**The Following Post is from "DO Trainee" on my Transformetrics Forum**
Greetings gang,
I wanted to share with you a new, though not surprising breakthrough in my VRT training. Since June of last year, I have been working on a training protocol that has been 98% VRT training (especially for my upper body. During this period of time, there have only been about 6 days of power cals. I will admit where my lower body is concerned, I have been doing TBSs to gain endurance with my legs.
Since taking on this protocol, I have done several types of experimentation with my VRT workouts: high intensity, high reps, Tiger Moves, super sets, etc. One move in particular I have been doing religiously is a VRT bench press, currently in reps of 40 with the highest intensity possible during those reps.
Last fall, around early September, I attempted a GUTS routine to see where my level of fitness was within the recommendations of John Peterson. Though I can't remember all the repetition numbers, I know that when I attempted military pushups my first set was only a set of 23 pushups. After completing the rest of the GUTS routine and it was time for the next set of pushups, I could only crank out about 11 before I was creeping and crawling my way up from muscle fatigue (I just didn't have the nervous force or the energy to generate any more repetitions, along with breathing as if I had run from hyenas).
Fast forward to two days ago when I made the decision to start adding power cals into my VRT routines. After countless lectures on the benefits of cardiovascular health (I'm a med student) I felt that it was something I needed to make a priority alongside my strength training. I decided to have another GUTS workout, and to my surprise I snapped off 30 pushups with absolutely no problem, followed by 21 pushups towards the end of the routine. My last, most tiring set was almost as many reps as when I started in September, and between then I had not done ANY PUSHUPS WHATSOEVER.
Once again, another testimony of the power you can achieve when you decide to build your muscles from the inside out without relying on outside forces (even the influence of gravity) to do your work for you.
For wisdom and truth,
DOtrainee
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The 'Ab Doer' and Visualized Resistance
After observing many informercials on the world's latest ab thingy, called the "Ab Doer", I gave it a test. Not in real life, mind you. But in a VRT sense. Let me tell you what happened.
The ab doer is an expensive little machine in which one sits on a seat, and holds a horizontal cross-bar behind their neck (actually a little above the head), with handles on each end, and the vertical trunk that connects this cross-bar goes down behind the user's back to the seat, and can twist in any direction under the tension of a spring. So the purpose of it is, the user twists to and fro and every which direction, and the tension in this behind the back trunk-like spring provides resistance to the mid-section, thus making one spent and winded after performing this for several minutes. And they show off tons of models sporting the six-packs they got from it.
So after watching this TV commercial several times, I applied it, with flexion in my midsection; and I imagined I held a broomstick horizontally behind my neck, and I twisted right, left, backwards and forwards, all under visualized resistance to the abdominal area; and lo and behold, I found myself winded, tired, and with a tingling burn in my abdominal area!!
Now this WORKS. Try this with nothing but the tension from the flexion of your abdominal muscles. Imagine holding a broomstick behind your neck, or hold a real broomstick to get the feel of it, sit on the edge of a chair, and twist in every conceivable direction; forward, backwards, and to the sides. After one week of this in the mornings for five or so minutes, my abs are noticeably tighter, and I've pulled in my belt a full inch and 1/2.
If only the world knew.
Greg Mangan
VRT Man
The ab doer is an expensive little machine in which one sits on a seat, and holds a horizontal cross-bar behind their neck (actually a little above the head), with handles on each end, and the vertical trunk that connects this cross-bar goes down behind the user's back to the seat, and can twist in any direction under the tension of a spring. So the purpose of it is, the user twists to and fro and every which direction, and the tension in this behind the back trunk-like spring provides resistance to the mid-section, thus making one spent and winded after performing this for several minutes. And they show off tons of models sporting the six-packs they got from it.
So after watching this TV commercial several times, I applied it, with flexion in my midsection; and I imagined I held a broomstick horizontally behind my neck, and I twisted right, left, backwards and forwards, all under visualized resistance to the abdominal area; and lo and behold, I found myself winded, tired, and with a tingling burn in my abdominal area!!
Now this WORKS. Try this with nothing but the tension from the flexion of your abdominal muscles. Imagine holding a broomstick behind your neck, or hold a real broomstick to get the feel of it, sit on the edge of a chair, and twist in every conceivable direction; forward, backwards, and to the sides. After one week of this in the mornings for five or so minutes, my abs are noticeably tighter, and I've pulled in my belt a full inch and 1/2.
If only the world knew.
Greg Mangan
VRT Man
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Importance of Fidelity
The importance of fidelity. Faithfulness. Semper Fidelus: the Marine Corp anthem of "always faithful." Faithful to a cause celebre, to an organization, to a lifestyle, to a marriage, to a faith, to a country. I'm talking about honor to a cause, to a way, to a goal, literally a constructive channel of thought. This channel of thought gives mankind a purpose, a sense of value, a reason to live, a reason to go on.
Without it, a man is directionless, a wayward wandering ship on the ocean, without a destination, breaking the lonely waves without a way home.
Whatever the direction a man chooses, stick with it; put a goal on attaining it, and strive, with all the desires of your heart, to get there, whatever it may be....to a goal, to a cause, to a destination.
Greg Mangan
Without it, a man is directionless, a wayward wandering ship on the ocean, without a destination, breaking the lonely waves without a way home.
Whatever the direction a man chooses, stick with it; put a goal on attaining it, and strive, with all the desires of your heart, to get there, whatever it may be....to a goal, to a cause, to a destination.
Greg Mangan
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Qi Gong and VRT -- My Version
Qi Gong is more or less an ancient relative of VRT, and I have combined the two to make an exciting, muscle-building, breath-taking exercise that has moved me to a high energy plane.
First of all, I stand in a horse-stance, and move all my muscles around in various directions, including the knee joints, under COMPLETE FLEXION as hard as possible.
I move the arms in a bowstring-pulling fashion (as an archer would), then raise them skyward under tension, and lower the two of them in a pull-up fashion, under tension; and with stomach sucked in, I flex and twist my torso, as though writhing and dancing fashionably to a rock 'n' roll song; I close my outstretched arms in in front of my chest, and cross them, then move them back out behind me and then downward, all under tension; I move my head around under tension of a flexed neck; and finally do pretend-curls and tricep presses under tension, but only a few times, always moving and writhing around, ALWAYS under tension.
If a person were to watch me doing this, it would look somewhat strange, so I often do it alone; but within a minute of doing this, I am out of breath, panting, and need to take a break. All muscles in the body have been moved under tension, and the exercise is exhilarating and will make you feel years younger when done on a regular basis.
Greg Mangan
VRT Man
First of all, I stand in a horse-stance, and move all my muscles around in various directions, including the knee joints, under COMPLETE FLEXION as hard as possible.
I move the arms in a bowstring-pulling fashion (as an archer would), then raise them skyward under tension, and lower the two of them in a pull-up fashion, under tension; and with stomach sucked in, I flex and twist my torso, as though writhing and dancing fashionably to a rock 'n' roll song; I close my outstretched arms in in front of my chest, and cross them, then move them back out behind me and then downward, all under tension; I move my head around under tension of a flexed neck; and finally do pretend-curls and tricep presses under tension, but only a few times, always moving and writhing around, ALWAYS under tension.
If a person were to watch me doing this, it would look somewhat strange, so I often do it alone; but within a minute of doing this, I am out of breath, panting, and need to take a break. All muscles in the body have been moved under tension, and the exercise is exhilarating and will make you feel years younger when done on a regular basis.
Greg Mangan
VRT Man
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
My Take on the Law of Attraction
The Law of Attraction, often called "The Secret" in the popular vernacular, is a dynamic law of the Universe; the same as the laws of gravity and inertia, and the laws of electricity and magnetism.
It is in a basic description of this, that "likes attract," and like thoughts will produce that which is 'thought about' as becoming an eventual concrete reality, and attach one through meaningful coincidences, or 'synchronicity,' with people and events along that particular wavelength or frequency of thinking. Like attracts like, and thoughts become things.
I also nickname the Law of Attraction as the Law of Reflection, for it mirrors the mental image, in the same way as one views oneself in a mirror. The thoughts 'reflect off' the mirror of the Universe, in the way that Jesus once said, "you shall reap what you sow." It is a mirror of our thoughts and deeds. I remember the law of physics that 'the angle of incidence equals the angle of refraction,' the analogous physical description of an object bouncing off of a solid object, like light waves off a mirror.
Good or bad, optimistic or pessimistic, joyful or depressive, stingy or benevolent, a lot of the way we think, and therefore act, results in backlash of this, which is really to be our reward.
Think, feel, and believe in wealth, and you will be wealthy. Think, feel, and believe you are impoverished, and you will be hurting for money. Think and believe in love and kindness, and people will be loving and kind to you. Hate specific groups of people, and you will be targeted by somebody or some group with hatred.
This is a hard pill to swallow for some, but for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Including our thoughts and activities. And the maxim 'you shall reap what you sow' is part of this law of physics, or a real and actual law of the Universe. The Law of Reflection; all you think and do will be reflected back at you. Man attracts what he thinks about; but it is also a reflection of what he thinks about.
Think about it!
--Greg Mangan
"VRT Man"
It is in a basic description of this, that "likes attract," and like thoughts will produce that which is 'thought about' as becoming an eventual concrete reality, and attach one through meaningful coincidences, or 'synchronicity,' with people and events along that particular wavelength or frequency of thinking. Like attracts like, and thoughts become things.
I also nickname the Law of Attraction as the Law of Reflection, for it mirrors the mental image, in the same way as one views oneself in a mirror. The thoughts 'reflect off' the mirror of the Universe, in the way that Jesus once said, "you shall reap what you sow." It is a mirror of our thoughts and deeds. I remember the law of physics that 'the angle of incidence equals the angle of refraction,' the analogous physical description of an object bouncing off of a solid object, like light waves off a mirror.
Good or bad, optimistic or pessimistic, joyful or depressive, stingy or benevolent, a lot of the way we think, and therefore act, results in backlash of this, which is really to be our reward.
Think, feel, and believe in wealth, and you will be wealthy. Think, feel, and believe you are impoverished, and you will be hurting for money. Think and believe in love and kindness, and people will be loving and kind to you. Hate specific groups of people, and you will be targeted by somebody or some group with hatred.
This is a hard pill to swallow for some, but for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Including our thoughts and activities. And the maxim 'you shall reap what you sow' is part of this law of physics, or a real and actual law of the Universe. The Law of Reflection; all you think and do will be reflected back at you. Man attracts what he thinks about; but it is also a reflection of what he thinks about.
Think about it!
--Greg Mangan
"VRT Man"
Friday, July 17, 2009
Proof Positive That VRT Works
Here's a post from a practicioner of Visualized Resistance Training who uses the handle 'douglis.'
A former weight trainer, he did a 'study of one' using VRT as a stand-alone bodybuilding system, and compared it to his strength and endurance capacity in his weightlifting days. Here's the results he had, which proves that VRT can sustain or increase strength as a solitary exercise:
"After more than 2 years of VRT only, I want to start an experiment (see daily workout) so I'll give VRT a break for three months. Since I haven't performed any weight lifting exercise for the last three years, I thought it's the right time to test my strength and the VRT carryover.
Here are the results: Military press: 176 pounds: 2006-8 reps...today-12 reps!!! Barbell rows 187 pounds: 2006-8 reps...today-9 reps. Biceps curls 90 pounds: 2006-8 reps...today-10 reps. BW pull-ups: 2006-20 reps...today-19 reps (but I'm also 23 pounds heavier!) Squats (ass to grass): 286 pounds: 2006-10 reps...today-9 reps.
I'm really surprised that I got stronger at most exercises, without performing them for three years. As you can see the more complex the move the less the carryover since specificity and technique play a bigger role."
-Greg Mangan
"VRT Man"
A former weight trainer, he did a 'study of one' using VRT as a stand-alone bodybuilding system, and compared it to his strength and endurance capacity in his weightlifting days. Here's the results he had, which proves that VRT can sustain or increase strength as a solitary exercise:
"After more than 2 years of VRT only, I want to start an experiment (see daily workout) so I'll give VRT a break for three months. Since I haven't performed any weight lifting exercise for the last three years, I thought it's the right time to test my strength and the VRT carryover.
Here are the results: Military press: 176 pounds: 2006-8 reps...today-12 reps!!! Barbell rows 187 pounds: 2006-8 reps...today-9 reps. Biceps curls 90 pounds: 2006-8 reps...today-10 reps. BW pull-ups: 2006-20 reps...today-19 reps (but I'm also 23 pounds heavier!) Squats (ass to grass): 286 pounds: 2006-10 reps...today-9 reps.
I'm really surprised that I got stronger at most exercises, without performing them for three years. As you can see the more complex the move the less the carryover since specificity and technique play a bigger role."
-Greg Mangan
"VRT Man"
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