One of the Coolest workouts of my life!!! Got to see this!!

Here is one of the very very cool routines we were doing today! This one is from the start of the workout...basic:) as we went we opened it up ALOT!! The video below shows Jess and Stef crushing it!!! We did rhythm reps for the whole workout! Not counting reps just reping to the beats...it reminded me of my ol' bboying days combined with our "Soul Training":)!! It was off the hook, we just kept training and training. I'll put the pulling video up next blog, put the pushing sets on this video:) It's off the hook!!!
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga back dome, supine bridge x 60 sec ea x 2 each...good! Indian clubs and shoulder routine with chest expander.
MBG 2 training - man today was cool as hell...practiced handstands on boxes from L seats and around the worlds with variations for a bit, then the workout really started to get super fun! We'd do a set of dips to the beat, then variations of chin ups to the beat...then i thought to make it a bit easier for both use a bit of assistance so we can really make some cool movements and get nice full range too on em.
We did presses with assistance from the BXT, alternated these with variations of chin ups off a bar at shoulder height...and it worked awesome!! I'll show you that video next blog i write...both are amazing, both are very very fun and give you and insane workout....we ended up training for 2 full hours and did not realize it til we were all just about totally exhausted and then saw DANG:) it's been 2 hours:) hahaha The more and more we did it the cooler it got, check out Jess and Stef messin' it up!!!!!

MBG 3 eating - strong food all day long!!:) CHECK OUT VEGNEWS THIS MONTH TOO AS ME AND MY MONKEY BAR GYM ARE FEATURED IN IT!!:) PAGE 82!! CAN I GET AN AMEN!!

1. Spring water and some raw protein (maca, goji, greens, brazil nuts)
2. broccoli, peas, corn, dulse, veggie patty, blanched spinach
3. kale, cranberries, pine nuts, walnuts, edemame, cous cous, olive oil
4. quinoa, kale, bell peppers, refried beans, dulse, some hot sauce:)
5. small popcorn (organic), pink himalayan salt, flax oil (this stuff was super tasty!!)

Yesterday jess and i took the day off to take care of alot of business in chicago, moving down there sunday with a full truck:) Moving into our new place and we're pretty excited about it!!:)
peace my friends,
jon

Whew!! Strong MBG 3 Day:) Gorilla workout, eating, restoration!!:)

My after workout meal today:) hahaha AWESOME!!

Today was MBG 3 Strong!!:) Before i tell what my MBG 3 was today i wanted to talk a bit about a topic a friend asked me yesterday....Why is Eischens Yoga better than stretching? He was just wanting a answer for others who ask him this question...similar to when people ask you guys maybe about why plant based of which i hope was answered for you a few days ago:) Here is why EY is better by a long shot over any stretching routine and any other means of re-balancing the body. You probably already know alot of this but i'll just cover it all just incase:)
First EY is active stretching, almost all other forms of stretching are static, including alot of forms of yoga. So why is active better?  
First ALL ANIMALS ACTIVE STRETCH EXCEPT HUMANS!!! That should get their attention:) ...they wake up and do a bit of up dog, down dog and a few simple other yawning type of opening up movements....except snakes, not sure if i've ever seen one of them stretch:) yawn yes!! So yes 100%:)
Second it is impossible to balance muscles with static stretching because while static stretching the body naturally reacts to the stretch by tightening up (think back to falling asleep in your chair in school and your head sort of bounces back up and you wake up) when stretched statically...so why do it? Other points: Static does not increase blood flow, does not warm up the body, does not balance the muscles around joints and contrary to belief, does not prevent injuries...so why do it??
Static cannot create balance because when you stretch one muscle fights the stretch but can still eventually be lengthened BUT the opposite muscles are NOT engaging, not shortening, not being active at all. So you do not get the opening in a relaxed balanced manner. As well because it is done in an isolated manner NO alignment or stability comes into play either...so end result? You fight the stretch, you dont balance the muscles, you dont work your alignment:)  
Another negative result is all the static stretching opens up joints more than the body can stabilize and align SO causing joint laxity which results in mis-alignment and then strains, sprains, tears and all types of INJURIES.  
This is the truth! Most people think that injuries come due to lack of ROM, this is almost never the problem. Injuries occur about 90% of the time from in-ability to stop ourselves and stabilize when coming into contact with resistance like the ground, another person, a weight, anything...IF the body cannot stabilize & balance quickly (because of the looseness of the joint) the result is a strain, sprain or tears of muscles and tendons.  
Now the other side...active stretching...like yawning and opening up your arms, your back muscles contract to pull your arms open, while this happens your frontal chest, shoulder etc muscles relax and open up completely, the muscles do not fight the active stretch! This is good for the body and increases blood flow which warms up the body AND prevents injuries better as well!!
But there is more to it....due to our constant mis-aligning of our body...through shoes, chairs, lack of confidence, etc., etc, etc. we need a bit more re-alignment than that 100% of animals. Because of this we HUMANS:) need ALIGNMENT + ACTIVE STRETCHING COMBINED!! That is why Eischens Yoga is king! Because every EY pose we actively engage muscles so that all the poses are active and alignment focused. These same active poses are improved even more with the aid of partner feedback of which EY is the ONLY yoga to do so.
So in closing, we want to re-align our bodies daily or as often as possible because daily we get out of alignment from poor posture from shoes, chairs, poor alignment while training and training out of balance and one of the biggest ones...poor self confidence. So we need something to re-align daily and in my 31 years of being a strength coach, nothing does that like Eischens Yoga:)
Eischens Yoga     v.      Static Stretching (include in this PNF as well)
active                             static
warms body                  does not warm up body
prevent injuries             does not prevent injuries
creates balance             creates more im-balances
100% animals do it       only humans do it:)
ENOUGH SAID! DO EY DAILY MY FRIENDS:)

MBG 1 RESTORATION - Eischens Yoga beg sequence (7 breaths each pose), shoulder routine with chest expander, indian clubs, 10 minute cold shower and loofa!!
MBG 2 TRAINING - Shot all of january and february workout videos from 1-3:) then trained:)
Jessica, Steffan and I did the BET workout....DOPE ON A ROPE MY FRIENDS!!

1. HSPU's assisted with BXT 2 yellow bands x 25 reps (BET was 25)
2. Kips or chin ups x 31 reps (BET was 30)
3. Box Planche Dips x 30 reps (BET was 25)
4. Jungle Gym XT Muscle Ups (no dip part) x 20 reps (BET was 20) very hard!! haha
5. Push ups x 60 reps (BET was 60) man this too was very very challenging!
6. Body rows x 32 reps (must touch hands to chest) (BET was 25 reps)
7. Tiger push ups x 32 reps (BET was 30 reps) another challenge for sure!
8. 90 degree assisted JGXT chin ups x 30 reps (BET was 25 reps) awesome!!:)

Awesome workout!! Glad i hit every BET cause i was starting to hit a wall big time at the end:) haha
MBG 3 EATING - man today was good strong and fun:) foods:) hahaha

1. 20 oz of spice tea with some raw protein in it (maca, brazil nuts, goji berries)
2. Blanched spinach, corn, edemame, broccoli, dulse flakes, veggie patty, arugula, pumpkin & sunflower seeds
3. RAW bars at starbucks (these are actually very good! and a solid small meal:) plus some raw almonds
4. 20oz spice tea and raw protein after workout
5. 3 slices of Earth Cafe lemon cheesecake:) yes, this is true:) and it was off the hook!! haha:) this is actually not what you think, this amazing cheesecake  is made of simple pure plants; soaked almonds, soaked pecans, coconut, agave necter and some sea salt...that is basically it and it's the best out!! Good point here is this as well...i felt great after this:)
6. Arugula, spinach, veggie patty, dulse flakes, corn, onions, sweet potato, wild rice, pecans, seeds

Good strong day:) Hope yours was too my friends:)
jon

15 total minutes of Holiday Hurt:) haha Gorilla Gift for you all:)

Todays Gorilla Gift for you:) haha a little Holiday Hurtin':)

Wanted to get in a very short and intense workout today and this fit the bill perfect:) 12 minute workout:)
MBG 2 training: So we did the 15/15 x 6 minutes for 3 variations of presses and 6 minutes of 3 variations of pulls. If you cant read it above here it is:)
15/15 x 6 minutes of pushing

1. regular full push ups  x 15, 15, 15, 15 = 60 
2. box planche dips (staying in extension) x 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40
3. tiger push ups x 8, 8, 8, 8 = 32

total pushing reps = 132 reps in 6 minutes

15/15 x 6 minutes of pulling

1. Kips x 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40
2. JGXT muscle ups (no dip part) x 5, 5, 5, 5 = 20
3. body rows x 6, 6, 6, 6 = 24

total pulling reps = 84 reps in 6 minutes

216 reps in 12 minutes....Nice!!:) haha

LATER IN AFTERNOON feeling like a bit more work:)
15/15 x 6 minutes of legs stuff
hindu squats: 4 x 12
alternate leg step up jumps 18" box: 4 x 8s
lateral 18" box jumps: 4 x 6s

Then did same 15/15 x 6 minutes for GHD on floor w/sandbags on heels: with hands
at sides 4 x 12
cross chest 4 x 8
behind head 4 x 6...man this felt good!!
Then did some 15/15 x 6 minutes of 
Full Power Wheel Rollouts assisted with 70lb bxt: 4 x 6
power wheel rollouts on knees out to chest: 4 x 7
hanging leg raises knees to elbows: 4 x 8
NOW I FEEL REALLY GOOD!! 
Did some jump rope trick practice and i'm done!!!:)
Overall for today did 30 minute workout...actual time training; 15 minutes!!!

Love doing this simple workout and it's been awhile since i've done a timed workout. So this was fun and gave me alot of extra "Chill like a Gorilla" time today as well.
Lately been eating and doing my restoration pretty much the same over the last few days too:
MBG 1 restoration: Eischens Yoga, shoulder routine, indian clubs
MBG 3 eating: 
quinoa, banana, nuts, seeds, raw protein
kale, butternut squash, walnuts, beans
rest of the day?? we'll see:) most likely a big salad, dulse flakes, seeds and a veggie patty!! mighty good:)
POINT I WANT TO MAKE: last night jessica wrote a very funny and to the point nutrition article "scared veganless", i thought it was great and very funny too. It is interesting to hear the positive and negative feedback an article can make...some questioning her on points, some dis-agree on other points, some laughed and loved it. The TRUTH? She wrote from her heart, you cannot dispute that:) Nutrition is something very close to peoples hearts, like religion, like politics...we are not trying to force anyone into doing anything, we are just following our hearts to do our best to make this world a better place now and for generations to come.  People often ask myself or jessica why vegans? Why not eat some meat? We (the MBG) promote a plant based diet which is to get people to follow a nutrition plan that is 90% or more plant based...this IS the healthiest way for all people to eat as shown by numerous studies, mainly the 750,000 plus people in the "China Study" written by Dr. Colin Campbell. So Why? We promote plant based nutrition (90% plus plants) because it is the healthiest for all people (as a diet over 10% animal products has been shown to lead to the 5 major killer diseases known to man) AND the planet as the transport of animal food(s) is one of the top reasons for global warming. SO getting people to transition from the typical western diet of 40-50% animal products to a plant based one is a smart and easier transition for all people. We have also proven that it does work with results of 17lbs of fat loss and 5.4lbs of muscle gain in their first 60 days of eating plant based and training MBG 3:) Then why do we (jess and I) eat 100% plants? Because of the above 2 huge reasons AND one more BIG reasons, we do not want to kill animals! We are proving to people along with many many others that it can be done. From our hearts it feels right knowing we are helping ourselves, the planet and all animals...it can be done! We are speaking from our hearts on this point, we are showing a simple transition step to a much healthier way of eating called plant based nutrition and we are proving it works....SIMPLE HUH:)
There is so much great info out there now to support this, my good friend Brendan Braziers book is probably the best for putting it all together. It's called "Thrive" and he hits all points you need to know and even gives you a complete 12 week nutrition program to follow too!
So do yourself a favor, do the planet a favor, do alot of animals a favor:) Go plant based this year!!
peace,
jon

Silverback bodyweight workout! Gorilla meals! Great warm up!!!

          Here is a video of me doing Press Ups off 6" boxes with a bit of BXT 70lb assistance!!
Today got alot of good work done, meetings for about 4 hours to start the day, then trained and had a strong workout:) Feeling Good and strong! Then ate super strong and lean and green today....but something i loved was our prep work we did for MBG Chicago....we're going back to my old ways, pure skill training, for our alignment, our skills and our strength:)!!
My question from yesterday was answered well by some of my good friends, while it is true Mark Wahlberg trained hard for the fight, he is an actor, he is wealthy and can have everything he wants and needs to make it easier to achieve his goals, but with that said, you can tell he has that higher level of effort and drive that shows...that is something earned from going thru the fire and coming out stronger on the other side...this is not something that can be taught later in life, it is a tough gift earned and learned young in life and one that gives lifelong strength, courage and drive...and he shows it here!
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga front warriors and some prone mountain and back dome walks too:) man i like that last one alot:) its a toughey:) Then did my shoulder routine for 7s with 2 pink bands of the chest expander...man that feels awesome on the shoulders, then finished with 7s for all 4 of my indian club routine.
MBG 2 training - warm up is on point...all types of runs, to crawls of all types, to pole drills, to cartwheels and lots more...love it, sort of like my favorite bjj warm ups but with more jumps and pole work:) Then the training began and i wanted to do some specific work today so for fun we did a favorite: Prison 10-2 of around the worlds AND  handstand press ups to chest off 6" boxes w/70lb assistance using the BXT. (SHOWN ABOVE)
After done with these two then we did two fun drills....on the beat reps!! That is doing a pushing and then a pulling exercise on beat for amap reps without hitting fatique....so first set did variation dips on the boxes...then variation chin ups....then very cool on point push ups!! and body rows...that is it!! Solid workout, felt good and strong during and after!! That is on point!
MBG 3 eating -
morning tea with some raw protein in it of maca, brazil nuts, goji and hemp proteins
mixed greens, kale, corn, walnuts, broccoli, brussel sprouts, dulse flakes, veggie burger
spice tea with raw protein and some pea protein after training
mixed greens, kale, corn, walnuts, broccoli, brussel sprouts, dulse flakes, veggie burger (yes again:) ha
chili, salad of mixed greens
navy beans, dulse flakes, hot sauce, green beans
Strong Day!
peace my friends! Saw north shore the other night....Soul Surfers:) ya brah:) haha
jon

muscle & fitness shoot, eating clean all day:)

Power Wheel Strength:) haha

 

 

Whew!! Today was a long one:) haha. Not sure if i mentioned it...think i did:) but Muscle & Fitness is doing a big feature on me and the Monkey Bar Gym!! March 2011 issue! It's gonna be a full 6 page layout and the article is awesome! and today they did a hard core photo shoot from 11 to about 5pm!! Man we did all kinds of MBG stuff it was very fun and also pretty tiring:) We did the noon workout, then they shot us as we trained, thten we just kept going with more and more cool exercises...cliffhanger crawls, pole climbs, climbing window, planche handstands, box muscle ups, power wheel crawls, traveling rings, stair push ups....whew:) it was fun and hard work:) haha
TODAYS QUESTION: Is Mark Wahlberg in the movie "the Fighter" stronger for his level of boxing (he attained of world champion" OR for his being able to maintain focus and train hard despite his challenges from his family?
My answer? Well I bring this up because what he did was the ultimate type of goal to pursue which i feel all people should pursue if they pursue a goal, his...he wanted to box, to be his best he could be....AND THIS is what brought him to such high levels of performance in the ring AND in life! He focused even harder because of his surroundings. He did not focus on an appearance, like most all fitness folks, he focused 110% on a non appearance big goal...being the best boxer he could be which brought out of him....tremendous focus, skill, conditioning, mental strength and fortitude = your highest level of performance!! These are the best goals...not superficial appearance based, but higher pure best effort performance based....with a side effect of looking ripped:) hahahaha
One more point is how he dealt with his family, mental strength, fortitude....man that is the real key to high level success, look at someone who has dug and clawed his way to the top and you'll see someone who most likely came from humble beginnings. The book the Talent Code talks all about this, how pockets of poverty, unique thinkers and outside the box workers created something off the charts successful and brought great success to that sport or job they do. In this book they talked alot about these points in this book, it's a great read and will really make you think about things differently:)
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga beginner sequence, Shoulder routine with chest expander
MBG 2 training - all the above exercises...starting with around the worlds with slow neg.s alternated with handstand push ups off bars with BXT assistance 70lbs...then box muscle ups....awesome!
Then the photo shoot began and we probably did about 30 more sets over the next 3 hours:)
MBG 3 plant based eating -

1. maca tea
2. mixed greens, arugula, dulse flakes, kale, cous cous, pecans
3. flax organic food bar, cashews
4. kale, veggie patties, corn, edemame, broccoli, hummus
5. black beans for a snack

today was a bit odd for chances to eat but i still ate well:)

How do you have a blast and get leaner & stronger??:)

Cool video of my Bhutan trip, was just thinking about this trip i took...it was awesome!!
Hey everybody, man today was cool, ate strong, trained strong and had alot of fun today:) haha AINT THAT COOL:) HAHA
7am - up, tea time and chillin' made Maca Tea and added some stevia = the bomb!!:) haha
7:30-8:30 ate!! made a big salad...mixed greens, arugula, brocolli, pumpkin seeds, kale, corn, pecans
8:30 - 10 caught up on e-mails and had some dates and seeds as pre-workout snacks!! heckie yay yay!
10:30-11:45 trained!! did slow L seats to planche press holds back and forth for about 4 sets of 5s, alternated those with around the worlds with super slow negatives..actually could go 1" at a time on the negs for this for the first time and that my friends is diz-ope!! hahaha improving on both, better control and cleaner reps:) haha
then we did some to the beat training which was a blast too!! keeping the beat to some old school house music (station barbara tucker on your pandora app:) while doing tons of variations with dips & chins, push ups and body rows...doing all types of side to side movements to the beat, spins, jumps, everything....man i gots to say this:) "Movement is Fun" hahahaha
11:45 after workout plant strong drink!!! went to willy st co-op for some carribean juice...fresh squeezed OJ, ginger and lemon and i added some hemp protein to the mix and that hooked me up quickly as i was needing something:) haha
12 went out to lifeline and discussed some products for mbg chicago for a minute then jess and i went and ran some other quick errands
1:00 ate lean, green & strong!! went to whole foods and had our great after workout meals:) i had kale with cranberries and pine nuts with some cous cous and butternut squash and some green lentils and walnuts on top...Dope!!:)
2-4:00 worked on mbg chicago, then read some books at borders too...got my favorite gift books for friends...the way of the peaceful warrior and celestine phrophecies...both very cool books!!
4:15 went and say "the fighter" good movie!! dug it! two main dudes mark whalberg and the terminator guy crushed  it!! ate some good popcorn too...no butter please:) haha
6-8 went and chilled and discussed more mbg chicago and then read the article that is coming out in march issue of muscle and fitness on me and the mbg and got to say the writer jess willard crushed  it! he really did a great job and it's gonna be a great article!!
8:15 ate plant strong again:) at a strong dinner, greens, quinoa, pecans....simple and strong!!!
SO
you can see by my day i had a blast training:) ate delicious plant strong foods too and the result is a stronger, leaner, greener and happier me:) you:) people:) and planet:) 
fun:) lean:) green:) c what i mean:) hahaha
peace,
jon

Goin' ol' school training today, ebook is nearer and more lessons:)

Turtle in Stream:) haha Ahh for summer weather now:)

Before i get to writing about my day i want to ask you all for some help. As you might now i've been working on my book for awhile...10 years actually:) and with a bit of your help i got the first ebook clear The Monkey Bar Gym "The Way of the Warrior". How to get Lean, Mean and Green in 30 days!!! I think that is it:) haha It's a simple version of my MBG 3 philosophy...and a very clear and concise program for how to truly become a LM&G Warrior!!:) 30 days to guide you thru the training, the eating and restoration along with an entire plan of action on exactly how to do it:) It's looking really good and i've very excited to get this ebook done:) After this ebook is out, then my next project is the big full on MBG 3 book, the much more detailed book of walking the walk and getting to and living strong!! For this i'm going to ask if any of you following my blog know of a solid publisher, someone who might be interested in working with me to help me bring this full on MBG training book to completion. I'd really appreciate any serious publisher leads and introductions as well:)
Now on to my day:)
MBG 1 restoration - did some early morning Eischens Yoga and then again before my workout
MBG 2 training - felt like doing some simple ol' school training with stef and jess. So we went over to one of the tallest buildings in madison...14 stories:) wow huge huh:) and decided to walk the stairs as fast as possible...me carrying stef on my back and him carrying me on his back switching every 2 flights and to make it fair since jess did not have a partner of equal weight (stef weighs 205 and i weight 210, jess weighs 135). So jess carried a pair of 20kg kbs with her...the challenge was could stef and i make it two times up and down before jess can make it one time...but she cannot set the bells down, if she does she has to run back down and up and continue! Right off the bat we knew this was gonna be some fun, i've done this before and seen lots of wrestlers do it too, but stef is the heaviest guy i've carried and it was good hard work!!:) So we're off and stef and i get a lead make it up and then right around the 7th floor we see jessie, so we pick up the pace a bit but man the thighs burn, we are crusing cause we know she is super competitive:) Right around the 7th floor shes running down, she must of set them down, but not for long, she's weightless and will be right back up, our thighs and lungs are burning! We press on and make it with jess right next to us!! Man this was a simple and hard workout...FUN:) then we go back to the mbg and do a few sets of Hammy Dips (GHD's actual old school name is dips haha:) to balance us out a bit and it works...that is it for the day!:)
MBG 3 eating -

1. Green drink first thing in the AM, (perfect food)
2. Go Raw granola, soaked oats, bee pollen, raw power, blueberries and a banana
3. 2 apples, pumpkin seeds
4. kale, cranberries, cous cous, pine nuts, walnuts, brussel sprouts, squash (this meal is off the hook!)
5. dates, sunflower seeds
6. brocolli, kale, corn, bell peppers, tabouli, veggie patty (100% natural, nothing processed:)
7. popcorn, flax oil, pink himalayan salt

LESSON for today - It's funny how everything that gets you up and down in life is a lesson to be listened too. Are we listening and swimming upstream or flowing with the stream. Rickson Gracie use to say "Flow with the go"...he meant Go with the flow, but his english was not so good then...but we knew what he meant:) Today an opportunity came to get really upset about some work, i began too... one of my employees i felt was not doing something in the best interest of the mbg...but i thought about what Rickson had said, Flow with the Go:) and thought just chill man, chill, wait and see. And you know what, i'm really glad i did, i almost got upset, thinking they had done wrong and when i waited, i find they actually had the true best interest of the mbg in their mind. I really learned a big lesson here because it was more than just the pausing and listening but the learning that this person was seriously cool, looking out for me, the mbg and doing what was the righteous thing to do. It actually was really really cool and i'm sooo glad i listened and chilled:) So when life seems a little off, or someone does something that really seems wrong and you're just about to get mad, think what Rickson said and "Flow with the Go:)"
peace my friends!!
jon

Great MBG workout Saturday, Juicing alot today and Eischens Yoga

One of the many Monkey Bar Gyms in Wisconsin middle schools

Working on it all:)
Monkey Bar Gyms - growing, working with lots of schools too and that is growing as well, soon we hope to have some really big groups were going to work with
Myself - working to stay as healthy and strong as possible and to represent "walking the walk", reading to continually learn more (by reading the old school, vegan nutrition, living consciously)
Lifeline - working on getting all our products out all over the world:) my inventions and my dads are really beginning to get some props, they're in stores now, getting alot of notice, and we still got more work to do on a way bigger stage that is soon to come the Jungle Gym XT, the power wheel.
My book - each week it becomes clearer and clearer and i learn little lessons from so many various points, students, books, maybe a random quote...all bring to mind ways to clarify points that much better....people want to get leaner and stronger, then people want to move amazing - run faster, jump higher, climb higher, walk on there hands better and then put them all together, then after that it seems people want to make a difference on the planet, be a bit greener, recycle, reuse a bit more, then lastly people want to do what is good for them:).....things that bring them balance of body, mind and spirit:) Tell me if i'm wrong but that is what i've noticed alot of over the years:) lean, mean, green and pain free:) My book is to help people to get healthier and happier, kids, adults, athletes and injured all over the world, to show how to simply train, eat, restore in ways that make people & planet leaner, stronger, healthier and happier:)
Yesterday and today were good days, yesterday ate amazing foods, had a fantastic workout with jess and stef, drove all over in a blizzard:) and then watched some great UFC fights. It's really fun to train with friends, challenge each other and just get that great strong feeling from a great workout!
MBG 1 restoration - still doing my Eischens Yoga every day:), Indian clubs routine and my chest expander routine to open up the shoulders.
MBG 2 training - jess, stef and i just took turns with nice strong reps of;
around the world and handstand push ups for about 5 sets of 5 each:) the form was tight, the ATW's are an amazing exercise to help with muscle ups as both the pull up and hips/legs up to bar and over and then the negative are extremely similar to the MU movement and slowing the negative really helps a ton! After that we did box muscle ups alternating sets of fast reps for one set and then the next set would be with pauses in the lever and planche positions...this was great! After that did a simple core routine that you'll want to do that is old school, simple and strong...we did 50 solid clean reps of sit ups and dips (the proper ol' school name for glute ham developers GHD's) til my nose touched the floor with hands across the chest....after doing these two in alternating sets of about 15-20 each til done i saw these two are actually perfect opposites and after we were done, we all agreed we felt great from those two and the whole rest of the workout. Again really focusing on solid reps all across the board, first rep is the same as the last rep. Then shoveled alot of snow too today about 7-8" for about an hour! That is a great full body workout!
MBG 3 eating - feeling good and clean!!

1. Green Juice first thing and alot of pure water
2. mixed greens, arugula, dulse flakes, walnuts, flax oil, pumpkin seeds
3. Green juice
4. kale, butternut squash, cous cous, brussel sprouts
5. apple
6. mixed greens, veggie patty (all plants no subs), arugula, dulse, pecans, flax oil
7. dates and some go raw seeds mix....man i love these two together:)
8. popcorn in coconut oil, pink himalayan salt

peace:)
jon

juicing it today:) and did 7 tips of the weeks too:)

Boobie Hard Core CHILLIN' :)

Today turned out good, needed a simple day to help balance the body out:)
the tips of the week videos were a blast too! did one on the JGXT and PUR combo! another for the PUR and power wheel combo, then the Power Jumper for travel workouts??? YES:) and a very cool Power Wheel combo workout you'll for sure want to see, so stay tuned for our MBG E-blasts on all of them:)
After all the traveling i've done lately and business i thought it'd be good to take a day and do a juice fast. It went fine today, and i still got all my meetings and training done too, so it was a good day:) Yesterday i asked you all to answer honestly about bn a warrior...stepping up to the plate on all 3 points...made me think a bit more on it and it's needed my friends, i need your help, animals need your help, the planet needs your help. So i am asking a follow up question for comments, if you are not, why not? post it, lets talk a bit on it, it helps me for sure and maybe can help us talk about it too:)

MBG 1 restoration - did my Eischens Yoga beginner this am, then my chest expander shoulder routine, then the indian clubs.
MBG 2 Soul Training - played on the bars with stef doing lots of muscle ups and combos, then went and did alot of handstands to planche holds, then went to the parallel boxes and did a whole bunch of fun combos of planche press hold to forward rolls, to box muscle ups, to backwards rolls....man we trained for about 90 minutes:) my good friend joe gorshe stopped by too to say hey....hes a good dude and hope to have him back in town again soon:)
MBG 3 eating....or juicing in my case today:)

1. most morning i drank my green drink
2. then juiced 6 carrots, 6 apples, 1 bunch of celery, 1 bunch of romaine lettuce, 1 cucumber, 1 lime....that was super good:)
3. then in the afternoon drank, 3 beets and stalks, 6 carrots, 1 lemon, 1 bunch of celery and romaine each, 1 cucumber
4. then for evening had 6 carrots, 1 lime, 5 apples, 1 bunch cel and romaine each
5. then late evening had a green drink

peace my friends!
jon

MBG is growing!!!:) JGXT crushing it! awesome at home workout today!

laying the floor out before matting the new MBG Chicago!!

Hey everybody been busy as a beaver lately getting ready for MBG Chicago, Working the Jungle Gym XT all over the world, and getting my training, restoration and eating down pat:)
NEWS: The JGXT is crushing it!! We got suspension trainers from all over the world telling us the new version of the JGXT is off the charts the best suspension trainer in the world:) Super cool:) We just did a demonstration in San Diego as i mentioned last week and got the same response, all the tr-ex trainers were coming over and checking it out and most admitted it's better, one said it's not the original and i had to set him straight (as his jaw dropped:) haha and i told him the truth, i invented the Jungle Gym in 2001, in 2002/3 i sent it to the navy seals to check out as they had told me they want to find a great new product to sell themselves in a big way...well then i never heard back and then find out what they did:)...nice :) well this guy and many others are finding out the truth:) it's funny:)
Well it's time and it's not even comparable, the JGXT is far better!!
QUESTION FOR YOU: last night i was reading about what true warriors are...the 4 agreements actually audio was talking about it...that a warrior fights for what is right and true. So my question for you is....

1. are you a warrior in your training, do you train for appearance or performance? right answer is performance by the way:)
2. do you eat for reasons the industry has told you (whey protein, animal products) or do you eat for what is healthiest for people and planet? right answer is for people and planet:)
3. lastly do you take the time to listen to your body and and heal it or do you go the quick route and take drugs to mask aches and pains and not deal with the truth of the problem? right answer is to deal with the aches and pains yourself!!

Now if you answered all 3 correct you truly are a MBG Warrior and you are walking the walk, if you did not get all the answers correct then i want you to walk on over to the mirror and look at yourself. And ask yourself WHY you are living less than your best, less than what is best for your person, people and planet!!
I ask myself daily, i feel if you truly want to talk the walk then you better dam well walk the walk 110% and nothing less!!
MBG 1 restoration - did a few Eischens Yoga poses alternating this morning, just two, prone mountain and cobra for a few sets each and held each for about 30 seconds each...felt great! Then did my chest expander drills (just so you all know it is a product called the chest expander i invented for matt furey many years back to replicate the old school drills the old time strongmen use to do with springs and cable strands...it was called strand pulling i believe and matt furey brought it back and it's a great tool which i use for a shoulder circles routine i put online about a week ago). After that did my indian club drills...and then read for about 3 hours today on some of my favorite old school books:) That is truly fun and relaxing:)
MBG 2 training - simple today, so i stayed at home and just alternated push ups on an unstable small kneeling stool and various types of chin ups....then progressed those to backwards stair push ups and body rows, then did some leg training with two simple but fun drills...touch and jump up to the next stair up 2 flights (touch the fist to the stair i'm on then jump up to the next...alternated with an old school exercise called dips...no not the upper body exercise but an old school kneeling on the ground and then bending at the hips til your nose touches the floor, made harder with hands behind my head. love this one and it's simple for all and yet easily progressed to super high levels!! felt good for sure after this workout and look forward to having a fun one tomorrow...doing lots of partner drills!:)
MBG 3 eating - great green eating today:)

1. Green drink using perfect food mix, man this is sprouted grasses like crazy and is a super green!
2. mixed greens, arugula, mung bean sprouts, dulse flakes, go raw pumpkin seed mix, flax, pecans
3. raw power mix (brazil nuts protein, maca and other good greens and stuff) felt energized!!
4. steamed kale, cranberries, walnuts, cous cous, lentils
5. Green drink (perfect food) like this alot!
6. 2 ezekial tortillas, red pepper hummus, dulse flakes, sprouts, brocolli, kale, bell peppers, veg patty
7. apple

Amazing how some sleep and eating good helps:) last night was my best sleep in the last two weeks, all the traveling and work has kept me very busy and yesterday i said i'm eating great today, i'm resting on my training, listening to my body and mind and reading alot...it's good:)
sleep well, be a warrior and lead the way:)
peace my soul training warriors:)
jon

The feet and why aligning them is key to the whole body!

My story that led to learning about the truth of training the feet, legs and whole body! In 1994 i tore my left knee up, thinking it was just a fluke accident when playing basketball. It was to worsen drastically over the next 3 years to the point i could not stand in one place for more than a minute or two, or run and jump much at all...even sitting brought me serious pain...then the back pain began and got worse than the knee. Since no one in LA could help me much i just thought it was my lot  in life to have a bad back. Until i met Roger Eischens in the summer of 1997, immediately i realized this man knew more about the body than anyone i had ever met and that the depth of his knowledge was vast. After intense knee and back pain for 3 years with no relief, Roger said he could fix it pretty easy, despite my skepticism i met with him and within 2 minutes i knew he was right, relief of the pain. With this new knowledge i jumped in 110% and learned from this great man as much as i could, annoying him with question after question:) One of the biggest lessons Roger taught me was about the feet, to let them spread, to do what they do...naturally. He said to immediately get rid of my tight expensive shoes and replace them with looser and 1.5-2 sizes too big of shoes that had no arch at all....i did and noticed immediately that my feet began to wake up, to spread, to work! I felt all the muscles in my feet i had never noticed before begin to work, my arches of the foot and toes especially. This is in 1997 now, in todays world everyone and their sister has a pair of vibrams but Roger was actually trying to get NIKE to have a similar shoe about 30 years ago....better late than never i guess, but now they have the nike frees:)

But Roger explained that the foot will naturally find it's way, and when it does the rest of the legs and therefore the body will be in a better position for all other acitivities. Now this transition takes time, but the sooner one gets on this path the better. There is much more to it though than just going barefoot, the combination of going barefoot and Rogers Eischens Yoga really activated my feet to another level fast...barefoot will wake them up, Eischens Yoga will get them to reach towards their proper position/alignment. That is the key for injury prevention and high level performance. Get the feet to wake up and spread and then to get them to reach/extend to their best natural position.
So how does one do this?

1. Get rid of your tight high arched shoes TODAY
2. Walk barefoot around the house STARTING TODAY
3. Do the Eischens Yoga beginner sequence (for 30 days straight) BAREFOOT:)
4. Get some low or no arch shoes 1.5 to 2 sizes too big for you...yes that is true:) ASAP
5. Begin to use these shoes for all daily activities and non dynamic workouts. Very important here that you let your feet adapt to going barefoot and NOT overstress them too quickly...so 1 month min. of basic workouts with big shoes and wear your old shoes for sprints, plyos or bball games, etc. 30 TO 60 DAYS HERE...YOU SHOULD NOTICE FEET SPREADING  to bigger sizes of shoe as well over time! I went from 12s to 14s in a year and a half!! Trust me on this one, i went and played bball on cement and dunking in sandals and my arches were killing me:) hahaha Lesson learned the hard way:)....again:) haha
6. Add to your daily EY work by adding the Eischens Yoga Warrior sequence now 1 time a week, 1 x thru (24 minutes!)
7. Begin to jog slowly and doing light speed or plyo work in loose shoes/vibrams! BIG NOTE that alot of people mistakenly do, is when they begin running barefoot or in vibrams is that they run on their toes...this WILL make your calves hurt alot and you may strain them or tear your achilles....RUN on the front half of your foot with heel almost or slightly touching the ground on each foot strike....still running on the front of foot here...just let the heel almost touch. DAYS 60 TO 90....or come to our intensive course and learn it from me:)
8. After 90 days of working your feet and waking them up you can now begin to run and even jump with pretty good confidence with your VFF's or loose shoes or barefoot. Your feet will tell you if they are not ready as they will hurt a bit in the arch or calves, so be smart and listen to them and take more time with the previous steps...walk first, jog second, sprint third, plyos fourth.
9. Begin adding Eischens Yoga Warrior sequence 1 x week but 2 times thru now (48 minutes!!!)
10. The final step is to train and live with as little arch support as possible so barefoot, VFF's, Sanuks or chuck taylors (loose). All are great shoes that let your feet work, once you go barefoot you have a hard time going back too...you'll start to hate wearing any shoes as you then begin to see how they confine your feet and thus hurt the rest of your body too. So letting the feet open up and then working them towards better alignment with Eischens Yoga will make your entire body healthier than you can imagine, the key is letting the feet do what they do:) 

by following this simple sequence you will adapt your feet to the rigors of our barefoot MBG training, sprinting, plyos and more all barefoot. Your feet will be much much stronger and thus much less likely to become injured and they'll also make other pains in the body lesson over time too.
Understand this though, it might have taken 20 years to get your feet where they are today, be patient following the above steps to adapt your feet to going barefoot, it's gonna take some time to get them healthier again:)
If you all like this please tell your friends too, i'm doing my best to help the fitness world move towards a more natural way of training and this is the first (barefoot:) step!!:)
appreciate it my friends,
jon

MBG 3: My presents i recieve grow each day:) and Power Wheel Plyos?

Some Power Wheel Plyo rollouts!!! YES!!

Over the last week i was in California, showing my training and ideas to a school, martial artists, military and many fitness professionals. Giving as much of my knowledge as i can to as many as i can...spreading the word basically of MBG 3:) But the gifts over this last week are many that i was lucky enough to receive. Visiting Fillmore middle school to show them how to MBG 3 and have fun training natural movements, eating healthier and doing a bit of eischens yoga...it was awesome, the kids have a pretty tough life there and they all shined with joy at everything we shared with them, they smiled, laughed alot when we did some fun calisthenics i like to do for warming up, they loved it....PRICELESS. Then their coach Dave, the man who followed our MBG training over the last few years, so open and honest and hardworking, ...he was so happy and appreciative to have us there to help his kids that tears came to his eyes when he talked with me after about his road to where he is and how much it meant to have me come out....PRICELESS.  My good friend Ory from Panama:) who wrote so wonderfully about "Soul Training" http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1096145363&v=wall#!/notes/ory-ortega/why-are-we-soul-trainers/470270951774 , his kind and honest words meant alot to me...PRICELESS. He understands Soul Training, he gets it and how important it really is, he sees what the fitness industry has become and he gets what it can now be with Soul Training..PRICELESS:) Being able to hang out with my good friend David Weck and just having fun thinking outside the box and talking training for hours at his beautiful house:) Then at the end of it being able to share a gift with him...our Eischens Yoga....since a football accident at 14 years old David has not been able to straighten his left arm out, i mean it is bent quite a bit and has little muscle activity in it....impossible to hold a 1 arm push up position. we talked about this and i wanted and knew i could help him out, so jessica and i put him in kneeling table and worked his arms with some partner feedback we do, he stood and with amazement almost straightened his left arm...then held a 1 arm push up position for a bit...it was shaky but he did it!! So we did it again, this time with a bit more feedback and the result was even greater...his arm was almost completely straight!!! and he held a 1 arm push up position solid!!! The joy and amazement in his face when he got up was PRICELESS!!!
then the excitement of doing all of these great events and having someone there with me who supports me 100% and helps me to help others, and brings excitement and new ideas as well to the table is jessica rucker my sweetie and best friend....PRICELESS:)
Dave, Kids, Ory, David and Jessica you are all gifts as are all of you out there who inspire and help others as well. WE are all doing it and together we are making a huge difference!
As Malcolm X said; seperate we are weak like the fingers, but together we are strong like the fist!!!

1. MBG 1 restoration - rested most of the day:) traveled 14 hours yesterday to get back home:) so today did some eischens yoga this morning and some more this evening:) then did my shoulder routine with the chest expander and did some tea cup drills too, but this time holding basketballs...thanks David!!
2. MBG 2 training - rested today:) tomorrow back at it but saturday man we had fun at the show doing all types of off the wall fun soulfull training stuff:) check out the video....can you say dizzzope!!!:)
3. MBG 3 eating - green drink first thing, lots of water and herbal tea, then some brocolli, greens, onions, black beans and potatoes. then late lunch had some sprouted quinoa, flax, pecans, pumpkin seeds and some SOlife. Then for dinner had big mixed greens, arugula, pumpkin seeds, sprouted alfalfa, dulse flakes. Then for a snack had some dates and seeds...man i love this one:)

These are all gifts, much love to all my friends and Soul Trainers!!:)
jon

How to train a skill, enjoy the outdoors and get strong as a gorilla!!

jessie, me, mr.matt and jenny at palm springs:)

Today was a busy day, getting everything organized in LA before driving down to san diego this afternoon for a fitness expo jess and i are doing to show some of our Lifeline USA products my dad and i invented. So did not have alot of time for MBG 3's today so we did our best:)
Eischens Yoga a bit and a massage in san diego helped a ton:)
Did a super simple and hard core workout at the SM beach...jess and i did muscle ups on the parallel bars...simple, she would do a set of 3, then me...repeat for 100 reps each:) now i know i've been soul training all month and today we only had 30 minutes so had to soul train fast:) haha
The muscle ups on parallel bars are harder so i'd extend under the bars and pull back up then lightly touch my left foot to the floor and i'd be over the top of one of the bars....it's barely assisted and i was getting pretty close to no assistance on them so i'll have them soon!! man what a great workout!!:) it was fun, trained a great skill! we were on the santa monica beach!! and YES we were getting strong like gorillas!!:) hey hey hey!!! haha
eating same as usual, green drink, water, then went back to golden mean for same arugula and black rice salad with a brocolli and amaranth mock meat, avocado and more veggies!! awesome!
then snacked on figs, pumpkin seeds on the drive down, then had some great thai food for dinner! lots of green beans, spinach, bell peppers, some tofu and great thai sauces and some brown rice.
good day:) and it's sooo beautiful here! look forward to a few fun days here then back home to winter:) haha
stay warm, stay strong, eat, train, chill like a gorilla!:) thanks Z haha
jon