View Full Version : The Disciples of the Tree of Progress
O Skeet
04-01-09, 12:05 pm
Time to wake up as they say. Shit, I could barely sleep let alone wake up. Who ever thought the best end to the day would become a job. I've spent my time doin this and doin tha, but honestly I have no idea where I'm at. Call it wha u want, but the gym is my only glass sanctuary. 4 Days out of the week at the given time I kno for a fact I'll be exactly where I need to be and go from there. I lift the concrete, push metal, and in the end I'm lucky enough to have anything I can get to get it all in. I call my second home a glass sanctuary. Made from four walls of concrete, still hard to keep the onlookers from doin their job.
Usually after the summer ends, I cant help but go on an eating frenzy. I'll take anythign from anywhere to prepare for the long and cold winter ahead. Yet now during the early bloomin, I feel like my hibernation is completely over. I'm a grizzly motherf*cker waitin to get my shit together. It's huntin season. The bait? Mass with Class.
The sun only shines after it pours, sort of how my mind feels day to day from the junk in my system. When it's time to flush, you gotta make sure you get it all, otherwise it's tougher and tougher; which also brings more disappointment for any short walks thru the field of livin it. I for one, had to take things into my own hands. Keep it lean, Keep it clean, Keep it mean.
Though my mind is clearin up, my bodys diffusin the negatives, I'm nowhere near the end of this sh*t. The drive calls for detours, road blocks, and consistant stops into the concrete hall of records. Last check-in I weighed in my body at 179lbs 14% bodyfat.
This morning -- 204lbs, 24% bodyfat. Wish I could say I'm upset wit myself, but any progress is progress. This year--I'm not gonna take a slice of the pie. I'm gonna take the whole f*ckin thing. With the help of some knowledgeable cats, and my own personal history in this game - aint nothin stoppin me.
New Diet Plan for 2009 Spring
1: 3 Eggs, 1 cup of Brown Rice, seasoning of choice
2: Shake consisting of - 4 strawberries, 1 banana, and 2 scoops of unflavored whey isolate
3: Intra-Aid, along with Torrent
4: 4-6 ounces of Chicken breast, 2-3 cups of veggies, 1 cup of Brown rice
5: 4-6 ounces of lean meat, 1/2 cup of brown rice, ? cups of veggies
6: 2 scoops of whey protein
I change my meats out, my carbs, my veggies, my shakes.
Only way to stick to a great diet is consistancy with variety.
The intake of ounces of meat gradually increases every month.
- Signing out.. O Skeet
C.Coronato
04-01-09, 12:27 pm
Sounds solid skeet. Time to get it done.
All eyez on Me. You'd think I'd post about being someone like 2Pac, or even Bret "The Hitman" Hart tagging my lines wit the best the ever is was and ever will be. Sh*t. I'm far from it. When you climbing up the ladder to success, if you're not careful to look to broken pieces on a wooden frame, you will slip. No questions asked. Precaution makes someone hungry, someone worthy, someone ambitious do anything to get to the prize. The gold. The self-fame. F*ck the world, in a sense. I did this for me. Sittin on my mattress, After pullin a long day, excuses like headaches, money gettin in the way. I realized my diet, my goals for mass and achievement--gone. Not only was I gonna ruin my diet, but I would increase the aching of my body and run my pockets smaller. My last meal was around 1:30 pm. What a joke. Come 8 pm- It was easy to say no to taco bell while ridin after a writin session. Soon as 830 hit the clock and I was finally gettin ready to settle down and make myself some food, food was already made and it smelled delicious. I sank. I put the shackles on my feet. I ate a serving of some unhealthy dinner. The story gets worse.
Not only did I have a small serving of this amazing stuff, I ended up at the Mickie D's ordering a large everything wit a side. I was starving. My hunger was uncontrollable.
I failed myself in a goal i had just started to reach.
The worst part of it all, I chose to eat garbage at the wrong time of the day--right before bed. Who was I kiddin? Great results through slackin never really came to anyones mind. It's not reality. If theres anything I learned, it is this. Without the splinters in ur hand, the numbin in ur feet, the hogwash continuous cycle of it all...the journey isn't one at all. You must fail sometimes to get ahead. Learn the lesson, keep movin. Never stop. Dust your shoulders off, get back on it.
To anyone who can hear me out on this, if you deprive yourself, you'll fall much harder. Give yourself the craving when u need it the most. And if it craves at midnight, save it. Have it the next day around lunch time. It'll make a difference in your performance and in your sleep.
You can't fight a battle with no wounds, ankles sprains, or even headaches from time to time. Better to give yourself room to breathe, and be the better warrior. No one is perfect.
Loggin out.
O Skeet
04-02-09, 11:38 am
The mind is a powerful thing. Use it to your advantage.
C.Coronato
04-02-09, 11:58 am
Serious thoughts Skeet. The strong keep pushing, and the weak give up. Push through brother, your not alone.
Nice Skeet, looking forward to seeing what ya got. This is a good place to keep track of things and make sure you keep things in check.
G Diesel
04-02-09, 12:23 pm
You've got the eyez on you now. Time to step up and be accountable my brother. I'll be watching.
Peace, G
Week 2:
Monday was just a day ago. Last Monday was a week ago. I've sat here and wondered about where this all would take me. During the weekend, the few battles against the army were lost. My body grows weaker, regardless of the growing mass. My addictions have shown their true faces more than enough times in this lifetime, but I still believe in hope, faith, and determination to win it all. Over and over again, I've found myself referring to myself as we. By we, I mean mind and body; and the I in this time stamp means soul.
There is much to be said about the long road ahead. Sometimes I feel as if we won't make it. Though the heavy winds, the targeted hits and blows to my body become more and more severe. The dragging in my conscious mind becomes heavier and heavier. We have nothing left to lose it would seem, if anything, more to gain. If that at all. Back and forth in my head, the same needle digs over the same spinning record. "Go hard, go hard, go hard." It now seems as if we have barely made it across the first plateau. But my heart cries out more than the amount of damage I've received. It calls to me, "Never quit."
I doubt these battles will ever come to a halt. Day after day I've been trying to see victory. Yet somehow when my hands grip around the iron-- I'm the everlasting warrior, and my heart will go on til it stops.
This is my battleground, we are the true word. Believe in yourself, then face yourself.
O Skeet
04-08-09, 12:05 pm
The day is new. The food, the work, the solid feeling in my body. Progress is coming. I can feel it. The way I've changed my habits has made a significant impact even after only a week and change. They've given out the orders for high intensity movement. Though I feel like the camel with too many straws on its back. If it not were for the rest I have been able to grasp the past few evenings, I would be flat on the ground. Some times, after all my stress, pain, and the hourly suffering I try to endure; I find myself feeling the raw love this certain pain in my concrete cell block the few days a week I'm able to go head to head with my biggest opponents - Time, Progress, and Myself- will give to me. The day will soon end, and perhaps I will be a few steps ahead of the old time. For God has been good to me, God will also let me be good to myself.
When I cry-- I cry pain, sweat, blood, and loyalty. No room for excuses. No room for the wannabe's.
G Diesel
04-08-09, 12:45 pm
The day is new. The food, the work, the solid feeling in my body. Progress is coming. I can feel it. The way I've changed my habits has made a significant impact even after only a week and change. They've given out the orders for high intensity movement. Though I feel like the camel with too many straws on its back. If it not were for the rest I have been able to grasp the past few evenings, I would be flat on the ground. Some times, after all my stress, pain, and the hourly suffering I try to endure; I find myself feeling the raw love this certain pain in my concrete cell block the few days a week I'm able to go head to head with my biggest opponents - Time, Progress, and Myself- will give to me. The day will soon end, and perhaps I will be a few steps ahead of the old time. For God has been good to me, God will also let me be good to myself.
When I cry-- I cry pain, sweat, blood, and loyalty. No room for excuses. No room for the wannabe's.
Conquer yourself, Skeet... One meal, one training session, one workday, one goal-oriented activity at a time. I've got your back bro.
Peace, G
O Skeet
04-09-09, 12:19 pm
Today we're heading over to the field a few miles out from the camp/work site. Yesterday I carried enough on my back to make my legs more sore than I ever imagined possible. I couldn't sneak in my last bit of food before bed. Sh*t. I was starvin, but my body was overheated. Rest was the only thing I could think about before I had to get up again for the daily march. 5 hours is never enough. I coulda definitely used 8-9 hours, but the man gave me what I could get. I don't think I could walk a yard, let alone run around, shooting in case of fire. But my squad has given me the support to keep going. It's important. A wolfpack never faces off with another badder, bigger beast alone. A wolfpack makes sure every man has its own leg to chew. A wolfpack makes sure to not leave anyone behind. It's been a consistent 3 days without seeing temptation hit, or even blindside me. Day 4 in out of the second week, and part of me feels like its shedding its weight. Though I must say in more than 90% of my body feels dramatically solid from the battles. Today with the legs, I feel the need to rest. Today isn't like most days though. Today its the blue vs the red. The wolves vs the dogs. Today is a battle. Then again, I couldn't tell you about the last time I felt life at all wasn't. The road ahead is long, but the glow of the prize is gettin slightly brighter each passing day. I wonder what I will feel and find when I get there along with the rest of the militia.
Every footstep counts, even if it's the wrong direction.
Skeet, a quote I always remember in tough times is that the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
As humans we are bound to fail, as it's our nature. But it's what you make out of failure that your true success lies. Learn from each mistake you make and become stronger along the way. After you climb one hill, there's always another waiting for you to learn how to get past and conquer...
We sit around for hours thinking of what's to come next. I hear myself screaming from within at times. Just keep going, just keep going, just keep going. But it's never so simple is it? Never. The one thing they teach you in this game if you didn't already learn it alone, is that you fight for what you live for. You fight. Not because you have to, but because you live and breathe the road to another way out than the easy one. Anyone can easily take the short route somewhere to challenge their inner doubts. But it is the warriors in us, the light in our darkest hour, and the change in the wind when the sail is torn and tattered that will separate us from the boys and the men. Dead and tired I seem to crawl and crawl away from every inch of sh*t Ive left behind me. Somehow the strong never reveal themselves. The strong ones sit in silence. No one to impress, nor the will to care enough to try. The strongest sit in that very corner day in and day out, thinking about how they will accomplish the next task. Finally, when it's time to get up or get in that last taste in your mouth for energy, we scream and have our back off the wall and onto the field. But there will be hard times. When the food is scarce or poison. When the water is tainted or there isn't enough left. When the bricks on your shoulders seem to drag you more than you are able to withstand. For these often moments in a warrior's life, you can either fall back, or lay right where you stand. To fall behind for no reason is for the hatred and weakness within a person. But my stripes are earned each and everyday. I fight the battle to see another day to get that much further to home. My dear friends, home is a long way from where I stand. My home is far enough to know I will be marching for years to come. I will march until the end of my time. In this game.... could you see it any other way?
G Diesel
04-17-09, 10:19 am
"Just keep going, just keep going, just keep going."
The true battle is won, the greatest progress is made, in forging onward where lesser men have thrown in the towel. So often the greatest triumphs grow forth from just pushing forward and grinding it out when times are hard.
Good post, Skeet. Thanks for the reminder.
Peace, G
O Skeet
04-17-09, 11:17 am
Here comes a time where it is key to know you're not alone. When you have your crew digging their feet into each mud hole one step at a time along side, never in front or behind. These are the realizations of a man knowing he is just as important as his fellow comrades. To go hard, every single time. And if he chooses to go out there alone, I doubt it'd be too long before he can kill himself walking on landmines, carrying weight on his shoulders, using those god given legs to pick up the pieces, to find his brothers waiting for the word to give their support and aid. You will pull, push, lift, sway, and carry the weight of dead bodies. But within those dead bodies, revives the dead person within yourself. Every man has his dark day, and every man will take a shot below the belt from time to time. No room for the weak minded, even if the body is at its weakest point. The strong minded will endure what the strong body will allow itself to take. Find your prey, feed your adrenaline, and when it's time to battle it out again, you breathe it all in and you punish the ones to be punished. Even if it means to punish your own body. Once it's all over, we wait for the dark to overcome and close our eyes. And when we awaken from the eight hours of rest, we prepare to move forward. The fire in your soul and eyes will say it all. Not to anyone, but to yourself. And for those who despise your existence, well... Life will take care of them. Never mind the b*tch*ssness. This is my salute to the brotherhood. A league of Animals more beastly than the wildest of the jungles out there and beyond.
It makes even my eyes sweat. These past few days the heat was high, the rain was hard, and the shape of my body was beaten to a pulp. One of our higher ranks, though a fellow soldier has made it upon themselves to get their hands cleaner, only to have a messier table to clean up after the feast of things. With anything in life, good comes with bad and so on. I took it upon myself this day to make way for another entry into my journal. The travels, the miles, and all the hard work have made it seem like I've done this for years. But my body says otherwise, my mind says f*ck that. The meals are heavy this week. A plus to recent weeks. The struggle is only in the weight. We, day in and day out, lift more and more. Some days we are only strong enough to put up less, but for a longer period of time. The way I see it, you can only go one way from the bottom. Up. I have come a long way from where I started when I first joined the clique. No journal or book could ever fully describe what I have seen. Wat I have felt is another thing. The rush. The passion. The brutality of this war. I can barely open my eyes on some days. I don't care though. I couldn't give up on this road home for anything. One way or another, I will pay my dues and in the end get exactly out what I put in. Day in. Day out.
I will say this, however. Why bother fighting for something you DON'T believe in?
O Skeet
04-28-09, 10:23 am
Some of them call it the end of the line, the end of the road. For the rest of us, we call it the challenge of challenges. When you come to a point where going forward might cause pain or self destruction. There's two ways out. You can hang up your suit and tie, or ram through the obstacle like you never imagined you could. The mind itself is powerful. You can accomplish anything at all according to God. Realistic things are possible in human form. The only in images portion comes later on in my opinion. To fly without an airplane as they say. When your at the end of a .38 special, do you flinch or do you gain the eye and confidence, then attack. Well when you at the end of a .38, I doubt you think you're gonna make it out of that situation with a smile. In all reality, you should smile. The big guy gave me a reason to not be afraid of anything other than his judgment. He gave us this world to make our impressions, alive and well. You will leave this place a legend, maybe not to the world but to the few around you. So do you flinch? or do your best to move out of the way of the gun, knock it out of the hands, unload it, and put his ass in his place, or cry yourself into a fear not worth being in. So when the weight comes down on your shoulders, and you're at a point of exhaustion and pain-- Do you skip that last push to the sky? Or do you tough it out intelligently of course and aim to go on? Chance of injury is 50/50. No mad scientist will tell a man different. Like an old friend said to me before and even during my time in this place, no one man is the exact same to another. Even twins are 98% different. Failure will come, but only to those who PLAN to succeed. My word to my brothers is to keep pushin. Even when your hands are muddy and roughed up, noone will drag your ass over the line unless your paralyzed or unable to move. Not us tho. We can move. We can push.