Tag Archives: moving freely for life

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!

Martial Power Cover1

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!!

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

How I Healed My Neck with Mobility & Breathing

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Several years ago, back in about 2004, I severely injured my neck.  At the time it happened, it didn’t feel too bad.  I thought it was something I would just shake off and keep going.  However, when I woke up the following morning, I realized I was in severe pain and couldn’t move my neck.

After panic subsided and I managed to crawl out of bed into a hot shower, I figured the warm water would loosen it up and I’d be fine.  The hot water provided some initial relief, which allowed me to begin to move slightly, but not by much.

Neck pain

Fast forward to later that day at the doctor’s office.  She examined my neck, checked my range of motion (which was non-existent!) and then prescribed muscle relaxants and talked about surgery.

Surgery?

Drugs?

Ummm… no thank you!

Back at home, lying in my bed feeling sorry for myself, I began to think about how I could start to help myself and heal my own neck.  I began to work on mobility far from the source of my pain.  Starting with the fingers and hands, I worked my way up my arms and into the elbows.  Since this felt okay, I tried the shoulders.  That hurt.  So I backed off.  Again and again just working shallow range of motion on the rest of my body until I could reach, and begin to move the neck.  Each time I was able to do a little more, go a bit farther.

When I was finally able to work into my neck, these are the exercises I did:

This was not an instantaneous process by far, but gradually, bit by bit, day by day, and week by week, I was able to increase the range of motion and decrease the pain.  Eventually, I was able to completely restore the full, pain free mobility back to my entire body.

In the video above, I also mention some breathing exercises I did along with mobility to help heal myself.  The main exercise is quite simple, yet extraordinarily powerful.  Using your mind to locate the source of pain, inhale directly into the pain.  Visualize the breath bringing healing energy into the area.  Then exhale from the pain.  Visualize your breath pulling the pain out of the body and expelling it.  Repeat until you feel the pain begin to decrease and the area feel warm and energized.

If you would like to learn more about healing yourself with mobility, breathing and posture, I highly recommend you check out:

The Warrior’s Health System: Reintegrating Breathing, Movement, Alignment

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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  <<<=====

———

Eric GuttmannRead Eric’s complete bio HERE.