Becoming an Athlete

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!!!!

I must have really needed that time off. Last night's workout was GREAT. Deadlift: warmup(135x5; 225x5); 275 x 6, 7 Front squat: 165 x 12 Bench press: 210 x 6, 6; 135 x 18 Bent row: 115 x 10, 8 Trap / back complex: a) bent row: 105 x 7 b) sumo grip high pull: 105 x 7 c) hang snatch: 105 x 4