It's a Lie: The Fuckey of Post Grad Life Stories

It's graduation season or as the young folks say and hashtag "gradszn."

Despite what a lot of people say and think (especially when it comes to people of color) school still matters. People who finish and make their way into the workforce make more money over time and set themselves up for success. No I won't go into the whole issue of student debt and what not as my name should be King Forbearance right now, but know, overall, college grads make more.

But what folks don't tell you is that while sun, stars, bottomless mimosas and weekends off with activities fill your head......I'm here to tell you, at least for me.....it's been complete ass for the most part.


The First Job: The Real Masters Degree

I'm of the thought process, and it could just be me, that a Masters in certain disciplines is pretty worthless. As with anything, you can twist any degree into making it sound like you're a fucking Einstein. But by in large, your first job is your masters curriculum.

In my case, journalism is a doing field. So me being in a masters program will have done nothing to enhance my career. At best, I would've been employed in a newsroom part time while working towards an advanced degree. On top of that, a masters degree in journalism is essentially a teaching degree. I have no desire to do that in a classroom setting with how fucked higher education is.

The Role People Play

Life in Lincoln wasn't too fun on a personal level. Mainly because it was so different than what I was use to in Chicago. Even living off and on in Lincoln, the goal was to graduate, pack my shit, leave and never come back to Nebraska except for the occasional football game. Obviously that wasn't the case and God only knows why, but quality people made the stay more tolerable. When you interact with folks, always do so with caution, but understand that almost everyone is a potential friend. Now if you don't mesh, you don't mesh. There have been people in and out of the newsroom that I don't mess with, but that's life. But when you surround yourself with good people, good things will happen.

Finances

The elephant in the room that people in the business don't want to discuss for whatever is the low pay of most entry level jobs. They suck period. I've stood in the line of a payday loan store more than a few times. And that's in addition to two, sometimes three jobs....

"But if you major in something good, you won't have to worry about that."

Maybe so, but most major in their interests because they have a viable future. And it's about long term versus short term. But I digress......

Pay for my first job was terrible. Sorry to my ex-bosses reading this, but it was. But I enjoyed what I did. And again, all the bills were on me. No roommates to split cost with or anything of that nature. Having to borrow money sometimes was a DRAG (still is). Best I can say is learn to live very frugally (although that's easier saying than living).

Yes....it sucks and you have to say no to a lot of shit. But it is what it is.

This is Only the Beginning

One phrase I consistently utter to myself is "All you need is a start. Build from here."

The first job is just that. A start. Cut your teeth, keep bitching to a minimal and do things outside of your vocation that can add to your vocation. I'm writing more, I'm back to doing video. Doing the things that will make me more versatile, because those skills I'll need later on.


Self Care: Do It

First things first, I hate the word "self care." It has to be one of the most annoying words in human existence. But if you really think about it, you need to exercise it. Let's face it, you have to look out for you because companies won't really. Perks are nice and all, benefits are great, but you and I are replaceable. So don't stress yourself out over a job that could get rid of you in two seconds. Find a hobby, work out, write. My de-stresser was the gym and video games (I was also going through a contest prep at the time) so my version of self care was that.

Here's the one thing about it though....self care is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DESTRUCTIVE IN NATURE. If you're going to the bar, knocking back saki bomb after saki bomb, then guess what....you're not caring for yourself.

Working to Get Better

I am always looking for ways to get better and increase earning potential. I have some workshops I will be going to in my attempt to become a better blogger, producer, etc. All this will help. Actively engage in trying to get better at your career field. The people in your newsroom aren't enough. Facebook groups aren't enough. You need real feedback and workshops help. Save it with the whole "I don't have time" excuse. You do and you're being a wuss because you'd rather look at Netflix and fuck around. You're in #postgradszn for the rest of your natural life. Tighten up.

Undergrad life sucked for me, but I just wanted to share my experiences and hopefully give some advice on how to navigate it better. I realize I was all over the place, but you're a degree holder. Connect the dots.

Working as a Night Owl: Health, The Barbell and Working Third Shift

This is a subject I've been wanting to write about for awhile. The glorious hours of third shift and how to balance it with a barbell.

I'm not talking to those who work a normal 9-5. Not even those who work late into the night. I'm talking to those who work against what their body is supposed to do, and that's go to sleep at night.

I work as a news producer here in the beautiful resort town of Omaha, Nebraska. My work hours are 11 p.m.- 7 a.m. (or 7-ish). Not only that, I hold a part time job with a fast growing nutrition store called Rexius Nutrition. While I'm thankful that I have a halfway decent work ethic, it's taken time to get some type of routine down. And even still, that shifts around depending upon training.

If you're like me, you fit in my training sometime around late morning and I'm sure it's a struggle.

However, as terrible as an overnight schedule sounds, it's not the end of the yellow brick road for improvements in size, strength and overall health. So let's dive into somethings that can help mitigate the damage.


1: Sleep

Pretty basic here. You can't function at an optimum level without rest. You can try and mask fatigue, but it will catch up with you sooner or later. It will start small but will eventually build up. To give it perspective, only sleeping for four hours and then getting behind the wheel, is the equivalent of driving drunk. So keep that in mind of how big sleep is in the grand scheme of things.

2: Nutrition

Your nutrition needs to be on point, more so on 3rd shift than any other. I'm not sure what it is about working nights, but the propensity for snacking is high! Very high (I love chips).  How to cure this? More discipline simply. I've tried numerous approaches and you just need more discipline in how you approach the diet. I will say that if you are a serial snacker, take thinks like jerky or mixed nuts to help stave off cravings.

3: Get into a daily routine

As much as I can hate the same thing over and over, a daily routine is a MUST. It sets you up for long term success in and out of the gym. And the "night" routine is what will really help you. Because it's inverted, and your night is in the day, you need to really nail it in. Read, run some bath water, limit the caffeine during the shift. Anything to help your inverted night routine.

4: Get a physical

This is something that can't really be overstated. If you are messed up and don't know...you're throwing salt on top of a wound. Physicals and blood work still matter. Your hormones could be way the hell out of wack and you not realize it. Bloodwork and physicals will give you a chance to work with doctors to get you on a good path so you can push in the gym. Don't discount them.


These are just some of my recommendations living a vampire life, but also living "under the bar." It's a difficult life, but it can be done.

What are some of your strategies to deal with work nights, but living that fit life? Leave a comment and share!

Creaky Days: How to Adjust Training as You Get Older

Father Time waits for no man or woman. He's a cold and unforgiving prick.

To say it in plain terms, getting old sucks. But the wonderful and possible redeeming quality of Father Time is that it's an incredible teacher.

With time, things get broken down. It's normal wear and tear and when you do the things we do for "fun" breakdown is expected. But what has to happen as you get older, is that the intensity has to be maintained so you can continue to make gains in muscle and strength.

Seeing as I turn 39 this year and celebrate my second anniversary of my 20th birthday in 2019, I've picked up a few things as I transition to an "older" lifter that I'd like to share. Trust me, this isn't an exhaustive list.

1: Load is not as important as it once was

When you're in your 20's and early 30's, I'll make this controversial statement....LOAD IS KING. Heavy as you can go in correct form will put plenty of size. But as you get up there in age, the ability to handle heavy poundage gets diminished a bit. Elbows get hurt, knees get a little sore and you don't recover as fast as you once did. So what to do?

2: Use more intensity techniques

While you can't pile on negatives, drop sets and giant sets all the time. However, if they are used intelligently, you can stress the muscle and not have to put unnecessary stress on the joints. They should be used sparingly

3: Watch your recovery 

As you move up there in age, recovery won't be the same. The day after heavy sets of compound movements will hit you a bit harder. Soreness will linger around a bit longer as well. A few ways to keep you plugging along is making sure your diet is in check. Another thing to look at is intra-workout nutrition (for the purposes of this blog, I won't go into super detail about this) and just make sure you're getting enough rest.

4: Adjust training volume

This is an up and down thing that can be adjusted.  Some older guys need more volume in certain spots. Some need less. This goes back to how much can you recover from and not be in a huge deficit. I'm a believer that the body goes through cycles of how much it can take. Generally for me, it's seasonal. I can take more work in the summer/early fall months while the sun is out. For the winter/early spring, things generally get scaled down. But again, it can be cyclical.

5: Limit stimulant use 

In today's world of super duper pre-workout mixtures, it's best to not use those that carry a ton of caffeine. Too much stim use, especially in one dose, can rob you of strength and make you tired. With that being said, there are some great products out there. I recommend Arc Reactor by Granite Supplments, Impact Igniter by Allmax and Rhino Black by MuscleSport. All have a decent amount of caffeine without killing you. They also have ingredients that help with focus such as alpha-gpc and Lion's Mane.


6: Just be smart

If you ever heard the words "listen to your body"? They ring true as you get older in actual age (note I didn't say training age, which is a totally different argument).

Like my friend Ryan Doris say's......don't be a dingus. Training is a piece of a holistic puzzle that needs to be adjusted and looked at from time to time. Especially as we approach AARP age.

Free Program!!!! Que Strength: Phase 3

HEY QUES!!!!

Well hopefully you have been challenged with Que Strength phase 1&2, and hopefully you've made big time changes. This is the last phase to hammer your body even more. The weather is warm, so lets turn up the heat.

Phase one and Phase two here.

Day 1: Back

Day 2: chest/shoulders

Day 3:off

Day 4: Legs

Day 5: Upper Body Flush

Notes: I want you to buy a notebook. It will serve as a logbook for your workouts. In it you’ll record the exercise, sets, reps. This will serve as sort of a map. The goal is to increase weight (or even reps) a bit each week. This won’t always happen, but you should push for it. 

Day 1: Back

Chins: 3 sets of 10. We’ll keep these in, but lower the volume a bit. But the volume goes up for another back exercise

Bent over Barbell rows: 4 sets of 12, with two warm-up sets

This week its done at a 45 degree angle, this way you can use a bit more heavier weight. However, I want the barbell to touch your abdomen on each rep. Make sure you pull the elbows back and not out. 

One arm dumbbell Rows: 3 sets of 10

When you do rows make sure you’re also completely bent over at the waist. Again, pull the elbow on the rowing arm back. Almost like you’re starting a lawn mower.

Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets of 12

Last cycle these were done with an overhand grip, but this cycle I want you to use a reverse grip. Pull the elbows back and squeeze the lats hard. 

Seated cable row: 3 sets of 12

Make sure you get some what of a stretch on this. Nothing crazy, just enough to make a slight pull in your lats. 

Day 2: Chest/shoulders: 

Machine flye: 3 sets of 12

Do these with a HARD squeeze at the top of the movement and a good stretch. 

Incline press with a pause : 3 sets of 8

I want these as heavy as you can go for a set of 8. But touch the bar to your chest, hold it there for a second a explode up. These are tough. If you have shoulder issues, just hold it slightly above your chest and explode up. 

Dips: bodyweight for 3 sets of 12. Only 60 seconds rest between sets. 

Shoulders: 

Laterals: 3 sets of 10

Military press: 3 sets of 10

Nothing special here. Don’t even go real heavy as the previous pressing has you a bit worn out.

Rear laterals: 3 sets of 15

Do these on a free weight incline bench at a 30-45 degree angle.

Triceps: Pressdown, 3 sets of 12, seated dips: 3 sets of 12

Day 3: Rest, that means REST. Not go run a mile, play volleyball, play basketball or anything like that. Because tomorrow is a HAZE!

Day 4: Legs

10 minute warm-up on the bike. I want this moderately intense to where you’re not tired, but break a sweat. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE THIS WITH A RUN OR JOGGING!

Leg Curl (seated or lying): 3 sets of 12:

Rotate seated and lying leg curls by the week, so if you start off this week with lying leg curls, start up with seated leg curls next week. I want these with a hard squeeze at the bottom (or top) of the movement.

Squats: 4 sets of 8

These should feel good after leg curls. Take as many sets as you need to warm up and then dive into your work sets. Notice I dropped the reps. That means the weight goes higher.

Leg Press: 3 sets of 20

Put your feet narrow and low on the platform with your knees straight as you lower the weight. I want these to beat the shit out of your teardrop and quads. Keep the weight moderate and rest periods low. Around 60 seconds. Push hard on these. 

Stiff Leg Deadlifts: 3 sets of 12

Good stretch at the bottom: DO NOT ROUND YOUR BACK!

Day 5: Upper Body Flush Pump

This is a pump day, think of this as active recovery. This will be done in giant set format

Lat Pulldowns

right into

Machine press

right into

Laterals

right into

Bicep Curls

Right into

Tricep Pressdown

4 rounds: 10 reps each, 2 minutes between each round. This is not meant to be a very difficult workout, but to push nutrient rich blood into the muscle to help recovery. Adjust weight accordingly

Rest: THAT MEANS DO NOTHING AGAIN!

If you notice, the workout stays same for the most part, but I want increased weight. on the exercises. 

After you finish this phase, I want you take a week where you lower the volume significantly. You can do phase 1 over again, but drop all the sets by 2. This is meant as active rest. You may be pretty beat up by the time this program is over, so you’ll need the rest.

Going forward, there are options you can do. You can repeat the program in full or you can restart phase two, then phase 3, then drop back to phase 2 or just repeat phase 3.

Meaning it would like this:

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 2

or

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 3

Burned Out: Getting the Mojo Back for the Gym

I have a confession....I had/have a stretch of time where I HATED training right now. I actually haven't enjoyed the shit in couple weeks now. And you may be in the same boat.

Why? Could be overtrained. Could be lack of a goal (training to not choke people is not really a goal), could be just pushing through when I don't feel like it.  All of that equals up to just good ol' stress.

Well pushing through has finally caught up to me. If you have to have to constantly be pushed to do something in the gym and you're offseason, meaning you're full of food and resting a ton, then there's a problem.

With that being said, I'm not the greatest at managing stress all the time. I can fly off the handle easy when I should let things roll off my back, I internalize a lot of frustration (not healthy) and my goals frustrate me (and all the exterior things that mess with me), as I try to accomplish them. Adding to an already stressful time.

So how can you recover from a self imposed ass beating be combated? Try these steps.

1: Just take time off

I had been grinding pretty hard for awhile in the gym. While my training partner had a bit of a deload between his hypertrophy phase and powerlfiting prep phase, I didn't....because my dumb ass didn't take a few down days. Looking back now I should taken some down days with lower intensity. But like most meatheads, I used "I feel fine" to continue to push. Such is life.

2: Take your deloads

When you run a pre set program,  one that you build or use from someone else, try to put in a deload somewhere in the program. Now everyone is different and really shouldn't deload at the same time, but keep them in. General rule of thumb is a deload every 10-12 weeks, BUT this is highly individualistic.

3: Look at your food intake

Here's an aspect many don't look at. We think of training as this individual monolith when it's only part of the equation. Food intake plays a VERY important part of the puzzle. When I say watch your food, in this context, I mean upping it. Are you taking in enough quality protein, carbs, fats? If you aren't, you're digging a hole for yourself. Take stock of what you're eating and up it. That being said, this isn't an excuse to eat like shit, or add to the junk you've been eating. Clean (you what is considered clean, stop bullshitting) and quality food wins here.

4: Quality of Sleep
Fuck these whole "work when you're dead" people. Yeah, there's a little truth to it, but really, you'll screw yourself without sleep. Your recovery, hormone profile and general mood depends on your sleep. If your sleep quality is low, then guess what? Good luck being productive. Make sure the quality of sleep you get is just as good as the amount. GABA, valerian root and good ol' ZMA helps with sleep. Keep in mind, they only help with preparing you to get to sleep. They don't actually put you to sleep. So keep that in mind. And get off the smartphone and DON'T READ NEWS before bed.


My Plan Going Forward: 

I went back on Monday after a couple of complete days off from the gym. Moving on I'll be....

1: Reducing my training days to 4 days per week and build up from there
2: Decreasing overall training volume
3: Cut back use of intensity techniques and special additions (i.e. drop sets, giant sets, bands, etc) and go with straight weight
4: Manage my stress better and get blackout curtains for my bedroom.


Pushing hard in the gym is important, but the rest and recovery is just as important to avoid burnout. Don't push until you hate the gym. No when to take the gas off.