The problem: words eventually hit their ceiling. Essays are nice; but actual progress comes from systems—from programs you can run, tools you can use, a place to track and adjust. I’ve wanted a single home for all of it for years. Now it exists—one place to ship the whole system—programs, tools, app, and support—so you can use it now and I can keep improving it without the weekly content treadmill. All under one roof, one home for everything, paid once, kept forever.

And when I say one roof, I mean you open the door and it’s all there, Literally every capability and feature I’ve always wanted to provide but either lacked the technical know how or just flat out didn’t exist. Easy to upload and access programs you can actually run, the tools and docs, and a calm forum-style message board where threads are pinned, searchable, and easy to reference later (not a Slack/Telegram/Discord firehose you can’t find twice).

It isn’t just PDFs: every plan loads straight into the OX App logbook so you can tap through sets, swap joint-friendly exercises, and watch your history/PRs build with charts mapping it out, watch how to do an exercise in the video library while in your logbook, tell you how much weight for how many reps you can probably get with a load calculator (surprisingly useful when unsure what to put on the bar to get you in a rep range), all with the full PDF attached inside the plan for quick checks.

And it finally lets me do the thing I’ve wanted for years: a real start-to-finish course—from day-one basics to the most advanced pieces—a clean brain-dump of everything I know, organized so you can actually use it.

You’ll get the downloadable programs I’ve already shipped—and here’s the part I’m most excited about: I’m actively porting all of my earlier written programs into the system so they’re not just essays you reference, but fully programmed, in-app templates you can run like a real logbook (with clean progression and easy exercise swaps). A few of these features are even brand new for me, and I’m rolling them out as we speak; plans that existed as write-ups are being built out properly so you can train from them without copy/paste gymnastics. You’ll still have the PDFs in your Vault, and the tap-to-run version in the app.

The spine of this is the OX App + Members Area. The app is home base: your logbook (history, PRs, notes), macro and habit tracking, and an exercise library that respects your joints and your equipment—all with the full program PDFs attached inside the plan so you’re not juggling files. The Members side is a calm message board/forum—“Start Here” pinned, weekly Q&A + form checks in one tidy place, searchable threads, and periodic self-checks so you adjust instead of drift.

And this isn’t a dead bookshelf; it’s a living library. New programs and updates appear automatically (often early in the app before a public PDF), and the big one—the Hypertrophy Foundations Mastercourse—lands here too. One payment. Kept forever. I keep building; you keep everything.

How it runs (simple)

You buy once; everything lives under one roof.

• OX App = home base. Log your training (sets/reps/PRs), track macros and habits, swap exercises from the library, and open the full program PDFs inside the plan—no file juggling.

• Programs live and grow here. What’s out is ready on day one; new programs drop into the app first (often early) and land in your Vault too.

• Members Area = clean support. Calm message board/forum: Start Here pinned, weekly Q&A + form checks (batched so answers compound and are searchable), plus periodic self-checks so you adjust instead of drift.

• No subscription. One payment, lifetime access. I focus on building; you focus on lifting.

Price (launch window)

For the next 72 hours, use code LAUNCH25 for the launch price $175.

(Extended for 24 more hours, ending 2pm CST Tuesday, code: “EXTENDEDLAUNCH25”)

After that, it’s the normal $200 (still one time, still lifetime).

Get Lifetime Access → Lifetime Library

Get Lifetime Access

(Apply LAUNCH25 at checkout.)

Why this price? The honest answer

Short version: volume + mission > squeeze-every-dollar.

In our space, without appealing to extremes, yearly spend can land around $300–$900 (programs, guides, basic app/community). Over 3–4 years, that’s $900–$3,600+, and you’re still buying the next thing.

Here, it’s one payment ($175 during launch, then $200) for everything now + every future release, app + members included. No subscriptions, no nickel-and-diming.

• Fair math beats hype. If a lot of people buy at a fair one-time price, that’s better (and saner) than charging subscriptions or upsells forever. I’d rather make this radically good and obvious than play games.

• Aligned incentives. The more I ship, the better this gets; the better it gets, the more people join later—without upselling you.

• I don’t need to wring this dry. I have other projects/income. This lets me keep the Library one payment, lifetime and still be taken care of.

• No catch. One payment, lifetime. Your price is locked; future releases are included.

• And I actually like doing this. I’m not building a treadmill of upsells—I’m building a library. Rather, the below is why this is less about selling this offer than it is sanity and protecting my passion. ↓

Personal note: why it went quiet (and what changes now)

I didn’t go quiet because I stopped caring. I ran into the loop you probably know: the pressure to post on schedule even when there isn’t something worth saying → try to force it → quality drops → don’t publish → feel like you’re failing people → try to force it again. Add real life, new responsibilities, and shifting interests—wanting to go deep on everything but “health and fitness” (especially given the times we’re living in), yet not wanting to be off “brand”, and you end up stuck—wanting to write, unable to write, and not doing anything else because you feel like you should be writing… that tension is brutal.

This is me choosing a better box.

The Lifetime Library solves the delivery problem. It lets me ship the whole system—programs, tools, the app, support—in one place where you can use it now and I can keep improving it without feeding a content meter. That’s the doing side of the work. I can be the builder again.

And I’m not done here on Substack. VERY far from it. Writing is still how I think and teach—just not on a quota. Same voice, same spirit—just evolved lanes so you know where to find what. It’s not that this change means less, it means we’re growing beyond the body (since there’s more than enough here to accomplish that by a wide margin).

What stays here on Substack:

• Downloadable programs when it’s practical. If a plan can be shared as a PDF or write-up, you’ll see it here too. (Some things—like the course, app-only templates, habit automations—simply can’t live on Substack.)

• Fitness beyond “gym-bro advice.” Training ideas that connect to the rest of life—discipline, recovery, stress, time, responsibility—so the work under the bar makes you better at work, at home, and as a man. Strong body in service of character, not as a vanity pursuit.

• Life & virtue in normal words: fatherhood, discipline, virtuous masculinity, habit-building, philosophy, faith, health as stewardship, how to live this stuff day-to-day (oh, and maybe even an article or two on tactical stuff since you all ask me 20 times a day).

• Faith (plainspoken and practical). How strength, duty, and prayer fit together without sermonizing—principles a 21st-century man can actually apply.

• Real updates that matter: major drops, lessons from running programs together, what I changed and why.

What moves to the site + OX App

• The do-this layer: run-ready program templates, the logbook, macro/habit tracking, exercise library, weekly Q&A + form checks in a calm forum (searchable, batched answers), and all the tools that make training easier to do, not just read.

Cadence & expectations

• No quota. I’ll write here when I have something useful to give you—and you’ll know exactly what belongs here versus what belongs in the Library.

• If you mainly want the thinking, stay here.

• If you want the doing, live in the app/Members.

• If you want both (most of you), you’ll be covered on both sides.

Thank you to everyone who stuck around through the quiet. I wasn’t absent because I didn’t care—I was stuck in a bad box. This shift gives us a better one: I can build where building belongs, and I can write where writing belongs. Same person, same aim: give you much more value than I ask.

Why this helps you more than the old way

One roof, no scavenger hunt.

• Programs, PDFs, logbook, macros, habits, exercise swaps, and support live together. You train, not tab-hop.

• Frictionless start, zero decision fatigue.

• Open a plan, the full PDF is inside, log your sets, done. No “What app? Which file?” ritual before you lift.

• Honest progression that compounds.

• A real logbook keeps you honest. Beat your own numbers, week over week. Boring is the best way.

• Support that stays useful.

• Weekly Q&A + form checks in a calm message board/forum—answers are searchable, not buried in DMs or Discord noise.

• Updates you don’t chase (or re-buy).

• New programs, tools, and the course just appear. You’re not paying again for “v2 of rows.”

• Better work > more posts.

• No content treadmill for me means higher-signal work for you. I build; you lift. Everyone wins.

Roadmap (early access included)

• OX Method — primer + full programming. This breaks down the entire method behind my madness on how I approach hypertrophy training, then complete Upper/Lower and Bro-Split variants built to run in the app.

• PASS Protocol (Power • Aesthetics • Strength • Systems) — a rules-based training track that blends heavy strength work and athletic focus with physique-focused volume and simple systems for progress you can actually stick to.

• Golden Age / Arnold Split — classic volume and feel, modern progression and recovery logic.

• Written → Run-Ready — remaining written programs converted into in-app templates with PDFs attached (no more copy/paste).

• Home-Gym Program Expansions — minimal-equipment mesocycles; dumbbell/kettlebell-friendly options.

• App Drops & Utilities — template packs, exercise-library refresh, habit packs, self-check automations, seasonal challenges.

• Members Area Upgrades — sticky index, “best answers” archive, and a form-check library for quick pattern fixes.

• Early-access runs — we’ll often run new programs together in the app before a public PDF ever exists; your feedback bakes into v1.

• Hypertrophy Foundations Mastercourse — the full brain-dump A→Z: setup, progression, volume/load, exercise selection heuristics, deloading, conditioning overlays, nutrition from first principles, troubleshooting, and the why behind it all. (This will be later than many because for 1 the sheer scale of the undertaking, and 2 because I will produce this when I go public/”doxx” next year so I can make videos and such infinitely easier).

All of the above lands in your Library automatically. No extra charge. One payment, kept forever.

Quick hits (the usual questions)

Is this a subscription? No. One payment. Lifetime access.

How do I access everything? Downloads live in your Payhip Vault; the OX App is home base for running programs, logging, macros/habits, and the exercise library.

Do I need a big commercial gym? No. Home-gym tracks and easy swaps are built in.

I’m new—will I be okay? Yes. Start light, follow the rep ranges, post a week-one form check in Members and you’ll be pointed straight.

Where do I ask questions? The private message board/forum (weekly Q&A + form checks). Searchable, batched replies—no Discord firehose.

Will you keep adding stuff? Yes. Programs, tools, and the Hypertrophy Foundations Mastercourse drop into your Library automatically. It won’t be at some predetermined interval like substack, that’s what burned me out in the first place, but also won’t take eons for new stuff.

App name? Strong As An Ox (I call it the OX App in here for short).

MAJOR DISCLAIMER BEFORE I FORGET: I only have iOS, the Google Play store app is not yet finished because, well, they make it super inconvenient to upload it.

Closing Note

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know the promise hasn’t changed: value > ask. The difference now is delivery. Instead of scattering pieces across posts and apps, we have one roof where the work actually lives—programs you can run, tools you can use, a calm place to ask questions, and an app that remembers what you’ve done so you can do it better next time.

This isn’t a hype burst; it’s a long game. One payment. Kept forever. I’ll keep shipping—programs, tools, the course, improvements to the app and Members—without dragging you through a posting quota. Here on Substack, I’ll keep writing in the same voice you signed up for—fitness when it serves, plus the broader work of becoming stronger in body, mind, and spirit.

If one roof, one payment, kept forever is how you want to train, the link’s on the site.

I’ll keep building; you keep lifting.

Get Lifetime Access (use EXTENDEDLAUNCH25 for $175) → Get It Now

— Ox

PS: Annuals—check your inbox for the founder discount link.

PPS: Access help? Reply here or email support@strongasanox.com.

Building muscle isn’t as complicated as most people think. In fact, the process is surprisingly simple, at least in theory.

Your body needs three things to grow:

Stimulus. Recovery. Adaptation. That’s it. That’s the whole game.

If you train hard enough to create a stimulus... Recover well enough to repair from it... And give your body time to adapt to that stress... You grow.

But here’s the problem: Most people are out of sync.

They train hard, but don’t recover. They eat and sleep, but never train with enough intensity. Or they change programs too fast and interrupt the adaptation entirely.

And when that triangle breaks down, so does your progress (said triangle ↓):

This post is about helping you fix that. To stop spinning your wheels and start understanding what actually drives growth. Not just in theory, but in practice. Let’s break it down.

Stimulus — The Signal That Starts It All

Every transformation starts with a signal.

This is essentially Newton’s 1st Law applied in the most bro-sense.

Before your body can grow, it needs a reason to. That reason is stimulus—the disruption of homeostasis strong enough to force adaptation.

It’s the first move in the Growth Equation. Without it, nothing happens.

No matter how well you eat, sleep, or recover—if you’re not training hard enough to send a signal, there’s no growth to recover from.

What Counts as Real Stimulus?

Not just “going to the gym.” Not just “feeling sore.” Not even “doing a lot.”

Real stimulus is deliberate, PROGRESSIVE overload—stress that challenges the tissue beyond what it’s used to.

That can come from:

• More weight

• More reps

• More control (tempo, stretch, contraction)

• Better execution and reduced momentum

• Getting closer to failure with cleaner reps

You’re not trying to “exercise.” You’re trying to disrupt the muscle with intent, then repeat that disruption until it adapts. You MUST give the body a reason to feel it needs to adapt to overcome a repetitive stressor—meaning you must be consistent and consistently challenging the muscle

The Two Mistakes Most Lifters Make

1. Too little stimulus:
They train too light, stop too early, and rely on novelty or sweat to feel like they “did something.” This creates activity, not adaptation.

2. Too much chaos, not enough clarity:
They chase random intensity—too many sets, exercises, or forced reps at expense of form/technique—without consistent tension or progression. Their bodies don’t get a clear signal, just noise.

In both cases, the body doesn’t change because it’s not being asked to.

Train Like You Mean It

Stimulus is about clarity and consistency. You don’t need to annihilate yourself—you just need to apply enough stress to make your body say, “I need to be stronger for next time.”

That means:

• Progressively increasing load or control

• Repeating the same exercises long enough to adapt

• Tracking what matters (and beating it when you can)

Stimulus is the match. Recovery is the oxygen. Adaptation is the fire.

Recovery — Where the Real Work Happens

Stimulus may start the process, but recovery is where the change is built.

You don’t grow while you train. You grow because you recover from that training.

And if stimulus is the spark, recovery is the oxygen.

Recovery Isn’t Rest—It’s a System

Recovery isn’t just “taking a day off.”
It’s a combination of your inputs that allow your body to repair and rebuild muscle tissue.

That system includes:

• Sleep (the master variable)

• Nutrition (especially protein and total calories)

• Hydration (muscle is 70% water—so is performance)

• Stress Management (cortisol will kill your progress)

• Movement Quality (walking, stretching, blood flow)

Training is a tax. Recovery is how you pay the bill. Skip the payment, and interest will be collected in the form of fatigue, soreness, plateaus, or injury—last one is huge, trying to rush progress at the sake of increasing odds of injury is both a waste of time and the ultimate counterproductive because a hurt muscle that can’t train is a shrinking/atrophying muscle.

Why Most People Undervalue It

Because recovery is quiet. It’s not tracked. It’s not flashy. And it doesn’t give you that endorphin rush or dopamine response.

Too many people have this mentality and idea that more will always equal more… but the body is finite with finite recovery capabilities—meaning quality matters much more than quantity.

But here’s the truth: If your recovery is incomplete, you’re not training for progress—you’re training for debt.

And the deeper that debt gets, the less your body is willing to adapt.

Key Signs You’re Not Recovering Well

• Constant soreness that lingers more than 48–72 hours

• Sudden drops in motivation or energy

• Stalled lifts or random strength losses

• Poor sleep or elevated resting heart rate

• Cravings, appetite shifts, mood swings

How to Recover Like You Mean It

• Prioritize 7–9 hours of quality sleep every night

• Eat enough total calories—even during cuts

• Get 8–12k steps per day for circulation and recovery

• Schedule at least 1–2 rest days/week, not just “light days”

• Use your logbook to spot downward trends early (not just progress)

For my mathletes, if stimulus is the question, recovery is your body’s answer. The clearer your recovery practices, the stronger the response.

Adaptation — The Quiet Result That Everyone Rushes

Stimulus is what you apply. Recovery is how you support it. Adaptation is what you earn—if you don’t interrupt the process.

This is where your body actually changes:

• Muscle fibers grow.

• Strength increases.

• Movement becomes more efficient.

But here’s the catch:
Adaptation is slow, quiet, and invisible at first.

And that’s why most people miss it.

This is one of the biggest root causes of people trying to rush into progress they’re actually already making, but by the nature of how accretion, or muscle accumulation, works, it happens slower than we can visibly track in real time.

It’s also a root cause of why people give up RIGHT BEFORE they’re about to actually see the fruits of their labor.

You Don’t See Adaptation, Until You Break It

You don’t notice it while it’s working. You only notice when it’s not—when you:

• Change programs every 3 weeks

• Diet too hard and flatten out

• Undersleep, overstress, or overtrain

• Jump from one goal to the next (aka jumping between cutting and bulking every few weeks)

Your body wants to adapt. But it needs consistency, clarity, and time.

Adaptation is a Lagging Indicator

Progress isn’t instant. It stacks.

That pump you had last week? That tension you applied two sessions ago? That’s what your body is responding to today.

If you change the variables too soon, you interrupt the signal. You don’t give your system enough time to respond.

Trust the Lag. Own the Phase.

Real results come to those who stay the course. Those who apply the same stimulus, support it with recovery, and give it space to sink in.

• Don’t panic if your weight stalls for a week.

• Don’t switch plans because you don’t “feel it.”

• Don’t rush to see the result—build the conditions that guarantee it.

Adaptation isn’t dramatic. It’s consistent, cumulative, and earned. And when it hits, it’s undeniable.

But here’s the hard truth most lifters need to hear:

You’re often growing—even when you can’t see it yet.

There’s a delay between the work you do and the results you see.
A frustrating gap where everything feels like it’s standing still—but it’s not.
Your body is processing, rebuilding, and reinforcing.

That delay has a name: Adaptation Lag. We’ll break it down fully in the next post so you know exactly why it happens and how to stay locked in when doubt creeps in.

How to Apply the Growth Equation in Your Own Training

Theory without application is just noise.

So here’s how I actually live this triangle—and how you can start applying it to your own training, today. Whether you’re cutting, bulking, or in a holding phase, this system works because it adapts to the season you’re in.

Let’s break it down.

Stimulus — Train with Precision, Not Just Effort

Stimulus isn’t just about showing up and pushing hard. It’s about sending a clear signal that your body has no choice but to respond to.

In my own training:

• I run the same key lifts for 6–12, sometimes up to 16 weeks at a time, because growth comes from accumulated progression over time, not novelty.

• I push most top sets to or within 1–2 reps of failure, because if it’s not hard, it’s not a stimulus + a lot of people, especially beginners, struggled at gauging how many reps they had left, and if you’re more than 5 reps away from true mechanical failure, then you didn’t give the proper stimulus to achieve meaningful growth.

• I use controlled tempo, strategic pauses, and consistent form. I’m not chasing reps—I’m chasing rep quality.

This is why I use a logbook religiously. Not for vanity, but because it’s the only way to track true progressive overload.

You don’t get strong by doing something different every week. You get strong by doing the same thing better.

Recovery — Build a Life That Supports the Work

This is where most people fail—not because they don’t care, but because they don’t know recovery is a skill.

Here’s how I approach it:

• I sleep 7–9 hours every night, no exceptions. If recovery is the gatekeeper of gains, then sleep is the master key.

• I walk daily. Not for fat loss—but for recovery, digestion, and mental clarity. It keeps my system “on” without taxing it.

• I eat for the phase I’m in. That means a caloric deficit when cutting, a clean surplus when building, and intentional maintenance phases that let my metabolism reset.

• I take rest days seriously. They aren’t a sign of weakness. They’re a sign of maturity in training.

Your body doesn’t care how motivated you are. It cares whether or not you’ve built the inputs it needs to repair and grow.

Stop trying to earn your results in the gym while undoing them outside of it.

Adaptation — Let the Work Compound

This is the part people rush, and it’s usually where their progress collapses.

The hardest part of training isn’t the set. It’s the waiting. But the truth is, your body doesn’t adapt instantly—it adapts after consistency.

In my training:

• I run each phase for a minimum of 6–8 weeks before evaluating results.

• I monitor trends, not feelings. Strength progress, fatigue levels, sleep quality, body comp. I don’t let a “bad mirror day” dictate strategy.

• I don’t jump programs because I’m bored. If the logbook is moving, I’m adapting—even if the aesthetic payoff takes longer to show.

I treat adaptation like compound interest. You won’t notice it right away, but if you keep showing up, it hits all at once.

Your body will pay you back. But only if you stop hitting “withdraw” every time you get impatient.

This is how the equation works. Not just in theory, but in real time, real life, real bodies.

Once these three forces are aligned, results stop feeling random and start feeling inevitable.

Putting It All Together

You don’t need a new program. You don’t need to train more hours a day. You need to stop trying to outwork a broken system.

Muscle isn’t built by accident. It’s built when stimulus, recovery, and adaptation are aligned and respected.

This is the Growth Equation.

• You send the signal.

• You support the repair.

• You allow the process to unfold.

Most people get one or two pieces right, and wonder why nothing’s changing.
But when you align all three, growth stops feeling random... and starts feeling predictable.

The gym becomes a lab, your body becomes the result, and your effort stops getting wasted.

Here’s your check-in:

• Is your stimulus challenging enough to demand change?

• Is your recovery consistent enough to support that demand?

• Are you giving adaptation enough time to work?

If all three are yes, keep going.

If one is off, now you know exactly where to look.

Next post, we’re going deeper into the part most people miss:

Adaptation Lag: Why you’re growing even if you can’t see it yet.

That post will teach you how to stay locked in when the mirror doesn’t show it, the scale plays tricks, and progress feels invisible—because it’s not.

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

Through the sheer trial and error of figuring out how to manage my lofty ambitions, multiple businesses, numerous hobbies, being a present husband and father, high level of fitness, and everything else on my very full plate while managing a beautiful, yet highly dysfunctional brain…

…I have very confidently discovered one of the big “secrets” that allows you to be a high-achieving overachiever without going off the deep end and constantly battling against yourself & your numerous commitments.

To avoid sounding like a pedantic cliff hanger, I’ll tell you what this “secret” is before giving you my long sob story of how I came to realize this and how you can apply this to your own life.

That “secret” is SYSTEMS.

You’ve likely seen people talk about the importance of systems for achieving your goals, and even popular people like Scott Adams, have discussed the importance of systems in their books… but I don’t feel like the topic has been given enough depth/emphasis and spelled out in terms of Why and How they are so instrumental (to the level that it has almost become my singular life obsession).

Now For that Long Sob Story…

2 years ago when I left the military I was warned about the transition to Civilian life and how challenging it can be. I completely wrote it off because I already had a full-time business, was moving back to live near my family, and had all of the major life changes “figured out”. I was completely wrong, but not in the way most people talked about.

You see, from a very early age, most of our lives are very planned out and structured in the sense that it somewhat forces you to follow a type of routine. This extends on into adulthood as you get a job and have to show up to work & take care of your other responsibilities and commitments.

This was true for me in the military where I knew I had to be awake by 5 AM every day to get ready & show up clean and shaven, on time to work out with my squad and start the work day. There was no missing this or being late as an option because, like most forms of employment, I would pay the consequences for doing so.

In the military, you pay in the form of very intense, long physical torture disguised as exercise + like almost all other normal jobs, the risk of losing pay or even termination of your employment, so we are incentivized to ensure this doesn’t happen.

And also like other jobs, you either have set hours or get told when to go home, and then you’re on your own time. During the hours you’re at work (this could also be school if you’re a student), your day is more or less dictated for you in the sense that you HAVE to be there and you have tasks that need to be done AKA in most cases, you have very little freedom to do absolutely whatever you want.

For the vast majority of the population, this continues on for most of life. Add in other commitments like having a family and responsibilities/the things you’re required to do, social life, hobbies, etc. and for the most part, your time is accounted for in the sense that you have a general timeline and schedule for when and where to do things.

For most people, these responsibilities shape how their day looks and they are in a state of reacting to the demands and the time constraints. In a general sense, this looks like waking up just in time to get ready for work and show up on time, running errands as they pop up/need to be done, or scrambling from task to task like running their kids to sports practice and then trying to somehow fit the gym in when the time is available/they have the chance.

The key point I’m trying to make here is that when you are in a state of reacting to your commitments and catering your day/time to these commitments, you are not actually in control of your day/time (and even ultimately your life) and are “going with the flow” rather than acting with intent.

I’m sure almost all of you are familiar with this and for most, this is just a part of life. However, there is a better way, and not just better… a completely life-changing, dare I say paradigm-shifting, way to approach life.

You see I gave that back story and these examples because it highlights the fact that from almost as soon as we can walk, we are conditioned this way and don’t really think about it because this is just the status quo and how most people operate.

Why I bring up my personal backstory of getting out of the military 2 years ago is because once I lost that major time commitment and structure, I was incentivized to abide by and was thrown into this world essentially being able to do/be able to work whenever/wherever I wanted. I quickly got lost—that is how foreign this concept of “systems” is in a traditional sense.

It might sound great to be able to do most things whenever/wherever you want, and it is, but if you don’t create your own structure and systems it can be very very painful until you do.

Let me just tell you, this was extremely painful for someone who has a dysfunctional neurodivergent disorder that left to their devices would procrastinate everything until the last second… but you don’t really have a “last second” (no more burpees until I puked for missing a time constraint).

Now before I lose you, this is not some guide just for those with this level of time flexibility/freedom, not at all…

Rather, because I gained this flexibility, my issues got so bad that I was brute-forced to learn every single aspect of how to function and structure our days in a way that allows us (forces might be a better word) to operate in a way that we can not only function but thrive by taking back as much control of our day/time as we can, regardless of work/family/social/whatever commitments we have.

“Systems” Explained

If we refer back to my post on Lifestyle Design, I dance around this concept and briefly touch on it, but at the time I hadn’t quite realized how important this concept of creating systems is.

When I say systems, what I mean are the little intricacies of what you do every day like when you wake up, how much water you drink in the morning, what supplements you take, the order of your tasks, when you work out, things you have to avoid, etc. I’m talking about EVERY little thing you do.

What this means—in a good system—is that almost everything you do throughout the day should benefit whatever tasks/commitments/goals you have to get done that day.

It is a matter of:

• Deconstructing the results you want and how to get there.

• Understanding yourself and the ebb and flow of your energy/how you react to certain things.

• & almost more importantly than all things: Avoiding things you CANNOT do because they will make it harder or even impossible to get said results you want.

Take, for example, part of my system:

I suck at waking up early and getting my day started… but when I sleep in, I am miserable because of time lost and losing as many sunlight hours as I can. (This is a very weird one, but for some reason, if I miss out on time viewing the beautiful, earlier parts of the day, it makes me feel like I am wasting my time on Earth).

For this reason, I set my phone across the room with an alarm so I have to get up to turn it off which gives me a moment of clarity to remember that even though I want that extra hour of sleep, I’ll hate myself if I do it.

After this, I immediately go pee and weigh myself, if I don’t I will forget which will make it hard to track my fitness progress. Once I leave the bathroom, I already have my bottle of water and supplements out on the counter because, again, I will forget them if I don’t.

Then I take my husky and we go for a 30-minute walk because if we don’t, he is an unruly asshole the whole day. While on the walk, this lets me get my brain prepared and thinking about what I need to do that day (as well as getting the steps I need for my daily step goal AND morning sunlight which helps regulate my circadian rhythm, thus making it easier to get out of bed in the morning—see how a lot of this is coming full circle?)

Once I get back inside, I go workout in my gym because this is the only free time I have while my son is asleep; it gives me the mental energy and clarity for work and if I put it off for later in the day, life will likely pop-up and throw a wrench in those plans.

After my lift, I make my protein shake that’s mixed with carb powder and my greens powder because well obviously I need fuel to repair and begin the recovery process following the lift, but specifically the shake because it’s easy on my stomach which gives me more energy and clarity than a heavier, solid meal.

Ok, so this is just the first few hours of my day, but you can see a key theme here: everything is done deliberately in a way that is all flowing together to set my day up for as much success as possible.

If I zoom out to my week, and even further, (I keep monthly, quarterly, yearly, and even 1 and 5-year plans) I have systems for how I set this up in a way that it is also working for me rather than against me & set up to help me reach my goals as efficiently as possible.

Now this is the real “secret sauce” of building great systems that set you up for massive success...

While I know most people my age (in their 20s) can barely fathom the idea of what they’re doing next week, what I’ve done is taken the exact results that I want to achieve in 5 years (that are realistic and will greatly improve mine and my family’s lives) and look at exactly what that will entail & what needs to be done to get there.

From there, I break down those goals/tasks into pieces that I think can realistically be done in a year. I then break that down into what that means I need to do in the next 12-18 weeks. Next, what needs to be done in the next 4-12 weeks to get there. Finally, in terms of goals, what I hope to achieve/what needs to get done in the next 1-4 weeks.

In terms of my week, I plan and spread all of those tasks across the week in a way that makes it almost impossible to mess up, meaning realistic timelines (we always overestimate what we can accomplish in a short period of time like a week) and schedule what days I do certain tasks in a way that is simplified and also caters to the other things I need/want to do that day.

Finally…

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: needless to say, I break the next day down the night before into a list of things that need to be done (and again, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be realistic in what you can do in a single day).

A huge component of this system is I have a “Daily Checklist” of things that I know I need to do every single day that will take me to where I need to be in a week, a month, 6 months, a year, 5 years…

These are the things I call my “intangibles”.

Intangibles are things as simple as hitting my workout, getting my steps, hitting my macro/calorie goals, taking care of my clients, fulfilling orders, and getting my quality time at exactly 7 PM at the park with my son and wife…

My daily to-do list might look different day-to-day, but these things never change because regardless of my daily to-do list, these are the things I must do to keep the boat afloat.

Self-Assessing & Application

Now enough about me. Let’s talk about YOU.

As you can see from my examples, I’ve given a pretty good idea of what makes a “good” system and what it looks like.

What is it that YOU can do to create your own? Because it likely won’t look like mine (and I hope to God you don’t need as many failsafes and tactics as I need to make sure things flow smoothly).

Like I said in the Lifestyle Design post, you need to audit: your day, what you’re doing with your time now, what results you want to get in life, and where your time commitments lie.

From there, you need to see if all of these things align—if they don’t, I have news for you: you have a broken system. But the good news is, this means your life will likely improve exponentially if you fix it/create a good one.

A big factor here is to take your goals and where you want to be in the future and deconstruct them like I have into smaller pieces until you can pinpoint the tasks you need to do every day in order to achieve them.

Once you identify these tasks, the fun begins.

Now you have to piece these together in a way that you can honor all of your commitments and create your own flow to your day that works best for you.

I can tell you right now this is harder than it sounds and it might take you a very long time to actually hone in *precisely* how this system needs to be set up and will likely require dozens and dozens of little tweaks and experimentation until it does.

As the big pieces start fitting together and falling in place, it’s now all about small tweaks that optimize the system even more.

One of the biggest aspects of this—and something I’m not really sure I’ve seen anyone talk about—is creating failsafes for the system, meaning if you have something that is consistently throwing you off/causing friction, figuring out a way to avoid this however you deem necessary.

For example: for me, this is things like avoiding phone calls during “dedicated work hours” because I am liable to yap for hours about completely irrelevant things (like the ballistics of a 55gr vs 77gr ammo to my mother who hasn’t shot a gun in over 30 years)…

…and also things like avoiding caffeine after 4 PM because it will lessen my sleep quality, thus making it harder to get out of bed the next day, thus making it more likely to sleep in, thus throwing off my entire day, thus hindering my long-term goals, thus making me extremely depressed…

As extreme as this sounds, I am so serious. This was not an uncommon chain of events… maybe not just caffeine, but anything that would mess up my sleep and cause me to sleep in.

Needless to say, you need to implement and adjust your daily setup until you’ve found something that works for you.

Look for little things you can do that make your routine flow even better by either complimenting your day in totality or failsafes to avoid derailing your systems.

Creating “Good” Systems Simplified

1. Set Goals: Short-term goals, Medium-term goals, Long-term goals…

2. Reverse engineer your Long-term goals into your Medium and Short-term goals. Deconstruct your goals starting from where you see yourself in 5 years.

   1. 5 Years - (Some do 10, 15, even 20-year goals—I do 5 because that’s how long I have calculated to achieve what I call my “Ultimate Goal/Dream Life”)

   2. 1 Year - (Some do 2-3-Year goals—I don’t, it feels redundant as yearly takes care of that)

   3. 3-6 Months

   4. 1-3 Months

   5. Weekly

   6. Daily

3. Identify what tasks need to be done Daily—the intangibles.

   1. Break down your daily to-do the night before

4. Audit your day (week, month, year, etc.) and see where you could be using your time better.

5. Implement and adjust your Daily structure/system until you’ve found something that works & look for little things you can do that make your system/daily structure flow even better by either:

   1. Complimenting your day in totality, or

   2. Failsafes to avoid derailing your systems (alcohol is by far the number one thing that will derail systems - followed by mindlessly scrolling social media, video games, and binge-watching TV/movies).

6. Profit

Final Thoughts

Some of you read this and probably thought it was extreme, and if we look back at what I wrote about the average person and their (lack of) agency and intent they have in their days then of course it sounds “crazy” to actually account for and try to use every moment of your day to your utmost advantage.

The reality is this is more mental and just a matter of being cognizant, plus being open-minded and willing to make (positive) changes. This is something that once you actually take the accountability and control of your own time, it’s something that it’s almost kind of a one-and-done—meaning once you find the system that works for you, then hey guess what… it works.

However, it’s also important to realize that taking action and executing will beat any system no matter how perfect it sounds in your head if you’re failing to consistently take action—do not let this turn into a form of mental masturbation that leads to procrastination and justifications as to why you’re not doing the things you should be doing because “oh, my systems just aren’t good, oh well, I’ll try again on Monday”.

Putting all of this together though, for some, even many people you might realize this is the first time in your life you’ve ever truly become accountable and in control of your own time, that alone is powerful. Now combine that with a system, a way of life that actively works to propel you to your goals and the things you want to get out of life and I’d say that creates a pretty powerful system.

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

What I wanted to do was create a little PDF highlighting the main movers and shakers to focus on to achieve a high level of health and fitness.

What I did was get entirely too hyper-fixated and was too much of a perfectionist, and ended up writing an entire 40-page eBook that breaks everything down into a simple, actionable system.

This was only a mistake because it has completely taken over my & my wife’s lives the last 2 weeks, so please, for the sake of my sanity, check it out and apply it so you can get super healthy and fit, making it all worth the time.

In the spirit of being a bad entrepreneur and actually caring about my readers, I’m giving this out FOR FREE because it was never supposed to be some elaborate project in the first place, and like I said, I actually live what I say about my goal to bring as low cost to consumer, high-value health and fitness information as I can.

The Book/Document/PDF Thingy

In this document/eBook/Whatever-It-Technically-Is, I go over the overarching concepts and principles that actually move the needle the most for building and sustaining lifelong health and fitness.

The goal here is optimization that’s built in efficiency.

What this means is we aren’t missing the forest for the trees, we are not hyper-focusing on how many seed oils it takes to screw in a lightbulb, but rather what the actual big pieces are that we need to get right before any minutia like that even matters (the answer is 6 by the way).

Originally I would’ve said this was just a cursory guide, but what it became is a cursory deep dive—it’s not a textbook, but it also doesn’t leave much room for needing more (and where it does, I have links to articles because I think about these things).

The whole concept/goal behind this was actually to troll and make fun of the A.I. tweet-generating “fitness influencers” who post little engagement tweet lists (the kind where each bullet point is slightly longer making a half pyramid) that have zero substance as to how to actually implement and do the things in the list.

My goal was to make something so thorough that whenever you see those types of tweets, you laugh and think back to this (building your everlasting love and appreciation of all I do).

Anyway, it’s formatted in a way that you can download it and open it with whatever book or document-viewing app you use. I prefer Kindle or the native Books app on Apple, so that would be my suggestion. Just download it, click the “share” icon (pictured), and find whatever app you want to view/save it in (might have to click “more” to find Books).

You can download and do whatever you want with the ebook/document with the link below:

The 10 Step System To Elite Health & Fitness

7.01MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Feel free to share with whoever and use it however you see fit, just don’t copy paste my content in posts (like half the accounts on Twitter do) without at least giving a little bit of credit…

This actually makes a very easy, digestible resource you can send to friends, family, and whoever that you think would benefit from having essentially everything they need to know laid out for them in one place in plain english, so please share!

Going forward, this process has made us realize how easy creating projects is, so in the near-but-distant future I will be releasing 2 of the different project ideas I’ve had that I’ve always wanted to do—a “Mastering The Basics” book and a “Complete Brain Dump of Everything I Know” book, the former being much more near than the latter.

Until then, enjoy this one, we plan on randomly releasing a lot more of these little digital guides going forward because I find it easier to compile everything and reference it later when it’s a PDF rather than searching for links and old web posts (a mental health and performance guide was the next one we talked about doing).

Like I said earlier, this is free, I don’t want or expect anything in return, but if you do feel like reciprocating the value, if this was useful then each and every new subscriber and client helps our ability to create more and more, bigger and bigger projects like this (plus I need more funding if I’m going to win the 2032 election).

With all that said, I’m out, I need to go hit legs and the driving range because I’ve sat at a desk for a month (and my short game is terrible).

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: If you are interested in working directly with me with 1 on 1 coaching, you can apply here, spots are on a first-come basis & limited to a set amount

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)

That hubris could very well be your downfall because life is ever-changing and short-term results (which in the game of life can be considered as long as a decade) don’t necessarily equal long-term results.

A life lesson so simple yet profound that I’m extremely surprised I’ve never heard before is this:

As you go through life and accomplish the things you set out to accomplish, the reasons why you started and what motivated you to become/do whatever it is you set out to do can completely change or become irrelevant.

Take a second to re-read that and really internalize it.

This is fine if we’re talking about destination-oriented goals—meaning once you achieve it, it’s not something you have to pursue anymore.

This could be things like becoming rich because once you reach a certain threshold, what we often refer to as financial independence, you can continue to maintain your lifestyle from the fruits of previous effort (via passive income or enough you could never spend it all), and as long as you don’t make huge mistakes then it’s not something you ever have to focus on or pursue again.

I use the wealth example because unfortunately, the majority of people measure their self-worth and success almost solely from this one aspect of life. (but this is a convo for another day).

A lot of people then think about most goals in this “destination-oriented” mindset or paradigm, which is fine, but it’s far less conducive to overall success and happiness than being more processed-oriented (as I’ve talked about in my post on Systems).

The Importance of a Process-Oriented Mindset

Where issues can start to rear their ugly face is when applying that mindset to goals that DON’T have a destination, which encompasses things like health and fitness.

You (hopefully) don’t want to spend all that time getting into great shape and creating a state of health that makes you feel good, energetic, virile, etc. just to get there and say “Oh, well that was cool, time to stop, chronic illness and feeling like shit sounds great, time to cut my life short a decade or two”,

No, you do this because you want lasting change and benefits, you want to feel good and be healthy for as long as you can with your precious time on this planet.

This sounds simple enough and is inherently common sense, right?

The issue is, and I can speak for myself here, there was a reason or a “why” many of us started this lifestyle and pushed us to build this great state of health and physique.

For many guys, especially those who started as teenagers, the reason was to try to get more girls. Then you have another huge number who started because they wanted to improve at whatever sports they played. Or maybe more than any other reason is the insecurity and shame of being overweight.

You might be like myself and so many others who started because they were at rock bottom and struggled with having no purpose, depression/mental health issues, or needed an outlet for addiction. Whatever it is, doesn’t matter, the point here is there is almost always an initial spark that got us started and pushed us to where we are now.

After a certain point, it’s almost a universal phenomenon that we realize that we don’t really care about *that* anymore and we just keep going because it’s so ingrained in our life that we do it because we basically “need” it and it’s as natural as showering or brushing your teeth.

This happens because we’ve effectively rewired our brains and built the habits of eating right, working out, and all the other healthy things we do.

BUT, what happens if we get complacent and start to unravel this habit?

It’s easier than most think.

How Complacency Sets In

It starts with skipping a session or two because of what could be perfectly valid reasons. Then your diet slips but you don’t really see the consequences for a decent amount of time.

Maybe you start skipping an exercise here and there because you just hate doing it. On top of all this, you get a little injury that keeps you away for a couple of weeks… now if we scale this out, we can essentially kill our good habits with a death by 1000 cuts.

As we speak, some of you at this point are guilty of doing exactly what I said in the first sentence of this post… “that’d never happen to me.”

I genuinely hope it doesn’t, but if it was uncommon, then we’d see so, so, so many more people over the age of 40 in great shape… but the reality is, it’s rare; many fall off the horse, many who said: “that’d never happen to me”.

Why it happens could be a million different reasons, but there is a key component I see in those who struggle to get back into it—which, unfortunately, most never do—hence why I’m writing this so it doesn’t become you.

Back to my point about our initial whys and motivations; this is extremely important because as life goes on, often those initial factors that pushed us are gone and we’re now just on auto-pilot from those habits.

Hence if you lose those habits, it can be pretty damn hard to get going again because change is extremely hard, our brains do everything to resist it, so the driving forces to get back into things need to be very strong to overcome this. Thinking back to the initial “whys”, they were probably extremely strong—for many ways stronger than really anything we could come up with now because we’ve improved our lives and/or accomplished that “why”, which is a breeding ground for complacency.

On top of this, you could be like me who started young with zero responsibilities, but now has a wife, children, businesses, and other legitimate responsibilities that take time and effort.

Quite frankly, and I know this is true for so, so many people, you’ve reached a point where you’re just comfortable with where you are. Life is good, could be better, but also could be worse. You hopefully are even comfortable with yourself, and all these things are great, but they don’t exactly inspire major change.

These things can provide enough friction that getting back to those old good habits (and breaking the bad, which is a battle in itself) can feel impossible.

Add on to that, after doing this for so long, you might not even remember the little tricks and stuff you used in the first place to build those habits.

This is an entire recipe for disaster, for becoming a “has been” like we all know so many of.

Now, it’s hard to catch yourself in the act when you’re starting to become complacent and slipping up, it’s easy to justify and intellectualize it away as just being temporary or just really not a big deal.

It’s also one of those hard lessons many just have to experience so that they can internalize and actually learn it.

This is why it’s extremely important to develop mindfulness and humility to the fact that we’re all human and this could happen to anyone.

This is why becoming process-oriented instead of destination-oriented is a major key to long-term success.

This is why we have to keep evolving and looking for more reasons “why” and to keep stoking the flames of our desires and motivations because that fire can burn out if we don’t keep them maintained.

Starting at Level 0 and Climbing to Level 100

Now if this happens or even has happened to you, then you’re not hopeless, not even remotely; however, you have to ground yourself and become realistic about what it’s going to take to get back to peak form.

More likely than not, you’re not going to be able to go 0 to 100 overnight and pick up where you left off. No, you’re going to have to go through the process of slowly building those habits and physically rewiring your brain to get back to the point where it feels “automatic” again.

Many quit because they get frustrated they can’t get everything 100% and struggle to get the ball rolling, which often manifests in a sort of “all-or-nothing” thinking—this is very, very bad.

Rather, you have to push through and appreciate the little wins because those are the bricks that slowly build the house. Even if it’s small wins like just getting a couple of workouts a week or stringing together a couple of days of eating right, these wins build momentum which will snowball into bigger and bigger wins.

Eventually, you go from being proud for not skipping any workouts that week to beating yourself up because you might’ve been able to get another rep on that heavy set—your reward feedback and level of habit scales like this, both feel like they have the same relative level of challenge/difficulty because it’s all relative to the level of habit they’re built on.

That’s a great way to think about habits, almost like a level system from a video game. What feels difficult at level 1 and level 100 are leagues apart, but to you, at the time they feel nearly equal in terms of your perception of them. You can’t get to level 100’s perception until you’ve built and layered 99 levels under it.

Eventually, getting into the gym or not going over your calorie goals will feel as difficult as dieting down to single-digit body fat with all your meals perfectly timed and waking up extra early to get that extra cardio session in—again, it’s all relative to your level of habits because those previous challenges have become automatic which allows you to build on them and focus on bigger and better things.

Creating Positive Mental Feedback Loops/Breaking All-or-Nothing Thinking

Understanding this can make getting back into things way easier because you’re not focusing on getting back to the daunting goal of whatever your peak was. No, your focus is just on making sure you get all your scheduled gym sessions done and eating what you’re supposed to. Over time, focusing on doing this will get you back to that peak form and you won’t constantly be beating yourself up for not being there anymore.

Letting yourself have these little mental wins is crucial for 2 very important reasons:

1. It is helping you create a positive feedback loop with your reward systems in your brain

2. This is how we can avoid or break “all-or-nothing” or “black-or-white” thinking habits

It is okay to feel proud of these small wins, even if it feels “beneath” what you’re capable of, while also being aware that you want bigger and better things in the future. A good way to look at them is these small wins are the building blocks for bigger wins. This type of mental model allows you to be both satisfied with what you’ve done while avoiding becoming complacent with where you are.

Creating Systems To Avoid Ever “Falling Off” Again

As I talk about frequently, a giant tool to help both get you back to where you want to be and then STAY there without falling off is the systems we create for ourselves.

If you’ve ever “had it all”, lost it, then clawed your way back, you’ll know just how important never letting that happen again becomes mentally.

Because you’ve gone full circle, you have experience to draw on to know exactly what pitfalls and bad habits to avoid. If you can create a system that allows the good habits to flourish while creating failsafes to ensure the bad habits never come back, then you can essentially use “lessons learned” to never allow it to happen again.

So, if you’re currently struggling to get back to where you once were (or where you want to be if you’ve never been there), then this is the way you should view the setbacks you’ve had, as valuable teachers, instead of letting it hurt your confidence in yourself because someone not confident they can do/achieve something is a person who’s much less likely to achieve it.

Like how our brains are resistant to change, they are also resistant to doing things they don’t actually have much faith they can achieve (this is where we see people do things like unconsciously self-sabotage).

On top of this, systems, lifestyle design, and habits all work hand-in-hand together because to create a good system, we have to look at our lifestyle design to make this system work best.

When we do this, it creates less friction/more flow of our days, which makes doing the things we need to create the good habits even easier to accomplish, and then as we keep getting the reps in and accomplishing these tasks, we allow ourselves to keep improving the system.

Finding Our “Process” Is The Result We Want

Assuming your life doesn’t take any massive curveballs, once we get where we want and as the habits become deeply ingrained, we should have the awareness and mental playbook to essentially keep ourselves here without allowing the old bad habits to knock us back off again.

In a sense, the “result-oriented” goal we are looking for is the “process” that will allow us to keep being the people we want to be and keep getting the results we want—funny how that works, ehh? The goal is to find out what system best supports us to BE a certain way because if we can operate from that personal state, getting the results and achieving the goals we want is just kind of a byproduct of who we are.

In more plain English, we want to create an environment that allows us to be the best versions of ourselves while avoiding falling into bad habits that will limit our potential and experience in this life.

This is a better way than being pure “result-oriented” because life goes on after you achieve these goals and so, so many fall into a sense of purposelessness or at best a chronic boredom until the next goal… so instead we can just avoid that whole valley of despair and understand happiness comes from who we are and what we do, rather than what we’ve done.

Complacency Is a Slow Death

All this is great, but at the end of the day, there is a reason we say “complacency kills” and why being complacent feels so bad and often creates bad results.

In life, you can get complacent, and maybe even comfortable, but deep down you’ll be miserable. You know, I know, we all know it.

On the flip side, anything that actually makes us feel good, sustainably, usually sucks to achieve and often sucks once you get there to maintain it, but you will know deep down that you’re doing something worthwhile and you’ll get to experience a level of happiness or satisfaction that doesn’t come with any strings attached in the form of “I know I could do more and be more” in the back of your head.

That is the price, that is the trade you make. It comes back to delayed vs instant gratification.

So, knowing this, no matter how bad things have gotten or how much you’re struggling to get where you want, it should be the only option because the other option is a slow death before you physically die and nights awake with regret that you weren’t the person for yourself, your family, and left a lot of “what if’s” that will never be answered in your one shot at this life thing.

Because of this, you have to keep pushing and figure it out, because you’re absolutely capable of doing it, and the reward is so much greater than anything a few moments of dopamine and comfort that choosing the “easy wrong” over the “hard right” will provide.

This is what I’ll be going over in depth in my next post, how to build this unbreakable resilience and keep in pursuit of whatever it is you're after, no matter how much life throws at your face.

TLDR;

• Hubris Leads to Downfall: Believing one is immune to common pitfalls can lead to failure.

• Motivation Shifts: Initial reasons for pursuing goals can change, impacting long-term commitment.

• Process Over Destination: Emphasize ongoing process for goals without endpoints, like health.

• Danger of Complacency: Small lapses can accumulate, leading to significant setbacks.

• Rebuilding Habits: Focus on small, incremental victories rather than immediate peak performance.

• Systematic Lifestyle: Create systems to support and maintain good habits.

• Positive Mental Feedback: Use small wins to break all-or-nothing thinking and foster motivation.

• Life Philosophy: True satisfaction from continuous self-improvement, not just achievements.

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox. Bob Saget.

The idea of being able to get the same quality workout and results you can get from a public/commercial gym without needing to leave your house is a dream myself and most of my gym bro’s have always had.

The issue is, you think you’d need a ton of extra space to fit all the unique equipment a commercial gym offers and it’d be so expensive that it remains a “once I’ve made it” type goal.

I know this is how I felt until I “accidentally” stumbled into building my own home gym in the small extra bedroom in my house.

If you know what you’re doing, you’ll realize it actually requires very little space and costs less than most spend on their yearly vacation down at the beach—so that’s where I come in, to tell you how.

Like I said, this kinda “accidentally” happened when we stumbled upon a Rack and Bench on clearance for $50. We figured it’d just be cool to have so why not. Like most things in my life, this led me into an obsession as I got into it when I was buying little extras for it like a Barbell, Plates, Adjustable Dumbbells, and another Dip Rack on clearance for $50…

…it was like a gateway drug that led to our unused baby nursery becoming a Home Gym good enough that I haven’t gone to my usual public gym in longer than I can remember.

As straightforward as it sounds, considering that a Rack, Barbell, some Plates, and a few Dumbbells would be enough, I didn’t want to sacrifice the convenience and tools to get better results that a good public gym offers. I have grown accustomed to my privileged Machine Life, so going back to a more minimalist set-up of mainly just Free Weights was a giant turn-off.

Luckily we live in the 2020’s and capitalism has done what capitalism does best and has made it to where it’s very easy to buy your own reasonably priced machines + they make machines with multiple uses so space becomes much less of an issue.

So, if you have a spare bedroom, or especially if you have a garage with free space, you can take advantage of this and build a home gym that can match the results and a lot of the ease/convenience machines and equipment in public gyms give you.

What I’ve done here is listed out the equipment I’d buy depending on how much space and/or budget you have to build one. I’ve done this by thinking about what equipment I would prioritize in terms of alleviating friction that the lack of machine access can create and what will give you the best bang for your buck/square footage.

For example:

When considering equipment availability, I found Legs and Shoulders to be the main limiting factors:

• Legs: Without a Leg Curl/Extension and Hack Squat/Leg Press Machine, my workouts would be limited to Barbell Squats, Bulgarian Split Squats, Lunges, and a few Hamstring isolations like Nordic Curls. These are less enjoyable or more fatiguing. The Leg Curl/Extension Machine changes this significantly, and the Hack Squat/Leg Press adds versatility while reducing spinal load.

• Shoulders: The Shoulder Press/Lateral Raise Machine isn't as essential, but it's crucial for me since I dislike being limited to just Barbell Shoulder Press, and safely setting down heavy dumbbells without damaging me or the floor is an issue. The machine offers safety and versatility.

For other muscle groups:

• Chest: Easily covered with various Bench Presses, Dumbbell Flyes, Dips, and Push-Ups.

• Back: Ample options with Rows, Pull-Ups, Landmine Rows, and Cable exercises.

• Arms: Well-served by Cables, Dumbbells, and Barbells/EZ curl bars.

My gym setup focuses on practicality with variety, tailored to my goals. When setting up your home gym, it’s important to consider what machines benefit you most and what variety you need. If you have different priorities, adjust your choices. If space and budget allow, aim for a comprehensive setup.

This is what I DID, many of you likely will feel the same, BUT these are the questions and things to consider when setting up your own home gym.

Maybe you can’t live without a Chest Press Machine or find you struggle to feel like you’re getting good workouts without a Row Machine for Back… if that’s the case, choose those instead if you have similar space limitations…

…or get everything in my guide if space and budget are not issues (that’s what I’m doing once we’re done building our house that is basically half living quarters, half gym… this is only kinda a joke…)

Download Your Free Guide

The Ultimate Bowtiedox Equipment Buying Guide

11.4MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

*Billy Mays Voice*
But wait, there’s more to this…

I Made A New Program Just For Home Gyms, Too

Last week I released a new Home Gym Program along with this buying guide for my paid Substack subscribers here ⇩

As much as I wish I could just give everything away for free, I have bills to pay and children to feed so I can’t (people also don’t psychologically take things they get for free seriously so even just the $5 for a subscription makes the subconscious mind take this more serious so people will actually try and use the program to get the awesome results it offers).

That said, I figured I’d give you the Buying and Setup Guide for your own Home Gym for free because I’ve learned just how game changing having your own Home Gym can be and wanted to make sure anyone who was interested but didn’t know where to start had a good resource to help make it a reality—the program is just a bonus for those who decide (or already have) to build a home gym and want a great, structured program to get the most results from it.

The program can be done with just as little as a Rack, some Free Weights, and other minimalist equipment like a Bench or Adjustable Dumbbells.

I designed this program with 2 things in mind:

1. I wanted to be able to get similar results to what I could get in a fully stocked commercial gym

2. I wanted it to be quick and efficient + break things up in a way that made them mentally simple and easy to digest in a way that you get the time/convenience benefit of a Home Gym and are more likely to adhere to the program

That last part was very important to me because when you have a Home Gym and thus 24/7 access, it’s actually easier to put it off because it’s always there so it doesn’t feel as urgent.

I also made it at a time where the gym wasn’t my main priority and things like raising my son, business, and taking care of my entire family (I’m one of my grandparents’ main caretakers now) were far more important to me, BUT I also didn’t want to sacrifice getting good results.

Because I make everything for myself first, then post for you all later, I ended up accomplishing this and actually making some of my best progress in years because I was putting more quality time in the gym because it didn’t feel like a chore, as ironic as that is.

If you are familiar with any of my previous programs then you have a pretty good idea as to how this is set up and works because since my last program (Density), the human body still hasn’t changed.

However, for those of you who are new to my programs, here is my thought process and philosophy for how it works: the main goal and principle that we will follow is Progressive Overload. This program is written with the expectation that even though it’s only 3-4 days a week and done in the comfort of your own home that you're going to work out HARD and not just go through the motions like every other gym bro that looks the same year after year…

So, if this is something you think could help give you some structure and better purpose for your home workouts then bookmark for later or you just subscribe for $5 a month (or less if annual) and get this + my other dozen or so highly esteemed programs here:

Click This Shit

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox. Bob Saget.

Not only do I have you covered on how to build your own Home Gym, in any space from guest bedroom size to an entire g…

Read more

While I have the “Start Here” page (that I’m always updating), and the search function, I wanted to compile all of the training programs (and techniques) I’ve ever posted and will post in the future into one place.

Just like with the “Start Here” page, this page will be updated periodically.

Having over 250 posts can make finding specific articles/programs a bit difficult, and this is my attempt to make it easier for you!

Downloadable PDFs:

Density 12 Week Program - The full 12-week Density program.

Push Pull Legs 12 Week Program Remastered - The full 12-week Push Pull Legs program remastered.

Free Home Gym Push Pull Legs Program - Maximize Your Gains With Minimal Equipment.

Home Gym Set Up and Buying Guide + Program - Transform Your Space and Your Body: The Ultimate Home Gym Buying Guide and Workout Program.

Training Programs & Techniques:

30-Minute Workout - A quick workout for those with little time to get to the gym. In & Out, keeping gains in the equation.

Early Morning Workouts - The goal of this post is to provide you with the best framework for optimal performance, and muscle growth, and significantly reduce your risk for injury during morning workouts (the biggest concern—we’ll be covering in-depth).

Body Weight Program - Maybe you don’t have access to a gym or equipment. This post provides a bodyweight program that you can utilize anywhere—you just need yourself!

Full Body Program - This post teaches you how set up your own, individualized program + example program provided.

2-3 Day Full Body Program (Updated) - *This program can be used by beginners, but I want to emphasize that this is mostly for people who know what they’re doing and how to train with proper intensity.*

Dumbbell Only Full Body Program - This program is for those with limited gym and access to equipment, dumbbell only. This workout program will follow all of the general principles of every program I’ve posted before.

Upper/Lower Barbell Only Program - This program is for those with limited gym and access to equipment, barbell only. This workout program will follow all of the general principles of every program I’ve posted before.

4 Day Upper/Lower Program - This is an upgraded 4 Day a Week Upper/Lower Split (moving on from the 3 day program). This is for those that are familiar with lifting, and looking to maximize the most muscle growth with the minimal time in the gym.

Push Pull Legs - A program utilized by intermediate and advanced level gym bros +Bonus sample workout plans.

DC Training - This is an advanced program - if you fit the mold for this program, and you want to add serious mass to your frame in a short amount of time, this is one of, if not the best, program to do so.

Load Sets And Back Off Sets - This post is mostly about the 2 set philosophy, but we are also going to talk about the benefits of High Intensity, Low Volume Training.

Balancing Lifting and Martial Arts - This post touches on mixing our Martial ArtsTraining with our Weightlifting. Both of these goals are simultaneously beneficial and detrimental to each other. It is important for us to find a balance here.

Balancing Running And Lifting - Contrary to what an overwhelming amount of people say, we can absolutely build muscle while running - IF we do this correctly.

Walk-To-Run Progression Plan + Running Advice From a Running Coach - Guest post with BowtiedRunner: How To Go From The Couch To 5K in 2 Months.

Your Guide To Becoming A Better Athlete - Defining athleticism and discussing working out in relation to becoming more athletic—improving our performance in a way that improves our athletic abilities.

Power Development - Pt. 2 athletic-based training. Here I discuss one of the most important aspects of athletic-based training—power.

Bro Split - This post explains a variation of the Bro Split, a workout routine that devotes a training session to each individual body part—chest, back, shoulders, legs, arms, etc.

4-Week Low Volume Workout Plan Challenge - An Experiment To Show How Little Volume You Need.

Weekend Warrior Workout Plan - 3-Day Modified Upper/Lower Split for Friday-Sunday.

"Choose Your Own Adventure" Program - A Perfect Program Setup Guide For Beginners or Busy People.

Targeting Specific Muscle Groups:

Guide To Training Calves And Abs - The first post in my series of specific strategies for building certain body parts. Starting with calves and abs—these are two important muscles that are unique compared to other muscles.

Your Guide To Training Arms - This post is to provide you with some tips and advice that can really help blow up your arms and make this a reality. Pt. 2 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts.

Your Guide To Training Chest - Pt. 3 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts. A well-developed chest is an extremely powerful and aesthetic feature to your body, it is really the major focal point of your upper-body.

Your Guide To Training Back + Width vs Thickness - Pt. 4 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts. Back is a rather complex beast when it comes to training and actually training the muscles correctly—this will also clarify what I mean when I say back thickness and back width. The training methodology for both have key differences.

Your Guide To Training Legs - Pt. 5 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts. Your legs are arguably your most important muscle group—they are up there in importance with your back. This is because your legs are the foundation of your body and all movement. Without legs we would be useless.

Your Guide To Training Shoulders - Pt. 6 of Specific Strategies for building a certain body part. The shoulders are very important in terms of upper body structural health (they control the movement of your arms), and they are also a very aesthetically pleasing muscle.

Improving Weak Body Parts - In this post I explain how to improve muscles you are struggling with.

My Favorite Exercises For Each Body Part:

Part 1: This post is part one of my favorite exercises for each body part including → Chest, Back, and Shoulders. I list my favorite movement, barbell and dumbbell variation, and accessories for each.

Part 2: This is part two of my favorite exercises for each body part including → Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves + Arms, and Abs—like part one I list my favorite movement, barbell and dumbbell variation, and accessories for each.

Additional Tools:

10 Steps To Elite Health and Fitness eBook - A Free eBook Because Ox is For The People.

How To Use a Logbook To Maximize Gains + A Downloadable Logbook Template - everything you need to know about Logbooks and a downloadable template.

The Age of Digital Logbooks - This is a very detailed guest post with Isaac for MyLiftLog, an extremely useful app for tracking your lifts.

Gym Bag 101 - What you NEED and should have in your gym bag.

Finding A *Good* Personal Trainer or Coach - Qualities to look for and more.

Work With Ox:

1-on-1 Coaching - If you are interested in working directly with me with 1 on 1 coaching, you can apply here, spots are on a first-come basis & limited to a set amount

Consultation Calls - You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

*If you ever lose this post and need to find it, just type “Training Programs” in the search function, and this should be the first post to show up.*

I mean, I get it. Naturally, we just want to simplify everything and turn it into absolutes.

The issue is when you are dealing with something like the body—that is so complex and dynamic—the idea of thinking binary with an “either-or” outlook with only two options is as stupid as it sounds when you read this to yourself.

This is why we can’t have nice things or world peace…

It all started when, somewhere along the line, we let the nerds take over and decide “We must train this way because the science supports it.”—I joke, but this is the current trend the pendulum has swung to.

What used to be a subject that was stereotyped by jocks and meatheads has seemingly done a complete 180 and is now being led by guys with pocket protectors by whom many look like they’ve barely been to the gym in their life. Whatever happened to the hardcore, almost grungy archetype that lifters once had?

Jokes aside, there has been a shift in many ways good, but in many ways also detrimental to the true foundation and fundamentals of lifting.

I have no idea why it is so hard to find “what has traditionally worked”, “what is supported by data”, & “what is supported by results” and take pieces from each method that make sense logically (yes, actually using our brains… to think critically & come up with our own answers), then take those pieces, put them together and see how it works for us.

While I love that the Neanderthal image of those who lift has been dismantled, there are still lessons and principles that they did well to take away from. This new trend of religiously only following fitness guidance if it has been published in a scientific journal greatly misses many marks and often forgoes critical thinking & common sense in favor of trying to look smart and define answers in absolutes that simply cannot be approached that way.

As with most things, the best approach typically lies between both extremes. Instead of doing the all-so-common approach of choosing one side or the other let’s actually use some of that critical thinking & common sense where we can combine the old with the new in an effort to make better progress and our lives easier.

Defining “Science-Based” Lifters vs “Broscience”/“Old School” Lifters

In the fitness/bodybuilding world today, there have become essentially two distinct groups/groupthink when it comes to philosophies and methodologies of how to train and why.

These two groups are commonly referred to as the “science-based” lifters and the “broscience” or could even call them “old school” lifters. Each with its own distinct process of how to interpret what the “best way to train” is.

Funny enough, if I did not know any better, I would look at this and be like, “Of course, the science-based lifters are who you want to listen to, they are following the actual science and data.” And that is actually where one of the first issues begins to rear its face…

…because while studies and data are great, it is very, very hard—close to impossible—to account for all of the nuances and the considerations that occur when looking at the big picture of a unique individual with their own unique lifestyle & genetics, over the course of years, even decades.

The other group, the broscientists, or old school guys if you will, operate from more of a place of “well, this has worked for countless bodybuilders and lifters, including many of the greatest of all time, so from everything we have seen from different methods different guys have used and their similarities, we can deduce what works the best because success leaves clues.”

While this can sound archaic and even close-minded, it’s ironically the more open-minded approach in most ways, and when you consider that even though we have individual differences, there is only one type of human body… it hasn’t changed and won’t be changing anytime soon.

We’ve had millions of lifters collectively try just about anything under the sun to grow as much muscle as possible & as quickly as possible + this quest to find what works best is incentivized by the fact that the guys and coaches who do this the best make millions and millions of dollars + the fame and status that come with it.

I already know that logically a lot of you reading this are thinking exactly what any seemingly intelligent person would think… “Yeah, so why don’t we try the different methods that we know well, see which ones have the best data, or even just combine the data from the studies with what the guys in the trenches have figured out and go from there?”

Which does happen and should happen. That’s what every single GREAT coach does.

The issue is that they wouldn’t be GREAT coaches if they were common.

Because again, for whatever reason, the majority of cases… I suspect it’s a marketing/branding aspect so that people can present as more “qualified” & as if “they know better than everyone else” so that they can build their brand and image as this “authoritative expert.”

On the flip side, you have guys that are either just more close-minded, don’t really care, or often have a type of ego wrapped into “broscience” and they want to do things the “old way” because “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The funny thing is this can actually go very, very well, and they can be following really good current and solid science. The guys that are doing it as the “old gods instructed” might be following the right “scripture.”

This can also be the opposite. You have guys pushing very suboptimal, to say the least, training methodologies because of a certain study circulating out there that, for whatever reason, was just not done well… tell them that “this is the best way” when it’s just not.

Or you have guys just trying to be hardcore and do a bunch of stuff without really thinking through how well your body can handle the fatigue and recovery. Things like a strain on the spine and increased risk of injury, or just flat-out doing too much for the sake of them thinking “more equals more” when any remotely long-time reader of Strong As An Ox knows, more does not always or even often equal more.

Now, I know anyone who knows me, knows that I fall more into the “Broscience” camp, or at least appear so, so this might come off as biased or painting one side better than the other. That, I can promise you, is not the case. I am almost equal parts a lover of studies & literature as I am a lover of the no-nonsense approach of doing this based on “Whether it works or it doesn’t” and/or “we’ve tried and this is what happened.”

For that reason, this is why seeing people choose sides and label themselves as one or the other and denying the credibility of the other really bothers me.

You Can’t Have One Without the Other

In a sense, both methods depend on each other to cover blind spots and get answers one might provide to the other.

Just because a method or protocol was not published or observed in a peer-reviewed study doesn’t mean that we should throw it out when maybe just the conditions and context of the study and its design just aren’t able to be recreated in a controlled setting…

Or just because something has worked for generations of bodybuilders doesn’t mean we can’t get insights from studies on little nuances and changes to help get more juice from the squeeze…

The reason I even bring this discussion up & write this article is to highlight the divide being created… what scares me is every time I see dogma, people will latch onto it, and close their minds to other approaches, which can have a negative effect in two ways:

1. It will spread like wildfire to where you get these schisms and dogmatic groupthink that then influences others to also think that way which can set back our collective knowledge and education, and then we have to restart the process of bringing everyone back to this place of nuance.

2. It really sucks when you get taught a specific way, and then at some point give another—maybe even almost opposite—type of way a try, and you end up getting crazy (positive) results.

You will sit there and think to yourself “Well damn, why did everyone say XYZ way was the way to go/the best way? Because now I’m getting the best results of my life… but could have started five years ago & been light years ahead of where I am now”—I say this because this is literally what happened to me.

In my case, it was being taught that “high volume is the way” and “you can’t grow on anything less” when in reality it was the complete opposite.

This post, unlike others, is not just for individuals who want to improve their fitness and/or grow, this one is actually for coaches, too. I’m telling you right now from experience, by using all the tools and data at your disposal, and being open to trying & experimenting with different ways will make you an immensely better coach and make you orders of magnitude more valuable to the clients you serve.

Just because you read in some marketing book that “it’s best to create your own unique angle and carve out your own niche”, don’t do it at the expense of being close-minded and limiting yourself, thus potentially hurting the results of your clients.

Let’s keep fitness about fitness and seek good, solid information and truths, not just some scheme to make some money.

Trust me, if you build a respectable reputation and provide people with enough quality, legitimate information/content, you’ll make a fuckton more money than the little gimmicks and scams, we all know exactly what I’m talking about… “6-Pack in 60 days for Men who work 60 hours a week in their 60s.”

I Propose a Middle Ground…

It is better to be open-minded and understand all of the different types of methodologies along with their pros and cons—even if you find yourself leaning toward one specific direction—than to simply lean in only one direction because “that’s all you know.”

That’s how you create blind spots and gaps in your knowledge.

Putting It All Together

Instead of dying on hills, we should be using nuance and keeping an open mind when it comes to training philosophies and methods.

It’s a little thing I like to call Common Sense-based lifting.

Exercise science is always expanding, and we are constantly discovering new ways that can enhance what already works, so leave a little room for some experimentation in your training. Don’t get married to “this way is the only way”.

Take the useful and applicable techniques from each side and combine them into what works best for you.

1-on-1 Coaching

Starting now and into next week, I am going to be onboarding another 10-15 clients as I have more time available to add to my coaching roster.

Many of you have already put in applications over the last few months, which I will be emailing if you are still interested. However, I am moving my onboarding system to a new email list platform. So even if you have put in an application and I haven’t gotten back to you, it will be easier if you just fill out a new one as I do this.

For those who do not know and might be interested, I offer 1-on-1 coaching and have my own beautiful coaching app that has everything from a digital logbook, a diet/macro tracker with a database of a million different foods & even a barcode scanner, full exercise video library, in-app messaging/texting, and a bunch of other really cool features that quite frankly pretty much no one else offers.

I am only planning to have open enrollment right now for the next week or two and towards the new year, and once those slots are filled I won’t be taking on any clients in mass as I have a set number limit so I can give everyone more than enough of my time to over-deliver my services. So, if you think you’re interested, you definitely want to act sooner rather than later because once filled, I usually don’t have spots open back up often as most stick with me for over a year+.

Appy Here

Looking Forward

Coming soon… I will be releasing a Home Gym Program and a Home Gym Equipment PDF.

This Home Gym Program will follow a similar philosophy as all of my programs and will entail: Push & Quads, Pull & Hamstrings, and Upper & Lower (it can be a 3-day or 4-day split with the option of either combining or separating the Upper/Lower portion of the program).

In the PDF, I will list and price out different pieces of gym equipment you can purchase to make the most of your at-home workouts.

After this, there will finally be the “Upper/Lower” Program and “Ultimate First Day in the Gym” Program we’ve been working nonstop on for the last couple of months.

We decided to make three variations of the Upper/Lower Program depending on how many days a week you want to go to the gym, your experience/muscular development level, and your preference. This of course will be downloadable like the Density Program and the remastered Push Pull Legs Program, as well as available on the MyLiftLog App (will be available a couple of weeks early on the app).

Once that drops, before the next program (My Optimized/Modified Bro-Split), I have a little side quest to bring you… my own line of high-quality lifting gear (belts, straps, sleeves, cuffs, bands, etc.) and looking to partner with a gym equipment company/manufacturer to make my own machines and kit to fill the void in the market of high-quality equipment that isn’t used-car prices.

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: If you are interested in working directly with me with 1 on 1 coaching, you can apply here, spots are on a first-come basis & limited to a set amount

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)

My goal has always been to under-price and over-deliver what I do because I like to be as fair as possible in the sense that you get what you need without breaking the bank ($5 a month for essentially all the inf…

Read more

When I go to the gym, I like to look around and observe what others are doing. This helps me become a better coach because I get to see common shortcomings and flaws within other’s training. The reality is most people, 50-80%+, depending on the gym, have no fucking clue what they are doing.

The biggest one that always jumps out at me is how people train in terms of the effort and focus of their training, or rather, the complete lack of effort and focus.

Most people in the gym look like they are at a social club rather than a gym, or when actually working out are more focused on hitting some arbitrary rep number or stop before a set actually gets difficult, which is where progress actually happens.

You cannot go to the gym, unfocused and with zero intent and expect anything to happen, if it does, it’ll be painstakingly slow and wasting your time. You don’t need to look all extra and psycho, but you need a degree of grit and high focus to make your sessions meaningful.

If we are all being honest with ourselves—even myself at times—we have workouts where we are just kinda going through the motions, maybe lying to ourselves that we are working hard, but in reality we are more focused on just being done than the workout itself. This is HIGHLY counterproductive. You are there, make it worth your time or you’re just wasting it plus an opportunity to grow and progress.

What Is Intent?

Intent is simply the purpose and goal you have when you walk into the gym - intent is the focus on the outcome you desire for that focus.

You need to have this intent, walk in knowing exactly why and how you need to workout, and execute on that intent with ruthless focus.

Intent is the opposite of just going through the motions. You know exactly why you are there and what you need to do and focus solely on that. You have 60 or so minutes—give or take—in the gym. That is a small portion of your day, but it is one of the most important portions of your day. Maximize that time by giving it 100% focus based on your intent for the workout.

Not working out with intent is actually just a waste of time. You could’ve given just a little more effort and focus and made great progress. Instead you just haphazardly went into the gym, spent 60 minutes fucking off, and have no progress to show for it.

Know what the fuck you need to do, focus on just that, execute on your intent, and get out and reap the rewards.

Proper intent is being in the zone, almost having tunnel vision.

How To Develop Intent In The Gym

Intent is a product of proper planning and to a degree knowledge and education. You need to understand the importance of what just a little more effort can yield and how detrimental a little less focus can be.

Understand that you really only have a few sets, and even then a few reps, the last ones, the hard ones, the ones you really need to focus on to grow. Skimping out on these moments is make or break for the productivity of your session.

This is easy to get right, just requires the proper protocols, planning, and mindset before we even step foot in the gym.

Having An Actual Workout Plan

Don’t walk into the gym with some half-cocked idea of what you’re going to work that day. Don’t walk in thinking “oh I’m going to hit chest today” and have no other intent than this.

Have a good program (I legitimately have over 10 of them here, the Upper/Lower, Full-Body, and everyone’s favorite—the PPL) and go in knowing exactly what you’re working, in what desired order, with actual rep range targets, the whole 9 yards.

This is the first and most important step to actually having the right intent with your workouts. Sure, some can get away without one, but you’re adding another obstacle and complication that will make you think. You don’t want to think about what to do next, you should be focusing on your workout, 100% in the moment.

Track Your Lifts & Have Micro Goals

Not only should you have a workout routine to follow, you should track your sessions so you can actually gauge and implement progressive overload—which as we all know is the main driver of muscle growth.

You know you need to add either weight or reps to elicit a growth response, so you know that you need to beat the number from your last sessions—this is your “Micro Goal”, your goal within each set for each movement to try to hit to ensure you grow.

Your focus should be in the moment, on whatever that number is to beat last session, and only that. If you can focus and attack these micro goals you will be maximizing your progress. This will force you to bring proper intent to the gym in order to beat the numbers.

Put The Phone Down and Stop Talking

You are there to lift, you are not there to chat up some bro or try to pick up some gym chick (a lot of them are bad news anyway). Do this before or after your lift, this will take you out of the zone and that can completely ruin a workout.

Some people, including myself, can use their phone between sets, rest the right amount of time, and get right back into the zone, no issue. A lot, probably most cannot do this. It will be a total distraction and waste time and mental effort.

Be honest, you know yourself, if it’s an issue, put it down, only touch it to change a song, and stop snapchatting push-up bra Susan, she will be there after your lift.

If you have an issue with people talking to you and distracting you, either nicely tell them you can’t talk or wear headphones (over the head ones work best) and act like they don’t exist… or be a total psychopath like me and just straight up ignore them.

Take Some Caffeine Before Training

Caffeine is well documented to promote better performance in the gym, but it also has the benefit of increasing focus as well. If you need more focus, especially if you need more energy, 100-300mg of caffeine prior to a workout can provide that enhancement.

Caffeine can help you get into that “zone” during your workouts which in turn is going to improve your performance and focus during sets, which can directly lead to better muscle growth. While not anabolic in itself, this performance boost absolutely is.

There are other additives you can find in pre-workout supplements that further enhance focus, but that is a rabbit hole for another day.

Understand This BIG point

This ties everything together, this is why we are even talking about this in the first place. As I mentioned above:

Understand that you really only have a few sets, and even then a few reps, the last ones, the hard ones, the ones you really need to focus on to grow. Skimping out on these moments is make or break for the productivity of your session.

When we really break it down, we have maybe 1 or 2 movements that are make or break for our session. Probably the compound or first movements in the lift. Even then, most of the set doesn’t matter, it isn’t going to stimulate the growth response.

What’s going to stimulate the growth response is the extra rep—if we had 10 reps last session in our logbook, getting rep 11 today is where we grow. Why? Because that is novel or a new stimulus—our body has never done that many reps with that weight so it’s new, the body must adapt to overcome this, when that adaptation happens, that is when we grow!

This doesn’t mean we get to fuck off the rest of the lift, it all matters and all is going to contribute to growth. The point is, those few moments to get that extra rep or push that extra weight is where growth happens.

You cannot afford to lose focus or stop short of the effort needed to push beyond your previous capabilities.

That is lifting with intent, the intention that we will do whatever it takes to beat the last session and beat the numbers in our logbook.

Don’t Fucking Miss!

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: If you are interested in working directly with me with 1 on 1 coaching, you can apply here, spots are on a first-come basis & limited to a set amount

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)

I have no idea when or where I posted this, I searched for over 30 minutes and couldn’t find it. I found it while I was getting my documents together, for my clients, to put on my app and thought “What the hell, let’s send ‘er out for fun today!”

The timestamp is August of 2021 so she’s been collecting some dust now.

Going back through it was interesting because while it’s good and will get you great results (otherwise I wouldn’t be posting this lol), it’s interesting to see how far I’ve come in my development as a coach and fitness professional in terms of the exact setup.

There are some little tweaks and optimizations I’d make now + that Quad Focus Leg day is brutal (similar to one Jordan Peters programmed for me back in the day), but at the end of the day I still like it—the irony is I was in the process of writing a post that touches on the concept that some people focus way too much on marginal things like exercise selection when in reality most things will work well if done with proper intensity and good execution/form consistently.

This document is more of a “set up guide” than a program so don’t get too excited, the next structured 12-or-so-week program is under construction as we speak, so you all have that to look forward to (plus the remastered Push Pull Legs dropping any day—my slav… I mean wife is working around the clock to perfect it to the best of our ability).

Like most of my other programs and guides, this has some other tidbits of advice like:

• What are good home gym pieces of equipment to get

• Brief Nutrition, Recovery, and Cardio guide

• VERY brief supplement guide (don’t click the link, the domain name is broken beyond repair)

• Lifting equipment/accessory suggestions

The only real upgrade I’d make to this program now is maybe reducing the amount of compound-type movements on the “Legs A” day, like regular front squats for goblet squats and potentially doing 1 less set or swapping lunges out for something like a Nordic Curl to give the hamstrings more love… and to save your sanity from lunges right after Bulgarian Split Squats.

Other than that, I’d just try and see how this works for you and play with swapping some of the movements for others you prefer more that work the same muscles and similar movement patterns.

Ideally, this is for the person who wants to get the most from the least amount of equipment so beggars can’t really be choosers in terms of a ton of variety.

After stumbling on this and going back through my archives for I think the first time ever, I’m probably going to republish each program I did early on when I started this Substack and either put them into downloadable format and potentially even build all of them out into 8-12 or even 16 week programs—next ones of these old programs/set up guides being the Dumbbell Only, Barbell Only, and Bodyweight Programs.

Anyway, it’s short and not pretty BUT it’s free and it’ll work very, very well for those with a more traditional home gym set up:

Home Gym Push Pull Legs

341KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: If you are interested in working directly with me with 1 on 1 coaching, you can apply here, spots are on a first-come basis & limited to a set amount

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)

Personally, this is how I am, hence why I have built a successful career in fitness and was a top performer in an organization known for having great athletes (not to be self-aggrandizing but to further highlight my understanding/familiarity of this topic). This has always been a topic of interest for me because you see it all the time and you know what it looks like, but no one really ever addresses the underlying cause description of what this entails/implies.

What I call this is Kinesthetic Intelligence (and apparently… a few other people which I found doing a deep dive for this article, lol). Kinesthetic, meaning a person’s awareness of their position and movement of their body through space and their proprioception/how well they can control and use their body to perform whatever action it is they are attempting to do.

*Not to be confused with Kinesthetic Learning which is a Learning Style through “touch” and other physical forms of learning, this has more to do with coordinating your mind with your body. (I have high levels of what I’m calling Kinesthetic Intelligence but I am a Visual and Verbal Learner and actually suck at Kinesthetic Learning).*

Often we discuss forms of intelligence in terms of quantitative/being good with numbers, memory recall/reading comprehension, verbal fluency/articulation, EQ/intent, and things like synthesis/being able to connect the dots. Artistic ability also gets lumped into this and as describes in their book Efficiency doesn’t necessarily mean they are intelligent in the traditional sense like most of the things above or have a high IQ, but it is a form of intelligence in itself.

However, not often when we approach intelligence from the traditional framework do we discuss those who display this more physical type of intelligence, this kinesthetic intelligence.

Just like artistry, one might not have raw traditional intelligence but can possess high levels of this type of intelligence. More common than not, however, people who do possess this type of intelligence will likely also display other types of more traditional intelligence because many of the traits that lead to this type of intelligence naturally require traditional intelligence.

Now there is some information/works done on this, but nothing I’ve ever personally stumbled upon outside of research for this article and definitely not popularized. There is something called “The Multiple Intelligence Theory”, published by Howard Gardner, which highlights this multifaceted view of multiple different types of intelligence and acknowledges the existence of Kinesthetic Intelligence.

So today I’m attempting to expand on this specific type of intelligence and put into my own words what this phenomenon is and my observations around it.

An interesting conclusion I’ve drawn about the type of people that do possess this is they have almost a natural understanding of physics without necessarily understanding the underlying physics at all.

Think of something like throwing a football 30+ yards to someone on the run and accurately hitting them in the hands, on stride perfectly, at full speed. This requires an almost instantaneous mental calculation of many laws of physics like velocity, trajectory, power, gravity, etc. and these people can consistently do this time and time after, the best nearly every time, many of which couldn’t even tell you a basic formula for trajectory (y=x tan θ− gx ² ​ / 2v ² cos ² θ), I sure as hell can’t (I googled this), but I can drop a dime on you at 50 yards on a fly route…

​

Traits of Kinesthetically Inclined Individuals

Taking a deeper look into this…

A good way to describe this in plain English would be how well someone moves or can use their body. A good word that really encapsulates the entire concept is the word “Proprioception”—the sense of self-movement, force, and body position.

“Proprioception, otherwise known as kinesthesia, is your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location. It's present in every muscle movement you have. Without proprioception, you wouldn't be able to move without thinking about your next step.”

So if you combine proprioception with other traits I have listed below like pattern replication, raw athletic prowess (power, strength, speed), etc., and you will be painting the picture of someone with high levels of this intelligence.

However, as shown as an example in the first graphic, this does not have to translate directly to sports or athletics, this can also show itself in activities like performing surgery, marksmanship with weapons, calligraphy (how well you write for those lacking non-kinesthetic intelligence), playing an instrument, and even things like video gaming.

Actually, video gaming is an excellent example of this and to this day I am the only one in my friend groups that has brought up how video gaming is very genetic in determining how skilled (or lack thereof) someone will be. Some people will have better control over their controller and those fine motor movements, their reaction times, their hand-eye coordination, and other attributes that would make one a good gamer.

This also highlights how someone might have high levels of some kin. int.1 traits, but struggle at an activity that requires other kin. int. traits they might not have or lack in the context. What I’m trying to say is while athletically I can hold my own, I suck at video games (no he doesn’t —heifer).

Another good example I’ve learned and observed is driving a car/racing for the same reasons. No need to dive too deep into that, you get what I’m saying from the above. (However, I am actually good at this one, unlike video games). In this context, I have seen the crossover in traits where the same reason I’m good at certain sports like baseball or even lifting weights, is the same reason I’m good at this - at the level of someone who has been doing it for multiple years - in just a handful of months.

This is because many of these traits will have massive crossover even to things that seem “unlike” until you really think about it. This is why some people just seem good at nearly every physical activity/hobby they pick up.

The difference between someone with high kinesthetic intelligence and someone who is just specifically good at a single physical type of activity is that the kinesthetically intelligent person will have to carry over to other activities they will do that will be pretty obvious to anyone observing them.

For example, they are the type of people that might not have ever played a throwing type of sport but when they throw a ball, they don’t look like a total idiot. Now this won’t always be the case, they won’t always be good at literally *every* sport, but they will have the base qualities that constitute kinesthetic intelligence.

In the same way that some people are traditionally intelligent in many different ways…

→ like how some are really great at math but can’t create a strategic plan to save their life

→ or how someone might be great at organizing an entire business enterprise but can’t speak articulately to save their life

…the same type of spectrum applies here, someone might have elite levels of spatial awareness and reaction time but has as much fluidity in their movement as a jar of peanut butter.

Typically what you see is that in activities that favor those with a certain set of these traits, they will be good at other activities that also favor these sets of traits. The main difference between being good at that activity because of specificity and repetition (meaning they have just done it and practiced it so much they’ve gotten good over time) and someone with high kin. int. will be this crossover across activities that favor these traits.

When you combine the natural talent that comes from genetically having these traits with the practice and repetition, this is where you see outlier talent in sports or whatever endeavors because they are aligned in harmony with it.

Sometimes you will see people who are just good at pretty much everything physical that they do and what I’ve come to realize is this is kinesthetic intelligence mixed with overall intelligence and topped off with confidence.

Oftentimes, these types of people won’t just be successful in physical activities but they’re also successful at most things they do in life.

I don’t really have a point here, rather just an observation that I have seen many many times in my lifetime.

Let’s list out some of these traits:

• Body Control (could essentially just list “proprioception” and it would blanket cover all of these, but I will give more specific traits)

• Reaction Times

• High Levels of Coordination

• Spatial Awareness

• Pattern Replication (we will dive more into this)

• Fluidity in their Movement

• Hand-Eye Coordination

• Stability

• Dexterity

• Etc.

I’m not going to break all of these traits down because most of them are pretty self-explanatory. The real key point to grasp is that they just possess high levels of the type of traits that we would attribute to kinesthetics—(which is essentially any movement or physical trait that would make one good at any activity).

Basically, they will be good at ANYTHING that requires using their bodies.

Pattern Replication

So maybe I’m just inventing new words for things that already exist or maybe I’m onto something. This is a concept I came up with the other day while playing a Costco Axe and Ninja Star throwing game that sent me down a mental rabbit hole.

What I realized is a large part of the ability to be good at many athletic endeavors is the rate and ability at which you actually learn the proper mechanics and technique to be good at that activity.

Unless you are working with an actual coach or another person who knows how to do this (even then actually being able to learn and apply their teachings requires this), getting good at it will require trial and error of small adjustments until you’re consistently getting the result you’re after (for me, it was throwing it in the Bullseye).

Where the pattern part of this comes into play is having the pattern recognition of how you feel and the technique you’re using every time you get a positive result. Over time, you begin to recognize specifically what type of technique or touch you need to execute gets you these results.

A kinesthetically intelligent person will be able to not only start to recognize and tweak their technique to see what works, but they will also be able to consciously manipulate their body precisely and then be able to repeat or replicate the same technique conditions that produced the result they wanted.

So in short, it is a mixture of being able to notice (mainly “feel” as you can’t see yourself) what kind of technique/movements works but then also being able to consciously be able to repeat those techniques/movements due to the control they have over their bodies/movements.

How This Applies Directly to Lifting and Muscle Growth…

When it comes to building muscle, a commonality that has been recorded in literature is those who can flex each individual muscle, meaning they can do things like “pop their pecs” flex their leg muscles without moving their leg, or just in general flex essentially every muscle by just mentally flexing them, have a greater potential for muscle growth (i.e. what we refer to as “good genetics”).

This is in large part due to them having a better “mind-muscle connection” which really means they will be better at isolating and targeting their specific muscles during an exercise which is a huge component for how effective that exercise is/growth.

I theorize these types of people will learn how to perform exercises with good technique and confidence exponentially quicker than those who might not have been blessed in the kinesthetic intelligence department. For those who aren’t sure if they have “it” a very good indicator is that other people have commented that you are good at whatever it is, “you seem like a natural”, or have been told you have good genetics.

This means that what you are doing is rarer and can indicate that you are indeed an outlier.

What To Do With All This Information

This type of post is weird for me because normally when I write, I am trying to provide actionable advice and some type of knowledge that you can apply that will help you get whatever results it is you’re after. Where here, I don’t really have too much takeaway advice rather I just wanted to write about and share something I’ve noticed, but haven’t seen discussed very often.

That said, my brain will not allow me to not have some type of practical application, so alas I leave you with this:

If you are someone who you think possesses a high level of this type of intelligence, or you see that one of your children or anyone has this then it would be wise to take advantage of this natural ability.

Not to say at 40 years old you’re now suddenly going to become some pro athlete, but just for the sake of enjoyment of life, it would probably benefit you to take advantage of this, if only because we humans find a good deal of happiness and satisfaction at doing things we are good at. Also, it keeps your brain active and continuously learning which can help stave off things like Dementia, Alzheimer’s, or neurological decline.

Now if you have a child or young person in your life who you have influence over, you can be setting them up for success in life by pushing them towards the type of activities they are going to be good at. They might not go Pro, but they could get a free education out of it, likely develop good social circles, and the athletic foundation could help ensure they stay fit and healthy for life.

Something I have seen that some people fail at is that they will use their own ego and personal desires to push their kids into sports and other activities that they just likely will not excel at. Rather if they removed the bias and were more objective, they could find a better fit for their child’s skill-set in another sport/physical endeavor.

Now some, likely actually many, of you will not have high levels of kinesthetic intelligence… and that is perfectly fine. Your life likely changes absolutely zero and you should be exercising/working out anyway because it is healthy and anyone can look like the best version of themselves - plus you should be doing hobbies and activities that you enjoy regardless of how good (or not) you might be at them (like me on the golf course).

So really the takeaway here is to swim with the current rather than against it with whatever activities, hobbies, or even professions you decide to pursue, and don’t try to force something that isn’t playing to your natural strengths or miss opportunities because you’ve ignored/didn’t value this type of intelligence vs the traditional when it could’ve paid off huge.

Closing thoughts

Often when the discussion of intelligence comes up, it just seems to me that we don’t talk about the role of physical intelligence, of kinesthetic intelligence, and how it is its own unique type of intelligence.

One that is unique in the sense it can be actively displayed and observed through one’s own movement and their ability or lack thereof to control their body.

In a modern world where the physical has been so far removed from most people’s day-to-day lives (as is evident by looking at obesity rates), it’s easy to forget the value and really just the existence of this type of intelligence.

My prediction is that as the general health and fitness of the world becomes more and more of an issue, we will come back to this topic and concept more often because a society that doesn’t place physicality in a high regard is one that will eventually suffer the consequences of neglecting this importance.

Anyway, this is a fun topic/concept that just really isn’t talked about that often so I’m interested to hear any of your thoughts on the matter.

Push Pull Legs Program Remastered

I wanted to mention that I am releasing an updated, “remastered” version of my Push Pull Legs Program (which will be available as a Downloadable PDF)

If you’re not familiar with it, you can see what it’s all about here ↓

It is the same program with an easier-to-read format plus fixed some of the errors in the previous PDF like having Pull and Legs swapped around one week (Week 10 Day 4)…

As you can see, much better than the old eyesore, the old one was for those who had to go through that ocular trauma. It is coming as I plan on announcing/writing my official preview post for the next program and even one after that (going to publish programs like rapid-fire in the coming future).

I’m stoked, I hope you’re stoked!

Oh… One More Thing

After months and months of headache, speed bumps, more headaches, an entire spike strip, and another headache, I will finally be launching my 1 on 1 Coaching Service that will be done through my own exclusive app next Monday, July 1st.

I try to be pretty rational and do not have a flair for the theatrics BUT this is truly going to change the game and how coaching is done in my niche little corner of Twitter/X due to just how phenomenal the app will make the coaching experience for those who decide to take things to the next level and work 1 on1 with me.

The app is essentially all the tools I suggest to help with your fitness progress all-in-one + having direct messaging and the ability to book calls when needed with me +, of course, training plans, cardio plans, diet plans, and even supplement plans tailored directly for you + a bunch of other cool stuff I didn’t think was possible in an app but I guess is like the “Vault” where I am putting together an entire education series/essentially a knowledge course on everything I know so you can fire kme eventually and do it all on your own, confidently.

As stated on StrongAsAnOx.com, this will be a first come first serve so In will be reaching out to those who deserve their spot on the waitlist first then I will take on 5-10 people a week for just a few weeks until my roster is full.

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: Will be available here when it launches, you can pre-reserve a potential spot with your email on the site

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)

Have no fear, I’m not turning into a fatherhood guru writer… yet, these are some deep life lessons that can help anyone, parent or not, improve their success in their fitness endeavors… and life itself.

I’ve been writing this post for about a year now, in a sense, as I pick up new tricks and lessons learned entering one of the more demanding periods of our lives for most people.

When I first talked about how we were expecting my first child, almost immediately all I heard were snide comments like “Just wait until he’s born and see how your fitness progress goals end up”, “ just wait until you learn how hard it is, you’ll have a dad bod too”, “just wait until you’re tired and see how motivated you are” (I think they forget what life in Army Special Operations entails lol), and all these other poor comments, which many were just thinly veiled wishes that I failed so they could feel better about themselves…

If we back up even further, I used to get comments about how I didn’t know jack shit because I was some kid without any real responsibilities, so, of course, “it’s easy to be in shape” and how I just don’t get it because I didn’t have kids so I shouldn’t give advice.

Well, I’m here now and let me tell you…

It’s all a terrible fucking excuse—if anything, becoming a father has made my resilience, motivation, and thus my results even better.

There is a special drive you get (if you’re wired correctly) when you see your child: Knowing you set the biggest example for them and largely influence how they end up themselves… you should want to be the very best you can. That way they can become the best they can be.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are moments that suck when you’re sleep deprived, stressed, and barely holding together by a string, BUT that’s where you decide if you’re going to listen to the inner-bitch we all have in our head telling us to quit, OR if you buckle up and do whatever the fuck it takes to make it happen.

That brings me to my first big takeaway:

1. You Don’t Need Perfect Conditions To Make Things Happen

Often in the fitness world, we get caught up in this idea of chasing optimization and how to create the conditions to get the most desirable results we can, some even to the extreme of majoring in the minor.

It’s easy to fall into the thinking trap that you need the perfect 7-9 hours of sleep, you need to feel good and motivated, need plenty of time, or you need all of these things to stick with and make progress with your fitness regimen.

Even I, someone who has experienced the extremes of being in an Army Special Operations Unit and what that entails (the worst conditions i.e. no sleep, no food) can fall into this trap if I let myself.

I believe this is rooted in a type of all-or-nothing thinking/fixation on “if I’m not doing it the most optimal way, it’s not worth doing” or I can’t get results from it. The reality is this type of thinking is dead wrong.

While yes it is much easier and you will be setting yourself up for more success by creating these “perfect” conditions. In the absence of these conditions, you can still make it happen. Rather, I would say at least half of the muscle tissue on my body was put on there during times when conditions were far from ideal.

What truly matters at the end of the day is that you are doing the best with what you’ve got, you’re showing up every day, and you’re doing whatever it takes to get it done.

Will your progress be as good as it might have been? No. But, the alternative is not only not making progress but regressing. Humans are funny in the fact that no matter how illogical and dumb it is, many times we will let ourselves regress rather than let ourselves make progress at a slow rate. So while I had definitely learned these lessons in my Army career, being a new father has exponentially reinforced this lesson.

The secret is, who you truly are is what you do when the conditions aren’t good or just flat-out bad. Motivation can be fickle and it can come and go, but if you’re the type of person who can make it happen regardless of how bad the conditions might be, you will not only be successful in the gym, but this will also transfer to every other aspect of your life.

So in short, doing the hard right will always be better than the easy wrong.

2. Maintaining Fitness Takes a lot Less Than You Think If You Do the Right Things

Tying into the point above, when conditions are less than optimal, sometimes to make things happen we need to switch up our approach. We do this to avoid the ultimate negative goal which is regressing and ending up in a worse spot than we are in now.

I would be a liar if I told you in the first month or two of being a father that I was crushing the gym 5 days a week and hitting all my macros perfectly every day.

At times, getting into the gym even 2-3x a week was about all I could do. Now, to be honest, I truthfully could’ve done more, but that’s neither here nor there. The reality is it would only occasionally be a couple of times a week. That said, even reducing what I was doing that much—which is over half—I was still able to not only maintain but even make progress while this was happening.

Not to beat a dead horse and be the “Back in ‘NAM, when I was in the Army” guy, but there were also plenty of times back then when I was in a similar situation. What I have learned to be undoubtedly true is that as long as you can get at least one day, one gym session per muscle group, and a few high-quality hard sets, that alone is enough to maintain.

You would actually be amazed at just how little it takes to make progress. In part, this is why I encourage people to experiment with just how little they need to do in the gym to make progress—you might find you’re doing too much and by doing less you improve your recovery which improves your ability to grow muscle.

However, when we’re talking about bare minimums to maintain, what I would say suffices is something like 2 Full-Body Workouts a week or an Upper and a Lower Workout, or a Push day, a Pull day, and a Leg day Workout, but as you can see here, everything is being hit at least once a week.

The literature itself supports the fact that one time a week frequency per muscle is enough to make progress.

I only say 2 full-body days because it would be harder to get as much volume per muscle as we could in an Upper and a Lower, or a Push day, a Pull day, and a Leg day Workout just because you need to work so many more muscle groups in a single Full-Body workout, and if you have to limit your time that much, I’m going to guess you probably don’t have the time to spend 2 hours in the gym to do so.

That said, it probably could work, but I would not be comfortable mentally if that’s all I did (only one Full-Body Workout a week).

A key consideration here is if you’re going to reduce your training this much, it is probably a good idea to eat closer to maintenance calories or slightly above so that you’re not putting yourself in a state where muscle loss does become possible (in a deficit) while also doing this reduction in training.

3. Your Habits Influence Everyone Around You

So, again, if I tried to tell you I was absolutely perfect and the paragon of health and fitness at all times during the first few months of being a father, I would be telling you all a bold-faced lie.

There were definitely moments where I let laziness keep me out of the gym and chose to eat my stress rather than stick with my ideal diet. While we are all human and this will happen, if you make it a habit you likely won’t just be hurting yourself, but also influencing your spouse, other kids, family, and even friends to make poor decisions with you.

There were a few times when I would decide that I didn’t feel like going to the gym, and even though my wife wanted to go, I made it okay and influenced her not to go. Same with diet, she would have a perfect diet going for the day, and I would inadvertently sabotage it because I wanted to Uber Eats a bunch of food because I was being weak and feeling sorry for myself.

Again, not to say this is a horrible thing that can NEVER happen, but unfortunately for us, this wasn’t the case. I can see where unchecked, this could lead you and everyone around you to some bad habits that can take a lot of time to reverse. For some people, especially those who are newer to this—and the lifestyle is not yet ingrained into the fibers of your being—this could knock you off the lifestyle for a very long time. For some, potentially, forever…

Especially as a man, as a father, it is even more important for you to stay strong when you feel like being weak because, at the end of the day, it’s not just you that you could be hurting.

4. Let’s Revisit Lifestyle Design

To this day, of all of my posts and of all the concepts I talk about, lifestyle design is one of, if not, the most important aspects of successfully developing health and fitness as a lifestyle and a habit.

Being a new father reinforced just how true my sentiment toward lifestyle design is. While you can get away with just winging it for a while… the failures that I mention, nearly all of them come back to the point that my lifestyle design was out of whack.

It is so crucial to set up your day where the things you NEED TO DO are structured in a way where they have a sort of flow, a continuity where it feels almost as if everything is working for you rather than against you to give you momentum from task-to-task throughout the day.

One of the first, simple things I did was change what time I go to the gym. I had to play with this a few times to see what worked best because it would always feel like a part of my day when there was a lot of friction.

What ended up working best for me was doing the opposite of what works better for most people (morning time). I have a little more flexibility in my schedule because I don’t have a job to report to, so I found that going around 7 PM worked perfectly. It fit around dinner and bath time which is a time that I’m basically useless because my wife has always taken care of those—so, it ended up working very well with the rest of my schedule nicely.

This would be around the same time I would finish working. It’s almost as if I needed that time to let me wind down my brain, get back home, and then enjoy the evenings with my son. This is when he would be in one of his more playful moods before he went to bed. This all matters because the big point of friction was that I hated to be away when he was awake and playing and having fun, or when I needed to be around to help out.

Even though these are little things, the ebb and flow of my energy and mind frame made this exponentially easier. Other things I would play around with were things like going to parks for our family morning walks, and other activities where I could get things done to make progress. While still being able to give all my energy and attention to my son before I would have to get work done for the day.

5. “Just Wait Until” (Trust Yourself and Don’t Let Other People’s Negativity Influence You)

An unfortunate reality is most people won’t be or think like you, considering you’re finding yourself here reading this which means you’re obviously invested in doing whatever it takes to become the best version of yourself you can be. Most people will have a very negative or a limited belief mindset when it comes to, not just parenting, but life in general.

Bitter people are quick to “let you know” all the negative things that can happen and “all that” because it helps them feel better about themselves and their shortcomings.

When we first found out we were having our son—while many of the comments were overwhelmingly positive—we were immediately stormed with a bunch of comments, saying things along the lines of “just wait until ‘XYZ’ and you’ll see how hard it is to stay fit” or even some downright negative stuff about how “when you become a parent, your life is over” or how bad some of the aspects of parenting can be.

Instinctively, I knew that I would overcome any of these challenges and that I would enjoy being a parent regardless of how seemingly “inconvenient” they might seem because I always knew my gratitude for just having my son would far overcompensate any of those negative feelings. You should not listen to people who try to limit what you can accomplish and paint a bunch of negative pictures.

Success in life, as most if not all of you requires a mindset like we talked about in the first point of doing whatever it takes to accomplish our goals and not rolling over when we face challenges but embracing them and figuring out a way to overcome them.

If you are confident in yourself in other areas of your life and generally competent, you should trust yourself, in your own beliefs and judgment, and do things the way you think is best regardless of what negative people say.

Now this does not imply hubris or arrogance in the sense of not seeking more knowledge and advice, not at all, that would be a horrible idea. Rather, this means don’t let others who aren’t where you want to be or otherwise have a lower “frame of thought” influence you because it can be easy to do so when you’re approaching new chapters of life you’ve never experienced before… it can feel like they might know something you don’t.

The other day I had this tweet about how life is not binary or zero-sum. With enough will, intelligent planning (lifestyle design) and not to be cliche… a positive mental attitude, you can achieve and be successful in all of the important areas of your life.

Something as natural and common as having kids should not hamper your ability to do so. Rather, the newfound sense of responsibility and purpose should drive you even more to accomplish these things—to not only give your children the opportunities and resources for a good life but also to lead by example so that you can help them become great/successful in their lives as well.

6. No One Ever Said Greatness Would Be Easy

That brings us perfectly to our last point—tying all of this together, a common complaint I hear all day on social media is how some of this stuff is just so unrealistic or hard or the average person can’t do “this” or “that”. To be quite frank, that’s kind of the point. It’s not that it can’t be done, it’s that they won’t do it. If being successful and becoming a great person were easy and everyone did it, then it wouldn’t be special now, would it?

It’s all possible, yes, but make no mistake, it is not easy and it will require you to be uncomfortable—it will require some sacrifice, and it will require more effort than most are willing to give. Most people don’t want to become great, they don’t want to become the best versions of themselves, they want to be comfortable. They do not want the challenges that come with the territory.

So while yes, the idea of being jacked/very fit, a great parent, financially well-off, well-read, well-traveled, and otherwise successful/great (however you define it) is “unrealistic” to those not willing to do the above… if you are willing, it can be your reality. Worst case, you fall short of whatever this means to you—at least you know you actually tried and I highly, highly doubt you will be in a worse spot than if you didn’t.

So I leave you with this, becoming the best version of yourself—becoming regarded as an overall great person—is going to be really fucking hard at times, it’s meant to be that way. You can do it, lesser people than you reading this have done it.

So yes, it is hard, it is unrealistic, and quite frankly it can feel almost impossible at times → you should embrace this because the alternative is a bunch of “what if’s” and question marks at the end of the day that might eat you alive.

Not to mention, what kind of person do you want to be for your children? What kind of example do you want to set for your children?

Putting It All Together

Conditions will never be “perfect”. Sometimes you’re going to need to pull yourself up & off the ground and make shit happen, but that’s just life. We will face unforeseen challenges, and how we let those challenges affect us, defines us.

You do not need to be a father or a parent for this to apply to you. These are universal truths of life and laws of success. Fatherhood has specifically reinforced these, plus many more, truths and laws for me, so that’s the reason I named this post “What Fatherhood Has Taught Me…”

For those of you reading this who do have kids and find yourself maybe failing in some of these different areas, first off I want to say it’s okay, you’re not a bad parent or person. I myself am not perfect, or “holier than thou” and don’t intend to come off that way.

I just had an earlier kick start in all of this from my life experiences and having been in the gym since a teenager, but with that said, I want to see you do better and understand that we do everything for our kids. This is an example you can set that will translate into a better life for them because they will almost certainly follow your example and pick up many of these traits.

If you don’t have kids yet, well, this will set you and your future family up for great success if one day you choose to start a family. You will be able to enjoy some of the luxuries I personally had by having practiced these principles before I had my son, you’ll even likely be better off when you do decide to because some of this advice I didn’t have prior to having mine.

Until next time, keep after it and do whatever it takes!

#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: Will be available here when it launches, you can pre-reserve a potential spot with your email on the site

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)

Ideally, who this will work best for is probably beginners, especially those who are very new to the gym due to the simplicity and nature of the structure of this programming setup.

I can also see this working very well for anyone who is very busy and just wants to get into the gym only 3 times a week for an hour or less while still managing to make progress.

The premise is a 3-day-a-week Full-Body split that is focused on mastery of base exercise/movement pattern fundamentals by taking advantage of frequency and some leeway in volume for those who might not have the skill of honing in max intensity to failure dialed in yet.

Before anyone gets too excited, this is a setup guide not weeks of written programming like PPL or Density (the next downloadable programs like that are my Upper/Lower and a Bro Split programs). Actually, doing it like that would defeat the entire purpose, this is somewhat of a “choose your own adventure” type of programming where I give you the parameters and you pick and choose your favorite exercises to fit those parameters (my preferred way of writing programming on here).

Anyway, let’s get down to bidness.

Program Philosophy

While the overarching principles and philosophy remain the same (and always will, they are biological/physiological laws) this specific programming has some small differences than what I usually talk about.

Mainly, this won’t utilize the 2-set Load and Back-Off set scheme I typically use for a couple of reasons:

1. This is geared for those newer to the gym who might need a tad extra volume to ensure they’re getting enough stimulus because some beginners aren’t comfortable or good at gauging where failure is during a set—a healthy margin of error that doesn’t add much time or hurt recovery really at all

2. The extra set serves as essentially extra practice in terms of speeding up their comfortability and movement pattern/technique/form skills at the actual exercises themselves—the “10,000 hours to mastery” concept is more like “10,000 reps to mastery” when it comes to the gym

Other than that, the same principles apply:

• Work in a rep range that best supports hypertrophy (6-20 reps is my general recommendation, 5-30 reps works as well)—this program setup will utilize almost all of this effective rep range within the 3 sets of every exercise to ensure we are doing all we can do for muscle growth

• Lift with enough intensity that our sets are effective, which means at least within 5 reps of failure, preferably within 2

• Utilize progressive overload by increasing weight and reps over time AS WELL AS improving our technique and getting better at the exercises themselves

• Work each muscle at least once a week (this does 3 times a week)

• Rest enough between sets to keep performance as high as you can, my general recommendation is to rest until you feel you can do this which comes out to around 2-5 minutes

• This covers most things in the gym, of course sleep, nutrition, and all that matter but you’re reading this on a resource that covers all these topics in depth…

Running The Program

During the program, our goal when doing the exercises is to try to achieve muscle failure on exercises when it is safe to do so (meaning it’s not something like a squat or bench press without a spotter where going to failure would be very dangerous). If it’s not safe or you’re not comfortable, we are aiming for 1-2 RIR (reps in reserve) meaning that all you estimate you could do was 1 or 2 more reps before failing.

When I say “failure” what I mean by this is that you cannot perform another concentric portion (lifting portion, i.e. going up on a squat or pressing up on a bench press) of the lift.

Don’t let the word “failure” scare you, when it’s done in a controlled, safe manner it is perfectly fine and even better in many cases when we factor in the above.

The reason I like failure as the goal when it’s safe is because most people, especially newer people to the gym, are terrible at estimating how many reps they have until failure which is important to know for effective sets and ensuring you’re progressing. Where if we train to failure we have an absolute point of knowing exactly where we are to build off of.

This is important because the entire basis of this program will revolve around progressive overload, meaning we are going to be trying to do more reps than we did last workout with the same weight, then after we progress to the top of our rep range we will then add weight.

Rep Ranges

This program uses rep ranges, not rep goals (which I think are stupid). What this means is you will be given a range, call it 5-8 reps, what this means is you will choose a weight you can get for 5 reps, every workout for the set that is listed 5-8 reps you will continue to use this weight until you can get it for 8 reps, when you finally can complete that 8th rep on that exercise, you will select a heavier weight you can only lift for 5 reps and repeat the process.

Sometimes you will progress the 2nd or 3rd set before the 1st or some variation of this, that is fine, for that specific rep range you will add the prescribed weight for that set.

Warmup

Before each movement you will warm up the muscle, this could be very light loads for 10-15 reps to get blood flowing and the muscle warmed up. The point of warming up is priming your muscle for the lift, but not taxing it at all—an example warmup would look like the following:

1 set 135 for 12

1 set 185 for 5 

1 set 225 for 3

Then into your working set of 315 for 6-9 reps

Form

Form should always stay as close to perfect as we can, however, if new you will make mistakes so just focus on getting better each time—this also fuels growth itself. If you have to sacrifice form to complete the set you were doing too much weight. This not only increases the risk for injury, but you are also taking the tension off the targeted muscle by recruiting other muscle to complete the lift. You can see how this is not optimal. 

Tempo

Tempo should be kept at a steady rate, I like a 3121 tempo meaning 3 seconds on the eccentric, 1 second at the bottom of the movements, 2 seconds on the concentric, and 1 second at the top. This takes momentum out of the equations and adds time under tension. Time under tension is what will cause the mechanical tension for muscle growth. Tempo should be kept constant to ensure you are progressing with the same time under tension always, otherwise, you are making it easier on the muscle and not giving it the equal stimulus it needs to start the adaptive response.

Rest

I actually don’t like giving prescribed rest times, as stated above my recommendation is to rest enough between sets to keep performance as high as you can, which essentially is to rest until you feel you can do this which comes out to around 2-5 minutes.

Setting Up The Program

When it comes to this program we are utilizing a Full-Body split 3 times a week, which is where your first “choose your own adventure” option comes up:

You can do this on whatever days of the week and time between workouts you want as long as you keep at least 1 day of rest between workouts and get all 3 sessions in a week.

This could be Monday, Wednesday, Friday; could be Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday; could be Monday, Thursday, Sunday one week then Tuesday, Friday, Sunday the next if you want to stagger it like that; you get the point.

Within this, we will have 2 separate types of workouts:

1. Compound Lifts Day

2. Accessory Lifts Day

The stroke of genius that led to this program was the question “How do we keep the workouts simple and not too long or demanding while still getting people familiar with various different exercises and enough work to make great progress?”.

Breaking it up this way does it.

It allows you to get experience on all types of exercises from compounds to accessories without having them in one workout that takes over an hour and might feel like too much for a beginner.

It also has a very beneficial built-in method with the “Accessory Lifts Day” to make sure you’re recovering well/managing soreness + have a day that is way easier (while still very effective) that can be crucial for keeping motivation thus consistency and adherence high—this (consistency) is the true “secret” sauce to getting great progress.

How this will work is your 1st workout of the week will be the Compound Lifts Day, the 2nd workout will be the Accessory Lifts Day, and the 3rd workout will be the Compound Lifts Day. This will not alternate, there will be 2 Compound Lifts Days a week and 1 Accessory Lifts day a week which will always be between the 2 Compound Lifts Days.

For example if doing this on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule:

Monday = Compound Lifts Day, Wednesday = Accessory Lifts Day, and Friday = Compound Lifts Day

Please don’t mess this up, my 15-month-old son (which I’ll be talking about next post) could grasp this.

Now, the other part that might confuse some (that shouldn’t, it’s also very simple) is that we will alternate our Compound Lifts Days and ONLY our Compound Lifts Days every workout so that one of the days starts with our upper body and the other day is starting with our lower body/legs.

Using the same example as above with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday:

Monday = Upper-First Compound Lifts Day, Wednesday = Accessory Lifts Day, and Friday = Lower-First Compound Lifts Day

That simple, to even further keep this from confusing anyone, the Lower-First Compound Lifts Day will be labeled “Alternate Compound Lifts Day” when I list the program setup and example workouts later in this post.

Now, where the “choosing your own adventure” comes into play:

I will give you the types of exercises to do, you can choose whatever exercises you want as long as they fit the description. If I say something is a Vertical Pull Compound then that means any exercise that is a pull-up type compound movement pattern like plate loaded pulldowns, pull-ups themselves, cable lat pulldowns, etc. is on the menu.

I will give you an example set-up at the end that is what movements I would likely personally do with a video tutorial linked (the links are the underlined name) on how to do them so if you’re absolutely clueless then you can just follow that and should also consult my series of posts that address muscle group specific training and my favorite exercises for each body part: Targeting Specific Muscle Groups:

Guide To Training Calves And Abs - The first post in my series of specific strategies for building certain body parts. Starting with calves and abs—these are two important muscles that are unique compared to other muscles.

Your Guide To Training Arms - This post is to provide you with some tips and advice that can really help blow up your arms and make this a reality. Pt. 2 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts.

Your Guide To Training Chest - Pt. 3 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts. A well-developed chest is an extremely powerful and aesthetic feature to your body, it is really the major focal point of your upper-body.

Your Guide To Training Back + Width vs Thickness - Pt. 4 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts. Back is a rather complex beast when it comes to training and actually training the muscles correctly—this will also clarify what I mean when I say back thickness and back width. The training methodology for both have key differences.

Your Guide To Training Legs - Pt. 5 of Specific Strategies for building certain body parts. Your legs are arguably your most important muscle group—they are up there in importance with your back. This is because your legs are the foundation of your body and all movement. Without legs we would be useless.

Your Guide To Training Shoulders - Pt. 6 of Specific Strategies for building a certain body part. The shoulders are very important in terms of upper body structural health (they control the movement of your arms), and they are also a very aesthetically pleasing muscle.

Improving Weak Body Parts - In this post I explain how to improve muscles you are struggling with.

My Favorite Exercises For Each Body Part

Part 1: This post is part one of my favorite exercises for each body part including → Chest, Back, and Shoulders. I list my favorite movement, barbell and dumbbell variation, and accessories for each.

Part 2: This is part two of my favorite exercises for each body part including → Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves + Arms, and Abs—like part one I list my favorite movement, barbell and dumbbell variation, and accessories for each.

If you find yourself struggling to progress a movement and haven’t been able to increase reps or weight for some time, then my general recommendation is to swap that movement for another similar movement for that muscle and see if that solves the issue—typically it will unless something like sleep, nutrition, or some other outside-the-gym factor is off. If this doesn’t do it then it could be that you need more or possibly less volume for that muscle, try to add or subtract a set to see if that helps, or even add an entire new exercise to see if that solves the issue.

Again, the whole premise here is a structure and setup that you have the leeway to fit to your own needs and preferences within the set parameters. I want you to have to think on your own and experiment with what works best for YOU as that is crucial to developing your knowledge as a lifter—I want you to be able to write your own self programs like this eventually, or hell maybe even for other people like me if you get good enough.

With all that, let’s look at what the workouts will actually look like:

Read more

Nattokinase has some scientific and medical literature showing that it could be something of a miracle supplement/compound due to the fact that not only has it been shown to decrease the risk of arterial plaque buildup, but also to reduce already existing plaque in the arteries—this is a VERY big deal, warranting the hype it’s gotten over the last few years.

While this is great and all, today we’re going to take a bigger dive into the enzyme derived from soybeans and take an objective look at what it is, how it works, how effective it is, and how you can apply this to your health and fitness regimen.

Before we get started, this isn’t medical advice. I’m not saying this as some disclaimer to prevent liability when one of you does something dumb, but rather because this will cover some serious issues and I do not want anyone to think this is a magic fix. When we start talking about atherosclerosis and clotting, things are serious, this is something you need actual medical advice from a medical professional to prevent medical contradictions and/or any negative drug interactions if you take things for these issues already. I am here to present information that is publicly available online in a singular place so you can be better informed and make better decisions.

That out of the way, let’s get into the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why’s) of Nattokinase.

What Is Nattokinase?

This is actually where the first point of contention that requires nuance is going to come into play…

Nattokinase is an enzyme that comes from the Japanese food Natto (it’s actually not a kinase but rather a protease enzyme but that is neither here nor there). Natto is made of boiled soybeans that have been fermented.

Now, I know, “soy” is associated with high estrogen and low testosterone and a rather fun insult to hurl at reply guys, so this is usually the first question I get when I bring it up; “isn’t soy bad for my testosterone though?”.

Again, as much as I love the insult and meme of soy, in reality, it’s mostly rooted in myth. Soy isn’t actually as bad as people make it out to be, especially trace amounts, furthermore, there is a mice study where nattokinase increased testosterone (for what that’s worth) so it’s just not really a valid concern.

The enzyme nattokinase is extracted during the fermentation process into the powder we see in capsule form. You can get nattokinase by eating natto itself as a viable way to get nattokinase as it’s around 1400-2000fu (fibrin units) per 50g serving.

For practical purposes the most common way to get it will be capsule form—this is what I do because 1. I’ve never seen natto in a store and am too lazy to find one 2. I enjoy my diet the way it is.

Anyway, I digress, you didn’t come here for a lesson on Japanese culinary culture…

What Does It Do?

Nattokinase is a fibrinolytic enzyme which means it’s in a group of medications used to manage and treat dissolving intravascular clots.

The main effect we are looking at here is its fibrinolytic properties which causes fibrinolysis—a process that prevents blood clots from growing and becoming problematic.

When we take or consume nattokinase and digest it, it becomes active and also breaks down into peptides that then have various fibrinolytic outcomes.

One of the main effects that nattokinase or the peptides it metabolizes into begin to digest fibrin which are proteins in our body involved in the clotting process.

While not inherently bad (it’s nice not to bleed out from a simple paper cut), when we have elevated levels of fibrin, as you can probably guess, we can run into issues—namely with blood clots and plaque buildup in our arteries which can then cause a clot in your brain, heart, lungs, and other organs which is often fatal. With this, arterial plaque buildup in general can reduce blood flow which can cause high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, dementia, and a bunch of other stuff I can promise you that you don’t want to have.

Some research has shown that not only can it help prevent the formation of new clots and plaque, but it can also improve existing atherosclerosis (the hardening and thickening of arteries from plaque buildup) which is significant because this is much harder to achieve than just reducing new plaque formation.

There is also some research showing that the peptides nattokinase metabolizes into can help lower blood pressure by reducing renin activity and angiotensin II.

There were some reports showing it can even improve our lipid profiles but there isn’t anything currently supporting that claim, so not to say it for sure doesn’t (we need more research), I wouldn’t bank on using this to improve any issues with lipids/cholesterol levels.

On top of all of this, it can help shrink and remove nasal polyps and mucus which can help with sinus issues and even some conditions like asthma.

Now, I do not want this censored or to create some outrage, but I also don’t care about feelings over facts, so let me leave you with this:

Given the virus that circulated over the last 4 years that is KNOWN to cause issues with blood clots (regardless if jabbed or not, still a risk factor of the virus itself), it might be worth considering if this is a good preventative measure given the situation. I legally can’t say much here, BUT I feel more comfortable about my health and subsequent risks by taking it for that reason.

So, for those of you in the same mental tax bracket as me, what this means is nattokinase can help us reduce our risk of blood clots and help ensure our arteries are not getting clogged up with plaque + it might also help us lower our blood pressure.

For those who need the spark notes because Tik Tok culture has fried your brain, nattokinase can:

• Reduce the risk of blood clots and plaque buildup

• Potentially reduce existing plaque buildup and dissolve clots

• Lower your blood pressure

• Reduce the overall risk of heart disease, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, atherosclerosis, sinus health, and even HEMORRHOIDS (it’s also good for your butthole, who woulda known)

Now, let’s look at this from a critical point of view.

While there is some data and research showing all these benefits, nattokinase has not been as extensively researched as it could be and there are still some question marks on how significant its overall impacts are.

Looking at everything, I would say it’s safe to assume that it definitely has positive effects on all the above, but to what degree we might not know. From what we know, it’s effective enough that I trust it to help prevent these issues and improve my health, but if I had known issues like atherosclerosis then I would probably not rely on just nattokinase to prevent a heart attack, pulmonary embolism, etc.

That said, some clinical research goes as far as to state “Nattokinase is an ideal treatment, therefore, for heart attack patients, ischemic stroke patients, those at risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis—in short, any patient with a clotting problem. Hypertension is another hallmark of atherosclerosis.” so it’s definitely not something to take lightly if you have issues (again, I mean this in the sense of discussing it with your doctor, not taking this post as a medical recommendation itself).

I do not like to be overly optimistic about things like this, so I always use an error of caution as health isn’t something to be unrealistic with. This is not something that is a miracle pill that makes up for poor lifestyle choices, but rather it can likely aid you in further improving your health and hopefully improve any issues you might have.

How Safe Is It?

When we talk about things that can “thin” your blood (or anything for that matter), it is crucial you have zero health contradictions or interactions with existing medications that can cause issues.

With that said, currently there is only 1 study showing a patient having cerebral microbleeds when taking nattokinase with aspirin. I believe this was a person with high risk/who previously had a stroke, but I can’t find any more details than the link attached to this quote: “We suggest that nattokinase may increase risk of intracerebral hemorrhage in patients who have bleeding-prone cerebral microangiopathy and are receiving other antithrombotic agent at the same time.” So, if this is you, avoid, otherwise…

There are no toxicity risks observed with nattokinase in dosages all the way up to 1000mg/kg/day in rats which is over 100 times the usual dose for humans, and it has been stated: “the advantages of NK include a proven safety profile with a long history of human consumption, the convenience of oral administration (many antithrombotic drugs are injectable), ease of mass production, and it possesses multiple key favourable cardiovascular effects.”—this link highlights the section of the study going over the safety profile.

So, with all that said, it is safe (I would assume it wise to avoid if soy allergy however) for anyone without any health complications and those with health complications should be bringing it up to their doctor in the first place.

How Much Should You Take?

I’ll state first off that personally, I take 12,000fu’s of nattokinase a day because it is within the range of recorded benefit and the capsules I have are 2000fu’s each so it’s just easy to take 3 in the morning and 3 at night.

The data is somewhat all over the place in terms of dosing. Some studies have said that as little as 500fu having benefits, with some saying less than 4000fu doesn’t have much benefit, and some have said as much as 10,800fu a day to get the maximum benefits.

Given that nattokinase is fine to take in the higher range of this and some data shows you might need that higher range, I opt to take a higher dosage to ensure I am actually getting the benefits. I care about this because as a competitive bodybuilder, there is some “stuff” you have to take to be competitive which is known to cause risk with clots, plaque buildup, blood pressure, etc.. If you are in the same boat, (in plain English, if you take any gear) then this is a good addition to your harm reduction protocols.

Generally, I would feel comfortable saying 4000fu-10,800fu (more if you want, I won’t recommend it per se, but I’m still alive and my blood work is impeccable) a day is a good dosage protocol to reap the benefits.

Taken straight it from the horse’s mouth:

Where Should You Get It From?

There are a bunch of places to get this, it’s a straightforward supplement so there isn’t really a “best”, but that said, I’ll list my trusted brands.

Also, remember, you can get this through diet by eating natto, so if you like it then cool, if you’ve never tried it then maybe you’ll find a new piece of your diet you enjoy.

My trusted sources (None of these are affiliates, I have no incentive to get you to take this/it doesn’t influence the integrity of the information):

• Doctor’s Best (this is what I take solely because it popped up on Amazon first and it’s a good brand)

• Pure Encapsulation (in mg not fu but 100mg = 2,000fu)

• Double Wood

• Nutricost

I’ve just listed their actual websites as I don’t think Substack allows Amazon links, but they’re all on Amazon too. I’m sure there are other great brands but I’m either not aware of them or have never used their products/done due diligence.

It should be cheap, don’t get scammed, I pay less than $30 for 270 capsules, BUT Pure Encapsulation has a great reputation if you trust them more for whatever reason.

Conclusion

I’ve said more than enough to paint an accurate picture of what nattokinase is, what its potential is, and how to go about it, BUT I cannot overstate how great it is to have something with this amount of recorded benefit/risk reduction with such a safe/minimal risk profile.

I won’t call it a miracle supplement per se, your lifestyle choices will trump everything, but it does have some pretty miraculous potential.

I should also note there are other thrombolytics and fibrinolytics with similar positive benefits like serrapeptase and additional things like bromelain that can also improve these aspects of health, but nattokinase alone is a potent protocol and I didn’t want to write 30,000 words.

I would like to see a lot more research done on this to really paint a better picture, but I’m not sure the pharmaceutical industry will be happy about a natural compound with potential profound health effects…

With that said, as with everything I have strong opinions, loosely held, so while it’s clear we have benefits, I will keep an open mind to how truly effective it is and adapt my opinions to the best evidence we have at the time (and update my finding whether good or bad).

On that note, enjoy your week, we have a lot more to talk about and programs to tease in the near future.

- Ox

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox. This is especially not medical advice, I am not telling you to do anything, seriously, don’t mess yourself up.

After a long (but amazing and fun) week staying with my gym and business partner and spending 16 hours a day either working or at the gym, we have put together the total 12 Week Density Program with some nice improvements and some extra stuff like a cardio, recovery & sleep, diet, supplement, and deload guides so you have all the answers to the test in one place.

All I can say from the feedback from the 12 weeks of sending this program out is “WOW”. I’m typically very critical of myself and always feel like there was something I could do better or convince myself I suck, but the response to the program was phenomenal. I never got a single even remotely negative comment, gripe or complaint about the program—which never happens on the internet, especially to me (some people just really don’t like me for whatever reason lol).

While I quickly found out I didn’t like the week-to-week style of sending it out, I was happy with how it went for the most part, but going forward they will be sent out totally complete like this one. However, a cool benefit of doing it the way we did is that we were able to get real time feedback and take advantage of the perfect 20/20 vision hindsight gives us, so this allowed us to make some good updates to the program you’re getting now.

Not much is different, but we came up with a way to utilize volume/intensity techniques to create a very solid progression model that makes sure we are getting all the juice out of the squeeze we can during this 12 weeks. That plus in hindsight, I beat the crap out of myself for not having Rack Pulls on the Density Day.

With these adjustments and changes, the program got a little better, which honestly was more than fine as it was. For those who already did or are finishing the 12 weeks over the last few months, I think it is a great idea to take a deload (which I go over and explain how to do in here) and run this program again. The small changes will keep things fresh + it’s smart to keep training very similar for a little while instead of making major changes all the time. If you want to try something new, go for it, just download the program below to keep in your back pocket for another day.

Read more

(Spacing to make sure the download isn’t available in the preview.)

Here is Week 11, pushing this out so any 5am crew gym bros don’t miss it, I fell alseep after a big dinner and forgot to send this last night.

Email going out later today or tomorrow on 1:1 coaching and other stuff.

Bowtiedox Density Program Week 11

9.08MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

- Ox

Read more

If not, well, life can suck and the only option we have is to grab it by the neck and take control of it.

We’re now into the final stretch—the last 3 weeks of the program. Depending on your diet status (cut or bulk) and various other factors, you’r…

Read more

We went over this in this post earlier this year, but now we’re looking at bringing us into the 21st Century.

The future is now, we can do everything from the tips of our fingers, which means we can use the same thing we use to run 90% of our lives to also utilize one of the most, if not the most, important tools we can use in the gym—the logbook.

Now, I will admit, I have been completely stubborn and was stubbornly attached to using physical pen and paper and my ego was attached to feeling old school and hardcore—lol. I also didn’t like most of the digital logbooks on the market, I felt they were all overly extra with too many stupid features rather than just a simple logbook.

Fortunately, I’ve found one I personally like and I must say, it has been mighty convenient and allows me to interpret my data better—MUCH more on this later in the post.

I’ve been using a digital logbook in conjunction with my paper one (I like to make notes on my lifts) and so far it’s made me feel stupid… stupid that I haven’t been doing it sooner.

In addition to all the things a physical logbook does for us, when we do this digitally we have a major, major bonus—we have real data we can plug into any Excel/Numbers/Etc. and get actual charted-out data we can interpret… and if that made you think “that is so stupid, I’m not a nerd”, many of these digital logbooks do it for you and even send out monthly reports.

A few that I have tried tried are:

• Strong

• Hevy

• TrainHeoric

• FitBod

• MyLiftLog

I liked some of those more than others, I’m not really into ones that make things more complicated than just being able to create a workout, add my own lifts, and then track the weight and reps. Some of these apps make it a pain in the ass to just log a simple workout so they sucked for me, but your mileage may vary.

TrainHeroic seemed like it could be a winner for me because it would also allow me to coach and create plans for clients, but I just didn’t fall in love with how it works so unfortunately I didn’t stick with it… which sucks because it would’ve been a great tool for my coaching business.

Funny enough, before I started my BowTiedOx account and all of this because I didn’t find a logbook app I liked I was actually learning how to code so I could build one myself (I did NOT have the tens of thousands of dollars it takes to pay someone to build a decent app on my military salary). Needless to say, that didn’t work out…

This is why the one I want to focus on today is the last one listed, MyLiftLog.

The creator of it actually reached out to me and sent me a version he built for me with my logo and everything to see if I was interested in using it (for you entrepreneurs take note, great pitch tactic right there). Honestly, I didn’t think I would be interested but I thought “What the hell” and checked it out… the outcome was… let’s just say this led to him writing this post with me because I really liked it, and the potential it has.

It’s not the sexiest app with a bunch of pretty graphics and diagrams, it is just a barebones logbook app, which is exactly what I want in a logbook app—simple!

While simple, the app actually has some cool (and funny) features like letting you know how much weight you lifted in the equivalent of Lizzo’s, let’s you track your volume over the course of weeks and months, sends a monthly report on your progress, and even has integrations with things like Whoop and Cronometer. All of this is cool but it doesn’t complicate the app.

Before I start on some incoherent rant, I’ll let him take over and talk about it then I’ll come back in the end for some pretty damn cool news.

About MyLiftLog From The Creator

You’re already doing 99% of the work. You’re eating a balanced diet. You’re at the gym 3-5x a week. You’ve been following a workout program (or just about to start a new one that’s particularly “Dense”). You’re doing all the right lifts for the right volume.

But, what if I told you there was 1 thing that you’re not doing that would require 1% of your total effort and could 5-10x the other 99% of your effort that you’re already doing? Of course, you’d do it, right? Who wouldn’t?

Well, unfortunately, far too many people in the gym aren’t logging their lifts. Whether you like it or not, if you’re not using a logbook, you’re almost certainly leaving gains on the table.

Picture this, it’s Week 8 Day 1. You’re 50% through your new program. You feel stronger, you think. You look bigger, you think. Why don’t you know? You know how many calories you ate yesterday. You know the spread for the game this weekend. You know how many TDs Mahomes threw this year. You know exactly what percent your crypto meme/dog coins are up (down 98%, you were rugged) today. But you don’t know how much weight or how many reps you did last week?

There’s no excuse. In 2-3 seconds, you can log your weight and reps between sets with MyLiftLog and never have to guess again.

“2 seconds? 1% of my time? Really?” is what you’re probably thinking. You don’t believe me? Well, let’s break it down then. I’m a numbers guy. I like to see data. You do 8 exercises for 2 sets each. 16 sets total. 1 minute to complete each set and 3 minutes rest. That’s 8 minutes per exercise. 8 minutes x 8 exercises = 64 minutes. We’ll be conservative and assume you have the world’s largest thumbs and it takes you 4 seconds after each set (twice as long) to enter your weight and reps into MyLiftLog. 18 sets x 4 seconds = 72 seconds.

With just 72 seconds out of your day, and 1.8% of your time at the gym (less than 1% if you have regular-sized thumbs), you’ll all but guarantee that you’re overloading progressively. A lot of people say, “work smarter, not harder.” Well, we like to work smarter AND work harder around here… and to be honest, it’s hard to think of many other things in life that require such little effort that have such a high ROI (other than blocking Doctor Tro).

On top of progressive overload, which we know is a fundamental aspect of muscle growth, MyLiftLog will help you stay consistent when motivation is inevitably running low.

We’ve all been there. Your kid woke up 9x during the night. You got 5 hours of sleep. Work’s been rough lately. You lost control and ate way too much last night. You step on the scale and it hasn’t budged. You flex in the mirror and compare yourself to all the jacked bros you see on Twitter/X every single day and think, “Is this shit really worth it? That could never be me.”

These are the defining moments in life when momentum can switch directions and you can completely go off the rails and be like “Joe Logan McAverage” or you can be “Above Average Joe” (https://www.bowtiedox.io/p/going-from-zero-to-hero).

Stop and think about it. Quitting doesn’t even make sense! You’re worried that you’re not getting results so you’re going to do the 1 thing that will absolutely guarantee that you don’t get any results?

You remember you’ve got Incline Bench programmed again today. You remember all those “+5lbs” and “+1 rep(s)” you’ve stacked up over the last 8 weeks. You remember how heavy 185 x 8 felt when you started and how good it felt when you finally hit 225 for reps. You know that you’re on the right track because of all those small W’s in the logbook and you couldn’t possibly imagine giving up (yet again) because, at the end of the day, that’s all getting jacked really is… a series of small W’s over and over and over again. You’re so fired up now that you’re practically cursing the Incline Bench’s existence, “Just wait ‘til I get there today buddy. You’re done for”.

Okay, okay, don’t get me going. Let’s reel it back in. So, with 1% effort, and 72 seconds out of your day:

• You can 5-10x what you’re already doing

• You get to stack up small W’s each and every day

• You know that your strength is going up and to the right

Awesome. But, there’s another benefit to logging your lifts… and this might be the most important one of them all:

The logbook forces you to “mechanical failure” (https://www.bowtiedox.io/p/lifting-to-mechanical-failure)

Humans are naturally lazy. Without fail, 95% of people take the path of least resistance. It’s a hell of a lot easier to hit snooze than it is to get up and go to the gym. Then, once you do make it to the gym, it’s a hell of a lot easier to go through the motions and leave 5 RIR (reps in reserve) on every exercise than it is to push yourself to failure. You’ve seen the guys in the gym whose lifts all look like warm-ups. Don’t be that guy. Each set should be hard and uncomfortable and the sooner you accept this the better.

Let’s assume you start the new “Density” program later today. It’s Week 1 Day 1. You’ve got “Incline” programmed. You do 185 x 6 with 3 RIR. That felt pretty good. It’s been a while since you’ve been in the gym. “Don’t wanna be too sore tomorrow” you tell yourself. Plus you’ve never really gone to failure before so you don’t know what that feels like. You might have been able to do a few more. Who knows. You felt a little burn. That must mean muscle growth, right? A few days go by. Push day comes back around and you’ve got “Incline” programmed yet again. You see in MyLiftLog that you did 185 x 6 last week and you know that you have to get 7 this week or you’re going to die.

You do it. 185 x 7 with ~2 RIR. That felt really good. Damn. 1 week? I’m already getting stronger? Let’s go! Another week goes by. We’re inclining again. You know the drill, have to beat the logbook. This time you hit 185 x 8. Now we’re at 1 RIR. We’re close to the promised land. Arms were shaking hard on that last rep. Next week, you ask a guy you’ve seen in the gym the last few weeks for a spot. You hit 190 x 9 and he helps you a tad on the last rep. Boom, failure! “+5 lbs” and “+1 rep”. This is the stuff that legends are made of.

Now, ask yourself, would you have done that without the logbook? Maybe, maybe not. But again, we’re not here to guess. We’re here to be very deliberate in the gym and to get the most out of our time there.

Also, after you’ve been logging for a while, I think you’ll find that this sentiment of being deliberate trickles over into your life outside of the gym in very positive ways, but that’s a discussion for another time (https://www.bowtiedox.io/p/can-being-fit-make-you-more-money).

Okay, MyLiftLog looks legit but I can do all of those things we just talked about by hand in my notebook. Why should I use an app?

I’m not here to tell you that one is better than the other. They’re both tools that have their pros and cons. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you’re logging.

I prefer to use an app, if you do too then why should you use MyLiftLog?

MyLiftLog was created for people who want simplicity. It’s 2024 and almost all of us have more than enough screen time in our lives. A problem that plagues many apps is that they try to do all the things and users end up only using 5% of its features. On average, MyLiftLog ’s users are on the app for < 2 minutes during their workouts.

There are no target muscle visuals. No tutorial vídeos. No bloat. Only the features you really want and need: building templates (you can share them with your friends/family), scheduling workouts in advance, keeping track of body weight changes, uploading progress pictures, tracking PRs, calculating 1 rep maxes and total volume, etc. all wrapped up into a minimalist interface.

If you’re an absolute beginner, then yeah you might find some of the other apps with those visuals and videos more helpful. But, if you know your way around the gym and have a basic understanding of what you’re doing, it doesn’t get any easier than MyLiftLog.

And maybe the best part of all is that you can follow me, the guy building it: Isaac (@isaac_saas) and have a say in new features and updates (go ahead and send one of the other apps a feature request and see how long it takes me to get back to you!).

To sum it all up, pick whichever tool works best for you and start logging!

Ox Here Again

Because of all of this, especially the last part right there, I’m working directly with MyLiftLog to give you all a way to do and track workouts AND my programs directly from your phone.

Being as he is building more and more features out all the time, he’s going to be able to use mine and your feedback to build the ultimate logbook app for all of us to use to make our lives easier and muscles bigger. This is even going to play a huge role in the 1:1 Coaching I will be offering again at the goal start of the beginning of next month.

If you go to MyLiftLog you will be able to run my programs from there that are built out as templates—over time we will be adding every single program I have put out (not just PPL but all the other set-up guide programs).

Personally, my favorite part of the entire app is the Monthly Report, this is HUGE for ensuring you’re moving in the right direction and growing as muscle growth takes place over the course of months, not weeks.

My second favorite feature is the Set Tracker, which referring back to my last point allows you to see just how much volume is the sweet spot in terms of how much volume you need. You just set a target goal and see how that works then adjust up or down from there.

Really, there is just a bunch of cool stuff and tons of data you can get and use to better optimize and set your training up in a way where you’re getting the absolute best results you can.

Now the catch:

Of course, running an app costs money, but for those who want to try this and see if you like it, you get a trial for 10 workouts for free, by then you’ll know if it’s for you or not, which won’t hurt my feelings (can’t speak for Isaac… I joke, I joke). When you do like it, it’s cheap, the same price as this Substack exactly (only $5/month or $50/year).

Normally I do not like to try to sell anything or “shill” products, but this is something I confidently stand behind and am willing to look “salesy” for a moment to share with you. Most of you are going to really like this and get huge benefits from it.

With that said, let’s see if we can make even better gains using the thing we spend most of our days staring at anyway.

Try MyLiftLog

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.