Farmer walk and Power stairs…makes me think of some old Overeem video. (Not the one where he has killer sexual tension with this chick hahaha)
What did you notice on the Power stairs? Does it feel alot like a deadlift, or more a deadsquat/kettlebell swing hybrid? And does the narrow grip screw with your upperback tighntess?
Keep killing it, bro. We live in harder times and seeing unwaivering passion as yours in a great goal makes you a welcome breath of fresh air.
Thanks for the quick reply man, I’ll keep hammering with it and report back in a months time to tell you how both are progressing 
btw where do you stand on someone people saying to cut lifting down to 2x week if doing martial arts if the weights are getting heavy? I’m doing fullbody 3xweek and want to stay with this schedule.
Alpha, what’s that song during the log press?
Never seen the powerstairs before, bit different.
Pano: Thanks man, those words mean a lot to me. Things like that keep me moving forward! As far as the power stairs, it is kind of a totally different movement entirely. As with most things in strongman, using the implement is pretty much the only thing that feels like the implement. That was my first time ever trying it out and I’ve never had them in a competition, so my experience is beyond limited but it was kind of like a sumo deadlift to a slight clean pull, then bringing the weight far enough out that you can use your knees/shins to move it to the next step.
Obviously there are usually more steps to go up, but we just set it up like that to get a feel for what it is like. I didn’t notice any problems with upper back tightness, but that weight was only 420lbs, so it wasn’t much of a problem for me. To be honest, the weight actually feels lighter than it would in a traditional sumo deadlift simply because you can get right on top of the implement rather than it being out in front of you. Thanks for asking brother!
law8: Well, I really think it depends on the volume and intensity of you martial arts training. If you are doing 2-a-days with both stand-up and ground then you might have to cut it back to twice a week. But honestly, I think you can keep it up to 3x a week without much of an issue. I was able to fight every day of the week and still lifted 4-5x a week without problem. I’m not going to lie, it was mentally tough somedays, but if your “want” is high enough, you can find almost any “how”. Thanks for asking man!
MattyG35: The song is “Cut the Chord” by Shinedown. And yea, the power stairs is a classic Strongman event but I think it has kind of gone by the wayside because it is not that interesting to watch and people have no real concept of how it feels until you are actually doing it. Not enough “Wow” factor. It was fun to me, nonetheless. Thanks for stopping in man!
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THURSDAY, 19NOVEMBER2015 - Work From yesterday
I had a few new Strongman competitors come visit the gym yesterday so we worked on some keg over bar, log press & sandbag carries. i was just teaching and working along side of them so i am not sure what I actually did, but some work was definitely done.
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For this of you who didn’t make it over to my site to read my contest write-up from Maryland’s Strongest Man, here it is…I left out the thank you stuff for obvious reasons, but if you are interested, give it a read:
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So this past Saturday, I participated in my 6th Strongman Competition and have been involved in the sport for a little over a year now. I was fortunate enough to win the 231 category of Maryland?s Strongest Man in 2014? so I came into this year?s comp with a little more trepidation knowing what was ahead of me and the fact that a lot of the other competitors recognized who I was this time around. I couldn?t play the dark horse role and that definitely upped my nerves quite a bit.
The day itself looked like it was going to be awesome! My team and I showed up around 8AM and it was overcast but unseasonably warm at 60 degrees or so. All of the events were going to be held outside because of the 110+ competitors and all of us were thankful for the warmth.
Then it started raining.
Then it rained harder.
Then it kept raining.
Maryland?s Strongest Man is always a tough competition. Weights are heavier, the best athletes always show up and if you are off your game at all, it is tough to get to the podium. With the added rain soaking everyone?s clothes as well as spirits, it was going to be a grueling day. But this is Strongman. Excuses are never accepted and complaining doesn?t go over very well, so we all drove on, suffered in silence and tried to stay as mentally sharp as possible.
The following are my thoughts and event write-up for one of the most brutal competitions I have ever participated in.
THE WEIGHT CUT
Having the National Championships just five weeks prior to this competition was both a good and a bad thing for me. Bad because it is really tough to completely heal and recover in just a few weeks, but good because my weight was already down - making this by far my easiest cut ever. I stepped on the scale at 228.5 then gorged myself with Gatorade, milk and six double cheese burgers. Then followed it up with more water, milk and a lot of spaghetti and meatballs. Oh and cookies. Lots and lots of cookies. I was back up into the 240?s within hours and felt totally hydrated and replenished by the start of the comp the next day. ____________________________________________________________________________
EVENT 1- LAST MAN STANDING 18? DEADLIFT. 50lb jumps. You get 3 attempts but if you miss a weight you are out.
I knew I had to get on the board with something so that I wouldn?t zero the event. In training I had hit 765lbs, but that was with a flexible Texas Deadlift bar?We would be using a stiffer Texas power bar in the comp and I probably should have spent more time with it. Win or learn. I knew that this was going to be my worst event with such a low weight but I didn?t realize just how weak I really was.
I opened with 675lbs and it was no problem at all. The judges added 50lbs to make the weight 725 and I couldn?t budge it. The 18? deadlift is a tough event for me. I can pull almost as much from the floor as I can from this height and I was pretty disappointed with my performance. The top guys in my class pulled 815lbs and made it look easy! They are some strong, strong guys!
This started me out in a 6th or 7th place deficit and I knew that my chances at winning the top spot just great diminished. I know most of the other guys in my class and and a showing like that won?t get it done against them. I knew I would have to win virtually every other event if I stood a chance at retaining the title.
EVENT 2 - PRESS MEDLEY. :60 Seconds to Clean & Press a 275b Log, Clean & Press a 160lb Circus Dumbbell, and then As Many Reps As Possible on a 250ish pound Viking Press for the remainder of your time.
I am not going to lie, the rain became an issue in this event. The implements were pretty soaked and every time you got set with your face to the sky, rain was falling in your eyes. During warm-ups things were looking pretty dicey. Nothing felt very good and the weather was getting worse by the minute. A lot of guys chose to opt out of this event just because the footing was questionable and you don?t want to bite it with a 275lb log over your face.
In all honesty, I was really looking forward to this event. I knew I had the potential to do pretty well, but also, any time that you have an (As Many Reps As possible in :60 Seconds) type of movement, much of the time the winner is whoever is willing to suffer the most. Believe me, I am not masochistic at all, but any time you get to really dig deep like that, it changes you. I am all about constant and never-ending improvement and I knew this was an opportunity to see who I was and how badly I wanted this.
Because i was kind of late signing up for the comp, I went pretty early in my heat. The judge asked if I was ready then started the clock. I cleaned the log up easily but it got a little out in front of me and I had to take a step or two to regain my balance. I locked it out and moved onto the dumbbell.
Now, any of you who follow my training know that the Circus Dumbbell and I do not get along. It is NOT the weight. I have no problem with the horsepower. It is the balancing and technique that I lack. It cost me dearly at Nationals and I was hoping for a little bit of redemption.
I cleaned the Dumbbell up to my shoulder, got set, and went to press. In the video you can see the force going backward instead of up (the same issue I was having at Nationals) and I missed my first rep. I reset and got the second one. No redemption for me that day!
I quickly moved onto the Viking Press and got to work. I paused at rep ten because I was feeling smoked! But I just kept thinking about how badly I performed on the deadlift and knew that every press would help my chances.
I was fortunate enough to complete 15 reps before time expired and secured a first place finish for the event.
EVENT 3 - 50 FOOT YOKE WALK. 750lbs. Fastest Time Wins. 2 Second penalty for sliding the yoke.
The footing was a little iffy because of the rain, but I had trained hard for this event and was pretty confident I could do well. As I have said in the past, rushing is usually a mistake and makes you do stupid things. In most of my other competitions, I tend to get ahead of myself on the yoke, do something stupid and end up dropping it sometime during my run. This costs precious time and a second or two can make or break you. My entire goal for this event was to be smooth and steady.
The judge said, ?Go? and I took off. Things went pretty well for me and I felt fairly stable throughout the run. When I dropped it past the finish line, I felt like my time was kind of slow but I was happy that I had completed the event cleanly.
I ended up somewhere around 10 seconds and that was good enough for another first place finish.
EVENT 4: CAR SQUAT. As Many Reps As Possible in :60 Seconds. Car + Frame + 450lbs in Plates.
This was the event that kept me up at night. I had gone to a ?practice? day a few weeks prior just to get a feel for what this event was going to be like. That day I did 3 reps and bailed out. The car didn?t feel terribly heavy so I knew this was going to be one of those events where the suffering was going to be intense and long. To confirm this, a fellow competitor climbed under the car that day and snapped out 20+ reps quickly and smoothly. To be honest, I didn?t think I could replicate that, so it turned in my head constantly right up until the moment the event began.
The mat we were standing on was a little slick and more than one person bit it pretty hard during their time so I chose to not wear shoes in hopes for better purchase with the ground.
I know this seems overly dramatic, but I feel like all of my years of hard training and mentally pushing myself was going to come down to this one single moment in time. I knew it was going to be brutal. I knew I would want to quit. I knew I had to hit a huge number just to keep up with the other guys in my class.
The night before the comp, my Dad called me and left me a message. My Dad doesn?t call people. He never phones me unless someone died or he needs help moving things. Men don?t usually call other men, it is just how it is. On his message, he said some things that will stay with me forever. I don?t want to share them here because they are personal, but after hearing it, I made a decision that I was going to leave it all out there in the next :60 seconds. I didn?t care what happened after this event, I didn?t care if i injured myself, I didn?t care if I passed out with that car on my back?I only cared about doing my job and doing it well.
I climbed under the bar, said, ?let?s go boys? to the judges and started repping it out. I honestly wish I could remember more of what took place. It was one of the longest minutes of my training career and I kind of went somewhere else for a while. In the words of some of my fellow competitors, ?I went full potato.?
I remember performing rep 10 and then completely lost count. A few reps later I asked, ?what number?!?? but couldn?t hear anything. Full auditory exclusion was coming on. I did a few more reps, stopped and asked, ?what number!?!?? again. This time I heard 17. Remembering seeing the guy on practice day hit 20+, I knew that wasn?t going to cut it. So I got back to work.
I NEVER make noise when I lift. I never cry out, and I never yell because I feel like it makes you weaker by losing air and tightness?But, as you can see… I was screaming like a little girl on those last few reps. I couldn?t tell you what I said or what language it was in, but something came out.
I can honestly say I learned a lot about myself in those :60 seconds. My well got a little deeper and I am proud with that performance. I entered the event thinking I would need to hit 30 to win and had every intention to… but I was already pretty beat up from the day we had put in and 30 just wasn?t in my tank. I know I can do better, but it was all I had at that time.
I collapsed after time expired and my legs seriously would not work. My brain was telling them what to do but they were having none of it.
I ended up completing 21 reps and earned another first place finish. ____________________________________________________________________________
EVENT 5: 300lb Stone over a 52? Bar. AS Many Reps As Possible in :60 Seconds
In Strongman, consistency is key. You get points for where you place in every category. Even though I had already won three of the four events, I was still in second place. The guy ahead of me (a good friend of mine who was having an awesome day in his own right) had been knocking out second place finishes like it is was his job! My poor performance in the deadlift was still following me and it had my points below his. The way things were adding up, If I stood a chance at retaining the title, it looked as if I would have to win the Stone event as well.
To say that the Car Squat took a little bit out of all of us would be the understatement of the century?Everyone?s hips were shot and backs were tired. Normally by event number four, I am a little mentally drained ready to do something else for a while, but in this comp, I still felt focused and ready.
The judge started the clock and I gave all that I had left. By rep six, I was spent! I stopped for a second to catch my breath before rep seven and I heard someone incredulously yell, ?come on?? I literally almost yelled back, ?I?m sorry but I?m tired!? I pulled it together and finished my seventh rep, securing my final first place finish and winning the title of Maryland?s Strongest Man for another year.
Thanks for reading everyone!
Always a great read reading your event writeups. Keep up the good work man. Hoping to follow your log a bit more frequently again.
Just speaking my mind man haha. Glad it did good.
Btw, with a dash of luck, I get an exchange to Glasgow. Hopefully my English won’t be this bad afterwards hahaha.
Btw, just as a piece of your mind, what do you think of tattoos? I’m flirting with taking some ink, but my mom is trippin balls over it. She thinks it looks cheap and could hold me back in my carrier. I imagine their is nothing more badass than a political top dog with some ink. Call me the Tatseach
IronWarrior: Thanks brother, it means a lot that you would say that! I appreciate all of your support man, i know you are a busy guy!
Pano: I would be amazing if you got the transfer to Glasgow, Scotland is one of my favorite countries outside of the US. The people are awesome! And as far as tattoos go, when I was younger I wanted one as well, but same as you, my Mom was flipping out so I refrained…Now looking back and knowing that i would have gotten, i am really glad that I took heed to her words. These days I have thought about it, but honestly, times change, styles change and what was awesome 10 year ago, no longer is. For that reason, if I were to get ink done I would have to really think long and hard before making that kind of commitment. Nothing would be worse than being stuck with something for the rest of your life that you no longer agree with or something you would regret.
"An excuse starts as a protective measure. It shields us from pain, saves our pride, keeps our ego from getting punctured, allows us to obscure the brutal truth. That feels like a relief at first. We avoided the pain.
Then we lay another excuse on top of the first. Then another. Excuses make us feel safe. So we think, why not add another? Soon enough, you’re wearing excuses like a knight wearing armor…But how fast do you think you could run wearing a suit of armor? How well could you climb a mountain? How well could you swim across a lake? How well could you hug your kids?
Excuses protect you, but they exact a heavy cost. You can’t live a full life while you wear them." --Eric Greitens
FRIDAY, 20NOVEBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 3/Day 5
CONDITONING - 25 Reps as Fast As Possible with 225lbs
Axle Continental Clean to a Front Squat to a Split Jerk
Add Weight Every Attempt until you are no longer able to
STRENGTH
Axle Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x4, 405x3, 500x2, 550x1, 605x1
The backed the weight down to 365lbs and did 3 reps at the top of every minute for 10 Minutes
ACCESSORY
Sumo Deadlifts: 225x2, 315x2, 405x2, 500x2, 550x2
Reverse Hyper: 270x20, 360x20, 270x20, 270x20, 270x20
NOTES:
SATURDAY, 22NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 3/ Day 6
STRONGMAN -
I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to train with some great other Strongman competitors today at one of our local gyms. Really good guys and I learned a lot!
I wasn’t keeping track of everything we were doing but it was something like this:
Grip Training
Working with blobs (one side of a casted york dumbbell cut off) Picking the up and attempting to clean them. saw a video of Brian Shaw doing this probably a year ago
That is him doing it with one side of a 130b dumbbell. I think I was trying something like a 35b one and couldn’t get it. It may not look like much, but it is ridiculously hard. One of the guys I was trying with today used to train with Shaw in Colorado before moving to Maryland and he was much better at it than I. He had some cool stories about weird feats of strength like this and was very knowledgeable as well as helpful.
Then we messed around with one arm snatching a circus dumbbell…agian, ridiculously hard. But all of these are new ways to train my grip. If your grip strength goes up, so does everything else.
CIRCUS DUMBBELL
Then we did quite a few reps of circus dumbbell where I was trying some different rack variations. i worked up to 175lbs for a single which is my new PR by default since my heaviest previous have always been in competitions. So that was a positive.
FARMER’S WALK
Yes, i did these again…My hands were killing me from hitting the PR earlier in the week on these and from all of the axle work from last night, but was still able to work up to 660 (330 in each hand) for around 40 feet before my left hand gave way.
POWER STAIRS
Honestly I think I only hit 2-3 rounds of this. Most of the time was spent on trying to figure out how to set up the stairs then i ran out of time and had to roll out.
NOTES:
Thanks for the input.
Yeah, wish me luck with the exchange. Glasgow is my top pick. Edinburgh #2. Ireland wasn’t optional, otherwise I would picked it 10/10. I would love to see Dublin, train at SBG (mma gym) and man I have a soft spot for Irish girls! Scotland seems pretty cool to, although my only kinda indept knowledge is from a 15 year old BBC series.
About the tatts. I see where you’re comming from. It’s also a thing my mom says. It is removeable tho(pain in the ass).
It is true, maybe I don’t like it after a few years. And people don’t like thinking, so chances are I get labled before they know me.
I still do dig sleeves and chest haha.
Blobs are hell! I juggled with some wooden blocks a few times. Not quite the same, but it seems to pry open your fingers. Blobs have less leverage, but are waayyy heavier.
Pano: Yea man, i hear you about the blobs. I have juggled Bumper plates before (See vid) but the blob was exponentially harder. Some of the guys i was training with were able to do it, but i was lucky to even pick the thing up! I have a good grip when it comes to holding onto a bar, but my thumb strength (which is a lot of what the blob and other grip implements train) is lacking. I need to step up my game if I want to get better at Strongman! Here is the vid of me playing around with he 45b plate
MONDAY, 23NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 1
MORNING CONDTIONING - 6 Rounds
:30 Seconds Sledgehammer Swings
:30 Seconds Thrusters
:30 Seconds Burpee Broad Jumps
:30 Seconds Rest
NOTES:
23NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
AFTERNOON TRAINING
Maximum Effort Lower
SSB Pause (2 Count) Box Squat - (Belt & Sleeves) Superset W/ Knees to Elbows
160x3 - 10 K2E
250x3 - 10 K2E
340x3 -10 K2E
430x1 - 10 K2E
480x1 - 10 K2E
500x1 - 10 K2E
520x1 - 10 K2E
Back Off Sets @ 80% of top set from above
415x5
415x5
415x10
ACCESSORY GIANT SET
Sumo Stance Stiff Leg Deadlifts: 225x15, 275x12, 275x12
Red Band Glute Ham Raises: 10, 10, 10
Knees to Elbows: 10, 10, 10
STRONGMAN - 3 Rounds
Atlas Stone over 52" Bar - As Many Reps As Possible in :60 Seconds 205b Stone
NOTES:
I’m assuming you just work with principles of it (ramp, back-off, accesory) instead of doing the complete Louis Simmons PhD-required jazz?
Btw. I’m quite a fan of this kind of programming for building strength. I always feel they make more “structural changes” than doing higher frequency work. But less focus on practicing the lifts.
Pano: Yea man, I am just trying out a basic template with exercises i feel will translate well over to Strongman. I am in the boat with a lot of other guys who say that, “you are not training Westside method unless you are actually training at Westside.” But if I can steal some principals, then I’m going to. It has only been two days, but i have loved both of them so far. I think the best thing about it (for me at least) is that it forces me to choose exercises that focus my weak points. That is something I haven’t spent a whole lot of time doing, so I am excited to see if it helps out my overall numbers. Thanks for checking in brother!
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“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” --Pablo Picasso
TUESDAY, 24NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/ Week 1/ Day 2
STRONGMAN - Took 20 Minutes to find a new 1RM Zercher Yoke Carry
50 Foot Zercher Yoke Carry: 180lbs, 360, 450, 540, 610 (PR Vid), 630 (Bigger PR & Vid)
50 Foot Sandbag Carry: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
STRENGTH - Maximum Effort Upper
Close Grip Bench Press
135x3, 225x3, 315x2, 365x1, 385x1, 405x1, 425x1, 435x1 (PR by Default & Vid)
80% of top set from Above = 350lbs
350x5, 350x5, 350x5
Superset w/ Kettlebell Side Bends 70lbs (8 each side)
ACCESSORY - 3 Rounds
Ring Pull-Ups x Lots
Dips x Lots
Handstand Push-Ups x Lots
NOTES:
Here is a random vid of:
the 405/435 Bench Sets
the 175b Circus Dumbbell Clean & Press From Saturday
the 610/630 Zercher Yoke Carry/Sandbag Medley
and my top set of the paused SSB Box squat from yesterday
I have heard of A LOT of guys using this style of programing, it’ll be exciting to see how it works for you. Will you be doing speed days or just working up to a max in dead, squat, press, and bench variations?
Roran: Yea man, I will be following as closely as I can. 2 Max Effort days and 2 dynamic effort days each week. The only thing I am going to do differently is add in some of my strongman stuff and conditioning. Since Strongman is my main focus, i will need to keep it in my programming. Hopefully it doesn’t hold back any progress, but if I try this for a while and find that i am not able to recover well enough, then i can always figure out what to cut back when I have to. I really appreciate you stopping in man, Happy Thanksgiving!
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“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” --George Elliot
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” --Alan Kay
WEDNESDAY, 25NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 3
SPEED & CONDITIONING
At the Top of Every Minute for 12 Minutes, Complete
3 log Viper Presses @ 205lbs (Lap Every rep)
4 Lateral Squat Jumps Over the Bar
ACCESSORY
Single Arm Barbell Rows: 95x8 (Each Side), 130x8, 145x8, 155x8
Barbell Shrugs (long Pause @ the Top): 405x8, 400x8, 585x8 635x8
NOTES:
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Last year around this time, I wrote an article on my site explaining what Thanksgiving means to me. This year, I re-worked it an posted it today. If you feel so moved, head over there and give it a read.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
I’m following your log even though I don’t comment as much as I used to so I hope you’ll have a good progress with the new system.
Regev: Thanks brother, I appreciate you still following!
FRIDAY, 27NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 5
DYNAMIC LOWER
SSB Box Squats @ 200lbs + Doubled Red bands and Doubled Blue Bands
2 Speed reps At the top of every minute for 12 Minutes
Speed Deadlifts (From the Floor) @ 445lbs. 2 Reps At the top of every minute for 10 Minutes
ACCESSORY GIANT SET - 4 Rounds
15 Stiff Legged Deadlifts @ 315lbs
10 Standing Ab Wheel Rollouts
Run 400 Meters
NOTES:
Hey Alpha, ridiculously strong as always! I have a question about the way you’re going to do the conjugate method. Since you normally lift 6-7 days a week, are you going to just do 4 days/week of ‘strength’ work, with a max effort/dynamic effort upper/lower each week, and just do strongman type conditioning on the other days? Or are you going to cut back to 4 days per week total? (Conditioning being relative, of course, since you move more weight conditioning than I do with 1RM’s…)
OTHSteve: Well bud, the plan s to go:
Monday AM: Conditioning/Strongman
Monday PM: Maximum Effort Lower
Tuesday: Back Accessories
Wednesday AM: Conditioning/Strongman
Wednesday PM: Maxiin Effort Upper
Thursday: off
Friday: Dynamic Effort Lower & Conditioning/Strongman
Saturday: Dynamic Upper & Strongman
Sunday: off
The days may need to be worked around here and there, but that is the basic schedule for the week.
If i decide to do a powerlifting meet coming up, I may drop it back to 4 days to give my main movements more rest, but I would add more accessories.
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“Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.” --Vince Lombardi
SATURDAY, 28NOVEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 6
STRONGMAN EVENTS: Met up with he some of the local Strongman gus and messed around for a while. We stated out with the Circus Dumbbell, where I hit a new PR of 190lbs. I missed 200lbs an was not happy about it.
Then we worked our way up to a 720 Farmer’s (360lbs in each hand) I picked it and walked it a very short distance before my body didn’t want to play anymore and I dropped it.
Then Stone work. Made my way up to the 405 stone (which has a ridiculously large diameter at this gym). Pick went well, got it up to the lips on the first rep. I slid it back the the face of the platform to lap position, re-gripped and come even closer to making it, but in the end I still failed miserably. I have the strength but the T-rex arms that make my bench go so well, are to nearly as useful at the stones. I will definitely get it soon.
Overall good training day. Hitting the Circus Dumbbell Felt good and I thought for sure I had 200 in me, but as usual, my technique messed it up. My my technique is getting better. It’s just going to be a little bit of time.
Thanks for following guys!
Not much to add, but anyone else paying attention to this log getting close to 200k views? That’s sick.