Rahul Mookerjee
Grip training - using NO equipment
Grip training is (or should be) an integral part of any workout. A strong grip is an absolute pre-requisite for any genuine athlete, strongman, or fitness professional - not only that, but your grip strength, or lack of it, can actually limit your gains in other exercises that require a solid grip.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of proper, regular grip training, and when I say this, I'm not referring to athletes, boxers, fitness pros etc alone - I'm also talking about how important grip training is for the average Joe next door. Yes, my friend, that includes YOU too - a strong grip will help you immeasurably in a variety of day to day activities as well. A strong grip will also ensure you stay clear of the much dreaded Carpel Tunnel syndrome, which, given the pre-ponderance of computers everywhere, is a huge problem these days.
On a side note, I've read that some of the old time strongmen used to unscrew the wheel nuts on their cars by HAND - think about the finger/grip strength these guys must have had!
And today, I'd like to talk about a very simple exercise that will build the ENTIRE grip - forearms, wrists, tendons, fingers, everything - and it requires NO equipment at all.
That's right, NO equipment. No "wrist rollers", no dumbells for wrist curls (not a particularly good exercise anyway), and for those of you that are wondering, not even a chinning bar or somplace to hang from. Now, that last one is actually a GREAT grip builder, but I said something which requires no equipment, and thats what we'll talk about in today's email.
It's an exercise that the old timers used to perform with great regularity. It's an exercise done by most serious martial artists, wrestlers and boxers the world over. And it's something YOU need to do as well.
What is it, you might ask?
Well, the answer is: finger tip pushups - as in, pushups done on your digits. Sounds simple enough, and it is - but believe me, finger tip pushups WORK.
This exercise is an incredibly good grip builder - and it works EVERYTHING from the elbow to the tips of your fingers. It's important to remember that grip strength is not just depending upon strong muscles in the forearm - you need strong fingers, ligaments and tendons as well. And there are few other exercises that do a good job of training all this - with no equipment - than the finger tip pushup.
As I said, this exercise has been used for ages by martial artists, wrestlers and other sports people - but (as with many other GREAT exercises), it seems to have fallen by the wayside these days. Let's face it, you'll hear folks talking about closing grippers, doing the "farmer's walk", or hanging from chinning bar - and while all these are fantastic exercises, we rarely find folks talking about doing fingertip pushups in their routine.
And for those who claim that fingertip pushups aren't a great way to build finger strength - well - work up to 4 sets of 25 fingertip pushups in good form, and then tell me how you feel. Most average people (even those who've been doing pushups) would find it tough to do ONE set of 15 fingertip pushups, let alone 4 sets of 25.
I myself use this exercise regularly in my training routine, and while it's NOT the only grip exercise I do, I make sure I do it on a regular basis. And the best thing is, you require nothing but your own bodyweight to get it done - so there's no more excuses for not training your grip!
Make sure to incorporate this humble and often forgotten exercise into your daily exercise routine - and let me know when you work up to 4 sets of 25 done in good form!
Best regards,
Rahul
PS: Pushups are a fantastic exercise, and I cover them in excruciating detail in Fast and Furious Fitness; be sure and grab your copy now!
ONE minute grip workouts
You've heard me speak about 15-30 minute workouts often. You've heard me say that you can get in a fantastic workout in 15 minutes flat - and you've also heard me talk about five minute routines that blast the fat off your frame faster than you can say Hallelujah.
Folks often use the "I don't have time to train" excuse to avoid exercise. Well, sorry, but EVERYONE's got to have a few minutes a day for themselves, and if you don't have even that much time - well, I suggest you work on rectifying that. 15 minutes is not a long time - 10 minutes is even shorter. Do what you can, but do SOMETHING - anything that gets you moving is a good start (and I don't mean the walk from the refrigator to the couch).
Anyway, today, I'll take the "quick workouts" concept one step further, and talk about routines that don't last for more than a minute - and get the job done in terms of blasting the grip.
That's right - you CAN get an intense forearm workout from following a routine that last for as little as a MINUTE. And to be honest, most beginners would be doing good to get 10-15 seconds in good form; let alone 60 seconds.
Sounds a bit implausible to you? Well, perhaps it does, but allow me to give you an extremely simple exercise to do - which won't last for more than a minute. And that one exercise is SO simple to do that I wonder why most folks don't think of doing it - but incredibly, they don't.
And that exercise is this: Find a chinning bar, or a sturdy tree branch, or anywhere you can hang safely (the higher the better) - grip on to the bar, and simply hang. Thats right, simply HANG, and time yourself while you do so. No monkey business while hanging; your arms should be completely stretched out and your entire body should stay still - simply hang in that position for a minute.
Again, if it sounds simple to you - well, just TRY it. I'll bet your unable to do more than 25-30 seconds max if you're starting out (perhaps less if you've been doing other exercises before). If you can manage a minute, repeat for five sets. If you can manage that, keep doing that at the end of your regular routine - and tell me how much your grip has improved after a couple of weeks.
Simple enough exercises, but you won't find many people doing this. Why? Well, one because if done correctly (and especially if done after your regular workout) - this exercise CAN REALLY HURT! You'l literally feel your fingers start to peel off the bar after you've been hanging a while - and your shoulders and forearms will get a super workout as well. And all this in less than a minute.
Second, it's not a "fancy" exercise. Most folks associate hanging on a chinning bar with "something they did when they were kids", and don't conisder it anywhere near in value to the fancier stuff and machines.
Big, big mistake - the simple stuff - stuff we did when we were kids - actually brings you far better results than the other stuff does.
And in case your wondering, this one simple exercise can be made way tougher than it is currently. Further, there are dozens of other things you can do - for a MINUTE - that will leave you with burning forearms and fingers that won't be able to grip for a while after the exercise. Fast and Furious Fitness details many such routines that can be used by all levels of trainees (yes, even advanced trainees).
As for yours truly, I did three one minute holds at the end of my routine today - and I can STILL feel the soreness in my forearms. I enjoy this exercise, and do it often - and if your interested in developing a vice like grip, so should you.
All for now. Oh, if you logged on to the site a few hours back and saw an "under maintenance" sign, not to worry - that was simply my web host updating the server where the site is located. All seems to be normal now.
Enjoy your weekend - and if you train today, make it a super workout!
Best regards,
Rahul
PS: Here's that link once again: - Fast and Furious Fitness
Training the grip correctly
Today I'm going to address a pretty common question that folks have with regard to grip training. And that is, how often to train the grip, and WHEN to do it.
Before I provide my thoughts on this, allow me to go on record by saying that grip training is one of the most enjoyable parts of my workout. I train my grip as hard as I do any other body part, and I train it using exercises that work the body as a WHOLE, which is pretty much what I do for all exercises/body parts. I talk more about this in Fast and Furious Fitness.
Grip training provides numerous benefits. Train the grip hard, and you'll do better on virtually all your exercises, especially the "pulling" exercises. Your forearms will increase tremendously in size and strength, and you'll never have to worry about suffering from the much dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome (which is the bane of many people in this day and age).
And the good part about it is that training the grip is not rocket science. In fact, you can do a lot of the exercises I advocate, and build a super strong grip without even training the forearms or fingers "directly". It's also enjoyable - and lends itself to progress that you can actually "feel" in each workout (those of you that do train the grip hard know what I'm referring to). And herein lies the catch - because it's uncomplicated and enjoyable to do, you run the risk of actually overdoing it, and overtraining.
I recommend direct grip work only AFTER your regular workouts, and not during them. The reason for this is that if you pre-exhaust your grip before your other exercises (that also require a strong grip), your performance will naturally go down on those exercises. I've done this before myself - I've done grip work before my pull-ups, and noticed how my numbers go down (drastically, for some variations) if I've pre-exhausted the grip. So, train your grip AFTER your workout for best results.
Second, make sure NOT to overdo it - do NOT think you can train your grip super hard each workout, and still hope to keep improving. It can't be done, and I know this from personal experience. In fact, much like with any other body part, your performance/gains will actually start to go DOWN if you train the grip excessively, so beware of this. A good thumb rule would be to train the grip hard three times a week and no more.This is by no means written in stone - but it's a general rule that those who train regularly would do good to abide by.
Third, and most importantly - it is VERY EASY to overtrain the grip - so easy that you might not even realize it. Make sure not to do 10 sets of timed hangs after that pull -up session daily, or if you do so, only do so twice a week. The forearms are used a lot in daily life as well, so it makes sense to let them rest, recover and grow - just like the rest of your body.
Keep those three guidelines in mind while training the grip, and you'll be on the right track. I cover this topic in far more detail in Fast and Furious Fitness - be sure to grab a copy!
Alright, enough for this email. Gotta get back to work on a new "Fast and Furious" project I'm working upon. . .
Be well, and if you train today - make it a GREAT one!
Best regards,
Rahul
PS: Our online ordering system is back up and running, so there's really no more excuses not to reserve your copy of Fast and Furious Fitness. Go HERE to do so.
So, Sophia just called me a pyschopath!
Yes, her, the lovely Gorilla Girl.
Why?
Well, it all started with her sending me a video - which I hate. I didnt watch it, argued about it, political stuff, and she wouldnt reply, so I gave her the equivalent of a heavy handed slap down - kinda like whats going on in Ukraine right now (the video was politics discussing that).
"Really, Sophia. I dont care which side of the argument you're on", I told her.
"But at least dont ignore, discuss it like an adut!"
Instead of saying "I dont know" (when she does) - instead of watchig moronic dumb videos that destroy what is left of her brain (I told this) - instead of acting like a moron incarnate - I told her this - and more.
The ice was finally broken when I said she was acting like a juvenile.
Juvenile, she said - or perhaps giggled. "Am I that young"?
Women, gotta love 'em.
Vladimir Putin once made the comment about women bitching up a storm because "they can" and how it shows weakness.
"Maybe it's not the worst thing for a woman to be weak", he said.
Well.
I kinda agree with him there. Hehe.
But anyway (i've always had the same thought myself, and if any alpha male out there says they haven't, theyre fuckin lying through their teeth, stained or not) ...
With regard to thie conflict in Ukraine, I've expressed my views AT LENGTH on this before, so I wont do so again.
But, bottom line - few questions . . .
One, what would have happened if the Russian brought a military alliance right to the US's doorstep - say Mexico?
I dont think the US would or should have just sat back and let it happen (although with Sleepy Joe letting illegals overrun the country, aint no tellling THESE days) . . .
The US has gone to "war" for far less.
Iraq had its problems, sure, but flip side - like CHina - it was also the most functional of the Middle Eastern countries, women had the most rights there, there weren't any overt restrictions etc like in the rest of the Middle East etc, Saddam was surprisingly tolerant of other religions...
All facts, and EVERYONE - I repeat - EVERYONE knew there were no WMD's in Iraq!
Yet, the coalition destroyed the country.
Afghanistan, hell yeah - invade it - I support that, because they sheltered Bin Laden. And the Saudis, the real culprits financing the whole mess getting away scot free the whole time.
Can YOU, the reader argue with these facts?
Vietnam - I wont even go there.
My point isnt "it's right or wrong".
My point is it happens.
My point is it's stupid to poke the bear - period - unles you're another bear.
And my point is all the meaningless sanctions - all the poking going on - will only escalate matters until it comes to a point of no return.
Trump was DEAD on right in that Nato members should pay for their upkeep, and his threat of withdrawing the US from that treaty was valid.
And if that had happened, this invasion would never have happened - or the "military operation" or whatever both sides call it ... simply because there would be no military risk to Russia.
Putin could care less about the EU. (and if Ukraine says tomorrow they wont join NATO, this "conflict" wil end that day. Dont believe me? Watch if it happens!)
It's NATO he's concerned about, and why poke a bear thats never really ventured beyond it's own area, neither does it want to- is beyond me. Only an idiot would do it.
Now that the bear has awakened, well ...
(China, now thats different, but I've always maintained Russia is NOT a threat to the whole world - they want their Soviet Union back, but thats it! - and when have you seen them go all over the world the way China is?).
It happens, period, and to pretend you're living in utopia is utter foolishness.
Anyway, no, none of this was why she called me a pyschopath. Hehe.
Apparently her friend (male) once called her that because she wanted to sleep on a mattress full of money.
Huh?
"He's an idiot with no money", I laughed back.
Hey, lady's got it spot on with the visualization!
Anyway ......... the REAL question I've been asking her for days is why she doesnt like Gong Li - a Chinese actresss I cannot get enough of, even though her movies, a lot of them are shit.
But she's just so delectable, desirable and CUTE - and SEXY!
And I could write books on her, Id probably sound like a simp too Hehe.
But as I made comments about how "I want to do this on her face" and "she's so SOFT and womanly" - and other such ... lust fueled comments (I wont tell you what happened after that - not fit for THIS site or kids, hehe - Sophia is the GIRL tho, hehe) ...
THAT is what she called me a pyscho for.
When I flippantly claimed "Id give my life for her". Hehe.
I wouldn't, obviously, she didnt get that.
Maybe she did.
But the REAL reason?
She hates my PROBING messages. She has said theyre annoying, force her to think, study and more...
And THAT, my friends is the nub.
DOERS - yourself included and master planners - without trying - get called this all the time.
Is there a fine line between brilliance and being a pyscho?
Well depends upon your definition of the latter.
But if admiring a mighty fine Asian (Chinese) dame and sleeping with a shit ton of Chinese women, all equally delectable ,gets me called that - so be it. Hehe.
Not like Sophia really minds anyway... ;)
Apparently she doesnt like Gong Li.
Which lovely women ever liked the other.
"she's so arrogant!"
"She slapped Zhang Yi Yi and cheated on him!" (to which my response was if whoever this dude is - I didnt even know till I googled - dumb enough to let her do all that and get away with, he deserves it)
(she doesnt even like this Yi Yi guy, so..)
"Maybe you're right", she finally conceded.
"She has more positive than negative!"
We all do, Sophia.
Then I had to explain to her it wasn't about right or wrong, just a discussion - an open and honest one. Albeit with sex involved.
Anyway -when you become a doer FOCUSED on and OBSESSED on a certain goal, people will call you a pyscho.
Get used to it.
I've been called much worse.
But I get results, friend.
And fitness wise, if you want to learn how this pyscho does things - go here - The 0 Excuses Fitness System.
Enough - back soon!
Best
Rahul Mookerjee
PS - WHEW!
The good ole V.C.R . . .
It's funny, these conversations we have in our head - often turn out to be exactly that in real life!
I was telling my friend - or, talking to him, rather about everything going on - global politics, and what not - and how strangely enough or maybe not, during the War of Bangladesh, it was the US that sent in a battleship to intimidate the Indians and "stop" them from "liberating" Bangladesh (because of the the pro Pakistan US stance) - and how the Soviets tailed it wth their subs instantly, and how it became just another showdown between the two superpowers at the time ...
(Kennedy didnt much like India though, I believe, hehe).
... How India after independence in my opinion - staunch and unwavering started off on the wrong foot by being hopelessly pro Soviet (Nehru I believe was a great poet, but a piss poor leader, as for Gandhi, my opinion of him is very well known - I dont think for one minute he was the man responsible for Indian independence as is commonly claimed, it was the guys who DID - who actually FOUGHT - that were responsible, not Gandhi who even in prison had a nice lifestyle at the time and ...) ... but anyway, how India made a lot of mistakes, numero uno, or one of them being literally making a gift of TIbet to China, refusing the chance to join the UN security council and so forth "let China do it" - "Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai" nonsense (the Indians and Chinese are brothers, yeah, in poetic la la land, thats a great utopian concept, real life works differently) - and how if India had been more pro West at the time (Though given India just got its independece from a Western power, thats understandable!) - India would be, economically at least, most likely in a far better position than now, and many other things.
I remembered an argument I had with my good friend Vincent about this one
I was talking to him about how the guys that really DID in India i.e. that FOUGHT against the colonial Brits - how they had to literally flee to Germany to seek help - NOt because they were Nazis, or pro Nazis, but "your enemy's enemy is myf riend" - and oddly enough to Russia as well (USSR then) to seek help, neither country really gave any sort of help but they did some covert things behnd the scenese, allowed these guys to get private militias together and so forth - and how my friend then said I could never support that.
Which I guess from his standpoint, he's right.
I get it.
But you do what you gotta do, from an Indian standpoint back then, these guys did what they have to, if they didnt, the country would never have gotten its independence, period.
Whether or not thats a good thing or bad is debatable for SOME people (some people make this argument about look at Hong Kong under the Brits, their economy and such - but a tiny city and a huge country - different!) , for me, I'd rather my independence as yall know!
But anyway - - they've made some pretty good Bollywood movies as of late on all of this, all remembering the old days when things were real. HA!
And I was telling someone "there's really no Bollywood crap song and dance etc there, you can fast forward past the one song or so in it" ...
Fast forward?
Now it's pretty much "drag the slider". Heh.
I caught myself in the nick of time, then remembered the good ole days when we had VCR's - do yall even remember those days. Hehe.
We used to pop the cassettes in and either (in my case) record WWE (F) back then Monday Night RAW! (is WAR!) because i had to work that night, or even younger than that, the weekend movie would be delivered by "Star Videos" next to our house, hehe, and we'd all watch it together as a family...
I believe I still got ONE DVD player lying around somewhere, the other I gave away brand new (even DVD players are hardly used these days!).
Anyway .......
Interesting memory that.
I dont know why I felt compelled to share it, but when I did 0 Excuses Fitness, when I Started, MOST people, even those that were and are KNOWN superstars in fitness - did NOT - I repeat, NOT have ebooks or products out on the scale I do.
To me, I saw it coming, and I built the entire site based upon the "e concept".
Download - and enjoy - and have access to it via your account.
And of course, for the dinosaurs out there like you and I (that word is copyright the great Brooks Kubik, hehe) - we have paperbacks and hardcovers.
One of those SHOULD be delivered to my daughter today, Mystery of the haunted school or whatever it was she ordered from Amazon (seems she does most of the ordering even at 8 years of age, lol).
Anyway - fitness wise, dino way is the best way to go.
Tried, tested, just flat out works, as you see the world "go back to the old days" more and more, remember some of us that never moved forward in some regards. Hehe.
Anyway.
Grab the System and the 5 great videos here.
And leave a review!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
Nicknames - and what if you can't do squats - and more!
Last night, I had an interesting conversation with the daughter, whose truly growing up to be, despite a couple of other "best efforts" - "little Rahul". Hehe.
Chip off the old block as John Walker rightly said!
In that conversation she referred to my wife (her mom) as "Class dene wali".
For a minute this floored me, though I understood the Hindi.
It basically, in Hindi, when you say someone "class deti hai" or "deta hai" means - he's taking the piss out of you - or giving you a dress down - or whatever terminology you choose to use - I choose to use the good old fashioned British term "lecturing". Hehe.
Except, her Hindi is not that good - neither is mine, hers is a little lower on the totem pole, but hey - she's learning Spanish (of course my family wanted her to learn french - go figure huh - one of the most USELESS places to be in my opinion, I would never learn French! - and since I couldn't tell her directly - I used the old mind and got her to do Spanish, which is USEFUL and a damn practical language to learn, and she is! She's doing great at it too) . . . anyway, in Hindi it's "class leti hai", I told her, laughing.
Then I asked her who this nickname was for, though I had a pretty good idea.
"Mommy", she giggled back. "Always yelling away!"
Hey, I get it. My wife over the past few years is like an air raid siren, like a Russian warplane booming in to tear everything to smithreens, just ... I dont know, the typical Nazi feminist "yelling all day long for no real reason". Ugh.
And in the case of the daughter, always "giving her classes". Hehe.
Which hey, I dont get away scot free either, I remember asking her how her (my daughter's) swimming classes were going (since I'm not there) - and she replied "fine", and wouldnt give me more details because "Dad gives me too many annoying tips on how to swim, how to do this, do that!".
Hehe.
That I do!
But we'll get to all that ...
I then asked her "if Mommy is that, what is your Granny" .
"Lecture deni wali", she giggled back.
In Dysfunction Central, which is essentially the "family" my daughter is in - there are two levels of escalation - one, the wife - two, the "grandmother" - and given the prattle and incessant DRONE emanating from these two all day long (utterly useless and impractical, most of it, if not all) - I dont blame the daughter for the nicknames. Hehe.
(apparently Granny's lectures are even worse than Mommy's - the prattle and "drone" even longer, which I sort of agree with, with my wife it's mostly emotional BS (which dont get me wrong, that plays into the Nazi feminism big time), once you get past that, she's quite alright, with my Mom, it's true Nazi feminism Central). (been that way all her life).
yours truly got one too.
"What is Dad" I laughed back.
"You're the green tea dene wala!" she responded.
Or riposted...
i.e. I'm the green tea supplier.
Hey, I'll live with that.
I got my daughter started on green tea at the age of six months. Hehe. I still remember her "bottoms up" with a green tea glass as if it was beer - LOL - tilting the head back and drinking it all up at one shot - like I do with my beer - classic!
I love my little girl. The only bright spot in my entire so called family!
Anyway - I even named the business after her - so I'll live with the nickname. I like it, actually!
(I'm also the guy who makes it for her, fills up her glasses etc. Hehe).
Much like I like the Mr Handstand pushup, Ironman, and some other monikers I've been called.
Much like I LOVE the rather uncomplimentary names I've been called, that list has "swollen" to over 2000 now ...
(there's a lot of "puns" - intended or not - in this here email you might think, but please - none applicable).
Anyway, great minds think alike.
On that note, nicknames?
I remember a colleague in 2007 (in India) once calling me Rambo for my grip early in the morning.
"Feels like shaking hands with Rambo!" he went.
Another guy went as such "It feels good to shake hands with him, it feels like shaking hands with a MAN!"
LOL - I'll always remember those comments!
Anyway - where was I - ah yes, great minds, and as a subscriber on this list Ben wrote back with an email titled "nicknames", I knew I had to write to YOU about it!
He's been called "Big Ben" , "Thor" , and Tarzan amongst others - as well as "Von" something (a nice German sounding name, hehe - and given him imposing bulk, the "Von Bulk" fits him to a T!).
I'll take my Da Xing Xing moniker. Hehe. (i.e. Gorilla in Chinese).
Anyway.................
Frivolites aside, I was chatting with Ben the other day - actually, last night - oh, by the way, I finally managed to get WeShat to unblock my ID, turns out it was a problem at my end, apparently the VPN or what not wouldn't let me access their link or whatever. So , not the end of an era there apparently!
Now, I've written to you about how Ben has pre-existing injuries - nasty ones - how he broke both his legs back in the day, had to have steel rods inserted in them - and so forth.
Yet, he does, and does DAILY.
His form on squats was what I noticed first, and as I wrote about before, that was BEFORE I knew the extent of his injuries, given what he is working with, he's got plenty of leeway on form - which truth be told his form isnt that bad, he just can't go all the way down in terms of squats.
Which is fine.
Hey.
I've - and he has too - seen perfectly healthy guys muck it up WAY WORSE.
Personally, I feel most people can and should do squats - their entire life.
And in proper FORM!
But yeah, if you've truly got pre-existing injuries such as implants which (ouch!) dont let you go all the way down in squats, then you do what you have to - you improvise, adapt, and OVERCOME!
That is what Ben has done.
(a true DOER).
And he doesnt prefer squats so much these days as he does other exercises - his favorites?
The Animal Kingdom Workouts style of training/conditioning - and hey - Tarzan - or Big Ben - what have you - I dont blame you, bro.
Thats another one of the most brutally effective training programs out there - martial artists for one use those sort of training regimens all the time, and there's entire FIGHTING techniques built upon that sort of thing as well.
If you've seen Bloodsport, and the guy from Africa jumping around in a squat, you'll know what I mean.
Thats monkey style martial arts...
But anyway, if you can't do squats, alternatives?
To me the squat and pushup reign supreme, period.
There is in my opinion NO alternative to heavy duty high rep squats - NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING - gives you the core and mental work - and the fat blasting effect you get from squats done in high reps.
The motion "ass to grass" cannot be replicated as well by any other movement.
There is a reaon the Gama did these daily without fail.
Ole Steve Austin once said "if you only have time for one exercise, squat. I dont care what else you're doing - if you squat heavy, you'll grow!"
And that truly is the bottom line Steve-o. Hehe.
He's right tho. Look at what Matt Furey said in Combat Conditioning about "if you're not doing squats, you're not really doing combat conditionng".
He's right.
But again, alternatives?
Frog walks for one are brutal - frog JUMPS - ultra so!
I often do these between sets of squats and jumping rope.
Then you have Ben's favorite step ups - which many great athletes have used over the ages as well.
Then, "box jumps" - where you put a box - or small sitting table or whatever in front of you- and just JUMP up and over it - and back again.
GREAT workout, although not one I'd recommend for everyone.
Then, another one I have not spoken about a lot - but will be there in Advanced Plyometrics - lunges done in a plyometric manner.
These REALLY make you sore!
Last, the "knees to chest" movements I keep talking about in Corrugated Core ..
Lots of alternatives, all pretty brutal - but none replaces the almighty squat in my opinion, much like what I wrote about yesterday in terms of pull-ups - nothing really replaces the good old fashioned PULL-UP - with palms pointing OUT.
Anyway - thats the ramble for now.
Hope you enjoyed it.
Trust you did.
Hehe.
I'll be back soon!
Best
Rahul Mookerjee
PS - Pick up the 0 Excuses Fitness System HERE.
PS #2 - Bloodsport was a great movie! Ole Donald himself loves it, he once told his son, I believe then 13 to "skip past the rest of the movie" and get straight to the fight scenes.
I dont blame him. Hehe. That is what I watch all the time myself! (and the (in)famous Van Damme "I")
(true, Bloodsport isn't real life fighting as in you dont just stand around and wait to be kicked, haha - true, it was more of a Van Damme showpiece than anything else, but Van Damme himself is an accomplished kickboxer for one, and the movie, well, it just worked on so many levels, especially Bolo Yeung, just CLASSIC!)
(y'all should see ole Iron Mike going at in in the IP man series. Fists vs martial arts, hehe. And I'll take the fists ANYDAY in real life!).
Why on earth would someone hold the railings when climbing stairs - is beyond me.
I just noticed a middle aged lady do it, by all means and by far she aint the only one.
I have no idea why, but even physically NOT unfit people (note I didnt say fit) - I've often seen them climb, even one flight of stairs, even if that flight of stairs has like three stairs - by "grabbing" on to the railing for support.
For dear life.
To someone like me who climbs hill daily, whose always the one to take or sprint up those long subway stairs, laptop in tow, hair flyng, while the rest of the "so called sane" folks on the escalators look on with a mixture of boredom and "wtf" (little do they know that could be their workout for the day!!) ...
.. it just seems insane.
Why would someone do that?
Maybe if you're REALLY sick and infirm, or if you're Glyn whose so pudgy moving an inch without waddling out of breath is a chore - I get it in that case.
Him climbing stairs, it's like a B 52 bomber descended on the building - and not in a a good way either, like a past landlord once commented about my "building shaking workouts"! (more than once. Hehe) ...
But either way, why?
IT's laziness, combined with the mental thing about "oh my god, stairs - too tough!"
I can never once, even in blazing heat and humidity that would have made most strongmen wilt right there and then - climbing steep hills 4 or 5 times "this is real hill climbing, as a student of mine once remarked" - thouht of holding on to railings, even when I was dizzy and ready to pass out.
Many did on that hill! I always remember looking back at them and thinking "WEAK" (dont get me wrong, it happens, but just one time - like, TOUGHEN UP!).
Funny part, I saw this lady when thinking about something completely unrelated, that being how women want everything "now".
Like it's always super urgent.
"Budget for it!" theyll yell at you, while of course ignoring they never told you in advance.
Apparently the ATM must keep floweth(ing). Hehe. Not so much the beer though for Nazi feminists, they can't stomach it (oddly enough, I haven't seen ONE single person in my family other than myself and perhaps one of my cousins really guzzle that beer!) ...
but really, I wonder - though I've never asked, no point.
"What if its a REAL emergency" - and you've already drained what is there for so called emergencies.
Of course, Nazi feminists aren't exactly known for thinking.
YOU though CAN be - you can PROFIT from this madness, but of course, youve gotta be willing to spend what it takes to - or INVEST what it takes, I shoudl say - to learn from the best at combating it.
I could literally give a lot of these Tom Tom's at Mgtow Central lessons to learn that they would never ever forget!
Oh my.
Anyway - if you're the sort that holds on to the railing for dear life like Bozo Schofield for one does while climbin stairs - just - dont - period.
It makes you look like a sissy, period, pun intended. Very much so!
And it's STUPID.
Stair climbing, one of the best workouts out there - best way you can prepare for them is do them, run 'em, SPRINT them ...
All detailed in Advanced Hill Training, a book you must get NOW.
A book that was rebraned as Eat More - Weigh Less as well ... well, that was the latter name, before I changed it back to the original.
Couple of reviews, now, one I've already shared before -
A great mini review for “Eat More – Weigh Less”, and more… (0excusesfitness.com)
And the second ..
Mike Watson writes in -
Great little book - thank you so much, Sir!
Simple movements that really help in getting rid of excess fat, not just around the midsection, but the whole body is what this book boils down to. The author has written it in his usual "crisp, concise and down to earth" style, and its a classic book that will never go out of style (either). Neither will the movements in it.
I have not purchased this author's other books, but plan on doing so as soon as "the wife" permits, heh.
Hey, man - thank you! is all I can say to that, and he's damn right, it's an overall body training regimen, not just "legs" or core or whatever.
And takes nary fifteen minutes, come to think of which, if you can go that long (pun, hehe) - you're already a stud.
Anyway ............
We started with stairs, went on to budgets, then reviews, and somewhere in the middle Nazi feminists.
Remember one thing - it's always prudent to budget for things that MATTER.
Like my upcoming book Squat 101 - or another ass kicker, Lumberjack "Lodestone" Fitness.
Or, Proft Troll (y'all will LOVE these, juicy details on a certain someone you have NOT heard before for one, but much like the book on Nazi feminists, it teaches you how to PROFT from someone attacking you and how!!) ..
Or so many others I've got on the backburner, including "Advanced Plyometrics".
If y'all have ideas for new books (I'm already at work on Isometrics - Volume Three) - let me know!
And anyway, budget for those books - but get what you need NOW.
And that is the 0 Excuses Fitness System, my friend - simply something you MUST have if you're in ANY way serious about fitness in any way, shape or form.
Period.
Go HERE to get it.
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
"He thinks he is like God" - and why I could care less if people think my work is not "work".
And how this applies to FITNESS, my dear friend.
Last night, I got into it with a good friend - not in a "bad" manner, but we seem to get in each other's faces quite often - which isn't entirely a bad thing so long as its done "in the right spirit" if you get my drift.
I sent him a meme about some idiot that apparently VP Harries supports - i.e. some transgender dude that was participating in women's swimming - on the female team - and apparently won a host of awards as well - competing against women - which is obviously a BS competition, as "her" horomones are all male, and that gives "her" an advantage anyway!
Incredibly, we are starting to live in a society where it's becoming normal for four year old, no less, in Scotland to "question their gender orientiation" or some rot, where "same gender or is it sex? Or what is the word now??? bathrooms" are or "should" be the norm, where apparently even sports competitions aren't spared!
Dont get me wrong, if some guy wants to be a woman (Bozo Schofield being one shining example of this lunacy) - - by all means, do it. I'll support their right to do so.
But there is a line and limit to everything which the current US leadership for one, easily the most pathetic ever - and one that has literally made the U.S. a massive laughing stock all over the world - seems to have forgotten how to draw.
Not that Sleepy Joe or Hyena Harris could draw much of anythign anyways.
But adoption by same sex couples - a huge NO for me.
Ditto for transgender sports competitions against "normal" males or women. It just don't work that way, friend.
Of course, I'm in the minority there apparently!
My friend claimed "it wasn't everyone that thought the US was a laughing stock".
"Anyone with any brains can see what the current leadership is doing", I retorted. "The U.S. was RESPECTED under Trump? Now? Just look at when Putin chose to attack for one, he knew no-one would do a damn thing about it!"
This was a friend who had claimed prior to the invasion that "Russia wouldn't dare to do what it's doing".
He would not listen to me when I said China is actively supporting Russia financially, so they could care two hoots less about the sanctions - most of them toothless anyway, and the energy section isn't included anyway.
He wouldn't listen when I told him the Russians might not have money, but they have a DAMN strong military in many regards.
Therein lies the marriage of convenience, I tried explaining, he parroted some line from CNN to the contrary.
She En En. Hehe.
Now, of course, he is being forced to eat humble pie - again.
"Rahul, you're just a God!" he went in an irritated manner.
Really, I tittered back.
"Yes. You think you know it all, you think you're like God!"
Um, I've never belived in God, I told him. So that statement makes no sense, even if I did, I'm certainly no superhuman - I simply make use of my brain, while the world in general doesn't.
(and subconscious).
His next statement validated what I said.
"You think everyone around you is an idiot, me included!"
I tried telling him "I never said that" (I didnt, and I hadnt thought it either), but of course no dice.
"I'm off to work", he grumbled. "Not like you sitting at home doing nothing!"
Which was another interesting point, one I keep bringing up.
Despite it being the internet / dumbphone era, people have become - or always were - so dumb collectively that work is only work if you grind it out for hours under the sun picking cotton (metamorphically speaking).
I've never understood this, bro.
:Lets say you make $500 a day, lets say you make it by sending out two emails and goofing off the rest of the day - - - and lets say you make it by working 10 hours a day. Or more.
The money looks the same in both cases, no? Feels the same, no? Buys the same things, no?
Just why people have this idea that money needs to be earned by crawling on your elbows through broken glass or what not mystifies me, but hey ...
... I could honestly care less.
If someone wants to work at 5 different convenience stores and claim "thats the ticket" - then thats fine by me.
I'd rather do it my own way.
And I'd rather people consider it "not work" - less competition for me. Hehe.
This, my friend, is the same thing fitness wise.
200 squats and 20 pull-ups is more than what most people can do in a week.
For me, I breezed through it like it was nothing (so would a lot of YOU reading this, i.e. the 0 Excuses Fitness converts).
Took like what, I dont know, 10-12 minutes all in all.
And it burnt fat, built muscle, gave the ole midsection another tune up from the inside out, and much more, and all QUICK.
Fitness, my friend, doesnt mean you need to spend all day in the gym, or hours on the treadmill.
Ain't nothing wrong with quick and dirty workouts that not only accomplish the same thing, or MORE - in way less time.
Think about it...
When I told my friend (this same guy) what a great customer of mine once also told me, in a different aspect i.e. he said his immune system would whack covid (it did!) - I told my friend (when I had the flu) my daily squats and deep breathing would banish any so called virus ... he got sarcastic again.
Bear in mind, he is obese, and claims "he has no time to workout". He's got time for hours to chat to people on the phone, but ask him to change a car tyre, he doesnt do it for weeks, then drives on a flat to the store to get it changed, and complains when the damned thing tears.
I mean, really, dude, I told him. Just call AAA or something if changing a tyre is so much hassle (I suspect he doesnt know how to do it).
All this doesn't take away from the fact he's a great friend.
Has had my back many a times before ...
But every time I talk about my workout, he goes back to the God motif.
"You're Mr Fitness, Mr Karate, how could I ever compete!"
Dude, just get fit yourself, I keep telling him quietly, but of course, the sarcasm never stops coming. Hehe.
I also told him I have never trained Karate, only Taekwondo.
"It doesnt matter! Judo, Karate, Taekwondo! They're all the same!"
To say the above statement is utter lunacy would be doing it a disservice... it's utter lunacy x 100. Oh well.
"You think you know it all!" (back to the "God" motif)
Which is funny, because one can sense the underlying impotence and disdain for what I do and how I do it in his tone - yet, one can also sense he knows the results.
Hehe.
Poor dude.
Caught between a rock and a hard place...
Anyway - I dont care what comments you get, my friend.
Just remember, RESULTS count.
Whether you work smart - or just "hard" - is, well, up to you ...
And I'm out.
Back soon!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
My world famous trilogy on SHOULDER POWER - and raging, grizzly like strength throughout the ENTIRE UPPER BODY!!
This series is the "Battletank" series - or more appropriately, it shows the sequence in which you should read my world famous trilogy on building shoulders strength and power - for max benefit.
Remember, if you're a price shopper and skip past the sequence "just because of money" - it ain't gonna work.
The first, "Shoulders like Boulders!" teaches you how to do the almighty ... well, we'll let the book cover it! - exercise that will turn you into a stud from a dud, from weakling and pansy to real man - from a POSER at the gym to a REAL STRONGMAN - and more.
This exercise does so much more than build strength and AWE INSPIRING power through the entire upper body, core and back - it also makes sure you melt fat off your body at warp speeds.
And that i.e. the fat melting and muscle building effect is magnified x 10 in Battletank Shoulders - which is truly a classic for the ages.
I challenge all you strongmen out there to ONE Battletank Shoulders! workout - and then get back and tell me - this is an OPEN CHALLENGE.
(hint - even half of half of a workout in this book is more than enough to put the average puffer and buffer at the gym out of commission for weeks if not more).
And last, but not least - "Profound 70% Gorilla 30% Human" Handstands - the title of the book came from a customer review of the SECOND BOOK.
Except, this third one really does it.
Rarely, if ever, has so much OOMPH, strength, POWER and bang for your buck been packed into ONE BOOK - THE book, I should say - and this makes it ultra special - which is the BRIDGE from moving into handstands and such against the wall (or support) - to FREESTANDING handstands, the Mecca and Medina, the "Ram and Shyam", the "Christ and Mary" (as you can tell, I ain't religious, hehe) - or whatever you choose (maybe even buddha in a lotus pose? ) of UPPER BODY STRENGTH AND POWER!
Get the books now - in the order mentioned.
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
On body(phat) shaming - and more.
You hear it all the time, especially from phat phocks who coudn't hang on pull-up bars for more than quarter of a second to save their lives if they had to - and people globally that are fat and out of shape, yet get pissed at people "saying it like it is".
Back in the day, I sometimes did too.
Note this wasn't when I was "fat" or a phat phocker per se.
This was when I was in fairly decent shape, but eating and drinking way too much, and not working out enough (definitely NOT doing what I advocate in Eat More - Weigh Less) - and it showed.
A friend of mine once made the comment back in the day.
"I've never seen you like this, Rahul", he said, pointing at the core which at the time was admittedly flabby.
"You always had such a strong powerful aesthetic core - it was really nice!" (note, I didnt train for looks - but still - that was a welcome byproduct).
I was slightly surprised at the time.
"Me? Fat?", I grinned back.
"Oh, you're not fat", he replied. "But ... "
Upon reaching home, I introspected - and saw he was RIGHT.
And I made a promise myself to lose the extra (few, admittedly kgs - and I did within a couple of weeks - and how.
Or, a guy around 5 years ago when the podge was starting to pile on a bit (for a period I was not able to train normally due to extenuating circumstances).
At the beer store, he pointed to my gut - which to be honest, most wouldn't have noticed, "there was nothing there" - but there was, a little...
His trained eye caught it, and he asked WHY.
Now, most people would have got upset - offended - and me too in the past.
(I didnt - I just nodded, and next day, I was hitting it 2x as hard again, soon enough, whatever little was there WENT away).
Hell, if taken to an extreme, I probably still would too.
Not for me the idiots who touch Charles (a former friend of mine)'s stomach as he walks down the road apparently (admittedly he's obese, but shit, that sort of thing is not on!) - and ask his girlfriend "how they do it in bed.
Idiots incaranate, that pisses me off too.
But other hand, what the world needs more than anything else is a return to being tough - long overdue, along with a kick in the pants most people need.
To me, if someone says something like that, and they dont obviously NOW, its just a push to get in even better and even leaner - and stronger - or more flexible - condition.
If I see YOU contorting yourself in positions that would make an octopus envious, if I see you fighting in an arena, if I see you walking up stairs - on your hands - and then back down again - I dont just sit back, pat my tummy, cradle my beer, and marvel.
I want to be able to do that too, and I work on it, and pretty soon - I can.
Thats always how I've been
All around though, you keep hearing cries of "body shaming", and how it's supposedly a mean thng to do, bad for the person, and so forth.
My opinion?
Taken to extremes, yes, not on.
People need to be ultimately UPLIFTED - not brought down.
But there is a fine line between (molly) coddling, and giving it to folks straight.
Get down right now my friend, and give me 20 good pushups.
Or, 5 straight pull-ups.
Or, 75-100 straight squats.
Or, bridge back and forth a while.
We haven't even gone advanced as yet.
Hold a plank, do a dead hang. Whatever it is - if you can't do any of the above - then you're neither fit nor are you strong my friend.
(and, you need to get on the 0 Excuses Fitness System ASAP)!!
I hate to say it, but it's true.
That ain't body shaming either.
But if someone is a phat phocker, I've found the doers would rather be TOLD they're fat so they can work on it.
Sometimes, we all need that kick up the ass...
Enter "Iron" Mike Tyson, a legend for the ages.
From the man himself, before his bout in 2020 with Ray Junior ... (which ended in a draw I believe?) ...
"If somebody's with me, I find out he thought I was a fat motherf***er and didn't tell me, I wouldn't be his friend no more.
"You say body shaming hurts some people, it helps me. I never looked at it as fat shaming."
Tyson at the time was WAY fat and overweight - due to booze and coke use (according to him - Mike Tyson claims being fat shamed 'helped' him make incredible body transformation ahead of Roy Jones Jr fight (thesun.co.uk)).
And, along with the upcoming fight - that body shaming ultimately inspired him to drop almost 40 kgs!
Thats something, at his age.
Sure, 120-60 that I did is nothing to scoff at either. Took plenty of doing that!
But there is reason Tyson is featured on the sales pages for both Pushup Central and Jump Rope Mania, my friend - not just because the rope is an essential part of not just Iron Mike's, but ANY boxer's regimen (along with lots of pushups).
Fat Bozos like Glyn whose spindly arms couldn't support them for a nanosecond in a quarter plank troll it by saying "Rahul Tyson", while the doers BUY the book, and do - because they know very well the sales page is what it is for a damn good REASON.
Even if you look at Tyson's most recent workout when he was out of shape in 2020?
The ROPE features ... just take a look!
Not to mention, his mentality.
Iron Mike didnt sit around bitching about "I feel so bad that people are saying that!"
He took it like the man he is - and got into scorching hot shape shortly thereafter.
Now THAT, my friends, is the sign of a real man.
A man that doesn't back down from a challenge, and can hear the truth when it needs to be said!
And the workouts, the routines that will do it for YOU TOO, my friend, are in both Pushup Central - and Jump Rope Mania - and all my courses.
As we head into the New Year, if there are nigh two courses I'd recommend you to get, those are the ones.
Get them NOW, and start becoming a real man again, my friend.
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee