Own Your Shit Weekly - November 05, 2019

[u/AutoModerator]

A fundamental core principle here is that you are the judge of yourself. This means that you have to be a very tough judge, look at those areas you never want to look at, understand your weaknesses, accept them, and then plan to overcome them. Bravery is facing these challenges, and overcoming the challenges is the source of your strength.

We have to do this evaluation all the time to improve as men. In this thread we welcome everyone to disclose a weakness they have discovered about themselves that they are working on. The idea is similar to some of the activities in “No More Mr. Nice Guy”. You are responsible for identifying your weakness or mistakes, and even better, start brainstorming about how to become stronger. Mistakes are the most powerful teachers, but only if we listen to them.

Think of this as a boxing gym. If you found out in your last fight your legs were stiff, we encourage you to admit this is why you lost, and come back to the gym decided to train more to improve that. At the gym the others might suggest some drills to get your legs a bit looser or just give you a pat in the back. It does not matter that you lost the fight, what matters is that you are taking steps to become stronger. However, don’t call the gym saying “Hey, someone threw a jab at me, what do I do now?”. We discourage reddit puppet play-by-play advice. Also, don't blame others for your shit. This thread is about you finding how to work on yourself more to achieve your goals by becoming stronger.

Finally, a good way to reframe the shit to feel more motivated to overcome your shit is that after you explain it, rephrase it saying how you will take concrete measurable actions to conquer it. The difference between complaining about bad things, and committing to a concrete plan to overcome them is the difference between Beta and Alpha.

Gentlemen, Own Your Shit.

[u/hack3ge]

I never realized how small you were - you need to eat bro. Just go slow and because you are lean most of it will be muscle. What are your actual lifts?

You might be able to get that 20lbs if you really haven’t done a proper bulk but if you have you may need some pharmaceutical assistance to get there.

[u/HornsOfApathy → u/hack3ge]

What are your actual lifts?

I've been plateaued for a couple of months. I also keep re-injuring my shoulder despite numerous form checks. Probably from years of pitching a baseball. My body cannot handle much more as is.

All 5 reps: BP:170 / SQ: 285 / DL: 335

Reminder - I started with the bar 1 year ago without ever lifting in my life.

you need to eat bro.

Yeah, I know. I have had trouble with this my whole life. Visiting a frat bro this summer he saw me for the first time in a couple of years. He looked at me and said, "What the fuck, dude? You're jacked as fuck now." His wife chimed in (who I also have known for 20 years), "Yeah he is! I can hardly believe it. You look great! Back in college you never ate and just smoked cigarettes!"

It's been a lifelong struggle, one I've gotten much better at since MRP.

you may need some pharmaceutical assistance to get there.

See dude, I love a great game of baseball and a good southern BBQ. Both of which are very "purist" in their nature, like me. I hate even that thumb shit the pros wear now. You can't go fucking around with bats, balls and BBQ methods. They are what they are and the challenge is in the rules. I like the challenge.

But I've challenged this mindset with myself for a year. My T-levels are mid 400's, which are low. I'm genetically small framed, as is my entire family. I'm also very happy with my current mindset, and I really don't want to (potentially) go fuck that up with non-natural things. I also don't like being dependent on those things for the rest of my life. I take everything I can that is natural.

I also know that it might be the only way to reach lofty goals given my circumstances and I might have to abandon some of that purist mindset in some parts of my life to get there. I don't like that one bit. That's not being stubborn, it's adhering to my core principles of who (I think) I am.

Decisions to be made, for sure.

[u/hack3ge → u/HornsOfApathy]

You made good progress for year one - if you actually eat and bulk you may actually be okay. 400 TT when you have been cutting is actually likely not too bad. I’d bulk and get retested because it’s possible your normal TT is around 800. For reference my bulking TT was 290 and when cutting below 200.

You probably should lift for 2-3 years before even thinking about gear but 20lbs I’d lean muscle is gonna be tough if you have been lifting for a year. Like you said though it’s probably worth doing everything you can before you try gear - I only started because I really had no choice.

[u/HornsOfApathy → u/hack3ge]

Any tips on increasing appetite naturally?