February 2014 – Windy Recycling Day

Max Effort Squat, 2/27/14
Good day today.

Low Box Squat

45×5

95×3

135×3

185×3

225×3

245×3

265×3

275×3

295×1

315×1

325×1

Felt really good; was focused on the mental set up – every rep the same.

RDL

45×8

4×5 @ 135

Step Up

2×8

Band GM superset with situps

2×10

No treadmill, I have too much work to worry about. If I get home early, I’ll go for a walk tonight with my Sheltie.

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The Wrong Path
Facebook has gone wrong. I noticed today that I can pay to promote a status update, to ‘tell friends this is important’. Based on what has clearly happened over the course of several years, Facebook no longer shows me every update from all of my friends, and now, wants me to pay to make sure my friends see the things I have to say.

No.

That’s not going to work. Leadership at Facebook needs to hear the word ‘MySpace’; if you don’t provide what your users want, they will take another Path.

Which is where I’m headed for personal use.

So while our business will remain on Facebook for now because it is part of our short term business strategy, we will also more actively engage on Google Plus, and of course, Twitter. But we will never again pay to boost a post, and we’ll be ready when the solid competition to Facebook comes along… and it will.
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Serious Questions
Dear Stephanie (I feel like we’re on a first name basis),

You wrote an editorial published in the Baltimore Sun on February 24 where you claim Republicans only offer criticisms, Democrats offer solutions.

Democrats have had complete control of Baltimore City government since 1967.

Do you consider the results in Baltimore City the results of effective solutions? Or did Democrats just misunderstand the problem, and provide solutions, but the wrong ones?

Do you consider a 68% graduation rate a success? Why is the rate so much higher in Baltimore County? Why, after 50 years of complete Democratic control and policymaking, is the graduation rate so much lower than the county, where there is not full implementation of Democratic ‘solutions’?

Democrats have had 50 years, I don’t understand how there could possibly still be problems after all these ‘solutions’.

Help me understand. And do it without blaming Republicans.
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Dynamic Effort Bench, 2/25/14
I trained today.

Bench Press

2×15 @ 45

2×3 @ 95

135×3

8×3 @ 155, less than a minute between sets, three grips.

Close Grip Bench Press

155×5

185×5

205×5

Row

45×10

3×5 @ 135

One Arm Press

20×10

25×10

30×10

Band Pressdown (1 arm)

Light band, 2×10

20 minutes treadmill.
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Training Update
I took some time away from the gym. In part due to laziness, in part because I had other pressing things to do, in part because the weather sucked, and getting up at 5:30 to drive in the snow to the gym wasn’t as appealing as staying in my warm bed until 7.

I have that excited and motivated feeling that comes when I’m out of the gym for a while.

The good news is that I don’t lose that much when I don’t train, and what I do lose tends to come back pretty quickly. I am really out of shape, though. While I didn’t get a ton fatter over the holidays, I am pretty fat, and my work capacity sucks.

I have two distinct things I want to accomplish. First, I am going to compete in this year’s Maryland State USAPL meet, usually held in November or December. There’s a meet in April, but I don’t see how I would be ready to participate. If there are still openings closer to the date, maybe I’ll do it. If there’s a meet sooner than the Fall, I’ll certainly consider doing it. Second, I need to improve my body composition. I’m too fat, and I’m getting to a point in my life where being too fat is not only a health issue, but a lifestyle issue. While I feel like a young 43, being chubby isn’t helping my quality of life. We’re going on a beach vacation with my family in August, so I’m going to use that as a target to be ‘beach ready’.

How will I do those things? Training is easy – I use a basic Conjugate template (think Westside, and if you really want to learn about how I train, type ‘Dave Tate Eight Keys’ into the Google), two Max Effort days (Squat/Dead and Bench) and two Dynamic Effort days (Squat/Dead and Bench). I usually spread my training out over an 8 day ‘week’, but I might try going back to 7. You’ll see how I structure assistance and supplementary stuff, it’s not rocket science. I’m also going to slowly incorporate some conditioning, with walking (transitioning to running over time) on off day mornings, and for now, I’ll do something on lifting days, too. I’ll start with slow treadmill stuff, and work up to pushing the prowler. Again, no reason to over think this stuff, just do it. I’m also going to do a little more mobility work (Think Agile 8), but I won’t talk about that much.

To get leaner, I just need to apply the simple effective things that everyone knows work. Eat my veggies, quit eating ice cream, make smart choices, but don’t ruin the fun of eating. Just eat more good stuff. You know the drill, and if you don’t, you should.

I’m going to start posting my training again, because I like to do that.
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Relationship Marketing ProTip
If you are a title company account representative, you should work on building a relationship with me, a real estate agent, through common interests, general conversation, and offers of advice or help.

You should not send me a LinkedIn request (for which my default response is to ‘accept’ because I am always open to building my network), then sending an email to both my personal and business email addresses (because figuring out which one is business is too much trouble) telling me you are awesome, giving me prices, and asking to meet me to present your sales pitch.

That’s not how relationship marketing works.

Add value, build the relationship, show me you value my time, show me we will work well together. THEN ask me for business. He could have simply sent me an email introducing himself and his firm, and then said ‘if there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know. If you are going to be in my section of town and have some time, I would love to have lunch/drink/coffee and meet you’.

What happened? I removed him as a LinkedIn contact. I deleted his email.
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Wise Question
As I hope anyone reading knows, I’m a real estate agent in Baltimore. I had the opportunity to work with a new client yesterday who is in the market to buy.

One of the great things about this career choice is that I get the opportunity work with interesting, fun, and diverse people; anyone in a relationship business understands this. I so appreciate these chances to meet people.

So my client yesterday told me something that I found really profound. She said a friend once asked this question of her: “If you could tell people how old you are based on your perception, what would you tell them?”

My client answered her (with a much lower number than her actual age), after which her friend simply said: “Then act that way.”

I’m 43 years old. But my perception of myself, how I feel, how I can perform, is younger – more like 33. So I’m going to act that way. I’m going to act like I’ve got 60 years to go, I’m going to act like I have 30-35 more years that I’m going to work. I’m going to act like I can lift like a 33 year old, not a 43 year old. Age is not an excuse.

That conversation was worth more to me than the commission check I’ll earn.
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Baltimore Crime Solution
There’s been a lot of talk recently about crime in Baltimore. People are upset. Politicians are attending community meetings. There is hand wringing.

But I haven’t seen a real solution.

There are two:

First, end the war on drugs. The majority of violent crime in Baltimore, and certainly the majority of murders, are related to the war on drugs.

Second, and more (if you can believe it) complicated, the citizens need to take back the streets. Criminals need to be afraid. They need to be unsure if someone is going to fight back, or hurt them, or call the cops, or testify. The single most important thing the people can do: carry a firearm. Quit waiting for the courts to fix the issues in the state legislature, quit being afraid of what the police might do. How much chance is there, really, that a Baltimore city police officer will engage you, a law-abiding citizen of Canton, search you, and find your concealed handgun? No one will know until you have to use it. I think it’s worth the risk.

If you don’t, carry mace, or pepper spray, or a cattle prod; it doesn’t matter to me. Engage the criminals, and win the fight. Send them home limping, hurt, scarred, and they will think twice next time. Yes, there’s risk; at some point you need to assume that risk, or let them win.

Up until a few years ago, you never even saw a police car in Little Italy. No crime. Why? Because if you broke into a car there and got caught they didn’t call the police. Because people were watching, and more importantly, people were ready to take action.

These are your streets. Act like it.
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