Author Archive
It all starts with the mind
Posted by: | CommentsThe other day I was perusing a popular training forum when I saw
somebody complaining about a lack of strength gains. While a bunch
of people tried to help I offered something completely different that
nobody seemed to get. Let’s see if you can see what’s going on
in this post.
Quote Originally Posted by (name removed)
“I’ve always been weak and am a poor natural athlete. I’m also small,
as men go.”
And this was my response to him.
This my (clever poke at his name) friend may be the start of the
problem here. One of the things that I picked up from Slim the
Hammerman Farmin a couple years ago (if you don’t know who that is
he is a legendary performing strongman) was that everything starts
with the belief that you can do something and that there was no way
in hell that you couldn’t do something and in fact failure is not
an option. He told me (and I’m not a big guy either) that within me
was a power equal to every single person in that room (I might point
out that the Iron Tamer was standing next to me at the time). You
just need to have the belief and needed to learn to tap into our
inner monster. Training that belief has gotten others to bend wrenches,
prevent Air Force T-34s from taking off and held Harley’s back that
were running at full throttle, all by a student of his that is maybe
a 170lbs…that used to be scrawny and weak until he realized that
he was strong after all.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that negative self talk can
actually ruin your strength. it sets a foundation of failure that
can take awhile to get rid of.
Here try this now. first make sure there are no power leakages in
your press (a video would help us here). also walk into your bathroom,
look your reflection in the eye and call yourself a badass. Do that
everyday.
It seems strange, it might even generate a weird look from the wife
(mine doesn’t ask questions anymore) but it can do wonders for your
confidence…which can do wonders for your strength…which can also
do wonders for your confidence which can also do wonders for your
strength (it’s a cool spiral). belief that I could and would, led me
to a 3/4 body weight bent press, a 24kg in each hand crucifix, 50
consecutive pistol squats as well as a bunch of other stuff which
ended up as could and did.
Let me point out the important part here. If you believe that you
will always be weak no matter what you do…you will be weak no
matter what you do. Believe in yourself and you just might convince
yourself that you are a badass that can do anything after all.
That’s it for today. Badassery and physical awesomeness to you.
Eric Moss
The REAL “secret” of my strength
Posted by: | CommentsLast night I saw the movie Captain America in the theaters and enjoyed it and just wanted to talk about something I saw in it. No it isn’t the physique that Chris Evans (Captain America) or the strength he possessed as a result of his “Super Soldier Serum”. No it was something the guy who gave him all that stuff said to him in the movie.
and no this shouldn’t spoil it for you.
In one part the scientist who made him strong said this.
“A weak man knows the value of strength, the value of power… “
I can relate to this. I wasn’t always strong. I was a kid that had attention deficit disorder. I was put on ritalin which made me like
a zombie and it made me not want to be active or do anything athletically inclined. Sure I wanted the “glory” that comes with
strength and much like our beloved hero Steve Rogers I was determined to have it. I didn’t take any super soldier formula or anything like that…even though I bought protein like it was going out of style before I learned better. What I did instead was…wait for it.
I started training and never stopped
I got stronger quickly in the beginning because a beginner trainee always adapts quickly to a new stimulus but it also gave me the
sense of accomplishing something. People started to notice and it was great. As progress slowed and as I left the gym where I was
training I needed new ways to train. That’s when I discovered kettlebell training and the RKC system. It was my hunger and determination that led me to acquiring the skills of the system as well as my hunger and determination that led to picking and choosing from other schools of thought and I added this and that to my own personal toolbox. I hung around some very strong people for the crumbs of wisdom that they might drop but I guess the biggest thing and the biggest secret I can share with you is never stop trying.
That’s why I created my fitness blog was partially to pass on what I had been taught and to save you from the mistakes I made (and I
made A LOT). You know those ab belts that shock you? Yeah I got one.
It may not make for a cool story. It’s not like I got bit by a radioactive spider or was born to be an Asguardian king or anything
like that but it’s my story and it allows me to be able to do things like this
and this
and this.
I’m not going to pretend that I am the strongest guy out there on youtube…but I am proud of what I have accomplished because I
remember a time when I wasn’t able to do anything cool like that. Anyways that’s it for today. As always “awesomeness” to you and
thanks for reading!
Eric J. Moss
I am a fitness professional residing in Hopatcong, NJ, who is dedicated to making myself and my clients as strong as (or stronger than) they look and to look beyond sexy. I help my clients drop body fat quickly, gain strength quickly and I use kettlebells as my main tool and the RKC system as my main methodology. I am a personal trainer with small group personal training and fitness bootcamps in Morris and Essex County NJ. This fitness blog is where I have become known as a straight shooter with a unique writing style and I have been known to force companies to take videos down where they teach unsafe and ineffective technique with just a couple written words. It has become an inside joke started by a guy that bends steel bars into bonsai tree shaped decorations with his hands, that I don’t wear shirts but that is mainly because I have built up my physique along the lines of a Greek statue and exhibit it proudly.
Frankenstein fitness training
Posted by: | CommentsAhoy!
I just got back from the Alice Cooper concert a little while ago and
thought I’d put up a blog post. You probably already know this about
me but I LOVE old school heavy metal. Stuff like Ozzy Osbourne,
Judas Priest, Maiden and Alice Cooper.
Well anyways “the coop” played one of my favorite songs…Feed my
Frankenstein…and it was AWESOME! If you ever saw the movie Wayne’s
World…that is the song that they hear at the concert.
Well anyways it got me thinking about Frankenstein since during the
show they had this big awkward puppet (like 15ft tall) that was
supposed to represent the Frankenstein monster.
When you actually look at what the Frankenstein monster actually is
it is a collection of body parts from several different dead people
and possibly even animals. The end is a monster that is hideous.
A lot of people that try to write their own training programs often
times attempt to do the same thing. They take “this” and combine it
with “that” in the hope of creating something great…but until you
know how they might interact with each other. Sometimes you get
something great…sometimes not so much.
Well if you are on a program don’t try to mix and match it if you
don’t understand how. You can create a monster that way. Once you
understand the hows and whys then you reserve the right to make
yourself into a monster.
Well that’s it for today. If you ever have a chance to see Alice
you should take it. He puts on an awesome show.
Eric J. Moss
P.S. You rock!
What you can learn from the Navy Seals for your training
Posted by: | CommentsFirst and foremost I want to send out my thank you’s to the Seal Team
6 members who died in that helicopter crash in Afghanistan and their
families. Whatever good you got going on in your life is because of
the freedom that we enjoy that we are given to us by members of our
military.
3 days ago I was having a conversation with my dad about the kind of
mental training that Seal members go through. If you are unaware
when I was in high school I had dreams about becoming one of the
elite Navy Seals or Recon Marine but my non 20/20 vision prevented
me of getting into the Seals and a reconstructed ACL in my knee
prevented me from being a marine…or so my recruiter told me.
===================================
It was from a martial arts injury.
===================================
Well anyways the topic came up about the 8th week of BUDS training
also known as “hell week” w here they really tax the crap out of you
both mentally and physically. Basically endless amount of
calisthenics, holding rafts over your head, plunges into the cold
water, sleep deprivation and humiliation forge the kind of warrior
that is able to take on these high risk missions.
Supposedly if you can make it to Wednesday during hell week without
quitting, then you go through a transformation known as the “portal
effect” where it is like your mind is sort of disconnected from your
body in terms of discomfort. Think of it as being like that little
green man in Men in Black that rides around in that human looking
vehicle. It is like being traumatized into being tougher.
This is why they are able to do things like taking on machine gun
nests when one of their legs is blown off. It hurts but they have
the mental toughness to push through it because that is the mission
and that is the only thing that matters.
============================
watch this video
============================
This video actually points out what it takes to be successful in
just about anything. It describes the top Seals as being naturally
inquisitive and stubborn. Basically that they are always trying to
learn about ways to improve themselves and having the stubborness
to see it through until they have gotten what they set out to do.
Try and apply that to your own training and it can be a homage to
the ones that keep us safe. And if you yourself are in the military
then I thank you for keeping the world safe.
Eric Moss
ps thanks for reading.
I am a fitness professional residing in Hopatcong, NJ, who is dedicated to making myself and my clients as strong as (or stronger than) they look and to look beyond sexy. I help my clients drop body fat quickly, gain strength quickly and I use kettlebells as my main tool and the RKC system as my main methodology. I am a personal trainer with small group personal training and fitness bootcamps in Morris and Sussex County NJ. This fitness blog is where I have become known as a straight shooter with a unique writing style and I have been known to force companies to take videos down where they teach unsafe and ineffective technique with just a couple written words. It has become an inside joke started by a guy that bends steel bars into bonsai tree shaped decorations with his hands, that I don’t wear shirts but that is mainly because I have built up my physique along the lines of a Greek statue and exhibit it proudly.
First I want you to watch this video…whether you like pro wrestling or not.
Just think for a second about how I actually relate to this guy. Is it because we both have dark hair? Nope. Is it because we both like Living Colour (the ones who wrote “cult of personality…his theme song). Not really.
It’s because we both speak our minds and try to create change. Even though it’s just a work in pro wrestling and heck it may even work if WWE listens to the fans (though considering what many fans what…cough cough..John Cena cough cough). Much like CM Punk is trying to “change the status quo” by getting on a microphone…I try to change the status quo by typing up what I am thinking about on this here blog you are reading. If you have been reading my stuff for any significant time now, then you probably have a different status quo. You are probably aware that women won’t become bulky and that men don’t need steroids to get great results.
That’s the point of all this. You see I have a bit of an eye for catching bullshit. It wasn’t always that way. I’ve bought those weird ab gadgets that you find late at night including that piece of crap that electrocutes you. I learned from those mistakes and apply it to my writings and my teachings.
When you look at the fitness industry as a whole, you can see that there needs to be change. Marketers are always looking for a hook and throw around lies and misinformation like a monkey throws it’s crap. (They both throw around crap…there’s your connection.) Things only get promoted if they are “sell-able” whether they are legit or not and this is the sort of thing I have to contend with.
Last week sometime my dad was watching TV and he was telling me about an infomercial where they take “High Intensity Intervals and flip them on their head.” Whoa, holy crap! The secret of fat loss is flipping what exercise scientists did upside down?!?! This is monumental!!!! Why didn’t I think of that?
My dad’s response, “That sure is a dishonest industry you are trying to compete with.” (note….hard work is going to be decent at getting results…that’s what causes good before and afters…not some secret interval. also DO NOT where cross trainers with my methods)
But you see what I mean by status quo? That’s actually better then most of the others I have seen. Here are some other offenders.
Not all fitness people who use kettlebells are any good….buyer beware. Also, I will go in depth on this when I get a chance but I have been to mellow to be fair to this one.
But you get what I mean right? This is the status quo you have likely been fed and you deserve better then this nonsense. This is what I am here to do for you. I need you to help me change the status quo by spreading my message to anybody and everybody who will listen. That’s it for today.
Eric Moss over and out.
