Today's Writing Count

2082 words

Supersquats, Week 1, Workout B

• Warm up x 2 rounds
  
  • Bodyweight squats x 20
  
  
• Zercher Squats*
  
  • 160 / 20 reps
  
  
• Pullovers
  
  • 12kg / 20 reps
  
  

  ---

  Hour break**
  

  ---

  
  
• Single Arm Military Press
  
  • 24kg, 12 reps each side
    
  • 24kg, 10
    
  • 24kg, 10
    
  
  
• Pullups/Rows
  
  • Pullups, 12
    
  • Pullups, 8; 32kg Row, 4
    
  • Pullups, 6; 28kg Row, 6
    
  
  
• Single Arm Floor Press***
  
  • 32kg, 12, each side
    
  • 32kg, 12
    
  • 32kg, 12
    
  
  
• Stiff-Legged Deadlift
  
  • 24kg / 15
    
  
  
• Shrugs
  
  • 24kg / 12
    
  
  
• Pullover
  
  • 12kg / 20 reps

* I performed squats first, with very little warm-up. Last workout I began with the military press; but the sudden, blinding headache was nearly too much. I thought I'd go directly to the squats. Same headache. Research indicates this is an exercise induced headache.
Bloodpressure, strain, etc. causes the headache. Still going to see the doctor about it. Strange, though, after heavy deadlifts, heavy snatches, clean & jerks, crossfit workouts, etc. - it's squats that do it?
Possibilities?

• The Zercher position (carrying the weight in the crook of my arms)
• Weight pulls hard at shoulders, neck muscles - it's where the headache begins (traps)
• Bar sits across diaphragm - reducing ability to fill lungs?
• The lower body emphasis draws blood from remainder of body (reducing blood flow available to head?)
  
• Constant tightness over 20 reps increases blood pressure; further reducing blood flow up top.
  
• High rep/high weight combo are aggravating factors.

**The break was nice. Took ibuprofin, knocked the headache from a 11/10 to a 3/10. Ate, took care of baby, made wife and self breakfast.

***If I push though 3 X 12 with the 32kg next workout, I'll go to the 40kg on workout A, week 2.

Today's Workout

Pretty light: did Scott Sonnon's Intu-flow.
Reminds me of Maxwell's Recharge which, in turn, reminds me of my 4th grade PE class done to a 45rpm singing "give that chicken fat back to the chicken..."
Still. Not a waste of time.

Well, son of a gun... I thought my memory surely must've been faulty. Like remember the singer belting out, "I've got... two chickens to paralyze..." but - no! I was right: "Chicken Fat"

Touch down
Every morning
Ten times!
Not just
Now and then.
Give that chicken fat
Back to the chicken,
And don't be chicken again.
No, don't be chicken again.

Today's Calories & Protein

Calories: 4100
Protein: 280

Today's Writing Count

1695 words

Today's Calories & Protein

Calories: 3520
Protein: 318g

Today's Workout, follow-up thoughts

It's been an hour since we completed the first SuperSquats workout. I feel fantastic and enlivened. A nice buzz of endorphins and good will toward men. After all, it's Christmas, isn't it?

This also begins my first year of voluntary un-other-employment. With the support of my family and friends, I've quit my job and will be devoting myself to writing books. My goal, by this time next year (12/29/09), I'll have written, polished and submitted 12 books.

I've got 3 near completion and intend to have them ready for submission by the end of January: edited, polished, ready to roll. Then 11 months for 9 books.

I'll track my progress here...

Supersquats, Week 1, Workout A

Did lots of reading to make sure I knew the requirements of the program - hard to devote yourself to eating, eating, eating then discover you're getting fatter, fatter, fatter because the workout isn't effective.

So...

I was tempted to stack more weight on the squats. I toyed with the idea of putting 185 on and starting there.
I'm glad I avoided the temptation. I ended my 20 sets with such a sudden blinding headache and dizziness that I wished I could pass out.

That was new and unwelcome. But I certainly didn't feel I left anything on the table.

Here's the workout, references below.

• Warm up x 3 rounds
  
  • Wall Squats (nose & toes against wall) x 10
    
  • Pumps x 10
    
  • Slashers + Halo x 10
  
  
• Single Arm Military Press
  
  • 24kg, 12 reps each side
    
  • 24kg, 10
    
  • 24kg, 10
  
  
• Zercher Squats
• 155 / 20 reps


• Pullovers
• 12kg / 20 reps


• Single Arm Floor Press
• 24kg, 12, each side
• 28kg, 12
• 32kg, 12


• Pullups/Rows
• Pullups, 12
• Pullups, 8 - 32kg Row, 4
• Pullups, 6 - 28kg Row, 6


• Stiff-Legged Deadlift
• 24kg / 15

• Shrugs
• 24kg / 12

• Pullover
• 12kg / 20 reps

• 20-rep Super Squats for Kettlebell Pressing Power: A Kettlebell Training article from Dragon Door Publications
  
• Super Squats 20 Rep Squat Routine
  
• Simple Strength
  
• 20 Rep Squats - Starting Strength Wiki
  
• 20 Rep Squat...compilation of articles - Bodybuilding by Freakzonline
  
• Bodybuilding.com - David Whitley - 20-Rep Squats: The Brutal Path To Massive Gains!
  

Today's Writing Count

1400 words

Today's Workout

Very nearly a repeat of yesterday's... the workout so nice, I did it twice?

• KB Burpees: Var #1, 12ct*, 6! X 2**
  
• Martone's H2H Circuits 1-10 (details)
• Planks:
• 20 sec RT: 10 sec rest
• 20 sec LT: 10 sec rest
• 20 sec FWD: 10 sec rest
• X 4

Today's Writing Count

1272 words

Today's Workout

Still waiting for my workout partner to return - official start to Super Squats program: Sunday 28 December 08.

Today's workout:

• Maxwell's Recharge
• KB Burpees: Var #1, 12ct*, 5! X 2**
  
• Martone's H2H Circuits 1-10 (details)
• Planks:
• 20 sec RT: 10 sec rest
• 20 sec LT: 10 sec rest
• 20 sec FWD: 10 sec rest
• X 4

*KB Burpees: Variation on a Theme #1, the 12-count:

1. 48kg Swing
   
2. Down squat
3. Kick legs back to Front Leaning Rest
4. Push-up (Down)
   
5. Push-up (Up)
6. Legs Wide
7. Legs Together
8. Kick forward
9. Up to Pull-up Bar
10. Pull-up (Up)
11. Pull-up (Down)
12. Drop

**5! x 2 = (5 reps - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1) x 2

Today's Writing Count

2017

Today's Workout - Tuesday

Martone's H2H Circuit w/ 16kg KB
10 rounds, 3 @ 30 second sets per round.
Here's the routine in its entirety.

Round 1
a. Swing & Release
b. Around the Body Pass
c. Hot Potato

Round 2
a. H2H Swing
b. Around the Body & Figure 8 combo
c. Hot Potato & Front Squat combo

Round 3
a. Double Tap Switch
b. Figure 8 & Uppercut combo
c. Alternating Tactical Lunge & Around the Body Pass

Round 4
a. Two Hand Flip & Push Press
b. Figure 8 w/ Uppercut & 3 Hot Potato
c. High-Pull Clean & Front Squat

Round 5
a. Alternating High Pull Clean
b. Two Hand High Pull & Push press
c. Alternating Tactical Lunge & Around the Body Pass

Round 6
a. Two Hand Flip
b. Around Body w/ Uppercut Flip
c. 3 Hot Potato Passes & Front Squats

Round 7
a. Alternating One Hand Flip
b. Around the Body Pass & Figure 8 combo
c. Alternating Tactical Lunge

Round 8
a. Flip w/ Triple Tap
b. Around the Body Pass
c. Handle-to-Handle Hot Potato Front Squat

Round 9
a. Two Hand ½ Rotation Tap
b. Around the Body w/ Vertical Uppercut Flip
c. Two Hand High Pull Squat & Push Press

Round 10
a. Two Hand Reverse ½ Rotation Tap
b. Figure 8 w/ Vertical Uppercut Flip (same hand catch)
c. Hot Potato Front Squat

Then Maxwell's Recharge

Good 40 min workout before the power went out...

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Here outside Portland, we've 15-18 inches of snow.
It's beautiful... except for the trees bowing under the weight of this new form of precipitation.
I did have time to go outside and juggle the bells in a santa hat... cause, you know - it's nearly Christmas!

Today's Workout

Warm up - 3 rounds

• Pumps x 10
• Wall Squats x 10
• Halos, 12kg x 10

Squats

• Bodyweight/ 20 - 20
• Zercher 145lbs*/ 20

Pull-ups / Military Press Ladder Supersets

• Pullups w/ 24kg, Presses 32kg / 1 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1
  

French Press / Curls 45lbs Superset w/ Gravity boot crunches

• 10/5 - 5 - 10/5 - 5 - 10/5 - 5
• 5 - 7 - 6
  

*Add weight next time
*I lacked a partner for this routine, hence the variation.

Mother Russia...?

While Lindsey Lohan does her nails; *their* divas do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR0w9nPNHWg

My initial reaction was: time to go and dig out my Martone notes and do some KB juggling.
My second reaction is... well, that'd nearly make me as strong as one of their beauty queens.

Today's Workout

Warm-up: 30 min snow & ice shoveling. That counts, doesn't it?

Two Tabata sets:

• Swings, 48kg, 20W:10R, 5 rounds
• 1 min rest
• Heavy Bag, 20W:10R, 5 rounds
  

I feel I've hit my Tabata-stride perfectly when 'by that time, my lungs were aching for air...' Feeling seared, breaths come painful and burning, adrenalin pumping and simply no more to give. Trying to sit still and keyboard is an effort as my body jumps and twitches with the chemical dump.

Snatches, with their built in rest, don't do it for me. It's too muscular and insufficiently aerobic (for me, in the manner I perform them, regardless of weight or attempted cadence.) Heavy two-handed swings, however... burn city. And the heavy bag will take everything I've got and sit there dumbly.

Rest of the workout:
MA practice sets alternated with planks, bird-dog planks, gravity-boot situps

Saturday's Workout

Maxwell's Recharge (25 min)
Yoga (25 min)

Light-er than expected light day.

Friday's Workout

Warm up - 3 rounds

• Pumps x 10
• Wall Squats x 10
• Halos, 12kg x 10

Squats

• Bodyweight/ 20 - 20
• Zercher 135lbs*/ 20

Pull-ups, ladder chasers (I-go-you-go)

• Bodyweight/ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 1

Military Press, ladder chasers (I-go-you-go)

• 28kg/ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 1

Situps

• Bodyweight/ 20 - 20 - 20 - 20 - 20

*Add weight next time

Today's Writing Count

2177.

Pushed through a couple blocks with good success.
Effort trumps ability.

Today's Writing Count

2207 words

Today's Workout

Warm up - 3 rounds

• Pumps x 10
• Wall Squats x 10
• Halos, 12kg x 10

Squats

• Bodyweight/ 20 - 20
• Zercher 115lbs*/ 20

Pull-ups, ladder chasers** (I-go-you-go)

• Bodyweight/ 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1

Ring dips, ladder chasers** (I-go-you-go)

• Bodyweight + 12kg/ 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1
  

Situps

• Bodyweight/ 20 - 20 - 20 - 20 - 20

*Add weight next time
**Reversed ladder progression - went down the ladder for fun

Today's Writing Count

2082 words

Today's Workout

Play day, today. Nothing too hard, got my adrenaline up though. Excited for tomorrow's squat day.

• 48kg Swings / Martial Art sets: 15 swings - LD - 15 - SLT - 15 - CS - 15 - SS - 15 - SB
• Bent Presses 24kg / 2+2 - 3+3 - 3+3
• Mard-Style TGUs 24kg / 2+2 - 3+3
• Tabata 20W:10R
• Round 1-4: 24kg Snatches, 11 reps per 20 seconds
• Round 5: Jumping Jacks
• Round 6-7: Heavy bag with 24kg racked, switch arm between rounds
• Round 8-9: Heavy bag

Total time: 56min

Today's Workout - Milestone 1

Not old, old school, but relatively old school. It's That 70s Show today with Squats, Pull-ups, Ring Dips and Situps


Warm up - 3 rounds

• Pumps x 10
• Wall Squats x 10
• Halos, 12kg x 10

Squats

• Bodyweight/ 20 - 20
• Zercher 95lbs*/ 20

Pull-ups, ladder chasers (I-go-you-go)

• Bodyweight/ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 1

Ring dips, ladder chasers (I-go-you-go)

• Bodyweight*/ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 1

Situps

• Bodyweight/ 20 - 20 - 20 - 20 - 20

*Add weight next time

This is a trial workout - intend to do two more of these before Christmas week - to see whether or not we'll do the 6 week Super Squats program.
see: http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/222/
and: http://www.ironworkout.com/20_rep_squat.htm
Felt really good, though.


For comparison, currently on my Tanita electric BF scale at a heigh of 6'2" my numbers are:

• Weight: 194.6lbs
• Bodyfat: 16%
• Skeletal Muscle: 39%

Today's Workout

Light day, fun day: Cleans & Swings, all playing with the 48kg:

Cleans L / R, 1 rep x 10
Swings, L / R / both, 5 reps each, 15 reps per set, x 5

48's heavy.

Really nice to be swinging something so unwieldy. Reminds me of my early kettlebell days.

Today's Workout

My back feels a little sore this morning. I've noticed myself bracing, bending the knees more. Whether this is sore (musculature - DOMS) or sore (pre-injury), I cannot tell.

Today's workout accommodates the underlying cause potentially underlying this warning sign. Everything extremely slow, lots of tension, highly focused but with much lower weight than "optimal".

So call me Jack Bauer because today was 24(kg):

• Single-Leg Deadlift 24kg, each side/ 8 - 6 - 5
  
• Bent Press 24kg, each side/ 4 - 3 - 2
  
• Mard*-Style Turkish Getup 24kg, each side/ 3 - 3 - 3
  
• Two-Hands Anyhow 2x12kgs=24kgs, each side/3 - 2 - 2
• Finished with Steve Maxwell's Joint Conditioning & Recharge (approx 24 minutes... heh.)

*"Mard-Style" is my own linguistic blender for the Turkish Getup with the following accessories:
1) Jeff Martone's shoulder rotation opening move
2) Pavel's group's hard-style tgu which includes the one-handed bridge up and down

Writing, writing, writing

Fantastic, smooth writing session this afternoon: 2007 words. More like this, please!

Today's Workout

Warm-up (x3)

• Wall Squats, 10
• Halos, 12kg, 10 each direction
• Pumps, 10
  

Clean & Jerks

• 40kg/ 4 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 2
  

Snatches

• 40kg/ 1 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 2

Chin-ups

• 32kg / 2
  
• 40kg / 1 - 1 - 1
  
• 32kg / 2
  

Training time: 53:05
Took a ~10min break to receive my 48kg from the UPS driver. Poor guy.
Then of course, I had to unwrap it, swing it, play with it...

Halfway through Homer's Iliad

Whiny bunch of venal Greeks.

It would seem, to beat either the Trojans or the Acheans, all you'd need to do is wait until they kill one guy. Then, while their best fighters tussle over who collects the fallen's armor, you fill the sky with arrows and slaughter them all.

Somebody, somewhere - Nestor maybe? I'd've thought Odysseus - but no - would say, "Hey, guys, why don't we wait until *all* the Trojans are dead - THEN go steal their armor."

On the other hand, Cambyses, the Persian King, beat the Egyptians by driving cats, dogs, sheep and other animals the Egyptians held sacred, in front of his army. The Egyptians wouldn't harm the animals so Cambyses's army crossed 100 miles of barren, dry, vegetation-less expanse without opposition.

Morons.

Of course, we twaddle over terrorists' civil rights, rendition, and wire-tapping terrorist's phone calls because we "should be better than that" so...

There's rich irony in our inability to remember Santayana's good advice.

The Greeks thought they were serving their honor, the Egyptians their gods, and we.... our higher selves, I suppose.

Evolving workout pattern

Right now, I'm enjoying lifting heavy. A good pattern seems to be developing and this is what I'll stick with (through, at least, next week):

Day 1 & 4

• Snatches
• Cleans
• Pullups/Chins
• Cardio: weighted walking

Day 2 & 5

• Deadlift
• Turkish Getups
• Military Presses
• Cardio: VO2Max Snatches

Day 3 & 6: Fun/Play/Skill Day

• One-arm pushups
• Pistols
• Hindu Pushups
• Heavy Bag work
• Jump-rope
• Planks
• Hanging/Upside down situps

Day 7: Rest

Though I'll insert a Rest day early when necessary to prevent over-training that might cost me more than one day.

Tuesday's Workout

Deadlift

• 225/ 8
• 275/ 6
• 295/ 5
• 315/ 3 - 3
  

Turkish Getups

• 20kg bottoms up/ 1
• 40kg/ 1
• 48kg (two kbs stacked grip)/ 1 left, partial right
• 40kg/ 1 - 1
• 20kg bottoms up/ 1
  

Military Press

• 24kg bottoms up/ 6
• 32kg bottoms up/ 1 - 1
• 40kg/ 1 - 1 - 1

Snatches VO2Max Style, 10r:20w, 16kg, 30 sets

Today's Workout

Warmup (circuit x 3):

• Wall-squats (toes touching wall, butt to ankles) x 10
  
• Halos w/ 12kg x 10 each direction
• Pumps

Cleans:

• Hanging, 32kgs / 5 - 5
• Alternate, 32kgs / 5 - 5 - 5
• Need to make these harder. On the last set, I paused between exchanges, eliminating any movement. That increased the difficulty. Time to order my second 40, I fear.

Snatches:

• Hanging, 24kgs / 5 - 5
• Alternate, 24kgs / 4 - 4 - 3
  
• These are just beautifully brutal. Pausing between exchanges makes these easier. Unlike the Cleans.
  

Chin-ups:

• 32kg / 3
• 40kg / 1 - 1 - 1 - 1
• BW (zero added) / 11
  
• Friend suggested trying these as chins instead of pullups (hands pronated). He was right. Better range of motion under load. Next week will try the 48kg.

Golf Course Walk w/ 35lbs in back pack

• 1:06
• 631kcal
• 161 max heart-rate
• 127 avg heart-rate
  

Tonight's Workout

VO2Max Workout
Snatches w/ 16kg, 15 sec rest (8-9 snatches), 15 sec work
Completed 100 sets
According to Polar Heart monitor:

• 55:59 minutes including warm-up
• 630 calories burned
• Heart rate average: 142
• Heart rate max: 160
  

This is a prescription for a good long workout. But when I think about "VO2Max" workouts, I think of Tabata workouts. Full-out sprints, 20 seconds, walk/gasp for breath 10 seconds, repeat 9 times. Lung scraping, heart pounding, vein-popping disasters. This was more like running 5 miles at a low-moderate pace.

If VO2Max is "the maximum capacity for oxygen consumption by the body during maximum exertion" then I'm working something else entirely.

Now 24kg snatches, 8sec work (5 reps) / 12sec rest *does* get me to that gasping, can't go longer than 10 minutes, quivering mass of helplessness that reminds me of VO2Max.

I'd think, by definition, if your training program allows you to continue in an event longer than 10 minutes, you cannot be exerting/improving your VO2Max capacity.

But then I'm a guy in his garage. What do I know?
Still had fun.

Great Books: #1a - Homer, The Iliad

Chryses, a priest of Apollo, whose daughter has been carried off by the Achaeans in one of their raids, comes to the camp to ransom her. But she has been assigned, in the division of booty, to the king who commands the Achaean army, Agamemnon, and he refuses to give her up. her father prays for help to Apollo, who sends a plauge that devastates the Achaean camp. Achilles, leader of the Myrmidons, one of the largest contingents of the Achaean army, summons the chieftains to an assembly. There they are told by the prophet Calchas that the girl must be returned to her father. Agamemnon has to give her up, but demands compensation for his loss. Achilles objcts: let Agamemnon wait untilmore booty is taken. A violent quarrel breaks out between the two men, and Agamemnon finally announces that he will take recompense for his loss from Achilles, in the form of the girl Briseis, Achilles' share of the booty. Achilles represes an urge to kill Agamemnon and withdraws from the assembly, threateing to leave for home, with all his troops, the next day. The priest's daughter is restored to him, Apollo puts an end to the plauge, and Briseis is taken away from Achilles' tent by Agamemnon's heralds.

Achilles turns to his goddess mother Thetis, asking her to prevail on Zeus, father of gods and men, to inflict loss and defeat on the Achaeans, so that they will realize how much they need him. Zeus is won over by Thetis (to whom he is indebted for help on a previous occasion), and in spite of the vehement objections of his wife Hera (who, like his daughter Athena, hates the Trojans and works for their destruction), he turns the tide of batle against the Achaeans. The Trojan leader Hector, son of Troy's old King Priam, dries the Achaeans back on their beached ships, round which they are forced to build a wall and ditch. At the urging of his chieftains, Agamemnon sends ambassadors to Achilles, offering him rich prizes and the hand of his daughter in marriage if he will return to the fighting line. The offer is refused, but hte please of one of the ambassadors, Phoenix, an older man who belongs to Achilles' household, do have some effect: Achilles withdraws his threat to leave the next day; he will stay until Hector and the Trojans reach his own ships.

The batle resumes and now the Trojan onslaught breaches the wall and threatens the ships. The Achaean chieftains - Agamemnon, his brother Menelaus, Diomedes and Odysseus - are wounded one by one. Achilles' closest friend, Patroclus, send by Achilles to find out how things stand int he Achaean camp, brings back the news and also pleads with Achilles ot relent. he does so only partly; he agrees to let Patroclus go into battle wiht Achilles' troops, wearing Achilles' armor. This is enough: the Trojans in their turn are thrown back. But Patroclus is killed by the god Apollo, Troy's protector, and by Hector, who strips off Achilles' armor and puts it on himself.

Achilles' rageis now directed against Hector, the killer of his dearest friend. He is reconciled with Aamemnon, and as soon as his mother brings hima splendid suit of armor, made by the smith-god Hephaestus, he returns to the battle, and after slaughtering many Trojans, meets and kills Hector. He lashes Hector's corpse to his chariot and drags it ot his own tent; he intends to throw it to the dogs and birds of prey. For patroclus he holds a magnificent funeral, complete with athletic contests and human sacrifice. Whenever renewed greif for the loss of his friend oercomes him, he drags Hector's body around patroclus' grave. But the body has been preserved from corruption by divine intervention, and the gods now decie (not unanimously, for Hera and Athena object) to send a message ot Achilles through hismother: he is to release hector's body for a ransom paid by King Priam of Troy. Achilles agrees, but what he dos not anticipate is the arrival in his tent of Priam himself, alone, in the middle of the night. Instead of sending a herald, he has brought the ransom himself and begs for the body of his son. Achilles is reminded of his own father, also an old man who will never see his son again; Achilles knows, for hismother has told him, that his death is to come soon after Hector's. he sends Priam back safely with Hetor's body to Troy and so, runs the last line of the poem, "the Trojans buried Hector breaker of horses." We know already that the death of Troy's main defender seals the fate of the city and that, as Thetis told Achilles: "hard ont he heels of Hector's death your death must come at once."

Short Fiction: The other side of the wall

It seemed too easy, he thought, then stopped himself before the refrain “a little too easy” to enter his mind.
She’d never seen him this relaxed. It worried her. She was worried a lot.

He slammed the hammer against the brick and mortar. More in frustration than focus. She sighed. His shoulders slumped.

“I know,” he muttered, the hammer limp in his hand. With his free hand, he wiped his forehead. He placed his sweaty hand against the wall and leaned on it. “I know,” he repeated.

“What if I go back to the car and get…” she trailed off.

Get what? He wondered. We’d brought everything we thought we needed. We were wrong, that’s all there is to it: we were wrong.

“Time to leave,” he said aloud. He began dropping the tools into his North Rim backpack.

“Leave? But, we’re so close! We can’t leave!” She wailed.

He finished packing the tools. He dropped the pack and turned toward her. He put his arms on her shoulders. She knew he would’ve taken her hands if she hadn’t tucked them under her armpits.

“We and the wall are out of harmony. We need to leave to restore the balance.”

There was a time not too long ago when she’d thought his Zen sayings cute, if not wise. This was not one of those times.

“No. You listen. We need to break through that wall. We need to break open Box 24A and steal the stock certificates. We must break open Box 762C and steal the jewelry. We will break open Box 9821B and steal the cash. You remember the cash? Clean, untraceable and all ours. All two million dollars of it.” She paused. “That will restore the balance.”

He’d struggled with this dichotomy before. Monks lived in abject poverty, begging for their subsistence, growing more and more bhudda. Yet he was called to this. This wasn’t begging. It was stealing. He was good at it and he really did feel more and more bhudda as he stole. In the act, he was at one. He was aware. The more difficult the score, the more complete his zanshin.

She sat fuming at him. Looked at the pack, shoved him aside lunging for it.

“Just let me. You sit there and zone out.”

It was true, he thought. The more difficult the score, the more enlightenment possible.

He grabbed the pick from the pack, picked a spot on the wall, set his feet and started swinging.

Today's Workout

Deadlift

• 225/5 - 5
• 315/5
• 335/3 - 2 - 1

Turkish Get Up (Hard Style), each side

• 16kg Bottoms Up/1
• 40kg/1 - 1 - 1 - 1
• 20kg Bottoms Up/1

Military Press, each side

• 24kg Bottoms Up/5
• 32kg/4
• 40kg/1 - 1 - 1
• 32kg Bottoms Up/1

Two days in a row with exciting numbers. I haven't deadlifted for six months. Never attempted 335 before and was thrilled with the work.
Also, bottom's up pressing a 32kg is brand new.
What a blast.

"Love" is kind of strong

http://www.oregonlive.com/iloveportland/

Today's Workout

Double Snatches w/ 2 @ 24kg

• Hanging, 5 - 5
• Alternate, 4 - 2 - 4 (more rest between last two sets)

Double Cleans w/ 2 @ 32kg

• Hanging, 5 - 5
• Alternate, 4 - 4 - 4

Pullups

• 40kg / parallel* - parallel
  
• 48kg / partial# - partial
• 40kg /parallel - parallel

Good strong morning, felt fantastic and gutsy. I'd never tried a 40kg pull-up before. Able to do 32kg pullups for (max) 2 reps in the past. Never gone beyond. This was fun.

*Parallel: forearm / upper arm less than 90 degrees, chin does not yet touch bar
#Partial: forearm / upper arm greater than 90 degrees

This'll help with a sense of urgency

http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011

Purposeful Primitive: Marty Gallagher telecon notes

• Training philosophy: doing fewer things better and more often. Squat, bench press, deadlift.
• Integrated plan: resistance work, cardio work, nutritional work, psychological engagement
• A max lift requires instantly unleashable rage, psyche up on demand; done correctly, it's not a pleasant thing, it's not "thoughtful." This is different from the maintained psyche up that gives the momentum to carry forward on all 4 aspects of the integrated plan.
• Plenty of cardio variety, focus on monitoring heart rate.
• Eat lean protein and high-fiber carbs.

Workout Update

Tuesday 2 Dec:
Enter The Kettlebell, Light day:

• Clean & Press, 20kg, 1-2-3 x 5 ladders
• Pullups, 12kg, 1-2-3 x 5 ladders
• HIIE snatches, 24kg, 6 minutes, 8sec work, 12 sec rest

Wednesday 3 Dec:

• Body by Fish
• Curls & Skullcrushers x 6 sets each, 12-8 reps per set

Thursday 4 Dec:
For fun: bottom's up, stacked press (Heavier bell, bottom's up, lighter bell balanced on top)
Enter The Kettlebell, Medium day

• Clean & Press, 28kg, 1-2-3 x 3 ladders, 24kg bottom's up, 1-2-3 x 2 ladders
  
• Pullups, 16kg, 1-2-3 x 5 ladders
• 40kg swings, 10 reps / 10 seconds rest, 7 minutes

Infernal Structure

Simplicity is tough, distraction alluring. The past three days I've written 2000 words, 0 words, and 2000 words. It's tough disciplining myself to avoid distraction.

When I was a kid, I attended a Christian school until 7th or 8th grade. I was a quick student; I needed very little prep time to test well. Unfortunately for me, I was able to easily co-opt that strength. Our curriculum was called PACE. (Incredibly, this scholastic format persists: http://www.mountainviewchs.com/Curriculum.asp) Paces were divided by lessons and it was essentially self-study. Augmented occasionally by the "teacher", but predominately self-study. Instead of studying, I'd make cars out of my pink eraser and four tacks, read the dictionary or the cool parts of the Bible (both appeared like studying when the teacher walked by) or, with my friend Matt, we'd play role-playing games all day by passing notes. Matt even brought a collection of dice.

When it came time to conclude a PACE, I'd hurry up and slam it through. It's probably how and why I finished my Bachelors in 18 months and my Masters in 8 months. But I was uninterested in the details, the process, or learning.

9th grade, I did home school. I think it's what Spinal Tap called turning it up to eleven.

Fast-forward many years and I sit in my house, 30000 words behind me, 2000 words ahead and try to force myself to write or think and *not* find other things to do.

Other things like blog reading, email checking, "planning", buying, stalling...

I don't wish I could go back and do it different when it was easier - that seems futile and empty to me. But all those little diversions are too instantly rewarding to ignore without comparably enormous effort.

The fact it is an age-old problem is not a consolation. It would be nice to see how someone's overcome such a struggle. I hear Romans (O wretched man that I am). I read about Abram (pre -ham) who, after God said, "go here", instead hung around until his father-in-law died then moved a little, lived a little while, moved a little, lived a little while... and I think, oh get on with it! Wait. He was called God's friend.

I've learned an evil lesson: I can always make it up in the end, just in time, and very well. My current employer has not disabused me of this truth.

Which means appearance matters because I risk criticism and shame in the interim.

If my goal is to write 2000 words; hasty writing is my out. If my goal is to write 2 hours; there's lots of ways to burn time "writing".

Back to Romans I go.

The structures of this evil weakness are well built, I am realizing as I write. My parents, relatives, and the church I grew up in taught me that it isn't enough to 'be'. You can't be accepted/loved; you must do then, based on your do you are accepted/loved. There's a tight, fitted joint between that and the necessity of appearance.

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

and when?

I wish to write, I wish to tell myself, "This'll be the year things change." And then list my 20-point plan to accomplish that objective.

But it just isn't there.

Re-reading this, it comes across hopeless. But maybe it's more like lancing the boil.

Today's Workout

Scrapper's a construction worker in Hawaii who does this on the side, buy his Mod 1 workout set here.

Today's workout was Workout #1.

Unlike the list on his website, the audio prompter is more intense: shorter rests, plus your own personal Navy Gunnery Sergeant to motivate you...

Deep Thoughts

Short Fiction: Tall Drink of Water

“It was here a second ago!” She swept papers to the side, a lamp fell to the floor and broke.

“Look, let’s not make this such a big deal…” He began, but she interrupted like she always did.

“Damn it, we’re not leaving until we find it. You could help me, you know,” she glared at him now, hot with passion, “instead of standing there like an idiot!” She resumed her angry searching.

He shrugged, took his hands out of his pockets. Took his jacket off, set it down in the leather recliner. He walked over toward the desk. Keeping it between them, he asked, “So, where did you have it last?”

She stopped, he held his breath. “That’s it? That’s the best you can do? That’s some fucking help!”

“Listen,” he started, she looked at him. “Where would you like me to look?”

“I don’t know – somewhere – wherever – just help me find it.”

He poked at the magazines sacked on an end table, swept his gaze across the knick-knacks above the fireplace, perched on the shelving. He sighed, started lifting up couch cushions.

Drawers slammed, his wife sighed loudly then stomped up the stairs.

He set the couch cushions back into place, walked to the liquor cabinet, poured two fingers of Glenlivet into a heavy cut crystal glass. He looked at it then splashed another heavy pour in the glass.

“Bitch,” he said to himself. He was startled to hear it come out of his mouth, so he said it again, “Bitch”. He was just warming up when her footsteps cascaded down the stairs.

“Henry!” She yelled. “Did you check the downstairs bathroom?” Her voice dopplered as she approached.

He swallowed his drink in one gulp and set it carefully on the shelf. “No, didn’t check there. Will, though, soon as I’m finished here.”

“Never mind, I’ll do it.” Her heels clattered past toward the kitchen.

“I’ll bet she took it with her,” he said quietly.
“I’ll bet she has it,” a little louder.
“She took it with her,” now almost yelling.

“What?” From the kitchen, down the hall, her voice lost none of its grating edge.

The liquor had hit his ears, buzzing them. He felt confident and knew it was the alcohol.

“She took it after we fucked.”

“What?” Rattling the junk drawer, slamming cupboard doors shut.

“She’ll probably bring it back this weekend, when she sleeps over.”

“Have you found it yet?” Her sharp heels sparking down the hallway towards him.

“So I wouldn’t worry about it,” he concluded as she entered the study.

“Well, that’s easy for you to say,” she snapped, “it’s not your wedding ring that’s lost.”

HIIE - High Intensity Interval Exercise

Tabata's nice: 20sec work @ Max effort, 10 sec rest, 9 sets = 4.5 min of lung scorching exercise.

Then there was VO2Max - okay, it's not really Vo2max, but it had to have a title and it is effective.

Now from Char Kha comes HIIE:

• 8 seconds work @ 100% effort
• 12 seconds rest
• 20 minutes in duration...
  

Up until that last bullet, this was sounding easier...

Work, in this case, equals:

• Sprints
• Kettlebell snatches w/ no lockout
• High knee jumps

Close your browser, pick up the bell. All you need is the first 8 seconds.