Month: March 2020

Log & Notes : Continue reading “Covid (Clean &) Press Release Log 3/18/20 – 3/31/20”

3/21/20

“Between them I prefer the pumpkin seeds, I just stomach them better”.

He replies about hearing about some chemical (I was comparing sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, he was still talking about pistachio), and I reply “Yeah, whatever research says, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is how you respond to it, how it affects you, your body.”

What was a brief conversation with a trader joes staff member shines a big ass light on what consideration literature, studies deserve in regards to both your training and eating.

If it works it works.

If it doesn’t it doesn’t.

If your body rejects a food don’t eat it.

Some foods your body craves, and utilizes better than the nutritional label info. Science wouldn’t back this, yet it is so.

(The only person I’ve ever found to agree with me on this was a 20yo laborer that didn’t finish high school. In the work truck nearly a year ago :

“I eat basically anything, right now it’s a lot of kielbasa and twix. I drink a lot of grape juice, like five of the ½ gallons a week of grape juice. It’s basically all by craving.”

“Well, aren’t there a bunch of vitamins in grape juice? You’re working here, and exercise outside of work, your body probably needs something in the grape juice. Hence you crave it, that makes sense to me.”

He ate by similar principle, a gas station tuna sandwich the day I was wicked dehydrated where we had two jobs, one customer being the chinese sorority chick, I cracked up half asking half exclaiming “you eat clean”…”I was craving it”.

He picked my brains a bunch on eating and stretching, and (obviously) once to start the shift had me bust out laughing with a hilariously unexpected lead in to asking me how much I bench. Something like “oh shit man! back at the shop yesterday I forget!…To ask what you bench. 300? More?”)

Basically train however you want,
If it works…it’s working! Go with it. 100%, I know, if your heart is into the method, and you’re putting in honest effort, then good results are guaranteed. The method matters near to zero, the effort matters the large majority.

Train hard. Eat well. That’s it.

(Eating well can be all in the mind. Practice gratefulness. Bless your meals. Enjoy every bite. The quality/quantity can matter, but there’s other factors at play as well. Smile)

The gym ain’t a complicated endeavour. Ignore the fitness industry, go be a happy, strong, healthy you.

Persistence & Tenacity

The rep range that causes the most growth, builds the most muscle, is amrap (as many reps as possible) sets with moderate weights.

Roughly the 20rm, 30rm, and 50rm are the goals here, but a range of 15rm to 100+ is acceptable.

When you’re going high reps, getting a crazy pump and/or activated muscles, and eating high calories you can’t help but be big.

I am very contrarian to much gym knowledge.

My staple barbell movements for you would be military presses, jerks (cleaning into both the overhead lifts), bent rows, shrugs, front squat, and partial front squat, maybe snatch grip deadlifts.

It’d be all for high reps, and there would be a steady diet of calisthenics, jump rope, and isometrics along with it.

(Not to mention machines for the size benefits.)

Heavy isn’t the key for size. The key is reps, volume, and calories.

Go heavy for the rep range and total volume, heavy in a bro science sense meaning effort, not the literal scientific 90%+ of 1rm sense.

This is why I see so many fit dudes wanting to get bigger, but not doing so.

Powerlifting, outside of superheavyweight, is about getting strong while staying a certain size.
It’s not about muscular growth, yet it’s sway is deep in online info.

All the fit dudes stuck at whatever lbs of bodyweight, yeah, they’re not eating enough, but they’re also not taking the % of 1rm that they comfortably train with, and truly making it hard, bringing reps to failure or near it, or truly doing set after set of volume.

They need more calories and more reps.

Size? You could take a low intensity by “scientific” definition, say 70% of 1rm, and using the “bro science” definition of intensity (aka effort), push the reps per set til what is a 10-15rm has become your 50rm.
You’ll be the biggest man around.
Big as hell, and pretty dang strong despite that low % of 1rm.

You’re going to be big and strong using what most stop at 10 reps, could get 15 reps with, but you’re using it as a 30rm that you’re training til it’s a 50rm.

All out high rep set, and/or meaningful volume, plus big calories.

The fit who want to be big would be well served by this.

Archives : Around Fury-Wilder II

America’s best athletes and the world’s best athletes aren’t going to be in the same sports.

Propaganda of the athletic superiority of those in professional sportsball aside, a dude who has the potential to be an nfl player isn’t going to be one unless he grew up in america.

A turk with that genetic potential is gonna be a wrestler.

The pacific islander (aside from american samoa and hawaii) is gonna end up in rugby.

The african? Sprints.

Europe? Strongman, rugby, boxing.

A Mongolian? Judo locally or if recruited sumo in Japan.

Contrary to what is thought america’s professional sports or it’s olympic teams do not mean that america has the world’s best athletes.

How is the country doing in combat sports? Contact sports played worldwide?

Exactly.

I laughed when I heard Tyson Fury by tko. A day or two prior a coworker was so faithful in Wilder’s superhuman athleticism. I was thinking how the fuck does this kid even know who that is, had he fought recently? You can tell how far removed from watching sports I am.

We’re all human. Training plays a huge role. Sitting on the couch spectating is the stuff of sissies.

What’s that Musashi quote?

A Man takes action. Watching baseball is for kids.

When you marry the weight room and make a mistress of the bleachers…what are you capable of?

Persistence & Tenacity

The other day, in the middle of the shit, I do my pushups, then rightly state “Miss my pushups? I’d rather die.”

I made the daily discipline happen, no excuses. Instantaneously my mindset shifted to a solid place.

Honest appraisal shows depression to be connected to knowing, not a feelings, but knowing that you’re not doing what you need to be doing.

There’s a power, inner strength…and contentment, in doing what thou must.

Everything with what’s in your control, and as best as the circumstances allow with what’s out of your control.

Smile, laugh, both with an inner intensity, and live.

You’re still breathing!

I recall 14 years old and training like an animal. Intense pursued desire, with what I had, where I was at.

That’s the proper mentality – “Not go all out? I’d rather die!”, and because suicide is not an option driving yourself to be the best YOU can be, fuck the rest.

You have your disciplines on which you never slip.

You are willing to share your knowledge to all, as you want the best for all, yours, and you. You share openly.

You train and hope the path of excellence rubs off.

Through the motions with a lackadaisical attitude is bullshit!

Do it right, all out. Zero or 100!

My personality. I’m the hype man! I want to excel and get others to!

Circumstance is irrelevant when self is strongly, fully adhered to.

I’m pressing in a moment. I’ll be doing PT unbreakable tonight.

Life is good.

Persistence & Tenacity

I’ve occasionally done Wim Hof breathing since first hearing about him in 2015.

I liked the guided video.

Try it out.

Breathing always makes you happy, with an honest sense of hope, love, and wellbeing.

Meditation, breathing, and PT (physical activity) work wonders.

Be happy, strong, and healthy.

Be well,

-J

Archive : 3/9/19

It’s been said that to the ancient Greeks the most important muscle for a man to have developed was a muscular thigh.

I’ve seen anecdotes of the woman’s family rejecting the marriage proposal on the grounds that the man’s legs were not of sufficient sturdy development.

The Greeks in the gymnasium were jealous of the thigh development of slaves engaged in certain forms of heavy labor.

Sisyphus damned to forever not get that rock uphill over and over at least was able to have serious quads that even Tom Platz would be jealous of from the thing.

Why though did the Greeks care so much for the thigh?

My gut says it is by reason of practicality.

Strong athletic legs were able to carry a man successfully through the world.

The Greeks ran…important thigh.

Hiking the hills… important thigh.

Pushing shield upon shield in battle… important thigh.

Even rowing in the trireme… important thigh.

Though I didn’t go look for it, I swear there is a reference in the Iliad/Odyssey to Odysseus’s/Ulysses’s thigh.

Heck, even Achilles with his weak heel still had super thighs.

I imagine the active ancient Greek had good thigh development. Carrying, running, and jumping in sand pits would build a strong, shapely, athletic leg.

There is a masculine narcissism to feeling pride the power in one’s thighs.

(Update : March 2020 – Apparently the above is something I think of a lot. I thought I’d written this within the last month, only to find I’d written this a year ago.)