Category: Uncategorized

First Day Back As A Mover :

There was a piano, I got to carry a piano – an upright, it was not the 800lbs coworkers thought, or maybe it was.

Personally I don’t view uprights as hard to carry – I enjoy carrying them in fact.

Pretty funny how half the guys there were ducking and dodging getting hands on it, and hell I set up on the side where I wouldn’t have to walk backwards.

Mostly we packed. Loaded only a little onto the truck. Under 6h including truck time. Will be back, same job, tomorrow.

Food & Drink :

I went to work fasted.

Coworkers bought monsters at a gas station – most are on the patented laborer’s diet of monster & cigs.

Last night I’d made two sandwiches, ate half of one then, packed the rest.

At work ate ½ sandwich. My patented oatnut bread, butter, american cheese, salami sandwich – sometimes with peanut butter, today without.

The inventor of salami deserves a kiss from the prettiest of girls for inventing such a great work food.

I drank a 16oz bottle refilled with cranberry juice. Had packed two, as well as two filled with milk. Didn’t touch those three bottles.

Had a gallon of water with me – drank ½.
Will bring ¾+ in the gallon every shift – I sweat profusely….even in winter.

This a reason to lose ~20lbs, though I’ve sweat profusely at my every adult bodyweight, from 195ish to 280ish.

I look forward to some combination of steak, italian sausage, and kielbasa for dinner.

Groceries :

I’d have ate cheese sticks at work had I any in my cooler – I prefer them to bars, as they’re more nutritious.

So I picked up my mover foods on the way home.

•cheese sticks
•honey roasted peanuts
•cranberry juice

With cheese sticks throw 6 or 8 into the cooler, I assume eating 4 per shift.

You simply pour the peanuts out of it’s bottle into your mouth. I was doing that last time around working this job. And tomorrow will have the ability to do so again.

Cranberry juice worked real well as work food.

Way more nutritious than gatorade.

It’s striking how bad people eat/drink at work.

As I type there is just a little more daylight to lift in.

Lift :

Meant to neti pot before this, but it’s easier to not really go into the house – to stay outside til time to shower up.

Only went in to put groceries away, bring in the mail.

Lateral Raises ss w/Press :
25×2½s /8×165
25×2½s /4×165 STRICT
35×2½s

I like this program – presses & lateral raises.

No legs trained today :)-
Not like they fire during some presses, not like I have to clean the bar, not like this job involves stairs lol

Did lift today. Didn’t run out of daylight.

…..

Moving felt far better to me than the kitchen – the kitchen was a rut.
Pointedly do not get in a rut working this job.

…..

When A Barbell Thinks It’s A Kettlebell :

I’ve fallen back into lifting little more than amrap presses.

Frequency is up – I’m enjoying it, and lifting really gets me into a positive place.

Right now milking 165lbs for all it’s worth, with a guideline of 5 x ≥10 as standard to bump bar weight to 185lbs.

You really own the weight this way, and I don’t warm up – I just setup, shoulder the bar, and press whatever happens.

I imagine with kettlebells you basically just get into it with work weight.

No lollygagging around with lighter warmups.

Then once the weight is easy, you go up to the next size kettlebells.

With a barbell this is a 10lb+ jump.
There’s even the possibility of the 45/25 method, using ONLY 45s and 25s on the bar.

Putting weights overhead for lots is an amazing way to be big and strong.

I realize I have a very big and strong upper body.

Really felt that walking back into the house after carrying the piano.

It was a good day.

Persistence & Tenacity

Press
15×165 = PR
6×165 STRICT
10×165 – FULL BODY – quads & triceps
3×165 STRICT – pauses at top & bottom

Clean  Notes :

The first three sets used good power cleans – the basketball shoes I wore were actually very good footwear for the particle board I call platform

The forth set was off a heave.

Press Notes :

PR set pressing with loose press form, shy of a chin height lowering/from higher than chin height some reps.

Second set pretty strict, last set more strict as I paused at the top and below chin bottoms of each and every rep.

The 10 rep set was a real good set, getting reps with very good quad and tricep activation – really feeling the muscles work – loose at the bottom of the rep, only down to chin height, but with some pauses at the top

It’s worth loosening and tightening form throughout the session for a more variable and improved training effect.

Thinking :

I take a day off yesterday, had masturbated a few times this morning (which usually does and today did – tire me – tightens my lower back and feels like life force is emptied in part from my body busting nuts for no reason and note : dude stop doing this, we’ve just delayed beard growth a couple days again by doing.

However masturbation is, in my eyes, a lesser sin than watching porn.)

Cooked a steak for a couple dinners prep,
bought groceries – cranberry juice, milk, salami – the life force refilling juice, and work food.

Got home from the grocery store, and lifted immediately with the last bit of daylight.

And PR’d.

Maybe it was the rest day.

Maybe it was a testosterone boost from getting off via hand – does it work that way, and/or having made eye contact with a cute, curvy brunette in the store which would be a “PR by cute chick” on a half hour delay lol

Maybe testosterone simply was high today, I did after all impulsively jerk off as I had woken up particularly horny

Maybe it was just x 15 reps time.

Work :

Tomorrow I’ve that first moving shift in 2½ years. I’m a bit nervous, and yet excited.

Man, these are basically just me journaling. Anyone reading? I’d be curious to see a sound off/roll call from readers in the comments.

Persistence & Tenacity

Today’s PR Music :

empire roll call – big temps (just the verse time stamped – that’s what I lifted to)

Christmas day.

I spent a little time with family.
The day was off from work.

I chose not to lift, taking a nap with what daylight remained instead.

Around midday, all the cars – I wondered what percentage were going to visit, what percentage going home.

I was supposed to see a buddy, that fell through.

I gave him a call, it went to voicemail – I moved on with my day.

That’s how I play such things – no shows just don’t bother me.

There’s always something else to do instead.

However, aren’t there people out there – others who are consistent? I should be able to meet some.

…..

In my day to day I’m real good about always being on time, if not early.

I’ve heard stories of men who worked 40+ years at one factory, never once late, never once calling out.

I can’t say this about me.
I have been late. I have called out.

Not infallible, but higher quality than the large majority.

I’ve had lots of jobs, and there are still ones I’d like to try.

To tend bar (despite never having drank) – I’d like to tend bar.

Technically, I had a phone sales job (very briefly), I don’t count that – I’d like to try sales, car sounds good to me, was something I tried to get into in my early 20s – no dice.

I’ve met a dude, with a labor and jail background, who makes six figures in I think it’s solar – early thirties, I think he’s a millionaire.

…..

deleted a big downer section

…..

Man it’s Christmas day!

Laughs, I’m not unhappy, just… lost searching.

For income good enough, a woman (or three) good enough.

lol – my girlfriend, all three of them, is a standard joke I make…even say it to my mom

All kidding aside – I’ve been having this internal crisis of how to both have kids, support them, and raise them right, raise them well.

Been looking at my Dad, his sacrifice – struggles, in a different light lately.

In fact, I saw a picture of his Dad today.

Papa – I’d only met him a few times.
He passed when I was six. The New England side of the family, before we moved from Cali to New England.

I’ve seen very few photos.

My dad has often joked about me being the result of what would happen if my two grandfathers quickly ran face first into each other all cartoon like.

Or were put into a particle collider.

This year he’s said I basically look like his dad had he lifted weights.

With that picture today of Papa standing with an aunt – today I saw the resemblance!

There’s a bunch of facial similarities, and it looked like we have the same shoulder bone structure.

Nice to see, feel, the bloodline’s past.
Papa. Dad. Me. Future Sons.

Persistence & Tenacity

Yesterday I hit the bag, same bag I bought for myself at 14. One of those things I’ve never used enough.

Bare knuckle. Hitting til just shy of bleeding, then wash the hands at the end, move on with the day.

It’d be useful to glove up and simply use as a conditioning tool – straight smashes “berserker” -full retard – all out on it.

Use it as a way to improve wind.

Drop some weight which leads into something below…

…..

Moments ago I was reading some posts from almost four years ago..

•overhead squats
•light deadlifts
•joy of lifting at home
•labor job

I just started picking up moving shifts again after 2½ years – so many things I’d said “never again” to then did again this year – I made the decision that working as a mover is better for me, this moment, than not to.

It’s easy money to me – I like the high activity, thrive on it in fact – and enjoy being on, the sometimes challenge of, piano jobs.

The work something I can hunker down at in the present – regrow my beard (from all the mandatory shaving clean – including tomorrow morning – all that never again I did this year), while easily able to move on from.

The pros outweighing cons, I realized it better for me to disregard saying never again as I had in the past.

So I’m at a moving company from my past again, possibly for only the three months it takes to regrow three months of beard.

We’ll see. It’s not a rigid thing.
I feel a certain level of freedom as a mover.

…..

Today’s Lift :

Press
12×165
Lunges
x12/side

Immediately after the Christmas Eve service.

It’s cool that 10×165 is baked in, cool to see walk around strength grow as time goes on.

I lift most days, just about every time I see a gap of time – that’s a nice aspect of having weights at home.

All I did was grab headphones (it completely slipped that I was starting without music again), gloves, skullcap, the whole thing taking 5:00 or less from start to finish and done.

My little black winter gloves have all sorts of worn “hobo holes”. My fingers almost triple dog dared stuck to the bar.
Hilarious.

…..

Diet Ideas :

•steak & milk
steak, potatoes, & milk
•steak, steak, & more steak
•salami or meatloaf sandwiches, then steak for dinner – milk with both meals, pizza when provided (the moving laborer plan)
•anything above with cruciferous vegetables

We’ll see if this round of moving labor causes me to lose weight or not.

It’s worthwhile to up protein a bit, so as to recomp regardless of scale – I’ve made this mistake in the past, and the extra protein is better for me from steak, salami, milk – fatty animal sources.

The last time I regularly drank whey only lasted for ten days to three weeks, it, alongside having started working in a kitchen, plus daily gym sessions was too fast a metabolism.

If I drink iced coffee at this job, and drink whey (even in milk), I’ll have to bump calories a bit to counteract this.

My first moving shift (the fourth time I’ve now said this) is in a few days.

I’m excited.

…..

For the first time in awhile ground beef by the 10lb tube is well priced at walmart.

Noticing this the other day was part of what got me to the idea of meatloaf sandwiches regularly.

I’m already at “fuck it” in regards to always buying the $6/lb steak, which tastes GREAT with relish on top, was thinking of cooking it to medium, slicing into small pieces and bringing to work – eating cold out of tupperware.

It’s been more than a year with a significant amount of my calories being low quality restaurant food – the employee meal, the soda fountain, saving food waste.

Right now I don’t really care about having a food budget so long as I’m cooking it myself.

$10/day is a lb of steak and gallon of milk with a dollar and change for incidentals.

$21/day covers 3lbs steak and a gallon of milk with change for incidentals.

$15/day allows steak, milk, extra meat in other forms, and the incidentals.

It’s worthwhile to me to both eat more, eat more frequently, and move more.

With the occasional fasting day the above is healthiest most often.

Persistence & Tenacity

12/22/22

Press
10×165

pauses at the top, pretty strong, strict set – it’s good to get at least a set daily, “bulgarian press” for being stupidly strong

……

Weakling, You Don’t Need That Music!

Coddled, that’s what it is. I had the opportunity to lift before work today, naturally waking up early enough while starting late enough, and chose for the extra time in bed instead of nutting up and lifting in the morning cold.

Just as soon as I got home I did that set of presses, but before stepping outside (interesting how much easier I find it to lift after work than before) I was about to connect the bluetooth headphones to my phone to once again play “place the phone at the edge of the wifi signal’s range while lifting in bluetooth range of the phone” then recalling that I had pondered this point last night – I did not bother and stepped outside without headphones on.

Many times I have lifted for lengths of time without music (if you can even call all that goes into the headphones that), and realized it is time to do so again.

Though I lifted through all weather for over a year now, I had been absolutely coddling myself almost never not having headphones kept on my head by cossack looking skull cap over.

Persistence & Tenacity

…..

OADL, P Sn, OHS Play
w/135lbs

Fat Grips SLDL
10×165

Press
14×165 = PR tie, yet to hit 15 reps to my knowledge, a bit better pacing could’ve seen 17 reps

…..

12/21/22
Yesterday dinner was 8oz steak, spiced with plenty of pepper and pink salt, a bunch of cranberry juice to drink, milk & oreos alongside – it all hit the spot.

Tonight’s dinner will be near identical.

I’ve got enough leftover, actually having cooked more than one dinner in the pan last night.

The body needs saturated fat, and the less processed the meat the better.

You want to eat steak fairly regularly, cooked to around medium (at most) – it’s just worth more to your body than ground beef in effect.

Ditto to bone in meat, which is how I tend to eat chicken – when you eat chicken eat “dirty” – the wings, drumsticks, leg quarters – dark meat requiring eating with your hands.

However, chicken prices are stupid right now, inflated more than beef – so splurge with steak, kielbasa, italian sausage, hot dogs.

It might be worth making big ole turkey legs for a similar dish – check the prices dude.

Splurge. With these prices:
Might as well make the cooking real simple, red meat and already fully cooked sausage variations meaning ~10 minutes to pan fry the night’s fatty protein source(s).

Hot dogs are better cooked in a pan after the steak.

Probably better to stick to kielbasa, though oddly hot dogs sit real well – have we as humans evolved to processing junk foods well – think about that.

…..

The Importance Of Barbell Play :

I’m really liking this play period to start the session.

Thus far it’s looked like :

•left hand deadlift
•power snatch
•overhead squat or two
•right hand deadlift
•power snatch
•overhead squat or two

And I go through this a handful of times, enjoying it, and noticing that it primes me for the clean and press later in the session.

Other than noting the poundage used, I am not counting the rounds, nor if it’s exactly as written above.

I really like the idea of a 205+ one arm deadlift with each hand.

I view this routine listed above as something not to stress, but enjoy, with plenty of potential to be pushed far.

…..

I too played with handstands a little an hour or so after lifting.

Persistence & Tenacity

OADL, P Sn, OHS Play
w/135lbs

Fat Grips SLDL
8×135
15×155

Press
1×155 – off a heave
1×185 – off a heave
3×205 – off a no foot movement power clean

The one arm deadlift primes the body for everything from the overhead squat during the play period to the clean & press during the session.

The three movements – one arm deadlift, power snatch, and overhead squat was a great giant set – I may have to specify the latter two were two handed as I have one arm scratched 135lbs on a few occasions.

proof

The overhead squat as well as the one arm deadlift are both one stop shops for being one piece, strong, and well held together.

…..

12/20/22
A dozen oreos, a little over a quart milk – the preworkout, I felt like having something in me.

The lift, then spending time outside enjoying the fresh air with the lift over, then dinner planned – a couple corn dogs and leftover kielbasa (in hot dog buns with relish and cheese) to tide my appetite as I cook a lb lump of steak, plenty of milk, plenty of fruit juice to drink.

I didn’t plan out baked potatoes to go with it – shrugs.

The lift making life right.

I really liked using the three movements during the play period before getting into the session.

…..

My lifting is pull focused at this point.

All the pulling from the floor carries the legs and shoulders along with it.

You can do mostly lots of pulling, whether one variation or a million variations, and be set.

Today’s lift was a little more freestyle than it had been.

…..

It feels so good to be outside in the fresh, cold, air.

In fact, I prefer the winter outside to the winter inside.

Part of this is being heavy, part of this is being outside for hours, part is not caring that it’s cold – ignoring it.

As long as I’m still line cooking this winter the contrast of the weather outdoors is very enjoyable.

…..

I’m a little peeved not being able to purchase a titan kettlebell as rogue is much more expensive.

However, I still would like to have a concept2 rower.

It’s funny, I’m partly thinking aquire equipment in line with having an actual gym.

Sticking to no new equipment, no gym membership as I’d written yesterday, well – a concept2 rower and good sized kettlebell would be cardio I’d actually do, and home based without logistical issue.

As is I was thinking of buying a sturdy 18″ step stool, $20-30 or so – for home based cardio.

Step ups are great.
I’ve never done them consistently enough.

Interestingly enough, holding my foot next to a yard stick it looks that around 18″ high is where my foot is with my thigh parallel to the floor.

An 18″ step stool would be just about perfect height from the muscular standpoint for step ups.

Persistence & Tenacity

Press
20+5 rest pause w/140 took ten deep breaths
Lateral Raises
25×2½s
Press
6×185
Lateral Raises
30×2½s
SLDL
10×185

…..

12/19/22
It’s too easy to be big, strong…and stiff.
You gotta move, play, do athletic things.

I’d been reading of Doug Hepburn.

Noticing the commonality of these brutally strong men, he, Bert Assirati, Paul Anderson – one and all capable of handstand pushups.

Also recently having read of an early 1900s wrestler doing 100yd handstand walks, plus recalling a reading of as heavyweight boxer (Archie Moore?) doing much the same.

Handstands have been on the mind between reading of these feats, and recalling how at the end of 2020/start of 2021 treating handstand work as a 7+ hour/week hobby, and into summer 2021 still incorporating a bit daily – saw me nearly locking out a full freestanding handstand pushup weighing somewhere in the mid 200lbs.

All this leading to an hour or so after the lift my kicking up into maybe eight handstand attempts.

Two were good lengths of time, especially considering I had not kicked into one in months, nor had I been in a period of consistently practicing for them in 1½-2 years.

It’s not something I ever considered baked in.

…..

This was something of relearning “There’s More To Strength Than Lifting Weights 101”, while at the same time a bit of a display of the “what the hell” effect most usually found online as reference to kettlebells.

Kettlebells, of which just today a 90lb titan one was sold out right from under me as I hit add to cart – maybe I am not gifting myself any equipment for The Cold Air Barbell Club for Christmas this year, which I am taking as a sign that 2023 shall be more clean and press alongside much more handstand work.

And though both prowler sprints and stair climbers call my name as gym dues requiring indoor (coddled warmth) cardio, as I sat outside I instinctively felt “the majority of the fit through human history did not require such sissy conveniences – you shall make do without”.

It pleases me to see that the thought which I have just typed above is my brain going to where my cousin has complimentarily called my “inner conan the barbarian”.

I had needed to have the rougher circumstance for my passionate pursuit of fitness.

That’s one of the past year’s lessons.

Maybe my cousin (the same as above) will meet me with his truck in an empty parking lot for to push said vehicle around.

We have not met up for such a manly unnecessarily laborious activity in years.

…..

I have a sneaking suspicion that nothing will hypertrophy the upper body, turning it into one solid unit, like freestanding handstand pushups, handstand walks, combined with a big clean and press.

Handstand = big upper body.
Big c&p requires big, strong thighs.

The two compliment and feed into each other.
…..

For 2023 :
•freestanding handstand pushup
•handstand walk a football field
•backflip?

These can be practiced just about anywhere.

No gym is a blessing!

Without one, I have to get…athletic.

If Doug Hepburn was good at handstand work, so can I!
……

kicking into the handstands to

jason derulo – ridin solo
which took me back over a decade to an interesting mind state – where I was smashing the weights with uninhibited joy, laughing at life’s pain, chin up, eyes a sparkle, smiling, looking to an unknown and hopeful future

I was jogging in place between kick ups – reminded me of how I enjoy doing burpees – ahh, tennis court workout ideas – here I come

Persistence & Tenacity

12/13/22
If it fits your macros lol – I don’t keep track of anything, I just wanted some food into me quickly before buzzing my head, showering up, and establishing the beard line on a few days worth of stubble.

Even saying to forgive myself, still if I watch porn I shave clean – maybe that’s just habit for life for me.

Unbreakable discipline on shaving the beard – it keeps me honest.

However, a few days ago it didn’t feel like compulsion, no it was something different, it was simply preferring to be able to say that I had not watched porn at any time while growing my beard.

Therefore at present I have days of stubble after what was a ten week beard, which coincidentally takes ten weeks to grow back despite taking just minutes to shave.

I type as I drink a raw egg shake, made of ice cream, some milk, three eggs, and a ½c oats, plus eat two small bowls of tortilla chips.

It’s all IIFYM when you’re not counting them.

I should be doing some food prep, simply a week’s worth of meat in a go.

I’ve been real needy lately about wanting meat immediately on hand, even eating burger king – fast food being real rare for me.

With the food access we have in this country we all should be eating far better than we do.

What does it take?
$10/day, an hour here and there to cook.
…..

Front Squat
10×135
3×185
C&P Every Rep
4×185
SLDL
15×185

…..

The above was today’s lift.

The three movements what I’m gearing up to treat as this winter’s lifting.

I can recall an early morning front squat of 185lbs for a set past 20 reps.

This winter I look to far surpass it.

Personally I enjoy doing movements you’re not supposed to for high reps for high reps.

I get a lot out of them.

Both philosophically and real world a high rep squat is worth more than a low rep squat.

The front squat, cross arm “bodybuilder” style, is the every man’s squat – there is no form excuses that people metamorphosise out of thin air like with the (back) squat.

Keep your cross arm elbows high and bury the reps!

Pause them ass to ground (grass, whatever) too if it floats your boat.

I like pausing buried front squats.

…

After the high rep squats you go into the clean and press.

For pulling horsepower and wind reasons you clean every rep, press every rep, back to the clean, repeat all day long 🙂

In 2022 I’d been lazy with this, only cleaning the first rep while the biggest thing I can do for my press is more/improve cleans.

…

To finish the session you deadlift.

I’m partial to the sldl – preferring it to conventional, as it’s more “feel good”, it’s a muscle and a great pump vs a movement.

Occasionally or everytime, whichever frequency you desire, use snatch grip.

Note : I’m talking snatch grip sldl.

I too expect these pulls all to be pulled double overhand.

Since it’s me all done in little black winter gloves.

I was impressed today that I was pulling those cleans sl, a little hip pop when the bar hit power position, and it’s shouldered.

……

The programming above?

I’m excited.
This is hard.

It’s not easy to front squat, clean & press, and sldl all for high reps!

I need the challenge.

It’s winter. I doubt I’d run 20-30lbs of fat off. The high reps were partially chosen for the wind effect.

As it is I’m not running, not going to a gym, whether that gym is with or without a prowler/yoke/etc, not pushing my car or a friend’s truck, not doing any form of combat sport – so high reps make sense to one stop being so damn chubby.

Plus high reps done earnestly have very high strength potential.

You can put a lot of weight up for 10, 15, 20, 30, 50+ reps!

This gets you jacked.

And the rep count pushed real high with honest effort gets you fit.

…..

Could you do 104 squats whether weighted or not?

Dude, do your high rep squats consistently.

Persistence & Tenacity

The one thing I’d say is advantage to a commercial gym over home based, park based, even strongman gym based (to some degree – despite atlas stones) training is the sheer quantity of options for angles whilst training back.

Yeah, you can do some pullups, a bunch of band pull aparts, and get real creative with dumbbell and barbell options – it’s still simpler to jump on a bunch of machines and use the cables as conventionally or unconventionally as you want.

(In addition to barbell pulls, pullups, preferably weighted, and dumbbell options.)

I miss the seated row, and I miss the concept2 erg.

Even with my current economics the $1045 price tag sounds more and more reasonable.

I always believed there to be some hypertrophy stimulus from the rowing erg – it’s not “just” a cardio machine.

Notably I’ve seen a bodybuilder type use a ski erg as a triceps tension exercise one arm at a time.

Two more things equipment wise – 7ft 45lb axles and 7ft 45lb ez curl bars.

I know both to be in existence, though they both should be, and are not, a common sight.

This society, in a far more awesome – imaginary utopian version, would have a strongman type gym, culture and equipment, be the norm instead of the mamby pamby no chalk, shoes on, shirt required, mirrors everywhere, pop “music” playing, overly cleaned, to use Brooks Kubik’s term “chrome and fern” type travesties that are common.

…..

12/11/22
Today I did not lift.

I had the time yes, though ended up spending the day with food and a nap.

It’s fucking bullshit how much my psyche has been conditioned to “need” a gym to commute to, to function more powerfully at life.

The yard doesn’t cut it!
Yet The Cold Air Barbell Club is a gift!

I have to make shit happen with it, whatever it is.

…..

Tomorrow I lift, buy groceries, etc.

My psyche has this deep yearning to do “bodybuilder” properly.

My take that is.
(Natural, “powerbuilding”, a bunch of unconventional training with it – weighted pushups, every strongman implement, etc)

Persistence & Tenacity