Absolutely, but more specifically - if i wanted someone else to influence me, which i rarely do, i want them to influence me in the right direction. It’s hard to find those kinds of people, but T Nation has done more for me in that regard than anything else.
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Re: friends
They matter. Of all the effects forums in behavioural science, the power of social influence is one of the few that doesn’t fail to replicate in one way or another
With that said, social influence is not very powerful if the person tries very hard not to be influenced. In most cases, that effort is unsustainable.
I personally like to use social influence to facilitate my goals. For example, I LET my econ friends convince me to take harder and harder maths courses in undergrad.
I also have a more transactional approach to relationships, so I won’t hesitate to cut people off and would not sustain a relationship unless I know I am providing value to them
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Excellent point.
And another. Especially that last bit! 
They’re a positive influence. It’s so important to find people like that, so way to go!
That’s such an interesting perspective and it’s incredible that you have the self awareness to even be deliberate about it. I take it you’re in your 20s? When I was in my 20s my relationships were based on who was around and whether or not they were fun. (Not nearly as deep as you.)
I can make instant friends just about anywhere, but they seldom turn into anything deeper. And that’s a me-problem. Or solution? I don’t know anymore. Maybe I’m just overthinking that.
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Busy week! Lots of exciting work stuff, great workouts, some range time, and a hair appointment.
My cool-toned auburn is leaning so purple right now that I look like I have special pronouns. So to balance it out, I wore this to the gym the next day:
Tuesday: Full Body, with more isolation work. Wrote down nothing, forgot everything.
Thursday:
Deadlift: 3 x 12
Super light. I wanted to feel it out with slow, deliberate positions for my high ham that gets ticked off easily. Also, the derm said no back training, but deadlifts hit the back isometrically. So I wanted to see what would happen with that. Also this was my first time deadlifting in MONTHS.
And the soreness from it is delicious. Excited for more!
Bench Press: 5 x 8
Again, nothing crazy heavy here. Just a 25 on each side focusing on good form.
Arnold Press: 4 x 12
Pause at the bottom. Fast up, controlled down.
And that was it. Just 3 lifts that day.
Today
Leg Press: 3 x 15 Controlled, full ROM
T-Bar Row: 4 x 8 Controlled, no stretch at the bottom
Since yesterday’s deadlifts didn’t hurt my back’s (under the skin) stitches, I had to test this out. And it felt amazing. Just a 45 this time. It’ll take a while to work back up to the weight I was using before getting that chunk of flesh was removed.
Superset:
Dips: 4 x 7
Lateral Raise: 4 x 15, pauses at the top for the first couple reps, then controlled reps
Superset:
E-Z Bar Bicep Curls: 4 x 12
Rope Pulldowns: 4 x 12
Even without any updated blood work, it feels like my T levels are elevated. I’m recovering WAY better between workouts and feeling more energetic throughout the day.
Fun fact: Birkenstocks aren’t made for practical shooting. I tested it out for you.
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#Asperger’sPerks
It’s definitely a double edged sword. On the one hand, I can always manage to have a strong network and get to my goals. On the other hand, I don’t have emotional connections with most of them and will likely never have a “loving” marriage because I literally do not understand “love”
I am interested in behavioural science because a lot of what is intuitive to others is not to me. It’s similar to how people with not so great genetics are usually more invested in learning about the science of training- the ones with good genetics just touch weights and get jacked!
H&k, my love 
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Whoa! This is fascinating. Thank you for educating me on something I knew very little about.
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They make great stuff. 
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Based on this, I think maybe I need to not do any back training for a while!!
And Merry Christmas!!! 
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Merry Christmas beautiful friend! 
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Yesterday’s Workout
Warm-Up: Leg Press (100 unbroken reps)
- Leg Press
- Bench Press
- Seated Cable Row
- Bent Over Lateral Raise
- T-Bar Row
- Machine Lateral Raise
Today’s Workout
Warm-Up: Broad Jump, Then Box Jump
- Overhead Walking Lunge
- Push-Up
- Dip
- Straight Arm Pulldown
- Tricep Pulldown
- Seated Cable Row
- E-Z Bar Curl
The high ham seems to be healing finally. Sometimes I can feel it telling me to back off, like during the jumps, but I think it’s actually getting better. And back training is on the menu again, but I’m trying to keep it light. If it gets too sore, I’ll be tempted to do some deep stretching, and that could put those stitches at risk.
I haven’t had any edibles since November 28th and am planning to keep at it. Andrew Huberman has talked a lot about what cannabis does to testosterone production and it’s really bad news.
It’s kind of a catch-22 though. If you use it for recovery (the way many Coloradans do), and it slowly lowers your testosterone production, you essentially end up causing your body to be worse at recovery. So then you use more cannabis. Not good.
And trust me, what I was using (about 5 mg) is considered a microdose to most enthusiasts. But no more of that.
I’m also abstaining from alcohol because of what happened last time.
I had a mimosa a couple weeks ago, but the waitress asked if I wanted to change out the type of fruit juice in it, and so I went with cranberry and it was gross, and my sleep was horrific because I drank most of it anyway.
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why do we do this ? If it was gross why not send it back and get something else?
oh and these sound horrible
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RIGHT?! Maybe I just wanted a little buzz because those used to be fun. But that didn’t even pan out either.
It’s not too bad if you go light. What I did would be a total breeze for you.
Just catching up on logs and saw this.
The yinzer terminology we use is “Dippy”. For dipping the toast.
I would never say thats the correct terminology though, cuz we do terrible things to words in western PA.
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Well that’s a practical way of saying it. Approved!
One reason I err on the side of cooked eggs instead of dippy eggs is because of an experience I had at a Denny’s a couple years ago. The whites in my breakfast were not cooked through, but I ate that breakfast anyway, and it gave me such a massive upset stomach right before getting on a flight, a layover, and another flight.
And that day I said, NEVER AGAIN. So while I want that runny yolk, I can’t get over the fear of potentially uncooked egg whites. That memory is too painful!! 
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Even though I did the Rocky Balboa thing as a kid (with a little nutmeg),and still occasionally do an OJ & Eggs shake, I don’t blame you.
I always give mine a quick flip so the yolk remains dippy, but i don’t like the albumin to be runny.
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Over medium (in non PA language)= white done, yolk runny. 
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Definitely keeping this in mind! Thank you!
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I have nothing meaningful to contribute, but this was hilarious
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Glad I could give you a chuckle. 
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Today’s Workout
Deadlift
Chest press
T-bar row
Arnold press
I did everything with light or moderate weight and just enough volume to feel the muscles working. No supersets. Joints, energy, strength, and motivation were predictably aligned with luteal phase. 
Story Time
We have to talk about the time Chris and I almost got scammed. This bizarre memory keeps popping up in my head, so it requires an audience.
Last year, fall 2022, our shower was looking kinda rough, so I googled “shower remodel” and called the first thing that popped up.
I had a gut feeling that was a mistake after they got really pushy about setting up an in-person appointment instead of answering a couple basic questions about estimates. So this company sent over a man one Saturday, who started with a two-hour spiel on the history and super special materials of his company… before he would even look at our shower.
Then he took another 3 hours getting measurements and doing math, and by the time we wanted him out of our house, he gave us this complicated estimate. Keep in mind, this was for JUST the shower, which is not large by any means.
Take a look at the numbers. The starting price for his shower remodel was nearly 30k.
He said that we could get all these extra discounts if we paid in cash and signed up with the company THAT night.
I don’t know how to even explain it, but this guy was so well trained. Any valid thought that we could come up with as to why this was a bad idea… well, he had an answer. And he laid the pressure on so thick, just like his company when they pushed me into setting up an appointment. It was a well-oiled machine. And he almost had us.
But then Chris snapped. He recognized one too many tactics.
You guys. I have never seen my husband blow up like that before. It was scary. I hid in the kitchen while Chris yelled the guy out of our house. Of course, one thing that didn’t help was that it was way past our dinnertime. (The guy arrived at 2 and didn’t leave till 7pm.) We both had pretty low blood sugar and he’d basically murdered our Saturday.
It was wild. But he was so convincing that it was almost like we were under some kind of spell. I have never felt so brainwashed in my life. I actually thought it was reasonable for people to pay 20-30k for a single tiny shower remodel.
Then the next morning, we googled average cost of a shower remodel and at most, it’s like half that company’s lowest cost – even with all their “wonderful” discounts.
So of course I told Ted. (My gym friend pictured somewhere above.)
And then Ted introduced us to Jack, who’s been building bathrooms for decades. And a year ago today, Jack started working on our bathroom.
He overhauled the shower, removed a tub, and replaced the flooring of the ensuite all for a fifth of the lowest price of just what the shower would’ve cost if we’d gone with those scam artists.
And you know what’s crazy? That company wouldn’t give up. They hit me with dozens of text messages from different phone numbers and physical mail too. They’re relentless and no matter how many phone numbers I block, I still get texts and mail asking if they can take another look at our shower.
But Jack actually became a great friend. He tiled our kitchen backsplash and has been doing a ton of handyman stuff around the house. He also brings us trout from his fishing trips. Here’s his work on our bathroom.
Anyway, don’t call the first thing that pops up in Google.
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