looking good versus feeling good redux

I've been in this situation before when I was doing near daily calisthenics. I feel GREAT. My energy is up. My libido is way up. Generally aches and pains are down. Conversely, I do not look as good as when I lift to beat myself into the ground. 

Its a conundrum. What do you do? Lift to feel great and see slower visual progress, or lift to feel good about the way you look? Id argue for gen pop the former is the way to go. I say this knowing fully that I want to look a certain way and am unsure if lifting the way I am will get me there.

Very likely because of the massive amount of social media influx, im jonesing after a kettlebell type physique. I.e. solid shoulder and back development. Medium on everything else. Those mother fuckers look like angry bulls with wide obliques. The weirdest shit is there is just as many kettlebell people that dont even look like they lift. And everyone has an opinion on why one way or the other.

you cant build a house on balsa wood

I accidentally built a foundation when I started lifting. Just, flailing at random stuff while still working on progressive overload. That mixed with youth got me pretty far. Trying to lift anything now is rough. Really rough. Its been so long since I've been able to lift with intensity that nothing feels right or locked in. At Joe kettlebell man states, there is no strength without stability. Thats where I am. Trying to build a house on balsa then getting surprised when it falls.

Yesterday was my first reattempt at 5/3/1. I dont really want to do barbell shit to failure, and it shows. The target muscles from yesterday arent even sore despite multiple sets to failure. And why? Because im trying to build on nothing.

Fast forward to today. I started with multiple sets of gorilla rows thinking I would switch to a one lift a day operation. It felt....fine. it was fine. But I remembered I've had a program i BOUGHT years ago. Sitting and staring me in the face. Each time I started it I stopped because I had too many limitations. I ran into said limitations again today before thinking the most obvious thing (note: the programs author, every god damn dre, also says this but it never stuck).

Not lifting with controlled form? 

Drop the weight.

Can't handle the volume?

Cut the sets in half. Cut the reps in half. Or BOTH.

Can't do a movement? 

Don't! Or cut range of motion. 

I did all of these things. The weight dropped from a sad 12kg to a pathetic 8kg. I did half sets and reps. I couldn't swing the bell so I didnt. I couldn't do lunges with my right leg so I didnt. 

And. I. Feel. Great. 

There is nothing I have that I can lose and everything I can gain. The idea that this program - notorious for being mobility and strength in a bow - can move me towards my goals is intoxicating.

baby and the bathwater

I won't erase blog posts even when I directly contradict myself. After I got back from vacation, I had an awesome idea. End easy strength with 10min EMOM of bodyweight movements. Increase the reps week by week until the volume is low key bonkers. And it IS a good idea. It felt so good, I tossed the baby out with the bathwater. 

Hey, instead of easy strength how about I just do this 10min emom! I can do press (squat and press) and pull (row and nordic) days. Oh joy! How quickly this fell apart. Because now the goal of increasing volume instead of load is mixed with movements that depend heavily on load via barbells. Am I training for strength or hypertrophy? Do I increase weight on non bodyweight and increase weight on barbell? What a pickle i created via a bad program no one asked for.

I tossed the baby out with the bathwater because I had a good idea for one aspect - hypertrophy - at the tail end of strength.

When I find myself in endless toil for sets and reps and load and movement selection, I know i am proper fucked.

Follow the program. Easy strength allows for 'everything else' so this is well within guidelines. But Easy strength still needs to exist as a base.

progress through accumulation

Resetting my training to an old standby - 10 sets of low reps + step loading. I used this successfully for YEARS. It really never stopped working, but I didnt have the wherewithal to replace exercises as I grew stale to boredom or overuse. Some 16yrs later, im slightly slightly slightly less stupid and majorly less strong. 

This doesn't mean that training to failure or fatigue doesn't work. It 100% works and works very well. It means that there are many routes to the goal of size and strength. One of those routes is accumulation. There is no special exercise or weight where things clicked (note: at the time, I 100% thought there was). Just spending enough time with the same exercises progressed in weight or reps was enough.

To be clear, this method is not great for bodybuilding or max strength. It is awesome for better than average of both for a surprisingly small time and risk investment. The other gaps in training - Mobility, athleticism, rotational strength - can all be done on its own.

easy strength and adding hypertrophy/conditioning

After easy strength is 'everything else'. This can mean sports practice, bodybuilding, whatever.

After easy strength, hypertrophy.

10 emom sets of bodyweight

Afternoon, conditioning.

20-30min of rounds

easy strength and giant sets

There is no right way to do this. In dan John's easy strength omnibook, he suggests taking as much rest as you can manage, but the program also lends itself very well to short (15min) workouts. 

Giant setting can get the best of both worlds - reasonable rest between sets of the same muscle group + keeping the overall time investment low.

Example

[Giant set1]

Inc press 1x3

Single leg rdl 1x3

Rope climb 1x3

Repeat x3

[Super set1]

Palloff press 1x5

Carry x1

Repeat x2

This is a lot of high quality of work with little to no rest between rounds required. By the same token, working other movement patterns (especially the first Giant set) introduces reasonable rest periods before the next set without having to gage readiness.

This works.

easy strength: little and often. FOR A LONG TIME

The caps are caps are caps are caps for a reason.

This doesn't necessarily apply to easy strength either. The absolute best progress i made was when I stuck with a training method for a LONG TIME that used slow progression. I.e. step loading. And here is the deal. It is not that training to failure, linear progression, basic periodization, rest pause, etc does not work. Far far from it. These methods all work great for me. The problem for me with failure training is I generally feel like dogshit most of the time. The visual and strength progress comes quickly but leaves just as quick. There is definite value to physical transformation with these methodologies but it just isn't my bag. I want to feel good MOST OF THE TIME. Training to failure for the sake of muscle growth does not support that goal.

I want to see how much a non hypertrophy program - easy strength - can introduce hypertrophy over a long period of time. Even given the low daily volume, the weekly volumes (50-70 reps per movement) with high intent and effort are not anything to sneeze at. 

Part of the secret sauce I was missing in the last round due to injury were loaded carries and mobility - both during and after easy strength. I fucking love carries, and i think they are underrated as mass/cardio supplements to a basic strength program. 

Use case on carries was my old power calisthenics program. I.e. 3x a week bodyweight only movements to failure and 2-3x a week farmers walks. I got weirdly big from this shit in my arms, traps, and legs despite the only weights used being the farmers walks (typically around bodyweight carries for 30min). I retired the same program a long time later with only the calisthenics. And wouldn't you know, I didnt gain shit for size. The strength in reps still increased at the same rate, but nothing grew and I found the actual contractions of motions didnt feel as solid. 

The camp that is carries are bad for hypertrophy are looking at them from a stimulus fatigue ratio compared to classic lifting (i cant argue there) or using them as a just do this movement. Team carries are great for hypertrophy use them to compliment other lifting. Do your carries. Just do everything else too.

you dont get it for free

Precursor, mobility has been going great. The way I move and feel now is crazy compared to juat a few months back. I want to affirm what I've always believed. You didnt get old, you just stopped getting benefits for free.

Think about this. What positions are you usually in on a regular basis? Standing, sitting, lying down. Then you want to put your body under load???? Lawd. You didnt suddenly have a bad back or bad knees at 30-40. You got 30+ years of free pain free movement. Chances are, you also gained weight without height over this time. It isn't that your body sucks now, but you dont get to feel good for free. This is where mobility rocks. And mobility does not need to be boring, or even unweighted. Mobility is low gear strength training.

Think about your body like a corporation. Anything that isn't being used gets tossed. I.e. if you never move your spine, or sprint, or sit in a squat do you really think there is any incentive to spend resources with that upkeep? Fuck no. Mobility is slowly nudging your body to spend resources building strength in full ranges of motion. Keep in mind this process is SLOW. Do not expect to see reasonable changes until 6 weeks of consistent work in pain free ranges of motion.

A fun side benefit of mobility (besides generally feeling pretty damn good) is increased blood flow and demand for food. My appetite is through the god damn roof and im not getting fatter. I wish past me knew about this so future me could benefit.

minimalist gym

Again with the thought experiments. These are just for fun, but i like to parse through in the case I move or have to give advice to a friend.

If I rebuilt my gym, what would I do?

3 sets of Olympic rings

- dips, rows

- pullups, hangs

- pushups 

1 rope for climbing, rows

Back extension or applicable rig

Nordic or applicable rig

Adjustable bench. Way more useful than what I bought it for.

A few maces and sandbags 

done 

Kratos dominoose- further in the Kratos hole

This has been going GREAT. Small tweaks have been made but otherwise we gucci.

METHOD

- daily calisthenics base.

- emphasize strength endurance.

- rest periods are mobility for the limbs that are not being used.

- EMOM 30min with progression via volume cycles.

Each upper day ends with juarez valley arms. Lower day ends with juarez valley back extension.

I want to build back to where afternoon kettlebell, mace, and sandbag work (same EMOM structure) is in the cards.

inefficiency is the goal

Are weighted dips better than bodyweight dips for size and strength? Absolutely. No contest. IF you are trying to take the fastest route to size and strength. What if efficiency is not the goal? What do you get by doing more work for less progress? Ill tell ya.

First off, endurance and cardio benefits. The ability to do more for longer. If you stack advanced calisthenics movements (note: or add basic intensity techniques) into this equation, this takes care of the strength aspect without ever having to add weight.

Second, fatigue doesn't slap the same way. Quite the opposite, I feel fucking great all the time. 

Third, tendon strength. Expanding on the 2nd benefit, less fatigue means i can hit the same muscle groups very often. Having mobile joints is great. Having mobile joints with extremely tough tendons? OP.

Kratos dominoose, moves plugged in

PULL FOCUS 

Rack pullup 

Ring row

Parallel pike pushup

Mace

Rope row climb

Rope row

Straight Pike pushup 

Mace

PRESS FOCUS

Ring Dip

Dip

Bar row

Mace

Psuedo pushup

Close pushup 

Rope row

Mace

ARMS

Close tri ext, tri ext

Ring pelican, ring hammer

Pike shorties top, pike shorties bottom

Every training day ends with one arm movement. Use juarez valley rep schemes and vary volume/intensity/control. Mace stands for ab dominant movements.

All normal rep schemes are 5/3/2 per cycle. Add intensity to the lighter movements (ex: 8/6/4) first before adding reps to harder movement. Intensity may also be injected using pause reps, 1.5 reps, etc.

I dont want to know the weights

When i know the weights, I get obsessed. What is too much or too little? What is the right rep and set scheme etc?

No thanks.

With a static weight you can get better at moving it faster, move it for more reps, or find a way to make it harder to move. Kind of a grand step loading.

I think this is why I gravitate towards implements where the weight is static or hard to change - bodyweight, sandbags. Am I bigger when I add weight? Absolutely. For a LITTLE WHILE. The tradeoff is i invariably get hurt or feel run down.

this feels fucking good

A few weeks in of calisthenics circuits and mobility. I. Feel. GREAT!

Joints feel fantastic because im never quite going to failure or repeating the same movement pattern too often. My cardio is in a place its never been before lol. Physique likewise is doing good. Injuries slowly healing. 

I like that there is no plan for weight, just difficulty. Can I do X progression today? If only for a few reps, I can pivot to something else easily. 

The easy secondary push or pull is a great lever for progression as I can increase the reps there first without burying myself.

All in all, stellar.

My personal trainer noticed how much improvement im making in basic mobility and my ability to not gas out. All this in a few weeks.

Kratos dominoose revisited

PILLARS

- Strength endurance

- Move yourself

- Move other things 

- Freedom of movement 

CALISTHENICS - AM DAILY 

- Press focus row+dip+abs

- Mobility+lower juarez+back ext

- Press focus pullup+pushup+abs

- Calves+tibs+lower juarez+back ext

- Pull focus row+dip+abs

- Mobility+lower juarez+back ext

- Pull focus pullup+pushup+abs

- Calves+tibs+lower juarez

CALISTHENICS NOTES

- ladders (5/3/2) for rep schemes.

- progression: 5 sets in 30min, increase reps of easy movement, increase main movement reps, change to harder variations.

- avoid failure.

- rest in full squat.

- sub in mace for ab work.

MOVE OTHER THINGS

- carries for time.

- get some sun.

GGBB revisited

I keep coming back to the general gains body building (GGBB) concept. Its a great progression model that takes autoregulation into account while respecting the need for both body building and conditioning as a base. What always rubbed me wrong were two aspects:

- t3 (light sets)

- t2 half sets

I had a lightbulb moment yesterday and needed to write it down.

T3 sets

How I've treated these in the past is their own individual exercise. I cant emphasize this enough, THAT ISNT HOW THE PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN LOL. T3 exercises were meant to be part of a super set with T2 - either the same or opposing muscle group is up to the user.

This can drive a set deeper into stimulation without feeling like i have to go to failure on these Tricep extensions and oh god what am I doing with my life.

Example

T2: Ring dips x11

T3: tricep extension x20 or planche lean x20s

Rest 60-90s

T2 secondary sets with T3 super set

T2 Half Sets

These are exactly what they sound like. After the initial T2 set, the following secondary sets use half volume until the overall volume has doubled. Using the example above:

Ring dips x 11

Ring dips x 5

Ring dips x 5

Ring dips x 5 

Ring dips x 5

If in subsequent sessions the primary set is still 11 reps, progression can be made through adding secondary volume. 

These secondary sets always felt too far from failure to be useful. Ideas:

- do nothing but how it is written. Adding the t3 into the mix could easily bridge the gap. do this first!

- go for 1 rep in reserve every set regardless of the rep count. The positive here is the increase in failure proximity. The negative is definitely the fatigue and blurry lines in progression. How many sets or volume does one add if the first set fails to move? By default this could be '1xhalf set reps'.

Example

Ring dips x 11 (failure to get 12)

Ring dips x 5

Ring dips x 5

Ring dips x 5 

Ring dips x 5

Ring dips x 3-5 (progression set)

the back problem, always have a plan

Yesterday, was bad. Very bad. I did back mobility and nordic curls thinking my dosc herniations would play nice.

Ron Howard VO: they didn't

Bad sleep and many pain pills later, im brought back to a YouTube channel lower back ability - a sister channel to knees over toes. Sometimes you see the right thing at the right time and NOW is the right time. 

Do i have any right to work my abs, legs, and back like I dont have nerve damage and live in low to medium pain? Fucccck no. This is my mistake. Keeping my eye so hard on the prize (lifting sandbags, kettlebells, maces outside) I've ignored the stepping stones to get me there. What we need is a plan. And I fucking love plans.

The plan

Upper body: keep doing what you're doing. This rules. No need for us to give up a jacked upper body while we work on the middle and lower.

The legs: keep doing mobility. Add in vertical bodyweight movements to ease back into deeper ranges of motion. Take it SLOW. Sled work outside is how we spend our lunch.

The abs: not sure. The McGill big 3 dead ass does NOT feel good right now. I tried standing landmine tosses for obliques and they felt pretty rad.

The back: getting schwifty. 

May-June: NOTHING! And answer on a low back ability video had to do with someone asking how soon they could start after a herniated disc. Homeboy said we'll if you just injured yourself 3 weeks ago then no. Thats a YIKES from me dog. Id like to see my daily pain be at his regular 3/10 before setting off on step 2.

July: buy a back extension. Begin static holds. 

August: consider dropping PT and starting a low back ability sub.

what does mobility look like?

Here's an example that works for me.

Knees over toes

Tib raise x20 + calf raise x20

Tib raise x20 + knees over toes calf raise x20

Tib raise x20 + Jefferson step 2x20

Mobilize spine

Bent over QL reaches 2x12 + upper isometric

Cat cow 2x10 + upper isometric 

Glute bridge (bridge progression) 3x50. Do not push until failure.

Stretches

Adductor + upper isometric

Hamstring + upper isometric

Hips

Downward dog into forward step

This is easy, repeatable, and offers movement to stiff joints. The upper isometric offers a way to flush blood into areas that were worked the day prior.

bulldozer rest pause

AM push/pull

Press x5

Press x5

Press x6

Tricep x6

Rear x6

Pull x5

Pull x5

Pull x6

Biceps x6

Rear x6

Rest 2-3min between exercises

Rest pause

- x5: 30,30,45,60

- X6: 15,15,30,30,40

PM

Work up to carries

OFF

Mobility, rope flow, calves, neck, glute bridges 

calisthenics kelso shrugs build commective tissue

For the life of me, I cant find evidence of kelso shrugs on YouTube unless its a literal shrug with weight. In kelsos actual book of shrugs, he expanded the core concept (barbell row shrug) into any kind of movement. This being said, I think kelso shrugs are horribly misrepresented when it comes to building connective tissue where it matters.

Take my current 6 week block of movements:

Ring dip, ring row 

Dip, side row

After these are all done, knocking out 2 sets of kelso shrugs with the ring row and dip can both be done under fatigue and build tissue where the movement is initiated. This lays bricks for future workouts like gangbusters.

train what you can. build what you cant

Going to use my current situation at a lever here. My right knee is an ongoing situation, and my back is a new situation. I can probably squat and deadlift a barbell or light kettlebell without discomfort or pain but that's about it. Knowing that, does it really make sense to stress building strength with damaged body parts using weights that would have been considered way too light the first time I touched a weight? Fuckkkkk no.

One of my big regrets from when I built my home gym in 2020 was i lamented my inability to squat and deadlift - movement patterns all of my programming has always encircled. In retrospect, by now I could have had 5 years of pullup and dip mastery with what i had at the time. All the while working on fixing my injuries in parallel to 'real' training. I won't make the same mistake twice.

My upper body feels awesome if slightly uncomfortable due to the constant ebb of back sciatica. Assuming this current back injury lasts nearly as long as its 2 brethren, I can dig in years of quality upper body hypertrophy. In parallel, there is no reason why back safe work cant be in progress via nordics, hamstring curls, lunges, etc. 

This injury is a gift.

its only 30min

This is a stick to the plan post.

Easy strength + mobility only takes about 30min. If you just do the lifting its easily just 20min. It doesn't wear you down for the rest of the day, and its rare my next day of lifting feels wrong.

Other programs have a large advantage on size no doubt, but the fatigue can be absolutely brutal. We dont even know the possibility of size increases on this program because we haven't seen results of long term adherence. There is no way that moving from a daily 150x2x5 to a daily 200x2x5 does not increase size.

Stick to the plan.

the long way is the short cut

Again, watching lower back ability videos. Homeboy is talking about taking 2yrs to build up progressions of this basic movements to the point where your back has the tissue build that it needs. Sounds like a lot right? Wrong.

I've been in cycles of pain for the last 12yrs. That is 6 two year cycles. My back will get better for a bit, I think im fine, then I get hurt again. When im hurt, im not making progress. Things like Jefferson curls and back extensions are developmental exercises for a reason. They are developing armor that allows you to do whack shit. 

Take the long road because its the short cut. Jumping back into exercises that push weight because that's how you will get bigger and stronger before you're ready isn't the hack you need it to be.

why fasting

My wife gets weirded out when I engage in daily fasts. It isn't because she thinks I have an eating disorder. Its because her body reacts the polar opposite when she goes without food.

Me without food: energized. 

Her without food: angry. Low energy. 

I thought through more of my why's.

- when I do eat, I feel more efficient. There is no 'low energy' period unless I eat garbage.

- better food choices are easier. Like it or not, some days fasting is more work than others. Do you really want to do the work to throw it away on a glorified protein candy bar? Thats definitely a choice, but the draw is MUCH less pronounced.

- weight loss without morning lifting shitting the bed. Weight loss is a foregone conclusion if fasting reaches 24hrs or more (note: younger really got to try to mess this up). That being said, if all of my calories are dropping between 5-8p, then more 630a weight training sessions still feel fed. 

- more efficient disposal. Poops have been great. Nuff said

5-3-2 : favorite easy strength rep scheme

Dan John proposes a ton of rep schemes to use with easy strength (note: also an even easier strength). They ALL work, but I've found the more static rep schemes dont allow for bad days as much as 5/3/2.

Why 5-3-2? The 5 is more or less the warmup. Easy to moderate difficulty that you have proven you can do sick dying or dead. You should be able to walk in and do this with 0 warmup for the actual movement minus joint prep. The 5 is also where the magic is:

- easy? Press on.

- feels moderately difficult? Do another 3-5 at the same weight and call it. Removing weight is also an option.

- didn't get 5 reps? Dont move up weight until all 5 are cake.

You can always fake a 2-3 rep set even if the 5 is difficult. Don't do it! If the 5 is tough, use this as a tonic day. Come back tomorrow and try again. Frequency drives progress, not pounding yourself into the ground.

easy strength and eccentrics

Eccentrics have a place in easy strength! Unlike normal strength exercises where you quit before fatigue sets in, with eccentrics you quit before your ability to control the rep sets in. 

This works really well with movements where you can easily reset the rep. I.e. bench press bad. Chinups good. Nordic good. 

lightbulb: lower back the big 3 and starting strength

Watching a video by channel lower back ability and heard something that resonated. When I first read the gift of injury, I looked at the big 3 within as something I juat DO from now on. And it certainly did help my initial injury calm down, but I soon found myself hurt again. And again. And again. I didn't understand. I was, doing the thing. Why isn't this working? Heres the thing, it was working great. But not at the level I needed it to.

Here is the idea. The big 3 is starting strength for back rehab. It is meant to take a beginner and give them the fundamentals to move onward and upwards. From there, the concepts are kept BUT THE PROGRAM IS LEFT BEHIND. You wouldn't ask why isn't starting strength preparing me for contact sports, gpp, powerlifting whatever. Why would you expect the same of something meant to help you recover from injury?

The big 3

Go from sub human to human. Teaching your hips, abs, and back to work together. 

Actual back programming

Build strength athleticism and resilience.

weight 4/30 208.4

April set point 208.4

where does mobility fit?

Another lightbulb moment. Everyone hates doing mobility work (note: minus the weird bendy people who make it their living). Everyone needs mobility work. Fitting it into a schedule without losing your mind? Thats tough. This morning, it's no longer tough. 

I've been using short range sled work and stretching as a super set to my morning easy strength and body building exercise. Make no mistake, i like it, but i think we can do better. Sled is best when you are getting a wicked fucking pumped in the targeted muscles. The runway i have is too short to make it happen, so this is a glorified strength exercise.

What's the better option? Mother fucking mobility as a super set. Specifically, knees over toes level 0. I.e. the shit i am weak at. Sled can be relegated to afternoon carries.

Example:

1. Ez strength

Klokov press, l sit, tib raise, calf raise

Klokov press, l sit, tib raise, kot calf

Klokov press, l sit, Peterson step

(Chinup, nordic, atg split squat) x 3

2. Body building

Archer row, elephant walk

Archer row, butterfly stretch

Archer row, couch stretch

easy strength + bb + carries: how its going

Fucking great, why thanks.

Combines the best of all worlds.

Easy strength

build strength in basic movements. Frequency builds the nervous machine engine.

Bodybuilding

weird combination of general gains body building reps and sets + one lift a day. Fatigue builds the engine. Choosing movements from a pool of upper push, upper pull, legs, biceps, or triceps. Progression in 3 waves:

- rep goal (12-20)

- one and a half reps to the same rep goal

- then, increase weight

Its fine if this takes months per movement. The goal is progressive overload of the muscles, not just the nervous system.

Carries

This is a great turn off your brain + build conditioning and get some sun. Carries include mace practice, kettlebell, sandbag, and Keg carries of all types. Like bodybuilding there is no expected pathway or timeline for improvement.

choosing EZ Strength movements

This is not right out of Dan's books although there is overlap between the concepts. 

Dan breaks easy strength movements into patterns:

- push (suggests vertical)

- pull (suggests vertical)

- hinge 

- ab (suggests wheel)

- carry (suggests varied load and type) or swing

Within each of these patterns there is nigh infinite variability. Even though you might be choosing a variation for 2-6 weeks, where do you start? The following parameters might help as they helped me.

Param inputs

What is scalable

What is easily adjustable 

What are body restrictions

What is stable

Scalable

Im going to use this example thrice, but i started this round on incline kettlebell bench press. At BEST, ill max out at 70lbs a hand. That is a very low bar to cross for something not geared towards hypertrophy. For strength this won't last the program without some creativity or deliberate difficulty additions.

Adjustable 

Also inc kb bench! EZ Strength is meant to increase the weight in the bar over time but leave room to take it off if it ever feels heavy. You know what is not quick to adjust? Adjustable kettlebells. They are fine until a bad day happens. Then everything grinds to a halt. 

Body restrictions 

My back isn't necessarily fucked, but it ain't great either. The idea of hinges or squats at any level feel a little sketch. Apply the same to any other body part that is not cooperating.

Stable

Thrice kb bench! Non barbell or bar movements are amazing. What we are trying to do is build strength in every pattern independent of stabilizers. We dont want stabilizing muscles to be the reason we fail first.

Example that fits all params

Klokov press

Parallel chinup

Nordic curl 

Ab wheel 

more on easy strength: 4 physical pillars

Morning: Set a 30min timer

Non negotiable 

1. Easy strength 2-5x a week

As written.

2. Calisthenics and sled pulls 

Use remainder of 30min not used by easy strength

Sled pulls are rest time from calisthenics 

Change angle and stability of calisthenics daily

Explore deep ranges of motion over rep speed

Afternoon

When time and energy allows

Get some sun bro

3. Carries

Vary weight and implement 

Build the engine

4. Mobility

This is always an available option to get outside without hammering the body into the ground.

its the combination that counts

What bugs me are articles or videos stating one of the following: 

- the only X exercises you will ever need!

- dont do Y because its useless.

Because. It's. Useless. This statement in particular brings me to a Dr Mike video around strongman and loaded carries for hypertrophy. And if looked at in a bodybuilding sphere, ya I get it. But to say loaded carries arent good for hypertrophy and a myriad of other benefits? 

If you just did curls, I would say you were leaving a ton on the table. If your curls come at the tail end of weighted chinups, cleans, and rows? Every rep you do is going to be money in the bank. A lot of the prime movers are fatigued from compound lifts and can settle into a hypertrophic range without losing any ability to move weight. The combination of big and small movements is where the magic is. There is no 'just do X' because it doesn't make sense.

You know who does a lot of farmers walks? Farmers. Movers. People that need to get bulky odd objects from point A to B. I dont know about you, but i tend to not think of most of these people on the job as massive.  Strong? Absolutely. But in isolation carries are not necessarily a mass builder. Add them to a program though? Bro. The biggest and strongest I've been in the last 10yrs is when I focused 2-3 days a week on Keg carries and farmers carries. No program needed. Just pick it up and walk until it sucks. Try to move fast. Everything got better at the same time which was WILD. One of the strangest parts is weight increase on the bar was not always a good barometer for success. Just carrying around bodyweight or slightly more was money in the bank.

why EZ strength

I've made this comment in lots of posts, but I'm on a roll today with EZ Strength praise. Let's fucking go!

If you find yourself endlessly tweaking workout plans, you fucked up. There is no magic program, set, and rep scheme. There is no greatest combination of conventional and unconventional methods. There is only way you can stick to long term. What drives you. And what allows you to progress. 

EZ Strength is a great conduit to that goal. 

10-15min EZ Strength. Bare minimum effort.

10-15min calisthenics a la Juarez valley method after easy strength.

Afternoon mace and loaded carries. Optional but great for building the engine. 

a not so bad 30 year plan

Bruh. 70yr old me is gonna look back on this post and say ya, this worked man.

40-55: build strength and engine

Easy strength. Carries. 

Sled. Calisthenics.

55-70: body build

Higher emphasis on Calisthenics but otherwise same thing.

This is repeatable. It removes the illusion of choice while still allowing for endless variety. This is so great that im gonna have to remember to do it.

EZ Strength with Squats and carries

My biggest sticking point with easy strength is always always always the hinge. Its a matter of time before my back says no more. And personally I've always felt the squat drive my hinges and not the other way around.

The EZ Strength omnibook has you believe 2 things are once:

- squats dont worn for easy strength

- dan is a hinge/presser, so there is some bias in why squats dont work

If I'm more so a squat pull man, I dont see why I cant make this work. There is plenty of hinge and spinal electorate work when you take Carries into account.

AM

5x easy strength 

2x calves, tibs, mobility 

PM

Mace

Carries

Easy strength example

Set 30min timer

Warmup: pushups and goblet squats 

Inc kb press + rope chinups

Front squat + hollow body

Every set above ends with a sled pull

Remaining time used for calisthenics circuits + sled

Carries and mace

Farmers, Keg, kettlebell, sandbag 

Mace varies

musings on mobility

When you're younger

Mobility is a dirty word. You move freely already. The idea of doing things specifically for mobility is a waste of time.

When you're middle aged

Mobility seems like a good idea. Your positions are generally walking, sitting, or lying down. Things like crawling, jumping, etc feel out of reach. But also, society isn't making you do them.

When you're old

Mobility is everything

I've been thinking this morning a lot on this topic. When I try to approach mobility I get a potpourri of ads. Take my class! Don't do it at all! Do it, but exactly these exercises!

Fuck off with that. These voices all have a point and all have value. That's the problem, they're all kind of right and all kind of wrong. 

When I think of mobility, I think of when I used to go caving when I was in college. I wasn't a regular caver. I also didn't train specifically for caving. The experience wasn't a cakewalk either, but I did it. And each time I did it, I had no doubt going in that I could and I would emerge unhurt. That, is mobility. I had confidence in any weird position I had to crawl, jump, climb without thought of well what about my back or knees or neck.

Mobility should be a focus on, well, moving. Moving in weird positions. Moving in positions the world doesn't force us to move in anymore. It has less to do with an ass to grass split squat, but that is ALSO in the same sphere. 

whelp, new plan

All my shit hurts. I've got topve furniture today and I'm genuinely afraid I'm going to herniate a disc. This is not ok.

The entire point of strength training is to get stronger. To be pliable and resilient. This isn't it fam. I followed a new kettlebell dude on insta yesterday (kettlebell grant) and saw a post that hit home. If what you did in your 20s doesn't work today or you are constantly hurt, then your long term plan failed. It pisses me off. It's right and it pisses me off.

The plan I was following gave me a few weeks of bliss. I not only felt strong, but also I could move how I wanted to move. I was STABLE. Fuck bro, even my knees stopped hurting to the point where I felt like I was on the right path. And then kablooey. It's unclear if it's because I added more shit or the timeline where things work ran out, but it ran out.

I spent yesterday feeling bad and sorry for myself. That was yesterday. Today is today.

The new plan

Step1: small deload. 

- bodyweight or light kettlebell goblet squats.

- lower leg training.

- lots of walking and light sled work.

Step2: dre kettlebell program.

- use the program I've already purchased. This focuses on mobility and stability.

- continue lower leg training.

- continue walking and sled work.

Step 3: not sure.

After step2 (8 weeks) it might be apt to rerun at a higher weight. Find a new program. Or find new ways to incorporate calisthenics and kettlebells. It would make sense to replace some pressing movements with ring presses 

Dre himself breaks up his kb training:

Lower press, upper pull x2

Lower pull, upper press x2

Mobility

Full press

Full pull

don't blame the equipment

When I was in college, I wanted to become a film maker. Its all I wanted to do. And I stopped making movies because I had a shit camera from the time I was 16. It wasn't good enough to be taken seriously I would think. And even when I saved up enough to buy a massive upgrade, I moved the goalposts to a new and better camera.

Years later, I didn't leave the same lesson when it came to training equipment. My first purchase was a 20kg kettlebell. I thought, this is a good start, but I can't do anything amazing until I get a full barbell set. Jokes on me. If I put in serious chops with that bell, I could have accomplished great things. Hindsight and all that. 

I'm.not saying I don't appreciate my barbell. Or my rack. Or any of the other things I've accumulated over the past few years. But the more you move goalposts, the less you will accomplish with the tools at hand. People have always been able to make due without cutting edge anything. Idolizing a symbol at the mountain to climb is at best procrastination.

training calves in a home gym

I avoided calf training my entire life. Early on, it was because I had an excessive amount of calf work between marching band, karate, and just generally sprinting all the god damn time. This continued into college where I was break dancing 4x a week for 4 years.

Adult me thought calves were stupid. I don't care how they look. And barring basic athletic function, I didn't care how well they worked. At least part of me was also bit by the 'calves are genetic' bug and said why bother. Fast forward to today, part of the reason my knees got hurt was because of weak ass calves. They are now a priority. 

The giant surprise I've gotten is I love training them. You can mash them into dust and they just jump back. it fits great into an OFF day on daily training. Finding out the how on training has been a joy too. The answer is it doesn't really matter. I'll usually opt for easy setup and less weight over anything else, so keep that in mind with the following choices.

Top 2

1)Seated calf raises

Do one leg at a time. Place a pillow between you and the weight. Use plates or kettlebells. Flex your calf before any rep. For an additional stimulus, you can change the angle of your foot compared to your knee, and bring the foot in closer as a mechanical drop set.

Making light weight harder:

Press down into the weight during the eccentric (negative) and fight the resistance. This shit is HARD.

Pull up on the weight when you can no longer complete a rep, flex to the top of the rep, and perform a small negative.

2)knees over toes calf raises

Lean against a wall, rack, etc. bend your knees in so they are over your toes. Do calf raises. Increase tension by holding a weight or wearing a vest.

Afterwards

Stretch your calves after every day and every session. Do this for longer than you think you need (2+min).

easy strength example slow progression

A big question Dan gets often is - how do you know when you are ready to increase weight. The answer is disappointing - when it's easy. And ya, that is the right answer. But the problem is that what is easy today might be a fluke, better rest, better food, etc. when you bump up the pounds all of a sudden it's heavy again.

Try this instead.

Day1: start 2x5

Day2: start 2x5

Day3: start 1x5, start+5-10 1x3, start +10-20 1x2

Day4: OFF

Day5: start 2x5

Day6: start 1x5, start+5 1x5

Day7: OFF

If the last set on day6 is easy. That is your new start weight. This can increase what feels dogshit east by 25lbs per cycle. 

don't add more shit

 The dumb thought goes - well a little is good, so a lot must be better!

I struggle with this EVERY WEEK. Obviously. I wanted to expand my bodybuilding days to have more work. And shit man it isn't like I can't handle more. BUT. Vastly increasing volume via the kitchen sink works for a very short amount of time. What I'm doing is working. All lifts are slowly increasing. My joints feel great. Body composition is improving. Why the fuck would I dump an extra 40% volume into the plan? Ridiculous. 

corrective intro

It's been a week of corrective exercise. Some thoughts.

Back

Jefferson curls are very uncomfortable right now. BUT. After a few sets of full range of motion with a very small amount of weight (2-5lbs) I felt soreness in my erectors and hamstrings. There is value to this exercise. If I can build up my resilience to the point where it is a comfortable position with a decent amount of weight, I feel like we can do great things for future me.

Knees

Backwards walking is boring but whatever. Considering adding kettlebell squats to my Jefferson curl days. Really would enjoy some larger legs overall.

Neck

A small child hung from my neck yesterday, and my left hand went numb ish for a few min. Not entirely surprising given my past, but this is concerning. Calves and tibs day may get a neck/traps partner in crime.

a week after not alright

Things are going better. Removing deadlifts from easy strength has let the lower back fatigue bleed off. I no longer feel like I'm a day away from injury. Honestly, with the kb swings and squats in my warmup, my lower body feels taken care of to the same capacity. Side benefit is I noticed my knee health also doing better without daily pulls from the ground.

Walking backwards sucked at first but I'm acclimating. I found it's actually a good 'rest period' from daily conditioning outside in addition to a standalone activity. Going to continue for a few months before attempting single leg work and sled pulls.

Current plan

EZ 5x

Pull

Press

Ab

Bb 2x

Bi 3x12

Tri 3x12

Shoulders 3x15

*Moved to barbell presses behind the back for shoulders instead of rear delt raises.

Off 2x

Calves, tibs, hip flexors

Erectors 2x

Jefferson curl

Rdl or sandbags 

Conditioning

Mace every other day

Backwards walking daily

Goals of like to reach

- Jefferson curls 100lbs for easy reps.

- conditioning includes keg carries and sled walks.

Curiosity

Am I not - as Dan states - a hinge guy? I always thought I was, but the lack of ability to hinge daily says otherwise. As I build my erectors, I would like to introduce one of 2 things to EZ strength.

- squats. Dan says no but cmonnnn legs are cool and I'd be far from the first person to squat daily.

- or, kb hinges. More so on the dynamic side.

not alright. not gonna back out previous post.

My last couple of posts have been sunshine and rainbows. If I'm being honest, it's not because shit is great. It's not. It's because I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude while things are not looking my way. In my angst last night, I explored something outside of EZ strength via density training. All of a sudden, I remember why I abandoned this method. It's borrrrrrring. Ooo look at me! Doing X work in Y minutes. This works baller for some movements, but others (see: ring chinups) I wanted to die of boredom. The one good thing about last night is I discovered an ab exercise that is not limited by my knee health. More on that later.

What is not going well

- my lower back is giving warning signs of fatigue before a major injury. Part of this is the daily deadlifts,  but I think the lions share is not being able to incorporate ab wheel after my knee went tits up again. Ab wheel is a god damn godsend. I can link every period of my life where my back was solid up to periods where I was pushing the ab wheel hard. 

- extension of the ab wheel issues. I've had problems finding a hinge that doesn't hurt. This may have more to do with fatigue than movement selection. It's still be upsetting as I'm supposed to be building general strength. And here I am struggling with a 50lb sandbag clean.

- my knees aren't feeling great. Plural. This is after I tried doing sled drags and hip thrusts. I'm always a little down in the dumps when I do things that are heralded as gentle and they wreck me.

Word vomit

- I have to really decide whether density is a viable method forward or not. I like the idea that I can help manage lower back fatigue better by having days where I'm not putting it to hard work. This works under the context of being able to lift heavier and incorporate abs daily to reinforce my weaknesses. But if everything is as boring as yesterday it's a stretch.

- lower back is off limits for a few days. Even if we continue with easy strength.

- ab movements variation is going to keep me healthy. Using the wheel in the first round of EZ was clutch, buty abs where also the first body part to feel overuse creep in. 

- knee health needs to regress. If sled drags are no good, we start at backwards walking. Yes this sucks, but it has worked for others and could work for us. Swallow pride and do it. 

- revisit Jefferson curls. If spinal erectors and mobility is a limitation, deal with it! Unclear whether this would work better with density over EZ.

Comparing methods

(Density)

5 mornings 

20min movement super set abs 

5min minor isolation 

Basically one lift a day and abs 

Allows for more movement variation and volume

(Easy strength)

5 mornings 

20min 5 movements

2 days also include minor isolation

More specificity. Changes what feels easy in any given movement 

easy strength week 8 feedback

Things are still going well! The plan is to keep up what I'm doing until I'm sick of it.

Comments 

- conditioning daily is $$$. I don't always want to do it but always glad that I do.

- lower back fatigue is becoming a problem. Nothing hurts but it's always low grade sore. Very different than the first few weeks. Possible deload required.

- stretching daily is also $$$. I need to get more creative with what I'm doing.

- less complex movements > more complex. Maybe it's because I'm lifting in the morning, but hinges like cleans or sandbag cleans don't feel great daily.

- more protein is needed than I'm taking in. Always a good idea so whatever.

Adjustments

- I'm back on wave loading weekly weights. 2x5 for extended periods works but it's BORING. The key difference with this period is dropping some days way below.my easy threshold before ramping back to a new difficult day. 

- ab movements still in flux. I love ab wheel as the mainstay. Lord knows my back feels way way better when ab wheel is my jam. Near the end of week 6 I started feeling irritation in my right dick root muscle (technical name) and had to back off. Soon after I deviated from the plan and was unable to put pressure on my right knee. 

- hinge movement also in flux. Testing the waters with more kettlebell swings (i.e. conditioning plus heavier). The nice part about this setup is swings don't use a barbell, so setup time is non existent.

Everything else

- alternating mace and sled days as my afternoon break is awesome. Great work breaks without digging into recovery.

- the day before an easy strength off day is still arm and shoulder hypertrophy day. Not changing this. I'm finding my strength in isolation movements is slowly creeping up, and my arms are looking sexy AF. Shoulders on the other hand, don't look super different post isolation. I'm going to make my next easy strength push exercise more shoulder biased to address this.

Possible future ventures 

- landmine movements have an entire world of movements I've never messed with.

- easy presses: dips, ring dips, high incline bench.

- easy pulls: ring chinup, chest supported rows.

- arms shit: easy bar will be my friend for both sides of the guns.

success is stringing good days

I wrote this title thinking about injury recovery, but it applies to any desired skill acquisition as well. Getting better or better at something isn't the result of one really good day just as failing isn't the result of one really bad day. Consistency of effort is what gathers momentum.

Where injuries are applicable. Two weeks ago I decided I was better than the plan I was running (call back to previous posts). I added a shitton of new stuff in - going heavier, doing squats I had never tried, adding full range of motion lateral squats. Once I felt the numbness creep back in my knee, I knew I had fucked up. 

Fast forward to today. My knee feels...fine. it's fine. But the anxiety over whether or not it can get better is gone. I already did this once, and recently at that. If every day I can strive to be pain free and hit the plan (humane burpee + ez strength + stretching) the signals will be heard. It can't not.

membuh: hip contact and kettlebells

I have no idea what correct kettlebell form is. So, grains of salt. I do know that when my hips make contact with my forearms on the up swing that I actually get to push my hips into the kettlebell. The resulting contraction and power is WAY more than of the kettlebell is on its own.

Good stuff. Membuh.

training is communication

Dumb dumb thoughts today. Why is it important that we repeat the same training or training pattern until it doesn't work? That's because we can't just tell our tendons, ligaments, bones, muscles, and nervous system to...do stuff. The way we communicate a need is by training. 

Say you sell muffins. Every day people come in and buy muffins and all is well. It's what you do. Then one day, someone comes in and asks for an egg muffin. Fuck. We don't have eggs. Homeboy is going to get a muffin and walk away without what they asked for. Then over the course of the next few days, more customers come in and ask for egg muffins. Whelp, it doesn't make sense to not provide a growing demand with no supply. You start buying some eggs to feed the customers who specifically want egg muffins. But the demand only grows. Soon, you're the egg muffin shop. It's what you do. 

If only one person came in and requested an egg muffin one time, there would be no need to change. It's a one off. Repetition is communicating a need.

Get it?

This does not mean that you stick with the same movements forever. It means you stick with them until progress stalls.

first day back on the plan, solid day

As I said yesterday, the plan is solid. The plan going forward is to keep following the plan. 

First day back was fucking solid. I can already feel my knee loosening up and feeling better. A few more days and I'll be sitting pretty.

The plan

Warmup: humane burpee.

Puts blood back in my bum. This gets daily squatting practice in. The magic here is the weight will increase so slowly the tissues have no choice but to acclimate even when sick dying or dead.

The workout: easy strength

The plan is work up to an easy 2x5 and maintain it before weight increases. 1-2 weeks ain't shit here. The speed and ease should be increasing and not decreasing. Easy days or weight acclimation can be via 3x3 instead.

The goal is to slowly bump up the easy baseline.

The fun: mace work

Strength and flow. Not either. Both.

if the plan is working, follow the plan

Experiencing a minor setback with my right knee. For weeks it was feeling awesome. I overall felt like a fucking tank. And it was because I had a plan, and I was following the plan. But then I thought, maybe I can do better.

Bad. Idea.

What was the plan?

- easy strength, 2x5, stick with a weight and keep working on speed for a week.

- daily humane burpee.

- daily mace or kettlebell work when work time allows 

What did I add?

- armor building. First via kettlebells then via barbells 

- Cossack squats. 

- Nordic curls till death.

- increase weight when possible. Ramp up to 5/3/2 days.

The top three things above were added in the last week. The fourth I've sprinkled in. More on the fourth later.

The new additions were sudden jolts into tissue health I didn't have in ranges of motion I havent touched. Adding one of these would have been ok. Kind of. Adding 3 was stupid. The Nordic curls in particular to failure is where I started feeling numbness again. This is my fault. I am error.

The fourth item isnt 'bad.' it's one of the actual programs after all. But if I'm doing this to feel good and not necessarily focus on the weight lifted, building a set progression ain't the best idea. Dan's original comment of increase weight when too easy is a great guidelin, vague as it is.

I will get back to where I was. I have to remember that 6 weeks ago I was in worse shape than I am now. Follow the fucking plan. You can't keep busting your head against a wall.

armor building and the barbell clean

Time is funny. You do something that works, then you stop to chase the new shiny. Years and many injuries later, you come across your old love and oh ya this was always great.

The cornerstone of my old productive training was power cleans and snatch high pulls. Those 2 movements covered SO many bases it was ridiculous. My biggest sin with them was continually pushing weight, never taking time off, and never swapping for variations. The movements themselves are excellent.

Fast forward to present. I'm reading and rereading Dan John's armor building formula. Honestly I bought the book to support the guy. After all, I'm running easy strength and feeling better and stronger than I have in years with little effort other than consistency. The book is a fun read, but after dipping my toe briefly back into kettlebell training I remember I really don't enjoy that stuff (note: other than the daily humane burpee warmup, that shit is OP). For whatever reason, I found myself reading the part2 of the program which is an option for barbell armor building. The format is very similar -cleans and presses - the biggest difference being the amount of squats included. But this shit is my JAM. A set of 8 clean and press left me gasping for air. It works EVERYTHING and makes me feel like a god damn tank. 

This post is a love letter to Dan. Thank you for giving me my life back! Thank you for helping me work past injuries I wasn't sure I'd overcome. And thank you for showing me the barbell is not off limits. I swear my Instagram feed is jam fucking packed with anti barbell and pro kettlebell and odd objects. Those things are fine. And shit man I love me some sandbags. But I have permission to say this isn't for me if I genuinely have 0 love for an implement.

coding your tissue: this is what we are doing

Connective tissue joints and tendons are weird. they don't give you the same feedback of improvment like anything else you train so it's easy to think my X is fucked. It isn't going to get better.

This isn't true. It just takes 2 things:

- repeated pain free movement.

- more time than you'd think.

Every rep you perform that is pain free is money in the bank. This is why full range of motion but regressed stress (see: major band assistance) can be such a boon when it comes to building connective tissue strength. This applies regardless of whether you are recovering from an injury or trying to build a new skill that requires amazing tissue health.

As for the time aspect, I started seeing major improvements in my knees after 3 weeks of daily squats and swings. After 6 weeks, my joints are feeling great all the time. I can venture that continuing down this path will unlock more dynamic and difficult movement that would have been a pipe dream a year ago.

easy strength worked so well I stopped doing it

Adding a quote from Dan john on easy strength

When you get to a certain age, you can not keep throwing yourself into the wall.

Reigning myself back in from a bad week of training lol. I was feeling awesome and strong and stable after weeks of easy strength, so of course I try to 'improve' it. 

Here is what I did

- add a flailing 5/3/1 day. It went poorly and put my recovery in a hole for the rest of the week.

- add a deadlift only day. This actually went really well (+50lbs over easy strength base while still feeling easy) and spiraled me towards reworking my program into a one lift a day type deal 

The second option honestly wouldn't be super bad, but it flies along the same thing Dan says is a pitfall for his atheletes. I don't 'feel' this working. Or it was working so well I stopped. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

The truth is I've got diet to keep my weight down and conditioning to cover the 'everything else'. Looking good isn't a matter of finding the right training magic bullet to overcome a diet infraction.

Tldr keep doing easy strength. Slowly nudge the baseline UP.

easy strength and dealing with the 'everything else'

Mentioned this on other posts, but I don't play a sport. I don't intend on playing a sport. I'm full quadrant 3 gen pop park bench 4 life type of lifter.

Easy strength is an awesome starting point. An excellent way to START a day. My 'everything else' ends up looking like conditioning work. Keeping it real real simple here folks.

0-7 days a week  

Push

Pull 

Lower

Repeat

Reps? GTFO. Do enough to be hard but not enough to fail.

Sets? As many in 30-60min.

Variations? Be creative and try not to repeat a workout.

For me this usually looks like:

Push: Pushup variation, dip variation, KB press variation.

Pull: Mace (something), sled drag.

Lower: KB swing, KB snatch, KB dead, burpee.

knee recovery: what is working

Brain droppings on good ideas put to use. 

Warming up, sometimes with bfr bands

Spanish squats for high reps

Kettlebell swings for medium high reps

Goblet squats for low reps

Form

All squats start and end with a glute contraction.

All squats use a pause at the bottom and top of reps.

Feedback

When anything feels tight, STOP. My knees will feel tight a few minutes before they feel pain. Tightness is gone the next day. Pain is not.

The goal is to slowly increase the amount of time and reps before tightness occurs. String good days together edges towards recovery.

This is super important and I MISSED it. I lamented the idea that sled pulls weren't working for me. this isn't true. Sled pulls work great, but I kept pulling through tightness and was upset how quickly tightness occurred.

It's ok to be a pud. This is really tough and I've failed this test a ton. The contention is that you need to work with regressed movements and weight until you can turn up the heat. Rushing the process means backsliding. A great example would be loaded carries. They flat out hurt or cause tightness and pain for days. You know what doesn't? Marching in place with weight. Almost the same stimulus without the baggage.

more easy strength musings

Easy strength

Focus on barbell strength and absolute load

Stay with light weights longer (1-2 weeks)

Move light weights FASTER

Upper body calisthenics pulls can be weighted to work towards more complex skills in the same movement pattern (ex: bw row, add weight to row, tuck lever row, and so on)

The goal is raising the floor of what is piss ass easy. 

Do not skip warmups (humane burpee) and cool downs (basic mobility)

At no point should the weights feel heavy

Everything else. I e. I ain't got no sport lt Dan.

Focus on non barbell strength. Kett bells, sandbags, clubs, bodyweight. These implements aren't magic, they're just easier to transport into a sunny area.

Easy strength is the warmup. 

Stop when things get tight. You are coming back tomorrow.

Think less in terms of programs and splits and more in the case of practicing key full body movements.

Final

This is not a route to hypertrophy, but hypertrophy and fat loss will happen.

The biggest nag I feel is that bodyweight circuits make me FEEL better. More blood flow. This sounds more like an afternoon lifting problem than an easy strength problem.

Lady gains: Fast until lifting has happened. If possible fast until dinner. 

when to stop

With recovering body parts, I've noticed that the poison is volume. Too often over the past few years I've be feeling good going into a set only to suddenly feel tight then trigger a pain response. The solution was right in front of me for the longest time, but I've only recently put it into practice.

When the tightness comes, you're done. Stop. Cease.

This can be on the first set of the 10th. The deal is in order to keep coming back and push the threshold of where danger exists. you can't do that if you have pushed into pain. We want to program in the response that what we are doing is ok. And can be resisted 

easy strength: 5 days means 5 days

The last time I tried easy strength, I was confused why my progress stalled despite all attempts remaining easy. With this latest iteration, I have some thoughts.

1. Do the warmup dummy

Dan talks at length about using the humane burpee to warm up. It takes 5min or less, and takes care of squat movements, swings, and level changes. Low impact, endlessly repeatable.

Humane burpee

15 swings

5 goblet squats

5 pushups

15 swings

4 goblet squats 

4 pushups

Etc

2. 5 days a week means 5 days a week

My last iteration became daily easy strength. While the actual work is low intensity effort, each day adds on the previous. With no off days, it becomes harder to move the easy floor up.

Off doesn't mean do nothing. Off still means a humane burpee followed by small body parts bodybuilding (calves, tibs, etc).

3. Wave loading > straight 3x3

This is where Dan and I disagree a bit. He says that if he could do it all over again he would stick to 3x3. Maybe I'll take this advice in my own future run, but his even easier strength template wave loads weights on a way that makes sense.

Example in a 2 week cycle

2x5

2x5

5-3-2 (heavier day)

Off

2x5

2x5

Off

4. Everything else can really mean everything else

Dan made this program for athletes. Meaning he expects you to do easy strength for 15min, then play your sport for hours every day. If your sport is 'i like lifting weights' then you have a pretty wide net of what that could mean!

Right meow I want me sport to be loaded carries and mace work. But it could also be bodybuilding. Ya get me?

Easy strength is the base. The minimum. It works but it was never meant to me done on isolation.

building architecture. injury feedback

Strength training can be summarized in a single sentence: go build shit here.

Shit can be a lot of things. Connective tissue, muscle, blood flow, satellite cells. If you are not training a body part or a range of motion, you are also sending a signal: I don't need shit here. Simple, and frustrating. 

When injury occurs,.your body gives all the incentives to prevent you from saying build shit here. Mainly, pain and tightness. Both prevent movement, but one is a red flag and the other a yellow flag. When recovering from injury, the best thing you can do is get pain free movement in an impacted area as soon as possible and as often as possible. Signaling I still need this! I've lost years signalling the opposite then wondering why my shit hurts for so long. Why herniated discs and knee tweak recovery is measured in years instead of weeks or months.

When training an injured body part, I've found the following to be helpful:

- start with walking. Always walking. Emphasize motion in the injured body part in pain free ranges of motion.

- when retraining the body part, start with regressed variations. No floor is too low. Your ego needs to take this short term.

- low reps, far far far far from failure. The goal is blood flow and recovery, not growth.

- higher sets and frequency is better than higher intensity and low sets/frequency.

- if you feel tightness (yellow flag), STOP! it will fade quickly and you can likely restart tomorrow. The goal is to stack as many good days together as possible until you only have good days.

high frequency: managing fatigue

Not an expert, just putting down on paper what is working for me. Inspired by Jim wendlers weight vest and chad Waterbury high frequency training. Embarked on because my right side seized up mid sandbag clean a few weeks ago. Vertical type movements are the only thing that feels extremely safe 

How we do:

1-2x daily

1st session: ring pullups, ring dips, legs.

2nd session: repeat, or ring rack pullups and dips.

Legs use a grab bag of goblet squats, banded reverse lunges, or bodyweight squats 

After stuff

Nuances:

All reps are done PAUSED. We are not thoughtlessly banging out reps. We are building connective tissue and work capacity that LASTS. 

No sets are done to failure. High frequency only works if you can recover day over day. 

Progression (upper):

Start with 5x3 per movement.

Every week, add a round (6x3, 7x3, etc) until completion in under 30min isn't possible.

Reset to 5x4 and repeat.

When the marriage of reps and sets is no longer feasible, rest to 5x3 and add weight or use a more difficult progression.

Progression (lower):

This is VERY specific to me. My legs are incredibly detrained. Anything I try to do that is 'theraputic' like sled drags just HURTS. I've found that pain enters the chat with medium volume regardless of weight. The reps, progressions, and weight is VERY low on purpose because I am working on rebuilding connections to my body as opposed to building size and strength.

The long term plan is to either continue using light weights/progressions indefinitely in the morning (with heavier kettlebell work in the afternoon) as a warmup to live the joints, OR progress to more extreme ranges of motion. Examples being sissy squats, atg split squats, wide stance lunges, etc. Lots to work on that has a benefit!

After stuff:

1. Recovery

Band pushdowns, curls, rows, etc. many different grips for extremely high reps (30-50). The goal is to push blood in the area without accumulating additional fatigue.

2. Minor body part for high reps.

Calves, tibs, neck work really well here. Use a rep goal with high reps (ex: 3x50 to increase weight) while avoiding failure. Choose one movement per day and go to town. Like the main work, feeling the muscle through large range of motion is more important than increase weight and banging out reps.

What works really well is to use one of these movements are a rest period between rounds of mains.

Example:

3 ring pullups

3 ring dips

3 goblet squats 

35 seated calf raises

Shit hurts, what do now:

Couple of options...

- Switch movements temporarily or permanently. 

- Reduce volume. As long as it takes.

- Rest. 

In a more isolated sense, if your joints hurt focus more on post workout band exercises to force blood into your joints. I've def seen a difference with and without this method.

Never under any circumstance lift through a painful range of motion. We want buttery joints.

Benefits?

I'm still very new to the party. This early on, I can tell ya my day to day energy is amazing. That alone is worth the price of admission. Body composition is slightly improved but nothing to write home about. I won't really be able to evaluate how much or little this does for aesthetics for a few months. 

Overall, a+ experience. I'm more into feeling good than looking good. And this makes me feel very very good.

building tolerance

Little, but often.

Reread an insta post about recovering from injury. One of the steps highlighted low volume and high frequency. This really really spoke to me. I've been able to dip my toe back into leg exercises, but after a few reps shit starts to get tight and hurt again. Maybe, just maybe, it's because the tissues involved have 0 tolerance for load or volume. They haven't gotten any blood in...years! I've been moving back towards daily training for my upper body, but failed to realize that injury recovery with the lower can use the same rubric. 

Little bit often. 

I'm not training through pain or discomfort. The goal is to flush blood in areas that I can't FEEL right now. 

yur a beginner harry

This one hurts to write. I picked up momentum in the past couple of weeks combining sandbags and calisthenics. I was feeling STRONG. And in the middle of a set where I felt amazing, the right side of my body seized up so hard I blacked out. For days I was unable to walk. Today being the first day in 2 weeks where I'm not in pain. Dips and chinups are already back on the menu, but I've made some observations as I've slowly become human again.

1. My lower body is at a beginner level again due to disuse.

Combine this fact with just not being 20 anymore, it's time to (sucks through teeth) restart at a beginner level. This means squatting, deadlifting and so on at a ridiculously low level. The strength is still there, always is, but the supporting joints and tissues have regressed to the point before I started lifting in my early 20s. 

2. Dynamic effort isn't for me right now.

Gotta crawl before you can walk. This ain't a bad thing.

So here's why this is a great thing. Beginners make progress fast AF. In a couple of months I can either be where I want to be, or on my way there. The catch is I've got to be a piece of shit now so I can fly later. And coming off of 15yrs training history that is a very hard pill to swallow. I'm talking about starting a beginners kettlebell program with a 12kg weight. Ridiculously easy. Embarrassingly easy. And that's ok.

Upper body is a different story. While not even close to my peak, upper body is in great shape structurally. I'm gonna milk that shit for all its worth.

rebuilding my gym

I love this type of thought process. I avoided getting a home gym for YEARS because I thought the investment too large and my space too small. In retrospect, I could have saved thousands on gym fees, prevented all of my worst injuries, and had 24/7 access to equipment. 

The tldr is that the barbell and hundreds of pounds of weight + a power rack is not a prerequisite for working hard or making progress. These tools make progress easier, but if I had to rebuild from scratch it's not what I would buy.

Minimal gym purchases

Sandbags - 50-150 in 25lb increments.

Olympic rings - pullups, dips, and rows length.

Dip bars.

Light and medium bands. 

Loadable dumbbell.

Loable mace.

Paltry amount of weights (50lbs in 2.5, 5, 10).

sandbag bodybuilding - Nov 2024

ADHD is strong this year. Training to failure works for muscle growth, it really really does. The downside is more tied to general fatigue during the week. I've seen a pattern in my posts since August. Whenever I introduce big compounds to failure (notably exempt are isolation and calisthenics, more on that later) I need more coffee to function and just are generally more irritable. I'd rather feel powerful and good than be bigger and feel tired. And nothing makes me feel as good as sandbag training. 

Sandbag training 

It's the epitome of get more out of less weight. If you barbell deadlift 2x bodyweight, congrats you are no longer a beginner. If you can shoulder a sandbag that's 2x bodyweight, you are world class. The YouTube channel 'the stone circle' has spoken often in this next topic, but I agree heavily - lifting sandbags makes my back feel 'solid' in a way that classic training does not. As someone who has experienced multiple herniations then nagging pains from doing normal human things, feeling like you are unbreakable is a premium worth it's weight in gold. It's safe to drop the weight for your floors and your feet. And finally, if you enjoy Olympic weightlifting there are a ton of parallels. I feel that a sandbag to shoulder shares a lot more in common with a power clean than I ever did with kettlebell cleans and snatches. 

The program

- 4 days required.

- 2 isolation days optional.

Sandbag Day 1

Shoulder 5-15x1

High pull 5-10x3

Row x3

Lap (low pull) x1

Back extension x1

Pullover x1

Mace x1

Calisthenics Circuits Day 1

(10 down, 5-3-2, Juarez, etc)

Pull

Press

Ab wheel 

Pull

Press

(10min optional Isolation)

Optional Isolation Day 1

Pick a movement. 

Perform 3 reverse pyramid sets to failure.

Long rest between sets.

Rotate movements when progress halts 

Sandbag Day 2

Push press 5-15x1

Shoulder 5-10x1

Squat x3

Lap (low pull) x1

Back extension x1

Pullover x1

Mace x1

Calisthenics Circuits Day 2

same as day 1. Different movement set 

Optional Isolation Day 2

Same as day 1.

return to sword and shield

Still trying to find a balance with training my lower and upper body given my lower body isn't conditioned to hard training yet. Any set taken close to failure HURTS for days. Like I said with my last post, I'm training my upper body while fixing my lower. This doesn't mean the lower body is ignored entirely. Oh no no, we have learned from that mistake. Unless I'm feeling pain or symptoms get worse, movement is medicine. In the interim, I'm adding more and more movement where I can.

Sword and shield is not my program idea (credit bells and bodybuilding). This version is closest to V2 of his insta page. 

AM

Warmup: rope flow, jump rope

Lift: 

- bodybuild (2x week) upper.

- lower singles (2-3x week).

- rest or calf days as needed.

Cool down:

Stretch adductors, hips

PM

Mace endurance

Easy Carries

Bodybuild

2-3 different variations. Cycle movements as needed.

Upper Press 50 in 5 ss Upper Pull 50 in 5

Bi, tri, shoulders 60 in 4

Lower singles

Hinge or squat. Goal is power not weight. We are trying to rebuild not get bigger. Stop when any yellow or red flag (tingle, tightness, pain) rears it's head. In terms of how many singles, set a timer and go to town (as many in 20-25min).

Mace

Change variation and weight daily 

Carries typically suitcase carry marches. Focus on ab contraction.

Examples:

- two handed swings for time.

- one handed swings for time.

- swings for strength. Pyramid up sets of 10-20. Back off sets.

- mace flow.

In the 'for time' swings, progress is measured by increasing rounds, decreasing rest, then increasing weight.

train it or fix it

I'm a big fan of decision trees applied to training. As with most blog posts, this is a lesson I have to learn over and over and over. But the premise is simple: train it or fix it.

Train it

Can you push sets hard without aggravating an existing injury? Do it.

Fix it

Does training a movement make all metrics worse? I.e. sciatica flares up, your knees feel like someone hit them with a bat? Are you not able to train with any intensity other than baby light? Fix it.

It's not worth trying to make progress with a movement or body part that you cant push close to failure without serious ramifications. This doesn't mean you leave this movement or limb to rot. It means you are LUCKY. You get to put all your training capital into things that are working NOW. Fixing things can be done every day, but the goal isn't the same as actual training. The goal is to restore and not physical transformation.

Food for thought.

daily conditioning + dessert only

Let's. Fucking. Go.

Let's assume you read the last post and said nah chat. I don't give a shit about bus bench workouts. I just want to build work capacity, feel great, and look good doing it. Bro I've got you. 

Remove the actual 'training' blocked workouts and replace with conditioning + dessert only. Increase weight or reps when it's disgustingly easy, or mid workout. Whatever. Have fun. Membuh fun? I membuh.

Conditioning - 30min circuits

Press + mace/club + quads

Pull + ab wheel + hams

Fill in whatever exercises you want. Don't repeat workouts often. Regress movements as needed. Strength isn't the goal but you will build strength. Size isn't the goal hit you will get bigger. No sets are taken to failure.

Dessert - 1 move/day to failure

Same deal as before. You can do this sick dying or dead. Don't repeat movements often, and work whatever has the most horsepower at the moment.

Examples

Tri pushdowns, tri extensions

Pelican curl, ring curl, hammer curl 

Leg curl, hip flexors, calves

Rear delt raise, front plate raise 

more on daily conditioning + actual training

To be clear I'm gonna use Dan John terms.

Park bench: no expectation on going anywhere.

Bus bench: I'm expecting to go somewhere.

Programming usually falls in one bucket or the other. If you're a generalist like me, why not zoidberg (see: both)? Personally I'm more in the park bench court nowadays. I have seen amazing dividends from daily conditioning, and I'm gifted small amounts of size and strength as a bonus. Actual bus bench training doesn't have to be anything more than increased effort over time. If you're spending your entire week building work capacity, really how hard are 4 difficult sets to failure a week? 

The setup - morning 

Mon-fri: alternate

- push + mace/club circuits. 1 set of dessert. 

- pull + mace/club circuits. 1 set of dessert.

Sat

Deadlift variation - top set and back off set.

1 set of pulldown dessert.

Increase weight every week. Drop weight after 4-6 weeks or rotate movement pattern.

Sun

Bench variation - top set and back off set.

1 set of tricep dessert.

Increase weight every week. Drop weight after 4-6 weeks or rotate movement pattern.

The setup - afternoon

Mobility and yoga.

I'm surprised too. But I suck at it and I'd like not to.

Conditioning 

Press: pushups, explosive pushups, dips, ring dips.

Pull: swing, sand row, gorilla row, snatch.

Dessert 

One all out dropset of a movement you can do sick dying or dead. The goal is not to count reps, just do work and get a sick pump. Add regressions where possible (ex: add bands to pullups).

Good dessert options

Pullups, chinups, pulldowns, pelican curl, ring curl, hammer curl, band curls, band rows.

Seated calf raises.

Tricep extensions, tricep pushdown, tricep overhead.

Rear delt raise, plate.raise.

daily lifting - balancing conditioning with linear periodization

I said recently that I was goaded for years into thinking lifting more often was better. I proceeded to lift 4-7x a week for damn near a decade before overuse injuries overcame me. During that decade, I also regularly felt sad, tired, and stressed. As I healed, I found I was getting bigger and stronger while lifting heavy 2x a week. As of late, I've said that daily conditioning has made me better than I have in a long time. Both of these things are still true and can coexist.

Lifting heavy 2x a week doesn't have to mean a drawn out session. It can mean two balls out sets (1 heavy, 1 light + rest pause) to failure. All in all this takes maybe 15-30min a week to do, and can still drive linear progress week to week. Surely, you have 4 hard sets a week in you, right?

Every other day? Conditioning. Possibly multiple times a day if energy and time allows. The body has enough parts to where you shouldn't ever have to reuse the same worked section 2 days in a row. 

Example

1)Heavy press: floor press

2)conditioning: pull, swing, calves, tibs, lunges, squats, single leg rdl

3)conditioning: press, (ditto)

4)Heavy pull: power clean

5)conditioning: press, (ditto)

6)conditioning: pull, (ditto)

Rest or repeat

Press = calisthenics presses. Use down, Juarez, straight sets, emoms

Pull = sandbag row. Normally this is a good place for calisthenics pulls as well, but that shit aint serving me at the moment.same type of rep models.

I list a ton of movement patterns after press/pull as a potential grab bag. Use whatever isn't tired. If you are going back and forth with dip Juarez valley and seated calf raises, guess what. The calf raises are your rest periods. They're filler episodes.

are you actually hungry?

I found a really easy method for discerning between actual hunger and the general desire to consume/craving.

If your body screams FOOD NOW, ask back - can you eat 6 eggs? If the feeling or response back is fuck no. It's a craving. Ignore. If the answer is yes, eat the eggs.

I'll take my money now.

conditioning is the assistance

Main work is easy to program. Work up to a top set. Do some backoff sets or a backoff set.

Assistance is a minefield of endless decisions with regards to movement choice, volume, and intensity. 

Conditioning saves a fuckton of time and energy. Assistance is dead. Conditioning is now also your assistance. Long live the new hotness.

look good versus feel good

I have to remind myself  of this fact daily: I feel amazing right now, but I also look objectively worse than 12 weeks ago. 

What changed?

12 weeks ago

- tired as fuck without copious caffeine.

- I trained full body 2 days a week. Everything to failure and beyond.

- goal was strength and size.

- off days were mace and stretch days. 

- Get some sun daily 

- I was damn near useless the day after lifting but soreness otherwise wasn't a thing.

- sex drive = not great

Today

- energy levels are amazing. Drinking less caffeine then I have in years.

- I train daily. With few exceptions (see: the occasional set of arms) nothing is to failure 

- goal is endurance.

- there are no off days.

- get some sun daily.

- low grade soreness every day, but it doesn't actually do anything.

- sex drive = constant. Not 20s levels but it exists

I gotta tell ya, my brain keeps trying to edge me back into looks good territory but in fighting it hard. I love the way I feel right now, and I'm just a few weeks in to this style of training. More to come in the future, but I need a reminder in print for the next 30min when I wonder if a 5/3/1 bench has a place in my life (narrator: it doesn't).

the things you do yourself

One of my favorite Dan John tidbits is 'the things you do to yourself are more effective than the things done to you for recovery.' For the life of me, I can't find where he made thos quote, so im going to accept the possibility of being dead wring and give him credit for the impotis for this post.

The tldr is massages are great. Acupuncture is great. Cupping is great. These are great for symptom relief but they are not going to be q long term preventive strategy. Addressing mobility takes care of a lot of the symptoms things like massage address. What you do yourself out weights what is done to you.

more musings on calisthenics circuits

30min daily calisthenics circuits are the tits.

Benefits:

- build basic calisthenics strength.

- build endurance.

- wakes you the fuck up in the morning.

- EASY to recover from.

That last one really surprised me as I've done daily calisthenics before. The big difference is 40min of only chinups versus 30min of chinups, dips, etc etc. Even if the volume is comparable, fatigue is managed in a way that doesn't bury you in a hole (I.e. you ain't hitting failure every set). Further, varying movements daily doesn't activate achy joints.

when it's cardio

As a newbie to calisthenics circuits, I find myself trying to figure out when to increase reps, change leverages, or otherwise introduce progressive overload.

The answer came this morning: when it's cardio.

It should have been obvious, but looking at the goal (endurance, hypertrophy) compared to my PM sandbag/mace lifting (strength) it makes sense. If you are taking rest periods because of a need for muscular recovery then your cardio is no longer the limiting factor. Conversely if I can burn through a 10down 5 movement circuit where my cardio is the only limiting factor, then it makes sense to do one of two things:

- increase reps. Even a new top set on downs rachets up volume (10 to 11 down represents a 20% increase in reps).

- change movement pattern/s. Calisthenics is uniquely suited for this via manipulating leverages. 

Leverage examples

A dip can become an l sit sit, a lean forward dip, an offset dip.

A Pullup can become a commando Pullup, a sternum Pullup, an l sit Pullup, an offset Pullup, an archer Pullup ect.

Which variation used doesn't really matter in the context of calisthenics circuits. We aren't trying to build specific strength or skills even if we get some as a side hustle. 

endurance: how I learned to toss the barbell

Starting out strong, there is nothing wrong with barbells. I've gotten a metric fuckton out of them for years and this is not goodbye.

Barbells, however, are not the ideal tool for the goal I set at the beginning of this year then proceeded to totally ignore. My goal were to get lean and build stupid endurance in the process. This is also related to the thought experiment I go through one a day - if I had to rebuild myself from the ground up how would I do it - if I had to be quiet while working out how would I do it - etc etc. also relevant is my nerves have been FRIED lifting to failure a few times a week. I am absolutely making steady progress week over week and physically I'm up for it, but I'd rather just feel good than look good. Weird that.

This has bubbled up into an approach to pilot. 

Tldr

AM - calisthenics circuits

Skill press, skill pull, spine/abs, press, pull, legs

Juarez valley, straight sets, downs, clusters 

Put 30min on the clock and get as many clean circuits as possible

Start with 5s, add a rep a week. Decrease regressions after 5 weeks and rebuild.

PM - sandbags, maces, clubs, and kettlebells 

Light day: maces/clubs/stretching

Heavy day:

- explosive 

- lower 

- upper

- mace/club

Put 30min on the clock and GO.

Deload happen when they happen.

Fasting used as a tool.

You should not reach failure during any set! That's not the point.

AM work is for building an engine.

PM work is to build brute strength.

'skill' versions of calisthenics work means unstable variations (rings) or power variations (plyo, muscle up). 

Regular calisthenics work means stable. Stable can use more complex variations (ex: pseudo planche pushup, l sit dip) as well.

calisthenics for loop

For loop used to progress calisthenics variations.

Increase range of motion until not possible

Decrease regression

(Repeat)

Increase skill

5/3/1 sandbags: another stab

Taking another crack at sandbag 5/3/1. I'm all IN baby. 

Schedule 

6 week cycles 

2 week mini cycles 

2-3/day a week lift 

2 week mini cycle

Floor press 5/3/1 ss Cali pull x 2

Sand high pull + squat ss Cali press x 2

Kb press ss kb chest support row x 2

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Reverse oh press 5/3/1 ss Cali pull x 2

Sand shoulders + squat ss Cali press x 2

Kb z press ss kb pullover x 2

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Reverse grip floor press 5/3/1 ss Cali pull x 2

Sand high pull + squat ss Cali press x 2

Kb press ss kb chest support row x 2

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Reverse wide oh press 5/3/1 ss Cali pull x 2

Sand shoulders + squat ss Cali press x 2

Kb z press ss kb pullover x 2

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Bi/tri/legs x 1

Daily

Mace swings outdoors

implement affinity

I don't like kettlebells. I've got plenty of posts talking about kettlebells,.getting excited about kettlebells,.and using kettlebells. I follow a ton of people that illustrate amazing ways kettlebells can be used and how they worked for them. I genuinely think that bodies built by kettlebells look amazing. Built like tanks but not huge. Entire bodies that clearly are not a collection of parts. 

All of this, and I'm just not into them. It's not their fault. And maybe it's just not their time, but my affinity towards kettlebells isn't great and that's ok.

Conversely, barbells, maces, and sandbags? Fuck ya brother. I feel great when using them. Get excited about using them. And I like how I look when I use them.

The point? If a tool isn't serving you, you are under no obligation to use it. Being bad at something isn't the same as not serving you. Everyone is bad at something when they first try. I'm talking about passion and interest not performance. Much like reading 150pages into a book you can just put it down. There are other books in the world.

mobility quality over quantity

Quality over quantity can be a blanket statement for most strength training, but it is especially important where mobility is concerned.

# reps per side and speed of movement is incredibly unimportant! The entire goal of mobility is to build strength in expanding ranges of motion.

Apply it!

- slow but smooth movement through ranges of motion

- fight for more range every rep

- do not fight through ranges of pain

more thoughts on a 5/3/1 2 day variation

2 days/lifting

Goal is building strength in key lifts

Weights use periodization 

Push the volume on assistance to build size

2-3 days/conditioning 

Goal is building work capacity and mobility

Weight is not important 

Multiple implements (mace, kb, mobility) is better than a single option

2-3 days/mobility and small body parts

Mobility ideally mixed in with conditioning

Small body parts (neck, calves, forearms) can go HARD in the paint. These are all slow twitch and recover quickly