01
Endurance
I used to think the first time I wanted to stop was my limit. It almost never is. It took years of interval sets to notice I usually had a few more lengths in me, and that I was mostly just bored.
Swimming · interval sets
ATHLETICS & DISCIPLINE // WHAT I DO FOR FUN
Athletics & Discipline
The body as a standard.
Some people relax with a movie. I pick up heavy things and put them back down again, on purpose, and then get in a pool to feel better about it.
Mind-Body Connection // The Honest Answer
What do you do for fun?
I am told the correct answer involves friends and a beach. Mine involves a barbell, a pool and a chessboard, fitted into whatever gaps the week leaves. Plenty of great programmers have never touched a weight, and they are doing fine. I do not train to become a better engineer. I train because after a long day of systems that may or may not work, it is nice when a thing is simply heavy.
It does not always go well. Some weeks the work wins and my average sleep is about 2.5 hours, which I do not recommend and will not pretend is a strategy. I miss sessions. Some days I lift exactly like someone who slept two and a half hours, because I did. But I come back, and it is the one part of my week nobody is paying me to optimise.
It gets done in the middle of everything else, or it does not get done.
01
Strength
Controlled force · weightlifting
01
STRENGTH // CONTROLLED FORCE
Weightlifting
Weightlifting is the
pursuit of controlled force.
It is not just aggression.
It is structure.
Every lift demands
setup, timing, tension,
recovery, and technical precision.
The bar has no interest
in intention.
Preparation is the only
argument it accepts.
02
Competition
Arena pressure · swimming & wushu
02
COMPETITION // ARENA PRESSURE
Sports
Sport puts technique inside pressure. Swimming and wushu force timing, speed, endurance, and composure to coexist while the body is busy asking for easier options.
Personal bests · 50m
- 1Freestyle27s
- 2Butterfly31s
- 3Backstroke35s
- 4Breaststroke38s
Fifty metres, in real time
Stroke when the marker reaches the line. Too fast and you spin, too slow and the water stops you. Every breath costs speed, and running out of air costs more.
Pace to beat
–Strokes on the beat
–Breaths taken
–Your best today
The blue swimmer holds the same speed from the breakout to the wall, which is more than I have ever managed.
03
Strategy
Calculated sequence · chess
03
STRATEGY // CALCULATED SEQUENCE
CHESS
CALCULATION
Evaluate all variables. See beyond the obvious.
MEMORY
Store the patterns. Recall with precision.
CONSEQUENCE
Every move has weight. Nothing is without result.
SEQUENCE
Think in layers. Build winning lines.
SACRIFICE
Give to gain. Create lasting advantage.
PRESSURE
Test. Provoke. Endure. Make opponents break.
POSITION
Control space. Own the board.
[
ANALYSIS MODE
]
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Analysis Mode
Tap the knight for the next opening. The four numbers are Stockfish's score after each move shown, worked out ahead of time. Above zero favours White.
▶
MENTAL ATHLETICS
Discipline the mind. Turn focus into strength. Endure. Adapt. Outthink.
▶
TACTICAL PATTERNING
Recognize motifs. Anticipate threats. Convert patterns into wins.
▶
SACRIFICE & POSITION
Exchange for initiative. Trade for structure. Build superiority that lasts.
04
Transformation
Consistency · progress
04 // Training & Consistency
Progress
The body is just the visible receipt, and I'm not done paying in. The real transaction is months of training, food, recovery, mistakes, restraint, and showing up when nobody can yet see the result.
-
01
Comfort Zone
Weeks 1-4 · BaseLifting without energy regulation or training structure. Instinct only - and the low endurance to prove it.
-
02
Severe Depletion
Weeks 5-10 · BuildAn aggressive -1200 kcal deficit plus high-volume cardio. Recovery fell, performance plateaued, and the lesson stuck.
-
03
Rebuilt Symmetry
Weeks 11-16 · RefineHeavy compounds, real food, real sleep. Strength, endurance, and balance locked into something sustainable.
Frame01/ 09
Week01
30Index
Teachings // So Far
What Training Taught Me
I did not work any of this out on purpose. Most of it, I learned by getting it wrong first.
02
Consistency
I tried changing everything at once, and I ended up at 57 kg. What actually worked was so boring I nearly missed it: one ordinary session, then another one.
Progress · still going
03
Control
Wushu told me force without control is wasted. I did not really believe it until I put 130 kg on a bar and my back filed the complaint.
Wushu · then my back
04
Strategy
Chess taught me to distrust the first attractive move. I still fall for it. I just feel worse about it now.
Chess · rapid & blitz05
Recovery
I am the wrong person to teach this one. I know growth happens during rest, and I can explain exactly why. I am working on it, in the sense that I have noticed.
Sleep · food · patience
Operating OS // Conclusion
The Standard
I do not really have a standard so much as a habit of turning up. Some days that is a good session. Some days it is twenty minutes on no sleep, between two other things. I stopped waiting for the week where it all fits, because that week has never come.