Becoming an Athlete

Highland Games - Austin Celtic Festival is 11/05 My buddy and I held another training session on Saturday, 10/22. I'm getting much better at the hammer throw and the caber toss. The atlas stone clean and press, and weight over bar are still areas to improve. After we do all of our skill work, which is exhausting in and of itself, we finish with competitions that have a high degree of carry-over to the actual events. Our competitive events are Tire flips: most reps in 2 minutes Atlas clean and press: most reps in 2 minutes 90lb Tire sled drag: 40 yard for fastest time 103lb T-bell swing: most consecutive reps. These are fun, and with the group of guys we have, everyone puts absolutely everything they have into each event. We care more about our own PRs than "beating" the next guy. New Training Phase I've been training pretty consistently since my last post. I've finished up the ABA/BAB rotation and am back to a more strength-size focused plan. My basic observations

This is a rock solid plan, that is heavily influenced by Robert Dos Remedios' Power Training templates. I'm currently only training 3 days per week, following an A-B-A / B-A-B rotation. I begin every session with some form of explosive lifting; usually 5 singles of Clean, or Snatch, or High Pull varieties. This is just enough volume and sufficient variety to work up to a new PR every time I hit a given movement. And as always, my arms lag well behind my torso and legs, so I have found a way to incorporate significant volume in a short amount of time. So far the results are promising. I may outgrown the T-rex look in the very near future. :) When to use this plan: This is ideal for me right now because I'm coming off a phase that was incredibly taxing. I was lifting high loads frequently. I needed a less intensive phase that would allow for a bit more recovery between sessions. This plan is also good for people who are new to training or coming off a long lay-off. The volume

Monday: Did whole-body Workout A Tuesday: 2 mile jog with the dog Wednesday: Did whole-body Workout B Thursday: Did 2nd occurence of Workout A a day early, as I'll have a massive Highland Games / Strongman workout on Saturday morning. I'll get my cardio in on Friday. My strength endurance is coming back fast, and without detriment to my limit strength.

The week of 26 - 30 Sep was rough. I was in training that ran long 3 days that week, then had a Boy Scout meeting with my son on Wednesday night. I took the kids shopping after work on Friday. I only got in one day of training, on Monday 26 SEP. I did, however, make use of the weekend. Saturday, 1 OCT: Went to the park and did tons of shot put, standing and "open" I was able to add a solid 6 feet to my distance just by experimentling with technique. I'm going to do great in both Braemar Stone and Open Stone in November!!! I took a 55lb dumbbell and practiced Weight for Distance and Weight Over Bar. This about ripped me in two. If I can get solid balance using the 55lb dumbbell, the 42lb implement is going to be a breeze. Atlas Stone clean and press. I didn't keep count. I just did it till I couldn't do it any more Sunday, 2 OCT: Improvised hammer swing: Just so everyone is aware, a real 22lb Scottish Hammer or Macebell is a complete and total rip off. Why on earth