THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO READ ABOUT

  

The title of this blog is something I’ve realized time and time again as it relates to my interest of getting bigger and stronger. I’ve been writing a lot of book reviews recently and have taken to reading and re-reading much on the topic of training, and the unfortunate reality of the situation is that there’s really nothing out there FOR me to read.  At least, insomuch as it relates to learning something on the topic of getting bigger and stronger.  And this is not a declaration of arrogance and intellect, but far more an admission of the fact that I’ve picked an interest to pursue that REALLY doesn’t require much knowledge in order to achieve its goals.  This isn’t restoring classic cars or building computers or really anything that involves a deep knowledge base to succeed: getting bigger and stronger (or leaner for that matter) is simple.  And after 21 years of training, the fact of the matter is there is simply nothing left to read about anymore.

So do yourself a favor and just re-read this

 

Allow me to engage in some manner of reverse bragging, because I need to emphasize just how unaccomplished I am.  I’ve literally never had a coach as far as the realm of getting bigger and stronger is concerned.  I’ve had coaches for sports (wrestling, martial arts, football, ice hockey, etc), but many of those actually worked AGAINST said goals due to the bizarre amount of superstition that occurs in that realm as it relates to getting bigger and stronger.  On top of that, anyone that has seen any video of me in motion knows I am inherently NOT athletically inclined, I come from poor genetic stock (mother is 5’ and very petite, father is 5’8 and slight of frame, no athletes in my family), I have experienced significant injuries to my shoulder and knee, haven’t slept for 8 uninterrupted hours since 2010, have never had a training partner, been training in a home gym without access to the latest and greatest equipment since 2008, and the list goes on.  I am NOT gifted or advantaged.  On top of that, I have zero formal education in getting bigger and stronger, aside from a 100 level nutrition course I took as an elective in undergrad (focused on elderly care) and a similar weight training course.  I bring ALL of that up because, even WITH all of that I have achieved significant success in the pursuit of getting bigger, stronger and, in my most recent pursuit, leaner.  I’ve won powerlifting meets (as in “best lifter”, rather than just my weight class) and strongman competitions, completed 2 half marathons and dieted down to “internet single digit bodyfat” just winging it, most times intentionally NOT doing what people tell me to do in order to achieve these goals because I’m really goddamn stubborn and stupid and will do things “wrong” out of spite.

 

Which is why I find that there’s nothing to read about.  I’ve learned that I already KNOW how to achieve these goals…and it’s a bit of a letdown.  I see an article that talks about how to ensure you achieve maximal leanness, and I get really excited, only to realize that I already know how to get lean.  Build a strong press?  Oh man…wait, crap, I know how to do that.  I know how to build big muscles, strong muscles, shave off stubborn love handles, improve conditioning, etc etc.  And it’s such a terrible secret: effort, consistency and time.  That’s all it ever was.  Everything else is just window dressing and hype, because you can’t SELL effort, consistency and time.  But it’s the truth: if you work hard, consistently, for a long time, you will achieve all of your goals.

 

Much to the chagrin of the haters

And this is why I don’t read any studies that are put in front of me.  For one, it’s a RARE instance that someone shares a study with me because they want to benefit me.  In fact, there’s only one human on earth that does this (Hi Will!), and I think I tend to disappoint him because I’m too stupid to really grasp most of what is in them.  But otherwise, people send me studies because they want to “prove” me wrong about something.  And what the hell am I going to do with the information in a study?  It’s not going to tell me anything I don’t already know: work hard for a long time without breaks and you’ll achieve results.  Oh my, people that did leg extensions in the 6-10 rep range got 2.7% more muscle than those that trained in the 12-15 rep range?  I SO don’t care: have them both train for 20 years and the results will even out, or the difference will be so insignificant no one will care.  The folks that are so concerned about optimization have such a narrow view of the timeline when it comes to training.  None of these differences will matter once you get to “the end”: just find A way to train and eat and stick with it, you’ll get there.

 

There’s so much information out there on training and nutrition simply because there’s a demand to CONSUME this information.  People like to read about training and nutrition because they feel like it empowers them on the subject: as though, if they just acquire ENOUGH information on it, they too will be big and strong.  Unfortunately, the process can’t be rushed: you simply have to knuckle down and settle in for the long haul.  And, in turn, the producers of the information have to keep finding new ways to spin old data in order to continue to produce and sell things to the masses that demand it.  It creates an artificial sense that there is an abundance of information out there relating to the topic of getting bigger and stronger, when, in truth, it’s the same basic principle being repacked and reproduced.  Case in point, my frustration reading Josh Bryant’s “Tactical Strongman” and discovering it was just PHA training from the 60s being rebranded. 

McCallum modeling the OG "Gas Station Ready"

 

Which is why, when it comes to reading about lifting, I want to read something entertaining rather than informative.  It’s why “Powerlifting Basics: Texas Style” is my favorite book of all time when it comes to training, why Dan John is a fantastic author, why “The Complete Keys to Progress” is required reading: because these authors can tell STORIES, not just facts and figures.  How many scientific studies are you going to read before you realize you’ve read them all before?  It’s why I made this blog in the first place: I wanted there to be more material out there like that, so I decided to make some.  The body can only respond to a stimulus in so many different ways: we’ve pretty much already figured it all out, now it’s just a question of picking a way forward and acting on it.

 

And it IS simply about A way forward: it doesn’t matter what that way is.  I figured out how I wanted to train and eat and just stuck with it.  I’ve heard it all before: how I MUST stretch and do mobility, must foam roll, must train a muscle group 2x a week, must eat carbs, must use pre-workout supplements, must have rest days, etc etc.  The only thing I learned I must do is stick with my plan once I’ve made it.  People get big and strong with percentages, with intuition, with daily training, with HIT, with no plan, with coaching, etc etc.  People get lean with high carb, high fat, low protein, paleo, keto, no meat, carnivore, etc etc.  The only way people fail is by trying to rush the process, jumping from program to program and diet to diet in hopes of trying to find “the one true way”.  And with each new article and study that comes out, they find a new hope to latch onto, only to squander their growth by their inability to commit.

At least accomplish something if you're going to keep switching things up

 

There simply isn’t enough appreciation for the AMOUNT of time it takes to achieve significant results, as, along with creating content simply for the sake of selling it, many “fitness professionals” are big on promising big results in little time, primarily because THAT sells far better than a “get rick slow scheme”.  And the market is so saturated with this message that new trainees refuse to believe in the possibility that training time will be measured in YEARS, not weeks.  Which is why complexity reigns supreme again.  People experience “failed bulks/cuts” and think that it must have been an issue with nutrient timing or macro ratios or the wrong training protocol or sleep issues, etc etc, when the truth is that they simply didn’t train long enough to put on muscle during their gaining phase and they had no muscle to cut down to during the cut due to the incredibly short amount of training time they have.  Run this quick mental checklist whenever your outcome did not match your expectations: did you train hard enough, did you train consistently enough, and did you train long enough?  Most likely, 1 of those 3 wasn’t where it needed to be.  Fix THAT before you start worrying about peri-workout nutrition.

 

There is nothing left to read about: go do.

BOOK REVIEW: JOSH BRYANT’S “JAILHOUSE STRONG”

 

 

As I continue my tear through reading of all things training, it’s worth reviewing a book that is once again becoming topical as the world appears to be heading toward another period of gym closures.  “Jailhouse Strong” is another Josh Bryant $10 special on kindle that relates around training with minimal to no equipment in the pursuit of getting bigger and stronger: a situation many may now face or, if not, will encounter sometime in the future.  It is done under the premise of how “so many convicts get so jacked” in prison which, in truth, tends to be more a fantasy trope that reality if you’ve ever taken the time to look at the convicts in a prison documentary (or for those of my readers that may have actually served time), but it does manage to actually document that habits of those inmates that DID succeed in getting jacked while incarcerated.  If nothing else, it’s a useful grounding mechanism to base a book around minimalist training.

 

OVERVIEW

 

The book goes over a history of training while incarcerated, included a “who’s who” of strong inmates, then leads into some instruction on bodyweight exercises, programs and challenges, followed by lifting programming using minimal equipment, and then sections on training the neck, bodypart specialization (6 week programs focusing on bringing up one muscle group while maintaining the others) and a bit on unarmed combat.

 

THE BAD

Not all inmates get jacked in prison

I’m going to be a pessimist and start with the bad parts of the book first, as people who read by review of “Tactical Strongman” know that I wasn’t the biggest fan of my last Bryant experience. 

 

-This book still has plenty of cringe in it.  Though not NEARLY as bad as Tactical Strongman’s insistence of nearly every page regaling us with stories of Thick Nick and being gas station ready, the over the top prison slang alpha dog stuff is just too goofy, and trying to teach someone unarmed combat as a CHAPTER in a book on bodyweight training is so delightfully lacking in self-awareness that I wonder if it’s some sort of Andy Kaufmann-esque prank that I’m just unaware of.  They make entire books dedicated to that pursuit, and even THOSE fail because combat needs to be personally instructed.  Would have been far better to just style that section as a conditioning workout ala cardio-kickboxing, but I’m sure that wouldn’t get the testosterone nod of approval.

 

-There is a significantly missed opportunity to discuss inmate nutrition in this book.  Teach people in restricted locations how to maximize nutrition with minimal access to cooking/variety.

 

-I continue to not be a fan of percentage based programming whereas Josh is.  Now, I’m a big 5/3/1 fan and Deep Water used percentages too, but I feel like the difference is that Josh wants percentages for practically EVERY movement you do, whereas those other 2 programs kept it for just the big movements.  I suppose in Josh’s case, it’s helpful if you’re the type of trainee that wants to be told EXACTLY what to do.

 

-Depending on your disposition, you may find it distasteful to idolize inmates.

 

THE GOOD

Sometimes, a little time in the slammer actually CAN give you a chance to get jacked

-The bodyweight movement explanation section includes progressions to build up to being able to do certain movements.  I personally can’t attest to how effective these progressions are, as I am able to do the movements already, but still, it’s good to have a book that gives the reader the tools they need from start to finish.

 

-Along with the above, there’s a solid amount of variety of movements introduced in the book.  If you’re stranded without equipment, it’ll help keep you occupied.  And even if not in that situation, it’s a good reminder of what else is out there.

 

-There ARE some non-percentage based programs in the book, and I feel like they really shine.  They’re more presented as challenges, but ultimately provide a helpful framework to be able to train bodyweight movements AND weighted exercises.  I personally made use of the “Juarez Valley” approach on a deadlift workout and found it challenging and viable.  The lifting section also does a good job of introducing the value of rest pausing, but it neglected to bring up mechanical advantage dropsets, which is something I’ve seen write about in other locations regarding being “Jailhouse Strong”

 

-A section on neck training is awesome.  People are getting stupid about neck training online, either calling it the most dangerous thing you can possibly do in the weightroom or making it into something meme-y and stupid.  Training the neck has a long and established history in the ironworld and really doesn’t need to be given such a fetish-like response.  Of course, the reasoning behind it is coated with cheese and cringe, but you just kinda learn to take it.

 

BOTTOMLINE: SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

Don't feel the need to commit crimes in order to get the funds for it AND get to jail to try it out

I am going to go with a solid “Yes” on this one, premised that you ONLY buy it as a $10 kindle purchase.  It wouldn’t be worth the cost of a hardcopy, but it’s a very useful resource to have plugged into your phone and ready to reference if you find yourself without equipment OR just need a little inspiration for a quick workout while on the road.  Proof of concept for me is that I’ve been traveling once again and kept finding myself cracking open the kindle app on my phone and rebrowsing the book to see if I could come up with some ideas for a quick daily training routine to do first thing in the morning to get some blood flowing.  The writing itself is far more tolerable than Tactical Strongman, though still not as good as “Powerbuilding Basics” (which I need to review at some point).  Once again, not the best effort I’ve seen from Josh, I’m not a big fan of his writing style, but the book delivers on what it needs to deliver, and should be helpful for anyone needing to train without equipment.

BULKING DIRTY TRICKS: PHASING "DIRT" INTO A DIET

  

Alright, I’m going to hate myself for using terms I can’t stand, but in the context of today, it works.  When discussing “dirty bulking”, it needs to be understood that we’re going to use that phase in the way that actually makes sense: eating “dirty food”.  Dirty food would be food that isn’t considered clean.  If you don’t know what clean food is, you’re being a petulant child, because the rest of us get it: clean food is food we understand to be healthful.  When you think “bodybuilder in the last 6 weeks of prep”, you’re thinking clean foods.  Chicken breasts, lean fish, green veggies, plain white rice, sweet potatoes, etc.  Dirty foods are those things we understand to be NOT healthful: fast food, pizza, high fat meats, refined carbs, etc etc.  The idea that a dirty bulk is a bulk where you get fat and a clean bulk is one where you don’t is just stupid: the latter is a lean bulk, the former is just getting fat.

Don't fall for supplement ads guys...and Lee Priest is still aweosme

 

Ok, all that established, often times, one starts out a weight gain phase (god I hate the word “bulk”/”bulking”) with the best of intentions as far as maintaining a healthful approach goes, but, eventually, they hit a stall.  You can only stomach so much food at a pop, and healthful food tends to be healthful BECAUSE it’s low in calories as a result of being low in superfluous macronutrients.  A chicken breast is almost pure protein compared to a ribeye steak, which is almost equal parts fat and protein.  An apple, though “heavy” in sugar, also has lots of fiber that can counteract if you’re a net-carb kinda guy: apple pie filling, not so much.  You get the point.  Sometimes, in the pursuit of weight gain, it becomes necessary to loosen up on the clean aspect of the diet and allow some dirt in for the sake of fostering weight gain.

 

HOWEVER, eating dirty is way too easy.  The majority of Americans do that (other countries too I’m sure).  It’s too easy to get down a rabbit hole on this and end up wallowing in candy bar rappers and empty ice cream tubs.  A smart lifter is going to understand that there are phases to adding dirt to the diet, and that strategy must be employed in order to have a successful weight gain phase without getting stupid with it.  That having been understood, I’m going to outline the ways I’ll sneak dirt into my diet as I gain weight, and my thought process behind it.  This is going to focus primarily on nutrition around the time of training, as I find that to be the most critical window to manipulate.  It’s pretty easy to add dirt to the rest of your diet, but here we’re going to employ some strategy.  Keep in mind once again that my default approach to nutrition is low-carb, so some of the things I consider to be dirt may just be the way you eat already.

 

 

 

 

  POST WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 1

 

Yabba dabba doo

There are enough nutritional studies out there that say you can pretty much eat as many simple carbs as you want post workout that it’s definitely something worth taking advantage of when your goal is weight gain.  If you’re coming out this super clean, you could add some dried fruit and honey post workout and easily ratchet up an extra few hundred carbs.  However, many in the bodybuilding scene sing the praises of processed breakfast cereals instead, and I find rice based ones in particular go down VERY smoothly post workout.  Rice crispies, cocoa crispies, fruity pebbles and cocoa pebbles all make fine choices.  You can put them in a shake and drink them, OR you can pour cereal in a bowl, put protein powder on top, pour milk on it, mix it all together and eat it with a spoon.  Start out with just a cup of breakfast cereal for phase 1. 

 

POST WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 2

These are convenient to bring to the gym

 

Ok, the cereal is a given now.  Add the fruit to the mix as well.  I liked frozen blueberries myself, but raisins and bananas are a classic staple.  Now we can up the dose of the cereal to 1.5 cups if we like.  I also like to add fat free greek yogurt into the mix at this point OR you could forego the milk entirely and just make it into a parfait with the greek yogurt.  However, if you do that, you need a lot of greek yogurt, because now you’ve taken away from the mixture, and the goal here is calories.  Mixing honey with it never worked for me, so I just take a spoonful or 2 of the stuff with the meal.

 

POST WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 3

The worst flavor is the one you get the msot of in this packet, and I will fight anyone that says otherwise

 

I know we started off wanting simple carbs, but at one point you’re going through boxes of cereal, so I mix things up at this point and add in a packet of flavored oatmeal into the mix.  Most companies still pack a lot of sugar into their flavored oatmeal, so you still get that, and then the carbs from the oatmeal too.  I don’t cook it: I just let it settle into the milk/greek yogurt mixture.  Also: whipped cream.  Yeah, I just violated the low fat aspect of this too, but whipped cream is delicious, calorie packed, and really makes the whole mixture very palatable.  The breakfast cereal is at 2 cups at this point, and you still have the fruit and protein powder.  PBFit is a great addition at any point in this process, but now it should DEFINITELY be included, as it’s yet another way to get in some calories.  At this point, your post workout meal is like a real meal.  That’s when you know you’ve arrived.

 

PRE-WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 1

 

They got "thin" in the name: they're diet food

I genuinely don’t tend to eat a pre-workout meal unless I’m training first thin in the morning, so simply the inclusion of one is already getting things “dirty” for me.  If I’m training first thing in the morning, I keep things very light, as I don’t like to train with a heavy gut.  This morning, I had 2 hardboiled eggs (cage free/organic) and a quarter of a pumpkin spice sour cream donut from Krispie Kream.  I’m in the VERY early phases of a weight gain cycle right now.  Other times, I’ve done 2 girl scout thin mint cookies, two pieces of toast with a light smear of honey, wild blueberries with honey drizzled on them, etc.  Already, some of that food is in the realm of dirty, but the portion sizes are so small I don’t swear them.  I just don’t want to be totally fasted when I lift weights, but I have done it before and didn’t really suffer.

 

Other classics include a protein shake, protein bar, Finibars from Biotest (read my recent entry on Strongman on the Road to see my review on them as a product), or other similar, light items with some protein in them. 

 

PRE-WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 2

This is like looking at my childhood

 

Alright, we’ve knuckled down and the pre-workout meal is now a foregone conclusion: let’s make it an actual meal.  You can’t get more classic than a PBJ: a Dan John favorite, and honestly, just a solid choice.  You can go all out and make sure to get the natural peanut butter, Ezekiel bread and sugar free jelly to keep things on the healthier side.  If you prefer to be like me and do the “no fats and carbs together” approach, this is another fine opportunity for stealing from the post workout nutrition.  Cereal and protein powder, greek yogurt and protein powder, a protein shake with some honey toast, etc.  I’ve also been experimenting with a high fat pre-workout meal, typically just heavy servings of nuts/nut betters, to include nut butter sandwiches on low/zero carb bread.  Results have been solid so far. 

 

PRE-WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 3

I have posted the most anabolic flavor for your reference

 

Say hello to your friend: the pop-tart.  Now, technically, I’d be willing to say that ONE pop-tart pre-workout could be skirting the edge of phase 2, but come on: no one eats one pop-tart.  They come in packages of 2: what’re you supposed to do with the other one?  Put it in a ziplock so it doesn’t go bad before you get to it again?  We’re eating both right now.  400 calories put down in seconds.  Tons of sugar and carbs, minimal fat (you can even buy low fat pop-tarts), just the thing to spike your insulin before hitting the weights.  If you want, you can combine pop-tarts with your other pre-workout meal ideas above to REALLY jack up the calories.  Candy bars would work here too, depending on the composition, but I’d again go for stuff that is mostly carbs rather than heavy in fats.  You’d skittles would be a good choice, but I find they require a LOT of chewing, and at this point in your bulk, you’re eating SO much that you wanna keep chewing to a minimum.

 

PRE-PRE WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 1

In theory, Hobbits should make exceptional barbarians

 

Let’s cop to this now: when you’re having pre-pre workout meals, you’re already pretty deep into the bulk.  But if you’re trying to evolve from clean to fully dirty, you might implement this after phase 1 of the pre and post workout meals, but you could also wait until you reach phase 3 of those to do this.  Adding extra meals is always a viable way to bump up calories.

 

In phase 1 of the pre-pre workout, we’re going to have a regular meal.  I like to just make this leftovers from the previous night’s dinner.  For me, that ends up being meat and veggies.  For you, maybe that’s pasta, or some meat with rice and potatoes.  You could also make this a second breakfast, and get some eggs, oatmeal, toast, etc.  Just finding an opportunity to get in a whole other meal is going to go far toward helping gain weight, and those extra calories before a training session are also going to mean you’ll be able to REALLY push training hard.  I’ve observed a direct correlation between how many meals are in me and how hard I can train, even if the time of day remains the same.

 

PRE-PRE WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 2

This is just pure Americana

 

Time for a country breakfast.  Get some pancakes, grits/hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, and toast.  Still “good” food, but a lot of it.  At this point in the diet, I’m so sick of cooking and cleaning I typically go out for this.  Alternatively, bump up the portions of what you were eating in phase 1.  This is a pretty easy intermediately phase.

 

PRE-PRE WORKOUT MEAL: PHASE 3

It's Quest, so it's healthy..right?

 

Frozen pizza time.  I was eating the Quest brand frozen pizzas at the time because they were “healthier”.  Make no mistake: you’re eating frozen pizza.  It’s not good for you.  But they’re stupidly easy to make and a Quest one packs around 700+ calories with a fair amount of protein.  While it cooks, you can watch training videos and get excited for your next session.  Eating one of these a day can get pricey, but that’s the cost of getting huge, which, at this point in your bulk, is your goal.  I suppose you could also order a real pizza and eat half of it, but frozen was just more convenient for me.  I’ve also made use of fast food drivethroughs at this point (Taco Bell has a fantastic breakfast spread) for a similar end.  And, when I was feeling like putting in a slight amount of work, I'd toss a 1+lb ribeye on the grill.

 

 

Once again, it’s worth noting that this is about getting big and strong: not health.  Please do not confuse this as advice for longevity.  But this is what I did when I hit my best press ever, so it works for something.

 

 

GET TO YES

 Today, I’m going to discuss a concept that was introduced to me by a favorite mentor of mine, and though he isn’t the originator of the idea, I’m still so grateful they shared it with me: “get to yes”.  What does it mean?  It means that, when presented with a challenge or a question, instead of flat out saying it can’t be done, or explaining WHY it can’t be done, find a way to “get to yes”.  Decide it CAN be done FIRST, and then figure out WHAT it will take in order to get there.  So often, we discover that the things we say “can’t” be done are really things that are just very very difficult to get done, but they can, in fact, get done.  Get to yes will, of course, apply to any subject, but applying that lens specifically to training and nutrition will prove invaluable to any trainee willing to apply it.

Sometimes it's even "get to yes...yes...YES!"

 

When I ran 5/3/1 Building the Monolith, I only budgeted myself an hour a day to train. I trained first thing in the morning, and did not want to wake my spouse up any earlier than that for the sake of my training.  If you’ve not seen the program, it has a prodigious amount of training volume packed into each day.  I had observed many reports of the program saying a typical training day lasted 90-120 minutes.  BUT, I had already decided I was going to run the program, so now I had to “get to yes”.  I analyzed what tools I had available to me, and discovered that giant sets, short rest periods, and setting up my gym the day before I was supposed to train would set me up to succeed.  I spent a solid week determining which pairing of exercises would work best to allow me to get in all the work I needed without totally obliterating a muscle group, since I’d have to turn right around and repeat the giant set as soon as it was done in order to meet my timeline.  It would have been easy to look at the program and just say “it can’t be done”: getting to yes was far more difficult but, in turn, it got me the results I wanted.  I just had to be at peace with the fact that the solution was going to SUCK.

 

And that’s the big part about “getting to yes”: you can’t let difficulty, reasonability, logic or conventions prevent you from getting to yes.  The world is full of “no”: getting to yes requires some thinking and strategy.  That’s totally fine: find out WHAT it takes to get to yes, and then, from THERE, determine what it is you are and are not willing to do.  My “get to yes” of Building the Monolith could have very well included an option of “train for longer than 60 minutes”, and in turn, I personally would reject it.  It’s no longer about the answer being an impossible answer: it’s about the answer including a path I don’t want to travel.  Get super unreasonable in your “get to yes”.  “I want to gain 60lbs in the next 3 months”.  Oh, ok, cool: looks like we’re going to be needing to eat 10k calories a day, split over 5 meals at 2k a meal, every single day, while also getting 8 hours of sleep for recovery.  You might be unwilling to do that, and that’s fine: you GOT to yes.  We no longer ruled the goal as impossible: we simply discovered we weren’t willing to do what it takes to get there.

See he gets it...

 

In turn, regularly practicing “getting to yes” identifies to us WHERE our boundaries are and what we are and are not willing to compromise on.  For me, personally, I will easily give up sleep to reach my goals.  Sleep just isn’t that important to me, and my solipsism has me honestly doubt its necessity as far as reaching my goals go.  So if I have big training or nutrition goals that are going to require a lot of time to accomplish: no problem dude; I’ll just sleep 2 fewer hours.  Other people find such a notion borderline grotesque, and would never sacrifice a minute of sleep.  Those are their boundaries.  But maybe those people are willing to employ a meal prep/delivery company, whereas I won’t do that as I’d rather spend my money on ANYTHING other than that.  However, if both of us were diligent in our “getting to yes”, we BOTH had those ideas at some point as a viable solution to reaching our goal: we just personally decided on where we would not compromise in our getting to yes.

 

Make this a regular practice in your daily lives.  Seek out challenges and difficulties and find out what “getting to yes” would require.  Ultimately, employ methods that ARE within your means.  It’s cheating to be stupid and say “I just need to win the lottery and then be independently wealthy, and then I can eat and train however I want!”  It’s far more genuine to approach it in earnest and say “I could work a side job, or I could stop drinking on weekends and save that money, pack lunch to work rather than eat out every day, or switch from name brand to off brand products, or recycle cans, etc etc, to be able to afford to eat and train the way I need”.  You can identify where the time suckers are in your day and shave them off to find an extra 15 minutes to get in the mobility work you think you need, rather than saying you just need more time.  You could no joke actually try calling up Louie Simmons and ask if you can train at Westside (worse that happens is he says no) rather than lament about how confusing the system is and how there are no good gyms in your area.  Either way, get to yes FIRST, and then figure out if you’re willing to do what it takes to get there.    

STRONGMAN ON THE ROAD PART II: THE TRAINING

  

In part 1 of this, I discussed what it was like eating while traveling, and the strategies I employed to ensure my nutrition stayed reasonably on point, with my wallet and stomach full.  I’ll now discuss how I approached my training.

 

 

BEFORE ARRIVAL

 

Recon is always great, but I'm not about to march through 3 miles of tear gas

Before my arrival, I scouted out local gyms on the internet and found 2 within walking distance of my location.  However, with COVID still being a thing (note to people that are reading this blog post in the future: I really hope COVID blew over by now and you have no idea what I’m talking about), I had no idea if I’d actually be allowed gym access.  As such, I packed the following in my suitcase.

 

-1 “average” jump stretch band (green)
-2 “light” jump stretch bands (purple)
-1 monster mini elitefts band (pink)
-Mark Bell’s reactive slingshot
-Weightlifting shoes
-Straps
-Lifting belt
-Lifting straps

 

The belt and shoes of course took up a ton of space (I wear a size 12 shoe), but I wanted to be ready in case I could get in some real training.  However, in case it wasn’t going to happen, those resistance bands can be used to rig up an awful/awesome workout in any hotel room.  There’s already a TON of literature out there on using resistance bands, so I won’t re-invent the wheel there.

 

The Slingshot is actually something I DON’T use in my lifting at all (never cared for it), but it’s a great tool for bodyweight work.  You can use a slingshot for push ups to give some assistance on the movement which, in turn, can be an awesome tool for doing some crazy burnout push up workouts and absolutely nuking the muscles involved.  Variety is key.

 

I also purchased a copy of Josh Bryant’s “Jailhouse Strong” on kindle, just to have some resources.  I’ll say I enjoyed it more than “Tactical Strongman”, and will most likely write a review on it in the future.  It has enough decent stuff in it to get you out of a bind.

 

UPON ARRIVAL

You know what we're here for

Once I got on location, I immediately hit up both gyms and found that they were open and accepting additional members.  One was a very bare bones fitness center type thing, which had ENOUGH for me to get in some training if I needed, but the other one was a total score: a Crossfit styled gym that also had a fully attached bro-weightroom as well, AND 24 hour access.  I secured access to that location while the rest of my group was preoccupied with securing food at a local grocery store instead (once again, it pays off to be prepared) and from there my training woes were assuaged: I had a place to train.  Now to discuss HOW to train while away.

 

TIPS, TRICKS, STRATEGY AND MINDSET

I won't even charge by the minute for this

-Since I’m on a work trip, it means my daily obligations are pretty much nill.  My family isn’t with me, I don’t have chores to accomplish, and all of life’s other little ways of taking your time are pretty much gone.  I have to work during the work hours, and that’s it.  My colleagues like to hang out before/afterwards, but it should surprise none of my regular readers to know I’m not a social person.  I did a few team dinners, but more frequently ate on my own.  What this meant was that I had a LOT of free time, which meant I had a LOT of time to train, which meant…it was time for early morning workouts and 2 a days.

 

-On early morning workouts, here’s a hot tip: if you’re traveling from east to west, DON’T try to adjust your inner clock.  I had a 2 hour time difference, so I got up at 0300 every morning and crushed a near 2 hour workout daily.  This was a very bloated training approach to what I’d do at home, since I had more time.  I could do more sets of main work, add in more assistance work, and I’d end each session with some sort of conditioning finisher.  I was finishing by the time the “early risers” were getting started.  And again, not being terribly social, it wasn’t a big deal that I was getting to bed at 2000 or so.  And getting this done first thing in the day meant that my work couldn’t take my training away based off some emergency/crisis during the trip.  A lot of my co-workers complained that the work schedule was preventing them from working out like they were used to at home, but it’s because they didn’t want to compromise on their schedule, and when you’ve got 1 rental car to share among 5 people logistics for training can get tough.

 

-As for 2 a days, this is something I like doing when I have the time.  But people always hear 2 a day and think it means lifting twice in a day, because we all love Arnold and everyone owns a copy of the Modern Encyclopedia where he talks about doing just that.  My approach to 2 a days tends to be far more sustainable: lifting for 1 workout and conditioning for another.  I took to doing a handful of Crossfit WODs like DT and Fran, along with just some basic Tabata work with battle ropes and assault bikes.  I also took to start including daily training of 50 chins, 30 GHRs, 30 band pull aparts and 20 GHR sit ups, which I’d include in this 2 a day workout.  More reps are always a good thing.  I also did a great workout on a fitness trail at one point where I’d walk around a loop that took about 2 minutes and 50 seconds, knock out a set of chins or pull ups (alternate each set) and repeat.  I ended up doing that to the point of getting 130 reps before walking back to my hotel room.  This is all about making the most of a unique opportunity: lots of free time and zero obligations.

 

-Something people try to do when they travel is try to find some way to make their programming stay as in tact as possible.  This is a dumb choice.  Instead of trying to do 5/3/1 with a leg press and 50lb dumbbells, use this time to just wing it, go full force stupid, and chase a ridiculous pump.  Yeah, I still kept my GENERAL structure of a day for benching, one for squatting, one for deadlifting and one for pressing, but I was using machines I don’t have at home and doing different movements the whole time.  Part of the reason to make it as different as possible is that you will PERFORM differently when you travel.  I didn’t pack my good belt or shoes, but my back-ups for competition, because I didn’t want to risk losing the good ones in travel.  I’m also eating food I’m not used to, training earlier than I’m used to, sleeping differently, etc.  My performance as different, but I had no bearing of how much I was impacted because I was TRAINING differently.  It allowed me to get out of my own head and just push myself hard.  And I can say, having been a few weeks since returned, it all worked out well and I came back bigger and stronger.  I also picked up a few new tricks along the way, and got to find out which of my crackpot theories ended up not panning out when the rubber met the road. 

 

-This is ALSO a great opportunity to try out workouts you’ve had on the bucket list.  2 that were high on my list was the Paul Carter 500 rep shoulder workout and Dan John’s Litvinov-sled drag workout.  Without going too deep into the details, the former was a letdown, but the latter was fantastic, and helped convince me to add a 5^th training day to my schedule focused on front squatting while I’m in my current weight gain phase.

STRONGMAN ON THE ROAD PART I: NUTRITION

Recently I had a work obligation that required me to spend 10 days away from home, which meant 10 days away from my kitchen and amazing home gym.  This isn’t the first time I’ve been forced to travel, and rather than just lament the situation like many, I took some action to ensure I’d be able to eat and train well without issue.  Primarily, I didn’t want to blow a lot of cash eating out for every single meal, nor did I want to feel like absolute crap from living off fast food and TV dinners.  I wanted to share some of the things I did, to include some lessons learned for the next time I have to do this.

 

FOOD BEFORE ARRIVAL

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Let me show you what “packing” looks like for me

 

Don't try to put this in a carry-on

 

What you are seeing here is

 

12 bags of microwavable riced cauliflower
6 pack of canned chicken breasts
2 bags of zero carb beef jerky
20 packages of tuna
15 servings of mixed nuts (my personal blend of walnuts, pistachios and hazelnuts)
10 Biotest Finibars (5 peanut butter, 5 dark chocolate
10 Quest protein bars (technically the Costco brand of bar, but they’re pretty much identical to Quest in terms of nutrition)
1 container of creatine monohydrate (partly full.  I’m also using it to store 10 days worth of fish oil, glucosamine, multivitamins and apple cider vinegar supplements)

 

It’s no secret I’m a low-carber, and even though I’m transitioning from losing fat to gaining weight again, quality protein and fat sources are always going to be my priority.  I had no guaranteed access to any sort of kitchen, so I packed things that required no refrigeration and, at best, a microwave to cook, but everything could be eaten right out of the package if needed.

 

On the Finibars: they are decidedly NOT “low carb”, at 40 grams a bar, but the truth is I won a trivia competition on t-nation.com and was sent them for free, and it seemed like a golden opportunity.  My plan was to make them my breakfast for the duration of the trip, as they’re convenient, and with plans to train first thing in the morning, I could make use of the carbs.  I am not endorsed or sponsored by Biotest, but I’ll say that, despite the macro breakdown not being what I prefer and it having some ingredients I’m not a fan of (maltodextrin being the big one), they really answered the mail, I found myself looking forward to eating them every morning, I’m going to miss having them for breakfast when I get back home, and I’ll definitely be packing them again for the next trip.

FOOD UPON ARRIVAL

 

Do not heed this siren's call

As soon as I got situated, I found out I had a minifridge in my room, so I went and acquired a few tubs of fat free greek yogurt (I prefer Fage), some Fairlife skim milk, some Special K protein plus cereal, a case of clearance Bang Energy Drinks from GNC ($1 per can, can’t beat that), a cheap tub of protein powder (grocery store special, looked for the lowest carb/fat content, got the chocolate flavor), a small container of PBFit, and some small knock off tupperwear containers. 

 

Ain’t that a lot of carbs for a low carb guy?  Definitely, but with me gaining weight I’ve taken to having carb up meals before and after training.  The thing is: those were EASY to get at my location and not worth packing.  And, of course, I’m trying to be a little bit healthy: you could always just go buy a big bag of skittles if you want some carbs.  And, of course, I bought the energy drinks because I’m an addict, but there’s your pre-workout too.  My breakfast each morning before training was a Finibar and a Bang, and boy is that the breakfast of champions.

 

WEIRD MEALS

 

Although Vision Quest is still much better, but that dude wasn't eating

When you only have so many ingredients and so many nutritional demands, you get creative.  The go to was chicken or tuna mixed with riced cauliflower, and then usually a handful of the mixed nuts thrown in for fats.  Post workout, I was originally doing my “milk, cereal and protein powder” meal followed by a follow on meal an hour later of PBfit mixed with the greek yogurt, until one day it dawned on me the greek yogurt has more protein than the milk does while 1 gram carb less, so I started making parfaits with cereal, yogurt and protein powder.  That’s a fantastic meal: you should make it.  

Pictured, slumming it with Chobani vs my preferred Fage

I also started mixing the PBfit with protein powder in the greek yogurt, resulting in a peanut butter cup style meal: also amazing.

 

Then I started mixing greek yogurt with the tuna to make tuna salad.  It works.  It also works when you throw in PB fit and protein powder.  It seems you can just sneak tuna into yogurt and get more protein.  And then I made rice pudding by mixing riced cauliflower with yogurt and protein powder.  I have weird tastes: this may not work for you at all, but the point is that you can make up a LOT of things with limited ingredients.

 

FRESH FOOD

They got to know this order pretty well at my local Qdoba

 

It still stands to reason that eating a bunch of preserved stuff is still not that great for you, so I was very fortunate to have a Qdoba within walking distance of me.  I ate there about once a day just to get something not canned in my body.  I took to having a salad, no shell, no rice, no beans, double chicken, extra fajita veggies, extra pico de gallo, red salsa and jalapenos.  Basically, as many veggies as I could get.  It had a very “cleansing” effect.

 

NUTRITION LESSONS LEARNED

Hopefully you come back from work looking more like the right than the left

-Next time, nut butters instead of/in addition to nuts.  I forgot that, with the high fiber in nuts, they can be like corn, in that they’ll pass through the body while remaining “in tact” when you eat enough of them.  That can be a little rough on the colon/end pieces over a 10 day stretch.  Nut butters avoid that issue, and I’ve heard absorb better.  I ordered a bunch of containers from some company called “Nuts ‘n more” that makes some sort of no-stir high protein/high fiber/lower carb peanut/almond butter that I plan to bring along next time.

 

-I plan to buy a jar of salsa in the future, just get add some variety to my veggies.  The riced cauliflower answers the mail, but it’s always good to get in your colors and variety, and salsa is easy open/close compared to canned veggies.

 

-Once again, those Finibars rocked.  I took to having 2 hour training sessions in the morning due to having difficulty adjusting to the timezone and waking up incredibly early with access to a 24 hour gym, and all I’d eat to fuel it was a Finibar 30ish minutes before training.  They have my vote.

 

-The same is true of that zero carb beef jerky.  Fantastic nearly pure protein snack, travels well.

 

-I don’t plan to buy milk next time.  The yogurt is just superior in every way.  We’re all so used to “protein shakes”, but really, it’s all just protein.  Get it how you can.  I honestly might just be done drinking milk in general now, since I’ve switched to drinkable egg whites at my home situation.

 

-Answer the survey on your Qdoba receipt: I saved $2.50 on every meal that way, which covered the cost of the extra protein.  It adds up.

 

 

Originally, I was going to write up my whole travel experience, but once I finished just talking about how I ate it’d already become a beast, so next post I’ll discuss training.  To give a sneak preview: lots of 2 a days and my adaptation of Dan John’s infamous “Litvinov workout”.