"Real World Strength" is a term that Chinese martial arts icon Bruce Lee used. He didn't believe in simply building up the body to look a certain way or to only lift weight in a specific way. He believed in training in a way to build your strength and fitness that would translate to real applicable situations. Machines have their place of course, but nothing can truly replace free weights, bodyweight exercises, and functional movements.    That's the purpose of this video is to cover some ways to develop this. For this exercise, I'm taking a punching bag and doing squats and…

Far too often, people believe that you need tons of exercises to get good results in fitness. Of course if you like to do a variety of exercises, go ahead. I'm not saying that can't work. I'm just saying that it isn't the only way. Condensed or Limited Programs can work great. Some of the all time great strongmen in history built themselves up on only a handful of exercises. Paul Anderson who is considered one of the strongest men of all time, built himself up primarily on the Overhead Press and the Squat. The first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott,…

Our society has evolved in such a way that we've made things very easy for ourselves. Too easy. In fact it's so easy that we hardly have to move and can sit the majority of our day sitting. As a result of this, back pain and stiffness are extremely common. The human body was never meant to spend this much time sitting and we're paying the price for it.    Fortunately there are some exercises we can do that can help with that. Check out the video in today's blog post to learn more!  

Personally I love smoothies. From a very young age, I've always associated smoothies and various shakes with vibrant health. You can mix it up in so many ways, there's just no limit to the possibilities. In fact, it's possible to replace some of your meals with smoothies. A good protein powder mixed in with plenty of fruits and vegetables is tasty, nutritious, and it will prevent you from giving in to hunger and going for junk food. There have been many times when I knew I wouldn't have time to sit down for a meal, so I just drank a good…

The centreline is one of the most important concepts in the martial arts. Particularly in the Wing Chun system, the centreline is the key to everything. Unfortunately there are so many people out there practicing these arts who have no clue about it. It may sound ridiculous, but it's true.    The stance from Wing Chun known as Yee Jee Kim Yeung Ma (or Character Two Adduction Stance) is the primary method for training this. Every Wing Chun practitioner learns this on the first day of class and shifting follows soon after. As crucial as these things are, very few people actually…

People often look for fancy exercise variations without having a solid understanding of the basics. Any good fitness and workout program begins and ends with the fundamental exercises. Anything else is just fluff or a smokescreen used by trainers who themselves don't have a decent understanding. So what exactly are the basic exercises? It's multi-joint or compound movements. This means that several muscle groups are trained all with one movement.   The following movements are required to set up a complete workout program. 1) SQUAT 2) UPPER BODY PUSH 3) UPPER BODY PULL 4) BENDING 5) CORE CONTRACTION 6) CORE STABILITY   However it doesn't end there. Simply knowing what…

You know the old expression "Too much of a good thing"? Unfortunately it also applies to health and fitness. I've heard it countless times over the years. "I love the way working out makes me feel. I want to do it every day". There's also "I just need to workout every day. My day just isn't complete without it". And of course we have "It's been months since I ate any junk food. I love the way healthy eating makes me feel. I don't ever want it again".   At first glance, someone might ask "What's the problem?". Let's look at these…

The weapon is an extension of the hands. This is a very common understanding in the world of martial arts and one particular weapon where this applies perhaps more than others, is the Wing Chun Butterfly Swords. They essentially resemble large butcher knives with hand guards. Basically every technique you can do with your hands can be done with the swords. In fact, I don't think it's possible to truly understand the proper energies of Wing Chun without the swords.    When you look at empty handed techniques, they're done with what we call a small frame. Everything is tighter and more…

When most people think of cardio, the first image that comes to mind is someone walking on a treadmill day in, day out, every day. To be honest, if I had to do that I think I'd go insane. It may sound hard to believe, but in all these years (actually decades) of working out I've never done that. There are so many better options, why would I?   First, what is cardio and what is the purpose of it? It's really quite simple. It's a workout for your heart and circulatory system. By raising your heart rate for a sustained period…

It's been a tough winter so far here in Southern Ontario, Canada. We got a ton of snow so far this year and we've also had some bitter bone-chilling cold weather. Luckily, we have a bodyweight workout that can be done anywhere. This is a circuit workout for either two or three rounds. Here are the exercises.   Dips Punisher Squats Chinups Tabletop Thrusts Fist Pushups Wideouts Bicep Body Rows Spiderman Mountain Climbers   Of course, certain changes can be made but this is the exact workout I did. Try to keep the reps high and the rest to a minimum. Working out doesn't have…

I believe meditation must be a part of your health and fitness program. It can help teach you proper breathing, help deal with stress, balance the body with softness in contrast to hardness and tension, and much more. There are different types of meditation that can be done, but by far my favourite type is moving meditation. This is also called Silk Reeling in the Internal Chinese martial arts. In this video, I cover the basics of moving mediation of this type.   A few things to remember is a simple formula 1. ROOT 2. BREATHE 3. CONNECT   So looking at these one at a time, ROOT refers…

One of the worst effects of stress is excessive tension. And with that comes neck pain along with pain in other areas. The focus today however is on the neck. These particular neck exercises are from the Cambodian martial art of Lethwei. It is a very unique art in that the headbutt features prominently. And because of this, strengthening the neck is essential. There are three exercises. The first exercise is Nodding Yes. The second exercise is Shaking No. And the third exercise is touching your ear to your shoulder. Watch the video to learn more!  

"COMPLICATE THINGS AND YOU KILL IT". This is an expression that's particularly true when it comes to strength training and fitness in general. There's just so much confusion and excess information out there that people don't know who to listen to. It's much better to simplify things and break things down into its simplest form. Look at the basic functions of your various limbs and construct your workout accordingly.   Here are the SIX MOTIONS FOR STRENGTH TRAINING 1. SQUATTING (KNEE BENDING) 2. BENDING (DEADLIFT OR HINGING MOTION) 3. UPPER BODY PUSH 4. UPPER BODY PULL 5. CORE STABILITY (PLANK) 6. CORE CONTRACTION   And that's really all there is…

In celebration of my 50th birthday, I chose to do 50 consecutive pushups! I often hear people refer to "older people" as being 40 or 50 and over. I can truly say that I'm in the best shape I've ever been in! When I was younger, I was stronger in terms of lifting sheer weight, but my flexibility and endurance was nothing compared to now. Balance is key and in truth, although it may be a bit of a cliche, age is just a number!   For information about personal training, click here   

The sledgehammer is one piece of equipment that may of course seem very unconventional. But it does have numerous benefits. Although regular dumbbell and barbell training is extremely valuable, the sledgehammer allows you to train along angles and planes of movement that aren't possible with conventional weights. These movements come from weapons training and in the ancient world, weapons training was the primary form of strength training for soldiers. Take a look at the video to see what it's all about!  

One of the negative effects of this pandemic has been the fact that people are sitting more than ever before. This can lead to a whole ton of problems including poor posture and back pain. Thankfully there are some exercises we can do to help target these things. One of my clients works as a lawyer and sits for many hours a day. By doing these exercise, she's been able to mostly eliminate her back pain. Check it out!  

One of the biggest challenges in the martial arts is understanding proper range of your weapons. A sawed off shotgun might be great at close range, but is completely worthless at long range. One of the best examples of understanding range is from the movie "The Hunt For Red October" starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. In the film, there was a scene where a torpedo was launched at the submarine. Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) ordered the helmsman to move the sub right towards the torpedo which seems like a suicide move. However he knew that the torpedo only arms…

As a general rule, it's easier and faster to drink than to eat. Not that I have anything against eating solid food of course, but drinking something nutritious is quick, satisfying, and nourishing. One of the best ways to do this is with smoothies! I love them and I try to make a point of incorporating them in my weekly meal plans. I personally use a Vitamix blender which is super powerful and can blend just about anything. But for most purposes, any decent blender will do. Usually I use smoothies as an in-between meal snack, but there are also…

The battle ropes are a very versatile piece of equipment. They're great for strength, endurance, body connection and coordination, and even for training sport specific skills. On top of that it provides am amazing cardio workout and can really help melt those pounds off. In this video, I cover my favourite exercises on the ropes.    One thing to keep in mind always is that you must use the body as one unit. In the Chinese internal arts, we like to say "One part moves, All parts move". With the ropes it's very difficult to not do this. For if you don't then…

Here's a 9 Exercise Bodyweight Circuit for you. No equipment is required. Here are the exercises.   1. Punisher Squats 2. Pushups with Alternating Widths 3. Frog Jumps 4. Pike Pushups 5. Side Lunges 6. Knuckle Pushups 7. Bear Crawl 8. Ape Crawl 9. Crab Crawl   These are done back to back in a circuit. 2 to 4 total circuits are done. It's a tough one, but effective! Check out the video!