Saturday, January 30, 2016

BRAIN VOMIT


-Nothing is more frustrating than having people tell you to stop pushing yourself so hard and be safe during your physical therapy, and then having those same people praise your surgeon and your physical therapist because you “recovering SO well”.  My surgeon and physical therapist are great at doing their jobs too, but how about a little credit where credit is due?


-If you want to get away with poor form on an exercise, just slap someone’s name on it.  “Those are just Leeman Rows”, “Those are Zottman curls”, “That’s a Dimel Deadlift”.  I hope one day they name mile high squats after me.


-It’s funny how, if I just give advice on reddit’s fitness page, it gets downvoted, but if I give advice and then post my stats, people have questions to ask. Meanwhile, no one is downvoting “Do 3x5 for everything”, regardless of the advice giver’s stats.


-I tend to be the first to say “training isn’t fun”, but picking up the Rolling Thunder legitimately is fun. It’s pretty cheap all things considered. Or maybe this is just a sign that I suck at it, since it means its light enough for me to actually enjoy it.


-The IPF announced that attending any seminar Ed Coan was it would get people suspended. Powerlifting is the craziest sport in the world, because it seems like the competitors LOVE for the powers at be to crap all over them. People still can’t give the IPF money fast enough, want to go to all of their meets, place high in their federation, etc, just like how people throw money at Inzer to get terrible customer service. Maybe when a sport is full of masochists, the way to succeed is to treat them like dirt.


Image result for Ed Coan
I should've warned you that viewing this image would result in a ban from the IPF


-On the above, the predictable bellows of “we need to unify the sport!” were once again heard. If you wanna unify powerlifting, make it all multiply and untested, with lax standards and 72 hour weigh ins. If you don’t want to compete in multiply, you don’t have to.  If you don’t want to use drugs, you don’t have to. If you want to bury your squats, go ahead.  Weigh in 2 hours beforehand, go for it. …oh, what’s that you say?  You want it to be unified AND you want to win? Now you’re just being selfish.


-I wish I knew why I wanted an Ironmind Axle so badly.


-The prowler is an amazing tool.  I needed to get one a decade ago. Well worth the hype.


-I am still keeping my eyes peeled for one of Mark Rippetoe’s athletes to show up somewhere.  Seriously, if anyone ever finds one, please let me know. I figure I could even put the picture on a milk carton; you know one of his lifters would see it then.

Image result for milk carton have you seen me 
Although I suppose to be really effective you'd have to put it on the gallon

-Do people realize how unoriginal they are being when they ask for meals that are healthy, cheap, easy to make and taste good?  Or how about someone wanting to know how to workout if they don’t have a lot of time? Do these people possess so much hubris that they assume they’re the first to ever think to ask such a question, and it’s only because of this reason that the answer isn’t immediately available for everyone in the world to enjoy? How heroic.


-Ever noticed how people stressing over the difference between chin-ups and pull-ups tend to have small and weak lats?


-It dawned on me that yesterday was the first time I had used a straight barbell since 10 Oct. It was for meadows rows. How funny that I used to consider that an “essential piece of equipment”.


-I have never seen a 700lb bencher worry about their lift ratios.

 Image result for eric spoto
Does anyone care what he squats?

-The concept of rep ranges is one of the worst things to ever happen to lifting.


-Anyone getting upset at you because your workout isn’t optimal is trying to sell you something.


-If you ever want to upset someone seeking advice, inform them they that may need to read a book on the subject.


-I may be one of the first people in history to develop tendonitis from doing their physical therapy too much.


-People are coming up with methods to perform moving events in place at a commercial gym. One of the popular adaptations is to walk in place on an aerobics stepper with a dumbbell in each hand to simulate farmer’s walks. Jesus Christ people; quit trying to put the square peg in the round hole.

 Image result for Squatting on a bosu ball
This is how they train the yoke

-I am really starting to believe that programming just plain doesn’t matter.  Consistency and intensity of effort seem to be the 2 most important factors of training, and as long as you have those 2 things going, you can pretty much do whatever you want and you’ll grow.  It seems the goal of the program is just to give you something exciting enough to believe in that you WANT to apply that consistency and intensity of effort.


-Kinda weird how people always mention the amount of weight lifted in a form check video, don’t you think?


-I came up with a fad diet a while back where you buy all your groceries, bring them to a field, throw them all as hard as you can, and whatever lands the farthest, you get to eat. I figured everyone else had a crazy idea, I should too.  The funny thing is, there is a little bit of merit. A head of lettuce is going to travel further than a box of Froot Loops (I didn’t misspell that buy the way; they can’t legally refer to it as “Fruit”), and meat will go farther than twinkies. It gets into a grey area with cans of Chef Boy-ar-dee though.


-If the only way your program works is if you eat a lot of calories, your program doesn’t work.


-All these kids who talk about how you need a ton of volume to grow and poo-poo 5/3/1 have clearly never run 20 rep squats. Do 20 reps of one exercise and grow magically. How much more volume do I need professor?

 Image result for Super Squats
The alternate title of "How to experience unfathomable agony 3 times a week" didn't test well

-I get shocked at how much drama is in powerlifting until I realize that any sport that cares so much about what another dude is wearing is BOUND to be catty.


-Anyone telling you to “squat deeper” is really saying “find a way to squat less than me.”


-If you don’t’ know if you’re injured or not: you’re not.  Don’t worry; your body will definitely let you know when you’re injured!


-You’re getting old and beat down when “safe sex” means sex that runs zero risk of blowing out your back, hamstrings or knee.


-The more people that disagree with me, the better I feel about my training decisions.  As soon as the majority supports my conclusions, I start to worry.


-Anyone “annoyed” by bad form is terrified that someone might know something that they don’t.


-Anyone posting a “depth check” for squats online is just asking for permission.


-One of the many memes I am getting tired of is people posting photos of some sort of ridiculously overindulgent food items with “#gainz” or some other such nonsense. Let’s not try to pretend that the secret to success is hidden in the bottom of a banana split. If you like the taste of something, that’s enough justification. If you don’t care about being lean, that’s your call. However, I’m willing to bet that the person suffering more in the gym AND at the dinner table is probably getting better results.

Image result for massive ice cream sundae
#diabetes #whydon'tIhaveabs? #breastmode

-I’m always baffled when someone tells me that I train the way I do because I compete, but because they just want to get bigger and stronger, they train differently. Isn’t the goal of competing to be the biggest and the strongest in order to win?


-Anyone trying to convince you to stop doing something because it’s a “waste of money” is battling some envy and insecurity. No one cares about your personal finances.


-Why do college kids try to make it sound like they’re inmates?


-If you see a lifter call themselves an intermediate, they’re a beginner.  If they call themselves advanced, they’re a beginner.  If they call themselves a beginner, they probably not.

12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hashtags provide way more comic potential than they reasonably should, haha.

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  2. Massive fan of your writing mate. I follow this blog, and read you at Tnation. I've learned a lot from you, and you've probably been the biggest influence on my training in many respects.

    What you say here about rep schemes doing more harm than good, and about intensity and consistency being most important is so true. I've always made the most progress on Bryce Layne's 50/20, where you pick four exercises, split them into two sessions (A,B), and do each one twice-a-week, 50 reps in 20 minutes, once you can do it add weight next session.

    I do squat partials, sandbag shouldering, weighted chins and handstand pushup work. Other days I just do some grip and conditioning stuff. My strength has gone through the roof training this way, and I'm growing like a weed. I've not come across a better program for automatic intensity and periodisation, since the only measure of progress is can you do at least one more rep than last time.

    Really cool blog, wish you had time to write more. Particularly enjoy your random thoughts/brain fart posts, they're great.

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    Replies
    1. Hey, thanks man. I appreciate you taking the time to write that out.


      That sounds like a pretty awesome program. Definitely something to force you to keep the intensity high. Sounds like it's been working well for you.


      I share you desire for me to have more time, haha. I like writing these posts out too whenever I get the chance, as they seem to be fan favorites. Stay tuned and I'll make sure to get some more out in the future.

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  3. Can you elaborate on your comment on rep schemes? I recall you having mentioned something similar in the past. But I'm unsure what you mean by it. Thanks.

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    1. No problem. Just like the post you're talking mentioned (The Tyranny of Rep Ranges), this idea that certain results occur in certain rep ranges has done far more harm than good. It was initially a very basic attempt at quantifying the various biological changes that occur as a result of training, but the results were given far too much credit and the impact in turn became far too reaching.


      People believe that hypertrophy occurs in the 8-12 rep range. In turn, people believe that, if one wishes to train for hypertrophy, all they have to do is lift weights in the 8-12 rep range. However, this doesn't even come close to addressing the variety of factors that come into training for hypertrophy, such as frequency of training, rest times, movement selection, time under tension, progression scheme, etc etc. In truth, the rep range is one of the least significant factors in achieving one's goals.



      My classic example is always this. Supposedly, if one wants to develop more strength, they lift in the 1-5 rep range. Well, what if I lift in that range but only use 60% of my 1rm? Now I'm actually developing power. What if I do 3 reps, but I do 10 sets of it and only rest 30 seconds between each set? Now I'm actually improving my conditioning. What if I do 5 reps but don't lock out the weight at the top or the bottom? Is that the same as 5 locked out reps? What if I lock out every rep and at the top take in 3 deep breaths? Does that have the same training effect as 5 reps without a breath in between? What about if I hit a top set of 5 reps, and then keep stripping off weight from there, always hitting 5 reps, until I'm down to hitting 5 reps with the bar? Etc etc.


      It would be much more beneficial for folks to not get caught up in the rep range, train a VARIETY of rep ranges in their training, and focus more on the training as a whole.

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    2. Ah I understand. Thank you.

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  4. I have never been particularly impressed by reddit. When i started looking into the military and realizing I needed to learn how to run, I looked at r/running. They all said to build an aerobic base by running a lot before following a training plan (or just keep running).

    I got up to 4 agonizingly slow miles before following the Navy's physical training guide, segregating and endurance work, and adding more miles and quicker.

    I don't want to say their advice is wrong, but it certainly didn't seem to work for me. Knowing what I know now, if I had to go back in time, I would make a 6 month prelude to the NSWPTG following the same conventions, to get to the NSWPTG. I believe I would be in even better shape to pass the running portion of the Navy's PFA than just being there marginally.

    Going there, it just feels like being in a commercial gym where everyone wants to do stuff but not be truly good at something.

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