Love the new blog post
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I was listening to Dan John and he was addressing a question he had about dealing with a shoulder injury. As I recall, the person was very intent on continuing to do what theyād already been doing despite that not being entirely feasible at the time.
Dan John said, an injury like that will take 3 months to heal. And he said how many years he himself had been training. Then he highlighted āThatās a lot of 3 month periodsā. And just urged the dude to focus on something else for a while.
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@ChongLordUno Much appreciated dude. Love those little bullet point posts. And thanks for sharing the workout over on the TB reddit!
@Voxel That sort of perspective is so huge. Itās also what I employ to be fearless of injury. So you get injured and gotta sit out 6 months? Ok, cool: youāll be back quick. This whole log started as part of my recovery from ACL reconstruction. It was 5 months and 22 days from surgery until I was cleared to resume training fully. Looking at where I am now in perspective, no one would ever know that period had ever occurred in the first place.
AM WORKOUT (0622 natural wake up)
Tabata snatches/goblet squats (fasted)
Notes: Need to come up with a name for this guy since I do it so much. Good way to kick start the day.
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Anytime my man
Youāve brought so much to my table. Always happy to pay it forward
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LUNCHTIME WORKOUT
5 rounds of Dan John complex A w/115lbs in 20:53
COMPLEX A isā¦(sets of 8 for this)
Row
Power clean
Front squat
Push press (deviation; RX is strict press)
Squat
Good morning
Notes: 1:15 per round. Itās how much I had loaded on the bar too: how funny. Really digging this for an easy set up and knockout. Was definitely sucking wind at the end. Busy day, but getting in these little workouts.
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3 square workouts a day
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How about a literal translation with a fantasy theme like
āStealing the chaliceā
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Shredded
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@simo74 I love it! Iām gonna steal that idea and make it āThievesā Guild Initiateā. Snatch the goblet. Makes so much sense!
@tlgains Thanks dude! This has probably been my most successful approach. Not the leanest Iāve been, but leanest Iāve been at this strength and health.
AM WORKOUT (0255 natural wake up)
Climb The Tower/Escape Through the Valley: Front squats of 225 (100kg) w/5 burpees in between
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-1-9-2-8*-3-7-4-6-5
Time: 37:07
Strip plates, then transition immediately to 15 rounds of EMOM daily work w/4 40kg KB swing buy in
Neck harness stripset
12x55lbs
12x30lbs
Notes:100 reps of front squats w/100kg. Pretty cool. The 10th rep was shallow, and I had to rack on rep 6 of the Juarez valley set of 8 before giving up some chow, but otherwise I got it done, first thing in the morning running off eggs, beef and avocado. I am just dialed in. All that said, once again, I HATE how effective this is, because it forces me to keep doing it, and it SUUUUCCKS.
I was hurting on that daily work. And really during the burpees too.
I am excited to start eating to grow soon. Nutrition is really on point these days though. You start making some real good decisions when you are so limited.
Deload for this week, which is to day, heavy focus on conditioning. On that note, I came up with the memorial workout for my dog. He was a 14 year old pug named Kirby, after the Nintendo character. Iām spelling out his name with implements and using 14 for significance.
Keg Press-140lbs (itās a 150lb keg, but whatever)
Ironmind Sandbag carry-14 feet/paces
Rope arm-over-arm prowler drag w/140lbs on prowler
Barbell Thruster w/140lbs
Yoke Bar squat w/140lbs loaded on bar
For 14 rounds
On the final Yoke Bar Squat, Iām going to just squat until I blackout. Little dude used to hang out with me while I squattedā¦until he learned how to mark and started peeing on my equipment, haha.
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Hey man this is random but what are some of your favorite books?
Ones that influenced your mindset
(Any Genre)
Great question dude. I honestly wouldnāt say any book influenced my mindset, but there are certainly books that I agreed with well and helped me better understand why and how I thought.
My favorite book of all time is āThus Spoke Zarathustraā by Nietzsche. Itās a fun read, as you need to spend time thinking and pondering what it is Nietzsche is saying. The lessons are fantastic.
Going with more Nietzsche, I read pretty much all of his published works. I really liked the Walter Kaufman translation of āWill to Powerā, because you got to look inside the mind and see how Nietzscheās thoughts were formed. āAnti-Christā is a hard hitting straight forward piece. āGenealogy of Moralsā is a really fascinating look at why we prize certain qualities in people over others. Also enjoyed āHuman: All Too Humanā and āTwilight of the Idolsā. Pretty much any of his work has something fun.
Iāve loved everything Iāve read from Arthur Schopenhauer. Heās one of the few philosophers that seems to just write what he wants to say vs wrap it up in some bizarre riddle.
Machiavelliās āThe Princeā should be required reading for everyone, primarily because people REALLY screw up his teachings.
Kafkaās short stories are totally worth reading. I really enjoyed āPenal Colonyā. āThe Trialā is also fantastic for a longer reading. Didnāt care for Metamorphosis .
Though Iām not the biggest fan of the stoics, āMeditationsā by Marcus Aurelius still holds up to today, and is easy to pick up and put down as needed. Great little pocket book.
āRogue Warriorā by Richard āDickā Marcinko and āCanāt Hurt Meā by David Goggins are both fantastic looks into the minds of dudes who carved their own path and overcame a lot of odds. Fantastic mindset stuff. The Deep Water e-book of course is similar as well, but hard to really call āa bookā.
The most influential book I ever read on spending habits was āThe Richest Man in Babylonā, given to me by my dad in high school. Definitely one of the best gifts he ever could have given me.
Training wise (and even beyond that), every trainee OWES it to themselves to read āPowerlifting Basics Texas Styleā by Paul Kelso. I make a point to re-read it at least once a year. I actually have to fight myself to keep from re-reading it more. Similarly is āThe Complete Keys to Progressā by John McCallum. āSuper Squatsā by Randall Strossen is also a fantastic read. And then 5/3/1 Forever by Jim Wendler and Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher.
Thereās some more, but I figure thatās good for now, haha.
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Thanks man. In one of my courses we all pretty much just had a general discussion about books. Idk why but it made me want to start reading again.
Reading is definitely worth undertaking and frequently engaging in. Thereās a LOT of good stuff out there.
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Do you have any recommendations on books about leadership?
I can research on my own. Iām just curious.
The majority of what I wrote up there is going to provide tools for leadership. Machiavelli, Nietzsche (Genealogy of Morals in particular), Schopenhauer, Marcinko, Goggins and Aurelius. Iād also throw in a plug for Platoās āRepublicā in that regard.
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Alright, a week out from the end of the fat loss phase, I wanna get in some thoughts, primarily because itās my log and I can write what I want.
This has been a successful run. I did not get to the leanest Iāve ever been, but definitely the leanest Iāve been at the healthiest and biggest Iāve been, and thatās a huge victory. Iāve known how to eat for performance, and Iāve known how to eat for health, but putting it all together was a challenge.
WHAT I DID DIFFERENT
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Shorter duration. My last fat loss phase went from April to September. Almost 5 full months. This phase was 7 weeks. It was a shorter duration BECAUSE I didnāt have as much fat to lose BECAUSE I didnāt get myself as fat in the first place BECAUSE I focused so much on healthy quality nutrition sources in the gaining phase. The gaining phase leading up to the previous fat loss phase was definitely one of my biggest gaining phases, and I was statically the strongest I had ever been, but it came at the cost of poor health markers and fat gain so substantial my leverages were starting to change. I couldnāt hold the buffalo bar on my back in the usual spot, and was suffering shoulder pain as a result. Lifting belt was also on itās final notch. By starting out less fat, I didnāt have to spend as much time GETTING less fat.
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Speaking of fat, I endeavored to keep fats IN the diet this time. As a low-carb dude, when it comes time to lose weight, thereās really not much else to do but cut fats. However, during my last fat loss phase, that LDL number was what haunted me, and I took my docās advice to āreduce red meat and saturated fatsā WAY too far. My only fat source was something like a spoonful of peanut butter once a day and a quest bar. Otherwise, it was all lean white meat. I had red meat once a MONTH and no whole eggs: only whites. I got stupid lean and my complexion was the clearest it had ever beenā¦primarily because my skin stopped secreting oil. And Iām fairly certain I had depression symptoms from it, which ended up self-perpetuating the cut, because I had no appetite so I could just keep not eating and getting leaner and leaner. My aggression was gone too. This time around, I still reduced fats, but I kept my nutritional āThou Shaltsā around. The big one was, no matter what, every day I was going to have 2 whole organic free range eggs and 2oz of grassfed beef. Along with that, I kept up my high fat evening meal as much as possible (more on that later) and didnāt shy away from some extra fats at dinner, whereas before my evening āmealā was a quest bar or a bunch of vegetables. I trimmed fats away from all the other meals.
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(For the most part) I kept the eating schedule the same. I just ate LESS per meal. I ended the gaining phase with 5.5 oz of meat as my standard āmealā size (keeping in mind I eat like a billion meals a day), and today itās 4oz. Death by a thousand cuts stuff. I went from a slathering of nuts n more on celery to a thin smear. I switched out the whole eggs I was eating in the evening to egg whites, the beef to chicken breasts, 1/4 cup of cottage cheese instead of 1/3, from a whole avocado a day to half of one, etc. This did a good job of keeping me psychologically pacified, and, in truth, not even really aware I was ādietingā. Previously, I was simply āeating hungerā, relying on my ability to endure misery to carry me.
ADDITIONAL ACTIONS
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I pulled out the extra stuff I had added in as the weight gaining phase progressed. All I really need to function is meat, veggies, and a healthy fat source. As time progressed on, I started adding in things that were healthy-esque but still junk. 92-100% dark chocolate, macadamia nuts, pecans and mini PB cups. I slowly trickled them out until they were pretty much eliminated, and there was no real ālossā there as far as psychology goes. Since they were āextraā, they werenāt missed. And, since they were the first to be leave the diet, theyāll be the last to be introduced when I start gaining again.
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Gave myself lee-way on conditioning and daily work. There were legit āthou shaltsā on the gaining phase. This time around, they were ānice to havesā. Some days, Iād only get in some of the daily work, some days none, some days it was just a 5 minute conditioning workout. Since cals were reduced, demand on the body had to go with it.
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A REAL deep dive on digestion. I previously operated off the premise that there was no bad vegetable and endeavored to eat a variety of colors. Thatās a cool ideaā¦but my body has proven otherwise. And unfortunately, Iāve had to cut out a lot of foods and find the ones that seem to not upset my guts. But one of the nice things about having a diet so dialed in is that, I can introduce something to it, see effects, take it out, see effects, and draw conclusions easily. This has ruled out wildblueberris, raw mushrooms and broccoli, certain peppers, and I think cabbage is next on the list. But asparagus, zucchini, avocado, cauliflower, and various lettuces are good to go, along with cucumbers and tomatoes.
OVERALL NUTRITION STRATEGY/BELIEFS
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I bookend my meals. My biggest meals are the first meal of the day and the last. I like this because that first meal sets me up for success (itās when I eat my eggs and beef, so I know itās eaten) and that last meal is my āinsurance policyā. If I biff and undereat during the day, I can make it up at the end. If I OVEReat, I can reduce it. One of the other things I like about that evening meal is it gives me SO much better self-control when I go out to eat in the evening. KNOWING that I had one more meal coming up allows me to just pick something to eat that I will enjoy, and I donāt need to eat the whole thing, whereas previously I would hinge and gorge because that was āmy mealā for the evening. It helps that my evening meal is also rather enjoyable: egg white omelette with 1oz of white meat (down from 1.75 at start of diet), 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, some sort of sauce, followed by a slice of keto toast with either PB or almond butter and 2-3 stalks of celery with nuts n more on it.
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Those bookended meals are where my fats tend to go. Through the rest of the day, itās mostly lean protein and veggies. With me training first thing in the morning, it works well. Fats and protein for energy pre-workout, then protein and trace carbs for nourishment post workout.
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I include fat free greek yogurt in my diet (more on foods later), but only post workout. I was originally mixing it with naked PB powder, but toward the end of the fat loss switched it to whey protein, just to make sure I was getting in an adequate enough amount of protein to recover from training. If I donāt lift, I donāt eat yogurt.
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I still do a post workout shake. I very likely donāt need one, but itās a multi-decade habit at this point. I use drinkable egg whites from egg whites international mixed with 1 scoop of whey protein and 1 scoop of amazing grass greens supplement.
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Philosophy on fats: I went from not caring about fat sources to caring GREATLY about them, and again, thatās because, as a low carb person, I eat a LOT more fats than the average person. During my high LDL gaining phase, I was taking in way too many transfats (I feel like thatās any number over 0) and most of my saturated fats came from poor sources, and I was getting in very few monounsaturated fats. These days, if Iām eating animal fat, it comes from an animal fed itās natural diet, ideally organically raised. If I canāt get that kind of animal, Iām trimming the fat off. There are, of course, exceptions, but with those exceptions I try to eat high quality still. Iāll eat grainfed piedmontese hot dogs and steaks, but Iām not gonna eat a McDonaldās cheeseburger unless Iām in a real bind. And speaking of cheese, same applies: either grassfed dairy or fat free. Eggs from free range organically raised chickens or else itās egg whites. And saying all of this, I still limit my animal source fats these days and go with plant based for the most part, with nuts, nut butters and avocados.
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Food List: my dietary staples areā¦
Protein: Grassfed beef (piedmontese ideally), bison, lean chicken, turkey, pretty much unlimited seafood, VERY limited pork intake (just kinda works out that way), whole eggs, egg whites, fat free greek yogurt, grassfed cottage cheese, limited protein supplements
Fats: Grassfed beef, whole eggs, avocados, macadamia nuts, pecans (walnuts at first, but they caused GI distress), almond butter, peanut butter, sunbutter, nuts n more spread (kinda between fat and protein source), cashew milk
Veggies and fruits: Asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, tomato, lettuces, avocado, cucumber, celery, sauerkraut (I think this is on the list for removal soon)
Junk/science experiment: Keto bread, egg white wraps, low carb tortillas, diet soda/energy drinks, zero calorie dressing/chocolate sauces, protein bars (extremely limited these days), fat free cheese, delimeat (I go for organic, fat free turkey breast at least)
Honestly, that was fun to write. Itās funny: after 21 years of training, nutrition is what is interesting to me now, because Iāve ābeen there/done thatā with training, but this is new ground. Itās fun finding my own path too. And proving Jon Andersen right: carbs are for the weak.
As an aside, Jon Andersen, John Meadows (RIP), Dan Johnā¦what is the John/Jon connection here?
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I hope, if not already, humanity births a āJon Johnsonā, and he becomes the epitome of physical training methodology.
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We came SO close in the year 2000
My wife just sent me photos of a keto blueberry muffin mix and double chocolate muffin mix, made by the same company that makes my keto brownies. They also make keto pumpkin bread. She bought out the stock. Iām ending my fat loss at just the right time. This will be like the first time in my life I actually gain weight during the holidays, haha.
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Jocko Willinks Extreme Ownership will, I think, hit the spot for you here.
Iāll back any suggestions that @T3hPwnisher has made that Iāve read. In particular Paul Kelsos book and The Richest Man in Babylon.
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