The Rules: Revisited, Volume 2

6.  Read for fun

  This rule is the leg work of rule number 2.  In order to know a little bit about a lot of things reading is essential.  While I am a huge fan of Netflix documentaries and learning though them, they are too passive.  Reading actively engages you in the material you are learning about.

Reading doesn't have to be a chore.

  Whether you are reading a dissertation on "The Differential Effects of Bilateral Tax Treaties," or this weeks Deadpool issue, the important thing is you are enjoying reading and learning.  Find something, anything you enjoy reading and do it!  Reading and learning will broaden your horizons and make you a more well rounded individual.  

  Besides making you more interesting it is common knowledge that reading has many benefits.  Everything from reduced stressed to improved memory and analytical skills can be achieve just by picking up a book.

7.  If you talk to dogs in a normal voice, I can never trust you.

  This one is pretty simple.  Dogs are the best people.  They are loyal, loving, and just plain fun.  Essentially making them furry four legged toddlers.  And who talks to toddlers with stern and precise statements?  Sociopaths.  That's who.  Treat all dogs like you would a small child and I will trust you.

8.  Your friends are the family you pick, treat them as such.

  As we grow older and take with us the knowledge our parents have imparted onto us, we tend to gradually grow apart from them as we discover ourselves.  I'm not necessarily saying that is a good thing but it happens.  However throughout our lives we need love and support from other people.  

  Enter your friends.  Take a second and think about all the things your friends do for you.  A stupid text that makes you laugh, a pick me up phone call when you are having a bad day, encouraging you to write a blog.  Everyday these people you surround yourself with are there for you.  Maybe not in a physical sense but emotionally and mentally they always have your back.  As our families fade our friends pick up the slack.

  And that is why you should treat them as family.  They are loving you, caring for you, and supporting you in all the ways your family has.  To me, other than minor genetic differences, there is no difference between family and friends.  Show them the same kind of love you would show a brother or sister and you will be amazed how much stronger your friendships will become.

9.  Don't take yourself too seriously.

  In the words of the great Van Wilder, "You shouldn't take life too seriously.  You'll never get out alive."  What a role model.  There is some real truth to that quote though.  In my experience if you take yourself to seriously you miss out on the joys of everyday life.  

  I like to tell people the story of how I literally choked while trying to talk to a cute girl.  When I say literally choked I mean I physically choked on my own spit and couldn't even speak to her when she approached me.  It was quite the experience.

  Now I could have taken this one of two ways.  I could have gotten all huffy puffy and butt hurt over how I looked ridiculous and stupid to this young lady.  Or I could have a hilarious story to share with my friends.  Guess which one I went with.

  Everything isn't going to go your way.  Some days are really going to pile on the suck.  But if you learn to check your ego and laugh at yourself you will be much happier.

10. DO MOAR SQUATZ!!!

  Finally!  I'm talking about fitness on my fitness blog!  If you haven't heard the "good news" yet, prepare yourself for a small sermon on the squat.

  In the weightlifting kingdom there is a king, queen, and prince.  King Deadlift is a mighty ruler who's ability to promote gains amongst his lesser subjects is infallible and undeniable.  However I find King Deadlift's spouse, Her Majesty Squat, to be just as important in governing your muscular gains.  Prince Bench Press is there better known, more commonly used on #flexfriday, adopted son.  

  Whether you are looking to gain muscle, lose fat, increase sport performance or just improve the quality of your daily life, the squat should be a center piece for your exercise program.

  As a compound, or multijoint, movement the squat engages a larger number of muscles than a single joint movement such as the court jester, the bicep curl.  This greater muscular recruitment creates an anabolic environment in your body that actually promotes muscular growth in areas that aren't even technically engaged!  This is done through the release of hormones such as testosterone and growth hormones that will flow throughout your entire body.

    Once you have gained a bit of muscle from squatting your basal metabolic rate will increase.  This means you are burning more calories as you are just sitting around.  This is because your body uses more calories to support and sustain muscle than it does for fat.  Boom.  Bye bye fat, hello lean muscle mass.

  On a more subjective note, who doesn't want a tight and firm booty?  I mean the muscular gains and health benefits of squatting are great, but really I just want to have a nice but.  And I'm sure you do too.

  There are a billion million zillion ways to program the squat.  So many so that a quick google search of squat programs can be a little intimidating.  To me, the barbell squat is the gold standard.  I would recommend any person new to weightlifting start there.  Keep in mind that doing compound exercises for a larger number of repetitions can be very difficult, but on the other end finding a good 3x3 weight while still learning form and technique can be just plain dangerous.  

  So, find a weight that you can comfortably squat for 3 sets of 10-12 reps to near fatigue.  Near fatigue being you have the ability to do 1 or 2 more reps if you had to but don't do those reps.  Eventually you will be able to move into higher repetitions with lower weights or higher weights with lower repetitions.  Just give yourself some time and consistency and you will get there.  The possibilities are endless once you learn how to squat properly!  Be sure to find someone to coach you through the basics of the movement as you are starting out too.

   

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike

The Rules: Revisited, Volume 1

  About a year ago I was trying to figure out what kind of person I was.  I wrestled with the ideas and things that I found to be important and hold the most value.  I assembled these ideas into a list of rules to live by.  The list was extensive, including over 50 rules that I thought were important to my own happiness.  After revisiting that list I have decided to reevaluate and share that list and my reasoning behind each rule.  I plan to do this over a series of entries in the weeks and months to come.  I am sharing these not only because I'm super arrogant and am living a better life than you and think I can tell you how to live your life, but also as an exercise in self-reflection.

1.  Allow yourself to experience every emotion and every feeling you have, good or bad.

  I'm a bit of an oddball as a male.  I have never had any problem understanding, expressing, and sharing my feelings.  While many men seem to bottle up and hide how they feel, I wear my emotions on my sleeve.  I believe this is central to who I am as a person and has shaped me in every way.  Every day we go through a range of emotions.  From happy to sad and back again our feelings are in constant flux.

  Where people seem to miss the point of connecting with those feelings.  We get upset over a bad day at work, stress from school, and any number of things.  I see so many people who don't step back to truly understand WHY they are feeling that way.  Most people will take a bad day and be sad or angry and fall into a spiraling pit of emotions that will affect their daily lives.

It's ok to be sad.  It's ok to be angry.

  That took me a long time to realize.  Once you embrace, accept, and understand that sometimes you just need to cry it out, the good days get that much better.  Not every day is perfect and once you learn to live with those harder feelings life becomes so much more enjoyable.

2.  Know something about a lot of different things.

  I have always loved the idea of the Renaissance Man, or the man for all seasons.  The idea was that a true gentlemanly man was well rounded.  He could speak several languages, play a musical instrument, he studied sciences, philosophy, and wrote poetry.  While it is somewhat romanticized, I believe the same idea can apply to our own knowledge and interests.

  

  Fitness is my biggest passion.  However I don't spend hours every single day reading and studying fitness.  I pursue several different areas of intellectual interest.  Anything from astronomy to politics.  And I believe this basic knowledge has made me a more rounded person.  

Once you step outside of what you already know, that is when you begin to grow as a person.

  There is something beautiful to me about seeking knowledge.  And if you are only sticking to one field you can never see or begin to understand someone else's opinion.

3.  Love everyone

  Hippie alert!  I know it sounds like poorly written 60s music lyrics, but I believe loving all people for who they are is one of the bravest things we can do.  

  Today there is an "us versus them" mentality everywhere you go.  Liberals vs conservatives, whites vs blacks, gays vs straights, Muslims vs Christians, rich vs poor.  You get the idea.  There is something we all forget all too often.

We are all people.

  Everyone comes from somewhere or someone or something different.  Our lives and upbringing and current situation may be nothing alike.  But once you step back and see in front of you a human person, not someone who is different from you but someone who has hopes and dreams and fears and family and friends just like you, you can begin to love them for who they are.

4.  Don't be a dick.

  This kind of goes back to rule 3.  Everyone has something going on in their life.  Whether they are struggling financially, maybe their mother just died, maybe they just lost their job and don't know how they are going to provide for their family.  The fact of the matter is life is hard for everyone.

There is no reason for you to make it harder on them in any capacity.

  Being a dick is simply being selfish.  When you place your wants or needs above someone else you are a dick.  If we could step back and try to understand what someone else is going through then maybe we can start to love everyone a little bit more.  If we respect each other then there is no reason why we can't help each other ride this crazy roller coaster of life.

5.  Find something or someone you love and give it/them your everything.

  Rule 5 plays hand in hand with the idea that you get out of something what you put into it.  I've learned that my best experiences and my best relationships, romantic or otherwise, are the ones that I invest the most into.  Once you invest into something you love, the payouts are nothing but amazing.

This can be scary at first.

  Self doubt is the only thing stopping you from doing this.  The fears of, "What happens if it doesn't work out," or "what if I don't succeed?"  What if, what if, what if!?  Our fears keep us from taking that chance and going after something that deep down we know we want.  So, stop being afraid and take that chance.  Once you have invested yourself in whatever it is you love and want then you can step back and ask the right "what if" question.

What if I never would have?

  Something, something, Robert Frost, the road less traveled. 

   

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike