In our 40's

H cleaning something, someplace found this little gem.  May 1990, Carlisle PA.  Denim shirt? Check. Collegiate ball caps?  Triple check.  Bud Dry?  What the. . .  I think the 40's were malt liquor.  Does anything else come in 40oz doses?  No pizza guys were roughed up in capturing this picture.  No Sheets Dogs (2/$1.00) embezzled.  Maybe some Sega hockey, more than that I cannot, will not say.

Notes on the programming:  This is called no rest days.  Hard but not as bad as it sounds.  I know, I know, been around this barn before.  Just want to make sure.  We do something every day.  Every day.  In general we follow the main site.  Three on, one off.  M.S. off days we try to achieve some sort of "active recovery."  Light load, super strict movement standards.  Concentric actions only if possible.  Rowing, Sled pulling/pushing e.g.  Followed by mobility work, stretching, maybe an odd skill session.  Yesterday, a "rest" day, I did a semi-hot 2k row (7:59) and then a loping 2k.  Took the voodoo floss and the foam roller to lower legs until I wanted to cry.  Called it a day.  Matt really believes in the sled work and I do too, but I'm captain of the USS Potter and it looks like I might have to go down with it.  So active recovery has been code for rowing for me in Jan.  When this godforsaken, lightless, barren month is over with, I'll be a sled guy again.  The idea is to do a touch of something and don't just go through the motions.  Obviously, hard mobility work is strongly encouraged.  The thought behind the concentric stuff is you dont get sore.  Done well it really can aid recovery.  Exercise version of the hair of the dog.

On full training days we do this:  10-20 min warm up.  (yep, rowing for me)  I don't stop until im actively sweating and quite warm.  Quick mobility, checking important ranges of motion.  You know your own bugbears, address them.  I usually work on ankles and lower leg, do 10 to a dozen strict wall-facing squats and spend sometime upside down.  Finally, I get comfortable with the wod movements that day, whatever they are.

After the warm up we start every sesh (excepting Heavy days like 1-1-1-1 or 5-5-5-5) with 2 x 5 of a Wide leg box squat and a bench press or a Dead lift and a shoulder press.  We do these with a weight that we can control with exaggerated deliberation and perfect form but which also probably couldn't be done for a 6 certainly not a 7th rep.  In the second set we come down 10% and do it again.  Short, taxing, maximum attention to form.  The versions of the lifts change session to session, banded, deficit, push etc. The next time that particular version of the lift comes up, try to bump up 5 pounds.  It can take a while to get these weights sorted out.  Be patient, write them down. Today, for instance I did 2x5 DL at 225, very slowly.  I didn't drop weight in the second set b/c it was too easy.  225 again felt about right.  Next time conventional dead comes up, I'll try 235 or 40 for the first five.  Bench went 155 then 145 and it felt right.  I had my doubts to begin.  I doubt everything. But I think there's something to it.  The box squat especially is quite demanding and almost everyone could use the reps at lightish loads to perfect that movement.

Often we will do a ten minute skill piece next.  Muscle ups, DU's, anything that can benefit from true practice.  Don't scald yourself, just practice.  Set a timer and practice.

Sadly, it is time to wod.   Do it.  Work hard.  Keep your movement standards and your intensity up.

If you have anything left, ab training never hurt anyone.  Lots of times we skip the skill session.  Lots of times we don't.  We probably need to be a little more diligent about the ab training, but lately it's seemed the wods took decent care of core training for us.  When the wod calls for a heavy lifting day. We scrap the template and train HEAVY as we can as long as we can.  Save your spinal fluid.  Do the heavy days right and you will need it.

TODAY:  dumbbell snatches/GHD/T2B.  Three rounds.  I allowed myself power snatches followed by one-armed OHS when needed.  I needed them early in the first round, figuring the balance out, and again late in the third round looking for a place to hide. Did enough smooth and legit true squat snatches to be happy about.  They are much faster but risk much sloppiness.  Be careful with your shoulders.  17:54.  Badass Dawn didn't back down from the 35 lb dumb.  Totally impressive and with a "women's" weight she would have dusted me.  20 and change.

If you have 88k or more meters in your logbook you are pulling your weight.  If you don't, you are not.  You all struck me as rugged can-do types who would cut off a finger before not simply doing your fair share.  The bright light of our star rower is illuminating smooth skin where one might fairly expect to see some calluses.  I have this daydream of all of us faced with another's mother, arms full of groceries, laundry whatever.  You know, and we look at said women in her 60's (the new 30's BTW) clearly working and we go. . .What?  Good luck with that Mrs. Copeland.  Looks heavy.  Is that what we do?

Sorry for playing the mom card.  Fucking ROW would ya?

Sorry for the F-bomb.  No Im not.

Now I got a job, but it don't pay.  I need new clothes.  I need somewhere to stay