Equipment
I don’t know enough about different brands or nuances in equipment to give any better of a description than “Olympic barbell” but truth be told i’d be happy with a trap bar if it was all I could have - either or for me. Barbell just edges it.
Food
Lactose-Free Milk. Digests easy for me, quick to guzzle down, decent macro balance that you can play with using different % fat. Eggs and beef both equally close seconds.
Book
Never Let Go - Dan John. I feel it’s just the best around for philosophy on lifting. It’s so good that it even makes the rest of his books which are decent in their own right seem underwhelming. This is not a knock on his other books, I just don’t know how else to praise it highly enough. It’s so very unique and special.
Rippetoe is probably the best stopped clock in the world, because when he’s right he’s SO right.
I miss @EyeDentist , as he had a solid argument for use of peanut butter regarding a protocol he deemed “intermittent fatting”. For myself, the mold issues and toxins have turned me off from peanut butter, but lord help me did I love me some sunflower butter back in the day. And hell, Bill “Peanuts” West DID prove the validity of a peanut based approach, so you may have something there.
I tend to go too long between meals, get jittery and irritable, and a tablespoon of PB settles me down. I buy the natural - nothing but peanuts - and when in Portland, the grocery store has a self serve grinder so you can see what is going into it.
I was unaware of the mold and toxin issues until recently, or the LA issue regarding detrimental cardiovascular effects. The grocery store also has cashew so it’s an easy switch for me here - not sure about the mold and toxins in cashews though.
I have started hard boiling eggs to have on hand for when I get empty and jittery.
These threads make a good thought experiments, but IRL picking one would be harder and ain’t necessary.
Bar: Most of my lifting has been powerlifting with the standard 45 pounder. Ten years ago gyms started buying trap bars and I like those but have never seen or used the bendy one. Now that I mix powerlifting with development and CrossFit stuff, I will say the Smith… just to be contrarian. Doesn’t replace the other stuff. But a great way to add volume that is easy on the joints. Floor press, “bottom up” benching, Romanians, chest supported incline rows, high rows, hip thrusts pre-machine, overhead work, front squats after the normal ones, Katzenjammers, heavy isometric holds, inverted rows, a place to hang your hoodie… all sorts of uses. I’ve learned to like it. Convenient. Safe even if heavy. Friend of joints and fascia. Get a lot done quickly.
Food: Steak. Partial to T-bones and ribeye. But open minded enough to appreciate flank, strip and various roasts flavoured with horseradish and chili crisp.
Book: Hard to say. The most personally influential for was my first one, “Gold’s Gym Strength Training for Athletes” which was my first source of half-decent advice preceding T-Nation. T-Nation is dramatically better than any book. I wish I’d read Starting Strength ten years before I actually did. Thibs Black Book brought academic rigour to meatheads. But his “Bunch of Strong Singles” is closest to how I most enjoy training powerlifting.
Conditioning; Climbing machine. Fun. Does not feel too stressful. Bigger arms, especially the brachioradialis. Can burn above 35 cals/min with practice, and easily do the calculations showing this is a credible number and not the usual machine guesswork.
Bar: Texas powerbar. I only care about my back squat and sumo deadlift, which require a standard barbell. Texas bars have decent knurling which help both. Any accessory work that could help with either movement (e.g., rows/row variations, lunges, squat variations, deadlift variations, hip thrusts, even curls for those strong enough to need to worry about bicep tears) can be done with a powerbar
Food: plain full fat greek yoghurt- very high protein, decent amount of healthy fats, decent amount of carbs and cheaper than skyr. I would choose eggs for the micros, but I have a family history of cholesterol issues
Book: I haven’t really read any fitness related books I’ve enjoyed.
The Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Though since college (think Reagan years) The Nautilus Book by Ellington Darden was the book that influenced much of my training.
Does any place still have a Nautilus pullover? I’ve only seen these in military gyms. All the Nautilus machines are decent - don’t know why they vanished. Too expensive? High maintenance?
Too expensive, floor space, price, probably maintenance, gyms moving from one to one training and letting users actlike dough heads on them. Arthur Jones selling Nautilus to start MedX was a reason. I think. The pull over was bitchin’ disco though.
