Take Your Animal Exercise Anywhere

As of late I've gone back to the Animal Movements because it is by far my most favorite form of exercise and the one system I get most excited about. Having that urge to move like a wild beast and getting in awesome shape while having fun for under 30 min. I'm convinced nothing burns off fat faster and makes you stronger than Animal Exercise. As much as I love doing things like pull-ups, sprinting, hammer workouts and kettlebell juggling; the animals take the cake.

I have written possibly a dozen times or more about moving like a wild animal and the reason that is besides what I just wrote above is that it brings me joy to my life more than any other system has. You can do these anywhere you wish, I even do them indoors on a sucky day. When you're outside you can do them all over the place but indoors you can move a little slower and do exercises in a stationary position like the Frog, Flamingo, Condor, Spider against your wall, Armadillo, Puma, Isometric Alligator or Seal whatever you choose to do. I believe in making the best of them when you're in the mood and just have at it. I do these exercises no more than 30 min. at a time and always hungry and ready for a shower afterwards.

It's also important to incorporate deep breathing between sets of exercise to open up your lungs and let your body recover because these exercises hit your whole body with a vengeance. This helps increase endurance, develop a faster metabolism and generate insane natural growth hormone which helps you burn off fat, build strength, put on natural muscle mass (not bulk like a bodybuilder) and create athletic ability. Watch how animals have insane lung power like the tiger, cheetah, Bear and even chimps. Sure we're built differently and don't have the same hunting senses but overall we can increase our conditioning and power in our bodies that frown upon our DNA to move and live with great strength and incredible athletic agility and stamina.

The biggest thing about training this way as I've said many many times is that it creates an atmosphere that is enjoyable and fun that it doesn't feel like working out. If you're someone who is hyper, this is the perfect system for you because when you move for so long your body releases endorphins and builds on bringing that calming and relaxing affect on your nervous system. Don't push so hard you pass out (happened to me on the first day) but understand when to stop and just breathe and let those endorphins kick in. If you're someone with low self-esteem these exercises perk you right up because when you move in this manner you're using every muscle in your body and it opens up an area of the brain where you generate that happy side and having that sensation of powerful calmness and beautiful feeling of smiling from the inside you can't help but light up.

Get into the mindset of a wild animal being adventurous and exploring your fitness potential. Who knows, in a short amount of time you'll ind yourself feeling better, muscle comes in quicker, you have more energy and for guys, your testosterone will shoot through the roof and for women those hormones will get you going like you were 18 again. Do us all a favor and get out there and just move like your favorite animal and get your body in the shape it was meant to, build up and see your body shape up with animal muscle.

Making Push-Ups Interesting

I'm not the biggest fan of push-ups but I know they work very well and have great benefits that are beyond conditioning and strength. Some call them the greatest bodyweight exercise and some say there are better ways to build muscle than with push-ups. All I care about is how things make you better whether people agree with them or not. Push-ups have been the staple exercise throughout many cultures and in the military making it the homestead of strength and endurance. I for one feel once you reach a certain level of push-ups, do more difficult versions and see how far you can take it without injuring yourself or get so bored you begin to hate them. 

I do feel however that an exercise of that caliber should have a place in any program but it's not always a necessary exercise, for me the best exercise is the Bear Crawl; it literally hits your body from every angle and having to move in awkward positions creates a stronger base as oppose to push-ups where you are only going up and down in the majority of variations. Sure the Bear Crawl needs a bit more space but when it happens, you will be huffing and puffing quicker than Peter Griffin's time on a Cardio Bike. I like to make Push-ups interesting or try variations that are a little out there. One way I do my push-ups is using a weighted vest and do them slower with less repetitions with fewer sets to build up testosterone and get more of my arms in the mix. I also use what's called The Power Push-up Plus from Lifeline that makes it more of a Bench Press feel to it where resistance is the main key. 

Most of the time I see people doing Push-ups, most of the variations they use are very boring and just so tedious they're not fun. Sometimes too basic becomes dull so spice things up a bit. Going up and down isn't what life is about, it has curves, swirls, circulates and even has you at a dead stop at times. Make your push-ups interesting; do them upside down, do Archer Push-ups, clap for joy and even jump around, have fun with them. If I wanted to just go up and down just do stairs. Be creative.

I've done tons of reps in this exercise well within the hundreds in single workouts so why continue that cycle, sometimes I don't count and bounce around doing a few reps of different variations and goofing off. Doing hundreds of reps a day is boring period, if you're into that more power to you but having a puffy chest can only get you so far. Live it up and do push-ups with a little Flair (and no i'm not talking about Ric Flair's grandkids).  

Theme Park Isometrics

When it comes down to it, I love amusement parks, been to a few in my life and always end up having a pretty good time especially at the greatest theme park of all-time Disneyland. Yesterday however, I had the opportunity after nearly 4 years of living in Idaho I went to the state's most famous theme park Silverwood in Athol. Very fun and just an awesome time with my girl Holly, speaking of which if you get a chance check out her bad ass blog about Turner's Syndrome at This Butterfly Life. Anyway back to it, me and the lovely Spider Monkey had an incredible day full of love, laughter, enjoyment and just pure kick ass fun. Went on water rides, a couple Coasters, saw a magic show, ate awesome burgers at a wild west themed restaurant and rode a 3 mile train ride that included a stunt show and tour of the grounds circling the park.

Now why did I come up with the title of this article, how the bloody hell do I mean Theme Park Isometrics? Well students, what you do is when you're in line at a par of this caliber or any amusement park for that matter, while you're in line waiting for your ride; you do Isometric Exercise against the railing or wall of the line. This really tells you that excuses are not part of the quota here and you can get training in even at a crazy place filled with characters, buildings and large fucking rides. I've been doing these for years at the Boardwalk and at Disneyland. Standing in line, doing wall pushes, pulls, sits, arm wrestling a pole, chest presses, Iso Curls and even muscle control with my hands in my pocket; whatever you can come up with make use of it. This will help you keep up your energy so you can stay pumped full of life during your stay at the park, walking is also awesome which you do a lot of anyway but why not bring muscular contractions to make things interesting. I even once did a unassisted Handstand in line of World Of Tomorrow at the Happiest Place On Earth.

It can be a little trying to exercise in line and might be worried that someone might look at you funny and think you're some kind of weirdo; trust me I thought the same thing and I did get some looks every now and then and was even asked what I was doing, just said that i'm doing what I love and that's training. Some get weirded out by it, others have given me praise for them but the majority of the time, no one gives a shit; they're either on their cell phones texting friends that are right next to each other or being bored when the line will move and then there are kids, that is self explanatory. I do it because it's fun and you can even make it look a little casual like nothing out of the ordinary; that's where the wall sits come in handy big time especially if you want to keep up the stamina of your legs throughout the day.

Next time you're in line waiting to get on a ride, do a few Isometrics against the railing whether it be wood, a chain, hollow aluminum steel and whatever else. Passes the time when you're there a while (try being in 2 hour line waiting for fucking Indiana Jones in Adventureland you'll thank me on that one). Will it wear you out? No if you play your cards right and not go full boar in every line, only use maybe 40% of your strength at best and do it for a few seconds and don't make yourself too obvious to attract so much attention the person operating finds out and won't know what the hell to do with you, be creative but casual and relaxed, not so full of adrenaline you make a damn scene. It's a lot of fun and it gives you something to do instead of moping around or getting so excited that you might lose it after waiting too long. Go for it and may you get stronger before you get on your favorite ride.

A Traveling Fitness Companion

I love to travel and have been to many cities and a few states in my lifetime. Being back east was an adventure, traveling up and back the pacific nothwest was a delight although I was recovering at the time but won 500 bucks at a Harris Casino in Lake Tahoe. With the way you travel and where you travel it is important to have valuable needs that are as basic as possible and I certainly believe you should travel with a fitness training kit.

Even though we have gyms at every major corner in the U.S, it's difficult to get some exercise in after a hard day driving on the road or flying for hours on end. It's also very difficult to carry weights around so I don't think its wise to travel with a rowing machine or squat rack full of iron plates and a bar. A gym to travel with should be easy to carry and put away like in a suitcase, backpack or dufflebag so when you get to your hotel room or wherever you're staying, you can get a little bag out that has handles with cables to attach to and use a door anchor to place so you can all sorts of exercises from as many angles as possible. I sometimes travel with my chest expander and it's a hell of a way to get some kick ass training in before you head off to bed or after you wake up in the morning before a meeting or session with your employees/employers.

A great training kit would be a TNT Cable Pack that you can get in a 60 lb. Pack, 120 lb. Pack or 180 lb. pack  that have a few rubber cables where you can attach a triple insert slot with the cable and have at it doing the same types of exercises you would in a gym such as overhead presses, curls, squats, lunges, cleans and others. With the Door Attachment you can hook your cable(s) and handles over a holding bin where you can do exercises based on the machines such as Lat Pulldowns, Arm Wrestling Pulls, Tricep Pressdowns, Twists, Sit-ups, Upright Rows, Chops, Rows, Chest Presses going downward/upwards and like a standing Bench Press but that's just the tip of the iceberg. You don't need the gym per say when you have it everywhere you go. Take it out while you're at the park, at a baseball field, at the airport waiting for a plane, in a guest room at a house you're visiting for the weekend, at the beach hell if you an get away with it train at a gas station while you're pumping gas; you have no excuses.

People tend to believe that if you want to get in shape you have to train at a gym or a fitness studio paying a shit ton of money that could be used for other important factors like your fucking food or gas money. I'd say "you're right I do train at a gym when I travel, got it right here in my bad ass bag here, this is my gym and I can get fit anywhere I fucking wish." It really throws people off when you carry a gym in a hefty little bag that weighs no more than 3 pounds at best yet get in great shape under 20 minutes a day and don't have to pay for the day at a lousy gym filled with gross sweathogs that don't wipe down equipment and judgmental shit for brains that think that they own the fucking joint, no you never have to go through that. The world is your gym my friend, embrace and don't give a shit what people think, you're the one getting fit while they stand there with their finger up their ass looking like you're some kind of hippie.

Uncut Review Of C-Mass

Haven't written a review in quite a while on this bitch so I thought I'd share some insight into a course I humbly loved looking into....Paul Wade's C-Mass course, you know that book with the bad ass Kavadlo Brothers on the cover, yeah that book.

What does C-Mass stand for for those playing the home game; it stands for Calisthenic Mass, in plain English means building insane muscle using only your bodyweight. Now really how the fuck does that happen? Isn't this a contradiction that only skinny dudes and guys that can't afford a gym membership only do Bodyweight and isn't Bodyweight Training mainly for Gymnasts and those who do Zumba classes? Believe it or not guys, you can get pretty fucking big using your own body. Just to be clear, I'm not talking the grotesque type of muscle mass you see on roided shit for brains bodybuilders with a gut the size of New York and arms bigger than Sally Field's head and it damn sure isn't about having a back that makes North Dakota look small; it's about realistic muscle mass that is functional, useful and looking like a real old school athlete or muscle builder (pre-1950's).

Paul's brand of humor and non-sense bullshit is the heart of this book and he gets down to the nitty gritty with very few scientific outlooks but more based on experience and letting his readers know in plain English what the real stuff is all about. He's no scientist or doctor, hell the guy has been in the joint but yet he's honest about what has happened and what inspired him to how guys can get huge using the body as the ultimate weight. I for one admire his views on building real muscle and how you can do it without drugs, supplements or machinery.

Now with the guys on the cover Al & Danny Kavadlo, they bring the soul of this book with their smiles and plethora of tattoos (Danny takes the cake as the most tattooed bodyweight guy I've ever seen). Some people gave these two guys shit because they're not "big" in the sense of what the book was intended to apply as but yet in my blunt opinion; they are pretty big for guys who only do Bodyweight, yes they're most likely under 190 or more but that's the amount of weight most muscle guys back in the early 20th weighed; guys like Charles Atlas, Bobby Pandour, Eugene Sandow and let's not forget pound for pound the greatest muscle control masters Otto Arco and Maxick. Shit I admire that amount of muscle on guys like them. I have them beat by nearly 100 pounds and can do gnarly stuff from a bodyweight stand-point.

What's amazing about this course in and of itself is a true testament and hope that with the right tools and the more muscle being used in a single exercise can constitute a great physique. For over 10 years the majority of my training is pure bodyweight and I can attest that it is possible to be big and use nothing but your own body. All I can really say is once you apply these simple techniques you're gonna need a new freaking wardrobe so be forewarned. I give this book on a scale of 1-10; it goes to 11. It's one of the most unique books on building realistic muscle mass and staying as healthy as possible with the only side-effects being increased metabolism, higher testosterone, burn off fat like butter to a fucking frying pan and it can only be limited by your imagination. Get massive shoulders doing presses like Handstands, close-grip push-ups, Dips and others and getting cannon-ball biceps from pulling movements like Pull/Chin-ups, Rope Climbing, Aussie Pulls and Bodyweight Curls and let's not forget an insane mid section from Levers, Knee Pulls, Dragon Flags, Human Flag, Hanging & plenty more. Learn The Commandments with a Vengeance, study the old-timers he mentions and keep an open mind.

Here's the link to C-Mass: How To Maximize Muscle Growth Using Bodyweight-Only Training

A Workout That Tortures The Entire Body

Every now and then I do workouts that are just fucking worth sharing because they are that good and it can make anybody humble when you feel yourself shaking like a damn earthquake. I don't normally talk about my workouts in full detail just bits and pieces about how I feel. Last night however, holy shit it felt amazing but insane at the same time. I love Bridging; it's by far the best method for stretching and strengthening the spine, hips, midsection and neck. This workout consisted of 5 exercises that just hit you hard with a fucking vengeance, still think Bodyweight Exercises are only good for endurance and short gymnasts? Try this on for size and to warn you I'm over 250 lbs.

Wall Walking X 10

(On The 11th Rep) Wall Walk & Touch Chest To Wall 10 times

Wall Walking (W/ Reverse Push-up or Gymnastic Bridge) X 5

3 min. Front Bridge

3 min. Back Bridge

My legs were shaking trying to hold the bridges and still held em for the amount of time. This workout is particularly used by those in MMA or Wrestling (Not WWE) but if you're interested in getting in shape this will be incredible for any routine. Being able to lengthen the spine releases incredible energy that gives you the juice you need to keep your structure healthy and secure from injuries. It opens up channels in the body that most exercises can't. Think how strong your midsection gets from doing this kind of training; you stretch the obliques because of the automated contraction from Wall Walking and your legs get a hell of a workout keeping you stabilized in the bridging exercises.

It goes beyond training your back and neck, you're really throwing your whole body in the mix going forwards and backwards, powering up the hips and it releases a great amount of Growth Hormone that enables you to enhance your metabolism, burn off fat from your neck down to your toes and increases sex drive and seriously having a healthy sex drive is something we all should strive for.

This is not a workout that should be taken for granted, develop mastering the bridges and the wall walking before engaging in this setting. It takes time and patience believe me, it took me a month just to hold a three minute back with no hands with my nose to the mat and took me a few more weeks just to press into a good gymnastic bridge. Wall Walking is fairly simple to do but be cautious and always have some kind of good padding so you don't hurt yourself. Also doing the wall walk (walking down the wall backwards until your head touches the mat) do not ever use a very wide stance, this can really put far more stress on the knee joints and puts most of the weight on them, so keep the foot distance of shoulder-width apart. Also as you get better walking all the way down consistently, decrease the distance between yourself and the wall to the point where you're walking down with your feet less than a foot away from the wall.

Have fun with this if you have the experience with bridging exercises and let me know how it goes for you. If you wish to know about Bridging in full detail check out my friend Logan Christopher's Advanced Bridging course that will take you far beyond holding a bridge. It is by far the best course out there for this specific method.

Throughout The Day

When you have a small window of time, it's important to use it at the best of your ability. Some people have jobs that last half a day or more and exercise might be the last thing on their mind but it can be done if you make the effort to do so. I knew people that have made so many excuses but never once had a "I'll make the effort" comment. Sure it takes discipline and understanding of timing and being fresh as best as possible but overall it's got to have meaning to you. Most people these days work long hours and don't have time for the gym to get in a solid hour but there are possibilities.

I learned from a friend a few years back that when you have that short window and it can be used for exercise, take it. He is always on the move and is a performer in stage shows and produces/manages many people so what the hell does he do for exercise before coming home waiting to pass out? He exercises little by little throughout the day. When someone isn't hassling him or has a window away from the laptop in his office, he does Isometrics and or a bit of calisthenics (using his office chair, desk, sidewalk if he has to) and even when he's at a stoplight on an intersection. He makes the little time he has to train his body and it's kept him energized throughout the day.

 Sometimes I have more time than most because I work for myself but there are days where I'am very busy doing articles, being with my girl, dinner gatherings, going out to places with people and traveling whether on the ground or in the air yet I make the most of what I can do throughout some parts of the day; i'll do push-ups or squats at a gas station while the tank is filling up, do some (what I call) Playful Movement or do Isometrics while someone is driving, rise up on my toes in the grocery store, do deep breathing exercises waiting in line for a movie, all sorts of stuff that is convenient and not looking too obvious. Make your timing count when it needs to be. Even do little things between commercials if you're watching TV (they suck anyway) or a small routine while you're in Bed (not doing the horizontal mambo). There's no reason why you shouldn't exercise unless you're in severe dire straits and about to die. You are your own gym and you have the ability to make things important to you, do so and make it work for you.

Can You Spare A Couple Minutes

For most people it's not always simple to get a workout in when it's most convenient to you. You have jobs, pay bills, take care of kids, handle social gatherings and other things. However; if you're determined to make something happen to get yourself fit whether it's losing weight, building muscle or whatever you'll do it at the best time for you. Believe me it's not easy getting in a workout that lasts 30 min. Just last night I was occupied with my girl that I ended up training roughly around 10 or so and only did a few minutes with the Sandbell. If all you have is less than 5 minutes, than make them fucking count.

People get discouraged when they're told you need to do this or that to get in shape when in reality it's more on timing than anything else. Forget on developing some sort of training for a second, if your timing isn't working, something needs to be done, it happens; shit can run up on you when you least expect it so make an effort to get whatever time you need to train the best way you can. There are days with me where i'm busy with family, working my site or spending time with my girl and I don't always get time to do a specific length of training i'd like to do but I always give myself a window every single day even its under 5 min. Want it bad enough, make the damn effort son.

This morning I made the intuitive decision to train earlier than usual cause I got a big day of swimming, going to a movie and having a day of just me and my Spider Monkey so I did deep breathing exercises, hindu pushup stretches, deep squatting, a couple exercises with my Thor Hammer and an isometric exercise specifically for the abs and that's it. Took me roughly 10 min. maybe more but I made it possible regardless of what my day ended up being, at least I did something. So don't make those fucked up and whinny excuses that you don't have time, make it and don't be bitching.

Spare yourself a couple minutes if you need to but remember, make it important to you and only you. You have the power to make your own choices, be open minded and instead of complaining, embrace the time you have and make it your bitch.

A Weighted Vest Is Your Best Friend

Dear Bodyweight Maniacs,

Don't you just love doing kick ass stuff using nothing but your own bodyweight? So do I. Just the feeling of being free to do all sorts of exercises and workouts that just hit the fucking spot man. A few favorites of my own would be Handstand Push-ups, Animal Movements, Pan Squats (which is from the Pan Program, DDP Yoga and even a few Pull-ups here and there. A lot of us get a bad rap that bodyweight training is only good for endurance and not enough to do to get crazy strong; personally I beg to differ since i'm a big dude and the majority of my training is using my bodyweight. So with that in mind, what can we do to add resistance?

For those playing the home game, bodyweight exercise does have it's pros and cons like every damn method but it certainly doesn't bring just endurance to the table. If we considered on building crazy strength, how can we add resistance if it's using your own body? For those that have the answer thank you for your understanding but yet there are other ways to add resistance.....

Slower Reps

Time Under Tension

Higher Difficulty Of An Exercise

& My personal favorite since I've recently added it in is the use of a Weighted Vest.

Now does using a weight vest count as doing the same with weightlifting? It's a both yes and no answer and i'll tell you why...Yes because it's adding weight to increase the density but no because it's not the same as using a barbell or dumbbell. You're increasing your bodyweight to a higher degree in which you bring a level of intensity throughout your movements. Some people like to do lunges, squats, jumping, sprinting and push-ups/pull-ups which is all awesome but for me I use it to amplify my animal styled training to increase growth hormone and cut my workout almost in half to get greater benefit without injuring myself. I never go to failure or put so much stress on my joints that it's fairly painful. I'd like to be as pain-free as possible.

Although I enjoy slamming down a fucking cool sledgehammer and toss around the Sandbell and play with the cables but all in all, bodyweight exercise is my general past time and I've never really needed anything to get big and strong; at 250+ I can do plenty of push-ups, multiple reps in pull-ups, can do 100 hindu squats in under 5 minutes and have held a free standing handstand plus a push-up to boot. It's all about what you want to make of yourself. I'm in awe of the gymnastic style training and the Barstarzz in NY and around the world but I'm mere a basics guy who makes the best of doing things for a man who shouldn't be doing shit like this.

A weighted vest can be your best friend if you progress the right way. One day I plan on training in a 100 pound vest but for now i'll stick to a 20 lber. That keeps going as it is. Be mindful and think old school. You won't move as fast as you usually do but after some hard, rough training and taking that sumbitch off you'll feel like you can walk on air. May I also warn you it is not recommended you train in a vest in hot shit weather, just walking in that thing is a bitch, I've walked over a mile wearing one and lost tons of water weight because of it, also hungry as hell. If you plan on training outside wait until it cools off a bit or limit the amount of time and bring a good gallon of water.

Iam Not Oh Wait Yes Iam An Animal

It's easy to get confused in the fitness world...Told to do this or that, lift weights to get stronger, do cardio like your life depended on it and tons of other crap. The truth of the matter is it boils down to your intuition. What is it you want to learn? Why did you get into it? Does it help you with your goals or help establish a creative side to you for training? I don't give a rat's ass about most of the junk that's out there. I live doing simple things and staying away from a spiffy gym as much as possible. Living the way of the Animal is part of my philosophy and there's nothing like moving in the way of a wild and powerful creature.

Over this past week or more I have worn a 20 pound Vest throughout most of my workouts from walking to jumping, playing and doing animal moves. It is a very powerful tool to use and one I highly recommend. Wearing this bad boy has given me some kick ass training to the point where already I have lost around 5 pounds and moving much faster and have built up quite an appetite (like I didn't before). Being animalistic is fun, layed out in simple principles and training as minimal as possible. Sure I mess around with a sledgehammer 1-2x a week but that's beside the point. You've got to enjoy your experimentation and looking forward to those sessions where it looks like torture to the untrained eye but to you it's another day at a fucking awesome office in the Bahamas.

For nearly 20 years, I have experimented and participated in some of the most ridiculous workouts and exercises imaginable; I have bled, I have sweat, nearly passed out, ran yards after yards, push-ups until my chest felt like it was going to explode, lift heavy ass weight and have even bent a few bars and spikes in my time but I'am convinced through it all nothing has had me burn more fat, tire me out quicker and had incredible adventures than doing Animal Movements. They are the reason why I love exercise and fitness in general, they are the key to successful bodyweight training and nobody can tell me any different. We are meant to move like our animal friends in the jungle, we bleed like most mammals and we have urges in our DNA that are meant to move and process the gifts of adaptation and utilizing our brains to their full potential.

We are the planet's ultimate animal yet everything we take is for granted and have lost many of what our ancestors were bred to do. We can adapt better than most animals yet society and the media have us become more weak, afraid and feeling like we are supposed to do things like everyone else otherwise being different is something to be ashamed of; fuck those people. I was told most of my life that I didn't have a chance to do anything great or be able to become super strong yet I've reached far higher than they thought. Don't attract bullshit, attract what you love, having positive influence in your life and grabbing the bull by the fucking horns brother. Adapt to what attracts you with positive affirmation and love. Animals hunt for survival, play as cubs to get ready for the dangers ahead so you must hunt for success, play to get better at training and be the best you can be. Like a Wolf there is a pack somewhere that wants you in the gang or you can go solo and kick major ass from there. Become wild, show off your Animality and power up your body by moving like a wild animal in the jungle.