Many well-meaning fitness professionals espouse the idea of training to failure.

Once in a while it’s a good idea to push yourself to the limit (that’s usually called competition) – but it’s dumb and deadly if you follow this philosophy on a consistent basis in your training.

Training with gusto and enthusiasm, yes. Training to the point you have thoughts about giving up, sure.

But training until your muscles give out and have nothing left, that is totally idiotic.

Even when it comes to bodyweight exercises, there are those who encourage max effort, max overload, and so on. The whole idea is that you cannot get bigger or stronger with higher repetitions, that all you are building is endurance unless you keep the reps low.

Totally wrong and false.

As a collegiate wrestler, we ran sprints and mixed them up with bodyweight calisthenics.

NOT ONE SET WAS DONE TO FAILURE.

And we were in incredible condition – and our national championships proved it.

In the wrestling room we’d run three laps, followed by 25 pushups. Then we’d run another three laps, followed by 25 v-ups. Then another three laps – two of which were sprints, followed by 10 pull-ups.

Again, not one set to FAILURE.

Not ONE.

And we SUCCEEDED time and again. Over and over and over.

Remember: If you train to failure you leave the workout a failure.

You give it all you have in practice – but you also save some for tomorrow.

Think of the Olympic sprinters in track and field and swimming. Oftentimes you see the future gold medalist doing just enough to qualify for the quarterfinals, then just enough to get into the semi’s and then in the finals, all bets are off. It’s time to blow away the field, set a world record and bring home the bacon.

Same goes with writing.

If a writer can crank out 10,000 words in a single day, should he or she do this everyday?

I would think not.

Why?

Because you fry your drive (not to mention your nervous system).

Consistency is key to being successful in anything. You need a routine that is hard enough to get you the results you seek – but not so hard you don’t want to do it anymore.

Competition is when you push yourself to the brink – or further.

Every once in a while you can push yourself BEYOND in practice. But don’t make a habit of it if you want longevity.

If you want a body that is crippled with injuries and riddled with constant pain by age 40 or 50 (or much sooner), then ignore this advice and train to failure.

Again:

When you train to failure, you leave the workout a failure.

Always leave something for tomorrow.

And always keep in mind our motto here….

Kick Ass – Take Names,

Matt Furey

P.S. More on this subject can be found by watching the following video I created for you on YouTube:

 

I was watching a video the other day of a fitness schmexpert contending that you cannot build strength with bodyweight exercises after you can do 25 repetitions of a specific movement.

The supposedly scientific conclusion is that you MUST go to weights after 25 reps because all you are building is ENDURANCE.

HA

This is part of the separation syndrome that afflicts so many people in the fitness industry. They speak and write as through endurance has no strength component, and vice-versa. Same goes for flexibility. You’re either strong or you are flexible, but you can’t be both at the same time.

HUH?

One of the benefits of flexibility is having strength through a greater range of motion – as well as the ability to exert POWER more efficiently.

Oh, and by the way, when muscles are more flexible, they probably have greater endurance.

Well, to address this topic in far more detail, I put up yet another ass-kicking YouTube video for you.

Watch in NOW. And subscribe to my channel because I’m just getting warmed up.

Yes, You Can Increase Strength With Bodyweight Exercise – even after 25 repetitions

Matt Furey

P.S. Look for more “over-the-top” videos in the Matt Furey Inner Circle this week.

My friend estimates that 80-90% of the people in the United States cannot sit this way at all. Not even for one minute.

My wife tells me that almost everyone in China can sit this way for a half-hour. Young as well as those who are much older.

And I’m here to tell you that sitting this way is not only GOOD for your heart, it’s good for intestinal health, it’s good for your lower back and it increases nitric oxide throughout your body.

And what is that good for? Ask a man who wants to know.

Just one squat.

Not dozens. Not hundreds.

Just one.

Go see what I have to say about it in the below video – and be sure to hit the subscribe button.

Matt Furey

P.S. If you’re lacking the flexibility to get into this position, never fear, el Forecat is here – and will be creating private videos on this topic in the Matt Furey Inner Circle.

Twas up early this morning, shooting yet another video for my ever-growing list of YouTube subscribers. This one gives an overview of three different pushup boards and why I’m so fond of the one I’m currently using.

Also, I give my take on Nitric Oxide and exercise – which you will definitely want to hear.

The link to the YouTube video is below. Make sure you subscribe and hit the notification bell.

Matt Furey

P.S. By the way, four new videos went up yesterday on the Matt Furey Inner Circle – giving detailed instruction on the Inner Secrets of Fitness. More videos with details will be going up very soon.

Yesterday I grabbed my shiny new pushup board and cranked out a video for y’all on YouTube.

I perform a couple different types of pushups with the board that will probably give you some grand ideas.

Go watch the video NOW – and subscribe.

 

Today, I’m going to be bold and blunt about your lower back.

Stretching your lower back is a total waste of time. It does nearly nothing to protect you from injuring yourself much less recovering from what went wrong.

Got your attention?

Good.

There is a time and a place for stretching your lower back – but most people have it bass-ackwards.

The first order of business is loosening your joints to coax the connective tissue to loosen up. It is NOT stretching the muscles that are already injured and inflamed.

Remember: Move your joints – move your qi (vital energy) – move the pain out of your body.

There are many, many joint loosening exercises that I do – combined with deep breathing.

When it comes to the lower back, it’s important to circulate your energy without further inflaming the areas that are weak and injured.

This means you would be wise to loosen your hips, waist, pelvis, knees, ankles and neck.

Yes, even your neck. Difficulties don’t just move UP the chain – they also trickle downward.

Stated in an even more pleasant tone, the neck bones are connected to the pubic bones. Seriously, when you move your neck the way I teach, things start to heat up “down under.”

Additionally, you want to make sure you are activating your kidneys as you loosen your lower back and pelvis.

In Chinese medicine, the kidneys control the strength of your lower back and lower body.

Later today I’m shooting a video on an ultra-specific loosening exercise for your lower back that includes stimulation of the kidneys with your hands. On a daily basis I am truly in awe of the power this one exercise causes to be released inside your body – as well as how it helps drive the pain away.

This video will be going up on the Matt Furey Inner Circle – along with all the other videos covering the subject of long, loose and leveraged joint health.

Come train with me.

Kick ass – take names!

Matt Furey

Believe it or not, I’ve been going to the gym for my evening workouts… usually after 8 PM.

I go to a gym filled with dumbbells and barbells.

I go to a gym with treadmills, rowing machines and other cardio devices.

I go to a gym with mega expensive weight machines.

And what do I do once I arrive at this gym?

I walk past all the equipment. All the machines, electronic and otherwise.

I walk past all the weights resting on barbells and racks.

I open the door to a big classroom with wooden floors and mirrors. It’s quiet. No music blaring… no one talking.

PERFECT..

I set a timer that gongs every five minutes, and then I begin to loosen every joint in my body.

As I loosen my joints I feel connections throughout my entire body, especially my hands and feet.

My brain lights up. I feel euphoric.

Loosening your joints moves the qi, the vital energy in the body. I know this to be true because the bottoms of my feet gt so hot they often feel as though they are resting on hot asphalt.

Once finished with this routine, I begin to work my tendons and ligaments and skeletal system the way I’ve learned over the years while training in China.

Within every movement I emphasize relaxed power. If my face ever contorts or strains in any way, I’m doing something wrong.

Whether I move fast or slow or super slow, this spirit of relaxation is supposed to be the same. Whether I’m throwing a punch or a kick, or leaping in the air, my face should never tell the story of how grueling the training is.

And this is where the mirror serves a tremendous purpose in training. Look at your face. Look at your structure. Make adjustments as you move. As soon as you note a mistake, immediately correct it. Not tomorrow. Not next week. NOW!

That’s how you get good.

It’s how you get better.

It’s how you become better than your best.

Feedback is key.

It always amazes me when I go to a gym or an academy to observe a class. First two things I observe are as follows:

1. Level of tension in the face

2. Breathing method

Truth is that it’s very rare to find a strength place in our western world wherein these two essentials are taught. And yet, these two factors influence, in a huge way, how much strength, power, speed, agility and flexibility you will have.

Got tight joints?

Got a stiff neck or lower back?

Then keep the hell away from the weights and cardio equipment.

Learn to loosen your joints with the spirit of relaxation. You don’t “tense” your way to getting loose. You smile your way to it.

I’ll show you how it’s done.

Let’s loosen up together. It’s much easier than you can imagine.

Follow along with me in the Matt Furey Inner Circle

Within a month of loosening your joints on a daily basis, you’re going to be blown away at how much better you feel, how much stronger you are – how much more energy and flexibility you have.

Come get some.

Kick ass – take names!

Matt Furey

It’s one thing to do 2,000 pushups per day. It’s another to do only three pushups, and to take one minute for each of them.

That’s three minutes for three pushups.

Yes, I know you can do the math – but some people truly can’t, so my quick computation was for them, not you.

Here’s another key point:

Doing pushups on the palms of your hands – (regular pushups) – don’t do your body or brain nearly as much good as doing them on your fists.

And if you’re an athlete who wants to throw or hit harder, then (regular) pushups on your palms are a definite no-no. Not to mention idiotic exercises such as the bench press, deadlift and curls – which tighten and shorten the very tissues you need to relax, so you can coil and uncoil with ease.

This past weekend I spoke to the father of a boy who was previously throwing over 90 mph.

And despite working harder and harder in the weight room, he hasn’t gained a single MPH of velocity. In fact, he’s gone in reverse – and NO ONE can figure it out, except el Furecat.

Get the boy OUT of the weight room, pronto. And start him on the exercises I teach in the Matt Furey Inner Circle.

It’s insane to watch all the coaches buying into the weight training for ALL sports thinking. It’s even crazier to see ball players hiring powerlifters and bodybuilders to make them stronger for sports such as baseball, tennis and golf.

Hahaha.

Remember when Tiger Woods was a twig?

He crushed the ball and won tournament after tournament.

Then he BULKED UP.

What was the result? Did he hit the ball further? Was he more accurate? Was he injury free?

Negative on all three counts.

You’ll note that Tiger is playing better these days. You’ll also note he’s no longer as bulky.

Hmmmm.

Meanwhile, the push-pull gooorooos are still telling you that bigger, stronger muscles are better.

Better for what?

Fitting into bigger clothes?

Stronger in WHAT way?

For the weight training exercises or for the movements involved in their respective sport?

By the way, as an aside, I weighed in at 196.2 pounds yesterday. Gearing up for all new videos, maybe even a new book, showcasing my current thinking and training.

Sneak peeks available at Matt Furey Inner Circle.

Kick ass – take names,

Matt Furey

Legend has it that the Great Game of India did as many as 2,000 pushups per day. And he never lost a single bout in over 5,000 matches.

Former NFL running back, Heisman Trophy winner, Olympian, MMA fighter and lifelong martial artist, Herschel Walker, has been doing at least one thousand pushups per day for decades – and he is still kicking ASS.

Thing is, all pushups are NOT created equal.

Some are FAR BETTER for you than others.

That’s why I created an entire video series around the BEST pushups you can do and put it up for members of the Matt Furey Inner Circle.

Become a superhuman member NOW – and perhaps you’ll be undefeated in all you do as well.

Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Kick Ass – Take Names!

If you want to be fitter than you’ve been in years, or even fitter than you’ve ever been – then pull up a chair and picture what I have to say.

The more mainstream you are in your thinking, habits and routines – the greater the chance you’ll live a mediocre (or worse) life.

For example, mainstream society eats three meals (or more) per day.

Mainstream eats from ALL the food groups.

Mainstream goes to a gym to workout.

Mainstream runs on treadmills and uses electronic gadgets instead of your own bodyweight.

Mainstream says to avoid meat and eat grains instead.

Mainstream takes meds.

Mainstream says to cut down on protein and avoid fat.

Mainstream relies on technology to remember.

Mainstream watches television for an AVERAGE of 21 hours per week (and that’s an old, understated figure).

Mainstream doesn’t read.

Mainstream eats candy and drinks soda.

Mainstream thinks you need to eat breakfast because it’s supposedly “the most important meal of the day.”

Mainstream is on a diet.

And mainstream is fat, unfit and unhappy. Not to mention SICK.

Meanwhile, el Furecat is a total badass.

At damn near 56, all things considered, he moves better than he has ever moved. And he looks awesome.

And he’ll help you do the same – IF you’re willing to abandon some of your mainstream mental images, beliefs, ideas, actions and habits.

If what you’re currently doing ain’t workin’ – then follow the Furecat, for he’s made all the mistakes ahead of you, and knows the way out of this mess.

Matt Furey

P.S. Be the contrarian you were born to be. Don’t fit it. Be YOU. Be the fittest, baddest ass YOU that YOU can be. Follow Furecat – NOW.