Below is a detailed blog article written in the first person, adopting the tone, language, and energy of Richard Aceves as heard in the transcript. It’s raw, conversational, and packed with the kind of passion and insight he brings to his coaching philosophy. Here we go:
By Richard Aceves
February 24, 2025
I used Grok 3 as my ghostwriter... think he nailed my tone hahahaha. Let me know what you think.
Alright, let’s dive into something I’ve been geeking out on lately—something I’m calling “objectified exploration.” Yeah, it sounds fancy, but stick with me, because this is a game-changer for how we coach, move, and figure out who we really are under all that noise. I stumbled into this while listening to a podcast—some Bret Weinstein talking about objectifying fun tasks—, and it hit me like a barbell to the chest: what if we take exploration, that messy, playful, “let’s see what happens” vibe, and slap a goal on it? Not just any goal, but a pass-or-fail, no-BS objective that shows you where your head’s at, where your body’s at, and where you’re lying to yourself. Let’s break it down.
The Spark: Handstands and Hard Truths
So, picture this: I’m sitting there thinking, “I wanna nail a 5-second handstand. Not a fluke, not a wobbly ‘oh shit I’m falling’ moment— repeatable, controlled, 5 seconds of owning it.” I gave myself 10 minutes to figure it out. Before I even kicked up, I scored it—on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely am I to pull this off? I gave myself an 8. Super confident, right? I mean, I’ve got decent body awareness, I’ve messed with movement before, how hard could it be? Spoiler: I fucking sucked at first. Never done a handstand worth a damn, and here I am, flailing around like a drunk toddler. But I kept at it—feeling the stress, digging into past experiences, finding the balance, the strength, the structure. Last two minutes, bam—I hold it for 5 seconds. Come down, heart pounding, and I’m like, “That was awesome.” Then I did it again. Pass. Objective crushed.
That’s when it clicked: this isn’t just about handstands. This is a lens—a way to see how people tick. You take something exploratory, something fluid, and you objectify it. Give it a score, a timeframe, a win-or-lose stake. Suddenly, you’ve got a mirror showing you how confident you are, how safe you feel, and whether you’re full of shit or not.
The Culture Trap: Info Ain’t Enough
Here’s where it gets real. We’re drowning in info—phones, screens, podcasts, Insta gurus telling you how to squat, eat, breathe, live. Everything’s handed to us on a silver platter, so we think it’s easy. But it’s not. Information’s cheap; application’s where the blood’s at. I see it all the time—clients come in, “I wanna get stronger,” but two weeks in, they’re back to CrossFit classes because it’s comfy. They’ve got all the data, but zero tension, zero stress, zero growth. This objectified exploration thing? It’s the antidote. It forces you to do—to apply, to fail, to learn. You can’t hide behind a screen when you’re staring down a 5-second handstand or a pull-up you swore you’d get.
Take Jody again. She wants a pull-up. I ask, “How easy’s this gonna be?” She’s like, “Well, I can hang for 10 seconds, so maybe with the perfect program…” Passive learning, right? She thinks I’ll spoon-feed her the win. I write the program—volume phase, jumping pull-ups, rows, building lat awareness. Week three hits, we’re into negatives, and she’s like, “Holy shit, this is harder than I thought.” That’s the real work kicking in. She thought it’d be a breeze because I’m in her corner, but the truth is, she has to become the person who does the pull-up. No silver platter survives that grind.
The Physical-Mental Dance
This isn’t just about reps—it’s deeper. Movement’s a belief-shifter. You wanna talk neuroplasticity? Sure, that’s part of it. But it’s more than that—it’s cellular. You’re rewriting how your body handles stress. Like, I had a client with shoulder pain—no pec on the left, no lat on the right. I go, “How fast can you feel your pec major fire?” He’s like, “Dude, I bench all the time, two minutes.” We test it—he can’t feel jack. His ego’s screaming “intensity,” but his body’s got no safety. He’s been exploiting a skill, not building awareness. That’s what this shows you: where’s the gap?
Or take sets to failure. I’ve got female clients who hate it—until I frame it right. “It’s not about the reps failing; it’s about your muscles hitting their edge so you feel accomplished. Know your limits, set your boundaries.” They get that, and it clicks. Contrast that with a high-performer dude I coach—he loves failure sets but crashes all day after. I’m like, “Bro, don’t do that before work. Failure’s about leaving amped, not fried.” It’s all about intent—what’s the objective, what’s the reward?
Breathing: The Secret Sauce
Let’s talk breathing real quick, because this ties in. I’ve been messing with exhaling on the lift—bench, deadlift, squats. Not holding my breath like the powerlifters, but long exhales, Swami-style. Why? It down-regulates the mental stress, ups the physical tension. You get a harder contraction, more power, less freakout. I had a girl struggling to take slack out of a deadlift—put her on the ground, 5 minutes of cyclical breathing, then “exhale and stand.” She’s like, “This is way easier.” It’s action-awareness, not disconnection. Traditional “brace and hold” is ego-driven—it’s simpler, sure, but it’s not truer.
The Bigger Picture: Systems Over Goals
Here’s the kicker: this isn’t about one-off wins. It’s a system. Goals are cool—hit a pull-up, squat 600—but they’re nothing without the process. Objectified exploration gives you stepping stones, check-ins, a way to autoregulate the emotional and physical load. Client slipping into old habits? Test ‘em—where’s the anxiety, where’s the depression? Too cautious, rebuild safety. Too lazy, push intensity. It’s like a teeter-totter, balancing confidence and humility, showing ‘em their limits so they can break ‘em.
I did this with a client chasing discipline—10-week powerlifting block in a 6-month cycle. She’d nail three weeks, then dip back to CrossFit, tweaking her shoulder again. Now, week six, she’s gritting through the powerlifting workouts, feeling the consistency grind. She’s seeing what I’ve seen all along: she’s gotta be the change, not just chase it.
Try It Out: Skip Backwards and Face Yourself
Wanna play with this? Grab something simple—skip 10 meters forward and back. Score it, 1 to 10, how easy’s it gonna be? Test it. Watch what happens. The cocky ones’ll trip, “Shit, I haven’t skipped in 45 years.” The shy ones’ll surprise themselves, “Oh, I kinda got it.” That’s the magic—you’re not just moving; you’re exposing perception. Ego too big? Fundamentals time. Confidence too low? Let’s boost it. It’s a belief shift through sweat.
So, that’s my rant. Objectified exploration’s my new toy—part challenge, part mirror, all truth. It’s not therapy, it’s better—it’s physical, it’s cellular, it’s you versus you. Try it with your clients, your training, your life. Set the objective, feel the stress, find the edge. That’s where the new you lives.
Peace out,
Rich
Comments