"In females, the author has found the application of pure carbolic acid to the clitoris an excellent means of allaying the abnormal excitement, and preventing the recurrence of the practice in those whose will-power has become so weakened that the patient is unable to exercise entire self-control (296).

"3. Discard all stimulating food. Under this head must be included spices, pepper, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, essences, all condiments, pickles, etc., together with flesh food in any but moderate quantities. It is hardly to be expected that all who have been accustomed to use these articles all their lives, will discard them wholly at once, nor, perhaps, that many will ever discard them entirely; but it would be better for them to do so, nevertheless.

4. Stimulating drinks should be abstained from with still greater strictness. Wine, beer, tea, and coffee should be taken under no circumstances. The influence of coffee in stimulating the genital organs is notorious. Chocolate should be discarded also. It is recommended by some who suppose it to be harmless, being ignorant of the fact that it contains a poison practically identical with that of tea and coffee.

Hot drinks of all kinds should be avoided (302-303).

• "by crowding milk out of the diet of children, coffee is a cause of undernourishment. It robs children of their rosy cheek sand sparkling eyes. It lowers their vitality, lessens their resistance to disease, and hampers proper development and growth." 
• Outright lied and stated they had a research study showing coffee brought down kids' grades.
• "Children 'brought up' on Postum are free from the evil effects of caffeine—the habit-forming drug—in coffee and tea" (Weissman).

• lower incidence of various diseases including liver and colorectal cancer
• improved energy levels
• Improved memory, mood and cognition
• fat loss
• lower risk of stroke
• improved physical performance
• lower risk of type 2 diabetes
• reduced chance of getting Alzheimer's disease
• lowered risks of getting Parkinson's
• protects against cirrhosis
• fights depression

 

 

"To sum it up, bodybuilding in the eighties was awesome and the [modern era was] a huge disappointment. In the eighties, your training was the most important thing, then came diet, and the drugs were a distant third. That hierarchy seems to have reversed itself since then. Now kids will come up to me and their first question is usually how much I bench. Right after that they want to know what steroids I use. It's so pathetic."

 

“Cooking and draining ground beef significantly reduces fat and calorie content, as shown in the table below, which compiles data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Database* and Iowa State University’s research** published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. During cooking, both moisture and fat content decrease within the meat. On average, 4 ounces of lean raw ground beef becomes 3 ounces (about 85 grams) of cooked meat" (Garden-Robinson).

What's the difference between soup and stew? In theory, a soup is a combination of vegetables, meat or fish cooked in liquid. A stew is any dish that's prepared by stewing - that is, the food is barely covered with liquid and simmered for a long time in a covered pot.

"I'm a big believer in soups and stews, not just in cold seasons, but even in warm weather.  I think having veggies and soup is one of the best ways to start a meal.  Hearty vegetable soups and stews, where everything is cooked together- often veggies, roots, meats or seafood, and whole grains- have a great advantage in that many tastes, textures, and aromas combine in one hot, hearty meal.  This thousands-of-years-old-tradition is extremely good for your satiety" (Hofmekler 69).

Split Pea Soup

Marha Pörkölt – Hungarian Beef Paprika Stew

Erős Pista

Herbed Egg Noodles

"Mac could bend every standard spike into a “U” shape – 60, 80, 100 and 120. He could muscle out a 12 pound sledge hammer, 30 inch long handle, by grasping the end of the handle. He could hook his middle finger into the hole of an 80 pound barbell plate and do a one-arm curl. 

While weighing 300 pounds Mac could hang on to a vertical climbing rope with one hand, WITH HIS THUMB UNLOCKED. He could grasp a large 2 or 2½ foot high wine bottle at the tip or neck and then work the bottle upward by working the fingers downward. THE BOTTLE WAS FILLED WITH LEAD SHOT. He could pinch grip a beer bottle with both thumb holding the lip of the bottle so that it was parallel to the bar" (Boff).

 

1.) Warm up with light or medium weight to warm muscles and joints.
2,) Dead Lift
3.) Deep Knee Bend
4.) Press
5.) Snatch
6.) Clean and Jerk
All for 3 to 5 repetitions.

"I kept strict records and when five repetitions were reached, I added weight and started again, making as much progress as possible on each of the individual lifts. Along with this, I used some heavy lockouts or half and quarter squats. I always did situps with weight and some leg raises along with the above routine. At times, I would mix other exercises in with my regular routine. Some of these were chin-ups, neck work, curls, toe raises and others.

I usually used one set of low repetitions for strength building. I used the most weight possible and went for as many repetitions as I possibly could, going the limit every day. 

About every two weeks or less, according to the way I felt, I would try a personal record on the deal lift, deep knee bends and the three Olympic lifts" (Peoples).

"Here is an exercise favorite of mine. Sit on a chair, place a 100 lb. dumbbell on the floor between feet, collars almost touching opposite ankles, palm of hand gripping bar facing body start, disengaged hand resting on corresponding knee, body bent over. Then spin the dumbbell on floor by supinating hand until palm is forward (curl position). At this instant, curl to shoulder as you sit up and press strongly with disengaged hand on corresponding knee. The original momentum from the spin on the floor brings the bell easily to the shoulder at the completion as you sit upright" (Batchelor Curling).

"Finger Gripping Barbell Plates -- Here's another good exercise to toughen and strengthen your grip and forearms: grip a 25-pound of heavier plate (depending on your present strength) by the rim, using only your thumb and fingers -- don't let it touch the palm. Lift it to shoulder height in slow motion for 10 to 15 reps. Increase the reps as you become stronger to build your endurance for wrist wrestling.

A favorite of the old-time wrist wrestlers was gripping a smooth, flat, heavy plate between thumb and forefinger, then transferring it, without losing their grip, to a position between their thumb and middle finger -- and so on down the line until they were holding the plate in the most difficult way possible -- between thumb and smallest finger. They would then reverse the process, never once putting down the plate or losing a grip on it.

Before doing exercise it's best to first warm up your hand muscles with some other exercise. Start with light plates then go on to heavier ones. Consider yourself a good man if you can do this exercise with a 25-pound smooth plate.

Crushing Beer Cans -- One of my favorite exercises, when working in my bar during occasional quiet afternoons, was to crush beer cans between my fingers. I trained my grip at every opportunity to fortify my wrist wrestling arm against the constant competition I had for my title of World's Champion Wrist Wrestler. Crushing beer cans was a good way to obtain that needed conditioning. With the innovation of beer cans, which vary from soft metal to those that seem to be made of iron, arm wrestlers everywhere had a new and convenient type of training medium.

For developing finger strength try this: pinch the middle of the lighter cans together with thumb and forefinger only. With those of heavier metal, grip each end with both hands and bend back and forth until a break starts in the center. Now, while maintaining the same grip, twist with both hands back and forth a few times until the can is torn in half. Be careful not to cut yourself -- those edges are like knives. Practice of this exercise will help give you the twisting power of grip that is vital to being a successful arm grappler. When practicing stunts or exercises, put resin on your hands to avoid slipping. You should do this particularly when you're handling barbells and dumbbells" (Batchelor Unique).

• the Cybernetic model of Chaos magick is essentially the use of minute neurological changes to cause changes in the universe at large.  When you see Chaos magick associated with quantum physics, the author is using the cybernetic model... and even quantum physicists will admit there's something to chaos magick.
• the Spirit model of Chaos magick is exactly what it sounds like- it's the belief that otherworldly creatures do exist, and that they and powers from their plane of existence can be called upon for aid in our own

[If you're an IG superstar, go fuck yourself- I truly hope you die in a fiery car accident filming one of your idiotic opinion pieces about whatever inane topic happened to strike you as worthy of our attention.  In any other era your needy ass would have been dragged behind a shed and beaten with hoses for presuming to be anything other than an annoyance and a detriment to society as a whole.]  

Pro Tip: I am not the only person I know who does this either- I surf Tumblr porn between sets during most workouts.  Contrary to what you might have heard on some Ted Talks of very dubious scientific footing or from the mouths of a pack of psychotics with ED who claim porn is to blame, porn raises your testosterone levels the instant you view it.  According to some sources, pornographers pointedly attempt to elicit the "maximum drug/hormone release by mixing sexual images with male dominance, aggression and violent images intended to shock and stimulate simultaneously", which stimulates the production of much higher baseline levels of hormones essential to getting strong and lean, "especially testosterone, but also adrenaline, epinephrine, and others."  
Not only does it create an awesome biofeedback loop, particularly in men, but watching porn causes an immediate release of "enormous amounts of additional testosterone, which further increase male narrowing, loss of reason, feelings of aggression, and sexual drive and arousal." In other words, porn is to your endocrine system what nofappers are to weird anti-semitic conspiracy theories (Kastleman).  But what about furry porn / shit porn / tentacle rape / throatfucking or whatever dark secret-style porn you have lurking on your computer?  Great news, ladies and gentleman- that shit simply makes you more awesome.  Paraphilias are triggered by, and cause the release of, massive amounts of testosterone.  That shit is so potent, in fact, that psychiatrists use massive doses of anti-androgenic drugs like methylprogesterone to control these "deviant" predilections.  As such, you should probably just go ahead and watch www.hogtied.com between sets if you're looking to hit a PR that day (Prescription).

"Casey’s early ambition was simple: hoist ever heavier poundage, grow larger and ever more muscular. His continual training and his copious consumption of calories had an incredible effect on his physique. The more he ate, the larger he grew; the larger he grew, the stronger he became; the stronger he became, the hotter his young male metabolism raged. Pat drank six quarts of whole milk each day in addition to eating everything he could lay his hands on. It was reported in Muscle Builder magazine that Casey used to stop and eat a packed lunch (“meatloaf sandwiches smothered in mayonnaise”) during his day-long iron sessions.'"

"He mimicked what he saw [the gym rats] perform: lots of exercises, lots of sets, marathon training sessions, training the same muscles three times a week. Those endurance weight training sessions beat the chubby Irish boy into shape. Pat thought nothing of spending all day in the gym, doing whatever suited his fancy, taking as long as he needed between sets to rest and fully recover" (Gallagher). 

"is worth going into a system in some depth, so that you become more or less competent (and confident) with it, but magicians tend to find that once you’ve become competent in one system, then it’s easier to get to grips with another one. If you’re fairly experienced with Enochian for example, then you shouldn’t have too much difficulty with the Runes" (Hine 18)

Q: Man, I’m really curious about your thought process, like do you just come up with stuff and try it?  How do you know what to eat? 

A: Yesterday, I ate 2 lbs of baby back ribs, a shitload of korean bbq, a couple of bowls of rice doused in sriracha, and a couple of protein bars.  Why?  Because I was fucking hungry, and I've been training like a maniac, and that's what I needed. 

Some of it I come up with and try, like the rowing I've been doing a couple of times a week.  The rest of it I just go fucking crazy in the gym and figure out why it worked thereafter.  Why it worked is generally simple, though- it really comes down to effort.  

Diet is a little more intellectual, as I keep a sort of running total of grams of protein and calories as I go.  And no, I don't use any of those stupid fucking apps- I do the math in my head, like an adult with dignity and self respect.  This shit is so fucking simple I'm hard-pressed to expand on it further. 

Q: How much time do you give an idea to know if it works? 

A:  Lol.  Are you serious?  It always works- the only time shit doesn't is when I am doing something I know for a fact doesn't suit me, like training in the 10-12 rep range all the time.  That's why I can't figure out how the fuck you people suck at it so hard.   

I could win a local meet coming out of a coma, and I look better getting out of bed after two years of sporadic training, no dieting, and drinking at an essentially suicidal rate because when I train, I go ten times as hard as you could ever conceive and even train harder on my off days than just about anyone I've seen on a "hard" day.  When I eat, I eat to grow- this is not fucking rocket science.   

If you think you've gone as hard as you can go, go fucking harder the next time. You're basically indestructible, and most people will never even reach a fifth of their potential, just because they think they can't go harder.  And I don't want to hear about steroids and genetics and whatever other paltry fucking excuse you might have- you go to a Penn State wrestling camp and do three-a-days, plus lifting and running, and then tell me you go hard in the gym.  Everyone's a fucking pussy, and that's why they suck. 

Eat meat.  Lift heavy as fuck.  Jerk off a bunch.  Repeat.  It's that fucking simple.

• it makes Advil it's punk bitch, because its anti-inflammatory properties are fucking insane (Wagner)
• the precursor to AITC, sinigrin, is also found in all of these veggies and may be an extremely potent nootropic (though the only evidence I could find of this is that it makes you much less retarded when whacked off your face on ketamine) (Yadav)
• clears up colds and the flu in a fucking hurry, and might even cure your athlete's foot- this shit will slaughter anything in your body that's not supposed to be there (including listeria, E. coli, and staph) due to it's insanely strong antimicrobial and antifungal properties (Chacon)
• makes you less of a fatass, because it drastically improves insulin sensitivity (Ahn)

Black Pepper (which also includes white and green)
We've all used it.  We all know what it tastes like.  What you might not have known is that all of the colors of peppercorns are all the same basic thing- the black peppercorn is a green (ripe) peppercorn that's been dried, while the green peppercorn that is canned or otherwise preserved to retain its color, and the white peppercorn is just the seed of the pepper plant with the black bit removed.  They all have slightly different flavors, but the thing that makes them awesome remains the same- piperine.
Piperine doesn't do much on its own, but it is a badass companion to other shit you might ingest.  Its main claim to fame is its ability to drastically increase the bioavailability of just about everything, and increase the length of time compounds remain active in your system (Han, Shoba).  Yeah, bro- that means adding it to your food all day long makes almost everything you take that day hit harder, from your fat burner to your test booster to your joint supplement (this shit increases the effectiveness of curcumin by 2000%).  It also increases digestion, has antimicrobial properties, and improves mental function, so grab that pepper shaker and make it fucking rain (Organic Facts).

Surprise- you can actually eat ginger.  I thought it was just for figging.

• fucks up inflammation so hard that it can drastically reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (Funk).  The sore elbows you get from heavy benching can be a thing of the past if you chow down on ginger on the regular.  Seriously- gingerol was shown in clinical trials to be as effective as ibuprofin in reducing menstrual cramps, and actually improves digestive health rather than burning a hole in your guts (Ozgoli).
• keeps you from being a diabetes-ridden fatass with cellulite on your face and sadness in your heart- it lowers bodyfat, blood sugar, free fatty acids, LDL cholesterol, and all of the other horrible shit that comes with being a disgusting pile of blubber (Naami)
• raises testosterone levels and increases testicular size.  Yep- you will likely get more swole and rock a better hardon by including a fuckton of ginger in your diet (Kamtchouing).

• improves brain health like a motherfucker (Prasad)
• is the Robin to other stuff's Batman.  Like piperine, it enhances the bioavailablity of various pharmaceuticals and supplements (Patel)
• fights inflammation like a firefighter fighting a last stand in a forest fire (Prasad)
• makes you forget there is even such a thing as prostate cancer, because it effectively kills it at the start (Golovine)
• jacks up your fat metabolism to keep you lean and mean (Prasad) 

• increases your metabolism to counterbalance a caloric deficit.  in other words, when your metabolism would otherwise slow to a stop because you're eating like a 1980s era bodybuilder and training yourself half to death, capsaicin ramps your metabolism back up to ensure your fat holocaust continues unabated (Janssens).
• may increase aerobic performance (Oh)
• and is a kickass cure-all remedy for just about any goddamned ailment you might have- fuck Eddy Murphy's dad's remedy of using "the Tussin" for everything.  When in doubt, add hot sauce, because capsaicin improves mood, reduces pain, reduces inflammation, reduces itching, and has cancer-fighting properties (Carollo).

• Grains of Selim (tastes a lot like grains of paradise)
• Tasmanian Pepper (which is sweet and then hot, then leaves numbness like Sichuan Pepper)
• Cubeb Pepper (like a cross between allspice and black pepper)
• West African Pepper (tastes like cubeb)
• Szechwan Pepper (hot as shit, smells like literal heaven, and makes your mouth numb)
• Pink Peppercorn (mild and black pepper-like, though related to the cashew)
• Brazilian Peppercorn (pepper-like, and like the pink peppercorn can cause allergic reactions)

According to Reddit, this entire article is a hate crime.  And I refuse to google "xd"- I just despise every person who uses it and live in the knowledge that whatever it means, it's the sole purview of people whom I loathe.

So the takeaway is that if you're not making your food as pungent as possible, you're a stupid fuck and a pussy, and you have no one to blame for your fatness, athlete's foot, low T, and stupidity but yourself.  Only bland people like bland food.  Don't be bland, and for fuck's sake don't be fat. 

Pungency is Power. 

Sources:
Ahn J, Lee H, Im SW, Jung CH, Ha TY.  Allyl isothiocyanate ameliorates insulin resistance through the regulation of mitochondrial function.  J Nutr Biochem. 2014 Oct;25(10):1026-34.

Akpanabiatu MI, Ekpo ND, Ufot UF, Udoh NM, Akpan EJ, Etuk EU.  Acute toxicity, biochemical and haematological study of Aframomum melegueta seed oil in male Wistar albino rats.  J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Nov 25;150(2):590-4.

Bègue L, Bricout V, Boudesseul J, Shankland R, Duke AA.  Some like it hot: testosterone predicts laboratory eating behavior of spicy food.  Physiol Behav. 2015 Feb;139:375-7.

Carollo, Kim.  The World's Hottest Pepper: Brings Pleasure and Pain Relief.  ABC News.  20 Feb 2012.  Web.  15 May 2014.  http://abcnews.go.com/Health/capsaicin-ingredient-hot-peppers-offers-medical-benefits/story?id=15727011

Chacon PA1, Buffo RA, Holley RA.  Inhibitory effects of microencapsulated allyl isothiocyanate (AIT) against Escherichia coli O157:H7 in refrigerated, nitrogen packed, finely chopped beef.  Int J Food Microbiol. 2006 Apr 1;107(3):231-7.

Ezuruike UF, Prieto JM.  The use of plants in the traditional management of diabetes in Nigeria: pharmacological and toxicological considerations.  J Ethnopharmacol. 2014 Sep 11;155(2):857-924.

Funk JL, Frye JB, Oyarzo, Janice N, Timmermann BN. Comparative Effects of Two Gingerol-Containing Zingiber officinale Extracts on Experimental Rheumatoid Arthritis. J Nat Prod. 2009 72(3): 403–7.

Golovine KV, Makhov PB, Teper E, Kutikov A, Canter D, Uzzo RG, Kolenko VM.  Piperlongumine induces rapid depletion of the androgen receptor in human prostate cancer cells.  Prostate. 2013 Jan;73(1):23-30. doi: 10.1002/pros.22535. Epub 2012 May 16.

Han HK.  The effects of black pepper on the intestinal absorption and hepatic metabolism of drugs.  Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol. 2011 Jun;7(6):721-9.

Kamtchouing P, Mbongue Fandio GY, Dimo T, Jatsa HB.  Evaluation of androgenic activity of Zingiber officinale and Pentadiplandra brazzeana in male rats.  Asian J Androl. 2002 Dec;4(4):299-301.

Janssens PL, Hursel R, Martens EA, Westerterp-Plantenga MS.  Acute effects of capsaicin on energy expenditure and fat oxidation in negative energy balance.  PLoS One. 2013 Jul 2;8(7):e67786

Nammi S, Sreemantula S, Roufogalis BD.  Protective effects of ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale rhizome on the development of metabolic syndrome in high-fat diet-fed rats.  Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2009 May;104(5):366-73.

Oh TW, Oh TW, Ohta F.  Dose-dependent effect of capsaicin on endurance capacity in rats.  Br J Nutr. 2003 Sep;90(3):515-20.

Organic Facts.  9 amazing facts about black pepper.  Organic Facts.
 21 Jan 2018.  Web.  31 Mar 2018.  https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-black-pepper.html

Ozgoli G, Goli M, Moattar F.  Comparison of effects of ginger, mefenamic acid, and ibuprofen on pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea.  J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Feb;15(2):129-32.

Patel K, Chowdhury N, Doddapaneni R, Boakye CHA, Godugu C, Singh M.
 Piperlongumine for Enhancing Oral Bioavailability and Cytotoxicity of Docetaxel in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.  J Pharm Sci. 2015 Dec;104(12):4417-4426.

Prasad S, Tyagi AK.  Historical Spice as a Future Drug: Therapeutic Potential of Piperlongumine.  Curr Pharm Des. 2016;22(27):4151-9.

Sugita J, Yoneshiro T, Hatano T, Aita S, Ikemoto T, Uchiwa H, Iwanaga T, Kameya T, Kawai Y, Saito M.  Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) extract activates brown adipose tissue and increases whole-body energy expenditure in men.  Br J Nutr. 2013 Aug;110(4):733-8.

Sweet, Joni.  Why some people just can't handle spicy food.  Thrillist.  11 Mar 2016.  Web.  31 Mar 2018.  https://www.thrillist.com/health/nation/what-makes-some-people-like-spicy-food-and-others-hate-it

Wagner AE, Boesch-Saadatmandi C, Dose J, Schultheiss G, Rimbach G.  Anti-inflammatory potential of allyl-isothiocyanate--role of Nrf2, NF-(κ) B and microRNA-155.  J Cell Mol Med. 2012 Apr;16(4):836-43.

"As a teenager in New York City, Houdini was a member of several athletic organizations, competing in bicycle races, foot races, and boxing matches. He would plunge into the fast-moving East River to get his swimming fix, and running a ten-mile circuit in Central Park was an effortless feat for him. He tried out for the U.S. Olympic swim team as a teen (he didn't make the cut), by 17 he was already an amateur boxer, and by the time he turned 18, he had beaten Sidney Thomas, a British racing champion, in a 20-mile race" (Flicker). 

All of this was achieved with “vigorous self-training, to enable me to do remarkable things with my body, to make not one muscle or a group of muscles, but every muscle, a responsive worker, quick and sure…” (McKay).

"Savoring the serene atmosphere, Harry turned his attention inward. He felt completely alive and awake, though he had slept only four hours. His mind was perfectly clear. He sensed his blood circulating, and detected a steady vibration running throughout his body. He slowly inhaled the fresh morning air, feeling its energy entering through his heels and pores, circulating up his spine, over the top of his head and, exhaling, through his tongue, heart, lungs, solar plexus, down the front of his body and back down to his feet. He focused on this for a few minutes, then went back inside and drank a glass of mineral water. 

Closing the bedroom door, he padded silently into the grand parlor, cartwheeled onto the large blue-and-yellow carpet and walked on his hands back and forth across the room. He'd walked on his hands daily since he was nine years old, when he billed himself "Harry, Prince of the Air," and had played local carnivals as an acrobatic contortionist whose specialty was bending backward and picking up needles with his eyelids.  

After an hour of gymnastics, he again stood still. Letting his sweat dry, he cooled down by quietly imitating the breathing patterns of the heron, the deer and the turtle. Then he went into the bathroom, filled the alabaster bathtub with cold water and drowned himself. Drawing mind and energy inward, intentionally slowing his internal functions, he held his breath, submerged, for five-and-a-half minutes. 

Drying off with a towel, he returned to the rug and practiced ju-jitsu for an hour, feeling each movement coiling through his bare feet, spiraling up through his joints and emerging in the hands. He devoted the next forty-five minutes to hands and fingers exclusively -- rolling silver dollars clockwise and counterclockwise over his knuckles, palming and producing poker-sized playing cards with both sides of both hands. 

Sitting in the large armchair for fifteen minutes, he tied and untied knots with his toes, without looking, while mentally counting backwards from three hundred by threes.
He spent the next fifteen minutes exercising his internal organs. As he had learned from early apprenticeship with Thardo the Poison Eater, he threaded a small potato onto a string and gently swallowed it. When it had settled in his empty stomach, he walked around the room, on his feet this time, and then sat down and performed ambidextrous tears and switches with folded pieces of paper, while looking straight ahead and quietly reciting "Kubla Khan,""Casey at the Bat," and "The Song of Hiawatha." After he had both moved and spoken normally for a quarter of an hour, he carefully began to work his peristaltic muscles and gently refluxed the potato back up his gullet and into his hand.
It was not yet eight o'clock when he finished, feeling supercharged, and as though he had already lived an entire day while the rest of the world was asleep" (Saltman "Routine").

“He had control of every single muscle in his body," Hirschfeld continued. "Even this little ring of muscles right in the center of his palms. He had really inordinate control of the muscles of his body. I mean, he would show me how he could swell his wrists, you know, before they put handcuffs on them. I’m sure there was more to it than that, but he did have complete control. He used to take his hand and show me little muscles in the center of his hand that he could pop up. He could put his hand down flat and pick up a dime or a quarter. I used to try to practice that, but I could never see any muscles in the center of my hand. It was really remarkable” (Saltman "Routine").

“It is my duty to inform you that by continuing your present regimen you would be committing suicide. You must reconcile yourself to the fact that your strenuous days are over…If you continue at present, you will be dead within the year,” the doctor gravely intoned.  “You don’t know me,” Houdini replied with a shrug. He took two weeks off and then went back at it with his usual aplomb. For the next 15 years, the magician sent the doctor photos and news clippings of his dangerous exploits along with a note: “Still alive and going strong” (McKay).

Let that one sink in for a sec.  Pretend you're a Mormon guy who has just inserted his cock into a Mormon girl and just let that shit soak a minute.

"The Indian physician Susruta (about 600 BC), Herodicus of Selymbria (fifth century BC), Hippocrates of Kos (460-377 BC), Aulus Cornelius Celsus (25 BC-50 AD) and Claudius Galen of Pergamon (129-199 AD) knew that obesity is a serious threat to life and favors the development of many diseases. For long-term treatment, they recommended their patients moderation in eating and regular endurance and resistance training" (Sturgiss).

“In many of these locations, a voluptuous body used to mean that a woman was well-cared for, had good nutrition, access to resources, was not doing manual labor,” says Anderson-Fye, who presented her research at the annual conference of the American Anthropological Association last week" (Robb).

While being overweight didn’t emerge as a risk factor for taking sick days, obesity did — in fact, the higher an employee’s BMI rose above the obesity threshold, the more days that person tended to be absent. Specifically, compared to normal-weight workers, those with a BMI of 30 to about 35 missed 27 percent more workdays per year, while the most severely obese — those with a BMI of 40 or higher — were absent 44 percent more often.

As employees get larger, so do the costs associated with missed workdays. On average, a company incurs a loss of $260 per year in productivity for every obese employee, the study found, and that number may be as high as $465 if the person is extremely obese (Yahoo).

"Zhou Yang, a professor at Emory University who studies the impact of obesity on the medical system, found that obese older males spent $190,657 more on lifetime health care expenses than their normal weight peers while older obese women spent $223,629 more. A 2016 meta-analysis by University of Washington researchers found that annual medical spending attributed to obesity nationally was nearly $150 billion—more than four times the federal budget for foreign aid and nearly enough to fund the entire U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs" [Emphasis mine].

"On average, men underreported energy intake compared with total energy expenditure by 12-14% on 24HRs and 31-36% on FFQs and underreported protein intake compared with a protein biomarker by 11-12% on 24 Hour Dietary Recalls (24HRs) and 30-34% on Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs). Women underreported energy intake on 24HRs by 16-20% and on FFQs by 34-38% and underreported protein intake by 11-15% on 24HRs and 27-32% on FFQs" (Subar).

"The failure of some obese subjects to lose weight while eating a diet they report as low in calories is due to an energy intake substantially higher than reported and an overestimation of physical activity, not to an abnormality in thermogenesis" (Lichtman). 

• 565lb Bench
• 625lb Squat
• 675lb Deadlift
• 365lb Olympic Press
• 270lb Snatch
• 370lb Clean and Jerk

• 133 consecutive sell-outs in Madison Square Garden
• 75 consecutive main bouts in Boston Gardens.
• 21 straight sell-outs in Australia (a record that may still stand)
• the largest crowd (90,000 people) in Japan (at least until 1972)
• the all-time record of 125,000 in India (at least until 1972)
• the only pro wrestler to sell out the Bull Fight Arena in Caracas (50,000 in attendance).
• the record for total gates around the world (Deluca)

• Bench Press- 315lbs for 38 reps (Tatar)
• Bench Press- 330lbs for 33 reps right after hitting a max of 500 for the day (Twichell)
• Bench Press (Competition, with a flat back and two second pause)- 565lbs
• Floor Press- 545lbs (Willoughby 133)
• Strict Curl- 235lbs (Willoughby 138)
• Olympic Press- 410lbs (Willoughby 133)
• Deadlift- 705lbs (Willoughby 377), though he never trained it because he thought it was bad for the back (Twichell).  
• Squat (Competition)- 685lbs (Twichell)
• Snatch- 270lbs (both his snatch and clean and jerk were hamstrung by the fact his elbows wouldn't lock out fully, which he attributed to malnourishment while living in the Alps)
• Clean and Jerk- 370lbs

"I was working out three, sometime three and a half, hours a day with weights. I would work out in the morning because I wanted to be very rested up for the wrestling matches at night. So I would do a workout, then have a light breakfast, and then I would go to bed for a few hours. I would eat an early dinner no later than 3:00 so that it would be fully digested by the time I went in the ring. So yeah, I worked out very hard and heavy, but I always used to try and take a couple hours nap afterward just to recoup and rest up" (Wuebben).

"Three days a week I do roadwork. I had hip replacement, and the doctors tell me I can walk as fast as I want, but I’m not allowed to run. So I power walk. I do between four and five miles. Then I come home – I have a well-equipped gym downstairs – and I do about 800 leg raises and leg crunches for stomach work, and then I stretch a little bit. And that’s it. The next day, I work out with the weights. Now, do I lift heavy weights anymore? No, I’m 77, and my weight is not 275 anymore. I’m 215 now, maybe 220 with my clothes on. For example, on bench press, I don’t go higher than maybe 215 for reps. For shoulder work I do 35-pound dumbbells for side laterals. Nothing really heavy anymore, because, #1, I’m old; #2, I’m not as heavy as I was; and #3, I don’t want to put too much stress on the joints at this stage of my life. I use weights that are comfortable for me" (Wuebben).

"Randall originally shied away from the squat because of a serious injury there years previously in which he broke his leg in seven places.  He would periodically test his strength in the movement and attributed the hard work in the good morning exercise for allowing him to squat 680lbs.  He actually once took a shot at a 750lbs good morning, but had to drop the bar because the weights shifted on him" (Roach).

“I remember one incident that happened to me at lunch. I weighed about 330 at the time and came to lunch ready to eat like a horse. They were serving a favorite Chinese dish of mine, fried rice with pork. It happened that I was eating at the Navy mess hall at the time and so had a metal tray with five different compartments in it to eat from. Well, I filled the entire tray with rice and pork. The mound was so high that if another spoonful was added it would run over the side of the tray. Carefully balancing the tray so as not to drops a precious grain, I made my way back to a table amid incredulous stares from every sailor in the hall. Upon sitting down and tasting a few spoonfuls I found the rice to be slightly undercooked. The center of each grain was a little pasty and absorbed all the moisture in my mouth when I chewed. In order to solve this frustrating dilemma, I secured several quart bottles of water and proceeded to eat the rice with a swig of water every so often. Under this procedure I was able to finish the entire tray of fried rice and pork (I made it an absolute rule to finish everything I took. Wasting food is an unpardonable sin!). Upon getting up, I was, to put it mildly, sufficiently filled. When I arrived back at the Marine Barracks I found myself feeling rather strange sensations going on in the region of my stomach. I made a hasty retreat to my bed and lay upon my back for five hours taking short panting breaths because I found that deep breathing caused even more pressure on the stomach. Thereafter I made quite certain that the rice was well cooked before I loaded up the tray" (Randall and Roach)

“I constantly put personal goals before myself and these goals acted as a stimulus of sorts. In other words, I would set a date, perhaps three weeks hence, when I would try to accomplish some change such as a loss of 12 pounds or a reduction around the chest or waist of several inches. This idea of using goals is something that I learned when I was gaining weight and strength. I would tell myself that at a certain date I would press or deadlift, etc., such a poundage. Thus I found myself constantly challenged and I love challenges!" (Randal and Rader).

• “I did do one exercise during this time which may have had some influence on my squat. This was the good morning exercise. When I reached over 400 lbs. on this exercise I found that I could not do the exercise in the strict sense because I had to band at the knees in order to compensate for the weight at the back of the neck. I made 685 in this manner with my back parallel to the floor and once almost made 750 but was forced to dump it because of a shift in the weight."
• “I found the ¼ Front Squats helped me push-press heavy weights and believe it to be a fine exercise." 
• When cutting- “I use powdered milk and skim milk mixed together, thus increasing the protein content. I also took coffee at times finding it tended to curtail my appetite."
• Just as Mac from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia said about his season-long weight gain, Randall felt good at his heaviest.  "Actually, I felt fine when weighing 400 pounds but found that I perspired freely and had a bit of trouble getting about the city. Of course I needed great amounts of sleep and food. My food bill (early ‘50s) was never under $80 per week and very often well over $100. I know that if I wanted to gain again I could weight 500 lbs. in 18 months time." 
• On doing anything you believe you can- "Many people say that added weight is not necessary to become stronger. Perhaps they are right, but in my case it was necessary because I believed it was." 
• "I would suggest that those who find it difficult to refrain from the cake pie and candy routine remind themselves that each candy bar will cost them another 500 situps to work off! I found this to be a very persuasive means of combating temporary dietary temptations!"
• Finally, all you Zyzz and Jeff Seid loving motherfuckers out there take note- "Remember that anyone can have the definition he desires if he is willing to train and will apply a little “exercise” of the will power. In conclusion I think it might be wise to add that there is a time to be extremely defined and a time not to be quite so defined. I feel that it is unwise to maintain an extreme degree of definition for great lengths of time because, by reducing the body fat to an absolute minimum, one also reduces his resistance and may subject his body to colds and many other possible illnesses."

So what have we learned?  First, we learned once again that you form Nazis out there can take a big step back and literally fuck your own faces.  We also learned that literally anything is possible if you set your mind to it and go ball-to-the-fucking-wall.  Finally, it should also seem fairly obvious to anyone paying attention that bulking at the outset to build strength and size makes far more sense than trying to achieve and maintain Instagram-ready abs at all times.  Frankly, I wish I'd dirty bulked in my formative years so I could maintain a higher set-point of muscle mass, rather than constantly scraping and scratching to gain a little muscle every year on a diet of rice and chicken... plus, pizza is fucking delicious.  A bit of food for thought, at least...