Breathe your way to a Bigger Chest

Most people do not seem to understand the importance of Breathing, of course you have to breathe in order to stay firmly fixed and walking around on this earth ! But i am talking about Deep Breathing where you Breathe in slowly for a determined period then Breathe out in a controlled manner and it wont be as easy as you are thinking right now, its a good workout and a worthwhile one all on its own Here is what to do :- Start by breathing in and out gently a few times to take in some air, then breathe out as far as you can, stop momentarily then with an even flow of air gently breathe in to the count of 10 really fill your lungs and get your Diaphragm filled up and extended to capacity...hold for a count of 3 then exhale slowly and controlled to the count of 12 wait for 3 then repeat the process, try for 2 or 3 complete in and out controlled breath exercises per set and build up to around 3 sets over time. Warning if you do this exercise correctly and controlled you will wake up the first morning after feeling like you have been punched or kicked in the stomach BUT the Diaphragm is a muscle of sorts and if you exercise it like its not been used to, you will get sore as it reacts to the exercise. Its very worthwhile to add this to your Workouts say 3 times a week and you Will see results over time, your ribcage will expand further thus you will get bigger in the chest, Also your intake of Oxygen will be bigger so that will make you generally feel better as well as mentally sharper to boot. Most people only shallow breathe, But you will now know the meaning of "Breathing Correctly"

Breathe Brute Strength

A Fantastic Twist Grip Exercise

It always amazes me how everyday Objects and Tools can be made into or used for a real good workout and today i would like to introduce you an exercise that will really improve your Twist Grip and will get you working like you never have before. Get a long handled Logging Axe and hold it somewhere in the middle of the yellow section (shown in picture) with the blade pointing away from you then find a wall or something that is flat and of similar height to allow you to comfortably lay your arm along it and just have your wrist hanging over the edge, then twist one way back to upright then the other way and upright again and thats 1Rep ok try to go for 8 to 10 reps with both arms and do 3 Sets per arm. At first get used to controlling the movement and going for even movement throughout the exercise, then after a few sessions start moving your hand further down the Axe but make sure you are doing the Reps so you Build Up that Brute Strength Twist Grip and as another piece of advice try and do 3 different Grip exercises per training session. Of course another good use for the Logging Axe is to swing it on both sides and chop through Wood i.e fallen Trees etc so its a very good and multi-useable Training Tool.

Train Brutes, Train Hard !!

Very useful Bodyweight Exercise

One of the most worthwhile Bodyweight exercises that i have so far tried really does not only test you but gives tangible results as well. Gymnasts use this along with a load of others im sure, but this is more than enough to start with. Find a blank wall and do Hand Stand against it and hold it there for as long as you can but mentally count the time passing so you can see your progress later on. I would suggest 3 sets of this timed position hold. Then turn around and walk up the wall so you are in the Hand Stand position but facing the wall, then hand walk out from the wall with your feet still touching the wall, you should be able to walk four paces or so out and same back and do this about 3 to 4 times each set for 3 sets. After this in this second position still spread your legs accross the wall and see if you can hold your weight on one hand and hold for as long as you can then repeat with the other hand. Another good bodyweight that will link in to these exercises as well.. Get down into the standard press up position then without moving your feet walk your hands up to your feet and back again for as much as you can do and again do 3 sets on this. If you really knuckle down and do this at least twice a week in between your gym workouts you will soon find the benefits of training this way, personally for example it has really helped my shoulder pressing for a start. Long term of course the aim will be for you to build up your arm and shoulder strength so you can start doing HandStand PushUps.

Train like a Brute Get awsome Strength

Give Your Forearms a real Blast

One particular exercise will really get your Forearms to work and you will feel it i can tell you that through experience. Take a couple of golf balls and put them in your hand with your palm facing upwards, then with all your fingers and thumb start to rotate the balls inside your closed hand get used to this for a few days do Sets say 8 to 10 rotations at first and get used to this with Both Hands First. Then moving on hold the Golf balls in your hand with your palm facing inwards (so your Thumb is on top) and start to Rotate for 8 to 10 Reps first in one hand then the other, really get used to holding the balls firm so the ribs on the balls offer a little more resistance thus in theory adding "weight" so to speak, you really should feel the tension in your Forearms as you get it working and adding to your Brute Strength Campaign. Now ! Hold the Balls in one hand and start Rotating the balls with your Palms Facing Down, i can tell you this is a big challenge for most people and something you will have to work at but a very worthwhile exercise. Its the sort of exercise you can do if you watch TV just keep practising with BOTH HANDS this not only strengthens your fingers and forearms but starts to give you good co-ordination with both hands as well. As you get used to doing all these positions for 10 plus reps with both hands (2 sets of 10 plus in all positions per workout). Then you can find a couple of bigger round Pebbles and start the process over again and so on when they become easy, but always have a place for the golf balls dont stop doing them completely.

Ok Brutes Get Strengthening those Forearms.

Training with Grippers

Grippers are a very good tool in the pursuit of Brute Strength, they work the Fingers, Forearms, Wrists, top of the arms, Shoulders and i have felt it in my Back Too !. Of course i am not talking about the kind of Grippers you get from your average sports shop, but professional Grippers that really make you put a lot of effort into the training routine and give you (with prolonged use) a grip you can really be proud of and usefull in many other area,s of training including of course Deadlifts and if you are good enough doing Chinups with added weight hanging from your body.

<<<<(You can get your Grippers by clicking on the London Kettlebells logo on side panel)

As illustrated above the Chrome Grippers really are firmly constructed with a decent Spring and one look and you can see the difference between them and the "sports Shop Toys" although having said that keep a pair handy to gently warm your hands through before training with the big boys. Notice the black long handle Gripper its a very good one at that it has extension handles that you can start at the bottom to close it with then, when you get stronger you can work your way up the shaft and once you can close them from high up you will be really on your way to an Iron Grip which will help you in many other areas of your training. when you get your "pro" Gripper hold it with handles in front of each other, the correct hold will be on the side that the spring sticks out to the left less, than the other way around. put this side in between your thumb and first finger then wrap your fingers around the bottom end and squeeze, do sets like you would any other exercise. Train with these around twice a week or so. I would suggest you start with the Trainer Gripper and rep with it, or the first poundage available to build up with.

Get Brute Strength.

Make Indian Clubs part of your Arsenal

When i first heard of Indian Clubs, i was less than interested, in fact i think i dismissed the idea out of ignorance of the facts. Indian Clubs have truly stood the test of time, during the times of the British Empire our troops abroad trained with the said implements.
From my perspective they are very deceiving, a pair of 1KG Clubs really can make you ache in places you did not know you had, trust me i found out the hard way by going straight to bigger clubs before building up. I have also had good results with them in respect of clearing up Annoying shoulder injuries i had sustained over years of training in the gyms. The following link shows some basic exercises to whet your appetite and get you started along this worthwhile inclusion into your routines.

Click Here

Seriously give them a try, they will strengthen your arms and shoulders as well as giving you some flexibility as well. They went out of fashion for quite a few years, now i feel they are more than due a Major Comeback

Brute Strength Rules.

Good Grip Training Method

To help you with your Brute Strength Training here is piece of equipment i had made up to train with a "Thick bar" effect. This is very good when combined with other forms of Grip Training which we will go into another time. They are made up to hook under Dumbells so are very usefull to train with different weights with extreme ease. You can use them for timed holds or indeed do the Farmers Walk on the flat or up and down stairs so very versatile, find something like Scaffold Pole thickness but as a guide so you can get you hands around just under 2/3 thirds of the thickness .(obviously different people have big and small hands ) Two lengths of about 8 inches will be fine. Then some thinner steel that can be bent to form the "Hooks" that will carry the Dumbell welded onto the underside of the Handles. You should be able to get all of this fairly cheaply at a Scrapyard like i did and there probably will be a person who welds about, who you could get to know for future ventures i will tell you about as well. See the picture i have posted with this so in your mind you can see the finished product

Go Train like a Brute

Developing Hand Strength

You can make some amazing gains in Your Grip by doing 3 to 4 exercises twice a week, choose 3 or 4 that does different forms of grip. I.E Crushing Grip (Grippers), Some form of Roller with weight attached (performed forward and backward), a Logging Axe can be used to do an exercise that will more than build your Twist Grip, Thick Bar Training will also improve your grip considerably and simple home made resources like different sized Balls with some form of eye screwed into them (must take good weight though) and lifting and holding these for timed holds will all add to your Brute Strength Grip

Go Train Wild

Steve Thorn

Grip training for Brute Strength

Achieving an iron grip is a good way to to begin walking the path to getting Brute Strength, its a fact in the gyms up and down the world, straps are used wherever a strong grip is neccesary and this is a Big Mistake. By using Straps you may lift heavier weights, But you are in fact neglecting the development of a naturally strong hand/wrist/forearm/upper arm/shoulder and back development that will stand you in good stead for all the other exercises and sports you may want to become good or even stand out from the norm in. There are an amazing range of out of the ordinary "unique exercises" that will with dedication and practice give you the Brute Strength you so want and desire. What exercises do you do to achieve this ? and what out of the ordinary apparatus have you purchased or indeed built yourself to achieve these results ?