Saturday, January 30, 2010

1/30/2010

Today was a very long day at the gym. Gary Valentine came by for a terrific seminar and taught us learning progressions to the Snatch and Clean and Jerk. He is the 2003 World Masters Champion at 105kg. Wicked strong. He a had a camera and a TV that could play back in slow motion. It was nice to see what I do well, what I do not so well and what I certainly could use a lot more work on. I learned some new drills and to not be afraid to really dive under that bar. He teaches at Sacred Heart and is excellent at communicating his ideas and breaking these very technical lifts into bite size chunks that are easily digestible. I had a great time, but my legs are fried and it's only nine and I feel like I might pass out here on the couch.

Carlee and I did go to a tasting over at our Reception Site. We got some food, got some cards from vendors and got to see what the place looks like when it's not so nice outside. We met a lady who does cakes. Unfortunately they don't look like this...

Friday, January 29, 2010

1/29/10

Due to the fact that I'm 99.9% positive that I will do a lot of squats tomorrow because of the Gary Valentine visit I decided to take it a little chill today.
Back Squat 5-3-1 @ 370# - I will redo 370 on Monday
Press 3x5 @ 165#
Power Clean 1x3 @ 225# (same reason as squats)
Strict Ring Pull Ups 3x10
Kipping Pull Ups 1x20
30 Straight Over the Top Sledge Hammer Hits - NFT

Gluten in the Gut
Cordain on Gluten - really long, you might want to print this out and bring it to the bathroom

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Go Get'em Tiger

(inspired by CFW's Lisbeth Darsh)
Lots of things can take you to the top of where you want to go. Most of them, in any venture require hard work, dedication and a will to get business done. In fitness they are as follows; sleep (quality and quantity), food (quality and quantity), prehab, rehab and stretching and of course, coaching.
You can go pretty far on your own. I've gotten pretty strong, quick, agile and, dare I say it, a decent Crossfitter on my own. I've been lucky to have some pretty great coaches over my lifetime. Brian Dorsey and Gerry Cournoyer for swimming, Doug Thompson in Water Polo. However, I've been doing this fitness thing on my own.
Lately, however due to scheduling, I've had the pleasure of lifting at the same time as Pam (aka the Pammer). She's a good coach, she's positive, she's knowledgeable and she understands my goals. I like to think that I help her a little bit too, especially in the olympic lifts. But the point is, with her help I certainly have gotten much stronger. You can only read so many books, blog posts and Starting Strength articles until you actually need somebody to tell you to "keep your chest up" and "drive with the hips."
What's cool is that coaching can be found anywhere for anything. Carlee runs for a great organization, TNT. They raise money for the LLS and have coaches that can scale their training for any level and any endurance type race. Not my thing, endurance, but a great organization, but also a great way to have an expert assist you in your goals.
I encourage you to find a gym with knowledgable staff and members and seek them out. Ask them to watch you squat, sprint, pushups, whatever. Get feed back to become the best athlete you can be. But don't forget to sleep, feed and water yourself properly. Those are important too.

1-27-2010
Back Squat 3x5 @ 365# (failed on 5th rep of last set)
Bench Press 3x5 @ 230#
Dead Lift 1x5 @ 415#
Dips 3x5 + 28kg
OH Situps 3x10 @ 25#

Monday, January 25, 2010

1/25/2010

Back Squat 3x5 @ 360#
Press 3x5 @ 160#
Power Clean 5x3 @ 205#
Strict Chin Ups 3x8

Saturday, January 23, 2010

1/23/2010

Back Squat 3x5 @ 355#
Bench Press 3x5 @ 225# - failed on 3rd set, needed spotter help on 5th rep. I blame it on no breakfast and rushing through sets (I was running late). Or, I'm a big ol' puss. You decide.
Dead Lift 1x5 @ 405#
Dips 3x5 +24kg

Apparently sausage and peppers is great any time of day. Had some in my morning omelet, just had some for dinner (thanks Paul B.). Delicious.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Let Me See That Thooooooong

Well. It finally happened. I finally ripped my pants. It started on Christmas when not one pair of the usually reliable 34x32’s that I got as gifts would button. Weird, I thought to myself. I justified it as the brands ran smaller or the more likely scenario that I’d eaten a lot before I tried anything on. Afterall, my “food babies” are legendary. Then, at work on Wednesday, as I was walking down the stairs, Eileen, the sweet heart who sits in the next cube over and bring my candy pointed out, “Eric, I think your pants ripped.” Shock. Awe. Mild embarrassment. These were nice pants too. A regular in the rotation.

I arrived home, went to pick up the kitten and **rip** went the pants, through the ass and down the leg. The pants were done. Oh well.

But I realized something this morning. A large rump is the sign of a magnificent athelte. My waist hasn’t gotten any bigger, afterall, my 34’s still actually fit. But take a look around. Find the best athletes and all of them have bodacious booty’s.

Larry Fitzgerald: bootylicious. Jose Reyes and Albert Pujols: stacked in the back. Carmelo Anthony: built like a brick house.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a butt that you can set your drink on. It just means that you’ve been giving your posterior chain some much needed love. What this means for me: I’m doing something right and no more “slim-fit” jeans. BFD.

Editors Note: I was eating a chipwich while writing that post

Paleo Homes?

Why You're Still Skinny

and the back lash


Thursday, January 21, 2010

1/21/2010

Muscle Ups - 3x3 Continuous
Clean and Jerk - 10x1 @ 185# (reset)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

January 20, 2010

3x5 Back Squat @ 345#
3x5 Press @ 155# (Pam caught me bouncing, uh-oh)
5x3 Power Clean @ 195#
3x8 Chinups

Jared Allen could outweight my disdain for Brett Farve to sway my rooting interest the Vikings way this weekend.


Jared Allen Loves Wranglers (trust me, worth watching)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Tuesday 1/19/2010

Nothing heavy today

Warm Up:
3x3 OHS @ 165#

Workout:
Box Jump - Max Height - 57", missed 59" because I couldn't stand up at the top, feet made it
Max Rep Pushups 3x 20X0 - 38, 28, 33
100 Sledge Hammer Hits (12#) - 2:56
3x10 Situps + 70#

Cool Down:
10 yards of inch worms

Value of Olympic Lifting for Athletes

Monday, January 18, 2010

January 16, 2010

Back to the gym after a fat-boy weekend

Back Squat 3x5 @ 335#
Bench Press 3x5 @ 215#
Deadlift 1x5 @ 395#
Dips 3x5 +20kg

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Standards

Level 5 Strenth Standards as outlined by Eat Move Improve.
Dips + BW
Pullups + BW
Bench Press @ 1.9x BW
Press @ 1.2x BW
Deadlift @ 3x BW
Back Squat @ 2.6x BW
OHS @ 1.2x BW
Clean & Jerk @ 2x BW
Snatch @ 1.65x BW

Watch me go!

Friday 1/15
Back Squat 3x5 @ 325
OH Press 3x5 @ 150
Power Clean 5x3 @ 185
Chin Ups (Strict) 3x8

Saturday
Snatch - 10x1 @ 135# (Reset)
Food:
Double Power Barner (props to Owen's Deli)
4 Slices of 4-Seasons Pizza (Ham, Bacon, Artichoke and Mushrooms)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Shea's Triumphant Return

I haven’t been getting too much sleep lately. You see, Carlee and I adopted a kitten this weekend, and although she’s sweet and really playful and outgoing, she hasn’t learned that night time is “quiet, don’t bother mommy and daddy” time. So far this hasn’t been too much of a damper on my training (it’s only been three nights) but it has messed up in other ways. I’m obviously more sleepy, I’m forgetful (shocker, I know), I’m a bit shorter at work with co-workers and our supply chain and I’ve been getting headaches (granted this could come from a slew of other things, e.g. diet). However, I am waiting for the day when I’ve got 365# on my back and I just fall asleep. Whoops. I hope Shea figures this out quickly.

Brian St. Pierre's Grocery List
A Primer on Plyometrics
Why Speed Work is Necessary for Elite Endurance
Active Hip - Mark Rippetoe

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Fire + Meat = Yum

I am conquering the kitchen. One meaty meal at a time. It’s been a pretty long time since I’ve cooked for myself on a regular basis, which I have to say is the way to go if you can somehow work yourself into that kind of situation. But condo life, you know, the kind of where there are mortgage payments to make has forced me back into the kitchen, much to Carlee’s chagrin.

My cooking background: none. I can follow recipes and may greatest trait, the ability to eat anything and everything is my weakness, I don’t always tell if something tastes good for other people, which is why I’ve been somewhat hesitant about making meals up on the fly However, the last two tries (New Years Eve and last night, Jan. 4) have gone pretty well. I crushed a chili that involved 3lbs of ground beef, 2.5 pounds of stew beef and some bacon (this filled the Crockpot to the point that it didn’t really taste like chili until the next day when I had more room to work with to add spices) and then last night I got creative and made some Curry Chicken.

I would like to add getting more creative in the kitchen to my list of New Year’s Resolutions. That’s not to say that I won’t use a recipe book more often than not but I ought to be trying things out in the kitchen. If it tastes bad, not big deal, choke it down like medicine and if the “meal” is too atrocious for that, the Chinese Buffet is a quick drive down the road. This could be a good thing. I’ll learn what tastes good together and hopefully have a repertoire of meals that I can whip up at a moment’s notice.

Note: this all gets negated if somebody wants to cook for me… Anybody?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

New Years

Well, I've waited three days to submit the requisite New Years post, so here goes. 2010 (tabata) is poised, just like any other year, to be a good year. I'm getting married, I own a home. Good things indeed.
But new years mean new goals. Carlee has a couple as I'm sure that most if not all of you do. Mine are as follows:
Snatch 130kg
Clean and Jerk 160kg
Find a job that I enjoy

I hope that all of you people reading (the millions world wide, or nobody, whatever) decide to make goals that don't let you down and that are actually attainable. I would suggest nothing vague like "lose some weight" or "love my significant other more." The answers should have quantities and qualities. How much weight are you hoping to lose, how are you going to do it, what happens after you hit that goal? In what way are you going to love you significant other? Will you surprise him/her more, be more romantic? Be specific. Which is why my third goal won't happen until I buckle down and decide what I want and how I'm going to get it.
Good luck with your resolutions. Good luck with the Year of Tabata.