Becoming an Athlete

A buddy joined me for intervals today at Lake Pflugerville. 12 rounds of 2min walk + 30sec sprint Since I had a friend there, we were running much harder on the 30 second intervals. Solid work.

Nothing fancy. I have given up on fancy and going for good hard work. Chin-ups: 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3 (30 total) Bench press: 175 x 10, 10, 7 Squat: 225 x 10, 10, 10 EZ-bar preacher curl: 65 x 12, 12 That's all. Since this is a break-in week, I have only done Low Intensity Intervals for my conditioning work. As of 2 JAN, I'll finish my Mon and Thu lifting sessions with barbell complexes and I'll add high intensity MetCons on Tue and Fri (instead of low intensity intervals).

Remember the old Marty Stouffer show Wild America? It was one of my favorites as a kid. I got to witness my own bit of Wild America while running intervals today. At about 1 mile in, I noticed a Harris' Hawk hovering low in the distance. It was maybe 4-5 feet in the air, going from bush to bush. I slowed down as I got with in 30 yards of it and the bird never noticed me. As I scanned the ground beneath the hawk's perch, I saw the unmistakable flash of white from a distressed cotton-tail rabbit. The hawk would dart back and forth, up and over, and around the little bush trying to snatch the cotton tail, but the rabbit stayed low to the ground protected by the branches and brush. I watched this go on for about 15 minutes, hoping the smallish hawk would get his meal, but all the commotion attracted the attention of a full grown female red-tailed hawk. She had to be twice the size of the male Harris' hawk. She slowly glided overhead, about 30-40 feet in the air, and tha...

I did 10 rounds of 2min walk + 30 sec run. I covered exactly 2 miles when the 10th interval completed. I'll do it again tomorrow and see if I can cover a little more distance in the same time limit. I'll run it WITHOUT my dog tomorrow. :)

I heard that term yesterday and it stuck. I intend to fully desissify myself. Not that I'm much of a sissy to start with, but a man can always be more manly. I had fallen into the bodybuilding trap. It didn't matter that I saw my weights moving forward. I started training at a bodybuilding gym, and over time I became more worried about physique development than strength and performance development. Today's workout was a nice break-in. More or less whole body, with plenty of conditioning scheduled for Tuesday. jump rope: 4 rounds of 2min (1min rest) chin-up ladders: 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 (30 total) overhead press: 115 x 5; 125 x 5; 135 x 7 snatch grip deadlift: 205 x 10, 10, 10 incline dumbbell curls: 20s x 12, 12, 8 Nothing special. Just good honest work.

It's my birthday! I'm 36 and I don't feel a day over 35 years, 364 days. I'm going to take the day off of training. I'll hit back and a MetCon tomorrow.

I was supposed to do a MetCon, but I wasted the day and hit the gym at 7:00. I just lifted. My shoulders were weak from swimming the day before. Jump rope: 4 rounds - 2min work, 30 sec rest, lots of double unders Snatch grip high pull: 135 x 6; 145 x 6, 6; 155 x 6 Prone incline laterals: 20s x 30 reps (EASY! ready for more weight and traditional set / rep scheme) Bench press: warm-up 135 x 10; 165 x 10; 185 x 10, 5; work sets: 205 x 5, 5, 7 Overhead press: 95 x 7, 7, 7, 3, 6

I was bored out of my skull, so I went to 24Hr Fitness and swam for about 2 hours. I'm not sure how many laps I did, but I did 6 1-way trips completely under water. That is a 25 meter swim in a single breath. This is my favorite way to swim. I picked this up in the old Air Force Academy days - Water Survival course. We'll see how long it is before I am swimming a full lap, 50 meters, on a single breath.

Man oh man! The hike on Sunday took its toll on my legs. I skipped a bit of work today just because my lower back and "core" was still fatigued from the weekend. Decline situps: 27 consecutive reps skipped corkscrews alternating hammer curl: 35s x 30 reps (pretty easy. ready for 40s) close grip bench press: 115 x 30 reps (too easy. ready for 135) incline dumbbell curls: 30s x 25 reps (pretty dang hard!) dips: body-weight x 25 reps (ready to add 10lbs) skipped squats since I did them on Saturday leg press: 360 x 10, 10, 10; 405 x 10, 10; 450 x 5, 6, 7 skipped squat jump This is the heaviest I can recall lifting on leg press. Next time I'll try to hit 450 for sets of 10.

I had been having so excruciating pain over the last couple of weeks. So much so that I went to the doctor on 12/14 and the ER on 12/17. After lots of tests and a CT scan, the diagnosis is "beats the shit out of me!" I'm not one to sit around and let pain beat me, so I've been progressing along, blocking out the pain when it occurs as best I can. Sunday was no different. My wife and I went for a 10 mile hike around Lake Georgetown. We averaged 2.5 miles per hour. Not bad considering the terrain, the mud, and this lower abdominal pain that hit me maybe 5 times during the hike.

My wife just got a job at 24HR Fitness, so we were there checking out the facilities. WOW! I have never had a membership to a mainstream gym, but this place is freaking awesome. We did things here that can't be done in the garage, as you'll see. Neutral grip pullup ladders: 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 Kipping pullup: 17 consecutive Strength / Conditioning circuit: a. snatch grip deadlift: 185 x 10, 10, 10 b. pushup: 15, 15, 15 c. speed skater lunge: 10, 10, 10 d. inverted row: BW x 8, 10, 10 Back squats: 185 x 5; 205 x 5; 225 x 5; 275 x 5; 285 x 5; 295 x 5 Swimming: about 15 laps Hung out in hot tub for about 10 minutes Swimming: about 8 more laps About 10 minutes in steam room About 10 minutes in dry Sauna I consumed over a gallon of water in this 2 hr marathon session. What an absolute blast!!!!

Good workout, despite some unrelated pain. Jump rope: 4 rounds of 2min/1min Power clean: 135 x 1, 1; 185 x 1, 1, 1; 195 x miss, miss, miss Prone incline laterals: 20s x 30 reps Overhead press: 115 x 5, 5; 125 x 5, 5, 5 Neutral grip pullup: BW x 5, 5, 5, 5, 4 Wide-grip pulldown: 120 x 10, 10

First missed workout. Phase 1 Day 9 was to have been a MetCon. I stayed late at work, then had to run to my daughter's Christmas Choir Concert. Granted, the concert was worth it, but if it had been a regular day of work I could have trained before 5:00 PM. The workout was to have been 5 rounds for time, 0f: 400 meter run / sprint elbow to knee pushup x 20 situps x 20 Next time. Next time.

8 days and no missed workouts. Not too shabby. I did forget my ab wheel at home, so I skipped abs today. Que cera cera. Jump rope: gobs and gobs Alternating hammer curl: 35s x 30 reps (pretty easy) Decline triceps dumbbell extension: 25s x 30 reps (pretty hard, and awkward) Incline dumbbell curl: 30s x 25 reps (freaking hard after moving up on #1.) Dips: BW x 25 reps (felt good) FBGM: 115 x 10, 10, 10, 10 (was real tight today, so went light and focused on ROM) Leg press: 295 x 15, 15, 15 T-bell swings: 73lbs x 50 reps (God-awful! Why did I do this?!?! THAT is how I know it is good for me)

I made a cool implement to practice Highland Games Weight For Distance and Weight Over bar. The implement is similar to my Ghetto-bell, but is much short, and is capped at the top with a coupling joint. The coupling serves to retain the weights. I drilled a hole through it which serves to prevent it from unscrewing and to connect a short length of chain. I attached a handle to the chain. Right now it is only 33 lbs, which is heavier than the 28 Light WFD, but no where close to the 56lb used for Heavy WFD and WOB . Since I am more concerned with technique, 33lbs is perfect. I spend about 90 minutes working on both events. I was FINALLY clearing the 9'6" backstop with 33lbs. It was a first for me. The key difference is leg drive. I had been focused on hip drive, but after watching a few videos, I tried jumping as hard as possible into the WOB movement. This simple tweak helped me gain 2 feet vertically.

Today was a bit of arm work followed by a MetCon. Metabolic Conditioning is simply a way to tax your body's ability to produce energy. This sort of conditioning makes you leaner, more effecient, and builds stamina. CrossFit is sort of a 1-trick-pony in that they perform MetCons almost exclusively. Without legitamite strength training, you'll only progress so far. You will get FIT, but not much stronger ot more powerful. For me, MetCons twice a week with Strength Training 3 times. 1. EZ-bar reverse grip preacher curls: 75 x 25 reps total 2. EZ-bar seated overhead extension: 75 x 30 reps total 3. MetCon: Max rounds in 20 minutes of: a. 110lb Clean x 10 reps b. Burpee x 10 reps I completed 3 rounds in 14 minutes then felt damn near like passing out. I can't wait to do this again and get 4-5 rounds and all 20 minutes.

1. Jump rope: 4 rounds (2 min work, 30sec rest) 2. Snatch grip high pull: 135 x 6, 6, 6, 6 3. Prone incline laterals (mid-trap work): 20s x 30 reps total 4. Bench press: 185 x 5; 195 x 5; 205 x 5; 215 x 6; 225 x 5 5. Smith machine incline press*: 135 x 10, 10, 8, 10 6. 1-arm dumbbell row: 60 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 7. T-bar row: 45 x 10; 70 x 10, 10, 10 *Smith machine incline press: Yeah I know; Smith machines are only good for hanging clothes. But I tell you this; the Smith machine is great for working through an extreme state of fatigue. I'm only using 135 on inclines, but by keeping the rest period to 30 seconds, the fatigue builds up mid way through the 2nd set, and is damn near unbearable by the start of the 4th. Working through extreme local muscular fatigue is a sure-fire way to induce hypertrophy. I couldn't work this hard with a barbell or dumbbells, as I'd expend so much energy trying to control the weight. It would present too much risk of injury

More low intensity intervals. This is about the greatest thing since the ECA stack! :) Tons of extra volume, good hard speed work, lots of extra calories burned, and little to no cumulative fatigue. In this age when the words EXTREME and HARDCORE are required to gain interest, it is rare to hear much talk of low-intensity anything. But I'm here to tell you, this is a great way to build up your running capacity, lose some fat, and not sacrifice ANY muscle or recovery capacity. I did another 10 rounds of 2 min walking and 30 second running. My 30 second efforts are getting much faster, so I'm slowly increasing my distance in the same timeframe. THAT is progress, folks. Next week, I'll start doing 12 rounds.

Today was conditioning. I didn't wake up early enough so I crammed everything into 1 session. 3 rounds of: a. 170lb Farmers walk (40 yd down / 40 yd back) b. 45lb tire sled drag (40 yd down / 40 yd back) c. 45lb dumbbell swings x 20 d. Shuttle sprint (40 yd down / 40 yd back) 8 rounds of low intensity intervals: a. 2 min walk b. 30 sec run

Aside from the Saturday workout, I haven't lifted since Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I went a little light just to keep things moving and build some momentum. Decline situps: 42 total reps in 2 minutes Corkscrew: 25lbs x 10/10, 10/10 (L/R) Alternating dumbbell curl: 30s x 30 reps in about 2 mins (heavier next time) Close grip bench press: 85lbs x 30 reps in less than a minute (heavier next time) Incline dumbbell curls: 30s x 25 reps in about 7 minutes Dips: Bodyweight x 25 reps in about 5 minutes Back squat: 155 x 10; 175 x 10; 185 x 10; 195 x 10; 205 x 10 Leg press (5sec negative, explosive lift): 270 x 15, 15, 15 Squat jumps: 50 total reps in about 8 minutes I'll remember my watch next time and get real times.

3 hours in the mud with my training partner. It was the most fun I've had training in several months. I had a poor showing, but it was a great day anyway. My buddy Jeff and I compete with each other in a healthy way. It pushes us both to try harder. The fact that it is never certain who will outperform whom makes it even more fun. We are good friends and always encourage each other, so the competitive nature just makes it more fun. It seems our favorite phrase is becoming "Great freaking throw! DAMMIT!!" On to the workout. 50 yard medley: a. 170lb farmers walk (85 per hand) / sprint back to start b. 45lb sled drag (light due to mud) / sprint back to start c. tire flip Jeff owned me on this one: 3:06 to my 4:08 1/4 mile farmer's walk - 170lb farmers walk (85 per hand) We each took turns walking as far as we could till our grips gave out. We did this twice. Open stone practice I was throwing a bit further than Jeff on this day. Weight Over Bar: My biggest stumbling bloc...

This is not hard-core stuff. In fact, it was down right boring. But it was a good way to get some road work in and slowly build up my running capacity. 10 Intervals of -2 minute walk -30 second sprint In the first 2-3 intervals, my sprints were just runs, but as my hams warmed up each 30 second effort became more of a true sprint. Intervals 6 through 10 were full-blown top-speed sprints. I have nbo idea how far I went. I was on a gravel park trail and lost count of laps. 25 minutes total. Will do this again Friday. Saturday is a group Highland Games workout. I won't lift after that, but will get back to the low intensity intervals on Sunday.