(Something of a flow writing response after reading this : “The Reality Of The Fitness World”, read it so the named at the end make sense.)
I refuse to believe that anything a human can do with drug help can not also be done without the drug help.
A human body is still a human body either way, both ways, juiced to the gills, “natural/drug free”, and natural/drug free.
Mindset matters far far more.
Just how many times have you felt low energy, berated yourself into doing physical activity, and actually had good lifts that day, far beyond what the indicators indicated?
Man, how many times that’s been the case.
My opinion? There’s a misconception that soreness is guaranteed. Drugs, no drugs, whatever.
Work capacity can be damn high.
(It may take you a decade of mostly full body decent volume activity.)
Take any “crazy” soreness inducing protocol, and I guarantee that someone out there at some point did it nonchalantly waking up the next morning fresh as a daisy ready to do it again.
See if you can find on Ditillo/Dezso Ban the anecdote of the old man out 20 rep squatting an NFL player back in the day…work capacity, still feeling fresh, years of ADAPTION.
Personally I was thrilled to see Eric Bugenhagen doing 20 reps squats daily, it showed that I’m not the only one doing things like German Volume Training (10×10) squats on a daily basis.
I’ve likely said, but at least thought “fuck you, neither of our numbers are high enough to dip into recovery”.
State of mind is huge. Think like the above whatever numbers you are at.
Adaption is a thing, it exists, despite what everyone in your gym will say. And go hard enough, which really is quite a moderate amount, and oh boy, you’ll adapt…BIG TIME.
If frequent anything was the norm we’d have far better performances on any of those things, be it well anything. I don’t want to have to list EVERY damn exercise here.
The mistake people make is in taking the time off. Bob in the above link fucks himself over by not doing his damnedest on those stairs with more frequency. Yeah, it sucks at first, but then you adapt. The frequency forces your body to learn to function more quickly, and more often than not Newton’s law of an object in motion staying in motion applies. This extra motion will also make at least some of the soreness go away too.
The goal as a natural is to be so mad that you outwork and make progress past EVERYONE, be they natural, on steroids, good genetics, whatever.
Bob should have in mind running faster and longer than Joe while wearing a back pack, goddamn ankle weights, work boots, while shouldering Jessica, and still walking down when he’s done… breathing in victory and (hopefully) fresh air from the building roof.
TO OUTWORK AND PROGRESS PAST EVERYONE!
Go to the gym, and PT at home.
If you don’t go to the gym that day still PT at home, and maybe also lift in the yard.
PT, PT again, then PT some more.
Build up a FREAKISH work capacity and recovery ability.
EVERY DAMN DAY do at least a minimal amount of physical activity.
See that you CAN up the calories and OUTTRAIN them.
See that you CAN function fine on low calories, or low sleep, or while very sore. See that these factors can be combined, and…
See that you’re ALWAYS capable.
Get fucking mean and DECIDE…
THAT YOU WILL FUCKING WIN!
-J