Persistence and Tenacity

6/14/23
I’m a little caffeine addict when I drink the stuff.

Already having said yes to a shift tomorrow, and knowing that it’s a late start, not feeling that I’ll need to get to bed at a reasonable hour…well I’m a little caffeine addict when I drink the stuff.

An iced coffee after work, then an hour and a half later here I am refilling the cup with milk, instant coffee, and strawberry powder that I blended.

Shoot! I dumped in too much coffee powder.

Hopefully I don’t die tonight, nor more closely to typing, during the burpees soon to commence.

…..

At work the customer was on the phone with the manager/shop as we were on site.

The customer says to me near the end “J, I put in a good word for you and the other helper”.

The driver being old and crotchety isn’t exactly good customer service – it can be cringeworthy on certain jobs with these/some of these knuckleheads.

I’m good at customer service – there must be a way to really make money from that, however – I view it as a golden rule type thing, I as help act like I want help to act.

Polite. Does the work paid for without complaint.

I’m not going to gripe, complain, or flip out at/argue with the customer – I’m going to pack their things, and pack extra additions with “alright, okay, I got you, etc”.

Making money from it, good customer service ; forget the car salesman and waiter/bartender rejections.

There is a way out there for me to make a good living.

Those managers don’t know me, and wouldn’t be the one dude delivering houses with good customer service while the rest of the crew rages about the fact they’re where they’ve put themselves.

Knowing your choices put you exactly where you’re at either breaks you or empowers you.

I see the stubble on my pudgy, nearly double chinned face, so it’s burpees, and recommitting to no porn, no masturbation.

And tonight I’ll bic my scalp, establish the beard line – I find the act of shaving enjoyably meditative.

You simply run the razor over the established line daily from the first time establishing the line til about the month or six week mark.

…..

This is by no means a standard of “not out of shape”, but whatever you weigh, whoever you are – pick any style of burpees – I tend to do “cdc style one pumps”, set a 20:00 timer, and do 100 before the timer dings.

Doing this does not indicate you are in shape.

Far from it, but do this enough, while decreasing the time, and you may end up getting in shape.

I say this ; “fat body don’t do burpees” – quote that to me.

Put this on a tshirt, now is that a ? or a .
I definitely have ideas for gym shirts, could find some way to sell em, tied into here.

…..

Thank you tailgating motorcyclist…
Who flipped me off? It was hard to tell, as I let him by with a smile.

He did some rude hand gesture, but I didn’t see any single finger. It looked a rude backhand.

I let that inspire actually doing a proper amount of burpees tonight.

The 100 took ~18:00. I’ve a ways to go to actually being in shape.

With these, I too did a set of kb snatches each side, and the day’s 100+ deep knee bends.

…..

On another note ; I did not do any pushups before work today. That is rare for me.

And interestingly, before we drove off to our first site (the one of grade a customer service) we hilariously put a vending machine, owned by a coworker, into his pickup truck.

It seems he’s found a place to vend with his, I’m assuming salvaged, vending machine.

How long had he had a vending machine in storage here?

…..

Had an interesting dream last night ;

My childhood best friend wasn’t doing well – deep into conspiracy theories, doing drugs, living in a car, seemed unhealthy.

It’s not an overly strong feeling, but I wondered “is he dead”.

Went on facebook tonight (really shouldn’t), and saw that my highschool best friend had his second child today, both since I’ve lost touch with him.

Lost touch with both of them.

I prayed about it all, me included – to find the woman, the means of money, to make it happen.

…..

A cat ran right in front of my car, STOPPED running right centered in the middle of my car – I’d slowed down from 30ish to 20ish, and honked. THAT got it to continue running.

As much as I laugh about the munchkin jailbird driver refusing to hit squirrels, and the contrast of the crotchety old driver who does not give a fuck, hell at this point in 2017 in a similar situation I bump bumped over a raccoon – that night not slowing down, swerving, or honking…today I slowed down, honked DIDN’T splat some dumb ass collared cat.

But then again, I pointed out a sitting cat to a buddy back in 2016, squared dead center with his car’s grille.

He hadn’t noticed it. He didn’t kill it, and it took a few honks to get it to move.
The cat was chill where be sat…in the middle of the street, content like and all that.

Persistence & Tenacity

P.S. here’s a cool article on physically strong old school college wrestlers – motivates me to do more mace again, and get to a pullup bar and start really getting reps, ping, ping, ping, ping!

https://web.archive.org/web/20160608133435/https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/16421

6/13/23
I don’t know that I’ve ever naturally worn a hoodie to lift in june – maybe outside of extenuating circumstances, but tonight I did.

845pm, had deep knee bends to do which I’d almost completely forgotten about, plus some burpees and kettlebell snatch which too are daily right now.

I think the 100+ daily requirement on the dkbs will stop come next month. It was a month thing in my eyes when I started.

I’ll keep them involved, just stop counting – see below.

However, kettlebell stuff, and some burpees seems to be an indefinite thing.

Just the other day I finally started to almost like one hand swings with the 32kg bell.

So I have a new avenue of training that I’ve just started working into my sessions.

…..

Really,.you can just play around.

I’m not particularly enjoying counting, reps, sets, whatever right now – looks like next month, having finished the current month requirement, it’s just going to be mixing exercises together, a handful of kettlebell lifts with calisthenics, and to stop logging exacts.

Most of my lifting history has been sans logs, and I’m feeling going back to that after, dang logging everything or close to it for the past, a little longer than, year and a half.

…..

What I’m digging about the kettlebell sessions is that it’s an easy on recovery, muscularly engaged/demanding, sprint type stimulus.

You know what?
Maybe that’s why I’m sleeping lots of hours lol, easy on muscular recovery at least – kettlebell work gets you huffing and puffing like sprints – is worth doing daily, am doing so.

The bells truly have me seeing my future, a good future, financial included, being tied to them.

A lot to put into them. A lot to get from them.

A new avenue for me.
Right now both simpler than gym memberships, and simpler than barbell setup/breakdown for me.

For me.
I put my hand on the kettlebell and I know it’s for me.
I hit my stomach, touch my toes, throw myself down, stand up…and know it’s for me!

…..

I laugh at how lower body heavy my training is at the moment again.

Deep knee bends, and all the kettlebell stuff.

However, all the snatches are doing a great deal for the appearance of my upper back.
It’s pretty cool, and I don’t disagree that the kettlebell “what the hell” effect does apply to lat hypertrophy too.

I’ll see how pullups, and running both end up with little to zero specific work, just lots of kettlebell.

I wouldn’t be surprised to kettlebell my way to 15+ pullups (or better), 7:00 mile (or better) with just another few months of kettlebell.

…..

“WTH” Kettlebell :
I’ve already been experiencing the effect with biceps, pretty easily curling lifetime PR vicinity anytime I deign and/or impulsively and/or playfully :)- grab a barbell for a quick set.

The one arm clean particularly, though the bell in general on that one.

I’ve moved away from most stuff but the 20kg snatch, only the last few days starting to do every lift with the 32kg bell again.

…..

Been relistening to this a bunch lately :

They Hated Me – Wes Watson

There’s truth to just exercise yourself positive, today, yesterday, tomorrow til some tomorrow where it does get better!
I’m doing so alone, daily, working physically so as to mentally be where I need to be.

Kettlebell & Burpee, but Pushups have done it before – you never quit, you always work.

“see them as they should be” jumped out at me from the listen today, definitely can practice positivity with the most negative of the guys I work with.

Persistence & Tenacity

6/8/23
I can already tell that I’m going to end up investing in a larger stock of kettlebells.

My intention is in one bells, not pairs – you can easily lift mismatch pairs, and I already do for see saw pressing (with a 75lb dumbbell and 32kg kettlebell) – be rugged, lift mismatched pairs.

…..

Though I’ve now had about 4½ months of access, it’s been the past month and a half or so that I’ve started to have the “how” click more and more, therefore enjoying the process more and more, and therefore doing more and more with them.

🙂 a definite positive feedback loop yeperdo 🙂

My coworker gifting me his unused 16kg and 20kg bells has come in clutch – the 32kg bell I’d purchased still mostly feeling a tad heavy for the desired training effect, then for awhile I did frequent but minimal snatching with the 16kg, and recently upped the bell to the 20kg while also upping my reps/volume some.

I’ve noticed I’ll do far more using ladders than straight sets – therefore it’s a useful approach, ie do whatever works.

Rough goal is (working my way to) 1000 snatches weekly.

In addition to the kettlebell snatches I do some burpees, the reps per set on this slightly increasing – I’m doing pretty minimal volume on them, but daily frequency, and they are getting easier.

I honestly expect to, and feel that I am, leaning out with these – only doing occasional barbell work, and really needing to start doing some running.

I’m aware that I want to get to a 6:00 mile again…THIS YEAR, and am not necessarily doing the steps of that path.

…..

However kettlebell snatching and burpees are a great one stop shop, a great place to springboard off of in any/all directions.

I’m not stressing the fact I’m not forcing myself to run, or to do pullups, or whatever – I know the kettlebell and burpee habit has the team on it’s back.

…..

Training needn’t be so rigid, nor so quantifiable.

It’s entirely acceptable to work til you know you’ve worked – the purpose getting to the place of heart beating, sweat covered, uninhibited personality…euphoria.

Then do this daily.

Persistence & Tenacity

6/7/23
It’s the right path!
I feel it, intuitively, instinctively.

My workouts are kettlebell snatch, burpees, and with the two I’m on a kick of running 100+ deep knee bends every day – trying to, but not always having these as part of an outdoor lift… otherwise they’re checked off late night in the kitchen lol

Three daily requirements in addition to the nightly pushups.

I’ve been enjoying my sessions, getting pumps and out of breath in brief periods, most always under half an hour.

Strength. Conditioning.
There’s definitely an “and” in between the two above – I’m getting both at the same time. Gladness in doing so :)-

…..

Today I did the see saw press.
It’s a rather challenging movement.

I once read an anecdote, saying a winner of one of the major bodybuilding competitions in the 1950s did no other upper body work.

I believe it.

Try the movement out.

If you’re like me, only able to moderately load it with what you’ve got (I have a mismatch pair of 75lb dumbbell and 32kg kettlebell that I use) then you push the reps up into the stratosphere.

If you have heavier bells, well by all means OBVIOUSLY weight it up, load it heavy!

Build your obliques and shoulders with the movement.

Upper body all in one. It’s a worthwhile movement. Mostly lost to time. Be the exception. Bring the movement back…to the future!

…..

Looking back, the see saw press has an absolutely freakish effect on upper body strength, while too is a crazy metabolic booster…

Especially factoring in the mismatch pair that I press with.

…..

I notice the bells go up for more reps…a tad easier.

I notice the burpee reps feel a little more smooth/crisp/fluid, and a tad easier (going to 10 now instead of 7 – creeping up).

Until next time,
-J

Recent Lifting Music :

creek will rise – conner smith

6/5/23
I’ve found the key to the universe!
(yes an exaggeration)

820pm
all in all the session took about 20:00, three sets of kettlebell snatches each side, three sets of burpees – today done right, left, burpee

~290lbs bodyweight – size is no excuse to not be smashing your calisthenics.

I have no clue my powerlifts…and I don’t give a damn either.

I can mix some barbell in, I even intend to, but it’s not my mainstay right now.

Stuff like this ; mixing kettlebell snatches and burpees is strength and conditioning work at the same time, the place I’ve long called “Cardio Calisthenics™”, which is where the best results come from.

Do I want to lose weight?
Sorta.

I’m more concerned with feeling that I have wind, am not gassing, have work capacity, have high energy – than seeing the scale move.

As far as lifting…

It doesn’t have to be progress mathematically!

The session can be done when you’re out of breath, have pushed a little to complete the sets/reps you wanted to hit, and most importantly are euphoric!

Euphoria can be the metric, it’s what I’m using – it’s why I both loved and love again the burpee, it’s why I’ve discovered love for the kettlebell snatch.

I’m building wind with strength, and in a rather freeing manner logistically.

Persistence & Tenacity

This spot is a super thick bar, probably 3″ or better – it’s a good deal thicker than the blue fat grips.

I’ve used this bar before, but not at ~290lbs (288 last I saw, shop scale, a few days ago), nor had I done a single rep of weighted pullups in a little over a year and a half.

On a whim I decided to, bringing the 20kg bell with me.

I actually went to the spot thinking I’d be good for three sets or so of 5 x bw+16kg or 3 x bw+20kg, but the first issue was at this fat, 50-60lbs heavier than when I last did weighted pullups, that it was a hell of a time connecting the dip belt!

Fat waist on fat body status doesn’t make for ease of using any kind of belt.

I got an ugly “sorta” rep at bw+20kg (~330-335lbs), then an immediate fail on the second try.

“Okay, switch to unweighted. I hit 8-12, usually 10 or 11, on any given day.”

Three.
3 reps.

I hadn’t factored in how thin the bar I’ve been doing my capita once weekly set on is.

Here today grip was an issue.

I could barely hang from that bar, just seconds.

I’m fat. It’s time to change.

-J

P.S. the first hour uploaded has done real well – the lesson is to upload whatever strikes you, come up with the idea, run with the idea, film it, upload it, try not to compulsively check how it’s doing 🙂

5/26/23
My cousin’s girl is a bank teller, I drew her window when I walked in to deposit my check.

Hadn’t seen him in two years, until a little over a month back, joked to her it’ll be another two years, and we agreed that comment needs to/will make it’s way to him through her.

She asked me about my work, and told me he’s thinking of joining the local powerlifting gym option.

Me? I’m still not in the headspace to go there.

And I thought to myself how he could’ve been training in his apartment parking lot, smashing burpees this entire time, the 2 4 6+ years he’s “wanted to” get in shape and yet exercised little more than zero times.

Dudes a giant, maybe he’ll go deep into powerlifting, and from there transition to strongman (he has the frame for it), personally I’d like to see him pare down to lean and mean with burpees.

Can’t do it for him though!

…..

I’m about to shower the grime of work off.
There was a small chance I brushed poison ivy today – all this overgrown shit alongside the truck in the shitty urban spot we were at today.

Only way to fit the truck in the lot, and well the ramps are stored on the side.

So I’ll shower, really douse myself in irish spring, and then hit the burpees and kettlebell snatches.

…..

To my surprise I dozed in the truck on the ride back, the driver shaking my shoulder and waking me after I’d been out for about five minutes, having taken ten minutes of in and out for seconds at a time before that to truly fall asleep.

Apparently I had fallen asleep, and was leaning a whole lot into the other helper, crushing him against the door – oddly it was the driver who decided to wake me, and not him.

I found this funny – that the driver took pity on him, that he didn’t just wake me himself.

As far as sleeping in the truck – I hadn’t done so in years, last in 2019 on an interstate delivery, before that in 2017 on a two and a half or three hour away ride.

I fell asleep in class once for a moment in 8th grade (answering the teacher’s gotcha question correctly to her chagrin – I knew my us history), these few times as a mover’s helper and always on the ride back.

Fasting. Working.
Working out. Feasting.

Felt good to get to that point.

…..

I was dreaming. They weren’t nightmares.
In the dream I heard the radio that I’d heard earlier while awake. I smelt the cigarette smoke of the other two in the cab, conscious of it while asleep.

I don’t remember dream details other than a mostly white background, and a sense of happiness/contentment.

When he started to shake my shoulder I hit a middle stage of totally lost, still half asleep, then fully came awake for a moment (a second) not knowing where I was – odd for me to wake that way.

However I did feel amazingly refreshed from the five minutes.

…..

I’ve been going without shaving, no trim, doing this for six weeks before shaping it, establishing the line.

A long wait til shaping it up.
While this time the “bumminess” isn’t bugging me as it always had in the past.

…..

I’d been stupid hungry on the ninety minute ride to location, found a package of honey roasted peanuts in my bag – had forgotten that I had them in there, while they are a much better “I need food” option than clif bars.

…..

I wrote the above around dinner time before going to bed, and sleeping moreso than napping til close to midnight, an alarm set to eat/do pushups (technically again)/not sleep the night through.

I think of this as “split sleep”, and it’s felt good the past few nights – sleep about two hours, get up, pushups, eat, go back to sleep for four to six hours.

I almost skipped the kettlebell snatches and burpees, was looking at the clock, 1148pm, pulled on a hoodie, slid on shoes, and went outside for three reps.

3 burpees
3 sn left + 3 sn right w/16kg
Kept the daily aspect truly daily still.

With the kettlebell snatch and burpees there is no excuse. Not when I’m around the house and have access, and not if I drive somewhere as the kettlebell easily fits in the car.

Hell, I’d even bring my bell on an interstate if I was to go on one anytime soon.

When you say you’re doing something. Do it.

My excuse threshold is far harder to activate than most.

I’d written of my cousin. He’s “looking into” the powerlifting gym, he’s a fucking giant fat boy – been not exercising for years of “wanting to get in shape”…

I’m not okay with where I’m at.
No excuse tonight to not get in something minimal.

Always doing something on the path is how you get there.
It makes zero sense to not kettlebell snatch and burpee daily.

Persistence & Tenacity

5/25/23
The kettlebell’s opposite is the mace.

None of today’s workout equipment cost me a penny.

•kettlebell – given to me by a coworker
•gloves – supplied by work
•mace – a branch from a downed tree

You could do burpees alone, and though these were free – the investment in a bit of equipment, tools, is worth it as investment for life vs paying monthly dues to someone/something else (and what is a corporation but an inhuman thing).

I’ll probably always miss being at a gym for hours when I’m training minimal amounts of time at home, but…

I grabbed rim off of one step while at work today.

“Damn – tubby can jump!” a coworker exclaimed.

By being slightly bent forward the rim likely was a tad shy of 10′. Still. 6′. Short arms. 288ish lbs. Grabbed rim a couple of times. One step.

As I went back to carrying boxes it was dawning on me how truly powerful I am, that this is me out of shape, not well trained/in training (at least in my eyes), and I’m grabbing rim at almost 300lbs.

Powerful hips. Strong upper body.

…..

Is the above from the kettlebell?
Yes.

It’s the “what the hell” effect.

Continue with kettlebell snatches and burpees.

…..

The sign said “don’t forget who you want/wanted to be”.

This mechanic’s shop has had motivational quotes on it’s sign for as long as I can remember.

The quote hit me, I drove around a bit more so as to drive by the sign twice.

Ended up three cars in front of the other crew in a company truck thirty seconds after my second time passing the sign.

That other crew got more hours, I almost was sent on that truck too, but by being out earlier I was able to accomplish a bunch of errands needing done – I wasn’t dreaming of being a mover as a child, not at any age.

But at work I work, hard, without complaint – often goofing around in a bad imitation of a foreign accent. I consciously aim to be joyous about it.

…..

Who do you want to be?

Society is shallow, even in the house of the lord the human only thinks, asks, “what are you” meaning money, how you make money.

Again I ask ; who do you want to be?
Dude. Me personally. Answer it…

…..

Part of my being happy with life is cracking all sorts of situational jokes, making comments, thinking aloud.

A related step to this is keeping conversations going past the initial comment when it’s some cute chick, and/or when they (regardless of who they are) riff back well.

Cause turnabout is fair play, and two people riffing back and forth is a blast.

I want to be the outgoing, hilarious, “uptime”, without inhibition version of me!
Always. (except when healthily in solitude introvert mode)

…..

That’s real.
Not just about money.

…..

I’ve been stimmed out a bunch lately, barely sleeping, yet damn good physically.

Been fasting hard lately, yesterday I ate up, today was a good day.

Today I ate up again. But my day was going well while fasted but for 100 calories of milky way candies.

…..

The note of real, who I want to be…

I saw it today, coming out of me today.

I was making jokes/comments/thinking aloud about half of the opportunities to do so while out today.

50% isn’t 100% (yet), but it’s a whole lot better than 0% – enjoying life, doing this, which is part of me being me, is something I must do.

It’s on me to open my mouth.
Nothing stops me but me.

So work hard. Do what you need to do.
Work while at work. Train when training.
Write. Video.

Enjoy the moment everywhere, always – and open my mouth. Do your daily workouts.

…..

My workout was maybe ten minutes, 40 kettlebell snatches, I counted 26 burpees though with miscounts it probably was 32 burpees. Then moments later the mace. 20 reps.

Still doing real short burpee and kettlebell snatch workouts.

ridin solo remix – jason derulo

↑ music for flow state, the first set’s song – I was in flow state, in the moment, during that first set – stomach hit, toe touch, hands up/squat – in flow state likely as the original version was something I was in flow state to while lifting as an almost 17yo working through some teen angst lol

I know thirty five to seventy minutes of these weekly works.

In the past I wouldn’t believe it, “only thirty five to seventy minutes a week”, whereas now I don’t argue with what is going on.

It’s working. I’m enjoying it.
The latter leads to the former.

…..

I’ll might always miss being at a gym for hours when I’m training minimal amounts of time at home, but…

It’s working for me!
The burpees are shedding inhibition as they always have!

Persistence & Tenacity