Healing Yourself with Mobility Part 1

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Jon

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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Read Eric’s complete bio HERE.

Time to Reorganize Priorities

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Jon

I spent all morning today running around with my 4 year old doing a bunch of errands. We went to Story Time at Barnes & Noble (she loves that!), then to the bank, to the post office (where I shipped out one of the last paperback copies of Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts!), then off to go food shopping. Finally we made it back home where I got lunch ready, chicken nuggets for her and a protein shake for me (recipe here!).

Now, aside from telling you about my morning, you may be wondering what my point is here. At each one of the stops we made I did some people watching and listening. At B&N, while listening to the story teller read Good Night Moon, I overheard 2 moms having a conversation about Weight Watchers and how they both needed to lose weight. There was some talk about eating healthier, but the main focus seemed to be on how they could cheat – and they hadn’t even started yet!! All this while both were sucking down some serious calories from their Starbucks mocha-whatevers with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Since I was curious, I engaged them in conversation and asked if they were going to add exercise in to help them with their goals. They both agreed that it would be a great idea, if only they had time. They seemed very convinced that they were way too busy with everything going on in their lives and would just have to “do the best they could”. I wanted to pursue the conversation more, but the story was over and Juliana was ready to go play with the legos and trains, so we walked away.

Stephen Covey Quote

This got me thinking – why do people TALK about being healthy so MUCH, yet put so little actual value on their health and fitness that they can’t make it a priority in their lives? We all KNOW so much about how to be healthy, but knowing is not enough. We all want so much to be healthy, fit and strong, but willing it is not enough. There is simply ONLY ONE WAY to become fit, healthy, and stong, and that is DOING IT!

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar

Make your fitness a priority in your life. Sooner or later if you don’t make time for being healthy you will be forced to make time for being sick. Take charge of your own fitness today. Make it part of your weekly schedule. Get it done.

Remember – what gets scheduled gets done. What does NOT get scheduled falls by the wayside. Don’t just talk about it. Become it!

Why Should YOU Train Like A Warrior?

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Jon

Upon hearing the name of my gym, Warrior Fitness Gym, and my 30 year martial arts background, many people become hesitant and ask me, “Do I need to be a martial artist to train with you? Do I have to be a warrior?” The answer to the first question is no and the answer to the second question is yes.

You do not have to train martial arts to join my gym, in fact the majority of the clients who train with me at the gym are not, but yes, you DO have to be a warrior! The definition of warrior that I am using here is – “One who is engaged aggressively or energetically in an activity, cause, or conflict.”

Your activity is fitness training.

Your cause is to be the strongest, healthiest, best version of yourself you can possibly be.

Your conflict is fighting against mediocrity, laziness, and the pull of simply going along with the herd.

Good enough is NOT good enough, good is the enemy of GREAT!

If you are not a warrior, don’t worry. I’ll make you one.

Why should you train this way?

Quite simple. You are dissatisfied with the status quo. You want something different, better, more effective, and quite frankly much cooler and more kick ass than traditional boring fitness workouts. You want to walk tall and stand out from the crowd, not be lost in the masses as another wall flower. You want to become the most powerful version of yourself possible and you will fight hard to do it.

Warrior training is the essence of fitness. Remember that sports were created as a way for warriors to practice and hone thier skills in times of peace. Almost all physical training that has stood the test of time was once warrior training. In essence, training like this will bring you back to the root of what fitness training really is – training for battle. Yes, even if you never engage in combat, this type of training will prepare you to face any challenges life may throw at you.

My recommendation? Train with me. Train like a warrior.

Jon Shizen

Why Eating Bitter is so Sweet

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Jon

The Chinese martial arts have an expression, chi ku, which means to “eat bitter” or “eating bitterness”. It is frequently used by the master to express to the students training under him the fact that if they want to become masters of the art in their own right, they must suffer first. The training is often very rigorous, both physically and mentally demanding. It can also be extremely boring and repetitive sometimes as the trainees must perform the same movement patterns and work though the same solo exercises over and over again in order to burn it into their nervous systems so it becomes part of them. This is the only way to do it.

Certainly this type of training is not for everyone. Yet for those with the physical and mental fortitude to endure the long years of training and hardship, the harsh realities of becoming great, the rewards are vast. The students develop formidable body skills and enourmous amounts of mental toughness. For those that make it, they realize the training was intense, but they made it through. They are now the masters.

As Jim Rohn famously said – There are only 2 pains in life. The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

It’s your choice. Suffer a little now, endure the training, endure the hardships, endure the life adversity, and then look back knowing that you have walked through it and achieved your goal on the other side.

Or, be afraid of the hardship and pain and decide to back off and stay where you are. The pain of discipline is avoided, yes, but what you don’t realize is that the pain of regret weighs much, much heavier and is in fact the greater of the 2 pains.

Eat bitter now and be able to endure physical and mental hardships in training. Endure hardship and succeed. The rewards are so sweet!

I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
– Muhammad Ali

Top 7 Exercises for Warriors

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Jon

Here is the list I put together of my Top 7 Exercises for Warrior Training. Not that these are the ONLY exercises you should do or would ever need but, if I were forced to narrow down my selection to my top 7, these would be my picks.

The great thing about this list is that if you were to just do these 7 exercises combined into a progressive training program, you would get amazing results of strength building, metabolic conditioning, fat loss, and endurance. The side benefits would also include greater core strength, agility, and coordination. So go forth and add these to your training program!

1. Clubbell Mills / Reverse Mills

2. Jumping

Any type of jumping is not only excellent conditioning for explosive strength, but also mandatory for a warrior. You must be able to leap out the way of a sword strike or over an obstacle! So, whether it’s box jumps, tire jumps, broad jumps, lateral jumps, etc, they are all important and necessary training.

3. Pull-ups

Warriors need pulling strength. Get on the bar, the rope, the tree branch, or even the monkey bars at the local playground and start pulling! Change up your grip each set.

4. Push-ups

Most people consider push-ups a basic exercise and only know a handful of variations. I consider push-ups an amazing developer of whole body strength, coordination, and agility with almost limitless variations – ask my clients! 🙂

5. Tire Flips

Whole body strength and power plus the added satisfaction of flipping a 400 lb tire. Simply badass!

6. Ground up lift

This can be any lift from the ground up to overhead. Use a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, sandbag, keg, small child, whatever! Clean and press it. Snatch it. Jerk it. Turkish Get Up it! Just lift it!

7. Sledge hammer swings

These are simply awesome for conditioning, developing striking power, and super-transferable nonstop core power. Plus they are fun as hell and great for stress relief after a bad day!

Bonus exercise – KB Swings

You are your weakest link! For most people their posterior chain is a weak area on the body. This exercise will fix it. Oh yeah, if you still think you need to do more cardio, try banging out a few hundred reps of these bad boys!

What exercises would you include as part of your top 7? Drop a comment below!

Ready for a 6 week program that will explode your development as martial artist?
Ready to take strength and conditioning to a whole new level?
Ready to become agile, mobile, and hostile?
Ready to blow away all your former training plateaus?
Ready to build insane mental toughness and work capacity?

Then the Martial Power Coaching Program is for you! Spots are limited so ACT now!

Stay The Course

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Jon

Over the past few early January 2013 evenings I’ve been thinking deeply about my mission in life. Some of my thoughts formed themselves into the lines below as I sat writing in front of my computer.

My goal here is to reach out to all those people who never quite manage to keep their resolutions and to help them. They begin an exercise program, a diet, a martial arts class with the best of intentions, but somehow lack the ability to Stay the Course. This is my advice to them, and to you too.

I haven’t really written any poetry since college when I took a few poetry courses, so bear with me!

Stay the Course

The road is hard and fraught with pitfalls,

Stay the course.

Intense effort, concentration, and focus are sometimes required,

Stay the course.

You will fall, get distracted, wander off the path every once in a while,

Stay the course.

The greatest part of it all is the journey, not the destination, revel in it and

Stay the course.

Redouble your efforts, push hard, live like a champion and,

Stay the course.

Do not allow your will, momentum, or motivation to falter,

Stay the course.

Seek guidance from others farther along the path than you. They will assist in helping you to

Stay the course.

Do the work, reap the rewards. Consistency is the key,

Stay the course.

Know that difficulties and doubts will arise along the path, keep moving, they will evaporate as you

Stay the course.

Understand the rhythm of your own body – some sessions breaking limits, some days moving lightly,

Stay the course.

Open the body. Breathe deep. Stretch. Feel your life force pulsing inside.

Stay the course.

Results come from constant effort, you must

Stay the course.

Nothing comes from quitting. All that effort is wasted. All steps in vain. Therefore always

Stay the course.

I don’t think this poem is quite finished yet, there’s still more percolating around in my mind on this subject. I have a feeling that I will be adding lines to this over the next few weeks as the thoughts crystallize. But for now, it is an unfinished work in progress that I want to share with you.

Let me know what you think – drop a comment below or hit me up on the Warrior Fitness Facebook page!

Don’t quit. Keep going!

If you need help, ask. Whether you are local to Hainesport, NJ and want to train at Warrior Fitness Gym or you are far away and need online coaching. Ask. That’s what I’m here for.

7.5 Steps to NOT Achieving Your Fitness Goals in 2013

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Jon

How to NOT Meet Your Fitness Goals for 2013….

I hope you all brought your sense of humor with you into the New Year. Here are my 7.5, obviously tongue in cheek, suggestions for NOT meeting your fitness goals in 2013. If you read carefully you may find hints as to how to properly go about it… :o)

Step 1 – Move from workout program to workout program like a sugar addled child in a candy store. This will insure you do not do one thing long enough to see an actual result.

Step 2 – Spend inordinate amounts of time boring yourself to death on cardio machines while tranquilizing your mind by watching TV while doing it

Step 3 – Make sure you do not change your diet to match your new found training regimen. Eat all the carbs and processed foods you like. Nutrition makes NO difference if you are exercising.

Step 4 – Do it yourself! With no discipline, accountability, and support structure in place you are guaranteed to fail.

Step 5 – Hire the cheapest trainer you can find cause they have the LEAST amount of experience

Step 6 – Whatever you do, do NOT lift heavy weights! You might accidentally challenge your body and engender a metabolic response. Careful!

Step 7 – Do NOT initiate proper warm-up and cool down protocols in your training, they are for sissies!

Step 7.5 – Make sure you go as hard as possible at EVERY session. Do not give your body a chance to recover. C’mon, it’s not like growth happens during the recovery process or anything!

Happy New Year from Warrior Fitness!!

The Year in Review

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Jon

As we begin to turn the calendar page and close the door on 2012, I wanted to look back and share with you some highlights of the year for Warrior Fitness. Although it was a very busy and prouctive year all around, a few major accomplishments really stand out in my mind.

Here are a few of them in pictures….

Warrior Fitness Gym opened in January

Several Bujinkan Martial Arts seminars were co-taught with my best Buyu, Josh Sager (more coming in 2013!)

I was named Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for VX Global and even got my own channel on VX TV!

First Ever VX USA Certification Seminar held at Warrior Fitness Gym (more coming in 2013!)

I was certified as a VX Coach Level 1

Released the Dad Strength Program for Father’s Day, 2012

Ran the Tough Mudder in October with my brother, Dave and best friend, Jason (who’s up for another in 2013? Team Warrior Fitness!)

Held the first ever Flippin Awesome Tire Battle at Warrior Fitness Gym!

Released the Evolve Your Breathing Program in December

1st Seminar at Warrior Fitness Gym with my good friend, Craig Gray (more coming in 2013 – see HERE!)

Oh Yeah, and I turned 40 in December… Shhh… don’t tell anyone!

Wishing a Happy, Prosperous, and Strong New Year to all my family, friends, clients, and followers locally and around the world – thank you for all your support, it’s an honor to serve you!

Keep a sharp lookout on 2013 – more awesome and amazing things are coming your way from Warrior Fitness!

Next year – The Year of the Warrior!

Bye bye 2012…

Why You STILL Don’t Breathe Properly

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Jon

I know, I know. You’ve been breathing your entire life so how could you be doing it wrong? You practice all day, every day, right? So you’re thinking – Pretty simple stuff here – in through the nose, out through the mouth, what’s so difficult about this? How could I possibly be screwing it up? I mean, it’s an automatic process for goodness sake! Doesn’t my body know what it’s doing? Continue reading →

Healing an Ankle Sprain

Reclaiming Full Mobility

Read Eric’s complete bio HERE.

Why should you train this way?

1. Clubbell Mills / Reverse Mills

2. Jumping

3. Pull-ups

4. Push-ups

5. Tire Flips

6. Ground up lift

7. Sledge hammer swings

Bonus exercise – KB Swings

Ready for a 6 week program that will explode your development as martial artist?

Ready to take strength and conditioning to a whole new level?

Ready to become agile, mobile, and hostile?

Ready to blow away all your former training plateaus?

Ready to build insane mental toughness and work capacity?

Then the Martial Power Coaching Program is for you! Spots are limited so ACT now!

Stay the Course

Happy New Year from Warrior Fitness!!

Who doesn’t love Top 10 Lists?

Warrior Fitness Gym opened in January

Several Bujinkan Martial Arts seminars were co-taught with my best Buyu, Josh Sager (more coming in 2013!)

I was named Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for VX Global and even got my own channel on VX TV!

First Ever VX USA Certification Seminar held at Warrior Fitness Gym (more coming in 2013!)

I was certified as a VX Coach Level 1

Released the Dad Strength Program for Father’s Day, 2012

Ran the Tough Mudder in October with my brother, Dave and best friend, Jason (who’s up for another in 2013? Team Warrior Fitness!)

Held the first ever Flippin Awesome Tire Battle at Warrior Fitness Gym!

Released the Evolve Your Breathing Program in December

1st Seminar at Warrior Fitness Gym with my good friend, Craig Gray (more coming in 2013 – see HERE!)

Oh Yeah, and I turned 40 in December… Shhh… don’t tell anyone!