Machete

Muscles are weird.

Myofibrillar hypertrophy, associated with increased force production, is attributed mostly to training with the phosphagen system; high weight, low reps, long recovery. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, associated with increased muscle mass, is attributed mostly to training with the glycolytic system; high volume, incomplete recovery. That's the hypothesis. Of course you have to learn how to use your muscles first, so neurological adaptation is one of the bigger factors. But usually athletic periodization goes through a hypertrophy block first before absolute strength.

This was specifically for a month, mostly to illustrate the dramatic initial effects of following one's diet in the short-term. For longer periods, I find that a gradual increase in muscle mass appears to be the more optimal way to go. Mostly strength training twice a week and glycolytic intervals twice a week.

How to fix a broken diet by Precision Nutrition The Get Shredded Diet by Dr. Berardi

Deadlift: 320 Bench Press: 215 Squat: 245 #GAINZ #MassIsInSession #BeastFromTheFarEast

Thread revival. I wonder how TS is doing. By the way, in boxing, seniority and belts are an ever bigger deal.

A few guidelines: Smooth Encounters | Psychology Today

Also, bombed a physical fitness test. 2-mile time down to 16:20, though six previous weeks of Murph allowed one to execute 90 pushups in 1 minute (then 35 more on the second). Which probably led to the shame-eating that I did, mowing down a 3'000+ calorie meal at Chili's.

On a related note, those accommodating resistance devices allow you to vary the level or resistance throughout the ROM. You can work the full ROM while putting particular stress on the top part, and it forces you to accelerate all throughout the movement. Useful training aids, though the cynic in me insists that the people at the gym who use it only do so to look hardcore or something.

1. I cherish the alone time. 2. I concentrate on breathing (through my nose, because I'm not doing intervals - it's a duration run after all). 3. I keep cognizant of my form. Form breakdown is responsible for a lot of wasted movement. (Running skill training) 4. I try to keep a steady 180 steps-per-minute cadence (the most efficient step cadence). A metronome helps a lot. 5. I think of it as an exercise in both cardiovascular output and attention span (something that this generation seems to be severely lacking on). Think of it as meditation. With all that going on, I'm pretty much multi-tasking every time I hop on a treadmill. In general, any form of exercise, if pursued continuously, will help train us in perseverance. Long-distance running is particularly good training in perseverance. (Mao Tse-tung)

Don't worry too much about it. Strength degrades a lot slower than endurance.

RossTraining.com

10 Worst Bro Science Tips

More than 15 years ago I looked into the bathroom mirror and was disgusted at what I saw; nothing has changed since. I've worked with someone in a similar situation. 30 years old and her BMI divided in half would be considered "overweight". Started her off with good old strength training (Stronglifts) and food tracking, making sure she got her lean body mass (in pounds) in protein (grams) and an adequate amount of calories to barely maintain her current mass (in order to repair her metabolism from years of yo-yo dieting). I think so far she's lost like 10 inches off her waist, is on her way to getting under 200, and people at the gym tell her she lifts like a man. Building strength is one of the best ways to start out. I'd also second DDP Yoga. It's one of the cheapest and most convenient programs that one can follow, if you happen to be into that. Yoga definitely builds movement quality, coordination, stability, and focus.

Squat's looking better. Hips a bit unstable, but feeling tighter. 210 for 5.

It depends on whether you're cutting calories or cutting carbs.

The psoas?

How Deep Should I Squat? by Tony Gentilcore The Best Kept Secret: Why People HAVE to Squat Differently

My name is Machete. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents.

And tonight's meal is called "Too Lazy To Cook". #AsianWarrior

Thanks. The muscle-ups, I couldn't tell you. I'm a natural; I was able to execute them on my very first attempt years ago. (I've also pulled-off somewhere around 50-60 consecutive regular pull-ups at some point.) This is the perfect illustration of how you shouldn't automatically believe everything someone tells you just because s/he is jacked / ripped / a pro athlete. If you asked me how I trained to be able to do muscle-ups, I would tell you that I walked up to a bar, pulled as hard as I could, and got my hips up there. And repeated 9 more times. (If you asked me how to make someone else be able to do it, there would be a completely different answer.) The principle of individual differences. Something apparently unknown to most people who follow all those celebrity workouts they see in Men's Health.

A bit weak on this week's numbers. We shall see how Squat day goes.

What I've discovered is that I suck big-time at determining what other people are thinking. The beauty of it is that it goes both ways - I don't realize when I'm fucking up, but I can't tell when I'm doing brilliantly either. So I figured I'll just stop trying to manipulate what I can't. People will think what they want to think; there's no changing that. And if they think I'm a creep or an idiot, then nothing I do on my part will convince them otherwise. Sure, I'll cry myself to sleep a little about an anonymous peer review at work where 98% of my co-workers think I'm a piece of shit, but I won't worry too much about it later. There's nothing I can do. If I knew how to make people love me I'd probably be a congressman by now. Just remember that our perceptions of the world are always tinted. We see what we want to see. What we see happening may not be what other people are seeing, and we may actually turn out to have much more influence in others than we think. Social awkwardness is more common than one would expect. There's just a lot of barriers in introvert-extrovert communication that it seems like you're speaking different languages. Put an extrovert out of place (i.e. in our territory) and s/he will look like an idiot too. I think that most of us just find a way to hide said awkwardness as much as possible. Some put on a game face and cultivate a separate social persona, some develop a dark air of mystery and intrigue, some just fuck-up so much that they eventually learn how to actually do it, maybe not too well, but well enough. Me, I just stopped giving a fuck about fucking-up. I walk into every interaction expecting to fuck-up, expecting to look stupid, expecting to get hurt. Whatever happens, happens. It's just another interaction that I'll have to power through before I can eventually retire to my chambers; I might as well try to entertain myself. If they think I suck, fuck them. They don't know me, who gives a shit what they think? I'm an autistic midget with cauliflower ear who couldn't get a hooker to sleep with him. What more can they say? Another thing though, once you find someone who is currently sucking worse than you, you will probably look back, smile, and say "I've been there" (even if you don't know the exact details of the other person's situation and/or level of resiliency). And maybe you'll tell the poor soul "It gets better. Look at me - I'm still here." and that poor sap will probably not believe you. Until s/he meets someone who in turn is worse-off. "Life's greatest comfort is being able to look over your shoulder and see people worse off, waiting in line behind you." (Palahniuk) I'm not going to tell you that it gets better, because I'd probably be lying. It doesn't get better - you do.

Cycles vary in duration depending on how you adapt to them. SL 5x5 is a strength cycle that goes for up to 3+ months, as long as you keep progressing.

How to fix a broken diet by Dr. John Berardi Excellent stuff.