— Doing AJAC’s SHRED30 + HP/MC/LF Mostly Whole Food + 18/6 TRF

“Embark on a journey with this detailed report following Alexander J.A. Cortes’ SHED30 Program. Learn how to push beyond your comfort zone, conquer sleep issues, manage hunger, and even improve your cooking skills. Discover the benefits of a military-like discipline in pursuing your fitness goals and how pushing through discomfort can lead to growth. This is not just about physical transformation but also a mental and lifestyle overhaul that challenges the norms of modern living. Start challenging yourself today!”

[Report 0; The Introduction. This follows Alexander J.A. Cortes’ SHED30 Program.]

I use that header image to make the point that everything is contextual.

Thinking [for themselves] people do that. They examine things in context. The non-thinkers, followers, employed, slaves, regurgitators, cultists, indoctrinated, et al. never do. As you may have noticed, not many people on this planet at this stage of evolution truly think for themselves; and to make it worse, claim the most vociferously that they’re the ones who do—when they’re simply repeating something someone else told them was so. So add self-deluded to their master list of faults.

Nope, Coca-Cola ought not be a regular staple or part of your diet. As a treat now and then, or—as in this case—a recovery drink after a very taxing session in the gym next door? With certainty, and there is no better energy or recovery drink than plain old sugar-water Coke. Ask seasoned endurance athletes. They all know.

This being the first of 10, 3-day reports to follow, I’ll devote a bit more to the intro.

First, is to say that doing Big & Hard new stuff ought to be a lifelong pursuit. If it’s been too long since you undertook something totally outside your comfort zone: big, fucking hard, and you see it through to the end…well then, can you really say that you’re living?

(Look at my unmasked, un-locked-down, unvaccinated, philandering-ass life with 20-somethings over the last three and a half years…when most people spent a lot of it cowering in fear over some imagined invisible threat…have you ever stopped to realize that when the “threat” is invisible, that makes it pretty easy for evil-ass fucking assholes to make any crazy and dire claims they want to make?)

I mean, we’re all dying and have been since the day we were born…sentenced to death…but we’re given the opportunity to grow along the way in both body and mind. That, too, is contextual. Even at an advanced age (I’m 62 and one-half exactly), one can still learn some new things, experience some things for the very first time, and even struggle against the physical decay and [re]grow a bit, like clawing your way back a little; and going out…ultimately? …kicking and screaming.

With all my faults incorporated, am I still right?

… Or, y’know…there’s ice cream in the freezer, the Netflix bill is paid, and the Lazy-Boy recliner beckons. Is that where my sights ought to be set? Or, perhaps set instead on bedding the next sexy Thai chick, raising my T naturally, as I’ve been doing for three years already?

… Here’s how you know you’re onto something. If you’re a competent, independent-minded thinker of some level of enhanced normal, then you know and remember those times when shortly after taking something on, you question what you’ve done.

“Why did I get myself into this!?”

That’s good. It’s confirmation you didn’t just take on something easy, so you can pretend you’ve accomplished something hard.

Well, I’m here to tell you that this is no walk in the park. I didn’t really know that for certain until day 2. It’s not like I’ve not worked back-to-back days in the gym before. But this is the first time having the dread befall me, of, “only 28 more consecutive days of this to go! Yay!”

Do you know what I did? I immediately embraced a military posture. Having been in the military, even officers have that initial “boot camp” of sorts. For me, it was quite a lot like what you saw in the film, An Officer and a Gentleman. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeants, the whole 9 yards. If you didn’t do the military, well, plenty of movies and/or, other initiation rites you might have undergone. You know why you made it through.

That’s what you’re doing now. Same thing. Failure or quitting isn’t an option.

OK, to the report, which includes the detailed logs for each day (the whole day, not just the gym); the specific exercises, sets, reps, and weight; photos of every single thing that went into my mouth (my cooking skillz are notable); and a narrative overview of the day, including crazy schedules and fucking sleep issues ’cause I’m always wanting to be working.

The link to the public introductory Report 0 is right up top. If you’re reading this while it’s still the 4th of July, I’m running a sale, today only. $20 for your first quarter (Regular $30) or $80 for your first year (Regular $100). The discount code is 4JULY, and it’s automatically applied to all new subscriptions here.

(The recipe for the most amazing HP/MC/LF workout fueling and repairing POTATO SALAD, below, is worth the price of an annual all by itself.)

[All weights in kilograms. 1 kilo = 2.2 pounds.]