Here's a great conditioning workout that I like to call "The Double Dragon"! This workout is excellent for not only improving your conditioning but also increasing your agility and ability to leap, cut angles, and jump. Some of the exercises in this workout can be found in my new Ebook"Ancient Training For Modern Results".
If you don't have kettlebells for the the clean and squat, you could sub them with dumbbells, sandbags, or a barbell. If you don't have any of those feel free to switch them out for6 Point Burpees. Also, if you have no plate to push you could always just perform regular bear crawls.
I hope you guys enjoy the workout, let me know what you think!
Need some extra motivation to get to the gym, want to feel a little more excited just before your workout, or maybe you want a little extra push to help you get through some of those tough reps, than maybe a little music can help! I've always found music to be an excellent "supplement" to improve the quality of your workouts. Choosing music that pumps you up and focuses you on the task of attacking your workout with a high level of enthusiasm is paramount in helping you get the most out of your workout. The key is choosing music that you not only enjoy, but has a certain intensity to help get you ready for "battle"! Leave the slow songs at home, and keep it with music that's up beat and designed to make you want to move! Just choose any music that gives you this feeling and you'll be good to go.
I get asked all the time about the music I listen to while training myself or my clients, as well as the music I feature in my YouTube videos. The truth is, it's all just music I enjoy and workout to myself. So I've put together a play list that you can all now access for your own workouts if you want to get a feel for what makes me get the most out of my Jungle Fit workouts! I'll be adding new music to this play list regularly so that you'll always have some new music to listen to while performing any of the workouts found on my YouTube channel or from my ebooks! I hope you all enjoy, and if you don't than just don't listen. Music is purely subjective, and what I like might not be right for you, and what you like might not be right for me, but I thought I would share anyways and maybe, you'll find something that moves you too! Enjoy and share if you like!
My latest Ebook "Ancient Training For Modern Results" is available to purchase from the Jungle Fit website! It's loaded with body weight exercises that have been used for centuries by some of the greatest armies, combat athletes, gymnasts etc. I've included a few of them in this workout that I like to call "The Cannonball"! Enjoy!
I was asked a little while ago to provide a video and blog discussing the Hindu Squat and how to perform it properly. So on this post we'll be taking a look at this unique body weight exercise that's perfect for conditioning and pairing with it's sister exercise The Hindu Push Up!
Hindu Squats or “Bathaks”, along with Hindu Push Ups, is a staple conditioning exercise used by Hindu Wrestlers for centuries. In fact The Great Gama, a legendary Hindu Wrestler who was undefeated in over 5000 matches, was said to have performed over 4,000 Hindu Squats each day! Hindu squats unlike regular squats force the knee well over the toes, this technique is not dangerous for the knee joints when performed correctly because added weight is not being used. However this technique is not recommended for those with knee injuries.
Begin in a standing position with your feet hip width apart, your stance should no be quite as wide as it would be during a regular squat. Begin to squat down with your weight on the balls of your heels allowing your knees to pass over your toes. As you lower keep your back straight, head up, and let your arms swing out behind you with your fingers extended. Continue to lower yourself all the way down until your butt almost touches your heels, at the same time as you reach the bottom of the squat your finger tips should brush the ground right beside your feet. Keeping the weight on the balls of your feet, press through the ground, begin to extend from the knees and hips, keep the momentum from your arms continuing swinging them up and in front of you in time with the extending of your knees/hips. Continue this way until you’re fully standing and repeat for as many reps as required. Remember to keep your torso, back, and chin up through out the whole movement. The entire squat should be controlled and you should never drop quickly down into the squat. The swinging of your arms should be soft, and in moving together in perfect unison. If at any time you feel pain in your knees or low back than stop performing the squat. Try them out for yourself and let me know what you think!
P.S. The Hindu Squat and over 30 other unique old school body weight exercises will be covered, along with a bunch of workouts including them, in my new upcoming ebook "Ancient Training Methods For Modern Results". Stay up to date with the blog or FaceBook for more updates on it's release!
For my 100th post I figured, why not take it back to basics! You can't out run a crappy diet, all that hard work in the gym can't cancel out poor choices when it comes to food. You need a combination of real, whole, natural foods, and some supplements if you feel the need in order to attain or maintain a healthy and lean body.
So today I'll be showing you how to make a great, quick, and easy paleo and primal diet friendly breakfast or snack shake! Here's what you'll need!
- 3-5 Ice cubes
- 1-2 large table spoons of your favourite nut butter
- 1 large banana
- 1 Cup of light coconut milk or almond milk
- 2 Dashes or cinnamon
- Optional Protein Powder (chocolate or vanilla)
- Optional mixed berries
It's simple, put all the above ingredients into the blender and blend them up together until it becomes a smooth shake! Serve in your favourite glass and enjoy! I also add berries to this shake some times to switch up the flavour or to add extra anti-oxidents. Play around with the recipe, add different kinds of nut butters, try coconut milk, then try almond milk, add berries, try it without protein powder and with protein etc. This way you'll figure out what you like best and enjoy the most!
I get asked all the time questions like, "Tim, how many pull ups do I have to do before I can perform (insert skill here)?". This could be any fitness skill such as but not limited to pull ups, chin ups, dips, muscle ups, human flags, back levers, push ups from your toes etc. The fact of the matter is, there is no amount of pull ups that will allow you to do the human flag, and no amount of dips will allow you to perform a muscle up. You do need a base level of strength to perform theses movements and yes you must be able to perform dips before you can do a muscle up, and you do need to be able to perform a set of pull ups before you can even hope of holding a human flag. However, these exercises alone will never allow you to perform either of these skills. In order to achieve a certain skill you must practice that skill and become familiar with it inside and out. This means working on muscle up progressions if your goal is performing a muscle up, or finding the right grip and practicing straddle flags if you want to be able to hold a full human flag. It means treating your training to achieve these skills as practice, and practice should be performed perfectly and often without working to failure until the actual skill is achieved. This means continuing to perform supplemental exercises such as planks, advanced planks, pull ups, dips, hollow rocks, supermans, and more in order to avoid muscle imbalances and improve your functional strength. It's a process, and it takes time, attention to detail, listening to your body, finding out what's right for you, and working on the actual skill. Anyone can achieve any skill they want, this means you can too! Just remember that it takes time, and fitness is a journey and not a destination. Check out the video above for more details!
Something that a lot of people battle with on a day to day basis is chronic lower back pain. The first thing to do when you're suffering from lower back pain is consult a doctor, chiropractor or massage therapist. A combination of the three would be a wise choice!
Your lower back pain can be caused by any number or reasons, more than I can list, but today I'll be covering three predominant reasons that many people suffer from reoccurring or chronic back pain and how to help stop your pain forever.
1. A lack of spinal mobility: Joint mobility is the ability to move your joints effortlessly and without pain through a full range of motion with complete control. When you're spine has a lack of mobility you're just asking for trouble! Other than injury, a lack of spinal mobility could be the result of not bending, twisting, turning, or taking your spine through the full range of motion on a regular basis each day. Something incredibly common for anyone who sits all day during working hours! A simple joint mobility routine performed each day, and before each workout can help improve your spinal health and help reduce your back pain. Try performing each of the mobility exercises shown in the video above slow and controlled for 20+ reps in each direction.
2.Tight Muscles in the low back, hips, quads, and hamstrings: Tight muscles in your lower body due to sitting all day, working out often or playing a lot of sports and not stretching can lead to intense lower back pain and lower back injuries. Believe it or not you actually have muscles in your legs that attach to the hips and lower back, when these muscles are tight your lower back can become a little more than cranky! Tight hip flexors can also be the cause of an upset lower back, when the hip flexors become too tight it causes a pelvic tilt that puts a strain on the lower back. A regular stretching routine that works the entire body but also has a focus on the hips, quads, hamstrings, and lower back will help to improve muscle imbalances caused by tight muscles and reduce some of your lower back pain. Try some of the stretches that I have demonstrated in the video posted above, hold each for 12-30 seconds and repeat 3-4x.
3. A lack of "core" strength and stability: The first function of your core is to support your spine during movement and not allow you to spin all the way around or break over backwards. Your core is worked during almost every single exercise, and some of the best exercises for improve your core strength are squats, dead lifts, push ups, pull ups, L-sits and more. Yet, if you're experiencing back pain due to a lack of core strength, some of these movements might be too advanced and could cause you more harm than good. Simple movements at first such as planks, side planks, super mans and glute bridges can help bring your core strength and stability up to par and set the foundation needed to be able to perform more advanced exercises that will continue to improve your core and over strength. Try some of the exercises that I've shown in the video above, try holding each position for 30sec-1min and repeat for 3-5 sets.
So there you have it, some simple ways to help improve your back health and help reduce or eliminate your lower back pain. If you've enjoyed this post, please share with your friends/family or subscribe to the blog, youtube, or facebook page!
