Let Da Monkey Out

**Just reread this and decided not to erase some sketchy areas... This is one i think the die hards and power plus people will enjoy:)

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Those of you who have been around a little while know, I'm not a huge fan of weight rooms (not attached to my opinion of local gyms, which I'm much less a fan of).  I see their purpose and certain elements of them I do enjoy and find extremely useful, but in general, they're too congested w crappy machines that serve virtually no real life purpose unless you're a body builder. Nothing wrong w that, just saying there aren't many reasons for a preacher curl unless your goal is too A) isolate your biceps or B) hurt your shoulders.  Inner/outer thigh machine?  Waste of iron and 20 sq ft.   

Every gym I walk into, I day dream about tossing half of their equipment out and creating space for a functional training area.  A jungle gym w pull up bars and battle ropes, sand bags and kettle bells, stability balls and space to move.  Box jumps, tires, agility ladders, a movement circuit.  Gyms try to pack every inch w iron or boring cardio machines that only 25-40% of the members will use correctly, or for more than their short lived New Years resolution.  

Obviously, this is only my slanted opinion... But it's also my blog and my website :)

Where is this headed?

Functional, real life, real movement training.   This is what I enjoy, what I enjoy training, what I enjoy doing.

Real movement training doesn't necessarily mean cardio or push ups.  And functional training doesn't necessarily mean mimicking your exact movement patterns.   

How can we train our entire body, our appearance, our mindset, our cardio, heart rate, breath control, coordination AND improve our physique?

How can we train our entire body, in and out?

Isn't this what power yoga is?  Isn't this what kettle bell training is?  Isn't this what the Bootcamps are all about.

Example of sessions I run at my house: 

1/2 mile jog

Kettle warm up, usually 3-5 movements, 3-4 rounds.

Barbell Back Squat, usually 5-8 sets, failing around 8-12 for all set except first and last.  First set is 15-20, last set is 30.

Back to kettles, tires and core.  A lot of work, very high heart rate, legs trashed, abs sore for 4 days.

I may work in bicep curls but only in the 30-45 second rest during the squat circuit.

Example of a boot:

1 mile run

Dynamic warm up

Full body strength circuit w bags, tubes and/or kettles.

1/2 mile run

Sprint work

Muscular finisher

Stretch.

Tonight, I know we're training w ZERO equipment... Except our bodies.  We'll see how it goes.  

What's funny about it, is that this has been what Blue Chip has been slowly evolving too since the day I began yoga.

Full, complete, primal, natural training.

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I get the crossfit comparisons so I should stop being such a dick when people say it.  I just hate when people think crossfit invented training.  

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Nutrition...

I've come to a cross road of sorts in regards to my own nutrition.  For quite a while, I've been primarily a vegetarian, or non meat eater.  I wasn't eating 100% vegetables, probably 60%, but nearly 85-90% veggie/fruits.

But I've struggled recently w my performance and obtaining certain goals.  I've definitely flattened out in terms of progress.

So I vented a little and talked some things out... Turns out my diet and metonlism flatlined.  At first I said "I just need to work harder," that's usually what I say when things are flat.

Then I thought "could I be doing things smarter?"

Is it silly to not eat meat?  Let me explain, it's not a great option for me.  The idea of blood and bones... Kinda makes me sick thinking about it.  Then the whole karma thing..... Eh, maybe I'm still on the fence. But I wonder if I'm missing huge, key elements that could get me over the hump?  If I'm allll about natural, functional training, why am I ignoring our own dietary evolution?  If we look at ourselves as mammals, as primates, there's nothing wrong about eating meat... Right?  

But then where does the "mammal, primate," thought end?  If that's the reasoning, we could say that about 1000 different things, "if monkeys do it...!"

What if we look at ourselves as  a programmable  machines and to be a complete machine, we need to... Be complete and use everything we can to do so.

What if we look at ourselves like aliens?? Oh boy!

But what if we're even more evolved than we acknowledge?  And that our bodies, when geared appropriately, when completely balanced and aware and mindful of everything around us, has an even higher gear than we've known... And by limiting our experiences, we place a box around our our eyes, like horses pulling biggies... But opening it all up and exploring respectfully and w awareness, we tap in, we plug into becoming exactly what we dreamed of.

Pic courtesy of JRE