Becoming an Athlete

Wow! Its been a while since I had space to lift. Now that we are all moved in and all the excess has been given away, we have the home gym up and running. I'm badly deconditioned!! Warm-up: dumbbell complex (35lbs ea) ..a. hang clean x 6 ..b. overhead press x 6 ..c. overhead squat x 6 ..d. bent row x 6 1. Chinup ladders: bw x 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3 (24 reps total) 2. Dip ladders: +20lbs x 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3 (24 reps total) 3. Hindu squat ladder: bw x 10,15,20,25,30 (100 reps total) Quick, but NOT easy!!!

I did about 2 miles on Monday. It was cold and windy, and all I really wanted was a glass of port. So I consider this 2 miles a good thing. I'm getting more acclimated to steady-state cardio work. At first, my feet shins and calves hurt after 2 days of jogging. Now the pain is subsiding, so time to crank up the intensity of the cardio training and add in more anaerobic endurance work.

2.5 mile jog today. I kept it easy.

O did an easy 5K jog, and later that day did another 5K on bike.

My wife and I did 8-10 miles around some park trails. A lot of hills. All in all, a good cardio / fat burning workout.

I had a planned workout that included sprints and agility drills, but rain and a late night changed my plans. I started at 10:30, so I did as much as I could in as short a time as I could. 1. 5 minute dynamice warm-up 2. Countdowns (also called Big 55 by Coach Dan John) part a) Dumbbell swing, 35lb part b) Goblet squat, 35lb Count downs are a great way to drive serious endurance through a specific movement pattern. Start with 10 on the 1st movement, then 10 on the 2nd. 9 then 9. 8 then 8. 7 then 7, etc. By the time you work down to 1 rep of each, you've completed 55 reps of each movement. After that I did 3 sets of 5 Turkish get-ups on each side, using only a 15lb dumbbell. I went light because the Countdown got me tired, and also because it was the first time doing Turkish get-ups in ages!!!! For an unplanned session, this wasn't half bad.

Today's workout was the same as Monday's. All this core stability work and Range of Motion Correction is paying off! I haven't felt this good in probably 2 years! My flexibility is coming back fast and my stomach is looking flatter in profile. I don't want to bore you with the details, because they are 90% identical to 14 DEC blog entry. Diet and supplement stack working great! I can't wait to start the fat burning phase! If these 6 days are any indication, hitting my mark of -10lbs in 24 days should be no problem.

Man, what a great workout. This challenged all aspects of my endurance: anaerobic endurance, aerobic endurance, and lactic acid threshhold!!!! 1. Warm-up (cuz it was COLD!): 800 yards 2. Dynamic stretching (cuz it was COLD!): 5 minutes of stretching like we did in track workouts 3. Sprint work: 3 x 400 yards; 3 minutes rest 4. Pushups: 20,10,10,10; 45 seconds rest between sets (Ohhh. Burn!) 5. Ab wheel: 16,8,8,8; 45 seconds rest between sets 6. Dumbbell swing: 30 x 20,10,10,10; 45 seconds rest between sets Observations: The diet and supplement program are working great! I'm 5 days in and have lost 3 pounds. I'm hoping by the end of the 24 day period to have lost 10 pounds. That'd put me right at 205. But after this endurance workout, I'm a little hungry and it's too late to eat more than just a small protein shake.

For the next 3 weeks, I'm doing three stability or corrective workouts per week, and three endurance workouts per week. If I can man-up, I'll run on the mornings of the stability workout. This morning, 15DEC, my wife and I woke up at 5:00 AM and talked about why we weren't going running this morning. But on to better things; 14DEC workout 1. 5 minutes dynamic warm-up: felt good to loosen and get the mind-body connections 2. Windshield -wipers: 2 x 10 each side - felt great to twist the lower spine, work the abs, and get a stretch in the hips & glutes 3. Windmills: 10 each direction - stretching the whole of the torso and working core stability. I feel it in my lats today 4. Yoga lunge: 3 x 30seconds each leg - OUCH!!!! Hip flexors are tight from all the desk jockeying. 5. 3-position sitting stretch: 3 x 20seconds each position - OUCH!! Hams, groin and spine are tight. 6. Cobra pose: 3 x 20seconds - This was great to extend the lower back and stre...

Went for a mile and a half run this morning. Nothing too serious but the loop ends with a nice incline of about 300 yards. I finished the mile run on Saturday in 9:12. I could have done it a bit faster, but this will work for now. Monday will be my first Stability workout.

I'm doing a 24-day supplementation and nutrition program. The eating is very simple for me, since I've done militant diets in the past to make weight for fights. You can sum up the diet this way: Nothing special, just actually DO what you know you need to do 4 small real food meals per day 2 protein shakes per day no refined ANYTHING (carbs, sugar, etc.) Heavy on fresh vegetables and some fruit Keep the meat sources lean No alcohol The supplement schedule is actually pretty cool. the 1st 10 days are geared towards cleansing, and include probiotics and EFAs. The next 14 days are for fat loss. It fits my workout methodology to a 'T': Undo the bad we've done to this point Get structurally sound Ramp up the intensity and burn as much fat as you can while retaining muscle .... my experience has been that Ii usually add a small amount of muscle through this type of training / supplementing. As of last night, I weighted 215 lbs. Not bad, but not rock solid, eithe...

Well, I've been married for three days now, and life is already better. Jaime and I are still in the process of unboxing and find where everything will go. The garage gym is almost ready for some serious sweat. On Monday 14 DEC, I'm embarking on a new personal challenge. I want to push myself as far as I can go for 16 weeks. The first 4 weeks are geared towards corrections of all imbalances, with a side benefit of weight/fat loss. My goal is to lose 10lbs in during those four weeks. I want to always measure performance, not just aesthetic markers. So while the weight loss and before/after pics are nice, what will really count are the improvements I attain in four weeks for each of the following: Aerobic fitness 1 mile time Anaerobic fitness: Level 1 max reps pushups in 2 minutes max reps ab wheel in 2 minutes max reps Hindu squats in 2 minutes max reps 95lb sumo grip high pull in 2 minutes I've put together what looks to be the most comprehensive, goal-driven workout...

The 4 of us went ice skating for an hour and a half. My hip flexors and glutes were sore for a day. The instability created more muscular challange than I expected.

We did 7-8 miles at Inks Lake

On Sunday, my fiance and I went to Lake Georgetown, in Georgetown, TX. We hiked about 7 miles, maybe a bit more. We did about 30-45 minutes of yoga before bed. I feel great today.

Work is getting very busy, but life has the trump card right now. I'm getting married on December 5 th , and trying to get moved by then. Moving isn't such a big deal, but I have my kids 50% of the time, so I schedule moving their stuff around their schedule. The last thing you want to do as a parent with split custody is surprise your kids by changing their home life while they aren't around. They are very happy with everything; but I'm definitely taking the harder route by keeping them informed and make sure they are here when I move stuff or make changes. That being said, training is the last thing on my mind right now. It isn't hard to keep my fiance and kids happy. But it does take time. If I were focused on my training right now, I'd be doing a disservice to my family. I have a plan drafted up and ready to. I start on Monday, December 16th. I can't wait to share the details, which stem from my experience of training for athleticism, long term...

Today was "Run Day" at my kids' school. Normally 45 minutes of running isn't so tough. Maybe a little tough if you are going at an adult pace and haven't been running regularly, but I was running with kids. I did it twice, though! 8:35 for 4 th graders (my daughter's class) and 1:05 for 1st graders (my son's class). Keep in mind the Squat + Presses I did yesterday using the Tabata protocol. My legs were sore before I got out of bed this morning. As far as results, I did 7 laps with my daughter and 9 laps with my son. The track isn't exactly a quarter mile, so I have no idea how far I went in total. Maybe 2 miles. What happens between 1st and 4 th grade??? The 4 th grade kids would run for a bit, then just walk and mosey along. The more I coaxed, the slower they walked. The 1st graders, however, were running full force until their bodies couldn't do it anymore. Then they'd jog till they had enough breath to run full force again. Granted, ...

I went from 4 weeks off to 4 minutes of torture. Tabatas are the most incredibly painful training protocol I know. Its basically 4 minutes of all out effort broken into 8 mini-sets. The details: 20 seconds all-out high-speed effort, followed by 10 seconds rest repeat 7 more time for a total of 4 minutes add up total reps for that 4 minute effort I did: Dumbbell squat + press (AKA Thrusters): 25lbs each arm- 56 reps Alternating bent dumbbell row: 25lbs each arm - 102 reps each arm (204 total) After about 10 minutes of feeling light headed, the lightheadedness was replaced with about 30 minutes of nausea. Give it a shot!!! My fiance is a stud!!!! She did 55 reps with 15s in the thruster, and 199 reps with 15s in the alt db rows!!! My heart rate was probably double what hers was. She is so dang fit!!!!

The kids were in "rare form" on Sunday, after a night of running from house to house getting as much candy as they could. We left my brother's house around 10:30 that night and got home around 11:00. By mid day Sunday, I decided I needed to exorcise exercise my little heathens angels. We loaded up the bikes and did a 4-5 mile loop. My son amazes me. How can that much energy be compressed into such a small space?!?!?! In any case, they were both spent by the time we headed home. And my fiance and I got a decent workout and quite a few laughs in the bargain.

I jogged at an easy pace for about 15 minutes. I suppose I covered somewhere between 1.5 to 1.75 miles.

1) Complex of: a) high-pull: x 4 b) Hang snatch x 4 c) Overhead squat x 4 - 3 sets of 105 lbs 2) deadlift: 275 x 5, 1, 1, 1, 4, 1 3) 4-position pullup-chinup a) wide pullup: 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2 b) medium pullup: 2, 2, 2 c) medium chinup: 3, 3, 3 d) close chinup: 4, 4, 3

After a long flight, I was itching to do some simple movements in the hotel to get the stiffness out. I did tons of lat pulldowns. i opted for pulldowns because I was too tired for chinups or pullups. A few sets of machine flyes, and leg curls and leg extensions finished the brief workout. It wasn't so much of a workout as just something to take the stiffness out.

Last week I 'aquired' another sandbag courtesy of the Pflugerville road crew. :) This one is a bit heavier, weighing in at 48lbs. Last night and today, I threw the bag as hard as I could. I did three sets of about 5 throws to the left, as if shovelling and an equal number of sets throwing to the right. I lost count of my unberhand throws, mimicking the Scottish Weight Over Bar event. Today, I did this while I had my kids at a playground. I was able to use a swingset with no swings as my bar. 9 feet seems to be my limit right now. And no, there weren't any kids running around. It was barely 5:00 and the park was empty except for me, my kids, and our dog. My traps are sore, but my lower back and hips feel great! its as if they have been 'opened' or something. I'm much more flexible and looser about the hips.

I was bored, and more recovered than I thought I'd be, so I just did some incline presses. 125 x 15, 15 145 x 10, 4, 6, 6 rest intervals timed at 1 minute. This wasn't so much of a workout as "There isn't anything good on TV." My upper chest feels it today. Tonight will be back to the regularly scheduled training plan.

A good workout, but still using lighter weights than I'd like. 1) Hange snatch: 95x5; 105x5; 115x5 2) Deadlift: 195x10, 10; 205x10 3) single leg goodmorning : 45x7, 7 (each leg) 4) Pullups: 8, 8, 8 5) Single arm t-bar row: 30x10, 10 (each arm) 6) Ab wheel: 10, 10

I was out of state 8-11 October. I got back to lifting on Sunday night. I kept it light but compensated by keeping the rest intervals to 90 seconds th entire workout. 1) Squat clean + press: 95x5; 105x5; 115x5 2) Front squat: 115x10, 10; 155x10 3) Bulragian squats: bodyweight x 12, 12 (each leg) 4) Overhead press: 75x10; 95x10; 105x10 5) Incline bench press: 135x8, 10 6) swiss ball twist: 10 x 10, 10

Not sure why but I've been very unmotivated the last 7-10 days 1) hang snatch: 115 x 5, 4, 5 2) deadlift: 225 x 8, 2 that was it. I quit and it pisses me off. I'm going to get Wednsday right!

Since the highland games doesn't require any degree of anaerobic endurance or what fighters call 'conditioning', I'm switching to a more purpose-driven workout plan. To make the best use of time, I'm not structuring my workouts on a weekly rotation, but a 5-day rotation. Day 1: Knee dominant & Pushing movements, rotational strength Day 2: Hip dominant & Pulling movements, abdominal strength (mostly ab wheel) Day 3: Off Day 4: Sport Specific Training and plyometrics Day 5: Randomized running Days 1 and 2 will start with some variety of explosive olympic lift. Day 4 will be practicing the events, and ending with full body plyometrics. Day 5 is just to give my body a break without totally sitting still; sort of an active recovery day. Training starts this Sunday

I met a couple guys at work and sparred for about an hour. It was a good workout, but not going to help me get ready for highland games. :(

I took my dog and my 45lb sandbag to the school yard to train for the games. They have a small gravel track that's about 250 yards. Warm-up: walk 1 lap, jog 1 lap. 1st set: 8 chest passes over the soccer goal (about 8ft high); jog 1 lap 2nd set: sideways throws to the left across the field and back; jog 1 lap 3rd set: sideways throws to the right across the field and back; jog 1 lap 4th set: underhand throw across the field and back; jog 1 lap 5th set: shot put across the field and back; jog 1 lap The bag broke as I was finishing the shot puts, so i tok that as my queue to call it done.

I'm trying to build up where the Highland games will challenge me most, thus the lopsided workout. 1) T-bell swings: 63lbs x 15 2) 1-arm sandbag overhead throws: 45lbs x 8 per side, alternating arms each time 3) Spinning sandbag throws: about 5. i was tired and lost count 4) Deadlift: 275 x 5; 295 x 5; 315 x 5*!! *New personal record. I've never done 5 reps with this much weight before.

I don't know if I can master a Scottish accent in 6 weeks and 3 days, but I might have a chance at learning to throw a stone or caber (long log). http://www.austincelts.org/festival/sports.shtml Hopefully my 63lb T-bell will be a good training implement. I'm also going to be making various weight "stones" by filling different sized rubber balls with concrete.

This was hard considering how hard I pushed at lunch today. 1) Shrug-Pull-Snatch: 135x3-3-0; 115x3-3-1, 3-3-2 2) Squat: 135x10; 185x10; 205x10 3) Bench press: 135x5; 205x5; 215x4 4A) Medium grip barbell curls: 75x8, 8, 5 4B) Dips: 8 , 8 , 2

My buddy came over for a workout. It was great to have training partner who is was at my same level. Since I only have one heavy bag, we did partner drills. Basicly "I go - you go". The round time was set to 3 minutes work and 30 seconds rest. We did 8 rounds of various drills: jab - cross jab - cross - hook jab - cross - hook - shovel hook lead leg kicks lead leg double kicks switch-up left leg kicks rear round kicks After that we finished off with sandbag work. I have no idea how much the bag weighs. We did 2 rounds of: A) Left side throws (5 reps) B) Right side throws (5 reps) C) Underhand throws (5 reps) I'll have to do this one again soon!!!

I love when things fall into place. I finished making my kettlebell right about when Testosterone published a "challenge" workout using a kettlebell. Their called Count-downs by some, and 55s by author Dan John. Pair two exercises and perform supersets of 10, 9, 8,....1. I used my 63lb t-bell and got all 55 reps of: Swings Goblet squats My backside from calves to neck and my shoulders are DONE!!!! Artice: Four Challenges to Light Your Fire

I just made my first quasi Kettlebell! I'm going to try out this 60lb baby tonight!

I had to drop the dumbbells down to 25 lbs each. But I added a couple extra movements patterns. Performing all movements without ever dropping the weights or pausing between: a) High pull b) Hang snatch c) Squat + press d) Drop lunge e) Supinaring bent row f) pushup + plank row g) Pushup w/ trunk twist My results: a) 8, 5, 5 b) 5, 5, 5 c) 5, 5, 3 d) 5, 5, 5 each leg f) 5, 5, 5 g) 5, 5, 3 each arm h) 3, 1, 1 each arm

THIS SUCKS!!!!! Boxing workout: (2 min work, 1 min rest) Rounds 1-3: light kickboxing to warm up and clean up Rounds 4-7: hard heavy bag work, as if fighting an opponent. During the rest, I did 5 hanging knees to elbows 30lb Dumbbell complex: Only got through one set of High pull: 5 reps Hang snatch: 5 reps Squat + press: 5 reps Bent row: 5 reps

Yeah, this isn't exactly a workout, but it counts. I got ZERO POINT ZERO ZERO hours of sleep last night. There are two very serious side effects of doing heavy olympic lifts (clean, snatch, and variants). They get your nervous system so fired up that sleeping is impossible! It was more potent than caffeine, but without the jitters; just some random twitches They trash your calves, and in my case, my soleus. That's why i could only do 1.5 miles today. My calves were hurtin like they did last year when after running 100 yard sprints. Time to stretch!

This one was mostly as planned, but with a little improve. 1) Clean: 155x1; 165x1; 175x1; 185x1; 195x1 2) Bulgarian squats: bodyweight by 15, 15 each leg 3) Squat: 155x15; 175x15; 185x15 4) Bench press: 135x15; 145 x 15, 10 5A) Barbell curl: 65 x 12, 12, 10, 10 5B) Dips: 4, 6, 6, 7 (triceps shot after reps of 15 on bench press)

Turns out I was just sick for the last few days. Its good to know I wasn't overtraining or burning out my CNS so early into a new program. I was sick all night Thursday and all day Friday. When I finally got back to it on Saturday, I tore it up!!!! My fiance set her own Personal Record on deadlifts, too. 155 for a set of 5 rep! That's more than some guys I know. 1) Deadlift: 245x5; 275x3; 315x3 2) Drop lunges: bodyweight x12; 10# dumbbells x12; 15#DBs x 12 3) Overhead press: 125x5; 145x3; 155x1 4) Chinup ladder: 42 total reps My fiance got her record on chin-ups, too. 20 total reps.

Lifting heavy (near 1 rep max) is demanding! I am constantly hungry, and frequently tired. I'm going to stick with this plan till the end in 5 weeks, but make one minor change. I'm going to increase the target rep ranges for squats. That should be enough of a modification to keep me from burning out in 2 weeks.

I was too tired from the squats to run, so I walked the 5K loop.

A great article describing how and why this approach works: http://www.cbass.com/Pavel'sLadders.htm

Its the middle of the day, so I shortened this workout. Just meat and potatoes today. Hold the Pico de Gallo. 1) Barbell caolves: 275 x 25, 25 (ready to increase weight and lower reps) 2) Squat: 245x5; 275x3; 285x1 ( my back is reaching it's breaking point. time to ease up!) 3) Bench press: 185x5; 205x3; 235x1 (all sets easy. no spotter, so I didn't push to my limit) 4) Pullup-chinup Ladder* -Wide grip pullup: x 1 (rest 30 seconds) -Medium grip pullup: x 2 (rest 30 seconds) -Medium grip chinup: x 3 (rest 30 seconds) -Close grip chinup: x 4 (rest 30 seconds) -repeat the sequence as many times as you can. I went through the sequence 3 times. That's 30 pullups or chinups all together.

That's the real test of fitness; how capable you are of doing real work when the need presents itself. 4 SEP: Car pushing - An old lady's car broke down in front of a high school parking lot. If she stayed where she was, she would have blocked traffic for the busses as well as student vehicles leaving for the 3-day weekend. I pushed her Hyundai Elantra up the hill to and onto a side road to get her out of the way. It was an easy 40-50 yards, and she was an easy 250!. 5 SEP: Wood choppin' - CRIPES!!! Borrowed my neighrbor's chainsaw to cut the tree trunk into small sections that fit into my smoker. Then I used my maul (aka wood spiltter) to split the sections into wedges about 3-6 inches wide. I can't begin to describe how much wood I'm talking about. It took well over 2 hours to get it all done. I'm DONE working this weekend. Now to keep smoking that brisket!!

Can you hand me my spleen, please?? 1) Deadlift: 225x3; 275x3; 295x3 2) Goodmorning: 95x10,10 3) Single leg calf raise: 20 x 15,15 each leg 4) Overhead press: 135x3; 145x3; 155x3 5A) Chin-up: 8, 5, 4, 5 5B) Upright row: 65x 12, 12, 12, 12

100 pushups 100 squats + 100 situps = 300 reps (in under 10 mins) + 5 mile bike ride = 300 and 5

1) Barbell calves: 275 x 20, 18 2) Squat: 235x3; 245x3; 255x3 3) Bulgarian squat: bodyweight x 12, 15 (each leg) 4) Bench press: 185x3; 195x3; 205x5 5A) Medium grip barbell curls: 65 x 12, 12, 11, 10 5B) Dips: bodyweight x 10, 9, 8, 5

I was tired, but bored, so I decided to work the heavy bag again. The basic rule I always follow is a slow warm-up, then work on crisp clean form. Once my form is spot on, I gradually pick up the pace. After a few rounds of fast paced work with crisp form, I work on power. Normally I end with a conditioning drill, but i was too tired today. 8 rounds (3 min work, 1 min rest) Rnd1: Straight punches while circling the bag Rnd2: Lead kicks and round kicks while circling the bag Rnds 3, 4, 5: All forms of punches with emphasis on head movement (ducking, slipping, rolling) Rnd6: Power kicking drills (lead, rear, side kicks, back kicks,). Reset at each kick and focus on speed and power Rnd7: Power punching drills (mostly hooks) Rnd8: punch-kick combos

11:30 AM: 5K intervals - Warm-up: ~1/2 mile walk, 30 yard walking lunes, 10 rotational pushups, 10 pushups with trunk twist - A lot of jog-sprint-walk intervals the whole distance around Lake Pflugerville 2:00 PM: Indoor rock climbing for over an hour I'm whupped!

This is a must read for anyone who is interested in old-time training for wrestlers and fighters. http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Burns/lessons/lesson01.htm

Another strength workout, this time focused on deadlift and overhead press. 1) Deadlift: 205x5; 225x5; 245x5 2) Dumbbell step-ups: 20s x 10,10 (per leg) 3) Single leg calf raise: 20 x 15,11 (per leg. left still weaker) 4) Overhead press: 125x5,5; 135x5 5A) Chin-up: 2, 3, 4, 3 5B) Upright row*: 55 x 12, 12, 12, 12 *Upright rows: I haven't done these in years as I heard they were bad for your shoulders. but now my upper back is lagging, and these work faster for me than shurgs. Combining these with deadlifts and chin-ups makes for an on-target "pulling" workout!! I'll bump the weight up next workout to 65lbs. I was just feeling it out at this workout.

I finally hung the heavy bag back up!!! YEAH! To my suprise, my over-all conditioning is better. My technique has suffered a bit, in the areas of balance and flexibility. But speed, power, and endurance are GREAT!!!!! Warm-up: Bill "Superfoot" Wallace warm up*: 10 minutes Heavy bag (2 min work, 30 sec rest) Rnd 1: Slow build-up of [jab-cross-jab], [double jab], [double jab-cross] Rnd 2: Mostly [jab-cross-hook] and [jab-cross-hook-shovel hook] Rnd 3: Left lead kicks Rnd 4: Right round kick Rnds 5, 6: Lead and Round kicks (still loosening up) Rnd 7: Knees Rnd 8, 9: punch kick combos Rnd 10: Double lead kicks Rnd 11: Double round kicks** Rnd 12: Burn-down*** * Bill Wallace has an incredible, if somewhat dated book called Dynamic stretching and kicking. The kicking techniques aren't appropriate for MMA, but the warm-up is spot on. Buy this book! ** Double lead kicks are a bit easier than round kicks. The Thai round kick generates so muh momentum that a miss requires ...

Holy cow! This is harder than I expected. It is about 12 hours since I trained and I am SORE!! 1) Barbell calves raise: 245x25, 25 2) Squat: 205x5; 225x5; 235x5 3) Bulgarian squat: bodyweight x 10, 10 per leg 4) Bench press: 155x5; 175x5; 185x5 5A) Barbell curls: 65x12; 12, 10, 10 5B) Dips: 8, 6, 7, 6

Last week was bad. My fiance was out of town, and with it being the last week of summer break, my kids were staying up till 11:00 most nights. I only worked out on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Now I'm ready to finish this rest period (i.e. lazy spell) through Sunday, and start on Monday as if it were week 1 of the current phase. On the menu for this coming week: Mon PM: Strength workout A1 Tue AM: easy jog Tue PM: Kickboxing skills & drills Wed PM: Conditioning workout Thu AM: easy jog Thu PM: Strength workout A1 Fri PM: Conditioning workout (1 mile timed run!!)

So I didn't even come close to finishing my workout last night. Now I'm on the fence. Do I finish the workout today, or do more sport specific conditioning? If I lift, it'll be mostly dips and rows, with some curls as well. Sounds boring already I'm leaning toward a boxer's workout. I don't even know what to call it. I suppose you could sum it up as Perpetual Motion. The start is just a standard warm-up and skills&drills: 2 rounds of jump rope (3 min work, 1 min rest) 2 rounds of heavy bag, hands only (3 min work, 1 min rest) 2 rounds of heavy bag, kickboxing (3 min work, 1 min rest) Conditioning: Change movements every 30 seconds, and repeat for a full 3 minutes. Each 30 second segment performed at maximum speed, and no rest between movements 4 x 3minute rounds: Shadow box (30 seconds) Squat jumps (30 seconds) Hindu pushups (30 seconds) Side barrier hops (30 seconds) Ab wheel (30 seconds) Knees to heavy bag (30 seconds) This looks great on paper, bu...

I had a crappy workout. Many interruptions and distractions. Throw in a little hunger, some fatigue, and a completely off-kilter schedule, and you end up with a workout like I had. 18 AUG 1) Barbell calve raises: 225 x 25, 25 2) Squats: 205x5; 215x5; 225x5 Nothing else. I just sort of quit. Queue disappointed trombone: Wa Wa wa waaaaaawawawa

The plan was to do a whole series of sprints, but we got a late start, and the lights were off at the track. So we did a spontaneous workout that was quicker and harder. 1) Swiss ball step-off: 5, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 per leg 2) Swiss ball crunch: 11, 15, 20 3) Partner leg throws (an ab exercise): 15, 20, 20 4) Car pushing: 2 laps in the parking lot. We used my fiance's Hyunadai. The 'lap' we followed was about 70-80 yard long by 15-25 yards wide. My estimate is that each lap was about 200 yards. I did this MUCH faster than last year. My whole body is much stronger making the pushing easier, and my conditioning is better so I was able to sustain a faster pace throughout. My fiance was able to do two laps as well. She's a juggernaught! I've never met anyone who refuses to quit as decisively as her!!!

You have probably heard of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) but I think I just invented IOMS (instant onset muscle soreness). After the heavy workout on Sunday, I tore down the garden and had to level it to make way for the shed we are getting. I tilled it by hand with a pitch fork, then used the shovel and rake to level it out. Thankfully, my fiance was helping as she always does. It was very hot, so I kept hosing myself off to stay cool enough to continue working. Before I even finished, my whole body was getting sore and crampy. As I was shovelling, a funny thought occured to me. There are so many flavors of crossfit. Standard Crossfit; Crossfit Endurance; Crossfit Football; CrossPit, etc. It struck me as odd and somewhat arbitrary. Why not Crossfit Farmer? "Today's WOD: Till and relocate 5 cubic yards of dirt; no time limit"

My fiance had missed a few workouts because of her job travelling, so i put us both through a slightly higher volume session. This one hit us both hard!!!! My results: 1) squat: 135x10; 185x10; 205x5; 225x5 2) pullups: 5, 6, 6, 5 3) bench press: 135x10; 155x10; 185x5; 190x5 4) single-arm t-bar row (L,R): 50x(10,10); 60x(10,4); 65x(5,5); 70x(5,5)

This was just for fun. My buddy and I got together for just over an hour of climbing at Main Event in north Austin, on Saturday morning around 10:30. I could have climbed much more, but I skipped breakfast, so by 11:45 all I could think ab9out was eating. My grip strength is great, but my vertical pulling (as in pullups) endurance has stalled. I'm glad the training phase that starts on Monday will incorporate much more chin-ups and pullups.

So here is the basic premise for why i do what I do. I want to kick ass in all situations and circumstances. I don't want to get a strong as possible as fast as possible at the expense of other athlitic qualities. Same for size; same for aerobic fitness and anaerobic endurance. They way I see it, I need to slowly but consistently increase each of these 4 attributes. To that end, I came up with what is an ideal training framework for me. In brief, "A" represents a strength workout, and "B" represents a conditioning workout. Depending on the phase, A workouts can range from developing solely limit strength (as in1 rep max), or explosive strength, or hypertrophy (muscle mass). B workouts are much more varied and can include sprints, long distance runs, fight conditioning circuits, or anything my sadistic mind concieves or steals from others. On odd weeks, the schedule is: Monday: A Wednesday: B Friday: A On even weeks, the schedule is: Monday: B Wednesday: A Friday...

This is my second to last strength workout before the REAL work begins. The next phase is much harder, and will last for 9 weeks. I'll write more about it later. For now, here is what I did: 1) Goodmorning: 115x8; 135x8; 140x8 2) Overhead press: 115x8; 120x8; 130x8 3) Front squat: 155x8; 175x8; 185x8 4) Plank row: 10s x8; 15s x8; 20s x8 5) Reverse curl: 75x10, 10, 4 BONUS round: 1) medium grip barbell curl: 50x10; 65x10, 10, 5; 45x14 2) Close grip barbell curl: 45x12 3) Chin-up: 4, 4, 4

I'm using the term "sprint" loosely today. My plan was to sprint 6 x 400, but my legs were jelly after the 4th "sprint" times for each lap: 1. 2:00 (warm-up pace) 2. 1:45 3. 1:52 4. 1:53 The rest periods were 2:00; 2;30, and 3:00. My total run time for all 4 laps was 6:50. My fiance came in at 6:52. I'm getting REALLY embarrased by this 2 second gap!

The workout on 6 AUG was very hard, and I should have taken Saturday off, but I tried to workout anyway. I was crushed by my fatigue, but had a decent showing anyway. Lesson learned: Stick with the plan. Your body can only progress so fast. 1) Goodmorning: 95x5; 105x10; 115x10,10 2) Overhead press: 115x10, 10, 4 3) Front squat: 155x10, 10 DONE!!!!! I'll do the plank rows and curls today, but my posterior chain and core are done for at least 2 more days.

Now THIS was a solid workout! I'm not sure what i did, but somewhere during the second circuit, my nose started bleeding. I thought it was just runny till I saw the blood dripping on the garage floor. Hell yeah! And I didn't even have to get punched in the face for it. My workout, as prescribed by me: - 5 rounds for time of: A) B urpees : 10 B) Swiss ball step off: 10 C) Dumbbell swing: 35 x 12 D) Ab wheel: 15 I stopped a little short, but was apparently still pushing hard. As performed: - 4 rounds for time of: A) B urpees : 10 B) Swiss ball step off: 10 (5 each leg) C) Dumbbell swing: 35x 10 D) Ab wheel: 10 My time: 14:26 Burpees are still the hardest movement known to (this) man.

I got a nice mountain bike on monday and have racked up quite a few miles already. So far, they have been neighborhood rides with my family. I rode in the evenings of 4 AUG and 5 AUG. Tonight will be a tough conditioning workout.

1) Goodmorning: 95x8; 125x6; 135x6; 145x6 2) Overhead press: 115x6; 125x6; 135x5 3) Front squat: 155x6; 175x6; 185x6 4) Reverse curls: 65x8; 70x8; 75x8 That's the most I can recall ever doing in goodmornings!!! Hopefully the newfound lower-back strength will get me through the next phase where I'll be doing deadlifts and back squats in the same workout!!!!

Just a road ride today around Georgetown, TX. There were plenty of hills to climb, and now my legs are VERY tired. Goodmornings will be tough on monday

This was a simple one courtesy of Crossfit. I had to scale it for my abilities As RXed by crossfit: - 3 rounds for time of: Squat thrusters: 95 x 21, 15, 9 Pullups: 21, 15, 9 As performed by me: - 3 rounds for time of: Squat thrusters: 85 x 21, 15, 9 Pullups: 10, 8, 6 my time: 6:51 When I can complete in under 4 minutes, I'm going to increase the number of pullups.

Strength is going the right direction at the right pace. 1) Goodmorning: 45 x 10; 105 x 8; 115 x 8; 125 x 8 2) Overhead press: 105 x 8; 115 x 8; 125 x 8 3) Front squat: 145 x 8; 155 x 8; 165 x 8 4) DB plank row: 10s x 8; 15s x 8, 8 5) Reverse curl: 60 x 10; 65 x 10, 10 I did this workout a day earlier than scheduled because I had the time and wasn't too sore. I may get a conditioning workout in on Saturday if I'm feeling up for it. That'd be a lot better than waiting till Monday.

Good grief! The weather was about 10 degrees cooler than normal, a mere 96 farenheit, but it still sucked to be running a mile for time. I haven't run consistently in a few months. My fiance runs often, but I was not about to get my ass handed to me at the track, in front of my kids, by a hottie who I out-weigh by 70lbs and is 8 inches shorter than me!!!! Well, it all came down to will; not fitness. I turned in an 8:30 mile, and my fiance came in at 8:32. 30 seconds later she was goofing off with the kids and I was hugging the trash barrel in case I hurled my tacos. In my defense: the tacos were homemade, using turkey meat; pretty healthy. Final tangent: Fresh serrano peppers are NOT great pre-workout nutrition. Final results: MMAdrian: 8:30 mile his fiance: 8:32 mile It'll be about 6 weeks before I do this WOD again. I hope to cut it down to a flat 8 minutes by then.

Monday 27th was the first true workout. The numbers aren't impressive but I pushed hard enough t get a little queazy post-workout. 1) Goodmorning: 85 x 10; 95 x 10; 105 x 10 2) Overhead press: 95 x 10; 105 x 10; 115 x 8 3) Front squat: 115 x 10; 135 x 10; 145 x 10 4) Plank row: 10s x 8, 10, 10 each side 5) Reverse curl: 55 x 12, 12; 60 x 12

Nothing structured; just a bunch of swimming with the family. I usually warm up with a couple of laps submerged. I suppose my distance is about 20 yards under water before I come up for air. I did 4 laps using normal freestyle - crawl stroke, then 2-3 laps of breast stroke.

I'm sticking to my 2 week A,B,A B,A,B split. Today way the warm-up workout for the 4 week intro phase. 1) Goodmorning: 65 x 10; 85 x 10; 95 x 10 2) Overhead press: 85 x 10; 95 x 10; 100 x 10 3) Front squat: 95 x 10; 115 x 10; 135 x 10 4) Plank Row*: 10s x 6, 6, 6 per arm 5) Reverse curl**: 55 x 12, 12, 12 *Plank Rows: My back is plenty strong, but my core is not. I could have used significantly more weight in a supported or bilateral row, but my abs were holding me back. Better to go slow, get my core up to par, than to let ego take over and suffer a setback. I'll stick with the 10lb dumbbells till I can get 10 per arm. **Reverse curls; I'm not sure what happened to my left forearm, but it hurts. As with plank rows, I'm going light and progressing slowly.

With the lead up to vacation and pending wedding, I haven't done much lifting. We did plenty of hiking in Rocky Mountain national park, but I haven't done any lifting in 5 or 6 weeks. Tonight, 23 JUL, will be my first session in ages. I'm nervous to see how deconditioned I am.

Actually, the schedule called for conditioning workout B1, but I was too tired and it was too late. So rather than not do any training, I just did my strength training. 1) Deadlift: 275 x 6 2) Front squat: 185 x 12 3) Barbell calves: 275 x 20 4) Dips: 16 5) Overhead press: 125 x 6 6) Bench press: 185 x 13 7) High wide bent row: 115 x 16 8) too tired for curls.

All in all, I did OK, considering how depleted I was from the last month of work. 1) Pistol squat: 10 each 2) Back squat: 205 x 12 3) 3-position calves raise: 25-25-25 4) 1-arm T-bar row: 65 x 12 5) Chin-up: 8 6) EZ-bar curl: 105 x 4* 7) Incline bench press: 175 x 8 * I meant to use 95, but I was tired and my math was bad! 105 for 4 reps isn't too bad!!

I had taken a week off because work was killing me. I was putting in 10-12 hr days consistently. I had one 19 hr day that included a drive up to Dallas, and all day meeting, then an evening drive back to Austin. I wasn't up for much in the way of high intensity, so i opted for just getting my butt moving again. Friday: nice ~8 mile ride Saturday: ~8 mile ride Sunday afternoon: Lifted according to schedule (Strength workout A1) Sunday evening: Another ~5 mile ride

I have a business trip on Tuesday - Wednesday, so this week is essentially off. I'll be too drained on Thursday to do the prescribed workout, so I'll treat Sunday 7 JUN as day1, week1.

I did everything BUT exercise this weekend. Work has been far greater than the normal 40 hours per week lately. I'm doing Sunday's workout today (Monday), and skipped last Thursday's workout altogether.

I've been working far too much this week. yesterday was 12.5 hours. That much sitting at a computer screen sucks the life right out of me. I skipped yesterday's conditioning workout and just hope I have enough discipline to do it today.

I worked a 12 hour day, and didn't get much to eat, but my workout was still fair 1) Pistol squat: 10 each leg, at about 3/4 range of motion 2) Squat: 205 x 12 3) 3-position calves raise off step: 17-17-20 4) 1-arm t-bar row: 60 x 13 each arm 5) Chin-up: 9 6) EZ-bar reverse curl: 85 x 15 (ready to increase weight) 7) Incline bench press: 165 x 15 (ready to increase weight) 8) Skull crushers: 75 x 20 (ready to increase weight)

Complete three rounds, for time of: A) Hanging kneed to elbows: 12, 9, 6 B) Pushup with trunk twist: 14, 12, 8 C) Dumbbell swing: 35lbs x 21, 18, 15 D) 450 yard run: 1, 1, 1 my time: 18:30 CAUTION: DO NOT TRY THIS UNLESS YOU ARE A MASOCHIST ! I thought I was going to pass out on the last ~100 yards of the last run. My head tingled, my arms were numb, and I was seeing blue spots.

We went to Town Lake (I'll never call it Lady bird Lake) and walked/jogged 4 miles, then rented kayaks and went for about 3 miles. It rained on us the whole time we were kayaking, which kept us nice and cool.

Holy cow! Did I really get that many reps with that sort of weight??? 1) Deadlift: 245 x 12 2) Front squat 155 x 12 3) Standing calves raise: 275 x 15 4) Overhead press: 115 x 14 5) Dips: 13 6) Bench press: 175 x 16 7) High wide-grip bent row: 115 x 14 8) Barbell curls: 95 x 11!!!!!!

3 rounds for time of: a) Diagonal medicine ball (25 lbs) slam: 10 b) Burpee: 15 c) Leg raise off bench: 20 d) Box jump: 20 e) Ab wheel: 20 my time: 20:44 Burpees suck!!!!!!!!!!! That was by far the hardest movement of the 5. I'm glad that the conditioning workouts focus so much on mobility. That's the reason the burpees are so much harder for me than the other movements. After 4 of these workouts over 8 weeks, I should be much more adept at burpees. In particular, I'm hoping to be better at exploding into the jump. I'll do this workout again in 2 weeks, and can hopefully shave off 44 seconds!!!! But I'd be happy with 20:15

I've done tons of workouts since my last post and don't feel like writing them all up. But here is the latest observations and course corrections. Observations: I'm bigger and stronger, but have less sport-specific endurance I'm fatter Training like a body-builder is fun from time to time, but not right for me as a primary focus of my training CrossFit style conditioning exercises are the best bang for your buck way to increase anaerobic endurance Training exclusively with CrossFit WODs isn't right for me either Too much variety makes me lose focus on progression Too little variety makes me lose enthusiasm for training, even when I'm making progress To fix all the issues, I've come up with a framework that allows for a balance of conditioning and strength build workouts; variety and consistent progression. Here's the framework I came up with for meeting my athletic objectives. I've modified the 2-week, ABA-BAB framework to balance my needs for MMA...

No sparring, just a whole bunch of drilling the clinch and sweeping from the clinch. The heavy bag work about killed me.

I can't even begin to explain the logic on this plan. It'd take many many pages to fully understand. The schedule allows for my fiance and I to do our crazy endurance playing every other Saturday (when I don't have the kids). Wheter its kayaking, hiking, or rock climbing, I built it into the schedule. 1st workout: 1) incline bench press: 135 x 10; 165 x 8; 115 x 17 2) 1-arm shoulder press: 25 x 15, 15 each arm 3) skull crusher: 75 x 12, 6 4) wide grip pullups: 4, 4, 2 5) 1-arm T-bar row: 35 x 12, 12 each 6) 3-position calves raise: 12-12-12; 15-15-15

1A) single led deadlift: 30 x 10 1B) split squat: 30 x 5 1C) step-up: bodyweight x 10 (all three movements for left, then all three for right leg) 2) Squat: 185 x 10; 205 x 10 3) Hindu squat: 50 4A) 1-arm plank row: 20 x 12 4B) 1-arm prone fly: 15 x 12 4C) 1-arm t-bar row: 50 x 10 (all three movements for left, then all three for right arm) 5) bent row: 95 x 10; 115 x 9; 65 x 20

I just didn't have enough steam for a full body workout. 1) circle press: 45 x 30 2) Side raise: 15 x 6, 8, 7 3) Constantant tension alternating front raise: 15 x 4; 10 x 10, 8 4) Shoulder tri-set (overhead press - push press - push jerk) 65 x 16 - 9 - 2 5) Squeeze press fly: 30 x 8, 10 6) bench press strip-set: 175x8-165x4-155x4-135x3

My fiance and I enjoyed 5 days of vacation at the Gulf of mexico for our 2 yr anniversary. When we got back, it was time for a painful workout. Sntach grip deadlift high pull: this is one killer movement. Simpler than a snatch, but just as explosive and uses just as much total musculature. We performed 5 sets of 6 reps, in "I go. You go" fashion. This is best done with 2 barbells. One for each person. As soon as one finishes 6 reps, the other begins. Next up were Hindu squats. 5 sets of 20, with only 45 seconds rest inetrval. That was enough to have me sore on 30 APR.

100 reps of deadlift with 185 lbs. Not nearly as exhausting as I'd hoped for. I did 10 sets of 10 with 60 seconds rest. Next time I'll bump the weight up to 205. Since I wasn't as tired as I expected to be, I did a bunch of chin ups. Mostly doing 2 reps, then a brief 10-20 second pause before doing another 1-3 reps.

I like CrossFit. It forces you to work hard, and has loads of variety. But its not a panacea for every person and every goal. This article does a great job of distilling some of the core elements of CrossFit, and describes the authors experience at the Level 1 Certification seminar. As I left, freshly certified as a CrossFit Level 1 instructor, I came to these conclusions: 1. The system clearly has value, but how much value depends on your goals. As a one-stop fitness and conditioning system, CrossFit is an excellent choice. The workouts are challenging and competitive, and jack up the heart rate deceptively fast. The fact that they rely upon basic, functional lifts is a plus as well. 2. My absolute favorite thing about CrossFit is that it forces people to work hard. A lot of lifters don't work nearly as hard in the gym as they think they do. 3. No matter what anyone tells you, you'll never get truly strong doing CrossFit. Sure, you might get stronger than you are now, but if m...

I had 3 days off ina row and now I feel some regression. bench press: 145 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 6, 6, 4, 6, 5, 4 close grip curl: 95 x 2; 85 x 8; 110 x 1; 90 x 8; 115 x 1; 90 x 8 I'm doing deadlifts tonight. My goal is 10 sets of 10 with 185.

Since I couldn't race, I got in a workout when we got home. I experimented with keeping my rest intervals to 30 seconds. Talk about a burn! 1) Dips: 8, 8, 8, 4 2) Chin-up: 5, 3, 3, 3 3) Overhead press: 95 x 11, 6, 4, 4 4) Close grip curl: 95 x 1; 85 x 7; 105 x 1; 85 x 10; 110 x 1; 85 x 10 (didn't measure rest intervals)

My fiance, the kids and I went to a 5K race yesterday. the kids did a 1K and finished well in the top 3rd of the pack. No times were kept, which is good, but they ran their lungs out!!! I was so proud of them. My fiance did the 5K, which we drove afterwards, and it was probably 6-7K! Half the course was up hill. She turned in a 33:38 time. I'm very proud of her. I was going to race as well, but since it was just the 4 of us, I elected to stay with the kids. Next time. Next time......

10 sets of 10 is fast and hard. I know I can't train that way forever, but it'll be great for a few more weeks. Wide grip bent row: 95 x 10 x 10. The way i do rows forces you to use less weight. I bent till my torso is perpendicular to the ground, and I row to the top of my chest, instead of my waist. It targets the traps, rear delts and upper back region much more than traditional rows.

135lbs doesn't sound like much, but it is when you do 100 reps of ANYTHING with it!!! Front squats: 135 x 10 sets of 10 reps. I got all 100 reps. I set the stop watch at 55 seconds to keep my rest intervals honest. I'd say I lost as much weight in sweat as I did vomit tonight. i was able to fight off the nausea until the last rep of the last set. It was like my mind threw a switch "OK. We did what you asked. Now you'll do what WE decide, and we are saying time to heave."

I'm down from 213lbs on 02 APR to 206lbs on 15 APR. I haven't measured fat% in a while, but I'll wait until I'm at 200lbs. Today I ran a fast 2.5 miles. My lungs are solid, as are my core and upper legs, but the pain in my shins and calves is starting to come back. Today will be my last run till the 5K race on Saturday, 18 APR. I don't want my calves to be a limit on my pace.

I'm no wrestler! I'm just fine at Brazilian Jiujitsu, Japanese Jiujitsu, and even okay at judo, but American style wrestling is new to me. If I can master this, I won't have any holes in my MMA game. I got in just over an hour of wrestling. and can tell my conditioning is solid, and keep improving.

Three of us ran the BMX loop at Walnut Creek Park. I think I need to give my calves and shins a day off after three days in a row of running. The hills and twists and banks made this a very interesting and fun little jog!

I used the "Ten sets method" for the first time in ages. Pick an exercise, any exercise, and perform it for 10 sets of 10 reps. Doesn't sound so bad???? Now use a stop watch and keep your rest intervals to EXACTLY 1 minute. OUCH. The rest intervals force you to use a much lighter weight than your ego would have you believe. Today's workout: 1) Bench Press: 165 x 10, 10, 10, 5; 135 x 10, 6, 7, 5, 6, 6: That's a total tonnage of 11,175 lbs in about 18 minutes!!! 2) Close grip curl: 75 x 6; 115 x 1; 80 x 6; 115 x 1; 90 x 6 3) Reverse grip EZ Bar curl: 75 x 10, 10

We ran a fartlek on Sunday. Basically its varying the tempo at random, for any amount of distance. We did some walking to get warmed up, then got started: jog, sprint, brief walk, jog sprint, brief walk, jog, sprint. All together it was about 2 miles.

Saturday morning was a nice jog at a steady pace. It was a good sweat.

I went for 3 miles at Old Settler's Park today. What a great run!

I took my dog on a 2 mile walk. I'm trying to get in as many miles as I can, any way I can, before the 5K race on 18 APR.

Today was my first day of MMA training at XFC. They have a great facility; large, well equipped, rock solid instructors, and some very competitive students! I have to say, I have lost less than I thought I would have. My conditioning and technique were on! After 90 minutes of submission wrestling, I was tired but not dead.

Today will be my first MMA class in far too long. As a result, I just did a small bicep workout. The rationale is that I'll need whole-body strength to get through ~2 hrs of MMA. Biceps are such a small muscle that it won't hold me back tonight. 1) Close grip barbell curls: 65 x 6; 105 x 1; 75 x 6; 115 x 1; 85 x 6 2) Reverse grip EZ bar curls: 75 x 10, 10 3) Incline dumbbell curl stripset: 35x6-25x4-20-4

Diet is everything! I ate crap for two weeks, and had wine and beer probably 4 days of 7. I feel like I'm where I was 3 months ago, now. Monday night was a good start to sweating out the funk. We ran ~2.5 miles. It wasn't a fast pace, but it was steady and I feel great today.

It was nice to visit with my dad and step-mom, but now it is time to get back after it!

I wasn't having such a hot workout anyway, so it was a welcomed interruption when my ex wife dropped off the kids.

I have to say, I like the pain that comes from this type of training, but it just doesn't challenge me systemically the way fight training does. But, you have to train for your goals, not preference. 1) Low pulley forearm flexion: 25 x 30; 70 x 20; 80 x 12 2) Low pulley forearm extension: 20 x 20; 30 x 20 3A) concentration curl: 25 x 10 3B) 1-arm zottman preacher curl: 20 x 10 3C) 1-arm preacher curl: 20 x 10 ---- I've been doing all three movements for one arm before training the next arm. It much more painful that way. 4A) 1-arm kickback: 20 x 10 4B) 1-arm cross body extension: 30 x 6 4C) 1-arm overhead extension: 20 x 10 5) EZ bar standing curl: 70 x 21 6) Pinkies touching low pulley curl: 80X10-60X10-45X10 (stripset; reduced weight and continued reps without rest)

Monday night's workout was the hardest I've done this year. Maybe even harder than most of my 2008 workouts. One complete cycle through every movement with little to no rest. It was 30 minutes (measured in minutes, not seconds) from start to stop. This exposed my continued weakness in my calves. 1) Jump rope: 5 mins (HARD) 2) Spiderman walk: 20 3) 450yd run 4) Wood chopper with resistance band: 10 ea 5) Standing rotation with resistance band: 10 ea 6) Plank row: 10 ea, 25lb dumbbells 7) 450yd run 8) Ab wheel: 30 9) Hang clean: 10, 95 lbs 10) Diagonal medicine ball slam: 8 ea, 25lbs 11) Jump rope: 5 mins (INCREDIBLY HARD)

Today's practice was a bit easier. We had a lot of new kids, most of whom were in elementary school. Few of the high school kids were around. It was nice to go through all the movements at an easy pace for two hours. I feel stretched and restored.

Thank you, Crossfit! Were it not for those insane conditioning workouts, I'd have been broken by the work it took to build a garden on Saturday. I used a massive tiller to create the 10' x 20' garden. It took about 3 passes to get it done. Then I unloaded a cubic yard of the enriched dirt and tilled that it. Next was making the furrows. Then unloading enough landscaping bricks and making the retaining wall all the way around. My fiance and I split the work as equally as we could, but that tiller was too much of a beast so I owned that job. It rattled me to my bones!!!! 4.5 hours of back and grip thrashing labor!!!

My arms can't help but grow on this crazy Ian King routine! In just three of his workouts (over two weeks), my arms are bigger than they've ever been. I don't typically do direct arm work, so I'm sure my response is better than a normal weight training individual; i.e. someone who has done similar isolation work before. 1) Dumbbell forearm extension: 8s x 20; 15s x 20 2) Dumbbell forearm flexsion: 15s x 20; 30s x 17 3A) Skull crusher: 85 x 5; 75 x 10 3B) Close grip bench press: 135 x 10 3C) Dips to parallel: 6 4A) Incline dumbbell curls: 25s x 5, 10 4B) Seated supinating curl: 25s x 10 4C) Seated Zottman curl: 15s x 6 5) Seated French press: 55 x 21 (7 top, 7 full, 7 bottom half) 6) EZ Bar reverse curl: 65 x 21 (7 top, 7 full, 7 bottom half) 7) Hammer curl strip set: 30x8-25x4-15x10 Good grief this hurts!!!!