Author: J

11/9/23
Doing burpees last night after yesterday’s second session 2x220lb presses, man! Burpees are a triceps/lats thing the way I drop and pop up.

Especially tricep after good, heavy, pressing!

It’s like an upper body strength enhancer, do the right other stuff, and the burpee will add a multiplayer effect.

Boomshaka!

…..

Awhile back I screen grabbed some comments on prison fitness, dudes saying they did cali time – saw guys built like hulk hogan on daily pushups, pullups, dips, and a 10+ year 500 burpee a day habit.

Honestly, I’m inclined to believe those anecdotes.

Could be entirely false or whatever, but placebo effect – I believe in that possibility, therefore my burpees are worth a whole lot more than just what they would say on paper.

Doesn’t matter if it’s real or not, ride the belief, harness the placebo, true or false = irrelevant, in your favor.

…..

Today’s Press Every Day :

I went outside barefoot, 30°f – so a tad below freezing, spent about ten minutes outside barefoot and shirtless, really only no gloves, no hat for the filming of the video.

I’d thought it funny to title the video Wim Hof in some way, use the first snow of the season for barefoot cold exposure, and on camera throw my hat and gloves off.

To keep it a short vs a video (doing my best to cut it to 59 seconds from a minute and four seconds without losing anything) well you don’t get to see me take steps barefoot.

Whoops.

…..

Interestingly, I pressed that bell for 20 reps with my right, then way later in the day, did the even it out set…10 reps left, and those felt heavier, were slower.

(plus 9th to 9th, this was a month of squat every day with tonight’s set of 12 x bar overhead squats)

Whoah! What a difference between strong side and weak side.

You see how the shot put came off the right, there’s just way more oomph, power endurance especially, to that side.

However, there’s no doubt in my mind I could press the 40kg either hand.

I’m trying not to spend money on gym stuff right now (other than food, which sorta counts – right now I’m ravenous), and I can’t justify $1000 for the concept2 rower, and am on this wishy washy line over the 40kg kettlebell.

Another, heavier bell, would open up heavier kettlebell pressing which travels and bypasses well the footing issue that the barbell presents on particle board in the yard.

Of course kettlebell cleans too!
Heavier on the grip and bicep than the barbell, and really most all from the hang which is the position I need work most.

Note : just run barbell hang clean and press every rep style for the videos for a time – that helps my clean, and to a large degree bypasses the footing issue.

A shower thought was ; go to the hardware store, get a full size piece of particle board and use that as a cover…probably as a burpee platform too.

Dang, getting a 40kg kettlebell just makes sense though…

…..

We’re now on an article type note ; with today’s overhead squatting I’ve now done some barbell squats every day for a month.

Doing something for your legs every day is a good habit to have.

Your legs are your base, and you want your base to be solid.

Now nothing I did this month was heavy, front squats or overhead squats mostly – didn’t use squat stands once, did breathing squats with 65lbs, 75lbs at the start…

Honestly I think an average of 15 squats a day, usually with the empty bar, put some size on my thighs.

The heaviest I went was 135lbs, maybe a tad heavier, on overhead squats.

The most awkward front squat variation could see more play if I decide to move in the direction of more leg work.

I also think the light squatting added some oomph/horsepower to the cleans.

Interesting that, and it does have 1950s weightlifting precedence, that leg training can be light to moderate in weight and yet still nicely build up your other lifts.

The 215 and 220 cleans yesterday were not quite crisp, but they weren’t as heavy as they usually are cold, outdoors, on this set up.

I attribute that to the squats.

It’s pretty high muscular activation just pumping out reps with the empty barbell on overhead squats…

That effect is also, more easily I might add, found with kettlebell one arm swings – go slightly underbell, I use a 20kg.

The high rep overhead squat, mostly with the empty bar, for sets of 15s to 50s, it’s MY THING.

I’ve never heard of another doing it, never seen another doing it – hope my blogging of it causes someone to benefit from the practice (note to self – 50 rep overhead squat with voiceover about the practice as video).

The real thing, the purpose behind it – it’s not a squat thing per se…it’s about work capacity, to have your legs used to doing work.

It could be lots of walking lunges/walking swamp lunges.

About this time last year, wearing nasty line cook kitchen clothing, my short thrown off, I’d be in the yard first swinging my tree branch mace, then lunging across the yard down and back.

You don’t realize how well 15, or 20, or 50-100 reps legs, light serves you in being a strong human being.

It’s just good practice.

Do your 35+ pushups, your 15+ leg reps, maybe some chins (I’ve had these as habit anywhere from 3-150 daily before, depending on the period).

That’s like the minimal, uninvested, still stay strong always programming – no gym required, can get it done anywhere…

Which is the most important thing.

Persistence & Tenacity

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

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

I’d read 5/3/1…

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

I prefer doing my own stuff.

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

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

Persistence & Tenacity

Meal 1 – Early Dinner :

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

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

No excuses, get nine eggs in every day.

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

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

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

I’m STRONG.
Getting strongman strong.

Where to go with it.

Persistence & Tenacity

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

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

Fuck a dream, have it as reality.

Here’s the 2×220

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Every night I’m brainstorming.

Persistence & Tenacity

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

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

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

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

…..

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

A barbell can be the same stimulus.

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

You discover that you in fact have an ass.

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

…..

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

That was midday.

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

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

I’m sure I’ll eat again tonight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I know where I can go.

-J
Persistence & Tenacity

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

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

First you have regular old vanilla pushups.

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

The third step is people sitting on your upper back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’m not yet at that level.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Persistence & Tenacity

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

Today’s press every day was earlier.

This earlier.

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

…..

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

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

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

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

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

The oly workout basically was a proper weightlifting warmup.

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

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

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

…..

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

From a really explosive single near the end.

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

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

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

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

This is blue collar weightlifting, backyard barbell.

Basketball shoes in place of weightlifting shoes.

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

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

Persistence & Tenacity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I do my nightly pushups most often just before midnight.

I’ll always be strong pressing with this habit.

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

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

Making THIS happen.

Persistence & Tenacity

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

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

So I eat.

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

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

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

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

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

It’s good, real good.

…..

This. Here.

Persistence & Tenacity

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

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

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

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

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

I was so happy pressing 185lbs for 5×5

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

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

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

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

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

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

They’re in today’s egg mix.

Persistence & Tenacity

Part One – 10/6/23 Evening – Burpees To End The Day Right :

10/6/23 ~620pm
I easily guilt myself into doing…something physical.

See, I’ve been watching all sorts of “training muay thai in thailand” videos, my youtube feed thinks I want to watch those with hundreds of thousands or millions of subscribers lift (ish) – it’s not challenging to say screw it, delay the shower, and go do…

Tonight is burpees.

Why burpees?
It’s simple – I didn’t feel like snatching the kettlebell or curling the barbell.

So burpees.

I take a few minutes to check in, laughing that I’m about to burpee while still burping from dinner, american chop suey, red sauce burps about to be combined with the wind builder 🙂

I’ll enjoy it.
(truly, no sarcasm, the more I do burpees the more I enjoy them)

then spoke about it as a short (as far as the video – I get a kick out of the drop of sweat coming out of my beard at about eight, nine seconds – and hehehe “liketh, subscribeth” as a sort of made it to the end easter egg)

I write it time and again.
I’d advise it to all ; do something physical every day.

The pushups, the burpees, maybe jump rope, a bunch of bw squats, kettlebell something, the mace swings, bleachers, a few pullups – something daily, to move, cause physical movement makes the mind right.

Happiness may be a struggle, but a good sweat while out of breath makes it hard to be anything but free and full of dopamine, on cloud nine of euphoria.

Many smoke weed, I’ll do burpees – mine doesn’t hurt, nor does it cost a penny, just honest sweat equity building into a few hours of a natural high.

Persistence & Tenacity

Part Two – 10/7/23 Morning – Burpees To Start The Day Right :

10/7/23 ~7am

Right now I’m adjusted to a horrible sleep schedule, the other day I’d told the pastor I’d be there this morning – I may not be going to service, but I’m going the the volunteer labor.

Shrugs. I’m in a weird place, working through it. It’s a rationalization, at least I’m doing something church related.

No sleep, I’m working out about 45min before my alarm, the alarm I intended to shower at anyway.

Sounds like last night, hop, skip, and a jump, really twisting my own arm 😉 to burpee before the shower.

“might as well do the burpees”

…..

Put the song on repeat, set up an interval timer – taking it easy…

third world – immortal technique

25×2 burpees every :30, so 50 in 12:30, should be simple, probably easy enough.

…..

Last night 75ish burpees set my world right for a good three hours.

I figure I’ll burpee myself to a positive mindstate, fit will come along with it.

See, burpees hit two birds, maybe more probably more definitely more, with one stone.

I’m in a better mood.
I got a good sweat going, чай хорошо (burpees тоже хорошо – да, yes I did duolingo already today) earned the green tea I may drink soon time allowing.
Fit comes with the burpees, there’s ∞ opportunity to build work capacity with it, playing with the variables.

Building Work Capacity With Burpees :

(note yesterday morning’s scale weight was 285lbs)
This morning’s burpees were done as two one pump cdc style (rocking chairs ish) every thirty seconds, the speed of each rep making no rest, all work, at the pace come out to almost twenty reps a minute.

That’d be 100 reps in over 5:00, under 6:00.
At that ability one qualifies as fit I’m sure

This morning I barely jogged it up, maybe one tenth of the rests.

One can rest with other exercises, que jumping jacks, high knees…high knees like that morning where “damn it how am I seven pounds over” needing to make 190 soonest.

(and thankful at that point in the season 189lbs was already+1, with every layer on, ipod in, burpee and high knees under the heat vent – ah high school wrestling – a fond memory)

One can hit their stomach hard, instead of lightly tapping.

One can add jumps to the end of the rep.

One can throw themselves down, one can kinda vary how much of the drop is kicking back vs absorbing with the triceps.

The sheer forces absorbed by the triceps when I do burpees is why I feel the burpee is more of an upper body strength builder than they’d seem on paper.

This too can be said by the upper back acting as deceleration, the reason why it too often pumps up from these burpees.

But how much my triceps are worked catching myself having dropped/thrown myself down – I’ll press stronger from a burpee habit.

…..

It wouldn’t take much to get this morning’s style, just do the reps, then rest during the rest periods from two to four reps every thirty seconds, meaning in not far off from 100 in 12:30, 100 in 10:00 being decent in my eyes, and above I already spoke of how the pace (minus all 22-24 seconds of rest out of :30) done straight though would be 100 in sub six, and rocking chair is inherently slower than just throwing yourself down, flop style, how we all learned burpees the few times we did them in high school class.

I’m finding more and more excuse/reason to do more and more burpees.

May they help you as well as they are me.

-J
Persistence & Tenacity