First of all it was nice to meet all the lurkers. I’m glad you guys get something out of this. I’m also glad that many of you are apparently miscers. We should have a miscer meet up some time. At a Gold’s Gym. We can all wear tank tops. Do a bunch of lat delt raises and curls together. Point and stare at hot chicks. Not talk to them. It sounds like a real fucking good Saturday to me.

asdf asks:

Update on VPVG? When’s the wedding and how many months pregnant is she?

Oh I’m actually glad you asked. I’ll probably be invited TO her wedding – I don’t know when it is going to be, you’ll have to ask her or the guy she went facebook official with. The last time I text her she didn’t respond it’s fine. To be fair I text her “so what are you wearing” after having not spoken with her for more than a week. And before that I text her, “I just want you to know that the doctor just walked in on me taking a dump,” which was a true story. I thought I’d locked the door. The bathrooms at the clinic are single-person and don’t have stalls. She thought the poop exhibition story was funny. Please respond.

I pressed 185lbs for two doubles yesterday (Monday), which is one rep better than last time I did this. It would have been cooler if I pressed it for a triple though.

Front squat 355lbs x 3, 365lbs x 2, did some shitty ring-dips at +90lbs, Saul said I could have descended an inch lower.

Tonight I snatched up to 225lbs and cleaned up to 295lbs and managed to get it overhead, but not without my left elbow unlocking in the process of trying to hold it:

So this isn’t a c+j PR but it is the most I’ve held overhead.

I then did some snatch-grip pulls, barbell rows, weighted chins at +75lbs for two sets, and barbell curls. For the guy who wanted to see my barbell rowing:

Danger asks:

Hey Brent! What made you decide to oly lift instead of powerlifting?
Is it because oly lifting has more cool montages on YouTube?

Oly lifting is funner to me. I like the skill and timing component. I like the feel of smoking the pull and being right where I need to be to receive the bar and stand with it. I like the feel of a smooth, controlled dip and an explosive drive and the feeling of catching the barbell with elbows locked. Those are pretty addicting once you’ve felt them and I like trying to repeat those with weights I haven’t lifted before. PL is OK too but I feel like there is not as much challenge or necessity in performing the lifts well.

cmoney writes:

Brent, how do you feel about Jon North? It was pretty fun watching him take 3rd in the American Open.
It was also pretty fun watching our best lifter bomb out because 191 was just too hard to jerk. What does it say about our country that our best lifter jerks like a fucking asshole?

Jon North is a motivated and talented athlete who has consistently exhibited progress. I have to respect him for that. I used to not be a fan of his antics or demeanor but after watching more of the Cal Strength vids he just seems like a guy who doesn’t take himself too serious and has a lot of fun. I am a fan of Jon North.

Re: “what does it say about our country,” first of all, I hate the whole agenda about “American weightlifting” as if anyone should give a shit about how our country places on the world stage. It’s just fucking lifting weights. No one gives that much of a shit about it and if you do you maybe you should start training to qualify for the World Team. If you’re that fucking unhappy about how the US ranks in this sport why don’t you go and inject a gram of test a week and do something about it. Everyone who is talking shit about the guys in the B and C and D sessions of international meets is a fucking armchair athlete who would never be selected to be on the World Team in the first place. “Oh they should train different oh they’re squatting the wrong way oh they’re not strong enough they need to pull a heavy triple.” Fucking give me a break. Where are the athletes who train “the right way?” Because they’re not posting totals at high-level meets. It’s pretty rare for the people criticizing the athletes at the OTC and regional development centers to even be actively involved in the sport.

Jared Fleming, Jon North, and Ian Wilson are motivated athletes. So they don’t c+j 95% of the world record – I’m sure they’re real sorry they’re not meeting your standards. But they fucking smoke you and you’d probably embarrass yourself if you put in the hours they did. They’re training, have achieved results that make them among the best athletes in the US, and are striving to get better. Whether or not you agree with their methodology is irrelevant. It’s hard for me to imagine that the people who think they’re not good enough have accomplished or even attempted to achieve a fraction of what they have.

Paul writes:

What exactly is a “gordon fuck”? Where does the saying come from? If I puss out on a snatch and act like a jelly dicked virgin about lifting weights= bit of a fucking gordon? Aware me.

A gordon fuck is an awkward-looking loser. If someone walks around with an internally-rotated, hyper-kyphotic posture, they’re a gordon fuck. If someone is wearing a short-sleeve button up shirt, khakis, and brown sucks, he’s a gordon fuck. If you see someone doing high rep clean-and-push presses with no hip extension, the bar out in front of him overhead, and 115lbs on the bar, he’s a gordon fuck.

Tiny writes:

Lurker here, I use “its fine” at least nine times throughout the day now. It’s fine.

lol

asdf writes:

Brent can you codify and share the folder/list of things that have been said and done to you that make you want to train? Or at least a few important samples. Thanks.

I’d rather not.