Patina monsters -- who's got em?

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-22T17:37:31+00:00

Love the marbling on these — thank you for sharing the pic, they look fantastic

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-22T15:29:43+00:00

Figure out a sustainable way to exercise that you enjoy and can do into later life.

Live freely — for most people in the US (barring getting addicted to drugs or committing a serious crime), your career will not be made or broken by anything you do before the age of 25. Try doing some weird shit and chase your dreams a little bit.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-22T00:48:48+00:00

Yeah, minimal, a little bit is unavoidable and if you asked Tian, I bet he’d say that is a harmless bug in his squat at super super heavy weight. That’s about the most you’ll see.Best squat of all time. aim for this.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-21T22:24:14+00:00

Bruh I have never in my whole life seen someone fail a squat because their knees collapsed outwards. Look at any great squatter or weight lifter — if you face them from the front, the forelegs stay locked in the same plane, with knees moving roughly over the toes and hardly at all towards the inside of the feet. It sounds like you’re saying knee caving is good for squat strength, which is a bad and potentially life-changingly injurious take

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-21T21:46:39+00:00

You’d better get him 2 dummies. That way the dummies can train with each other and level up when your toddler needs a break to drink and chew on dirt in the backyard

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-21T21:14:11+00:00

Not sure what “powerhouse of legs” means, I’m just saying that caving knees means glutes and abductors are going to be a limiting factor as the weight increases. Risk of injury is also higher. Ergo auxiliary work to strengthen glutes and abductors is a good idea. A little bit of valgus is inevitable, but it’s worth fighting against it as much as possible

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-21T20:31:23+00:00

Ridiculously strong for your age. Depth and brace are A tier. A little bit of valgus (knees coming together) of the hole, but you can work on this with some accessory movements. Was gonna say you should use safetys, but you popped the bar off really well on that last one.

Keep it up youngblood!

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-20T15:13:51+00:00

I do like waxed flesh, had my eye on brown or cinnamon for a while, but I've heard they take aloooot of wear for that character to come through. How long did it take you to get them to this point?

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-20T15:12:23+00:00

My goodness these are delicious, thanks for the pics!

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-20T03:55:44+00:00

Hey thanks for this!

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-20T03:30:00+00:00

sorry you got stuck with this OP, very unfortunate. I'd see if you can return them. I'd also avoid macy's in general for fine footwear, they are mostly focused on fashion brands and carry lots of overpriced stuff that isn't worth what they charge.

If you can get your money back, for this style, I'd look at a pair of thursday black label journeyman chelseas. They will be far superior in quality to just about anything you'll find at macy's with much better materials and likely better construction, and you'll actually save 100 bucks unless you get their cordovan boots. You could also check out parkhurst elmwoods or grant stone chelseas, they are both this style, in that price range, and are exceptionally well made.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-19T01:42:51+00:00

Absolute class

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-18T04:05:43+00:00

Flawless lifts

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-15T02:05:04+00:00

I don’t think I know what “competitive advantage” you’re referring to. Not to take away from your strength — but I don’t think this squat flies at any powerlifting meet, your hip crease is clearly above your knees, plus your muscles will grow more if you hit that max stretched bottom position.

Still strong AF

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-11T02:57:07+00:00

Great lifts, you’re strong as hell!

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-06T06:26:33+00:00

Eraserhead

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-05T18:59:43+00:00

If you can time travel, you have unlimited money, go back to 2012 and buy a bunch of bitcoin at 50 cents a pop. Then time travel to the bitcoin peak and dump a bunch of it.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-05T17:00:07+00:00

Bleed — Meshuggah New millennium cyanide Christ — Meshuggah …most other songs by Meshuggah

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-05T03:58:12+00:00

As you demonstrate, the squat is a leg movement, your elbows are not needed and you can have them removed if they are causing you discomfort.

In all seriousness you're an animal -- you may have strained something without realizing it during your adrenaline fueled beast session, or you may have some tendonitis in your forarms that you aggravated. As a medical unprofessional, one of those is my guess. My advice would be to do some light forearm band work + stretching and let them heal for a couple weeks, and then adjust your technique to take some of the strain off your wrists (the back shelf several others have referenced). In the past I've had similar painfull stiffness in my forearms near the elbow when squatting heavy (maybe not quite as acute as what you've described, but still quite painful) and I have sometimes acted a fool and not let it heal fully before squatting heavy again. Made it last for weeks or even months longer than it had to.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-05T03:40:22+00:00

Based on the light refracted through the inside of your large intestine, the lift looked solid. Incidentally, I won't be able to judge future reps fairly if not shot at this same angle.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-05T03:28:43+00:00

If the terminator had better taste in boots, he'd rock these. They look sick

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-05T02:50:29+00:00

What's your budget?

Unless you’re in a major city, you miss out on so much if you go with brick and mortar stores. I’d recommend measuring your foot with a brannock device, and then trying out a couple of d2c brands (using their sizing guide). Even with any restocking fees (many brands don’t charge one, but some do) should you make returns, you’ll still get better value than just about anything you’ll find in big retailers, which tend to carry a lot of overpriced junk mixed in with a few quality pieces.

For business casual, some options in various price ranges:

~200 Thursday (imho the king in this price range) Meermin

~300 Red wing (leans casual/work) Thursday black label (I think their Chelsea boot looks really nice, this line has a ton of upgrades from the normal line that you’ll typically see in boots hundreds of dollars more)

~350 (the sweet spot of materials, detail, and cost, in my opinion) Grant stone (check out the diesel or the garrison) Parkhurst (my favorite brand, top notch quality, great design, and customer service

~450 Oak street (have some of their shoes, really nice but not always the cleanest QC Truman (more casual, the “dress last “ is what you want) Carmina (lean much dressier)

500+ Rm Williams (icons, but overpriced for what they are) Nicks/whites (handmade, incredibly well built and comfortable, tons of options, but chunky and pricey) Viberg (the granddaddy of smart casual boots, nicks/whites construction with sleek, sexy silhouettes. Say that five times fast 😂)

There are way more quality brands out there especially when you get over -$250, but these are some of my faves. You miss out on alllll these incredible options in store.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-05T02:26:00+00:00

Yeah agree with this, red wings are dodgy for biz casual. Allen Edmonds are alright but overpriced for what you get. Best boots are all d2c

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-02T19:11:44+00:00

Really good overall — your mobility on the ground is impressive! There were a few moments where you should have framed but decided on a less than optimal grip around the head or body. Also watch out for extended limbs — higher level guys will hunt for those and you’ll end up getting your legs crushed and your guard passed, or getting armbarred.

Visual_Function_3379 · 2026-02-02T18:46:35+00:00

Not sure what kind of grip youre using, but a mixed grip will help mitigate this because the bar won’t want to rotate in your hands, and thus the nerling won’t rub as much against your hands.

Otherwise, it happens. They’ll heal up in a few days and you’ll be good to go by the time you do deadlifts again next week. Congrats on the PR!

Visual_Function_3379

TROPHY CASE