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[TTOOLL]

Finally beat my 10k time! I was not very happy with my HR but I didn't feel that exhausted during or after. Maybe I should manually adjust my HR zones? I don't know....

 

[ipukespiders]

I’m only 28 but it feels like I’m fucking in my late 40s some days. Definitely feels like I need to play it safely like I’m that up in age at least....

I’m 47. LOL.
But yes, I definitely hold back on volume, do a good warmup. Don’t do enough cool down, and I know that’s critical.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Welp. Practice was canceled yesterday. Mr Staples sump pump went out in his basement and he had to fix it or something. So no arm wrestling for me this week I guess...

Nothing is going to stop this momentum I've built. Short of an injury. So I did what I could and rigged my bands up as best as I could, MacGyver style.

Mind the blinds... The previous owners dog got to them and then our cats added their own touch...

Did all my warm up from here,

Fitness |OT| Pumpin' Iron and Spittin' Blood.

My country is in the beginning of the infection and I feel the gym is on the verge of closing because of Corona. Today I picked a glove since I don't want to expose my aging parents to the virus and made it count. Tomorrow I will have a lot of soreness fun. life goes on elliptical IMO...

www.neogaf.com

Then onto my new... replacement practice workout.

The tubs you see in the pic where the closest I could rig up for an arm wrestling table. I put my arm near the edge and just use the bin like it's half a table. It actually works ok, but it does move around a lot if you don't keep enough pressure on your elbows. Which is sort of a good thing I guess.

Anyway, I grabbed my wife and had her help me warm up before I started pulling. Then I had her go one round with me on each arm to break my arms in... but I let her use both arms lol. It was actually pretty tough because she pretty much put all her weight on it... All I could do was hold it there till she couldn't hold it.

After that I grabbed the bands and started in. 15 reps on one arm then switch to the other... Then I take my rebounder trampoline and curl it. I grab it with both hands close together and my elbows in as much as I can to simulate an arm wrestling position. Imagine my elbows down vertically, my forearms horizontal and my palms up. I grip it with my thumbs on top and have my fingers underneath, fully extended, hand as flat as possible. I curl it till my nose touches the trampoline. This trains open hand strength and helps immensely with locking your wrist as you pin or are being pinned. It's much heavier than it seems since the trampoline is so long it provides a lot of... torque? on your wrists.

Then I'd throw some wall push offs in there to counter balance all the pulling. So again, I'd have my fingers extended, hand open and as flat as I could. I'd get as low as I could without too much pain, so it felt just right, and I'd push off as fast as I could for 20 reps.

So the workout went like this,

15 reps each arm, 20 bicep curls with rebounder, 15 reps each arm, wall push offs... Repeatedly for 3 hours straight. So like, hundreds of reps. I didn't keep count.

For the first hour I felt like I was suffering pretty bad. Then my body took over and started getting rid of all the lactic acid and I felt amazing and strong for the rest of it.

To finish off I did some inverted one minute holds on the rings. So basically hanging upside down with my feet in the air to simulate carrying weight. And then for another hour I did some grip work with my top secret grip trainer... Half an hour for each hand.

I'm so happy right now because this time I made a breakthrough that according to Mr Staple, normally takes quite a lot of training for most to do. I made the brain body connection with my traps, lats, shoulders and arms. It was amazing. Everything just activated during the motion and worked together to add to the strength of my arm. It felt WAY stronger. It's a crazy feeling to feel your traps THAT much while you pull and pin.

This is how I used the bands. (wife decided to take a picture while I was going at it)

The big blue band attached to the chair is an 80 pound band. The beige one is a 5 pound band put doubled up like that and at the range I was using it it's more like 15-20.

I tried to simulate the pressure I feel when wrestling. So the big blue band simulates the pulling as best I could all the way to the pin. It's angle changes as I get to the pinning side so that it pulls harder in the right direction. The beige band is pulling up to simulate the upward pressure of someone fighting to get out of a pin. It's not perfect, but it's all I could come up with. Nothing is going to totally make up for another human being on the other side of the table... But nothings going to stop me from trying either...

Never give up guys. No matter how hard it gets.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Gym's supposed to finally open here at June 1st. Can't wait.

I think I pulled the very best I can out of this quanatine shit. Completely reorganized my nutrition to a system that it basically doesn't matter if I train or not and with cross fit found a quite different kind of training that I'm going to incorporate into my scheduele. Also, no more forced training and rest days from here on in. When I'm broken from a couple of days workout or simply didn't sleep well, I won't train. No more forcing it out to the weekly rest day. I've just been overdoing it the past couple of weeks. There were days I could barely stand straight during breaks at work (I would do my workout regardless of that after work) and after the issues with my foot forced a week break on me I felt like my body needed that. First time in my life that I actually felt like I look better coming out of a one week break than going into it. Been neglecting propper rest for far too long.

Think I'm really going to start listing to my body from here on in. After all, I've been doing this long enough to rule out the "too lazy" days as there is no such thing for me any more. Pretty confident that this is the path forward for me now and will also lead me to my desired results. Time will tell.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Gym's supposed to finally open here at June 1st. Can't wait.

I think I pulled the very best I can out of this quanatine shit. Completely reorganized my nutrition to a system that it basically doesn't matter if I train or not and with cross fit found a quite different kind of training that I'm going to incorporate into my scheduele. Also, no more forced training and rest days from here on in. When I'm broken from a couple of days workout or simply didn't sleep well, I won't train. No more forcing it out to the weekly rest day. I've just been overdoing it the past couple of weeks. There were days I could barely stand straight during breaks at work (I would do my workout regardless of that after work) and after the issues with my foot forced a week break on me I felt like my body needed that. First time in my life that I actually felt like I look better coming out of a one week break than going into it. Been neglecting propper rest for far too long.

Think I'm really going to start listing to my body from here on in. After all, I've been doing this long enough to rule out the "too lazy" days as there is no such thing for me any more. Pretty confident that this is the path forward for me now and will also lead me to my desired results. Time will tell.

Big props man. Doing what you described is one of the hardest and smartest things that us testosterone filled dudes can do. It's one of the reasons I posted the vid above actually. I feel that we constantly put obstacles in our way in all kinds of ways, mentally, physically and spiritually. Constantly over doing it with our workouts is one of those ways. This becomes a needless and unwinnable war that we make for ourselves to fight. And it does far more harm than good in the long run. And a lot of times in the short term as well. Taking your time to listen to your body, figuring out it's in's and out's and building a strong foundation for you to build upon is so important. I talk about it a lot because I've seen so many injuries cause people to just stop all together. I used to fight that war myself. Which is how my back went out when I was younger.

I feel that working out should be something that we fall in love with and that we love doing. We should have a drive TO work out, not to figure out reasons not to, or to have to fight ourselves TO do. The only time you should be struggling that hard is if you are just starting out and you are unhealthy. THATS where you are going to need to push through in the beginning because you are fighting chemicals, toxins and all sorts of things. But even then, people tend to overdo it and hurt themselves. So, if someone has been working out for a while, and you don't love it and have a drive to do it because it makes you feel good, then IMO something is wrong and you are just adding more stress to your life and spinning your tires. Take that time to build your foundation, find the drive, find the passion and love. Grab ahold of it and don't let go. This is what I mean when I say don't give up. Never stop, never quit. Even when life gets hard.

Also, you don't really need a gym depending on what you are going for... Believe it or not, I've never been to one to train. Just to swim. A good set of bands, rings, and some ingenuity with household items can take you as far as you need to go unless you are trying to become a body builder. Even then it would probably be enough to build the base you need. But a gym could be nice if you want someone to watch and correct your form. But you could do that every once in a while.

 

[ipukespiders]

JESUS CHRIST!
What a fucking beast!
You look like John Snow except not a pussy.

Anyway, I grabbed my wife and had her help me warm up before I started pulling

hmmm...

And nice work btw. Anything is possible for a man on a mission.

 

[Cutty Flam]

Welp. Practice was canceled yesterday. Mr Staples sump pump went out in his basement and he had to fix it or something. So no arm wrestling for me this week I guess...

Nothing is going to stop this momentum I've built. Short of an injury. So I did what I could and rigged my bands up as best as I could, MacGyver style.

Mind the blinds... The previous owners dog got to them and then our cats added their own touch...

Did all my warm up from here,

Fitness |OT| Pumpin' Iron and Spittin' Blood.

My country is in the beginning of the infection and I feel the gym is on the verge of closing because of Corona. Today I picked a glove since I don't want to expose my aging parents to the virus and made it count. Tomorrow I will have a lot of soreness fun. life goes on elliptical IMO...

www.neogaf.com

Then onto my new... replacement practice workout.

The tubs you see in the pic where the closest I could rig up for an arm wrestling table. I put my arm near the edge and just use the bin like it's half a table. It actually works ok, but it does move around a lot if you don't keep enough pressure on your elbows. Which is sort of a good thing I guess.

Anyway, I grabbed my wife and had her help me warm up before I started pulling. Then I had her go one round with me on each arm to break my arms in... but I let her use both arms lol. It was actually pretty tough because she pretty much put all her weight on it... All I could do was hold it there till she couldn't hold it.

After that I grabbed the bands and started in. 15 reps on one arm then switch to the other... Then I take my rebounder trampoline and curl it. I grab it with both hands close together and my elbows in as much as I can to simulate an arm wrestling position. Imagine my elbows down vertically, my forearms horizontal and my palms up. I grip it with my thumbs on top and have my fingers underneath, fully extended, hand as flat as possible. I curl it till my nose touches the trampoline. This trains open hand strength and helps immensely with locking your wrist as you pin or are being pinned. It's much heavier than it seems since the trampoline is so long it provides a lot of... torque? on your wrists.

Then I'd throw some wall push offs in there to counter balance all the pulling. So again, I'd have my fingers extended, hand open and as flat as I could. I'd get as low as I could without too much pain, so it felt just right, and I'd push off as fast as I could for 20 reps.

So the workout went like this,

15 reps each arm, 20 bicep curls with rebounder, 15 reps each arm, wall push offs... Repeatedly for 3 hours straight. So like, hundreds of reps. I didn't keep count.

For the first hour I felt like I was suffering pretty bad. Then my body took over and started getting rid of all the lactic acid and I felt amazing and strong for the rest of it.

To finish off I did some inverted one minute holds on the rings. So basically hanging upside down with my feet in the air to simulate carrying weight. And then for another hour I did some grip work with my top secret grip trainer... Half an hour for each hand.

I'm so happy right now because this time I made a breakthrough that according to Mr Staple, normally takes quite a lot of training for most to do. I made the brain body connection with my traps, lats, shoulders and arms. It was amazing. Everything just activated during the motion and worked together to add to the strength of my arm. It felt WAY stronger. It's a crazy feeling to feel your traps THAT much while you pull and pin.

This is how I used the bands. (wife decided to take a picture while I was going at it)

The big blue band attached to the chair is an 80 pound band. The beige one is a 5 pound band put doubled up like that and at the range I was using it it's more like 15-20.

I tried to simulate the pressure I feel when wrestling. So the big blue band simulates the pulling as best I could all the way to the pin. It's angle changes as I get to the pinning side so that it pulls harder in the right direction. The beige band is pulling up to simulate the upward pressure of someone fighting to get out of a pin. It's not perfect, but it's all I could come up with. Nothing is going to totally make up for another human being on the other side of the table... But nothings going to stop me from trying either...

Never give up guys. No matter how hard it gets.

Training dedication of a bonafide warrior. Excellent dedication, I need to get on that level. I’ve been doing consistent work but once I get healed up I’ll amp it up some more

 

[Cutty Flam]

About to go for it bros. Fairly standard stuff, just trying to build the upper body until my hamstring is able to handle some light stretching and work. Should only be another 5 days until it’s safe to start up some rehab routine for it and get back to training harder

Goal is to be able to sprint again in a year. Haven’t been able to sprint since end of 2015 due to a series of major setbacks, only run carefully

But yeah, time to reap the health benefits of a decent training session

 

[JimmyRustler]

Big props man. Doing what you described is one of the hardest and smartest things that us testosterone filled dudes can do. It's one of the reasons I posted the vid above actually. I feel that we constantly put obstacles in our way in all kinds of ways, mentally, physically and spiritually. Constantly over doing it with our workouts is one of those ways. This becomes a needless and unwinnable war that we make for ourselves to fight. And it does far more harm than good in the long run. And a lot of times in the short term as well. Taking your time to listen to your body, figuring out it's in's and out's and building a strong foundation for you to build upon is so important. I talk about it a lot because I've seen so many injuries cause people to just stop all together. I used to fight that war myself. Which is how my back went out when I was younger.

I feel that working out should be something that we fall in love with and that we love doing. We should have a drive TO work out, not to figure out reasons not to, or to have to fight ourselves TO do. The only time you should be struggling that hard is if you are just starting out and you are unhealthy. THATS where you are going to need to push through in the beginning because you are fighting chemicals, toxins and all sorts of things. But even then, people tend to overdo it and hurt themselves. So, if someone has been working out for a while, and you don't love it and have a drive to do it because it makes you feel good, then IMO something is wrong and you are just adding more stress to your life and spinning your tires. Take that time to build your foundation, find the drive, find the passion and love. Grab ahold of it and don't let go. This is what I mean when I say don't give up. Never stop, never quit. Even when life gets hard.

Also, you don't really need a gym depending on what you are going for... Believe it or not, I've never been to one to train. Just to swim. A good set of bands, rings, and some ingenuity with household items can take you as far as you need to go unless you are trying to become a body builder. Even then it would probably be enough to build the base you need. But a gym could be nice if you want someone to watch and correct your form. But you could do that every once in a while.

The difficult thing about this is to actually learn to listen what your body is telling you as most of the time it's hard to tell if your fighting your body or your mind. What this whole experience taught me is that what you need to fight is your mind and not your body. And learning the difference is extremely challenging. I mean, I'm still not sure if I really got it but I am somewhat confident that I am at that stage now.

For that past few months I've mentally been struggling with just how little sleep I'm getting (seriously, it's more often that not like 3-4 hours, sometimes even less than that) because I just have the opinion that I need this rest at night. Know what? I won't even bother with this any more. If I don't get enough sleep and feel down after work, no training. If I constantly get it and feel up for it... Fuck, 7 days training per week. Learned quite a lot about that with my nutrition in the past months. For years now I've been going by the ancient BB mantra to try and get some protein in every 3 hours of the day. Especially the last year or so I just didn't feel well with this any more. So a couple of weeks back I cut it back. Only 3 big meals per days and two additional snacks - however only IF I am hungry. If I ain't, I don't eat. Not only have I been feeling extremely better ever since, I'm finally getting back some pleasure from my meals. For so long I've basically just been eating because I have to. And you know what? Bodyfat has been dropping like mad ever since I made the change.

So yeah, I do think that this is the propper approach. Listen to what your body is telling you. Fight you lazy mind but do not beat up your body in the process.

 

[Tesseract]

hammering it hard tonight, now until 7 am

it's fun pushing hard for energy, burning the dark to a low resolution haze

 

[Tesseract]

i'm pretty sure this is the path to staying jacked all the time, but at what cost

 

[rykomatsu]

Gym just opened back up this week...

My front squat 2RM went from 210lb to 155lb

 

[ipukespiders]

Gym just opened back up this week...

My front squat 2RM went from 210lb to 155lb

You'll get it back in no time. Muscles remember.

What was the scene like at the gym?

 

[rykomatsu]

You'll get it back in no time. Muscles remember.

What was the scene like at the gym?

Crossfit gym -

I think everyone that's back is happy to be back. Class sizes were reduced from...I think I counted a max of 25 before on some days with shared rigs, down to just 9 max. The popular times are running full, the slot I go to is running 4-7 folks, so about maybe a 25-50% reduction depending on the day (deadlift and benchlift days typically see 10-15 people during my time slot, leg days...not so much)

Everyone basically gets a rig with some taping around it to denote where you're supposed to work inside. Kind of like that dystopian playground image from France with kids inside each drawn box

- Everyone's required to wait at the front, need to sanitize hands and underside of shoes on entry
- Clean up consists of spraying everything you used down with disinfectant and wiping, re-spraying and letting everything air dry, including the flooring
- Sanitize hands and shoe soles on the way out

Personally, I'm selfish and never really liked rig sharing so I can live with this

 

[JimmyRustler]

It‘s offical here as well... Gym opens next friday.

That being said, I‘d kinda like to brofist myself as I achieved my goal to become more shredded than I‘ve ever been while the gym is closed. Now just to get back and hit the weight 2-3 times a week to put on 2-3 kilo mass again and I‘m set. Can‘t believe just how much I improved my training and nutrition while the gym was closed. It‘s only been 10 weeks. Feels like a lifetime ago.

 

[Tesseract]

back into the fire, push ups and eliptical, dbells and pull ups

 

[ipukespiders]

Back at it after a week off with a sore shoulder.
Felt fine doing squats, which actually stresses the shoulder a little bit with bar balance. Someday I'd like to get a safety squat bar. Baby steps.

If anyone had any thoughts of getting home gym gear, start stalking your local gyms and see if any of them are unable to reopen and have to liquidate.

 

[Tesseract]

hitting it hard tonight, coding and apex

stay strong, focus

 

[Tesseract]

things you should keep in stock

tens units
copper shirts
plant protein powder

 

[ipukespiders]

two things you should keep in stock

tens units
copper shirts
plant protein powder

That’s four things.

 

[Tesseract]

That’s four things.

i meant things

i see you, enemy

 

[ipukespiders]

Hey Tess, not a fan of whey? My son had to switch away from it. Caused him breakouts and I know it can cause some people digestive issues too.

 

[Tesseract]

no issues just switched because i prefer the ingredients

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Practice tomorrow. Was told to be ready since we missed last weeks practice... Probably shouldn't have shot the 50 pound recurve as much as I did with my brother in law at the memorial day get together earlier... First time doing it. I refused the gloves. Fingers are a little swollen. I'm ok with it. Gets them tough. Snapped the string against my arm a few times though. Didn't even feel it other than a tiny sting. It left some pretty big welts. Still can't feel it.

I feel fine RN so we will see how tomorrow goes. Man, I gotta say, since I started this training, I feel SO much stronger when doing normal manual labor. The other day I was loading up 40lb bags of top soil for our garden like they where nothing while the dude at the store helping seemed like he was going to pass out. Even tilling up sod with a shovel was way easier than before. Glad to see the torture is paying off in some way haha.

Anyway. Feeling in a retro mood. Gettin motivated.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Man, I gotta say, since I started this training, I feel SO much stronger when doing normal manual labor.

Same. I finally finished spreading woodchips into the beds and piling them into compost piles. Pitchforking woodchips all day and hauling garden-bed bricks around the yard feels like nothing after a few weeks of doing kettlebells swings.

 

[Tesseract]

mat work, ninja shit

stabilizers and all that

 

[ipukespiders]

I feel SO much stronger when doing normal manual labor.

The expression "Farm Strong" comes to mind.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

The expression "Farm Strong" comes to mind.

That's the exact goal I had in mind when picking up kettlebells a few weeks ago. VlaudTheImpaler 's suggestion of gymnastics rings also fit in with my aim of building up all-day, inexhaustible strength.

 

[ipukespiders]

That's the exact goal I had in mind when picking up kettlebells a few weeks ago. VlaudTheImpaler 's suggestion of gymnastics rings also fit in with my aim of building up all-day, inexhaustible strength.

Replace kettlebells with hay bales and gymnastic rings with bull rings.

 

[Cutty Flam]

Decided it will be a de-load week since I've been feeling extremely banged up lately but the plan is to keep it moving and stay on it. I trained about an hour ago, just a through the motions type thing, nothing hardcore just trying to get the blood flow the circulation and maintain threshold to a degree while I prime my body for better training sessions

Have some knowledge and thoughts I'd like to share with other lifters. Been paying attention to all the little mistakes made and trying to put it all together, I'm trying to achieve my goals and dreams in the fitness area so I've been really deep in thought lately about nutrition, rest, training learning exercises, about the body, trying to dig deeper in the sciences, making dr appts trying to get things together to further increase my health hopefully, overall been really fighting for it even though my body is feeling pretty damaged (lower back left side pain this morning, right rhomboid pain, upper left hamstring pain, neck pain, upper traps pain, muscle imbalances wreaking havoc is what it is)

I haven't been able to any jogging type activity to get warmed up since I injured my hamstring on May 9th. I have learned since, during the past two weeks or so, that it's not even advisable imo, to train if you cannot get a proper warm up in. I did the upper body dynamic stretching routine trying to get heart rate and temperature up, blood and lymph fluid circulating to all the muscle groups I would be using at large, but it wasn't enough I feel. I think it would be wiser to wait for you legs to heal if you ever injure them, than to train upper body and risk injuring yourself. It's so tough to get a proper warm up without using your legs, it's like they're responsible for 85+% of getting the body prepared I feel. This is my intuition. It would be different if I had access to a hot tub, sauna, and pool to work in to get the muscles and body ready without worry of further damaging the injured site, but that is not the case. Even an upper extremity bike / machine would be better but don't have that either

I believe the pain in my upper body is stemming from poor posture as well. So I'm going to start addressing it. Did some Ts, Ys, Is, Ws on a bench, some As on the bench as well, some face pulls, as well as some internal rotation work. Going to focus on that and stabilizer muscles in order to begin to fix the muscle imbalances. It's too risk to OHP with bad posture. Too risk to do almost anything upper body when you have postural imbalances and weaknesses. I would advise anybody in this thread to assess your posterior chain, anything on the back of the body and show some love to that area in terms of exercises. Maybe do some very simple exercises that will activate those important muscles you typically wouldn't be firing so much with your usual routine. It will pay off in terms of functional strength and injury prevention

I also found out today that the pain I was feeling from doing pushups lessens so much when I did DB bench (I did it 30 degrees incline). The pain in my right rhomboid muscle was not present when I was doing the db bench press instead of pushups. So pushups are definitely challenging the back muscles and stabilizers such as those that make up the rotator cuff (Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres minor, Subscapularis).way more than the bench press. I never realized that until now. Just thought I'd point that out if any people are having trouble with their rotator cuff or back or anything, pushups might be riskier than doing some bench exercises

Hopefully my experiences can help save someone from some pain later down the road. When one part of the body is injured, it seems to affect the entire body in ways so you must be very careful and pay attention. Especially if the injury is in your lower body. I almost wonder if it would be best to just walk and stretch until healed to begin with any program that involves hypertrophy and/or strength, especially training for explosive power. I think it's best to be patient and focus on healing and revitalizing the body. Maybe even go through a detox treatment with fasting methods, raw juices and herbs and such

And one last thing, thanks to VlaudTheImpaler I think I'm going to study under Wim Hof and his methodology towards healing and strengthening, overall wellness. Thanks for mentioning him in one of your posts months back, I think it's time to become a great student of his to heal myself and build myself up, and then teach what will work to others. I decided to subscribe to him on youtube and I'll be researching his findings and the scientific studies behind his teachings for wellness. Going to be practicing contrast therapy with a hot bath for as long as I can to get lymph fluid going, some sweat, a little detoxing, then after 5 minutes of sweating I'm going to go for a cold shower afterwards for several minutes. Likely 5-10 and practice the breath. I'll eventually progress to full body immersion in ice + water. I think it's a huge key for us athletes who want to go all the way with our training and efforts. Wim Hof's teaching of the breath, the mind, the immune system, strength, training our autonomic nervous system and such through ice therapy I believe it's all necessary. Sucks that COVID-19 ruined everything for us gym goers, a sauna would have made all the difference in bringing provided benefits. Gym in general, I treated it and utilized it as my own area to perform physical therapy as well as train. A lot of us are hurting because of this shutdown, but stay persistent, things should gradually get better I think

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Another acolyte for Wim Hof. Yessss, into the cold with you.

 

[triplestation]

i hate squats so im just not gonna do them

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

i hate squats so im just not gonna do them

How bout jumps + jumprope?

 

[triplestation]

How bout jumps + jumprope?

im looking into maybe a stepper or some shit i dont mind climbing

squats just feel so annoying

if the gym were open i'd go for the leg extensions and the standing calf machine

anything that makes you bring your knees into your torso bleeeeeehhhhhhhhhhh

 

[ipukespiders]

i hate squats so im just not gonna do them

There are many exercises, and squats are the most important one. I'll possibly concede to deadlifts.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

I got jackhammered yesterday by the master, Mr. Stapleton, this time... Right when I got there after warming up...

"Alright Devon from what I can feel from you on the table, you're strong enough, it's time, I'm doing this for your own good, this is how you build strength to withstand being hit in this motion which everyone is going to do during a tourney. This is how I did it. This is what we all go through. Trust me..." said Mr Stapleton... So I post up on the table with him, he tells me to stay as tight as possible until he stops and to make sure I don't let my hand go past my shoulder at all costs...

I'm feeling really strong today, so confident, so ready to test my arms out against my friend who I'd thought I'd be pulling against next...

WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM (HOLY MOTHER) WHAM WHAM Feeling ok? whamwhamwhamwhamwhamwhamwham WHAM.... WHAM Stay tight! WHAM WHAM WHAM Tighter! whamwhamwham Are you alright? whamwhamwhamwhamwham... 4 sets of that each arm...

Literally how I felt. Alex looked over and said, yup we've all been there.

I stepped back and let my friend J pull with MR Stapleton. Shook out my arms a bit, jogged in place a minute to get the blood pumping so that my body hopefully starts taking away the lactic acid faster... and then I called Alex, the 340Ib+ hulk, over to the other table... He was surprised. I pulled with him a bit but felt so freaking weak after the jackhammer, not that that would have made any difference against Alex... Went like that for a while. Gave it all I had with my noodle arms. Felt like someone had clipped my muscles at the point where my biceps meet my forearm so I could hardly curl but everyone was surprised I still had the strength to do much at all. So that made me happy. I felt strong in every other area so it was really frustrating that my arm strength was sapped at the elbow.

Won a couple rounds with my friend as well.

Afterwards instead of the curl contest we do something different, a grip contest. This is where it gets interesting...

So we use an official grip hub.

While we use chalk, Mr. Stapleton's hub is nearly polished. It doesn't have texture at all like most of the others I've seen so it definitely makes it harder.

We start at around 10 pounds and work our way up. It was my first time doing it so it was exciting to try something new.

So to pass you need to clear the floor about an inch and then do the same for both hands.

We all take turns, Mr. Stapleton (250ish lbs) goes first. Then J(185ish lbs), then Alex(340+ lbs), then me at 171...

We all clear it easily so 10 more pounds are added.

Cleared. J struggled a bit. 5 more pounds.

Cleared. J struggled a lot. 5 more pounds.

Cleared. J almost didn't make it, he had to palm it which prob isn't legal lol. Alex starts to struggle a bit... And so does Mr. Stapleton... 5 more pounds...

Cleared, though I had to chalk my hand up really good. J didn't make it. Alex gets a sudden burst of strength and clears it fine. Mr. Stapleton struggles a lot... 5 more pounds...

Cleared, struggled through that one, especially with my right hands swollen fingers from the 50lbs recurve that I didn't wear gloves for the other day... Alex gets it fine... Mr. Stapleton couldn't do it. I was shocked. But he said HE was shocked that I was pulling so much for my weight. Said that I had really good technique lifting and setting up. I don't blush dangit... 5 more pounds...

This is where I hit my limit. I could make it spin but that's all I got. Couldn't get an inch. Alex got it though. It was a struggle but he was able to get a lot of purchase (surface area) with his sausage fingers.

But Mr. Stapleton says, "We're not done yet. Now we put on the open hand pinch block." So it's like a large, metal, rectangular piece of pipe. Think of a 1 foot section of a 4x6 (I don't know the exact dimensions.) It attaches to the weights the same way the hub does from the middle of one of the 4 inch sides of the block. So you basically open hand grip it with your fingers and thumb.

Still couldn't do it. Just barely though. I could make it spin a lot. Alex did it but struggled immensely. So Mr. Stapleton asked if I could do it with both hands. I was like, well yeah... But then he said to hold it. This is how you train to hit that target weight. Hold for as long as you can with both hands. So I did. I squatted down a bit, straightened my back and used both hands, thumbs toward me and lifted. It actually felt really good to hold it like that. I held it for well over a minute. Mr. Stapleton just kept saying wow. And that it was actually fun to watch me do it. I could have gone much longer but I eventually set it down.

Mr. Stapleton's fingers are just so freaking long that I think it's a lot harder for him mechanically. Seriously, people constantly comment on how long his fingers are when they go to pull with him. It's insane. But anyway, I left practice that day feeling really good about that. Everyone was impressed.

I think I could have gotten that last rep with Alex if I hadn't held it so long each time. For the first couple clears I was holding it for around 20 seconds each hand. I think If I had just cleared it and let it drop I would have had more strength left over. Something that's important to keep in mind is that we where doing this after 3 hours of pulling and our arms where already trashed.

Anyway, I pulled with Mr. Stapleton one last time before we left because I like my noodles long. Then he informed us that he wants to take us to a tourney up in Michigan near the end of the year... If he thinks we are ready... this is a college tourney (at least it's held at one) so it's not going to be as brutal as some of the more official ones though there are probably going to be just as many people. He told us that we are progressing pretty quickly with how serious we are taking the training and how safe we are pulling. But we need to work extra hard to be ready... Talk about motivation! Can't flipping wait.

Oh, and I asked him about telling people how we train since I get a lot of questions. He says he has no secrets so feel free to tell anyone anything we do. He said he's very open about his training... but he'll always have super curious people ask him, and he'll explain, and then they just don't do it lol.

So I'll be showing you guys the top secret grip trainer as soon as I can take some pictures. I had been keeping stuff secret as part of the honor code but now I'll be explaining everything we do and answering any questions as best I can.

Anyway, time for some meditation I think. Some deep soreness this time. The good kind.

 

[Cutty Flam]

Another acolyte for Wim Hof. Yessss, into the cold with you.

Took a hot shower and then went cold shower for maybe 3-4 min

It’s tough, but you get used to it in a minute as long as you breathe, embrace it (the cold) and remember what’s in it for you (all benefits). I think I’ll make it part of the routine. I forgot how it feels afterwards when you dry off and are chillin in your room. You feel invigorated, restored, feel like a new man. Your mood is lighter and you feel uplifted. Feel energized. Feel oxygenated thanks to the cold forcing you to breathe. The cold for the first minute is an extreme challenge but it’s only a minute of I guess you can call it discomfort, for several minutes of euphoric rejuvenation, many benefits that improve your overall health, and it sets the tone for the entire day really. All the showers when I come out of a hot shower I always felt lethargic, kind of fatigued, unmotivated, depressed really. But that is seemingly impossible with a cold shower. Wim Hof is right

Can’t wait to gradually have my own set up and habits of jumping into an ice pool for minutes to gain even more health benefits from this form of therapy. There was a testimonial of a man who was half paralyzed, his teenage son recommended him to see Wim Hof and he actually went to him, now the guy is deadlifting 300 lbs (according to his claim) and symptom free of his autoimmune disease. I too suffer from an autoimmune disease and I think Wim Hof’s teaching will at the very least bring me to greater levels, possibly through my researching his healing methods I too can get back to where I once was and an even higher level. It’s worth a shot and although I don’t know much into the science of it all yet, I’m going to start studying and looking at the research because I think even without research backing it, that the benefits are plentiful and it’s no mere placebo affect. Ice therapy combined with sauna therapy = incredible combo. It’s just too bad the gyms are closed here / no sauna

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Took a hot shower and then went cold shower for maybe 3-4 min

It’s tough, but you get used to it in a minute as long as you breathe, embrace it (the cold) and remember what’s in it for you (all benefits). I think I’ll make it part of the routine. I forgot how it feels afterwards when you dry off and are chillin in your room. You feel invigorated, restored, feel like a new man. Your mood is lighter and you feel uplifted. Feel energized. Feel oxygenated thanks to the cold forcing you to breathe. The cold for the first minute is an extreme challenge but it’s only a minute of I guess you can call it discomfort, for several minutes of euphoric rejuvenation, many benefits that improve your overall health, and it sets the tone for the entire day really. All the showers when I come out of a hot shower I always felt lethargic, kind of fatigued, unmotivated, depressed really. But that is seemingly impossible with a cold shower. Wim Hof is right

Can’t wait to gradually have my own set up and habits of jumping into an ice pool for minutes to gain even more health benefits from this form of therapy. There was a testimonial of a man who was half paralyzed, his teenage son recommended him to see Wim Hof and he actually went to him, now the guy is deadlifting 300 lbs (according to his claim) and symptom free of his autoimmune disease. I too suffer from an autoimmune disease and I think Wim Hof’s teaching will at the very least bring me to greater levels, possibly through my researching his healing methods I too can get back to where I once was and an even higher level. It’s worth a shot and although I don’t know much into the science of it all yet, I’m going to start studying and looking at the research because I think even without research backing it, that the benefits are plentiful and it’s no mere placebo affect. Ice therapy combined with sauna therapy = incredible combo. It’s just too bad the gyms are closed here / no sauna

Do you have cold winters in your region? That's where I noticed one of the biggest payoffs, aside from the health. Walking around in freezing and below-freezing weather to burn calories and reduce muscle soreness is quite nice once your body isn't shivering in the cold. You stop noticing it.

 

[Cutty Flam]

I got jackhammered yesterday by the master, Mr. Stapleton, this time... Right when I got there after warming up...

"Alright Devon from what I can feel from you on the table, you're strong enough, it's time, I'm doing this for your own good, this is how you build strength to withstand being hit in this motion which everyone is going to do during a tourney. This is how I did it. This is what we all go through. Trust me..." said Mr Stapleton... So I post up on the table with him, he tells me to stay as tight as possible until he stops and to make sure I don't let my hand go past my shoulder at all costs...

I'm feeling really strong today, so confident, so ready to test my arms out against my friend who I'd thought I'd be pulling against next...

WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM (HOLY MOTHER) WHAM WHAM Feeling ok? whamwhamwhamwhamwhamwhamwham WHAM.... WHAM Stay tight! WHAM WHAM WHAM Tighter! whamwhamwham Are you alright? whamwhamwhamwhamwham... 4 sets of that each arm...

Literally how I felt. Alex looked over and said, yup we've all been there.

I stepped back and let my friend J pull with MR Stapleton. Shook out my arms a bit, jogged in place a minute to get the blood pumping so that my body hopefully starts taking away the lactic acid faster... and then I called Alex, the 340Ib+ hulk, over to the other table... He was surprised. I pulled with him a bit but felt so freaking weak after the jackhammer, not that that would have made any difference against Alex... Went like that for a while. Gave it all I had with my noodle arms. Felt like someone had clipped my muscles at the point where my biceps meet my forearm so I could hardly curl but everyone was surprised I still had the strength to do much at all. So that made me happy. I felt strong in every other area so it was really frustrating that my arm strength was sapped at the elbow.

Won a couple rounds with my friend as well.

Afterwards instead of the curl contest we do something different, a grip contest. This is where it gets interesting...

So we use an official grip hub.

While we use chalk, Mr. Stapleton's hub is nearly polished. It doesn't have texture at all like most of the others I've seen so it definitely makes it harder.

We start at around 10 pounds and work our way up. It was my first time doing it so it was exciting to try something new.

So to pass you need to clear the floor about an inch and then do the same for both hands.

We all take turns, Mr. Stapleton (250ish lbs) goes first. Then J(185ish lbs), then Alex(340+ lbs), then me at 171...

We all clear it easily so 10 more pounds are added.

Cleared. J struggled a bit. 5 more pounds.

Cleared. J struggled a lot. 5 more pounds.

Cleared. J almost didn't make it, he had to palm it which prob isn't legal lol. Alex starts to struggle a bit... And so does Mr. Stapleton... 5 more pounds...

Cleared, though I had to chalk my hand up really good. J didn't make it. Alex gets a sudden burst of strength and clears it fine. Mr. Stapleton struggles a lot... 5 more pounds...

Cleared, struggled through that one, especially with my right hands swollen fingers from the 50lbs recurve that I didn't wear gloves for the other day... Alex gets it fine... Mr. Stapleton couldn't do it. I was shocked. But he said HE was shocked that I was pulling so much for my weight. Said that I had really good technique lifting and setting up. I don't blush dangit... 5 more pounds...

This is where I hit my limit. I could make it spin but that's all I got. Couldn't get an inch. Alex got it though. It was a struggle but he was able to get a lot of purchase (surface area) with his sausage fingers.

But Mr. Stapleton says, "We're not done yet. Now we put on the open hand pinch block." So it's like a large, metal, rectangular piece of pipe. Think of a 1 foot section of a 4x6 (I don't know the exact dimensions.) It attaches to the weights the same way the hub does from the middle of one of the 4 inch sides of the block. So you basically open hand grip it with your fingers and thumb.

Still couldn't do it. Just barely though. I could make it spin a lot. Alex did it but struggled immensely. So Mr. Stapleton asked if I could do it with both hands. I was like, well yeah... But then he said to hold it. This is how you train to hit that target weight. Hold for as long as you can with both hands. So I did. I squatted down a bit, straightened my back and used both hands, thumbs toward me and lifted. It actually felt really good to hold it like that. I held it for well over a minute. Mr. Stapleton just kept saying wow. And that it was actually fun to watch me do it. I could have gone much longer but I eventually set it down.

Mr. Stapleton's fingers are just so freaking long that I think it's a lot harder for him mechanically. Seriously, people constantly comment on how long his fingers are when they go to pull with him. It's insane. But anyway, I left practice that day feeling really good about that. Everyone was impressed.

I think I could have gotten that last rep with Alex if I hadn't held it so long each time. For the first reps I was holding it for around 20 seconds each hand. I think If I had just cleared it and let it drop I would have had more strength left over. Something that's important to keep in mind is that we where doing this after 3 hours of pulling and our arms where already trashed.

Anyway, I pulled with Mr. Stapleton one last time before we left because like my noodles long. Then he informed us that he wants to take us to a tourney up in Michigan near the end of the year... If he thinks we are ready... this is a college tourney (at least it's held at one) so it's not going to be as brutal as some of the more official ones though there are probably going to be just as many people. He told us that we are progressing pretty quickly with how serious we are taking the training and how safe we are pulling. But we need to work extra hard to be ready... Talk about motivation! Can't flipping wait.

Oh, and I asked him about telling people how we train since I get a lot of questions. He says he has no secrets so feel free to tell anyone anything we do. He said he's very open about his training... but he'll always have super curious people ask him, and he'll explain, and then they just don't do it lol.

So I'll be showing you guys the top secret grip trainer as soon as I can take some pictures. I had been keeping stuff secret as part of the honor code but now I'll be explaining everything we do and answering any questions as best I can.

Anyway, time for some meditation I think. Some deep soreness this time. The good kind.

Fuck......sounds like you basically went up against a god lol. It’ll be a crazy ass story to maybe a couple years down the line match up against Mr. Staple and give him a run for his money. Seems doable with your rapid progress as ling as you continue to recover like a beast every time. These workouts you’re completing at this point during your training would thrash anybody in here’s muscles, tendon’s and ligaments if we were to go through such hellish training. You think you’ll manage to win that college tournament or do you think your time is ahead later down t he road and for now you’re still going to have to be patient as you climb in strength?

 

[Cutty Flam]

Do you have cold winters in your region? That's where I noticed one of the biggest payoffs, aside from the health. Walking around in freezing and below-freezing weather to burn calories and reduce muscle soreness is quite nice once your body isn't shivering in the cold. You stop noticing it.

No, unfortunately. I live in an area climate that never gets snow. I don’t think the city I live in has ever gotten snow actually

But there were times when I had to work inside a freezer before. And I used to just go in with shorts and try to stay for ten minutes or so. I wish I had known to believe in the breath and know it to be the main factor in staying in such cold. It’s amazing what he’s done. All through his breathing technique, he survives in cold for hours and hours and hours...something that would likely kill anyone else who tried without his approach or at the very least lead to amputation. His feat of climbing Mt. Everest in his underwear I think it was, maybe a t shirt? That’s some feat

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Fuck......sounds like you basically went up against a god lol. It’ll be a crazy ass story to maybe a couple years down the line match up against Mr. Staple and give him a run for his money. Seems doable with your rapid progress as ling as you continue to recover like a beast every time. These workouts you’re completing at this point during your training would thrash anybody in here’s muscles, tendon’s and ligaments if we were to go through such hellish training. You think you’ll manage to win that college tournament or do you think your time is ahead later down t he road and for now you’re still going to have to be patient as you climb in strength?

I honestly don't think I'll ever match Mr. Stapleton. But I'm sure as heck going to give it my all. Same with the tourney. I'm not going in with a cocky attitude. I just want to learn. Even Mr. Stapleton lost the first several tourneys he tried... but he was pulling in world class tourneys of course. Though he went straight from being a strong man to arm wrestling. I'm coming from a back injury, severe pancreatitis and toxic mold exposure. Mr. Stapleton is coming back from around 7 years off from arm wrestling though. About the same amount of time I've been in recovery. So we are both just now ramping it back up.

Thing is, Mr. Stapleton is the kind of guy that wouldn't be upset if I ever legit beat him. He said he'd be proud and he'd take it as an accomplishment on his part and mine.

One thing I left out, because the post was already so long lol. Was that I finally felt him on the table the way he would set up against a competitor. It literally frightened me how strong he felt. That is not a joke. I couldn't move him an inch. And he hadn't even closed his hand. He was having me pull him with his hands open to show me the importance of the type of training we are doing with wrist and arms as well, so that I don't just focus on grip.

The seriously crazy part is watching Alex and Mr. Stapleton pull. It is awing. I mean that in every sense of the word. THAT is a reality check. I've never seen anything like it. Standing there knowing that if I was being hit like that my arm would snap in less than a second. Mr. Stapleton after a couple rounds even told us to strap a band to Alex's hand to help Mr. Stapleton pull him. Alex is that strong.

 

[Tesseract]

just squats and sits ups tonight, boning up assembly lit

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I love exercising outside with the breeze going, threat of rain in the next 90m or so. Homeric.

 

[teezzy]

This is still the most inspiring thread on here. I didnt read up and do my homework like I said I would but I'm clocking in at 165 daily now. 175+ was where I was at previously. Likely water weight, but I'm maintaining the path.

Lots of pushups, bicep curls, walking the dog, and playing with the kettlebell. Trying to ride my bike a lot too but it makes my butt sore.

 

[Tesseract]

CLANGING AND BANGING

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

How Cold Exposure Changes Your Metabolism - InBody USA

Exposed to cold water or air, your body responds with a variety of adaptive changes. This is the same process underlying the benefits of exercise

inbodyusa.com

Super Mitochondria in Brown Fat

"It makes sense that higher brown fat activity is linked to higher metabolism. That’s because brown fat is packed full of mitochondria, our cellular energy centers. More mitochondria means more energy production.

But the mitochondria that give brown fat its distinctive brown color aren’t just any old mitochondria. These special mitochondria contain a protein called uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which create energy in the form of heat. That’s how you stay warm without shivering.

A bit more detail on how this works. Mitochondria need food (like fatty acids and glucose) in order to produce energy. UCP1 super mitochondria, found in brown fat, are great at turning food into energy – specifically, heat energy.

In other words, when active, brown fat burns both fat and sugar to keep you warm.

From a metabolic perspective then, brown fat is pure gold. How do you get more of it? If you’re thinking cold pool, snow angels, cold showers, ice baths, or cryotherapy, you’re on the right track."

I only shiver from afterdrop now from plunging if I stay in a while. But only for a minute or two.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Thinking about transforming my living room.



Any thoughts on how to help convince my wife?

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

...Soon...

 

[rykomatsu]

Hang power cleans today...PR of 145 down to 105

Finding I've lost 25-30% lifting capacity for all lifts...feels bad man...

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Hang power cleans today...PR of 145 down to 105

Finding I've lost 25-30% lifting capacity for all lifts...feels bad man...