Persistence and Tenacity - Page 115 of 126 - A Place For My Thoughts On Lifting Y'All

Eating Dirty : The Magic Of “Dirty” Foods

Without “dirty” eating I would not be as big as I am. Observation over the years tells me that I respond better to food that a bodybuilder pukes in his mouth (or masturbates furiously to) at just the thought of.

While eating cleaner may make one feel better as you go about your day, when you eat the way I eat stacking/loading calories closer to bed via a nightime feast you negate the sluggish feelings that are the biggest pitfall of dirty food.

When I eat dirty I feel frankly more manly. It’s likely a function of both higher fat and calorie intake causing me to pop more boners, be hornier, be stronger, and feel more aggressive.

I’m coming to think processed soy is not as bad as often claimed. I’ll eat a bunch of corndogs (soy batter) and that night have dreams of violence and/or rough sex and wake up painfully hard the next morning.

Maybe the soy intake is miniscule, maybe this a function of dietary fat working it’s magic, or maybe, just maybe soy is bad for your testosterone…initially, and your body combats it by going hard in the opposite manner raising your soy attacked test thoroughly.

It’s my conclusion that my ideal diet at this point is a mix of fatty meat,and processed “garbage” while varying the amounts of water and calorie containing liquids I drink based on feel.

(Sometimes soda makes me perform better, sometimes milk is what sustains me, sometimes I can stomach neither, and drink only water preferably chilled.)

Thus endeth today’s post.

-J

Outdoor Lifting

I think it’s a shame more gyms don’t have outdoor areas, or that there are not more public outoor lifting areas like the internet famous one in the Ukraine.

Hell even bars being more widespread would be nice.

(The LA park I’ve done pullups and dips at had a pretty cool bar workout inspired culture, a bunch of guys,some girls, some kids all doing pushups, dips, pullups, lunges, broad jumps, together. Amazingly friendly and polite.

It was here that myself and this rather jacked Armenian?Arab?Hispanic? guy did a one arm pushup off, laughing and shaking hands with a tie at around 20 reps each. Him looking at me and saying something like “Dude, I underestimated you, I began to think I was going to lose this”. That’s the story of my life when it comes to physical things.)

Personally I love training outdoors even in shitty weather more so than being in an air conditioned/heated fluorescent light lit gym.

The main selling point on gym membership for me purely is more equipment.

If you (or I) were to open a place, put it outside, and stock it with all the same shit, I’d be there in a heartbeat. (Imagine that Ukrainian gym but with known weights…heaven, and yes I’d use it in the winter, see below.)

Aside from all the exercising outdoors (I’m talking purely lifting with a barbell), I have fond memories of doing things people find insane like doing power cleans in the back yard while it’s snowing, on slightly uneven frozen ground, below freezing out, wearing work boots, shorts, a muscle shirt (not beater, but sleeveless), and those little black winter gloves.

There’s something about the fresh air. It’s just more invigorating, and when doing such things you know you’re doing something uncommon.

(I’ve been tempted to take photos and publish a collection of “gyms” I’ve worked out at under various circumstances, that Colorado rest stop at around 5 am, that tree at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania, the hill in McMansionville North Carolina, the beach, home bathroom, I could go on.)

It feels like tonight will be not a gym day, but a “I’m going to go out in the yard and improvise” kinda night. I’ve already done a few mini sessions throughout the day so far, ab wheel, kettlebell, isometrics, very high rep cheat pushups.

Didn’t want to write today, the streak is still alive.

Until tomorrow,

-J

Pornstar Sighting : An Anecdote

A SoCal Pornstar Sighting:

I was 18 years old visiting family and friends in Cali, I’m sure I’ve written this as I joke about it often, but that I drink copious amounts of milk.

Going from my friend’s house to my grandma’s I stop at a nearby gas station to buy a gallon as it was the cheapest place (oddly) to do so in the area (however I’ve found this is the same case elsewhere as well).

The observation I had was hysterical and odd and something which struck me years later.

Important Detail : I was 18, I really only watched porn seriously for about 2 years, staring at 20, so I didn’t recognize the “pornstar” at the time as I’d never seen him before.

So gas station:

4 people in the building.

Me, the cashier, a cameraman , and a pornstar. (This sounds like one of those a priest walked into a bar jokes.)

Guys Other Than Me
•1/2 Samoan 1/2 White ~6′ 3″ ~athletic 290
•white~~ish~~, scummy looking, scrawny, kinda sickly looking and pale, ~5’7″
•white~~ish~~, scummy looking, scrawny, kinda sickly looking and pale ~5’9″

I overheard the conversation, I recall most, but can’t recall if the cashier recognized the performer at first or not.

Which 2 were porn related?
Guess. Seriously guess.

Guess

Most guess one white guy is the cashier, one the cameraman, the big 1/2 islander/white as the performer.

That would be wrong, the white dudes were the porn dudes. The 1/2 Samoan was working the register totally missing his calling to instead be smashing heads as a linebacker or playing international rugby.

I was struck by just how sleazy both white guys were.

The conversation was hysterical.

Tidbits + Takeaways:

Rented house near water for shooting. (All those homes are nice as hell)
Their shopping was for the girls. The manner in which they said this was so pussy whipped (oddly?) that I had to work to contain laughing.
Both seemed completely jaded, I’m 50/50 on whether they were high or not.
Hilariously porn chicks seem to consume naught but cigs,booze (wine and I think it was vodka) and gum, LOTS of gum. The only way that truckload of gum would make sense is if they were feeding around 15 girls minimum on naught but gum ~~(maybe they always need sonething in their mouths)~~, but the amount of booze and cigs didn’t correlate to this. Booze and cigs said more like 2 or 3.
Cashier being like “I wish I was you guys” particularly to the performer. He recognized him now.
They then half assed asking him about his sex life. Which led to…
Them asking more about himself, what type of islander,etc. This is why I know he was half white. No one would’ve guessed that, he even was decked out in the island tats.

Why You Shouldn’t Watch Porn:

Those porn dudes were scummy, not even in the thug or drug dealer way, but the sleezy wanker manner. They were actually the stereotype of who watches their shit.

I’m not naming names (when do I ever?), but the performer is a big name in the industry. I guess the girls are really small/petite (do the research for yourself) for his disgustingly small build to not look on camera how it does in person. I recognized him years later, watching one time the recognition clicked, “holy shit I was in line behind him buying milk that day!” (Is this somehow an innuendo?)

~~One could joke that the majority of his bodyweight must be in his penis, which upon telling this story to a buddy he did lol.~~

Porn Optical Illusions:

I have to wonder what optical illusions are at play in porn. You’d have to see the guy in person to believe just how bad he looked in person. Sickly is the word for both build and complexion.

Are their dicks really that big?
How small is the girl truly?
Camera angle?

If you watch porn (you shouldn’t) have fun with that rabbit hole.

Porn + Society Take Aways:

Having this experience I’m surprised I ever started watching porn. I always knew it was shit, and even had first hand proof.

(Both from this and from years earlier seeing some weak looking dude at church, actually more than one over the years, who struggled with “porn addiction” left an impression on me as well, don’t be like that guy.

He creepeth and sneaketh is a solid description for one (old guy), the other (late 20s) just looked like he lived cock in hand in the dark in front of computer screens (pale, odd), and seemed weak as hell.)

That checkout line showed a lot of whats wrong with society.

Fathers are allowing that scum to fuck their barely legal teen daughters?
Fathers are allowing their barely legal teen daughters to get fucked by that scum on camera?

I believe disownment is still a legal measure although the Arabs seem to prefer honor killings for such things (imagine Shariah). Fathers in this country don’t seem to understand honor, have any access to the use of their balls, and have failed collectively at parenting.

“I don’t have a daughter”, this is a sentence with clout when enforced, but who has the balls to say it…and mean it?

Shunning/shaming scares the shit out of people (particularly females). Acceptance breeds sin, shunning breeds compliance with morals.

There’s something extremely unhealthy about widespread use of porn. What healthy people watch others dispassionately fuck…en masse?

What’s even funnier is how few will openly discuss such things. Unless you grew up Amish likely you viewed a ton of porn, how hardcore or weird is the question to ask. Most likely don’t want to admit that.

(I once had a guy admit to essentially cosplay Hello Kitty porn, I ribbed the shit out of him for that.)

Our society is fucked on fucking, and fucked in a lot of dynamics.

I say don’t add to the degeneracy, and fucking rip it’s tendrils out of you. It’s part of growing strong.

Say No To Porn!

You’re better off with your hand and no screen, with abstinence for religious reasons, or saying “Hey” to that cute blue eyed brunette in the grocery store.

-J

Earbuds Put Sound Into Your Brain As If It’s Your Thoughts

Taking that into account…

A badass self recorded mantra track could be one of the most powerful things you ever create.

Instead of likely shit music, or stuff without 100% raw messages, you could tailor this very well to yourself, then have a massive positive effect on yourself.

This can be made with your phone and used anywhere. (One could even have background music in it, I’d likely use bagpipes.)

Phone→Computer→IPOD

A Few Hours Of Personalized Mantras

Even a few hours of it on repeat will do a lot, think of how easy a song can get stuck in your mind, then imagine 3 hours of your own voice saying how you conquer like a modern day viking. Now picture this on a daily basis like during your workout.

Tailor the words to get raw. We live in an age where to be gelded in thought and action is the vile norm. This could be the trick to get your mind back.

Try it, then thank me.

-J

The Bigger You Are The More Benefit Calisthenics Have

Despite calisthenics being considered territory of little lean guys they’re actually of more benefit to heavier dudes.

You need high volume to get “gains” from calisthenics (as you’ll never lift heavier than bodyweight) and the bigger you are the more pounds of work is done allowing you to get more work per rep than a smaller guy.

For example:

Take a guy at 150lbs, and another at 300lbs. A pushup involves pushing roughly 60% of your bodyweight.

Say they both do 100 reps daily.

Little guy does 9000lbs of work, 4½ tons, “benching” 90lbs per rep.

Big guy does 18000lbs of work, 9 tons, “benching” 180lbs per rep.

Who do you think will show better (relative) bench strength from this alone?

For this very reason I say you should always perform calisthenics no matter how big you get.

In addition to keeping you athletic it can do a damn good job keeping you strong especially the bigger you are.

I’m not even factoring in high level gymnastics, I’m simply factoring in fairly vanilla PT style exercises.

One can maintain their bench if not grow it from pushups alone. The same with barbell squats and high rep Hindu squats.

Gyms are not necessary, and size while a hindrance to calisthenic ability actually is a strength towards their effectiveness.

Until tomorrow, I am J, and I am out.

Theories On Natural Strength

You see these big guys that don’t really train, but are quite strong, and likely eat big.

This is an idea running through my head based partially on prior experience and things I’ve seen. Take it for what you will:

There’s a couple factors at play here.

First off food is anabolic. Doesn’t it make sense that with just a small amount of physical effort or even willing it into being that simply eating more would cause growth and strength increases? Yeah yeah nothing I just wrote there is anything new, I want you to take that and go a few levels deeper. For one think during formative years.

Often our brains limit us. If we don’t know something is “supposed to be” heavy it very likely won’t be. This is my issue with pussified culture leaching into the gym. The majority of gyms are naught but studios of convenience for Instagram photoshoots at this point where everyone fears double team nighttime rape from the overtraining monster under their bed and the injury monster in their closet.

And you no longer have a teddy bear protecting your Instagram ass

We are not meant to be weak and unathletic. At young ages we generally function properly ie are strong and athletic. Some people (often book dumber, more impulsive, more in touch with their animal side) retain this into adulthood.

(A Samoan guy I knew who lived off of meat, beer, island music, and cigs once impromptu blasted off a competitive 40yd dash in front of me after his cousin who had taken his ball cap, never having trained at maybe 5’7″ ~260lb, I’d seen his tall heavyweight sister do similar but at a distance of closer to a 100yds. This is not race/ethnicity related, all humans who don’t think themselves out of the abilities can have them.)

I truly believe by being self conscious of being fat and losing at least 38lbs my freshman year of high school I set myself back years strength wise and likely did something bad hormonally (temporarily) by doing lots of distance work, starving myself, and when eating having little other than carbs. Prior to that I had a natural strength and explosiveness if not one iota of endurance at the time.

If anyone had fed me some meat, told me to sprint 40s and squat I believe I’d have likely grown bigger and much stronger faster while healthily recomping along the way. This was a trade off, I did it all wrong, set myself back a ton (I could feel how much strength I lost, and it showed in sprint/explosive efforts, now coming back big time), but in the process learned to get mean.

Feasting and fasting is the way of the predator. Prey graze all day. I think a lot of bigger stronger people even when eating throughout the day are loading more of their calories at night in a feast. Think of big dudes guzzling beers and pounding down pounds of barbeque. At the end of the day I think enough calories are more important than perfect macros, and fat is likely the most important macro of the three.

The good thing is though we can emulate all we need to, and not take part in this party of weakness. We can get our natural strength back. No one is too far gone, it’s only them choosing to be rolly polly sad sack examples of humanity.

Humans are animals, and animals are meant to be strong and resilient.

-J

Guest Pass At Another Gym + Related Shenanigans Such As Fasting And Feeling On Fire

I’m not sure entirely what caused this, I’d assume a combination of factors.

I had been fasting for ~20 hours, consuming nothing but maybe 64oz water.

The session was moderate volume and relatively heavy.

Deadlift up to a daily max (435 success I barely budged 485 possibly not even broke off floor)

Bench through 315 no problem.
335 I unintentionally pin pressed. The bench had long j hooks, I accidentally pressed the left side of the bar directly into it. The sensation was weird as hell.

Here I am with the bar 99% locked out, it being light in hands and not near failure but for some reason an isometric is happening on the left side while the right side was already fully locked out.

I’m counting this as successful rep, my spotter used his fingers to push my bars path forward an inch(down me) away from the unintentional pin and I finished the rep.

It was the weirdest shaped bench I’ve ever used. Unrack myself and there’s a good chance of hitting unintentional pin press via j hook. Yet I want to unrack myself.

I go for 345 as I had 335 on any other bench… and proceed to hit the bar on the middle set of hooks during the negative (it’s a bench with 3 unrack heights like you’d find in a commercial gym), I restabilize the bar, and fail at a far higher than normal sticking point, nearer lockout instead of off chest.

Ok back to 335 and get hand off as this time I’m so far down bench that an unrack just ain’t happening, there will be no hitting of j hooks either. Done lol, failure at normal point.

“Oh look a slingshot.” Pull it on, get spotter to continue pulling. ” You probably need a bigger size.”, “Yeah!” (picture the lil jon voice which I didn’t do).

With the slingshot on (not low enough I might add as it’s easily a size too small if not 2 sizes) I now hit 315 for 5 failing 6.

Arms are numb. Back to back.

2 awesome machine pulldowns and a machine shrug.

Some supersets some not.

Machine shrug: after 5 reps with 5p a side no straps, I strap up for 2×25. Both sets gave an amazing trap pump and have me feeling like I’m going down.

“My shoulder girdle looks phenomenal” the unconscious dream I could’ve had.

I start playing with this lower back lever machine thing (great good morning variant, like a hands free no quad all posterior rdl but a tad heavier on the lower back).

Fuck I forgot the 10×10 supersets! Pulldown + bench, bodybuilding bullshit I forgot to do, and this gym was perfect for it.

Play with the plate loadable circus dumbbell

After collecting the gyms entire collection of 5s and 2 ½s, finding most 5s aren’t fitting (with all fitting 5s DB could’ve been solid ~160lb), I attempt to shoulder 90? lbs and as I am trying to figure this technique with one hand (I wasn’t sure if 2 hands to shoulder is cheating)…

I stop, rest the bell against my thigh, and move it to the side of my thigh only for the doubled clips to give out under the massive load of 22½ lbs in small plates on that side.

I hear “that could’ve been bad” my reply “yeah, but I saw it coming”
I’d already hit the bell on my glasses during an earlier rep and my spidey senses were heightened and had tingled.

The building is humid, I’m dehydrated, and decide to PT.

I end up doing about 3 sets of each as I didn’t like the range of motion on the first pushup set which had me making a funny face to contain the high possibility of nosebleed scrunching that nostril thinking “not today!”

So 3 sets of each exercise.

My right quad starts a cramping, I finish and check off PT for the day.

“Wheres the water fountain” I look around finding none.

“Damn it” then “Fuck it, I’ll refill with the bathroom sink.”

I’m that dehydrated.

“Ahh water.”

Grocery store after. Walking the frozen aisle looking like I’d worked a landscaper 10 and smelling like after a 3hr wrestling practice.

Pizza and egg nog.

Drink egg nog as pizza cooks. Eat ⅜ pizza, and drink ⅔ of that egg nog container.

“Shit, I’m on fire”

Go to different room, “fuck the fan doesn’t work”
Go outside and sit there in the cool air…until I’m about to shit myself.

Running parallel to starting at eating I typed this.

Thus endeth the story.

Today (yesterday as of posting) was a nice mental reset.

I’ve been thinking what is ideal, and what exactly do I want to do. I’ve found some answers.

-J

Some Answers:

The Healing Fire aka No Injuries

There are many reasons that I don’t get injured such as:

•My refusal to acknowledge the possibility of such things.
•My not sucking at life.
•My not being an idiot.
•My not being weak sauce.
•The use of healing fire.

Healing fire: an esoteric visualization technique I picked up or came up with at some point in 2015 or possibly even late 2014.

Usually I do this in bed before sleep, although in near hurt situations I will do it on the spot:

It is started by saying a healing fire is running up and down my spine, I feel the warmth heeling me.
I visualize this starting at the base of my spine then running up the the top, the base of the skull.

From here I visualize it either going to the tips of all my toes and fingers one limb at a time and/or to the area that needs it most.

For example if the right quad is sore I picture the fire running to the proper bone and it’s healing warmth radiating outwards from the bone through the muscle. If it’s a sore joint I picture the fire healing from inside the joint itself. Tendons? Ligaments? I visualize the fire in a similar manner to how I do with joints.

My practice has changed over time.

In addition to the aforementioned visualizing of feeling it in the place of my body I’ve added an anatomical chart to the visualization.

A computer rendered blue image of me with a warm red fire on the chart in the same area as where I’m feeling it in my body.

I try to see myself looking at myself and at the fire in the proper area both on me and on the anatomical chart.

I’ve used this to great effect.

You may call this eastern like practice hocus, but I don’t. I believe it works and so it does.

Science can’t prove everything, many things unproven work.

Related: Wim Hof proving his breath work excites me as that opens up more esoteric methods affecting our physiology to being proven and accepted by the masses. More need to know.

This practice will bulletproof you.

-J

Prison Cell Fitness

I’ve talked about my daily PT and my recent foray into flexing many a time. What I’ve never stated is that most of it takes place in my bathroom which if you look at the dimensions and change the tub to a bunk bed is damn near identical to prison cell spacially.

People think they need a gym, a perfect program, and a perfect diet.

Really all you need is the right never say die mentality (and the proper calories). You can get plenty fit with no equipment in the dimensions of a prison cell.

Pushups and flexing for your upper body.

Hindu squats, calf raises, and flexing for your lower.

Calisthenics, isometrics, and dynamic tension are your friends here.

One could even develop power via kneeling jumps, tuck jumps, and broad jumps.

Burpees. Prisoners love burpees more than crossfitters, Drill Instructors, and wrestling coaches.

Take some ques from martial arts. Holds like horse stance aren’t a bad idea. Some Kata can fit in that space, Naihanchi for example, and shadow boxing is always a good idea. Hell knuckle conditioning can be done on the walls and via knuckle pushups.

No matter the circumstance you can make significant gains.

Mind Over All.

Get it!

-J

Feel The Power Of Your Blood

You look in the mirror, and see your face, yet something’s different. It sure looks like you, but something’s different about it.

It’s the eyes.

The eyes show an intensity. The face is leaner, there’s a large scar running across the face. Across the forehead, battered nose, and knarled lip.

In your face you are seeing one of your great grandfathers. An ancestor from many generations ago.

Unlike you he was raised in a more natural time.

His struggles were not over such trivialities as school work, job interviews, and bills.

He knew real hardship.

His 7th, 13th, and 15th winters saw the entire region down to starvation rations. Onion and cheese mixed into oats, but only in small amount.

The clan was embroiled in blood feuds more years than not.

His 12th summer saw him stone a man to death that would steal his father’s sheep.

At 14 he wielded axe in pitched battle.

At 16 he was ambushed by 5 or 6 members of a rival clan causing his magnificent scar. He walked out of that place alive, yet none else did that night.

Needless to say his life has been different than yours.

His mother did not nag and emasculate, for she wanted strong sons.

His father taught him the way of men, self sufficiency, strength.

He rode horses, shot bows, hunted, shepherded, farmed, and fought.

He went to no gym, there was no such thing, and yet he did not need one as he worked, ran the hills, lifted stones, and wrestled.

At your age he had already been married 4 years, his wife giving him two healthy sons and a daughter, while having only one stillborn.

Yes needless to say his life had been very different than yours. Yet know this…

His power, his strength flows in your veins. You must only choose to no longer be weak as shit to start the journey towards being like him. He had done it, and so can you.

In the West we have been raised in a manner divorced from our heritage, and stewed in an environment of degenerate weakness.

Look back to your roots, your ancestors, your bloodline. Honor them, gain strength.

To rise above is possible.

-J