I've been asked if I ever get tired. Do I overtrain? When is it enough?

The answers I have are, yes, probably, and never.

I've been doing this since I was 12 years old and I'm now 65 going on 66 next month. So for 53 years I've hit and missed with training, learning about what worked and what was dogshit.

I've adopted the protocol in my training and that of what I share with others as the following in order of importance:

  1. Health
  2. Strength/Conditioning
  3. Body Composition

I don't care what anyone says, if you're not healthy, you're not going to get to do any of the other really fun stuff because you'll probably get dead sooner than you get to push your first 405 lb bench press.

ALL medical conditions need to be accounted for. It doesn't mean we aren't going to do something to get better, but physical impairments need to be addressed and accounted for so we can get to the goal of immortality.

Strength and conditioning can be explored through many different programs and modalities, but I like this simple philosophy of "make your weakness stronger and you GET stronger".

I like to use the "Big Four" to determine those weaknesses: the Squat, Bench, Deadlift, and Overhead Press tell me most of the biomechanical disadvantages and that's where I begin.

How many days? Fuck it! All of them. The variables to consider are the frequency (I like to say freaks can see), or exercise bouts per week, Intensity, or how hard a session is, and Time which is the amount of minutes dedicated to each exercise bout. F.I.T. get it? FIT!!!

If you can exercise only a few times per week then the intensity needs to be moderate to pretty high. The time would also be considered to be longer than if you got many days of exercise. However, the deeper consideration is how hard you are going on that day. If you are busting your nuts then a shorter workout is probably a better idea.

Because I've been at this for so long, I apply "Intuitive Training". That means based on the way I "FEEL", lets me gauge how hard or how long I'm going to go.

My training frequency tends to be on the high side because THAT'S what I do! I'm a "Junkie" when it comes to training. I don't feel right or even THINK correctly if I haven't done SOMETHING.

I need my "fix".

How do I know when it's enough? Well.... I usually break something. I get a strain, a pull, a tear. When I lose sleep, I'll also know it's time to back it down a notch.

You'd think I might have learned by now, but the other thing is, I like to take away the excuses people use. I like to say, "no, I don't know what it's like to get back into shape." "No, I don't know what it's like to be tired and lazy" "No I don't know what it's like to have to lose weight"

I firmly believe that it's far better to wear out rather than rust out.

If I make people a bit uncomfortable about their lower levels of health, fitness, and productivity then GOOD.

Get up off your fat asses and join the WINNING TEAM!

By the way no one EVER drowned in sweat.

Today's Training:

Run*: EASY 3 miles

Cycle*: Commute

Daily

  1. Blast Strap Row:
  2. Pushups:
  3. Fat Grip Dead Hang
  4. Front Plank

Dynamic Effort Bench: 10x3

Incline Cable Fly: 5x15

Tricep Cable Pushdown: 5x15

Incline DB Chest Press: 3x12

Ab Wheel: 4x10

Cycle*: Commute