Jonny Hinds MBG 3 training

Old MBG video with my dad and I and Week of Wicked Workouts!

2012-02-17T19:17:00.000-08:00

NEWS FEED: Bobby Hinds, owner of Lifeline USA training equipment and his son Jon Hinds, owner and founder of the Monkey Bar Gymnasium, installed Jon's innovative natural training systems in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District in the Madison, Wisconsin area to great success. Attendance and performance in PE for ALL kids, not just athletes, soared. Previously, participation in P.E. in the schools was low, as were student scores in their annual physical fitness tests. The students at Kromrey Middle School produced this video as a thank you to Jon Hinds and his father Bobby Hinds, founder of LifeUSA, the company that pioneered functional fitness products that are embraced by professional and amateur athletes around the world. Steve Myrland, a local sports trainer, was also recognized for his contributions.
This was a cool event and it was really cool to do this with my pops:)
We still help out alot of schools all over the country and thats such a blast:)
This week was challenging as far as being extremely busy but it turned out pretty good:)
MBG 2: MBG Training - WEDNESDAY: had a great 15/15 workout of:

2 green bands (160) Assisted BXT muscle ups x 4s/3s/2s/2s/2s/2s/2s = 34
Tiger push ups with 18lb weight vest x 6s/6s/6s/6s/6s/6s/6s = 84
Pullups x 3s/3s/3s/3s/3s/3,2/2s = 41 reps
70lb BXT handstand push ups x 3s/2s/2s/2s/2s/2s/2s = 30 total reps

MBG 1: THURSDAY: had a great Eischens Yoga class and really focused big time on my same cue of extending 1" or more on all poses!! That means lengthening a bit more thru my arms/hands, the spine, stepping out just a bit further on all poses....man it's taking it up to another level!!

MBG 2: FRIDAY: DID TODAYS CARD DECK WITH A BAR-BARIC TWIST!!
Hearts - assisted muscle ups (3 reds - 180)
Diamonds - dips
spades - assisted pullups (3 reds to chest - 180)
clubs - push ups
TIME: 58 MINUTES!!! man this crushed me!! hahahaha sweated my arse off haha 3.9* hard!!!!:)

MBG 3: MY PLANT BASED EATING and MY QUOTE OF THE DAY:

maca cafe, stevia, rice milk
soaked oats, almonds, banana, source of life
apple and raw cashew butter
kale, cous cous, cabbage, tomato, onions, mushrooms, beans, sunflower seeds
spirilina bar
spinach salad with seeds, then corn, kale and a gardein burger

Good day of food, which leads me to my quote i just made up:)
Over the last many many years people who eat plants, vegetarians, vegans, etc have generally gotten the stigma as weak, frail, sickly...but that's no more my friends!! We're proving that wrong....It's time to "EAT PLANT STRONG...NOT PLANT WRONG!!:)" hope you like it:) haha and you can quote me on that!!!:)

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT INTENSIVE February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com THIS IS THE 6 DAY TOTAL MBG 3 KNOW IT AND DO IT CERTIFICATION...IT'S INTENSE:)
SIGN UP NOW!! ONLINE LEAN & GREEN WARRIOR SEMINAR: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training THIS IS MY ONLINE LECTURES TALKING AND ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS ON HOW TO BECOME A LEAN AND GREEN TRAINING & EATING WARRIOR!!
SIGN UP NOW!! MBG Level 1 course: April 28th - 29th, 2012, Chicago, IL. MBG Chicago! go to www.monkeybargym.com IT'S BACK!!! DUE TO THE AUSSIE CNT INTENSIVE BEING DELAYED FOR A FEW MONTHS WE'RE OFFERING THE 3 DAY CERTIFIED NATURAL TRAINERS COURSE !!
SIGN UP NOW!! CNT INTENSIVE: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at MBG Madison! go to www.monkeybargym.com THIS IS THE 6 DAY TOTAL MBG 3 KNOW IT AND DO IT CERTIFICATION...IT'S INTENSE:) THIS WILL BE THE LAST ONE AT 'THE ORIGINAL' MONKEY BAR GYM AS WE'RE MOVING TO A BIGGER AND BADDER LOCATION SO BE SURE TO JOIN US WITH FRIENDS!!!

peace my friends, be strong, be healthy, be happy:)
Jon

Roger Eischens Video...TIP: 1" of effort makes 1 incredible training!

2012-02-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Roger leading his yoga class back in the day....simple & strong!!

This weekend Jessie and I took an Eischens Yoga Seminar (all weekend) from Head Eischens Yoga instructor Kari Tomashik....simply put it was amazing. Why? because she's so adept at seeing the body
and reading it like a book and giving you feedback that enhances each pose to the Nth degree to make
each pose turn from average to amazing. Now i've been doing Eischens Yoga for almost 15 years now and i love that there is so much more to learn and grow from and so much more for my body and especially my mind to grow from as well. THIS is what Kari challenged both Jess and I with....to take our EY practice to a higher level, to challenge ourselves within each pose to open it up 1" more, to pay a little more attention to NOT lifting the ribs. Subtle cues but powerful when done on every pose. Over the weekend she took all people from looking tight and weak to looking opened and strong! It was so amazing, i wish all of you could of been here as Kari is the closest Yogi to Roger i've ever met and the way she reads the body is closest to him as well....she's got a gift:)
Today was the midway intake for our 60 day fitness challengers and man was it great to see all the positive changes in everyone! In just 30 days most have lost about 10lbs of fat and gained about 3-4lbs of muscle...this is way ahead of pace and i am confident the cycle is a huge reason for the bigger positive changes. Not only are we seeing the great fat loss and muscle gain, but huge strength, speed, stamina and power improvements too:) Each person is very very happy, feeling leaner, stronger, skin and eyes look healthier and any injuries they had when they first walked in are getting healed up and stronger too!! PRICELESS:)
MBG 1 restoration - After 8 hours of EY this weekend, did an off the charts awesome EY class tonight with Jessie leading the way....as i added the extra 1" of effort and ROM on each pose and man by the time we got to the end and doing back dome i shot up into probably my best back dome ever!! Man i was stoked, arms 100% and legs 98% straight.....felt amazing and after class i was energized and feeling better than i've felt in weeks!! NOTE: I challenge you too to open up each pose 1", focus on keeping resisting the low back from collapse, keep extending thru the crown...do it all. Do this on each and every pose and go for it on each one to open it bigger than every before WHILE staying engaged and i promise it will take your EY practice to another level!
MBG 2 training - last two days just been busy as heck so simply had fun training throughout the day practicing all types of stuff and throwing a little J Rock into the mix too yesterday...that was fun:) Although my numbers were down from over a year ago when i was crushing J Rock in madison. I'll get them back up there and be crushing it again soon! Might want to get ready for it too...hint hint for next cycle:) haha SPEAKING OF TRAINING:) PLEASE SHOW ME YOUR SUPPORT AND SIGN UP AND / OR TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT MY UPCOMING SEMINARS AND COURSES:) I'D APPRECIATE IT ALOT:)

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT INTENSIVE February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com THIS IS THE 6 DAY TOTAL MBG 3 KNOW IT AND DO IT CERTIFICATION...IT'S INTENSE:)
SIGN UP NOW!! ONLINE LEAN & GREEN WARRIOR SEMINAR: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training THIS IS MY ONLINE LECTURES TALKING AND ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS ON HOW TO BECOME A LEAN AND GREEN TRAINING & EATING WARRIOR!!
SIGN UP NOW!! CNT 1 COURSE: April 27th - 29th, 2012, Chicago, IL. MBG Chicago! go to www.monkeybargym.com IT'S BACK!!! DUE TO THE AUSSIE CNT INTENSIVE BEING DELAYED FOR A FEW MONTHS WE'RE OFFERING THE 3 DAY CERTIFIED NATURAL TRAINERS COURSE !!
SIGN UP NOW!! CNT INTENSIVE: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at MBG Madison! go to www.monkeybargym.com THIS IS THE 6 DAY TOTAL MBG 3 KNOW IT AND DO IT CERTIFICATION...IT'S INTENSE:) THIS WILL BE THE LAST ONE AT 'THE ORIGINAL' MONKEY BAR GYM AS WE'RE MOVING TO A BIGGER AND BADDER LOCATION SO BE SURE TO JOIN US WITH FRIENDS!!!
MBG 3 Plant Based eating -
1. bengal spice, stevia, rice milk
2. green drink, spinach, mango, banana, water, source of life
3. rawvolution spirilina bar
4. kale, cous cous, pecans, corn, peas, onions, mushrooms, beans, sunflower seeds
5. organic food bar and kombucha
6. spinach, tomato, gardien veggie beef, brown rice, some corn chips
7. kokucha tea
Try out my tip/note my friends, i promise that little extra effort will open and balance you up like never before! As always my friends, i appreciate your support here on my blog, online mbg and following our workouts at home, at mbgs courses and seminars.
Peace:)
Jon

MBG Chicago 1 year Birthday!! Breaking of un-healthy patterns: training, eating, restoration

2012-02-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

ONE MONTH BEFORE WE OPENED:) PROBABLY NEW YEARS EVE:) HAHA

One year ago Monkey Bar Gym - Chicago opened on probably not the best day to open:) Feb 14th a holiday:) It's crazy looking back over the last year and realizing all the hoops and hurdles we've jumped to get to where we are today. Like life it's a process, learning and growing, making changes for the better, listening to our heart and following it! This is a key to being happy and healthy, the lessons when you do not listen are sometimes hard and challenging but if we look at them in a positive light, they are lessons that make us stronger! That is how i like to look at all lessons learned over the last year....they just made me and the mbg chi better and our vision clearer:). Within this last year despite some incredible obstacles we're a month away from being at the break even point which for a new facility is a big deal! So i'm happy about that!
This makes me think of how we all can get into negative patterns that do not feed our heart, our soul, our spirit. Sometimes when teaching i hear "oh i cant do a chin up" or "i've never done a cartwheel before" types of answers. This is a way out of doing things, of facing fears....of growing. In the MBG though i see this on everything we do on everyday.....in relastionships, in training, in eating, in work, etc. Looking at others do this makes me realize how supported we all can become in being negative and not living strong and full. So how do we do this? how do we live in a way that feeds our hearts and brings us happiness and strength? By recognizing when we or others are beating themselves down and instead giving some encouragement...some feedback to strengthen and support, to let ourselves or others see another more positive way.
Some simple ways to make positive change:
All relationships - listen!!:) support and show belief in others that they can do amazing things!!
Training - daily this is a great one...it's the same, pay attention to others, inspire and encourage them to higher levels....as they get stronger so do you and all around you....as tony robbins told me "power is proximity to power" so train with strong people, inspire others to rise up to your level OR challenge yourself to rise up to others higher levels!!
Eating - listen to how your body feels after each meal, change things up alot, have a huge salad for breakfast instead of oatmeal...does that feel better? maybe a green drink and that's all til lunch or later? Again use others as examples to inspire and follow their lead.....THEN you do the same to others that might be looking to you for inspiration!
Yesterday i trained with Jeremy and Mark...two very strong MBG guys (silverbacks)
we did an oldey but a goodie...the one minute on, one minute off of amap reps during that 60 seconds

heavy push ups + 28k x 22 reps off 3 boxes
heavy chin ups + 20k x 6 reps
....................................... then began the 60/60
handstand push ups HSPU's x 6 (for sure not feeling very strong today...9am workout, not my friend:)
assisted MU's (2 reds) x 6 (this is actually alot less than the 2 greens, so not great, not bad though:)
dips x 41 (this is good, did 34 in a row without pausing which is 4 behind my recent best)
pullups x 13 (did 12 in a row...not bad, still need alot of work here to hit 25 by june 4th, my goal date!)
push ups x 44 (good)
assisted MU's (2 reds, 1 magenta) x 10 (not bad as this is equal to 2 greens)
top bar dips x 10....this was tough, but we wanted more reps so switched it to
tiger push ups x 24
body rows x 45 (okay finished strong:)

189 reps not incl the top of bar dips....last year before moving to chi i did 224 in 45/45 style...whew okay i get it, i need more rest and recovery:) haha oh well...i'm cool with that:) it was fun too!
that is it for this week my friends!
peace:)
jon

CHECK OUT Tuesdays Monkey Wrench! good job MBG training and eating today!

2012-02-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

GO HEAVIER WITH SOLID FORM! LESS REPS, STILL WICKED WORKOUT:)
Hope this video inspires you to challenge yourself to some high levels on tuesdays workout.
Be ready cause it's not just tomorrow for Monkey Wrenches...Tuesday! Wednesday! Thursday and Fryday!!!:) Fun and very challenging modifications:)
Today was first day i actually worked out with some other MBG trainers in awhile! Jeremy and Sam and I trained todays workout...it was good:)

KB cleans 5-1 with partners holds: used 28s, pretty easy:) haha, just getting feet wet again here so chill:) haha
KB presses 5-1 with partner holds: used 28s again for military 5,4, then push presses 3,2,1, made it!!:)
Power wheel alligator plyo push ups for 10/8/6/4/2...very hard! made it to finishing 6 before dropping for a second, finished good though:)
BXT assisted Muscle ups for 5-1 with 2 reds, 1 magenta bands...perfect assistance as this was perfectly challenging to finish my 1 last rep:)
D-ball cleans 5-1 with 100lb d-ball....hard, but not too hard:)
D-ball push press 5-1 with 100lb d-ball...again hard, but did it....getting back into the groove on these two like the kb's:)
repeated bodyweight two again and completed them again!!
OVERALL - 3.7* workout, felt good training with others again as it's been awhile:)

MBG 1 - Did a little EY to recover tonight supine mountain for 1 long set...that's it and it felt great!
MBG 3 - Ate strong clean simple meals all day:

apple and almond butter, bengal tea
kale, spinach, walnuts, beans, carrots, onions, pumpkin seeds
organic almond yogurt and lifes basics and some almonds
spinach, carrots, onions, vegan sausage, sweet potato!! been too long:) missed em big time:)

i'm sleepy, i'm chillin':)
tell me how you like the monkey wrench okay:)
peace my friends:)
jon

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com
SIGN UP NOW!! Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training
SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at MBG Madison! go to www.monkeybargym.com

Important question to ponder, Soul Training and Tip of the Day!

2012-02-03T18:54:00.000-08:00


Angeles National Park....burned tree still bringing beauty!!:)

This week has been one of the busiest weeks of the last year for me as we are going thru some growing pains and so my involvement is at a high right now in my MBG businesses. So lots of meetings, travel and you guessed it....stress, less sleep, fatique, less intense workouts....eventually crashing and burning. Acknowledging this point is important, doing something about it even more important...so what do you do to get full energy recovery? That is the question for you today....here's some choices:

Is it eating the perfect diet?
Is it taking lots of recovery and sleep supplements?
Is it doing some meditation?
Is it doing the perfect workouts?
Or none of the above?

The answer might surprise you but my good friend John Allen Mollenhauer (performance and energy expert) made a great point when talking to me the other night....NOTHING can fix you up like listening to your body and getting to the point of full recovery. The perfect diet, the perfect workouts, supplements....none of that stuff can do us any good if we continue living the high stress/performance life that is crushing us. We have to allow our bodies to re-energize, to recover, to feel fresh again.
You might of noticed in my blog my workouts have been sort of light for me lately....this is why...basically 3 x week workouts...about 9 sets a workout and i'm out....do some yoga and try to eat like a champ and then pray to sleep 8-9 hours....might not be praying hard enough:) haha
I'm listening, are you? Are you thinking maybe it's my foods? maybe it's my workouts? Maybe i should try a raw diet, a miami beach diet, whatever diet!!....it's NOT that! John Allen is truly a wealth of knowledge and if any of you can ever hear him speak do it...he's part of the MBG CNT intensive courses now and will be in LA if you're coming to the course get ready for a treat, if not you might want to as he can really lay things out for you and change your life!
As fitness trainers, workout folks or whatever....the goal is to enjoy our life, the way we move and to improve ourselves, those around us and the planet! In order to do that we got to rest....day light, night time!! mother earth rests too:)
MBG 1 - simple Eischens Yoga sequence, indian clubs, chest expander shoulder mobility routine
MBG 2 - did some "Soul Training" today then played around with the 5pm class and the card deck workout...doing it pretty easy....whew....right!!:) haha
MBG 3 -
bengal spice, stevia
green drink, source of life, mango, spinach, flax milk
organic green bar
kale, cous cous, sunflower seeds, beans, carrots, mushrooms
edemame, veggie dumplings, brown rice, veggies, tofu, basil
apple

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com
SIGN UP NOW!! Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training
SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at MBG Madison! go to www.monkeybargym.com

My friends, i hope this blog helps you or a friend:)
Peace:)
Jon

Great LA trip! Friends & Food and some fun!! all in 48 hours!!

2012-01-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick shout out to my old friends and some new friends i met during our 48 hours in LA:)
It was really a pleasure to meet the Colin Campbell foundation crew led by Jack Murphy who's a really good and honest person we hope to work with more. Colin they did a great job! Jess and i had a great time, they took care of everything, the lecture went great with a good crowd, lots of variety of people in the crowd (bodybuilders, power lifters, olympic lifters, functional training folks to vegan, veg, plant based all the way to meat based:) The crowd asked alot of great questions and we had alot of fun!!
So the lecture went great but i also wanted to say how fun it was to see my old friends and meet alot of new ones. Met with old friends like Henry Akins (BJJ master), Mr. Matt Zaborowski (MBG Silverback who i hope moves back here to chicago soon!!:) and his lovely lady Jenny "i'm little but tough as nails" Foxx, to JP (John Pierre) a really old friend who i havent seen in about 15 years!!!:) JP is a hard core 30 year vegan who walks the walk, if you want a true person look him up cause he is one:) Last but not least is the MBG Moorpark and MBG Thousand Oaks crew....all supported big time! Thanks Kevin, Justin, Jeremy, Zack!
Then met some new friends like Robert Cheeks from vegan bodybuilding.com and we've played e-mail tag for over a year and finally met! Very cool guy and it was a pleasure! Bryon Au (raw vegan super chef!) this guy is a riot, and i mean that 1000% one of the funniest guys i've ever met and he knows his stuff too whippin' up amazing meals in 5 minutes for us all!! Tasty as heck!! Then also met award winning Shaun Monson the director of Earthlings...powerful movie all should see. For sure check all these kind folks out, they are all kind, conscious and honorable people and i'm very happy to have met them and gotten to talk and hang with them all! MUCH LOVE!!:)
MBG 1 restoration - actually slept about 8 hours each night in LA:) did my Eischens Yoga each morning too:)
MBG 2 training - a bit tired today from our 48 hour LA trip and being crazy busy today so decided to listen and train simple:)

Assisted Muscle ups with 3 bands + vest for 10 sets of 10 (this felt really good and strong!)
Dips + vest: 5 x 10
Chins to sternum with 2 bands + vest: 5 x 10

for how tired i was this felt great!!:) happy when i left:) 3.7*
MBG 3 plant strong eating!

Water and lemon, then some green drink and water
raw greens food bar
potato, tons of spinach, onions, peppers and black beans
organic food bar
mixed greens, beets, onions salad, then brown rice, mock chicken, broccoli, spinach
apple

OVERALL: great trip! One big shout out to VIRGIN AMERICAN airlines, man i'm flying this company as much as possible....great service and business, attention to detail was awesome and much appreciate...if you can fly them, they're really the best i've ever flown:)

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com
SIGN UP NOW!! Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training
SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:) go to www.monkeybargym.com
Good trip, looking forward to going back out in 3 weeks for the MBG Intensive listed above to have alot more fun:)
Peace!
Jon:)

Big Week at MBG Chi, LA Expo Lecture & bodyweight numbers still climbing!

2012-01-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

Having dinner with my friend Colin Campbell:)

WOW, big start to the year at the MBG's, biggest week ever here at MBG Chicago too which is great! It's so fun and exciting to see so many students in class training so hard and loving it so much! PRICELESS:) above pic we're eating dinner with my friend Colin Campbell:) What an awesome person! This weekend we're going to be in LA at the fitness expo and i'll be speaking at the LA Convention center at 5-5:30 sat night all about my transition to being a plant based athlete, person, strength coach...all areas:) The event should be alot of fun as already we're getting some folks talking about how they want to challenge me on it:) COOL:) Stronger, Healthier, better for me, people and planet....argue that!!:) haha
MBG 1 restoration, sleep - doing the Eischens Yoga sequence daily....feels great as the second part here of sleep, still not great...too much stress:) business was moving too fast and thinking too much at night = poor sleep, 2 hours one night 5 the next x 3-4 months = whew tired!:) So my training if you've noticed is very simple, not feeling strong enough to do anything too challenging so i have been keeping it pretty simple and it's working for me:)
MBG 2 training -
1.23.12 MONDAY (same asst for all sets on each exercise)

Amu *25, 16, 9 = *50 with (3b's + v)

Dips + V 22, 15, 11 = 48 (V = vest and is 17lbs)
1 arm assisted chins using bxt3b + V: 13s, 11s, 10s

Very tired rested alot btwn 3* After my first set of the assisted Muscle ups i listened and did not over stress myself and pretty much coasted on this workout and ended up doing the workout, getting the blood flowing which was good:) glad i listened and did not push it too hard:)

1.25.12 WEDNESdAY: used same assistance and / or resistance with each exercise for all sets.

Amu with BXT on bars: 2 green bands: *14, 10, 6 = 30 (great feel)
Below use same loads (2bands, 2V pushups and 2g + V chins)
Pushups + 2V: *30,25,20=75 (2 vests)
Chin ups + 2g, 2V: *14, 13,12=37 (2 green bands + 2 vests) yes you might ask why any assistance here
3.7* on this workout, despite my fatique i took my time, it felt really good:)

MBG 3 plant based eating:

Green drink and organic apple juice
blueberries, banana, sunflower seeds, almond yogurt, chia seeds, hemp seeds, lifes basics
dales raw food bar
kumbucha
mixed greens, quinoa, beans, carrots, beets, onions, corn, pumpkin seeds
apple
spinach, mock chicken salad, seeds, onions and potatoes

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events:

Lean & Green Warrior Training lecture, Los Angeles, CA, January 28th - Located at the LA Convention Center, Los Angeles Fitnes Expo.
CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!!
Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training
Jon Hinds & Mike Mahler weekend training seminar: Most likely in August:) Madison, WI - Monkey Bar Gym Madison
CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:)

Good night my friends:) sleep tight!:)
Jon

Snow cant stop us!! This Months RESULTS! MBG CHI Night class crushes Card Deck:)

2012-01-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

5pm Friday, Blizzard....no problem!!!

So it's snowing pretty hard here in chi town today and so we closed the MBG tonight....or i thought we did:) Went to walk nuka real quick in the snow and see one guy waiting...he came 45 minutes to train so i couldnt say no so i open up and teach the class thinking just him....6 people came in thru the Blizzard!! Got to love that! Not only did Clara, Jose, Amy, Drew, Kim and John all beat the best class times of the day but clara and john beat the best times of the day too! They were so amped it was awesome, priceless!! When they beat the previous best times of the day by 5 Minutes! Man they all cheered like crazy! That was priceless, that is why i love teaching and training...to see the joy and happiness that challenging, fun and positive social training can do for people!.....Love MBG:)
This week i kept up my training and got continued my improvement each day....Good Stuff!
MBG 1 - restoration training was varied this week, teaching Eischens Yoga this week, doing it on my own, doing the chest expander shoulder drills, wrist 60 drills, JGXT shoulder mobility drills and some stall bar work too....all great stuff!
MBG 2 - training:
1.6.12 MONDAY
Amu *22,13,7,2.=44 (3 bands, 3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest)

Dips 35,21,11,7=74 (0,1,2,3vests)
Pullups to chest 16,11,6,2=35 (2gr, 2 gr + vest, 1 gr, 1gr + vest, 0)

1.9.12 MONDAY
Amu 21,*15,*10,2=*48 (+4) (3 bands, 3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest)

Dips 36, 23, 14, 9 = *82 (Did *75 push ups in a row on tuesday night!!!)
Pullups to chest 18, 13, 6, 2 = *39 (2gr, 2 gr + vest, 1 gr, 1gr + vest, 0)

1.11.12 WEDNESDAY
Amy *26, t15, 10,*3 = *54 (+6) (3 bands, 3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest)

Pushups 45, 20, 14, 6 = 85 (Vest, , 2 vest, vest + r8, 2 vest + r8)
Chin ups to chest 17, 13, 10, 6 = 46 (2gr, 2 gr + vest, 1 gr, 1gr + vest)

1.16.12 MONDAY
Amu *18,*12, *5, 000, 001 = 35 reps (3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest, 1 band)
Dips *37
Pullups *19 (2 bands) did not feel good so stopped

1.18.12 WEDNESdAY
Amu *20, *13, 4, 000 = 37* (3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest, 1 band)
Below use same loads (0 assist on dips and 2 bands on chins)
Dips *38, *27, *18 = *83
Chins *20, *15, *12 = *47 (touch sternum) (2 bands)

1.19.12 THURSDAY: 30/300/3000 workout
Power Wheel crawl 300 yards then Jump Rope 3000 reps = 27:48!:) love this workout!!:)

1.20.12 FRIDAY
Amu *23, t13, t5, 000 = *41 (3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest, 1 band)
dead hang amu 2g x 1, 1, this was a tough one so bumped up some assistance some
dead hang amu 3g x 11 good!! like doing the dead hang ones alot as it forces my speed better from the bottom!

BXT 140 (2 yellow bands) hspu 14, 12, 11 = 37 (loved these two combo'd together:)
Chins 2 chest 2g *22, *17, *14 = *53 (2 bands)
same loads for all sets..... great!!

MBG 3 - eating plant strong meals!:)

green drink and apple juice
soaked oats, raw cashews, sunflower seeds, blueberries, banana, chia seeds, hemp seeds
macrobar peanut protein
kale, pine nuts, cabbage, cous cous, red potatoes, seitan, and then some carrots and cole slaw
bengal spice tea, apple, cashew butter
spinach, broccoli, mung beans and some corn tortilla chips
apple and almond butter

Give some props out for yourselves and others who are walking the walk my friends! Training MBG 3, changing the world for the better, making a difference on the planet!!:)
PEACE MY FRIENDS:)
Jon

New MBG Video, Update from the last week of my MBG 3:)

2012-01-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSQsKAWI43M New Monkey Bar Gym Video!!!
This is a brand new MBG video that is simply awesome:)! Check it out, pass it to others!
Man i love this one, my Bar-barian brother slick Rick made this....he's got crazy skills!!!
Just got back from LA teaching a Jungle Gym XT course at a Golds Gym in Marrietta and
it went really great! Full class, eager students/trainers and excellent grasp of how use the JGXT.
After 10 hours of traveling to get there Jessica and I arrived and began early saturday morning.
The class was full, all the GG trainers were really opened to learn and had great energy.
After just a few minutes it became really a fun event, lots of laughing and lots of learning.
Every time i teach it's amazing how much i learn while teaching....each time there are
Golden Nuggets of info that come out...that is just fun:) love that!!:)
After the course jess and i drove up to check out MBG Thousand Oaks;

Stopped in Angeles National Park ... awesome!! here's a Jessie sitting and thinking:)
Then MBG TO....awesome!!!:) Beautiful space right on the main drag, 25' ceilings and over 20 yards of shuttle running space too, they put up a solid monkey bar system too....very well done!
Last week of training has been the same intensity and pretty much keeping the workouts extra simple and easy....not sure exactly if it's my sleep (4-5 hours a night), the growing pains of the MBG or lack of any actual vacations (none in last year and a half) but i'm still feeling pretty tired and so still listening to my body mind and just doing simple workouts ONLY if i'm feeling up to it along with doing my Eischens Yoga as much as possible, sleeping as much as i can and resting as much as i can.
SO:
TRAINING: my training has been Assisted Muscle ups for about 4 ascending sets and even though tired i'm still improving and breaking my best each week. Last week before leaving to LA hit *26 on first set, then tied 2nd set at 15, then 10 tied, then *3 on last set (54 plus 6 from previous best) Monday when i got back and slept for 4 hours i said i'll just do my best BUT i'm gonna start my first set even with my previous workouts 2nd sets (3 bands + 17lb weight vest).
2 WEEKS AGO NUMBERS: 22, 13,    7,    2 = 44 (3 bands, 3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest)
LAST WEEK NUMBERS: 26,     15,   10,   3 = 54
THIS WEEK NUMBERS:        *18, *12, *5, 0 no kip (1 w/kip but dont count that) = *35
New Levels of AMU:              3 bands + vest, 2 bands, 2 bands + vest, 1 band
SO Despite being very tired still up'd my numbers and form is improving each week. this was the plan if you remember 6-8 weeks ago i was getting muscle ups but my form was not good and i was still having to pull myself back towards and over the bar as my arms were straight when half way up when they should be completely bent.....that is why i changed to using the Power Jumper to assist my MU's and make my form proper and i feel it's working really well!
After doing my AMU's on Monday i then did a simple Jungle Gym XT prison 10-1 workout of chin ups and dips and it felt really great! Look forward to sleeping good tonight and having a good training day tomorrow:)
EATING:

green tea, stevia, almond milk
soaked oats, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, almond milk, banana, blueberries
kale, cous cous, pine nuts, mung beans, pumpkin seeds, tomato, onions, corn
organic macro bar
honeycrisp apple, almond butter
Native foods for dinner - twister wrap, mixed greens salad, african nut soup

Well time to go walk Nuka and Stoney my friends:) I wish you all much peace:)
Jon

Christmas tree from 5th floor video:) training update and More Events:)

2012-01-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

It was time to say goodbye to our christmas tree, we live on the 5th floor....simple is better....SO drop it off the porch!!:) haha simplest way to get it down to our car and then to the recycling center:) SO we had to film it of course and it was sort of fun!!:)
Since the last post i've been very busy with work and still in cruise control in my workouts and funny thing is without stressing training hard, i've still made improvements! So that in itself helps my mind and body to feel a bit better.

MBG 1 - did some supine bridge work, focusing on even weight on feet and backs of arms. Then added in some chest expander shoulder mobility circles too....easy and feels great!
MBG 2 - keeping it easy still...at least i thought so...did:
Saturday: heavy jump rope x 50s each way, 10 broad jumps of over 7', 10 split squats each leg, 10 hanging leg raises for amap x in 30 minutes, made it 7 times and whew, good sweat!
Today Monday: i did a workout i did last week, YES i know it's rest and recovery week, well i've been training sort of easy the last 3 weeks so i'm continuing:) Did BJJ this morning as my warm up then got some more PR's on this workout!

AMU's: 21 + 3 bands (2 gr, 1 red) / *15 + 3 bands + 17lb vest / *10 + 2 bands / *2 + 2 bands + vest = *48 (+4 from last week!!)

Dips: 36 + 0lbs / 23 + 17lb vest / 14 + 34lb vests / 9 + 51lb vests = *82 (+8 since last week!) alternated with;
PJ assisted Pull Ups to sternum: 18 + 2 greens / 13 + 2 gr, 17lb vest / 6 + 1 gr / 2 + 1 gr, 17lb vest = 39 (+4 from last week)

MBG 3 -

bengal spice, stevia
almond yogurt, life's basics, chia seeds, hemp seeds, green powder
kale, mixed greens, mushrooms, corn, onions, beans, sunflower seeds, sesame croutons
peanut protein macrobar
kumbucha
mixed greens, onions, tomato salad / sprouted hemp bread, gardein vegan burgers, sauerkraut, vegan cheese (Jessies been making these lately and they are amazing!!)
apple, almond butter
vegan cookies:) oatmeal raisin!!:)

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events:

Jungle Gym XT course, Marrieta California, January 14th - Located at the Golds Gym.
Lean & Green Warrior Training lecture, Los Angeles, CA, January 28th - Located at the LA Convention Center, Los Angeles Fitnes Expo.
CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!!
Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training
Jon Hinds & Mike Mahler weekend training seminar: June 9th, 10th, Madison, WI - Monkey Bar Gym Madison
CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:)
Very busy right now, doing my best to pay attention to how i'm feeling and listening and taking my time with everything i'm doing to make me feel good, rest, recovery, food, training, time with jessie:)
Have a good night my friends!
Jon

Stoney Pic:) Good Soulfull Training!! Upcoming courses!

2012-01-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

haha isnt he a cute little dog!!:)

As mentioned a week or two ago i've been really listening to my body and mind and only training as i feel, never more and it feels good and i'm actually improving numbers and beating some records too despite still having some rough nights of sleep (busy business and busy mind .... usually about 3 in the morning til 5:) haha it's a process!!:) haha
MBG 1 - restoration and sleep: Eischens Yoga daily + about 5-6 hours of sleep a night, feeling 65%:)
MBG 2 - training....soul training!!:)
Monday did simple stuff...
Assisted MU's did ascending sets 3 bands, 3 + vest, 2 bands, 2 + vest for same reps as last weeks best.
Then did 4 x 8 of pullups to chest and tiger push ups with 2 vests 34lbs
Tuesday did simple running of the stairs:)
Wednesday did BJJ this morning as my warm up then got all new records on AMU's!

AMU's: *22 + 3 bands (2 gr, 1 red) / *13 + 3 bands + 17lb vest / *7 + 2 bands / *2 + 2 bands + vest (this is really great improvement! just a few weeks ago when beginning assisted muscle ups with the Power Jumpers 3 bands i could barely get 10 and not close with 2 bands!!)

Dips: 35 / 21 + 17lb vest / 11 + 34lb vests / 7 + 51lb vests alternated with;
PJ assisted Pull Ups to sternum: 16 + 2 greens / 11 + 2 gr, 17lb vest / 6 + 1 gr / 2 + 1 gr, 17lb vest

3.75*:) wasnt feeling great before workout, but felt really good during workout today:) good marks!!MBG 3 - eating:)

green tea
kale, wild rice, garbanzo beans
organic food bar
kale, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, onions, peas, beans, cashews
apple, sunflower butter
veggie soup, spinach salad with tomato and onions, vegan burger on hemp bread with cole slaw!!:)

UPCOMING COURSES: My friends i never ask much from any of you more than answering some fun questions i've asked and some you've asked:) Tonight i wanted to tell you all of my upcoming MBG courses and ask if you can supoort them yourself and/or by inviting a friend or two to them. Many of you follow my blog that i've never met and it would be my pleasure to meet some of you at any and all of these upcoming events:) So please check them out and hopefully we'll be talking face to face soon!

My next MBG Courses:

CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!!
Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training
Jon Hinds & Mike Mahler weekend training seminar: June 9th, 10th, Madison, WI - Monkey Bar Gym Madison
CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:)
Peace my friends:) Thank you much for your support as always:)
Your friend,
Jon

The 4 Ways of Strength & Power or crashing and burning! Be Smart in 2012!!

2011-12-31T07:08:00.000-08:00

Early morning at home in Madison...time to listen and be:)

Over the last few years i've begun to listen more to what my body is saying and actually doing what it wants more and more now:) haha Took long enough:) but it's funny we think we wear a superman suit under our clothes and constantly think go, go, go!! Must improve, must work harder, must push through....this is our subconscious mantra! So recently i was thinking man no one and i mean no one can constantly improve, we all have stress, set backs...LIFE happening that gets in the way of it:) So i began to think on this and it made sense we generally have 4 Ways to get to either stronger OR wronger with our health:) Now what i'm talking about here is for folks who train:

Train properly & Recover properly = Feel great! Stronger, Healthier! This happens when your training matches your recovery, SO the training is planned and progressed and the recovery is planned as well.
Train properly & Recovery poorly = Fatigued often, no improvement, injury is more likely in this state! Often find stimulants like coffee and soda, meats, doing exercise are needed to wake up. Not getting enough sleep can be hurting recovery (less than 8 hours), stress can be another big factor in recovery as it leads to inability to rest, sleep properly and dramatically impacts positive training results.
Train improperly & Recover properly = Feel good & no improvement though! Might have some improvement but depends on luck of training. Improper training can be anything from not listening to your body, if you're tired are you training too hard, too much power/speed type movements? Too much metabolic training? Both can overdo the body and mind, but here the recovery is proper...SO how do you train improperly so you do not result in improvements? Too little effort, not challenging yourself to improve reps, sets, weight, challenge....how do you do that best? Keep track of your training and repeat it and beat it!!!:) The thing here is as long as you feel good to go with your training due to proper recovery, you CAN pretty much train anyway you want...this even can be alot of really intense workouts on a regular basis....BUT if you're not working to improve, you wont...simple....got to work towards new heights and following our cycle or your own and improving each week is the way to go for best improvements!
Train improperly & Recover poorly = Total exhaustion, injury and no improvement! Poor recovery is same as above, but here improper training would most likely be training too hard for the amount of recovery. We see this alot, the effort is there, but they're not sleeping, stressed, drinking lots of coffee to keep going and do their best and they may get by for a minute, but it catches up with them and they usually crash and burn from sickness, injury, both or just overall physical and mental exhaustion.

Think about these points, nothing is wrong with training easy and focusing on full recovery if you know your sleep is sub-par for example...the important point is to truly listen to your mind and body, think about what your missing, then not only set goals for your training but your recovery too! Recovery MUST be an equal partner in the training process.
This week i'm still listening as best as i can and only doing what i feel good about.
SO:)
MBG 1 - doing my best to sleep but honestly this has been rough lately, best sleep this week is probably 6 hours, most likely 4 a night...leaving me tired. Doing Eischens Yoga daily and teaching too.
MBG 2 - training this week has been simple;

Tuesday i ran nuka around the block 5 times:) then did some simple power wheel work
Wednesday did feel a bit better so did bjj easy in the morning which prepped me well for a workout. I did my assisted muscle ups (2 green, 1 red) actually got a new PR!!:) haha did 20 reps in a row:) Then did a simple progression 2 green/1 red + my 20lb vest x 9, Then 2 green x 5, then 2 green + vest x 0, then 2 green + vest + kip x 5. This was all with 2 minute rests btwn sets which felt good:) Then did the partner 5-1 push ups and assisted chin ups x 4 rounds. This was really a good workout:)
Thursday kept it simple again and did the stairs in my condo 5 times, then some kb levers
Friday did a similar AMU's after bjj and did not break any records but was pretty even across the board. Then did simple 4 sets of 8 reps of HSPU's and Pull ups both lightly assisted with bigger ROM than normal (off yoga blocks hspu's and to sternum for pullups) felt good:)

MBG 3 -

Bengal spice tea, stevia, almond milk
banana, rice milk, oats, life's basics, sunflower seeds, walnuts
organic food bar
kale, squash, beans, seeds, onions, mushrooms
popcorn
spinach, black beans, wild rice and side spinach salad

Hope this helps you in your training in some way:)
peace my friends,
Jon

To be or not to be, that is the question! Staying true to my roots!

2011-12-26T18:55:00.000-08:00


Original MBG Flyer my past brother Greg made, it's to the point, it's very strong! He had no schooling past 1 year of high school but yet knew what the Monkey Bar Gymnasium was...with this statement above he hits points i still have a hard time saying in so few words. I miss him alot still and seeing this brings back alot of memories...some good, some bad, but all lessons about life. I titles todays blog as "Too be or not to be, that is the question" because one thing Greg said to me way back in the day was to be true to myself, to do those things that make me happy....literally to be true...TO BE! Anything else is false and a waste of time. He lived hard and died even harder but he did his best to be true to the very end of his days. My ROOTS are to be simple, be like nature, playful, instinctive, be happy and healthy. Seeing Gregs words reminded me of this simple truth and today was a good day of rekindling my spirit for myself, my mbg, my training, friends, dogs, cats:) Talked today in many meetings about being honest with ourselves and truly doing what we love, being simple, happy. AND seeing if we can do these things and still do our jobs and i must say the more i talked with friends the better it got, more clarity on all of the above:) MY ROOTS as i said are be simple, strong, playful, passionate, happy, healthy, laughing and loving. I never want to be a slave to numbers, the business or quotas, that is not how i operate. This flyer reminds me of my brother, my lady Jessie, my friends, my animals all remind me as well to stay true to what makes me happy....this is what i experienced today. SO my question was; am i being or not being basically? haha, no doubt sometimes we can get caught up in the rat race, the numbers games, the significance of this or that. Thankfully i have good people around me and a spirit that tells me if i'm on my proper course or not too:) ALL TOGETHER keep my roots deep and strong!!:) But reminders are always cool huh:)

MBG 1 - been doing Eischens Yoga beginner sequence 3 breath holds, sleep has been medium last few nights (having both dogs back:) averaging about 6-7 hours a night, so that's getting better!
MBG 2 - my second week of training under the radar:) keeping things simple....today i picked it up just a bit but had NO expectations = it turned out pretty good:) haha

Assisted Muscle Ups (2 green, 1 red PJs) - *16, 14, 14, 14 surprised i broke my record on this:) haha look what a little rest can do:) and listening to mind/body:)
Assisted Muscle Ups (2 greens) - 4 x 4 (very happy with this as my record here is 7 with 2 greens but that was totally fresh at the start of a workout, so hey hey hey:)
Power Push Up push ups (1 green) - 4 x 10 (very strict reps with pause at bottom 1" and top of each rep)

after this stuff i felt i was done so stopped and feel pretty good:) 3.8* it's not my most intense training ever, just matched how i felt perfectly and left feeling real good!:)
MBG 3 -

green tea, stevia, almond milk
hemp bread, peanut butter, raw honey
kale, pine nuts, tomato, beans, onions, sunflower seeds, cous cous
green tea, stevia, almond milk
raw hummus, blue chips, edemame
vegetables, black beans, corn, vegan sausages

Good day:)
Jon:)

Still listening & Chilling! Lesson, Love, Animals, People

2011-12-20T19:26:00.000-08:00

My Dog Nuka:) Sweet and Crazy little girl:) haha

Since getting up to madison monday i've pretty much been in meetings all day long both days = me tired:) Also been watching my 3 cats here and Nuka....sort of crazy:) haha
At first i was overwhelmed by it all, my business is BUSY, meetings, dog, cats, fatique, not much energy to train....so what did i do today? I listened to what my body & mind asked and you know what it turned a tough day into a pretty darn good day:) Yeah i did not train hard yesterday (4 rounds of partner push ups and body rows with my friend jeremy 6-1, not the usual 10-1 and it felt great!. Did it again today, a few sets of power jumper squats, hip extensions and HLR's too...that was it...but i felt okay:) I'm cool with it, what i'm writing and sharing tonight is my lesson my dog Nuka taught me, you see Nuka is a rescue dog, she's very scared of alot of things and doesnt listen to me alot:) Doing my best to be good at doing the heel, sit, etc thing, but getting frustrated with it cause the above reasons. SO this morning after getting upset cause she did not come when i called, instead she sat in the mud... ahhhh:) So it's at this point my stress rises and i think why does she do this to me? she's driving me cookoo with this stuff, i'm trying hard to do this right, to discipline properly, to control her...then it hit me, man yes i can do that stuff but i got to do it my way, a way i feel comfortable with, a way that doesnt stress me out nor nuka...and you know what? it worked much better:) So for the rest of the after noon we had fun walking, talking (yes i talk to my dog and cats:) and playing. Then an enlightening moment hit me, i realized before that my cats help me to chill out, cause that is basically all they ever do:) But maybe nuka and her crazy personality are with me to calm me down by ME being patient....not by being calm, but by NOT being calm she will make me calmer, more peaceful and happier? You know how in life we say "everything happens for a reason" well maybe this is correct for us and nuka, for you and your cat, you and your spouse? Why not:) It seems to make sense when we say that about people and the problems we encounter in life, so why not our cats, dogs and whatever else we interact with? Nuka is the sweetest little dog and we love her alot, some folks would say man give her back to the pound, dont stress out over it, but how about instead DONT STRESS OVER IT!!!!:) haha literally, how else am i (or anyone else for that matter) going to learn patience if i'm not in situations that take patience? So tonight i write just to give thanks to my dog Nuka, she is my teacher today and she teaches some hard lessons:) but good one for sure:)
peace, love and happiness my friends:)
Jon

My theme song for the week: You Gots ta CHILL:)

2011-12-17T18:50:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of this week i was preparing to take it up another notch for the 5th straight week, but a funny thing happened....i didnt:) haha. After not having the best sleep over the last few weeks i guess it began to catch up with me....doing my best to sleep well each night but i guess the stress of a growing mbg got me a bit at night and it affected my training starting on monday and continued all week til today....SO i had a choice, one i mentioned to all via video a few weeks ago. To not stress over not improving each week, it happens:) it's OKAY:) haha So what did i do this week, i accepted that i'm not feeling great, that it's okay if i just play this week and enjoy movement, simple movement, focus on my alignment, eat like a champion and do my best to rest when tired and sleep when sleepy.

This week i did not try to break any PR's, but focused 100% on recovering my energy and vitality. I feel alot better today and look forward to monday and this weeks training:) Keeping it simple and listening to my body helped alot and made what could of been a confidence crushing week into a week of doing soul training and just enjoying movement without any worry of reps or sets; do movements i want to practice and get better at, dont count any reps, just do it until it's starting to slow my movement down....basically 1st rep is same as last rep. Then stop when feel like i've done enough so i can walk out the gym feeling good:) It helped alot!
My eating has pretty much been the same way, eating foods i love, that make me feel good, eat when hungry, eat til satisfied....simple:)
SO listening to my mantra song of the week, EPMD's old cut "You gots to chill" worked:) haha
Listening, keeping it simple:) accept the bumps in the road...it's part of life, stay focused on the big picture....health and happiness, love and laughter:)
Peace my friends:)
Jon

Hardest core workout ever video!!! 2 day results, Eischens Yoga practice:)

2011-12-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

This has got to be one of the....

hardest power wheel core workouts we've ever??? (DO YOU AGREE? IF NOT WHAT POWER WHEEL WORKOUT IS THE HARDEST?)...GOAL 200 plus yards while doing the 15/15 x 5 minutes (2.5 minutes of actual pw crawling)....after these guys were TOAST!!:) to tell you how hard this was they made 198 yards!!! haha and could not make 200:) Crushing is how i saw it.....you got to do 20+ yards each set (10 total sets).
QUESTION FOR YOU!! DOING THIS 15/15 X 5 MINUTES POWER WHEEL CRAWL WORKOUT HOW FAR CAN YOU MAKE IT? WHO CAN MAKE THE 200 YARDS????:)
MBG 1 - rest, recovery, sleep: Been working alot lately and it's been hitting me pretty hard so monday i tappered down my workout and today did the card deck 80% intensity and feels pretty good. Did a solid Eischens Yoga session last 2 days as well and the new higher level poses although very challenging which i like, they are feeling pretty good:) Sleep - still not good, too much on my mind, sleeping maybe 5-6 hours a night max....so doing my best:)
MBG 2 training modified mondays workout to 60% intensity and todays to 80%

Strict full rom dips with pause at top of each: 10 sets of 10
Strict full rom pull ups with pause at bottom: 10 sets of 5
Then finsihed with some assisted MU's (1 green, 2 reds) for about 25 reps + 50 diamond push ups

Overall - 3 * (although i'm not happy about these results, i did it, i did something:) and i did not overdo it and leave feeling wasted, instead i left realizing i did my best and you cant climb a smooth mountain, so down days happen, it's how you look at it and accept what it is:)
MBG 3 -

Green tea, stevia, rice milk
soaked oats, blueberries, banana, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, lifes basics, rice milk
rice milk, lifes basics (after training)
kale, tomato, mushrooms, corn, pumpkin seeds, carrots, beets, vegan seitan strips
collard grreens, mung beans

Hey everybody, i want to hear from you ALL!! on the questions above okay! Tell me, tell others what you think okay:) Post it here or on our FB pages okay:) Thanks for your support on this my friends:)
Jon

Improvement:) Simple is good....whats a simple day?

2011-12-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

Monkey Chillin on the curb:) haha

Keeping it simple is something i strive for....simple is good, simple makes me happy....SO what is a simple day? THAT is the question haha!! For me it's NOT getting too worked up about work, nothing is that serious, but sometimes it seems like little things are the biggest most important thing ever huh:) QUESTION FOR TODAY....HOW DO YOU KEEP IT SIMPLE?
I keep it simple by keeping my work to X amount of hours a day instead of just working and working all day, getting outside and riding my bike over driving which here in chicago is a major hassle:) haha, doing my workout anywhere with simple bodyweight exercises, eating my meals i love and then hanging out with jessie.....it's a process no doubt and i can always grow here so what are some things you guys do to make work easier and less stressful? As well as other parts of our lives.
MBG 1 - Did Eischens Yoga for about 2 hours last night, indian clubs, chest expander drills.
MBG 2 - todays training 15/15 x 5 minute each section

Assisted MU's (2 green, 1 red) x 5s / 4s / 4s / 4,3 / 4,3 = *40 New PR (by 4 reps)
Dips + 20kg kb (44lbs) x 5s / 5s / 4s / 4s / 4s = *44 New PR (new challenge resistance)
Pull Ups x 5,4 / 5,4 / 4s / 3s / 3s = *38 New PR (by 1 rep)
Push Ups + R8 ppu1 x 10s / 8s / 6s / 6s / 6,5 = *71 New PR (by 7 reps)
Assisted MU's (2 gr, 1 red) x 4s / 3s / 3s / 4,3 / 3s = *33 New PR (by 3 reps)
Pull ups touch chest (2 red) x 5s / 4s / 4s / 4s / 4s = *42 New PR (by 11 reps)

Felt good during and after this workout 3.8**......Last 3 nights slept 6-7 hours a night....felt okay
MBG 3 -

Bengal spice tea
soaked oats, walnuts, bananas, lifes basics, greens
organic food bar
kale, beans, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, onions, corn, carrots, mushrooms
veggie, tofu stir fry, brown rice
popcorn

Felt pretty good today, really focused on chillin today and just doing what i'm feeling like doing, not forcing anything....sort of like Bruce Lee said "be like water my friend":)
Peace my friends:)
Jon

Crushed Legs, Killer Wed workout, my "Deep Practice" of EY!!!...and sleep:)

2011-12-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

Jessie and i after the Badgers won the Big 10 Championship!!

It is incredible how much a business can grow on you and then suddenly ya feel the weight of an elephant on you....man i love how the MBG is growing...it's just a bit overwhelming at times:) Jess and i have been attempting to take a two week vacation for .... maybe a year and it's not happening:) So we went to the badger game to let off some steam and it was great! The last few days have been overwhelming with meetings, work, training and teaching....whew:) So sleep has been rough a bit and noticing it a bit in my training....just a bit:) haha SO been focusing alot on my yoga and really working to make it a Deep Practice....what is a deep practice you ask....WANT TO LEARN then get the book the Talent Code....awesome book..it's when you decide you 'must' do this, you have to do it alot, it's in you deep inside that you want to live it, breath it. A deep practice is something that you do on a daily regime for an hour a day minimum....brazilian soccer players did it by playing all day in the favela's and it showed...best in the world, classical pianists played for hours a day....this is what makes that difference between most goods and the few greats. Now with my yoga practice, i love Eischens Yoga, i've improved immensely over the last 14 years....now i see i have soooo much more to improve on though. coming from a place of incredible stiffness, now with a goal of suppleness and incredible ease of movement....SO it's begun. WHY? Because in looking in the mirror i saw this, i still needed more here and knowing what to do it's a case of digging deeper into it and really really jumping to the next level....that is my goal, my mission:)
MBG 1 - been sleeping poorly lately about 5-6 hours a night at best, going to bed as usual, turning all electronics off by 10, just too much on my mind....will work more on breath work later then. Been doing alot more Eischens Yoga this week and feels very good, working on much more advanced poses that i want to achieve and that really motivates me when i cannot get them....as it makes me want to get them:)
MBG 2 - TUESDAY killed my legs.....holy cow!!! nixed the burpees out and did the DL, FUL's and 8lb jump rope as follows:

Deadlifts x 44s: 15 / 13 / 12 / 10 = 50
Foot up L x 28s: 10s/10s/10s/10s/10s = 50 each leg
8lb Jump rope: 25 / 25 / 25 / 25 = 100

TIME: 24:48
Before doing this i thought, oh this wont be so bad, WRONG!!:) This crushed me!! still can barely walk:) haha
WEDNESDAY: Bar-barian test, then group push ups and pull ups
Requirement testing: 6:00 test, last week i did not time it and took much more time and it was alot harder this week being on the timer:) haha oh well, got it in the books and improved on some, others not...good news i hit 15 assisted MU's on monday so took one red band out for this one and it was alot harder for sure....goal here is hitting two sets of 15 AMU's (2 greens).
AMU's x 7 (2 green) / 34 dips (1 less) / 13 pullups (best in requirements, but did 15 monday) / 41 push ups (did 47 last week, fatique was hitting me here) / 0 AMU's yep this was harder:) haha 95 / 165 (but did AMU's at higher lever)
Then did partner group training for 2 rounds thru:

push ups 10-1 (did this 5 minutes after test and this was ROUGH!! had to go into down dog after almost every set!)
Pull ups 6-1 (used 2 reds on PUR and this was rough, second round had to drop to the ground!!)

Overall great workout: 3.75**
MBG 3 -

green drink
quinoa, raw nuts, mushrooms, tomato, spinach, sprouted wrap, hummus
carrot juice
kale, pine nuts, tomato, beans, raw walnuts, sesame croutons
vegetable lentil soup
honeycrisp apples and raw cashew butter

good day of eating:)
got to go my friends:)
peace
jon

Badgers BIG10 Champs videos, todays new PR's, Self Eval part 2:) DETAILED!!:)

2011-12-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

Man this was an amazing game!! Just a blast and a memory forever!!!!:)
After training on saturday morning jess and i drove to indy and this was an experience!!
The whole atmosphere at the game was extremely high energy....the runs were crazy, up
21-7, then MSU's up looking strong....then the 4th quarter finish....man it was probably the
most exciting game i've ever been at simply cause the momentum shifts kept you thinking
it's good, it's bad:) haha

SELF EVAL part 2: In talking with a student yesterday he was talking about the last blog and how
he liked what i asked....looking serious at yourself in the mirror. He asked to explain it more..so what i said made me think, i got some more explaining to you all as well. When you look at the man in the mirror really look at all aspects; skin (fresh or gray looking?), eyes (bright or dull?), hair, posture (arches collapsed, knock knees, rotated hips, sway back, rounded upper back, internally rounded shoulders, twisted spin, forward head....any and all of the above), physique (weak, fat, strong?), mental state (weak or strong?)....check them all out....THEN think about what feels out of balance and then begin to put your focus on gaining that balance back by daily simple work....
skin, eyes, hair look un-healthy ----> diet related...eat more clean plants my friends and more water! Postures out of whack -------> get on the Eischens Yoga, you know inside where your posture is off, so do poses that bring balance to those areas and it will happen in no time!
Physique not up to your desire -------> get focused on the MBG Cycles, make sure you improve each week, that you get plenty of sleep, eat great and drink lots of water and it WILL happen:) Just got to do it my friend....but do it simple, no worries about achieving any and all in one day...make it part of your life and enjoy the process:)
MBG 1 - Eischens Yoga, indian clubs (2lbs just got em and love em, perfect weight:), chest expander shoulder drills, wrist mobility drills.
MBG 2 - todays workout, did all drills as part of my warm up, then lots of push ups and various pulls to warm up for the workout.
20 minutes as many as possible

pull ups x *15,11 / 8, 7, 7 / 6, 5, 4 / 4, 3, 3, 1 = 74t on 12 sets! previous 74 was on 13 sets (2 less sets:)
press ups x 8t, 6, / 6, 5, 5 / 4, 3, 3 / 3, 2, 2 = *47 New PR by 2 on 11 sets too! previous was 45 on 13 sets!
Buy Out: 15 Assisted MU's (*15 in a row! New personal record!!) --> 50 Diamond push ups (25+14+11) really happy with todays marks! 3.75*!!

MBG 3 -

green drink
bengal spice tea, almond milk, stevia
soaked oats, walnuts, lifes basics, banana, blueberries
organic food bar, banana
vegan pot pie, stuffing, corn - the last of thanksgiving food:) haha
kale, pine nuts, vegan chili, vegan sun burger, sprouted bread

Good day my friends,
hope this blog helps you or your friends out:)
Peace my friends:)
Jon

Vlog on honor and evaluation of self, 15/15 results and going to Indy!!

2011-12-03T11:11:00.000-08:00

Vlog on giving yourself an honest evaluation of yourself, mental & physical alignment. I do this alot myself and then think on how can i better create balance in my life...more balance = more happiness:) at least that is what i feel:) haha
MBG 1 restoration and sleep: First thing this morning i did my Eischens Yoga, before my workout did shoulder mobility drills, wrist mobility drills, indian club drills.
MBG 2 training: Todays results on yesterdays 15/15 x 5 minutes each section!

Assisted MU's (2 greens, 1 red) x 4,3/4,3/4,3/4,4/4,3 = *36 New PR by 3 reps
Resisted Dips (1 green PPU1) x 10s/9s/8s/7s/7,6 = *81 New PR by 1 rep
Pull Ups x 4s/4s/4s/4,3/3s = *37 New PR by 1 rep
Resisted Push ups (1 green PPU1) x 10s/8s/6s/4s/4s = *64 New PR by 16 reps
Assisted MU's (2 green, 1 red) x 4s/4s/3s/3s/2s = *30 New PR by 4 reps (over walk up MU's)
THEN FELT SO GOOD DID ONE MORE EXTRA 15/15:)
Assisted Pull ups to chest (2 red) x 4s/4s/3s/3,2/2s = *31 New PR as it's first time doing it:)

MBG 3 eating plant based;

bengal spice tea, almond milk, stevia
2 mookie organic green vegan cookies (my friends these cookies are healthy and taste great!!)
almond milk + lifes basics
kale, cous cous, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, beans

DRIVING TO NAP TOWN TO SEE WISCONSIN BEAT MSU!!!!!
wish us well my friends!!!
Talk soon!
Jon

Question of the Day and Bar-barian workout...SICK ONE TODAY!!:)

2011-11-30T18:09:00.000-08:00

Erin changed up yesterdays stamina workout to a wicked card deck....it's hitting em right here!!!:) haha
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you beat yourself up for not being a perfect model? Are you never satisfied? OR are you the one in a million who gives yourself props...looking good!! OR do you simply not judge and look to see if you look clean or not without any negativity? I ask this because in hearing people beat themselves up for so many years and doing a bit myself:) I just wanted to ask and hear what most people say. Guessing most beat themselves up a bit and are never satisfied. IF this is the case, here's a little thing i do that i learned a great lesson from an overweight client along time ago:) She was a very sweet lady, about 200lbs and maybe 5' tall:) The lesson was simple, she saw me working out and looking at myself in the mirror (now i said this was a looooong time ago:) haha....anyways she said have you ever tried to not look at yourself and just enjoy the feel of what you're doing? No, hadnt thought of it....but you know what, i did it and it felt great...to pay attention to my movement, the feel of my muscles working, the 'feel' of the bar, the ground, the implement. SO instead of beating yourself up, try this, One understand you are where you are....Two life is an up and down road, hopefully it's going in a good up direction, but you know it's still gonna have downs too and to accept them and learn from them...Three and this is the big one....ask yourself, how do i FEEL, not how do i appear, but how do you truly feel....THAT is the real thing we are going for isnt it...NOT to appear healthy, vibrant and happy...but to truly be healthy, vibrant and happy. Try it out and tell me how it goes for you okay my friends:)
MBG 1 - Eischens Yoga: did a sequence with jessie, felt really good, shoulder mobility drills with chest expander, wrist 60 mobility drills. Sleep: other night slept 3 hours and felt tired all day...shocker:) so did a light movement workout and felt good, added some meditation breath work too. Last night good sleep 9:45 - 6:30....felt good!
MBG 2 - todays training:
Ladder 1:3 pullups and dips, up to 5:15 as warm up after mobility drills
Bar-barian test -
Last week did 11/35/12/40/5 =103/165 (165 due to using assistance on MUs and putting 20 reps as my number i need to hit before going to lighter assistance with PJ bands 2R8, 1R6)
Today did: *14 / 35t / 12t / *47 / 5 = 113/165 improved by 10 reps!! Thats good:)
NOTE: some folks have asked how to do i scale using the power jumper bands....heres how i'm doing them with NO kipping using two greens and one red....for goal of 20 each MU set, when i can do that then i move to 2 greens for 15s, then 1 green and 1 red for 10s, when i got that i think i'll be pretty close to doing them without any help or just the one green for maybe 8s, when i get those, nothing and i'm passing the requirements!!!!!:) haha
Then the group push ups (10-1) and pull ups (6-1) for 2 sets each!!
Man this crushed us all!! It was great fun:)

Push ups (no dropping) made both sets....very very hard!! Loved it!
Pull ups (used 2 red PJ bands) worked great....very hard again!! awesome:)

MBG 3 plantstrong eats!

bengal spice, stevia, almond milk
sprouted toast, honey, raw cashew butter, smashed banana on top (2)
spinach smoothie with orange juice, spinach, mango, lifes basics
kale, cous cous, almonds, beans, cabbage, corn, peas, sunflower seeds
pumpkin pie
vegan pot pie, veggie stuffings, sweet potato, cabbage

Good day today my friends:)
hope you all are doing great!
Jon

Power Plant Video! Badgers beat Penn State and todays results!

2011-11-28T19:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of an awesome Power Plant Meal Jessie made.....it was Off the Hook!!!:)
Today was a very busy day, testing out some new products (cant tell you yet:), Did a photo
shoot for the Wisconsin State Journal at MBG Madison....it's been 10 years since the WSJ
did it's original article on my MBG and alots changed since then:) It was very cool and we
had alot of fun during the shoot, the photag Craig was cool and he had a blast shooting
the noon class. Then after a quick smoothie stopped by the brand new Lifeline USA building
which is huge! and we worked on two of my new products, then we drove back here to chicago!
Whew long day:)
FUN QUESTION OF THE DAY: If you had to do an MMA fight against a hollywood star who would it be and why? haha It could be someone you dont like:) someone who's funny:) whatever!!:)
MBG 1 restoration & sleep - did some warrior poses, indian clubs and my shoulder routine with the chest expander. For sleep went to bed later than i wanted last night but woke up at the same time so ended up getting about 6 hours of sleep....got to follow the same routine there and start tv/laptop off by 9:30 and hopefully sleeping til 6:30 getting 8 or more hours of sleep a night is the goal....it's crazy the affect poor sleep has as well as how little i know i've focused on it before and how little most all people focus on it....almost not at all:)
MBG 2 todays workout - 20 minutes amap reps of press ups and pull ups
warm up - mobility drills, then ladder up to 5:15 of pull ups : dips

Pull ups x *13,11, 8,7,6,6,5,5,4,4 = 69 (down 5 from last week but new PR 13 on first set, seems like i went out a bit faster and needed a bit longer rests btwn sets. SO only got in 10 sets versus 13 last wk)
Press ups x 6,6,6, 5,5,4, 3,3,3, 2,2 = 45 (ties last monday on 2 less sets! so that's good improvement)
5 minute 100 push up & 50 pull up challenge: closer by 1 rep!!:) haha got 100 pushups and 43 pullups
THEN SOME OF THE MBG MAD TRAINERS SAID THEY JUST STARTED DOING THIS ONE: 1 minute amap reps of jumping rope with a 8.5 lb 6" thick rope...my friends this was one of the most wicked simple workouts my friends!! ONE MINUTE!!! well i got 71 reps and that smashed me! Felt like a ran a 400 meters all out! Got to do this one again!!

MBG 3 Plant Strong meals!!

Kuchicha tea
soaked oats, bananas, walnuts, lifes basics, blueberries
banana, mango, rice milk, life's basics
apples and yummbutter peanut butter & cranberries (this PB is awesome!!)
sweet potato, veggie pot pie with tofu, stuffing with cranberries, raw nuts and sprouted bread

Pretty good day my friends:)
Sleep time!
Peace:)
Jon

15/15 results, traveling and fixing back pain, INTENSITY and Love story!!:)

2011-11-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Amazing Dinner Jessie made of kale, cabbage, tofu seasoned perfectly, some beans and more!!

Traveling and fixing back pain - sitting in a car, plane or train you can jack your back up....WHY the seats are shaped the opposite way of our backs i'll never understand...instead of having lumbar support the seats cave your back in??? What's that all about? What person thought that up and WHY is it still in place??? Ahh oh well, it is what it is:) So how do you deal with the negative affects of these seats? First off, stay on your path of doing your Eischens Yoga beginner sequence every single day...even if it's ONE BREATH each pose, it does wonders. Put a big focus on your breath, get into the pose, breath in, breath out, move to next pose...it's simple but it works...quickly you'll find yourself holding each pose for 2-3 breaths or longer:) After the base sequence is done make sure then to do rest pose, get in a completely comfortable position while laying down, breath in (nose), breath out (mouth), focus purely on each breath...work your way from 4:2 counts all the way up to 10:5 counts....make it last about 5-6 minutes and your done:) Twice daily and no problems my friends:)
Intensity!! Helping others helps YOU! - Yesterday in Chicago before leaving for madison jess and i were helping out the noon class, giving feedback to students through our intensity. THIS is an interesting point, giving, helping, inspiring through OUR INTENSITY....THIS is a key at the MBG, it's not just yelling at folks, it's giving honest feedback, love really to people. People ask why i do this and it always comes back to love, i love helping people reach a higher level of performance. I literally can see them at higher levels, someone who can barely touch the rim to getting them to jumping so high they dunk hard!! Someone's who's out of shape to someone who's in sick shape, sprinting, jumping, handstand walking and rope climbing with ease!!! THIS comes across in two ways...pats on the back...I believe in you, you can do this! TO kicks in the arse....you're not quitting, screaming at them dont you frickin' stop!!! Both work, both have intensity and both have love in there own way:) THAT is the helping, the feedback that makes people helping people so important! WHY DO I SAY THIS IS LOVE? Many years ago a client of mine, a practicing Bhuddist names Josh, was training with me, after the session i said we're all going to minneapolis to watch carlos fight at the target center in his first pro mma fight...he asked to go...my mind was like no way so i asked are you sure and he said yes so he joined us. Carlos broke the opponents arm in 26 seconds, many fights were very bloody, even nasty in many ways. After i asked josh so what'd you think....after thinking many seconds and me thinking he's gonna say how horrible it was josh replied it was the most dramatic demonstration of........LOVE that i've ever seen!!! WHAT??? you got to explain that:) haha he asked me why i push him so when training him? cause i see what you can be, how amazing you can become....BUT WHY do you care to do this? .....it's love! because i care so much it's a way to give love to other humans:) thru inspiring them to higher level because we care to do so. SO he said this is what these guys are all doing tonight...each and all is ultimately taking each other to their highest level and that is why afterwards they hug, because they are giving thanks to that person for bringing out their all, to bringing them to their very essence of being!! THAT TO ME WAS SOOO TRUE!! In all my years of sports and especially competing in brazilian jiu-jitsu...that taking to the brink is incredible. It's a feeling you almost never get and THAT is why afterwards you hug your opponent or training partner...because they brought that out of you and you brought it out of them!!! THAT is why the MBG puts such an emphasis on partner feedback....because it is a chance to do what we all want to do, help our fellow man out and we can do this daily! And in doing so we help ourselves as well because in giving we get and then they give and get as well!! Love that story!!!!:) Hope you guys like it too!!
Fridays workout results: 15/15 x 25 total minutes...passed on the cleans and presses this week as after traveling and sitting alot my back was a little tight and after my kb warm up it did not feel better so intelligence said...PASS:) but the rest of the workout felt good to go:) Hey Hey Hey!!

15/15 x 5 minutes of PJ Assisted Muscle Ups x 3s/3s/3s/3s/3s = *30 reps (w/power jumper - 2 greens and 1 red) This works 110% better than massive kipping MU's with walk up as i feel like i'm only re-enforcing poor form on this exercise and now that i can do these staying close to the bar with good form i'm all over this exercise!!!:)
15/15 x 5 minutes of Dips + 16lb vest x 10s/9s/8s/7s/6s = *80 reps...MUCH BETTER challenge for me here....TIP - when you can do more than 10 in 15 seconds here move up in weight or challenge of exercise so that is exactly what i did here and it worked perfect. Last week did 100 without any resistance so this challenged me alot better!
15/15 x 5 minutes of Pull Ups x 4s, 4s, 4s, 3s, 3s = *36 New PR (by 4 reps, 12 more reps in last 2 weeks improvement!!)
15/15 x 5 minutes of Push Ups + R8 power push up x 8s/6s/4s/3s/3s = 48 REPS:) CRUSHED ME!! hahaha WAY HARDER WITH POWER PUSH UP!!!:) GREAT!!!
15/15 x 5 minutes of PJ Assisted Muscle Ups x 3s/3s/2s/2s/0s = 20 reps GOOD FINISH!! ROUGH DANG:) Love this exercise:)

Felt pretty good today and it showed...first week got 223 then jumped up to 289 reps today got 214 total reps with added load and different muscle ups....i say this was another step up this week!

MBG 3 -

Green Drink
Bengal spice tea, rice milk, stevia
Banana, walnuts
Kale salad (above), cous cous, beans, cabbage
organic food bar
Spinach salad, sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes, veggie wrap
bengal spice tea, rice milk, stevia

Hope the story above can help you in your training and path of life as it helped and helps me:)
Peace my friends!
Jon

Power Jumper Muscle Ups!! Sleep, Eischens and todays results!!

2011-11-23T17:40:00.000-08:00

Check out how awesome the Power Jumper is for assisting Muscle ups (my good friend Paul Fogg made me re-think this one we tried out over a year ago in madison and the bar system didnt allow for it but when i saw him doing it on a weight rack on a video and i knew i had bars that could make it work i had to try it:) and....of all the MU"s i've ever done from JGXT to jump to walk ups this is easily the best way to assist them....I began using 2 bands to assist (maybe 60lbs of assistance)....and it helped a good amount and enough so that i can work on breaking my bad habits of kipping so much (kip then pull is the bad habit)....with the Power Jumper assisting me i can work on my technique and working to stay close to the bar and IF i use my legs...to use them at the same time that i'm pulling, not after. This works perfect my friends and because of the way the power jumper lays it doesnt give to much and then drop off to nothing which is great!
QUESTION FOR YOU ALL: and please if you read this, post your answers on my blog or on my FB page or the MBG"s....
Who are you thankful for and why?
What are you thankful for and why?
Who am i thankful for? I'm thankful for having a wonderful women in my life:) Jessica Rucker:) She's an amazing lady who brings lots of happiness to my life, support, honesty and lots of love:)
What am i thankful for? I'm thankful for doing something i love with an intense passion, for having wonderful friends all over the world with whom i can share my passions, my dreams and goals with... thank you all my friends for i'm very lucky to know so many of you as my close friends, soul brothers and sisters and that......is priceless!:) THANK YOU ALL!!:)
MBG 1 - restoration and sleep:) Did an awesome Eischens Yoga class yesterday and left feeling peaceful and happy:) On my sleep day 2 and 3 went really well and sticking to plan...all computer/tv stuff off at 9:30, reading til 10:30 then sleeping....woke up a few times but generally got about 8 hours each night which is very cool!!
MBG 2 training - yesterday was mostly doing the bar MU's on the power jumper...got sort of carried away with it and ended up doing about 70 probably:) haha
Then did the Legs buyout from monday's workout: 5 minutes to do 100 foot up lunges and 50 swings with a 40k...almost got it..done in 5:10!! Man that was crazy hard!! Whew serious leg workout...and quick too:)
Today did one ladder up of 1:3 pullups to dips up to 5:15 as a warm up
Bar-barian requirements test 6:00 minutes, changed up the MU"s though, instead of doing walk ups, i've decided to stop doing them (yes:) haha and just do the power jumper assisted ones as now that i have a great way to do them with proper form, that is what i'm gonna do....so my goal is to do 15 straight then go to lighter assistance.

Power Jumper MU's (assisted with 2 greens and 1 red) x 11
Dips x 35 (same as last week, was working fuller extension at the top)
Pullups x *12 (1 rep improvement, i think the crazy amount of MU's yesterday got me a bit:)
Push ups x 40 (again stressing bigger range of motion)
PJ MU's x 5

Hard:) but a little improvement!!
Then rested about 10 minutes then did the 5 minute workout (100 push ups and 50 pullups)
My previous best done in NYC was 90/40...today i got 100 and 42!! so again improvement!!
MBG 3 -

Green drink
Green tea
soaked oats, pecans, lifes basics, sunflower seeds, rice milk
spinach, mango, banana, rice milk, lifes basics smoothie
organic food bar
bell peppers, onions, spinach, vegan sausage, green beans and some hummus
vegan cookie!

My friends, I'm giving you all a big hug, a big smile and thank you for being in my life:)
PEACE AND LOVE MY FRIENDS:)
Jon:)

My Sleep Quest, Todays Results and BJJ Master Luiz Claudio is a bad bad Bunny?:)

2011-11-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

Black Belt Luiz Claudio in Bunny Ears:) haha

Well my friends i've been writing my blog for a little over a year now and it's time i work aloud on one of my biggest challenges i've had in my training life......SLEEP! Yep:) this is a challenge i've had since i was a little boy staying up late to make sure everyone was home and asleep first, then i could go to sleep:) Well for some reason i still have a big challenge getting 8 hours sleep a night....most of my life i get about 5 hours a night and i must admit this makes training hard very difficult. SO, because of this i havent felt as strong as possible alot of the time. SO i decided to infront of all of you....to do something about it, to put myself on a sleep workout plan....to focus on my sleep, to learn about it, to apply what i learn like i apply to my own workouts. So although i know alot of my issues from my younger days mentally jack up my sleep....it time to face it head on and get myself sleeping like a champ. SO from now on i'll be posting my sleep, how i'm feeling and what sleep tips or methods that i'm trying to apply:) So hopefully this can help some of you all out as well. It's just something i've always swept under the rug and just dealt with but the days of not facing up to this need to stop:)
MBG 1 - Did my Eischens Yoga sequence and then 10 minutes of breath work.
SLEEP - Asleep at 10, woke up 4 times til 2:30....then was up til 6:30am, then slept til 8am = about 6.5 hours very interrupted sleep. Took another 20 minute nap after my workout. Energy for day = 60%
MBG 2 - Did todays workout x 20 minutes, then the buyout

Pull ups (last week did 64) x 11*, 7, 6 / 6, 6, 6, / 5, 5, 5 / 5, 4, 4, 4 = *74
Press ups (last week 33) x 6, 5, 5 / 4, 4, 3, / 3, 3, 3 / 3, 2, 2, 2 = *45

Did buy out of WMU's x 10 (4,4,2) to 50 Diamond p.ups (23,14, 13)
Good workout 3.6:) not bad for feeling about a 6 out of 10 on the energy scale:)
MBG 3 -

Lots of water and bengal spice tea
banana, raw nuts
kale, cous cous, raw nuts, sunflower seeds, beans, mushrooms, corn, peas
sprouted bread, organic peanut butter, honey
Jessies kale salad, plus big bowl of mung beans

well it's 9pm time to go to bed:) gonna learn how to sleep right on my friends:)
peace,
jon

15/15 x 30 minutes???? YES!!! And 1 awesome Kale recipe!

2011-11-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

Getting artistic in BK:)

Got to say this is the best MBG Training cycle we've ever done! Todays workout was insane! Made even more insane by the fact Jess and i wanted to add in more bodyweight to the mix today and totally crushed ourselves:) haha Ah well now we get to rest and recover til monday!
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR TRAINING? To look a certain way? To be connected to your body and mind? To feel amazing, happy and healthier than ever? Or to feel a part of something amazing? OR TO HAVE IT ALL?
Well my friends....i think alot about training, why i love it so, why i opened my Monkey Bar Gym and why it is such an amazing place....because it is true and honest, it's simple, strong, a place all can come to and feel a part of something special and positive for people and planet. It is crazy....The VIBE goin on right now at the MBG's is what i dreamed about over 11 years ago when i first opened....seeing the love people have for teaching and training at MBG's is priceless. Just loving it my friends:) Just been smiling so much lately i had to share that with you all:) haha
MBG 1 - yesterday taught Eischens Yoga class, at the end of class doing alot of partner feedback and all had a huge jump in ROM doing back domes. Starting to get to full arms and legs extension now which feels great after. NOTE: having full ROM on back dome is a huge sign of overall health in the body as you cannot do this pose if you have tight hips or shoulders and being that those two areas are the most common areas of trouble for most people. SO make sure you do your EY and work towards getting a full back dome my friends for your a healthy body and mind!!:)
MBG 2 - todays 15/15 with a twist!

15/15 x 5 minutes of cleans and presses x 36k's x 2 sets of 2 a minute for 20 total reps...not too over the top:) a good start to the cycle for this workout!

Then we changed things up a bit and did a 15/15 version of the Bar-barian workout ...yeah i know but i love bodyweight training what can i say:) and i had some good number on this from 11.2.11 but i was tired a bit last time i did it so i wanted to beat those numbers...SO

15/15 x 5 minutes of Walk up Muscle Ups x 4,3/4,3/3,3/3,3/3,4 = *33 reps New PR (by 3 reps)
15/15 x 5 minutes of Dips x 10s x all 10 sets = *100 reps New PR (by 20 reps)
15/15 x 5 minutes of Pull Ups x 4s, 4s, 3s, 3s, 2s = *32 New PR (by 8 reps)
15/15 x 5 minutes of Push Ups x 12s, 10s, 9s, 9s, 9s = *98 New PR (by 30 reps)
15/15 x 5 minutes of Walk up Muscle Ups x 3,2 / 3,2 / 3,2 / 3s / 3,2 = *26 New PR (by 5 reps)

What an awesome workout!! Felt alot stronger today and it showed 223 to 289 reps!!!
MBG 3 - RECIPE OF THE DAY: Kale Salad - after cleaning chop up head of kale, add chopped tomatoes, onions and almonds, toss with some balsamic vinaigrette...eat lots of this!!!

Green Drink
Bengal spice tea, rice milk, stevia
soaked oats, blueberries, banana, walnuts, lifes basics
Kale salad (above), cous cous, beans
organic food bar
Spinach salad, sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes, veggie wrap
2 vegan cookies
bengal spice tea, rice milk, stevia

Strong day, Strong food:)
Peace my friends!!
Jon

Day 2 & 3 workout results, 1 amazing Plant Strong Recipe!!

2011-11-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Showing Full Extension on the Dips

The word is out my friends and it is GOOD!! This 8 week MBG Cycle is amazing!!:) During the last 8 week cycle alot of you gave us some great feedback and we listened and applied it to this cycle and already all the members here and online have said they love it! I got to admit i'm feeling pretty dang good myself too from the first 3 workouts this week....sore but good!!
SOME QUESTIONS ASKED: (what are some more you'd like to know?)

Can we add some legs into the Monday and Wednesday workouts for those of us that only train M, W, F....so we added the LEGS BUYOUT and man they are wicked hard!
Another question on todays workout was How do i do the Bar-barian test part if i am not at the level of passing it yet? Simple my friends...you have 6 minutes, 1:12 at each of the 5 stations or exercises. Do your best to hit the requirement...if you hit it, cool, move on to the next one, if you drop early, you're done, write down what you did. No stopping and resting and then starting back up again, pausing in the top of a push up position, yes that's cool, hanging on the bar with feet off the floor, yes that too is cool, but dropping the knees, you're done, jumping off the bar, you're done:). SO, do your best at each station, write what you did, then add them up at the end. So for example here's what my numbers looked like today:

3 muscle ups...written as 3.5/5 (i count walk ups as half reps, i did 7 wmu's)
35 dips = 35/45
11 pullups = 11/25
35 push ups = 35/55
0 muscle ups = 0/5

TOTAL = 84.5/135 (felt pretty good with really strict form)

So although i'm not there yet, i got good baseline numbers to improve on next week:) if i can improve just 5 reps each week then i'll be at about 125 in 8 weeks and that is pretty close to passing the Bar-barian requirements and that in my book is a feather in my cap:) SO get a good baseline and improve it next week, that is the goal!
Day 2:
Began with the Top of the minute workout: Foot Up Lunges with 28k's x 10 total, 100 reps Jump Rope, Deadlifts x 44k's x 10 and last exercise i changed to full power wheel rollouts x 10.
Did this for 24 minutes and although at first it seemed cool this morning it kicked my ass literally!!:) SO later in the afternoon i took one of our Eischens Yoga classes with Jessie my sweetie teaching and it was amazing, after rest pose i walked out on cloud 9 and felt super relaxed and that my friends is the goal isnt it:)
Day 3 of cycle (Today):
After the Bar-barian requirements test above, jess and i did the workout and MAN that was no joke! 10-1 on the push ups for 2 rounds...some lifting of the hips, but never dropping. On the pull ups, had to use the Pull Up Revolution and hung at the bottom of each rep...got 6-1 for both sets, but barely, this was no joke my friends!!
Eating:
Been eating ON POINT!!
Green drink
maca cafe
RECIPE OF THE DAY: This is a great after workout meal my friends!!
1st meal of the Day: Cooked quinoa, add rice milk, add life's basics, big handful of pecans, banana, blueberries

kale, cous cous, pumpkin seeds, beans, corn
organic food bar
spinach salad, corn on the cob (2), brown rice and beans
pecans, banana, agave nectar (great after dinner snack jessie made!!)

What a week my friends and it's just beginning!! Loving this cycle my friends!!
Peace my friends!
Jon

Day 1 New Cycle: My 3 Training Rules! Great 20 min workout! Powerful Plant Meals!!

2011-11-14T14:16:00.000-08:00

Cool video of China Town Playground in NYC:)

Feels great to be starting with this new 8 week cycle, Todays workout is Either
a prison 10-1 of press ups and pull ups (L seats) OR 20 minutes amap of each exercise:
Since getting back Jessie and i have been playing catch up and feel like starting the new
8 week cycle is right on time for us as we've just gotten caught up and we're ready to get started!
Part of that was resting the last few days, doing alot of restorative work and Eischens Yoga poses
and also shopping like crazy the last two days so we eat 100% of our meals at home! That is such
a positive way to eat it's incredible. Saves money, gets you eating cleaner, you control everything you eat...that is a huge point....more focused, more results. Knowing what you're eating ahead of time relaxes your mind and gives more confidence for your day and plan!
Follow your plan for: eating (clean), 8 week cycle (simple strong and progressive training) and restoration (eischens yoga, shoulder mobility drills with chest expander and/or jungle gym xt shoulder & hip mobility drills).
MY 3 RULES FOR KEEPING IT REAL POSITIVE AND STRONG OVER THE 8 WEEKS:

Eat simple, lay out meals ahead of time helps relax your mind alot and frees up alot of time
Plan your workouts for the 8 week cycle: what's your goals? strength, stamina, re-balancing an injured body/mind? Well depending on this maybe you plan to do 2 strength, 2 stamina and 2 eischens yoga classes a week....plan your work and work your plan!! Here's some examples:

strength: focus on just those classes and do alot of eischens yoga to restore as well
stamina: just do the conditioning classes and eischens yoga
recovery & restoration: just take the eischens yoga classes and then do the warm up drills only from classes if you want....that's low key but you still work some skills my friend!

Plan getting to bed and resting alot as well my friends! Sleep is your friend, Sleep is where we get stronger and recover...so plan on getting 8-9 a night it's that important to improve your training each and every week!

MBG 1 restoration training: shoulder mobility drills with chest expander and jungle gym xt, wrist mobility drills: did 2-3 rounds thru all. Then also did Eischens Yoga sequence.
MBG 2 training: 8 week cycle first workout, i chose the amap in 20 minutes today.

Started with two ladders: pull ups and dips of 1/3, 2/6, 3/9, 4/12, 5/15 x 2
Followed with todays 20 minutes amap reps of each pull ups and press ups:

Pull ups x 7,5,6 / 5,6,6 / 5,4,4 / 4,4,4,4 = 64
Press ups x 4,4,4/ 3,2,2 / 2,2,2 / 2,2,2,2 = 33

5:30 / 11:00 / 15:30 / 20 minutes total

Buyout - 10 walk up muscle ups (5, 4,1) to 50 diamond push ups (20,10,10,10)
Felt really good: 3.7** Really kept form perfect on everything and did not cheat on any reps for today!
MBG 3 plant based meals:

Green drink
Bengal spice tea
Soaked oats, raw nuts, sunflower seeds, banana, blueberries, life's basics
figs, almonds
mung beans, kale salad with pumpkin seed dressing
apple

Great start to the 8 week MBG cycle!!
peace my friends!!:)
Jon

Brooklyn visit + Travel JGXT Workout Video + My Healthy Travel guidelines!

2011-11-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a great strength and stamina JGXT Travel Workout i did in my BK hotel room!
This is how it goes; 10-1 style but you stay with that same exercise until done with it, resting only the same amount of breaths as reps that you just did...so do 10 reps, then 10 breaths, then 9 and 9, 8 and 8 etc til done. It amounts to a great strength workout with the added bonus of stamina work too!!
HOW DO YOU TRAVEL AND STAY HEALTHY or MBG 3?
Well that is simple and here are some of my guidelines: No doubt you do not have control of these so you do the best you can on all points.

Travel to places i like to go and visit, places that have great energy!
See people i want to hang out with... people that have great energy!
Stick to your schedule as best as you can. This is huge to making sure you get stuff done everyday for yourself and if your like me training and eating are big parts of that:)
Make sure wherever you go it has many healthy options / places to eat...ask before leaving if needed.
So the big ones for me are go to healthy cities, hang with healthy people, and eat at healthy places! Going to environments that energize me, like mountains (colorado), rivers, lakes (madison), oceans (cali), cool neighborhoods and sites like new york city has is all essentials for me.

I learned this lesson many years ago when i traveled to a place in europe that i wasnt feeling:) haha but it was a business trip. It had none of the above points and was not a fun trip in comparison. Sometimes you just got to make due though of course and so finding healthy places to eat and sticking to your routine for getting YOUR healthy stuff done daily is key. Make sure you eat clean strong foods, make sure you do your Eischens Yoga. This point is huge, the planes and trains can really mess with our posture and so doing your Eischens Yoga daily is big! Then finally making sure you do your workout daily, something is better than nothing my friends! Get in the travel options version of our MBG workout or do one of our old favorites. It's our choice, make sure you choose a healthy one as we always have the choice my friends:)
How did i fair on my trip? Check it out:)
One - went to a place i love! NYC, Brooklyn!!! love the culture, the cool neighborhoods, history!!
Two - hung with people that have amazing energy, my Bar-barian brothers, my boy Gavin and Magnus! All of these guys are all very cool individually, together it's a riot!!:) We laugh alot and mess with each other alot....GOOD LIFE:)
Three - i stuck to my schedule, each day i got up, drank my green drink and then worked on my laptop for a few hours. Then rode my bike into manhatten to Tompkins Square Park (TSP) to train. YES i have a bike in NYC, my boy Gavin lets me keep my bike at his place so anytime i'm in town i have my favorite mode of transportation and NOTHING beats riding a bike in NY/BK...it's amazing the sites you can only see on a bike...i simply love it:) THIS aspect is extremely important in my life, keep it in yours my friends...this is a choice to connect to the outdoors or not...choose to connect!! Of course doing the workouts on the bars is a long time love of my life and so this was a given and training with friends which i did daily was simply great! I usually did a ladder of pullups and dips (high five foggy!) for about 5 rounds, then most of the Bar-barians would show up and then we did some 5 minute sets or some other wicked routine:) always fun! After training? Well that leads right into 4!
Four - Eat at healthy places that give energy!! Fortunately having a bike in nyc AND about 500 vegan or plant based places to eat makes this an easy one:) I usually stopped in at my buddy marcus's spot the "Juice Press" and had a green drink in the am, then a soaked oats meal, then during the workout had one of his "Horny Gorilla" drinks (fitting name:) haha that was pure water and maca and gives you amazing energy all afternoon during your training! Later we'd ride to one of the Pan Asian Vegan places and have some greens and lots more great food...that place is amazing!
Five - So me going to NYC/BK is a great healthy trip for me mentally and physically as it has all the elements i need AND i choose healthy options on each point as well. Great place, healthy friends and foods, doing what i love my friends.
Got alot of videos and pictures coming up of my trip for you too:)
Hope this helps some of you all out as i live by these rules when i travel and it keeps me happy:)
Peace my friends!!
Jon

Great SPINACH SMOOTHIE VIDEO!! Great BK bike ride:)

2011-11-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a GREAT SMOOTHIE video i pulled out as i cannot load ANY pictures or videos tonight???? ODD oh well this is a very tasty smoothie and thought it might help some of you to see me make it...i know watching first hand helped me alot:) Fun Sunday here in Brooklyn, after a long day of about 8 hours on saturday, today was all on the bikes and just a quick workout in my hotel room with the JGXT:) rode about 25 miles again today, mostly following the marathon path in BK, then did 5 laps of prospect park in brooklyn....beautiful park!! ever get a chance check it out....i'm really digging brooklyn, really cool neighborhoods and people:) It's really interesting how many cool people the Bar-barians hang out with:) haha Like attracts like....this is something we talked about on the ride too.
Last night i was talking to some people and this lady was saying that everyone in her family is likely to have cancer....and she said nothing she can do...it's her genes....i said it's not your genes but your surrounding...THAT is what makes you sick...you just happen to be around people who eat and stress in a way that leads to disease. She actually thought about it and said i dont know about that....and i said well i do:) haha and then talk to her about the studies in the China Study showing a diet of over 10% animal products leads to diseases and the higher the % the greater the likelihood of disease. She began to think more about it and so maybe i helped her:) i hope so, this talk made me and my Bar brothers talk about it a bit more while riding....it's not just the food, but stress as well that can lead to disease and stress comes in all forms as we know but one thought that Flow (Bar-barian "Juiceman", very healthy guy who runs a great health food store in BK) and i discussed....that people who DO EAT a healthy plant based diet are more conscious of themselves and the planet (less littering and all types of pollution) and are probably less likely to be stressed out about life as well....SO what does this mean??:) haha

Eat plant based....get healthier physically and then mentally
Treat self and planet with greater respect and love
Be a shining example of health thru the way you interact with people and planet

These 3 points i believe we all want to do, we all want to help people....so how much easier and healthier can you make it then choosing to eat a plant based plan of foods:) Simple huh:)
MBG 1 - did my morning Eischens Yoga
MBG 2 - Rode about 28 miles today:) good riding, good friends! Then came home and did 50 down dog push ups off blocks, feet up on box and 150 body rows.
MBG 3 -

Green tea...then a Green drink
oatmeal, walnuts, spirilina, plant protein, banana..vegan oatmeal cookie, healthy P&J sandwich
nut milk - a bunch of raw nuts, dates, raisins
huge bowl of lentil veggie soup, fruit bread, bread pudding...then some zuchini bread
green drink

Big training day again tomorrow!! Going to TSP for sure so it'll be fun for sure!!
Talk soon my friends!!
Peace!:)
Jon

New Puppy!!! 15/15 meet Bar-barian requirements:)

2011-11-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

Nuka playing with our New Puppy Stoney:)

Jessie and i just got our new puppy two nights ago at a dog rescue in oak park...we named him Stoney:) he's awesome:) Nuka is already playing with him like he's her baby:) very cute:)
He's a good puppy and we're very happy and so is Nuka and that is a big reason we got him...for her:)
MBG 1 restoration - in doing my Eischens Yoga this morning i focused purely on maintaining extension completely on all poses...feeling it fully on each pose, no parts of my body NOT feeling extension...that was and is my focus...can i make each part lets say while in standing mountain to feel engaged in extension? That is the challenge and the key to really feeling amazing while doing EY, at least for me it is and it works....IF you focus on it:)
MBG 2 training - Jessie and i trained together today and as we are both training for the Bar-barians requirements we want to put great focus on improving on the muscle ups, dips, pullups, push ups and more muscle ups....SO we thought lets get the good strength in AND work that strength / endurance as well with the 15/15 workout;

Bar muscle ups (walk ups) x 5 minutes (10 sets) x 3's for the entire thing! = 30 total reps
Dips x 5 minutes (10 sets) x 10s/10s/8s/6s/6s = 80 total reps
Pull ups x 5 minutes (10 sets) x 3s/3s/2s/2s/2s = 24 reps
Push ups x 5 minutes (10 sets) x 10s/8s/6s/5s/5s = 68 reps
Bar muscle ups (walk ups) x 5 minutes (10 sets) x 3,2/2s/2s/2s/2s = 21 reps

SO my total reps for this great workout was 223 total reps.....my goals were met and i felt pretty good today:) now at least i can get all my muscle ups, be it walk ups i still did not miss a one today and that is big improvement:) After this workout jess and i looked at each other and said "i feel great how about you?" and we both smiled and said perfect lets go have lunch feeling great:) haha .... very good!!
MBG 3 plant based foods -

Green drink
Green tea
spinach, banana, almond milk, dales raw protein powder, almonds, cashews
organic food bar
raw bar
vegan pizza (3 slices:)
kale salad, cranberries, cashews
vegetable soup

Good day my friends, going to NYC tomorrow to hang with my Bar-barian brothers!!!! So i'll give you all some videos from our training there okay!!:)
peace my friends:)
Jon

New workout PR's! Simple & Strong Plant meals!

2011-10-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

Bar-barian Slik Rick, Jeremy "B Ninja" and myself after training today:)

Man training and eating has been really strong the last few days and that is always good:) Since the MBG Intensive course finishing up on tuesday we've been back here in chicago and the training has been good, maybe due to chillin' after the course a bit, or my Bar-barian brother rick being in town with us which is always fun:) or maybe it's just being back at MBG Chicago:) Either way today before rick went back to nyc we thought we'd do a special quick workout today...my favorite 15/15 x 10 minutes workout doing.....bar muscle ups:) Now Rick is a master on this exercise but he wanted to try this workout out and so this was very very cool.
Rick not only did it, but he crushed it with NO MOMENTUM MUSCLE UPS at all and the first 2 minutes he even added did slow negatives!! Man i was tripping at how controlled and easy he made it....he did sets of 3 for the first 5 sets and then finished with sets of 2 the rest of the way for 45 total perfect form bar muscle ups in the 10 minutes....he loved the workout and for sure wants to do it alot more over the next few weeks.
Motivated by my brother slik rick i had to go for it as well and was super happy at the fact that although i was using as much momentum as possible, kicking the windows out and doing walk ups:) hahaha i hit 45 reps too and man that made me feel great!! As i did sets of 2 for the first 5 minutes and then spurred on by rick i did 3/2 each minute the rest of the way for 45 total:) No doubt this was the best i've ever done on the bar muscle ups.
The last time i tried to do this same 15/15 x 10 minute muscle up workout i only made it about 2.5 minutes before missing and ended up only making about 10 total WMU's then could not make any more...so this is a big day for me! After this rick and i did a pyramid partner push up routine...2, then stand, then jump down and do 4, then 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2....so 50 push ups in about 90 seconds...all this right after i did the 15/15...so LOTS of reps in about 12 minutes:) haha
Then we took Rick to the station to get to the airport, then i came back and did some heavy push ups and wide pull ups both with some pauses on the last set. The NEW Power Push Up was awesome!! Man it works great and will be available soon so watch out for it as i'm using and testing this one prototype and diggin' it alot!! Todays workout - 3.9* AWESOME!!!

Wednesday was actually a record day for me as well as i tested myself on the Bar-barian requirements and although i did not do it in straight sets i did all the work required in 12:00 which beat my previous best by almost 2 minutes AND my first set of muscle ups i did in 5 reps straight!! No walk ups!!!! Another PR:) hey hey hey!!:)
My Meals lately have been very strong as well and think that is helping alot for my recovery during and after the intensive course .... my energy was good despite 6 nine hour lecturing days in a row:) Thinking that it was lots of pure water, green drink, tons of my favorite meal...
my strong plant meal:
Raw Kale, cous cous, raw nuts, corn, peas, carrots, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, garbanzo beans
This meal i ate daily after my noon workout along with a chia kombucha.... this meal worked great!
my strong plant snack:
Another simple meal i love is raw cashew butter and honey crisp apples

Well my friends, i wrote out and videotaped all the upcoming 8 week workouts for our MBG licensees and we've heard alot lately about folks wanting to see our workout videos again...so we came up with a great idea that we will unveil in the next few weeks:) hahaha
stay tuned my friends as i think you're gonna love it!!

BY THE WAY - TELL ME YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE MBG WORKOUTS AND I'LL TRY TO PUT THEM IN THE NEXT CYCLES!!:)

MBG 3 my friends!
strength and honor....man i love that...simple and strong:)
peace!
Jon:)

Peruvian Power Plant Meal, Excellent Intensive Day, Bar-baric workout!

2011-10-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

Power Salad, white beans, yucca, roasted corn and amazing cilantro sauce

Man another awesome day! 9 more hours of intensive, had a great workout with jess and rick, then an off the hook meal tonight! Today we rounded up the end of the intensive and tomorrows the big final exam. The way all the students have been looking so far though i think it's a shoe in that this whole class will pass as they got a really great understanding of what the MBG way really is. Over the course we've worked about 9 hours each day, covered our training technique on how to re-align and heal all aches and pains with Eischens Yoga alignment to walking on your hands, bar muscle ups, approach jumps, sprints, power wheel plyo jumps, how to eat plant based and then how to put it all together Monkey Bar Gym style with the 8 week training cycle and our program design.
It's really been an great group and it's been a really big pleasure teaching this course!:)
MBG 1 - Eischens Yoga and restoration: did the EY beginner sequence first, then did an hour of partner feedback after that...THEN did a whole pro level Eischens Yoga class with Jessica and i have to say it was the best yoga class i've ever taken...felt like i was in a trance, totally focused on all poses, engaged, but yet moving with incredible ease. Then the rest pose at the end put a huge stamp of approval on it!!:) amazing morning of Eischens Yoga:)
MBG 2 Training: since my Bar-barian brother slick rick is here at the course he, jess and i trained together today and it was awesome!
Warm up skills - add one move, so i do a move on the parallel boxes, then rick, then jess...we keep adding 1 move each til we can no longer finish the sequence of moves...went something like this:
Dip > L seat > box muscle up > turn 180 degrees > cycle dip > L seat with half turn > planche hold > planche press hold > box muscle up > walking dip...then we all crashed:) but that was alot and it's really a great progressive warm up and great way to work on your skills.

Muscle ups, Pullups: 5 muscle ups / 4, 1 / 3, 2 / 2, 3 / 1, 4 / 5 pullups

We took turns doing each set with as crisp of form as each could, rick added a 30lb c-band to make it hard and still had perfect form:) dang:) so the 4, 1 means 4 MU's to 1 pull up as one set.

Then we did a 1 rep hold 10, 1 rep hold 8 down to finish, then did 10-2 holds on each arm, then pull up and hold for 10 seconds each, then 8, 6, 4, 2 til done...great!!
Then finished with push ups group work which is always great, 2 on floor, 4 on 6", 6 on 12", 8 on 18", 10 on 18", then back down...man i did diamonds on the way up and it crushed me...felt great!!!:)

At the end all 3 of us were very happy with the workout:) 3.7*
MBG 3 power plant meals!

Mate' tea
organic food bar
veggie wrap and kombucha with chia seeds
pumpkin seeds, banana
apple and cashew butter
huge greens salad, tomatoes, corn, yucca root, white beans, cilantro sauce
vegan peanut butter cookies:) hey hey hey:)

Overall:) feeling great!!;)
peeaaacceeee!!
jon

Monkey Bar Gym Intensive on POINT!! Training, Restoration, Nutrition!

2011-10-21T20:38:00.000-07:00


Spinach Salad and Jessies Powerful Plant based Pizza!!

Man my friends i wish you were all here to share in this awesome course!! The info, the discussions, the constant seeking of the truth is what we are all about. Must say the truth shall seriously set you free and that is something I LOVE about what the MBG is all about. Getting to the marrow of fitness, balancing the body thru alignment and nutrition.
What IS Fitness? To me it is having the ability to do any movement i want at anytime without reservation of doing it...from running a sprint to running a mountainside, pushing a car to walking on my hands down the street, to breakdancing all out, anything, anytime....no reservations, no hesitation....just pure joy of expressing myself fully thru movement!!
What is a TRULY balanced body? To me having a TRULY balanced body means having a perfect balance of stability & mobility, not being limited by tightness, looseness nor pain but feeling light, aligned, balanced and supple...so in balance that the mind and body are peaceful and at ease. Balanced so that i can be fully free to be fully fit:) Can i get an AMEN!!
What is Truly Healthy Nutrition? To me TRULY healthy nutrition is eating in a manner that brings energy, health and vitality for a lifetime! That prevents and reverses sickness and disease, that helps people and planet for now and always to be happier and healthier.
Today was a really great day:) the course went well and even got a quick training with Jessie and my Bar-barian brother Slick Rick:)
MBG 1 restoration and balance - Did the Eischens Yoga beginner sequence and rest pose at the start of the course today and all did great!! Felt great too my friends:) haha
MBG 2 training -

Handstand press ups + 70 lb bxt x 12, 12, 12, 12 = 48
Wide Pull ups + PUR 2 green x 18, 18, 18, 18 = 72

buyout was simple and hard...rick had us do a pullup, then hold 5 seconds, then 10, then 15, 20, 25 and then 30! Jess was actually the only one who finished it:) haha....she's bad ass:) She also did 2 reggies today which is crazy hard, reverse your grip pullups, so hands on the front of the bar thumbs out! Zef showed me these and jessie can do them pretty good:) She even hooks her head over the top and slides her hands out wide like he does:) hahaha Man my boy Zef is a huge inspiration!! :)
MBG 3 plantbased eating -

spice tea
maca cafe'
organic food bar
veggie wrap; hummus, sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans
raw food bar, apple, raw cashew butter
trail mix raw and a banana
broccoli, brown rice, tofu, green onions, bell peppers
raw vegan cheesecake

Man i was crushing food today and i feel good:) haha
Peace my brothers and sista's!!
Jon

Good J Rock 2 workout today! Strong as hell meals! B-barian requirements results:)

2011-10-17T17:39:00.000-07:00


Eating at Native Foods with my buddies who ran the Urban-athlon here in Chicago:)

Really solid day today:)....feeling great tonight!! The above picture shows Jeremy (MBG Chicago) and two of MBG friends and trainers Darren "Don Juan" (from DC) and Pete "Silky Smooth" (from Cleveland) and their two friends who all ran the race...they said it was alot of fun and makes me want to do it next year:) Stephon Curry of MBG Madison did it too and did great! He said they did great!! So that is all good:)
QUESTION FOR YOU: What comic type movie best describes YOU? :) Think about this, a movie that might be sort of a super hero or cartoon character that others or yourself might say is you!!
Mine is Hellboy:) haha Jessie and others have said dang he's alot like you:) Big head:) (thanks:) loves pancakes and cats (true big time) and is sort of into training:) (true:) haha and likes to take on challenges (true) and the horns on his head even...i have a bump on my head still from breakdancing and spinning on my head!!:) haha so sort of there:) Complicated!!!!! Yes, okay:) maybe that is true too:) haha....jessie said OH YES!!! haha:)

MBG 1 - restoration: did Eischens Yoga before training today along with chest expander shoulder drills, indian club drills, ring drills and wrist mobility drills....felt good to train after:)
MBG 2 - training today J Rock 2 workout...1st did the Bar-barian requirements test to see where i'm at on it....went pretty good til the pullups:) haha that crushed me:)

5 x Bar Muscle ups (pretty much nailed these...very small walk up on 2 of them so good start)
45 x dips (got these done without a pause at all...tough though:)
25 x pullups, strict no kips (crushed me...got 12, 6, 4, 3 = 25....wow that jacked my forearms!)
55 x push ups (paused at the top, but did not drop so did all 55 straight still)
HERE i was at the 10 minute mark....forearms crazy jacked up and missed first 4 walk up MU"s in a row which was not cool....arms were crazy pumped!
5 x bar muscle ups (not happening easy so as i mentioned before if i have to do walk up MU's then i do 10 instead and this went like this: 3, 4, 3....but getting these 10 took 5 minutes!!!

15 MINUTES TOTAL!!!! DANG:) haha well i got some work still but i see improvement still today as i hit 3 of the 5 pretty good. Still need to hit the 1st set of MU's without much kips at all and zero walk ups and i'm kipping still and walking up a hair on the first set.
The pushing ones i got...the pullups....ahhhhh this one is the toughest for me but i'm confident by new years i'm still on pace.....the last MU"s whew, this was brutal so did 10 WMU"s but dang it took a long time...i know it's coming along though and so i'm happy about it:)
J Rock 2: After the Bb test could barely do 1 hspu so nixed even doing that and went straight to slighly assisted and stuck with that for all 3 rounds and it worked perfect!!

HSPU + 70lb bxt x 8,4,3 (15) / 5,3,2 (10) / 5,3,2 (10) = 35 total
Wide pull ups + PUR2greens x 12,7,5 (24) / 10,7,5 (22) / 10,7,5 (22) = 68 total

TOTAL REPS = 103 reps

Buy Out - 5 bar muscle ups (straight:) to 50 diamond push ups (25,10,8,7 = 50)
3.75* workout:) feeling great after!!!!:)

MBG 3 eating:

Green drink
spice tea
kale, pine nuts, cranberries, beans, corn, cous cous, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame croutons
organic food bar
kale, tomatoes, tofu, almonds....veg soup with beans and spinach
spice tea
organic food bar, apple, cashew butter

Over all felt really good today:) Sleep 8 hours for 3rd day in a row!!:)
Hope you all are doing good my friends:)
Peace!
Jon

Cool Power Wheel video, bizzy day at MBG Chi and simple strong meal!!

2011-10-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

Simple Power Wheel video doing tiger push ups....GREAT STRENGTH EXERCISE that improves shoulder mobility, movement skill and strength no doubt!!:) Try this gem out my friends...you'll dig it!!
MBG 1 restoration - played around this morning with some very cool variations of Eischens Yoga feedback and man it felt great! Gonna keep working on this as it went great and no doubt it can evolve into something very cool to show you all:) Today also went to the club industry show at the mccormick place and showed our stuff for a few hour and then jumped on a water massage table and man that was sweet my friends...not bad stuff:)
MBG 2 training - after working all day, doing some training with a local high school team (on that note chicago public bball is WAY stronger, bigger and athletic than madison wi:) haha ....can you say DANG! haha Anyways worked all day and could only lightly train at about 7:30 tonight...so kept it simple: did 5 sets of 20 of:
Power Wheel tiger push ups...actually rolled all the back for 5 on each set...makes core work even more! Alternated that with Jungle Gym XT Muscle ups. Love simple and strong:) felt good after this long day and considering the day....that is very very cool:)
MBG 3 eating -

Green Drink from sunwarrior
quinoa, almonds, banana, blueberries, lifes basics
cherry juice
apple, peanut butter
spinach, mango, rice milk, sunwarrior protein, almonds
kale, cous cous, pine nuts, cranberries, beans, corn
kale and mung beans

Whew time for bed my friends:) haha
hope you're all doing good, feeling strong and energized:)
Jon

1,000 yard Power Wheel Crawl VIDEO in 45 minutes!! Awesome meals!!

2011-10-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

VIDEO: Yesterday just was feeling great so i went for it:) 1,000 yard Power Wheel crawl in 45 minutes!!:) This is a PR and broke my previous best of 480 yards on my birthday June 4th of 21 minutes by getting 500 in 20 minutes...so my pacing was great and after i really felt amazing!! It's incredible how it makes you feel opened up and healthy!!:)
When doing this yesterday never did it take more than 3 sets to make 100 yards, usually doing 45, 30, 25 to get to the other end of the football field and that worked great! It did get hard to keep doing that at the end though as the last 100 was tough:) haha
MBG 1 - Still doing Eischens Yoga beginner sequence each day and that feels great and the pw crawl actually made my posture feel amazing!!!
MBG 2 - Yesterday did the crawl so i thought today being eager to train again:) haha i did some c-band resisted bar muscle ups to non resisted, then some pull ups with c-bands, then some L seat chin ups with c-band and again a great workout!!
Bar Walk up Muscle ups (left walk up, right walk up) x 30lb c-band / 0 c-band: 0,0 / 2,2 x 3 sets, then last set was 0,0 / 1,1 so i stopped there with a total of 0 resisted:) BUT i was very close on 3 attempts and am confident i will get it next time. On the walk ups which i did after a 20 second rest i did 2s each side and that felt good. Total reps was 14.
Wide Pull ups x 2 reps each of 70lb (c-band), then 50lb, then 30lb, then no c-band for 4 rounds
For a total of 32 reps.
L seat chin ups x 2 reps of 70lb c-band, for 7 rounds = 14 reps total
Again it felt really great and training outside in the beautiful weather made it all the more perfect:)
MBG 3 - awesome plant meals

Mixed greens, tomato, beans, sprouts, clovers, almonds, flax oil
peach
kale, cous cous, cranberries, pine nuts, walnuts, beans, pumpkin seeds
apple
kale, squash, veggie patty, walnuts, sesame seeds
apple

FELT AMAZING AGAIN TODAY!!:)
Peace my friends:)
Jon

Great UNBREAKABLE today!! Powerful plant meals too:) Watch PW muscle ups too!!

2011-10-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Tried this out today with the power wheel and it was pretty cool:) Try it out!!
Unbreakable was awesome today!! Back in Madison for last few days and my energy is
coming back so decided to train again today after a few days off.
MBG 1 restoration - been doing Eischens Yoga every day again lately and man it is bringing me
back to feeling good again:) Simple note....doing EY even in it's simplest form reaps incredible results. This can be in the form of of 1 second or 1 breath holds all the way up to 10 count slow holds on every pose...thinking of "Feeling" engagement on all poses thru activity and extension! FEEL!! Extension all the way thru the body....really 'feel' the body being engaged fully on each pose! THAT IS THE KEY!!
MBG 2 training -
First checked myself on the Bar-barians requirements again...this time with perfect form only:) Well it was a bit different:) haha:) Since i did not do proper muscle ups i double them up with 10 walk up muscle ups...ugly but i did em:) haha Then nailed the 45 dips (this is a done deal:)...then the pullups...ahhh this was tough:) haha did 10, 5, 5, 5 with perfect straight leg together form. No doubt this took alot of time...then nailed the 55 push ups (again i'm cool here:). Then the end was 10 more ugly walk up muscle ups:) haha this took awhile:) = 13:28!! ahhhh got some work ahead of me!! I did not rush at all on this but just wanted to do it as best as i could and so the slow time was cool.

MY GOAL is to improve this every week until i pass the Bar requirements before 2012!!!!:)

Unbreakable: did 6 sets of each exercise instead as i did not do the legs part being out in the park.

Push Ups - sets of 25 did all in straight sets
Pull Ups - sets of 5 all very clean strong reps
Dips - sets of 15 all clean as well
Jump MU's - sets of 10 focusing on clean pulls and quick turn over at top

This with all the extra reps came to about 475 reps today which is cool:)
MBG 3 eating -

Spice tea with some stevia and rice milk
Mixed green, tomato, sprouts, clovers, walnuts, vegan patty, flax oil
peach
2 ezekial bread, raw cashew butter, raw honey sandwiches
spice tea
broccoli, tofu, rice, cashews
tea

Good day my friends:) sleep well tonight!!
jon

J Rock results! Strong Plant meals!! Ol' school T-shirts!!! Check em out!!

2011-10-04T18:15:00.000-07:00

Band of Brothers!! Jude, Renzo, Me, Luiz, Rick, Andy, Zef and Foggy:)

Wow the last few days have been a blurr! Having the Bar-barians here, teaching the courses, having my boy Foggy from Australia here....whew!!:) But man was it fun! haha Love hanging with my training brothers....like i said "Priceless" haha!:)
Got a fun question for you:) Which old school Lifeline usa shirt design do you like the best?
Adam and Eve
Casanova
Honeymoon
Hows about a jump
I love these shirts and want to bring them back! Hope you like them too!! Tell me which you like first and second and i'll do my best to get them made for you!!:)

MBG 1 restoration - did alot of Eischens Yoga supine bridge today as my back got super tight after traveling down here and then having a crazy bad night sleep with my dog nuka getting sick all night.

So what did i do? Did about 15 sets of supine bridge, supine mountain and the result? Feeling almost 100% in minutes!!! That is awesome! Cause man that bed jacked my back UP!!!!:) haha

MBG 2 training - J Rock with Foggy and Jeremy

Warmed up wtih 150 yards of handstand walking IGOUGOUGO style til all were done! felt good!

Then did J Rock x 3 rounds: for HSPU's and wide Pull Ups...Handstand Push Ups (HSPU's)

HSPU no assistance, bxt 70, bxt 140 - 6,6,8(20) / 4,7,9(20) / 2,8,10(20) = 60 total
Wide Pull ups: no assist, PUR 2 greens, 3 greens -8,7,6(21) / 7,7,8(22) / 7,9,10(26) = 69 total

My Bar-barian brothers buyout: 5 bar muscle ups and 50 diamond push ups

Good workout!!

MBG 3 plant based eating - simple and strong meals

kuchicha tea with some stevia
kale, tomatoes, pine nuts, beans, sesame seeds, sesame seed croutons
organic food bar
kumbucha
garbanzo beans and curry sauce, spinach, brown rice
kumbucha
some vegan cookies:)
brown rice, tofu, bell peppers, onions, basil, seaweed salad

Good day my friends:) Good company of good friends...much appreciation for what i have:)

Peace!

jon

Bar-barian visit to MBG Chi and JGXT certs!

2011-09-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Bar-barians hanging with Me and Aussie's Foggy!!

What a last week!!
Jungle Gym XT course all day saturday
Jungle Gym XT master course sunday, Trained daily with my good friends the Bar-barians at MBG Chicago after each day!! haha Man it was great!! We all had a blast hanging out and training and challenging each other with all types of wicked workouts:) Those guys are incredible on the bars and equally humble and nice as people too!! Fortunate to also have visiting another good friend Paul Fogg from MBG Darwin he's a very cool person who came up for the course and is now gonna lead the way down under on the JGXT courses! Foggy, Jess and i have a goal....to become the heaviest (Foggy), the first female (Jessie) and me the oldest folks to achieve......

"The Bar-barian requirements": All to be finished in under 6 minutes.

5 bar muscle ups to
45 dips to
25 pull ups (no kips) to
55 push ups to
5 bar muscle ups

NOTE: Got to do each in straight sets with perfect form! Man that is no joke!! Thought i did it a few months ago but after meeting them in person the truth proved that wrong:) haha as i did walk up muscle ups...got to do no walking up:) or hardly any kip at...just make em all clean muscle ups...AND i broke the sets of muscle ups into 3 and 2 each time!!:) haha...also on the pullups i did 25 with slight kips not pure pull ups so that gave me a good kick in the ribs:) haha SO i know what i got cut out for me and mark my words I WILL PASS THE REQUIREMENTS BY YEARS END I PROMISE!!! And FOGGY and JESSIE are gonna do it too!! haha!!:)
Here's a sample of one of the Bar-barian workouts we did ON TOP OF our MBG workout!!!:) haha
5 wide pull ups with 10 count hold under the bar (head to touch under bar) on last rep
Zef, Me, Andy, Jude, Rick, Foggy did this in groups of 2 and alternated WE GO, U2 GO, U2 GO:)
They call it building houses...it started out easy, then just kept building tougher and tougher til we began have a tough go of it around set 16....zef made it to 20 sets!!
Another one i loved was 10 straight bar dips to 5 muscle ups to 10 pull ups to 10 count hold under the bar to 30 push ups....we each did this 1 at a time while all watched:) haha then reversed the order and man that was much harder but we all did it and smiled after as it was some really fun training!!
Got to say what a pleasure it was to hang with some cool friends who love training as much as i do:)
Hope some day you all can join US out there and have a big fun day in the park!! Nothing beats hanging with friends, training and challenging each other to higher heights, then hanging and having some good healthy food and talk:) It's the best!!!!:)
More to come soon my friends!
peace
jon

Un-Break-able!!! JGXT certs this weekend, Vegan Pizza!!:)

2011-09-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Jessies Home made vegan pizza is just off the charts!!:) After working all day, training and then driving thru crazy traffic i made it here to chicago to teach a Basic JGXT course tomorrow and a Masters JGXT course on sunday! So what did my sweetie do for me? Made my favorite pizza!! It's the best!
JESSIES AWESOME VEGAN PIZZA: Corn meal crust from whole foods, homemade tomato sauce, basil, uptons sausage, daiya cheese, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and spinach....it's amazing! She should sell it:) haha
MBG 1 restoration - been doing the basic Eischens Yoga sequence at home mixing in back domes.
MBG 2 training - "Unbreakable" 4 rounds of 5 exercises of 25 reps each

Push ups with feet on 12" box - 25,25,25,25 = 100
Body rows w/feet on 12" box - 25,25,25,25 = 100
30" box step ups L/R total - 25,25,25,25 = 100 (did 13 left, 12 right, then alternated each round) Did these instead of 30" plyo jumps due to left knee aggravated a bit.
JGXT plyo curls - 25,25,25,25 = 100
Power Wheel crawls + 20lbs - 30,36,36,36 = 138 yards (total so far this cycle 60, 110,110,138=418 yd

Got this done in 50 minutes, did not rush but kept at a good pace.
GOAL FOR NEXT WEEK: Complete Unbreakable Power Level in the same time plus go 40 yards each PW crawl set AND DO ALL EXERCISES while wearing a 20lb vest:)
MBG 3 eating -

Kuchicha tea
soaked oats, goji, walnuts, blueberries, coconut oil, sunwarrior plant protein and barley
kuchicha tea
frozen mangos, bananas, almonds, coconut water, SW protein
ezekial bread 4 slices with raw cashew butter and raw honey on them
kuchicha tea
4 slices of jessies awesome vegan pizza:)

Tough workout today!!...BUT i loved it:) haha good week of training:)
Looking forward to meeting lots of cool people this weekend and seeing lots of my close friends who have come into take the master level course to then go back and lead the JGXT courses in their neck of the woods:)
sleep well my friends and have a great weekend!!
jon:)

Crawls, climbs and more Power Wheel Crawls!

2011-09-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Super long day today, 8 hours of meetings, work on computer for 2 more...THEN got my workout in:) haha....yes tired:) so just wanted to post my numbers for today...keeping it real simple:)
Sargeant Slaughter: 5 x amap of alligator push ups (PW) and cliffcrawls
Now as much as i love both the gym was so full of students when i got there about 6 that i just went outside and trained at my local playground so had to modify

Alligator push ups: 5 x 20
Wide pull ups to close chin ups: 5 x 10 usually sets of 7 wide and 3 chins
after this went home and did 100 more diamond push ups and wide pull ups for extra measure:)
Then did 110 yards power wheel crawl...hard today:) but i did it:)

Had good simple meals too:)

soaked oats, goji berries, dates, walnuts, sunwarrior protein and barley
kukucha tea
ezekial wrap, carrots, kale, cucumber, tofu, chili sauce
kukucha tea
organic food bar - protein
kukucha tea
kale, spinach, corn, onions, mushrooms, beans, brown rice
popcorn, coconut oil, sea salt, flax oil

Whew sleep time:)
peace!
jon

Sweaty One works:) haha plus some more playground fun!

2011-09-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

Jessie and I just trying to relax a bit:)

Gonna get to the point on todays blog as i'm busy as heck and ready for bed:) Loved todays workout "Sweaty One" especially since i havent done a kettlebell snatch in almost a year:) i was interested in seeing how i'd do....AND cause since having lung burn awhile ago i've been a bit hesitant on doing anything hardcore and the ssst 10 minute for part 1 of todays workout is no doubt a lung tester!!:) SO it was 10 minute SSST (secret service snatch test) with a 24k and i did not feel too bad...took it sort of easy and got 193 reps (my PR is 241 which i did when in top condition right before getting lung burn:) Second part was 10 minutes of jump rope which i used one of our Lifeline weighted speed ropes (yellow 1 pound) and this too i did at a good but not too intense pace and hit 1,350 reps. For this workout i goal set folks to get over 300 total. This comes from KB test reps (193) plus JR reps minus the last digit (135)...SO my total is 328 reps! Feel pretty good about today since i feel i was going pretty easy and cause my lungs did not burn!! Next Goal is 400+!!!! Hey hey hey!!:)
After this jess and i went to a local park and played around doing L seat wide pull ups alternated with L seat dips for about 5 rounds...then did a very nice "buy out" as my Bar-barian brothers say of 10 wide pullups to 10 close chin ups and 50 push ups off this 2x4 bench i have and that felt awesome!! Loved the workout and loved the second half and for sure the finisher!! Felt good to have a good strong workout after LA:) haha
That's it for today my friends!!
QUESTION : What did you get today?
Peace my friends:)
jon

LA business, maintanance workouts and vegan restaurants in LA!

2011-09-18T18:41:00.000-07:00


NUKA being bad, jumping up on massage table:)

Well started the week AND the new 8 week cycle off very strong and man did it hit a wall when we traveled to LA. One day of travel, meetings and more travel = fatique.
Same on next day = fatique....both of these started the whole week in LA sort of rough and taught me some good lessons....although i was traveling to a place i generally have a good time in (LA), i still need to get adequate rest and recovery. Dont schedule meetings on the same travel days:) Make sure to be more patient with my time and not rush to get places and get meetings and travel done. In doing so i really zonked myself and then did not sleep well either....SO...i tried to train and continue to follow the workouts all week long but honestly did NOT have it any day while in LA...so instead i listened to my body and mind, rested more and did easy workouts each day and although i still felt tired all week i still got a bit better with rest each day and look forward to this 2nd week of training.
SO generally while in LA all week here is what i basically did:) i hope this might help some of you while you travel and gives you the okay to just do maintenance workouts instead. IF this is the case pop ups or simple 10 x 10 easy exercises are both great substitutes. (explained them in a previous blog post for you all)
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga a few various poses every day, rested more than usual:)
MBG 2 training - usually did 10x10 of variations of push ups and pull ups almost each day and then did some 1 leg step ups and some jump squats and back domes on other days...these i liked alot...super simple...20 jump squats (touch fingers) alternated with 20 count back domes = felt good, nice sweat! YES this was super easy but that is the point, do not overdo it when you feel exhausted...yeah sure sometimes i've had my best workouts ever when tired...intelligence though tells me check it out for a few sets and if i still do not feel good then do the pop up or easy 10x10 and that is what i did each day. Back to it tomorrow though:)
MBG 3 eating - had alot of fun here eating lots of healthy foods all over LA and santa monica.
green drink from local health food store - kale, spinach, parsley, beet and apple
had some soy latte's a few times:) followed by alot of water and more greens to re-balance it:)
all hale kale salad at veggie grills - kale, cranberries, nuts, peppers and grilled mock chicken (amazing)
kukicha tea - now a favorite!! add some stevia and it's off the hook!!
vegan burrito at real food daily - brown rice, peppers, onions, carrots, black beans, avocado
maybe a vegan cupcake OR vegan pie....man this is a weaaaaakness when traveling to big cities that have vegan places to eat like veggie grill, golden mean, better life, planet raw, rawvolution and more in santa monica!!:) no worries though my friends, i enjoy it and it makes me happy and that is totally cool, dont get all freaked out, enjoy it and make a special event out of it....
LAST dinner in LA jessie, henry, mr. matt and jenny and i all decided to have some fun and i highly recommend you all try this at some time too someday.....nix the dinner and go straight to deserts for dinner!!!:) haha Henry and i did it once while training Antoni Hardonk in Amsterdam....bought a vegan pie, vegan cake and vegan ice cream and had a great time eating it all instead of dinner and laughed all night while eating and watching talledaga nights....woke up the next morning feeling great too!! Why? cause we truly enjoyed it and did not freak out about it...we really had fun and so our bodies and minds felt okay with it...heck we even felt ripped the next morning!!!:) haha
SO we did the same again in LA; planet raw (vanilla and chocolate puddings), better life (vegan pie, cake) http://betterlifecuisine.menutoeat.com/ , golden mean - here we went crazy:) cake was amazing so we got 3 types, a cheesecake, some pudding and of course coconut ice cream....again...felt great!! and no sugar hang over the next day!! :) haha
Got to have fun my friends....friends, good food, lots of laughing...lots of sugar will do that!!:) haha
try it out sometime my friends and make sure to invite lots of friends and map out lots of great locations:)
peace my friends!!
jon

Bar-barian Rick + Power Wheel on Wall video!! Big 1st day!!! Power of Plants!!

2011-09-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

Slick Rick on the Power Wheel ON a wall doing press ups....can you say hard!!!!? hahaha
Man i was so excited about this next 8 week cycle that i could not wait til tomorrow and i did monday's workout today:) haha That and i'll be traveling all day tomorrow to LA for the rest of the week:) So i got to say the 1st day of the cycle is AWESOME!!! I love it!!
This last week of rest and recovery must of helped me out as i felt very good and am happy with my first day of this cycle:
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga, wrist mobility, chest expander shoulder routine...rested alot:)
MBG 2 training - J Rock 2 (descending sets with a goal of 20 plus reps )
Started the workout with 5 sets of planche press, roll to L seat to box MU's
Alternated that with bar MU to around the world to lever hold...first time i got a clean muscle up!!
EXERCISE:                           SET 1 SET 2    SET 3     TOTAL
1) Wall Press ups + 0, bxt 70, bxt 140:                       4, 6, 10 (20) / 3, 5, 8 (16) / 3, 5, 7 (15) = 51
2) Bar MU, walk up MU, wide CU, PUR160 CU   *4, 3, 2,9 (18) / 3,4,2,9 (18) / 2,3,2,10 (17) = 53
GOT A PR ON BAR MUSCLE UPS TODAY:) straight and proper form too!!:)
Extra work - 100 wide pull ups to chest PUR 240 (8") and 100 dips (half kick out, half planche)
3) Power Wheel crawl - 1 x 60 yards (not bad after all this stuff:)
MBG 3 eating like a gorilla -

maca cafe
black beans, corn, tomato, veggie patty
kale, lemon, honey
sesame seeds, cashews, peanut butter, honey
juiced sweet potato, orange = amazing drink
kale, cous cous, cranberries, pine nuts, pecans, beans, sunflower seeds
soaked oats, almond milk, cranberries, almonds, life's basics

Hey Hey Hey my friends, IT"S TIME!!!!!
Let''s make this an amazing 8 weeks my friends!!!:)
peace!!
Jon:)

Leaner & Stronger Training Tips and Another Bar-barian & Power Wheel video!!

2011-09-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

Bar-barian's Andy doing Power Wheel Alligator push ups!! These guys are all very high level and Andy is one of the best in the world at push ups, dips and pull ups and watch how challenging the power wheel is for even him! This exercise is in our upcoming 8 week cycle too so use Andy as inspiration and try to hang with one of the best in the world!!!
This week as you know is rest and recovery week and so far been doing good, i'm actually not doing any push ups or chin ups!!:)
Q & A: I've been asked many times what is the best way to get stronger & leaner while being plant based AND doing bodyweight training.
For getting Stronger:
CHALLENGE & ADAPT: To me it is always simply a case of constant challenge and adaptation to various skills and movements...find various movements that challenge you at your level; push ups, pull ups, squats, hip extensions, etc.
CHALLENGE THE INTENSITIES: find a level of each that challenges you and then train them as often as you can while challenging each with various types of loads...for example pure strength one day, pure power another and then maybe pure static holds on another OR maybe a mix of all of them in a metabolic type workout.
KEEP TRACK AND PROGRESS EACH WEEK: here i like to keep track of them each and progress them each week like we are currently doing in our 8 week cycle. IF you do this you will adapt and progress on each and all of the movements over the 8 week cycles. THIS is how you get stronger.
How do you get leaner: It is simple as well...
EAT STRONG PLANT BASED MEALS: no fluff, eat only foods that when you hold them and feel them you know them make you strong! Kale, beans, sweet potatoes are great! In general colorful vegeatables, fruits, nuts, seeds, pseudo grains and roots!
EAT ONLY WHEN HUNGRY: dont eat by the clock, eat when HUNGRY!!
EAT ONLY TIL SATISFIED: very important again, eat ONLY enough to satisfy no more! Think if you had to workout again right after eating or within a half hour how much would you eat? This is how animals think about it because their life is on the line, do the same and get the same results. You may eat more often during the day with smaller meals but you'll have greater energy and never feel sluggish and tired. BIG point here is you train when slightly hungry too and you'll have MUCH better results. NO ANIMAL hunts when it's full right?:) They hunt when they're..........HUNGRY!!!!:) haha
THIS is how you get leaner!!
Do one and get very good results, do both and get leaner and stronger!!!!
Hope this helps you all out my friends!!
Peace,
Jon

What an amazing week! Trained 4 hours a day! Added some great friends too!!:)

2011-09-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Me hanging with my Bar-barian friends Zef, Andy, Rick, Jude and Keith (Abz...how'd he get that name:) haha dang!!

Man jess and i just got back from NYC and have to say that was one of my funnest times of my life! Got to do what i love...train bodyweight all day long with my friends, learned a ton of great stuff, gained a bunch of new friends/family! and ate like a champ!! tons of great places to eat! and then hung out in my favorite hood in nyc the Lower East Side at my good buddy Gavin's place and then got to ride my bike all over too!! Paradise!!!:) hahaha
You know what was so crazy was these guys (the Bar-barians) are all super cool dudes, humble, honest, super hard working...crazy hard actually:) and they have crazy passion for what they do too!! It was just amazing, we hit it off great and for sure will be hanging and training alot more in the near future!
EACH DAY SYNOPSIS:
jess and i wake up about 6am...yes that is a habit:) haha no matter what time we go to sleep:) haha
then we'd have some pure water, then maybe walk over to my good buddy marcus's "The Juice Press" place and get some green drinks and maybe some of his off the hook soaked oats with berries!! Then we'd walk to Soho, got some funky vivo's while there at a vivobarefoot store too which tons of folks liked as we walked the streets:)
Then we'd go train for about 2 hours maybe on our own or with Rick. He's a super cool guy who is an incredible athlete, can do everything really well! So we'd do a simple push up and chin up workout that was something like this 10 push ups, then walk a bit then repeat to a certain marker...that was very challenging:) then do something similar on the bars for pulling...this was always fun and challenging...we'd do this for about 2-3 rounds and then do a finisher to crush it and then we were done.
After training then it's off to eat, usually something like whole foods salad bar or TJP or some other great plant based joint...nyc has a bunch!! I loved that!:) Then chill for a few hours and read and take a nap. Jess and i also made it a habit of taking a daily massage down in china town...man those were awesome foot massages and then back, neck, shoulders, head and hands too....ahhhh:) haha
After that it's back to the park to workout with all the Bar-barians!! Zef & Jude (the originators!) train late when it's cooler and less crowded which is cool for me! We'd do something like we did earlier in the day but Zef always did stuff super hard versions!:) hahaha man i was like dam my friend haha first set might be 25 pull ups with 5 count holds between every 5 reps...that crushed me:) Then something similar for pushing...it was all great!! Keep doing that til the end of about....2-3 hours!! Then do a finisher...yesterday it was 10 muscle ups without kipping or stopping...if you break form or your set you had to do 50 triangle push ups....NICE!!:) haha So i had to do the push ups hahaha
Cant explain what a honor and privilege it was to train with these guys:) each day i was exhausted but we just kept going and it worked! As it went longer i felt better and stronger and so did jessie:) She actually impressed them alot and they think she'll be the 1st Female Bar-barian!!!! She was crushing the chin ups to almost her sternum! Then the strict full dips and push ups...they were all saying dang she's strong as hell:) haha It was great!!!
So after the finisher at night then we'd grab some more good food from a place called quintessence and man that place is wicked good and healthy and again it's close...1 block from TSP!!!
So get this...Gavins is literally a 5 minute walk from TSP, the Juice Press 1 block too!! Man it was awesome!!!
Each day was pretty much like that give or take a meeting now and then for business and working on the computers each day too for a few hours.
Another thing i loved was how open they were to doing Eischens Yoga which they really dug:) They all felt the positive change immediately!
We had a great time and i took 35 videos so get ready cause i'll be showing them alot over the next few weeks:) Most of the videos are of zef, jude, rick, andy and keith using the power wheel, jungle gym xt, the power push up, the power jumper and did some chest expander work too! Really cool how they picked it up and just started thinking WAY outside the box and did some wicked stuff immediately on them all....no doubt the favorite as usual was the power wheel which Zef said he's not bringing out anymore so he can train on it just on his own:) haha Told him the PW crawl world record and he wants it so we'll see!!! Hope to have video it or show it in person and break it! That would be awesome as the record of 260 held by Pete Brooks has been un-approached for about 5 years...no one else has even hit 200 yards yet!! Zef is gonna go for it and i think he might get it:)
You'll see some of the stuff they did which is insanely hard with the power wheel!!!
Well my friends, as much as i want to keep training super hard i'm chilling like a Gorilla this week and going to be doing EY privates daily along with massage daily, super healthy eating as usual and only very light bodyweight stuff for mobility and stability only....the temptation to train will be hard but it will be worth is when i feel Strong as a Gorilla starting next week!!!!:)
Peace my friends and stay tuned to LOTS of great videos!!
jon

Hanging with the Bar-barians at Wingate Park today!! Then Super Strong PB Eats!!!

2011-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Wingate Park where most of the best Bar Guys in the World Train!!

Man what a cool time i'm having here in NYC training with the Bar-barians 2 days in a row right now! Since arriving on Tuesday night we've been training crazy hard, yesterday went up to a park here in the LES and ran into a young Bar-barian named Christian an 18 year old kid who just crushed the bars and he was super cool and very generous with his knowledge....we played on the bars for 2.5 hours!! Okay so now jess and i are tired so we go back to my buddy Gavins crib to chill for a few hours...then back to Tompkins Square Park at 8:30 to meet and workout with Zef, Rick and Jude for another 2 plus hours!! Can you say dang my arms!!? haha IT WAS GREAT! Man these guys are super cool and really knowledgeable on the bars and dang can they do everything with flawless technique!!
Then today jess and i walked all over Soho, then met a business friend from Dale Carnegie name Stephen and this guy is awesome! Super helpful guy who goes out of his way to help us to grow the Monkey Bar Gym just cause he loves our business so much! How cool is that!
After that went to Wingate Park to meet Zef and Rick and some more training:) haha these guys are crazy with the amount they do but i love it, would love to stay for a month or two and just train with these guys every day cause they love it too! So while there we did some great stuff for pulls and pushes and it crushed me again:) but it was fun in an odd way:) Then B-Rock, Juice and about 2 other famous Bar guys walk up and start training too! This is the place for sure the big boys train at and it was cool for sure to be there!
It's very cool to learn lessons, no matter where, no matter from who...while here i've learned alot from zef, rick, jude and their young buck christopher....their form is tight! They're all very open and honest with their feedback, they are all very sincere people! Also learned alot from Stephen Holgate at lunch today, a very cool and very knowledgeable DC guy who i always call on for business guidance and he always delivers well!! My friend Rasul, this guy i hadnt seen since 2004 when he took my CNT course and then yesterday he walks on to the TSP floor to workout and it was great!!:) Big part of the reason why we hung out training for so long! He is a good man who honors his friends and his family, i saw alot of love for both in this man as well as the Bar-barians...ALL honest and loving people! How lucky i am to have such friends and to be able to share them with my sweetie jessie:) Very lucky indeed:)
MBG 1 restoration - not alot of this since arriving:) haha and yes i feel it, my body is very tired and i really need to do more Eischens Yoga than just a few poses....BUT i'm already getting ready to Fully Recover upon returning back home after...getting massages everyday by MBG bad ass massage therapist Chad Yonkus and going to get some Daily EY work too with one of our top trainer Ali who is a bad ass in the Eischens Yoga:) In both cases i am fully embracing the week off cause i need it:) haha
MBG 2 training - whew alot of reps here for both days so far:) basically tons of push ups, dips, planches, levers, pull ups, muscle up training and more....and doing them often one after the other:) wicked but fun:)
MBG 3 eating like a Gorilla - man days, afternoons and nights we've been eating super strong foods and tons of juices while here. My good friend Marcus owns this place called the Juice Press and it's really awesome, we get super green fresh drinks all day long and then maybe some great plant meal for dinner.

Kale, spirilina, apple, coconut water, coconut young meat and lots more....amazing!!!
organic raw nuts, goji berries, etc
mixed greens, tomatoes, onions, white beans, bell peppers and lots more!!
macro greens bar
horny gorilla - this drink is pure water and maca and man it's delicious!!
seaweed salad, sesame seeds, mixed greens, onions, tomato, raw nut burger, flax chips
raw almonds
tons of water:)

Really enjoying my trip here to NYC and as always look forward to training more with my friends!
Peace my friends!
Jon

Last week of cycle:) GO HARD and EAT Strong!

2011-08-28T19:07:00.000-07:00


My outdoor training playground....a middle school:)

Hey my friends, man i'm looking forward to finishing strong this week and then taking a well deserved week off. For the week off plan as much massage, rest and yoga as possible! In classes were going to do lots of indian clubs, chest expander, wrist mobility, traveling rings, Eischens Yoga partner feedback on all poses including lots of handstands, backdomes and warrior poses....including lots of rest pose!!!
So:) here is last weeks results since my last post:
MBG 1 - restoration: been doing Eischens Yoga beginner sequence daily, hadnt been doing it more than a pose a day for last few weeks and doing the whole sequence daily has made a big positive difference.
MBG 2 - training this week was challenging but i made it:)
Wed - did 100s of pull ups and 100s of planche dips and that's it and it really felt good....did this cause did not sleep well and body felt exhausted so i toned it down and it worked great!
Thursday - did same legs as tuesday...100s of PJ180 hindus and hip extensions 10x10 = sweat!!:)
Friday - did 20/15/10/5 afap workout

HSPU off 6" boxes (with slight kick) did better here for sure, less overall sets
Bar MU's with jump much better here too!
Bodyweight cleans with PJ 160 from 12" box to 24" box

1st record with same exercises 7.28.11 was 28:21, then Previous record was 26:45, Friday 23:58*!!PR
MBG 3 Eating like a Gorilla!!

Spice tea
oatmeal, blueberries, banana, walnuts, sun warrior protein
kombucha
kale, cous cous, pine nuts, walnuts, beans, corn, peas
organic food bar
ezekial sprouted tortilla, hummus, avocado, vegan patty, tons of kale lightly steamed
peanut butter cookie (vegan:)

STILL improving despite very heavy workload and travel to start the week...so that's cool!
listened to my body and chilled a bit...also cool!
Finishing the cycle this week...cool!
Going to NYC this week to train on the bars with some of my friends!!:) ...... priceless!!!:)
Peace everybody,
jon

Back in Madison, Strong week of training results! Powerful Plant meals...my message for today too!

2011-08-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

A re-cap of my last few days and what i saw and what can be....honor is earned not given!
My friends, my ancestors lived a life with a simple goal of living with honor...of doing the right things for people and planet, making positive decisions that enhance people and planet today and for future generations. The other day i saw a sight that was disappointing but also inspired me to continue to do my best to live with honor and to help others to do their best to live with honor. (if you want a great book on honor read "Neither Wolf, nor Dog" by Kent Nerburn) My wish is not to knock anyone only to inspire to our greatest self we can be. I believe in the path that mbg is on and sometimes when i see things like i did i just think why and this one has hit me before so had to talk about it:) hope you dig it.
My last week of MBG 3 has gone very well despite much travels and some challenges:) haha "Cant climb a smooth mountain" one of my clients once said to me!
MBG 1 restoration - been a little behind on this and only got in 1 pose a day, which still felt great! Dont knock yourself if you cannot do the whole Eischens Yoga sequence, 1 pose is cool no doubt some days too:)
MBG 2 training -
FRIDAY AUGUST 19th: 20/15/10/5 afap Previous Record 28:21

2 foot Jump bar MU's: 13, 7 (20) 10,5 (15) 10 (10) 5 (5)
BW clean + PJ 160 to 24": 13, 7 (20) 10,5 (15) 10 (10) 5 (5)
BW push pr off 6" boxes: 8,5,4,3(20) 6,3,2,2,2 (15) 4,3,3 (10) 3,2(5)

20 - 9:50* 15 - 18:45* 10 - 24:35* 5 - 26:45 New PR!!

Saturday, Tuesday did Power Jumper 180 hindu jumps and full ext DL's 10 x 10 = great!!:)klm,
MONDAY AUGUST 22nd: Boomerang 45/45 Previous Record Reps Total with 20lb vest 182

HSPU's x 14 ties PR (10 in a row also ties PR for this cycle, all time is 12...set 10 years ago:)
Bar 1 leg MU's x 6 (tough one but this is getting better i still feel:)

Put 20lb vest on here for remainder of all exercises

Dips x *43 New PR
Kips x 28 (record is 29) with vest
Push ups x *41 New PR
JGXT MU's x *18 New PR
Tiger push ups x 18 ties PR
JGXT body rows x *33 New PR

New Personal Record of 201 reps!! when 1st doing this with 20lb vest i got 150 reps!!

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24th: J Rock 3 x amap of each of the 6 exercises....had to switch that though today as 2 nights of 3 hours sleep each night and lots of travel left me tired and so decided to modify it and have some fun!!
Did only skill training today for about 5 rounds alternating some parallel bar work with chin up bar work...working to make some nice combinations on each and have fun and we did!! very cool!!:)
AFTER did my extra work:
100 reps of pulling and 100 reps of pushing as follows;
5 wide pullups > 15 assisted chin ups = 20 reps for 5 sets
5 half HS press ups on bars > 15 planche dips = 20 reps for 5 sets
left the park feeling amazing!! Making me very happy:) haha
MBG 3 Eating like a Gorilla!! No doubt this is true this week, strong meals all!! Kale, spinach, mangos, blueberries, walnuts, almonds, black beans, pinto beans, pumpkin seeds, cous cous!! All strong individually and together!! Each meal do you ask yourself did this make me feel better or not? DId this meal make me feel strong or weak? Simple questions powerful answers!!
My friends, i really hope you dig what i am saying and the path you, me, we are on! If you do and you are living with HONOR then i ask you are you sharing it with others? are you working to walk the walk, to be a shining light for others to see and be inspired by? IF NOT? then why not? What can you do to live with honor and make you (person), people and planet a better place for now and future?
You can my friends, think who you are at your greatest and be that....now!! Think of yourself being a shining star that inspires yourself, family, friends and all others to do better as well:)
We may know this, we may not, in either case it's good and honest and IS about living with HONOR!
Peace my friends!
jon

J Rock numbers way up! Plant based super wrap! and Power Jumper Strength Video!

2011-08-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

Heres a video of how to use the Power Jumper for leg strength! Deep Squats & Hip Extensions for 100s of each is what i've been doing on T, R, Sat and my legs are feeling alot healthier:)
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga sequence, also focused on supine bridge and front warrior. Focused on many sets of it and the 4 points of pressure on hands and feet on each pose....simple works:)
MBG 2 training - Tuesday & Thursday did above Power Jumper routine, Wed J Rock CRUSHED IT!!
TUES & THURS: Power Jumper 180 x 25 reps of deep squats and full hip extensions for 4 sets each. Then did some planche, levers and hanging leg raises.
WEDNESDAY: J ROCK 3 x AMAP of each exercise (set 1 / set 2 / set 3)

1L Jump MU > ATW > TypeW > HeadB's > L seat > 2L Jump MU = TOTALS
7.27.11    4/4/3 (3 tries)     3/2/2         5/4/3        5/4/5          3/2/2      5/6/7 (3 tries) = 25/22/22 = 69
8.17.11     4/4/4 (2 tries)      6/4/4         6/5/5       7/6/6          5/4/3      6/6/6 (in a row) = 34/29/28 = *91

             FHSPU > HSPU > Press Up > Wall Punch > TypeW pu > Box MU = TOTALS
7.27.11 8/5/5          4/3/2       4/3/3             7/7/5                5/5/4              6/4/4      = 34/27/23 = 84
8.17.11 9/6/5          5/4/4       6/5/5             10/9/7             8/9/8              8/7/7       = 46/40/36 = *122

THIS and i did not train much over the last two weeks from the Course and recovery after course. So i'm very very happy with my results....8 week cycle is great!! LETS KEEP IT GOING MY FRIENDS:)

MBG 3 plant based:

Green drink
maca cafe
oatmeal, blueberries, banana, walnuts, lifes basics
kale, pine nuts, cranberries, walnuts, beans, cous cous
spice tea
kombucha
ezekial wrap, hummus, kale, kale and kale:), vegan sausage, tomato
almond yogurt, cashews

Each day feeling stronger now that i'm back and getting into my routine again:)
QUESTION FOR YOU: What questions do you have on your 8 week cycle? Are you improving each week? Are you modifying some for particular goals? Do you have a question on either?:)
Happy to help if i can my friends:)
now get a good sleep okay:)
jon

Getting back into it! Another PR and some fun dips:) EY and PB no doubt!!

2011-08-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Near the end of todays workout, mosquito and i were just mixing up the bar dips...these r challenging!
Going into todays workout i've been getting my strength and energy back each day and i'm happy about that! Intensive JET LAG:) is getting over with:) haha Still felt tired at the start of todays workout and that is when we do the heavy push ups and chin ups and it showed....rough is a good word to explain that, but it woke me up and then i was ready for the Boomerang 1 today and again i hit another PR on it which makes me feel good:)
QUESTION for all: Have you seen food matters? i highly recommend watching it as it's solid and should be seen by everyone. IF you have seen it tell me what you think of it. I'm hoping more movies like this and Forks Over Knives keep coming out and getting the word out to make a change for all people and the planet. It's funny what we're doing is making the world sick the exact same as it is making people sick....and most people still just keep doing the same thing and hoping some pill can fix things...not gonna happen and this movie does a great job of clearly showing how it happens and what people can do about it....2 thumbs up!!
MBG 1 - restoration: Did a full Eischens Yoga sequence after training which felt good and relaxing:) i needed that part and then did some breath work later this afternoon which felt even better:)
MBG 2 - training: Did Boomerang 1 followed by 100 pulls and 100 pushes at the playground which i really love as i feel the extra credit work is great!

HSPU - 15 did with feet on 42" box so i could focus more on good clean reps and it felt great...hard too:) but really great!
Jump Bar MU - 11 which i did straight so that is very good....actually my best at this bar height.
Dips (put 20lb vest on here for remainder) - 35 Tie past PR
Kips - 29 New PR
Push ups - 40 New PR
JGXT MU's - 17 Ties PR
Tiger push ups - 18 Ties PR
JGXT Body rows - 31 New PR

TOTAL = 196 New PR by 14 reps!!
Then rode to the playground and did the following for 10 sets of each:

Wide grip pull ups x 5
Jump Bar MU's x 5 (this is actually great improvement as i could not even do this 3 weeks ago:)
Planche dips x 10 (did some dips with turns for half of all reps which were very fun) VIDEO

Felt really really great after finishing:)

MBG 3 - plant based eating:
liter of green drink
cooked oats, blueberries, walnuts, banana, honey, source of life
figs
kale, almonds, corn, peas, cous cous, cranberries, beans
spice tea
coconut water
figs
black bean soup, vegan sausage, broccoli, almonds
apple

Good day my friends, feeling stronger still and digging the training, eating and EY for sure:)
sleep well my friends:)
peace,
jon

Chillin like a Gorilla, Eating like a Gorilla, listening like a......:) haha

2011-08-11T19:27:00.000-07:00


Beautiful Mountains of Bhutan while hiking:) Incredible!!!

Since returning back to madison on wednesday morning after teaching the 6 day MBG Intensive i feel as if i have crazy jet lag:) Usually after teaching for 9 hours about each day it usually does knock me for a bit of a loop so i have dropped my training down as much as i feel fit this week and just done very simple outdoor workouts, walked Nuka a bunch in the woods (that is why the picture above as it reminded me alot of the simple beauty of nature that i experienced today as well).
So "Chillin' like a Gorilla" was very important for me this week....and i achieved it:) haha
"Eating like a Gorilla"as well, super important for me this week....and i achieved that too:)
Listening like a ..... mmmm.....owl? haha well whatever animal .... i listened to my body and mind and did not do more than what i felt comfortable with....recovery is most important, so i listened to my gut and followed it's lead and you know what each day my energy is coming back stronger.
It's funny while teaching my energy is excellent, after i'm all done it begins to hit me like a hammer and that is when i began to listen to my gut.....Chill!!!!!:) haha.....okay:) haha
My friend John Allen Mollenhauer once told me fatique will always tell us when we need a rest IF we just listen....THIS is the challenge as we too often mask our fatique with coffee or exercise or other and prolong our full recovery. SO listen and learn and recover and then re-gain your strength again!
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga supine bridge alot today and then rest pose....pretty much daily:)
MBG 2 training - simple is the focus of my workouts this week....focus on form, clean strong reps and never pushing too much this week.
Wed and probably Friday too will be simple

18" feet up push ups & jump muscle ups for about 100 reps each
Threw in 100 total of body rows and dips as well...felt good!! Walked away feeling good and strong!
Today (thursday and most likely saturday) simple again
18" Power jumper 180 step ups for 10, then PJ 90 step ups for 10....for 100 total each leg

This is an amazing exercise!! Put your foot up on the bench, loop both stirrups over that foot and then put both PJ cables over neck, then do 10 step ups with both bands on left foot, then 10 more with 1 band on left foot, repeat on right!! Whew, simple but can you say...DANG!!:) haha
MBG 3 PB eating

Green drink
banana, baby spinach, rice milk, lifes basics
kombucha
ezekial wrap, hummus, vegan sausage, tons of kale:)
kombucha
kale, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, black beans, sweet potato
2 coconut waters
almond yogurt, almonds, source of life

Good strong meals my friends, keep it simple and strong, train progressively harder each week (unless you're chillin like a gorilla:) and re-align with Eischens Yoga daily!
Simple and Strong my friends:)
Peace!!
jon

End of week 5 results, Intensive Course, Strong Meals, playground video!!

2011-08-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here's some really simple outside playground exercises that i hope you like:)
First off this has been a crazy busy week so i havent been able to post yet this week.
Mostly cause we started the MBG Intensive thursday and we always have alot
of work to do to get ready:)
So far this has the makings of a great course! We have a full house and folks came from
all over the world!!! All over america, canada, south america, korea, japan, australia,
and south africa!!!!!! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!:) Day 1 and 2 went great and all the students
are doing a great job, picking everything up really well, asking alot of great questions and for sure
having alot of fun learning:) haha
SOOOO my MBG 3 for this week:)
Because i had to fly to mpls on monday do a 8 hour seminar and then fly back i did mondays workout on sun and that was a bit rough:) haha guess that extra day of rest helps on the big exercises:)
Overall this week been doing more Eischens Yoga for sure and that always feels good on the body and mind as over the last week i've been doing alot more rest pose at the end of the day as a way to relax my mind as it's been crazy busy...in a good way no doubt!!
MBG 1 - Eischens Yoga beginner sequence daily, also doing rest pose breath work 7 minutes a night
MBG 2 - for being very busy and traveling alot i feel i've done pretty well this week so i'm happy:)
Sunday (BOOMERANG!) 45/45 (after doing heavy sets at 75% max)

Push ups - 2x5+60k
Chin ups - 2x3+24k to chest

HSPU     Bar MU's (jump)   Dips         Kips     Push Ups     XT MU's      Tiger Push ups     Body rows
12 (-2)         7 (1 leg 3)         *35(+3)      27t       *38(+4)         17t                *17(+1)              *29(+1)
New PR TOTAL = **182 (+8), 4 new PR's, 2 tied, 1 drop in reps (HSPU's) i think after last fridays workout and doing lots of extra work i really crushed it and that might of hurt my heavy strength work. No worries:) still had a great overall:)

Tuesday - kept is simple:)
ran 2 miles easy in my vibrams, focusing on form
4 x 30 Power Jumper 120 hindu squats
4 x 30 Power Jumper 120 deadlifts
man this is a simple dope combo and i really like how simple and strong this is so i've been doing this alot lately as you'll see:)
after doing this workout i did 4 x 25 power wheel rollouts to chest as well to finish:)

Wednesday - J ROCK: 3 x amap of all 5 exercises....been improving alot on this lately...great!!!:)
1L Jump MUs   ATWs   Typewriters   Headbangers    L seats 2 chest    2L jump MU's
      4,4,4            5,3,3          6,5,5          6,6,5                   3,2,2                 4,5,5          28, 25, 24 = *77 PR
FHSPUs      HSPUs      Press Ups   Wall Punch pu    Typewriter pu    30" box MU
9,6,5            4,3,3           4,4,4               8,8,6                7,7,7                    6,5,5         38, 33, 30 = *101 PR
After all this finished up with 3 x 12 slow XT MU's and 3 x 22 planche dips....love how i'm feeling!!!

Thursday - pretty much same as tuesday except did the workout in a local chicago park during our lunch break so after some sprints with Nuka across the park field i up't the load on the leg workout and did 3 x *25s of PJ 160! Then finished with more PW rollout holds 4 x 30 seconds as far out as i can with knees off floor...great!!

Friday - after teaching all day i wanted to get out of the gym so i went home and yes just did something simple. i listened to my body, i was tired, so instead of doing todays 20/15/10/5 i just did easier strict exercises:
Chin ups to sternum - 10 x 5 reps
Press ups to chest - 10 x 5 reps
Then pushed up the reps and again focused on strict form and this felt amazing:
Jungle Gym XT 90 deg chins to sternum - 5 x 20 reps
Push ups with feet on 18" box - 5 x 20 reps
This is stuff i LOVE as it really made me feel strong and it wasnt too much after a hard day.
Finisher: did 10 x 10 reps of 24k levers and that was it:)
OVERALL for the week of training i'm very happy!!!:)
MBG 3 - what i challenge this could of been with all the traveling but it was actually on point all week.
Daily average meals were all strong and simple and gave me great energy all day long!

Green drink
banana, raspberries, almonds, rice milk, lifes basics plant protein (rice, hemp, pea and chia)
dates, almonds
baby spinach, frozen mangos, rice milk, life's basics
apples
kale, cous cous, walnuts, cranberries, beans
hummus and green beans
lots of kombucha and spice too too:)

Hope you all are doing great! Being back here in chicago is good to see all the MBGers here and it makes you feel good when the folks teaching really get it:) They're doing a great job and makes me just smile when i watch them teach as i have nothing to say:) haha they're great!!:)
peace my friends!!
jon

Short Video on this week, got reg MU and 3B's works my friends!!:)

2011-07-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well the last two days of training of week 4 are in the books and still looking good and feeling strong!
As i've mentioned you want to feel strong at the end of each workout, leave the workout feeling stronger and you will be doing very good!
QUESTION: If you have yourself or a client that is having challenges getting bar muscle ups have you tried our way of progressing to them? Jump MU first, then bar goes higher and higher til challenging, then once overhead a good way and still getting them easy, then stand on a box with bar about the same height and do the jump off 1 leg while kipping with the other leg! It works great and makes a smooth transition to the real deal! Try it out for a few weeks and you'll see big improvements!
MBG 1 restoration, Eischens Yoga - did some supine bridge and back dome work followed by good rest pose breath works for 2 times each of the last few days....helps to relax:)
MBG 2 - Training
THURSDAY did a simple leg strength workout with only the power jumper: 4 x 30 PJ 120 hindu squats touching fingers to floor on each rep, alternated with 4 x 30 PJ 120 full extensions with hands on head which both worked great for legs and lungs!! Then did 4 x 30 1 foot FULL power wheel rollouts...havent done this before full chest to floor on a full one so kept the ROM smaller so i dont collapse my back and it was hard as hell at 1 foot:) haha. Then walked about 4 miles after all this listening to some positive audio tapes:)
FRIDAY did the 20/15/10/5 workout and did great!
Started with BW cleans first using PJ 160 instead and then did bar jump MU's, then BW push press off 6" blocks...different order sort of made the PP's a bit harder but no worries still did it well:)
Jump MU's to 6'6" bar - 8,7,5 (20) / 9,6 (15) / 10 (10) / 5 (5)
BW push press off 6" blocks - 6,4,4,3,2 (20) / 6,3,3,3 (15) / 5,3,2 (15) / 3,2 (5)
BW clean PJ 160 off 12" to 24" - 15,5 (20) / 10,5 (15) / 10 (10) / 5 (5)
TOTAL TIME - 28:21 (cut 6:31 off last weeks)
no doubt the jump MU's made this faster, BUT i got some done right!! hey hey hey!!:)

MBG 3 - plant based nutrition

spice tea, rice milk, stevia
blueberries, banana, walnuts, raspberries, almond yogurt, SOLife
kale, hummus, beans, ezekial wrap, sweet potato
organic food bar
kombucha
kale, pine nuts, cous cous, cranberries, edemame, garbanzo beans
organic food bar
air popped popcorn

Good week overall and now that we've finished doing a bunch of videos too whew get to rest a bit before the intensive course started next thursday in MBG Chicago!!
Hope some of you can join us there and if not joining us online is great too:) haha
peace my friends!
jon

J Rock is off the hook!! JGXT, Power Wheel and Bar Muscle Up assist video

2011-07-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

VIDEO of how to barely assist a bar muscle up yet get a kip still....off a box and using 1 leg!
We've been doing jump MU's for a bit now and that works great, i just been thinking how can i
get even a better feel for it and get a kip and i got it! Hope this helps some of you, this is what i am
doing to transition from walk up muscle ups to regular and did it yesterday and it felt great and
some of my other MBG trainers tried it and thought it was perfect!
MBG 1 - Eischens Yoga supine bridge, used a power push up around my shins with the handles over my wrists to do partner feedback on it....been doing this for years and love it.
This is how i've progressed over the last 4 weeks on this workout, hope seeing this helps some of you see how i progress on this workout. For the MU"s the bar is 8'6" feet and so standing on a box 30" high made the top of my head even with the bar which is what i wanted yet still allowed for me to get the forward swing and slight kip up too.
MBG 2 - J Rock

WEDNESDAY	Madison	Madison	Chicago	Madison
J Rock - 3 x 20	7.6.11	7.13.11	7.20.11	7.27.11
Bar MU	3,2,1	4,4,2	6,5,2	4,4,3 jumped off 30" box with 1 leg
ATW	2,2,2	2,3,3	4,2,2	3,2,2
S2S chins	2,2,2	3s,3s,2s	4s,3s,3s	5,4,3
Headbangers	3,2,3	3s,2s,1s	5,5,4	5,4,5
L seat chins	3,1,1	3,2,1	2,1,2	3,2,2
Jump MU 6' bar	4,2,2	0,3,7	5,4,7	5,6,7
TOTAL	17,11,11	20,20,20	26,20,20	25,22,22
	49	60	66	69*
FHSPU	5,4,3	5,5,4	6,5,4	8,5,5
HSPU	2,2,2	2,1,2	3,2,2	4,3,2
Wall pr up	2,2,2	3,2,2	3,2,3	4,3,3
Wall punch p.up	3,3,3	4,4,4	4,3,4	7,7,5
S2S push up	3,3,3	3,4,4	4,6,6	5,5,4
box MU	5,6,7	4,4,4	5,4,4	6,4,4
TOTAL	20,20,20	21,20,20	25,22,23	34,27,23
	60	61	70	84*
				5x10 jg MU
				5x20 pl dips

THE EXTRA work at the end was something i've been doing a bit of lately just if i'm feeling good and strong and want to do a bit more. So that is what you see above as well...5x10 XT MU's and 5x20 planche dips (feet below top of boxes). Felt great leaving the gym after this one!!
MBG 3 - eating plants

Green drink
almond yogurt, blueberries, raspberries, banana, walnuts, plant protein
apple
spinach, mango, rice milk, plant protein
hemp bread, kale, hummus, tofu
vegan pizza (corn meal crust, organic tomato sauce, tons of kale, daiya cheese, chorizo vegan sausage
apple
green drink

Hope you all are having a good day:)
Jon

Week 4 of 8 vlog and my own muscle ups:) haha interesting point:)

2011-07-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

Well the business of last week has hit me a bit today:) haha so i listened to my body and toned it down for today and did more simple exercises and it worked great!! This is what the video is about today. Explaining that IF you are not feeling well to tone it down, it's okay:) It's a challenging 8 week cycle and doing a modified version of one of the 5 workouts is totally cool to do once in a while. Heck, doing maintainance work for weeks is even totally okay as it keeps your body feeling good....and that is good right:)
MBG 1 - restoration; Eischens Yoga beginner sequence yesterday and gonna do supine bridge only tonight as a relaxation pose and then about 7 minutes of breath work to help me relax even more and see how that helps me sleep tonight:) cause it for sure makes me chilled out big time after i do that at the end of each EY class!!
MBG 2 - training: Monday & Tuesday workouts
MONDAY - Heavy 75% push ups and chin ups, then Boomerang 45/45
Push ups - 3x4+60kg...nice and strong pops up on each rep
Chin ups - 3x2+24kg...did not feel so strong on this but still got them but challenging.
BOOMERANG 45/45

HSPU's - 14 (10) New PR (up 1 rep) the 10 in a row is one of my bests in many years!!!
Bar MU's - 8 this is down 1 rep from last time i did this workout in madison 2 weeks ago, last week did 9 in a row in chicago but ALL WALK UPS!! which i do not like doing. If you're not sure what a walk up MU is it's when you pop one elbow over the bar like walking up then the other....it's a MU but not a good one....so i'm working on it and might modify my Bar MU's so i do only pure ones....we'll see:)
Dips - 32 with 20lb vest New PR (up 4 reps)
Kips - 27 with 20lb vest New PR (up 2 reps from last time i had vest on)
Push ups - 34 with 20lb vest New PR (up 2 reps)
JGXT MU's - 16 with 20lb vest (down 1 rep)
Tiger push ups - 16 with 20lb vest new exercise with vest
JGXT body rows - 27 with 20lb vest (down 1 rep)

TOTAL = 174 NEW PR (up 5 reps! since last 20lb vest one)

TUESDAY - BOOMERANG 2 45/45

Pistols L - 10s each leg (lightly got assistance from a bar infront of me)
PJ 120 deadlift - 21 with hands behind head, this really was pretty dang hard...liked it alot!
24" 1 leg step up - 18s this is down from last week, but i did less momentum more strict reps!
PJ 120 alt. toe touch - 12s great old school exercise, feet wide, right hand left foot, stand, etc...really gave me a great extension work with rotation which really makes it great especially with PJ!!
PJ 120 FUL - 16s very hard exercise!! both stirrups on lead foot and worked great!!
GHD's - 15, w/hands on head, then cross chest, then at sides for amap ascending: 5,5,5...great!!
PJ 120 squat to 6" box then stand - 16...this was great!! very hard:)

TOTAL = 107 reps!! liked this alot and may repeat this as it's very simple and can be done anywhere pretty much!

MBG 3 eating of plants:)

spice tea
blueberries, banana, walnuts, plant protein, rice milk
organic food bar
kombucha
ezekial wrap, hummus, tofu, lots of kale, cholula sauce, sweet potato
spice tea
kale, black beans, sweet potato
organic food bar

Looking forward to J Rock tomorrow!!
peace:)
jon

Week 3 of 8 results, video of my Warrior Wrap, Eischens Yoga

2011-07-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of all the ingredients needed for my some of my favorites you might see in my diet every day including my Warrior Wrap! This meal is strong and filled with lots of good strong foods and just some good tasting plant based stuff too!!
This week has been good, we did alot of work, got alot done and i got my training in too...AND IMPROVED:) on every workout!!
QUESTION for you all - are you following all the 8 week workouts or just the strength ones and if so are you using the conditioning days for your more specific training like long distance running, biking, etc. Just like to hear your feedback :)
MBG 1 - restoration: did 3 hours of EY on thursday...then did a cold shower after BJJ training today and some playing on the playground:) and that felt good too:) that is the goal right:) haha
MBG 2 - Thursday and Friday workouts
Thursday - needed a simple rest type workout today after shooting 3 hours of our new Eischens Yoga dvd...so just did a VFF run 2.5 miles, then did some box jump training practice and then a few sets of power wheel rollouts for 2 x 25 to chest.
Friday - 20/15/10/5 BODYWEIGHT VERSION (bar muscle ups, bw cleans, bw push press)
Improved again this week by almost 5 minutes!!
Week 1 - 41:34, Week 2 - 39:43, Week 3 - 34:52
For sure the bars in madison made this alot harder as the ones i use are only 6' off the floor and chicago's are higher to allow more swing...= easier:) Made up time on the bw push press off 6" boxes as cut down the sets by a good amount. Feel pretty good about cutting even more time off next week, shooting for under 30 minutes next week!
MBG 3 pb nutrition:

spice tea
bananas, blueberries, walnuts, plant protein, almond yogurt
kombucha
kale, pine nuts, cranberries, cous cous, walnuts, black bean burger
air popcorn
limeade, banana, coconut milk and ice....man this was tasty!!
ezekial wrap, daiya cheese, vegan sausage, kale, hummus and some green beans
spice tea

Feeling stronger each week and getting more rest so started bjj again today:) so that is always good:) haha Another question for you all....are you progressing your workouts each week? Are you doing your EY? and are you eating strong and clean foods still?:) guess that's a few:) haha
sleep, train, eat, restore strong my friends!!
jon

video of bodyweight clean & push press, week 3 of 8 results, EY & PB no doubt!!!

2011-07-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick video some folks wanted to see...the bodyweight clean and push press!!
try these two on for size tomorrow to make the 20/15/10/5 all bodyweight instead of using
the kb's. I really like this alternative!!:) Thanks Foggy for the bw cleans!!! Dont forget though
we're still doing the bar muscles ups too though!! Over all this week has been crazy busy, man so
much MBG stuff is happening is awesome and crazy at times too!! Big things on the horizon
my friends!! We filmed alot this week, some products yesterday and YES a NEW Eischens Yoga
DVD!!!! It will be out in just a few weeks after editing and the shoot went really well! I'm really happy with what we did today:)
Results for the last 2 days are below:
MBG 1 Eischens Yoga & Gorilla Chillin' - 3 hours of EY today and felt great!! Put out a new sequence for you all and really broke it down even more for you and added in alot more good stuff...PLUS we added in a bonus section too of "How to fix common aches and pains"!
MBG 2 Training like a Gorilla!!
Wednesday was J Rock (3 sets of 20 usually but what i did was amap of each so i can build up reps!!)
MU's > ATW's > S2S's > Headbangers > L seat chins > jump MU's on 6' bar = AMAP Total
1st set got 26 total!! 2nd and 3rd set got 20 total with good improvements on MU's and ATWs:)
FHSPU's > HSPU's > Wall Pr Up > Wall punch push up > S2S push up > Box MU's
1st set got 25 total!! Then 22 and 23 with all improvements coming on the big exercises (first 3!!)
So on both my totals were up from 60 > 66 on pulls and 60 > 70 on pushes:) and added in some changes as well to the second half of each that i consider harder like the wall punch push up is great! and then the Jump MU"s is great for helping me to do perfect MU's on the bar as i still am doing walk up muscle ups which are okay but not as clean.
Thursday was Running, some light jumping and EY....no doubt did the EY today:) haha instead of running sprints though i did a 2.5 mile VFF run which felt good, after all the work this week i wanted to chill a bit today, then just did some simple jump technique training and i was cool:)
MBG 3 plants:)

Maca cafe'
ezekial wrap, hummus, vegan sausage, huge amount of kale...this is simple and tastes great!!
kombucha
organic food bar
almond yogurt, vanilla plant protein (new one from my good friend Ori Hofmekler and it's dope!! and will be out in one month so i'll tell you more!), almonds, blueberries
kombucha
yucca, mixed greens, avocado, tomato, onions, peruvian corn (huge corn that is awesome:) and beans
organic food bar
tea

What a week, hope you all like the video and try out the bodyweight only version as i love it!!
Big day tomorrow unless you read this on friday:) then big day today!!! 20/15/10/5!!!! Lets beat last weeks time my friend and push each other to even greater heights!!!!
PEACE my brothers and sisters!!!!:)
Jon

TWO tough workouts, tons of mbg work, strong PB meals:) Week 3 of 8

2011-07-19T20:48:00.000-07:00


Simple & Strong:)

Man did i need this quote today:) haha Yesterday had a good strong workout at MBG Chicago, today back to madison, a 6 hour business meeting, 2 hours of teaching and then training outside in this crazy heat!!!:) haha whew did it though:)
Got to say alot is happening on the MBG front!!:) It's crazy how exciting it is right now:)
We'll keep working hard and you all will see MBG grow alot this year:)
MBG 1 restoration - was pretty busy today so just did the front warrior poses a few times today. This is all Roger had me do when i first began Eischens Yoga and it worked well so when in doubt i do front warrior:) All i do is focus on keeping the hips vertical as i work the shins forward, hips back and crown long...think about it as a box (your hips) and then a triangle expanding around the box. That's the hips staying square and the front shin forward, back thigh in extension back and then the head long towards the sky! It's simple but man does it open up the hips:)
MBG 2 training (MONDAY & TUESDAYS WORKOUT FOR WEEK 3 OF 8)
Monday: Heavy push ups & chin ups at 75% of previous heaviest work, then Boomerang 1...This was interesting because i did not sleep well and was very tired going into this workout but thought i'm going to give it my best....so i do a warm up set for push ups and chin ups and immediately feel like i'm about to cramp up in my biceps:) haha with no load, just a few reps:) maybe i'm a bit dehydrated too:) So i was glad that i dropped to 75% of my max loads for both push and chin ups and just purely focused on strong, quick sets of 2 and nothing to failure. THIS is an extremely positive way to train the power and speed of a movement and getting adapted to it is an excellent way to improve overall strength and power. This also is a great way to feel strong going into the workout and feel positive.

Push ups: 3 x 2 + 56kg (last week i said i did a 405lb push up....actually i forgot, when doing a push up a male uses about 65% of his bodyweight (women about 55%). So i weight about 220lbs x .65 = 143lbs + 85kg (187lbs) = 330lb push up. Easy way to check this is put your hands on a scale in the push up position and see what you weigh:) simple huh:) haha
Pull ups: 3 x 2 + 24kg to chest....after these sets i felt much better going into this workout!

BOOMERANG 1: 45/45 also did not have a weight vest here so went back to no vest BUT used a power push up 1 (80lbs) for push ups and dips and that was super hard:) haha

HSPU x *13 (got 8 in a row, best in a while!!:) (1 more rep than last week)
Bar MU's x *11 (got 9 in a row, my PR!!) This workout was done at MBG Chicago (madison is tougher for doing muscle ups) (2 more reps than last week)
Dips + 80lb PPU1 x 22 (this was actually much harder than 20lb vest:) so i feel equal to last week or even better!!
Kips x *30 this is my best for 45 seconds...BUT the hard part here is to improve on this as when i first tested this i only stopped 1 time and got 28 which was a bear, it's actually much easier to wear a vest and do less reps here than to go hard as heck and not stop for 45 seconds:) (so happy i got 2 reps more!)
Push ups + 80lb PPU1 x 23 (way harder than the vest again!!! so felt this was at least as good as last weeks version with the vest or better...for sure gonna stick with the PPU1)
JGXT muscle ups x *20 (1 more than i did 3 weeks ago when i last did it with no vest, but man i was hurting here as i forgot how dang hard this is to get amap in 45 seconds and 20 was tough!!)
Tiger push ups x 19 (no doubt this was equal to or harder than the 20lb vest, these crushed me at this point in the workout and are an awesome sub for the parallette dips...they are equal to the weighted dips for sure, so i'm happy with these numbers and will keep with the tiger push ups!)
JGXT body rows x *31 (tough again to get all these in in 45 seconds...tough but did it!!)

Total = 169 reps (prefer this version of B1 as i can really do this one anywhere and hit it full!!

TUESDAY - BOOMERANG 2 (45/45) After my day i just wanted to get outside and do my best version of this workout and it went really well despite 96 degrees and same humidity!!:)

36" box jump x 21
Broad Jump + PJ120 x *22 yards
24" lateral box jumps x 26
GHD's x *23 with hands on head
24" one leg step ups L/R x *24s
JGXT curls x *36
Full squats + PJ120 to 12" box x 24

Total reps = 175 (up 3 reps from last week)
Then did not have bxt for pw full rollouts at the park so did 45/45 of the following
HLR's x 11, PW rollouts x 22, parallel bar leg lifts to V position x 12, lever flutter kicks x 20s
Feel very good about today after all the meetings:) so good workout today!

MBG 3 plant based nutrition -

Maca cafe
sweet greens drink - kale, cilantro, apples
figs & almonds
spinach wrap, mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, hummus, onions
organic food bar
kombucha
rice, tofu, squash, curry, onions, sprouts
kombucha

Good last two days of training, eating and yoga!!
Keep in touch my friends and tell me how your doing okay!!
"Inch by inch" my friends!!!!
peace my friends,
jon

Week 2 Finished and all looking strong!!! MBG 3 and 3B's baby!!!!

2011-07-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

Man what a great week again! Down here in chicago for a few days and everyone is getting everything super tight! Love seeing that! For myself and my trainers the gains and improvements are right on par for what i knew was going to happen...mental and physical improvements each week!!
QUESTION - what is the MBG way of training?? the 3B's my friends...what is the 3B's?? :) Also tell me how you are feeling and if you have an exercise that is too easy or slightly too hard ask me and i'll explain a simple modification for you so you can train at a solid level for improvement next week.
MBG 1 - Eischens Yoga class, did alot of back domes and warriors
MBG 2 - Training thursday and friday this week
Thursday was easy relaxing day perfect for recovery as i was feeling a bit tired and we drove alot too. So did 10 x 100 yard ramp runs, could not do the box jumps for speed as the drive down made my knee a bit tight and hadnt done EY yet....after of course knee felt fine:) haha
Today (friday) 20/15/10/5 afap

Bar muscle ups - 9*, 5, 4, 2 (20) 7,5,3 (15) 6,4 (10) 5(5)
BW cleans - 13*, 7 (20) 10, 5(15) 10(10) 5(5) Power Jumper 120 12" box onto 24" box
BW push press - 6*,4,3,3,2,2 (20) 5,3,3,2,2 (15) 4,2,2,2 (10) 3,2 (5) off 6" boxes

TOTAL TIME - * 39:43 (1:51 less time!!) *means PR

MBG 3 - plant based eating!!

maca cafe
almond yogurt, lifes basics, blueberries, pecans, raisins
kombucha
kale, pine nuts, garbanzo beans, tomato, potatoes, peas, corn....whew ate too much:) hahaha
kombucha
greens, almonds
organic food bar
popcorn:)

TODAY was good and strong! Got 2 PR's too which is always a good sign your training is on point! Make sure you all get alot of rest this weekend AND do remember WRITE OUT YOUR GOAL NUMBERS FOR NEXT WEEKS TRAINING THIS WEEKEND!!!!:)
peace my friends...and i really mean that:)
jon

Last few days of training...GREAT!! Super strong meals and a big whew!!!!

2011-07-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Holding a 1 arm handstand

Today was another good workout and i hope it was good for you guys too today! The picture you see here is one of my favorites as it shows a solid 1 arm handstand. This happens just from regular training, working it daily or at least a few times a week. Important for all of us to do if we want to develop a skill to higher and higher levels. SO think about what skills you want to develop and then just give them a little bit of work daily and amazing things will happen i promise:)
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga beginner
MBG 2 training:
TUESDAY:
30/30 x 20 minutes jumping rope (1.5lb) ave 90 reps/30 sec

Boomerang 2 (the bodyweight version:)

36" box jumps x 20 (same)
PJ120 broad jumps x 10 x 21 yards (.5 yards more)
24" lat box jumps x 26 (2 more)
GHDs x 23(3 more) hands on head, head to floor 12-18" out
24" 1 leg squats x 23/23 (can put weight on floor) (4 more)
JGXT leg curls x 36 (3 more)
PJ120 squats off 12" box x 23 (3 more)

TOTAL = 172 (up from 156.5 last week) This was a really great improvement considering i did not sleep well and was very tired before jumping rope:)
AFTER - did not have time to do the whole core workout so just did 1 set amap strict full power wheel rollouts off knees to chest 1 x 25...felt great!!
WEDNESDAY - J Rock 3 x 20s:)
Exercise definitions: ATW is around the worlds, side 2 sides is typewriters and in/outs is headbangers, 1A is one arm, MU is muscle ups)

PULLS: Bar MU's >> ATW's >> 1A assist chins >> typewriters >> headbangers > L seat > kips

4 / 2 / 3s / 3s / 5 / 3 = 20
4 / 3 / 3s / 2s / 3 / 2 / 3 = 20
2 / 3 / 2s / 1s / 4 / 1 / 7 = 20

Exercise definitions: FHSPU is headstand to handstand without hardly ever touching wall and slight kick, HSPU is handstand push up with wall, box MU is dip then lay back and pull forward back into planche dip position then dip press back up to start, planche dip is a dip with legs extended as far as possible back behind you MUST FEEL backside engaged here.
PUSHING:
FHSPU >> HSPU >> Wall Press Up >> Box MU >> Planche Dip >> Tiger push up

5 / 2 / 3 / 6 / 4 = 20
5 / 1 / 2 / 6 / 6 = 20
4 / 2 / 2 / 5 / 7 = 20

After FHSPU's i went to normal HSPU's and then wall press ups today and liked that alot...tougher!! might switch this up a bit next week throwing in some typewriter push ups AND some wall punch push ups at least that is what they look like, they're hard and i like that...D3 hundred was crushing them:) haha
Overall today i improved my first exercise numbers well and i'm happy for that, for sure my free handstand push ups are better and so are my muscle ups and around the worlds
MBG 3 eating plants:)

maca cafe
tortilla (ezekiel sprouted), hummus, black bean, lots of lightly steamed spinach, sweet potato
organic food bar
bananas, mango, lifes basics, walnuts
green beans and hummus
sauteed spinach, green beans, egg plant, brown rice, tofu
vegan dessert:)

good day even though i was very tired, one of my cats got out today and could not find him until now and man what a huge relief!!!!
peace, stay on point, represent mbg my friends!!
J Rock:)

Good Strong Monday! Did you bump it up? Great homemade meals:)

2011-07-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all, hope you had a strong monday and hope your energy is good too and your not cooked:)
The workouts in this 8 week cycle are hard and we designed them so that you WILL recover and feel strong when you hit that workout again in the next week.
QUESTION FOR YOU: What is your simplest & tastiest 5 minute 100% plant based meal you make....now dont just say open can of beans:) haha but simply and crazy tasty!!
MBG 1 - restoration: did Eischens Yoga back dome series with some assistance from supine bridge and sphinx pose, but also then did back dome resisted with the power jumper and that worked awesome!!! Also did alot of supine bridge using the power push up across my shins and handles over my wrists and that worked great too!!
MBG 2 - Good Strong workout...pre-workout did some HSW's, some light flagpoles and some planches and levers...all simple.

Heavy push ups (thumbs to chest) - 4 x 1 x 84kg's...not bad:) 220lbs + 185 = 405lb push up:)
Heavy Chin ups (bar to chest) - 4 x 1 x 36kg...again feel good! 220 + 79 = 299lb chin up:)

Then Boomerang!!:)

HSPU's x 12 (same as last week) learned it's quicker to rest while on your head which i did not do today and stood up twice and last week i just rested on my head between reps which works better:)
MU's x 9 (same as last week) did not feel bad, got 6, then 2, then 1 and that was time:)
Dips + 20v x 28 (up 3 reps!) (Here i added the 20lb vest for the remainder of the workout)
Kips + 20v x 25 (up 2 reps!)
Push ups + 20v x 32 (up 5 reps!!)
JGXT MU's + 20v x 17 (up 2 reps)
Dips + 20v x 18 (up 2 reps) got to change this as i dont like repeating and the paralletes are just too easy for me even with the vest:)..got it:) tiger push ups next week!!!!:)
JGXT body rows + 20v x 28 (up 5 reps!!)

Total reps = 166!! (16 more than last week!)

MBG 3 plant based nutrition:

maca cafe
ezekial wrap, hummus, lots of lightly steamed spinach, black refried beans, sweet potatoes
spice tea
greens, mango, banana, rice milk, pea/brown rice protein, oats, almonds
spice tea
half organic food bar
sweet potato, hummus, corn, kale, chorizo tofu sausage
spice tea and some rice milk

get some rest for tomorrow is B2!! Remember if you want, do the bodyweight version instead:) So be like a Silverback, simple and strong....and plant based!!!:) haha
peace!
jon

A How to Progress your MBG 8 Week Training Cycle!

2011-07-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

This just shows my 1st week numbers and then the goals for this coming week. If you look at this first mondays workout i simply bumped each number up a bit for this weeks goals.
on the weighted push ups and chin ups i simply set a goal of doing one extra set of each.
Last week i did 3 sets of 1 with 80kgs on the kb push up and 2 sets of 1 with 36kg's on chin ups. So this week my goal (written before the actual workout:) is 4 x 1 x 80kg (P.Ups) and 3 x 1 x 36kg (C.Up) On Mondays Boomerang my ACTUAL NUMBERS and GOALS for this week
HSPU'S 12 >>>>14
Bar MU's 9>>>>11
Dips +20vest x 25 >>> 20 (with 30vest)
this continues for the whole workout, i write out my goal numbers for each exercise and for my total which was 150 last week and my goal for monday is 158.
Do this for each workout, write your goal numbers out BEFORE the workout, then use those goal numbers and hit or beat each one of them!!!
Do this each week and your results after 8 weeks will be off the charts!!

If you have any questions please ask them okay:)
look forward to seeing how WE all improve each week!!
peace my friends!!
jon

AWESOME bodyweight 20/15/10/5!! Powerful Eating too!! Nuka's 1st swim too!!:)

2011-07-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

Nuka's 1st swim ever:) then she shakes so hard she almost fell over:) We went right after todays awesome workout we walked down to the river and jumped on in...man it felt great, nice and cool water!!! Perfect after workout recovery!!
AND MAN WHAT AN AWESOME WORKOUT TODAY!!!!
NOW - WRITE OUT YOUR WORKOUT GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK, WRITE NEXT WEEKS GOAL RESULTS OUT OVER THE WEEKEND TO GIVE YOURSELF GOALS TO HIT FOR EACH WORKOUT EACH DAY NEXT WEEK!!
MBG 1 - restoration; been doing Eischens Yoga daily and today and wednesday did after w.o. swims!!
MBG 2 - 3B's training!!! (Bodyweight, Bands, Bars!!): did this weeks R, F workouts and they went great! Foggy coined this term and i love it!! It's part of us now!! This is MBG Training my friends!! Tell me how you like this okay my friends!! 3Bs!!!:) haha Love it!! Great job FOGGY!!!
Thursday: did the 8 x 200m sprints in my ZEM's: http://www.zemgear.com/Beach_Shoes_Apparel_Home.html then did the 3 sets of 10 as high a box as possible. did 10 at 30" on my 3rd set which was good:) very easy workout which i wanted for today too...then ran with nuka about 2 miles too:)
Friday: today's 20/15/10/5 workout was to be done with 28s for cleans and presses AND muscle ups!
REPLACED the kb's with bodyweight cleans with power jumper (new exercise mr. paul fogg thought up from MBG Darwin! it's very cool). Was thinking man i'd rather do bw than kb's and this worked perfect!!!
For the BW Cleans we used 2 red bands on the power jumper, started seated on a 12" box with fingers touching floor, then jumped up onto a 24" box....worked great!!
For the BW Push Presses we did handstand push ups off 6" boxes using a slight kick to assist and it worked great too! Using the wall to maintain balance we then brought knees down towards elbows then extended them up fast to assist as we pressed up to a full handstand...worked great!!
Then still did the Bar Muscle ups - IF you cannot do bar MU's then assist them by using a bar at shoulder to slightly over head height to jump into the muscle up position and still finish with the dip and it works great...so just put a box under a bar to make this the right height and your set!
                              20            / 15          /     10       /     5
1) Bar Muscle ups - 5,3,2,4,3,3     / 5,4,3,3 /     5,5      /    5
2) BW Cleans         -     10,6,4        /   10,5      /      10      /    5
USED: PJ120 12" to 24" touch floor (going to 30"box)
3) BW PP               - 4,3,3,2,2,2,2,2 / 5,3,2,2,1,1 / 3,3,2,1,1 / 3,1,1
off 6" boxes w/slight kick
                                  15:25   / 29:15 / 37:40 / 41:34 Total time!
Great workout!!! Cant wait to beat this time next week!!!:)
The MU's are getting easier for me too:)
MBG 3 - eating plants:)

Green drink
maca cafe
soaked oats, blueberries, walnuts, lifes basics, rice milk
kombucha
steamed spinach, black beans, hummus, ezekial sprouted tortillas, sweet potato
spice tea
organic food bar
steamed kale, brown rice, refried beans, sweet potato
spice tea
oranges

MAN I'M DIGGIN' THE FEELING!! STRONG, SIMPLE, SILVERBACKS!!!!:)
PEACE MY FRIENDS!!
JON

Whew B2 is a beast!! Today's J Rock rocked me!!:) haha

2011-07-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

D3 Hundred....simply put this dude is a wicked man!!! Great transformation doing bodyweight training!
The above video is an awesome story you'll want to watch and get inspired by! He was a high level power lifter turned bodyweight master 3 years ago! Now today still at 300+ he's crushing bodyweight training!! Perfect for todays J Rock workout!!! Hey hey hey:)
Yesterday was Boomerang 2...the leg version of B1 which we did on monday and it was a bear! The 45/45 clearly kicked my butt as the last time i did this it was 30/30 and i still had some left in the tank. This time though i hit a wall and barely matched some of the rep numbers i did last time in 30 seconds.
Today was J Rock and perhaps i was a bit fatiqued and did not put up the numbers i wanted...still it was an awesome workout and for sure gives me high hopes for beating my numbers next wednesday!
MBG 1 restoration - did Eischens Yoga beginner sequence both days with a bit longer work on the back dome pose as i love that pose:)
MBG 2 training - B1 and J Rock
Boomerang 1:

36" box jump - 20 reps (still not 100% in my left knee so i dont do plyo jumps back up = slower:)
40k swings to shoulders - 27 reps (okay at this point my heart is already getting pretty high:)
24" lat. box jumps - 24 (it's official now, my HR is zooming!!:)
40k's deadlift - 24 (noticing it is hard to get recovered, i think each week it will get better though)
24" 1 leg step ups, left, rest 45, right, rest 45 - 19/19 (at this point having hard time upping #'s)
JGXT leg curls - 33 (really getting crushed here and having very hard time keeping hips up)
48k deep squat off 12" boxes touch floor - 20 (same as i did for 30 seconds!! last week)

obviously this workout was very very challenging for me...that is cool:) I'd like to hear from you all on this as well as i do not want us all dead to the world afterwards:) haha but feeling good afterwards. After the workout i thought about this and thought we can also do this whole thing bodyweight too. SO i did Power Jumper broad jumps (two Red cables) for 10 jumps as far as possible (without cheating between jumps:) (this can replace 40k swings) in the 45 second time period and it worked great! I got 20.5 yards on 10 jumps and finished at about 40 seconds which is fine...so room to grow next week. Then the next 45 second set i did GHD's with sandbags on my heels (80lbs worked fine) and with hands behind my head did 18 reps...again this worked perfect and can replace deadlifts! Lastly i used the same 2 reds on the PJ and squatted down to a 12" box and quickly stood up for a deep full squat and man did this one catch up to me!!...i got 20 and was crashing and burning at the end!! a great substitute. So there you have some great ways to make this whole thing bodyweight, portable and perfect for travel:)
Then Core 45/45 of BXT with 70lb cable full power wheel rollouts x 10, then 20k levers x 20, then power wheel crawl x 55 yards, then on knees power wheel rollouts to chest x 20 = 105 total:) great!!

J Rock (070611): 3 x 20 total reps each set (1st round / 2nd round / 3rd round)

Bar Muscle ups x 3/2/1, Around the Worlds x 1/2/2, Side 2 sides x 2/2/2, L seat chins x 3/1/1, Chins x 4/2/2, Kips x 4/9/9
Free HSPU with slight kick x 5/4/3, wall press up x 2/2/2, box muscle up x 6/5/5, planche dips x 4/4/3, tiger push ups x 3/5/7

my form was very strict on all of these and once i lost form or missed a rep i stopped and walked to write down my score, then to next exercise...so about 15 seconds between.
Got to say the bar muscle ups are challenging but i'm happy i can pretty much get them now on a low bar too (about 6') which makes kipping a bit harder. If you cannot do them then do the jump muscle ups like D3 hundred does...it helps alot for sure!! helps to get the arms popping over the bar part down!
After this i went back and practiced some more bxt full rollouts for 4 sets of 5 with 1 red 60lb cable.
MBG 3 - plant based eating:)

maca cafe'
spinach, mixed greens, bell peppers, onions, hummus (small wrap)
organic food bar
kombucha
baby spinach, banana, lifes basics smoothie
sprouted ezekial tortilla, hummus, avocado, eggless tofu salad, peppers, onions, carrots, rice, beans
kombucha
kale, sweet potato, black beans

whew this has been a great week of training so far and i'm really excited about it and look forward to getting really good on everything over the next 8 weeks!!!
now drink some aqua and rest:) haha
peace my friends!
jon

Let this July 4th be your day of independence from the matrix of fitness!!

2011-07-04T20:31:00.000-07:00


Beautiful night here in Madison:)

Let today mark your independence from the Fitness Matrix that has cocooned you and the world!

Thinking of all the things that the Traditional World of Fitness and Life has sucked you in on....think on these things...are they in the best interest of you, people and planet? Are they things that you feel are instinctive and natural OR have they sucked you in on things that you dislike or feel un-attached to reality. Let this day mark the day that YOU follow your path in life, help yourself and others to do the things in life that make us happy! The man in the mirror ring a bell?
I once asked an older man who was always happy as a clam what was the secret to a happy life....he smiled and said, find what you love, find a way to do it as a living, find a place you love to live in and someone special to share it with you....he walked the walk!! Every day he smiled, laughed alot, came to the gym and trained and shared time with his friends:) and loved where and who he shared his life with:) beautiful:)
Well today was the beginning of the 8 week MBG Training cycle:
MBG 1 - did beginner sequence and took a crazy cold shower:) haha
MBG 2 - day 1 of 8 week cycle with BOOMERANG:) Now the last two weeks i did B i crushed the reps on a few so decided today to add a 20lb weight vest after the HSPU's and bar MU's and it worked great!! And set up great numbers to beat for next week!!
HSPU's - 12 (beat my last two weeks bests)
Bar MU's - 9 (again beat my last weeks best)
Dips + 20v - 25
Kips + 20v             - 23
Push ups + 20v      - 27
JGXT MU's + 20v - 15
Dips + 20v - 16 (did the 12" parallettes dips 2 min after w/20v and did 40...still too easy:)
Body Rows + 20v - 23
Total Reps        = 150
Forgot to the the heavy as possible push ups and chin ups before though:( so will try to remember for next week and do amap sets with 60k for push ups of 1-2 and then 28k chin ups for same.
MBG 3 - plant based nutrition

maca cafe'
soaked oats, brown sugar, bananas, strawberries, walnuts
organic food bar - protein
eggless tofu salad veggie wrap, rice noodles
huge mixed greens salad, peruvian corn, bell peppers, pinto beans, avocado and some yucca roots
few bites of vegan white cake and some glad corn:) good snack!

QUOTE FOR YOU TODAY: "The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion.
He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."
Make today just that in every moment of your day, live the way that makes YOU happy, live the way that makes YOU a master in the art of living:)
Peace my friends! Eat, Train, Restore like a master over the next 8 weeks and change your world and the world in the process!!:)
Jon

8 week cycle is READY! Are you ready? Guidelines below!!

2011-07-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well my friends Next Week is the start of our first MBG 8 week training cycle for all (not just athletes)!!

The question is are you Ready? This is not just doing the week of workouts each week and saying yeah i did the workout, this is taking your training to another level my friends!
Do the plant based nutrition daily, eat strong plants, make a difference in you and the planet!
Do the Eischens Yoga beginner sequence 3 times a week on your own AND the partner feedback after workouts!!
GUIDELINES FOR MBG 8 WEEK TRAINING, EATING AND RESTORATION CYCLE:
But before you begin i want you to find out where you are;

Take a before picture at the beginning and end of the 8 weeks.
Keep track of all workouts and eischens yoga in a journal.
Keep track of all meals and how your feeling everyday in your journal.
The first week of workouts are to set a baseline for you to improve upon each week.
Make sure you get plenty of sleep (8-9 hours a night)
Make sure right after you do your workout to write down your results....THEN immediately write out how your going to do on the same workout next week with the improvements.

For example, lets say you've just finished the Boomerang workout and hit 197 total reps...with improvement in each exercise by a minimum of 1 rep you'll improve by 8 reps for next week and hit 205...so write that out as your goal for next week.
Do this each week and you'll make incredible changes over the next 2 months. Trust me, i've done it hundreds of times with myself and my athletes and the MBG 8-12 week cycle works with amazing results...now it's your turn to do it:)
THIS STEP IS HUGE!!! EACH WEEK YOU HIT YOUR GOAL, THEN WRITE OUT NEXT WEEKS GOALS FOR THE SAME WORKOUT...AND GO OUT AND ACHIEVE THEM AGAIN THE NEXT WEEK.

Keep hitting and improving each week and it's truly magic what happens...Leaner, Stronger, Healthier & Happier!
Keep connected with us on our MBG Facebook page, ask questions, inspire others, challenge yourself and others to greater heights in the way we eat, train and restore!
Walk the walk, Each week improve the level you train, improve your alignment and balance and eat and drink only plant based pure foods from the earth.
Anticipate great improvements, See them, believe them, realize them!!

The workouts will be posted for you beginning monday for those of you that do not want to miss a day:) We will also provide you a log sheet to keep track of your MBG 8 week workouts online if you'd like to download it to use as your own workout log. All we ask is that you make the most of this and train hard, eat plant based and follow the eischens yoga hard core over this 8 weeks.
This week i worked very hard, lots of business:) So kept my training simple...haha shock huh:)
MBG 1 - Last night in Eischens Yoga class all we did was partner feedback, which we'll be doing alot during the 8 weeks...it's powerful! Want to see big improvement in your back dome, do the partner feedback as we lay out and you're back dome, squats and 1 legged balance will improve dramatically!
MBG 2 - training all week, did Boomerang on monday, then wednesday did J Rock which i love and due to tons of work i chilled today and most likely will just train BJJ for about 4 hours tomorrow as we're having a big LCCT Team training in Wisconsin for all LCCT Black Belts and affiliates...that should be sweet:)
MBG 3 - plant based eating

alot of simple soaked oats, blueberries, some dates, walnuts and lifes basics.
kombuchas
kale, cous cous, pecans, garbanzo beans (whole foods in near:) haha
organic food bar
spinach, brown rice, mung beans, kale and some hot sauce:)
some salted pecans:)

time to get some sleep, big day, big weekend of rest and relaxation,
Get ready my friends:)
jon

Great Training today!! STRONG PB meals! Did 1st workout of 8 wk cycle!!

2011-06-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Video of me riding my bike home after a great day of training and eating:) !!!
Well we started it off today with a great test and workout that WILL begin (and i want as many
of you to join me on this) July 6th....SO check out what day one will be like and make sure you have
everything you need to train with us okay!!
Interesting thing happened too today that is now sort of funny:) every few days i take a b-12 supplement...so i did today. thing is i forgot i took one when i ate breakfast and so took a 2nd
one right before riding to the gym....can you say TRIPPIN'!!!! hahaha man i felt like i drank 10 cups of coffee and could not chill:) not funny at the time as you do not feel well at all, fortunately i got thru my first group of athletes i trained and was about to start with another when they had to cancel so i ran home ate an organic food bar which helped to chill me out and then felt fine....NOTE dont do that again:) haha
QUESTION FOR ALL: I want to know who's gonna join me on our 8 week training cycle beginning july 6th? You can start early if you want as i am and my athletes are, but i'm beginning it in MBG Chicago then and will have it posted and video'd for you all on line for that date.
MBG 1 - Eischens Yoga....simple, back dome and front warrior...simple is good:) haha, this brings up a good point my friends...do not feel as if you have to do the whole beginner sequence daily, do not be hard on yourself if you do not do it daily. Know this, all Roger had me do for about the first year was front warrior and some supine bridge and it worked amazing! For those days when you dont feel like training the EY hard or you might feel obligated to do it...yes this happens sometimes:) then it's fine to pass on it or just do a single pose or maybe two and trust me you'll feel alot better:)
MBG 2 - training (did 1st monday workout of 8 week cycle, check it and get ready for it)
began with AS HEAVY AS POSSIBLE: just work up to find out top levels

Push ups (off 3 high boxes with KB's hanging off belt) - worked up to 1 x 80 kg (thumbs to chest)
Chin ups - worked up to 1 x 36 kg (touching chest to bar)

both of these made me feel very good:)
Boomerang (45 seconds of work / 45 seconds of rest on each one, move thru til done with all)

HSPU's - 10 (handstand push ups)
Bar MU's - 8 (bar muscle ups)
Dips - 46 (dont know why but i crush these:) haha
Kips - 28
Push ups - 40 (chest to floor)
JGXT MU's - 19 (jungle gym xt muscle ups at 90 degrees)
12" parallette dips - 45
Body rows - 28 (touch hands to ribs)

224 Total reps (LOVE this workout!!)
After this workout went to whole foods with steffon and matt (matt zaborowski) two of the best MBG Trainers in the country and dogged some food!!:) haha After that Stef had to go teach so matt and i went swimming...dope after workout recovery:) just sitting and chillin' in the aqua:) haha

MBG 3 Eating Greens:)

Maca Cafe'
soaked oats, blueberries, walnuts, banana, rice milk, life's basics
organic food bar
kale, cranberries, pine nuts, green lentils, spinach, potatoes, cabbage and peas = delicious:)
kombuchas (2)
kale, spinach, tomato, black bean veg burger, cabbage, potato, peas, sesame croutons = crazy good!!
fruit and nuts

after my crazy B-12 start:) the day was amazing! Great workout, training folks (all did great!!!), eating awesome food, riding my bike, swimming...but the best part? doing these great things i love so much with my friends:) ..... as master card says....priceless:)
Peace my friends...hope you all can join me for the same coming up soon!!:)
jon

Paying attention:) todays lessons as usual.....simplicity:)

2011-06-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Last night i had a poor night sleep and was very tired this morning....when my morning BJJ practice time arrived i decided to go slow and just SIMPLY do my best....to not overdo it and stop if needing....paying attention to learn by listening to myself:) Training with two world champion level black belts every day is very intense, neither ever rushes me but is always open to help and guide me into flowing more. One day many years ago when i was a white belt Rickson Gracie said to me jiu-jitsu is like life...do not resist it, but instead flow with it. Bruce Lee said be like water my friend, sometimes soft and relenting, sometimes strong....but always flowing....he said you punch into the water and it moves away from your fist, you pull your hand out and it follows you!!....be like water my friend:)
SIMPLICITY: Raphael and Mosquito flow like water, most times easy and flowing, sometimes strong...but always flowing....so today i train and listen...sometimes forget and my friends tell me:) haha so then i do my best to flow again....it is constant training:) then we're done and i move on to the same type of training of others and myself...working my best to flow while teaching and even training myself. I find over my many years of training others sometimes it can be very trying, being patient listening to one student while 30 others are waiting for todays lesson...but over time i realized the world will keep spinning if i take a second and listen and then respectfully move on to the training of the class. Or when one athlete is challenging, maybe not listening to instruction...can easily make one feel disrespected and get pissed off....instead i've learned to smile and talk with them about being respectful of themselves and all others as it helps the whole become stronger and develops them as young men....this is flowing like water to me in my teaching.
SIMPLICITY In my own training...i trained my athletes today with a great workout...Boomerang (which will be one of the 8 week cycle workouts) and it's really an amazing workout. Well sometimes when you train and see amazing results happen you want to do the workout as well....but i listened, i did not fall prey to my ego, instead i just said do simple and easy and leave feeling strong and happy and that is exactly what i did...simple and strong:) and it felt great!!
I know i talk on this point alot:) but it is a true point....live simple, do those things that bring balance to your life and restore energy so you feel good as much as possible, eat simple strong foods, move well:)

MBG 1 - do Eischens Yoga daily....sometimes the whole sequence, sometimes i teach class and do the class, sometimes like today i just to one portion...maybe all the prone poses.....SIMPLE:)
MBG 2 - train simple....i prefer doing bodyweight training, sometimes i mix other things like d-balls or kettlebells, but 99% of the time i just train bodyweight...why? because i love the connection to the skills i do in life...run, jump, crawl, climb...because i love the feel of connecting and challenging myself to do higher and higher levels of pure movement....that to me is beautiful and simple...AND it never ends, i can always do higher and higher levels of bodyweight skill training:). Tonight i was tired after a hard day, but still felt a desire to move just a bit...so did a super simple workout, strict push ups, then strict body rows til i did 100 each, stopping if slowing, breathing controlled...feeling great afterwards:)
MBG 3 - eat simple strong foods....from the earth, raw nuts, fruit, greens, beans, some oats, sprouted grains and for sure my sweet potatoes:) today i had

maca cafe
oats, nuts, fruit, pea protein, rice milk
kombucha
kale, cous cous, pine nuts, cranberries, garbanzo beans, walnuts
kombucha
mixed greens, carrots, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, vegan sausage
orange

Simple makes me happy and happy makes me healthy:)
peace my friends,
jon

Repeated Boomerang, Eischens Yoga kneeling table broken down and NEW help at front desk:)!

2011-06-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

Our New dog Nooka working the front desk with MBG Chicago Mgr Erin:) Our new dog jessie and i got last sunday from the dog rescue here in chicago...she's an awesome little dog we named Nooka (short for Manuka a really great honey from Hawaii) She was abandoned and for sure beaten alot and has bite marks on her face but now she has a great home and we love her alot! She's an awesome little dog:)
Been preparing the upcoming 8 week cycle we're all going to be doing and it is gonna be wicked!! Any thoughs on your favorites make em now as it's almost done! FAVS for strength or conditioning workouts.
MBG 1 Eischens Yoga - spent alot of time on kneeling table yesterday...if you really focus on zero shifting when lifting one arm it enhances the movement alot...IF you can do that without shift, THEN you can begin to load the movement by lifting a light kb off the floor an inch (place it directly under the sternum) with a goal of working up to hold 25% bodyweight for 30 seconds without any shift from side to side or loss in beginning posture!
MBG 2 Training - heavy work then did Boomerang and felt great!!!
Trained BJJ with Raphael and then luiz for about 90 minutes, then worked out!
Did 3 sets of 4 bar muscle ups ALTERNATED with 3 sets of 3 singles of HSPU's off 6" blocks
Boomerang workout June 17, 2011

HSPU's x 30 sec x 8.....not bad after doing the 3 heavy sets as i matched last weeks effort here
Rest 30
Muscle up x 30 sec x 7...again feeling good here as i already did about 20 before this:)
Rest 30
Dips x 45 sec x 51....improved by 1 rep!!:) haha
Rest 45
Pullups x 60 sec x 25 kips....less by a ways, but did not do all the MU's either last week so it's good!
Rest 60
Pushups x 45 sec x 45....same as last week
Rest 45
Chin ups x 30 sec x 20 (Kip)....more than last weeks!!!
Rest 30
12" dips x 30 sec x 33....more by 3 reps!!
Rest 30
Box/floor body rows x 30 sec x 6/10=16....mixed this up to get more reps and it went great!!
for the 8 exercises i got 205 reps!! going for 212 or more next week!!
OVERALL i'd give this a big thumbs up!! Putting this into the 8 week cycle for sure!!!
MBG 3 plant based eating:

maca cafe'
baby spinach, mango, banana, life's basics, walnuts
kale, garbanzo beans, vegan burrito
organic food bar
vegan pizza (jessies!!!) the best!!!
small slice of vegan raw cheesecake!

Great week of training again, getting in a good groove!!
train strong, live for laughter and love!!:) haha
jon

Beautiful Soul Training today! Hard, Challenging, Super Fun!!

2011-06-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here's some
Today was Soul Training & Eating done right! What is that? When each movement is fun, instinctive, challenging, not too much that it's forced....but enough to tease my sense of challenge and wonder...can i do that? Playing, testing myself and my friends to higher levels...isnt that what all animals do as they grow and learn? YES....they never stop playing and testing each other and thus become finely tuned ... perfection! Today i listened to my mind and body, i played and challenged myself and my friend to higher levels....perfection:)
QUESTION: When was the last time you were walking down the street and just kicked up into a handstand and walked down the sidewalk as far as you could without worry of what others thought?
MBG 1 restoration - Awesome Eischens Yoga session yesterday, we did about 30 minutes of partner feedback after 30 minutes of Roger Eischens sequence...felt really balanced and peaceful after!
MBG 2 training -
Started the session with 45 minutes of BJJ training with my friend Raphael Barbosa (black belt under luiz) reps and reps which we both love!!
Then he and i trained starting with with some challenging weighted push ups what could we do with perfect form and breathing....not too hard:) haha did about 5 x 10 with 28k off 3 boxes...alternated this with around the worlds with slow controlled negatives....after 2 sets of that we mixed it up more! Doing around the world to muscle ups, then jumped to another bar and repeated, now he nor i can do muscle ups clean that well, we both can do walk up ones but to break that habit we both stand on a box that gives us just a little jump so we can work on the arm actions...works great! We ended up doing about 5 sets of 3 of each with the push ups and this was really fun...tried my ATW to jump to far bar then 5' behind me a few times too. That is very hard, done it a few times and it's super fun!
After doing those two we mixed traveling rings with beat reps for all types of presses. Crushed the traveling rings!!! felt totally connected on em and that was a blast went back and forth about 4 times no problem! The beat reps we did with one BXT band for a few sets then no bands on the floor and that was enough! Good day!:)
MBG 3 Soul Eating (PB!) -

maca cafe
soy yogurt, almonds, source of life energy shake, banana
mango kombucha
kale, black beans, mung beans, brown rice
mango kombucha
edemame, seaweed salad and cucumbers, then onions, bell peppers, tofu and brown rice
raw vegan dessert

good day my friends, had a good 9 hours plus sleep last night too!! hey hey hey!!:)
peace!
jon

Jonny Hinds MBG 3 training

Old MBG video with my dad and I and Week of Wicked Workouts!

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT INTENSIVE February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com THIS IS THE 6 DAY TOTAL MBG 3 KNOW IT AND DO IT CERTIFICATION...IT'S INTENSE:)

SIGN UP NOW!! MBG Level 1 course: April 28th - 29th, 2012, Chicago, IL. MBG Chicago! go to www.monkeybargym.com IT'S BACK!!! DUE TO THE AUSSIE CNT INTENSIVE BEING DELAYED FOR A FEW MONTHS WE'RE OFFERING THE 3 DAY CERTIFIED NATURAL TRAINERS COURSE !!

Roger Eischens Video...TIP: 1" of effort makes 1 incredible training!

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT INTENSIVE February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com THIS IS THE 6 DAY TOTAL MBG 3 KNOW IT AND DO IT CERTIFICATION...IT'S INTENSE:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT 1 COURSE: April 27th - 29th, 2012, Chicago, IL. MBG Chicago! go to www.monkeybargym.com IT'S BACK!!! DUE TO THE AUSSIE CNT INTENSIVE BEING DELAYED FOR A FEW MONTHS WE'RE OFFERING THE 3 DAY CERTIFIED NATURAL TRAINERS COURSE !!

MBG 3 Plant Based eating -

bengal spice, stevia, rice milk

green drink, spinach, mango, banana, water, source of life

rawvolution spirilina bar

kale, cous cous, pecans, corn, peas, onions, mushrooms, beans, sunflower seeds

organic food bar and kombucha

spinach, tomato, gardien veggie beef, brown rice, some corn chips

kokucha tea

Try out my tip/note my friends, i promise that little extra effort will open and balance you up like never before! As always my friends, i appreciate your support here on my blog, online mbg and following our workouts at home, at mbgs courses and seminars.

Peace:)

Jon

MBG Chicago 1 year Birthday!! Breaking of un-healthy patterns: training, eating, restoration

CHECK OUT Tuesdays Monkey Wrench! good job MBG training and eating today!

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com

SIGN UP NOW!! Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at MBG Madison! go to www.monkeybargym.com

Important question to ponder, Soul Training and Tip of the Day!

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com

SIGN UP NOW!! Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at MBG Madison! go to www.monkeybargym.com

Great LA trip! Friends & Food and some fun!! all in 48 hours!!

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events: (please share:)

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!! go to www.monkeybargym.com

SIGN UP NOW!! Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training

SIGN UP NOW!! CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:) go to www.monkeybargym.com

Good trip, looking forward to going back out in 3 weeks for the MBG Intensive listed above to have alot more fun:)

Peace!

Jon:)

Big Week at MBG Chi, LA Expo Lecture & bodyweight numbers still climbing!

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events:

Lean & Green Warrior Training lecture, Los Angeles, CA, January 28th - Located at the LA Convention Center, Los Angeles Fitnes Expo.

CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!!

Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training

Jon Hinds & Mike Mahler weekend training seminar: Most likely in August:) Madison, WI - Monkey Bar Gym Madison

CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:)

Snow cant stop us!! This Months RESULTS! MBG CHI Night class crushes Card Deck:)

New MBG Video, Update from the last week of my MBG 3:)

Christmas tree from 5th floor video:) training update and More Events:)

My UPCOMING MBG Courses & Events:

Jungle Gym XT course, Marrieta California, January 14th - Located at the Golds Gym.

Lean & Green Warrior Training lecture, Los Angeles, CA, January 28th - Located at the LA Convention Center, Los Angeles Fitnes Expo.

CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!!

Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training

Jon Hinds & Mike Mahler weekend training seminar: June 9th, 10th, Madison, WI - Monkey Bar Gym Madison

CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:)

Stoney Pic:) Good Soulfull Training!! Upcoming courses!

My next MBG Courses:

CNT Intensive: February 23rd - 28th, 2012, Thousand Oaks CA - located at the NEW MBG Thousand Oaks!!

Online Lean & Green Warrior Training seminar: Beginning February 28, 2012, 6pm PST for 5 tuesdays in a row - located at http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Lean-&-Green-Warrior-Training

Jon Hinds & Mike Mahler weekend training seminar: June 9th, 10th, Madison, WI - Monkey Bar Gym Madison

CNT Intensive: August 9th - 14th, 2012, Madison WI - Located at the NEW MBG Madison! (If all goes as planned:)

Peace my friends:) Thank you much for your support as always:)

Your friend,

Jon

The 4 Ways of Strength & Power or crashing and burning! Be Smart in 2012!!

To be or not to be, that is the question! Staying true to my roots!

Still listening & Chilling! Lesson, Love, Animals, People

My theme song for the week: You Gots ta CHILL:)

Hardest core workout ever video!!! 2 day results, Eischens Yoga practice:)

Improvement:) Simple is good....whats a simple day?

Crushed Legs, Killer Wed workout, my "Deep Practice" of EY!!!...and sleep:)

Badgers BIG10 Champs videos, todays new PR's, Self Eval part 2:) DETAILED!!:)

Vlog on honor and evaluation of self, 15/15 results and going to Indy!!

Question of the Day and Bar-barian workout...SICK ONE TODAY!!:)

Power Plant Video! Badgers beat Penn State and todays results!

15/15 results, traveling and fixing back pain, INTENSITY and Love story!!:)

Power Jumper Muscle Ups!! Sleep, Eischens and todays results!!

My Sleep Quest, Todays Results and BJJ Master Luiz Claudio is a bad bad Bunny?:)

15/15 x 30 minutes???? YES!!! And 1 awesome Kale recipe!