Category: Uncategorized

15, 10

…..

initially I’d said 15×7 cleans each side, I’d rather get more than just cleans, so I’m saying 100 cleans a side all in all across movement’s

1st Lift :

KB OA Press
8, 8 each side
KB OA Clean
12,1,2,8,8,6,8 each side
KB OA Press ss w/2H Swings
4,4,3 each side

Calling it here at 50 cleans each side.
May get the rest in later.

The superset was as many swings as pressed per one side done after both hands presses ie 4pl+4pr+4sw – to get density, keep heart rate up

The kettlebell is great for density, and to keep heart rate up – strength & conditioning in one

…..

ran errands for an hour or so, and ate
•two donuts
then back to lifting to finish the 100 reps a side as I had pizza in the oven

2nd Lift :

KB OA Clean
15,7,7,8,8,5 each side

got this done before the pizza was ready –
under 15:00 I would say, density train x/50 side to 10:00 or less – you’ll be more fit by the time you do it

should I be buying bigger bells?

I feel that a one arm clean habit here could be the best simple “odyssey”/madness program I could do at this point.

Buy a 100lber from titan (update : from anywhere but titan), then kettlebell kings or repfitness for the next three after that, as rogue kills you with shipping

I’m totally “punch drunk” from today’s sessions – you have fast rep speed/turnover between reps, called “cycling” by crossfitters, you can keep the rest between sets minimal – it ends up feeling like you ran sprints as far as your heart beating while huffing and puffing, but it’s got the lower body snap, and a serious upper body pull

I’ll stick to this 32kger for awhile, then start making one arm clean bell jumps.

I bought the bell expecting to get into swings, thus far I don’t much like one arm swings, am okay with the two handed swing, but have really found myself digging the clean.

Which I don’t see why in six months time I couldn’t be better than now with a 56kg/123lb, 68kg/150lb, or even 80kg/176lb kettlebell at this cleaning madness

A kettlebell cleaned lots and pressed some – I’ll be a stronger weightlifter from it, though I’m excited about the what the hell effect applied not only to oly/military press, but to pullups, body composition, and the mile run.

I too am looking forward to bringing my bell to parks and such, getting out of simply lifting in the yard.

…..

•eat pizza – 2100 calories of frozen pizza
•cream soda, two big swigs

I left the milk in the snow near the gym, drat, real late for the first meal

…..

3rd Lift :

2H Swing
15
KB OA Clean ss w/2H Swing
3 sets of (5l+5r+5sw)
Side Bends
10 each side

…..

•big swig cream soda
•drink milk

…..

I’m going to get very strong and in shape with the kettlebell as the tool.

…..

I’m envisioning mismatch presses, mismatch floor presses, mismatch bridge presses, the bottoms up press, and obviously the one arm cleans with bigger bells.

We’ll see when I’m able to get them.
They’re not in stock.

The kettlebell seems the answer to my gym urge without going to a gym, now to

…..

It’s still kinda blowing my mind that I’m not that fat at 6′ 285lbs.

“You’re a big dude, but not fat”, the funniest description of me that I’ve ever heard.

Part of me wonders…

Could I condition my way to 308lbs while getting leaner?

Est big with massive clean and press volume, calisthenics on the side.

It’s pretty safe to say that the daily pushup habit has carried me to muscular/described as not fat while so heavy.

Truly I don’t give a shit what I weigh right now. It’s all about the performance metrics.

…..

Your reality. Not theirs. Yours.
You do you. Always.

…..

•frozen pizza, 700 calories
•18oz cream soda

did not cook steak or ground beef today – either would be better than pizza – I’m steering more towards eating right lately, back to better for tomorrow – either chicken or beef, probably with potatoes

……

25

…..

•twix – 900 calories
•two chicken and cheese burritos
•milk

again how hard is it to eat big?

The truly big, strong dudes have a different relationship to food than everyone – gomad isn’t a thing to me, it’s basically normal – I may never drink less than four gallons a week – I love milk.

Given the time freedom, and space I’ll lift three times a day, cook two giant steak meals, get 5000+ calories without issue, and be even bigger.

If I was to be unemployed with money not an issue 7000 calories daily would be real plausible alongside lifting in a way everyone else deems to be in bad taste.

Make myself punch drunk with prowler, yoke, kb cleans, etc

Smash dip, pullup, and burpee volume again.

I truly need to incorporate strongman into my regular day to day – own a gym, own a gym, own a gym.

…..

Basic barbell work, a bunch of milk, a bunch of food sure makes the path to size simpler especially at the beginning, but…

Once you’re already big, when you already know how to train with intensity you have a whole lot of leeway as to what you do.

It’s train hard and eat to fuel it.

When you’re built to squat and bench (I am) it’s better to focus on oly variants, deadlifts and shoulder press variants.

My buddy with orangutan arms is built for pulls – he’s better served by a bench and squat habit.

You get big and strong with the ones your leveraged for.

You get freakishly strong when you’ve brought the ones you’re not perfectly proportioned for to the same level.

And for me, when I up volume to the absurd, leverages don’t matter – I just get it, very strong from lots and lots of sets and reps.

Dip Odyssey of Summer 2019

KB Clean Odyssey of now Winter/Spring 2023

I made myself punch drunk today with the effort on the brief clean workouts.

I’ll be condensing the work more and more, and very likely upping the bell after awhile when the bells are available to buy again.

…..

40

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

it strikes me :

EVERYONE talks about how rough the yoke walk is, particularly on the CNS, but manual labor gets you strong cause everything is weighted carries…

What if you yoke walked, say bodyweight, for distance against the clock on a regular basis.

Maybe even an occasional trip walking backwards, the backwards carries up stairs are the hardest ones as a mover.

I’d like to try this. Throw caution to the wind, and really butcher what is normally considered doing the yoke walk in good taste.

Think 40 40yd trips with it on a multiple times a week basis.

Then simply eat enough mozzarella sticks, steak, sourdough bread, meatball subs, and ice cream while drinking thousands of gallons of milk so as to not invoke the wrath of the barbarian brothers by undereating as you play with the yoke odyssey thing.

Considered all I’ve been thinking about, if I’m not joining that powerlifting gym…

Get outside and carry!
Could mix carries with pressing or c&p every rep style in parking lot

…..

35, 5
…..

I’d have to ice pick to do this, but…

It’d be fun to bench in the yard.

Put my legs in the air, unrack 205, and see if I’m good for 20+.

I can envision the hilarious statement “I got my first 405 bench lifting in the front yard”.

…..

I slept in, having dreamt of a giant chicken pot pie!

•10oz steak
•half potato as home fries
•pack of ramen
•strawberry milk

It’s a nice treat finding I had nesquick strawberry powder on hand yesterday – I’ve been enjoying it.

…..

If you’re trying to gain weight, milk makes it easy, and flavoring the milk makes it even easier.

Who doesn’t like strawberry milk.

…..

How much activity is needed to get lean without dieting?

…..

~10°f outside, after yesterday I’m layered up

Lift :

Mismatch Press
x15 kb r = PR
x8 kb l
x7 kb l
KB OA Cleans
7l, 7r

I’m confident saying the mismatch press is worth at least 185lbs in a barbell.

Hitting 15, mind you kb right hand is stronger than in the left, means I’m good for 15×185.

With the mismatch, maybe a minute between sets I’m likely able to go 10×7-8 already ESPECIALLY if I was skewing this exercise kb right, but even alternating sets not just matching 3-4 sets based off the first…

I expect 30 reps in a set.

10 VS 15 Reps – A Philosophy Thing :

With 15 reps you really own the weight.
10 reps feels at least moderate to heavy.
15 is dipping down to moderate at most.

That’s why I want to press 15+ x 185 before training at 205lbs when back on the barbell.

I can stick to 15s progression outside since I’m not putting on an ego show or being able to immediately go grab about what I just lifted.

15s progression is long term steady progress.

It works well lifting outside in the cold.

The Cold Air Barbell Club really has me integrating brief lifts into my day to day.

There’s a zen in the one arm kb clean – I really like the movement, going into it I didn’t know I would, but I do.

It’s a beautiful odd lift hitting parts I hadn’t fully expected it too.

…..

•soft pretzel
•12oz milk

…..

I should front squat again.
High volume daily (front or back) squats…how fast could I get 300 reps in with 135lbs?

When the answer is 30:00 or less, up it 20-30lbs, and repeat.

Bryce Lane’s 50/20 on a strength endurance madness.

…..

40 pushups
20 total gym pullups
•two slices buttered sourdough toast
•12oz vanilla coke
•16oz milk

Had a hilarious memory pop up, cause of this crazy cold I would say – the fact I still get some outdoor activity in regardless…

My buddy and I were high school seniors, we trudged to outdoor dip bars through waist deep snow the day after a big snow storm to get some PT in – a handful of underclassmen who knew us from indoor track were driving by, stopped, talked to us, offered a ride etc, while thinking we were nuts & intense, then talking us up on the indoor track bus on the way to the next meet.

The total gym pullups were strongly bicep, as I tried to fire my lats…seems like kettlebell clean crossover.

As reps go up there I expect pullup reps, real and total gym both, to go up with it.

The kettlebell has crossover to everything.

…..

Nuts & Intense

I like the sound of that. Some keys to progress there. Strength gain, and hypertrophy by madness.

…..

I think I’ll have to start cooking 10lb batches of meat – food prep that way, a couple loaves of bread, with milk still forcing me to buy groceries a handful of times weekly anyway.

…..

Fun Fact :

Soviet wrestlers often became masters of sport in basketball.

In the same way Soviet weightlifters often became masters of sport in volleyball.

Why?

The periodized three month yearly off season was a period of little, light to zero exact sport specific training.

But the coaches wanted their elite athletes to be active, building gpp, the ability to work, work capacity.

Sneak a modicum of spp in…

Volleyball was thought to be the best easy on the body sport for explosiveness which the weightlifting coaches pushed their lifters to play as they wanted their lifters to gain even more explosiveness.

Basketball was chosen by wrestling coaches as the highest cardio demand yet non violent sport, the most beneficial game for their wrestlers to participate in.

There are anecdotes of oddball, national if not international level, seriously competitive/intense games in these two team sports being played by the respective olympians in the two solo sports as warmup before their sports sessions.

Funny to picture the short stocky wrestler or weightlifter as competitive basketball player or volleyball player – and yes, they too were getting to master of sports level in the offseason “play/goof off” sport.

Same time period, when america was competitive at weightlifting…

York Barbell had lifters who played volleyball, basketball, and in at least one case semi pro football in addition their to lifting workloads.

Pickup basketball being played at some commercial gyms is a real good way to get in your cardio, and keep from getting sore.

I miss playing games, sports.

The american adult world doesn’t have anywhere near enough sports play by adults.

You can, and should, do more than just lift.

…..

8 chins – loose form

…..

3 chins + halfway down iso hold – strict
25 total gym pullups
25 pushups
•¼bag chocolate covered pb pretzels
•pack ramen w/1oz honey roasted peanuts
•20oz milk

The above stimulus = big biceps

Lightened pullups superset with pushups is a really good upper body workout

…..

I don’t like the “what happened when this guy did” headlines.

Something instinctive about the phrasing “this guy”.

…..

•clif bar
•two chicken and cheese burritos (pretty sure I was calling burritos quesadillas earlier this year)
•bowl of ice cream
•milk

the late night quick ravenous meal

up the calories, up the activity, get leaner, stronger, more awesome

to join the powerlifting gym or just go nuts with volume in the yard

tomorrow is warm – tomorrow is more meaningful volume of kettlebell cleans

we’ll aim for 15×7 each side, keep rest to a minimum

…..

It’d be interesting to have a food log from about age 7/second grade.

How many calories did I take in?
I’d bet over 2000, but have a hard time arguing 3k, though it likely happened on the occasional day…like if mom took me through a wienerschnitzel having me out of school early on the way to my grandparents and if we had pizza out that night, or frankly anytime we had el pollo loco, especially eating there – it was stupid how many sodas I’d down both there and at rubios.

The rubios kid taquitos, 2 wasn’t enough, I’d get the adult order of 3, eat half my mom’s plate too, and in a competition with my dad, friend, or self try to have as many fountain drinks as could be had.

Heck, I remember ordering seconds there. And would eat a good deal of corn dogs when they were for lunch at home.

I ate more at school in elementary school, a bigger sandwich with lunch meat, avocado, and trail mix than I did nibbling on pb&j through middle school and high school.

How little I ate in middle and high school mostly had to do with not wanting to have to use the bathroom there – total germaphobe for a few of those years.

Food went through me a lot faster at 14, 15, 16 than now. It might’ve been symptom of having crashed my metabolism with long stationary bike rides, starvation rations to lose weight, almost 50lbs, in about a semester as a freshman in high school.

Force feeding, and putting on a lot of muscle at 17 really reset me.
I’ve been better able to process food since.

Muscle mass does that.

…..

15, 5, 5, 10

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Persistence & Tenacity

Interesting to reread what I’d written here around new year’s.

I didn’t have much appetite when I started as a mover, but now delivering houses and clean & pressing my 32kg kettlebell I’ve developed quite the appetite.

In a week of using the kettlebell I’ve seen an improvement in my biceps, shoulder girdle, and my midsection is both a bit thicker, and a tad leaner.

Lots of mini sessions, part time labor, and eating freely of good food is working nicely.

…..

•cheese stick
5, 5

…..

Work :

Near the load location we saw a woman out for a run in today’s ~5°f. I always think it cool people outdoors exercising in all weather.

The driver and I discussed this near the end of the day. Plenty of runners outside in winter, but I’m they only one who lifts outdoors – I’d love to have a group participating.

Being outdoors forces me out of the coddled gym mindset, and some it is just “you do what you have to” – so many in a gym would flip at the idea of wearing little black winter gloves during power cleans.

About 5 hours, three hours truck time, a dozen or so big but mostly light pieces from the manufacturer’s loading dock to a fancy rural log cabin renovation with a stupidly curvy driveway (glad I didn’t have to back the truck), and to our collective joy an uneven and terribly icy walkway

griping aside it was overall pretty easy, a dozen item’s walked 50′, just really cold while being careful of our footing

in the truck by noon I was ravenous

•~8oz honey roasted peanuts, snacked on throughout truck time, this is a hands free snack, I pour the bottle directly into my mouth

as soon as I get home, I’m not even going to the grocery store, I’m going straight home to cook tortellini to eat that and steak

it’s really good that I have an appetite to go with the desire to lift

during the drive back I got real close to the necessary yes to join the powerlifting gym

I’ve been looking the high load put on the body by the kettlebell, and was realizing how front squat partials and the yoke walk would get me there – the build muscle AND lose fat stimuli I’ve been getting with the kettlebell

I could get to 308 and leaner than I am now, that on the path to a RIPPED 235-255lbs

typed in company parking lot as my car warmed up

…..

•20oz cream soda
•the entire 16oz tortellini
•strawberry milk

…..

Long Nap

was just oddly exhausted, I think this was due to being in the deep cold

…..

Lift :

Two Hand Swings
x12

no joke it’s about -5°f out now, with bigs gusts of wind – I pointedly was outside real minimally, just that one quick set

could’ve done this before eating five hours ago, that would’ve been in line with the “lift immediately after work” that I’ve done in the past, but even with hours between it’s not hard for me to get myself to the gym (even when it’s truly cold at my little outdoor spot)

I’ve found that I rather enjoy the kb clean and mismatched c&p both every rep style ala the Sig Klein Challenge or as rep outs pressing off one clean.

Funny that I bought the kb to yes do that, but also to swing – I have not worked the swing yet.

That’ll be another step, I still am debating another purchase, a barbell and bumpers from titan.

…..

Dinner :

•big bowl of chicken stew which has chickpeas, barley, carrots, onion, and celery in it
•two slices buttered sourdough toast
•12oz ginger beer

…..

15

…..

It’s rather funny how much gym stuff is just simulating manual labor.

…..

Still hungry.

I look a bit leaner, and know how to embrace the path – nutritious food, positive expectations, and, right now, the kettlebell

I’m about to eat and do pushups.

…..

•~3oz peanuts
•strawberry milk
55

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

“The supplement aisle is a very odd place, why buy something there? Instead eat a steak.” – Me

…..

•8oz ground beef
•potato as home fries
•pack of ramen
•mexican mix cheese
•30oz cream soda

there is zero work today, so that nice meal that should’ve been eaten at around 5pm yesterday will put me to bed just after midnight with a full belly on this rather cold night

…..

still rather horny (porn without masturbation definitely does that) I chose to masturbate four times, twice around 2am/3am, twice around 830am upon waking

interesting to note, again, that having jerked off I slept deep – six hours being a great night’s sleep

There’s something I want to discuss however, it’s a rationalization which makes sense, but is wrong ;

Being “in for a penny, in for a pound” with vices – extending the fall off the wagon since you’re already there.

(While fall is the wrong choice of english to describe it – your “fall” isn’t a fall, you conscientiously stepped, even jumped, off. It was a choice.

The word “fall” fits as in “fall from grace”, but “fall” as in an accident is not the definition of what’s going on here – it robs your personal accountability out of the act.

And something I’ve learned big time in this life is that effectively 100% of the time, you must own personal accountability over the situation whatever it is.

This society nurtures masses of crybabies, who as a whole never stop and own their situation, so called adults shitting in diapers vs lacing up their work boots with pride every morning joyous for the necessary honest, regardless of difficulty, work.)

For me it’s thinking “I’m already clean shaven, what’s extending that another day by watching porn and/or masturbating going to hurt”.

That’s a rationalization to sin. The proper act is to pray for forgiveness, forgive yourself, choose to step forward, to not stagnate longer in your vice, being clean again immediately upon the cessation of that brief moment off the straight and narrow.

so again, Again, AGAIN I’ll be clean shaven the day after tomorrow

No more of this undisciplined bullshit.
It’s been 15 months of wishy washy with this shit, that’s more than long enough to sack up, stop being a weak impulsive little bitch under the sheet, and be right.

……

Lunch :

•smorgasbord bowl – leftover 8oz ground beef, ½ potato of homefries put into bowl of chicken stew which has chickpeas, barley, carrots, onion, and celery in it
•two slices buttered sourdough toast
•16oz cranberry juice

everyone could eat like this – it’s eating well, very nutritious

…..

It still surprises me that I’m so close to 300lbs at 6′.

Funny looking back that at 15 years old I thought that I’d never be over 180lbs despite having entered high school at almost 215lbs…it was the then losing the better part of 50lbs by the lowest I saw as a sophomore on a wrestling scale – which I thought small, but still is heavier than many – this is what messed with me thinking I’d stay that small.

I could eat for fat loss basically either keto or lots of fish.

I could continue to eat as I do – just stick mostly to nutritious foods.

If I stay working as a mover some fat loss is expected over the summer where there’s much more hours.

Running. I should be running, and am barely using winter ground as excuse not to right now.

The kettlebell is a godsend, it forces me to train capacities other than just strength.

I realized this, and have experienced it in the past, an active heavy set dude gains super powers when he drops weight to a normal size, still big mind you, but small for him.

I can always sprint fast, but in the low 200s I can run well.

215lbs for me is definitely running ability, but it may be higher, 225, 235 even.

I don’t think I look like a guy who weighs 285lbs. I don’t see the sheer size.

Though clean shaven there’s a double chin, and a good deal of chub on my stomach I don’t see it.

Even with my muscular shoulders and chest I don’t see it.

Whether you look at it from a muscular or fat standpoint I have a hard time seeing myself as this heavy.

Though the lack of wind during random shit is proof of it.

…..

Walking 20 miles to a marathon daily, while time consuming, is moreso a basic human physical capability than anything.

We could all have the ability.

….

watched a movie, good for a laugh, but that grey area again

I’ve watched zero some years – will I demand zero television type time from myself, or is this something I don’t consider?

•half bag frosted animal cookies with the movie

…..

Lift :

Mismatch Press

14 reps kb r
10 reps kb l
6 reps kb l
2 reps kb r

The first set I’ll say = PR, as it felt like it’s worth at least the same number of reps with a 185lb barbell, probably more as you’re fighting to keep the bells from drifting away from your center line – the presses were very fast going up

on last two sets I held db at hang, kb at rack – consciously flexing my wrist inward like arm wrestling at the top with the kettlebell, trying for a high level of full body tension – a nice way to flex, build mind-muscle connection, and keep the body under load

a neighbor walking his dog joked “good thing you were here with the kettlebell tonight, you won’t be tomorrow”…

tomorrow is going to cold, zero degrees cold plus windchill to feel about -10°F – even if it’s one set I’ll get my hands on the kettlebell after work – with these retro looking boat basketball shoes, track pants, hoodie, skull cap, these awesome uline mover’s gloves on…I disregard the temperatures – I’ll be outside lifting

fuck hiding indoors

we’re meant to be outside daily year round

•quart coffee milk drank between sets

…..

one meal a day, done as dinner at a restaurant could be an unexplored social avenue

the lack of social life has hurt these past 15 months

I’d rationalized that pain into being a bitch watching porn, jerking off

…..

dude, whatever it takes – get your beard back

though Saturday morning is that “shave as punishment” requirement

…..

crossfit does some stuff right

I like the idea of running high frequency conditioning, just a bit of strength work after

eventually you’re strong, but have a gas tank to go with it

…..

•8oz grape juice
•10oz steak
•1½ potatoes as homefries
•24oz cream soda

…..

I paid $3/lb for london broil last week, but this week it, top round, and ny strip were all $6/lb.

Last week I bought the london broil as it was the best price I’d seen in years, the normal sale price precovid.

With all three cuts at $6/lb however I selected a nice looking ny strip, the leanest of the three cuts, and enjoyed cooking my ~20oz chunk of delicious cow which has now been split into two meals.

Tonight’s, and tomorrow’s dinners nearly identical (tonight I was extra hungry and ate 1½ of the two potatoes I cooked) having home fries alongside the chunk of meat.

With steak seemingly going to always cost $4-6/lb, the 80/20 ground beef being $3.50/lb unless bought in giant tubes for ~$2.80/lb at best…it makes more sense for me to purchase and eat the slabs of meat vs ground.

I feel ground is better than no meat, but that steaks are two steps higher in nutritional value than ground.

Instinctively I know that the body processes the less processed steak better than the ground meat.

It too may be that dollar for dollar the body’s yield is higher with the steaks because of the above.

So I go steak, ground beef much less often.

Funny, with the worst food prices in my lifetime that I’m eating the best food – I reached the buy in point of just spending whatever I have to spend.

I’m at other a pound of meat daily right now. I take this as headed in the right direction.

Every meal could be 10oz steak and a potato.

Even with steak prices, the fact I eat less meals on work days would keep this to under $100 a week.

Steak and potatoes unlocks the inner animal – it’s robust feeding for physical strength.

…..

A 20:00 to 45:00 emom with power cleans could be my way to improve the power clean for pressing aside from the bell work’s carryover.

Just start at 185 for 20 emom, easy peasey, then up 5lbs or add 5:00, until you’re going 45:00 with a bunch of weight, doing this session on a weekly or twice monthly basis.

You’re still lifting daily, cause that’s how I get strong.

…..

is titan going to sell me a bar with center knurling and some bumpers…for one arm snatching

…and to have a second bar so as to mix exercises press & one arm snatch or press & overhead squat…

it seems I’m going deeper into The Cold Air Barbell Club

$300 to seriously diesel my pull strength with the longest pull, and adding 70lbs to the top weight I can load at home, from 500 to 570lbs, which pull that and you’re good for 600lbs…

make the purchase chase the deadlift this summer?

…..

10 – pretty late for pushups ~9pm

…..

ground beef and ramen is the lazy alternative to the steak and potatoes

…..

WOD Type Ideas :

Pullup & Power Clean

…..

I could start overhead squatting lots again.

That titan purchase I’m considering would make it real simple to superset that with some form of pull on the other bar.

…..

20, 10, 5, 5

…..

10, 10

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

30
•12oz milk

…..

before bed I edged for about an hour and fifteen minutes to porn, so again – why are you watching, and too I will be clean shaven the day after tomorrow

obviously my phone came into the bedroom whereas you can’t watch porn if the phone isn’t near you

…..

Breakfast :
•cheese stick
5

a cheese stick is the breakfast of champions – it’s steady dairy energy of saturated fat and casein protein, it’s light, and is not a massive hit of caffeine, etc

even with pushups already checked off in the wee hours after midnight, I did a set to keep “pushups done immediately before work” as habit

…..

Work :

assembling furniture, cleaning storage, cleaning warehouse of junk – at warehouse, easy.

quite fun throwing shit into the dumpster from standing in pickup truck bed – like tossing hay bales, but heavier.

…..

Groceries :

I accidentally overpaid for ground beef having not read the packaging closely enough, bought a couple gallons of milk, a half gallon of coffee milk, some noodles to go with the beef, and oddly thought chef boyardee sounded good, so bought two cans – those two cans are a salty, bland, lunch that I simply wanted – and am again surprised that people like salty, bland, soggy noodle tomato soup lol – this is possibly only the third time in my life having chef boyardee, it’s been about 4½ years since I had a few cans on a similar whim.

Lunch :

•two cans chef boyardee (~750 calories)
•half gallon coffee milk

1500 calories right here, like nothing, ~100g protein

…..

Lunch in, then lift. I think I’ll shovel a walking path so as to farmer walk after some other kettlebell lifts.

The groceries were not lined up with “fat loss”, but with “you even bought soda – you’d better workout enough to at least pretend to have halfway earned it”.

To the crew at work I’m now “Skinny J” (though I didn’t hear it today).

The manager had a funny conversation with me, basically admitting I’m the largest mover she’s ever seen that :

•isn’t just a big fat guy
•is actually muscular while large
•actually hacks it while high in bodyweight
•doesn’t need to stop and rest constantly as a big dude

I’m useful as a mover, just 50-100lbs heavier than most.

The size/strength is useful with big shit like pianos, while running box after box up flights of my stairs is my wheezing nemesis – however I’ve embraced it as I know it to be good for me since it does kinda suck, and is building my wind.

However days like today, tossing shit into the dumpster like hay bales is incredibly fun – I can’t pretend that I even call this sort of thing hard.

Yeah, high 20°s outside, but physical in that fresh air is my forte.

I’ve been working in skull cap, gloves, long sleeve shirt, and shorts – everyone thinks I’m nuts for that.

The next job is on a day that’s gonna be around 0°. The whole crew of six is being sent so as to minimize time spent in the elements for the three who’d have done it alone otherwise .

I’ll actually be wearing pants, and have my hoodie with me. :)-

…..

8675309 – tommy tutone

↑ it’s in my head, and personally I say it’d sound even better in a hilarious british accent

runaround sue – dion

with how I feel right now, if I was still working in the kitchen I’d be blasting 50s music off my phone right now – dinner rush starting soonish

why?
because I’m having a blast with it
with what?
“it” ie everything, life in general right now – I’m in a good mood

…..

didn’t shovel a farmer’s walk path, or use street/sidewalk

Lift :

Mismatch Sig Klein Attempts
11 reps kb right
7 reps kb left
4 reps kb left

yep, the c&p every rep style is a little easier with the kettlebell in the right hand, the first set opposite is also an attempt, then extra sets are so as to match reps

if all you ever did was meaningfully weighted high rep clean and press you’ll be awesome – strong and conditioned

it’s a simple program

KB Cleans
10r, 10l

definitely builds bigger biceps, especially as stimulus grows

Off Center F Sq
5l+5r

still not really able to hold rack on the front squats, mostly use two hands – this improves as time goes on

the kettlebell is building a conditioned, and very strong gas tank

how I feel my intercostals right now

like with “Cardio Calisthenics™”, or barbell high reps done in a condensed period of time – by having a meaningful strength/power aspect streamline blended in with the conditioning work the two together are worth more than the sum of their parts

I’m loving this kettlebell. Loving the fact every session is different, loving the PR every session (by never running the exact same session twice), just feeling good knowing I’m doing with this bell what I need to be for strength, conditioning, and most importantly health.

The kettlebell bypasses any excuse I’d come up with about doing cardio/conditioning.

…..

I confidently say :

If all I do is kettlebell work I will get to where I need to be physically.

It’s an amazing tool, which has already and immediately blended together with my mental buy in – the key to everything in life.

…..

•½bag frosted animal cookies
•24oz milk

…..

Shower Thoughts :

For the kettlebell front squats I need to get my elbow closer to my side, get really tight here – flex everything inward that I can, and as much as possible have the bell be integrated with my hand and forearm, the hand/wrist as much as possible.

Pulling inward. And stacking.

I want my elbow as inward as the founder had wanted my elbows to be as during amateur sumo.

Flex/Pull Inward. Stack Bell.
I practiced this freehand in the shower, “getting it” better this way than with the bell in hand.

This and “outback remix” popped into mind as well during the shower.

boondocks – demun jones

…..

For a few days/weeks now my upper back has been getting so tight at night so as that I feel sick.

You know what this is…

GROWTH

Extreme Growth

And I’ll continue delivering houses and cleaning my kettlebell and clean & pressing the mismatched pair.

This is GOOD

…..

35

…..

I’ll be shaving for porn the day after tomorrow (again – in the past week), so “last hurrah” style and to say I last watched something other than porn it’s some of what I consider guilty pleasure youtube – which falls under the “do I have to shave” television type grey area, a bit of women’s weightlifting and women’s crossfit, then stopping watching stuff again.

One of the medleys, part of it is simply jumping/climbing over a 50″ high log – this is doing conditioning on one obstacle – I know a local playground where I could do similar.

It’s been a long while since doing something like this, but there’s a spot probably 10′ high to climb, and one probably 4′ high to climb/jump/vault – vault that’s the word, both at this playground.

Be an adult using a playground, often no one is there anyway.

Use it for fitness, it’s free.

Got some good screenshots out of watching all this, and found watching rather meditative – including watching oly in slow-mo where I did get some lesson in technique.

…..

Amazing how some upbeat music puts a smile on my your face, has you seeing a future with hope, and dancing around late night in the kitchen…

I felt that I was dancing with my grandpa, nana, and the unrevealed mother of my children.

Presence…

The presence real to me, the moment joyous, honest, childlike, uninhibited.

I read an an email he sent to me almost 17 years ago – hearing him from beyond the grave.

……

15

these were done with interesting pauses, varied negative speed, fast up with inhaling, on one rep inhaling down and up – playing with the variables

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Breakfast :
•cheese stick
5, 5

…..

Work :

4½h, mostly unloading boxes to the garage or first floor.

However it’s a hassle loading/unloading empty crates by hand.

It’d almost be better to open the crates at the shop, and deliver a normal truck.

May be a little more time consuming, an extra step of in/out, but at the same time empty crate in/out by manpower is dumb.

You can only physically fit three crates in a truck, whereas a full truck is the contents of probably six crates.

The coworkers have started alternating between slim and skinny, it evolving to “Skinny J” as nickname for me.

…..

At work whilst carrying a box into the basement I realized this “the chins could be not just kettlebell related, but also mover related”, the only things that pump up on the job are my biceps and quads.

ie I’m built for power curls :)-

I recall how my first summer delivering houses my grip got to where I could hang for :45-:75 one handed holding a 70lb kb in the other for a few sets each side.

…..

Lift :

KB Cleans
7l, 7r

The one arm clean is worth more than it’s marked weight.

I LIKE how this movement feels, I don’t know if double bell would feel entirely the same – it would for the fact the clean feels like you’re manhandling the bell to your shoulder, but the one arm aspect makes the core WORK – I can see lots of one bell cleans really building a rugged body, rugged abs, rugged biceps, plus strong shoulders and triceps by pressing it overhead.

This very brief session was so as to be sure I lifted the kettlebell today.

I want daily lifts for an indeterminate amount of time.

…..

•½ salami sandwich
•12oz cranberry juice
•8oz milk
•scoop BANANA whey (shaken not stirred)

…..

Long Nap

…..

•5oz ground beef
•1½ potatoes as home fries
•24oz cranberry juice

I’m purposefully eating more frequent, it’s a good idea to speed my metabolism up – 285+ and barely eating (or at least my idea of it), it’s time for frequent food, and these ingredients, beef, potatoes, cranberry juice – I could very likely eat for every meal with satisfaction.

…..

I realized in “aha moment” that work food could be no carb, solely by bringing meat in a bag, cheese in a bag, instead of putting the same on bread.

…..

As written above it’s now “Skinny J” at work.

I waste lots of time reading about bulking online, an unnecessary past time really.

Now I’ve some interesting thoughts on bulking :

Dirty bulking puts on far more muscle than eating less has ever.

I’m getting close to joining the local powerlifting gym so as to partial front squat and push a prowler.

I like the physicality of working as a mover, it’s actually fun to have to manhandle the crates (meant to be done via forklift) around.

Pushing, pulling, and even lifting – from box to box by manpower is interesting.

It’s not liveable hours.

I like lifting weights.
I’m nearly 300lbs. It wouldn’t be hard to get there.

Strongman

The strength comes quickly, it’s the logistics of force feeding that kinda make it “not gonna happen” with all but part time work – which is what I’m doing.

I’d have to join a gym again it would seem, or is yard barbell enough there?

The conditioning is simple. Just do it.
Density shouldering everything, rebuild the sandbag for that, loads and carries, call my cousin up and push his truck around empty parking lots, sprint some.

I like the idea of farmers walking 50yds, setting the implements down, jogging down and back, then walking the 50yds again, just do this for time.

You know I meant to talk about dirty bulking.

Okay. Look at the obese, the real obese, the seriously obese 700lbs laying on the couch obese.

Anyone massively heavy, that can walk, is going to have some serious leg strength just by having basic locomotion.

A dirty bulk, holding the bodyweight for a couple years, then taking the fat off slowly is going to put on more muscle than the same five years spent worrying about maintaining visible abs and therefore never gaining a total of over 10lbs.

…..

25

…..

•two cheese sticks
•24oz milk

dairy is godsend for high calories, it’s easy as there’s no prep involved, a gallon jug of milk and some cheese wrapped in plastic (cheese sticks or slices of american cheese), and you’re set – dairy is more ready to eat than meat more often than not, you have to cook most meat, whereas salami is expensive, cheap hotdogs gross, and cans, well cans kinda bypasses that need to cook argument

…..

An Idea :

On most days off of work, you lift 3x a day, and to start you walk a half mile with one of those lifts.

The next week it’s two walks, and three lifts.

Week three it’s three of each.

Week four you add distance to one of those walks.

Each week you add distance til it’s three lifts daily and a three mile walk with each.

This means you have an hour of activity thrice daily, and you’re working a physical job the other days.

Working as a mover has always been good for me in the aspect of the physical job makes me want to be physical as much as possible outside of work too.

…..

I think I’ll add some heavier snatch grip deadlifts into this kettlebell period.

Also either/or the sldl, with either grip, for reps, but moreso the light density deadlifts against the clock were worthwhile, and need to be readded alongside the kettlebell.

Light deadlifts against the clock occasionally mixed with daily kettlebell lifts – a good combination.

I can tell the kettlebell and mismatch presses with the kettlebell and dumbbell is going to carryover to the barbell press.

The snatch grip deadlift is to keep the barbell in my hands whilst continuing to build horsepower (think mack truck in mack truck vs lamborghini here).

…..

Looking at my lifting history it’s been phases of me just absolutely crushing volume on one particular lift.

I recall summer 2019’s dip odyssey, and smile about how well 300+ dips a day worked for me.

I recall summer 2021 being similar, doing pullups, often weighted, daily.

Both these periods got me VERY STRONG with a “program” many would scoff at.

It’s all about doing what is fun for you, and causes the buy in. Then you smash the thing passionately, and get results.

I’m feeling this right now with my kettlebell, though the volume is yet to be high.

Do I want to invest in more kettlebells?
Buy a titan 100, rogue 124, 150, 176, and get brutally strong on one arm clean and press – and yes, I see the 176lb bell as a plausible press in not a long length of time.

Then you buy the 203lber, clean & press THAT, and you’re truly the physically strongest man you’ll ever meet.

…..

60

it’s real easy to rack up pushup volume with sets throughout the day

…..

35, 25

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Flow – I Should Be In Bed, But Instead My Stomach Turns From The Whey :

What am I serious about?

I wrote yesterday of how I watched porn, something I’ve said “I’m done with” going into the eighth year of saying it.

So again I ask, what am I serious about.

The truth of the matter is, you get what you want, always.

You want youtube fame and fortune?
You’d do what it takes to get it if you truly did.

I can honestly say in this moment it’s “10×10 or better on see saw press” – I have lifting, at least I have lifting.

I don’t doubt sets of 30+ on both see saw and two hands mismatched.

145.4lbs just isn’t that much, though by being bells, and mismatched at that – it’s worth more than the sum of the poundage.

I had this vision of running shirtless around the city this summer, visible abs, a big beard, still around 220.

It’d be a step to just mix a stroll in-between sets of lifting.

With the fresh beard, shaving tomorrow – starting new cause of that porn shit yesterday, I’m going to shape it well as it grows.

Taper from chin to ear early, establish the neck line somewhere between day 3 and day 21, the taper letting the cheek line set better, and my face looking better all the while both from the beard and dropping fat weight.

A set of mismatch press, a brief lift before work is easily implemented, worth doing.

You’re in fucking training bro. There can’t be television, porn, bad food choices – all the bullshit – you need to be better for your soul.

It’s not 2019 when the world was the normal you knew.

You’re not getting a do over of 2020’s lockdown – ya could’ve smashed workouts and dieted during that – didn’t, hey you still got the stories of riding the bike around, bombing down that good hill, that’s how you have to look at the past – the value of it’s stories.

People love my stories.

That redhead chick, us sitting in her car in the highschool parking lot, me stressed out of my mind – first wrestling season, waiting for someone else who was riding with us as well, me telling her some shit that had happened the night before, and her telling me “you’re a storyteller”.

Me initially thinking it was an insult, that she thought I was lying about the stupid shit we’d had happen in practice cause of the special case anger management took special ed classes lightweight wrestler.

There was a practice where a senior violently crossfaced me (striking from rear mount), my nose opened up, and I held my shirt to my nose…

The freshman had their science fair in the gymnasium below.

Two chicks who knew me started to say hi as I walked to the locker room, then saw the look on my bloody face, my shirt drenched like an axe murderer – I was already thought nuts for going hard in JROTC PT, while THIS clinched the reputation.

“He left practice COVERED in blood.”

And here I am writing high school stories, I was 15 in that one.

I do not like how it seems that my life stopped in late 2021.

Yeah, I got restaurant stories, but fuck it – that place was miserable, the kitchen the definition of hostile work environment.

“J, can I get cheese on this salad?”
It’s her personal.
“Yo, M. I know you’re new. I’m going to show you what spec is.”
I scoop the cheese, doubling it. It’s still a piddly amount.
“Seriously J can I have some cheese on my salad.”
“Yeah, I’m about to give you a good handful – wanted you as a new girl to see what spec was, which I doubled, which still looks small to all but B. Ask B – he’ll tell you that was spec, then double spec.”
She’s just laughing at the absurdity of how chinsy the food sold was, as I handed her a big handful making it reasonable, but easily 8x the spec amount of cheese.

B had been working in the restaurant roughly my lifetime, and he would’ve adamantly told her that it was spec, then double spec, then that I had gave her FAR TOO MUCH cheese – “you’re only supposed to see it – not taste it” – B – an exact quote

Don’t get me started on those who worked fry side.

They’d be stoned, raging, slamming the baskets, soybean oil flying every which a way, getting burnt, raging harder, repeating the process for their 30 hours a week.

Place was mental.

I’m, overall, happy to be gone, but the problem is – I severely overestimated the available hours at the moving company.

Not that moving helper is a career.
It’s not.
I need to do something that is mentally acceptable and enough money to not only live on single, but enough to raise a family with.

/flow

…..

WEIRD DREAMS – I wish I’d written them all down immediately!

…..

Breakfast :

10, 10 (pushups)
•cheese stick
…..

Work :

Have you ever heard the term “farmer’s blow”?

I hadn’t til this morning. The other crew’s customer the other day had called and complained about it.

The manager’s son with the help of urban dictionary found it to mean closing a nostril with a finger and shooting snot.

The complaint email and message were read and played for both crews.

Work today was pretty easy, a 4 hour minimum mostly just wheeling stuff down a long hall.

Earlier in the elevator I’d gotten a laugh out of the brothers, as the younger had wanted me to step on the shop scale weeks back “you’re a big dude, must be 280”.

But today’s job was a medical office.

The older brother yells to me “J get on here”, and I see he’s wheeled the office’s scale to the truck.

I stepped on scale, 286.5lbs, which the coworkers thought that crazy.

Of the six of us, at least four of us, maybe five did a quick weigh in.

The old guy refused the scale, no weigh in for him, and back at the shop unloading the stuff into storage…well I may now have the nickname “slim”.

The old guy said it once, then two or three started laughing “that works for him”.
We’ll see if it holds.

Then a few of us unloaded boxed unassembled ikea type furniture out of a freight 18 wheeler delivery, where I found that a 102lb box with a width nearly that of my wingspan is a deliciously awkward thing to carry.

I want a box like that to carry around the yard for training!

Also, shoulder carries are fun. When something is long, even if it has weight, as long as you can lever it to your shoulder it’s easy as pie to carry on flat ground.

…..

Ease Of Work Note :

When :
weekend
Where :
parking lot
What :
backwards farmers walks with the mismatch bells – backwards walking is ridiculously awkward – I should do it on my own time as well

…..

Upon Getting Home
•scoop chocolate whey (shaken not stirred)
•8oz milk

……

Checked on the bathroom scale at home having first drank the whey, then taken a piss – this time stripped to boxers and socks…

287lbs

Within a ½lb of what the medical scale had said.

Went to the doorway chin bar – banged out 7 chin ups.

I think it’s the kettlebell clean that brought that up from 4-5 reps. I’ll see how chins/pullups do without training and the kettlebell is aiming towards much “what the hell” effects.

Again, I’ve a 185lb press rep out test scheduled for the 2/26.

…..

•12oz milk

then sipped a

•20oz cherry pepsi

as unnecessary preworkout while reading

…..

Knowing I weigh 287lbs, of course I’m going to press!

It bothers me how little I eat whilst weighting this much!

First we lift.

Lift :

Mismatch Press
13, 8, 8, 3
Off Center F Sq
3r, 3l
Swings
5r, 5l
Soviet Wrestler Sq ss/w Soviet Wrestler SLDL – standing on cinder blocks
4+4
3+3
5+5

this exercise needs more height – still like it though

…..

Read/write a bunch, not stressing “postworkout window”

…..

2nd Lift :

Sig Klein Attempt
10 reps kb left
5 reps kb right
5 reps kb right

Next time make the attempt kb right, I’ve more leeway cleaning the kettlebell with my right hand, various positions than just between the legs.

Then put the bells away without setting them down first – that’s a great way to train the hands, first c&p, then carry, then set then down.

…..

Then we eat (steak and home fries, while cooking ground beef and home fries)

Meat and potatoes – will I drop weight?

I hope so, I want visible abs, but as long as my chins/pullups continue to increase, and I run a good 6:00 mile this summer – fuck the look, it’s about performance. The look follows anyway.

•12oz steak
•1½ potatoes as home fries
•four sticks cookie dough twix
•16oz milk
•banana

…..

It’d behoove me to walk a bunch outside of work, and probably get a gym membership just to go to immediately after work.

Still do all the yard lifting as well.

…..

The funny thing is in all this that upon seeing 286.5 in the scale at work this morning my though was “it’d be so easy to be a 308lber”.

1. meat, milk, deserts 4x daily
2. a bit of tasty frozen foods
3. gym membership for front squat partials
4. possible unemployment

…..

I realize there could be correlation between the chins and two implement c&p – I might’ve experienced that before.

…..

•some fried food (small amount)
•½ salami sandwich
•banana
•12oz cranberry juice
•12oz milk

…..

10, 15, 10

•8oz cranberry juice
…..

Persistence & Tenacity

I watched a nature documentary.
Eagles – what magnificent creatures.

Near that walmart many saw eagles.

There were lots of woods.

Now, there’s strip mall, stores, more and more buildings – the woods shrinking in ever exact contrast…

As this country becomes a larger and larger, never ending suburban strip mall.

There is no woods to the left of the parking lot, nor to the right of the parking lot to see an eagle anymore, just developments.

You won’t see an eagle there like my buddy had been hyped to tell me of that morning.

…..

40

…..

I’ve written before that I view watching television as gateway to porn.

After some television, movie, documentary time I watched porn again, twelve minutes til I got off, therefore doing two things that I am against doing.

A month without, then participating in both by making a choice that I’m against.

It’s on me.

I feel…regret.

Yet at the same time, seven hours in bed, and I have plenty energy, the four times I masturbated (three without porn later in the morning during brief wakeups) didn’t drain me like that.

The pros and cons.
Getting off does seem to, speed recovery – I’ll be less muscularly sore.

I feel that I need to eat some healthy foods, steak, grape juice, to replenish, but I don’t feel so drained.

I look in the mirror and know there’s that compulsion to shave, and choose restarting there too.

Twelve minutes of doing what I know not to causes resetting a month of beard growth.

This bugs me.
However, I like being able to say I watched no porn with my beard.

I’ll be clean shaven the day after tomorrow.

…..

Breakfast :

•two cheese sticks
•12oz grape juice
•12oz milk

…..

1st Lift :

Mismatch Shrug
20, 20
See-Saw Press
12, 10, 7, 5
Off Center F. Sq
3l + 3r
Two Hand Mismatch Press
10, 10

I’m digging the mismatched double bells.

Matching work on each side via multiple sets, the 1st and 4th sets with bells one way, the 2nd and 3rd with bells reversed on the see saw press for example – today opposite of yesterday I started every set pressing the kb first.

On the final set, kb right, db left, I shouldered both bells at the same time.

I can now solidly triple the f sq with bell at right rack, a shaky single bell at left rack, which is where the right rack had been til today (day 3-4 whether you’re counting day 0 or not).

There’s a bunch of ways to just get two mismatched bells to shoulder. I still need to do dumbbell first to one shoulder, and kb on left hand both to shoulder.

One way, that I’ve only gotten once (arguably twice) out of four tries is the snatch the kettlebell, then squat/bend to get the dumbbell off the ground, pick it up, then shoulder it.

That’s a high tension, real slow and controlled, exercise!

I scheduled a 185lb barbell press rep out test for February 26th, this gives me just about a month of daily mismatch work to see what it does.

I already know from experience with a pair of 75lb dumbbells that they’re worth around a 185lb barbell.

The barbell press will be up.
Bells carryover well to barbells

The see saw and mismatch two hand pressing is a simple, easy logistics, way for me to train frequently, hit the stabilizers not hit by the barbell, and rack up pressing volume with massive time under tension.

Heck, just the bell cleans (whatever implement, one or two handed) gets me used to pulling a longer “bar path” than a barbell requires.

I feel very confident I’d be able to c&p a pair of 100s, whether db or kb.

Maybe I’ll day pass somewhere in a month or three to get this on video.

•20oz cherry coke (mostly between sets)

Or there’s the option of purchasing a 100lb kb or single/pair of 100lb dbs – possibly continuing to mismatch but heavier.

…..

The kettlebell due to it’s awkward balance, and the very high tension training with it requires – it raises the metabolism.

…..

The steak and home fries is taking me about a half hour to make, but really it’s just a little activity every five minutes or so then back to reading/writing, repeat, til I have a hearty nutritious meal made by my own hand.

It wouldn’t be hard for me to just eat meat, potatoes, vegetables, drink milk and fruit juice.

Oddly, I don’t feel bummy anymore about having watched porn this morning.

I just know it’s reset, start over, while thinking to myself “be better”.

Finally eating the salad from a few nights ago, as the potatoes cook.

•salad

I should have more of these.

…..

Cooking A Healthy Dinner For Men :

1. Make a salad. This can be a premixed bag bought from the store, whichever you like, and I’d cut some beets into it, add a few walnuts, slice up an avocado, maybe some cheese – pea shoots, sprouts.

2. Put a pan on a burner. Turn on the burner. Drop butter into the pan.

3. Put a steak in the pan. Spice the top side. (Whether salt and pepper simple or everything but the kitchen sink.)
After around five minutes flip it. Allow it to cook five minutes or so longer.

4. As steak is in the pan, microwave a potato or two (or four) for five to seven minutes. Once that’s done, chop it up, and having removed the steak from the pan, adding a little butter if necessary, put the chopped up potatoes in the pan, moving around some so as to crispen up all sides.

This too can sit and forget for a few minutes before stirring/flipping the potatoes around.

_______

All in all you have a salad, steak, and home fries in about a half hour.

It’s healthy, nutritious, man food – and you made it yourself, and probably have two or three nights out of it as well.

(If you’re really time crunched – crockpot, stew)

As time goes on I enjoy cooking for myself more and more, while too finding healthy foods to no longer be a thing viewed as boring and bland, but an enjoyable thing that too tastes good.

Maybe I’m starting to eat right. Meal prep? We’ll see. I’d like to do tilapia for a time, probably tilapia twice a day, eggs once, beef once, lay off the milk and juice calories some, eat a salad more often – just see what an enjoyable healthy fat loss diet does for me.

I’m pretty amped to go lift again. Once the salad is done I’ll do more two hand mismatch presses.

…..

It’d be cool to have your regular training be so close to what a strongman competition is so as to have the two, a session vs a competition be somewhat interchangeable.

Still thinking about that local gym, still sticking to The Cold Air Barbell Club.

…..

2nd Lift :

Sig Klein Mismatch Attempts
x8 kb right, db left
x8 kb left, db right

The mismatch Sig Klein challenge is close, now as an any given day type thing.

I can shoulder both with the kb left, db right – the coolest thing about the mismatched double bells is the SHEER VARIETY they’re providing.

This session provided a great upper back pump.

For the cleans you want the kettlebell going between your legs, the dumbbell going to the outside of your leg.

I get why on the kettlebell version it’s suggested between the legs, and why for me it was hang cleans outside my legs with dumbbells when I got it in a hotel gym nine months ago.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ijkJDsYIgg4?

outside the legs hang cleans felt right

The mismatch makes for an interesting pull, the torso twisted a bit with kettlebell going down your exact center, whole the dumbbell goes off to your side.

There’s a cross body aspect to the pull.

That feels right for the mismatched pair, if it was a pair of matching bells I’d do one or the other.

…..

35

…..

•cheesy bread thing
•¾lb steak
•home fries
•12oz cherry coke
•12oz cranberry juice

…..

Work food for tomorrow may just be cheese sticks, I didn’t get salami for sandwiches last time I was at the grocery store.

…..

25

…..

I’m reinstituting the policy of “no cellphone overnight in the bedroom”.

Can’t watch porn when the phone is in another room.

I’m finished with watching porn infrequently, shaving because of it, etc.

I’ll just do the disciplines I know keep me on the right path.

…..

The whey is barely within date. I’d purchased it about 15 months ago.
Walmart cheapo, Body Fortress, in a flavor the internet seems to say no longer exists….

•8oz milk
•scoop BANANA whey (shaken not stirred)
•one cheese stick

A nice 40g protein right before bed.
In that tasty synthetic banana, which I truthfully enjoy to the surprise of everyone aside from myself and one old training partner.

I remember I stopped drinking whey because between protein powder and the caffeine from the soda fountain was speeding my metabolism too much.

Right now with the kettlebell I want a faster metabolism.

Protein speeds metabolism.

I may drink a scoop or two a day until the tubs (I have more than one flavor on hand) are gone.

We’ll see what happens.

…..

20

…..

35, 5

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Having watched a movie til the 3am hour, I start the day off after having slept into the afternoon by eating a pack of ramen, with raisins and peanuts, a couple tall glasses of milk, and a can of coke.

That taking 5:00, I could’ve cooked eggs or almost have cooked a steak in the same amount of time – this was being real lazy.

That’s a problem with americans – the real lazy lifestyle, not cooking healthy meals, watching lots of television, not working out.

I’ve been watching television the past few days, and I’m just viewing it as a destress, something for a brief period, before likely going back on the wagon.

•ramen
•peanuts
•raisins
•can vanilla coke
•quart milk

……

I’m into the idea of really milking the see-saw press for a time, building training around that.

The off center front squat as movement #2, the swing a more distant #3, maybe fat grips curls and overhead squats with the barbell as extra to the kb/db work.

With the availability of tools/toys in my developing (third world?) home gym with the kettlebell being brand spanking new, I don’t intend to hit the same session two days in a row EVER.

1st Lift :

See-Saw Press
10, 8, 7, 5

even on both sides as per mismatch bells, always started with db

F. Sq
4l+4r+3l+3r+2l+2r

Mismatch Shrugs
12
kb r, db l

…..

The kettlebell is awkward, and long sets demand long time under tension.

That’s likely why you huff and puff so much with them.

The awkwardness of a cannonball with a handle, and the nature of the exercises themselves – this is why the kettlebell demands high tension.

Yes I know what girevoy sport is.
I’m talking about my experience thus far using my new kettlebell.

You have to be strong to snatch a kb, hold (ish) at lockout the kb, whilst doing so reach down to the ground, grab the db, clean it, and then do your shoulder exercises once both bells are shouldered and at the ready.

I can already tell this bell work is going to make me very strong.

Why did I not invest in a kb(s) sooner?

The off center front squat is awesome.

It surprised me that I can’t really squat with the bell racked with one arm only, that I have to hold it with the other hand as well.

Would any other object on one shoulder feel the same way squatting?
That’d be a cool experiment, best with a training partner – them as weight for pushups, squats, and a sturdy pullup bar plus the weights for weighting that.

That’s what I call “gorilla calisthenics”.
That’s the lifting you want for wrestling strength.

Outside a practice partner, sandbags are affordable to build, and if you have access to kettlebells they’re plenty awkward.

…..

2nd Lift :

Two Hand Swings ss w/Neck Harness
15 swing/20x25lbs
12 swing/25x25lbs
8 swing/8x25lbs

the 8s done with higher tension on both exercises, practicing to hike bell back consciously with lats, and real controlled with a bit of good morning at both top and bottom to harness reps

more posterior chain work – there’s never enough posterior chain strength

it’s good to get in lots of mini sessions when you can

…..

Do you need to do aerobic work, or will intervals spill over, carrying the aerobic with the anaerobic?

The idea of walking with the pair of bells is an interesting idea.

Every so often stop and do an exercise, “walking weighted roadwork”, and I still like the idea of forming a big chunk of concrete in a box, using that as a physical toy.

Yesterday I carried a giant cardboard, we call it bin, box – I don’t know the ft³ off the top of my head, around 15, and with my short arms barely able to grab the far side thought “this is 20lbs tops – I’d like to have to carry these dimensions but at say 150lbs sometime as a strength exercise”.

It’s good to have a foot in the labor world, which puts a foot in the strongman world via thoughts on the job, to lift weights outside as your thing, all this better than the 2d mundane of an indoor gym.

I have a hard time picturing going back to gyms now.

……

“living is something opposite of passively trying to not die” – I paraphrase, found this a powerful belief

…..

Looking at my coworker’s lifestyles, it seems obvious to me that there’s a certain joie de vivre about the existences of some.

It’s something that one with too much brain thinks out of themselves by too much education/indoctrination, too much thinking, too much planning.

Not enough impulsivity, not enough going with the flow of the moment.

This argument is why I had started taking the brain out of the gym, just doing, not caring any detail, talking to everyone, having fun, being playful with it, the act of it.

I’ve been getting there again with The Cold Air Barbell Club, and though aspects would be nice and convenient, that’s why I’m sticking for the time to yard lifting.

My coworker had told me he once got laid by, while driving her home after an early date with the woman who is now his wife, the mother of his third child, JUMPING OUT of his truck, chasing a deer that had froze in his headlights out of the road into the woods, back into the cab panting “I almost got him”.

…..

After about 30 days of kettlebell, having now gotten into see saw pressing, I’ll test and see where my 185lb barbell press for reps is.

…..

•four sticks twix candy

3rd Lift :

KB 1 Arm Row
25l, 25r
DB Side Press
15l, 12r, 8r, 10l, 5r

PostWorkout Meal :

•two hotdogs
•24oz milk

this was all within a ten minute time span

…..

60

…..

Dynamic Tension Feeder Workouts :

I tend to do this standing in the bathroom, I’ll call it dynamic tension since it’s flexing, without weights, but with range of motion.

I’m standing, simulating hammer curls, pushdowns, then with torso motion – a chest press and a row.

Everything is firing hard.

…..

Yep, watching youtube held no draw.

…..

•chocolate covered pb pretzels
•milk

as a half box of fish sticks cooked to make

•fish sandwiches (fish sticks, six slices american cheese, four slices bread, butter)
•20oz cherry coke

…..

25

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

25

…..

•cheese stick

I like having a little cheese in me before work, it’s good energy, sits well, the glass of water with it tasted so good

this is my ideal work day breakfast, a glass of water and one to three cheese sticks

…..

I’ve got plenty of time to get ready for work, sitting on the toilet – kinda pooped, and my neck is real sore – I figure it was trying my hand at the 32kg bell attached to the neck harness not having done neck harness in awhile.

See, there’s two ways to train up to something :

Firstly I’ve done 90lbs on a neck harness in the past, I know my neck is pretty strong just on maintenance.

Wrestling in high school was a godsend that way, and while I never got to crazy levels of bridging drills, just wrestling patty cake style against your practice partner will build more neck strength than anyone outside of wrestling…

The neck harness.

It’s best to start light, for me that’d be 20-25 reps with 20-25lbs, do that daily for a week or so, then the next week add a set, get to 100 reps daily, then add 2½-10lbs.

The coolest way I ever progressed the harness was at a gym with the full selection of donnie thompson fat bells, so I’d just connect one to the harness and when I was hitting a set of 50+ with it I’d jump to the next bell, which were 9-12lb jumps as I recall, if that jump felt too heavy, not clearing about 35 reps on the first try, I’d drop back to the last bell and use it to 75-100 reps then rejump in weight.

I could use the moderate approach.

Nothing looks so powerful as a bull neck.

Or, there’s the “try – partials” approach.
You’re incapable of the full rep, but you try to get as close to it as possible, straining against the weight, and getting more and more range of motion as time goes on…

Eventually you get it, then soon after you start repping it.

…..

Work :

silly silly easy – I’m talking ~6 plastic totes into the truck easy

…..

•20oz pepsi

I bought an unnecessary preworkout on the way home – enjoyed it too

…..

It’s kettlebell time!

1st Lift :

Side Press
10r, 10l kb
12r, 12l db

Mismatched Press
2×6

hard to shoulder both with kb in left hand, then saw stars during presses that set

Gorilla Cleans
not really happening – not making switch with db to shoulder having shouldered kb first

See-Saw Presses
2x6s

second set, kb at right lockout fell to right shoulder as I shouldered db two hands anyhow from ground

Snatch
3l, 3r

Swing
8l, 8r

F.Sq + Swing
3fsr+3swr+3fsl+3swl

still need two hands for fsq rack most reps, kinda don’t when I really flex my wrist

Mismatched Shrugs
5 reps with kb l, db r

didn’t bother evening this out

I’m gassing so much with the new toy – which is perfect.

I want to be inefficient, burning fat – the huffing and puffing is exactly what I want

The kb and mismatched kb+db work is very high tension, I’ve a long way to go

…..

•pb & cheese sandwich
•piece of breaded chicken

…..

An aerobic base would help a lot.

I was huffing having moved quickly to load our half dozen items into the truck, and again with the kb.

I’d forgotten to use the neck harness, so…

…..

2nd Lift :

Neck Harness
25x25lbs
KB C&P Every Rep Style
5 x each side
Swings
8r, 8l
Lateral Swings
6r, 6l
Two Handed Swings
10

swings & rowing erg would be an AWESOME mix for cardio w/strength

I love how much my heart races from this stimulus – not a bad idea to take the bells to a parking lot and mix both carries and jogging, mix strength into my cardio – I need the cardio, particularly an aerobic base again – also keep making the heart bump, it’ll help here as well

…..

I’ve not yet used headphones while lifting the kettlebell.

It may stay that way.

Without headphones you’re more in touch, feeling the heart beat, catching your breath, tasting the fresh outdoor air.

…..

Dumbbell VS Kettlebell – Initial Thoughts :

I bought the kettlebell since swings feel better with one than with a dumbbell to me.

That’s the main advantage to the kettlebell. It’s better for swings.

The presses are smoother with a dumbbell, which has a better balance for pressing sheer weight.

The kettlebell is more an odd object press…

Bottoms up being an exercise in tension, regular being odd with the bell resting down your forearm – they’re different bar paths than a dumbbell which compared feels very easy to move from a to b vertically, shoulder to lockout.

They’re all different press stimuli, similar but different.

For one bell cleans I’m liking the kb better.

I think I’d prefer dumbbells for two bell cleans, but I’ve never tested this with similarly heavy enough kettlebells so as to be sure.

My gut says “if you were to purchase the implements to film a c&p with a pair of 100s, you’d prefer to own a pair of 100lb dumbbells than kettlebells”.

It’s real interesting getting both my 75lb db, and my 32kg kb to shoulders.

I’ve yet to manage a clean getting both to shoulder in one go.

So far it works best getting the kb up to one shoulder, then muscling the db to the other.

Getting the dumbbell to shoulder first then muscling the kettlebell to the other was a serious brute force thing as I did not have the coordination to get the kb to rack, I got it mostly there, then basically arm wrestled it to rack from the top of a curl, a weird thing in midair.

Goblet squat?
Ha! I’ve always preferred putting the bell on shoulders for front squat, whether db resting on shoulder or now kb in rack.

There’s a lot of room for “rugged” in figuring out cleans with these mismatched bells as described above.

The two hands anyhow, in every permutation, ditto.

Two hands anyhow with the pair, with current coordination made most sense with kb at lockout (press or snatch), an atg squat to get to the db, then forgiving it out from there.

I thought I’d easily gorilla clean, the coordination was not there yet.

…..

A quick search says concrete weighs ~150lbs per cubic foot.

Now I’d had an idea before looking that up…

I’m working at a moving company, standard box sizes…a one five box (1.5) = ~225lbs, and it’s not ridiculous in dimension.

There’s your implement in the vein of basque stone to shoulder.

Two 1.5s and a length of pipe and you’ve a 450lb fixed weight axle.

Find a patch of yard you’re okay with tearing up, or build a sand pit, and now you grease the groove with a 450lb axle deadlift.

Can’t deadlift it?
Pull partials til you can.

Deadlift is easy?
Maybe try continentals with that unwieldy thing.

You’re a professional strongman when you can get that thing from ground to overhead.

…..

•chicken noodle casserole (small amount)
•½box fish sticks as two fish sandwiches
•six slices american cheese
•can vanilla coke
•12oz milk

really was craving taquitos, should’ve bought a box – the kettlebell is revving my metabolism, I’m hungry, and for fairly clean foods at that, other than the sodas – lately I’ve really been liking fish

I wonder what tilapia goes for right now?

The kettlebell may be sparking an instinctive urge to fat loss diet.

…..

30

…..

Though gorilla cleans didn’t work I can get both the mismatched bells to shoulder…

A long ugly drawn out Sig Klein (ish) challenge, maybe at times having to shoulder the bells one at a time, as the cleaning different implements is iffy for getting a good clean – earlier today I was getting the one to shoulder then muscling the other into position – doing that for 12+ reps, it’d be from the hang mind you, sounds like a deliciously evil amount of time under tension…as is the see-saw press.

…..

35, 15
•12oz milk

…..

Persistence & Tenacity