Claim your strength but check your pride

Hi friend!

This newsletter is a new, imperfect work-in-progress that I'm trying as a creative outlet (you can blame Brené Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection). I also want to stay connected with my big community that supports Out Fitness, but algorithms keep getting in our way. So bring back the quiet, old-school newsletter. (I've been inspired for years by Casey Johnson, whose writing is always a delight in my inbox.)

Every newsletter needs a name, so I'm testing out "Strong Stuff," because I've found strength training to be a great metaphor for overcoming your doubts and being an active part of positive change. (If you have a clever name suggestion, send it to me.)

My writing will follow this theme:

When we each feel stronger, we can build a better world. So it's important to reclaim strength from toxic fitness culture and uplift what's already strong about you and everything you love.

Ego-death deadlift

I mentioned deadlifts in my reflection on 10 years of weightlifting. They’re my most recent exercise and incredibly challenging but thrilling. I’m chasing more plates on the bar, because that progression in weight excites me.

The thing is, I’ve been using momentum in my deadlifts, letting my shoulders sag and relying on rebounds to get too much weight off the floor.

A podcast recently reminded me that, if your goal is building muscular strength, lifting any weight is just a means to that end. I'd forgotten that absolute heaviness at any cost is not my goal. Duh. My deteriorating technique wouldn't fully stimulate the target muscles and neurons into adaptation.

We gotta keep our lifts slow and controlled; it's 101 stuff but requires diligence. So here in year 11, I am humbling myself by deadlifting fewer plates at an intentional pace, with pauses at top and bottom to suck out the momentum. Now it feels more tedious and tiring! Which indicates better muscle recruitment. I’m also correcting other exercises that had picked up pace over the years, like dumbbell bench presses that were a bit too bouncy.

When I log smaller numbers, it feels like going backward, but unlike ego lifting, this is the only path to real progress. The numbers will tick up again as evidence of new strength from using good form; the numbers aren’t the driver of that strength.

The Land Line

For my day job, we created this phone booth. It’s quirky and quasi-vintage but with a serious goal: City neighborhoods are stronger when people speak up about loving them. The results have been heartwarming! You can follow Love Cleveland Neighborhoods on socials to see video messages that people have recorded, like this one.

Better world builders

Here are people I'm seeing use their strengths in ways that I find inspiring.

Yes, chef: My former neighbor, chef C.K. Simmons, is publishing Industry Plant, a food magazine with a strong point of view. Issues 001 and 002 are out now and well worth your dollars! I learned about Ohio tea-makers Dominique and Kashala, and I tried cooking chana palak kahari, a veganized Pakistani dish.

Lifting the least: Only 20 minutes of strength training per week can result in significant strength gains for years. That research inspired Dr. Patroklos “Pak” Androulakis Korakakis to write his book, Train Smarter, Not Longer: The Minimum Effective Dose for Muscular Development. If we want strength training to be accessible for everyone, we shouldn’t look at the full-time training careers of athletes and bodybuilders. Start by trying one gym machine for each muscle group just once per week.

Deadly take: The funniest essay I've read lately is, "If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you," by Sam Kriss. It's dark but has helped people trust their instincts when they notice eerie language. (It's not just a creepy aesthetic – it's bone-curdling, a ghostly betrayal, and a third thing.)

Reminder, if you enjoyed my writing, please share this link with a friend or loved one.

Until next time, claim and enjoy your strength!