4/20/23
This is becoming a once every week or two type thing for me :
I setup the barbell loaded to 405lbs, and pull it.
So far from actually training the deadlift 405lbs feels pretty heavy, me being mostly unused to heavy full body strain as i haven’t trained that sort of stimuli, while going there at work is somewhat infrequent and often in a different movement pattern ie a piano is a deadlift and carry type thing, whereas a giant mattress often sees me driving into it like a tackle sled as we take it upstairs.
Ten days or two weeks back I pulled a cold single at 405lbs.
Yesterday I doubled it without warming up.
9×405 is my PR at that weight, actually done no warmup, but already sweating from driving to the gym itself…fall 2018, I was in cali, with my body used to new england fall – therefore it felt like summer to me, and I was warm without warmups (not that I need them anyway).
Recently I’d written of only pulling double overhand.
All the bicep curling I’ve done lately has made mix grip feel fine for me again – I like this, and do intend to keep plugging away on an infrequent set with 405 for “what can I get with some still in the tank “, plus holding the last rep for a bit of grip work.
(if people do holds doh for grip work – why not holds with mixed grip – it’s still holding and working the hands)
A little bit of underhand “yates” rows would balance the stimulus should I feel the need.
The olys are my overhand stimulus.
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page break – a very awesome photo
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It’s pretty cool how solid a 185lb clean and press is now, a year and a half into the movement around that weight as most stimulus, and it seems that a 405lb deadlift is my “baked in” walk around strength level.
My training philosophy is aimed that direction ; to never peak, but to get stronger with what I can always do – I haven’t much looked for higher low rep maxes, but to get a certain weight to 10, even 15 reps, occasionally higher, then add some weight, and get back up to those reps.
First you see a reps PR banging them out with loose form, then the reps start getting more strictly done, then the amrap #s start coming around with strict form and/or pauses.
You can just build a base of strength forever and be good.
How long to go from 1×405 mixed grip to 20×500 doh?
Doesn’t matter. The journey is what matters, stroll, enjoy the scenery – it ain’t a sprint.
Besides…the start is already “good enough”, you’re just casually getting even better.
There is no program. What exactly I do is on a whim. I try not to do the exact same session on paper twice in a row.
I like lifting weights – therefore I do. Therefore I lift anywhere from most days to every day.
For me it’s sustainable, and frankly I feel that a bunch of short lifts (5-10 sessions weekly, five to forty five minutes each) with the focus on back, legs, and shoulders – the pc&p the easiest answer, even done exclusively would work well for a whole lot who don’t take this approach.
4/19/23
The 19th is late enough in the month to discuss how curling most days this month has worked out.
I did not curl every day, but most, and sometimes it was curls, sometimes reverse curls, sometimes both.
I started with reverse curls, then switched to mostly curling.
It may be one challenging set each day, otherwise something done more in the tone of moderation like 5×5 at what would be 12-20 reps had I repped out.
Now I have a different training history than most american males – I’ve mostly ignored direct arm work over the years, so if/when I do focus on barbell curls it’s effectively new stimulus for me.
Just before typing I curled 21x95lbs, a couple days back it was 12x115lbs, the heaviest reverse curl set was 12x95lbs about two weeks ago, though sticking to 65-75lbs is better stimulus there same as 95lbs vs 115lbs on the regular straight bar curl.
None of this may be “perfectly strict”, but it all passes my standard for “strict enough”, while none of it could be called “cheat curls”.
This month as I more and more closely approach 25x95lbs I laugh that I was once on the gym floor complimented for that as a cheat curl set, whereas now – on the opposite end of my 20s, it is in the ballpark of my current strict PR, soon to be passed.
curling
A week or two back, on my roughly once a week set of pullups I hit 9 at a bodyweight of 290lbs.
I’ve long known more biceps = more pullups, which is something to keep in mind for those on the compound lifts only approach.
All those I’ve known to naturally be good at pullups are long armed and heavy on the bicep development with long bicep insertions.
I have trex arms, my natural proportions being a very thick chest, arms that look small to moderate in proportion, with very short bicep insertions.
The opposite of those natural pullups guys.
My best pullup ability came from moderate to high volume on a daily basis with lots of weighted pullups in there.
That was two summers back.
My bodyweight PR was either 27 or 29 reps weighing somewhere between 235 and 265lbs (somewhere on the lower end – I’d estimate ~245lbs – I was losing weight with a physical job and doing an hour of pullups, a good deal of them weighted, every night, with a rotation of three training partners), and in the same 6-8 week period I pretty regularly hit 20+ at bw+20-30lbs, regularly did moderate effort sets of 8, say 3×8 at bw+45 as a training stimulus, know I hit bw+70, and think I hit a very ugly bw+90 single.
Right now pullup ability is coming back, on a set once every 5-14+ days simply cause all the curling surely has me going the more biceps route while weighing my lifetime heaviest.
Again more biceps = more pullups, and this is going to be pretty substantial/dramatically so when you’ve disregarded curls for the half of your life that is your training history.
Persistence & Tenacity
Lifting Music :
nelly – air force ones (on repeat for the bulk of this months lifting)
When you workout for long enough, there are times where you “forget” stuff you know works.
It’s often related to what you haven’t done in awhile or moreso what you haven’t had access to in awhile.
For example ;
I’ve long neglected squats, and have long known how real world applicable high reps done with enough weight make you.
I’d forgotten what high rep front squats felt like.
I’d forgotten what high rep overhead squats felt like.
It doesn’t have to be a regular back squat.
You can train any movement in whatever rep range you desire.
Think about olys for a second.
It’s accepted to do high rep kettlebell movements, but the weightlifting movements and variants on a barbell are for some reason not to be done.
The barbell is more blue collar in america than the kettlebell.
Maybe in russia they’re fairly ubiquitous and just found lying around, but here they cost a pretty penny.
(not that one relatively heavy kettlebell shouldn’t be acquired and put to use cleaning til the cows come home)
In america though, you’ve no excuse to not own a 300lb weight set.
Reality is that one could set you up for life, no gym dues or gym commutes ever required again, though you might have to purchase a higher quality bar at some point (look for good tensile strength at a low cost – or just get a texas power bar following the buy nice don’t buy twice principle).
I practically have forgotten the leg press.
It’s been a year and a half since I’ve had access to one, and about four and a half since I’ve had access to one able to be loaded up.
The high rep benefits of the squat, most of them are there with high rep leg press, but the leg press is much easier mentally.
This can make it better for leg growth than the squat, you just don’t have to dig as deep as when putting a bar on your back for truly challenging 15s, 20s, 50s, 100 reps forces you to go.
You can push the leg press to 75 reps, be seeing stars, hobble to your next exercise, and be ready to do that again pretty quickly – not anguish mentally, stressed out in fear of your next squat session.
Both approaches have their pros and cons, both have their place.
I really find benefit in the overhead squat for high reps.
Wicked light is acceptable, the empty bar.
Weighted too is acceptable.
I’ve gotten to about 20×135 overhead before, and say all amateur weightlifters should ride their first or final power snatch into an amrap.
You might not be able to do that.
If so drop the weight some, and rep that.
If you can leave a barbell loaded to a nice curl and overhead squat weight, side bend too (I love them – it’s an addiction – and don’t forget one arm snatch), that can be your light high frequency bar.
The smith machine is actually real good for going dumb and getting some brute force into you.
All three powerlifts can be done in one, and you approach it not as “the bar path is wonky”, but “I will be one with the machine”, lock into place (moreso than you can with a barbell), and just strain in that line against dead weight.
Being locked in you can actually apply force in a direction the barbell would never allow.
The smith machine may get you to a 405+ lb bench faster than benching free weight.
You just amrap the shit out of a bunch of sets (like 10-15×15-30 at ~200-220lbs benching – yes).
Then just squat in it for moderate reps (heavy – eventually you’ll tip the machine – yes – no joke, tip the machine), and pull in it for amazingly high tension low reps (light to moderate, but damn near failing over from how much your muscles are firing – see being locked in applying force in a direction the barbell would never allow).
Ground to overhead, in bunches, practically exclusively is how I put on an upper back.
Lots of military presses was the best thing I ever found for my shoulders.
More biceps = more pullups.
Get strong at curling, do lots of ugly olys, and you’ll probably be decent at pullups.
Add weight to pullups as often as possible. Even 3s at bw+2½lbs is worthwhile, and six months later doing amraps of 20+ at bw+20-30, moderate/training effort/fairly easy 3×8 at bw+45 leaving a bunch in the tank, heck two years later I hit 9 pullups weighing 290lbs.
That’s likely correlated to the strongest curling I’ve ever done.
12x115lbs recently, with PRs very frequently, like every second day frequently.
Use what you have access to in this moment…
You just gotta lift.
4/17/23
When the equipment is at home you’re entirely okay with doing something real minimal, and something is better than nothing.
By all means, spend years smashing serious volume.
But, being able to hit a quick 5:00 lift is nothing to scoff at.
It’s 5:00 longer than most work out for, and to a large degree ; physical success is simply racking up years of wins, just doing something, anything, with heart.
If you buy into the approach you use, it works.
You could lift everyday. You could lift once every week or ten days.
You could use machines only.
You could use nothing but your own body.
Dumbbells? Kettlebells? Barbell? Sandbag?
= All Good
There’s always a way to train.
The details do not matter an iota.
The important part is that you do something, anything.
I’m not going to a gym, you know with people around other than me – I felt bummy about it to a fairy large degree in the work truck as we drove back to the shop.
At home I took a long nap, woke up feeling real groggy, real bummy after that…stepped outside to “do something”, just a good set of curls and side bends, three sets, 115lbs, curl, side bend left, side bend right.
Fin.
Didn’t not lift today.
I don’t see any local gym option to lift that I like.
I’m not particularly digging lifting alone all the time.
Is the answer open my own facility?
I really need to make some money, getting clients, personal training – I’d be able to live on ten clients a week, but would be entirely okay with working twelve hour days every day.
Get that many clients and I’m a millionaire soon enough…that would solve the low end of the american wage scale problems.
I like lifting. I’m good at getting people out of their head, and into real effort.
“Dude, STOP COUNTING, try to think of nothing, listen to me, I’ll tell you what you did after the set is over.”
That works for a bunch of people.
The outside voice saying it bypasses the inner voice.
99% of the physical is mental.
Heck, life is completely mental.
Own your mind.
At present my primary lifting purpose is to build the deadlift in an unconventional manner…
I’ve started swinging a 20kg kettlebell while
before that I had the idea of seeing how the one arm deadlift carries over to the deadlift – the one arm deadlift my main barbell lift.
I expect getting to ~300lbs, possibly quite a bit less, one arm being ≈ to a 600lb conventional…doh
I’d already known what light, low rep, high muscular activation deadlifts do for me.
The way I’m doing one arm deadlift is similar – though it has a higher component of full back activation, you feel one side pump, it’s a cool feeling.
Thus far it’s 5×5 each side with 95lbs, another session singling up to 155lbs each side – no straps, never straps.
Occasionally I barbell one arm snatch.
The clean and press is taking backseat for a bit – the optics (I want video) and performance, particularly grip, of a solid 225+ lb one arm deadlift is too appealing right now. 🙂
For work I’m delivering houses ; on occasion this can be VERY bicep intensive, occasionally lower back and/or quad heavy.
Deadlifting in a normal powerlifting manner may not be the ideal approach for you personally.
I’m finding the one arm deadlift to be much easier on my body than the conventional deadlift – more euphoric, more challenging on the obliques, maybe on the hands…doesn’t wipe out my lower back which is a consideration for work.
It is a way to solid up the hands.
I no longer believe in training mixed grip, and do not care to use my long owned, rather awesome, but long unused spud straps.
(it doesn’t get better than spud inc for lifting straps – you’ll never break them)
Repeat ; deadlifting in a normal powerlifting manner may not be the ideal approach for you personally.
Look at both high level crossfitters and professional strongman – they both have good to great deadlifts.
The high level crossfitter doesn’t focus on the deadlift though they do lots of pulling.
The professional strongman too isn’t focused on a deadlift 1rm, but has a great deadlift – they do lots of varied heavy pulling.
Why are you running the “normal” gym script?
Run your own program.
Persistence & Tenacity
Lifting Music :
savannah dexter – big trucks
↑ don’t judge me – it’s silly fun lol
80/20 rule or whatever, I’m taller than 90% of humanity, stronger than 90% of humanity.
And pretty regularly complimented on how I stand.
I have real good standing posture.
Also, I hear lots of apologies in public, almost annoying really – to the point I’ve used “if hearing sorry was a drinking game” as one of my standard jokes.
Something minor like the fat man’s gut on me doesn’t matter.
I prefer being bearded, bearded with a buzz cut, and I’ve for years had this compulsion to shave clean if/whenever I watched porn.
Never strongly defined if this compulsion was there for watching television, which I’ve been watching normal american hours of the past few days.
(ie ~4 hours/day)
Doesn’t matter. I shrug.
I’m underachieving that’s for sure.
Not working out nearly enough.
I’ve got plenty to workout at home with, and I’ve been barely doing the thing.
However, I had a creative idea ;
Drop all of the normal stuff!
Ie that’s ; not lifting the barbell for a time, not caring about pushups (lol still gonna do them).
A coworker gifting me a 16kg and 20kg kettlebell last week…
Well the 20kg feels better to me than the 32kg for most stuff.
I could for a time not lift…barbells.
I could use that 20kg kettlebell to get in shape.
Some of the stuff I can do with it is downright fun.
•bottoms up snatch
•one arm swings (feels good this light – the 32kg was a tad heavy for the bicep tendon – strength over time via tendon that’s a road to discuss sometime)
•kettlebell flips (and progressive kettlebell juggling)
I feel like I could get some hands and forearms out of the deal.
The Bud Jeffries swing odyssey is precedence for it being serious body recomp.
Working out can be the in the moment purpose you give yourself.
It’s comical how little effort it truly takes, again see that 80/20, better than 90% thing said above.
I couldn’t write and not make a kettlebell juggling video today. Being bearded on video here helps keep me not on xvideos (cause then I’d have to shave)
Thinking again on kettlebell instead of barbell for a time ;
Combining a low level of body fat with kettlebell use, especially the less gym like/more rotational/real world labor like “juggling” is a way to look very good with rather simple training.
You’re getting lots of “weird” abdominal and back work with the implement.
A cool effect is that you get huffing and puffing rather quickly, that the kettlebell lend itself to both sets as long as, and volume as high as you feel like going – it’s a very good fat loss tool.
The best fat loss tools are those with a muscular component.
This keeps you strong, the muscle on you as you lose fat…fat only.
The idea I have is to put the kettlebell in hand daily, and to simply do lots of unorthodox lifting with it during a set period of time, say five minutes.
Then rack up minisessions as often as I desire on top of that.
For a time it’s kettlebell play primarily, almost exclusively.
If Bud Jeffries dropped 100lbs rather fast with swings, I can get lean and mean dropping 50lbs or so with this tool.
Funny that today’s video wasn’t the best flow, there was one with no failed bottoms up presses, just a success on the first try and a bottoms up snatch with the 20kg…but I’d accidentally turned the camera off as I set it down.
Soon I’ll be looking for video of a 20kg bottoms up turkish get up, and off camera be practicing the tgu up and down…get a barbell and really load that.
What’s the heaviest tgu online?
I bet I could get in it’s vicinity if not be the one who does it.
Maybe the kettlebell and one arm barbell stuff is my “success with physical culture path”.
Making video is giving me purpose.
Still haven’t made that “girl pushups” (weighted pushups with fit chick STANDING on my upper back) video.
3/12/23
I comfortably juggle the 20kg kettlebell, able to flip it for reps with either hand, and from hand to hand.
The kettlebell flip is a surprisingly effective exercise.
Probably a video in the next few days.
Right hand. Lots of reps. Another short.
It’s possible I can actually flip the bell for longer than :60.
Hitting upper body in a weird way,
you get a good trap/upper back pump, while I’m confident doing it for lots of reps will very quickly diesel up your forearm/grip strength…or break you.
This is the first time in years I’ve had kettlebell access.
Now owning single bells at 20lb, 16kg, 20kg, and 32kg.
My mom bought me the 20lber when I was 14 and starting to workout.
A coworker gifted me the middle two bells a couple days ago.
I bought the 32kg bell about a month and a half back.
…..
The 32kg bell is now on the back burner.
The 20kg bell, though a tad light feels good for training weight/training effect on one arm swings, the movement being the initial reason to purchase the 32kg bell.
The 16kg bell is attached to my neck harness, where I push reps to 50+ before upping weight.
Thus far it’s in the low 40s.
…..
I picked the tree branch mace back up, mixing it with the kettlebell swings.
For a time I’ll be doing more and more kettlebell swings while also squatting (something I’ve long neglected).
I expect body recomp, and “what the hell” effect carryover in all physical modalities.
…..
Training is just building up volume and density.
In my eyes I’m out of shape, so it’s supersets, giant sets, doing more volume, and working out more/longer – make myself good again.
…..
Today is the first warm day this year.
I’m writing outside, shirtless, hearing the birds chirp.
3/9/23
You get a lot of value out of what you do consistently for long lengths of time.
This is something, a shame to be missing from modern culture.
Who has traditions?
The tradition, done because tradition – no explanation necessary, imparts necessary discipline.
A coworker once told me of three generations of his family sitting around smoking marijuana together.
He was glad to do so with grandpa and grandma before they were gone.
A more extreme example yes, of what this culture imparts from one generation to the next – passing down television, texting, to the next.
As I drove the other day, noticing the cellphone addicts in other vehicles in the intersection around me, it struck me that many children as of yet unborn may never know a world where the driver of the vehicle they are in does not text and drive.
I pictured my future daughter looking at me and saying “daddy, sally’s parent doesn’t drive like you – how come you don’t text”.
Note that word choice, “parent” singular, nonspecific as to what parent.
Is that the world we will always live in?
…..
What are the rites of manhood?
Drinking beer? Your first job? Losing your virginity?
It is all rather banal, and mostly left to the devices of each boy individually.
At 14 I found pushups.
Here, now, at 28 I just did a few sets. It is about 11pm.
Yet another night they have been checked off.
…..
Yesterday, as of many days – with an ebb and flow, the urge to do them was weak. Not present.
I did them anyway.
Pushups are something I simply do.
Today, the three sets, no other pointed exercise today, today very light in activity, watching Ben Hur, The 10 Commandments, eating well – I can’t tell you how high the value I felt from doing the thing.
What difference would a day off make?
What do a handful of sets matter?
It can be all the world.
The difference between slovenly and pumped up.
Moreso where your mind is at.
Maybe you’re in a dark period, maybe you almost never want to do the reps…
Maybe you do the first set, which makes you better in outlook for the second, which increases again for the third, and upon standing your mind is telling you of naught but your individual greatness “fuck yeah I’m strong”, you look and your hands knowing your capability.
Smile son. Do the work. It will go your way…when it must. When the time is right.
What you must do is do what you must.
Forever. Always.
To drink deeply of living.
To be busy living.
To pride yourself in the manner in which you live, in how you carry yourself always.
Pushups have become religious to me.
A daily rite that I never skip.
100% accomplishment.
May 13, 2016 –
Arguably since about the 4th of July 2012.
What victories do you give yourself daily, 365, every year, year after year?
Best to create yourself victories.
None of the giving up epidemic to the culture at large.
The world, your world, is mostly in your mind, your actions, and your interpretations.
Been writing this one over and over in the shower for a few days, finally remembered to get it typed up.
and had way too much fun making this – not that it’s anyway relevant to the following post, just like all the booty photos I am apt to post
March 2023 Flow :
Lifting in the yard I no longer subscribe to many ways of the gym.
•If I deadlift I want a pump.
•I’m not going to mix grip, and I’d prefer not to throw on my pair of long neglected spud straps.
The other day I pulled some one arm deadlifts, the bar holding 25lb bumper plates.
Frankly I was surprised by the high level of full body tension on something so light.
In the same session I found that between the barbell one arm snatch, or maybe the kettlebell snatches before it, probably both most honestly – that my two arm barbell clean had improved, there was significant added power to my pull.
Easily I found the bar at the shoulders.
Long one arm pulls give both explosive pop and horsepower strength to two handed shorter pull variations.
…
Instead of the ability to max at home with a load of 500lbs, with my most recent gym equipment purchase I can now load a barbell to 620lbs, plenty of weight to set deadlift PRs past the 515 lifetime PR I pulled in summer 2016.
However, I no longer desire to mix grip, and would prefer not to pull with straps.
Heck I honestly don’t much want to pull heavy, but recently I realized that the heavy deadlift now scares me to a degree, therefore making it worth doing again.
The recent enough past has shown me I get very strong on pulls with lots of light, high tension, massive pump work on pulls.
So doh for anywhere from 2 to 15 sets of high tension 3s at 205lbs is worth and equal to 455+ lbs.
I can likely pull more from lower.
The precedence is that I made an ugly 495lb pull at the end of 2021 after sets of 2-4, at 2p25 tops, usually 3s, often enough 2s, at less, 2p mostly but even 1p25 in the smith machine…
I can pull high from pulling low (weight).
But those 95lb one arm deadlifts the other day intrigued me.
High high full body tension. Yet only the doh equivalent in the hands to double it on paper.
Reread the smith machine statement, what if I get to pulling one handed 185, 205, more?
That could very well be 545+ doh conventional.
Yes, I’ll be doing one arm olys and presses as parallel training and in support of the barbell c&p on which I want to hit 275lbs this summer.
All the olys are pulling work and carry over to the deadlift as well.
Add in some one arm deadlifts treated as a moderate to heavy movement, two arm deadlifts light for a glute pump on conventional and as more moderate movements on snatch grip, sldl, and the movement only I do…snatch grip sldl, all these things occasionally at a deficit of the bar starting at toes…
I see no reason not to pull, some variant or other, on a regular basis.
Just build massive work capacity that way.
And see if this calendar year I’ll pull the entire 620lbs I have available with an overhand grip.
I’d be a whole lot more “walking the walk” credible (in my own eyes) this way. I am strong. My total does not much support that, though the pressing has been getting better and better.
10×185 is nearly any given day, 8+ is, while 2×205 is as well.
And only a few years ago those were either PR or very very nearly so, today they’re any time, any day, baked in numbers.
I want my conventional deadlift to get to the level of my press which too I am taking higher.
A barbell and the ground is enough to get you very strong. I’ve been living it the past year and change.
the thumbnail youtube put in front of my face as I uploaded my video
Today’s Lift & Video :
3/1/23
The entire session was this ;
OAS
95 1x r, l
115 1x r, l
fail 145 r
OAS + Side/Bent Press + OHS w/115 r (the video)
fail 125 r
OAS + Side/Bent Press + 2 reps OHS w/115 r (should’ve been video)
Press
~8×145 while walking around the yard with the bar overhead
Under 20 reps total, but of high tension, mostly one arm, “weird” lifts.
I tell you this ; bout an hour later I felt SWOLE, my lats getting out there into ils territory had I been imaging lats instead of actually having grown them a decade or so back.
Great cross body/cross back activation and tension.
These high tension lifts are worth more than they seem on paper.
Note : if a short won’t upload in wordpress – grab the youtu.be link from the video in browser itself – took me a bunch of url variants to get a good link here, the standard shorts protocol wouldn’t link
Man, seeing the video I thought “damn, my fat fuck gut is hanging out, and how many chins are unhidden without the beard”.
Lesson : The Time Is Never Perfect – Do The Work Now :
That note to myself at the end of the video, there is no perfect time, do the work now.
Being on a few days of stubble isn’t excuse not to make content.
What I filmed wasn’t what I expected to, I was looking to one arm snatch 145 today which would’ve been a PR.
As is the one arm overhead squats with 115 were both PRs.
I’m really digging all these weird one arm and two implement lift variants.
I’ve done a turkish get up with a 95lb barbell, a two hands anyhow with the same and a 75lb dumbbell, and I bet I could with 115bb & 75db already.
Lifting Going Forward :
This is the path my lifting is taking ;
•work on the isabel wod, currently PR 2:10 w/95lbs, 3:00 w/115lbs, as #s hit the 2:00 vicinity then I bump the weight
eventually I want that time of 2:00 one armed at 135+
• both all the one arm, and two arm multiple implement lifts in every combination by whenever the mood strikes just looking to do better and better
one arm snatch is 50/20, though more honestly 50/15, protocol ala bryce lane reps done equally each side
though the idea has struck to do one side only some workouts for even more day to day variety
one arm presses – I’d like to see 185 strict each side, 10+ at 135+ strict, I just bend while training to get more training stimuli than strict alone
walking around with weights at lockout, sometimes at rack/front shoulders
I want to tgu, up and down, 205+.
match alexeev on the one arm snatch
I’m coming for you vasily
…..
Pointedly kept myself in a good mood all day, shoveled snow more than necessary, and ran errands both before and after lifting, heck took the video too – all for a sense of accomplishing something today.
A day can be good or bad, it’s how you approach it, look at it, and in the actions you fill it with.
…..
Taking Pride In One’s Work :
And I’ve been writing and rewriting the following, it’s a point I want to make ;
The “dead end job” I work (delivering houses), had a good lesson, I got real value from philosophizing on yesterday’s shift.
The company had to waste 8 unbillable man hours to send two of us to, literally and figuratively, clean up a different crews mess.
Part of the service offered is unpack/assemble/remove debris.
Some customers want these to various degrees, some don’t.
The customers wanted all three. The crew before us refused, basically ran to the truck and gunned it away, doing none of the three.
It was about 3½ hours of truck time for us to go back, spend maybe 15 minutes taking empty boxes out of their house, and finish the job.
The customers had done the unpack and assemble themselves. We were on cleanup, square away, smooth over status – the customers surprised me with how cordial they were, and having done the first two steps themselves.
They honestly thanked us for coming back and taking the trash.
The other crew, and I’ve heard these dudes say it – they “ain’t tryna” whatever.
↑ even used their vernacular
None of us like unpacking/assembling, but honestly it’s easy pay – not physically challenging, and simply takes time.
We’re being paid to complete a task, that’s the service we provide.
The customer pays us and tells us what steps up to and including all of them that they want us to accomplish on their dime.
No one makes any of us work as movers.
Some of these guys just bitch and bitch and would rather be home smoking weed.
They’re not taking pride in the task at all.
I realized, rerealized I should say, that I feel better emotionally, know I’m a better man by not uttering a single complaint, being cordial to every customer, putting my head down and just carrying whatever, wherever it needs go.
The other day the driver told me to start emptying the basement into the living room as he and the other helper repositioned the truck.
Eventually he asks me “and the basement”, “clear” my reply, and he said “good job” a look of surprise on his face.
A couple of the items were borderline two man, but I carefully sidewards walked up the stairs carrying them myself.
The time it took to reposition the truck was just barely what it took for me to clear the basement without a second pair of hands.
There’s nothing wrong with honest work, and Man needs to get his hands to work, real work – labor, honest labor.
I enjoy carrying boxes, at the end of the day I did something tangible – this was moved from a to b to c.
To my stoner coworkers, the guys who cut corners when they feel like it, I can only say thank you – sometimes I get more hours cleaning up your messes, but more importantly you showed me the value, really showed me it spelled out, of taking pride in doing honest work, and working hard without complaint til what needs done is done.
No job is truly dead end – you can grow from the lessons gained with open eye and heart from anything anywhere.
“fuck lines of cocaine” (you interpret it dude – fuck watching porn, take pride in being clean again – and that image at the top is admittedly temptation)
