Month: April 2024

4/30/24
No chalk? High humidity?
✓✓ lol – lowering the clean yesterday was scary as it seemed like mother nature was making both my hands and the kettlebells’ handles perspire through no fault of my own.

I don’t care to purchase chalk online, and don’t care to go looking for it in a store.

I’ll use “poor man’s chalk”. Just pointedly have a rag on hand to wipe my hands and wipe the bells with.

It flashed me back to the SoCal Bodybuilding Gym, where despite some amount of open air in the building’s design, and despite it being california, it did get high humidity there.

I’d just grab a paper towel between sets, go between my fingers, across my hand, and across the bar.

Reapply as necessary.

Same deal with a rag and kettlebells.

It’s not a negative, it actually forces your grip to solid up quickly.

…..

If I was in a gym?
I’d probably have a love affair with the leg press.

I always liked loading it up, then getting sets of 35, 50, 75 reps.

On no other movement have I enjoyed heavy and high reps for legs as much as on the leg press.

It’s gotta be at least 4p, 5p (plates a side), 35 reps a set minimum, preferably slow on the negatives – let the muscle work.

I’d read years ago, a guy saying you should be able to leg press 50 reps with your squat 1rm, and I’ve found that to be a jump off point type guideline.

No piece of equipment is as unfairly razzed on as the leg press (plate loaded and angled).

Yeah it’s not squatting, however –
Frankly it allows for more overload of the legs, this cause it’s easier on the system.

Once you have a feel for effort you can go hog wild with the leg press, these 350+ rep, ten set workouts, like four days in a row, do something else for one, practically daily volume sessions.

Too I’d do a bunch of seated row.
I like seated row.

And I’d bench, front squat, actually do a deadlift instead of just kettlebell everything…

But it’d all be supplementary to the press.
The press is the main movement.
All the other lifting to build up the musculature for the clean & press.

Some things don’t change.

…..

What I’m doing right now?
With each passing day I’m doing more kettlebell jerks whether one bell or two bell 40kg.

I expect this to add to my shoulder girdle, add to my triceps – it’s new stimulus, and new stimulus always adds hypertrophy.

It’s still handling heavy while not pressing, the pressing is bottoms up variations and going to be hog wild volume when my adjustable competition bell arrives.

I can’t wait to get my hands on that, put 18kg in it, and see if I can press it x50 right hand.

2kg jumps.
That’s gonna allow me to really train bottoms up to solidly 32kg left, to really do high reps before a small progression, to do some double bell stuff, and to add one arm swing volume.

I’m so excited.

Maybe video format will just be a 20:00 video, no cuts, unabridged – random pressing, swings, juggling (yeah an adjustable competition bell FOR JUGGLING), spend all day uploading (sorta lol)

…..

I don’t know when I’ll decide to start barbell clean & press again, but I feel the kettlebell stuff is base building – that the increase of glutes, forearms, shoulders, lats, and thighs would mean I’ve a good chance of ugly power cleaning then pressing 300lbs in the near future.

…..

After two days of almost only meat and eggs I’m fantasizing about the weekend – donuts, pizza, soda…and really craving a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar.

I think I’ll make one as a preworkout meal, then smash 2h swings and possibly jerks.

15×7 with the 40kg strikes me as enough to offset a small bowl of oats, besides I’m not really stringently set on anabolic diet type keto.

Guidelines.

Definitely going to need to eat more than 1lb meat and five eggs in a day though.

…..

445am
I gave into the craving.
1c oatmeal, big spoon of brown sugar, tall glass of milk, handful of chocolate covered coffee beans

Not gonna be keto today by the looks of it, 50g carbs in oats alone, probably a 16oz glass of milk, no clue the carbs in brown sugar, or the handful from the handful of coffee beans.

……

515am
2h Swings 40kg
15×7 in 1:20 intervals
BUC&P 16kg
x5/side

the swings worked out to ~:15w/1:05r
they felt great, I can see this making me not only feel, but be real solid – my glutes are way more dense over the past few months, and my back – lats, upper back, all of it really, the entire backside (glutes, hamstrings included) has sometimes explosive growth

this can easily work to 10×10 emom or better

the bucp was simply to check it off, though I passed on the days walk being immediately after – great way to be outside for the sunrise

great sweat, breathing a little heavier – feel good all around, an excited to progress this, can easily see myself going to a 60kg or something eventually (more finance than strength related wait)

listened to korpiklaani album “karkelo” in headphones as I went – nice way to spend the lift

…..

Soccer ball for around a half hour, about an hour after the kettlebell.

Nice, reactivated the sweat I had going, and also dribbled the soccer ball every day this month.

15ct was roughly today’s best – I’ve still yet to his a 20ct, but I’m now able to occasionally get the right knee/thigh involved, have pretty decent ball control with the right foot, a ways to go with the left foot, and am still genuinely enjoying it.

It’s a nice thing to mix with kettlebell training.

I picture myself practicing it regularly for longer, though maybe not rigidly mandatory every day.

We’ll see.
It and the kettlebell could be things I do for life.

…..

4pm
New kettlebell has arrived.
Tried it out briefly – double 16kg cross hold briefly after some presses, before some snatching, then went for the days walk – a short half mile one.

The blood flow from walking feels great, just swinging the arms loosens the entire shoulder girdle, while reactivating all the small upper back muscles which the kettlebell hits hard.

A moment of soccer ball after.

630pm
Hey it’s an adjustable kettlebell – amrap 24kg bup is calling my name (since til today I couldn’t use the normal bell jump that is 24kg)

BUCP
10x24kg left
BUP
20x24kg right

The bucp was a happy accident, improvising on the fly cause of falling out of the pressing groove.

The bup was a decent set.

…..

745pm
•six eggs
•six sausage links
•frozen mixed veggies
•ketchup
•1c oats
•brown sugar
•16oz milk

Maybe I’m not eating keto, but it’s pretty low calorie, quite clean, and good wholesome hearty food to go with all the kettlebell lifting.

I’m sore, kinda tired, and pretty full – I could’ve done without the oatmeal again, but I’d spent all day thinking about another bowl, so made it anyway when the egg dish was about done.

I sit here typing, relaxing before finishing the meal thinking “food is fuel”, and realize that’s a breakthrough for me.

Today would be a sustainable cutting diet for me.

And it was enough for a day of pretty high energy expenditure, though…I have little desire to do my night’s pushups (not that I won’t).

(oh shit – a little 200 calorie snack bag of generic cookies cheat item – oh no – thought I’d just enjoy it before pushups, shower, bed)

…..

Pushups
2×5

…..

It’ll be interesting to see where I am in a few months on pullups after all the kettlebell lifting which is all shockingly high in demand on the lats.

5 pushups just before midnight

Persistence & Tenacity

4/29/24
It’s supposed to arrive today, and I’m seriously excited.

A 16 to 32kg adjustable kettlebell, by the 2kg jumps!

Think about that by the 2kg jumps!

I’ll be able to stay at the 35+ rep range for the right hand bottoms up press, and use this bell to get comfortable and baked in strength for a 32kg bup left, will be able to double bell at 16, 20, and 32 matching weight if not shape, and slight mismatches of weight as well.

As soon as it arrives it’s gonna be more one hand swings (training that to comfortable with 32kg) with a sharp focus on bup and buc&p.

I want the double 32kg bup!
I too want to muscle out/cross hold the pair of 32kg bells.

Will I ever touch a barbell again?
Will I bother this summer with pullups?

(I do intend to keep walking, eventually run/jog/sprint – the ≤6:00 mile is still on my mind even if pullups aren’t)

But the kettlebell is primary, the kettlebell is the passion, is the content, IS FOR LIFE (I mean that in every way – not just time, but health, and living fully)…

(Kettlebells For World Health)

I’m excited.

Like I’m a kid, it’s christmas eve, and we’re driving from school – first to my friend’s house, then to grandma & grandpa’s.

Playing with a cool toy as we wait for nana to arrive, and the food to be ready.

Antsy.
Excited.
Pure in the moment and only joy.

…..

I might be fat faced, chubby cheeked, with a double chin, but diet has been approaching keto – we’ll see how strict I end up, as is it’s monday.

Just after midnight I was hungry and had a little more of my kielbasa, egg, and onion mix.

As long as I cook some meat and eggs each night it’s pretty easy to only eat off that til friday night when I’ll grocery shop, get a pizza, donuts, and probably cherry pepsi.

The anabolic diet, I read the book when I was in high school, seems I’m trying it now.

The most challenging part really is to limit milk intake. I think a quart would be the daily upper limit to minimize weekday carbs.

I’m completely okay with unlimited onion in my otherwise carnivore meals.

One big onion between two pounds of sausage, or split between that and a bunch of eggs – it’s very little carb, very little calories, and just adds to the enjoyment.

…..

Otherwise as men we should be pretty well content to eat our fill of meat and eggs.

Born in the mid 90s I’ve spent my entire life hearing bullshit propaganda against all the good foods.

On the occasion I had them as a child I ate them greedily ; my experience in youth a denny’s being very telling.

I’d ask for half sausage half bacon, eating those first, then the eggs (probably with syrup), then heavily buttering, adding syrup, and eating the french toast, then I’d butter and jam the toast slices eating that last, and yes – as a skinny child, shy of kindergarten I’d eat a few more butter, jam, and if they too were there on the table peanut butter packets.

Notice the order of eating started at the fatty meat, then the eggs, then dairy, fruit, and lastly grain.

Children instinctively will eat all the good stuff mom says is bad cause time magazine and the six o’clock news say it is so.

Instead of milk til like age 7 it was soy milk, then low fat, and by 16 or so it was FINALLY whole milk for me.

And I developed a total love for the stuff.

…..

Roughly ten minute/half mile walk.
Forcing the habit.

Need to lose fat.

Followed that up with playing with buc&p, one arm swings (both at 16kg), some 12lb shot put curl/throw/toss and drop/catch, and the soccer ball for just over half an hour.

Didn’t get many counts today with that, but was managing to incorporate my knee occasionally, and kick higher – more ball control if not higher count.

An hour and a half later kicked the soccer ball for a moment, then jerked the double 40kgs for x10, and x12.

That’s definitely a fitness movement, while the clean was mad scary due to humidity at that later hour.

I think I prefer the one arm jerk, somehow it felt harder on the triceps (and this whole thing is probably a push press not a jerk anyway lol).

Either way, it’s applying the 225lb barbell jerk for reps thing I did years ago to the kettlebell.

It’s gonna be good.

I jerk a 40kg or pair of 40kgs, and I bup and/or buc &p light (soon to double bell and progress past 16kg when my 16-32 adjustable competition bell arrives – big smile, I’m excited (the shipment got delayed)).

Sometimes I 2h swing or clean the 40kg for reps.

I think I’d be able to rep a ~60kg, and honestly a bell around that size is on my agenda to bottoms up press.

Performing strongman here I come (while lean from sausage, onions, and eggs).

I miss the gym to a degree, but this journey is far more epic than “I spent a bunch of hours lifting alone inside at weird hours late at night”.

The program of soccer ball & kettlebells.

Will I ever do any fight training again though?

…..

Took about twenty six hours to eat the 2lbs of kielbasa, ten eggs, and an onion.

Two days of food, one meal at 8pm last night (the only meal that day), then three feedings today between lunch and 10pm.

In total I drank a quart or 40oz of milk, and probably a quart of orange juice alongside these feedings.

I had a handful of chocolate covered coffee beans, five beans at a time, a few times.

Keto? Maybe.
It’s pretty low everything right now.

If I am actually disciplined with diet, with brief daily walks, with my multiple kettlebell minisessions, and daily soccer ball play…

It’s gonna be good in a few months.

Tomorrow I cook some really tasty sausage with an onion, and maybe up the eggs (I can find 60ct for ~$12 – it’s the most affordable thing right now)

Persistence & Tenacity

4/28/24
Many of those giant of upper body guys of the 1950s muscle beach era – it seems they had a commonality of eating sandwiches and drinking milk DURING the workouts.

One of the few 495/500lb benchers I’ve seen, the guy (short, stout, college aged) he’d be coming to the gym with a bag or two of mcdonalds, a package of oreos – strict rest periods for him would read as “8oz milk, one mcchicken, sleeve of oreos – sit for 15:00”.

Healthy?
No, but I do wonder “what if I quit everything, restarted life – out of new england, inside some commercial gym in ??? (az maybe), just went bench bro bench specialist with my proportions – just one year of dedication to hit a 500lb bench”

I’ve had people tell me they can see me being a lifetime 500lb bencher.

I’d have to get a setup or get to a setup.
Backyard kettlebell isn’t exactly bench specialist training, but hey – I have pretty strong wrists and decently strong shoulders.

The bottoms up pressing is awesome.
I intend to go way further, and somehow that’ll probably cross over.

…..

I really think that all should just do a brief daily workout of calisthenics and kettlebell.

It’s sad really to see people that can’t squat.

Many people spend a lifetime at slowly losing basic locomotion and movement.

It’s like they…gave up.
Do they not recall their joyous physicality in youth?

That’s why I want a ≤6:00 mile again, so as to feel that joyous feeling of healthy movement.

Where is it, what causes one to reach the decision to give up on having a healthy physicality.

What day did one go from healthy to just going to sit on the couch and watch some bullshit…

When did one shy away from the joy of an all out sprint, a heavy lift, a long drawn out labor ending in a sense of accomplishment.

…..

Days ago, now so close to thirty, and knowing it’d be pathetic to still be watching porn in my thirties…I stopped.

It’s been about a week.

I preferred myself being militant about it, zero porn, to myself watching some here and there.

I preferred myself being able to say “I don’t watch porn” instead of “I dislike/disagree with/am against watching porn”.

The change has been made.

…..

Unless we’re thriving in every way – IT’S US MAKING EXCUSES

…..

The Lift :
Jerk 40kg
x15/side
2h Swing
15x40kg
BUP 16kg
2×5/side
about ten minutes of soccer ball, 17ct the best, then a twelve or fifteen minute walk – one hour total

The jerk can be pushed for fitness, and honestly I’d expect it to be similar to when I was barbell jerking 225lbs for reps years back – surprising upper body carry over.

The 2h swing, well all the kettlebell lately made that set of 15 easier than I’d expected.

Basically just get some volume daily, then go for a walk – it’ll all work out.

And a note ; the walk soon after the kettlebell gets blood flowing throughout the whole body, and aside from my fat man calves cramping the act of the thing itself keeps me fairly loose – it’s such a simple, great thing to be doing.

However it’s essentially new stimulus, and my quads are sore from a few days of them.

….

That little porn urge if/when it’s there; back to an old standby ; say it, mean it, apply, and repeat as necessary “fuck that – not today”.

It works.

Okay now it’s ;

Pushups.
Bic my scalp (most every day – I find it meditating)

Go for a can of iced tea…there’s a gallon of water sitting atop it.

Take a swig. Closer to keto this way.

The next few months, if I stick to keto/close to it (anabolic diet in mind – weekends off), alongside the coming training…

Stay tuned for continuation tomorrow!

…..

an extra 20 strict pushups in the final seconds of today and first couple of (technically) tomorrow.

May the mood in the air guide you to greatness.

Persistence & Tenacity

4/27/24
At this time next year be monetized on youtube, making a living off it, while too having coaching clients (in person and/or online) and P&T merchandise – shirts in red and black, maybe badass frazetta style artwork on them.

The love shown you by strangers online – it’s an amazing thing.

I suggest everyone try it.
It may take awhile, but you’ll find your people.

The youtube algorithm suggested 80+ men’s masters track to me – pretty cool seeing three men over 80, one over 85 run 200m at 6:00/mile pace or faster, a second 85+ yo man run his at just under 6:15/mile pace.

Didn’t strike me as genetic freaks either, but was just a heat full of british blokes who care to stay healthy and physical.

I believe Vadim seen above is mid 60s.
Dude is damn strong, and has been uploading damn strong videos for a long time.

Still uploading them. Freak level kettlebell strength and assuming his videos are enough to go by…he’s gotten freaky strong by puttering around with a zillion kettlebells, rocks, etc – just playfully testing himself over a long period measured in decades.

I find it very inspirational.

(and actually watched him bottoms up press something heavier than I could even imagine pressing at the time – watched a video of two as a high schooler, then couldn’t find the channel again til recently)

And remember ; no man hits peak strength til his mid 30s at youngest!

I’ve seen on gym floors and at labor jobs far too many 50+ dudes impressively strong to think it even has to be that young.

We have “old man strength”, and “dad strength” in the lexicon for a reason.

Maybe with video game childhoods, overly nanny schools, lacks of bicycles, tree climbing, and hilarious but sadly “no footballs allowed on the playground” (yep one of the elementary schools I went to – no real pigskins, nerf only TWENTY YEARS AGO – I’ve no idea how bad it could be now).

See, the world is shit, but too the world can be heaven.

It’s in how you choose to view it, it’s in the actions you take, it’s in laughing when the world seems against you, and smiling in the moment while knowing and accepting that the ups/the highs can be temporary.

…..

It’s in that late lunch/early dinner time frame, absolutely beautiful out, but I’m wearing a hoodie, sitting in the shade – reading (though this is technically typing).

I haven’t pressed yet today, and haven’t kicked the soccer ball yet.

It’s the 28th day of that, so I could go film it anytime now.

Honestly after a zillion minisessions last night I’m just feeling a lazy saturday.

I’ll still press.
I’ll still kick the soccer ball.

But honestly ; the press will likely just be a brief bottoms up session with the 16kg.

The soccer ball? I could end up getting into it and doing more than the five minute minimum.

Heck, the same applies to the kettlebell.

I’ve always been like that.

Even when I’m not too into the idea of doing whatever, generally I’ll end up getting into it and doing much more than the minimum as originally intended.

I like moving around.

I’m heavy set cause I’ll spend hours just sitting around, and have long eaten big and not clean.

It’s funny, but the whole world of pickup games, playing impromptu sports is something most stop doing after high school.

I remember at the end of high school, on my way to the weight room I’d see a group playing tackle football, and instead of just going to lift, I’d instead join that, get sixty or ninety minutes of sprint repeats and bruises THEN go lift afterwards as planned.

It’s strange that the only covid casualty in my life has been that four years ago in 2020 when everything shut down for three months (mid march to mid june) there was a large group that played ultimate frisbee in the park (I’m talking saturdays having five fifteen player sides, two games going, one team sitting on rotation – the midweek games often being like 5v5 to 12v12 much smaller)…

That group hasn’t played since.

It started with guys a handful of years older than me, in their late teens and early twenties when I was a middle schooler, partially from the youth group at the church I went to, mostly from another churches youth group, and they did this so consistently that five years later there were maybe fifty regular players – hundreds who played on occasion, all for this impromptu pickup game that traveled only by word of mouth “hey they play for about two hours 1-3 on saturdays, 4-6 on wednesdays – want to play ultimate frisbee”.

One buddy of mine in high school, never been to church in his life got big into it.

EVERYONE who wanted to join got in.
Plenty who just happened to be at the park for example.

…..

The Workout :

BUC&P, 1h Swings, & Soccer Ball
5 x 5bucp + 5oasw/side total w/16kg
soccer ball in between each side
100 rep workout

five minutes in 18ct = PR, session was just under twenty minutes total – played a koorpiklaani album in headphones, did just some of everything basically – one of those “just get the workout in” type sessions that are worth their weight in gold – was stiff, now feel more human again lol – it’s gonna be cool using an adjustable and working the 50rm and sessions like this both from 16 to 32kg with easy 2kg progressions

I think swings are meant to be relatively light, whether one or two handed, seem to get more from them that way, but really they’re just a fitness multiplier to add to the bottoms up clean & press where grip is the limiter.

The swing allows you to do more, adds more glutes into the equation, adds different lat stimulus into the equation, but keeps grip from being the fitness limiter while truly being a wind trainer if/when you push.

Fun to mix both with one light bell and kick the soccer ball between sets of kettlebell – working out playfully, simply, and enjoyably.

…..

15:00 walk – day three of going for a walk, definitely not a habit yet, this one I had to force myself to go do.

No “I already exercised” excuse, just get it in.

Walking is normal human locomotion – were supposed to do lots of it.

I don’t often.
So it’s get up, go!

If I’m gonna run a fast mile again some weight needs to come off, and going for a walk is the start of that.

…..

Big dinner, only meal today – I’ve been aiming to one meal a day again, one pan – 1¼lbs of ground beef, a pack of ramen (threw in two flavor packets as there was an extra laying around), a bunch of instant mashed potatoes, fried that all up, then poured in a bunch of honey roasted peanuts for crunch.

“the sad bowl” lol – quite generic, definitely not spiced well or fancy, but it’s good enough nutrition.

…..

Easy sets of 5 pushups tonight.

…..

11pm hour, second meal after all – a leftover slice of pizza and a protein bar – I’ve done this a handful of times over the last month or so, just something off diet at some weird hour.

4/26/24
Ten minutes of soccer ball, a handful of 10cts, then kettlebell ;

Bottoms Up Clean & Press
30x16kg right

I gutted this set out, at 15 you know the grip is working, and are using determination to gut it out – at 20 you think you’ll go past 30…at 28 your hand starts locking way harder, and you barely get the 30…(though that may have been entirely a psychological limit)

Then went for a fifteen minute walk.

…..

wrist curling/flexing, shoulders (stretching/active mobility and shadow boxing), pretending to row, “pull aparts”, etc freehand with pair of 2½lb plates – this was quite useful

followed by soccer ball, 14ct the best in about ten more minutes of it

and I got the idea to take the ball to a park and just kick for distance, run after it, repeat, maybe with kettlebell incorporated “playful cardio for fat men who hate running” (didn’t do so today, but definitely something to try out)

…..

A bit of yard work (helping out a neighbor)

Nice afternoon physicality today.

…..

Not gonna lie, the 304th subscriber came in, and that got me a little hyped up for another session ;

Jerks 40kg
x12 left
x20 right
Press 40kg
x1 fail 2 left
x3+sledge lever + 1 + sledge lever, pressing right, levering to nose left

And after replying to comments for the night, well it’s not dark yet, might as well extend the evening’s physicality with a bit more soccer ball, basically 330pm or 4pm to 730pm almost completely outside, half playfully training, half lazing about.

14ct – lost control as I thought “hey, I’m about to PR”

…..

Comments on youtube blew up to a degree at 7-9pm, more than just you Balbos 🙂 – spent the time to respond to everything.

The positive feedback helps me more than anyone commenting knows I’d say.

After a dark period, really struggling, I think I’m finally starting to rise, to see the channel taking off, to see myself stronger, better, fit and probably doing performing strongman stuff.

…..

Lately my feeling has been ; “why bother with high rep pushups – keep them perfect and crisp to compliment the high rep kettlebell pressing (and now jerks as well)”.

It’s a good combination.
I’m on a path to getting seriously strong overhead.

…..

Late night about to bic my scalp and shower up a realization ;

“I can push the high rep kb jerks in a way that more easily gets me into conditioning territory than the pulls (cleans, snatches, and including swings) – by being built for pressing just as I did with dips five years back I can get into that territory – moreo than with the kb pulls as it was with the dips vs pullups”.

My buddy built to pull could do the high level of strength involved conditioning with pulls.

Me being built to press/push I can do this with presses/pushes/jerks.

I got into that “Cardio Calisthenics™” territory with dips that way, go stupid strong doing high reps and high volume DAILY.

It’s a possible game changer for me were I to run “Heavy, High Rep, High Volume Kettlebell Jerks Daily”.

I think til the adjustable arrives I’ll have to do bup or buc&p with the 16kg, jerks daily, sometimes high rep cleans, occasionally 2h swings with the 40kg.

Life is full of infinite possibility.
Continue here (well youtube technically) build it to where it builds everything else.

Fixes money, supplies more training equipment and a better space to train.

With the access I can see myself getting to strongman and/or weightlifter through heavy kettlebells.

Someone in human history, past, present, or future would/could/will c&p dbl 203lbers.

Could be me.
Let’s see.

Persistence & Tenacity

4/25/24
I can already tell that the quantity of meat and eggs I eat is going to be going up.

Will I do keto?
I’m not sure, but I realized that 36ct eggs bought by the five dozen would only be like $6.15/day for 216g protein, lots of fat, low calories.

If I prepped five dozen eggs every second day with a bit of meat that’d allow for keto, fat loss, leaning out.

I guess all this stuff just wasn’t going to come together for me til roughly thirty.
Shrugs. Que será será.

…..

5am
•shave (and stop – beard is now coming back)
•feeder hammer curls
(10s x50 reps + 15 extra on left as I held right hand db at hang, so 50 double + 15 left hand extension)
•hand opening x150 both hands at once
•rinse off

545am
light snack, honey roasted peanuts and a can of iced tea

6am
light bup 50x16kg right = PR
630am
medium bup 8x34kg right = PR
heavy buc 3x34kg left

Afterwards I can see in the bathroom mirror (a contrast to my chubby face) that the bottoms up everything (and at double sessions it’s lots of volume) is causing explosive lat growth.

It’s not just thickness, my lats are expanding outwards – width.

I realize they help in the bup lockout, are somewhere in the buc, and honestly I may be flexing them the entire time on bup.

Lots of time under tension.

430pm
OASw 16kg
50/side total
BUCP
x5/side

this all with soccer ball – a couple 10cts, no scratch that – I ended with a 17ct PR tie, the swings in sets of 5/side, 10/aside or 5l+5r+5l+5r – half an hour total – then went about a forty five minute walk

sat around for about twenty minutes, then another fifteen minutes of soccer ball – 17ct PR tie to end – this at 630pm now (and to truly make it a two hour chunk of time…)
BUCP 16kg
x15/side

715pm
Rock Pressing
some x right hand – really close to the hardest angle/sorta got it

…..

It’s now about 9pm, I’m finally getting to dinner, finally eating as a handful of honey roasted peanuts, a glass of chocolate milk, and three cans of iced tea is rather little for a multiple PRs, multiple minisessions day.

A cold rotisserie chicken is day old, discounted, and still already cooked.

I picked 85% of the meat off the carcass, put it in a bowl, heated it up, and added a little cheese.

I’m going towards keto as I’m rather chubby faced, and don’t want to count calories.

Carnivore, meat, eggs, and cheese would be real simple.

And I say this as I’ve having some more honey roasted peanuts with my chicken meal.

No milk surprisingly.

A handful of chocolate covered coffee beans for dessert.

11pm
snack of honey roasted peanuts and a little milk straight from the gallon, another five chocolate covered coffee beans.

Whatever bad they say about milk and peanuts – you can’t deny they grow large humans by being mixed macro and calorie dense.

About to shower up it’ll be a quick low rep strict set of pushups, and checking in I feel that my forearms and lats are quite sore today.

Funny that I’m eating basically naught but meat and peanuts.

Persistence & Tenacity

4/24/24
Just after midnight ;
the day’s duolingo? ✓
the day’s pushups? ✓
eat a handful of honey roasted peanuts
drink a can of iced tea and a glass of water

Good start.

…..

Lately I can’t be bothered to do anything more than a few strict pushups per set.

In the past week or two it’s been a handful of sets of 5 reps most days, occasionally a set of 7 or 8, once a set of 25.

Instinctively I feel the strict 5s, well within my limit (of doing pushups in the high 280lbs bodyweight – realizing with last night’s pushups (ten minutes earlier lol) that though powerlifters exist, this is not the normal nearly 300lb human experience)) are what best transfers to the bottoms up pressing, where the reps vary from failures and singles with the 40kg to some high reps with 16kg bup and buc&p.

With the 16kg I blend the bottoms up work with juggling – it has my lats pretty activated round the clock, and my triceps have had a deep soreness lately.

Each day I get outside, practice dribbling the soccer ball as an enjoyable skill development challenge, and mostly use the light 16kg kettlebell for something freestyle with at least a little overhead pressing incorporated.

…..

Dietarily milk consumption is down at around a quart a day, iced tea is my main choice of fluid at an average of three tall cans a day, and whatever milk I’m not drinking definitely had been replaced by more water.

Water may be more ounces drank than iced tea, I’m not keeping exact track, I’m simply conscious of my drinking more glasses each day lately.

Food wise?
It can be summed up in a few things ; a borderline carnivore thing, mostly sausages, half the time with fried onion, sometimes with cheese, occasionally on bread, an occasional frozen pizza or chocolate for dessert, and a snack most days of honey roasted peanuts.

No one would write this diet.
I feel like in the next few months I’ll have visible abs.

…..

Don’t attempt to trim your beard EVER dude (lol- you’ll improve the skill), left a small amount on the chin, will take three weeks to be a short beard again.

Spring reset.

…..

Slept long and deep, was oddly exhausted from yesterday.

……

Ten minutes of soccer ball, 9ct was the best – stopped as it started to rain.

Guess I’ll get wet when lifting soon.

…..

A little extra soccer ball a bit later, and the lift, 12ct.

No 15/16ct – I set a timer for just over five minutes just after I’d finished the lift.

About an hour ten all in all between soccer ball, the entire lift (often “resting” with soccer ball), and the soccer ball to end.

Fun. Very unstructured.
I SHOULD actually deload.

Note : hilarious weather – the past two hours has varied every five to ten minutes between sunny, downpour, and drizzle at random – sunny when I did the soccer ball, a rest during the downpour, then sun and a light rain when I did more soccer ball and lifted.

…..

12oz sausage, (two 3oz links of two kinds), in buns, cheese in two if four buns, instant mashed potatoes and some eggs in the grease

Maybe an hour after dinner ;
Another lift!

BUP 16kg
10×10/side in 18:00
did left, right, rested, once (sets 5&6) did them back to back, otherwise left, right, rest – pretty easily under twenty minutes, and I’ll be able to train the progression from 16-32 by 2kg jumps in days when the adjustable bell arrives.

Yep, I ordered an adjustable competition kettlebell.

I’m very excited about the bottoms up and juggling playful training to come.

 

…..

:20/side holds on the hg150 reverse gripper

:20/side holds on the hg150 gripper

continue laissez faire gtg in these alongside the kettlebell, they can only help the bottoms up grip, and too can be mixed in as a two hand variant – a gripper and a bell (which I have done before)

…..

Clean Shaven :
late night took that little chin goatee thing off, beard is truly resetting – shrugs, now I see my pudgy face (which is why many heavy guys have beards)

Persistence & Tenacity

4/23/24
I just had my first 5k view youtube video.
The barbarian brothers “podcast”, something I recorded spur of the moment with my phone’s audio record, forgot about for a few months, stumbled across, added image to (as video), and uploaded…

It basically is ever green, for most of its time up was 50 or so views a day, a little while of stagnation, now back to 30 or so views daily.

“However long it takes.”
Mostly I’m good about looking at it that way.

Sometimes I’ll come across some account, and get down for a moment “how did they get that many that fast” subscribers.

Then it passes, I say good for them, and continue to upload my content.

I’m not sure where I intend to go with I
instagram.

I don’t take photos, and the reels I see seem very different than my own.

Truly I have more interest in youtube, that’s how I managed to create the channel and upload the same day, how I ended up back at the channel vs taking 7 years to post on the ig account I’d created two and a half months before going online with the site and channel.

However the dm feature of ig is awesome.
Worldwide texting with people that like your content enough to contact you.

…..

Ten or fifteen minutes soccer ball, 14ct the best.

…..

Threw a frisbee for about a half hour.
Plenty of athletic movement chasing the thing around.

…..

Very brief minisession of 16kg buc&p with plenty of h2h cleans, h2h tosses back and forth at rack, really brief minisession

…..

Second minisession of the same stuff for about twelve minutes after dark.

Cumulative.
That’s what physicality is.

My lats are smoked.
The bottoms up work will do that.
We’ll experience the wth effect in the future.

…..

I’m thinking tomorrow to either one arm snatch or power snatch, maybe both – actually use a barbell.

And here’s something I do either in the bathroom mirror or between sets ; flex my neck, dynamic tension in all four directions, sometimes even (gasp) twisting my neck.

Thickens the neck.

A strong neck is rather useful.
It being as strong as, and like a 5th limb is highly useful on grappling.

Grappling.

Persistence & Tenacity

4/22/24
Hold/squeeze :12/side of both reverse gripper (I care about it more) and gripper.

…..

6am

Ravenous ;
•coffee milk
•eggs w/instant mashed and fried onions
•two “philly cheese steak sausages” with mexican mix cheese in bun

This hits the spot.
I’ve finally eaten from the egg mix I made the other night.
This is good.

See, I like eggs fries with mashed potatoes, gives me both. I like onions. I like sausage (though the presentation of that varies).

I can likely figure cooking three dozen eggs at a time, easily incorporate the sausage & onions, have two days of borderline keto, plenty of EVERYTHING ready to eat.

…..

Afternoon/Evening Physical Leisure :

Rock Press, Video Edit, Soccer Ball, then Soccer Ball + Light Kettlebell BUC&P (and attempting to palm a basketball), a few handstands/attempts, a little later 25lb bumper plates pinch grip carries, flips, muscle outs, 10lb plate pinch muscle outs with lateral raises, movement from side to front at parallel and arms extended, a handstand, a little later rock row x50 doing “archer” style reps for more one arm stimulus reps 21-40.

Lifting Music :

hard lessons – terror

4/21/24 – Six Months Overhead Press Every Day Update :
The next steps in what I think of as bodybuilding (after seeing how muscled up I look in the bathroom mirror) are :

1. to give myself a break, I’ll continue overhead pressing on a daily basis but skewing it light with mostly 16kg one arm pressing, both regular and bottoms up, both pressing and clean & pressing

2. to up kettlebell clean volume – look for rep PRs with 40kg cleans and overall training volume as “main movement”

3. to up 2h swing volume with the 40kg – to include more glute than just the first two

I feel very strongly this will continue to put muscle onto my shoulders and upper back, while increasing lat size/strength + biceps size/strength (the clean), and lat size/strength + glute size/strength (the 2h swing).

Frankly I have no desire to train pullups, and expect the kettlebell to carry them through it’s what the hell effect from all this lat and bicep stimulus.

…..

Last night after cooking the sausage & onions, in the same pan (the sausage removed, the second half of the onions remaining) I, for the first time in my life, made “fried” eggs in the oven.

First time cooking a dish isn’t always the best result.

I’d actually mixed instant mashed potatoes into the onions and fat (with a tad of added water – the pan was still warm, all I had to do was stir) then decided to crack a dozen eggs into the pan.

15:00 total at 425°, stirring every five minutes.

I’ll have to figure out my exact method for doing this still (I actually like mashed potatoes and eggs fried together – did it with “last night’s leftovers” for breakfast as a teenager), but with a rough draft type success now know I can cook eggs in bulk.

That big pan probably would’ve cooked them reasonably with 24ct in it, and more than one pan can fit in the oven.

Food prep keeps getting easier and easier, and I had a eureka moment of breakthrough…food is fuel!

Heavy on meat, some eggs, some potatoes/root vegetables, and dairy is workable for me, definitely passes the good enough test…and I’m getting it to where around forty minutes every two or three nights will keep me “in food prep”.

All the years eating frozen foods, etc – the switch to doing it right, the mental switch, takes however long it takes.

…..

Soccer ball first for a few minutes, then mixed it with 16kg kettlebell –

The kettlebell mostly the vertical/floating clean and rack hand to hand transfers to press from both regular c&p and buc&p styles (mostly bu), some bu hold squatting – this is all enjoyable to play with.

Did about an hour of this unstructured stuff.

A 16kg kettlebell moved in weird manners can cause the leverage/foot pounds/tension to be off the charts.

Yep, I try muscling out the bell bottoms up 🙂

Really it’s not even able to be told, it’s more of a show this manner of training, but I tell you this – it will get you very strong especially if you’re adding to the leverage and increasing bell size over time.

…..

Extra minisession :
cleans 40kg 5 (well 6) x5/side

+ a little extra soccer ball, got a 15ct on only a handful of attempts and called it on a good note there

Persistence & Tenacity