Training.

5/29 - squats, knee/leg raise, calf press

"This is not so bad."

And government.  And law enforcement.  And all of it.

"I have humiliated myself in front of crowds a number of times. That’s how one improves."

Dignity and Other Obstacles to Success | Scott Adams Blog: "Personally, I think human dignity is one of the biggest obstacles to happiness, wealth, and success. I often credit my career success with a complete lack of human dignity. For example, if you take the Dale Carnegie course, as I did, part of the training involves acting silly in front of a crowd in order to release your dignity. Once you realize that your fear of losing face is the only thing making you nervous, you relax and things flow easily. Releasing my dignity has allowed me to make a fortune on the speaking circuit. I have humiliated myself in front of crowds a number of times. That’s how one improves. And my willingness to take that sort of risk is a big part of what puts me in a rare zone, fee-wise...

For practical reasons, I believe we should treat each other well, even when no one is watching. Human dignity adds nothing to that world view. Moreover, I have seen ego, dignity, and pride ruin lots of lives. I would go so far as to say that unless you have health issues, or you are unfairly imprisoned, the only thing that can keep you from happiness is an inflated view of your own self-worth. 

Sometimes life requires that we take jobs below our station until we learn skills, offer apologies even when we are wronged, suck-up to power when necessary, work long hours when we “deserve” some rest, risk embarrassment in front of witnesses, risk failure and humiliation, and get rejected by the people we hope to love. In that sort of game, the player unburdened with human dignity usually wins. Human dignity is, to a large degree, what made both of my parents suffer needlessly at the ends of their lives. I’m quite done with that form of magical thinking. And if California lawmakers decide I will not have a legal right to physician-assisted death, should I someday want it, I still have the right to own a gun, and that means I get to choose my exit."

Science, Bitches.

Training.

5/28 - bench, chins, pushups, pulldowns

  

"Exactly."

Still the best scene.  Coulson's reaction wins.

"Words are the enemy. Only action is real. We are what we do, not what we say."

Gosh Yes, The Middleman.

Training.

5/27 - deadlifts [repPR 180/396x7], situps, backxt

2'ish years running [mostly] Wendler 5/3/1 and I managed to hit repPRs in all my benchmark barbell lifts before I head out on 4-6 weeks of travel, moving and ad hoc/improvised/probably mostly bodyweight & conditioning workouts.  I did want to lock in some level of success/feeling of accomplishment by hitting repPRs in May.  So, I'm gonna #humblebrag a "Fuck Yeah."  Overall, solid progress, not having done any real barbell work in years.  Got some nice bumps in beginner gains/neurological patterning those first 3-6 months and just spent the rest of the year and a half grinding and eating.  Managed, I think, to take my lifts from "shit" to "suck" on the 'shit-suck-good-great' scale.  Except for squats, which are still kind of shitty.  Who'd have thunk it that no real squatting from HS football to age 40 would in any way impede strength or progress?  Oh, everyone?  My bad.

Part of the strength gains obviously came from the 'eat all the things and drink all the beers' nutrition plan, which, despite me thinking I should reign it in on several occasions, I never really did.  I'm gonna blame... well, nothing.  I was shitty about eating well to stay relatively lean.  End of story.  Put a couple inches back on my waistline and am about 20-25lbs heavier than when I got to Thailand.  [And that was already 5lbs heavier than the leanest I've been in the last 5 years or so... in Liberia & D.C.]   Let's call it, generously, half muscle/half fat.  So there's def some #fatstrong going on, but not too horrible.  The transition back to the States will be a good opportunity to lean back out and dial it in.

Started tracking repPRs after about a year into it [had to on deads, as the local gym only has 400lbs of weight and one barbell] but I really dug tracking it on the other lifts as well.  Kept motivation up and gave me goals and #s to shoot for every workout.  While the repPR only very slightly lines up w/the 1RM I do really dig it as a tool to track progress.  

In the last 2 years I've really fallen in love with the deadlift.  It's just a primal 'go pick that fucking heavy thing up.'  And you either do, or you don't.  And while doing them touch&go at heavier weights and higher reps invariably leads a gang of invisible, angry midgets to come and stab me in my lower back, I still dig it.  [Worth reminding myself, once I get back to a gym, that singles/resets/without coming off the bar will probably pay much higher dividends, especially wrt staying injury free.]  They always ask the pros the "if you could only do one [or three] exercises/what's you're favorite" I think I'd go with deadlifts.  Then chins and presses.  

So, the next week and half, take the workouts as they come w/a little bit of cruise control... then on the road.  Ever onwards...

#TheStruggleIsReal

Coulson Coulsoned So Hard.

"Signage."

Wheaton gets it.

WIL WHEATON dot TUMBLR: "Someone doesn’t get a pass, just because that person is family. If a person is a dick to you consistently, and has no intention of changing that behavior, I think you have to respect yourself enough to remove that toxic person from your life."

Language 101.

You're not being herded about because of love.

"There is a transcendental dimension beyond language..."

Western Civ 101.

The Gospel According to St. Carlin.

"It's a weird thing that you do when you make nature against the law."

Great documentary.  The Union: The Business Behind Getting High - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The film explores the growth, sale and trafficking of cannabis. The documentary examines the underground market by interviewing growers, police officers, criminologists, psychologists, economists, doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, revealing how the trade is booming despite being a criminal enterprise. The history of cannabis and the reasons for its present prohibition are discussed, often comparing it to the prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1920s, suggesting that gang drug warfare and other negative aspects associated with cannabis are a result of prohibition, not the drug itself. The gangs that grow and traffic the drugs are likened to those that appeared in major US cities during Prohibition, with the intention of profiting from the sale of illegal alcohol. The film answers many questions about cannabis, including the purported health effects of cannabis use, the gateway drug theory, and what could happen if cannabis was legalized. The film also discusses the medicinal value of the cannabis plant and what the pharmaceutical industry stands to lose from cannabis legalization."

The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007) - Quotes - IMDb: "If you've been caught - a young person, who's had so much as one marijuana cigarette - you can't get a loan or grant from the government to go to college. If you've been convicted of murdering somebody or raping someone, no problem; you go right down, they give you the loan. I guess the message is: It's okay to rape, and murder and pillage, just don't smoke a joint afterwards."

DVD here.  Or low-res embed below.

"We pendulum between our need for peace and growth and our need for destruction and re-creation."

'Comics Will Become A Lasting Aspect Of My Output' - Chuck Palahniuk Talks Fight Club 2, Plus Preview - Bleeding Cool : "“Evil” is such a pejorative word. Let’s just say that people crave change. We pendulum between our need for peace and growth and our need for destruction and re-creation. Most stories begin at the point where an existing peaceful system is failing."

Training.

5/26 - press [repPR 70/154x8], push press, btn press, gtg/chins