I find this absolutely hilarious!

Alright, anyone that know me, has read my tips, seen my blogs, my pics, my log or any of my videos knows that I love bodyweight training. I use it a ton, and I really enjoy it. I also tend to get great results from it as well. I love regular calisthenics, bar athletics, gymnastics, acrobatics, martial arts, Dynamic Tension, isometrics and a whole lot of other bodyweight based work.

That being said, I also find this absolutely hilarious.

It seems that I've seen more and more bodyweight courses (books, ebooks, dvds, etc) that use pictures of John Grimek to advertise their courses. Usually it tends to be this picture that they use:

Which is funny in and of itself, being that it's a great picture, but I wouldn't say it's the best Grimek picture out there, lol.

The think I find funny is that these courses will use John Grimek as their "model" for the type of results that you can achieve using their bodyweight course.

Now, I'm a John Grimek fanatic, he's my all time favorite strength and bodybuilding icon, and he's a lifetime hero of mine. But, Grimek was not a bodyweight training athlete.

Yes, he did his share of calisthenics, and he was a good acrobat and hand balancer, but he trained in a lot more disciplines than that. Grimek was a world class Olympic Weightlifter that represented the United States at the Olmpics. He held numerous World Strength Records for barbell lifts. He was an undefeated bobybuilder. And, in his own words, his favorite way to train was with heavy squats and heavy overhead presses, sometimes building entire cycles on nothing but these lifts. And he continued to train with heavy squats and presses, and heavy pulling movements right up to the end of his life.

So, is it really true advertising to use Grimek's image in the ad copy for a bodyweight only training program? I'd say no, I'd say it's false advertising all the way.

And I'm not ripping on bodyweight training by any means at all. I love it and use it myself. And, I can show you dozens of men and women that have created tremendous physiques using noting but bodyweight training. I just think it's funny to use an icon of the weight lifting world to advtertise bodyweight only training.

But, that's just me.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!! I hope that you all have an amazing Holiday!!!!

Some weird thinking part 2: The new "Natty" Excuses

My Acid-trippy Herman Groener Impression, lol!

Alright, I'm proud to admit that I'm a natural athlete. By that I mean that I've never taken any type of anabolic steroid. That being said, I really couldn't care less if others use them. I figure that we're all big boys and girls and we can make the choice for ourselves on what we want to do. For me, however, they never have been appealing.

I do have to say though, that I really am getting sick of the attitude of an ever growing number of other natural athletes. And no, I'm not going to call you "Natty." It's a terrible and god awful name. if you had any self-respect at all you'd stop using the term yourselves.

Alright, now that I've probably pissed some people off, it's time to get down to the brass tacks.

I was going through my teenage years during the 1990's. A time when the "Freak" bodybuilding physique was just coming into vogue. At the time, bodybuilders were starting to get more and more massive, they were starting to really build up names for themselves based upon their freaky parts.

Some of these guys were so impressive they looked like they belonged in Marvel and DC comic books.

Paul Dillet and Lee Priest come immediately to mind.

Paul Dillet looking more like the Hulk than the CGI crap we see in movies

Lee Priest, a much better Superman than any of the actors that have been playing him recently

It was a time of huge, bigger than life bodybuilding; Huge and powerful Powerlifters; Huge Pro-wrestlers; Huge and Ripped Action Stars and everything else that inspired a young boy to grow up to be a muscular, strong, fit man.

Now, none of us were under any false pretensions. We knew that a bunch of our heroes were on the juice. Hell, a number of them would proudly tell you exactly what they were taking, how much of it, and what their cycles were.

But you know what?  We didn't care. We still knew that we could learn from them, even though we may not have had any interesting in juicing up. We knew that they had great information on training, eating and supplementing.

The Late Great Mike Matarazzo looking Huge!

Also, we trained our asses off to emulate them. And, we didn't wither and die. We thrived!!

Even without the steroids, we trained our asses off, ate our faces off, took our supplements and got great results.

It was awesome.

And now, in 2015, and at 39 years of age; I still train my ass off (actually training much harder and much more frequently than back in those days), eat my face off and take my supplements.

And, while a number of my peers are devolving into fat, out of shape, unhealthy and lethargic people that seem to get older every time you see them: I continue to improve. Getting stronger, more fit, more chiseled, healthier and younger.

Now comes my problem.

It seems like a growing number of young natural lifters try to use being natural as some sort of excuse to why they are not getting results. And they tend to put huge limits on what they can accomplish.

They'll all say the same crap too. Shit like, "I'd look like so and so too if I used the drugs they did." Or, "It's impossible for a natural lifter to get size like that." Or, "Being natural, there's no way I can get that ripped." Or, "I'm getting good results for being a natural. You can't expect me to get as far as the 'roid users do." And a bunch of other crap like that.

Obviously these guys have never heard of people like Maxic, Sandow, Aston, Moss, Grimex, Steve Reeves, Otto Arco, Sig Klien and the like.

John Grimek showing that you can get incredible results with no juice!

Guys from the time well before steroids and supplements who busted their asses day in and day out, ate a ton of meat and veggies, and grew out of this world bodies capable of super human acts of strength and fitness.

The real truth is this.  If you're not getting the results that you think you want you're probably not training hard enough. You're probably not training correctly. You're probably not sleeping enough. And, you're probably not doing anything right in and out of the gym.

Instead of making lame ass excuses, get your butt under the squat bar and squat more, deadlift more, overhead press more. Get your bent rows up into the 300-500 pound range, stop fiddling around with bullshit training and eating and get real about it all.

I can guarantee you that you'll get better results. How? Because thousands of natural athletes before you have.

Now, get under the bar and squat hard.

Yours in strength and health,
Brett

L-sit Walks

Finished up my Saturday night training with some L-sit Walk practice. Still really rough, but it's come a long way. Here's the final set:

Having fun with the Handstand Push ups

During Saturday Night's "Bodyweight Blitz" I was having a ton of fun with my Freestanding Handstand Push ups on the parallets. Here's the final set. Nothing like going until you fall out of the set, lol.

There's some weird thinking out there

There really is some weird thinking out there.

It seems that there are a ton of people that believe that being muscular, strong, fit, healthy and ripped is a new thing. They seem to think that no one before 10-20 years ago was fit, chiseled and awesome.

Obviously these people have never heard of:


Steve Reeves:

John Grimek:

Reg Park:

Eugene Sandow:

Chuck Sipes:

Alan Meade:

Alfred Moss:

Or a whole host of other men and women that were building incredible strength, fitness, health and awesomeness in the late 1800's through the early to mid 1900's. And of course, from eons before then.

So, next time you're thinking that old school doesn't work, or you're thinking that the newest high tech crap will get you results. Stand back for a second and think about the guys above that built there bodes with nothing more than hard ass, heavy ass work using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells and their own bodies.

Hitting the abs hard!

Finished out last night's training with 3 sets of 10 for Abdominal Roll Outs with 215 pounds (Bodyweight plus 30 pounds). Did them in a super set of 3 sets of 5 per side for Saxon Side Beds. Here's the final set:

Hitting some more PR's: 600 pounds on the Shrug for 6 sets of 5-6 reps

Great night of training last night. New PR's again. Hit a nice 6 sets of 5-6 reps in the Shrug with 600 pounds on the bar! Woo Hoo! Started out with 6 pretty solid sets of Bottom Position Floor Press, then moved onto 6 sets of 5-6 reps for Shrugs, 1 sets of 4 minutes of continuous, non-stop Squats with 135 and finished with a super set of 3 sets of Abdominal Roll Outs and Saxon Side Bends. Here's the final set of Shrugs. And yes, I do believe it was the Yoda hat that allowed me to do it, lol!!

New PR: 6 sets of 15 with 455 pounds in the Squat

Awesome training last night. Great Behind the Neck Presses and Bent Rows, then finished out with 6 sets of 15 reps for Parallel Squats with 455 pounds on the bar. A new PR for this rep range. Shout out to Melissa as well who nailed her 6 sets of 15 with 335 pounds on the bar. Awesome wok baby!! Here's my final set with 455:

Putting the Parallet Combo back in to the routine

I had taken a month of so away from this one, and thought I should hit a few sets of it again. So, here's the final, Yoda inspired set of my Parallet Combo. Not bad at all.

Hitting the 1-arm Assisted Pull up hard!

I hadn't had these in the training for about a year and a half, so I thought it was time to go back and hit them again. Here's the final set of the Assisted 1-arm Pull ups on the Rings. Rough, but still strong, and I think the Yoda hat had a lot to do with it, lol.

Parallel Bar Dips to Straddle Planches

Awesome Bodyweight Blitz on Saturday night. Hit numerous sets of Parallel Bar Dips to Straddle Planches, 1-arm Assisted Pull ups on the rings, my Parallet combination, Front Lever Pulls on the rings, Pistols, 1-leg Repetition Hamstring Bridges, and L-sit Walks. Great stuff. Here's the final set of the Parallel bar Dips to Straddle Planches, a little rough, but the last set should be. Oh yeah, Pikachu wanted to be in the video too, lol.

Cranking out some Kettelbell Bent Presse/Screw Presses for technique

After my 6 sets of Barbell Bent Presses/Screw Presses, I thought I should do a little extra technique work. So, I grabbed a 53 pound Kettlebell and hit a quick set of 10 on each side really concentrating on the hips. Felt awesome.

New PR on the Barbell Bent Press aka the Screw Press

Hit a new PR on the Barbell version of the Bent Press, aka the Screw Press. Nailed my first 5 sets of each side with 95 pounds, then kind of blew the last set, lol. This video's of the 5th set and you can see that the form is starting to slip a lot, lol. Tough set.

PR on the Barbell 1-arm Clean and Press

Hit a solid new PR on the 1-arm Barbell Clean and Press. Nailed 6 sets on each side with 105 pounds. Felt strong and pretty awesome.

Hitting the Super Bear hard

An awesome night of conditioning last night.

Hit 5 rounds of the Super Bear. Hitting every muscle in the body plus getting the old heart and lungs going strong.

Then moved onto 3 sets of 10 for DVR Biceps Curls in a super set with 3 sets of 10 for DVR Triceps Extensions.

Great stuff!!

Here's the video of the final round of the Super Bear

Hitting a new PR for Military Presses

My deadlift may have stunk tonight, but I nailed a new PR in the Military Press. 6 sets of triples with 190 pounds. Here's the final set. I'll admit, it isn't pretty, but the final set never should be anyway, lol.

Honoring the neglected arts

And, taking some time to honor some of the more neglected areas of martial arts and self-protection: Realistic tactical training in the offensive use of and the defense against firearms, blades, blunt weapons and improvised weapons.

Taking some time to honor a few more arts

Taking another moment to honor the martial arts, specifically the Grappling arts that I've spent 30 plus years working hard on becoming proficient in including various forms of Sambo, Judo, Jujitsu, Catch Wrestling and Aikido. Also, a huge shout out to Melissa for taking the falls, twists, cranks, chokes and nerve attacks during these pictures. You're awesome angel!

A fantastic conditioner

Started off with the old Steve Maxwell "Omelet." Without putting your bell down you hit 5 1-arm swings, 5 high pulls, 5 snatches, 5 clean and presses, 5 cleans, and 5 step back lunges. Repeat on the other side and continue on until you're thrashed. Hit 4 rounds of it.

Afterwards hit a tri set of 3 sets of 10 per side for 1-arm DVR Biceps Curls, 3 sets of 10 for DVR Reverse Grip Triceps Extensions and 3 sets of 12 per side for 1-leg Calf Raises.


Here's the final set of the conditioner on the left side:

Having some fun in the garage!!

Having some fun farting around in the garage with a Front Double Biceps Pose and a Side Chest Pose

Doing my best Van Damme

Was watching Bloodsport and thought I'd do my best Van Damme!!

Honoring some of the arts I've studied

I've had the honor and privilege of being involved in the martial arts and self-protection for over 30 years now. So, I thought I'd take a moment to honor a few of the traditional striking and weapons arts that I've had the privilege of training hard in. Various methods of Karate, Kung Fu, Kempo, Kenpo, Tea Kwon Do, Eskrima, Arnis and Kobudo.

Hammering the abs hard

My favorite abdominal movement, at least at the moment. The 3rd of 3 sets of 10 at the end of last night's training with bodyweight plus a 20 pound weight vest

Kiling the traps by hammering the Shrugs

After a strong 6 sets of Bottom Position Floor presses with 295 pounds, it was Shrug time. Hit a strong 6 sets of 6 reps with 575 pounds. Finished up with a 4 minute non-stop set of Squats with 135 pounds and a super set of 3 sets of 10 for Weighted Abdominal Roll outs with bodyweight plus 20 pounds and 3 sets of 5 per side for Saxon Side Bends with 53 pounds. Here's the 6th and final set of Shrugs with 575.

Awesome old school night part 2

Last session of these I said I should add 10 pounds to the bar. So, tonight I did.

Here's the 6th and final set of Barbell Reverse Grip Clean to Reverse Grip Press with 195 pounds..

Felt solid and strong!!

Awesome night of Old School training!!

Awesome night of Old School training!!

Here's the 6th and final set of 1-arm Barbell Snatches (on the left side, and yes I did them on the right as well, lol) with 115 pounds.

A Special Message

It's amazing how often I hear people say things about how they wished they looked like so and so, or were in the shape of this or that person, or had the strength of someone in particular, or that they wished they could drop the fat or gain the muscle. I'll even hear people talk about how much they'd give to have a certain person's body for a day. Instead of wishing, hoping and dreaming, I much prefer to take action and make those dreams a reality. I don't have a "dream body" I have a goal that I I'm going to attain!!

Don't neglect your strengths

In regard to my last post; while you want to hammer your weaknesses you also don't want to neglect your strengths. Here's the 6th and final set of 15 reps of Parallel Squats with 425 pounds. Felt awesome

Training the Weaknesses

If you really want to get great results:


You have to train you weaknesses Hard!!


Here's the 6th and final set of last night's Behind the Neck Presses with 155 pounds. Kept the movement slow nd controlled to really hammer the hell out of it!!