Warrior Fitness » Spirit

Do You Still Have Dad Strength?

Jon — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:20:09 +0000

Remember back when you were a little kid and your father always looked like this physically imposing, towering figure of a man? You had this perception of your dad as a super-human figure who could pick you up over his head and put you on his strong shoulders to be able to see the world. Standing on the shoulders of giants, indeed.

How about when you and a friend would get into a little scuffle at the playground and one of you, almost without fail, would whip out the classic taunt – “well, my Dad can beat up your Dad!” The both of you had this firm, unshakable faith in each of your fathers’ ability to protect, defend, and keep you safe from any and all harm, including fighting other kid’s dads for dominion over the playground.

This image of your dad’s strength and physical potency continued unabated for most of your childhood, right?

But then what happened? We grew up. Got taller. Got stronger. Matured. And gradually began to see that Dad, while still the man you learn from, look up to, and turn to for help in times of need, is just a normal human being (albeit, an exceptional one at that – hi Dad!).

What if, as your children grow, mature, and get stronger, moving from children to teens to adults, their perception of your Dad Strength never faded? What if their amazement at your physical capabilities never waned? What if you were able to not only maintain (since we are either moving forwards or backwards, but are never really static) but increase strength, power, and ability, as you age? What if you could be not only fitter, stronger, and healthier, but better?

With Dad Strength you will:

Stand tall.
Move with power, coordination, and grace.
Never allow middle age to expand your middle.
Attack weakness and lack of energy.
Reduce or alleviate low back pain.
Reduce strain and increase healthy stress.
Move with dignity and purpose.
Regain and surpass the physique and strength you had as a high school athlete.

Get strong. Stay strong. Do not go gently into that good night!

Stay tuned for an incredible announcement. The Dad Strength Program is coming to Warrior Fitness Gym in Hainesport, NJ. You don’t want to miss this!

Fitness or Fatness, Your Choice

Jon — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:51:13 +0000

Seems pretty simple, right – fitness or fatness? If our choices for how our bodies would look, feel, and move were laid out like an a la carte menu it would make life much easier. Would you like the fit body today or the fat one? Either or. Take your pick. Would you like the body with joint pain and stiffness today or the one that feels like a well-oiled machine? Would you like the uncoordinated body today or the one that moves with grace, power, and presence? Hmmm… these choice, when laid out in black or white look relatively easy, don’t they? Who’s going to be the one to choose the tired, broken down body over the strong, healthy body? No brainer, isn’t it?

But of course life isn’t this simple. There’s so much gray area. Things cannot be this black and white. Our choices are never so clear. Or are they?

What if I told you that every choice you make in daily life contributes to the body you currently own? What if I took off the blinders, removed the filters, and put you firmly in the driver’s seat in charge of your own health, fitness, and wellness? Would that be scary for you? Maybe. A little bit. In the beginning. But it’d also be empowering. Intoxicating. Pretty damn cool. Don’t ya think?

Okay. How do we do it?

Simple (but not easy).

By understanding that every choice we make is an act of conditioning. Donut or apple – conditioning. Elevator or stairs – conditioning. Wake up early to train or sleep in – conditioning. Fast food or home cooked meal – conditioning. Sit and watch tv or go to the gym – conditioning. Walk at lunch or surf the Internet – conditioning. Take 10 minutes out of my day for joint mobility or ignore it - conditioning. You get the idea.

Everything we do (or do not do) is an act of conditioning. It all adds up. It all catches up. The body you have right now is a direct result of the choices you made, and continue to make, in regards to diet, exercise, movement, training, habits, and behaviors. And the key point here is that the conditioning happens no matter how you value it.

So there it is. Change your choices, change your life. It really is all up to you.

So what’s it gonna be today?

Warning! Read This Before Exercising Again!

Jon — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:53:11 +0000

Research has recently revealed that exercising may indeed have serious side effects for those involved. Individuals who exercise are advised to proceed with extreme caution when handling a tool this powerful and capable of creating extreme effects on its users. Highly transformative qualities have been reported when using exercise.

The following is a list of possible side effects as a result of exercise. Please remember that exercise should not be taken without a prescription.

Side Effects of Exercise Include:

Rapid Weight Loss
Healthy Self Image
Super Human Strength and Endurance
Increased Risk of Attraction to the Opposite Sex
Boost of Self Confidence
Increased Feelings of Well Being, Even Exuberance
Reduced Risk of Heart Disease
Reduced Risk of Type II Diabetes
Heightened Energy Levels

These are only some of the serious side effects that have been reported when using exercise properly. Additional effects of regular users turning flab into muscle have also been reported and are currently being investigated.

Use exercise with caution!

Exercise should only be used under the guidance of professional!

For a highly qualified opinion and an exercise prescription, please contact Warrior Fitness Gym.

Warrior Fitness Gym is an authorized exercise provider.

3 Words I Hope to Never Utter

Jon — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:56:03 +0000

This year I will turn 40. Some have been saying that 40 is the new 20. Well, if that’s true then there are a lot of seriously out of shape 20 year olds running around! The more I listen to people my own age, and sadly some even younger, the more I hear the 3 words I hope to God to never utter myself.

The 3 little words which hammer nails into the coffin are,

“I used to…”

I used to do martial arts.

I used to be in shape.

I used to run marathons.

I used to train hard.

I used to have energy.

I used to be thin.

I used to be able to play sports with my kids.

I used to have muscle tone.

I used to be able to fight.

I used to eat healthy.

I used to …. Fill in the blank.

Whatever the blank in the sentence may be, the point is that there is way too much “used to be doing” going on in the world today and not enough “am doing”.

For me, it must always be about moving forward. Getting better. Getting stronger. Moving better. At 40 I am in the best shape of my life NOW. Not 10 years ago. Not even 20 years ago. Now. Today. Next year I intend to be even better. And the year after that.

Whatever age you are, wherever your starting point, if you are still breathing then you have the ability to improve, to get stronger. To train more. To learn more. To experience more.

Get out and do more.

Make it your mission in life to never catch yourself uttering the phrase, “I used to…”

Watch this video as a reminder of how great you are.

Motivate Thyself!

Jon — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:51:45 +0000

Last night, about 8:30 PM or so, as I was driving home from dropping my daughter off at my parent’s house for a sleepover, I had the following conversation with myself (in my head, mind you!)…

ME: “I’ll workout when I get home no matter what time it is.”

ME: “Awesome idea!”

ME: “What if I don’t quite feel like it though? Seems like a good idea now, but it’ll be late when I get home and I’m starting to feel a little tired… (hear the voice of Mr. Resistance creeping in there?)”

ME: “True. Plus you’re getting over that cold too. You might just want to skip it and go to bed instead. (Mr. Resistance is insidious!)”

ME: “Whoah… hang on there! You already made up your mind to workout when you get home. You WILL workout. Don’t let that negative crap in your head. Whassamada with you?”

So what happened when I got home? Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be writing this blog post if I went straight to bed!

You are the only one with the power to motivate yourself. You are the last line of defense against Mr. Resistance. Yes, of course outside influences matter – who you read, who you speak to, what you watch, what you listen to, etc, etc, these things all have an effect on your thinking process and motivation. But when you are all alone with only yourself to guide you, you make the final decision to do or do not.

Each time you successfully defeat Mr. Resistance you create a stronger pattern. Your ability to impose your will becomes greater. You increase your mental and spiritual strength. You create a habit of winning out against resistance. The converse is also true, however. Each time you give in to that small voice of Mr. Resistance and stay on that couch in front of the TV or sleep in late instead of waking early to go to the gym, you create a stronger pattern. Yet this time the pattern is harmful. It works against you. It makes you weaker.

At the end of the day, who is making the decision to get you off the couch, out the door and into the gym? Who sets the alarm clock earlier to get up and go do the work? Push Mr. Resistance back in his place. Kick his ass. Motivate Thyself!

Why Can’t You?

Jon — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:34:43 +0000

One of my favorite motivational quotes of all time comes from Antony Hopkins in the movie, “The Edge”. They are stranded in the woods and he is tyring to psyche up Alex Baldwin’s character to help him kill a bear. Killing a bear seems like such an impossible task. It’s fraught with danger. It’s incredibly risky. Unbelievable hard. But they must do it.

Hopkins tells him – “What one man can do, another can do!”

Now, most of us will probably never be in a situation where we must kill a bear for survival. But look at it as a metaphor. The bear is any seemingly insurmountable task in your life. Any goal that you long to achieve, yet seems unconquerable. Doesn’t make a difference what it is – what one man can do (or woman, we’re equal opportunity here!), another can do!

It bugs to no end when students place highly skilled martial artists like Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido, or Masaaki Hatsumi, head of the Bujinkan Dojo, or even Bruce Lee, founder of Jeet Kune Do on pedestals and hold them up as unreachable and impassible icons. Are they great? Yes, of course. Are they worthy of our respect and admiration for their skill and achievement? Hell yeah! But are they an enigma? Are they once in a generation geniuses that the rest of us mere mortals cannot hope to reach? No. Not at all. They are men. Human beings like you and me. They put in ungodly amounts of hard work, study, and practice to reach the peak of their craft, but what one man can do, another can do.

Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before he successfully created the light bulb. No, that’s not a typo. Thousands. What if he gave up after the first failure, or the hundredth, or even after the thousandth failure? Where would we be? In the freakin’ dark, people, that’s where!

Do you want the martial skill of a Hatsumi?

The legacy of a Steve Jobs?

The money of a Bill Gates?

The body and fitness levels of an elite athlete?

The strength of a world champion strongman?

Go out and get it. What one man can do, another can do. Why can’t you?

With It or On It

Jon — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:32:24 +0000

The ancient Spartan maxim, “with it or on it” is a very stark reminder that we must be fully committed to whatever battle we are waging. The full meaning of this phrase that Spartan mothers used to say to their sons before heading off to war is, to either come back with your shield – as a returning hero – or come back upon it.

There is no middle ground.

No room for wavering or debating.

No having your cake and eating it too.

When moving towards a goal, there must be no hesitation in your actions.

In the Bujinkan martial arts that I study, there is a similar saying, “Hell gapes beneath the upraised sword, step in to heaven.” This may seem like crazy advice, after all who in their right mind would step forward when faced with an opponent armed with a 3 foot razor blade?! But in training, through experience, one comes to understand and realize that the safest place when facing an upraised sword, paradoxically, is to move forward and step closer, thus finding “heaven”.

Again and again throughout warrior cultures, from ancient Greeks to Japanese Ninja and Samurai, we see this idea of complete and utter commitment, 100% determination in moving forwards towards our goals, no matter what they are.

So how about you? How committed are you? How much do you talk about taking action rather than actually taking action? Do you step forward into heaven and achieve your goals when confronted with difficulty and adversity? Do you walk the razor’s edge in life, or just in your mind?

It’s time to step forward. Take action. With it or on it.

Click HERE to take action on your health and fitness goals today!

Embrace the Suck!

Jon — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:56:57 +0000

No one wants to work hard for anything anymore. It’s true. Take a look around at our modern culture. Instant satisfaction is everywhere from fast food to movies on demand. We literally have to wait for nothing. And, while the convenience is great and quite useful for the most part, it has also has had a deleterious effect on our lives that is sometimes overlooked or unseen. It has eroded our patience and destroyed our work ethic – at least when it comes to the really hard stuff like physical development and skill acquisition. Why? Because these things are not and cannot be had instantaneously. They require consistent practice and drive. I mean, c’mon they now have pills to take that burn fat while you sleep? Are you kidding me? How lazy can we be? By the way though, if you get your diet correct and even skip a meal once in a while, you will burn fat while you sleep without the damn pills, but that’s another blog post….

As you may have noticed, martial arts training and conditioning to develop the proper levels of fitness, mechanics, technique, attributes, and that all elusive sense of flow can be difficult, repetitious, and sometimes downright boring, to be honest. So how do we keep going in our daily training? How do we push ourselves through the plateaus and dry spots with enough intensity and consistency to break through to our own personal greatness? (See what some of the historical martial greats had to say about it in this article here.) My advice is to embrace the suck – yeah, the suck. Learn to love it. Crave it. Become friends with it. So when it hits, you not only can push through it, but actually embrace it. Dostoyevsky said to “love your suffering.” The Chinese martial artists call it, “eating bitter.” We here at Warrior Fitness call it “embracing the suck!”

Does this make you weird? Well, yes, but only in some circles. But for the most part it earns you respect. Why? Because most people can’t do it. Being able to embrace the suck and keep going distinguishes you. It differentiates you from the pack. It makes you a leader. If you want to be a leader, there’s only one way to do it – lead from the front. That’s the only way to inspire people – by your own example. What example do you set for your students, your family, your friends, your kids?

Learning to embrace the suck allows you to, as the great method acting coach Stanislavsky once wrote, “make the difficult habitual: what is habitual will become easy, and what is easy will become agreeable.” So even embracing the suck is a process which allows us to continue to train with greater intensity and focus, and thus push through even greater levels of suck.

However, the best part about embracing the suck is when the suck ends and you come out on the other side. You’ve fought the good fight, pushed through the barrier, and overcome the adversity once again. You’re a stronger person for it. You know it. I know it. So go out and live it!

The Warrior Fitness Guide to Striking Power is Here!

The Warrior’s Key to Greatness – The Way Lies in Training!

Jon — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:17:27 +0000

Throughout history a few exceptional martial artists have stood out from the rest of the budo landscape. Millions of people from every country and culture on the planet have trained in innumerable styles and arts across the centuries, yet we only know a small number of them by name. These men distinguished themselves and rose to the very uppermost levels of physical, mental, and spiritual skill in their respective arts and in some cases even took their talent to such heights as to create an entirely new martial art. Looking back at them today, we are awed and inspired by the levels they achieved through their single minded determination in reaching a goal, dogged pursuit of excellence in their craft, and amazing amount of self-sacrifice.

Why are They Different?

What made these men different? What pushed them to greatness? What did they do differently or more productively that propelled them to prominence? Why were their names and storied passed down through the years, sometimes centuries? In essence, what one factor do all great martial artists have in common regardless of style, country, or culture? And, more importantly, how can we learn from them and apply it to our own training? Remember, we stand on the shoulders of giants, not to imitate them, but to be able to look farther.

Quotes from the Greats

Instead of listening to my opinion today, why don’t we go directly to the sources themselves? Here are some cool quotes I’ve complied by some of the greats talking about their own training.

Morihei Ueshiba – Aikido

“The instructor can only impart a small portion of the teaching; only through ceaseless training can you obtain the necessary experience allowing you to bring these mysteries alive. Hence, do not chase after many techniques; one by one, make each technique your own.”

“Always imagine yourself on the battlefield under the fiercest attack; never forget this crucial element of training.”

“This old man must still train and train” – said shortly before his death.

Gozo Shioda – Aikido

“Kokyu power is produced when we push ourselves to the limit, making the most efficient use of the capabilities that lie within our own bodies.”

“Even though the body has its limits, until your death, the strength of your spirit is limitless. This is precisely why, in the martial arts, there is no such thing as deteriorating as you age.”

Yukiyoshi Sagawa – Daito Ryu

“Intermittent training, no matter how intensive, is utterly useless. You must practice every day for your entire life. That, and only that, is true training, or shugyo.”

“People who think they can ignore training their bodies and only work on techniques are amateurs. They don’t know anything. Actually, if you can’t prepare your body properly, you have no hope of ever perfecting your technique.”

“No matter what level of mastery you attain, you will never achieve perfection. You should therefore never, ever assume that what you have achieved is good enough.”

“If people knew what my training regimen was like, they would be astonished.”

Masaaki Hatsumi – Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu

“Modern budo students often forget to practice by themselves. I used to practice by myself. When there was no teacher, I found the secret teachings by my own desire.”

“Studying for oneself and making one’s own discoveries is much more important than group learning, and this applies equally well to martial arts. As I often say, ‘Life is all about solitary training.’ This is because I want serious practitioners to discover the tricks of the trade for themselves.”

Miyamoto Musashi – Niten Ichi Ryu

“From the time I was young I have set my mind on the Way of Martial Arts, practiced the one subject of swordsmanship with my entire being, and experienced various and different understandings.”

“See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice, and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training.”

“Never depart from the way of martial arts.”

Yamaoka Tesshu – Muto Ryu

“Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing.”

“If you want to obtain the secrets of such wonderful techniques, drill yourself, harden yourself, undergo severe training, abandon body and mind; follow this course for years and you will naturally reach the profoundest levels.”

Inspired yet? Ready to train and push yourself to the next level? Check out the new solo training sensation – Warrior Fitness Guide to Striking Power and get started today!

Prepare Yourself Every Day

Jon — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:04:11 +0000

Ever have one of those days when nothing goes right? The alarm clock is blaring yet you hit the snooze again for the 5th time dreading the prospect of getting up and facing the day. When you finally drag yourself out of from under the covers and realize just how late it is, your heart jumps into overdrive as you rush through your morning routine desperately trying to get out of the house to make it in to work on time. If you have small children to get ready for school, daycare, or other activities as well, that simply throws more chaos into the mix. In your rush, you forgot to eat breakfast and left your steaming mug of coffee sitting on the kitchen counter while you ran out of the house. Traffic sucks, of course, because you’re late, and when you finally get in to work there are 6 messages from your boss wondering why you missed the morning project meeting… and your day goes downhill from there.

Some days it just seems like the universe is conspiring against you and this time it’s personal! What do you do? How do you respond to the myriad changes and vicissitudes life throws at you? Do you find yourself tossed about like a small boat on a rough sea constantly overreacting and overcorrecting with each wave? Or, do you have a quiet calm reserve of energy and strength that allows you to maintain a state of fudoshin – “immovable spirit”?

Fudoshin is a state of mind that remains undisturbed and not easily upset by either internal thoughts or external factors. It is the even keel that keeps your craft steady and on course during rough seas of life. How do you develop fudoshin though? How do you cultivate that quiet reserve of strength and energy?

Prepare Yourself Daily

Daily preparation is the key. A reserve of strength must be built up gradually and nurtured daily, even when you don’t need it, especially when you don’t need it, so it’s there when you do. Like a savings account you invest a little bit each day so that when the unexpected happens the funds are there for you to draw upon. So let’s get to the nuts and bolts. How do you prepare yourself daily? Here’s what I do…

Get up earlier each morning. Yes, earlier. Allow 30 to 45 minutes BEFORE you actually need to be up to get ready for the day.
Grab a cup of coffee. I love my coffee; there’s nothing like that first sip in the morning. Feel free to skip this step if you don’t drink coffee.
Head outside for a breath of fresh morning air (feel free to bring your coffee). According to Chinese Medicine, early morning is the springtime of the day and thus best for planting seeds to cultivate good health.
Stand tall, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, spine straight. Raise the arms laterally up over head breathing in slowly and deeply with the movement. As you inhale imagine the oxygen and energy carried by the breath is filling up your entire body. Hold the full breath for a moment or two, then slowly exhale completely bringing the arms back down. On the exhale, imagine the body is expelling tiredness. Repeat 3 to 5 times. Feel free to add other imagery to this exercise as well. For example, on the inhale imagine drawing in the positive qualities of strength, health, and confidence, and on the exhale imagine the breath drawing out and expelling negative qualities of weakness, sickness, and fear.
Perform a full, head to toe joint mobility routine to further wake up and enliven the body. For a complete discussion on joint mobility work and much, much more, see my book, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts.
Depending on how much extra time you have, relax a few more minutes enjoying the strength and energy you have cultivated – and finish that cup of coffee before heading in to start your day!