Becca Longo and the Workout

For the first time a woman has earned a scholarship in college football. Becca Longo of Arizona is going to be kicking for Adams State University in Colorado. In a year where we could have had the first woman President, I will instead celebrate this young lady's accomplishment of busting through the "glass ceiling".

Warm-Up:
20 lbs. Slam Ball Tabata
Weight Training:
Standing Military Press, 3 sets of 5 repetitions
Chin-Up, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Barbell Skull Crusher, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Barbell Curl, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Captains of Crush Grip Trainer, 15 repetitions per hand after each of the above sets
AbMat Butterfly Sit-Up, 100 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Stretches

Have a Great Day!!

Tim vs. Kobe and the Workout

Tim Duncan has retired and with him is retiring a class of athlete that is very rare these days. It is almost laughable when I compare the retirement of Kobe Bryant to that of Tim Duncan.

Kobe was an amazing athlete, a five time NBA champion with the Lakers and one of the best NBA players of all time, there is no denying that. But, at times Kobe was a world class ass as well. The farewell tour, the ridiculous two year $48.5 million contract when his skills were extremely diminished on a Lakers team that was laughable, the ego and the sexual assault charges that have somehow been forgotten from an incident in 2003 in Colorado.

Then we look at Tim Duncan: Rookie of the year his first year in the league, also a five time NBA champion with the Spurs, made the playoffs every year that he was on the team, took pay cuts and restructured his contract so the team could bring in new players to stay competitive, accepted his role on the team as he grew older and other players were more effective on the court, quietly announced his retirement and is not even going to be at the press conference.... only his stoic coach Gregg Popovich will be there to announce Tim's retirement?! Good luck in the future Mr. Duncan. I hope that there are some young people out there that have been paying attention about how to be a true professional athlete.

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise for one minute each to complete a round. Three rounds total. No rest between exercises or rounds.
Jumping Jack
PVC Passthrough
Strength Training:
Bench Press, 5 sets of 2-10 rep
Metabolic Conditioning: Two person team for time. One athlete does chin-ups while the other athlete does push-ups. When ten chin-ups are complete the athletes switch. A round is complete each time 10 chin-ups are done, 10 rounds total. Time stops when all chin-ups are complete.
Strict, No Kip Chin-Up, 10 repetitions
Push-Up
Core Work: Perform 30 repetitions of each of the following exercises. No rest between exercises.
Flutter Kick
Lying Heel Touch
Lying Knee Pull-In
Lying Leg Lift

Have a Great Day!

Great Time Paddling, Ronaldo, LeBron,Venus and Federer and the Workout

I had a really nice time paddling with Chattanooga Therapeutic Recreation and their Team River Runner program. It was an hour and a half of paddling on the Tennessee River with local volunteers and veterans. I will definitely go out there and work with those folks again when life permits.

I am no fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James or Roger Federer. But, now that I am squarely middle aged I have to admit that I am very proud of all three of them. All three recently have been told that their sport has passed them by... respectively Gareth Bale, Steph Curry, and Novak Djokovic were the faces of the sport now... thank you very much for your effort over the years, None of them have gone quietly... LeBron has his championship and the other two on are the verge of theirs. And please, let us not leave out Venus Williams! Thirty six and she may end up facing Serena in the Wimbledon finals?! Awesome!

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise in order for one minute each to complete a round. Three rounds each. No rest between exercises or rounds.
Jumping Jack
Hand Release Push-Up
AbMat Sit-Up
Weight Training:
Bench Press, 5 sets of 2-5 repetitions
Barbell 21 Curl, 3 sets of 21 repetitions
Dumbbell Fly, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Strict Fat Bar Chin-Up, 3 sets of maximum repetitions
Parallette Push-Up, 5 sets of 15-20 repetitions
Captains of Crush Grip Trainer, one set of 15 repetitions per hand after each of the above sets.
Core Work: Perform 30 repetitions of each of the following exercises. No rest between exercises.
Flutter Kick
Lying Heel Touch
Lying Knee Pull-In
Lying Leg Lift

Have a Great Day!!

Great Day Off and the Workout

We all had the day off from work today so a lot happened. We started with a nice hike at Stringer's Ridge on the Hill City Trail to the Strut Trail. It was only three miles but lots of hills got the old dogs huffing and puffing. We ran around doing errands after that and got very tasty burgers at Slick's. We wrapped up the day with a great workout, some wonderful spicy pork chops with tomatillo salsa and then listened to the Nationals versus Reds on the radio. What a great day?!

Weight Training:
Bench Press, 5 sets of 1-5 repetitions including a one rep maximum press
Axle Bar Curl, Pronated Grip, 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Weighted Dip (+50lbs), 5 sets max repetitions
Fat Grip Strict Chin-Up, 5 sets 10 repetitions
Hand Release Push-Up, 5 sets of 30 repetitions
Core Work: Perform 30 repetitions of each of the following exercises. No rest between exercises.
Flutter Kick
Lying Heel Touch
Lying Knee Pull-In
Lying Leg Lift

Have a Great Day!!

Subway Knife Attack Victim Shares his Story and the Workout

Lyle Zimmerman, an American who in 2015 was in the London subway when he was attacked by a self radicalized young man of Somali descent. Zimmerman tells the harrowing story of being surprised from behind, kicked to the floor and then his assailant attempted to cut his throat with a bread knife. The dull and weak blade sliced across Zimmerman's throat and then broke. Though he was injured the knife did not cut any of Zimmerman's arteries and an off-duty doctor on the Tube took care of him until further medical help arrived.

Meanwhile his attacker who had been chased off by other subway passengers was stalking around showing photos of victims of coalition bombs to people on his phone while stating that his knife attack was him "striking back for his Syrian brothers". Police arrived on the scene and tasered the attacker and he was taken away. Turns out the man was schizophrenic and delusional and to this day remains in a mental institution.

Zimmerman's point in sharing his story is this: Zimmerman is lucky to be alive for sure.... a stronger, sharper blade and he would have probably been decapitated. However, because this young man only had a bread knife and could not access a firearm in London, Zimmerman and the attacker both survived. If his assailant had an AR-15 style assault rifle like the ones used by mentally ill shooters in Newtown or Orlando, dozens of people could have been injured or killed. The solution is simple if only our politician's could not be bought. There should be no access to military style firearms for civilian use.

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise in order to complete a round. Three rounds total. No rest between exercises.
Jump Rope, 50 repetitions
Hand Release Push-Up, 10 repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 20 repetitions
Weight Training:
Bench Press, 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Strict Fat Bar Chin-Up, 5 sets of maximum repetitions
Parallette Incline Push-Up, 5 sets of 15 repetitions
EZ Bar Curl, 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Dumbbell Fly, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Captains of Crush Grip Trainers, 15 repetitions after each of the above sets.
Core Work: Perform 20 repetitions of each of the following exercises. No rest between exercises.
Flutter Kick
Lying Heel Touch
Lying Knee Pull-In
Lying Leg Lift

Have a Great Day!!

Ted, Bernie: Move On Dot Org.... and the Workout

I think it is about time for Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders (and technically John Kasich...) to admit that they are done. It is time to move on to the general election between Hilary and the Donald. Not that I am excited to get THAT ball rolling.... but it does seem kind of ridiculous for Cruz to be picking a running mate?! Fiorina? Really.

Warm-Up:
Steady Pace Run, one mile
Warm-Up Super Set: Perform each set in order to complete a set. Two sets total. No rest between exercises.
Hand Release Push-Up, 15 repetitions
Strict Chin-Up, 8 repetitions
AbMat Butterfly Sit-Up, 15 repetitions
Strength: Complete each exercise in order to complete a set. Seven sets total. No rest between exercises.
80% 1-RM Bench Press, 5 repetitions
Captains of Crush Grip Trainers, 15 repetitions per hand
Metabolic Conditioning: perform each exercise in order to complete a set. Five sets total. No rest between exercises.
Dumbbell Fly, 20 repetitions
Axle Bar Curl, 15 repetitions
Burpee, 10 repetitions
Strict Chin-Up, 5 repetitions
Cool-Down:
400m Walk
Mobilty:
Chest and Shoulder Girdle Stretches

Have a Great Day!!

National Park Volunteering and the Workout

The NOLS Southwest in-town staff went and volunteered for the morning at Saguaro National Park. We worked for three and a half hours trimming plants and brush from trails to make them more accessible for folks to be able to hike or run on them. It was fun, a beautiful breezy day and it felt good to help by doing some work at one of our National Parks where maintenance funds are often hard to come by. And we got to see a Gila Monster in the wild!!

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. Two sets total. No rest between sets.
Jumping Jack
Hand Release Push-Up
AbMat Butterfly Sit-Up

Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. No rest between exercises. Five sets total.
Bench Press, 8-10 repetitions
Reverse Grip Axle Bar Curl, 10 repetitions
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. No rest between exercises. Three sets total.
Incline Parallette Push-Up, 15 repetitions
Strict No Kip Chin-Up, 10 repetitions
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. No rest between exercises. Three sets total.
Dumbbell Fly, 10 repetitions
EZ Bar Curl, 10 repetitions

Have a Great Day!!

The Passing of a Legend and the Workout

Merle Haggard died on his 79th birthday today. There are few people in this world that are as influential as Haggard was to country music. In a new era with mega stars and pop country music it is hard to believe that the genre came from people like Merle Haggard: A common working person, a construction worker, a ex-convict who saw Johnny Cash perform at San Quentin prison. Despite that Haggard had a great view on life: ""I am smart enough to know that I have been gifted and have had a better than average shot at everything," he said. "I have been blessed many times." Rest in Peace.

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise in order for one minute each to complete a set. Two sets total. No rest between sets.
Jumping Jack
Hand Release Push-Up
Bicycle Abdominal Crunch
Weight Training:
Bench Press with Heavy Chains, 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Chin-Up, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Dumbbell Fly, 3 sets of 15 repetitions
Barbell Curl, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Super Set: Complete each exercise in order to complete a set. Three sets total. No rest between exercises.
Hand Release Push-Up, 25 repetitions
Wrist Roll-Up, 4 repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 30 repetitions

Have a Great Day!!

The Fastest College Mile, a Real Team Player and the Workout

I heard a great story today about Izaic Yorks of the University of Washington who ran the fastest mile by a college athlete ever: 3:53?! As crazy fast as that is, he will not be competing in the individual mile at the NCAA championships this weekend. You see, Yorks committed to running in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) with his teammates. If Yorks ran the individual mile, he would need to run a preliminary qualifying round prior to the DMR and that would jeopardize his teams chances at winning a national title. When asked by his coach if he wanted to compete in the individual race Yorks responded, "I was just, no way. I want to do the DMR. That is what I told these guys I would do. And I am gonna stick to that word." Awesome.

Warm-Up:
1000m Row
Weight Training:
Bench Press, 5 sets 2-10 repetitions
Chin-Up, 5 sets of maximum repetitions
Dumbbell Fly, 5 sets of 10 repetitions
EZ Bar Curl, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Super Set: Perform the following two exercises in order to complete a set. Five sets total. No rest between exercises.
Weighted Dip (Bodyweight +35lbs.), maximum repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 25 repetitions

Captains of Crush Grip Trainer, 15 repetitions per hand after each of the above sets

Have a Great Day!!

Iowa Caucuses and the Daily Workout

The Iowa Caucuses are today. Maybe, just maybe some of the candidates will be eliminated from the Presidential process. Right now we are down to Hilary, Bernie and O'Malley on the Democratic side. I cannot even tell you how many are actually left for the GOP?! Then there is Michael Bloomberg who is considering an independent run. It seems that voters from both parties don't like that guy... but maybe that means the undecided independents stuck in the middle will? We will see what happens when the dust settles in Iowa, I guess?!

Workout:
Warm-Up: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. Three sets total. No rest between sets.
Jumping Jack, 50 repetitions
Hand Release Push-Up, 15 repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 35 repetitions
Weight Training:
Bench Press, 5 sets of 4-6 repetitions
Chin-Up, 3 sets of maximum repetitions
Weighted Parallette Push-Up (V-Force 50lbs. Vest), 3 sets, 15 repetitions
Dumbbell Concentration Curl, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Dumbbell Fly, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. 5 sets total. No rest between exercises.
Hand Release Push-Up, 25 repetitions
Hanging Knees to Chest, 20 repetitions
Axle Bar Wrist Curl, 15 repetitions

Have a Great Day!!

Long Day So a Quick Post

I am going to get the blog done quickly tonight so that I can hit the sack. It was a busy day of meetings at work followed by a work gathering at the bowling alley. All productive and very fun, but it is time to start moving toward sleeping.

Workout: Back
Warm-Up:
Trunk Twists, 20 repetitions
Barbell Good Mornings, 20 repetitions
Weight Training:
Deadlift, 5 sets of 1-2 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Erector spinae group: Iliocostalis, longissimus, and spinalis, biceps femoris)
Wide Grip Pull-Up, 5 sets of maximum repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi, infraspinatus, teres major and minor)
Landmine T-Bar Row, 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi, teres major)
Chin-Up, 5 sets of maximum repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi, teres major and minor, biceps brachii)

Have a Great Day!