Challenge: Day 30

Get a Straight Razor Shave.

Oh, hello last day of the Be a Better Man Challenge. How nice to see you.

This might have to wait until next weekend. One, I have to find a place that does it. Two, my car is making funny noises so I don't feel like driving my car. Three, it's Sunday, aka football day. Besides, I shaved late yesterday so I'm not exactly at my furriest.

The challenged ended up meh. A lot like pancakes, fun at the beginning but you can't wait for them to be finished at the end (RIP Mitch Hedburg). I did like the music though. That was fun.

Challenge: Day 28

Conquer a Fear.

Clowns, failure, exotic fruits? How about failure. I'll get more done on my MBA application. WInner.

Challenge: Day 28

Write a Love Letter

Oh boy. I'm not exactly what you would call the romantic type. Not at all. This will be a huge surprise for Carlee. I think. She'll probably just call me cheesey. Whatever.

Challenge: Day 27

Start a Book.

Apparently, a lot of adults tend to not read. That's a shame. I like to read. It's relaxing and a great way to finish the day. I won't say that I read every night (because I certainly don't) and that I'm a particularly fast reader (I'm actually a very slow reader, but my comprehension and retention are stellar) but I do enjoy it.

Currently, I'm in and around page 100 of Infinite Jest. The story itself is 1000+ pages. This does not include the footnotes, of which there are many. Pretty good though after it took me 20 pages to get used to David Foster Wallace's fiction writing style.

Challenge: Day 26

Take The Marine Corp Fitness Test

Pushups, Situps and Running. No thanks. I'll stick to my squats and presses. Same difference.

Challenge: Day 25

Start a Debt Reduction Plan

Umm, I'm pretty much don't have debt. I don't have college loans and about the only thing that I owe $ on is my mortgage, which my wife and I are paying more than enough every month. The lottery is always an option, but that's just a tax on the stupid. Since I don't have uncontrollable debt I make it a point to put a lot into savings. About half of my paychecks go into savings. Seems like a good idea to me. Also, I hardly ever use my credit card. That's just how I roll.

Challenge: Day 24

Play!

Hooray. Play time. Super cool fun time. I'm headed to the gym today post-surgery (wisdom teeth, not exactly a big deal) and will play there. My mom is coming up to CT to watch Carlee's race tomorrow, maybe we'll play a game. If only I could get somebody to play watermelon with me while I was at work. That would be uber-sweet.

BALKANS - Let You Have It from Frank Broyles on Vimeo.

i thought this was funny

Challenge: Day 23

Learn a Manual Skill

Which should I learn. I can make a fire, chop wood and am pretty handy with a power drill. Maybe I should practice my tire rotation speed. That would be pretty sweet. Or maybe I could just get a zombie kit and learn how to use all of the stuff. Either way, if you have suggestions just post them in comments. Or don't. I don't really care.

Challenge: Day 22

Improve your posture.

So something happened, days were skipped on the AoM website. Oh well. I also missed about a week. I'm sorry I'm not sorry. Whatever, fuck it.

This is one that I like to pretend that I take care of. But I sit at a desk, literally all day. I try my best to do my mobility thanks to mobilitywod.com. I'm going to make a legitimate effort in improving my posture, to stay externally rotated in the shoulders (swimmers are notoriously internally rotated) and to not over-extend my back thanks to my tight psoas.

Challenge: Day 19

Write Your Own Eulogy.

Eff that. I'm not doing this one. What do you want me to say? He was born in New York, swam, got married, (maybe) had a bunch of kids, and then died. Let me actually do some living first. P.S. I'd prefer if my tombstone read something like this:

Challenge: Day 18

Schedule a Physical Exam

Well, before last year I hadn't seen a doctor in nearly six years. So that's probably why this is on the Man Month list. Whatever. I'll do it. I need my balls groped by an old lady while the nurse stands in the room to make sure no foul play occurs like I need chocolate chip pancakes. I want chocolate chip pancakes. What is she going to tell me? "Eric, you're pretty heavy." "Yeah, but I'm not fat and all of my blood numbers are within the healthy range." "Still, I want to see you give up red meat and chicken skins on them and to lose weight." "But I'm healthy, healthiest mutha fucka that this office has ever seen. I just also happen to have gigantic thighs and neck."

Yup, I can see where this is going.

Challenge: Day 17

Find Your N.U.T.s

Your Non-negotiable Unalterable Terms. I'm fairly lenient so I guess this might be a tough one for me. I guess they would be:

I will exercise 5 days per week barring a vacation or catastrophic event.

Punctuality is key. Being late is a sign to me that you don't give a fuck.

I will eat meat at 26/27 meals per week.

Not giving a fuck.

I guess that's a good start. I could add that I ought to be devoted to my wife, my work and blah, blah, blah. But whatever, that shit gets done even if I don't write it down. Whatever, fuck.

Challenge: Day 17

Talk to Strangers

Umm, I guess because i'm hardly kidnapable that it's ok now? Homie needs some more friends. Homie doesn't have the opportunity to talk to strangers, really. I literally spend every waking moment at work, the gym or with my wife. Just the social butterfly.

Challenge: Day 16

Create a Budget

How can I save more money? Easy; plan. How much should groceries cost me per week? How about regular expenses like my car payment, condo fee and the like. How about fun time? Movies, apple picking and maize mazes cost $. Duh. But to plan this within the context of bi-weekly pay checks is the trick. Save enough money for myself and the missus. With the economy in the tank and prospects for economic growth stagnant (trust me, I listen to NPR) it feels like people are on their own.

Challenge: Day 15

Make a Meal.

Perfect. I like to cook. All you need is meat, veggies and a starch, preferably potatoes, I love potatoes.

Challenge: Day 14

Write a Letter to Your Father

Yikes. My old man was/is pretty impressive. He's a professional jazz musician. He's an Eagle Scout and can literally paint an entire house in a weekend, prep and all. But, he was/is still a wonderful dad. We played catch, he was my woodwind teacher and now that I'm older we can share a beer and shoot the shit about how horrible the Mets are. The letter that I write will more than likely be a touch too personal for this blog. Although nobody reads it, there's a shot in hell that somebody could randomly find this POS.

So anyways, the Chinese train hard in weightlifting, huh?

Challenge: Day 13

Declutter Your Life.

Unknowingly did this yesterday. Did some weeding, vacuumed. The downstairs doesn't look like a disaster zone any more. Let's try and keep it that way.

In other news, today is the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Try and do something fun today. Call friends and family. In general, be a good person. Not that hard.

Challenge: Day 12

Create a Bucket List

Visit Norway, Sweden and Denmark

Become COO of Pepsico

Go to the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals

Get my MBA, possibly PhD in finance (will lead to item #2)

Qualify for weightlifting nationals

Simple, straight forward, will take a shit ton of work. Whatever.

Easy there Dave

Challenge: Day 11

Give Myself a Testicular Exam

Done. Easy.

In other news, football is back. Hooray! I can forget about this atrocious Mets season.

This is a pretty rad Grateful Dead cover. Neato.

Challenge: Day 10

Memorize If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

People used to memorize things. This seems like something worthwhile to memorize. Maybe your mom's cell phone number? That might be good.

Challenge: Day 9

Take a Woman on a Date.

Easy peazy lemon squeezy. Carlee, want to head to McDonalds? Awesome.

Actually, it's raining so my date will have to wait for the weekend. Bummer. Besides, she's got a Team in Training meeting tonight for which she is going to be a coach. Hooray! This weekend we'll probably go apple picking. Maybe to a maize maze. Something more fun than just dinner and a terrible summer movie.

Their beards are epic

Challenge: Day 8

Start a Journal

I guess that's what this pathetic excuse for a website is. It's obviously grown from a place to just store my training schedule. Will I write in it everyday. Obviously not, I forgot yesterday. I'm sorry I'm not sorry. But what I think that I'd like to do is when I have something interesting happen to me (rarely, if ever, does something interesting happen to me) I'll write about in here. In the meantime, I'm going to do some mobility, play with my cats and maybe, just maybe, go to the mall to look for a suit. How's that for an interesting life. Not chronicling that would be a crime against history.

Challenge: Day 7

Reconnect with an old friend

Made easy with Facebook. You hear that Sam and Doug. I'm coming for you. Maybe we'll legit hang out next time I'm back in NY. It should be noted that, from 2nd thru 4th grade, I quite literally had a sleep over with these two every weekend.

Challenge: Day 6

Update Your Resume

I don't really have time to do this this morning. I'll have to update you all on how it goes tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I'm going to route some Pepsi trucks. Hooray Pepsi!

Probably the best concert I've ever been to. You know, except for the shooting outside the theater afterward as we were exiting. Awesome times. This kind of music makes me feel good about being white.

Challenge: Day 5

Cultivate Gratitude.

I, and you too, have always made it a priority to say "please" and "thank you." However, there are people out there who may go long periods of time without getting thanked in the capacity that they deserve. I'm looking at you teachers, cleaning crews and barbers. I'm going to share with you, dear readers, a rough draft of a note that I'm going to send to one of my favorite teachers, Ms. Rogow. She was my 11th and 12th grade English teacher at Mamaroneck High School. She wrote one of my college recommendations. She is (was) awesome. I know she's around because she belongs to the pool that every Brandom boy has lifeguard at since 2000.

Dear Ms. Rogow,

I hope that this letter finds you well. I am writing to you today to express my gratitude for being not only and amazing teacher but an amazing person. During my years with you, you saw past the lazy facade and found a way to coerce me into doing work. Your allowance to let us free-write and then to openly express ourselves gave me a new insight into writing and reading. If you hadn't found a way to lay the ground work for hard work I may not have graduated from college, gotten a job or found my wife. You are a wonderful person and while I'm sure that you get these sorts of notes all the time I felt that you needed to know that I have always admired the way that you held yourself while helping us in your class, even us, the stragglers.

This is just a rough draft. I'll be sure to not be so all over the place in the actual letter.

Here's a list of 5 things that I am grateful for. So what if it's not Thanksgiving.

1. My wife for being so tolerant of me doing a sport that she hates.

2. My boss, not only for the steady paycheck but for being a really good person who allows flexibility in how tasks get accomplished.

3. My dad for the free music lessons. Still come in handy when I pick up the clarinet from time to time. It's therapeutic.

4. Coach Gerry. As much as he may not like me he always went out of his way to help me out. Probably because he likes my wife so much.

5. Steak

Challenge; Day 4

Increase Your Testosterone

There are lots of ways to increase your testosterone. There are also a lot of reasons why you ought to. "T" has been shown to lower fat, increase muscle, make you smarter and more fertile. Pretty fucking awesome. Here's what I plan on doing. Maybe more, but these are the easy ones to do.

Get 8 hours of sleep - check

Do Compound movement exercises - check, every fucking day.

Eat Meat - check and will continue to check this box

There are also other ways: getting sun, sex (preferably in the morning) and even thinking aggressive thoughts. Boom, I'm angry and I don't like the way that people are driving.

I'm planning on seeing this band in September in Brooklyn. This should be pretty fun. I'm finally putting my ticketmaster gift cards to good use.

Challenge Day #3

Find a Mentor

This seems like it might have been a hard one, but given a little bit of thought with my value system (see day #1), it just makes sense to have my mom as a mentor. She was a CFO at CitiGroup and is now the CFO at Trinity Wall Street. She knows the rewards for hard work but also made time to to be a great mom, daughter, sister and spouse. With that said, I plan on asking her for advice. Financial, educational (she went to Kellogg aka. Northwestern for her MBA) and how to balance it all. She did not grow up with a lot of money and for her to have gotten as far as she has, from a small midwestern town to the top of the financial pyramid is a pretty amazing thing.

There is one other person with whom I'd like to converse. And that would be Mr. Granucci. He is, from what I can tell, a wonderful husband and has a silent strength about him. He is confident without being boastful and has a way of assuring people that everything will turn out alright even in the worst of times. Luckily, I am having dinner with him, his wife and one of his sons and his girlfriend tonight (lasagna, yum). I will use this time to try to get to know him better and learn how to stand up for yourself even when the odds are against you. It's a great, manly trait to have.

I heard this song on the radio coming home from work. I haven't thought about this band in a long time. They used to be more punk-dance. But if this single is any indication for their new stuff it sounds more dance oriented. Still, legit. On a scale of take it or leave it, I'd more take it.

Challenge Day #2

Shine Your Shoes

People notice shoes. They may not stare at them but shoes do get noticed. Nasty, scuffed shoes can break an outfit. Nice suit, pressed shirt, nice tie, scuffed shoes. One of these things does not belong. I believe that this challenge is about the details. Details matter and it's important to take care of them.

Steps:

1. Buy shoes polish - roughly $5 a tin.

2. Brush shoes of any dirt that might be lingering around

3. Cut up old t-shirt to make rags.

4. Polish to a high gloss.

5. Let sit.

I managed to get one in before work. It's my nicest pair of shoes. I don't wear them that often but I've got a wedding to go to coming up in October. Have to look nice for the folks in Kansas City.

PS. Whitney Houston covers this. It's when she was throwing gas.

Better Man Day #1 - Values

This is going to be the start of a 30 Day Challenge inspired by the Are of Manliness blog. The challenge, over the course of 30 days, is to set yourself up to become a better man. Can I do it? Maybe. Will I try. Absolutely. I kind of need to at this point. Also, I'd like to post some music at the end of every post. So, even if you have absolutely no interest in my transformation into the ultimate male, you'll at least get a taste of some cool music. Suppose you don't like it I don't know what to tell you.

Day #1: Set up a system of values to live by. This will make decisions down the road easier and you will know that you are living through life without an absence of focus.

1. To allow the opportunities afforded to me by my parents to my future children. This takes financial security. Quite literally there was nothing that I could not have done as a child. This sounds like I had bad parents but what I mean is that should I have been chosen to do something that requires time, devotion and money I would have been allowed to do it. There are things that have to get done to make this happen for me and my future offspring.

a. Remain Debt Free. This is important. I have no college loans. I'm lucky. I'd like to keep it this way. This means refraining from going crazy on the credit card.

b. Continuing my education. I've started my MBA application process. On a scale of take it or leave it I could mostly leave it. But I'm being forced to take it. It's a good step. A pain in the ass step, but a good step. This also involves going to workshops and seminars at work. I should be getting my name out there so people think of me as a responsible person. Perception, right?

2. Remain (become?) adventurous and fun. I would like to try any and all opportunities that come my way. Hiking, yes please. Art/Music/Theatre, especially when it's free. You betcha. Eating challenges, I'm there. Farm Crawls, fuck yeah. This also includes my wife coming on these adventures and doing adventures that she would like. From my experience (and watching my parents) the couple that journeys together stays together and enjoys their lives completely.

3. Be a Stand-Up-Guy. Have INTEGRITY. When I say something I want it to have weight. There should be a sense that I know what I'm talking about. For a long time I have been a person who muddles through my life (hence, this challenge), allowing people to make decisions for me. Very seldom do I speak my mind and this has caused a bit of angst. However, for people to start taking what I have to say and my opinions seriously there has to be a steely focus to all of my endeavors. I have to be of the sort to stand up for what I believe is right and necessary. Think John Wayne, only real, and without the poo.

Back Again

Well, it happened again. Another back tweak. This one isn't nearly as bad. It came, of course, from being lazy and unfocused in the bottom of a squat. Also, because I over extend at the bottom of my squat. The plan, at least for this week, is to do some pre-hab, some rehab and some really light weight range of motion type stuff. Like Snatches, lots of Snatches and Clean and Jerks. Maybe from the blocks. But light. Nothing forced and nothing with any injury risk. There will be lots of mobility work to help correct what I've been doing wrong this whole time. Not that anybody really cares, but I'll be giving updates on how I've been getting back to healthy.

Squats - worked up to 325#. I was supposed to do sets of 4, instead I got 2, decided that my back did not like this and stopped.

Snatch - triples at 90kg. Again, was supposed to go higher but my back said, "no mas."

Lacrosse ball(s) to lower back, staying in neutral hip alignment and entering my pain cave. "Slide."

Mashed on the psoas with the lacrosse ball and a Kettlebell. Very effective.

Used the GHD to decompress the spine a little bit.

Tomorrow, who knows what I'll do.

Alexander - Truth from Alexander on Vimeo.

Donny Shankle: the man, the myth, the legend

Differences in Training

Rowing

Weightlifting

Swimming

Swimming Videos on Floswimming

Swimming Videos on Floswimming

and this is why i sprint (ps cesar is the 2008 gold medalist in the 50m freestyle)...

Swimming Videos on Floswimming

You'll notice that each of these athletes does what applies to them in their sport. The rowers, for instance, are in a much more endurance inclined sport and spend a lot of time working on that endurance. I have no doubt that at times they work on their top end strength but for the most part it's imperative that they maintain a power endurance type of body by doing things in the 4-12 range.

For the weightlifters, it's pretty obvious. Their practice mimics their competition. There is no reason for a weightlifter at their level to do anything more than a set of 5 and that would only be in things like Clean/Snatch Pulls or squats.

The swimmers are a totally different story. As they do not have a solid base to support their bodies during competition, things like a 3RM back squat become less and less important. They should be explosive off of the start and the turns so some squats and heavier (not heavy) lifting is required but mostly it is important to maintain good "core" strength (I hate that word and everything that it implies, but for swimmers, it actually is important). To maintain a straight body throughout a race, to not get exhausted doing the undulation kicks of butterfly and breast stroke, and keep the spine in check are the most important things (swimmers have terrible posture from constantly internally rotating the shoulders). You don't want your legs going in a different direction than your upper body. Watch the difference between the lap swimmers at your local Y against the contrast in elite or even pretty good swimmers (you can go to a Cheshire High School practice). It's pretty start, the differences.

Again, train for the outcome that you want. Different sports require different training modalities. Also, Crossfit would not apply to any of them.

Triple Jump

Notice that the triple jumper does doubles for his weight training. He doesn't do 30 Snatches as fast as he possible can or 100 air squats to a ball. He does double at progressively heavier weight to make him good at his sport. His goal is to not be the "fittest man on the planet." His goal is to be the best triple jumper. Although, I'm fairly certain he power snatches what most crossfitters clean, but that's neither her nor there.

And now we dance...

Thurs - 6-2

Heave Snatch Balance - Heavy Triple - 255# - failed at rep 2 twice @ 260

Back Squat - 5's at 60%, 65%, 70%x2

Front Squat - 5's at 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%

Snatch Pull - 125%x3x5

Back Squat - 5x10 @ 255

Hip Mobility

Officially the last day of the cycle. How anti-climactic.

Wed - 6-1

Snatch - Worked up to 230#x1x2, then 200#x1x4 and 185#x2x3

Chins - 3x6

Bent Rows - 3x4 @ 275#

Chinese KB Rows - 3x8 (each arm) @ 88#

DB Pullover - 3x12 @ 45# (heaviest DB we have, stupid CF gym)

Band Pull Downs - 100

GHD Situps - 3x10

Tues - 5-31

Back Squat

60%x5

70%x3

80%x2

90%x2

95%x2

103%x1 - continued on to 405# - which is a belt-less high bar PR. So I'm pretty happy

5@355#

Front Squat

60%x5

70%x5

75%x5x2

Clean Pulls - 122.5%x5x5

RDL - 3x10 @ 235#

Rest Day(s)

It's been a very long time since I have taken 3 days off. Feels good. I'm anxious to get back to work tomorrow but I feel like my body is starting to heal. I'll be back at the gym tomorrow with some more squats, pulls and snatches.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Saw them last night. Really a good time.

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - "40 Day Dream" : Live at The Regent Theater from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.

Brent

Randle, from what it sounds like, you just give too much of a fuck. Sometimes you just have to go hard, bro. Just keep in mind that someone out there is always training harder than you. There are probably things that you absolutely hate about this guy. He posts pictures of himself shirtless on facebook. With a fitted cap sitting crooked on his fucking head. He has never competed or trained anyone but he posts advice on message boards as though he is an authority on training. He does the oly lifts the day after he deadlifts. He deadlifts 5×5, with a rounded back, and straps, and is absolutely an ego lifter, because often he will forgo the last few sets of 5 and just work up to a single so everyone in the gym will see how strong he is with 495lbs on the bar. For accessory work he does rear and lateral barbell lunges, and he touts Bulgarian split squats as being equally effective for leg development as back squats. Then later that night when he goes to the same bar that every other useless fuck head in his town goes to on Friday nights he’ll put on a polo that’s a size too small so people will “know” that he lifts weights. People will ask him advice on working out and he will tell them about the dude from leangains.com and Lyle McDonald, even though he wouldn’t have the discipline for IF or any sort of controlled eating. Also, he’s in a fucking talentless band and all his songs are about generic tragic life experiences that he hasn’t even fucking had. Are you really going to let this pussy fucking bitch train harder than you? Because I sure as FUCK am not.

- Brent Kim

Some Videos

French Team at the OTC

So good

I Heart Patriotism

94kg

Meet Weelk

Because of the upcoming meet (where I'll have to deal with Merle, Eff) I'm changing my weekly schedule. I'll be doing singles at my openers all week with decreasing volume as the week goes on. Hopefully by the time Sunday rolls around I'll be more than confident in my opening weights and the rest of the day will just fall into place.

In the meantime, enjoy the reading

Intense exercise maintains calorie burn

How the Bulgarians Train Their Youngsters

How Pendlay Figures We Should Start Our Youngsters (note similarities and differences)

New Template

I've started another strength quest. Pumped.

Mon

Snatch - Max Double

Back Squat

Front Squat

Snatch Pull - 5x3

Press - 3x5

Tues

Power Snatch - Max

Power Clean + Power Jerk - Max - when power jerk fails, keep going for max power clean

Chins 5x5

Wed

2Clean + 1Jerk - Max

Back Squat

Front Squat

Clean Pull - 5x3

Push Press - 5x5

Thurs

Snatch x2x15

C&J - 1x15

Barbell Rows - 3x8

Alt DB Press - 3x10

Curls

Fri - Rest

Sat

Max Snatch

Max C&J

Bulgarian Split Squats

Bench 5x5

Kroc Rows

I feel like this is going to help me build lean body mass. Maybe somebday, I can look like this...

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Music Saturday

Blasts from the past

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.

Debilitating and humiliating

Yesterday at CFW's Football Total, lead by Pam DelNego in her final coaching class there, I was on my way to a solid victory. I was warming up for the deadlift, the bar was loaded with 495# and on the way up I allowed my low back to curve. Now, usually, on an epically heavy deadlift the back is going to break its stabilizing position. That happens. But the lower back must remain neutral. I got the bar to just below my knees and bailed. Since then I've been moving slowly and sure not to hurt myself getting up out of chairs and picking things up (if my cats push one more thing off of the kitchen counter it will be their last).

So that bring us to today. I went to the gym feeling a lot better. I could still feel a twinge in my back but it felt manageable. I thought that maybe a good solid warm up would loosen me right up. Wrong. I went through the Burgener Warmup and did some extra Hang Snatches. I even did the California Strength Progression to make sure that everything was in working order. Then, I loaded the bar. Nothing heavy, afterall, it's still a warmup. 135#. Couldn't lift it more than a couple of inches before pain would dig it's dirty nails into my low back. I was done.

I spent the next 45 minutes stretching. Using a PVC Pipe as a foam roller, the double lacrosse ball in between each of my ribs and using bands to enhance the "couch stretch." I even did a couple minutes of handstand holds. While I do feel much better I decided to wait until tomorrow to try to lift again, that is, of course if we don't get more snow. We'll see how this goes. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. I have 4 weeks until the Atlantic States Open and could use some rest. I just hope that this pain goes away permanently and soon.

Parent Oblivious to Their Obese Children

Percentage of Americans with Type II Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes rising exponentially

M is for Mobility

One of my big projects for 2011 (and beyond) is to become more mobile, more supple, more awesome. More specifically, since I partake in the occasional Olympic Weightlifting Meet is to improve all of the positions that a lifter must force himself into. This should, in theory, create a more powerful athlete while at the same time significantly reducing the risk of injury. It's easy to get strong but maintaining mobility, especially as I get older and it become much more important, is where the cash-money is at (yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition, so so me).
Thanks in large part to Kelly Starrett's Mobility Project and to Greg Everett's efforts to really focus on warm-up's the utilize positions this should be a cinch, and really just up to me to get it done and make it just as important to my training as squats.
Barbell Warm Up Series from Catalyst Athletics
These are my names for the stretches on Mobility WOD. If you want to know more about them, just ask in the comments:
Super Frog
Feet on Walls
Psoas with Fulcram on Pole
Thoracic Stuff with Foam Roller and Balls
Calves
Couch Stretch
Sotts Presses
Balls on Hips and Glutes
and of course....
The Squat Test
and of course

Rich Man, Poor Man... Thoughts

Rich Man, Poor Man
An astute observation in the above piece. People in generally poorer areas have a better time working together. Very interesting. I wonder if the author's conclusion that rich people can use their credit cards to solve their problems is the whole answer. My guess is that it's not. I wonder if it has to do with video games vs. team sports. Little League and Rec-League Hockey teach kids to work well with each other. As do games of pick-up basketball which, after the cost of shoes and a ball, are free. Whereas Halo and Call of Duty, while entertaining and expensive, are solitary activities. Just random thoughts. Maybe I'm biased because I played in youth sports but feel that the experience of working towards a common goal (the biggest trophy) really has a major factor on the ability to work well with others during school and in the work force.

1st articles of 2011

Un-F$#K Your CF Gym
Top 50 Elite FTS Articles of 2010
For Red Sox Fans
How to Use the Prowler - Defranco

Hotel Workout #3

Back in Virginia...
30 Man Makers with 50# Dumbbell's.
I worked these as fast as I could but don't have a watch or even a clock to work off of. It's kind of nice doing conditioning without a clock. It forces you to rachet up the intensity (in ten cities) without external motivation.
Anyway... back to the grind

Interesting

I was digging through the Crossfit archives before football starts and I found this graph on interval ratios to train for the different metabolic pathways. Pretty interesting. If you're looking to try something and don't want to deal with the dogma of what Crossfit has turned into take a look back to what they were up to in 2003. It's pretty great stuff. They were much more humble and much more into the science behind training then. It seems like CF was more willing to recognize other training systems as legitimate and to try and experiment with what worked for other people and incorporate it into their own style. I wonder what happened?

Back in the Gym....

For now.
I'm home from work in Virginia for the weekend and was glad to get to the gym to lift some heavier weights.
Front Squat - 60% x 4
70% x 4
80% x4x3
Snatch - 60%x2
70%x2
80%x2x3
C+J - 60%x2+2
70%x2+2
80%x2+2x3
RDL - 85% of cleanx4x4
Press - 165#x3x4
Chins- 3x5 +15#

Also, I got to learn how to cross country ski at winding trails in Farmington, CT. I had a great time and really enjoyed it. It's the things I used to like about endurance type training without the parts I hate (boring staring at a black line in the pool and the knee pain running). I'm definitely going back again sometime soon.
In the meantime, I'm supposed to head back to Virginia for a couple more days. Looks like I'll be googling some more DB Complexes.

Hotel Workout #2

Thank goodness for DB Complexes. They force at least a little bit of intensity and a pretty good feeling in zee muscles, da.
3 sets of 6 reps each with 50# in each hand
High Pulls
Snatch (RA)
Snatch (LA)
Thruster
B.O. Row
Snatch (RA)
Snatch (LA)

I feel like I got something in that at the very worst got my blood flowing a little bit and forced me to breathe hard.
Hopefully I'll be headed back home tonight (weather permitting). It'll be good to see the the wife, the cats and a gym with barbells.

Hotel Workout

I didn't really feel like doing much this morning. Especially in terms of intensity and really getting my sweat on.
3x20 DB Bench (50#)
5x10 DB Bent Over Row (50#)
100 Air Squats - unbroken

Business Trip

Right now, I'm at the airport. I'm headed down to Norfolk, VA (but first, Charlotte for an hour). Pepsi wants me to visit my facility, learn from the warehouse folks and to see how the drivers like their trucks loaded (which side do they want 2 liters on versus 20 oz and what do we do with all of those gatorades?).
While, this is good for me and makes business sense, I can't help but think what this is going to do for my workouts and training. I didn't bother to bring my shoes or to call ahead to any crossfit or olympic lifting gyms. I'm going to make-do with what the Courtyard Marriott gods have bestowed upon me. The website says that they have free weights. We'll see. Worst case scenario I can do some stuff in my hotel room.
But what about my actual training. The whole "getting stronger" thing. Sure, I can do conditioning without equipment, but gaining, or even maintaining strength will be tough. Well, here's my idea. I'm going to double up on this week. It was a 4-day training week anyhow. Here's how it would look uninterrupted: Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri and below is how I'm going to do my workouts:
Mon, Tues, Thurs (on Saturday when I'm home)
Tues (on Thurs), Thurs (on Fri) and Friday (on Saturday).
This could end up being a good solution. I could use a week or two of taking it easier. In the meantime I'll figure out what I can/cannot do at the hotel gym and get my mobility on.

Carlee's Birthday

January the first is a great time for setting goals. Most people don't stick to them. I've seen a stat on this before but I'm tired and lazy this morning and I don't especially want to go look for it. The problem, that I find, is that when people set goals, e.g. I want to lose weight and be healthier, they are non-specific and there is no blue print or plan. You can't randomly decide that today's the day that I'm going to join a gym and start eating healthy (which is a big issue, because a lot of people don't know what is, in fact, healthy food) and then magically the pounds (or kilos to the rest of the world) will start falling off. It's very, very difficult, not impossible, just difficult.
The idea is to have a plan of attack. Create a system in which if you hit mini goals or a new milestone often enough to keep you interested and then the larger goal will come. To all those people with New Years Resolutions, keep at it. Keep working and whatever your goal is will come to you. But you have to do the hard work.

Mine:
285kg total in the Snatch and Clean and Jerk

Mini-Goals that will help get me there:
Squat 500#'s
DL - 600#'s
Sleep at least 7 hours a night
Eat more veggies