HOLIDAY CHALLENGE

NEW POST: as of 3 December 2012:


1.  CJPotter  80,000  (943383)
2.  LMPotter 61,843  (994421)
3.  NDPotter 40,654  (884902)
4.  Lex 35000  (941262)
5.  Copeland 22,0000
6.  Naughton 15,691 (944415)
7.  JW  10000 (944971)


21 rowing days 'til Christmas.

What is with the odd # meters?  Finish your K's people.

IF YOU ARE ROWING, YOU WILL BE INTERESTED IN THIS LINK


Talk about things nobody cares, wearin' other things nobody wears

22:11 on 11:22

5K row:  22minutes, 11seconds.  My (negative) splits went:

4:43
4:29
4:24
4:21
4:12

That's and average of 2:13/500m.  A result with which I am not displeased.  I think I rowed a 20min 5k in a former life.  NB: Today until Xmas eve: row 'em up. ROWING HOLIDAY CHALLENGE  Check out the C2 site or shoot me an email or text or post or smoke signal if you have questions.  The more the merrier.  Not to say  |merry|

If you're in, shoot me your weekly totals and I'll post them.

Tonight let it be Lowenbrau

See the man, "Huggy Bear"

Hola, amigos.  I know it's been a long time since I rapped at you but shit has gotten off the hook.  The volvo needed new spark plugs and you know those things are platinum.  Had to melt the weddin' band down to keep the fam damily on wheels.  Since my last communique I knocked down a bruiser 8-point, began chasing an 8-min/2K on the rower and a few other things I will try to fill you up on.  In on.  In on.

The bruiser:  I knew he was out there.  A nice scrape line, rubs thigh-high on some pretty thick trees and some early morning grunting that was down low on the register.  Last morning there were deer everywhere and rutting hard.  Passed up a 5-point and a half-rack 3 hoping for my chance.  Around 8am  I heard what had to be either a buck or a man stomping in behind me.  He sneaked right in underneath my stand and at first glance I had him for a six and was doubtful I would shoot.  I was hooked up and at half draw.  Got a better look at his antlers--the first peek was straight down on top of him--and saw a brow tine.  OK, 7point, good size.  Full draw.  Had to let him get farther out for the shot I wanted, which was a first.  Usually, you're hoping they come in closer.  At about 15yds I let fly and it wasn't too steep.  Both lungs, didn't go 20yds.  Wasn't til I got to him that I saw he was a  full legitimate 8, lots of meat, several pounds of which we have already eaten.  I've read where natives said a prayer over hunted deer.  Seems right.  Also a bumper sticker that said vegetarian is Algonquin for bad hunter.  Glib, but hard to argue with.  A really terrific archery season.  Feel lucky to have done it.  If you dig meat from the hunt which is what venison translates to, let me know and I will see you get some.  Sharing is always fun.

8min/2K:  Had to get real about what my goals are/should be.  A 7min/2K is a terrific feat and nothing you can bumble your way into, but ironclad, inescapable logic says the 7min rower will also and first be able to row an 8min/2K.  Don't bother with Finnegan's Wake if you couldn't get though Ulysses.  So I put myself on the 8min ladder and have been working my way down (up?)--the intervals go down, the time and distance go up.  Tonight I was a whisker off from 2, thousand meter pieces at rate (2:00/500m) with 30 seconds rest.  The heart is willing, the mind weak.  There is no pain like C2 pain.

Nate and I finally got off our duffs and poked around the Governor Dick Park bouldering areas.  Hard to say just what a find it is.  Nate was equal to a couple of the routes.  I was good for exactly one, a V0 (yeah that's a zero) deal that had a challenging little knee maneuver that Nate figured out.  Listen, if the bouldering thing holds any interest for you, Governor Dick is pretty much El Dorado.  Chamonix to skiers, Yellow Breeches to fly fishers, Utah to candidates named Romney.  Grab your chalk bag, shoes and crash pad.  Give a call we'll set it up.  Twenty minutes from my front porch.  So too is a known Pagan hideout, but that's another post.

Finally, had a good check up Mon.  Got to catch up with Sarah, Scott and Mirany who is now in perfect health.  Stayed with Rick and Debbie and got to see a Beechcraft hanger with Adeline who was a faithful companion throughout a long trip.  Wishing you all a good holiday.  Check back next week, I'll try to be better about posting.  As ever, keep us informed of your loads, reps, rounds, times and exploits.  AMF

Just saying. . .

Cambered Bar

Good check up Monday.  Took Agnes with.

Cambered bar worse than a front squat.  This is 160 pounds (72kg or so)  99 problems, squat is near the bottom of the list.

get a pair(s)

Max push press today.  78KG.  Big jump for me.  Still far from old top, but starting to feel strong.  Here are two efforts from JW @ 95kg (or so).  Notice depth of dip.  Short and explosive wins, or almost does.  Earlier failure cost him the second rep shown here, but it clearly has the better dip/drive

Assistance work was lunged-out KB presses, delt work with axel grips, grenade (left above) pulls, rock ring (right above) levers (scaled), strict ring dips.  Finished ourselves off with some grenade farmer's carries:

and some quick body art

bluegrass hamstrings

Went on a search and destroy mission this training session.  Target:  posterior chain.

JW and I started with a 3RM good morning with the spider bar.  Sorry no vid or pictures.  My lower back was pissed after warm up.  Lots of experimenting with technique.  I think the hardest Good AM one can do is: wide leg, big camber, safety squat bar (spider), sending the caboose way back and pushing out on the yoke handles.  I did stand up with 180 or so, but my form started to crumble around 160.  Then we stripped weight and did a few reps at 60 (kg).  The spider bar is over there in the Oly area so we end up using communist plates.


4x10 Belt squats. Worked up to 50lbs.  I did a couple narrow, couple wide.  Wide= harder.  you'll note the way my torso folds forward at the bottom.  This is to be avoided.  Really hard on the hips. Good exercise.

We were thinking some good-form/bad form deads, but JW went Kurtz on us and we ended up doing good form/bad form banded GH raises.  Worst exercise ever.  At the top it felt like some one was driving railroad spikes into my proximal hams.  To be clear:  this is too heavy.  I should have done them unweighted.  Just thought I'd give you a look at the torture.  3x8.  NB: THE NEXT TWO VIDS ARE MIXED UP.  THIRD ONE GOES HERE.  THIS ONE SHOULD BE BELOW.

Conditioning:  12x 2 dead lifts @ 60% + 25% band tension/8 KTE.  No one in their right mind would count a few of these reps. but i wasnt in a right mind, I was hypoxic.  This is part of the last round.  11:29  I called KTE's ab work and quit.  JW scorched this.  Much heavier dead (245 i think) and band and much shorter time.  Matt had a similar dead (225ish), blue band and 13 and change.  I was most challenged in the core and shoulder girdle.  Matt said his grip ran away.  JW really did not blink.   he was done and i still had 4 rounds to go.  Impressive and a bummer at the same time

DNAB

Reverse band.  Lots of help in the bottom, less and less through the range, none at the tip top.  Good for lock out strength.  It also shows me how often I am beat psychologically at the top and how much speed matters out of the bottom.  I did 110kg  This is Matt and JW doing around 140-ish.  I'll be frank: I want to like Kilos, but I don't.  I just put plates on the bar and count when Im done.  This makes me an ugly American and Olympic lifters a little snooty.

Assistance: Decline, banded dumbbell presses, pulls, dips, tabata handstands
Conditioning: 10min max 1 pood KB snatches: 174.
Trunk:  GHD sits and:  New favorite exercise:  GHD bench press.  Give these a try.  There's a vid on the mainsite.  Wow is it demanding.  Let us know what you're up to.

completely lost count

Vid from training sesh at Chupacabra.  My man Willard has a keen eye for sloppy movement.  He caught me drifting ankle-in, toe-ward.  This would probably be more instructive (to you) if we caught some of the bad reps.  Here, I improve, but you can see me working for it and it's far from perfect.  The front squat can really challenge sissy and/or unmobilized ankles.  If you're ankles aren't right you're gonna push to the toes.  If you're out on your toes, well your neck can't stop the barbell b/c it's a front squat and the whole whole house of cards is coming down.  This is rep 40 or so of assistance sets @ 95#.  Woking on a stronger back, got the bonus plan.  Need some coaching?  Come see the Chupacabra.

100 thruster wed got moved to Tuesday, so we're gonna call it 100 thruster Tues from now on. 75# 15:44.  first thirty were simply awful.  Kinda hit a stride 30 to 70 but time was shot.  Finished okay.  Shoulda warmed up more.  I started in a sweatshirt and hat.  clothes came off every 10 reps or so until i was thrustering naked except for Minimi footwear.  Which is also how i sleep.  I just wanted to get them finished and get on with my day.  So much more satisfying to say that you did a 100 thrusters.  Saying you have to do 100 thrusters is worse than saying you have an enema appointment.

Check your calendar. Do your thrusters.

Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, "whores, pimps, gamblers and sons of bitches," by which he meant Everybody.  Had the man looked though another peephole he might have said, "Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men," and he would have meant the same thing.
                                                                  Steinbeck, Cannery Row
(148 I think)