18 months ago I was working out in a little
grappling dojo in Delray Beach Florida.
Surrounding me on the mat were Michael
Masterson of Early to Rise fame –
http://www.earlytorise.com – as well as
Louis Hart and some other butt-kickers.
I was warming up in my usual way by
doing some Hindu Pushups and squats,
as well as a variety of joint rotations for
my knees, shoulders, lower back, elbows
and wrists.
Michael and the others were on the mat,
stretching their hamstrings.
As they sat doing their muscle-only stretches,
I fell back into a bridge. I softly landed on the
mat with my nose touching the surface, then I
rocked back and forth about 20 times.
I never gave what I was doing a second thought.
This is how I train all the time – and it’s how I
loosen up before battle.
When I popped back to my feet without using my
hands for support – Michael and the others said,
if I remember it correctly, “How the hell …. Man,
if I tried to do something like that it would ….”
I smiled and told them that what I had just done
was no big deal – that there was a lot more where
this came from.
That was as far as my teaching of conditioning went
that day – or so I thought. The rest of the workout was
nothing but grappling.
But yesterday I found out that Michael has been training
with bodyweight exercises exclusively for the last year and
a half, using exercises he has learned from me, Dr. Al Sears,
Doc Darville – and so on.
Before starting on his routine of bodyweight exercises, he was
contemplating surgery for his shoulder, lower back and knees.
He was 53 at the time and – I guess you could say, falling apart.
But how could this be? He’d trained with weights for 30 years and
jogged for 20. He looked great on the outside. It was obvious he
was strong and had great endurance.
Yet, the price he paid to get strength and endurance was taking
a heavy toll and demanding huge sums of money to correct the
damage being done. Doesn’t sound like a good way to train if
you ask me.
In Michael’s own words from an email he sent yesterday, as a
result of changing from weights and jogging to bodyweight
exercises:
“My new routine has completely healed and rejuvenated me. I have
no back pain, no shoulder pain, no knee pain, and no foot pain. I can
do pull-ups and push-ups again. More importantly, I can wrestle without
any impediments, walk or run without pain, and play pretty much any
sport without fear of injury.”
I don’t know about YOU – but I am truly inspired by this. And I hope you
are, too. It goes to show that it is NOT too late for you to take charge of
your health. If you can still breathe – you can improve.
So get on the greatest exercise program ever – Combat Conditioning –
http://www.mattfurey.com/conditioning_book.html – and you’ll never
look back.
Best,
P.S. If you want to focus on flexibility for the time being, be sure to take
a gander at my Combat Stretching program. It rules, helping you double
your flexibility in record time – http://www.mattfurey.com/combat_stretching.com