What Works for Me in Fitness

I have been training recently for a 5K run in early May. I wanted to change things up a bit in my workout and a bit of running seemed just the thing.

What I'm discovering, though, is that I don't feel nearly as good when I run as I do when I just stick to my bodyweight exercises and sprinting work.

I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago with a mild migraine, and after lying in bed with it for a couple of hours after taking some Excedrin and feeling horrible, I finally got up and went down to the basement for a few minutes to take in an activity that I haven't done in a while - a wrestler's bridge (as presented by Matt Furey in his book Combat Conditioning).

For those of you who aren't familiar with this exercise, you lie on your back, then arch your back so that your feet and your head are supporting your weight, and you can use your hands for a bit of extra support if you need. You then slowly roll forward on your head until your forehead is on the ground (yes, I have a pretty soft exercise mat).

PLEASE DON'T DO THIS EXERCISE BASED ONLY ON MY DESCRIPTION! Get the above book and learn the proper way to do it.

It sounds painful. It feels great. I stayed in that position for a couple of minutes, rolling back and forth lightly on the top of my head, and belly-breathing as deeply as I could. My back stretched out, my neck loosened up, and my headache went away.

I then got up and did 50 free squats, just to work out some of the kinks. I went upstairs, read for a half hour or so, and went back to bed. I felt great all day Sunday after taking the five minutes to do this.

Today I got up and did my morning run of almost 3 miles. I took it nice and slow. And now I can't wait to get home and bridge again, to work out some of the kinks once more.

I have never felt better from top to bottom than I do when I am on a regular bodyweight exercise routine. Even when I was swimming, I had knee problems (I was a breaststroker and that whip kick was tough on the knees) to the extent where it hurt to go down the stairs.

I never feel bad when I'm doing the bridge, Hindu Pushups, or Hindu Squats regularly. It's strength, stability and stretching all in one. And I'm not selling anything here.

So ironically, I got this email today from the creator of Combat Conditioning, Matt Furey. It hit the nail right on the head again. And yes, a lot of it is a sales job. But it's sales for a product I already have... and I'll tell you right now that it works. I hope Matt makes a fortune selling this stuff be

BIG FAT FITNESS LIES

Hi James,

Hold it. You may be exercising and eating all wrong.

You may have been led to believe a lot of very stupid and untrue things about what
it takes to get fit.

Things like:

* Running several miles per day is the key to getting fit.

* Doing a ton of long, slow distance (LSD) is absolutely necessary.

* Lifting the heaviest weights you possibly can will turn you into a human fire plug.

* Eating five or six times per day will crank up your metabolism.

* Training one part of your body today and another part tomorrow will prevent overtraining.

* Only working out 2-3 times per week is the fastest way to make progress.

My friend, there are pieces of truth in all these lies.

For example:

Long-slow cardio may make you feel good - but if you want to "STEP UP" your metabolism, you're far better off doing a very hard, very vigorous workout that calls upon all your physical and mental reserves. You're better off with a short workout that will never get easy - no matter how often you do it.

Consider the sprinter. He does not do long distance cardio. Yet his body is lean, muscular and powerful.

It is rare to find a long distance cardio person who is well muscled.

He may be lean, but there's no power.

Not only that, but after a period of time - the long cardio workout person may end up suffering from hip, knee, ankle and lower back pain.

Why?

All the pounding on the joints. It takes a tremendous toll on the body.

Instead of the long, slow, dull approach to fitness, consider the following 5 ways to a Metabolism Makeover.

1. Begin doing vigorous full body body weight exercises that force you to lose control of your breathing. If you aren't getting out of breath when you train, your system is NOT being forced to adapt and change. The harder you are breathing, the more
shock to the system. The more "shock" there is - the greater the shake-up in your metabolism. The exercises in Combat Conditioning - http://mattfurey.com/conditioning_book.html cause this to happen and that is why they those who use
them fit FAST.

2. Instead of running or bicycling several miles per day for cardio exercise - train like a cheetah. Run as hard as you can, at full blast, for as long as you can. Run with all your might. When finished you'll be gasping for oxygen. And this gasping is
what turns on the fat burning furnace within.

In Combat Conditioning you'll find sprint workouts you can follow that will turn you into a lean, powerful prey-catching cheetah within 90 days.

3. Practice deep breathing. The deeper you breathe the more oxygen in your system. The more oxygen in your system, the faster your metabolism. Don't just get your deep breathing from vigorous exercise. Get if from the act of deep breathing itself -
done all day long.

4. Eat plenty of fiber rich, water-content foods while avoiding starchy foods most of time.

5. Change the mental picture you have of yourself. As you see yourself in your mind's eye - so you become.

Follow this approach to getting fit fast and you'll catch the eyes of everyone when you walk down the street. Others will instantly sense that something is different about you. And you'll know why.

Matt Furey

Thanks Matt.