Vintage Vault #3: (Unleashing Inner Darkness)
Slide 1: Introduction
Hello everyone, Michael-John Wolfe here with your third video in our Vintage Vault.
Now this is an extremely important part of our vault, because after this video, you're gonna be able to completely unleash your inner animal into the weights like the vintage bodybuilders once did. This is the secret weapon that great NFL, NBA, and MMA fighters take advantage of, to reach that next level. And we are gonna tap right into this power, so we can get serious life changing results in the quickest amount of time possible.
If you're at this part of our Vintage Vault, then you’ve completed the “Mindset and Vision worksheet” and also printed out the “creating your vision” pinup. If you haven’t printed those out and been following them, go back to video two and get those printed and saved on your phone.
We’ve designed this program in a specific order, and it is of crucial importance you complete each video before moving on to the next. Now make sure that's done, and let’s continue.
What I've learned in bodybuilding and professional sports is that there really is a different type of breed of human that achieves massive results. Some people are able to tap into this “inner darkness” everytime they get to the gym or begin training, meanwhile others go their entire life never utilizing or experiencing this next level of dark energy and power.
Slide 2: What are we gonna cover here
In this video, we are covering:
- Inserting “Emotional Content” into our workouts
- Why some people are absolute animals at the gym, while others are simply going through the motions.
- Channeling a crucial, dark, primal part of yourself
- Triggering your body to unlock 100% of its energy and strength
- Rewiring your dopamine pathways to unlock your mind's energy and discipline
Slide 3: Emotional Content
Now, have you ever noticed how some workouts feel like WAR, while others feel like you’re going through the motions?
Have you ever gone to the gym, fueled by an assertive aggression, and absolutely KILLED IT.
As Bruce Lee would say, the difference is all about emotional content.
What does that mean?
It means that there’s a HECK of a difference between curling some irons while your mind wonders, versus using the dumbbells to take out your aggression and frustration.
For many of us, the gym is a cathartic release. It’s a chance to blow of steam and to tackle our demons. It’s a war with ourselves, where there can only be ONE WINNER.
If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, I want you to imagine one type of workout where this is readily apparent: the heavy bag.
Slide 3.1: The heavy bag
Some people stand in front of the heavy bag and gingerly tap it with their fists and toes. It’s like they’re trying ever so hard not to hurt their hands!
Then you get those people who come at the bag like an ANIMAL. Their eyes are glazed over, their teeth are gritted, and they have veins popping out of their biceps and forehead.
Those guys hit the bag and the entire GYM seems to shake. The sound is like thunder.
And then those hits just keep coming.
Faster, and faster, and faster.
The dude is sweating and angry, and they’re red in the face.
And eventually they collapse in a heap in the corner of the gym.
Now who do you think got the better workout?
That’s damn right.
And it’s not because guy number 2 is a boxer or a martial artist. This is not about TECHNIQUE.
It’s about EMOTIONAL CONTENT.
The second guy gave it everything. He ripped into the bag and nearly took the thing off of its hinges.
THAT is the kind of energy that gets results.
And I don’t just mean good results.
I mean the kinds of results that make other people kind of scared of you.
I mean the kind of results that transform you body and mind.
Slide 4: Being Focused
Now the exact same thing happens when you curl or when you squat. You need that 100% focus. You need to feel the weight bearing down on you and imagine that that weight is EVERYTHING that is wrong in your life right now.
It’s the weakling boss who keeps breathing down your neck.
It’s the looming debt.
It’s the society that allows those things to control you in the first place.
It’s EVERYTHING that has ever tried to push you down and keep you there.
But you know what?
You’re not GOING down. You’re not going down because you’re going to FIGHT.
We live in a society where you can’t just go outside and hit people in the face.
And of course, that’s absolutely as it should be. The world would fall into disarray if we still settled our disputes like animals.
But that means that bureaucrats and weedy little people who have no real power in their lives, get to walk all over us. They get to push us around, humiliate us, and make us feel small.
Slide 4.1: The warrior hawks
Have you ever stood there while your boss shouted in your face about something petty and dumb?
Have you ever just taken it – because at the end of the day they pay your salary, and you have a wife and kid to feed?
Even though that you know you could snap their neck like a twig?
Some of us are born warriors. We are the warrior hawks.
During humanities evolution, our natural tendency for strength and action would have made us incredibly valuable to society. WE were the ones who secured land and food. WE were the ones who drove the wolves and the bears away at night.
But in modern times, those same abilities are of no use.
In fact, they’re frowned upon.
And we have to swallow our inner turmoil, and strength. We have to button up our shirts and put on our most stoic face.
We have to squeeze our way through doorways and into chairs. We have to sit quietly for hours on end, watching the clock tick by.
Yes sir.
Thank you sir.
Sorry madam.
The gym is where all that gets to change.
The gym is where you get to go and blow off some steam.
Because when you throw that barbell around, when you channel that aggression, you use your warrior’s body and mind as it was MEANT to be used.
Slide 4.2: There is still a place for the warrior
This is the battle that you were born to fight.
And every time you heave that weight around the room, you make yourself stronger. READY for anything.
You make yourself ready to stand up for the values and the principles that matter to you.
And when you’re in the moment – when you’re in the zone – when you’re executing that perfect squat and bench… That’s when all your other troubles melt away.
Suddenly you realize just how small and how petty all of those other concerns are.
Your boss and rant and rave all they like.
At the end of the day, they are still impotent. They are still small. And nothing they do in the office will change that.
They’ve forgotten how to use their body. They are detached from their animal nature.
And ultimately, no matter what else society has in place, when push comes to shove… it’s about STRENGTH.
And they know that.
Because when they last yelled at you. When they last pushed you too far…
You might have politely smiled and agreed to their demands.
But you also heard that little bit of fear in their voice. Deep down, they know that they got nothing on you.
Deep down, they are just small, scared, and desperately sad. Their power is flimsy. It is fake. It is posturing.
Throwing 200kg over your head? THAT is power.
And you both know it deep down.
Just like you enjoy that look of respect from the local youths as you stroll out your house.
Sure, they make a mess of your neighborhood. They scare the neighbors. They make noise.
And you’d probably like to garrote the little bastards. But you can’t. Because you’re civilized. Because you’re better than that.
But you know what? Just seeing your impressive frame in the doorway is actually enough to get them to simmer down.
Notice how they don’t throw shit at your door?
Or the kindly old lady’s house just across the road?
There is still a place for the warrior.
Slide 5: Your inner rage and darkness
And it’s not about being an anachronism. It’s not about being some violent guy who can barely keep it together. It’s not about rage that is bubbling just beneath the surface.
Rather, it’s about channeling a crucial, primal part of yourself into something worthwhile.
Because you know what? EVERYONE has that inner rage and darkness. Yes: even that buttoned up guy at the office (especially the buttoned up guy at the office!).
Even the kindly old lady across the road!
We all have our ways of letting that sh*t out.
Slide 5.1: The quiet warrior
Now, you can be like the buttoned up bureaucrat and you can let it out by sh*tting on the people that are beneath you (and probably eventually having a breakdown).
OR you can channel that rage and anger the way that nature intended.
When you hit something hard, when you lift something heavy… you express yourself with your BODY.
And THIS is the way that it is meant to be.
That is what your RAGE and anger is FOR.
So far from being an unhealthy explosion of pent-up rage, this is the medicine. This is the antidote. This is precisely what is going to allow you to keep it together the rest of the time: to maintain that stoic demeanor and to be kind and gentle to those around you.
This is what enables you to be the quiet warrior.
And getting back to the point. When you really learn to channel that anger and darkness in the gym, it helps your workouts TENFOLD. It turns you into a MACHINE.
Slide 6: Being a Machine
Have you ever watched Dragon Ball Z? Stay with me a moment.
You know how those guys would scream and roar and eventually they would go Super Saiyan? (Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!)
You know how that would help them to tap into 10X their previous power?
This would happen when they were pushed too far. When they got too mad. When they’d snap.
And out would come pouring all of that repressed power and latent potential.
Well, the writers actually got something right here.
You see, that’s also EXACTLY how the human body works!
Slide 6.1: Fight or Flight
When you get mad, when you get angry, when you get scare even… you are able to tap into more strength and more power than you ever normally could.
Perhaps you’ve heard stories of Mothers lifting cars off of their children? Or rock climbers cutting off their own arms in order to free themselves from being trapped by boulders.
Science how has an idea as to what’s going on here.
You see, when you get scared or angry, you are able to increase your muscle fiber recruitment. When you are physiologically aroused, your body releases a huge amount of cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine (among other neurochemicals).
This puts you in a state called Fight or Flight. That means that your body is ready to either get into a fight, or to run away from danger.
Many things change in your body and brain at this point. You develop “tunnel vision” for one. At the same time, you’ll find that your reflexes and reactions increase, and your senses heighten.
You’ll find that your muscles contract and become slightly more tense. Even your blood viscosity increases! Why? Because that way, your blood would clot much more quickly if you were to be injured and begin bleeding out.
Your heart rate increases, blood gets sent to the brain and muscles, and you essentially become a more powerful version of yourself.
And here’s the amazing bit: all of that testosterone ALSO increases something called your muscle fiber recruitment.
That means that when you go to pick up something heavy, you’re able to actually engage MORE of the muscle in the movement. Therefore shifting MORE weight.
The average untrained individual is capable of using 30% of their muscle fiber. That means that they can tap into 30% of the strength that lies dormant in their own bodies.
The average trained athlete only goes up to 60%.
But some scientists now think that when you are in an emergency and your life depends on it, your brain shuts off the dampeners and allows you to tap into that full 100%.
In order words, the angrier you get, the stronger you get. Like the HULK!
Slide 6.2: Focus in your emotions
I’m not saying that you’ll be able to lift a car. But by learning to tap into that immense darkness that lies just beneath the surface, you’ll find that you are able to exert far more strength.
Studies show that even just shouting releases enough adrenaline to help us tap into more muscle fiber recruitment.
Here’s the thing: Mothers don’t lift cars off their kids because of the situation they are in. They lift them off their kids because of the emotional response that it triggers inside them.
As stoic philosophers and mindful practitioners know, you can’t control your situation – only your own reaction to that situation.
And likewise, if you learn to tap into the powerful feelings that bubble up when you start letting the darkness out, then you can engage far more muscle and power when you’re training.
And what happens when you lift more?
Simple: you get stronger.
So turn OFF that smartphone, and FOCUS on your workouts. FOCUS on the emotions. And give those weights HELL.
Slide 7: Adrenal fatigue
Before we wrap things up, I want to take a moment to hone in on something I mentioned just then.
The smartphone.
Because you know what? The smartphone is key to a LOT of the problems in our lives, and especially in the gym.
Because the smartphone is what keeps us from paying any attention to our training.
The smartphone is what makes it hard for us to go to the gym in the first place.
The smartphone is very much responsible for our weakened state.
Simple put: your smartphone makes you soft.
Slide 7.1: Your phone is the culprit
Just now, we discussed how throwing heavy weights around and roaring could trigger a cascade of emotions that make you STRONGER. This demonstrates the immense power of the mind and just how linked it is with our physical lives.
And this works both ways. Things you do in your daily life will impact on your mental state, and that in turn will impact on your ability to perform in the gym.
And your phone is the worst culprit!
You see, every time you look at your phone, you trigger changes in your neurochemistry.
Specifically, two things happen.
One is that you trigger the release of cortisol – the stress hormone – along with adrenaline. That’s because a) your phone is full of stressful things that you have to remember to do, and b) the light from the phone triggers the release of cortisol and makes you more awake.
Slide 7.2: The 21st century syndrome
In short, your phone causes a minor fight or flight response. That’s why it’s so damaging to look at your phone just before bed: it makes it impossible to have a deep, restorative sleep!
Remember, you want to have this fight or flight response right before you engage in physical activity. That’s what it’s for!
When the fight or flight response happens on its own, it becomes chronic. It’s this low level stress that causes your adrenal glands to constantly seep throughout the day.
And now, when you get to the gym and it’s time to let that anger out… guess what? It’s all gone!
You’re spent.
This is called adrenal fatigue. It’s also called “21st century syndrome.”
It basically is caused by us being in a state of constant arousal throughout the day, which in turn makes us absolutely useless when it comes to our training.
So you aren’t sleeping right, you aren’t getting enough of a workout, and you feel constantly exhausted… not good!
Slide 8: Dopamine pathways
So why do you keep doing it? Why can’t you stop looking at your phone?
That has to do with your neurochemistry too. Or more specifically: your dopamine pathways.
Dopamine is often referred to as the reward hormone. A bad YouTuber or blogger would probably tell you that this hormone is released as a reward for doing things. In fact though, it’s more complex than that.
Slide 8.1: Releasing Dopamine
From what we can tell dopamine is released when we believe we are working toward a reward. In other words, you release dopamine when you’re working hard but think you’re going to be rewarded at the end of it.
Dopamine works with various networks in the brain to keep you on task and to help you keep pushing through. When you then get the reward, this strengthens those pathways, meaning that you’ll be more likely to engage in the behavior again.
The problem is that your phone is actually designed specifically to try and manipulate those pathways. The worst culprits are games like Candy Crush: every time you hear that jingle noise or see all the candies popping, that rewards those networks and reinforces the behavior: your brain feels great.
The same thing happens when someone likes your post on Facebook, or even just when you see someone on Facebook (that recognition is enough of a reward).
Combined with the stimulation that comes from the light screen, you’ll find that you feel a constant urge to pull your phone out every two minutes and to keep checking it!
And your TV, your computer… all those other things are just as bad.
So you’re now burned out, but still addicted.
Slide 8.2: Connect your emotions to your strength training
And that’s combined with everything else wrong with your modern lifestyle: the way that you’re stressed constantly about work, finances, and relationships. The way you don’t get any physical stimulation. The way you don’t get any light or fresh air!
You’re domesticated, you’re stressed, and you’re spent.
Is it any wonder it’s so difficult to motivate yourself into the gym?
Is it any wonder that the workouts themselves consist of you simply going through the motions?
THIS is why it’s so important to reclaim that primal, warrior nature. It’s why it’s so urgent that you reconnect with your physicality.
It’s why you need to once again connect your emotions to your strength training.
When you can do that, you’ll be able to take back control over your motivation, your drive, and your full physical, athletic potential.
Slide 9: Prescription
So I’m going to prescribe you a few things now!
The first: angry, powerful, cathartic workouts. Workouts designed to blow off steam and to tap into all that rage and strength and power.
The second: a detox. Take some time off of your phone. Get outside. Stop being a slave to those devices, machines, routines, and services.
Even just abstaining from looking at your phone for the first 20 minutes of your day can make a HUGE difference, and allow your body clock and your mood to be set by the environment instead.
The third: try our supplements. These are designed to strengthen your body’s natural ability to produce hormones like testosterone, growth hormone, and others.
These are the anabolic hormones that the body needs to thrive. And they’re what will help you to regain your masculine energy, assertiveness, and strength. People who use our products NATURALLY find that they attack their workouts with increased vigor and energy, then return to the gym the next day with their hormones replenished and restored.
Follow that prescription, and I PROMISE that your workouts will be like nothing you’ve experienced before.
Tap into the darkness. Tap into that primal part of yourself. Unleash hell.
And grow physically, mentally, and spiritually as a result.
It’s time you stopped being domesticated, and started being WILD again.