tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12950045846800222112024-08-28T20:22:31.382+08:00An American Expat Lifting and Living in the PhilippinesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-42405736055790544352014-04-06T11:17:00.001+08:002014-04-06T11:18:42.359+08:00

This blog is now being updated at http://www.merrykano.com/

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-3484528460609470682013-03-15T11:42:00.001+08:002013-03-15T11:42:09.635+08:00

Cry all you want about it and feel free to post on message boards how I’m over-training and how I will end up frying my CNS faster than an American T.V. plugged into a Philippines electrical outlet. But I’m a huge fan of banging away at squats for a whole session. No three and out token squats for me on squat day. That’s some really unsatisfying shit in my opinion; I’m gonna camp out and get

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-32965481696236748482012-12-21T15:26:00.003+08:002012-12-21T15:32:05.797+08:00

As I went about my daily chores this morning I found myself thinking; “what the fuck do I stand for?” When you have children, these strange introspective thoughts tend to pop into your head every once in a while. “What do I stand for?” that’s an easy question for me to answer because I live my life by what I call the “man code”. It’s very simple by design; “A man lives a life of integrity and

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-34522007849641993602012-12-01T12:55:00.000+08:002012-12-01T12:55:51.555+08:00

Discipline…this is a huge buzzword around here. “We’re not disciplined.” “They are not disciplined.” “Drivers lack discipline.” Blah, blah, blah…. I have the grave misfortune of being forced to take a class called “Moral Recovery and Restoration”. School has been in session for a month and we just had our first class last week. This is totally normal at my school by the way, and as it turns

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-3564062761214585612012-11-04T14:11:00.001+08:002012-11-04T14:11:11.014+08:00

I’m wrapping up my semester break and my training has been going very well for the past few weeks. I attribute this to several things. First, since school is out, my stress levels are way down. Second, I’ve been getting good sleep and better than average nutrition. But the main thing is that I’ve pretty much removed the training wheels and started training more instinctively. "Also...a beard

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-80083111737952251812012-09-22T15:57:00.004+08:002012-09-22T15:57:58.025+08:00

My next door neighbor was recently murdered (shot) at his home and they buried him this morning. My other neighbors are in their front yard popping off firecrackers RIGHT NOW. I’m not exactly Mr. Sensitive, but damn, that seems kind of like a common sense thing to abstain from today. You know…cuz it kinda sounds like…a little like…..I don’t know…..gun shots? Let's just pop this shit off!

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-19306051446050999152012-09-22T12:24:00.004+08:002012-09-23T14:24:20.724+08:00

I was sitting around at a corner sari-sari store shooting the shit and drinking a few beers with a friend a couple of days ago and he said something that sparked a brain storming session. Unlike me, he’s a friendly guy and actually talks to people in the gym. He said some dudes in the gym were bagging on him because he’s not currently sporting a six pack. Now this is a pretty big dude and

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-11513427737051957472012-09-12T21:25:00.000+08:002012-09-15T15:23:12.648+08:00

I have this thing called Google+1 that I use with the blog, and for some reason I started searching through it today and stumbled across this. When I saw the safety pins I was kinda wondering if they might be set a notch too high, and then I saw this travesty. I'm not some kind of “proper form” or “ass to grass” Nazi, but this is just retarded. 405x8 belt-less at 170, with this fool

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-16160816064952132672012-09-01T17:33:00.001+08:002012-09-01T17:33:18.977+08:00

I was in the gym yesterday and noticed that everyone was walking around with, and referencing, the same program. The program was issued to members by the gym, and boy what a steaming pile of dog shit. It was a standard, balls to the wall muscle mag program; you know...body part split, 2-3 body parts per day, 3-4 exercises per body part, 3-4 sets per exercise, 8-12 reps per set, and everything

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-58017018730269906652012-08-17T20:46:00.002+08:002012-08-17T21:25:22.112+08:00

Elbow, wrist and forearm pain are pretty common for guys that squat heavy and often. When the weight started getting heavy, I was dealing with chronic pain on a regular basis. Everything I tried failed: grip variations, bar placement variations, hand spacing variations, etc. In the end, it was a major injury that ended up fixing it for good. I tore my rotator cuff and bicep a while back and

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-67377313137372154082012-08-12T20:15:00.001+08:002012-08-12T20:19:29.199+08:00

Here's the thing...if you decide to move to the Philippines, prepare to spend a lot of time scratching your head and wondering if the whole world just lost it's damn mind. Now I'm not saying everyone does abnormal shit here, but there sure is a lot of weirdness going down. The problem is that you'll likely be in the minority when something does seem off, because it will seem perfectly normal to

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-21369391237664088282012-08-09T18:09:00.001+08:002012-08-09T18:13:13.030+08:00

It seems like I have been telling my kid this so much lately. That's right, I'm going for the father of the year award. I know, that sounds like a seriously negative attitude, but this mantra has served me well for years. When I was a kid I remember playing a game with a guy that I absolutely detested and I smoked him; up and down and sideways. I probably shouldn't have won, but the hate that I

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-53567576420305379732012-08-09T17:32:00.000+08:002012-08-12T00:25:57.007+08:00

I was thinking about a close friend today. Sorry to write about you man, but at least I was thinking about you…hope all is well with the family. Anyway, he spent some time in jail and I was thinking about it and how I’d prepare for such a situation. Especially here in the Philippines where they just toss you in and sort it out later…perhaps years later. I’ve had other friends that ended up in

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-46160107388411302312012-07-28T16:05:00.000+08:002012-08-12T21:31:22.713+08:00

Screw Carb Backloading, it sucks balls and I want to stab it in the eye with a fork! I gave it a run and everything was great: I was pigging out every night, I was dropping fat, my energy was up and I was having some solid gym sessions. But man...as soon as school started up, it began to look like an intermittent fasting protocol and I started to feel like shit. "grab a fork and make

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-77478375169369148452012-07-21T17:44:00.002+08:002012-07-22T13:50:16.304+08:00

I'm pursuing a 2nd degree here in the Philippines and this semester I was required to retake Sociology for some reason...I guess because the course name was a little different. I took “Intro to Sociology” back in the day and the required class for my degree here is called “General Sociology with Family”. It's pretty much “same shit/same smell” in my opinion, but they let me slide on several other

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-91976292794601466172012-07-21T16:01:00.000+08:002012-07-28T18:58:11.312+08:00

I'm probably the laziest mother fucker on the planet when it comes to programming. I use some common sense when I plug in assistance work, but I also REALLY try to minimize plate loading and moving around in the gym when I write my programming. I'm more of a camper guy...I like to unpack my shit, plant my ass in one place and go to work. Just a leftover photo of Elisabeth Shue that never

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-43739025429836136172012-06-24T09:31:00.000+08:002012-06-24T09:31:49.605+08:00

I have been chasing some squat and deadlift numbers in the gym and eating with reckless abandon for the last 6 months because I know the weight gain will help me hit my numbers. I don’t have a scale and the gym scale is broken, so I’m just guessing here: I’m probably running at about 230-240lbs. It’s quite a bit lower than you’d expect from a 6 month unlimited bulk, but the local Filipino diet

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-91021232738881324972012-06-01T19:34:00.000+08:002012-06-01T19:36:29.242+08:00

I consider flexibility to be one of the most important components of a good program. I have heard so many people say that they are not motivated to train and although I really don’t understand that mindset, I can tell you that not having a backup plan is probably a big factor driving that statement. People tend to get off track on rigid programs because it’s all or nothing. My recommendation is

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-63180632567465548982012-05-21T21:19:00.000+08:002012-05-22T17:48:52.962+08:00

“Is the one you are not doing.” This is just another way to say “the grass is greener on the other side” and there is no magic program. In my opinion, the best training program is to do whatever you want/need to do, as long as you Squat, Press and Pull. For the novice, or if you’re super slow like the kid that ass raped Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas, you should probably just run a pre

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-20515362255685545172012-05-21T15:26:00.001+08:002012-05-21T15:43:22.876+08:00

Didn't your parents teach you any manners? Usually my son is super happy go lucky, but this day he was sweating me to get out of the gym from the first warm up set. Note to self; don’t take the boy to the gym and ask him to record form checks when he’s hot, hungry, cranky, AND freaking out because a bunch of ignorant & rude guys are staring at him. That's something I'm working on with

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-91722127946566971312012-05-21T12:00:00.000+08:002012-09-01T09:45:34.475+08:00

I went out to feed the pigs yesterday and found that they had broken out, and one of them fell into an unused septic tank hole. This Pig This Hole It sure as hell wasn’t picture perfect, but I muscled up a circa 170lb fighting, kicking and screaming pig out of a 5.5 foot hole yesterday. I do a little bit of odd lifting at home, but I credit the success of this

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-42545485556939885652012-05-12T15:03:00.003+08:002012-05-22T17:52:13.591+08:00

My wife is a Philippine American, and we moved here to attend school. It just makes sense for our situation. In the U.S. we would have to do the whole full time student with a full time job thing…AGAIN. Here on the other hand, we can comfortably live off of our savings and focus on school. My advice to anyone kicking around the same idea is to have an end plan, ignore what other people tell

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-87987926417002697862012-05-11T19:09:00.001+08:002012-05-12T06:49:22.876+08:00

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1295004584680022211.post-69930681675712504102012-05-11T16:39:00.002+08:002012-06-24T22:56:24.285+08:00

My general philosophy is that I need to be as strong as possible, while maintaining an above average level of athletic ability. In other words, strength is the priority but I still need to be able to climb, jump, run, and generally put in some hard work when called upon. It’s kind of my mission statement if you will. In my mind, if I can squat 500lbs but I can’t climb a fence or chase down a

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308533916426368411noreply@blogger.com0