Lift & Read Issue 13

I finished book 5 of the Red Rising series – "Dark Ages."

What a doozy. 753 pages of twists and turns. I'm going to take a couple months off before reading the 6th and [currently] final book of the series: "Light Bringer." Reading 2 of those books back to back is a serious mental and emotional commitment, not to mention the time investment required.

I'm moving on to Graham Greene's 1955 book, "The Quiet American." I read Greene's "Our Man in Havana" a few months ago and loved his witty, satirical style. I've read the introduction to, "The Quiet American" and it seems like the premise of the book is quite fascinating. The title itself appears to be a play on irony, as the guy that wrote the intro states that no American in the book is "quiet."

Anyway, it's a book that has received wildly positive reviews for 70 years and counting. I'm looking forward to reading a shorter fiction book after a few 700 pagers. 

As far as physical culture and non-fiction are concerned, I'm still slowly, but surely, working through "Disciplines of a Godly Man" and "Eat, Stop, Eat." I'm really enjoying both of these by the way! I can't recommend either enough. I've got some thoughts and ideas jotted down that I want to share from "Eat, Stop, Eat." I look forward to sharing some interesting insights and facts that Brad Pilon shares in that book. 

On the lifting side, I'm currently running my PPL 4X template. That stands for Pull, Push, Legs, 4 Exercises per session.

A brief overview of the program is:

Train 3-6 days per week (alternating between pull, push, and leg sessions). Split up the sessions however you want. Just do at least 3 sessions per week. I'm generally getting 4-6 sessions with this template because each workout takes only 20-30 minutes to complete, and each muscle group has at least 3 days to recover, even if I'm training on back to back days. This is one of the major perks of a PPL split, if you enjoy training frequently. It allows you to do so while also making it easy to accomplish high quality training in short amounts of time. 

Pull

Ex 1: pullups x 2-3 sets

Ex 2: row variation x 2-3 sets

Ex 3: bicep curl variation x 2-3 sets

Ex 4: forearm isolation, hammer curl, or shrugs x 2-3 sets

Push

Ex 1: overhead press variation x 2-3 sets

Ex 2: bench press or pushup variation x 2-3 sets

Ex 3: tricep isolation x 2-3 sets 

Ex 4: lateral raise variation x 2-3 sets

Legs

Ex 1: squat variation x 2-3 sets

Ex 2: hinge variation x 2-3 sets

Ex 3: secondary single leg squat or lunge x 2-3 sets

Ex 4: calf raise x 2-3 sets 

Have fun. Read some entertaining books and lift weights every week!

Improve your mind and your body.

For me, lifting weights frequently (but briefly) and reading daily brings me peace of mind and tranquility. If those things seem cool, maybe give it a shot. 20-30 minutes of each activity each day keeps the doctor (and the witch doctor) away. (Probably).