What The Grizzly Bear Knows About Fitness
Dear Friend,
In my office I have a number of large framed pictures
of grizzly bears. I have a number of coffee table grizzly and
polar bear books as well.
I absolutely love to watch bears. I love to watch them
fish, eat, fight and play. I also believe there is much we can
learn about fitness by observing bears.
What do I mean?
Well, you know by now that I have a high regard for
sprints - especially those done "up hill." You also
know that the grizzly bear, despite its enormous
size, is very, very fast. I've watched a 1,000 pound
grizzly run down a jack rabbit, literally turning and
cutting on the dime - and doing so with greater agility
than the rabbit itself. Amazing to see this
in action.
And so, did you ever consider how much it would
benefit your fitness if you did some bear crawls
a couple days per week? On pages 82-83 of
Combat Conditioning, I teach the bear crawl -
but like many who quite possibly overlooked the
value of sprints in the same book - they may have
passed this one by as well.
So let me tell you a little story:
Back in the 1980's, when I was working wrestling
camps and clinics around the country for the University
of Iowa, we literally put these kids through three and four
workouts every single day, for 14-28 days. It really was
like bootcamp for these kids.
Anyway, in the afternoon - when I would have the kids
do sprints - there were always a number of boys who didn't
quite understand English whenever I said "sprint."
These boys would inevitably "dog it" when it came time to
run at full speed. So I developed a solution to this problem.
Whenever it happened I would stop the entire group and
say: "Listen, if you don't want to sprint when I say sprint,
no problem. I don't mind. I'll just switch you guys to
bear crawls. And when you do the bear crawls, you're
100 percent welcome to go as slow as you want - although
you might find that more painful than going fast. The choice
is yours."
Well, as the kids weren't exactly sure whether "Sgt. Furey" -
as they used to call me, meant biz or not - they tested me.
My reaction to their "test" was immediate. "Okay boys, let's
get down on all fours and do the bear crawl."
What was the result? I'll tell you.
After two bear crawl sprints - these boys were eager to
go back to the bipedal position. And do you know why?
Because bear crawls work practically every muscle in your
body. They are far superior to running when building endurance,
strength and agility. They will have you huffing and puffing in
no time flat.
Granted, you may not be able to do very many - but I
strongly encourage you to do what you can a few times
per week. You'll be amazed at how much the simple bear
crawl - done fast or slow - will change your body.
Well, my friend, that's all for now!
Kick butt - take names!
P.S.: In the Matt Furey Inner Circle, I will be posting a
complete Bear Crawl Workout come Monday. In fact,
each week we add a couple workouts to the site - and we
answer all your questions on our online discussion board.
I encourage you to make me your online personal trainer.
For more information on this - go to the
Matt Furey Inner Circle right now and
enroll.
P.P.S.: Also, just so you know, you get 2 FREE months in
the Matt Furey Inner Circle when you order a set of my
Combat Conditioning book and videos. If I were you -
I'd take advantage of this very special offer - which may
end soon. To get my international best-selling book and vids,
go to Combat Conditioning
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