Author: J

“J how old are you”, the driver asks as we three are almost back at the shop.

“28” I reply, and to my surprise he says “older than I thought, I’d have guessed 23, 24”.

“Huh, odd – that’s the second time in the last few months people have guessed younger – the only two times that’s ever happened”.

It was a silly short delivery, minutes down the road from the shop, each of us making maybe five trips from the truck to the apartment.

Ten stories total, and each time I was gassing before setting the boxes down in the apartment.

What the fuck! Am I that out of shape, or was today a fluke?

(made funnier by the fact my hamstrings were tight, and my lower back a tad sore from wednesday’s 50/20 workouts – I went to work anyway, gotta get the “sea legs” – I’d rather get paid while sore, building the mental toughness that laborers have, that is oft missing from the gym – I don’t like these dudes being able to outwork me. And I think the driver saw that I was huffing and puffing and continuing anyway)

Either way, I know my answer as tomorrow is saturday and I run bleachers on the weekend.

In moments I’ll, I think deadlift or maybe front squat carry – that’s the closest without a good stairwell I can get to work stimulus I’d say.

I need to get over to the hardware store, purchase, better yet build, a sturdy step stool or box, and get to daily step up workouts on most if not all days.

What time tomorrow shall I run bleachers?

…..

16oz cranberry juice
…..

½ hour Duolingo – “paid linguist status”
(still being paid since 4hr minimum)

…..

1st Lift :

Isabel WOD
singles – e:15o:15 – just under 7:30

“paid athlete status” for all but the final seconds
(still being paid since 4hr minimum)

training this up (well technically down), using my old burpees method – the timed interval, next workout is every :14, etc

I just went when the timer went off in my headphones, got warm fast – I pulled the winter hat up, but not off so as to keep headphones on, was panting – should’ve worn mouth guard, it may help.

I feel real good having done isabel a bit quicker today.

Interesting how the interval timer has me go faster than just against the clock.

I noticed that I lowered the bar to the ground sl, my feet were a bit wide at the start of almost all reps, and many reps were just yank, then jump as it slowed around power point – not properly jump/shrug method.

Safe, but inefficient for heavier pulls, I’m using more back and traps than legs/hips this way.

The isabel wod – it feels like “it’s time”, may be a daily thing, I can feel the benefit.

The following will train glutes/hips however…

…..

•½ sandwich
•16oz milk

…..

Reading Ethan Reeve’s stuff I can find online.

As an adult you could play a sport as baseline, assume that your lifting is going to feed into that, both propping up the other, not taking away – go be awesome.

I like reading the anecdotes, here he is talking about the strength of college athletes, football players, wrestlers…

You should be as strong and conditioned as such, they’re human, you’re human.

Found this too :
https://swoleateveryheight.blogspot.com/2021/12/365-days-and-counting.html?m=1

Can only say thank you to the author – has me far more motivated to train in my circumstance.

…..

I remember me and another did 405lb deadlift singles for 50 or 60 minutes emom, finished the goal, kept going, and eventually seeing no end in sight spoke about calling it a draw and eyed each other suspiciously til the minute we both didn’t pull had passed.

Get back to that ability!

…..

2nd Lift :

Fat Grips Deadlift DOH
50 reps in ~3:30 w/135lbs

Maybe this morning was an issue with being empty of food and fluid – felt strong having a little in me.

This felt like kettlebell conditioning, I’d like one. What poundage though?

Great glute pump, felt it in my forearms a little – I was starting light with the fat grips on purpose.

Maybe tomorrow 50 reps with 155lbs, same movement.

…..

•16oz milk

…..

3rd Lift :

Press
4×185 STRICT pauses at bottom
Fat Grips SLDL DOH
2×185

…..

•16oz cranberry juice

…..

•went out to eat, mexican – fish dish, ate half – unlike me to not finish my plate

…..

My energy is so high right now, and I have nothing to do, nowhere to go – makes me want to move, start at square one somewhere else – a real blank slate (dude you can make it happen anywhere), start a social life, gym, career there (dude, anywhere).

…..

After the 41 hours fasting, then having smaller more frequent feedings today, I’m making note of how I feel, the small feedings felt good.

I’ve never really done frequent feedings, just very briefly in early 2021 – it wasn’t bodybuilder at all, just like “okay, a bar, cheese stick, and 8oz milk”, “oh, an hour and a half since I ate last, let’s eat two slices of american cheese”, and did that all day in addition to a meal or two.

Maybe that’s what I’ll do, and I won’t bother going no carb, just throughout moving shifts just pointedly every ninety minutes or so drink 8oz of cranberry juice or milk or eat a cheese stick or ¼ sandwich, do that for a time.

And on days off it’s “sea leg training” – as many mini sessions as possible, eating all the time, and keeping up the growing of my beard.

I genuinely feel that this is a prep period, that stuff is going to line up for me after a period of hell for me.

…..

Think about this, I’m not out chasing skirts, I don’t drink, it’s friday night – I’m not getting laid.

I ate dinner with my mom again, maybe that’s a twice month thing or something.

Spent a good portion of my tiny paycheck, like 20% after taxes to eat out – the hours weren’t there this week.

Hey though – the fun stuff, the experience, the memories – we were in the same car, and hammed it up jamming to miley cyrus, katy perry – the pop station on the way back to my parents.

“Mom, it’d be a blast to be in a city, doing this same thing at a stop light, me serenading those next to me with pop music, me hamming it up – hey, that intersection in 2020 while everything was shut down I had a funny stoplight car to car interaction with two chicks…”

…..

I look forward to both lifting and running bleachers tomorrow.

I’ve made note to amrap a 165lb power clean, reading deep water PRs the other day – man I have work to do.

May also do isabel but at either 7:00 to today’s 7:30 (technically seconds less as I’m going against an interval tic – the 30th interval isn’t how long it takes to get the last rep) or…

Same interval but up it 5lbs.
That could be run to 155lbs, maybe higher, THEN drop it with 135lbs from 7:30 down to say 4:00, mixing the two progressions for interest.

…..

That dip odyssey in 2019, I got real strong by just throwing lots and lots of reps at the movement, got reps easily with bw+45, I remember being all giddy, pumped up to go tell the (6’3″ 335lbs at his peak) bodybuilder, oddly, working desk there (I’d known him from a few gyms over the years) that I’d dipped at 400lbs between bw and plates.

Right now, I have the opportunity to really see what lots of light deadlifts, and lots of olys will do for my deadlift.

I’ve got the fat grips, no reason this couldn’t be 50 in 5:00 at 300+ doh within six months.

No reason I couldn’t hit a 225lb isabel in 10:00, a snatch every :20.

Between Ethan Reeve and Jon Andersen I’ve read some anecdotes that put fire in my belly for seeing what I can do with olys.

Just gotta find the more than lifting weights physicality and get my wind.

…..

•ritz bitz
•kit kats
•milk

Yeah, high frequency training and high frequency feedings for awhile.

I’d like to “out train a bad diet”, but at the same time eating a couple hundred calories a million times throughout the day isn’t that high calorie in the end.

…..

Does Working As A Mover Take Away From The Gym?

Well, having been in and out of moving since 2017, always lifting weights in some form alongside it – here’s my thoughts.

Pay attention to the lower back – don’t train it if you’re sore from work or a lift – save it for work.

If something is sore don’t train it.

I was, with my trex arms, generally unable to do much if any biceps work alongside moving – nicely this is changing.

The little hours allow me to get in shape, muscular and otherwise, for this job, outside of, and alongside it.

Sometimes my grip will get freakish inside the gym from labor – and yet still the meth head 100lbs lighter than me can pick up nearly as heavy as me, but seemingly hold it for much longer than I.

Seriously, the labor world and the gym lifting weights world are not much the same.

Gym strength carries over to the pianos.
Two things ; right now lots of boxes and lots of stairs, the stairs moreso, are my nemesis.

I remembered teasing this chick “I don’t use the stair climber, after being paid to carry boxes a 100+ stories all in all today, nope not stepping on that hellish thing after work as part of my workout – everyone on it should try carrying boxes for one of the four hours we ran boxes of books to that attic today”.

Funny, now I’m doing bleachers for the sea legs – I have a slightly different mentality now.

I’ve heard of all the professional fighters who worked manual labor then boxed daily.

I don’t see a reason that I have to be soft.
There’s no reason I couldn’t be as capable as the men of yesteryear.

Moving can be, an odd, base for strongman which seems the physical path I’m most likely to aim myself.

Labor is tougher than lifting.
Use both to your advantage.

My grip strength needs lots of work.

Luckily the job and all the fat grip pulling fixes this.

……

The morning after my first 495lb deadlift (a friday night in 2016), I was squatting every day, and so sore – but I wanted to still work up to a 405lb squat…

2×5 bar, 2×5 95lbs, ~75×5 135lbs THEN loose enough, 3×185, 3×225, singles at 275, 315, 345, 365, 405

Everyone thought I nuts.

It’s a lesson that regular work gives you ability fast.
The whole thing was maybe 75 minutes.

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

I’ve been regularly dreaming of these situations where I could have alcohol, and even in the dreams I turn it down.

Alcohol is something that simply has no draw to me.

…..

I used to, til about puberty, regularly have nightmares of cowardice – still having them occasionally after.

Those mostly passed by the time at age 15 I stood up to an 18 year old with all his friends around to protect another.

At about 18 years old I charged a pitbull.

…..

Woke up with trap soreness, at about 36 hours fasted, energy a bit low.

The day is off, so went back to bed, slept in a couple hours THEN immediately took to typing.

Typing to middle school rap, while meditating on what the next lift will entail.

I’m leaning towards not breaking this fast without another workout.

Coming up on 40 hours, I may go to 48, eat a keto dinner knowing I may be eating carbs at work tomorrow.

Will today be a million session day?
With 12-14 waking hours still the day is young, we’ll see.

…..

1pm
Okay, about 41 hours fasted – I changed my mind, with how tight some muscles were, and how stiff I felt I decided to break fast, and I included carbs :

•two cheese sticks
•½lb kielbasa
•bowl of tortilla chips

That gone I’m about to cook eggs.

•five eggs
•one potato (home fries)
•10oz reeses
•48oz milk
•bowl of tortilla chips

Food is more enjoyable when fasted, I tasted it, savored it more.

Not a lot of food, especially considering 40 hours without a calorie – the lesson is we in the first world eat far too much.

Alternate day dieting, fasting every other day could be sustainable.

We’ll see what I do alongside moving and lifting weights.

…..

Moving :
I know that it’s not a career, not enough money, but I’m taking pride in it in the moment.

Eyesight was a bit better while fasted.

While eating the second bowl of chips I thought to myself “why am I still eating”.

Eating carbs is an addiction.
Eating is emotional, habit.

In this case I felt better not eating – learn the balance.

Note : I almost immediately had to shit after this meal, maybe 45:00 later.

It would’ve been a better idea to keep it clean.

…..

Visiting Cali at 18, too lazy to cook which is exactly what not having learned to cook is – a lot of my meals were microwaving meatballs from costco, eating that with tortilla chips.

I like tortilla chips, always have, choosing them today, and often lately as salty carb alongside meat.

…..

Lift :

Overhead Squat
2×10 w/ bar

Really let my shoulders stretch, looked for full body mobility – loosened me up real well.

Not doing a big lift today, was tight, but with wintery conditions/snowing – I’m okay with the easy lift.

“As long as you at least feel the movement for a few with the empty bar.”

…..

I’ve long liked the John Broz “squat every day ” philosophy.

For me I’m going “lift every day”, apparently seeing how far I make it this year, but I’m not sweating it.

If I’m genuinely away from weights that’s okay.

However there is no excuse to not overhead squat my beater bar for a few when at home if I don’t do something bigger.

…..

The overhead squat is a great loosening movement.

It’s not a good idea to sit around when you’re sore.

Movement, generally done light through the full range of motion, makes you limber again.

The overhead squat is the weight trainer’s yoga.

…..

As I shoveled snow and after showered I was checking in.

Yesterday’s 50/20s were great, my glutes and traps have obviously worked – primed, which is good for strength though sore, as have my forearms, with hamstrings and biceps a bit tight.

While shoveling I had an emotion hit me, frankly I could’ve cried – just this overwhelming thought of “I’m approaching 30 and have accomplished nothing – no wife, no kids, working a job that’s going nowhere (though moving feels much better to my soul than line cooking), and never went anywhere athletically”.

I want wind, for health, and for performance.

In the moment to be able to run it on job sites – I hate being the slowest on the crew running boxes, want my hands on every heavy item, etc.

The answer to this is bleachers on the weekend, lifting every day – off work meaningfully, on work minimally.

Daily activity.

Walks would be easy to integrate, while a
kettlebell is a purchase that would get me outside for lots of volume.

But, my psyche goes to this place, this same one repeatedly…

“Dude, why aren’t you in a gym.”

As I showered I thought of all the pulling volume I didn’t do during the covid lockdowns.
Hindsight 20/20

I had 500lbs in weight available, I could’ve been overhead squatting, power snatching, power cleaning, pressing, and deadlifting like a madman.

You could make an entire transformation, in any direction, with effort at the above.

Going to the powerlifting gym or not is right on the line for me, I’m being indecisive.

If I took another dead end job, one less physical, not a kitchen, more set hours and had to pass by it daily…

A cashier would be a million daily interactions, and be nothing on recovery.

What did all the world’s strongest man competitors do for a living?

How many times have I been told that I should do strongman?

And dude…

How passionate do I get when speaking about wrestling, which I haven’t done since 2011?

It’s hell to live in ; the “glory days”, in television’s version of reality, etc ie not making your life a story worthy of telling.

…..

It horrifies me to see the lifestyles and where they end up, the guy’s miserable after a lifetime of dead end job.

The negativity of everyone just feeding into each other – I find my mentality works better for me then they theirs.

Even if it’s a mundane task at a dead end job, there’s something to smile about and be thankful for.

The moving company forces me out of bed, making me move around in the fresh morning air.

We all need fresh morning air and movement in our lives.

…..

Ahh, what was going negative was made positive.

…..

I smile knowing day by day, week by week, soon month by month my beard shall grow longer.

Money?
Money ; why couldn’t I train people outdoors with naught but a barbell?

Has anyone done it?
I could be the first.

Then come up with some cutesy name like “CrossFit” and term like “WOD” for what entails overhead squatting, power snatching, power cleaning, pressing, and deadlifting, generally for reps, with little warm up, and medium to heavy weights like a madman – start with one person or a small group, and eventually have AMRAPS (hey another term) televised on espn.

Note To Self :
Dude, take the above seriously.
Make it. No reason you couldn’t make it with a barbell and any space.

YOU CAN MAKE IT WITH YOUR BARBELL AND ANY SPACE

…..

wes watson – gate money and a vision

…..

Nearing bedtime, yesterday without food, today with what’s listed above and maybe a small meal in the next hour or two – I look a bit less fat.

This could work for me, mixing aggressive intermittent fasting with aggressive lifting.

Tomorrow after work, or Saturday, and bearing good footing – how many times can I power clean 165lbs?

Sounds like the extra clean work I need for my pressing.

…..

•two cheese sticks
•two chicken quesadillas (or whatever to call them – spicy tortilla shells, breaded chicken, mexican mix cheese melted)
•12oz cranberry juice
•32oz milk
•candy bar
•handful peanuts

You know, frequent feedings are as simple as a few bites of meat or cheese.

It’s ten seconds to eat a cheese stick.

This meal sat better than the first.

Two meals ten hours apart, and still not particularly high calorie on the day.

Tomorrow I move a, well I know the apartment complex – no elevator, it may be fun getting any couches out.

…..

Laying to bed my abs are sore.

As they’ve been all day.

I attribute it to the 50/20 snatches yesterday.

They’re not used to that many reps overhead, nor snatches – as for the past 15 months I’d mostly just pressed.

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Vitality.

You can feel it through your actions.

Maybe some is not in your hands, but you still have the actions, your actions.

Indoors? Outdoors?
Outside you breath the fresh air and feel alive.

After a few hours in front of the television you realize nothing was accomplished, that you just lost time – time you’ll never get back.

You make eye contact, and she blushes.

Bleachers instead of a stair climber –
Your heart is pounding, cardio.
Your upper back is pumped.

Having masturbated, you compulsively shower, compulsively change your sheets – look at your eyes in the mirror.

Where’s the soul behind them? Gone.
Thank God that’s only temporarily.

You eat candy. You get drowsy.

You eat medium rare steak, and you’re chomping at the bit – you feel like going and chopping a tree, lifting again, shouldering a sandbag, meeting new people, seeing new places – LIVING!

You smell, and taste the mood in the air – they’re all miserable, punching the clock…

Drowning in vices.

When you can’t make an entire workday without participating in your vices – that’s addiction.

And sign you need new work.

The western world is one of addiction – television, food, phone, internet, alcohol, tobacco, legalized marijuana, criminalized opioids.

…..

3 Pullups

(Pro Athlete Status ie paid to “workout” – an old joke I used to make to gym staff working out on the clock)

@ work – the customers house was right next to a playground, waiting to drive off instead of standing around, seeing the bar appeared bout 9′ high and not liking standing around I hopped onto the bar of the swing set.

Just low enough to hop up onto, plenty high to fully hang from I climbed my hands up a little higher to closer to a false grip, real thick grip – like 4″ minimum, probably more, a sturdy bar – I’d love to live 10′ from that playground.

Picturesque house too.

The bar I use usually is real thin, I think I’m better at pullups with thicker handled bars – today’s was an entirely open hand.

The 3 reps on this fat bar were far stricter than sunday’s 5 reps on a thin bar – I left a bunch in the tank today.

The horror! I didn’t rep out.

I should build myself a sturdy, proper height, thick bar outdoor pullup station.

Having one just outside my door, my dip belt, my plates – no reason it wouldn’t be at 10 x bw+100 fast – I love weighted pullups.

…..

Work :

Easy ~4h, briefly unloading crates from a trailer with pallet jack, then mostly truck time to deliver ONE item

home early = lift early

It’s a beautiful day at The Cold Air Barbell Club!

…..

Lift :

BUT FIRST!

I should have tomorrow off, so I’m okay with caffeineing up – instant coffee = ass taste, but tastes less like ass in cold water, this time blended instead of shaken or stirred just to try it.

I drove home singing at the top of my lungs to “she had me at heads carolina”, really good mind state, it’d be cool to be in a bumping gym, but too I enjoy the fresh air at The Cold Air Barbell Club which is what I have to do the necessary work in this moment.

A gift.

1st Lift :

1pm
Power Snatch
50 reps in ~18:30 w/135lbs

Decided to go for 50/20 with 135lbs, the “isabel” wod split was in about 12:00 – I should go way harder on isabel.

Maybe do isabel daily til competitive

Funny that the “grace” wod (c&j 30×135) has no interest to me. I’d rather jerk for reps  off of one clean per set or clean & press in any permutation – both heavier than 135lbs.

But I’ll do isabel.

While 50 or 100 reps – that’s a solid c&p session!

185+ lbs clean & press sounds like a good grace mod wod

No reason to take a long break, but I’m home for the day, so it’s no hurry, and a rotisserie chicken isn’t enough excuse to run to the store – so long break then…

2nd Lift :

2pm
Deadlift
50 reps in 10:15 w/205lbs

Decided to go for 50/20 with 205 as the 50/20 snatches were awesome – work capacity day – gotta have more ability to work.

First 15 reps as a set, mostly 6s after – the 15 showed me I have better strength than I’d been recently thinking, strength and work capacity, even wind – it all comes back quickly

3rd Lift :

3pm
Press
9×185 = PR tie

Hitting 9 considering all the mini sessions before, not bad. The clean was easy. The presses a bit loose, many to barely chin or a bit high. 10 is very close, while 12-15 is the “supposed to” progression number.

Note that according to that it wasn’t time for 185lbs, but 185lbs was today’s executive decision.

Not 50/20, just presses because press.
I want that 300lb c&p remember THIS YEAR

2023

Tomorrow maybe clean to a max then high pull a bit higher. Build more horsepower for the above.

…..

Immediately after this lift I did some…

Physical Play :

20:00
•some 10yd backpedaling – probably 75-80% speed – this is a creative way to run – start line, backpedal, walk to start line, repeat

•handstand practice – today I used a pair of bricks as contact point, I liked how that felt, got a couple good ones, but far from being able to hold one comfortably, consistently, and as a skill.

I may do pushups outside with the bricks as handles, I enjoyed squeezing them, a nice addition of grip stimulus.

…..

It’s funny, working in the kitchen I was all bummy about getting in workouts.

Now again as a mover, as it had been as a mover before, and at the other physical job I had in the interim period between moving and moving – I like training LOTS, and have no issue getting to the gym whether a place where I pay membership dues or at my home based Cold Air Barbell Club.

Today is basically mini sessions all day.

I fully expect to hit one or two empty bar overhead squat sessions before bed.

And some pushup ones are a given.
I do pushups at least twice a day, just normal every day.

…..

Fat Loss Day!

All the workouts were between at least 13-15 hours fasted, I just hit at least 16 hours.

Only drank water. Nearing a half gallon.

I love that I have energy.
It’s a matter of just doing more and more physical.

You should be able to work a physical job, have outdoor physical hobbies, lift, play sports – do all of it.

And be able to instinctively eat, sometimes little, sometimes big, and be lean whilst doing so.

The backpedalling was a good idea, could easily use that as one of many conditioning things to do – I want strong and in shape.

…..

4th Lift :

5pm
Overhead Squat (Press Grip)
bar x 20

…..

Spent the day at working out, went hard enough at it during some sessions, played in another, tied a PR, had a good day.

As I put the bar away in the ohs session I felt something…

“this is what it was like starting out – anytime, anywhere, loving the process”

And I smile.

…..

In the past and present I love days where I get in a million lifts.

…..

Ended up fasting, now about 830pm it’s been 24 hours, I’ll end up going til some point tomorrow without calories.

Likely 36+ hours.

It felt right. I went with it.

All I have prepped is ½lb kielbasa as
I see little need to eat carbs except around work.

That may become my usual.
Though baked potatoes sing a salacious song.

With kielbasa as breaking the fast option without having to cook, there is also eggs which are quick – today the first in about six days without having any, the two my intended late meal tonight had I eaten.

I have a pound of steak to cook, and for a few days now a rotisserie chicken has been begging a trip to the grocery store.

…..

930pm

Pushups :

more range than woody woodpeckers, still not full rom, brought the first set to 100 reps

second set, full rom, trying for high tension – 10 reps

third set, full rom, high tension trying to put it in as many muscle groups as possible, particularly the lats – 10 reps

Not the last pushups on the day either.

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Today’s PR (tie) Music :

monica – everytime the beat drop

a middle school throwback – they consistently amp me up while lifting

1215am
High Tension Pushups

…..

I remember at one point during the covid lockdown, inspired by wes watson, I went real minimal on food for a bit.

1000 daily calories

I went about ten days on a can of baked beans, a pack of ramen, and the luxury of (not to be had in the story that inspired this) a 12oz glass of milk for my one daily meal, after reading for a few hours and doing my set of pushups.

At about that ten day mark I was getting real needy for meat, and relaxed the thing a bit.

I remember having a 16oz flavored milk, being a little disappointed I went off diet, yet cherishing the thing as I drank it.

That influx of caloric flavor – immediately I felt far less bummy. I’d been rather eeyore (spelling CORRECTED – the depressive donkey). The drink made a difference.

And that night I chose to have a takeout dish of pork, rice, and beans from a local mexican restaurant.

I went back to a similar diet the next day, but bumped it to 1500 calories or so.

The one pan meal saw the addition of 3-4 eggs, and I upped milk to 24oz.

If I didn’t finish it I allowed one days allotment to be a few bites of food before the next days evening meal.

All in all it was about three weeks of asceticism, then I realized the world wasn’t ending, and went back to eating normally.

…..

With A Healthy Base Of Physicality You Don’t Lose Muscle :

Last night speaking with my old training partner we were discussing how the body holds onto muscle.

He got hurt injured (spinal), didn’t lift for a little over six months, sedentary or close to it, and basically maintained 15 pullups, and a 10×405 deadlift without activity coming out the other end at 6’1″ 240, and knowing his eating habits I assume he has an outline of some if not a 4 pack of abs.

“I assume you didn’t really change how you ate though inactive, still clean, still high protein.”
“Haha you know me. Yeah. Maybe just a bit less calories.”

A good base of physicality changes everything.

Once you’ve built muscle the body doesn’t just want to waste away.

Those who never played outside as a kid, played sports as a youth, physical work and/or sports/hobbies/gym as an adult – a lifetime of sedentary…

They may lose muscle by dropping calories with their lifestyle as one with the couch, it’s when you have a physical base that shit just doesn’t happen.

For pete’s sake somatotypes change over time, and I’m inclined to say that they don’t change in a negative direction.

Everyone can become a whatever and mesomorph hybrid – that hybrid in either order.

And all those heavy fat fuckers who were athletic at around 6′ and between 185-235 as high school athletes…

Even at 330lbs they’re not far off from getting back to their athletic self of youth.

That motivates me.

…..

You know, every day I don’t have a full time shift it makes sense to me to get in multiple sessions.

If I join that powerlifting gym I’m still going to have to get my outdoor session in as well.

I really like that aspect of The Cold Air Barbell Club.

Gyms are too coddled.
It’d be a great thing to have racks, benches, pullup bars, dip bars, a tall staircase, lots of plates, heavy dumbbells, heavy kettlebells…outdoors – year round, location ie weather not a consideration.

I’ve been getting it in wintry conditions and loving it.

Wim Hof w/AnnaLynne McCord

…..

Upon waking I’m a little hungry.

That’s good. I’ll wait til after I’ve lifted to eat some eggs and/or steak.

…..

1st Lift :

Power Snatch
10×1 135lbs e:45o:45
Lateral Raises ss/w Deadlift
6×10 2½lbs/5×3 205lbs
Deadlift DOH
1×255
1×275
3×300
5×255
Press
6×180 close to strict
4×180 STRICT

Good explosion on the snatches.
I don’t like how quickly the explosive effort gets to my legs – lactic acid maybe.

255 is a good top number for deadlifting right now, can be reps test # for now.

…..

Oh yeah it’s worth it to do a bunch of light deadlifts.

That was a great session.

Always pull double overhand.

To progress on the power snatches keep adding intervals to 20, then go to doubles.

Occasionally do a high rep set, and when 20×1 is easy add 5lbs.

As I realized on the deadlift if I keep the reps crisp most of the time, occasionally doing high reps or heavier as a test of all the crisp light low rep sets.

With this approach I could essentially never have to buy another piece of equipment or step foot into a gym again.

Double overhand and little black with gloves in the cold – makes the grip have to be strong.

No bumper plates means never dropping the bar.

500lbs is what I can load to, and to get to 20×500 doh, well that scales to a 700+ deadlift, is strongman strong, very conditioned.

…..

Most sessions of pulls – low rep sets.
Occasionally test reps.

…..

kielbasa, potato (home fries), american cheese, yogurt covered pretzels, milk

…..

Checking the schedule I’ve been added onto a couple shifts this week.
A bit more than monday’s really short shift.

Still, need better work, really to make a living with vocation not job.

…..

I’ve been doing my dishes immediately lately.

Taking pride in having an empty sink, enjoying the act itself of washing them in the moment, and treating it as a daily win.

…..

glass of holiday punch (spiced juice – not alcohol)
…..

I’ve never ate clean, nor ever had seriously high protein.

I built muscle on, at most 250g protein a day, generally about 180g, while calories were at 5000, sometimes more.

For all dietary concerns the answer can boil down (heh) to “eat meat”.

Looking back to fall 2018 when I was taking care of my grandma, I’d eat a cheese sandwich for breakfast having woken famished to drink half a gatorade in the middle of the night, if grandma wanted to get lunch we would (generally subway – my usual meatball sub see mover’s food choices) – I didn’t say no to lunch, but skipped it otherwise, for dinner most evenings I had a bag of frozen breaded chicken, drank milk, and late night I’d have another ravenous meal – raw egg shake and a bowl of grits.

A high volume lift, couple mile beach walk, maybe a little swimming, what seemed high stress yet psychologically on a mission, she ~4000 calories a day was a maintenance level with a lot of hunger.

180g protein, ~4000 calories
Felt like starvation rations.

I exploded as I drove back east, I’d say I broke into the 270s, and was leaner for a while.

Rest (physical rest – driving), continental breakfasts, pop tarts, oreos, mcdonald’s, and milk – all the hc&p went to my neck, traps, and shoulders once my body found “recovery”.

Running into a training partner my father’s age at the grocery store he looked at me and was like “obviously the past few months, whatever you were doing in cali worked – I thought you were still out there, when did you get back”.

…..

Right now, in being kinda needy about a craving for a rotisserie chicken.

Nicely enough they’re sound financially as well.

A person could eat one daily as the starting point of power eating, or allot one a day as dieting down food.

At some point before bed I’ll have a ¼lb steak, 3-4 eggs, make another potato into cheesy home fries, maybe eat the other ½lb of kielbasa.

The type of day that coworkers would look at you in horror for eating.

…..

2nd Lift :

Overhead Squats
bar x 20

Feels great, gets you breathing and an upper back pump.

Guilted myself into it. I didn’t have a full time shift today ergo two lifts.

The empty bar overhead squats, all it takes is stepping outside – fuck the footwear (yes) get it done.

…..

¼lb steak, leftover tater tots,
four eggs, one potato (home fries), american cheese, milk, two brownies, finished yogurt pretzels

Microwaving overcooked the steak, it was the second time reheating it.

Eggs are #1 right now – funny since the last time I regularly cooked eggs and regularly enjoyed them was as a high school junior starting to cook for myself after the school weight room wanting to eat before mom got home and made dinner.

Making a weekly batch of baked potatoes is awesome, it lets you have meat with a baked potato, and it lets you make home fries in the pan you’re already using for meat and/or eggs.

…..

1130pm
Pushups

I don’t log every time I do pushups here, but with it being an all consuming thought while doing the thing – share I must :

“Simple. All in effort.”

It does not matter what you do, it’s how you do it.

Expect awesomeness. Achieve awesomeness.

The journey is joy.

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

A silly short shift – nailing crates shut – probably need to get other work, this week is slow, too slow.

Bouncing around at dead end jobs at the low end of the american wage scale.

I’m not making enough money, don’t at any of these jobs.

…..

home early = lift early

That’s the plus to a silly short shift.
As is I’ve been lifting in some capacity daily

…..

I don’t like downtime, I actually prefer being busy.

In a way I was content when I worked long hours and went to the gym immediately after work.

SoCal last time, ~30 hours weekly taking care of my grandma, eventually daily gym and beach, no financial concerns – that was pretty ideal.

Bro, get the beard to a good length, be in shape, and happy in the off chance that you go back aka SoCal prep work

…..

Lift :

DB Side Press (each side) ss w/ Overhead Squat ie L+R+OhS
5+5+10
10+10+15
12+12+20

1 Arm OHS
3 x bar each side

75lb db & empty barbell
each ohs set with progressively narrower grips from normal to almost press

…..

For a few days I’d been realizing the above, working these movements with the 75lb dumbbell and the empty bar would allow for a lot of work in a brief condensed period – a conditioning lift, which frankly have massive carryover to everything.

Also ; a bunch of squats is a worthwhile daily thing – bodyweight if you have nothing for weight, though something could be easily improvised.

I’m partial to overhead squats.

They’re my favorite squat variant.

Especially on the high rep light end of the spectrum, as simply I enjoy overhead squat reps with the empty bar moreso than bw squats.

…..

When I’m off, around the house, basically I’m sedentary.

I don’t go for walks, runs, etc.

This nags at me internally.

“Get past the mental block”, “go outside (not a problem) and move”

The 2020 lockdown, nearly three years ago now, three years which I feel I’ve not accomplished in – that was the only time in my life I was consistent on riding my bike around.

I’d do a loop just so I could feel the sun and wind on my skin as I bombed downhill.

…..

•2oz peanuts
•½ salami sandwich
•milk

…..

nap

I shouldn’t be – it’s basically a sign of nothing to do/depression

…..

I looked at some crossfit wods and realized it’s the modern substitute for hard labor.

…..

Turns out my old lifting partner is now going to the local powerlifting gym, this about a week after an old work acquaintance wanted me to show him how to lift there.

Hints from the universe?

It’d be a place to film military presses, and has most strongman implements.

But I’m content with The Cold Air Barbell Club.

Choices to make.

I’d already been sleeping on the idea of going due to the latter for a little over a week now.
…..

3 eggs with green beans, ~4oz reeses, ~4oz steak, milk

Still clean meals with dessert.
I don’t make myself toss all the junk I have on hand from christmas presents.

Eggs are great. Thing is they’re almost 50¢ each right now.

I bet meat and eggs with green beans is a sustainable clean eating for me.

I’m really enjoying fried eggs right now, they’re an easy delivery vehicle for vegetables, and I don’t put down much meat per sitting right now.

Nicely, if I lay off of junk food and probably milk, I’m easily aimed for fat loss.

But moreso than the aesthetics of fat loss, I’m more concerned with getting my cardio back.

…..

Notes To Self For Military Pressing :

•lots of quad – to drive through sticking point
•lots of power cleans – to shoulder the bar, and have lots of energy reserve with which to press

…..

Getting In Shape With Equipment :

I’d be inclined to mostly do conditioning for a period, to not be focused on heavy lifting.

I too have my old coworker on my mind, as he’s, basically at less than square one – two years ago he was 5’7″ 280ish with thick limbs, natural power- since he’s lost 40ish lbs and it’s all from his limbs, he didn’t play sports growing up, etc – sled/prowler and basic calisthenics strikes me as the path he needs.

I am having an unscratched itch for db thrusters and db c&j.

Both, luckily, a way to get in shape, and access to a concept 2 rower would be nice as well – ditto to prowler and stair climber.

…..

Basically I need to make it that personal training in some capacity is how I make my living.

•outdoor group classes
•teaching lifting in a gym
•online
•youtube monetized
•gym owner

…..

Psychologically I’d be okay with, not even keto, but as a mover I’d get by on 1 slice of bread with peanut butter on it (½ work sandwich), and 16oz of milk a day as “carbs” some incidentals from cheese, essentially none from meat, eggs, and not counting whatever comes from green beans, broccoli, cauliflower – the three main vegetables I’d be including.

…..

Nearly zero carbs?

Mind dictates energy, activity levels, mood, etc – it’s mental.

…..

As long as I’m still at The Cold Air Barbell Club regular deadlifts make sense, but light as worked well for me ~15 months ago…

205 is convenient to load, just double overhand, a bunch of sets of 1-5, real crisp – I know my glutes, the workhorse of the body, pump this way so I get feel good and strong from this manner of training.

…..

Extra pushups just before midnight, treating them as if they were a military press – really squeezing my quads, thinking to myself “I should be able to squeeze my glutes like this too”, trying to make pushups full body tension.

I did a really good job with quads, a decent job with abs, and oddly wasn’t feeling a pump so much in my upper body though I ended the sets very out of breath.

I assume with this high amount of tension that I was holding my breath.

Persistence & Tenacity

•two corn dogs
•two cheese sticks
•~3oz peanuts
•12oz root beer

That isn’t eating clean, nor am I going to be able to say I didn’t have a soda in 2023.

…..

Daily Pushups :
~215am

…..

I wonder what weight a person I could weighted pushup.

It’s been a good period since I’ve had someone STAND on my back, and I know my pressing strength is far higher than the poundage involved in my daily pushups.

I’ve increases my press in the interim, an improvement in weighted pushups and by extension bench is a given.

…..

Freestyle Pushups :

There are more variants to pushups than vanilla – around the world, typewriter, pauses, range of motion, rep speed.

I’m mostly used to woody woodpeckers.

Lately I’ve been doing more strict vanillas, and today decided to play with the handful of variables listed above.

My upper body pumped with less work this way – it’s “new” strength stimulus.

One can always revert to pushups.

Picture this :
The results you would get doing pushups and running ~40yd dashes (preferably slightly inclined) like a madman – wild eyed intensity, putting everything you know about training effectively into the effort.

…..

Reading about training is something I’d describe as a personal hobby.

I do to much of it (and not enough training).

Nor am I the only person I know who does this.

It strikes you, reading online, that all these people on the other side of a screen somewhere – instead of asking they could just try.

Don’t ask that forum if this is a good program or diet idea – put it into action and find out for yourself.

Training Lessons From High School :

I think back to high school, there were some “dumb jocks”, barely keeping football eligibility with a d average, calories high with donuts, mcdonalds, beer – not a healthy diet, but benching trucks and shit.

How?

By being in the weight room daily (or as close to it as possible), and working.

This kid swore up and down he felt the raised testosterone in his veins after lifting – his program something magical he found online.

This kid, the linebacker, wanted to do 1000 abs daily, so he did.

I read, the created some sort of monster with my own personal touches out of whatever program sounded almost good to me.

Sports practice saw a bunch of these dudes sprint and run any distance well enough.

Those willing to both eat, and condition tended to do better than those who only lifted.

It’s not high testosterone to stress details.
Remember that.

The strong, athletic kids tended to simply be physical often.

I shouldn’t have read so much online, it kept me weak longer than I had needed be.

I know how I’d train myself if given a time machine to coach myself, but that’s not reality.

In the moment I struggle with actually being highly active and finding the balance between eating clean, and eating big which has been habit for most of the past 12 years.

I could just join that powerlifting gym, care about nothing else but powerbuilding, and eat a lot, in g-flux baby with prowler sprints, yoke walks, lots of lifting, and the seasonally part time moving job.

…..

Don’t make this complicated.

…..

5 pullups

…..

25 dips – this is having gone down for me

…..

6:00 bleachers

ran the first minute of ups, mostly walking after that – it’d be worth it to do these wearing a mouth guard so as to not instantly be mouth breathing

…..

Funny note :

Just as I was about to do dips, two ran by at a good pace – 5’10” 170, 6’4″ 190 – probably father and son, dad pushing the pace.

:30 later a couple, 6’2″ 230 fit military type, and a 5’6″ she obviously squats medium thick woman ran by.

An hour later I drove by them again – the big military dude in front setting pace, the tall lean early 40s dude a step behind, the woman maybe three paces back.

Whether the pace was being kept for big dude or the woman – they had to have ran and jogged 6+ miles at better than an 8:00 pace – the teenager was not with the group at this point.

….

“Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot nine days old.”

•split pea soup (dried peas, ham, potato, carrots, celery, onion) parmesan cheese
•milk
•2oz peanuts
•sourdough toast – 2 slices with butter
•12oz root beer (again)

“You can’t ruin the bread with too much butter.”

I’m not eating keto, but sans the root beer this was clean.

…..

The eating of honey roasted peanuts, split pea soup, legumes in general – it’s historically, and today with eggs, beef, and chicken seemingly inflating in price to no end, the poor man’s protein.

Split pea soup, with as much pork as you can get in there, again not keto, is historical hearty fare.

…..

The lentil and split pea are the highest count of protein per dollar in the grocery store.

I suggest you drink copious milk, as much meat as you can get your hands on, cheese as you please, and if/when you’re poor to take advantage of the affordability of root vegetables and split pease in the pot.

…..

The best thing I could do for my press would be a lot of power cleans.

More reps of power cleans than reps of press – to invert my usual rep count.

…..

Those few pullups, that little bit of bleachers, my back it pumped, high activation, it feels great – in a moment with the last daylight I’ll get my lift in – the question is what.

I’ll find out when I do it.

…..

Lift :

C&P Every Rep Style
4×2 every 1:30 w/175lbs
Press
10×175

mouth guard in the entire c&p time
no mouth guard for press only sets

The press set is probably a PR – I don’t recall having hit 10×185 before.

…..

Yeah, I’m going to be very strong alongside having wind again.

Seeing that group of runners today motivates me.

Cardio doesn’t take long, and I’m hitting a groove as far as improvements in press training.

…..

Regular horse stance is worthwhile.

…..

People act like they don’t have space to lift a barbell at home.

I once came across 60s home video of a man who did weightlifting in his kitchen.

I’ve heard multiple anecdotes of people, generally high level, having a platform in apartment living rooms – both powerlifters and weightlifters.

…..

I spend a good day of time outside on my days off.

In the cold wearing less than most would considering the temperature – I’m not doing Wim Hof method – I do enjoy the cold.

I feel good outside, whereas I often feel cooped up upon waking.

So pretty quickly I get outside.

Indoors all day is no way to live – indoors you waste your life away in front of screens.

Outdoors you can be the one person using the outdoor pullup bar, the outdoor dip bar, then running bleachers shirtless because 30° doesn’t matter and there’s sun to be had on your chest.

…..

Looking for _____

a worthy woman, money, space, and time freedom – I’d like to be owner of a real bumping hybrid of a strongman and commercial gym

…..

We have problems since we don’t standardly put all of our energies into our passions.

A lifetime hiding behind a screen isn’t the way to live.

…..

Lots of pulling from the floor, power snatches, overhead squats, power cleans, presses, deadlifts – you’ll be muscular.

…..

Funny how I never front squat or back squat, am doing fine without it, and really just wish I had a rack, thompson bar, 1000lbs of plates, and a place to leave this all out in the elements.

I’m really coming to love the fresh air aspect of The Cold Air Barbell Club.

Would I use a 50ish lb pair of dumbbells or kettlebells?

Sandbag or rock would be far more affordable for the 100ish lb shoulder and overhead conditioning.

As is I already have a 75lb dumbbell.
Put it overhead a bit every morning.
It’s a good idea.

…..

twix, two hersheys (the three bite size), four eggs, green beans, american cheese

…..

Cooking the above, I felt a sense of pride, washing the bowl by hand, cooking it – it’s a simple step, many don’t.

Cook your own food.
Wash your own dishes – not letting them stack up, not running a dishwasher twice a week, washing your dishes on a reasonable time frame soon after use.

…..

More pushups

…..

•½ salami sandwich (the usual work sandwich), milk

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

1st Lift :

Bent Row
12, 10, 8 w/165lbs
Deadlift
10, 12 w/205
Press
13×165

……

Those deadlift sets could’ve been pushed to 30 reps.

At 205lbs it’s less than 50% 1rm – thing is I get a great pump out of lighter weight, and right now with higher reps.

It’s like my body decides to respond well to whatever is available to throw at it.

“Gains” are a given…

Too, and more importantly, high reps force you to use effort.

Low reps are done in seconds, high reps, especially against the clock/density training protocols are long.

In all honesty the past few years I’ve been more spinning my wheels than not.

And the longer I’m at The Cold Air Barbell Club the more I go back to earlier in the journey, when I had what I had, and the hunger to make it work.

Sometimes we have to get back to the points where we were committed, where nothing could stop us – internal drive & hunger, fire in the eyes.

…..

It’s ridiculous how little effort you can put into lifting, and still get further than the large majority.

It’s easy to reap the benefits.
That however is not excuse to slack off.

…..

All those high rep challenges, what if you did that as training, not as an occasional challenge?

The human body will thrive on everything when the mindset is there.

Realize the romans worked their slaves to death in libyan mines – good luck getting anywhere close to that level of physical work, and since you’re blessed to be able to do so, simply feed yourself good nutrition as you attempt (and fail – modern world, rationally not gonna happen) to get to physically too much.

You’re not an indentured servant starving/working to death in the plantation’s fields on naught but corn and brackish water – you can go to the grocery store and eat better than the kings of history!

So be thankful, and use what you have.

Steak and baked potatoes up soon for me, it’s basic, healthy, nutritious food – and between work and lifting in the yard I’m ramping up the work I do.

This year, no more fat guy, no more horrible work capacity, no more inability to run a good mile.

…..

While you’ll get plenty of respect being burly – big, strong, yet kinda fat – you’re lying to yourself when you can’t run a fast mile, work all day at a quick pace, or bang out many pullups.

When you have wind it ends up being that you have more ability to lift volume, more frequently, with more density to your work/workouts, and have a higher ceiling to your top end strength.

I’ve seen plenty older than me with great physicality to know it’s not age, but action, that allows you to be properly physical with robust physicality and high energy.

Energy is shit when you don’t do shit.
Energy is high when you’re high activity, active, being awesome.

…..

Around 40° outside I lifted, then wrote, shirtless – I’m pretty comfortable with this.

…..

Three days in a row having eggs.

(Eggs instead of steak again this meal – it’s the craving.)

A bunch of unnecessary carbs (tortilla chips, chex mix) alongside it though.

Milk to drink.

Yesterday, today were not as clean with food choices – I can much improve here.

It’s a matter of making a choice, then sticking to it.

…..

Long nap through the afternoon, had nightmares, but felt a message in it :

“Go back to Cali”

I had this vision of me powerbuilding, training people, with a wife, kid, and a second on the way.

Message inside a nightmare.

…..

2nd Lift :

Overhead Squat
15 x bar
1 Arm OHS
1 x bar each side

As the ohs set progressed I narrowed my grip more and more into press spacing – a feel good flexibility thing to play with.

Before putting the bar down from the one arms I lowered it to shoulder, below shoulder really, a deep side press stretch which really loosed tight upper/mid back musculature.

…..

The above lift was to get into good headspace.

I was groggy from a three hour nap, a bit parched, thinking negatively, and knew a lift and the fresh air would do me well.

It did.

…..

It’s better to lift outdoors than indoors.
Mother Nature is invigorating – I recall during my last gym membership going inside, canned air, synthetic light, and thinking “this is stifling, unvital “, and still lifting indoors causes that’s where the equipment is.

Now I’m loving the fact every lift involves fresh air, often sunshine while stripped to the waist in more weather than most would do so in, and am genuinely considering a kettlebell which would travel well while allowing me to strike more of a frequency itch while still outdoors.

…..

Late meal was burger, fries, steak, leftover tater tots, broccoli, and cauliflower, tortilla chips (again), grape juice

…..

Today was a snow melting day – a sad excuse to not run bleachers or do step ups.

$30 at the hardware store bypasses the logistical issues.

Hard to skip something set up in your yard.

…..

There’s value in simply touching your toes, reaching for the sky – you could say I purposefully stretched today.

The above with a few 10 pump burpees in the kitchen.

Deep squats pulling myself down by holding the bar during the first lift – working on being tall in the spine.

Deep squats as part of the exercise with the second lift while again purposely being tall in the spine while narrowing my grip width every handful of reps.

I think the curve of the bar being bent helped get into the press grip on the overhead squats.

Though I power snatch into my heaviest overhead squats, and with the empty bar simply out it overhead – best overhead squat grip width is where you can apply tightness to the back most effectively.

One cue is pull the bar apart with your hands.

I think I’m shrugging a little to set the entire back as well.

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Early in, early out.

Easy job. Too many of us on it really.
The manager does this, puts all hands on, on most days to keep the laborers there through the slower winter to still be available come when it picks up in spring.

Bout an hour twenty commute each way. The load went slowly between having too many of us trying to work in too small a space, and the customer standing around us going “oh take this, no don’t take that, actually take this, no wait not that”.

…..

I have a ways to go, to get good at wrapping.

I’m fine carrying stuff, though still I want to be better at that.

And I don’t like it when I don’t get hands on the big pieces the majority of the time.

…..

It lightly snowed off and on today, I’ll do light deadlifts in it.

Light deadlifts and/or light overhead squats daily, bleachers on the weekend to get my “sea legs”.

I already see my ability to work improving, but this is the time I want to ride it to lean –
abs in 2023

…..

The footing required to shoulder the bar can be sketchy in winter conditions.

Winter could be a time to just do lots of deadlift, raise the horsepower ceiling for a transition to power work come spring/summer/fall.

…..

Thumbless SLDL
3×165
Thumbless Wide Grip Sn SLDL
3×165
Thumbless Sn SLDL
3×165
Thumbless SLDL
3×165
Thumbless Wide Grip Sn SLDL
3×165
Thumbless Sn SLDL
3×165
Thumbless SLDL
3×165
Thumbless Wide Grip Sn SLDL
3×165
Thumbless Sn SLDL
3×165
Fat Grips Deadlift Hold
~:45 w/165
~:20 w/165
Press
11×165
Fat Grips Deadlift Hold
~:20 w/165
Press
14×165

Hard to read that log – it’s 9 sldl sets, all with varied thumbless grips, 3 deadlift hold sets, and 2 press sets.

On the second press set 10 reps were done on one breath, then a pause, almost a new PR set – left me breathing, feeling good – try to get as many as possible on as few breaths as possible.

…..

Funny to clean and press anyway.

I had brushed off the particle board and patio tiles, and may not be jumping my feet at all on cleans, definitely not on heaves, and I’m working with 15rm press weight – it’s silly light to shoulder.

…..

The idea of lifting after work is so as to be used to more and more work.

Getting back my sea legs.

It’d be amazing to have access to 10+ flights of stairs to run.

I’d run that. I like bleachers, but the ones I can hit are only a flight or so.

…..

I’m pretty content to just press and deadlift.

All the varied grip widths, the use of thumbless, or fat gripz – it’s all to stretch lighter weights.

I know lots of good work with light weights gets me strong.

It’s a matter of pumping the glutes, firing the quads, training the hands heavier than the system, and surprising yourself.

I’d like to pull 405+ with all the disadvantaged grips.

This allows you to be in a nice place of light, strong, and much in the tank.

…..

If I was to go to the local powerlifting gym I expect that I’d do much more volume.

Gotta make a trip indoors costing gas and dues worth it.

…..

An Idea :

To keep from overeating, the first thing you are allowed to have is a carton of egg whites.

…..

If I could, I’d buy yolks only.

I have eaten yolks only before, my buddy was tossing so many eating bodybuilder strict – “dude I’m hungry too! I’ll fry the yolks you’re tossing”.

He looked at me aghast, but a handful of times that year I ate yolks only.

…..

Anyone ever try Gaston’s diet?

…..

At 16 my friends sister by complaining kept his mom from buying an ostrich egg.

That was the opportunity (thus far) for ostrich egg.

I have not had ostrich egg.
I’d love to do an ostrich egg a day diet.

Gaston’s diet in about two cracks over the frying pan.

…..

Two nights in a row I’ve had eggs.

Remember – fuck inflation, eat right anyway.

…..

You reach a point, then realize it was simple all along.

I ate eggs tonight because I craved fried eggs and not steak.

I had no potatoes in the house, and next week believe I will prep 10lbs of baked potatoes – hopefully enough to not have to make again or run out of potatoes to go with dinner.

What do I crave?
Each night I want steak and/or eggs, both of which I spice amazingly, and most nights would like a baked potato with it.

Sometimes I’ll fry broccoli and cauliflower in the beef drippings.

That’s the best vegetables.

…..

You don’t need vegetables.

Steak and eggs will provide everything you need.

Just make them at home.
You take pride that way, and they’re then not swam in/with soybean oil like in a restaurant.

It’s amazing how bad restaurant ingredients are.

…..

I realize a fat loss diet, keto if not carnivore, likely would work well for me.
18 eggs and a pound of steak would be low calorie, definitely fat loss.

It’s amazing how much mixed macros, ie including carbs, really ups calorie count.

Good luck eating too much meat.
I got heavy by drinking milk.

The mixed macro drink.

…..

My chubby acquaintance and I could use the tennis courts for the simplest of things :

Getting up and down from the floor.
Me burpees, him just standing up.

Mix in some laying on the back, maybe emulate the “front, back, up” drill of military smoking sessions.

…..

Getting In Shape With Bleachers :

The other day I set a five minute timer, made it only about a minute running up and down, but finished the period without rest by walking with the occasional run.

As a senior in high school, at between 225 and 235lbs I pretty quickly got to where I could run bleachers for twenty minutes without stopping.

I recall that running the length of the bleachers and all the sets of stairs in one direction correlated time wise, about 1:1, with my 400m time.

I could treat it in terms of reps of flights.

10 sets. 3 flights. Run all the ups.
1:00 rests.

Ride that weekly or so up to 10×10.

Then start aiming for running 100 flights as one set.
Somewhere along the lines making it all run.

And a trick to keep count…yell the rep count every rep.

My first wrestling coach had us yell 1-18, occasionally 1-36, as we did our miles around the basketball court.

You can’t skip laps when you’re expected to sound off full volume.

“Okay E, you skipped two – called fourteen instead of twelve, go do two more.”

…..

With a barbell and plates to 500lbs, I’d like to be able to pick it up like it’s nothing on a daily basis.

…..

Today’s lift, and a horse stance the other day – I’ve been getting great glute pumps.
This helps with everything physical.

It also reminded me : horse stance is magic.

……

Ate the whole salami sandwich throughout the day, four cheese sticks, five fried eggs,.some tortilla chips, some ritz bitz, some snickers, a milky way, cranberry juice, milk, and peanuts.

I did not eat steak, though I had some cooked.
I’m definitely on a fried egg kick, 3-6, spiced right is really hitting the spot.

Tuna is on sale this week, maybe I’ll cook my personal, first just started cooking for myself standby, of eggs and tuna for healthy dinners.

Persistence & Tenacity

After the steak it’s everything in the pan.

…..

For dinner I reheated some leftover rotisserie chicken, which had remnants of baked potato in with it, and melted american cheese over it.

I ate the above while drinking apple cider as I had a 1lb steak on the pan.

Chocolate covered pretzels as the second course.

Third course, main meal – dinner, a couple bites of steak, 3 fried eggs, a tiny amount of cauliflower, broccoli, and tater tots.

The last three fried in the beef drippings, then the desire for eggs, so a bit of butter down, and fry.

I really enjoyed the eggs, the hit the spot.
I used similar spicing on both steak and eggs.

When I cook multiple things I always try to get them in the beef drippings.

You’re not wasting the fat that way, and I like the taste of it on a bunch of stuff.

…..

At work I drank a 16oz bottle of cranberry juice, a 16oz bottle or milk, and ate two cheese sticks.

Upon arriving home I took a swig out of the big 3l bottle, 8-12oz, of cranberry juice.

…..

Work today was gross, but light.

Filthy customers, another crew refused them on Tuesday.

We got to go to their house today. Yippee!
What will be walking into?

Scuttlebutt hinted cat piss everywhere was the FIRST issue the other crew found…

I guess they decided to throw their nastiest stuff into the second bedroom, which looked like a bomb went off in it, but wasn’t on our list of to do.

We did everything but that room which the customer okayed even on the final walkthrough.

Made it “presentable” that way.

Stains on everything, nothing having been dusted in the three years they’d lived there, but as the driver pointed out “ikea – gotta love those swedes, they only make furniture light”.

I’ll remember them as the dusty “it’s a mustard stain – and dry anyway” job – the wife saying this to me upon my making a eww face almost putting my finger on it – this being highlight of the job.

Whatever that, thank god yellow (instead of red or brown), crusty stain was – why are you saving that pillow?

Toss nasty shit instead of packing it halfway across the country.

…..

I have a great pump.
I figure it from yesterday, though all these short moving shifts mixed with brief daily lifts – it all feeds well into each other.

…..

I’m half tempted to go run bleachers, I’ve got a brief amount of daylight, though I just ate.

The audible so as to still exercise pointedly today, which is a different act from physical work, is empty bar overhead squats.

I will do some tonight.

…..

I have noticed that today, January 5th, I can not say I did a chin up or pullup daily, some day or two thus far I have missed.

I do not stress this.

The doorway bar is only useable for chins, I have no 8′ high (or so) bar access incorporated into my day to day.

I much prefer training pullups at proper height, and being able to add weight to them.

Plus chins/pullups are genuinely something you have to watch working moving which is pull labor.

You don’t want the chins/pullups to make work a problem.

So you do it on the fly, listening to your body.

I’m good to still get some training in daily, I simply am smart about it.

…..

Early day tomorrow.
The job is an hour fifteen or hour and a half commute, a good deal of stuff in theory.

The manager scheduled all hands for it.

5 will show.
It’d be amazing (cause of how many no call no show regularly) if 7 were to be at the shop in the am.

The low end of the american wage scale and labor pool is an interesting thing.

And many of these managers, though desperate for good help, don’t realize that it’s not hard to go get some other, honestly, dead end job.

You can shop around for another not full time, probably low pay, job quite easily.

Bounce around till you find one tolerable overall as the money in the moment of your current day to day.

Aside : why does everyone value “with benefits” so much?

…..

It wouldn’t be hard to have work food be, instead of sandwiches, a tupperware (though getting eaten cold) of such delights mixed together as tuna, cut up steak, fried eggs, pepper, onion, cauliflower, broccoli, baked potato, cheese melted on the mix the night before.

I love that I’m eating more and more clean, and enjoying it.

2023 = visible abs.

And the universe may be having me join a gym again.

It’d be the simplest way to help a buddy get fit and strong.

It’d be a way to get out of the house, powerlifting gym though it be (no college girl hour – the best part of going to many commercial gyms when we’re honest about it).

…..

If at all possible riced cauliflower and riced broccoli over rice.

Of all grains I rate rice lowest.

Brown rice is inedible in form as rice, I only have it on rare occasions, generally as rice cakes where I can stomach it.

White rice is too sugary, hence I keep away from it most of the time.

It does have it’s uses, such as it’s real easy on the stomach, but is diabetes at 50¢/lb.

Wheat in most forms stomachs worse than white rice, but it’s a known fact that it still manages to grow you far more robust than rice.

Potato, technically not grain, is the best grain – I can only recommend it, it stomachs well, it is not boiled diabetes, it is not brown rice, it does not have gluten – the insensitivity of which I don’t really buy into – I think most could still eat wheat without horrific effect.

A cook coworker had described gluten sensitivity in her eyes as simply being a pussy, and though I see meat consumption as far more natural than grain consumption, I’m inclined to see it as yet another commonly accepted victim’s belief commonly believed in this culture.

Still wheat is better overall than rice.
I’d rather have only wheat products than only rice products.

And back to potatoes, the only time to forgo yourself a baked potato is on a keto diet.

Though the best of carbs, they are still carbs.

…..

Working as a mover, no longer in the kitchen, I LOVE to cook for myself.

All of life was pretty gray at that job.

Some external stuff had hurt me, then I dug myself deeper with vices, and accepted being treated like shit for not enough pay for over a year.

…..

My dad has a shitty coworker.

Bout 4 years younger, late 50s, and slow as shit.

He joked to me, “I’m finishing my 3rd, then hand him his second”.

“I kinda feel like I’m that guy, the slow one, at my work right now – I don’t want to be that guy”.

And I realized, even working what I know to be dead end, that I take pride in it.

Driving stresses me out, strongly enough that I have no intention of going and getting my dot card again (the last one I had expired over a year ago), not going to drive a box truck…but I want to be the best moving helper I can be! The helper every driver wants, asks for, is happy to have carrying for/with him.

To know the pack load.

To actually be good at wrapping furniture in brown paper.

To be the box’s tetris master.

To be the best at getting weird shit into the tiny spaces that crating entails.

To build and close crates solo, and fast.

To outpace/outwork the middleweights.

To be able to solo carry up/down stairs items such as washers that everyone considers a two man item.

…..

Then get myself a waiter, but preferably bartender job for Friday/Saturday, see the other side of the restaurant after working for management that treated the servers like lesser royalty, the kitchen staff like slaves, make some $$$ with a work combination of carrying boxes 4 days, serving drinks 2 days, church on Sunday, lifting weights 365, then after a brief period make moves to work for myself.

Personal training.

…..

So eat right, continue training – walk the walk, and help some people be happy, strong, fit, and healthy.

…..

I had a thought ;

Depression is a sign.

When you’re depressed your day to day life isn’t doing it for you.
It’s not something to medicate.

What you need, when you feel you can’t, is find something you can, no matter how small, and build yourself that victory.

I used, use, and have advised “a small amount of calisthenics as a daily win”.

Those I’ve advised this to in my real life day to day – off the top of my head – my childhood best friend in summer 2012, my lifting partner when he was in an all out weed smoking, starving down, 16-20 hours asleep a day period in 2017, plus my chubby acquaintance just the other day.

…..

Lift :

Overhead Squats
bar x 15

The ohs feels great, I love the movement – it’s worth pursuing primarily as amraps, sometimes for something like 10×10 as much as possible

…..

Pack the full work lunch – don’t be lazy.
Refill a couple water bottles.

…..

If I wasn’t at the moving company, I’d be doing keto – even so, I may go that route anyway.

My weekend could be strict, a little looser on work days, but – neanderthals didn’t need carbs to hunt mammoth with spears, you could carry boxes with only a bit of steak and cold water in the lunch box.

…..

I can’t believe this, but never having been one to eat out, I may make it a once a week thing on (roughly) Friday night.

When I did so last week, going dutch on food with my mom, it was about $30 for me.

At about $10/day for work food and dinners, another $30 weekly seems reasonable to me, which brings a point –

Rationally I’m not making enough money to do anything but stay on rice, ramen noodles, and pork til I’ve quadrupled my income.

It’s a matter of enjoying right now.

And I am still not dreading going into work in the morning.

This job does bring me to a better place mentally!

It’s the physicality of it, and the fact moving, not traditionally thought of as an outdoor job, gives me enough fresh air to not feel like I’m inside of a box as being anywhere under fluorescent lights for lengths of time has me feel.

My dad has a laborious blue collar out in the elements job.

I get it.
Thus far I prefer much the same.

Persistence & Tenacity

2nd floor apartment, it wasn’t much – and it wasn’t horrible – nothing heavy, but…

ON FULL FAT BOY STATUS

I felt like a fat dude, and not only felt like the 5’10” 160lber was outworking me – he was.

Short shift.

…..

2pm

½ Sandwich
butter, peanut butter, american cheese, salami
16oz Cranberry Juice

Chicken nuggets (6) w/4 slices american cheese

Note : the peanut butter tastes best on a sandwich when it’s cold.

…..

315pm
apple cider

…..

345pm

Lift :

Press
10×165
Fat Grips Deadlift
8×165
Press
9×165

Conditioning :
briefly punched bag

It feels like it’s time to up the bar to 170lbs.
Maybe I’m just doing a reps based progression, slowly adding weight when I own the weight.

…..

545pm
Dinner
taco seasoned ground with onion over baked potatoes, american cheese melted over, milk, more of that”Christmas crack” as mentioned the other day.

…..

It’s one week of beard, a little longer than that since I’ve buzzed my head last.

I believe that my balding and eyesight would both improve on a keto diet.

…..

The aforementioned 160lber – I noticed he’ll really throw his entire body into it, no inhibitions to his physicality.

I’ve noticed this before.

Lanky dudes hammering a nail into a crate, a pin out of a door hinge, or budging something awkward at an odd angle – a level of physical not found in the gym.

And generally found in dudes between 145 and 165 – middleweights.

Being big isn’t always the best.
A lot of big dudes have a mental inhibition about really using their potential physicality all out.

…..

Never quit what’s worth sticking with.
Never stick with what’s worth quitting.

I tolerated the kitchen’s bullshit far too long.

I know moving, as a helper – at this company, isn’t a for life thing, but I don’t dread going in in the morning, and it’s been a reawakening as to wind, stamina, muscle endurance, mental toughness, and physicality.

I want to be the best mover as I can be! I’m in the moment.

…..

Casey Viator once told Ken Leistner after a workout “I can hear myself growing”.

I’m very happy with the food cravings my body has, almost keto.

I’m looking for the opportunity, craving the opportunity – 2023 – I expect good things.

Persistence & Tenacity