Why Am I A Jerk? Part One.

The question the title asks is a rather loaded one. It implies that I am, in fact, a jerk. This is a very subjective assessment of anybody. One person's behavior could be seen as crude and boorish or lighthearted and carefree. It all depends on who is doing the judging and what kind of mood they are in in that particular instance.

With that in mind it has been brought to my attention that I've recently become more of a jerk than usual. Specifically, since I lost some body fat and put on a little muscle. I'm going to hold off on agreeing or disagreeing for right now as I don't feel that I've become a jerk per se. Chippy, quasi-confrontational, and a little shorter fused? Yes. A jerk? No. In any case the part that intrigued me was that everyone agreed that it came about when I changed my body composition.

I mentioned this to a client who had lost a significant amount of weight and he said, "The same thing happened to me. My youngest [child] said just the other day that I was more fun when I was chunky." This got me thinking that maybe it's not just a coincidence. Let's take a look at the evidence.

Studies have shown that obese men have higher levels of estrogen and lower levels of testosterone. This is a fact. If you're carrying some extra stuff around the mid section you've probably got some issues with your endocrine system. This is true even in young men. Many men know they are not the virile go getters they were when they were young. Until recently it has just been something that was relegated to the just-a-part-of-getting-older category. While testosterone production does naturally decrease as men age the fact that a lot of men gain abdominal fat is also a contributing factor.

One thing I found interesting while researching the subject is that winning has a positive impact on future success and testosterone and all the good things that come with it. In animal studies it has been shown that there is a natural surge of testosterone when one wins. And the more you win, the more likely you are to win again. What does this have to do with me? Maybe that I get a sense of winning satisfaction any time I win an argument. Or set a PR. Or feel that my hard work is paying off in the way that I want it to. Have I perceived myself winning anytime I mock one of accusers speech impediments? Have I perceived myself as winning when I watch one of my accusers warm-up for 45 minutes and only lift for thirty and I think to myself, "What an effing girl that guy is."? I'm going to say that I do feel a sense of winning because all I'm thinking in my head is, "SWISH!" when that stuff happens.

But are these contests with a with a winner or loser that will actually feel the repercussions of winning or losing?

I'm not sure and I really have no way of knowing for sure if those situations parallel the animal models, especially since those were physical contests over territory. One could maybe say we have a pissing match here or there but that's hardly as stressful as a dispute over territory or females that the animals go through. This also leads to a chicken and the egg type question. Am I competitive because my testosterone is high or is my testosterone high because I'm competitive?

Is my testosterone even higher than what is considered normal? Not sure.

But I'm sick of talking about me. Let's talk about my accusers. Remember, being a jerk is dependent on who is judging and what they are feeling. If we flip the situations previously described in the evidence supporting my increase in testosterone and decrease in estrogen we come to some interesting results.

First let's look at probably the biggest factor, body composition. I'm going to tread lightly here. None of us, myself included, are going to be gracing the cover of GQ or Muscle and Fitness anytime soon. We are all decently fit guys, but male models with 6% body fat we are not. Some of my accusers are carrying a little, as I like to say, extra shit. That extra subcutaneous fat does not bode well for free testosterone. In the study cited it is thought that sex hormone binding globulin (this stuff sticks to sex hormones thus rendering them useless) gets an upswing when one is carrying extra fat. Strike one.

Now let's take a gander at the living/social situations of my four accusers. Of my two biggest accusers one is married with a kid on the way and the other lives with his girlfriend. Survey says?! Men who are in committed, romantic relationships have lower testosterone. It's the name of the damn study for crissakes. In our society this is probably a good thing since evidence has shown that lower testosterone leads to better paternal care and problem solving and all that jazz. Whatever, they have lower test. Strike two.

Those are the two biggest factors. We could argue over a strike three all day since the only other things I've found to lower test are piddly shit like types of music, lavender scented things (wtf?), warming up food in plastic containers and blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong, I do everything I can to keep my testosterone high and estrogen low, but at the end of the day I sometimes just say, "Yeah? But who gives and shit?" when confronted with stuff like that.

So let's take stock of where we're at. I've decreased fat mass, increased muscle mass, and perceived myself winning. On the other side of the ball we've got some guys who have a bit of extra weight and are all in committed day-to-day relationships.

So what the hell am I getting at? I'm sure everyone has connected the dots that I think I've experienced an upswing in my testosterone thus leading me to be more aggressive and an otherwise outwardly asshole while I think my accusers have experienced a downswing in testosterone and a possible upswing in estrogen thus rendering them overly sensitive and easily offended by my witty repartee. Open and shut case, right? If you know anything about me then you know if you've been thinking this your new name should be Lord Wrongsley of Dumbassfordshire. Part Two is going explore just what all of this nerdy stuff means. You might be surprised.

Sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21771886 Independent and Additive Contributions of Postvictory Testosterone and Social Experience to the Development of the Winner Effect.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17426100 Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in relation to circulating androgens, sex hormone-binding globulin, and luteinizing hormone in young men.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20433613 Socially explosive minds: the triple imbalance hypothesis of reactive aggression.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21403636 Combining behavioral endocrinology and experimental economics: testosterone and social decision making.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2401584 Obese men have elevated plasma levels of estrone sulfate.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3293358 Hormonal abnormalities in obesity.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20666639 Between- and within-sex variation in hormonal responses to psychological stress in a large sample of college students.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13129483 Men in committed, romantic relationships have lower testosterone.

Saturday and Tuesday

SSB Squat:
135x10
225x10
275x10x3

Close Grip Bench:
95x10
135x10
165x10x3

Cambered Bar Good Morning:
135x10
155x10x2
175x10
185x10

Lat Pull Down:
3x20

Calf Raise:
3x20

After this I drank a bunch of booze and ate a bunch of food. L-I-V-I-N, livin'.

Tuesday:

Squat:
165x5
275x4
340x3
420x2
445x1

315x13
225x20

Dead Lift:
300x3
330x3
365x3x3

RDL:
4x10

This one felt pretty good. The 445 came up faster than it has in some time. Nothing really hurt although I still have the discomfort through the outside of my right thigh. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Song of the Day: The Dopamines- Thankyouverymuch

Thursday

Bench:
95x5
145x4
185x3
230x2
245x1x3
185x10

Single Arm Row:
100x10
110x10x2
120x10x2

with

DB Lateral Raise:
5x10

Face Pulls:
2x25

with

Shrugs:
2x20

Arm Circuit

Pretty decent session tonight. Bench technique felt solid yet the weight didn't move as fast as I probably would have liked. Such is life. Next week I'll be bumping up my calories so hopefully a little extra weight will help.

Song of the Day: Comeback Kid- The Blackstone

"If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way." -Mark Twain

Tuesday

Squat:
160x5
265x4
340x3
395x2
445x1
275x15
225x20

RDLs: 176x10x5
w/
Calf Raises: 225x15x5

I'm starting my meet cycle in earnest one week from today so I took things somewhat easy. I also tweaked the everloving shit out of my mid-upper back on Saturday. I had finished my last heavy set of front squats and dropped down to 135 to do a high rep set. On the third rep I must have gotten loose because all of a sudden my back seized up and I could hardly breath without feeling a shooting pain. I quickly realized that it was more or less a severe cramp and I just needed to give it a few days to relax. I was a little nervous going in to today but everything held up just fine.

Song of the Day- Choking Victim- 500 Channels

“Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more.” -Oscar Wilde

Thursday

Bench: 85x5, 145x4, 185x3, 240x2, 255x1

Single Arm Row: 5 sets of 10
w/
DB Front Raise: 4x10

DB Lateral Raise: 4x10
w/
Face Pulls: 3x15

Arms Circuit

Bench felt heavy today. I wasn't very good about getting fluids in me today and I think that played a part. My scale weight is also down a bit and pressing movements are usually the first things to drop when losing weight. Not worried though. Meet is still a ways away.

Song of the Day: Guttermouth- That's Life

"Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." -Henry David Thoreau

Last Couple

Saturday:

Front Squat: 95x10, 135x10x2, 185x10, 225x10

BTNPP: 95x10, 115x10, 135x10, 155x10, 165x10

RDL: 225x10x2, 275x10x3

Monday:

One Clean, Two Press Medley

165 lb. keg
80 lb fat gripz dumbell
191 lb axle
186 lb 10" log

x3 rounds

Tuesday:

Squat: 185x5, 265x4, 340x3, 445x2, 475x1, 225x15x3

Dead Lift (speed): worked up to 405x1x5

Pendlay Rows: 225x6x3
w/
Calf Raises: 275x15x3

Saturday and Tuesday weren't anything out of the ordinary. I was happy I got the last set of front squats on Saturday. The 475 on Tuesday may have been a touch high but I'm not too worried about it right now.

On Monday I got a wild hair up my ass to do some strongman conditioning stuff. That's one hair I wish I would've plucked.

Song of the Day: Wugazi- Nowhere To Wait

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey." -Kenji Miyazawa

Thursday

Bench: 85x5, 145x4, 185x3, 235x2, 250x1, 185x10x2

DB Low Incline Bench: 55x10, 85x8, 8, 10
w/
Sgl Arm Row: 90x10, 105x8, 8, 10

DB Laterals: 3x10, 1x15
w/
Rope Pull Downs: 3x20

Shrugs: 405x8x3

Band Tricep Pushdowns: 3x20
w/
EZ Bar Reverse Curls: 3x12

Shoulder Prehab

Pretty solid session tonight. Upper body can definitely handle a lot more volume than the lower body. I'm really hoping that the extra GPP and muscle mass will be a big help when it comes time to transition to more strength based stuff. I don't know why it wouldn't.

Song of the Day: Banner Pilot- Skeleton Key

"To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we will not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." -Buddha