How to Write a Good Article: The 7 Rules

BattlereadyX: How to Write a Good Article: The 7 Rules:   With Social media and networking sites becoming more and more popular, good article writers are becoming a dying breed. Journalism is getting shittier and shittier by the day. Click Baiting headlines and crappy, populist topics discussed in the most un inspiring, ungenuine, crass manner possible have become quite the norm. But even in this shitstorm of 'likes for tits' and 'shares for laughs' era of journalism and literature, good writing does hold its own place. And it's a respectable place indeed. 

If your intention is to write click baiting shit, skip this page now and get on to your 9gag or porntube or whatever you were fapping to. But if your intention is to write credible, worthy articles, that will stand the test of time, reach out to help a genuinely interested audience and earn you some respect not from the millions of fappers sitting on their mobile devices and laptops with only one hand on the keys, but from peers, clients and true knowledge seekers, THIS IS THE ARTICLE YOU NEED TO READ. That does not mean you can't write funny or include memes and some funnies. Hell, the best writing in all of literature is the one that can make you laugh even at your own misery. And the best advertising too is almost always made memorable by humour - but yes, you need to place it well and always keep it relevant. Use humour as a tool to drive in your point if needed, but dont make it all your article is about if you even want to keep a shimmering hope of being taken seriously. 

So now, let's cut the crap, and get to the meat of this article.
From all my experience in writing for ads, blogs, magazines and media, I have gathered that There are SEVEN RULES or essentials to writing a good article:

#100DaysofSTRONG Week 5 and 6 - The importance of 'Working it', diet change and a New Record

Week 5 and 6 were my 5x5 and 3x3 weeks respectively. But they came at a time of intense work on my professional front that included non stop travels between cities. But it all still dialled in perfectly well, surprisingly well actually. And that's due to a mindset i have put to work -
"If it ain't working, work it out."
Often due to fatigue, or injury, or pain or lack of time or some other constraints, it becomes difficult to stick to a planned schedule - especially a strictly planned periodization cycle. So what i do is if for some reason i fail to do a 5x5 and end up doing only 3 sets of 5 reps, i dont abandon the workout, i work it out. I make sure that i put in enough effort to call it a workout - so when i fail a 5x5 due to travel fatigue, instead of calling it a day, i compensate with an equivalent 'effort' by dropping the weight to that of my 3x10 and doing 3 sets of 10 as a compensation. So at the end of the day, i have still done the amount of 'work' in terms of intensity and effort necessary for that days workout. This work ethic has been a very beneficial one for me especially due to my busy working schedule.

There are a lot of ultra roided alpha dogs out there who are endlessly boasting that if you haven't given it your 110%, you've not done a workout and crap like that. They also go on to talk crap like 'suck it up buttercup, the only way you will leave the gym is if your are dead'. that's all bullshit. The fact is, as a good athlete, understanding your limits and training in their periphery is extremely important - because that is what provides you longetivity. that is what ensures that you can train and train and train, week after week, month after month, without burning out. So its important to take into account that everybody has a few low days - and on those days, sometimes its advisable to just take an off - or if they are in the condition to workout, to just work it out if not workout. To put in the work, if not completely achieve the target that was decided.

This is what enables me to keep working out to my decided levels despite travelling 3 cities, doing 7 photoshoots, designing 2 brands and managing my company, all together in a span of these 2 weeks.
And thats very good, coz that's pretty much my schedule of life, all year long.

The new record: 
My hatred for cardio is well documented. But when i decided to keep pushing, i discovered new boundaries that i could cross. and that made it exciting enough to push through the monotonous boredom of running and the pain. So between my strength training, i ended up running a 15 km stretch on a cardio day and thats a new personal record for me. Till last year, the longest i had run as 6 km. And the funny part is, that at the end of 15 km, i did not give up out of fatigue again. i gave up out of boredom and also because i had scheduled for only 15 kms.
but from next week for 2 weeks i will only be running 5 kms - since long distance running hampers my recovery and hence my strength gains. And the next two weeks are to attempt all my new 1 RMs!!! My new Personal bests on all lifts. Here's hoping i achieve them all.

So exiting week of strength ahead. And given that the dance festival of NAVRATRI is here, i might not even need running for my cardio ;)

Here's a quick log of the two weeks that were:

#100daysofstrong week 6 - my 3x3 week begins strong with a squat workout. The very fact that I'm smooth sailing through my 3x3 sets at 90% weight of my 1 RM suggests that there has been progress. It's almost a no struggle set. Things and looking strong and positive despite a stressful and loaded work week last week. Have realigned my cardio marathon days. Will talk about them In more detail tomorrow - especially about marathon running scheduling. For those who have lost track, feel free to refer to my blog to catch up. Just Google my name and you will find it. Cheers! #strength #strong #gym #training #fitness #squats #periodization #k11

A video posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on Oct 6, 2015 at 8:59am PDT

My hatred for cardio has been conquered once again. #100daysofstrong continues. Did stupid boring planks today followed by a swift 5km run in 30 mins followed by a 5km walk. Saving my legs for deadlifts tomorrow. Will blog about marathon running scheduling and programming soon. Stay tuned. And live strong. Got to go to Pune for Bodypower tomorrow with my fav @teamneulife Athlete - @nizardawoodani_k11 See you Pune! Deadlifts in Pune tomorrow! #cardio #ihatecardio #ifuckinghatecardio #idonthavewordsforhowmuchihatecardio 🙇😭😫

A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on Oct 7, 2015 at 8:48am PDT

#100daysofstrong im still deadlifting only 170 kgs. I obviously wasn't expecting a new personal best in two weeks. But in the next two weeks I'm definitely counting on an improvement by at least 5 kgs despite the small piriformis issue last week. Looking forward to my 15 km run tomorrow before I travel again for Pune. PS: the travelling hasn't taken that much of a toll on my training luckily. I hope it doesn't ever. Touchwood! #fitness #strength #deadlift #strong #powerlifting #sumo

A video posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on Oct 9, 2015 at 1:35pm PDT

#100daysofstrong did you have a shower with your clothes on? No, I just ran 15 kms for cardio. Bang in the middle of week 6 after having closed a good deadlifting session last night, i had a mid day run before packing off to Pune for the ATP convention that I will be attending tomorrow. Legs are now sore and I badly need a hot water bucket with salts to soak them in - but here I am on the Mumbai - Pune expressway - in the car again.

A photo posted by Pushkaraj S Shirke (@credosian) on Oct 10, 2015 at 5:17am PDT

PS: I have finally changed my diet back to the ketogenic diet coz now i want to retain the muscle and trength gains and speed up the fat loss so that i maintain a lean body with high strength. That would allow me to retain my heavy lifts on my lighter, leaner bodyweight which after all is that which is of true consequence in a powerlifting meet. Will update details on the diet in the next week.

cheers!

- Pushkaraj S Shirke