Will Reynaldo Weeks Be Practicing The Neck Rope Trick Right Now

I have two weeks to prepare for a fight with someone way bigger than me and I know nothing about fighting. What should I do if the fight is inevitable?

First - if there are no agreed rules, bring brass knuckles and hide them under gloves or a sweatshirt with long sleeves. Fighting dirty is the best way to win - bringing a hidden weapon (that is less likely to kill him like a stab wound that would send you to prison) is smart - especially if he happened to think the same thing.Now, assuming there are basic rules and treating this similar to how the UFC rules were when things started out.You have two weeks - cardio is your MOST IMPORTANT weapon - just look at McGregor, if one of the best athletes in the world who trains like he does can STILL get tired in a fight, you better work your ass off (and even in two weeks you will be able to improve your cardio - simplest is warmup run, jump rope, then a quick HIIT routine, finish with core work - 2x a day, every day, stopping 3 days out and doing lighter work until the fight)Next - fight a MUAY THAI gym and ask them to specially teach you how to elbow and knee properly - then practice diligently on the heavy bag on your own. Regardless of how in shape you are or how powerful your strike, a bone is gonna hurt. Also as somehow else posted you can easily break your hand (more likely your wrist but same effect) punching - even after years of Muay Thai I can still pinch my wrist if I'm not playing complete attention when I throw hooks. Most gyms won't let you soar with basically zero experience, but maybe you can get an exception just to get the feeling of being hit out of your system.Finally - in conjunction with finding a Muay Thai gym - find a Brazilian jiu jitsu gym that has NO-GI classes - meaning you train in athletic clothes, like you would in your street fight. Attend class and talk to the guys after - gym communities are generally very supportive and those dudes will teach you how to stuff takedowns, how to keep top position, and other basic but important ways to position yourself. Don't even think about trying to learn submissions - you will screw it up and then find yourself getting mounted and ground n pounded into pavement.Ps - mouth guard/cup if you can. Protect them baby makers!TLDR; Cheat/fight dirty if there are no repercussions, otherwise Cardio\Fitness 2x a day, Muay Thai gym to learn elbows + knees, BJJ gym with no-gi training to learn survival wresting positioning

What are some amazing brain hacks?

Hypnosis is THE ULTIMATE brain hack.A few weeks ago, I went to see a therapist. I had to because my anger management issues were straining my marriage. The therapist performed on me something she called "mental resetting". She asked me to close my eyes and imagine walking through a forest, and going deeper and deeper and just being perfectly comfortable there. I did not go into a deep trance or anything. Then for about 36 hours after the intervention, I was a significantly improved version of myself. I was much, much calmer and pleasant to be around. I also experienced as a side effect that my creativity went through the roof. I had idea after idea, non stop. And some of them were even rather good!You may be familiar with James Altucher's  daily practice of writing 10 ideas. It's supposed to develop your "idea muscle" after some time. Well, the "mental resetting" made my idea muscle 10x stronger overnight!Some time later, I read about hypnosis on Scott Adams' blog (the guy who created the Dilbert cartoon). I realized that the "mental resetting" thing was in fact hypnosis. It was a mild form, without the deep trance I knew from having seen stage hypnotists. I was intrigued and started learning more about it. In his blog, Scott Adams heavily promotes using hypnosis principles to be a more effective persuader and communicator, and more generally just to better understand how humans function.I suffer from severe procrastination and I've been trying various things to overcome it, without success. So I decided to try hypnosis, in the form of a 20-minute "Hypnosis to Fix Procrastination" Youtube video. I watched it before going to bed one night and I spent the following day in a frenzied state of activity. I did all the dishes, threw away a lot of stuff, sorted papers and digital files, and finally updated a complicated spreadsheet that I use to track my bond portfolio. I had been putting some of those things off for months!So, a least for me, hypnosis has been an extraordinarily effective tool for change. It is orders of magnitude more effective than reading self-help books and blog posts by the dozen, like I had been doing. The benefits do wear off rather quickly (24-36 hours) but I'm told you just have to go through hypnosis again and that eventually you don't need it as often. Seeing a therapist isn't cheap but the Youtube videos are free!

What are some life hacks for living on your own?

Make sure someone knows where you are and how you are.I have lived alone on an isolated farm for many years. Because the farm has 10 or 12 hills and valleys, there is no cell phone service in many areas. Because the roads wind over and around the various hills, it is possible for me to be nearly two miles, by road, from my cottage. Because my nearest neighbor is a half mile or more away, a shout for help will not be heard.You get the picture: A simple accident could be fatal. A broken ankle or leg, or getting pinned by a tree — anything that rendered me unable to walk — could result in my death.My solutions:A friend called me every day between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. (Or I would call her.) She would make sure I was okay. (She still does this, but we use email now.)In the early years, I would email a close friend (who lived about 30 miles away) before I left the house. He had a map of my farm in his desk drawer, with each location clearly marked. I would tell him where I was going and when I would be back. He would set a timer. If I failed to email him that I had safely returned, he had a list of people to call, who lived within a few miles, who could search for me. (Fortunately, I never needed a rescue.)Now, I don’t have to email my friend, because I carry a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) when I venture out on the farm or go out in a boat. The PLB does not require a cell phone signal. It’s about the size of a flip phone. With one finger or thumb, I can trigger that device. It sends a GPS signal to a satellite. The satellite alerts the NOAA, which has a file with all my personal information—tractors, kayaks, cars, etc. The NOAA immediately calls the local rescue squad. A PLB (not to be confused with an EPIRB, which is for boats) costs about $275. The battery lasts six years. So, for less than $50 a year, I can be rescued. (The unit is an ACR Electronics PLB-375. One version floats, the other doesn’t. I recommend the non-floating version, which is smaller. If you go out on a boat, attach a flotation device to it.)

What is the best way to start doing calisthenic training?

Great to see another Calisthenics enthusiast.Now, I see you wish to start practicing Calisthenics and are aware of the the progressions for various moves. So what I would suggest to you is that you start off with the most basic moves.If your goal is to get stronger and build muscle as well, I would suggest you try the principle of Progressive Overload.For simplicity, lets take an example of Push Ups.Try to perform 4 sets of Maximum repetition(till failure basically) of Push Ups with 1 min break in between. NOTE IT DOWN!Similarly for Pull Ups you can do the same with 4–5 sets of Maximum repetition with a minute or 2 break and note it down.Try this every once a week for different exercises as well. For eg: Monday you do the Push Ups, another like Tuesday or Wednesday day you do Pull Ups. Exactly a week later you try the same exercises and your goal is to be able to do more reps with the same amount of sets as before. This way you’ll know you’re getting stronger.Later when you feel you’ve become stronger with these exercises, you can add supplementary exercises for that body part Eg: on chest day along with Push Ups you do a few sets of Dips as well, on the Pull Ups day you do few sets of Australian Pull Ups as well.Once you’re good with Pull Ups and Dips and Squats, you can start applying your knowledge of Progressions from there on.So for starting off this is what I would recommend.Day 1: Chest & TricepsPush Ups & Dips each 4 sets Max reps - Initially if you’re not able to hit all sets or are tired then eventually make it your goal.Day 2: RestDay 3: Pull Ups & Australian Pull UpsSame as aboveDay 4: RestDay 5: Squats & LungesThe above is just one of the examples you can follow. If its too easy you can add more exercise based on your choice. All you have to remember is that if you’re strong in your basic exercises, then the other exercises will eventually become easier. Progressive Overload works on the principle of doing either more weights or more reps in your sets than your previous workout.Hope it helps.For tutorials and more relevant fitness topics you could visit Bar Craft.Hope it helps! :)

If you're a black Christian, would you agree that slavery was somewhat/slightly beneficial in a way since it introduced Christianity to African-Americans?

That argument is tantamount to beating someone and then giving them a free t-shirt for their troubles.  Some might like the shirt they get and continue to wear it.  Others might throw the shirt in the garbage, but in the end it's just a shirt.  It doesn't make up for the beating.  It doesn't excuse the beating.  It doesn't serve to show us that the glass is half full as opposed to half empty.Here's a thought.  What if the US had never enslaved Africans and simply allowed them to immigrate to the states at their will? Do you think that Christianity, being the majority religion, would have still caught on and rubbed off on a few of these immigrants? Definitely.  So, why would an institution like slavery be necessary to facilitate this cultural exchange?From time to time, I hear arguments like these that pretty much go like this: "Yes, slavery was bad, but look at how better off some black people are now.  So, at least some of them have benefited from slavery." There's really no getting around the fact that slavery is and was objectively wrong and that there is not justification for it in this world.  Ever.  Even if you paid every slave a million dollars following their servitude, you've still wronged them.  One cannot place a fair price on the rights and dignity of another person.  Freedom is priceless.  It is worth more than all of the money that will ever exist in the world.I'm certain that there are descendants of slaves in the United States who are now much better off than even I am.  That's a testament to our cultural progress, their work ethic, their values, and possibly also a testament to the values of their ancestors who may have accumulated wealth and passed it on to future generations of the family.  But this isn't a testament to the slave traders who forcibly removed them and brought them here against their will.  This isn't a testament to their Christian slave owners who forced their morality, their religion, and, in some cases, themselves on these people.  The ends don't justify the means in this case.  Generations of black people suffered under slavery so...they could be introduced to Christianity? That doesn't hold water and I'd personally rather die a free infidel than have to endure a life of slavery to be introduced to a new god that a few people believe in.Humans often work in cruel ways and if God had anything to do with slavery, so does he.

How do Russian people respond to their country's crisis with the UK in the case of the Salisbury attack?

“How do Russian people respond to their country's crisis with the UK in the case of the Salisbury attack?”Russia is not in crisis, alone or with another country.UK is creating a crisis all by itself. The government of which wants a crisis.May’s government can not give what it promises and needs a distraction.For this you need a unifying enemy. The usual suspect- RussiaEver asked why Russia would suddenly remember to kill a traitor just before elections and world cup. Yet did not think he should die and simply vanish when he was for years in Russia prisons?Or how the British knew what to look for if only Russia knew how to manufacture it?Or how come their “unbiased” experts from only 15mins away from ground zero, were able to collect and analysis the samples and getting data in hours, while experts with OPCW said would take them a couple of months?Or why people are running around in hazchem suits, and wheeling everthing away weeks down the line. Yet telling everyone it is safe.Or another exile is found with marks on his neck by the daughter. The coroner said he was hanging for at least a day. Who took him down and hid the rope? Still Russia did it.Frankly Russia and Britain had never been friends. They had common goals but never friends. Even when the Royal families were passing genetic diseases amongst themselves. Still they were never friends.Their interests more often collided. While British had always been an global empire. Russia was a region empire, and that region was Europe of which British is part.Be it writing poetry about the “charge of the light brigade” in Crimea, or this “crisis” it will remain the same.To the majority of the Russian folk. It is again another evidence that other European powers want to see the downfall of Russia.As usual a Russia stands behind his government at the first sight of aggression.Putin's family survived Leningrad, but he lost a brother.My grandfather matched all the way to Berlin, my grandmother and their daughters struggled to survive near Moscow.You will find the same story from every single Russian family.So there is no Crisis, just a normal day. More sanctions? Bring it on.Leningrads and Stalingrads makes Russia strong and United.One day the west will finally understand this.Personally I think this will backfire in May’s face. Larger proportion of Britons are questioning the chain of events, than those that are standing behind their government without any evidence to show them.

I can't do pull-ups. I'm working on it. However, I want to know if any alternative exercises to pull-ups?

In February of this year I couldn’t even do a single pull-up. Currently I’m doing sets of 10 and I’m planning to start doing weighted pull-ups when I hit sets of 12 consistently.Here’s how I did it:First step: I gradually built up the strength of my lats with a simple lat pulldown machine. I was doing 3 sets of 8–10 reps every other workout with a weight that felt challenging. I was doing this until I could do 3 sets of 10 with the weight set to 80% of my body weight.Second step: Do negatives of pull-ups. 4 sets of 6–8 with descending as slow as possible. I didn’t even use a chair (I did this in the gym), all I did was jump up off the floor for every rep.Third step: After a couple of weeks of doing negatives, attempt to do a single proper form pull-up. If you can’t, continue with the negatives routine and try to do a single pull-up every workout until you finally manage to do a proper pull-up. Then you can ditch negatives.After you do your first pull-up, the further progression becomes easy. Just do lots of volume (reps per workout) combined with proper rest and lots of protein if you want to speed it up.There is no alternative to a pull-up. It is one of the best and main exercises a human being can do.

How do you prevent a double chin?

Double chin is as a result of advancement in age or increase in body fat.You can do any or all of the following to help reduce or remove it...1. Chin ExercisesUse a tennis ball and put under your neck. Press your chin on the ball while you resist from your neck.Lift you head upward and squeeze your lips to form an O shape. That helps your neck muscles to be relaxed and strengthened.Always do gum chewing, butake sure they are sugar-free.You can also try a very funny excercise by expanding your jaw and dragging your tendors downward as if you are trying to pull a rope with your neck.Also try to cut down on your fatty diets.I think thats how much I can go for now. I wish you all the best.