2005: What I Have Learned

Off Topic
1

To set up my goals for the next year, I first need to review 2005. What works? What doesn’t? What’s right? What’s wrong? What have I learned?

[Guess where I got THIS idea?]

In no particular order, and just to get the thread rolling, here are a few. Some are new … some are verifications of older thoughts:

I need at very minimum 7 hours of sleep per day … more is better up to about 10, but beyond that I get sluggish.

I can live solely off of these foods:

beef
chicken
fish
eggs
nuts
oats
fish oil
lettuce/salads
broccoli/other green vegs
Low-Carb Grow!
Surge
[added]
low carb / high fiber tortillas
Grow! bars
[added]

Carbs and I just don’t get along.

I need to lift at least 3 days per week … 6 is best. My key here is total high intensity time … I can do about 6-8 hours per week.

I gotta have one day completely off from training.

I am more of a people person than I thought … just not you people :wink:

I can be a real @sshole when I drink.

I do not deal well with “drama”.

Back squats screw with my back.

My left elbow hurts because I burst the bursa sac in it when I was 14.

My back is messed up because I ran over myself with a quad when I was 14 or 15, and it tore up my hip, and so my real problem is my right hip.

I do actually like country music.

I need to continue addressing my hip and back.

I need to continue putting stuff over my head.

I need to continue OHSing.

I love snatches.

OK, for now that’s all … more later.

Dan

[EDIT #1]

There is no substitute for putting weight over head.

If it can be done standing up, do it standing up … this goes for peeing, lifting, etc.

I believe in “attacking” injuries. Call it active recovery or whatever, but when I aggravate my back, the best thing I can do is lots of stretching, RDLs, ice, rubbing, etc … doing nothing and just laying around (typical MD rec) does not help. Same goes for my shoulders and elbow.

My hero is a 48 year old high school track coach that lives in Utah.

I love you guys.

[EDIT #2]

While really quite good at spelling, my typing skills are lacking.

[EDIT #3]

Love totally kicks my @ss.

“I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me!”

2

[quote]Dan Fouts wrote:
I can be a real @sshole when I drink.
[/quote]

And this is different while sober how??? Jk :slight_smile:

I’ve learned carbs and I don’t get along well either.

3

I take a stab at this.

A night of pizza and beer makes me fat, while it gives my naturally lean friends 18" biceps. (Kill friends)

Hitting the gym 3 times a week, even if it’s half assed, is better than not going.

If you give it a little bit of thought, you can find a way to physically kick your own ass just about anywhere.

Girls with pierced nipples bite hard.

If I don’t get something in my stomach at least every 3.5 hours, the next thing I eat with be large, start with a P, and be at my door in 30 to 45 minutes.

The smith machine is still a worthless piece of shit.

I can eat like a champ, and lift like one, but if I sleep like a insomniac, the first two don’t really matter.

I need to date a girl that doesn’t live 25 miles away.

Dan John is one cool ass mofo.

4

GREAT thread, Brother!

A few things:

  1. What the hell were you as a teen; a stunt double???

LOL!

  1. “…I love snatches…”

(That can be taken more than one way, ya’ know!)

I’ll need to think about this a little, and get back with some of my own.

Should be a fun thread!

Mufasa

5

Meeting a girlfriend online is not stupid. Especially when you meet her on T-Nation.

When Biotest supplements are in the house, they are only there for a very short time. (Too many Metabolic Drive bars in one day. Damn their convenience!)

Bastard (Dan) is actually a pretty cool guy.

Heavy back squats followed by deadlifts make it very hard to sit on a toilet the day afterwards. Walking up stairs at a fast pace is also not advisable.

It’s all a matter of perspective (Everything.)

T-Nation houses some of my favorite writers…and I read a goddamned ton.

The members of my family amaze me every day (5 black belts in the family!)

I drink so much green tea, I’d be suprised if my urine didn’t have a high number of antioxidant properties.

Naps are fantastic.

If I go more than 3 hours without food, I get very irritable and short-tempered.

I eat more than enough apples to put Johnny Appleseed to shame.

It’s a good idea to leave a mini-toothbrush at work.

I look forward to Fridays. Not because of the weekend, but because of TC’s editorial and Shugart’s weblog.

-Nate

6
  1. If my cupboard has Grow!, milled flax seed, frozen mixed vegetables and a pot of beef short ribs, I really don’t need to spend much more than $2.50 per day.

2.a. I should get out of the USA more often. It helps me appreciate how good home is.

2.b. When applying Rule 2.a, ignore Rule 1.

  1. Keep adding weight in 2.5 lbs increments to each end of the bar each day of the training week.

  2. Switch up my workouts every six weeks or so. At this rate I’ll be through every page of the Waterbury spreadsheet this time next year, unless he adds some more to it.

  3. Get under the bar faster when doing snatches.

  4. The next time I have two naked girls in the back seat of my car, do something other than watch.

7

My english teacher works out so he knows what its like when I tell him I was late because I had a squat workout the day before and thats why I was late to class.

8

Hmmmm…what have I learned.

  1. T-Nation is a kick ass site. (shame I found it so recently)

  2. Biotest products are the best. I feel they actually give a shit about what they produce and sell. Very comforting.

  3. Internet forums aren’t for no-life geeks. Because that’s what I’d be considered looking at my history here.

I’m sure there’s more, but some have been listed already and these came to me immediately.

9

[quote]Nate Green wrote:
Meeting a girlfriend online is not stupid. Especially when you meet her on T-Nation.
-Nate
[/quote]

I would have to say that is very KICK ASS.

10

  1. Alcohol makes me depressed. Even in small doses. The two hours of fun aren’t worth the two or three days of zombie-like depression.

  2. I have a far greater work capacity than I ever thought. Hitting the gym six times a week, so long as a I vary intensity, absolutely rules.

  3. Carbs don’t work well for me. I’ve tried to justify this to myself for over a year now. I just do better on low-carb. More consistent energy, more stable mood, and way better physique.

  4. The more I plan for, the better off I am. Planning a carb up simply works better than accidentally “sloppin the hogs” in a cheat meal of disasterous proportions.

  5. Sleep makes me happy. I don’t get enough because I’m stupid. Is it possible to not like going to sleep?

11

The joy of multiple sets and agonizing reps are wonderful for building the perfect body.

You do not realize this until the next day when you’re so sore you can’t wipe your ass!

I enjoy the pump I get when pounding out sets in my garage at night. I like being sore the next day, it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.

I like the way people stare at me when I eat. They cannot believe someone with my stature can put away that much food in one sitting.

I lift because I love it. I’m sadistic, and insane. I love the way the burning feels, REMEMBER, NO PAIN NO GAIN.

The number one thing I learned is, a shitty day working out is a hell of alot more enjoyable, than a great day at work.

Also, it doesn’t matter if it’s a large pan pizza with everything on it, or a thin crust with everything on it, you still feel guilty as hell eating the whole thing in one sitting.

Bullpup

12

[quote]Dan Fouts wrote:

I love snatches.
[/quote]

  1. I love snatch, too. Oh wait, I already knew that.

  2. I was undereating by at least 500 calories a day.

  3. It’s okay to bulk.

  4. When I’m bulking, I don’t have to feel as bad about a cheat meal.

  5. 90% adherence is the key - diets, workouts, etc.

  6. Try to add 5 lbs to the bench press each week.

  7. I’m no longer slightly embarrased at the size of my lunchbox. Now I show it off with glee. F the fatties with their one sandwich-containing lunch. I can eat that in one bite.

  8. Approaching the big 3-0 is not as traumatic as most people make it out to be – probably because I take care of myself!

  9. TC, Shugs, and BFG (R.I.P. the name) are some of my favorite Testosterone Nation posters.

  10. I’m mystified by the apostrophes that seem to replace hyphens and question marks in some of the T-Nation articles.

13

[quote]bullpup wrote:
The joy of multiple sets and agonizing reps are wonderful for building the perfect body.

You do not realize this until the next day when you’re so sore you can’t wipe your ass!
[/quote]

Yeah, I can’t lift my arms above parallel today… and I just finished shoulders two hours ago.

14

I know what you mean,

Do you know how hard it is to shave your head while your arms are still trembling?

I found out the hard way, you definately shave the balls on a leg day,

Bullpup

15

-I only recently started taking my inner power more seriously. Everything I want for myself, I can build.

-“Home” has no spatiotemporal properties, and is a concept I associate almost entirely with a space inside myself.

-When I’m honest with myself about how much I can lift, I lift a hell of alot heavier.

-The only time I can appreciate physical stasis is when sleeping and reading.
I am a certified “stimulus freak” …by my own admission.

-My family is amazing. We are dysfunctional in the loveliest, most charming way.

-Total body workouts are so “it” for me.

-Some people think that I’m naive, overly optimistic, and live in a dream world.
I am. and. I do. and. I love it.

-“Alot” of water used to mean 2-3 litres. Now it means 2-3 gallons.

-I know someone who drinks so much Green tea that his urine probably has antioxidant properties.
He’s also got a mind the size of an infinite cosmos that generates new combinations of atomic genius every day.
(His physical atomic configuration is damn splendid, too)

-Lifestyle should not = life.

-I am a Bond girl in the kitchen. And I have a co-vixen conspirator.

-SHARING makes my life fundamentally better.

-If you have your health, you truly have everything.

16

[quote]bullpup wrote:
I know what you mean,

Do you know how hard it is to shave your head while your arms are still trembling?
[/quote]

I actually don’t fully shave my head yet – I use a clippers with no guard, so I only need to do it twice a week.

Even so, ever since I upped the intensity and gained some muscle mass in my upper body, I’ve found it a little more awkward to shave my own head.

I need to go find a woman to do it for me.

17

[quote]PSlave wrote:
bullpup wrote:
I actually don’t fully shave my head yet – I use a clippers with no guard, so I only need to do it twice a week.

Even so, ever since I upped the intensity and gained some muscle mass in my upper body, I’ve found it a little more awkward to shave my own head.

I need to go find a woman to do it for me.

[/quote]

Yes, having your woman do it for you is WAY easier. Plus there isn’t a chance of that little patch you forget because you missed it in the mirror.

18

  1. Life rewards you in ways you never expected. If you just have the courage to put your heart and soul into something.

  2. Thank God I left Ireland to goto Uni in England. Makes me appreciate home far more.

  3. I need to OHS more

  4. Playing rugby makes me sore sometimes.

  5. I drink like an underweight soroity girl

  6. Going and talking to that gorgeous blonde girl reading Chuck Palaichuk was a fantastic idea.

  7. Use my brain more than my balls

  8. Follow 7 and don’t get injured skateboarding, wrestling, doing parkour, playing lacrosse.

  9. I can do pretty much anything when I put my mind to it.

19

[quote]Springcoil wrote:

  1. Life rewards you in ways you never expected. If you just have the courage to put your heart and soul into something.

  2. Thank God I left Ireland to goto Uni in England. Makes me appreciate home far more.

  3. I need to OHS more

  4. Playing rugby makes me sore sometimes.

  5. I drink like an underweight soroity girl

  6. Going and talking to that gorgeous blonde girl reading Chuck Palaichuk was a fantastic idea.

  7. Use my brain more than my balls

  8. Follow 7 and don’t get injured skateboarding, wrestling, doing parkour, playing lacrosse.

  9. I can do pretty much anything when I put my mind to it.[/quote]

Now just start calling him “Chuck Palahniuk” and consider yourself certifiably …the man.

20

[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
PSlave wrote:
bullpup wrote:
I actually don’t fully shave my head yet – I use a clippers with no guard, so I only need to do it twice a week.

Even so, ever since I upped the intensity and gained some muscle mass in my upper body, I’ve found it a little more awkward to shave my own head.

I need to go find a woman to do it for me.

Yes, having your woman do it for you is WAY easier. Plus there isn’t a chance of that little patch you forget because you missed it in the mirror.[/quote]

I’ve learned that if I bitch enough my wife will shave my back, I know it’s gross, but she loves me.

Shaving the head is easier when done in the shower.

I’ve also learned, that a two year old walking between your legs while your trying to kiss the wife and be romantic can spoil the mood.

Nothing can prevent pre-ejaculation,( note sexual misfire), like a two year old screaming for mommy at 10 o’clock at night.

Bullpup