resistance is resistance, its all gravity folks

Resistance is resistance folks

Many of you may not have heard this or have thought of it but it really doesnt matter what you lift or how much. if a big 500lb man can struggle through and squat 1200lbs but you barely push through for a 1 rep max at 200lbs it doesn't matter, maximum effort, for you, that was all your output against the mass under gravity.

The whole reason why training and exercise works is because we're eliciting a growth response to handle abnormal loads under the weight of gravity, no gravity, no load, no muscle. this is why astronauts muscles and bone atrophy and waste away in space after long periods, we THRIVE on gravity and the "good stress" it provides.

Humans are naturally lazy, im not insulting the human race, its just that we're hard wired to take the path of least resistance (all you parkour people see what i did there?) the only reason why we're all so much fatter, sicker, and deconditioned while still taking the path of least resistance is..... drum roll please.... LIFE IS EASIER, you dont have to sprint to get away from a tiger, you dont have to lift a heavy rock out of a cave entrance to acquire shelter, climb trees for your food, or in most cases plant your own freakin crops. life is easier therefor the "stress" is lighter and the growth and strength response is less.

If you cant do a pushup on your toes, you probably dont have a high bench press, if you can do a lot of pushups you can probably bust out a lot of reps with the bench press at a certain weight, if you can do a few pushups with a heavy person laying on your back you probably have a decent 1 rep max on bench press. now, not all things correlate this easily but for the demonstrative purposes im using the bench press. The fact of the matter is, resistance is resistance, and causes a growth and strength response (if training methodologies are correct) which makes your body stronger and because of this gravity is your best friend, because thanks to gravity you can do progressive calisthenics, you can do weight lifting, kettlebells, gymnastics, parkour, what ever you want, and you can receive benefits from these activities because they provide a "good stress" response on your body because, repeat it after me, RESISTANCE IS RESISTANCE. so stop focusing on one discipline and cross train, quit sacrificing your form to put up more weight on say.... THE BENCH PRESS and try other modalities, try pushups, try ring pushups, try planche pushups, try weighted ring dips with a resistance band pulling you down too, get creative and quit focusing on weights and even exercises, if you receive a gain in strength, size, what ever your goal is, DO IT (as long as it doesn't harm you). The whole point is, do what serves your ends to make you reach your goals in a safe manner.

and dont forget to train hard.

body weight V.S. weight lifting

yup, gymnasts again

Its time for that talk, you know what it is, read the damn title. Now i will be speaking from personal experience, i did 1 year of body building as my entry to exercise and fitness (HAHAHAHA i know, i know), then i went and did 2-2.5 years of strictly body weight exercise and gained back the weight, mass, size, and strength that i lost after all my body building gains melted off and now recently (recently being within the last 8 months) i've taken up weight training, not a body building style but true weight lifting, with most of the emphasis on squats and deadlifts, and a few other things but mostly an emphasis on the main big lifts.

Now why do i only focus on the big lifts? because pistol squats/one leg squats only get you so far, even adding weight the exercise just becomes irritating to deal with as your primary source of leg stimulation not to mention dealing with HEAVY ASS LOADS makes you jump higher like a little spring, and being a Traceur in the Parkour community, that is relevant to my interests.

This article was inspired by a quote i found recently (i forget where) it was a body weight exercise practitioner speaking to a weight lifter, polar opposites, no melding of their training styles: "I can do what you can do, almost as well as you can, but you cannot do what i do." and it struck a cord, not many people would be able to jump into my calisthenics program (progressive calisthenics not just pull ups and pushups folks, progressions like one arm chin up training, planche, and lever training.) but most can easily start with weights and when i just started playing with weights (also throw in the fact that my 6'6" frame caused a couple problems with finding the right exercise form that works for me) i was already lifting 1.5 times my body weight on deadlifts, and squatting my body weight. so my transition from body weight made me strong enough to handle weights that most would have to work up to, but if they tried my body weight routine they would suffer immensely. 

The whole reason i recommend body weight exercise over anything for beginners is because its extremely low impact, it drastically increases tendon and ligament strength in newbies, its free and can be done with very little equipment and a little improvisation and it makes transitioning to ANY other athletic venture easier. at any given moment we are using our bodies and our body's weight, walking, running, standing, we're all at our body's weight under gravity so if anything we should all have to intermediate mastery over our bodies through calisthenics and parkour training.

This is not a rip on weight training in any capacity or form, i love training with weights and i LOVE lifting heavy weights, deadlifts are probably one of my favorite exercises, what im saying is CROSS TRAIN, give a heavy emphasis to bodyweight work and use weight to supplement your training to more advanced calisthenic exercises and do the 2 main leg lifts, squats and deadlifts for much more leg power, strength, and stabilization.

Train hard, PEACE!

videos response #3 workout consistency, diet, and motivation.

"Thanks for being so open about answering my questions! 

I have a couple, your welcome to answer them in any way you see fit. 

anyways, here they are:

How do you stay to a constant workout regime? (Do you go at the same time everyday? Do the same stuff everyday? Go by yourself?)

How do you stay true to your diet?

How do you encourage yourself/ motivate yourself?

Would it be better spent time for me to do cardio or lift weights? Or whats the proper ratio of each?

I'm sure I'll have follow up, but you let me know if you have the time to answer them. Again, thank you so much!

Jenna"