Tag Archives: eric guttmann

Mobility, Mobility, Mobility

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What is, hands-down, the most effective, efficient, and time saving daily practice you can adopt for greater health and longevity?

In one word – Mobility, Mobility, Mobility!

I’m sure you are familiar with the phrase, “move it or lose it”, right?  But how seriously do you take it?

A complete mobility practice moves each joint in the body through its complete range of motion bathing it in synovial fluid.  Movement is the only way your joints get nutrition!  Each session can range from a quick 5 minute recharge to a 30 minute in-depth deep practice.  It’s up to you and how your body feels on a particular day.  For example, did you do a ton of heavy lifting or a super intense metabolic conditioning session the day before?  Maybe a longer, deeper mobility session is required to aid in restoration and recovery.  Or, did you just get out of bed and maybe only have 5 minutes before you have to get ready for work?  A 5 minute quick-n-dirty mobility session will charge you up and get your body moving (literally!).

Daily Practice

I have been performing my mobility practice almost every day for over 10 years now.  However, there have been a few times when I decided to forego it for several days in a row just to see if I could notice a difference.  After 3-4 days without it I began to notice.  Muscles were tighter.  Movements were less fluid.  Joints were crunchy.  When I finally stopped my no mobility experiment on day 5, the contrast was amazing!

In my experience, mobility training and breathing exercises are the biggest bang for your buck daily practices that will only reward you more and more with each passing year.

Benefits of Mobility Training

Spine mobilityIn no particular order, here are 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

Looking for a fantastic resource on mobility?  I would suggest checking out my Martial Power Program or Ninja Missions Program 1.  Both of these courses contain a different, yet highly effective mobility routines that will keep you healthy, active, and pain free for life!

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Ninja Mission Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No matter which program you choose, mobility training is the gift that keeps on giving – it literally pays health dividends that increase over time.  Establish a daily practice and keep going!!

The Three Traits for a More Authentic Life

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Guest blog post by Eric Guttmann, U.S. Navy Officer, Author, Fitness Enthusiast and More!
Recently I was in a conference call and someone mentioned the word “exquisite” and how beautiful it sounds as well as the deep and rich meaning it conveys.  We made it a fun game to come with some new “words” for the next conference call.
 
At first I was going to open up a dictionary and look up some really interesting words, but then I took a step back and asked myself, “what do I really believe?”  There is a difference between cool sounding words that are foreign to your everyday life versus concepts and principles that you strive to achieve on a daily basis or that you are currently working on.
 
As I thought about this I came upon three traits that were explained to me in one way, but that I have re-defined for everyday use.  The first trait is LEADERSHIP, but I have focused on EXAMPLE.  There is a leadership quote that says “Example in leadership is not the main thing, it is the ONLY thing.”  Whatever it is that we seek to achieve in our life we must become the living example of it.  Whatever we ask of others to do we must be able and willing to do ourselves.  This is one of the reasons that I go through all my programs twice before I publish them.  First by myself because I am in the creation mode and there is a lot of experimentation that goes along with it.  Once I hit upon the system that works I step back and then do it a second time with other people (my beloved guinea pigs) that have varying degrees of fitness to see how others react to the program.  The most important thing I have noticed when training others is that you MUST be the living breathing embodiment of what you are asking them to do.  Just as important, they will pick up and mimic the enthusiasm and interest you have when performing the exercises.  So the first trait is a lesson from LEADERSHIP which I have synthesized to the more accessible BE THE EXAMPLE of what you want in your life.
 
The second trait I picked up from a Colombian Naval Captain.  He used the term SAINTHOOD which turns me off a little bit because I am very human and very far from being a saint.  In fact if you knew me when I was a teenager you might be more inclined to agree that I was the exact opposite of a saint, and I would have to agree.  He told me during one of our casual conversations that it should be within our goals to become saints.  As I raised my eyebrow upon hearing this he said, “Eric, do you know what a saint is?”  Since I already knew he had the answer on the tip of his tongue and no matter what I said it would be something other than his prepackaged answer I said “OK, tell me what a saint is.”  His reply was very straightforward, “When what we think, say and do is the same thing.”  To me this means INTEGRITY.  Now this version of integrity has more to do with the alignment of who you are in thought, word and deed to your AUTHENTIC self rather to some cultural attributes of morality which vary from country to country and region in the world.
 
The third trait is COURAGE.  In the military courage has been valued for centuries, in fact the original term was arête in Greek which was exemplified by your courage in battle in holding your shield, standing your ground and fighting.  This was very important because in those times your protection was provided by the man next to you holding up his shield which protected you and not him. Formations needed courageous men to hold the line in order to be successful. The term was expanded to mean “virtue” and “being the best you can be.” In today’s U.S. Navy the three core values are Honor, Courage and Commitment. However, courage is a term that has a requirement and it is that requirement that I am focusing on.  The requirement of courage is ENERGY.  Perhaps you have heard the quote “Fatigue makes cowards of us all” attributed to Vince Lombardi.  You need ENERGY to take action and implement the changes you want to take in your life and to take you closer to living your authentic self.  You need ENERGY to be Courageous.
 
Depending on your taste and personality you can choose the three original terms or my terms.  The original terms would be LEADERSHIP, SAINTHOOD, and COURAGE.  I have chosen the more universal terms of EXAMPLE, INTEGRITY and ENERGY to implement in my life.  Use these traits or explore what it is that you VALUE and use them to get you closer to living your AUTHENTIC self.
 
Very respectfully,
 
Eric Guttmann

PS from Jon-

Eric’s courses on Extreme Military Fitness, Moving Freely For Life, and his Self Reliance Manifesto are must haves for any serious warrior!  I highly recommend ALL of them! MovingFreelyDVD-219x300
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SelfRelianceCover

My Heavy Metal Strength Meditation Part 4

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

My Heavy Metal Strength Meditation Part 4 – THE RESULTS: Leaner, Stronger, Faster.

 

For 8 weeks prior to my Navy Physical Readiness Test (PRT) I developed a program focused exclusively on Tire Flipping.  If you have been following these articles then you know that the main goal was to achieve 100 consecutive tire flips with the 300lb tire with an emphasis on tying the breath to the movement.  I will now report on the results that this type of training had on my body and performance as measured by the U.S. Navy.
The Navy’s Physical Readiness Test (PRT) is a two part process that is now called the Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA).  The first part, conducted 1-2 days prior to the physical test measures your height & weight and compares it to a chart that determines if you are within Navy standards.  If you are overweight then you get your bodyfat measured by a tape measure test.  They measure your waist and neck circumference and plug it into a chart with your height and weight that spits out an approximate bodyfat percentage.  Males need to be under 22% bodyfat to pass this assessment and be “within standards.” If you score higher than 22% then you FAILED the PFA.
Because of my bodybuilding and strength workouts I have ALWAYS been over the “magical” weight for my height in the last 17 years of military service and have gotten used to getting my bodyfat measured at every PFA.  Here is what happened at this PFA.  For the first time in 17 years I actually dropped below 215lbs, my exact weight was 211.4lbs.  I did not alter my diet at all, in fact my diet was a little off because I have been eating a lot of Cuban food in Miami and when I take my kids out to eat I would be eating ice cream and desserts with them.  I do make an effort to eat “clean” 80% of the time.  The only thing I did different was the physical training.  So it seems that extended tire flipping, which for this article means 100 consecutive tire flips, is a weight loss mechanism.  Judging by the way my abs and obliques were more defined I would also forward that it is a fat-loss mechanism.
Now here is the really interesting part.  I mentioned that as part of my regimen I added gravity boots.  Hanging upside down helps to decompress the spine and provides extra blood flow to the head.  For the last 17 years my height has always been the same, 73 inches.  When they measured me my height was a little over 73 inches and I heard the Petty Officer who took my measurement say “he is over 73 inches so mark down 74.”  This means I was probably ½ inch taller for them to round up.  This really blew me away!  You hear of people shrinking with age, but have you ever heard of anyone adding a little height to their frame?  This for me is confirmation that the gravity boots add an important component to recovery, spine health, and longevity!
Armed with my two official measurement of 211.4lbs and 74 inches the Petty Officers administering the PFA go to the “magical” Navy chart that determines if I am within “standards” and lo and behold for the first time in 17 years I did not need to do the tape measure test!  Thus, tire flipping and gravity boots have the capacity to alter the body by making it leaner and taller, but let’s see what happens when you are tested physically…
The Navy PRT consists of two minutes of sit-ups, two minutes of pushups, and a 1.5 mile run for time.  There is a chart that determines your score based on the number of repetitions for your age and gender.  There is a max number which means you “aced” the test.  For a 39 year old male (that would be ME) my max scores were 95 situps and 76 pushups.  I achieved the 95 situps and 76 pushups with ease.  I did not do a single situp or pushup in the previous 8 weeks.  I DID do Dru Patrick’s Last Man Standing drill to train my core on my recovery day. Now, the really interesting thing happened with the run.
I do occasional sprint workouts when I get into a groove, but I checked my training journals and had not done any type of running or sprinting for six months.  In other words, the last time I ran was my previous PRT.  Since I do not like running, what I do at the PRT is find a guy with a pace I like and just trail in behind him.  The key is to pick the right pace, too slow and you feel antsy, too fast and you will get smoked before your time.  This time I decided to follow the beat of my own drum and just concentrate on my breathing, just like I do when I do the tire flipping.  While the breath pattern was different the idea was the same – use the breathing discipline I developed through tire flipping and apply it to the run.  I ended up doing a “weird” pattern almost intuitively that was: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, and 4 short exhales.  I felt that the key was in removing the excess waste products and that is what the 4 short exhales at the end of the breathing cycle sought to accomplish.
Keeping the breathing pattern up for the first mile was easy, but after that I noticed that I wanted to change it.  Here is where the discipline kicked in and I forced myself to keep the pattern.  Lo and behold to my surprise I ran it in 11:45, 30 seconds FASTER than my previous runs!  It was also the first time in 5 years that I ran the test in under 12 minutes!  While part of it may be due to being a little lighter, a lot had to do with the breathing discipline and conditioning developed through tire flipping.

In conclusion, the Heavy Metal Strength Meditation was a success!  I dropped 4 lbs of weight and you could make the case that most of it was fat loss, I increased my height, I “maxed” the situps and pushups with ease without training those specific exercises, and I ran the best run I have had in five years.  In case you are curious and want to try it here is the curriculum I followed: My Heavy Metal Strength Meditation Part 3

Very respectfully,
Eric Guttmann
PS As you can see joint mobility is an integral part of the recovery day, to get my FULL Mobility program click HERE:
If flipping a 300lb tire 100 consecutive times is a little out of your league right now then get in combat ready shape using Extreme Military Fitness by clicking HERE and after the 12 weeks you will be primed and ready to tackle on the Heavy Metal Strength Meditation:
If you like the energy in these articles then get Listen Up and read 1-5 pages in the morning to put you in the right mindset to tackle on any task or life change you want to accomplish, whether it be physical, mental, financial, or lifestyle.

Read Eric’s complete bio HERE

Warrior Podcast with Eric Guttmann

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In an effort to provide you, my dear readers, with the best information out there on strength, health, fitness, and martial arts, I am interviewing top coaches, professionals, martial arts masters, and ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Continue reading →

My Heavy Metal Strength Meditation Part 3

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Guest blog post by Eric Guttmann, U.S. Navy Officer, Author, Fitness Enthusiast and More!
My Heavy Metal Strength Meditation Part 3 – How I trained to achieve 100 consecutive tire flips
tire
It is amazing what the MIND and body can do when you focus on ONE thing to develop.  As I have written in the previous two articles in these series, the goal of this strength meditation was to accomplish 100 consecutive tire flips with a 300lb tire.  Six weeks after beginning this journey I performed 100 tire flips in 9:55.  I relayed this to my friend Bud Jeffries and he asked me if that was my best time.  I said no, that it was my FIRST time and that I purposely was not trying to go fast, rather I wanted to build a steady pace tied in to the breathing, like a meditation.  Funny thing is, that once an IDEA gets in your consciousness it starts to get internalized and metabolized. Continue reading →

Healing Yourself With Mobility – Part 3

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Healing and Mobility Part 3 – Everyday healing of neck, vertigo, and surviving training mistakes with mobility

 

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

In everyday matters joint mobility also saves the day.  If for some reason you sleep with a craned neck and you wake up with neck pain you can easily and quickly get rid of it or reduce it significantly before you even head out to work by doing joint mobility.  I have done so on various occasions and believe me that it is better to work with a “little nagging pain” that goes away that day than endure the day with the kind of pain that makes you think about taking a pain killer or that seriously interferes with your quality of life.

Joint mobility also PROTECTS you by giving you a resilient body that can handle training mistakes a lot better.  As an example I was in Cartagena, Colombia, (yes, the same city where the Secret Service got in trouble) with the Navy and I woke up early to do incline sprints on the 300 year old walled city.  The particular incline I chose was made of cobblestones and had holes in it.  On my second sprint up this incline I completely twisted my ankle 90 degrees.  Because I had already warmed up my ankle to FULL mobility I was able to finish the sprint, and more importantly FINISH my workout like nothing had happened.  In fact, when I came down to do another set of sprints after I twisted my ankle a local came to me and said to me in Spanish “I saw what had happened to your ankle” somewhat concerned for my ability to safely walk on back to the hotel.  I simply laughed, shrugged it off, thanked him for his concern and FINISHED my work out by doing FOUR more sets of sprints.  I know for a fact that if the same thing had happened to me in my college days I would have been done for, because the same thing DID happen to me when I was in track and field and it took three weeks to heal!

Joint mobility has also helped me with my wife.  She had a case of vertigo a year ago and I taught her joint mobility, as the medicines the doctor gave her only made her feel worse.  The joint mobility (and acupuncture I gave her) where the keys to her recovery.  To this day she does the neck series everyday as a preventative and feels great every time she does it.

As I mentioned in my previous article, many of my friends I teach these drills comment on how their lower backs loosen up and become pain-free after the mobility series.  In fact, it was at the prodding of these friends that I decided to do my FULL mobility DVD, because they wanted something they could study in their homes after I left.

Now, in the first article I mentioned my father’s statement of “If you do something everyday, then everyday you will be able to do it.”  Every morning I go through my routine and establish full mobility in every joint.  I easily touch my wrists to the ground every morning.  Now I ask you, if I establish full mobility every morning and touch my wrists to the floor easily and gracefully every morning, am I going to have full mobility and easily touch  my wrists to the floor at 100 years of age?  The answers is ABSOLUTELY YES! All I have to do is keep doing my FULL mobility routine every morning.

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:

 MovingFreelyDVD-219x300As 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!

MovingFreelyDVD-219x300If 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.

Read Eric’s complete bio HERE.

Healing Yourself With Mobility – Part 2

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Healing and Protecting the Lower Back

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

In my last article I mentioned how I healed a sprained ankle myself using joint mobility. Now whenever something happens I can quickly and easily fix it myself.  For example I was training my heavy snatches with a training plan I wrote for myself.  This plan laid out progressively heavier snatches as I got stronger and perfected my technique.  I was to spend a minimum of a week with each weight class or until I mastered the weight before going up another level.

I started to progress faster than I anticipated and I got so eager that I ignored my own training protocol and quickly jumped to the 88lb kettlebell instead of spending time training that week with the 70lb kettlebell like I had planned.  As I snatched the 88lb with abandon I felt a sharp pain in my back and instantly knew something had gone wrong.  On the drive back to work the curves on the road became sheer AGONY for my lower back! I managed to see the chiropractor the next day and did my joint mobility everyday morning and night, slowly working through the pain and increasing my range of motion.  Within FOUR days I was snatching the 70lb kettlebell with perfect form and also learned to honor my innate wisdom in planning.

Many of my friends to whom I teach the lower back and spine mobility drills comment on how their lower backs loosen up and become pain-free after the mobility series.  In fact, it was at the prodding of these friends that I decided to do my FULL mobility DVD, because they wanted something they could study in their homes after I left.

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Now, if you remember on the first article I mentioned my father’s statement of “If you do something everyday, then everyday you will be able to do it.”  Every morning I go through my routine and establish full mobility in every joint.  I easily touch my wrists to the ground every morning.  Now I ask you, if I establish full mobility every morning and touch my wrists to the floor easily and gracefully every morning, am I going to have full mobility and easily touch  my wrists to the floor at 100 years of age?  The answers is ABSOLUTELY YES! All I have to do is keep doing my FULL mobility routine every morning.

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:

MovingFreelyDVD-219x300As 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!

MovingFreelyDVD-219x300If 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.

 

Eric GuttmannRead Eric’s complete bio HERE.

My Heavy Metal Strength Meditation

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

Its amazing what you can pick up when you are paying attention.  At the 2012 Super Human Workshop I overheard Bud Jeffries tell one of the participants that if she wanted to get conditioned to work up to 50 tire flips.  That was over a year ago, but I remembered.  I then had a conversation with Bud Jeffries were the subject came up and he mentioned again that if you had to do only ONE exercise to get both strength and conditioning that Tire Flipping would definitely be it.  This spurned in me the desire to focus single mindedly in this endeavor, just like a meditation.  Some regard breath counting as a meditation, I decided to do Tire Flipping as a strength meditation where I count the reps instead of breaths, and since I listen to high energy music when I train, it became my heavy metal strength meditation!

My plan is very simple and I will see what happens when the upcoming Navy Physical Readiness Test rolls around and how my body performs.  Originally I was going to work up to 50 consecutive tire flips. On my first workout some of the staff members at US SOUTHERN COMMAND, where I am currently stationed, saw me and asked me about it.  When I mentioned my 50 tire flips, they said, “Oh yes, we use to have a General that loved tire flipping and he would do 100 tire flips.”

Well, if some General can do 100 flips, then so can I!  So after my first workout and that comment 100 tire flips became my new goal.

Here is my three pronged plan of attack:
GOAL 1: Perform 100 tire flips in one workout broken up in sets of 5 reps
GOAL 2: Perform 50 consecutive tire flips
GOAL 3: Perform 100 consecutive tire flips
OK, since I have never flipped a tire except at that Super Human Workshop over a year ago, I am starting slowly and methodically.  My first workout was 10 sets of 5 repetition with a 250lb tire.  I am currently doing 15 sets of 5 repetitions and next week I am looking to increase it to 20 sets of 5 repetition to achieve my first goal of 100 tire flips in one workout.

Believe it or not the limiting factor is your forearms.  If you are strong and conditioned enough you could probably do 100 tire flips on the first go.  At least I felt I had the strength and conditioning to do this in the first week except for ONE detail, and that was that after 50 reps my forearms where blasted and I could feel it was time to STOP.  When I mentioned this to Bud Jeffries he mentioned how tire flipping trains you in the open hand position which is something we RARELY do, most training is done gripping a bar, dumbbell, kettlebell, etc.  Even if it is a “thick-handled” implement it is not the same as the open hand position used in tire flipping.  Hence the workout is built up methodically to allow your forearms to catch up.

 

Of course if you are deconditioned or have not trained in a long time then you are better off starting with Extreme Military Fitness Basic to achieve the basic levels of strength and conditioning before attempting the 100 tire flips:

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What I have noticed is that I go through two stages.  In the first stage the body gets accelerated for tire flipping.  Heartbeat goes up and it is demanding (fun, but demanding).  As the Russians say, “every exercise is a breathing exercise” and I am applying the same rules to my tire flipping experiment.  I slowly get up to the tire and get in that meditative state where I match breath to movements.  Inhale as I slowly lower myself into perfect position and get my grip.  Explode as I exhale and get the tire up to chest level and then a short inhale and another explosive exhale as I forcibly push the tire. Take one breathing step to the base of the tire and repeat.

After about 25 reps I get something like a second wind or I just get in the flow or something, because I merely focus on the breath and then it gets EASIER.  It is almost as working through the effort of matching breath to movements with your heart beating faster during the initial reps that builds a groove and then it becomes a literal STRENGTH MEDITATION!  Again, what will probably stop you is your FOREARMS if they are not trained and strong enough in the open hand position.  Hey, I am the first to admit it, and that is why I am building nice and slow, like a another General here at SOUTHCOM says “easy peasy…”

I will train tire flipping EXCLUSIVELY until I achieve GOAL 2 of 50 consecutive tire flips.  At that point I might add sledgehammers or something, but until that point ALL MY WORKOUTS ARE ALREADY DECIDED!  All I have to do is flip the tire 2-3x a week until I achieve my goal.  I love having this singularity of focus in my training.  Reminds me of that “chop wood, carry water” analogy.  If you have the strength and conditioning (and an available tractor tire) try this with me and let me know your experience.

All my best,
Eric Guttmann

PS – If you want to increase your recovery so that you can improve faster then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you add my FULL Mobility program to this experiment by CLICKING HERE NOW! 😉

 

Read Eric’s complete bio 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.