Leap Day = Atlas Stone PR Day!

Apparently Leap Day is for PRs in this house- Jessica PR'd her geared squat today and something kicked in after a bad day at work (my own fault), causing me to go effing BEAST MODE on my Atlas stone.

A1. Atlas Stone Over 48" Bar

3 x 5 x 175# 53s, 41s, 37s

Previous PR was 3 x 3 x 175#. Maybe it was the homemade chicken parm and penne that I ate 30 minutes prior...


No more words, just video:

the first will just laugh

        Posting up two days worth of workouts since i didn't make a post yesterday.  Totally meant to, just had to get a presentation in order for this morning.  It was a fun presentation for me at least, being in GDC mode and taking stock of how I carry myself is always fun.  I take every opportunity to speak to groups of any size in the days leading up to GDC, and it is literally days at this point.  I never sweat the content of my talks, but the delivery is crazy.  I want people to be engaged, I want people to have fun, and I want people to at least take one major point with them, so anything I can do to make my content more memorable is fine by me...


But dude, seriously? A bear costume..?
        So I've found that a 5x5x5 dumbbell workout can be done in 30 minutes, provided rest periods are kept solid.  That's 5x5 for 5 stations.  Tomorrow i want to toss in a bodyweight set and a power set, so we'll see if I can keep it to the 30 minutes, having 15 on the backend to do some bagwork is great.  I feel like my strikes are getting more solid per session, and my adds hurt less now that I've gotten some kick tech back.  My fight got moved:( but I'll take the time for some additional conditioning and training.  Wrestling starts up tomorrow, so I'm jazzed about that.  Wrestling is a whole different kind of grappling, looking forward to really working the explosives.

(Yesterday)

• Dumbbell Bench: 60 5x5
• Dumbbell Incline: 50 5x5
• Dumbbell Shoulders: 40 5x5
• Lateral Raise: 25 5x5
• Dumbbell Row: 80 5x5

(Today)
Warmup:

• A1. Jump Rope: 2x3min
• A2. Shadowbox: 2x1min

Main:

• B1. Double Unders: 3min
• B2. Box Jumps: 3min
• B3. One Arm KB Swings: 3min
• B4. Heavy Bag Punch: 3min
• B5. Heavy Bag Kick: 3min
• B6. Ground n Pound: 3min

Blastout:
Blackjack!

• C1. Pushup: x1
• C2. BW Squat: x2
• ...
• C20. BW Squat: x20
• C21. Pushup: x21

        Sweet jeebus I've missed Crosspit, tho it's only been a week and some change.  The high intensity stuff is the highlight of my week, i imagine once i get to kickboxing and mma i'll get more of that.  Still feeling my way through the new job, and though it affords me a greater degree of flexibility, still want to get my head around everything first before I settle on a final schedule.  

Life is good.

Today's TrainingTune: Next To Last - Mindless Faith

More free time...

So I started out a couple weeks back crunching all my workouts into Friday night, Sat and Sun mornings due to cancelling my gym membership near the studio due to a feeling of 'impending doom' as tends to fall over an office that ends up with 3 cancelled projects in a few weeks time...all of them falling in the realm of character work.  Well my feelings of impending doom hailed true yesterday when I was cut from the studio - sad I know, but don't fret, I'm a bouncy fella and will spring up in a new place shortly I'm sure.

So with that it does mean I get to see my family more during the week, force myself into crunch time to polish up the demo reel and spread my workouts back over the coarse of the week instead of 3 days and sometimes doubling up.

With the new rotation being drop sets I will definitely say I am just straight up burnt out come Sunday night.  These workouts are just brutal and tiring.

The last workout was just Chest as I was just too tired to do Legs as well.

I present you with Chest-taculous pain!

Low Cable Cross
17.5  x  20  12.5 x 20  7.5 x 20
25 x 15  20 x 12  15 x 15
30 x 8  25 x 8  20 x 12

Iso-lateral Press - too soon for this, the shoulder did not like it at all so we moved onto more cross-type exercises
160 x 8  140 x 4  70 x6

Pec Fly
120 x 12  75 x 12  40 x 16
165 x 12  120 x10  75 x 12
165 x 12  120 x 8  75 x 12 (shoulder was still bugging me a bit, didn't want to push it)

Incline Dumbbell Fly SUPERSET with Dumbbell Shrugs (weight is single dumbbell) and Upright Rows (3 exercise superset)
IDF - 32.5 x 15  27.5 x 12  22.5 x 12
DBS - 80#'s hold 15s, hold 15s, - 13 reps for 15 total
UR - 60 x 15
IDF - 40 x 8  35 x 8  30 x 8
DBS - 95# - hold 15s, hold 15s, - 8 reps for 10 total
UR - 60 x 12
IDF - 45 x 8  35 x 6  30 x 8
DBS - 100# - hold 10 - 9 reps for 10 total
UR - 60 x 12

I think it's time for an iPod as the music they were playing overhead was HORRIBLE!!!

Fat and Clean

Took it light tonight to keep stress off of my pinched nerve, so I did me some fat grip cleans, fat man pullups and thick grip plate holds. Neck held up fine throughout, thankfully!

A1. 2.5" Grip Cleans

2 x 8 x 45#

3 x 65#

2 x 85#

1 x 105#

1 x 125#

0 x 135# grip failed

These were probably the deepest I've ever gotten on cleans, so I am happy with the work even though I couldn't get the 135#. Definitely not near what I've been able to do in the past, but I'm getting more explosive and that's the point of doing this stuff!

B1. Weighted Fat Man Pullups

2 x 8 x bw

3 x 8 x bw + two 20# chains

Was supposed to do regular pullups but didn't want to risk it with the pinched nerve, so I threw the chains on and did these. A lot harder than I had anticipated.

C1. 3" Front Plate Holds

30s x 30#

30s x 40#

20s x 40#

Abdominals!

Videoooeoeoeoeoeooo:

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Busted Toilet Valve

This week has been hectic due to a flooded house on top of extra days commuting, but here it is.

POST FLOOD WEIGHTS

FEB 17 2012

Second day with our new JiuJitsu coach. I really should have skipped to finish drying out my house, but since I knew one of our guys was going to miss, I didn’t want the team to make a bad impression. My house flooded Wednesday night/Thursday morning due to a toilet valve malfunction and I’m now trying to clean out all the water and get everything dried out before it mildews and mold sets in.

In JJ, Coach M had us show him how we do the arm bar, and then showed us the way he likes to do it with the cross grip instead of the way we tend to cup the elbow and such. Overall, very similar in principle with some variations that we can use. We drilled arm bars and sweeps, and then did some guard pass drills. Each of us would do 3 minutes on top and 6 minutes on bottom. Bottom guy trying to sweep or submit, top guy trying to pass or submit.

After that, we switched to rolling and started standing (finally…I never liked starting from knees). We did 3 x 5 minute rounds. I worked too hard and got caught too many times, but it was better than last time. Slowly getting my grappling chops back.

I skipped sprints to go home and work on the house. I met the guys with E at 7:00pm for weights. Here was the night.

• Front Squats
• 45 x 8
• 65 x 6
• 95 x 5
• 135 x 5
• 155 x 5
• 165 x 5
• 165 x 3
• Bench Press
• 45 x 8
• 65 x 6
• 95 x 5
• 145 x 5
• 195 x 5
• 215 x 4
• Deadlift
• 135 x 5
• 185 x 5
• 225 x 5
• Clean and Press
• 135 x 5
• 135 x 5

I know. Weird workout sets and such, but tis has been a weird week already and we were running out of time in the gym before they closed.

NO RUN AND SOME FUN FLOW

FEB 21 2012

Today I was beat. The combination of days of post-flooding clean-up, training, extra days in Sarasota commuting, and the usual training lead me to want to sleep for the extra hour this morning. I skipped my normal run with M and went in to training at 9:00am. Today, we were dealing with the possible loss of a teammate, and we spent some time talking about that. After that, we hit  the training. Back and forth up and down the floor. Flow drilling with changes. One guy fighting forward, the other backward. Slowly adding in kicks, and working more angles, without any specific combinations. Just exploring and reacting. Experimenting on one another like well-punished lab rats. I worked with A. He adapts and improvises quickly, and I was having a lot of fun working with him as we each tried to bait the other with repetition and difference. Repeat a pattern, study the reactions, then change it up exploiting any perceived openings.

After long rounds of this, we started working on grappling control drills. Tugging, pushing, smashing heads, using the head as a weapon. Then switch to striking, then back to grappling. A and I started sneaking in shots and mixing the two where we saw clear opportunities to keep one another on our toes. This was fun. I’ll be sore tomorrow.

NEW WRESTLING COACH

FEB 22 2012

This morning the team had our 8:00am Jiu-Jitsu session with M and our new wrestling coach (big E) came in to meet M and work with us a bit. We drilled BJJ for about 20 minutes first. We worked on the arm bar M had showed us last week. We then started working his triangle and a fight position from which he likes to do a lot of work for MMA. Big E then jumped in and we drilled  a double-leg and a snatch single. We also worked on a couple defenses including a really nice kick out. After that, we went to grappling drills. One of us would be given the single and try to finish it and the other would try to escape or reverse. Good stuff. Near the end, I strained a hamstring and spent the last round stretching it out.

After we finished up, we headed to the park for light sprint day. I did the sprints after stretching more. I went lighter (not pulling hard with the hamstrings), but still finishing ahead of A. We did 3 rounds. Felt good afterward. But HUNGRY.

A Little SSB Action

Wanted to some geared deadlifting today, but the pinched nerve in my neck is still not feeling great, so I decided to take some stress off of it by switching to the safety squat bar. I think it was a wise decision.

A1. SSB Squat

2 x 8 x 85#

8 x 135#

5 x 175#

3 x 225#

2 x 275#

3 x 2 x 315#

2 x 1 x 315# 

Was supposed to be four doubles at 315#, but I can't complain. They were all deep enough at least, and my endurance is starting to come back. I'm hoping to triple 315# soon and go from there.

B1. SSB Good Morning

3 x 8 x 175# 

OK, maybe not so smart to put pressure on my neck. Oh well.

C1. 3" Pinch Grip

5 x 5s x 45# per hand

Man, I used to be able to do these for 30 seconds at a pop. I clearly have a lot of work to do to get back real grip strength. The video is embarrassing, especially for how damn whiny I was, but it goes up for posterity...

Videooooos! The bar in front of me during the squats was Jessica's deadlift session. She pulled 345# and made it look easy today!

Pinched, er, Push Presses...

Decided that I needed to work on some thicker grip OH pressing, so I started this week with that. My god, I love Fat Gripz but once I got to higher weight I was wishing we had a real fat/axle bar...

A1. 2.5" Grip (Simulated Axle/Fat Gripz) Push Press

2 x 8 x 45#

5 x 95#

3 x 135#

2 x 155#

1 x 175#

1 x 195#

1 x 215# dumped the bar here and was done :/

Used Fat Gripz to get a 2.5" grip for a simulated axle grip push press. Dumping the bar pinched a nerve in my neck that didn't flare up until I was done with training. I like my heating pad.

Teh Videos:

B1. Pullups

4 x 6 x bw w/medium band

  

B2. Blast Strap Ab Fallouts

4 x 8 x bw

Aside from dumping the bar a good session. The pinched nerve afterwards sucks, but we have enough tools to work it out that I'll be fine tomorrow.

contemplating, still debating

        Every so often, i mean, not really that often, but you know, every once in a while, I stop and think to myself.  I've heard so many different things about people's experiences with art schools so I can't really make any sort of accurate judgement as to how beneficial it would've been to me, but given what I know of myself and what I've heard from some people, I think I probably wouldn't have made it through.  But every so often, I stop and wonder, you know, what if...what if I had just gone through the grinder and sucked it up.  Where would I have landed?  Pixar?  Disney?  DWA?  

        Ahhhhh, who knows, but honestly, probably for the better that I didn't anyway.  God knows i was a shitty game developer, probably would've been a shitty film artist too.  Ah well, it's funny though, I feel like now that i'm out, I'm going to have more time and drive to contribute back to maybe not the industry, but definitely the community.  I feel like for the first time in a while, I'm doing development work that's worth writing about.  Yeah, alot of it is pretty random, but it's fun and it's good practice.  I do have some tech art related stuff coming down the pipe still, I guess I haven't walked away completely...


Different form, same heart...
        Lots of self defense today, it's funny the things you remember when you just start drilling.  The thing I'm noticing now is that i'm getting to the point where I can take apart the curriculum sequences and start making my own self-defense combos.  This is fun, and honestly makes me never want to get in a fight.  The things you can do to the human body if you really want to are positively grim and brutal, but I think I have a good enough head to say that I wouldn't put someone through that wringer unless it was an absolute requirement.  Violence for fun a) isn't really violence and b) actually is fun but violence when it's actually required is shit.  I've only been in a few real fights in my life and I gotta say it's the worst thing ever...not something I look forward to repeating.

        Slowly inching my way back to the gym, I walked by the Intel gym today on my way to lunch.  Soon, I'll go in.  Nah, actually they do have at least a semi heavy bag and some decently sized dumbbells, so I should be able to get some good sets in.  I'm thinking a 30 minute dumbbell set and maybe 15-20 on the bag just to work basic combos and tech.  We'll see how it goes.  There's a Gold's near work too, at 15 a month, might be worth the addition.  Yeah, because i need to belong to ANOTHER gym...

---

Today's TrainingTune: Dominate - HexRx

Thursday Post on Monday

This is a little late, but an update, nonetheless. Hope to have the follow-up on Thursday. 

ANOTHER CRIT WEEK

FEB 10 2012

It’s full faculty critique week for juniors again. I’m in Sarasota or commuting 7am-8pm Thursday and Friday this week. Cuts into my training a bit, so I woke up this morning and ran a little under 3 miles with Erica and brought Lola along for the ride. That puppy needs to be exhausted all the time to prevent disasters.

YIN YOGA

FEB 12 2012

So today, Erica and I hit one of the local Yoga studios for a once-a-month opportunity to do some serious DEEP stretching with Lisa Jamison of  LIFT Performance. The room was filled with athletes and we worked for about 2 hours. She opened by saying that she knew that we all knew what muscle felt like. Today we would learn what ligaments and tendons feel like. It was painful. Dull, long, pain in positions that you hold for 5-8 minutes. I went to the bad places in some of the holds. Doubt, fear of injury, wormtongue-ish whispers of weakness that lead to tension and anxiety. At one point, I was convinced that my femur had actually left my hip socket. It was good. I went to the dark place of the mind (where I doesn’t exist), where this is nothing but the maelstrom of sensation, emotion, and will. And the silent nasty power that that is lead me to deeper stretches and a world of pain.

When we left, I felt more relaxed than I remember feeling in a LOOONG time.

TOO DAMNED COLD

FEB 13 2012

This morning I woke up to mid-30 degree weather. This is not why I live in Florida. I thought this was all gone for this year, but alas, one more cold snap. After having a very hard time pulling myself from bed, I headed to the gym to meet M for our morning run. We agreed on treadmills. I only got in about 2.8 miles before striking training.

Coach had warned us that we all needed to be wrapped, gloved, and warmed-up by 9. We were and he came in with some of the old school funk. We started at the bags. He had us pair off and work bags for about 20 minutes with one one-minute breather. One-two combos non-stop leading to flow drills, to power punching to speed sprints. All continuously changing and leaving my shoulders feeling swollen and on fire. Then we partnered up for drills and flow drills (continuous punching by both partners) with kicks for another 30 minutes. Then we stripped off gloves and wraps and Coach had us doing 2 knuckle pushups on his count for another 5 minutes or so. When that was done, we went back to the bags without gloves and did one-two punching using the two knuckle punches. When that wrapped, back to the floor for 2 knuckle pushups on his count. We have now begun to add-in old school body hardening. For that entire 1 hour and 10 minute ordeal, we got 2 water breaks and a total rest of about 5 minutes. The pace ranged from steady-intense to vomit-inducing. When training was over. Everyone grabbed their stuff and left with almost no conversation. We all had gone into some deep water.

NEW BJJ COACH

FEB 14 2012

Today was the team’s first day training with our new BJJ coach, MA (not to be confused with our previous BJJ coach who was also MA) . MA trained with the Diaz boys of UFC fame and seems like a very good fit for our team. Our team is 2 purple belts and 5 blues in BJJ. We have all trained with the same BJJ coaches in the past, and were curious what MA would be like on the mat. We started with warm-ups and him teaching us his warm-up routine as well as explaining some of the movements and why they need to be executed exactly as he suggests (as they are set-up for technique later and we’re building the motor programs that will make them automatic). He then lead us through some basic techniques including mounted arm-bar, key-lock/americana technique, and a nice sweep that leads to a mounted arm-in guillotine.

Throughout training, MA would correct and make refinements. One of the guys told him that I was a professor (something they all seem to find amusing), and he’s called me nothing by Profesor since. Profesor, arch your weight into him and switch your hips. Profesor, grab his leg and drive into him. It was good to get back on the mat. After drills and technique studies, we rolled for 3 5-minute rounds rotating partners. It was obvious we hadn’t been rolling regularly. We were all moving inefficiently, over-muscling, and generally over-working. I was pretty tired by then end.

When we finished up, M and I headed to the park to run sprints. P timed us and kept us inline, pushing us and not letting our fatigue make us lazy. After sprints, I went home, showered, and took Erica to brunch.

Later tonight, I headed to the gym to do my private with Coach. I normally do those on Tuesday mornings, but now that grappling is back in the mix, I had to move it to pre-boxing. I did an hour of mits. He was pushing me. For a couple rounds, he would just walk toward me while calling punch combinations. I had to keep pushing back while in my stance so that I could continuously throw punches, slip, counter, etc. My legs were gone, my wind was pushed hard, my shoulders were dead, and my will was going fast. Somehow, I made it through three rounds past the round where I walked to the corner imaging that I had an opponent across from me that I wanted to violently dismember for making me hurt by virtue of my continuously punching him. Another night of dark places.

After my private, I stuck around to do the conditioning torture with the boxing team. About 10 minutes into the training, my right calf cramped badly and knotted up nasty. I tried to rub it out and get back to training, but it kept curling up. Coach came over and stretched it out, but wouldn’t let me continue. He said that it would only get worse and to go hydrate. I hate dropping out. I walked to the mats and did some of the nasty stretches that I learned this past weekend. Note to self: more water and electrolytes.

In other news, I can kind-of close my mouth now. I need to have my doctor do my blood panels (proactive monitoring) and sign my boxing book for the year. I think I’ll have her take a look at the jaw. I hope it’s not dislocated.

GOOD RUN AND SOME SUFFERING

FEB 15 2012

M and I met early this morning for a good 5 mile run. We came in and I worked with Lefty D. I felt clumsy all day. D was looking pretty good. Much tighter and more organized than in previous training sessions in which we worked together. I did feel very comfortable with counter-kicking to the inside of his lead leg. I hate the days when I feel like this. Like everything takes longer to get off, that I’m more tired than I should be, like nothing is working cleanly and efficiently. That being said, pushing through it is good training. So that’s what I did.

President's Day Oly

We had the day off today, since my company rocks and all, so why not do a little Oly lifting? I always love to find time to work on my snatch.

A1. Snatch

2 x 4 x 45#

2 x 2 x 65#

2 x 2 x 85#

1 x 105#

1 x 115#

1 x 125# probably (according to Jess) the best rep I've ever done at that weight. Woot.

0 x 2 x 135# my head was NOT in this set at all.

.5 x 135# got under it but couldn't hold it and stand it up

You can see in the video that I needed a few tries on these today. I was just not explosive enough, but I can take the 125# away from it, so it was a good day.

Video:

B1. Weighted Ab Twist (Landmines as the kids say)

3 x 8 x 35# on bar

  

B2. Straight-Leg Deadlift

3 x 12 x 135#

This was going to be a 1-legged deadlift with the bar but 135# was too heavy,and I was too lazy to unload it, so I changed this to Straight-Leg. 

Pretty good session after Saturday's squat work, esp. given how sore I am still. 

Drop it like it's hawt...

So the wife sends me a message over IM the other day while I'm at work asking if I know what drop sets are.

'Sure, haven't done them for a long time but Arnold absolutely loves them.'  

'I read that, and I wanna try them this weekend.' she says.

'Really? Did you also read they're something that will help you pack on size in a short period?'

'Yup.' was all she said.

That kinda surprised me as my wife is a pretty petite little thing, 5'3" and 104lbs soaking wet and here she is telling me that she want to put on some size...after 18 years, that honestly is a first.  Now one thing to understand about my wife, when we work out together, if I do an exercise she doesn't like, or something that looks like she's gotta do too much work, she won't do it.

Now being at the end of my 8th week of 'extended reps' I'm going to rotate and modify my workout anyhow this weekend, so 6 weeks of drops will work (I wouldn't do 8 weeks of them, that's just pushing it to far).  :D  Another change is in as well, my weekly rotation. I cancelled my membership at Gold's in Eugene as we've had a few cancelled projects here as of late and things at the studio don't seem to be all that stable from my standpoint so I'm keeping my eyes open for another opportunity (I may be heading your way if I can find something up there Tim...want a consistent workout partner?).  So that means I have to condense a 4 day workout into 3 days...no problem, it's doable...but those three days are Friday night, and Sat/Sun mornings.  Well Friday nights might be tough for the next few weeks, so that means doubling up on the weekends, mornings and evenings or nights.  This week I'll be doubling up on Sunday.

So we roll into the gym this morning with my buddy Brett in tow...who last night decided to try hot yoga for the first time...as in ever.  No previous yoga experience and he goes 'hot' with the girl he's dating...total nutter that guy.  He proceeded to tell us on the way to the gym, it was all he could do to keep from crying on the way home due to sheer exhaustion.  If you've done hot yoga, ya know what he's saying, if you haven't and you feel like a complete physical challenge, try it (but please please please at least do some standard yoga for a couple weeks first).

When I told him we were doing drops, he needed a quick explanation, and I told him, he wasn't going to be exhausted like he was after hot yoga, but he was going to experience pain in his muscles like never before on a whole new level.  

Today I present you with Arm - ageddon 2.0

Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls

60x8  42.5x10  30x10

65x4  47.5x6  32.5x10 (heavy weight and last few reps were hammer style for this set as I just couldn't hold the 'bells right)

65x4  47.5x4  35x4

2 pulley cable curls - shoulder wide grip

100x20  70x10  40x8

130x8  90x8  50x12

140x6  100x6  60x12 (power 12 - 2 slow reps - 2 deep breaths - 10 quick full reps)

Super Supinators (reverse grip up, snap the supination quickly at the top of the movement)

22.5x12  17.5x8  12.5x8

25x8  20x6  15x6

22.5x8  17.5x8  12.5x8

V-bar pushdowns

80x12  60x12  40x12

120x6  90x6  60x9

120x6  90x7  50x10

2 pulley rope crushers (standing skull crushers with a rope)

150x16  130x11(and a half)  110x8

150x15  130x7  110x6

170x12  140x6 (help on last rep) 110x3 (and a half)

Today is also the wife's birthday so to celebrate, I had a nice steak with lobster and prawns.  :P

Go go recovery dinner!!!

Tomorrow legs and shoulders in the morning - chest and back at night...gonna hurt.

listen to the wind

        Hill repeats tomorrow!  It's been said many times, and I tend to agree that the best, simplest way to get add some conditioning to your routines is find a hill, run up it, repeat, puke, etc.  I imagine by about noon, I'll be sittin pretty, something like this:


The only logical follow-up to hill repeats...
        If I were to characterize my life's focus/direction as of around the end of last year, it would be "Practical over pretty."  I realized this today in Kaju when we were working on kick sets.  I think i started thinking about it when we were doing spinning crescent kicks, and I thought...man...Capoeira, i sorta miss it.  But it really hit home a bit later when we the discussion of head kicks came up, and Sifu Jim remarked "Sure I kick people in the head, after i hit em in the groin or knee em in the stomach to bring their head down a bit".  Sibak James added "Or after i take them to the floor, so i can stop their head."  And I realized what it was about Kaju and Krav that made me seek them out over the last few years:

I wanted to learn a practical style.  I wanted to be able to REALLY defend myself if need be.
        I know I've mentioned this a few times before, but I've really started thinking alot about what really matters to me, and I've always been a friends, family, and loved ones first kind of person.  Personally, i think it's my DUTY to be able to protect those people in any situation, and I want to develop those tools.  Kajukenbo really is the style i've always wanted to study, I just didn't know it until i started training.  Granted, the complete awesome that is Tribull MMA makes it all the better, but still...and of course, all respect to Capoeira and especially Mestre Curisco, Instructor Ninja, and Instructor Cabeca de Milho of Capoeira Males. It's no exaggeration when I say those guys saved my life.

        You know, it's funny, to that, I was talking to Annie a while back about how i feel like society, the media, whatever, has marginalized the idea that men are physical creatures, we are the fighters, the hunters, the protectors, and even today, we can't let the trappings of modern "civilization" take that idea from us.  To me, part of being a good father and husband is being able to fight for your wife, kids, family, etc.  My buddy Nate Walpole I think characterizes this best with his two tattoos of his children's initials on his forearms.  He told me, when he puts his guard up, you see their initials, because he fights for his kids.  That's a man, ladies and gentlemen.  And if you know Nate, you know he ain't fuckin around.  I'm not saying that's the only thing that makes a good husband and father, god knows I'm neither, so I have no place to talk, but it's something to think about.  But at the same time, if you happened to peep the Fight Quest Kajukenbo episode, Great Grandmaster Gaylord (RIP) said it best, "That can happen at any time to your life."  And you know, it's not about being pessimistic and guarded all the time, ultimately, I think life is a good thing and the world is a generally amicable place, but still, there's a reason i put on a condom every time i have sex...

      Anywayz...no numbers or training tune, but I'm going to leave you with this.  Seriously guys...fight for your women, they're worth it.  Fight for your kids, i shouldn't even have to tell you that...This is not vulgar, uncivilized, boorish, or uncouth, it's your privilege, your right, and your duty.

Geared Up For Squats

Tried a squat suit for the first time ever today. It was quite the experience... I have bruises in areas that I never ever wanted to have bruises. Guys, you know what's I'm saying.

Overall it went well, couldn't quite PR 405# (not deep enough), but 385# was close and felt way easy. I can get more than 405# once I learn the suit. At least I hope... these bruises need to be worth it.

A1. Squat (geared)

8 x 135#

5 x 185#

3 x 225#

2 x 275#

1 x 315# suit on

2 x 1 x 335#

1 x 365# just parallel

1 x 385# straps up. barely low enough, but Jess says to count it, so it's a PR.

.5 x 405# not deep enough

Man, watching the video, I was quite the whiner today. And none of those squats look deep enough, no sirree. But I'm learning, right? I have no plans to become a gear whore, but if I am gonna compete in strongman, I'd like to have the knowledge of and experience with gear for meets that allow it...

B1.1-Arm Row

5 x 5 x 110# 

Harder than usual on account of sore biceps from Atlas Stones on Thursday.
       

C1. Farmer Hold

3 x 15s x 215# per hand

Hadn't done grip work in a while, so it's no surprise I had no endurance on these. It'll come back.

Overall, a great session. My posterior chain wants to die.

Videos!

Visiting With An Old(ish) Friend

ATLAS STONES. That is all.

A1. Hip/Shoulder Mobility/Prehab/Warmup

B1. 16" Stone Over 48" Bar

2 x 175# haha I set up the wood wrong. First rep was good though.
2 x 175#
2 x 175#  I think the first rep in this set is the best rep I've ever done.
3 x 175#

Wanted to get a set of 4 for a PR, but by the last set my body was fried and my forearm wraps fell enough that the tacky was tearing hair out of my arms... I'll get it next time. Good news is no bicep straining (knock on wood), and I gots me some manly bruises on my forearms.


I need to get faster and more consistent with these before upgrading to a 18" stone...


Videos!

Yeah, I Jinxed It

You guys and your fired up posts and beast mode training sessions, I feel like a lazy sack :)


So yeah. Remember that "I'm training regularly" thing I wrote in my last post? That was the last time I trained. Crunch happened, and I broke my cardinal rule of "train through crunch, it helps!"


So eff it, I trained tonight. I kept it light and low reps so as to mitigate the pain tomorrow. Here's to getting back to it!


(Also I miss my stone and I want to play with him this week dammit).

A1. Simulated Log Press w/ Swiss bar

2 x 8 x 35#

8 x 85#

5 x 105#

3 x 125#

3 x 2 x 175#

Not a PR but I didn't want to kill myself, so I concentrated on speed.

B1. BB Row

4 x 4 x 195#

Watching the video (derp, vid says 15 but they were 195), I am not stable at all. But at least I'm not bouncing it off the ground and not jerking my back, right? Right? Right.

B2. Blast Strap Ab Fallouts

3 x 8 x bw

Aaaaaaab-dominals.

Videos!

And Oz, let me check with the boss, maybe we can train in my garage when you are up here- if I've got the gear you need.

Inspiration

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I love this blog.  I love the fact that there are others in my industry who have the push, drive and desire to fine tune their bodies and their minds, people with the same love of work and the same love of pushing themselves to the limits.

The members of this blog are a new found inspiration for me.  I spent part of my afternoon reading through the last couple of posts and was so jacked up to get my workout on, my two hour commute home nearly killed me! I was so pumped up by what I read all I did was reflect on this new set of people I have had the great luck to have stumbled into and what kind of mental strength I can pull from each and every one of them.

anim8d - Tim...duud...you're just a straight up monster. I've always had a respect for guys (and gals) who are willing to pick up a giant sphere of concrete and drive it over a pole...over and over and over.  People who push their muscles as far as they'll go for that one single over the top number just to do it again to beat their last mark. You sir are an inspiration.

Linnea - Dropping in with a BOMB ass leg routine for an introduction of yourself to me (I hate to say it, but I have not gone back and read anything before I was invited to contribute). A self-proclaimed love of powerlifting after discovering it 5 months ago...and pushing your limits!  You ma'am are also an inspiration.

Erica - I know you don't post here, but I've read through the most excellent blog Stuff I Make My Husband.  There's many a recipe on there I must try! On top of that, your own personal accomplishments are out freeking standing!  You look marvelous, and for all the things you do and the love you share with your man and the world, make you an inspiration!

Robert Cooksey - HOLY ISH! No posts since Turkey Day and you come in and drop a weeks worth of STRAIGHT UP WERK! Like a boss yo! Your conditioning is extreme, mad props and much respect.  You sir are an inspiration.

Annie - I love the fact that you post your battle scars, EPIC! It's great to read that you push mentally and physically.  I would love to see your process as well, as I respect your thoughts and feelings while you push yourself as much as I respect the punishment you continue to post.  You also are an inspiration.

Seth to the Mutha Effin Gibson - I absolutely cannot wait to meet you in person.  I was hoping GDC was going to be it, but alas only one of the art team gets to go and that's AK, so not quite yet.  You sir are the Rock of Gibraltar of Hard Coded.  Constant posts of what kinda bad azz workouts your crushing through, what kinda mental mastery you are throwing down and what kind of drive you have.  On top of that, people the world over have nothing but wonderful things to say about you.  Duud you are Ozsomeness on a whole new level!  I push harder after reading your posts, I drive myself farther knowing that if I don't when we get a chance to workout together, I won't be able to keep up.  You sir are beast, bear and inspiration.

Tonights workout was all about draining the tank.  Normally I take Fridays off as it's the day I drive home from the studio to my family, but my gym membership in Eugene expired this week and I don't want to renew as I don't know if I'll be at the current digs much longer, much turmoil abounds with our projects.  So I must know break a 4 day workout week down to 3 days.  Tonight is day 1 of 3.

Chest wrecking 101

Super sets - 30 second break
Chest Fly 50 x 30
Incline Chest Fly 50 x 30
Chest Fly 50 x 30
Incline Chest Fly 50 x 30

Decline Fly 40 x 30
Decline Fly 40 x 30

Tabata Heavy Bag work
20seconds all out 10 second break - switch stance between sets
Jab Cross
Jab Jab Cross

I got in 3 1/2 minutes until I just couldn't breath any longer.  I have a small tank.

I most definitely want to say thank you to everyone here who post the workouts and the thoughts and motivation behind them!  Inspiration is invaluable!!!

TIM!!! I'll be in Seattle/Bellevue the last Thurs/Fri of this month and look forward to putting it down with you!

moar bruises

Hey guys,

Been awhile... I typically don't like posting unless I have something to physically show for it. Since I've switched from dance to martial arts, I don't really have pretty videos to put up... so here's some bruises.









Life's been beautiful and wonderful. I love being back in a gym with a master I respect, and I feel like I've been slowly shedding shackles for years. Things I didn't even know were weighing me down. Letting go of labels like, "tech artist", "game developer", "wife"... these things that were once so core to my being, I find that I'm left with "me". It's a nice feeling.

Class has been great! We did a grappling session that left me immobile for half a day, and before that a minute making waves on a hemp rope. I love the diversity of junk sifu throws at us.

On a side note, I'm starting to get kinda buff, which is awesome. Yvonna wanted to submit me for a modeling gig so I took some figure shots for her. It really surprised me... apparently my body looks a lot different head on than it does top down. Guess that happens when you're too busy to look in a mirror, it sneaks up on you.

awake, aware, alone

GET.

FUCKING.

ANGRY.

        Next time you need to push through a brutal workout, get fucking angry.  Find something, dig something up, hell make something up, but get fucking angry.  Tonight was probably the best CrossPit session i've had since i started and i am determined to not slide back.  Thankfully, i have more than enough things to keep me angry for a while, my upcoming fight being the least of them.  As i stated earlier, i'm not bitter, i'm "recovering".  Time to begin some heavy rebirth.

Bring me pleasant dreams tonight, grandfather

        Speaking of fights, i gotta say, being in fight training mode for the first time in a while is insane.  My focus in class has totally been jacked up to crazy levels and i retain everything now.  Heck, i'm even remembering lessons from back in the beginning of january.  Part of me wants to chalk it up to just getting comfortable with the training again, but honestly, I feel a total sense of urgency that I wasn't feeling before.

        Ultimately, it's up to Sifu if I fight, but I'm determined to give him a reason other than "you haven't been in training long enough".  I'll be happy if I don't fight because there are specific gaps in my game, but I'll be disappointed in myself if I don't fight because I'm just not experienced enough overall.  Part of my purpose in training at an MMA school was because i wanted some ring time.  But you know what?  If not this time, next time, Gadget...next time.

        Man, not to blow my own horn but I powered through tonight's split for sure.  The best drive is that which you don't have to reach or dig for, just that which is bubbling under the surface, waiting for you to break the tension.  Tonight was a good night:

Warmup:

• A1. Jump Rope: 2x3min
• A2. Pushup: 2x1min

Main:
Pit 33s

• B1. Jump Rope - Double Under: x33
• B2. Bodyweight Squat: x33
• B3. Pushup: x33
• B4. Bag Punch: x33
• B5. Bag Kick: x33
• B6. Perform circuit for 20 minutes, no rest

Blastout:

• C1. Ab Scissor: 2x25
• C2. Knees-to-Chest: 2x25
• C3. Leg Raises: 2x25

        I made it through 4 reps, would have gone 5, but didn't finish kicks, so it doesn't count.  We don't do these sorts of circuits very often in CrossPit, but since they tend to follow similar patterns, i feel like i can carryover the number of reps between similar sessions.  I gotta admit when Sifu started out by saying "ok so we're gonna do 25...", i was seriously hoping for a blackjack.  I wanted to hurt myself tonight, yeah yeah, whine whine, so emo, like anyone gives a fuck. I know, i'm allowed to be self-indulgent every now and then.

Today's TrainingTune: Naked (God Module Remix) - Assemblage 23

Back from Hiatus

I haven't posted here since around Thanksgiving when my schedule went crazy. Since then I had end of semester crunch, E and I have been to New York, Spain, Morocco, Switzerland, the new semester started, and I've settled back into training mode (the weird spring semester version). So, back to my Thursday routine digest:

FEB 01 2012

Obviously, I’ve gotten off track in logging here. I’ve been trying to maintain my logging at Fitocracy, but it is far less detailed than the posts that I make here. And so, today I’m back on it.

I’ll start with Sunday of this week and catch-up for this week and then start regular logging again. So…Sunday.

Sunday is our normal conditioning day with Coach. He killed us on this one. We started out with running in place, jumping jacks, etc. The normal warm-up kinds of stuff. But he kicked in really quickly with the hops, burpees, jump split-squats, explosive jump and jacks, etc. My legs were ready to fail and I could barely get up in my last burpees when he changed pace and had us grab small dumbbells. From here we began punching continuously for about 20 minutes. My shoulders were past failure and I could barely hold my arms up in resting/fighting stance. Everything hurt. Everything was beginning to cramp. Arms, shoulders, calves, small core muscles. On to push-ups and planks. Then we switched to duck walk races, push-up races, etc. The plyometric push-up wheelbarrow races were a godsend after all the other stuff. I don’t know why they felt less terrible in comparison. At the end, we ran sprints. And my entire body was torched.

Monday, I was feeling the effects of Friday’s lifting session followed by Sunday’s conditioning. I came into striking class in the morning and got to work with Lefty D. We were working on flows to strike-kick combos and counter kicks. Working with a lefty who is focused on striking primarily was good work for me. I had run 4.5 miles to warm-up and by 10 minutes in was loosening up.  I’m gaining comfort and balance with my legs, but it’s been a while since I kicked regularly, and there is some serious motor program building and refinement going on.

Today, I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I headed into the gym for my private. Coach had M working with me for the full hour. I was drilling moving around, controlling with my jab, counter jabbing, set-ups and follow-ups, parrying, parry-counters. All good. A LOT of leg movement and my left shulder was still torched and aching badly. After an hour of drills, we all bagged up and headed to the park for sprints. M, A, P, BR, and I all raced back and forth across the field running wind sprints for over half an hour. By the end, we were all grateful to hear “time.” I was pushing myself today and only M was able to consistently stay ahead of me. That being said, I got the feeling that A wasn’t pushing very hard. When he turned it on, I couldn’t catch him.

I feel rough. Feed, rest, and back at it in morning.

DEAD LEGS? JUST ADD KICKS!

FEB 02 2012

This morning M, E, Coach and I ran together. Marcos and I had dead legs from the previous several days of training (including yesterday’s sprints). We decided to keep it short at 3 miles instead of our normal 5. Even so, we were sloooow. When we got back to the gym, I stretched for 10 minutes, skipped some rope, and shadow-boxed to try to stay warm and not tighten up.

When we started striking, it was clear that my legs weren’t through the grinder yet. I got paired with P, and traded leg kicks inside and out for sets of 20. We then did some combo kicks to the leg and ribs, and some straight kicks before working on kick parries, and counters. Painful as it was, I didn’t bruise.

When I got home, I banged out 40 push-ups and 100 crunches for a silly Fitocracy quest.

FITOCRACY QUESTING

FEB 05 2012

Today Coach cancelled conditioning. He suggested that we rest, as many of us were pretty beat up this week and he apparently is planning to push us next week. Of course, I had a couple days off due to full faculty crits and Moby Francke’s visit, so I didn’t take his advice and instead used the day off to make a workout routine that would satisfy a gang of Fitocracy quests.

I’m not going to log all the ridiculousness, but what I did was make a list of the exercises to satisfy 10 quests. Wherever there were repeats of an exercise, I kept the highest rep/set/weight requirement and deleted the lesser ones. I ended up with about 20 activities that E and I knocked out in about an hour. After that we ran 2 miles with the dogs (dual-purposing exhausting the canines and satisfying a quest requirement). In the end, we satisfied 10 quests in a single workout. And then I slept like I’d earned it.

BACK TO THE RITUAL

FEB 06 2012

Today M and I met for our morning run and were back to the 5 mile pre-training run. We were slow (about 9:08 pace) but got a good sprint for the last 1/8 mile. the weather has been beautiful for morning runs along Bayshore.

Coach murdered us in training. Bag drills without breathers for rounds wherein he would change pace, combos, intensity, speed, etc by calling out changes. After pre-exhausting us, it was time for flow drills to take-downs, clinch-knees, and combinations thereof. As one of us was throwing up and others managing breathing to prevent joining him, we switched back to bag drills for a sprint to the end that left my shoulder girdle feeling like chewed up burger.

Good stuff.

CLIMBING STAIRS IN THE RAIN

FEB 08 2012

I had my private this morning. We switched it up, and I was working close work, bullying with my shoulders and driving into the ropes, etc. After a few rounds of mitts, Coach had M glove up and give me some work. M came hard and was pushing. We were in nearly constant contact, pushing, turning, and taking short shots, turning each other, using the body to close and open space for short hooks, uppercuts, etc. We each landed some nasty ones. I ate two chin shots that has left my jaw unable to close fully. That’s what I get for leading with my head.

After my private, we all headed to the park for sprints. It was raining lightly and had rained last night, so sprints on the grass were out of the question (too large a risk for injury). Instead, coach had us go to the hill and run stairs up and down for rounds with intermittent sprints between the up and down staircases. I felt REAL good on these. To finish us off, he sent us up and dow the hill in duckwalk races. That sucked. A LOT. I kinda liked it.

FEELING GOOD

FEB 09 2012

I felt pretty good today – excepting my jaw which I still can’t close fully. This morning, we had boxing at 7:00am. Coach had us all working bag drills fairly intensely. It was round after round after hard, fast, and intense punching with the usual screams of “turn your hip” and “right hand up” and such.

After we finished, M and I went for a 2.5 mile run with Coach (about 8.5 min pace) to stay warm. Sprinted the last 1/8 mile and still felt strong. At 9:00 we started up MMA training with the MMA team. More bag drills followed by partner drills of continuous punching exchanges with intermittent shots and kicks countered by short combos and kicks. Did some fighting forward and backward kicking and counter kicking. I worked with New D, so I got some work with a natural south paw. Nice.

After work, I met Erica and we did 3 miles of road work. Slow pace (about 9 minutes), but steady and felt nice to be out in the cool air along the bay.

Hello World!

I tried powerlifting for the first time about 5 months ago, and it clicked. This was what I wanted to do. This was what made my heart pound with excitement. The sound of heavy weights crashing back into the rack or to the ground made me smile. Searching for my body’s limits was an addictive pursuit and I couldn’t get enough.

that aside... here is a bit about me:

im an environment artist currently at Danger Close Games (EA LA) working on a medal of honor game, and my previous titles were the last two call of dutys. I have a love for cooking, hitting things, lifting heavy things, and ridiculously cute things. I absolutely adore scifi novels, movies, and tv shows. and i love extreme sports. oh and i play violin! (no, not like those crappy covers you find on youtube. legit professional classical violin).

now on to the training bit!

luckily i work at a studio with an AMAZING gym, all the weights you could dream of, and tons of good supplementary isolation machines. the only stuff its missing is a weight sled and a peg board. oh and chains. because honestly. who doesnt love lifting giant chains.

todays workout:

• deadlift 180 5x5
• bodyweight squats 20
• squats 95x15, 135x8x5 (just focusing on form here for the most part)
• legpress 180 - 5x8
• leg curls 3x20
• hyperextension (do these superslow with weight and hold for 10 seconds) 5x10
• reverse hypers (these suck) 5x10
• abs 5x10 @55degree incline
• aaaaand then bodyweight lunges. 25x4 each leg. death.

after a leg day like this, i like to make myself some sweet potato fries (baked) as an aftergym snack with my shake, some sort of hefty meal like a nice juicy steak or slowcooker stuffed with meat, and end the day with some protein cookie dough or brownie batter (basically just protein powder with a tablespoon of water and a teaspoon of almond butter) its delishhh. did i mention i LOVE food?!? because i do. i really really do. like a freakishly large amount of love for food. oh and here are my two favorite leg day songs! im a sucker for doing what lyrics tell me to do. so this works out really well: "put your ass into it" and "stand a little taller". works for me!