Exercises (160)

Thursday, 23 February 2023 04:45

Why nothing EVER replaces bodyweight exercises and bodyweight workouts!

There's a very good reason the old timers despite their weightlifting prowress and other feats of strength NEVER ignored bodyweight training - they knew to do so would be nigh foolish. 

It doesnt matter which end of the spectrum you're talking about either - could be Charles Atlas with his isometrics - John Grimek with hiis feats of strength - or (my personal favorite) the mighty DOUG HEPBURN! doing handstand pushups on a log and dipping bar in addition to his other work. 

I've written about this before and Doug said it himself - the HANDSTAND pushups were what built his prodigous pushing ability. 

It was not weights that built the weight lifting prowress - it was his bodyweight training routine, and yesterday, lifting them heavy boxes which a while back seemed impossible to even budge - I was struck - HARD by the truism of what I'm saying again. 

History has proven me right as well. Scores of people that are weak in the gym do bodyweight work exclusively for a while - then they come back to the gym - and voila - "miraculously" all their lifts go up - they're far stronger than before. 

The reverse? 

Not a chance. 

You could be a big strong lad lifting boxes all day long, but if you've got a belly, NOTHING will make them pull-ups easier to perform! 

Same thing for pushups. 

Nothing quite beats one arm pushups, archer pushups, and some of the advanced pushups I've written about (and will put in Pushup Central - Volume Two when I get TIME - which is of the essence right now. With all the great reviews we're snowed under - and keep them coming guys!! - and with everything else going on, Rolls Royce Publications Inc is one busy place (cave hehe) to be in right NOW). 

So much to teach, so many books still to come... All in "dew" time, eh. 

In the flow, and here is what I wrote to Terrence Miller, who along with his immense appreciation of Zero to HERO! - and Gumption Galore! - so much so that he's using the tips in his OWN Coaching classes! - loves training on HILLS! 

He's in CO - lots of snow to shovel too. Hehe. 

And he's going to be narrating Advanced Hill Training for us and the next natural step, and book #2 in that series - the almighty 68 exercises KING of all books - Animal Kingdom Workouts!

OK- Battletank Shoulders vies for that King position as well, but there is something SO special about animal movements. 

As I wrote to him  (actually, this is what I sent EVERYONE interested in the narration, since we've recieved so many auditions for it already) .. 

This is one of our most popular books - Animal kingdom workouts! Animal movements are some of the best fitness movements you can do - and they can be done ANYWHERE - and they will bring the average Gym goer to their knees in a jiffy as well (and therefore exponentially increase levels of health, strength and fitness very quickly if done regularly!). The best narrator for this project should be on board with what should be common knowledge i.e. the SIMPLEST of things work the best - and that nothing, I repeat, nothing trumps bodyweight exercises done right. Sure, there are other workouts that COMPLEMENT bodyweight exercises, but nothing TRUMPS bodyweight - period. 

And it doesn't, my friend - doesnt! 

And remember, this is an advanced course, so you'd be well advised to get good at the 0 Excuses Fitness System FIRST before you jump on this one. 

Aright, thats it for now. 

Back soon. 

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

Monday, 19 December 2022 07:32

Do I count warm up sets as part of my routine?

In came a great question a couple of days ago - on pull-ups, at that - he was wanting to know if I counted warm up sets as part of my routine. 

Great Question A! 

Now before I address this - I've been very vocal about the fact I hardly, if ever warm up before diving into my routines. Even straight out of bed I'll dive into HIndu pushups and such, but sometimes, what if it's freezing cold - or you're sore as heck - and so forth? 

I hardly warm up per se even in those instances. 

What I DO do is isometrics - and partials to get the blood flowing often times. 

I dont walk or jog to warm up - though I do plenty of it otherwise. 

I dont engage in lengthy stretching before my workouts - I do so after. 

I dont do routines "for warmups" first. 

No. 

Would be pointless in terms of time if I did that, one of the main things I keep saying in the 0 Excuses Fitness System, and indeed a main USP (unique selling point) is the fact you dont need loads of time at all for a full workout including everything - every part of the body. 

And while beyond the dead hang I dont need warmups at all for pull-ups, lets answer it in terms of pushups. 

Often times, I'll hold the isometric like I just said. 

Or, I'll do partials - slowly. 

Or, I might go 80% down on some of the initial reps. 

I might be a bit shaky as I "get into the movement". and so forth. 

Once that phase is over, I'll usually do something else like swing clubs or dead hangs for a minute or so, then I'm fully "Warmed up and ready to go". 

If you do it right so will you! 

Sometimes I even do 15 perfect reps for a warm up - slow and easy - then come back an hour later and do 85 more pushups to finish a bare minimum of 100 daily. 

And so forth. 

It all depends, its up to you in terms of how serious you are about your training, how you KNOW that simply being stiff and sore ain't an excuse to be lazy and skip workouts. 

Now, the million dollar question, do I count the reps? 

Sometimes I do - differently. 

5 slow pushups done 70% of the way done, I'll count as one rep, if I do half a jerky stiff pull-ups, it's half a rep, and so forth. 

So I do count 'em, depending ...

But if its just a hold, or "shaking hold" with the ab wheel (great new video out on that - despite me saying I wouldn't do videos today, after writing that last email to you, I got in the mood!) .... then I won't count 'em as part of rep counts for the regular workout. 

And that holds true for every exercise I do. 

So thats the answer, A! 

(Alex). 

And - hope that helped some of you as well. 

The 0 Excuses Fitness System is warmed up and ready to go for you HERE - https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

I hope you dont need a lengthy warmup for the index finger on that one, hehe. 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

Wednesday, 09 November 2022 15:00

Two brutally effective styles of pull-ups not (directly, at least) covered in books - along with their (somewhat) pushup equivalents.

I haven't covered either one of these (the pull-ups) in "Pull-ups - from STUD to SUPER STUD within WEEKS!" - and their pushup equivalents - in Pushup Central. 

(to the idiot "evangelist" commenting upon my books, much like with Bozo Schofield, at least READ the books you're leaving your half ass price wanker reviews on, fool...) 

Maybe I will, but the pull-ups are just too brutal to cover directly. 

Maybe in Volume Three!

One being the towel pull-up. 

Brutal, this one happens if you throw a towel over your chinning bar (just make sure you dont do it right after the shower, hehe - and if you do, make sure no-one is around to either observe your "full moon" or admire and "worse" (think Glyn, ugh)) ... and do pull-ups that way. 

There's many variants to this as well, but the basic movement itself is extremely brutal, and much like the special grip exercises with towels in I believe Gorilla Grip -ADVANCED! - it will truly build a grip from CAIN very quickly indeed even if thats all you do grip wise, and again, trust me, you'll naturally (want to and will) gravitate to MORE. 

Second being something I mention indirectly, that being rope pull-ups - doing them on ROPES. 

Ring pull-ups are often thought of as tough as well, they are. 

But ROPE pull-ups, the way it taxes the grip - and remember, when it comes to ropes unlike steel bars, thin is NOT easier! It's even harder to grip a thin rope while working out than perhaps a thick one in many ways. Try it, and see!

Maybe I'll write more on these later, for now, the pull-ups that are very directly mentioned in the books above and explained in great detail should be more than sufficient for you pull-up monster and afficiandos! 

Now, their pushing equivalents. 

Well, none for the towel movement, I gotta say, unless you count what I do normally, which is to pop off a set of max or not max fingertip pushups in a towel right after a shower, usually a freezing cold one. 

If it ain't freezing cold, which it dont seem to be these days, I take pains to make it that way - right after a workout. 

Yes, more conventional wisdom of "if youre body is warm dont jump into the cold shower" flying out the fuckin window... where it BELONGS, to the trash can. Hehe. 

Try what the Finns do sometimes, boil in a sauna first, then jump into the freezing cold waters of the Arctic, then talk about "logic", body temperatures and such. 

Anyway ............... 

A style of pushup I recently saw which made even me go WOW? 

Handstand pushups - not on dipping bars, which are WOW enough (Doug Hepburn did these). 

But handstand pushups - on get this - ROPES! 

My, the grip required just to do these - I'm not an expert on these, but thats something to work up to, me thinks! 

In the meantime, you can of course use ropes, rings and other pushup bars to do pushups, but I prefer the good old floor, fingertip and knuckle amongst other variations. 

I believe simple, again, works best, and it does. 

Now, last comment to cover, an idiotic one that came in - along the lines of - the long lines of "so what if you're Indian" (followed by some choice words involving color if you get my drift). 

Hmm. 

Yawn. 

Like I care about the slang - I'm being polite. Hehe. 

I just "junk mailed" the guy again like I'm doing with all spam these days, but his whining was about "so what if you're indian, why does that uniquely qualify you to sell Lumberjack Lodestone Fitness" (this relates to an email I sent out in that regard). 

Well first off, you idiot, I never said that was the only thing that does. 

That is the icing on the cake, sure. 

But the cake itself, if that ain't there, there's no point having icing is there - unless you're into that, of course. 

What I mean is this - just like I kept telling Charles the former friend, no, "Indians aren't necessarily better than a qualified white chef, or any color, for cooking Indian food" (I sure ain't) - the same way, my "heritage" doesn't have F all to do with this. 

If I wasn't the bodyweight exercise Guru, a term very well deserved even if I say so myself, then none of what I say would matter. 

But that dedication and fantacism to training is what qualifies me, my friend, along with everything else I speak about - and my heritage merely means what is "alien" to most is "common knowledge" for me, but again that is only because I'm interested in training, and I do, as opposed to "evangelist arm chair wanking for Bozos" if you get my not so subtle drift. 

Nothing matters except that, pally. 

It aint bout the BS, it's about cutting right on past it, which is an alien concept for most - especially these days, that I admit. 

And thats that. 

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

Thursday, 20 October 2022 16:28

Why you should, and why it's always a good idea to listen to the bodyweight exercise Guru even though it may not seem to be at the time.

It really, really is - and he's a REAL guru - yours truly - unlike a lot of posing fools out there. 

Anyway I remember writing this a while back, around 2 months or so ago - https://0excusesfitness.com/2022/09/05/well-since-rishi-sunak-looks-set-to-lose/

And today, 44 days into her so called Prime Minstership, as Liz Truss officially steps down - all I gotta say is two things. 

One, she's a grade A hypocrite and that ultimately TOLD (not to mention her rubbish policies - as for the hypocrisy, see what she said about the monarchy a few years back and then now the reverse, polar, exact opposite to get votes - much like a certain idiot Kamala "sometimes Indian sometimes black "sometimes mixed"" Harris) ... 

And two, I told you so. 

I'm pretty positive my man Sunak will win the PM'ship this time, very well deserved too as I believe I said before. 

And as y'all are very well aware that showl as fuck ain't the first time I've been right, or predicted things correctly, and it damn sure wont be the last (in fact, I cannot remember a time I predicted something wrongly - right down to predicting what trolls will tell me and visualizing it. Hehe. And it happening!). 

Time, of course will tell - fitness wise though, one more - yet one more reason - a reason nobody in their right mind can ignore in terms of listening to me? 

It isn't so much the praise my customers heap on me, or the hate the trolls do, or my books truly being the best out there by any standards (well, thats part of it) - or my workouts being the most brutal (again - part of it) or any litany of reasons you might think of or come to mind...

It is this first, foremost and always - well, other than being in the trenches in a way few, if any people ever have - 

That PROOF is what counts. 

Solid numbers and results are what count, and lets leave mine aside. 

Lets look at proven - even more so - world class DOERS. 

From Herschel Walker to Iron Mike to even probably Michael Phelps (pushups etc) - or any doer, male or female, you might insert. 

They ALL did bodyweight exercises, and workouts, and high reps, in perfect form, and a hell of a lot of them. 

Could be Walker and Tyson (damn, if the two ever duked it out! I'd give it to Tyson in the boxing ring, but probably Walker otherwise, but they're both legends, kings of their chosen fields!) - (politics included, Walker literally blew away the idiot Warnock in the debate for one -- it was nigh hilarious to watch him bring out the facts as Warnock avoided any and all direct questions. Hehe) ... with their legendary pushup workouts. 

Could be the Gama with 1000's of squats damn near daily ... 

Could be ... well, you insert YOUR favorite doer. 

But they've all done what I promote, and in the - and this is important - FANTATICALLY DEDICATED way I do it, and continue to promote, and always will. 

Because guess what, regardless of how nice it is, how pretty is it, how much it hurts, and all the other bullshit, that - above all is what brings results, and stellar ones at that. 

Not everyone wants stellar results eh? 

Right.... 

The sun just rose in the West as well ... 

Lets be honest here, fellas. 

And if you want to be honest with yourself, do what truly works - learn from the "Master of the Game" (again, not mine, customer feedback that) - then pick up the 0 Excuses Fitness System and some of our products now. 

Start experiencing what others have been nigh very rigtftully raving over - starting TODAY! 

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

Thursday, 15 September 2022 09:34

"You are fat inside"

Chinese girls have this cute, sexy way (to me, at least) of getting STRAIGHT TO THE POINT - albeit sometimes indirectly, and in my case I've always found it so cute that I find it hard to stay mad at them for any length of time.

Anyway ... my "Jie Jie", or lets say "elder sister" in China "Maria".

I'll never forget the two comments she made in 2003 when I first met her on Icq.

Remember those days? MSN messenger, ICQ ... no dumbphones, truly, as a certain "Pooja" said today, and as I've been saying all along, the 90s were the BEST days, HEADY!

She said the 90's generation was the best, which is close though.

Things were REAL back then, including a cute little photo of Maria's, pink shirt, lovely vivacious smile, long black hair (all of which still exists though she claims "I'm old now").

Before y'all jump to conclusions, we've never met in person. Hehe. Sometimes, the best relationships "flower" that way!

Not by choice, by chance.

I bought her a gift on a trip back from India (or to India, I believe) once and was going to meet her to give it to her, but she giggled and told me to mail it, which given she had a boyfriend at the time she was planning upon marrying, and did - was very smart. Girls from Fujian in China are not just gorgeous, they tend to be uber smart too.

Anyway - I'm getting side tracked.

Point of this is, she wanted to "see me", so I sent her a video of my apartment, I believe.

(at the time I was taking a video of a horribly mangled up ingrown toenail with pus oozing out of it that required not one, but TWO surgeries - first one was so so, second really worked - it hurts like a SOB - if you even touched it I'd yell, it happened during massage a lot, some of the ladies high heels would accidentally hit it, and MY! That HURT! (and finally prompted me to seek treatment for it in Hong Kong which I did successfully, never happened again, though I've had swollen ankles etc years later when I was phat) that was I was going to send to my parents to "show them") ...

Along with those two videos taken on a camcorder I got from Walmart in 2002, I think - which I finally gave away in 2021 - a school has it now, though what and how they use it, given the cassettes it uses are no longer around - I've no idea - but along with those two videos, I think I sent her a picture of myself in a T shirt or something.

Not a shirtless picture I sent a certain Cody years later, apparently that was because "she wanted to show her husband" (real reason was SHE wanted to see it. HA!) ... anyway, that's a different story, and a rather A rated one. It also spawned several books, so I guess thats good. Hehe.

But anyway Maria, the first comment was "you're fat inside!"

It did hurt my weetle feelings a bit at the time, I admit it.

This was before I had grown my thick skin, remember?

This was back when I still lifted weights, and here's the thing, the bottom line - Maria didnt mean it in a negative manner. In fact all along she was giggling about "handsome foreigner" "foreigners are big" etc, so it wasn't negative, it was just an observation, Chinglish as it were (Chinese English) ..

Then this -

"your home looks like a hotel!"

That one stunned me, that was hardly China in the 1960's where most lived in villages...

Till date I (when in china) live in that type of accomodation, though it doesnt even have elevators. Hehe. Some things never ever change!

ANd some preferences...

I dont know if Maria would still say the hotel part, but she sure as hell wouldn't say "fat inside". Hehe.

But point of this?

I was a BIG guy at that time - muscles wise.

I used to lift weights, I did pushups etc, but ask me to climb a flight of stairs, I'd be out of breath with all the smoking I did, though I managed to get two heavy ass suitcases (Mom and Dad) up to my fourth floor apartment, it taxed me - big time.

Kinda like Bruce Lee when he fought off all those attackers, yet it left him WINDED big time.

Anyway ......

Ya'll know the entire story of how I quit smoking, then Ann Lee came along months later, and my wife literally - oh I mean my LIFE, hehe - changed.

Point is this.

I did no grip work then, very little if any core work, my lower back was weak, although "looks were good" - I was 24 at the time - externally I was looking "ok" though a little big around the waist, it was nothing compared to what a lot of other people looked like, and I'd get compliments on my "large" forearms (they're anything but TODAY) all the time as well.

There was NO vascularity to them though back then ...

Point is this - real point.

If you're fat, you're fat my friend, and it'll show whether you hide it or not, whether your feelings are hurt or not.

If you're big, you're big, but if you're big and fat, then you're big and fat.

And big doesn't negate the importance of core training and a slim strong WAIST - trim waist I should say, trimmed down to BARE ESSENTIALS.

Trust me on this, core training, there are few things more important than it.

And here is a course that will train your core better than anything you've ever done - Corrugated Core (a much underrated yet SOLID course we have on this).

Combine with Gorilla Grip and the 0 Excuses Fitness System (bought in reverse order) and you're well and truly off to the races.

So am I - for now.

Back soon!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Question of the day, and this isn't necessarily a new one.

I roundly ignore, block, call out a certain person, he still finds ways to follow me and ... well, wants to chat, but doesnt.

It ain't just Bozo Glyn either, there are MANY like him.

There's a lesson there for all of you if you choose to learn. Hehe. Several actually, and while the person I'm referring to here is hardly a "troll" - Profit Troll will have more on this. Stay tuned, it's a book y'all WILL NOT want to miss!

Several "she's" fit this category too, the "stalker" in 2019 coming to mind, but there's plenty more, I've blocked this one girl's number - three of 'em - she signed up with a fourth one (on another list). Hehe. Some people ... (and on whats app as well). The he's meanwhile surreptitiously keep checking out what this cat has been up to.

Ah well, hehe.

Sunday, 11 September 2022 10:32

Ottoman oil wrestling, and more...

Wrestling, that ONE sport I'd recommend to everyone - even if you're just interested in sports for physical fitness - if you're aspiring to be a strongman or ironman - and certainly if you plan on getting into advanced martial arts, or any martial art like ji jitsu, even boxing, what not - wrestling serves as a base, a proper base - for everything, and conditions you like few other activities will).

No prizes for guessing which exercises the ancient Indian wrestlers used - HA!

India, that land of wrestlers, ancient India produced the Gama, probably and likely the greatest of them all - there was a LOT that was solid about ancient India, pity it's the exact opposite these days.

But India isn't the only land "traditionally" known for wrestling prowress and super wrestlers - real wrestlers, not the muscle bound WWE guys (although back in the day some of the WWE guys like the Taker for one had REAL martial arts and fighting background!) ...

Turkey. Think Turkish Wrestling.

Greece/Italy - Greco Roman, anyone?

Bulgaria.

Russia.

And closer to home, think "farmer" Martin Burns in the good ole US of A who followed most of the same training methods and techniques as a lot of the other people from the countries mentioned above.

Anyway - the one thing most people will nod their heads at (people in the know that is) - and a secret I did NOT put in either Gorilla Grip - or Gorilla Grip Advanced - a secret that will take your grip strength to new levels even if you're a stud at doing pulll-ups with thick grips and so forth?

Even if you can close grippers and swing heavy ass clubs in sets of 100 without stopping?

Is this - make the damn thing HARDER to grip.

Oil the thing.

No pun.

I just tried gripping a bottle with the pinch grip that way - it was full of water, believe me, if you grip ANYTHING - with oil slathered all over it, it becomes that much harder to grip.

In the past, when people asked me to exercise that famous grip of mine to open hard to open jars, wedged doors etc, I'd ask if I could do it later if I had lotion on my hands. (again, no pun please. Gotta treat those calluses SOMETIME, lotion didnt really do it, but I've got dry skin naturally, that is all there is to it).

These days - NO.

I welcome the challenge!

In ancient Turkey, Rome, India etc - they knew a thing or two about grip training.

Try wrestling - hard enough as it is, and builds an explosive grip without any direct grip work.

Then try doing that when your opponent has OIL slathered all over his body - and do it all day long in competitions.

Trust me, picking people up and throwing them or simply grabbing them that way is a whole different beast than if there was no oil on their bodies.

For those saying "too simple" - well - TRY IT.

Or, try the other secret tip I give you in Gorilla Grip - ADVANCED! which involves a simple edible so simple you'd never think it could strengthen the grip, but it does.

Or try another "so simple" technique I give you in Gorilla Grip - to be done for a minimum of 100 reps per day, something so easy even couch potatoes will pooh pooh.

Well, I've got this to say - and so did Brooks Kubik in Dinosaur BodyWeight Training - -- TRY IT!

And then get back to me.

Anyway.

Thats the reason they oiled their bodies did the old time wrestlers - NOT the reason why most idiots at modern day gyms do it i.e. to preen, pose and pump away like the fools they're training like are...

Certainly wasn't bodybuilding focus either, take a look at their bodies, just raw solid STRENGTH, power and conditioning like no other.

And you TOO can get that way if you follow my lead, and DO what I tell you to in the 0 Excuses fitness System without making RETARDED, ridiculous excuses about price, "no time", too busy or other BS people love to whine about (and it's all BS).

Whether you will or not is of course up to you.

And YOU alone.

I'm out - back soon!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - While you COULD do it, I dont recommend trying this method with heavy weights, especially NOT if you're swinging dem clubs, maces, kettlebells and so forth.

Disclaimer - I've done it.

But I'm advanced, not everyone is!

And even I dont do it all the time, that damn thing can seriously injure you if you dont do it right, but focus right, you'll see why grip training is really the most important thing after breathing, or close to it - next to it. Hehe. The way it makes you FEEL, utterly superhuman!

Saturday, 10 September 2022 13:46

Take the lower body OUT of it

My brother,

And, fellow - or dame, hehe - fitness fanatic - -

What I'm about to say might come across as highly contradictory in two regards, one - to build brute upper body strength, there's many good ways - but none of what I normally talk about involves isolation (never) - and certainly never taking the LEGS away.

If you've noticed, and everyone on my list has for sho - training legs and back hard and heavy is really what builds upper body strength, not simply training the upper body, doing endless sets of bench presses, curls, lat pulldowns and so forth which build fake strength if at all (for the most part - the last exercise being the biggest culprit - that strength neither lasts, nor is it practically useful in many or any ways).

Test yourself on pull-ups and the lat pulldown, chances are excellent if you've got half a brain you'll figure it out on your own, anyway, but now?

What I'm here to tell you?

To build brute upper body strength?

Sometimes, just sometimes, you take the lower body - OUT OF IT - and away - unless it's for balance mostly, and sometimes not even that

My forearms are singing and ZINGING right now, my friend.

I did a fairly long lumberjack workout, lots of club swinging in all directions.

What you might find strange is this - towards the end of it, I sat my ass down, put on some movie or the other - and continued.

What do I mean?

Well, bruce Lee for one had this habit of constantly swinging a dumbbell around at home, no matter what he was doing, every so often he'd lift it, and it wasn't "especially" heavy either.

Its the reps that build that real functional strength, I've said this forever, Lee knew it, of course.

It's NOT one time lifts - thats the lazy man's way out a lot of times - not always, but look at truly fit people, chances are they do lot more other than powerlifting, if they even do that at all.

Anyway, Lee would often swing his club around at all odd hours.

Me, I was sitting there trying not to bash a 10 kg club against the ole puter. Hehe.

And let me tell you, its one thing bringing the hips and waist into club and all lumberjack work and workouts - you should do that - I've said that in Lumberjack Lodestone Fitness amongst other gems you wont want to miss.

But sometimes, you take the lower body out of it, and believe me, you're not isolating - you're still working the entire upper body as a whole.

And it works GREAT as a finisher.

So do pull-ups throughout the workout! MY!

And of course, the classic example of taking the legs away is one of the most brutally effective exercises  out there, sometimes most gym goers cannot begin to do, and run away from - and something even less common than pull-ups.

The almighty handstand pushup, and that one exercise should explain the entire post to you!

And thats the message for now.

Read, apply, and train - HARD!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - My courses dont just give you info NO-ONE else will, I give you the REAL deal, the secrets the gyms and other so called fitness gurus love to keep from you to fatten their own wallets, and keep you - not thy wallet - FAT.

Nah.

I give it to you straight, not only that - in a manner you must listen to, and cannot miss - and in a brutally frank manner that just flat out WORKS.

And if you haven't gotten the courses above as yet, do so NOW, you simply MUST. Can't miss!

Monday, 05 September 2022 12:05

The whole bodyweight vs "weights" conundrum so many of you have

Something I've never quite understood, pally - or bro, as the case might be.

This whole mania about "am I training bodyweight only" or do I lift "weights".

For some reason, a lot of folks approach training as a "either this or that scenario".

A lot of folks also might be surprised - VERY surprised - to hear that I once lifted weights - in a manner I constantly call out NOW - and I still lift weights - in a manner I highly advocate. NOW, and will forever!

What do I mean?

Well, simply this, friend, as I sit here sweating after WEIGHTED squats, first off, I never said weights are inherently bad.

I'm a huge fan of old timer style training - old school STRONGMAN - real strongman style training, and a lot of that involved weights ALONG with bodyweight, both in equal proportion.

What I AM against is the modern day boobybuilding nonsense, the pump and tone, the constant and silly insistence on the bench being the only "real" indicator of strength, the utterly useless lat pulldown machine, and other pretty much useless ab devices, treadmills etc that are all designed to slim one thing - your wallet, not your midsection.

Not to mention, a lot of that shit is just plain ole unhealthy - dont believe me? Just look at the way you FEEL after doing a lot of those routines, my friend.

Still dont believe me, well, take it from the horse's mouth, a PRO bodybuilder and what he had to say on the Shoulders like Boulders! pages - and he aint the only one by far pally.

THAT sort of thing is what I am very vehemently against.

THAT sort of thing is what I Call out, and will continue to, unfortunately, with the marketing being shoved down your throats all the time on it, THAT is what most people think when they hear weight lifting.

But there's far more to it.

The farmer's walk for one, is a superlative exercise I recommend in Gorilla Grip - and I should have in Corrugated Core as well, as it builds the grip and core like nothing else if done right (in a manner nothing else will).

It involves lifting up heavy objects, preferably thick handled and unweildy, and walking with them for as long as you can. A few sets of that, or this sort of thing here - https://0excusesfitness.com/2021/12/29/weighted-pull-ups-or-not/ (this one had the great Brooks Kubik's approval too when I told him, you know if he approved it, it's damn good!) ... will FRY you beyond belief, my friend.

And done enough times it will fry all fat off your midsection, build a cast iron grip, build traps like a grizzly's, and lumps of muscle all over your body.

Pure weight!

Then, the routines I tell you about in Lumberjack Lodestone Fitness - if you can go fifteen minutes or more with some of those routines - well, you're a stud already.

Trust me, those of you that can squat elephants will be sweating buckets doing some of the routines I advocate with 40 kgs ... those clubs will do that to you,so will maces and kettlebells which are mentioned in the course, my longest as of yet, and thats saying something!

This one will truly be a BEHEMOTH, a bonafide MONSTER!

And even your own weight - is that not "weight" ?

Handstand pushups will make a man out of you, as will pull-ups ...

My point is just this, that there is no "one way" to train.

And if you have to lift, by all means do so - but do so like the old time strongmen did.

Lift heavy ass stones, beer kegs, stuff like that builds IMMENSE and real strength and conditions you beyond belief too if done  RIGHT.

All to be included in Lumberjack Lodestone Fitness ...

And thats the lesson for now, no one way to do things in this regard!

Have at.

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

Friday, 26 August 2022 15:56

Incredibly simple (instant) STRESS BUSTING WORKOUTS!

It struck me as I was going to turn off the computer that what people need more than anything else these days?

STRESS - relief.

Unfortunately people get it from all the wrong source - tobacco, liqor, and other illicit substances (though to be honest tobacco is probably worse than most of those "illicit" substances anyway).

People unfortunately as you can tell from whats going choose all the WRONG ways (and usually wrong people) to "vent on" i.e. "if I can vent on him or her, then I WILL!".

And a lot of people say nothing, yet just "stew" internally.

None of this is good, the reasons are all obvious (and it ain't getting any better anytime soon either - lets face it if you have not already).

Instead of all that, why not focus on "five minutes ahead I'm going to be feeling AWESOME!"

I was going to title this 5 stress busting workouts.

But truth is, there are so many - both mental and physical.

Here's a mental trick I often use - go back in your mind's eye to a PLEASANT memory - go into your mind and SEE what you want "now" (not how much money you want now, as I know thats what people will reply to) - shut off everything else - and simply focus on that imagery, and the feelings that flow forth.

It's called visualization. I talk about it in 0 Excuses Fitness, Zero to HERO! and MANY other books, and it really, really works my friend - even if you just use it for stress relief.

Then of course, you have the meditation techniques mentally.

But hold on, a lot of you here aren't interested in that either (which is fine - physical exercise is often what works best anyway!).

And I aint going to sit here and paint pictures of luxury holidays or excess spending or what not when the source of all the stress is "less money" which it seems to be for a lot of people these days.

Nah, what I'm telling you ABOVE and below costs nothing compared to what you're getting in terms of benefits, my friend.

So here it is -

In no particular order -

100 Hindu squats (or bodyweight squats) for one.

It's simple. Anytime you feel overly stressed, just drop down and start doing 'em - period.

You dont need to worry about rep counts either - all you need to keep in mind is keep it BRISK.

Finish 50 without stopping, you'll see what I mean, finish 100, you'll be BUZZING!

Or, get into a handstand and hold it for a minute at least. The blood flow to your head and neck for one will make you feel a HELL Of a lot better - not to mention this movement often puts you in the mood for tougher exercises and workouts.

Third, ISOMETRICS! STRETCHING!

ANY of the great movements in Isometric and Flexibility Training - or perhaps Advanced PROFOUND Isometric and Flexibility Training will get the trick done provided you devote a few minutes to it per day - when you're super stressed, you'll literally FEEL the stress MELTING AWAY my friend.

Then the bear crawl, a pick me up like nothing else, and it usually for most people doesn't take more than 30 seconds to work its magic.

Thats four physical exercises, two mental, key thing?

None of it need take you the entire day.

None of it, barring the initial investment in the books costs any money to do - hell, you can do the entire workouts at HOME, so where's your EXCUSE, my friend?

It's sure a lot better than "stewing internally", and worrying about factors you cannot control like economy and so forth, it'll also get you in great shape if you do enough of it.

And you'll be feeling like a billion bucks QUICKLY so you can get on with the rest of your day which is the goal here, not turning into Mr Muscle or anything of that nature my friend (and you can use these throughout the day too!).

And thats the idea for now.

Back soon!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - These exercises are but a few amongst the great ones I promote that will literally make stress whoosh away like air from a balloon, literally. You'll be feeling HAPPY and light and limber after just a dose or two. Try some NOW.

(and thats another great visualization right there!).

Tuesday, 16 August 2022 05:47

Swinging dem clubs. . .

Well, so a great question came in a month or so ago, with all that has been going on, it completely slipped through the cracks - as I review my emails, I find it again!

He's basically asking a very basic question on training with Indian clubs - the "joris" as they call 'em in India (the "gada" is the mace, which is a close cousin to the club, yet, I prefer the clubs over the mace, but you should do both - more on that in the upcoming book Lumberjack "Lodestone" Fitness!). (which has been SO delayed. Hehe).

Basically what his question boils down to "will it reduce fat" - and "how many reps".

Now, with clubs two things - and I've said this before -

Most people need to do LESS when they begin - NOT MORE!

Let me repeat that - I do not necessarily mean lesser amount of REPS, but the WEIGHT, my friend.

I dont care how much you curl at the gym or what your bench is, these clubs will make men out boys, and humble the strongest of strongmen if used RIGHT.

You focus on FORM - more than anything else, and you dont just do that when you start, you continue to keep that focus as you build up.

For most guys, even "strong people" (and gals too, by the way, yes, like with pull-ups - girls are often better at these than guys! - at least the lighter weights) . . . a weight of FIVE kilograms, approx 10 lbs or so is more than plenty to begin with, and you might even need less than that - ideally, I'd start you off with like 7-8 lbs on each side.

Second, these give you superb, supreme cardio in a way most other exercises cannot.

You might not think so, you might not think "simply swinging a club around will help me burn fat".

But that is where focus and reps come in, bro.

Most people wimp out at 20 reps per arm.

If you use the 10 kg, which is too heavy for most people, trust me (to do right) - and do a 100 reps on each side, clockwise, counter clockwise, believe me, you'll not only feel that heart thudding - but you'll feel a tightness across your entire core (not just abs) like NEVER before.

Those CRISS CROSS abs I talk so much about in the book "Pull-ups - from STUD to SUPER STUD within a matter of WEEKS!" - well this is yet another way to get 'em!

Yours truly trains with 20 kgs in each hand, but I've been doing it a long, long time my friend, and I STILL use the 10 kgs and 8kgs on occasion - or more than occasionally.

And remember one thing - or two.

While a set of these clubs is more than enough to give you the workout of your life - legs included - end of the day, this isn't pure bodyweight training we're talking about, and bodyweight ALWAYS reigns supreme.

If you think you're going to skip the pull-ups "because these work the upper back big time" - you're wrong.

Do BOTH - and you'll find your pull-up performance increases dramatically as you get better at these (for those of you weak at pull-ups to start with).

Not to mention, if you're looking to lose fat around the core, with a sensible diet and some isometrics, this is the way to go.

And once you get to the level of doing pull-ups five at a time or more, slow and easy with THICK GRIPS like I do, well write back to me - and let me know, and I'll share it with the world. Thats something, doing pull-ups in high reps with those thick grips especially if you're doing heavy clubs too.

Last, and back to reps.

Dont "get bored" or wimp out on the number of reps.

Like with Hindu squats and pushups, THESE were done in high reps, often for stretches of half an hour or more by the Indian wrestlers of yore, and still ARE.

There is a reason the high reps are there.

And you'll see as you keep progressing . . . why the Gama for one valued these tools so highly.

Alright, enough for now - oh, one more thing. BIG changes coming to THIS site, we're going to be completely revamping it and bringing the layout more in line with the other site.

Ive been working the tech aspect of it for days now, almost done there.

Thats it, eh . . .

Back soon!

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

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