Tag Archives: warrior training

Which Warrior Fitness Program is Right for You?

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I get asked this question all the time – Jon, which one of your programs should I start with?

And the answer is, it depends on your goals. 

So in this article I’m going to give you a set of general guidelines to help you decide which program is right for you.

Quick disclaimer before we get started: ALL of my programs are designed to increase functional strength, improve mobility/flexibility, and build your health and energy reserves. 

Even though my training is forged in the crucible of martial arts, you do NOT need to be a martial artist to reap all the benefits from any of my programs.

 So here goes…

 If you are a martial artist looking to unlock the methods of internal power which make ANY art powerful and useful then I recommend starting with Integrated Strength, Shadow Strength, or The Power Protocol. 

Each one of these looks at the secrets of internal power and strength from a slightly different perspective to guide you into becoming an all around power house in your respective art.

 If you are a weekend warrior looking for the edge in your strength and conditioning training, I suggest the WarFit Program or Sledgehammer Domination which are designed to build superior levels of functional strength, burn fat, and increase all around endurance.

If you are looking to build up your energy reserves and recover faster from all your training and life stress, I suggest Evolve Your Breathing or Vital Force. Both these programs will balance out your workouts and help build health, energy, and give you the edge in your recovery.

And lastly, if you are a man in the over 40 crowd, I highly recommend Strong(er) Over 40 and Dad Strength. These programs will guide you to growing stronger as you get older, along with building and keeping your levels of testosterone high!

At any age and in any life circumstance, keep training, keep pushing, keep growing, and always keep challenging your perceived limits!

If you want all the best that Warrior Fitness has to offer, then I highly recommend all 12 issues of the Warrior’s Inner Circle. Here is where you get my most up to date training information taken directly from what I’m working on in my own training right now!

 

Hope that helps guide you in your decision making process! If you have any questions let me know!

 

Grab my entire training library of 29 programs plus a free 30 minute coaching call with me and save over $500 here <<==

 

The Year of Strength

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I have dubbed 2020 “The Year of Strength”.

Why?

Because in strength is what holds us all together.

The strength of love.
The strength of family.
The strength of relationships.
The strength of community.

Yes of course the strength to physically defend ourselves and others. But also the mental strength to make the right choices. The spiritual strength to move past our own physcial and mental/emotional limitations and still be able to keep going when people depend on us or circumstances align against us.

The strength of character to do the right things even when no one is watching or holding us accountable.

The strength of will to persevere no matter what type of challenges life may throw at us.

In my philosophy, as you know, physical training is the microcosm of the macro. The strength of body translates over into all aspects of our lives and our psyche. Being stronger physically makes all of us more useful to each other and of course harder to kill. 🙂

So look forward to much more coming your way to give you all the tools you need to strengthen all 3 parts of yourself – physical, mental, and spiritual – from Warrior Fitness this year.

Happy New Year, my friends. Let’s make it a STRONG one!

Stronger Every Day!

PS – Looking for a crucible of physical training to put yourself through this year? Want to come out stronger, harder, leaner, and vastly healthier in just 6 short weeks? Warrior Fight Club training starts tomorrow – get in on the action HERE!!!

Top 30 Testosterone Boosting Foods

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It’s no secret that our manhood is in jeopardy.

Lack of proper nutrition and exercise, processed foods, and environmental toxins are all conspiring to plummet men’s testosterone levels to an all-time low.

Optimal levels of testosterone are absolutely necessary to help us burn fat, build muscle, reduce depression, be successful, and, all other factors aside, it is the very thing that makes us men.

Here are 5 simple, yet powerful steps you can take right now to begin combating this epidemic and bringing back manliness!

1) Limit your exposure to plastics. Plastics contain phytoestrogens that increase the amount of estrogen in the body – not something we want!

2) Strength Training – the proper strength training protocol can boost both testosterone and growth hormone. Testosterone is responsible for both building muscle AND burning fat!

3) Cold Showers – Take a cold shower twice a day. It’s also great for mental toughness!

4) Eat your nuts. – Have a handful of Almonds and 3 Brazil Nuts first thing in the morning and again before bed to increase healthy fats.

5) Vitamins – Take Vitamin D, Fish Oil, and Zinc. All are necessary for testosterone production!

 

The Top 30 Testosterone Boosting Foods

 

These foods both directly boost testosterone and help to limit estrogen exposure.

One important thing to note is that low fat, low cholesterol diets have been the worst thing to happen to men in the past 40 years.

Remember – Cholesterol is the building block of all sex hormones, testosterone included – so eat your cholesterol!

 

  • Grass fed beef
  • Bacon
  • Eggs (free range)
  • Bison
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Macadamia Nuts
  • Almonds
  • Butter
  • Blue Cheese
  • Oysters & other shell fish
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Cabbage
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Kale
  • Pomegranate
  • Avocado
  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Acai Berries
  • Olive Oil
  • Coconut Oil
  • MCT Oil
  • Coffee
  • Onions
  • Ginger
  • Parsley
  • Garlic
  • Raw Milk
  • Liver
  • Bonus Testosterone Boosting Super Food – Pine Pollen

 

 

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Need more personalized help?

Want me to work with you one-on-one to create a specifically designed program for you to burn fat, build muscle, increase energy, and optimize your testosterone levels?

Go HERE now to apply for a spot in my distance coaching program!

On The Habit of Excellence

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” –  Aristotle

 

Lately I have been thinking about the virtue of excellence. This wasn’t always an important virtue to me. When I was younger (and dumber) I believed that I could get by on just being adequate at things and sort of drift my way through life. The only problem with drifting is that things only can drift one way, downstream.

No one has ever drifted to the top of the mountain.

Now I am convinced that we must all live the virtue of excellence in order to have full, complete, productive, and happy lives. And to be of service to others.

The most often talked about value in Greek culture is areté. Translated as “virtue,” the word actually means something closer to “being the best you can be,” or “reaching your highest human potential.”

This is our daily struggle and goal as warriors – to reach our highest human potential. You see the funny thing about excellence is that you can never achieve it, one and done. You must constantly strive to be in a state of excellence every day pushing higher and higher.

The man or woman of areté is a person of the highest effectiveness; they use all their faculties: strength, bravery, wit, and deceptiveness, to achieve real results.

In that spirit, here is the Strength Training Workout I just completed:

1A) Kettlebell Swings 4 x 25
1B) Barbell Back Squats 4 x 10, 6, 4, 2

2A) Pull-ups 4 x SM
2B) Kettlbell Military Press 4 x 6/6
2C) Split Stance DB Rows 4 x 6/6

3) Heavy Partial Squats 4 x 2

4A) DB Hammer Curls 3 x 6-8
4B) Lying KB Triceps Extensions 3 x 12
4C) Warrior Sit-ups 3 x 20

Phew… 

Pursue excellence!

I am opening up a few spots in my Warrior Online Coaching Program. If you are someone who is interested in pursuing excellence in your life, you can apply HERE directly.

 Don’t just think about how you can become excellent “some day”… Learn how to begin creating habits that will make you excellent NOW!

The Downfall of Functional Training & How to Fix It

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What Functional Training Has Become…

The field of functional training has degenerated into seeing who can perform the most meaningless stunt while looking the coolest (ahem… sometimes).

These exploits may look impressive to the uninitiated or easily amused, but they have virtually no carry over and zero application to movement in real life, on the sports field, or on the combative battlefield.

Not to mention their capacity for injury is high while their actual true functionality is exceedingly questionable…

Worse yet their flamboyancy distracts from, and gives a bad name to, real progressive, incremental functional strength training that has been the province of great warriors, strongmen, and great athletes for centuries. This leaves us in a sad state of affairs.

What Functional Training SHOULD Be…

Functional training should instead focus on developing multi-planar, multi-joint movement. It should increase stability, whole-body power, and enhance resistance to injury. It should multiply force production ability for all martial and athletic movement as well as stimulate neuromuscular patterns required for those movements.

Functional training should create a safety valve in ones movement for when the unexpected happens and movement goes awry.

It should provide the functional training practitioner with the ability to absorb and re-translate force without chance of injury.

The training methodologies that were developed and past down by warriors were the ultimate in what we today call “Functional Strength Training”. Certainly, what could be more functional than specific exercises and training methods devised to excel and survive in mortal combat?

These methods still survive today and are the province of a rare breed of modern warriors, martial artists, strongmen, and strength coaches….

Like the tempered steel of the warrior’s blade, the true art of functional strength training has been forged over the centuries by the fires of preparation for life and death combat.

How Do We Fix It…

The first part of fixing the mess of modern functional training is to answer the uncomfortable question – functional for what?

Let’s face it,  none of us really need to be good at pressing 5 lbs dumbbells while standing on a BOSU ball with one foot wearing an altitude mask. 🙂

So what do we need the outcome of purposeful training to be so that it will benefit and improve virtually all human movement?

We need connected whole body strength and power that seamlessly integrates with any martial, athletic, or life event endeavor. We need training that increases mobility, enhances strength, improves resistance to injury, and provides a foundation for excellent health and pain-free movement into old age.

What are we training to become more functional for? Living.

How Do We Train It?

Functional exercise, as we discussed above, is defined as multi-planar, multi-joint movement, in other words, three dimensional movements.  Which means that swinging a weight – club, mace, sledgehammer – is one of the most effective ways to truly train functional strength.

For the warrior, since combat always occurs in a volatile and unpredictable atmosphere, training must prepare the warrior to adapt and overcome.

You cannot be strong in only one direction or just one plane of movement – you must possess all around strength that can be brought to bear no matter what position or weird angle you may find yourself in, and having to move from.

Since sledgehammers are common place and easy to obtain at the local hardware store, they make an ideal functional strength training tool.

Using a sledge hammer in your training is a great way to develop the movement pathways used in striking. It will aid in force production, increase angular, diagonal, and rotational strength throughout the trunk and core, and provide an excellent grip strength workout all at the same time.

Sledgehammer Domination – Volume 1

“The Ultimate Low-Tech, High Yield Training Program for Forging Elite Functional Strength”

 

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

 

We Were Once Warriors…

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We Were Once Warriors…

For centuries the warrior has been the archetypical model of physical fitness and power.  This is due to the extreme nature of their training and overwhelming odds that they must have had to go through waging war in the ancient world.

The multifaceted development of skills required for the warrior’s brand of life and death combat is second to none.

Spartans

 

 

Warriors needed to be able to carry heavy loads over long distances on uneven terrain, wield heavy weapons while wearing armor, wrestle and engage in other forms of hand-to-hand combat, fight for hours or perhaps even days on end in mud, sweat, and blood, all while continuing to display power, coordination, agility, and speed.

This was not a game with a medal or trophy at stake, but their lives and the lives of their comrades in arms, not to mention the entire village or tribe who were relying on them for protection.  All of this placed immense demands on the warrior physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Today’s Training from Yesterday’s Triumph

The skills we know today as fitness, or strength and conditioning, depending on whether your term is all inclusive or a specific subset, all evolved over time from man’s need and ability to wage war.  In fact, one of the earliest examples of sport in the western world is from ancient Greece; we now call it the Olympics.  These early games were created as a way for warriors to channel their aggressive and competitive natures, while simultaneously allowing them to hone their battle skills, in times of peace.

So we can see from this quick look back in time that originally almost all athletics and sport competitions were based on the martial skills of the warrior and utilized as a way to sustain and practice those skills.

Now, working backward this time, is there a way to reverse engineer a warrior’s training regimen and use it to improve the components of martial skill, conditioning, AND athletic performance?  Absolutely!!

Try This Warrior Workout on for Size

1)  Heavy Sandbag Carry (Zercher carry, bear hug carry, over head carry) – 3 x 300 ft.

2A) Pike Push-ups on Fists – 4 x 10

2B) Mixed Grip Pull-ups (change grip each set) – 4 x SM

2C)  Loaded Airborne Squats (load up with clubbell, Kettlebell, dumbbell, or sandbag) – 4 x 5/5

3)  H2H Touch & Go Kettlebell Swings x 100

If you train in MMA…

NOW go punch, kick, knee, and elbow a heavy bag or have a partner hold focus mitts for 3 rounds x 3-5 minutes each!  How is your performance?

Or, if you’re really daring and want to test your mettle, now is the time to go spar with a completely fresh opponent for 3 rounds of 3-5 minutes!  How has your performance changed?

If you train in Bujinkan or other form of combatives…

Do the same as above but utilizing the basic techniques of your particular style.  For Bujinkan peeps that means try out all the Kihon Happo on a fresh uke!

My brand new WarFit Combat Conditioning Program is perfect for the warrior athlete who wants to build superhuman strength, endurance, and conditioning:

 

 

Why Should YOU Train Like A Warrior?

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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

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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!

muhammad-ali

 

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