss our conversations and will always have a soft spot for what he taught me from my early 20's to today. You were a hell of a man Greg and I wish you nothing but happiness as you take your place in the halls of the greats in the big blue sky above. RIP my friend. 

Why Do Only 10 Rounds And 500 Reps???

 The majority of the time I do my Dopamineo Circuit Training, I do my best to complete 10 rounds of that circuit in the shortest time I can. With little to no rest other than marking off a set, I would cruise through it and focus mainly on technique and breathing. Rarely would ever go past 10 rounds like 12-15 just to add some zest or to test my conditioning. Why do I pick only ten rounds, why not go for 20 or 15 a lot of the time for that matter? When I used to do circuit work with bodyweight training, I worked into the system of Darebee's protocol to test myself. The idea is to reach 7 rounds and your rest between sets was 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Because some of those workouts were fairly easy to get through with little rest like under 30 seconds, I wanted to push myself a little further and do an extra 3 rounds to feel satisfied. It became my thing.

The total reps of my Dopa Workouts or Circuits comes out to 500 Reps these days. Why did I choose 500 specifically? It mainly has to do with the rep standard from doing Squats and Step Ups (which in most cases with the Step Ups). I figured, why do 500 of one exercise when you can add variety to multiple exercises and total it up? I'll still do 500 Step Ups within 20-25 minutes when I'm in the mood for it and ever since I healed up, I've done it a few times in succession. On a few occasions with the Dopa Band, I've gone up to 1000 total reps doing 5 Exercises for 20 reps each and do the 10 rounds that way. Those times are when I'm really ambitious and want to crank up my cardio. 

I enjoy these types of workouts because they don't take very long, they're effective in getting in solid conditioning and when you use the same equipment as some of the best wrestlers in the world from MMA to the Olympics, it gives you goosebumps. They're fun, you get to be creative and do the same drills or at least in a modified way that world class athletes do is feeling like you're a part of something and enjoying benefits that are pretty damn incredible. I know I can't do the same exact same style of training that these men and women do and it's not something I wish to pursue but it's inspiring and learning some of the exercises done in Freestyle & Greco-Roman along with amplifying your fitness to a level where you get to do other great things in life. 

I don't go as fast as I did before, this time around with the Band, I focus a lot more on technique and my breathing that I didn't do before because it was one of the factors of me getting hurt and not paying attention. It happens and it's my own damn fault. I was good and can really go but my awareness wasn't where it should've been and I focused too much on the timing and didn't pay attention to my body the way I needed to. It was a tough lesson and I paid a hefty price for it. My speed is still there but I stopped forcing it and although my cardio was good before, I find it's way better now because I pay attention to my breathing and relax more into the movements themselves. The more I let myself relax, the better it got and my movements are far more efficient then in previous workouts. The speed comes naturally and my technique is far better especially in certain exercises where you work with the hips and working movements that flow with you. 

I love doing my 10 Round & 500 Rep protocol type workouts, they work for me and I keep the exercises to a more basic level and work with variations that have me flowing throughout. The time I go through circuits is never the same and I don't worry about how fast I'm going anymore. The length of a workout ranges from 10-20 min in most cases, if I want to do more rounds on a certain day, it might go up to 25-30 minutes but I'm happy regardless. The goal is to consistently get 10 Rounds and 500 Reps total. 5 Exercises, 10 reps each and work with it. If I want to double the reps and go for 1000 total that day, cool but it's not a priority. The idea is to move with efficiency and working with technique, your coordination and what can be done with intensity in a good amount of time. 

Get yourself some bands and get a discount on top of your order on the house. Enter the code POWERANDMIGHT and get 10% OFF. Be amazingly awesome and have fun with these. Get the kids one so you all can train together.    

Hiking DDP Yoga And Dopamineo Conditioning

 Taking into account of what you can do on certain days or using the energy you have with using the time to do other things can be a bitch. However, we can do things in the capacity of how we utilize the discipline and the awareness of what is possible at the time. For busy beavers, micro workouts is always a great option, I do them myself often with the other things I do but some if that's the only option people have in their present state, use it to your advantage. 

Working with the DDP Yoga Program is not only giving me greater flexibility and durability, it has also given me great endurance that goes along with other methods I do. Some days I'll just do one workout from the program, other days I'll mix and match various workouts into one bigger workout like doing the Fat Burner & Energy workouts together or work with a 10 min warm up and then one of the hour long ones like Diamond Cutter. I even tried out the Extreme Psycho Workout for the first time in years and although that needed modifying big time, I did the best I could to get through it. Some of the push-ups from Extreme were pretty tough but hey it's all about learning right? DDP Yoga is definitely my go-to training system for now.

 Train to what you can handle and progress little by little. The Dopa Workouts are coming back more and more doing circuits of 10 rounds totaling 500 Reps within 15-20 min depending on what I do. One day this past week, I went a little further testing my conditioning by doing a Fat Burner DDP Yoga Workout and immediately going into a Dopa Workout. That was nasty but effective and the total time was just under an hour. I'm not doing the Dopa Band Training everyday like I used to which isn't a bad thing, I like to do other stuff and when I do, I go after it with a vengeance. I filmed some exercises one day day and then did a full workout, didn't time that one but I wasn't resting much either. 

There was a song back in the day by the Country Bear Jamboree called "Ain't nothing like the great outdoors" so I would take my Dopa Band with me to a park or in the video below, my backyard and just get after it, being in the sun and just having a good time. Can never get enough of this band. The other day, I did a HIIT Workout where I took 5 exercises and did them 3 times for 30 Seconds on, 15 Seconds off each for a total of about 11 minutes. Short, quick and effective as hell. 

Yesterday, me and the wife went on a Hike for the first time in a long time and this particular Hike we haven't done since we first met more than 9 years ago. It was out on the outskirts of Coeur D' Alene Lake called Mineral Ridge, the loop was roughly 2.5 miles long (the grand total of the entire trail is just over 3) so we did a good portion of it. At the top you get a beautiful view of the lake, might see some Bald Eagles or Hawks and just awesome scenery. With all the Step Ups, Squats and other leg work, this Hike felt great and I was wearing my new Bareway Shoes which surprisingly did a hell of a job holding up the rugged terrain. The narrow pathway made my ankles feel a little weird and awkward but it came out ok. It'll get you a bit with some of those steep climbs but that's all part of the fun right?

Make the most of what you can and train to do great things in life. Go on adventures, test yourself out with certain things and have the time of your life man. Get in awesome condition to do fun shit. Have an amazingly awesome day.  

New Shoes And Getting My Hammer Swing Back

 

I was contemplating getting new shoes and most of the time usually grabbed a pair from either Big 5 or Walmart but this time around I wanted to try something different. Was browsing around one day on social media and a few ads popped up on Barefoot Shoes. I've seen those before and years prior, I've seen the ones where you stick your toes in individually. Heard great things about them for some time and did more research recently to see what could be useful and beneficial. I ended buying a pair that was on sale by this company called Bareway.

Was a bit skeptical and read about the benefits of Barefoot Shoes but it was one of those things where I felt like a change was in order and do something I normally don't do. Picked out the size I wear, they came in and the rest is history. Wore them a few times now and they're stupid comfortable. No slip in the heel, good soles and just enough padding to feel the ground but not feel uneasy that some shoes have.

Always had strong feet and train most of the time barefoot unless I'm working with hammers or something at the park if I'm not playing basketball. Wearing socks as an option rather than a necessity is a hell of a perk. They're light, very flexible and perfectly stabilize my feet. My shoe size is a men's 11 and most shoes I've gotten that were 11 didn't always stabilize my feet and seemed to be off at certain points but I just tolerated it for years and wore them. With these things, holy shit it felt so different and foreign at first but once I started walking, it felt like walking on air. It was unbelievable.

I gave them a whirl doing my DDP Yoga Workout yesterday doing the Double Black Diamond workout that lasted an hour. That workout is fucking insane and was dripping with sweat like a faucet man. With the shoes on, they worked really well and for some reason, made the workout not only more interesting but slightly easier cause I wasn't sliding, most of the time with those workouts I don't but every now and then some moves slip up on me a bit, with these shoes on, not a single slip or slide the entire time.

I highly recommend you get a pair yourself. Like I said they're comfortable and feel amazing walking around. They're water resistant, you can go on hikes, you can run in them, workout in them, practically whatever and reap the benefits of building stronger feet. The type of shoe I got was their Elite Series. You can choose other shoes that are more suitable to your lifestyle or whatever, there's the Nature Series  and the Explorer Option you can look into. Did I forget to mention they were breathable as well and relieves pressure on the joints. 

Aside from getting these bad boys, I also tried out working with my SF Giants Sledgehammer again to see what I can do. Not ready for the more explosive stuff yet, wanted to just work on technique and keeping my back and legs more aligned with the thrust down. I even made a demo of getting back into it and I think I haven't missed a step and my form felt right. Back is straighter, worked a half squat as I brought the hammer down and just did it instinctively. Check it out....

You do what you can in the moment. Like I said, just working out the mechanics again and seeing what I can do without doing anything stupid. I'm not going gung ho on some things like I used to and play around. I still do carries with my sandbells from time to time and doing the sledgehammer strikes again felt comfortable and see what I can progress with. Train to what you can do and build from there. Exercise is about long term health, not temporary moments that may come with regret. Nothing wrong with making a record, just don't make a habit of busting your ass you can't do anything later in life. Be bold but be aware. Too many injuries add up so do what you can to live as pain free as possible. 

Slowly Getting Back Into The Dopamineo Workouts

 Spending the majority of the time on DDP Yoga, I've also been getting back into working my neck more consistently and even thickened it up a bit along with developing greater mobility. That type of training is merely just standing and working the neck in different directions doing 10 reps each way. On the 10th rep, I would hold the position isometrically for a 10 count and move onto the next move. That has helped my spine a lot and its a great short workout before or after a DDP Yoga Session or as an addition to doing Joint Loosening Training.

Another thing that I've been anxious to get back into is the Dopamineo Workouts. Done a few of them so far and filmed doing some basic stuff at a park. I always enjoyed those workouts doing 15-30 minutes of a circuit. Most of the time I was hitting 10 rounds totaling 500 Reps but I also did workouts that went sometimes up to 12-15 rounds within a 30 min. period. Since my recovery however, I've had to either switch things up or slow the pace down and focus on technique which isn't a bad thing. Not trying to be a wrestler or a fighter in training, just keeping myself in shape and being aware of what I do. 

I love circuit training, to me it's one of the best forms of conditioning and keeping yourself going at a good clip while resting as little as possible. With these workouts now, it's more technique than speed. The intensity is still there but I'm not focusing on being so explosive, just enough to where I can keep going with a comfortable pace. Some workouts I won't time them because I don't need to beat the clock or set some kind of record all the time. Enjoying what I can do and have fun doing it while making little goals. 

The video I did was doing some basic moves that I'm getting back into at a park down the road from the house here, it's really no more than like 3-4 blocks if that. Set it up on a tree using my Iso Strap as an anchor and have at it. 

Some moves can be tricky to learn at first but with time and practice, they become like a flow, a sequence if you will of understanding the body's mechanics and mobility. The objective of the band isn't to stretch it so you can't really do much, it's to work just enough resistance so you can feel a movement without being stiff. It's about being smooth, in control and having technique as if you're drilling like in wrestling or martial arts. 

Although inspired by wrestling, it can be used for a lot of other things like swimming and doing road work on the beach or something. I love it for the fitness and cardio aspects of it. It's a great experience to do exercises that are different and formulate a program based on movements used by the most conditioned athletes on the planet. What's even cooler is that these same bands are now being used to train Olympic Athletes such as Freestyle & Greco-Roman Wrestlers and Judo Players. One female Freestyle Wrestler is officially the first to be a 3-time Olympian and part of her training was with this specific type of band. If someone who's dedicated to her sport can pull off an accomplishment like that, imagine the possibilities you can achieve in your own training whether it be for sport, fitness, group training or whatever. 

You can create all sorts of workouts with these bands and take them virtually anywhere. You can use them in a pool or in the ocean, take them to a park, hook it up at home or at the gym, in your hotel room, do a quick session during a break at work, take them on a hike and work them on a trail, in a parking lot or wherever. If you got a partner to train with, he/she can hold the band while you do drills and then switch. Do little games or work together in sequence, use them to challenge each other and whatever can work. 

Don't forget to use my Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT to get 10% OFF your order. These are some of the most durable and flexible bands in the world. Some of the best athletes have trained so hard on these that it's a miracle the band hasn't snapped. They're so incredibly strong that Superman would have trouble snapping these. Grab a set for yourself and/or your friends, training partners, family members or students in group sessions. There's bands for kids to use to train for youth groups and to help them stay healthy and have fun with. These things are worth every penny.  

Taking It One Day At A Time

 Being aware of what you can and can't do can be hard at times but it's also important to know what you need to do in order to stay healthy in the long run. DDP Yoga has done wonders for me beyond the healing of my sciatica and it's one of the things I will continue to do regularly, not as a necessity but as a program to enjoy so I can do other things as well. I've even started filming again and getting back into doing what I love such as the demo below showcasing some of the moves I do in DDP Yoga. 

I don't flare up as much anymore and have been doing more walking lately especially wearing my 40 lb weight vest which I have done 2-3 times now. Another thing I'm excited to have done again was 500 Step Ups which I hit last night. Paced myself and listened to my body. The last few times I started at about 50, then 100 and 250. Last night, I hit 250, it felt easy and did 300 and felt like I can keep going and 500 wasn't too difficult so I went after it. No pain, no flare up or anything. I got a little emotional afterwards because Step Ups is one of my favorite leg exercises and doing 500 reps again made me incredibly happy. I have to thank DDP Yoga for giving my legs the strength and conditioning to pull that off again. 

Today, did a 25 min or so DDP Yoga workout from the APP called Super Body Flow which Dallas would transition from one move to the next in quick sequence fashion and it felt great. Mostly just basic stuff but it got me loosened up and get that heart rate going. Normally just stick to the DVDs which are great as is. Have yet to do the Extreme Psycho Workout again, have done the Diamond Cutter & Double Black Diamond workouts a couple times now which are roughly an hour to over an hour a piece. Those are nasty motherfuckers to do so I'm building myself up. Most workouts are around 30 minutes to an hour doing either stand alone workouts or doing a mix of workouts into one to keep things flowing like Fat Burner & Energy, The 10 min Warm Up mixed with Below The Belt or something like that. 

I've even tried a couple Sandbell Workouts recently as well doing my 2x shoulder carry workout using my 20 lber to work up to doing that type of training again. Did a 10 min workout with that and then filmed myself doing a 5 min micro workout of rowing to chest and shouldering my 70 lb Sandbell. That was hard to do since it has been a while and didn't go as fast as I normally would but I did ok with it being some time away from it. There were concerns about my form but I' am good and I will do better next time. It's a work in progress to training myself to do some of what I did before. There are things however that I won't be doing again and that's doing explosive twisting movements again like I did with the Dopa Band or hundreds of squats in a row, if I'm doing hundreds of squats again, it'll be a deck of cards type workout mixing in step ups but doing 500 Squats in a row isn't in the cards for me, I get plenty of Squat Work with the DDP Yoga, doing slower and holding positions and that feels way better to me than doing hundreds of squats. 

It's all about taking it one day at a time man and doing things that are of value to you in the long run. I'm just itching to get the hammer back out and hitting the tire again, carrying a rock, swimming in the lake, hiking and doing all sorts of stuff. You do what you can and make the most of it. Train to do things that help yourself and others and strengthen your body while being flexible and able to keep the blood flowing to the joints. Mobility work is a key ingredient to having a healthy body long term. Strength is definitely a part of it but temporary strength will only get you so far, be able to use that strength as long as needed and not always what you can lift in the moment. 

Have an amazingly awesome day and hope you have a good start to the week.