Emelkedik

"Are you aware of what you're getting yourself into? If you fail now, there's no turning back. You're not in a condition to pull this off, and you know it."

I've been bombarded with opinions like these ever since I took Asis Shavershian's lifestyle out of the freezer. Those closest to me unanimously agree that I'm currently in a very bad state; this year has drained me on every level, and the hardest, roughest part is yet to come, when the machinery kicks in. So, the timing isn't exactly ideal, and this program will definitely knock me to the ground at first, as I'll have to make radical changes to my lifestyle. I also need to project an image of a strong leader, because that will be necessary once the real business starts, that much is certain.

More and more people around me are saying I'll tear myself apart and won't be able to handle this double burden. There was a time when I loved myself and the person I had become. I was proud of myself and everything I had created. I constantly took risks, sought challenges, but preferably ones that, if unsuccessful, would lead to devastating failures. But these were exactly what I looked for, because from every such setback, I could move forward even stronger, and most importantly, I could still rejoice when I achieved something. Today, that has changed, and I do my things with apathetic weariness. Somehow I've become tired, and there's nothing that can lift me out of this state. Familiar feelings returned to me, and framing my last 2 years, after so many external influences, new acquaintances, and a complete upheaval of my life, I ultimately arrived back where I started, as far as making a living is concerned.

I used to love this blog because I owed it so much. It was like a room where I could escape, and no one would bother me. I had a life, a job I hated like hell, but I had this blog, which always calmed me down when I thought of it during the day. Then, of course, everything changed, and now we're at a point where if I tell a questioner to fuck off on Formspring, a Facebook message comes telling me I shouldn't, that I'm a company leader now, and I can't afford to do that. Well, that was the point when, rowing in the same boat or not, I would have gladly set fire to the chat window. Of course, now I could rebel and say no, and screw the system, but the matter is much sadder than that, because what I once thought was the cause of all my troubles, what chained the wings of the spirit within me—that is, employee life and corporate mentality—has now turned out to be a chain that will always be on me. Even if you're an owner and have no one above you, you no longer have to swallow your pride because of your boss and your job, but out of consideration for business partners; you no longer want to cover utility costs as a fixed expense, but utilities + hundreds of thousands of forints as fixed costs associated with the company. In other words, everything is the same as when I was an employee, only the proportions have changed, and very much so.

Maybe I'm not ready for this program, but right now I need it in the truest sense of the word, on every level. I'm mentally exhausted, intellectually and emotionally empty, and I've had to face the fact that I've changed a lot as a person. I reread my old posts and simply couldn't believe I wrote them. I was reading the thoughts of a completely different personality, a different person, and that was frightening and shocking to me. Lately, I haven't been able to enjoy anything; nothing interested me, even though my life is progressing at an unprecedented pace. It's not a pleasant feeling when you have your material possessions, but you're just suffering because you know something is missing.

Now I could formulate goals, explain why or for whom I'm doing this, what I want to achieve with it, and make promises like most zero-series minute-bloggers, saying I'll show them now, but I won't. I don't have world-changing feelings, I don't want to move mountains or make a statement, I don't want to show anyone anything. I simply need this right now. A program, a change, an ordering of my thoughts, which only sports can provide; only this can help.

I'll start on January 3rd, and nothing else will matter. I'll go back to basics, completely shut out the outside world, and after a long time, it will be just me again and no one else, just me and my thoughts. Too much has changed around me, and I need to sort out all this madness that has happened to me in the past year and a half. Running alone in the city, on the island, in the mountains, with music in my ears at the gym, just me and only me, no one else.

However, such a program cannot simply be started. It doesn't matter what condition someone is in or what they want to achieve; a multi-month program must be planned, and here I'm not primarily thinking about the workout plan or the diet, but about those small things, without which the big picture cannot come together.

To successfully complete a program, you'll need a few things, which you either have or don't.

Human qualities

We live our daily lives like a river that flows its course, but its direction is influenced by stronger factors. People live within boundaries because the knowledge that their lives are constrained provides them with security. We call this habit, the feeling of constancy and safety. A river is made up of billions of water droplets, but not every droplet follows the same path, even if the ultimate goal is the same and known to all. Millions of droplets end up in oxbow lakes every day; the flowing water becomes stagnant, and if life or environmental factors dictate, the stagnant water turns into a swamp, from which there is no return. There will be droplets that step out of their banks and carve new paths for themselves, overcoming insurmountable obstacles and breaking free from constraints, showing an alternative to others, while billions of droplets simply flow away into the all-consuming void. They don't step out of their banks, they don't reach oxbow lakes, but they don't embark on new paths either; they simply drift along with the illusion of a lived life, and without significant fluctuations, they are absorbed into nothingness.

The program itself is life, because just as the treadmill is the workplace, so too is diet a reflection of one's character. If you stop during a workout, you will stop at work and in life; if you cheat on your diet, you will cheat in life; if you cheat your body, you will cheat others. It's that damn simple, because everything is interconnected.

Time

To change, you need to adopt a new rhythm, manage your time differently, and have different priorities, because if you don't change, you'll live the same life as before. But if you've recognized that you need to change, then do it and don't look back, don't ponder, don't start thinking, just do what you need to do, change to a different life, because your previous struggle was clearly not very effective, it didn't work out at all. Change and do it, because you have nothing to lose, and don't be afraid for a second that you'll fail, because we're long past that; your current state is failure itself.

So, a new rhythm that you need to plan, and for this, you'll need a notebook. This is the first step. A journal that you need to acquire, which will be your damn bible for the foreseeable future. This journal will contain everything related to the program. Your workout plan, diet, daily routine, a list of tasks to be done, what you'll work out that day, when, how much, broken down by day, planned at least 3-4 days in advance, but more on this later.

You'll need to set aside 2-3 hours from your life on training days, taking away time you previously spent. You'll have to cancel plans and say, sorry, but I'm busy at 6, I finish at 8:30. Your surroundings will notice that you've started something, and your dark-souled, worthless acquaintances will try to sabotage you, to trivialise your resolve, but you have to ignore them and the obstructive nobodies too.

Money

Well, that's necessary. If you don't have it, don't even start, because such a program is costly, and unfortunately, fish or chicken breast fillet cannot be replaced with bologna. The gym, supplements, and diet will be separate expenses, as you'll need to eat good quality food. As before, I think there will be proletarian voices asking what someone who doesn't have money to do this should do. I don't care. Study more, or I don't even know, but I'm not really interested. If you had money to get fat from all that junk, then you should have money to lose weight too. A pizza costs 1600 forints, which you eat in 15 minutes; 1 kg of chicken breast fillet costs 1400, which will be enough for 5 main meals, so what are we even talking about?

Gym

This is a delicate question, if only because you will spend a significant amount of time here. When choosing a gym, you definitely have to make a compromise. 3 things need to come together, and you have to choose the gym by weighing these 3 factors. 1. equipment 2. distance 3. composition of people and the environment

1. The equipment would be the most important, because it doesn't matter what you decide to do if the gym only has 3 treadmills, 2 bench presses, and a few dumbbells. The biggest problem with hyper-hyped places is that even if they have a lot of machines, their functionality is a pile of crap, because they don't focus on being able to train every muscle group in at least three different ways, but rather on filling the square footage with machines, preferably machines that even incompetent idiot owners know about.

2. Distance is one of the biggest problems, because generally everyone chooses a gym based on which one is closest, which is practical and doesn't take up much travel time, but there are huge differences between gyms. There are a lot of crappy basement gyms scattered around the city where I wouldn't even go to pee, plus these places are full of scumbags from that certain lower-class category where even a taxi driver counts as an intellectual. These places are obviously out, and I would advise everyone else the same, so you definitely shouldn't go to the one that's closest. You want to enroll your children where they get the best education, and you should choose a gym in the same spirit, only here, instead of teachers, the machines will decide the fate of everything.

3. The composition of people is also an important factor, as you will spend at least 8-12 hours a week in one place, and it matters a lot who surrounds you during that time and what kind of spirit those people emanate towards you. The social status achieved in life is also reflected in gyms, and in high-category places, besides the existence of services, you really have to pay for this quality of human environment. The more expensive a gym pass, the more filtered the people around you are. Of course, there may still be stray assholes, but just as Gypsies don't go to live in Buda, you don't have to worry about too many security guards here, simply because it's not their environment, and they will disappear on their own.

Workout plan + diet

A well-structured workout plan is the keeper of the keys, while a precisely calculated diet is the guardian of the gate. With this cinematic flourish, I wanted to convey that precisely following and adhering to these two is a fundamental prerequisite for the entire program. More on this later.

Supplements

For Zyzz, this point is a particularly sensitive topic, so I won't drag it out; I'll just list what I'll be taking.

Protein, multivitamin, separate Vitamin C, EPA/DHA, BCAA, glutamine, Ca/Mg, creatine, Amino Anabol. (Buy a shaker and a pill organizer).

I guess some of you will try to copy this program, which I wouldn't really recommend, given the different body types, but if you do, then take these and only these types of supplements. You don't need Jack3d and the other testosterone boosters, or taurine-based energizer crap.

Music

Every workout will tear you away from your daily life and place you in another dimension, and music perfectly enhances this. I've already downloaded Hernan Cattaneo's complete discography; his music always puts me in this state of detachment. I love music because it conveys emotions, brings back memories, and you can be anyone you want during a workout. However, there's something else here.

NEVER, under any circumstances, should anyone forget their earphones at home when going to the gym. As soon as you enter the gym, put that shit in your ears. Don't start socializing, don't make friends with anyone in the changing room, just go down, do your workout, and leave. It's just you, the weights, the sets, and the rest times. There's no time to chat with a bunch of jerks or get into conversations nobody cares about, because on one hand, it throws you off, and on the other hand, 3-4 minutes of talking, and your muscles cool down, then injuries happen. Oh yeah, and try not to use Facebook during your workout.

I haven't written a lot of things, but everything will come in due time. I expect a lot from this program, especially mentally. I anticipate incredibly low points, I'll miss drinking a lot, and I'll certainly miss Father Theo a lot too. As a New Year's resolution, I also quit smoking; I smoked the last cigarette on December 31st at 11:58 PM. It's now January 2nd, 4 AM, and so far I'm doing quite well, but this will also cause a few unpleasant moments, that's almost certain.

The program will be 150 days long, divided into two parts.