How to Become Muscular
Muscles — I was studying the etymology for the word, and apparently it meant “little mouse“, that somehow, muscles look like little mice? *muhs
Apparently when you flex your biceps, ancient Romans thought it looked like a little mice were running under your skin?
Also, apparently mussels (the clam looking things) looked like little mice to some ancient Romans, and thus the name was born.
Back to reality
So when we think of muscles, we tend to think of skeletal muscle. The fleshy bulging thing.
Over the years, the hilarity is that certain ways to describe physique were invented.
For example, I was born in 1988, and as a kid growing up, into college and beyond, certain phrases included being “jacked“, swole, ripped, massive, etc.
Muscle quality?
I was once hearing an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger and he was critiquing the modern-day bodybuilder, that their physique was totally out of proportion, and also, the “quality” of the muscle went down. For example, some people quote later years Ronnie Coleman, as not having “quality“ muscle, albeit he was an over 330 pound mass monster with a 6 pack!
When people talk about muscle quality, I think it is not precise enough. I think typically when people talk about muscles, this is what they think:
I want to augment the mass of my skeletal muscle, and decrease my body fat percentage to a minimum, in order for me to see my six pack.
Misconceptions
I think the new modern-day racism is towards “genetics“. That when people say that some people have “good genetics” and others have “bad genetics”, it is a new form of low-key racism. I think of “genetics” as racism 2.0.
There is no such thing as “good genetics.” When you see upper echelon bodybuilders, at the top, it is not because they have “good genetics,” but they are just really good at taking steroids. And also, intelligent enough and knowledgeable enough to know which types of steroids, performance-enhancing drugs, testosterone boosters, hormone inhibitors, etc. to take in a “stack“.
Apparently I was very naïve; of course I knew that the really really high-end bodybuilders all took steroids, but, apparently even 18-year-old high school kids take steroids, in order to get that college football scholarship etc.
Why are you should never compare your physique with anybody else, why superhero movies are a scam, why you should not go on YouTube or social media
Everyone is 100% “natty (natural)”, until they are busted.
For example, apparently there is this guy named the beef liver king, who ate nothing but beef liver, and said that he was 100% natural, and the way he was able to get so jacked and muscular was because he lots of beef liver. This is hilarious because independently I came up with a thought, that beef liver, and cholesterol is a natural steroid, because beef liver has the highest concentration of cholesterol in any meat food item, And that cholesterol is a natural steroid. And no, cholesterol will not give you a heart attack. Also the hilarity is that consuming more dietary cholesterol, let’s say eating beef liver, will not necessarily increase your LDL or HDL cholesterol levels, all these “scientific” studies about cholesterol and heart attacks is all about correlation, not causation. All observational studies, which is not real science. And no, don’t trust Bill Gates, just look at his “boner killer“ beer gut, as tweeted by Elon Musk.
The only way you could maybe do a scientific study is to take two children at birth, twins, both boys, and keep them in test tubes from birth until death, and feed only one 100% beef liver, and the other a “balanced“ “Mediterranean“ diet. Even if you did this, it might not be significant, because your sample size is not big enough. You might have to do this with at least 1000 kids, which ain’t gonna happen, not even in mainland china.
The ERIC KIM workout plan
I have very simple directions:
1. Intermittent fasting
That means no breakfast, no lunch, only one massive 100% carnivore dinner. I have done this seven years religiously, and also the fun thing; I think I might be the only one who lifts insanely heavy weights at the gym, without having consumed anything before! The only things I consume before working out might be normal filtered tap water, and espresso with no BS added.
2. One rep max.
That means, what is the maximum amount of weight you are able to move, successfully once. Also a new innovation is towards “nano reps.” The basic idea is this: increase the weight, decrease the range of motion.
The hilarity is that a lot of people tell me to “be careful“, and that I might “hurt myself“, or that I might “hurt my back“. Anyone who tells me this is a coward. Why? When they tell you to be careful, or that you might hurt yourself, what they are essentially saying is that,
“I am so bewildered that you are able to move that insanely heavy weight, without any straps, belts, knee wraps, etc. I am flabbergasted how you are so strong and how you were able to do that. Certainly your method is a foolish one, and if you keep doing that, you’ll end up injuring and hurting yourself, because what you do is illegitimate. I want to see you hurt yourself so I could feel better about myself, about how weak I am.”
Zero issues here. And also for your personal reference, no, I do not take any weird drugs or steroids or hormones. I don’t even consume protein powder or creatine! Just 100% beef, beef neckbones, beef ribs, beef liver, beef brisket. If beef is not available, pork belly and pork ribs. But it is my theory that beef is superior to pork, because beef has more myoglobin red blood cells in it, more oxygen, which may be assists in muscle building.
Red meat or nothing.
3. Why meat?
Currently speaking, I think there is an anti-meat conspiracy going around. Note that apparently people like James Cameron, Bill Gates, etc., a lot of them on much farmland in America, or on some sort of weird pea protein powder companies, so this is the thing:
People want to seem more benevolent, care about “humanity“, “the planet“, “animal rights“, etc., in order to advance their personal image, their “legitimacy“, and also make money from it.
I believe that if we really want to think scientifically, or, think critically about muscle building, let us not talk about ethics, “the planet“ etc.
4. Hypertrophy
Hyper means “over,” tropia” means nutrition, or nourishment in Ancient Greek.
When a lot of people talk about “hypertrophy“ in regards to muscle building, I think what they are talking about is doing lots of repetitions, at a lower or moderate weight, in order to maximize “muscle size“. But the reason why this etymology is misleading is that actually, hypertrophy really means “over nourishment.”
As a thought experiment, let us say that I lift insanely heavy weights, over seven or eight plates at the gym, even for a single repetition. And then I go home, and I eat 5 pounds of beef ribs. Let us say I continue this pattern for a year. Certainly I will accumulate muscle mass and size, and strength.
5. What not to eat?
Another funny notion is nowadays guys want to do something called a bulk, and “bulking up,” and then later on, cut their carbs and sugars, and starches, in order to “lean up“.
I find this to be a disintelligent strategy.
You do not need any sugar, carbs, starches, rice or potatoes, protein powder, creatine, etc. in order to augment your muscle size. Also as a fun fact, you do not need to even consume food, or whey protein powder a “golden hour window“ after you’re done working out. For example, I typically go to the gym and lift weights at around 1 PM, and then I don’t eat dinner until 6 PM, I have still been able to meet some demigod gains. Sometimes I don’t break my fast or eat until 10pm, no problems here!
6. Do you need to eat anything, or drink a protein shake, or take pre-workout powder before your workout?
No. Just do it fasted. If you’re going to have a stimulant, why not just drink black coffee? These new pre-workout caffeine cocaine looking powder things I think are bad because they make you fat. 99.9% of them, if not 100% of them have some sort of sucralose or artificial sweetener added to it. Similar to these “0 cal“ energy drinks, just read the ingredient list, any sort of artificial sweetener will make you fat.
7. You do not need to put on fat in order to augment muscle.
Eating meat will not make you fat. Also, eating fat will not make you fat. The only things which make you fat include vegetables, fruit, starches, rice and potatoes, sweets, Coke zero, Stevia, monk fruit, honey, almonds, nuts, legumes, sweetened or flavored water, milk, dairy, almond milk, oat milk, oatmeal, etc.
Essentially anything which spikes your insulin levels is bad.
No no no, it is not this silly “calories in calories out” nonsense. Even “zero calorie“ beverages, let us say a Coke zero, has artificial sweetener added to it. You cannot fool your hormones or your biology. If you drink a Coke zero, and you taste the sweetness, and your body senses this sweetness, I am quite certain it will start injecting insulin into your body, which acts as a fat storage mechanism.
8. Fat vs muscle?
Also, the reason why you should never weigh yourself, irregardless if you are a man or a woman is that it is a foolish metric. It is impossible to ascertain how much of the weight on the scale is fat versus muscle mass, versus bone weight, sinew weight, blood weight, etc.
Why are people so into this cult of weighing yourself?
I first blamed the doctors. The doctors tell the patients that they should “lose weight“. No no no. What they should say is, to lose fat. Also changing up the lexicon; don’t call people overweight, call them overfat.
How to Become More Creatively Confident
Some simple thoughts towards creative productivity:
MEDIA
First of all, I think it is wise to be irrationally prideful of yourself, your artwork, what you do make and share.
Why? Honestly speaking, there are no measures of what is “good“ or “bad“ art. Art is a social and sociological phenomenon in which notions of good and successful are predicated on the confidence in the marketing ability of the author.
For example the genius of Picasso — his genius self marketing ability.
No objective good or bad
A huge thing:
There is no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art.
Honestly, all ‘successful’ art work is predicated on some sort of sociological phenomenon.
Whether you become ‘successful’ or not is based on how well you can sell yourself, a bit of randomness and chance, your audacity and chutzpah, and also, how well connected you are.
Your network is your net worth (via some random UC Berkeley Undergraduate student, told by my friend Peter Phan)
Why boost your creative confidence?
Honestly, it seems that in order to creatively innovate, you must have a stubborn creative vision.
Note Steve Jobs— the only reason he was able to make Apple so phenomenally great is because of how stubborn he was. But now, after he died and Jony Ive left, Apple has lost her creative way. Why?
Apple no longer has a stubborn creative/design vision. Rather, she only cares to maximize profits and share-holder value.
Lesson:
Become insanely stubborn in regards to your creative vision.
You don’t need approval
Ars Beta is a great place to get honest feedback on your photos and art work, yet ultimately, what you gotta care for is this:
What do YOU think about your own art work?
First step:
Like your own art work.
Then the second step:
Share that art work (in which you like yourself) with others.
What holds us back?
Social media. The reason why I am anti social media is because it ‘crowd sources‘ and externalizes your self esteem.
True art work is not predicated on the value of dollars, followers, likes or comments. The true measure of worth in art:
How long will it and the legacy and memory of you last?
The best way as an artist:
Become an anti social extrovert.
How to care less
“I used to give a fuck, now I give a fuck less, what do I care about success, sucks, too much stress.” – JAY Z
After having gone viral (several times) etc, ultimately the takeaway:
It doesn’t really matter that much.
Also, after making $250,000 in crypto:
It doesn’t matter that much.
What is more important and critical?
Your own personal creative thriving and blossoming.
New creative directions for yourself
Create your own gallery, your own creative online calorie, via your website. bluehost.com and install wordpress.org. The future of artwork is digital, online, exhibit and publish and future your own work in your own self online.
Simple thoughts include designing a website which your artwork and your photos can be featured as full resolution JPEG images, full screen, the full width of the screen.
Produce yourself
Something I have learned about the entertainment business, Hollywood, LA, etc.:
The real people who have power are the ones who are the producers.
Not the actors, not even the directors. The producers.
This is very interesting, because producers are smart, they are extremely low-key, and nobody knows who they are. But, this is their strength and privilege. Producers are intelligent enough to know that widespread fame is actually a bad thing; for example, if you were Brad Pitt, you can’t just walk around the block, or go to the gym and work out, without being harassed. Funny thought— could Brad Pitt just go to equinox and work out, without attracting insane amount of attention?
Even myself, even though in someways I am an attention whore, I also like my privacy and being able to stay low-key. For example when I’m weightlifting at the gym, when I have too much attention drawn to me it actually disrupts my focus in a bad way. Apparently I went viral a few times when I was doing my atlas lift over seven plates. And now whenever I go to the gym, everyone stares at me and all, I kind of like it, but I also kind of don’t.
Even more recently, housesitting for a friend in Santa Monica, the last two weeks, I have been frequenting the golds gym in Venice Beach. Recently I attracted a lot of attention being able to atlas lift over eight plates, even this regular powerlifter at the gym who could easily deadlift over seven plates off the floor asked me with curiosity, “If you don’t mind me asking, what was the purpose of you lifting eight plates?” My thought:
In order to become stronger.
Attention is fun and glamorized but if it gets in the way of your focus, it is bad.
Why do you make photos?
Why do you make photos? Or why do you do … anything?
Once you get to the root of things and why you do them, how can you run out of motivation?
ERIC
Conquer confidence
Conquer it all:
- Conquer street photography in Boston March 25th
- New- Conquer Creative Confidence Online May 5th
- Conquer Zen: HADONG SOUTH KOREA June 19-23rd
Confidence exercises
- Start vlogging. Just buy a GoPro mini, record in 1080p, 24fps, and vlog yourself on any thoughts you have in life! And just upload it to YouTube, your own blog, or start your own podcast at anchor.fm. Why vlog yourself? It takes confidence to start ‘street vlogging‘, just walk around and have the confidence to vlog yourself talking to yourself.
- Whenever you see someone you like or are attracted to for any reason, start chatting with them and compliment them on why you find them so fascinating! Also, as a fun pro tip– ask them for their first and last name. There is no sweeter sound in the world than your own first and last name. Use your own first and last name as your own self branding mark!
Creativity exercises
- I talked with a guy at the Philz Coffee shop today, and he told me something amazing that South Park is able to produce a single show in only six days! This is impressive because a typical animation studio will take 6 to 9 months for a single episode! Therefore the simple take away is when it comes to your artwork, make it quickly, iterate quickly, and publish and promote it quickly and iteratively. Applied to your photography and art, just shoot extra small JPEG, and simply share and publish your things online to your own website, don’t think about it too much or over analyze it.
- Download Procreate on your iPhone or iPad, and start sketching your own images. The easiest and most fun way to do this is to just experiment and have fun like a child.
- Don’t take it too seriously, and when you create, do it in the spirit of fun.
Create more every day
Creative every day print edition, digital edition.
Become the modern photographer
Think future.
The best way to become a modern day photographer is to think digital, to think online, and also, to understand that the future of technology is on the Internet.
I also think what holds back a lot of people is that they are stuck in old analogies of the past, in the context of feeling like they need to become a successful artist through the traditional Parisian measures of success, which include having a solo exhibition gallery, selling expensive prints, publishing a solo book, a monograph, etc. But my personal thought is the future of photography and also the future of art is digital. Thinking online, google, Google images, making your artwork easily accessible, indexable by Google, and hopefully living forever.
One of my personal challenges being a website domain host is keeping an archive of my images on the Internet, which lasts. A big issue with a lot of things digital is that there is no longevity. Most websites come and go, and I think 80% of the links on the Internet are now broken.
Think longevity.
Do you want to be remembered, and if so, how long?
Our best friend Friedrich Nietzsche once said that the number one good on earth is longevity and durability.
Personal question you must ask yourself is whether you care to be remembered or not. If you care to be remembered, perhaps it is a wise idea to structure your life in such a way which will allow that.
Conquer on! ERIC
That which does not destroy you only makes you stronger. – Nietzsche
EK TURBO NEWS
Never run out of motivation: EK TURBO NEWS
If this sparked even one ounce of motivation, feel free to forward this to a friend!
Other random stuff on my mind
The other day at golds gym Venice, I saw an orange Lamborghini Aventador, roadster, convertible droptop, and truth be told, I was shocked of how small and unimpressive it looked. For us car guys, once we have killed the notion of even desiring a Lamborghini, or thinking that it is impressive, then what?
Currently speaking, the car I am most fascinated by is either the Hyundai genesis G90, the Rolls-Royce killer, or even a matte black Hyundai sonata.
I think currently speaking, the most impressive cars, and car designs are all coming out of Hyundai.
Random Fitness stuff on my mind
Apparently I’ve been going viral a lot, even at golds gym fitness for lifting the legendary 330 pound dumbbells. I’ve been very interested in strongman styled weightlifting, and strength building.
Other ideas which I am interested in include the farmers carry, atlas stones, lifting and throwing heavy rocks, suitcase walk, etc. Anything that has to do with lifting up heavy weights, standing, or walking.
EK FIT
If you cannot tell, diet health and fitness has been a new passion of mine, actually, an old passion of mine, which stems all the way back in the day from when I was a fat 12 year old kid. Stay tuned for more of this kind of stuff.
For fitness consulting, shoot me an email at Eric [at] Erickim.com
Creative assignments
I am starting a new photography project, I call it “stuck in traffic.” I’ve been driving a lot in LA lately, been spending a lot of time stuck in traffic at stoplights. I’ve been just keeping my Ricoh GR 3X digital camera in my front right pocket, and snapping photos from my driver seat car window whenever possible. This is actually been a very productive way to make more photos, I recommend it.
Upload some of your urban street photography, or your urban landscape street photography, or your own stuck in traffic photos to Arsbeta.com
New things to research
Really into stone lifting.
The development of physical power, Arthur Saxon.
Text book of weight lifting by Arthur Saxon.
Also, the worlds strongest man competitions.
More to come on EK BLOG.
Wealth Thoughts
Wealth — the same word as “well” (wellness, health).
The first simple thought is that even if you were worth $10 billion, if you had the worlds worst health, it would not be worth it. No amount of Lamborghinis or babes would offset the physiological misery of two hours of sleep a night, being sick, weak, unwell, sleep deprived, over fat, lacking natural light, etc.
We do not want to be Elon Musk
Undoubtedly Elon Musk is the greatest entrepreneur of all time. The more I think about it, it is quite phenomenal that he is CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, and beyond.
However if you look at his recent interviews, he does not look well. He is putting on a lot of body fat adipose tissue, and it looks like he is lacking muscle mass.
I think that no amount of money fame or success is worth it if your health is poor. This is just my personal thought.
More robust goals?
What is the greatest human good? I think according to Heraclitus, he said, “Seeking immortal fame amongst mortals. Yet the majority of men stuff themselves like cattle.”
I find it very hilarious that for a lot of modern day people and millennials, their life goal is simply to travel the world and eat the worlds most tasty food. However, I think a better goal in life is instead, to seek to build a demigod body.
Your body is your bank account
Another new thought; in today’s world, what is the ultimate sign of wealth and privilege? Having a full body tan. Why? Who is rich and free enough that they could spend time outdoors in the direct sun, with their shirt off? Certainly not the CEO of Apple, the CEO of Amazon, the CEO of Uber, etc.
Even recent migrant workers; they either have a farmers tan, or they just are covered up all day when they’re working anyways.
Also, to have muscle. This is the new modern day sign of wealth, because it is the signal that you have enough leisure and free time to actually work out during the day. For example, who is rich and privileged enough to work out at least twice a day? Besides ERIC KIM? Apparently Kim Kardashian works out at least twice a day, but she has no control over her life. And also she has to deal with a unpleasant personal trainer; I just do all my workouts myself.
Sleep?
Another privilege of the wealthy and rich; sleep. If you actually have the privilege to sleep 8 to 12 hours a night, consider yourself blessed.
For example, if you work in Silicon Valley, and you only sleep four hours a night, even if you are earning $750,000 a year in salary, you are not wealthy.
A very simple strategy to sleep better is only drink coffee in the morning, and be very strict and not drinking coffee later during the day. Why? I think a lot of modern-day people drink coffee simply to work more. To be more productive. However the truly wealthy and privileged do not work. They do not labor. They get their peons and minions to do it instead.
Productivity is a vice.
To be more productive doesn’t mean you are more virtuous. In fact, productivity is a slave mentality.
What do you want to do with your money and bank account anyways?
I think a simple one is people want to travel more. I think this is a very good goal and idea. For example, a lot of my innovative thoughts, even innovating my workout routines at Monkifit gym in Phnom Penh was great. I highly recommend Phnom Penh Cambodia for travel.
And why is traveling such a good use of your money? I think it is because when you travel, you grow a lot. You innovate, because you learn to live with less, you learn to become more minimalist, and think more nomadic.
The minimalist is a good ideal for us.
Also, you expand your mind. I have learned so much traveling abroad, things I would never be able to learn in school or textbooks. For example, when I first went to Beirut Lebanon, I learned how warm and beautifully complex the people there are, being fluent in French, Arabic, English, etc.
Also, my joy in going to Dubai, and meeting a lot of people from the Middle Eastern regions, meeting people from Saudi, UAE, etc., and learning that they are just humans, not the enemy.
Also, going back to South Korea. My critique of Korea.
What do we really want?
I believe a noble goal for us is to strive to become more intelligent, more wise, stronger, more powerful, bigger muscles, stronger muscles, stronger strength in personal records at lifting weights at the gym, lower body fat adipose tissue, greater joy, levity, and wisdom.
Why wealth?
Wealth is not money, but freedom of time, schedule, your life. For example a simple heuristic;
Can you afford to get rid of your phone?
Or,
Can you afford to go a year without using or checking your email?
As long as you have some sort of employer, or foreign employer, or receive a salary from something else or someone else, or a company or a corporation, you are not wealthy.
For example, we might look at the programmer earning $750,000 a year as wealthy, but he or she is not. Why? They are still beholden to the company.
Or, we might think of the CEO of a big tech company, let us say a Tim Cook, or any other CEO as wealthy. But are they? No. They do not have the privilege or the option of just not showing up to work when they don’t want to.
So what should we strive towards?
My friend Timothy Flanagan is very intelligent; he opted for an early retirement as a teacher, instead of working longer, but earning more money.
Some other simple thoughts;
If you have the option of working less, earning a smaller salary, but having more free time, and flexibility of schedule, go for it.
Also —
Better to be self-employed, a sole proprietor, you own yourself, only earning $40,000 a year then being stuck at a big tech company, earning $500,000 a year as salary.
How to become a self employed photographer.
Build equity in yourself
Ultimate wealth generation:
Take and build equity, not money.
The wisdom of Peter Thiel; if you create a company, better to offer part ownership in a company or stock options, rather than a higher salary.
How to get rich
How do we become rich? Very simple;
I think this is the most beautiful way to thrive in today’s world of capitalism. In order to build wealth, and to become rich, you just create new sources of wealth, new capital.
Make and share and publish new ideas, theories, methodologies, concepts, products — whether physical or digital, new things to literally motivate and move people!
Motivate yourself
New thoughts
- Beef liver is the secret? The ultimate natural testosterone booster, muscle builder, sleep aid, and steroid?
- How to become insanely strong
- Marketing ideas: Identify true human desires, and placate towards them.
- Think for yourself: The true privilege and luxury.
- Performance human being over performance cars
- “I’m over it”— a good stoic motto.
- Once you know you’re handsome, then what? Then perhaps the approach then is to think more about greater goods and greater things. And greater pursuits.
- How to lose fat, body adipose tissue
- I really like compression tights
- The Will to power — this is what we truly lust for.
EK FITNESS
715 pound atlas lift — more people should do and attempt the atlas lift.
To become more fit, stronger, think of Darwin and fitness. I think also in the UK, when a woman is beautiful, they call them a “fit bird.” Or “fit” (fit is synonymous with sexy)
Does the fitness need to be “functional“? I don’t think so. My simple suggestion is when it comes to working out and fitness, just do what is fun, interesting, and motivational for you!
How to start weightlifting at the gym >
Forward the turbo thoughts!
If this sparked any turbo thoughts within you, feel free to forward to a friend!
Thoughts fly faster than words.
EK
ERIC KIM SCHOOL
How to fix society? Create your own school. With your own ideals. To educate the youth and the future.
My vision.
We all talk about problems in America. I offer solutions.
My basic thoughts:
1. Educate the youth.
We gotta educate the youth. Especially kids in the ‘hood’. How do we do this? My thoughts:
2. My Three Pillars
- Computer Science
- Philosophy
- Art
Let us consider … in today’s world, any kid with a computer science degree from college can earn ~$80,000 to $100,000 … at the age of 21!!! I propose a simple system of getting every kid in the hood a cheap (used or refurbished) Apple MacBook laptop. Even right now, a new MacBook Air for education starts at around $899 USD.
How to motivate kids
Now the question:
How can we most effectively motivate kids?
Not teaching them about ‘knowledge’. No! We gotta attend to their personal desires!
For example in the hood, kids want:
- Fancy sports cars (Lexus, BMW, Mercedes)
- Cool sneakers (Nike, Jordan, Adidas, YEEZY)
- Money ($100 dollar bills … money to their head)
- iPhone (the newest one)
- Respect
Now, the best way to motivate a high school kid to study computer science:
Hey Raphael … if you study computer science, and just stick with it in college… you can earn $100,000 a year straight out of college at age 21!!! You can buy your BMW, YEEZY’s, iPhone Pro, etc.
Kids are motivated by money!
Physical education
We gotta bring back physical education. I would encourage mandatory (at least 3 hours a day) of physical (not just mental) education. This is assuming an 6-hour student day. I propose a pure barbell between half-education, and half-physical training. If anything, 80% of the time on physical education is probably more effective.
Why? The more physically fit the students are, the more mentally strong they are too.
The sports can include:
- Boxing
- Weight Lifting
- Racing (foot racing)
- Bicycle racing
- Wrestling
Essentially any of the sports done during the funeral games of Patroclus in the Iliad.
ERIC KIM SCHOOL
This is the new home of ERIC KIM SCHOOL.
ERIC
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