When I was a young boy I did many forms of cardiovascular exercise. I walked, ran, skipped rope, swam, wrestled and cycled.

Years later I did many other things for cardio health, including rowing, stair-stepping, stationary cycling, treadmill running and so on.

Now, notice the difference in what was listed in the two paragraphs.

The first set of cardio is natural. The second set is manufactured.

When I was a kid you didn’t run or cycle while watching tee-vee; nor did you wear headphones.

You may have cranked the radio while you trained – but that was about it.

Today, when you see people doing cardio, look how many are plugged into much more than a machine. They’ve got an ipod in their ears or a tee-vee before them as they run on an electrical machine.

And when the choice is between laziness and activity, if the gadgets are the only way to get you moving – I’m all for them.

Yet, I do find it interesting that, at one time I used to like music and tee-vee while I trained. I also enjoyed using aerobic machinery.

But today, when given the choice, I almost always gravitate toward the same exercises I did when I was a kid who was just having fun.

I walk, swim, skip rope and practice martial arts.

I also train in reverse.

And i follow a program I set in motion in 1999, called Combat Conditioning. Ten years ago I introduced this type of training to the world – and I’ve been more surprised than anyone that it became an international best-seller.

Recently I converted my garage into a gym or dojo. I have two 12×12 mats – and each night I have my son and daughter, ages 8 and 4, respectively, doing exercises right out of the Combat Conditioning book and DVDs.

And I join in the fun with them.

Last night we did a set of Whirling Dervishes, followed by bear crawls, crab walks and tablemakers and Hindu pushups and bridging.

For most adults the routine could be over in a few minutes. Most people who have never trained this way are wiped out pretty fast – including body builders.

But kids – they can do a half-hour or more – and they love it. There’s no doubt that this program is giving them strength, flexibility, agility, endurance, strength – and CARDIO.

I think the cardio you get from a set of 500 Hindu squats – or 50 for that matter – is some of the best you can get. Many people say it IS the best. I’m happy they think so.

In terms of cardio done after Combat Conditioning, I prefer long walks and swimming – as well as my kung fu practice.

And the main reason I like these forms of cardio is because they aren’t cardio to me. They are times for me to focus, clear the cobwebs from my mind, center and connect to the Universe at a deeper level.

Likewise, I have no interest in treadmills and other electronic cardio machines for the same type of reason. When you plug into a gadget, the chances of you clearing the cobwebs and connecting to the Universe are slim, indeed.

Long distance running and other forms of LSD cardio – they’re not for me either as I believe they pound your body out of socket and fry your internal organs long before they’re ready to be cooked.

If you feel you must run – then hill sprints are best. Six or eight steep hills that go for 70-100 meters, done thrice per week – and voila – you’ve got a winner. Hills sprints will get your lungs and heart into far better shape than running six or eight miles per day.

The hill sprints will also burn a lot more fat than LSD cardio and bring out muscles you never knew you had.

And no, I do not believe hill sprints on a treadmill or some other gadget are “the same.”

Nothing beats the fresh air of the great outdoors – unless you’re living in Detroit.

Anyway, I’ve said enough. Time to put my rumpus into gear with another form of cardio that I’ll tell you about in the future.

Get Tough.

Matt Furey

P.S. You can get my Combat Conditioning book for nothing by agreeing to a test drive of the Furey Faithful membership program.

I just posted Workout 108 – a combination of two back-pain eliminating exercises that also strengthen

your legs, buttocks, abs and core on the FureyFaithful.com membership site.

People have written me personally to rave about it – so I’m going to film the workout and have it put up next week.

Also, we recently put eight new clips in the membership site that give advice on eliminating seasonal allergies, increasing mind power and so on.

And a whole lot more is forthcoming.

Go check it out at FureyFaithful.com along with all the stuff you get sent to you as part of our test-drive package.

Matt Furey

Yesterday’s email, 500 Million Americans to Lose Spare Tires, rattled a few cages while making a great many others laugh out loud. In the process I discovered a “new measuring stick” that some readers use for determining a writer’s emotional state while writing.

It goes like this: If I agree with what you write or say, then you’re positive. If I don’t agree with you, then you’re negative.

And so, while most people understood my “tongue in cheek” humor – others got very, very upset – began name calling, hurling invective and sarcasm, while telling me that I am a “sore loser” – that I am angry, hurt, negative – and so on.

Man, I wish these same people could have seen the Cheshire grin I had on my face when I wrote the piece. In fact, I’m still chuckling. I’m even laughing out loud.

The day we can’t poke fun of our politicians – and I took no sides yesterday, naming everyone from Bush to Pelosi and Quayle (or is it Quail), I did so with great delight.

Which of these people do I rally behind.

The answer: None.

What do I believe in, then?

I believe that in order to achieve the results you want in life, you must focus forward and backward, as well as to each side.

Six directions, actually. Above your head, beneath your feet, to the right, to the left – in front and in back.

This is known as awareness training. And when you increase your awareness, you increase your chances for success – not to mention survival.

Did you know, for example, that the vast majority of Americans believe your chances of surviving a plane crash are practically nil? We look at the Miracle on the Hudson as an aberration from the norm.

Yet, it’s not. Most people survive plane crashes. The statistics show that 95.7% of those in a crash survive.

But what if the passengers felt the pilot and flight attendants were being negative when they let everyone know they were going down? What if they slept through the crash – or drank themselves drunk to avoid thinking about it?

Would this increase or decrease the odds of survival?

Being aware of the negative increases your chances of survival. Coloring everything as positive increases the chances you won’t.

Believe me, I am a man who focuses on the positive. But I wouldn’t be successful as an athlete, martial artist and writer if I ONLY looked at the positive. The so-called negative is there for a reason – and if you use your mind intelligently, you can transmute it into something of value, if you’re willing to ACT.

You may think I’m being negative when I say this – but I don’t care. We’re living in very strange times right now, economically, politically and so on.

And there’s no better time than right NOW to get yourself into great physical and mental condition.

Keep your mind focused on what you want – but don’t be so positive that you ignore the negatives. Success is a process of correcting mistakes and continually realigning yourself toward what you want.

Success begins inside your mind and body. That’s why it’s so important to take good care of yourself. And it’s why I create programs that strengthen the connection between them.

Follow what I teach and you won’t just feel positive – you’ll start moving toward what you want while keeping the things you don’t want at bay.

Right now the program I’m recommending to you is my Dao Zou system.

This program will increase your psychic awareness and tune you into what is going on like nothing else. You’ll be following the classic kung fu saying, “Look forward – listen backward” when you train this way.

Do this right now as you’re sitting in your chair – and see how it immediately changes your perspective and awareness of everything.

By the way, you can get the Dao Zou program for half-off by typing the number ‘2009’ into the coupon code when you place your order.

In fact, you can do the same for any other informational product I have on this website.

Matt Furey

P.S. A book that I heartily recommend is “The Survivors Club” by Ben Sherwood. It’s a riveting read that lays out the psychology and physicality of those who survive the worst of times as well as the worst events known to man.

Isn’t it great we got that buffoon George W. Bush out of office?

Why?

Because now he’s been replaced by those with much higher I.Q.’s. and a much firmer grasp of the ‘American’ langrig.

Now we’ve got people running the show who think the word stimulus should include putting tax cheats in high positions, giving out condoms en masse, bailing out Hollyweird (as if $20 mill per film ain’t enough) and so on.

And then there are the 500 million Americans who will lose their jobs if Congress doesn’t act FAST. This according to Speaker of the Douse – Nancy Pelosi.

Thing is, even I, who am NOT an idiot – or a member of Congress (but as Mark Twain once said, ‘I repeat myself’) know that we are not even close to 500 million Americans – yet.

But – maybe the private jetting Speaker is already factoring in all the people we’ll have in this country, pronto, if we don’t have a 200+ million dollar condom program as part of the titulus – er, stimulus program.

I wonder how many Americans are still sleeping on the Titanic, thinking it’s not going to sink. And then, when they find out is IS sinking, they reach for their last meals instead of their lives.

Well, what can you do if you don’t like this reamulus, er, titulus package – not to mention all the other paraphernalia they have planned to shove up your backside.

For one, you can begin to tighten your sphincter and pull in your waistline. Yes, we have a fight on our hands and if you don’t have the energy, physical as well as mental to trudge on, you will be doomed.

Right now we have at least 50 million Americans who need to lose their spare tires. And that number is an understatement.

Part of the reason for the fatness of this country is due to people getting mentally soft. Mental weakness and flaccidity leads to physical softness.

No, you don’t need to be a hard body with 0.0% bodyfat. But if you want to survive in the days and years ahead, you better start taking control of your destiny by getting control of your physicality and your psychology.

Part of controlling your psychology involves “unwinding your mind” and reducing your waistline. It involves letting go of harmful thoughts and stress. It involves not being a poor slob who is easy to control because you can barely move up and down the stairs without getting out of breath.

Likewise, another part of controlling your mind involves being both calm and alert at all times. You do not survive dangerous times by thinking positive. You survive tough times by having a clear, centered mind that is alert to yet does not ignore danger.

My Dao Zou program gives you the mind of a sniper. Alert yet calm. Peaceful, centered, yet always on the lookout.

It’ll not only give you calmness and a sense of serenity as you’re maintaining a steady state of alertness – but it will also improve your memory, your focus, reduce your waist line and strengthen your body.

And right now you can nab this course for half-off. Simply type ‘2009’ into the coupon space when you place your order and all will be handled for you.

While you’re at it, you can also get my Combat Abs program at half-off, too, and reduce your waistline even faster than you thought possible. And you can do it without lying on the ground

to do boring sit-ups or crunches.

Well, my friend, that’s all for now. I need to tune in to see what Dan Quayle – er, N. Pelosi is going to say next.

Matt Furey

Zen Master of the Internet

Yesterday I was driving my son to wrestling practice and we’re listening to the Schnitt Show on talk radio.

I have no idea what Schnitt’s first name is – but my son thinks he’s funny as hell.

Especially when he refers to Michael Phelps as a “moron” and an ‘ass-tard.”

I’m not in total agreement – and I gave my opinion a couple days ago. Even so, I enjoy listening to Schnitt’s take on the matter. So does my son. In fact, without realizing it, he’s still processing the meaning of “ass-tard” while I’m focused on driving.

“Daddy,” my son says a few minutes later. “I get it. Schnitt took two different words and combined them to make a new word. First he took the words a-hole and retard. Then he cut off the ‘hole’ part and the ‘re’ part and he had a new word: ‘ass-tard.’

I couldn’t help but laugh. Sure, I wanted to correct him and say, “Son, that’s not appropriate language for an 8-year old.” But I let this one slide.

Glad I did because a minute later he came up with a new word on his own.

“Daddy,” he began. “I got a new word. Not only can you say ass-tard, but you can also be a mor-hole.”

“Son, do you know what moron means?” I ask, just to make sure I’m doing my fatherly duty.

“Yes.”

“What’s it mean?”

“An idiot.”

“Okay, that’s close enough. Just checking to make sure, ya know.”

Yes, I’m sure today’s email will spark someone to write me and tell me that I shouldn’t allow my son to talk this way – even in private.

After all, two days ago I was advised NOT to speak to my son about drugs – in particular, smoking pot. I was told that doing so will make me lose rapport with my child. The logic goes as follows: “Chances are he’ll do it anyway – and when he does he’ll think you’re an ass-tard ….” According to this ideal, there’s no benefit whatsoever in giving an anti-drug talk to your child. Let him figure everything out for himself. Don’t give any guidance on the subject at all. In fact, leave him totally in the dark.

Why?

Because I “have blind spots.”

Imagine that.

As a parent, I obviously don’t have a clue about smoking pot or anything else. No clue. And worst of all, because of my blind spots, anything I do to steer my child in the right direction – will backfire. So I shouldn’t even try.

Imagine if I applied this same logic to EVERYTHING about raising a child. Just figure it all out for yourself, son, because I have blind spots and don’t know it all.

Yes, I have blind spots. I’m also hard of hearing, at times. And sometimes I’m lacking in feeling and understanding.

But I grew up in an area where I got to see, first hand, families ripped apart with drug usage. In each and every case, the parents never taught their children a single thing about the dangers of drug usage. And when confronted, they didn’t have a clue about what to do. In each and every case, the drug usage BEGAN with pot and ended up somewhere else. Ultimately, all of us make the final decision on what we do with our lives. But to rule out guidance is a mistake of the highest order.

Especially when I know you can get FAR HIGHER on the things I teach than you ever can with dope.

A perfect example of this is my Dao Zou program. Go see what I mean by watching the clip here.

And remember that you can nab this program right NOW for half-price by typing ‘2009’ into the coupon code when you make your decision to go ahead.

Any time you want to get high – don’t reach for a bong or smoke a doobie. It won’t make you one bit smarter and will make you forget more than you think.

On the other hand, Dao Zou will strengthen your mind and improve your memory in ways you cannot even fathom.

Use the program and you’ll discover this for yourself – with MY guidance.

Matt Furey

P.S. So you don’t agree with me? No problem. You’re still welcome to write in with your nasty comments. I welcome all feedback as it provides great fodder for my next dispatch.

So I received an email from a guy yesterday, and he tried to hurt my feelings.

He called me a fat ass. He said I was overweight. He said I could barely move. He said I didn’t know the first thing about fitness – that I couldn’t whip my way out of a wet paper sack – and so on.

Not only that, but because I spend a lot of time in China, he called me a communist.

That’s right. He said I was of the same lineage as Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro and their ilk.

Man, I love emails like that.

People who think they know you – yet don’t have a clue.

Truth of the matter is I am a fat slob compared to some of the starving people in the world.

I am overweight compared to the people who think a 1-2% bodyfat is somehow healthy – as well as proof that you’re more physically fit than everyone else. NOT.

Yet, compared to the Steelers players I saw in the pre-game Super Bowl warm-ups, running around in shorts and t-shirts – I AM SUPER FIT.

Not only that, but I dare one of those greased up booooby builders with their shaved chests and legs – or one of those steroid powerlifters, or those pretty boy fitness pros to do the wide variety of things with their bodies that I can do.

Bring me your body with it’s 1% bodyfat and I’ll knock you across the room with internal force alone, then I’ll break you in half and listen to you scream for your great Uncle.

Hehe – got a little carried away there – but it was fun.

Anyway, the thing that P.O.’d the guy most of all was the video for my Dao Zou program.

This video clip I put up hogged the man’s load. It steamed his beans.

And who knows – maybe it’ll upset you as well.

Go here and see what all the fuss is about.

And if you like what you see, remember that this course is currently offered at a 50% discount.

Just type ‘2009’ into the coupon code when you place your order and you’ll be all set.

But don’t think about that right now. Simply go watch this controversial video wherein you get to see what a fat ass I am.

Go here and watch the clip NOW.

Matt Furey

This morning, after my eight-year old son heard the news that Michael Phelps got caught smoking dope – I had some explaining to do.

Why?

Because I have framed posters of him in our home. I also have several books about him, including “No Limits” – which I’ve recommended to all my coaching clients.

I also have three of his instructional swimming DVDs and his 2009 calendar. And these arrived last Friday.

I guess you could say I’m a “fan,” eh?

Now, the morning after Frank’s team – the Cardinals – lost in the Super Bowl – one of his favorite sports heroes faltered.

So how do you explain to an eight-year old who has no idea what smoking pot even means, what happened?

It’s a tough one – but I felt this morning gave me an important opportunity to explain to my children that “sooner or later” someone is going to offer dope to you. And when it happens, here is your answer. And here’s why you want to answer it this way.

Not only that, but here’s why people smoke pot – and here’s why what they’re hoping for from the practice doesn’t bring them happiness or peace of mind.

Then I explained that all of us are human – and even those who appear more human than the rest of us humans – are still human. I explained that the average person cannot imagine the focus and discipline that goes into creating an 8x Olympic gold medalist.

At the same time, once removed from the pool and the daly practice of swimming, much less the media hoopla and thrill of winning before the world – well, nothing you do seems to matter much. Nothing gives you that FEELING of being on top of the world.

YET, this FEELING can be recreated on a daily basis in the Theatre of Your Mind – so that you FEEL GREAT all the time, no matter what – so much so that you have no desire for drugs.

Why?

Because you’re high on life itself. You’re not simply high because you accomplished something or because you got praise from others.

If you cannot be happy without the praise and the achievements, then what have you really created?

A trap.

Right now Michael Phelps may feel like he’s created a huge world-wide prison for himself. Everything he does is recorded. Nothing is private. Nothing is off-limits.

This truth can be turned into a good thing – but it will take practice.

So I have two recommendations for Michael – and for anyone else who wants peace of mind and happiness – BEFORE and AFTER achieving your dreams and goals.

First, the world famous Zero Resistance Living Program – now available for half-price.

Second, my all NEW Psychic Self-Defense DVD – which will ward off negative influences as well as people who want to drag you down.

Yes, I wish Phelps never touched the stuff. But he did.

Right now I can join those who are laughing at him or condemning him. Or I can understand how he landed in this mess – and lend a helping hand to rise above it.

Anyone who can focus enough to become the greatest Olympian of all times can also turn what has happened into a positive. He can now become an even bigger role model for those who will be faced with the same choices – or who already have made these choices – and feel as if they’ve also failed.

I’m pulling for Michael.

We’re all human. All of us make mistakes. Even very stupid mistakes when everyone else thinks we “should” know better.

Yet, all of us are capable of rising above those mistakes and becoming MORE than we ever thought we could be – or would be.

What smart choice are you going to make for yourself, starting today?

Matt Furey