The0Self

Identification with awareness is always happening in the background even when identified with other things. When those things are dis-identified with, the ultra-subtle identification-with-awareness program is still running unrecognized, and further practice is necessary.

If you've never been into pickup, you didn't "dodge a bullet," you missed out. IME/IMO, you need to get that phase behind you -- it's an important stage of development for men to both master and transcend.

How long have you been off them? If it hasn't even been 3 months, I'd say you likely have nothing to worry about; just wait. If it's been over 9 months, you may need to do some holistic research and troubleshooting to solve it -- certainly if it's been over 18 months. Somewhere out there, there's very likely a way -- you just haven't found it yet. Probably should get testosterone level checked, to start with.

Well, if you're referring to exercises like weighted chins and dips, then yeah... They're as effective as barbell exercises. I'm not sure I'd classify them as calisthenics though -- they're in the same category as barbell exercises. The problem we run into is that a callisthenic-only program is necessarily minimalist, relative to a complete barbell program, and if one were to get very strong on them, they'd likely encounter shoulder impingement and other problems. Doing too much chin relative to row, too much bench press or dip relative to standing overhead press, or not doing enough facepulls -- these 3 things lead to shoulder impingement once a lot of muscle mass has been accrued. The bare minimum is a push, a pull, and a leg-dominant movement. But this is minimalist and therefore unsafe in the long-term. The most minimalist program that is somewhat safe only consists of 2 movements: standing overhead press (functions as the push) + deadlift (functions both as the pull and the leg-dominant movement) -- adding weighted chin/dip would help though, and if the reason a minimalist approach is chosen has to do with time constraints, the chins and dips can be supersetted -- just use the same weight that you just did on the chins and immediately do a set of dips, and repeat for the planned number of sets, unless doing only 1 set (which, while not optimal, is actually sufficient for novices to gain consistent strength and muscle mass). That's still greatly inferior to a complete program, which pretty much needs to include: squat, deadlift, press, bench (and/or dip), at least one scapular retraction movement (chin and/or row), and (not a main exercise but crucial for shoulder girdle health and deltoid size) facepulls.

Too much focus on too few women seems to be the issue.

I know you didn't ask me, but I'm qualified to answer. Technically, as long as you're progressing on at least one of each of the following, you're at least doing the bare minimum: a pushing movement (such as weighted dips), a pulling movement (such as weighted chins), and a leg dominant movement (such as squats... or even sprints, or... stair-climbing with a heavy pack/vest, lol). But the program format I listed the other day is complete, at least for a novice -- on average, you're likely a novice if press/bench/squat/deadlift hasn't yet hit 135/225/315/405 for 5 reps each, but really a novice is someone who can steadily progress every session or at least every week. And by the way, if your numbers aren't yet at 95/135/225/315 for 5 reps each, progress may be very slow unless you maximally recruit your (necessarily sparse at these weights) fast-twitch fibers -- you need to treat every rep like a 1 rep max; explode with maximum bar speed even from rep 1 -- this is why some novice programs are 5x5 instead of 3x5. 5x5 is WAY too much to do 3x/week if you're reasonably strong, but if you're a "hardgainer" (small proportion of fast-twitch fibers), you'll benefit from the additional volume, but it isn't necessary to go above 3x5 if you focus on exploding under the bar with maximum acceleration on ever single work-set. IME, you will be "jacked" by the time your 5 rep chin/press/bench/squat/deadlift get to 85/170/255/340/425 lb, but you'll need more advanced/intermediate programming to reach those numbers. In case anyone cares, lol. Just show up to every session no matter what. If you need to rest, reduce the weights by up to 50% and only do 1 set per exercise, or just screw around, but show up to the damn gym lol. If you don't, that's dangerous for your consistency. You'll fall off the wagon unless you're obsessed, and most people are not obsessed -- at least not every week for years on end. Get resistance bands to prepare for potential times when the gyms close, so you can train at home and continue to maintain or even build your hard-earned strength and muscle mass consistently. Or build a home gym if you're super dedicated.

The simplest-while-still-optimal training split for maximum strength and muscle growth, ime, fwiw: Mon/Wed/Fri (3 nonconsecutive days) Squat 3x5 Bench 3x5 (Or Weighted Dip, if you anticipate being unable to always have a spotter, since you will NEED to go to failure at least twice every month or so -- the ONLY possible way around this is having a coach tell you whether you can get another rep and when and how much to reset based on bar speed alone) Deadlift 1x5 / Row 3x5 (Alternate each training session, so you do each 3 times every 2 weeks) Press 3x5 Chin 2x8 (band-assisted or weighted, depending on current fitness) / Curl 2x8 (Again... Alternate each session, such that you perform Chin on Deadlift day; Curl on Row day) Facepull 1x20 Abs 1x20 (standing cable crunches are preferred, hanging leg raises are also great, other exercises work though) Lateral 3x10-20 (optional, but this 3x/week is extremely effective for aesthetics) (Warm-up sets not listed) 3 minutes rest between sets usually leads to the most growth. Never go outside the 1-5min range. 10% reset method is required -- search info on proper progression. With bare minimum 120g protein per day, and enough calories, this can put up to 0.5 lb muscle on you per week (max possible for humans not chemically-assisted) but you'd have to research programming and protein synthesis uptime. Bridge the gap to optimize further by doing GPP/MetCon on Saturday and Tuesday... and you're golden. Essentially, this is the fastest possible route to getting very strong... and having a powerful looking physique as well. THE KEY is to simply never miss a session. Same goes for meditation. Just show up. Even if you go easy, within a week or two you might just be ready to get back in there and ramp up the effort, but you won't regress if you just show up. The days where you show up despite lack of motivation will function as deloads. Foolproof Anticipate the fact that you will want to quit. Squats are HARD and there's NO way around it.

@bracknelson123 Not bad. Yeah, sodium in particular is super important for fasting. And keto as well.

Epsom salt (USP) / magnesium sulfate isn't a regular magnesium supplement. It has a lot of uses. It always tastes the same. It's Epsom salt USP. Just make sure you do NOT get "Epsom salt" -- only "Epsom salt USP." Epsom salt probably does taste like poison -- it's meant for baths, and is usually scented. Even Epsom salt USP (what Leo and I were talking about) tastes quite bitter though, it's just not the worst thing in the world imo. Or just get magnesium citrate. It is perfectly fine and as Leo stated, tastes better.

Yes, it is an endogenous intracellular antioxidant. Taking it exogenously, such that its distribution is systemic, with fluctuations in concentration, is the potential issue. It's not that it's dangerous for everyone. It's that, in those for whom it is dangerous for, it is extremely harmful. It's a very high risk compound -- which isn't obvious at all without a particular/specific holistic view.

Stop seeking, then stop doing that. You have to (whether you realize it or not) maintain some thread of effort, even if it's subconscious effort, so you might as well shed light on it, and apply it towards letting go of that very same effort.

@Leo Gura It's a bit bitter, but I always take less than a tsp a day. Maybe it's a genetic thing bc it goes down super easily for me. But yeah, citrate is just as good, just have to be aware it only has a 30% bioavailability. Epsom salt USP is great if you have phenol/salicylate intolerance though, as sulfates are needed to process them and some people have low sulfates.

At 210mg/d it's unbeatable. And it's synergistic and effects are maximized when split into 4 doses per day, each taken with: -- Taurine (though apart from vitamin E, this is the only substance that ever produces acne for me, and it does it every time) -- Glycine -- Phosphatidylcholine or lecithin or whole eggs This intervention greatly increases bile flow. To the point where copper deficiency can actually become a problem, so be careful. Eat some nuts every now and then.

Despite its well-known benefits, there is very good reason to avoid this for anything except chelation (wherein it is taken e3h around the clock for a bare minimum of 72 hours running) -- to prevent mercury redistribution. ALA is the most effective mercury chelator there is, and when blood levels fall, some mercury, perhaps trace amounts, will be mobilized into tissues. And if there are any significant mercury sources in the body, such as dental amalgam, the ALA will mobilize this and spread it to tissues, most concerningly the brain, as ALA crosses the BBB. Avoid ALA unless chelating by taking it e3h for 72+ hours straight, with copper control (7.5-10mg zinc and 250-500mcg molybdenum 4x/d). Preferably far longer than 72 hours (weeks, even), to reduce the amount of times the blood concentration falls, which leads to redistribution into tissues including the brain. Please do not take ALA.

Competition in anything.

Certainly, but at least in my view, Meister Eckhart was one of the most conscious people in history, and certainly for his time.

Or Mother Theresa above Meister Eckhart...

I've been feeling absolutely wonderful on: Oats, eggs, milk, meat, white rice, fruit (lots of apples, cantaloupe, and grapes), vegetables, lots of potatoes, occasional peanut butter, and occasional cheese. For occasional social dinners I often go out to southern/barbeque restaurants and eat lots of BBQ, mac n cheese, fries, etc lol but not too often. And lots of fat-free plain Greek yogurt with stevia, unsweetened cocoa powder, and unflavored hydrolyzed whey protein mixed in -- extremely delicious with 42g P / 7g C / ~0g F, if that's what I'm going for on a particular meal. No gut issues or otherwise whatsoever. I'm pretty resilient though, so the only time I truly feel just a bit off is on rare occasion when I eat fast food, mainly Chick-Fil-A.

@Opo You're welcome!

I've done it before. Unremarkable. I think the benefits of a fast are partially associated with the excretion of toxins, so idk why you'd want to retain them.

@Samuel Garcia I struggled to put on weight too until I realized how laughable it was. It's because you're unwilling to consume loads of peanut butter and whole milk -- no one, and I mean no one, struggles to put on weight while consuming unlimited whole milk and peanut butter. Although, putting on weight is pointless without a complete lifting routine with heavy weights / barbell training, otherwise it will be mostly fat. Even with the lifting it'll be mostly fat unless you know what you're doing and really explode under the bar to hit the fast twitch muscle fibers.

It wouldn't weaken them further if one uses low volume and high intensity, it would send a signal to your body: "don't be so quick to eat the muscle, we're going to need it to prevent injury lifting these heavy weights." Of course there won't be growth if there's no protein, and there will almost certainly be a weakening, but lifting would at least slow down the weakening and muscle loss.

@Hardkill Have you made any intuitive connections with protein intake? Protein sources are notoriously expensive, so I always try to just get at least the amount at which diminishing returns present themselves, which seems to be about 100g per day (as in, every little bit below this seems to produce much worse results). But... I can't help but notice: the higher the protein, the better my body composition and recovery. Like all the way up to 240g/d... I want to optimize fitness without needlessly over-consuming protein, so I'm wondering, where do you see diminishing returns? A good balance for me is just aiming for the standard 1g / lb bw. Also, what do you eat? I eat 4 meals a day, each in the ballpark of 50-100g C / 45g P / <20g fat, so C>P>F cals. Oats, eggs, milk, meat, white rice, fruit, vegetables, whey protein, lots of fat-free Greek yogurt with stevia added, lots of potatoes, and occasional peanut butter.

Epsom salt USP. Magnesium sulfate. Take up to a teaspoon a day. 1 tsp yields 495mg elemental magnesium, which may seem high but it doesn't have perfect bioavailability, so not all of that will be retained -- though it does have fairly high bioavailability. Don't take more than 1 tsp. It's ultra cheap and widely available at pharmacies. Basically anything besides magnesium oxide, which has a very poor bioavailability of like 4%. Magnesium chloride is not great either. Magnesium citrate has decent bioavailability at 30%. Buffered magnesium glycinate lysinate chelate seems as though it may have even higher bioavailability than magn. sulfate, but it's usually formulated in tablet form with various binders that are of questionable quality and may not be healthy. Magn. sulfate also functions as a sulfate source, which is necessary for processing salicylates and phenols. The sulfate absorption is somewhat inefficient and can complex with lead, clearing it out of the body -- this is NOT chelation, it only purges lead from your actual current diet / water intake, preventing you from being further poisoned, essentially... (to actually excrete stored lead you need DMSA or DMPS chelation).

@Superfluo A novice program that maximizes protein synthesis uptime, such as Starting Strength 3x5 or Jason Blaha 3x5 ICF 2.0. A complete program includes squat, deadlift, press, bench, and a scapular retraction exercise (row or weighted chin-ups). If you care about aesthetics, throw in lateral raises as well. Body can only support a gain of ~0.5 lb muscle per week, so eat a calorie excess of 100-300 per day -- 3500 cals per pound only refers to fat; 1 lb muscle consists of 600 calories, so you only need an excess of 100-300 a day (less than 100 may seem like it can maximize it, but it can't, since some weight gain will be fat, unless already overweight). Consume an absolute bare minimum of 100g protein per day, but 1g per lb of bodyweight is quite a bit better, albeit expensive -- egg white cartons seem to be a pretty good value -- and whole eggs. It will only be mostly muscle if you're getting stronger and following the 10 percent reset rule so you're always training at 90+ percent capacity, which leads to maximal adaptation. Relentlessly continue adding 5 lb to your 3x5 squat whenever you get all 15 reps. Even from rep 1, explode with the weight as fast as possible, especially in the midst of a reset -- this is the main thing that, if neglected, leads one to have lackluster progress. Eventually you will end up missing reps, while using good form. You'll make your 15 reps and add 5 lb, then miss it next session so keep it the same weight, then make it next session... Eventually you'll miss for 2-3 sessions in a row, at which point you can reduce weight by 10% -- the purpose of this is so you know you're always training at 90+ % capacity, which produces the same adaptation as 100%, so resets are not a waste of time (unless you reset prematurely; before missing reps on 2 sessions in a row for an exercise). On a reset you should time the increases such that you are training at the weight you failed on last in exactly 14 days, then you add beyond it and keep the linear progress going until another reset is warranted. 3-9 months in, minimum effective volume will have increased, you will actually be so strong that you have the capacity to overtrain, and 3-day-per-week-full-body will no longer be optimal. This often, but not always, occurs somewhere around 135 press, 225 bench, 315 squat, 405 deadlift.... for 5 reps... At this point, it is generally best for the remainder of an athlete's career to switch to a 4 day a week upper/lower. Many studies have shown max muscle growth (after the novice phase) to correspond to 5-10 limit-set-equivalents per muscle per session and 10-20 per muscle per week, so hitting them twice weekly with upper/lower allows you to conveniently meet both of those ranges. By limit set equivalents, I mean 4 sets of bench press for 5-10 reps (taken near failure) would count as 4 for pectorals, perhaps 4 for front deltoids, but only 2 for triceps as they are heavily but not maximally stimulated by the bench press, for instance. On an upper/lower, the majority of volume should come from exercises with a high stimulus to fatigue ratio, such as hip thrust, good morning, glute ham raise, reverse hyper, etc, rather than squats, deadlifts, etc. Though you should still at least do a 1 rep max for the squat and deadlift every week. If you feel utterly beat-up and have stalled hard on all lifts at once, take 1 deload week, wherein you reduce weights to 50-80% and reduce sets to 1-2 -- for all exercises... Maybe scrap the deadlift entirely, perhaps replacing it with rows for that week. Then pick up where you left off or slightly under it. I know quite a bit about training as well@Hardkill