Project Cyttorak, one month on

This has been a most educational experience. As I like to hang my own experiences off of popular items in society, I'll use a comparison of my progress thus far in parallel to the Dark Knight Trilogy. Yes, I just watched The Dark Knight Rises last night. It was AWESOME! Now, on to the amateur weightlifting analysis.


I found myself unable to work out in the classic MuscleHack ways after my first THT experiment last fall / winter. Training at a normal THT cadence was not working for me. I was actually plateauing in several places, notably my shoulders, when I should have been seeing my muscle growth carrying on in its usual breakneck pace.

This is much like the end of Batman Begins. Bruce finds himself wholly consumed by the Batman. He is at a level beyond ordinary men, and needs to "live" there to survive.

Now, as I find myself moving, training at a higher standard compared to even regular THT training. The bar has been raised and there's no going back. This is an analogy that relates directly to The Dark Knight Rises - MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD.

Bruce must remake himself in order to survive and to remind himself why he's alive - and that he wants to remain alive for more reasons than actually being Batman. In my training, I'm reminded of the fact that I cannot go back to my old training ways and that I now hold myself to a higher standard - a standard I have to maintain if I want to continue to progress in my training. In reality, I've re-made myself again in my training as it's the only way forward that I can see right now.

I took the most of 3 months off starting in March. I'm already pretty much back to where I was, especially compared with my body type and build compared to where I was in January - I'm about .5% higher in my body fat than I was then. I notice the difference mostly in my abs and chest. I'm almost back now. Physically I'm strong, I'm sure of that. Now, to just get that little bit leaner and keep adding muscle mass.

It's not an easy road, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Keep lifting hard and training smart, MuscleHackers!

Adam