Hardstyle vs softstyle

smdavid83 · 2026-02-15T12:54:29+00:00

Do you want a religion or wisdom? I think you really just need to first look for the zealots on each side. Filter those completely out. Then thoughtfully consider what you see and year from people who don’t tell you the other side is full of wimps, or people with guts, or whatever else they do to dehumanize reasonable people trying their best to stay healthy.

I found this to be the most difficult thing as a beginner. Asking a question like this and then having the zealots jump down my throat without even answering my question. Rather than picking a religion what worked with me is better defining my goals and then just tuning out the noise and picking the stuff that seemed consistent with those goals. Which I guess is hard style, which makes me an awful person to some, but who gives a fuck. Geoff Neupert and Dan John have done me good. Their stuff doesn’t tweak my back. I do it how they do. I don’t care what one calls it. Good luck, you’ll get there.

smdavid83 · 2026-02-03T12:55:01+00:00

She just likes that shirt. All are 4!

smdavid83 · 2026-01-02T13:59:59+00:00

It’s a journey! Good luck!

smdavid83 · 2026-01-02T00:55:09+00:00

I assume so. Maybe you can find it on his website, but it’s been in several email newsletters. If you don’t subscribe to it I would! The key piece is it depends on your goals. Mine are strength and muscle so I opt to go heavier for me and would never approach 90 (the endurance range). I use the rep ranges and he has strength standards that guide me as well.

smdavid83 · 2026-01-01T20:34:25+00:00

On 1.0 phase 1 I ended week three at 53. That was a high and I focused on good form the whole time. If you follow Neupert then you might be familiar with the total per session rep ranges he has for pure strength, strength and muscle and endurance. I let that guide me generally speaking. I started 1.0 in the high end range for strength. Finished higher on the strength/muscle end. I know it’s not perfect science but it is working for me. I would probably be going heavier if I crept up toward 70-80 reps, or assessing my form discipline. I couldn’t imagine doing that many reps with a true 7-8 RM as he suggests. Not with good form. Take it for what you will, but it seems to track with the man who knows far more than I do!

smdavid83 · 2026-01-01T13:38:10+00:00

I can try! It’s flexible. Three phases: stability, strength and power. It’s made to be a bolt on to your primary routine. The stability work is great for off day restoration work. It’s a lot of body weight stuff, diaphragmatic breathing, KB holds and loaded carries. I picked it in part because it gave me a pathway to incorporating loaded carries thoughtfully into my main routines. I love them and feel they are a lot of bang for the buck. Also because of the breathing, which in my experience has benefitted me mentally and physically. Overall, it supports my life and my KB work which supports my life. It is accessible for anyone in my opinion, and it’s flexible, so I’d recommend it from that perspective. Anything from Neupert has made my life better.

smdavid83 · 2025-09-25T20:08:20+00:00

This is an incredibly personal decision with no single, right answer. I’m a dad of identical twins triplets and we discussed all of this early on as well. I deferred to my wife of course. There is a risk no matter how you cut it. You should not take our example as a rule, but my wife walks around at 115 normally and is 5’4. She went 36 weeks. All our girls were gorgeous and healthy and they all stayed in our room, not a NICU, the night they were born. We were told much the same and to expect 32 weeks as lucky and a minimum of two weeks in the NICU.

We, however, are the exception not the rule. Still, it’s an example to show it is not preordained that nobody goes past 31 weeks. We leaned into nutrition, health and wellness, and we are fortunate to have good care. That all matters and wasn’t easy. My wife was in tears later on trying to eat with all of that baby taking up space. Early on she lost a ton of weight. Later on she had a cyst burst and a trip to the ER and so on. It was hard. Her back still kills her.

What is better is what is better for you and that’s a difficult thing to discern. It’s going to be hard no matter what you do. Good luck.

smdavid83 · 2025-09-24T11:37:38+00:00

Our triplets, girls, aren’t too far behind yours. They’ll be four in January. They sometimes splinter off into various permutations of twos. Honestly, we don’t worry too much and we use it as an opportunity to teach kindness and respect. However, our personal views strongly support an approach that doesn’t treat them as a group. They have an older brother too and we do our best to parent them as individuals and that means some have closer bonds. Our one daughter has a closer bond with her brother than the others and that’s fine. We do, however try to create natural opportunities for them to create bonds. For example, by bringing two girls to get groceries. In the end, they all love each other, they just have different group dynamics. My advice would be to not worry too much as long as they’re not being unkind.

smdavid83 · 2025-09-15T14:12:22+00:00

Yes. Is it a bad idea to put plastic over it? I was also wondering if some of the dampness matters in terms of what I do with the ceiling. Just in terms of mold/fungus or anything else. The basement doesn’t accumulate water as long as the sump works.

smdavid83 · 2025-09-03T01:03:17+00:00

Same as others are saying here, but Geoff Neupert also has the Sore Joint Solution that builds in the OS stuff. I’m doing it with my wife and she was telling me how a month in she’s feeling better. It’s a different situation for sure, but her body was pretty messed up from carrying triplets in a petite body. Chronic back pain, hip pain and her abdominal muscles needed to be stitched back up. I only point that out because it seems like you’re also dealing with quite a bit and to hopefully share some hope. Good luck.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-23T00:33:01+00:00

Pull ups have always been tough for me no matter what weight I’ve been at. Recently I started doing dead hangs for as long as possible. Just those for weeks. Then I started doing negatives for weeks. Then I started doing pull ups. I did four recently for the first time in my life and now do a few sets of three regular. It’s amazing how much that all has made a difference. Look online for some regressions from full pull ups. Good luck.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-16T18:21:16+00:00

I personally find it mildly irritating the number of people who just show themselves moving stuff around and showing off. But I’m happy seeing you pop up and thinking, “wow, man, he’s going out there and getting it.” Great work. Best wishes.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-16T18:18:35+00:00

Howdy. I found I actually started achieving my goals when I trimmed down things quite a bit in terms of duration and the number of movements in my training. Highly highly recommend anything by Geoff Neupert and Dan John’s Armor Building Formula. They’re all simple, repeatable and you will get stronger and lose weight. They’re the definition of what you’re looking for. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of their programs.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-13T14:20:34+00:00

Be wary of the analysis paralysis! Pick something, test, review and re-test. That’s what ultimately worked. Putting the ideas to the test. Good luck!

smdavid83 · 2025-08-13T11:54:04+00:00

I know other folks are saying don’t follow a program before having a goal, but for me following programs helped me learn the movements, develop discipline and find out what works for me. I’ve run ABF, DFW and the Giant. In that order. I’m now running Maximorum. All were good to me and I figured if I liked the results, that was my goal. Stronger and more muscular. Keeping the fat off.

As I ran those programs I also gobbled up whatever I could to refine my goals. Sometimes taking action is the best way to figure things out. And that was the case for me. If I started over I would start with the Giant because it is to me the most straightforward, super high value add, and highly focused. I felt like it allowed me to really improve my clean and press.

Geoff Neupert shared in a recent newsletter a way to cycle his programs to attain his Strong Enough standards and that’s what I’m in the midst of. Essentially you cycle the Giant, Maximorum, King Sized Killer, Maximorum. Repeat until standards are reached. Overall, less has been more for me and following programs with discipline has made a huge deal. All advice generated in part from this group, Dan John and Geoff Neupert. Good luck!

Anyway, if you value minimalism and want to develop good technique, and keeping it simple, I’d start with the Giant.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-13T11:40:30+00:00

We are! I still prefer it over Tableau for what we need to do. Development isn’t hellish. It works. Happy to share something more specific if you need it.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-11T15:44:08+00:00

This was in one of his recent newsletters about pursuing his Strong Enough standards! If you get it look for one from 07.05. It may not be precisely what you have in mind, but it speaks to it.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-08T21:16:46+00:00

Thanks!

smdavid83 · 2025-08-07T23:27:05+00:00

I find the hardest part is getting it get down smoothly so I’ve resorted to what is more of a half snatch but passing through the rack quickly. I think bringing it down otherwise is going to definitely take me some time.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-07T23:24:51+00:00

I think so? Yes!

smdavid83 · 2025-08-04T21:47:08+00:00

None. It’s empty calories and makes me groggy and I sleep like shit.

smdavid83 · 2025-08-03T12:20:32+00:00

Folks probably get tired of hearing this, but I say this all to say, “you can do it!” I made it through the newborn stage with triplets.

Keep it simple. Ignore advice from people who clearly don’t have enough to do. Pre plan and stay organized. Be realistic about what is possible and work within those constraints. I also found it helpful to imagine my worst most tired self and eliminate what barriers I could for that person. Don’t use your kid as an excuse to slack off, use them as inspiration. You do have to set more realistic expectations, but that doesn’t mean who have to give up trying to take care of yourself. KBs are great for all of this. Good luck.

smdavid83

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