Let me stop here to say she’s a chatty Cathy. Her mornings, far as I can tell, include scanning plastic membership cards, pushing the button to open the gate and folding towels. And chatting it up with whomever crosses her path. And she’s tricky. I can be determined not to get in a conversation…~just walk through the lobby and keep walking~…and suddenly a “good morning” turns into 20 questions. I’m sure she must have trapped this poor fella in some similar scheme.

Anyway, they were talking about the state of the economy, business, things. He says, as I pass, “…and those car manufacturers, lookin’ for their bailout…”

She replies, “I know! Oh! The Gall! Can you believe it?!”

The banks who made super-crappy investments in the first place get $700 Billion (with a big ‘B’), no strings attached, secret, next to no public accounting for the money. The “Big 3″ American auto makers want, far as I can tell, some kind of loan deal for about $25 Billion. I’d hardly call that ‘gall’.

Opportunistic? Sure. Greedy? Absolutely. Lazy? Perhaps. But Gall? I think not.

The word ‘gall’ she used, and the fake, overly-exaggerated tone of her shock and disbelief, got me thinking. It seemed so out of place…like it was parroted from something she heard without actual understanding or knowledge or own thought.

I just tossed that word around in my head as I continued out into the chilly parking lot. Gall. Gall. Self-Importance. Arrogance. Bitterness. Bile. Gallbladder. I’m not terribly sure what a gallbladder is. I remember my mom had hers out when I was a kid. The doc gave us the endoscope video of the entire operation. I watched it about 100 times. It was pretty cool - especially for a 12 yr old boy like myself. But I digress.

Perhaps a gallbladder is where gall is stored until it can be passed from the body? In the form of asking Congress for $$? Hmmm. So, do these auto manufacturers have a gallbladder that’s too big…so when the gall does come out, it’s in huge quantities? Or maybe they’ve all had theirs taken out…so the gall can’t be stored and responsibly eliminated, but must come out more regularly? I don’t know. I’m interested in opinions.

Workout

Warm Up

P1: 1000m Row @ 2:30/500m pace

P2: KB Warm Up (move it around variously, don’t let it touch the ground)

Switch. Repeat.

4x

P1: 500m Row AFAP

P2: Rest

Switch. Repeat.

3x

P1: 10x (5x ea. arm) TGU

P2: 10x Burpee Pull Ups

Switch. Repeat.

My 500m times were all pretty sucky.

1. 1:39
2. 1:46
3. 1:51
4. 2:01

I went out way too optimistically on my first one. Lactic acid built up pretty quicky, past the point of no return after the first 250m…and it never went away. That’s one thing I’m going to have to work on this winter.

Monday Workout

Warm Up

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 45#

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 95#

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 115#

Clean & Push Press

10x @ 115#, 1x every 12 seconds

7x @ 135#, 1x every 12 seconds

2×5 @ 155#, 1x every 13 seconds

Rack Pulls

3×4 @ 455# on 4th pin

Weighted Chin Ups

10x @ BW+25#

6x @ BW+25#

4x @ BW+25#

Kipping-ish Pull Ups @ BW (Chest touches bar every time)

AMAP (12x)

AMAP (7x)

Workout

Box Squats

7x @ 135#

6x @ 175#

4x @ 205#

2x @ 245#

4x @ 205#

3x @ 225#

2x @ 245#

Bench Press

5×5 @ 185#

Rack Pulls

3×4 @ 455# on 5th pin

Workout

Warm Up

6x Deadlift +

6x Bent-Over Row +

6x Hang Clean +

6x Front Squat +

6x Overhead Press +

6x Back Squat

3 rounds @ 65#, 95#, 115#

Deadlifts

Single-Leg, Snatch-Grip Deadlifts from ~3″ disadvantage

2×20 (10x ea. leg) @ 115#

Step Ups

…onto 14″ box with bar on shoulders

2×20 (10x ea. leg) @ 115#

Lunges

…with bar on shoulders

2×20 (10x ea. leg) @ 115#

Each set was done at a (roughly) 1:1 Work:Rest ratio. I worked while Marathoner rested, I rested while he worked. My legs were totally cooked.

When I got to work, the elevator looked mighty inviting…but I resisted temptation and climbed the four flights of steps to my desk.

Monday

Warm Up

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 45#

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 95#

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 115#

Clean & Push Press

10x @ 115#, 1x every 13 seconds

7x @ 135#, 1x every 13 seconds

2×5 @ 155#, 1x every 13 seconds

Rack Pulls

3×4 @ 455# on 5th pin

Workout

Box Squats

7x @ 135#

5x @ 175#

4x @ 205#

2x @ 245#

4x @ 205#

3x @ 225#

2x @ 245#

Bench Press

5×5 @ 180#

Rack Pulls

3×5 @ 455# on 6th pin

“What?”

“Pick a name. I’m doing a give-away and those are the names. You’re going to pick the winner.”

“What does the winner win?”

“Eh…just some stupid shit. Pick a name.”

And, in the category of Some Stupid Shit…the winner is…Vana Chupp!

Yesterday’s Workout

Big ROM ladders

Renegade Man-Makers @ 2-16kg KB + (10-1 ladder)

Burpees (20-11 ladder)

So, first round looks like 10x Renegade Man-Makers + 20x Burpees. Second round is 9x Renegade Man-Makers + 19x Burpees. Etc.

Just Marathoner and me this morning. We had no specified rest time, just ‘minimal’ and ‘as needed’. I think we did the entire sequence in about 35-40 minutes.

That might have been the last of this season’s Wednesday mornings outdoors, and I think we made the most of it. We both started out with knit caps and long sleeve t-shirts. The hats came off pretty quickly, and, at one point, Marathoner was going shirtless. 52°F never felt so warm.

As I was doing one of the middle rounds of burpees, I thought…”I should have brought out my rings. We could do a jumping pull-up or jumping muscle-up at the end of each burpee.” Maybe next season.

Box Squats

6x @ 135#

5x @ 175#

4x @ 205#

2x @ 245#

4x @ 205#

3x @ 225#

2x @ 245#

Bench Press

5×5 @ 175#

Rack Pulls

3×5 @ 455# on 7th pin

Obama-bama

This past weekend, an older gentleman called me “an Obama-bama Socialist.” First of all, I have no idea what an “Obama-bama” is. My best guess is that it’s something like Jerry’s Deadheads or maybe Jimmy’s Parrot Heads. Obama’s Obama-bama Socialists. Yeah. I don’t know.

Anyway, this old man and I have not discussed politics in any way and I’ve never shared with him my thoughts on any candidate, for the Presidency or otherwise, in this election or otherwise. I said as much to him.

All you young kids are Obama-bamas. You just aren’t old enough to understand the evil of Muslim Socialism.

I thought about punching him in his old fat head. I also thought about telling him I’m writing in Charles Jay and Thomas Knapp. I ignored him and did neither.

Monday

Warm Up

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 45#

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 95#

5x Snatch + 10x OHS @ 115#

Clean & Push Press

10x @ 115#, 1x every 14 seconds

7x @ 135#, 1x every 14 seconds

2×5 @ 155#, 1x every 14 seconds

Bench Press

5×5 @ 175#

Rack Pulls

3×5 @ 455# on 7th pin

Voting

I got up early this morning, took a shower, dressed and headed to the polls. I got to my local polling place at 5:55am. There was a HUGE line stretching out the building, around the sidewalk and down the street all the way to the next block. At 8:05am I walked out of the building with my “I Voted” sticker proudly displayed on my lapel.

Happy Election Day.

Ladies and Gentleman…the most exciting stage show you’ve ever witnessed…appearing live…Doug E Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew…

Six minutes…six minutes…six minutes Doug E Fresh, you’re on…

Six Minutes

30 seconds rowing @ 1:40/500m pace +

30 seconds rest

Rest

3 minutes

Six Minutes (remix)

30 seconds rowing @ 1:40/500m pace +

30 seconds rest

CGHPS @ 75#

12-1 Ladder

Marathoner works while I rest, I work while he rests

Tabata Thrusters

20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest

8 rounds / 4 minutes

Thrusters @ 2×35# dumbbells

1. Increase my DL through progressively lower Rack Pulls
2. Increase my Bench Press through a higher volume 5×5
3. Increase my Squat (and DL too) with explosive lifts (Cleans and Box Squats) at timed intervals

Rack Pulls

Last Friday I pulled 425# from the floor. The goal is to work up to 455# in eight weeks. I will load 455# onto the rack every workout, and each week I will lower the pins one spot - increasing the ROM every week.

Bench Press

This is going to be a very simple 5×5 program. I’ll Bench Press every Friday for eight weeks, starting at 175# and increasing 5# each week. That will bring my 5×5 up to 210# by the end of the eight weeks, which should put my 1RM somewhere around 250#.

Explosive Lifts

Like the Rack Pulls, I will keep the weight used constant for the eight week program. The change will not be in ROM, however; it will change the density of work.

Today I did 1 Clean & Press every 15 seconds. Every Monday I’ll do the same total number of reps, with the same weight, but decrease the time interval by 1 second.

Fridays will be Box Squats, timed similarly.

Workout

Warm Up

Several reps Overhead Squats @

45#, 95#, 115#, 135#

Clean & Push Press

10x @ 115#, 1x every 15 seconds

7x @ 135#, 1x every 15 seconds

2×5 @ 155#, 1x every 15 seconds

Rack Pulls

3×5 @ 455#, 7th spot from the bottom

Knees-to-Elbows

15x

12x

Chin Ups

10x @ BW

7x @ BW

He described it as “the Black Sabbath of today”. With song titles such as Celestial Crown, Barael’s Blade and Lament for the Auroch, they’re well on their way. The guitar riffs are similar…even the singer’s voice is that higher-pitched tenor of Ozzy…not quite Robert Plant, but certainly not the deep, incomprehensible tones of a lot of contemporary metal.

I’m listening to it now, for the second time through. I’m not always in the mood for hard rock/metal, but when I am it’s good to have choices. The Sword will, from now on, be in the lineup.

Workout: The Final Test

This morning, as the final test of the success of the “20x Squat” program, I worked up to a 1RM Conventional Deadlift. My previous PR was 405#.

Work Up to 1RM Deadlift

425#!!

Squat Cleans

2 sets of several reps each at:

• 45#
• 95#
• 115#
• 135#
• 155#

Several singles @ 165#

That brings my raw powerlifting stats to:

I should be able to break a 1000# total before 1 January 2009.

20-1 Burpee & Swing Ladder

20x Burpee +

Walk 5m +

20x Swings @ 16kg KB +

Walk 5m

Repeat for 19, 18, 17…etc…3, 2, 1

Very tiring. Unofficial time: somewhere around 30-35 minutes.