Category Archives: Body

The fit Warrior requires a strong body to move freely in the world. Bodyweight conditioning, strength training, fat loss, flexibility, martial arts, yoga, and joint mobility are covered here.

Healing Yourself with Mobility Part 1

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Guest blog post by Eric Guttmann, U.S. Navy Officer, Author, Fitness Enthusiast and More

Healing an Ankle Sprain

 

I frequently attend health, youthing, anti-aging, and training seminars along with travels all over the world regarding health practices. I always make it a point to ask both presenters and experts in the audience what is the number one thing that they have SEEN bring about the greatest results.

The answers are varied and very good: get your bloodwork done because “numbers don’t lie”, drink one gallon of water a day, do “grounding”, wake up early and go to bed early to establish a rhythm with nature, optimize your hormones, do more isometrics, eat 51% of your food raw, get a magnetic mattress, take shilajit, harness the power of the mind, and of course everyone seems to have a favorite supplement and eating regimen they are really fond of.

However as I asked myself this question I found the answer to be achieving FULL Mobility.  If there is one thing that I have learned and can transmit to others, that ANYONE from 7 to 97 can do, it is FULL Mobility.  Reclaiming my FULL Mobility has helped me in every area of my life and has been a significant source of healings for me and for others, here are just a few:

Reclaiming Full Mobility

When I was in the desert flying missions over Iraq I went into the base gym and they were giving a Capoeira class.  Well, it was more like “get in there and do it.”  I should have paid attention and noticed that everyone took their shoes off.  I simply jumped in the class, started kicking, and managed to twist my ankle.  “No problem,” I thought to myself “this will heal in three weeks.”  Six months later I still had a nagging pain in my ankle.  I went to my chiropractor and training partner and he informed that it was a ligament that was injured and it would take 18 months to heal.  I got pissed and decided that I would fix this myself.  I dug around my library to find a solution and unearthed some joint mobility materials and started doing joint mobility for the feet and ankles morning and night and in ONE WEEK the pain was gone.  I went from 18 months to ONE WEEK doing joint mobility.

I now became a believer and decided to incorporate it daily and made it a life quest to gain FULL mobility in ALL my body. I devoured everything I could get my hands on regarding mobility. My father was a Greco-Roman wrestler in Hungary and when I was seven years old I noticed that he would do exercises every morning.  I asked him why and he told me that his Eastern European wrestling coach had shared some training wisdom with him,  “If you do something everyday, then everyday you will be able to do it.”  Of course, it made perfect sense!  If I achieved FULL mobility and practiced it everyday, then everyday for the REST OF MY LIFE I would have FULL mobility.

I have been practicing joint mobility for five years now ever since I had the epiphany with my healed ankle.  I have been studying, incorporating, experimenting and refining my routine based on the works and/or my personal interaction with Pavel, Steve Maxwell, Scott Sonnon, Navy kinesiologists, Chek Practitioners, Z-Health, Mike Mahler, Chuck Habbaken, Bud Jeffries and others.If you want to get your hands on the best mobility training out there and the EXACT one I have used to heal myself multiple times from the injuries sustained through training and life then click in the link below:

Moving Freely For Life

As an added bonus I am including a FREE BONUS which is my SECRET stretching routine to open up the hip and lengthen the spine which I found are the keys to maximizing my Qigong practice (which would be the second thing I most recommend for longevity).

Done together the joint mobility and stretches can be knocked out in under 26 minutes, yet your health and quality of life will expand to new and greater levels that will seem like a 1000% return on your investment.

Another bonus is a makeshift mobility test that you can do to gage whether you are at a Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 joint mobility.  If you train others you can also use it to gage where your clients are at and to monitor their progress over time.

So order this DVD now and try it for yourself. I know that you will feel immediately freer and open, even diminishing or completely getting rid off nagging pain if you are carrying any, at the end of the instructional session.  That is right, I am saying that after going through the instructional part just ONCE you will feel an immediate improvement in your mobility!  Commit to doing it everyday and you WILL have FULL mobility for the rest of your LIFE!

Moving Freely For Life  <<<=====

If you live in the New Jersey area and prefer personal instruction in mobility then I highly recommend you check out my friend Jon Haas’ school, Warrior Fitness at 4004 Sylon Blvd, Hainesport  NJ, 08036, or give him a call at 609-556-8712 to set up an appointment or attend a class.

Moving Freely For Life  <<<=====

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Eric GuttmannRead Eric’s complete bio HERE.

The Holy Grail of Training

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Guest blog post by Eric Guttmann, U.S. Navy Officer, Author, Fitness Enthusiast and More

Being in the Navy allows you to meet a lot of interesting people with different backgrounds, training experience and skills sets.  One thing that you come away with when interacting with people who are doing the tough, physically demanding jobs that Hollywood makes movies about is that there is NO one way to train.  I know the fitness industry is dominated by people that would like you to believe that there is ONLY one way to train, theirs.  These people would also like you to believe that they are the sole gatekeepers of this information and for a nice entrance fee you too can also learn their so-called “secrets.”  However, when you talk to people who have “been there and done that” you realize that there are MANY ways to train and when someone shows you something it is merely A WAY to train.
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Unless something is unsafe to do, then it probably has intrinsic value.  Now, whether it has value to YOU depends on your goals and aspirations.  I LOVE going to Bud Jeffries and Logan Christopher’s Super Human Training Workshops!  I am constantly researching and experimenting with my OWN ideas, and when I go there I always get more ideas to experiment with and hang out with an AWESOME group of people.  isometrics5 300x225 10 Ways to Build Mental Toughness
Would a marathon runner benefit as much as me from these type of seminars?  Probably not, a marathon runner’s skill set would benefit more from endurance work and recovery strategies rather than bending steel and advanced grip work.  However a marathon runner’s goals and training would still have value to him regardless of what you or I think about it.  I only have respect for ANYONE who can run 26.2 miles in a row, even though I wonder WHY they would ever WANT to do it.
There is only ONE Holy Grail and that is YOU!  You are the one who will know exactly how to structure your training depending on what fuels your internal fire.  In the beginning you need the help of coaches and mentors if you are learning a new skill set, but after achieving proficiency you NEED to start experimenting and developing your very own and unique style of fitness, just like Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do would be different for each individual depending on their specific bodytype, strengths and weaknesses.
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Now in building YOUR Holy Grail you benefit greatly from exposing yourself to as many talented people as you can!  Whether it be through books, DVDs, seminars or my personal favorite, PERSONAL INTERACTION, you can come away with the tips, training ideas and insights to take your training and RESULTS to a whole new level.  Those that were at the last Super Human Training Workshop benefited greatly from Bud’s teaching on isometrics.  Six months later I am still implementing them into my training!  Did you know that the Genesis for this was a PERSONAL INTERACTION that Bud had with the legendary Steve Justa?  One personal interaction led Bud to explore an idea and by the time the seminar had come he had honed his idea to the point where it could produce results for anyone who was PAYING ATTENTION. http://www.superhumantraining.com/offer/SteveJusta.png
I personally find that doing weighted isometric wall sits after any leg workout actually INCREASES RECOVERY!  Also, the toughest thing you can do after training the upper body is to do an isometric pullup hold in the UP position.  After a tough and demanding heavy double kettlebell workout for upper body that ran close to 45 minutes I decided to finish with 50 seconds of the isometric pullup hold.  I had to put forth more effort and willpower on those last 50 seconds than in the previous 45 minutes!
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So learn all you can, absorb what is useful and drop what is useless.  A great analogy was when I hung out for a while with the All-Navy MMA team at Whidbey Island.  The coach was very cool and patient with any type of talk about this martial art or that martial art being the best, his only reply was, “Get in the ring and prove it!”  That’s the best approach to training, try it out in the ring of personal experience, do battle with it, and become the grizzled training veteran that only YOU can be!  That is the Holy Grail of Training!
All my best, Eric Guttmann
PS – Guys, make sure you check out Eric’s book, Extreme Military Fitness Basic – click below!
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Read Eric’s complete bio HERE.

Top 7 Exercises for Warriors

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Here is the list I put together of my Top 7 Exercises for Warrior Training.  Not that these are the ONLY exercises you should do or would ever need but, if I were forced to narrow down my selection to my top 7, these would be my picks.

The great thing about this list is that if you were to just do these 7 exercises combined into a progressive training program, you would get amazing results of strength building, metabolic conditioning, fat loss, and endurance.  The side benefits would also include greater core strength, agility, and coordination.  So go forth and add these to your training program!

 

1. Clubbell Mills / Reverse Mills

2. Jumping

Burpee 4

Any type of jumping is not only excellent conditioning for explosive strength, but also mandatory for a warrior.  You must be able to leap out the way of a sword strike or over an obstacle!  So, whether it’s box jumps, tire jumps, broad jumps, lateral jumps, etc, they are all important and necessary training.

3. Pull-ups

Warriors need pulling strength.  Get on the bar, the rope, the tree branch, or even the monkey bars at the local playground and start pulling!  Change up your grip each set.

4. Push-ups

Most people consider push-ups a basic exercise and only know a handful of variations.  I consider push-ups an amazing developer of whole body strength, coordination, and agility with almost limitless variations – ask my clients! 🙂

5. Tire Flips

Whole body strength and power plus the added satisfaction of flipping a 400 lb tire.  Simply badass!

6. Ground up lift

This can be any lift from the ground up to overhead.  Use a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, sandbag, keg, small child, whatever!  Clean and press it.  Snatch it.  Jerk it. Turkish Get Up it!  Just lift it!

7. Sledge hammer swings

 

These are simply awesome for conditioning, developing striking power, and super-transferable nonstop core power.  Plus they are fun as hell and great for stress relief after a bad day!

Bonus exercise – KB Swings

You are your weakest link!  For most people their posterior chain is a weak area on the body.  This exercise will fix it.  Oh yeah, if you still think you need to do more cardio, try banging out a few hundred reps of these bad boys!

 

What exercises would you include as part of your top 7?  Drop a comment below!

Martial Power

 

  • Ready for a 6 week program that will explode your development as martial artist?

  • Ready to take strength and conditioning to a whole new level?

  • Ready to become agile, mobile, and hostile?

  • Ready to blow away all your former training plateaus?

  • Ready to build insane mental toughness and work capacity?

Then the Martial Power Coaching Program is for you!  Spots are limited so ACT now!

Resolutions Are Bogus

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I’ve had it with the whole New Year Resolutions thing.  I’m done.  I’m getting off the bandwagon and actively choosing to NOT participate.  The whole concept is bogus nonsense anyway when you think about it. Continue reading →

How to Avoid Ankle Injuries

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How many people do you know just in your own circle of friends and family who have broken, sprained, or otherwise injured their ankle(s)? A pretty significant amount of people, right? Continue reading →

The Day That Changed My Life

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I still remember it like it was yesterday.  I was 16 years old, sitting in the back seat of my parent’s car thumbing through the latest issue of Black Belt magazine when I came to a full page advertisement for the 1989 Tai Kai with Ninjutsu Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi.  To my shock and utter astonishment this 3-day seminar with the master ninja and his top students from Japan was being held in the United States.  Not only was it being held in the US, but in my home state of NJ, not even an hour drive from my house!  Something clicked in my brain – I HAD to go to this thing!  Continue reading →

Stopping Power for Kicks & Strikes

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The following is a guest post from my friend and fellow Underground Strength Coach, Frank DiMeo. 

It is always an honor to do a guest blog post for another coach, especially regarding martial arts and strength training.
To many people UFC is the only martial arts they are aware of, but the experienced martial artists know how broad a spectrum martial arts cover. Continue reading →

The 4 Top Strength Training Myths for Women

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When talking about strength training for women there are several pervasive myths that seem to never go away.  Here are the four  most common ones.

  1. I’ll Bulk Up.  This is probably one of the most pervasive, albeit incorrect myths out there.  Women simply do not have the correct hormone profile to build huge, bodybuilder type muscle. Continue reading →

How Conditioning Can Boost Strength

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Thanks to my good friend, Coach Chris “Jersey Beast” Lopez, for this cool guest blog post!

The Benefits of Strategic Conditioning

When you hear someone talk about conditioning (especially combat athletes), it usually refers to the training they are doing to boost their endurance or drop weight. Very rarely do we hear about conditioning that will also directly boost strength and strength endurance. But if structured correctly, adding conditioning to your strength training split can directly increase cardio capacity, strength over time, performance, speed of muscular contraction, and even raw strength itself! Check out the video! Continue reading →

Training in Confined Spaces

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If you have Warrior Fitness Training style questions, send them to me.  I answer any and all serious (well, mostly serious) questions about training, my Warrior Fitness System, my views on fitness, martial arts, self defense, strength & conditioning, or training for sport/athletic performance.  

Here’s a video answer to a question I received the other day from Robert, a Bujinkan student in Sweden. Continue reading →