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 

weight is not the most important means of progressing

Lot of thoughts recently about this. At the end of the day, increasing the weight of whatever you are using as a means of progression absolutely matters. The callback is that increasing weight should not be your primary metric for progress unless your sport depends on it. Do you really think that an all out set of 20 of (fucking whatever) will not illicit a growth response or a strength response? You bet your ass it will and does. 

It is easier to build strength in higher rep ranges, so why not start there and slowly taper the weight up until you can't. And when you can't, either back off and ramp up or choose a similar movement to work on.

Your 5/3/1 top set with a goal of 3 ended up being a set of 12? GREAT! Don't change a thing. Try to get 12 again on the next cycle with a heavier weight. If you get 13, even better. If you get 10, also good.

is it science or marketing?

Beware the ads that use the word science or athelete to justify their existence.

'all natural athelete'

Athelete of what exactly?

'science breakthroughs discovered that'

How many studies are being conducted on getting jacked? Who are the subjects? What is the quality of this research?

Take it from someone who has spent untold thousands on supplements. They are overrated. Do not fall prey to marketing that is mascarading as science.

mace swings and mobility: match made in heaven

One of the hardest things to manage is sets of mace swings. I'm sure there's a way to program them, but it isn't something I've gotten ahold of yet. In general, higher rep sets feel better. I actually feel my lats and shoulders loosening up on longer sets. My grip and abs likewise get the biggest boost if im fighting longer time under tension.

The problem is usually rest between sets. How do you ensure each set is high effort without doing lower intensity sets as 'feeders' or taking long breaks with your dick in your hands?

Answer: super set hip and knee mobility with sets of mace swings. Also on the menu is small body parts bodybuilding (calves, neck) but choose your journey. Instead of a rest period or a sub par future set, you get in some productive work you were going to try and skip anyways. 

Example

Set a timer for 30min

Mace swings: goal 100 reps

Hip mobility / isometrics (both sides)

Mace swings: goal 100 reps

Neck curls front/back

Mace swings: goal 100 reps

Hip mobility / isometrics 

Mace swings: goal 100 reps

Neck curls sides

If time remaining, repeat

Isometrics and mobility prioritize quality over rep count

Small body parts done to failure

piecing together a 2x/weekly 5/3/1 program

This a very upper body heavy program out of necessity. Typically the 'row' item below would be a squat, but that's not the times we live in. Choose your journey accordingly.

Build Your Deck

Hinge: pick 1

Row: pick 1

Press: pick 2 

Calisthenics press: pick 2 

Calisthenics pull: pick 2 

Biceps accessory: pick 2  

Triceps accessory: pick 2  

Shoulders accessory: pick 2 

Choose movements you can push relatively hard. If you are at constant risk of injury with even light poundage, you are better off choosing a movement (or range of motion) where this is not the case. Simultaneously work on fixing your shit via mobility so you are not land locked into your choice forever.

Stick with movements as long as possible. Start cycles lighter than you need to.

Program

2x/week full body. You will cycle through all movements and rep ranges over a 2 week period.

   5/3/1 6 week cycle. Does not include a deload when cycles are completed due to low frequency.

   + means 50 rep goal in 4 sets.

   ++ means 1 all out set. Use rest pause, drop sets, whatever. Weight does not increase for 6 week cycles.

2-3x/week conditioning. 

For me, this involves swinging maces (again, all upper body). For you, this could mean kettlebells, bodyweight movement, long walks, whatever. The goal is to move well and get in shape.

2-3x/week mobility.

Mobility <> stretching. Think of this as expressing strength in increasing ranges of motion. There are a ton of tracks to choose here (even yoga is a good option) but don't get paralyzed by options. Choose something and do it often.

Think about kids - 20 somethings. They aren't worried about mobility. Why not? Because they're always fuckin moving in different ranges of motion. Ever look at someone with their knees on the ground and think dag yo that would be nice? Ya, mobility. 

Example program - 2 week cycle: This is literally what I'm doing.

Week1

Sumo Deadlift 5/3/1 super set Archer Pushup+

Reverse Grip Floor Press+ super set chinup+

Giant set++

- Cossack squat

- pelican curl

- tricep extension

- rear delt raise

Floor Press 5/3/1 super set Ring Pullup+

Sandbag high pull + super set Pseudo Planche Pushup+

Giant set++

- landmine hack squat

- one arm ring curl

- kettlebell pjr pullover

- plate raise 

Week2

Reverse Grip Floor Press 5/3/1 super set Bodyweight Row+

Sumo Deadlift+ super set Archer Pushup+

Giant set: asst 

TBar Row 5/3/1 super set Pseudo Planche Pushup+

Floor Press+ super set Ring Pullup+

Giant set: asst

5/3/1 Explanation

Week 1-2: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%xas many as possible

Week 3-4: 70%x3, 80%x3, 90%xas many as possible

Week 5-6: 75%x5, 85%x3, 95%xas many as possible

If you've got the energy/powuh for it, follow the top set by a backup set of 'as many as possible' using the lightest weight for that day.

After each 6 week period increase the max working weight:

- Upper: 5lbs.

- Lower: 10lbs.

5/3/1 sandbags

Been having a gas with a 5/3/1 variation. Jim Wendler's fingerprints are here but he didn't write the actual program. The roots of this method are in 5/3/1 forever - 2 day a week training + first set last.

Two week cycles

Six week program

+ 50 rep goal in 4 sets

++ 60 rep goal in 4 sets

Week 1

Sandbag squat 5/3/1 ss calisthenics press+

Reverse grip floor press+ ss calisthenics pull+

Biceps, lats, hams, triceps, shoulders++

Floor press 5/3/1 ss calisthenics pull+

Sandbag deadlift x 4 ss calisthenics press+

Biceps, lats, hams, triceps, shoulders++

Week 2

Reverse grip floor press 5/3/1 ss calisthenics pull+

Sandbag squat x 4 ss calisthenics press+

Biceps, lats, hams, triceps, shoulders++

Sandbag deadlift 5/3/1 ss calisthenics press+

Floor press+ ss calisthenics pull+

Biceps, lats, hams, triceps, shoulders++

Sandbag movements progress range of motion then weight.

- 6 weeks: two block

- 6 weeks: one block

- 6 weeks: floor

- 6 weeks: two blocks new weight

5/3/1 sandbags days have two carries until failure:

- top set

- last set

+ Sandbag days use one carry until failure on the last set.

Off days:

- mace, club

- mobility 

ROM, weight, and volume: what is actually important?

After my neck injury in 2021, I found myself completely unable to pull with my left arm. Given I was never able to do a 1 arm Pullup, my pulling power slowly degraded to the point where I had less strength than before I started training. Brutal.

The years passed and the nerve damage slowly unraveled (note: it's still there yo, just muted most days) I found myself able to do a ring Pullup again. Ring. As in singular. My internal monologue soared! LOOKS LIKE LATS ARE BACK ON THE MENU BOYS. Except they weren't. Training ring pullups didn't seem to make anything grow because I couldn't put in the volume and intensity needed to force any meaningful adaptation. 

What I could do were ring rack chinups for comparitively higher reps. I saw these as a stepping stone to doing the actual important work (actual ring pullups + weight) and completely missed the lesson I inadvertently learned.

"Working movements in a range of motion and weight that allows gains in intensity and volume is more important than full range of motion + more weight if the latter two cannot be expressed with intensity or volume".

I.e.

Your sets of 1-3 basic bitch moves aren't helping as much as you think they are if you lack the foundationation strength. 

Again, I accidentally learned this years ago while running the hepburn method. What was comfortable to me were multiple sets of 2-3. The afterthought were the back off sets of 6-8. But that's where the magic happens! I was never at risk of failing a set of 2-3. Sets of 6-8 were fucking scary with big movements and pushed my body to places I hadn't seen before. 

There's nothing wrong with my original desire to get back to full range of motion ring pullups. BUT, there is an infinite amount of steps I can take in between now and then and STILL make excellent progress with strength and physique.

the generalist and systems, not goals

I'm not training for a specific goal. I have no much lose X pounds or lift Y weight, but I still want to improve my healthy size and strength. The most specific I will ever get is: I should be above average at most things I never train for. Meaning my body will never be the limitation on what I try. My skills on the other hand? You can exhibit athletic qualities without being an athlete. 

Without a specific goal in mind, training and diet work better within the realm of a system of approach. Said system differs from a program as there is no intended results or outputs - very similar to Dan Johns park bench versus bus bench type of programs (note: this being a firm park bench). Your system will look different than mine. 

System params

Lift

- 1x every 3 days.

- linear progression. Swap movements when progress stalls.

- multiple small meals.

Non lifting

- one meal a day.

- highlight odd objects - sandbags, kettlebell, maces, etc.

There are no parameters tied to specific reps, weight, movements, or sets. Effort and consistency trumps a plan. I will never win a competition with this system, nor do I intend to or care. I will on the other hand, make progress on all metrics I give a crap about without needing to get specific. That's good enough. And good enough is pretty good.

prehab and rehab per fuckup

Prerequisite I'm not a doctor. This is not advice. Everything in this post has worked for me when I've been hurt or trying to prevent being hurt for different body parts. Take as you will.

Lower back

Injury history

- 2011: L5/S1 herniation. Could barely move.

- 2018: L5/S1 and other (forget which) herniation. Way fuckin worse than 2011.

Healing tactics - Charlie what do now

- daily walks. Frequency is way more important than length (3x 10min > 1x 30min).

- abdominal work. Whatever is possible - planks, side plans, ab wheel, mace/club swings.

- Romanian deadlifts/good mornings. Bodyweight (i.e. unloaded) if need be. Wait until traumatic injury pains are dulled or gone before embarking. The goal is to move through a long range of motion and get copious amounts of blood flow.

Training while injured - Charlie what do

Calisthenics are your friend. If an angle or range of motion hurts or makes your pain/sciatica worse, don't do it. Crazy right?

Good example with me. Pullup and dip variations feel great. Pushup and row variations felt awful because of massive pressure I felt on my back. If it hurts, don't do it!

Prevention tactics - Charlie how not do again 

- repeat of daily walks and abdominal work from healing tactics.

- strengthen and stretch hip flexors and hamstrings.

Neck

Injury history 

- 2021: Multiple disc bulges. My entire left arm went numb for an extended period of time (note: as of 2024, some residual nerve damage is still present). I lost the ability to pull with my left arm entirely.

Healing tactics

- repeat of daily walks from lower back section

 You really just should be walking a lot bruh. 

- stretch chest and neck as possible. Mobility through large slow arm swings and neck rotations. Only work in pain free ranges of motion or ranges that do not increase your numbness.

Training while injured

Not gonna lie, this fucking sucks. Your options are very limited unless you want to prolong your injury timeline.

What worked for me was all lower body focused where load was not a main factor. Specifically:

- bodyweight squat variations.

- sled drags.

Prevention tactics

- repeat of healing tactics.

- avoid blatantly dangerous exercise variations (note: for me, this is barbell overhead press) until your shit is fixed.

- mace swings are greatly assisting with mobility of my chest, shoulders, and lats. This has been $$$$. Notably, mace swings when I was healing was the exact opposite of what I needed. I would have been better off doing pendulum swings (which I do for warmups now) to open up my last and shoulders).

Knees

Injury history

2019: decided to do multiple weeks 20 rep front squats with bodyweight. Lol ok. Nothing diagnosed other than it fucking hurt.

2021: hurt my neck and knee at the same time. Again no diagnosis.

2023: weird ass nerve damage due to a swelling of the patella tendon.

Healing and prevention

I don't know man. I'm still working this out, but I'm making progress. I've been to multiple rounds of physical therapy, and they were great to help me move from barely functional to absolute shit but could walk ok, but the move back to athletic is ongoing.

Finding one arm.weighted walks feel VERY good

What has helped:

- knees over toes 'zero' protocol. Exactly as written.

- engaging my entire foot when lifting and spreading my toes. 

- sled work sparingly. Knees over toes touts this a ton, but backwards sled especially tightens me up.

- slow introduction back into leg training has been helpful. Ripped directly from Julien hard:

1. Add frequency before volume and fatigue

2. Add volume and fatigue before full range of motion

3. Add full range of motion before adding load/tension

4. Add load/tension before adding speed

5. Add speed before impact

Add one variable at a time. 

lady bulk

My dog, Lady, has the best eating discipline. No, it doesn't make sense. Yes, I get jealous every time I see her eat. 

What does she do that I envy? She refuses to eat any meal unless she's been walked, has played, or sprinted. What does she eat (granted, she doesn't have a choice here)? High ass protein and fat. The result is a jacked pitbull mix.

The lesson here is earning your calories then choosing the right fuel. Is there any real reason you need to eat before you've exercised? This isn't a nod to say if you don't exercise then you don't need to eat period, but a one meal a day format works great to compliment that situation. 

Food should support your activity level. 

power calisthenics: Downs variation

No idea if this is a forever idea or not. Weighted carries are possible, but it's prolonging my knee healing time. It makes more sense to lean into what I can attack now and rehab what I can't.

AM

(1)

Weighted push/pull, downs

(Same movement) Bodyweight push/pull, downs 

(2)

Gut work, downs

Choose: tib, calf, hip flex downs

Straight arm holds

PM

(1)

Bodyweight downs

(2) 

Sled

Don't go to failure. You should get close anyways over the course of down workouts. 

Increase weight when you can hit an 8 down.

Switch movements liberally and often. We don't want no overuse.

power calisthenics: rehash

AM

(1) Dips + rows + swings 

(2) Mobility + abs 

(3) Pushups + pullups + swings 

(4) Mobility + abs

Tenants 

Do weighted variations every 3rd session

Progressive calisthenics imported when the top set variations become too easy (15+ reps)

Regularly go to failure

End each upper day with isolation movements

PM - options not necessities 

Carries - Farmers, keg 

Sandbag - squats, carries, throws 

Sled - pull through, rope drag

Other - pullover, cable pulldowns 

Diet

Mythical strength chaos is the plan. 

I.e. meat, eggs, and vegetables when hungry 

I don't generally audit myself when having dinner with my wife except with dessert

I really like Rob MclHenny's take on the meek. As in the meek shall inherit the earth. I always heard this as an excuse to be weak or the passed over are truly the chosen, but that's not the case in Rob's version or the biblical version. I like the version where the meek are people who have the capacity for violence and strength but choose to be peaceful. In Vinland saga, this is the core tenant of a warrior - I have no enemies. But you cannot choose to be peaceful if you are forced to be peaceful by the fact that you are indeed weak and an easy target. 

In an application to training, it is your responsibility to be strong and powerful. This doesn't translate to a 1 rep max. This translates to being a generalist with medium to high attributes accross the board. Your hybrid athletes or red mages. Extreme capabilities are fucking cool but come at a cost. Be extreme compared to the normal human.

easy strength as a base

Easy strength was built for athletes to train a single quality, strength, then spend the majority of their time on their sport. It's a minimalist program by design that can exist in isolation. As a non athelete I'm finding it's value in other ways.

Easy strength value points

- time efficient: even days that are fucked at work mean nothing. I already got my workout in. I'm low key prepping for become a father when I know I'll have even less time.

- scratches the itch for working from home. Days off when I work from home are unbearable. I need something to feel sane and easy strength provides an outlet to lift daily without excess stress 

- increases walking around strength. When you respect 'only increase weight when it feels too easy' the poundages creep up without a ton of effort.

I'm a little more than halfway into a round of easy strength and can confirm there is HIGH value with never pushing sets close to failure or even struggle. As Dan says, this feels like you are 'not doing anything'. I promise you, it is. 

So far, easy strength has NOT been something I would use to peak strength. It's been great for slowly raising the floor of what I consider light weight. A weight that was a hard single a few weeks ago (I e. Before the institution of don't struggle fuck me standing) is an easy double. I fully expect to add another 10lbs to what is 'easy' on this lift before this 40day cycle is over.

The fun surprise is that I've been slowly growing. Not a ton, but a little. For a program that is not hypertrophy focused this has been pretty damn cool. When you think about it, it makes sense. None of my reps are grinders, but they are definitely within the threshold for hypertrophy (within 5ish of failure if the science doesn't change in the next 10min). Compound that by 6-10 effective reps per day every day and you can see how you can get a little meat with your strength.

Fun surprise 2 is my mental state. If I'm pushing reps close to failure I tend to get down in the dumps and lethargic. Meticulously avoiding failure has been a great workaround.

All in all, I'm very much enjoying this round of easy strength. It's sustainable long term and opens the door for so much more. 

The everlasting schedule 

- easy strength as a base

- carries, kettlebells, and sprints to stay bouncy

- extra grease the groove upper pulls for fun

- small body parts for work breaka

Mini Workouts: high frequency and low time

I accidentally had two great workouts yesterday. In both instances, I was low on time and had a specific goal. In both instances I walked away feeling better than I started. In other news, I had the best night sleep I've had in weeks. IM SURE ITS UNRELATED.

Striking while the iron is hot on this concept. I've been gravitating away from longer (60+min) workouts for a while now. Partly because I've got things to do with my wife, friends, and job. But mostly because I just don't have the patience anymore. What can I do in 60min that I can't do in 20min? When I keep my workouts shorter but more frequent, I can scratch the conditioning itch I have multiple times a day without burying myself in fatigue. Some ideas below.

The only consistent variable (with a notable exception) is working to failure. It's ravenholm, and we don't go to ravenholm. Your notable go to ravenholm exception is for small body parts (neck, calves, tib, forearms). Go nuts on that shit.

Strength 

(1)easy strength workout. This is the base.

(2)one movement. Work up to a rep max (5-10). 

Bodyweight, kettlebells, sandbags 

(1)Juarez valley method.

(2)Dan John ladders (1,2,3 / 2,3,5 / 2,3,5,10).

(3)Downs.

(4)Straight set circuits.

Notes: 

- bodyweight only: Progress the movement if you can bang out too many reps.

- choose 2 movements from one or multiple implements, set a timer for 10-20min and go to town.

- all method top sets are NOT using your max possible reps. You should avoid hitting a set you can't complete or need multiple attempts.

- movement VARIETY is your friend. This is not a programmed section, this is candy land. If you keep rolling the dice you will get to what you want regardless of the stops on the way.

Carry implements: farmers, swing straps, leg

(1)distance and weight vary 

Small body parts

1-2 sets to failure. Use drop sets, rest pause, whatever. Think outside of the box! There are tons of angles you can use for forearms and the neck. Calves and ribs are a little more streamlined.

Stretching and Mobility

Didn't think this would be here eh? Well fuck you Elmo this is the coda to this story. There are a billion outlets to get you started. Do what you can and do it consistently.

I fully allocate my good nights sleep to stretching before bed. I did not go to bed tight and in pain and WEIRD I slept better.

Accepting injury. Sticking to the plan.

It's important I log mental paradigm shifts. I've written about doing what you can in the midst of injury multiple times. What I have not talked about is becoming numb to setbacks.

The gift of injury

Last week my knees were feeling great for the first time in a long time. I decided to take a light sandbag (50lbs) and take it for a walk. By that evening both of my knees were on fire. It didn't hurt necessarily, but everything was screaming DONT DO THAT STUPID. I lay in bed with my wife and vocalized my frustration. Phrases like 'I didn't deserve this' and 'I set myself back weeks' poured out of my brain. As always she was empathetic to my frustration. We passed out and that was that.

Days later, my knees still feel like shit. I've done nothing physically with my lower body other than go on long walks. I'm objectively in worse shape than when I first complained a week ago, but my mental state is MILES ahead. 

This is the gift I received from a set-back:

• Realizing I'd been shirking the mobility courses I purchased. My body will not heal unless I give it a reason to heal.
• Remembering my catastrophic neck injury in 2021. What used to be the inability to feel or pull with my left arm is now barely a numb buzz. Through persistence and strength training, I will recover.
• Refocus my goal on brutalizing my upper body. There is a mountain of progress I can make that is unrelated to my knees.  

2024 Goals: Ring Muscle Up, Shoulder a 150lb Sandbag, Snatch a 24kg KB for 20

First day back at work for 2024. Fresh in my brain are the physical goals I have for 2024. 

GOALS:

• One(1) Ring Muscle Up.
• Shoulder a 150lb Sandbag.
• Snatch a 24kg KB for 20.

Given my current strength levels and progress in my program, these are extremely achievable. I'm actively working towards a ring muscle up daily, and I'm laying the bricks that will allow my body to safetly murder the other two(2).

The why behind each goal is easy. I've always thought I was too heavy for muscle ups. The change was a mindset shift on bodyweight training. A heavier starting point means each rep has more muscle building potential. If I build my upper body back up while simultaneously practicing the skills tied to muscle ups, this 

Shouldering a 150lb bag is likely doable now, but not without aggravating my knee. I want to be able to throw this bag around pain free. Then do it again and again and again.

Snatching a 24kg KB is weirdly the biggest reach goal. A full KB snatch scares me even with 16kg, and 24kg is generally considered the minimum 'working weight' most men should be using before you can see much in the way of results from KBs. This is entirely arbitrary of course, but I want to throw around a weight that scares me a little now.