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It was nearing midnight when I wrote this.

And yet, when I received the email from Ben, the guy who recently applied to be an affiliate, and whose email the system very mysteriously never sent me a notification on (maybe because of the “yahoo” address ? who knows) … well, I shook my head – in AWE!

People never cease to amaze me – the doers that is!

I’m one of them, so I recognize a DOER when I see one – and I’ve said from the beginning Ben is one of them!

So is Ben Settle, another .. ah, but let me focus on Ben Bergman here, the guy whose blog I shared in the last email (real stuff!).

He sent me a keeping it real email which I just HAVE to share with you guys – his story, to me at least is just as inpsirational as John Walker’s Cliffhanger story – though not quite as full of derring do I guess, but while John’s is all about quick reaction, real man training and on the spur of the month CAT like reflexes – this dude is all about GUMPTION.

And Persistence – man!

Anyway ….

A story first, as always.

When I first met my buddy from the Marines, him of the “Rahul, I’ve never met anyone with an unnatural pull to their grip like that!” – part of the reason was he outweighs and outsizes me by … well, perhaps 1/2 a David to Goliath x 5.

Hehe.

OK, it’s not that extreme.

“I’m NOT That big!” he once exclaimed when I had forgotten my sweat shirt for a night out drinking beer (and the weather in China got cold suddenly), so I borrowed one of his – and of course “5 Rahul’s could fit in one of those”, I joked. LOL.

But anyway, I noticed his military style, the sheer power of the man straight up – and therefore the grip. Hehe.

I do instinctively – always have.

The next time I met him, I commented on how he must be swimming at least 2-3 times a week (I didnt know from him from Adam at that point, but those shoulders and that deep swimmer’s chest – dead giveaway!).

Sure enough, he responded in the affirmative.

“You’re very observant, Rahul!”

I always have been.

And not necessarily because I want to be a chameleon “on purpose” or Jason Bourne or anything like that – I just believe it PAYS to be aware of it all.

Those little things are what ultimately make ALL the difference, if you notice them that is. Most people tend not to, I do, thats how I’ve been since a young age.

As ole Denzel famously said in “The Bone Collector”, its the little things that matter!

They showl do, my friend.

Anyway. Lets not make this about me.

Lets check out this email from Ben that he just sent me – (and this is one of the rare ones I have not responded to first, I’m going to be responding to him personally too, but wanted to share his tale here first since I mentioned the part about his form on squats in the last email!).

“On the Squats!!!!” was the subject line ,which as soon as I saw it, I knew this was going to be GOOD. Hehe. 

Rahul,

Thank you for sharing my blog on yours and even reminding others of the things I promote with other people. Nobody has ever done that or even went out of their way to mention that.

To let you know about my squats. There is a reason why my technique isn’t as good as many who practice Hindu Squats or The Jumpers. Believe it or not, this is going to sound weird but today is the very same day (may 15th here in the states right now) 17 years ago that I broke both my legs in a cliff jumping accident into the ocean next to a California beach.

I shattered both my ankles and tore a part my tibia-fibula (shin bones) in my left leg. My left leg needed repairs to the point where the bones themselves didn’t shape properly again and so it’s nearly deformed and have a titanium rod in place to keep it’s shape as best as possible.

When I was cleared to walk again (which took nearly 3 months and a total of 3 surgeries), I had prepared myself for my own rehab (never went to PT at all) and started out with Hindu Squats, Hindu Pushups & The Bridge. That was the beginning of training every single day since (aug 1st, 2005) and haven’t taken a day off this whole time. I first managed over 1000 Squats that December in 56 min.

Because of the rod and pins in my legs (along with a weird ratio of waist to legs) If I keep certain areas straight and bringing the heels upward in the movement, it puts stress in my shin and ankles and becomes very discomforting. So I have to be very careful in how I process with those particular squats. Its also difficult at times to keep my heels down in some exercises cause I automatically feel the rod in my shin (it’s not fun) and need to adjust.

My form isn’t great but what I have managed over the last few years was doing up to 500 Squats on average between 13-15 min. Fastest 500 was under 12 min. The last time I did 1000 was on my 33rd birthday and finished in 33 min.

I’m telling you this so you can get an idea of how I do the Hindu Squats & Jumpers. Trust me, I’m not screwing up my back or anything like that and the technique works for me that it suits the ratio of my legs to my hips and waist. I even put up a tick tok video of doing 53 squats within a minute going all the way down and swinging the arms each time. It’s completely controlled and it doesn’t put stress on me.

You are a hell of an observer but I wanted to fill in the blanks. I’m not big on the squats as much anymore and have focused on Step Ups like legendary wrestler Bob Backlund. Those have been a huge difference for my legs and are better suited to my structure than the squats have.

Keep it up man, I love your writing style and you’ve got an honest sense of humor.

Ben Bergman

Whew!

Now thats REAL.

Think about it – doer x 10.

You know what I REALLY emphasized with?

The way he didnt even go to PT, and created his OWN rehabilitation program – if you want it done right, do it yourself, and he’s right – remember how I recovered from my nasty thumb injury – or the elbow – or any of the others I’ve sustained over the years?

If I had listened to what people, so called qualified medical professionals etc – or my Dad on my beer drinking “you’ll die by 30” (HA!) – I’d probably still be injured.

Instead, I gutted it out and DID the thing – so has Ben!

(no, I am not recommending ignoring medical advice, but sometimes, often times, those in the know “know better” if you get my drift!)

(and those supposed to know DON’T!)

Check this out –

I shattered both my ankles and tore a part my tibia-fibula (shin bones) in my left leg. My left leg needed repairs to the point where the bones themselves didn’t shape properly again and so it’s nearly deformed and have a titanium rod in place to keep it’s shape as best as possible.

When I was cleared to walk again (which took nearly 3 months and a total of 3 surgeries), I had prepared myself for my own rehab (never went to PT at all) and started out with Hindu Squats, Hindu Pushups & The Bridge. That was the beginning of training every single day since (aug 1st, 2005) and haven’t taken a day off this whole time. I first managed over 1000 Squats that December in 56 min.

Because of the rod and pins in my legs (along with a weird ratio of waist to legs) If I keep certain areas straight and bringing the heels upward in the movement, it puts stress in my shin and ankles and becomes very discomforting. So I have to be very careful in how I process with those particular squats. Its also difficult at times to keep my heels down in some exercises cause I automatically feel the rod in my shin (it’s not fun) and need to adjust.

OUCH!

Ben – certainly no complaints from me in that regard! With all that iron in your legs – pun NOT intended, even DOING squats is great, and the timeframes you’ve mentioned – well, most “normal” people would be doing great to get to 1000 squats in 56 minutes for one.

(Ideally 1000 should take around half an hour or so, but for Ben, that’s completely understandable with his condition!).

And he’s right – going all the way down and doing Hindus the way they “should” be done – are NOT how he should be doing them. My bad Ben – I had no idea, but now I do!

(While I recommend Hindu squats for MOST people, if you’ve had severe injuries in the past like Ben has -might be a good idea to listen to your body a bit more as you do ’em, and figure out what works best for YOU – Ben did that- kudos!).

He mentions this too –

hat was the beginning of training every single day since (aug 1st, 2005) and haven’t taken a day off this whole time. I first managed over 1000 Squats that December in 56 min.

Kudos! (and a lesson to learnt for lazy asses worldwide, I’d say “I’m too tired”. HA!).

You are a hell of an observer but I wanted to fill in the blanks. I’m not big on the squats as much anymore and have focused on Step Ups like legendary wrestler Bob Backlund. Those have been a huge difference for my legs and are better suited to my structure than the squats have.

Hey man – Bob Backlund was the real deal! Back in the day – old school strength – old school training, I’m not a fan of the bench press as you know, but a guy that can bench 500 and deadlift 550 or whatever it was, then put in tons of wrestling – well – wrestling by itself is one of the hardest things anyone can do – mucho respect!!

And yes, step ups – or climbing stairs for that matter – is GREAT!

My own long climbs up stairs in the daily heat and humidity of Southern China attest to that. Hehe.

And as for step ups, Bob Backlund was a huge proponent of them – and … ah, but wait.

Let me just share what Ben has written on it – a great piece – here it is – very informative – check it out – Ben’s Power And Might Writings: The Bob Backlund Workout

Geez, 2800 setups is right up there with Iron Mike’s daily 2000 squats and sit ups and 500 pushups!

Thats something, if he did that regularly!

Anyway – Ben – great stuff – thanks for writing in and sharing this with me – I figured I’d share it with the rest of the DOERS – they will love how you came back from injury yourself – haven’t taken a single day off in years – keep doing the thing – and MORE!

(I’d never have guessed you had those injuries from the way you train – yeah, I did feel you needed a bit more conditioning work, but given what you have to work with – excellent, super job – keep it going!).

Great stuff man – and keep it coming on your end too – I for one love it.

(and, no problem sharing your link/promos etc, at the end of the day, as you know, I dont believe in “scarcity” in terms of what youre promoting etc – there is enough to go around for all, and to me, if the person is real, and a doer – those are both qualities sorely missing in the world today – and I’ll go to the ends of the earth to share stories like yours!)

And that, my friend is that.

Hope this little bit brightens up your day and provides YOU with the extra incentive you need to get to WORK – and get HER DONE.

I’m out.

Back soon (tomorrow!).

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

PS – I better respond to Ben as well, hehe.