Superhero Powers

If you could have one super-hero power, what would it be? Of all the wonderful powers you can think of, or that someone else has thought of, which ONE would you choose to have if you could have it? 

I think I would choose, and have chosen, super-resilience. I would choose to be impervious to injury; bulletproof - if you will, like Superman. If you know anything about me, you know I'm a Superman geek. Anyway, I would choose to be bulletproof, because if you can't get hurt, nothing can stop you. If you can't get injured, and you know it, life is yours to live. There would be no fear of engaging in anything - physically. To me, that would be an awesome super-hero power to have. There would be no brakes. If you saw a mountain, you would know that you could climb it, or push it. Even if you don't succeed the at first attempt, if you can't get hurt, you are free to engage, to embrace,  the challenge. 

The power of being bulletproof, could lead to the power of living without fear. That is like getting 2 powers for the choose of 1. Think about it. How many times have you ever heard someone say things like, "I'd better not try to lift that, my back will probably go out." , or "I would love to go hiking, but I hurt my knee a few years ago, and I need to be careful." People limit themselves, their lives, because of the fear, the anticipation, of being injured. 

We are not supposed to live this way! We are supposed to be free! To live without reservations. Oh wait. Suddenly the power to be bulletproof leads to 3 powers: resiliency, no fear, and freedom. Whoa. That is a 3 for 1 special now. 

The point is, we are supposed to live. To really live. Not just take up space, not just long to be able to play like we used to, to feel like we used to, not just imagine having a good time or a good life. We are supposed to take, to grab, a good life - to walk it out. We are not supposed to be afraid, or imprisoned by our self imposed thoughts of pain. Your body was made to be resilient and strong! It is capable of so many wonderful things: Things that man envisions superheroes to be able to do. Those superhero thoughts come from us because deep down inside, there is a superhero that is craving to come out and live. 

I said that I have chosen to be bulletproof.  I have. There is a superhero in me, and I'm letting him out. You can do the same thing. You can live. Don't believe the lie of being normal and just merely existing. Be different. Choose your superhero power and then go take the life you are supposed to live. 

What power will you chose? Be strong. Be bulletproof. Be fast. Be elastic. Be powerful. Be witty. Be brave. Be. 

The Path Taken

This is my story. The events of this story are true. You may not agree with where I am coming from, but you cannot take away my experiences nor the path I am traveling on. Read this with an open mind and know. Also know that no superheroes were injured in the events of this story. They were, however, made.

In the last week I was introduced to two articles in the media about crawling. Perhaps these articles were seeking me, I don't know. One article was about a tribe that did not walk on two feet. Their entire lives were spent on all fours; they bear crawled everywhere they went. The other article was about a tribe where the children skipped crawling, they simply bypassed that developmental movement pattern. In this article, the writers were eluding to crawling not being necessary for "normal" child development. 

Both articles were interesting. And "scientist" can speculate and theorize all they want about these two outliers, but in the end, that is all they are: Outliers and distractions. Here is the deal: You were made to crawl. Crawling is a gift. It builds you. It builds your brain. It builds your body. It ties everything about you together. It helps develop you cognitively and emotionally. It helps to make you strong - in every sense of the word strong.

Here is what I know: About 3 1/2 years ago, God turned me on to crawling for making a resilient body. I wanted to be Superman... Anyway, Becoming Bulletproof was eventually born. Today, crawling is the rave! It is in every "movement" discipline; old ones and new ones. Everyone is talking about it. They talk about it, they theorize, they speculate. Some actually do it. Like I said, crawling is now everywhere. 

As I said above, crawling is a gift. You were made to crawl - so much so that it can actually restore your body's reflexive strength and mobility no matter what age you are, or stage in life that you are in. 

Last night as I was thinking about these two articles and all the discussion around them and crawling in general, I started thinking, "But, they don't know what I know." 

Now hold on, this gets deep. I've been crawling for a long time now. I know crawling. I can Spider-man crawl further than Spider-man, himself. Crawling is not some theory to me. It is FACT. It is - leads up to - strength. 

In my thoughts about crawling, last night, I decided I would prove what I know. I decided to Spider-man crawl, NOT BEAR CRAWL, one mile. One mile. I knew I could do this. 

(Here is where it gets deep, by the way.) I can crawl one mile - like Spider-man. But not by my own strength. I am smart enough to know that God gave me crawling, and through crawling, I have built a resilient and strong body. But I also know that God is my ultimate source of strength. To crawl one mile, I would need to rely on more than my own strength. I would need God. 

So, the decision was made to crawl one mile. I started thinking about how long it takes me to crawl one quarter of a mile (about 15 minutes) and doubt started to creep into my head, "Am I strong enough to do this?" The answer is no, not on my own. 

I opened up my bible to Isaiah 40: 31

"But those who wait on The Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up

with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not 

faint."   

Then, on the next chapter, this caught my eye: Isaiah 41:10

"Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." 

Wow. I'm was going to crawl one mile. It is already done, I just had not done it yet. 

To really drive this home, when I woke this morning, my daily bible verse app said this:

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13 

Do you think this was a coincidence? No. I don't. 

This morning, I crawled one mile, like Spider-man (butt down low, back level) in 49 minutes and 10 seconds. I never stopped. I never rested. My knee never touched the ground. The last 1/8 of a mile, I literally felt carried by the hand of God. I can do all things....

Why did I tell you all of this stuff about crawling and God? Because this is my story. To tell you less of the events would be to hide the truth. 

Also, there are two points to my story. One point is by far larger than the other - and you may not agree with it, and that is okay. God is the source of true strength. There was a lot more involved than just the strength my body trying to crawl for a mile. 

The lesser point is this: I know crawling. I understand it. I experience it, in some ways like no one else. I don't just think about it. Crawling makes you stronger. It makes you resilient. It sets your posture and your gait patterns. It coordinates your limbs, your brain, your everything. It can make you smarter. It teaches you: It can teach you so much about your body and what you are capable of doing. It can even help you become a superhero.

I crawled a mile today. Granted, it was not on my own strength. But, I am strong. I am tied together very well. Crawling was the gift, the tool, that tied me together. It is also the tool that has enabled me to move so well, so powerfully, so gracefully. I feel better at 38 years old than I did at 22 years old. I feel like Superman.

Regardless of whether or not you like my story. I know crawling. I know it can help you become the superhero you were meant to be. There is no debate. This is not theory.

If I did't lose you several paragraphs above, Thank you for reading.

  

A Drop in The Bucket

Have you ever heard the phrase, "It's just a drop in the bucket."? Where I am from, people use this phrase to indicate that something is small and seemingly insignificant. Like say you owe 1 million dollars to the bank. Giving the bank $10 towards that debt would just be a drop in the bucket. It might not seem like you were any closer to paying off your debt. Though, you would be.

Drops in the bucket, small as they seem, can eventually fill the bucket - no matter how large the bucket is. Every single itty-bitty drop adds up. One drop adds to another, to another and to another. The only thing that would keep the drops from adding up and filling the bucket would be to stop dropping, to stop making deposits. 

What in the blue blazes am I getting at? Two things: 

Don't underestimate the little things. 

Keep making deposits no matter how fruitless they may seem. 

For an example of this, let's look at rolling around on the floor, a reset from Original Strength and Becoming Bulletproof. Rolling seems "little" in the grand scheme of movements that you think you ought to do, or want to do. It seems insignificant. Especially if you have a huge goal or desire like being a great runner or even a strongman competitor.

Rolling, spending 2 minutes on the floor, every day is just a drop in the bucket for either of those goals. It doesn't even seem like it has anything to do with either of those goals. But, it does. Rolling can, and will, make you a better runner - a powerful runner. It helps build reflexive rotational strength - it is reflexive rotational strength. Rolling allows the body to withstand and take advantage of the forces that running generates. Rolling, which is so easy a baby could do it, allows the body to safely transfer forces of up to 10 times your body weight when you perform something like running sprints. Wow! Rolling, that simple drop in the bucket, allows the body to produce power and force - safely and efficiently. 

Same thing goes for a strongman competitor. Something as seemingly insignificant as rolling can tie the body together and allow a person to lift 3 to 4 times their bodyweight and carry it for 100 yards. Rolling lays the foundation for strength: One roll at a time. Done day in and day out, rolling can add power and strength to the "strongman" - safely.

Do you see what I mean? Something like rolling - something seemingly useless, insignificant, childish - if done regularly and consistently, can fill a bucket until it overflows. It is often the things that are small that make the biggest differences. Small movements, small gestures, small acts of kindness, small leaps of faith - they are small, but they fill buckets, they tip the scales, and they move mountains. 

The point of this is to stay the course. Whatever you are seeking, whatever you are training for, or living for; keep at it. Don't stop and don't dismiss the things that you think can never add up. Strength comes from the art, the discipline, of faithfully putting drops in the bucket.  Add little deposits of action, little drops of faith, every time you get the chance. Eventually you will fill up your bucket. Eventually you will be as strong and powerful as the waterfall that overflows from your bucket. 

I Went for a Crawl...

Today is my 38th birthday. In the last few years, I generally like to have a special "workout" to celebrate. Last night as I was trying to decide what I would do, the only thing I could come up with was crawling - the thing that makes me feel like a superhero. 

So today, I went for a crawl; through the neighborhood. For 40 minutes I crawled like Spider-man, only better because I doubt that he has ever crawled for 40 straight minutes. When you go for a crawl through the neighborhood you have plenty of time to think. You think about all kinds of things, too. For instance, why do people have no problem staring at you while you are crawling, but when you try to make eye contact with them, they seem fearful or act as if you are not really there? It's amazing how uncomfortable people can become when they encounter something they esteem as unusual. People that would normally smile and give a courtesy head nod, will not dare to make eye contact with you if you go for a crawl. 

Anyway, like I said, you have plenty of time to think and evaluate your life when you go for a crawl through your neighborhood. So today, I thought I would share some of my thoughts with you: 

I thought about how I've always wanted to be bulletproof, to be Superman. I've never outgrown that childhood dream. 

I thought about how I've even prayed to be Superman. Silly, I know. Or is it?

Today, while, and after I crawled, I realized I am never alone, or forsaken. 

I have a wife strong enough, patient enough, and loving enough to love me. Even though I do crazy things like crawl through the neighborhood. She doesn't understand it, but she accepts it. She has weathered the storm called "me" for twenty years. That is a blessing incapable of words.

I have two beautiful boys who also love me, AND think it somewhat normal that their dad can actually crawl for a mile. Can you imagine the conversations they might one day have at school? Can you imagine other little boys not ever even seeing their dad run, much less crawl?  

So In all my thinking this morning I realize this: I have everything I could ever want. My prayer has been answered. I am Superman. 

Don't freak out. I wear my underwear underneath my clothes, not on the outside. But, I can do, and be, whatever I want to do, and be. I am blessed. 

Here is my point: You can be Superman. You can be Wonder Woman, Wolverine, Batman, Spider-man, Cat Woman, Miss Marvel, Captain Marvel, Captain America. Whoever, whatever image you keep inside of you. It is there for a reason. Calling to come out. Nothing is impossible unless you concede that it is. You were made to be a superhero. That is a fact. Learn how to fly.

It's 9 am and my day is already fantastic. Have a great day!

You Can't Handle the Truth!

Famous line from a pretty good movie, A Few Good Men. Famous, and probably true. Many of us can't handle the truth. Especially when it comes to health and fitness. We would rather embrace a lie than grab hold to the truth. Why is this?

Before I answer this, let me give you some examples of what I am talking about:

Lie: If you skip breakfast you will get fat.

Lie: If you eat breakfast you will get fat.

Lie: You have no business strength training if you can't touch your toes. 

Lie: Olympic weight lifting is the best way to train if you want to run faster.

Lie: If you want to continue to improve and get stronger, you have to introduce lots of variety into your training.

Lie: If you eat after midnight, you will turn into a gremlin.

You get the point. Maybe? There is a whole lot of misinformation out there. The more complex and complicated the information seems, the more we are ready to believe it. After all, complicated information has to be correct. Look at all the thought and research that goes behind it. 

Many moons ago, I received a degree in Statistics. If I learned one thing in college, it was that you can prove anything you want to prove by adding variables, massaging numbers, and muddying the waters. You can makes things complicated to prove a point. But the point is only true in that particular angle with all those particular variables. In other words, you can "prove" anything with partial truths. However, a partial truth is not the truth. Partial truths are lies. Look at the first two examples I gave as lies, they are partial truths depending on how they are viewed and applied. But the truth is, they are simply not whole truths. 

There is a very deep rabbit hole that we could go down here, but I don't want to type a novel, or bore you to tears. So, I will just keep this simple.

And that is the point: Truth is simple. It is not complicated. Truth is usually so simple, we dismiss it. This is ironic too, as most of us have always been told to follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid), yet most all of us are drawn to the complicated like moths to a flame.  

Here are some simple truths:

1. The body was not made to be broken.

2. Crawling is foundational strength training. It ties the body together.

3. All muscles in your body are connected to your vestibular system. You should probably move your head often.

4. Your body needs carbohydrates, specifically sugars. Get over it. That is truth. 

5. Farmers keep the world alive. Paleo people (and I love you all) espouse that agriculture is the downfall of man, yet if it were not for farmers, they would not enjoy all that coconut oil, almond butter, and avocados they love to eat.  

6. We were not made to sit for hours at a time, at least not in comfortable chairs. 

7. You were literally made to move. Movement nourishes your brain and your body.

8. If you want to have beautiful muscles, you have to use them regularly.

9. Saturated fat is not evil. You need it.

10. Man overcomplicates almost everything. If it seems logical and smart, like say boat shaped shoes that are patterned after barefoot running tribes in Africa, you can bet that it is foolishness. Our design in perfect.

Again, these are just simple truths. And that is the truth - simple. We just need to breathe (with our diaphragms), take a step back and look at everything around us. The truth will speak to us if we listen.

We just make things too complicated, and it imprisons us. The truth, the simple truth, really is freeing. Can you handle it? Can you handle the truth?

Always Choose The Chicken

What is the secret to being strong and resilient? Well, let me ask this another way: What is the physical key/secret to being strong and resilient? It is having reflexive strength and stability. Reflexive strength is the foundation for being healthy, strong and durable. It is reflexive strength that will allow you to build and become the superhero in your imagination!

If you have read Becoming Bulletproof and Original Strength, you know that we use the words reflexive strength and reflexive stability interchangeably. Why do we do this? Well, really, they are one in the same.

In Original Strength, we define reflexive stability as your body's subconscious ability to anticipate movement before it actually moves and prepare the joints and muscles involved in that movement for that movement.  Now let's define reflexive strength. It is your body's subconscious ability to anticipate movement before it actually moves and prepare the joints and muscles involved in that movement for that movement. Yes, that's right. I just copied the definition I gave for reflexive stability and pasted it for the definition of reflexive strength. Other than the difference in pronunciation and spelling, reflexive strength and reflexive stability are pretty much the same thing.

If, however, I had to draw a line and just choose one word over the other, I would choose reflexive strength. In case the above definition(s) was a little confusing, here is a simple definition: Reflexive strength is "automatic" strength that is there for you before you need it, when you need it, and when you will need it. It is reflexive. We are not supposed to have to think about bracing our muscles to perform a pushup, or to pick up a pencil.  We should just have the natural ability to do these things without thought while our muscles do what they need to do, when they need to do it.

So why would I choose saying reflexive strength over saying reflexive stability? Because I like the chicken or the egg question: Which comes first...? Strength comes first and stability comes from strength. Strength is required for movement. Stability is "held movement". So, in my world, strength is required for stability. If I am reflexively stable, I must have reflexive strength.

What is the point to this rambling? Nothing other than reflexive strength and stability can be used interchangeably, or at least they often are. It really doesn't matter which term you use as long as you own them in your body. A reflexively strong, stable, solid center is the key to strength and vitality. It is the foundation for all the athletic qualities the human body was designed to have: strength, speed, power, fluidity, mobility, explosiveness, suppleness, endurance, etc... None of these qualities can be maximized without a reflexively strong foundation.

By the way, in case you missed it, you were made to have all of these athletic qualities. They are in you somewhere. If you own your reflexive strength, if you build your foundation and regain your original strength, you can unlock all of your body's athletic potential. You just need to use the key: reflexive strength.

How do you use the key? You do what a child does. You help your body remember what it used to do long ago. You regain the Original Strength you once had.

And, in case you are wondering, I choose the chicken. You know, "Which came first? The chicken or the egg?" The answer is simple. I always choose the chicken. You should too.

;)

 

The Next Chapter

I have been blessed. Over the last couple of years I have gone from a full-time firefighter (who was miserable at his job) to a full-time trainer and an author (who loves what he gets to do). It is amazing to see the "distance" I have traveled in the last two years.

I now get to spend so much more time with my family - I get to be a full-time husband and dad. I get to train really good clients who have become friends. I get to write, which I never would have dreamed I would ever want to do. And, on an almost daily basis, I get to hear how people are being helped by Becoming Bulletproof. If I had to count my blessings, I am pretty sure I wouldn't be able to count that high. 

Speaking of Becoming Bulletproof, what a wonderful journey this has become. I had no idea how powerful that little book could be. I did, but I didn't. I will be the first to tell anyone that I can take no credit for writing that book. It is truly an answer to a prayer that I gave to God - I asked for the best way to train to become resilient. I was tired of being injured and I believed I was supposed to be strong and healthy. Then, in a matter of days, God answered my prayer, gave me some wild ideas that my friend, Mike McNiff, and I played with, and Becoming Bulletproof was born. I believe that is the reason this book is so powerful. 

That was almost 3 years ago. Now, because the teaching and the learning never stopped, another chapter has developed: Original Strength. My friend Geoff Neupert and I have learned so much more since the writing of Becoming Bulletproof. Through more revelation, training our clients, and watching our children grow, we have expanded on the ideas in Becoming Bulletproof. Geoff was even blessed with a child of his own during this time. He has actually been able to "see" how resilience and strength are built through watching his son, Michael, learn how to move.

We believe Original Strength is the foundation. It is the foundation for strength, mobility, resilience, power, speed, grace, athleticism, and life. It is the foundation for everything that the body was meant to be. The truth is that we truly are wonderfully made and we are supposed to have durable, strong, healthy bodies. That is the truth. 

We want to share this truth with you. We are healthier, happier, and stronger than we've ever been. Every day it seems like we discover something else we never knew we could do before. Strength, mobility and ability have been regained in our bodies. It feels good. Really good. 

You were indeed meant to become bulletproof, and Original Strength is the foundation. 

If you are even just a little curious, check it out. It is available Here, at Amazon.