Just finished watching a show on National Geographic (one of my favorite channels). Though I don't generally watch TV - I'm a HUGE fan of Discovery, National Geographic and all the other channels that discuss wildlife. This particular show was about a fishing enthusiast whose on a mission to capture some pretty large fish in the Amazon - catfish, if I recall correctly - and thus goes on an expedition to some of the most isolated parts of the Amazon river basin to do so.

Actually, terming the fish he's out to catch as "pretty large" doesnt really do it justice - he finally managed to catch one at as his expedition was about to end (after staying up for days and nights to do so - gotta commend the guy's discipline), and it weighed in at a monstrous 460 something pounds and 8 feet 8 inches in length. So "gigantic" would probably be a better description.

I must say it was an absolutely beautiful area - nothing but river and greenery all around - true rainforest. And except for a few isolated tribes living inside the jungle, there was absolutely NO signs of human civilization, which is probably the main reason why the area is still forested and beautiful.

Anyway, that brings me to the topic of this message - this guy we're talking about hooked up with some of the tribesmen along the way and went along on a hunting mission with them. Now, remember that these are tribes with scarcely any contact with what we call the "civilized" world, so they have ways of their own - one being that they hunt practically naked. Except for a small smattering of string like cloth around their "private" areas, and a ton of beads and stuff on their wrists, no clothing whatsoever. Not even shoes - they hunt and walk around  barefoot.

So, they show our fisherman going along with these tribal guys on a hunt - this particular one being a bird hunt. And the first thing you notice about these tribal guys (apart from their nudity) is their legs. Gigantic, muscular legs - massive thighs rippling with muscle, striated calves that looked like they did a gazillion rope jumps daily, and hips that looked as if they belonged to a prize bull.

These guys could give any "bodybuilder" a run for their money with their leg development - and their legs were every bit as strong as they looked, unlike most modern day "bodybuilders".

And what exactly do they do to get this strong, you might ask?

Well, the answer is - walking, and more importantly, walking all day long on HILLY terrain. That's it. The first thing most people would associate with legs such as these is squats with  heavy weights - but that certainly isn't part of the tribal routine. Heck, even bodyweight squats likely aren't. No rope jumping, squats, or ANY exercise of any sort - just walking all day long as they hunt. Trekking through jungles on hilly terrain barefoot, and that too as a matter of survival. Natural fitness - just the way I like it - and look at the results it brings.

I can understand how their legs got so muscular - as I've experienced the many benefits of climbing hills on a daily basis MYSELF. I used to climb a long, steep hill daily in China as part of my overall workout, and I've never gotten a better workout for my legs. See THIS post for more details.

I'll get into more details on the show at a later point, but for now, know that walking hills on a regular basis is one of the VERY BEST things you can do for your overall health and fitness. If your overweight - add hill walking into your routine, and watch the fat disappear within DAYS - and this without making any major change in your diet. If your looking to pack some muscle on to your legs, and keep it there - hill walking will do the trick. Looking for a lower resting pulse rate - the hill's your best friend. 

And it doesn't stop there - once you get good at climbing and walking hills on a regular basis, incorporate running, and then SPRINTING hills into your routine - and THEN watch the results you get. Oh boy!

I cover hill climbing and also talk more about how it has personally helped me in Fast and Furious Fitness. I also include some sample routines that you can do on the hills. These have you huffing and puffing within 10 minutes flat - and most people will find that even FIVE minutes is enough to start with.

So, if your lucky enough to have hills near you - make sure your climbing them on a regular basis as well - there are few better things you can do for your overall health and strength!

Best regards,

Rahul

If you have a young kid at home (below the age  of 5, or below formal schooling begins), you likely know how hard it is to keep up with them. "Managing" kids, keeping a tab on their movements (and thus keeping them out of trouble) is literally a full time job - and one that exhausts most adults, irrespective of fitness levels. 

Young kids have seemingly limitless stamina and exuberance to match. They can run around for hours without getting tired - and when they do get tired, they hit the hay - and more often that not, they're out like a light after doing so. No tossing and turning or waking up in the middle of the night - no stressing out over the next day - they simply SLEEP and allow their systems to rejuvenate for the next day. And the next day, they're back at their devilish best again - no soreness, or aching muscles, or anything of that sort.

And the secret to their good health and endless amount of energy is that they MOVE around constantly. You'll rarely find a young kid sitting down still for any length of time - more often than not, he'll be itching to crawl about or fiddle with things, or run about (if he's at that age). In fact, they exercise without even knowing it - or without even putting it on their to-do list - they just DO it, and do it happily and regularly.

And thats what we can learn from kids when it comes to fitness - making exercise a part of our daily lives - and doing so without any stress whatsoever.

Your 1 year old isn't concerned with how many times he can crawl around the floor - he does it for FUN - and he keeps doing it until he's tired and not able to do so any more. Then he's put into bed, where he sleeps like a baby (no pun intended) - and is back doing the same thing with vim and vigor when he wakes up. And he's setting a great foundation for strength gains while he crawls about on the floor, hangs on to the monkey bars, and so forth.

Compare this to the average adult. He wakes up dreading going in to work - comes back home after a long and usually stressful day, and collapses on the couch for a while, before tucking into dinner and then bed. There is not much physical activity whatsoever in the average adult's day - and those that DO exercise usually do long "cardio" sessions, or spend hours fooling around with fancy equipment in gyms - and most of these people actually end up dreading their workouts - simply because they're so boring and something that they don't even WANT to do.

And so, is it any surprise that the majority of folks fail to stick with their routines or achieve the sort of results they'd want from their training programs?

How much better would it be if we simply did the things the way we did when we were young kids? How much would we benefit from making exercise a part of our daily life - and doing so without any stress whatsoever? That second bit is key - have FUN while doing something, and don't stress out about it, and you'll automatically stick to the routine without even thinking about it.

Most people don't know how to make exercise fun - but if they did, I guarantee you that society in general would be a LOT fitter than it is today, and much healthier as well.

And thats what I'm hoping to change with Fast and Furious Fitness. Yes, the exercises are HARD - and yes, you can get done with your routine FAST - but most importantly, they are FUN to do. And most of them require no special equipment, so you can do them anywhere you have some space - and you'll feel like a billion bucks after getting done with your workout.

So, thats another take on exercising - chomp on it for breakfast today, and see how you like it!

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: Note that when I talk about kids having boundless energy, I'm referring to those below the age of 5 or before formal schooling begins. Formal schooling in my book is one of the prime reasons behind kids losing their natural exuberance and stamina as they start getting weighed down by unnatural expectations. I'll talk about this more in later posts, but you only have to look at the number of obese teenagers you see around you for proof.

Do your bit to stop this. If you have kids at home (kids of any age), make sure you grab a copy of Fast and Furious Fitness, and get the youngsters started on some of the routines in the book. They'll thank you for it later!

A year ago, I was unable to perform a handstand pushup with proper form and with full range of motion. 

And at the time, I wasn't sure why - I knew this was a HARD, HARD exercise to do, and I knew that I'd benefit greatly from regular practice at this exercise, and so I better bust my backside working them. And bust my backside I did - but after many, many hours of practice, I was still unable to get a single rep with the full range of motion. OK, I could go down a little from the handstand position - but that was it - and for reps? Forget about it.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I couldn't do this exercise correctly. I could do pushups for reps, and pull-ups as well so it obviously wasn't a lack of strength. I practiced daily - so it wasn't lack of practice. And the lack of progress discouraged me so much that I almost quit doing this exercise until a few months ago.

Fast forward a few months to now - and I can now do handstand pushups in full range of motion - for reps, at that. This was something I thought was absolutely impossible for me at the time, despite being strong enough to crack off 250 odd pushups in every workout - along with 40 odd pull-ups and some other things.

So, what was going on back then? WHY wasn't I able to do handstand pushups correctly at that time - more importantly, how am I doing them NOW - with seemingly little practice?

And after a lot of soul searching, I figured it out - the problem wasn't lack of practice, strength or anything physical. The real problem lay in my MIND - and once I sorted that out, I was able to do something that I previously thought was impossible.

Let me elaborate a bit more on this. I always thought of the handstand pushup to be something impossible - something only "elite" athletes and strongmen could do. Now, this doesn't mean I didn't try to do them. I did try, but in the back of my mind there was always that little voice saying "Hey, this is a TOUGH one - don't feel bad if you can't do it".

Anyway, as I said, I got discouraged while doing the exercise - and stoppped practicing it for a while - but I did NOT give up the desire. In other words, I kept on imagining that I could do handstand pushups - and while I didn't do many  I kept reading about them. Kept researching them, and learning what I could find out about them - and most importantly, I kept IMAGINING myself DOING the handstand pushups exactly as I wanted to. Slow, controlled reps in full range of motion - just as I tried to, but couldn't do.

I visualized the sort of upper body strength I'd have after doing the exercise. I thought long and hard about the sort of strength it would build in my triceps, and how much better I'd feel when I could do the exercise correctly.

All thought, and no action, you say?

Well, one fine day, all that imagination led to ACTION - without thinking about it, I tried a few handstand pushups again. Didn't get one in full range of motion right away as expected - but a couple of days later, I was able to go down further than I ever have. And then a week or so later, I was FINALLY able to do ONE FULL handstand pushup - with full range of motion!

And the key to my achieving success in something seemingly impossible was my imagination. OK, effort and common sense played a big part, but still - if I didn't imagine - if I didn't DREAM - I'd never have gotten around to learning more about the exercise, and then finally attempting them again, and nailing them.

Albert Einstein once famously said "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." And he was spot-on - more so than he realized at the time.

And the same theory applies to YOUR fitness as well. Doing a 100 pushups daily may seem an impossibility if your only able to do 5 before collapsing. Running sprints may seem out of the question if you can't jog in place for more than 2 minutes. But guess what - all of this is POSSIBLE - but you have to BELIEVE and IMAGINE it to be so. 

Don't get me wrong - effort and dedication still plays a huge part in your success. But, your mind needs to first KNOW that it CAN do what your trying to do - and believe you me, once you program your mind to believe through the power of your imagination, you'll shortly be doing things you once thought were impossible. And this applies to all areas of your life - not just fitness.

Emblazon this concept in your mind, and you'll be on the road to a better you in no time!

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: Imagination is importance, but you also need to take proper action to achieve your goals. And with regard to your fitness, the first call to action is to get Fast and Furious Fitness HERE.

I'm a huge proponent of training hard on a DAILY basis. I believe this is the best way to train - or to pursue any interest, for that matter - success in any endavor comes through putting in the hard work and hard yards; and training is no exception to that rule.

But, there are times when you do need a break - and it is important you interpret your body's signals correctly on this one.

A couple of years ago, I used to do a daily routine consisting of pushups, pull-ups and squats - high numbers of each, and I followed this routine daily. This was preceded by some stretching, and was followed by stair runs (another butt kicking exercise) AFTER the workout. After this, I'd go to work. I'd come back home around 6, and I'd do another round of exercise then. Maybe some pushups, lunges - whatever it was, I'd make sure I'd do it without fail, and do it on an almost daily basis (the evening workouts - the morning workouts were daily ones without fail). 

This routine worked well for me for a while, but after a while, I noticed I wasn't quite progressing the way I wanted to on all my exercises. My numbers were staying stagnant, or in some cases, even going DOWN - which was a mystery, since I did these exercises on a daily basis. I mean, how can I NOT get that last pushup in despite doing them in high reps daily? How can I NOT be progressing on my planches, despite working on them religiously? 

And on top of that, I used to feel tired and worn out most of the time, and most of all, I wasn't FEELING like I was on the top of the world after finishing a workout. And THAT is when I decided something was wrong, and I decided to make a change.

I reviewed my exercise routine, which was fine in itself. My diet wasn't ideal - but I was making gains despite that, so I figured I'd start to clean my diet up as well (as a result of which the Simple and Effective Diet was born a few years later). But, that didn't bring about the changes I wanted either.

And one day, I got a bit sick of thinking about it - and simply did nothing for the day. That's right - nothing, except a mild walk outdoors, I did NOTHING by the way of hard exercise. Actually thought about changing my routine up big time at that point, maybe even incorporating weights (something I don't prefer). When your NOT getting results, you start to get frustrated and look for other options, and that is what happened to me as well.

So, took that day off, and came back again to my regular workout the next day. And guess what? I woke up feeling far better and stronger the next morning - despite not having exercised the day before. And I maintained ALL my numbers on my exercises, and felt much better after my workout - much better than I was feeling before I took the break.

Didn't exercise again that evening, but got back it to again the next morning - and guess what - I SURPASSED my numbers on some of the exercises - something I'd wanted to do for a long time, but never was able to.

And at that point I figured that I'd simply take a day off when I was really worn down, since it helped me. So, thats what I've been doing ever since, and making great gains. And that, my friend, is what YOU need to do as well - if you are REALLY worn out from your regular routine, then a break might be in order.

Note that taking a break from a regular, hard routine doesn't mean you sit at home and do nothing by the way of physical activity. The point is to  let you body recover, and one of the best ways to let it recover is by actually doing something - NOT something "hard", but something real light. So if your doing 150 pushups a day along with other things, and take a day off to rest - then you may not do any pushups that day, but take a long walk. Or you may do 20 pushups, some stretching, and then call it a day. I've found that your body actually recovers better when you are in "active recovery" mode as opposed to slumping on the couch in front of the TV.

I talk about more about active recovery in Fast and Furious Fitness - and I also talk more about what you can do on your active recovery days.

And last, but not least, note that it's important to know when you really need a break, and when you are just slacking off. Most people actually need to be working out MORE instead of less; and most people would do great on a daily schedule of exercises (alternate between hard days and light days). Of course, this may vary from individual to individual, but by and large, I have found that most folks these days need to be doing more - not less.

But, if you find you really need a break - then go for it - and watch yourself come back stronger the next day!

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: I've been receiving some great user feedback as of late - so if you wish to send some feedback my way, feel free to do so! Remember that anything you send to me remains confidential - I may share your feedback in my daily emails, but only if YOU want me to do so!

PS#2: If you don't have a copy of Fast and Furious Fitness as yet, it's high time you got yourself a copy HERE.

PS#3: I mentioned the Simple and Effective Diet in the email above - go HERE to get a copy.