For those who aren't aware, Matt Furey is a big advocate of bodyweight exercises. He has released a number of books and tapes on it, but they all revolve around his book Combat Conditioning. The book itself is largely centralized on Hindu pushups, Hindu squats, and a very intense back bridge where he rolls back onto his forehead.

Ignoring the fact that he makes money off of relatively common knowledge, is his program as sound as he claims? Does anyone actually have experience with it? He looks pretty good in the pictures I've seen, but I have trouble believing a physique like that could be sculped with only bodyweight. He was afterall a pretty big weight lifter before getting into his current gimmick. So, before I find an eBook copy of Combat Conditioning, does anyone have opinions or experiences with his programs?

Here's a picture of him for reference.
http://www.combatwrestling.com/rippedabs.jpg

I have the book. Nothing special in it. He basically says that if you base your exercise around doing hindu squats, hindu pushups, bridgework and handstands, you will get in shape. Getting abs is not promised in the book and he states that on the first page. That mostly has to do with diet! If you want more info about the book or some examples of the exercises, let me know. There is no set routine in the book. Just about 100 pages of exercise descriptions.

A few things.

First, what do you mean by "sound"? In life, there are no guarantees. The program is only as effective as you allow it to be.

Second, experience? Yes, I've done quite a few cycles of his program and I love it. It builds endurance and strength and is something that I can take with me anywhere I go.

Third, that is interesting to wonder if that physique can be sculpted by body weight. Weight training as we know it has only been around for a few centuries. On the other hand, bodyweight training has been around for thousands of years. You only have to glimpse Greek and Roman sculptures to see that 2,500 years ago, there were still shredded, muscular physiques with rock-hard abs. They certainly didn't have barbells and dumbbells at the time (and no, they didn't carry bulls on their back, either - that legend was created to explain bodybuilding concepts, but doesn't exist outside of when it first surfaced in the 60s).

Also, I don't believe he has the book in e-Book format - it is a print copy. I like my book. I turned around and bought his sculpted abs, too. But then again, I don't consider buying books an expense, but an investment - I always gain something, so it is not difficult to decide.

Jeremy


For those who aren't aware, Matt Furey is a big advocate of bodyweight exercises. He has released a number of books and tapes on it, but they all revolve around his book Combat Conditioning. The book itself is largely centralized on Hindu pushups, Hindu squats, and a very intense back bridge where he rolls back onto his forehead.

Ignoring the fact that he makes money off of relatively common knowledge, is his program as sound as he claims? Does anyone actually have experience with it? He looks pretty good in the pictures I've seen, but I have trouble believing a physique like that could be sculped with only bodyweight. He was afterall a pretty big weight lifter before getting into his current gimmick. So, before I find an eBook copy of Combat Conditioning, does anyone have opinions or experiences with his programs?

Here's a picture of him for reference.
http://www.combatwrestling.com/rippedabs.jpg

I'm interested in hearing from some more people who may have already purchased the product. Mr. Furey tends to make a lot of exaggerated claims and his product is very expensive, but it's impossible to judge what you have never seen so I won't bash him.

However if you go to any of the dozens of forums related to mixed martial arts you will find thousands of Furey haters-probably because of his marketing techniques. Not having competed in any known limited-rules contests it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt as being this amazing catch wrestler.

I've often wondered about the safety of the headstand pushups he advocates. It seems to me that it could create some serious blood pressure problems in the head....possibly leading to stroke or aneurysm in susceptable individuals. Does anybody have any info/opinions on this?

i wouldent want his physique

I'm interested in hearing from some more people who may have already purchased the product. Mr. Furey tends to make a lot of exaggerated claims and his product is very expensive, but it's impossible to judge what you have never seen so I won't bash him.

However if you go to any of the dozens of forums related to mixed martial arts you will find thousands of Furey haters-probably because of his marketing techniques. Not having competed in any known limited-rules contests it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt as being this amazing catch wrestler.

That's my gripe with his products. I'm all for reading a good story but hindu squats are not the answer to all of life's problems. All of the testimonials he uses are strangely written in the same style he uses in his stories. That leads me to question the validity of the testimonials. They may be true but he should copy them "word for word" in order to keep the integrity of the testimonial. I enjoy his book and flip through it regularly but you have to take it for what it is...A book describing bodyweight exercises. I would liken it to the compilation cd's they sell on TV. With a little legwork, you could make the cd (gather all the songs, record them together, etc.) but the compilation cd is ready right now and costs about the same. There is nothing in the book that can't be found on the internet or in your local library. Bodyweight exercises are not a new invention, Matt Furey did not invent the Hindu Squat. He does not claim that they are his creation, but he did the "legwork" compiling all these exercises into a book.

I think that Matt's concepts are perfectly legit and highly effective. I also think that one needs to take into consideration what drives somebody to make a purchase of material such as his, or anybody elses. Obviously, there is a desire to gain the knowledge contained in the material. Some people may feel stuck in whatever situation they are in, and simply need something to give them a shove. They may feel that perhaps there is some hidden secret contained in whatever it is they are interested in purchasing, and that it may be the one thing that they have been looking for. Furey's marketing leads one to believe that he has found some hidden mystical secrets that have been locked away from society for many, many years. The truth is...he has alot of information that some people haven't seen or heard before. These people are typically pretty happy with their purchases from him. Then there are others that have been involved in a great many different training endevors, be it weight training, track and field, or martial arts. While they believed in what he was selling through his marketing, (which is really quite good, by the way) they find that alot of what they read to be the same things they've been taught in the past, but simply gave up on at some point. At least this is what I read in some of the other forums that I frequent. It goes along the line of..."Fureys exercises that he would have you believe are some long lost secrets, are nothing more than exercises that you could find on your own, if you did some searching on the web" Gee...how is that any different than the knowledge we might gain through taking a class or through a focused research group? You could also find that information on your own...but how long would it take you? How long would you spend trying to decide if you wanted to believe what you were reading? How much is your time really worth to you? Buying somebody elses material is basically just saving you the time necessary to find the information on your own...that's if you knew where to begin.

http://www.warriorforce.com/meetross.html

This guy (Ross Enamait) also has a bodyweight books about, AFAIK more people favour it over Matt Furey's stuff.

Ross is great-I like his style of writing from what I've had a chance to see and I've seen videos of his drills. He can definitely box and has great agility.

What Kino said about Matt is correct-you have to consider that there are different types of people who come across his marketing. For some people Matt's secrets are actually fresh information and for some they've seen it before but maybe Matt's writing gets them excited about it. For the highly cynical athlete who thinks he knows everything already, Matt would rub them the wrong way.

On Sherdog.com there are hundreds of threads dedicated to bashing the guy.

As for his marketing, I would say there is a difference between marketing that is effective and good. But others might disagree. For instance, a successful informmercial uses EFFECTIVE marketing, but is it GOOD marketing? Those who find infommercials distasteful were probably not going to buy the product no matter how good the marketing, so maybe there's no way to have classy yet effective direct sales marketing pieces. And I think Matt's marketing is very similar to an infommercial. Lots of testimonials, hyperbole, and price slashing with a buy button at the very bottom of the page. This is more of an internet marketing observation than a comment on what's actually in his books but I think most people's opinion of him are based on the ad's they see online and in specialty publications. The people who bash him largely have never seen his product-they would say that they wouldn't be caught dead giving him their money.

I say this is a capitalistic society and a man has to make a buck-he's not selling lies or giving bad advice so more power to him. But I'm hoping that style of selling online will fade over time.

I've often wondered about the safety of the headstand pushups he advocates. It seems to me that it could create some serious blood pressure problems in the head....possibly leading to stroke or aneurysm in susceptable individuals. Does anybody have any info/opinions on this?

I don't think they're very dangerous unless you don't have the base level of strength before your peform them (causing over exertion and possibly physical injuries from falling) or you have circulatory or brain related problems that would make you susceptable to injury, being upside-down.

I spend a lot of time upside-down (or at least with my heart above my head) and have never had any adverse affects.