ethos | types of exercise

Summary
- Power
- Conditioning
- Grease the Groove

Primary goals: Moving well and staying in shape
Secondary goals: Strength and size

Preamble Ramble
2020 has already been decided. This January marks the first time I'm without a gym membership. It's been terrible. Just terrible. I miss getting up extra early to drive to a commercial gym filled with people who have trouble remembering that gym clothes need to be washed. I miss using equipment and movements that have been reinforcing injuries and movement patterns I have no current business doing. I miss feeling like I need to do X or Y to get stronger or bigger or faster or leaner. Terrible just terrible.

Woe is me. All I have at home now is a 8kg kettlebell, a 20kg kettlebell, a few lengths of chain, and a 20lb weight vest. All I can do is anything I can fucking imagine.

Let's break. I'm a little embarrassed about an article I wrote back in 2012. I was whining about how unequipped a hotel gym was to accommodate an accomplished lifter [sic] such as myself. What I failed to even consider is how much I could do with the equipment I had. How sad is the idea that without Xlb barbells or dumbbells I'm hamstrung. Mah stuff. I need, mah stuff. It's so easy to build something meaningful without a lot. I intend on adding more to my home gym over time - another 20kg kettlebell, heavier kettlebells (not sure where yet), high paralettes. None of this is really needed, but my toolbox expands into crazy directions with just a few more additions.

The reality check is I'm not going to pull 600 pounds. I'm not going to squat 400. I'm not going to bench 300. That's not the goal. I can't believe they ever were. Are my shoulders going to be weak or tiny when I'm able to strict press a 100lb kettlebell for reps? Is my back going to be weak after mastering weighted front lever rows? Will I be slow the more I master explosive movements like swings? The answer invariably is going to be a resounding NO.

With minimal equipment, I've kept or increased my strength and size in almost every avenue. Leaning out has become a factor from diet and training instead of just how many oly lifts I can get in. The best news here is I feel fuckin bulletproof. My neck has no looming tweaks. My herniated discs are quiet. Being able to do normal things like walk and run and fuck bring me so much joy I could burst. Good as time as any to segway into the cornerstones of the types of exercise in this program I'll post about.

Power | Feel younger and move better
One of the hardest parts about getting older is not feeling like I have a POP factor any more. Like most things with reaching older levels, you can still access perks from previous levels, but you have to work for it. Shit don't come for free any more.

Increasing power is not contingent on increasing weight. Increasing power, is not contingent on increasing weight. iNcrEAsinG PowUh iS nOt ConTiNGeNt oN iNcrEaSinG WaaaiiT. We good?

Way overly simplified
Power = Force * Velocity

Moving weight through space as fast and as hard as possible is the primary goal. Adding weight is a far far distant second driver. Before you add weight, you can:
- Add different lifting variations to the same weight
- Change the exercise so the plyometric effects are increased
- Focus on exerting more force against the same weight

Current toolbox
- Kettlebell swings: Two handed, one handed
- Explosive pushups: Palms, knuckles

Condition | Being in shape, leaning out, hypertrophy
This was hard pill for me to swallow. May 2019, my girlfriend and I went for a 2hr walk. By the time we got back to her house I was absolutely destroyed. My back ached. My knees ached. I was out of breathe. What the fuck man?

This was a moment in time when I was doing intensity techniques in the gym like rest pause, but also implementing 20 rep front squats. The latter of which I thought meant I was in shape. I just front squatted bodyweight for 20 reps. I'm in shape!!! I'm also...constantly worried my neck will get tweaked. I'm also feeling my still herniated discs just itching to numb my feet. I could do things in the gym other people weren't willing to do our couldn't do, but I couldn't go for a walk with someone I loved. Unacceptable.

Conditioning workouts are going to be a bit all over the place. The goals here stem from the acronym GPP = general physical preparedness. A certain aspect of randomness is going to be inherent here even if the toolset of movements may stay the same. Unlike increasing power, adding weight will be a huge part of keeping in shape, but like power there is not going to be a time when I'm unsure whether I can complete a rep. I'm a huge fan of conditioning tools that have a unilateral aspect. I've seen my back health increase steadily since I incorporated movements that force my abs on one side of my body to stabilize the entire unit.

Current toolbox
- Single arm carries: Suitcase, waiters, rack
- Double arm carries: Farmers
- Other kettlebell movements: Press, swings, deadlift, row, cleans

Grease the Groove | Doing a lot a little at a time
Grease the groove is a Pavel term. Essentially, you build strength by doing your volume a little at a time often instead of a lot infrequently. Your sets don't even look across the room at a party at failure, let alone flirt with it.

Greasing the groove is practice. Imagine your strength as paperclips you are dropping on your desk one by one. Individually it's not a lot. Cumulatively the effect is enormous. For me this essentially works out to some strength work and some hypertrophy work. Almost all of it is a short 2-5min break from working so I can do something else.

This is not an essentially part of Rollin with Chet. It's a useful supplement.

Current toolbox
- Kettlebell movements: Floor press, press, row
- Bodyweight movements:  Weighted pushups, bodyweight rows, front levers
- Other: Ab wheel

ethos | stress

Summary
Declutter to destress. Be surrounded by the things and people you love.

Preamble Ramble
First the necessary word vomit. Marie and I are not connected in any way shape or form. I don't get cash money from plugging her book or her method. I'm plugging her because of how she fits into the puzzle that is Rollin with Chet.

The Ramble
Marie Kondo changed my life in 2019. You know that feeling where you know your brain is on the right track to a decision but you need someone or something to give you permission to execute? That was Marie, fucking, Kondo.

I always noticed how my happiest times all had two things in common:
- I was not injured
- My house was tidy

Conversely, depression was always marked with clutter. With dishes in the sink. With collecting random crap I didn't need. I would find myself trying to find space for things that I no longer used but held a place in my heart. My super nintendo (what if someone wants to play), my VCR (isn't it cool), my various old Dragoncon costumes (my history), clothes people bought for me that I never wore (it would be rude to throw away these ugly fucking khakis I guess I'll worry about that when I die).

All of these things "had" a place in the sense that they were put away. Everything having a place meant that it was tucked away somewhere random. I had no idea where anything was, and I had no intention on using these things soon or ever. Because these things had a place, anything new added to my life had no space at all. I found my attempts to clean my house half hearted at best. Leaving me elated for 2 weeks until inevitably some small amount of clutter broke the house of cards.

The Purge
Enter Marie Kondo and her book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.' Your experience with this book may be different, but here is what I got out of it:
- Asking each item 'do you spark joy' is a decent indicator of whether it belongs in your current life.
- Removing items that do not spark joy leave you surrounded only by things you love.
- You do not owe anyone to hold onto an item because it was a gift. Shackles are shackles.
- You can honor your history without holding onto the items that defined it.

In a single weekend I offloaded more than 70% of my belongings. 5 trips to Goodwill. And many followed after. Words cannot express the joy that followed. I found that even the things I felt a slight regret about giving away didn't actually impact my life. Yes, giving away my Batman costume and PS2 was difficult. Yes, I freaked out a bit after giving away things that had followed me from my mid 20s into my mid 30s. But giving them away didn't actually do anything. There hasn't been a time since then when I thought 'you know what, I really wish I could play Kingdom Hearts 2 right now' or 'I really wish I could dress up like Batman and scare the neighbors.' Because those things don't happen. I was terrified at the idea of losing these things that impacted my life 0% whether or not they belonged to me.

It was important to me that two things happened when giving objects away:
- I thanked them for taking me this far
- I thought about how much someone else will enjoy them in the future

It Continues
This is not a one time event. I'm always looking for more things to give away. I always ask myself whether I want to keep the things given to me or pick up something new.

Do yourself a favor:
- Get a library card
- Download libby (app)
- Listen to 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up'

There is so much you can do for yourself with minimal effort.

the best things (post copy from previous blog)

Last weeks workout set me back months of progress. My back feels like crap. I feel vulnerable. Ive been lying to myself on how good my knees feel. Not because they feel bad day to day, but because when i try to do anything but exist or lift they feel junky (see: lift).

Here is why this is the best thing ever.

1. Ive been ignoring my back rehab in lieu of doing suitcase carries.

And bubbee, there is nothing wrong with suitcase carries. But this is only 1/3 of the plan i started a year ago. In "the gift of injury" there is no clause that states maybe haphazardly do the big 3 for 2 months and then your back gets fixed. Thats weak af man. No, the instructions are 2x a day big 3 and multiple daily walks.

2. Light lower back volume is still lower back volume. 

When working ive been doing little sets of single leg rdls. I thought this was free volume, but my back is still in there moving and not stabilizing. 

Last saturday i woke up and jumped into swings with a kettlebell ive never used and AHH WUH HAPPENED. Bro.

There is no problem with lifting daily, but leave the lower back alone when it needs some time. I have a feeling that sled drags are gonna be great here..

exercise | 2020 - 22 | sled drags 14min

Dunno how much i talk about this but i fucking love foods, supplements, and exercises that give me immediate feedback.

Food

• Broccoli? I feel like 1000 bucks
• Arugula? Every poop is my best poop. Why do i have so much poop in me? Is that always there? Lingering. Waiting. It just needed the fiber. Or. OR. Is the arugula making the bulk? The amount of arugula I ate != the poop I had. 
• Pasta? Someone is slowly choking me out

Supplements

• Maca? Earth crushing boners and orgasms
• Literally any preworkout? Explosive diarrhea 

Exercises

• Bench press? This feels wrong but everyone says it is gold. I must be doing it wrong.
• Behind the neck push press? The gains are out of this world but my neck keeps getting hurt. Part of the process I guess.
• Chinups? My entire body transforms when I can pull multiple sets of 3 with 90lbs+BW

Two(2) things have changes in this past week - I built a weight sled and hung 2 pairs of rings in my garage. The rings are being used for pullups, dips, etc, but I really wanted them purely for hanging for time. The relief provided to my back by a mixture of Stuart McGill's Big 3 and decompression hangs is fucking amazing and felt right away.

I mentioned sleds in my last post as well, but holy fucking shit I'm in love. My knees and back feel amazing. The risk of injury is really god damn low, and I cannot wait to start loading this more (which, is going to be super easy). Instead of buying plates, I'm picking up sand and/or pea gravel at ~$5 per 50lbs. Shove that shit in gallon freezer bags, duct tape up the bags so they are hard to break, and shove the bags in a larger canvas bag. For dirt fucking cheap I've got an easily loadable sled.



Equipment used:

• 20lb weight vest
• canvas bag filled with about 30lbs of pea gravel
• 45lb kettlebell
• 60lb kettlebell

Exercise | 2020 - 21 | Home-made sled drags

Hol-ee-shiitttttttttttt

Tried out my home made weight sled and it is a fuckin dreamboat. My back feels great. My knees feel great. I got in a great conditioning workout with only about 150lbs of drag.

I can load the sled more by adding in more pea gravel to the bag I slumped on the side.

Equipment used:
- 20lb weight vest
- canvas bag filled with about 30lbs of pea gravel
- 45lb kettlebell
- 60lb kettlebell

Dragged this forwards (easy) and backwards (way harder) for about 15min. The sled getting stuck was actually a great excuse to get some rowing motions in to get it unstuck.

Exercise | 2020 - 20 | Condition x Condition

Weighted carries + press + viking push press

Next

Kb swings

I feel elated but beat. This is a good feeling brooooo.

Carry

20kg, 4 rounds as far as i could walk of

Suitcare carry 

Rack walk

Press failure-1

Viking push press failure-1

Waiter walk

Switch hands 

(Repeat other hand)

Swings

8kg kb, added orange band

5 rounds 40s on, 20s rest

Didn't make it the entire 5 rounds. This is the 'soft style' kb swings as opposed to the quick and the dead. Im focusing more on endurance than power with a lighter weight.

single kettlebell | 2020 - 14 | 20kg circuit

Kinda did a choose your own adventure here.

4 rounds, 2min rest between rounds

1 kettlebell 20kg

Each exercise is performed once per side per round (clean x5 left side, press x10 left side, cleanx5 right side, pressx10 right side)

clean x5 then press x10

Two handed swing x10

Two handed sdl x10 (next time increase reps or make one handed)

Suitcase carry x100ft

For grease the groove during the week ive moved more towards weighted pushups, kb curls, ab wheel, and kb one leg rdls. I want to stay away from taxing my lower back until actual workouts.