1,000

New year new goals

Disclaimer / Disclosure

Prepare as much as you can. Train hard. Study hard. Have contingency plans. And then be decisive, take action, and do not quit.

- Jocko Willink

Reflecting

Improve your position.

It applies to the battlefield, jiu jitsu, and business. I don’t need to ask myself if I like my position, just how to improve it. There is always something to do. I just need the calm energy to be observant and make a decision. Sometimes the new, improved position is a lot better. But even when it isn’t, I can learn something from the effort so always probe and test for better positions.

Training

I like to focus on a singular goal until I hit it, then pull back and integrate it into my overall fitness effort. I had an ultramarathon focus for a while, got to where I wanted, then pulled back. I got my cardio, especially rowing, to where I wanted (7 minute 2k) before refocusing. Today I’m more focused on strength. I want to get my bench/squat/deadlift to 1,000 lbs. by my 50^th birthday next year. I hadn’t measured my one rep maxes before this month so these are all quite new numbers and I didn’t know where I’d start.

• I can comfortably bench 275 lbs. Of the three exercises, this is the one where I’m most at home. It is still too much of an arms effort and not enough pushing through the ground. Work in process.

• My squat is currently at 305 lbs. I’d like to get it to 315. My knees have better and worse days. I take a long time to warm up. But once I’m ready to go the squat feels great, especially when I brace my core as tight as possible.

• I can deadlift 405 but am not sure how much heavier I can go today. I have not yet experimented with more. But if I can get my bench to 280 and squat to 315, then 405 gets me to 1,000 which is probably the easiest route for me.

Fueling

One of my favorite cuts is the Frenched Wapiti Elk Rib Rack. It is currently 15% off for Cyber Monday and another $10 off a first order.

Supplementing

L-Theanine is a great supplement paired with magnesium for better sleep and paired with caffeine for steadier energy.

Measuring

Every man should know about his hormonal health. Step one is to measure where you stand today. I use this at-home testosterone test.

Recovering

If your hands are getting beat up (between climbing, striking, and lifting mine always are), one of my favorite recovery exercises is to flex and release my fingers while rotating my wrists in a rice bucket. It is an easy one to do while reading.

Closing

I’m both an investor in and customer of a personal performance medicine company called Maximus run by my friend Dr. Cam Sepah. I mention this now because you can get various Cyber Monday deals today on top of $50 off here. On offer: GLP-1 for weight loss in regular as well as micro doses to lose the last few extra pounds. They also offer hormonal optimization – both endogenous with enclomiphene and exogenous with testosterone.

There is widespread hormonal disruption in the modern world from practically unavoidable sources. For men to perform their best as we age, the need to measure and optimize hormones is almost ubiquitous. Start with getting tested then take whatever next steps make the most sense. Fire away with any questions on what I use and you might consider. Let me know how it goes. I hope that you find it a convenient service with a strong value proposition on health protocols most underutilized by primary care providers.