I never allow my clients to slump, sit down, or lie down crumpled in a heap after an exercise, set, or workout. They know my rationale is partly physical, but mostly mental. You see, it’s critical to never allow the workout to beat you, no matter how tough it feels. Continue reading
Lately I feel like a fire’s been lit under me in my training. Somehow through sheer persistence, perseverance, and being too dumb to quit, I feel like I’ve broken through to a new level. And this level is more difficult than the one before. New levels always are.
Sometimes I think people have the impression that if you keep training in something long enough, like martial arts or strength training, then it somehow gets easier as you get better. I don’t think this is true. At least it’s not true for those who continue to push themselves to break limits. Continue reading
At no time in history has there ever been more information, research, in-depth studies, and knowledge-sharing available than the present moment. Those who are still waiting for the latest “fitness secret” to be revealed to the public have missed the boat, in my opinion. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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? Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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? Continue reading
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 over ten thousand of times before he successfully created the first incandescent light bulb. No, that’s not a typo. Ten thousand. 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 Internal Power of Ueshiba?
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?
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!