My wife and children got back from a whirlwind trip to Europe last weekend, a mere two days after I completed yet another voyage through the mountains of Montana and Why-OM-ing.
Their flight was supposed to get in at 10:28 PM, but turbulence set them back a bit. They arrived in Orlando circa 2 AM and we got back home at almost 4 bells.
The next day my son, Frank, hit the gym to do some training. Afterward he told me, “This was my first workout in a month.”
“What are you talking about?” I replied. “You walked 30,000 steps per day through all sorts of terrain, up hills and mountains and along the beaches. That’s not a workout?”
Frank responded, “And I had an 80-pound backpack on almost the whole time.”
“So you see my point,” I added. “When you put a back pack on with that kind of weight and go for a walk, it makes every muscle in your body work a helluva lot harder than it does without one.”
“That’s true,” he said.
A day later I was doing a coaching call with a Power Postures client, and was teaching him how to activate the invisible belt channel that wraps around your lower abdomen. I told him to twist into the posture from this area, but it’s a tough thing to describe without an actual picture of it. So I said, “You remember those neoprene waist wraps people used to wear, that they used to advertise on tee-vee? The ones that promised to reduce your guttage by several inches, easily and effortlessly, or your money back?”
“Hehe. I remember them,” he laughed.
“Well, think of this area you move from as one of those kind of belts, only it’s invisible. And when you nail the proper position, you will know it because you will feel it.”
The client did as instructed and was amazed.
I then mentioned that I haven’t seen any ads for these fat-burning belts for years, then added, “But they’ll be coming back. Everything is circular. Everything moves in waves. Here today, then gone for a spell, then it returns.”
This is definitely true when it comes to bodyweight calisthenics. Bodyweight squats, pushups and bridging have been huge at various times, then someone figures out how to make strength training more complicated, less effective, much more expensive, with equipment that is usually unnecessary.
Then, once you’ve bought into the idea that your body alone is not enough, that you are not your own gym, you can fill large rooms with equipment that costs mega-bucks. Meanwhile, you have taken your focus off the things (your body and your mind) that get results fast, and don’t bang your body up to the point that you are crippled by the time you’re 50, if not way before that.
When I brought bodyweight exercises back to life in the year 2000, the mainstreamers laughed, scoffed and ridiculed me. Nevertheless, I continued onward. I didn’t need anyone else’s approval as I had the truth inside of me. I knew the difference the program had made in my life and if people were afraid of being laughed at by doing it, so what?
To my utter astonishment and amazement, Combat Conditioning, took off. I didn’t expect it to be a home run, much less a grand slam. I was merely putting forth a written and visual record of what I was doing.
After a few years, after tens of thousands of people from all over the whirl bragged about their results, other “trainers” stopped laughing and started doing the exercises themselves.
And all this leads to a key point I want to make. Although I’ve been enjoying my many travels around and about the “world” (see I can spell the word more than one way), and don’t send nearly as many emails as I once did, I haven’t forgotten about you.
In fact, when I got home last week, I was greeted by several boxes of an all-new spiral bound edition of my grand slam book, Combat Conditioning: Functional Exercises for Fitness and Combat Sports.
This new spiral-edition is truly ass-kicking in every conceivable way. The book lays flat and remains open as you train. There’s a clear plastic cover and black back to prevent damage to the actual cover from milk or coffee spillage, or any other accidents. Plus it is in a smaller format that fits nicely into your gym bag or carry-on, so you can easily transport it wherever you go without damage.
I realize that most of you on this list already own a copy of Combat Conditioning, and you probably don’t need another copy of the book lying around.
Then there are those of you who don’t have a copy yet, and perhaps you are thinking that it’s just another book, that it’s not a classic, and that I am “hyping” the program.
And believe me now and listen sometime later, there are people who are afraid that the exercises will be too hard, too difficult, too much and/or have the “I am too old,” mentality.
Last but most assuredly not even close to least, there are people who think that the exercises will shear your knees or break your neck.
What do I say to all of you? I say don’t get the book. It ain’t for you.
It’s for the people who are game for the challenge. It’s for those who love the idea and the reality of…
Kicking ass and taking names… at any age, or for as long as humanly possible.
Here’s the link to Combat Conditioning
Matt Furey
