Displaying items by tag: cardio

I just interrupted my jump rope workout to tell you this, 1000 reps in, I'm barely warmed up, but I have to tell you this, friend. 

I can just hear Rocky telling his son ... 

"I'm going to tell you something you alrrady know. 

The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, it will beat you to your knees, and it will keep you there if you let it. 

You, me, nobody will hit as hard as LIFE. 

It's not about how HARD you can hit. 

It's about how hard you can GET hit, but still keep moving. THATS how winning is done!

Now if you know what you're worth, go out and get it. 

But you can't keep blaming people, making excuses . 

Thats what losers do. 

And that in't YOU!": 

Old Rocky is almost in tears as he finishes (I quoted him almost verbatim). 

But I feel his pain!

His son knew it, but needed it to hear it anyway. 

Thats my whole point for this email. 

A lot of what I say - you know. 

But sometimes all of us need to HEAR it - from another person, if just to validate and emphasize the truism of the statements. 

The wise will always preface advice with "as you already know" or a derivative therein, instead of trying to "teach upfront" or lecture like a Bozo. 

I've had this said to me back in the day, still sometimes happens when I need it. 

We all do. 

And we all need that kick up the ass sometimes. 

Speaking of which ... 

How high and hard can you kick, friend?

Simple question, but most cannot do it without tearing a quad - or hamstring - or more. 

I keep saying this, you probably know it, you will find it inscribed on my very large tombstone when I go ...(with everything else I keep repeating). 

Hamstrings are a CRUCIAL and critical part of the body to stretch, strengthen and train. 

In Isometric and Flexibility Training I give you a "hamstring" stretch (though it stretches the entire core, lower back, shoulders, traps, sides, all of it) which is simple - you put your feet up on a high surface, one at a time. 

You keep both legs STRAIGHT while doing it!

(I can almost hear and feel a certain Carol slapping my then loose thigh when I was doing it. 

"Hey, Michael!" (she got the "hey" from me. Hehe. So cute). 

"Keep those legs straight!") 

That was at the top of the hill. 

That is a great stretch for your hamstrings, you could work them your entire life and never go wrong. 

When you open - loosen the hammies - you literally TRANSFORM your life with all the GOOD that flows into it!

You feel better, you perform better in all your exercises and workouts , if you've got tight hamstrings like I do, many of you do too, you'll just feel awesome, like you accomplished something. 

In the advanced book on isometrics, I'll be talking about an advanced version of this stretch I did yesterday. 

oh my. 

this one takes that previous stretch to a higher level - literally. 

And you'd be best warmed up well before doing it, unless you're already loose and limber - it's martial arts level (advanced) - this one. 

Look for that in the upcoming advanced book on isometrics, for now, as you know, but you need to hear it, a lot of you AGAIN - GET THE BOOK on ISOMETRICS! (the one out now)

Do so now. 

And something else you need to hear, as I finished my cross over jump ropes this morning (an advanced variation I did not put in Jump Rope Mania!) ... 

Cardio - the right form - I cannot overemphasize just how important it is. 

Lots of you think "pah, I just need muscle and strength". 

Folly, friend. 

You need BOTH. 

One doesn't go without the other. 

And you ain't gonna look like an athlete if you've got a huge belly spilling over "the cup that spilleth over" - simple as that. 

And jumping rope is an ancient technique that has been used by martial artists, wrestlers, swimmers, nigh everyone who does it to get in top shape - and quick. 

And you'll get all the cardio and muscle building you need with this one workout - especially lower body. 

It leaves you with no excuses either - how many do you need to pull out a rope and start doing the thing? 

None, I bet .. 

So get that course NOW too, my friend. 

Really, now. Lots of you keep putting it off - please dont. 

Back soon!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - you know it's important, when I interrupted my workout to tell you this!

yes, another one of those "you already know it, but you need to hear it anyway". 

Its something I've been meaning to address for quite a while!

Squats, for reasons we all know (they're tough!) - are not done in general, at least not in high reps and as they should be - by most people regularly. 

Even when "every day people" feel the burn and the heart pump you get from squats (or even lets say sprints and such) - they neglect to do it daily. 

Jumping jacks, however, seem to be a whole different ball game for many people. 

It's a pretty good exercise, and I've mentioned it in Corrugated Core. 

It DOES do a pretty good job of burning fat - and improving flexibility - and endurance in general. 

It makes for great recovery, and even better "finishers" - sets of 100, if you can do 'em - will really get the heart going. 

But there seems to be a perennial debate about "which is better for weight loss - or muscle gain - or overall health and fitness - and such". 

Many people, my wife included, are under the very erroneous idea that wrestler's have "protruding stomachs" due to large number of Hindu squats and Hindu pushups. 

This way of thinking is more common than you'd think, my friend - and yet, it's FOOLISH - and shows how people that do not DO the thing make judgements. 

It's diet that causes a gut, nothing more, nothing less..diet, and inactivity. Certainly not exercise of any nature!

Done right Hindu squats - and indeed bodyweight squats are the best "crunch" for the entire body you can think of. 

And in terms of fat burning, and general exercise - I'm here to tell you jumping jacks, while great - don't hold a candle to high rep squats done right. 

Trust me on this one - or do both, and you'll see. 

First thing you know, jumping jacks are far easier on the legs than squats. 

The very fact the legs don't BEND a lot during the movement proves this - sure, jumping rope involves no bend in the legs too, but jumping rope is an entirely different ball game with high jumps etc involing plenty of bend in the legs. 

Second, there is nothing that compares cardio wise to the "thud thud thud" you'll feel deep down in your chest while and when doing high rep squats - with the possible exception of sprinting hills, nothing at all, my friend. 

Again, you'll have to DO them to see ... 

Last, variety - squats have a LOT more variety than jumping jacks do! 

There are SO many different ways to do 'em - the same holds true for jumping jacks, but in that case the variants are far more similar than with squats. 

Now, if you're one of the very voluminous crowd that loves jumping jacks and can't get enough of 'em - well, goody on you - like I said, they're not a bad exercise at all. 

Mix them in with squats though - in the SAME movement - and NOW you're really talking (much like a jumping jack equivalent of the burpee). 

I'll have more on this in the future - stay tuned. 

For now though, if you were to ask me as a brother "if I had to choose one" (my daughter keeps asking me hard to answer questions like this, hehe) - I'd unequivocally answer the SQUAT. 

Period. 

Yes. 

And I'd tell you to learn how to do it pronto and then start doing. 

Alright, thats it for this one. 

Back soon!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Corrugated Core is a must have if you want a REALLY strong midsection, not just "beach boy abs". If so, get it NOW. It truly is "hard core training for a hard, hard core" as the "man" himself said!

As a certain Mr. Wong from wayyyy back in the day used to often say (exclaim) –

FO**!

Yes, that’s rightl He said it without the “U” – don’t ask me why, hehe.

Maybe that’s how they say the fabled four letter word in a different language, but it ain’t Chinese for sure, and neither is it any of the dialects spoken in the mainland

And as I break into the sort of “breathless” giggles – laughs – the sort you have when you’re really gasping for breath and when a six (soon to be 7) year old beats the heck out of you in kiddie movements (as she should, hehe), it reminded me of Mr. Wong’s words.

It also reminded me of how back in the day, when I was lifting weights, he used to grip my forearms and and comment on their size and strength.

And that, of course was pre-Gorilla Grip days.

Yes, that “infamous” incident when I fell out of a bus and a tennis player about 6’1” almost crushed my hand later, and acted like he didn’t mean to (sure he did, hehe) STUCK in my craw - - and ever since, I’ve worked my grip (and legs) with a passion second to NONE.

But this ain’t about grip is it.

It’s about ABS.

And my abs are SCREAMING right now with the kiddie version of a jump my daughter beat me at.

Admittedly, she cheated again, hehe, but she did better than yesterday! ?

And that’s what counts. Small, incremental improvements are how you do it, my friend – and how it’s done in terms of fitness. Biting off more than you chew rarely, if ever leads to frustrations ville and NO results.

What exactly is this sort of jump you ask?

Well, I revel all in Kiddie Fitness, so I won’t get into it here. After all, that’s what the book is for no?

But yeah, I WILL tell you one damn thing.

I didn’t just graduate to climbing that hill of mine, for instance, in 1 day. Or one week. Or even a month.

NO.

I worked up to it.

First, it was once every morning and evening thrice a week (with the morning being daily).

Then I hammered out two in the morning, and then three, and kept the one in the night . . .until it became two at night over the space of three weeks.

And beyond a certain point, I just started to FLY up the hill, and now, it barely seems like anything . .  .

And that’s how it should be for you too, my friend.

Start small. Build the momentum, keep it going. And build from THERE!

As an aside, it was interesting to see all the folks out there putting on masks as soon as they saw us approach.

. . . and through out workout outdoors (part of it, at least), they smiled on, and actually tried to join in.

All kudos, hehe.

And so much for this dumb ass, blasted COVID scare all over the globe.

Ah well. That’s that for now – I’ll be back soon!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – Be sure and grab the 0 Excuses Fitness System (if you’re truly serious about fitness, and losing that muffin top that sticks out a mile in tight clothing, hehe) right here - https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

They're all great, my friend. They're all excellent "cardio" - the RIGHT kind (if you do 'em right). 

And I wasn't going to write about this, of course, but I saw a piece from a guy I ...well, I wont mention him, he's alright really overall, but he's been going on and on as of late about how "step ups are so much better than squats for him" and so forth, and morphing that into "they are sometimes an overall better exercise" - something which I take exception with, except I'm not reverse trolling him or anything, I'm simply going to put out my view on it as I have so many times in the past. 

Ain't I an ass for having an opinion on damn near everything and expressing it (and others learning from it on it, like this dude. Hehe). 

Well, as they say, opinions are like assholes - we all have 'em. 

Doesn't mean right or wrong, good or bad, they're just ... well, opinions, but FACTS? 

You can't debate those. 

And this guy writing the pieces he is is just plain ole sloppy and FAT with a massive gut hanging over his pants, and it shows in his reps. 

He claims to have done 500 or even 1000 Hindu squats all at once "without a break" - then "it got too boring". 

I call baloney on that - it can never get "boring or tediious" if you focus right and have the gumption to keep at it those 15 minutes (really, if you cannot focus your mind for fifteen minutes on something, you will never accomplish nothing of note). 

He claims "who the hell came up with the number 500 as a gold standard for fitness". 

Next he'll probably ask why pushups are the big dog of fitness - and why squats are the big Daddy of fitness. Hehe. 

Look, dude, clearly you've never done 500 or anything - it shows physically - if you had, you wouldn't be making these statements or asking. 

Agreed, you dont have to do 500 all the time or daily, but there is a reason certain numbers have been passed down over the ages by greats as "the gold standard", or some sort of a standard. 

Perhaps this comment stood out the most - 

but I don't need some standard to tell me how fit I 'am.

Ahem. 

OK ... 

The very fact he's saying this blares out "latent insecurity" like a loudspeaker (because he can't DO the thing, so he's claiming that golden standards aren't standards, or important ones at any rate). 

Not to mention his writing - all of it -sreams out "I need validation or else I'll wail". And that neediness likely turns off most serious readers/buyers as well. Some free advice for him if he's reading, although he likely wont take it. I can see the smoke fillied riposte "coming out of his ears" hehe.

Now, he makes some other somewhat good points, maybe he's just not getting his point across right, with the whininess overwhelming the other "good things" (sort of) he's saying. 

He keeps saying squats feel boring. 

Dude, because you aint doing 'em right. 

True, you dont do the same workout everyday. 

But that dont mean squats should feel boring, or are boring. They're something you should do daily without fail - EVERY great fitness writer, or anyone that has done the thing - yours truly - Brooks Kubik - Matt Furey - and anyone that has done the thing - has said it. 

Not this tripe about "Unless you're a fan of the exercise or want to stay in relative condition for daily life or in sports, it isn't that magnificent of an exercise. It has it's perks and I'll do reps from time to time but after doing 500 so many times, it became boring and it didn't have that spark of excitement to do that many anymore. "

Really, these statements sound STUPID. And clearly he's never DONE 500 at a go, which is fine, but to diss it without doing it, well ... 

(not to mention relative condition - or conditionING - which dude clearly has no idea about? Dude that should be "awesome conditioning" if you're talking any sort of serious squats. 

And he wouldn't know a magnificent exercise or anything if it hit him square on his phat noggin, hehe. Really, to make these sort of statements just shows...) 

All I've seen from him are brief 2 minute training videos where he trains one exercise for a bit, another for a bit, then some Tik Tok stuff, and he's done, which is GREAT - dont get me wrong, if thats what he WANTS, but it doesnt change standards or lack thereof one bit. 

Clearly conditioning wise the dude himself has no standards. 

Again, thats perfectly well and good, but that don't mean the standards don't count, or aren't there for a damn good reason. 

Sad part, so many of these so called fitness gurus or writers or promoters talk this nonsense, because the average person reading and buying from them is LAZY - period. 

And so they count on making more sales "in the short term" from these guys, and never think about long term, either for themselves or their customers (or lack thereof, in this dude's case). 

Which again is fine, to each his own. 

But with this constant rambling about how step ups are superior to squats? 

They're not, my friend. 

They're somewhat - not a lot, but somewhat - easier for phat phools to do. 

Phool? 

Thats flower in Hindi, I can see these flowers wilting as I type. Hehe. 

Nothing compares to, or replaces, or is an adequate substitute for (unless you've GENUINELY got injuries in that regard) the "legs bending up and down" motion you have in squats, either bodyweight, or HIndus, both ass to grass as it were. 

NOTHING. period. Add in the breathing, and oh my - the benefits are out of the world. 

Step ups are a sorry alternative, at least if you do them like most do, with barely any elevation. 

I just did 50 on each leg in the bathroom (this particular bathroom has a very small ledge seperating the shower area from the rest of the space) while waiting for a bucket to fill. Hehe. I barely felt it - squats? I'd have felt it for sure.

But anyway - drooping wallflowers and lily livered poltroons aside - they're certainly not "better overall" than squats. 

They're a good workout, dont get me wrong. 

But NOTHING beats the squat - period. 

Ask anyone with any brains, anyone thats written any bestsellnig book on fitness, they'll tell you the same thing - in fact, it will be there in their books (Combat Conditioning, 0 Excuses Fitness, Dinosaur Bodyweight Training etc etc) and so forth. 

Now, step ups and stair climbing? 

Y'all know I'm a huge proponet of stair climbing - outdoors. 

And rock climbing too... 

Yet, rock climbing NEVER replaces pull-ups. 

And stair climbing doesnt replace squats either - with the very noteable exception of HILL training - not just sprints, but HIKING those suckers in various ways over and over again. 

Sprints are great, yes, but the "leg work" has to be there too. Along with the roadwork! 

Let me tell you nothing works the core and LEGS better than squats, or climbing hills (either on slopes, or with stairs hewn in) . 

The stair climbing machine in the gym doesnt even come close. 

There is a reason Brooks Kubik asked me if I was in the military all those years ago when I sent him that famous (by now) "Rahuls hill walking workout from China" ... 

It all comes full circle now. 

Step ups at the end of the day are easier than squats - Hindus or bodyweight. Simple fact my friend. 

True, you can claim otherwise, but claiming the sun rises in the West doesnt make it true.. 

And if I really had to choose between stair climbing and squats? In a pinch I'd choose SQUATS. 

In fact, I did squats even back in the day when all else I did was hill climbing. 

Moral of the story - dont take the easy way out, my friend. 

Rocky IV tells you there ain't no easy way out - and as the man himself seems to wanting "more rights" to the Rocky series from what I can glean from the news - this seems to be as good a time to tell you as any, that I've been saying for YEARS now - the world really WANTS back to the good ole days when men were men, women were women, hard work was hard work, excuses were excuses, not mainstream whiny garbage of "what works for me" and so forth ... 

Ok, enough of this. 

But you get the point! 

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Get your hands on the best, most old school training program right HERE. 

PS #2 - 

 Training is meant to be an adventure, not a chore or something that will make you feel bored.

 If you don't feel a spark or excitement when you exercise, you're just going through the motions and it becomes typical and tedious.

Um, no sir... 

sometimes, those boring, tedious HARD yards - often times, in fact are what give you LASTING long term results like nothing else would. 

Persistence when the entire world seems against you. 

you wouldt know much about that though, which is fine. Hehe. (referring to dude here). 

Whoever gave him the idea that "it has feel like something new each time" was an idiot (though he probably thought of it himself). 

It's DOING the thing daily that gets results, friend, simple FACT... 

Anyway - those of you that love reading my words "even if you're not into fitness" - Gumption Galore! and Zero to Hero! are two great books. 

So is the Fitness Central series ... and the Fitness Pioneer series...  

More coming soon! 

What a workout it was this afternoon!

I’ve written about being in a state of “near collapse” towards the end of some of my most recent workouts, but today was something else altogether.

Not only was it that state of “almost collapse” today but I could barely walk once done.

And despite the A/C on full blast – I was sweating buckets a full half an hour AFTER my workout – after a shower at that!

Yes, ‘twas that intense, and what did I do different today?

Well, basically two out of the three exercises I have included in 0 Excuses Fitness – three exercises that are (I believe) at the end of the section of pushups, and three exercises that are ROUNDLY and routinely ignored.

Big mistake, my friend.

And probably a big mistake on my end too to NOT devote an entire book simply to these incredible movements.

(NB – Advanced Hill Training is a book on these movements, but again, that’s a different course, and NOT one devoted purely to that type of movement).

And I implemented this sort of thing into my training today for a change, and . . .

. . . more importantly, you’ll have to read what I said about not wearing masks etc on the other site, and how my daughter (all of 6 years of age) is starting to develop the tiniest hint of a “pot belly”.

And how kids her age are getting downright FAT these days as is, and these inane lockdowns everywhere ain’t helping either.

I mean, you KNOW it’s bad – terrible – pathetic – and so forth that folks are starting to say “it’s OK, no problem” to what I described above but talk about stepping out of the house for a quick walk and they act like one is committing hara kiri.

All because some people nearby have apparently “got the COVID”. I wrote about this before. Yes, just suspicion, no confirmation, and that was nigh enough to set the cat amongst the proverbial piegons.

Anyway, ya’ll know how hard it is to get young kids to buckle down and do something, and if I said “let’s exercise”, I’d have heard crickets or perhaps worse, hehe.

So I didn’t.

I got down with my daughter, and did the thing, and half way through the routine as my daughter was “cheating” her way through a set of duck waddles and I was doing my damndest to make the damn exercise HARDER, I could literally hear myself wheeze and pant with each step.

And my heart was fixing to pop out of it’s casing, or so it felt like!

And THAT is what you can expect from the Advanced Hill Training routines my friend – the perfect accessory, along with the 0 Excuses Fitness System if you’re currently in lockdown or limited travel mode or if you’re just a “homebody”.

And back to day – the simplest things are indeed the best, and while I will detail specifics of the movements later, let me just say it’s things that most adults pooh pooh at – and most adults CANNOT even BEGIN to do.

And these exercises will get you in great, great shape my friend – both from a trim and toned perspective – as well as HEART – and internal HEALTH.

Give these sort of workouts a whirl, my friend. You truly WILL Enjoy ‘em!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – Oh, we did the bear crawl and duck waddle – straight out of the 0 Excuses Fitness System today, but there are more my friend. Oh yes, there ARE – and I’ll be putting out a course onthat as well – stay tuned !

P.S #2 – Kiddie Fitness details not 10, not 20, not 25 – but FIFTY ONE ways to get your kid (and probably you the ADULT reading this too) in RIP – ROARING shape with the sort of workouts my daughter and myself did today, and “animal workouts” is only PART of the offering, my friend. Believe me now and trust me later, there is a lot, lot more to this. Check out the course right here - - https://0excusesfitness.com/kiddie-fitness/