Strength and Physique

Hi James,   I have been trying out the 8x8 routine, and it is a incredible.  I haven’t experienced muscle fatigue like this before.  I am into my second week of it, and I have made up 4 workout routines.  I am doing it only 4 times a week with 2 days on then 1 day off.  I have a couple questions.    1)       How many weeks would you recommend doing the 8x8 routine? 2)       Is it OK that I on the 7 th and 8 th set that I fall short of the 8 reps? 3)       What routine would you recommend after I have finished up this routine, or could I just switch the exercises?   Thank you for your advice.  You books are great I refer to them often.  I only wished I knew about the Ebooks before I bought the paper ones.   Sincerely, Derek My Answer: Follow the 8x8 program no longer than 3 weeks, then afterwards do the 3-5 Method for 3 weeks.  Perfectly fine to fall short of 8 reps on the 7th and 8th set. I get a lot of questions on what training

So I've been watching this TV series on National Geographic called Kung Fu Quest .  It's a fascinating show where a couple of martial artists go train in different systems of kung fu.  In this particular episode they trace the origin of karate to white crane boxing: At the 48 minute mark , they go over traditional karate strength training exercises: stone hammers , sanchin steps, stone locks and dynamic tension . I've always found traditional martial arts strength exercises to be fascinating, because martial artists use a lot of strength exercises that predate the advent of dumbbells and barbells.  Martial artists practice a wide variety of body weight exercises and partner-assisted exercises meant to build strength, mobility and flexibility.  Different disciplines, for example, have their own push-up variations: As I mentioned in a previous post, the original purpose of exercise was martial.  Exercise originated from the martial arts and from warrior cultur