When You’re Down and You Can’t Let Go

“Oh look, a deli meat!”

“Nobody should be training if they haven’t had any coffee.”
This was an important lesson I learned from Rip many months ago. A warm cup of joe can rejuvenate your mood, warm your loins, and give you a convenient caffeine energy boost.

In order to be useful, your coffee needs to be bold…like your attitude. And America. And my pal Spence, a fighter pilot who grows stronger to battle G-tolerance and enemies who defy him in the air.

A fighter pilot’s breakfast: coffee with a shot of jet fuel, napalm, and a side of death.

A fighter pilot’s breakfast: coffee with a shot of jet fuel, napalm, and a side of death.



Coffee gives you an extra kick when your mind and body feel tired. In fact, sometimes it’s the only thing that can get you prepped for the stress you are about to impart on your body. You can’t get this done with Folgers; you need something dark enough to produce the kick. Caffeine pills can’t accomplish the same thing either; it must have something to do with the the powerful aroma and the boiling liquid coating your belly. Most problems that occur in training are usually correlated with a lack of coffee.

AC likes joe in his mouth in the morning

AC likes joe in his mouth in the morning


70 thoughts on “When You’re Down and You Can’t Let Go

  1. Nothing like my pre-training cup of coffee and the pre-training shit that follows. I remember Rip once writing, “Don”t deadlift when you gotta shit, and don”t shit when you gotta deadlift”. Coffee is important for training and avoiding those unfortunate accidents on the lifting platform.

  2. I don””t drink coffee that often, maybe a couple times a week, but I had a nice cup right before training last week and set a squat and bench PR. Might have to start drinking full time.

    That pic of AC is awesome.

    I mainly drink it to train, although I like the taste.

    And what about the caption that I chose for his picture?

    –Justin

  3. Am I the only one that noticed AC doing a sasquatch pose in the first picture?

    it””s flawless too…he must practice in front of the mirror.

    I knew you would catch it. You’re a quick one. Gonna train in January?

    –Justin

  4. Quick question guys.

    I succesfully managed to pull both my glutes and quads on monday doing squats which left todays squats and deadlifts resembling a bad body pump workout and I left after like 20 minutes of fagging up the gym

    should I attempt the squats and deadlifts again on friday or just move onto the press/powerclean?

    There is not enough information here to help. E-mail me.

    –Justin

  5. I make the coffee so strong that my commander has forbidden me from making it anymore. Obviously, he doesn”t know good coffee, or how to squat, so I generally ignore this and make the coffee anyway.

    On a related note, I now weigh 184 pounds, which is a PR by 18 from May.

  6. Little known fact: lighter roasts actually have more caffeine per cup than darker roasts. But, light roasts do have less body, which, I guess, is the opposite of what we””re going for on 70sbig (i.e. we want more body, not less).

    Which is why we drink multiple cups of the good tasting stuff.

    –Justin

  7. Loving the site!

    I prefer a solid cup of medium roast coffee. Straight up no additions.

    Nothing beats a coffee on the way to the gym in -35C weather… Or a nice iced coffee in +20C and above.

    The lighter the roast the more caffeine. But light roast coffee is like drinking hot water.

    Also can we make a 70sBig Don””””t: Any beverage from Starbucks. Starbucks has got to have the worst coffee in the world. Plus you can””””t just walk in an order a large coffee, it is always a grande half caff double shot mochachino..

    Starbucks is overrated, yes, but it can be a decent substitute. They over-roast it, but you can put more in the filter for some decent tasting stuff.

    Oh, and a quad espresso in a small cup will do the trick.

    –Justin

  8. The place I get my raw milk from also sells coffee that this lady brews, right down the street. It is awesome stuff. Some of the best coffee I”ve ever had.

    And lighter roast coffee does have more caffeine, but that doesn”t mean it has to be weak, just add more grounds to the filter, and BAM! dark, rich, highly caffeinated coffee.

    Personally, I like an express blend.

  9. I laughed out loud at the quote. I actually mixed coffee and protein yesterday before my workout. Its not a bad combination.

    Milk with that combo is pretty good too.

    –Justin

  10. Spence,
    What do you fly? My brother in law is an A-10 pilot which is a pretty small community so I was curious.

    He will fly F-16s. I’ll let him clarify if he wants.

    –Justin

  11. “it must have something to do with the the powerful aroma and the boiling liquid coating your belly.”

    I read this with Ron Burgundy””s voice…

    I typed it in Ron Burgundy’s voice.

    –Justin

  12. Danny: Can I get a large black coffee?

    Barista: A what?

    Danny: Large black coffee.

    Barista: Do you mean a venti?

    Danny: No, I mean a large.

    Barista: Venti is large.

    Danny: No, venti is twenty. Large is large. In fact, tall is large and grande is Spanish for large. Venti is the only one that doesn”t mean large. It”s also the only one that”s Italian. Congratulations, you”re stupid in three languages.

    Barista: A venti is a large coffee.

    Danny: Really? Says who? Fellini? Do you accept lira or is it all euros now?

  13. @ Greg Harris,
    I know what you mean…There”s a huge difference in good, black, hot coffee and what I call “officer” coffee. Just like Rip says about beer, I say about coffee…If you can see through it, it ain”t coffee, it”s just warm liquid that”s taking up space.

  14. @Kevin Perry

    As a regular at a few different coffee shops, I fully appreciate baristas. It”s a quote from the movie Role Models. Kind of responding to EaseUP about Starbucks.

    Just humor, nothing serious.

  15. JEP, awesome quote.

    Strong, black coffee is a must. Try the french press instead of coffee maker. Horrible name, but it makes it stronger due to no paper filter. I drink coffee from a local roaster, shit is like jet fuel.

    Oh yeah, and Starbucks sucks.

    I second the French press.

    –Justin

  16. I”m lucky that my wife runs a local coffee shop. Its unfortunate that she”s too cheap to give her husband a discount. I”m not sure if anyone outside of southeast Louisiana drinks coffee with chicory, but if you haven”t tried it you are really missing out.

    Oh and ice coffee (I mean real iced coffe, not that shit they serve Starbucks) has more caffeine because of the way it is drip brewed.

  17. Edward – where”s that? Sounds awesome.

    kittenSmash – don”t have one of those contraptions, but my Freedom Press made a helluva cup this morning. Goes great with bacon.

  18. JEP- Role Models

    Elizabeth- Boondock Saints

    Oh and AC in the Sasquatch pose is probably the funniest thing ever. I didn”t see it til moody pointed it out and I burst out laughing in the middle of university library…

  19. @caseydonovan- yay, you got it.

    i might just want a bagel w/ my coffee

    That Sasquatch pic is hilarious. i”ve been sitting here at my desk cracking up all day. You guys are funny

  20. Anyone a coffee snob? I bought a burr grinder recently and it has been incredible. I only buy whole bean coffee and really prefer single origin coffees like Costa Rica Terrazu and Guatemala Antigua. Anyone else have single origin favorites?

    You should try roasting it yourself. Much better.

    –Justin

  21. Speaking as a person who really loves coffee (I have an espresso machine in my garage gym so I can make that shit real strong!) I love today”s article! I know that caffeine increases a muscle”s ability to contract which is a good thing for lifting weights, also, two new studies came out this very week on coffee. One links regular coffee drinking to decreased incidence of prostate cancer and the other shows regular coffee drinking lowers your chances of developing type 2 diabetes. No cancer, no diabetes, more PRs? Hell yeah!

  22. I love coffee. Fuck Starbucket.

    I had an espresso machine too. A wall mounted one that was really nice (expensive).

    It fell off the wall and broke. That was a sad day.

  23. Jacob, that is exactly what I was getting at.

    Brandon, I m no coffee snob, but I do only buy whole bean. It is just fresher that way. My fav is this medium roast Peruvian I get from a local roaster. Shit is incredible.
    Looking back a few years, I would have never seen myself with a grinder and a Freedom press at home.

  24. You guys don”t have to call it a French Press. The French don”t. They call it a Press! *badump bump*

    Joking, it”s called a cafetière you untravelled bafoons.

  25. hey justin,

    ive gained 15 lbs since 5 months ago and am still having lower back pain, according to ripp, this is normal. is it? my back seems to be rounding even on the lightest of weights.

    What do you mean according to Rip? And it appears that you need a coach.

    –Justin

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