Out. Dated.

Still Working

2011-03-31T03:34:00.003-04:00

So I haven't really been posting too much personal info recently, and that's because I'm trying to act like I'm busy.... The Explosive Sports Performance venture has been picking up, and we're growing each week. It's nice to see the constant improvement, but it's frustrating dealing with the sometimes excruciatingly slow process of growth. 1 new client a week is a great thing for us, but when you're starting from scratch it just never feels like enough.

The bright side is that I still have plenty of time to hang with Megan, play volleyball (I'm getting better!), get in a little pick-up Ultimate, get my workouts in, and read. I've probably done way too much reading since signing back up at the NB Library, but it's a nice out from any frustration I may feel from lack of work sometimes.

We had our first visitor this past weekend, (Thanks for making the trip, Dave!), and it was great to have someone we've been so close to for the last few years come down. It meant a lot to Megan and I, and I really hope we're able to return the favor soon. I should probably mention that it was sweet to have an enthusiastic disc golf partner for a few rounds as well. Since I've been crap at "real" golf the last few times out, I may need to make it out to the disc golf courses out in SA a little more often. At least that's something I'm fairly decent at and I know I could easily improve with a few rounds under my belt.

Anyway, I thought I would just drop a quick post to let you guys know I'm still alive. Figured I'd switch the blog name again (really, why does it even need a name?) since I've been out and this thing has been severely dated.

Hope things are well wherever you are. It's bedtime here!

Explosive Sports Performance

2011-02-04T13:44:00.003-05:00

So, I've been absent for another long stretch recently. It's not for a bad reason! I've been moving forward with training and forming the business with my brother down in San Antonio. We've got a pretty good thing going at Superior Sports Volleyball Center, and we're currently working with about 30 volleyball players ages 12-18.

We just started a new blog that will provide athletic performance information to our client base. If you're interested in checking it out, you can find it here: http://explosivesportsperformance.wordpress.com/.

We've got a volleyball and an Ultimate post up (yes, an Ultimate post!), and we're planning on putting up 2-4 posts a month. Yes, that's being serious, 2-4/month. This is a business, we have to keep up a routine in order to satisfy our customers! Stop by and check it out. Let me know if you have any performance-related (nutrition, fitness, etc) questions you need answered over there!

And I'm Back...

2010-10-14T22:32:00.004-04:00

Back in Texas that is. It was a long trip and an even longer bit of vacation I just took, but it's good to be back home in Texas. What makes it even better is going from 50 and raining in Vermont 6 days ago to 85 and sunny. You can't really beat that.

I made a few stops along the way... And, a lot has happened since my last post, but I'll keep it fairly simple here.

2010 Capital Open Sectionals...
Some pics of me here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Although I'm not doing much in those pictures.. we did go on to take 6th place and make Regionals (and, I'm damn intense in those shots...). You'll see that I'm taking some video in one of those pics, so I'll have some video to upload here pretty soon.

We ended up going in to Regionals seeded 13th overall (of 16 teams). Our play at Regionals earned us a tie for 9th place and we came away with 2 pretty nice wins and a pair of close losses. Video to come from that as well...

On my way down to Texas I stopped at the Georgia Guidestones. They are an interesting monument, and you can read about that in the Wired article I linked to there. If you have a moment you should definitely take a look. The story was compelling enough to send me a few hours out of my way to stay at a hotel in Elberton, GA to make a quick stop at the stones. My pics are on Facebook....

Well that's a quick update... If you're a fan of Linkin Park or just hip hop/rap in general you should check out Fort Minor. I know I'm a little late to the party, but it's good stuff.

See ya!

Wildwood 2010

2010-07-27T14:09:00.005-04:00

Over 400 Ultimate teams competed this weekend in various 2-2 and 3-1 division for a shot at a Wildwood Cup. Last year "Stillerman's Beach Blokes" went 5-2 to win the Merlot Division and come away with a 3rd tier trophy only losing to eventual 1st and 2nd tier finalists. Our most recent incarnation of the team, "Assume the Wurst," prepared for a similar run at a cup and had high expectations for the weekend.

In case you're interested our past Wildwood team names and outfits were:
2007 - Red Delicious (Red shirts, Rad mustaches)
2008 - Donk-a-phant Dance Party (All plaid)
2009 - Stillerman's Beach Blokes (Union Jack)
2010 - Assume the Wurst (liederhosen/suspenders)

Normally there isn't much to talk about before the tournament begins on Saturday, but this year was an exception. I won't go into too many details, but I will point out that camping turned out to be a terrible idea this year. We had 10 people trying to fit into an 8-person tent in 85-90 degree nighttime temperatures. I would be very surprised if anyone managed more than an hour of good sleep that night. Around 4 in the morning a group of 4 (me included) decided it would be best to get to a WaWa and rehydrate for the morning's games. We ended up picking up an extra hour of sleep in the car's A/C out in the parking lot. A hotel was booked first thing Saturday morning.

Our pool for Saturday looked particularly nasty. We had last years champs (Rabs), a team of DC players we knew were very good (Hennessey, they ended up in the 2-2 finals this year), and an unknown to play. We finished the pool 1-2 with losses to the bigger teams and a solid performance over the 3rd. There were huge layout scores and d's during all three games and we came out of the pool knowing we had something to prove (and knowing that this had to be one of the harder pools in the tournament).

Our crossover on Saturday was probably one of our best games all weekend. We were all fired up and ready to get a convincing win moving into Sunday's play. That's exactly what we did as Broaddus, Dave, Huldah, and Jim all played out of their minds and led us to a huge victory.

Saturday night was a welcome change from Friday. Air conditioned hotel rooms and cold showers were much needed after one of the hottest Wildwood's I've been to. Although I know we all wanted to get out to the shore and hit the clubs for some fist pumping, the sleep came pretty quickly for all of us.

Sunday morning was great. We didn't have a game until 11, and we really acted like it when we rolled out of bed in the morning. Everyone seemed refreshed from actually getting a full night's worth of sleep, and we were happy to have the time for breakfast and pre-game shopping for Gatorades (because the tourney provides Powerade which tastes like swamp water...). Anyway, just to finish this post (since I started it 6 days ago and got too busy to finish), I'm going to pass along a short video from the tourney. We ended up 3-3 on the weekend with a 1-1 day on Sunday. Overall I think we had a bunch of fun! Enjoy the clip!

June Update/Injury TMI

2010-06-03T10:43:00.005-04:00

I've done a pretty poor job of staying on a schedule with this blog. I think I managed 3 or 4 weeks in a row before I faltered, and that's really not a good record... I think it's a combination of a bunch of things that are tying me up right now, but no excuse is really a good one.

So, instead of doing research and putting together a really thoughtful post, I'm going to just do a personal update...

The biggest recent news for me is that I'm not playing baseball this summer after all. It was a tough decision to make, but my arm began to feel like it did in High School. That would be a good thing for most people, but for me it wasn't fun to return to that form. I had some fun with my arm going dead during practice and even waking up not able to lift my arm above 90 degrees after one game back in the day... I just wasn't looking forward to experiencing that again, so I gave it up. It sucks, but it has served to revive my interest in Ultimate.

Speaking of Ultimate... I went to tryouts last weekend for Eastern Motors, a local DC club team that I played for 2 years ago. I had a good time and even managed to place in the top 2 on 3 consecutive 70 sprints... That was a little bit of a surprise, and, I'll admit it, I haven't been running much recently and I'm still feeling it a little today. The practice went well though, and I'll be attending the Cazenovia Ultimate Tournament in NY this weekend with the team. It should be a good time, and I'm definitely feeling more of a spark than I have the last few seasons. I think it's a combination of being away for so long and finally dropping some of that excess weight (yeah, I guess 10-15 pounds really matters). I'll take some pictures and hopefully have a recap when I get back.

Golf and rock climbing have entered the picture for the summer as well, and I managed to get in the trifecta this past week. Saturday was a 6 hour round of golf at Langston with Arin, Sunday was EM's 3-hour tryout, and Tuesday was a few hours of rock climbing at a gym in Rockville. Weight training has been holding steady at 2-3 times a week, but things have been interesting since my arm issues flared up. It is nice that Ultimate doesn't cause the arm to flare up despite similar action at the elbow joint. It's really that overhead stuff I guess...

You didn't ask, but I'll tell anyway... background info on the shoulder issues:
In addition to the elbow/shoulder pain I found myself in during high school, these things may be compounded due to a little skiing mishap from 2005... I was skiing Breckenridge and found a sweet little jump in the middle of one of the blues. Joel dared me to get some air on the jump, and obviously I took him up on the dare (or else I wouldn't be writing this). I turned off the lift and pointed the skis straight downhill. I had a pretty good head of steam going by the time I hit the lip of the "jump." For air in the middle of a run it was pretty decent and I had more than enough time to make a nice "X" with my body and even reign my skis back in before landing. I remember looking down at the skis to make sure they were nice and straight before I hit the ground... well, they were, right up until I made ground contact. I flipped over the skis and threw them as soon as I hit the ground, and my shoulder slammed into the packed snow. You know that wet crunching sound your ankle makes when you roll it badly? Well, my shoulder made that noise. I'm pretty sure it's the same noise Sam Bradford may have heard against BYU; maybe not as bad... Anyway, long story over, I laughed it off until I got on the lift at the bottom and couldn't pick my arm up. So now I get random pain in the AC joint area with overhead activities and occasionally while bench pressing. It's normally not bad, but the baseball aggravated the hell out of it...

3rd Annual CUA Alumni Game

2010-05-05T13:06:00.004-04:00

When it comes to club sports programs I believe it’s essential to leave things better than they were when you arrived. It’s sort of like camping… in a way. When you get to a program things generally function fine with or without you, but if you find yourself falling into some sort of leadership role it’s important to lend structure and discipline (well, as much as you can muster!) to the program to help it thrive. Last May was the final chapter in my 3 years on the Catholic University Ultimate team, and I hope I was able to do just that.

One of the things I am proud to be a part of is the annual alumni game. We started the game 3 years ago and just recently battled it out in our 3rd contest. For me, the alumni game was created as a chance to reconnect with the roots of the team through friendly competition, bring the alumni back together to relive old glory, and potentially to enjoy a bacon explosion (or two).

At this point in time however, the alumni are dealing with a serious losing streak. The alums haven’t won in, like, forever (that’s 3 years now if you’re counting…).

This year was my first shot to cleat up for the alums and I was sure things were going to be different. We graduated a solid class last year, and really looked to take it to an inexperienced student team (relatively, of course). Going into the match up we were pleased to hear that we had a strong line of returners, but we were short a few of our powerhouse players. Even without those guys we figured a win was in the cards this year.

The game started like any alumni game would... Easy drops by the alums had the Habit capitalizing on good field position, and old legs (and some younger-old legs) had some problems adjusting to the game’s speed. I think the older legs began to warm-up a bit with Habit up 3-1, and we started to play ourselves back into the game. The bad guys had more speed/athleticism at the top end, but the throws and decision-making weren’t up to par with alumni poaching, giving us several easy d's (mostly by our women) and allowing us to convert a few easy scores of our own. After weathering the early storm of unfamiliarity with each other the alums managed to take half 8-7. Our spirits were high and, despite only having a 1-point lead, we knew we were headed for victory.

Of the two halves, the second was much more dynamic. A huge layout d by the alums, some great deep cuts by Habit, alumni toeing the lines for scores, and solid offense on both sides kept the score close going late in the game.

As an interruption of the story, I thought I would just quickly mention my favorite moment from the game… Knowing this is a friendly game between the “wily” alums and the energetic youth of CUA Ultimate, I hope you can forgive me… As my position as an alum requires, I feel there has to be a certain level of craftiness to my game. It came midway through the second half when I set up for a reset pass. Jake was covering me and had a close eye on my every move. Jim had the disc on the sideline we were forced to and I was feeling a little lazy with my reset position. Instead of cutting for the disc an idea popped into my head, “great throw Jim!” was the first thing I could think of to say as I took a few steps upfield to fake a set up for the next reset. Jake immediately took 5-8 steps back towards his endzone to make sure I wouldn’t make a cut upfield. His reaction sprung me for an easy reset, as Jim had not thrown the disc and Jake had turned completely away from me, and opened up the break side of the field for an easy throw and catch for the score. Yeah, I feel a little guilty, but it was unbelievably effective…

Close after, Habit brought the score even again and we were tied at 14s. A tie there forced overtime and a win by 2 or first to 17 rule came into effect. After battling through another point the kids finally overpowered the alums and scored a pair of points to end the game at 17-15.

I wouldn’t hesitate to say that this was the best alumni game yet, and I really enjoyed losing to the future of Catholic Ultimate (well, as much as anyone can enjoy losing). This team seems to be on the cusp of something great, and I think the current regime may be able to take that next step. With Dave at the reigns of the team they’ve been able to settle into even more discipline and structure than I was able to manage, and it sounds like progress is still being made on that front.

The biggest news of the year was the success of the sectionals tournament. The men’s team had the pleasure of playing with one of the Section’s rookies of the year, Paul, and the women’s team played their first ever tournament! That’s exciting news for CUA, as it’s been a long time coming. It was one of my dreams while I was a part of the program, and I was so happy to hear that Dave and the Jess pair made it happen. I wish the Bad Habit men and women the best of luck in the future, and I hope they continue building the CUA Ultimate system for the future.

At the same time, it’s good to know that CUA will be passing along some great new talent to the alums in the future, and you know we won’t be winless forever!

Rope Intervals

2010-04-28T23:41:00.003-04:00

Here I am, late again... Two quick things before I get started: baseball season started Friday (for me, not MLB!) and I absolutely suck at skeeball.

Now, about the ropes...

I was introduced to these ropes through youtube a while back, and finally was able to try them when I visited the gym my brother works at. He had purchased a 50 foot nylon rope to torture his clients with, and I wanted in on the action. My introduction to the ropes was a combination first of amusement, then awe at the difficulty of the exercise, and finally of exhaustion.

Basically you're faced with a large rope wrapped around an immovable object. You grab the ends of the rope and swing away. Of course there are plenty of patterns to choose from, but any idiot can wear themselves out regardless of what they're doing with the thing. Basically, the rules are to just swing the things as hard and fast as you can. The best thing about the ropes is that it's low-impact cardio. Most people like to do their intervals on their feet and this tends to wear you down, as you're putting a lot of stress on the lower body. Using the ropes to break up the monotony of lower body dominant interval training and "cardio" can save your joints and keep your training interesting.

I recommend progressing the ropes through interval training. Start with a generous 15:45s, work:rest ratio for 8-12 rounds and work down from there. A good goal would be to get yourself down to the infamous Tabata protocol using a negative work:rest ratio of 20:10 for 4 minutes. If you're busting your ass through your 160 seconds of work you won't want to do another set. Yeah, sometimes the clock is the toughest workout partner you can find.

For fun, here's a video of Dave, Jim, and I doing some ropes during snowmageddon in DC this February. That guy sucking air on the vid? That's Jim. Oh, and yes, everybody loves training you can do outside!

If you can't tell by how often I link to him... I really enjoy Dan John's writing style and lifting philosophy. You can check his blog out or find him occasionally on T-Muscle. He's also got a book, "Never Let Go", that I just finished and really enjoyed. It's basically a collection of his best articles that tell the story about his growth as a strength coach as well as a person. I would definitely recommend it.

April Update

2010-04-14T09:34:00.004-04:00

This is probably a good time to do a quick set of bullets on what's going on with me right now. I had a really busy weekend that led to a lack of great ideas for the blog, but there is a lot happening right now.

- After almost two months of waiting, I have finally received my course materials for my Understanding Nutrition I course. I began coursework this past weekend, and will hopefully find time each day to put in some reading. I think one of the books weighs in around 15 pounds...

- I will be taking a TRX certification course on Sunday. It's going to be a long day, but the TRX is a sweet suspension training tool that I already use fairly often in the gym. I've already done a bunch of my own reading/research on its uses, but hopefully the course will give me a few more ideas.

- Our first game of the Skeeson (Skeeball season!) was Monday night. We lost a close game, but I have a feeling we'll do pretty well in the league. It's pretty fun and a little ridiculous. I'm really competitive, so I'm looking for chances to practice my game. I just keep thinking about all those times I skipped over Skee Ball to play Time Crisis at the Dave & Busters...

- I am officially playing baseball this summer. I talked about joining up with a team for a bit, but now that I've paid my summer dues it's pretty official. I'm playing with the DC Bears in a local wood bat baseball league. It has been 9 years since I've played ball, but the fundamentals are coming back quickly and the recent weather has been great for it!

- One of my clients at Results has lost ~20lbs in the two months we've worked together. Awesome.

- This video is awesome and seriously made me cringe...

Metabolic Resistance Training - The Complex

2010-04-07T09:41:00.002-04:00

I brought this up last week, so I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page here. Metabolic Resistance Training, as I see it, generally consists of a full body workout combining intensity with density.

In my previous post I listed examples of this - barbell complexes, kettlebell exercises, supersets and tri-sets – but I didn’t go into too much detail. For this post, I want to provide some sort of takeaway that you can use. Keep in mind these are very general recommendations and will not be personalized to your unique situation. Today I’ll discuss the complex.

The Complex
These are interesting, fun, and they have seen a ton of hype recently. A complex is essentially a resistance circuit that is done without letting go of the implement used. With complexes you want to move swiftly through a set number of exercises (usually 8-10) without setting the weight down and without using poor technique. Due to the nature of the complex you should use a weight that is light enough to complete the prescribed repetitions on the most difficult exercise used. Complexes can be done with barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, or even weight plates.

A basic barbell complex can look like this:
(All exercises done with 8 repetitions)
Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Bentover Row
Straight Leg Deadlift

Or this:
Snatch
Walking Lunge
Good Morning
Push Press
Bentover Row

Complete the complex as quickly as possible without setting the weight down. In both complexes you would use a weight light enough to complete 8 repetitions of the Push Press, because this is generally the weakest movement involved. Complete 2-3 sets of the complex to get a good cardio/strength training workout in.

Progressing the complex is as simple as adding weight, sets, or speed. For more variations and information check out the following sites:

Complexes 2.0 - John Romaniello

Rebuild Yourself With Complexes - Dan John

Dan John's Complexes

Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training Barbell Complex:

Cardio: To do or not to do... And how much!

2010-03-31T22:41:00.002-04:00

First, a question: What does cardio look like? It has many forms, but the basic idea is that it's exercise that elevates the heart rate and uses oxygen as its primary energy source. It can look like many things - swimming, running, walking - but it may not be what you're looking for.

Before you head to the gym to "get your cardio in," you should ask yourself a few questions: What is my goal? And, most importantly: Is cardio really the best way to get to my goal? Assuming that you are like most fitness enthusiasts, you're probably in it to lose a few pounds or "tone" your body (same, same). Another group of gym-goers may be preparing for their upcoming sports season. And, finally, your goal may be to run the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April... In this post, I'm really focusing on the first two.

The people in those two groups may just be wasting their time. And, really, let's be honest, time is not something you like to waste in the gym. Today we're really going to focus on those looking to lose weight.

This subject has come up multiple times over the last week, and I wanted to get some thoughts out there. Well, my thoughts supported by those from our industry's leaders. A large part of what I use in this post is taken from Alwyn Cosgrove's "The Hierarchy of Fat Loss."

So, since you're asking, what is Alwyn's Hierarchy of Fat Loss?

1. Correct Nutrition
"You absolutely cannot out-train a crappy diet."
2. Activities that burn calories, maintain muscle mass, and elevate metabolism
The bulk of our calories burned come from our resting metabolic rate, and this is determined by muscle mass and how hard it's working. We need to maintain or gain muscle mass if we are to lose fat.
The smallest part of total calories burned comes from calories outside of our resting metabolism.
3. Activities that burn calories and elevate metabolism
This is that EPOC stuff that we've been talking about. Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption is defined scientifically as the "recovery of metabolic rate back to pre-exercise levels" and "can require several minutes for light exercise and several hours for hard intervals." These are calories burned due to an increase in demand from our body after an exercise session.
4. Activities that burn calories but don't necessarily maintain muscle or elevate metabolism
This is the least effective tool. In most people's vocab, this is simply referred to as "cardio."

Now, before you give me any credit, just remember that I am paraphrasing Alwyn here... I don't want anyone to claim that I'm stealing! Now, for the meat and potatoes part... (To keep this from getting too bogged down, I'm going to remove the studies from the work... I'll link to the full article at the bottom)

Five Factors for Fat Loss Training

1. Metabolic Resistance Training
Resistance training is vital to fat loss. This means work every muscle group hard, frequently, and with an intensity that creates what Alwyn calls "afterburn" that leaves the metabolism elevated for several hours post-workout.
Metabolic resistance training can be barbell complexes, kettlebell work, supersets, and/or tri-sets.
2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training (HIIT)
It burns more calories than steady state and elevates metabolism significantly more than other forms of cardio. The downside is that it flat-out sucks to do it! One reason this works so much better than steady state is due to the awesome power of the human body (9 times better in the study Alwyn quotes!). When you jog on the treadmill every day your body easily adapts to the stress. If you tear yourself a new one with anaerobic intervals beyond the aerobic threshold, your body will not adapt and you will burn fat.
These intervals are more intense than any aerobic interval. Anaerobic intervals are done beyond the aerobic threshold, where your body can no longer just use oxygen for its energy. These intervals are done in a perceived rate of exertion of 9-10 on a scale to 10.
“Interval training is like putting your savings into a high return investment account. Low intensity aerobics is like hiding it under your mattress. Both will work, but the return you get is radically different.”
3. High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training
Still within the aerobic threshold (a perceived rate of exertion of 7-8 on a scale to 10), but with a higher intensity.
4. Steady State High Intensity Aerobic Training
Just hard cardio (don't see this much...).
5. Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training
Moving more.... Walking to get your groceries or taking the stairs instead of the elevator are pretty common options.

From here Alywn gets into what I heard Mike Boyle call the 180 degree principle. “If you see most of the people in the gym doing something you should do the opposite.”

As I mentioned in my “Cardio Zombie” (As Kirk not-so-fondly refers to them) post, anybody working out at a commercial gym will see lines upon lines of full treadmills. According to Boyle we should walk the other way. Alwyn prescribes metabolic resistance training as his first attack against the bulge. This battle begins with time management.

That time should be allotted according to the following:
Time Available - Training Used
≤ 3 hours - Metabolic Resistance Training
3-5 hours - Add High Intensity Anaerobic Intervals
5-6 hours - Add High Intensity Aerobic Intervals
6-8 hours - Add Steady State High Intensity Aerobic
> 8 hours - Add Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic

With fat loss training the key is to do the maximum amount possible while maintaining our recovery levels. As you see in the chart, the intensity diminishes as we spend more time in the gym. Our body can recover much better from the steady state aerobic work than it can from the resistance training, so once additional time becomes available for burning calories we can effectively use it for fat loss without inhibiting our recovery.

Special thanks to Alwyn Cosgrove for the inspiration this week. I know his work here has helped many coaches and trainers understand the science of fat loss. You can find the original article here.

NSCA Mid-Atlantic Conference - Body Composition

2010-03-23T10:23:00.003-04:00

I attended my first Strength and Conditioning conference this past weekend. It was put on by my certifying agency the National Strength and Conditioning Association. They are one of the leading bodies in terms of S&C research, so I was expecting big things from the 12-hour conference.

Things didn't start too well for the conference in my opinion. Well, the fact that I was the first one there says a lot... Dr. Todd Miller, GW's representative for the conference, was there to greet me, but none of the NSCA folks were. After 45 minutes of waiting, they finally walked in and started registration. Due to the delay, our first presenter started late. This was unfortunate, because I believe the first session was the best of the day.

Dr. Miller was that presenter, and he seemed to be the best prepared speaker of the bunch. He designed the Exercise Science graduate program at GW and is one of the faculty members in their program. His topic was in regards to body composition testing of athletes before, during, and after their seasons.

Here are the two abstracts he referenced in his session (as you can see, he was one of the main researchers in each):

The effects of training history, player position, and body composition on exercise performance in collegiate football players.

Seasonal changes in VO2max among Division 1A collegiate women soccer players.

Dr. Miller's main argument began with an overview of the second study. Female soccer players were found to have lost lean muscle and gained fat mass over the course of their soccer season. This could be due to the adjustment of their workout schedule and the assumption that soccer players work as hard in practice as they do in the weight room (therefore causing the coach to schedule less anaerobic sessions during the season). The change in body composition could prove to be a detriment to the athlete's performance, but injury could prove to be even more detrimental. Although no data was available to show us whether these additional sessions may make an athlete any more or less injury-prone, it does seem a good argument for maintaining performance and body composition through the season.

His second study covers the addition of an external load on the speed of an athlete. The external load would represent fat mass, and would have to be done this way to best replicate the addition of fat mass onto the body. Obviously he couldn't have shown the differences in the same athlete with less muscle and more fat, because a study of that size would just be asking for inconsistencies and it would be extremely hard to create.

It was at this point that Dr. Miller brought up a very interesting real world application of this. Thoroughbred horses are sometimes handicapped to make their races more competitive. These 1300 lbs, 3% body fat horses are only handicapped 2 pounds to slow them down by 8 feet over the course of a mile. Only 2 pounds!

The translation to humans is pretty dire. If a 130 pound person added 2 pounds of fat and didn't lose any muscle we could potentially expect them to lose up to 80 feet over the course of a mile. That's quite a difference. The football players in Dr. Miller's study lost around .25-.5 seconds in a 40 yard dash by adding 2 pounds of external load. In a high stakes athletic competition, that's a big deal.

So, the take home message for those coaches out there? Take body comps often and continue to push your athletes in the weight room through the season. Dr. Miller recommends prescribing athletes mandatory cardio sessions if an athlete's fat mass begins to rise during the season (something low-impact like the bike or elliptical). A well-designed nutrition plan and education could also serve your athletes well in this regard.

Progression/Proximal Development

2010-03-18T13:52:00.002-04:00

I was doing some reading today when I came across this article on Proximal Development. I think that fits in nicely with what I posted yesterday...

Progression

2010-03-17T23:21:00.003-04:00

This is what it's all about. Life, at it's most basic, is just that: progression. You are born, learn to crawl, walk, talk, run, read, write, etc. It's progression. We all start small and work our way to more and more difficult tasks. We make these things easy, and then we move forward again. How am I able to recite the alphabet forwards and backwards or read a book? Progression. I started with A-B-C, worked my way to A-G, and eventually A-Z. We did it every day for almost a full year in school until A-Z was no longer a challenge. We then progressed to writing these letters, reading them in words, and learning their meanings. With the number of words in the English language progression is still a possibility.

If we have all learned to continually progress the mind, why do we not insist on putting our bodies through the same rigor? Our body is the vessel with which our mind resides, yet most do nothing to progress that body.

Fitness is an extension of this, yet many of us get it wrong. When it comes to fitness, progression is setting goals and working diligently to achieve them. So many people "work out" in the gym, but there are only a few who "train."

Here's what I mean... Say you want to lose some weight, but you aren't willing to put in some time to understand weight loss or weight training. You head to the gym and find yourself on a treadmill for 30 minutes each day, maybe do some "abs," and throw in a few curls for good measure. Sure, sometimes you hit the machines and do a few chest presses, but you're mostly sticking to what's comfortable for you. True, you may be in the gym 4-6 times a week on a regular schedule, but what are you accomplishing?

The short answer is pretty much nothing. Your body is as resilient a mechanism as you'll find. It realizes that you've changed its schedule and it will adjust its functions to accommodate for the minor changes you've made, and become more efficient at them. Your body now works less doing the same amount of work, and in a few short weeks you will no longer benefit from your "work out." Sure, that's super-cool that the body can manage stress so brilliantly, but your left sitting on 20% body fat and now you're wasting 4-6 hours a week at the gym!

The educated lifter hits the gym with a plan. Goals are set and benchmarks are in place before they begin a training cycle. These guys/girls know what they can do and know what they want to do. It could be weight loss, weight gain, increased speed, or increased strength, but it all comes with a plan. Each workout is progressively more difficult than the next. The weight loss trainee plans shorter and shorter rest periods for their high intensity interval sessions; the weight gainer lifts heavier weights each week and packs on the calories; the speed trainee works acceleration over 10 yards one workout and strength-speed the next; and when looking for increased strength the trainee works a combination of low repetitions with long rest periods and includes assistance work to bring up weaker points in their range of motion. Each of these trainees has a plan with a designated goal, and comes into the gym prepared to progress their bodies closer towards that goal each day.

If you're one of those who just "works out" then you need to quickly re-evaluate your situation. Sure, you may have seen some quick gains right off the bat, but they never last if you stick with what's comfortable for you. If gains begin to plateau or, even worse, you begin to put the weight back on you need to have a plan. So, get out your pen and paper and set yourself some difficult, but achievable, goals. Now that you've got some idea of what you want, ask an expert how best to accomplish your goals. And, remember, at the end of the day you need to "keep the goal the goal." Dan John spoke those wise words and they ring true. Make sure all of your effort is put towards your goal, and only stop when you meet that goal. Once you're there you can set another, because it's all about progression.

Everyday Learning

2010-03-09T09:57:00.007-05:00

In the fitness and nutrition field it's vital that you continue to educate so science doesn't pass you by. New research is reviewed and released almost every day that can have a lasting affect on your programming, so where do you go to keep up?

I link to many of my favorite sources on the sidebar, but there are a few that haven't made it up yet. Here's a short list of some that I've found educational:

The Fitcast : http://thefitcast.com/
I've been able to listen to snippets of their podcasts on my short drive to work, and the knowledge that Kevin, Leigh, Dr. Fass, and sometimes Tony bring to the table is wonderful. Weekly interviews with top industry professionals brings the listener several different views on varying topics. It's also great that, should I feel the need, I can just drop them a few questions to answer on the next episode. Go ahead and subscribe to the podcast through iTunes and see what it's all about. They each have their own blogs that I've found to be very informative. Links are here: http://kevinlarrabee.com/; http://www.tonygentilcore.com/; http://www.leighpeele.com/; and http://jonathanfass.blogspot.com/.

Eric Cressey : http://ericcressey.com/ and http://www.cresseyperformance.com/
After reading Maximum Strength I was sold on this guy's expertise. Several articles he posted on T-Muscle only served to confirm his standing as one of the top professionals in the field. He's done a number of products on assessments, corrective strategies, programming, and shoulder health that you can check out on his website. They are all very well done. I also chronicled my trip to Cressey Performance here and here.

Alan Aragon : http://www.alanaragonblog.com/
Ever since I first happened upon Alan's stuff, I've been blown away by his stubborn ethical stance on nutrition. Not stubborn in that I think he should change it, but stubborn in a sense that just about every nutrition "expert" you meet is attached to some supplement or product out there. Alan is a no-b.s. kind of guy, and he comes across as such in his writing and interviews (there are a few on the Fitcast you should check out). He just recently began blogging, so there isn't much content currently available, but his name can be found in many places. Research reviews, Men's Health, and on various podcasts and articles across the internet. There is a 3-part series on his development that is both entertaining and educational that anyone who's interested in moving into a fitness or nutrition-related field should read.

I'm going to cut the list short there, but know that there are many other names out there that I haven't thanked for their constant blogging, interviewing, and information-gathering that have contributed to my knowledge. As for my blogging, I think I'm going to try to hold myself to a once-a-week posting that will both help me to keep this blog current and encourage myself to provide meaningful information each week. Look for the next post next Tuesday or Wednesday!

Stolen Vid/Nutrition Stuff

2010-03-01T12:18:00.005-05:00

Alright, so I've been talking a lot lately about this diet I've been on and how it's changing the way I look at food. Well, check out this clip that I stole from one my links to the right (Tony Gentilcore's site):

I know roommate Dave has been going through a lot of issues finding and preparing food so I understand where these kids are coming from, but, seriously, not knowing what a potato, tomato, or cauliflower is?!?

Here's the thing that I'm coming to realize about my current food intake. It's not that I'm eating less calories each day - I may be, but I'm not counting and that's not the point. It's really that I've been eating more nutrient-dense foods. Let's make a quick comparison...

Half of a chocolate, chocolate chip muffin from the grocery store (yes, I absolutely used to eat these for breakfast...) costs you 220 calories. The nutrition facts give you 12g Fat, 28g Carbs, and 3g Protein. We're getting some nutritional help with a small percentage of RDV of Vit A, Calcium, Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid, Magnesium, and Zinc. Nothing really substantial though. At most, there's 12% total of some.

Now, let's take a look at the improved version of my breakfast. Calories will stay similar, but check out the nutrients packed into 2 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 2 handfuls of spinach, a cup of mushrooms, and a half cup of onions. This costs you about 240 calories. 9g Fat, 15g Carb, and 26g of Protein. Now, this is pretty extreme, but in the spinach alone you'll find 150% RDA of Vit A, 42% of C, 540% of K, a smattering of B vitamins, and 39% of Manganese. That's just the spinach! The next best part about this breakfast is that it's way more filling than any muffin will ever be.

So, yeah, this is an extreme comparison, but it is one that's applicable to me. Take a look at your breakfast and see how you can tweak it for the better. Maybe add in some fresh food, I think you'll find that you like it!

Wake up and smell the stupid.

2010-02-26T11:35:00.002-05:00

If you've read the last few posts of mine, you'll notice that I've been spending the past two weeks getting to know the new gym I'm training at. Here's the thing... It seems like at least 50% of those who enter the gym spend all of their time on the treadmills.

Now these aren't actual statistics, but they are my best guesstimate of the stupid that I see in the mornings...

Now why would you pay $75/month to walk (or run,in some cases) on a treadmill? Is there not a free strip of land to walk on in your part of town? I hate to think that the DC streets are so violent that we can't find a 45-minute window to get our "cardio" in... Is the treadmill so much more convenient than taking the stairs instead of the elevator, actually walking up the escalator (there are no stair options sometimes in our metro stations), or just taking a walk through your neighborhood?

My apologies if anybody out there reading this fits the description, but it is what it is...

Now, to explain my view of treadmills...

Treadmills are supplementary to what you do in the gym. They can be used in several different ways...
- Add them to your circuits: do a few different exercises and mix in a 60-90 second run on the treadmill to increase the work you're doing. For example, do 15 push ups, 15 squats, 15 crunches, and a 400m run on the treadmill. This is pretty basic, but do it for time; 3 times through, always trying to best your fastest time.
- Get your cardio in when the weather outside is bad. Yes, if there is 10 inches of snow on the ground or it's pouring rain, the treadmill is not a bad option. Just don't pay for a gym membership if the treadmill is the only equipment you know how to use.
- As a progression for less-fit individuals. If you are a little overweight and you have already used up the pavement in the out-of-doors, then hop on a treadmill and put it on an incline. It's less impact than running, and it will definitely get your heartrate up. Most treadmills get up to 15%. If you are in the category that can't walk much, then use the handles on the treadmill to help support your weight as you thin down.

Now, these aren't the only reasons somebody could use a treadmill, but it's a start. And, it's definitely better than just walking for an hour because you want to avoid your neighbors or are afraid you may step on a crack in the road.

I hope this isn't too snarky, but it's just something that's been bugging me lately...

Checking In

2010-02-24T10:10:00.002-05:00

I started this whole nutritional correction plan on January 23, so I thought now would be a good time to give a bit of an update.

I'm still sticking to my guns with the diet program; 4-5 meals a day, 2-3 servings of veggies with each meal (sometimes that comes in supplement form), a lean protein with each meal, and zero calorie beverages (you wouldn't believe how much green tea I've had this month). I've been hovering at 197 for the last 2-3 days so it's safe to say I've lost about 11 pounds this month. That seems like a huge amount of weight for somebody my size, but, as I said earlier, I think most of it may be water-related (some sources quote up to 75%). Now, before anyone can accuse me of doing this unhealthily, let me say that I'm not counting calories and I am definitely not starving myself. Here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast
~20oz shake including: protein powder, banana, peanut butter, cottage cheese, Greens+, creatine, and cinnamon.
2 fish oil pills

Snacks
6-8 cups of green tea (over the course of the day)

Lunch
A butternut squash, chicken breast, onion, and apple concoction (It used to be a casserole, but apparently it is now a cassouperole)

Snack
Another 20oz. shake
Some pecans when I got home from work with a few spoonfuls of peanut butter

Dinner
A casserole including: bison, zucchini, onion, cottage cheese, and eggs (this was awesome and I had a double serving!)

So yeah, there you go, definitely not starving over here.

I've just completed the second week of working in a commercial gym, and I enjoy it so far. It's been a little slow, and I'm not really much of a salesman (I don't even really try...), but it is fun to hang out in the gym in the morning and get my workouts in early. I'm still looking for a few more clients to keep me busy and help me get a little more comfortable, but 2 is a good start.

Education-wise I'm looking forward to a National Strength and Conditioning Association Regional Conference in March, a few one-day seminars put on by the gym I work at, a Sports Nutrition diploma program I recently applied to, and I'm looking forward to attending one of Perform Better's 3-day Functional Training Summits over the summer. That's a lot on the plate, but it's awesome that so many things are so readily available in this field. All you have to do is want it.

Can you believe it?

2010-02-12T16:23:00.002-05:00

A full week of work off, and I couldn't manage to come up with a single post until I returned to work... Shame on me. Ha! Well, I've kept myself pretty busy over the last week. It's hard to get blog posts in when you're building sled ramps off your front porch, walking 2 miles in a blizzard, interviewing for jobs as a personal trainer, and playing a little Call of Duty on the Xbox.

The news of this week is that I did in fact get hired at Results Gym. I walked over for an interview on Tuesday and was called back in on Wednesday to teach abs classes. All of this without any paperwork whatsoever. So, I am hoping to be paid for that... It's going to be fairly memorable since it was officialy a blizzard at the time I decided to make the 1 hour trek to the gym, and I can't say it was too comfortable outside. All of these things were probably compounded by having not bought a pair of winter/snow boots yet, but I can't be prepared for everything.

The classes were fun and I learned a valuable lesson: Don't participate while teaching abs. Especially when you are doing 6 classes in 2.5 hours. I had the meanest abdominal cramp ever in the middle of the 6th session. Luckily, I was able to get through it without whining like a little girl, but I did have to pull up and teach for the remainder of that class. I have never had a cramp there before, but it's just like getting a hamstring cramp while in the backseat of a car. You shoot up into a stretched position trying to alleviate the pain all the while trying to play it off like nothing to those around you.

In dieting news, I'm still going strong. There has been a grand total of 2 cheat meals since I started (I think I'm allowed 3-4 a week), and the weight is steadily going down. It's actually fairly visible at this point. I was 208 when I started and weighed in at 199 this morning. I think in order to be where I want to be body fat percentage-wise I need to be closer to 190... So I'll just keep pushing it in the gym and sticking to my protein and veggies. Last night was a delicious recipe; Acorn Squash stuffed with chicken, onions, and celery flavored with a little thyme. It was awesome! I'm looking forward to doing some almond-crusted sea scallops for Valentine's this weekend.

My first real client is Saturday, so I'm really looking forward to getting started. As always, I'll keep things relatively up-to-date!

Day 5

2010-01-27T09:39:00.004-05:00

Although I didn't immerse myself completely into this nutritional adjustment on Saturday, I still consider it the beginning. Baby steps had been taken in the week prior by removing calorie-laden beverages from the menu and replacing them with water and green tea (sometimes flavored with Splenda, which has its own issues...Interestingly, it was discovered by scientists developing pesticides), and now I have completely given myself to this new way of eating.

Probably one of the greatest tips I've received in the first 5 days is the art of "sneaking" calories in and out of your diet. Although many people are in the diet game to lose weight, there are still plenty looking to put on muscle. Sneaking is effective at both. The basis behind it is that you are not technically going to be consuming less food, but you will be consuming fewer calories.

For example, you can take replace the sugar in your coffee for a no-calorie sweetener like Splenda or stevia, switch up your yogurt for low-fat yogurt (or vice versa if you're looking to put weight on), or you could just switch from high fat ground beef to a lean grass-fed variety. All of these are great ways of tricking your body, and will be put to good use in my current set up.

Cooking and Preparation

Even though there really isn't any format to this particular post, I really thought these pieces of the nutritional puzzle needed to be emphasized. Cooking and preparation are really the most important part to being successful. I'm realizing this more and more as we move forward. I mean, we've heard it hundreds of times... "
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." I've been lucky enough to have spent some time in the kitchen already, so chopping veggies, pre-cooking meats for the week, and putting together a meal on the fly hasn't been quite the struggle I've seen in others. The idea is that you need to set aside some time each week or even day to preparing for the next few meals. This is easily done!

Cooking more versatile foods during this time can help keep anyone from dietary boredom. My favorite choice is a package of chicken thighs (although now I've completed the "sneak" and I've moved to breasts). 8 chicen thighs are easily roasted in the oven in about 25-30 minutes. That's 8 meals I can use. Chicken can be chopped up for salads, eaten plain, mixed with curry sauce, added to soups, or really anything you can think of. So, as I look forward to the rest of the week, I know I've got a load of pre-cooked breasts just sitting in the fridge waiting to be consumed. All I have to do now is decide the arrangement....

So that's just a little insight as to what I'm going to be doing/changing over the next few months. Keep in mind that this includes 4 days a week of resistance training and another couple days of cardio work.

Certified.

2010-01-20T13:36:00.003-05:00

So, I finally got my results after a long weekend of skiing and checking my email for news from the certifying agency. I am now a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer, so that's pretty fun news! Those questions about what to do now are still out there, but at least I have the credential to back up any job search I may do. I'll most likely look into some part time work on the weekends and evenings with a potential foray into the realm of pre-breakfast training... We'll see what happens, but that's pretty exciting for now.

In other news Dave and I will be starting a bit of a diet soon, so we'll take some pictures and get back with more of that accountability stuff that I mentioned earlier. I may wait 8 weeks to show you before and afters... We'll see what happens, but hopefully I'll have some fun results for you. Biggest change for today is moving to nothing but calorie free beverages... I love milk (2% is the best!) and I usually enjoy a bit of coffee with my cream and sugar in the mornings. It'll be tougher once we start taking away more, but at first glance it doesn't look too severe. Like I said, I'll keep you updated.

A Good Day for Blogging?

2010-01-14T12:26:00.002-05:00

I've always thought that boring days at work were good days to blog, but I'm finding out otherwise today. Not only does a lack of work feel unproductive, it's spreading to my mind.... I'm even having issues reading through articles this morning. It must be a combination of boredom and just being anxious to get to Vermont this weekend. I haven't seen Megan in over a week, and we're doing a long weekend ski trip with some friends if we can ever get out of work and get to it!

I do have a bit of a story from this week though. It involves heavy weights and having them delivered to work... I bought a weighted vest online a few weeks ago and have been waiting for it to arrive. As I waited, two other items were shipped and dropped off in an office on the first floor of my building. I made mention of a third package that would be "fairly heavy," and that they should have the delivery man bring the package to my office on the third floor. I probably don't need to say that they didn't really heed my advice.

My 84lbs. weighted vest came wrapped up nicely in a box on Monday... I happened to be out at lunch, and the office downstairs wanted to unload the box into our office. Of course, they didn't ask the delivery guys to do it, so they pushed it into the elevator down the hall and pressed the 3rd floor button. My poor coworker had to walk out in the hall to greet the elevator with my vest, and now, to her surprise, she finds this ridiculously heavy box in the middle of the floor. She made it clear that it was a struggle to get it down the hall and into our office (I guess I owe her?).

Now the issue of getting this thing to my car... I park about a quarter mile away from work, so that's not really a bad walk, but I couldn't exactly carry 84lbs. to my car - esp. down 3-4 flights of stairs and back up another. I decided the best way would be to load up the vest (turns out that 84 lbs. comes in 1 pound increments! Awesome.), and just throw it on underneath my jacket. I've got a heavy, loose pea coat that I figured would cover it up pretty well.... I should've taken a picture of it, but without a picture let's just say that I could barely get my buttons together once I had the vest on. It's a little skinnier without being fully loaded, but it adds a good 6-8 inches to your waistline when fully stocked up. I felt like one of those barrel-chested strongmen. Maybe like I belonged in the circus a little bit...

We don't work in the best of neighborhoods over here, so I fit in great. Like some red-faced, slow-walking, scared dude with a bullet-proof vest conspicuously filling out my jacket. The walk wasn't horrible though, but it's hard to imagine having to get around as a 295 pound man all the time...

Accountability

2010-01-08T16:44:00.003-05:00

I'm taking the Certified Personal Trainer exam tomorrow afternoon. I guess I'm writing this so I make sure I study tonight... If everyone knows I'm taking the exam then you (all 2-3 of you who read this) can call me out if I don't manage to pass the thing. I'm pretty confident though, and as long as I show up for the test on time I should manage just fine.

Once I complete the test it raises other questions... Should I start working at a gym? Will I pick up some clients for the home gym? What's the next bit of education for me?

So there you have it, now I'm accountable to you for whatever happens tomorrow at exam time. Who knows, maybe I'll go beyond the lifting and exam taking and branch out into my diet! Ha, that would most likely be a fail of epic proportions...

I'll try to answer those other questions in the next few weeks...

Too early to start talking resolutions?

2009-12-02T12:18:00.003-05:00

I know it's just December 2, but we can start looking at some changes to be made during the new year. I think I've been doing a pretty good job staying active and maintaining my body, but I could always do better.

That being said, I don't want to lay everything out in this post, I want to spread things out a bit and not limit myself to my train of thought this morning. On top of that, I know I'll find some interesting tidbits on maintaining and improving yourself that I'll want to share.

The first resolution has to do with encouraging an active lifestyle for those who work at a desk all day. It's sort of a two part resolution that will not only help us get on our feet just a little bit more each day (which will add up over the course of a year), but will help to keep my body functioning at it's peak.

Active Resolution #1:
I will never use the restroom closest to my office while I am at work again. As part of this resolution, I will also strive to drink more than 5 cups of water at work each day. These two parts will not only force me to use the restroom more often, but will mean I walk 3 flights of stairs down and 3 flights of stairs back up each time I need to go to the next closest restroom.

I probably go about 3-4 times a day now, so we're looking at a possible increase to 5 trips while adding 6 flights (3 up, 3 down) of stairs a trip. Using this resolution through just 100 work days will add 3000 flights of stairs to my energy usage. If I assume a bare minimum of 15 calories burned per 3 flights of stairs, I'm looking at an additional 45000 calories burned over 100 days that I previously did not. There are a number of opinions here, but presumably it will take a 3500 calorie deficit to lose a pound. These numbers will never turn out exactly, but that means that 12 lbs. of calories can be burned by just adding this small task to my day.

I don't exactly believe calorie-counting can be an exact science (since the body can be pretty stubborn concerning weight loss/gain), but the bottom line is that I will definitely add steps to my day and will most likely expend more energy doing so.

So there you have it, resolution #1.

Pre-Thanksgiving Update

2009-11-24T10:36:00.002-05:00

So I haven't been the best blogger out here.. to be honest, I mostly use my blog as a base for browsing the blogs in my "scratch and sniff" section. It's probably the best way I can think of to stay current with the fitness blogs I follow and with my friends that are out there as well.

Some things going on for me recently:

- I cooked my first turkey last week. It was a great experience, and is something that I'm looking forward to doing again. It's always a bit of a hassle to do something for the first time.. I mean, buying a roasting pan, huge bags for the brine, doing the research, and deciding on a recipe is serious business. Well I think it was a resounding success. So you guys can share in that, here's the recipe:

Coca-Cola brined Pilgrim's Pride turkey with Dunkin Donuts old-fashioned cake doughnut sweet and savory stuffing*

Coca-Cola brine
1 1/4 cups salt
1 quart Coca-Cola
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves
1 10- to 12-pound Pilgrim's Pride Whole Butter Basted Turkey
1. Place salt and Coca-Cola in a large deep pot and whisk until salt crystals dissolve. Whisk in 4 quarts cold water. Pin bay leaves to onion halves with cloves and add them to brine. Let mixture cool to room temperature.
2. Add Pilgrim's Pride turkey, placing a large heavy pot or sealed zip-top bag filled with cold water on top to keep bird submerged in Coca-Cola. Place pot in refrigerator and marinate overnight.

Dunkin Donuts old-fashioned cake doughnut sweet and savory stuffing
6 cups Dunkin Donuts old-fashioned cake doughnuts, chopped
2 cups diced onion
1/2 cup butter
2 cups cranberries
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 tablespoon dried sage
1 cup chicken broth

Cook onion in butter or margarine over low heat until soft. Add doughnuts, cranberries, rosemary and sage, chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently but thoroughly.

Roast Turkey
Remove Pilgrim's Pride turkey from Coca-Cola brine. Thoroughly rinse turkey under a slow stream of cool water, rubbing gently to release salt and soda residue, both inside and out. Pat skin and both interior cavities dry.

Remove neck and giblets. Begin lightly spooning doughnut stuffing into the neck cavity, then into the body cavity. After the bird has been stuffed, secure the legs to the tail. If the band of skin is not present, tie the legs securely to the tail with string. Twist the wing tips under the back of the turkey so they won't overcook.

Roast turkey, breast side down, in a preheated 325 degree F oven for 2 hours. During this time, baste legs and back twice with Coca-Cola.

(Taken from the White House chef... here's an interesting article to follow-up: http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/02/white_house_che.html)

- Team Schaefer dug out two universe point wins last weekend. Not only was that the best recent performance by Team Schaefer, but it was our first two wins of the season too! Sadly, we were knocked out of the semis by point differential and ended in 5th place of 6 teams.

- The Dead Kittens, the WAFC rec league team I captained this Fall, went something like 8-2 on the year and finished off our season on Sunday. I think we were rained out something like 5 or 6 times this Fall, but it was a great season with a good group of men/women. I will put together a brief highlight video from the season when I get a chance.

- Got my NSCA-CPT practice exams in the mail yesterday.. I'm hoping to take the first one over Thanksgiving to get a feel for when I can comfortably take the exam prior to the new year. I'm on my way!

Cressey Performance - Day 2

2009-11-10T14:50:00.001-05:00

Even though I woke up sore from my first day with EC, I was more prepared for what he had in store for me. At this point I know I can do everything that's thrown at me, and it's even nice to have a little shot of adrenaline that comes with being in a strange place and trying to impress strangers.

I knew there were 3 things in store for me today: EC was going to take a look at my sprinting "technique" (I put this in quotes because I'm not sure what I do can be called technique), we were going to have an upper body workout, and I was probably not going to be mistaken for a baseball player now that we answered those questions the first day.

First up we needed to work through the foam roller routine and take care of my mobility work. Pretty much the same set up as the day before, except I didn't really need someone to hold my hand through it. My intern of the day today was Connor, and he seemed extremely knowledgeable about the body as well. He's about to graduate with his bachelor's and will be starting PT school soon. From our conversation, he seems really passionate about it, and seems to have found a good home at CP.

Here's that foam rolling routine:

After the warm-up, I ran a series of 6, 40 yard sprints with critique in between. I started with excessive heel-striking (which could lead to the pain in my heel) and didn't utilize the full arm motion in my stride. The arm motion is linked to the opposite glute muscle through the lats. My arm motion apparently didn't engage the glutes enough and I was potentially losing speed that way. After a few runs I was looking better according to EC, but was told that I would see noticeable difference in my sprinting once I could deadlift 315... I took that a little mixed... I've deadlifted 375 before, but not with good form, so I can see where he could say I haven't lifted 315... but come on, don't I look like I could pull 315?!?

Anyway, I'll take that to mean that I need to lift 315 with some more authority. Speed up the lift and get a little more explosive, and then maybe I'll be a little faster. The only thing I'm concerned with here is the difference between my running technique sprinting on a 40-yard track and the technique I use on the Ultimate field. Hopefully I can make the two match.

After the sprints, we moved into the upper body routine. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but it was good to hear that I had good power on my chins and I was able to do a set of 4 close-grip bench press at 225. I haven't done that before, so that was kinda cool. We moved to some single-arm bench press, seated rows, external rotations, and split-stance cable lifts. It was a pretty good workout and the timing was great so that I could ask plenty of technique questions. One of the only bad things I took out of the session is that I was using 75's for the single-arm bench press when I max out at 60 lbs. at home. That just means I get to spend more money...

A good nugget I took from my questions was about mobility and stability. Your body needs alternating mobility and stability to perform properly. Mobility in the ankles, stability in the knees, mobility in the hips, stability in the lower back, mobility in the thoracic spine, stability in the scaps, and mobility in the shoulders/arms. It's a good way of looking at it, and the reasons behind finding that mobility are to limit the amount of compensation the stable areas have to make. Basically, if you lack mobility in one of the areas that should have mobility, then the closest stable area will have to take one some mobility to perform the function. This is where injury happens.

So now I've got my plan and I'm a week into it before I got this post up. It's painful so far, but I think some of that is due to a little extra Ultimate lately. One more big Ultimate weekend and I'll be free to concentrate on my iron.

Cressey Performance - Day 1

2009-11-06T13:23:00.003-05:00

Despite purchasing some super-cheap Southwest Air tickets up to Boston, we were still 30 miles from CP and the T in Boston just couldn't get us to Hudson, Mass. Megan and I found ourselves a comfy Honda Civic ZipCar and made our way out to the facility.

As we left the city behind and found ourselves driving on a winding 2-lane highway through several quaint MA towns. The Fall season was in full effect and the drive out was scenic. Of course, it brought on a few questions from Megan about EC's training methods. She was concerned that we were coming all this way just to pick up some training tips from Rocky IV.

Then we happened upon the facility. Basically a small office building on the side of the road, it contained a Comcast office, cafeteria, and Cressey Performance. I'd seen pictures of the gym before, so I was a little surprised to see that it was housed in this place. After I convinced Megan this place was legit, we went inside. I was greeted by Connor (one of the interns at CP) before I even made it into the gym, and saw a number of younger athletes walking around the cafeteria carrying various supplements and putting together their shakes for the day. Yeah, I was definitely close to a gym.

Walking in the door, I was met by some of the CP guys and a few minor leaguers who were training during the offseason. These kids looked like they'd been getting some work done too. Pete told me I needed to wait a bit since EC was with a "celebrity" client, but I was early so that was no big deal. As we took care of some paperwork, he asked if I was a baseball fan and if I knew Kevin Youkilis. Well, not much of a baseball fan, but I did know Youkilis... saw him spank the Nationals this year, actually. Turns out, he was the "celebrity" client. I have to admit I felt pretty cool training back-to-back with a major leaguer.

Once they finished up, it was onto the table for me. I went through a series of flexibility tests while Eric took a look at my mobility and asked me some training questions. We covered a lack of t-spine mobility, hip mobility, concern about the heel pain I've been experiencing, and some tightness in my pec minor (causing my right shoulder to "dip" a bit). As expected, I was put onto the foam roller next to get warmed up for my training session. Pretty straight-forward progression on the roller and then we worked with a lacrosse ball on some of the harder to work points like the glutes, calves, and feet. Ben (another intern) walked me through these drills before putting me through a mobility warm-up. A lot of the focus was on hip, thoracic spine, shoulder, and ankle mobility.

Once I was thoroughly warmed up (and I was, sweating through my shirt) we took a look at my deadlift form. I was definitely happy to have two sets of eyes on me as I bent for the bar. Brian St. Pierre (who's blog is linked in the sidebar) and Ben helped me along as I performed a few lifts. My own concern about my technique was confirmed when I attempted a conventional deadlift. After trying a few times to get my back flat while keeping my butt up, we moved on to a "sumo" deadlift. The sumo was much more appropriate for my current level of mobility and they walked me through the process. After plenty of chest out, tuck your chin, don't shrug your shoulders, tighten your scaps, don't shrug your shoulders, tuck your chin, chest out.... I think I had it figured out! The last set felt pretty solid and I felt like I finally had things working for me.

So, to summarize:
- Legs wider than shoulder width apart (more like 4 feet apart, lined up at the narrow smooth line on the straight bar)
- Hybrid grip with arms between the legs
- Stabilize the scaps
- Keep your chin tucked (don't hyperextend your cervical spine)
- Bar starts about an inch from your shins
- Lower back is stable, butt is fairly high in the stance (I was sitting my butt down pretty far and turning the movement into a quad-dominant lift)
- Keep your chest up and your arms extended to start the lift
- Pull with your back, hamstrings, and glutes at the same time to move the weight (I was starting with my legs and finishing with my back)
- Lock out at the top by thrusting your hips through
- Do the movement in reverse to set the weight down

So yeah, if nothing else, that part was awesome for me. I've always been mostly a self-trainer, and I'm realizing that it really pays off to have somebody knowledgeable look at your technique! Hopefully this means no more tweaking my back!

In between sets here I did more ankle mobility work to help out my heel, and then moved to some single-leg work. We did single-leg reverse lunges on a slide board and single-leg Romanian deadlifts to finish of the first day. Those slide board lunges are killer! Just taking the back foot out of the exercise throws a ton of emphasis on your butt and hamstrings of the front leg. I can honestly say that pain is finally gone from my body, but it was sore for a good 3 days afterwards (and that was with a fairly light weight!). These lunges can be replicated with a paper plate under your shoe if you don't have a board. Here's an example (no, I didn't use a keg and weight vest, just some dumbbells...):

So yeah, that was day 1. Day 2 to come soon.

Classes Done... What's next?

2009-11-01T01:02:00.002-04:00

I just checked the box to turn in my last exam for this short run of classes over the last 8 weeks. Four classes down, what's next?

Well, I have myself a seat on a plane to Boston, MA tomorrow morning where I'm going to meet with Eric Cressey of Cressey Performance. Eric is a young, and very well-respected, strength and conditioning coach with a number of publications under his belt. Magnificent Mobility, Maximum Strength, and his newest contribution, Assess and Correct are really what drew me. I have been training myself for a while, and you get to realizing that even though you may be good at training others (or telling them what to do, to phrase it differently), the hardest person to train is yourself. It's not about knowing what to do, it's that I'm just not very good at following my own directions! Cressey also has a focus on mobility and correctional movements that leads to the development of injury-free athletes. After spending the last few seasons working through pain, I really want to focus on doing the movements that will treat my body well and will not only develop new power and strength, but will do so while building my body up to prevent injury.

A quick testimonial I have that may be jumping the gun... I've been working through EC's mobility warm-ups from Maximum Strength and I already feel like my heel is feeling better during Ultimate. In the end, that is my goal. I just need to have a painfree season of Ultimate where I can train and perform my best on the field.

Next up, I'm looking at getting my NSCA-CPT certification prior to January 2010. I've done quite a bit of reading the last few months and I think I'm ready to take a shot at the test. I'll be ordering the practice exams to see where I'm at, and then really focus on the weak points over the next month. A lot of fitness ahead of me. On that front, hopefully this means I can pick up a few clients for myself and start to develop a reputation.

Speaking of all the lifting, I recently added gym mats to my garage set up. The mats were free and just about fill the whole garage floor. Now that I was able to sort of remodel things, the gym looks pretty awesome. I'll get some pictures and maybe a video up to show you how things look.

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

2009-10-28T14:15:00.004-04:00

I've had this movie on my Netflix queue for about 3 months now, and finally got around to checking it out last night. It was a little eye-opening. You know, like when you hear that fat is bad for you every day but then realize that there is really no evidence to support it?

Well, that is similar to what I got from Bigger, Faster, Stronger. It is a documentary led by Chris Bell that covers the steroid controversy through his eyes and through the eyes of his two brothers, Mike and Mark. Basically, he takes us on a journey through baseball's BALCO affair, Arnold's run at the Olympia, Henry Waxman's reasoning behind the ban (probably one of the more embarassing parts of the movie for the U.S. and politics as a whole), the Don Hooten accusation that steroids killed his depressed son, and then interviews with a number of people who actually seem to know what they're talking about and have scientific evidence to back it up.

The best argument in the film was while reading off a list of side effects of an unknown drug. AFter listing 15-20 adverse affects we find that this "drug" is Vitamin C. The argument ends with statistics showing upwards of 50,000 deaths a year for alcohol, slightly less for tobacco, and 3 for anabolic steroids. Now we're left to ponder why the other two aren't banned substances as well.

Now let me get this straight, although I don't feel steroids are bad for you, there are no known studies that convincingly prove this (and there will be no steroid study, because it would be medically unethical now that it's banned), I don't think I'll be taking them in my lifetime. I just found this extremely interesting that people are so offended by steroid use when the medical uses of steroids have saved lives since the early 1930s. Seems to me this whole steroid ban is like "looking the gift horse in the mouth." It did just about save baseball before Congress came down on it, and now baseball's boring again....

The sky is falling! Or... maybe I'm just really busy?

2009-09-03T15:07:00.003-04:00

No, not really, but everything is coming down on me at once! It's crazy how many things can be happening in your life at any given time, but these last two weeks have been pretty intense.

Megan and I are now "co-habitating" and the move-in was a crazy weekend. We moved in with 2 other friends to a sweet house on Capitol Hill and we're trying to find some time to enjoy the new location. I'm having some major adjustment issues, but I'm working through it. The most major issue is just dealing with a difference of about 25 minutes each way in commute, but I think I can live like the rest of the world... It is tough to change though.

Everything managed to come to a head around the exact same time though. The move-in, this week is the start of class at Catholic (so the job is crazy!), I'm going to Dallas for the OU/BYU game this weekend, Ultimate practice is starting up this week (and I'm going to try and help out), and I'm going to be starting 3 online courses with APU next week (Biomechanics, Exercise Phys, and Anat & Phys). So that's probably why it feels like the sky is falling!

I guess I need to set some goals for the next two weeks. The most basic of them is to just figure out what the new routine is going to be. I've been getting home around 8pm every night, and that's not something I want to continue to do. It's understandable on practice days, but I'm set on keeping 4 workouts a week and I'm going to need time to study for these courses!

On top of that, I've been mulling over a new sleep schedule. I've been feeling a little hazy the last few weeks and I think I'd like to add 30 minutes to an hour of sleep each night. It could help with recovery from workouts and hopefully give me a little extra energy in the week. We'll see what I can manage.. I guess I'm waiting to see what my courseload looks like next week!

August 18 - 300

2009-08-18T23:59:00.001-04:00

25 Chin Ups
50 Deadlifts @ 135lbs.
50 Push Ups
50 Box Jumps
50 Floor Wipers
50 Single Arm Kettlebell Clean and Press @ 35lbs.
25 Chin Ups

28:12

Damn I need to work my cardio... lol.

Getting Antsy

2009-08-14T19:03:00.003-04:00

I've completed my Masters in May, the job's steady, I'm playing golf, and I've been away from Ultimate pretty much all summer. Now that I have a relaxed schedule, I've been reading up on nutrition/food science stuff, weight-lifting, and keeping current on several fitness professionals blogs, and it's making me really antsy.

I think I need something more. I've been browsing local and online programs for kinesiology/exercise science/nutrition programs and it's so hard to find a place to start. I don't even know what I really want out of it yet, but I know I'm interested. It's too bad CUA doesn't have a program (because it would be FREE).

Things that come to mind are continuing into the HR field working towards an education in corporate wellness programs, doing a strength and conditioning focus and possibly integrating that into a coaching/training career, or doing something with exercise-based intervention.

I think the problem is just getting started at this point. I don't really know where to begin, I'm a little nervous about the financial issues related with doing a degree program now, and I'm definitely frustrated that I didn't get into this my first round through college... I think it would have been nice to at least have done the human anatomy and physiology courses and covered a few pre-reqs that will slow things down now.

I'm going to keep looking and hopefully I'll find something that's feasible for me. I guess all I can do now is just continue to educate myself and do some self-study towards a certification exam of some sort.

Thoughts for the morning...

2009-07-30T09:26:00.003-04:00

1. Big thought of the day:

There should be an asshole driver fine. It doesn't have to be major, but it needs to be there. People who don't use their turn signals; people who cut you off; people who live with their hand on their horns; people who wait until the very last second to change lanes, cutting everyone off who changed lanes properly and holding up the traffic in the lane they are merging from (Example: leaving DC by 395); people who are talking on their cell phones instead of paying attention to the road; and people in small cars who think it's necessary to take corners so wide they change lanes into yours like they wouldn't make the turn otherwise.

People like this deserve some sort of fine for their actions. I don't think a fine every time is necessary, but what if we instituted a 5-strike fine rule? Basically it works like this: Each time you get cut-off or think somebody is driving like an asshole, you fill out a form to report this driver. As driver's accumulate strikes, they are sent fines at every 5th one. So that douchebag that thinks it's a great idea to swerve through traffic nearly hitting everyone in the process and causing traffic to slow will get citations from everyone that can get his license plate. Once you get 5, you are sent your $50 fine.

The only thing holding this back are the people who would fake citations to send people fines for no reason. The sad thing is that those people are the same assholes who can't drive with any bit of decency.

2. Find a better spokesperson.

There was a lady walking down 2nd street this morning trying to get everyone to "HONK for guaranteed health care." Sure, that's all well and good, but she obviously doesn't take care of herself so why should we take care of her? I have no problem with the guaranteed health care thing, as a matter of fact, I don't even really think about most things political, but don't send an obese lady out to tout the benefits of guaranteed health care.

Check this out,

A report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – which organized the conference – pegged annual health spending tied to obesity at $147 billion. By comparison, the American Cancer Society says it costs $93 billion a year to treat all types of cancer. “So ending obesity would save our healthcare system 50% more dollars than curing cancer,” Sebelius said.

Yeah. And, who's to say that fighting obesity wouldn't lower the cancer rate at the same time? So why don't we make healthcare guaranteed for those that can keep their waistline down? I'm not talking BMI though, I'm talking BF%. It's obvious that BMI is not a good marker of physical fitness, but we have easy methods of obtaining BF%, so why not use it? If you can stay out of the overweight category, your health care is free. Maybe people will be motivated by the savings...

It really can't be that bad... I mean, the Japanese are cracking down on waistlines and they think it could help us.

Wildwood 2009

2009-07-29T16:29:00.002-04:00

By the time this sunburn is gone I swear I'll have a recap of last weekend up...

Here's the update:
Nose: Peeling
Feet: Still Burning
Shoulders: Turning a nice golden brown
Biceps: Still a little red, but looking much better for it!

I will let everyone in on a little secret though. Like Jim said, "The British drink their tea out of GOLDEN cups." Looks like our 9 "Brits" will be forced to share 1 golden cup, but that's one more than I had before!

Garden Update

2009-07-08T15:26:00.002-04:00

Just a little garden update... The spaghetti squash is a good 7-9 inches long now (the picture doesn't do it justice), and the largest eggplant is pushing 6 inches. There are a number of squash that are just a little behind the largest pictured and it looks like we have 5 eggplant on the way so far. Tomatoes are growing, but slowly.

Artificial Sweeteners and Diabetes

2009-07-01T13:49:00.004-04:00

I found this post from Cassandra Forsythe that linked to this article, but I'll post the article for those who don't like the links. Basically, just eat real food and exercise, and you'll be fine... Don't try to justify your use of diet drinks on calories alone because, surprise, artificial sweeteners are bad for your body too!

From Medscape Medical News
ENDO 2009: Use of Artificial Sweeteners Linked to 2-Fold Increase in Diabetes

Crina Frincu-Mallos, PhD

June 15, 2009 (Washington, DC) — People who use artificial sweeteners are heavier, more likely to have diabetes, and more likely to be insulin-resistant compared with nonusers, according to data presented here during ENDO 2009, the 91st annual meeting of The Endocrine Society.

Results show an inverse association between obesity and diabetes, on one side, and daily total caloric, carbohydrate, and fat intake, on the other side, when comparing artificial sweetener users and control subjects.

First author Kristofer S. Gravenstein, a postbaccalaureate researcher with the Clinical Research Branch at the National Institute of Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), said the association may reflect the increased use of artificial sweeteners by obese and/or diabetic study participants. "This is a cross-section study," Mr. Gravenstein told Medscape Diabetes & Endocrinology, "so there are limitations — we cannot say that artificial sweetener use causes obesity, we can say it is associated with it."

Increased Use vs Increased Glucose Absorption

Artificial sweeteners activate sweet taste receptors in enteroendocrine cells, leading to the release of incretin, which is known to contribute to glucose absorption. Recent epidemiologic studies in Circulation (2008;117:754-761) and Obesity (2008;16:1894-1900) showed an association between diet soda consumption and the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

This report tested whether participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), which began in 1958, differ in anthropometric measures, daily caloric intake, and glucose status, separating them into 3 different groups: artificial sweetener users, artificial sweetener nonusers, or controls.

A total of 1257 participants, with a mean age of 64.8 years (range, 21 - 96 years), had data on self-reported 7-day dietary intake, 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and anthropometric measures. The major artificial sweetener consumed was aspartame, preferred by 66% of BLSA participants, followed by saccharin (13%), sucralose (1.0%), and combinations of the three (21%).

"In our study, we were actually able to isolate what type of sweetener was used at a certain point in time, as we used food diaries, and not food questionnaires," Mr. Gravenstein pointed out.

"When we first did this analysis, we found that people ate more fat before 1983, which is the year [of] a big increase in artificial sweetener consumption in the American population — it was actually when aspartame was approved and diet Coke was introduced," he explained.

As a result, the study further analyzed data from a subset of participants, starting in 1983. Compared with 550 people who did not use artificial sweeteners, the 443 people who did were younger, heavier, and had a higher body mass index (BMI), yet they did not consume more calories from people who did not use artificial sweeteners. Fat, carbohydrate, protein, and total caloric intake were not different between the 2 groups (users vs nonusers).

Furthermore, Mr. Gravenstein noted that people who used artificial sweeteners "were less likely to have a normal OGTT, or they were less likely to be diagnosed as having a normal glucose homeostasis."

In terms of glucose status, the impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and/or impaired fasting glucose (IFG), the data show that artificial sweetener users "were not different than the prediabetics, ie, they had the same prevalence of prediabetes," he said, adding that "in our population, people who used artificial sweeteners were twice as likely to have diabetes, 8.8% compared to 4.4% for controls."

Analyzing the data further, the investigators focused on a subpopulation, in which fasting insulin values were available from 374 nonusers and 311 artificial sweetener users. The users had a higher fasting glucose levels, higher fasting insulin levels, and a higher measure of insulin resistance, as measured by the homeostasis model assessment, but glycosylated hemoglobin A1C levels were similar between the 2 groups.

Alternative Hypothesis and Clinicians' Role

The researchers suggest an alternative hypothesis, that artificial sweeteners modulate the metabolic rate through enteroendocrine cells, therefore contributing to the development of diabetes and/or obesity. However, this hypothesis needs further testing in longitudinal analysis and intervention studies, said the investigators.

"Also, it could be that artificial sweeteners are causing diabetes, or it could be that there is a higher use of them because a lot of physicians actually recommend people to use artificial sweeteners to prevent diabetes...." Mr. Gravenstein said. The researchers are planning to address this question with a prospective analysis.

"This is a very interesting study," Rachel C. Edelen, MD, a pediatric endocrinology practitioner at the Aspen Centre in Rapid City, South Dakota, told Medscape Diabetes & Endocrinology in an interview. "I diet screen all my patients, and they are not drinking enough milk. Usually, they replace the milk with something else, sweetened tea, Gatorade, etc, not just water. With my type 1 diabetics, the information they were getting from the hospital was to drink diet pop. But who even goes into the hospital and drinks pop?" she wondered.

Support for this study was provided by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Edelen and Mr. Gravenstein have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

ENDO 2009: The Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society: Abstract P2-478. Presented June 11, 2009.

Authors and Disclosures
Journalist

Crina Frincu-Mallos, PhD

Crina Frincu-Mallos is a freelance writer for Medscape Medical News.

Garden Blooms!

2009-06-23T00:56:00.009-04:00

I think this is pretty exciting... We've got some blooms on the Spaghetti Squash and the Eggplant now! The two on the left are Squash and the third is the Eggplant.

I'm pretty psyched for the veggies when they come in. We also took a few shots of the lower body workout today, you can see those over at Stre7ch Fitness.

More Nutrition/BMR

2009-06-16T14:58:00.006-04:00

OK, so I found a great set of 10 rules to live by as far as diet is concerned. They are linked here:

Nutrition 101 - Part 1
Nutrition 101 - Part 2

Also, something I've never considered, but makes a lot sense... For those who count calories, normally it's based on your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), or how much your body burns at rest. This number is calculated by converting your weight (in Lbs.) to Kilograms by multiplying by .45 or dividing by 2.2, then multiplying by 24. The result is your BMR.

The thing I haven't thought about is the number we are using... In an article by Rodney Gaines, PhD, CSCS, called Periodized Nutrition for Strength and Power Athletic Performance, he points out the error. Most people use their total weight, fat and all. Is it really necessary to eat those extra calories to support our fat mass?!?

I'm around 195 with a body fat probably in the 12-15% range. That means I have somewhere between 23-29 pounds of fat on me! I don't want to support that! Using the calculations (I'll use the mean here):

195*13.5%=26.325 lbs.
That's ~169*.45=76.05*24=1825.20 Cals

So, my lean mass burns ~1825 calories at rest.

To further that, you need either 1.3 times your BMR for low activity, 1.4 for moderate activity, or 1.5 for high activity.

Consider that when you're counting those cals!

TX Vac. Abbr.

2009-06-15T17:57:00.002-04:00

Tues: Flight delayed forever, couple manages 30-minute goodbye kiss next to us, arrive Wednesday to meet Dave.

Wed: Took long walk, Michael arrived from OKC, tubed the river, ate lunch at Granzin's, went to SA, paid too much for a birds-eye view, had some Hard Rock Pecan Pie after Megan and the Mom watched Wicked.

Thurs: Hit the big rides at Schlitterbahn after a 90-minute wait, swam home from Surfenburg, swung a bat for the first time in years, met John and stuffed my face with Salt Lick barbeque, witnessed 1.5 million bats leaving a bridge, "The Nothing" came to Austin, enjoyed a mediocre band; good band; and Irene grabbing my chest at Back Door Social while the storm passed.

Fri: Salt Lick Pecan Pie for breakfast, stocked up at H.E.B.(eat your heart out, Giant!), ran into a few old coworkers (Mafia! Denise!), Shannon; Laura; and Brad arrived from Ft. Worth/Arlington, tubed the river, collected cans, ate fajitas, Nusto and Angie (+a baby on board!) came over, Orrin arrived from Houston, Tavern in/at/on/around the Gruene served cheap beer and commercial opportunities.

Sat: 10am tubing (LOTS of cans w/Orrin), leftover fajitas, Schulze came down from Austin, 2nd tube run (likened to coin machines at the fair), another 100 degree day, Kyle came home to grill up the ribs, sweet potato candy with that for dinner, Christina and Kyle came over from Dallas for the night tube run, Canuto barely made it (but he made it!), nice chill (or chilly, depending on who you ask) trip down the river, multiple runs on the chute just like the old days.

Sun: Michael leaves, Shannon and gang leave, changing plans, changing plans, changing plans, Phil drops by (didn't get to work out with him!), Mom comes home, head to San Marcos Factory Outlet, buy sweet Nike polos, head to SA for Cheesecake Factory, meet Kyle (Happy Birthday!), we each eat portions large enough for a small family, head to airport, vacation ends.

Wow, how did we make time for all that... I'm counting 6 tube runs and 3 barbeque dinners! I think we did what we came to do!

Grocery Shopping

2009-06-15T15:42:00.003-04:00

I'm about halfway through Gary Taubes' "Good Calories, Bad Calories," and I'm beginning to really dislike going to the grocery store. From all the exaggerations we've been told about the benefits of Fiber (Nope, no colon cancer cure there...the only thing it really helps is constipation), misinformation about the cause of heart disease (nope, it's not cholesterol... that means we can eat our bacon and eggs!), and the silly notion that somehow refined grains and sugars are better for you than their unrefined counterparts (luckily this died out a while ago...), how can we really believe anything we hear?

I just linked some random articles I could find within a few seconds, but there are tons of studies done that dispute those "facts" that are deeply ingrained in our heads. The bad connotation of fat (saturated in particular) on the nutrition facts is probably the worst of them all. Since I'm having trouble deciding what to believe, I decided to shop for things closest to what I might find back when we didn't have to get our food at a grocery store (with a few exceptions). Here's what I came up with...

2% Milk
Unpeeled carrots
Sliced Mushrooms
Cottage Cheese
2 cartons of eggs
Chicken Thighs
Strawberries
Kiwis
Peaches
Avocado
Organic Peanut Butter
Milled Flax Seed
Cheddar Cheese
Canned Pumpkin
Whole Wheat w/flax flatbread
Lime Fruit Bars (A little off here...)
Chocolate Syrup (for post-workout choc milk!)

I feel like this is a good start towards healthy eating, not to mention the HUGE Spaghetti Squash, Eggplant, and Sweet Potato plants we have growing currently. I can't wait to get some of that!

Another sport to think about...

2009-06-09T11:04:00.003-04:00

I mentioned my trip to Chicago in a few other posts, but I wanted to just direct everyone to a great write-up of what I took part in on Saturday night at Soldier Field. I will be the first person to tell you that I'm not a big soccer fan, and I generally don't concern myself with watching or playing the sport. I understand that a large percentage of Ultimate players may have played the sport at one time or another, but it is not a sport that I really identify well with.

Regardless of this, I found myself attending the USA vs. Honduras World Cup Qualifying match on Saturday night. The story leading up to the game was an adventure all it's own, but the game was about as exciting as I've been part of (I'm going to restrict that comment to all things outside of Oklahoma football, as Renaldo Works would probably have something to say about that...).

Anyway, the game was rowdy. There were 55,000+ fans there, ~40,000 of them being Honduran. Their passion for the game was evident as we made our way to the stadium, and they more than overwhelmed the "home" team's fans. It was not surprising to see the contrasting levels of support between our two countries, and, to be honest, it almost made me want the Hondurans to win. After all, the number of Chicagoan's confused by the Honduran presence speaks volumes about our views on soccer... I ended up having a great time, thanks to those fans. You could feel their passion in every juke, every pass, every corner, and, of course, every goal. It was impressive the way they supported their country. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable about my own patriotism (I wore a green shirt to the game...).

Back to the reason I posted today... John and I checked out the game together, and he is officially a Master (of Science) of Journalism now so you should probably read his take: Passion.

In Defense - Part 3

2009-06-08T17:36:00.002-04:00

Just a few quick facts that I find interesting here...

*In the late 1800s 5 states passed laws requiring all butter imitations to be dyed pink so everyone would know.
*The Supreme Court struck down that law 1898.
*The 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act required the word "Imitation" to appear on any food product that was an imitation.
*In 1973 that rule was removed after years of argument from the food industry.
*The new rule allowed that "as long as an imitation product was not 'nutritionally inferior' to the natural food it sought to impersonate (as long as it had the same quantities of recognized nutrients) the imitation could be marketed without using the dreaded 'i' word."
*Processors backed that move.... Surprise, surprise.

There are some other interesting tidbits about the use of "flavor packs" in Orange Juice in Brian St. Pierre's blog entry here: The Orange Juice Deception. It's not technically imitation now, because the "flavor packs" are made from orange extracts... Cool deal, just buy an orange.

Stre7ch Fit

2009-06-08T00:37:00.000-04:00

There aren't too many readers here, but, for the ones who are, I've moved my workout log over to www.Stre7chFit.blogspot.com. No more reading numbers of sets and weights! Well, unless you'd like to...

In Defense – Part 2

2009-06-05T10:33:00.001-04:00

American’s make compromises over a great many topics on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis. We make compromises over movies, over music, and over even bigger things. Most of these we manage to do without a real impact on our physical health. I mean, sure, if you were to compromise and sit on the couch with me instead of running that might have an affect on you physically… But, we don’t generally think that compromises are made about our well being often, and we wouldn’t dare think that our own government would compromise our health, right?

Well, politics can be a dangerous thing. In my last entry, I spoke briefly about how we were beginning to see food as a combination of nutrients instead of as a “food.” Well, that came into being when science tried to tell American’s that they needed to cut back on their meat intake, specifically that of meats, poultry, and fish. After the firestorm of criticism from the meat and dairy industries, the statement had to be changed to: “choose meats, poultry, and fish that would reduce saturated fat intake.” So, instead of just eating less meat (which we are not allowed to say because of the effect on profits), we now have to continue to eat meat in its leanest form. See the difference? Imagine where we go from there…

To continue on to this profit-driven science of nutrition, I’ll just give you a few facts from “In Defense” about the lack of separation of nutrition and state. The World Health Organization recommended that no more than 10% of your daily calories should come from added sugars (Not the sugar you’ll find in fruit, the sugar you find in sweet tea…. The good…ahem, BAD stuff.). Now, back to the compromising… There is a super-powerful, evil empire of a lobbying group on Capital Hill that is dead-set on destroying the WHO recommendations: The U.S. sugar lobby (www.sugar.org, which you can at least commend for differentiating between sugar and high fructose corn syrup). Obviously driven by money, the sugar lobby threatened to lobby Congress to cut WHO funding unless these limits were raised, and eventually were able to force Congress into compromising and allowing a 15% increase in allowable daily sugar intake. It is now part of the official U.S. recommendation that the maximum permissible level of free sugars in our diet is 25% of daily calories. A full quarter of your daily fuel from added sugars? Holy $#!T.

I don’t know how to feel about this, really. I mean, we don’t have to eat sugars because it’s in the U.S. Recommendations, but what kind of message is that sending?

(Search www.washingtonpost.com for an article called “Big Sugar” for more dirt on the sweet industry. I’d give the link, but I don’t have internet where I’m writing.)

Again, the facts in here are mostly pulled from Michael Pollan's book, many opinions are added by me....

June 5 - Hotel Workout

2009-06-05T10:28:00.000-04:00

Seated Leg Press
135x10
175x8
215x8
230x8
250x10
260x10
270x8

Seated Leg Curl (Single Leg)
50x10
60x10x3
Superset with DB Shoulder Press
40x10
45x10
50x7
50x8 (Push Press)

Seated Leg Extension (Single Leg)
75x10
80x10
85x10
Superset with Pulldown
150x10
150x10
150x10

Renegade Row (1 rep is two push-ups and two single-arm rows)
30x8
25x8
25x8
Superset with SL Bulgarian Split Squat
50x10x3

Got a compliment from the duder on the elliptical, he said “good job, you’re working hard, man.” I’m glad I look like I’m working hard, but, really, what are you comparing me to? Another tidbit about today’s workout: this was the best/worst/only $12 workout I’ve ever done. It was nice to be able to get a new towel when I needed one, knowing that somebody else will come to wash it and clean off the equipment when I was done. Nobody does that at my place…

In Defense Of Food - Michael Pollan

2009-06-04T11:23:00.001-04:00

I rolled into the airport in Baltimore fully expecting to be on my way to Chicago within the hour. According to the monitor I was already 20 minutes delayed as I walked into my gate. As I waited, the skies opened up and dumped water on us for 15-20 minutes while I gave in and picked up some California Tortilla. It wasn’t exactly the best choice of foods, and, after my flight, I’m seeing even more reasons to doubt the nutritional value of most things I put into my stomach.

The Borders located by the “A” terminal is surprising packed with good books; Twilight sequels line the walls and I think I found the next book on my list, “Chuck Norris vs. Mr. T.” Anyway, I’ve been reading some nutritional blogs/studies recently, and a book called “The Omnivores Dilemma” by Michael Pollan had been referenced multiple times. I considered it, but then noticed his next book, “In Defense of Food.” The cover includes his “Eater’s Manifesto”:

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

I got about three quarters of the way through the book before I realized I was rereading every other page to make sure I was reading it right. It’s pretty unbelievable, the facts Pollan brings up. I’m motivated to do a brief series to cover what I believe to be some of the more important and interesting tidbits from the book. Actually, before I get started, I just want to say that this book is definitely worth purchasing if you are interested in nutrition or nutritional science in any way.

One of the first things I read was the introduction of a new term to me: orthorexics, or people with an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. Surprising to you as well? Well, there isn’t solid evidence yet, but there’s a concern that there is a relationship between worrying about nutrition and a person’s overall health and happiness. Basically, people worry about nutrition so much that they neglect other aspects of their nutrition, as I’ll (really, Pollan) cover later.

Our first steps towards orthorexia, as Pollan states, is a separation of nutrient and food. Once William Prout, a smart English dude, discovered Fats, Carbs, and Protein in food, we thought we knew why food was good for us. So, we began to engineer (yup, engineer food) to included ratios of these nutrients that we believed to be “healthy.” It got even worse when we realized there were vitamins in food. Eventually, we began to think of food in terms of the nutrients in them instead of as the sum of the whole. See “Vitamin D Added,” “Now, with more vitamin C,” and “With Extra Fiber.”

It’s about time for me to hit the sack here in Chi-town. I’m going to the Aslanian Group conference on Web Marketing for Adult Students tomorrow, it should be interesting!

June 2 - Upper Body

2009-06-02T21:29:00.000-04:00

Some stupid wrist pain today, so I was a little limited here:

Bench Press
135x10
135x10
165x10
185x8
205x4
205x4
205x4
Wide grip Bench Press 135x10

Hybrid Renegade Row
50x10
60x10
60x10
Superset with DB Incline Fly
40x10x3

Rear Raise
15x10x3
Superset with Isometric Bicep Holds
45x30secx3 different anglesx3sets

Biked through 3 songs before Megan came by.

Not really excited about this workout because I was just feeling crappy with the wrist. I'm going out to Chicago, IL tomorrow afternoon for a conference and to spend the weekend, so hopefully that will give it time to heal up. If it's not one thing, I guess it's got to be another...

The Door

2009-06-02T18:17:00.000-04:00

Four years ago (or so) I went to The Door in Dallas, Texas to see Sherwood play. At the time, I had no clue who Quietdrive, Discover America, or Waking Ashland were, but now they all have spots in most of my playlists. I'm not really here to talk about how great that concert was, from Quietdrive's version of "Time After Time," Discover America's "Green Eyes," that tambourine dude from Sherwood, to "All Hands on Deck" basically selling me Waking Ashland's CD. Nope, we're not here for that...

We're here to talk about Waking Ashland's latest CD, The Well. The last two albums, Telescopes and, before it, Composure, were a great success for the band. They managed to churn out great lyrics and soulful ballads, and wrapped it all in this nice, neat piano rock package. On The Well, we still hear bits of that sound, but none of the catchy melodies or emotion of the first two albums. The Well is about as contrived as it gets... Check these lyrics:

"Raindrops on the windshield they're catching my eyes
They were falling with such grace until they washed away
Leaving a dashing display
No single one looked the same."

I mean, really? I think they at least covered their weak sauce tunes by ending the song:

"The piano don't sing like it did…"

Piano being a metaphor for the band, I think. That's just a taste of what you would get on their new album. I've only listened twice now, but I'm not really falling in love with anything here. Hopefully I can at least find one of two tunes to latch on to. The only takeaway is that at least I can fall back on Composure...

June 1 - Lower Body

2009-06-01T20:00:00.001-04:00

Single-arm Kettlebell Swings
35x15x3

(I always wonder if these numbers make sense... It's Lbsxrepsxsets, or lbsxreps if I do different weights.)

Deadlift
135x8
185x8
225x6
275x6
300x4
350x1
355x1

Hang Clean
135x8x3
Superset with Single-leg Leg Curls
45x10x3

Bulgarian Split Squat (w/bar)
100x10
100x10
105x10
Superset with Single-arm DB Shoulder Press
45x10
50x9
50x8

Got on the stationary bike and rode through the next 4 songs...
Last of the American Girls - Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
Big Pimpin'/Papercut - Jay-Z & Linkin Park - Collision Course
Allure - Jay-Z - The Black Album
See the Light - Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

Food Journals

2009-05-30T21:13:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I touched on this a while ago, but I'm loving my "I Lose" application. Of course, I guess these things won't work for everyone, but having a phone like the iPhone, or any PDA for that matter, allows you to easily keep track of meals throughout the day and is an extremely helpful tool to dieting/fitness/weight loss.

I'm not going to go through citing the various blogs and research articles that helped bring me to this conclusion, so forgive me, but the first step to any type of diet is to track what you eat. It's not enough that you can recite the meals and snacks you had over the course of any given day, you need to know the calorie and nutritional content of those meals.

With any basic calorie-counting tool you will most likely have access to a Fat, Carbohydrate (total and Fiber), and Protein calculation as well. Use it! By tracking your nutrient intake, you can more easily see where you are overeating. For me, it was in the form of Carbs. I was eating somewhere in the neighborhood of 3500 calories a day. Come to find out, I was hitting my numbers in Protein (I try to hit around 200g/day), was about where I needed to be in Fats (anything around 65-75g/day), but I was way over in Carbs (sometimes up to 400g/day!). It was a little obscene, and, after evaluating whether I needed those two pieces of cornbread from Safeway, I decided there were some things that I could stand leaving out.

I guess it's not enough just to track calories, you have to have a goal in mind. For me, I wasn't so concerned with the weight loss aspects, I just wanted to fix my diet a bit. Instead of doing it by the percentages (a lot of people prefer 40% Carbs, 30% Fat, and 30% Protein) I decided to cut my Carb intake below my Protein intake. So far I've been good about only getting Carbs from my veggies, some whole wheat bread, and pre-workout supps. It's kept me under 150 g/day and I've been replacing the lost calories with Fat and Protein. It's basically my way of agreeing with the "new science" that tells us that fat is not really bad for you in the right forms (meat, nuts, and dairy mainly).

I'll keep up with this for a while, and get back to you with results. In the meantime, here are some calorie-tracking sites I found:

http://www.thedailyplate.com/
http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/
http://www.fitday.com/

They are listed in the order they came up in the search engine. It seems like The Daily Plate could be pretty good.

May 29 - Upper Body

2009-05-29T23:33:00.000-04:00

Bench
135x8
155x8
175x8
195x7
175x8
155x8
135x8

Inverted Row
BWx10x3
Superset with DB Fly
35x10x3

Barbell Shrug
185x10x3
Superset with DB Pullover
60x10x3

Seated DB Front Raise
20x10x3
Superset with Cuff Rotations
5x10
10x10x2

Tricep Kick Back
25x10x3
Superset with Hammer Curl
40x6
35x8x2

Ab Roller
BWx12x3

Random Thoughts from College Nats

2009-05-28T19:55:00.000-04:00

After watching the games this past weekend, I began to realize a few things...

Texas does some of the most basic warm-ups of any team out there, yet they have a very well-rounded team from the bottom to the top. The warm-up consisted of throwing around for 10-15 minutes, then lining up on either side of the endzone and extending their throws. The discs were on the sidelines (so they could work both flick and backhand), and the cutter was just inside. In the very center of the endzone there was a marker disc to cut to. Each line cut to that disc every time. The first cut was done about 10 times by each player and it brought them mostly horizontal to the sideline for a 5-10 yard gain. The second was done a similar number of times and was extended to the 15-20 yard length. The final cut was a 35-45 yard huck and seemed like it was only done about 5 times each. Basically, they focused on leading their receivers out to space on a number of different distances and every player was able to throw and catch the disc about 50 times in the drill. It was basic, yet I bet all of the guys had their legs and throws ready to go by the time it was done.

Colorado has ridiculously skilled team. Their warm-up was really pretty crazy. Both Colorado and Texas had a dynamic warm-up of high knees, shuffles, and gradual sprinting, but their drilling differed big time. Once CU was done warming up their traditional throws, blades, and hammers (about 20 minutes), they jumped right into a breakmark come-to drill. Typical come-to's start about 15-20 yards apart, but CU's was more in the 40-50 yard range. Each player probably threw 10-12 IO or "around" breaks before things got interesting... Once they were finished with the typical break throws, each player threw 10-12 hammers to receivers on the break side, and most throwers hit their receiver in stride somewhere around the 35 yard distance. That's not something I'm used to.. the whole team had accurate hammers, and proved they were willing to throw them in the game. I'm not surprised that no zone could stop this team.

CU's final drill utilized short flip passes. They were about 5 feet apart and ran through their lines flipping backhands to the right side, then switched to flipping them to the left, before turning into a flutter-flip. I'm not sure of the benefit of the flutter-flip, but they managed to get 15 in a row before they huddled up for the game. I suppose it's a concentration thing, and it might save them 2-3 discs a tournament. Maybe they think that it's worth practicing for those 2-3 discs to be saved by dialing in their concentration.

The most surprising thing I noticed was the limited use of the IO flick break. Mac had some nasty IO flick break hucks, but it didn't seem like that was how a lot of these teams moved their offense. The dump and swing was used very effectively on most teams, and it seemed like just about every team their had an almost mechanical drive to provide resets and swing opportunities for everyone with the disc. Because of the fundamental play by all seven on the line, nobody was really forced into generating disc movement with their breaks. It was impressive, but I still thought there were opportunities to break things open with fewer passes.

I guess a final thought I had relates to the ease at which some of the teams moved the disc. Watching players like Pebbles from CU, Tyler Conger from UVA, and Stephen Pressley from UT made me realize how important it is to move your ass once you throw the disc. Pressley generated more yards and resets from just "following his shot" (as they would call it in basketball) than he could've by always having to set up and make a cut to get the disc. If your team can be taught to be the first one to take a step after you throw, then the other team is forced to respect that. The defense ends up either standing back off the mark, bouncing back once a thrower releases, or just getting burned if they don't respect it. This can effectively open up quick resets and swings if the mark is bouncing back once you throw, allow for easy crossfield swings if the mark isn't up tight on a thrower, or allow for easy up-the-line scores if a mark is slow to react to a thrower that utilizes the "throw and go."

Totally worth it to add some of these things to your routine. Especially the "follow your shot" aspects of handling, it allows for great "pop-outs," up line cuts, and tired defenders.

May 28 - Lower Body

2009-05-28T19:50:00.000-04:00

Box Squat
95x8
135x8
185x8
205x8
205x8
225x7 (Failed at 8)

Quarter Squat
245x8
275x8

Leg Curl
35x10
40x10
42.5x10

Snuck my DB single arm shoulder press in here...
40x10x3

Elevated Supine Hip Extension
3x20 (10 on heels/10 on toes)

Went out and threw a disc for 20 minutes after... Kinda tweaked my back a little funny at some point so I'll get on the foam roller and work it out before Monday's leg day.

May 26 - Upper Body

2009-05-27T15:10:00.000-04:00

I remember complaining about this at some point, but when I do my upper body workout (chest, shoulders, back, etc.) I have issues with the vertical presses with my shoulders. Since I have been having those issues, I think I'm going to add that to my lower body workout. I didn't mention it for Monday, but I did do 35x10, 40x8, and 45x8. That's DB Military press... It actually felt really good considering that I don't think I've ever actually done reps with 45 because it doesn't feel right on upper body days..

Anyway...
Push Ups
BWx15x3

Chin Ups
BWx8x3

Incline DB Press
55x11
60x10
60x10

DB Pullover
60x10x3
Superset with DB Single Arm Row
60x10x3

DB Lat Raise
10x10x2
Superset with DB Rear Raise
10x10x2
DB Front Raise
10x10x2
DB Prone Lat Raise
10x10x2

Triceps Extension
55x10x3
Superset with DB Hammer Curl
35x8x3

I also did something funny yesterday before the workout... I was gchatting with Megan and we were talking about how Jim was going to workout with me. Here are my exact words: "me: oh and I'm working out at 7 with gym."

So smooth...

Ultimate National Championships

2009-05-25T23:31:00.000-04:00

Congrats to UCSB women and Carleton College men on their achievements. Both won their respective Ultimate titles today. I watched games all weekend in Columbus, OH, but had to miss out on these two.

I already mentioned that the twitter updates were awesome. Check out the updates I was reading during the Carleton/Colorado game today: CutRules

If you read all the way through, you get a great point-by-point recap of the finals. Almost as good as being there... I guess. Sounds like Mac Taylor (#40 CU) was as dominant as advertised, and CUT is about as much of a single living, breathing unit as the Borg are. They're a little intense with their, "The CUT doesn't have 1 or 2 stars. The CUT lives and dies as a team. The CUT does not post on R.S.D. The CUT is coming for your children." business, but they are true to their word, they brought it at Nationals.

Congrats again, and thanks to all 42 teams for putting on a great show this weekend!

May, 25 - Lower Body

2009-05-25T23:23:00.000-04:00

Started out a little unmotivated... We had just returned from a 7 hour car ride from Columbus, OH, and I wasn't exactly in the mood to do anything but crash for the night. But, I told myself I was going to do this stuff 4 days a week, and, if there was one day I wasn't going to skip, it was going to be the legs day.

Squat (reaaaaaally slow warm-up)
95x10
95x10
135x10
135x8
175x8 (At this point I realized that Jim was going to Ireland in a couple days, and I thought it would be nice to have a new marker for him on the squats. Last time it was 245lbs.)
205x2
225x1
245x1
265x1 (Jim ended here after a failed attempt at 275 and then 270. +20lbs!)
275x1
285x1
290 Fail, so I upped my last max by 20 lbs as well. Sweet deal!

Straight Leg Deadlift
135x8x3

Single Leg DB Bulgarian Split Squat
50x10x3

Leg Curl
35x10x3

Then, since I need to do more cardio, I rode the stationary for 20 minutes before stretching it out. I'm going to set a goal to get at least 20 minutes each day for the next few weeks.

May, 20 - Upper Body

2009-05-25T21:38:00.001-04:00

Upper body workout... I’ve been having this random wrist pain, but I can do most the exercises with full strength so I pushed through.

Warmed up slow again... Bench
Barx12
95x10
135x10
175x10
185x10
205x6
205x4

Inverted Row
BWx10x3
Superset w/Neutral grip DB Incline Press
50x10
60x10
60x8

Shrug
135x10x3
Superset w/DB Lat Raise
10x10x3

Hammer Curl
35x8x3
Superset w/DB Kickback
20x12x3

Cedar Point/Ultimate updates

2009-05-23T00:15:00.000-04:00

Some really cool stuff going on today... First, Brian, Sam, and I woke up super-early to make our way to Sandusky, OH, home of Cedar Point. I've been hearing about Cedar Point since an ex-girlfriend of mine from Ohio raved about it while I was doing my undergrad at Oklahoma, and, recently, I've had to hear it from two roommates from Ohio and Sam. Today, I finally got to figure things out for myself.

The prices were pretty steep, $44 for a full day, and an extra $30 if you want to take part in the water portion... We chose to stick to the coasters and paid our fees. First ride up, the Top Thrill Dragster. This thing gets up to 125 mph in a matter of seconds, and vaults you over this huge vertical climb. I haven't always been in love with coasters, but "The Dragster," as I'm told it's called, was smooth as silk. I think I giggled my way to the pinnacle of the climb, and had a big grin walking out of the gate. A good way to start the day.

I'm not going to go ride-by-ride, but I really enjoyed Millenium Force, Magnum, Raptor, and the Mantis. However, Maverick was by far the best of the bunch. The only two issues I had with the park were that:
1). I couldn't find a single smoked turkey leg in the park, and
2). Cedar Point (and Fiesta Texas, for that matter) just needs to get rid of the damn wooden coasters. I don't know what got into me, but I followed sam right through the turnstiles and into my seat on the Mean Streak. Man, wasn't it great that we didn't have to wait in line after waiting nearly two hours for Maverick? Of course it was nice to skip a line, but I'll be damned if I ever screw up like that again. Despite thinking that Mean Streak looked much more tame than The Rattler, I had no doubt about it being a wooden coaster. Did I think about why that line was so short? No. Or, how much I hated myself the last time I rode The Rattler (The very last time)? Nope... But, thanks to ancient coaster technology, I do remember how it feels to willingly destroy your body just to give something an undeserving second chance.

Without those last two points, I had a lot of fun.

In other news, I was able to keep up with Day 1 of college nats on Twitter today. Search the #upanats "hashtag," as I found it was called today, and you'll get all sorts of in-game commentary. Very cool stuff. Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend, I'm off to join the Tweet-happy Ultimate community tomorrow!

Religion..

2009-05-22T00:34:00.000-04:00

Got a lot of religion talk around me today... Finished the movie Religulous, listened to more Bill Maher, some Lewis Black, and now George Carlin. All very funny stuff, logical stuff, and, I suppose, controversial stuff.

I guess that's really what it's for; to laugh at and argue about...

Yup... Faith.

5-18

2009-05-19T11:49:00.000-04:00

Squats (did a really slow warm-up...lot of sets)
95x10
135x10
175x8
205x8
225x8
235x8

Speed Deadlift
175x6x3

DB Bulgarian Split Squat
50x3x10

SL Leg Curl
35x10
45x10
45x10

Back Extension (W/8lbs. Med Ball)
3x10
Superset with Reverse Crunch
3x15

If you can get apps, you should check out "Lose It!". It's not exactly about weight loss, but is more of an opportunity for me to map out my calories and nutrients for the day. I'm trying to get to a point where I am at a 30/30/40 split with Fat, Carbs, and Protein, but that's harder than it sounds with my sweet tooth... The app can accept custom foods and delivers a chart of your nutrients for every day. It's pretty sweet, and it's been helping me stay on track a little better. Ha, it makes me think twice about my sweets... Do I really want to add another peppermint patty to today's carb total? Probably not.

Commencement 2009

2009-05-17T01:59:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official, I am now a Master of Arts. Pretty exciting news. I just wanted to drop a quick post with a couple pictures, and thank Megan, Lauren, Allen, and Dave for dropping by to support. It was also great to have the degree conferred by my co-workers. It's pretty much the ultimate support group. I mean, you can't do anything but your best when your grades are being reported to people you work side-by-side with! Seriously though, they were super-supportive the whole way as was my family and girlfriend. It's nice to know that there's always somewhere there to give you a boost if you need it.

Thanks!

Alright, I wanted to post pictures, but blogger has some serious formatting issues.... Check out my facebook if you've got it for the pics.

5-15

2009-05-15T19:07:00.001-04:00

Bench Press
175x10
180x10
180x10

Inverted Row
BQWx10x3
Superset with Incline DB Fly
40x10
40x8
35x10

Prone Trap Raise
10x10x3
Superset with DB Hammer Curl
30x10x3

DB Pullover
60x10x3
Superset with Scapular Push Up
BWx10x3

Skullcrusher
70x10x3

Got the new Green Day album, 21st Century Breakdown... Listened to it during the workout. Some of it is good lifting music, but, and this is good news for me, Green Day is still sticking to the "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" design and continues to pen great ballads. The tunes are much shorter than those of American Idiot, but I still get that rock opera feel that they've been striving for. Of course, I was quite a bit distracted from the music, but I was really digging it in between sets.

5-14

2009-05-15T15:36:00.000-04:00

Squat
185x10
205x10
205x10

(Had been doing sets of 6 w/225. I think I can do more... I'll try to push a little harder Monday)

Deadlift
225x10
275x7
275x7

Good morning
115x10x3

30sec ea. plank, left side and right side planks

Paste Magazine

2009-05-15T14:52:00.000-04:00

Paste is a magazine I've been subscribing to for almost 4 years now, and they're having some financial issues. They do great articles on life, culture, music, and art, not to mention the great reviews they do with books, music, and movies. I would recommend this magazine to anyone. If you're feeling up to it, you can donate and get some free unreleased songs, or, just sign up for a subscription! They've got a cool digital subscription that nets you free albums, monthly mp3's, and a digital edition (saving paper and the planet!).

Here's the link to their site:

Metabolic Acceleration Training

2009-05-14T16:53:00.001-04:00

Alwyn Cosgrove writes about it here.

I've been doing circuits for the past few months and it's too bad I didn't read this first (because it would've been nice having some rest in those circuits!)... Alwyn preaches using your circuits as interval training instead of steady-state cardio. It's basically the difference between flying through all exercises without rest, and taking 15-45 seconds between exercises. I've been trying to figure out the cardio I'm going to be doing on my off days, and I think I'll adopt some of what he recommends to go along with my bike riding. I may have to go back and read his book again, the New Rules of Lifting. I'm still looking for a program that I can't live without...

Star Trek

2009-05-13T10:15:00.000-04:00

Is awesome.

Paste Magazine gave it a great review here. Megan and I saw it last night at the Navy Heritage center. It was a sweet little event with rocket scientist presenters, free hors d'oeuvres, and they even had the PS2 Socom game in the lobby (which Megan did not let me play).

Compare that to the 30/100 that Wolverine got from Paste... Yeah, you following? I know you saw Wolverine and felt a little let down. Well, at 3 times the movie Wolverine was, Star Trek will pick you back up. The movie was great, and Simon Pegg is hilarious as Scotty (and as just about anyone else he plays).

Cosi, not so cosy, but very sweet about it...

2009-05-12T10:28:00.000-04:00

I met the sis, cousin Pam, Tricia, and Dward in Old Town Alexandria last night for some dinner and dessert. They had s'mores at Cosi that were really cool. Who knew Cosi would serve you a mini fire, graham crackers, marshmallows, and a chocolate bar? I think the mini fire was the part I was most surprised about, but the whole thing was rather cool.

Anyway, Megan and I had just met up at Cosi because the rest of the party had just been kicked out of some seafood restaurant. As I go about consuming this ridiculous brownie sundae (customized with two scoops of vanilla ice cream), the waitress begins gathering our dishes and putting the pressure on me. She doesn't ask out to leave outright, but she hovers a bit and grabs dishes from all around me. Finally she makes some comment about the dishwasher leaving and asks for me to get the dishes back so she doesn't have to wash them.. At this point we're all wondering when she's going to grab the sundae from under my nose.

I barely finished the dessert when she graciously lets us know we can leave through the side door. It was all rather comical. "I hope you enjoyed your meal.... feel free to use our side door!" We knew we were getting booted (for the second time if you were the sis and cousin party), but it was all too nice to be upset about it.

I guess Old Town really does turn in early.

5-11

2009-05-12T10:24:00.000-04:00

Light workout today... had time limits here, but I did some ok work.

Bench
175x10
175x10
175x10
Superset with DB Row
60x10
60x10
60x10

DB Shoulder Press
40x6
35x8
35x8
(For some reason my left shoulder wasn't really pushing... I think I'm going to make shoulder strength a new focus of mine.)

Prone Trap Raise
10x12
10x12
10x12

Skullcrusher
65x10
65x10
65x10
Superset with DB Hammer Curl
35x10
35x10
35x10

In other news, Jessica Biel is facing off against Jessica Alba in the Bigger Dance finals... Go Jessica!

5-10

2009-05-10T23:03:00.001-04:00

Squats
185x8
205x7
205x7
205x7

Rack Pull
225x8
225x8
225x8

Good Morning
115x8
115x8
115x8
Superset with Bulgarian Split Squat
50 (DB)x8
50x8
50x8

Are we training correctly?

2009-05-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

I saw this post in The Huddle last week and it got me to thinking....

Are we training properly for Ultimate? I mean, I don't think that 400s are really doing us any harm, but what could we be doing better?

I got me thinking about a few different things that we did at our practices that might fit the mold. 200s fit within that 30 second window for most people, but what if we changes those parameters to "30 second sprints" instead of 200 meter sprints? I know some of our team can hit 200s in just over 30 seconds, but most are closer to the 40-50 second range. We also did plenty of suicides when we had gym time. That seems to fit the mold a bit better. There is cutting, starting/stopping, and a little endurance worked in.

My final thoughts are that maybe we should be focusing on time ranges instead of distance ranges. What if we specified times and stuck to them by being vocal and using our coach to call them? A thought I had was to line everyone up on the goal line, have the coach start us, then make a call when we hit 15 seconds. At the 15 second point, players must stop as fast as they can, then turn and sprint the other direction. It simulates Ultimate in that you have to change direction when you're not expecting it, and it also keeps us within a given time range.

These are just a few thoughts I had on the matter, but it will really be interesting when more fitness professionals begin to look at the demands of the sport and really present us a better program to work from. As for me, I think injury prevention and bulletproofing your body would be a good start!

5-8

2009-05-08T22:22:00.000-04:00

DB Incline Bench
50x12
60x10
60x10
60x10

Chin Up
+45x4
+35x3
+25x4
BWx8
(This was probably a bad choice to go with such heavy weights to start. Although it is cool to do chin ups with a plate around your waist.)

Inverted Row
BWx10
BWx10
BWx8

Superset with Bench
185x8
185x7
185x5

DB Pullover
60x10
60x10
60x10

Superset with DB Lat Raise
15x10
15x10
15x10

Skullcrusher
65x10
65x10
65x10

Superset with DB Rear Raise
15x7
10x10
10x10

Taste of Vermont/Chaz B-Day

2009-05-08T10:59:00.000-04:00

The Taste of Vermont is an annual reception over at the Leahy office, and I've been lucky enough to be part of it these last two years. Last year it was a pleasant surprise, and I have to say that I've been looking forward to it for a while know. I'm not exactly excited about the prospects of shuffling through a crowded room filled with politicians, but you can't really beat the food.

Our first stop was the Bove's (I think that's how it was spelled) ravioli. I think that probably could've been our only stop... Basically everything we were going to hit was going to be small-town, local, all-natural foods, and this one was probably going to be hard to beat. After eating the ravioli, I realized that it was from a box. From a box! It's like that ridiculous Pizza Hut commercial where everyone eats their new spaghetti in this fancy restaurant, then they find out it's really Pizza Hut's (probably a big lie...). Basically the same way. You can thaw and bake this stuff every night if you wanted. Straight from Vermont.

A few other places of note are the Magic Hat brewery.... They've got some new "Wacko" beer that has all natural beet juice in it for the summer. Not too bad tasting, but then I found out that it's pink. I'm sorta glad I left it in the bottle.

Ben & Jerry's is always a plus. There's pretty much ice cream at every Vermont event because of them, but there was nothing exciting this time. I always hope they'll unvail some crazy flavor at one of these events, but it's pretty much always the same vanilla, chocolate, fudge brownie, and cookie dough. Boring, but good.

Then there were a few others with names I can't remember.... The salted caramel chocolates, various flatbreads, cheeses, honey-baked ham, pecan pie-ish thingy, and I grabbed some dog treats on the way out for Axle. Pretty good stuff.

I'd say the only downside to these things is that Megan has 100 people that like to stop by to chat, and I can't really concentrate on eating as much as I'd like... To busy getting introduced to people I'm going to forget.

Anyway, we made our way out to Nellie's Sports Bar afterwards for the roommate's birthday. The rain finally stopped in time to get out on the roof and enjoy the weather. It was sweet though, because I got to meet some of Chaz's friends from college and DC. I found out that my roommate was this hot shit track star in Carthage before quitting to pay for school. He's got a pair of wings tatooed on his ankles that I always wondered about.... But yeah, supposedly the dude's got some wheels. And here I am thinking he's just a good baker. One of his friend's is also working on an exercise science degree over at GW. Basically the same sitch at me, but ended up at GW instead (where they have a wider range of graduate degrees....). Anyway, I'm totally jealous of her and my bro the CSCS who get to work out for work.

Thanks to Vermont and Chaz for a good time last night!

5-4

2009-05-04T20:05:00.001-04:00

Sick today, but worked out anyway... Read somewhere that it was good for you to sweat a bit when you're sick...

Box Squat
225x3
215x4
215x4
210x6

Speed Deadlift
175x9x2

Walking Lunge DB
60x6/leg
50x8/leg
50x8/leg

Reverse Crunch
3x15
Plank
3x30sec.

Trying some high-frequency training stuff too... working on bicep and forearm. Basically I'm going to start doing this (probably plus a little bit of weight) each day of the week for around a month to build some strength. I'm hoping it will help me deal with the big dumbbells a bit...
EZ Curl
65x12
Reverse Curl
55x10

2nd Annual CUA Alumni Game

2009-05-04T10:06:00.000-04:00

It's been raining about three days in a row now, and we are expecting another week or more in DC. No matter, Catholic Ultimate will have it's second annual alumni game. Ahh, The benefits of having a turf field..

We were short on alums this year, but isn't it supposed to be the opposite? I mean, I swear we're graduating kids from this university. We had Templon, Heureux, Gatmaitan, McCafferty, Karpovich, De Martini, Dorsy, and Coach Dave to represent. Broaddus and Taylor, some very good local Ultimate players, stood in to bolster the ranks for a bit as well.

Despite the poor weather, the youth started the game strong, jumping to a 4 point lead. One of these was a turn near the sideline that I picked up. The first thing I saw when I looked downfield was Jess streaking deep with a step on Cafferty. I dipped low and floated a backhand out there for her to run down for an easy score. She's pretty much a menace in any game.

The shut out wasn't meant to last though, and the alums started to hit back with scores by Arin and Sam.

From here on, the game began to build in intensity as the alums began to claw back. Broaddus continued to perform as expected, making a nasty grab across the field and adjusting his steelers cap on the way to the ground. Damon found Templon running deep at a speed unseen by those who've played with him in the past. Cat even managed to give Arin something to chat about with a risky forehand into the endzone for another score. Now they were scoring, but they needed a way to slow the efficient habit offense. They tried a zone...

We always say that we are one of the better poor weather teans out there, but when you combine zone and good weather, we become deadly. The young habit offense kept relatively chilly against the Cultimate zone until I grabbed the disc on a sideline and ripped a crossfield hammer to Kyle for another score. Jake stepped it up on D and got himself a big footblock against throwing wizard, Damon. Habit kept the scoring up through half and took a rest at 8-4.

The second half was another story. Habit opened up its lines a bit and started subbing at will. We assumed we'd be able to close this easily, but the old guys weren't about to be put down quietly. Now that they had a full half under their belts, those old joints were starting to warm up and they started getting comfortable on the field together. Karpo and Templon kept the disc moving smoothly and found Jimmy cutting tirelessly at this point. Dorsy was breaking Habit players across the field and Arin was virtually unstoppable (mostly because I was guarding him.... oops.). Arin also picked up a few huge d's on errant throws, and decided to start a little battle with me with his spike in the endzone.

Although the gap was closing, Jake and Pete held together the handling core, while John, Stills, Jim, and Jess continued to give us open looks. Frodo worked his man for big unders as well, and Paco was torching Gatmaitan for yards as well. We rarely forced the disc deep this game, and instead favored quick hits underneath and big swings to gain our yards. As the game wore on, we got lazy with the disc near our endzone a few times and gave Cultimate some easy scores to gain ground. The game was soon 13-13 in a fight to 15.

We put our best line in, and prepared to walk the disc in. With Pete and I handling, we worked it slowly up field, taking the breaks when needed, and eventually hit Brian in the back of the endzone for a graceful sky that only he could come up with (note the sarcasm). We had high hopes of punching it on on defense too, but we couldn't manage a d, and allowed the alums to punch another score in on us. Another Arin score on me that is... Since he'd just gotten bookends, the battle still continued between us.

Another score and answer later, we were sitting at 15s in a game to 17. I finally found my answer to Arin with an up the line cut that was high and bit out of his reach, after showing him my prize I dished to Pete and found the endzone for a go ahead score. Playing D again, Habit was able to get a turn close to the endzone and close with a score from Pete to Stills. Young guns win for the last time ever 17-15. I think our graduating class this year has something for the young guys next year!

Thanks to all the alums who came out to make this possible!

A recap of the Arin v. Alan battle:
Arin scores on a swilly Cat put and spikes it on Alan.
Alan breaks Arin all day, but that doesn't count for much to Arin.
Arin d's two bad dump passes, counts that as "pwning."
Arin scores breakside, and again on the forceside.
Alan gets over Arin for the up line pass... Shows it to Arin before breaking him and scoring.
Arin gets more scores and d's, but a final score of 17-15 settles it. DHS does not pwn.

Bacon Explosion

2009-05-03T22:38:00.001-04:00

Pictures are here: Bacon Explosion.

We started late Saturday night... didn't have too many problems other than turning the oven off during our first attempt at baking it. We waited the full hour, then walked in when the timer went off to find that we hadn't cooked anything. Pretty sad, but we were dead set on getting our bacon explosion last night.

I would definitely recommend this for people to try at least once. It was a pretty fun night, and, yes, it took 5 guys 15 minutes to devour once it was done!

5-1

2009-05-03T02:57:00.000-04:00

Speed Bench
10x3x135lbs. (From one of Eric Cressey's Maximum Strength workouts. We're working on bar speed through the lift)
Close grip bench
185x6
185x6
185x6
185x5
One Arm DB Row
90x5
95x5
90x5
90x5
Inverted Row
3x10xBW
Scapular Push Up
3x15
EZ Bicep Curl
55x10
65x8
65x7
Roman Chair Sit Up
3x15xBW

Bad Habit Ultimate

2009-05-01T14:40:00.000-04:00

So I was thinking about Ultimate today and I thought I would mention why I've changed the blog name and maybe talk about some things I thought were interesting about the blog's picture.

The name's changed because I'm no longer a college Ultimate player. I will officially graduate May 16, but I've completed my final paper (and received a grade, a good grade) and our Ultimate season is already over...

I went with Stre7ch for three reasons:
- It was my nickname when I played baseball through high school
- It's my current gamertag (actually it's I Stre7ch I)... that's the nerdy side of me...
- It wouldn't be too bad to have the nickname back. I've actually never had a nickname through my college Ultimate career which I find weird. Everyone is always looking for something odd to call each other, and I've managed to avoid that. Part of me thinks that's good, and part of me feels left out.

This picture is kinda funny though. I'll give you some traits of people and then see if you can match the person with the trait based on what their doing in the picture.

Jared - Always pissed off about something... He might not think this is funny, but it was kinda funny when he called an "injury" at IUP because he was pissed at Pete...
John - Always telling some ridiculous story. Doesn't matter when, it could be in the middle of a point, but he's always got some crazy story to tell.
Jess - Obviously the easiest to pick out. She's one of the best women I've played with and she always seems to be waiting on us to step up our game.
Ranjo - Goofy. Most all the time. Even in the way he stands...
Frodo - Well, he's Frodo, so which one do you think he is?
Stills - Intense. Focused. He's pretty seious on the line, so we try to keep our attention towards the opposing team (like we should.....).
And me - If you're reading this, you probably know who I am. Either way, I'm a disc hog, so I've got that piece of plastic in my hand.

4-28

2009-04-29T09:53:00.000-04:00

Circuit day
4 times through, 15 reps each:

Push Up
Reverse Lunge from Deficit
Roman Chair Sit Up
DB Fly
Bulgarian Split Squat
Reverse Curl
DB Row

Pilot Speed - Wooden Bones

2009-04-29T09:35:00.000-04:00

Everyone has an opinion on what makes a great album; some say it's the inclusion of several big hits and some others might say that it's the ability to keep your feet thumping through every track.

Toronto-based Pilot Speed does both on Wooden Bones. Since I'm not really a radio guy, I get the rare opportunty to select what I think would be the hit singles myself. Because of this, it's always a pleasant surprise when a band can turn that into a tough decision.

There are only a few weak tracks on this album, but to say they are weak is only due to comparison to high standards set by the first four tracks: Put the Phone Down, Light You Up, Bluff, and Ain't No Life. If I had to choose, I would most likely have placed Light You Up as my first radio single, but it turns out that Pilot Speed has already chosen Put the Phone Down in that spot. I like both, but I think the chorus and driving beat of Light You Up separates it from a slightly repetative Put the Phone Down.

Pilot Speed's lyricist and frontman, Todd Clark, tends to drag you into his record at will. His voice is slightly airy, comes with a rasp at times and is always emotionally-charged (see the last minute of track #10, Wooden Bones). The band tends to pull from a Keane or Coldplay vibe in their more piano-driven tunes, but Clark's voice quickly reminds you that you're listening to something a bit more raw.

If I had to recommend three tracks?
- #2 Light You Up
- #3 Bluff
- #10 Wooden Bones

I'm not big into dropping arbitrary numbers around, but I'd rate this in the A-range along with their other albums: "Into the West" (Released in Canada as "Sell Control for Life's Speed") and "Caught By the Window" (When the band was known as "Pilate").

4-27

2009-04-28T11:47:00.000-04:00

Legs today
Squats
185x6
225x6
225x6
225x6

Still missing some explosion on the way back up on the squats... hope I can remedy that.

Rack Pull
225x6

Then decided just to do deads....
245x6
275x5
295x4
Then Jim maxed at 330, I got pissed it was more than mine and threw on 350... Did it, then Jim did it too. Good joooooorb, Jim!

4-26 - Castle Crashers, Bacon Explosion, New Plants

2009-04-27T14:05:00.000-04:00

Bench Press
185x7
205x5
205x5
205x4
4x4 Chin Up (BW+30lbs.)
3x8 Suspended Inverted Row Superset with
3x6 Dumbbell Bench (with my new 90lbs. dumbbells.... pretty heavy, but doable)
3x8 Dumbbell Row (this was sort of stupid... did 90's, then 60's because I didn't think I was using good tech., then did 105 on the EZ Curl) superset with
3x10 Dumbbell Shrug (90lbs. dumbbells)
Finished up with some curls, kickbacks, reverse crunches and planks.

I downloaded this sweet new game on XBox arcade called Castle Crashers. You can play up to 4 players and it sort of has that Golden Axe feel from the arcades in the 90s. It's got some fun medieval trance music going on throughout the gameplay, and there's a role-playing element to it with character customization that's pretty cool..

Looking forward to the Alumni game this weekend. We're going to attempt the Bacon Explosion Sunday morning... We'll probably do the oven recipe though, but it looks delicious!

Bri and I also went over to the Franciscan Monestary by my house to buy some vegetables and herbs for the extra space in the yard. Who knows how this will work out, but from their limited selection (we went on Sunday of the weekend sale) we picked up some little herb that smelled like bacon (can't remember the name, but it's not one you eat), Parsley, two spaghetti squash plants, and a pumpkin plant. We'll see how all that goes... The vegetables should be interesting with the dog wanting to dig up the yard...

4-23

2009-04-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

Legs today... We did a circuit 4-21 that included two sets of 20 minutes:

Push up
Pull Up
Roman Chair Sit Up
Inverted Row
Lunge
Rear Delt Raise (I don't really know what this thing is called)

Reverse Lunge from deficit
Back Ext
Skull Crusher
Bicep Curl
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Med Ball V-Ups

Todays workout looked like this:

Box Squat 5x4 (I did 195 for 4 sets and 205 for the last... First time doing box squats...)
Speed Deadlift 10x3 (all reps were fast and done with 165lbs.)
Bulgarian Split Squat 4x6 (50lbs. DB's in each hand)
Reverse Crunch 3x15
Plank 3x30sec.

And ended with a round of disc golf on campus...

Lifting Breakdowns

2009-04-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

I found this on www.t-nation.com in one of their articles. It's supposed to be a breakdown of where a well-balanced lifter should be. It definitely makes me seem a little out-of-proportion. Here are the percentages:

Deadlift — 100%
Back squat — 71.4 %
Bench press and pull-up — 55.6 %
Front squat and close-grip bench press — 50 %
Hang clean — 45 %
Dumbbell bench press (two dumbbell total) and one-arm row (two dumbbell total) — 43 %
Push press, jerk, and dumbbell incline bench press (two dumbbell total) — 40 %
Dumbbell overhead press (two dumbbell total) — 32.5 %
Hammer curl (two dumbbell total) — 31.5 %
Dumbbell curl (two dumbbell total), barbell curl, and dumbbell overhead triceps extension (one dumbbell) — 30 %
Bulgarian squat (weighted) — 27.5 %
Lunge (weighted), split squat (weighted), and press-down — 25 %
E-Z bar skull crusher — 24 %
Dumbbell skull crusher (two dumbbell total), preacher curl, and concentration curl (two dumbbell total) — 22 %
Seated calf raise and pec fly (two dumbbell total) — 20 %
Single-leg Romanian deadlift (one dumbbell) and standing calf raise (one dumbbell) — 13 %

So, basically, based on my deadlift, the lifts should be:
Deads - 325
Back Squat - 232
Bench and Pull - 180

Based on Squat, they should be:
Deads - 370
Back Squat - 265
Bench and Pull - 206

Based on Bench:
Deads - 450
Back Squat - 320
Bench and Pull - 250

Damn, my legs suck. I should've linked the article in, maybe I'll find it again later. You should check your numbers and see what you come up with. I guess my ideal plan would be to get to the numbers based on my bench!

4-20

2009-04-20T20:36:00.001-04:00

Maxed on squat and deadlift today... Here are the numbers:

Stills
- 325lbs. Squat
- 315lbs. Deadlift

Alan
- 265lbs. Squat
- 325lbs. Deadlift

Like I said... need some work on the squats, but we're posting somewhat better numbers than we expected.

4-19

2009-04-19T19:50:00.000-04:00

Before I go into today, I'll just mention that we did a nice, short, 23-mile ride yesterday at Sligo. It went pretty well, but I need to be able to finish a short ride like that a little stronger.

Today we decided to max out a few lifts. Bench and 3RM on Chin-up.

I pushed 250lbs. on the bench and pulled BW+60lbs. 3 times on my chin-ups.
Stills did 200lbs. and 15lbs, a good start. Hopefully I'll be able to post better numbers for both of us in a month or so.

We did a quick workout afterwards:
Shrugs
10x155lbs.
10x175lbs.
10x175lbs.
Superset with Inverted Row
3x10xBW

Then, Prone Trap Raise
3x10x10

DB Shoulder Press
3x6x50lbs.

Close-Grip Bench
3x8x145lbs.

DB Hammer Curl (Turning palm flat on negative portion of lift)
8x35lbs
2x10x25lbs. (I thought I picked up the 30's for the first set, so I dropped to 25's for the second! WHoops!)
Superset with Roman Chair Sit Up w/6lbs Med Ball
3x12

It went ok today. I was a little tired, so I think my workout might have reflected that a bit... We'll max our leg lifts tomorrow and see how that goes.

CUA Alumni Game 2009

2009-04-19T17:54:00.000-04:00

The game is currently scheduled for 4:00 p.m., Sunday, May 3rd on the turf field at the Dufour Center.

I wanted to just go ahead and post a couple clips from last year's game to get people excited. Here are the first two:

Enjoy!

4-16

2009-04-17T11:50:00.000-04:00

Good workout yesterday... Did lower body (Going to start posting weight so I can keep track of it).

Warmed up with 3x15 40lbs. DB Swings and 3x10 Step up into reverse lunge w/body weight - superset
Back Squats (I said I need a lot of improvement, but feel free to laugh a bit if you need to...)
8x135lbs
8x185lbs.
6x205lbs.
5x205lbs.
5x205lbs.

Deadlift (first time doing these as part of a regular workout, sort of had to dial it in)
8x115lbs.
8x165lbs.
8x195lbs.
6x215lbs.

Walking Lunge (60lbs.) and Back Ext. (25lbs.) - Superset
Suspension Leg Curl and Roman Chair Sit up - Superset

Then I was wondering about 3RM in Chin up so I had to try it with the 45lbs. plate... Pulled off 6 reps with BW+45lbs.!

And we're done! Hoping to start pushing a little more weight in the next few weeks...

In other news, I've been pretty much on target in The Bigger Dance so far. 2 surprises for me: Jessica Simpson somehow pulls off an upset against Beyonce and Penelope Cruz (I have her in my final 4!) barely squeaks by Anne Hathaway, 32-31.

Most of the first round has been blowouts so far, but I feel like I have a few more losses coming... I did pick Erin Andrews over Bar Refaeli after all...

Music Reviews

2009-04-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking I'll have quite a bit more time on my hands once my capstone paper is turned in, and I want to start to do some CD reviews... I've got a few that are coming in the mail: Nada Surf - Lucky, The Kinks - Konk, Bell XI - Blue Lights on the Runway, and Tool - 10,000 Days, and I think it would be sweet to do a song by song review of each.

Of course, I'm probably not down with all the proper lingo and musical references most professionals use, but I think I'll give it a shot. Hell, I read Paste magazine, I'm sure I've picked up a thing or two.

4-14 Circuits

2009-04-15T20:43:00.000-04:00

Stills, Frodo, and I did a pair of 20 minute circuits for some cardio yesterday:

Warm-up:
3x20 dumbbell or kettlebell swings

#1
Reverse Lunge from deficit
Sit up on Roman Chair
Good Morning
DB Row
Med Ball taps
DB Lateral Raise

#2
Step up and reverse lunge
Back Ext
EZ Curl Pullover
Floor Wipers
Suspension Push Ups
DB Front Raise

Yup, pretty sweaty, good stuff....

Bigger Dance

2009-04-15T17:52:00.001-04:00

So I read Templon's blog about The Bigger Dance and I just felt motivated to start a bigger discussion here... I know the final results will speak for themselves, but I had some thoughts about who really got snubbed here..

I can honestly say I was surprised by some of the women here. I mean, Lisa Gangel (just plain ole plain... Top 64?!?), Rebecca Stevenson (they have two pics of her... one is old and stuffy and the other is from when she was 15), and Leryn Franco (Her face is way outplayed by her body...)?!?

Anyway, they could've really mixed in some good match-ups! Why didn't Heroes stars Kristen Bell and Hayden Panettiere face off? What about Danica Patrick and the very obviously snubbed Jordana Brewster of Fast and Furious Fame (Or, Jordana vs. Strahovski...battling for Chuck!)? Obama Girl Amber Lee Ettinger should've had a chance to dominate (absolutely destroy is more like it) Sarah Palin... Why couldn't SI swimsuit cover Bar Refaeli knock out Brooklyn Decker (and she sure would based on that cover)? Or, my personal fav, Jennifer Connelly (girlfriend of the Hulk) get put to the test against Eva Mendez (girlfriend of Ghost Rider)?

Seriously though... what a messed up competition. Here are my final four:
Carrie Underwood
Kate Beckinsale
Alessandra Ambrosio
Penelope Cruz (who somehow was knocked out by Panetteire last year???)

With the bloodthirsty Beckinsale winning it all against Underwood!

Wesley Willis

2009-04-14T17:48:00.000-04:00

A little random, but I thought I'd share with folks who don't get too uptight about cringe humor...

I was listening to some Tool in my music library this weekend and ran across a song that was improperly labeled as one of Tool's... It was actually Wesley Willis. For those of you who don't know this guy, read the wikipedia entry on him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Willis

He became really popular in the 1990s and had a cult following of sorts... If you don't want to read the wiki, here's a pretty brief overview: Willis was a schizophrenic who was a musician and painter in Chicago. Basically all of his music was recorded with keyboard background music. You know, the stuff where you hit a button and it just plays accompaniment to a single chord? Well, he recorded like 1000 songs before he died. His stuff is pretty nuts, but a lot of it has some truth to it. One of my favorite Willis lines from his song "Cut the Mullet": "Take your ass to the barber shop, tell the barber that you're sick of looking like an asshole." Pretty funny stuff.

If you can avoid most of the cringe-enducing songs, it's actually fairly entertaining...

Here's a link to a site where you can check out a few of his mp3s... http://www.alternativetentacles.com/bandinfo.php?band=wesleywillis.

Surprisingly enough, you can also find him on iTunes.

The end of Easter Weekend (Post #100!)

2009-04-13T22:32:00.001-04:00

So, the weekend ends... It was a ridiculously long weekend of Halo 3, Capstone research/writing, and working out...

I'm now sitting at 20 pages on my paper (if you count the 2 attachments I'm at 26), and I need to have 25-30 to be done with it. There are still some small details to finish up, but I'm feeling pretty good about where I stand right now. I should have it in the mail and to my prof. by April 22.

Stills got back from vacation earlier enough for one more workout:

Bench Press 3x10
Chin Up 5x5-6 w/10lbs. extra
Inverted Row and Single Arm DB Bench - Superset
Single Arm Shoulder Press and DB Fly - Superset
Reverse Curl and Plate Drill (call it what you want, moving a plate around your head...) - Superset
DB Kickbacks and Curl - Superset

I felt pretty good about the workout, but I still feel like I should be doing some more weight on the bench. I did sets of 10x185, 5x205 (and then repped out 4 more with a few seconds in between each) and 5x195 because I was pretty much spent from the 2nd set. I'm wondering if I should stick with sets of 4-6 or if I should drop the weight some and keep with the longer sets... I'll have to think on that a bit, but it probably doesn't help that I'm only doing 50lbs with the DB bench stuff. It's definitely too light for me, but bigger dumbbells are so damn expensive!

Ah well, circuits tomorrow and lower body again on Thursday.

D-III Nationals 2009

2009-04-11T23:48:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't think I've ever posted twice in a day, but I guess there's a first time for everything... First times like these are meant for 5-day weekends when the gf's off visiting siblings in Lake Tahoe...

Anyway, I just saw this thread on R.S.D. about D-III Nationals and I'd thought I'd paste their rankings here.. Check it out:

D-III Nationals - Top 25
1) 1443 Las Positas
2) 1421 North Park
3) 1384 Truman State
4) 1289 Missouri S&T
5) 1188 Xavier
6) 1184 Reed
7) 1180 Rice
8) 1134 Rhode Island
9) 1130 Pacific Luthern
10) 1117 Dickinson (Lost to these guys by 2)
11) 1109 Chicago
12) 1089 Vassar
13) 1082 Colgate
14) 1074 St. John’s
15) 1003 Amherst
16) 987 Air Force
17) 978 Hope College
18) 972 Stonehill
19) 930 Grinnell
20) 902 Rose-Hulman
21) 900 Ohio Northern
22) 900 Bowdoin
23) 894 Salisbury (Lost to these guys by 4 and then by 1)
24) 891 Hanover
25) 872 Catholic
26) 865 Union
27) 851 RIT
28) 832 Lewis
29) 796 Kalamazoo
30) 794 Worchester Polytech
31) 745 Ohio Wesleyan
32) 726 Denison
33) 694 Swarthmore
34) 681 North Greenville
35) 617 Calvin
36) 572 Merchant Marine Academy
37) 559 Bryant
38) 369 Wilkes
39) 350 Earlham
40) 325 Cedarville
41) 289 Roger Williams
42) 181 SUNY-Potsdam
43) 0 Milwaukee School of Enginnering
44) 0 SUNY-New Paltz

The tournament offers bids to teams in two different ways... The first is for all D-III teams who make Regionals (not us). Those guys get automatic bids to the tourney. Teams who can't get out of the Section (definitely us) have to wait and see if there are wild card spots left for the tournament. Word is that it's going to be a 32 team tourney this year in Versailles. That would mean that we're in a prime position for a wild card bid if only 7 teams below us advance to Regionals.

I guess that's good news. Only problem is that we'll be a completely different team at D-III Nationals than we were at Sectionals. We're still working out who will and who won't be able to attend, but it looks like we'd be missing at least 4 players from our Sectionals roster. To be honest, I don't think I'd like to play this tournament down that many starters (yes, they are starters...), but we'll worry about that if we get the bid.

Legs 4-11

2009-04-11T18:53:00.000-04:00

Kyle came to participate today... It's good to have someone drop by to keep me motivated. Here's the workout:

Squats 3x10
Leg Curl on Suspension 3x10 and Bulgarian Split Squat 3x10 - Superset
Reverse lunge from deficit 3x10 and Back Ext. 3x10 - Superset
One arm DB Clean (no press because of ceiling!) 3x10 and DB Swing 3x10 - Superset

Quick workout, but it felt pretty good. Got a good sweat out of the cleans and swings...

I'm a little embarrassed to mention the weight I'm squatting at this point, but I've been slacking on my legs... My summer goals include doing reps at or above my one-rep max on bench (currently 250lbs.). Hopefully I can push that to at least 250 if not 275lbs for 3x10 by the end of summer.

Nice glass of chocolate milk as a finisher! Now back to this capstone paper I'm working on...

Sectionals... I just can't forget you!

2009-04-10T23:55:00.000-04:00

Every single time I blow my nose or wipe some sweat I remember this moment....

Workout/Rehab time

2009-04-08T15:06:00.000-04:00

Now that Ultimate season is basically over with/slowing down, it's time to start hitting the weights a little harder and time to let my left heel and right shin repair themselves (unconfirmed, but I think the shin might be a stress fracture... it's kept me up a few nights since our last tournament).

I was a little hesitant to mention that I'm doing my second circuit workout of this week, but I heard some information yesterday that made me feel better about not being 100% over the soreness from last weekend. I would only feel guilty because I should start hitting the legs harder now that I'm not prepping for a tournament every weekend. Anyway, I was told that I played 135 of our 161 points this weekend! Now I don't feel so bad about walking around like an old man...

Anyway, I just hooked up some new weight equipment... I've been hearing about this TRX stuff for a while and I figured I could do something cheaper in my basement gym, so I went to Home Depot and bought 2 lengths of chain, a couple carabiners (to adjust the lengths), and 2 short lengths of hose for handles and created my own suspension system. I'm pretty excited because it means I can add that to the workouts for an added boost to the core.

So here's the circuit for today:
Reverse lunge from deficit (basically, reverse lunge with your front leg elevated)
Back Extension
V-Ups w/Med. Ball
Stiff Leg Deadlift w/Shrug
Close grip bench press
Bulgarian Single leg Split Squat
Inverted Row (on the chains)
Kettlebell Swing
Push Ups alternating hands on a medicine ball

I think we'll probably go for 25-30 minutes with 10 reps at each exercise... I think Jim's joining me today, so maybe I'll think of a second set to punish him with once we're done with this one.... hmmmmmmmm.....

College Sectionals 2009: The Last One?!?

2009-04-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

Well, that's it. I'm sort of done with the college series at this point... I only say that because I technically have another year of eligibility that's still hanging around, but I don't really think I'll be using it. It was a tough year overall, but I think we ended on a good note.

Here's the final tally from Sectionals:
L v. Johns Hopkins 8-9
W v. Maryland B 8-5
W v. Delaware B 13-1
L v. George Washington 3-13
L v. Salisbury 9-13
W v. George Mason 16-15
W v. St. Mary's 13-8
L v. Salisbury 13-14

We ended the year (so far, we have 1, possibly 2, more tournaments to play) with a 15-8 record and an 8th place finish at Sectionals.

I keep trying to tell everyone to not have regrets about how things went this year, but I'm continually forced to discuss the things that went wrong for us. Since that's the case, I'm going to tell you the one goal I'm sad I was unable to accomplish. I had really hoped to be able to bring this team to Regionals, but now that I've told you that, I'll tell you about a few things that did happen:

- We beat Penn State in 2008.
- 1st place at Cupid's Revenge in 2008.
- 2nd place at IUP Nutbuster in 2009.
- Two games that stand out above all others were against Carleton-GOP at D-III Nationals in 2008 and against Carleton University at Delaware's SHOWdown in 2007. Although we lost those two games, our offense was the most in sync it has ever been. Not to mention the spirit in those games was mostly unmatched in some of our other big games (PSU being one of them...).
- Although our team as a whole doesn't work as hard as most, I think we have one of the hardest workers in college ultimate on our team. Thanks for all of your hard work, Frodo. I'm constantly encouraged by your work ethic and I hope that everyone else can find motivation from it in the future.
- Jess had one of the best catches I've seen from Bad Habit at SHOWdown 2008.
- Moustache's for Cancer. One of the best and worst fundraisers of all time.
- Round Robin Blooper Reel. Although it wasn't funny as it happened, it sure is hilarious to look back at.
- John has still not caught a Callahan.
- Ranjo's Callahan, seconds after Kyle shut off the video camera at HoTI 2008!
- I think Stills and I hooked up for 100+ scores in the last 3 semesters we played together.
- Jim and Dan started laying it out on defense.
- Members of Bad Habit beat members of Mamabird at Wildwood 2008.
- Coach Dave. Thank you for everything!
- "Fat" everything...
- Finding Arin's contact at Roll Call 2008

And that's about all for now... I guess I'll get back to work. Don't take this to mean that the season's over. Here's the remaining schedule:

CUA Alumni Game - May 3, Washington, DC
D-III Nationals??? - May 30-21, Versailles, OH

College Sectionals 2009

2009-04-03T16:22:00.000-04:00

Pools are up: http://www.upa.org/scores/tourn.cgi?div=18&id=5864

Getting prepped to break some seed tomorrow. Follow along on Score Reporter, I'll be updating after each game.

Get some, Habit!

Circuit Training

2009-03-31T22:24:00.001-04:00

I recently began hitting the circuits hard after my workouts and I'm loving it! There are a bunch of different ways to work a circuit, but I've fallen to setting a time limit for myself and doing quick sets of 10 of 8-10 exercises for that time. Here's a sample of the last workout:

- Step up w/reverse lunge (Scroll down about halfway for the video/explanation)
- Back Extension (On Roman Chair w/25lbs.)
- Dips
- Squat (135lbs.)
- Floor Wipers
- Pullovers w/triceps extension (55lbs.)
- Deadlift w/shrug (90lbs.)
- 1 arm kettlebell swings (35lbs.)
- Push Up

We just repeated the whole thing as many times as possible in 30 minutes. I'm limited a bit in the number of exercises we can do because of space and ceiling issues (the basement has 8 foot ceilings!), but I think we do a good job of hitting most major muscle groups and getting a good sweat while we do it.

Here's the set up I currently have to mix up the routine...
- Bench Press
- Stand-alone adjustable bench (incline, flat, decline)
- Roman Chair
- Dip Stand
- Pull Up Bar
- EZ Curl Bar
- Squat Rack
- 5-50lbs. dumbbells in pairs/increments of 5lbs.
- 1-35 lbs. kettlebell
- 6 and 8 lbs. medicine balls
- Swiss Ball

We'll keep mixing up the circuit exercises, but I think I'm going to make this a staple in my routine. I'm thinking once Ultimate season slows down it's going to be 2 leg days, 1 upper body day, and a circuit day where I either do a 30 minute or 2-20 minute circuits. Last time I got into working out I sort of fell off after 6 months and I don't intend to do it this time...

A Free Saturday

2009-03-29T15:54:00.001-04:00

I finally had a Saturday free from Ultimate, so I went down to the National Mall to snap some shots of my roomie and his significant other. I'm not going to post their shots here, but I'll just toss in some of the better shots I got from the walk.

Oh, and the weather was crappy... We should've waited until today, but maybe now I'll have time to work on my capstone paper if I can get motivated...

The first two are from the Botanical Gardens, the light is the blossums by our house, and the last is a set of flowers out in our front yard.

And, the word is my sis got back to blogging. Good work!

Nutbuster and Muck Highlight

2009-03-25T21:27:00.000-04:00

As promised...

Go to YouTube and watch in high quality...

Enjoy!