Lovin' lifting

Hey!

First of all, YEAHHHHHHH JASON!

My cousin is playing pro hockey down in Amarillo, Texas, for the Gorillas. Last weekend Jason got his first pro hat-trick getting three goals against Rapid City Rush. For his performance, he got nominated in the Central Hockey League weekly poll for outstanding performance. The poll ends on Monday, so you should go to this link and follow the directions to vote for him!!!!! Right on Jason!!!!! (I already tried, you can only vote once!).

http://www.amarillogorillas.com/news.php?id=84

So Allan was in the gym tonight and Jody at the front desk told him to have a good 'workout'. I was chatting with him and he told me not to workout, but to 'train'. First I was like 'OK???', then we got into the details about purposeful training compared to a leisurely workout. Here is the email he sent me when I got home.

You got me thinking…

- It is not a workout, it is training. Let the guys in the designer gym gear do a workout, you have a purpose.
- It will always be “only” so much weight. You are to be in command and the weight is just a number, it is your state of mind that will move it. It will never be TOO heavy and if it is just plain old heavy then that is OK as long as it is finished off by “but I am strong!” or a derivative of the same.
- A missed lift is OK provided you busted your gut trying to move it. It is the effort that builds a champion.
- It is all about the process, not the product. Look far enough ahead to fire yourself up but not so far ahead as to disregard the stones that you are setting in your foundation today.
- Focus perfectly on today’s training session. Stay in the moment for each exercise, each set, each rep, each individual movement that makes up that rep. If you don’t pay attention then your foundation will be weak and your beautiful house (of pain) will tumble like a deck of cards.
- SPORTS CLICHÉ ALERT!!! Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
- “Can’t” is out…
- “I’ll try” is WAY out. “There is no try, only do.” I think some sage wise man once said that. OK, it was Yoda, but it still applies.
- Never be in awe of the weights that you lift. If you can pull 500 lbs then you should be able to pull 501. Everything you do is just another link in the chain.
- That said, be proud of your accomplishments. Very few people have the drive to do what you are doing.
- Look down upon those people. Well not really, but it is OK to feel superior about your lifts and compare yourself to the mere mortals who are breathing in your precious oxygen, provided the trash talk is kept inside and it is used to elevate yourself, not to demean others.


I’m sure there are more but this is where we will begin.


Allan

I love it! Awesome! What is the best about this is that it is not just about powerlifting, it can be applied to everything! Writing a test, triathlon, a job interview, and even everyday life. So many people are so worried about the outside, but this is more than that. It's deep. This is what makes you strong. This is what makes you fast. This is what makes you confident. This is when you accomplish things you never thought you could do. This is TRAINING! I don't know about the busting your gut part, Keith the strongman actually literally busted his gut and got a hernia from deadlifting, which didn't seem like much fun, but the good news is, hernia's can be repaired!!!!

The next heavy powerlifting cycle is going to start in January. We have been throwing ideas around and goals but never the less, I'm ready for it. I'm excited for it. I want to move MORE weight. It is looking like a 365 squat, 245 bench, and a 430-435 deadlift for a total of just under 1050 lbs! It's not for sure yet, but time to start thinking about it!!!

The workouts this week went pretty well too. I swam again on Wednesday with Greg, in which I was dead after. We played golf in the pool. You have to take the total number of strokes you take and the time it takes you to swim 50 m then add the two together for your 'score'. On the next set your score has to be lower than your previous set, making you more efficient. Either you swim the same speed with fewer strokes, or you swim faster with the same number of strokes. My score was 98 on the first one, then 99, then 100, then 102, and finally 106. Oops. It is supposed to get smaller, not bigger. Hhhmmm. Not very efficient! Greg was around the 77 and Darryl was around 82. I got work to do!

I benched on Thursday after work. I didn't have much time but managed to get in 5 working sets of 4 reps with 175 lbs. I did some shoulder press after then was out of time.

Tonight I deadlifted for the first time in about a month. I got up to 3 working sets of 3 reps with 315lbs and felt good. I followed with half deadlifts (rack pulls) after. Allan today did 4 reps with 425 lbs, so I bet you can't guess what I did? Ha ha ha, 4 reps with 435 lbs coach!!! Gotcha!!! I finished with some wide grip pulldowns and bent over rows!

I hope everyone has a great weekend, stay out of trouble and TRAIN strong!

Grizzly!