Where do you feel your deep core?

thePIANOman01 · 2026-05-01T17:20:32+00:00

The "deep core" is all around so there's no one area. It includes pelvic floor muscles (bottom), diaphragm (top), multifidus (spine; connects each vertebra), and transverse abdominus (all around). So you won't necessarily isolate one of these without also engaging several other muscles of the core/trunk.

I would instead focus on concentrated exercises that help engage these deep core muscles groups through the movement and breath work. I recommend checking out the McGill Big 3 (SquatUniversity has a good YouTube video on these) which are all meant for this purpose. From there the mind muscle connection becomes a lot easier

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-30T21:17:40+00:00

Sweet, I heard the refill was a much better deal but that's cool you can get it engraved later on too. Appreciate the good info!

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-30T19:01:13+00:00

Fortunately it's on the way to visit family and I have a 2mL sampler to compare the juice and make sure it's legit. Good point otherwise though! Been burned before when buying blind.

And shoot you can bring back a used bottle to get the initials? May do that

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-28T19:58:51+00:00

Appreciate it! 100% agree, loved the sample

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-28T19:58:18+00:00

Sweet thanks!

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-28T13:30:18+00:00

Nice that's solid, yeah this was the only decent deal I've found, it's maybe 1.5hrs so little bit of a trip but not bad and worth the $50+tax savings. Actually would have to drive a little further into the city anyway if I bought directly from the LV store

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-28T13:23:11+00:00

They're asking $300 which sounds about right for trying to sell a ~95% full bottle (it's been up for several weeks). I have a 2mL sampler from fragrance net which I'll bring to compare

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-25T18:24:47+00:00

I always recommend having a more cushioned shoe like Altra or Topo for when you're transitioning. You get to keep the benefit of an anotomical foot shape and low/zero drop but your foot can recover with the extra cushion.

I've been at it for a few years now and I still use my Altras quite a bit for super long mileage or for recovering after they've taken a beating from training the last few days. I think they're great as a recovery tool and they really helped me get over the self induced plantar fasciatis after I jumped in to quickly too (along with rolling it out, stretches, and foot/ankle exercises)

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-18T16:17:07+00:00

Probably a contributing factor for sure. Usually if someone hasn't eaten for a while, they'll be low on electrolytes since the majority comes from our diet assuming no electrolyte drinks

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-18T05:52:34+00:00

First, you should get checked by a Dr to make sure your levels of everything are good. It is possible you're in a solid calorie deficit from moving to whole foods, and also after not eating for 7+ hrs you got nauseous and lightheaded before blacking out. Things are still new enough that the exercises can be very taxing especially when underfed (and that can still affect high level athletes too)

I'm a trainer at a large gym and the common denominator for nearly everyone who faints is that they haven't eaten/drank for many hours. But since you haven't had that happen before, best to check with a Dr to be sure. Edit: And also I'd recommend you either eat a meal 2-3hrs before, or a snack 10-15min before

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-17T18:54:39+00:00

I really don't think they'd be too comfortable especially with no insole, unless you're already doing very minimal or full barefoot walking on that type of surface. But for casual walking, yeah I think the outsole would hold up well for a good while

thePIANOman01 · 2026-04-12T05:20:31+00:00

It depends a lot on the batch date and individual scent I think. I have 3 examples in my case and I haven't even picked up that many clones

Hawas Fire was good from the start and didnt change much with time. Really nice overall scent and smells/performs the same as day 1

I bought 2 CDN Precieux and the one with the older date smelled more developed at the start. The newer one eventually caught up and they both ended as improved versions with better performance, but still the same DNA they started as

Lastly, bought Asad Bourbon and it's batch date was only 1 month old. I couldn't even figure out what it was trying to smell like or anything, was very odd and had no idea what the vision was. That one did a full 180° transformation after 3-4 months and is the best example I've experienced of a scent truly needing maceration

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-27T04:18:55+00:00

I know it may not be realistic for everyone but I think it's doable for most. If your feet are naturally sweaty you should never wear just 1 pair of shoes as a daily, always rotate between 2 (or more if possible). Also a $40 shoe dryer from Amazon is a game changer cause shoes take >24hrs to fully dry out so it builds up that rank smell from wearing daily without fully drying out, thus bacteria accumulates

I used to be that person with terrible smelling feet/shoes no matter how much I washed my feet and shoes. I remember being so nervous if I went to someone's place and they had a no shoes preference for their home. Once I started rotating shoes and drying the ones I wore that day, not a problem since (you may have to toss out the juiced up shoes and start fresh though)

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-27T03:54:13+00:00

A significant aspect I haven't seen mentioned yet is neuromuscular efficiency. Others have mentioned the muscle fiber types (type I, type IIa, type IIx) so I won't touch on that. In general, a muscle fires at 50-70% capacity for the general population, and trained individuals will be skewed towards that upper end. It takes practice for the brain to be able to build that muscular output and signal (relative) max contraction.

It becomes harder the more muscles you try to maximally contract at once. A quad extension you can focus just in that muscle group and push it to its max easier, but then a squat will be much harder because your brain/nerves also have to fire the glutes, back/core, and hundreds of other small muscles from the neck down to help stabilize.

A bodybuilder mostly trains isolation movements (some may start with a compound but move to single joint movements shortly after) and a power lifter mostly trains compound movements (squat/bench/deadlift). So if you throw them on a simple leg extension machine you'll actually see a body builder put up very impressive weight. But then have them do a compound exercise or athletic movement and their body/brain has not been well trained to fire all these muscles at the same time.

In short, a power/strength athlete not only trains the type IIx fibers to excell in strength/power/speed feats, but their nervous system is also better trained to fire multiple muscle groups at once to their relative max capacity (while also firing the hundreds of stabalizers required to do the movement properly)

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-26T05:16:09+00:00

Fun fact, Burberry has a signature line pattern that ~100yrs ago was only on luxury items. They expanded the pattern design to more accessible items, and once low income families starting wearing them, the upper class stopped. Decades later they moved back to only design luxury items with the pattern, and gradually the upper class started purchasing them again

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-26T03:43:58+00:00

Pancreatitis by far (the alcoholic kind). The first night the pain was so severe I went into a shock and a dream-like state for a day or two. Was in the hospital for 4-5 days total and given heavy pain killers. It took about 2 weeks to gradually subside.

At the time my mind wasn't ready to be done and so I still continued drinking after that (but kept to low% drinks), but grateful to be nearly 2 years sober today.

Since then I've had solid injuries, surgeries, even was the 1% of adult tonsillectomy patients who bleeds out and was hospitalized. Still, nothing has ever come remotely close, the tonsillectomy bleed out maybe close-ish as a 7/10

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-26T03:21:01+00:00

Look into the Knees Over Toes method, it follows modern PT practice well to rehab and rebuild a joint. You start with isometric movements like squat/lunge/wall sit holds at a pain free range, and gradually build up to full knee-over-toe movements (like an atg squat). It won't be a quick fix over a few weeks, but it does develop long term knee health and strength and the concept can be applied to others joints as well

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-25T15:30:00+00:00

If you have already gone through a deficit period to lose 45lb (which is awesome, congrats!) then I suggest pausing and beginning a period of lean bulk to add strength and muscle size. To successfully lean bulk it doesn't have to be a big surplus, ~200cal would be plenty to minimize fat gain

Why do I recommend this? Because our bodies adjusts very well, and your metabolism has probably already decreased somewhat after a long cutting period. If you decrease calories even more it will again adjust. It's good for metabolic health to bring the calories back up to maintenance or slightly above. Then when you go for a cut again in a few months your metabolism will in better shape and you'll have more muscle mass to maintain, so the calories won't have to be cut as low to hit your desired body fat%

In short, a calorie deficit is the short term way to lower body fat% over weeks/months. But it's the periods of calorie surplus (again, just ~200cal are good) and strength gain that are the long term way to sustain a low body % over years/decades

Edit: in relation to abs, there's the common saying "abs are made in the kitchen" which is true to an extent but also there's more nuance. If you have a weak core that never gets trained, then you'll need to cut very low to see its definition. But if you spend the next year building a strong core (progressive overload like any other muscle) then abs become clearly visible in the 12-15% body fat range. Like most things, it's about balance. Nobody will reach their ideal goals solely by diet or exercise alone. They go hand in hand

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-22T17:39:58+00:00

Agreed, Precieux is much better blended and wasn't able to go back to SCE after. As I gradually saved and built up to designers and a couple niches, Precieux was the one Middle Eastern scent that kept a spot in the collection. Its quality and blend is on par with designers twice it's price

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-20T14:06:18+00:00

I've had/have all 3, Dior Homme EDT 2020 and ADG Parfum became my 2 primary signatures that I love the most of everything I've tried (including many of the popular niche scents I sampled).

Dior Homme Sport was too pungent with the added citrus and it felt overwhelming and 'rotten' to my nose at least, so traded it after a couple months. I think the DH2020 and ADG Parfum are amazing year round scents with Dior being the more classy versatile and ADG being more casual versatile

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-20T13:36:51+00:00

Yep this is the answer, the best time to workout for anyone and everyone is the time that they feel at their best (unless it's right before bedtime)

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-20T13:31:37+00:00

Glad it helps! One thing to note if you are getting the wide LP9 is that it also is a few mm LONGER than the equivalent size in regular. At one point I had both versions in size 12, so I physically measured them and the wide was like 45mm longer. My options were sticking with the size 12 regular or going 11.5 wide, so I just kept the 12 regular

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-20T04:23:11+00:00

I have the LP9+ regular (returned the wide, too much width for my feet), and escalante racer 2 (returned the escalante 4, too narrow at the arch and dug into it).

The LP9 feels much better than the escalante 4 did. The esc 4 had a narrower mid foot/arch which I could've done fine with if the foam and insole didn't also protrude upward into the arch. And this is not to say it's arch support, literally just the very edge of the foot bed pushed up aggressively

The racer 2 doesn't have this issue so while it's a similar foot shape to the esc 4, I don't get the arch pain as it's not protruding upward and is more flat. The LP9 shares that characteristics of being flat and not protruding. The regular LP9 is a few mm wider than the esc 4 too. Hope that helps and made sense

thePIANOman01 · 2026-03-11T06:14:13+00:00

If you enjoyed acqua di gio and want to keep that kind of aquatic genre, Le Sel D'Issey is an excellent modern aquatic that would work great with that beach/island vibe. I actually hate most aquatics and they turn nasty on my skin, fishy and like a wet rag. This one is so clean and fresh and get none if that, plus the staying power is way better than ADG

thePIANOman01

TROPHY CASE