Warrior Fitness

Muscle Confusion Got Ya Confused?

Jon — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:47:36 +0000

If muscle confusion has you confused, don’t worry because you’re not alone. There has been a lot of misinformation regarding this pseudo-scientific training method bandied about the past couple years over the Internet, as well as in local personal training studios, gyms, and bootcamps. Hopefully this article will help clear up some of the major myths and misconceptions surrounding muscle confusion.

First off, let’s define what the term muscle confusion means as it’s currently used. In a nutshell, it refers to the idea that one should constantly vary exercise selection from workout to workout in order to keep the muscles guessing and avoid the plateau that comes when muscles adapt to exercise. On the surface this seems to make a lot of sense. Gains remain consistently high and plateaus are avoided. So what’s the problem?

Let’s start with the part that’s true. Muscles do adapt to exercise and gains will slow down, level off, and then eventually stop if we continue to do the same workout over and over again. However, it does not happen overnight and certainly not from workout to workout.

Who SAID What?

In order for the body to produce an adaptation for improved performance in life, sport, or martial art, we must apply specific stimulus as per the SAID Principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand). This basically means that the body adapts with a specific type of fitness to any demand which is imposed on it. When the same exercise is performed for too long, the body adapts to the stresses of each set and the adaptations or returns get smaller and smaller. Once it has adapted to the stress, then it’s time to change or increase the stress or else we fall into that trap of diminishing returns.

Usually though it takes the body a period of 4-to-6 weeks to adapt and then it is advisable to begin changing exercises. This does not mean that we need to completely throw away everything we have been doing; far from it. An exercise or drill can be changed by increasing intensity, increasing volume, decreasing rest periods, or increasing complexity or sophistication.

What About Strength?

If your goal is to get stronger with muscle confusion, well then I’ve got some bad news for you. Ain’t gonna happen. Strength is a skill and must be trained as such. That means you have to practice, yes practice, the same set of exercises over and over again to get better at them – stronger. The nervous system becomes more efficient and allows the muscles to recruit greater and greater amounts of tension which result in an increase in strength. So, to get stronger one must work the same exercises as often as possible while staying as fresh as possible. Changing your exercises too frequently in order to confuse the muscles doesn’t result in an increase in strength. Nothing confusing about that.

Is Your Trainer Confused?

This pseudo-scientific concept of muscle confusion made popular by programs such as P90X and Insanity has opened the door for some less than scrupulous, or less than knowledgeable, trainers to take advantage of the unsuspecting public. By playing on the popular myth that exercises must be changed every workout or else you risk the dreaded plateau they can avoid doing the difficult, yet necessary work of properly programing workouts, sessions, or classes for their clients. They simply throw together a random bunch of exercises and call it a day without regard for whether or not these jumbled exercises meet the goals and needs of the clients.

Remember, it takes at least 4 weeks for your body to adapt to a particular program and for you to determine what is actually working for you and what is not. If you constantly change up your routine then you have no idea which exercises are giving you the best return on investment (ROI). As I always say, random exercise selection yields random results.

Knife and Pistol Seminar

Jon — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:31:21 +0000

Saturday, June 23, 2012

***

Bujinkan Shidoshi, Josh Sager – 10th dan, and Jon Haas – 9th dan, team up once again to bring you a unique and extraordinary presentation of weapons retention and deployment using the knife and pistol!

You will learn:

 Tactical use of weapons retention & deployment

 Proper methods for pistol draw and aim

 Movement with weapons in the tactical space

 Protecting others

When?

Saturday June 23, 2012

What Time?

1 PM to 5 PM

Where?

Warrior Fitness Gym * Hainesport Business Complex * 4004 Sylon Blvd. * Hainesport, NJ 08036

How Much?

$50 per person payable at the door or in advance through paypal link below.

For more information or to register, please email jon@warriorfitness.org or call (609) 556-8712

Imagine You With Less Pain

Jon — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:53:28 +0000

Many trainers and coaches tend to look at the current rage of joint mobility protocols as recent innovations in sports science and training. Everyone is talking about mobility for health, mobility for prehab or injury prevention, mobility for warm-ups, mobility for fending off the ravages of aging. Everyone is talking about the benefits of increased range of motion for sport performance and martial art training enhancement. And, just to be perfectly clear, this is a good thing. They are all correct. Mobility training is the rage for a reason.

However, as with many “new” types of training methods, mobility work is an ancient idea come full circle.

Hua Tuo (2nd century AD) was one of the patriarchs of Chinese Medicine and also the creator of the famous qigong set, The Five Animal Frolics. The Five Animal Frolics model movements from the crane, bear, monkey, tiger, and deer. Each animal emphasizes different health benefits and you can choose a specific animal for specific results. The movements form arcs, spirals, waves and spins, in order to accommodate all ranges of motion for the body.

Hua Tuo is famous for many sayings that have been passed down through the generations, but one of my favorite quotes from him is this one:

“Just as a door hinge will not rust if it is used, so the body will attain health by gently moving and exercising all of the limbs.”

Now what does that sound like? Health by moving and exercising all the limbs… hmm… reminds me of a certain new exercise protocol called joint mobility. And this quote from Hua Tuo is just one example. There are many more within Chinese Medicine as well as Indian Yoga that all point to the same idea – mobility is essential for health. Or, more crudely but succinctly put, move it or lose it.

Benefits of Mobility Training

Let’s list out some of the benefits of mobility training:

Lubricates joints and allows them to receive nutrition through synovial fluid
Aids in removal of toxins
Reduces joint pain and inflammation
Increases range of motion (flexibility in motion)
Increases energy by reducing unconsciously held tension
Prehab for injury prevention
Mobility is foundation of all sport, athletic, and martial movement
Decreased mobility leads to increased pain and stiffness

How Do We Do It?

Do you really need to learn an ancient qigong set and imitate 5 different animals to get all the benefits of mobility training though? Well, no. What if I told you it’s possible to get all the same benefits with just one short mobility routine that moves each joint in the body through all ranges of motion from head to toe in just 10 to 15 minutes a day?

Want to know more? Sign up for the Warrior Fitness Mailing List on the right side of the screen. You will receive a free copy of my mobility program. Want to learn more protocols and strategies for increasing your health, fitness, and conditioning as a martial artist? Check out my book, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts. Or, if you are within driving distance of New Jersey, come on down and join us at Warrior Fitness Gym in Hainesport, NJ!

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!

7 Mistakes You May Be Making at the Gym

Jon — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:43:31 +0000

Here are some simple ideas to help you maximize the use of your gym time. I’ve found that many hardcore gym goers routinely make the same simple mistakes in their training over and over again. This is a short list that highlights some of the big ones I see regularly. If you can avoid them, you’ll be far ahead of the curve. Remember – results matter!

1) Machine Based Training

This is a big one since machines restrict your range of motion and isolate your movement. All sports and life happen in 3 dimensions so why would you train in only 2?

2) Training Like a Bodybuilder (when you’re not one)

The body is not a set of isolated muscle groups to be trained independently of one another. Rather, your body is one interconnected unit which functions much more optimally when used as such. Train the body in all ranges of motions and train the whole body together.

3) Never Altering Your Routine

Some people fall in love with a particular exercise, or set of exercises, and never deviate from them. Unfortunately, your body adapts to the demands imposed by exercise within about 4-6 weeks. After that your super-awesome routine is no longer providing enough stimulus to create change so the results begin to plateau and then stop altogether.

4) Changing Exercises Every Workout

A lot of people think they will increase the speed of results by changing up the exercises every workout. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is, random exercise = random results. Exercise selection is like every other form of goal setting, a planned out step-by-step process.

5) Only Focusing on “Cardio”

Cardio training is good, yes, but it’s not sufficient . Especially when it consists of just doing one thing (treadmill, elliptical, step aerobics, whatever) every workout (see #3); there are far better ways to program workouts (in shorter amounts of time) to see better results. Additionally, when it comes to training for fat loss, cardio is second place to high intensity interval training (HIIT).

6) Forgetting About Recovery

None of our gains happen during the workout. We must recover from the training we do in order to realize the benefits. This means using proper recovery strategies, varying intensity of training from day to day so as not to burn out, employing proper warm-up protocols as prehab, and using compensatory movement exercises as cool down.

7) Not Dialing in Nutrition

While this is not exactly an “at the gym” mistake, it certainly goes hand in hand with exercise and is something that must be addressed. Many people have the mistaken notion that they can somehow out exercise their poor nutrition choices; especially those who seem to think cardio and calorie counting are the be all and end all of fitness.

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.

Why I Hate Working Out

Jon — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:57:06 +0000

It may sound strange coming from a guy who runs a fitness blog and owns a gym, but I actually hate working out. Is this some sort of blasphemy against the almighty deity of fitness? Is it hypocrisy? Do as I say, but not as I do? Nope. Not even close.

I hate working out because I believe it serves no purpose. Yup. You read that correctly. The man who spends most of his life studying, training, and teaching various forms of physical culture from around the world just said working out is a waste of time. Oh dear. What’s next? Twinkies for breakfast are the latest diet craze? Hardly.

Okay. Enough of the build up. What’s really going on here?

Let me explain because I’m sure by now I’ve got some splainin’ to do.

In my philosophy of Warrior Fitness Training, I use the terms Working Out and Training is specific ways. I do not consider them synonymous at all. And since how well we define terms determines their usefulness to us, allow me to define them.

Working Out, in Warrior Fitness vernacular, refers to exercise for exercise sake. No point. No goal. No destination. No training effect. A pointless run on a hamster wheel to nowhere done out of some misguided and nameless need to “have to” rather than a desire to “want to”.

Training, on the other hand, has a specific purpose. It is a process. It is transformative. The goal of training is to inculcate a specific attribute, characteristic, skill, or set of attributes and skills to the one being trained. It is not a disjointed collection of exercises thrown together without a destination for the sake of working out. Since our muscles adapt specifically to movements and our bodies don’t really know generalized adaptation, then fitness must have a purpose.

What is the purpose of your fitness?

What are you fit for?

To Stretch or Not to Stretch

Yiquan Seminar Announcement

Jon — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:43:30 +0000

Warrior Fitness Gym is proud to present a seminar with Jaime Morrell on Yiquan, featuring exercises for health and internal power.

For more information on Yiquan please see our 2 part interview with Jaime Morrell:

An Introduction to Yiquan: Martial Art, Health, and Physical Fitness

An Introduction to Yiquan: Part 2

Map and Directions to Warrior Fitness Gym are HERE.

Any questions on the Yiquan Seminar or Warrior Fitness Gym Programs, call Jon at (609) 556-8712 or email me HERE.

To pay online, click Paypal link below:

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.