They looked like cats and monkeys playing. They were doing some amazing things with their bodies.

As they came closer, I recognized one of them as a kid I used to coach in gymnastics.

“Yo, Adrian!” I yelled to him, using my best Rocky voice.

“Hey, Ed,” he said, “What’s happening?”

After we exchanged the usual pleasantries, I wanted to know what he was doing.

“What’re you doing? That looks so cool,” I asked.

“It’s called Parkour and it’s basically moving from one point to another,” he explained, “running, jumping, climbing, getting around all the obstacles, like around a city or wherever.”

Since he was a gymnast, he used many of the skills he learned like tumbling. And, of course, he was strong enough to do these skills without getting hurt.

Then there’s Free Running, which is more what Adrian was actually doing because he was incorporating acrobatic type skills. More of a difference of expression vs utility. Either way, Parkour and Free Running are great athletic disciplines that require amazing strength and agility.

I’ve dabbled in Parkour a bit, but nothing like you see in the movies or on TV. It is very fun, wild and has a feeling of animalism and freedom.

Many adults are jumping on the Parkour bandwagon now due to its popularity. I think that’s great because it’s so athletic and youthful. But there is a big risk of injury if you’re body isn’t prepared. I often get emails from people starting Parkour wanting to know how to prepare for the skills and to avoid injury.

My advice for them, as in any activity, is thus:

1. Learn some basic gymnastic skills will help incredibly for body awareness and technique. This’ll help you maneuver around obstacles.

2. Start slowly. Don’t push too hard too fast. Make sure you master each level before moving on.

3. Get a very strong and resilient physical foundation. When you’re a kid you can run, jump, climb and fall and not be affected. But as an adult, our bodies aren’t so tough because we’ve neglected them, so moving doesn’t come as easily until we train our bodies. A strong foundation will allow you to do some incredible movements and not get hurt.

Get your physical foundation with these courses:

Gymnastic Abs – A strong core ties all your muscles together into one solid unit of steel. Otherwise you’re nothing but a mishmash of functionless muscles.

Animal Kingdom Conditioning I and Animal Kingdom Conditioning II - These courses put your body into odd, bizarre positions, strengthening every muscle in every way for function and utility. And it’s a lot of fun to do.

Whether you’re a fan or participant, Parkour is a great activity. But as in everything, start where you start and move on from there. Don’t skip steps or do too much too soon. And stay consistent and keep at it.

All the best,

Eddie Baran

P.S. There are some great scenes of Parkour/Free Running in movies, such as Casino Royale. The French film District B13 showcases some great Parkour, and I recommend it for just that reason. Don’t go in expecting Citizen Kane, as the plot is flimsy and just an excuse to showoff. Still, it’s worth
seeing for its great athleticism.

It finally occurred to us that it was not serious at all but campy during a particularly funny scene. We both bursted out laughing. Uncontrollably. No one else was laughing but us, which made it worse.

But we couldn’t stop. The theater was filled with pretentious, overbearing Bay Area types who took themselves and everything way too seriously. Their snickers, shushes and snide comments only fueled the fire. Laughing when you’re not supposed is always the best kind, especially if it’s with someone else.

We almost passed out it got so bad. We both tried our hardest to stop laughing, but what made it worse was I could tell his body was convulsing because his chair was shaking so hard. I tried everything to stop, including digging my fingernails into my face. Maybe intense pain and bleeding would stop this.

We couldn’t catch our breath and thought we were having a heart attack. After a good five minutes of this, it fizzled down and we were able to breathe again. I didn’t like being so rude, but I admit I was conflicted between walking out or staying there and enjoying the high.

I’ve had many embarrassing public laughing fits, much more embarrassing than that (at least we never uncontrollably laughed at a funeral like our cousin once did), but this was the most PHYSICALLY intense laughing attack.

Both Andy and I realized how laughing is such an incredible physical exercise. Great for exercising the heart and abs, not to mention the natural happy chemicals in produces.

It’s well-known the psychological and internal health benefits laughing produces, but a good laugh is a good workout.

Thus, your exercise assignment for this weekend: Laugh and laugh hard. Not chemically-induced from booze or ganja, butI’m talking about the real, pure, naturally-induced laughter.

However you get it, do it. Watch The Three Stooges, Jim Carrey or whatever you fancy. But laugh and laugh hard.

Laughing hard might be the best ab exercise around. After that, the best ab exercises are in our Gymnastic Abs program.

Do both for the healthiest, strongest and happiest body.

All the best,

Eddie Baran

P.S. I’m a huge Jim Carrey fan and I remember nearly passing out from laughing so hard at his Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Lots of cool animals in that film. Nothing better than Animal Exercises and laughter for the perfect fitness combo.

Really? Did Kroc force people to eat his garbage with the purpose of killing them? Of course not. He just serves up crap. Krocs of crap, to be more exact.

To be fair, I haven’t read this accusation in context so I can’t comment on the author’s true intent. Perhaps he’s being tongue-in-cheek, just making a clever and dramatic point on how deadly bad food can be. I sure hope so because Ray Kroc is no murderer, not even a killer.

Saying he is worse than the biggest scumbags of all time is insulting. Negligent manslaughter, maybe, but even that’s pushing it.

But mass murder? Come on. In the words of Jackie Chiles this is “outrageous, egregious, preposterous!”

There’s this thing called free will and you can choose to eat all the trash you want knowing full well of its consequences. But the question remains, does bad food kill?

Yes, it does. But it’s more like playing with a loaded gun, or Russian roulette, as opposed to being an unwilling victim of some gastronomical Cultural Revolution.

But food can kill. Let’s look at the stats: About 90-95% of all cancers are due to non-genetic factors, of which 50% are due to diet and obesity.

And that’s just cancer; we’re not even including the other deadly diseases like diabetes and heart disease which are also strongly linked to poor nutrition.

The entire food system in this country is out of whack, of which Kroc is a part of. Most of the food in the grocery store is garbage.

We have been sold a bill of goods on what to eat. We’ve built these poor habits of shoving sewage down our throats and avoiding the good food. And with McDonald’s and other similar cesspools of junk food that litter our landscape making it harder for us, it’s an uphill battle.

But you can win the fight against deadly diseases and obesity by exercising right and eating the right foods, all of which I go into detail in our special report From Garbage to Garden which is free when you get our Bodyweight Basics program.

As I always say, a little bit of bad food is fine as long as you’re eating mostly good food. You’re responsible for your own nutritional fate and we can’t blame it on Ronald McDonald.

All the best,

Eddie Baran

P.S. From Garbage to Garden is a gentle and easy way to get off bad food and onto good food without the sacrifice or torture.

In my speech, I talked about real world strength through animal and gymnastic training. Most of the audience were iron pumpers so my presentation probably fell on deaf ears because I didn’t talk about how to increase your bench or get bigger biceps. I might as well have been speaking Chinese.

That was fine with me, as I wasn’t there to convert anyone to my thinking but only to introduce them to it. Fitness is not a religion, but a way of being.

Anyway, after the show I caught a taxi back to the airport right outside the convention center. The cab driver was a talkative guy, mid-30′s, and asked if I attended the Expo. When I said “yes,” he took it as an opening to lay into his favorite target: overweight people.

Pointing out the large number of overweight people walking outside of the Arnold, the Columbus cabbie castigated the corpulent crowd:

“Look at all these fat bastards,” he yelled while pointing out a couple of heavy women. “They should all be shot. I wouldn’t be caught dead looking like those whales.”

I responded politely, “Well, I think that’s why a lot of these people are here, to get educated about how to get in shape.”

Sure, there are better places for them to look for fitness than at a bodybuilding show, but that wasn’t the point. They were trying and that was what mattered. I applaud that.

He grumbled something and said “Still, it’s gross and there should be laws.”

He laughed but the disgust in his voice made me wonder if he was half serious.

Thing was, he looked to be a good 40-pnds over-flabbed himself, so I was a little taken aback with his anger. Was he projecting all of his own insecurities onto these hefty people, turning his self-hate outward, or just being a fat-hater?

Who knows but the dude had some real anger towards these people.

Despite my insistence that many overweight people are doing the best they can to get fit, he wouldn’t have it. He liked having a target for his anger, so he wasn’t about to abandon his “Death to Fat People” thinking.

I run into this a lot. People with flab issues seem to be some of the most virulent anti-blubberites out there. Most commonly it’s the double-standard of tubby men condemning tubby women. He’s either not even seeing it in himself or thinks it’s okay for a man to be flabby but not a woman. It’s fine for him to eat and un-activate himself into a porcine oblivion but she better be a size 0.

Thing is, we can’t judge why someone is fat. The reason could be medical, like a hypothyroid; it could be because she just doesn’t know how to eat or exercise right but she is seriously trying; or could be that he is just lazy, in denial or simply doesn’t care.

Either way, does it really matter how fat someone else is? No, you’re the only one that matters and their life has no bearing on yours.

It always goes back to this: worry about your own self. Don’t concern yourself with the lives of others and mind your own business. Usually those who are so concerned with others are avoiding their own stuff, case in point this cab driver.

By ragging on other fat people, the cabbie can avoid dealing with his own body. This way he can deny he even has the same weight issues as the same people he’s bashing. Not saying he should harsh on himself but he’s got to accept he, too, has some flab to lose.

You want to know how to get fittest fastest? Pay attention to your own thinking and behavior and don’t concern yourself with anyone else’s (unless it’s to learn, not to judge yourself or them), be nice to yourself and stay the fitness course.

All the best,

Eddie Baran

Anyway, after the show was long gone, it was roundly criticized for being too unrealistic and thus not TV worthy.

Come on. What TV show has ever been realistic? Nowadays, TV usually has some vapid, simpleminded 20-year old Barbie or Ken playing neurosurgeon or NASA scientist. Yeah, right. Gilligan’s Island had more realism than most television shows of today.

What about realism in reality TV? Not quite. Even reality shows aren’t real. Producers exploit and script easily manipulated dimwits who are so desperate for attention that they will do anything to be on TV, even if it means being a complete buffoon just for the sake of fulfilling the public’s voyeuristic and sadistic appetite.

As I was saying, TV has never reflected reality. And shouldn’t always have to. Besides, Leave it to Beaver was from a different bygone era of the late 1950s and early 1960s, so it can’t be compared to today. For example, Beaver had a friend whose name was Whitey due to his white, bleached blond hair. “Whitey” is not something you’d call anybody today unless you wanted to start a fight.

Not only was the show reflecting a totally different time, it was a sitcom and meant to be an unrealistic escape. The Cleaver family’s squeaky simpleness, although ridiculous, was part of their goofy appeal.

If we were to judge Leave it to Beaver by today’s standards as the pretentious blowhard critics do, then we must conclude that the only realistic people on the show would be Larry Mondello, Beaver’s fat friend, and the aptly named Lumpy Rutherford, Wally’s portly pal.

In the show, Lumpy and Larry were the only tubby kids back in Beaver’s day. Because they were only ones they stood out like sore thumbs. However, compared to kids today, they would be pretty typical and blend right in. It’s the healthy and fit kids from the show, like Beaver, Wally and Eddie, who would be alien in today’s America. The rare fat kid of Beaver’s day are now the average kid of today. We’ve all gotten fatter, thus Larry and Lumpy don’t seem unusual.

What happened?

Inactivity, poor diet, garbage food, video games, cable TV, internet, texting, no PE in school and a society born and bred on laziness, instant gratification, irresponsibility, blame and zero self-respect, are among just some of the culprits. I can’t fault most parents because they’ve got an uphill battle
with all the negative influences in today’s society. Although some parents are abominable, most are doing the best they can.

We can’t change a lot of these negative influences but we can do something about inactivity and poor diet. Do these things and the rest will be taken care of. Exercise gives your child patience, a sense of accomplishment, self-respect, brains and brawn (but not fat), a lean, fit and healthy body. It’s the perfect cure for anything, as far as Mr. Ed is concerned.

That’s why I came out with my Wild Animal Fitness for Kids. It’s a fun way to introduce fitness to all kids so they build the exercise habit. It makes strong muscles, burns flab and builds a healthy body.

Go here now and go back in time to Beaver’s day where the overweight kid was the exception not the rule.

All the best,

Eddie Haskell

P.S. Although the beaver isn’t one of the animals showcased in the program, no doubt they’re are great athletes. To learn from other great animal athletes, go here.

There was the usual junk food but I wanted something a little better. I walked into a restaurant, looked at the menu, thought to myself, “This doesn’t look too horrible,” and went to the counter to place my order.

The woman working there politely tells me I will need to wait 15 minutes since they just opened up.

“No problem,” I tell her. There didn’t seem to be anything else around and it appeared to be the least disgusting thing in ATL.
“I can wait.”

The woman tells the girl working there to start cooking. But the girl gets upset and starts whining and complaining. She doesn’t want to cook anything because she doesn’t like her job so she sees no reason to do it.

She’s playing the ol’ victim card.

I’ve had plenty of crap jobs in my life, a lot worse than her job, yet I never would have thought about not doing the job, even when I hated it.

At first I felt a sense of self-righteous indignation and was going to say something, but I calmed down and thought this through:

First off, not a really good idea to piss off someone who’s preparing your food; who knows what she’d do to it.

Second, if there’s something crappy around you that you can’t fix, walk away if you can.

And that’s what I did. I didn’t want to be bothered so I left. It wasn’t worth any more of my time or energy so I let it go. She can be mad and irresponsible on her own. I took responsibility by just leaving and finding something better. (Which I actually did, so I’m glad I didn’t settle. There are always options.)

It never ceases to amaze me what people won’t do even though it’s their responsibility: she won’t work because she thinks she should get paid for doing nothing or because she doesn’t like her job.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change the situation, then change your thinking about it. She could realize this job is a stepping stone to something better, which she would like and was better paying. For now, accept it and make the best of it. This is just a temporary gig for which she should be grateful. Something better will show up later and she won’t be stuck there forever (unless she doesn’t change her attitude). Being bitter and angry won’t get her that 6-figure job she thinks she’s entitled to for doing nothing.

People have the same attitudes about their bodies. They like being victims and wallow in their own self pity. Or they feel entitled to a super fit body without any effort, like from taking the magic pill or doing only one pushup. Or they’re just lazy. They won’t move a muscle to save their own lives.

They’re not happy about being too fat, too weak, too this or too that, yet they won’t do what it takes to change.

Then there are those who aren’t lazy or expect instant results, but feel they do feel they don’t deserve a fit body. Or they feel nothing will work for them.

They’re wrong on both counts, and this is still victimhood.

Everyone deserves a fit body and there are lots of things that work.

Speaking of lazy, if you feel you’re too lazy to exercise, or don’t have time, then you can still your work out in the easiest possible way. My friend Cees, who’s a former Olympic gymnast, trains in bed and in his car. His program is perfect for anyone who’s already in great shape, or those in poor shape and want to start an exercise program in the easiest possible way. This is perfect for the lazy person. No more excuses.

Your own health and happiness is your responsibility, no one else’s. This is great news. It’s empowering. It means you have
100% total control over your life, no one or nothing else can affect you. It’s all you.

All the best,

Eddie Baran

We delay our healthy plans and promise to go the next day. But we have to reschedule again and again and finally we give up. There is just not enough time in the day to get to it. What to do?

Here’s the answer that will change everything:

My friend Cees is a former Olympic gymnast and Dutch National Gymnastics champion. Today he’s an aerial artist in a Cirque du Soleil type show in Las Vegas and has traveled the world showing off his unique skills.

As a gymnast and entertainer, his body, shape and condition has been and still is a big part of his life; it’s his job, after all.

Cees will show you that even in this out-of-control, overwhelming hectic world, you can still get a full body workout. The best thing; You do not even have to change one thing to what you are doing right now.

He has used this method already for years but did not know the importance and impact it made on other people. So, he gathered his experience and expertise and created this series of DVD’s which shows you simple but very effective strengthening and toning exercises that you can do in your normal daily routine.

Where can you do it?

In your car – Forget texting your BFF. Get a good workout instead. But do it at a stop light when the car’s not moving.

In bed – Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about when you wake up you can get a work out, first thing.

In front of the TV – No longer will the tube make you tubby.

At work – In between surfing the web, spreading office gossip, getting denigrated by the boss and playing Farmville, you can get a good workout right at your desk.

In your kitchen – Whilst doing the dishes or cooking. But not at the exact same moment.

Everywhere or anywhere else.

But who is this program for?

Perfect for elite athletes like Cees who need to stay in tip top shape.

Perfect for people brand new to exercise who need a gentle, easy, quick yet effective way to get a good work out to lose flab and gain muscle.

Perfect for people who are recovering from injury.

Perfect for people who have very little time.

Perfect for everybody, including myself. Although I do make the time to work out, I still do many of Cees’s exercises myself. They’re great for preventing injuries and keeping the muscles supple and ready for action.

His program is phenomenal. I use it to supplement my own training. You can supplement your training or use it all by itself,
regardless of your level.

Enough of me yammering. Go check out his fabulous course for yourself.

All the best,

Eddie Baran

Hi Eddie,
I LOVE your Body Sculpting Bodyweight Exercises for Women
program – http://eddiebaran.com/body-sculpting-women.html – I
purchased it about a month ago and I really enjoy it. Anyways,
I’m curious. Do I ever have to worry about “over doing it”?
If I have the energy and feel good during the workout can I
just keep going with these exercises or is there a point where
you are actually doing more harm than good?

Thanks again. I love how my arms are strengthening and I really
feel the muscles in my legs.
Theresa

Glad you’re enjoying the program and benefitting from it. The answer is really specific to you, but I’ll generalize here.

Overdoing it is a common question and concern. This is something a lot of beginners do. Overdoing it is not a good idea for a beginner because your body and brain aren’t used to it. They’ll push too hard too soon and then decide they don’t like it and quit for good.

People are gung-ho at the start, and I can appreciate that, but by doing too much they might burn out physically and mentally. And if your form is not good, then this might cause problems, like an injury. If your form is good, the worst that’ll happen is you’ll just get very sore or tired.

Even if you’re in great shape but are new to gymnastic or animal type conditioning, take it easy until you get used to the movement. Whenever I start something new, I always go beginner style for a while until I acclimate and get the form down, even if it seems easy at first.

Once you get the hang of exercise, and you’re definitely not a beginner and have committed yourself to fitness, then I actually encourage you to overdo it once in a while. What I mean by this is push it beyond your normal routine. Do more reps, more sets, more time, etc. Don’t do anything foolish, but push it.

And always focus on good form. If your form is off then you’re probably doing an entirely different exercise and you run the risk of injury at worst or poor results at best.

Most people who’ve been exercising for a while don’t push the envelope at all. You don’t want to do this every workout, just once in a while.

Having said all that, you’ve been doing the program consistently for a month so it sounds like you’re committed and have built a pretty good foundation. The rep and set schemes in my programs are suggestions only.

So, if you’re feeling good and want to keep going, then do it. Just make sure your form doesn’t deviate too far from the norm. Use your judgment and common sense. If something feels off then stop.

Keep up the great work and let me know how it goes.

====

Your body will let you know if you’re doing too much too soon. Pay attention. If you’ve overdone it, scale back. If not, then keep pushing until you’ve reached a point where you know it’s your limit.

Planning your own exercise routine is a learning process with constant course corrections. It’s not an exact science, but it is the best way to really get to know your body and what it needs.

All the best,

Eddie Baran

She’s a nice enough lady but a bit on the surly side, and a bit of a know-it-all about everything, including health. She’s also a good 50 pnds over, mid-fifties, and has never exercised a day in her life.

I’m always pleasant with her but we’re not what you’d call chummy, best buds, amigos. I learned the best way for dealing with her was not to engage her when she goes off on her inane ramblings about this or that. Usually I just smile and employ ye olde “in one ear, out the other” method. Besides, like most people she’s not interested in what others think but only in what she thinks.

As we started the meal, she asked if the vegetables were organic. The answer was no, they were not organically grown.

“Well, then, no thanks,” she announced, “I’m not putting that poison into my body.”

Oh, brother. Here we go.

She went on to explain that where she lives she can’t get organic produce so usually doesn’t eat fruit and vegetables anyway because they’re dangerous.

The irony and the absurdity of this scene was too surreal. Here was a woman who was obviously in poor shape, eating huge amounts of pretty unhealthful food (as were we all), yet refused to have any vegetable because she thought they were bad for her.

Awesome.

There was no way to educate her since she knew everything and I knew, from past experience, that she wouldn’t listen.

Many a response ran through my mind, none of which I said to her, but I will tell you:

1. Yes, organically grown food is usually better for you because it’s usually a higher quality. Plus, organic produce usually tastes better. If you have a choice, and can afford it, by all means go organic.

But poison it’s not. I know this is going to anger a lot of  religiously organic zealots out there, but that’s the way it is. There are trace amount of pesticides with a very low risk of disease.

There’s a saying in toxicology: “The dose makes the poison.” But fear is a powerful drug and people love them some scary stuff to be afraid of, especially if it distracts them from what they should be paying attention to.

The danger of pesticides is to the environment and to the farm laborers who work with these chemicals. But the risk to those
who consume conventional produce is very, very slim.

The best food for your body is lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. And if you can only get the conventional kind, then eat those, and lots of them. Organic, unfortunately, are very expensive and hard to find in certain areas.

With people eating so much bad food in such high quantities, why make it harder to eat right by scaring them out of their vegetables? It doesn’t make sense. Sure, avoid all vegetables and fruits because you can’t find organic ones but eat plenty of that organic processed crap from a box that contains even worse chemicals and increases your obesity.

No doubt, someone is going to think that I advocate eating pesticides, or some other such nonsense. People think what they want to think. Again, I’m advocating eating lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. It’s the best food for your body.

2. This woman was in pure denial. Totally ignoring her own imminent and looming obesity, she found another target. And it was also a good way to rationalize her avoidance of foods she doesn’t like. Find a way to make vegetables and fruits palatable so you will eat them.

She’s got way bigger problems than worrying about trace and, most  likely, harmless amounts of pesticides. Little if any health hazards are from eating these kinds of plant foods.

The bigger, huge and proven risk is her weight, her diet and her inactivity, especially at her age. She’s got much bigger fish to fry than worry about what’s in the apples she eats.

It’s like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, as the saying goes.

We have a huge hole in the bow of this barge, we’re sinking into freezing water, and if we don’t die from drowning we most certainly will from hypothermia. But you’re worried about the aesthetics of the boat? Skipper and Gilligan couldn’t have caused a worse shipwreck.

I see this all over the place. People worrying about the micro or small health decisions while avoiding the big/macro ones.
As I said before, this is what’s called serious denial. By focusing on the minor changes that won’t do much of any good now, this way she’ll avoid having to deal with the big change.

I realize the media makes it all so confusing, but stick to the basics, like eating lots of fruits and vegetables and exercising (i.e. the ship) and worry about the embellishments later, like organic foods ( i.e. the deck chairs).

All the best,

Eddie Baran