Muscles — I was studying the etymology for the word, and apparently it meant “little mouse“, that somehow, muscles look like little mice? *muhs
Apparently when you flex your biceps, ancient Romans thought it looked like a little mice were running under your skin?
Also, apparently mussels (the clam looking things) looked like little mice to some ancient Romans, and thus the name was born.
Back to reality
So when we think of muscles, we tend to think of skeletal muscle. The fleshy bulging thing.
Over the years, the hilarity is that certain ways to describe physique were invented.
For example, I was born in 1988, and as a kid growing up, into college and beyond, certain phrases included being “jacked“, swole, ripped, massive, etc.
Muscle quality?
I was once hearing an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger and he was critiquing the modern-day bodybuilder, that their physique was totally out of proportion, and also, the “quality” of the muscle went down. For example, some people quote later years Ronnie Coleman, as not having “quality“ muscle, albeit he was an over 330 pound mass monster with a 6 pack!
When people talk about muscle quality, I think it is not precise enough. I think typically when people talk about muscles, this is what they think:
I want to augment the mass of my skeletal muscle, and decrease my body fat percentage to a minimum, in order for me to see my six pack.
Misconceptions
I think the new modern-day racism is towards “genetics“. That when people say that some people have “good genetics” and others have “bad genetics”, it is a new form of low-key racism. I think of “genetics” as racism 2.0.
There is no such thing as “good genetics.” When you see upper echelon bodybuilders, at the top, it is not because they have “good genetics,” but they are just really good at taking steroids. And also, intelligent enough and knowledgeable enough to know which types of steroids, performance-enhancing drugs, testosterone boosters, hormone inhibitors, etc. to take in a “stack“.
Apparently I was very naïve; of course I knew that the really really high-end bodybuilders all took steroids, but, apparently even 18-year-old high school kids take steroids, in order to get that college football scholarship etc.
Why are you should never compare your physique with anybody else, why superhero movies are a scam, why you should not go on YouTube or social media
Everyone is 100% “natty (natural)”, until they are busted.
For example, apparently there is this guy named the beef liver king, who ate nothing but beef liver, and said that he was 100% natural, and the way he was able to get so jacked and muscular was because he lots of beef liver. This is hilarious because independently I came up with a thought, that beef liver, and cholesterol is a natural steroid, because beef liver has the highest concentration of cholesterol in any meat food item, And that cholesterol is a natural steroid. And no, cholesterol will not give you a heart attack. Also the hilarity is that consuming more dietary cholesterol, let’s say eating beef liver, will not necessarily increase your LDL or HDL cholesterol levels, all these “scientific” studies about cholesterol and heart attacks is all about correlation, not causation. All observational studies, which is not real science. And no, don’t trust Bill Gates, just look at his “boner killer“ beer gut, as tweeted by Elon Musk.
The only way you could maybe do a scientific study is to take two children at birth, twins, both boys, and keep them in test tubes from birth until death, and feed only one 100% beef liver, and the other a “balanced“ “Mediterranean“ diet. Even if you did this, it might not be significant, because your sample size is not big enough. You might have to do this with at least 1000 kids, which ain’t gonna happen, not even in mainland china.
The ERIC KIM workout plan
I have very simple directions:
1. Intermittent fasting
That means no breakfast, no lunch, only one massive 100% carnivore dinner. I have done this seven years religiously, and also the fun thing; I think I might be the only one who lifts insanely heavy weights at the gym, without having consumed anything before! The only things I consume before working out might be normal filtered tap water, and espresso with no BS added.
2. One rep max.
That means, what is the maximum amount of weight you are able to move, successfully once. Also a new innovation is towards “nano reps.” The basic idea is this: increase the weight, decrease the range of motion.
The hilarity is that a lot of people tell me to “be careful“, and that I might “hurt myself“, or that I might “hurt my back“. Anyone who tells me this is a coward. Why? When they tell you to be careful, or that you might hurt yourself, what they are essentially saying is that,
“I am so bewildered that you are able to move that insanely heavy weight, without any straps, belts, knee wraps, etc. I am flabbergasted how you are so strong and how you were able to do that. Certainly your method is a foolish one, and if you keep doing that, you’ll end up injuring and hurting yourself, because what you do is illegitimate. I want to see you hurt yourself so I could feel better about myself, about how weak I am.”
Zero issues here. And also for your personal reference, no, I do not take any weird drugs or steroids or hormones. I don’t even consume protein powder or creatine! Just 100% beef, beef neckbones, beef ribs, beef liver, beef brisket. If beef is not available, pork belly and pork ribs. But it is my theory that beef is superior to pork, because beef has more myoglobin red blood cells in it, more oxygen, which may be assists in muscle building.
Red meat or nothing.
3. Why meat?
Currently speaking, I think there is an anti-meat conspiracy going around. Note that apparently people like James Cameron, Bill Gates, etc., a lot of them on much farmland in America, or on some sort of weird pea protein powder companies, so this is the thing:
People want to seem more benevolent, care about “humanity“, “the planet“, “animal rights“, etc., in order to advance their personal image, their “legitimacy“, and also make money from it.
I believe that if we really want to think scientifically, or, think critically about muscle building, let us not talk about ethics, “the planet“ etc.
4. Hypertrophy
Hyper means “over,” tropia” means nutrition, or nourishment in Ancient Greek.
When a lot of people talk about “hypertrophy“ in regards to muscle building, I think what they are talking about is doing lots of repetitions, at a lower or moderate weight, in order to maximize “muscle size“. But the reason why this etymology is misleading is that actually, hypertrophy really means “over nourishment.”
As a thought experiment, let us say that I lift insanely heavy weights, over seven or eight plates at the gym, even for a single repetition. And then I go home, and I eat 5 pounds of beef ribs. Let us say I continue this pattern for a year. Certainly I will accumulate muscle mass and size, and strength.
5. What not to eat?
Another funny notion is nowadays guys want to do something called a bulk, and “bulking up,” and then later on, cut their carbs and sugars, and starches, in order to “lean up“.
I find this to be a disintelligent strategy.
You do not need any sugar, carbs, starches, rice or potatoes, protein powder, creatine, etc. in order to augment your muscle size. Also as a fun fact, you do not need to even consume food, or whey protein powder a “golden hour window“ after you’re done working out. For example, I typically go to the gym and lift weights at around 1 PM, and then I don’t eat dinner until 6 PM, I have still been able to meet some demigod gains. Sometimes I don’t break my fast or eat until 10pm, no problems here!
6. Do you need to eat anything, or drink a protein shake, or take pre-workout powder before your workout?
No. Just do it fasted. If you’re going to have a stimulant, why not just drink black coffee? These new pre-workout caffeine cocaine looking powder things I think are bad because they make you fat. 99.9% of them, if not 100% of them have some sort of sucralose or artificial sweetener added to it. Similar to these “0 cal“ energy drinks, just read the ingredient list, any sort of artificial sweetener will make you fat.
7. You do not need to put on fat in order to augment muscle.
Eating meat will not make you fat. Also, eating fat will not make you fat. The only things which make you fat include vegetables, fruit, starches, rice and potatoes, sweets, Coke zero, Stevia, monk fruit, honey, almonds, nuts, legumes, sweetened or flavored water, milk, dairy, almond milk, oat milk, oatmeal, etc.
Essentially anything which spikes your insulin levels is bad.
No no no, it is not this silly “calories in calories out” nonsense. Even “zero calorie“ beverages, let us say a Coke zero, has artificial sweetener added to it. You cannot fool your hormones or your biology. If you drink a Coke zero, and you taste the sweetness, and your body senses this sweetness, I am quite certain it will start injecting insulin into your body, which acts as a fat storage mechanism.
8. Fat vs muscle?
Also, the reason why you should never weigh yourself, irregardless if you are a man or a woman is that it is a foolish metric. It is impossible to ascertain how much of the weight on the scale is fat versus muscle mass, versus bone weight, sinew weight, blood weight, etc.
Why are people so into this cult of weighing yourself?
I first blame the doctors. The doctors tell the patients that they should “lose weight“. No no no. What they should say is, to lose fat. Also changing up the lexicon; don’t call people overweight, call them overfat.
What is the issue here? In America, people are too sensitive. If you call somebody fat, or that they need to lose fat, people feel insanely offended. However if you call them overweight or that they need to lose weight, it seems less bad.
Once again, goal is to gain muscle mass, not fat.
9. Sleep like a god
One of the most interesting things about reading the Iliad, and studying ancient Greek mythology is that even the gods of Mount Olympus sleep.
In fact, when does your body actually actively build muscle? Not while you are lifting weights, but while you are sleeping, and your body is taking all of the meat that you consumed in, and rebuilding that bigger into stronger bigger muscles.
I recommend trying to sleep at least 8 to 12 hours a night, if possible. If not, take lots of turbo naps during the day.
How do you sleep better? Let us assume that you atlas lifted over eight plates, 785 pounds, and for dinner, you ate 5 pounds of beef ribs. Also, charge your iPad and your iPhone in a separate bedroom. Don’t consume any media before hitting the sack.
Also caffeine. My simple thought is it seems best to just barbell it; better to drink a shitload of coffee first thing in the morning, and abstain from coffee for the rest of the day, than to steadily drink coffee throughout the day. I call it “intermittent coffee”.
10. Every day is leg day
Let us consider atlas, who holds the weight of the world on his shoulders. Does he skip leg day? No. Every day is leg day.
A simple thought: which can you use to lift heavier weights? Your arms, your upper body and shoulders, or your legs?
In fact, towards new male physique aesthetics; better to have demigod legs and thighs, than to have a buff upper body and chicken legs.
Why your legs? Your legs produce the most testosterone, and also, will augment your whole body muscle development. If you have insanely muscular and strong legs, everything will naturally follow. For example, even when atlas lifting over eight plates, I have found that a lot of muscular growth has naturally occurred in my upper back, my shoulders, my calves, even my abs.
Boost your testosterone.
Why do you care ERIC?
I think everything is connected. For example, I have this theory that if you become more muscular, you will also be able to become more productive, and be able to work more.
EK FITNESS CONSULTING
For fitness consulting, shoot an email to Eric [at] Eric Kim.com
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ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS
Dominate it all:
- BOSTON CONQUER YOUR FEARS IN STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP, March 25
- May 5: CONQUER CREATIVE CONFIDENCE ONLINE VIA ZOOM
- May 20: BECOME A MORE ARTISTIC PHOTOGRAPHER IN DOWNTOWN LA
- June 19-23: ZEN OUT IN HADONG SOUTH KOREA
EK SUPPLY
The tools to dominate:
- ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II: Become invincible.
- Heavyweights only: HENRI SHOULDER STRAP
- HENRI NECK STRAP IV: Forever classic.
Build up your self esteem!
Why lift weights? I say that lifting weights is only interesting if it is a little bit dangerous, uncertain, and requires monster courage.
Physiology philosophy
A super critical thing we could start studying and philosophizing about is human physiology, if we truly want to extract more out of life.
Powerlifting 2.0
I believe that for us to innovate power lifting, we need to get rid of the old lifts, and replace them with new ones:
- Rack pull instead of deadlift
- Atlas lift instead of squat
- Floor bench press instead of normal bench press
Physiology philosophy
Why human physiology?
First and foremost, I think happiness is a physiological phenomenon. That is, if you want to become “happier”, you must focus on improving your own human physiology.
How does one improve their physiology? More time standing and walking, more time outdoors, more time being physical, physical activity and play, shifting your hormones, intermittent fasting, less time in a car and less time driving, etc.
Why do we discount human physiology?
I think it is this foolhardy notion of “the soul“. That is, somehow we can divorce the body from the mind, and that ultimately, the body is not that important.
For example, all of this nonsense about uploading your consciousness to the cloud, etc.
Glorify the body
This is the hilarity; all of these insecure Silicon Valley wimps wish that they were buffer, more muscular, Morrisville, and instead, they augment their feeling a masculinity by attempting to become billionaires, aspiring to buy the McLaren, Lamborghini, tesla, etc.
Or even worse the Porsche 911, the 911 GT3 RS
Workout plan for Elon Musk and Kanye West
If I were the personal trainer for Elon musk and Kanye West, this is what I would recommend:
- Heavy dumbbell farmers walks, in the 100-120 pound range.
- Heavy kettlebell swings, with 105 pound kettlebell
- Atlas lift, at least four or five plates
- Rack pulls, at least four or five plates.
For their diet, 100% carnivore diet, with the most expensive and finest pasture raised hundred percent grass fed beef.
Super strict, no carbs, no starches, no sweetened beverages. Just 100% black coffee or espresso.
Other random thoughts on my mind
- The best car is the one which allows in the maximum amount of natural light? Also, what car exists in which you could literally pull down the seats 100% flat, so you could either sleep or just nap in your car?
- Can you live inside a Tesla model X or model S plaid?
- Perhaps the best house is the one which allows in the maximum natural light.
More turbo thoughts to come!
EK
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