Welcome to the Clan!

Big Boys welcomes, 'Lard' to the clan.  While he may be new here, Lard has been around for a long time.  Lard was the instigator for the Power Lift and Body Challenge in 2009.    

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Let the Training Begin...

Man... It's sure dusty in here.  This place needs some cleaning up!
For the 2014 US Open Racquetball Championships this October, I'm going to train for it.  This will be my third year competing at the US Open. 

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Way to go Champ!

Swami won a few racquetball games this weekend.  Good job Mike!!

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2011 1-Rep Max

Its been 2 years since September 8, 2009, the date of my last 1RM session. Since that contest, my workouts grew stale, infrequent, or not at all. However, I was always able to maintain my weight at 185 lbs. Then I started adding 5-10 pounds in the winter, but again, able to shave it off for summer...until this summer. I started the summer of 2011 at 195 lbs and was never able to get back to 185. So I recently started hitting my workouts more frequently and decided to challenge myself (and the Big Boys) to see where we are at individually. I decided to find my 1RM again, and continue my goal from 2009 of lifting a combined 1000 pounds in the Bench, Deadlift, and Squat. I will continue on that goal this winter, but my focus is on a long-term weight goal of 185 lbs. But we all need a starting point, so here is mine.

I went to the gym at 4:45a, my normal routine. Here are the results and any comments:

9/13/11
Bench 250 Just couldn't extend at 270
Dead 330 New personal record
Squat 360 Couldn't get low enough at 380

Total 940 lbs. Previous September 2009 combined weight of 990 lbs. So I'm not that far behind my all-time highs or my 1000 pound goal. Good luck to all!

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Next Challenge

Summer is coming to an end, time to look forward to our winter workout routines. I've decided I want to achieve the 1000-lb. combined lifts for the Bench, Squat, and Deadlift. I cam up 10 lbs short a couple years ago, and will renew my efforts again this fall/winter. What are your goals?

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THE SECRET INGREDIENT

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection and food right?

Well, right about now I start thinking forward towards the next year’s goals, but you can’t really look forward without looking back. So I looked way back. I didn't remember when I started with the kettlebells, but I did remember that it was in November of 2007, (Happy Blog - a - versary by the way gentlemen.) so I went back to take a look:

First KB Workout - November 19th, 2007 "40 minutes on the rollers. 3 x 30 second one handed swings alternating."

I’m not really sure what that means. KB swing 3 x 20 after 40 minutes on the bike? That was workout #3 of trying to get back in the game.

Well, looking back...it's...been...a....well, um....a...good....learning experience. Right?

Am I happy about what I've accomplished? Not really.

Is there room for improvement? Yes.

Is there something to be thankful for? Yes, I'm not irreparably damaged, I've made some progress, and I'm having fun. I'm just not as strong as I hoped I'd be. But, I have learned a lot. Unfortunately, I’ve also accumulated a lot of clutter. When I go through my training logs I feel like I continue to take one step forward and two steps back. Some of that is due to injury and some is training ADHD (which is due to not following a consistent protocol, having too many goals, boredom, erratic schedules, and having a trainer who is maybe not quite on the same page. She wants me to move well so that I can get strong, I just want to get strong – realistically, it’s me that’s on the wrong page, but that just means more to do, more choices, more goals. Hey look there’s a squirrel!)

SO WHAT IS THE MISSING INGREDIENT?

Consistency!

Some would say practice. Some would say goals. Some would say incremental resistance. Some would say periodization. But for me, I’m thinking consistency is the missing key to success. Consistency is the missing ingredient to my previous three years.

So what will I try to make consistency look like? First, sticking to the same program. This will be ETK Plus at least through the First Quarter. There’s enough variety. I will be making a few small modifications to the original template, but it will still be ETK Plus. Another key will be not beating the crap out of myself every time I step up to the bar/bell, hopefully to avoid some of the overuse injuries I think I’ve been causing to my back. Again, slow but sure. This is not inconsistent with the ETK Plus which calls for only one “Heavy day” a week, something I haven’t really adhered to.

There will be other goals, but that’s at the forefront of my mind right now.

SO…WHAT’S YOUR MISSING INGREDIENT?

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