A YEAR OF FIRSTS.

You will never be as strong as you desire but the effort is the entire point of transformation.

What the fuck did you do last year that hadn't before? If you don't know or did nothing new, you need to reconsider your approach and intent to physical fitness. I am willing to bet your strength, appearance, injuries, and attitude reflect that too. The key to meaningful longevity can be summed up in three simple words.... Always a student. Force yourself to remain relevant by submitting to new endeavours. Challenge the mind and the body will grow. Accept you won't ever know everything. Choke your ego and put it to sleep. Remain focused with head down, eyes open, and mouth shut. Unveil every hidden shade of your craft, from now and beyond death. Like the old saying goes "Everything works until it doesn't."

So from couldn't to could. This calendar year I learned new things that humbled my ass. Showing me how not strong I was/am. Learning these maneuvers left an immediate impact on my physique and improved my big lifts significantly.  Below are the movements I implemented and experimented with. All of these are still part of what I do in the gym weekly. So, can you do these? Have you done these? Why? Why not?

Overhead Lunges: 

Mastering the Overhead Lunge

This showed me how soft my core really is because it was harder on my core and shoulders than on my legs which is why I love em. The feedback from this exercise is immediate both during sets and the following day. I could feel exactly what muscles were sore. Don't need too much weight to start. I just use the barbell to start 10 sets of 5-7 each leg. Now I am working at sets of 7-10 at 95-110lbs. My goal is 135lbs. 10 x 5. I am creeping to that goal sooner than anticipated.

Areas of noticeable difference: my entire core, ability to move efficiently with weight, middle and rear delts.

Dowel rod for shoulder /banded shoulder stretching:

4 minute video: increasing shoulder flexibility with dowel rod.

These have without a doubt made me stronger since introducing them 7 months ago. Not just in my warm-ups but in my life. I do these every morning. My shoulders, posture, back pain, and flexibility have seen dramatic change. Please do these. Doesn't take much time and the benefits are high value. 10 rotations front to back pausing at the top to stretch then coming back down slowly. It is hard to describe this step by step so here is a guide I used when I started doing these.

Areas of noticeable difference: warm up time decreased, wakes me up in the morning, posture, flexibility, and decrease in weird shoulder strains I use to get from deadlifting.

Rowing:

HOW TO ROW. ITS NOT THAT FUCKING HARD PEOPLE.

Thumbin' through an old Men's Fitness on the shitter a few months ago I came across a spread about this dude Bobby Maximus aka Gym Jones. The name I was familiar with, but I admittedly brushed him off as kind of a fitness personality dolt who yelled out catchphrases. Im a fucking idiot. I was wrong. This dude's mentality and approach to complete fitness is directly in line with how I operate. I credit this dude with igniting my interest in rowing.

Anyhow, in that issue he included 7 or so workouts he uses when measuring overall strength. Two of them were rowing....

1. Row 500 meters in under 1:45
2. Row 2000 meters in 8 minutes.

I tried both thinking I could hack it and I nearly died. I was butt hurt but I didn't walk. I accepted the failures and vowed to meet the time hacks in the near future. s of this entry I can hit 500m in exactly 1:45 seconds and I can row 2000m in 8:40 seconds. It ain't easy but it aint impossible. fucks wit it.

I use to only do 30/30 sprints or uphill sprints for cardio and conditioning. Now spirints are a slice of my overall metabolic conditioning. Rowing is not boring, easy on the knees, and fun because you are able stimulate yourself psychologically in so many different ways. Time, calories, meters, strokes per minute, etc...

Areas of noticeable difference: Not wanting to die, mental fortitude, curing my hangover

Hangover Rower:  (2 mins rowing/1 min rest for 8 intervals. Aim for 500m on every work interval)

Dumbbell Thrusters:

These fucking suck. You have to be a able bodied squatter to execute these without "bad" pain. If you can front squat efficiently you will likely excel at these. However, if you dont front squat or you can't squat very heavy then use these with light weight (10 or 12 pounds). If you can squat respectable weight in relation to your body weight then go a little heavier. Try 8x8 for a wake up call. When I started I could barely move 20's and my entire body came crashing down with that sick cat hunchback. Now I can crush thrusters using 50's.

Areas of noticeable difference: core strength, quadricep development, endurance, and explosive strength.

Pull-Ups:

I use to do these in the Army but stopped well before I was even out of the service. Training for the Murph back in May forced me to pick them back up. Best thing I ever did. I am a monster at pull ups now. I can do sets of 10 till dark, I can do 20 pull-ups unbroken, and I can knock out crazy sets with 35-40lbs. on my back.

Areas of noticeable difference: stomach, biceps, and middle back.

Box Jumps:

You wont get big legs but you will get sore. These directly translate into a faster, more explosive squat. The trick is not to jump high but to get your legs up as high and fast as possible. Think Lloyd from Dumb & Dumber jumping on the hotel bed in Aspen or that bizzare arthouse New Order music video with stoic weirdos dressed as neon shapes. Box jumps are also my favorite thing to superset with a heavy single leg movement. Like barbell reverse lunges into high box jumps.

Areas of noticeable difference: faster movements on the deadlift and squat, endurance increase, and slightly impressing myself with multiple sets of 5 at 38".

STAY GRIM. HIT THE GYM.

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STRENGTH ROOTED IN PUNISHMENT

FIRSTBORN OUT OF HELL!

Accountability. I ask of it from you often. From me you will get the same. I had an idea a few weeks ago about creating a super strict food log for one week. I kept track of exactly what I ate and when I ate it. It was enjoyable writing my meals, snacks, and drinks along with the exact time. The purpose of this experiment, if you will, was to have undeniable proof of any flaws in my eating habits. It showed me what parts of my nutrition needed to be addressed or tweaked. I will not deny that although I eat responsible and fairly strict, I do not consume nearly enough calories as I want or should. 

The #1 reason for the lack of caloric intake is side effects of my prescription medications I take daily. They put my appetite on mute. Sometimes it physically pains me to eat. My mouth just wont produce saliva and eating becomes a battle. I wind up shoving food into my mouth and chase it with water just to get it down. I also rely heavily on liquids for sustenance like different types of protein shakes, almond milk (for calories), green vegetable shakes, and greek yogurt. 

Even with my appetite struggles I still manage to get enough of the nutrients I need to build stronger muscles. I have been working on ways to bypass my appetite woes since I recorded this 5-day food log and so far its working. I have gained roughly 6lbs. over the last two months. I am currently sitting at 6'2 and 213lbs. My short term goal is hitting 215. My long term goal is by end of year to be comfortably at 220.

Before I go any further go ahead and read through my food log. This is more or less a typical week in my life. I was in between semesters of school for this week so the open ended days and nights made it a little tougher to maintain a strict food rhythm. I find that I eat better and on time when the semesters are in session.

TUESDAY
0940: Protein shake and 1 cup of coffee
WORKOUT - CHEST
1200: 4 egg white and chicken breast wrapped in whole wheat tortilla
1355: 1 bacon cheese burger from Burger King (mustard only, no bottom bun)
1400: handful of natural almonds
1600: 2 oat, peanut butter, and chocolate protein muffins (home made. low sugar, whole wheat)
1720: 1 cup 2% cottage cheese
1800: iced coffee with 20oz of un-sweetend vanilla almond milk
1915: 1 lean turkey breast patty, 1/2 bag of spinach (tossed in olive oil, salt, and lemon), grilled zucchini and eggplant slices
2100: half bag of kettle corn and 2 glasses of red wine
2330: 1 cup cottage cheese
0020: 2 large spoonfuls of peanut butter and chocolate protein shake with skim milk.

WEDNESDAY:
0700: 3 fried eggs (1 whole egg/2 egg whites) in whole wheat tortilla w/ little cheese, 1 cup plain greek yogurt, 1 cup of black coffee
WORKOUT - LEGS
1030: 1 and a half homemade protein muffins.
1120 - 1 can of tuna (seasoned with dill, lemon, and mustard), 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1 large handful of almonds
1400: XL glass of milk
1440: 1 protein muffin, handful of almonds, blue corn chips and all natural black bean dip
1605: protein shake w/ van. almond milk, 2 large scoops of natural peanut butter
1800: 2 salmon fillets, cabbage, mushrooms, 1/2 of a toasted everything bagel
0000: Lifters Gruel (1 scoop choc protein, peanut butter, 1 cup cottage cheese, splash of honey and Hershey's lite syrup. frozen.

THURSDAY:
0800: 3 fried eggs in whole wheat tortilla w/ light cheese, 1 toasted everything bagel with canola oil butter, 20oz. un sweet vanilla almond milk
1030: protein shake w/ skim milk
WORKOUT - DEAD LIFTS, ABS, LIGHT LEGS (during workout 1 banana, handful of almonds, 1 and a half homemade protein muffins
1430: protein shake
1515: 1 can of tuna (seasoned dill, lemon, mustard), 1 whole wheat tortilla, 20 oz. unsweet vanilla almond milk, 1 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 can of pineapple
1900: turkey burger (no bun), 2 slices of polenta, sauteed peppers and mushrooms, handful of black beans, 1/2 everything bagel toasted.
2240: Lifters Gruel (same as above)

FRIDAY:
0515: 20 oz skim milk, 2 fired eggs, 2 cups of coffee
0700 - Subway 6" sandwich double turkey w/ olive oil, lettuce, tomato, and lite mayo.
0915: protein shake w/ almond milk
1050: 1 cup plain greek yogurt
(3 hour nap)
1400: large bowl of Kashi cereal with skim milk
1540: 2 can tuna (seasoned same), 1 whole wheat tortilla, 1 homemade protein muffin, handful of almonds
1800:  16oz hi-speed green juice filled with all green veggies (no sugar, no juices, all natural), half a chicken breast, several scoops of peanut butter.
WORKOUT - WEIGHTED SPRINTS, ARMS, ABS (during lift: Gatorade, almonds, protein shake)
2050: 20 oz. unsweet van. almond milk
2110: 4 scrambled eggs w/ 1/2 chicken breast, 1 half of avocado
2330: Lifters Gruel (same as above)

So as I said. Is not perfect, but since I did this I improved little eating habits throughout the day. I am a better, stronger, and smarter weightlifter for doing this.

Got the coven going up on a Tuesday.

no caption needed for The Kliq.

 

So last week Rockwell Barbell (@RockwellBarbell on IG) made the jump into an official gym space. We now have almost triple the room we had at our previous dungeon. Ill post more about the new gym in another post but for now this new space gives us the room to do my all time favorite workout.

SLED PUSHES! I cannot get enough of these. Im doing them twice a week on top of all my other training to make up for lost time. This exercise is great for real world strength. Its a bastard mixture of intensity, cardio, endurance, and strength. It makes you wanna puke and does a lot of work in just a little bit of time. I recommend these for people who love to squat but their lower body tells them that its not a good idea to squat three times a week. I have a lingering knee issue that keeps my squatting sporadic. To combat this, I do other lower body exercises like hack squats and sled work.

When Im fucking with the sled I like to do pyramids with one direction slow and then on the turn around I sprint as hard as I can. I start light on the weight at first and go up by 10-25lbs. I usually work up to 265 for my last set right now. I want to monitor my progress and eventually watch myself pushing heavy and hard weight. I highly recommend adding these into your leg days. Mix things up a bit and have some fun. There is nothing to it but pushing the weight with your legs. Its pretty hard to do it wrong.

Eyes on the prize. What I channel when pushing that sled. Give me the legs of the Gods!

When pushing that sled remember "The Wheel Of Pain" from Conan.

One last thing before I sign off....

Merchandise has finally been designed. I commissioned my good friend from Germany known as HELL IS REAL and he delivered some seriously punishing images. Cant wait to unleash it upon all of you. Do me a favor and check out his Facebook page on the link posted on the side bar.  I am working out the last of the logistics before I send off the first run. First up is a limited run of Black Metal Fitness Ranger Panties and stickers.The first run of BMF ranger panties is limited to only 50. Each pair comes with 2 BMF stickers and a handwritten pact and prayer card you must sign before the silkies adorn your flesh. Pre-orders will be up by this weekend on my merch store. I will unleash the link once I receive the first sample. The items will ship at the end of the month. Just in time for the start of October. The klvtest month on the calendar.

STAY GRIM, HIT THE GYM!

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SATANIC GAINS. some exercises you may be missing out on.

Of the nine circles of Hell the weight room is by far by favorite.

 This post is a collection of some of my all time favorite lifts. Exercises that I always try work into my long range routine. These lifts have either helped me over come injury, improved muscle imbalance, enhanced my physique, or helped me reach a new PR on the REAL lifts. All of the featured lifts here I highly encourage you to try em out. They worked very well for me and I hope the same for you. I will be excluding the Big Three from this list because if you are not tracking those lifts are mandatory for real strength gains then you are hanging out with the wrong people or reading the wrong books. Get new friends and burn your books. 

V BAR PULLDOWN

in this photo the meathead is facing out for photo purposes. When you do this please face toward that machine. Its not necessary to draw attention to yourself in the gym. Let your muscles speak for themselves. BMF does not support the "water cooler runway". Stay in your corner, stay focused, and build your temple.

I rarely see anyone doing this in the gym. Well, I guess I should say "used to." At Rockwell Barbell the boys there know the drill. Before I lifted here I spent many years lifting at all kinds of gyms. Mainly military gyms on post, Cheetah Gym in Chicago, and Anytime Fitness in Olympia WA. Able to get a good read on dudes who were serious and who weren't. Anytime I saw a guy reaching for the v-bar I knew he was die hard.

This variation on the lat pull down has been a blessing for me. I give this exercise almost all the credit for sculpting my back, which I believe to be my strongest and best looking feature of my body. Watch the video below about proper lat pull down technique. This video was very helpful for me. Its short, contains no filler, he knows how to properly speak, and most importantly he is right. The dude hits the nail on the head with his explanation of the best form and why the V-Bar pull down builds a wider lat than the classic pulldown. He spends the later half of the video praising the merits of close grip pulldown and I could not agree more with him.

Another pro for this lift is you can move considerably more weight vs. classic lat pull down. So many guys sell themselves short on their back lifts. You will be surprised at how strong your back actually is. Test yourself and treat this like a deadlift. Get pumped up and dialed in. Attack the lift with hatred. This lift is incredibly satisfying mentally when you move that pin closer and closer to max capacity. 

RECOMMENDED FOR: making your traps cast shadows, making your friends yell out "Shredded Wheat" when they see you from behind, and getting that "tree stump" muscle in the middle of your back.

PRO TIP: Don't get into the mindset that accessory lifts are easy lifts. Treat every exercise as an extension of your strongest lift. Get serious and make yourself sweat. No exercise you preform in the weight room should be treated as Hotel Collection 1,000 Thread Count Egyptian Cotton 4-piece Bedding Set.

REAR DELT MACHINE 

Dude is so buff his head is fucking outside the frame of the photo. Muscles that transcend space and time....IM MIRIN'

Its not often that I give praise to the machines so if I do then you know its legit. This one really helped me overcome a nagging shoulder injury. For about a year and a half I could not do flat bench barbell work. Even 135lbs sent my shoulder screaming. I was forced to admit that the pain was to real and severe to push through. The cruel and unforgiving Iron Lords banished me to the wasteland of dumbells. Toiling among common folk, 5- day biceps bros, and iPhone curlers. It was weird and it sucked. Being robbed of glory from one of the "Original Six" lifts was embarrassing. I was turned onto this lift from one of my elite Army brothers. It is fun to do because after just one set your entire rear delt looks like a tumor. This muscle just activates and grows immediately.

My shoulder injury actually healed early on but I did not realize it because I was still feeling pain. Turns out I had over developed front delts. This is actually quite common. I spent three weeks incorporating this lift on all shoulder and chest days. Its like i was touched by the noodley appendage of the Spag Monster himself. I was cured. I went back to the flat bench after 18 months off and it was like someone gave me a new shoulder. Since then I have been very conscious over my rear delts and always keep them active. 

You can do DB bent over lateral raises if you do not have access to this machine but I warn you if your form is even a little off you will completely miss the rear delt. R. delt is a tricky son of a bitch. You gotta walk your rounds onto the target. Its different for everybody because every persons build is unique (not special snowflake neat. you are not special or important. Dont confuse my use of unique for your vein attempt to express yourself.) I like the machine because you can adjust the seat and toss a few reps around to zero in on your target muscle. 

RECOMMEND FOR: anyone who has nagging shoulder issues, over developed front delts, people not afraid of machines, men looking to make their T-shirts wear them instead of you wearing the T-shirt.

2 Kettle bell Front Squat

Kettle bells: the new yoga mat.

I am very green to the ways of the kettle bell but I have a keen interest in trying to incorporate them into my future routines. The first and only time so far I have ever used one was for this exercise. Crossfitters have shit and pissed on this vintage piece of strongman iron for the better part of a decade. What use to be synonymous with chest hair and communist Zangiff's in their backyard selling bootleg VHS tapes of their routines has now been reduced to a neon colored paper weight with foam comfort grips and soundproofing padded bottoms that fence walkers swing between their legs for "time" on a padded mat with their coach. Good to see some workhorses taking this back" bag of iron" from those busters.

Absolutely fucking killer. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. This lift fucked me up with some truth that my midsection was weak and my core is a bag wet bread. You feel this activate your entire core on the first rep. Its awesome. Not bullshitting you this is one of the harder exercises I have encountered in all my time in the weight room. Tough to do but man is it rewarding. 

CHECK THIS SIMPLE AND INFORMATIVE WEBSITE FOR BENEFITS AND PROPER EXECUTION OF THIS LIFT.

RECOMMENDED FOR: deadlift and squat improvement, core stability, building midsection stamina for big lifts, someone looking to shake up their routine and add something new to the fold. Also suggested for sadomasochists who need to get watery eyed in pain when they jerk off in most positions.

SPRINTS

Rugby butts drive me nuts. Im getting inside of that scrum and never leaving.

I don't really fucks wit cardio. I'm not fast-n-hard anti-cardio, I'm just more along the lines of it has its place and time. That being said if you are craving a sweat sesh after a hard nights drinking, a running junkie who refuses to quit cardio, or looking to turn up your heart rate then sprints are for you. 

Sprints are incredibly beneficial because they directly apply to real world situations and greatly enhance your rate of survival. In your life you will NEVER have to run 6 miles in one direction for ANY REASON other than because you want to. You may at some point in your life have to: sprint from someone trying to attack/rob you, sprint away from gun fire (or toward it depending on profession), sprint to catch the train before it leaves, sprint to the aid of your family or friends when they are in distress, sprint toward your enemy when you spot him inside you sector, sprint toward the TV's at the local mega chain store on black Friday, sprint toward the goal line in football or rugby, sprint off a cliff to get maximum air when you land in that body of water. Do you see what I am getting at here? There is one reason for long distance running. Just one. But just listed of like 7 things for short and fast running. Off top.

Sprints are not a hard sell. They are vital to our survival as a species. Its primal. Its ingrained into our goddamn genetics for fucks sake. (fight-or-flight response)

RECOMMENDED FOR: People who want to live, those who want to enhance the human species,  and poor people.

most of my friends life story.

WEIGHTED PULL-UPS

Further proof that lifting accessories are overrated not necessary to achieve strength.

If you cannot do a single pull-up than skip this lift and reevaluate you entire existence. Weighted pull ups are not only fun but provide just the right amount of challenge. I usually use a 25 or 35 pound weight or dumbbell. You can wrap chains around your neck if you wanna go Prison Yard style, you can hold a dumbbell between your feet, or tie the weight around your waist. so man different ways to do it. If you can do a few pull ups and you want to be able to knock out more than fart out a couple of these every list session despite what muscle group you are hitting. After like wo weeks when you go back to regular pull ups you will feel dramatically lighter. A great way to trick yourself into doing more reps than you think you can. The mind is a very weird thing. Your mind is what holds you back from making a lift 85% of the time. I truly believe that.

RECOMMEND FOR: people who wanna take photos of themselves looking hard, pull-up improvement, and sculpting/building abs,

CHAINS ON FLAT BENCH

Any excuse to use chains in the gym should be taken. They work best with flat bench IMO. I love throwing some chains on the end of the bar after a long bench session. Looking for that burnout bonus. Helps you get past a sticking point you may have in your attempt to achieve a new max. The weight gets lighter as the chains coil on the floor but as you push up the weight increase. The odd size of the weight really makes things interesting when your grinding out the last few reps. Get some!

RECOMMENDED FOR: everyone.


DUMBBELL TRICEP PRESS/EXTENSION

Is this Dana Carvey?

This is a great way to build up intimidating thickness in your arms. Ive been doing these for a long time. I can hit 110lbs. If you have any elbow issues I would either steer clear of this one or only hit a medium weight. Again, this is a lift best served heavy.  You can aggravate your elbows fairly easy when moving heavy weight. I prefer seated because it takes all other muscles out of the picture. You can do this one standing if you'd like. It will activate some of your core and legs. Keep your midsection tight when lifting it while on your feet. That way you are getting a 2-for-1 deal. Don't sell yourself short. Everyone's triceps are incredibly strong and resistant. If you wanna make your arms "fill out" and connect with the other arm muscles for that thick looks then add this to your arsenal.


CLOSE GRIP DUMBBELL PRESS

I don't know whether to place this into triceps or chest. Regardless it hammers each of em. You can almost feel your sternum stretching and widening with each set. My Unholy Trinity brethren Dan (IG: @grateful_dan) and Marino (IG:thatsalotofblood) turned me on to this move. Keep the weights together then move them slow on the downward and explosive on the push up. You can go incline too if you are feeling frosty. These are a good addition to the end of workout. No necessarily a burn out but really requiring every fiber to activate. I get a better pump and burn out of this when I go heavy. I suggest you grab a weight that is about 70% of your ability. In my experience the light weight, while still tough,  just didn't give me the same intensity.

RECOMMEND FOR: end of workout jam session, people who want to build that medial crease in the pecs, people not afraid to die.



"Some people would rather live in shit than be seen holding a shovel. I am not one of them. Pass me that fucking shovel."

screen shot of my mind en route to the gym.

vintage hammer curls.

It just wouldn't be a BMF blog post without a Mad Max, weightlifting, metalhead laying down the heavy metal law among his slave babes. When will this trend cycle back into fashion? The youth need weightlifting metal mentors now more than ever.

The Rockwell Barbell Squad cutting loose on the 4th of July. From left to right: Me aka Satanic Royalty, Marino aka The Muscely Medic, Hugene, Dan aka Prison Wallet or Mexican Henry Rollins, and Lawerence the heart, the black soul, the architect of Rockwell Barbell aka Lars, Big L, or Papa Pump.

 If you are a serious weightlifter, powerlifter, or a beautiful woman who is stronger than all of your girlfriends in or around Chicago and looking for a new weight room applications for the 2015 season to become a Prospect at Rockwell Barbell are now being accepted. Follow us on Instagram if you are trying to sniff out the kind of mentality we are carving. RB is trying to bring some new faces into the fold. Serious inquires only. If you can deadlift a horse or overhead press a human corpse we want to talk to you!  IG: rockwellbarbell

Even if you aren't looking for a new gym come follow us. If you are passing through the city and interested in getting in a few sessions shoot me an email and we will welcome you as our guest. Show this independently owned and operated blue collar gym in Chicago some love. share the profile with all your gay jock cockboy friends who need to get their ass into the proper mentality to build a cold hearted killer.

End of demo.

STAY GRIM AND HIT THE GYM.

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