perceived weakness as a strength.

Mahmud of Ghanza was a great Afghan Conqueror of the tenth century whose very name struck terror into the hearts of the Persians and the Indians.
When the leader of Persian Iraq died, his wife Seada took over the provence as regent. Mahmud wrote to her demanding tribute, under the threat of invasion.
this is the letter which the Queen-Mother sent back to Ghanzi:
"while my husband was alive i was in fear of the great king Mahmud, who has overrun Persia and India. Now i have no fear. i know that such a monarch would never send an army to combat a woman.
if he were to fight me, i would resist to the end. if i were to win, i would be renowned evermore. but if the sultan Mahmud were to prevail - men would merley say that he had defeated an old woman.
because i realize that the Sultan is too wise a man to lay himself open to either of these alternatives, i am not afraid of what may happen."
Sultan Mahmud the idol-breaker, when he read this message, was so impressed that he swore never to invade Iraq while the Queen lived.



track day!

warmup: 200 yard jog, loading/unloading the truck

workout:

100yd bear crawl
100yd medicine ball throw-and-chase
2x100 yard rope pull and coil (drag 66' of 2"rope, coil, drag, coil)
50 yd 4xoverhead lunge w/ barbell + 4x push-press
50 yard overhead carry w/ barbell
5o yard sandbag carry, 50 yard return w/ burpee broad jump, froghop, reverse bear crawl or belly crawl (or in jakes case, reverse lunges with the sandbag over his shoulders)

2x10 suicide rope pulls (pull 40' of rope, coil, sprint to stretch it out, coil, etc)

cooldown w/ rope climb, dead hangs and reloading the truck.

if we get a gym, this is going on the wall.

People say they want help, when they want attention.
they say they want to listen, when they want to be heard.
we know this by what you say, by how you look, by what we can feel.
everyone else would feel it, too, if they were not similarly self-absorbed and uninterested in you.
you must first of all find out from yourself if you want to learn and why you want to learn.
if you go somewhere to buy something, you must first earn the money, and have some idea of what you need.
if you have idle wants and do not know your needs, you have a long way to go.
if you become diverted from us by our behavior, you would never have been able to keep pace with us, anyway.
if this sounds unpleasant, it does not signify that it is meant to be unpleasant. if you think that we are unpleasant, you are holding up a mirror to yourself, and saying. "look at them!"

-salahudin afranji

found in "caravan of dreams" by idries shah

on a personal note: we need a gym... it is supposed to storm all week, this summer it has been driveway olympics because we just do not have the space in the shop, we will see ehat tomorrow brings...



warmup w/ kb work, RTW, fig 8, windmills and snatches

workout: 30/30's = 30 seconds of work, 30 seconds of rest, each consecutive round must have a minimum of 1 additional rep to avoid a penalty round.

30/30 split jump

b: 18 20 22 24
c: 18 19 22 32
d: 13 14 15 24
k: 14 15 19 21
cm: 16 17 18 19
j: 15 16 19 21

30/30 frog hop

b: 10 11 13 16
c: 10 11 12 14
d: 6 8 9 13
k: 6 7 10 12
cm: 7 8 9 11
j: 7 7 8 8

30/30 burpee

b: 10 10 10 10 : 11 7 8
c: 11 12 12 13 : 13 11
d: 5 5 6 5 : 5 5 5
k: 4 5 6 6 : 8
cm: 6 7 6 6 : 6 6
j: 5 6 6 7


cool down with static holds (handstand, v-sit, slosh pipe, rock hold, flr , right and left planks) minimum of 30 seconds per station, ~ 10 minutes.

then:

full tabata interval (20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, 8 rounds) swimmers (flutter kicks) with rest in compromised position (feet ~ 6" off the ground)

decisions.

the actual work is the easy part. once one makes a decision, a true, committed decision, the rest is easy. the plan unfolds because there is a principle, a guide. simple. which path brings me closer to my goal? in the gym its simple, the signposts are there, we just need to interpret them. 200 pounds is 200 pounds, growth is structured. outside everything seems more complicated, paths are winding and what looks like 200 pounds can feel like the weight of the world... it is important, however, to realize the part we play in our own undoing. the amount of time and energy we spend talking around a topic. how we respond to fear. to challenges. in the gym you lift the weight or you don't. you finish faster or slower. its information, you use it and adjust accordingly. you solve problems. and while social situations are often complicated and nuanced, it is important to me to recognize how much i permit. and where i draw the line.





warmup w/ partial KB complex (rtw, fig 8, halo, swing, clean, snatch, goblet squat)

workout:

squat 64 48 32 24 12
swing 32 24 16 12 6
burpee 16 12 8 6 3


looks like 64 squats + 32 swings + 16 burpees + 48 squats + etc...

53# kb, 11:36

pullup max test (kipping, full extension @ bottom) 15

...where angels fear to tread.

fools rush in, where angels fear to tread.

warmup w/ kb movements, plotting.

tag team trio:

p1. 10x deadlift @ 225#
p2. FLR on rings

3 rounds

then

p1. 20x ball slam @ 25# (15# for last round)
p2. slosh pipe Overhead hold

3 rounds

then

p1. 40yd tire drag
p2. kb rack hold @ 2x53# (2x44 for last round)

3 rds.


you cant work your way out of a bad diet, today we talked about an experiment; eat right, be super strict with your diet (portions, time and ratio) for 3 weeks, work out as normal, then, the night before a workout... binge. eat yourself a nice large double cheese peperoni pizza, a 2 liter of pepsi and maybe some ice cream. work out in the morning. understanding the cost of food for your body.

test.

fitness test

warmup: 10 minutes of various carries.

test: max reps in 90 seconds:

burpee: 29
atomic sit up: 71 (went hard out of the gate, but hit a wall pretty early)


pullup (max reps before dropping) 13

tire drag 40yd x 4

planning is getting done on thursday, we still need to gather more data, but shit is getting serious.

return.

warmup:
tabata interval

squat
pushup
situp
burpee

2 rounds

workout:
team step up ladder 1-6, 18" box
3 rounds, 2x 36, 2x44, 1x71


deadlift coaching.

return...

form day. working snatches and cleans (hang and power), light weights and a lot of critique. also, the ACE personal trainer certification information arrived, so begins that chapter. there will be some changes coming, a little more order, more method. goal oriented fitness with an emphasis on personal responsibility, the groundwork phase is just starting, and the road is long.

on a separate note last week emphasized how how much emotion clouds peoples judgment, even keeps them from understanding the source of the problem, and their role in it. it is a huge undertaking to be aware of your own emotions, to own them and function with them, but not be controlled by them. its work, but work worth doing.

and, im out...

warmup: various ring pushups, planning

workout:


2x20 yd frog hop
2x20 yd farmers carry (62 & 71# KB)
2x20 yd waiter carry (2x53# KB)
2x20yd burpee broad jump
2x20yd bear crawl

then:

p1. 10 GHD situps
p2. ring pushups
p3. slosh pipe hold
p4. air squats

while other half is doing driveway work, ~1.5 rounds

then

2x20yd barbell 4xOverhead Lunge(r,l,r,l) + 4x push press
2x20yd frog hop, because people hate frog hops.

off to montana monday, shooting guns, working out, catching up with old friends, and cooking good food. updates will be spotty, but i am supposed to be signed up for a free week at crossfit bigfork, so we will see.

evolution...

warmup w/ headcutters and mr. spectacular, slashers and other KB movements i dont often do...

workout:
complete kb complex, 71# KB unless noted.

10x rtw (clockwise)
10x rtw (ccw)
10x fig.8 (clockwise)
10x fig.8 (ccw)
10x halo (clockwise)
10x halo (ccw)
10x right swing
10x left swing
10x right swing hi-pull
10x left swing hi-pull
10x goblet squat
10x push squat (44#)
10x deck squat (53#)
10x 1/2 TGU(right)
10x 1/2 TGU (left)
10x right snatch
10x right windmill
10x left snatch
10x left windmill
10x right over head squat
10x left over head squat
10x right TGU (53#)
10x left TGU (53#)

230 lifts total... roughly 1 hour...

i read a brief thing about life and evolution, basically it discussed how laying the groundwork takes so much time but after that things begin to progress logarithmically. the old "if the history of the earth was 24 hours" thing. the first traces of life are present at 4:10 am, by 1:02 pm we have a nucleus, by 6pm we have multi-cellular organisms, 9pm gives us land dwelling plants, 10:45 is dinosaurs, 11:57 is the human ancestor, 11:59 and change is when the homo sapien sapien is around. i think much of our learning can be looked at in the same way, we spend years building groundwork, becoming familiar with our surroundings, learning the rules and such, then, assuming we can draw on experience and not have to re-set all that basic understanding, we can jump into new studies, apply the lessons we have learned (where applicable) and understand more, and faster. this is counter intuitive to the old dogs, new tricks way of thinking, but i think that is cultural, not totally biological. we must remain flexible, study and understand principle, and seek truth instead of emotion.

20090601:0800

warmup w/ kb work
workout:

6 way BB complex @ 95#
(6x Dead lift + 6x bent over row + 6x hang clean + 6x front squat + 6x push-press + 6x backsquat + 6x pushup)

work up to heavy Dead lift (315#)

getting back into the gym after 4 rough days in the kitchen....