…Strides ahead, yes, that’s what I said-
Zero to 20 plus handstand push ups in less than 365 days…

Most evenings I’d flip into a
handstand, lower myself slowly down (a folded towel below me to
prevent injury) and then without pausing try pushing myself back
up…nothing-there is no back up

Push harder, I try. Nothing!

OK then, drop down and rest a few minutes, get my shower ready
whilst resting, then flip back into a handstand and try again.

Next evening:

Start with a headstand this time, you know standing on your head
(on a folded towel) and push…come on Danny you can do this-well not
tonight I can’t but I’ll try a few more times…push some, rest a
minute or two and try again.

Next evening:

Tonight, I flip into a handstand (don’t forget your folded towel)
and I have a stop watch positioned so I can see it. Then with one
hand I’m able to click the start button and now I hold my handstand
for as long as I can. (last time I tried this, which was a while
ago I managed just over two minutes-a good goal to reach is 3
minutes)

And so goes the process until I’m finally able to push  3 or 4 and
then a great day when I can do a no-momentum push-up-straight from
the headstand position. As time goes by 10 no-momentums are a
breeze.

I add slow reps, half reps into my training and then one armed
handstand holds too-(manage about 1 minute) their is a little trick
to being able to do this…maybe I’ll share it with you in a future
or let me know if you would like to know sooner!

Also, I now incorporate doing handstands on a raised hand bar so
the range of movement is longer and of course a lot harder.

So there you have it-the simple and easy way to go from zippo to
over 20 handstand push-ups in just a few minutes 4 or 5 times a
week.

Next time let’s talk about getting super powerful lungs and heart.
Till then…

Go to it. Keep Strong,

Danny
P.S. using my “system of training” my wife Helen, who usually hates
exercising and always gives up because as she says “it just takes
too long and is too daunting” I now  find her doing a few sets of
jumping jacks in the morning and then I catch her cranking out a
few squats later in the afternoon-and guess what? Not only is she
fitter, she’s lost fat…quite a lot of those squiddgy pounds
actually and she’s toned up very nicely too (oh, and just in case
there are any girls out there thinking anything-I love Helen either
way but it’s nice to see her doing so well. Exercise is so good for
us all).

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What’s the best way to train? How long should I exercise for?
Should I rest between exercises or should I jump from one to
the other?

Should I stick to a routine, do sets or workout on the fly?

For me that was a question I always had on my mind when I was lifting the weights
and seems like there was a never ending supply of answers. But, I got this question nailed for
bodyweight training.

I train like I play! When I feel like it or
just when I have a moment here or there or whenever or wherever I
happen to be.

Yes, I can and do sometimes have a structured 20 minute all out
workout but for the most part I just do!

But does that get results, a few minutes here and there? It has
done for me and I’ve trained this way for over 15 years…even when I
was weight training.

You see, the reason I get results and progress is because I don’t
care about having to train Monday, Wednesday and Friday (just an
example) for 20 minutes all out or nothing. What that means is
rather than miss…which I frequently do, I still do something every
single day almost without fail…

…so yes, the person who is regimented over many years will probably
be fitter and stronger then I am, but and this is a big but, most
people are not and they end up quitting or at best training
infrequently with the odd surge of training now and again. It’s a
bit like yo yo dieting it doesn’t work and can even be
dangerous…just like training occasionally, your body is not used to
it and you end up getting injured.

I’m not stuck on that path…so I am always making strides ahead…

(By the way this works well in all areas of your life-do a little
of something positive every day and the cumulative results will
startle you! But the reverse is true too. A little something
negative every day may not be noticed but, like a tree budding its
leaves, one day you wake up and you’re fat!)

What kind of strides ahead am I making in my bodyweight strength training and fitness?

On my next post I’ll share with you the success I had going from being able to do not even one
handstand push up to over 20.

Keep Strong,
Danny
P.S. Don’t forget you can get my FREE Fitness Formula book
at www.DumpTheGymFitnessFormula.com

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Wow! In 15 months of  practicing bodyweight training  you can certainly achieve
some pretty spectacular results. And I’m talking strength, fitness and fat loss!

Today, I’m going to share some of them with you.

I’m a big believer in “simple and get good at one thing
first”…then we can move to the next task in hand-don’t you think?

In other words if you have never done any type of push ups or pull ups,
bodyweight squats or any type of bodyweight exercise then start with the basics and
build on that foundation.

Or perhaps like me you could already do the basics so I focused in on just
one or two specific movements that I wanted to become proficient in or
in the case of handstand push ups be able to do just one.

OK let’s get started…

Do you remember last time I told you my arms ached?

Truth be told even lifting semi-heavy boxes would put stress and
pain in my elbow joints that left me with an ongoing ache-and that
began 14 years ago.

So,  I began performing bodyweight exercises early on in 2006.

But, if I threw a handstand my wrists would feel like they were too
weak to hold, but wait a minute  I weight trained for 20 years…

Shouldn’t they be strong enough!

I went to bed at night and my arms would ache all night…I didn’t
know what to do with them, but I had a gut feeling that what I was
doing was benefiting me so I resolved to carry on.

One of the first exercises I began with was handstand push-ups. My
first attempt was not what I had expected, I mean I’m a reasonably
strong person but I could hardly manage one push-up!!

What was very interesting was when I asked my 19 year old son if he
could do any…

…he flipped into a handstand and pumped out 5 or 6
without much difficulty at all…wow! How come he could do that?

Big clue here…please listen closely-Jamie, my son, as a pre-teen
and then into his teen years did a lot of break dancing. Aha, that’s why
he could do handstand push-ups, he was already versed and
conditioned as a bodyweight practitioner!

Me, I was an ex lifter of metal!! (I’m still not saying here that
you should not lift weights-but for now I have chosen not to).

Back to the handstands-how do you go from barely being able to do
one to over 20 full handstand push-ups in only months and not years?

Here’s what I did. Every night before and or after my shower I would do some kind
of handstand work-oh and by the way I’m not talking 20 minutes or
more, no just 2-3 minutes is all I spent-seriously.

Well, I think I”ll  share with you what I did in those few minutes to improve in my
next post to you…

See you next time then and keep strong. Oh, and I’d love to hear what you think.

Danny
P.S. if handstands are your bag then turn to page 52 of the Dump The Gym Fitness Formula
if you have it, or if not you can snag it FREE by heading to the top right hand side of this page.

P.P.S. Handstand press ups not your thing? You just want to get started on a
bodyweight exercise routine or program then Dump The Gym Fitness Formula is for you too.

P.P.P.S. By the way the aches and pains completely disappeared after about a year.

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In short the answer is no, I’m not.

But hands-down, I believe bodyweight exercises
are the way to go and lifting weights in what ever form should be complementary

I weight trained (mainly with free weights) from my early 20s to
about 4 and a half years ago…and I’ll be 49 this year!

I loved training with weights. But around 35  I started to
notice aches and pains in my joints-particularly my arms, shoulders
and neck.

Just getting older I hypothesized…

And then a few years later my son got interested in arm
wrestling and we got training with a Canadian ex world champion
for a while…even got an arm wrestling table made ’specially for
the job!

Actually I wasn’t too bad (and my son had some real potential) I
even beat the ex champ a couple of times.

Here’s the kicker…I had to quit and fast. My arms suffered so
badly-my tendons and joints, and I was in literal pain for well
over 12 months!

But I carried on with the weights.

Then a few summers back  just before going back to the home country
(brought up on a farm in England…another story here for another
time) I learnt about functional strength exercises or body weight
exercise.

Thought I’d give it a try.

Truth is 20 years ago I would have shunned the very notion…please
don’t fall into the same trap.

Bodyweight exercise programs are great for every level of fitness and strength
because they challenge you to a degree that you would be hard pressed to receive from
regular old weight training or bodybuilding type movements.

So whether you are new to the body weight exercise movement or already a pro
you can always make improvements in your strength and power, fitness and  agility
and if you need, fat loss too all by using only your body weight as resistance.

Next time, I’ll share with you how my first 15 months shaped
up in the bodyweight, functional fitness arena…see you then.

Keep strong.

Danny
P.S. in the meantime if you want to know more and the secrets I share then check
out my new book Dump The Gym Fitness Formula over on the top right of this page.
P.P.S. Have an opinion about this article? Your comments are most welcome.

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Many of you know I took a bad fall a few months ago and actually I
thought all was well but just these last few weeks a back pain
that originates from my tail bone has resurfaced.

I spent the last few weeks doing my usual back exercises that in
the past have always fixed me up pretty fast but this time nothing
significant and so I finally gave in and went to the Doctors!

Thing is, he didn’t really help me at all so I was excited when
Jesse Cannone emailed me this week with a great new offer, one
I have sent for already and eagerly await the arrival of in my
mail box.

So if you suffer from any type of back, neck or sciatic pain,
then you need to go grab a copy of Jesse Cannone’s new book,
“The 7-Day Back Pain Cure” asap…

Right now he is actually giving it away… you can also
buy it on amazon, but if you grab one of the free copies
from his website he is going to donate $2 to St. Jude’s
Children’s Hospital or Habitat for Humanity – you even
get to choose the charity!

Click here www.DumpTheGymFitness.com/BackPain

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Vince Palko, Hall of Fame Linebacker

What can you expect from my first interview with a famous football player? Well, being brought up in England and being (back in the day)  a rabid soccer fan I really never knew anything about American Football so this was a real eye opener for me.

In our interview I especially  liked the insight that I learned on what a linebacker is and how it can transfer to tremendous functional strength and fitness in the everyday world normal folk like you and me live in.

Vince has taken his years of football and coaching experience and created a program that develops the mental and physical traits of a linebacker football player…that is speed, agility and strength.

As Vince puts it, you end up with a Ferrari engine under the hood!

Click the link below to listen or right click and save the MP3 file to listen at your pleasure.

Download audio file (vincepalkointerview.mp3)

Vince Palko Interview

If you don’t think Linebacker fitness is functional then like me you should switch on the TeeVee or get yourself down to a live football game and check out the linebackers in action. One thing is for sure when you develop some of the characteristics of this sportsman you will have taken your functional fitness to another level-one that will do you well.

Enjoy the interview and keep strong.

Danny

P.S. if you want to check out Vince’s programs and talents visit VincePalko.com
P.P.S. the interview is 55 minutes and 54 seconds long.

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So many people do and for the most part it is totally unecessary. Some simple to do back exercises can fix you up in no time and prevent futher problems down the road too.

Before I started bodyweight exercises I would periodically suffer a bad and aching back. Sometimes to the extent that I could hardly tie my shoes or bend down at the sink…not much fun and painful to boot.

And have you ever done this-you’re walking along and suddenly your foot drops down unexpectedly down a step or hole  and your back gives out? Did the same thing myself a few weeks ago. I was busy looking in the other direction and next thing I know I’m dropping down a step at least a foot in depth and it caused me no bother at all.

You know why?

Same reason I mentioned at the outset-I do bodyweight and functional exercises that keep my body strong so these misfortunes don’t affect me the sameway.

Here are a few of the back strengthening and back fixing exercises I do:

Tables

Just Sitting...

...and up we go

To the top and hold.

Tables are more than just for your upper back and lower back they also work your shoulders and arms too. Plus increase your flexibility.

Cobras

Starting position

And up to the top, nice arch and hold.

Move to the top nice and smoothly, breath and relax your way up. Don’t force it. Hold for a count or two and back down. 5 to 10 reps should be more then enough.

Cat Stretch

The "purr...fect" finish to any back exercise

Down and stretch your spine the opposite way

For the cat stretch you can move back and forth like a wave, up with back arched and then down with back concave and head arched up…one smooth motion. Again you can hold in each position.

So, that’s 3 easy to do back ache beating exercises you can do to get rid of that aching back and to prevent it coming in the first place.

Other exercises that are great for your back that I like to do are the bridge and  kneeling back bends.

What do you think? Do you have any you find work for you?

Let me know.
Keeping your back strong,
Danny
P.S. I am not the back expert but I know someone who is and they come highly recommended. If you have real back issues or would just like to strengthen your back even more then visit the Healthy Back Institute for some great FREE information.

P.P.S.  If you suffer from any type of back pain, neck pain or sciatica, you’ll want to get a copy of this guide right away.
It’s completely free and you can get instant access to it
online by visiting the link here>>> Healthy Back Institute

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As an example traversing tree branches is an amazing  upper body strength developer and because branches are rarely uniform in size, length or thickness you will be challenged in ways that will shock you.

Below is a quick video of me walking a branch. This is not a particularly challenging branch  but you’ll get the idea.

When your arms are on fire from trying to grip a thick branch, just holding on is a challenge and you will know you worked out.

Plus it take but a few seconds. And that’s what I like…a quick but devastatingly effective workout.

No poncing about in the gym!

And Please, please note-I filmed this before my big  Rope Fall Disaster so please make sure you are not too high if the branch does break and you pick a flexible and or strong branch.

You have been warned!

Don’t let it stop you but exercise care.
Keep strong,
Danny
P.S. Small point-I reference dips on the video but I meant pull ups but I guess you knew that!
P.P.S. If you are just starting out it may be best to begin with monkey bars and then a narrow goal post before you attempt branch work.

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Robert’s credentials read like a who’s who. He’s one of those high achiever types who put us mere mortals to shame. He’s likable  too and  he’s got a pretty good system for getting fit at any age,  male or female-Robert being a great example himself at 60 years of age…aghh enough to make you mad!!

You can listen in to me interviewing Robert and look out for the two” juicy secrets” he reveals. Secret number one, how to increase the number of pull ups you can do and number two, how to lose fat fast in a few days for that special event.

Robert has some  excellent knowledge and insight he shares on this interview that you can benefit from whether you are a newbie or an experienced bodyweight strength and fitness enthusiast.

Click the link below (or right click and” save as”  for the MP3) to gain free access to the…

Download audio file (robermartinint.mp3)

Robert Martin Interview from the creator of Looking Great Naked At Any Age.com

I think you’ll get a lot from our conversation and be able to put into practice  some of the suggestions to increase your own strength and fitness levels not to mention burn some of that fat!

As always keep strong,

Danny
P.S. the interview with Robert from Looking Great Naked At Any Age is 78 minutes and 20 seconds long.

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My message is please be very careful which rope you climb.  Check it’s safe and secure and whatever it’s attached to can bear up under your weight.

The rope I climb on today’s video was used  probably a few years ago just for kids to swing from. But the tree branch was not all it seemed as you will see.

Take a moment to watch and learn from my big mistake.

Here’s the video and it’s OK to laugh, I won’t be offended as long as you take the lesson to heart.

Remarkably, Helen who was shooting the video panned down as I fell…I think she was in the zone too!

So was I hurt?

You better believe it.

Right now my ankles are swollen and bruised but I don’t think I have broken anything. Hopefully a full recovery for me over the next few days and nothing untoward will manifest itself.

Well that’s all for today’s post and see you next time for more crazy adventures.

Keep Strong. Keep Save.
Danny
P.S. Yes, I will be climbing rope again and in fact have some footage already planned to take your rope climbing to the next level. See you in the trees!

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