Diet Update

I still haven't been very good about posting often (obviously), but figured I better post an update today. The holidays were definitely rough on the diet, as I knew they would be. By Tuesday night, my stomach was begging me to stop eating shit. Luckily, between digestive enzymes, probiotics, and vegetables, I was able to keep from feeling like complete shit (just borderline shit). I think that short break also served its purpose, as I am easily as lean as I was right before it started. It's been a little tough getting back into the swing of the diet these last couple days, as some of it has been like starting over. I have to get used to being hungry again. I have to remember I'm not going to eat certain foods. I have to get back in the diet mindset. With this being the 3rd day back on it, I think this will be about the day where all that really kicks in and it shouldn't be too tough from here on out.

Guns, Pulls, and Presses

I definitely haven't been writing as often as I should, but here it is anyway. I decided I would write out the general outline in terms of what I'm doing, both diet and training-wise, in case anyone wondered. Which I doubt they do, because I'm pretty sure they don't read this, but in case somebody stumbles across this, here it is.

Diet:
Kind of a combo PSMF (protein-sparing modified fast)/keto diet. Basically, trying to get 250-300 grams of protein per day, with a bit of fat and not much more than incidentals for carbs. The main reason for this is that I'm trying to speed things up as much as possible so I don't have to diet for as long, while still hopefully giving me enough energy to not allow training to go completely into the shitter. I'm also taking the EC stack 3x per day and replacing the first dose with YC prior to fasted cardio on days that I do it.

Training:
I play basketball on Sunday nights (although I won't for the next 2 weeks due to Christmas break), then try to get some steady state work in 3-4 times per week if possible (3.5 incline on treadmill, 3.5-4.0 mph for 45-60 minutes). Heavy lifting is Tuesday/Friday using Wendler's 5/3/1. Deadlift/military Tuesday and squat/bench Friday. All sets are done for the minimum reps except for the occasional day where I feel like pushing the last set on one of the upper body lifts a little harder. Even then, it is done unpsyched, with the intention of not beating the hell out of myself too much. I do 1x5 on the ab wheel every day of the week (with the exception of Sunday because I'm not at the gym). On the days I don't have my heavy lift, I try to get some single-leg work, shoulder prehab stuff, pull-aparts, pullups, pushup variations, and the like in. Mondays I do 4x8 thick bar curls with 70 pounds superset with 4x10 close grip pushups. Saturdays I work up to a heavy set of 10ish on t-bar rows. Both of those (Monday and Saturday) are on top of the other stuff. So now that I wrote it all out and realized that it's probably confusing as hell, here's what it generally looks like:
Monday
PVC/mobility
Shoulder prehab/rehab
Single-leg work (lunges, RFESS, etc.)
Pullups/chinups/etc. (the single leg and pullup stuff is generally not programmed at all, I just wing it)
Thick bar curls (70 pounds) - shoot for 4x8 (I cut off the set if it feels super tough) superset with
Close-grip pushups 4x10
Ab wheel 1x5

Tuesday
Deadlift 5/3/1 minimum reps
Military 5/3/1
Ab wheel 1x5
Occasionally throw in pull-aparts

Wednesday/Thursday
Similar to Monday minus curls and pushups

Friday
Squat 5/3/1 minimum reps
Bench 5/3/1
Ab wheel 1x5
Occasionally throw in pull-aparts

Saturday
Similar to Monday, replace curls and pushups with working up to heavy set of ~10 on rows

Hooray for Mediocrity!

I managed to hit 385 on deadlift the other night - hardly an amazing feat by nearly any measure, but it was only 20 pounds less than my best ever, and I did it unpsyched, in a caloric deficit. The main reason I was able to do so, was because of smart programming and training, and also because, when you're not particularly strong to begin with, you're even less likely to slide backwards on a deficit, because you don't have as far backward to go. The other great thing is it does seem like I'm seeing more progress on the fat loss front...getting to see that every so often is nice to keep you pushing forward. You just have to remember that you're not going to see the day-to-day progress that you think you will.
The other day I thought to myself and remembered an article written by Mike Boyle a while back titled "Training is Like Farming." When you farm, you plant your seeds, you water them, you fertilize them, and you wait for them to grow. You don't go dig them up every few days to make sure they are growing, or to make sure that what you're doing is working. Training, dieting, pretty much everything else is the same way. This doesn't mean you shouldn't see progress, but farming is the same way. When something starts happening, you'll see it. It won't be tomorrow, it might not be until next month. But adhere to the tried-and-true principles, and it will happen eventually.

Gone Rantin'

Not much progress to report on the diet front - simply chugging along. Although I will note that I'm turning into what I hate - I'm getting more discouraged by my progress on a daily basis. This is despite the fact that I KNOW that I'm not going to actually notice progress from day to day. It takes time, and you simply have to accept that. I think the biggest issue is the fact that the one spot where I want the fat to come off - the midsection - is going to be the last place it comes from. It's unfortunate, but true. I do think other areas are starting to look a bit leaner, which means things are trending in the right direction. I just have to keep that in mind.
On to the rant. I don't comment much on politics, because I simply don't pay much attention to them, and, contrary to the average American, I try not to speak much on topics I'm not well-versed in. That said, I heard about another rich dickhead (Warren Buffett being the other I know of offhand) saying he should be paying more in taxes. Which brings me to this:
1. If you want to pay more, you can. There is no law against it. If you feel you should be paying more, then take initiative and do so. I'm sure he would tell his employees something similar - don't wait to be told to do something; if you see something that needs done, take the initiative to do it. Yet these fuckwads can't take the initiative to give more money to the government (I'm not saying they should pay more, but if they think they should, then they fucking should).
2. People seem to be operating under the assumption that the only way out of the current hole is by increasing income. Apparently people forget that we can cut spending, while keeping income steady, in an effort to reduce the deficit. Generally, when peoples' incomes go down, they reduce their spending to atone for this; they don't simply look to people to hand them more money.
3. The previous statement is also akin to the bailout supporters - because we've always had X amount of car makers, we must always have X amount of car makers, not realizing that, if they were worthy of staying in business, they would have done so. They wouldn't need the help of the government. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Where there is a void in the marketplace, someone will come along and fill it, if the financial incentive is strong enough.
4. Finally, when will people realize you simply can't legislate being a good person. All the stories you hear about CEOs or other rich business people helping those in need or taking lower salaries to give their employees better benefits - they did that because they chose to do so. They weren't legislated to do so, and no amount of legislation will change it, either. Rather than requiring people to do nice things, how about we all simply try to be better and help out others? Instead, everyone seems to be going around seeing what others can do for them. And then wonder why things are going down the shitter. Ugh.

Training Log

The lack of calories is kicking my ass, although, in the end, the poundages on my lifts really aren't taking too bad of a beating. One great thing I've noticed on this diet is I function just fine in ketosis. I know I've read some people say that they get mentally foggy or extremely rundown, but I really haven't experienced any of that. I'm sure the EC stack is helping mitigate some of the damage, but considering I just started that a few days ago and hadn't noticed any issues even before starting it.
On the subject of the EC stack, unfortunately all the good vibes I had from the first few days have pretty much gone away. I do get a bit of jitteryness from it, and did notice yesterday that my fine motor skills took a bit of a hit (I couldn't catch a wiffleball to save my fucking life). That said, I'm sure it's still doing its job of elevating metabolic rate to keep burning fat. Remember, just because you don't "feel" something working, doesn't mean it's not.

Training Log

Training itself was garbage today - didn't really do much. However, the diet keeps trucking along. Still keeping protein high, trying to keep fat and carbs fairly low. It's not a full-on PSMF, but I'm hoping the caloric deficit is at least 1,000 per day. I think I need to crank up the activity level by increasing NEAT or adding some LISS in the morning.
On another note, I started the EC stack today - it fucking rules. I'm also going to give yohimbine + caffeine a try some morning before I do some LISS and see how that goes - should be fun.

Training Log

Another day of dieting in the books. It sucks, but at the same time, not nearly as hard as I thought it would be once you get past some of the psychological hurdles I talked about yesterday. The biggest thing I would say - eat more fucking protein. You should already know that, but protein keeps you full. The more you eat, the better off you'll be on a diet. While I certainly am hungry throughout the day, it's not unbearable. Lean protein, veggies, some protein shakes, a bit of fruit, and you're golden.
Training for the day:
I try to do an extended warm-up to get a little more activity in and burn some extra calories, but due to fucking around on the computer for too long, I had to get right to business. As a result, I didn't feel great going into the lift, but oh well.
Deadlift - 265x3, 305x3, 340x3
Military Press - 115x3, 135x3, 150x3x3

Short and sweet.

Cutting

Well, obviously I've failed miserably in the original purpose of this blog - blogging on a daily or near-daily basis. But as I've started to look over how I've been spending my time, I think I can fit it back in. However, I will use it more as a training log (as I started to do toward the last few posts) with the occasional random thoughts sprinkled in.
A week ago, on a whim, I decided to try to "cut." It's something I've never done, just as I've never intentionally "bulked." Sure, I've done routines aimed at putting on muscle mass, but I've never kept track of calories, or taken before/after shots, or even measured anything. Yes, I realize that essentially means I have no idea if any of it worked (and I guess I don't), but since I'm not competing in anything, it's not really the end of the world, either.
But, I decided that I'm tired of the fact that I'm not particularly big, not particularly strong, and not particularly lean. Yes, I am probably all of those things in comparison to the "average" person, but really that's more of a commentary on the general public than a positive reflection on myself.
That said, getting lean takes the least time of the 3 things I listed, so fuck it, I'll go for it. I'm not "dieting" in the classical sense of weighing everything I eat, or even logging any of it. What I am doing is trying to keep my food choices very simple - eggs, meat, protein powder, some dairy, fruit, and veggies - and going with that. I'm keeping meal frequency at about 4 per day (I probably eat closer to 5-6 times per day normally). Will this work? I honestly have no idea, but I've definitely already learned a few things:
1. Dieting is pretty much entirely psychological. I'm hungry damn near all the fucking time. And my diet in the past has essentially been based on "eat when hungry." It's also been "eat pretty much whatever you damn well please, because you're pretty active and won't become a fat pile of shit." However, since that strategy has put me where I am today, obviously something has to change. Therefore, the biggest thing has been resisting the urge to simply grab the occasional cookie or ordering whatever I damn well please when out to eat. While some might say "live a little, you can still do those things on a diet!" they don't realize that I don't "do" moderation. When I indulge, I indulge. That said, obviously this is mostly a psychological thing, but you do what you have to. For me, cutting out food groups while doing this is the easiest way for me to do it. Your mileage may vary.
2. You can get used to it fairly quickly. Yes, I'm still hungry all the fucking time, but it's also getting easier and easier to turn down the forbidden fruits. You start to realize that those things you think are "missing out on" will be options in the not-so-distant future. That realization finally hit me this past weekend and helped keep me on track. Luckily, my workouts haven't been suffering, so I don't feel the need to binge, either.
3. Getting back on track can be very easy too, if your head is in the right place. I went off the rails a bit this past weekend, caving and having some brownies and cookies and a few other foods not on the list (again, many would say this isn't a bad thing, but fuck you, I'm doing it this way). Normally, and for most, that is cause to scrap it all together. However, I was able to put it in perspective and simply get back to the list. End result? Minimizing the damage.
I realize there are others far worse off than myself in terms of where they are, how much they have to lose, etc. But that doesn't mean the same principles don't apply. And if all else fails, when you're hungry and thinking about going off script, I try to remember what Paul Carter says - "so what, it's not cancer. Deal with it, bitch."

Training Log

Haven't posted since last week.

Squatted Wednesday - 285x10. This was a huge PR, as I think my previous best around this weight was something like 280x7. Still nothing special, but it felt good to hit that. Did a few sets of good mornings and abs afterward and called it good.

Did jack shit Thurs-Sunday other than a little steady state work Friday, a mistake I'm trying to make sure I don't repeat next time.

Started up the 2nd cycle of Boring But Big yesterday, finished with 135x8 on the last set. Assistance:
DB Bench - 5x10 with 70s superset with
Empty barbell curls - 5x20
Bent-over rows - 5x10 with 135 superset with
DB pullovers - 5x20 with 30 lbs

Again, nothing earth-shattering, but I feel like I'm moving in the right direction at least. Deadlifting today (hopefully), as I'm going to change my schedule around a bit and shoot to hit my lifting M/T/Th/F, as I was always lacking sleep on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and did a horseshit job of eating breakfast on Saturdays. I'm also playing around with what the next few months will look like for my training. While I don't have any plans to compete, it is nice to sit down and have a long-term plan at least.

Training Log

Jesus, I knew I hadn't posted in a while, but I just realized it's been 2 weeks. In any event, training the last week or so has actually been pretty solid, despite less sleep than I should be getting. Still nothing earth-shattering, but not too bad for myself. I won't put down assistance, but top sets have been:

Military - 145x11
Deadlift - 335x9
Bench - 240x6
Squat - will do today (285)

Again, nothing to write home about, but this is the only week I've really been getting worked up for at all on the last sets. Deadlift was the only one I was truly aiming for a PR, and came up just short. I could have probably pushed a little harder to get it, but considering this next few months is more about getting in some volume on the assistance work, I'm not too concerned about it.

I certainly don't consider myself a self-help guru by any means, and I would say anyone that would hire me int that capacity would be doing themselves a great disservice. That said, I do think the area of self-change and improvement are fascinating and areas I'm always trying to better myself in. If there's one thing I've realized, it's this - it's hard fucking work, and it won't get easier. You're always going to be swimming upstream because, by it's very nature, you're trying to change something about yourself. The body is resistant to change. Whether it is psychological or physical, the body is always trying to achieve homeostasis - don't disrupt the system. But, when we are trying to change something about ourselves, that is what we're trying to do. And simply doing something once won't do it. Much like progressive overload in training, we have to constantly push our boundaries.
Just like anyone who looks for the day when training becomes "easy," getting mentally better will never become "easy" either. Dave Tate talked about it in his business. The struggles of owning a business never go away, the problems you're dealing with simply change. The things you deal with as a startup will be peanuts compared to what you face down the road. Your mindset and psychology are no different. You fight hard to get over certain hurdles, you learn new things about yourself and about the world, you change your mindset, and all is right. And then you realize that there is still so much more to be done. You're constantly fighting that battle of not slipping back into mediocrity.
Every day is a struggle, because it has to be. Just like with training, or with anything, if you stop working, you lose what you've worked so hard to gain. No one wants to hear that, because they want to know that if they just work hard for a little while, all will be right with the world. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. But always remember there will be ups, and there will be downs. Days where this comes easy, days where it is damn near impossible to put in the effort necessary. But stringing together as many days as you can where you push yourself beyond where you feel comfortable is necessary to truly see change.

   "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

   "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you

   are Real, you don't mind being hurt."

   "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

   "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes

   a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily,

   or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the

   time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop

   out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't

   matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people

   who don't understand."

   -from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Training - Bench & Squat

Benched Monday - bicep felt and shittier than expected, and the weight felt heavier than expected. It happens. Top set was 215, hit it for 5 and called it good. While the weight felt heavy, I did absolutely 0 "psyching up" for it. Literally laid down, got tight and unracked it and went. Assistance was:

Military - 75 for 5x10 superset with
DB curls - 15s for 5x20
One-arm rows - 5x10 - 70, 70, 70, 65, 65 superset with
Cable tricep pushdowns - 5x20

Squatted today - similar story in terms of shittiness of the session - the combination of a few beers last night plus lack of sleep lately combined to kick my ass. Still got the work in, but ugh.

Squat - top set was 255x5
Squat - 150, 5x10
Good mornings - 95, 5x10 superset with
Kneeling band crunches - 5x10

Gotta start getting way more sleep, and I think things will start to look a bit better. I realize I'm weak as sin, but oh well. Plan is to run this for 3 months, then I'm going to try Wendler's 100 rep challenge program afterward (continuing on the hypertrophy phase). It'll be a hellacious mental challenge, but it should be fun. I do think some of the slightly higher-rep work I'm doing now will be helpful, but certainly won't be any guarantee of success.

Training Log

I realized that, while I don't necessarily have time to sit down and write out extensive blog posts, I can still use this as a training log and occasionally jot out random "stream of consciousness" type posts. That way, I'm still honing writing a bit, but not don't have to devote a ton of time to it. I've started doing Wendler's 5/3/1 with modified Boring But Big assistance work. I dropped my maxes down quite a ways (150 M/250 B/300 S/350 D). Run this for about 3 months, then see where to go from there. Started day 1 on Friday rather than wait for this Monday.

Friday
Military - don't remember my first few sets, but last was 130x7
assistance - DB Bench - 5x10 - 60/65/70/65/60 superset with empty barbell curls 5x20
Bent-over rows - 5x10 - 115/125/135/125/115 superset with seated DB tricep extensions 5x20 w/ 40 lbs

Saturday
Deadlift - don't remember the work up sets, last was 300x8
assistance - Heavy shrugs 10x3 w/ 585
Good mornings 5x10 w/ 95 superset with ab wheel 5x10

Habit Forming

It's amazing how quickly we can fall out of habits. While I did say I wouldn't be able to blog nearly as much for the time being due to other commitments, I certainly didn't intend for it to completely dissipate as it has. This is due, largely, to the fact that it simply hadn't become ingrained as a habit just yet. Despite the fact that I had done it pretty consistently for a few weeks, it hadn't become automatic. And this highlights why it's so hard to change many habits at once. 
We've all been there. We see what we want, we've decided we're changing our lives for the better, and the best way to get there is to change everything! Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. I've heard it takes roughly one month for a habit to become automatic. And, while it's difficult to focus on doing 18 different things on a daily basis, it's a lot easier to focus on one. "I will do X every single day," is a lot easier than "I will do X, Y, Z, oh and A, B, C, too." Our minds simply don't work like that, especially because it gets really easy to say "fuck it all" the first time to you forget to do B, even though that one time, in and of itself, is not a killer.
This realization, though, has given me newfound respect for those who work with obese and overweight populations looking to lose weight. While it's not a population I work with, it is obviously a population that needs it. Most people see the fancy gizmos the douchebag trainers on the Biggest Loser berating people and acting like general assholes and assume that is what's necessary for weight loss. But none of it is. The best coaches and trainers in that segment of the population get people to change their habits. The majority of these people have spent a lifetime building poor eating habits, poor exercise habits, and poor life habits in general. What they do with the rest of their life doesn't support health, and their poor health drives them to continuing to make unhealthy choices in other aspects. The trouble, then, comes with choosing which habits to change first. The answer should be "the easiest one to change," but the one most people choose is either "all of them," or "the one that will make the biggest difference" (even though it's also the hardest one to change). I certainly don't have all the answers, or even very many, but I think it's something to ruminate on. And who knows, maybe down the line it's a group I become more interested in working with.

Training Log & Update

Training has been going pretty well.

Tuesday - snatched, worked up to I think 185. Squat, worked up to singles at 295, then did 225x20, followed by light pressing.

Thursday - sumo deadlifts 3x5 at 205 or 225, I don't remember. Push press, worked up to 3 singles at 185, with a very small push. Then 115x15 I believe it was.

Saturday - snatched for over an hour, took about 12 attempts at 215, but never did hit it. Got it overhead multiple times, but due to shitty technique, had it out front a bit and was never able to come up with it. Followed with 1-arm deadlifts, worked up to 225 on each arm. Then DB farmers carry with light sled drags (7 rounds). Finished with Kroc rows, 100x31, and "dip death" 22, 11, 5, 2, 2.

I haven't posted due to being busy with work and simply not making it a priority. And the more I think about it, at this point in time, I need to focus most of my energy on things that will directly improve my business at the moment, which means this will get put on the back burner. I will probably still post training updates, as it makes an easy training log so I don't have to actually write shit down. And I will occasionally write something that may pop in my head. But basically, I'm not going to be spending a lot of time drawing up long posts. I have some in the chamber that I've got the framework for in my head and jotted down, but they need a lot of cleaning up, which I will get to down the road. But at the moment, I've got big shit I need to work on in my business, which has to take precedent. Of course, this decision is made much easier by the fact that nobody reads this blog anyway, but I digress.

Nerves

Ever been inexplicably nervous for something? Something that you know shouldn't be that big of deal, and yet you still get quite nervous beforehand? Fucking sucks. I haven't been nervous for a meeting in quite some time, and yet, here I sit, a bit nervous about a meeting I have in a few hours.
Now, I know at least partially why. I have been quite critical of the school's weight room practices, so there is the potential for this meeting to be quite combative. That said, I also have the very real option of simply walking out if I don't like the direction it goes. The position available is not make or break, but the very real opportunity to impact more kids is always a plus, and as such I would like to "win" so to speak. But, when you have egos involved, I'm sure some will not be particularly excited to hear what I have to say.
One strategy that I've learned in these types of situations is to simply think of the worst case scenario, then realize that the worst case scenario really isn't that bad. Worst case scenario - the coaches don't like what I have to say, I politely reject the position, and go on my way. Simple as that.
Yes, this was more of a rambling, "stream of consciousness" type of post, but I wanted to write something, so here it is.

Training Log

Note to self - no more Casey's breakfast pizza. It caused some, umm, gastric distress. That doesn't always happen, but often enough that it would probably be best to skip it.

Yesterdays session was pretty fun, and I set a PR, which is always fun as well.

Power snatch - worked up to PR of 205. Hoped to hit a couple singles with it, but after hitting it on my first attempt, couldn't do it again. I recorded the successful attempt, but I felt I kicked my feet out wider than I would like and thought it looked like shit, so I deleted it thinking I would have a better one. No dice.

One-arm deadlift - worked up to 205. Not sure how I feel about it. Probably could've pushed a bit harder and gotten more, but I'm really not too disappointed with it, since I didn't really know what I would hit anyway.

Trap bar carry & sled drag - used 240 on the trap bar (actually 290 on my first trip), and 90 pounds on the sled. Did 7 rounds total in 20 minutes.

Kroc rows - 100x25. Not a PR (30 is my best), but not too bad.

"Dip death" - I want to do this with a partner, but since I didn't have one, I just timed my sets and rested as long as the set took. Went 21, 11, 4, 2, 1. 

Training Log

Training yesterday was light squat & heavy pullups, along with conditioning.

Did light, wide stance low bar parallel squats - 185, 3x5
Pullups - 3x3 with 20 extra pounds, then 1 set of 8 with bodyweight
Conditioning - 10x40 yds with 90 pounds on the prowler, 90 seconds between

Feel ridiculously weak on the pullups, but I also feel like I should be doing more work. I'm trying to fight this though, as I have to remember not to judge simply based on how worn out I get. The conditioning wasn't terrible - I did the same thing a few weeks back, only 60 seconds rest, and this was far easier.

Small Workout

Did a "small workout" today -
Face pulls 4x25
Band triceps 4x25
Poundstone curls 50 reps

Added some mobility stuff between my sets on the face pulls and triceps. In the future, I need to add more mobility work and abs.

Jim Wendler was once asked what he would do if he were 30% body fat. His response? "Push the Prowler until I wasn't." Simple and appropriate.
It's easy to get caught up in what we should be doing, when the fact is that if we are that far from a finished product, you gotta just start going at it. It's probably not even what you "should" be doing. But it's also better than the alternative of nothing. As you chip away and start to get closer, then there is time to start formulating a more refined plan of attack. But when that time is so far in the distance as to be a speck, there is no reason to waste any time worrying. Doing will always trump planning at first. And as I've said before, I write this stuff as much for myself as anything. To be a constant reminder, because I sure as shit need it, too.

Training Log

First day of my new setup. Definitely took some talking myself into it to really get going.

Deadlift - worked up to 3 singles at 365, then 275x15
Incline Bench - 3x5 @ 135, superset with band pull-aparts
Prowler - 1 plate per handle, 6 roughly 40 yard sprints, didn't time rest, took my time though

I was very tempted to just take the day off and really pour some time into work things, of which there is a never-ending list. I was trying to convince myself that I've been pushing pretty hard for 6 weeks or so, with sleep being pretty spotty, and perhaps I should use the week to recharge. But much like the saying "before you go diagnosing yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, surrounded by assholes," I reminded myself "before you go diagnosing yourself with underrecovery or low desire to train, first make sure you are not, in fact, being a flaming vagina." While I didn't necessarily feel any better about myself, it did get me moving to at least lift something. 
The bottom line is, until I'm stringing together weeks of 4 hour nights of sleep combined with teaching and working long days, I probably don't have a valid excuse for not training, and neither do most people. I used to be a staunch supporter of the deload every 3 or 4 weeks, but I've really taken to Paul Carter's idea of simply taking time off once you really feel like you don't even want to touch a weight. Not just "I don't feel like pushing real hard today," like "I really think I'll lose my shit if I even touch a bar." And to be honest, I don't know the last time I felt that. In other words, the note to myself is, even if it's a shit session, it's better than nothing most of the time. And if a few shit sessions start getting strung together, then yes, it's time to back off. But again, not many people reach that point, and I sure haven't, either, at least not right now.

Training Log

Finished up the Juggernaut Method yesterday. Last few days of training:

Friday - Deadlift - only 375x2, needed 3
Saturday - Military - 165x5

Overall, it's a solid program, which you would expect. It adheres to the principles of slow, incremental progress, and big exercises. I think it would have worked a lot better for me if I had done a better job with recovery and I had done a better job with assistance work - definitely need to spend more time on abs/low back. None of these are the fault of the program - they are the fault of the user. In any event, my squat poundages are back, everything else seems to be right about where they were probably a year ago, which, on the one hand is pretty sad, but on the other, I can deal with, considering where I was.
I'm excited to try my new "program." It's rooted in a lot of different things that I've picked up in the past year or so, with the goal of eventually trying out a "Chaos & Pain" type setup. We'll just have to see how everything goes and how long I can keep running this. The setup is this:

Warmups will be "movement" based - I want to maintain, if not improve athletic ability and explosiveness, so I will center the warmups around animal walks, lunge variations, sprint prep, sprints, jumps, and whatever else I feel like throwing in.

Tuesday:
Lower body main - this will rotate between deadlift and squat every week
Work up to a training max, using plates, 25s, and 10s. I have an extended warmup I use when I do this - barx10, 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x3, 185x3, then all singles after that up to my training max.
Plan on hitting 3 singles at the training max
Then dropping ~100 pounds and doing a balls-out set
Upper - on deadlift day, this will be a press variation, squat day will be a pull variation
Generally plan on keeping it fairly light, 3-4x5-10. If I feel real frisky I may push the poundages a bit, but the set and rep range will still be the same
Conditioning - I play basketball Tuesday nights

Thursday:
Lower  body light - will be a squat or deadlift variation - opposite of Tuesday
Sets/reps same as Tuesday's upper body
Upper - will rotate between press and pull every week - pull will be a pullup variation
On press, will be similar to Tuesday's lower body setup
Pull will work up to heavy set of 3, then back off and do body weight xAMRAP
Conditioning - whatever, probably Prowler, maybe sledgehammer on tires

Saturday:
Olympic lift or variation - work up to training max, 3 singles
Odd lift - work up to training max. This can be any odd lift - Jefferson, Steinborn, Zercher, 1-arm deadlift, the possibilities are many
Carries/sled drags - Some sort of carry, superset with moderate-to-light sled drags. If the carries are grip-intensive, the sled drag will be done using a belt
Dips - I'd like to have a training partner for this, as here's the setup I want to do:
     1 person goes to failure
     Next person goes to failure
     First person jumps back in, goes to failure
     Second jumps in, same thing
     Back and forth you go, until one of you can go no more - probably
     determine "winner" by most reps, not necessarily who's left standing
Kroc Rows - again, if carries were grip-intensive, use straps

Other days will be small workouts, centered around bodyweight, or things like band pull-aparts, face pulls, single-leg work, and rehab type stuff. I'll also try to get long walks in at least a few times a week (something I haven't been doing a very good job of). These won't be planned out in any way, they will simply sort of happen. Abs will also probably be done every day, ab wheel on the heavy days, some lighter body weight stuff on small days.
Who knows, maybe this will turn me into a beast and I can sell the program for millions of dollars. Or better yet, it allows me to make continual progress, and I can be happier with myself than my current standing of mediocre. As always, it will depend as much on what I'm doing outside of training as in it. Sleep, food, all of it needs to be dialed in much better than it has been to hope to see progress.

Training Log

First failure of the training cycle on bench Wednesday

275x2 - needed to get 3 or more.

Goddamn bicep is all kinds of fucked up. I think I'll keep trying to ice/rehab and stick to push presses, jerks, and floor presses for pressing for the near future. Not sure what I'm going to do for pulling, I'll just have to play that by feel. I've got a few things in mind for what I want to start up doing after tomorrow's military press day, but I haven't definitively decided yet. If I can get my shit together and know that I'll spend my recovery time the way I need to (namely, sleeping), then I know I can push a bit harder. Unfortunately, that's been a bit hard to come by lately.

Motivation has been waning a bit lately, both for the gym and work, but that's to be expected. It's the natural course of things, you're never going to be 100% "into" it. BUT, what truly separates people is those who truly want to achieve push through it anyway. Sure, maybe take a little time off or away, but not too much. And then you get right back to plugging away. For instance, the whole waking up early thing was going great, but lately, it's seemed like such a chore. But, I've got to get over that.
The theme that you see smart people talk about, and granted, this is often about training but applies everywhere, is that motivation is bullshit. The people who are constantly looking to external cues, videos, quotes, etc. for motivation are simply not going to make it. That doesn't mean those things aren't useful sometimes. They absolutely are. And they sometimes serve well as a bedrock, something to always come back to when absolutely necessary. But to rely on them all the time is an exercise in futility, because you're constantly trying to light a match. At some point, it's going to be raining.
But if you're in it for the long haul, be it training, your career, business, family, relationships, whatever, there's an eternal flame. Sometimes, it will be raging hot as all hell, and others, it will be more subdued. But it will be there. You might throw some more gas on it every once in a while, but it's not necessary to do all the time.

Training Log

Last week of the Juggernaut Method

Squat - 300x6 (did a 7th rep, but got a little help from spotter, so I don't count it)
Power Snatch - worked up to 175. Wanted to hit 205, but it just wasn't going to happen, considering I failed miserably at 195 twice

It felt good to hit a PR at 300, particularly with the high-bar, Olympic style. My previous best of 5 was done with a low bar, wider stance squat. I think it really helped reinforce the "ignore your body" idea, since my knees have been feeling a bit shitty lately, mostly due to just feeling really tight around the joint (quads mostly). But, come the heaviest set, I've been able to do a good job of shutting it out and focusing on doing what I need to do. I think this also makes the compelling point for pain being largely a function of the mind. It certainly has physiological bases - there is no debate about that. But, I think it's also worth noting that the vast number of people who are able to put aside pain or ignore it completely lends a lot of credence to Noakes' Central Governor theory - that is, that the shutting down of our body really comes from the brain, not the muscles themselves. Which is really a long-winded way of saying, it's all in your fucking head, most likely. John Broz has said "the way you feel is a lie." Your body will often be capable of PR performances despite feeling like shit. Other days, when you feel like a million bucks, you may have a terrible performance. It's an important lesson, but one that takes a long time to learn.
It's also a reminder to me to push my athletes a bit harder. Some have no problem doing this. They are constantly pushing to set PRs and pushing themselves as hard as they can. Others, however, are constantly looking for reasons they can't do something, and honestly, I go along with it. Part of that is the fact that I realize my role in the sport training process. My job is to make athletes big (if needed), strong, fast, and mobile, with as little risk of injury as possible. As such, if an athlete says they have something that is bothering them, while it may seem prudent to tell them to push through it, I may be exposing them to unnecessary risk of injury. Of course, the mark of a good coach is figuring out which ones are "faking" and which ones need to be dialed back. Still working on that one, but probably most are the former. Of course, I don't really think they're faking, I'm sure they really do think they're hurt/sore/tired/whatever. But I need to remind them that doesn't give them an excuse to be a bleeding vagina. And I need to continually remind myself of it, too. Yesterday was a good start.

Train to be Awesome

Take the time to write yourself a “train to be awesome” list. This is something Jim Wendler has written about quite a bit. You don't have to post it, you don't even have to share it with anybody. But, while having it in your head is great, writing it down just does something to make it real. Says Wendler:

Write a Training Manifesto – I have a “Train to be Awesome” list that I refer to when I feel like I’m losing track of where I’m going/where I’ve been. Refer to this when you’re “lost.” Everyone needs to have their own Training Manifesto and it’s all based on what you need and want from training. You don’t have to share this with anyone – just hold yourself accountable.

Jim has his "train to be awesome" list, Jamie Lewis has his 10 Commandments of Chaos and Pain, Paul Carter has his Lifer Series, and I'm sure others have their own variations of it. It doesn't have to be long, and you can call it whatever you want, but having a sort of credo that you adhere to will be invaluable when it comes time to figuring out how you're going to train. Does it fall in line with your rules? If not, leave it out. These don’t have to be specifics (though they can be), just a list of principles you will adhere to. It also keeps you from getting sucked into gimmicks and quick fixes, and keeps you focused on what you truly should be: a long-term outcome.

I've started writing mine, but while I'm at it, I also plan to write a "live to be awesome" list as well. Again, it's all stuff I have in my head, and I tell myself all the time, but writing it down just changes things. If you need to, write it down in various places, so you're always confronted with it. As Jim said, it keeps us centered. When you're stumbling around, not sure what to do next, what choices to make, always refer to the list. If you're not holding yourself to the standard you think you should, regroup and start doing so. But if you don't have such a list, how do you know if you're getting off track? How do you know you are on the path to your goals? You don't. So make a plan, and most importantly, follow it.

Training Log

Military Press - 150 - 4x3, 1x8


Did some heavy shrugs, sledgehammer swings, and tricep pushdowns for assistance work.


Last week of the program starts tomorrow. Looking forward to doing things a bit different.

Didn’t get to watch the UFC event last night, and I forgot to DVR it, so I can only go off results that I have seen and what I have read about how the fights went down. First and foremost, I still think it’s ridiculous that Dana felt the need to set up the next LHW title shot based on last night. I realize those 4 guys probably are the top of the heap (after Hendo and Rashad), but I would like to see Glover Teixeira get consideration too. The guy’s a beast, and I think he’s something like 34, so he’s not getting any younger. I understand him needing to get a win or 2, but he’s fighting Rampage sometime soon, and UFC could build him off that.

Another thing that struck me recently is, holy fuck, what happened to that division?! Some will say it just looks bad because Jones has cleaned it out. While this is true to an extent, the fact is that division has fallen hard. Partly due to guys aging, partly due to guys just not being as good as previously thought. But man, around 06-08ish (something like that), the division was the glory division of MMA, no 2 ways about it. Wanderlei, Chuck, Rampage, Shogun, Hendo, Lil Nog, and Forrest and Rashad were just starting to work their way into the top 10. Jardine was a tough out for anyone. Randy was still sorta hanging around, though he may have been a heavyweight around then, I don’t really remember. Vitor was still doing his thing, though not as frequently (but as a Vitor lover, I will always throw his name in there). Ricardo Arona! Not sure what the hell ever happened with that guy, but he was a top-notch guy too. Nowadays, there are so few “top guys” that Jones is probably going to be saddled with rematches for the near future, with the exception of Gustaffson and Davis, whenever they feel those guys are ready.

The rest of the card sounded like it was pretty entertaining, which was sorely needed considering how badly the last couple PPV’s were. Not sure how many title implications there were in any of the other matches, but sometimes you just need entertaining fights, regardless of their impact on the title picture.

Getting Kicked in the Nuts

Paul Carter is one of my favorite bloggers to read. Now, certainly it helps that he's a big, strong dude, doles out great training and nutrition info, clearly walks the walk, and shares many of the same political views as me. All that definitely endears him to me. But he's also a fantastic writer. He clearly puts a lot of passion and sincerity into what he writes. He has also remarked on several occasions that much of what he writes, he writes as a reminder to himself. These two points, I think, cannot be separated. Because he clearly is passionate about what he's writing, it comes through in what he writes. It also doesn't come across as overly "preachy." He truly doesn't care if anyone reads it.
All this is to say, that's my goal with this here blog. I don't necessarily even intend for anyone to read it. If they do - great. If they can glean some sort of beneficial insight from it - even better. But if I can send myself daily reminders to not be a bleeding vagina and become a better, stronger person both physically and mentally, then I'm achieving my goal.
I'm also using this excursion into daily writing to find my "voice," if you will. I think writing from the heart, but almost talking to one's self might be the easiest way to do that. Because you talk in the way you understand. You're not worried about watering it down so others can read it. If they need clarification, they can ask for it.
To bring it all full circle, today's post is definitely written as a reminder to myself.
Life is going to hit you in the nuts every once in a while. Sometimes you'll see it coming. Sometimes it will completely blindside you. Sometimes it's more like a peter-tap, something seemingly insignificant, and yet it hurts possibly worse than getting hit straight on. Sometimes, because you see it coming, you're able to brace for it and it doesn't affect you as badly.
But what matters is knowing that it's going to happen. Whether you know it immediately beforehand or just know in general, the important thing is that you do something about it. Not sitting there whining like a bitch about what a "meanie" life is. About how you're "always" it's target of anger. Fuck that. People get kicked in the nuts every damn day. And probably a lot harder than you. And most of them probably man the fuck up and get over it. So the next time it happens, realize that it happens, acknowledge it, then look for life so you can punch it in the balls and let it know that you're not gonna lay in the fetal position crying about it.

Training Log & the Starbucks Effect

Bench today
245 - 4x3, 1x5


Scapular Rows superset with
Band Pushdowns - 5x10 each


Bicep is all kinds of jacked up - I need to stay on top of icing and start taking either ibuprofen or megadosing the fish oil. I'm sure the wife would prefer the ibuprofen - my stomach, heart, and brain would prefer the fish oil. We'll see. Either way, operation ice the hell out of it needs to go into full effect. Unfortunately, the pain is influencing my excitement to train, as I just don't feel like pushing that hard through it at the moment. This is for a variety of reasons, but chief among them is likely that I am, in fact, a giant vag.


So what the fuck is the Starbucks Effect? I ran across it while reading The Automatic Millionaire (a book I still haven't made it very far into). The gist of it goes like this - many people will go to Starbucks on a daily basis and spend $5 on a coffee that they could just as easily get for $1 or less at a gas station. Hell, even cheaper if they just make some at home. These same people will often lament their lack of money, and often don't save much because they are constantly strapped for money. However, the authors posit that by saving this daily $5 that would otherwise be spent on Starbucks, these people would be putting away ~$100 per month (which, of course adds up over time, plus the interest it would accrue in a savings or other account, etc.). The moral of the story, then, is not "don't go to Starbucks," (because I'm sure some dipshit would take it that way). The lesson to be learned is - find something that you are wasting resources on that could easily be replaced and allocated elsewhere. For some, especially myself, this is time, not so much money. Do I really need to check email/Facebook/ESPN/SBNation as often as I do? No, it acts as nothing but a time waster. But because
A) I have conditioned myself to do it so frequently, and
B) I am generally looking for something other than work to do,
I wind up wasting way more time than I should.
Figure out what your Starbucks is. Hell, sometimes for me it's training articles. I excuse it by saying I'm educating myself, but really I'm just wasting time so I don't have to do real work. Maybe it's internet porn. Yup, been guilty of that, too. Then, at the end of the day, I lament the time that I don't have, because I need to make sure I'm getting sleep, and getting up early, and the cycle continues. But once you identify your Starbucks, you can start the process of re-training yourself.
Hell, maybe for you it really is Starbucks. Or it's stopping and getting breakfast at McD's every day. Either way, you can start saving yourself money and making yourself healthier by buying groceries, making breakfast at home, and investing the money you would otherwise spend.
In the end, my point is, the time/money/energy that you claim you don't have, is likely there somewhere. It is simply allocated somewhere else. What you have to decide for yourself is, is it worth it to reallocate those resources? If you deem the answer no, that is fine. But don't bitch. Just realize you have decided where to spend your resources, and be comfortable with that choice.

Random Thought

I think I've realized part of what makes people enjoy life is actually using their brain. Many will claim that they simply want to relax and not have to put much mental energy into things, but honestly, I think that's the exact opposite of what they really want. Now, this is admittedly a bit of an N=1 study, so take it for what it's worth, but many of the people I know who are unhappy with their jobs, and almost by extension, their lives, work in jobs that are almost unskilled labor. Before I go any further, this doesn't mean these people are unskilled or dumb. Quite the opposite, which is why I think it is such an issue for them. The job may require quite a bit of training, possibly even a degree or 2, but in the end, it is a job where the requirements are pretty plainly outlined - they get orders, follow the steps, and spit out the product. They have nowhere to think outside the box, because the box has been very clearly created for them. Do not deviate from the plan. Because of that, while their brain does have to work to remember the steps and what to do, the brain is not having new thoughts. It is simply a re-hashing of old ones. There is no creativity, no place for coming up with something new. Even trying to generate new strategies can be met with resistance, and as such, things continue along, in a "production line" fashion.
Unless they switch careers or find an outlet for this creativity, these people will forever be unhappy. I've never thought of myself as an overly creative person in the classic sense of creating art or writing fiction books. Those things just don't really happen for me, as I tend to be a more science and math-oriented person - I work well off facts, and being creative within that framework. Don't misunderstand - there are others in my field far more creative than myself. And with more understanding will come more creativity, I am sure. But the fact that I even have that leeway, I think, contributes to my overall well-being.

Training Log

Military press - 135 - 6x3, 1x10


Felt like hot garbage yesterday, through nobody's fault but my own. Slept in later than I wanted, decided I wasn't going to eat before lifting, which wouldn't have been so bad, except by the time I got around to lifting I was starving, so I went and got some breakfast pizza, let that settle, then went at it. Again, it's what I get for being a dipshit.


Onto another rant, though.


Why the fuck do people surround themselves with negativity? Everything they watch, everything they read, the way they talk and act - it's all centered around negativity. And then these same people will decry that the world is out to get them, that nothing good could ever possibly happen to them. And if you present them with an alternate option? A chance to change things? Nope, can't be done. All is shit. The world hates them.


Fuck them. I leave them in my dust. People are sometimes awed by how positive I am about things. I have my moments of negativity, don't get me wrong. But I CHOOSE to surround myself with positivity. The people I read, the things I watch, the things I listen to. Doesn't mean I avoid reality, or anything with an alternate view. But when you really step back, you realize that it really is all about framing. How you choose to view the things that happen to you.


You can accept them as a never-ending current of shit that will constantly be hitting you in the face as you swim up the stream of life, or you can see it for what it is - the inevitable difficulties that will come your way in an otherwise pretty damn good life. Another hurdle with the opportunity for overcoming and growing. Or you can piss and moan some more. Just don't do it around me.

Training Log

Felt like hot garbage yesterday by the time I finally lifted


Power cleans - 165 - 12x2, 1 min b/w
Deadlift - 315 - 6x3, 1x6


No assistance work.


Yet another reason the US needs to get good at Olympic lifting again - so they put the shit on TV. NBC's coverage of it is pretty much nonexistent, which fucking blows. I can watch it online I'm guessing, but that will also require me to find a really good internet connection at what I'm assuming will be some odd hours.

Training Log

Bench Press yesterday

250 - 6x3, 1x8

Did Yates Rows & Tricep pushdowns - only 2x10 each

Bicep is still pretty fucked up, so between the pain from that and the fact that I was tired as hell, I had no ambition to push hard on, well, anything. Cut the assistance work off and said fuck it. Hopefully continued Graston and ART work will get this fucking thing healed.

Do you know anyone with the "it's just my luck" syndrome? Might be the most annoying Goddamn thing in the world. You know, the people who, whenever something bad happens will be sure to say, without fail, that it's "just their luck." Really? You have a steady job, a family, a house, and yet bad shit just can't help but happen to you? Give me a fucking break. There are plenty of things to get down about in the world - a few shitty things happening to you at work or in your life aren't worthy of it. "Whoa is me, everything isn't going exactly as I had hoped and I'm having to put up with a little bit of shit being flung my way, boo hoo." It's a hell of a lot better than being forced to sit in a latrine. I know and am sure there have been times in my past I've been guilty of this, but one of the beautiful things about getting older is we (hopefully) mature and learn. And one of the things we learn is that things that are relatively shitty are going to happen to us. But we also learn that this doesn't mean that they always happen to us. And that should give you a lot of hope, not pull you down.

Training Log

Decided to go right ahead without deloading this week, because I still feel pretty good and want to attack the weights - so I did.


Squat - 250 - 6x3, 1x6
Power snatch - worked up to 195 (PR!)
Single-leg RDL - 35 - 3x6
Kneeling Band Crunches - 3x12


And then, of course, I didn't sleep worth a shit last night, so right back to the issue of little sleep...oh well.


Of course, the big news of yesterday was the Penn State punishment handed down by the NCAA. While it is, overall, a bit of a complex topic, my thoughts are pretty simple. I think Penn State got all it deserved, and the NCAA is doing all it can not to actually punish the current players by allowing them to transfer, penalty free, at any point in the next few years. For those who are mad that it punishes the current players, I disagree, for 2 main reasons:


1. If they chose Penn State due to its academics (I realize this might be, maybe, 1 guy?), nothing changes. They are getting a free education that is at a very good school.


2. If they chose Penn State due to its football program or coaching staff (particularly the old staff), they can leave with no penalty, so they can find another football situation that fits the bill.


If they are worried about going too far from home, there are schools like Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers, and a few in Ohio that I can't imagine aren't too far away (I'm not real familiar with the geography of that area). It's certainly a sad situation all around, and a friend of my brother's is actually a coach there under the new staff, so I definitely feel for him. But at the end of the day, it's just football, and there are still a lot of people getting paid decent money and a lot of kids who get a free education for playing. None of that changes.


But a lot of the people close to the situation - namely PSU fans - that are decrying this are, in my opinion, simply too close to the situation. They can't grasp the enormity of it. They feel like they already did what they needed to, they are on their own healing path, they've cleared out everyone who was in any way tied to what happened...but it's not enough. It was a culture that was supportive of all of it, and that has to change to a certain extent. As a Iowa fan and UNI graduate and fan, I would really like to think that if something like this came out, I would have the balls to not support them. And to a certain extent, I think that was the case with Iowa basketball and the Pierre Pierce rape case a few years back. But, it's apples and oranges, and a far smaller scale.


In any event, it's a case where there simply are no winners, and Penn State will struggle for a loooong time, unless Bill O'Brien is the right man for the job, in which case he hangs around for a few decades, and gets them back to respectability.

Training Log

Last week to week and a half have been shit for sleep, so I was thinking of taking a week or so off, but the last couple nights I've been diligent about getting to bed early, and I'm feeling good, so I'm going to start up the last 3 week cycle this week to finish strong. I was thinking about waiting until Wednesday or so, but since I'm feeling good, I'll just plow ahead. It's kind of amazing to me to even think that way - probably as recently as a year ago, I don't think I mentally could have gotten past the roadblock of not starting a training week on a Monday. Ah, stupidity. 
In any event, did some conditioning on Saturday. I haven't been doing much outside of playing basketball on Tuesday nights and very occasionally running sprints. So I decided to try the Jim Wendler conditioning test - basically, he says he wants to always be "in shape" enough that he can do 10 40-yard prowler pushes, with a 45 on each handle, with 1 minute rest between sprints. Well, it sure as shit wasn't easy, but I did it somehow. I can also honestly say performance didn't decline much, as pretty much every sprint was right around 10 seconds.
It was, honestly, as much a mental exercise as physical. I watched a video Friday that was a speech delivered by a Navy SEAL to the Oakland Raiders from about 8 years ago. In it, he talks about when he was going through the training, they have a saying that goes something to the effect of, "If I have a beat in my heart, I'm not dead, and if I have a thought running through my head, I can't think to quit." I'm sure I butchered that, but he also notes that it was to long to think of during training, so he shortened it to "Not dead, Can't quit." This was, quite literally what was running through my head.


After 7 - wanted to quit, but couldn't
After 8 - same
After 9 - shit, you've made it this far, you better fucking finish


I say none of this to show I'm a badass - I'm sure as shit not. It's much more so to show that your mind is ridiculously powerful. I know that part of the reason I got through it was knowing that I only had 10 of them to do. So my mind did sort of wonder after - what if I had 20? Would I have made it? That may be a challenge for another day.
One last quote that I recall seeing recently went something like, "every day that you do not challenge yourself is a wasted day." Obviously this doesn't have to be physical, but as with everything, pushing our boundaries is where change and growth happen. Find a way to push your limits physically and mentally, and take the opportunity to grow.

Dark Knight Review

Went to the midnight premier of the Dark Knight Rises - totally worth it. Of course it was, for a few reasons:


A) It's fucking Batman
B) It's a damn good movie
C) It's fucking Batman - he's the best superhero of all time


Now, the argument can be made (and hell, maybe it's already been settled; I love me some Batman, but I'm not a huge comic book nerd) that he's not a superhero due to the fact that he doesn't have a superpower. I can get on board with this. So maybe just the greatest hero ever. I don't know.
In any event, due to my unabashed love of all things Batman, I will readily admit I'm not the most impartial observer. That said, I loved it. Bane was awesome - clearly he wasn't the character the Joker was in the first one, but there's no shame in that. He was creepy in a far different, yet still awesome way. He didn't look massive, but good camera work also made him appear slightly larger than he really is, which added to his mystique. I never thought much of Anne Hathaway before this (she's certainly not ugly, I just was pretty indifferent to her), but she looks damn sexy in this, so that was a plus as well - and light years better than Maggie fucking Gyllenhall. In the end, I highly recommend it if you've got the inclination to go, though at a 2:45 run time, don't plan to do much else for a while.

Training Log

Deadlift - 355x5


Fuck. Training has been going really well. Not necessarily hitting PR's, but making constant progress. Got the 5 I was required to get, but it wasn't pretty. All that said, it underscores the importance of taking care of your shit away from the gym - sleep & nutrition (both of which I have been doing a shit job with). I'll take a few days to get shitloads of sleep in, some light recovery work, and get back at it in a week.

Training Log

250x7 bench today


Bicep is still jacked up, but getting better. I feel like the pain may have cost me a rep or 2 on the back end, but no excuses. It'll get better.


I really don't understand the infatuation with distance running. I get that it's a cheap way to get some activity in, but seriously, many people are actually too out of shape to run - they carry too much fat, are too weak, and have horrendous gaits. But it's been shoved down everyone's throats since God knows when that you must run in order to get in shape. All this of course failing to note that some diet tweaks combined with sound training would likely give even better results. The thing that really gets me is that, if you look at people who do marathons on any time of consistent basis, they look nearly emaciated. Apparently someone forgot to take note that the BMI charts that people like to roll out to show that being to heavy is detrimental to health, also show that being underweight is just as dangerous to mortality rate, if not moreso. So eat a fucking cow, lift weights, and maybe do some lighter running.

Training Log

Training is really going well. It honestly makes me look back at all the time spent dicking around not wanting to train wondering what the hell I was thinking, considering the progress I could have been making. Of course, it's important to remember that these things ebb and flow. As well as it's going now, there will be a time when I will need to "cruise," when the gains won't come as quickly. But for now, I have to use it to my advantage and keep pushing ahead.


Squat - 275x8
Snatch Pull - 185x2, 205x2x2


Then I remembered I didn't press on Saturday and needed to do that
Press - 150x7 or 8 (don't remember for sure)


Finished with:
1-leg, 1-arm RDL - 3x6/leg superset with
Ab wheel - 3x10

It's A Mindset

Seth Godin recently had a post with this as the title. He referenced an emergency room surgeon – it’s not just their job, it’s their mentality. You don’t need to waste time explaining to them they should improve their bedside manner, because it’s irrelevant to them – they are essentially a last resort. As usual, I was thinking about how it relates to fitness and life in general. So often we hear people say “I want to be thin,” or “healthy,” or whatever adjective they choose to use to describe their ideal. However, what they don’t realize is that, to make that last, it must be a mindset. Many people look at it in terms of 4 or 6 weeks here or there, or a part-time thing. The problem is, it has to be an all the time thing, particularly if you want it to define you.

As an aside - “Healthy” is a catch-all term that is going to mean entirely different things to different people. The problem is, “healthy” is not merely a disease-free state. It has much more to do with the interplay between the organs and various systems of the body. However, food companies know that people really have no clue what the term means, and will therefore promote anything and everything as “healthy” – yep, even that sugar-laden ice cream you’re so fond of. Because it’s fat free! But I digress.

We’ve become conditioned to think that buying that one magic pill or device, or doing that 6 week program will deliver us the body and life we want. The advertising tells us that by buying that magic supplement, we will get the body of our dreams, which will get us the job of our dreams, which will get us the life of our dreams. However, as all who get suckered in can attest, it doesn’t work that way. Health and fitness (and any aspect of your life, really) are multi-factorial. That is, there are many aspects that impact them. It’s not as simple as just going to the gym 3 days per week. Or every day for that matter. If your diet still sucks, you won’t lose weight. If you don’t teach yourself what decent food choices are, you’ll still eat like shit. If you don’t sleep enough or reduce stress, you’ll be compelled to eat tons of sugary shit. If you don’t plan and possibly prepare some of your meals ahead of time, you’ll be left with few choices (and almost no good ones) once it comes time to eat. And these are just a few of the obstacles. But by changing your mindset from “I need to start working out” to realizing that it isn’t as simple as changing one habit will do wonders. You must realize that it will be a constant grind to change your life and mindset to what it needs to be. No one is perfect. Everyone has things they want to change. But once you embrace that, and face that grind on a daily basis, it is very freeing. You can attack your weaknesses and get better. You realize that you have the power, if you’re willing to do the work. I know of no better feeling (OK, a few, but not many).

Keeping Up With Trends

I've always laughed a bit when I read or hear coaches and trainers talk about the need to "keep up with the trends in the industry" because they're always changing. But here's the thing - trends may change, but what actually works doesn't change all that much. Which is why chasing trends is about the dumbest thing you can do. This doesn't mean it's completely useless. Only partly. But chasing trends just leads to chasing your tail, because eventually, you'll come back around to where you started and realize that you just wasted a lot of time. And this doesn't just go for exercise or training - it applies to damn near anything.
Admittedly, I did this to an extent even a few years ago. Because when you don't fully understand the "why," it becomes easy to get suckered in by bullshit and marketing. But now, if I see something that challenges the way I do things, I look at it, figure out why it supposedly works, where it can fit in with what I'm doing, or if I need to really change my paradigm. And usually, I don't. Because the basics have been around for a long time for a reason, and gimmicks aren't.

KISS

Yesterday was squat day:


Squats - 250, 3x5, 1x8
Snatch Pulls - 3x2 (I think) @ 185
Single-leg RDL - 16 kg KB, 3x6/leg
Kneeling Band Crunches - 3x15


"The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity." -Bruce Lee


We have a tendency to complicate things, thinking that things can't possibly be as easy or simple as we think.  What Bruce Lee is saying is that, the more you learn, the more you realize that it really is about doing the most basic, simple things well and on a consistent basis. He also talks about the fact that he would rather face a man who has practiced 1000 different kicks 1 time each than 1 kick 1000 times. Perfecting something will always bring greater results than trying to be a jack of all trades. Becoming a master requires so much time and attention to detail that many people almost unconsciously refuse to do it. But it's the price to be paid. Cut out the useless shit, and stick to the simple things, and you will be surprised by what happens, methinks.

Fight Predictions

Just figured I would do some fight predictions for today's blog. UFC 148 is tonight, and to be honest I don't even remember who all is fighting. But in the co-main event, it's Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz 3. This one will probably come down to which guy gives more of a shit. It's Tito's last fight, so you would think it will be him, but Forrest is also the better fighter, IMO. Unfortunately, he also just had a kid and hasn't really looked as into it lately. I'll guess Tito goes out on top with a UD, but would not be shocked if Forrest gets it done. In the main event, I think it's pretty straight forward. Anderson by destruction.

Training Log & Sleep

Haven't posted the last few, and I don't remember exactly what I've posted in regards to training, so I'll keep it short and sweet:


Main lifts only -
Monday - squat - 225, 4x5, 1x10
Wednesday - bench - 205, 4x5, 1x10
Friday - dead - 295, 4x5, 1x8


Everyone should know (though I realize they don't) that sleep is, literally, the best recovery system we have. As such, I continually stress to my athletes and everyone else the importance of getting good sleep. Of course - spoiler alert - I don't always take my own advice. For about a week straight, I was sleeping maybe 5 hours per night, burning the candle at both ends. In acute situations (generally a few days at a time, a week max), I can function pretty well in this state, and sometimes even thrive, as I'm sometimes extremely focused. But yesterday, I finally hit my breaking point as I was feeling like dogshit. Combined with the heat and humidity, I was just a grumpy fuck. BUT, toward the end of the day, I became mindful (mindfulness people! I've talked about this!) of my state, and made a conscious decision to change it. I also vowed to get a good night's sleep. I was in bed at 9, woke up at 4:30 feeling like a new man. Even one night of solid sleep can do wonders, but imagine what stacking many nights on top of one another will do.

Who Gives A Fuck?

This morning, while getting ready to head out the door, my mother-in-law had the radio turned to whatever the "hit music station" is in the area, and the jockeys were discussing the divorce of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. All I could think to myself is, "who gives a fuck?" Seriously, why does anyone give a shit what celebrities do? I know everyone hates their life, so they feel better picking apart the lives of others, but good lord, go do something noteworthy rather than paying attention to what others are doing.

Expect More From Yourself

“If you place a small value on yourself, rest assured the world will not raise your price.”

You have to expect more from yourself than anyone else can or would. By and large, that's what we suffer from as a country. We constantly expect others to prop us up, to do the work for us. I know, I suffered from it too, for quite some time. But eventually, you realize, if you truly want something, you have to be the one to do it. But if you don't expect big things from yourself, hold yourself to a higher standard, you can believe that no one else will, either. Start expecting those bigger things from yourself and you might be shocked at what you can accomplish.

Believe in Yourself

I had to post this, written by Eric Cressey:

5. Don't limit yourself.Have you heard this before?
If I do everything you say, and work as hard as possible, do I have a shot at: making it, losing 10lbs, benching 315?
The answer is always YES; why would it be NO? We are all capable of impressing - and even surprising - ourselves with what we are capable of doing. Not everyone (even with an insane work ethic) is going to look like Captain American or play on ESPN. It doesn't matter.
What matters is that you never shot for something less than that. You gave everything you had, and you ran that course until it was over. Wherever that point may be, you arrived there knowing that you didn't leave anything in the tank. This is the absolute most you could do, given the tools you had, and you can be happy and fulfilled knowing that. If you attack everything with that mentality, you will be successful and happy with the result, even if that result isn't exactly what you thought it was when you got started.
This is an important lesson to remind young athletes and adult clients alike. Teach them to respect the process, and find value in the journey. Remind them that many variables are not within their control, but their effort is.

Eric is a super smart dude, but doesn't always write a ton of "motivational" stuff (or things that are intentionally meant to be motivational, I suppose), but this hits the nail on the head. You really have no reason NOT to set your goals high. I get it, we are ingrained to think negatively. In a sports psych class in college, I remember learning that humans have around 10,000 thoughts per day, and roughly 2/3 are negative. In our evolution, this served a purpose - to keep us alive! We had to worry that a lion or bear might eat us, or we might starve to death. But guess what, those things less likely to happen these days. So it really does not do us much good to think negatively. So aim high, and don't worry if you don't reach your goals, because you will still have likely achieved a lot.