Swagger

I want to thank you for the programming. I don’t play football, but I did reap the benefits of your training today. I caught a guy breaking into my truck and trying to steal my dog and guitar this afternoon. WTF! I sprinted over and leapt while kicking the door into his body and then proceeded to beat him mercilessly and finally, power clean and body slam him into a wall. Without your program, I wouldn’t have been able to do what had to be done; sprinting, jumping, beating down was just another DWOD. Now I am going to have some tequila and chill the fuck out. 

Comment by Zac Hunter — June 2, 2012 at 6:02pm

This comment was the first post on a rest day a few months back. I have always contended CFFB has real world application outside the gym and gridiron, but this takes it to a new level. Take a simple program focused on strength and speed with increased capacity, add a sprinkling of something we call “physiology of discomfort”, and you have the makings of a great training system that produces real world results.

But could there be something more at work then just good programming? A great many sites and people offer quality training but what is it about this prescription that is helping many achieve their goals inside and outside of the weight room?

Recently, an article came out in Scientific American with the title, Mice That Eat Yogurt Have Larger Testicles. M.I.T. researchers conducted the study, and while the information presented in Scientific American is compelling, the study has not yet been published and, from what I can tell, the controls employed in the study were inadequate at best.

The scientists feed mice yogurt in hopes of understanding how a diet rich in probiotics affects obesity and cancer. What they found was interesting. They noticed the yogurt feed mice were shiny and had 10 times the active follicle density of other mice.

And they noticed the yogurt fed male mice had testicles that “projected outward, which endowed them with a certain ‘mouse swagger’…” They found the testes of the rats to be about 5% heavier of those fed a typical diet and 15% heavier than those fed junk food.

Turns out the shiny coat and large testicles paid dividends when it came to attracting mates and producing more offspring.

While the study doesn’t tell us much about their diets and the controls were not good, it still begs the question; can probiotics help increase testosterone levels?

We know that increasing gut health by eating fermented foods, such as Greek yogurt, raw milk, and cheese, while avoiding foods that cause inflammation in the gut, aid in increasing testosterone levels and increasing recovery by reducing unnecessary or excess inflammation and increasing absorption of necessary nutrients

What else increases testosterone levels?

1 – A diet rich in branch chain amino acids has been shown to increase testosterone levels and with adequate levels of dietary fat being key to a healthy androgen profile.

2 – Proper supplementation, like the one I discussed many times on TTMJ, can result in increased testosterone levels.

3 – Increased testosterone levels have been shown to follow heavy resistance training.

4 – Sufficient rest between training bouts and a generous helping of carbohydrates in your post workout meal has been shown to blunt cortisol, increase recovery and raise testosterone levels.

While it is easy to say that proper training, supplementation, diet and rest aid in a healthy androgen profile, what we are not examining is the individuals following the training and diet.

Anyone who follows CFFB and eats for performance could be written off as slightly deranged or maybe the site is selecting for a certain type of individual.

This individual is highly motivated, educated, and competitive and doesn’t buy into the standard bullshit. Rather, this special breed of individuals recognizes something good when they see it. This usually includes first responders, operators, military, LEO, power athletes the world over, and those than want the speed and strength to power slam a potential car thief.

Individuals like the power athlete who submitted the x-ray above. And those little pieces you see floating around…those are fragments from an AK-47 round.

He trains daily.

The CFFB Nation is composed of people training to be strong and fast, not just for the sake of being strong and fast. They have goals and real world application of the program. With the aid of this thing we call the internet they unlimited knowledge and training resources at their disposal and have chosen to take this journey.

Remember, next time you walk into the gym you are not training, lifting, “wodding” or “getting your motherfuckin’ WOD on”…you are building “swagger.”

And a new installment from the Crock Pot Diaries, this one comes direct from Chief of TFP.

For the dry rub:

2 tablespoons salt
About 40 grinds black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground mustard seed
12 ounces good ale or dark beer
4 cloves garlic, chopped
8-pound pork butt (shoulder of the animal)

Apply dry rub and let it sit in the fridge over night wrapped in foil.  The next day, sear it on both sides over medium high heat (about a minute or two per side) in an iron skillet, just enough to brown it.  Once that was done put it in the pot, fat side up (just like I like my women).  Poured the beer over top and add the chopped garlic.  Cooked on low for eight hours.

And of course…serves one.