Savage / Zen Newsletter No. 98
"There is more to life than increasing its speed." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
At this time last year, a lot of uncertainties were taking hold. I thought I had a dream job that perfectly coalesced my personal and professional endeavors. That ended in sour “burn-the-boats” fashion. As a result I started my own business. A couple months later I suffered the worst injury of my grappling career.
Needless to say, it was a time to rebuild; literally.
I crawled on the mat wearing three different knee braces if that’s all I could do. I picked up a couple new certifications throughout 2024 as well. From there, “rebound” or “active recovery” training became a staple in my programming. “Mobility” was no longer just a catchphrase and compilation of unstructured Instagram clips.
At the start of 2025 I began studying FRC by proxy through Ollin and this further watered the seeds already being planted. Buried in the pages of this site you’ll find my painstaking efforts to answer the question “how strong is strong enough?” But I was asking the wrong questions and ignoring the obvious signals.
Fitness, and it’s various energy systems and movements, are literally their own sports – powerlifting, weightlifting, CrossFit, running, cycling, etc. Beyond a certain point there’s little to no carryover to something like grappling. That’s certainly not to say that physical attributes are useless, quite they opposite. They’re an incredible foundation. However, they compete with technical skill and sport-specific development in terms of time and energy for both training and recovery.
I’ve been saying that line for a while now, but I didn’t want to believe it was true. What I’ve found time and time again is that I just ground myself down to a “medium” performance that “felt” really hard. The combination of fatigue, stress, injuries, HRV, and breathing patterns tell few lies; especially in combination with each other.
At almost 37, maybe I made it further than most, but I need face the hard truth – I’m not getting any younger. If I want to keep training, I need to change how I navigate intensity. My rhetorical “correctness” matters very little if I’m not even able to produce results for myself.
Fundamentally then, I’ve had to shift any and all off-the-mat training towards the primary intention of keeping me on-the-mat. Secondly, off-the-mat training needs to support rather than compete with on-the-mat-related outcomes.
I haven’t put more than 315 on a barbell (for a deadlift) in at least 6 months, yet my physique is probably the best it’s ever been, and training partners have told me I’m stronger than ever – maybe there’s something to that “internal model of strength” after all.
What is it that I want to be strong for? What do I want the capacity to be able to do? What do I want to endure? These questions are all vastly more important than arbitrary benchmarks (e.g. bench press 1.5x BW or deadlift 500 lbs.), unless of course power (in this case) is your sport and you need to meet certain qualifying thresholds.
Quality of movement begets quality of life, both on and off the mat. It’s hard to argue with results, and real results take time. Perhaps, that’s why the internet is so hungry for instant gratification and “hacks” – the hungry lack the confidence derived from experience that comes with verifying “what works.”
What degree of excellence is exhibited in action – not theory, not words, not speculation, and certainly not social media bravado. This isn’t about “trusting the science” or Dr. So-and-So. It is about “evidence based methods”, except you’re both the lab rat and the researcher. No one else has a PhD in your life experiences.
Combined, this is the essence of “endurance.” The “ability to persist” is rooted paradoxically in the fact that you may well need to slow down in order to go faster.
I was musing to a teammate today that I’m remarkably unathletic in terms of talent (movement and athleticism), coordination (dancing, skating, bar games), ball/team sports, etc. However, I’d like to think I’m smarter and tougher than average. So, it might take me a while to get somewhere on the long road, but I eventually get there.
An hour later I was talking to a fitness client about “trauma informed coaching” and the stereotypical self deprecation and punishment that can accompany fitness for some personalities (in this case it was a veteran).
Immolation by your own hand rather than someone else’s isn’t any more noble and you still end up burned.
Alas, words! “Capacity” may refer to an energy system, or it may be a relative threshold defined as “the end of intensity.” Though, perhaps this is not the end, but rather a shift; and an incumbent re-visioning.
What I’m Reading / Listening To:
Training Sample:
Warm Up:
Rebound x 5 minutes
Every 1 minute: 10m shuttle run (add 10m every set)
Then,
Neck CARs, 2 x 5
Thoracic CARs, 2 x 5
Spine CARs, 2 x 5Work:
7 x 9 minute rounds, non-stop:
Burpee x 10
Box Step Up x 10 / side (20")
Burpee x 10
Box Step Up x 10 / side (20")
Suitcase Hold for remainder of 9 minutes (25#, switch sides as needed)Support:
Very light walking x 5 minutes (focus on extending breathing)Reference: 2025-073
What’s New:
First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude and appreciation for all free and premium subscribers, especially those of you who have been with me for quite a while. Thank you for tolerating the volatility of my creative process; but alas, it’s time again for a shift.
What’s Staying the Same:
I will continue to write week articles on the topics of fitness, grappling, and occasionally nutrition. Every fourth article will be a philosophically / physiologically drive “newsletter.” These will continue to be free.
What’s Changing:
Premium payments will be paused as of 5/1/25. Premium content (training program reviews and training sessions) will still be available on Substack through 5/31/25. However, no new training sessions or program reviews will be added after 4/30/25.
Throughout 2025 I’ve been working towards separating my personal (free) and professional (paid) activities. As part of that transition, previously paid Substack features will be available in my Thinkific Community.
Community benefits will include:
All program reviews previously hosted on Substack.
All personal training sessions previously hosted on Substack.
All of my future training sessions after 4/30/25.
Monthly training programs for users to implement.
Weekly video chats with myself and other community members.
Discussion forums for various topics including health, lifestyle, nutrution, sport, and occupational fitness.
Premium subscribers should have already gotten a separate email with a discount code to the new Thinkific Community. Another reminder will be sent out at the end of May.
#onward
Austin