My Plan To Stay Fit Whilst Pursuing Engineering

David Deida said one should align 100% of his life towards his purpose. 

As a result, I'm putting the Cavern of Creatures Gym on hold as I pursue a degree in civil engineering and actually look for a fucking job. Also, I've come to the realization that Olympic lifting is hard as shit and I would prefer to invest my time elsewhere. As a result, I'm making some changes to my physical training approach.

First of all, it has to be said that working in engineering by itself isn't all that physically demanding. However, working in construction as a whole does require a decent amount of physical ability outside of the basics of being able to walk and stand on your feet for hours at a time. As a result, I've chosen to run the Becoming A Horse series of programs from Sika Strength. I used Sika Strength for my weightlifting training, and I trust their methods and programs as being the best in the world (no exaggeration). The Becoming a Horse series of programs still involves some weightlifting, but also more bodybuilding work, pressing, and deadlifting, which aligns itself more with my goals. This means I strength train 4x a week.

I will continue to practice martial arts 3x per week, as I always have. Not that martial arts are particularly useful for my job, but just because I think they are a valuable addition to any man's life. It's part of the sigma alpha male grindset bro

On top of this, I want to try bouldering. Mainly because I think it looks cool (isn't that why we do anything?), but also because I think it will be a unique challenge for a fatty like me. I've always been weak with vertical pulls (pullups and such), so hopefully this helps. 

So, in total, I'll likely be training 5x per week, with 2 hours of total training per day. This level of training is probably the upper limit for someone with a full time, physical job. We'll see how it goes.

I F**KING LOVE SUPERSETS AND GIANT SETS

Holy shit I LOVE supersets and giant sets as hypertrophy tools for non-bodybuilding athletes!!

Athletes who compete in non-bodybuilding sports like a field sport, weightlifting, martial arts etc, need to gain muscle mass in a shorter time frame so they can dedicate more resources to either training for their actual sport or recovering. The best, and most simple, way to do this is with supersets and giant sets.

Supersets

What is a superset? Get two exercises, and do them alternating with shorter rest periods between each set. For example, you do one set of exercise 1, rest 1 minute, then 1 set of exercise 2, rest for another minute, and repeat for 3-4 rounds. The best type of supersets (and the only ones I recommend) are antagonist supersets. For the purposes of simplicity, and 'antagonist' muscle is one that stretches whilst another contracts. For example, the antagonist muscle for the biceps is the triceps, since when you curl (or flex) the biceps, the triceps muscles are extended/lengthening. Here are all of the superset variations I use:

Upper body:

1. Horizontal Press + Horizontal Pull: ie. bench press + barbell row
2. Vertical Press + Vertical Pull: ie. strict press + pullups
3. Biceps + Triceps: ie. barbell curl + skullcrushers
4. Upper back + Side Delts: ie. Rear delt fly + Lu Raise

Lower body:

1. Quads + Hamstrings: ie. split squats + RDLs
2. Core + Hips: ie. weighted situp + hip adduction
3. Calves + Tibialis: ie. standing calf raise + tibialis raise

With only a handful of supersets, you are able to get a total body workout! Why are antagonist supersets the best? Because each exercise does not greatly fatigue the other. Since horizontal presses use completely different muscles to horizontal pulls, we can do these 2 exercises back to back without massively reducing performance in either. 

Giant Sets

Giant sets are similar to supersets, but are usually 3 exercises done back-to-back. Also, giant sets usually target a single limb, whereas supersets train 2 opposing limbs. Some of the giant sets I use are:

1. Shoulder giant set: front raise + lateral raise + rear delt fly
2. Calf giant set: Standing calf raise + seated calf raise + tibialis raise
3. Core giant set: Russian twists + V ups + Side Planks

Giant sets are good since they target the multiple functions of a single muscle group/limb. For example, when people talk of 'core' training, they always think of some spine flexion exercises like situps or leg raises. However, the 'core' is also responsible for isometric trunk stability and trunk rotations. By doing the giant set mentioned above, we can target all of these functions in a short amount of time. With giant sets, the rest between each individual exercise should also be short (just like in supersets), usually 1-2 minutes. 

Top 3 Most USELESS variations of the Snatch for Weightlifters!

I made a post recently of the top 3 most useful snatch variations for weightlifters which I could comfortably program for any of my lifters. However, there are other snatch variations which would only benefit a fringe minority of lifters, and hence for most, they are utterly useless. So although these lifts CAN have some use, they are likely not very useful for YOU. In no particular order:

1. High Hang Snatch

The high hang snatch really only works on the 3rd pull. Plus, it does not train the acceleration of the barbell between the 1st and 3rd pulls. Although people may use it for back strength, I think the low hang snatch is better in every scenario. 

2. Muscle Snatch

The muscle snatch really doesn't train anything useful for the snatch. If an athlete really had problems with overhead strength then they should be doing more snatch balances and overhead squats, not muscle snatches. Plus, many do not even know how to muscle snatch properly and end up dropping their elbows during the 'press'. Although it may be useful as a technique primer, there are other movements that work much better as primers like tall snatches or no hookgrip no contact variants.

3. Snatch off Blocks

The snatch of low/high blocks completely neglects the first pull. However, the first pull is literally the most important (or at least, one of) aspects of the snatch. Perhaps low block snatches may be useful in targeting the second pull, but high block snatches are a complete waste. Plus, most athletes don't even have access to blocks, so setting up snatches from blocks can be tedious, inconvenient, and potentially dangerous.

Active Recovery is STRAIGHT BS! I DEMAND you REST on REST DAYS!!!

I used to think that active recovery on rest days was a good idea. I was dead wrong.

I'll keep it simple. This study shows that active recovery is total BS. Even just thinking about it logically, exercise is only building up fatigue, and fundamentally, the best way to rest the body is literally to REST. 

This means that REST days should not be composed of micro-workouts OR cardio sessions (both of which some consider 'active' recovery). These rest-day sessions have NOT been shown to increase recovery speed or performance in trained athletes, and could potentially INCREASE the body's fatigue!!

In my opinion, the ONLY acceptable forms of 'training' on recovery days are (1) mobility work and (2) rehab work. Since both of these need to be done at fairly high volumes to actually be effective, it is acceptable to do a bit of this work even during rest days. Plus, most mobility and prehab/rehab work won't disrupt homeostasis as much as a 30 minute Zone 2 cardio session will. 

I'm not sure where the idea of doing zone 2 work/"active recovery workouts" on rest days came from. The reality is, if you are training hard enough, you SHOULD be LOOKING FORWARD to your rest days! I think this notion that rest days must involve exercise just came from bored gymcels who wanted to spend more time in the gym. As long as you don't sit inside all day, your daily movement (ie. NEAT) like walking to work, working, moving around the house, doing chores etc. will be more than enough to stimulate your body whilst allowing for full recovery. If you literally have a job where you do not move for hours on end, 10-20 minutes of walking (zone 1) could help.

So how many rest days should you have? Like most questions, this depends. However, for all athletes I train, they usually have 1 or 2 rest days. According to the literature, event experienced athletes need at least 1 full day of rest per week. However, for intermediate athletes or those in weightlifting, I prefer 2 full days of rest, and even 3! But 1 rest day is a sure minimum.

 

Top 3 MOST Helpful Variations of the Snatch for Weightlifters

When you look at free, cookie-cutter lifting programs, it can be easy to get confused with the endless variations of lifts that coaches implement. In reality, however, an athlete's technical issues can be easily addressed with only a handful of variations of the olympic lifts. Here are the top 3 most helpful variations of the snatch that likely have a place in the programs of most olympic weightlifters (in no order):

Lift	What does it do?	Which athletes is it for?
Low Hang Snatch	encourages athletes to maintain a constant back angle in the first and second pull encourages the maintenance of a rigid upper back, neck and head position	Athletes who cannot stay over the bar Athletes who have an inconsistent 1st/2nd pull Athletes with weak pulls/backs
Pause Snatch	Encouraged the hamstrings to stay "loaded" during the first pull Ensures the lats are tucked hard and the bar is kept as close as possible to the body Ensures the back is in a safe and strong position	Athletes who cannot stay over the bar Athletes who tend to contact the bar too early (ie. their hips shoot forward too early)
No Foot Snatch	Forces the athlete to "connect" with the bar during the second pull and the finish, allowing for a more proper overhead position	Athletes who struggle with triple extension (or finish vertically) Athletes who tend to jump forward/backwards after extension Athletes who bump the bar excessively

Honorable Mention: Snatch + Overhead Squat complexes

Yes these are good for beginning lifters. Anything like a snatch balance, snatch + OHS or snatch push press + OHS is good for getting used to the bottom position of the snatch. However, the value of these complexes diminishes as lifters get more experienced and more comfortable with the snatch, in which case the aforementioned variations become more useful. 

Bar Path of the 1st and 2nd Pulls is NOT STRAIGHT (TLDR: It's slightly backwards)

A common mistake trainees make is thinking the first and second pulls should have completely vertical barbell movement. I guess they thinking this because this is usually the line of reasoning for the squat. But that is not the case.

The simple reason is because if you are keeping the bar as close to you as possible WHILE you move your knees backwards in the first pull, then the barbell will move slightly BACKWARDS. Observe the following diagram for the clean, though the same logic applies for the snatch:

1. The thighs start just above parallel, so the shins are angle forward from the vertical. Shoulders over the bar.

2. The knees begin to move out of the way as the back angle remains constant.

3. The most crucial point: the shin angle is completely vertical (or close to). Hence, the barbell is right in front of the knees and has moved BACKWARDS from its starting position.

4. The double knee bend: The knees rebend as the shin angle becomes less vertical. The athlete should still try keeping the shoulder over the bar by engaging the lats

5. The moment before triple extension (aka. the power position). The barbell is as high as possible on the upper thighs. The shoulders are still slightly over or in line with the barbell. The ankles stay planted for as long as possible. The athlete tries to bring the bar as close to the hips as possible.

If you have trouble working on the bar path in the first or second pulls, the best variations to help would be snatch pull + snatch, low hang snatch and pause snatch. For cleans, I would recommend pause cleans and low hang cleans. 

How I Would Devise A Training Plan For Special Forces Selection

The following are the 4 sports/disciplines necessary to train for special forces in most, if not all, countries:

• Some form of weight training
• Running (middle and long distance)
• Swimming (middle distance)
• Martial Arts (typically striking and grappling)

The martial arts component is more of a niche one only required by certain militaries (ie. Russia), but it is nonetheless invaluable for someone whose role is literally kill people.

So how would I devise a training plan for special forces for someone relatively busy?

Firstly, the number of sessions. I suggest sticking with 1 session of training every day (max of usually 2 hrs, maybe 2.5 hrs), 7 days a week. Now, you may be asking why there are no rest days, given I literally just made a post called "1 Rest Day IS MANDATORY". Well, to be clear, that post was aimed at those who train ONLY with weights, in which case that rule most definitely applies. However, as you will see, at least one of the days in this plan will be swimming only. And since swimming is an incredibly low impact activity (at least compared to the other 3), it essentially functions as a 'rest' day. Now, why am I saying only train one session a day? Because it is much more convenient, easy for people to schedule, beneficial for recovery (trust me, getting injured in the training phase is incredibly counter-productive), whilst still providing results. 

Okay, so what does the week look like? This depends. If you have an extremely broad strength base, you can train 3 days a week of weights, if not, 4 days a week. If you are extremely proficient at swimming or running, you can maintain with once a week training. If not, 2-3 times a week is better. If you are great at a martial art, then you can maintain once a week, and if not, maybe train more often. You get the point. For the purposes of this post, let me use myself as an example. This is what a training schedule would look like with my weaknesses and goals in mind:

• Mon: Swimming
• Tues: Weights and running
• Wed: Boxing
• Thurs: Weights
• Fri: Swimming
• Sat: Weights and running
• Sun: Weight

Keep in mind here that the weights and running are done sequentially. So when I finish the weights, I walk 10 mins to the nearest track and run 800 or 400 metre intervals. 

Now, for each individual workout, the exercises and programming is gonna vary, so I will make a post later on how to program each workout (or check my many posts on training for running or weightlifting). 

Typically, the weight training should look like a mix of olympic lifting, squatting, pressing and bodybuilding work. So there should be some cleans/power cleans, at least 2 squats per week, and ideally bench press AND overhead press. Core work and rehabilitation work should also be programmed so that you avoid procrastinating and skipping them. 

Swimming and running are quite self explanatory. For swimming, focus on Australian crawl, survival breaststroke and combat sidestroke as the main strokes. A good standard is being able to swim 1600m without stopping. For running, distances from 400m to 8km can work, though I personally like to train on the lower side (who enjoys running 8km??). Adding in rucking once a week after several months of getting used to unweighted running can also help if a pack march or ruck run is required in your entrance requirements. 

For martial arts, just pick one. Most militaries train striking (punching) and grappling. Rolling is not ideal because you do NOT want to be on the floor in a survival situation. Kicking becomes impractical when you are wearing uniform, boots, and are covered in gear, and becomes dangerous when the opponent grabs your leg (you're cooked). Almost no recreational martial artists train MMA, and for good reason. MMA is a hard martial art to train, because it requires proficiency in every discipline. I'd say for most, stick to either wrestling or boxing. 

1 Rest Day IS MANDATORY (YES, EVEN FOR PROS)

 This one's going to be a short post because its pretty simple.

1 rest day is, in fact, MANDATORY, for everyone!

First of all, if you don't feel like you need at least 1 rest day/week, are you really training hard enough? Of course, you may be one of those guys who do one lift a day (or OLAD, for short), which is a method that can work. However, even then, you will need a day where you reduce tonnage compared to every other day. Sorry, but this is how the body works. Fully recovery requires at least 48hrs. If you don't have this recovery period at least once a week, you are constantly performing at fatigue and masking your fitness, which essentially means you deload more frequently. So think about whether or not the frequent deloads are for you. But I see too many people training way too often that I felt compelled to make this statement.

Also, even the pros (like, international level lifters and athletes), have at least one day per week where they greatly bring back their training volume and intensity, in effect a 'rest day'. Of course, the marginal benefit these guys get from training that extra day is justifiable when 1) you have elite genetics, 2) you're on steroids and 3) you have a world class coach, AND 4) playing a sport is your literal job. If you think pros don't take rest days, keep in mind Olivia Reeves became an international competitor training 4 days per week...

Just Get A Coach

Programming for yourself is 9 times out of 10 a really terrible idea. It is truly difficult to keep yourself accountable and have an objective approach to training when your ego is influencing your programming. A great example of this is that many 'self taught' weightlifters start their programs at 75% of 1rm for snatch, which is really high for week 1 of a weightlifting program. 

The easiest solution is: just get a coach. If you cannot get a coach, buy a program. If you cannot buy a program, then use a free program made by a reputable coach. 

Every elite lifter ever started with a coach. Especially for weightlifting, a sport that literally has the most complicated technique AND programming out of any other, it is crucial to have someone who knows what they are doing to take an objective approach to your training. I have a coach, and I know the ins and outs of weightlifting programming. I've seen top lifters who know almost everything about technique, still get called out by their own coaches. 

Paid programs also work. I've said it in the past, but if a program is free, it is usually shit (unless it is from me). Apart from getting one of my programs, you can also get them from Sika Strength, Gabriel Sincraian etc. 

Do not be discouraged if you can only run a free program. I've run free programs in the past. As a beginner-to-intermediate lifter, you can still make progress from a sub-optimal free program. Just don't run it forever.

A final note: NEVER, EVER, DEVIATE FROM THE PROGRAM. You MUST follow the program word-for-word. Every program is written based on the assumption that you are following it word-for-word. If you deviate from it (ie. skip a day or perform worse on a lift), please make sure you or your coach is adjusting for this in the future. 

Putting Accessories In The Context Of A Weightlifting Program

Here is the best way to organise accessory work in a weightlifting program.

First, let's categorise accessories as either upper body or lower body. A lower body accessory is one that will affect our weightlifting performance from a moderate-large extent (at least, this is how I define it). So lower body accessories would include core work (even though the core is not fully in the 'lower body'), quad work, hamstring work, or lower back work. The remaining work would be upper body assistance: presses, isolation work for the back, chest, and arms. 

Now, let's take a typical weightlifting split:

Day 1/3/5: Heavy Snatch + Clean and Jerk, snatch pulls/clean deadlifts

Day 2/4/6: Lighter Snatch variation + Clean and Jerk variation, back/front squats

Day 7: Rest

We should not do accessory work the day before days 1, 3 and 5, since these are days where we do the full lifts and want to be as fresh as possible to maximise performance and ingrain good motor patterns. However, we can do accessory work on Days 1/3/5 since the days after are lighter days. Therefore, we have 4 days where we can allocate accessory volume: days 1,3,5 and 6(day 6 is followed by a rest day).

Let's split each of these days into 2 days where we do lower body assistance, and 2 days where we do upper body assistance. You could allocate this 3 days to 1 if your lower body is really weak or vice-versa. 

Lower body work should probably be done on days 1 and 6. Day 2 usually has the lightest squats of the week, so it is fine to tire our legs a bit the day before. Day.6 is followed by a rest day, so we can really hammer the legs without needing to worry about training the next day.

Comparatively, the upper body recovers much quicker (largely by the next day!). Therefore, we can put upper body assistance work on days 3 and 5, and they still won't impact performance on Days 4 and 6 too much.

Here are some exercises you can do for each:

Lower Body Assistance:

• Side planks
• Quad Nordics
• Split Squats
• Romanian Deadlifts
• Crab Walks
• Back Extensions
• Rows

Upper Body Assistance:

• Strict Press
• Weighted Pushup
• Weighted Pullups
• Rows
• Tricep extensions
• curls

A Simple Way To Structure Weightlifting Sessions

Here is a simple way I structure weightlifting training for myself and clients:

1. Warmup: combination of aerobic work and specific mobility to prep the body for weightlifting (mostly lats, T spine and hips)

2. Snatch (full lift OR close variation): a full snatch could involve just regular snatching, or something like a snatch + overhead squat. Common close variations are no foot snatches, pause snatches or block snatches. Snatches are done before clean and jerks because they are less fatiguing and because they are done first in competition.

3. Clean and Jerk (full lift OR close variation): same thing as snatches. Good full lift variations of the clean and jerk are low/high hang cleans + jerk. Good close variations are pause cleans, rack jerks and no contact cleans.

4. 1-2 weightlifting assistance exercises: These are the important weightlifting assistance exercises. Think back squats/front squats, snatch pulls/clean deadlifts, strict presses, push presses or snatch balances. The first exercise will probably be a pull/squat, and then some press or hinge (although the second exercise may be included/excluded in some blocks of training or depending on the athlete's individual weaknesses).

5. 0-2 accessories: This is just accessory work for injury prevention or hypertrophy. Common things here for weightlifters would be core work, stability work for the shoulders, quad work or bodybuilding for the chest, back and arms. 

To some, this may seem obvious. But I've seen my fair share of cookie-cutter programs that still over-emphasise the snatch, add in some useless fluff work, or ones that don't include any pressing or relevant accessory work. To avoid this issue, this is a tried-and-true workout structure that is simple, specific and produces results.

Upper Back Position In The Back Squat

Holy shit people mess this up. 

Upper back position in the squat is pretty important. Ideally, we are as upright as possible to 1) prevent our bodies from collapsing under the barbell and fucking dying 2) maximise force applied onto and by the quads.

There are 2 common incorrect elbow/forearm positions I see often in the back squat:

Observe lifter A, the one on the left hand side. This lifter as overemphised the cue of "set up your forearms like you're about to do a behind-the-neck press". What this means is there forearms are far too vertical. What this does is elongate the traps and upper back muscles, making them more prone to rounding as the lifter comes out of the hull. This is an even bigger problem if lifters do not have good isometric upper back strength.

Now observe lifter B, the one on the right, who is arguable more stupid than lifter A. Lifter B set up the back squat like it's a front squat; but with the bar one their back. Lifter B has far too horizontal of a forearm angle, which provides a terrible shelf for the barbell to rest on. This also makes it harder to maintain extension of the upper back throughout the squat.

This is what a good upper back position looks like:

The angle between the torso and the forearms should be 45 degrees more-or-less. This makes maintaining upper back extension the easiest, and thus is the best upper back position for the squat. This position makes it much easier to squeeze the traps inwards whilst also keeping them depressing and resting the barbell on a good (and slightly lower) upper-back shelf. 

Finally, a note on wrist extension. Wrist extension should be avoided. When your wrists are holding the bar, they should be as straight as possible. This means your palms should be pressing forwards and down. This is an easy issue to fix.