Update '2025 -- Justin Higgins'

2025----Justin-Higgins.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<br>A summary of what I learned is below. I've been a regular coffee drinker since I was 16. If I think about it, I've probably regularly had caffeine in my system since my first pizza party as a child. I like caffeine. Not enough to write an opera about it, but I like it. Not a big fan of my dependence on it. So I took a break. I "weaned the bean". In December of 2020, I substituted hot cacao for coffee so that by January 2021, all sources of caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, soda) could be cut. Peets. This time, no headaches just more of a morning dullness for the first several weeks. For my morning ritual or social drink, I drank herbal tea. Lifting weights regularly also helped. Mornings I began with a workout had a sustained energy and focus. Not pulse-y like with caffeine. I did fail this goal however, as I had chocolate a handful of times when offered (once for my neighbor's birthday and once for cookies my fiance made).<br>
+
+<br>Next year: I love how reliable my days are without caffeine. I love feeling great. I wanted to break the cycle of unfocused, Sisyphean workout sessions with no goal. Enter Stronglifts 5x5. A dumb-simple strength training program based on the principles of "progressive overload" a fancy phrase for "if you do an exercise successfully, the next time you do that exercise, add more weight, more repetitions or do it faster". I set out to execute 150 Stronglift workouts before end of year. That's roughly 3 times per week. Manageable to a newcomer like me. So I built my gym and  [Alpha Surge Male supplement](http://bt-13.com/index.php/How_To_Build_Muscle_And_Size) started all exercises with no added weight but the bar. This was tedious for several weeks but necessary to establish proper form. Eventually, I got to a weight I couldn't lift. Excellent. Gravity doesn't lie. I would attempt the lift for 3 successive workouts and if I failed on the third, I would drop weight for  [Alpha Surge Male supplement](https://chessdatabase.science/wiki/User:DavidMacMahon7) that exercise. A simple calculus that works: try, try, try, step back, try again.<br>
+
+<br>I took several vacations this year and upon returning would drop the weight significantly. I wanted to avoid an ego-induced injury ("I was able to lift that 3 weeks ago, why not now after I've been stagnant this whole time?") but in hindsight think I deloaded too much. Regardless of weight, some days were more challenging than others. Challenging because of mental fatigue prior  [Alpha Surge Male supplement](https://patrimoine.minesparis.psl.eu/Wiki/index.php/Utilisateur:LarueRowell6) to the workout. Pre-workout probably would've helped with this but better to build the mental resilience without I figured. Also, most of them are just caffeine. Apart from my no caffeine rule,  [Alpha Surge Male supplement](http://www.jsbs.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=free&wr_id=1859801) my diet didn't change. I'd consciously choose to add protein to my meals but didn't track macros or calories.