Nutrition Recap
Breakfast was 2 omelets with 3 whole eggs, 4oz of turkey breast, raw cheddar and grassfed tallow, topped with Amish butter, alongside 4 strips of beef bacon and some Breakfast sausage.
Really happy with how I got dinner looking. 2 tubs of gyro meat, 1 of chicken and 1 of scrambled eggs with feta. Saved the 4th for leftovers. …probably shoulda ate it to grow.
Interesting blog post! Are we what we do, or do we do what we are?
I’ve always felt a little more the former (I am simplistic), but you argue convincingly for the latter.
@TrainForPain Always appreciate having you as a reader and your feedback. I felt similarly, but then I realize that it’s only us humans that struggle with this. With any other species, we recognize identity over action. A dog is a dog. Even if I make it swim, or eat grass, it’s not a fish or a cow: it’s a dog. Even if I cut off it’s legs so it doesn’t walk, even if I make it nocturnal by forcing it to live in artificial light and darkness, it’s still a dog. And, I can TRAIN a dog to do lots of not-dog things, and we’ve seen dogs trained to DO lots of wild things to include very HUMAN things. We turn them into service animals, but all this demonstrates is, with enough discipline, you can FORCE something to act against it’s nature, but that doesn’t change the identity of the being. And just like how we’ve seen trained service dogs turn feral when pushed far enough, that dog identity is core to the being OF the dog. No matter what WE do or IT does, the dog is still a dog.
Our strength as humans seems to be that our identity is more fluid.
PM WORKOUT (1400)
TACTICAL BARBELL SPECIFICITY BRAVO Week 1, Workout 5
Reset 20s: Rower
5 rounds of max effort 20 seconds w/2 min rest
Notes:
I am growing more and more interested in your dietary habits. My fear of such low carbs is bladder infections. I know that can be a side effect of keto style diets and I would assume the carnivore diet is similar. Do you ever have that issue?
Danm it. Now you have me curious. Why do you insist on making me read? Where do I find this blog?
Google “mythical strength”
Is this not akin to training myself to not be a fat slob, though? It’s a really interesting thought experiment.
We’re all Sisyphus. Now, do you push the rock up the hill because you accept that you’re Sisyphus, and that’s what is given a Sisyphus to do? Or, are you forced to push the rock up the hill, and eventually we recognize that is simply what the person who happens to be Sisyphus does?
@BethB search for mythical strength blog. My favorite recent ones were the “Magic: The Gathering” series.
@BethB Very willing to share and discuss. I’ve never had a bladder infection or indication of such, and, in fact, urination has been BETTER eating this way compared to a mixed diet. Part of it being that my hydration requirements have reduced in the presence of reduced carbohydrates. P-Well went a long way as well, but I imagine it wouldn’t have the same effect with you.
Although apparently there is a concern regarding the initial transition and the flushing of fluids from the body. During that time, if nothing else, I’d advise employing supplemental electrolytes to manage “keto flu” symptoms.
Training oneself to not ACT like a fat slob: the distinction. Much like how we train the dog to not ACT like a dog, but not to not BE a dog. And, in turn, when pushed far enough, the dog becomes feral, much like, once the rubber band of discipline/willpower snaps, the fat slob vacuum opens up and a bender/binge overcorrects to get to normalcy.
Or to ponder even further: is Sisyphus Sisyphus when he does NOT push the rock?
Excellent discussion!
I enjoyed those (as did my son). I also liked the most recent one. And now it looks like I have a new way to spend my downtime rather than just lurking on here waiting for new and exciting posts.
Fair point. I was going to say it requires action first either way, but regressing toward the default is kind of the point. I guess the question then would be: can we adopt a “fitness” identity with which we are not born?
Exactly! Am I Sisyphus or do I become Sisyphus becomes even more existential. Can Sisyphus take a nap (unironically)?
Would this be achieved through what I refer to as proper self talk? Meaning, I don’t eat donuts, rather than I can’t eat donuts. I am a person who lifts as a lifestyle rather than someone who is trying to get in shape? Seeing and referring to yourself as you wish to be rather than defining what you are trying to do or what you are restricted from doing?Or is this a more involved process?
If nothing else, it’s my hope. I didn’t come up with the idea, but I heard it and I loved it. Don’t ask someone “Can you do these things” but ask them “Can you become the person who does these things”. If you ask someone “Can you wake up at 0400 to train”, they’ll most likely say no. But if you ask “Can you become the person who wakes up at 0400 to train”, that seems more viable. Can you become the person who turns down the donut at work? Can you become the person that picks the steak over the pasta? Etc.
I forget who, but there was a philosopher that argued that our consciousness dictated our existence, such that, whenever we slept, when we awoke, we were a different being than the one that went to sleep. The person who went to sleep died, and the person who awoke was born. A real spin on “the first day of the rest of your life”.
@BethB Means a lot that you and your kid read the blog: appreciate having you on board! And that proper self talk is huge. When we see ourselves as a victim of restriction, all we want to do is rebel and binge. When this is a choice, it’s empowering.
Training Log: Entry 3677
AM WORKOUT (0345 wake up via dog, snooze until 0355)
TACTICAL BARBELL SPECIFICITY BRAVO Week 2, Workout 1
Buffalo Bar Squat
4x10x270
Lever belt squat
4x10x205
Axle strict press from rack
2x10x128
9x128
8+3x128
(3) DB Incline bench
4x10x70s
Dips
3x17
13+4
ASSISTANCE
Standing ab wheel
3x10
Notes:
* Kiddo knocked on the door early this morning with the dog. Contemplated shutting off the alarm so I could assist, but the Valkyrie insisted she had the situation, so I got up and got in the training. Glad I did, because as much as it sucked, it would have sucked more to try to repeat last week.
* Squats felt the best they had in a LONG time. Felt just like squats: no knee pain to work around. It was still present, but it wasn’t the sole focus, and I felt myself easily moving through the reps. Lever belt squats to follow were great too. It gave me time to focus on just how much the 1 minute rest times REALLY sucked.
* Pec still has some moments of tenderness, so I’m keeping away from weights on the dips and just getting a good pump with the reps.
* Did a 1:30 timed hold yesterday with the fat gripz. Really coming along.
* Weighed in at 85.3kg this morning. Wonderful carbby meal last night of baked spaghetti and 5 of the Valkyrie’s cookies with some raw honey. With Christmas coming, she’s in full bake mode, so I had 2 Halfling oatmeal sweet nibblers (from the DnD cookbook: they’re amazing), a snickerdoodle, a sugar cookie and a peanut butter blossom (we make them with peanut butter cups instead of kissses and they’re incredible).
John Locke, IIRC
@dchris very cool. I only ever knew of his social contract theory.
Nutritional recap
Breakfast was 8oz venison, 8oz 73% lean beef and 2oz pork Breakfast sausage formed into meatballs sprayed with duck fat alongside 3 whole eggs, 5 whites and some beef liver.
No photo of dinner, but we did kalua pig, with my 3 eggs and 5 whites. LOTTA fatty pieces and bone marrow.
I think all roads kind of lead here, and I’m pedantically creating a chicken or egg scenario that may not exist.
But this is certainly the point!
I go back to my old job. For whatever reason, after 96 hours, my mind stopped rebelling and I just settled into whatever the conditions were and didn’t care. I learned to not think at all until 4 days were up. At that point, whatever we were doing was just what I did (maybe forever) and it didn’t bother me. Looking back, I couldn’t tell you if my identity defined that tolerance, or if going through the motions created the identity.
I don’t mean to keep clogging this up with the circular ramblings of an academic, I just find this fascinating. I didn’t study philosophy (outside of one class that was really aimed at law), so this is just a really interesting train of thought for me to latch onto.
I’ve been enjoying the discussion. But then, it’s not my log that we are clogging up. 
@TrainForPain and @BethB I very much appreciate the discussion. @TrainForPain , in regards to the example you bring up, I’d say where I’m trying to draw distinction is regarding sustainability. Going back to the dog example: we can MAKE people DO anything with enough discipline or motivation, and we can make OURSELVES do anything with enough willpower. But I then also go to the rubber band metaphor with it: all we’re doing it stretching that band when we employ these mechanisms for success. We can keep stretching the band, but if all we do is stretch the band, it eventually snaps. Consequently, we can let pressure off the band by periods of reverting BACK to center: easing off the motivation, discipline or willpower and coming back to our actual identity. BUT, if what we are doing IS actually aligned with our identity, there is no stretching of the rubber band required: we are simply doing what it is that we do. We have no harmonic dissonance between our actions and our identity, which makes the actions infinitely sustainable, AND it means that we have those resources of motivation, discipline and willpower to employ in OTHER avenues.
I’m sure in your own job you probably ran across instances of identity vs obligation. That you had some on the team that were there for the pay and benefits, and, in turn, acted on motivation. But you also had some that, when asked, said “I am a solider”, and it was their identity that compelled them to act. And they may have acted the same in terms of outcome, but in terms of sustainability, there would be different outcomes.
Thinking further, it’s almost like introversion vs extroversion. An introvert can be outspoken and social, and an extrovert can be withdrawn and contemplative, but the difference is that, when the introvert does introverted activities they GAIN energy, while acted extroverted depletes energy, and vice versa.
AM WORKOUT (0500 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)
TACTICAL BARBELL SPECIFICITY BRAVO Week 2, Workout 2
“RESET 020s” (rower)
5 rounds of 20 seconds max effort and 2 minute rest
Notes:
Nutritional recap
Breakfast was the same as yesterday. Dinner was leftover night with more of that wonderful kalua pork.
I think this one really hits - I understand this. You ca even desensitize yourself to the stress of presenting or whatever, through repetition, but the extrovert will still need some alone time (identify break) at the end of the day.
Awesome stuff!
@TrainForPain Absolutely dude! I appreciate you asking the questions. It got me thinking more about it and got me to that idea.
AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
TACTICAL BARBELL SPECIFICITY BRAVO Week 2, Workout 3
(5) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
18+5+5x425
DB rows
4x10x130
Axle curls
4x10x78
GHRs
4x10x55
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit ups
3x10
Reverse hyper/band pull apart superset circuit
3x15x360/3x10
Notes:
