Anything good is hard work period! If anyone tells you otherwise they’re liars or cheaters because success takes hard work and sacrifice everyday. You will get knocked down and that’s a guarantee, but the real question is how you’re going to get up???

Are you going to be like 97% of most people in this world who give up at the first sign of opposition???

It’s about time that America wakes up to what’s going on and understand that there is no quick fix in true success…

Understand that now because it’s true!

Those who don’t will always bitch and complain about the results they get, but should understand it’s themselves that are at fault with the negative attitude they’re developing…

Stay hungry and become better!

To be a true champion you MUST practice everyday what you’re going after and even if you get knocked down; which you will, you must rise yet again for another round…

Practicing everyday can be in the form of positive visualizations or thoughts as well as training the physical!

Whaaaaa!!!!!

That’s right, the man you see in the picture above is a bad ass! He’s considered to be the most talented martial artist of all time and I will not dispute that…

I’m definitely a fan of his work ethic and mental toughness when it comes to developing self. After all, WE are our own worst enemies.  We can learn many things from him!

He was also known for his unbelievable strength with his two-fingered push-ups to pull-ups holding onto a 2×4. That is some serious grip strength people…

One thing that stands out to me is the development and strength of his abdominal muscles. There are many questions about how to get six-pack abs so I’m going to share what you can do.

Bruce Lee can do two-fingered push-ups! That alone takes tremendous balance and stability of the body. If you have ever done a plank you can see why this exercise is critical for that area.

Here’s a couple of exercises and circuits you can try!

First realize that if you’re a beginner you must start with basic movements then progress as you get stronger.

Start with planks holding bodyweight for 15 seconds to 1 minute.

Here’s the breakdown…

Beginner:

1)Front plank, left & right side also. 45 seconds on the front and 30 each side total 1:45 sec

Advanced Circuit no rest in between sets:

1) Leg raises 1×15

2) Russian Twist 1×15

3) Plank Knee to Elbow 1×15

Super Advanced Circuit no rest in between sets:

1) Hanging Knee To Elbows 1×15

2) Hanging Wind Shield Wipers 1×10-15

3) Full body Leg Raises 1×10-20

There ya have it! Give these a whirl and take your time on them. I once progressed way too fast in these and suffered from a strained abdominal muscle.

Take your time…

Stay Strong!

Before we go, hit this track to listen as you read and let’s get nutzzzz! If not, cool it’s your world…

Sometimes you need to just dominate a steak.

This one in particular was damn near an inch and half thick.

Hells yeah!!!!!

This sucker is packed full of calories and should keep you full for the remainder of the evening.

If you feel like it, you can add in a glass of wine and a salad like I did.

I don’t recommend doing this often, but if you’re trying to put some mass on you must devour.

I cycle my meats from wild game, fish, chicken,tuna,beef,turkey and what ever else walked or crawled at one time or another.

Don’t be scared!

I’m sure there are vegetarians that are going to read this and that’s ok.

I’m a carnivore and proud of it.

I like to go barbarian style on my food sometimes.

Paleo hard to the core!

It’s good to not eat the same thing all the time. We must have a cheat day or two during the week.

Some people say one cheat day I say two.

It works well for me so I’m not going to fix anything.

It’s not broke!

Try a steak like this one on for size and let me know what you think.

If you start growing too many muscles slow down and take your time.

There’s no rush!

There’s plenty of steaks and iron to go around.

Save some for me geezzzz!

Oh yeah! Here’s the nutrtional break down of this bad boy…

Breakdown

Daily Values

Ha ha!

Now is the time where I sign off! I have zercher squats to do…

Stay Strong like kong!

In the video I performed 5 sets of 5 reps of the hang clean. I was feeling good so I decided to listen to my body and give it a go. My workout looks like this.

Warm up 5-10 min

1) Hang clean 5×5

2) jump squats 2×25 (my legs were fried!)

2a) pullups 3x

2b) pushups 3x

3) 4 exercise ab circuit

I say this often because it’s so damn important so I’ll say it again, “Listen to what your body wants and not what you want.”

There were many times in my early days of training that I thought every mondaywas an upper body day with heavy ass weight and lots of reps.

My body later told me that this was not the case. I had to learn the hard way and now have to go through a series of exercises just to warm up.It’s a workout in itself!

Word to the wise!

Don’t be a stinker and use your thinker… Ha ha : )

Stay Stong!

****Joe****

I have….

It’s funny because sometimes it seems we have to struggle before we ever succeed.

The struggles are all part of the plan to prepare us for the good!

This new year should be a better one than last because we’ve learned what to focus on and what to turn away from.

Right?

During this time of year many people set short-term goals only to abandoned them in a few short months from now.

Why does this happen?

In my opinion goal setting and having the determination to follow through is very important for success and achievement.

Many people fail to reach their personal potential because lack of determination.

I’ve learned that it’s critical we review our goals every day so it’s imbedded into our subconscious minds.

In time it becomes routine and a burning desire is formed for us to accomplish what we set out to do.

That is one way you can make sure you wont abandon your goal. Review and think often the good feelings about achieving them.

In the Words of Mike Tyson, “Sometimes we have to be at our lowest point to get the purest out of ourselves!”

This can be called the turning point from where we decide to go from nothing to something.

All people go through this, but some decide to turn left while others take a right hand turn down a wrong road.

It’s your decision because you have the power!

One of my favorite athletes has gone back and forth with his decision-making and thoughts throughout his career.

He came from suffering to riches and still focuses on becoming better.

I’m not speaking for him, but my opinion about him.

I relate with some of the things he talks about with his experiences with training and life in general.

He set big time goals!

After reaching them, fell apart and then rebuilt himself with new goals.

The power of goal setting is huge!

It can change you in a moments notice.

Set a few goals, focus on them and watch what happens.

Happy New Year!

****Joe****

Understanding that taking chances in life will determine how successful and happy we become.

Some of the happiest people on earth are individuals who have went through hell, but refused to give up.

It’s always a rewarding feeling to accomplish a goal and know you worked your ass of trying to get it.

Jordan speaks about taking chances and giving your all. If you fail at least you know what not to do the next time you try.

In the words of Mike, “you never succeed without the possibility of failure.”

Nothing ever good is had if you aren’t willing to take risk’s.

This stuff hit’s home with me during this time of year. Taking immediate action on your goals gives you momentum and moves you forward.

Waiting only slows you down!

In the words of Hill, “Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man, but soon or late the man who wins is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!

That quote is one of many that I always keep in the back of my mind. It’s also related with what Jordan speaks about.

I’ll end this post with a question!

What do you want in your life?

If you were to ask most people they couldn’t tell you.

I often ask this and get blank stares. It amazes me that we are willing to let what we see dictate how we feel.

If you don’t like what you see in your day-to-day life chance what you think about.

Your thoughts are direclty related to what you see and how you feel.

Take a chance on your dream!

****Joe****

Here’s some of the things that I learned along the way in strength training. This type of training is the wave of the future for increasing performance and building a better athlete/individual.

It’s funny because it’s not new at all. In fact it’s straight up old school!

Yep! This stuff has been around since the beginning of time, but has been reintroduced to me through a bad ass coach.

Zack even-esh has brought back the old school way of lifting to all of us.

Thanks Z!

Here are some of the lifts we have been able to implement.

The workout looks like this!

1) sandbag clean squat to press 10,8,6,4,2

2a) chain pull ups 4 x submax reps

2b) plyo pushups 5 each side 4 sets

3a) Battling Rope 3 x 1 min

4) grip and abs 4 exercises abs 15 reps

It may look easy, but trust me it will get your heart rate jumping in two shakes of a lambs tail.

Feel free to leave a comment or two after you try the workout?

May strength be with you!

****Joe****

Decisions that change your life!

Ok! I have done this as well, but man I’m trying to focus on making decisions promptly and not look back.

It’s good not to be wishy-washy with what you want. The I’m not sure what to do attitude never gets anyone anywhere.

I’ve had to learn this myself over time, but it serves me well as I go through my day.

Follow your inner instinct!

I remember when I was an undergraduate in college and had to make a huge decision.

It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make at that time because I was leaving a gal I dated for 4 years and didn’t know what to do.

At that time it was a dream of mine to go to the University of Nebraska and work with their football program. I had the chance to do just that, but the risk seemed high.

I was also an athlete at that time so it was even harder. I had to figure out how I was going to drop my gal, sport, friends, school and current life to move to another place and start another life.

It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but by doing so I knew that it would make me the person I wanted to become.

So there I was, sitting in my dorm room making a decision that would change my life forever.  One by one I said goodbye to what was at the time the most important people and events in my life.

It would be the following semester that I would enroll into the University and start my training with the Mecca of strength and conditioning.

And here I am today with a gym and a bunch of new friends and awesome opportunities. I guess the moral of this story is that if you never take a chance at anything, how will you know what could have been.

I now have a gym where we build bad ass athletes and watch them go do what they dream to do. One day at a time I get closer to my ultimate goal and dream realization.

There are so many decisions that I have made between the time I went to Nebraska and now that shaped my current reality.

It’s what makes you!

If your having trouble making a decision just follow you inner instint.

It guides you in times of need!

Even if it feels as if it’s the wrong choice you will open up a series of new adventures that will guide you to your ultimate outcome.

I’ll tell you about them along the way on this journey in strength.

The power of goal setting and making decisions is huge.

We must stay on point and be strong!

****Joe****

Hey guys sorry for the grammatical errors in my recent post’s. My proof reader took the day off  I guess.

Ok some questions coming in about what a person needs to do about getting in shape.

The first thing I’m going to say, I always keep that positive mental attitude no matter what and believe that what’s supposed to happen will happen and in the right time.

The Second thing is, have you guys ever saw the movie 300?

If you have then you know those guys on that movie are jacked up from head to toe big time

How did they get that way?

When that movie came out everyone was trying to figure out the secret behind those muscled out guys. It later came out to the public as the “300″ workout.

This workout was composed of deadlifts, pull-ups, abdominal exercises and db snatches plus some tire jumps and a lot of reps.

The problem is that this was one workout among many that they did in preparation for that movie.

Nutrition!

What type of food you’re eating will determine what your body looks like.

Unless your naturally gifted you’re going to have to focus on this and I mean focus on it big time.

Another important factor to take into consideration is the use of different tools in your training regimen.

You will want to use kettle bells, chains, gymnastics movements, heavy weightlifting, resistant bands, tire drags, stones, sandbags and a lot of other equipment that will build a warrior physique.

What these tools do is train your body and muscles in ways you couldn’t even imagine. A 40lb kettle bell feels a lot different from a 40lb db.

 There are also loads of body weight movements you can do. 

I remember when I first tried walking on my hands in a wheel barrow position for distance.

It took everything I had and cause my muscles to be very sore for a few days. It’s important to add and take away exercise so you don’t become accustomed to them.

Your body is a unique machine and will adapt to a workout over time so it’s best to keep it thinking.

Change it up and keep growing and loosing that body fat. You will be amazed on how training with odd objects can get you ripped beyond belief.

Nutrition!

Don’t forget the most important part to all this. If you don’t have the discipline to eat good food it’s going to be a hard and long road.

This time of year is critical!

Have some fun with food over the holidays, but don’t over do it.

Stay consistent!

This type of training is not for everyone and there’s a lot of hard work involved.

Anything good is never easy and takes time to learn!

“AS A PERSON THINKETH IN THEIR HEART, SO ARE THEY.” Hill

Stay strong!

****Joe*****

Well it seems to be that time of year again, where the snow and cold air start to become a regular part of our day here in Nebraska.

It’s funny because a lot of people hibernate during this time of the year and become distant from working out and eating healthy.

Why do we go through this as a society year after year?

Approximately 3- 6 months from now you’re going to see an influx of people at the gym with their new year’s resolutions and the hope of maintaining them.

Year after year I see this and year after year most, but not all people fail to keep their promises.

The best explanation to this problem is that you are either a winner or a quitter.

To me, a winner is someone who loses, but gets back up yet again for another attempt. 

A quitter quits and gives up altogether accepting defeat.

They simply run away from their problems!

Which one are you?

We all come across insurmountable problems sometimes, but if we just weather the storm we will actually become stronger and wiser over time.

It won’t last forever and the good times are right around the corner.

It is my belief that the continuation of a positive mental attitude will deliver positive situations in your life so don’t give up even if it seems you are going backwards.

There’s an old saying my dad used to say back where I come from and it goes a little something like this.

“You either cowboy up or go sit in the truck!“

I remember this when things get tuff!

Last winter this time of the year was brutal.

Trav and I had no heat in the gym, but we still trained through the winter.

And yes we even had our clients train with us as well.

These guys were super tuff for doing that and I have nothing, but respect for them.

Training in below zero temps will test your and willalso develop extreme mental toughness…

The new year is right around the corner!

Let me know if you guys are having issues with staying motivated?

****Joe****