I think ever since I was a kid, I always strove to become more manly, or masculine, more dominant, etc. Why?

First and foremost, I remember when I was a fat kid, and being teased, and wanting to do something about it. Thus my early impetus is a kid, I remember having a triple chin when I was around 11-12 years old, and I was motivated to make a change. I asked my mom to buy me some dumbbells, I started lifting weights, first starting with 15 pound dumbbells, double stacking them to make them 30 pound dumbbells, and then I think I later got a 50 pound dumbbell. Lots of bicep curls and shoulder presses.

Also, a funny memory that my friend Spencer always reminds me, when I started to put rocks in my backpack and go on long runs.

Media?

Certainly another big one is the media. As a kid growing up, the media I was exposed to was mostly video games, and comic book hero stuff. For example while I never read any comic books, I was really into the video game adaptations of Spider-Man, wolverine, Iron Man etc. And what do all of these superheroes share? Their superhero strength and muscles. I still remember vividly as a kid, when I withdraw my own superheroes I would always draw them with really cut, and lean and large muscles.

Also, when you draw a superhero, they always have a six pack.

Why?

Let us disregard of this modern day nonsense. Let us go back to the fountain.

What is the most classic, OG, original gangster literature we could draw inspiration and wisdom from? The Iliad by Homer.

Let us observe Achilles, the apex of manliness. Who or what is Achilles?

Achilles was a demigod, his mother a goddess, and his father a man. Therefore, Achilles was semi-deus, half men, half God.

What was Achilles’ personality? In the beginning of the Iliad, he is weary you from all of this war campaigning, he just wants to take his prize, Breusis, and go return to his land, and just chill out. Yet, because king Agamemnon seriously disrespects him, he stays by the shores and the ships, where he wails his heart out, pining for the lust of battle.

Some first very interesting things, in the ancient Greek literature, both in the Iliad and odyssey, do you have the heroes in the main protagonist crying a lot. For example, Odysseus by the shore, crying every single day, wanting to go back home to his land and his wife. Achilles also does a lot of crying by the shore, before his mom comes to comfort him.

First interesting lesson:

Real men are permitted to cry.

Yet in modern day times, it is considered unmanly to cry. Ancient Greek literature has shown that it is fine for real men to cry.

How should one interact and engage?

Post Socrates, which is during and after Socrates, much of philosophy has been around the moral and ethical philosophy. Which means,

How SHOULD one interact and engage with in the world?

For example, 99.9% of stoicism is all about becoming impervious to fate, and the external world.

It is your duty to be strong

The first thought I have is that it is your moralistic duty to be strong. To be strong for yourself, your wife, your kids, for what you believe in, etc.

Everyone has different life goals

Everyone has different life goals. Yet, in order to do or attempt anything, you must be strong.

Strength can be interpreted in many different ways. Mental fortitude, physical fortitude, etc.

Physical, physiological strength is the root of it all. Without it, you can’t do nothing.

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Then how can you become more manly?

First of all, if you have testes, a.k.a. balls, and a penis, you’re a man. Everyone has the right to choose their gender orientation, but, if you were born with balls, you’re a man.

First, the physical strength component. Can you imagine a superhero who doesn’t have superhero strength? Let us consider all the superheroes, they all have superhero strength. Superman, Spider-Man, Wolverine, etc.

How do you build superhero strength? Very simple. One rep max lifting at the gym. I suggest atlas lift and very heavy rack pulls— never more than one single repetition. A simple way to progress is start off with the bar, just do a single repetition, add a 45 pound plate to each side, do a single repetition, and keep progressing.

When you get near your limit, test your limit, and when you figure out what your hard cap limit is, a.k.a. the point in which the weight just won’t budge, then you could adjust as needed.

When you are able to hit a new personal record, then the next time you do it, or the next week, simply add a 2.5 pounder on each side.

A simple progression is that let us consider, if you are able to successfully add a 2.5 pounder on each side of the barbell (5 pounds in total) week over week, that means if a year has 52 weeks, 52×5 is roughly 250 pounds. If you keep up a simple progression, increasing the weight maybe by 3% or even 1% week over week, you should be able to gain and increase your total personal record by at least 200 pounds a year.

Certainly there are some limits to human strength. For example, while Hafþór was able to deadlift 501 kg, around 1200 pounds, it is difficult to imagine a human being lifting 100,000 pounds.

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The mental thing?

I know this is the philosophical pursuit:

How SHOULD a “real man” interact and engage with the world around him?

This is where philosophy comes in. Ultimately, there are no moral or ethical truths. In someways, the philosopher is a value-setting tyrant. The philosopher doesn’t need to quote statistics, or past thinkers. The philosopher can simply state his or her opinion, carte blanche, first principles, asserting what he or she believes in, without needing any “proof“, or “data.” My simple rule of thumb is this:

Never trust anybody who quotes the “data“, or “statistics“.

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Nutrition and manliness?

Cholesterol is a natural steroid.

What is a steroid anyways? A steroid is something which boosts your testosterone. Considering that testosterone is the hormone for men (testes… test-osterone as being the hormone for your testes and balls), then the higher your testosterone (naturally), the better.

Foods with the highest dietary cholesterol

Dietary cholesterol is only present in meat or animal products.

Beef heart for example:

BEEF HEART NUTRITION PROFILE
Based on 3-ounce serving and % of Recommended Daily Intake ( % RDI) for each nutrient.

Saturated Fat 7%
Cholesterol 71%
Sodium 2%
Potassium 6%
Total Carbohydrates 0%
Protein 27%
Iron 68%
Phosphorus 22%
Copper 24%
Folate 2%
Selenium 48%
Zinc 17%
Riboflavin 61%
Vitamin B12 383%
Magnesium 6%
Vitamin B6 17%
Choline 36%

How to become superhuman:

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What does it mean to become superhuman?

First of all, everyone is human, and everyone has the ability to become superhuman, irregardless of race, gender, sex, nationality etc.

Super simply means above.

Therefore, becoming superhero or a superhuman is simply a philosophical concept.

To me, I have some ideas:

The first idea is that one must strive to gain superhuman strength. For example, my Atlas lift of 890 pounds, which is nine plates, 10, and a five pounder and 2.5 pounder taped on top. Considering that I maxed out the barbell, I just ordered a Texas power squat bar, with longer sleeves, black zinc with chrome sleeves, which should allow me more leeway to add more weight, “safely.” My new current strength goals:

1. Atlas lift 1,200 pounds
2. Rack pull, 950 pounds
3. Floor bench press, 750 pounds

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Why superhuman strength?

First of all, you can easily achieve this without taking steroids or any weird stuff. If you are an avid gym goer, I easily suspect you could at least atlas lift over four plates, five plates, six plates, seven plates, eight plates. A simple innovation I’ve made in the realm of weightlifting is this:

Reduce the range of motion, increase the weight.

It is funny because this is actually far “safer“, than doing the “full range of motion.”

What do I feel like the day after doing an atlas lift of 890 pounds?

The funny thing is with traditional squat, everyone is always so concerned about their knees, and maybe their back. However after doing the atlas lift of 890 pounds, my current personal record, and being insanely sore the day after, I don’t really feel anything on my knees nor my back. I feel it all in my traps, my neck, and my upper back.

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How to do the atlas lift

To do the atlas lift, the general gist— imagine like you’re doing a standard squat, just get under the bar, and just try to lift the weight up with your shoulders and your legs, and just get it off the rack even half a centimeter, hold it for a few seconds and just put it down. And this is the reason why it is so safe:

If you’re not strong enough to lift it, it just won’t budge.

Truth be told when it comes to the gym and weightlifting injuries, typically speaking it is not from one rep max attempts, but rather, churning out multiple repetitions of some exercise. For example, a lot of people get injured when “training to failure“. Also, I think 99.99% of injuries at the gym involve some sort of bench press, shoulder press, military press, or overhead pressing motion thing. It seems that human shoulders are actually quite fragile, but what is insanely strong and robust? Human legs.

Also a good reason not to do CrossFit. I think the whole methodology behind CrossFit is insanely bizarre, as it yields numerous shoulder injuries, from a lot of athletes trying to churn out multiple shoulder presses and clean and jerks and shoulder cleans at a certain fast tempo, and also trying to train their “endurance“. Also, I have never met a CrossFit athlete in real life with a demigod physique, the only ones I have seen with impressive physiques are the ones who perform at the CrossFit games, who are all certainly on steroids, both the men and women.

No more bench

Therefore, stop doing bench presses or shoulder press exercises. Instead, only do leg exercises.

Also, the upside of doing leg exercises is that your leg muscles are at least 100 times bigger and stronger than your arms and upper body. The real demigods have demigod legs, and torsos, relatively small chests and shoulders. What is more impressive is to have an insanely muscular thighs, legs, and back. Biceps, shoulders, and chest is overrated. For example just study the Farnese Hercules proportions by Richard Dalton.

Biceps are for losers

In fact, I believe that you can simply get rid of all bicep exercises, and just replace it with heavy one rep max rack pulls instead— 780 pounds and beyond. This will also build you an insanely superhuman back.

I believe that with superhuman strength, you will naturally boost all of your productive hormones, whether it be your testosterone, adrenaline, or any other hormones we have yet discovered.

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Superhuman productivity?

Also, I think all of us Silicon Valley tech nerds strive to become super humanly productive. However, nobody has ever given this a critical thought.

My simple thought is that productivity means producing much. To become less distracted, more focused, email and phone minimalism.

For example, a practice I have kept up for a long time is this: everyday, uninstall at least one app from your phone, iPad, or laptop.

For example, a list of things you could uninstall from your phone with zero negative consequence:

1. Uninstall Gmail or your email app from your phone. If you really need to send emails, just do it from your laptop or desktop.
2. Uninstall Netflix, or any streaming service things from your phone. Better yet, unsubscribe from any streaming service subscription, whether it be Netflix, Amazon prime video, Apple TV+, Hulu, Disney+ etc. If there’s a brand new show or series that you really want to watch, like the Mandalorian, just subscribe for it only, and then once you’re done watching the series, Unsubscribe from the service, and also delete the app from your device or phone.
3. Uninstall all social media things from your phone, uninstall YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc. If you want to access these things just do it from your laptop.

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Superhuman sleep

A foolish optimization that a lot of people do is that they think in order to become more productive or superhuman, it is to sleep less. However conversely I believe the opposite; to become superhuman you strive to sleep more. For example, if you want to become more superhuman, I suggest trying to sleep at least 10 to 12 hours a night. Even Seneca when he sleeps well, he will sometimes sleep for 13 to 14 hours straight.

How can you sleep more? It is mostly via negativa:

1. Quit alcohol, it impairs your sleep
2. Quit weed, marijuana, or smoking weed, THC, cannabis, weed vapor, weed gummy’s, etc. While this does help you fall asleep, it impairs the quality of your sleep
3. Don’t use melatonin to fall asleep
4. Charge your phone or your iPad or your device in a separate room
5. If you need to fall asleep at night, read a paperback book, don’t use Kindle or iPad, because it still engages your brain
6. Don’t take warm showers before you sleep, only take cold ones. Your body actually requires a small dip in temperature in order to fall asleep
7. For dinner, have 100% carnivore dinner, striving to eat foods as high in cholesterol as possible, beef liver, beef heart, beef intestine, beef ribs, beef neckbones etc. This will help you fall asleep better.
8. During the day, go to the gym at least once, maybe even twice. Attempt a one rep max lift of something, and I can guarantee you will sleep well at night.

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Why become superhuman?

I think everyone in life wants to be happy. But once you’re happy, then what?

For myself, my only life goal is to become stronger, more powerful, both metaphorically and literally.

Always striving to go beyond

It seems that no matter how much we have, we always want more. And I think this is a good thing. Why? I believe one of the greatest virtues of being human is always striving for more. Without this, there is no reason to live, no optimism in life.

I think the world-weary line of thinking is this:

Life is all about suffering and pain, and the way we should strive to live is to reduce pain and suffering as much as we can.

I personally believe this to be a very anemic and weak line of thinking.

Instead —

Life is great, and being born is the greatest blessing that any human could have ever wished for.

Then the question is, how can we strive to live life to the max?

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Superhuman thinking

Peter Thiel one said, it is better to risk boldness than triviality.

I believe that one of the greatest virtues of America, being American is that it is the land of infinite possibility, imagination, and possibility.

For example, nothing is promised or guaranteed in America, it seems that the only promises that we got in modern-day life is the promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Also, what is promised in America? Justice, the law, protection of private property etc. But beyond this, nothing. In fact, I believe life in America to be cold, cruel, hard, and mercurial. There is zero to little assistance for the poor, homeless, or even people struggling. Social services are a farce.

However irregardless of this, I suppose the good thing is that everyone has the freedom to get a job. I think In-N-Out Burger pays $20 an hour!! Even apparently nowadays, starting salary at McDonald’s is $16 an hour!

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Think insanely epically

What makes Elon Musk so great? He is just a mere human, yet, I think it is his insanely epic vision which is the most admirable. For example, wanting to put humans on Mars, and also, starting spaceX, cofounding a Tesla, and transforming Tesla into what it is today. Honestly anybody who criticizes or critiques Elon Musk is a small human being.

I say in life, considering you only got one, better to aim insanely insanely high and fail, then to set your sights too low and obtain them.

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Elevate your thinking

Fresh new EK EXPERIENCES:

1. Become superhuman in DOWNTOWN LA, June 17, Saturday, 2023
2. Embark on the journey of a lifetime in SAIGON VIETNAM, July 15-16th, 2023 (Saturday Sunday) this summer
3. October 14th: Philly workshop DETAILS TBA

ALL UPCOMING EK EXPERIENCES

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How to think beyond

1. Read the Iliad and think to yourself … what is NOT said or mentioned?
2. Read Zero to One by Peter Thiel
3. Read Invent and Wander by Jeff Bezos // my book notes.

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EK PHOTO SUPPLY

PRODUCTS TO BECOME SUPERHUMAN:

1. HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV: BECOME IMMORTAL
2. HENRI SHOULDER STRAP: GET THE GOODS!
3. HENRI WRIST STRAP PRO: FOR THE PROS

DISCOVER ALL HAPTIC PHOTO SUPPLY >

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Stuff I’ve been buying

1. Texas squat bar— black zinc with chrome sleeves. Chris the manager at my gym said I could just buy it, bring it into the gym, and leave it there, and use it at the gym! I plan on just using it at the gym, letting other people use it, and when I ultimately move to LA, just bringing it with me. I also read a funny review on the Texas power bars website of a user, who said that while some people leave their kids fancy watches, I will leave Seneca behind this Texas power bar, and I cannot wait until he could at atlas lift over 1500 pounds!
2. I’ve discovered that buying floss is not a sustainable option. Ultimately you always run out of floss, which is insanely annoying. I ordered a portable water pic on Amazon, and it is the best thing ever. I like it more than my iPhone! I’m amazed at the battery holds the charge for so long, and also it delivers a lot of power. It is really good for me, because after I got braces, my teeth are insanely tight, and there are always meat chunks and other things which are stuck in between, which makes flossing and cleaning my mouth a pain in the ass. This water pick is totally worth it.

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Future thoughts

1. I’m really interested in the new Vinfast electric cars, not because it is the best car, Tesla is, but I am just so impressed that within such a short period of time, Vietnam was able to produce her own electric car, and sell it successfully in the states! From a entrepreneurial perspective, this is insanely inspiring.
2. I really like the design of the new electric polestar cars, yet when you’re inside it, the interior actually feels very cheap. Don’t be fooled by all of this fake Swedish marketing, Volvo was bought out by a Chinese company, and polestar is also effectively a Chinese company (Geely). While I have nothing personally against China and mainland China, the issue with China and Chinese corporations is that ultimately they always cut corners, because they are more profit driven rather than soul driven, like let’s say a Steve Jobs.

Photo thoughts

What is the future of photography? I’m not really sure, but I’m going to make it.

Start off with arsbeta.com

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Forward the turbo!

If this even gave you one interesting idea, feel free to forward to a friend!

EK NEWS

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Start, Books

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Fortune favors the insanely brave!

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Books to read

1. Iliad PDF
2. The Will to power pdf

More EK BOOKS >

Conquer on!
ERIC

Full clip

Biggest crowd I’ve had at the gym thus far:

Short clip

I am a (demi) god!

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MUSCLE BY KIM:

1. How to Become More Vascular
2. THE ERIC KIM WORKOUT PLAN
3. RESULTS DON’T LIE
4. How to Build a Demigod Bod
5. 150 POUND DUMBBELL DEADLIFT // MUSCLE HYPELIFTING BY KIM
6. The Art of Hypelifting
7. How Did ERIC KIM Get So Strong?
8. ERIC KIM DEADLIFT PR (250KG, 551 POUNDS)
9. ERIC KIM 255 KG (562 POUNDS) DEADLIFT ATTEMPT
10. VLOG: WHAT I LEARNED AFTER DEADLIFTING 3.3X MY BODY WEIGHT (540 POUNDS)
11. ERIC KIM 4 PLATE SQUAT
12. MUSCLES ARE THE ULTIMATE WEALTH
13. ERIC KIM GYM GOPRO POV
14. *BEYOND* MAINTENANCE.
15. HOW TO GET BIGGER ARMS
16. THE BEAST KETTLEBELL WORKOUT (48 KG, 105 POUNDS)
17. NOT WHO IS RICHER OR MORE SUCCESSFUL, BUT WHO CAN DEADLIFT MORE?
18. KETTLEBELL HOME WORKOUT (48 KILOGRAM, 105 POUND): 1 HANDED CLEAN AND SQUAT
19. The Philosophy of Fitness
20. Menacing Body
21. Hyper Nourishment
22. One Man, One Kettlebell
23. STRENGTH OVER SIZE
    Minimum Viable Workout (MVM)
24. Movement is Art: ERIC KIM WARMUP
25. ENJOY THE MOVEMENT.
26. Strengthening or Weakening?
27. Muscular Motivation
28. Limit Your Reps, Maximize Your Power Output
29. Love of the Body
30. The mind is overrated; the body is king.
31. BENCH PRESS GYM
32. How to Squat
33. SUMO DEADLIFT GYM
34. ADRENALINE.

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Why build your body?

Your own body as a work of art!

In Praise of Building Your Body

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My Muscle Philosophy:

Treat your body as sculpture.

This is not my body

The first thing:

I don’t see my body as belonging to me. I look at my body like it belongs to someone else.

When I look at the Lamborghini of someone else, I admire it. When I see the muscles and physiques of anyone else, I admire it. Then I had the epiphany:

Why not transform my own body into a Lambo, and admire my own body instead?

The logic

The great logic:

1. It is far cheaper to get buff than to buy a Lambo.
2. The human body is the apex beauty. This means your personal goal in life should be to beautify your own personal body to the maximum (without plastic surgery, steroids, etc).
3. Ultimate democratic approach: Genetics doesn’t matter. Sex doesn’t matter. Racial ethnicity doesn’t matter. Anyone can both add muscle mass and subtract fat.
4. It doesn’t cost much to get ripped. Just intermittent fast [no breakfast, no lunch], one big ass meal a day, and mostly a ‘ketogenic’ diet.
5. Your body is always with you. Why not beautify your body to inspire yourself?

The joy of sculpting your own body

To sculpt your own body is insanely fun. Why? You can see the change over time!

Once again, the goal is simple:

Never stop adding muscle mass, and never stop reducing body fat, or keeping it low (around 10%).

Muscle and your body is highly practical.

The more muscle you have, the more energy you got. The more power you got to make art-work, and live with gratitude, joy, and hyper-vigor.

Strengthen on, and flex on!

ERIC

MUSCLE 101

1. DUMBBELL SHOULDER OVERHEAD PRESS (1 ARM)
2. What is the Ideal Male Form?
3. How to Workout Quickly from Home
4. How to Augment Your Muscle Mass
5. Fat (Adipose Tissue) not ‘Health’
6. To Be Happier, Just Workout at the Park
7. ERIC KIM GOPRO POV WORKOUT VIDEO
8. Why Become More Muscular?
9. How to Get a 6 Pack
10. Greedy for the Gains
11. Simple Home Workout
12. LAMB
13. ERIC KIM FLEXES HIS MUSCLE
14. ERIC KIM WORKS OUT AT HOME GYM
15. More Muscle, More Productivity
16. How to Increase Your Muscle Mass
17. Extreme Vanity
18. There is No Proper Form
19. Why I Love Working Out
20. Better to Powerlift and Deadlift Heavy One Rep Max Attempts than
21. Drive Fast Cars and Motorcycles
22. Why I Love Working Out at the Park
23. RICOH WORKOUT
24. YOUR BODY *IS* YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
25. In Praise of Ghetto Workouts
26. Rock Workout
27. How to Workout
28. Dynamic Warmup
29. My Fitness Motivation Hacks
30. Why Make Workout Videos?
31. ERIC KIM FITNESS
32. How to Lift Weights
33. ERIC KIM WORKS OUT
34. ERIC KIM ROCK PARK WORKOUT
35. My Body is a Work of Art!
36. Park Workout Ideas
37. The Physiological Joy of Working Out
38. Anti Body Body Shaming
39. How to Workout at Home With Only a Barbell
40. 11 Tips How to Use Photography to Get More Fit
41. How to Lose Fat Fast
42. Become More Creative With Your (Limited) Home Gym Workouts
43. Flexibility is “Micro Strength”
44. NEVER STOP GAINING MUSCLE
45. ERIC KIM PARK LIFE
46. How I Workout at my Home Gym
47. In Praise of Pistol One Legged Squats
48. Powerlifting Style Workouts at the Park
49. The Philosophy of Bodybuilding
50. YOUR BODY IS YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
51. WHY I WORKOUT AT THE PARK
52. How to Strengthen Your Rotator Cuff
53. In Praise of Rings Workout
54. How to Workout at the Park
55. Why I Don’t Eat Breakfast or Lunch (In Praise of One Huge Dinner Meal a Day)
56. HOW TO LOVE YOUR BODY
57. Is Working Out at the Park Superior to Working Out at the Gym?
58. Why I Workout
59. WHY PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOULD WORKOUT
60. How to Increase Your Testosterone
61. My Workout Philosophy
62. How Appearance Matters
63. How I Workout at Home
64. My Philosophy of Food
65. The Best Park Workouts
66. How to Quit Sugar
67. How to Workout in the Streets and Park
68. How Much Meat Can You Eat in a Day?
69. APEX MALE MASCULINITY
70. HOW I WORKOUT AT THE PARK
71. How to Lose Fat
72. How I Became Stronger and Buffer and More Swole During and After Quarantine
73. What is Skinny-Fat?
74. In Praise of Working Out at the Park
75. Why Meat is Good
76. Flesh over Metal
77. Why Lower Your Bodyfat?
78. How to Augment Your Recovery
79. Increase Intensity, not Reps
80. My Park Workout
81. How to Fast
82. HOW I WORKOUT FROM THE PARK
83. How I Got So Swole
84. Pure Power or Sculpture?
85. How to Workout in the Streets
86. How to Workout At Home With No Equipment
87. Super Saiyan is the Goal
88. MY POWERLIFTING PHILOSOPHY
89. MY EXERCISE/WORKOUT PHILOSOPHY
90. What if Mood Originates in the Stomach and Gut? Digestion Health
91. Why I Don’t Consume Protein Powder or Supplements
92. Real vs Fake // Natural vs Unnatural
93. You Can’t Fake Strength
94. How to Grow Your Muscles
95. How to Add Muscle and Subtract Fat at the Same Time
96. ERIC KIM BODY MUSCLE FLEX
97. Don’t Build Muscle, Build Strength.
98. Visual Kinesthesia: Muscles and Art
99. How to Maximize Muscle Growth and Fat Loss

Video

Go demigod or go home:

That is nine plates, attend, a five and a 2.5 taped on top

900 pounds coming soon: