Quick Post

Yesterday I continued on the bench press Buckeye Program and today is a rest day. Tomorrow will be my first one rep maximum deadlift in a while.

Wednesday Workout:
Warm-Up:
Airdyne, 3 minutes
Weight Training:
Bench Press, Buckeye Program
Plate Loaded Shoulder Press, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Roman Chair Leg Raise, 3 sets of 20 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Stretches
Chest Stretch

Thursday: Rest Day

Have a Great Day!!

Rest Day and Hiking

We ended up hiking with the dogs and then relaxing on the day off from the weights!! We had beautiful weather at Falling Water State Preservation Area!

Have a Great Day!!

Self Awareness, the Chattanooga Marathon and a Rest Day!!

Today is a rest day after completing my marathon this weekend. When I started the pursuit of this goal I was hoping to beat my time from 15 years ago. After 6 months of training it became clear that I am more Clydesdale than racehorse now and it would probably not happen the way that I had originally hoped. I had worked for NOLS for 16 years and one of their core leadership skills is self awareness. When getting into the corrals just before the race I placed myself between two pace setters... the 4:20 pace setter and the 4:40 pace setter. This seemed to line up well with my split times from training and the number of crushing hills on the course. In the end, after lots of simple carbs and some brutal thigh cramps around mile 22, I pulled in at 4:39:37. What really got me to the end was my wife who met me along the route and was there at the finish line, the wonderful people of the Chattanooga community along the route cheering me on and the 4:40 pace setter who really made me push myself at the end of the race. I am pleased with my run and I am going to take what feels like a well deserved day of rest before getting back to lifting tomorrow.

Have a Great Day!!

Catching Up

It has been a bit of whirlwind starting the new job, ending the other and getting in a week of lifting and running. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday posts follow. The bonus of this week is that tomorrow is the longest run of my marathon training. Starting next week the miles will start to come down as race day approaches.

Thursday: Marathon Training
Run, one and a half hours
Mobility:
Quadriceps Stretches
Hamstring Stretches

Friday: Weight Training
Back Squat Jump, 3 sets of 5 repetitions at 50%
Clean and Jerk, 2 repetitions at 60%, 2 repetitions at 70%, 1 repetition at 80%, 84%, 89% and 91%
Snatch, 4 sets of 2 repetitions at 80%
Romanian Deadlift, 3 sets of 5 repetitions
Deadlift, 5 sets of 1-2 repetitions
Leg Extension, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Leg Curl, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Mobility:
Quadriceps Stretches
Hamstring Stretches
Banded Shoulder Stretches

Saturday:
Rest Day!!

Sunday: Marathon Training
Run, Four hours
Mobility:
Quadriceps Stretches
Hamstring Stretches

Have a Great Weekend!!

Trump: Enough Already?!

I have refrained from chiming in about a lot of the political topics that have been low hanging fruit, but today I have had enough. I have wrapped my head around the fact that Donald Trump is President of the United States and everything that goes along with that. However, the one thing that I can't deal with is his sophomoric reaction to losing the popular vote while winning the electoral vote. There is absolutely no evidence that THREE TO FIVE MILLION people voted illegally, thus making Trump lose the popular vote?! Just for a second lets assume that he really believes that... shouldn't there be a major investigation into this insanely large manipulation of our democratic process?! Enough. You are President. Be happy with that and get on with governing! Shut up.

Rest Day! No running or weight training of any kind!

Have a Great Day!!

Busy, Busy, Busy and the Blog

I have neglected the blog since Wednesday. Sometimes life gets busy and just pulls you away from normal everyday activities and this week the blog was the thing that just kept getting pushed back. I will catch up now. Yesterday was the first time that Rebecca went to the gym here in Chattanooga and we both attended a crossfit session. It was a great workout and it was fun to go together.

Thursday: Marathon Training
Run, one and a half hours
Mobility:
Quadriceps Stretch
Hamstring Stretch

Friday: Crossfit session
Warm-Up:

250m Row

5 Burpee + Broad Jump

15 Hollow Rock

15 Arch Rock or Superman Raise

Walking Lunge, 10m

Spiderman Walk, 10m

High Knee, 10m

Butt Kick, 10m

Strength:

Back Squat, 4 sets of 8 repetitions @ 65-70% of 1-RM

WOD: Four Rounds for Time

5 HSPU or Wall Walk

10 SDHP (95#/65#)

15 Burpees

Prowler Sled Push, 20m (90#/45#)

Mobility:

Quadriceps Stretch

Hamstring Stretch

Banded Shoulder Stretches

Saturday: Rest Day!!

Have a Great Day!!

Friday Rest and Saturday Back to Olympic Lifting

Yesterday was a wonderful day. It was a scheduled rest day from running and the gym and we decided to go to a movie, something we have not done for a long time. It is a rare thing for me to go to a movie and leave feeling like I have actually gotten my money's worth. We saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and we loved it! Highly recommended by me, especially if you like Harry Potter. I am a fan of the Niffler.

Today I got back into the gym and got back to Olympic lifting a bit. It was good to be back.

Warm-Up:
Airdyne, 2 minutes
PVC Passthrough, 20 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Snatch, All percentages of 1-RM: 60% 3 repetitions, 70% 2 repetitions, 75% 2 repetitions, 80%, 85%, 90%, 93%, 96%, 96%, 98% and 100% for 1 repetition each
Clean and Jerk, All percentages of 1-RM: 60% 3 repetitions, 70% 2 repetitions, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 93%, 96%, 98% and 100% for 1 repetition each
Front Squat, 70% of 1-RM 3 sets of 3 repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 50 repetitions
Mobility:
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch
Banded Shoulder Stretches

Have a Great Day!!

New Found Appreciation and a Rest Day!!

Today is a day away from the weights and running. Yesterday I posted what I was thankful for and I wrote that prior to dinner. Rebecca had to work at the hospital yesterday so the Thanksgiving meal was left to me. Now, there are only two of us so it seemed silly to roast an entire turkey and I also did not attempt a pie.... I bought a pumpkin pie. So the rest of the meal was made from scratch: a roasted chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, roasted asparagus and fresh whipped cream for the pie. I now have an even greater admiration for all the people in my life who have pulled off a great Thanksgiving meal solo. It took all of my mental ability to have everything prepared and warm at the same time so that when Rebecca got home we could eat. It all came together but it was certainly touch and go there for a little bit. Thanks grandma, Lynn and all of the amazing Marine cooks that have fed me over the years!!

Have a Great Day!!

The Crud

I woke up this morning with what I call "The Crud": sore throat, clogged head, running nose. I punted on my run and stuck to a few other options. We walked the dogs a couple of miles, prepped our garden plot for the spring by turning the soil and adding dead leaves and cow manure and went in and cleaned the gym. That seemed like enough. The good news is that it was a smoke free day here... the first in a long time. Hopefully I will be feeling up for a Thanksgiving Day marathon training!!

Have a Great Day!!

Friday Rest Day, Saturday Weightlifting and Gardening?!

I enjoyed a very nice day away from exercise yesterday and today I went to the gym to lift. Once I got back from the gym we had a day off together with both humans and canines in the same place! Weird. We wrapped up the day with starting to prepare a garden plot for next spring. Tomorrow the cow manure goes down!! The big question is how to keep the dogs from rolling around in it?!

Warm-Up:
Airdyne, 3 minutes
PVC Passthrough, 20 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Snatch, All percentages of 1-RM: 60% 3 repetitions, 70% 2 repetitions, 75% 2 repetitions, 80%, 85%, 90%, 93% and 96% for 1 repetition each
Clean and Jerk, All percentages of 1-RM: 60% 3 repetitions, 70% 2 repetitions, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 93% and 96% for 1 repetition each
Front Squat, 73% of 1-RM 3 sets of 3 repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 50 repetitions
Mobility:
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch
Banded Shoulder Stretches

Have a Great Day!!

Best Baseball Game Ever, Thursday Night Football and a Rest Day!!

The Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series and it was by far the best baseball game I have seen in recent memory.... if not ever. It was really nice to see such a great sporting event to help me get through Thursday Night Football. What a horrible idea?! The players clearly do not have enough time to recover physically before they play on Thursday and it makes the product on the field terrible. Add to that the NFL's other "brilliant idea": Color Rush Uniforms(?!) and it really is a disaster.

Today I rested since tomorrow will be a bit cooler weather-wise. The cooler weather makes marathon training much more pleasurable.

Have a Great Day!!

TGIF and a Rest Day

I am very pleased to have made it to the weekend. It means and extra three hours of sleep each morning and time spent with my little family. It also gives my body time to recover: Rest and re-hydration.

Have a Great Day!!

World Series of Broken Dreams, a Rest Day, and a Workout

The World Series between the Cubs and Indians will inevitably crush a long suffering fan base. I don't think that the Indians actually believe they are cursed but the Cubs have the chance to exercise the infamous Curse of the Billy Goat, Unfortunately the goat's name was Murphy.

Yesterday I rested. And it was glorious.Today after a pretty tough day at work I had a good workout at the gym. It was one of those days that I debated whether I should go to the gym or not and decided that I needed to go. As always I was very glad that I went.

Warm-Up:
Row, 500m
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Snatch from the Knee, 60% of 1-RM 2 repetitions, 70% of 1-RM 2 repetitions, 1-RM 1 repetition, 70% of 1-RM 2 repetitions
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. Four sets total. No rest between exercises.
Front Squat, 91% of 1-RM 2 repetitions
Supine Grip Bent Over Row, 8 repetitions
No Feet Clean, 75% of 1-RM 5 sets of 2 repetitions
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. Four sets total. No rest between exercises.
Clean Pull with a Halt at the Knee, 90% of 1-RM 3 repetitions
Push Press, 3 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Exercises
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch

Have a Great Day!!

Wisdom of the Rest Day!!

I decided to punt on my run today and I will hit it tomorrow. The reason? Today the temperature was in the 80s and tomorrow the high is supposed to be in the low 60s. No brainer. So today was a rest day.

Have a Great Day!!

Chafed Nipples and a Rest Day

I am very excited. With my marathon training I have been trying to avoid the dreaded nipple chafe. I have been wearing silkweight Patagonia Capilene tops but it still has been irritating me a bit. I tried to use Band-Aid Strong Strips but when it is a hot day and I am sweating like crazy they do not stay in place. I am also not a guy that likes to run around with my shirt off in public. I am excited to try the Gold Bond Friction Defense that I just got in the mail.... it got good reviews and is significantly cheaper than Body Glide for the same size. I will let you know how it goes Thursday evening!

Rest Day: No weights, no running!

Have a Great Day!!

Rest Day!!

Day off from the weights and the running. Go Nats!!

Have a Great Day!!

Rest Day and The VPs

Tonight is the Vice Presidential debate. Both of these guys seem like gentlemen and I cannot imagine it being nearly as exciting... or abusive... as the last Presidential debate. I will say that my beliefs are WAY more aligned with Tim Kaine than they are with Mike Pence. Besides, he is a Virginian!!

Today is a rest day away from exercise!! Back at it tomorrow!

Have a Great Day!!

Debate: No Surprises and a Rest Day

Last night at the first Presidential debate there were no real surprises at all. Clinton was prepared and provided specifics and Trump spoke vaguely, cut off Clinton a number of times and seemed to become more and more frustrated. I am confident that the United States will survive either of these candidates for four years, but there was one really disturbing fact in the debate. It was obvious that Hillary had a strategy and it seemed to work well. Clinton would poke Trump with a barb-like statement: Not releasing tax returns, the "birther" conspiracy, etc. and you could see Trump COULD NOT HELP HIMSELF.... he took the bait every time and railed and ranted and frankly looked like a bit of a loose cannon. Not good. I am glad not to be a Trump spokesperson today...

Rest day from exercise. Have a Great Day!!

How Sad are the Texans and the Rest Day!!

As a Redskins fan I often feel a bit disappointed about the team. But, wow.... how bad must you feel today after the Texans lost to the Patriots 27-0?! The Patriots with their THIRD string quarterback and a beat up offensive line. And the Texans who spent a bucket of money on Brock Osweiler and have J.J. Watt on their defensive line?! That is a rough one to take.

It has been a good week of exercise and work. Today, I will be resting the legs that felt a bit like lead this morning.

Have a Great Day!!

Rest Day!!

I am feeling a bit beat up after running yesterday and work today. Fortunately today is a rest day away from all exercise. Eat, sleep and be happy.

Have a great day!!