AMMUNITION FOR ALIENATION

-Bodybuilding rewards dedication.  Powerlifting rewards singular focus.  Strongman rewards insanity.

-One of the negatives of focusing on your grip strength is the inability to get your elbow sleeves over your forearms.  But that is a good problem to have.

-The Westside Method could easily work for raw lifters.  The issue is that it requires a huge knowledge and experience base to successfully run it.  It all makes sense, but you have to get over yourself to make it work.  This is why having a crew is so valuable, and why it flourishes so well in multi-ply.  If you lift multi-ply, you HAVE to have a crew, which means you’ve got folks that can call you out and assess your weaknesses.  If you lift raw, you can train by yourself, and you become your own worst coach.

-Mark Felix took second place in Britain’s Strongest Man.  He qualified for finals in WSM in 2015.  Dude is 50.  Why don’t more people want to know how HE trains/what his story is?

I'd love to perform like that when I'm 50...or now...ow when I was in my 20s

-Nothing is more anabolic than second place.

-I learned the other day that I hit a REAL max effort set if my MP3 started skipping.

-I am thinking that foam rolling/mobility might just be a generational thing.  My wife and I were talking about it after one of her races.  She doesn’t get it either, but friends of hers that are 21-25 all do it.  I think it boils down to growing up without the internet.  We used to just not know things.  Now, EVERY problem has a solution. 

-Weak people want absolutes.  Strong people want freedom.

Back when the Highland Games were just a chance to practice killing British soldiers

-It’s amazing how many things DON’T matter.  And people focus so much on these things that they refuse to look at what does.

-People are so terrified of getting injured because they claim it will keep them from training.  Why not be MORE terrified that you are willing to quit as soon as you get injured?  Your body will heal, but your mind is broken.

-People are such martyrs.  You either get recognized for your sacrifices or your results, but not both.  Since so few people are able to get the latter, they amass a LOT of the former.

-Powerlifting has pervaded modern lifting so much that new trainees now think that the deadlift is somehow the exact opposite of the squat, and that they somehow naturally balance each other out.  No one stops to ponder the complete arbitrariness of the situation.

Someone better let this guy know that he needs to start benching and deadlifting...you know...for balance

-On that topic, why is everyone so worried about muscle imbalances?  I notice that the only people talking about them are trying to sell me something.

-“Bang for your buck” is great, but if it’s ALL you do, you’ll quickly stagnate.  Part of the 80/20 rule IS the 20.

-The solution to getting people to quit judging you over how you eat/train/live is to be successful.  Either people will shut up, or you will stop caring.

-Anyone asking for “the best” is in truth asking for someone else to do the thinking for them.

-I don’t really get the folks that compete a TON in the novice division of strongman.  Same with the folks that complain about weight cut-offs in shows.  Why not just get lighter, or stronger, or both?

But...but my gains!

-Trainees confuse the most difficult part of the lift with their “weak point”.  How do you distinguish between being weak at the start of the lift versus the weight simply being too heavy?

-Anyone offering form advise to help someone bust through a plateau doesn’t know how to get stronger.

-Beginners and the weak think that the secret to success is doing LESS.  Less sets, less reps, less frequency, less cardio (note: I am aware I should be using the term “fewer” in these cases, but stick with me).  This is of course a recipe to BE less.  Build yourself up so that you can do MORE.  Almost all problems can be solved with MORE of something.

I kept hoping this would pave the way for a "Golden Girls" game, but it never panned out

-The weak pride themselves on their weakness!  How often do you see someone boast of their inadequate lifts in the presence of great ones?  “Here I was happy with a 225lb deadlift.”  This is a venomous way to steal attention away from greatness and focus it on mediocrity.

-Despite what the internet would have you believe, you CAN gain weight without squats and deadlifts.  I’ve put on 10lbs after my ACL reconstruction, having not been able to train heavy squats and deads the whole time.  The secret has simply been more meat and an extra pop-tart post lifting.  No stupid “bulking plans”.

-This “no fap” craze as it applies to lifting is just Christian guilt finding new ways to manifest.

-After you’ve been training for a few years, a “new movement” isn’t going to matter.  These things come in waves.  I saw the craze where front squats replaced squats (front squat smolov anyone?), where everyone was doing snatch grip deads, where no one did direct arm work, etc.  It’s all just lifting weights.  Find what works for you.

You knew this was coming

-When asked about the Smolov program, Borris Sheiko replied “Who is Smolov?”  Makes you think doesn’t it?

-I will never understand a need for reasonable goals.  When is the last time you admired someone for their reasonable accomplishments?

-I feel that there is a generation of lifters that believe that, if they can’t obtain success, they can at least have the most impressive online coach.

-Quickly gained, quickly lost.  True for strength and size.

-Beware of charlatans!  Anyone claiming that they know the best way to build “real world strength” that can’t be actually be demonstrated is a fraud.  When I used to fight, these were the guys that were “too deadlift for the ring”, who subsequently NEVER won a fight in ANY capacity.

Turns out that the secret techniques of Sumo are no match for getting your teeth kicked out of your skull

-“Strength coach” is a term used by/for someone with no real accomplishments.  “Powerlifting coach”, “Strongman Coach”, “Weightlifting Coach”, “Strength and Conditioning coordinator/coach at X school/team”, THESE are actual things.

-Could you imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger debating when is the right time to use a belt?  How about Bill Kazmaier foam rolling?  Could you envision Ronnie Coleman wondering if straps were stunting his forearm growth?  Just try to even LET these scenarios play through your mind.

How many kids right now would tell him to work on his wrist mobility and ditch the "pussy pad"?

-The longer I train, the less I care if anyone agrees with me.

-I am too stupid to use steroids; which alarms me when I see some of the people that DO use them.

-It’s weird how a lot of the folks I observe with “low testosterone” also eat and sleep poorly with bad exercise habits.

-Put your swiss bar on top of your rack to be able to do a variety of neutral grip chins, which is great, because what else were you going to use that bar for?