Bodyweight Exercises

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What is the main reason Americans - and you and me - are gaining weight
and getting out of shape?  I'm sure there are 1,001 studies on this,
but I think the main reason is simply lack of time. Well, really it's
lack of ability to fit fitness into the rest of your life. 
For most people, this wasn't a problem when you were in high school or
college. Again, yeah, I've seen the surveys that say kids are getting
fatter. But that still ties back to my answer: because 20 years ago,
kids could fit fitness into their lives. 
There's a paradox here, though. (Ha! Bet you never thought you'd see
the word "paradox" on a blog about fitness, did ya?). The
athletes of today are so much better at such young ages. I am in AWE of
LeBron James's skills and abilities. It is beyond my comprehension that
someone could be that good, that young.
Want another paradox? (Twice! I'm on a roll!). Athletes are also
perfoming at a high level much older. Randy Couture is a mixed-martial arts
(MMA) champion in his mid-40's. Most top level MMA fighters are well
into their 30's in what looks like a sport that should be dominated by 20
year olds. 
So what's the take away from all this?  The average person (and I
include myself - full-time professional job, wife, 2 grade school kids) is
not LeBron James, and never was. But we did have a brief period of
athleticism (for me, it was 4 years of karate training). How do we get that
back?
By finding fitness programs that are flexible enough to adapt to your
current life. You want fitness to be a priority. You NEED fitness to be
a priority. So overcome the obstacle by using fitness programs that fit
in among all the other priorities of your life. That's what all these
blog posts are about. 
So check out The FITNESS Portal for products that fit everything we've
talked about. Check out the FREE Bonus with every purchase. 
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Back in the day, I lifted weights A lot. Like almost everyday

after work and 1 or 2 days on the weekend. I lifted for

strength, so I wasn't particulary big. But I was way stronger

than I looked.

I bench pressed 325 3x with a body weight of 154. I did, at

each workout, about 15 sets of squats, working my way up from

225. See, I would do 1 set of squats in between other bodypart

exercises. So 3 sets shoulders - 1 set squats - 3 sets lats -

1 set squats. You get the idea.

Why do I tell you this? How does this relate to the title of

this post? Let me tell you about the time I tried to work out

with a hangover.

See, this is back when I drank. I don't drink now, but it has

nothing to do with being anti-alcohol or anything. It's just

that I didn't drink anything while I was dating my wife. I

was in law school and she was finishing up her music degree,

and she never went to bars. So I never went to bars. Well,

eventually someone offered me a beer, and I thought to myself

"why start again when I've just gone over 12 months without

drinking?" So I didn't. And I haven't.

Okay, back to the story. Now please understand - I didn't

really know I was hungover. I thought I was just extra tired

from a long night of super-hard dancing. So I hit my first

round of 3x10 bench presses, and then got under the bar for

a squat. And I pushed out 3, and on the 4th, I felt like the

little plug that holds all my energy in, got taken out and

all my energy drained out all over floor. I was done. Completely.

And I never forgot that day, for 2 reasons. First, because my

stomach felt like it had been turned inside-out and put back

in wrong. And second, because I had no backup workout routine.

I worked out 1 way, with 1 order of exercises. While that made

for great discipline, it sucks when it comes to adaptability.

A few years later, I broke my ankle. Actually snapped a tiny

little bone in thay area. So I couldn't go to the gym. But I

had nothing else. No bodyweight exercises or pilates or yoga.

Nothing. But, my appetite didn't decrease. And I actually put

back - in 3 weeks - ALL of the weight I lost the previous 6

months. Weight that I had lost without dieting - just by

exercising. Because my body was demanding lots of calories. And

I had no way to burn them off.

So an ideal fitness program has to be flexible, to adjust to

your energy level, and to your physical condition (hurt, tired,

distracted). I am not a "morning person" but morning is the

only time I have time to workout. So I have a routine that is

built around shotokan kata (because I can perform kata at any

level of interest, energy, or sleep deprivation) and a generous

smattering of bodyweight exercises. Because I have found that

this type of routine offers the most flexibility and

adaptability to things like energy level and time.

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Ideal fitness program incorporates relaxation
Relaxation techniques are too often overlooked as part of fitness.

This is probably because anything that doesn't directly make your

muscles bigger, or make you run faster, or make you lose weight is

ignored by us in the West as being part of a fitness program.

Fitness is more than weight loss or muscle gain. Fitness is really

anything that improves the quality of your life. Relaxation

certainly qualifies as that (well, except for my friend Chip. His

favorite saying was, "I've tried relaxing, but I enjoy the feeling

of being tense all the time.").

The benefits of relaxation are almost too numerous to mention.

Relaxation lowers your blood pressure, and helps to keep it at a

healthy level. Relaxation reduces stress, and allows you to handle

stress or other situations with calmness and detachment.

Any ideal fitness program incorporates relaxation into the body of

the program. The relaxation techniques will blend seamlessly with

the other elements of the fitness routine.

Relaxation is not some hippy yoga thing, but is used by all top

athletes. It should be used by all top business and professional

people, but - sadly - too often, people equate relaxation with

laziness.

The simplest form of relaxation is breathing. Deep breathing.

Rejuvenating breathing. Here's how:

1. stand or sit so that your waist is not bent.

2. breathe in as deep as you can.

3. breathe out, so that all of the air is out of yuor lungs.

4. breathe in again, but this time, force your stomach to push out

and keep breathing in, even when your lungs are full. Count inside

your mind 1, 2, 3... while breathing in.

5. Hold the breath for the same count as you breathed in.

6. Exhale for the same count you held it for. Empty your lungs

completely.

7. Repeat.

This form of deep breathing relaxes your body in several subtle ways:

1. by counting while breathing, your focus is put on your lungs and

away from your problems and stresses.

2. by filling - actually filling - your lungs with air, you are

getting badly needed oxygen to your stressed and tense muscles.

3. by using your abdominal muscles to force the air in and out,

you are activating your chi to begin to work throughout your body.

There are many forms of relaxation. But the key is to use them

inside and with your exercise and fitness program, so that the

benefits are maximized and magnified.

Are you wondering what this "ideal" fitness program looks like? Well,

in a few more posts, I will reveal an ideal program.

Until then, you can go to The FITNESS Portal to check out some great

programs, and to sign up for our FREE eBook "Physical Fitness In 30

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