And then there was House...

When most people think of exercise these days, the first thing that comes to mind is gyms, treadmills, spin classes and bootcamps. Its a pity really because way long before there were ever any of these things in existence, people were moving and I might add they were moving quite more.

I like to think about movement and exercise out of this "controled enviroment" context. I mean I am not knocking folks for doing these types of exercise...movement in any form is good in my book. But personally I get bored with running in place with a fan and tv screen in my face.

I prefer to take my workouts outside and hang off of objects or jump over things...it's not that I'm totally a daredevil, I just want to use my body to the max.

And to this day, one of my favorite forms of cardio, which my mom inspired in me from a very young age is Dance. My mom would always tell me "I'm doing my exercise, I'm dancing to Hector (Lavoe)", and sure enough that made total sense to me. I am a big dancer, not saying I'm the most skilled but man when a beat with some drums and bass starts pumping my heart is singing and my feet are moving.

I ofcourse love salsa, bomba y plena, hip hop, merengue, but the music that has always been my love, being the nuyorican that I am is House Music.

House Music was born in Chicago, largely influenced by Disco, Salsa, Soul and Jazz, it is no wonder that it was largely a Black and Latino thing of the early to mid 80s. The first big venue that it became popular in was Chicago's "The Warehouse", which is where the genres name derives from. When it came to New York, it evolved well past its years and eventually starting entering the mainstream.

Its a foot work based dance, and even though there have been some "moves" designed by different folks over the years, for the most part there is no wrong way to dance to House, as long as you stay on rythm of course lol. I can walk into a spot playing house and just move for hours without a care in the world, burning calories for days haha.

So if you ask me what my prefered cardio is, best believe its dancing to some House. And there is nothing better than NYC in the summer to find some dope ass house parties. Come join me sometime!

"You may be black, you may be white; you may be Jew or Gentile. It don't make a difference in our... HOUSE."

Kettlebells: Tool of choice

I'm not big on using external resistance (i.e. weights, machines, etc.) unless one has already become effective at using and controlling one's already existent body weight. In my experience working out and being a physical trainer, there is no healthy reason one should be doing, bench presses let's say, without first being very effective at doing proper, full range of motion pushups for multiple reps. If you do not have the core stability to hold up your hips in proper alignment, stabilize your neck in a safe isolated neutral position and stabilize your shoulder capsule while bringing your body down to the ground and then up again against the forces of gravity. What makes you think bench pressing 225 lbs off your chest makes any sense whats so ever? It doesn't... And don't get me started on these folks who are doing lat pulldowns but still have not even been able to do one chinup.

But what do I see all the time when I'm working out in the gym? People hyperextending their backs while do bench presses, necks leaning forward when ever someone is trying to push or pull weight, knees caving inward while someone is attempting to lift hundreds of pounds of weight off the floor...injury after injury, pain after pain, wasted energy and people taking it as if thats the way strength training was expected to be.

So for a long time I stayed away from weights and machines, trying to focus on my body weight, doing my pushups regularly, mastering my squats and pullups, taking my yoga and martial art classes. Then I came across tools that enhanced my body weight training, namely suspension trainers, like the TRX suspension trainer www.trxtraining.com and my favorite but less well know Jungle Gym XT put out by my friends at www.monkeybargym.com. These took my training to the next level.

So instinctively when I was introduced to Kettlebells a few years back I was a bit of a skeptic. I had lost a lot of faith in the effectiveness of weight training for the general population, but there was something appealing about this weird shaped bell that intrigued me. So I started researching the tool and found that it was a piece of equipment that originated from Eastern Europe and became the training tool of that region and was studied closely by the exercise scientist of Soviet Russia, who as many of you know I place a lot of trust in because of their track record of wanting to advance the nature of a human being as opposed to most of these weight training companies who's only motivation is to produce a product that they can "sell" to the consumer market.

A mentor of mines introduced me to the basic concepts and I was hook. No other weight or machine allowed for the freedom in motion and uneven weight distribution that the Kettlebell does. The dynamic nature of the swinging effect and the battle against inertia not only made me feel stronger but worked multiple muscles all at once, creating an additional great caloric expenditure. It brought balance to my muscles, so I was never just isolating or over developing just one muscle but evenly strengthening myself. I eventually went on to get my status as a KettleBell instructor through KettleBell Concepts and have been teaching individuals and groups how to get the best out of them for the past two years or so.

Would I say its the only way to weight train? No...but I would said Kettlebells are definitely my tool of choice. If you can definitely check them out, get a trainer to show you some of the basics with them. Please make sure the trainer is certified to do so, because they can be very dangerous if used incorrectly. And if you want to buy a pair, check out the ones put out by LifeLine  they put out a really great version. Also air on the side of heavy with Kettlebells, because a lot of the movements are assisted by total body muscular recruitment and you'll have them forever, so buy a pair you'll grow into.... so get to the swinging suckas!!

Reflections on my nation

I'm Puerto Rican. Yo soy Boriken!

A few things happened in the past few weeks that really made me remind myself what this means to me personally and socially how it effects my existence. Here are some reflections:

On July 25th 1898, the United States invaded my country and made it it's colony, booty from the spanish-american war. Its been 114 years and my nation is still under the rule of U.S. Imperialism, they like to call it a commonwealth and guise it with all these technical terms. But all these terms and statuses were created to try and hide the fact that my nation Puerto Rico is the longest existing colony in modern times.

Because of this relationship my country is poverty stricken, american influence constantly attempts to erase the culture of my people and most importantly, we have no say in our socio-economic conditions but rather are at the mercy of decision makers in Washington D.C. We are "given american citizenship" as if its some sort of honor or gift..."Thanks for letting me steal your resources and colonize your nation...here's a free pass to come to america and be treated like a second class citizen". And they argue that we Puerto Ricans benefit from the U.S. welfare system and "have it good" compared to all the other caribbean nations who are not promised citizenship. I mean let's get it straight my mom and sister were supported by welfare when in Puerto Rico and when my mom was pregnant with me it was helpful that she could fly into the states and try to look for a better reality here. But why is Puerto Rico so poor? Why would anyone want to leave? Why do we need support from the welfare state in the first place?....it's really simple...cause our resources are taken from our island and we have no self-determination to try and chart our own reality as a nation.

I wasn't personally born in Puerto Rico, nor was my mother or father. Mom dukes is from BK and pops is from the BX. My mom didn't learn spanish till she ran out to PR and had my older sister, my parents meet out there at some nightclub dancing to Marvin Gaye and James Brown (lmao). I myself never learned spanish because when my parents asked the doctors in NYC Mt. Sanai Hospital in the early 80's, they claimed teaching me more than one language at such a early age would confuse me and stunt my development...hmmmmm right. But I still know that I am not an "american" but rather I am a Puerto Rican. Granted new york city is my home, where I was raised and the community I was brought up in and at times I even go as far as to use the term Nuyorican...I'm definitely not the same kind of boricua you find back on the island. But like all nations I share a common culture, identity, national pride, a common history. A rich history deeply rooted in struggle and resistance in a long protracted battle to claim our self-determination. A history that I feel even from my neighborhood of El Barrio here in New York City, facing some of the same oppressive conditions that my sisters and brothers exist under back on the island...and my own conditions that are particular to me as a member of the working class here in the states.

I value the independence and self determination of my people first as a Puerto Rican who wants my nation to have control over its own destiny and secondly as a worker here in the U.S. who is disgusted by any injustice against anyone...and let me tell you, being a colony is one of the gravest injustices in human existence.

And although conditions have always been rough in Puerto Rico under the yoke of america's rule, the recession we entered three years ago brought these contradictions out even more so(http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/from-defensive-to-offensive.html). And even though these conditions are painfully felt, with the right leadership qualitative change can erupt at the same time. Last year those leaders emerged in the student movement of the youth at the 11 campuses of the University of Puerto Rico and the Federation of Puerto Rican Teachers (FMPR) (http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/08-03-08-puerto-ricos-42000-teachers-st.html). Violent classes against the governement and its repressive tools of the police and national guard was culmuinated by a two month long shut down of the schools until the student body's demands were meet. Demands to not cut the budget for education and for the student body to have some say in the direction of their institutions and to end layoffs for the teachers. Ealier this year they went on strike again to make sure their demands were being meet. And they will continue to struggle for their rights as humans, as Puerto Ricans have historially always done.

U.S. president barack obama traveled to Puerto Rico this past tuesday, the first president to even travel to my colonized nation in 50 years, since JFK in 61'. On his campaign trail, then senator obama made nice claims of improved conditions on the island and some sort of "resolution" on the status of Puerto Rico...like really, who they hell are you to make any resolutions about the future of my people in the first place??? We couldn't even vote for you! And how about the fact that no u.s. president ever takes a stance on the status of my nation? Are they afraid to challenge those corporate entities that insure their power maybe? Maybe the pharmaceutical company who gets a vast majority of it product from the nation of Puerto Rico? And how about the fact that conditions are far worse under the Obama administration than they were under yankee doddle Georgie?  Am I asking the right questions yet?

So when you step foot on my nation's soil with your climate retarded suit wearing...trying to roll your R's ass in a chap attempt to get an increase latino vote here in the states...do you think I support your actions? But at the end of the day I know Obama has nothing to do with anything, but rather those corporate interest who really call the shots in D.C. from their small offices in Wall Street are the common enemy. So obama unless your willing to take a stance against the colonial situation and openly support the effort of my people's self-determination, I will not endorse your presence and empty promises to my nation! GO HOME!

So when I heard about the call from the independence movement in Puerto Rico to protest his presence this past tuesday and to make the demand for Independence and Freedom for the Puerto Rican political prisoners behind bars in the u.s., I knew my role here in the states was to support and promote their cry for freedom and self-determination! 

Some from the Puerto Rican community say its not our place as Nuyoricans to get involved in the politics of the island because we are not dealing with the conditions back on the island. And while it true I didn't grow up on welfare in PR, or get government "aid" when in need like the nearly 30% of unemployed in Puerto Ricans have to beg for today. I did grow up on welfare here in the states and face racism and classism daily, just the same as the people in my mother nation. And as a u.s. born Boricua I know I cannot say this way or that way is the best for the folks living on the island, but I know without a doubt in my mind, it is my obligation, my duty, to fight tirelessly for the RIGHT OF PUERTO RICO'S SELF DETERMINATION, the right for the people of Puerto Rico to determine their destiny independently! 

So I stand in solidarity with the Independence movement in Puerto Rico in word and action and echo their demands for a FREE PUERTO RICO! For the freedom of our political prisoners and a big "GO HOME" to all these politicians and their empty promises. And you need to too. Thanks for reading.

Brothers doing similar work

About a year ago Stic.man from Dead Prez started blogging on the website RBG Fit Club. It a pretty dope avenue where stic has been able to post regularly information on building a "people's" movement of health and fitness. Very similar to the mission that my peers and I have with Revolutionary Fitness, stic.man goes back to the basics and promotes movement in all forms.

I've always been a fan of the music that the brothers from Dead Prez have put together over the years, a real sound track for all those in struggle trying to better our communities. Its actually a big sacrifice on their part as artist to use their talent to stay true to a real message of social change and struggle. So although I am not a big fan of buying albums, I did go to itunes and purchase the new album that Stic.Man has put out, Workout, its a dope fitness album please check it out and support, purchase the album. My favorite track on the album of course is Bruce Lee, with the Enter the Dragon loop in the background...it gets me hyped lol!

So definitely support Stic.man's effort to spread a strong message, follow him on twitter @STICRBG

And if you know of any other folks doing similar work to RBG Fit Club and Revolutionary Fitness put me on!

Callus

According to a definition posted on wikipedia, A callus (or callosity) is an especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation.


Of course many people are not fans of calluses because they relate it to tough harden hands, that are commonly taught to be unattractive in our society. When I think of calluses though, I think of struggle, hard work, discipline, consistency and strength. If you think about who usually has calluses on their hand its usually those who work out regularly, musicians or who have some sort of labor related occupation.

If your working out consistently and are disciplined to keep challenging your body, no matter what footwear or gloves you wear, calluses will develop. I love that hard feeling on the backside of knuckles, it reminds me of how hard I work everyday to make myself a stronger and more disciplined human.


Those who work in labor, are the architects of our society, the folks that build, develop and maintain our physical reality and its structure. Labor is so often looked down upon in this country, as if these women and men are some how less creative and necessary as those individuals involved in bourgeoise thought. The opposite is true of course, blue collar workers are some of the most important individuals in human existence. Their callus is a reflection of all this hard work and struggle we humans go through.


Is that to stay only those who are into fitness or work labor related jobs are the only people who develop callus? No ofcourse not, because just as one forms callus in the physical form so do individuals develop mental callus and callus of the spirit. Strong indivduals who dedicate hours to study and development of a trade and talent, develop callus, show discipline, strength, struggle and consistency.


So the next time someone say "ewww, I don't want to develop a callus"...respond "Why the hell not?" lol. Have a great week guys.

Just open up

There is nothing better than starting off the day with a Bridge/Dome Yoga Pose. It opens up the whole anterior chain of the body (front side). We are so often sitting and flexing these muscles forward when we walk, even when we sleep we rest in a fetal contracted position. More often than not most people usually have a very "over-active" and tight front side, namely the in the area of their hips and shoulders. As a result  the back side of the body is usually very "under-active" and underdeveloped. This leads to a lot of lower back pain, pain in the shoulders and neck, dysfunction in movement and it even impairs ones breathing.

So every once in a while throughout the day I try and just open those muscles back up with the Bridge/Dome Pose. Not only does it stretch and relax your anterior chain, you are contracting and strengthening your posterior chain, namely your glutes (butt) and posterior deltoids (rear shoulders).

If its too difficult for you to get your body all the way off the floor at first, regress the movement by resting on the crown (top) of your head, so that your neck can support your upper body when elevated. And remember what ever progression your at, to tuck your chin in towards you when coming down out of the pose, so as to not hurt your neck on the way down.

Have a great day guys!

Anniversary and Website Launch Cookout

It first started by sitting down and building about our health and how our bodies felt. A couple of us had been working out regularly and seeing great results, feeling good about our bodies and looking for new ways to take our health to the next level. These conversations usually took place after a great workout or during a nice healthy meal. Our circle was composed of not only health conscious individuals but we were all also part of the social justice movement, working daily on issues around workers' rights, fighting against racism, sexism homophobia and xenophobia, involved in the anti-war/imperialism movement and struggles to bring about healthcare reform. It only seemed natural for us to start talking about health issues on the grand scale and how we could facilitate a movement through the avenue of fitness and healthy living to better our conditions. This is how Revolutionary Fitness was founded.

It has been a year since we at Revolutionary Fitness began our mission to spread the idea and practice of healthy living in the communities that have felt the brunt of poor health conditions here in New York City. We first began with simply hosting an outdoor fitness class at St. Nicholas Park in Harlem on Thursday nights, where we invited friends and people from the neighborhood to participate in. After which we would all chip in a couple of bucks to purchase some fresh produce and put together some healthy plant-based nutrition meals for everyone to grub on. It became apparent early on that many people were receptive to these classes and the need in the underdeveloped communities of NYC for this type of work was very high in demand.

We then began to expand and started hosting classes in other neighborhoods throughout the city. Since then we have held donation based fitness classes in Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, Central Park, Crown Heights, East New York, Bushwick, Astoria, Lower East Side, El Barrio, Woodside, Coney Island, Fordham Road and even Brighton Beach. We began expanding our staff to meet the rise in demand, sharing our vision of movement with all those we encountered. Many participants have been empowered to begin leading RevFit classes of their own, and many fitness professionals have worked with our vision using RevFit as an avenue to do donation based work in addition to their fitness businesses. We have also had the opportunity to build with many organizations about our work, been on Pacifica radio, and shared our newsletter with all our supporters via social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

In our second year we have many new and exciting things on the horizon. We will continue to provide donation based general fitness classes on a regular basis. Our new Spring Schedule which we recently put out can be found here in this issue of our newsletter. We will be going on a speaking tour over the next few months throughout the Northeast, spreading the vision of Revolutionary Fitness to other regions. We have developed an Apprentice Trainer Program and High School Internship Program. Our new fully functioning website will provide nutritional and fitness information as well as a vehicle to encourage activism and organizing around food and social justice issues. We will be hosting cookouts, bike tours, beach parties, fitness competitions, and other group activities promoting movement and community. We will be developing specialty classes such as, self-defense, pre-post natal health, kettle bells, advanced yoga, stability training, dance and the more people who we meet the more possibilities we can come up with in order to continue promoting movement. Most importantly we will be leading public health campaigns to bring attention and action to some of the many poor conditions our people have been forced to live in.

Join us on Saturday, June 18th as we celebrate our one year anniversary at the Revolutionary Fitness Cookout. We will be hosting the Celebration Cookout at Thomas Jefferson Recreational Park on 114th street and 1st avenue. We will have great food to grub on, live DJs throughout the day, fitness games and activities for the entire family to enjoy, babysitting for those parents who need a break to do some warrior poses with us, handball, basketball, and just casual conversations with folks from all walks of life.

Revolutionary Fitness was founded to facilitate movement in our communities, not just with our bodies in terms of exercising and eating well but also in our effort to better the conditions of our communities. Come out and celebrate with us, we appreciate everyone's continued support in this important work. As always come check out some of our activities and Let's Move Together!

Where to start

This weekend I took a trip down to Washington D.C. to attend a Socialism Conference hosted by the Party for Socialism and Liberation. (www.pslweb.org) It was an amazing event where speakers spoke on tons of different issues from the anti-war movement to the movement against racism, sexism and anti-LGBT bigotry. One of the most important moments for me is when one of the speakers Brian Becker, spoke on the people's movement in Egypt that brought about the end of the Mubarak's regime. He described the power of the the masses in Egypt who empowered themselves, became fearless in the face of all the oppression the government presented and won!

On the way back from D.C. my friends and I stopped over in Baltimore, M.D., passing through some of the most underdeveloped neighborhoods in america. It wasn't anything too shocking for me, myself coming from a very poor working class background, many of my family members and friends have fallen into the cracks of these oppressive conditions. But going through West Baltimore, seeing abandoned house after house, roads that haven't even been paved with cement, closed down factories and lack of facilities, heroin addicts looking for the next fix and children roaming the streets with nothing to do. It reminded me of all the work that needs to be done, all the change that needs to be done, all the organizing we need to develop within our communities. Not relying on empty promises from politicians who don't represent the interest of our people. But rather building that strength from within the community, using the example of the Egyptian people as role models in how we can really build a movement for change.

And then I thought about the health crisis in these neighborhoods and where would we even start in trying to highlight the issues, because there are so many, it seems like such a daunting task. I think of the organization i work with, Revolutionary Fitness and if the donation-based Fitness classes we host in New York City, would work in such a downtrodden community. I'm sure it would but its also a reminder of why providing these services is so important, but in the end only an organization working towards change on a structural level within these communities will bring about the societies our people desire. Thus why even though the work I do in Revolutionary Fitness and all the great work done by community based organizations all across the country is amazing, I encourage everyone to look into a national political party, namely the Party for Socialism and Liberation. An organization that can unite all this great work we are doing and construct mass movements that can bring about that people's movement we saw recently in Egypt.

Yeah I eat leaves and stuff

People are always surprised when I let them know that I follow a plant-based diet. Many are even concerned and on the rare occasion some are offended. There is so much false information out there about protein and where it derives from. Folk's initial reaction is that I must have a hard time finding energy and the magical question "But where do you get your protein from" always comes up.

Many people are receptive to my answers to these questions and see some validity in my practice because of the high level of activity I maintain as an athlete. But most choose not to embrace the idea that its possible to be strong and productive in our society without some meat consumption at some level.

I've been following such a dietary practice for nearly 13 years now and I'm only 28, so most of my life really. So I definitely am understanding to people's misconceptions about the proper foods for the human body to consume and then when those even do want to practice better habits, this government and the interest it represents, place so many obstacles in one's way. 

One book that was a great revelation for me and I would suggest to anyone who is looking for hard nose scientific rationale for plant-based nutrition and the hurdles the United States government places in front of us, is The China Study

Read it, study it and pass it on to a friend. And starting today even it just means adding something as simple as a piece of fruit a day to your diet, strive to treat your body better and life will become a lot more enjoyable. :-)

Working on your Pullups?

How many pullups can you do? I've always considered the pullup to be one of the most important test of upper body strength and one of the greatest workouts period. And the best thing about it, you can do them anywhere! So I'm setting a challenge for myself and for all of you guys who want to get in on it. Starting this week I will do 5 sets of 5 pullups, everyday, only 60 seconds rest between each set. Then next week I will do 6 sets of 5, the week after 7 sets of 5, and so on until I reach 10 sets. Once at ten sets I am going to construct a new challenge to my pullup game...stay tuned for my progress.