What motivates you?

The other day I was conversing with a guy who likes to lift weights too.  Most of the time, when people ask me for advice, I often do not give it.  Most will not get answer they will like (either because it is not easy, it seems esoteric, or because they have to put in the minimal effective amount of effort for their own self experiment).  So I tell them this, and if I am pressed I will explain what I do, and why it might not work for them.

The question posed to me this day, however, was so good I decided I should write about it.  My friend asked, "How do you stay motivated?"  I will share my thoughts on this now.

First off, going to the gymnasium--especially where I train now--is an immensely positive event, and something to look forward to.  I look forward to it because my day job is monumentally boring, and involves talking to a lot of people that I normally wouldn't associate with on a regular basis.  With all these thoughts running around, engaging in physical culture gives me the chance to be thoughtless--a zen like state if you will--and it's not something that happens too often.  If I sit cross-legged for too long, I will start moving eventually and get restless.  The gym allows me time to meditate, and decompress.  Knowing I can do that any time I want is a pretty big thing for me. 

One of the other motivating factors is not following a prewritten program.   I have talked to some people who think it's appropriate to kick themselves in the groin repeatedly for missing a preordained day of their program.  This certainly isn't good for your psychological well being, and when your head's fucked, you get stressed.  And I know a lot of you can attest to the fact that stress can manifest itself physically.  Which can further fuck your performance, hormones and god knows what else.  If you know you will PR any given time you lift, and you are apparently free to choose when you do so, you have released yourself from a bond, which can feel liberating and motivating.

The last part of the preceding paragraph is a nice segue into this one.  PRing every day.  Highly motivating.  If you know you are gonna be better than you were yesterday, what motivating would you not have to go and do something awesome?  And this applies to anything.  I apply it to playing instruments, reading books, and writing.  Not just lifting.

And you can literally PR in anything.  Even in intercourse.  One of the strongest motivating factors for lifting weights, for me,  is to have better sex. I am pretty sure I don't have to convince you that there might be a
a relationship between lifting weights, eating high amounts of protein, and your testosterone levels.

Imagine what a little stamina could do.

Not to mention that there is an obvious correlation between the hip extension of a deadlift/kettlebell swing.  More importantly, if you don't have to worry about whether you will be too winded to bang your significant other(s) you can stop worrying about yourself, concentrate on your sexual partner, and hopefully make it a better sexual experience. 

Besides the obvious relationship between the pelvic motions, the deadlift (and general posterior chain training) is my favorite stuff to do because it can make some really stimulating sexual positions possible.  For instance, there was a time when I could not hold a sexual partner, while free standing.  What a sad day for both of us.

What amounts to a quarter squat and and a little arm work can have a high payoff for both involved.

 If you are especially virile, you can potentially start in a missionary style of position, and go from the floor up.  This will make you feel more manly, and be pretty impressive too.

So, as you can see, sex is a pretty big motivating factor for me. 

Lastly, and I have touched on this before, the weights can be symbolic in many ways.  If there's a bar on your back, and it starts getting easier to move, this is powerful imagery.  As my squat goes up, the imagery becomes especially striking to me, and makes me realize that I can over come obstacles I face in my life.  This is perhaps the most important motivating factor of all.  Overcoming obstacles.  More often than not, you do things to get you to where you are. So it was a choice all along, so in the end you are the only one to navigate these obstacles.  Much like when you decide you want to squat heavier.  You made the choice, you better goddamn do it. 

Please, tell me.  What motivates you? And if you lose motivation often, why?

A Gym Movement Success Story (and still in the making)

Editor's Note:  A while back I was playing on my Facebook and I received a message from my old friend Aaron Musgrove.  I didn't know he read anything wrote (I don't get a lot of comments here, so it's hard to track who reads or just looks at the pictures).  The message Aaron sent me said something to the effect of how he didn't feel like a piece of shit after he lifted weights and how his stamina is better.  So, I asked to write a bit about his experience on the Gym Movement protocol. Without further ado, Aaron Musgrove.

Pete asked me to contribute. I’m honored. I decided to write about my experience with this method and let the results do the talking/raving.

I started at around 176 lbs and I could bench around 205 a few presses and I couldn’t dead lift more than 225 for a few pulls. I had no idea how to listen to my body and I was mad that x reps and x sets don’t equal the results advertised in muscle magazines.

I now weigh around 189 lbs, I can press around 275(mostly on Mondays and Tuesdays) and I can pull 295 2-3 (mostly on Saturdays) and I don’t read muscle magazines.

I realize that this isn’t a lot of information, but it is more than I ever got from a magazine and way more that I ever did in 4 1/2 months of training until puking, making shit faces, buying supplements or whatever new gimmick was on the menu.

What I do: I wake up and eat. I walk into the gym and walk on a treadmill or something else like that for like 10-15 min. Then I think about what I want to do today. I think about executing that movement and feeling my muscle contract. I take into consideration how I feel, what I did last time I was here and then I make a totally random choice. I can consider whatever I want and think about it all day, but the answer will come from my body. Let’s say I feel like I can dead lift the world today. So I’m going to test dead lifts.

I do a stretch test for a solid baseline and then I simply execute that movement. Now I test again, did I respond well? Let’s say no, I did not respond well. I find that for me I test better on the opposite of whatever  didn’t test well. I didn’t do well with dead lifts so let’s try pressing something. Wow, shoulder press tested great!! Now I shoulder press until I don’t respond well. Next I might try leg extensions, just kidding (that’s for Peter).

 Mondays and Tuesdays I almost always test well with pressing and especially well every 4th week (by this I mean that I actually see a notable difference in the amount of weight I end with. I can actually see my strength increase coming and look forward to it). Saturdays I test great on pulling type movements. Knowing what days I typically test well could have an effect on how I respond as I am thinking about these movements well before I get to the gym.

Essentially I threw out everything I had ever been told and thought and started from scratch using this protocol as my basis. I am sure that I did some things wrong or even differently than I was supposed to or whatever, but the shit changed my life.

I actually promoted this system ( I like calling it a system) to other people, which is a first. I never told people to get this issue of that magazine, or check out this guy’s website or suggested a particular supplement. I would however tell people what routine I was using or what supplement I was on at the time, but only if asked. This I feel strongly enough about to actually push on people like cheap dope at a fair.

Example:

Dickhead: what the fuck are you doing?

Me: I’m testing this movement to see what exercises I will do today

Dickhead: bewildered look

Me: I explain the system to the dickhead

Dickhead: yeah well how much longer have you got on this rack because I need to do curls

Me: you need to try this shit, because rack curls are for dickheads and assholes. I used to do rack curls and everyone though I was a dickheaded asshole for doing it

Dickhead: rants about his “guns” and offers to test anything I can think of and that it wont matter because he is jacked and gonna suck today’s dick

Me: ok let’s see about some chest pressing (my strongest exercise for whatever reason)

Dickhead: let’s do it

We both test, I test well and he does not. I suggest that he goes with what his body says and he laughs. We continue to press while my weight goes up consistently, and his peaks quickly and begins to go back down. This asshole admits he is there is “something” to this and says he is gonna have to try it. I like to think I saved this asshole a lot of money and pain. I ran into this dickhead about two months later and he attributed big gains to using this system. He also says that rack curls test well, much to my disapproval.

I have also showed this to just about everyone I know at my gym. Some people claim it is bullshit, some say it works while others are indifferent. I would say that everybody responds differently and that this is the most effective way I have ever found to see how my body responds. I promote this system and encourage it whenever I get a chance. I intend to use it FOREVER. Thanks Peter.

Mind into Matter

As many of you may know, should you still actually read this, I test what I do, regarding movements.  As I explained before over here, you can set some nice PRs every day with this protocol.  Based off something another movement member by the name of Darryl and I spoke of, I decided to run an experiment for two weeks.

The idea, as I interpreted it, amounted to the testing of our thoughts.  So, for instance, I would go to the gym, and think about the movements I wanted to do.  I would test the idea.  Then I would test the weights, by merely thinking of them.  I expect to lose half of my readership after this post, but the results from this experiment at this point are pretty swell.

I initially toyed with this, and then second guessed myself by actually testing the weights and loads to use properly.  Shortly over two weeks ago, I abandoned all second guessing and did what ever tested well by way of thinking. 

Of late, I have been squatting, and box squatting and doing good mornings on a regular basis, and the PRs since testing in this manner, have been better than they were before, though it does seem that box squatting is helping my regular squat, along with the good mornings.  Observe:

Here is a graph.  Shouldn't be too hard to figure out.  Back on 29 July, my best Box Squat was four sets of two with 225, fast forward to 21 September, and I have doubled the reps with 225 and still did it in under eight minutes.  My 1RM was 275, last time I checked, and when I started this, 225 seemed heavy.  Sometimes, however box squats do not test as well as regular squats.

23 July, I managed four singles with 245 in five minutes, roughly.  19 September, I hit 2 triples, and 3 doubles in under eight minutes with the same weight.  The proud moment was yesterday, when I hit two sets of five and a bunch of sets of four with 225 (bar kept slipping as I got sweatier, otherwise I would have had all sets of five).

Part of the magic must be due to the good morning.  I have not really ever done them, but they keep getting easier every time I do them.  I now do them regularly, and lately the squats, box squats and good mornings are all synergistically climbing. 

When I first stepped under the 245, I was goddamn terrified, but the second time it was pretty easy.  Compared to when I did 135 back in August, it is all way easier.  25 August, the day after my first good morning session, my abs were on fire.  Now, they don't get sore.

Around the week of 7-12 September, I started testing merely the thought of the movements, and I believe this process saves me a shit ton of energy--as I do all the movements with the best thought tested weight right off the bat, sans a proper warm up.  I also believe the PRs are greater, and more prevalent in all movements.  Whereas, before I wouldn't PR in everything, I am now PRing in every single movement in a training session.  I think this might well be one path to the realization between the mind and body's interconnection.

More on this process to come, and how you can implement it to testing other non movement types of things, like food, people and toothpastes and deodorant.

How I Unfucked Myself: Guest Post from Dan Comp

What's up, ladies? My name is Dan and I am a close friend of young Peter Baker. You know, the kind  where you have both seen each other naked on more than one occasion and outside of the gym showers. Anyways, I was asked to share my story about a little medical condition I suffered from which kept me out of the gym for 9 months. I think it would be best to start from the begining of my gym endevours.

In late 09' I deceded to no longer be a pussy and join the rest of the men in the gym. I had little to no knowledge of proper techniques so I asked Mr. Baker to train me. (and for a nominal fee, he agreed). We started off with the basics, you know, bench press, curls (for the girls), barbell rows, weighted dips, and pullups. All was going swimingly at first, I was gaining serious strength and mass in a faily short amount of time. Unfortunately, 6 months into my new routine I started having issues with my stomach. I found it very difficult to keep food down. At first, I figured this was attributed to a high level of stress so instead of going to a certified Medical Practitioner, I thought it was best to wait it out. Have better decisions been made? Probably. About a month into it, I started to see specialists. Unfortunately, they had no answers either. By month three, I had lost all hope. I lost all the weight I had put on, and all the strength I had gained. This continued for 6 more months when I finally found a Dr. (one where their office  was not located in the back of a station wagon) who diagnosed me with "gastroparesis". What this is, is an inability to properly digest food.

Long story short, I am on an asshole load of medication but back in the gym. I just hit my one year mark in the gym and had some massive improvements in both size and strength. I currently go to the gym 6 times a week becasue I am no pussy. I go, and I lift heavy fucking weight which was entirely against the Dr's recommendations. Why? Because I don't care. I felt 100 times worse not in the gym, than I did throwing up. I think that getting into a balls out workout routine actually has helped. It reminds me everyday that I am in control of what effects me and what does not. Somedays I still wake up and feel just balls terrible, but I fucking suck it up and go anyways.
Life is too short to be a bitch. 


Editor's Note:  Dan provided me with some of the most enjoyable times I had at our former place of employment, and we were constantly getting reprimanded due to saying offensive things.  At one point, a coworker quit because of our ribald humor.  I call it a win.  Dan is currently finishing up his criminology degree at the University of South Florida, and intends to be a US Marshal.

How to get Staqt on a Budget

Hello, friends and detractors.  It's been a long time since I have posted anything.  The way I see it, is that I haven't had any inspiration since my last post in May, and would rather post something worth a fuck, than waste your time and my time.  I have left the music store full time, and moved on to another job that I don't like as much, but will allow me to have a steady income that will allow me to eat a decent amount of food and do some responsible things.

That said, for the first time in a long time I am a member of a gym that isn't a part of my university.  Prior to this past Friday, and since I graduated last August I had to be extremely charming, deceitful and deft to gain access to gyms continually for free.  Sometimes it was a royal pain in the ass, but I managed to do it because I like to lift so much.  Having access to a shitload of kettlebells also makes life a lot easier as well. 

My new home. They don't give a shit that I have chalk, and the clientele range from normal people to competitive Bodybuilders and powerlifters, and even some roid users.  

That is my new home.  In addition to them not giving a shit about chalk, they also have a monolift, a veritable cornucopia of bands and chains, and a platform for deadlifting, and a box that will allow me to box squat slightly below parallel.   All in all, I am glad to be at a gym and not looking for free passes all the time and not eating much food.  For those of you in a bind financially, I will tell you how to cheat the system both diet wise, and Iron wise. 

In order to get the most out of your lifting, you have a few different options.  Option one would be to go to college, spend thousands, and use their gym for free and maybe learn some cool shit in the mean time.  For those who can't, you have other options.  Get good at handstand pushups, and save up for kettlebells, for starters. 

To get your barbell and dumbbell lifting on, the first step would be to find all the gyms in your area and make a comprehensive list of them.  Second, scour the internet for coupons to these gyms.  Most of the chain gyms, like Lifestyles, Anytime fitness, et. al. have week long trial memberships.  Usually, they will have what you need to get your essential lifts in, but they will just be lame enough to shoot down a pushy salesman with a barrage of reasons why you shouldn't join the gym. 

Some of the bigger cities will have the same gym within minutes of either side of where you might live, making it twice as easy to lift for a period of a few weeks, for free. 

Some places will have you enter an email address, and if you can get a few email addresses to your name, then you can get day passes that way.  If you are in the Brandon, or Plant City area, I know you can get away with this for at least five day passes at Fitness for $10.

Another option would be to get some friends.  Once you attain friends, make sure at least one of them has a membership to UFit.  Most of their plans allow for a free guest.  Which is good for you, provided you and your friend can be reliable on meeting times. 

Another trick that worked for me, more often than not, was to keep my student ID.  It wouldn't scan, but the staff at USF often it attributed it to their machines fucking up.  I was also able to get in free with friends, by virtue of being an instructor at USF kettlebell.  I might still go back occasionally, because their plates were very good for curling. 

Now, onto diet tips for when you have only enough money to go to a job that pays you just enough to get there and back.  The key thing is to not buy bullshit.  As much as I love Poptarts, you will be better off buying a dozen eggs, in lieu of the pastries. 


Speaking of eggs, I normally don't promote a lot of vegetarian things, but opting toward a lacto-ovo style of eating is definitely cost effective.  You can even buy good quality eggs for under three bucks a dozen at Publix, and still manage to eat enough to get your protein requirements. 




Other good sources of protein, and something I've grown quite fond of include Chobani Greek Yogurt.  Don't be a pussy, eat it by the quart.  One quart of plain Chobani Greek yogurt yields 92 grams of protein and is under three bucks for the quart.  If you want to get real clever, make your own yogurt and save more money.  I have not done it yet, but I plan on it soon. 

Other fat and protein sources I enjoy are Planters unsalted mixed nuts.  One can yields about a thousand calories, and if my memory serves me correctly, 72 grams of protein.  

And, if you are not a vegetarian, opt for meat with the bone still in it.  It's cheaper, and adds more flavor.  My favorites include lamb, and chicken thighs. Both are cheap as fuck, and taste great and have great fat to protein ratios. 

I realize that the better part of this post comes across as me being an asshole.  And not only does it come across that way, but it would be a true statement.   I, however, do not give a fuck and don't feel too bad about using an offered free membership to a gym that will wind up fucking over some consumer later on in life, or using facilities that took a shitload of my money in the past.  If you have a high moral standard, get really good at bodyweight exercises or stay sedentary. 

Sometimes I think about what would happen if she and I got together with a quart of Chobani yogurt, red wine, and about ten hours to kill.

Gym and Life PRs

So, this set I got four of these pull ups on.  For the first time.  Monumental PR


It was fairly easy.

I also PRed here via a certain rhythmic spot, and playing this piece with less tension (at the time) than previous.  Now, tension is less.




Enjoy, champs.

A Deadlifting Chronicle

I deadlift a lot.  Some of the best moments of training lately have been occurring with this particular.  I have pulled 12 times since 11 April.  Starting from 5 April, here is my progress:

5 April 315 for 8 sets, totally 14 reps  in 06:55
12 April 295 8, 16, 07:35
14 April 365 5, 5, 04:17
19 April 315 8, 20, 12:55
20 April 275 5, 25, 09:13
21 April 225 4, 25, 05:47
26 April 385 4, 4, 08:35
28 April 405 5, 5, 09:30
02 May 225 5, 38, 08:15
03 May 225 6, 43, 11:45
05 May 405 2, 3, 02:15
10 May 225 7, 47, 11:25
11 May 315 4, 20, 10:00

No reason for this to be here.

I am pretty proud of the fact that I can hit a double with 95% of my 1RM, now.  In a short amount of time.  Also note that I went from doing doubles with 315, to now doing sets of 5.

Observe how I do this with no fuss:



This is the third set of 4.  The last set stopped testing well, so I cut it.  Same goes for all the others.  I don't intend to fully max out any time soon, but at any rate the lift feels and performs better almost every time I test it.