Category Archives: General Discussion

Sometimes our genius defies the laws of finite categorization.

My EPIC Binge Day (Pics Inside)

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What’s the point of the cheat day?

Assuming you are eating clean 6 days a week, your body – and your fat loss! – can benefit from a cheat day once a week.

Reducing calories and carbs during the week begins to lower levels of Leptin, the master fat-burning hormone in your body. When Leptin levels plummet, your fat loss halts. By performing a strategic weekly re-feed (cheat day) we once again raise the body’s Leptin levels and insure that we continue burning fat like a champ instead of plateauing and grinding to a screeching, frustrating halt.

You will notice below that I add in certain elements throughout the day to further blunt the effects of my eating binge even more. While I do recommend that my clients take a cheat day once a week, there is no need to go as crazy and I did below… This was merely an experiment to prove that it works even when going waaay overboard!

 

My Saturday – Now Known as “FAT-URDAY” Binge

First off, thanks to my clients Alex and Jaime D. for coining the term “fat-urday”. 🙂

Prior to breakfast – 30 bodyweight squats, 10 push-ups

3 coconut donuts, 8 oz grapefruit juice, coffee with 1 tbs coconut oil: 1100 calories

Donuts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to breakfast #2 – 30 bodyweight squats, 10 push-ups

4 waffles with grassfed butter and organic maple syrup: 800 calories

Waffles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kombucha: 30 calories

Kombucha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 cup of blueberry yogurt: 150 calories

 

Yogurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tres Leches cake (did not eat whole thing): approx. 280 calories

 

Tres Leches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the cake – 10 minute cold shower

Prior to dinner – 30 bodyweight squats, 10 push-ups

Double cheeseburger on a bun with fried egg and bacon plus spinach, mushrooms, and onions: 1,000 calories

Burger & Fries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plus 2 glasses of wine: 300 calories

Wine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seasons 52 Blackened Steak & Bleu Cheese Flatbread: 470 calories

 

Flat Bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plus Langunitas IPAs: 360 calories

Beer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretzel: 145 calories

Pretzle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 serving Bark Thins: 220 calories

 

Bark Thins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One serving Amazing Grass plus 1 tablespoon of Pine Pollen
: 30 calories

Amazing Grass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to bed – 30 bodyweight squats, 10 push-ups, followed by 10 minute cold shower

For a grand total of 4,885 calories!

The end result? I lost weight!

Friday morning weight: 192 lbs

Monday morning weight: 191.4 lbs

Why does this work? Because there are many more factors involved in fat loss than merely calories in/calories out. If you are wasting your time counting calories and still not getting the results you want, or not getting them fast enough, perhaps there’s more to it… 🙂

Want to schedule a FREE 10 Minute Turbo Coaching Call with me to discuss your fitness goals?

Free Coaching Call HERE <<===

My Super Secret Post Workout Shake Recipe

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Normally when people ask me about post workout drinks I tell them a story of how supplement companies spent tons of money doing research to formulate the most optimal ratio of protein to carbohydrate for recovery and muscle building.

They came up with a very specific ratio which was promptly used to engineer very expensive, “scientifically-formulated” post workout recovery drinks.

People spent tons of money on them until some bright fellow (or lady, I’m not sure which) realized that the perfectly formulated, highly researched and studied, scientific ratio of protein to carb was the exact same ratio as found in an ordinary bottle of chocolate milk!! 🙂

Nothing new under the sun has been seen in the realm of post workout supplements since.

Until now…

arnold_schwarzenegger_post workout

Jon’s Super Secret Post Workout Shake Recipe

Postworkout Shake

What About a Pre-Workout?

This is the ONLY pre-workout I ever drink <<===

 

Upgrade Your Breath Book Review

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I just finished up my morning practice of breathing exercises so this seems the perfect time to sit down and write about Logan Christopher’s latest book release, Upgrade Your Breath.

I have known Logan for several years now and am proud to say that I own almost every one of his programs. Each one is engaging, thought provoking and well researched, not to mention chock full of incredible information and great exercises. The man clearly knows his stuff AND trains it relentlessly.

His newest program, Upgrade Your Breath is no exception. This book delivers!!

Upgrade Your Breath

As you might know, I am no stranger to breathing exercises. I have been learning, training, and teaching them for over a decade now. They form the basis for my own system of training and I absolutely believe that breathing exercises are the foundation of health and fitness.

Logan’s book is an excellent resource on the subject of breathing. He provides a great number of practical and effective exercises broken down the exercises into 7 different categories. The instructions are clear and easy to follow instructions, and the usage, application and benefits of each one are discussed.

Additionally he also brings out his own unique perspective in the form of anecdotes and tips from Oldtime Strongmen, many of whom used breathing exercises to go from weak to strong and from sickly to healthy. My favorite, and Logan’s too, is the Mighty Atom!

The 7 Categories of Breathing Exercises found in Upgrade Your Breath:

1. Deep Breathing Exercises
2. Breathing for Lung Capacity
3. Breathing for Strength
4. Breathing for Endurance
5. Breathing for Relaxation
6. Breathing for Flexibility
7. Breathing for Energy Circulation

This book is a great resource for anyone interested in bettering their health and improving ALL aspects of fitness! I highly recommend it!

BONUS!

As an added bonus for all those who pick up Logan’s Upgrade Your Breath book, I will throw in my program, Evolve Your Breathing (regularly $37) for just $10!!  All you need to do is email me (WFT.Jon.Haas@gmail.com) your receipt and I’ll send you a link for the discounted program!

 

Tempering the Body Through Cold Exposure Training

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Tempering is the process by which something is made stronger, harder, and more durable. In the case of steel, it is the process of reheating and cooling it off that improves the hardness and elasticity of the metal. The same process can be used to forge a stronger, healthier, more resilient body!

In his book, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, Nassim Nicholas Taleb discusses a process called hormesis:

“Hormesis, a word coined by pharmacologists, is when a small dose of a harmful substance is actually beneficial for the organism, acting as a medicine. A little bit of the otherwise offending substance, not too much, acts to benefit the organism and make it better overall as it triggers some overreaction… gains from harm.”

Just as repeated exposure to the right amount of strength training, progressively increased through proper programming builds muscle, increases energy and endurance, and makes the body stronger overall while completely over doing it simply accelerates the breakdown of the system.  Exposure to cold acts in a similar manner.

Short term cold exposure, incrementally increased over time provides an assortment of benefits not found in any other form of training.

This process of conditioning through the gradual and continued exposure to stress within a controlled dynamic is known as “Stress Inoculation”.

Benefits of Cold Exposure Training

  • Reduces inflammation
  • Increased fat burning through cold thermogenesis
  • Improved immune system function
  • Boosts testosterone
  • Increased energy and focus
  • Increased athletic performance
  • Faster recovery
  • Improved sleep
  • Mental toughness

How to Do Cold Exposure Training

Cold exposure training doesn’t have to be extreme. In fact, since it’s a conditioning process – tempering – in the beginning it is better done in small, incremental doses. You can start simply by turning the water in the shower to cold for 30 seconds and slowly increasing exposure for up to 5 or 10 minutes. Eventually work your way up to stepping right into an ice cold shower first thing in the morning – no hot water!

Another way to gradually build up cold exposure is to walk around outside in the winter time without a jacket for short periods of time until it becomes tolerable. Work your way up to wearing just a t-shirt and shorts while walking around in the cold. Sure you’ll get funny looks, but it’s worth it!

Ready to kick it up a notch?

Try an ice bath or cold water swimming in a pool, lake, or ocean – Polar Bear Plunge, anyone??

And, of course there’s always cold water dousing, made famous in the past few years by practitioners of Russian Martial Art, but also practiced by many other martial artists (Morihei Ueshiba, anyone?) and religious ascetics, alike. The practice itself is very simple, but the psychological hurdles one has to jump through in order to consistently carry it out are immense – thus the huge mental toughness component that goes into it!

Cold Water Dousing Procedure

  1. Fill up a bucket of cold water
  2. Go outside in your bathing suit and stand on the grass
  3. Slowly dump said bucket of cold water over your head
  4. Breath deep and enjoy the rush of heat and energy!!

Don’t worry, you won’t get sick – colds are caused by viruses, not being cold!

Here’s me cold water dousing in the snow here in NJ last weekend…

And some breathing exercises and push-ups in the snow…

The Iceman

Wim Hof has set 21 world records involving cold exposure from running a marathon in his shorts above the arctic circle to running a full marathon in Namib desert without water consumption to climbing Mt. Everest in only shorts, to being immersed in ice for over an hour. In his book, Becoming the Iceman, Wim states, “The cold is a noble force… The cold forces me to generate heat. It makes me feel alive.”

Wim has also scientifically proven that his method of cold exposure, combined with breathing exercises, allows anyone to access and gain conscious control over autonomic processes, such as the immune system!

For more on Wim Hof, check out The Wim Hof Method video course <<===

Both the Russian Martial Arts and Wim Hof, The Iceman, place an immense importance on breathing exercises as essential components of their health systems. The breath is used to fully oxygenate the body, generate heat and energy, and increase tolerance to stress and pain.

wim-hof-method-ice

Check out the Vice documentary on The Iceman to see how far cold exposure training can go!

 

What is the Warrior Fitness Difference and How Does It Benefit YOU?

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Why should you chose to train Warrior Fitness Training versus any other type of fitness program out there, including making no choice and doing nothing?

Training for the Total Human

Warrior Fitness is the product of decades of training in the martial arts and the art of strength. In its simplest form Warrior Fitness is a distilled and synthesized blend of the very best training methodologies for becoming a fitness renaissance man or woman. Due to its synergistic nature, the seamless integrated whole of the system is vastly superior and greater than the sum of its parts. In short, Warrior Fitness has become a one-stop-shop for building a better human – physically stronger, tougher – resistant to failures, more enduring, flexible, mobile, and extremely capable. The warrior is mentally tough. Greater than robustness or resilience, the Warrior Fitness Training System is a portal to becoming antifragile.

The system allows the practitioner to minimize training time while maximizing the training effects, i.e. – results.

Warrior Fitness can be approached from different directions…

The Path of Strength & Conditioning

  • building muscle,
  • real world whole body strength,
  • nonstop endurance,
  • power generation,
  • explosive movement, etc.

The Path of Health

  • ancestral nutrition,
  • fat loss,
  • natural hormone optimization for women,
  • increased testosterone and growth hormone for men,
  • energy work – breathing exercises,
  • stress conversion,
  • increased energy,
  • recovery from injury,
  • increased flexibility and range of motion, etc.

The Path of Martial Art

  • combat conditioning,
  • performance enhancement,
  • self-defense and defending others,
  • real world functional strength and conditioning,
  • dynamic balance and stability,
  • internal power, etc.

No matter where you enter from – All paths ultimately lead to strength; to becoming the strongest most capable version of yourself.

Why Strength?

When ranking the hierarchy of fitness qualities, the Warrior Fitness system puts an emphasis on strength as the highest ability.

Why?

Simply because all other fitness qualities flow from strength. When one is stronger everything is easier. Greater strength enables one to be more energy efficient as tasks and challenges alike require a lesser expenditure of energy the stronger one becomes. What is endurance other than the continued ability to exert strength?

Get Stronger as You Get Older – The Over 40 Warrior

As of this writing I am 43 years old. I am stronger, much better conditioned, more resilient, and healthier now than I was at 23! Why? Because as a lifelong martial artist and physical culturist I have cracked the code on living stronger as I get older – and I want to share ALL my hard won knowledge with you!

Partial PR

 

  • How do you burn fat and build muscle at the same time?
  • How do you optimize testosterone levels?
  • How do you program workout intensity along with rest and recovery training to avoid plateaus and consistently make progress?
  • How do you properly fuel your body for optimal performance?
  • How do you recover, coordinate, and refine flexibility and range of motion?
  • How do you wake up with energy and vigor for attacking your day?
  • How do you put it all together to get maximal results in minimal time?

I firmly believe that I am in my physical prime and will continue to get stronger as I grow older. Others may believe that they are in a state of decline and getting weaker as they age… not so for the warrior.

Remember – the mind navigates the body.

What you believe to be true, is true.  In fact, research tells us that people do not stop moving because they get older, they get older because they stop moving. The ability to build strength and muscle does not decline – you simply have to know how to combine correct physical training, optimal nutrition, and supplementation with the correct mental training – belief, outlook, focus, concentration, visualization, etc. to become truly limitless.

Who is Warrior Fitness for?

  • For the Dad who wants to be in the best shape of his life in order to play with his kids and set an example of a healthy lifestyle that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives,
  • for the Mom who, after a long day at work wants to de-stress with a brief, but intense workout that won’t leave her exhausted,
  • for the businessman who finds his waistline expanding, his health lacking, muscle sagging, and wants to do something about it,
  • for the performer who needs to control her breathing and nervousness before getting on stage,
  • for the amateur athlete or weekend warrior who realizes that the daily aches and pains are getting worse as they get older and want to be stronger, healthier, and more capable as they get older,
  • for the regular people who have lives and families and other hobbies and don’t want to spend all day in the gym yet are ready for something more than just an ordinary workout,
  • for the unconventional fitness enthusiast who doesn’t desire the globo commercial gym scene, and is looking for a low-tech/high yield approach to fitness,
  • for the fitness nut who’s tired of the same old treadmill and is looking for something extraordinary,
  • And, of course for the martial artist who wants to get back into fighting fit shape while enhancing their martial art’s effectiveness by increasing how efficiently they move…

It’s For YOU…

Men, if you picked up your FREE copy of my book, Dad Strength, you know that men, in general, are getting weaker. We can counteract that. I can fix it. YOU can become the strong, Alpha-Male warrior you were always meant to be. You CAN get stronger every day.

Find out if you are a good fit for my NEW Warrior Fitness Coaching Program for Men <<===

Women, you also must be strong which is why I have also put together a Woman Warrior Transformation Program<<====

Want to talk? Sign up HERE for a free 10-minute Turbo Coaching Call to discuss your goals and how I can help you become the strongest, most capable version of yourself.

Lacking Workout Motivation? Try This!

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We all have those days…

You know you should workout on a consistent basis, but sometimes the motivation just isn’t there. Here’s a quick primer on how to set yourself up for success.

1)  Have a Goal.

2) Follow a Program. (read “Which Program is Best for You”) It’s much easier to do the work if you know in advance exactly what you are supposed to be doing for each training session and how it is progressing you towards your main goal.  Remember – random exercise leads to random results!

3) Make Training Your Default Status.  Read THIS if you want to know whether or not to train when sick or injured.

4) Commit to it. Decide beforehand that you ARE going to train. There is no “maybe”…

5) Have a Pre-Workout Ritual. This will get you in state.

no_motivation

To give you an idea of what a pre-workout ritual looks like here’s mine.  Feel free to model or copy it outright, whatever works to get you training!!

My Pre-Workout Ritual

1) Get into my workout shorts and t-shirt (yes, I wash them…)

2) Take Hercules Pre-Workout Formula. You will feel the rush of the powerful herbs coursing through your system!
3) Crank up workout music. Currently my music anchor is “Invincible” by TOOL.

4) Stand tall, breathe deep, walk powerfully. Visualize yourself performing the workout. This, along with the Hercules Formula, gets my energy building and heart pumping.

5) Perform my general movement preparation – joint mobility work and resistance band exercises.

6) DO THE BLOODY WORK!!

I hope this is helpful.  Please drop a comment and let me know if you have any questions!

Need more help?

Grab over a year’s worth of training at 87% off –  all of the details can be hound HERE  <<==

Strength in the Deviation

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Usually being deviant is not looked upon as a positive character trait.  However, as we shall see, what makes for a poor character trait is in fact a desirable outcome for increasing performance and injury prevention!

In this article we will explore how building strength into a deviation of “correct” form can create a built in safety valve that will increase your resilience and resistance to injury.

KB Pushup

 

The problem with always working on “correct” form in any endeavor (for our purposes here: fitness, martial arts, and athletics) is that no matter how well you perform a movement skill, there is always a possibility of moving outside the parameters of the perfect range of motion.  You do not live in a bubble! Whether through fatigue, unfamiliar or uneven terrain, accidental misstep, mental distraction, or being acted upon by an outside force – collision in sport or an opponent in a combative engagement – your movement WILL go awry.

Strength in the Deviation

So now that we established that you will never always have perfect form, how do we insure that any deviation from proper mechanics does not cause injury?  Check out the videos below for examples on how to increase strength throughout a range of motion by building a safety valve into your movement.  Strength in the deviation will not only increase resilience and injury prevention, but performance as well knowing that you have complete confidence in your movement!

Strength in the Deviation – Accident Proof Ankles

Strength in the Deviation – Wrists of Steel

Strength in the Deviation – Sledgehammer Training

Ready to increase your deviant behavior??? 🙂

Warriorship in the Modern World

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These days it seems like everyone fancies themselves a warrior.  The word has become so overused in our society that the essence of it has become lost.  It seems that anyone engaged in any type of struggle, be it physical or not, has co-opted the word for their own personal bandwagon.

Originally, the word had just one interpretation – one who wages war.  This is a very strict and narrow definition, but probably the most accurate.  In this sense then, a warrior is a professional military or police man who carries a weapon and puts their life on the line day after day to protect our freedom and way of life.  In addition to putting their own lives on the line for us, professional warriors do one other thing that completely separates them from the rest of the population.  They are sometimes required in the course of their role as protectors and defenders to take a life.  This is a great responsibility that weighs on them heavily and one that only they are allowed to bear.  It is one critical distinction that many people who want to play warrior do not consider or perhaps even understand.

 Let’s Extrapolate A Bit…

If we extrapolate this idea of a warrior as professional soldier a little further, we can than begin to look at those who make a lifetime study and practice of the warrior arts.  These are the martial arts which are derived from the ancient warrior traditions of the world.  They come from India, China, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, and others.  These traditions all have one thing in common – they were used hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago in real battle to save someone’s life.  Their wisdom, training methods, and skills were then passed on down the generations to those of us who practice them today.

As for me, I have never been in the military.  But I have spent over 30 years training in the warrior arts of Japan, China, and Russia.  I developed a system of physical training called, Warrior Fitness, based on my experience in the warrior arts.

However, in spite of this, I must state that I believe a true warrior is much, much more than a person striving for physical perfection in the gym – yes, no matter how hard or intense they are training.

More to This Warrior Thing

There is much more to being a warrior than merely struggling for something or training crazy hard in the gym.  A true warrior must have be a protector and defender of life.

This might be my own personal bias, but I believe a warrior has a greater responsibility, one of both self and others.  My perception has been colored, for the better, I think, by my teacher, Jack Hoban, author of The Ethical Warrior: Values, Morals and Ethics – For Life, Work and Service, and his mentor, Dr. Robert L. Humphrey.

spartan warrior

These 2 men are both true warriors whom I admire greatly.  Jack served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and is a master level instructor in the Bujinkan martial arts.  Dr. Humphrey was a boxer and Marine Corps officer who survived the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.  There is much, much more to both of their stories, but for now, we can sum up the essence of what it means to be a warrior like so:

“The Warrior Creed”

Wherever I go,
Everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
Wherever I am,
Anyone in need has a friend.
When I return home,
Everyone is happy I am there.
It’s a better life! 

-Dr. Robert L. Humphrey

Everyone who calls themselves a warrior believes that they should possess greater strength, greater power, and greater skill; should they not also possess greater compassion for others and a greater sense of responsibility for helping others as well? 

For those who have the strength and the skill, but no accountability, they cannot be called warriors – they are merely thugs.

This Simple Practice RESETS Your Body

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Let’s face it.  Some days we just need to hit the RESET button.  Whether due to stress, an accumulation of injuries, fatigue, or illness we need to find a way to RESET the body in order to allow its own natural healing function to take over.

Luckily, there is a very simple process whereby we can RESET ourselves and acquire a deep level of whole body relaxation.  It can be accomplished through the Yiquan training method of Wuji standing, otherwise known as Health Standing.

Wuji translates to “without poles” or “pre-heaven” meaning that yin and yang have not yet been determined.  It is a pure untapped potential and possibility.  It is from this untapped potential that we will begin to form a relaxed, connected body primed for internal power training.

Before we get into the particulars of the exercise, you need to know how to stand. Continue reading →

We Were Once Warriors…

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We Were Once Warriors…

For centuries the warrior has been the archetypical model of physical fitness and power.  This is due to the extreme nature of their training and overwhelming odds that they must have had to go through waging war in the ancient world.

The multifaceted development of skills required for the warrior’s brand of life and death combat is second to none.

Spartans

 

 

Warriors needed to be able to carry heavy loads over long distances on uneven terrain, wield heavy weapons while wearing armor, wrestle and engage in other forms of hand-to-hand combat, fight for hours or perhaps even days on end in mud, sweat, and blood, all while continuing to display power, coordination, agility, and speed.

This was not a game with a medal or trophy at stake, but their lives and the lives of their comrades in arms, not to mention the entire village or tribe who were relying on them for protection.  All of this placed immense demands on the warrior physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Today’s Training from Yesterday’s Triumph

The skills we know today as fitness, or strength and conditioning, depending on whether your term is all inclusive or a specific subset, all evolved over time from man’s need and ability to wage war.  In fact, one of the earliest examples of sport in the western world is from ancient Greece; we now call it the Olympics.  These early games were created as a way for warriors to channel their aggressive and competitive natures, while simultaneously allowing them to hone their battle skills, in times of peace.

So we can see from this quick look back in time that originally almost all athletics and sport competitions were based on the martial skills of the warrior and utilized as a way to sustain and practice those skills.

Now, working backward this time, is there a way to reverse engineer a warrior’s training regimen and use it to improve the components of martial skill, conditioning, AND athletic performance?  Absolutely!!

Try This Warrior Workout on for Size

1)  Heavy Sandbag Carry (Zercher carry, bear hug carry, over head carry) – 3 x 300 ft.

2A) Pike Push-ups on Fists – 4 x 10

2B) Mixed Grip Pull-ups (change grip each set) – 4 x SM

2C)  Loaded Airborne Squats (load up with clubbell, Kettlebell, dumbbell, or sandbag) – 4 x 5/5

3)  H2H Touch & Go Kettlebell Swings x 100

If you train in MMA…

NOW go punch, kick, knee, and elbow a heavy bag or have a partner hold focus mitts for 3 rounds x 3-5 minutes each!  How is your performance?

Or, if you’re really daring and want to test your mettle, now is the time to go spar with a completely fresh opponent for 3 rounds of 3-5 minutes!  How has your performance changed?

If you train in Bujinkan or other form of combatives…

Do the same as above but utilizing the basic techniques of your particular style.  For Bujinkan peeps that means try out all the Kihon Happo on a fresh uke!

My brand new WarFit Combat Conditioning Program is perfect for the warrior athlete who wants to build superhuman strength, endurance, and conditioning: