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

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

…..

Daily Pushups :
~215am

…..

I wonder what weight a person I could weighted pushup.

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

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

…..

Freestyle Pushups :

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

I’m mostly used to woody woodpeckers.

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

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

One can always revert to pushups.

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

…..

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

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

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

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

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

Training Lessons From High School :

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

How?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…..

Don’t make this complicated.

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5 pullups

…..

25 dips – this is having gone down for me

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6:00 bleachers

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

…..

Funny note :

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

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

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

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

….

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

I’ll find out when I do it.

…..

Lift :

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

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

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

…..

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

Seeing that group of runners today motivates me.

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

…..

Regular horse stance is worthwhile.

…..

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

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

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

…..

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

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

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

So pretty quickly I get outside.

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

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

…..

Looking for _____

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

…..

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

…..

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

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

…..

More pushups

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

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

1st Lift :

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

……

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

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

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

“Gains” are a given…

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

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

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

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

So be thankful, and use what you have.

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

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

…..

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

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

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

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

…..

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

…..

Three days in a row having eggs.

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

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

Milk to drink.

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

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

…..

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

“Go back to Cali”

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

Message inside a nightmare.

…..

2nd Lift :

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

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

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

…..

The above lift was to get into good headspace.

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

It did.

…..

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

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

…..

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

…..

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

$30 at the hardware store bypasses the logistical issues.

Hard to skip something set up in your yard.

…..

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

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

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

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

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

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

One cue is pull the bar apart with your hands.

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

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Early in, early out.

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

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

…..

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

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

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

…..

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

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

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

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

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

…..

Funny to clean and press anyway.

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

…..

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

Getting back my sea legs.

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

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

…..

I’m pretty content to just press and deadlift.

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

…..

An Idea :

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

…..

If I could, I’d buy yolks only.

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

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

…..

Anyone ever try Gaston’s diet?

…..

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

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

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

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

…..

Two nights in a row I’ve had eggs.

Remember – fuck inflation, eat right anyway.

…..

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

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

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

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

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

That’s the best vegetables.

…..

You don’t need vegetables.

Steak and eggs will provide everything you need.

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

It’s amazing how bad restaurant ingredients are.

…..

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

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

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

The mixed macro drink.

…..

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

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

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

…..

Getting In Shape With Bleachers :

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

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

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

I could treat it in terms of reps of flights.

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

Ride that weekly or so up to 10×10.

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

…..

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

It also reminded me : horse stance is magic.

……

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

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

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

Persistence & Tenacity

After the steak it’s everything in the pan.

…..

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

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

Chocolate covered pretzels as the second course.

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

…..

Work today was gross, but light.

Filthy customers, another crew refused them on Tuesday.

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

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

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

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

Made it “presentable” that way.

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

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

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

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

…..

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

…..

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

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

I will do some tonight.

…..

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

I do not stress this.

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

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

The manager scheduled all hands for it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

…..

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

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

2023 = visible abs.

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

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

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

…..

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

Of all grains I rate rice lowest.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Though the best of carbs, they are still carbs.

…..

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

All of life was pretty gray at that job.

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

…..

My dad has a shitty coworker.

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

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

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

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

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

To know the pack load.

To actually be good at wrapping furniture in brown paper.

To be the box’s tetris master.

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

To build and close crates solo, and fast.

To outpace/outwork the middleweights.

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

…..

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

Personal training.

…..

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

…..

I had a thought ;

Depression is a sign.

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

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

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

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

…..

Lift :

Overhead Squats
bar x 15

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

…..

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

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

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

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

It’s a matter of enjoying right now.

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

This job does bring me to a better place mentally!

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

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

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

Persistence & Tenacity

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

ON FULL FAT BOY STATUS

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

Short shift.

…..

2pm

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

Chicken nuggets (6) w/4 slices american cheese

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

…..

315pm
apple cider

…..

345pm

Lift :

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

Conditioning :
briefly punched bag

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

…..

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

…..

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

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

…..

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

I’ve noticed this before.

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

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

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

…..

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

I tolerated the kitchen’s bullshit far too long.

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

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

…..

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

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

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

Persistence & Tenacity

1130am
½ Sandwich
butter, peanut butter, american cheese, salami
16oz Cranberry Juice

…..

5¾ hours – warehouse, crating

Upon arriving I have a right lat pump, and I found using the bathroom that my chest is pumped – probably the first time I’ve had a chest pump from a moving shift.

I did shoulder some crates around.
Dragging a mattress showed me it’d be a good idea to train drags – cheapest way would be an old tire set up to do so.

I feel like I worked, and it feels good.

…..

4pm
“Christmas Crack” dessert thing (chex, cheerios, pretzels, m&ms, powdered sugar melted over it all) then leftover rotisserie chicken, baked potato, garbanzo beans, american cheese, avocado, repeat the dessert (ate it all with this meal), milk

After eating I’ll lift.

Work has me pretty hungry, a bit sore from today – frankly I could nap.

Sorta need to hit the grocery store.
Probably tomorrow after work.
…..

Lift :

Side Press
8 x each side w/75lb db
30 x each side w/bar
Overhead Squat
10 x bar

Maybe I’ll hit some form of lift daily this year.

This was as close to zero setup as I can get – my 75lb db and my bent empty barbell.

…..

Neighbor’s dog, big athletic thing – I was outside, he growled.

Something about my body language sets these dogs off.

…..

Horse Stance & Standing Like A Post + some isometrics similar and military press related

…..

A Neat Truck Trick :

$7-10 gets you a rotisserie chicken and a gallon of milk.

While the sticker doesn’t say weight or nutritional facts, calling the chicken in the package 1pcs, this is a good enough nutritional protocol.

•zero cooking required
•zero cups, plates, silverware required

The lazy swing through the grocery store protocol.

It seems like the grocery store sells the rotisserie chicken at a loss.

Though the corn bread near it surely isn’t, a bit of corn, flour, and sugar costing almost as much as the bird.

But you skip that.

Truly all you could need is getting into the package, tearing the bird apart with your hands, cracking the top of the milk and drinking out the bottle.

It’s a joyous primal act to eat meat off the bone like that.

…..

I am eating more clean lately, and dinner is usually meat with baked potato with cheese or butter depending on what I’m going for.

…..

My Christmas presents were mostly snack foods.

I do partake, and interestingly eating them makes me hungrier, as opposed to the dinner meals which have me well satiated.

…..

1030pm
1000 calories of ritz bitz and pringles go down in moments and you find yourself hungrier – another chicken, potato, garbanzo bean, american cheese bowl it is.

Persistence & Tenacity

It’s amazing what happens when one takes a simple exercise as far as they can go with it.

Sometimes I wonder how much I really had to force feed, how much lifting I really needed to do.

As a pushup, to me, now, is worth far more than a pushup.

If I’d just done a bunch of pushups daily my entire life would I have gotten to this same place in my bodybuilding experience?

I can tell you this ;
Thank you! Sensei!

Karate class at age 7, probably 300 a week laid a foundation most kids don’t get from behind the video game controller.

…..

These people tell me it’s genetics.

I don’t buy that argument.
Everyone can be strong, fit, healthy.

It’s a choice. A personal choice.

You don’t like being skinny?
Eat!

You don’t like being fat?
Step outside – burpees, bleachers, lacing up whatever shoes you own and running down the street starting right outside your door!

…..

Sometimes it can be a hassle, the logistics of food, when you’re a big guy.

It needn’t be.

Firstly, internalize the act of cooking a healthy, nutritious, nourishing meal as a blessing, a joy.

I can only say thank you to the restaurant, as over a year of line cooking, and greasy soybean oil employee meals has me LOVING the act of cooking for myself, steak usually, now that the percentage of my weekly food from the restaurant has dropped from significant to zero.

I don’t work there anymore = no more employee meals = bigger grocery bill & GETTING TO COOK HEALTHY FOOD FOR MYSELF!

Plus carrying boxes is a blessing – I don’t get massive thigh and armpit chafe!

The chafe of standing in 95° almost stationary, just lots of short movements, stewing in your own juices.

…..

Secondly a neat trick for zero prep, zero clean up, grocery store food, all at ≤$10/day…to be seen tomorrow.

…..

1210am
Sandwich
butter, peanut butter, american cheese, banana (½in sandwich, all in my belly), almost added salami, a glass of milk with it.

Carbs are lower, but not necessarily low.

All food is relatively clean as of late – meat, potatoes, sandwiches, some fruit juice, less milk than usual.

Workouts give good pumps.
I’m liking that work is physical.
I’m into lifting.
I expect to get lean, and cardio ability.

…..

Lift :

Fat Grips Deadlift
5×165
7×165
Press
11×165 full rom wo pauses
5×165 STRICT w/pauses at top & bottom
5×165 STRICT w/pauses at top & bottom

Progression for all movements, at this point, is based on seeing 15+ regularly on the first press set.

…..

4 pullups

…..

Bleacher “Run”
5:00 – first :60 jog – next 4:00 mostly walk, some jog ups mixed in – timer goes off, finish that rep, do one final rep running up and down.

Felt great, first purposeful aerobic work in a long while – I’m happy I finally did a bleacher run, it’s something to do more often.

The logistics aren’t the most convenient – it’s not a stair stepper in the gym, it’s The Cold Air Barbell Club’s 2nd Location!

With everything outdoors you have to want it.

Thank you!

…..

The purpose of regular lifts, regular run/bleachers, working a physical job – you’re getting your body used to moving, performing, keeping a spring in your step, desire in your heart to both move and be out of the house.

It’s good to make this all habit.

To run bleachers, days off of work – the option is basically rise early – train early am.

Otherwise it’s walking to a local cemetery, running in all sorts of ways there.

I should run to the hardware store, buy a step stool for doing step ups as cardio – easy logistics, still more strength involved than just running.

…..

4pm
peanuts

…..

615pm
salami, baked potato, american cheese, eggnog

…..

645pm
milk, peanuts

…..

830pm
milk & daily pushups

…..

I feel my calves right now. The bleachers was the right choice.

I’m ramping up both lifting volume and daily movement.

Calories are naturally on the low side.
Who knew eating mostly clean would come naturally, given time.

It feels that soon it’ll be meat and potatoes only, then keto, then carnivore.

…..

1130
american cheese, milk

…..

Persistence & Tenacity

Newton’s first law applies to the human body, and all it’s physical pursuits.

A laborer has a simpler task to get to the gym than an office worker.

Those who work on their feet are more likely to have active hobbies than the sedentary, who stay sedentary with electronics in their free time.

…..

I’m happy to be back working as a mover.

Immediate upon restarting it was apparent that I felt more motivation to do pullups, run/run bleachers – to outside of work do the things that will carryover to work performances.

I am not viewing moving as a long term thing, but as a short term way to accomplish a few things :

•money
•weight loss
•challenge
•fresh air/outdoor work

…..

It’s a new year, and this year I expect to be great!

I have much to work and improve upon, and it’s all a blessing.

…..

Went for a ~2 mile stroll with an old acquaintance.

He would like me to join a gym with him, help him powerlift.

I’m not much into the idea of going to a gym at this point – it’d be easy, too easy with 24/7 access, plus I’m content with MY “Cold Air Barbell Club”.

And bing forced to cardio outdoors forces me to have drive.
A prowler or stair climber is too convenient.

Thrive, with drive, on the INCONVENIENT.

…..

Lift :

Fat Gripz Deadlift
5×3 w/165lbs
Press
8×165 STRICT, pauses at bottom

Lifted in the dark, early 5 o’clock hour – I’ve a lot of room for improvement on fat grips deadlifts. Today I decided to pull conventional vs the sldl that I normally use, and the clean feels so light after the thicker grip.

The conventional deadlift, done light, really leg pressing the bar off the ground and flexing the glutes at lockout – this is a great feeling.

Then you get this feel with heavier and heavier weight.
You get strong always training within your means, 40-80% 1rm say – the percentages can be stupid light.

Old time lifters would really maximize a weight before upping the weight, I have room to improve reps on both before upping the weight.

In reality, getting something like these reps but with 300+ lbs is a really strong individual.

It’s the START of the year.
I’m very consistent with my training.

…..

I spoke roughly the following to my acquaintance earlier today :

The natural state of man is roughly what we consider to be elite athletes.

It’s lifestyle that causes the average person walking around walmart to be the average person walking around walmart instead of the average person being at least equivalent to a d1 athlete.

Maybe you’re not going to set a world record, but you, me, everyone at some point in their life, if lifestyle had been on point for this, could/could’ve been middle of the pack at a high level d1 track meet, I’ll even say at decathlon which is probably the most all around example of fitness found in any organized competition.

…..

Part of dinner was part of a rotisserie chicken.

Man is that affordable and convenient.
It may be less expansive than cooking chicken for yourself, and it’s ready to eat!

$5 to $7 generally, then pick it apart.

It was a primal joy to make a mess of my hands tearing it apart, eating everything in the bird off the bone as I cleaned it for putting away, eating the skin, etc.

Bone in meat is better than boneless meat.
Skin is better than skinless.

You want to eat primal with your meat, the less processed the better.

I’m willing to pay $6/lb for steak vs $3.50 for the cheapest ground, and made a discovery – pork rib, at 1.75/lb was the lowest cost per pound of meat in the store.

I meant to have some steak today, but ended up skipping cooking it as I had the chicken.

My eyes were far larger than my stomach, but the days food was rather clean, with everything eaten in a four hour window.

4pm – 12oz flavored milk
730pm – smorgasbord

I almost never go to that market basket, however the selection was noticably different – worth alternating trips.

…..

Didn’t run bleachers, but did get that aforementioned stroll.

Noticed my hands pumped up during the walk.

…..

1045pm
Tonight’s pushups were bomb!
Great pump. Particularly the upper back and lats.

I figure it was the healthy level of activity today, the 2-2½ mile walk, the high muscular activation fat grips deadlift, the press done strict with pauses at the bottom.

A couple times today I flexed my neck in the bathroom mirror.

I’ll do a chin up before bed.

……

1 chin – they’re better to do outside, the doorway bar is too low – do them anyway.

……

Persistence & Tenacity

Yesterday’s pushups were done late – a few sets in the 11 o’clock hour, as early as 1120, as late as 1159pm.

I pushed the woody woodpecker reps high, the first set to 150 – then threw in strict reps to end, standing up huffing and puffing.

When you’re like that, and breathe deep in – you can breathe into a lat pose, everything expanding.

You feel BIG with the combination of the pump and the breathing.

It’s rather euphoric as is the pushing…to counteract work’s stimulus.

…..

I recall exactly that in the dip odyssey of summer 2019 – the 300+ daily dips felt real good stretching my biceps which were tight from work.

…..

Yesterday I noticed a definite urge to eat out of boredom.

I bet I’ve been doing that my entire life.

Now a bit more active, and not standing all day next to food, it impresses me how little I eat.

Part of that is the food choices – basically every meal involving saturated fat from meat.

Lunch at work has been ½ a salami and cheese sandwich.

Dinner at home has been a rotation of steak, kielbasa, and italian sausage, mixing them on a leftovers day.

Last night for instance I ate my fill, only ¾ of the dish containing 1lb steak. 3 eggs, 1 big onion and a small amount of peppers with cheese I fried up.

I’ve been pretty low on carbs lately.
The only real source being cranberry juice, and my milk drinking is down.

Maybe psychologically, mind and action in alignment, I’m doing what I expect to be necessary to stop being fat.

…..

Funny after righting the above to eat ramen with peanut butter and chocolate chips.

……

Almost 2am, wicked hungry I make a second pack of ramen.
…..

Today’s pushups were done early, about 240am after the aforementioned second pack of ramen.

Reading comments about getting prison jacked, the shit amps me up – so I did pushups.

I want to drop 20lbs of body fat, have three girlfriends, and fuckin ace PT tests at 220+.

Bleachers. Massive pushups. Figure out regular pullup training. Work as hard as you can on the moving job, fuck the pay – hustle.

Use the job as a physical challenge.
Train in addition to the job.

…..

No bleachers today.
No rock climbing simulation today.

Pushups, a nap, and a brief overhead squat set.

Lift :
Overhead Squat
20 x bar.
One Arm Overhead Squat :
1 x bar each side

Energy is highest when you just go all day, every day. Use this.

The quad pump from the overhead squats was great, reps shy of lockout – I’m okay with that on overhead for reps.

……

It’s nearly new year’s, and the past week my psyche has been filled with thoughts of “rise”, “start again – better”, “better – disciplined, accomplishing”.

My 20s are nearly over. I do not like where I’ve let my life go, in this now just over decade, since turning 18.

It’s my own fault – as, yes, some is out of your control, but it’s still primarily in your hands how you respond, the actions you take, how you make it work.

And then you smile anyway.

There’s an internal debate about how strict on self I’m going to be.

It’s nice, that natural evolvement, I don’t have much desire to not eat relatively clean anymore.

In 2023 I’m going to have visible abs.

I’m currently figuring out where I’m going with physical culture.

My bodyweight is too heavy. Getting wind, calisthenics, athletic ability at 20-40lbs lighter, well I’ll lift heavier along with all that.

The body performs best when it’s in shape.

…..

2023 Physical Get To Thems :
•6:00 mile (again)
•300lb c&p
•20+ pullups (again)

2023 Physical Nice To Haves/On Back Burner :
•freestanding handstand pushups (it’s been close in the past)
•backflip (it’s been close in the past)

I wrote these in the order of priority.

It’d be good to get some social aspect again with training, maybe be at a rock climbing gym or boxing/bjj/mma gym – however all the goals above I can do without paying dollars anywhere.

Will I ever work as a personal trainer?
To do so seems like, whether here or somewhere else, to demand a restructure of my entire life.

It’s a blessing that the sportsball on the television has no draw to me.

At the restaurant last night my mom asked me “what are you thinking”, my reply being “I’m noticing that the television to my right, a celtics game about to start – which is a big deal to many here, has zero draw to me.

I guess you could argue that porn has something of a siren song to me, but that definitely comes and goes, and like anything that falls under the category of addictive behavior – the intensity of that call ranges from silent/muted to blaring based on other life factors.

I’m a week clean.

My beard is regrowing.

I look back, having been clean the entire calendar years of 2020 and 2021, and know that I will do better.

I am referring to not watching porn as time clean. There’s a reason for this.

Viewing porn had been my addictive vice behavior, even though I have many times over the past 8-11 years gone lengths without regularly.

Is it really a problem if you go 10-30 days, often months, multiple years, without it just about every time you use?
My answer is yes, and my answer, to me, is what matters.

…..

Okay, this struck me on the moving job the day before yesterday :

While I was about to walk a box across the ramps set on front landing to the front door to the side door of the truck, a son of the customer (either age 4 or 6 – I presume the elder) leaped from a frozen garden bed, a broad jump of greater than his height I would say, and seemingly while in motion of that jump, ducked into a position of torso bent at the waist, a parallel to the ground battlefield crouch, and landed under the ramps without wipeout.

Ducking as he jumped it was an impressive display of athleticism.

The kids, though young, but based on their possessions did play organized hockey, we packed a bunch of bauer helmets and maybe a dozen sticks – it simply was striking to me as they ran around, gymnastically, that it was an example of how humans are supposed to be capable of moving.

They too had a little photo collage of all four doing mountain climbers, dad and sons doing lunges, all the neighborhood kids playing soccer in the street/driveway, etc – a little made by moms commemorative of apparently neighborhood soccer/hockey/basic fitness fun exercise involving kids and some parents.

I thought it cool.

…..

I keep thinking lately, that though strong…I have achieved “muscle bound” being incredibly stiff both upon waking, and in general on days off, plus noticing the customer’s kids were running around like ninjas, coworkers who live an unhealthy lifestyle being highly physical, thinking as I ran up the ramp into the truck “my wind isn’t at the right level”, a thought to myself that if I was to go to bjj I’d have to wrestle greco with how I feel right now, thinking indoor rock climbing or playground simulation while wishing my pullup ability was where it was at in summer 2021 as I partially climbed warehouse scaffolding as access to materials for the truck was blocked otherwise (send the biggest guy to monkey around lol), just in general thinking…

A fit lanky human is more all around than big and muscular!

I have zero issue going outside, cleaning & pressing.

I have zero issue sitting outside for hours.

I have zero issue doing my daily pushups.

What I should be doing is running, jumping, grappling, climbing, swimming – MOVING!

I do this, and many going to gyms do this too – the entirety of physicality becomes a stiff lifting or stationary cardio activity, while nothing is fluid, primal, loose, free, or flowing.

…..

I’ve felt very relaxed, having both a high sense of well being and hope for an unknown future – often thinking these past few days “right now is temporary – a man can thrive starting at any point”

It’s not a bad place to be.

It could be “honeymoon phase ” with a new job, but I expect it to hold.

I’ve worked this job, at this company, with the same management before.

I know their drama.
I don’t see anything there bugging me, after all – I’m paid to go up and down stairs with odd objects.

Overall it’s good for you to do this.

…..

No lift today, though I did a set of hammer curls, 35 reps with a pair of 10s before cooking today’s dinner.

Pullup ability would be real good to get back to.

It may be time to build a bar for the yard.

One at 8′ for weighted pullups, another one at hip/waist height for recline rows.

…..

Lunch -a combination of leftovers

Dinner – leftover steak, cut into strips, reheated in pan with peppers & onion

Okay, I was almost real lazy about chopping up an onion.

Realized how chickenshit lazy that was when I found fried onion chunks like you’d put on a casserole, so chopped the onion anyway.

And added those additionally while plating.

Over a year of line cooking and food prep, and I’m both a better cook, and enjoy cooking for myself/people I know far more than I had before.

It’s a joy to prepare a healthy, nutritious meal, and it’s sheer laziness that keeps americans from eating well at home.

The philly cheesesteak’s filling is basically what I made, and is perfect nutrition – frozen peppers in the pan with butter, chop up leftover steak into strips, with that in the pan, dice (ish) an onion, that about done – three eggs into the pan, those fried, melt cheese into the mix.

Took maybe ten minutes.

Okay google what cheese comes on a philly cheesesteak?
Result : american, provolone, or cheez whiz

Time to eat. I had a slice of american in there, but finishing that off it was mexican mix to bulk up the amount of cheese in the pan.

…..

Okay, back now, but I didn’t eat without using my phone.

Surfing the web while eating is a bad habit, one I do at just about every meal at home, ie when I sit at the table alone.

……

I feel like I’ve ate too much, and that’s at really with only a moderate amount as listed above plus a few oreos.

…..

Approaching 30 am I going to be much leaner than my longer than a decade at burly from 17 to present?

…..

A man can rise to the greatest heights from any time, from any starting point.
Remember that.

Persistence & Tenacity