Wrote this note a couple of hours before your article appeared in my feed:
“Three sets of heavy squats a day before yesterday after slacking for 2 months. Every single leg muscle is screaming but man, the monkey mind is so much quieter.”
Maybe beating the sh*t out of our bodies promotes both clarity and synchronicity. 😎💪✨
Love the essay. I don’t do martial arts, I’m into running and calisthenics (do both to exhaustion). What you are saying here is true. Nothing compares to the emotional high after a rough one-hour session.
As a military veteran, I miss those days of doing really hard things. Like carrying the weight of a baby seal on my back and fighting alongside my mates.
Life has become too comfortable for most people. It’s why I still run hard and long. Why I seek adventure. Keep up the strong work.
When I was doing Jiu Jitsu - it actually wasn't enough to get me into this state of mind.
But when I was cold tubbing first thing, going for a 5km run and doing Jiu Jitsu three times a week - I was a thinking and acting menace!
Recently got into bouldering, which is significantly more gruelling than Jiu Jitsu, in terms of pump and wearing the body down - plus it has the added benefit of a social component. More social than I found Jiu Jitsu to be.
As a former athlete, I couldn’t agree more with this post. Good stuff.
Also totally believe in this new subculture that just loves to ‘do hard shit.’
And final comment - with sparring and lifting/exercising, playing team sports… there’s nothing better than the community and camaraderie of fatiguing yourself with a group of like minded men. Stay hard brother.
“Living in constant anxiety because his energy is spent in his own mind.”
So true of me too… I just read your excellent article on sprinting that includes those fantastic short videos on how to prep… now my mind can be productively distracted by the need to go pogo!
Wrote this note a couple of hours before your article appeared in my feed:
“Three sets of heavy squats a day before yesterday after slacking for 2 months. Every single leg muscle is screaming but man, the monkey mind is so much quieter.”
Maybe beating the sh*t out of our bodies promotes both clarity and synchronicity. 😎💪✨
Love the essay. I don’t do martial arts, I’m into running and calisthenics (do both to exhaustion). What you are saying here is true. Nothing compares to the emotional high after a rough one-hour session.
Yes to all of this. Training is truly a meditative and clarifying state, especially when it takes you to your mental, physical, and emotional limits.
100%
As a military veteran, I miss those days of doing really hard things. Like carrying the weight of a baby seal on my back and fighting alongside my mates.
Life has become too comfortable for most people. It’s why I still run hard and long. Why I seek adventure. Keep up the strong work.
Bukowski did this in a weird way that I would not recommend.
Hard drinking.
Hunter S. Thompson also used the idiot's method to achieve enlightenment, but it killed him in the end.
I wonder what they would have achieved through breaking their bodies in somewhat healthier ways.
Good read .
I can one hundred percent confirm that physical exhaustion is beneficial to being a man.
Like you said, the 'bandwidth' drops to zero and strips away the goofy layers we develop when we have too much time on our hands.
Working 12-14 hour days for 4-6 days per week removes all the nonsense.
I wish more people got to experience that.
That is an amazing essay. It resonates 100% with me! I’ve always felt that but was never able to put it into words like you have. Amazing, brother!
Encapsulated the sentiment I've occasionally preached since I got into martial arts - particularly boxing. Nice one.
Love this.
When I was doing Jiu Jitsu - it actually wasn't enough to get me into this state of mind.
But when I was cold tubbing first thing, going for a 5km run and doing Jiu Jitsu three times a week - I was a thinking and acting menace!
Recently got into bouldering, which is significantly more gruelling than Jiu Jitsu, in terms of pump and wearing the body down - plus it has the added benefit of a social component. More social than I found Jiu Jitsu to be.
Love the work. I'll stay tuned!
Love this
Great stuff buddy
Quality post.
As a former athlete, I couldn’t agree more with this post. Good stuff.
Also totally believe in this new subculture that just loves to ‘do hard shit.’
And final comment - with sparring and lifting/exercising, playing team sports… there’s nothing better than the community and camaraderie of fatiguing yourself with a group of like minded men. Stay hard brother.
This was a powerful read...like a hymn for the masculine that’s remembering how to feel again.
As a woman, I just want to say: this kind of honesty is not only welcome, it’s deeply respected.
There’s nothing more grounding than a man willing to honor his exhaustion not as weakness, but as wisdom.
Fatigue isn’t failure. It’s a sacred signal.
Thank you for naming it. not just for men, but for all of us in need of a new rhythm.
Has been a surprise as to how many women this has resonated with.
“Living in constant anxiety because his energy is spent in his own mind.”
So true of me too… I just read your excellent article on sprinting that includes those fantastic short videos on how to prep… now my mind can be productively distracted by the need to go pogo!