Sex and the City 2

...I watched "Sex and the City 2" with my wife last night...which was opening night...

I'd like to believe that the pint of Jim Beam I smuggled into the theater made the experience slightly less gay, but when Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda started singing "I am Woman," I knew even a horse dose of testosterone injected directly into my heart, would not stop my estrogen levels from rising.  It was surreal...and that's all I can really say about the experience...

Shane Hamman

American Olympic Weightlifting record holder, powerlifter, total badass.  


This guy weighs 360 pounds and yet has a vertical leap of 36 inches, he can also do a standing back flip.  He's 5'9" and can dunk a basketball...He weighs 360 pounds!!!  How far can he drive a golf ball?.  350 yards.  

His American clean and jerk record? 523 pounds at the 2004 Olympics. What about his squat record?  1,006.5 pounds.  Here's a video of him causally squatting 957 pounds (435 kg).

Mike's Approved Nutrition Plan for Lifting Big Weights Over Your Head

Meat, lots of it.
     Any kind of moderately lean meat, a little fat is ok.  Try to eat a lot of fish.

Eggs, lots of them

     In the morning as a meal and hardboiled as a snack throughout the day.

Milk 2%, 1 quart a day

     One pint in the morning, and one pint after you workout.  It's nature's protein shake.  You can use Hershey syrup Lite, to change it up.  If you're lactose intolerant, eat more eggs in lieu of milk. 

A handful of nuts as a snack between meals

     Or a spoonful of peanut butter.

Lots of vegetables with lots of Fiber, 

     Your gonna need fiber because of all the milk drinking.

Experiment around with your daily total caloric intake.  When trying to gain weight/size/strength, I try to gain 1 pound per week.  If you gain 2 pounds in 1 week, reduce your daily caloric intake by 500 calories.  If you stay at the same weight after a week, increase your daily caloric intake by 500 calories a day.  I've found this system to be effective, assuming you are lifting hard 4-5 day per week.  

This Boy Sized Man is Stronger than You

Let me put this lift in perspective for you.  This guy weighs 123 pounds and he's clean and jerking 374 pounds. He's lifting more than 3 times his bodyweight from the floor to over his head, which makes him ten times the man you will ever be...but he only weighs 123 pounds, so you are probably close to twice the man he'll ever be.

No Gym? No Equipment? No Problem

Recently I've been experimenting with some odd workout methods, like holding your breath for 20 seconds, then running 100 meters at a full sprint.  But you're not as amazing as me, so try this instead:

Do ten standing long jumps and then run 400 meters (1/4 mile) as fast as you can, without taking any break between the long jumps and the 400 meter run.  Repeat 3 more time for a total of 4 rounds.  Take 1-3 minutes rest between rounds.

No Olympic track?  Go to Google maps, get directions, change your options from driving to walking, and change your measure of distance from miles to kilometers, then map out 400 meters.

A Large Piece of Humble Pie...Mike is a Crossfitter...World is Stunned

So, I've been known to talk a lot of shit about the cult of crossfit.  In a weak moment I gave into the pressure and tried one of the crossfit workouts, "Fran," and I've been a crossfitter ever since.

Fran consists of super-setting 95 lb. barbell thrusters and pull-ups (I did dead hang pull-ups, not kipping pull-ups).  You do 21 of each, then 15 of each, then 9 of each.  Do it as fast as you can.  Simple enough?  So I thought, until I finished it ten minutes later and almost puked.  I had to go outside and sit on a bench in front of my gym to keep from passing out.  Since then, I've tried a variety of crossfit WOD's (workout of the day) and most leave me feeling the same way, destroyed.

My biggest complaint about crossfit (before I actually tried it) was its seemingly random programming.  I felt that without some kind of structured approach to weight training, it would be hard to get progressively stronger.  After reading "A Theoretical Template for CrossFit’s Programming," (pdf) written by the founder of crossfit, I came to appreciate the brilliance of the methodology.  At its core, crossfit is a blend of Olympic weightlifting, power lifting, gymnastics, throwing, sprinting, and metabolic conditioning (running, biking, rowing, etc.) all done at a very intense pace.  I've found the workouts to be great at increasing my anaerobic work capacity, power, and strength endurance.

I even subscribed to the Crossfit Journal now, which is an online magazine with videos and articles from some of the best coaches in the world when it comes to Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, running, etc.  I've really liked the variety that crossfit has provided, and the workouts, while intense, are brief and rarely boring, when compared to a normal body building split. I think it's great as a stand alone program, or you could always add a few crossfit days to your normal workout routine.  So, if you think you're in great shape, go to the crossfit main site and try a few WOD's.  I did, and it was a humbling experience.

Disclaimer:  I should note that there is a very real possibility that crossfit will kill you (seriously).  It is deceptively easy looking on paper but is incredibly difficult in execution, so consult your gynecologist before you try it.

The Friday Dose of Culture, "Total Recall," the Musical

Special thanks to Brooks

If You Wear a Weight Belt...You Suck, Unless You're this Guy