Joshua Citarella
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Fitness Program & Syllabus: Summer 2024 (preview)
🕑 Added 2024-07-09 12:35:01 +0000 UTC
Advice
If you’ve managed to find your way here, you are likely some variety of hoe-scaring political extremist. Or at least, you are interested enough in radical politics that your adjacency to this material raises a few eyebrows (or shadowbans). If you are out at a bar with a charming girl, boy or they/them, and find yourself citing crime statistics or trying to explain the falling rate of profit— you are in desperate need of this program and should urgently acquire a hobby such as fitness.
Politics is slow and frustrating. Most people only see a few developments within their lifetime. If you do not have other interests, or a cultural identity outside of “the movement”, you will soon find yourself defeated, miserable and more than likely alone. Art, music and other cultural forms are excellent places to find joy and meaning. They will also give you something to do once politics is done. If its helpful, think of this as a new challenge called: being-a-normal-person-maxxing.
Let’s be real. We’re living at the end of the American century. Multipolarity is happening. The 21st century is going to be a rolling disaster of economic, social, and environmental crises. This is already enough to drive most people crazy.
It is a near guarantee that today’s unprecedented concentration of wealth and scarcity of resources will erupt into an epochal conflict during our lifetimes. You already know this — but most people do not. Most people think “politics” is going to go back to normal once Donald Trump logs off. You already know that nothing is ever going back to normal. And that there was never even a normal to go back to.
But you still need to live your life, have hobbies, fall in love, and be there for your friends and family — without dropping the hoe-scaring political knowledge that makes for bad hangs, bad dates and ruins Thanksgiving dinner. Being-a-normal-person-maxxing is about knowing the severity of the unfolding political crisis and finding a way to stay sane.
Politics is only one part of your life. Most of your time should be spent enjoying aesthetic beauty, pursuing your hobbies and spending time with the ones you love. I chose to do art. Other people may choose music, film, literature, or other mediums that enrich your soul. The primary side effect of reading political theory is depression and doomerism. In addition to these cultural pursuits, fitness is an ideal candidate because it combines aesthetics, hobby knowledge and positively effects your sense of well being.
You do not need to purity test your friends, family or romantic partners for the correct political views. You are looking to share life, love and experiences, not holding auditions for your imaginary podcast co-host. (Remember, most people have not yet fully gazed into the abyss.) If you find yourself in an increasingly small circle of radical friends, or with a radical romantic partner, you may be in the grips of a social media induced mental illness. This likely has nothing to do with politics anymore and should swiftly be discarded to achieve: being-a-normal-person-maxxing.
Here’s the good news. Over time, people will start to come around to these ideas on their own. They may not become politicized by the current crisis, or even the next one, but as things continue to get worse, more people will accept the political solution. (Ironically, you will likely be the person that they come to with their earnest questions.) The door should always remain open, but don’t use your politics as your whole identity. Being politically engaged is not an excuse to neglect your own intellectual and aesthetic development.
Until that time, having hobbies, having a physical practice and being able to care about people who don’t read the same books, will help you to move through the world, find meaning and experience joy. It will keep you occupied and sane. Political struggle is a life long project. Its important to remember what you are fighting for.
Instructions
This is an intermediate guide to weight lifting. If you have not done strength training before, you are likely not ready for this program. Similarly, if you have not completed the previous syllabi (2020 fall, 2021 spring, 2021 fall, 2022 spring, 2022 summer or the 2023 fitness program & syllabus), go back and learn those foundational themes before attempting this course. This program consists of intellectual and hypertrophy training that builds upon the core themes established in that earlier material.
If you have not exercised before, I recommend any beginner program that consists of the big compound lifts: overhead press, bench press, squat and deadlift. These exercises will train multiple muscle groups and give you a full body work out. They work for any aesthetic or physique. Start with the bar and add 5 to 10 pounds every week. Do this 3 times a week. You are guaranteed to see results. Do this consistently for six months and then come back to this program for isolation training. And read the previous syllabi while your at it!
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In this program you are using progressive overload (increasing the weight or number of repetitions each week). You will be increasing the weight between each set and lifting until failure on the third set. Rest 90 seconds between each set. Your third set should be loaded with an amount that you can only lift for the assigned number of reps. If you can lift more, keep going until failure. Adjust your loading for the following week to land within the assigned rep range.
For both lifting and studying, you need to take notes as you go. Each week you should record your progress for weights and completed reps. Write this down in a notebook or your notes app. The key to making progress begins with writing everything down — you will need to refer to these numbers the following week.
These movements are targeted at sculpting a classically masculine aesthetic but they will work for everyone. Most exercises are to be performed on machines. This style of isolation training targets individual muscles with minimal overlap — so don’t hold back! You can and should go all out on every exercise. Stop when you cannot physically complete another rep -OR- when your form has become so degraded that you need to dramatically change posture to complete another rep. If you find yourself changing positions, its time to stop! Going further will risk injury and could put you out of the gym for several weeks.
The 2024 program includes diagrams to identify each new exercise and machine for the introductory weeks. For each new movement, the first week is about finding the amount of weight that you can comfortably move at the 10 rep range. Don’t worry about maxxing out yet. Just find the appropriate weights for the assigned number of repetitions. Each following week will either increase the number of reps (meaning you will use the same weight as last week’s set), or reduce the number of reps (meaning you will increase the weight for that set). Keep good records and always try to beat the numbers you made last week. If you keep good notes, you are guaranteed to see progress.
Lift slowly and control the tempo. Descend carefully and complete the full range of motion. If you find yourself speeding through a set or doing partial reps, you are likely lifting too heavy. Remember, your ego is often the heaviest thing in the room. Sometimes a lighter weight will give you a better work out and yield more results in the end.
~Warm ups & back offs: To warm up, reduce the weight of your first set by 50%. For lighter weights, like bicep curls or lateral raises, one warm up set is likely sufficient. For heavier lifts, like the incline bench or lat pull downs, two warm up sets is preferred and will likely increase your performance on the final set. In the later weeks of the program we will introduce a fourth “back off set”. For back of sets: reduce the weight of your third set by 15 - 20%. If you hit failure again on the last assigned rep, you know you’re at the right loading.
Lastly, any serious training regimen also requires a thoughtful diet. While lifting, be sure to consume: 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. At this stage, protein tracking is more important than counting calories. I personally recommend the Cronometer app for tracking your nutrition. (If you haven’t done this before, you may not know what your real habits actually are.) Calculate your maintenance level calories and adjust as needed for your goals. If you are untrained or just out of practice, do not start this program and eat at a caloric deficit. If your goal is to lose fat + gain muscle, you should begin this program and continue to eat at your maintenance calories. Fat loss will occur as your muscle mass increases. In either case, tracking your protein consumption will already make you more muscular.
This is a 15 week semester long fitness program. Don’t do it for more than 15 weeks. If you finish this program and want further instruction, consult the Fitness Program & Syllabus: Summer 2023. You will find a new list of exercises and educational materials. This program is biased toward aesthetic development of the upper body. Ideally, it should be preceded or followed by upper/lower splits.
Super Secret Syllabus v.2024 — Summer
This syllabus is drawn from materials discussed in the Discord and videos reviewed on the live stream. Coursework is portioned out to ~90 minutes a week over a 15 week semester. Join today or start your free trial to unlock the full program and all previous posts.
