Every day is leg day:

1. Atlas lift

I also call it the squat hold; essentially, just putting insanely heavy weight on the squat rack, and the only goal is to just lift it up a little bit, hold it for a few seconds, and just put it down. Even lifting it up for half a second is sufficient.

Currently as I write this, my personal record is 750 pounds; seven 45 pound plates on each side, a 35 pound plate, and a 2 1/2 pound on each side.

2. Rack pull

The second essential lift is the rack pull. Essentially load up a very very heavy weight, on the power rack, and it just depends to a size that feels comfortable to your height. Essentially imagine a shortened deadlift, only the very top.

When you do a rack pull, no belt, no straps, no knee wraps, etc. Just use liquid weightlifting chalk, and for your heavier sets, a mixed grip.

Also a pro tip is when you are doing the rack pull, push and also pull up much with your legs!

3. Very heavy dumbbell Farmers walk

The goal is very simple; only using weightlifting chalk, no hand or wrist wraps, seek to lift up the heaviest dumbbells that your gym offers, and just walk it out a little bit. For my gym that is 150 pound dumbbells.

When people ask you what you are or what you do, always give them the funnier, more unexpected answer.

For example, when people are confused with my short range of motion lifts, like my atlas lift or my rack pull, if people are curious what I am, I will tell them I’m just a bodybuilder.

Why? Reality and results don’t lie; doing 750 pounds, on the atlas lift has given me insane gains, especially in my midsection, shoulders and back, thighs, legs and calves!

Physical is the only impressive human attribute?

For example, we seem to be enamored with metaphorical concepts of being super rich, being a billionaire, etc. However ultimately, when you meet a person in the flesh, the only thing that is really impressive is their physicality.

Video

150 POUND DUMBBELL LIFT UP FARMER WALK POV

EK TUBE 150

145 POUND DUMBBELL LIFT UP POV

EK YOUTUBE 145

Just spent the last two days in LA, at UCLA, and I’m feeling insanely inspired. Why? Some thoughts:

The first observation that I have made is that it looks like media, entertainment, shows, cinema film vlogs, are the future. Why? Let us just look at all of the advertising and the new products; all of the new interesting digital cameras are all centered around video and vlogging, and also making cinema. Think about the new compact canon cinema camera, and also the new Panasonic Lumix cameras which are phenomenal for vlogging and video. And cinema.

What do nerds and everybody share in common?

It doesn’t matter who you are, it looks like everybody loves media. For example, all nerds like to watch TV shows, cinema, films, entertainment etc.

Also if you think about all age groups, whether it be newborn kids, kids, toddlers, teenagers, adults, middle-age people, the elderly, etc.; everybody watches YouTube, and or Netflix or something like that.

What can you do about it?

Everyone has different life goals and different life pursuits. For myself, I am interested in directing our energies towards things that we can actually do ourselves, with no gate keepers, no restrictions, 100% freedom and control.

It seems that the most straightforward answer then is having the ability to record videos, and just upload them online, whether it be to YouTube or your own self hosted videopress.com account (linked with your WordPress.org Website Blog) via WordPress.com

Why self hosted video instead of YouTube?

First of all, the simplest and most straightforward way to build your own solo media empire is just making a website blog via bluehost.com and installing wordpress.org. Own your own domain. Ideally your first name last name .com, or you could just make it your first name last name photo .com, or your first name last name photography .com.

For example, I own Erickim.com, Erickimphotography.com, as well as Erickimphotography.com/blog.

In the very long term, your domain name, and your website name, and the .com domain will be critical.

Why .com? To me it is the only legitimate domain name, something that everyone can actually remember. Let us consider google.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, apple.com, amazon.com, etc.

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What is the goal?

The reason why I am more interested in using smaller and lower resolutions, for example 720 P, 24 FPS or 30 FPS, smaller file sizes is this:

Your video files will upload and process 100 times faster than in higher video formats, even compared to 1080P, 4K, 5K, etc.

And the question is this; in the context of the video you create, are you creating it for the pleasure and entertainment of others, or, is it for your own benefit, to propagate your own thoughts?

I say the primary motive should be for your own benefit. The fact that others may watch it is just an added benefit. The number one critical factor is that you yourself enjoy publishing it.

The equipment

Currently speaking, the best equipment to have include the Ricoh GR 3X, GoPro Mini, iPad Pro. Beyond this, everything seems superfluous.

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Now what?

The first and ultimate priority is to build up your own website. Your own website blog etc. is the ultimate ephemeral tool to create your own empire.

Do not use Facebook, Instagram, even Twitter; these are all slave services.

Let us consider, when you upload your photos, videos, comments and ideas, etc., you create “free“ content for the platform, and then the platform sneakily insert advertising in between your content. They make money off of your unpaid labor.

Therefore, just stop using Facebook Instagram Twitter, etc. Better yet, just delete your Instagram. The simple creativity and productivity hack is via negativa; deleting, removing, or subtracting social media services will allow you to become at least 10,000 times more innovative, creative and motivated.

And the simple heuristic or rule of thumb:

Anything you might otherwise post to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, just post to your own blog instead.

But what about my “engagement“?

Would you rather be a Harvard or a Cal State Fullerton? Would you rather have a few elite students, and a small and curated student body cap size, or would you rather have hundreds of thousands of students, and let everyone in?

Funny enough, it seems that we have this funny bifurcation; on one hand we think that the higher the number of people means more success. But the same time we realize that exclusivity is actually a desired trait as well.

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Monochrome monster

My new concept for the new year is this notion of monochrome monster. That we embrace extra high contrast black and white on the Ricoh GR 3X, and all we have to do is shoot extra small JPEG, and also, in praise of doing video 1080 P at 24fps.

Why monochrome? The more I think about it, monochrome is the apex of aesthetics beauty and that which is different and unique. For example, what is art? Art is transfiguring the embodied world, and making it look different. Art should not look like real life.

Towards a new philosophy of aesthetics; my thought is that art is all about taking reality, life, the world, and making it bigger, more beautiful, fuller, more open to opportunities, expansive etc.

New year, new photo opportunities and new photo goals

Happy lunar New Year’s, I love it because it is our ability to double dip in the New Year’s. If you already feel that your January 1 New Year’s resolutions are waning, let us re-turbocharge your New Year’s goals:

1. Travel Notes / Print
2. Photo Journal
3. Street Notes / Mobile
4. Creative Everyday Mobile
5. Street Photography Starter Kit
6. My First Photography Book

More in EK LABS

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EK EXPERIENCES

Make yourself new again:

1. Conquer Boston (March 25th, Saturday, 2023)— yes, this is the correct date sorry for the earlier typo for another false date.
2. Berkeley Insane Innovation April 15
3. HADONG ZEN PHOTO RETREAT SUMMER 2023

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Platform thoughts

Something I find very funny is how people are always commenting on how many followers or subscribers views said person XYZ has. But, what is 1 trillion times more fascinating is the platform which could actually host these views, subscribers, followers, etc.

For example, it doesn’t really matter how many views BTS or BLACKPINK has; I am much more interested on how YouTube is able to host and maintain and serve the broadband for these billions of views.

Or, doesn’t matter how many followers or likes or subscribers you have on Instagram or YouTube; once again, Instagram as a platform, how Mark Zuckerberg ingeniously purchased it for only $1 billion is actually much more fascinating to me.

Can you build your own platform?

Yes! I suppose the bigger question is how badly do you care?

Arsbeta.com — my simple concept;

If we could create a brand new photo platform, that which is not predicated on likes, followers, how would it look like?

I am insanely proud of arsbeta.com because of the double blind experiment, which was an ingenious proof of concept. Essentially the insanely optimistic discovery that when the photographer is hidden, and the commentor is also hidden, surprisingly people act in good ways. People actually do leave constructive comments and constructive critique to help you improve.

Arsbeta.com is the future.

What next?

Then the simple next question is thinking, what is the next step for you and your future?

I think a good idea is to just get into weightlifting. Just get a gym membership at the closest gym close to your house, any commercial gym is fine. I go to crunch, and I really like it.

Why weight lifting? The reason why I love weightlifting so much is that it helps benefit all aspects of your life, including the artistic and creative ones. For example, ever since I invaded my hypelifting concept, my social confidence has increased 1000 fold. And the upside of this is that this has also given me much more self-confidence when it comes to street photography, conquering my fear of interacting or talking with strangers, confidence for vlogging, etc.

Just vlog it all.

I really think that everyone would benefit by just buying a GoPro mini. Why? Some thoughts:

1. First of all, I think if you want to become more lean, lose body fat, etc., a simple thought is literally just GoPro or video or record or Vlog anything and everything you eat, whether it be food beverages etc. Why? You will become more aware of what you are consuming, or drinking, whether it be alcohol, marijuana, carbohydrates, sugar, Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero (yes this makes you fat too), or any “cheat“ foods.
2. GoPro and record your workouts: the reason why I think that using a GoPro to record your lifts or workouts is superior than using an iPhone is that it is a lot less distracting. Also the benefit is you don’t need any sort of fancy mounts or tripods or any other annoyances with a GoPro. The GoPro mini is insanely robust; just shoot 1080 P, 24 FPS, and you could just leave it up against a corner or put it against somewhere.
3. GoPro and record your thoughts; ultimately the thing which is most interesting is your thoughts, your philosophy, or as I like to call it, “turbo thoughts“. Essentially the idea is that you want to just share your thoughts as a stream of consciousness, without hesitation or delay.
4. Insouciance: the biggest detriment creatively that we have nowadays is that everyone is trying so hard to be “professional“. My personal thought is the more “ghetto“ you make it, the better. Why? A it is a lot less paralysis by analysis on your end, and secondly, it just feels much more genuine.

Clothes

I am really into Lululemon stuff nowadays. I really like the compression clothing, especially the license to train compression shirts, the long sleeve is good, as well as the sleeveless.

Also, the vital Drive compression shorts are insanely good.

I think I am addicted to compression clothing.

I also have a very funny theory that compression clothing makes you more productive. Why? The compression motivates you to move! Anything which can motivate you to move more is better for you.

The future?

I personally believe that the future is going to be a combination of fitness, working out, weightlifting, yoga, functional fitness, strongman, bodybuilding, flexing, showing off your muscles, clothing, Lululemon type athletic wear, diet nutrition health, intermittent fasting. 100% carnivore diet, etc.

Also, art, creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation, digital photography, video, blogging, cinema, etc.

More on EK BLOG

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Fortune favors the insanely bold, reckless, and those willing to just have fun and fuck shit up!

EK

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The new GoPro Mini — the new heavyweight of video, vlogging cameras:

Smaller is better

Some thing that people do not realize is that when inspiration strikes, it is often in very random situations. The upside of some thing which is insanely small is that whenever inspiration strikes, you can quickly record, video and vlog it.

For example, the reason why I love the Ricoh GR 3X camera so much is that it is always in my front right pocket, and irregardless of whatever situation I’m in, whether I’m walking around, driving, etc., I can always shoot the photo. Also the upside of shooting extra small JPEG is that there is literally no hesitation; there is really no downside to shooting any photos.

LCD screens are bad

I am one of the OG people whose started uploading stuff to YouTube, back when I was 22 years old, before YouTube had advertisements. At the time, I still recall my first viral gopro street photography POV video, using the original GoPro hero.

The funny thing is that the original GoPro hero had no LCD screen, not as a design aesthetic thing, but simply because the technology wasn’t there yet. And that upside was actually a really good thing. Why? LCD screens are a massive distraction.

Nowadays I think it’s hilarious to see all these vloggers who have the tilting articulating self facing LCD screen; I think they harm more than help.

What do you want to do anyways?

I think one of the greatest things about vlogging is that you have the unique opportunity to share your perspective and your point of view with the world. This is where the GoPro is so phenomenal; shooting Ultra Wide mode can literally allow you to share your perspective with others.

The fewer things you need to concern yourself with, the better.

Something no one really ever talks about how the go pro so phenomenal is that you don’t need to focus. Everything is in focus.

If you are things you need to concern yourself with, the better. Why? Having to concern yourself if something is in focus or not is a huge distraction.

Moral of the story: just get a gopro mini. Tell them EK sent you!

https://youtu.be/_gCaEES93lw

Record RICOH GR IIIX video, 24FPS 1080p, view it on iPhone or iPad then just screenshot the poses and images you like!

I’m a monochrome monster!

I’m a monochrome monster!

Video

Also a good way to build your abs!

EKTUBE

I love UCLA!