This Stuff Works!

Yesterday, I listened to my body's biofeedback and backed off, even though my heart didn't really want to. I used my head, examined the data, and acted wisely.

Today, I went into my training session with an open and clear mind. Testing movements went smoothly. I didn't overthink.

I did the movements my body wanted to do and felt amazing afterwards. When I feel better after training than I did before, I know I got it right. It's a crazy good feeling.

Kneeling Press - 12 kg - 8 minutes
Left - 34 reps
Right - 39 reps
I did more reps per set today than last time. Density PR

Squat - BW - 5 minutes
125 reps
-I focused on my movement pattern. I tried various widths and depths. Squats are a weak drill for me, so this was a great work session for me. Movement PR

Snatch - 12 kg - nonstop
220 reps in 9:30
-Last time I did nonstop snatches, I did 220 in 10 minutes. I took 30 seconds off today. Density PR

Headstands - Best session yet - time held, balance, position. I also practiced some rolling patterns. I always feel better after rolling around. It forces me to really key in to my body's position.

Tomorrow I'm golfing in a tournament and then heading to the lake for a week's vacation. I'm looking forward to some down time.

My Education Continues

Today's training started fantastic and then fizzled. ????? I did a circuit again. I planned to do 8 rounds just like I did Monday to see if I could complete it in less time. After round 6, my ROM wouldn't return.

My first reaction was disappointment. Then, I stepped back to examine the data to determine what I could learn from the experience.

1. I still haven't truly unwound from the stressful events this spring and summer. It seems life keeps moving full steam ahead without any time to float around. The flooding this past week just added to it all.

2. I moved my body today. I could have just sat on my rear, but I chose to be better.

3. I listened to my body. Instead of pushing through a training session, I chose to stop when my body told me it had enough.

4. I didn't feel guilty. My attitude regarding training has changed so much since being introduced to the biofeedback protocol. A year ago I would have been very upset and would have felt very guilty for not doing all 8 rounds. State before skills.

5. Even though I didn't do 8 rounds, I did do more reps per set of each of the four drills. So there! I did PR. :-P Progress is not linear. I can't fall into the trap of seeing progress in only one direction. I am moving and that's what matters.

Tomorrow I will sleep in, drink a cup of coffee outside, and move some iron. Recharge.

24 Minutes of Fun

I haven't trained with kettlebells since Wednesday, so when I had the chance today, I took it.

Several drills tested very well, so I put them all in a circuit. I'm really liking those again lately.

Circuit - 8 Rounds - 24 minutes
Press - 16 kg - 21 left, 26 right = 1645 lbs.
Dbl Clean - 32 kg - 100 reps = 7000 lbs.
Swings - 36 kg - 120 reps = 9480 lbs.
Sumo DL - 48 kg - 80 reps = 12,720 lbs.

Total Weight Moved - 30,845 lbs.
Weight/Minute - 1285 lbs./minute

That was fun and easy. I let my biofeedback guide every set. Every set of each drill got better/easier. I could have kept going, but I had a time constraint. Oh well. I feel great. Now, to the lawn mower!

Just Plain Tired

My little town was flooded Wednesday night when we had over 10 inches of rain in 3 hours. What a mess. Of course it happened during the middle of the night, so no one got any sleep.

Surrounding towns also received a lot of rain in a short time. As a result, two of our funeral homes had significant water in the basements. We spent all day Thursday cleaning up water in the funeral homes.

I've concluded wet vacs don't have long enough tubes. I was hunched over all day. I think I'm going to buy an extra section of tube. I did PR in hours of wet vacuuming and number of gallons sucked up.

Today, we helped clean out my parents' storage building. It had 18+ inches of water that gushed through it. My Harley was in that building as well as my dad's 1930 Model A Ford. Yuck!

I PRed in hauling out wet family antiques, heirlooms, and junk. My dad's foot locker from military school was in there if that gives you an idea of what we dealt with. To make matters worse, it was about 90 degrees with about 90% humidity. Steamy.

My parents' basement is still a mess, but we can only do one thing at a time. My entire family is tired. I hope it doesn't rain anymore.

I have video links and pictures posted on facebook for anyone who's interested.

Hit the Deck!

Deck of Cards workout tonight.

I tested about 10 drills and found the 4 that tested best - rows, swings, squats, and burpees. Each drill was assigned a suit. Face cards were 10 reps; aces were one rep. (Whimpy, whimpy, whimpy!)

Queens were "animal cards." When a queen showed up, it was 30 yards of an animal move - bear crawls, frog jumps, scorpions, and crabwalk.

Here's the final tally:
Rows - 16 kg - 150 reps = 5250 lbs.
Swings - 32 kg - 75 reps = 5250 lbs.
Goblet Squats - 16 kg - 75 reps = 2625 lbs.
Burpees - 75 reps
Total Time: 38 minutes

Good times! Those of you who missed it will just have to try it on your own.

Training 7-19-2010

Press - 16 kg - 8 minutes
Left - 15 reps
Right - 22 reps
-Shut up and press it.
Intensity PR

Swings - 36 kg
231 reps in 9:25
-On Thursday, I did 231 swings in 10 minutes. Today I took 35 seconds off that time.
Density PR

Pinch Plate Curls - 15 lbs.
Left - 15
Right - 19
-I used a 10 lb. and a 5 lb. plate.
Intensity PR

This Crud Can't Keep Me Down

Even though I sound like a man and hack up half a lung every hour, I'm not letting it keep me from training. I may not be setting many PRs, but I do what tests well until my body tells me to stop. That way I know I'm not overdoing it.

Dbl KB Clean & Press - 12 kgs - 10 min.
55 reps = 2915 lbs.

Two-Hand Swings - 36 kgs - 10 min.
231 reps = 18,249 lbs.
Density PR

Snatch - 12 kg - 10 min.
??? Reps
-I did this during my boot camp tonight with my clients, so I didn't keep count. We were too busy talking. Who knew a bunch of guys could be so talkative? All I know is that I went for 10 minutes without putting the bell down. I switched arms whenever I felt tension in my elbow.

Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and sound like me again. I hope so!

Are You Sure It Isn't January 12?

I have the worst chest cold. I feel like I have a jumpstretch band around my lungs. At first I thought I was just a bit congested from being in the air conditioning too much. After endless hours outside, I have decided it's just some summer crud.

I'm traveling the next few days, so I won't be able to train. I figured I'd go move some weight around and see how that worked for me. Presses and cleans tested well.

After 5 minutes of kneeling presses, I had to abort. Rubber arms.

On to cleans. Double 16 kg bells for 10 minutes. After the 8th rep in each set, my head would start throbbing. I suppose that's my sinuses complaining.

That was enough for me. I tested some more drills, but my body said "No, thank you." I can respect that.

Better Today - No Suprise

My training was a lot better today. My state was better than it was any other day this week.

Circuit 1 - 12 minutes
Windmills - 16 kg
Left - 30
Right - 30
Plate Curls - 12.5 lbs.
Left - 25
Right - 25
- This was the first time I used two plates on the plate curls. Usually I use a 10 lb. plate. I did all sets of 5.
Intensity PR

Circuit 2 - 12 minutes
Swings - 36 kg
160 reps
Sumo DL - 48 kg
80 reps
-I went two minutes longer than my previous session of this circuit.
Density PR

I really wasn't surprise that I set some PRs today. I just felt better today. It's amazing how much more in tune I am to my body's frequency. The signal was strong and clear today!

A Great New Blog!!

My friend Josh started a new blog. This is in addition to his world-class World's Strongest Librarian blog. He is so cool.

Check out his new blog here:
Strength Rules

While you're at it, check out World's Strongest Librarian, too.
World's Strongest Librarian

When You Need It Most

My psychological state has been funky for awhile. As a result, my physical training isn't where I want to be. Nothing tests well. I have zero desire to train. I keep looking at the weeks ahead and see the trips, activities, and obligations that are going to limit my training time.

This was all on my mind as I traveled to the gym today. I tested about 12 drills, and a handful tested a smidge better than baseline. I started with the drill that tested best - snatches. 12 kg tested better than 16 or 20kg, so I started a timer and snatched.

At first my goal was to go nonstop for 5 minutes. Just see how many I could do without setting the bell down. I actually felt so good at 5, I went for 7, then 8, and finally stopped at 10 minutes. I've never gone that long without setting the bell down.

Snatch - 12 kg - 10 minutes
220 snatches - no stopping
Density PR


After that I dinked around with headstands. Not good. No balance. Back to testing. Rows, squats, and hindu pushups were better than baseline, so I decided to do some of those.


Rows - 20 kg - 8 minutes
Left - 35 reps
Right - 35 reps
Intensity PR
-I seem to be moving up with rows quite nicely.


After the rows, I felt a little better. I just didn't have the drive to do anymore. Then, someone entered the room where I train to do some ab work. Divine inspiration. I couldn't fink out when someone was in the room. So, I did a circuit of squats and hindu pushups.


Circuit - 8 minutes
Suitcase Squats - 20 kg - 80 reps
Hindu Pushups - 37 reps


Why is it that I'd do more work when I thought someone else might see me quitting, but I wouldn't do more work when I was the only one who knew I'd be quitting. That is indicative of my state. Well, inspiration came when I needed it. I did the work. However, after reflecting, I realize that inspiration won't always come. My drive to be better is the only true inspiration.




Tomorrow I will turn 39. The last year in my thirties. Here is a picture of me at the beginning of my thirties. You can see from my profile pic how I look today. My thirties were a decade of big changes. I am better now than I was then, without a doubt. And, it's not just physically. I am smarter and stronger and know what I want. I don't ever wish to go back to thirty. I'm looking forward to all the next years have in store.

One More

Nothing tested well today, except sumo DL. So, that's what I did. Guess what? Got a PR.

Sumo DL - 60 kg (133 lbs.) - 10 minutes
86 reps = 11,438 lbs.
-I had to use two different sized KBs for this, a 28 and a 32. I switched hand every set. I like the ROM I can get using bells vs. a barbell.
Intensity PR

Then I did some pinch block curls, bridges, and headstands. Nothing spectactular, but I did get in some good reps of each.

With the holiday weekend, I probably won't get in any training until Tuesday. Oh well. I need to take a little time off. The cool thing is in the past, I would have become panicked at the thought of taking some time off from training for fear of losing ground. Now I know that I'll be fine. In fact, I'll be better. It is certain.