Woke up this morning feeling a bit grumpy and tired. Got to bed real late last night, plus had a host of other engagements the day before - not what you'd term an ideal weekend - which was probably the reason for me feeling a bit down. Woke up, drank some green tea, and then plunged into my workout. And an hour later, I'm soaked in sweat and am feeling on TOP Of the world. In fact, I'm literally buzzing with energy - so you know I got a GREAT workout in!

And thats pretty much how YOU can expect to feel as well when you work out the way I teach you in Fast and Furious Fitness. Short, hard workouts that get the heart pumping and the muscles working - and thats all you really need.

Back on topic though - In my workout today, I did exercises that complement each other. And doing so is one of the keys to getting a superb overall workout in. One simple example of exercises that complement each other would be doing pull-ups and push-ups together - you do a set of pull-ups, bang out some push-ups right after, and keep repeating until you can't do any more. This is a very simple, yet often forgotten "secret" combination for most folks - and you'd be amazed at the benefits you reap from working on just this combo three times a week.

And while what I just told you is a powerful combination that will get you STRONG, there are many other routines that work just as well - and are even tougher. And you'll get to know what these are upon reading Fast and Furious Fitness, where I give you some sample workouts that'll have you huffing and puffing like a locomotive in no time at all.

And finally - note that though I did NOT do any pull-ups (or pulling movements, for that matter) in my workout today, my forearms feel like they've been put through a wringer, and my back muscles are starting to talk to me as well. You may not think that's possible, but it IS. And the routine I followed is actually very simple - think about it, and let me know if you figured out what I did!

OK, thats it for today. Time to get down to business now.   .   .

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: If you haven't signed up for my diet newsletter as yet at the other site, your missing out on some great stuff, and I strongly recommend you to sign up. Click HERE, and sign up NOW.

One easy way for me to answer this would be to tell you to simply do the exercise, so you can find out on your own. As in, DO the thing, and you'll find out what is better - or, more importantly, what works better for you. And that would be a perfectly legitimate answer - actually DOING the exercises yourself, and figuring out what works best will actually give you far more insightful answers that I (or anyone else) ever could. 

I talk more about doing what works best for you in Fast and Furious Fitness, but for today, I'll delve into the topic myself and share MY feelings with you. And if I were asked this question, my answer would be a combination of "to each his own" and "both have their place".

Now, why do I feel this way?

First, training correctly rarely falls into the "black and white category", where everything is either RIGHT, or WRONG. No, that's not it - much like life, training questions, complications and everything associated with it is a "grey area", in that one usually has to find a middle path (while keeping certain basics in mind) - there is no absolute RIGHT or WRONG.

Second, both exercises are great for upper body development. Both develop a deep, powerful chest, a strong upper back - and also develop the shoulder muscles in their entirety. Both require very little equipment (pushups require NONE), and both can be used to craft together workouts that will have you huffing and puffing in no time flat. 

But, both have their unique benefits. Pushups can give you far more of a cardiovascular workout than dips do, and involve the legs and lower back as well - as opposed to dips, which mostly use the upper body musculature. Dips, on the other hand are much harder to do correctly for most people, and can be used to get an excellent strength workout, while also getting cardiovascular benefits. Pushups have far more variations than dips do (that I know of), but modify the regular bodyweight dip a little, and you have a whole new exercise that will tax you far more than most pushup variations will.

And both have their place as well - those with shoulder issues may want to avoid dips and start off with pushups. Those who are already at a certain level of strength and fitness may want to start off with an advanced variation of the dip, and concentrate more on that. As I said - DO the exercise, and you'll find out.

So in closing - both are excellent exercises that have their own place, and their own benefits. Do the exercise, find out what works best for you, and thats pretty much all that you need to do (and that little bit applies to ALL of your training as well). 

Long answer to a pretty short question, but that's MY take on it. Write in, and let me know YOUR take on it!

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: You can read more on pushups and dips HERE.

PS#2: For even greater detail, Fast and Furious Fitness is what you need to be reading.

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! 

OK, short answer? 

Because yours truly used to be one "par excellence" not so long ago (ok, more than 10 years ago, but I was fat at ages before that too, at ages where I was supposed to be at my prime!). 

(Some may say I am too harsh on myself and too demanding, maybe so - but I'd rather that than be content with living life as a fat blobby slob - or a slobby blob like Bozo Schofield, hehe, replete with slobber all up and down - but we wont go there!) ... (and truth be told, I WAS a phat phock at certain times - the covers of Shoulders like Boulders! and Pull-ups - from DUD to STUD within a matter of weeks! prove not just that but the facts and proven in the subsequent books that my exercises WORK and people of any SIZE - I mean SIZE - can do 'em - but being FAT will definitely be a huge, huge hindrance!). 

So, how did I do them you might ask? 

We'll get into that below. 

But first, long answer. 

Because I used to be one par excellence, can spot 'em from a mile away and I can instinctively sense by looking at them how their diet is, what sort of training they DO - not just talk about - or have done in the PAST - and so forth. 

This might sound strange to some. 

it's really not. 

Ask any class boxer to spot an untrained fighter in a room full of trained fighters, he'll do in the space of an instant. 

Ask Jason Bourne all about gut feelings, and he'll tell you - or ask me. Hehe. 

Ask me about how I make my almost always accurate predictions on things ... 

Gut feeling when backed up with reason and logic, though not necessarily in that manner, is simply RIGHT. 

And all phat phocks I've seen, regardless of where they are, where they live, where they were born etc - or color, race etc - have the following common characterestics. 

One, a terrible diet. 

I know - because I trained hard, and I ate extra hard too. Hehe. 

Sure, Eat More Weigh Less works - but not if you stuff your gullet to the point moving next day makes you burp out last night's food - if you get my drift. 

A lot of phat phocks, and no I ain't naming no-one in particular would do well to eat less - a  LOT less - and FAST more while working out more. 

And ,follow some of the tips I give you in the Simple and Effective Diet! 

Fasting isn't covered in that book, maybe in a later version - or a book of it's own. We'll see, it's a topic I have very in depth and personal knowledge of, and I'm constantly learning even at this point (you never stop learning, as I say in 0 Excuses Fitness). 

They also DRINK too much - beer in particular. 

Nothing wrong with either of the above if you choose to, but it'll make you fat - simple as that. Outraining a bad diet can be done, but if you BOMBARD your body daily with nothing but tons of bad, eventually it will cave in - simple as that. 

Second, I've noticed MOST, if not all - are "happily married" or "family men" (note this one doesnt apply to women as much as it does MEN) or what not. 

Nothing at all wrong with that either. 

Hey. 

Family is the most important - I get it!

But, I've written about this before - when you're ON your lonesome, when you have no constant nagging, familial duties and such - and not to mention, that good ole home cooking - well, it's a lot easier to simply live caveman style, train hard, and (naturally) eat less - and get into the best shape of your life!

Again, with the right exercises. 

And I should know - again. 

Dont believe me? 

Mickey: Well, Rock, let's put it this way. Three years ago, you were supernatural. You was hard and nasty. You had this cast iron jaw. But then, the worst thing happened to you that could happen to any fighter. You got civilized. Don't worry, kid. You know, presidents retire, generals retire, horses retire, Man o War retired. They put him out to stud. That's what you should've done, retire.

I ain't getting into the retirement part here. Personally, in Zero to Hero I tell you it aint all its cracked up to be, but if you're talking physcially in the ring, ole Mickey had it spot on in terms of what was going on with Rock at that time - happily married, lots of dough, no INCENTIVE - to do better!

Incentive, my friend, is a huge, huge motivator - when you dont HAVE what you want, you'll naturally work your bollocks off to GET it - period! 

I can give you plenty of more examples, but what I'm saying about is true. I've seen so many lean and mean guys get married, and then ... "happy and fat" - again, aint nothing wrong with that, happens to women too, but most strikingly in men. 

SOME men are exceptions - Brooks Kubik being one, but I doubt anyone works grip and core as hard as he does (though I'll give him close competition on grip work, hehe). 

And even he was divorced for long periods in the middle, I believe ... 

Hey, it happens - take a look at prisoners - and the shape they manage to get in despite crap diets and despite not always having access to weights and such. 

Sure, bodyweight workouts play a huge part in that. 

What also plays a huge role in it is that they dont need to worry about paying bills, going to work, writing emails or what not (unless they're Gregory David Roberts writing their books on sheets of paper first, having the gumption to continue despite a 1000 page book being torn up TWICE ..) .. 

Third, almost ALL of them eat the so called healthiest meal of the day - breakfast - and load up way more than they need to, followed by lunch, and dinner. 

Breakfast like a king, eat like a prince, dine like a pauper - that advice is good, but it was also intended for when men did a lot of physical labor, not just move from couch to computer to bed and the fridge/bathroom in between.

Most do all three like kings x 10. 

Again, FASTING. 

And tossing some of the conventional advice out of the window like I do in the Simple and Effective Diet. 

As for the family part, I sure wouldn't tell you to toss family. 

What I WOULD tell you though is this happily married mirage of "wife happy, family happy" that most men are content to live in - well not most, a lot are waking up these days (though only because of the state the world is in!) - is just that, a mirage. 

I've told men forever that the chances of them finding that one gem amongst the rabble is slim and next to town, and slim just left town. 

And that someday, eventually, they'll find out the truism which I keep explaining to them i.e. its all about MONEY. 

They dont listen, and claim I rant, then the same thing happens to them years later, then they learn. Ah well. Such is life! 

But fitness wise, have the family - have as many as you want, but you have to retain a bit of caveman, my friend in order to stay in super "lean and mean - hungry!" shape. 

Simple fact of life... 

So, those are three common traits - there are more, of course. 

And again, I should know. 

I was a phat phock myself! 

Fourth - I'll end with this one - a tendency to do WAY less cardio and less intense than you should, claiming "youre big, not fat". 

And so forth. 

I'll stop here. 

But that should give you plenty of reasons to chew upon as well as answer the "why" question ... for now. 

More later!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

Did I ever stop? Lol. 

Last night, I asked the wife about a vest (sports vest) that was for some reason hanging off - well, a piece of it has been hanging off my lat area for ages. 

It's an XXL vest - which means it billows around the midsection, and is "snug" but not too tight, so I thought - around the upper body. 

Shopping for clothes can be a bitch when you're fit too! 

Heh.

But although I hadn't paid much attention to it, a small tear on the other side of the vest caught my attention. 

For a split second I thought of asking her if it could be sewn despite the hell that was likely to follow, hehe (how dare you ask me!). 

Surprisingly enough, it didnt. 

Of course, she said no. 

And of course, I'll get a new one anyway. 

But it's interesting, I'm wearing a XL vest now - and I notice another tear - this time on the left trap. 

A small tear which will no doubt increase as time passes. 

Now, normally the SHOULDERS (delts) are what used to be tight for me, not so much the traps and lats - so I bought XXL. 

But they billow around the waist, but thats fine, some do, some dont (sizes aren't standard - but when we come out with 0 Excuses Fitness T shirts, and more - which a lot of you want - believe me, I'll keep all this in mind!) - and its funny, these repeated tears around the lat and trap region for one. 

You might think I'm focusing heavily on handstand pushups and pull-ups, but compared to my 100 plus workouts before - these days, I'm on 50 - 70 normally. 

so it's not that. 

It's SQUATS and special isometrics (especially a lot of those from Volume Two I'm focusing one) 

We all know how squats kick your ass, but the latter - isometrics - is REALLY what is responsibile for the X factor here. 

Those stretches REALLY work the entire body in a way you never have before, and when you partake of the special workouts at the end of the book, let me tell you, wife or no wife, cooking or no cooking, you'll truly (if you combine it with my other fitness programs) be in the best darn shape of your life. 

Can't vouch for your clothing expenses though. Hehe. 

But, those of you that put down >$500 (a special list has the orders, this isn't going out i.e. the T shirt stuff to the regular list, but if YOU on THIS list want in, let me know) as a pre-order on the tshirts, well, your money is very well invested! 

And that, my friend is that. 

Back soon!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - For BRUTAL workouts involving pull-ups and handstand pushups, check out THIS book - and THIS book. 

(Edit - I'm writing this right after one of those workouts, albeit an easy one for me, 100 squats, 20 pull-ups, 10 handstand pushups, and isometrics. it was the night workout though, so gotta go easy ONCE! Hehe.)

(Summer's here, so remember that one book I was talking about - AQUATIC Animal Kingdom Workouts - well, covid willing, I might actually do something on that front too - stay tuned!

For now, pick up the regular land version HERE - it kicks RUMPUS - period). (and it'll kick YOUR booty too - guaranteed).

In Pull-ups - from STUD to SUPER STUD - within weeks! - I give you several exercises that will take you a long, long time to work up to; let alone start to get good at. 

These exercises much like the "swami pull-up" - which is unlike any other you've seen out there, anywhere (much like most of my stuff, if not all) - might seem nigh undoable at the start - but they're not. 

Proof is in the pudding, me doing them, so can YOU. Eventually. 

In Battletank Shoulders, while the exercises themselves are a bit easier (though not "easy" per se), the workouts might seem almost undoable, or as Charles Mitchell a long time customer once famously said "I can't see how anyone doing these workouts isn't at least 70% Gorilla!". 

He's right, and it sparked the next progression in the series - "Profound 70% GORILLA 30% Human handstands". 

All this might seem tough. 

But there's far more tough stuff out there - including, but not limited to muscle ups (people ask me all the time about these) - - advanced gymnastic movements (that make the muscle up look easy peasy) - one legged and one armed workouts - and more. 

But for the most part, although I can do one legged pushups, squats, and pull-ups, for instane, do you see me tom tomming my ability to do them?

For instance, while writing this post, I just dropped down and did 8 one arm pushups on one hand, then the other - something I haven't done since last year, I believe. 

Much like what I did yesterday, hehe - "Professor Rahul", as some saw on Instagram was forced to shave off that infamous stubble "bad man stubble" as some call it, hehe - because my electric razor gave up in the middle of shaving, and of course, we all know what happens when one side of your face is shaven, the other not even started on. LOL. 

So, I had no choice but to shave fully - which was something I believe my face last saw a razor sometime around Chinese New year 2019. Hehe. 

Maybe the hair will go too someday!

Anyway - point is this. 

Neither do I do these extreme exercises all the time - my workhorses are what I tell YOU to do. 

One arm pushups and squats may look great, the reality though is this - very few people can even do 'em - or do 'em in reps high enough for it to really make a difference, and you focus SO much on form in these that the workout part gets neglected. 

Second, they're not exactly the most "natural of things" - for the most part, you use your WHOLE body to move, not just one arm or one limb, right? 

That don't mean they're not tough, that they dont build strength, stamina and endurance. 

In Squat 101, you will see the one legged squat. 

But, it won't take up much of the book either. It'll BE there, but the other versions of the squat on two legs will take priority and precedence. 

Point also is this, I might be able to do 'em but for you, you might be at a level where you can only barely even do a pushup, for instance. 

Or getting through 50 squats might be a challenge. 

If you're at that level, or even intermediate, the last thing you need is a coach or teacher primping and preening, showing off his "muscles or ability or both" to do extreme stuff ... 

What you need even when you're an expert and advanced - is to keep focusing on the basics, my friend. 

Those basics are what I stick by still, what YOU need to stick by as well the rest of your life. The advanced stuff is great, but most of it is good as a TEST - not a regular workout, but to see the results of your hard work. 

You'll understand this the day you knock off your first one arm pushup after months of 150/day ... 

And so forth. 

Anyway, thats why (and yes, muscle-ups, advanced bridging, gymnastics, plyometrics, all very much still in the works). 

Lots to do, my friend. 

For now, for you - pick up a product right HERE. There's more than enough to choose from!

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

I was out and about today for some work (well, not necessarily of my own choosing, but work regardless). 

And this entailed meeting a few people. 

As I was walking from place A to place B with one person, he introduced me to the second - and then spoke to the second. 

"You're getting a bit soft", he laughed, patting "#2" around the waist etc (Which he wasn't fat, perhaps somewhat out of shape, not a lot). 

Guy rolled up his sleeves. 

Huge arms, tattooed on the bicep. 

Showing off "large shoulders" - except the kind of shoulders that look large from the front,  but nothing "to back it up". 

i.e all chest and arms, very little back, certainly no legs... 

I made small talk. 

"Ah, so you're into fitness", I noted. "Nice arms!" 

And that broke the ice. 

"You go to the gym" I noted - while "#1" broke in with "but he's soft inside!" (again, he might have been a bit soft, I Dont  know, certainly not near as out of shape as some people I've seen, or a lot!).

"You look like you do a lot of running!" he promptly responded, looking at my legs and "in general". 

Running? 

I laughed, as I jogged up a flight of stairs. 

"Never", I said. 

But it's interesting, and more testament to the power of SQUATS my friend - daily squats. 

Not only do they burn fat off your body and improve your overall health and well being at the rate of warp - not only do they give you solid core and back (and leg) strength - unbeatable stamina - and all the rest - - they also make you LOOK athletic. 

Especially, and I believe this is one reason dude said what he did - if you combine with ISOMETRICS. 

One of the stretches in the advanced book on isometrics - I'm working upon it daily, and every day I get looser, more limber, flexible - and my legs just "look" different. 

Loose around the groin, the kind of legs that can do snap kicks without even thinking about it. 

Not the "massive striated" thighs that can barely climb a flight of stairs without collapsing - let alone kick and such. 

Lean, muscular, stamina - that is the picture these legs project. 

That is the picture YOU should project. 

"I do mostly bodyweight" I told him. "Pushups, pull-ups and the rest" ... 

I didnt specifically mention squats, maybe I did. 

But there it is, my friend. Squats - be it bodyweight or Hindu - or otherwise - are an INDISPENSBALE part of your DAILY fitness routine - the capitalized words have been capitalized for a good reason. 

DAILY. 

I dont care what else you do, how "fit" you are or not. 

If you ain't squatting, and squatting a lot and regularly, you ain't really into fitness... 

And that, friend is that. 

Back soon!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Learn all about squats, one whole video dedicated to just squats in the 0 Excuses Fitness System.

I will still remember my Taekwondo teacher in ninth grade seeing me on the road, he was coming to class on his bike, and he flashed me a friendly smile. 

Hey.

My stretching wasn't up to the mark - especially the groin stretches which once literally made me BAWL in pain (tears included). 

"We'll get him going", my instructor laughed!

It wasn't quite the "I" position you see Jean claude Van damme strapped into between trees in the iconic movie Bloodsport, but it was getting there!

Ive always been naturally inflexible, especially in the hamstrings and groin, though a lot of that was due to my early upbringing where "sitting" was encouraged, as opposed to running about "because who can keep cleaning up after the child". 

Parents sometimes harm their kids way more in the early stages than they realize. 

Anyway, I was doing great in 7th grade, 8th grade - and indeed, though I wasn't their best fighter, I was certainly their best pushup guy!

Hehe 

"Good", he'd say, as I made sure to touch my chest to the ground on EACH of the 10 reps he made us do on pushups (along with a lot of kicks, frog jumps, a lot of the things I mention in Animal Kingdom Workouts). 

(I wasn't a bad fighter in terms of the kicks etc - but the FEAR of getting hit, I had never gotten over that mentally, and so ..) 

(Thats huge, once you get knocked out, or hit - and come back - you realize it ain't nothing and the mind moves past it). 

But anyway ........

So he asked me this. 

"Rahul, practice pe kyun nahi ate!" 

(Rahul, why don't you come to practice). 

I told him, too much studies and all the other BS reasons I was pulled out. 

He smiled. 

I never saw him again after that, they stopped the classes in the park a few years later too I believe. 

He was lean and mean though - and gave his little son HELL. 

Really instilled DISCIPLINE in him from a young age, not saying the harsh physical beatings he handed out was right or wrong (to me he overdid it, even then) - but it sure made a man of him, but that can go both ways i.e. a kid can grow up scarred too. 

But anyway ......

I often use the term practice for my workouts. 

Sure, I'm working out. I'm exercising. I'm breathing, etc - but more than "burn fat and build muscle", I'm TRAINING - the body and mind - via PRACTICE - and repetition!

Sylvester Stallone once said the following. 

"Im not the best or most talented or richest or most successful. I succeed because I keep GOING". 

This morning, I woke up to the following on a Medium piece I wrote - a lady Barbora (my own daughter's name is Barbara, so it seemed like a message!) - highlighted this part on the piece. 

"You keep going. You stop if you have to - take a few deep breaths, but you keep going!" 

I said it for exercise. 

She probably used that as inspiration for life, which I meant it to be as well. 

Now .... 

PRACTICE. 

Does indeed make perfect!

"I fear not the man who does 10,000 kicks ONCE - but I fear the man who does ONE kick 10,000 times". 

If the great Bruce Lee said it, if I keep saying it all the time, that the BORING is what gets the job done, that the fundamentals cannot and must not be ignored, then ... there must be something to it? 

No-one, when learning martial arts wants to go through the drills of stretching, inhaling, exhaling, "opening the tight muscles" out - practising the BASIC side kick, for one, and HOLDING the position - mastering CONTROL first before kicking or hitting with POWER ... 

No-one wants to get deep in the body, and spend the time required to master the tendons and other supportive musculature of the body, do they? 

"It's boring" my daughter keeps saying when I "lecture" her on practice. 

Kids these days, globally, are all the same, of course. 

But exercise, life, fitness, whatever it is - it's the drip drip drip, the PERSISTENCE - the gumption to keep going when it might long seem like a lost cause and then some - is really what does it at the end of the day. 

Take or it leave it, but its true, and thats the lesson for this one.

Back soon!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - And thats why it's called PRACTICE. Hours and hours of grueling practice under the SUN - or in freezing cold weather, or in rain ... 

The same reason my books are called MANUALS by the doers. 

The same reason, that ...

I remember a case when my Taekwondo fellow students were discussing "what if there is terrible weather". 

"Well, if its that rainy, dont come",  I said (we were training outdoors)

Another one of my fellow students turned around, looked at me, made the following comment (to the instructor). 

"Sir, if someone shows up in ALL sorts of weather, THAT is when you know they're serious!" 

I still remember him nodding in appreciation. 

There's a reason behind it. 

See if given what I said you can figure it out!

And remember, this is the vein in which I wrote 16 Inspirational Fitness Recollections, I've probably got 160 in my mind, so get this NOW, you'll never be short of motivation after ths short read!

... If you aren't already doing this great exercise, that is! 

Back in the day, when I built - and wrote - Battletank Shoulders - dips were a huge, huge mainstay of my fitness routine, my friend. 

I remember Marc the African Silverback Gorilla, himself no weakling - whose arms were literally quivering like a maple leaf in the Toronto breeze on his first dip "in the up position - he couldn't go down - too stiff" - telling me as I was knocking sets of 20 out easy peasy "lemon squeezy". 

"You should do 'em like th eRock, with extra weight attached!" 

True, the Rock does them too. 

and I could have titiled this email "build a chest like the Rock's!"  - by doing dips. And hype it that way. 

Truth is, the Rock and his build - well, you'll need solid genetics to get THAT big for one!

Second, probably anabolic steriods - third, you'll need to be a wrassler, fourth, they just grow 'em big there in Samoa! 

Rather than trying to get bloat - you should focus on getting BIG AND STRONG - while LEANING OUT - and staying that way. 

Which is what Battletank Shoulders and all my other great courses emphasize. 

Shoulders like Boulders too! 

In that course, I give you a secret exercise - oft ignored that PREPS you for doing the almighty handstand pushup (or the handstand, in case the pushup is a step too far) ... an exercise that preps yo ufor it QUICKER than the other exercises I've given you in the supplementary section. 

Yet, people tend to ignore it. 

Big mistake, my friend. 

That exercise is DIPS. 

And without further ado, here are the 10 reasons you should be including this magnificent exercise in your routine (and note, I'm writing this for YOU, the fitness enthusiast, not the boobybuilders). (though it might give them a good kick up the rumpus too). 

One, virtually no other exercise for the upper body addresses weak triceps - that issue I wrote about yesterday - quicker than dips. 

True, pushups do it - but end of the day, you're still supporting 75% of your bodyweight on your arms for the most part (unless you're doing handstand pushups or handstands). 

Dips, by their very nature strengthen the triceps and the entire upper body far more - and far quicker. 

Following from all of the above ... 

Two, they're known as (and I call them) the upper body equivalent of the SQUAT not just for that reason - but because if pull-ups are the big dog for back - dips are no slouch in that area either. 

Done right, with proper form as I teach you in Shoulders like Boulders - you'll feel a burn along the entire upper - and MIDDLE - back and between the shoulder blades in a way even pushups cannot give you - and you'll build THICK lats that will be the envy of all (human) barndoors if you do this exercise right and regularly. 

Third, its far easier to progress up to high reps with dips - as opposed to pull-ups. You "big guys" will notiec that while there is no excuse for being fat - you bigger guys will be able to progress in dips a lot faster than in pull-ups - and build the strength required for them (pull-ups) as well. 

Fourth, dips by their very nature are GREAT for the grip. Simply great - pushups are too, but not everyone is that into fingertip pushups - though you should be - and dips done on thick bars as I do - strengthen the grip - BEYOND BELIEF. 

Fifth, it's easier to add weight on. 

And big guys? 

Just look at the picture of Big Doug on the Shoulders like Boulders! page doing dips - at 300 plus lbs - on dipping bars!

Talk about BALANCE, co-ordination, and pure utter STRENGTH - brute GORILLA strength! 

Trust me, when you get to that level, you'll be writing a book on dips yourself - and telling ME about the benefits!

Sixth, following on from 5... 

Dips are easier on the fingers and wrists. And CALLUSES too, for those of you with calluses from doing pull-ups that bust open all the time. Hehe. 

But they're much easier on the wrist joints than fingertip pushups for one ... 

Seventh, dips work the upper ab area and core in general heavily. 

Eigth, because of the sheer amount of chest work and upper body in general involved - dips done in high reps cause your body to release tons of HGH - couple with pull-ups, and there's the muscle building formula any gym goer would be more than glad to "load up on!" 

Ninth - dips lend themselves great to virtually any workout routine - both push and pull. 

You can do pushups and dips all day, or pull-ups and dips - or squats and dips. They're one of those exercises that go no matter what! 

And tenth, of course, chest strength, mass and size - few exercises build the chest as quick - and bulky - as dips do! 

Well, my friend, I'm sure I could think of 10 more reasons to tell you, but these will suffice for now. 

And no, the only reason I'm writing this email to you is not to tell you all the above, though there's nothing wrong if I were to do that either. 

I'm telling you - asking you - this QUESTION. 

What I teach you about dips in Shoulders like Boulders! barely scratches the tip of the very pointy iceberg in terms of dips 

Barely, my friend. 

There is a whole another world to them - and whether you're interested in working up to 50 reps per set on these - or doing handstands on dipping bars - DO YOU want an advanced course - or a course dedicated to dips alone? 

Let me tell you , if brute upper body strength is your thang, then combine with Battletank Shoulders and Lumberjack Lodestone Fitness, and you will GET it in spades - and then some 

It will be a great, great course much like the course (advanced) on bridging I'm halfway through right now - but I am only, I repeat, ONLY going to put it out if there is enough interest. 

I'm getting sick of asking over and over again and not hearing back - so please, if there is interest, let me know. 

No, It ain't gonna be "cheap". 

But oh boy, will it be worth it, trust me on this one. 

Alrighty, my friend - thats it for now. 

Let me know!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Oh, for BRUTE animal like strength- don't forget Animal Kingdom Workouts either! 

CRASH! 

I can hear the glass smashing, I can see the Texas rattlesnake come out to kick McMahons' ASS!

His RUMPUS!

And now is a good time as any to say his second most used quote. 

First was .. 

And thats the bottom line, because STONE COLD said SO!

OH HELL YEAH!

And this here "redneck" from Texas says the following i.e. yours truly - 

(he'll borrow a quote from Steve). 

FUCK FEAR - DRINK BEER!

To a certain Gorilla Girl Sophia, that will sound like "Rahul's drunk". 

He ain't. 

But he is. 

Ain't on liqor, is on LIFE!

While the world is the polar opposite, sheeplesville... 

Oh well. 

cant change those that dont want to. Those that do though? 

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! 

Quote of the day, this one!

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

PS - Get the course that will turn you into a raging beast and remove any and ALL TRACES OF ANY FEAR that hideth within - become a REAL MAN (or woman) and more with ANIMAL KINGDOM WORKOUTS!