A Return to Form
The Less I Knew, The Better Off I Was
My Path to Muscle and Might
By Adam Mundorf
A Return to Form
Life has a way of sweeping you along. Whether it's getting caught in the minutia of everyday life or you make mistakes, sometimes you forget what originally made you feel your best. There was a time in my life when I felt strong, confident and healthy. As Dan John says : "It worked so well, I stopped doing it." This is my return to form, I have wasted enough of my time.
The Less I Knew, The Better Off I Was
Man, sometimes only having one option is the best option. This was my origin in physical training, I had one book : Enter the Kettlebell by Pavel. That was the only book on physical training that I owned and thus it was the only thing I followed. My results were extraordinary and left me feeling fantastic. Then the problems hit : I started buying more books and began losing course. I began mixing programs like I was some sort of alchemist. I began hearing multiple opinions about different aspects of physical training and suddenly my mind was muddled with contradictions. Are weights healthy or are calisthenics better? Should I skip breakfast or skip dinner? Should I do the program minimum or the Rite of Passage?
Don't be so open-minded that your brain falls out. Pavel wrote a great article a while back : When You Don't Know What You Believe...
How I wish I could go back to being 'naive' about things. The more I think about it, the more I realize I can! All I need to do is put on my blinders and have a one book/program policy. Everything else stays on the shelf.
My Path to Muscle and Might (Maybe) : Do the Dang Programs as Written : Beginning on 02/15/2025
As much as I've jumped from thing to thing over the years, I have still gleaned valuable insight into proper program progressions and what a good path forward is. You will see an excerpt after each program that states bus bench and park bench. This is inspired by Dan John. The bus bench program has tangible goals and is on a timeline while the park bench is where we sit and stay a while. There may still be goals within a park bench program but there is more flexibility baked in.
This is my path to Muscle and Might :
- Fighter Pull Up Plan rotated with Soju and Tuba (Bus Bench)(Rejuvenation)
- Goal
- 1/2 Bodyweight Chin-Up
- Reasoning
- This will give you great strength in the chin up and the kettlebell press. The press program is there to give me some weighted Chin Ups and something from different from the peaking program of the fighter pull up program.
- Rite of Passage (Bus Bench) (Hypertrophy)
- Goal
- 1/2 Bodyweight Press
- 200 Snatches in 10 Minutes with 24kg
- Reasoning
- This will provide you with a broad foundation based around the press, chin up, swing and snatch. Plus there are two variety days for get ups and other in-between exercises.
- Return of the Kettlebell (Bus Bench) (Hypertrophy)
- Goal
- Bodyweight Press with Double Kettlebells
- Long Cycle Clean and Jerk with 32kg
- Goal Dependent on Bodyweight.
- If you're 200 pounds you'll have to put up 20 reps.
- Reasoning
- This will give you a solid hypertrophy and strength plan to build upon your Rite of Passage foundation.
- Kettlebell Axe and One Arm Push-ups (Park Bench) (Rejuvenation)
- Goal
- 40 Sets of 6 h2h swings with 48kg
- One Arm Push-ups
- Naked Warrior Style
- Reasoning
- This will build your power with your new found strength and hypertrophy. Kettlebell Axe will give you power and endurance while the one arm push-ups will give you some different pushing power.
- Quick and the Dead with Kettlebell Muscle Rotated in 12 Week Blocks (Park Bench and Bus Bench) (Rejuvenation/Hypertrophy)
- Goal
- Keep on Rotating until 32kg is Reached in Kettlebell Muscle.
- Reasoning
- Kettlebell Muscle is a legacy program of hypertrophy. This will allow you to build solid amounts of muscle and q&d will provide you with conditioning/power.
- Time for Barbell Training (Rejuvenation/Hypertrophy)
- Probably something StrongFirst related like Reload or Power to the People. Kettlebells possibly will be included as an accessory.
- Time for Specialization
- One Movement Programs
- Auto Regulated Programs like Simple and Sinister etc.
- Gymnastics
- Ballet
- Etc
When to Skip
If you have a day where you literally have no time. Skip and pick up where you left off. Your body doesn't know the difference between 7 or 8 days, just stick with it and don't change course! Quit stressing about working out when we workout to live, not live to workout.
This leads to a caveat, only skip sessions if you don't have time. Fatigue, stress and feelings are no reason to miss a training session. You have to man up, mitigate stress and get to bed on time!
Diet Time
Man, I've struggled with diet from time to time and still am trying to find my way to optimize my health. Pretty much, I use a form of intermittent fasting or under-eating while eating most of my calories at night/after the work day is done. I avoid all caffeine (a recent evolution) and supplements. You'll notice in the above section, there are two separate kinds of programs : rejuvenation and hypertrophy. These both require different eating approaches but should still be similar and sustainable. The rejuvenation is lower calorie and has more nutritious food. The hypertrophy phase is higher calorie and has more eating out.
- Rejuvenation
- Day Time
- Nighttime
- Salad
- Steamed Vegetables
- Protein Source
- Twice a Week
- Twice a Week
- Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches
- Three Times a Week
- Hypertrophy
- Day Time
- Nighttime
- Salad
- Steamed Vegetables
- Protein Source
- Twice a Week
- Once a Week
- Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches
- Four Times a Week
Thank you for reading
Adam Mundorf
