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| surveying the landscape. we are looking thick and strong. this pleases me greatly. |
And so once again we find ourselves in the early morning dawn of yet another year closer to death. This time of year is always exciting. One of the few moments in our lives we are encouraged to look into our past and audit our successes, failures, bright spots, and dark moments. To reflect on all of them and try to teach ourselves how to find the right balance of all of them so we may push into the new year ahead of the herd. Self -reflection is optimal when the horizon of something new is within reach. Auditing successes and failures too soon creates a disturbance in our balance and even if one is incredibly successful with no failures to recall, resting on your laurels will easily force one off their chosen path.
Think of a successful marathon runner. When the runner steps off he or she is not looking back after 40 steps and say, “ Ah, remember when I took off for this run? That was nice.” The runner only begins reflection of the entire race as the finish line comes within site. They remind themselves how far they have come and remember certain miles or sections of the race by their location, fatigue, 2nd wind, and passing other competitors. This is what separates the elite from the idle.
2015 was personally a memorable and enriching year for me. Quite possibly the most exciting year of my life. I left the Army, moved back to Chicago, welcomed my daughter Baroness into our family, completed three semesters of full-time college pursing a Nursing degree, and was fortunate to be an integral piece in the transformation and establishment of our gym Rockwell Barbell. We went from a warehouse basement with no heat, water, or AC to a legit store front with solid business and increased membership of die hard lifters. These are my successes of the year. My failures were equally as memorable but I have already made peace with them and have corrected my path.
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| Envision all of your defeats, failures, and losses of the year. dwell on them internally. Learn from your errors. Let it burn hard. Make it hurt. Let it upset you. Now dig your grave and drop them into the earth. Make your peace and move out. Continue pushing forward on your path. Carrying these failures into the next chapter of your existence is poisonous and will only weigh you down. It will create less room for load bearing your accomplishments, achievements, and goals. Always forward never backward. TOWARD THE LIGHT WE MARCH. UNTIL DEATH ALLOWS US TO ASCEND. | |
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You already know the weight loss resolutions are boiling over and gyms coast to coast will be littered with cherry part timers frothing at the mouth to get in on the action. We also know their odds of success are incredibly low. Almost always due to inefficient/late game planning, goals set well above their experience level, lack of motivation, and general disinterest in transformation when the scope of how difficult physically transforming becomes. People like things easy. It’s always easier to quit. Trying is hard. Trying requires effort. Trying requires action. Trying requires motivation.
I let them have their moment. Allow them to continue the illusion of change. Even though deep within myself I do want them to succeed, I have been at this for too long to expect anything less than quitting. As I have said before “anyone can climb to the top of the mountain, only the elite can stay there.”
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The die-hards doing damage control and disposing of the infected corpses of the quitters. This will not become a quarantined sanctuary. DISPOSE OF THE INFECTED.
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The “new year, new me” is an airborne viral outbreak that infects once a year. You can literally set your watch to it. Unless a person continues taking their prescribed anti-bionics and following the preventative care plan they will succumb to the virus. Their body will coil back into the weak shell it was from the start. The survival rate of quitters is 0%. Quitting has a 100% kill rate and there is no cure for quitting. Once they have passed their memory will only live on in the form of monthly bank statements of mega gyms and fad diet prepared meal plans. A parasite taking a piece of the host's finances once a month. Imagine those quitters like a tombstone in a graveyard and once a month the parasite will honor their memory by automatically withdrawing $50 dollars from the account. Such a tragic, meaningless death. The worst part is it was preventable.
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| PRO TIP: A strong way to weed out the weak-hearted new years crowd is by performing shirtless bicep curls with chains. If your gym allows shirtless lifting than you have found the right sanctuary. Welcome home. |
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My life for the next few months is focusing on my true self. I wanna become "The True Werewolf" like my good buddy in the photo above. I mean this in a very intimate way. Weightlifting is so cathartic to me. It is a part of who I am. As long as I am still breathing I will still be lifting. I enjoy going to the gym. It is my opinion that if you hate working out or loathe your gym time then you are in the wrong line of work. Why would you do something you hate that you don't have to? It's a thinly veiled and lame attempt at validating your failures or slip ups of the week. "I went to the gym today so I can have this pizza." WRONG. If your only reason to gym is giving yourself the satisfaction of self improvement when you sleep then this blog does no welcome you. This community is designed only for the committed and the intense.
My gym ritual right now is hitting on all sixes. I stretch and open up my lungs and my mind by breathing. Then I have a hard and heavy lift set at the core of my session which is book ended by intense body builder type exercises that get my heart rate up, create perspiration, and warm the muscle group of the session so its primed and ready to hit hard.
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| FUCK THE UNIVERSE! |
CURRENT LIFTING ROUTINE
I. Pick what muscle group to hit and then determine the climax lift or "hard and heavy" session.
Back day: Dead Lift.
Chest day: Flat Bench
Leg day: Barbell Squat
Shoulder day: Barbell shrugs or One Arm Barbell Press (photo below)
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| One Arm Barbell Press |
II. I get loose by stretching out neck to foot, selecting the right jams, concentrate on exhaling deeply and inhaling efficiently. I liken it to meditation. I visualize my exhale as a thick cloud of black smoke carrying all the stresses and toxins accumulated from the day. I force them out like smoke from a burning building. Then I inhale cold, fresh, "white" air that coats my body in positive light. each breath in gets me stronger, each breath out creates the room for strength possibilities. This doesn't take very long. I do it for a minute or two as I stretch out. It clears my mind and opens up my psych for what lies ahead. It really does wonders for my energy too. I come in at 30% and the breathing and stretches put me at 60%. Once lifting commences I am in the red near 100% ready.
III. For example, its back day. I'm going in with lat pull downs hitting 8 to 12 reps and increasing the weight with each set. Once I'm tapped out I'll switch the bar from lat pull down to V-bar. Now I'm hitting the top and inside of my back with heavy weight and I keep bumpin' up till I hit 4-6 with some what of a struggle. At this point I begin the dead lift by hit sets till I reach my working set. knock out 3-5 reps for however many sets.
IV. Whatever I have left in tank I use to attack the rest of my back. My favorite thing to do after I finish the dead lift is weighted pull-ups. Pull-ups are awesome for core strength too. I like bring my old backpack and throw a 10 pound plate in there and hit some AMRAP (as many reps as possible) for a set then bump up the weight by 5-10 lbs. Keep grinding them out till I'm gassed out.
Some other ideas for lifts after the "climax" lift are single arm cable pull-downs, dumbbell rows, bent over dumbbell flys, or some seated rows. Really the gym is yours so do something that hits that back that you like. Most dudes have a favorite back exercise. Use this opportunity to get it in.
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| BRING US PAIN. BRING US DISGUST. BRING US INFINITE SUFFERING. DISPOSE OF OUR WEAKNESS. WE DEMAND PAIN, SWEAT, AND FATIGUE. |
Below are other examples of specific exercises I do before and after the climax lift.
Chest:
Incline barbell press.
dumbbell flat bench.
incline press.
floor press w/ chains.
cable cross overs (10-20lbs Max).
Shoulders:
T-nation shoulder shocker
Dumbbell delt raise. Alternate 1 rep each arm from the side for a set then hit front delt raises doing the same thing.
Shoulder thrusters with dumbbells (palms facing ear).
Bent over flys (10 lbs. max).
Shoulder press using a barbell (I don't go too heavy on this one because of a nagging shoulder injury). Really focus on squeezing you core for this lift. Don't use your legs during this and you should be seated on the floor.
If you have access to chains I love doing single arm raises holding the end of a chain. Instead of shoot my arm out straight in front I like kind of drag the chain across my stomach and chest and lift it up over my head till my arm locks out. Control the weight as you lower it following the same path the. Hit the other arm.
135 lbs. on the bar, stand shoulder width apart, lock out the bar above you head. Keep your glutes tight and see how long you can hold it above your head. This is a great finisher. Really brings the smoke.
One of my custom shoulder exercises I do that I've mentioned before is getting on the treadmill holding dumbbells or plates. Set the speed at a steady pace. I usually go 3, 3.5, or 4 mph. Put the treadmill at a challenging incline (6-10%) and take broad steps while holding the weight by your side. Imagine you are carrying 5 gallon water cans. Do a minute, rest for 30, repeat as needed.
PRO TIP: Increase the suck! Go up by 5 pounds every 2 minutes.
Legs:
Hamstring curls into quad curls is a great warm up. Go from one immediately into the other then rest. This could also be used for a finisher
Single KB squat. Using both hands from a dead lift style position. Squat down till the weight hits the ground then lift it up.
Another variation of the KB squat is to hold the KB in front of your chest with your thumbs hooked into it. Squat down till parallel then push up with your heels. This mimics a front squat movement.
PRO TIP: Challenge yourself by holding the KB upside down. Your core comes into action to help steady the weight since you are basically balancing the KB to stay upright.
Weighted sled pushes with 1-2 minute rest between the push. Aim for the weight of your wife, brother, close friend, parent. This tricks your mind into pushing past failure because the number tied to the weight has meaning. Srs.
Single leg box step ups using dumbbells or a plate(s). I prefer a single plate.
PRO TIP: Looking to get that extra smoke? Hold the weight above your head.
(For beginners I recommend holding the weight by your side).
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| outdoor plague bringing baseball bat air guitar. |
STAY GRIM. HIT THE GYM.
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