Convict Conditioning By Paul Wade

First, some background about me:

A few years back, I authored and published a simple bodyweight exercise guide known as “The Home Workout Plan.”

The book sold well and was generally well received. I got plenty of success stories each month from guys who loved the book.
Despite that, I took the book off the market about a year ago because I simply wasn’t happy with the book. Despite the fact that the book made me money every month, despite the fact that the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, I no longer sell the book simply because in my eyes the book was not good enough for my customers.

So when I heard about Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade, I had hopes that this would be the book I could wholeheartedly recommend to anyone interested in bodyweight exercises.

In this article, I’ll recap my thoughts in play-by-play fashion as I go through the book:

First impressions: I love the title: Convict Conditioning: How to bust free of all weakness using the lost secrets of supreme survival strength. The book has a good heft at 304 pages long. Price was $39.95.

Forward from the publisher: Right off the bat, the book gets on my nerves. The publishers drones on for a few pages about his moral dilemma with publishing a book bearing the title “Convict Conditioning.”

Unfortunately, I just don’t buy it.

Convict Conditioning is a great title and the minute I saw the title I KNEW this book would be a top-seller. Because guys are fascinated with how prisoners managed to get big and strong. And from what I hear, this book is quickly becoming one of Dragon Door’s top sellers – thanks in part to the controversial title.

So in my opinion the publisher never once waivered when it came to the title – but again that’s just my opinion and perhaps some people really are offended by the title but I just don’t see it.

Moving on:

Introduction: Right off the bat, the author starts to mount an attack on any form of physical training other than bodyweight exercises. This is a common theme with books on bodyweight training: The author will disparage every other method of training in the hopes of “proving” that bodyweight training is superior and ultimately selling more copies of the book.

Paul Wade begins his attack on weight trainers right out of the gate.

On page 2 he says, “Ask the average muscle-man to do a deep one-legged squat – ass to floor-style – and his knee ligaments would probably snap in two.”

This is clearly a bloated exaggeration and if this were an isolated incident, it would be forgiveable. But the author goes out of his way to attach weight trainers over and over again, usually with hype and fear-mongering rather than logic and reason.
Next, the author talks about his own personal time in the joint. He mentions how he placed third in a prison powerlifting competition despite rarely training with weights. I have to admit, this got me curious. I wonder what the author’s total was? (total weight lifted in squat, bench and deadlift.)

If he lifted 1400lbs at a bodyweight of 198, than color me impressed. But if he took 3rd place with an 800 pound total, then his placing may have been due to weaker competition rather than the effectiveness of bodyweight exercises as applied to powerlifting exercises.

But we don’t know as the author does not mention his total.

One quick side note:

I don’t know what it is, but at this point in the book I’m not really convinced that the author is who he says he is. For one, there’s no pictures of him. Second, some of the prison stories just seem a bit inauthentic to me. Again, this is just my initial impression and this may be resolved later in the book.

Onward.

On page 13, we find the following gem: “In the days when calisthenics still formed the back-bone of strength training, there was no such thing as a ‘muscle-bound’ athlete.”

Oi.

It’s 2010. The fastest and most agile guys in nearly every sport use some form of weight training and have done so for the better part of the past 40 years.

We’ve disproved the “lifting weights will slow you down and make you muscle-bound” argument long ago – I honestly can’t believe anyone in 2010 still believes that but apparently the memo never got passed through the prison bars.

From there, the author switches from attacking weight training to wrong-fully giving credit to bodyweight exercises when credit is due to weight training.

On page 14, he talks about how Doug Hepburn could strictly press 350 pounds behind his neck. In the same breath, he claims that much of Dough Hepburn’s strength was built with bodyweight exercises.

This doesn’t sit well with me.

Sure, Doug Hepburn did plenty of bodyweight exercises. But he was also known to train with extremely heavy weights – many of his most popular workouts revolved around multiple sets of heavy singles. So I feel the credit for his extraordinary weightlifting feats are probably due to his weightlifting training, not bodyweight exercises.

On page 20, the author exclaims “Kill the Gym!” and lists many reasons why traveling to train at a gym is expensive and inconvenient.

Look man, we get it: Driving to the gym is a pain. I know.

I suspect most people purchase a book on bodyweight exercises because they’re interested in bodyweight exercises. You don’t need to tell us that driving to the gym takes time.

On page 24 he goes on to explain that bodyweight exercises maximize strength and build up your tendons and ligaments. He says, “Calisthenics work the joints and tendons as they are meant to be worked, resulting in greater levels of power than weight-training movements can develop.”

Well… no, that’s probably not true either. One of the proven methods the old timers would use to strengthen their joints and ligaments were heavy partial reps. Like rack deadlifts with hundreds of pounds, overhead push-presses from forehead level with 300, 400 or even 500 pounds. I don’t feel that bodyweight exercises can strengthen the ligaments the same way that a partial deadlift with 900 pounds can.

John Grimek -- deadlifting. NOT a bodyweight exercise.

On page 27, he holds up John Grimek as an example of the kind of physique you can build with bodyweight exercises. Once again, while Grimek may have trained with bodyweight exercises, he build this physique with hard and heavy weight training.

Finally, the author gets to the meat of the book. He gives bodyweight exercises for each muscle group and best of all, you get 10 different progressions for each bodyweight exercise.

For example, we all can agree that a one-arm push-up is a great arm, shoulder and chest exercise.

But what if you can’t do a one-arm push-up? Heck, what if you can’t even do a single regular push-up.
This is where the book does a really great job – giving you simple step-by-step progressions that you can follow on your way all the way up to a one-arm push-up.

There are some pictures of a guy performing these bodyweight exercises, but they are not of the author.

They are the guy from the beastskills.com website. (An awesome resource for anyone interested in bodyweight training.)

This begs the question: Why not show the author performing these exercises? Can he do the exercises he’s recommending?
If so, why not show him? If not… well, that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.

There’s a few more examples of the author tirelessly railing against weight training:

For example, on page 79 he exclaims that bodyweight squats are superior to barbell squats. His reasoning is that your legs are capable of great levels of strength, so to train your legs with barbell squats, you will eventually need to use very heavy weights. He goes on say that this puts an increased load on your back and your spine.

This is true.

But what the auther fails to acknowledge is that using heavier and heavier loads on the barbell squat is what builds strength and your spine and back will get stronger too as a result of holding a heavy barbell.

On page 227, he tries to prove that handstand pushups are better for your shoulders because they don’t put your shoulders in the same position that behind-the-neck barbell presses do. He fails to mention that a barbell press to the front of the shoulders would NOT put the shoulders in a compromised position.

In the final section, the author gives some example workouts.

I like this.

They seem easy enough at first but it also appears that there are some more challenging workouts for the advanced user.
I would have like to see a section on nutrition and diet since I personally believe that 80% of your results will come from diet, but there is nothing mentioned about nutrition, or how the author ate well in prison or anything like that.

Final Wrap-up:

Things I liked:

The “meat” of the book – the bodyweight exercises and the strength progressions are quite good. This alone is worth the cover charge for the serious bodyweight exercise enthusiast.

Things I didn’t like:

The author embarrasses himself trying to prove that bodyweight exercises are superior to other forms of training.

Continues to embarrass himself by trying to give credit to bodyweight exercises where credit is due to weight training.

No mention of nutritional strategies.

Also, I’m still not convinced that the author is a real person or that he was ever in prison or that any of the other tales are true. Makes me wonder if the whole “convict conditioning” angle was just an invention created to sell books.

Overall: Good book on bodyweight exercises and how to progress from the easiest exercises to the most advanced exercises.

If that’s what you’re interested in, get this book and just do your best to ignore the author’s silly and out-dated rants against weight training.

You can purchase the book here:

Convict Conditioning

FULL DISCLOSURE: If you purchase the book using the link above, I will earn a commission from the publisher. This helps me pay for web hosting and blog maintenance. But I respect the readers of this blog and I will be always be 100% honest with you. In fact, I’ve even including a regular link below. If you purchase the book through the regular link below, I don’t receive a single cent.

Regular Link: Convict Conditioning.

How did you feel about this book review? Any other books you want me to review — as you can tell I’ll be brutally honest.

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Many of you have asked me what I think about the new book on bodyweight exercises, “Convict Conditioning.”

I just got the book in the mail yesterday and I will have a full review posted new week.

Stay tuned.

The next 28 days could change your life.

February’s a weird month.

Just 28 days long, and it feels like there’s never much going on in the month of February.

A few years ago I noticed that every time February rolled around, I found myself just passing the time, waiting for March.

Dumb.

So I decided to make a change and take advantage of the short month.

Now, when February rolls around I set a personal challenge. I pick an activity or a task and I challenge myself to complete the activity/task every single day.

For example, last February I realized I’d been slacking off on the cardio. So I challenged myself to perform some cardio every single day during the 28 days of February.

The length and duration didn’t really matter. The act of getting the job done every single day made all the difference.

Fitness author Dan John has a saying: “If something is important, do it every day. If it’s not important, don’t do it.”

In my younger days, I never realized how powerful this principle could be.

In fact, I would do the exact opposite.

For example, if I had to write a book report in my younger days I’d have chosen to work for 8 hours straight on a Saturday rather than devote 30 minutes a day to the project every single day.

But there’s something magical about working on a project every single day without allowing yourself the luxury of a day off. You fall into a routine and after the month is over you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish.

So I challenge you to join me and seize this short month. Pick an activity/task and challenge yourself to perform this task every single day without missing a single day for the entire month.

You don’t have to pick an overwhelming task: In fact, smaller goals work better with this challenge.

Here are a couple ideas to get you started:

* Keep a food journal and write down what you eat every day.
* Spend 15 minutes a day stretching.
* Go for a 10 minute walk every day.
* Meditate for 5 minutes a day.
* Wake up without slapping the snooze button.
* Write down and review your goals every morning, noon and night for 28 days.

As you can see, none of these tasks are particularly overwhelming. But that’s the beauty of this challenge. You pick something small but the results seem to compound quickly because of the daily effort.

If you feel like sharing your goal for this challenge, leave your thoughts in the comments.

As for me, I’m going to knuckle-down and make a big push towards getting the new book done. I commit to spend 30 minutes per day working on the new book and I will do this each and every single day during the month of February.

The Man Who Out-Muscled Arnold in 1966

In 1966, the world’s most famous bodybuilder (Arnold Schwartzeneggar) enter the Mr. Universe Amateur competition (talll division).

He took 2nd place.

The man who beat him? Chet Yorton.

Here’s some incredible details about the man who defeated the Austrian oak the and unusual training program he followed:

Chet didn’t have the perfect starting point for bodybuilding. In fact, he started with slashed up left eyeball, gashed up forearm, dislocated hips and shattered leg bones!

You see, Chet was in a serious car accident after high school. While he was recovering the hospital, he spotted a pair of dumbbells in the corner and went to work. He’s never done any weight training
before and 7 months later he was 55lbs heavier.

Almost more incredible than that is the training program he used outside of the hospital.

It’s not the most glamorous routine you’ve ever seen. In fact, it looks quite boring. But the results speak for themselves.

Here’s Chet Yorton’s boring but big training program:

Perform just two sets of each exercise listed below. Complete both sets before moving on to the next exercise.
Here’s the kicker: You will do 22 reps per set. Yes, 22.

Here are the exercises:

Squat
Overhead Press
Deadlift
Bench Press

To really appreciate just how strong this man was, consider this: Chet Yorton did 22 reps with 225lbs for his first set of bench presses and 22 reps with 325lbs for the second set.

Switching to a high rep program is a great way to pack on incredible amounts of muscle size and volume in a very short time. Plus, it can work wonders for your conditioning and endurance.

If you decide to give this program a go, just use it for 4 weeks and then switch back to a more traditional strength program.

Lifting weights equals magic?

I’m often asked what I find so enjoyable about training.

It’s a fair question. After all, when you wake up at 5:30 AM to train, the rest of the world will want to know what the appeal is all about.

I’m always tempted to quote Henry Rollins, “The iron never lies to you . . . two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.”

But that’s not quite it.

I do find some solace in the consistency of the iron. But that’s not what gets me out of a warm bed while it’s dark and dreary outside.

The reason I drag myself out of bed and put myself through what any normal person would describe as “torture with a barbell” day in and day out is because — to me — training is magic.

Let me explain with an example:

Last week I was performing bench presses for three sets of five reps with a record weight (for me). I completed the first set successfully. I completed the second set as well.

But on the third set, I ran into some trouble. I finished the first three reps without too much strain. The 4th rep was brutally difficult but I managed to get through it.

I slowly lowered the bar to my chest for the 5th rep, touched the bar to my shirt and proceeded to drive the bar up.

Except, it wouldn’t go. The bar went up about an inch and then froze. Sensing what was about to happen, I gnashed my teeth, squeezed the bar and put every ounce of strength and energy into pushing the bar up.

But it just wouldn’t go. This 5th rep was — in a word — impossible.

My spotters hauled the bar off my chest and I was done for the day.

Fast Forward Four Days

I’m bench pressing again. Same weight. Same goal — three sets of five reps.

This time, I got all the reps — even the last one — without much trouble.

I know on the surface this doesn’t sound all that impressive. It’s nothing more than the body adapting to the demands placed upon it.

But to me, it’s more than that. It’s magic.

Four days before, I exerted myself 100% and failed. I literally could not have tried any harder. But that last rep was impossible.

Four days later, I accomplished the impossible.

This is rare in “real life.” For starters, it’s rare to completely devote yourself 100% to a given task. And it’s even more unlikely to throw yourself into a task 100%, fail, and then succeed in such a short time frame.

In the outside world, “impossible” is usually a permanent condition. But in the gym, under the bar, impossible is only a temporary situation. What’s impossible today can be accomplished with ease four days later.

To me, that’s magical. And that’s why I train.

Got Knee Pain? Read this.

The blog has been quiet for a bit because I’ve been on a mission. On a mission to figure out why my knees were killing me and how to fix it.

Here’s the deal:

My knees have been aching for a while. But of course, I ignored the pain and pressed on. But recently, the pain got so bad that I finally had to stop ignoring the pain and figure out a solution.

The source of the pain was right below the knee cap, and the pain was most intense when going down stairs. Based on these symptoms, I reasoned that I most likely had a case of patellar tendonitis.

Patellar tendonitis (also known as jumper’s knee) occurs when the patellar tendon becomes inflamed. How does this happen? For many people, simple over-use can trigger a bout of patellar tendonitis.

I believe mine was caused by a variety of factors, including: #1) Unknowingly letting my knees slide forward at the bottom of heavy squats. #2) Months and months of heavy squatting without any time off. #3) Disregard for appropriate cardio and flexibility routines.

In short, I got lazy. Sure, I was working hard under the bar but I wasn’t doing enough on my off-days to ensure proper knee health. And it took me far too long to realize that “fighting through the pain” isn’t always the best strategy. In fact, I didn’t stop squatting until I found it nearly unbearable to step down off a 3-inch ledge.

At that point, I’d had enough. And I set out to figure out how to cure this knee pain and fix my knees. While some people are patient and smart enough to try one cure at a time, I prefer the shot-gun approach: I tried a bunch of different solutions all at once.

Here’s what I did, and here’s what happened:

Step #1: Stopped squatting for two weeks.

I still went to the gym, but I stayed out of the squat rack. I only planned on doing this for a week but I wasn’t quite 100% after 7 days so opted for another week of rest for my knees.

Step #2: Start biking for a minimum of 20 minutes per session, twice a week.

This low-level cardio activity was easy on the knees, but also helped get the blood flowing around the joint.

Step #3: Took lot’s of “Vitamin I” for the first three days.

Ibuprofen (or Vitamin I) reduces inflammation and since my symptoms were caused by an inflamed patellar tendon, this strategy makes sense. Still, I’m not a huge fan of pain killers so I tried to limit this to the first three days.

Step #4: Lots of Fish Oil.

I took about 12-15 grams of fish oil per day to help soothe my joints and speed recovery.

Step #5: Iced My Knees 1-2 times per day for 20-30 minutes per session.

This was easy. Popped a couple bags of frozen veggies on my knees while watching T.V. Again, since we’re dealing with an inflammation, the ice helps the swelling go down.

Step #6: Took frequent walk breaks.

Since I’m a writer by trade, it’s not uncommon for me to sit at a computer for hours at a time. This can cause your legs to tighten up and may have contributed to my knee pain. Now I try to get up and walk around a bit every 30 minutes.

Step #7: 5-10 minutes of stretching every night.

Nothing fancy, just some basic toe-touches to help stretch out the hamstrings. You know, stuff I should have been doing all along.

Step #8: Rolling Pin Torture.

Apparently having a tight IT band (iliotibial band) can pull on the patella and cause patella tendonitis. Unfortunately, there’s no good way to stretch the IT band so many folks use foam-rollers to “massage” the IT band and loosen it up.

Of course, I wasn’t going to spend $10 on a foam roller when a regular kitchen rolling pin would do the job. And after all, this fitness model makes it look so fun and easy…

Rolling Pin IT Band Massage

Yeah, well that was my thought process at the time. Once I got down on the ground and actually started rolling around on the wooden rolling pin, I was wishing I sprung for the foam roller. Seriously, this freakin’ hurts. I had tears in my eyes after the first session — even though it lasted only about 3 minutes.

But I kept with it, practicing the Rolling Pin IT Band massage daily. It still hurts like hell though.

Step 9: Terminal Knee Extensions

Learned this exercise from watching videos with strength coach Buddy Morris.

It’s a simple exercise, but surprisingly effective. Apparently Buddy has all his athletes perform this exercise on a regular basis to prevent knee problems.

Watch the video.

NOTE: I have a multi-hip machine at my gym so I performed my TKE’s on that machine. I also did the “step-up” version of the TKE’s as demonstrated in the same video at about the 2:00 minute mark.

Step 10: Added some additional calf and hamstring work.

Since I was taking a break from full squats, I used the time to do a few leg curls and calf raises. Not sure if this helped much but it probably helped with flexibility.

Step 11: From now on, I squat in knee sleeves.

Today was my first day back under the bar and I’m happy to report that I had a painless squatting session. One factor that I think made a world of difference was my new “knee sleeves.”

I got the Tommy Kono knee sleeves - which are rubber/neoprene sleeves designed to add warmth and stability to your knees. These are different from knee WRAPS which powerlifters use to secure the knee joint on heavy lifts and which add pounds to the bar.

Tommy Kono Knee Sleeves

I’d also heard good things about the Rehband blue knee sleeves, which you can get here:
Jackals Gym.

So there you have it: My shot-gun approach to solving my patellar tendonitis and getting back to squatting pain free. If your knees are giving you trouble, you might want to try one or all of the steps I’ve listed above.

The old-time trainers knew why the right foods could make a man big and strong.

Everyone knows that you’ve got to eat plenty of food to gain muscle and strength (or as the old-timers called it, “might”).

But did you know there are certain foods that old-timers have relied on for DECADES to pack on slabs of muscle and build super-human strength?

It’s true.

In this article, I’ll reveal three often-ignored power foods that guys have been using for years to get big and strong. These foods were making guys big and strong 60 years ago and they’re just as effective today.

Best of all, each of these power foods can be found at your local grocery store. No fancy chemicals or laboratory concoctions. Just natural, cheap, muscle-building food.

Let me show you:

Power Food #1: Whole Milk

Meet Bruce Randall. Bruce is famous for three things. One, he’s a former Mr. Universe. Two, he once ate his way up to 400lbs. (And then dieted all the way down to 225lbs). Three, as you can see from the book cover photo, his arms are freaking huge.

Bruce Randall built his massive arms by drinking plenty of whole milk.

Randall ate his way up to 400lbs in order to break some of the established lifting records. (Since an increase in bodyweight usually translates into increased strength as well.) So how did this man manage to build up his body to a whopping 400lbs?

Simple, he drank lots and lots of whole milk.

For decades, guys have been drinking whole milk when they need to pack on size and strength. This practice fell out of favor a bit in the past few years because everyone got so terrified of fat, but it’s making a comeback now. A gallon of whole milk per day will put weight on even the scrawniest kid.

But Randall took it to a whole new level. Randall would drink 2-3 gallons of whole milk each day. That provides a whopping 7,000 calories, with 380 grams of fat and 380 grams of protein. Needless to say, this was an extreme eating/drinking feat from a man who set out to accomplish some extreme goals.

But this story clearly illustrates why whole milk has been used for years to pack on size and strength and why it’s still one of the best and most cost-effective sources of fat and protein.

Power Food #2: Peanuts

Lots of guys built massive muscles with a steady diet of whole milk and heavy iron.

But Bill West - a strong man from California, gained 116 pounds with peanuts!

Bill West built his super-human power with peanuts.

West was scrawny - weighing just 102 pound when he first got bit by the iron bug. But by lifting progressively heavier weights and by following an unusual peanut diet, his bodyweight climbed to a peak of 218 pounds.

Bill “Peanuts” West ate a pound of raw peanuts every day, plus peanut butter and peanut oil as well. In fact, he gained 30lbs in two months thanks to this routine.

Peanuts are a good source of fat and protein, and Bill West took full advantage. Thanks to “the power of peanuts”, Bill West was able to bench press a whopping 435lbs and squat over 525lbs.

Power Food #3: Eggs.

Of course, any discussion of muscle-building power foods would be incomplete without mention of the incredible, edible egg.

An egg has the perfect balance of fat and protein. And as we’ve already seen, many old-timers built incredible amounts of size and strength by chowing down on foods high in fat and protein.

Doug Hepburn ate his share of eggs.

Doug Hepburn is yet another example. Hepburn was a monster. Way back in the ’50s, before bench shirts and steroids, Hepburn benched 500lbs and squatted over 800lbs.

How did a man build so much size and strength way back in the 1950’s, before creatine, whey powders and steroids?

The answer is surprisingly simple:

Eggs.

Lots and lots of eggs.

After high school, Doug went to work on a chicken farm. Part of his meager salary was all of the eggs he could eat. And Hepburn took full-advantage of this “perk:” He ate 58 eggs A DAY.

In hindsight, it’s clear that eggs were a big part of Doug Hepburn’s success. And it’s no wonder why. Eggs are one of ultimate muscle-building foods.

Just one extra-large egg contains 7 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat. You probably already know how important protein is for muscle-growth, but fat is crucial too. Dietary fat provides energy and boost testosterone.

Plus, perhaps best of all, there are so many ways to eat eggs.
You can swallow them raw (quick), cook ‘em up (tasty) or hardboil them and take them on the road (portable).

So if you’re having trouble putting on weight and gaining strength, take a lesson from these massively big and strong old-timers and start eating more.

You don’t have to drink 3 gallons of whole milk like Bruce Randall, eat 1 pound of peanuts like Bill West or down 58 eggs a day like Doug Hepburn to gain weight.

But you can follow in their footsteps and increase your size and strength by increasing your consumption of whole milk, peanuts and whole eggs — three time-tested power foods for building muscle and might.

Jack Lalanne knows the secrets of keeping yourself fit and healthy

A while back it was the bird flu. Now it’s the swine flu. And I’m sure there will be yet another deadly flu scare next year.

While scientists rush to develop the latest modern flu shots, you can actually take a note from the old time trainers and
significantly reduce your odds of ever catching the flu just by following these “old wives” tales for flu prevention.

Much of this advice is routinely ignored by the mainstream media. But that doesn’t diminish the effectiveness of this simple regimen.

So without further ado, here are a few simple steps you can take to dramatically reduce your liklihood of catching the flu this year:

#1: Avoid Sugar

Consuming sugar can slow-down your immune system. And if you’re exposed to the flu virus while your immune system is weakened, you’re at an increased risk for catching the flu.

So just by avoiding sugars, you can ensure that your immune system is up to the task of defending your body from the flu virus.

#2: Get To Bed

This point of advice certainly isn’t sexy, but it’s vitally important. With all the technological distractions we’ve got at our disposal, it’s incredibly difficult to find time for sleep.
But you must. Because when you start short-changing yourself of your much needed rest, it hampers your immune system and makes you far more susceptible to the flu virus.

On top of that, many people end up craving sugary carbs when they’re running low on sleep so this is a double-edged sword.

#3: Get Your Vitamin C

While most of the medical community will argue that higher doses of Vitamin C make no difference when it comes to preventing flu for “normal” people, most medical researches agree that hard-training athletes can benefit from higher doses of Vitamin C. How much Vitamin C you should take is up for debate but one thing is clear: The Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin C (60 milligrams per day) is dreadfully low and any hard-training athlete should consider at LEAST 10 times that amount.

#4: Gargle and Clean your ears with 3% Hydrogen Peroxide solution.

This is a weird one. But many people swear by it. Back in 1928, Dr. Richard Simmons proposed that cold and flu viruses enter the body through the ear canal.

And 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (found at any drug store and sells for less than two bucks) is incredibly effective at killing bacteria and viruses.

So by gargling with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and putting a few drops in your ears at the first signs of a cold or flu, you might be able to decrease your odds of catching the flu.

#5: Sit Down. Shut up. Breathe.

I firmly believe that people today encounter more stress on a daily basis than any other generation in history. And sooner or later, this will take a toll.
So if you can find just five minutes a day to meditate and clear your mind, it can go a long way towards keeping you healthy. You don’t have to get fancy. Just take five minutes and #1) sit down. #2) Shut-up. and #3) Breathe. (In through your nose, out through your mouth. )

Follow these five “old-wives” tales and you might find yourself virtually flu-proof even while those around you get sick.

Health and fitness news from the week of Sept. 28th, 2009

Here’s the latest health & fitness news from around the internet:

* If you’re a Sports Center junkie (like me), you’ve no doubt seen the story about USC tailback Stafon Johnson. While bench pressing, a barbell with 275lbs slipped out of Johnson’s hand and crushed his throat. After a 7 hour surgery, he’s listed in stable condition.

This is purely speculation on my part, but I suspect he may have been using a “thumb-less” or “suicide” grip on the barbell. Personally, I’m not a fan of this grip. So if you’ve been using this grip, perhaps it’s time to switch back to regular “thumbs-around” grip.

You could be next.

* A study done on Oxford rowers found that rowers were able to handle more pain when rowing with teammates as opposed to rowing alone.

This explains why training with a partner may yield more productive workouts. If you train alone (like me), then you’re out of luck. Or (like me) you can just imagine that Reg Park, Arnold and John Grimek are working out with you, cheering you on.

* Looks like I’m not the only one who hates The Biggest Loser. Mark Sisson does a fine job of carving up this “reality” weight loss show.

* Did you know that Casey Butt (owner of the long-standing “Weightrainer” website) has a blog? Neither did I. Check it out here. Good stuff from a life-long natural trainer.

* The Fall Issue of “Classic Physique Builder” has just been released. If you haven’t seen this free online magazine and blog, you can check it out here.

* Finally, a new website burst onto the internet recently and I for one and loving it. “70’s Big” is all about how to get big and strong like the guys in the 1970’s did.

That’s it for this week. Happy reading.

5BX: The Canadian Fitness Plan

In the 1950’s, the Royal Canadian Air Force asked scientist Bill Orban to create a fitness plan for their pilots. (At the time, a whopping 33% of Royal Canadian Air Force pilots were considered “unfit” for flight.)

Orban was given two requirements: First, the plan must only take a few minutes a day. And second, since many of these pilots were stationed on remote bases, the plan must NOT require any equipment.

Mr. Orban went to work. During his research, he noticed that long periods of exercise did not show any significant advantage over short periods of exercise. Armed with this knowledge, Orban decided that intensity was more important than the duration of time spent exercising.

With that in mind, he created a simple daily exercise program known as “5BX”. The 5BX was eventually released to the public program sold over 23 million copies worldwide.

(Orban received zero money from this worldwide best seller. I guess that’s the pitfall of working with the government.)

The 5BX plan itself is very simple. You can see it for yourself here.

But it got me thinking: What could I recommend if somebody LITERALLY only had 5 minutes a day to get fit and had NO equipment?

Here’s what I came up with:

The Five Minute Fitness Plan

20 Bodyweight Squats
10 Push-ups.

Repeat for as many rounds as you can get within 5 minutes.

Looks incredibly simple, right?

Try it.

Not only will it get your heart racing, but it works almost every muscle in your body with just two simple, no-equipment-needed exercises.

(Note: The bodyweight squats should be done to proper depth — hips below the knee. If you cut off the squats and make them half or quarter squats, this routine becomes incredibly easy and, by extension, far less effective.)

With the inclusion of one more exercise, the plan gets even better.

20 Bodyweight Squats
10 Push-Ups
5 Pull-ups.

I realize not everyone will have access to a pull-up bar so I left it out of the original program. But if you can find a place to pull yourself up, you’re in business. A tree branch, door ledge, I-beam… anything will do in a pinch.

Obviously, a program like this won’t give you 20-inch biceps or the endurance capabilities to run a marathon in under 3 hours.

But this simple program, combined with a smart, healthy eating plan will give you a good-looking physique and a good “base-level” of fitness.

Next time you’re running low on time… or if you’re stuck out in the wilderness somewhere… give this routine a shot.

P.S. This program would work great for college students stuck in tiny dorm rooms.