WHY I DISLIKE FAT GUYS IN VIDEO GAMES PART 2

In part one, I outlined in detail why I thought I needed to voice out my opinion regarding obese characters in fighting games. In this follow up article, I just want to clarify a few thoughts on characters, persons, and ideas that may run contrary to my thoughts, but actually don’t.

E. HONDA

What about E. Honda,though? The famous sumo wrestler that first appeared in the granddaddy of all fighting games, Street Fighter II, way back in 1991? Well, first of all, my specific complaint was about characters who are obese, and not just fat. There are plenty of people all over the world that some may categorize as fat for whatever aesthetic reasons, but when physically examined, they wind up to be perfectly healthy. E. Honda pretty much fits this description. If you actually look at his design, you’ll notice that much of his torso is meant to actually be muscle, and not fat. His character design in the classic, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, is even more evident of this.

SUMO WRESTLERS

But what about a lot of the other sumo wrestlerswho are truly mostly fat and not muscle? Well, there’s plenty of controversy right now regarding this. Sumo is a sport where one opponent has to push the other outside the ring, and mass obviously plays a huge aspect of that. In this case, sumo wrestlers often pack on extra mass in order to gain an upper hand against their opponents. Of course, a lot of this mass is muscle, as sumo wrestlers typically engage in very rigorous physical training every day, like any other fighter. The problem is when they gain too much body fat in order to increase their weight even more. There have been numerous occasions when champion sumo wrestlers have died because of cardiovascular diseases related to high amounts of body fat. 

Sumo wrestlers that value technique over mass have been emerging, and these are much lighter competitors who have a tremendous amount of lean mass, and use their skills as the primary form of winning. This is obviously a better form of sumo wrestler.

ROY NELSON

Okay, but what about Big Country Roy Nelson, the recent winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 10who is currently tearing through opponents in the UFC? Well, first of all, “Big Country” Roy Nelson has a big belly, but I really don’t think he can be classified as obese (compare his picture to that of Bob’s or Rufus’ in part one). He pretty much has a ton of muscle underneath all that flab, and he has the cardiovascular endurance of a champion. He works hard in the gym, and it shows in the Octagon. In this case, I don’t think his façade is something young people should emulate, but his work ethic sure is.

Also, if you notice, from his time on The Ultimate Fighter to his more recent fight against Stefan Struve, you can actually notice Big Country slim down quite a bit. This is because of his increased training to prepare for higher level competitors. The higher he climbs the ranks of the UFC, the fitter he’ll get.

And if you want to emulate a UFC heavyweight fighter, there are plenty of bigger names out there hyped even more than Big Country. People like champion Brock Lesnar, top contender Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, and Minotauro Nogueira are hyped way more than Nelson, and have slimmer, more muscular physiques, which is something that better represents the current Heavyweight division of the UFC.

Any more thoughts on “fat” or obese people being represented in popular culture? Drop me a comment below as I’d like to read your thoughts!

WHY I DISLIKE FAT GUYS IN VIDEO GAMES

As some of you may have already figured out, I really enjoy fighting games. Heck, I’ve admitted that they’re part of the reason I got so into fitness in the first place. Street Fighter was my favorite, and I idolized the characters there, particularly the main character, Ryu. And this is actually the primary reason I wanted to voice out my opinion about this.

RYU

Some of these fighting games are extremely popular, and people idolize the characters associated with them. For whatever personal reason, they think they’re cool. Just like me, they want to emulate them, and be just as strong and physically impressive. Idolizing Ryu was a great thing for me as a child because it geared me towards becoming a strong Asian person. Ryu is a Japanese character, and he’s drawn as a well-muscled fighter, who is, both story and game-wise, one of the strongest competitors in the world. That’s a great inspiration for someone like me!

BOB

So, imagine my surprise in 2007 when Bandai Namco games revealed the new characters to the sequel of their most popular fighting game franchise, Tekken,and one of them was an obese American. I was seriously disturbed when I saw the images for the first time. I knew how some people all over the world viewed these characters, and now one of them is a seriously unhealthy person? Not only that, this person moves and fights like an incredibly strong, agile and well trained martial artist. To this regard, some young people may think that the character is cool and want to emulate him.

RUFUS 

I quickly disregarded this as a sort of isolated incident, though, but when Capcom announced the lineup to Street Fighter IV,a sequel to arguably the most famous fighting game franchise of all time, they also included an obese American character. Not only that, this character moved even better than Bob and is actually one of the strongest characters in the game.

I really don’t understand why they needed to represent such a serious health problem in such a positive light. Young people are very impressionable, and they’ll cling to whatever imagery they find interesting. I really don’t want them to idolize obesity. Video games already propagate this by making them stick to the television screen even more and making them physically inactive. We really don’t need these games to create imagery that what they’re turning into is something cool, either.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

If these characters were featured in games that were very unpopular and which I didn’t really care for, I probably would never have thought of this whole idea. But the fact is, they’re being featured in some of the most popular video games in the whole world.

I really want these sorts of characters to stop being created. I want Bob and Rufus to be the end of the line. Obesityis a serious problem and it doesn’t need to be represented as cool in any sort of way. Fighting game characters are usually great sources of inspiration for young people because they’re popular and feature very fit and athletic characters that people can emulate and create positive goals from. In my personal opinion, new characters to these popular franchises should continue this trend and not do the opposite.

What are your thoughts on these characters? Should they continue to be created or not? Drop me a comment, as I’d love to hear your thoughts!

THE PREDATORS WORKOUT

I recently had the chance to watch the movie "Predators".Great action movie, but I personally feel that it kind of pales in comparison to Arnold’s 1987 classic.The writers and director obviously wanted to make it bigger and more exciting than the original, but failed to make the story become totally engaging. The star of the film, Adrien Body, while a great actor, is also no Arnold Schwarzenegger, so that’s something that was probably eating at the back of my mind during the entire film.

But while Brody is no Austrian Oak, he nonetheless still worked tremendously hard to build a very impressive physique for this film. Entertainment.gather.com has a great article about his transformation:

“When asked about how he prepared for this action hero role, Brody noted that he was doing a "challenging" six days a week of training and diet. He was also shooting for the movie 12 hours per day. Brody said during preparation he wasn't drinking alcohol, wasn't consuming any refined sugars and was having no sex. He said he did all that he could to harness a "ferocious" mentality and persona for this character"


While Brody never revealed the specifics of the workout he used for “Predators” (as far as I know, though I’d love to be proven wrong), Entertainment.gather.com suggests that he might have used a Scrawny to Brawny workout,as published by Men’s Health, when Brody made the cover of the magazine because of how he buffed up his physique for the 2005 version of King Kong:


“Adrien Brody achieved results for our December 2005 cover in 3 weeks. For you, Mejia suggests a training schedule of 8 to 12 weeks, although the same discipline is required. Just avoid these two mistakes.

1. Lifting too much. "What you really need is less volume but more intensity," says Mejia. This strategy actually simplifies your workout--only four exercises every session. For the first three, do five sets of five reps. Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets. For the last exercise, do two or three sets of eight to 12 reps, as this targets smaller muscles in your core or shoulders.


Monday: Squat, barbell incline bench press, pullup, weighted situp 
Wednesday: Hang clean and press, deadlift, dip, side-lying external rotation 
Friday: Front squat, dumbbell bench press, bent-over row, back extension


2. Eating too little. To build new muscle, you need calories. "Guys don't eat nearly enough, says Mejia. "They're reluctant--rightfully so--about putting on body fat."


To avoid that, "you must count calories," says Mejia. Figure out your body's optimal caloric intake, then add 300 to 500 calories to that total to determine how much you need to pack in every day.”

PREDATORS MOVIE TRAILER:

Check out more information, complete with pictures for each exercise you need to turn from scrawny to brawny like Adrien Brody over at Men’s Health.com!

All images used in this article are taken from IMDB's amazing Predators page.

BREATHING AND THE KARATE KID

The original Karate Kid movie is a genuine classic, with a story that pulls you in and characters that are genuinely human. The sequel, on the other hand, is a pretty disappointing follow up, as the villains become more cartoony than ever, and the story devolves into a mostly uninteresting piece of fluff. The last time I had seen “The Karate Kid part 2” was most probably more than 20 years ago, when I was still very little. I had very fond memories of the movie, primarily because I found the Japanese landscape that was presented to be so fascinating. While this aspect of the film is still true, sadly, the rest of it just doesn’t hold up. I find the opening sequence to be utterly fantastic, though, but after the words “six months later” appear on screen, things quickly go downhill.

ANYTHING USEFUL?

Alright, but what about the martial arts, the physical conditioning and so on? Is there anything concerning physical fitness and activity that is worth talking about? Yes, there is, and I don’t mean the secret to Miyagi-do Karate, either. Seriously, fighting skills that are patterned after a child’s toy drum are pretty much conditioned in us at, what, the age of 3? Ever see kids in a playground try to honestly fight with their fists? It’ll look something like that, yeah. So, needless to say, it’s pretty useless in real life and isn’t what this article is about.

BREATHING

The aspect of “The Karate Kid part 2” that I wish to talk about is the breathing exercise that Miyagi teaches Daniel near the beginning of the film. Does this work in real life? Yes, it absolutely does, and I’ll teach you how to do it.

1.    QUIET

Find a quiet place and sit down on a chair. The area you’re in doesn’t have to be completely sealed in. A bit of background noise is fine (which is almost impossible to avoid in most circumstances in today’s modern world, anyway), but try to find the quietest area you have easy access to.

2.    SIT UP STRAIGHT

Now, sit up straight in the chair, with your back resting on it properly. Don’t strain yourself, though. Try to find a position where you know you’re sitting in a perfectly formal and straight position, but still relaxed. Place both hands palms down onto your thighs and close your eyes.

3.    EMPTY YOUR MIND

Empty your mind of all thoughts one by one. Our minds are typically overflowing with ideas, which sometimes cause us stress. You’ll find that the less you think about, the more relaxed you become, so that’s what we’re going to do now. Imagine each thought in your head being rolled up like a newspaper page and stored in a drawer. Do this for each thought until your mind is a blank.

4.    FEEL YOUR BREATH

Notice your breathing. Inhale deeply and feel your abdominal area expand as it takes in the air. Inhale slower than you normally would, but not too slow, and breath in and out only through the nostrils. Feel your breath going into your nostrils and down into your belly, then feel it rising back up as you exhale. Concentrate on your breathing as if it is the only thing in the world. Do this over and over several times until you are absolutely relaxed.

5.    RETURN TO YOUR BREATH

While doing the exercise, from time to time you might notice that some of the thoughts you locked up in the drawer creep back in to bother you, reminding you of the troubles you might have in the real world. Pay them no mind and return your absolute concentration to your breath. Breath in slowly, feeling all the air entering you seep into every pore of your body, your belly expanding as it does. Then exhale and feel it flowing out of you once again.

6.    BE AT PEACE

You can perform the exercise for as long as you wish. Form some people, 5 minutes is enough, but others take an hour for just this activity. Just don’t fall asleep! However long you wish to do it is up to you, but keep at it until you feel yourself totally at peace, with all your stress removed and your body more energized than any cup of coffee could possibly make you feel. When you feel that you’ve had enough, you should have more clarity in you mind, and be more focused than before.

HITTING THE NAIL ON THE HEAD

Will this make you a better carpenter like it did Daniel? Well, that depends, but if you’ve never done carpentry before, the answer will most probably be no, so don’t try that nail trick at home, kids! You might get seriously hurt if you mess up. And don't even think about using this technique to break blocks of ice, either.

You should, however feel very relaxed and focused, as Daniel most probably did in the movie. Reorganizing your thoughts and flushing out all the stress in your body can have amazing benefits that you may never have felt before.

WHENEVER, WHEREVER

Perform this activity as many times as you wish, wherever you choose, and also in whatever position you wish. It doesn’t need to be performed sitting down, though that is the ideal position for a beginner to get a hang of it. If you try it lying down the first time, the temptation to sleep instead of emptying your mind and relaxing is too great. You can also do it standing up, if you wish, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it while you’re in a queue.

Hopefully you’ll find this technique effective and find some use for it in your daily life. If you have any other questions about this method, or have other breathing techniques that you know about, then drop me a comment below because I’d love to hear about them!

MEDITATION AND THE KARATE KID

This is the third in a series of articles I've made concerning the Karate Kid franchise. These articles attempt to dissect the fitness and martial arts concepts utilized in these movies and see if they are actually useful in real life or just empty Hollywood baloney. I highly recommend you read the first (where I tackle motor learning) and second (where I take a look at conditioning) articles before diving into this one!

BONSAI

Another piece of awesomeness I saw in the original Karate Kid was Mr. Miyagi’s bonsai habit. Bonsai is used as a sort of meditative practice all over the world these days and is able to instil peace within one’s by quieting it, allowing it to focus on a single, simple task, and shutting out the noise that often clouds our thoughts. Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel this and is something, I believe, that should be taught to everyone.

MEDITATION AND YOU

No, I’m not suggesting you go out and buy some bonsai to quiet down your soul. What I am saying is that you find some equivalent of this in your daily life and make the most of it. Some people pray and even go to church on a daily basis. Some people perform Yoga, some people stretch their troubles away, and some people go into actual meditative states for long periods of time.

The activity doesn’t need to be as traditional as all that, though. I, for example, try to write for my blog everyday. Of course, my primary intent is to share my thoughts to everyone in the world in blog form, and hope that I help someone out there somehow, but I also find that writing keeps my mind at peace and brings me in a sort of meditative state. Like Mr. Miyagi’s bonsai method, writing quiets my mind so it can focus completely on a single, simple task: chronicling my thoughts on a very specific topic.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

Find your own, personal meditative activity, embrace it and try to do it as much as possible; every day if you can. You’ll find that it can relax you totally, keep you focused, erase a completely stressful day, and thus, aid in your health.

MR. MIYAGI?

Alright, now back to Mr. Miyagi’s training methods. The rest of Mr. Miyagi’s methods were now very similar to Mr. Han’s except, well, Mr. Han’s were better in this regard. Why? Well, for one, Mr. Miyagi never used Random Practice in the original Karate Kid movie, ever. All of his methods were all Block Practice styles. Another thing is that Daniel apparently only learned two offensive moves during his training sessions, the straight punch and the crane kick (which, just in case some of you are stilll wondering, doesn't work in real life, so don't bother trying to do it; there are other, cooler moves out there that actually work), but in the actual tournament, he seemed to have the complete Karate arsenal on his side. Continuity flaws aside, when he did practice these moves, they were against thin air (as in the crane kick) or against a non-moving object (as in the straight punch), which is never how you want to practice for a live competition. You want actual sparing with actual people that mimic the actual competition environment as close as possible to help sharpen your skills to their maximum. This is the essence of Random Practice and the key to how to truly prepare for an event.

WHO WINS?

So, who wins? Technically, Mr. Han does. He did waste a few weeks of Dr’s time with that “jacket on, jacket off” nonsense, but the rest of his training was pretty solid. Mr. Miyagi, on the other hand, gave Daniel four perfectly good training days to condition his body in certain ways, but then used up the rest of the two months pretty ineffectively. And, no, after four days of chores, you don’t suddenly know how to block punches and kicks. Notice that, during the tournament, the blocks and movements that Daniel performs is totally different from the “wax on, wax off” motions he learned.

Yes, the balance training on the boat is petty nice, but that sort of training alone doesn’t really help win a martial arts tournament; learning how to score points and knock out opponents does. Aside from the boat and crane kick balance, Daniel didn’t perform any other conditioning exercises, though. At least Dre did push ups and splits during his training sessions. That’s why, during the tournament, I found myself thinking, “that’s what happens when you don’t condition your legs for an event that involves kicking!”

I still like Mr. Miyagi better, though. Why? Well, that’s Pat Morita’s best known role! Jackie Chan has done of others we can remember him for (Drunken Master, City Hunter, etc), but the Karate Kid master will always be Pat Morita. Just sayin’.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

The Karate Kid teaches us not to be lazy. It teaches us that training and discipline can exist in all the activities we engage in on a daily basis and not just in the gym. This sort of attitude is excellent because the more active we get in our daily lives, the healthier we get. By combining this with a meditative activity or two of some sort to eliminate stress and allow us to receive proper rest, a person could increase his or her health tremendously.

CONDITIONING AND THE KARATE KID

After reading my article, Motor Learning and the Karate Kid, someone asked me if I had the same thoughts on Mr. Miyagi’s training methods as I did Mr. Han’s. As a quick review, my first Karate Kid article discussed the two primary training methods used in sports and other physical activities: Blocked Practice and Random Practice. Blocked Practice is the more traditional form training, where the athlete repeats a single movement an endless amount of times to commit it to muscle memory. Random Practice, on the other hand, has the athlete training all the movements he or she has learned and performs them randomly, and as close to competition circumstances as possible.

REVIEW

In the 2010 version, Mr. Han, played by the legendary Jackie Chan, utilizes both types of training methods, to very different effects. Some of his methods are good, since they are actual techniques used by true martial arts practitioners to sharpen their game, including bodyweight and flexibility exercises, and target practice using such implements as tennis balls and wooden poles. However, as a nod to the original Karate Kid, the very first training method Mr. Han utilizes makes use of an everyday action and attempts to relate it to martial arts. This is the “jacket on, jacket off” training method. In my first Karate Kid article, I basically say that this training is completely useless, as the movements it employs are much too different from the actual motions the “Karate Kid”, Dre performs.

WAX ON, WAX OFF

Now, pretty much everybody knows or at least has heard of “wax on, wax off”, Mr. Miyagi famous line from the original Karate Kid. It’s the technique that “jacket on, jacket off” was ultimately derived from, but is it equally as ineffective?

The answer is no. I hadn’t watched the Karate Kid for a very long time, possibly more than 20 years, and while I remember the key elements about it, such as bits and pieces of Daniel’s training and the tournament at the very end, I’d completely forgotten all the fine details of it. Good thing, too, because I realized after reviewing the original that the 2010 version is almost the exact same storyline as the original, with only a few tweaks here and there. I’d have enjoyed my viewing of Jackie Chan’s version much less if I knew this beforehand.


My personal feelings on cinema aside, the answer to the question I posed above is no. Before reviewing the original film, I’d have said “yes”, without any hesitation, but there’s actually more to “wax on, wax off” than meets the eye.

In the 2010 version, all Dre does at the beginning of his training cycle is pick up his jacket off the ground, wear it, take it off, hang it up, drop it to the floor, and repeat for what seemed liked several weeks in a row, even in the falling rain.

VARIATION

In the original version, Daniel does much more than just wax cars. Sure, that was day 1. Mr. Miyagi somehow has half a dozen cars out in his yard, which Daniel has to wax. He does this for an entire day, with very proper and very specific form taught by his sensei. At the end of the day, his body is completely sore, but he got the job done and, according to Mr. Miyagi, he did it well.

Unlike Dre, Daniel didn’t do the exact same thing in day 2 and the days that followed. Day 2 was sanding floors, which is almost the same motion as wax on, wax off, but with a slight twist. Daniel performed wax on, wax off with a circular clockwise motion with his right hand, and a counter clockwise motion with his left hand. The motions were reversed in sanding the floors, with the right hand going in a counter clockwise motion and the left hand going in a clockwise motion.


Day 3 was even more different than the last. This time, it was painting the fence, which Daniel had to do in a very specific upward and downward fashion. Day 4 was painting the house, which was performed in very specific left to right brushstrokes.

Everyone knows where this is all going, though. In day 5, Daniel suddenly knows the basics of Karate blocking, which doesn’t happen in real life. But, then, why do I say that “wax on, wax off” and its counterparts are more effective than “jacket on, jacket off”. Simple: conditioning.

REAL LIFE

As anyone who’s ever done house chores and errands for an entire day knows, it’s hard work and taxing on the entire body. This is actually how people of old developed strong bodies day to day, by doing all sorts of manual labor. Think about it. How often have you seen laborers who have very well developed bodies as you pass by on the street. Sure, there are some of them with grossly large beer bellies, but I find that there are even more with well developed muscles and firm bodies.

These people don’t regularly work out like the super models and elite athletes we all look up to, but some of them have equally impressive physiques. This is because they use their bodies to the limit on almost a daily basis as part of their jobs. Lifting heavy objects, hammering nails into pieces of wood, and pushing and pulling carts loaded with equipment all condition the human body very well, all without setting foot inside the gym. This is what I learned from my review of the original Karate Kid, and why I was so astonished when I saw “wax on, wax off” again in action for the first time in years.

DO IT YOURSELF!

So, what am I saying, that we should all work as manual laborers instead so we can all get buff the same way? No, of course not, but it does inspire one to rid the mind of laziness, get up and get some work done. Clean your room. Walk to the store and buy the needed groceries. Replace any burnt out light bulbs and broken pipes around the house. Mop the floors when they get grimy. Do it all yourself and don’t be lazy about it. Think it’s a waste of time and that you could be doing something of greater importance? Like what? Lying around and playing video games?


Believe it or not, these chores actually improve one’s quality of living, especially if done on a regular basis. By keeping your room clean, you prevent filth from accumulating; By fixing any holes in the roof, you prevent leaks during the rainy season; By walking to the store inside of driving or commuting, you’re getting some much needed exercise and saving some cash at the same time. These are all good things that will benefit you tremendously if you do them on a regular basis.

MORE TO COME …

That’s not the end, though. As I was typing down my thoughts on the Karate Kid, I realized that I took in a bit too much. Yes, that means there’s more. Also, I didn’t really fully answer the question posed to me yet. “Wax on, wax off” and the first four days of Daniel’s training was only part of what Mr. Miyagi’s training regimen. Daniel did train for two months to prepare for the tournament, after all, so what did I think of the rest of the training sessions? Tune in tomorrow for the follow up article!

THE SIMPLE, BUT EFFECTIVE, DUMBBELL HOME WORKOUT

As a follow up to one of my earlier articles, the simple, but effective, home workout, I was asked to create a dumbbell version. To start off, the program that I will recommend here is primarily for those who are beginner weight trainers, meaning those that have been training consistently for less than one year, those that have been lifting weights for quite a while now, but are usually on and off and were never really consistent in their past routines, or those that are absolute beginners.

WHAT'S THE WORKOUT SCHEDULE?

There are two sets of workouts that I will recommend, Set A and Set B. You should perform the Set A workouts twice a week, and the Set B workouts once a week. Ideally, the schedule would Set A performed every Mondays and Fridays, and Set B every Wednesdays. If you can’t do the workouts with exactly that schedule, then feel free to adjust it to your needs, with hopefully the same spacing in between workout days. As much as possible, don’t try to do the workout for three days straight during a single week, as your body won’t be able to rest properly. You’ll tire and stress yourself out more than you’ll be making yourself fit.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED?

Again, this program was created with dumbbells in mind. It would be great if you have several weights to choose from, so that you can adjust the weights per exercise. If you want a hassle free dumbbell set and have some cash to burn, then I highly recommend the Powerblock classic adjustable dumbbell set, which can give you individual weights ranging from 5 to 45 pounds:


Some of these exercises will also require a bench. A flat bench would be nice, like this one from Apex: If you don’t have an exercise bench, then you can use another piece of furniture that you can lie down comfortably on with your arms hanging out to the sides. For more experienced lifters, you can also use a swiss ball. This will increase the difficulty of the relevant exercises by making the movements more unstable. It will also develop your core muscles more (rectus abdominis, external obliques, lower back muscles), since they need to work more to stabilize your torso.

HOW HEAVY SHOULD I LIFT?

All the exercises I recommend here should be performed for 15 repetitions, therefore, you should be able to lift the weights for a specific exercise for 15 repetitions before feeling too tired to continue. Choose just the right weight; don’t choose a weight that you can’t lift for 15 repetitions straight, and don’t choose a weight that you can lift for more than 15 repetitions and not break a sweat.

HOW LONG DOES THE WORKOUT LAST?

The workout has a warm up, stretching, and two sets of the primary exercises. After performing the warm up, go straight to lifting the weights and perform each exercise in the recommended order without resting in between. After completing all the exercises, rest for 1 – 3 minutes then go through all the exercises again the same way for another full set. Then go immediately to the stretching and you’re done! All of this shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes to complete. 

UNTIL WHEN SHOULD I DO THE WORKOUT?

The workout is also designed for two straight months; in other words, it will be very effective for the individual for that time frame, especially if he or she increases the weight load every one or two weeks, but will become less efficient afterward. I recommend switching it up by performing another weight training perform after the two months are up, in order for your body to keep adapting to newer forms of stress and therefore reap the benefits of the exercises more.

THE WARM UP:

This is basically the same warm up I recommended for the simple, but effective home workout. It’s sufficient in that it gets all the major joints in your body moving, preparing them for the weights. If you have a better warm up plan that you prefer, then feel free to use it. Also leave a comment at the end of this article, as I’d love to hear about it!

THE SET A EXERCISES (to be performed every Mondays and Fridays):

Do the exercises in this exact order and just as the videos below prescribe them. Do them with proper form all the time. If you feel that you can’t maintain good form during your routine, then reduce the weight you’re carrying. Form should always be your top priority to ensure the full effectiveness of the exercises and to reduce the risk of injury.

Flat Bench Press

Wall Squats

Perform the exercise as in the video but grip the dumbbells and hold them hanging down either side.

Kneeling Bent Over Rows

Stiff Leg Deadlift

 

Military Press

 

Crunches

Lying Triceps Extension

Biceps Concentration Curls 

THE SET B EXERCISES (To be performed every Wednesdays):

Again, do the exercises in this exact order and just as the videos below prescribe them. Do them with proper form all the time. If you feel that you can’t maintain good form during your routine, then reduce the weight you’re carrying. Form should always be your top priority to ensure the full effectiveness of the exercises and to reduce the risk of injury.

Flat Bench Flyes

Alternating Leg Lunges



Always make sure that, like the wall squat from Set A, your forward leg's knee never goes beyond your toes.
 

Wrist Curls

You can also do these one arm at a time, similar to the concentration curls, if you like.

Twisting Crunches

Calf Raises

You can step on an old, thick book, like an old telephone directory, if you like.

Reverse Wrist Curls

Again, you can do these one arm at a time, if you like.

STRETCHING:

Again, this is the same stretching routine I recommended for the simple, but effective home workout. You can use a different stretching routine if you prefer something else, but if you do, leave a comment as I’d love to hear about it!

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

That’s it! This routine should work your entire body consistently for two whole months, and, coupled with a proper diet, should start you on your way towards your dream body! If you have any questions or comments about the program, please post them and I’ll respond to them as soon as I can!

HOW TO KEEP YOUR ENERGY LEVELS UP

Ever get down in the dumps and have a terrible energy crash in the middle of the afternoon and wonder why each day is regularly 24 hours long? I mean, how the heck can people stay up that long? There must be a mistake in the design of the universe! Well, instead of complaining about the metaphysical could-have-been’s in your head, why not instead take a look at the physical should-be’s in yourself:

1. QUIT COFFEE

What? Quit coffee? But that’s the only thing that’s actually keeping my energy levels up! Yeah .. about that. Caffeine – heavy drinks can be alright for some people as an easy pick-me-up at the start of the day, but when it wears off, it leaves (at least most people) with a terrible energy crash. Caffeine charges you up for hours on end about a half hour after consuming it, but then leaves you weak and lazy for almost the same amount of time. And, if you’re anything like me, it can cause annoying headaches during this period as well.

I actually bought into the whole “you need coffee to function” for a few years, but then wised up, and noticed that it was actually doing more harm than good. It can supercharge you for a while, but then it leaves you so devastated afterward, plus the fact that it can cause sleeplessness more often than not really doesn’t make a few hours of high energy activity worth it to me. Besides, I found that if you follow the rest of the tips in this article, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with those overpriced cups of hot liquid in the first place.

Oh, and yes, I realize that not all people get these sorts of reactions from drinking loads of caffeine. Good for them, but they should at least realize that caffeine is truly addicting, and that if they’re drinking too much on a regular basis, it could cause permanent damage to the digestive system. In that sense, I really don’t think coffee is all that worth it.

2. WORK TO ATTAIN A SPECIFIC GOAL

This one is more mental than physical, but, hey, the body can’t function without the mind, right? Ever notice that, despite being incredibly exhausted at the end of the day, when you find something that generally excites you (e.g. a videogame, a new article on your favorite site, your favorite movie, etc), all the exhaustion just melts away? Yup, it’s all in the mind.

Our bodies do become genuinely tired, but sometimes, our minds make more of our current condition than is accurate, and this is easily controllable, with a bit of practice. This is how top level athletes can work harder than most individuals, how they can perform better in actual competition, and why many champions over the years have stated that their games, despite being purely physical to the casual observer, is actually 99% mental.

This is because they have a specific goal in mind that they need to accomplish then and there. When you get home and pick up your favorite videogame, you immediately form a specific goal in your head, whether you’re aware of it or not. “Finish at least one stage before bedtime” or “clock in at least an hour of play before the day’s out” are probably the most common variations. When you click on your favorite’s sites latest articles, your goal is probably to read all of them in that instant.

The same technique can be used in the rest of your life. Most of the time, this downtime occurs during a working environment of some sort, and is usually caused by genuine disinterest. “I’ve been here doing the exact same thing for five hours now. I want out!” All thoughts of efficiency float out of your head and you just slump into your chair.

Instead of forcing yourself to become genuinely interested in work you really don’t like, attempt to at least break your activities down into several steps, and accomplish those steps in a matter of time of your choosing. “Step A should be done in less than half an hour, then step B should be finished within ten minutes …” and so on. Make a game of it and race yourself to the finish line. The added goals and pressure you’ve created should definitely help keep you awake and on your toes.

3. REGULARLY GET ENOUGH SLEEP

No, d’uh, right? Well, sure, but, still, not a lot of people follow this very simple rule of performing your best throughout the day. I make sure to get at least 7.5 hours each night as much as possible, and just so I can have some buffer time for that (since I’m not one of those people who can nod off at the drop of a hat), I actually allot a full 8 hours. It’s a simple goal that I adhere to as much as possible, and it pays off wonderfully.

If I can’t meet that goal, then I have a Plan B to replace it: I make sure that I get at least 6 hours of sleep instead, and allot 6.5 hours of bedtime. Beyond that, I’ll most probably feel sluggish most of the next day, so I try to make that as late as possible.

The reason a lot of people don’t get enough sleep is that they don’t plan for it. Some people can get by with very minimal sleep (something like five hours or less), but most people can’t function regularly like this.

If you have to get up at a certain time, say 6:00 AM, then allot your preferred sleep period (such as my 8 hours), and get to bed before then. Think of it as another deadline to fill, and should you miss it, there will be consequences.

If you’re staying up because of work, it can most probably be put off until tomorrow, if you’re cramming it, then make this the last time, plan out your work habits more efficiently in the future and sleep more regularly. You’ll consistently feel better every single day and you’ll enjoy much reduced stress. Your body will feel better and will thank you for it.

4. EAT RIGHT

Food is your body’s fuel. If you feed it crap, it performs like crap. Therefore, if you feed it overly processed foods and junk most of the time, it’ll run like a lemon most of the time.

Regularly eating a balanced diet is a key component in performing well throughout the day. Athletes have excellent diets in order to perform their best throughout training and competition, and not just so they can stay within their weight limits.

Eat fresh as much as possible, and avoid fast food and vending machine options. Eat whenever you’re hungry, consume plenty of fresh vegetables of all sorts, good protein such as chicken breast, fish, and egg whites, and if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, pick up your favorite fruit instead of that Snickers bar. Eating healthy will have your tank running in its best possible condition.

5. PERFORM PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Yes, exercise can give you a quick energy boost whenever you’re feeling physically down in the dumps. It might sound counterintuitive, but just perform a quick workout, like the simple, but effective, home workout I previously suggested, a quick jog around the area, or pop in your favorite workout DVD and go a few rounds and you could feel right as rain.

If you’re still at work, go outside and walk around for maybe 15 minutes, or until your energy systems pick up. Lots of workers are allowed breaks for the most unhealthiest of habits (e.g. smoking), so it should only be logical that breaks be allowed for some of the healthiest activities around.

Carry a water bottle with you as you go, take in some sun, and enjoy the scenery. Try to go around a path with very little cars going by, to avoid inhaling the pollution. You’re trying to pick up your energy systems and become more healthy, not do the opposite, after all.

It can also help if you substituted short walks like this throughout your working day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, parking your car a few blocks away, and so on, so that you can pick up the pace and supercharge your energy systems.

6. TAKE A POWER NAP

I follow all of these techniques regularly and feel great throughout the day all the time. Sometimes, though, you really can’t help it if you feel really down during the day, or if you spent the night finishing a project. In that case, taking a quick power nap, of 15 – 30 minutes length, could really perk you right back up, better than any cup of joe ever could.

If you have your own office, then that will be easier, since you can just tell people not to disturb you for 30 minutes and lie down. You could also try napping with your feet up to increase the circulation throughout your body, making you feel even better.

If you don’t have an office, and your bosses absolute refuse for you take naps on your desk, then you should probably be a bit more creative if you really need to take a nap. Some people drive out to a park or any relaxing, open area during their breaks to nap for half an hour. Just try not to do this anywhere too dangerous, like while standing up during a commute on a train. Napping during bus trips home could also be fulfilling, as long as your confident enough about your security, that is.

These are all the techniques I use to keep my energy levels up, and they have worked splendidly for me over the years. Have any other great techniques that aren’t listed here but work wonders for you? I’d like to hear them!

MOTOR LEARNING AND THE KARATE KID

I recently saw the newest iteration of the Karate Kid franchise (simply called “The Karate Kid”), and enjoyed it. It’s not perfect by any means, but there’s a lot to like about it. The fight scenes are choreographed very well, Jackie Chan has an awesome dramatic turn, and China is shot magnificently. I just find the some of the main characters totally unconvincing in their sometimes heavy dramatic moments because of their age and inexperience with acting. In any case, the movie is great for what it is, and you should probably check it out if you’re a fan of Jackie Chan and martial arts movies in general.

Now that I’ve got my general thoughts on the movie out of the way, I’d like to move on to the primary topic of this article: the training mechanisms. In almost any movie such as this one, we have a series of training montages of various sorts. There are two main types of training methods: Blocked Practice and Random Practice.

BLOCKED PRACTICE

Blocked Practice is the more traditional form training, where the athlete repeats a single movement an endless amount of times to commit it to muscle memory. Most of the training techniques featured in the movie are like this, primarily the “jacket on, jacket off” training.

Blocked Practice has been shown to be very effective in teaching newcomers to a particular sport or discipline the ropes and basics, but has proven to be totally ineffective for use in the long run. Once the coach has seen that the athlete has learned proper form from the Blocked Practice, it would be time to move on to something more advanced, more effective, and more fun.


Blocked Practice is also useful at unlearning bad habits that athletes may have picked up playing the game during their childhood. Various set techniques should thus be utilized by the trainer to replace these bad movements with the correct ones before moving on to more advanced techniques and training methods.


Blocked Practice, however, has the disadvantage of mentally disassociating the athlete from the sport or discipline. A coach may improperly apply this technique by focusing entire training sessions to only this, thus making the athlete become quickly bored with the class.

This happened to me years ago when I trained in Taekwondo. It was endless repetitions day and night of literally just one technique, which mixed martial arts fans may recognize as a lead body kick, but what we called back then the “forty five”, since the kick was supposedly thrown a full forty five degrees towards the opponent. Or something. Months on end were dedicated to only this, with only a few training sessions actually employing sparring. And whenever I tried different techniques during those sessions, such as the spinning back kick, my instructors would scold me and say that I should use only the forty five. No kidding! It was annoying, and I, at one point, started training on my own at my house. I found it more fruitful than wasting my days away performing only one technique and I eventually quit Taekwondo altogether.

BLOCKED PRACTICE AND THE KARATE KID

This also happens during the movie. Jaden Smith’s character, Dre, gets tired of days on end of “jacket on, jacket off” and wants to leave the training hall. Jackie Chan’s character, Mr. Han, stops him to show him the fruits of his labor. After weeks of “jacket on, jacket off”, Dre suddenly has strengthened his relevant muscle groups and almost mastered some techniques in kung fu. No, if you’re still wondering, this doesn’t occur in real life.

The movements that Dre is performing during Jackie’s “sparring session” are kind of similar to “jacket on, jacket off”, but in the end, they’re totally different. Besides, “jacket on, jacket off” doesn’t have him reacting to a moving opponent. In this respect, training only on a heavy bag is totally different from training against a live human being during an actual sparring session, because your mind has to focus on various things at different times, such as defense, and the timing of yours and your opponent’s erratic movements.

“Jacket on, jacket off” also does not condition various muscle groups very well, primarily because the movements don’t offer enough stress to any of them. Except of course, Dre’s lower back, which, after weeks of bending over like that, is actually surprising that it didn’t suffer from strains of any sort. And that’s really the only thing that “jacket on, jacket off” could have affected.

So, in conclusion, and yes, I realize that it’s painfully obvious, but I still really want to put this down, but “jacket on, jacket off” does not in any way develop any skill aside from being really great at picking a jacket off the floor and placing it on a hook. You master what you practice, after all, and that’s pretty much all there is to this movement. It also doesn’t develop any muscle groups, but actually even puts unnecessary strain on the lower back. So, not only is it a useless martial arts training method, it’s also highly risky.

IF MR. HAN REALLY WANTED TO STICK THIS METHOD INTO DRE'S TRAINING REGIMEN, AT LEAST TWO THINGS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE:

1. Weights could have been added to the jacket, which would progressively become heavier every few days or so.


2. Dre should pick up the jacket with a more natural posture, as in a deadlift, so that he doesn’t out unnecessary strain on his back.

This way, Dre still doesn’t learn martial arts in any conceivable way, but he will develop some of his major muscles, including his deltoids, biceps, forearm muscles, back muscles, and leg muscles. If one thinks about it, it becomes sort of an odd variation of the sumo deadlift high pull (SDHP).

So, yes, Mr. Han not only wasted several weeks of Dre’s life, he also put his lower back at extreme risk. Get ready for some director’s cut footage showing Mr. Han applying the magic flame technique to Dre’s back at least once a week.

At least progresses later on during his training to actual conditioning techniques, such as flexibility and bodyweight exercises, so I guess some of those training sessions  were pretty productive.

RANDOM PRACTICE

Random Practice is the complete opposite of Blocked Practice, in that the athlete trains all the movements he’s learned during the allotted Blocked Practice sessions and performs them randomly, and as close to competition circumstances as possible, and under the close guidance of the instructor.

The athlete, however, should not progress to Random Practice too early, or it might shock him or her too much. The trainer may create too much stress and confusion by demanding the athlete various movements which he or she is not ready for. The trainer has to therefore be very competent in order to control the athletes’ training schedules properly.

Training should always be as close to actual competition as possible, in order to mentally prepare the athlete. Manny Pacquiao, for example, the famous Filipino boxer who is widely held as being the current pound for pound best boxers in the world, has several training several held in public in order to get him used to fighting in front of a large crowd and under bright lights. Training this way gets rid of the first time jitters of many inexperienced athletes.

Training should also be as random as possible (but still controlled by the instructor, of course), because most sports are played that way. This way, the athlete is not too shocked when “things don’t go as planned” during an actual game, and quickly adjusts to the scenario.

Random Practice also encourages what would otherwise be impossible during Blocked Practice: creativity. Michael Jordan is known as one of the best basketball players of all time because he tended to do things that people have never seen before. He does not practice these daring and camera friendly movements as Blocked Practice sessions, but, because he had become comfortable in being creative throughout his practice sessions, he reacts thusly in actual games, surprising not only the spectators, but his opponents as well. Athletes should be highly encouraged to become creative during active training sessions and actual games in order for them to reach their personal comfort zones, and be relaxed all throughout.

RANDOM PRACTICE AND THE KARATE KID

The tennis ball training method and, to some extent, the poking behind laundry training method are forms of Random Practice. Each time a tennis ball is thrown, or each time a jab from the pole is thrust, they target and land at very different areas. Dre also reacts very differently almost every time a ball is thrown. He can either duck under it, step to the side to avoid it, or parry it with his hands (don’t try this at home, kids). They’re still not that great overall, though, as they’re still very detached from the actual nature of the competition, and serve to only strengthen a few skills.

The best example would probably be Dre and Mr. Han’s later sparring sessions, but it’s still not a very good example because Mr. Han is nothing like the competitors that Dre will be facing. This is why, if you watch any of the UFC Countdown specials, you’ll see fighters and trainers mention repeatedly that they got the best guys from all over to move and fight like their opponents. The training has to be as close to the competition as possible. Still, considering that Mr. Han had very little resources at his disposable, this was most probably the best he could do and is thus forgivable. It’s one of those “better than nothing” sort of deals in the end.

WHICH TO USE?

Both. As mentioned, newcomers to a sport or discipline should always start out with Blocked Practice and steadily progress to Random Practice under the trainer’s proper supervision. Blocked Practice can not only be used to master new techniques but unlearn bad ones as well. Random Practice fully prepares the athlete for the feel of an actual competition while mastering the entire needed skill set.

FINAL WORDS ON THE KARATE KID (2010)

Okay, since I was particularly harsh during most of this article towards this movie, I’d just like to reiterate my feelings at the very top, and that I did enjoy the movie. Again, it’s not perfect, but it was fairly entertaining, mostly just because of the Jackie Chan sequences. I wanted to analyze the film as a fitness enthusiast in some way, and what better way than to comment on the training techniques? In short, the training techniques in the movie are mostly ineffective, so don’t do some of them, especially “jacket on, jacket off”. One final thing I do appreciate about the movie is that it has the same spirit of the original karate kid, which had kids all over the world flock to martial arts school, and thus, physical fitness. If this movie achieved even a small percent of that, I’d be very happy, no matter how unrealistic the training regimens in it are.

All the great images used in this article are taken from IMDB's "The Karate Kid (2010)" page!

Like to know how various sports-specific training regimens work and how they might relate to you or a topic you’re interested in? Drop me a question in the comments section!