It's an age old maxim, been passed down over the ages, like most of these maxims - holds damn true. 

This evening, I was vacillating before getting into the ice cold torture chamber - or shower, hehe. 

I'll admit it. I'm human too, my friend - and sometimes even I want that nice warm shower (or hot shower) all of us love so! 

Yet, I went ahead eventually and jumped in the cold shower anyway - and felt great as always later. 

No-one is forcing me to take ice cold showers all winter. I'm doing it of my own volition - and now that spring is finally almost here, what feels ice cold still to most people is nice and pleasant to me. Trust me, if you can take ice cold showers in an unheated house in winter with windows open, cold drafts blowing in all over the place, you're on to something. 

I credit my cold showers, deep breathing and fitness routines to looking less than half my age - feeling even younger - and staying hale and healthy as a horse when nigh everyone around me is either sniffling or throwing up. Granted, its that sort of in between weather, terrible pollution everywhere, but hey. I deal with it, and seem to pass with flying colors - without having even one single tiny bottle of or tablets of Paracetemol around for an "emergency". 

Think, and you will! 

One of the things the guy I keep talking about that claims to want to do pull-ups, but never puts in the effort (thereby pissing me off to a degree I never speak to him at all now - loser!) - is what he said when I trained him once. 

And when simple pushups brought him to his knees, and I showed him the right way to do 'em (he claimed to do 40, but could barely do 3 right).  

No pain, no gain, he gasped at the end of it. 

And he was right there. Of course, simply nodding the head don't rock the boat - simply saying it doesnt mean a damned thing until you DO. And he doesnt, so it don't count. 

I was going to do this as a video, then decided to write it. 

Boy, I'm growing to love videos as much as writing! Well, maybe not as much - as YET. Hehe. Early days yet, in a couple of months we've made giant leaps on that channel, more than what people do in years - anyway - back to it - its sad what society has become. 

Let me tell you, and this is a real damn story - when you're in wrestling class, and you're the coach, and you can't put any sort of basic hold like an armbar (note - I just mean putting the hold on, not hurting the other person) on your pupils - and why? Because you're too worried the parents will sue you or otherwise report you or some nonsense for "hurting your child". 

True story. 

Compare this to Bret Hart's childhoold, growing up, his mom talks about the screams of pain emanating from the basement for hours as Stu Hart put the kids Bret, Owen and the rest through their paces with wrestling and other training. 

Is it any wonder Bret literally turned out as the "excellence of execution" - a strappjng, solid, tough - technically superb wrestler (ok, its the WWE, but even there, Bret's skills showed and shone!)

I doubt he would have been even close to that if child services or some bullshit showed up at the Hart's door demanding to know why the kids were being pushed... 

Same thing in my daughter's basketball class, guy's a great coach, genuinely likes kids, yet, every time he pushes them, they wimp out, and some idiot mother shows up to argue with him about "times are different these days", its not "that time" any more. 

What time? 

Back when we were tough and played all day long, when scrapes, brusies, even coming home with head bleeding (yours truly) -and worse was par for the course? 

I'm not saying the brutal beatings and sometimes downright sadistic punishments handed down at school are required - no, there is a line, but these days, we've crossed way too far over to the other side. 

High school coach makes his kids do pushups. 

And gets kicked out of his job pretty much - why? Because the kids got put in hospital ... for what? For doing 300 pushups in an hour. And remember, these kids are supposed to be high school football players!

Child protective services is investigating him apparently. 

Child protection my ass. 

Pansies. 

I've written about that before, of course - 300 pushups in an hour, even in hot weather is SLACKNG. You bang out 500 an hour if you're doing it right, give or take, and pushups should be like breathing for football players, unfortunaely it isn't - most prefer to hit the weights apparently (unless its a Herschel Walker or true doer). 

Boxers and wrestlers by very dint of their sport seem to be the only ones these days that appreciate the no pain, no gain maxim and  GAIN from it. 

Look, life, fitness, business, the real rewards only come after a lot of pain,there is no other way any sort of real growth happens. 

Writing it down on a paper, twirling beads and chanting mantras aint gonna get it done. 

The PAIN and going through it is what makes you grow and if you're resilient enough, you come through to the other side. 

Perhaps thats yet another reason other than the immense value I provide you with in my fitness books knowledge wise, my workouts are that damn brutal. 

You either sink or swim, no in between. 

I've been made to do that all my life. 

I've always come out on top. 

I believe so can you, if you dont piss, moan, groan and whine, and get down to brass tacks - and DO. 

Pushup Central, Animal Kingdom Workouts, 0 Excuses Fitness - in fact ALL My courses will make you very sore when you first start, they wont stop challenging you even when you're at advanced level. 

But if you back away from "pain", you might as well not be here my friend. 

Like customers have said, "my courses aren't for the faint of heart". 

And thats how we prefer it around here , true doers, a very exclusive and loyal band of customers and supporters, and so we grow ... 

Alright, thats it for this one. Back soon. 

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

For obvious reasons, I will and always have - held everything American and America in general - very close to my heart, and truly respected. The country has done a hell of a lot for me without knowing it - so has China, so has every place I've been to, visited - nay, LIVED - I've always maintained simply visiting dont cut it. You have to LIVE there, get into the culture, build relationships - even when I travel, I'd rather spend time in one place than run helter skelter all over the place like a chicken with its head cut off deeply in love ... hehe. Women love that tho! 

The real America - not the tom foolery the Liberals want to turn it into - just clarifying. Real old school "pull thy sleeves up America" - when American manufacturing was strong, American craftsmanship truly the best in the world. 

Anyone even remember them days??

Anyway - old timers aside, every place has some things about it that must be called out. 

And the drinking age in the US is one of them. 

I mean goddang it, you can fight wars at 18, die for your nation, join the Marines, you can vote - whatever good that does, lol - but you can't buy a damn beer? 

I remember being constantly pissed about that law, and finding inventive ways to break it. Like growing out my beard. Hehe. Age of 19, I'd look 26... 

Or, NOT being a "definite" - which was our definition of a pothead back in school. Hehe. 

Or, getting the girlfriend to buy it. No fake ID's tho, hehe. Some things I draw the line at ... I still remember up in NY, not having a driver's license initially (when I did the change over from MS to NY) - and the girlfriend who never changed hers which we didnt really need to, to be frank - the MS license was nice and plated for one, not so the NY one ... plus we weren't moving there full time ... buying 'em from me, guy in the office who'd bum cigarettes off me and apologize saying "I know your girlfriend has to buy 'em for you!" Hehe. Memories! 

Sneak in, sneak out, no lengthy convos or smiles... I still remember hoping at Jr Food Mart the guy wouldn't ask for my ID. He never did. Hahah ... (and then sneaking into the dorms with it). 

Memories!

Lots to share with regard to my US travels as well - including, but not limited to icy cold Maine on Memorial day, lots of creeks down South - Biloxi - the casinos - And of course, Niagara Falls and the trip to Canada that never happened at the time. Hehe. 

New York in general and the great times we had up there. 

All of that was way before the internet took over - it was back when we had Mapquest printouts to give us directions (I still remember the ex telling me I was like her grandfather, I'd get SO pissed if someone would deviate from the set route) ... 

... and a trusty camcorder I gave away to a school in 2021, hehe (in India). 

Along with my old Toshiba... 

Anyway. 

Tons of memories, too many to list here. 

Fitness wise, here are some ... 

And I'll have more on this later. BAck soon!

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

The other day - last afternoon, actually, the wife was in one of her very rare good moods - and the lunch she dished up, my! 

It sure did prove the good mood, and she demanded to know where the daughter's "leads" (her way of saying headphones) were. 

For some reason the chip off the old block runs through stuff pretty quick, unlike her old man who seems to reuse certain things till you cannot use them no more. "Thats a perfectly good car", as Jeff Bezos - well on his way to becoming a billionaire - once said about his beat down Honda! Hehe. 

I respect guys like that - not for driving beat down cars, or being practical alone - yes, those reasons, but because .... they did it THEMSELVES. 

Bootstrapped, ok, Bezos had help from his Dad initially which is more than what a lot of us get, but still - he is to me the modern day version of Henry Ford, and that takes some doing. 

Anyway. 

"I'm buying it", I went. "But I want to get a good quality one, like the one I have, not just one of those cheap ones". 

When I told the wife how much it cost, after she asked - she grinned and shook her head  - "I'm not spending that much". 

And then. 

Partly in  jest. 

"Buy one for me too!" 

Anyway, story behind this - I want to get the daughter the same headphones I have - good quality - and the guy that advertises them or used to, at any rate - a Bollywood actor I hardly ever watch, I've barely seen any of his movies. 

But, guy's in SHAPE. 

Real shape. 

He's a dancer. 

Yes, he does tons of pull-ups! 

More than his fitness though - he STRUGGLED. 

His family did all but disown him for not bending to their desires. I can identify for sure, and I can identify with the old Maruti Zen he literally lived out of while struggling to make it big which he finally made it "in some regards" big. 

I'm sure he remembers those days. 

I'm sure he wouldn't exchange the struggles for ANYTHING. I know I wouldn't. If you ain't run from pillar to post, been at the very edge of desperation with one foot hanging well over the cliff of utter, abject failure then you aint lived in all regards, and you're not qualified to talk about any sort of success, period. 

I should know. Been there, done that - in the trenches. Thats the sort of dude I respect - big time!

Anyone that makes it on their own - I respect that person. 

And like I told the wife. 

"Shahid Kapoor advertises it. It's a vibe. He wouldn't just sell shit..." 

And I know. 

It's a vibe, hard to explain, one of those things, you cannot fake GENUINE people! 

Anyway ... the old Zen. 

I had one of those, a golden colored Zen, and when I first got it, it might well have been "Punchy" the Dog in Rocky Balboa that the teenaged son  (Lil Marie's son) did not want to get initially. 

Beat down, depressed, dead, not unlike the dog that shows up next to me EVERY TIME I work out - even when I shoo it away. You've seen that dog, I've shooed it away but it keeps coming back, and I've decided to accept it for now. Hey. Some things!

That car - nothing worked except the engine. I still remember driving it up without brake fluid up the hills of India, if you can do that, now you've got some serious balls (driving on those narrow Himalayan roads - just Google if you dont believe me. Hehe). I still remember a case where I almost pissed my pants driving in the jungles in the dark, lost ... Anyway thats a tale I've covered before, but for now? 

The ZEN. 

And yours truly at that time, truly phat phocker. Hehe. 

There's a famous photo of me on Instagram, chowing down on snacks with a beer in hand at 11 AM in the morning - from one of my favorite places to visit. Hehe. 

Those of you on Instagram have seen it. 

And for now, here's the trip down memory lane you must read about - - A 5 day road trip to Dalhousie/Khajjiar - Team-BHP

This will be part of the travelogues series I plan on coming out with soon - which will have details on my travels back Stateside (yes, the US is a massive country with lots to see!) - China (another massive country) - maybe Russia someday in the future too. And more - and India, of course. 

For now, thats that. 

And remember, for hard hitting life info that works unlike what the self help so called Gurus tell you - Zero to Hero! - and Gumption Galore are the tickets. 

Thats that then - enjoy the link above! 

BEst, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Notice the calves in the photo. Some might call me "strong" - indeed, many did back then- reality though, I was PHAT. Hehe. Lesson coming from someone thats been there - and done that. 

Listen to me, YOU will catapult yourself from woefully unfit to the ranks of the elite too ... 

Ps #2 - I was sort of forced into selling the trusty Zen when I moved to the Middle East for a short period, something I shouldn't have done, but running on the beaches, and them boxing workouts were cool! 

But I still remember almost crying - literally - when I sold it off. 

So many hours invested into rebuilding that car, standing around for hours in the hot sun with mechanics, learning everything I could about cars from it .. 

I know the guy I sold it to, he still has the car. 

Hehe. some things, OLD is truly GOLD!

The human body,  my friend, was not meant to grunt and groan its way through hard physical labor - especially "unnatural forms" of "labor" (such as the bench press for one). 

Grunting and groaning your way might happen when you're straining to get that last rep. 

It WILL happen if youre a powerlifter or something similar. Or, simply trying to budge a massive sofa that hasn't been moved for ages - think those old school sofas we've all heard of (at least those of that are old school - we have seen 'em, most likely tried to move 'em too - when I tried first at the age of 20, damn thing wouldn't even budge. Hehe). 

For the most part though, we were meant to move powerfully - but in a lithe and GRACEFUL MANNER - much like the apes we so closely resemble. 

And upper body wise, there are few exercises that build brute strength and animal like, ape like power in the upper body than one I wrote about this morning - the monkey bars. 

Much ignored, much maligned, much NOT DONE by most people or even kids these days - these are a GREAT way to fry fat off your body - build strength quickly - including a corsucating iron grip if done right - and much more - but above all, it builds a level of GRACE in the upper body not delivered by any other exercise. 

Hindu pushups look - and are - a grace filled motion. 

Many other bodyweight movements are as well - especially two of the ones I love the most "tiger bend pushups" and "archer" pushups -the sheer MOTION of the latter, fluidly moving back and forth (the typewriter variant) is so gracefilled people will stop and watch when you do it (right). 

Nothing quite captures people's fancy as monkey bar work done RIGHT though. 

And done right, which very few people can do, its an EXTREMELY graceful movement - both in terms of feeling, and for the person watching - sort of like the upper body equivalent of ballet if that makes sense. 

Most just grab on any which way and try to go from one rung to the other. 

This is fine, but you do it SLOWLY. 

When you start, you likely will find it tough to do ONE rung at a time for one rep, let alone more, so focus on the grip .

Focus on the STRETCH throughout the entire upper body as you do the movement, strengthening and burning flab at the same time, and giving you a fluidly isometric workout in a true "ape like, jungle" Tarzan fashion/manner. 

I repeat - focus on the STRETCH and grip the most here. Not so much the reps, those will come. 

When you get better, go back and forth as many times as you can. 

Then you progress to TWO or more bars at a time, which is when the real grace will come into play, as you dont just wildly swing from one bar to the one after the next, instead, you torque gracefully from SIDE TO SIDE - feeling the stretch along the sides especially - even your non gripping hand as it goes from one rung to the other, you're bringing it up in a catching sort of motion, palm outstretched. 

All of these things, my friend, do more than build just brute strength and conditioning, they also build GRACE - and a level of power and maturity in the tendons and ligaments of the upper body you cannot get with other type of workouts. 

They build that rock solid "packed" chest we all want. (and some of us have). 

They build an iron grip. 

They're great from getting oohs and ahs from people half your age and double it - neither age group will likely be able to do 'em right. 

And they're also great for what Brooks Kubik once in a private email conversation with me referred to as "waist whittling" (although I was reporting back on waist whittling done via subway stair sprints at the time). 

Brooks is HUGE on core - always has been - and grip. 

Hallmark of a TRUE fitness stud ... 

Anyway - thats that for this one. 

Gorilla Grip, Gorilla Grip (ADVANCED!) - and Gorilla Grip (TIPS) contain plenty of info on the monkey bars and how to incorporate them into your workouts - and thats just ONE Of the exercises covered. 

If you're truly interested in building a brutal, IRON clad "black smith like grip" like few others can dare to or dream of having, then get the above books now and start cranking. 

Back soon. 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

As always, there is a long answer, and a short one. 

Short answer - NO!

Much like with my workouts - much like with a lot of other things that are now second nature for me - no. 

Except for a couple of skills I have which even my worst critics would be hard pressed to (or they don t, actually) say I'm "poor at" (remember, if even trolls won't troll you on it, it means something, hehe) - everything else I am good at, very good at, damn good at - was LEARNED - through EXPERIENCE, not a teacher teaching me. 

Being in the trenches, life is the best teacher. 

Age 19, final presentation for Dr P, a guy from Poland at USM where I went to school at, almost applied for grad school there too. 

I still remember my friend coming up to me after the presentation saying "I could see your fingers shaking as you gripped the mouse". 

I was so damn nervous doing it, I could barely sleep the night before (well without beer, hehe) - and I can't figure out till this date how I even talked while doing it - or wasn't laughed out of the class as I thought I would be (answer to #2 - people are usually far more forgiving if they see you TRYING). 

Now, part of this was due to the fact I wasn't prepared for the presentation as well as I should have been, part because this prof paid GREAT or laid, I should say - emphasis on DRESS code - if you were dressed up in a shirt and tie, you were guaranteed to not fail at least - and I wasn't, obviously - but most of it, I was thinking "man, thats nervous, what will people think, how will I look like" and so forth. 

I once called out an almost 40 year old on here for being a nervous 16 year old out on a date with her crush - well, he's worse than that, he's even being prompted by a script! - but that time, age of 19, or maybe 18 - yours truly - same boat. 

Today? 

All the years of teaching in China - believe me, getting in front of a class ain't that easy either - especially when and as I did it - never having done it before, picking it up on the fly - well, one reason why "crowds" and giving speeches dont bother me none no more ; in fact I look forward to it. 

My mental mindset, another reason. 

But a huge, huge part of it is the confidence knowing that I'm in teaching mode - or talking mode - or a combo therein ... and knowing I'm an expert on what I do choose to talk about, and results backing it up. 

Of course, nothing beats practice, day in and day out, or learning in the trenches. 

People take classes for years to develop these skills, and a lot never do despite that. 

And when you have teachers like the one my wife has who claims "say I'm rich, and you'll be rich!" 108 times - or sticking a piece of paper on the wall with your goals (latest is she wants to be a (or rather "is" - emphasis on quotes for a reason) professional "tarot healer" and "is" (when she isn't) earning x amount per month" and a lot other gobbledook - its stuck on the wall in pain sight - I mean plain sight, hehe - for all to see) and other rot - its not surprising that most people attract the polar opposite of what the gurus say they will. 

Of course, the gurus are off vacationing on some island with these shmuck's hard earned money. 

Man, I can just imagine the horror on Napoleon Hill's face if he saw this tripe, the "is" crap aside, while claiming to draw from his line of philosophy (which works, is taken from Emerson and other greats, who in turn got it from the Universe and so forth) - jeez, talk about violating the cardinal principle of goal setting, or one of them - that being "tell the world what you're going to do, but SHOW 'em first". 

This above was accompanied by the drawing of a doorway which is good, but again - it should be kept private, not stuck in "the corner of the house that attracts the most Vastu" (Indian for Feng Shui) and other nonsense. 

The lunacy .. ah. 

Really, to the people who say my stuff is expensive - I could really rake it in by growing a long beard, throwing on saffron robes and becoming a Baba. Hehe. 

But I wont. 

Duping people ain't my thing. 

Kicking their RUMPUS into high gear - in all regards - is. 

And thats that!

Thanks a TON for all the comments on the videos, live streams etc - again, for a guy who never thought he'd be doing 'em - he's thrilled to do 'em now!

And thats that. 

If you're looking for some great, great down to earth books with life tips -not hacks, tips - you can use to benefit yourself, real world, practical USEABLE tips, not nonsensical hocus pocus tricks/affirmations that go nowhere - then Gumption Galore! - and Zero to ... HERO! are your babies. I'll have more on this subject out in the future as well.

Oh, years later, or two actually after that presentation, I had one with Dr Ali, but that dude was SO cool and laidback he passed everyone - including myself who had NO clue of the artificial intelligence presentation he did in class ... Hehe. And I wasn't nervous either, well, somewhat, but nowhere near as with the first guy, but the prof was so cool and laidback, so were the students... hehe. 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

... to appeal their motherfuckin decision either. Though it would make perfect (non) sense that a liberal leaning channel like Youtube would choose to "age restrict" something which than part of the title is perfectly appropriate for all age groups and is common sense more than anything - which ain't all that common in today's fuckin world. 

I swear, some of the ladies working in houses etc around India and the subcontinent, the downtrodden women who this same society doesnt even permit to sit on the same chairs or use the same bathrooms as their employers do - and this isnt just about India by the way - society in general has descended into utter tom foolery and "pander to lazy buffoons" and "white knights pandering to entitled brats" - and what not - but it's working class people everywhere - India, China, good ole TX - and so forth -t hat make the most sense these days as opposed to the so called educated moronic cunts - both male and female - out there (and in between too, if you're Schofield and his / her ilk). 

They sit around in the park gossipping, complaining, not that I have ever given two or more flying fucks (or less) for either male or female oriented or origin gossip, but the language they use, these ladies, my, some of it would make a sailor blush.  More to the point though, what they say makes perfect sense - after all, these people work for a living as opposed to the vast majority of government/wife teat addicted liberal nutjobs out there ... 

My wife was spot on (doesn't happen too often does it) when she mentioned women cuss even more than men do. 

Try getting today's addled society to acknowledge this though - and of course, men can't do it, but women can? Huh?

Maybe I should do what I wanted to the other day - there was a couple of girls doing "Instagram fitness" (ie. one min bursts of so called ab exercise while making sure their tits and tummies were on full show, and their spanking new spandex and what not) and spending more of their time searching for the right music to accompany the video as opposed to actually take the video ... i was going to invite them over with me for filming. 

I'm 100 % positive they wouldn't mind - with all the corners of the eyes going on for one, if you get my drift. 

But with a woman around, or she-male, or whatever goddamned definition fits today's liberal brain in terms of "acceptable" - or "he-female" - or what not -Youtube would gladly never ban even the most risque of content, let alone age restrict something that isn't even anywhere near risque. 

Anyway ... 

check out the video below. 

And if you're not into common sense, might as well click the PHOCK away - NOW. 

Basically, its about a pet peeve of mine other than white knights - that being people interrupting me with inanity during my fuckin workouts, and I gave these people a piece of my common sense addled mind, and rightly so. 

Respect a person's time, folks 

Just because you're lazy and choose to do F all doesn't mean EVERYONE is like that. 

Dont come up to someone obviously busy with something and interrupt with inanity like "can I borrow your sunglasses" or ask dumbass questions like "still using this phone" or "when will you go to cHina". 

Like fuck off, pal, none of it is your damned business, especially not when I'm working out. Live and let the fuck live ... 

And thats that - more in the video. 

Sign in to see it ... 

And thats that. 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Probably the best part about the 0 Excuses Fitness System, even more so than the stellar results it brings - it infuses a healthy dose of practicality and common sense into anyone with enough sense to get on the program. 'nuff said. 

I think I wrote about this before, but while watching this movie "D Block" - reportedly based upon a true story about a psycho who stalks a girls's hostel looking for new victims to kill apparently daily - a hostel right smack in the middle of a forest - well, I had two thoughts. 

One, I'd love to study in a college surrounded by Nature like that. 

Not so much living in a college hostel (dorm) in India per se, the facilities would be rather - minimum, if I might say, but otherwise, India's got some great forests and of course the royal Bengal Tiger! 

Anyway - I wont regale you with the story, but towards the end of the movie, when they catch the pyscho - there is massive hunt, and the girls, guys - everyone at the college tries to "grab a hold of him" when he finally comes within grabbing range - except they can't. 

And why?

He's smeared grease all over his body - which of course makes those massive arms and legs of his far tougher to grab! 

Guy's huge - absolutely huge - and not in shape either - huge middle aged spread, and a belly thats seen one lunch and dinner too many I'd say ... 

But his arms - chest - upper body is built like a rock - sort of like, and I haven't seen who the actor is, but I wouldn't be surprised if the guy didnt do wrestling training at some point in his career - he's got those huge arms, powerful traps - and a build that a lot of the ancient Indian wrestlers had - at least in the upper body. 

And the way he pulls himself up to a window while being a peeping Tom in the women's bathroom - well, that in itself says something about the nutjobs physical abilities. 

Anyway ... 

The ancient Indian wrestlers were pretty well conditioned when it came to lasting in the ring, but other forms of conditioning - like hill sprints etc - not so much. Classic case of "training for the job at hand", which is fine - now modern day Indian wrestlers - different tale - as superbly conditioned as you'll ever see! 

Anyway, what these ancient wrestlers used do to - and its a style used by old time Iranian and Persian - likely Russian too - wrestlers as well - was they used to smear OIL on their bodies before wrestling, making it doubly hard to grip a limb or two - and even if you did grip, harder to hold ON. 

Think about the immense grip and forearm strength this sort of training would build, my friend - especially in a sport where "Grab, throw and pin" are the order of the day, and the competitors aren't exactly "skinny" either. 

Now, I'm huge on grip strength but admittedly, although I know just how hard it is to grip and hold onto someone whose got oil smeared on his limbs (from experience) - I dont use this form of grip training in my regimen. 

But the point isnt what you use. 

It's HOW you do it - how you train - and how you make things damned hard to grip on to. 

From using thick grips on a regular pulling bar to doing them outdoors on thick bars - and doing them in a manner most people wouldn't dream of in terms of grip - from using items like RICE for one to build a ferocious grip -newspapers - and so forth - well, there's plenty of ways to do it. 

Fingertip work. 

Anything you do training wise - make it damn hard to HOLD on to - for instance, if you do the farmer's walk - do it with thick handled buckets or whatever you use!

And so forth ... 

Thats probably the #1 and common lesson taught in Gorilla Grip, Gorilla Grip (Advanced!) - and Gorilla Grip (TIPS!). 

And it wont just build the grip, it will build a rugged upper body in its entirety - and lumps of muscle ALL over your upper body - simply by using this one trick. 

And thats that for now. One of our most popular videos at the end of this page - enjoy! 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

 PS - Speaking of slippery and hard to grip. Happy Chinese New Year for those aware of it - the year of the RABBIT NO LESS! Hehe.

I was recently reading about a story on the news where apparently a high school in what is BY far my favorite state in the US of A - the Lone Star State - has been placed on leave because he made kids do 300 - 400 pushups as punishment for something, and the kids ended up in the hospital - and he got put on leave. 

Now, these weren't your regular kids - they were apparently kids on the high school football team of all things. 

Of course no further details are forthcoming on the incident, what prompted the punishment, why it happened, the kids background, none of it. 

I've got a feeling the media is looking to spin this into more of a witch hunt and demand for yet more mollycoddling in today's already weak and pathetic society (though its good to know some hard asses and old timers like us are doing what we can to change things - I dont know what the background of this is, if YOU reading this do, let me know - but I'd personally say well done coach!) ... 

Anyway, 300 - 400 pushups in an hour as punishment? 

In one freaking hour?

Thats EASY PEASY! And I bet the coach didnt make them do styles of pushups I teach you in Pushup Central - which at the age of 42 if I can rock out 500 pushups every day with the sun blazing down on me - with no "water bottle" handy by the way - then so can high school athletes. 

I dont know if these kids were like a former friend Charles who claims up and down he's "big but not fat" - and that he "wrestled" in high school so has huge legs, but when PRESSED on it, he admitted that "football was more his jazz". (and the way he said, exactly the same way Glyn denied having all the strange, or maybe not, fetishes and sexual preferences etc we all have - deep down inside ...  like dude, at least be honest, that is a START)..

Weightlifting is big in football, probably those idiotic machines too these days - Herschel Walker would have a coronary. Hehe. 

And so these kids, I've no idea what their physical fitness levels were like, but Id hazard a guess and say atrocious given they were athletes - and that they were what most kids unfortunately are these days - dumbphone addicted mollycoddled BRATS. 

This goes both ways, of course, Ill tell you more beneath - but get any weightlifter doing the routines and exercises in Pushup Central, and they might end up in the hospital too if they haven't conditioned themselves for those workouts - or Battletank Shoulders workouts (as customers have said "not for the faint of heart!!") - or if they dont, as is shown in the books, WORK UP TO IT! 

You dont jump straight from a perch on el couchola for years to do 500 pushups a day, for one. 

I still remember Charles Mitchell, whose an avid Pushup Central customer and ex cop telling me about how the fingertip pushups in there are FAR tougher than what his karate instructor taught him. 

And they are!

Knuckle pushups are taught a lot in karate which is great, but nothing beats fingertip pushups - although some instructors do teach em -  I remember a Korean dude who reportedly did 50 fingertip pushups daily (in college) and was a black belt or something at .. karate, I believe. 

Anyway. 

My thoughts and memories on all this - if I'd have to say it in one line - same as I've said above 

Kids, and society in general have turned into molly coddled, dumbphone addicted idiots and WEAKLINGS. 

Very few real men and women left out there. 

Back in high school, I remember the PE "final exam" when I was 17 - how the girls threw the shot put farther than I did, how the guys beside me exhorted me to do better - but I couldn't - I had no fitness background growing up, I was not strong or conditioned though I sure as hell had ambitions to be, but those ambitions were CRUSHED by my mother who believed in the usual "studies rule" rot - and "he thinks he's soooooo strong!" every time I wanted to do something physical. 

Goes both ways though like I said, my reading habit which got inculcated in me due to sheer necessity - well, thats held me in good stead as you can tell - both communication wise and writing wise! I'd often have my favorite novel in my desk drawer beneath  my school books when I was supposed to be preparing for exams. Hehe. Turns out the chip off the old block does something similar too, but anyway - fitness - well, I remember being sore for days after that exam which involved a run too in the heat. 

Little did I know years later I'd be hiking hills daily in extremely hot and humid "tropical jungle like weather" (one minute it rains, the next minute the sun's out - so hot - that the clothes stick to your back again!) where people were literally fainting around me, and I'd be dripping trails of sweat up and down that hill. 

THIS is hill climbing, as Kelly, a student of mine rightly said!

The same father who once mocked me for "wanting a pipe attached to the heavens" every time I wanted a water break during tennis on Sundays (which I hated - but loved the swimming!) - then said "you're a bonafide fitness maniac now!"

Seeing me do pushups shirt off in the park out there - I sometimes wonder what they think. Hehe. 

Back in eighth grade, when the beatings administered at home for cutting class or what not did not work, I remember my teacher menacingly glaring at me in school, telling my parents - or me, rather "I'll take care of you HERE the next time!" 

And our punishments were nigh brutal, my friend - the punishments we got in school? 

Being forced to stand in awkward positions for hours, worse than kneeling on rice and such, repeated blows to the back of the head (ugh, I hate that!) - being hit with implements and such - all when we were KIDS - today's kids would go straight to the hospital for sure with some of that, so when he said brutal, he meant it. 

Then again, in their days brutal meant getting beaten at home if they showed up one minute late from play .... 

I gotta say though, though my dad and myself dont like each other to the point we avoid each other by walking in opposite directions when we see each other - even in a setting like a wide open park - he's OK when it comes to FACTS. 

Put facts in front of him, and he will put his like or dislike of the person aside, and acknowledge facts - which I do as well if required, so I can respect that. 

He might not be the ideal father, or know how to teach - but thats OK. I picked up the slack on that one!

Anyway ......... 

On that note, exercise as punishment? 

I remember teaching kids at Hanlin School in China, I've taught kids for YEARS - and in PE class and what not, they were supposed to be playing soccer, and instead?

They'd be coming up to me doing pull-ups!

Why? 

Certainly not because I told them to. 

Hell, I was happy enough with them playing soccer - it gave me more time to work on my pull-ups, which being I was the only instructor there in any sort of shape to do pull-ups - I did, and the rest of the teachers just stood around and looked. 

And the kids of course like the little monkeys they were, showed up wanting to imitate me, and long story short - pictures of me with those kids in my arms getting the over the bar are likely still floating around somewhere in that school. 

Not that I didn't teach them well academically - like my Taekwondo instructor once said "hey, I study too!" - there's pictures of me with those kids on my lap learning English (Admittedly I was missing my own daughter a lot during those days, but thats life - happens!). 

My daughter's basketball instructor is a great guy, solid teacher, and genuinely likes working with kids. 

And he makes them do exercises that are GOOD for them at their age. 

He teachers all age groups... 

And the kids of course find every excuse to show up late to skip running or what not ... 

There's only so much he can push, of course, or some idiot mother will show up demanding to know "why you're torturing my fat child". 

Society these days.. ugh. 

So back to the current case - more details please, and I've got a feeling much like cops are made the target of witch hunts for simply doing their damned jobs - the coach is being villianised here as well. 

If I'm wrong, write back, tell me why, I'll gladly "eat my words" if warranted. 

Like a great English journalist had to do back in in the day - 1983 - when India won a cricket World Cup no-one gave them a snowballs's chance in hell of winning -so much so that India wasn't even granted passes to the hallowed "Lords" (the home of cricket, much like the MCG in Australia) - that was only for the white boys apparently, with the West Indies having barrelled their way into the club a while back. 

Interesting, these tales. 

The great Tony Greig claiming he'd make the West Indies grovel in front of England, then after they hammered the Poms, Grieg literally went down on a knee in public and groveled. Hey. Great guy, I love him - and thats what you gotta do! (i.e. back your talk up). 

Same thing for English journo, after India won that world cup, he literally put his words in a glass of wine and drank it. Hehe. 

Those were the days, Indian captain Kapil Dev - even after winning a world cup they went to bed hungry because no-one had money for food (despite playing for the national team), everything around was closed, at training they'd only get VERY limited rations ... 

Yet, they did.

My. 

No wonder Kapil hates the molly coddling as much as I do ... 

Anyway. 

Pushup Central, my friend, is not for sissies and crybabies - if you aint the sort that can deal with old school brutal workouts, dont get it!

But coach in TX - hey, if someone knows his number or email, send it to me- I'll send him the link - he would LOVE the book - and its EXACTLY what is required for kids these days, especially those claiming to be athletes. 

And thats that - - back soon!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - I've said it before - if you're going at a good cliip, you do 500 pushups in one HOUR (ie approx 15 minute blocks for every 100). Or thereabouts. And 300-400 in an hour, even in hot weather, easy peasy. Pah! 

Everyone talks about HAND positioning when doing fitness, but foot positioning? 

Not many people talk about this at all - except when doing Hindu pushups which people do understand (somewhat) how placing the feet differently turns the exercise into a whole another exercise - and workout altogether. 

Even when doing the regular pushup, I bet you didnt think about it - the slightest change in foot positioning turns the exercise into a completely different one- then of course, you add in hands etc, truly - pushups are not just the big dog of fitness, but the MOST versatile bodyweight exercise out there, my friend, the MOST! 

Slight changes in foot positioning hits your entire core and triceps - body, actually, differently, and when you really bring the legs into it - watch out!

It's no coincidence that my triceps are HURTING - differently - like a deep, deep burn - even though I did not - or have not, as yet - hit my daily 500 pushup goal - its been 320 thus far.

Slow and steady - or, slower and steadier than usual is part of it. Proper form and ALL The way down and ALL the way up - another part of it!

Always ways to make it a hell of a lot tougher do I find ... so should you! 

Anyway, enjoy the video at the end of the page. 

For those whose email readers dont auto pop up the video this here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWuku841faM&t=250s

And remember two things before you click on away - or three. 

One, pushups are by far the fastest and best way (along with a healthy dose of squats) to get in SHAPE - quick. 

And my book Pushup Central shows you how to - with variants upon variants upon variants of pushups that most wouldn't have dreamt of - or thought of - and definitely not done before you crack the BOOK open. 

Truly pathbreaking, so get this course NOW if you have not already. 

Two, the great Virat Kohli from India. 

Ive no idea how many runs he churned out in today's match against the Lankans, but he's been in a rich vein of form, yet, it was only a while back that all the pundits, the great Indian public and so forth (and in a cricket crazy country like India where effigies are burnt and houses stoned when cricket matches are lost thats something - cricket is almost a religion here!) - WROTE him off. 

He was going through a bad patch which lasted much longer than anyone thought, himself included. 

Today, you wouldn't think it by looking at his purple patch - which is back!

Virat isn't so much of a genius or even inspired as much as he is PERSISTENT. 

It shows in his game, mentality, most of all fitness, and I've no idea, but ask him - he'll tell you how many pushups he does himself daily!

Its persistent that brings you the big things my friend, persistence long after everyone has written you off - in many cases even your own conscious mind has. 

The will - and desire - to go another round when the deck's stacked against you, and when you think you cannot. 

Thats true genius, true champions, the material they're made of. 

NEVER make the mistake of writing a genius off - or do so at your own risk. 

And thats that .

Back soon.

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

Those old time wrestlers; rippling muscles, huge muscles - functional muscles - not necessarily the ripped to the bone crap many espouse as the gold standard of fitness out there - muscles that actually perform in real life, stamina that does not quit shoulders that dont ache - backs every bit as strong as they look - ox like legs... well, thats a traditional Indian pehelwan for you!

And in Lumberjack Lodestone Fitness I teach you - from the roots as it were, in an unique manner my heritage (a combo of "all over the world" ) and then some allows me to teach you in a way only I can, my friend -but wait. 

This is not about the pre-order you should place NOW. 

Its about a misconception I've addressed often before, that being that Indian wrestlers do very little pulling - or few pull-ups at all, if any. 

Perhaps Matt Furey was partly responsible for this, in his bestselling course Combat Conditioning, and the videos that went with it - he said "you dont see the Hindu wrestlers dont do pull-ups!"

"All over the world, boxers, and wrestlers do nothing but pushups, squats and, and ... bridging". 

I still remember the words verbatim, Matt speaking off the cuff like those of us in the flow do so well, yours truly as well. 

But many missed what Matt said post this, when he said ... 

"I'm not saying they're no good. They ARE good, and you need to figure out a way to incorporate them into your routine, but if you're just starting out - the pushups will build strength through the chest, arms, legs ... even the legs..." 

And more. 

Many miss that part. 

And indeed, lore has it that the Gama did 5000 squats and 3000 pushups daily - but very little is written about his pull-ups. 

His isometrics, there's a lot been said about it. 

But his pulling, not a lot ... 

Through Lumberjack Lodestone Fitness, I will CHANGE this misconception, my friend. 

And not every wrassler in India starts his or her day off with a set of pushups or squats, go to any akhara if you can - you might be surprised to see them doing rope climbing - pull-ups - and lots of club work before moving on to pushups and squats. 

Make no mistake about it, they do pushups, squats and then some, but thats not the ONLY thing they do, my friend. In fact, there's a LOT of pulling going on in those akharas - it simply would not be wrestling without PULLING! 

Anyway, more on this later - a much delayed Rahul is out now. 

Back soon!

And remember the pre-order... 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - A communal dump is also par for the course for many a traditional wrestler. Dont believe me, go there and see for yourself, not saying YOU have to do it, but there is a reason it's done, much like the daily worship before exercise. More on this later, including a lot about their DIET TOO...