Author: JakeDarcyFitness

A Friend in Phil Orr

Poetry

 

In the air tonight, we waited and wondered,

I missed again, but don’t lose my number, that’s all.

Everday we lead separate lives, two hearts, one heart, something happened.

 

Its a land of confusion, but another day in paradise.

Sussudio, I’m entangled. hold on my heart, take me home

Dance into the light! my heart knows, I can’t dance.

 

Jesus knows me, against all odds,

He knows my true colours.

 

-Its in your eyes, you’re no son of mine!

But I need help,

-You can’t hurry love,

If you follow me, I will follow you,

-Okay, I’m going back now

 

Sussudio! I can’t stop loving you, your invisible touch,

I’d say it’s a groovy kind of love.

 

This isn’t dramatic enough, I wish it would rain down.

turn it on again, for Orsino, one more night.

 

-On my way Philip.

Toe, Knee, Shoulder, Head.

Poetry

Toe, knee, shoulder, head.

Up a ravaged gutter of copper and lead

 

East echoing wind of string and brass

a shrieking tune on the broken glass

 

Cold hammer cracks a crumbly gall

Disturbing the bird nest disco ball

 

No place to dine a lonely dove

But one to dervish, liquid love

 

Loose sticky shuffle, dried ocean regrets,

A working boot licks a lifetime of steps

 

For youth of greed, the plague of age.

A looming debt to the heavens wage.

 

Sow final seeds in the flower bed.

First toe, knee, shoulder, then head.

The Doldrums 

Poetry

Take us to the doldrums, to soothe strangled soul
Grant deaths rescue, unshackle minds not hands to pray;

for cold black hearts, the bell will toll.
Wicked leashing labour, a brimming sugar bowl;

By the sticky leather hiss, on peut regarder

Take us to the doldrums, to soothe strangled soul.
Cruel iron clinks and kind iron chimes up a barking pole,

No word to whisper nor song to play;

For cold black hearts, the bell will toll.
Leap into the white whirling hole;
A bliss beyond a bastards bay
Take us to the doldrums, too soothe strangled soul.

Cease our blistered bodies of natures callous;
But assemble theirs for judgement day;
For cold black hearts the bell will toll

Paint limbs with drips across the scroll

of sticks black, white and grey.
Take us to the Doldrums to soothe strangled soul;
For cold black hearts the bell will toll.

 

Should I take Test-boosters?

Lifestyle, Review, Supplementation

So in a recent article I mentioned the use and dangers of pro-hormones, the synthetic compounds one would take to facilitate higher levels of testosterone. Our testosterone levels peak around the stages of puberty and throughout our twenties, to decline as we age. While some men may have low testosterone for a number of medical and psychological reasons, there are some with much higher base levels, a section of men that will most likely build and maintain muscle much easier than the average guy even without the use of anabolic steroids, growth hormone etc. To narrowly avoid the precarious genetics debate of such individuals, let’s just say that it’s no shock to see these guys on a bodybuilding stage or in sports that require such muscular size, strength and endurance. If you believe that anything is possible with consistent training and diet, continue to work against the odds and persevere through scepticism. For everyone else who may suspect that there are more than just an array of physiological factors in place to look like these guys, yes, testosterone is certainly the catalyst. Nonetheless, higher testosterone levels can be acquired naturally; through exercise, through diet and of course adequate supplementation.  The benefits of using testosterone-boosting supplements will differ from person to person, making their overall effectiveness questionable to those expecting to notice bigger arms or a bigger bench. 

Even though there isn’t is a resounding correlation between visual muscularity -that most guys want, and strength, we still think it’s just as important to be reasonably strong, maybe its an ego thing, I don’t know. But I would say that upon adhering to the numerous factors aforementioned in articles concerning: macros, the importance of sleep, hydration and the effects of alcohol, it is definitely possible to make substantial strength improvements when implementing testosterone boosters to a well-structured diet and training routine. This isn’t just from my own experience, plenty of guys I’ve trained with in the past, friends and fellow fitness enthusiasts have reassured me of the same. That being said, and although these supplements are considered ‘enhancers’ they still can’t possibly substantiate the improper practice of the fundamentals. In ‘Over supplementing your diet’ I mentioned how the likes of supplementation should support a somewhat already perfected diet, a mere cherry on top of the cake of basic principles everyone seems to neglect and question when their importance is stressed in conversation. In terms of tangible effects, I’ve noticed elevated energy levels, increased appetite and even a substantial libido boost, depending on the relevant product and its ingredients. I wouldn’t say they have such a shock-like capacity as pre-workout or fat burners but still enough to fill the once lethargic, demotivated void that one often faces at the end of a busy day or stressful week.

You will probably notice how much your appetite goes up whilst training regularly, imagine that your testosterone levels take the same route in this respect. Which is why taking test-boosters has been an essential part of my supplement regime over the last few weeks. I have had to take a short break from training due to a recent injury, and while assuming that I’d be eating a lot more with all the extra time on my hands, it’s been quite the opposite. I do feel that during this time my appetite would have been next to nothing without test-boosters. By now you can probably sense that I highly recommend these supplements, incorporating them as part of a cyclical regime, as opposed to taking them over consecutive months. This way the potential benefits can reciprocate upon each use, rather than being somewhat taken for granted.

While there are probably hundreds of different test-boosting products, you’re likely to find a handful of key ingredients that even define subcategories on supplement sites such as Dolphin Fitness. Most of these are somewhat herbal, deriving form medicinal plants and compounds renowned for matters concerning sexual health and vitality, nonetheless, they are highly useful in boosting testosterone;

Sodium DAA
ZMA- Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin B6
Tribulus Terrestris
Fenugreek
Maca
Horny Goat Weed
Tongkat Ali
Yohimbe
Bulbine Natalensis
Massularia Acuminate
Ginger root

In my opinion these are the most popular ingredients you will find on the market, also including a few that I have used and found highly effective. For products that feature these ingredients in higher amounts, I’d recommend using either T-Up Black by Nutrex or RELOAD by Extreme Nutrition.

Please follow my IG fitness page, hopefully new content and videos in the near future.

JAK3D 👊

Frances

Poetry

What be of her death, but a peace. black bliss.

By her lungs. by her heart. goodbye.         a kiss. 

To return as a worm? eaten by a bat?

Roll a six for the devil, live seven as a cat.

Of Karma. nirvana. of a man draped in white

Seen, unseen. light. day. dark. night

Go hence for incense, spice up a spicy soul

Pick lilies from the garden, dig down for the coal.

And peace doth be with you, and also with you

September, remember her final adieu.

Sleep sound to the inferno, 

Where solitude lies,

Where an eclipse of your heaven

Casts blue on grey skies,

Wake up on the clouds.  son, daughter, will wait;

With Theresa love, shall reincarnate.

Warm tears will wash, a cold young face

 As we 

Hail Frances, pleine de Grâce!

Sail on waves of the spirits,

cherish fond moments but nor one more than most;

As the food in my belly 

or the butter on toast.

Deadpool

Review

While Ryan Reynolds returns as the special forces mutant, Deadpool, it’s safe to say that the newly improved Wade Wilson has come a long way since the sewn-mouthed, shiny-headed weapon of X-Men Origins. Looking at the influx of DC Comics characters set to be unleashed with Suicide Squad, it seems Marvel’s timely spectacle of the red-suited rebel will mark a new era of rough-cut immortal bad-asses that would key Batman’s car and force feed Alfred viagra.

Due to the fact that Deadpool features more dick references than all of the Van Wilder’s combined, it’s definitely a poster that you don’t wanna see hanging on your sons wall. Nonetheless, the head-popping action, bawdy quips and pistol whips are definitely gonna go down a treat with comic book lovers and cinema goers alike. As we learn more about how everyone’s soon-to-be-favourite antihero develops the ability to regenerate health, we are thrown head first into a John Wick meets Kill Bill, semi-dystopian world -but really one bar- where seemingly just violence is paid in and death payed out.

Within a few months of getting more than comfortable with escort Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) , mercenary Wade Wilson is diagnosed with cancer and despite her not being anywhere near as annoying as the ginger guys wife in Homeland, he leaves his rather smokin’ fiancè at the thought of destroying the once spirited, passionate memories she has of him. In desperation, despite refusing a previous offer, Wade seeks an alternative experimental treatment for his cancer, promising him superhuman abilities that will ultimately be used for good. Francis Freeman (Ed Skrein) plots to exploit the use of such powers to our unsuspecting ‘hero’ by subjecting him to rigorous torture on behalf of Angel Dust (Gina Carano) Though he brushes off each effort to test his physiological threshold in true later-Deadpool fashion. In a more dramatic attempt to silence his spirits, Wade is trapped in an airtight chamber where the oxygen levels are manipulated to aggravate the effects of his cancer and spike a mutation that will ultimately save his life, but leave him seriously disfigured.

Now given a second chance, Deadpool seeks to fix his hideous appearance and fractured relationship, taking revenge upon the people who did this to him. Deadpool features a handful of remarks to the X-Men franchise, and while he shares similar characteristics to Wolvervine, it seems they are wholly satirical and good natured. We see the inclusion of Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Briana Hildebrand), two mutants that attempt to epitomise the importance of morality and justice to our less than principled master of masturbation, Deadpool. The involvement of such characters will undoubtedly establish a franchise that can link various Marvel characters together that may not be as well renowned or have have such an individual impact on audiences as the household name hero. All in all, I’d definitely recommend Deadpool, despite an initial sourness toward the action/comedy genre. It plays tastefully on the monotonies of typical clean-cut superheroes, embodies the crude attitudes of adolescent males and satisfies the uncouth nature of the antihero whilst still saving the day.

Should I take Pro-hormones?

Lifestyle, Supplementation

Now not to be confused with ‘test boosters’ pro-hormones are mostly unclassified synthetic compounds which can have a detrimental impact on natural hormone production when used incorrectly. These androgenic products, synonymous to anabolic steroids are often grouped together under a different name and marketed like any other legal bodybuilding supplement, but can be just as toxic- if not ‘worse’ than the ‘the real thing’ This is due to the fact that they are mostly taken orally and present the liver with a highly complex concoction of different chemicals, as opposed to just one. There are numerous supplements available that assist and reduce liver toxicity whilst taking anabolic substances; milk thistle, Liv.52 etc realistically though, the type of guy that takes pro-hormones wont be interested in buying any additional ‘precautionary’ products, as they won’t actually make him any bigger.

Like all androgenic compounds, pro-hormones are designed to stimulate the production of Testosterone, the hormone that distinguishes us with male characteristics. While Testosterone levels vary from person to person, higher levels of the hormone will increase ones ability to obtain muscular strength and size, hence why steroids have such an important role within medical procedure and rehabilitation. While you’ll most likely hear the horror stories and side effects of using anabolic steroids, ultimately, they are only as harmful as the person using them. That being said, if you’re attracted to the fact that pro-hormones are legal and aren’t convinced they could do you much harm, think again.

There are so many different variations of these unclassified steroids and androgenic components, the potency of each will vary. For most people, pro-hormones aren’t as strong as steroids and taking a higher dose is the best policy, although some can be even stronger- M1T, Superdrol. This along with fact of the supplement industry coining the whole ‘stack’ or ‘stacking’ ploy from professional athletes open about steroid use such as Rich Piana -taking more than one at a time to satisfy a specific role. ‘Stacking’ these products isn’t entirely safe and will only make ‘coming off’ more problematic.

Now while you can buy pro-hormones at most supplement stores, most people tend to buy them online because of the whole pro-hormone/steroid ‘taboo’ po-tato, pot-ato. Meaning that anyone unaware of the importance of hormone care when using these supplements will be finding out too late. As I have previously mentioned it’s not necessarily the drugs, it’s abusing them, which brings me on to how people recover from using these products.

‘PCT’ or Post Cycle Therapy supplements, regulate hormones back to where they were originally, whilst minimizing Estrogen in the body- the female hormone. These supplements are essential, especially when having taken stronger versions of pro-hormones  that completely shut down the body’s ability to produce testosterone. This is another major element that guys always seem to disregard. Failing to sufficiently manage hormone levels after the use of anabolic compounds, can leave you with side effects similar to that of prolonged steroid use; hair loss, gynaecomastia and even erectile dysfunction. 

If you’re gonna go through all of this trouble, you’re probably better off doing your homework and getting advice from someone that actually knows what they’re doing, who understands how steroids work and the safest way to use them. Just because pro-hormones are easily accessible does not means that they aren’t dangerous and can’t give you some bad side effects- I’m glad we’ve crossed this bridge, stop taking pro-hormones, but if you’re gonna do it- I can’t stop you.

Please follow my IG fitness page, hopefully new content and videos in the near future.

JAK3D 👊

Desire Time

Poetry

A fictional narrative illustrating the perils of ‘beer-goggles’

Must also include all ten of these words associated with ‘LOVE’

WINE 

SUGAR

BODY

LOVER 

DESIRE

HATE 

HEART

POISON

DATE 

ARSE

Desire time 

Desire time flushed cheeks and wine

a whisky or a gin, a thirst it grew, 

but not for you, that 

face gave me a grin.

desire time flushed cheeks more wine,

a whisky not a gin, on heels rock,

that ragged frock, this is where i will begin…

arms legs arse hips, porks pies and chips,

worn hands, worn face, new bag. 

Stumped teeth of beige, 

for only wine can age

I’d crossed the line a tad.

apology time, standing in line,

cheeks scorched of scarlet sin, 

‘what would one want?’ rather non chalant 

she pointed to her gin.

five whiskeys down, nor sigh or frown,

it’s going rather well, I thought it lame to

ask her name, we’ll just call her Michelle.

I hate to say, though mal portrait

I’m glad that we had met, 

youth body had flown

her heart a stone though still not one regret.

Frantic no more, a date? a pour of whisky,

no more gin, a stumbling toad went down 

the road with a princess or akin. 

Desire time strange taste in wine, 

no chance I’ll sink another, 

a sober thought and now retort , 

she looked like someone’s brother.

Though on the floor, insisting more 

a smell of burning sugar,

 an emerald flash lit her moustache, 

I sip the rancid blubber. 

The mystic horse, with no remorse

tore off my clothes like paper, 

for all the dread, my poisoned head

whirling dervish. rancid. vapour.

Desire time,  sobering paradigm 

for any riggish lover, a boisterous 

haste had tickled my taste for 

Michael. Michelle’s big brother.

Should I take ‘fat-burners?’

Lifestyle, Supplementation

As each year comes around it seems there’s even less time to get in shape for summer, still, don’t be in SUCH a rush to lose that extra baggage you’ve accumulated over the last few months. Thanks to YouTube, cos who reads books nowadays? We are becoming, ever so surely- smarter. No longer do we need to sieve through the mass of scientific jargon to pick out useful information or have to ask someone with a relevant degree for help. Nonetheless, this does not mean our judgement on what we put in our bodies has improved, by any means.

For a lot of people, ‘Fatburners’ sound like JUST the thing to assist weight loss, even if their activity level is ‘next to nothing’ and while the majority of ingredients in these types of supplements are legal, they are not entirely safe. Now if you’re a professional athlete, fitness enthusiast or just an average guy, your body’s threshold managing physical exertion will extend over time. Meaning that your body will adapt to pretty much anything you do often enough. If you look at professions that require higher amounts of physical exertion such as a scaffolder or labourer, the strength developed by strenuous activity will adapt in order to function the job at hand. That being said, top athletes apply additional elements to their training and diet in terms of optimising their performance. Imagine that Elevation training masks weren’t just for idiots that want to look like Bane and ARE designed for serious athletes. Well, fatburners are kind of like this too. The thermogenic capacity of these products is down to a few distinctive ingredients that you will find in most ‘fat burning’ or ‘metabolism boosting’ products.

Just to name a few…

  •  CAFFEINE: Now while Caffeine is an everyday component of an active lifestyle, it also has diuretic properties in higher amounts- like your bladder if you’ve ever tried the Volvic 14 day challenge- but all the time.
  • GREEN TEA EXTRACT: Green tea is no longer just for folks that have a yoga mat and a vegetable garden, it too has diuretic properties, boosts metabolism and looks great on Instagram with a slice of lemon.
  • CLA- Conjugated linoleic acid: Another common ingredient in most diet/ fatburning supplements but will most likely be sold individually. CLA is a fatty acid that affects the enzymes that burn fat from both fat cells and fat within the blood- apparently.
  • Citrus Aurantium or ‘bitter orange’ This is a compound yielding similar properties to all of the above, including the release of epinephrine for improved focus and energy. I do believe the nervous/hot/jittery energy comes from this component within a fair few fat burning supplements I have tried, so do be cautious.
There are plenty of other common ingredients within most popular supplements like ketones, various herbs and capsaicin. Capsaicin is an active component of the chilli pepper, you can see where this is going…
By raising the temperature of the body, we burn more fat. Well that’s the plan anyway. This is why you’ll find ingredients in products that derive or relate to capsaicin such as cayenne pepper in Grenade Thermo Detonator. So technically if I eat a tonne of spicy food I will lose weight? Well no probably not. Nevertheless the role of heat-inducing compounds are essential in fatburners. As I previously mentioned these would be beneficial to individuals that have all of the fundamental controls in place in order to ‘cut’ employing the use of such products to optimise their performance and capacity to burn fat, NOT having the work done FOR THEM. This brings me on to people reasonably new to these types of supplements, unaware of their effects when combined with intense exercise. Bearing in mind supplement brands promoting aforesaid products will sometimes encourage users to take ‘X’ amount of servings in the hope of increasing ‘performance’ but even just ONE of the two- even three capsules recommended in a ‘serving’ could still put someone new to fat burners -even pre-workout- in a bit of a panic. If you’ve not exercised for quite some time and are desperate to lose the weight you’ve accumulated, at least get back into the swing of things before even considering using fat burners. This will only prevent you from passing out at the gym, or worse. If you’re considering the use of fat burners everyday, be sure to think about whether this will impede on your working capability of day to day tasks, will there be the possibility of a fan? am I on edge? is there a puddle in my shoe?
Fatburners and fasted cardio? This is a no-brainer, don’t do it. If you’re familiar with fasted cardio you’ll know that that the big HB- heartburn is bad enough without throwing a ghost chilli and shot of adrenaline in the mix. Don’t forget having these on an empty stomach will drastically increase the effects, you might sweat just as much as you would when doing HIIT , it’s probably not a good idea to pair these together, I once learned.
 Ultimately, fat burners are helpful to implement on top of a good solid diet, they speed up the process of weight-loss to an extent and do provide a somewhat substantial amount of energy when its needed -especially on low-carb days- even if it is all from caffeine. I would however, like to point out that they are not for beginners and certainly not for people with a poor cardiovascular ability, low activity level or bad tolerance of stimulants.
Don’t forget to follow my fitness page on Instagram, new videos coming soon…
JAK3D 👊

The Hateful Eight

Review

So, The Hateful Eight. We are introduced to ‘The Hangman’ -JOHN RUTH (Kurt Russell) a bounty hunter, in possession of a dangerous female fugitive, DAISY DOMERGOO (Jennifer Jason Leigh) along with his wagon driver OB (James Parks) they proceed to Redrock, the neighbouring town of which Ruth plans to hang Domergoo. In light of an imminent blizzard, despite having additional ‘baggage’, another bounty hunter MAJOR MARQUIS WARREN (Samuel L. Jackson) and later proclaimed Sheriff CHRIS MANIX (Walton Goggins) climb aboard to a droll interrogation by the illusive ‘Hangman’ A theme of deception and false identity arises by this point, just as Major Warren earns himself a somewhat reassuring credibility, producing a letter from President Abraham Lincoln.  As each chapter unfolds, the sense of deception becomes paramount, the remaining four of the ‘Hateful Eight’ meet at Minnie’s Haberdachery, a stagecoach lodge. Senõr BOB (Demián Bichir), claims to be looking after the place while its owner Minnie (Dana Gourrier) is out of town, to a suspicious Major Warren and Sheriff Manix. While a looming paranoia regarding the hefty bounty sum resides with the unsettled ‘Hangman’ Lodgers OSWALDO MOBRAY (Tim Roth), JOE GAGE (Michael Madsen) and GENERAL SANFORD SMITHERS (Bruce Dern) each find themselves subject to rigorous scrutiny on behalf of the only two characters who’s stories SEEM to add up. The remaining characters including CHANNING TATUM are intertwined in typical Tarantino fashion by means that play on the linearity of the storyline, to awesome theatrical effect.

Now I did go into this as sceptical as one would be when Samuel L. Jackson gets cast with a modern Monsieur Candy, but even with Channing Tatum did this take my love for Tarantino a way way, yonder. If you happened to have seen Inglorious Basterds or Django Unchained it’s no surprise that there’s gonna be a hell of a lotta blood, guts and a dash of casual racism but it’s of no contextual difference to that of post Civil War America -1861-1865- Ennio Morricone composed the score for Tarantino’s 2016 blockbuster despite saying he would ‘never’ work for him again, only to go on and devise a greatly ominous yet satirical arrangement similar to that in Kill Bill. Despite my own personal appreciation of The Hateful Eight I can see why it isn’t going to be for everyone, with heavy emphasis on longer takes, predominantly conversational scenes and even some slo-motion, I get the place for some critique. For me though, it was the western mystery’s progression into a somewhat cowboy’s Cluedo, that had me fixated for all three hours worth. Now the length of this film would probably deter cinema goers, unless that is, your local screening comes with leather recliners and on hand masseuse. Although I would definitely urge anyone to go and see it rather than snag a substandard version online. It’s something about sharing painful laughter with complete strangers that I find deeply satisfying, and the boisterously blunt, schoolyard trash-talk tone present in The Hateful Eight is one to have you spitting out your popcorn, or McDonald’s if you manage to sneak it in.

If you’re not familiar with the works of Tarantino and you’re looking for something that is going to entertain you on paper, I’d probably put The Hateful Eight on the back-burner and reconsider it once you know what to expect. To get onto overall recommendations of this film I would like to point out that it’s probably not an ideal first date movie and is certainly not going to rekindle the love between you and your partner, but its profoundly entertaining all the same. It’s safe to say Samuel L Jackson is one of the best and worst actors of all time, as Major Warren we are treated to his ferocious capacity to captivate, similar to his earlier works as ‘Jules Winnfield’ in black comedy crime cult, Pulp Fiction (1994) I would watch this again in a heartbeat, although I do believe its successes will reside entirely subjective, as the same for Marmite.