The BATTLEREADY Project

To Zenobia, my warrior princess, with love.

The human body has always amused me. Not just humans, but the whole subject of biology as a whole. I consider the body the greatest machine ever. every invention/machine humankind makes is only yet a mediocre second to what nature has already created. Man, the way i see it, is just a circus clown mimic claiming to be an original. And that is why i love studying bodies - whether its in my art and photography as figures nudes or in my understanding of biology and science or at work in sport, the gym or the battlefield itself.

This blog/book is a journal of experiments and observations based on experiments I have done on my own self and observations made of people around me. I don't consider myself a great original. A lot of people and ideologies have influenced me and my thinking - not just with regards to the the contents of this blog but also with regards to the way I think. As erratic as my thinking may be as will be evident in this blog, beneath that chaos is a very scientific and logical pattern of reasoning - trying to find explanations for any and every occurrence I may observe. Despite a lot of the things I do being done just for fun, experience or just for the heck of doing it to satisfy my ever wandering curiosity of experience - but never leaving my analytic self at bay at-least on a subconscious level - sometimes even analyzing it or writing it down for future reference. And that is what mainly constitutes this long term experimental diary.

Some of my reasons for writing this book and undertaking these experiments go way back into my own childhood and some are as recent as my observations of people around me even today. So if I were to do justice to my readers, I would have to start right there - and that I will. A lot of this book will be confessional, insightful and sometimes even downright stupid - but not matter what, it is and will be one thing that a sponsored or 'published for profit' book can never be - a 110% honest (which is why I chose to publish it online - stupid idealist). Whether it involves embarrassing moments or controversial topics as the use of steroids or blatantly exposing media-mongering quacks and brands that are misguiding the public and raking in the moolah in multiple millions doing so (there goes my 7 years of experience in advertising and making commercials).

So without further a do, i shall now get straight to the index to keep me and the book on track from drifting away. (This index will be updated as clickable links as and when I publish the chapters for the readers' convenience)

PART I: CONFESSIONS AND OBSERVATIONS
Chapter 1. The 'Kaccha Limbu' phenomenon
Universal flaws in the educational and social systems that contribute to unjustly classifying kids as jocks and wimps - and suggested measures to overcome them.

Chapter 2. Genetics, Social influences and the Sportsman.

Chapter 3. Battle - Sadly but surely the ultimate human sport.

PART II: CONFESSIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
Chapter 4. My Life in Advertising: Riding in the cockpit of the 'FAD' culture.
Understanding why are we so often Fat/Skinny and/or UNFIT despite a million 'fitness' products in the market?

Chapter 5. AN INTERVENTION:
Drugs, Addictions, Sex and Steroids: Let's just get done with the 'morality Q & A' first so that we can focus better on actual science and facts that are quantifiable from here on.

Chapter 6. Clarifying the FIT = HEATHLY misconception. And balancing that equation.
Battling my personal ghosts - My neck and shoulder injuries, recurring shin splints and low bone density.

PART III: MY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTS: Transforming the body from fat to fit to fabulous to strong to beast strong.

Introduction to Part III: Having Six pack Abs and the bullshit surrounding the concept. And my bizzare experiments with weight loss and body aesthetics. And how the media is screwing people over.

Chapter 7. The Fat and Ugly experiment

Chapter 8. Losing Weight

Chapter 8 interrupted: Nutrition and Supplementation deconstructed- Opening your eyes and stomach to sound science and uncommon common sense.

Chapter 9. Strength Training: Gaining Regular Weight and Muscle

Chapter 10. Shredding fat to an aesthetic physique by natural means

Chapter 11. Power Training: Gaining above average Weight and Muscle and Maximising Strength

Chapter 12. Developing Skeletal Strength

Chapter 13. Return to Aesthetics: Shredding fat and revealing musculature with pharmaceutical assistance

Chapter 13 X: STEROIDS & PHARMACEUTIALS - Demystifying the Not-So-Open Secret of the non-comic-book Superhumans.

PART IV: MY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTS: FIGHTING FIT

Chapter 14. Marathon Man - Overcoming an Ancient Ghost.

Chapter 15. Crossfit, functional training and Martial Arts Conditioning

Chapter 16. MMA decoded

Chapter 17. Weapons Training

Chapter 18. The 'Semper-Fi' psyche and Krav Maga


PART V: The CaveMan - The epitome of human fitness and survival.
Chapter 19: Survival Skills.

Chapter 20: Experiments with the Mind and our Carnal Nature.

PART VI: BEING BATTLEREADY

I may be the author of this book/blog - but may of the articles in here have been curated by me from experts in their respective fields (doctors, trainers, coaches, teachers, professors, nutritionists, authors and therapists) and credits will be and have been given wherever applicable. Because without their help and insights, forget writing this book, but even understanding a topic this vast would have been impossible.
A special note of thanks though does go out to my teacher, friend, mentor and the grandmaster of Strength Training and fitness - Kaizzad Capadia, without whose awesomeness, help and inspiration, I would have probably not published this blog.

PS: Please do not read without an open mind and kindly do not try any of the things mentioned here without proper supervision or common sense - whichever keeps you safer. I Have done these tasks at my own risk, and so should you - if incase you do. Cheers, and good luck!

-Pushkaraj Shirke