Hi All,
I thought I'd share some thoughts with you about training and practical fitness. How many times have we seen people casually walking on treadmills when they could be walking outside. Or the guy doing curls while his shoulders are smaller than his waist and his belly hangs over his belt. Obviously the "power" walker and weightlifter are both seeking to improve themselves. But their approach fell short.
Why? They failed to use their awareness to make their efforts pertinent. In order to get the most out of our workouts, we need to tailor goals around our true needs. For example, if we have bad posture, we should probably address that ,before trying to lift heavy weights. If we barf out a lung while taking several flights of stairs, maybe we should work on our cardio before trying to developour pecs. The list goes on and on. You guys get my point.
This brings me to our basic fitness philosophy at Miami Arnis Group. Posture before movement, movement before strength, strength before power, and wind before all. Our martial arts training is a three prong approach. We believe to be a successful martial artist, you need a strong mindset, great conditioning, and good skills. If any of these factors are not addressed, then they will be the weak link in the chain. But, where do we start? Probably the best place to start, is in developing the ability to move our body in a variety of ways. Yes, I'm talking about the basics here, body weight exercises. Calisthenics such as push ups, squats, and pull ups represent the minimum requirements for functional strength. Think about it, if you can't get up after you've fallen because your too weak, who's going to cry for you when you cry out, "Help! I've fallen and cant get up!"
Next time you are considering what type of exercise you should do, ask yourself a few questions. How many flights of stairs can I run up? Can I sprint fifty yards? How many push ups can I do? Would I be able to pull myself out of a pit if I fell in? My wife can do five sets of twenty strict man push ups. My friend and training partner Mario Guevara can do 500 body weight squats. That's the amount of squats Ken Shamrock makes his prospective fighters do as part of their tryouts for his fight team, The Lions Den. Did I mention He's over 50 years old. My friend and student Ozzie Melendez can do strict pull ups with sixty pound strapped to him, for reps, at a body weight of less than 150 lbs. What's your excuse?
Think about it folks if you can't push yourself off the ground, you probably have no business lifting weights. If your normal every day activities leave you gasping for air, what do you think you need to work on?
Nature is most unkind to creatures lacking awareness
-Moshe Feldenkrais
Your brother at arms,
Tony Torre
Miami Arnis Group
www.miamiarnisgroup.com
