Month: June 2021

The Old School KISS Calisthenics Program :

•chins
•pushups
•deep knee bends
•wrestler’s bridge
•dips

That’s the large majority of your exercises, and additionally you walk loads.

Obviously do some body balancing work, I’d add in hip thrusts (this can be unweighted), and leg curls.

Many need more glute and hamstring work and development.

Personally I do the pushups, and skip the dips – I’m not doing a “dip odyssey” right now.

I intend to keep the chins as chins, not pullups, not neutral grip, but chins, and in the 10 rep range.

I feel very strong with sets of 10, tens are beyond baked in, and lightly/slowly adding weight to the belt I won’t even realize it’s weighted.

Sets of 10 weighted chin ups is where I want to be very strong.

I’ve learned through experience that bw squats are a huge builder of work capacity.

I picture a deep knee bend as like a hindu squat, but without the arm motion.

Do whatever type of bodyweight squat you like, you could even lunge in their place.

The bread & butter of this, the :

•chins
•pushups
•deep knee bends
•wrestler’s bridge
•dips

Is the simplest full body program you’ll ever find, something I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that my grandpa had done were I able to ask him.

(At some point between the military, hs sports, college sports, the time period, and knowing he had a very quality classic physique in his 20s/in the 1950s.)

Persistence & Tenacity

I’m not big on caffeine.

Occasionally I’ll use some coffee before a late night gym session, after a long day at work, and where the next day is off.

While I don’t know the true feeling of being hungover never having drank, I experience something akin to that feeling the next morning after I’ve caffeined myself out of my mind before hitting gym volume.

Stimulants are fun, but the one time I drank a bang energy drink I thought it was a death sentence.

I don’t get the gallons of coffee drinkers, the multiple energy drink drinkers, or the fact that methheads live to tell the tale – not automatically od’ing, stroking out.

I’m naturally high energy, fairly easily get hot, easily stay warm in winter, and I find in the heat, what works for me as a pick me up at the end of the day is going to the grocery store and getting something or two cold to drink on the way to the gym.

Sometimes it’s flavored milk.

Sometimes it’s fruit juice.

Sometimes it’s lemonade.

One of the local grocery chains sells lemonade wicked cheap.

Cheap normally, on sale I paid 88¢ for a half gallon.

While camping I’ve went to this store, bought a can of chili, a half gallon of lemonade, and called it a better dinner for under $5 than mickie ds would’ve provided.

Lemonade works well for easy energy.

I picked that up from my grandpa, he’d squeeze lemon into water, pour in sugar, and stir it around.

It was a regular thing for him, and he like I sweat profusely – though I never discussed it with him, I’m sure he drank the sugar water that is lemonade regularly for a reason.

His body needed it.

It’s better than sports drinks, hits a different spot than milk, which I too consider a great hydration aid in the heat.

-J

6/26/21
He looks about 16, I figure he’s quiet, shy, though physically strong jawed and athletic…

I could see him as a roughly 140lb wrestler.

His step dad is screaming at him finger in his face, his older brother and the brother’s friend are through body language trying to keep the peace.

The kid storms off, passes by me a few minutes later alone, his hood up, shoulders tense, both fists clenched.

I get it, looks like a rough position to be in. 16, an asshole step dad, not the best part of town.

I don’t say a word to the kid, but I want to tell him “dude, I’ve been there, go to the park- work out, work off the steam”.

There’s a playground damn close.
A few spots within short walking distance.

Kid is already on foot, fuming – go to one of the spots.

This all rehit me, teenage arguments with my dad, I’d walk to the park just sit there, play tetris on my flip phone, or if possible hit lots of dips, fast, headphoned up.

(Did those dips to Disturbed, think about the name a second, the connotations, much of the so called “music” is negative brainwashing garbage.)

Blow off the steam.

If I could id go back and force my 14 year old self to be massacring burpees, better yet my even younger self, 10 even.

I’d never have been a fat kid grades 7-9.

I’m soaked.
20 five pump burpees on a :20 interval, I’ve got one more set of mantra pushups to do before I shower up.

That kid just walks to the park and hits a bunch of burpees fast, he’ll never have an avoidable issue with his step dad, no matter how shitty the stepdad is :

•He won’t be arguing.
•He won’t softly be saying “you told me to step outside, we’re outside” sounding slightly angry, partly sad, but quite scared, his eyes looking at the ground.

He’ll just be wanting to crash on his bed or shower up.

Running through your energy, burning massive amounts of calories – you won’t have a moment for trouble.

I’ve been working 6-7 days a week, a woman told me “have a good weekend”, I told her “I’m working straight through it”, she told me “good, then you’re making money, you could not be, and that’ll be keeping you out of trouble”.

There’s truth to that.

Thus far I’m mostly only making time for job and train.

Doing something else, for myself…
I could match my 55 hours pay at this job with 10 hours self employed. 10!

(That’s at what is the normal local hourly rate in the field.)

But for the moment, at this job –
the crockpot with have to come out, which will solve cooking.

Pulled chicken breast in tomato sauce on hoagie rolls has sounded far beyond amazing for the last 36 hours.

Maybe with garbanzo beans.

I don’t have real problems.

There’s a roof over my head, there’s food aplenty in the fridge, in the grocery store, I’ve got clothes, there’s hot water about to clean off the day’s grime and sweat.

Heck, how could I complain when not only do I get “wow you lift” compliments, but “great beard” compliments as well.

I’m definitely losing weight with the physical job.

Some fat has come off my upperbody, a good deal off my lower. I’m interested to see how lean I’ll get, and I know it’d come faster with bodybuilder style eating.

How you feel physically, and mentally is strongly correlated with everything you do.

Unless you’re craving it strongly, crummy food makes you feel like crap.

Normal eating, meat, potatoes, dairy works for 99% of people – if they’d just do it.

I view meatloaf and mashed potatoes as a very American thing, a staple with the family around the table for a reason.

It worked, still would.

Until tommorow,

Persistence & Tenacity

Those who don’t work out are missing out, I don’t care how physical a job you have – still do some calisthenics daily, and weights once or twice a week minimally.

Otherwise it’s statistically most likely that you end up a sad body – in pain, with a sloppy drop gut 20, 30, 40, whatever years down the road.

The 60yo doctor, ripped on his trt, I don’t view him as any better either.

Such goofballs – synthetically trying to be something they’re not…mentally.

It is MENTAL.
Not physical/chemical in the body.
MENTAL

MENTAL

There are builds that look right, and builds that don’t.

In all honesty the dudes on active duty military, the ones who take fitness seriously – they tend to have very good natural physiques.

Recently I spoke to one, army, probably 23yo, I’m assuming ranger based on his shirt.

On leave, still lifting. We had a funny conversation about hating running, only doing so when forced.

You can make combat related connotations, assumptions about the above.

•hates to run.
•will when forced.

Think about it.
It struck me immediately.

You tend to see two types of adults on bicycles :

1. well off, 50ish, in spandex, maybe the goofball doctor on his trt mentioned above, if not him his friends, coworkers, and associates.

2. junkies/homeless

1980s in the 2010s – he was a better bicyclist than any of the bike pack riders on their multi k bikes in spandex, and he did it…well read the link.

It’s not the cash investment, it’s the sweat equity.

I find it hilarious how many college age guys I see wearing gymshark.

Pretty much all gym brands I associate as girl clothes, as not for guys.

I didn’t tell that army kid about my pullup ability. It likely would’ve shocked him, or maybe he knew of some “superfats” in practice if not by definition.

The last person I spoke to who knew the term was a 50ish prior marine about two months back.

My understanding is that it’s an older usmc slang. My grandfather’s generation knew it, youngsters college aged don’t.

According to Merriam-Webster* :

“Superfat” :

1. A big ole, often country boy, who despite his mass is decent, even good at PT, dominates the o course, can pullups, ruck marches better than everyone, but ain’t never hitting weight regs.

2. “He sucks at PT, ain’t passing the run on the test ever, but he’s exactly who I want next to me in combat.”

Slightly different definitions, but from a similar base.

I truly wonder why the definitions I’ve heard are so varied, but clearly have a similar root.

East coast vs West coast?
Time period?

*Not that I actually checked any dictionary, Merriam-Webster or otherwise.

1138pm – I wake up, check my watch.

“What the heck, that can’t be right – 1138pm.”

I had an alarm set for 840pm, I was exhausted and a short nap became half a nights sleep.

Slept right through the alarm, I don’t know that I’ve ever done that in my life.

I remember being a sophomore in high school, being unable to sleep unless I’d done my pushups for the day, my body has that internal clock – I hadn’t done my pushups, I woke up.

1140-1155 – five mantra sets, and a bit extra.

I never miss my daily pushups.

Not letting myself be ocd I let myself skip overhead squats, it hadn’t been three months daily yet, about two – I believe I started in late April.

No chins. No db c&p. No ocd about them…

I never miss my daily pushups.

Daily pushups are baked in.
It’s a habit I’ll never quit.
They’re so much more.

Persistence & Tenacity

Beginner gains as the best gains you’ll ever get is bullshit.

If that’s the best you’ve gotten obviously you haven’t trained well enough over a long enough time frame.

Years.

The longer you consistently train, the stronger you feel, the leaner you naturally are, and how strong you feel is a solid metric for how strong you truly are.

When in doubt take a moderate load and do volume into the stratosphere.

That builds you up.

Every man would be built as nature intended walking 8-10 miles and doing 100-250 chin ups each day.

Bunch of lean & mean motherfuckers walking the earth on that program.

700 pullups and 70 miles on foot a week will keep you from being fat regardless of what you eat.

Working in the heat can be contest prep.

I like the changes I’m seeing in the mirror.

Persistence & Tenacity

The secret is consistency – whatever programming you use doesn’t matter.

Put in daily effort for a decade and you win by default.

That’s it. Simple.

That’s how jacked inmates happen.

+/- 10 years of daily calisthenics will do it.

Does it.

Start. Now.

At 14 years old starting nightly pushups, my decision was so right.

Enough physicality in your youth, and you could’ve been jacked at 14.

I remember dudes who were.

But did they keep it?

Consistency again.

Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.

Always consistency.

Enough training time throws training and diet “rules” out the window.

“Rules” are just guidelines anyway, most useful for beginners, though not necessarily even then.

There is the “ideal” path, and the one you actually take.

Beginners often struggle with understanding and acting on this.

I’m on a cut via labor job and barely eating with a staunch refusal to take a day off from the gym.

It is what it is!
I’m living it!

You’re not going to find me not training – period.

I’ll always do my pushups.
I prefer training outside the house, so to the gym I go.

I’ve gotten big and strong with a bunch of pushups.

Training at planet fitness keeps me in the mindstate of “gotta improvise – I make it work”.

Your well equipped gym may be holding you back.

You have to NEED to make progress.

To the gym I go.

Persistence & Tenacity