“Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.”  ~William Shakespeare
Philosophers and sages throughout the ages have consistently extolled the virtues of facing adversity for the purposes of becoming a better, stronger person.  No matter what form this adversity takes, wisdom dictates that it must be faced head-on, weathered through, and successfully beaten by coming out the other side, maybe scarred, but assuredly battle-hardened and spiritually tougher.   Oftentimes, adversity comes to us unbidden simply due to the path we choose to follow, or even …

At the suggestion of my good friend, and West Coast Buyu, Dave Furukawa, I am presenting a look at one of my daily workouts.  Please see Dave’s comments on my previous post here for reference.
This is a record of my activity from yesterday, Memorial Day 2010:
Morning
Life begins early here, even on long holiday weekends, since our 19 month old, Juliana, doesn’t distinguish weekends from weekdays yet!  So at 6 am I was up making coffee and searching through her Elmo DVDs to find the particular episode she wanted that morning.  As the …

Ever wonder how to put it all together?  How do you fit in conditioning, strength, core exercise, joint mobility, breathing exercises, solo martial arts practice and class time in one complete program?  Here’s an example 7-day program I created for a friend that integrates all of the above.   This program will require a set of dumbbells and a pull-up bar.  The repetitions may be adjusted up or down depending on your level of fitness. 
Warrior Fitness Longevity Program
Please remember that there are no “one-size-fits-all” programs and that this was created specific …

Ever have one of those mornings when you have to be up early for work or school, but simply can’t summon the energy to start your day?  This is a routine I have been using successfully for years to shake out the cobwebs and get me moving on the mornings when just a cup of coffee isn’t going to do it.  Back when I was travelling for weeks on end and putting in long hours every day for consulting work this routine was my morning staple in the hotel room …

These days everyone is short on time.  Most are content to allow the daily grind and family time to fill their days while lamenting about the fact that they have no time for working out.  The complaints are common and heard often.  But somehow these same people are able to find time to watch an hour or more of TV every night before going to bed.  Now, I’m not going to ask you to forego your Thursday night Lost episode in favor of hitting the gym for an hour, so …

The other day, I was working out with my good friend Eric Chasko at his studio, Redemption Kettlebell Gym in East Windsor, NJ.  After our training session, we were discussing the mechanics of a basic kettlebell swing and Eric had me demo a few swings.  As I began demonstrating the basic kettlebell swing that I had been taught almost 10 years ago, he noticed a hitch in my movement during the back swing.  Instead of keeping my back flat, I was raising it slightly as the bell moved into back position.  This …

Chuuto Hanpa Kihon Happo or, The “Incomplete” Kihon Happo, is a new DVD by Bujinkan instructor, Rob Renner.  Rob has been training in the Bujinkan since 1986 and living in Japan since 2005.  He trains with Hatsumi Soke and the Shihan, senior instructors, typically 5 to 6 days a week.
This DVD is, as Rob points out, not the “official” version of the foundational techniques of the Bujinkan, but rather a synthesis of each Japanese Shihans’ take on the techniques as studied and interpreted by Rob.
The DVD begins with Rob’s expanation of Hanmi, or “half-body” …

This is the fifth in our continuing series of Workouts of the Week. The focus of this workout is increasing metabolic activity for burning fat and building lean muscle. We have also included instructions on modifying the workout to fit your current level of conditioning. Enjoy!

Every have one of those days when no matter how fun, exciting, and productive your workout program happens to be, you just don’t feel like doing it?  I don’t mean out of lack of enthusiasm or laziness here though; motivation is not the problem.  You’re energetic and ready to train, but really just want to break out of the mold for a minute instead of sticking to the program.  This happened to me last night.  I went downstairs to my basement gym after putting the kids to bed ready, willing, …

Usually my favorite place for the kids to exercise is outside.  There’s nothing like running around, climbing on the jungle gym at the local playground, or just enjoying a walk on a beautiful day in the  fresh air and sunshine to fulfill your children’s daily recommended allowance of exercise.  But how about those dull, rainy days when the kids are cooped up indoors?  For some reason, indoor activities always seem to lend themselves to sedentary type things, like: video games, watching tv, surfing the Internet, playing cards or boardgames, and reading (although my kids …