Happy New Year to everyone!  Let’s all make 2011 a great year.

To close out 2010, the video below looks back at some of the top knockouts of the year.

Dick and Rick Hoyt have been featured on this blog before.  The Hoyt story is so powerful that you could watch their videos every day and they would never get old.

Below is yet another feature on this amazing duo.  As with the others, I found myself at a loss for words after watching this video.  It is thirteen minutes long, but well worth your time.   You’ll be hard pressed to find a story that offers even half the inspiration.

Whether it’s boxing, MMA, or other combat sports, athletes are attracted to the often brutal challenge for various reasons. Many view the ring as a way out, while others follow their natural calling. Below is a brief video where fighters from various styles share stories on how they found their call to fight…

The day you quit learning is the day you quit breathing…

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.

2010 has been a busy year for boxing. For a quick recap, take a look at the highlight video below (courtesy of Gorilla Productions).

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Ross

Remember this, success has been and continues to be defined as getting up one more time than you’ve been knocked down.

Powerful video below…

If you want something, go get it.  Period.

Below is an entertaining compilation video of one of the most exciting fighters in recent history, Manny Pacquiao…

Pacquiao’s success is obviously impressive, but it is even more impressive when you consider the impoverished world that he lived in as a youngster.

As quoted from a past LA Weekly article:

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“The floor of his house was made of dirt. The walls were thatched. His entire family of seven squatted in the house, small as a prison cell, sleeping on cardboard boxes…

Pacquiao dropped out of elementary school to sell doughnuts, ice water and fish he caught from the sea. One day in 1990, watching television, he saw the invincible Mike Tyson fall to James “Buster” Douglas, and fell in love with boxing. The underdog can win, he learned. He punched a rubber flip-flop tied around the trunk of a palm tree. He imagined himself a champion. He was 11 years old.

At 14, he ran away from home, from sleepy General Santos City in the lawless southern tip of the Philippines, a rusty, run-down town lost in time. He stowed away on a ship bound for the megacity Manila. Before boxing training in the afternoon, he welded steel at a factory, then used his weekly pay to buy flowers, which he would sell on the streets for twice the price. At 16, he turned pro, a gangly 106 pounds. He fought like a mad dog, wild and out of control.”

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If there was ever a rags to riches story in boxing, Manny Pacquiao’s name should be at the top of the list.

December 2010 – This past entry has been updated with a new link to the full movie

Below is a brief trailer to Robert Kenner’s film Food, Inc. The documentary focuses on how food production has gone from being locally developed to being controlled by multinational corporations.

Those familiar with Veoh can watch the full film at the link below.  It is well worth 90 minutes of your time.

Food, Inc. – Full Movie

Ross

In previous entries, I’ve shown several exercises that can be performed with a pair of inexpensive furniture glide pads.  If you are new to the blog, refer to the links below for related info.

Core Training With DIY Gliders

Homemade Hamstring Device

As you’ll see, these inexpensive gliders are useful, convenient, and challenging.  The original gliders that I purchased last April have been used regularly and are still as good as new.  I did make one recent adjustment however.  I applied a small amount of Rain-X glass treatment to the bottom of the gliders.  The result was a much faster glide. Any wax will work and you only need a small amount to notice an immediate difference.

If you are looking to speed up certain exercises, you may find the modification useful.  It may also be helpful when using the gliders on thick carpet.

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For more homemade equipment ideas, please refer to the link below.

Homemade Exercise Equipment Archives

Below is a video that comes from a friend of mine. Within the video, you’ll see a prime example of the strength that can be developed with nothing but a pull-up bar. Clearly, the strength displayed throughout is quite impressive, but perhaps more impressive is the fact that he’s developed such strength with minimal equipment.

Hats off to Nikolay.  Keep up the great work.