Legs are by far the most difficult muscle group to train. It’s not even close. There aren’t hundreds of reddit posts asking, “Why won’t my biceps grow?” Really, what other muscle group is as hard to tell how much you have left in the tank? Plenty of times squatting I have thought to myself mid…

As I worked my way through the first page, finally getting a hand of the alternating sixteenth note rhythm, I realized this was not going to be an easy piece to learn. I fumbled through the song, giving it a rough first read, then stood up and walked into the kitchen where my mom was,…

American music in general, maybe all popular music in the world, is dominated by love songs, or songs about romantic relationships- in whatever stage or form they take. This song, despite being first released in 1965, is always and will always be a refreshing alternative. In “Positively 4th Street”, Bob Dylan beautifully encapsulates the all…

In bodybuilding, and weightlifting in general, there is a common and annoyingly controversial technique known as ‘training to failure’. The practice involves repeating an exercise to the point where the neuromuscular system can no longer produce enough force to overcome a given load. It is done primarily to increase intensity, as intense weight training results…

Al Green is a blessing from above. Soul music as a whole is truly a miracle. It wounds so deeply and heals so lovingly. “Tired of Being Alone”, first released as a single and then appearing on Al Green Gets Next to You (1971), may very well be my favorite soul song of all time.…

I just spent the past 15 minutes in front of a new, empty google doc. I was sifting through the millions of thoughts spinning around in my head, trying to sort out one that could work as the topic for a blog post. Realizing that despite my completely full mind, I haven’t got a clue…

Shortly after watching Roadrunner, and consequently becoming fascinated with his life and legacy, I created a playlist. It has become both my tribute to Bourdain but also a mission to value those aspects of life and culture he did. Bourdain lived adventurously, there is not a meal he wouldn’t try, there isn’t a genre I…

Happiness may very well be somewhat predetermined. Regardless of the situation within culture, society, or economy. Meaning that claims of external factors influencing internal happiness of a person may be limited, and that it may very well be independent of all the cultural, societal and economic pressures going on around you. The chemical cocktail inside…

My perspective of Anthony Bourdain, whom I only truly discovered after his death, is certainly different from many who read “Don’t Eat Before You Read This” when it first appeared in the NY Times or watched “No Reservations” originally in 2005. Larger than life, cool, and despite his tragic end, extremely inspiring. These were my…

Decidedly, mulling over what your past self could have done is sorry. After spending all this time doing exactly that, I’ve just realized that instead of dreaming up self-pitying fantasies about ‘missed opportunities’, I should just get to work.  “I should have started when I was younger. Well you didn’t.” Recently I found inspiration in…