No, I wasn’t hitting myself. At least I wasn’t trying to hit myself.

I was getting hit by my own hands that were controlled by an older brother.

It was all in fun and no damage was done – but it makes me consider all the people I see exercising and the approach they follow.

In a nutshell, much of the exercise training I see today is a little like “hitting yourself.”

Seriously, there are many, many people who follow programs that are almost guaranteed to cause injury.

And they follow these programs because they think it’s the best way to get super fit.

Look, I’ve followed these programs, too. I followed them in my earlier years – but then something “bad” happened to me that turned out to be a tremendous blessing.

About eight years ago, I suffered a detached retina. No, it wasn’t from the way I was training then – but it did have something to do with how I trained much earlier in life. I’m talking about getting  thumbed in the eye in wrestling practice, etc.

Anyway, after the detachment and the surgery, and partly out of concern for pressure that might build up in the eyes while training, I decided I wanted to shift gears a bit. I looked for ways to train from the INSIDE OUT rather than the other way around.

I went gung ho into training Internal Chinese martial arts, chi kung and meditation. I spent more time stretching and loosening.

And then I looked at ways I could do similar exercises as those  taught in Combat Conditioning, but approach them in a totally unique way.

Was there a way to make pushups, squats, pullups and so on – INTERNAL EXERCISES?

Was there a way to take my gong fu training, my chi kung training and my understanding of deep breathing and combine them in a way that no one else ever had?

And if I did so, what would be the result?

Would this type of training enhance and improve everything else? Strength, flexibility, endurance, speed and so on.

The answer I found to be a startling “YES.”

The answer, in my estimation, also turned out to be what I believe is the SMARTEST and most intelligent way for people to train when they hit their so-called “middle years.”

Sure, you can get up off the couch and begin doing Olympic lifting.

Sure, you can go to a gym and pound the cardio drum and go from machine to machine.

Sure, you can take up running and set a goal to crank out a marathon.

You can even sets goals to run triathlons.

And none of these choices are necessarily wrong – but they are definitely external approaches to fitness – and they will cause your body to break down faster and get injured much more easily.

Perhaps the biggest blessing of this way of training, for me, has been the relaxation response – or the relaxation reward.

Most people today are not relaxed. They’re not calm. And the way they train increases tension in their brains and bodies.

It causes surface tension as well as deep inner tension.

It’s the equivalent of “hitting yourself” – even though you think you aren’t.

Most modern ways of training actually frighten the nervous system as well as the energy body.

My approach to exercise – which in part is called Combat Conditioning 2.0 is radically different. Focus is on keeping calm, staying centered, focusing on your breathing – and staying that way in everything you do.

I believe this way of training will be a huge blessing in your life – if you’ll give it a whirl.

This month I’m taking 100 new students on the Furey Faithful Member’s Site, where I’ll be giving you ongoing guidance on how to train like a cool, calm and collected warrior.

Would love to have you on board. It’s truly the very best online member’s site on the Internet.

Come train with me – online – and see for yourself.

Yours,

Coach Matt Furey