Becoming an Athlete

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!