Alpha's Work IV

Training Training Logs
1021

Hey Alpha thanks for your swift and elaborate answer. Frankly reading it scares the shit out of me already, but I know it is the right way to approach this.

I am already trying to be as agressive as I can with putting weight on my leg. It is like trying to put weight on a matchstick! The pain however is not so bad.

The thing that is holding me back at the moment is purely mental, psyching myself out by thinking “two weeks post op is too soon to be weight bearing, your tendon will snap any second”.

I must say reading your log really helps with this and I already dare to walk some steps without crutches from time to time. Thanks again Alpha and good luck november 7th!

Oh and if you are up for it I will shoot you an email in a few weeks/months regarding the online training. What better way to start from scratch by starting with Alpha, right? :slight_smile:

1022

[quote]Alpha wrote:

If you sandbag during this challenge, lose my number, we are no longer friends.

Do what you think is right. [/quote]

This was the best part of your entire post. Priceless! I’m going to remember it anytime I start feeling like sandbagging a conditioning session…

1023

Alpha,

long time T Nation reader, never really created an account to post in the forums, but have been reading your logs off and on for a couple of years, and something clicked recently. Really changed up my training 2 weeks ago, and have been basing it off the stuff I see you post. Really enjoying it. Thanks for the inspiration of ideas. Good luck

1024

Thanks for the anwser mate!

Well, I’m not sure it’s the anwser I was looking for haha. I don’t really know what I’m looking for.

The supre-maximal stuff makes sense, I read more about it. Some say it’s mental (learn to not shit yourself under very high load) some say it’s about desensitizing golgi-tendons. It works, so we stick with it.

But there is something else…like you said: you were quite thin untill the heavy loads on your spine made you grow. TC rambeled about this somewhere. Maybe it’s because your body trips balls when something so heavy is imposed on it. If I was my body, and I felt over 500lbs leaning on a vital part of me, I would sure as hell try to protect it by strengthening my disks, joints and growing a load of muscles.

PS. check out this Interviewing Veterans with a Vision - Combat - Forums - T Nation thread. It might be intresting for you;)

1025

Hi Alpha I just want to thank you so much for your log. The wonderful quotes you post are sometimes things that I meditate on. That from Stu Weber was excellent. Something we all should strive to be.

1026

Roran: Thanks brother, it WAS brutal. And it really depends on the session. Sometimes we are packed out, other times 1 or 2 people show up…There is real no rhyme or reason to it that i can figure out! To be honest, unless things change sooner than later, we will be closing the doors for good. Then again, tomorrow is another day and maybe it will be the one that changes the tipping point, only time will tell! But it won’t be for lack of hard work and trying!

WhiteCrow: Absolutely brother! I think the biggest thing is to be smart about it. If your Doc and PT tell you not to put weight on it yet, I would defer to them (obviously) but if they say you can start pushing it, then go full out! And that would be great man, i would love to work with someone like yourself, no doubt in my mind that you can make a full recovery!

OTHSteve: Thanks man, I am often not sure of how things like that go over, so i really appreciate the feedback and it helps to know that guys like yourself take it as a challenge and not an insult!

97Steps: Wow man, i really appreciate your first post being in the log, welcome and don’t be a stranger! Your support means a lot and it helps to know there are guys who read this even if they don’t post much. It is good o have you in here and part of the discussion!

Pano: Thanks brother! I know that TC takes a lot of flack these days, but I respect the heck out of that guy and have read virtually everything he has put out…I think i can recall him saying something about it as well, i will have to go back and take a look. And I will get around to answering your question in the other forum just as soon as I can. Good post man, let me think about my answers and i will respond soon.

BlackieBluewings: Thanks for the kind words man, it means a lot to know that. I really do appreciate it!

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Thank you all very much for your kinds words in here, they come at a good time. BJack from these forums came to visit the gym today and hit a Yoke PR! Great job brother!

No real training for me today. Some of the guys I am competing against will be wearing squat suits for the car event this upcoming comp, so I tried on a pair of briefs today to see if they would help me. i didn’t like them at all, so i think I will be going all natural. I was probably using them wrong, but they really didn’t seem to do much for me at all other than taking up a lot of time to get on! Hahaha, just going to give my all and see where I end up.

1027

Sure mate!
I recall it was an article about yoke walks and topsy the elephant hahaha, I’m not sure.
TC is getting quite some haterz indeed. I’m not a fan of everything he says, but he is knowledgeable as f*ck and did the world a big favour by starting up T nation. I’m not a buying anything at the Biotest store, but the given platform here is awesome. My favorite strength training website for sure.

Man, it’s breaking my heart to hear your bussiness isn’t doing great. I hope the best for you, you deserve it!

Congrats BJack!

Btw. I’m really digging this quote: “Any Nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.” --Thucydides

Shout out to all pencil necks. Most professors we have, and I’m hoping to become one of them one day, are a bit…soft. Around here, the “harder” sports like martial arts and strength training are looked down upon. They have a reputation as brutes and lower educated (we have 6 distinct levels of high school and 6 distinct levels of college, ranging from craftsmen to scholars. Because there are so many distinct levels of education, there a pretty much lines drawn between “kinds of people”.), and sadly enough, this is true a great deal of the time. We have a few of the best kickboxers(we are big on that!) of the world amongst us! And still most kickboxers I train with, are either immigrants (especialy black and muslim immigrants are looked down on pretty much), lower educated, and a alot of the time both.

I hope I can be the best of both worlds. A passionate scholar and a hardend warrior. (Being buff while looking ivy league is pretty cool, huh?)

1028

[quote]Alpha wrote:
Roran: Thanks brother, it WAS brutal. And it really depends on the session. Sometimes we are packed out, other times 1 or 2 people show up…There is real no rhyme or reason to it that i can figure out! To be honest, unless things change sooner than later, we will be closing the doors for good. Then again, tomorrow is another day and maybe it will be the one that changes the tipping point, only time will tell! But it won’t be for lack of hard work and trying!

That would be too bad man! Are you still doing the goverment job or is it fulltime gym running for you? I dont know if it is of any help but if you feel like you would need some help on the business side of things, I am willing to help. I majored in Economics & Taxation and have business experience.

On another note I would strongly suggest you have another look at your website. While inspirational, I might imagine that it is not optimal to bring you clients. If you are interested I could send you an email with some ideas for improvement that I think would be really beneficial.

I do not know if there are any SEO specialists lurking but they could definetely improve certain aspects to increase traffic. You could even offer them free online training in exchange.

I hope you dont take this the wrong way. I am just thinking along. NeverSATE needs to stay dammit!

1029

Pano: Yea man, i personally think TC is awesome. If you don’t have people hating you, you are probably irrelevant, so he is probably in a good place.

And that is crazy about the different “levels” in your society! I didn’t realize that. If enough people refuse to be labeled as one thing or another, I am sure they can change that. You are on the right path by choosing to be both a scholar and a warrior. I think the world would be a much better place if more people strived to do just that.

WhiteCrow: I appreciate it man. I am not saying that the business is doing badly, I am just saying that it is not doing well enough to sustain an income for another year if things don’t change. But the beauty of business is that tomorrow is another day and if i choose to change it, I have that power. I will not stop until I completely run it into the ground or it succeeds. I am working without a safety net, so i don’t have much of a choice. But that is how i do things, so we will see how it goes.

I appreciate your offer to help with the economics of it, but honestly that is not the problem. We are running great in that area, we just need more people and I am terrible at marketing. I totally agree with you on the website stuff and if anyone knows any SEO stuff, i would love the help!

I truly believe we will make it. But the reality is that Strongman doesn’t have a huge pull yet and the kind of training that i do is extremely hard. It is not for most people and 99% of individuals are not willing to put that kind of effort out on a daily basis. EVERY single person who trains there hits PRs regularly, drops body fat and gains muscle. But my gym isn’t a place where you can just glide by and take selfies between sets. Most of the people in our society are looking for the easiest way possible. But that is also why MOST people don’t see any significant gains over the course of a year. Almost everyone at my place has gained over 100lbs to most of their main lifts and are super loyal because of that fact and the community within. The hard part for me thus far has been finding individuals who want to get better and are willing to work for it. I don’t have 30 treadmills where soccer moms will pay $50 a month just to walk on them and gossip. I am unwilling to change and placate to weaker individuals in order to make more money. Either I will succeed by finding the right people or I will go down swinging. You are spot on about the website and the SEO stuff. I have just started to work the social media stuff and have gained a few people through that. Hopefully, if I win Maryland’s Strongest man, it will bring in a few more bodies but i am very open to people’s suggestions on how to get the right people though my doors.

I appreciate your concern man and don’t worry, I will endure and overcome. NEVER sate isn’t going anywhere.

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“When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.” --A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

SUNDAY, 01NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Last day of programming before starting the next 10 weeks.

STRONGMAN EVENTS - 10 Rounds
50 Foot Yoke Walk @ 700lbs
5 Stone Over a 52" Bar @ 246lbs
5 Weighted Pull-Ups @ 135lbs
5 Log Clean & Presses @ 245lbs (Clean every rep)

NOTES:

  • I know I should be deloading, but I just needed to get some work in. Plus i still have 11 pounds to lose before weigh-ins on Friday, so i have to burn calories.
  • 3 Gallons of distilled water has me peeing every 10 minutes and has my weight all the way up to 245, but it is all part of the plan and I have to trust the process.
1030

As far as my knowledge regarding business and marketing in the fitness and strength community, Instegram is a better tool than Twitter and a good YouTube channel will give you a boost. Vlogging and recording yourself and your clients working out and even footage from outside the gym will help. If you’re willing and have the time and effort for that (and I doubt you’ll have too much extra time) then go for it. If there’s any way I could help, just tell!

1031

Totally agree with Regev!

People want to say what they get, not what they got to invest. Basic stock market logic.
What do they have to invest: fee and a hell lot of hard work. That’s what twitter shows mostly.
What do they want: looking hardcore, jacked and ripped. That is what instagram can show.

And, your niche in the market isnt 100% unique, it’s like crossfit for strong people. Use that to your advantage, you propabely cost far less than crossfit gyms, and can bring more to the table in terms of strength (since CF wods ussualy are even more cardio-based).
Crossfit is killing it, so you could do that to.

Get Insta, get some before after photo’s, snap some shots of you doing shirtless OHP’s, put on your food there (somehow people dig seeing beef and salad…) and make a shitload of group pics with sweaty laughing people captioned with #killedit #dieempty #hardwork #neversate #noexcuses #getyoasstomygym.

We can all help man, be sure of that!

About the levels.
We have as educational levels, from highest to lowest
1.University (Also: scientific education)
2.Higher job-oriented
3.Lower job-oriented lv 4
4.Lower job-oriented lv 3
5.Lower job-oriented lv 2
6.Lower job-oriented lv 1

I cannot speak for everyone on all levels, but really generally speaking for the groups I’m most familiar with: Higher job-oriented looks down upon lower levels levels, and a lot of guys from university look down in some degree on every level lower.

1032

Regev & Pano: Yea, i think you are both right about instagram. It may be a necessary evil, but it is free marketing which is always a good thing. All it costs me is time. Really good suggestions fellas, I appreciate your feedback and ideas. All of you are a great recourse!

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“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” --William Hutchison Murray

MONDAY, 02NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 1/Day 1

CONDITIONING
At the Top of Every Minute for 10 Minutes perform 4 Burpee Lateral Jumps
For the Remainder of the Minute, Complete As Many Front Squats As Possible @ 245lbs.

SKILL WORK
Spent a good bit of time running through some of the events for Saturday. Mainly working transitions and set-ups so that they will feel more familiar on game day.

NOTES:

  • Feel pretty good mentally for a competition week. It is weird, when the comp is a few weeks out, I have a decent amount of anxiety and nerves, but then as it gets closer, the nerves go away. Like right now, i am not nervous at all. I feel prepared and just ready to get in there and get it done. However, the morning of the comp, they will definitely come back. ESPECIALLY when they call my name on deck. Waiting that minute or so before it is your turn is probably where the anxiety is the highest. But once you are standing up there in front of everybody, time goes by so fast and before you know it, that event is done. i just need to follow my game plan and do my job to the best of my ability. If I do that and run the events cleanly, i know I will do well. The hay is in the barn, now it is just time to perform.
1033

I’ve been praying for the business but I’m afraid I can’t think of anything more direct to help. I’m not good with marketing. If there is anything I can do I’d love to help though. You’ve helped me a lot over the last year or two. Maybe almost three now?

1034

Roran: Thanks brother, I really appreciate that. I am trying a lot of new things for marketing this week and will continue to do so in the future. We will be alright, I am not too worried about it. But I really appreciate your words brother and yea, it has to have been pretty close to 3 years by now! Craziness!

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“Joy, like sweat, is usually a byproduct of your activity, not your aim. - Remember what comes first. A focus on happiness will not lead to excellence. A focus on excellence will, over time lead to happiness. The pursuit of excellence leads to growth, mastery, and achievement. None of these are sufficient for happiness, yet all of these are necessary.” --Eric Greitens, Resilience

TUESDAY, 03NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 1/Day 2

CUTTING WEIGHT
Went for a 3 Mile Ruck this morning with a 50lb weight vest on.

Then this afternoon I did
30 Pull-Ups
30 Ring Dips
Ran 400 Meters
25 Pull-Ups
25 Ring Dips
Ran 400 Meters
20 Pull-Ups
20 Ring Dips
Ran 400 Meters
15 Pull-Ups
15 Ring Dips
Ran 400 Meters
10 Pull-Ups
10 Ring Dips
Ran 400 Meters

All of the above was done with the 50lb weight vest on as well.

Feel pretty good, I saw 234 on the scale at one point today and am down to 2.5 Gallons of water today. 2 Gallons tomorrow…Once I figure out where my weight is, I may be able to estimate when i will have to cut the water on thursday, but weigh-ins are not until Friday afternoon, so i will have a lot of time that day to cut a few extra pounds if i need to.

Feeling ready…

1035

Yeah instagram and the youtubez are where its at in terms of generating brand awareness/publicity.
As i’m sure you’re aware crossfit is the biggest juggernaut in fitness right now so tack on to the bandwagon with posts or vid clips titled “New routine to nuke crossfit performance” 'how to rape your Fran time brah" :o etc then just post regular workouts of you or your trainess,maybe a little narration in the background.

Also check out Joe Donnelly’s instagram for ideas: comes across as a douche but makes serious coin selling very tough, high volume programs, even you will find some of his conditioning stuff pretty hard…
https://instagram.com/p/8jm6ytEzur/?taken-by=joedonnellyfit

Not immediately applicable, but research some of the marketing used by fitness girls like Jenn Selter -22 yo kid who has built a following of 7million in couple years and can earn 140k for just one post.

Good luck with the comp!!

1036

Rampant gets this shit. At neversate you actually have pretty decent pics already, the battling ropes one is cool. You showed time and time again you know what it takes to be succesful, film that in a flashy way.
You gotta know, this aren’t life changing things. If you want, try making videos in response to out questions. It made Elliot Hulse famous!

BTW Jen programs aren’t really smart per se, but most peoples brains fly away when they see here…nice personality

1037

Hey Alpha, hope all is well. I bet you’re kicking butt right now. Best wishes.

1038

Hope you’re having fun and owning it up!

1039

Cheering for you like I was cheering for the Royals last week!

1040

Well, big news guys, I am Maryland’s Strongest Man for another year. I placed 1st in 4/5 of the events and won the 231 title again! I am really stoked about it. I will type more tomorrow and upload some videos, but of right now, just know that I appreciate all of the kind words and support everyone! I even met some fellow competitors from here on T-Nation who were great individuals!

I’ll write more tomorrow, thanks again everyone!