Mike Cernovich

How a Foam Roller Can Change Your Life (How to use one and what you need to get started).

Cerno readers know, I’ve been through hell and back physically. Life in general seems pretty ordinary until it’s not. Health and the absence of pain are two things you don’t think about until they’re nowhere to be found.

Then health is all that matters.

In college, I “pinched” a nerve playing football. I re-aggravated it in my 20s and couldn’t leave my bed for days.

A "pinched nerve," from high school football nagged me for years, then flared up in my late-20's. I couldn't get out of bed for two days, and couldn't go to the gym.

6 sessions with a chiro who did Active Release Therapy, and it was like it never happened.

PAINFUL tho. https://t.co/Um3bx58g7y

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) February 6, 2020

I eventually fixed it through a mixture of Active Release Therapy and self-myofasical release via foam rolling, but it hurt like hell.

I wrote in Gorilla Mindset

You cannot choose whether the pain is coming…Once you accept that pain is inevitable and leads to growth, you’ll be better prepared to endure winter.

Foam rolling is painful, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, but it is the pain you choose that makes you stronger and ready to deal with winter.

Here’s how you can use a foam roller to help fix nagging injuries, optimize your health and prepare yourself to get stronger.

What Is A Foam Roller?

A foam roller is just what it sounds like – a piece of rounded foam you use to work on parts of your muscle and massage and release your myofasical tissues. A cheap foam roller will cost you $20. Be careful that it’s not too foamy. If it’s too squishy, it might not give you the resistance you need. A good foam roller should be dense enough to hurt a little – like an intense sports therapy massage.

I literally wouldn’t be able to function without these. pic.twitter.com/Y6nfhNfJoh

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 11, 2019

The brand I use is called Rumble Roller and costs about $45 for a smaller one. The edges are molded and it hurts in the best, worst way possible.

The trigger point therapy is another good one I have around the house.

My top 3 foam rollers that I use for this are:

You can also get a a lot of the same benefits of a foam roller by picking up a lacrosse ball from your local sporting goods store. They cost about $2 (but they somehow hurt even more). They’re really good for hard-to-get-to-areas like your hip flexors, scapula (shoulder) or even just to work out the tension on your bare feet throughout the day.

The Benefits of Foam Rolling

Most athletes will tell you that foam rolling has a lot of benefits. In addition to my fixing my body, foam rolling studies have shown that the benefits of foam rolling includes

lengthen and strengthen muscles
increase muscle flexibility and pliability
repair tight and fatigued muscles
relieve joint stress
re-train and return your body to it’s healthy state.

This study suggests that foam rolling can increase pre + post workout performance and improve range of motion. There are some debates as to how exactly foam rolling creates these benefits, but with few downsides and a variety of upsides, most studies are in favor of foam rolling in some capacity.

How To Use A Foam Roller (steal this routine)

The biggest mistake most people make when they use a foam roller is that they just sit on it and don’t know what to do. They spend the money on the foam roller and they sit on it, feel uncomfortable, and then it just sits in the corner collecting dust.

Having a structured routine can save you time and makes sure you actually do it

Here’s a routine I use to focus on my mid-to-lower back after I had a “pinched nerve” and had no success treating it.

Feel free to steal this and modify as necessary

-start on your back-

60 seconds on your right upper glute

60 seconds on your left upper glute

90 seconds on your full back (move your hands over your head to feel the stretch)

-flip over on to your stomach-

30 seconds on your right quad

30 seconds on your left quad

90 seconds (or as long was you can go) on your right hip flexor

90 seconds (or was long as you can go) on your left hip flexor

That routine will take you less than 8 minutes and if you spend any sort of time sitting down every day, I guarantee you’re going to notice a difference.

Not everyone is going to have the same issues, if you want a series of stretches and movements to get started, you can see come common movements and stretches below.

I can’t imagine my life before I found foam rolling. 5-15 minutes a day on this torture device changes my day and whatever pain I have to deal with is better than the daily hell I endured before.

You can find a lot of the movements to do online for free, but the most helpful thing to turn this into a habit is to have a tool that helps you stay on track.

I use an online app – MoveWell – which has a giant database of routines designed for specific problem areas. Most you can do in under 15 minutes / day.

You can try it out and get your first month for free here.

Give it a shot, plug in some binaural beats, bust out the foam roller and start putting yourself back together.

A "pinched nerve," from high school football nagged me for years, then flared up in my late-20's. I couldn't get out of bed for two days, and couldn't go to the gym.

6 sessions with a chiro who did Active Release Therapy, and it was like it never happened.

PAINFUL tho. https://t.co/Um3bx58g7y

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) February 6, 2020

Sometimes when using a Rumble Roller or doing self-myofascial release with a beastie ball, I think, "Man, there are people who don't know how to do this stuff, and they are just living in pain." https://t.co/h7XSFiSflU

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) February 6, 2020

How to Survive a Public Shaming

By Mike Cernovich 12 Comments

Online hate mobs, usually formed by Gawker writers and social justice bullies like Anil Dash, ruin lives. They get people fired from jobs, and in the case of Justine Sacco, they send mobs of people to threaten women with rape.

I was publicly shamed. I got a full treatment on Gawker’s front page. Some idiots did an MSNBC special on me. Newsweek and other mainstream publications attacked me. What happened? Did I cry? Did I have a nervous breakdown?

I’m still standing and laughing. In fact, my counter-attacks received more views than the attacks on me.

They say it’s wrong to be a poor sport, but whatever. You don’t play by any sporting rules.

I won. I played your game and beat you.

But if you want to play again, you know where to find me.

However, there’s a caveat. You need a big platform. Nobodies try challenging me, but he can’t bring me enough page views to justify an appearance by yours truly.

I can move the needle, even at my own platforms. On a larger platform the ratings would be huge.

If you want a shot at the champ, you gotta set it up in Madison Square Garden.

P.S. I also laid out the blueprint for everyone else.

People are sick and tired of SJWs and their online hate mobs. Do not back down. Do not apologize. Do not quit your job. Stand your ground and fight.

I won and will continue to win.

You can do the same.

Do not apologize.

Do not quit your job. Make your employer fire you if it comes down to it.

Get your message out.

I’m just a regular guy who was tired of bullies like Sam Biddle and Gawker ruining lives.

You don’t have to be the greatest writer in the world to get your message out.

You simply need to take a stand. There are millions of others who will have your back. You are not alone.

Reach out for help. If a hashtag is formed around your name, tens of thousands of anti-bullying advocates will crash it.

P.S. Go Full Gorilla.

Unwinding on the Island of Koh Samui, Thailand

By Mike Cernovich 12 Comments

As much as I enjoy the busy streets of Saigon, my mind requires large open spaces. I do my best work near the ocean or mountains (ideally both). Koh Samui, an island in Thailand, was just what I needed to relax and unwind.

Like all of Thailand, Koh Samui is hot. Heat has pros and cons. I love swimming in the ocean, but the oceans in Los Angeles are frigid.

In Thailand the water is warm, even first thing in the morning.

The sunrise was, well, see for yourself.

In Thailand, keep applying that sunscreen. Even if you think you’ve applied it frequently enough, you likely haven’t.

My face and arms were too red for me to go outside swimming the next day.

Koh Samui has excellent local cuisine, with a lot of places offer an Italian-Thai fusion.

You can also grab a burger.

Or some sashimi.

Koh Samui is home to several temples, including the Big Buddha Temple.

I hopped on the motobike and took the drive to check it out.

I found a dog meditating. Who, after all, understands more about gratitude and getting into the moment than dogs?

The sign says:

Buddhist monks are for
Bidden to look upon
The Exposed Bodies of Women!!!
Please Respect These Holy Men

Thankfully I’m not a monk…

I told you the food was good!

The hotel offered an ocean view.

The pool was also relaxing.

Ordinarily an airport would be of no notice. Yet the Koh Samui airport was more comfortable and spacious than many luxury hotels.

This is an airport?

Now I’m back in Saigon

You can read some of my other travel entries here:

Enjoying the Beaches of Hoi An, Vietnam – Riding Motos Down the Coast of Vietnam – Exploring the Caves of Phong Nha

A Day in Chiang Mai, Thailand: Temples and Waterfalls

By Mike Cernovich 17 Comments

I’ve been taking some time to relax, contemplate life, and catch up with my good friends in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Nic has spent months at a time in Chiang Mai, and I can see why. He’s also been showing me around, and today we took motor-bike rides up into the mountains to check out the Doi Suthep temple.

When traveling I enjoy doing cardio rather than weight lifting. Lifting weights is too taxing. Cardio gets blood flowing and helps sweat out the bloat we acquire from flying on planes and eating.

I did a 30-minute hotel workout.

The ride was uphill into the mountains with a lot of twists and turns. I’ll risk my life for a great pic, but not until I know the terrain.

There’s a temple on the way towards Doi Suthep.

A dragon guards the temple.

The gorilla was permitted to enter, after promising to pay proper respects.

Onward to Doi Suthep.

There are small shrines throughout the Doi Suthep temple.

Please ring bell for meditation.

There were small gardens everywhere.

The view from the top. Even ancient temples are often under construction, as evidenced by this re-bar.

It’s hard to appreciate how detailed the engravings are.

Each engraving tells a story.

Your soul needs to be watered and cared for, as with any plant.

I did some meditation. There were pillows available to sit on.

After a long contemplative walk, where I considered the future of me and those in my life, it was time to leave.

I was hungry and these fried eggs/fried coconut things looked delicious.

Still hungry, I had some coconut-fried chicken, which was splendid.

On the way down I stopped by the national park to cool down at the waterfall.

Open your heart and mind up to new possibilities, let the water flow through you.

Cigars in Saigon

By Mike Cernovich 30 Comments

Once upon a time in America a man could sit down with complete strangers and set aside the cares of the world.

Some men were CEOs, others were blue collar workers, and some of us were students. All were welcome and status did not matter.

Even women were welcome, and in fact the sight of a woman smoking a cigar was seen as a unicorn.

In the cigar lounge there was a certain brotherhood. Some even called it the “brotherhood of the leaf.”

I smoked cigars with Axl Rose and helped David Arquette choose the best cigars for his home humidor. In a cigar lounge, no one is a celebrity or rich guy. Everyone was equal.

I fell out of the cigar scene as smoking restrictions became more severe.

In an effort to protect workers’ health, California enacted various draconian smoking bans. No one would be allowed to smoke indoors, even if the employees had no issues with inhaling second-hand cigar smoke. (I happen to enjoy it!)

Even owners were prohibited from working around cigars. In a nation of obese people, you’d think we’d have bigger issues to address than cigar lounges.

Some of us viewed attacks on cigar lounges as a broader attack on masculinity. Men would go to the lounge to “get away from it all,” to kick our feet up in peace and quiet.

I’ve re-discovered my love of cigars in Saigon.

Like many Americans, I’ve learned the “communist countries” my government told me to fear offer more freedom than the land of the free and home of the brave.

My two favorite cigar lounges in Saigon are SIQAR and the Saigon Cigar Club.

As any cigar aficionado knows, there are more counterfeit Cuban cigars circulating than there are authentic ones. It was thus of paramount importance for me to interview the owners of the respective cigar lounges.

Last week I had a detailed discussion about cigar sources and counterfeits with the owner of the Saigon Cigar Club.

Today I had the pleasure to discuss cigars with the owners of SIQAR and can confirm their cigars are authentic. They order from a reliable source and unboxed a sealed box of Cohiba Behike, two of which I enjoyed.

(FYI, I don’t do sponsored posts or talk to anyone before reviewing their establishment. This is entirely unpaid.)

Drinking a Vietnamese milk coffee while writing and smoking.