The day
after my most recent strongman competition, I flew out on a work trip, and
spent a lot of time in meetings with significant downtime…so here are some
bullet points I came up with.
* I saw a 16
year old kid at my competition and had so much envy over how much access he had
at that age. But I wonder if it creates
too much press to “do right” vs just go hard.
That was the only guidance I had…and it worked.
I suppose I also had "say your prayers" and "take your vitamins" too
* You don’t
need sugary junk to perform maximally. I
mean YOU, specifically. I am sure
SOMEONE does, and they don’t read blogs on lifting.
* Been
getting a lot of comments on my arms since including a daily 5 minute workout
of kettle bell Armor Building Complexes.
Dan John says they’re a great arm builder, and I have to agree. But Dan John ALSO days not to do them
everyday…
* “Monument
of Non-existence II” answers a lot of questions. Need conditioning, extra barbell work, mental
toughness and a challenge? There it is.
Still no answer to the question of "what is wrong with me" though
* I’ve had 2
deload weeks now where circumstances gave me limited equipment. I had only kettlbells for one, and dumbbells
for the other. I am thinking that might
be a good intentional approach. Take
stuff away and force yourself to recover and get creative.
* Speaking
of getting creative: the benefits of cycling NUTRITIONAL approaches is that it
forces food prep creativity, and you can carry those lessons forward. Fat loss taught me that I was really
undervaluing egg whites while overeating yogurt products for quick protein. Also learned the value of frozen avocados vs
fresh. Meanwhile, gaining teaches you
all the little tricky ways to sneak calories INTO the diet that you can, in
turn, sneak back out when it’s time to lose.
* Nutrition
only gets “complicated” when you try to chase multiple goals: specifically
health AND performance. Just one of
those? Too easy. But, again, the “secret” is patience.
* In turn,
quit getting hoodwinked by supplements that primes results in just one
domain. You can save money and just eat
food.
The OG weightgainer
* I have
shifted a lot of my focus on multi-move conditioning to reducing the time
between movements. Too easy to meander
during that time. I’ve got one workout
that is clean and push press into burpee chins, and I make it a goal to come
right out of the burpees into grabbing the axle and getting it overhead. It’s a BIG difference. “Monument to Non-existence II” is absolutely
invaluable for practicing that.
* I had an
excellent training day of 12 rounds of EMOM deficit deadlifts/safety squat bar
squats straight into a 2 mile weighted vest walk straight into 5 minutes of
Armor Building Complexes. Give yourself
a training day like that. Multiple
modalities all at once. Jack up the
heart rate to start, ride it out for a long time, come back and blow it out.
* I’ve
bought 2 people a copy of “Super Squats” as long as they promised to log their
training and diet through the process.
I’ve made that offer to several other trainees. …still waiting on those logs. I’m really just a sucker for a transformation
story.
* “How much
of the gains were fat?” How to tell when someone is not ready for success.
Someone who didn't care about getting fat
* Growing up
a fat kid gave me an advantage that way: I never had abs to lose in the first
place!
* Its
interesting how, when we start, we admire everything that is size and strength
and typically just call it all “bodybuilding”.
Bodybuilders, powerlifters, strongman, just plain old big and strong
dudes: bodybuilding. Then we “evolve”
and get all weird and tribal. Then we
grow up and learn to think like a child again.
* Every time
one of those “pick only 3 movements” lists comes along, ever notice how pretty
much NO ONE picks a non-static movement?
Where are the carries, pushes and drags?
The REAL transformers.
* Build a
monster in 3 steps: breathing squats, Gallon of Milk a day OR Building the
Monolith diet, prowler.
* I finally
get “why squats”. Specifically on the
whole “if you could pick ONE movement to building the most muscle”. It’s not about squats triggering whole body
growth. It’s not about hormone
release. It’s because squats are THE
lift where you can push SO far beyond your limits. Rest-group-rep. Super Squats, DoggCrapp, Monument to
Non-Existence, Mass Made Simple, it all makes sense. When I’m in a pinch and only have a VERY
short amount of time to train, it’s just gonna be an all out set of squats.
Just like that really
* More
conditioning benefits: you get better FASTER.
Being in shape means less fatigue IN a set, which means grooving BETTER
reps MORE. Perfect practice makes
perfect: garbage reps self-perpetuate.
* Do you get more joy from that second bite, or
just the same amount o fjoy repeated a second time? Or, possibly even LESS joy?
* I think
adults need fewer snacks and more meals.
Snack sized meal? Fine. But the mental shift between a snack and a
meal is significant. I also appreciate
Jon Andersen’s “feedings” idea.
* It will
always be funny watching someone drinking olive oil and peanut butter shakes
turn their nose up at canned veggies because they “aren’t as healthy as fresh”.
Tell this guy not to eat canned veggies
* “How does
it taste?” For f**k’s sake: try it and find out!
* Money or
time: you gotta spend at least one. And
often, the less willing you are to spend one, the more you’ll need to spend the
other.
* Having to
explain the benefits of being in shape to someone pursuing physical
transformation is always weird to me.
* I am
baffled at the folks that can’t do the math required to run 5/3/1.
* Stop doing
dumbbell farmers walks. Just carry the
dumbbells in your arms like a sandbag.
That’s called a front carry. It’s
SO much better.
As inspired by you, I've been running Super Squats, this is week 6. I'll admit I haven't really been following the program, because I've only done half the gallon daily, and it shows on the scale, so I'm thinking I'll run another 6 weeks, shoot for the full gallon, and see if I can't force some more growth. My quads already don't fit in my slim pants though so the tape is moving. I'll give you a proper write-up after this week, then hopefully another one next cycle. It's awful, torturous, and honestly I dread the next set every day, but good God results speak.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear how it all went dude. This is such a transformative process.
DeleteCan you elaborate on the value on frozen vs fresh avocados? I always get fresh, but the problem is up here, the logistics chain is so long that they usually rot in 3-4 days of purchase, and pre-made guacomole is expensive. Haven't really had the ability to add them to my diet, but they are delightful.
ReplyDeleteYou just identified the value of frozen avocados: they don't spoil as fast, haha.
DeleteOh, awesome. Do you buy them fresh then freeze them? Any special techniques to thaw them out or are they still fairly malleable?
DeleteI buy frozen avocados. No special techniques: they thaw like other frozen fruit.
DeleteThanks man.
DeleteI ran a messed up approximation of Super Squats a few months ago. No barbel at home, but I basically set up with bands for an approximate 10RM (probably closer to a 15RM) and then used whatever I have to increase 5lbs per session. I have no idea how much muscle I built (but my bw did go up 5kg) but even if it was all fat, I feel like the mental "transformation" was worth it all by itself. Suffering 3x week for 6 weeks just made all the bad ideas enter the mind more easily, and just made pushing myself more easy. I often think about a hard workout (or random 32 reps squats at BW I did last week) and realize it wouldn't have been possible before Super Squats. For those 32 reps I wanted to give up at 15... and before that I would've.
ReplyDeleteCan't exactly claim what I ran was SS, but bands did make it "interesting" in a different way: the top sucked a lot more, and I had to get the mandatory 3 deep breaths. So resting at the top just sometimes sucked more than doing the rep. Whatever it was I ran, totally worth it. At some point I'll have to revisit the book when I have access to a barbell.
That's incredible dude. I love the creativity behind it. Are you still without a barbell? If so, do you still have those plates? You could always make an axle, like here
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqHtT4YowqU
Still without a barbell. I use bands, dumbell handles with weights (can fit like 120lbs of weight total on that), a 20lbs weightvest, 40lbs kettlebell (which sometimes ends up hanging from my neck) and a few other things.
DeleteBit of a weird house so getting a barbell here would be tricky (mostly the other owner would hate my guts). At the same time I figured that I can do a lot with what I have (and it's pretty quiet as a bonus). The moment I realized I'm not doing powerlifting I just stopped thinking about carryover and just went for it. Axle does sound like a fun thing. Plenty of things I want to try, but first I have a few cycles of 5/3/1 left with this setup, which will work day or another
Way to get after it dude. Totally admirable.
DeleteLove the bullet points. I'll probably do a reread of all your bullet point posts, sometime this year.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried doing as many bodyweight squats as possible? No bar or held weight to hold you back, just one agonizing set to failure, going into the hundreds?
Probably best done with a weighted vest so you're not taking close to an hour.
Glad you dig the bullets dude! Always nice when I can write them up. I appreciate how your definition of bodyweight squats allows for added weight, haha. Never did that particular challenge, but I have done a few Murphs with a vest. Solid challenge.
DeleteAs a kid, I read WWE'S HHH talk about training legs and he mentioned how they're the most reliable endurance muscle in the body just because your body was designed to walk for miles and miles nonstop. If your legs give out, you die and your body doesn't want that. As a result, you're probably good for more reps on leg exercises when you think you're done. That idea stuck with me. Your Zeno Squats definitely tap into that endless potential idea
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic. I love that! Dan John and Jon Andersen have both expressed similar sentiments about there always being one more rep. Definitely something to use to our advantage.
Delete>I am baffled at the folks that can’t do the math required to run 5/3/
ReplyDeleteI try to avoid being too negative but when someone starts complaining that it's too difficult to do the maths, demands an app, asks for the weights to be spoon fed to them etc my instinct is to just say "don't bother". If it's too difficult to do what basically amounts to 12 calculations per week, all of which are the same formula basically (TM*0.whatever the percentage is), either find a new program or a new hobby.
Oh my goodness yes. It's the least complicated math in the world. It can be done with a phone calculator. I have zero empathy there.
Delete