Alpha Asian

Okay, this is very late, but I thought I'd do a write up anyway. Besides, it's snowing here on the east coast and work has been canceled due to the storm so I'm stuck indoors (I've discovered there's a LOT of shit on daytime TV, apart from the news, so I'm better off doing something constructive). Anyway, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series but what caught my eye was the great sports photos of relief pitcher Koji Uehara. Upon clinching the championship, Keiji was front and center---an Asian male the focal point of the championship photos. Interestingly enough, the Boston Red Sox also have Japanese relief pitcher Junichi Tazawa in the bull pen as well. But Uehara has an interesting backstory. Koji Uehara was the American League Championship series MVP, pitching well enough in relief in the 9th inning for scoreleess inning, striking out two Detroit Tigers batters, giving up only an infield single. However, at the start of the 2013 season, Uehara wa...

So Shadow Warrior Gene Yu has come out of the shadows and is now a celeb in Taiwan.  His book "Yellow Green Beret" was translated into Chinese. This guy's a true Alpha Asian. Gene served as a U.S. Army Special Forces officer. He served in 4 combat tours in Iraq and the Philippines, working extensively throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East in special ops missions. He received several medals for his accomplishments, including 2 Bronze Stars. Yellow Green Beret documents his experiences, all the way from his time at Westpoint in 1997 to the Iraq War in 2009.  It's a compilation of 23 episodes from his military life, some of them quite humorous, some of them profound life lessons. All of the stories provide the reader with an inside look at Army Special Forces Operations and the intense training that's involved.  You learn a lot about the war in Iraq, hazing at Westpoint, sniper school and scenario based training And yet, this guy does...

Q:  I'll follow the body weight and dumbbell exercises you recommended but drop the use of kettlebells.  Will these be enough? And do they follow the correct sequence? 1. Dips (progress to weighted dips) 2. Pull-ups 3. Push-ups (progress to One-hand push ups) 4. Leg raises (progress to Pike) 5. One-legged squats (progress to weighted one-legged squats) 6. Lateral push away with dumbbells 7. Lean away laterals with dumbbells I plan to do this workout thrice a week.  How many sets and reps per exercise do you recommend? Kind regards, E. Ong My Answer:  Yep those exercises should be enough.  As far as sequencing, you should sequence them according to difficulty.  So exercises where you perform a low number of reps (due to their difficulty) should be done at the beginning of the workout.  Easier exercises where you can perform a high number of reps  (like push-ups and lateral raises) should be done at the end of the workout. Sin...

Q: James, thanks for your training wisdom. Yes, pull-ups for me is a problem. I have to do them at work hanging from a support beam. It's tough. My fingers can't go around the wood since it's a beam, so I have to cup them on top, then pull myself up. It works, but it's not easy. I still train at home, and at 57 I'm doing OK. I have to improvise a lot. Thanks again for your updates. -Bruce My Answer: Well Bruce, if you're doing pull-ups on a support beam, then I say you're doing good and kicking the asses of guys half your age. You got to work with what you got, and sometimes that's better for you. In my starving student days, I used to workout at a playground, which had a 3 inch thick pull-up bar for kids to hang on. I did pull-ups on that. Scared a few soccer moms, made a few pint sized friends. Even though it was initially difficult to do pull-ups because of the thickness of the bar, I kept doing it. So when I joined a gym and perfor...

Recently a UC Berkeley student named Kay interviewed me for a research project on representations of Asians/Asian Americans on reality TV shows.  She was nice enough to provide me with a transcript of our interview: Kay: Well, to begin, I really want to thank you for taking the time to interview with me. Again, like I said, this interview will be about 45 minutes to an hour long, so I really do thank you.  My topic is gendered representations of Asian Americans and Asians in reality TV shows.  For this assignment, we are asked to interview someone who can provide insight into our topic. After the interview, we reflect on it and provide any new insight that we might find and list the pros and cons of the research method. So, that’s the reason why I would like to interview you.  James: Can I ask you a question? Kay: I’m sorry?           James: Can I ask you a question? Kay: Yes, of course! James: How did you find out about my blog? K...

Hello Coach, You already answered me twice and on your blog. In the past I was on a fat loss plan. Now since I'm back from vacation and my beach season is over I'm looking to pack on some serious mass again. I read all your articles, and I also have your book . I would like to know where I should start!! I'm very interested by your Body Contract System 2.0 , Supercharging H.I.T. , the 6 Factors workout from  Strength and Physique, Volume One and the Shotgun Method . I can train 3 to 4 days a week. Some of your workouts are 2 weeks of high intensity followed by some backcycling. Could you help me set up my plan? By the way some info, I'm 6 feet tall and about 192 right now. Goal is to hit 210 and some small fat gain is acceptable. I wanna pack some mass until December. As for the diet it will be based on the following: eggs bacon meats cheese whole milk pasta peanut butter nuts Cytogainer Muscle Milk As usual: a big thank you! -DM My...

The following guest post is by Yun Xu of AsianManCure.com. You are here for the same reason I'm here. We have seen deeply disturbing behavior in our fellow sisters, brothers, and over-privileged racists. As much as I value discussion , I see no actionable advice being offered. So, I wrote a guide and I hope that my fellow Asians benefit from this. Some of us feel this problem is insurmountable and I don't blame you. It's soul crushing to hear an Asian girl hate on good Asian men and run into the arms of a "me love you long time" racist. However, I want you to consider a different point of view. Accelerated evolution This is trial by fire. It's a test of our resolve to grow and fight. There is no "love conquers all" bullshit. Your enemies weaponize the media to spread lies about you, but these lies have only worked because too many of us have failed to improve and more importantly, fight back. I hate the cost that this war has inflic...