The Crush Life List

We all are familiar with "To Do Lists" or "The Honey Do List." What are your initial feelings when you think about these. Are you excited to accomplish these tasks? Do they feel like a burden? Does the list just get so long that you never finish so you just top making them? Today let me introduce you to the concept of the "Crush Life List" or "Kill the Day List." Use whichever you prefer. How different would your motivation be by just changing the title? This simple change does a few important things, at least for me. First, it makes me feel like more of a bad ass even if "do the laundry" is on there. Also this title lets me know that accomplishing these tasks won't just knock a task out it will help get me somewhere in life. Third it makes what gets put on the list more selective. For example laundry probably wouldn't make the list in most cases, but if you have no clothes to wear and you don't want to wear smelly dirty gym clothes tomorrow it should probably be task number 1.

This all sounds fine and dandy but there are a few rules we should follow that have served me well. First there are definitely things that should not make the list. These include anything that you do every day or things that you do automatically. So if you are like me and train hard 4 or 5 days a week and have been for a number of years then "go the the gym and workout" won't be on the list. If you are trying to establish that as a habit then it definitely should be. Everything on the list should be an activity that is not happening every day and gets you closer to reaching  your personal goals. Lastly try not to go crazy. 4 or 5 things on this list per day will be about perfect. You probably can knock them all out in a few hours. So buckle down and get them done. It's great how streamlined your day becomes when you have clear goals and expectation. The distractions go down and productivity goes up. Think of where your life could be if you nailed 4 things this productive every day for a year. That list of 4 little goals turns into 1460 accomplishments in that time. 

Let's take me for an example. Here's today's kill list:

1. come up with 2 awesome shirt concepts and draw them up

2. Finalize dates for upcoming strength seminars

3. Dry run the lectures of the seminars to figure out a timeline

4. Outline a loose marketing strategy for upcoming challenge groups

5. Write a blog post

I knocked this list out in 2 and a half hours. If I nail 4 points like that every day. By next year I should be making a good chunk of change on my side gig here and will be helping tons of other people just like me reach their personal goals! How cool is that?

I want to challenge you guys to make a Crush List and get it done. Do it for a month and let me know how it goes. What were the struggles? What were the rewards? Comment below or email me. I really am interested in seeing what building this practice does for you guys. I know it has laid some amazing groundwork for me.

Talk Soon

Dan Mason

 Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVA3x_kvPOFMsxouGjhYRnQ

Why the Heck are You Wearing Flip Flops When You Train!?

Let me start by saying, if you aren't following me on Instagram this isn't going to make sense to you initially. So get your phone out and go follow @RoninStr right now....it's okay. I'll wait. So you checked out some of my training videos and got super inspired by my awesome quotes. If you didn't get motivated just say you did and make me feel better. Anyway, you may have noticed I do a lot of training in my flip flops at LA Fitness. There are a bunch of reasons for this so here goes.

1. I am lazy: I hate taking the time and effort it takes to put on socks and tie my shoes. There is also the hidden cost of the time it takes to wash your socks and fold them into those little balls.

2, I hate jail: I worked at one for 3 years so I can legitimately say I am not a fan from experience. Shoes are the inconspicuous little prisons you put on your feet. Just let them be free!

3. I am an attention whore: Everyone gives you crap when you walk out in flip flops but if you put up some semi-respectable weight while wearing them everyone wants to be your best buddy.

Alright now for some serious reasons that may actually give you some principles to kick ass in the gym, competition, and life.

4. It is harder to squat in flip flops. I used to squat in Weightlifting shoes. The raised heel improved my squat depth immediately due to the decreased range of motion needed in the ankles to reach proper depth. Add to that that flip flops offer no ankle stability unlike normal shoes or high top Chucks. Squatting in toe thongs has improved my squat in competition immeasurably.

5. It's harder to bench and log press. On bench the heel lift of an Weightlifting shoe will let you tuck your feet under further while still having heel contact on the floor. This results in a tighter body position, better leg drive, and a better arch. On log presses you have to stay way tighter through your mid-line to load your heals for the dip and drive/push press action.

6. Flip flops make your mental game stronger. You know that every lift is harder in them with exception of the deadlift. If you can squat 405lbs in flip flops with no belt what could you do in a belt and oly shoes?

I used to be a minimalist when I first started lifting. I never wore a belt, gloves or wrist wraps. It was just chalk and balls. As I got into lifting I started buying all kinds of fun gear: Knee sleeves, elbow sleeves, belts wraps. You name it and I had it or wanted it. I noticed my numbers were getting better but if I wasn't wearing my gear I was horrible. So I started dialing the gear back until I am where I am now, On a typical gym day I wear a shirt, gym shorts, and flip flops. I will put wrist wraps on when I bench and it starts to get over about 335lbs but that's pretty much it. This has forced me to go a bit lighter on lifts in general which in turn has made me improve my form in order to get more weight to move. Also when you are forced into correcting form and using lower weights the rate of injury goes way down. I am definitely better for going minimalist when training.

That being said when I compete I use every piece of gear that is allowed as it does make a huge difference. I will start incorporating whatever gear I will be using in competition about 3 weeks prior to the show. This way I get 2 weeks to get a feel for it and then a whole week of rest.

So give it a try. Just take one piece of equipment off that you are used to using for a month and see what happens. I promise your technique will get better and you will feel like more of a hard ass than you have in a while. All you need is chalk and balls.

Talk Soon

Dan Mason

 Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVA3x_kvPOFMsxouGjhYRnQ

Which Diet is Right for Me?

This is a question that I get nearly everyday if not multiple times a day. The answer is a whole lot more about you than it is about the actual program. Are you a person who hates tracking calories and grams of macro-nutrients? Then you may want to avoid "If it fits your macros." Do you have a sweet tooth? If so a Ketogenic diet may be a bad call. Here's a brief overview of some popular methods out there. Which sounds like you?

1. IIFYM: If it fits your macros is the counting game. This is probably the most popular currently and most closely resembles the old school bodybuilding diet. You will first figure out your BMR which is how many calories you burn just living. From there you will need to figure your daily protein, carbohydrate, and fat needs. Then you track all your stuff. This method is a proven system but some folks have trouble adhering to it due to the effort it takes to track your food. My thought is that if you are too lazy to write down what you shove down your gullet you are probably too lazy to have success in the body composition realm. It takes some actual effort. Abs don't happen by accident unless you are 90 lbs.

2. Paleo: So this can work well especially if you are very overweight. This is mostly due to the fact that you will be experiencing a calorie deficit compared to what you are used to. It's kind of nice because there isn't any counting. It's because of this though, that it isn't that great for performance in the gym long term. It is hard to eat enough calories on a strict Paleo diet. No if you want to bastardize it and add in sweat potatoes and rice it works  pretty well and starts to resemble the IIFYM without the counting. The trade off is once you start putting carbs into your diet again and aren't counting many people get fat again. But at least you can look down at everyone who isn't "Paleo" and try to convert them like some annoying  Vegans do. (sorry I kind of hate how the Paleo and Vegan movements operate with a mob mentality.) If you are not that active and can eliminate some specific food groups Paleo is great. If you want to chase athletic performance or like carbs then it's not the right fit for you.

3. Vegan/Vegetarian: I know I will get some hate for lumping these together but sorry they both have similar benefits and drawbacks. Similar to Paleo but on the total opposite end these diets can work but you need to pay attention to possible Iron and B12 deficiencies. If you are strict vegan the iron deficiency is actually less of an issue as you don't have lots dairy mucking it up. You should definitely take a B12 supplement though. If you are an Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian then you get to eat dairy and eggs! The eggs will help with the B12 and make it a non issue. The iron deficiency may be an issue though depending on how much you rely on dairy for protein needs. This will come into effect especially for Strength Athletes who are Vegetarians. Try to dial the dairy down and get more protein from egg whites, peas, and tofu. The main advantages to going with animal protein can be made up for with eggs and whey. Just don't overdo the dairy. In the end when it comes to performance you have a lot of counting to do in order to make sure you are getting enough of certain nutrients but if you chose this diet for ethical reasons that shouldn't dissuade you. It can work and I have done it personally in the past.

3. Ketogenic/Cyclical Ketogenic: This is nice for the same reason Paleo is nice. No counting. Just keep carbs to 30g or under per day and you are good to go. The first week is hard as your body is converting over to using Keytones for fuel instead of tapping into your Glycogen Stores but after that you will be surprised how fast you lean down. There are some drawbacks though. First you have to give up carbs. Carbs are tasty. If you love fatty foods though, this diet lets you smash some serious goodies. Non Lean Beef, Bacon, Eggs, etc. are all on the menu in darn near as large amounts as you can handle. Due to the fact that you will be eating fat and protein exclusively you will not be hungry often. If you have a sweet tooth you are screwed though. Adding the Cyclical in there helps. Once per week you get to smash doughnuts, rice, or whatever other carbs you want to for a 4 hour period in the evening. This resets your body into using carbs as fuel right when it was getting used to using fat. This is the key as to why you continually lean down. In general if you can hack this diet it will work well.

4. Eating Clean: Similar to Paleo but you get to add in whole grains. I don't see anything wrong with this strategy per se, but it is still possible to consume too many calories with this diet. I think it fits in great with a IIFYM strategy, and if you can hack it may be my ideal diet for getting consistent results with clients. If you are currently eating a horrible diet eg. Fast food for every meal than you will notice some great results at first. This is due to the quality of food you are eating partially but mostly it's due to the fact that real food is more filling that processed stuff so you will be eating fewer calories.

I have used all of these various diet plans with clients and myself at various times. All have been successful. you just have to decide which ones work the best for you and your lifestyle. Feel free to drop a comment and hit me up here or on my other social media.

Talk Soon

Dan Mason

 Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVA3x_kvPOFMsxouGjhYRnQ

I Don't Have Time to Lift and Do Cardio!

I hear this all the time, and typically it's from super out of shape folks. So if you are one of the people who "don't have time" then I have an assignment for you.
1. Get a piece of paper or get out that smart phone and write down the day in 15 minute increments.
  12:00
  12:15
  12:30
  Etc.
Yep...The whole darn day, or at least the 16 hours you are awake. If you are awake more than that then you are doing something wrong. If you fill every 15 minute block with productive crap then you will have no need to stay up late and get up early.

2. Write out what you do for every 15 minute block. You will see how much time you are just dorking around with. Add it up. See how much time you waste in a day watching TV, eating out, playing on your phone etc.

Now if we are talking about fitness in particular here are some guidelines that will save time.
1. Stick to compound movements like the bench press, shoulder press, pull ups, rows, squats, deadlifts, and lunges. If you are at the gym doing curls and tricep extensions for 90 minutes 3 days a week you are wasting time and probably not getting any visible results. You are just giving yourself the psychological pat on the back and an excuse as to why you aren't in better shape. "I don't know why I am not shredded yet. I am at the gym for like 2 hours every other day."

2. If you have to do cardio then do it. The only reason that you would have to in my book is if you are an endurance athlete or cutting down for a bodybuilding show, but if it's for bodybuilding then it's probably better and more time friendly to wage that war in the kitchen. I would suggest HIIT. Instead of jogging for and hour on the treadmill why not do sprints on the bike 30 seconds on 2 minutes off for 20-30 minutes. Research shows the calorie burn is the same as jogging for around 90 minutes. There I just saved you an hour.

3. Prep your meals on the weekend and skip eating out. This is a HUGE time saver and will help with weight loss and budget dramatically.

In the end I bet if you found someone who is successful in career and body composition you would see a ton less wasted time in their schedule than the person who can't hold down a good job and is out of shape. The issue is your ability to prioritize not the lack of hours in the day. I bet if you tried to set out 4 hours for productive things that need to get done you would have a solid 3-4 hours to fill with the gym or video gaming or TV or whatever you want. The best part is you still probably have time for 8 hours of sleep. Prepare for success and you will achieve it. Whine and complain like a toddler and you life will remain out of your control just like a 2 year old. Everyone is busy but people who kick life's ass learn how to drive toward their goals methodically and consistently. If something is important to you you will make time for it. If it isn't then be okay with that. If you would rather have TV time than a six pack that's totally fine but don't come whining to me about being out of shape. You make choices every moment of every day. There are no excuses.

Talk Soon

Dan Mason

 

 Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR

You Will NOT Succeed

Sorry for the title but there's just no other way to say it. I get emails on a daily basis from people wanting workout programs of diet/nutrition recommendations. That's AWESOME! Heck, that's how I make a chunk of my income. Through the onboarding process I ask a ton of questions to get a complete picture of the person who I would love to help through their physical journey. One question in particular matters more than all others. Why do you want to lose body fat, get stronger, run faster etc. If your answer is something having to do with how others perceive you than I will do my best to work with you, as I want to help as many people as possible, but chances are that long term, you won't succeed. To understand this lets look at some psychological underpinnings.

Example:
"Joe, why do you want to lose weight?"
"I just want to get rid of these love handles."
"Right on. Why does losing your love handles matter to you?"
"I just think that if I get abs and lose my love handles people will look at me differently."

Here in lies the problem. If Joe's primary motivation is to get recognition from other people in order to boost his self esteem by getting ripped he may hit his goal. He could get abs. Then after a few weeks he will realized that people are still treating him basically the same. He has built a façade of awesomeness. That's cool at first but after people get to know him the inner self esteem issues will resurface and people will start acting toward him as they always did. Or at least he will perceive them as treating him like they did before.

Compare this situation to one where a client wants to lose weight so they can actually play with their grandchildren without losing their breath, or a guy who wants to see how big of a total he can hit at a powerlifting meet. Although those goals are slightly different they are goals that are internal goals. They are goals to impact a client's life within themselves. Often while achieving these goals the people will start to look better as well. That's isn't the primary goal though.

Typically the follow up question of "why is that your goal?" is the revealing question you need to get to. If Joe wanted to lose his love handles to see how lean and ripped he can get as a personal goal not as a way to get other people to "like" him then he will probably succeed in whatever goals he has for himself.

This is similar to how addicts overcome drugs. If they quit because it's better for their family addicts will often fail. If they quit for themselves the chance of success goes way up. Health and fitness are no different.

I hope this helps you guys a bit. I feel for people who want to be accepted. Most everyone wants this, but for the sake of your success, you need to how to focus your goal internally. If you can't do this then you need to work loving yourself for who you are before worrying about training and dieting to be accepted by others.

Talk to you soon,

Dan Mason

Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR

How much? What kind of food? Math is hard!

I am sure you are aware there are a ton of different diets and nutrition plans. Probably the most common are the ones based around counting your macro nutrients and shooting for a calorie and nutrient goal. Here's a little cheat sheet that I give all my clients that can make food choice and amounts easy to figure out. Note this is all pretty "clean" food. If you want to know how much is in a pizza or doughnut I say don't worry about the nutrient content and just continue to get morbidly obese, but be sure to keep that membership to Planet Fitness and pretend like you actually want to get in shape. That way you can blame that sweaty, flabby, ever-worsening body on bad genetics or your "busy" life, and you can tell all your friends "I've tried EVERYTHING!" (Sorry. That's a rant for another day)

So if you are having a mix of Carbs, Proteins, and Fats then grab the prescribed amount of meat and good fats and fill in with either as much veggies as you want or a small serving of the healthy carbs. For best results you should keep the carb consumption to the hours surrounding your workout. For the most fat loss Keep the carbs totally out except for once per week. Lastly don't waste money on recover shakes that are super expensive. Just get some Whey Isolate you like the taste of and add a serving of one of the carb powders listed below for the workout shake. For the best taste try to match the flavors. Watermelon isolate with watermelon Kool-Aid etc. Don't go Chocolate protein with apple juice. Anyway, here's the list!

Lean Protein Sources

Any fish (tuna, salmon, etc…)

Any seafood (shrimp, scallops etc)

Chicken breast

Turkey breast

Any beef 90% or leaner

Any steak 90% or leaner

Any turkey 90% or leaner

Egg Whites or Egg Substitute ( 2 egg whites = 1oz meat)

For meats: 2oz  = 12g protein, 3oz = 18g protein, 4oz = 24g protein

5oz  = 30g protein, 6oz = 36g protein, 7oz = 42g protein Veggies Brocolli Spinach Lettuce Onions Tomatoes Green Peppers Asparagus Cabbage Cauliflower Celery Cucumbers Green Beans Portabella Mushrooms Yellow Squash Zucchini 1 small handful = 1 cup Healthy Fats Small handful of any nuts 1/2 avocado 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp canola oil 2 tbsp any natural nut butter 1 serving apprx = 15g fat Healthy Carbs Whole grain bread Brown rice Whole wheat pasta Oatmeal Sweet Potatoes Quinoa Any fruit Shake Carbs Gatorade Lemonade Fruit Punch Kool Aid Any Fruit Juice Talk to you soon, Dan Mason Dan is a nationally ranked amateur strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004. RoninSTR@gmail.com Instagram: @RoninSTR

The Way of the Ronin

The Ronin, for those who don't know were Samurai in feudal Japan who for various reasons no longer had a home or clan. This could be for many reasons. Their master could have died, the Samurai was disgraced and kicked out of the clan, or in later times due to Japanese law their land could have been annexed by the government causing the same issue. When any of these things happened the Samurai were supposed to kill themselves or lose their honor forever. If they chose not to then they were deemed "Ronin." This was supposed to be a disgraceful label but as time went on many more warriors became part of this class rather than disembowel themselves to save face. From here they would have to strike out on their own and figure out ways to survive. Many became mercenaries and others found work as farmhands or the like. In any case they were no longer in the fold and structure they were used to. They had to go figure out what to do on their own with no guidance. I know...I know. This is supposed to be a blog on training, diet, and other things of that nature not a history lesson. I promise we're getting there.

This is where the Ronin Strength philosophy comes from. For me, I was a partner at a local gym. It was great times and I still love the people there. If you are in Westfield, Indiana you should definitely drop in at CrossFit Thrive and check them out. I tend to be restless though and decided it was time to move on from that project and focus on my own competitive strength endeavors. I more or less, became a Ronin. Even though I sold the gym and everything was pretty smooth transitioning out there was the bitter-sweetness that is to be expected with such a big change, I found myself no longer directly a part of the community I had come to rely on for support. I realized the way I trained had to change, I needed to find training partners, coaches, or a combination of all three. It was an interesting opportunity. Over the past six months I have had to try new ideas on how to train, I had to get used to doing the majority of my training by myself yet still push hard enough to get the results if I was going to be a Strongman Competitor on the national level. It had it's highs and lows but overall I have learned a ton and have been blessed by the blessings and challenges that come with an education bred from experience.

I feel like this can apply to many of you out there as well. So many of us grew up playing sports on teams where our training was laid out for us. We didn't really have to think. We just had to show up and be ready to work. It was hard work, but it was totally doable because it was dropped on us and we had no choice but to put our heads down and grind it out. Once you get out of High School or College though, depending on how far you made it, circumstances change big time. You no longer have a coach yelling at you to do one more rep or work harder. If you didn't develop that voice in your head to drive you then you were out of luck. Add to that the fact that your metabolism starts to slow down so what you eat starts to actually matter, you get busier than you ever were in school with a 40-60 hour a week job, your married, you have kids, etc. It can seem daunting to get back on the ball and reawaken your inner ass kicker. Let me say that I want to be here to inspire you and say that those days do not have to drift into the background of your past. Your time to be awesome has not yet passed. You may think you don't have the time or energy to get after it in the gym, but you do. If it's a priority then you will MAKE it a priority. If you make time to watch TV every night for 1-2 hours you can do some push ups during the commercials. Be like the Ronin. Do not drop to your knees and accept what society says your fate should be or embrace the boring life of menial labor. Get off your ass and go conquer some shit!

Talk to you soon,

Dan Mason

Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR