This kind of throws me off… 
and plays in to
Apparently quite a few meatheads are into “nerd” stuff.
Dr. Lowry from iron Radio commented on this (he’s a dungeons and dragons fan), saying that nerdy meatheads are the nerds who lift weights so they don’t get beat up for being nerds 
The case of a confounding variable
I can thankfully say that this was never the case for my nerdy skinny former self.
I think lifting appeals for a similar reason to a certain style of game, the game I played relentlessly, gave you stay increases by the 0.1, and they 0.1s came insanely slow (at the highest stat levels is was 40 hours per 0.1, so to get a single extra evasive point over something or someone you had to work 400 hours for) which meant if you were good at the game you had actually put in a serious amount of effort (it definitely rewarded effort more than skill).
I feel lifting is very much the same way, not really anyway to shortcut it, if someone is big, lean and strong it’s not because they were more talented, had a better upbringing, were smarter etc it’s because they put in a serious amount of time and effort.
Justin Harris has even gone so far as to say that superior intelligence can be a detriment to bodybuilding. The best in the game are the dudes that just knuckled down and didn’t question everything.
You missed out on such an opportunity for personal development
JK, bullying is unacceptable and I’m very glad schools are clamping down more than ever
I agree.
hard work => results, not a lot of reliance on others or favourable environmental conditions
Yea I can attest to that, back when I first started out I read everything going, studies, articles, every coach and their programmes, used to love the in-depth scientific stuff, honestly I glaze over at even a sniff of that now, almost always needless overcomplication. I barely read a lifting related thing these days outside of this forum (and very recently your blog) and I’m bigger and stronger (and occasionally leaner) than I’ve ever been.
Pick well trod route that makes sense and just do it, no bells no whistles, just grind, blood sweat and tears.
100%. My lizard brain occasionally sees something shiny and I’ll go “Oh man, an article on how to manipulate carbs to get shredded…wait…I already know how to get shredded”. “How to build a strong press? Count me in! …wait, I know how to do that”
No one wants to write the article called “10 years to a bigger total”
That gave me a genuine laugh.
Haha nope, it’s why physically impressive people stand out so much.
Well, at least it’d be a pretty short article
Nah you gotta pack 10 years of minutiae and science into that sucker and building a 10 year program released as a 6 week installment on a pay per installment plan, this securing income for a decade!
I’ve been doing a fair bit of mental programming recently ready for my return to the (commercial) gym. The big take away for me has been that I know 20+ ways to get bigger and stronger on every lift. Its difficult, not complicated.
Can you design some proprietary machines to go with that? Maybe get some middle of the pack pro bodybuilder to endorse it? Then you can still have people talking and paying decades later.
As an aspiring economist and marketing enthusiast, I am very disappointed in myself…
Morning weigh in 215 (been bouncing around 212/13 for a week or so, so this isn’t solidified weight just a slow march towards 215) but at 215 that’s up 11.5 since the start of the transformation challenge, which I started having lost weight in the worse possible way (zero training, no protein, just eating junk for nigh on a month) so no real surprises, but currently closing on all time highest weight (217) last time I got there I was fat (for me) I’m not lean right now but definitely not as fat as last time I reached 217 (and definitely won’t be).
Not sure how long it’ll take to reach 220, no rush, but feel like I’m in a good place for gaining and things are going well. Baby and puppy disruption might slow things down a bit, but hopefully I can keep creeping forward.
All positive, about to head out and do my daily work.
Daily:
5 rounds:
Chins X 7
Dips X 12
Ghr X 7
Hanging leg raise X 7
Y raise X 10
HLR now at 7 per set (can’t have them out of sync). Yesterday’s session definitely caused a lot of fatigue coming into this and having moved my GHR setting in these are now as challenging as they should have been from the start. Y raises still light up my shoulders, I could OHP for 20 reps and not feel it like Y raises, I don’t like it.
Would you remind me, is this a placement, do you currently have one or are expecting a placement, and/or is this a biological baby!!?
New placement arriving imminently. (Definitely no more biological ones for us!)
4am wake up (baby in the house!) fed the baby got them back to sleep, read in bed until 6am. Got up did this fasted:
Football bar bench:
50kg X 8, 70kg X 5, 80kg X 3, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130kg X 1
100kg X 7, 5, 5
S/s
Unilateral standing cable rows
20kg X 12 X 3
Fun little PR because the bar weighs 10kg I had 3 plates on there - totally claiming a 3 plate bench now. Wasn’t a huge struggle, which considering I’ve had 4 hours sleep and no food is awesome. Seems like doing a whole lot of dips and chins and eating more/gaining weight might be good for increasing your press, who knew?
Chins
10kg X 6 X 4 sets
S/s
Dips
10kg 12 X 4 sets
Shoulder has been a bit grumpy last few days, I’m honestly half tempted to blame Y raises (never really suffered with shoulder aches also never really done shoulder prehab stuff, seems coincidental but it’s enough for me to be suspicious) could equally be high frequency on dips& chins, bit who wants to drop dips & chins, they’re awesome. Will ditch Y raises for a couple of cycles of daily work and see what happens. If I have to drop dips at least I could go to press ups they’re also something pretty cool I neglect, and maybe inverted rows. Good news is shoulders felt fine during weighted chins and dips… Boo Y raises.
That was one morning session I enjoyed, actually went into the garage looking forward to it.
Congratulations on finding a new way to cheat lifting. I thought high squats and sumo deadlift would be the ceiling but you’ve gone and smashed thought that mate, well played.
In all seriousness, fasted PRs at 4am are awesome, you’re doing this right.
Sounds like someone is jealous of my 3 plate bench!
Thank, does definitely feel like a productive phase of training, even if my deadlift isn’t going the way I want it.
On that note I tried some sandbag to shoulders on my bench superset to go for a giant set and get back a bit closer to DH, lower back still doesn’t like that kind of movement, can’t wait for my normal sports massage lady to open back up, I’m still fairly convinced it’s just tighteness that needs working out.
Has your missus just gave birth??