METAL. FITNESS. MISCELLANEOUS NONSENSE

POWER METAL FREE SINCE 2025

BOTH KINDS OF HEAVY

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In recent weeks, this site has more accurately been One Kind of Heavy. I've been doing a looooot of metal content and not much in the way of fitness content. If I have any long-time readers, you might recognize this as a pattern. But hey, metal is a much easier hobby to maintain than fitness. Today, however, you fitness fans are in for a treat! Well, maybe not a treat, but a legitimate piece of BKOH-original fitness advice, anyway. Warning: if you follow this particular tip, your family may disown you. You may find yourself ripped yet lonely. Still with me? Then head onwards for a very simple, very healthy, and very, very smelly breakfast recipe!

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Headphones surrounding a dumbbell on a weight rack

Here it is, folks: the most perfect Both Kinds of Heavy topic of all time. Today, the new Jeff Nippard newsletter hit my inbox on this very topic. It turns out that there have been many studies on this topic over the years, and science actually has an answer to this question. 

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Stock image of two 22 lb. dumbbells.

During my appearance on the radio last weekend, I said my goal was to get back to posting some fitness content this week. What I'd love to say right now is that I'm fully back on track - last week I got into the gym five times, and used my diet tracking app most days. I wanted to be able to say that this was my second week without any hiccups in my fitness plan.


Unfortunately, I can't say that. Yesterday, I had to work from home due to an unexpected repair issue that popped up. As I work out in my office's gym, I missed that workout. I'm back in the office today, but didn't want to start on this week's five day routine when I'd only be able to get four days in. But, I did get into the gym today for a little freestyle workout - 16 sets of two pull-ups, with a minute and a half of rest in between. The rest of the week, I'll go into the gym and use some of the other foundational exercise routines I've learned over the past several years of lifting. And, if nothing else breaks next week, I'll get back to my standard five-day routine next week. Just putting it out there to keep myself honest.

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Well, I stayed up way past my bedtime last night to join KFAI's Root of All Evil show, but it was definitely worth it. I had an absolute blast talking about this site, fitness, and Fire in the Mountains. You can listen to the archived show here. I stick around for the first three hours. Thanks again to host The Doof Lawyer for having me on!

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Definitely not a photo of the author.

Immediate caveat: I am garbage at pull-ups. I've mentioned that before, so when I say that I doubled my reps today, my pull-up performance has improved from "bad" to "slightly less bad." That said, I did genuinely make a big improvement with one simple form tip, which I am happy to pass along to you. 
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It's been far too long since I wrote any fitness-related posts, so let's correct that, shall we? Yesterday, Jeff Cavaliere published his latest video, "How Fit Are You REALLY? (7 "Simple" Tests), which I've embedded above. These tests are focused on mobility and functionality, rather than cardiovascular health, raw strength, or other important categories, and he stresses that these are not a complete look at fitness. Still, they're seven relatively quick ways you can test your fitness so you can identify weak points and train to improve them.

I put myself through these tests and did indeed find some weak points. 
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Godflesh is probably my favorite band that I haven't seen live. Unfortunately,  it looks like I will never get the chance to change that, as Justin Broadrick announced today that he is permanently retiring the band as a touring entity. The reason, he explained in a recent Instagram post, is that he recently required a fairly serious abdominal surgery, and he doesn't believe that he can perform the band's intense vocal style any longer without the risk of serious damage to his abdominal wall. 
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I'm not going to lie, Christmas really snuck up on me this year. To be honest, I'm not even sure if we have all the gifts we need for everyone, and Christmas Eve is tomorrow! This is all to say that if I was more on top of thing, I probably would have written this post earlier. Oh well! Anyway, here are some fitness-related gifts that I personally recommend, or am really interested in trying myself. 
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Fitness and music are two of my major interests, but if anyone follows me on Bluesky, they'll know that politics occupies a similarly large portion of my brain. Sometimes, two of these three major interests converge, and today is definitely one of those moments. Yesterday, I learned about the Turners, members of German-American gymnastics clubs called Turnverein. It strikes me that Americans could benefit greatly by emulating this German movement from the 1800s, and not just physically - maybe I'm being a hopeless optimist, but I think that embracing the teachings of this movement could go a long way towards healing some of the bigger sociopolitical issues in our country today. 
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For the last several weeks I've been pretty good about writing about one of my two chosen lanes. There's been plenty of metal content on this little site. The fitness side of things... not so much. This won't be the first time I've written about this and it won't be the last, but I'm in the midst of a little fitness fail. Today is Tuesday, and I made it into the gym both today and yesterday, but today's workout was a struggle. That may be because the previous two weeks were a mess - I got in one or two workouts in each of those two weeks. And in the weeks before that, I was getting in my five workouts a week, but concerned that I might be plateaued. My lifts weren't progressing. Some were maybe even moving backwards. And with the holidays upon us, I know I won't be able to hit some things as hard as normal. 

Had I not stalled out, I would be finished up with my current 12-week program by now. Instead, I'm on my third attempt to get through week 10. But like SpongeBob, I shall persevere. He's honestly a great fitness role model! The little dude just doesn't quit and has a great attitude no matter what challenges come his way. Plus, he seems very comfortable in his own skin (does he have skin?). 

I'm going to channel my inner SpongeBob. I'll get through this program in fits and starts, but I'll get it done. Then I'll keep thing up with "maintenance" workouts as much as possible through to the new year, when I'll start my next program, full of confidence that I'll get through this fitness low point and come back stronger than ever. Just like SpongeBob would do.

Then I'll celebrate with a Krabby Patty, because life is about balance. And let's be honest, they look tasty as hell.