Never Let Go: A Philosophy of Lifting, Living and Learning

by Dan John

Make yourself a slave to good habits.

“Choose wisely.” And not very often.

If it can sit on your shelf for years, it probably will sit on your hips and belly that long, too.

As you wander around the grocery store, you’ll notice yesterday’s diet crazes are today’s staples.

Never shop or go out hungry. That’s right, eat before you go out to eat.

Use whole-body lifts; rarely isolate a muscle. • Constantly strive to add weight to the bar, and move it faster. • The best anabolic is water. • Did you eat breakfast? If not, don’t ask me anything about nutrition. • If you smoke or don’t wear your seatbelt, please don’t tell me the quick lifts are dangerous. • Go heavy, go hard. • Keep it simple. Less is more. • You have to put the bar over your head. • Put the bar on the floor and pick it up a bunch of different ways. • Know and love the roots of your sport.

“If it’s important, do it every day. If it isn’t, don’t do it at all.”

Without straps, from the floor, the deadlift might be the single best measure of absolute strength.

I’m comfortable giving them away because few people will really apply these simple points.

“Come, enter into my imagination and see me as I truly am.”

let’s break down the body by movements, rather than by muscle:

The problem is yes, everything works. Doing everything at once makes you marginal at everything... at best.

Great note on programs

There are no Great Mysteries to strength training and body recomposition. That’s the realm of religion and theology.

Let’s make it simple. There are basically nine different movements you should do as a human: • Vertical Push • Vertical Pull • Horizontal Push • Horizontal Pull • The Squatting Motion • The Posterior Chain (I call these deadlifts) • The Anterior Chain (sit-ups, leg raises) • The Twist or Torque Moves • The Total-body Explosion Exercises (If you’re limited by time, these are the ones to do.)

Be as strict as possible. Why? Because no one gives a damn about how many pull-ups you can do. There’s no professional league, no Olympic gold medal nor any celebrity endorsements. It’s a measurement. Don’t cheat and turn this into some kind of dance move; just use your arms and back.

Kipping = pullup dancing lol

Look at your goals. Look at your behavior. Does your behavior match your goals?

The road to excellence is going to really hurt the self-esteem,