Watson

This has been, other than the whole revolution in Northern Africa/Middle East, the craziest story in terms of future possibilities of my life time. As some of you may, or may not know, Watson is a computer developed by IBM that could recognize language and then use it's immense amount of memory to trounce Champion contestants on Jeopardy. Of course, there was some controversy, mostly being that Watson had an unfair buzzer advantage. Really, who cares? The point is that this is potentially the biggest thing coming.

Imagine, if you will, you at your best. You're efficient, you're motivated, you had a terrific morning BM. At work, you're coming up with solutions and analyzing data to show your boss so that he could make the best decision. Well, you can be replaced. That computer sitting sitting in the center seat on Jeopardy can trounce you. He has roughly a gajillion terabytes of memory. We could flood "his" memory with legal texts from every court case imaginable and all of those lawyers who never step foot in a court room are basically unemployed.

As somebody who works in logistics my job is to use the targets that are appointed to me. I'm supposed to make decisions based on those metrics. This seems, to me, to be relatively simple for a computer assuming that it has all of the information it needs. With the correct info the computer can literally, I'd assume in less than a minute route a Pepsi truck with the most efficient order and fairly evenly distribute cases and stops amongst them so that their work times are minimal and that would take trucks off the road if need be. All it would need is the information in its seemingly endless supply of memory.

This kind of technology could save a company millions of dollars annually. I'm not sure what Watson goes for in terms of asking price (he did, afterall, just win IBM $1 million, which is going to charity) but I believe that it is pretty safe to assume that over the long term, this would be immensely cost efficient.

There is however, the possibility of Watson becoming the greatest diagnostician ever on his trip to Columbia Medical School. Move over 'House.' Watson can use all of the information available, patient history, symptoms and every text book and medical research article ever written to come up with a list of potential diagnosis. Watson could probably even select the best course of treatment. And, with its voice recognition software you could just tell "him" what's going on.

This technology is pretty ridiculous and I can't believe more of a big deal isn't made about this. Yes it's a machine and yes there are about a million adjustments that could be made to it. But, good Lord, this is pretty exciting. A computer that not only can do complicated algorhythms at lightning speed and has an almost infinite space for memory could be a better you and me.

We're only one step closer Skynet. If you're reading this, you are the resistance.

Yup Yup Yup - R.E. Day 10

Segment Clean Pull + Clean Pull x3x4

Clean + Jerk - 3+1x5

Snatch Balance - 5x3

Abs + Low Back

Pullups - 3x6

Getting Better.

Steady As She Goes

Another day without back pain. I'm starting to feel really good. My technique is starting to become more sound. Less "grip-n-rip" and more, "get in the right position... now pull like your life depends on it."

R.E. Day 9

Feeling a whole heck of a lot better than I was a couple of weeks ago. Although, the Valentine's Day Beers were not sitting well with me this morning.

Favorite Set of the Day:

Snatch Segment Pull + Snatch Pull - [(1+1)x3]x4 - Pause at 1", below knee, hip and then finish. I did this at 185# and used my brand new Iron Mind Straps (thanks Carlee!)

R.E. Day 8

Well, it's not really rebuilding because I actually did a real live work out today. Holy smokes. For realsies. I'm getting started on the Catalyst Positioning Cycle. I figure that if I can make my positions stronger then I'll be less likely to get lazy and hurt myself again. It's good to be back.

In other news. Happy V-Day.

Awesome Gym

This is an awesome gym. The kind of place that I wish I trained in. For more of these sweet videos, go here.

R.E. Day 7

Oh the joys of zero time constraints.

Front Squat - 225#x3x10

Clean Pull to Knees - 135#x3x6 @12x3 - being super cautious. I believe that this helped me out

Hang Snatch - 135#x1x10 - This was awesome. Sure the weight is super light but victories are small victories. I had to pull this from the ground (cautiously) but there was no back pain. I moved deliberately and all was right with the world. Yay Life!

Chins - 3x10

Sled Drags - 6x10 yards @ +180# - harness snapped on trip #7. Whoops

Now it's time to shower, eat and clean this holy mess of a house. We've got company coming over.

R.E. Day 6

Another good day. No back pain. We'll see for later when I've been sitting in a desk chair all day.

Clean + Jerk from Blocks - 155#x(2+1)x10

3 Sets

A1. Chins - 9

A2. Ring Dips - 5

Plank - 1min

Next week I'm going to start taking the bar from below the knees. I'm not sure if I can handle from the floor but I'm fairly confident that I can hit position #2 (according to California Strength learning progression).

R.E. Day 5

Today was a good day at the gym. Some good work being done. I just wish it was heavier. Someday. My back felt almost no pain at all, not even achy. But it's felt this way before. I won't be fooled again.

Snatch from blocks - 105#x2x10

3 Sets

A1. Chins x8

A2. Behind the neck Push Press x5 @135#

Prowler Pushes - 10 x 15 yards @1:00 +230#

Random Thoughts:

Let's save the chicken industry. Buy more wings, thighs and drumsticks. The Russian's aren't buying half as much of it anymore (down roughly 1 billion pounds annually). Besides, these taste better than breasts.

Do some people realize that we're laughing at them and not with them? Is that why they keep talking when nobody wants to hear what they have to say? (Then again, I write a blog that I'm fairly certain that nobody reads. So maybe I'm the asshole)

What is Thank You Note etiquette? I get that if you get a wedding or shower gift that you're supposed to. But Christmas and Birthday gifts from family? Is that how this works? Can't I just call and say thank you instead of spending a lot of $ on stamps?

How often do government officials get haircuts. You would think that if they make public appearances nearly daily that they would have to look their best. Do the amount of haircuts positively correlate to how important you are. For instance, if you're a City Clerk you maybe hit the barber once a month but if you're the President you have a salon in the white house and you sit down to have a shave and a haircut daily? Do some people fall out of line and think that they're more important than they actually are. Rick Perry of Texas. He seems like a douche who would get a haircut daily. He does, afterall, spend hundreds of thousands of tax payer dollars on security detail on vacations to make himself seem important in foreign countries even though he (because he is a governor) has no say in foreign policy or economics.

R.E. Day 4

Felt pretty solid. Got to the gym late and worked slowly but stuff got done.

Back Squat - 225x3x10

3 Sets

A1. 7 Chins

A2. 3 Hand-Stand Push ups.

That's it. Tonight's a Turkey dinner at the Oparowski's. Pumped.

R.E. Day 3

1k Row
Back Extensions - 3x10 @ 32x2
Backwards Sled Drags - 6x10 yards @ +90#
4x10 yards @ + 135#
Prowler Pushes - 10x5yards high/5 yards low @ 1:00 - attempt to get work done under 8 seconds
3 sets - not for time
A1. 6 Chins
A2. 8 Decline Pushups

Also did some hip distracted samson stretches and foam rolling

Rebuilding Eric Part 2

Well, the gym seemed like a good idea...

Front Squat - 185#x3x10 - felt nice and easy. I was the form nazi.

Snatch DL - 135#x5x5 - didn't make it through the first set. My back seized up on rep 4. I took the time to hang from a pull up bar and slowly work to a comfortable standing position. Ouchies. That kind of stuff is why I'm glad that there are no meets coming up

Snatch Push Press -135#x5x5 - tight back but not terrible.

Chins - 5x5 - easy squeazy lemon peazy

Prowler - 10x 5yards on hight handles - 5 yards on low handles - I like the prowler because it puts me in a good position. I can get some decent conditioning in, even with very little weight.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. I might have to take some anti-inflammatories later in the day.

I miss Jack

Rebuilding Eric

I'm not going to lie. I feel like a failure. One moment of mental weakness has put me in this state of pain. A split second has forced me to not enter the Atlantic States Open on 2/20. My back pain has been horrendous. I'd like to thank the chemists at CVS who put out their All-Day Pain Killers for making work tolerable (and all I do at work is sit in a chair).

On Monday, after breaking myself at the meet I tried Snatching. Couldn't get 135# off the floor as some of you may remember from my last post. On Thursday, I went back. This time determined to be able to do something. I started with a lot of Dynamic Mobility and stretching. Hang Snatches felt fine, not good, but fine. I then started with 65# from the floor. My back was tight. I got through 5 singles, then moved up to 95# for the same, then 135# then 165#. All the time, my back seemed to be loosening up. 185# was tight but still feeling like I was just out of practice. Then 200# happened. Couldn't even get the bar past my knees. Uh-oh. A sharp shooting pain went from my back and permeated throughout the rest of my body. I immediately dropped the bar and shuffled to the PVC pipe to roll out. This provided some temporary relief. I stripped the bar and decided to try and Front Squat, just the bar. Couldn't make it into a half-squat without a shooting pain going through my body that would probably stun an elephant, but probably not Dave Tate.

At that moment I decided to not enter the meet later this month and just focus on recovery. I took Friday off and today, at the gym I started a little project called "Rebuilding Eric." You'll notice that I've even titled this post, Rebuilding Eric. So it seems to fit. I'm going to take training slow. I'm in no rush to get back to meet-ready weights. In fact, I'm prepared to miss the SHU Open on May 1 if I have to just to get back to feeling good. I'm looking into what my insurance will cover for chiro and massage therapy appointments (yay real job!) but in the meantime I'd like to give my 3 readers a glimpse into what I'm going to do for training to feel better, starting with today's "workout."

Squat - 185#x3x10 - my legs were like, "dude, quit warming up and put some real weight on and my back told me, "hey, bro, take it easy, we don't really like the way you push out your stomach and flex."

Pwr Sn + Sn off blocks above knee - 95#x1+1x5 - felt pretty solid.

Chins- 3x5 - strict, easy

1k Row - easy pace, just to keep my body loose. 3:46

Since I'm home for most of the day (I have to work for about 15 minutes at 2) I'll be foam rolling and using tennis balls (I don't have lacrosse balls) to stay loose.