Thanks cjack and congratulations on the awesome results!
Mike by the way, somebody on one of the forum threads was questioning Matt Furrey’s fighting credentials and said this about the back bridges, "“My biggest beef is with his bridges. We’ve known for over thirty years that these simply stretch the ligaments of the spine while compressing the discs, destabalizing the back. Fureyphiles often claim these bridges loosened up their backs. No shit, Sherlock, but that’s not a good thing. Twenty years from now, when you have so many back problems that walking becomes a chore, try to remember what caused them.”
I forwarded this to Matt Furrey and this is what he said, "Only a fool would write or believe the nonsense you forwarded. Talk about compression, that’s what you got with weights.
Tell this man to supply his scientific research on the ligament damage and spinal compression that he states ‘we’ve all known for 30 years.’ Sounds like a distant cousin to Arthur Jones’ statements when he needed to sell his Nautilus neck machine. Bridging is done by Iyengar yogi’s who are pain free despite doing it for decades. They don’t walk around in pain. Far from it. You’ve gotten results in four weeks and now you’re starting to doubt because of this clown? Trust in the wisdom of your own body."
TEK, he may be in good condition at times, but don’t confuse him for an actual fighter.
Mike,
I really liked your article on CC. I’m wondering, though, how you gained size with this kind of training. Did you eat the same stuff as when you were weight training? Did you have to cut back on your calories? Do you have a sample meal plan?
Hi–this is my second request to know what “hindu” pushups are? Also, how do you perform a back bridge? They both sound interesting…
What is the big deal about handstand pushups ? You guys talk about these like it’s some wonder exercise. I see guys trying them at the gym and they look like morons. My suggestion is lift weights at the gym amd perform your make believe “fighting” exercises at home preferably wearing a pair of your girl friends underware.
Regina- instead of bitching why don’t you read the article we’re all talking about. It’s at T-mag and is called “combat conditioning”. It has pics.
Tabmoc, thanks for your feedback and skepticism. However, I can tell you that Handstand pushups will make your overhead lifts much better and as a grappler I can tell you that they help in fights. Can you do them? My guess is you cannot, so go ahead and put your girlfriends underwear on and shut the fuck up!
To get lean with CC I followed the Warrior diet for several months and it worked very well for me. I worked out on an empty stomach and burned fat like crazy. Really you do not need to change your diet from what it is know if that is working for you. Just make sure that you wait at least two hours before working out with CC.
Mike, The article was great. I think it will really improve my speed and possibly my flexibility. However their is a concern that was expressed about bridging that I would appreciate if you would respond on. I have read similar things however if you remember things change I remember when I first started lifting you weren’t allowed in some gyms without a belt. And we all know what we have learned about those little beauties. As for the comment on the girlfiends panties damn dude you are one insecure dude. I can easily see these exercises improving my odds in the ring. Anything to be faster, stronger, and more agile than the guy I fight.
Knuckledragger, thanks for your feedback and compliments! I have been bridging everyday for over a year now and feel fantastic. I use resistance bands to make my bridging harder and tighter and it just keeps getting better. I used to have lower back pain all the time which I never have now. I do not have any scientific studies to back me up. All I can say is that I have benefited from the exercises and so have a great deal of other people. Unless, you have a serious back injury or such, I would give it a try and ease your way into it. Increase the flexibilty over time and you will be amazed at how great you feel.
Thanks for a great article Mike! You did a really good job of introducing Combat Conditioning to Testosterone readers. I’ve had the book now for a couple of months and I always seem to find a new little gem every time I pick it up. I hadn’t bridged since my college days, over 20 years ago. Recently I got back into it and it feels great. I really love those Hindu Squats. As for the Hindu Pushups I learned them from a number of martial arts teachers over the years. I’ve heard them called Chinese Pushups, Tiger Pushups but my all time favorite name was “Iron Ox Plows the Field”. Looking forward to your next article.
Thanks Tone! I should have my follow-up article done this week.
Mike, thanks for the article. This is something I really need. Studying Computer Science, it’s a real bitch trying to stay in shape lifting weights. But I happen to manage to get through for now. I just found out two of the classes I’m registered for next semester each require about 30 hours a week of outside work. On top of that, I have other classes as well to overwhelm me. It sucks, I know. I was just thinking of not working out at all and becoming a fat slob. But like you said in your article, if you want to live like a T-man, you’d have to train all year round. No excuses! ComCon is something I can definately do in the morning to start the day, right when I get out of bed. When I read the title of your article, it said “Five Months Without Weights.” I was wondering, is this time period too long to train without weights? If it isn’t, then perfect because that’s how long the semester would roughly be. Thanks again for the article.
i used to be a gymnastics instructor and was interested in bridging and what it does to the back…my chiropractor showed me a spine model ( in all chiro offices )…the spine goes in2 the bridge position naturally… the opposite way actually compresses the vertebraes…he told me that a contortionist he had worked w/ had the strongest back he had ever seen…as amatter of fact the bridge position is actually a contraction of the back and a stretching of the chest , abs etc. …not a stretching of the back in any way… kinda of like what ian king talks about…if it works!!!
Thanks for all the feedback! I am almost done with my follow-up article on how to combine CC with functional strength training exercises. I will have my pictures in this one and should have the article ready by next week.