Training

Training is going OK, and the scale is continuing to move downward (just under 210 this week). I will say the lower body work has been feeling heavier than I would like it to, but the upper body work has been going well. I would really just like to get down to the leanness I desire so I can get back in a caloric surplus! One thing this has shown me is just how small I am! Need to put on some mass, stat!

Respect

How to fix the mess we’re in? Everyone is to blame, don’t misunderstand me. But I think we have to get a few things out of the way first.

The problem is that you cannot legislate people’s actions. The way people treat one another. The desire to treat others as people, and not merely numbers or cogs in your machine cannot come from a person dictating to you. You must desire to do so, and set out to do so from the start. This, I feel, is the fundamental disconnect along party lines in America.

I should also note that “party lines” reflect, perhaps, how the parties sell themselves – however, the further one digs, the more you realize that the politicians themselves are essentially all on the same side (money). With that said, I would say the prevailing attitudes of the populace perhaps, rather than party lines.

One side feels that it is on the individual to make their lot in life. While this is the side I tend to agree more with, it also operates under the assumption that everyone is starting from the same spot on the track. Unfortunately, we also know this isn’t true. Some people are starting so far behind as to not even really be part of the race, while others start out so far ahead they can stumble as many times as they feel and still get to the finish line well ahead of everyone. Don’t misunderstand me – I have no problem with those who have built their wealth through hard work. But those who were merely born into it and have done nothing to contribute, I have a major problem with.

The other side feels that those who have wealth (whether they started out ahead or not) owe it to those who don’t to help them out. They feel that the way to do this is to dictate to them how to spend and distribute their money. The problem, as I have noted, is that this only creates resentment, because they don’t want to be told how to spend their money, run their business, etc. They want to decide what to do with it.

And unfortunately, many who have managed to get well ahead of the pack, have done so through a mindset of always wanting more. This is not inherently a bad thing (it’s likely what got them there in the first place), however, at a certain point, when is enough, enough? Additionally, if they want more this is understandable, but why not do something with that “more” in order to raise other boats.

Listening to Dan Carlin recently, he talked about a woman who has built tremendous wealth through mining (her name escapes me). She has made her way onto the Forbes richest whatever list, and I believe is somewhere in the top 20 or so. She also has said that Australian miners (she is Australian) need to be more like African miners, working for $2 per day, or the mining industry will go under. WHAT?!?! A woman who has more money than she could ever hope to spend, telling those who are likely scraping by that they need to be willing to take less. Unbelievable.

That also brings up the point of the way money is distributed – who is more important, those who broker the deals and sell the goods, or those who produce the goods? Without the broker, seller, mastermind behind the technology, there are no goods to produce. On the other hand, without the producers, there are no goods to sell. Therein lies a great disconnect. The producers (the miners, the builders, the factory workers, etc.) are seen as interchangeable because, to some degree, the labor is “unskilled.” That is, it is not overly difficult to learn (regardless of how physically difficult it actually is to perform). Therefore, the rationale is that they are easily replaceable and are not particularly valuable. Of course, that is without factoring in the cost of training new workers and so on.

The brokers, the owners, are seen as irreplaceable. Without them to mastermind the whole operation, who will take charge and determine how things should be run? Who will ensure that the greatest profit is made on the goods? I can’t say that this dichotomy (“unskilled” labor vs. what most would view as “skilled” in some sense) is entirely incorrect – you often can simply replace the laborer and continue on. However, this is a limited view that I don’t wholly agree with, either. Because it fails to take into account that happier workers likely produce even more, and willingly, than one who is essentially a prisoner.  Thus, I think it behooves both owner and laborer to ensure that a fair wage (or more) is paid. There is more than enough to go around, this we know.

“We’re fucked.” Shane Smith’s words ring in my ears on a daily basis. Recently, a NASA-backed study was released which states that, in essence, the human race is likely headed straight for irreversible collapse. This is based on a number of things, climate change and wealth disparity among them. For those unaware, Shane Smith is co-creator of Vice, a magazine of sorts, which goes around the world covering a plethora of stories you simply won’t find anywhere else. Recently, he went to Greenland to talk to the top climate scientists in the world. Of the many things he learned, he found that we are currently 60 years ahead of the worst-case projections which came out, I believe, 10 years ago in regards to climate change. Essentially, he was confirming everything that you read.

It’s easy to dismiss the study – while I haven’t read it much, or seen the details and methodology, it’s likely pretty well done – as basically a doomsday prophecy we’ve heard many times before. It’s also likely that most feel that we as humans are too big to fail. There’s no way that civilization will crumble – we’ve got so many safeguards in place! Well guess what, I’m sure the Romans, the Ottomans, the Soviets, and any and all empires you can think of before this, thought they couldn’t fail either. But it’s absolutely possible.

I can’t help but think just what will happen. The fact is, no one can actually predict. But I think we owe it to ourselves to try.

A culture of love and respect simply can’t be legislated. It must be desired by all who are a part of the culture.

This is why I get so pissed off, and actually offended, by those who peddle bullshit. They care not what impact it has on others – so long as it lines their pockets, that’s all that matters. It aggravates me to no end, especially because you know those same people wish to be treated with respect. Despite the fact that they clearly don’t respect others.

And in the end, I suppose, all we can do is take it upon ourselves to act in this way. To constantly respect others, and realize that everyone has their hopes and dreams and wishes. That some of them started well behind the 8 ball. That we weren’t all given the same opportunities. And certainly, we won’t all succeed. It just isn’t going to happen. But I do think that the opportunity is vital. If someone fucks up their opportunities? Hey, that’s their problem. We don’t constantly need to pick someone up and spoon feed them. But I think we do at least owe them that first or second chance. In the end, I think it’s the only chance we’ve got.

Training 4/18

Solid session. A little sluggish, but otherwise fine.

Barbell Inverted Row w/ feet elevated - 17, 16
Bench - 165 - 3x6
Circuit - 4x10 each:
Band Flyes
Band Curls
Diamond Pushups
Barbell Shrugs
DB forearm curls & reverse curls
Band lateral raises

An update

So, of course, I haven't updated in a while. And as I've said before, the goal is to remedy that by posting far more frequently. I will also attempt to post progress pics frequently. Part of the problem is that I take them on my phone and I have to download them to my computer to post (also the reason why I will only have 4 weeks worth in this post). In any event, I will try to post semi-daily in regards to training, as well as posting my weekly progress  pics with weight. Since I haven't posted for a while, here are pics (sorry for the size differences):

 2-3-14 weight: 222

 2-10-14 weight: 219

 2-17-14 weight: 218

2-24-14 weight: 221

Update

Training is going OK - I finished up my "intensification" phase and am in a lower intensity phase for the next few weeks. I unfortunately failed at 345 on my 3rd rep, though the fact that I got it for 2 was, in and of itself, a victory, as it's a PR. I also hit 275x3 on bench. The diet is going OK. The scale is, ever so slowly, moving down, and I am, ever so slowly, getting leaner. It's a treacherous process, as the rewards are not immediate, and not a day goes by when I look down and don't think any progress has been made. But I must stick with it and move forward, modifying as necessary going forward. I should upload progress pics sometime soon, and I might.

Training & The Inflexible Mind

Training still going well. This will be the final week of 5x5 coming up. I normally have been doing T/Th/Sat as my lifting days, however, due to scheduling this week I'm going the more traditional M/W/F. 345x3 on squat tomorrow, which hopefully won't be too bad (should be doable based on what I've been hitting lately), and 275x3 bench on Friday (eminently doable, and if I'm feeling good, may go for 5). Diet is still going. Again, I don't feel like I'm as lean as I should be, but it's only 5 weeks in. Patience...

I was recently listening to Dan Carlin's podcast. I first became familiar with Dan from Joe Rogan's podcast. Dan is a really smart dude, who's very into history and politics. He's an independent with an eye toward figuring out how to simply make the world a better place (and pointing out why politicians aren't doing so). In the podcast I was listening to, which was a year and a half old, Dan was talking about the need for a flexible mind when discussing the necessary changes in order to bring about a better world. Essentially, most people will simply reject his ideas because "they could never happen." If you're operating under the mindset that, for instance, we must have a 2 party system, or that revolutions can never happen, then you are absolutely correct. Many of the policies could never be enacted. But when you actual look at the whole of history, and realize that almost anything is within the realm of possibility, then you realize that change can happen. As usual, I related it to training very easily.
In the world of training, particularly for sport, the popular line of thinking is that of a separation of "sport practice" and "strength and conditioning." Under these umbrellas, then, there are discussions of the "best way" to get stronger, or more explosive (or whichever trait you deem necessary). This was the line of thinking I subscribed to for a while. While reading guys like James Smith, it made some sense to me, but not too much, because I couldn't possibly comprehend what he meant. Now that I have a much firmer grasp, and an understanding that training is training, it makes much more sense. The idea of strength or power for the sake of it is ridiculous. Everything must have a context. And it opens up a world of possibilities because you are not confined to traditional ways of thinking.

Update

As usual, I've been terrible about updating. To be honest, I've been pretty scattershot in the rest of my life, so it's not surprising that I haven't been consistent with this, either. The weight on the scale is going down (albeit slowly), and the weight on the bar is going up (though squats yesterday were harder than I had hoped). 335x3 yesterday was a PR, and 345 next week will be as well. I have 270x3 this Saturday on bench, and 275x3 the following week. All PRs. That said, a lighter phase can't come soon enough. While I've been able to train fairly hard in a deficit, this week has seemed especially tough for some reason. No matter, onward and upward.


While listening to O&A one day, as they were talking about the ridiculousness of the PC bullshit we see surrounding us, Opie referenced a quote from Joe Rogan talking about kids; essentially that, when you have kids, you want to "Nerf" the world. That is, make it as non-threatening as possible. But he also realizes that we can't possibly do that. Because, as a parent, you never want to see your child suffer. When they're babies, I have no doubt that all (or at least a very large majority) have high hopes and dreams for their child. They will go on to be great, undoubtedly. Of course, reality is not so kind, and for a myriad of reasons, not all have such luck. And I continually find myself wondering just what kind of a world I've brought my son into. Every day we're inundated with stories of just how shitty the world is becoming. And while I try to block this out, the fact is, there's a lot of fucked up shit going on. And it doesn't seem to be getting any better (of course, it could simply be the way it's presented). 

But finally, tonight, it hit me. All I can do is make his immediate world, our world, as great as possible. No, this doesn't mean completely insulating him from the ills of the world. But it does mean that I can at least give him this sanctuary. Give him this "home base." The world will not be so kind, and not everyone has any home base to which to return. But I know that's all I can do. And it's all anyone can do, save for a select few who have the gifts and power to make a far bigger imprint (positive OR negative, unfortunately). 

So realize your limitations, but strive for the best you have to give and offer. Similar to the axiom, "know what you know, know what you don't know, and try to close the gap every day," realize you're not perfect, realize why you're not perfect, and try to close the gap every day. Perfect is a mirage - it is unattainable. But it can be pursued. Every day will bring its challenges and obstacles. And we can do all we can to eliminate as many as possible. But we're going to slip up somewhere. But tomorrow is a new day, and even after we've made a mistake, we will have another opportunity to do things right mere moments later.