Alex Viada: The Real-Life Shinogi Kureha

Shinogi Kureha is the Ultimate Athlete, possessing high levels of fitness in a variety of disciplines, from running fast, short distance and long, slow distances to weight lifting to flexibility. If you've watched Grappler Baki, you know he's somewhat of a monster. He's also a freakin' medical doctor, for crying out loud and is obsessed with interesting cases involving human performance.

Dr. Muscles will see you now.

But did you know that there's a guy in real life who is pretty much Kureha?

Alex Viada, of Complete Human Performance, is a monster in his own right. Just take a look at some of his accomplishments:

• He touts a 700# deadlift and squat and an almost 500# bench press. 
• His mile time is just over 4 minutes. 
• And did I mention he runs ultra-marathons and does triathlons? 
• He's working on a Master's in Physiology.
• Plus he's ripped as hell at 220#.

Did I say he was ripped? I said that, right?

The point he make with his training protocols is that it is possible to be very good at multiple things that seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum by proper scheduling of your training sessions, eliminating non-essential training, conforming to SAID (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands), and for every training session to have a purpose. 

"The biggest realization for me was that, to be good at multiple things, I had to be lazy- to be specialized, to do ONLY what I needed to improve at each discipline and not a bit more. Eliminating the waste from my programming was a difficult thing to do- I couldn’t afford to do three or four accessory lifts every session- I had to limit it to one or two. I couldn’t “go out on a run” just for the sake of going out on a run- if it didn’t make me faster, improve my overall endurance, or aid in recovery, it would be a waste of time."

(Source: http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2014/04/12/5-questions-alex-viada/)

That's an enormously difficult thing to do for many people who workout. It means staying committed to a goal that you have and only doing things that conform to that goal. I know that's been one of the biggest things to overcome for me. 

Ask yourself, "Why am I doing this workout?"  

Is this workout going to make you stronger, faster, improve stamina, skill, or make you big? Make sure that your training is not haphazard and that your workouts are serving a purpose. 

The other takeaway here is that if you have something you want to do-- do it. If you want to run marathons and lift heavy weights, freaking do it. Want to box and do Crossfit? Go for it. The point is that if you train all the aspects properly so they don't interfere with one another, there's no reason you can't achieve your goals. It might take you longer and it might be hard as hell, but you can do it. 

There are people who redefine what's physically possible all the time. They run faster or farther. They pick up more weight than anyone ever has before. They learn 5 martial arts and blend them together. People do 5k races on their hands! Figure out what you want to do and then do it. 

Shinogi Kureha became the Ultimate Athlete. Alex Viada's not far behind him.

That's all for today guys! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Becoming a Professional Athlete

Recently, in my post entitled Goals for Real Anime Training and Personal Goals, I discussed my desire to become a professional athlete. This may conjure up images of any number of professional sports in your mind, with multi-million dollar contracts and the super celebrity we've come to associate with the term "professional athlete." However, this is not necessarily the imagery that I wish to evoke. 

My goal as a "professional athlete" is to pursue and catalog athletic endeavors as my living. While I would of course like to fight professionally in MMA (as my main sport), I am also interested in boxing, submission grappling, kickboxing, full contact Karate, distance running (marathons and ultras), power lifting, obstacle courses (mud runs, Tough Mudders, and Spartan races), competitive climbing, and anything else that might present a challenge and add a dimension to my training that would set me apart as an athlete and lead me closer to a greater understanding of myself and others. Of course, successfully competing at a high level of any sport will bring monetary or sponsorship awards, but that's not the main intent. 

And I do not merely wish to compete in these sports. I want to catalog all of my experiences in my training and the competitions themselves, so that there is a record of the experiences in the form of blog posts and videos, also creating a showcase to individual sports and other athletes within those sports, as well as an encyclopedia of training information (of course using anime and manga as inspiration) for everyone who reads this blog and watches our videos (which there will be more of soon, I promise). 

I want you guys to be there every step of the way: the pain, the dedication, the (hopefully few) injuries, and the eventual triumph as the results of my training manifest themselves into medals, trophies, wins on a record, or just things checked off my list of accomplishments. How far can I push myself? How much can I achieve? How much knowledge and information can I accumulate and relay to my readers? I want to find those answers.

Anime characters often have dreams and goals. They may want to be the best at a sport or to become the strongest in the world or they may dream of protecting their friends and family or maybe they just dream of finding the next strong opponent to test their mettle against.  It took me a long time to figure it out, but I finally know on what I'm setting my sights. 

I'm going to be creating a project very soon in order to help me accomplish these goals for myself and all of you, (which I am going to start specific fund-raising for soon). I am going to do the project, regardless, but any and all help would be appreciated in the form of spreading the word about Real Anime Training, visiting our sponsored ads, or donating via PayPal until the fund-raising for the project officially begins. I promise to put forth my all to deliver more and more content to you guys, whatever the case, but the less time I have to worry about feeding myself and my family, the more time I'll be able to put into the project. 

I greatly appreciate everyone who reads this blog. You guys are awesome! I know that I can become a professional athlete, a good one. But, with your support, I can become more than that. With your support, I can become a new kind of professional athlete.

That's all for today, guys! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Kiichi's Iron Kiba Training B

Kiichi's prep for Iron Kiba also included endurance training-- super endurance training. This is absolutely ridiculous, but there are some people who run ULTRA-MARATHONS!  In short, an ultra-marathon is anything over a marathon, but generally go in increments like 30, 50 and 100 miles. You'll run slower during these types of events, but for longer periods of time. Kiichi went on a run that lasted more than 24 hours in order to both push his physical and mental endurance to their limits and reach a super runner's high. So, this training is not to be entered without a fair amount of prep work. Ultra-marathoning, like any elite sport has the potential to be very dangerous, so keep that in mind as you progress.


Kiichi's Iron Kiba Training B


The Goal:

• Run continuously (if possible) for 24 hours. 

The Progression:

• Stage 1: Alternate running and walking 30 minutes each for as many rounds as possible.
• Stage 2: Alternate running 1 hour and walking 30 minutes each for as many rounds as possible.
• Stage 3: Alternate running 1 and a half hours and walking 30 minutes each for as many rounds as possible.
• Stage 4: Alternate running 2 hours and walking 30 minutes each for as many rounds as possible.
• Stage 5: Alternate running for as long as possible and walking 30 minutes for as many rounds as possible.

Notes:

• There are no predefined terms for you to get to each level, however, in general you should have several rounds under your belt of each level before progressing to the next stage. 
• Your feet will take the brunt of this training. If possible run on grass or dirt for as much as possible to spare yourself the beating. The first stage will really give you the ability to rest in between the pounding of your feet against the ground and you'll be able to build it gradually. 
• You will need to eat. Sports drinks, carb gels, and protein-type bars are going to be essential to keep you going in the later rounds. 
• This training is not to be done all the time and is designed to be just another workout thrown into the mix of Real Anime Training workouts. 

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!