EVERYONE’S FAVORITE: BULLET POINTS

 

 

* The 4” plug in electric skillet by Dash is a gamechanger for eating while traveling.  I’ve used it to cook eggs, beef, toast, chicken, make tacos/quesadillas, etc etc.  It’s stupidly portable as well: throw it in any suitcase.  Just make sure to put a hotel towel underneath it, as it has such a small circumference that it tends to drip.

 

* “New” (to me) movements that I dig: devil presses, KB snatches and thrusters.  Pretty much any way you can get weight from floor to overhead is going to be good, especially as it relates to conditioning.  Seems to be the missing element for most.

There is a long established relationship between pressing stuff overhead and being jacked, strong and conditioned

* On the above, taking my reps from the floor for pressing has been awesome.  Doing it before each rep is metabolically taxing but even doing it just for the first rep onward primes me body for pressing.  It’s just more “primal” too. 

 

* Been using Apple Cider Vinegar for a while now.  Like creatine, it’s so cheap, you may as well use it.  I take it 15 minutes before big meals, and before bed.  Sometimes first thing in the morning as well.

 

* When I was junior in my training, I would go on vacation and “lose all my gains”.  Now, I go, come back and am stronger than when I left.  Quickly gained, quickly lost…but also quickly regained.  So quit stressing.

 

* Digestion is the unmentioned part of gaining and recovery.  If it’s not working well, you aren’t absorbing well, which means you are wasting effort.  Not everything “good for you” is good for you.  I had to cut out blueberries, mushrooms and raw broccoli from my diet, because they were wrecking my guts.  Things are better now.

 

* On the above, it’s also why I’m a fan of small frequent meals.  We were told it “stoked the metabolic fires” in the 90s, and that may have been bunk, but what it DOES do is make it so you’re not feeling full all the time so you can get in more food IN TOTAL compared to trying to eat 3 massive meals.

 

* People get upset when authors/coaches change their view on training.  Aren’t we supposed to be growing, evolving, adapting and learning?  Them thinking a NEW thing doesn’t invalidate the OLD stuff; it means there are even MORE avenues to success.  That is a GOOD thing.  If you don’t like the new stuff, stick to the old stuff.  I still listen to my Green Day albums from the 90s.

This is legit the first CD I ever bought...from a Sam Goody...at a mall...and you now have the baseline to "Longview" in your head

 

* Got my hands on the Ironmaster 120lb add on, to go with the heavy handles.  The company makes great products.  Not too tough to change out weights.  Powerblocks WERE easier for changing, but didn’t feel as good in my hands.

 

* I hate going out to eat and having that person at the table ask what everyone is ordering before the wait staff takes the order.  Go make your own decision: this is between me and the dude bringing me my food.

 

* I get bugged when I vouch for something and get asked a “yeah but” question.  “Is there really enough chest volume in Building the Monolith to grow?”  If there wasn’t, would I have vouched for it?  Your question is effectively “are you actually a liar?”  Do you expect me to go “Hah!  You caught me!  Here is the REAL program”.

 

* One of the greatest bits of comedy out there is how COVID forced Eddie Hall and Thor to keep up a fake feud for WAY too long for a boxing match no one really wants to see.  It’s like delaying the premiere of a Pauly Shore film.  And now Hall’s bicep injury just makes it last even longer.

 

* “How do you find the discipline?”  How do you expect me to answer that question?  It’s right up there with “Do you have any tips for lifting?”

 

* If you are gaining right, a cheat meal means a skipped me.  My wife asked what I wanted for dinner one night, and my answer was “nothing.”  And it was amazing.

This post is taking a surprising turn for the 90s

 

* In that regard, I find I need to force myself to eat some sort of carb, because, again, I have zero desire to eat them after stuffing myself with fats and protein.  And I observe zero training issues with low carb.  Fats seem to provide adequate fuel.  Avocados, in particular, are amazing.

 

* I still can’t get into proper bodybuilding training, as it’s too nuanced.  “Hold this contraction” “3 second negative”, etc etc.  Its why I always liked DoggCrapp: the nuance is in the effort vs the execution.

 

* “Athletes that train hard NEED intraworkout nutrition”.  Counter point: athletes that train hard won’t be able to consume intra-workout nutrition due to risk of puking.

 

* On that note, apparently 1 lifting workout and 2 conditioning workouts a day isn’t “training hard”…

 

* For the first time ever, my squatting really seems to be taking off.  I attribute 2 things to it: my Juarez Valley front squat conditioning workout I do once a week and the inclusion of belt squats for 1 big dropset.  Which probably indicates the value of quads after spending so much time hammering my posterior chain.

 

* In a similar regard to the above, my current training block (the 26 week hypertrophy program I wrote of earlier and have been doing reviews of along the way) has been a great hypertrophy block for me, and the common variable is the inclusion of front squats for an extra workout along with my “daily work”.  The last time I had a great hypertrophy block it was the exact same way.  This is a lesson I need to remember.

Front squatting helps you get jacked: who knew?

 

* There is a recent trend in trainees being concerned about face fat and jawlines when gaining.  What Instagram hero do I need to thank for THAT one?  At least it means the same kids quit talking about face pulls now…

 

* “Why don’t they live stream World’s Strongest Man?”  The same reason they didn’t live stream “Game of Thrones”.  Don’t confuse a TV show for a sporting event.

 

* “I wanna train strongman but have no plans to compete.”  Lifting weights.  What you mean to say is “I want to lift weights”  Do your conditioning too until a competition shows up.  THAT is training strongman. 

 

* There are too many barbells on the market these days.  How different could they all REALLY be?

 

* “Did you see the latest study?”  Dude, Pat Casey figured out how to bench 600lbs raw in the 60s.  We know how to get big and strong already: the “trick” is compliance.

Meatloaf sandwiches apparently helped as well

 

* I’ve read enough $10 e-books to learn that I prefer reading from authors who lift vs lifers that write.  And some of you dudes watch these cats talk on youtube?  How?!

 

* That said, “mindful reading” is critical.  I am baffled at how many people completely miss/misunderstand/incorrectly recall what an author wrote.  And make sure you read WORD FOR WORD and quit playing the telephone game.  “Jim Wendler keeps contradicting himself!”  No: the internet keeps attributing quotes to him he never said…

 

* The above is why I only ever say things like “What I would do if I were you”.  The instant I see someone say “MythicalStrength told me to do X”, I know that didn’t actually come from me.

 

* Training programs are just permission and faith.  Train however you want.  But if you want permission and faith in an approach, follow a program.

 

* On the above, “Never pay money for a training program”.  Ok then, how WILL you give back?

 

* Let’s learn to cook before we learn how to fit ice cream into our diets.

Those are STILL 320 calories you could have used on ANYTHING else.  And hell, if you're gonna cheat, go all the way

 

* Competition makes clear to the competitors and confuses the non-competitors.

 

* Have fewer rules. 

* On the other side, limitations are liberating, as we are no longer slaves to the optimal.

 

* You don’t get to be a picky eater as an adult.

 

* Thrusters and KB snatches play VERY well together.  Knees vs hips.  Alternate them in a conditioning workout and watch your heart do funny things.

 

* “Bury yourself with training and dig your way out with a spoon”

 

* Sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) is one of my new favorite nutritional discovers.  Organic sugar free sunbutter is effectively zero carb: solid fat source with a decent amount of protein, and I actually prefer the taste to peanut butter.  I put it in my breakfast burritos (using an egg wrap instead of a tortilla) because I am a deviant, but I got the idea of eggs and peanut butter from Harry Selkow on eliftefts.