I’ve had enough.
This realization often hits like a ton of bricks. That despite your efforts and discipline. Regardless of your consistency and commitment. You know you’re capable of more.
Your habits could improve. Your focus could narrow. You could be more precise in your execution. More relentless in your follow through. You could do better, but as so many have lamented before us, “life gets in the way.” You need to be a machine, but too often feel like just another cog in the wheel. You know you’re so much more, but you need a reset in perspective to remind the world—and yourself, who you are. You are not your critics’ opinions. You are not the doubts in your own mind.
The moon, as they say, steals light from the sun. But the sun is still the sun.
But in order to shine, you realize, you may have to go “dark”.
Serious in your demeanor. Stealth in your moves. Strict in your routine. Low key in your profile. Quiet on social media.
Taking the 168 hour week and wringing all the life from it that you can.
Instead of talking, doing. Instead of telling, showing. Instead of creating content, using the rituals of daily creation to find contentment. Fully embracing “the process”.
In modern slang this is known as “Ghost Mode”. To start August right, this article is a testament to that state of mind.
As I see it, Ghost Mode requires a certain commitment. “Checking boxes” daily on the laundry list of life. Doing the work that needs to be done, in the shadows, free of the common distractions of both criticism and adulation. Like a great artist, under a shroud of darkness, we do our life’s work.
This labor of love, is so often its own reward. Consistency and repetition resulting in mastery. Mastery leading to opportunity.
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” -Bruce Lee
I seek to be the man practicing his kick 10,000 times. Dedicating the 10,000 hours necessary to become a master. Whether in my craft or in the gym, the road map to the promised land is the same.
I’ve been in this game for a minute, and having not missed a workout in a quarter century, I am my own unique case study. A work constantly in progress, just bold enough to believe my “prime” has only just begun. In the “practice” of each day, I gain confidence. In constantly analyzing my own system, my process evolves as I do. The consistency hammering my routine into place, etching it into my DNA.
Establishing a new routine, idealized for your own personality and circumstances, is critical. The hard work of self-improvement should not be drudgery. Getting in your groove should bring joy. It is for finding this elusive rhythm that our brand exists.
I loathe intellectual laziness and apathy, and one of the best methods I have found to combat this evil, is vigorous training. The kind that leaves a mark.
When the blood flows, the sweat pours, the muscles burn, a man comes alive—mind, body and soul. He is reborn anew each day. He drinks daily from the well of inspiration.
Everything is sharper and in better focus. Life is brighter and drawn in bolder colors. Your mood is elevated, the fog lingering over your brain has lifted and your purpose is crystal clear. Mornings like this set the tone for your day… And your life.
Mixing a scoop each of VICE XXX and JUICE in my trusty shaker, I concoct a daily “Super Serum” … A “secret” training beverage that primes my performance. As I sip it, I lock in. I feel this anabolic tonic coursing through my veins.
My hood pulled low. My bandana tied in place, a tribute to those who laid the foundation—the defiant rebels of history who dared to dream differently, I train in solitude in a hot Jersey garage. Each session I challenge myself to endure and survive, and in doing so, each time I notch a victory against mediocrity.
I think of Muhammad Ali, training in the isolation of the Poconos as a championship bout neared. Alone with his quest, his hopes and his fears and the expectations of the world, he prepared. Out of sight. When destiny demanded the most, the GOAT went Ghost Mode.
What follows are a week’s worth of workouts… Combining cardio intended to break a sweat and circuit-training workouts designed to break the weak. What’s wrong? You look like someone just walked over your grave.
Bring Back the Bandana VII Training Program
DB Wrist Curls: 2 sets x 25 reps
Shrugs: 2 sets x 25 reps
Wide Grip Pulldowns: 2 sets of BW to failure
Bulgarian Split Squats: 2 sets x 12 reps per leg
Superset: DB Floor Press w/ Pushups, 3 sets each x 25-15 reps
Superset: Crunches w/ Leg Raises, 3 sets each x 25 reps per set
Sunday OFF