Persistence and Tenacity

10/5/22
Today I had all intents of taking the day off of lifting.

Evening with the day’s calisthenics done, I set an alarm, and took a long nap.

Wouldn’t you know I dreamt of a big press for reps PR.

I dreamt 20+ x 165lbs, the bar light as a feather – basically an empty bar, and a short set of a few reps of empty bar overhead squats.

In my dream I did my daily minimal lift.

To me that’s a sign.
I’ll hit the lift in a few minutes.

-J

…..

In Reality :

Press
11×165
Overhead Squat
10 x bar

Got the lift in.

“To be a hardcore lifter, you have to be half crazy.” – Steve Justa

…..

In 1940 a 300lb clean and jerk was a big deal…for heavyweights.

You don’t need to compare yourself to modern weightlifters who have better equipment than you, level floors, and are often dodging their iwf drug tests.

You don’t need to compare yourself to modern mr olympia bodybuilders that look like bloated hgh cows.

You look to yesteryear, hold yourself to those standards, knowing you’re not using drugs, and thankful for fucking refrigeration which makes this whole big and strong thing real easy.

Bring out the pizza and eggnog!

Any dude would be happy to have a pre steroid era bodybuilder’s physique.

Be old school.

It’s effective, and available – just do the work.

…..

You’re gonna go further assuming this stuff is easy.

It’s not “look how hard that was”, it’s “look how much I did” – you as point of focus, not the thing, that’s just the work, and not worth the mental sweat – it’s just what you do.

There is no such thing as a hard gainer.
There are only those who put in the work, and those who do not.

Physical maturity is a factor.

Are you not strong yet?
You’re not, then you probably haven’t reached physical maturity yet.

Train for 5-10 years and reevaluate.
Do it.

The youngest that powerlifters tend to reach peak strength at is mid 30s, so all you young adults, keep training.

Strength building is a cumulative activity, it’s not just the recent workouts – it’s the lifetime of activity stacking up, racking up.

That’s why there are plenty of old timers, men and women, whether wiry or heavy set who will surprise you with their bodily strength.

Cumulative. Strength.

…..

A barbell feels like a toothpick in hand directly following axle/fat gripz pulling.

…..

I pressed 12x165lbs today.
There was poundage and reps in the tank, like I’m at 8+x205 if I tried it.
Now that I think about it, would 12×225 be stronger than Wendler of 5/3/1 fame?
And he has made a living from gym – inspiration/hope/vision for me.

The one heave/power clean and many presses – it’s made for an interesting in the moment approach.
Eating big for strength, doing little else but the press, and for high reps at that.

Bastardized old school weightlifting for bodybuilding with a powerlifting diet.

…..

If I need to drop fat, simple, just run ten minutes out and back – you’ll unscientifically get to 20 or 21 minute 5k this way running a few times a week.

Do I want to drop 30-50lbs?

What press # at what bodyweight am I looking for?

…..

Beef & broccoli – everyday, 2½ weeks or so now.

It’ll be easy to say every day this month.

I’m liking the habit.

Damn does the “doing food right thing” have some power to it.

For me the answer is beef & broccoli, and backloading calories via dairy as needed.

I am a workhorse.
In my youth I stood at the fence on a handful of occasions where some, what I believe were retired budweiser, clydesdales were on exhibit, as well as pretty regularly walked to a local farm which had a pair of the friendliest giant horses who’d great you at the fence.

…..

You work with the tools you have.

With them, find what you enjoy and that works for you, and do it.

Do it all out.
Do it now!

I’d rather you do any physical activity than be a couch sitting spectator.

…..

To get big for 1950s LA high school football my Grandpa simply ate much larger portions of all the healthy foods he already ate.

Portions simply were the entire thing

All the quarts of milk, two of the loaves of bread, two of the cantaloupes, all the eggs, etc.

I wish I could recall what exactly it was he bought as a snack down the street right after his stepmom kicked him out of the house for eating too much.

The way he told that story, his mannerisms, he had a youthful joy as he said, and you found yourself salivating, hungry for it as well.

It was a street vendor of some sort, I want to say it was a salami sandwich, then a short walk to a fruit seller who would cut yet another whole cantaloupe for him which he, as a veritable giant of a 17yo considering the year, would sit down on the curb and eat.

Man I can still hear the joy in his voice as he told me this.

And worth noting at 6’1″ he’d roll into football two a days at 230ish, but by the end of track and water polo he’d be an extraordinarily lean 190.

I do not know his size in the us army.
The PT story he told me sounded quite intense.

I know, via picture, that he had a very impressive , probably 210lb with extreme rib cage development as a mid to late 20s lifeguard.

It looked like he was bodybuilding, doing well at it, in the manner of the time.

He still did chin ups at around 70 years old.

I never spoke with him about lifting weights or training, as he passed months before I decided to no longer be a fat kid as a freshman in high school.

He had a total gym which I used which mad eyed intensity as a 7/8yo looking to move up the ranks wrestling, generally Tuesday nights, in karate class (where sensei paired me with kids up to 5 years older than me, years more experienced, and in one hilarious case against the twins and my friend…at the same time)

Persistence & Tenacity

Music Today @ The Cold Air Barbell Club

nelly – #1 (da derrty album version)
How I danced around between sets was so corny and joyous.

Part 1 : Stacking PRs, Racking PRs, Getting Jacked !!! Off Of The Press :

10/3/22
Press
2×10 w/165lbs

10×165 is a new 10rm as far as I can recall, getting it for two sets was cool, I did the second set with my mouth guard in – hadn’t been using it for the past couple weeks.

Fat Gripz SLDL
10, 8, 10 w/165lbs

…..

Typing (Re)Listen :

wes watson – they hated me

…..

The press is “heavy”, the fat grip sldl is pump, health, feel good, making sure my back, hips, and legs continue strong – at this point the hands are the primary point as far as muscular training in the deadlift’s chain of muscles.

I’ll just pull fat gripz double overhand sldl for pumps, and match my press weight.

By the time I press 300+ for some, and fat gripz double overhand sldl 300+ for a bunch – well I’m already the biggest and strongest man I reasonably come across in my day to day.

It’s fine to take something really moderate at most and just lift for health, weights, as designed, are for building you…

The famous 3×10 protocol, THREE SETS OF TEN was invented to rebuild ww2 army air force veterans with massive burn trauma.

…..

I’ve found a snack, a quick bite that works for me, something to up feeding frequency with :

rice cakes with peanut butter and honey plus milk to drink

Dinner continues to be beef and broccoli.

Lifting barefoot and shirtless in the fall air (yep), only the press, fat grip sldl, and high rep overhead squat…I’m becoming a bodybuilder more than I ever was.

Part 2 : Rodeo – Riding The Power Of Obsessive Compulsive Behaviors :

10/3/22
Last night at work, I look at the head chef “B, no comment about my regular meal.”
“Huh”
“About this being my usual now.”
“You’ll get sick of it.”

He’s been in this one particular kitchen for 27 years as of a couple weeks ago, he’s sick of the food there for the most part.

However, he underestimates my obsessive compulsive behaviors.

Every night for more than two weeks now I have eaten beef & broccoli, whether it’s restaurant food or from the grocery store – every night – beef and broccoli.

To continue to do so is my intention…for let’s say a while. I’ve found sustainable & “clean”.

I’ve lassoed these compulsions, picked a few that work FOR ME instead of against me.

Beef and broccoli strikes me as as healthy a meal as it’s gonna get.

If I need to lose weight, perfect, beef and broccoli – little else.

Eating for a big press? Yes!!!
Okay – beef and broccoli with mexican mix cheese, and a second dinner of stuffed crust pizza, plus drink all of the eggnog in addition to the usual milk habit.

As far as training I’m pressing everyday.
Obsessive compulsion – working for me.

I like the soreness in my upper back, and genuinely want to train 3x a day at it – full on bulgarian with some sort of heave, cause that’s how I’ve been shouldering all these mid-100s lb bars, and amrap presses.
Obsessive compulsion – working for me.

Who knew I’d get the most into it while working around a dead end kitchen job, lifting, almost nothing but the clean & press, at “The Cold Air Barbell Club”, with an unhealthy level of solitude.

I’m as close to stereotypical “bodybuilding” in these circumstances as I’ve ever been!

And it feels good.

By pressings the barbell overhead I am doing the work I must.

My beard is growing back.

It is fall. I feel great in the fall.

Tomorrow I shall press again. Now it is time for off to the store! for the stuffed crust pizza and eggnog (and another pound of ground beef + more broccoli).

Because we are eating to build a brutal heave and press, eating nutritiously, and just as a decision I had come to as a high school wrestler…I would rather do more, than eat less.

Enjoying the ride!

Persistence & Tenacity

garth brooks – rodeo

You can find on quora questions such as “how strong was a medieval knight”, or “were the vikings really strong”.

I find these amusing mental exercises, and something you could answer for yourself with fun exercise n=1 self experiment.

Firstly I’m very happy with the results of 8+ months of tree branch mace swinging.

Years back I both regularly hit a tractor tire with, and in another period wielded a sledgehammer inspired by arnold wielding a sword in conan.

I actually discussed the hammer wielding with a swede I hit olys with who had practiced kendo in japan.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

setting the mood with turks rapping in german (bushido – panamera flow)

You could chop trees, you could pound a tire with a sledge, or you could get a relatively thick piece of tree branch (or a sapling), and swing it around like a mace.

I’ve even discovered intensity multipliers like swinging it as hard as possible like a stroke meant to cleave skulls then putting the breaks on it as fast as possible.

The viking stuff I just found online was often pretty corny, yet in the past I have used a concept2 erg inside of a commercial gym, listening to sabaton – “swedish pagans”, imaging rowing to pillage a french village.

I like the concept2 erg, maybe someday I shall own one, it is great cardio, especially for big men where you can get 5k type stimulus.

A concept2 erg is the #1 cardio machine, especially for those with heavier builds.

With my current equipment access, I think my next workout will be a bunch of low rep, probably light, bent rows.

And the mace, since I find forearm pumps addictive. I have one right now from grippers.

I am a work out addict.

Persistence & Tenacity

swedish pagans – sabaton

10/2/22
215pm – It is before work, therefore we get our lift in.

Did you know it puts the lotion in the basket?

(This was being referenced a bunch at work yesterday.)

That’s kinda how I feel continuing to show up to this job. That I am it. Shit! lol

But then again we split our employee meals between me, myself, and I. It might as well join in on the fun.

But seriously, lifting before work is a good idea.

It makes for a bit more daily volume than one set after work does, and volume is the reason.

220pm-3pm
Overhead Squat
25 x bar

Press
2×155 emom x 15:00
extra pull work this way, did almost all as really one pull martinezs (bent row, stand, a one pull floor to shoulders as ugly as we can get a clean)

Fat Gripz SLDL
5×2 155 ss w/5 deep knee bends

Press
15×155 PR

Before I put my hands on the bar for this set I was thinking it’s time for 10×155 to be nothing, grabbed the bar, expected to beat 12, and mentally was saying “I’d rather die than not get 15, and on those last couple reps…my entire body was shaking.

I hadn’t been at that point in a while.
Between the dehydration of this job and yard lifting, well I got to where multiple long sets of weighted pushup position planks with a ~150lb guy standing on my back got me last year.

A shaking midsection is being trained hard, and when that same midsection has reached some point of actually resembling recovered/has adapted… that’s how one has very freakish strength.

On a side note : years ago I had a short, stocky 185lb hawaiian walk across and stand on my stomach as I held 6”.

How many people can make that statement 🙂

-J

Today’s PR Music (yes seriously – just like back at 16 as written recently) :

alina – numa numa (basshunter remix)

10/2/22
Sunday morning, waking up to piss, laughing that I naturally woke a little before what had been my work alarm a couple days ago, a bit sore/tired/dehydrated having just done 30 hours in the kitchen over the past three days, maybe a little bit of it cause of the dream…

During gym dreams I’m convinced I do dynamic tension in my sleep.

At a nightmarish gym, a weird mix of medieval dungeon and horrific futuristic sci fi….

There was a pullup bar, I hopped up though a bit worried that I would be shot and killed by the gym manager while on the bar (whether the laser(s) were set to stun or not – yes I was thinking this watching his skeevy otto like ass being sketchy at the front desk), and started repping pullups.

5 reps – huh, easy, I’m not that good at pullups right now
10 reps – this is about as well as I have done recently
let’s get to 20, it’s been a while…
20 reps – cool, continue, we’ll PR with 30
30 reps – yep, PR – let’s hit 35
hang a moment
35 reps – I’m bored, let’s make the PR a little higher
hang a moment
one more
hang a moment
one more
37 reps – call it, more reps in the tank – had I wanted it easily 40 to 45, even 50 reps, hop down…

Well the manager didn’t shoot me with his laser, that’s good.

I go into the locker room, piss, and as I’m washing my hands the manager let’s the 8ft roided out orc of a low iq roid rage bodybuilder type (obviously the rancor) out of it’s cage.

What a weird dream, I was me, as Luke? – I haven’t watched any star wars in years…but this dream? In it I was good at pullups though 🙂

I take all the gym dreams, even the nightmarish ones, even the star wars like nightmarish ones as inspiration to keep training.

Off to lift.

-J

astronaut in the ocean – masked wolf

I’ve been blessed to not have a gym membership.

I had to go back to my roots, to put in effort, training every day, at home, alone – because training matters.

I’ve been blessed to be working 10+ hour kitchen shifts lately.

That much time on my feet alongside the massive sweating caused by the job = getting leaner without trying.

Having beef and broccoli to eat is a blessing.

What a nutritious combination!

I’ve been enjoying these, how I eat, which as I consider the beef and broccoli to be bodybuilder clean, is a 50/50 mix of eating bodybuilder clean and eating dirty at this point.

I drink mostly water from the fountain at work, usually laying off the soda.

I don’t need the caffeine.

Drinking cold milk, late night, after the day at work is incredibly refreshing.

The milk earned, then drank late night for great digestion and assimilation.

I’ve never had alcohol.
I’m a milk drinker.

Persistence & Tenacity