Evening, all. This will be broken into two parts that are related. In these times, we have been challenged mentally and spiritually beyond reproach. We have faced the fact that China bends us over backwards and has been (but much more now), we got an election stolen that we've had this psyop of a virus bombarding us on the airwaves, faced lockdowns, many lost their jobs, marriages have corroded and ended over this, the works. I don't need to remind you of this.

I also noticed many turned to God and we have been having a spiritual awakening and I've seen many don the armor of God. This makes me so happy. But there is one area that I see lacks mention much.

Physical shape.

1. Be strong. Off the bat, you can skip this whole section if you go the route of calisthenics (using your own body weight to work out like planking, push ups, pull ups, etc.) For this you can get a door frame pull up bar and little more and get that lean strength, but I'm more of a weights guy because I like bulk. Sometimes imposing physical presence is good deterrent from the get-go.

Okay so, weight training.

This is easier said than done and requires time, commitment, and discipline. Lately I've been on a facebook market run for cheap iron plates, curl bars, bench bars, dumbbell bars, tricep bars, and assembling a home gym. I've made some frames using kindorf brackets that serve as a squat rack, a benching rack, and a pulley attachment for pull downs. But that is not necessary. I have gotten some amazing deals like 275 pounds of weight, 2 curl bars, a tricep bar, and some other goodies for a grand total of $100 which is absurd. I had to drive an hour+ out to PA each way but it was well worth it along with all of the other stuff I had.

At the very core, what you ultimately really need, is a pair of swappable dumbbells. Two basic dumbbell bars and then a small variety of plates. That's up to you, if I were to go bare bones minimum for medium to long term, I'd shoot for 60 pounds total per bar that you can swap between 10's 5's, and maybe 2.5's if you care to increment like that; however if you're just starting out you won't use that weight for nearly anything. You'll likely be starting with 20 pounds per dumbbell for most exercises to get comfortable and not go overboard (remember your tendons and ligaments don't always keep up with rapid muscular growth so don't go too crazy right off the bat, get adjusted).

Alternatively, you can even make your own dumbbells out of concrete. They are certainly bulky and not ideal, but dirt cheap compared to iron if you have the patience. Here is a starting point: https://youtu.be/JUPWRiTRR5Y They also look pretty fucking cool, but concrete is not as heavy as iron, so know that they will be bulky. Bonus is that you can make them in different shapes or taller, or longer, or wider, depending on your molding.

There are a lot of exercises you can do with dumbbells and weight plates themselves. If you can find or make a cheap bench (one with incline options is preferable). If you want, buy used. Some benches come with the bench press bar features, but if you're using dumbbells you won't need that right away. I found mine at walmart for cheap (can't remember how much but it was cheap) and it has multiple incline options as well as a preacher curl and leg weight options.

Again, that's not necessary for the bare basics of that. 2 dumbbells and a chair alone is enough for a lot, but I really would recommend a bench surface to lay down and preferably one that inclines so you can target different areas of your chest and other muscles.

For dumbbell exercises, I've used this website a ton before, because there are so many things you can do that you wouldn't even think of (and even more...there are some good instagram pages to follow that will post obscure exercises I have never seen that are cool as hell). https://dumbbell-exercises.com/best-dumbbell-exercises/

2. Training.

So you're big and strong and the ladies love you eh? Nice. But what are you going to do with all that newfound testosterone-infused pulsating vain-filled muscles you're sporting? Enter the training. Being strong alone helps, but is not enough. You need to be able to hold your own.

Have you ever seen those videos of patriots fighting back antifa with these huge flag poles, and rather than jabbing with them, they try to swing at the antifags and the huge flag causes so much drag that by the time the pole makes contact, it gives a little love tap to the antifags? Learn your basics.

If you had no prior training in anything I highly recommend seeking someone who knows so they can get your basics down. It's really hard to break bad habits and if your form is off, you can be building upon bad habits, but I am of the opinion that it is better to teach yourself than to not learn at all. I practice kickboxing. I went to a dojo for a while, it shut down due to lack of business. DO NOT buy into CKO or those "Fitness" kickboxing. They're glorified cardio workouts, not actual fighting technique.

Some will tell you to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, others will swear by Krav Maga, others will tell you Tae Kwon Do is the way, Personally I like punching and kicking shit. Striking is my bees knees. I had found a cheap stand on amazon for like $35 on clearance that's made out of steel and holds up a 6 foot 100lb heavy bag that I found on craigs list for pretty cheap. But I also found something that I fucking LOVE and you can set it up just about anywhere.

A fucking water buoy. Yes. I went with the A2 size buoy. A water bag takes the punch much nicer, can be hung at different heights so you can practice high punches, body shots, etc. The A2 size is big enough to take some big hits but still moves around to let you practice some leg work and movement. You can hold one up with a nylon strap like you would use for a truck to hold stuff down, or you can use a chain. Chains are noisy and if you're indoors you may want to set up a bracket or something that you can hang the nylon strap from and just have the bag dangle.

The water absorbs most of the blow, unlike punching bags that if attached to the ceiling will cause the floor above you to vibrate with every strike (trust me, I tried it in my teens when my brother bought a heavy bag for the basement. My parents ordered us to take it down immediately as it made the house tremble)

The A2 buoy ends up weighing 50-55 pounds when filled with water. They have larger and smaller sizes, but A2 all around is great IMO and the water bags allow you to practice uppercuts as well.

This is the one I went with and it's strong, robust, looks awesome in black, and MADE IN THE USA, BABY

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MJBQ1O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

Learn at the very least, the 1,2,3. Jab, cross, hook. I can get into a lot of the theory of all of that, but the jab is your basic tool. It is the quick hit, it is used to gauge distance from your opponent, it is used to keep your opponent at bay, and can pack a punch if you do it right. Remember your punches don't start with your arm. I call it ground-up fighting. The floor is where it starts, how you push off with your legs, twist your hips, and seamlessly transfer that to the arm (at the proper distance) is how you get a good, quick, snappy, strong, effective hit.

Tony Jeffries has great content and he's fun to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyTaKpylOcU

I typed out a lot so I won't drag this on any further. Just know that mind, body, and spirit are all interlinked. I think a bit more focus needs to be put on the body from what I perceive.

For those of you who already train, keep on training! It's easy to start, but hard to stick with it. Motivation and discipline are not always the same!

If you want to correct anything, or add on, please do so!