Mail Bag Advice #1

If you've got questions, we've got answers and ramblings!

Luffy, the Rubber Man

This is a general workout for Luffy to emulate his flexibility and mobility. It's not necessarily anything he would have done, but more of a workout to help you attain a greater level of stretchy-powers. You can do this workout by itself or even before/after another workout as a supplement to your mobility.

He's really, really stretchy.

Luffy, the Rubber Man

Foam Rolling

1. Length of Spine- 30 seconds
2. Glutes/Lower Back- 30 Seconds
3. Glutes/Hip Abductors- 30 Seconds Each Side
4. Hamstrings/Hip Adductors- 30 Seconds Each Side
5. Quads/Hip Abductors- 30 Seconds Each Side
6. Calves- 30 Seconds Each Side
7. Outside of Lower Leg- 30 Seconds Each Side
8. Chest- 30 Seconds
9. Lateral Delts- 30 Seconds Each Side
10. Upper Spine/Shoulders- 30 Seconds

General Stretching (1-2 Minutes/stretch)

1. Anterior Hip Stretch
2. Posterior Capsule Stretch
3. External Rotation Hip Stretch
4. Squat Stretch- Squat down, driving your knees out, sitting as low as you can.
5. Straight-Leg Kicking- Put one leg back, keeping it straight. Swing that leg up in front of you as high as you can, but don't hurt yourself. Ease yourself into the movement. 
6. Side-to-side Leg Swinging- Brace yourself against something, with one leg forward and one leg back. With the forward leg, swing the leg to the left and right of your body, allowing it to open up your hip. 
7. Seated Turn Stretch- With one leg extended, place the opposite foot on the outside of the knee of the extended leg. Then place your opposite elbow against that knee, brace your other hand against the ground, and turn as far as you can.

Range of Motion Exercises

1. 10 Pass-Throughs
2. 10 Squats w/3 Second Pause at the Bottom
3. 10 Wall Walks
4. 10 Reverse Push-ups
5. 10 Hindu Push-ups
6. 10 Dowel Twists
7. 10 Front-to-Back Arm Swings

Notes:

• If you are really looking to increase your flexibility and mobility, start this workout with the Real Anime Training Warm-up and end it with the Real Anime Training Stretching Routine. 
• Pass-Throughs are when you hold a wooden dowel or PVC pipe in your hands, with a wide grip, and reach overhead and then behind you as far as you can. As you get more mobile, you can move your hands in closer on the stick or pipe.
• Make sure that when you squat, that your are keeping tension in your abdominals and driving your knees out to the side. This should help you get deeper in the squat and you should feel a stretch in your groin. 
• Dowel Twists bring back the dowel from the pass-throughs. You'll hold it on your back, like you would for a back squat and then twist at the waist in both directions. If you need to, make sure that you twist easily at first. 
• All the rest of the exercises have been previously shown. Use the search function if you need an explanation. 

Fighting on Saturday!

I've got an amateur kickboxing match on Saturday! I've put a lot of work into preparing for it, so we'll see how it goes. I'll hopefully post some videos for you guys after, but until then, here are some random pictures from training.

Me with boxing coach, Xavier Biggs.

It's a little blurry, because of the lighting in this part of the gym.

Look, you can kinda see abs. :P

Nothing left, but to get in the ring and go to work! It's gonna be a blast!

Pokemon Workouts #04-#06: Charmander-Charizard

Hello, there! Welcome to the world of Pokemon workouts! My name is Stephen. People call me the Anime Trainer! This world is inhabited by workouts inspired by creatures called Pokemon! For some people, Pokemon workouts are a hobby. Others use them as a way to get in shape. Myself... I create Pokemon workouts as a profession.

Your very own Pokemon workout legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with Pokemon workouts awaits! Let's go!


Pokemon Workouts #04-#06: Charmander-Charizard

Charmander

1. 50 Yard Sprint
2. 10 Squats
3. 1 Minute Downward Wood Chopping
4. 10 Thai Squats (180 Twist Squats)
5. 1 Minute Side Wood Chopping (30 seconds each side)

--5 Rounds

Charmeleon

1. 100 Yard Sprint
2. 16 Squats
3. 1 Minute Downward Wood Chopping
4. 16 Thai Squats
5. 1 Minute Side Wood Chopping (30 seconds each side)
6. 16 Jump Squats 
7. 1 Minute Downward Wood Chopping 

--5 Rounds

Charizard

1. 100 Yard Sprint
2. 36 Squats
3. 1 Minute Downward Wood Chopping
4. 36 Thai Squats
5. 1 Minute Side Wood Chopping (30 seconds each side)
6. 36 Jump Squat to Pull-ups
7. 1 Minute Downward Wood Chopping

--5 Rounds

Mega Charizard X Add-on (If you are able to complete the Charizard workout in its entirety without stopping you may add on either Mega Charizard X or Y)

1. 100 Yard Dragon Crawl
2. 100 Jump Squat Pull-ups

Mega Charizard Y Add-on

1. Muscle-ups- As many reps as possible in 10 minutes. (If unable to do muscle ups, do pull-ups and dips, instead)

Notes:

• You may not advance to the next level of the workout until you are able to complete the current level without rest. (Grabbing water is cool, though. Just don't hang out.)
• Thai squats are just like a normal squat, but you explode into a jump and twist 180 degrees in the air, landing in the opposite direction and squatting again. The idea is to go back and forth without stopping. 
• Try to get as many swings as possible during the 1 minute time period for the wood chopping. 
• Jump squat to pull-ups just means that you perform a normal jump squat, but do it underneath a pull-up bar. You'll use the momentum from the squat to help you on the pull-up and the momentum from the drop from the bar to help you rebound from the bottom of the movement back to the bar. 
• The Dragon Crawl has you on your hands and feet, with one side being long and the other being short. The long side has your arm and leg fully extended and the short side has your hand and foot directly next to each other. You'll take a step by switching sides and dropping the shoulder of the long side toward the ground in a push-up-like motion. Repeat for the distance. 
• Muscle-ups are a pull-up, where you pull your body up and over a bar and then press yourself over it. Here is an example. 

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

Be Back Soon Guys!!

Apologize for the delays, once again, but I should be posting again soon!!

Delays

I apologize for the delay in posting, I'm currently working quite a bit, building some programs for others, and training for an amateur kickboxing match on March 1st. I'll do my best to get some more things up here soon, especially some Level Zero stuff, because I've been meaning to do that for a while.

Thanks so much for reading and for having patience with me during this time. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Real Anime Training: Level Zero

A while ago, one of our readers brought up that a bunch of the Real Anime Training workouts were so difficult that beginners wouldn't even know where to start with them. In response to that conversation, I've created this post to provide those who might feel a little dismayed about starting with Real Anime Training, due to the difficulty level, with options for training. Just because you can't do the listed workout does not mean we can't break the exercises down into smaller pieces or scale everything to an easier level for you. This post will serve as a reference for scaling options in workouts.

Part I: Less is More

If a workout lists a certain number of repetitions or a certain weight to be used, that in no way means that you must do that in your training. If necessary, you can cut the reps or weight by half or even down to a quarter of the prescribed amount. Over time, you can increase them both gradually until you reach how the workout is written.

You can also do easier Real Anime Training workouts (several workouts will soon be added to the "Level Zero" tag) or just not do as many training sessions during the week. The goal of training is to stimulate a response from your body into becoming stronger, not to demolish it so that it cannot recover.


Part II: Scaling Exercises

Here is a list of certain exercises that you can do in lieu of harder exercises. I will list them in degrees. I will also list new ones as needed.

1. Handstand Push-up----> Wall Handstand Push-up----> Pike HSPU Progression----> Decline Push-up
2. Push-up----> Knee Push-up----> Counter/Incline Push-up----> Wall Push-up
3. Pull-up----> Negative Pull-up----> Body Row (More Horizontal=Harder, More Vertical=Easier) using a bar, a TRX, gymnastic rings, or a rope
4. Jump Squat----> Body Squat----> Half Squat----> Quarter Squat
5. Lunges----> Half Lunge----> Quarter Lunge
6. Handstand Walk----> Wheelbarrow Walk----> Plank Walk
7. Clean----> Power Clean----> Deadlift----> Kettlebell/Dumbbell Swing
8. Snatch----> Power Snatch----> Snatch-Grip Deadlift and Snatch-Grip Jump and Shrug
9. Hanging Sit-up----> Decline Sit-up----> Sit-up----> Half Sit-up----> Crunch
10. Plank/Side Plank----> Plank/Side Plank on Knees

Part III: Exercise Modifiers

These are techniques you can use to help you even further, if you get stuck on a workout. 

1. Kipping- Using your hips to generate force to help you in a pull-up, row, dip, or handstand push-up.
2. Pushing- Utilizing your hips and legs in an overhead lift in order to help complete it. Explosive in nature. 
3. Swinging- Using your hips in order to generate more force. Motion is not is not as explosive as a push or a kip and relies more on larger body movement. 

If anyone has any specific questions regarding exercises or making things easier, feel free to email me at realanimetraining@gmail.com and I'll make the adjustments here.