Becoming an Athlete

A group of 5 of us practiced for two hours Saturday morning. Light Hammer:  practiced winding without throwing till I could keep a good arc (low on my right, travelling upward over the left shoudler).  After that did several throws with two winds, then progressed to three.  All told, about 45 - 60 mins on the hammer  Light hammer: Stuck with double spins and am getting the hang of it.  I still throw further off a single spin, but expect that to change as I practice the double more. Sheaf toss:  I got a few that were estimated at or above 20'

Back on track and feeling rock solid! 10 mins recumbent bike pullups:  18 reps total inverted TRX rows: 40 reps total (getting lower each time) Hammer strength supine pulldown:  180x5; 200x5,5,5,5 triceps / abs superset: a. cross-body db tricep extension:  25 x 8/8, 8/8, 8/8, 8/8, 8/8 b. weighted decline situp: 25 x 8, 7, 9; BW x 10, 10 FreeMotion (goofy machine) tricep extension: 90 x 12,12,12,12,12

skipped warmup alternating jump lunges:  3 x 10 box jumps: 3 x 10 Bulgarian squats: BW x 12/12, 12/12, 10,10 Front squats:  185x5; 205x5,5,5 Leg press: 270x25 leg press calves raise:  450 x 15, 14, 15 (12+2+1)

No sooner do I say "Pat me on the back!  I haven't missed any training sessions!  I'm a stick-to-it God!" than I go an miss some training sessions.  Friday was a long overdue dinner with one of my best friends.  Time well spent, and truly more beneficial than a training session. Saturday was to have been back work, but my wife and I decided to take the bikes to Pedernales State Park for a ride.  Unfortunately my chain snapped about 2 miles in.  But it made for an amusing walk back.  Afterwards we went to a farmer's market just outside Johnson City.  Hand made bread, organic olive oil, a few glasses of wine, and pork ribs!   Reconnecting with my wife was also far more beneficial than any training session could have been. So I did C3-D1 over again on Sunday. Same stuff as on Thursday; 10 mins recumbent bike superset: a. incline db curls:  27.5s x 8,8,8,8,8 b. plank step-out: BW x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 each EZ-bar reverse curl:  40 x 12,12,12,12,12 Dips; 2,3,5

Cycle 3, Day 1.  Haven't missed a workout yet.  Motivation is at an all time high. recumbent bike:  5 mins Bicep / Abs superset: a. Incline dumbbell curls:  25s x 8,8,8,8,8 b. plank step-out:  BW x 5 sets x 5 each leg EZ-bar rvs curl: 40 x 12,12,12,12,12 Dips:  28 total pushups:  30 total overhead press*: 115x1; 95 x 5,5,5; 105 x 7 *Overhead press:  My shoulders were totally spent from the increase in dips and pushups.  Again, I see how terrible my strength endurance is, so can see sticking with this plan for quite some time.

no missed sessions yet, and I've even been pretty good about walking my dog in the evenings. Tuesday's session: 10 mins on recumbent bike pullups:  17 total reps TRX inverted row:  40 total reps (getting closer to parallel with floor) hammer strength supine pulldown:  160x5; 180x5,5,5,5 Triceps / Abs superset a. decline cross-body dumbbell extension:  22.5x8,8,8,8,8 b. decline situp:  BW x 10,10,10,10,10 FreeMotion tricep extension:  90 x 12,12,12,12,12

Today was hip / ham dominant leg day.  I started with lots of accessory work before I got to deadlifts.  That forced me to use absolutely crap poundage on my deadlifts.  Seems my strength endurance is shit right now - all the more reason to stick with this plan. recumbent cycle:  10 mins 1-leg deadlift:  BW x 12/12, 12/12, 7/7 leg press:  290x10; 350x10; 390x10 deadlift: 225 x 5, 5, 5, 5 leg press calves:  90 x 30,30,30

Did the full workout today, and it felt great. 10 min recumbant bike: Bicep / Abs superset a. incline dumbbell curl:  25s x 8, 8, 8, 5, 8 b. leg raise off bench:  BW x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 EZ-bar reverse curl:  35 x 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 dips: 22 reps total pushups:  20 reps total (right pec/shoulder still gassed from Saturday throwing practice) overhead press: 115 x 5; 120 x 5, 5, 5, 5

Man.  I am terrible!  We had a fantastic turnout on Saturday with some genuine throwers showing up to help us newbie / rookie / hacks. Started with Braemar stone, and moved to open stone.  Eventually I moved to light weight for distance.  Thanks to one of the vets who showed up, I started working double spins.  It's completely different than I'm used to, but the instruction was spot on.  After 2 hours I headed home for a mountain of pancakes, eggs, and sausage.  :-p

The kids had a busy schedule on Friday, so i didn't get to lift till 10:30 PM.  I made it quick, and pushed as hard as I could, but it wasn't much. recumbant bike:  10 min warmup pullup:  15 total reps  :( inverted rows:  40 total reps at about a 60 degree incline (i.e. closer to lying than standing) Hammer strength supine grip pulldown/row: 180 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 That was it.  I skipped triceps, abs, and 1-arm dumbbell row.

Another good start to my 1st cycle of 4-day rotation: recumbant bike:  10 mins level-7 bulgarian squat:  BW x 7/7, 8/8, 7/7 24" box jump:  10, 10, 10 front squat:  185 x 5, 5, 5, 5 back squat:  95 x 30, 20, 20 skipped calves.  it was late.

Day 1 of my 4-day rotation.  Not a bad start.  I was training in the garage and my 10yr old son wanted me to work with him on legs, so I cut my work short to focus on him.  He's trying to get ready for a skateboarding competition in May and wants more power to ollie higher.  :) My workout: jump rope:  2 mins dips: 4 x 5 (20 total) pushups: 4 x 10 (40 total) overhead press:  115 x 5 x 5 I skipped abs and biceps.  My son ended up falling asleep on the weight bench. Bulgarian squats, single leg dumbbell deadlifts, and squat jumps took it out of him.

I'm back to a training schedule that has worked best for me in the past.  High frequency, moderate variety, escalating intensity. I'll be following a 3-on; 1-off schedule: Day 1: push, biceps, abs Day 2: legs and calves Day 3: pull, triceps, abs Day 4: off So that's only 4 days per cycle.  Why am I saying 8 days a week??? Simple.  I have found that I can make consistent progress on squats or deadlifts as fast as with any upper body lifts.  On cycles 1,3, 5, 7 etc., I'll train squats.  On cycles 2, 4, 6, 8 etc I'll train deadlifts. I just went through Day 1 on Wednesday night and I'm sore!  I can't wait to do it again in 4 days. One critical aspect of high frequency training is post workout recovery nutrition.  I'm confident the addition on PWR shakes and the additional frequency should help me hit my goal of 240lbs at 15% BF.

I got whooped pretty good at the games last week.  San Antonio games had a much higher caliber of athlete than the previous games I have competed in.  Time for me to put it in high gear!!!!

Tuesday was my last day of hard work before the San Antonio Highland Games.  I'll do some light work on Thursday, and then it's rest and recover for Sunday's competition. Tuesday's work: Jump shrug:  115 x 10; 135 x 10 Close grip snatch:  115 x 10 singles; 135 x 5 singles Hang clean: 115 x 5, 5, 5;  135 x 5, 5, 5; 185 x 5 singles Clean and push press:  185 x 5 singles Snatch grip high pull: 135 x 10, 10, 10 20lb Medicine ball power circuit:  2 circuits of a. WOB x 5 b. Wall-ball x 5 c. Rotational throw x 5 each direction d. Chest pass x 5 e. Slam x 5

KB Snatch: 45lb x 5/5, 5/5, 5/5 KB Clean & Press: 45 x 10/10, 10/10 machine leg press:  150x30; 170x15; 190x15; 210x15; 230x15; 250x15; 270x15; 290x10; 310x10; 330x10; 350x10 hammer strength supine grip pulldown:  90 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 1-arm overhead press:  50x5ea; 2 x 55x5ea; 2 x 60x5ea; 2 x 65x5ea