Tag Archives: jon haas

The Top 3.5 Reasons Training is Hard

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The other day a student said to me during training: “This is hard.”

My reply was, “Well of course it’s hard. You don’t come to me to learn how to do things you’re already good at, do you?” 

But why is this difficult?

In my experience,training is hard for approximately 3.5 main reasons…

1. You are learning new skills. It’s hard to be good at movements, exercises, and concepts that are new to you. Your nervous system must adapt to the new and different stimulus and create, or sharpen pathways to build competence and skill.

2. You must work on your weak points. Working on things you are already good at is fun, but the only way to truly become all-around strong is to eliminate your weak points.

3. Your ego. No one wants to look inept or silly. But the only way to become better means that we must put ego aside in order to learn.

3.5. Superficial Expert Status. The amount of information available today gives people immediate access to any body of knowledge out there, no matter how obscure, in a matter of seconds.  We have all become SMEs – “Superficial Matter Experts”.  We think that just because we know “about” something we actually understand it. No one wants to spend the time and effort required to learn something deeply.

But these reasons are exactly why we need to train. And why we need to train with people who have greater, or more specialized knowledge, higher levels of experience, and greater levels of skill than we do.

This is why I still train with my martial arts teachers. This is why I still have a strength coach. This is why I participate in masterminds and have business coaches.

Because I know that I need to be pushed and challenged in order to grow, just like I must push and challenge my students and clients in order for them to grow.

Ready to be pushed and challenged?

It begins here <<===

Fasting, Cold Showers, and Black Coffee

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This week I decided to run a little experiment and see how long I could fast. I felt that after all the overeating and indulging of the holidays that my body, especially my digestive system, could use a break.

I was inspired by my friend Logan Christopher doing a 5 day fast over New Years. He mentioned using this book The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting  as a resource so I picked it up and started reading.

fasting-book

I started my fast Sunday night at 10 PM and continued until Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM for a total of 66 hours. This was by far the longest I’ve ever gone without food.

My normal routine includes daily Intermittent Fasting, but that usually only lasts between 16-18 hours. Here’s a video I made last year talking about how to do it.

What did I consume?

  • Water with lemon
  • Green tea
  • Herbal tea
  • Black coffee with a splash of half and half

How did I feel?

To be honest, I felt great! I was hungry in brief intervals, but it passed. My energy levels were steady for most of it although in the afternoons I felt sleepy and a little drained. Otherwise I had great mental clarity, focus, and energy throughout the whole thing.

I normally use cold exposure and breathing exercises as part of my daily routine but I felt the beneficial effects were magnified even more during my fast. Read about my cold exposure training here.

Did I workout?

Yes I did. Mostly light kettlebell work, hitting the heavy bag, mobility, and cleansing Qigong.

What are some of the benefits of fasting?

  • Fat loss (obviously)
  • Lowers blood sugar (not dangerously low because the body burns fat as fuel – ketosis)
  • Increased insulin sensitivity (remember obesity other metabolic syndromes are caused by insulin resistance)
  • Increased levels of growth hormone
  • Increased clarity, focus, and energy
  • Improved heart health
  • Anti-aging effects
  • Boosts brain power

Why did I stop?

To be honest, I wasn’t hungry. I actually broke my fast because I wanted the socialization experience of eating dinner with my kids. Plus I had to cook for them anyway. 🙂

I broke the fast with 1 spoonful of natural peanut butter. After an hour or so I had an arugula salad with cucumbers, carrots, and some red pepper in an olive oil and lemon juice dressing.

jon-peanut-butter

All in all it was a great experience. I plan to continue my foray into fasting!

Got questions? Let me know! Happy to help.

Bored With Push-Ups? Try These!

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Push-ups should build all-around 3 dimensional strength from every conceivable angle and hand position. If you’re bored with your current push-up regimen, give these a try and let me know what you think!

 

Screwing Push-ups

Knife Push-ups

Wrist to Fist Push-ups

How to Train Wrist to Fist Push-ups

Multi-Directional Push-ups

Whole Body Plyometric Frog Hop (not technically “push-ups” but close enough and fun!)

The Aiki Push-up

 

Read more about how to use different push-up variations to condition your fists for striking HERE.

 

Learn the secret step-by-step method used to build fierce internal strength and martial art power from a little known way to perform push-ups in the latest release from Warrior Fitness, The Push-ups for Internal Strength Program

 

Musashi’s Rules – “Forge Yourself in the Way”

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If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing every day.

Musashi instinctively knew this.  He became the greatest swordsman Japan ever produced by practicing what he preached.

The concept of forging oneself through the rigors of daily training was so important to him that he made it a rule for those who would follow his way of martial strategy.

But this article isn’t about Musashi, it’s about you and tapping into your own innate greatness.

musashi

Forge Yourself in the Way

Forging must be done daily. There is no way to forge body, mind, and spirit into a finely honed blade without constant hammering and firing through the steel tempering process of training.

  • Half-assed training won’t cut it.
  • Training only when you feel like it won’t get you there.
  • Training without a properly focused strategy will not work.
  • Training the same way over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

So What Works?

The only answer to the question of how does one become a great martial artist (and I’m assuming you want to be great otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this blog…) is this – TRAIN MORE.

But, like anything else, there’s a caveat.

Train smarter AND Train Harder.

As I always say, there are no secret techniques but there ARE secret (or less well known) training strategies that will improve all aspects of martial performance in much less time.

Training more and training harder are NOT the only variables. Anyone who thinks this way is an amateur.

Click HERE Now to Get All the Details!

 

The Warrior Code

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Every warrior society throughout history from the Spartans, the Samurai,and the Apache, to the modern day warriors like the SEALs all possess a strong code of ethics that they live by.

The Warrior Fitness Tribe is no different.

When you belong to this tribe, there is a code that must be adhered to.

the-warrior-code

This is the code of the Warrior Fitness Tribe.

Learn it.

Live it.

Share it!

The Yin and Yang of Strength

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The art and science of becoming stronger can be broken down into 2 main methods.

  1. The Addition of Driving Forces (Yang), and
  2. The Subtraction of Restrictive Forces (Yin)

When most people train for strength they focus solely on the Yang of Strength – the addition of driving forces.

But this will only get you so far…

It’s like driving a car around all day with the emergency brake on.  You can still get where you need to go, but that extra, unnecessary drag is killing the car’s performance and guzzling gas (consuming energy).

What is the hidden drag in your performance?

Residual muscle tension, or tonus, is the continuous, passive partial contraction of muscles in the body that aids in posture and support. Any type of strength training exercise, stress, fear, and trauma, will all cause an unwanted and unnecessary increase in the normal residual muscle tension of the body.

Usmuscle-boundually this extra tonus goes unnoticed, or worse is simply deemed an acceptable and natural side effect of living.  The problem with this added tension is that the continuous contraction of muscle throughout the day, ever day, is using up energy.  Energy that can, and should, be available to us is being siphoned off thereby putting the brakes on our performance.

Rather than increasing our energy, freeing our movement, and allowing us to access our full strength potential as human beings, the consistent focus on the Yang of Strength makes us literally muscle bound.

The Yin of Strength

The Yin of Strength is how we strategically and systematically remove those restrictive forces to reveal our true strength potential as an Integrated Human Being.

What specific recovery methods are used?

  • Mobility Training
  • Yoga Postures to act as compensatory movement
  • Vibration Training to literally shake out the tension
  • Breathing Exercises
  • Foam Rolling and Fascial Release
  • Qigong

Check out my latest program, Vital Force: The Yin of Strength

How Warriors Train for ENDURANCE

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Warriors Need to HIIT!

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is one of the best ways to train for endurance. It will enhance all 3 energy systems in the body, as well as prime the nervous system to recover automatically during lulls in activity.

Simply put, HIIT alternates periods of high intensity exercise with periods of rest and recovery. It can be performed with almost any exercise and can be utilized both with and without equipment.

The variety and adaptability of this style of training is second to none in results.

How else does improving your endurance through this type of conditioning aid your martial arts training?

I’m glad you asked!

If the benefits discussed above weren’t enough, consider that having a high level of conditioning also aids in learning new skills.

How’s that possible?

To put it simply, when the central nervous system (CNS) is fatigued, the body cannot effectively process new skills, especially technically advanced skills. So, in essence your lack of a general level of fitness and conditioning will actually impede your learning process as you will tire more readily and not have the ability to recover quickly enough during training.

 

  • Want to train more, at a higher level, for a longer period of time?

  • Want to get more out of your training time both at home and in the dojo?

  • Want to build new skills and enhance your technical arsenal?

    My brand new WarFit Combat Conditioning Program will show you how!

warfit3d3

Top 10 Strategies for Optimal Health

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“The way is not far from people. It is their expectation of the way that distances them from it.”
– Zhong Yong

We humans have a certain knack for overly complicating simple things. We think that if something is too simple sounding, it can’t possibly work. But often the opposite is true.

Building vitality and creating optimal health are simple provided you follow a certain set of simple sounding, time tested practices.

road with sign pole and blue sky with clouds

Top 10 Strategies for Optimal Health

  1. Drink a gallon of pure water per day (yes, you’ll pee a lot. Get over it)
  2. Eat more fresh vegetables and fruit (Notice that vegetables come first. That’s no accident. As for fruit, eat mostly berries and cherries)
  3. Eat organic, free range, and/or grass-fed meat ONLY
  4. Eat more healthy fats such as grassfed butter, almonds, avocados, eggs – yolk and all!, coconut oil, wild caught salmon – no farm raised fish ever!, extra virgin olive oil (find out why here)
  5. Limit your grains, or at least go gluten free.
  6. Take cold showers (find out why here)
  7. Get outside on the grass barefoot for at least 20 minutes a day
  8. Go for a deep breathing walk (see my videos here and here)
  9. Learn how to do standing meditation (see here)
  10. Workout at least 3 times a week (see here)

Need more help? I am here to serve you.

10X Your Fitness and Your Life HERE <<===

The Aiki Push-Up

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The Aiki Push-up is a literally a one-stop-shop in the study of internal power building. It was rumored to be part of Daito Ryu master, Yukiyoshi Sagawa’s secret training regimen.

Sagawa Training
Here’s a video where I explain the purpose and it and how to do it.

Watch carefully as the Aiki Push-up may look similar to what you already know, but the entire engine driving it is different!

Don’t fall prey to the common idea of thinking you know something just because you know about something! Be diligent in your study and your training – go deep!

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing…”

Learn all the fundamental building blocks to the Aiki Push-up, as well as creating Internal Power (plus much more!) HERE!

Isometric Breathing – Lessons from Martin “Farmer” Burns

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Martin “Farmer” Burns was a world champion Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestler as well as a coach of many other famous wrestlers such as the great Frank Gotch.

In 1914, Burns published a 96-page mail-order course entitled Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture, which incorporated breathing techniques, calisthenics, stamina exercises, and wrestling techniques. It was made famous (again) in recent years by Matt Furey, but back in the early 1900s it was the bible for all aspiring wrestlers.

lessons in wrestling and physical culture

There are many breathing exercises in the course, but the one that caught my eye is called Breathing for Internal Exercise. In it Burns teaches a form of reverse breathing and contracting the core to “Force the air downward with all the power you possess.” He states that there is nothing better for the development of abdominal muscles than this type of breathing exercise!

“Breathing exercises alone, if done RIGHT, will make many a weak man strong and many a sick man well.”
– Farmer Burns, 1914

Here is my version of Farmer Burn’s Breathing for Internal Exercise with a couple slight modifications. Give it a try!

 

For a complete reference on breathing exercises, make sure to check out my course, Evolve Your Breathing. Also, see my review of Logan Christopher’s book, Upgrade Your Breath.