Month: November 2023

11/8/23
It was windy.
While filming, luckily the 2x215lb press made it on camera.

The back off press set of 14x170lb press did not…well technically it did, til the camera was knocked over by a gust of wind between the 10th and 11th reps.

You can hear me breathing after rep 12, 13, and 14, hear the bar set down, hear me ric flair “whoo”…the camera face down on the grass.

I just deleted the file…
I realize I should make more talking videos.

The barbarian brothers video is doing decent, I expect it’ll break 1000 views soon, my best long form talk yet.

It’s over 800 and gets 25-50/day.
Maybe some more subscribers will come from me stating properly – it’s weakness to run to the argument of “steroids”, that all would be better believing in inherent human awesomeness and having either no frame of reference for what is considered good (the kid doing a weighted one arm pullups in a barn principle) or knowing only world records with the instructions “go forth, see how far you can go”.

…..

Now to talk training ;
The fastest pressing gains I ever made were at about my 18th birthday, a tad before as I recall – as around my birthday the hockey coach/gym teacher started locking students out of the weight room (so as to have his own personal gym to do his dumbbell inclines)…I was pressing and incline pressing on alternate days, pressing five or six days a week depending on which press fell on saturday.

I’d incline at home, otherwise just volume squats on both saturday and sunday, the five full body days monday through friday at school.

I’d read 5/3/1…

This is 2012, Jim Wendler had no frequency options back then…

Besides, I’m too stubborn to follow another’s programming as written anyway – BUT, I can use a guideline, bastardize whatever “as written”, make it my own, and then run with it.

I programmed the press and incline press both with 5/3/1 percentages, alternating between the two five or six days a week.

My incline went up FAST.
Like 1×175 to 12×185 in two months fast.
(guesstimate – I don’t know where that log is, maybe I still have it)

…..

The above all said, today’s 2×215 was an improvement from the baked in 1-2×205 that I’d been good for.

Both sets, today – day 18, and the 2×205 – day 2, were done as is – no warmup, just set up the bar, clean, press for as many.

Now the following would require me to do some heavier cleans, as backyard lifting – this a fairly stiff bar, a particle board platform…it is like -10% to all pulls, everything clean, deadlift, snatch feels 10% heavier here than in a gym with nice level flooring and always well lit (fuck the heating lol).

But, the daily press – all the military sets, which should be half of them at least – note : dude mix in see saw for volume days, heck z press could work here with programmed numbers or as volume too…

These are to be done with 5/3/1 percentages, as nicely spit out to me by the same black iron beast calculator I used all those years ago.

I’d drop the warmup sets because.
But I’ll do the three 5/3/1 sets, most days will rep the third set (it’s how I did it as a teenager) and may or may not have Wendler’s blessing to use his calculations at BULGARIAN FREQUENCY.

(All this IF I run this approach, I’m not necessarily so inclined to “math my gym/lifting”.)

…..

You don’t have to do a program as written.
You have to own up to your gains, whether you get them or not.

I prefer doing my own stuff.

5/3/1 press, with rep outs, some back off sets, extra cleans, and daily HERE. I. COME.

(Again IF I run this approach. See that “mathing” thing lol.)

Persistence & Tenacity

Meal 1 – Early Dinner :

The bag of popcorn chicken ~110g protein, dipped in ketchup, a quart of coffee milk, so ~150g protein in a light to medium filling sitting – I could still eat.

Meal 2 – Later Dinner
Have to still eat the nine eggs, nicely they’re on sale this week – cost $1 for this, will microwave if need be.

No excuses, get nine eggs in every day.

Oh, and I did a second session – that saw me press 2x220lbs! Meaning 255lbs is closer than I’d hought.

This set ALSO no warm up, but with amping up via jennifer lopez “on the floor”, pulling off sweater and sadly headphones right before walking up to the bar, and stomping before the clean with plenty of gutteral yells throughout the set lol.

And heck, who knows if I’ll actually start doing a cycle of 5/3/1 within a week or less – it’s an idea, how easy both 2×215 and 2×220 were today threw a wrench in the “I’m going to struggle to hit 255 thing” – a false belief.

I’m STRONG.
Getting strongman strong.

Where to go with it.

Persistence & Tenacity

255, then 275, then 300lbs.
Somewhere on that route should take off viral.

I’m pressing AND cleaning, plus outside, plus not world class elite strongman – I say I’ll go viral, make a living from filming myself lift.

Fuck a dream, have it as reality.

Here’s the 2×220

11/7/23
I wonder how much of a gas tank is on an nfl lineman.

While sumo isn’t known for endurance, would there be 6′ 300lb gas tanks in rugby?

I don’t like how out of breath I am at 290lbs after everything, though I do believe that just like work capacity, a gas tank can be built.

It helps that I’m not some lifetime sedentary obese, I did play some sports in high school, I’ve always done my pushups, never quit lifting weights, worked some labor jobs, etc.

It’d make sense to be a bit more rigid and scientific about my burpees.

Not just do some, but set a progression, and work to 100+ unbroken in a good time frame.

And if I’m not in habit of jumping rope, to do jumping jacks – maybe as a warm up, maybe as something to do after lifting or handstand practice.

Lately my “1500 reps daily idea” keeps popping into mind.

I’ve come across a bunch of “I did 500/I did 1000 exercise (squats or pushups usually) daily for 30 days” type videos with lots of views.

1500 reps daily was similar to that I’ve done before.

And the snow will be here soon ; just like lifting in the snow – it’s gonna be camera worthy, I’ll be doing burpees bare chested, barefoot in the snow.

But that’s sorta aside, I need to start putting the gas tank back on at this size.

I hate to admit it, I’ll either have to truly spend more time at back yard lifting or go to a gym for awhile – for some reason I tend to just do lots more volume while at gyms.

As long as it’s been, and starting off it was too – lots of volume not at a gym, yet I haven’t made the switch again to volume training alone outside.

I’ve been too apt to sit around the house, instead of training in the yard.

If there’s one thing the gym is good for it’s getting me out of the house, and if I’ve went usually it’s nothing to spend longer there, do some more workout volume.

Gotta get that in the yard.
It’ll help for both fitness and content.

Every night I’m brainstorming.

Persistence & Tenacity

11/6/23
Yesterday I filmed a set of 3x315lbs on a doh snatch grip deadlift.

While today I did light, high muscular activation form work in three variants (sumo, snatch grip, conventional – all double overhand)  with 165lbs.

Yesterday’s set saw grip as the issue, if anything the rest of my body feels REALLY strong right now – doing presses moderate to heavy and light squats, both daily.

I want press PRs, and as far as lifting this requires more heavy cleans, while on the back burner I have power snatches and double overhand deadlifting.

…..

About this point two years back I pulled my most recent 495lb deadlift, it was off of light smith machine deadlifts – all doh, the weights often 1p25, sometimes 2p, occasionally a tad heavier – so we’re talking 160lbs or 200lbs since the smith bar weighed 20lbs as I recall, it a tad thicker than a normal barbell though not axle thick, while making my body tight by pulling down to the bar and really wedging myself into position making myself one with the machine (the machine forcing me to pull inwards towards my body as the bar rises).

A barbell can be the same stimulus.

3s instead of higher reps, pull yourself down to the bar with hamstrings – tension up on the bar at this bottom position, pull a few firing glutes HARD, and this is very much glute while mentally aiming for high activation while “leg pressing” the bar off the floor.

You discover that you in fact have an ass.

Personally I see no pointing mixing grip, and when the frequency is up – these light lifts end up making you very strong due to the forever pump (a euphoric slight soreness with high levels of walking around muscular activation).

…..

As far as eating – today I decided to give myself a slight break, only nine eggs instead of ballpark one dozen, this batch with a bunch of breakfast sausage links, some rice, and soy sauce fried up with it.

That was midday.

A early dinner was a big bowl of peanut butter captain crunch, heavy cream poured over it.

One moment, I’m adding heavy cream to my grocery list…

I’m sure I’ll eat again tonight.

Okay, I’m not trying to lose weight at all right now – I’m convinced I can make myself comfortable in my skin at this bodyweight – as I’m upping lifting volume, doing more barbell movements – I’m okay with the increased calories, while I don’t know that I could ever lower frequency – that’s to my advantage.

Instead of just pressing moderate to heavy with the light squats, snatches are becoming regularly done as are the doh deadlifts.

I’ll keep working on handstands every few days, and burpees are done most.

I figure I can eat however I want with the combination of enough lifting volume and burpee volume.

There’s something there, lift a lot, do a bunch of burpees, eat a lot…seems a protocol to be JACKED!

It may not be ideal to be this heavy health wise, but I’m still in my 20s, and am enjoying it in the moment.

It’ll be mad cool to get to freestanding handstand pushups, 20+ pullups, muscle ups, pistol squats – all at around this size.

Yeah, my barbell numbers are horrible at 290lbs bw, but it’s not like I’m weak, and I am enjoying the process of improvement.

I know where I can go.

-J
Persistence & Tenacity

When you don’t have a solid bench press setup how do you get in heavy pushing stimulus?

The answer is weighted pushups, a certain convenience to it when you have the strength to have people stand on your upper back for them, and a person with you.

First you have regular old vanilla pushups.

Second you have people lay on your back, parallel to this is doing one arm pushups.

The third step is people sitting on your upper back.

The fourth step is having them stand on your upper back.

Parallel in demand to these second through fourth steps is putting a resistance band across your back. Which step it parallels is dependant on what size/thickness of resistance band you use.

A light band is a very small amount of extra resistance, a strong band (which I know to be grey) is low rep type stimuli – the medium purple band a nice training area, again these band descriptions dependent on being at human standing on your upper back strength levels.

For ease of setup, and nicely enough more physically challenging, with someone standing on your back for weighted pushups the reps start at the bottom, chest touching the floor.

This is not only a push/press muscles exercise. It is full body. My quads and abs fire hard from this.

This, and similarly loaded top of the pushup position weighted planks is one of those real uncommon ways to have a diesel strong midsection/core.

Once you have a person standing on your upper back, you can still do more than add reps from there.

You can add weight. Hats off to you when you can have two or more not small people stand on you for weighted pushups.

I’m not yet at that level.

However, in the past I’ve had my buddy hold onto either pairs of dumbbells or weight plates.

Soon enough I may have him do so with weight plates again.

I too have had a different, heavier training partner stand on my upper back.

When you want to be strong, no circumstance will get in the way.

With desire one becomes the king of improvised training stimuli – that’s the answer to the jacked guy whether he’s military on deployment, the oft tauted and possibly mythological jacked prisoner, the man doing street workouts, those jacked guys lifting with scrap yard assembled equipment, etc.

“It’s the fire in the eyes, not the external circumstance. Go get jacked my friend.”
– me

Persistence & Tenacity

11/4/23
Today I did an oly form session off camera.

Today’s press every day was earlier.

This earlier.

Four subscribers the 50th though 53rd today and yesterday, the best 48 hours yet – I’m hoping tomorrow’s video does better than that – it’s good, viral potential, drops in about twelve hours.

…..

It was power snatch singles, about 15 of them total, some at 155lbs, most at 135lbs.

I was focusing on perfect form, knees and elbows aligned, shoulders in front of the bar (at the start and for as long as possible), good explosion at power point.

I waved the bar weight, if 155lbs was a tad slower than peak power I’d go back to 135lbs for a couple, then back to 155lbs.

It all felt crisp.
I was in fact residing in “PR territory”, but left a PR or PR tie, even 90% on the table.

I actually maintained good explosion, there was no over build up of fatigue, and usually not warming up at all – this was what proper warm ups feels like.

The oly workout basically was a proper weightlifting warmup.

I just used either 135lbs or 155lbs, 205+ can come when it comes – besides, this is pulling work to add horsepower to my clean.

The goal is to on or before December 1st clean and press 255lbs.

These snatches are just a similar way to train pull and explosion, not exact, and I happen to enjoy crisp power snatches just before dark as the day’s second session.

…..

Now a funny thing ; I have a scrape and a bump on my forehead…

From a really explosive single near the end.

Somehow I managed to hit my own forehead with the upward flying bar!

That has never happened before, though I have rammed a barbell into my chin failing a jerk that way in the past once or twice.

I must’ve been pulling in a line very close to my body, lol that’s actually better form than my usual…which earned a weightlifting boo boo 🙂

They’re not full squat snatches, they’re truly only power snatches (a couple of which I used to do overhead squat sets off of), but that’s okay.

This is blue collar weightlifting, backyard barbell.

Basketball shoes in place of weightlifting shoes.

The platform a piece of particle board and a pair of rubber patio tiles.

It’s so called “ghetto”, and I make it work.

Persistence & Tenacity

11/3/23
Yeah!!!
It’s about 1220am, I’m still up – just finished eating a delicious bowl of peanut butter captain crunch, heavy cream poured over it, a tall glass of milk to drink.

I figure if corn and skim milk (vile white tasteless water that it is) are used to fatten hogs, don’t you think you’d get a pretty anabolic response to some tasty peanut butter captain crunch with heavy cream poured over it?

Corn flour with added sugar, the delicious, nutritious, anabolic cream skimmed leaving that tasteless fluid.

With years training history of always being physical, I’d guess I’m some mesomorph endomorph hybrid, whether meso-endo, or endo-meso it doesn’t really matter.

I’m pretty thick torso wise, and looking at myself in the mirror tend to forget just how large a human I am, while thinking I’m leaner than I am.

It’s seeing myself on video, editing, watching my local copy of uploads where I realize I’m a big dude.

6′ 290lbs,
and it’s not hard to get bigger, heavier.

It wouldn’t be too hard to eat up to 315lbs, get real strong…but way too heavy.

Logistics mainly.
I’d have to just eat, lift, cook, eat, and sleep.

Though I figure whatever I do, I’ll never have a problem getting bigger.

Both sides of the family are tall, mom’s side both tall and big framed.

I’ve gotta run conditioning in addition to the presses.

The human body is in homeostasis at like 5’8″ 160lbs, middleweight, so when you want to play life far beyond that, genetic, epigenetic/gene express, force feeding, and the compulsive lifting of weights…even if you don’t lean down, gotta do you burpees so as to not be a stair taking mouth breather 🙂

I do my nightly pushups most often just before midnight.

I’ll always be strong pressing with this habit.

But the real reason I typed this up, posted immediately…

50th subscriber just came in!
I. Am. Pumped!

Making THIS happen.

Persistence & Tenacity

11/2/23
Today I ate, I think it was eleven eggs, fried with fajita mix, chicken, black beans, corn, and I too added mexican mix cheese – stuff I usually go through fast, but lately had been using american cheese in the place of.

I was pretty happy with ten reps here – a “pair” of 75s lol – I’ve no access to 100lb dumbbells, though I’m interested in if I could clean and press them – it’s close, I think I could…and I can improvise similar weights

Later in the day I set a pillow on the floor next to where I would do handstand pushups against the wall.

Briefly I held a headstand, then let my feet touch the wall, and simply tried to press out of the headstand.

An isometric at the top of the head, I expect this will help with both the pressing, and the handstand stuff, while heck – you do get stronger straining – we’ll see if I get to press to handstand from the bottom doing this.

I just know that isometrics have served me well in the past, and I need my pressing to be up, and my handstand skills and ability to be up.

…..

Ate a small salad later, laughed that I’m now eating salads – keto may not be what I’m doing, carnivore may not be what I’m doing.

I’m GAINING weight, maybe it’s the chill in the air – being physical outdoors in the cold is metabolically demanding.

So I eat.

The nine eggs a day are no longer enough.
The day’s food is flirting with the dozen mark daily, a second meal – more meat, and I’m not limiting milk, just not drinking a half gallon daily.

Whatever number minisession you’d call it – empty bar overhead squats and one arm rows with my 75lb dumbbell.

I figure to row myself some clean horsepower, cause I’ll need it to clean and press 255lbs.

We’ll see if I hit that on or before the 1st of December.

PR territory, I taste it, and I expect sunday’s 10am video going live to build the channel.

It’s good, real good.

…..

This. Here.

Persistence & Tenacity

11/1/23
I’d been neglecting the blog side of things, filming daily and uploading daily to youtube.

It’s about 8pm.
The youtube stuff was earlier in the day, the 5×5 pressing and the talk both.

Alongside the near keto, near carnivore I’ve been half running for about a month now (only stringent about having nine eggs with some meat each and every day – to the point I microwaved just that a couple hours after a big restaurant dinner the other night), the press every day that was day 11 today, I too have been doing some variant of squats, light and high rep in addition.

Today it was outside after dark, 2×15 overhead squatting an empty bar, and feeling good, this is the best time of year to train outdoors after dark, a refreshing chill in the air, but not a snow covered world – I tacked on a 15:00 practice of handstands to it, doing a handful of burpees and too practicing pistols for a handful of attempts starting from the bottom using minimal strength from my second leg raising it as soon as possible.

Somewhere in the 30s °f, and I went shirtless pretty quickly – mostly I concede shoes, hat, gloves to the temperatures, recent upload video evidence to the contrary :)-

I was so happy pressing 185lbs for 5×5

The practice was mostly handstands, and the best one was around triple the length I can usually hold, maybe fifteen seconds, but probably more like ten.

That’s the level of handstand I have baked in, I want it to where I can stay there indefinitely, move my legs around in air, do stuff other than sometimes just hold position briefly.

The ability to move legs around, etc, is where I’ve been for years on the headstand.

I’d honestly expect more handstand ability considering I’m good at headstands.

Funny to think, but at 290lbs it could make sense to go somewhere and get gymnastics and/or yoga coaching – have THAT be my thing moreso than lifting weights.

Whatever.
Soon I’ll be back inside, eat the rest of the day’s egg and meat mix – on a whim I got these mini summer sausage things, dietary equivalent to hot dogs, but not particularly good – though since they’re edible I have that waste not want not thing going with them lol.

They’re in today’s egg mix.

Persistence & Tenacity