The Grind

Over the last week or so I have really thought about what I would write about next.  There were a lot of things that came to mind, but top on my list was what I really think makes the difference in training.  I'm not talking about nutrition, and even though I 100% believe that Westside is the best side, there is one thing that is at the top of my list.  This one thing separates good from great.  Attitude. mindset and the ability to, what we call, love the grind.

I believe there are 2 types of mindsets.  One is a fixed mindset.  A person with a fixed mindset is someone that tells them self they are no good at something and no matter what they do that it will never get better.  This is also the person that when you try to help them and coach them, they have an excuse.  Excuses like, well I've never been good at the squat, or I've never been fast off the floor on my dead lift. In there mind no matter what they do or how much the work, they will never get any better.  Bring in the "Growth Mindset".  People with this mindset know that the more work they put in the better at something they can get.  They don't let limitations of not being good at something or something not coming easy to them stop them from getting better.  People with a growth mindset, can learn to love the grind.  Now looking at those two, you should be able to pick out which one is you.  You should really strive to be a growth mindset and if you aren't, guess what?  You can be!  All you have to do is stop living inside your little box.  Use the power of your own mind to learn to push.  

Now that we have that out of the way and you can see if you are a fixed or growth type we can move on.  Let's get into what the grind is.  The grind, or grinding is not giving up.   Not allowing yourself to say, that's enough.  You must learn to push yourself harder and longer than the average person does.  When they say that's good, you say nope and press forward.  When they want to quit early and cut everything short, you don't stand for that shit.  These people may get slightly better at doing something but they will never, ever be great.  Learn to love the Grind and it will reward you.  

If I told you that there was a way for you to get just 1% better each day would you take it?  I sure as hell hope you would.  Shit lets even say .25 of 1% better each day.  You better fuckin say that you would.  This is what is possible for you if you can learn to grind, push hard, have a positive mindset, and quit with all the fucking excuses.  

Now that you know what's possible, set yourself on the path to make it happen.  Learn to love the grind.  It will reward to 10 fold.  I will leave you with some quotes.  Maybe you have already seen them maybe you haven't, but after readying this I hope you can relate them to your own training and life a little more.  

"People need to quit looking for the easy way out and get to work" 

Dave Tate

"Get your head right.  Training isn't east and won't always be a walk in the park.  There's more to getting strong that just lifting the weights.  You have to get an attitude with the weights and bust your ass.  Louie once told me that he would NEVER train with anyone that didn't scare him in one way or another.  This is the best advice I've ever heard.  I'm not saying that you should be a dick, but there is a HUGE difference between "training" and "working out"." 

Dave Tate/ Louie Simmons 

Better sign up now.... only 2 spots left

Hello out there world wide websters.  I've been slacking on the blogging, but lucky for you I'm coming back at you with the heat! I'm sure this will make some people get all fired up, that is if they actually read it, but IDGAF.

Now, I'll start off by saying who am I? Who am I to say what I think and have people actually listen to it.  Hhaha, I'm nobody.  Yes, I own a gym.  Yes, I train people.  Yes, some people listen to me.  Yes I do write/coach some clients on the line.  Yes, I have some papers that hang up on the wall... not a shit load but some.  I am a tiny 165er that is reasonably strong.  I have been training for about 15 years now, helping people for the last 4, and owned a gym for the last 2.  Over that time I feel like I've learned a lot of shit from a lot of people that I highly respect and know a shit ton more than me.  Does that give me the right to say what's right and wrong.  Well, I have no idea but I sure as hell am going to give you my opinion on this matter that really burns me up whenever I see this shit online.

I keep an eye out there to see what's shakin on-the-line.  Twitter, Istagrams, Facebooks, Youtubes etc. and there seems to be this one common thing I see.  These online programs and eBooks.  Everywhere you look, every shit-wit out there on-the-line has some 30 day, 12 week or some other bullshit program they are peddling all over the net to anyone that will take the bait.  Here is where it gets good, the bait.  This line right here gets me fired up every time... "Sign up now! Hurry only 2 spots left!"  You know what... Fuck you.  One, don't think people are that stupid that they haven't seen you peddling your shit for the last months in a row and there is always only 2 spots left. Two, if your program is so good and your eBook is so next level, you would't be using tactics like that and plastering the web trying to get people to get on your shit.  If you are one of these guys, please just stop.  Your work should speak for itself without having to resort to that kind of douchebaggery.

In closing on this subject I will say, by no means am I saying everyone out there on the net is full of shit or offering shitty programs.  Hell I even write programming for online clients.  Guess what?  I sure as hell wasn't out there baiting them into anything.  Those people find me. Shit maybe my next writing should be about this great trend of all these "fitness pros" whoring themselves out.  That would be a good one....

Back from paradise to our paradise....

Good afternoon everyone.  Sorry you haven't been able to read my ramblings for a bit.  Things have been quite busy for us out here.  Wedding prep for Codi and I had kept us quite busy.  Now we are back and still at it with the reception coming in two weeks, but I thought I would sneak one in with a quick recap of our trip.  I know I know, most my blog post are about training and shit like that.  Don't worry I'm going to sneak a few things in here about how not to be a douche at the gym.

I'll start of by saying this trip for Codi and I could not have been better.  So much fun and we are so thankful and greatful for the people that made the trip down to share this awesome part of our lives together.  We flew out on Sunday AM early.  Was a long day of flying around the world but totally worth it when we landed in Cancun around 4.  A short trip about 45 min and we were at the hotel checked in and sipping drinks.  

Over the next 5 days people started to filter in every day.  We had a whole week of pool lounging and beach lounging.  Town exploring with taco eating contest.  As well as a Tulum ruins/ jungle cenote /zip line/ crazy ass uni-mog trip.  This seriously was a week of nothing but awesome.  Oh, we squeezed a few workouts in, but nothing crazy.  Lots of awesome dinners and drinks let up to the main event Saturday.  

Couldn't have been happier with the resort and set up for the wedding.  We really didn't have to do anything which made for a great day.  Wedding went off without a hitch and the venue was unbelievable!  I'll just hit the pics to help you get an idea.  

Ok now I want to take a quick second to say how dam lucky I am.  I can hands down, sorry guys, say my lady is the most smokin hot bride ever!  Pics to prove

After the wedding was done and over everyone started to head back over the next few days.  Codi and I were now on our honeymoon and relax city started for the next week.  We had an awesome week laying around relaxing and studying.  We squeezed a few more workouts in but tried to take as much time for ourselves, we know that it's going to be a while before we get to do this again so we soaked it up.  

Now let me get into the small portion of this blog post that will  be about training.  Just a few tips I thought I would give so that the next time you are at a commercial gym you aren't the one being a douche bag.  

1- Re rack your weights.  Few things here.  Don't just leave your shit and take off, no brainer but you would be surprised.  Also, if you are using a set of DB's and there are a shit ton of other people in there and you are going to rest and finger yourself for 5 min between sets take them back and re rack them so others can use them.  I should not have to come over and tell you I'm going to use them, and take them.  

2- Don't stand right in front of the DB rack and block all the weights when there is a shit load of people trying to get in and out of there.  Step back far enough to let others use the shit.  

Some might think these things are just common sense, but there are a lot of dip shits out there.  

Side note- wearing a bandana with a hat on top of it is stupid.  

Ok now back to the story.  Looking at the pics I forgot about speedo day.  Man, that was a hoot and we got some good pics of that.  Somehow my speedo ended up being the most high cut of the bunch haha, but I made it look good.  Pic to prove

After nearly 2 weeks in a paradise known as the Riviera Maya/ Playa Del Carmen, we are back and at it in our own paradise of Eternia Athletics and Grants Pass, Oregon.  Being gone for 2 weeks, even in a place like that can leave you thinking of how much you love where you live.  For me it made me miss my home, my dogs, my friends and our paradise of Eternia.  There truly is no place like home.  

What should I eat? What supplements do I need to be taking?

Well hello there Eternia! We are getting ready to kick of this Easter Weekend and I thought I would put together a few words on a screen for your reading pleasure.  Today I wanted to touch on a question I tend to get alot. What should I eat, and what supplements should I be taking.

First things first.  Supplements are just that, supplements to your normal diet.  When I say diet, I am referring to what you take in on a daily basis of REAL FOOD.  Sit down and take a real look at what you are eating.  For a male, if you are training with us and eating under 1500 cals a day or a female under 1000 a day we will start there. These numbers are even on my low end of where I would want to see people consuming.  You cannot recover from training by not eating.  I know you all want to loose weight, but the not eating approach does more damage than good.  Food people food! That is what helps you burn fat and recover from your workouts.  There isn't a magic supplement you need to be taking besides good food, water, and rest.  After you address these situations then you can look into the only 3 supplements to your regular diet that you will hear me suggest.
1) Protein
2) Fish Oil
3) Creatine (for some)

The reasons for these is for a whole other blog post, but in general these are things that will be hard to get enough of in your normal diet that have a great impact on your overall life and health.

Next up... setting an example for your family..

Your Duty

Good afternoon Eternia! Sun is shining and it's looking like we have plowed through another week, kicking ass and taking names.  Eternian's here in GP and afar have all been putting up some great numbers this week.  I've been pondering what to write about this week.  After a chat I gave this week to a group of Eternians and some things I have seen, I feel inclined to talk about giving it everything you have and passing that along.

Here at Eternia we foster a pretty awesome environment.  One that I have been told by many that come from out of town is something they haven't seen anywhere, or only in some of my opinion awesome spots.  We take that as a pretty bad ass compliment.  As an Eternian you should feel pretty dam proud of that, because you help build that.  Your duty is to keep doing that.

We ask a lot of each and every person that trains with us.  We know that is a lot.  We ask you to do that because we want you to get the most out of what we are offering.  We aren't in this to get rich, all the money we make goes back into making Eternia even better.  We do this shit because we LOVE IT!

As an Eternian, rule numero' uno.  DON'T HALF ASS ANYTHING.  If you want to come in and just go through the motions, honestly this may not be the place for you.  We expect the best you have every day.  If you are worn down or not 100% that day, and lets say you are 80%. Give every bit of that 80% you have.  I promise you that you won't regret it.

Next I want to touch on a few things that don't have to do with your training but the others around you.  Your duty is to help your training partners to get stronger than you.  If you see somebody slacking off or sandbagging some shit, let them know what's up.  You know it, you see it.  Don't worry we will be doing the same thing as your coaches as well.  Having training partners that push you ads to the environment and fosters some awesome results.  You see somebody just "going through the motions" let them know.  Hey what's that, way to easy lets go, get with it. They will thank you for it.  Along these same lines, if you get somebody new in there and you see something way crazy, help them.  Examples come to mind. Hey man that might be to big a jump.  How about 10lbs not 30.  Or hey, that % looks a bit high lets take some off and move that shit quick(speed day). That's what we do in Eternia.  Take them under your wing and pass on what we have taught you.  Don't worry we will be there as well.

I will end on this.  Our environment is one you will not find in many places and we are dam proud of that.  You guys helped build that, now keep it going.  From that "great" Travis Osborne, "Never half ass anything, always use your FULL ASS"!

FifteenPointNope

Well well well, I've been pondering what random subjects I should blog about next.  So many good options this time of year, but I chose to go with one that gets asked a lot.  "So what is different between Eternia and CF?"

I hear this question and I'm like... really haha. Joking, well kinda.  I get the question and why it is asked. We do run our structure in a warehouse, we coach in hour blocks, and we train in a group atmosphere.  That is where it ends. Does that mean if our members wanted to compete in some CF style stuff they couldn't. Nope, they could do that if they wanted to. I will say this. With the CF money machine fired up, otherwise known as the CF Open, going on right now our number of members doing that is.....0.  Number of members from Eternia competing in as USPA Powerlifting meet in June...23.

Eternia, as most of you know, runs a WestSide Barbell conjugate system.  WestSide is the strongest gym in the world.  Westide Barbell is ran by the great Louie Simmons.  He has put his whole life into building a system that is tried, and proven.  The system is built for powerlifting, but can be used to get anybody strong as shit and fit as fuck haha! We do not only lift heavy weights, we condition as well.  This program can be tuned nicely for who it's for.  We run 2 separate conjugate programs at Eternia giving our members options.  We, squat and or deadlift twice a week, and bench twice a week. We also, clean and jerk, do a ton of strongman movements, and a SHITLOAD of special exercise and accessory work. In fact 80% of our workload for any given day is acc work. Below I am going to give you an example of a day of our programming, then I will give you a few examples of programming strait from CF.

Dynamic Effort Lower
A) Box Jump to max height
B) Box squat (at parallel) with Safety Squat Bar at 50% plus 25% band tension 10x2 45 sec. rest
C) Sumo dead at 50% plus 30% band tension, 8x1 30 sec. rest between
D) Bulg. Split Squat with SSB, 3x10
E) Dimmel deadlifts 3x20 @ 40%
F) Banded back ext 3x20
G) 3x20 banded ghd situps
Cond-
12 min Air dyne 15 sec sprints, 10 b.w lunges every minute on the minute style
Finisher- 100 banded pull through's

Above is a usual layout from a dynamic lower day with conditioning.  Another form of conditioning on this day may involve some sled drags, atlas stone to shoulder, cleans, sled pushes or sled sprints etc.

Below is taken direct from CF main site

Today- Run 1.5 miles

Yesterday-
With a running clock every minute perform 1 lift and add 10 lbs
Start with Snatch and go as heavy as possible
once you can't snatch it, go to the clean
once you can't clean go to deadlift.

Day Before that
10 rounds of 205lb front squats 5 reps and 5 parallette hand stand push ups as fast as possible

I could keep going but I'm hoping that just that kind of gives you an idea.  This is not to say that every CF gym goes off that programming.  Actually every CF gym can run whatever program they want, witch could be anything from dancing to napping.  Don't take that as I don't like naps because come on now who doesn't haha.

I think most people want to try to group us into that, and we have tried to be different from the get go. We train in group structure, because that is how we like to do it.  Nobody likes training alone, it sucks.  Having a group of like minded people there to push you and keep you accountable helps.

In the end it boils down to this.  Do we not like CF?  No not at all we have plenty of friends in the CF world.  We just have a little bit different goals, and thoughts on what is more important.  Not everybody needs to snatch, overhead squat, walk on their hands, swing around on bars and rings to be fit or use those methods to build strength.   Different strokes for different folks, that's what makes Eternia... Eternia.

Come to the DarkSide.... Your lack of strength is disturbing.... and we have donuts.  

Suns out, stop half assing it!

Sunny days here in good ol' Grants Pass Oregon! Yesterday I even set up a pad and a foam roller outside and took in some rays! Felt like I was back in Venice for a second.  I'll take that for a nice change out of the cold fog we have been stuck in.  Vitamin D for everyone fo free haha!

Today I wanted to get into how we at Eternia expect the programmed accessory work to be done. I believe I have went over this a bit, but from time to time I think it's a good idea to go back over it again.  Roughly 80% of our training is accessory work or special exercises.  If you think you are going to get everything (all the gainz) out of the training by half assing 80% of the workload you are highly mistaken.  There is a reason we harp to you about tracking and logging what you are doing on a day to day basis. We expect you to attack your accessory work just as hard as your main lifts.  You should be pushing to push more weight each week in each acc lift.  If you don't know what you did on that movement from a previous week then how will you know what do to the following.  Going through the motions on 80% of your workload isn't going to get you anything.  Eternians don't have ass shit. We have sayings at Eternia for a reason.
1) We Don't Miss
2) All In/ Both feet in
3) Two Footed Jump Kick Shit
4) Don't half ass  anything, always full ass it

From my writings I think you can get a good idea of what we mean by all of those.  Those sayings are there for a reason.  Follow the code and you will be on the way to where you want to be.
Lastly I wanted to talk about the exact opposite side of the spectrum.  Biting off more than you can chew.  We see this happen a lot as well.  You feel like you want to try to keep up with somebody, so you try to do the weights they are doing.  You know that you can't, but you do it anyways.  You either don't get all the reps and quit or you pretend you did.  You're cheating yourself.  The rep layout is there for a purpose.  You getting 5 out of 10 reps isn't what we are looking for. Do yourself a favor and hit the weights you know you can for the amount of reps you are supposed to.

In summary, if you want to get all the possible results of your training you need to be all in and commit to the whole load of work.  Don't just hit the stuff hard that you want to do and leave all the rest on the table by half assing shit.  Buck up, hammer down and get the work in.  You can thank me later.

Sleep easy Eternians