Limitless Potential

Scheduling Compromise, Mid-Life Crisis, & Strength Microdosing

1000 Subscribers! ✨ [Giveaway] Winners!

1. Free SoCalKettlebellz -

   Thomas Close

2. Free [Three Month] Program Design -

   Phil

3. Free [Yearlong] StrengthAxis Program Design Membership -

   Cal

Please message me via Instagram to claim your prizes!

---

Current Reads

The Blue Plate

German Body Comp Training

I’ve just begun reading The Blue Plate by Mark J. Easter about food production and how are choices might effect the health of our planet. I’ll update you all as I finish the book and make my own reflections. This subject is thought-provoking, so it should be a great read!

I’ve been under a Charles Poliquin theme in 2025. I am revisiting his German Body Comp Training to provide a student of mine with fat loss coaching before a big company event he has in May of 2025. This style of training is challenging: it is high-level circuit training with compound strength movements. It contains no traditional aerobic training like you might expect from a fat loss program.

---

I use the phrase Limitless Potential to describe my idealized self-development. Though strength training is my medium of exploration, the scaffolding of this lifestyle produces a master template for accomplishing all of life’s paramount endeavors.

I know many of my readers are analytical like me. By sharing my minor, but beneficial dilemma, of “wanting to do it all” and my subsequent Scheduling Compromise, I hope that I might help you to properly engineer your own training and lifestyle design.

I also share my post, Unique Position [Mid-Life Crisis], where I battle my identity as an athlete and coach on the precipice of 40 years young. Should I double down on the “limitless potential” I wish to honor in both my personal and professional life?

Finally, I am reposting a link to Strength Microdosing - my take on heavy “grease the groove” training. This is in honor of Pavel’s recent appearance on The Huberman Lab Podcast and his announcement of an upcoming book on GTG. Thanks for reading.

John Parker

February 15, 2025

Incline the mind. Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.

---

Scheduling Compromise

While snowboarding this past weekend, I caught an edge and landed directly on my collarbone. My first crash of the season, I was lucky enough to only sustain a deep bone bruise and not a break. Thank god for the armor that high muscle mass provides.

Since I always maintain my weekly training, I decided to train around the injury with a Kettlebell AXE focus. On day five, I returned to my current hypertrophy program, albeit, taking caution to allow the bruise and surrounding musculature to heal.

Exploration [Healing + Hypertrophy]

With a combined goal of healing + hypertrophy, I have been engaged in Ben Patrick’s ATG Muscle that features a variety of movements and tools oriented toward structural balance, joint integrity, and balancing length/tension relationships in the body.

The effectiveness of Patrick’s programs whet my athletic appetite. However, I find the Poliquin-inspired tri-sets a painful departure from my beloved minimalist training. Nevertheless, Patrick’s programs work, so I’ve gained compliance in his methodology.

Minimum Effective Dose [Kettlebell Training]

In the immediate days after my injury, I restarted my kettlebell-based anti-glycolytic conditioning: Kettlebell AXE. I was reminded of the beauty of simplicity - 30:00-40:00min of swings produces attribute-building conditioning and MED simplicity.

This familiar style of training has been rewarding: sessions are brief, they require minimal gear, and they embody the philosophy of “less is more.” Now I battle between my MED affection and exploring new modalities in the name of healing + hypertrophy.

Coexistence

Although the results of my new program are definitive, I feel that I have forsaken my minimalist, hardstyle roots. Can these two systems coexist? Will adding kettlebell AXE offer further attribute development? Or will I be stressing my energy systems?

Here is my proposed schedule:

I programmed the 1H Swing before the 2H Swings because my motivation for a “hard” session is typically higher on Wednesdays than Fridays.

Here is my current hypertrophy template:

Overview of Ben Patrick’s ATG Hypertrophy Program - All Rights Reserved: atgonlinecoaching.com

---

Here is my proposed Kettlebell AXE volume/intensity/loading:

---

The Compromise

When strength training is your life, there is an omnipresent battle of wanting to “do it all.” I suffer from this relentless desire. However, I know that developing as a coach and athlete means insisting on MED principles that build sustainable attributes.

Here is my compromise: continue my current program because it’s working, then add 2 Kettlebell AXE sessions per week for power maintenance, conditioning, and to maintain ballistic practice. Non-training days will be mobility, pickleball, and MTB.

Author’s Note: Addition + Subtraction

When we make additions to our lives we must ensure it doesn’t also detract. Speaking purely of program design, I have felt that my hypertrophy program does not tire me as much as I’d like (as evidenced by my tiredness before bed). After four days of performing the added Kettlebell AXE volume, I have proven to myself that more “work” benefits my overall energy levels.

To avoid overtraining, I apply careful volume and intensity considerations ie; performing two sessions (load, volume, time) for two weeks before making changes. I typically only change one variable: load, volume, time per week. This "step loading" style is said to be "democratic" and benefits many normal people. I postulate it's so beneficial because it's the simplest approach.

Truthfully, Ben Patrick's hypertrophy program has been working to help me build muscle mass while also improving my joints' range of motion. I have experienced less knee, ankle, and lower back pain under his tutelage. In 2025, I have a goal of blending the work of Patrick, Poliquin, and that of my own (under the guidance of StrongFirst principles) into a comprehensive training solution.

Lastly, my brief reintroduction into kettlebells almost had me switch all of Patrick's movements into kettlebell movements! I felt at the time that it would be much simpler to grab two 24kg bells than to set up the barbell, move all my plates, grab the squat wedgiez, etc. I'm sticking to the program because I want to be a good example and not ADHD in my training.

Play the Long Game

Finally, when selecting your training goals, play the long game. If you have designs of hypertrophy and fat loss at the same time, you might be biting off more than you can chew. Different seasons promote different goals. You have time. Do not rush.

In my situation, I committed to regular cardio/conditioning in 2023. Performing a healing + hypertrophy program alone didn’t feel quite right… So I compromised with two conditioning sessions per week and it’s the right choice for me. Much love.

---

“An Inch Wide, A Mile Deep.” My One Arm Swing Cueing.

Benefits: Minimum Effective Dose Training “Set It and Forget It!”

Cyclist Squat - Quad-Focused Squatting Variation.

Bench Press - My Cues.

The People’s Deadlift - The Romanian Deadlift (RDL).

Behind-The-Neck Military Press for Boulder Shoulders.

Diana and I got a pic with Wooly! Mammoth Mountain, CA - February 8, 2025

---

johnparkerstrength

A post shared by @johnparkerstrength

Original Post: February 7, 2025

Unique Position [Mid-Life Crisis]

I find myself in a unique situation.

I'll turn 40 years young in July. Since my mid-thirties, I've told myself that my 39th year would be my head start into a life of sustainable fitness, holistic health, mental + spiritual strength, and living a passionate life of service.

This process has almost caused a mid-life crisis where I battle with my identity as a coach and athlete, with the person I wish to become. Though not ostensibly stressful, my dilemma is rattling the foundation of an ego that no longer serves me.

I share this because I know many of my worthy peers may feel like I do. Are we imposters? How do we accomplish our goals? How do we contend with competition? How do we see ourselves in the mirror?

I aim to answer these questions with brutal honesty. After all, delusion bogs what clarity pushes forward.

I have been jaded with my career as a strength coach over the past two years. And in turn, I did what I thought was needed and stopped doing everything I was familiar with (heavy training, especially with kettlebells).

(I lost a lot of love for kettlebell training during 2023. In retrospect, I should have tuned out from anyone not StrongFirst related and only paid attention to the high-quality training of my colleagues and the other great coaches out there. But I did not, and I let the influence of charlatans affect my mental peace).

Since strength is not part of my life, it is my life, I have decided to double down on my identity as a strength coach. When I say I'm a proud coach, I don't mean I'm a transient half-hearted personal trainer, I mean I'm an exceptional, well-educated, and experienced teacher who gets results. I love my job and I will maintain integrity, honor, and zest for my work.

To maintain balance, I remind myself to always schedule fun into my calendar (in fact it's my priority): to spend as much time with friends and family as possible, to cook daily for my lovely Diana, to travel, to joke, to laugh, and most importantly, to honor God's creation.

In the end, consistent effort pushes us forward. If it's anything I'm good at, it's discipline. So I'll rely on my daily action to make the world a better place, and in turn, make myself the man I aim to be.

Much love,

John Parker

YouTube Edit: Explaining how heavy One Arm Swings taught me to effectively use my lats.

---

I’m linking to this article because Strength Microdosing (SM) is a worthy tactic for gaining monstrous strength in a short period of time. Challenging both mentally and physically, SM is essentially “greasing the groove” with much heavier loads.

---

John Parker

February 15, 2025