It was really fun last night texting with my friend who has been a long suffering Cleveland sports fan. LeBron James and the Cavaliers pulled off what seemed to be damn near impossible: 1) Beat Steph Curry and the Warriors three games in a row, 2) Win a professional sports championship for the City of Cleveland, 3) Come back from a 3-1 series deficit which had never been done before and 4) LeBron would need to lead BOTH teams in all major categories to pull off the win (Points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals). In the end, there will be the memory of "The Block" on Andre Iguodala by LeBron who seemed to materialize out of thin air and "The Shot" from Kyrie over Curry. I am not a Cleveland fan but I am very happy for the city and my friend to finally have another championship.
Warm-Up: Perform each exercise for one minute each to complete a round. Three rounds total. No rest between exercises or rounds.
Heavy Rope Whip
AbMat Sit-Up
PVC Wraparound
Weight Training:
Seated Barbell Shoulder Press, 5 sets of 1-3 rep
EZ Bar Skull Crusher, 3 sets 8-10 rep
Barbell Shoulder Shrug, 5 sets 4-6 rep
Cable Triceps Kickback, 3 sets of 8-10
Front Plate Raise, 3 sets of 15 rep
Core Work: 25 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!!
Cleveland did what was expected since opening day of the NBA season... they made it to the NBA Finals representing the Eastern Conference for the second year in a row. Honestly, I am surprised that they had any kind of issues with Toronto but I will tell you what.... if they thought the Raptors posed challenges, they better figure something out. The Warriors or Thunder are going to make the Raptors look like the local rec league team?!
Warm-Up: Three rounds at warm-up pace.
Jump Rope, 40 repetitions
PVC Wraparound, 20 repetitions
Bicycle Crunch, 20 repetitions
Workout: Three rounds for time.
200m Run
Push-Up, 25 repetitions
Core Workout: 15 repetitions of each exercise in order. No rest between exercises.
Flutter Kick
Lying Heel Touch
Knee Pull-in
Leg Lift
Have a Great Day!!
Game five of the NBA Finals was close until the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers did a great job to double team Stephen Curry to get the ball out of his hands or make him take a crazy shot. The MVP however has the talent to either find the open man or make some unreal shot that has no business being taken, much less made. At some point, one of the Cleveland Cavaliers is going to have step up to help "The King" out. I will say that I have no idea why Timofey Mozgov only played nine minutes in game five after scoring 28 points in game four? Who knows how these things are decided?! I do know that basketball is a team sport and last time I checked, LeBron is still one person.
Today's quote is from Babe Ruth:
"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."
Workout: Heavy Full Body Day
Warm-Up: Perform each exercise for one minute each.
Jump Rope
Trunk Twist
Barbell Good Morning
AbMat Crunch
Weight Training:
Deadlift, 5 sets of 1-2 repetitions
Bench Press, 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Back Squat, 4 sets of 4 repetitions
Weighted Pull-Up (Bodyweight +50lbs.), 4 sets of maximum repetitions
Stiff Leg Deadlift, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Barbell Push Press, 3 sets of 2-4 repetitions
Dumbbell Hammer Curls, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Barbell Power Cleans, 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Have a Great Day!!
Well it is damn impressive. This will be LeBron James' FIFTH straight NBA Finals. I think the most amazing thing is that he has done it with a decimated Cavs team and a bunch of players that were cast off from other places. Kyrie Irving? Hobbled. Kevin Love? Gone. J.R. Smith? The Knicks' cast-off? Really? Are we really talking daily about Matthew Dellavedova? Barring a miraculous Rockets comeback, it will be the power and drive of LeBron James versus the grace and smooth shooting stroke of Stephen Curry. "The Beard" may have other plans, however.
Today's quote is from LeBron James:
"I will guarantee that we will play our asses off in the finals."
Workout: Full Body Workout
Warm-Up:
Rowing Machine, 10 minutes
Bicycle Abdominal Crunch, 50 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training: 60 seconds rest between sets
Box Jump (Bodyweight +20lbs.), 4 sets of 8 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, medials, lateralis, gastrocnemius, soleus)
T-Bar Landmine Row, 4 sets of 8 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi, major and minor rhomboids, posterior deltoids)
Back Squat with Heavy Chains, 4 sets of 8 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, medials, and lateralis)
Weighted Push-Up (Bodyweight +50lbs.), 4 sets of maximum repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps brachii)
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 4 sets of 8 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Triceps brachii)
Captains of Crush Grip Trainers, one set of 15 repetitions between each of the above sets
(Primary muscles worked: Flexor carpi radialis and ulnaris)
Have a Great Day!!
I can't believe social media. I recognize that I am typing in a blog at this moment, but I will avoid the Twitter-verse for as long as I can. I am not a LeBron James fan, but I am not a hater either. Last night during the first game of the NBA Finals the air conditioning failed and the arena was over ninety degrees on the court. The San Antonio Spurs' faithful were fanning themselves with programs in a futile attempt to cool off.
With about seven minutes left in the game LeBron James, the best basketball player in the world, drove to the basket, made a layup and landed below the basket. At that moment, LeBron's legs "locked up" with cramps and LeBron said that his body said, "Okay, no more jumping for you tonight." Hobbled, James had to be carried back to the Heat bench by teammates and watched as his team lost game one to the Spurs.
The second James was carried off the court people went crazy. Today on the internet I read a huge pile of comments basically saying that LeBron needed to "suck it up" and get back in the game. There were comments questioning LeBron's "manhood" and a lot of other very rude and inappropriate attacks. These people have obviously never had a muscle cramp. I have functioned with sprains, strains, dislocations, fractures, concussions... but cramps stop me (and every other athlete in the world) in my tracks. The best LeBron could do was take some IV fluids, rest and hydrate the next day and hopefully be in good shape to play again on Sunday.
Today I had a bit of work to do outside and we decided that today would be our rest day. That gave me an opportunity to get out early in the coolness of the morning and get my work done before it got over one hundred degrees. Would hate to get a cramp?! I will be back at the weights tomorrow.
Today's quote is just a local saying...
"A hundred and ten in the shade is sorta hot, but you don't have to shovel off your driveway!"
Active Rest Day:
25-minute Spin Bike Workout
Have a Great Day!
