Strength and Fitness Blog
Going Down Swinging
I’m not a basketball fan. Although I have huge respect and admiration for their athletic abilities, the game just isn’t my cup of tea. So I’ve pretty much ignored this whole Linsanity thing surrounding new NBA sensation Jeremy Lin.
At first I figured his appeal was due to him being an NBA anomaly – a Harvard educated Asian American.
But when I saw him being interviewed, I now see why people are so drawn to him.
Lin said he had plenty of dark times and wondered about quitting basketball. He broke down and cried a number of times. He thought about it giving it all up. He rode the bench, was waived two times, sent to D-league.
When he finally got his chance to start with the Nicks, he decided from then on out he was going to do things his way. In the past he had always played scared, played only trying to avoid making mistakes.
Not this time. He’d give it his all and wasn’t going to play afraid. And if he failed he said at least he would “go down swinging.” If nothing else, he’d fight the good fight.
What a refreshing attitude, especially in this day and age of the spoiled athlete.
There are great lessons from Jeremy Lin:
1. Don’t play scared – Even if you are, when you do something, don’t do it only to avoid mistakes. Do it to be successful. Trying to avoid mistakes makes you focus on them, and thus make them. Focus on the doing the task.
2. Go down swinging – Whatever you do, fully commit. If you do fail, at least you know you did give it your all, and then you’re not really failing.
3. Things do get better – sometimes the darkest times force us to dig deep and gain new insights and skills. These are the times that help shape us and are blessings. We all go through them it’s just depends on what you’re going to do with them.
Whatever you’re working on now, follow these Lin Life Lessons and you can create your own Linsanity.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
P.S. Go down swinging – like an ape.
The K-Mart Kid
One summer in college, I got a job working at K-Mart. I had looked everywhere and it was all I could find, so I was thrilled with having the work.
My classmates thought it was funny so dubbed me The K-Mart Kid, as if I were some sort of super hero. They were mocking me but I didn’t care. I was just glad to have a job finally. It meant I’d be able to eat more than just Top Ramen. I had moved up in the world and would be now feasting on Cup of Noodles and generic mac n’ cheese.
The K-Mart I worked at wasn’t exactly Saks Fifth Avenue. We’d get all sorts of seedy characters, usually druggies shopping for a five-finger discount. To them, a Blue Light Special meant they didn’t have to pay for it.
One evening, about 9 pm, I was stocking shelves and noticed a suspicious looking dude. He was hanging around the electronics aisle, looking around real nervously. Then I saw him put a Walkman into his coat and walk off fast towards the exit.
I’d like to say that he was 8-feet tall and pulled a gun and a meat cleaver on me, and I then used some wild kung fu to kick his butt, and was able to save everyone in the store from certain death. But that wouldn’t be true.
When he got close to the exit he started to run. I yelled out a special code to alert security there was a shoplift in progress and to block the doors. They were able to nab him and arrest him on the spot.
Well, The K-Mart Kid was a hero. Although everyone else just went back to work and barely said a word to me, I felt pretty cool.
There was a young boy there with his mom who saw the whole thing. The kid thought I was Batman.
“Gee, Mister,” he said in a Beaver Cleaver kind of way, “that was real neat.”
“Thanks, kid,” I said, like I was a hot shot.
He and his mom asked me all sorts of questions and I was glad to oblige. I felt like a big deal, until my boss yelled
“Baran! Quit mucking around and get back to work!”
That’d be the one and only time The K-Mart Kid would make an appearance. The job pretty much sucked and I would soon leave for greener pastures.
“Golly gee, Mr. Ed,” you might say, “this story is real swell and all, but what’s the point? How’s it going to help me get lean and mean?”
A fair question with a most fair answer:
It didn’t matter that others thought I was a dork for working at a place like K-Mart. Or that I wasn’t really a big hero like a real police officer or fireman saving someone’s life. I felt good about myself and did what I had to do.
It doesn’t matter if you’re obese now and trying your best to get fit. So what if you’re not perfect? Or if you can only do one pushup and you’re not the world’s greatest athlete. Don’t compare yourself with others. That leads you nowhere.
I think it’s awesome that you’re doing what needs to be done now, and I know you’ll get to where you want to be.
Just give it time. It’s a process that works as long as you start and stay with it, and feel good about it.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
P.S. Here are some sparkling Blue Light Specials for you: Gymnastic Abs and Animal Kingdom Conditioning.
How to Tone Flabby Arms
I once had a client who came in to train with me for the sole purpose of getting rid of her gooey arms. She was a thin woman but still had flabby arms. She didn’t understand why.
She wasn’t fat but her arms were very soft and mushy. She didn’t understand what she was doing wrong. After all she was working her rear off trying to do all the right things.
So she thought.
Aerobics, jogging, weight machines, etc. All to no avail. Her flabby arms were still there.
Flabby arms are an all too common problem with women, even men. Try as she might, she just can’t get rid of the goo, no matter how thin she is, no matter how hard she tries. Even when the rest of he body firms up, she’s still left with flabby arms.
So what to do? Is there a cure for this?
Yes, but it’s not long distance running, nor is it aerobics, and it isn’t weights either.
The cure is bodyweight exercises. And here’s why:
A woman needs to exercise her upper body, but not just any exercise will do. These exercises have to target the arms while incorporating the whole body.
Isolating the arms while the rest of the body sits still like using weights or machines, although better than nothing, is not the best route. The more of your body involved the more fat you burn and the more muscle you tone. So you’re arms are being targeted but the rest of your body is also moving.
In Body Sculpting Bodyweight Exercises for Women I give you a choice of a number of upper body exercises to choose from, all of which will carve off the goo from your arms and sculpt lean, toned arms.
I made sure to include exercises for beginners through advanced so anyone can do them. They just might also make you stronger than a lot of men. Not only that, I also included workouts so you don’t have to think of what to do.
One more note: Don’t be afraid that you’ll get massively huge arms like the bodybuilding circus freaks. You won’t. These sideshow acts take an insane amount of steroids to build their size, and unless you are doing the same you have nothing to fear.
What you will see after doing my exercises is an increase in muscle tone and a decrease in flab in your arms. And your upper body will be much more balanced. It’s a win-win situation all the way around.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
P.S. If you don’t like your mushy arms then follow my prescription for tight and toned arms: Body Sculpting Bodyweight Exercises for Women
Avoiding the mass suicidal herd of humungous humans
It’s said that lemmings are known to mindlessly follow each other over cliffs, committing mass suicide. Although this is a myth, there is one species of animal that does commit mass suicide.
And that is the human animal.
Although this particular form of human suicide of which I speak is not intentional, in most cases it is done with reckless abandon and wanton disregard for his own life.
Gorging himself on only the worst of foods, rarely if ever eating the good healthful foods, this human packs on sickly flab, collects deadly diseases like stamps, and refuses to do anything about it even when told he’s killing himself.
Worst of all, this human ironically avoids movement like the plague, although exercise is one of the main things to help him survive. He looks down on those who do exercise, calling us vain, without a life, foolish health nuts.
Unfortunately, he is typical of the human herd, dragging our entire species down into the gutter.
Then there’s YOU, the real human, the way nature intended the species to be: strong, fit, lean and mean, healthy, energetic and ALIVE. You have earned the term Animal. You go into the Jungle and move your body like it was meant to be – like a wild animal. You look different from the rest of the herd.
You’re lean and muscular, vibrant and happy. You avoid the bad habits of the human herd. You’re a lone wolf.
Make today a Fun-day. Go out and enjoy your body Animal style. Play animal an have fun. You’ll see that a nice side effect is that you’ll get super strong, fit and lean.
And you’ll set yourself apart from the rest of the humongous human herd:
All the best,
Eddie Baran
Ab Fallacy #2
Here’s an all-too-common misconception about the abs, number 2:
You don’t need to exercise to get ripped abs; just eat right.
Well, this is This is just an excuse for people who hate exercise to avoid it. They want the abs without the effort. Or for marketers to promote non-exercise programs claiming it’s all in the diet.
“But Special Ed,” you might ask, “aren’t you just trying to peddle your exercise program?”
To which I answer, “That is a fair question, gentle reader, one which herein lies the answer.”
This is how it works, and why exercise is key for abs:
The food you eat is very important for your body. It helps flab-reduction and fuel muscle-building. But alone it won’t build muscle, and abs are muscles. Yes, you can remove flab from your gut by just eating correctly. But there won’t be much muscle under there if you don’t exercise.
But if you do exercise and eat the proper food, your flab loss will come much faster, and your body will be muscular, not gaunt and weak. There will be a nice, muscular body that reveals itself (though not a freakish bodybuilder one).
Ever see someone lose a lot of flab sans exercise? It’s not pretty. The underlying body doesn’t look good. The muscles have deteriorated and you’re left with a shapeless, overcooked noodle of a body – soft, squishy, mushy and weak.
You might then protest, “I understand, most Special Ed, but I don’t care about having ripped abs. I just want to get rid of my big belly.”
Here’s why strong abs are critical for everyone, whether you want ripped abs or not:
1. If you’re in any sport, whether on the weekend or it’s your passion, strong core is key for your performance.
2. Even if you never compete in a sport, a strong core is your youth center. As you age, your body falls apart. Your body becomes old UNLESS you exercise. You can get younger with the right movements. This applies to you whether you’re 18 or 80. You don’t want to be weak.
Get the strongest abs here with Gymnastic Abs. A nice side effect of training like a gymnast is the body it gives you: ripped and muscular, like a real athlete.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
P.S. The truth of the matter is you need to exercise if you want the healthiest, strongest body and best looking body. Start your supreme body with supreme ab.
Martial Artist’s Skill Finally Skyrockets
Here’s a note I got from a martial artist studying Capoeira. Before his body was heavy, couldn’t deliver the goods and made his fighting unbearable and shows why weights and cardio aren’t the answer:
Hi there Eddie.
Just wanted to drop a few words of appreciation here. I got the Animal Kingdom Conditioning program after the amazing results I’ve gotten from Gymnastic Abs. And boy, am I glad I did.
Before using your programs, I remember how difficult I had to push myself going through even the most basic skills in Capoeira when I first started out as I didn’t understand how important a strong core and a functional body are to this type of sport. Yes, I was muscular and felt fit at that time from all the weight training and cardios I did over the years, but when I started training in Capoeira, I realized that all the muscles couldn’t deliver what I needed to excel in the sport.
It seemed that the muscles I had on my frame made it even more difficult for me to practice the skills. The ‘heaviness’ and that “locked feeling” just seemed to want me to stay on the ground and keep me there. I couldn’t do all that because the way my body worked at that time made doing the skills all unbearable.
Just like your Gymnastic Abs program, my body’s functionality and strength skyrocketed through the roof with the Animal Kingdom Conditioning program And I didn’t even do the exercises seriously yet, just playing around and having fun with them.
Now I’m busting out all my previous moves with ease and grace. I feel that I can even do new moves or moves I haven’t mastered yet even more easily than ever. One thing for sure, I know all these new abilities I discovered in myself are directly attributed to my training in both your Animal Kingdom Conditioning and Gymnastic Abs programs. They are the super fitness training combo!
Thank you so much for coming up with such an efficient and effective fitness invention.
Jeffery M.
Brunei
EB: Jeffery, Thanks for your note. It made my day. It’s always awesome to hear of success stories like yours. You’re experiencing exactly what’s intended with these programs: stronger, more stable, more agile. As you know this is critical in martial arts or any sport so you’ll have a huge advantage. Looking forward to hearing more from you.
———
If your body isn’t delivering the goods because you’re training wrong, get in on Animal Kingdom Conditioning and Gymnastic Abs now. Stop spinning your wheels and wasting your time.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
Two Men Walk into a Bathroom…
No, this isn’t a George Michael kind of story, but it is a story of how two men go into a bathroom and only one comes out.
My Australian friend Dave was in a bar down under a few weeks ago. He noticed a former professional rugby player sitting at a table with a few of his mates.
The rugby player had been retired for 14 years. Dave couldn’t wait to get his autograph because the the man had always been his hero.
But Dave was surprised because the rugby player had really let himself get very fat and weak after retiring; he was moving so slowly and hunching over when he walked. He was only 47 yet moved like he was 67. It wasn’t due to injuries, just neglect.
Dave watched as the rugby player went to the bathroom with a friend.
Shortly afterwards the friend came running out of the bathroom screaming frantically, “Help! My mate has collapsed on the bathroom floor!”
The bartender called for an ambulance, and Dave screamed out, “Is there a doctor here?”
There wasn’t, but there was a nurse. Everyone wanted to see what was going on, so Dave being a licensed crowd controller made way for the nurse to go in and assist the formerly fit and powerful rugby player.
Luckily, the nurse was able to keep the man alive long enough until the paramedics arrived. The former hero suffered a massive heart attack and a mild stroke.
The next day, the newspaper headlines read, “Rugby hero has heart attack.” They could have easily read “A great rugby legend dies in a bar toilet all alone.”
This once mean lean, mean and powerful machine was now in intensive care. He had to be given a triple bypass and would be on medication for the rest of his life. The man had obviously lead a life after retiring as if he were above nature’s laws.
This scary thing is this could happen to any of us. It shows that an athlete with great health and strength who lets himself go will suffer the consequences. Whether it’s through neglect or abuse, our bodies fall apart from age.
But only because we let it happen.
We can avoid the pitfalls of aging and decline by doing just a little exercise each day, and we don’t have to get into a rugby scrum to do it.
The good news is that in 20 minutes a day you can reverse the dangerous effects of aging and live a longer, happier and healthier life. In fact, you can be better than ever with the right exercises.
To find out the short, strength building, blubber melting and easy to do program (one would have kept the former rugby hero healthy and strong) go here now…
All the best,
Eddie Baran
The 4 Biggest Mental Mistakes
Doing the wrong exercises or doing the right exercises in the wrong way is a recipe for fitness failure. But worse than that are mental mistakes we make.
Most of us don’t realize we make these big mistakes and how bad they are. But I’ve learned the hard way how detrimental they are because I was the biggest offender. And when I coach others I’m constantly correcting their thinking.
Hence, I present to you the 4 biggest mental mistakes in fitness:
1. Expecting instant results – Most people who begin an exercise think they should get results overnight. When they don’t, they quit assuming the program didn’t work at all. It’s a process.
Yes, my exercises are the fastest acting out there, but you won’t go from weak and meek to lean and mean overnight. But when you do my exercises you will instantly begin to change your body. Then you’ll see great results. But you’ve got to keep at it and be consistent.
2. Not expecting anything to happen – While some expect instant results, some think nothing they do will ever work. They believe they’re hopeless cases. So, they’ll quit or won’t even exercise at all. If you don’t think it will work, you’ll me more likely to quit. Why bother? Expect great things but in their own time.
It’s a law of nature: you move your body in a certain way and you will get leaner and stronger. No one is above this law, no matter how lame he thinks he is.
3. Whining – Whining about your body or exercise or your circumstances will do nothing but delay – or even stop – your progress. Frustration is common when working on improving yourself.
It’s okay to vent, rant and complain for a small time, but get it out of your system and then let it be. Constant complainers get nowhere other than make life miserable for themselves. Don’t get into the drama of what you’re experiencing. Be honest with yourself about what’s bothering you about your body, your
progress or your training, but getting sucked into its emotion will make you lose your focus on what you need to do.
Instead of focusing on how bad it is, focus instead on what’s good about you (no matter how minuscule you think it is) and how good you’re getting and will be. Grow that until it’s the bigger part of your mind.
4. Accepting where you’re at – Accepting is acknowledging your current level. This doesn’t mean you resign and stay there. Many newbies make the mistake of wanting to be advanced right out of the gate. So they’ll torture themselves for hours doing the most difficult exercises. Of course they get injured or burn out never to return to fitness.
Accept you’re a beginner and do the appropriate exercises. When you do this, you’ll become advanced much quicker. Being honest with where you’re at will help you decide which exercises to do and help you progress. A pre-med student might want to be a heart surgeon now but she realizes she can’t perform
surgery today.
One day, no doubt, but today she accepts she’s still a student. One day you will be king of the jungle but right now you might still be a young cub. Enjoy the process of growing and getting better.
There are many other mental mistakes but these four are the worst. If you can avoid these mistakes while using the most supremely awesome exercises your progress will come faster and easier.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
Your Past is Over
When I was in college, I took a basic computer class. This was 100 years ago so computers were nothing like they are today. Not much more than a bunch of zeros and ones on the screen with an abacus and rubber bands thrown together in a box.
I did horribly in the class, as it was just too complicated for me. I was officially a computer illiterate and felt like a complete idiot. This is how I thought of myself for nearly a decade after.
Years later, when it was time for a career change, I had to face the music and learn to get good with computers. In the past I was a disaster with these things so it was hard for me to even pursue this.
As long as I felt inadequate about my computer skills from the past then I would never get good at them. My past haunted me.
But I had no choice. I had to get good at computers. There was no other option.
That was when I realized that the past didn’t matter at all. I did I overcome my fear of computers and at that point I realized that I could get good at this.
In fact, my computer skills were so good that I got a great job to be program them. The past was completely irrelevant. If it had mattered then I would always have been bad.
The past is just that. Past. It’s just a story with our own judgements (usually wrong) that can’t predict the future.
Maybe you’re thinking that you’ve failed with exercise plans in the past and will fail again. Or that you’re doomed to stay in bad shape because you have in the past.
But that was then, and this is now. The past is over. NOW is what matters so now is the time to make things better.
Realize your physically supremacy here.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
The Caged Animal Workout
Wild animals are meant to run free and wild. Animals don’t belong in cages. And neither do humans. Yet we choose to live in cages, never moving our bodies, confined to small, enclosed spaces by choice.
This is part of our downfall as a species. We’ve voluntarily caged ourselves up.
But when the weather sucks (and blows) we sometimes have no choice but to stay in our cages.
When I was living in Portland, Oregon, it rained about 8 months out of the year. And it’s that cold, damp drizzle all day long. For someone like me who does most of my exercising outdoors, this got old real fast. For the most part, I enjoyed working out in the rain but I got tired of the wet every single day.
Working out in the snow was great, and gave me new challenges. But when the weather dips way below freezing, it can be real hard to get motivated unless you’re a winter sports type.
I wasn’t going to let the weather be an excuse to not train. So, I had to find a way to exercise indoors. Thus, the advent of The Caged Animal Workout.
This workout is as brutal as they come. It’s a fierce and ferocious way to build animal strength, wild conditioning, lean muscle and blows blubber off your body. It’s featured in our Animal Kingdom Conditioning program and is done in-place, in one spot. In fact, most of the exercises in this program can be done indoors in a small enclosed area, or in-place.
Follow The Caged Animal Workout and you’ve got yourself a kick-butt lean muscle-making workout indoors, and in less than half an hour. No more human excuses.
Then, when good weather returns, you’ll be in supreme shape and ready to be set free back into the wild where you belong.
Check out Animal Kingdom Conditioning now.
All the best,
Eddie Baran
P.S. The Caged Animal Workout works just as well in the summer when it’s too hot. Get it here.
