Time for
more bizarre metaphors, and I’ll start by saying I’m NOT a car guy. My favorite car is the DeLorean, because I
grew up watching Back to the Future, suicide doors are awesome, and it’s made
out of stainless steel, so now you know the kinda guy you’re dealing with
here. That said, I will say that some of
you folks out there really enjoy your luxury vehicles. You dig your GPS navigation built into your Bluetooth
stereo with your WiFi support, you need your automatic seats and power windows
and dual climate control and heated seats, and you love to brag about how
economically friendly you are because you have at tracker that monitors fuel
efficiency. Screw all that, gimme a rally
car. Strip all that crap out and give me
just enough to get from A to B, and make me light enough that nothing is
weighing me down and giving me any unneeded drag. Let’s not forget our purpose here: it’s NOT
the journey, it IS the destination, and some of you folks are living like
luxury vehicles, when you need to start stripping down so you can finish the
race. Be a rally car human.
This...isn't quite what I mean
This...isn't quite what I mean
We’ve been
sold a pack of lies from people who have a vested interest in making “driving
an experience.” It’s not about getting
there, but about enjoying the ride, right?
Hell no! This is how you get
upsold and buy a bunch of crap you don’t need.
Why did we go to the dealership in the first place? Because our ride broke down and we need a new
vehicle. I didn’t come here to buy a stereo,
so why am I being upsold on a bunch of speakers and an entertainment
center? Hell, Best Buy wasn’t trying to
sell me a car, why is Honda trying to sell me a radio? Take all that crap out, you’re slowing down
my ride. Hell, take out the suspension
if you can: I’ll just bounce a lot.
Alright, I’m
clearly losing my mind on this one, but I’ll try to spell it out a little
better. In training, nutrition,
lifestyle, etc, people fixate too much on enjoying the whole experience, and
eventually their focus gets too shifted onto enjoying the experience that they forget
why they ever “got in the car” in the first place: to get somewhere. They get fixated on having enjoying training,
enjoyable meals, an enjoyable life, that they don’t stop to wonder if all this
enjoyment might actually be slowing them down or even weighing them down so
much that they may end up NEVER reaching their destination. They need to start jettisoning all this junk
out of their car so that they lose some bulk, get more streamlined, and finish
the race.
The Mariusz on the left looks terrifying, the Mariusz on the right has a winning record
The Mariusz on the left looks terrifying, the Mariusz on the right has a winning record
What does it
mean to become a rally car human? It
means to start cutting away at some of those things that really don’t
matter. People ask me often why I don’t
eat direct carb sources, and the truth is because they just get in the
way. Carbs are too complicated. Look, I know what protein does: it builds
muscle. I know what fat does: it’s good
for hormones. I ALSO know that there are
essential fats and essential amino acids, which is to say, if you don’t eat
them, you die. But carbs? They’re for energy right? But so are proteins and fats… Are there essential carbs? …no… So why the hell am I supposed to eat
them? Because they taste good? You know what, this is getting too
complicated, just get rid of them. These
thoughts no longer weigh me down, one less thing to think about, and I can keep
driving on my journey.
Why don’t I
do stretching or mobility? Because my
goal is to get bigger and stronger, not more flexible or mobile. I know how lifting weights gets me there:
because resisting heavy stuff makes you stronger. How does stretching or mobility make me
bigger or stronger? It makes me feel
better? Feeling better isn’t my goal:
being bigger and stronger is my goal. It
makes me less prone to being injured?
That’s not my goal. Why would I
do these things that aren’t going to help me reach my goal? Rally car human: cut it out and move on.
Why are you doing ANY of this?
Why are you doing ANY of this?
Why are you
intermittent fasting when you want to gain weight? Because it fits your schedule better? Hey, that’s cool, but how many guys do you
think got big by NOT eating? Quit
enjoying the journey and start driving faster.
You’re going to eat chocolate cake when you’re losing fat because it
fits your macros? Sounds fun, I’ll be
waiting for you at the finish line.
Instead of spending more time in your cars and having to find ways to
make that experience more enjoyable, why not just make it that you get to the
finish line faster and therefore don’t need to spend as much time on the
road?
Become a
rally car human. Shed your need for
enjoyment for a second and see just how much faster your car moves. Eat the food you need because it makes you
bigger and stronger, not the food you want because it makes you happy. Train the way you need to train because it
works, not the way you want to train because it’s your favorite movement, or
your favorite split, or because the program has an app. Do the things that get you to your goal and
stop doing the things that don’t matter.
The ride will be bumpier, there will be no built in entertainment, and
you’ll probably be uncomfortable with no climate control, but you will get
there quickly and have to wait for everyone else to catch up.
You dont think intraworkout instagramming is an essential part of the rally car?
ReplyDeleteI only wish you could crash just as hard in the gym as you can instagramming and driving, haha.
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ReplyDeleteThe irony in this, is you may end up actually feeling better in the long run.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a little over a month since I stopped drinking energy drinks, and after getting over the initial hump, my craving for red bulls, monsters, etc, has gone way down. I'm also less caffeinated and actually have MORE energy during the day than I did when I was drinking 2-3 of these in a day. I still drink coffee though, or tea, but it's basically cutting out the junk while still fulfilling the purpose.
Great article as always.
Nice. I have the same mentality when it comes to drinking anything for the caffeine. I have people ask me from time to time, "How can you drink black coffee?"
DeleteMy reply is generally that I didn't start drinking coffee until I was about 26 or 27 and it was only because I needed something to keep me awake and alert at my desk job and didn't want to have to down soda to accomplish that. I legit think coffee tastes like shit water and is an acquired taste, so why not acquire a taste for the shit water with the least amount of other needless shit in it? I just sounds efficient to me personally. :)
I find coffee to be delicious, personally.
DeleteMaybe I'm just a caffeine addict, though.
I initially got caught up in energy drinks because I assumed coffee had to be hot, and sometimes you just need caffeine. Been doing iced coffees lately.
Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think the world sells a lot of stupid bullshit.
DeleteLike the whole 5x5 program, or the whole thing about rep ranges (low wright, high rep, vs high weight, low rep), needing the "perfect" system, to get results, or the minimal amount of effort or whatever. Not to mention all the fitness machines and whatever else.
Now, I'm not saying that 5x5 is bad, I made some good strength gains off of it as well as some size, but, it would have been great to have been told when I need to up the volume, that I don't always need PRs, that at some point, I will need to probably abandon a set tyrannical rep range.
Basically all the things this blog is saying, I guess.
As a casual fan of motorsport, the analogy is interesting.
ReplyDeleteNot to miss the forest for the trees but I disagree on the nutritional aspects of this article. Well in terms of the macronutrient stuff and the roles they play in the body. Just because some is good, doesn't mean more is better.
I think the fact that your body will make carbs out of protein and fat is a sign that carbs are important. It's like a crack addict selling their pets and furniture for another hit. There are actual reasons I think carbs are useful for growing bigger and stronger but I might leave that for another time.
Along with the point you made about eating for performance, most of my meals are pretty meh taste wise. Some lean meats, lots of rice and lots of vegetables isn't quite as tasty as a ribeye and a salad. I train a lot better on it, however.
Nutrition is mostly overrated in terms of aiding performance though, I think. Possibly why people get so angry and religious about it. Most of us need to just train harder and eating more boring food.
I enjoyed the musings, as always.
Appreciate the comment. To clarify, this isn't an article, but just a blogpost. There's nothing academic here. The nutritional portion is more just what floats around in my head. Like you noted, the body finds a way to make carbs, which is why I find myself not in a place to eat carbs. I'm sure there is a benefit there, and I hear they are helpful for sparing muscle, but for my approach, it just is one less thing to think about.
DeleteAnd like you said, it's amazing how religious people get about this. You can get plenty big and strong eating a bunch of different ways: it seems like compliance is the biggest thing.
I have made a lot more progress following the advice on this blog than I ever did anywhere else. The advice is universal to anything fitness, which is nice.
DeleteAs for nutrition, there really isn't one real way to eat. I knew linebackers in high school who ate cereal in the morning. I got strong off of college cafeteria food, which is mostly carbs. Elliott Hulse talks about how prisoners get jacked on prison food, which is pretty much garbage.
Nutrition is important, but people really do over complicate it with trying to count calories.
Do research, make adaptations where necessary, and eat carbs if you feel you need them. They're yummy. No need to fix a thing if it isn't broken.
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DeleteOn the nutrition being religious, sometimes I'll go on someone's instagram profile and their bio will have, in this order: Name, (diet type), religion/profession, spouse <3. Equally amusing and horrifying.
DeleteOf course, I have a way of thinking about how I would eat for improving training and results (and reasons for those choices) but quite frankly not everyone wants to follow that all the time like a machine, myself included. Better to do 80% properly than 100% not at all.
As alluded to before as well, I think nutrition certainly has an effect but it's not as major as people make it out to be unless you really fuck it up.
This is the best Blog in the world you have changed my life thankyou Beast
ReplyDeleteHey man, that really means a lot. Appreciate you stopping by and leaving the comment.
DeleteMy outlook on on my whole life not just training has been dramitaically altered thanks to You this blog is a GoldmineSome most of the stuff on here is worth charging for and I would happily pay :) !
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that man. I have no intention to charge right now. I write for me, and not being beholden to a paycheck seems to keep me honest in that regard. If there is ever anything specific you'd want me to cover, let me know.
DeleteDitto on the life changer. I honestly count Pavel, Bud Jeffries, and you as being the three most influential people in teaching me how to work out properly.
DeleteI'm actually about to go back to the old 5x5 program you gave me ages ago but with sandbags (too broke for much else), and probably more reps since the weight just shifts, a lot.
Realizing it was solid and my lack of progress was due to lack of effort has been eye opening.