Packing up and heading to Arkansas for a good nine days or so. Who knows, maybe it'll cure my artist block. If anything interesting happens, might update this post.

I'm seeing a lot of people spamming reviews on new songs for others to scout them lately, and I'm here to tell you now, don't do it, tell all your friends not to do it, tell your friends' friends not to do it, share this post... You know where I'm going with this. This isn't generally a problem, so newer users are especially vulnerable to be taken for a ride.

Why not just check these guys out and scout? It might seem innocent at first, but scouting isn't a one way street. If you scout someone and they later break the rules, you're also held accountable, and even though the song you're being asked to scout them on could be legitimate, you also have to consider that they're asking you to scout them in an illegitimate way. The review box is for reviews, not solicitations.

Not only are these reviews useless to you, but usually these people are stealing music for use in Geometry Dash (or just plain personal gratification) and trying to use you to get away with it. Prime example, today, this guy steals this song from Stephen Universe and uses reviews to dupe YOU into jeopardizing your privileges in the audio portal for 5 minutes of fame. What does this mean for you? You could lose not only your ability to scout other artists but be unscouted yourself and/or receive a permanent ban from submitting to the AP. No bueno.

What should you do instead? Well, first, those of you worried about your whistle, I'd check if they're copying and pasting these reviews elsewhere. If so, they fall under the "don't leave tons of junk reviews for points" rule, and you can flag them "abusive".

You can flag them "useless" if this doesn't seem to be the case, or you just don't want to risk losing your hard earned whistle. Asking people to scout you in a review isn't explicitly against the rules, but a lot of mods will remove these reviews anyway, just because they're, well, useless.

Secondly, I would check to see if the submission they're asking to have scouted is STOLEN. Search for the title, do an audio analysis search, w/e. If you see a guy that joined very recently, and his audio seems top quality, yet he's claiming something is his first song or something like that, this is suspicious and should be handled with care. Pay close attention to the description as well, especially if it seems incoherent, erratic, or is pressing for people to scout. If it mentions Geometry Dash at all, or its creator, RobTop, this is a huge red flag for me as well. Very seldom are these submissions legitimate.

If you find stolen audio report it here to the Audio Portal Cleanup thread and flag it. Proof could be something as simple as finding the material on YouTube or SoundCloud from a different author on an earlier date, or just knowing the material was from a well-known producer like Skrillex. Don't write a review saying the track is stolen. This is against the rules.

If you find abusive reviews or need a second opinion before flagging reviews, @Psychopath, who runs the Whistle Cow Crew, is generally regarded as an expert in this area. You could contact him or a mod if you find you really just don't know what to do here. Never respond to an abusive review with another review.

I will say that since the Abusive Review thread was locked for, well, abuse of the flagging system, information on abusive reviews is usually shared by PM or newspost. Now, just because there's no threads to lock or forum users to be banned in this equation, you should never flag a review just because someone else thinks you should flag it, only if you see rule breaking. This is a good way to lose whistle points. When in doubt, flag "useless" or don't flag at all. Asking for future reference is a big help, too.

TLDR, when you see these guys soliciting scouts in reviews:

• Don't scout
• Check join date
• Check for spam/abusive reviews
• Flag rule breaking reviews
• Check out the song(s) in question
• Check the title and description
• Find originals (if stolen)
• Report to AP Cleanup
• Tell your friends

Bottom line, don't give these guys what they want. They don't care about the songs they're leaving junk reviews on, our community, or what damage they do to your account if they manage to dupe you into scouting them and they later get caught stealing audio (which they certainly will).

Be careful who you scout, and if you see someone breaking rules, it's up to you whether to confront them about it or not. If you do write them a PM, bear in mind you're probably in line for a lot of entitled noise about how NG rules are stupid and we should be able to post whatever we want, or our rules are unfair somehow. Keep it classy. Honestly, I'd just shoot a mail to the people getting these junk reviews, link them my post or whatever. People need to know when they're being taken advantage of.

~EDM364

NOTICE: if your work contains unlicensed music, it will be removed. The Audio Portal, Kevin MacLeod's huge archive at Incompetech, and freemusicarchive.org are great resources for original music you may use. If you're not in any rush, you should also try the Collabinator!

Remixes & Covers: If your song is a cover or remix, it must be done with the permission of the original artist and must not be for a song that is represented by a major label or licensing agency. We are unable to host this sort of material.

These policies are like telling every artist ever they can't draw Deadshot because someone else already drew him and made money off of it, despite someone else drawing Deadshot and calling him Deathstroke and making money off of it, and someone else drawing Deathstroke and calling him Deadpool, and... you know what? Now that you mention it, you just can't draw any snarky spandex clad superheroes, period, because the comic companies want to make money off of them and you drawing stuff for free doesn't make them any money, because someone else might like looking at your content more than theirs. Of course, if they draw your characters and make money off of it, even if you can prove they were yours first, that's okay, because they have more money than you, and you're comparatively broke and therefore powerless.

This logic is being applied to everything under the sun, from automatically silenced/deleted YouTube videos to the logos on those blurred out shirts in that last rap video you watched. That's right, that sweet couples-things slideshow your friend linked to his girlfriend that was unceremoniously deleted by automatic algorithms and that blurry T-shirt you were trying not to stare at in that one Eazy-E video have something in common, and it's the same thing that's happening to music in our portals. Probably won't be long before our Art Portal starts getting cleaned out of its brand name characters and fanart, too.

This is what I'm talking about, copyright infringement, and let me just start by saying the prospect of this whole thing has me completely, totally, perhaps permanently PISSED OFF...

But before I really dig in, I know this new content policy isn't the NG team's fault. @TomFulp never would have let things go as far as removing flashes based on copyrighted BGMs and remixes of popular songs if it weren't necessary; after all, he himself has used copyrighted music in his older creations before and we, NG, collectively stood up when that preposterous SOPA crap started. Why? We had to. It spelled death to the internet and free speech as a whole, y'know, kinda like what's going on now that China made puns illegal and only selectively enforces it.

SOPA would've essentially been the same thing; whoever the rich people in power liked would get to do and say whatever they wanted on the internet. Whoever said things that pissed off said rich powerful people would get shafted. This is already happening on the internet and media worldwide, but SOPA would have just made it legally sanctioned.

So, if it's not NG's fault that our content is being policed, censored, and removed without summary explanation, whose is it?

Labels, media giants, moguls, all of the above, people and corporations who thought SOPA was a good idea and more -- not to mention the entitled morons who, despite visible warnings, still upload stolen copyrighted songs for geometry dash, the uninspired Justin Bieber remixers who essentially drop an acapella rip over a half-ass beat (easy targets), and Google's audio analysis algorithms, which are used to aggressively pursue possible copyright claims on videos posted to YouTube and quite possibly the rest of the web.

Seeing as it's become a part of their search engine on smartphones, not only can they catalog what's playing on your radio; they can even police the permanent-marker mixtape that one wannabe rapper friend played in your car, at least, once it starts recognizing the same samples the mainstream hiphop producers are so fond of.

With this software, Google has officially become dangerous, and the prospects are terrifying. If you doubt that, let's take a moment to appreciate how easy it is for Big Brother to listen to your private conversations via your iPhone, even when it's off. Google's audio search uses the same hardware when prompted, and it wouldn't be much of a stretch for them to do the same thing some day, probably citing something like "market research" to cover their tracks someone ever discovered. After all, the government is able to get off scot free by citing "national security", despite many of their targets being law abiding citizens who just happen to be a little mouthy about the absolute bullshit the government has been doing for years. (Patriot Act anyone?)

"...getting the implant into the phone in the first place is “difficult,” but once there, the agency can usurp complete control of the device. Implants can be installed via a phone’s Internet connection, cellular network, or physical interception."

"American and British law enforcement and intelligence services have used mobile phones to surveil targets for years. A technique discovered in 2006 called “roving bug” also allowed spies to remotely switch on cellphone mics, and locate users within a few yards."

If Google managed this, the way royalties, work, your CD collection could turn you some label's personal piggy bank, and all it would take is for Google to sell them the proof and say you were in public with the location data to back it up. Considering they already sell the information contained in your emails to ad peddlers and track everywhere you go, it's not much of a stretch. Chew on that while you listen to Britney Spears on speaker.

So, big labels are bad, and Google, despite disliking SOPA-like regulations on paper is scary. What do powerful SOPA supporters and Google's audio recognition software mean for the future of NG content?

That's a big question, but it's one that's been on the table for a long time. We're only now just starting to see the answer clearly. So, what's in our future? Copyright infringement complaints, most likely. Ridiculous amounts of copyright infringement complaints. On everything. This news post will probably be in line for an automated DMCA because it mentions Britney Spears and CocaCola, actually, and has the word "coffee" in it.

If you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt and a couple more reasons to grind your teeth, take a look at this article on very real, very stupid automated DMCA abuse, which I suspect we may be facing at this very moment, and keep in mind that if a few (very big) entities like Warner Bros and Total Wipes get caught, it's highly likely a lot more are doing it. What you're about to see here is just two repeat offenders of many from Google's transparency report, and there's undoubtedly more around the world. Not everyone goes public with this kind of stuff.

Total Wipes, which represents 800 international labels, stated in an email to Ars Technica that the recent notices were the result of a bug in their automated anti-piracy script. According to the email, “several technical servers [sic] problems” during the first week of February caused their automated system to send “hundreds” of DMCA notices “not related at all” to any of their copyrighted content.

But the bug is only part of the problem. Sending automated notices, without human review, is itself an abuse of the DMCA takedown process.

The article goes on to detail the extent of the abuse, and some of the most ridiculous offenses.

Seeing ridiculous takedown requests from Total Wipes is nothing new. Back in August, TorrentFreak reported on a month-long DMCA notice-sending spree in which the music company targeted, among other things, sites that utilized the word “coffee.”

The more you read, the less it sounds like idiocy, and the more it sounds like mindless harassment, and almost certainly criminal. Of course, nearly limitless riches protect Warner and Total Wipes from nearly any who would bring charges against them. They need to be anti-trusted, imo.

We have in the past criticized Warner Brothers Entertainment for using robots to issue thousands of infringement accusations, without any human review, based primarily on filenames and metadata rather than inspection of the files’ contents.  Like Warner Brothers, Total Wipes is similarly using robots to abuse the DMCA takedown process.

... between May 28, 2014 and February 22, 2015, Total Wipes sent Google 41,321 requests to remove webpages from Google’s search results, with a median of 1,214 requests per week... [to] remove a total of 196,963 URLs. And according to the Chilling Effects database—which collects and analyzes legal complaints and requests for removal of online materials in an effort to help Internet users know their rights and understand the law—Total Wipes sent Google over 12,000 takedown requests in the last month alone.

So, as you see, with how connected the web is, it's easier than ever for labels to not only scour our site (or any site, really) for "copyrighted material" with bots, but to stroll YouTube for any of our content -- all you'd have to do is search "Newgrounds" -- find a copyrighted song via Google's audio analysis tools, DMCA us, and/or collect royalties on the YouTube video because it just burns them that they aren't currently liquidating every soundwave on Earth.

Supposedly, someone is supposed to review DMCA claims before any action is taken, but that isn't always the case, and they usually get away with it anyway.

Due to the lack of human review, automated takedown notices often result in censorship of perfectly legal content. Although Google has the wherewithal to analyze takedown notices and reject those that are unwarranted, it doesn’t always do that. And many other sites automatically take down allegedly infringing content upon receipt of a notice, even when the notice is clearly bogus. This is because so long as a service provider complies with the DMCA’s notice and takedown procedure, it is protected from monetary liability based on the infringing activities of third parties. Of course, unwarranted takedown requests would not subject a service provider to monetary liability, but not all service providers undertake even the moderate level of effort that Google does to assess whether content complained of should actually be taken down.

Why does this happen? If it weren't obvious already, the media policing, money hoarding brigade doesn't like competition, so it seeks to remove it at every turn. At the same time, it doesn't like sharing its profits or waiting around to find actual instances of copyright infringement, so it uses bots instead. This results in a ton of headache for victims at best and legal action at worst, maybe even termination of the targeted site(s).

Rather than get shut down under the sheer weight of copyright crap the labels are now so aggressively pursuing, seemingly without reason, we updated our policies not only to keep copyrighted content off of our servers but also to save users the headache of submitting content only to have it removed for copyright infringement now that corporations have caught on. That's well and good for keeping NG's butt out of the fire, but it really screws with older users like me, who didn't exactly have an advance warning before our submissions were taken down.

You heard me right. Some of my old submissions have been removed for violating a new policy forced into existence by some greedy corporate assholes. I don't even have backups for them, meaning that's a good couple hours of my life lost for no reason other than a record label wasn't getting .0001 pennies off of ad revenue/royalty -- because of NG getting hoisted up by the undies to get rid of flashes like mine or face legal action over copyrighted background audio -- the same exact reason @RealFaction got contacted to redo the sound track for Pico's School -- because Tom couldn't use the audio anymore without getting shafted, and a new soundtrack would be cheaper than a lawsuit. Speaking of, check out that link. It's lit.

Recently, @TomFulp asked me to replace the copyrighted music in Pico's School he could sadly no longer use, by making a new soundtrack for it. I was shocked, and I'm honored, because I know how iconic that game is and how it made Newgrounds what it is today.  If it wasn't for that game and the other controversial fun games Tom made, NG wouldn't have gotten it's popularity at the time. -RealFaction

I want to be clear, I don't blame Newgrounds or @TomFulp in any fashion for the new copyright policies. Tom has warned us for years that not relying on our own user created content is putting out rotten meat for vultures; they will come, they will flock, and they will gorge on anything their prying beaks can get at. I don't care if it's your grandma's hand-knitted CocaCola sweater you unwittingly rotoscoped in that fifteen second frame-by-frame animation you made ten years ago to the lime-in-the-coconut song, or a Clock Day short to Coldplay's "Clocks", these guys are mad they're not the ones making money off of it, and Tom himself has experienced first had what lengths labels and media groups go to when they're angry.

Once upon a time, Tom received a video in the mail with no return address. He was given permission (or rather encouragement) by the creators, to post it on Newgrounds, where it promptly went viral. Then, something magical happened. The MPAA, sensing they were not making money on this video, swooped in like the menacing vultures they and the likes of Warner and etc. usually pretend not to be when it's convenient.

we soon received a cease and decist letter from the MPAA. I had been under the impression their only purpose was to assign ratings to movies; boy was I wrong!

These high and mighty media police quite literally tracked him down with a PI and showed up with fancy papers, demanding he hand over the copyrighted material and shut down his site after "leaked" footage of "Freddy Got Fingered" blew up back in 2001.

"We request that you immediately do the following:

1) Disable access to this site;
2) Remove this site from your server; and
3) Terminate the account of the account holder for this site."

I'm of the opinion that generally, anything that requires you to hire a PI is probably morally incorrect, but this right here is exactly why we're having to implement this no-copyright-material policy -- because of media bullies like the MPAA who slam people with DMCAs and ask questions later. I guess at least this one wasn't automated though. Don't think the labels were at that point in their development quite yet. What we see today goes to show they would have if they could have, though.

"So think about that, the MPAA attempted to SHUT DOWN my entire website and have it removed from its servers over a PUBLICITY STUNT. Twelve years later, they are fighting to pass SOPA into law. Think they'll use it sparingly?" -TomFulp

I have no doubt Newgrounds never would have gone the direction it has if we had a choice, if the labels and media police weren't threatening to stamp us out. It's not like they haven't tried, and I'm sure the ultimate goal of forcing us to go by this policy is to drive users away from Newgrounds and toward sites such as SoundCloud and YouTube, not to mention app stores -- Y'know, where these guys make bank and content creators don't make $#!7 but for a chosen few that aren't censored to F&%# by groups like Warner Bros, the guys who silence your videos if their automated audio sniffing catches a whiff of their content. Otherwise, why would labels be trying to pin NG by the balls, despite most of us on NG not making $#!7, unlike those on SoundCloud and YouTube with better exposure?

Of course, SoundCloud doesn't pay its artists and actually charges their userbase to host their content (which NG doesn't), and YouTube will actually take your videos, block them in certain countries, delete them altogether, delete your account, or just transfer the dollars to whatever record label claims the audio in it. This could be a Britney Spears song playing in your brother's room, barely audible on your video, but Google's audio recognition system will automatically attribute it to a label and F&#% your $#!7. And don't even get me started about the ridiculous content guidelines.

You know, maybe the labels hate us so much because, unlike these other sites, we've always refused to roll over until now.

I've always felt like NG is being progressively backed into a corner, now more than ever. The labels hate us, Google hates us, we're blacklisted on Google's adsense... It's like the world is against NG, and that will probably never change, but I wish it didn't mean we had to change.

This is why this new policy pisses me off. It renews my hatred for the coporate bully and brings his tyranny home. It forces me to look at that reality with every audio submission I put through the Portal. I just hope it doesn't drive any potential talent away once they realize that awesome remix they made isn't welcome here.

However, if it saves us thousands in legal fees in the here and now, that's a small concession I guess we have to make. Just, God, audio mods, if you're going to start on my submissions, please, let me download all the mp3s first, PLEASE.

/rant

Life's been bone crunchingly busy since graduating college. Lots of moving around, shuttling stuff one way or the other. I haven't had a lot of time to stop in or tend to much work, but I will however be dropping a drawing or two and a few tracks while I'm here over the next few days. Meantime, friends here who'd like to keep in contact with me are welcome to ask my cell number, provided you're US so I don't get long distance charges, lol. Sometimes message notifications like review requests get lost in my email.

Anyway, hope everyone hasn't had a heart attack over the election, or killed each other over it, rather. Have a good one! I'll be around for a bit.

~A

Full, detailed descrip on the YT, but this is what I've been up to.

Not sure if the glitch is mod related or not since some of the drugs on one of my mods have similar visual effects, but this has got to be one weird and frustrating glitch. Couldn't see shit. Probably not mod related if it's on PC, PS4, and Xbone. Seems to have popped up after the latest update from Bethesda.

So, my dad died Saturday morning, early. I'm super stressed and bouncing back between stages of grief so I'll keep it short. I had to make all the arrangements, or at least be there to help make them, and it's been hell, even though for the largest part, I'm not left holding the bag financially. I have no idea what I will be doing project wise for the next while, but I haven't forgotten about NG. I love you all, btw. There's just a lot I have going on right now, even besides dad's passing.

If you take anything away from this post, appreciate the ones close to you. Let them know it. Don't take them for granted; some day, you will regret it. Leave nothing unsaid. Even if you think you hate them, or that they're worthless pieces of shit, remind yourself, to be a worthless piece of shit is human nature. Love openly. Care deeply. Let those you love know that they are loved. Forgive them for their trespasses, and ask forgiveness for yours, and you will have no regrets on top of your grief.

Rest in peace, Dad. I love you.

Currently having a bit of an episode and am really overwhelmed by social life. Stay tuned. If you really want to get in touch with me, I still check my fb and instagram from time to time. Hopefully this will pass soon. Daily social interactions are becoming too stressful and I'm starting to avoid people I actually like as if they have some sort of disease -- not because I don't want to be around them, more so just because I'm too stressed to maintain relationships properly. Maybe it's final exams. Maybe not. The only thing really keeping me on track seems to be working out. Speaking of, leg day tomorrow.

Sorry if I haven't gotten back to you. It's nothing personal!

-A

The Reasoning

So, in addition to music and school in all that mess, I decided to drop a few pounds of fat... and gain a hell of a lot more in muscle. I didn't quite know where to start at first, though I had a decent knowledge of what it was I wanted to do, which was strength training, leaning hard toward old school bodybuilding. To do that, of course, I knew I needed a set routine that I could work into my existing school and social obligations and keep at least three active rest days out of the week while still netting enough of the right calories to fuel the muscles I wanted to shock and therefore stimulate to grow. A mouthful, right? And then there's finding the right supplements -- because everyone knows, no matter how well you eat, a dumptruck couldn't pump you full of all the nutrients needed for achieving mass and satiating that metabolic drain, and a garden variety multivitamin won't do the trick either. Advice, tips, tricks, and a finger pointed to where to get any good samples is definitely welcome in this area. Oh hell yes.

Still, in need of supplies for my desired muscle-bound lifestyle, I did what any aspiring meathead would do. I went to Walmart -- mostly because I had a wallet to consider, but also because I knew already what I was looking for in this area. I got your typical go-tos, creatine, protein powder, protein drinks/bars that didn't have too many additives, everything but "thermogenic shred", and tried to stay away from taurine or caffeine for pre-workout formulas. Those can wait until my 3500-4000 calorie a day diet starts doing a bit more than supercharging my muscles, or until the waterweight stops falling off like butter. The way I see it, if I'm losing too much fat at this stage, I need to eat more. It's been about a month, and currently, my goal is to keep the bodyfat I have relatively constant while gaining lean mass and strength and continually raising the bar -- the "one more rep" mentality.

When I started my regimen, I was 175 pounds with clothes and hightops on, not very lean. Didn't feel too good about myself. Everything but my right bicep, back, and calves felt flabby and shrimpy to me, and I'm embarrassed to say my 58 year old mom, who shoveled 2000 pounds of ice and toted 150 pound boxes of shrimp on one shoulder every day for 29 years at her job as a seafood manager until 2007 or so, still has a meaner flex. Although, I can still beat her arm-wrestling and log flipping, so that's a relief. Of everyone barring my fiancee, mom's been the most supportive ever since I told her what I wanted to do with my body, and I hope to impress her in the coming years. She's always been my inspiration, such a strong, independent woman.

The Results

So far, one month and some weeks in, whatever I'm doing is working. The growth has been baffling me. I literally did not expect results to come soon, but today, I'm 189 pounds. My arms are back in the shape they were three years ago and still growing at a quick pace, especially triceps. My hips and waist are trimming. Thighs are firmer. A lot of what used to be loose skin is tightening up faster than I thought, to the point I wonder if I'm going to hit a plateau any time soon. I've gained several inches on my upper arms and my left and right arms are starting to equal out, same with the thighs. Love handles are quickly dissappearing, etc. Everything seems to be falling in line, and most of all, my mood, concentration, and energy levels have skyrocketed. I've also discovered that, predictably, as an aspie, I adore the solid routine.

The Research

I've read that beginners often experience explosive results, given the right training, simply because a lot of muscle groups haven't gotten any work in, and when they do, they adapt quickly. This seems to be holding true. I've also read that, due to the setup I have as a biological female, my body will be relying on HGH, human growth hormone, to build muscle, and estrogen to maintain and otherwise protect muscles from catabolisation, and that this does not limit growth but actually enhances endurance and recovery. So, while I was initially bummed at the fact that I don't have that much testosterone (at least in comparison to men) to build off of, finding out that growth hormone was just as if not more effective than T as touted in scientific studies and that strength gains pound for pound would be about equal if not better than if I were male was exciting, and the higher rep ranges, faster recovery rates post-workout, and shorter recovery periods between sets associated with female physiology seem to also hold true. I can work my muscles to failure, and by two days, the soreness is about completely gone and the muscle is both stronger and visibly larger the next week.

The Routine

Currently, I'm on a three phase program, which I recently found closely resembles Jim Stoppani's 12 week Shortcut to Size, the exceptions being that each muscle group gets worked twice per week rather than once, one light day and one heavy day, and while Jim's program has 4 week phases, mine has 3. This seems to work better for me at rounding out the areas I neglected when I was in high school and working out mostly to supplement physical activities such as band, so the CO2 buildup while playing and marching for hours wouldn't sap me with a heavy intrument like baritone or tuba practicing in the hot sun. Suffice to say, my arms, back, calves, and shoulders were pretty jacked, endurance was good, etc., but my body wasn't very balanced at all, and not very aesthetically good looking to me either, quite a bit of body fat due to a poor diet. When I've got these areas rounded out, I may swap to Jim's 12 week cycle. It looks damn good, and the guy's got a doctorate, so he must know what he's talking about. Not to mention, a similar plan means it wouldn't be a huge change to my routine.

My plan is pretty simple. I'm a firm believer in the "KISS" method. "Keep it Simple, Stupid". Each cycle lasts three weeks to combat the body's natural ability to adapt to stress, and believe me, this is a massive ability we're talking. The human musculature is a monster when it comes to meeting the bar and staying there if you let it. Therefore we must introduce change, shock it into action. The whole reason you experience any growth at all is because the body is trying to catch up with more stress than it's used to, so in comes the 3 week cycle.

3 Week Overview

As we enter the cycle, our rep ranges are high. As we exit, our rep ranges are low. You can apply the 3 week cycles to an existing workout, but it works well in 7 day plans like mine, where you have 2 workout days, a rest day, followed by two more workout days, then two rest days, repeat ad nauseum. In addition, this plan works well with both male and female physiology, appealing to the female enhanced endurance in week 1, then appealing to male strength advantage in week 3. The result is both strength and endurance when we go into the next cycle, a huge plus.

• Week 1 - High reps, lower weight, slow reps, high range of motion

The purpose of this is to increase your endurance and prepare for higher weight ranges. Slower reps with emphasis on good form and range of motion will be your best friend. You may only be lifting at 40% of your max, but the high rep ranges in the sets will work wonders to prepare you for the next week. Again, focus on steady recruitment, not cheating your reps, and form. You'll want around 14-20 reps, excepting legs and abs, which can tolerate quite a bit more and thus stand to gain more from this.

• Week 2 - Medium reps, average to heavy weight, slow reps, angle modification

At this point, I like to move up to about 60-80% of my max, starting higher weight, then, if I find I can't do at least 7-12 reps of a given exercise, I may do a drop set until I can get at least 10. If I modify the angle for different recruitment, I'm aiming for at least 7, if not another 10-12. Each rep is slow and controlled, no cheating with pure momentum to get the weight up. This is absolutely crucial to any plan, of course.

• Week 3 - Lowest reps, highest weight, drop sets to failure

Everyone is different, but by the time I reach week three, I try to add enough weight that I can only complete 1-4 reps on the first set of whatever exercise I'm doing and log that down, whereas on week one, I may have completed 20 reps on a lower weight of the same exercise. Week 2 is somewhere in the middle; 7-11 reps seems to be the magic number for me when it comes to straight growth and less soreness after, but the 1-4 rep range is what shocks the muscle and keeps it from locking into a routine. The inclusion of drop sets on week 3 are to ensure we really get the most out of that muscle before we go into the next cycle of high reps, lower weight, and you'll notice, like me, strength and endurance massively improving, maybe even 5-20 pounds progress each cycle with plateauing at an easily broken minimum. Of course, you'll want to track weights and reps. In addition to being a nifty way of knowing where you are, you'll have some nice motivation to go on. That's always a kicker.

How Well Does It Work?

Personally, after two complete cycles and a partial third, I've increased about 30 pounds in all areas, and for once, standard pushups are a breeze, something I had struggled with even in 7th grade with a lower bodyfat percentage. Yes, women, or just the overweight in general, I'm aiming this one at you, mostly because this was my very first and only tangible goal, and I met it about four weeks ago, when previously I didn't think it was worth trying because I'd always been told women were on average too weak to do even that, or their weight distribution was off, that they were relegated to the emasculated term "girl pushup" -- if they could even manage that. There seem to be two camps on the "GPU". One says there's no such thing as a "girl" pushup. The other says you shouldn't do them at all.

Now, I've added weights to my pushups and squats for my week 3 routines, and I find I have to keep increasing to keep up with my muscles and get the same feeling of pushing I felt at the beginning. For those with the advantage of good equipment, I have to say challenging the range of motion and angles with good form is extremely important if you want to see regular gains and recruitment of the muscle fibers. This quickly helped me achieve the pushup goal particularly. I'm hoping to get to the point I can maintain good form in similar exercises with a buddy sitting on me rather than a weighted backpack, in the absence of a bench. So far, I can manage a pushup plus about 50 pounds, 100 if we're in the 1 rep range, and I can do a one-arm pushup with the right arm. I'd say cycling has been pretty explosive, coming from almost nothing, even if I attribute a lot of the quick gains from past strength.

7 Day Breakdown

• Day 1 - Leg Day, Light on the Abs, Squat Focus

Probably my least favorite day, just by how punishing it is on the legs and glutes. Everyone loves to hate squats. The hardest thing about Leg day is probably just maintaining good form on squats -- which a lot of people don't realize they aren't doing -- and keeping the glutes engaged. Flexing my glutes into the squat helped fix form and eliminated knee pain completely. I like weighted calf raises quite a bit. Elevating the toe helps engage, for me. Leg presses also work great. Backpacks and other items you can strap on will work well enough in the absence of equipment, but don't compromise form.

I like a lot of bodyweight exercises on this day. Any way I can lift myself up, using only my legs, I do. I find rather than running, which tears down more muscle than it builds, I can lie on the floor face up or down, brace on my arms, and hook my feet, then push or pull with the legs as necessary to lift the rest of the body off of the ground and toward the feet, recruiting the back or abs as needed. Depending on how the arms are braced and the height of the feet versus the body, the weight will be higher or lower. After three cycles, I can say it has drastically improved my ability to run. Makes sense, seeing as this exercise builds strength in that range of motion. Your knee angle will determine what parts of the leg you recruit the most.

Each group I'm working, I try to do five or six sets. On week 1, my ab workout is unweighted. Week 3, lightly weighted. All exercises are slow reps, slowest in the first two weeks, at least in the 18-20 rep range on week 1, scaling down to 1-5 on week 3. For abs, I may do sit-ups and crunches. On squats, the primary aim is to achieve perfect form and work to failure.

• Day 2 - Arm Day, Light on the Chest, Heavy on Triceps

Day 2 is all about curls, barbells, and maybe a couple pushups, but we're going to hit the chest heavy later in the week, so not quite too heavy today, or at least not too much weight. Biceps are of course everyone's favorite showpiece, and my favorites are preacher curls, hammer curls, and zottman curls. For the triceps, weighted dips are all-out punishment. You might also try close grip bench presses or pushups. Kettleball presses work as well.

The important thing to remember is to never save yourself for another set. Working to failure is not a bad thing, so long as you don't actually injure yourself or exert more than you can repair. This is why drop sets exist. If I can't complete all my sets on the same weight in good form, I drop a plate and keep chugging through that set, maybe adding a few reps if I can, and I repeat if I run into the same problem.

Day 2 I also like to include the forearm pretty heavily. Honestly, I feel like I get the best recruitment from just wringing out a very thick towel or doing towel pullups, which are great, considering this is arm day. If I have no actual equipment where I'm at, I'll do this and work the biceps against the legs, either with the towel or by sitting down and grabbing one leg at the ankle and using it as resistance for curls. You can easily control resistance this way.

• Day 3 - Rest Day - Does not equate couch potato day!

A lot of professionals use the term "active rest". In other words, pick up on your hobbies. Maybe take a walk or play basketball, but don't over exert your muscles too much. It may be tempting to lift, but don't do it. You'll only hurt your training on days 4 and 5, and you may even kill your gains for the week.

• Day 4 - Ab Day, Light on the Legs, Heavy Side Obliques

I may do crunches and situps today, or I may hang from the doorway and do leg raises, aiming to knee myself in the chin basically. My butt is so round that lying leg raises just make my back pop, haha. Hanging by my legs and doing situps engages the abs exceptionally well. Definitely feel the burn, and other bodyweight exercises can target obliques. I rely mostly on a range of motion in the abdominal workouts, side planks with elevated feet and rotation, or with one leg. It's worked fantastically so far.

You can get a bit of leg in with your oblique with offset dumbell squats, but seeing as we've already hit legs on day 1, I try to keep only a few sets of these. Single arm farmer's carry is another good one, essentially walking, flexing your abs, and carrying a heavy object on one side for a prescribed distance. It doesn't have to be a dumbbell necessarily. Another good oblique builder is hip-ups, or half-kneeling cable chops. Essentially any stabilizing or rotating motion of the torso with resistance will work these. Most people don't know they exist until they find themselves sore after trying to target the abs with some sort of rotating motion, and their obliques scream.

• Day 5 - Chest Day, Light on the Arms, Heavy Back

I have to say, day 5 is heavy on the flyes, with many angles. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger loves these. If I'm not doing flyes, it's weighted pushups. For the back, I'll hang off of a bed, counter, or table until my torso is at a 90 degree angle to the rest of my body, anchor my feet, and haul up until my body is straight, near it, or a little past that. All of these sets I do to failure. I may also work the biceps against the legs today and do some presses.

• Day 6 - Rest Day  1 - Naps, at least an hour stretching

By day 6, I'm lagging a bit and sore. I combat this with a stretch when I wake up, after each time I eat, and before bed. Protein, water, and electrolytes are a must, and as sleep is crucial to growth, some healthy napping is in order. I try to take at least two 90 minute naps.

• Day 7 - Rest Day 2 - Stretching

By day 7, I'm feeling better, and the soreness has almost completely disappeared. Keep the stretching from the day before, and prepare for the next cycle with stretches. These will improve your strength and range of motion without compromising the muscles themselves in any way. You'll be happy you did if you're going into a week 3 workout, for sure. That said, it's important to stretch properly.

Where do I go From Here?

I plan to continue building indefinitely, and, although I may never compete, it's been such a boon for my mood and stress levels, I want to see about pursuing even further. May update with pictures later, when I'm feeling less shy about myself in a pair of these fancy compression shorts I've become fond of. My next step will be adjusting supplement schedules as needed, finding a better multivitamin, and seeing about getting a gym membership if I can afford it. That, or I'm going to buy a nice bench, an EZ-bar, a standard grip bar, and see about getting some supplement samples, see if there's any I like. The only one who hasn't been altogether supportive of me so far is my dad, maybe because he's jealous I'm going to be more swole than him. The sky's the limit!

-A

Would like to start off with an apology to those I haven't met deadlines for. I haven't been able to touch my PC all week. Between concert preparations at college, a friend of mine getting in a car accident, and trying to help my mom with cleaning up trees out of the yard before the city cites her for it, it's been pretty rough. Also going through a major bout of depression, to the point I am convinced I am not a person in the same way other people are. I don't really have any emotions barring short ups and long downs. I've tested positive for anti-social personality disorder and aspergers, which bothers me. Just a lot of emotional turmoil and drama lately.

I've got a concert on the 19th this month in my home town and graduation exams, so I suppose that's something to look forward to, but I feel exhausted emotionally, physically, spiritually. Been having a lot of conflicts in my social life and stress. Had a panic attack last night. Really, the only thing I feel like is keeping me going is working out and helping my mom. My uncle, who left town because of harassment from the police here -- detaining him on no charges and such because of a long held vendetta I'll explain at the end of this post -- was arrested yesterday, again on no recent or significant charges, after police half a state over found one of his painting ads, called him in for a job, and arrested him on site. My mother and I are constantly arguing about money, and my fiancee is also depressed about her money situation -- can't afford insurance, but her parents are forcing her to use her last paycheck to put it in her name, and yet they tell her they'll take her car away if she can't afford it anymore, etc.

I'm just going through a feeling of complete hopelessness, and I know it's illogical. I've got a long time left to live and a future to change this. I hope to finish school and find work soon, so I have something to look forward to. Just needed to get that out.

In other news, I'm going to be working on another series of trap tunes, remixes, etc. to help keep the depression at bay. Also have a snapchat now, same username as here. Will try to get to my inbox asap. Thanks for listening.

-A

And now, that story about my uncle I promised. My uncle has been going to alcoholics' anonymous for years. This is relevant because occasionally he would get blackout drunk and do god knows what. The cops have used this to their advantage interrogating him on multiple occasions, and he's had trouble with them since he was a kid, sometimes on legitimate charges, most of the time not. The trouble really started when he started seeing a woman who didn't let on that she was married to a cop. Well, the guy found out and shot my uncle in the neck. Not long after, the cop died in a logging accident. His buddies, who knew my uncle was the other man his wife was seeing, naturally blamed my uncle, and ever since, every chance they have, the cops in Meridian have been after him. They busted into my house more than twice with MP5s looking for him, and he didn't even do anything. He's just a painter, hadn't even been drinking in months. I haven't seen him since before the last MP5 raid. 2 and a half years. The cops have literally torn my family apart.

WIP remix of Mr. Brightside. Can you say irony?

Not much poppin but a lot of music. Didn't even drink today. Played some FF Type-0 for inspiration. Funny how the years go by; you don't even feel old, but you don't feel like celebrating either. Most everybody I can stand hanging with is either out of town for spring break vacation or at work. I guess that's how it is when you grow up. Oh well, one more day marked off the calendar 'til I graduate college. That's something to look forward to.

Might make a little happy birthday beat later tonight. Keep an eye out.