Category: Uncategorized

There is strong enough.

A lot of unnecessary mental anguish is spent by those who compare their gym numbers to others, be it the freaks they see online, or in comparison to world class competition.

I’ve worked off and on as a mover.

If the labor world has taught me anything it’s that gym numbers don’t mean shit.

I’ve seen a scrawny alcoholic support his half of a dresser overhead. Me, with my ~225lb military press, dumbfounded that his end didn’t drop as my end was rough to support.

I have countless examples of junkies who are strong as fuck.

It’s amazing what no mental blocks can allow for.

There isn’t enough visible muscle on a lot of them to pull some of the shit off according to gym development standards, and yet the work gets done.

(Hips. The answer is hips. No gym goer uses them to high animalistic efficiency. Bone alignment too.)

I’ve come to not care an iota over my barbell numbers.

For everyday life, even my supposedly hard labor job…I’m strong enough.

A sizeable percentage of civilians view my strength as superhuman. Naturally hard on myself, I’ve come to realize…rationally that this view is more the truth than viewing myself as average, normal.

“Dude, you’re strong! You’re not normal!” – A coworker to me when I said I view myself as average/normal physically.

In the grocery store little kids gauk endlessly, and it’s become comical how routinely petite college girls, white and hispanic, throw themselves at me.

You don’t need to care what you can squat, bench, deadlift, clean, or whatever.

Health is first and foremost.

Muscular development is second.

The two combined allow for as high levels of strength as you could ever need, while allowing you to go even higher than necessary.

Be healthy, and get muscular.
Don’t bother chasing numbers.

Trust your gut, your instinct.
How. You. Feel.

When you feel strong and athletic…

You are!

How you feel? The correct answer, by living right…is well, feeling well, which is sustainable.

A dehabilitating level of soreness is a sign of something not being healthy.

Numbers don’t truly reflect your true strength. A lot of ability is mental.

I often joked how I sucked at gym back work, but put me in a wrestler’s stance and at that angle my back is freakishly strong.

I’m fine at work carrying everything.

I’ve found that I’m strong when and where it matters.

You’re strong when and where it matters.

I’ve had deadlifts slip out of my fingers, yet I’m the “piano guy” at work. Layoffs have ended for me personally due to my being handy on piano jobs.

“Ring Ring, Piano.”

You don’t need a gym. Honestly “man strength” is best developed working with your hands.

Being healthy is tied to living healthy.

A labor job combined with sensible muscular gym work is not often discussed, but is a great combo for physical development.

Calisthenics, labor, and “fru fru” machine work.

“Bum” shoulders, knees, and backs mean you’re not working/working out/training in a healthy manner.

Certain things beat you down too much.

Find the sustainable exercises.
Milk them for all they’re worth.

If it hurts, creates dehabilitating soreness, etc – why are you doing it?

(ego)

You don’t need to be the strongest.

Your numbers don’t matter.

Is it stagnation, or is it continued practice?

In the gym “spinning your wheels” is still making you stronger.

You only need to be strong enough.

And when you are, oh boy.
Sky’s the limit.

I’m strong enough.

Persistence & Tenacity

Squat Or Deadlift?

We all have our proportions.

The body’s proportions dictate our natural leverages.

It’s a spectrum from being built to pull or built to press.

While they’re not the exact same stimulus the squat and deadlift have similar enough training effects.

If you’re on the natural built presser or natural built puller ends of the spectrum one lift or the other is going to be far less demanding on your systematic recovery.

You can easily specialize on this, without much soreness, as high frequency training and big numbers come naturally.

Which will muscle you up more?

This is arguable. One allows more frequent stimulus, a hypertrophy plus. The other works the body harder, a hypertrophy plus.

If you’re going to do high frequency the one you’re built for isn’t a thing. This is natural bulgarian. The one you’re not designed by God’s hand for is best done at moderate weights if you’re going high frequency.

I’ve come to see that you don’t need both lifts. Full body training and one will carry the other.

Persistence & Tenacity

I trained legs every day.

Every day leg day, it’s a good habit to have.

1st : @ Gym
“Bad Girl” 40,30,20,10 with stack
Smith Squats 5×3 2p10
DB Bridge Press 5×10 w/ 35s

2nd : @ Yard
Overhead Squats 2×10 65lb
@ Gym
“Good Girl” 20x160lb

3rd : @ Yard
Overhead Squats bar x 30, 20
Overhead squats are the #1 light exercise

4th : @ Gym
One Leg Leg Extensions
7 each side x 100-205 by notch
“Bad Girl” 50×205
“Good Girl” 50×130

5th : @ Home
BW Squats ~7×10
Solid, real solid, good huffing and puffing, worth doing far more regularly. Also a note to self : hip thrusts both at home off the couch or at gym off a bench, I used these at 20 when I wanted lower body work without a gym, go high reps. For cardio, combine these with jump rope/jumping jacks.
@ Gym
DB Bridge Press 1×25 w/ 40s
It was hard to get into position, either pullover after getting set, or add weighted bridge reps

6th : @ Gym
Hip Thrusts bw x 30, bw+50×20
“Good Girl” 50x175lb
“Bad Girl” 40x225lb
Hip Thrust bw x 30, x30
Hip thrusts are the bomb, do more often

7th : @ Gym
StairClimber 2½min@100+spm
“Good Girl” 30 x stack
“Bad Girl” 30 x stack

8th : @ Gym
1 Leg Hip Thrust bw x 15 each side

Felt strongly in left hamstring, right side with shoe heel down flat puts it more into glute, whereas heel 45°™angled and driven down is felt best 2 legged.

Hip Thrust bw x 50
Held final rep, squeezing and lower rep is an idea

9th : @ Gym
One Leg Leg Extensions
7 each side x 100-205 by notch
15 each side x 220
Use both legs to lower the last inch on the last rep, this feels better

10th : @ Yard
Overhead Squats 65lb x 25, 15, 20
Solid movement, everyone should do these

11th : @ Gym
Hip Thrust bw x 50

12th : @ Gym
StairClimber 5min ~450 steps
1 Leg Hip Thrust bw x 10 each side
Hip Thrust bw x 25
@ Home
BW Hack Squat x 10

13th : @ Yard
Overhead Squats bar x 50
Lots of pauses, long set, breathing squat/rest pause style, upper back/shoulder support was easier than expected, still say this is the #1 manner of squatting overall

14th : @ Couch
Hip Thrusts bw x 50

15th : @ Yard
Walking Swamp Lunges
x 25 each side (50 total)
2½ trips one direction

16th : @ Yard
Walking Swamp Lunges
x 30 each side (60 total)
3 trips one direction
Incline BW Squats x 25

17th : @ Yard
Walking Lunges 5:00
7 or 9 trips one direction

@ Kitchen
Hindu Squats x 50, 30, 20

18th : @ Home
BW Squats 100 total, multiple variations

19th : @ Bedroom
3:00 high horse stance

20th : @ Yard
Walking Lunges 100 total (50 each)

21st : @ Gym
“Bad girl” 225 x 50, 50

22nd : @ Kitchen
3:00 high horse stance

23rd : @ Bedroom
3:20 high horse stance

24th : @ Gym
Bad girl 50x 225lb
Good girl 75 x 160lb
Hip thrust bw x 35
Leg press 4×25 @ 205lb

25th : @ Kitchen
High horse stance 3:20

26th : @ Bedroom
High horse stance 3:45

27th : @ Gym
Good girl 50 x 175lb
Bad girl 40 x 235

28th : @ Bedroom
High horse stance 5:00

High horse stance is a great way to get leg work in, a bunch of time under tension, a bit of mental challenge, a short period of time, and a building of athleticism.

29th : @ Bedroom
High horse stance 3:45

30th : @ Gym
Hip thrusts bw x 30, bw+50 2×20
“Bad girl” stack/260 x 40
“Good girl” 190lb x 50

Physical strength is a mental decision. All of human performance is quite frankly.

If I time a mile on a track it’s not going to be good, yet if I pop out at the wrong trail head I can easily run 2 miles back to the truck at a good pace.

Lately I’ll be out of breath walking up stairs, my personality can be very tense sometimes, and I’ll be holding my breath unnecessarily.

I could walk onto a wrestling mat and by my second practice not gas at all though.

It’s so situational and all mental.

My physical performance, both positive and negative, is easily seen as correlated to my mind.

Am I relaxed? Flow state? Amped? Showing off? Tense? Thinking too much?

I’ve carried shit at work showing far more strength than I’ve ever done in the gym.

Wrestling strength and gas is so easy the second “this is live” clicks.

I don’t need warmups as I’ve never thought I’ve needed them.

Frankly I have huge mental blocks on the barbell. It’s the only reason my numbers aren’t higher. Occasionally I’ve gotten through the block. The difference is crazy.

“Show mode.”

Physical strength is a mental decision.

Relatedly I say everyone is better off going hard on high reps.

A strength base is built with volume, not low rep specialization and peaking.

Work involves serious time under tension. Gym? Not so much.

You’re gonna muscle up with the high reps, and after building up to a respectable minutes long 20rm everything lower rep is going to be very very easy physically and even easier mentally.

500 doesn’t sound like much once you’ve gone 315 for 20.

Most of physical performance is simply a lack of mental blocks.

Choose to be strong and you will be. Be strong by choice, and train with what you’ve got. Always.

Persistence & Tenacity

I want you to train.

I’ve been texting a former coworker. He asked to train with me, a logistical difficulty, but as I figured it the next best thing would be to tell him to do calisthenics and then as he was being an excuse maker to do accountability checks. Wes Watson What’s Up! That channel clicked something in my mindset. I’ll train with him (my former coworker) eventually, but the best I can do for him is get him on his own training path and getting him naturally doing it habitually.

Do some reps daily bro!

No excuses!

Without trying to it seems I’ve gotten the same thing going with my uncle.

It may not seem like much, but it amps me up for him to excitedly text me that he just did 3×12 pushups.

It amped me up a few days back when my “Jacked Ginger™” friend texted me that he’d pulled nearly 600 for a set of 5. I could feel the emotion flowing off the type, shit flooded me with emotions.

(Aside : also a teen buddy years back texted the 600 pull shit to me back then as well. I’m the guy. You notify. When. You. PR.)

In all honesty first there was jealousy. He has a car, and a bigger deadlift. Fucker! Then I realized “good for him”. Congratulations bro, let’s hang out soon. It amps me up when others are amped about this shit.

Hating? On a buddy in particular? Useless. We each have our path. En momento barbell no es mio. I’m working labor, doing my PT.

A while back this college kid big into calisthenics wanted to train with me after he saw me do a handstand pushup. “Nice handstands” then the congratulatory “slap and tap” (what else is there to call slapping hands and a fist bump?). I spoke with him for half an hour, taught him to do one arm pushups. He was thankful, so was I, I want my knowledge to help others.

I am capable of being a damn good trainer.

If you listen to me.

If you put in honest effort.

I’d love to make some money related to training…

However I really want you to train.

It’s good for ya.

I know it’s saved me.
This site too.

I get amped up when it’s not only me amped but others too!

I want you to train! With passion!

You can hear the excitement in my voice when I spread knowledge in person. Passion.

Over 3.5 years of daily pushups.

I want you to be steadfast in your daily practice of PT. I want it to be ritual, both yours and mine.

I like the gym. I’ll likely never be able to have access to a great one consistently til the day I open mine’s doors.

Fuck cares! It don’t matter no one has let me in even at front desk.

I could be in sunny SoCal teaching my knowledge within the year.

Spreading knowledge. Spreading passion.

Hell, you could call it entirely selfish.

The more passion I feel around me, the more up I’m gonna be.

I can’t stand pansy ass cookie cutter rigid no personality conformist shit.
Train with love! (& Individuality)

I want you unbreakable in your PT habit and seriously playing like a motherfucker with the rest.

Serious Play

Not a joking matter, still fun as fuck.

I want you to train.

It’s good for you, and me.

Persistence & Tenacity

I used to think that horse stance was only worthwhile strict in a deep stance.

(Same principle as thinking “cheat” exercises are worthless, what a laugh.)

Lately a large portion of my leg work has been a high horse stance for minutes at a time.

The sensation can be euphoric, and it builds athleticism. You’re under tension for a long time, a few minutes is equivalent to doing a ton of reps.

One can even make it more rewarding by doing upper body stuff at the same time.

Various flexes, dynamics, even karate style blocks and punches.

As with all isometrics the opportunities for creativity here is limitless.

The position is a very sustainable manner of training legs.

It’s free. I do it most often in my bedroom.

I encourage all to get in the habit of frequently doing the horse stance.

It can be done daily.

(My leg work has been gym machines 1-2 days weekly, walking lunges 1-3 days weekly and holding the high horse stance 3 or more days weekly as of late. Mentally an enjoyable mix, and quite productive.)

Persistence & Tenacity

From The Archives :
Late 2018 w/recent commentary to end

Recently I’d spoken about this to my Uncle, and having seen him made a point to have him witness and time it :

I insisted he time my nightly pushups. He insisted I go strict.
I got on my face, he counted down,3,2,1, and I started repping pushups.

The first 15-20 at a moderate pace to make sure I was locked in on a good strict chest to floor “bar path”.

I then picked up the pace, until hitting a lactic acid wall after 51…the time 30 seconds and change ie under 31 seconds.

(Through the set I floated a tad high to a degree, chest still within an inch.)

At 55 reps in :
“Time?”
“A bit past 30 to 51”
“I’m at 55”

I continue grinding to 60 reps. My uncle had stopped the timer at my pausing at the lactic acid wall.

“How long do you think it’d taken me to 60?”
“No more than 45 seconds”
“Now do you believe I’ve got past 100 in a minute”

(This was done at ~260lb and out of condition for perspective.)

The kicker is by trying to keep strict, I started off not going as fast as possible. I lost rep speed in those first 15-20 reps, and I haven’t purposely done high rep fast pushups in years.

This is out of condition! But it’s after a decade of regular pushups.

(I believe years ago I got as high as 112 or 113 in 60 seconds…that would pass on an Army PT test.)

When doing pushups high rep against a clock you want to go as fast as possible cramming as many in as you can before you hit a wall.

At 18 my old JROTC instructor timed me doing a set where he was staggered that my first 30 or 40 reps were done at a 2 per second pace.

Eventually I could hold that pace for most of the minute, the chest and triceps having developed a resistance to lactic acid buildup.

It’s more sprint than slog, but over time will morph into a 60 second sprint.

A funny story :

At 19 I was sitting there in the recruiters office, and this kid (23/24yo, ranger contract, had played d1 college hockey) was bragging about his final PFT score in basic/infantry school/osut, how he’d hit 70 something pushups, and had one of the highest pushup scores.

I off hand went “I can beat that in under a minute.”

“No offense dude, but you’re kinda pudgy, there’s no way.”

I pulled my wallet out, counted off 10,15,16, the $17 I had on me, and with total confidence “match it”.

You can sense the hesitation in him, smell it, see it in his body language. He looks…uncomfortable.

The cadre of recruiters is excitable like a gaggle of teenage girls and starting to place bets.

“I would, but you seem too confident. I’ll take your word.”

I was disappointed. I’d have made $17 and shocked the shit out of everyone present had I not acted clearly showing the total confidence I had.

(At the time I’d hit ~90 in a minute at any given time.)

Another time I mad dashed to the Army PFT Ace score of 70 whatever just to show a buddy despite never training full range that I could still got the ace standard in less than half the allotted time.

(2015, 95%+ of my reps were super short range of motion. I’ll discuss that another time.)

Recent Commentary :

Over the years I’ve usually done my reps in a somewhat narrow grip, though at present with my nearly 270lb leverages a little wider makes the reps super fast and effortless.

Pushups have a million variations, vanilla will bring you far, but more can help.

Persistence & Tenacity

I’ve noticed that training abs and the “good girl” muscles spike testosterone.

Continue reading “An Interesting Exercise Correlation : Ze Crotch Edition”

A vegetarian diet, or one based on grain is the food of a serf, the food of a slave.

In the middle ages hunting was not permitted to the commoner under penalty of death, the commoner who raised little meat, and saw even less of what he raised making it to his own table.

“Bringing home the bacon” was the result of winning a parish raffle, and bringing home the prize, bacon, meat a rarity to this man.

The nobles had meat, and grain aplenty. The commoner had the legal meat source of pig primarily, the nobles had every meat available. The commoner ate porridge, and vegetables from his garden.

Did you know Irish in America took to corned beef as they ate zero beef in Ireland, the entirety of slaughtered cow going to the English market, and with the slavery wages of the American factory were newly afforded meat in the land of aplenty?

It’s comical to observe the human condition.

In the land of aplenty all are afforded meat, yet the majority are advised by propaganda to abstain and do so believing the lies of about unhealthy cholesterol, eggs, red meat, saturated fat…

The only people I’ve seen take advantage of the cornucopia have been immigrants, immigrants from poor countries…a small Filipino man who grew tall heavyweights using the American grocery store’s abundance of red meat, something he never had in the Philippines. I’ve seen little abuelas trying to scam the teenage cashier, not putting stuff on the belt, split paying with food stamps, cash, and card, putting stuff back in the cart before it’s all been taken out, while pulling “no habla ingles”…a cart packed with steaks.

Man needs meat. It is the primary nutritional ingredient to a robust vitality. Across all peoples there are no meat allergies, and I’ve seen with my own eyes how it grows to significant stature those of ethnic/racial backgrounds who shouldn’t be tall and big yet are…and they became so with proper diet.

The purposeful selection of cereal over real foods like meat, eggs, is a surrender to mediocrity, an admission of willful submission to a life of servitude, marking yourself an easily led slave.

In the checkout line voice your level of confidence in the system’s decrees. While it says to eat grain primarily for a healthy heart, have the cashier scanning beef, eggs, full fat dairy. You live in a cornucopia. The wholesome food is readily available and affordable. Eat well,
take advantage, make use of good times.

Persistence & Tenacity

From the archives :
April 2017 or April 2018

When you train hard and frequently with the barbell it’s likely that something will almost always feel a little “off”.

I cleaned and pressed 3 or 4 mornings that week, and my left wrist was “off”.
What caused it? I think the bar I used was slightly bent, and I figured “fuck it, not heavy enough to matter.”

Come the weekend it was bugging me, I even had done a few hours of labor that bugged it, but the next morning…gone, and soreness.

Something feeling off doesn’t mean all that much.

You SHOULD know the lines between “off”, legit hurt, and actually asking for injury. It’s a scale, most of it (if you’re not terribly soft) is still ok for training.

Your body is far more resilient than you likely imagine.

Back in high school I read weightlifting coach John Broz refer to it as “floating pain”.

As in “when you train hard everyday you’ll have something off somewhere, it means nothing, and will float from bodypart to bodypart seemingly at random”.

I’d liken it to a haunting. Like a ghost that’ll only scare you if you believe in it, it’ll only affect your training if you hypochondriac like b-leeeeeeeevvv in it.

(Pronounce believe as spelt above.)

Most of the time one can warm up through it.

Most of the time people don’t attempt to do so.

Go train everyday. You’ll discover that you’re capable of it very quickly.

-J