042 : 014 Quick pump
So many people are under the impression that fitness is purely the result of how much time you can dedicate to it. To some degree, this is true, especially when discussing world-class performance. But more often than not this thought keeps people away from even trying to improve their fitness. I think the overall most influential characteristic that volume or time gives us is contemplation. Spend enough time doing something and eventually, you will get better. The key here is the quality though not just time spent going through the motions. Spend enough time and eventually, you will start to ask yourself hard questions. Nothing is a higher quality question than the one that concerns your ability. This piece is so straightforward. The time to complete it is under 5 minutes and the results will be noticed the next day. I think someone would be better off doing 2-3 of these a day 15-30 minutes, than some bloviated program that uses volume. That isn’t to say intensity can replace volume, but also volume cannot replace intention. So many times people may train 2-3 times a day for weeks on end and make no progress because the training volume requires that they be mindless during it. The trick is matching volume, intensity, AND a high degree of mindfulness in what you are doing. This session asks the hard question: How well do you know yourself? There is no winnable answer either. If you succeed, it means there is room for work (like in my case) because you can push harder than you thought. If you fail, you overestimated and need to get back to the basics and learn what is realistically possible. There is no warm-up. Guess what you think is possible and test it.
Work
100x standing hang clean and presses unbroken at the heaviest weight possible (dumbbells)
If you break do 20x lateral raises then go up 5lbs in weight to try and finish. If you break, repeat the penalty.
Flow
Put on your favorite pair of jeans, pick a pair of dumbbells, and start repping. If you break, shake it out, do the penalty, and get back to it. Finish it and then ask the hard questions.
