Giving Up On Excuses

I'm a little upset at my fellow folks.  People are "giving up" on maintaining any kind of routine, and boy of boy are there "excuses".

Sunday night, the Walleye and Taylor put in a mad show of squats, straight leg dead lifts, benches, and rows.  Big, powerful compound movement brutally defining hard work.  Tuesday, Big Papa...with a no call no show....probably work as usual.  No CrazyLegs ever at my house.  Big Papa's grandson isn't coming by since he doesn't have a ride.  No Hippie, but I do occasionally see him jogging with his daughter, so I don't know why he's turning his back on me.

Last night, lots of curls and presses, calf raises to the roof and going tabata all over the Schwin AirDyne.  I've got cardio tonight and more backyard antics at Taylor's tomorrow, but it looks like BeanTown might be down with an injury, and CrazyLegs can quickly make himself scarce.

The invitation is always there.  The Free Fitness Movement, 3 days a week, 2 different locations....just show up and kick your own butt!

The group experience grows

I've been talking about wanting more people to get involved with the Free Fitness Movement.  I want others to shed the shackles of personal trainers, 100's of dollars of DVDs and exotic machines to build a better body.  My  main lifting partner got his grandson, a freshman on a high school cross country team, to come by this evening.  Deadlifts and bent over rows were the name of the game.  We were also blessed with Taylored MMA himself showing us how to sling some iron.  A great time.  From teen to grown men, heavy lifting and hard work.

It looks like the stage may be set to take on the ladies in the backyard antics and weight lifting.  Two more have expressed interested, now to get them over here.  I like a diverse cross section of people, and all are always welcome at my house.  Get ready, we're looking at some video being taken Tuesday and Thursday to get you a peek at the action.  Stay tuned.  The Free Fitness Movement Grows!

Abbreviated Training

It's another rainy day here in southern Missouri.  Training has taken a back seat to the practical needs of living.  Sadly, the jeep is gone, making way for a baby transporting, grocery getting machine.  3yrs from now, when this new baby is a walking, talking, buckling it self in little person, I will claim a jeep of my own again, until then, it's a honda element for me.

On to the good stuff.  Abbreviated training goes back a very long time, and the best piece of literature on the subject comes from Brooks Kubik, and his manual to hard and heavy lifting, Dinosaur Training.  Last night for example, my workout looked like this.

- Lots of jumping jacks and cross country skiers
- Light stretching
- Heavy dumbbell curl and presses for 3 sets of as many reps as I could get.
- Heavy trap bar deadlift 5,5,5,5,5,max effort
- Heavy barbell calf raises with the barbell held at waist height (arms fully extended),  great for the calves and the fore arms
- Captain of Crush gripper work
- Heavy dumbbell bent over rows for 3 sets of as many reps as I could get
- I also put a plate on one end of the barbell and swung it side to side while the un weighted in was on the floor.  Great for rotational strength.  If you know what that move is called, let me know.

35 minutes later, dripping in sweat, I went back to dealing with the sheet rock in my bedroom remodeling project.  Remember, I think GPP is all about the ability to do work.  Abbreviated training should put you in the weight room 1 to 3 times per week max, and keep it under an hour, but don't go collapsing into your favorite recliner with a beer and remote in hand.  Stay up and keep moving.  I find less soreness and more benefit from the weight training when it's coupled with simple old active living.  Stay abbreviated on the weights, but active in life and reap more benefits.

--The Walleye

The Beginning....again

With a lengthy hiatus from MMA training due to Taylor going down with a blown up knee, my training and weight have fluctuated greatly.  Today, we start again.  With no aspirations of any sort of MMA future, I do realize that the genetic response that comes with the violence, the self defense, the unleashing of power contained in every muscular cell with as many of those pistons firing at oncee brings great progress.  Mentally, letting the animal loose to run certainly helps him sleep better at night.  But the metabolic responses to working it to the end, to fatigue, to just saying "Hey boss man, need rest here boss man" springs forth hormonal responses that harken back to a time when it was truly those who could progress (dare I say evolve with all its horrible connotations) faster than those around them.  Those who would then eat well, thrive, and turn land into home.  Next Tuesday, I take what will probably be my last trip (albeit free) to the great chrome covered, fern decorated land that is Taylor's gym.  I will hopefully blow up their equipment with too many reps set on whatever "high" is for the gizmo, and lift weights so heavy that it makes the muscle pumpers near by cringe.  Not for the sake of ego, but for the sake of awakening the inner beast...knowing that the shortest distance to 1000lbs isn't 100 reps 10 times, but when you can do it in 1 rep, and then have enough time left over to flip a tractor tire, and throw a keg or 2, and run some 400m sprints.

As a money competition for weight loss starts at work the 16th, weight loss will become more important than big gains under a barbell....but I will not regress.  9 weeks to a thinner self, increase the weight to power ration we used to always say back when we raced Honda Civics against Mustangs and Camaros.  Decreasing the weight, increasing the agility....sounds like the making for one hungry beast....and I can't wait.  (BTW - for those who workout with me....say hello to 20lbs. of BFH....soon to be our new best friend Mu-ah-ah-ah!)

Rookie status continued

Check out the main man of living out of a van (free as it gets) and playing hard all over the web.

Tonight the macebell was finally set up and it went to the back yard as the choice of finisher.  In the misting rain, I meet my first macebell...how romantic.

Wanna know how to make one?  http://maxwellsc.blogspot.com/2008/10/gitchy-gitchy-gada-ya-ya.html

Choke up and work your way down til you find the magic spot where you're challenged but not ripping your arms off.  After a bunch of heavy, heavy calf raises and deep, wide stance squats, this was just what the upper body called for.  It'll challenge your core and grip.  Made mine for less than $10.

Get ready.  Tomorrow night, Taylored MMA is back in effect after a long hiatus.  Backyard odd object antics coupled with an hour of stand up round after round goodness.  Hopefully, pictures to follow.