Ladders
• We used to always love the bicep curls ladder. Grab a preloaded barbell and a partner. Curl 1 rep, then hand-off for your partner to curl 1 rep. Then curl 2 reps, hand-off, etc. The more reps per set, the more rest time you get. Biceps will be on fire by the top of the ladder (10 or 15), then you go back down to 1 rep.
• This post from Reddit proposes a similar protocol for Kettlebell swings. Can be performed with or without a partner. They specifically instruct you to take breaths between sets: start with 1 swing, rest for one breath; 2 swings, 2 breaths; up to 20 swings, then back down to 1 — for a total of 400 swings.
• The thread claims this will provide a stimulus that improves VO₂max. High intensity exercise in any form should improve VO₂max, though no one has studied this exact ladder. Depending on how much time I have, I modify it by stopping at 10 or 15 swings at the “top” of the ladder.
Trial, error and the God complex
• In this TED Talk, economist Tim Harford argues that in complex systems (economies, health care, even your own training), top-down plans often fail because they can’t account for uncertainty.
• The alternative: trial-and-error, rapid feedback loops, and humility. He illustrates the point with stories from medicine and industrial design. A persuasive argument for openness to course corrections and learning through small experiments.
What comes first, Lifting or Cardio?
• The short answer: whichever matters most to you. Competitive runners should run first, lift later. Powerlifters should lift first, run later.
• Most of us, though, are not competing. This post by Layne Norton summarizes a 2025 paper that answers the *lifting or cardio first* question in the context of body composition and strength.
• (Only) 45 obese, untrained men split into 3 groups: 1) control group that received no intervention; 2) intervention group that performed cardio before resistance training; 3) intervention group that performed resistance training before cardio. Intervention groups exercised 3 times a week for 12 weeks.
• Results: Both intervention groups significantly increased daily steps (+ 3500) and had similar increases in VO2 max and muscular strength gains. Both intervention groups increased their level of moderate to vigorous activity; but the resistance training firstgroup outperformed those who did cardio first. Both intervention groups increased explosive strength and muscular endurance; but the resistance training first group came out ahead. Both groups lost weight and body fat, and gained muscle and bone; but the resistance training first group got better results.
• Two meta-analyses also found that resistance training first is superior for muscular strength and endurance. (PMID: 36776981, PMID: 28917030)
“Total Pixel Space”
• This 9-minute short film blends AI-generated imagery with a voiceover essay about the mind-bending idea that the set of all possible digital images is vast but finite. Winner at the 2025 Runway AI Film Festival, it’s part math, part philosophy, part visual art.
• Depending on your taste, the visuals in the video are either mesmerizing or disturbing. But the core concept is thought-provoking: every image that can exist already does.
Protein bar for carnivore aristocrats
• If you have some extra money laying around, buy some of these Jacob bars. They get cheaper when you subscribe on Amazon or their website, but they still run almost $4 per bar. 20g protein, 10ish ingredients (not quite as processed as some other bars), and subtle sweetness. The vanilla and berry flavors are the best, chocolate is quite bitter, even for me.
Quote
Life waits patiently for true heroes. It is dangerous when those aspiring to be heroes cannot wait until they find themselves. When aspiring heroes have not found themselves, they are tempted to borrow the world’s weapons—money, fame, and power—to fight their battles. These weapons cannot protect the inner life of the hero.
To cope with fears and insecurities, the premature hero has to stay busy all the time. The destructive capacity of nonstop busyness rivals nuclear weapons and is as addictive as opium. It empties the life of the spirit. False heroes find it easier to make war than deal with the emptiness in their own souls.
Thich Naht Hanh
