Downloadable Web Tutorials

Ankle Strength

The ankle is probably the most neglected joint complex of our bodies when it comes to physical conditioning. We tend not to think about them very much, until we get injured. Unfortunately, such injuries are common, and much of this can be chalked up to neglect. In this downloadable video tutorial, Coach Murdock takes you through a series of low tech CST drills to pre-hab your ankles for injury prevention and superior sport performance. The drills are “low tech” because all can be done using your own bodyweight, without need for stretch bands or fancy wobble boards.

The drills presented in this web tutorial will:

Restore the full, healthy range of motion of your ankles
Give you full-range ankle strength
Provide a “safety valve” for when movement deviates from expected ranges—“injury-proofing” your joints
Protect you from accidental ankle turns which typically result in sprains or tears

The need for full-range ankle strength crosses all athletic boundaries. The ability to make quick lateral cuts to avoid a tackle in American and Canadian football demands supple, strong ankles. All racquet sports require fleetness of foot and sudden changes in direction. A sport like hockey, which encases a player’s ankles in rigid skates, normally results in static ankle strength but extreme weakness in all other ranges. Even outdoor sports like hiking, where terrain and heavy loads make ankle sprains a serious risk, can benefit from these drills.

The magic behind the rapid development prompted by these movements is the CST protocol of moving from Mobility to Strength. We first set out to restore the full, healthy range of motion of the ankles. We then seamlessly transition to strength exercises by adding weight to that healthy range. Finally, once health is restored, we build ankle strength in odd ranges much as we did for the wrists in my earlier tutorials Beyond Pushups I and II.

Get your copy now for just $10.00!!! This 107 MB download is in mpeg-4 format and contains 26 minutes of drills. It can be viewed with the Quicktime media player. (Click HERE to download the latest version of the free Quicktime media player.) Click HERE to watch a preview clip.

Beyond Pushups 2 - Quad Hops and Other Plyometrics

This volume picks up where Beyond Pushups left off by introducing advanced upper body plyometric exercises. Due to the difficulty of some of these movements, you must have mastered the fundamental exercises of the prior volume before tackling this one. You'll be taking the full-range wrist strength and coordination you've built to entirely new realms of movement sophistication.

The drills presented in this web tutorial will:

Train your connective tissues to access Stored Elastic Energy
Allow you to 'overload' your bodyweight for superior results without equipment
Train the speed at which your tissues contract and relax
Develop muscular power - the ability to rapidly generate large amounts of force

Most of the advanced drills in this tutorial platform off of the CST Quad Hop. This simple yet subtle drill requires complex coordination, and Coach Murdock prepares the ground by guiding you through the two most common mistakes people make with it: one in terms of structure and the other in terms of movement. He then takes you through a series of incremental drills which have been carefully sequenced to give you access to that solid structure and to the rhythm and timing so necessary to it's mastery in motion. From there you'll take the quad squat into all 6 degrees of freedom, building 3-dimensional strength for real world applications.

These are some of the very same drills Coach Murdock takes with him to the marginal regions of the world. He's used them to stay fit in 5 star hotels in Cairo. He's done them inside a two-person tent camped on the open steppes of Outer Mongolia. And he's used them for warmth in a ruined quonset hut while trapped by inclement weather in Canada's Northwest Territories. On journeys like that, the experienced travel light. This tutorial contains some of the choicest tools for your portable bag of tricks, and a collection of expedition-tested methods for preparation you can trust.

Get your copy now for just $10.00!!! This 135 MB download is in mpeg-4 format and contains 32 jam-packed minutes of drills. It can be viewed with the Quicktime media player. (Click HERE to download the latest version of the free Quicktime media player.) Click HERE to watch a teaser clip.

Beyond Situps

While a six-pack stomach may be the most conventional benchmark of athletic beauty, functional abdominal strength goes deeper and is far more important than vanity. A strong core improves your posture and reduces the likelihood of lower back pain. It plays a stabilizing role in virtually every movement you do – from carrying the groceries or bending down to tie your shoes to throwing a ball or pulling a heavy lift. It is also the source of power generation in many athletic activities. In this downloadable video tutorial, Coach Murdock takes you through a series of cutting edge drills to firm up your waistline, strengthen your core, and challenge you like you’ve never been challenged before!

The progression in this web tutorial will give you:

Superior core activation
The ability to ‘be breathed’ by movement
Full spinal articulation
Functional, multi-dimensional core strength

Coach Murdock is known among the RMAX Faculty for the creativity of his drills and exercise variations. Join him as he takes the basic CST Spinal Rock and contorts it into realms drawn from a coach’s dream -- or athlete’s worst nightmare. Don’t get us wrong – these drills will also give you that killer beach body. It’s just that we place a higher premium on health-first than do most other fitness systems. In our opinion, the best of both worlds is to look great while increasing your health and building functional strength that will actually be useful to you under real world demands. There are no puffed up fakes or cosmetic balloon bodies at CST! If you want that six pack, Coach Murdock will take you there in a healthy, functional way.

Get your copy now for just $10!!! This download is in mpeg-4 format and can be viewed with the Quicktime media player. (Click HERE to download the latest version of the free Quicktime media player.) This tutorial is a 71MB download and contains 18 minutes jam packed with drills. Click HERE to watch a teaser clip.

"This is awesome Ryan! I really like all of the inventive and challenging variations. How do you come up with this stuff . . .?" -- Jeffry C. Larson

"This is an outstanding tutorial. Just watching Coach Murdock move is worth the price. The "lecture", explanations and demos are invaluable, with enough material to keep anyone busy for some time. My guess is someone at the gym doing Hurdler to Standing or Leg Thread to Standing will be stopping traffic with those moves. Plus the soundtrack is great." -- Jeanne Gostnell, CST Coach

"Another excellent presentation, Coach Murdock! Very fluid movement in your demonstrations, kick-butt variations, not to mention an awesome soundtrack!" -- Brian Bentz, CST Coach

Beyond Pushups

While gross motor movements like pushups are great for General Physical Preparedness (GPP), if you want to take your athleticism to the next level you must sophisticate your training. Join Coach Murdock as he takes apart this seemingly simple exercise and cranks out variations that you never thought possible. The progression in this web tutorial will give you:

upper body strength and stamina
phenomenal levels of wrist strength
greater ability to transfer force through the upper body architecture
sports specific performance enhancement for athletics, martial arts, and contact sports
thicker wrists, stronger shoulders and arms, and a more shapely chest
a creative and intense way to train without equipment and with little space

Coach Murdock is known among the RMAX Faculty for his freakish levels of wrist strength. In this video tutorial he reveals how he built it, and he presents movements that leave even Coach Sonnon shaking his head with disbelief.

Get your copy now for just $10!!! All downloads are in mpeg-1 format and are compatible with most video players. Click HERE and HERE to watch a teaser clip of the program.

"I’ve been doing push ups since I was 4 and I thought I’d seen every type in the world, but I learned something new the day I watched this." Joseph Wilson, RMAX Faculty Coach, multiple time International Martial Art Hall of Fame inductee, professional law enforcement officer.

"Coach Murdock, you FIEND! You make these look easy. Anyone who thinks they can ignore your cautions about getting solid with the basics and working incrementally does so at their peril!" - Jeanne Gostnell, CST Coach

"I've been doing push ups for a long, long time. High school athletics through the Army (that stint involved thousands of plain ol' styled push ups), then through the myriad of martial arts schools I've involved myself with through many years. I must say that I haven't seen a push up program like the one Coach Murdock has offered. I actually tried most of them after downloading the video and must say that they don't put the repetitive stress that the old-school push up does, yet I feel the amazing strength-building results that these not-seen (at least by me in my five decades) exercises will have on my body. For those hesitant about this un-expensive offer (they're worth much more than the offered $7), don't hesitate anymore. This is a great product! Coach Murdock has done an exemplary job on this. I can't wait to see his hopefully, near-future offerings. I have who have pushed the planet dozens and dozens of miles with push ups am quite impressed!" -- Kevin Lee Dougherty

Stickfighting Attribute Development Vol 2 - Kinesthetic Sensitivity

RMAX Faculty Coach Ryan Murdock has devoted over two decades to the study of stick fighting. In this volume he shares some of the most effective strategies from his ninjutsu background, weaving them seamlessly into the RMAX FlowFighting coaching methodology. This volume builds on the prior installment Attribute Development for Stick Fighting – Volume 1 Strength and Mobility to introduce movement and flow drills for solo weapons practice.

The drills presented in this web tutorial will give you:

Kinesthetic sensitivity
Weapon retention through ‘flow’
Greater dexterity
The ability to redirect strikes and slip around obstacles

You’ll learn the “guiding hand / mobile hand” drill, which teaches you how to redirect strikes around obstacles (including blocks and parries) with disorienting impact. You’ll learn how to conceal the length of your weapon and how to take advantage of “weak” angles of vision to add an element of deception to your strikes. And you’ll learn how to twirl the staff smoothly and strike seamlessly while in motion.

The format of the tutorial mirrors the Practice side of the CST Training Hierarchy Pyramid. You’ll first practice each drill in a static manner, mastering the mechanics and skills in isolation. You’ll then begin to combine those skills into drills that are increasingly fluid, building a movement palette with the stick upon which to platform the techniques of your art or discipline. Finally, at the end of the tutorial Coach Murdock shows you how to bring it all together into dynamic drills for solo stick practice. The accelerated rate of skill acquisition tapped by this process is what is truly revolutionary about RMAX FlowFighting.

This title has been retired to the vault to make room for newer products.

Stickfighting Attribute Development Vol 1 - Strength and Mobility

Of all the “weapons studies” available to martial artists today, stick fighting is probably the most practical because its principles can be applied to the widest array of objects in your natural environment. Unlike firearms or a knife, the stick also offers a non-lethal means of self-defence when outnumbered, overwhelmed, or confronted by an armed attacker. Join Coach Murdock as he takes you through this series of cutting edge strength and mobility drills to build your attribute base and train a movement palette upon which to build your stick fighting mastery. The progression in this web tutorial will give you:

functional grip strength
better weapon retention
more powerful strikes
smoother technique

Coach Murdock has devoted over two decades to the study of stick fighting, and these skills have kept him safe while traveling alone in some of the world’s more hostile environments. In this tutorial he shows you some of the staple drills which form the base of his solo stick training. But it’s not just for martial artists! These drills are excellent for sports like hockey and lacrosse, where the ability to retain your stick in a dynamic environment requires full-range grip strength. These movements also provide excellent compensation for the type of repetitive strain injuries that can develop when the wrist is held in a fixed position in sports like tennis, golf and table tennis. Working your wrists outside the range and depth demanded by those sports is one way that you can ‘injury proof’ your joints for pain-free career longevity.

Get your copy now for just $10!!! This 73MB download, containing 18 minutes jam packed with drills, is in mpeg-4 format and can be viewed with Quicktime and other media players. (Click HERE to download the latest version of the free Quicktime media player.) Click HERE to watch a teaser clip.

"This program is so fun that after taking the handle off and putting it back on the broom at least 5 times today, I just left it off so that I could play with it at every break. I see patients and write for a living so I make sure that I move and care for my wrists, elbows, and shoulders daily. Going through Coach Murdock's tutorial is showing me that there were things I wasn't getting at as deeply as I could. I have already told a couple clients with shoulder issues about this program... One lays carpet and another sits behind a desk. If you want to explore improved motion and strength with your wrists, elbows, and shoulders but are hesitating because this is titled "Stick Fighting," forget what it is called and know that good movement is good movement." -- Dr. Kathryn Woodall, DC

This title has been retired to the vault to make room for newer products.

DVD's and Manuals

12 Minute Stage Crazy: A Cardio Program for Musicians

Stage Crazy is the first volume in Coach Murdock's eagerly anticipated Vocal Flow series of performance enhancement exercises for musicians.

Wait a minute! Musicians need to exercise? Do you want to be able to sing louder and longer, perform more intensely, and do it all again the next day? Then yeah, I’m sorry but you need to exercise. Performers are athletes, and the axe, drum kit, and your voice are your implements. Cranking it out at a high level for the duration of a two-hour concert is no joke. If you want to belt it out, shred that axe, and jump all over the damned place while looking cool and not getting out of breath, you need to prepare the ground with a solid cardio routine.

The good news is that it will only take you 12 minutes per session, three or four times a week, to get the rock body you seek. And you don't need any equipment. You can do it all with your own bodyweight, in your hotel room or backstage before the show. The 12 Minute Stage Crazy circuit works your body in 6 Degrees of Freedom to kick your ass faster than any other method, so you can spend the bulk of your time training your voice or plucking those notes rather than polishing post-gig beers off your belly.

Get your copy now for just $17.50!!! This 23-page PDF ebook contains full photo illustrations of each exercise in the Stage Crazy circuit, an instructional video which explains the details of each exercise, and a follow-along video of the circuit. The videos are in mpeg-4 format and can be viewed with the latest version of the Quicktime media player. (Click HERE to download the latest version of the free Quicktime media player.)

The 4x7 Wave Volume One: Bodyweight Exercise Revolution

This eBook series is based on the remarkable 4x7 training protocol created by RMAX Founder Scott Sonnon. The first volume explores 4x7 through a series of bodyweight-only exercise programs. You don't need any equipment to begin training, just a bit of space and the knowledge contained in this book.

Chapters are grouped around particular goals: Fat Loss, Functional Hypertrophy, General Athleticism, and more. The introduction explains how to target each goal, and this is followed by a unique plug-and-play 28-day training cycle. The book is 182 pages long, with 5 major program areas. Each program contains 3 to 4 different levels of movement sophistication, so if you were to work through each level of every program, you'd have 16 different 28-day programs, or just under a year and a half of training!! The book also includes colour photos of all exercise variations, plus bonus links to downloadable video clips for each circuit. It also comes with a joint mobility warmup sequence and a Prasara yoga compensatory movement flow for use with the book.

Order your copy at www.bodyweightexerciserevolution.com.

The following resources, created by Coach Murdock, are available for purchase from RMAX International. Please click the banner at the bottom of the page and follow the links to the RMAX Shop.

The RMAX Powered Bujinkan DVD Series

Elite athletes are constantly searching for an edge. Sports performance institutes spend millions of dollars every year to push the envelope in search of that edge. Martial art is no different. However, despite the fact that martial art is inherently athletic, traditional martial artists are too often reluctant to look beyond their school to gain that same edge.

RMAX Powered Bujinkan defies rigid traditionalism by applying cutting-edge sports science to one of the most successful combat systems worldwide. Using the CST Training Hierarchy Pyramid™ as its model, it fills in missing links such as full-contact sparring and conditioning, and it presents drills that take the hallmarks of mastery in that system and reverse engineer them to provide the clearest possible path.

Volume One : GPP

Volume One presents a complete system of combat specific conditioning . Specific range of motion drills and detailed exercise breakdown are followed by two progressively sophisticating circuit workouts that can be done in 20 minutes to tax your physical and mental limits. Once mastered, the user can tweak the circuits to address a range of performance goals: from strength, endurance and speed to rapid recovery between bursts.

"This DVD is a gold mine of practical RMAX wisdom that anyone can learn from, regardless of your particular martial delivery system." - Jeffry Larson, CST, Chief Warrant Officer US Army, currently stationed in Afghanistan

"...a great overview and application of how the RMAX Training Hierarchy Pyramid (THP) can be applied to enhance your performance in a specific activity, sport, or in this case, martial art. I did not have to be a student of the specific art to really appreciate this material." - Brian Bentz, CST Coach

Volume Two : SPP

Highly challenging strength exercises, partner drills and original Prasara Body-Flow™ and Clubbell® combination routines target the sports specific needs of martial art practitioners. Clear connections are drawn between the exercises and the aspects of enhanced performance. Click HERE for a video preview of Volume 2.

"After viewing the DVD I was amazed at how clear the presentation was. It enables anyone to see the correlation between the movement of the martial art and CST exercise selection. The drills and exercises in Volume Two are amazing. I have already incorporated the concepts and some exercises from this DVD into my Judo practice. Coach Murdock, you rock!" - Mohammed Al-Mulla, CST Coach

"This DVD will simply blow you away. It's difficult to give a good review without giving away some of the brilliance contained within. And when I say brilliance, I mean it. This DVD could have been titled The RMAX Movement Encyclopedia. The section on press-up and spinal rock sophistications could easily be a stand-alone DVD. Coach Murdock teaches each section with precision, through a natural progression that is simply awesome. He then shows compensatory exercises that will help get you ready for each section. I had planned to just passively watch this DVD , but I ended up soaking wet from following along with his exercise progressions." - Joseph Wilson, RMAX Faculty Coach, two-time Hall of Fame inductee, full-time Detective for the Shelby County Sherrif's Office, Memphis, TN

Volume Three : ASP/MEP

The specific Attributes gained in the first two series are taken to the mats in a blizzard of performance enhancement drills – mastery reverse- engineered. From single to multiple attacker drills, from static to fluid to gloved-up and full on, this final volume in the series explicitly lays out what was once the secret of traditional martial art masters – the progression of form to formlessness – and stomps on the accelerator.

The RMAX Training Group Manual

The RMAX Training Group Manual is the essential "how-to" counterpart of Coach Sonnon's groundbreaking Three-Dimensional Performance Pyramid. Whether you seek to apply RMAX to your base of traditional martial arts or you plan to explore RMAX martial resources exclusively, this manual will explain in simple concrete terms where and how to start, and where you can take it. Among the topics covered are:

How to found, organize and run an informal RMAX training group
Formulating realistic goals
Laying the foundation - establishing your training Doctrine, Strategy and Tactics
How to craft training Cycles and Classes
Asymmetrical vs. symmetrical drills - how, when and why to program them
How to structure drills for maximum gain
The PDT as diagnostic
Creating Static, Fluid and Dynamic drills - how, when and why
Applying the Softwork-Hardwork Continuum - how, when and why
Integrating your Personal Practice

The RMAX Training Group Manual gives you the tools to cut through dead ends and trial and error to put your training on the fast track to mastery.

"In jumping into the ocean which is RMAX, this is not only a how-to guide to swimming, it's a how-to guide to building a ship, sailing it, picking up passengers, and a map and sextant to distant ports of call. Folks, the RMAX Training Group Manual is the tangible mission statement of our grass-roots development, one that "every man" can access, internalize and implement. Ryan, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for doing us such a great justice and for taking us where we could not have gone without you becoming a leader in our organization by your contributions, by leading from the front. You're really hit this one out of the park, bro." - Scott Sonnon, RMAX Founder and Director

"Your manual is indeed revolutionary. In my opinion, you have definitely raised a new bar in the realm of martial arts literature." - Bao Tran, CST Coach, the NY Post's "Most Challenging Trainer in NYC"

"Don't look to the TGM for all the answers. As with all RMAX material, it is a thinking man's resource. Rather, look to the TGM to help you figure out how to work your own way through your questions. Look to the TGM to help you formulate those questions. Look to the TGM to elucidate the methodology of RMAX and apply it to your training group. In my experience so far with Coach Murdock, I think that is probably his genius. He has a gift for filtering down and communicating the essence of how RMAX and CST work in the real world. He can take complex concepts and present them in a way which may not make them simple, but will make them into something which you can grasp. This manual will help you put your training group into perspective, to see the big picture." - Adam Steer, CST Coach, world-class ski coach