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Dear reader,
I’ve been watching a lot of National Geographic as of late, and one of my favorite shows that I watch quite often is a documentary on grizzly bears.
“Grizzly bear documentary” as the YouTube title states (and yes, I generally never watch the boob tube as most of what is on there is utter trash – but I DO make an exception for National Geographic and History channels – and on occasion sports channels as well).
That’s a tip right there for productivity by the way – READ more – and watch LESS – or no – tee -vee. And certainly minimize the amount of time you spend on your smartphones – you’ll not only get a hell of a lot more ACCOMPLISHED, but your brain will thank you for doing what you can to prevent it turning into a giant tub of mush.
Anyway, as I was watching these amazing animals, a part of the footage that stuck out in mind and that I replayed over and over again was an adult male grizzly (must have clocked in at at least 500 kgs if not more) sprinting full bore after a tiny little rabbit – and that too DOWNHILL through brush, shrubbery and what not in Yellowstone National Park.
It was ambling one second – and the next second – BAM – off it went like a tracer bullet, massive bulk and all, and so did the hare, of course, a mere speck compared to the massive bear after it.
Now you’d imagine that the hare would naturally speed off and win the race (of life, here) by a) sprinting off faster than the bear and b) diving into it’s cubby hole?
I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that – and yet – not a chance, my friend.
Not a chance.
That darn bear literally raced after the hare – downhill – “swooped down” upon it as if it were an eagle and made short work of it’s prey.
Now, THAT, my friends – is speed – and proof that “big” does NOT necessarily equate to “slow”.
Just take a look at human sprinters if you don’t believe me. Their massive upper bodies might (at first glance) appear to be slower than the average shrivelled up emaciated “pavement pounder”, but are they? Not a chance, my friend.
Now, what does racing like a bear – or hare have to do with YOU, you might ask?
Well, that’s a good question and one I’ll answer now.
Sprints, as I’ve been telling you for a long, long time now – done FAST and at the right cadence are one of the ultimate tools in your arsenal for burning blubber off your ENTIRE body – and FAST, at that.
You can literally EAT more and weigh less – and look better – if you incorporate sprints into your regular routine.
OK – you say. I already know that. What’s new?
Well – what’s new is this – a fair number of people have written it to tell me that they are NOT in the condition to do sprints.
Wonky knees. Shin splints. Way too overweight to even jog – let alone run or sprint. Haven’t gotten off the couch in years. Weekend warriors that pulled a hamstring when … ah, but you get the point, eh?
In an earlier email I wrote about a few things you can do if you’re currently unable to do sprints.
But what if you’re skinny and STILL NOT in the sort of “cardio” shape you need to be in in order to perform high intensity sprints?
Believe me, it’s more common than you think. That rail skinny guy with his collarbones “hanging out” and a “12 pack” might “look” quick, but ask him to do more than one all out sprint,, and chances are he’ll flop miserably.
What you CAN do though is start out slow – and in the quadruped position instead of biped.
And the bear crawl is one of the BEST exercises in this regard. Believe me now, and trust me later – you actually end up huffing and puffing MORE when you do the bear crawl and go ultra slow than if you were to sprint in that position, though the sprints are certainly no slouch either.
And EVERYONE can get on all fours, can’t they? (and NO, it’s NOT the position you’re thinking right about now, hehe).
Hell yeah they can – and this position not only takes the stress off the lower body, lower back and knees – but also gets you super fit in a minimal amount of time.
The bear crawl is JUST ONE of the variations I mention in my latest book on this “Advanced Hill Training” – and if the idea of dropping blubber from your frame quicker than you can say “voila” (with little or no change in diet) appeals to you – well – grab the course right here, my friends – http://0excusesfitness.com/advanced-hill-training/
Well, my friend, that’s it for now. I just finished up with some “Bourne Sprints” and almost barged headfirst into a couple of ruffians that saw me coming and yet pretended to be so deeply buried in their smartphone that they couldn’t move a cm or so to let me through.
Meh. What’s the world coming to, eh?!
OK – I’ll be back again tomorrow! If you train today – make it a superb one, my friend.
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
P.S. – I wrote about how I ended up drinking beer and eating what I normally don’t a couple of months ago during the Chinese New Year holidays – and expecting to pile on at least a kg or so from the gluttony – but guess what. I ended up weighing LESS the next day!
True story, my friend, and ’tis what inspired me to put out Advanced Hill Training. Grab your copy right here – – http://0excusesfitness.com/advanced-hill-training/
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