01-13-11 04:46 PM - Post#670114    

What an amazing thing this is...Mark Twain might answer a letter, but we are in an age where you can talk...in pretty close to real time...with an author.

So, I don't mind discussing this book. I would like to pick up on Chapter One, but if any one has a question on the prelims, just ask away.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-13-11 11:30 PM - Post#670168    

On Chapter 1:

I really like the idea that not having to choose all the time frees up "mental energy" and willpower. Habits, as you mention, are a great way to accomplish this.

I've always thought that I could reach my fitness goals much faster is exercising was as much an habit as, say, showering. I don't think I've skipped my daily shower more than a couple of times in the last twenty years or so (I'm 26 BTW), probably due to camping trips or the likes. It's simply not an option. If I approached my exercise like my showering...

01-13-11 11:41 PM - Post#670172    

Excellent point. One of the reasons I love the "Zen Habits" website is that this is the basic point: if you have all of this and all of that...you can't focus on what you think is important! My morning habits were so ingrained until my life went crazy when I moved. It took me real focus and energy to regain my excellent morning routine (flossing is just part of the fun).

Too much stuff leads you to focusing on stuff and not what is important.

Showering and training are probably a lot alike. Others?

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-14-11 12:48 AM - Post#670177    

I don't think showering and training are alike at all.

Showering is something that (I hope) was mastered as a child and will not and does not improve. Nor is improvement desired. Who takes a shower that's over eight years old striving to be cleaner this time than the time before?

Treating training like showering means you are stuck. Just mindlessly going through the same motions each time will ultimately lead to mediocrity. Of course this is how a lot of people approach it. I see them on the eliptical trainers. Merely doing it is enough for them and they hope it will not distract them too much from the show they are watching.

Training methinks is something that should be supremely mindFUL. You need to be completely focussed on the task at hand. Everything you do should have a purpose and a reason. You should be striving to improve (even the slightest amount) at every session.

For me, squatting more than anything, focuses my mind. Having a 300#+ bar on my back is the ultimate attention getter. I can't hear the music that's playing. I can barely hear my partner, and nothing he says that doesn't correspond to squatting will not be processed. For that moment, there is only the squat. It is very Zen. My wife meditates, but I tell her all my meditation is done with a barbell.

There is also the concern that if you aren't paying attention to your squat you might get stapled to the floor.

Ultimately, the reason you simplify your life is so you can devote MORE mental resources to your training.

Never Let Go Discussion
01-14-11 05:58 AM - Post#670195    

Definitely an amazing thing, this ease of communication we have available to us.

Showering and training, sure, they're a lot alike.
And if not, maybe they should be.

A lot of mention here of 'habit' when talking about showering. Second nature, right? Get up in the morning, shave in the shower. Done before you can 'sing' all the lines to that Desmond Dekker song your wife hates to hear.

If fitness, health, strength, diet and the whole ball of wax (remember to wash behind them ears!), if these actions were treated with the same importance as not reekin' of B.O. and not having bad hair and a three-day beard at work, why, we just might make a little more progress.

Think how much energy you'd have for training and the right fight of sane eating if they were habits as ingrained as the shave, shower and shampoo habits. Habits. They're good things to develop when they're good things. And that other 'sh' action in the morning. If we could get to the stage where training was as natural and unquestioned as that 'sh' necessity, we'd be ahead of the mind games we seem to enjoy playing when it comes to that training, eating, sleeping, doing good things we know we wanna do.

Thing is, how do you go about developing these habit things?
Simple.
How did you go about getting the shower habit?

And how do you develop the 'habit' of hard training when called for? Come to think of it for a quick minute, how did you go about developing the 'bad' habits you might want to get free of? Maybe the same pattern that built up the 'bad' habits and slacking, procrastination and avoidance of honest effort could be used to build up the 'good' ones.

Why not.
Use the same template.

Sure.
After work I got in the habit of stopping off for a few cool brews. Sounds nice, right? After work I get in the habit of stopping off at the gym for a few sets and stresses instead. Sounds even better.

Once the action is ingrained, the energy (hey, that can of Free Will bit is great, real Aesop stuff!) yeah, the energy once spent on getting going to get the training flowing can be spent on the concentration needed to remain fixed and focused enough to lift with intense coolness.

Right.
Eddie Coan, eat yer heart out.

I don't know for sure without bringing in the guinea pig factor of self-experimentation, but maybe developing strong habits is actually a way of simplifying your life. It's often the questions of yes or no, should I stay (on the couch) or should I go (work out) that make our lives more complicated than they have to be. So, for sure, taking a single thing and making doing that one single thing a priority until it becomes habitual might be a successful plan.

Wonderful discussion triggers, and I thank you for that!

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 01-14-11 06:52 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

01-14-11 08:47 AM - Post#670212    

Free will is a wonderful gift, but we have to work at using it effectively. If we don't, it can be our undoing.

"Coyote is always waiting, and Coyote is always hungry."

01-14-11 08:55 AM - Post#670215    

• Matt Lentzner Said:

Matt,
I think the point is that making training "routine" means there will never be a question about whether it will happen or not, not that it becomes a habit in the sense that it becomes a mindless, automatic activity.
As far as showering (or driving, or washing the dishes, brushing your teeth, etc), there's always room for improvement - we just feel like we do it good enough. Break your good arm and brushing your teeth will become a mindful activity again. Hurt your lower back and showering becomes a brand new challenge. Drive in heavy traffic in a new locale and we regain that beginner's mind.

http://squatrx.blogspot.com/

01-14-11 10:08 AM - Post#670236    

Reminds me of an old martial arts maxim "To know something is to know it in the stomach." This means that the process has become automatic and doesn't require conscious thought. Internalized and ingrained.

You don't know a foreign language until you know it automatically. When you hear the word "hermano," do you mentally translate it to english as "brother," or do you just recognize and accept hermano? Do you know it in the stomach?

Training needs to become internalized this way.

Wicked

"I'm in good shape for the shape I'm in." "Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me." John 14:6

01-14-11 12:31 PM - Post#670262    

WW, I like that. Like being a Dad...I used to "know" when things were afoot. I think that has been the gift of "all of this' the past year. I have been reverse engineering why things I do work...or don't work.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Never Let Go Discussion
01-14-11 05:33 PM - Post#670309    

• Quoting:

That's something I never saw, Boris.
Any actions taken for granted as habits can suddenly become brand new. This might work for habits we don't want to continue as well, this idea of making them somehow new and just beginning, without the accumulated regret, guilt or giving up and giving in.

Way off on a tangent here, but maybe meaningful in some odd way -
The female octopus when birthing spends four months in her underwater cave, never leaving and never eating, strictly watching that the large number of eggs don't become prey for the hungries outside.

At the end of the four months, completely depleted and barely able to muster enough energy to float away from the cave, she dies, leaving the newborns to fend completely for themselves from day one with nothing but instinct. Each octopus is born into a new life with a clean slate, never knowing what awaits, yet still able to respond no matter what the days bring.

Check this out -
Inside a large tank, researchers put a crab in a mason jar with a screw-top lid, and an octopus inside the tank. After a few moments of thinking though the meal situation, the octopus wrapped itself around the jar, unscrewed the lid and ate lunch.

What's really worth knowing is that all the while, the researchers had placed a second octopus in viewing range of the tank. When they repeated the experiment with the second hungry guy, he immediately unscrewed the lid.

The experiment was repeated many times, all with identical results.

Hey, if these guys can learn from what they see their brothers do, for good or for bad, why can't we.

How do other people here develop a good habit?
I've tried watching octopi and there's gotta be a better way.

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 01-14-11 06:09 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Re: Never Let Go Discussion
01-14-11 11:20 PM - Post#670348    

For anyone who doesn't have a copy of the book yet, but is interested in joining this first chapter discussion, here it is -

click -> Chapter One: Free Will and Free Weights <- click

I have a feeling once you read that first chapter, the book will magically appear in the mailbox one day.

Providing you sent payment to the right place.

All aboard!

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

01-15-11 08:51 AM - Post#670374    

Telling everybody is a great thing. I've done it in the past and done well. But then I stopped. Sometimes there's embarrassment in telling people your goals. They don't understand. But maybe the key is to get over that embarrassment. To tell people anyhow, and if they don't understand, so be it. At least they'll likely remind you and hopefully silently cheer you on (which is quite powerful).

Something I'm working on, as a part of my spiritual beliefs, is development of the will. I never thought of it in terms of free will before, but it makes sense. You can increase your will, but you still only have so much and the more you exercise on things less important the less you have for those more important things.

Scott

01-15-11 10:31 AM - Post#670399    

Well, both routes work :telling no one your goals and telling everyone. I like the second because "help" appears from the Cosmos when you let people know your goals.

good discussion.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Never Let Go Discussion
01-15-11 07:25 PM - Post#670471    

• SB Said:

At first I was afraid to tell people I was trying to lose weight out of superstition- as if it would jinx me. But then one day I opened my big mouth at work and told my coworkers Kay, Frank, and Peter I was trying to lose weight. Every day when Frank came in he would ask if I'd eaten breakfast that morning. Kay reminded me to bring snacks like fruit and nuts I could nibble on when I wanted to eat junk food. Peter kept me from eating out of the vending machines when I was tempted. What a great feeling that was...then it became like a game. People love depriving you of what you want...especially when you're a taskmaster of a supervisor.

I like what you said about free will, and it made me think...one thing I've come to realize with regards to over eating is it's a form of exercising your authority over a situation. When I can't control the bigger issues in life, I still have the power to decide what I eat, when I eat, if I eat too much or too little. I'm a control freak, and I think this is why the first thing that went downhill when my life was a mess was my eating habits, because it was something I could do for pleasure that no one else had any say in.

When I finally got to the point that eating healthy was a lifestyle I was faced with a cancer scare. Talk about having no control...but I found that my ideas about food had changed. I no longer turned to junk food for a temporary fix; instead I turned to healthy food to hold onto the health I still had and keep my body in top condition despite anything that might be mutating in my cells.

Not sure where I'm going with this!

"Powerful you have become. Overhead squats I sense in you." -Gaz/Yoda I would like to come back as a palo santo tree on the weather side of an island, so that I could be, myself, a perfect witness, and look, mute, and wave my arms. -Annie Dillard

01-15-11 07:47 PM - Post#670477    

You made a excellent point. I believe in the power of community, as most know. Good post.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-15-11 10:45 PM - Post#670489    

Recently some of my co-workers and students have tried to fill me in on the current state of reality tv... I now have a clue what the show "The Jersey Shore" is, and who the Kardashians are. I've watched about 5 minutes of "The Bad Girls Club" and I've seen about 20 minutes (30 if you count a YouTube clip) of "The Biggest Loser".

Thank God my free will isn't tied up in tv programs. Btw, I hate it when people brag "I don't watch TV...", but it's worse to hear someone bragging about never missing an episode of South Park, and in the next sentence complain of being absolutely swamped.

Dan Gilbert, a Harvard psychology professor and author of "Stumbling Upon Happiness", gave a Ted talk about happiness - pretty good. Toward the end, he talks about freedom of choice being the enemy of "sythesized happiness". http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_gi lbert_asks_why_are_we_hap py.html

http://squatrx.blogspot.com/

Never Let Go Discussion
01-16-11 05:10 AM - Post#670495    

The High Priests of the Anti-TV league can be a bigger pain than repeating commercials. Maybe being selective about what you watch and how long you watch it would be useful.

Not any value judgment here on the selection at all! Just figure out how much of your 'free' time you want to spend on TV or movies and then pick which and what you want to watch.

I insist on seeing an hour or two a week of the absolute worst informercials and/or reality shows I can find. There might be more to be learned from the 'worst' TV than all the PBS Discovery National Geographic Knowledge Network Self-Help stuff combined. And how easy is it to believe the idea that if what you're watching every night till five in the morning is 'educational' or 'art' well then, it's not going to have a negative impact on your other plans. Next day it's almost like the TV didn't really care much about me and my feelings at all!!!


This thing about telling everyone about a goal is definitely usable. I made a choice to do this overhead squatting deal by the time I hit 60 and told people who don't even know what one is, in some cases complete with a long-winded explanation and demonstration. No shame. The dreadful thought of still being this big a goof about lifting when I'm 65 might best be avoided for now.

Surprisingly enough all that telling, on the phone, online and in person is turning out to be a better motivator than I am!

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 01-16-11 05:23 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Never Let Go Discussion
01-17-11 11:32 AM - Post#670650    

My focus at the minute is my diet and work. So my workouts have simplified to:

Walk out to garage gym with pint of tea.

equipment: olympic bar, circa 180kg iron, 4 mini tire bumpers@ 11kg each. and wooden rack and pull up bar.

and on the blackboard is written:

Deadlift 5,3,2

Front Squat 15,8,4 [after which 5 vertical jumps]

Press 15,8,4

I pick one of these, i just do one per workout and do them all in a week unless body tells me otherwise.

The only figure i record on the board is if the weight increases in the last set.

After this i do:

Pullups and however many reps i do 3 times as many press ups. 3 rounds.

Very little thought......

I may be getting ahead of myself but page 284 and the reference to the CNS and burnout were very applicable to me and found that short workouts/fast movements suit me.

Dan did you mention that you were writing something that discussed peoples suitability to a sport?

Blog Somatic Education

Edited by chrisl on 01-17-11 01:22 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Re: Never Let Go Discussion
01-17-11 03:23 PM - Post#670706    

A grand book...one that can be re-read and get something new...many single sentences stick...a truly fine collection of effective change strategies...strategies that work across different areas of endeavour.

"There aren't any secrets to training"...got me from the first para...after wasting many years with the "Weider principles" or secrets or new break-throughs...whittle down goals (strategy number 3) works best for me...avoid multiple conflicting goals...I am older now and know in my bones that time is the only non-renewable commodity...give myself sufficient time to achieve them...but allow some flexibility for side-tracks that life throws up at times but enough time pressure that I don't drift...to avoid being one dimensional, I make one goal in a few different areas - spiritual, physical, relationship, career, financial...not all equal level of difficulty e.g. relationship goal can be as simple as always offering my seat on a crowded bus to someone who looks particularly frazzled at that moment & needs a respite...I also find this saves me from being a "diet bore" telling others what I am doing as I have to get on with other things I have set myself to do...I used to tell others my goals but it did not work for me...I am not particularly externally motivated...it also seem to drain my energy...I went to the website Boris linked in above i.e. www.ted.com and saw this short video by Derek Sivers and seemed right for me.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/derek_ sivers_keep_your_goals_to _yourself.html

The outsourcing diet idea has worked for me in the past...and one I have returned to now...but rather than getting someone else to do it, I follow a pre-determined meal plan based on normal foods for 4 weeks & then repeat...I only eat what's on the plan and only buy what's on the plan...but it keeps me responsible for meal preparation...the one key thing that makes it work is to do the shopping on the week-end...if I don't do this one thing, it does not work...I then have to make-do with some take-out meal...never works as I order too much and give myself "permission" for treats as I have been working hard...wrong...so my diet strategy is just one thing - do the week-end shopping...deciding what to eat, when etc is "out sourced" to the plan.

I either have the pain of discipline or the pain of regret...discipline weighs ounces but regret weighs tons...I choose.

Cheers,

JP

01-17-11 08:25 PM - Post#670748    

Some of my new work...and it has a catchy title...deals a little with body types.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-18-11 10:18 PM - Post#670973    

Chapter Two this week?

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Never Let Go Discussion
01-19-11 07:21 AM - Post#671018    

Chapter 2: Rule of 5

I initially thought this was a chapter on repetitions of movement.
But it is more about challenges, that said not every workout is a competition as making a sport of training would be very hard on the CNS, tendons and muscles, all tissues have their limits.

I trained in a river based sport, canoe slalom to be exact and after a river based gate session myself and others used to pick an obstacle and try and paddle around it or back upstream through it and that often improved us more than the sessions themselves. Our sessions would be courses of gates on the river set up in the same places, places we knew we could reach. The games we played on the other hand taught us efficiency and grace with an element of competition built in, mainly around laughing at each others failures.

Some challenges were short term and some were long term, all were equally as enlightening.

As Dan mentioned most workouts are OK, some good and a few great. I heard someone say the other day I think they were discussing parenting and parents comparing their parenting, and someone said well i aim for good enough, don't beat yourself up.

Most of my workouts are just that “good enough”.

Blog Somatic Education

Edited by chrisl on 01-19-11 05:09 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

01-19-11 04:41 PM - Post#671108    

In hindsight, I thought my chapter on Free Will was my best work, but, for life, this chapter has it locked down.

I think I got it right as a dad a few times, got it wrong a few times, and just sailed most of the time. So, there were times I was a television dad and sometimes a People Magazine dad. Good days...bad days...and it is okay.

We live through life the same way. A moment or year flows by and we got it right and we got it wrong. Training is just a nice measure of this...

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Never Let Go Discussion
01-19-11 06:55 PM - Post#671142    

I haven't chimed in yet because I've been busy, but I'd just like to add one short story, Dan:

• Quoting:

The day after I first got Never Let Go, I was heading down to a beach house with some friends. I took the book to read during any spare time sitting around doing nothing. During the week, I happened to leave it on the coffee table when I went to the store to grab some things. I came back and a friend was reading it. This is a person with no interest in training and who normally doesn't read anything (except, maybe, a car magazine occasionally). But he was completely absorbed in it. Something there in Chapter 1 at least spoke to him. Though, I took it back before I could see how far he would have ended up reading.

01-19-11 09:40 PM - Post#671177    

That is pretty awesome to hear. It means a lot.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Re: Never Let Go Discussion
01-20-11 12:20 AM - Post#671193    

• Dan John Said:

• SamuelJ Said:

These two posts sum up one of the reasons I liked NLG so much- the ideas are universal. It isn't just about being a better athlete or making gains or losses, etc, it's about how physical battles can help us prepare for mental and spiritual battles via work ethics, discipline, perseverance...

The human struggle is common to us all, but we find different ways of dealing with finding our way through the struggle. My dad solves equations, my uncle builds violins...I see how far I can carry 50lbs of gravel before my knees buckle.

"Powerful you have become. Overhead squats I sense in you." -Gaz/Yoda I would like to come back as a palo santo tree on the weather side of an island, so that I could be, myself, a perfect witness, and look, mute, and wave my arms. -Annie Dillard

Re: Never Let Go Discussion
01-21-11 02:15 AM - Post#671421    

Re Chapter 2...contains two training principles that I now hold uppermost.

Learning that long-term linear progress is unrealistic is something that was absent from the the newstand mags I read as a young, unknowing novice...stole many productive training years...the push, push, push/man-up mentality also caused alot of injuries..with hindsight, it was not mentioned so I would keep buying next month's training secret or recommended super supplement to break through plateaus...the naviety I had was somewhat embrassing...but at least the lessons were learnt - eventually.

Having an un-load week (3:1 or 2:1) has been something that enable me to avoid injury (pretty much)...and also able to train around an injury.

I realise (now) that H/L/M workouts are really the only way that older, drug-free trainees can make long-term (consistent) progress...it fits into real life as well...I can train hard on Saturdays and then get in two other workouts during the week after work when I am (mentally)tired but still make some longer term progress...unfortunate when I read on the internet experts dismiss H/L/M as old-fashioned.

Cheers,

JP

01-21-11 07:47 AM - Post#671431    

You should even consider loading a Heavy Week-Light Week-Medium Week into your loading.

Now, don't go insane, but still plan your week with H-L-M, but let the first week be really all out with a "heavier light" day. The next week, bring it all back down (maybe even in number of exercises only, but this is just a discussion) and in the medium week, let things be like a "normal" week, then nudge it up again.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-21-11 11:02 AM - Post#671463    

H,L,M old fashion? I would bet that those who feel this way will adopt this way of training or they will walk away with burnout, or worse.

It don't matter

Never Let Go Discussion
01-21-11 11:27 PM - Post#671588    

People probably use H/L/M in a million different variations. Some types might 'split' a full-body load into a first (A) workout of say, maybe a squat and an overhead pressing move. A second (B) workout may be a pull and a horizontal pressing move. Some could do this six days per week, with the first day being Workout A - Heavy; second day Workout B - Light; third day Workout A again - Medium; fourth day Workout B - Heavy; fifth day Workout A - Light; sixth day Workout B - Medium.

It's not confusing at all, just a variation that still winds up with H/L/M throughout the week. There must be a million ways.

"That's too much to think about."

Anyone with a brain in his head is bound by law to realize after a few decades that nothing goes on forever at full steam without running out of coal. And maybe, just maybe the shorter cycle of a week or five days is no different (other than in duration) than the longer cycle of a month or year. As above so whatever. Part of the beauty of keeping a dated workout log (or a personal journal) is being able to see just how many times you make the same mistakes. And it ain't abnormal to do that. That bright shiny thing in some living room behind a pane of glass we keep flying into.

Anyhow, Chapter the Second!

And here again, Dan, I gotta say your writing on training is reassuring. Too few people stand up in public and straight out admit that not every day can or will be a keeper. Most seem to think motivation is all about pushing others to go beyond the natural bounds and cycles we play the game down here by. So, I congratulate you on that wonderful lack of shame! It's reassuring to know the blah-days and punch-the-clock workouts happen to everyone.

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 01-21-11 11:30 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

01-22-11 07:38 AM - Post#671604    

I had this theory that you should only train those ten to twenty great days and those ten to twenty awful days and ignore the middle ones, but I couldn't figure out how to do it.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-22-11 10:24 AM - Post#671624    

Reread chapter 2 last night - great stuff.

It took me years and many reminders that 3 weeks is about as long as anyone can really push. I find it increasingly difficult to push that long anymore however.

Learning to accept (not resign oneself to) less than stellar training sessions and performances is one of those things that's tough to master. I talk a good talk on this one, but it's harder to walk the walk.

So coach, how many reps did you get w. 315?

http://squatrx.blogspot.com/

01-22-11 10:25 AM - Post#671625    

As we get older we all have to deload. Whether it is planned or unplanned (injury) is the question.

I haven't felt well for a while -- niggling illness without really getting a cold or flu, aches from lots of snow shoveling, wonky shoulder from sleeping on it -- so doing 5-3-1 (actually I do 5-3-2) -- on the last set I've just been getting my reps, not maxing out. Limiting intensity.

01-22-11 11:20 AM - Post#671632    

Some times you need to really deload. If you sorta deload as I've sometimes done, you end up stagnating in the medium wilderness that Dan hates.

"Coyote is always waiting, and Coyote is always hungry."

01-22-11 11:49 AM - Post#671637    

• Steve Rogers Said:

Guilty. I can testify.

01-22-11 12:28 PM - Post#671642    

I think it takes something to accept medium workouts, but that awful and great workouts are easy to take.

When you're great you pat yourself on the back, when you're awful you just go in to denial mode or laugh at yourself, but when you're pushing medium weights, or have to back off of a great weight you get a sinking feeling of mediocrity that's hard to shake off.

"Every social association that is not face-to-face is injurious to your health." Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Never Let Go Discussion
01-22-11 01:35 PM - Post#671654    

• Dan John Said:

Best of luck with that!
It's funny, but sometimes I think the 'off' and 'blah' days offer more in the way of learning than the stellar ones. How a guy reacts and adapts to the ups, downs and flatlands is a special little bit of education not often taught on the soul's outer layer.

Whoa, it's terrible but true -
there's some exceptional lessons to learn from even the blurst, er, worst of times. Sure, that's a common hat worn by every thinker that ever lived: Getting and gaining (training) wisdom from what goes on during the out-and-out clay days lacking in soul could, maybe should, be of interest.

How do these barely-live periods, be they hours or days, change the way we view our main-squeeze successful times? And how about the opposite? Just how much effect does a peak training day have on those doldrums?

To cut to the chase
- what can a trainer make and take from his uneventful sessions that can improve the up-days?

- and what can be brought from the better-to-best days that will upgrade the value of his off-sessions?

For me, the lifting/training thing is an a large part just a way to better see what the blazes is going on down here with us peoples on Earth.

The old heave ho gets old fast otherwise.

I have no trouble whatsoever with light days when they're scheduled, no ego blows or nothin'. It's the days when the planned 'light' weight selections feel real heavy that I wonder about.

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 01-22-11 01:41 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

01-22-11 04:30 PM - Post#671676    

315 for thirty was the most I ever did. The plan was for many more, but it just didn't pan out.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Never Let Go Discussion
01-23-11 06:52 AM - Post#671718    

The best laid plans of rodents and the soul-laden, eh? Man does not live by success alone, and we're a little lucky that way when it comes to surviving.

Maybe these cycles that seem to take place over the course of a year, or a month, or a week might even take place over the length of each day. I do know there have been times when something that seemed impossibly clumsy-weak and hard to do in the morning would turn out to be a breeze later that same day. So sure, maybe there's a biorhythm that goes on through each day, and it might be an idea to find out if when something don't go at all in the a.m. there's still the chance for redemption in the later. Part of that day.

Short-term goals for the good days and those for the bad ones are different, no?

"Today, I'll get that extra rep/lap/plate/dollar." Good-day short-term goals are easier to come up with and reach.

"Today, I'll show up, no matter how lousy it's going." Bad-day goals sometimes involve avoiding procrastin - gotta learn how to spell that word one day - and making a conscious effort not to let the low-day influence your belief in accomplishing the long-goal.

Anyhow, back off topic again (and if a post is long enough you can rest easy in the fact that we internet readers won't generally go over the 50-word mark) -- what can a guy take from his low-days that'll be of use come the higher tide of training? We seem to think there's little or nothing be gained, no help given or to be found in the blah-days, much like that pious man perched on his rooftop come flooding.

I'm guessing for thing one thing, a person's consistency in being there for the show-up, with sunblock at the ready even on the rainy days, well, that'll increase the habit of 'doing' and decrease the rut-marks on the road of 'not doing'. Obvious stuff we love to forget when convenient? I read in a paper on "Selective Memory and Its Application to the Creation of Failure in Weight Trainers" that every time a plan is created and not followed through to completion or avoided in part, the subjects lost momentum in attempts to attain future goals. Some of these subjects even developed complex mental rituals to deal with their procrasternating!

I'm sure there are other qualities to be gained from the low-days of training. Nothing of this earth seems to be wasted, not one minute, hour, day, blade of grass or feather of bird. Maybe it's more a matter of our not seeing the usefulness and future in certain things, things like bad-days, down time and deload weeks.

I wonder about that straw that broke the camel's back. Could it be the same one the drowning man clutched at? Who knows. One things for certain, though. People do make some pretty cool hats and baskets with that straw.

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 01-23-11 07:12 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

01-23-11 05:15 PM - Post#671766    

Chapter Three

It's an honest chapter, that's for sure. I sure didn't hide much. With my photos and all...I even showed my blood profiles.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Beside Gregg Glassman's personal attack on me at his site, the Velocity Diet "candid journal" has been, financially, the greatest thing to happen in my career.

I wouldn't say I became a household name, but there was a lot of buzz about me doing this. The pros and cons really heated up and everybody had advice for me. The best came from Gary, "tomorrow you can quit the diet, but today, you will stick to it."

Towards the end it was easy. I went and did Afterburn II after that and really got lean.

My mistake was then getting back into the Highland Games...sure I won Pleasanton twice, but I really had to bulk up again. Then, the hip injury. But, that is what happens.

I'm candid about my issues. I was never fat...then, one day, I was fat! It's funny, but I still am unpacking the lessons of the VDiet.

1. Protein is something I need.
2. Gluten isn't good for me.
3. You probably need before and after pictures to do anything!

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-23-11 05:53 PM - Post#671772    

Did you really need to bulk up for the Highland Games?

"Coyote is always waiting, and Coyote is always hungry."

01-23-11 05:55 PM - Post#671774    

I was still throwing the 56...so yes. We can discuss this side point on the big board.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-23-11 09:48 PM - Post#671797    

I think the idea of doing one thing all-out for a month is a game-changing idea for me. Also, doing one thing for a whole year (olympic lifting for me this year) is another thing that has been big. Pick one goal, work toward one goal. Valuable lesson for me.

"Every social association that is not face-to-face is injurious to your health." Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Never Let Go Discussion
01-23-11 10:00 PM - Post#671799    

• Dan John Said:

Thanks for that Dan...very sound advice...I will avail of in 2nd half of this year...1st half is only fat loss...completing fat loss first before focusing on strength & muscle is what I have decided to do...I think that was your advice for those contemplating Mass Made Simple...pursuing twin training goals is largely ineffective, for me at least.

Re Chapter 3...in my experience, the mental side of weight loss is signficant to maintaining a stable weight for the long-term...to my reading, your chapter 3 brings that out as the cause of the unwanted weight gain...eating as a release from stress (work or otherwise)...strategies to combat over-eating (underlying cause) are just as important as the eating and movement part of the fat loss journey...the 3 training days per week goes a long way to providing the time to do this and achieve better progress overall.

MRPs did not work for me in the past...MRP "burnout" on 2 per day...sound nutrition and home cooking work better for me...requires consistent discipline to be better prepared, more consistently...which leads back to Chapter 1.

Cheers,

JP

01-24-11 10:09 AM - Post#671863    

'Honest' is an understatement. I thought you really opened up to everyone about you. Reading the chapter over again reminded me of the posts you made during this time and how amazed I was following along.

You couldn't be more right about pictures. After my knee surgery last year I had Pam take pictures of me and I looked awful to say the least. I placed them where I would see them every morning. Nothing more motivateing than seeing how 'fat' I was. I didn't do the velocity. I don't think I'm that strong but I did follow more protein and no gluten. Dropped from 232 to 205 in about 2 months.

"No excuses, no explanations" Tony Dungy "You can't always control what happens to you, but you can always control how you respond." Left Handed Freak

Never Let Go Discussion
01-24-11 10:25 AM - Post#671870    

I enjoyed Chapter 3 even though I normally have zero interest in all things diet...

The biggest ah-ha for me was your bit about using alcohol for hydration, and that you were thirsty when you quit. I go on caffeine-fasts from time to time (I'm on one now) and I always assumed that my "thirst" was a symptom of addiction withdrawal. Certainly one of those "Well duh of course!", but it took this chapter to get it.

Oh and the graffiti is hilarious!

http://squatrx.blogspot.com/

Edited by Boris on 01-24-11 10:27 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

01-24-11 01:33 PM - Post#671924    

Thirst is a really interesting thing. So is the number of calories that booze provides: I read that up to a quarter of college males calories come from beer (or whatever). That changes the whole system, I'm sure, quickly.

For me, "Green Face" has been the best diet advice for me. I'm working and I will post more later, but for most of us, it's going to meat and veggies, water with some lemon and doing the right human movements...

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-24-11 01:50 PM - Post#671933    

Beer, college males and females now...

Watching the Football games yesterday, the adverisments about beer and foolishness...The Buger Carls Jr has on sale 2 for $5 throw that into the pot with a 6er of Light or heavy, and you have a major health problem looking you in the face soon... High in fat, cals and sodium, along with all that beer

Some of those linemen are eating and drinking a lot of what is advertised

"I live, I lift, I ache, I am." - "I don't mean to be rude, but...junk is for jerks" "No pain, no gain' isn’t a nursery rhyme, and 'only the strong survive" ...Etc... Had to put in this quote... Current Quote "Eat better, train harder, be tougher, think surer and rest morer." ~ Draper Dave Draper **** Age 73 Semper Fi... GAB

01-24-11 11:54 PM - Post#672014    

I suppose I disagree with the dieting philosophy espoused in Chapter 3.

Weight-loss (and I don't even like that term - I prefer improved body comp) is something to be dealt with in a defensive manner - to reference back to my training thread.

It only makes sense to attack it offensively if you are a bodybuilder and have to be at 5% body fat on show day. It occurs to me that this is the salient activity of body building - the dieting - getting as fatless as possible while still retaining as much muscle as possible.

I think the whole concept of dieting is flawed. If you incrementally improve your eating the it is a cumulative activity that can build on itself with no backsliding or resetting. Having healthy eating as habit means not having to spend any willpower to maintain it.

The Velocity diet can never be a habit because it is not long-term sustainable. When it's over, then what? You need to have a plan after the plan. I suppose if it is an intervention that breaks a carb-addiction or something like that then I can see the value, but if you just gain the weight back then was it even worth the trouble?

01-25-11 08:57 AM - Post#672049    

Getting fat is like boiling a frog by putting it in a pot of cool water and gradually heating it. Insidious increase body fat increase tends to occur gradually enough that we ignore it until one day we "suddenly" realize that we have a problem. Eliminating the excess adipose tissue by whatever means is beneficial and an intervention like the Velocity Diet may be appropriate. Sometimes the best defence is a good offence. Personally, I've taken a more gradual approach, but YMMV.

"Coyote is always waiting, and Coyote is always hungry."