Wholistic Fitness

STRENGTH TRAINING and SPONTANEITY: TBT h(OM)e Student Asks Coach Ilg Some BasicQuestions

It’s easy for newcomers to undervalue the unmatched longevity of elite body/mind mastery of Coach Ilg’s journey as the creator and to this day; devoted student of the Wholistic Fitness� Path. Although his outdoor athletic accomplishments are more well known, it may come as a surprise to many that our Coach has reached many indoor podiums as well; bodybuilding, olympic lifting, boxing, martial arts, racquetball, squash, track, indoor sport climbing, and ice hockey. Here is a rare shot of a well-permed Coach Ilg preparing for a Regional Bodybuilding Championships in the early eighties. I asked him about this shot…he replied, “Gotta love that perm and those Dolphin� shorts, eh?! {laughing} I got to hang out with Arnold – before he became “ARNOLD” – for a few days before this competition. It was FAAANTASSTIC! {using an Arnold impersonation}. As you can see, i was pretty well “into it” back then. I also trained two National Champions in Bodybuilding around then. Arnold had told me to drink “Kefir” to “bring up my calves.” Even WITH a lactose intolerance, you better believe that I drank Kefir until i nearly exploded. Ridiculous, I know, yet, those where very, very go(o)d years. I finished 3rd Place in Lightweight Divsion in this particular competition. I weighed 139 pounds in the above picture.” This caption story by Temple Manager Ananda

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I wish i could answer all the questions that TBT fans ask me. Unfortunately, for liability, karmic, and financial reasons, i simply cannot. I often use my Devoted WF Certified Online Teachers to attempt to help everyone. I don’t know any other book author or athlete or coach of my caliber that attempts to serve everyone for free…however, i do my best. My Teachers taught me that much; Just Feed The People; Serve! That is one reason why Direct Lines is still complimentary…something that we will have to change soon unfortunately, thanks to too many people “lifting” my intellectual and imaging property from these lines, and then polluting and using them for their own advancement without so much as a nod to me. Others might sue them, all i say to these deceitful “warriors” is,
“All Karma is God.”

What I can do, is offer general counsel every now and then in this forum, as I have chosen to do with Noble “TBT h(OM)e Student Brad” who wrote me today. I will address his questions in my traditional WF Online Study Format:

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Coach Ilg,

I am a hOMe student of WF using your great TBT book.

COACH ILG RESPONDS: Well, thank you! and…welc(om)e to our humble, yet powerful Temple, Brad!

STUDENT:
My first question concerns the role of spontaneity with regards to the WF path. When presented with the opportunity to ride some great waves, ski after a big dump or otherwise seize the day, is it appropriate to do so in the midst of a WF cycle?

COACH ILG: dude…c’mon…you’re talkin’ to “America’s Outdoor Athlete” here!!!
whaddya THINK AND FEEL (TAF)? OF COURSE! i can only assume that you speaking as a non-sponsored athlete in these sports. i qualify this, because if you are a sponsored athlete in one of these areas and you do them everyday as training, than, the reverse is sometimes True; you need to step outside your specific sport and train your weaknesses via the appropriate cross training discipline.

STUDENT:
If it is appropriate, would one still do the prescribed workout for the day as well?

COACH ILG: Depends on how BAD you want the Training Effect! One reason why i can still compete in so many sports at any given time is that i am BIG on the “WF PRE FATIGUE TRAINING PRINCIPLE” which states; “If the WF Athlete truly wishes to procure the DEEPEST and HIGHEST body/mind/spiritual training effect for long-term deep fiber and spiritual transmission in later performances, then it is best to absolutely demolish yourself in some intradiscipline of WF BEFORE doing the sport or fitness activity. This forces new neural, nadic, and subtle anatomical Pathways to ‘step up’ and become recruited since the sport or activity is being superimposed upon a fatigued body/mind. For instance, before i even hook up with the local mountain bike studs, i will have made sure that i have ALREADY TRAINED HARDER THAN THEM BEFORE EVEN MEETING THEM FOR THE RIDE! I will have already been sitting in meditation, i will have already done a HP Yoga session, a Pranayama session, or a Strength Session; i consistently do this so that when i begin to TAPER my training for a Peak Performance, i know DAMN WELL that my CHI is going to be crazy strong as begin dropping off my multi-disciplined volumes to focus on just ONE EVENT on ONE DAY! does this make sense? the WF Master Athlete MUST practice SANTOSHA (contentment) with ‘poor’ training performances when out with sport specific athletes because the WF Master Athlete KNOWS in his or her heart that NO ONE ELSE is training their other body/mind disciplines like we do!

Or, as my ol’ Durango friend and MTB Legend, Ned Overend told me, “Most people train too hard on their easy days and too easy on their hard days.”

STUDENT:
I understand the need for consistency and discipline, but isn�t play important as well?

COACH:
uh….you mean like this:

Testing my mental and physical skills about 60′ off the ground, unroped, in Snow Canyon, Utah. Photo by a very nervous Ananda.

or this;

Just passing 24 mph…on Off Road Inline Skates…Coach prepares for Nordic Ski Racing still utilizing dryland training exercises that he wrote about as far back as 1980…even before his first book, THE OUTDOOR ATHLETE.

or this?

Coach cranks to a 2nd place overall in the “Gaspin’ In The Aspen” Mountain Duathlon this past September.

evidently, you are NOT a DIRECT LINES reader or a fan of my other books or dvds like my INTRO TO SNOWSHOEING DVD! hell, FUN is precisely what WF is ALL ABOUT!!! FOCUSED FUN! to this Tribe of WF Warriors, it is FUN to realize, “Shit, i am brushing my teeth again with my Dominant Hand!” then switch over to the other hand to Cultivate Balance In All Things. Or, we find it FUN to realize we are schelping over onto one hip with rounded posture, then, adjusting into a more ELEGANT, CONSCIOUS POSTURE, we smile for we realize suddenly HOW FUN IT IS TO BE CONTINUALLY AWARE of our negative tendencies and habits and RISING ABOVE THEM!! and, when it comes to sports and fitness activities…hell, LINE ‘EM UP!!! WF Warriors are “specialists at generalism!…we do it ALL because it is WAY TOO MUCH FUN to just do ONE dang sport or fitness activity! Life is SHORT! DO THEM ALL!

STUDENT:
Secondly, many of the WF strength exercises seem to be linear in nature. Is there not value in practicing spiraling, twisting and transverse plane movements in strength training? Do we rely on yoga to address this dimension?

COACH:
I don’t know exactly WHICH TBT Book you are reading, because my book(s) have promoted Olympic Lifts, Plyometrics, and unique techniques exclusive to WF that address each of those plane movements, BESIDES YES!!! We definitely rely on HP Yoga to address non-linear, functional fitness planes of movement. Do have you my HP PROP WORKOUT DVD? It is dangerous to load the spine with Strength Training Resistance while attempting to relearn how to “move like a cat.” Thanks to the cross-training of disciplines inherent to WF, I still have the agility and balance, plus strength plus endurance of most people twice as young as I. You see, Oh Noble Newcomer To Our Humble Temple, The Science of Wholistic Fitness is based upon that natural wisdom of breath and movement. We use asana for functional fitness in neuromuscular ways then use the “Iron Temple” for bone mass and joint stability (asana specific ‘yogis’ are renown for not being able to do anything FUN; like RUNNING DOWN A MOUNTAIN, SKIING EXPLOSIVELY, or any other laterally explosive or ultra endurance type of fitness…not very ‘yogic’ at all to me!). The WF Athlete also uses the gym to cultivate other Genuine Fitness Requirements: strength endurance, deep fiber power, and explosive coordination as well as making sure our bodies are burning fat constantly due to a high percentage of lean, muscular tissue.

Coach crankin’ a typical movement of WF Advanced Strength Training; Padmasana Sit Ups. This movement requires femoral spiraling, spinal twisting, and transverse plane movements.

Again, your question is obviously not from a non-formal Online Student. If you study Online Training Programs, you will encounter the Real Juice of WF Strength Training; workouts that engage all sorts of crazy ass techniques that require a full command of yogic type of flexibility, once again, superimposed upon deliberate strength training movements.

STUDENT:
Third. Any suggestions for substitute exercise for Lat Pull-Downs and Leg Extensions since I don�t have a gym membership. I can�t stand the atmosphere of big commercial gyms.

COACH:
The very fact that you “can’t stand the atmosphere of big commercial gyms” speaks volumes of the progress you need to mature your “pratyharic fitness,” or…your capacity to withdraw your Senses inward. I have written much on this topic in DL throughout the years…it’s all there, waiting for you. I will say this however, if you “can’t stand” certain atmospheres…then I promise you, you will not make it far in the Bardo until you learn how to cope elegantly within atmospheres that challenge your composure.

STUDENT:
Lastly, I have recently been practicing a modified version of �beeper guru� meditation. It�s called �cell-phone guru�. Each time a cell phone rings I focus on breath and posture or whichever the prescribed meditation is for the day. It has helped to turn what I find to be an annoying intrusion into an opportunity for mindful reflection.

COACH:
I bow! Great Job! However, WF Online Students have been practicing the “Cell Phone Beeper Guru” since 1999. Keep up your Awareness, however…for there are as many “Beeper Gurus” are there are the “10,000 things” of the Outer World!
As the WF Maxim goes; “Your Workout Is Everywhere.”

STUDENT:
I humbly await your thoughts.
Brad G.

PS- Say hi to Flagstaff for me. I grew-up in Phoenix and learned to ski at Snowbowl. Many great memories!!!

COACH:
Well, check out the recent month of DIRECT LINES…you will see many beautiful pics of Snowbowl…and, absolutely, I will kiss the Kinlani Winds for you on tomorrow’s mountain bike ride up Lower Moto!

thank you for the questions and i bow to your Devoted Practice,

coach ilg