Author: hsoi

When you’re dead, you’re dead; until then, keep fighting.

/ hsoi

When you’re dead, you’re dead; until then, keep fighting.

No matter your background, no matter who you are, what circles you run in, whatever it is you do in your life and world, this maxim applies.

You see, when you are dead, and I’m talking heart stops beating, blood stops circulating, lungs stop breathing, brain stops functioning, whatever and however you want to define it, but you are truly dead and there’s no ability for you to undertake (further) action. Well, when THAT point comes, then you are dead and obviously you can’t do any more.

But until that time comes, you aren’t dead. And so you must keep fighting.

Certainly this applies in self-defense contexts, and I’ve said this phrase in numerous classes. Recently Greg Ellifritz posted this story:

A 57-year-old Bronx livery driver chased a robber who had just shot him Wednesday, police sources said.

… Sources said the robber shot the driver in the shoulder and the hand and fled.

The cabbie drove after the fleeing suspect for half a block along Longfellow and struck him with the car, sources said.

Driver was shot, but wasn’t dead. So he kept fighting, chasing his robber and hitting him with his car! There are countless stories like this, where someone is attacked but keeps fighting and as a result are able to win, or at least survive the encounter. But as well, there are many stories of people attacked, maybe shot, but despite their wounds being minor or certainly survivable, they give up and die as a result.

When you’re dead, you’re dead; until then, keep fighting.

A couple workouts in the gym recently were quite difficult. 100 reps of something, if you really work hard, you use a challenging weight, it can be an excruciating experience. Your brain starts to tell you to stop, your body starts to scream in pain. It really becomes a mental game to get 100 reps. Yes you could give in, but the reality is that it’s all in your head; if you really can’t do another rep, then your body will stop moving and truly you won’t be able to do another. But until then, you keep pushing on through the pain. Granted this is just  lifting weights, but it’s a good way to learn to accept the pain and keep pressing through it. To not stop until truly you cannot continue, not to give in to other factors that try to hold you back.

When you’re dead, you’re dead; until then, keep fighting.

When you’re in business for yourself, it can be tough. Startups will struggle. You will run out of money. You will wonder how you will pay your bills, both business and maybe personal. If you have dependents (e.g. children), will you be able to keep them from suffering too? Sure you could give up, but why?

When you’re dead, you’re dead; until then, keep fighting.

Really, it doesn’t matter the context, the situation, whatever it may be in life.

When you’re dead, you’re dead; until then, keep fighting.

2014-10-21 training log

/ hsoi

Time’s short this morning. Get in, lift, get out.

Squats feel strong. I will bump up the weight next session.

Sumo’s feel better each week. For sure, I’m better built for conventional, but this continues to be an interesting experiment. I do think sumos may play well as an assistance exercise for me, but needs more time to know. Today tho I opted to work up a little further, and the 315 went up very easy. Next week I think I’ll try to do a further workup until I miss to see really where a good working weight is for me, then do a more formal programming around that.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • Squats (model 1)
    • bar x 5
    • bar x 5
    • 150 x 5
    • 175 x 4
    • 205 x 3
    • 225 x 2
    • 260 x 1
    • 180 x 5
    • 180 x 5
    • 180 x 5
    • 180 x 5
    • 180 x 5
  • Sumo Deadlift
    • 135 x 5
    • 135 x 5
    • 185 x 5
    • 185 x 5
    • 225 x 3
    • 225 x 3
    • 275 x 1
    • 295 x 1
    • 315 x 1

2014-10-20 training log

/ hsoi

It was a good day.

I do think model 2 is working better for me, along with some adjusted assistance work (like the “350 method” stuff). I’m going to bump up the weight next week.

Note to self: keep squeezing the bar like you’re trying to crush it — helps alleviate pain in the wrist, as well as makes it easier to press. SRSLY. I get a good grip on the bar, but I often forget to crush it. My wrist started hurting right out of the gate, so I kept on crushing the bar with my grip — gotta remember to do that.

In related news, my fat loss is starting to stall — it’s a natural consequence. The plan is to keep going week-to-week and see how things progress. When it looks like a good solid stall, we’ll go maintenance for a month. I’m dabbling with the idea during that time about changing up my lifting as well. Maybe a Strong-15 short cycle, maybe more a mass-building phase. I don’t know. It’d only be for 4 weeks, so I even debate if I should bother (instead, use the added fuel to just smash things). Just a thought rolling in my head.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • Bench Press (model 2)
    • bar x 5
    • bar x 5
    • 115 x 5
    • 130 x 4
    • 155 x 3
    • 170 x 2
    • 190 x 1
    • 200 x 1
    • 190 x 5
    • 190 x 5
    • 190 x 5
    • 170 x 5
    • 170 x 5
    • 170 x 5
    • 135 x 20 (AMRAP)
  • Incline Press (350 Method)
    • 85 x 20
    • 85 x 14
    • 85 x 12
  • Machine Flies
    • 90 x 10
    • 90 x 10
    • 90 x 10
    • 90 x 10

Mindset wins

/ hsoi

[Lemmy] said that Sid Vicious would throw himself at guys much bigger than he was and they backed off because they could tell that Sid had no fear

That’s a story that Lemmy told Henry Rollins. It was just a passing comment in this article (which is about music elitism, an interesting article in its own right), but it stood out to me.

Sid Vicious was a tall but skinny dude. From a purely physical standpoint, there wasn’t much intimidating about him. But that he threw himself at bigger guys and they backed off because they could tell Sid had no fear? What might that tell you about the importance of mindset in being successful?

Sunday Metal – My Favorite Monster Magnet

/ hsoi

Let’s keep it simple today, because it’s hard for me to choose.

The “Superjudge” album is probably my favorite Monster Magnet album — I could listen to it endlessly. “Cage Around the Sun” is such a cool song. But if there’s any song that I think sums up Dave Wyndorf’s drug-induced lyrical voyages, it’s “Face Down”

“I’m sucking up more karma than I need, so have a supernova on me” it just one of those cool lines that you’ll never top.

But the other Monster Magnet song I find myself always coming back to is “Bummer”

There are so many people that go to bed with Lucifer, then cry cry cry when they don’t greet the day with God.

About the OODA Loop

/ hsoi

In matters of personal defense, we often speak of the OODA Loop. Of course, the OODA Loop has applicability to life in general, but for many people the first time they hear about it is in some class teaching personal defense.

BTW, while it’s common to refer to it as the “oo-dah loop”, Massad Ayoob made it clear back in my MAG-20 class that the creator of the OODA Loop – John Boyd – referred to it as the “Oh-Oh-Dee-Ay Loop”.

Pronunciation aside, The Art of Manliness wrote a rather in-depth piece on the OODA Loop. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, or know about it but appreciate some deeper knowledge of a topic, give it a read.

2014-10-17 training log

/ hsoi

I am so sore this morning….. 🙂

From the top of my shoulder down the back of my arm to my elbow… oh… 🙂 But that’s what happened yesterday.

And today? Somewhat the same. I expect the weekend will be interesting and full of many stretching sessions.

I do think I need to up the volume a bit on my back work. Paul’s templates put it at 4 sets but by 4 it just feels like I was warmed up. So I’ll think about it, but either it means 5 sets, or maybe I’ll do a few lighter warm-up sets and work up, at least on the rows.

Oh, and 100 rep curls? It’s all a mental game.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • BB Rows
    • 150 x 8
    • 150 x 8
    • 150 x 8
    • 150 x 8
  • Meadows Shrugs
    • 70e x 12
    • 70e x 12
    • 70e x 12
    • 70e x 12
  • Wide, Neutral-grip Lat Pulldowns
    • 125 x 10
    • 125 x 10
    • 125 x 10
    • 125 x 10
  • EZ Bar Curls
    • bar x 100

    • 2014-10-16 training log

    / hsoi / 7 Comments

    Man, this was different. I haven’t pressed in many moons, and it felt strange. 🙂 But it came back to me pretty naturally. I did still feel awkward and unsure of best grip placement — didn’t remember where I did it before, so I just played around but mostly was at a “natural” location for where my arms/hands end up being in a “clean” position. Meh. It’ll all come back over the coming weeks.

    A lot of today, being a first day doing this, was just finding out where weights go and what to do. I haven’t had a “shoulder” day in ages, so it felt foreign but good. I did enjoy it. Well… picking out the 5# dumbbells felt silly.

    On the bent laterals, I’m opting to do it off a bench. So the 45º bench, lay on my stomach, but allow my torso to be parallel to the ground. Then keep my long-arms straight and work to just contract the posterior deltoids and other back muscles to raise my arms up (only the smallest bend of the elbows, just to keep them unlocked to avoid stress on them) keeping arms at a 90º angle to the body. Doing it off the bench will help me maintain better posture and strictness… and boy, it feels silly to only use 5# DB’s, but when you gotta do 100 reps well… yeah, it was appropriate. I know how weak that musculature is on me, so it is what it is. I figure once a month I’ll try John Meadows’ rear delt destroyer approach.

    All in all tho, fun day. We’ll see how this 4x/week plus the minor dietary adjustment does for keeping me on the fat-loss train.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • Press
    • bar x 5
    • bar x 5
    • 65 x 5
    • 85 x 5
    • 95 x 8
    • 95 x 8
    • 95 x 8
    • 95 x 7
  • Bent Laterals
    • 5e x 20
    • 8e x 20
    • 8e x 20
    • 5e x 20
    • 5e x 20
  • Upright Rows
    • 60 x 12
    • 60 x 12
    • 60 x 12
    • 60 x 12
  • Triceps Pressdowns
    • 40 x 25
    • 40 x 25
    • 40 x 25
    • 40 x 25

    • An interesting legal study

    / hsoi

    Eugene Volokh presents an interesting case about “Coming armed to see ‘an explanation from or discussion with the other person concerning the actor’s differences with the other person’“.

    This is a rather interesting examination of laws and the legislative process. If you live in Texas, if you carry a concealed handgun or care about such matters from a legal perspective, or are just someone that finds the law an interesting – and sometimes strange – thing, it’s a good read.

    2014-10-14 training log

    / hsoi

    So this is different… this 4x/week thing will take a little getting used to.

    I felt a little bushed going into it. In part because I did wake up a little early (other agenda items for today), but also my body wasn’t used to 2 big days in a row. I’ll get used to it tho, no big deal.

    Squats did move a little slow. After last week I did get to thinking I might be bumping up the weight after another 1-2 weeks, but after today? Well, given the shift in diet and thus training I reckon I may stay at the weight a little longer. We shall see how it goes. So long as bar speed keeps generally increasing, I’ll be on a good track.

    Sumos are starting to feel a little more normal now, which is cool. I thought I’d also take this opportunity (i.e. using light weights) to try out hook grip!

    That is… different. I can totally see how it works now, because it’s far more mechanical grip than pure strength. I did eventually stop because my thumbs were getting annoyed, but if I know what’s good for me I’ll probably try to throw in some hook grip work now and again just to see how it goes. One thing I can say that I’m not sure about is that I’ve got a small “bone growth” (calcium deposit? protrusion?) dunno what to call it, but basically it’s a small (but significant enough) bump on one of the bones inside my palm. I have noticed it a problem with full grips, like when I’m shooting a handgun. It’s not been a problem in the gym for the most part — because either my grip sucks or maybe I’m subconsciously always keeping a little open grip due to it… but with the hook, it closes up the grip so much that I am noticing the bump — yes, it hurts, a lot, far more than the thumb/hook does. So, I’ll keep playing with it, but THAT may be a limiting factor for me. But hey, if the alternative is just to get a stronger grip, then I’m ok with that. 🙂

    But as for sumo itself, I’m going to stick with what I’m doing right now. I’m actually feeling a bit more comfortable with it, and feeling more “work” happening. I may start to take the 275’s to triples and/or start to find other ways to increase the weight to a good working weight. After I do that and maybe find where a good working max really is, I may start doing sumos more in “model 1” style. We’ll see. So far, enjoying the excursion.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

    • Squats (model 1)
      • bar x 5
      • bar x 5
      • 150 x 5
      • 175 x 4
      • 205 x 3
      • 225 x 2
      • 260 x 1
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
    • Deadlift (model 1)
      • 135 x 5
      • 135 x 5
      • 185 x 3
      • 185 x 3
      • 225 x 3
      • 225 x 3
      • 275 x 1
      • 275 x 1
    • Lunges
      • BW x REP