JM/Wrestiling/Rowing/Shadow

An all around day. Spent time with Eric Duce, Frank and Josh at the gym. Duce is an outstanding wrestler/judo guy whom works with Frank and the guys on techniques and I got to watch and play some. More learning through observation.

Did 25 minutes of mobility.

Did 1 minute of rowing combined with 1 minute of shadow for 12 minutes.

Tomorrow will be more Duce and techniques which I will take a greater role as a participate. We will follow this with sprints.

PS My glutes and Hams are really sore from the leg day :-)

Legs

Hit the legs hard today with an emphasis on single leg

Pistols (35 pound plate)
3x3

Jump Switch Pistol
5x2 (each leg)

Imagine at the bottom of the pistol and jumping and switching landing in the bottom position (never fully extended always in the bottom position)

Single Leg Deadlift
25# (2 dbs)/5/5x1
40#(1 db cross load) 5/5x1
60# (1 db crossload) 5/5x2

Around the world lunge
45#plate with 5 steps/leg for 3 rounds x2

Added in dyna disc for two steps/leg for 2 rounds x2


Breathe up (deck sqaut) with bosu

120 straight

Rocks

Yes, rocks as in rock climbing. Today we went to the indoor rock climbing gym. Since we are not certified we had to boulder.

Let me just say this, the rating starts at V0 and goes to V12. Supposed V0 is equal to a 5.10 climb. Ok, basically this means long arms, long legs and light bodies are going to do much better and if you know me I have none of those traits :-)

I have to say I at least was able to accomplish V1 but it took numerous failed attempts. Remember, use your legs because it is not long before the fingers, forearms and arms fatigue and if you are not using the legs then it is a fall to the mat since there is no ropes in the bouldering portion.

We did this for an hour and half before fatigue was to overwhelming but this is great for grip, core, balance, and skeletal strength.

I will now rest and recover


20 minutes of joint mobility

Split Day 2

Started the day with a big Joint Mobility session, 20 minutes followed by about 15 minutes of wrestling with Frank.

Then this evening I met up with My friend Mike for a KB workout

Military Press
32/5/5x5

Double Snatch
16/5x5

Then went and met frank and Clint at the gym for workout three which included a major core section, some free weights, phys ball and med ball stuff. To many to explain and some I cannot explain as I was being creative.

I am super pleased with my strength and conditioning levels. I realize I have all the physical abllity to blow most these guys away the only skills I lack are the fighting skills and those are pretty major, lol. Nice to work with Pros and especially an athlete of Franks caliber

Another day tomorrow

Gymnastics, Workout 2

Rolling, piking, handstands, etc. we did a number of gymnastic exercises tonight which required, strength, balance, agility, rhythm, coordination and partner work. Clint joined in which made it even more fun. He is a very talented young fighter and I am glad to see he is stepping up.

We are fortunate to have some really talented young fighters that train and fight under the Shamrock name. The sky is the limit for these young men and hanging around with us will only benefit them.

Good day, two fun training sessions and another double tomorrow

I did a bunch of mobility, foam rolling and stretch work and feed my body well...now it is nighty night.

Training like a fighter

Christmas is over and the ramp is going up. Over the past 4 days I have done 500 push-ups and 100 pull-ups just something with all the family stuff.

However, today I went back to work with Frank and we hit the cardio conditioning hard. We combined shadow, sprints, rowing (machine with back emphasis), bodyweight deck squats to burpees all in varying circuits. We even shadowed with each other....lol and my goal was to try and hit him in the head :-P. Trust me, this was a heck of a conditioning session.

Headed back tonight for some more work and back on the bells tomorrow.

Hope you all have had a wonderful holidays

Sorry for the vague aspects of the training but I do not want to get to specific out of respect to Frank. Believe me when I say there is pain and suffering...lol

Treadmill?

Ok, this is a first in a long time for me. I met Frank at Club One and he was doing some cardio so I decide to join in. Enter the Treadmill and sprint intervals. Lets just say I decided to push myself and in the process challenge Frank, funny yes but I love good competition. So we went at it for 20 minutes doing various sprint intervals ranging from 1 minute to 1.5 minutes up to 10 miles/hr (max speed). I have not done straight running like that for a bit so I felt awesome

We followed that up with more physio, med ball work...sit and kneeling tosses, bosu ball stuff, etc. Strong workout and another day of fun. Looking forward to tomorrow... :-)

Plus I did 100 pushups ( 2 sets of 50) and 24 pull-ups yesterday and a strong JM sessions)

Today I did 10 parallel chins and 20 dips just wasting a minute.

Yoga is Youthfulness

Did a wonderful 1.5 hour long strong vinyasa class. I felt pretty darn strong and flexible.

What I observed

I have trouble with some of the forward bends and the tightness comes from erectors.

I am doing well with the Twists and Back Bends

My Hamstrings have various levels of flexiblity, depending on the position.

My Hip Flexors/Quads are tight especially in certain hip extension positions.

I have good balance and strength.

I have good static strength in my body, especially the legs and core

I enjoy Yoga and all classes, instructors bring about different challenges

more craziness

Hooked up with Frank today and back at Club One, and this means play time. Again we went at with the physio ball, bosu, dyna disc, reebox core board, med ball, gymnastics, yoga, mobility, balance, coordination, propioception, hand/eye work, foot work, etc.

Just take my word that frank is a freak and that means I get an opp to work on my mutant (lol) qualitites

I did handstands and pistols on the bosu, core board, and discs.
I did yoga hand balances using these same implements, etc

Point is I was impressed by my strength and balance doing some of these crazy unique moves. When we train together we get really creative. He loves gymnastics and I have to admit so do I, plus that explains Rifs awesome strength and athleticism.

In the evening I hooked up with my buddy Mike and did some light bell work

Warm-up Superset
Windmills and Overhead Squats
24/5/5 and 3/3 x2

Clean and Press (1 Kb)
32/5/5x5

2 hand Swing
32/20x5

I am done and beat. I am doing a lot physically and I am enjoying it. I was SUPER sore from Saturday and it felt good but I know I was not the only one....lol

More to come, this is just the beginning. I have to say more core strength and balance is pretty damn good. Especially after todays various fun and games.

Frank and I at it again

Well, well it is time to train for Frank with his up and coming fight on Feb 10th against Renzo Gracie in Mississippi. Cool thing is we will be on Showtime that evening.

http://www.elitexc.com

So safe to say it is time to get serious. We started to train yesterday with an intensive mobility and stability program. Today we took it up a notch and I joined in

We did
Physioball
Med Ball
Bosu
Dyna Disc

all this was our warm-up which lasted about 45 minutes, nice warm-up. Of course he did most of the work since it is about him and not me but I did my fair share. I even did the old Bosu Pistols (both sides up). We came up with a bunch of cool stuff just playing around with various combos of these tools. Safe to say this time around we are using a variety of tools and the bells will soon be incorporated.

Then we finished off with a cool combo ladder of Pull-ups and Dips, here is how it went down
10 pull-ups Frank, 10 me, 10 dips Frank, 10 me all the way to 1 and 1 of each, nonstop he go, I go. This was brutally fun and nice since we could truly push and challenge one another.

We did one last icing on the cake boxing combo using the free motion.

Great workout and more to come. I will do some training throughout this prep time with Frank just depending on what he wants from me.

Thursday, Light Bells

Did a short, quick workout Thursday with my bud Mike

Windmill
24/5/5x3

2 Hand Swing
32/20x5

Short and sweet and not bad for the 4th in a row

Put on the Cleats

Could not get out to the track since after 2 till 6 it is closed for Stanford team training so we went to the park and did some grass work.

Warm up with Dynamics

Cone Drills
Lateral and forward hops (quick feet and long jumps)
triple Jumps
Figure Eights hops, 1 leg
Slalom forward and sideways

Striders
6x100

Light day and effective

100 push-ups
25 pull-ups

Yoga Strength

Yikes, todays class was tough, this particular instructor is tough. Mara, places a large emphasis on strength moves (planks, side bridges, 1 leg balances, lunges, etc) with a yoga spin. So, you get strength and flexiblity and one heck of a sweaty mat so much so that I slip on certain poses lol.

Nonetheless, I like her approach and she is interested in learning about the KBs so extra cool. Great class, great strength, great flexibility, great sweat and great workout. I felt really in tune with my breath which really enhances all the moves, so progress and contentment.

Another great workout. No running today due to the rain

Body, Mind, Spirit, Soul feel great

Meditation

Sunday I had an amazing experience, something I have never felt, a place I have never been before. When I say feel you must understand that there truly was nothing, no feel, no thought, just complete freedom and stillness.

Sunday I was lead through a body work process, no touch just talk. As I sat there listening to the gentleman lead me through a process I begun to feel a lightened feeling in my body, a freeing of thought of my ego, of my mind and as the process, the journey continued it got deeper and deeper and before I knew it I was it a true meditative trance.

Through the process I heard the sounds of cars which became the sounds of waves gently rolling on the sand and then I felt like a stream gently flowing amidst a state of serenity in a serene nature environment and then it was all gone, emptiness, freedom and I was.

After a period of time, how long I do not know I woke myself out of this state and I had an overwhelming and wonderful feeling of peace, of freedom.

I have in the past felt the power of concentration, of focus but never this state. To truly describe what I felt, etc is almost to do it a disservice but at the same time I wanted to share this powerful moment in time and the fact that I feel peaceful and free in my heart and soul.

I am and have been planning to do this meditation course and now I am even more excited to do so.

2 Please

Oh boy have I forgot what 2, 32kg kbs feels like in hands and how quickly I remember.

Clean and Press (2kb)
Warm-up
16/5x1
24/5x1

Work
32/5x5

Wow these are awesome and truly the weight I should be training. My friend Mike brought his 32 over and we put it to good use. I felt strong, especially as the sets went on. Although I am still tender from Saturday in the forearms and arms (especially rt bicep) I feel good about my performance.

Mike is an animal. for a man with little experience using the bells he hung strong and with good technique.

Guard Press
32/8x4

Not too bad, totally new and diffferent move with the 32 but once got used to it they moved well.

Short workout, Mike had to run home early tonight but great and it served its purpose.

The Link to the Picture site

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/motivator.php

A cool picture

This pic was created by Dave Shoulders Macmillan. This is of me doing the Snatch test at the April 2005 RKC. There is a site where you can create these type of images, once I get it I will post the site. I just love the concept

A Reflection on Life

Christmas is a season a special season. This is time of year for family, friends, and giving. As life continues to evolve we must take time to present our loved ones, our friends, our clients, etc. the gift of love, the gift of thanks.

We never know what life is going to bring on a daily, weekly, yearly basis. So, I encourage people to take time and tell the people you love just how thankful, how grateful, how much you love and appreciate them. Do your best not to miss out on these opportunities because one day they may not be there.

Life truly is short and life truly is dynamic and ever changing even when things seem to be great, tough, constant, etc. in an instant life can take a turn and lead one down a new or different path and those whom you love may not be there to receive your gifts of love.

Do not live in regret, but live in gratitude and be present in the now. Love is a crazy fun roller coaster ride and love is a blessing. So, today, everyday look that special person or those special people in the eye with love in your heart and just tell them you are thankful and you love them

Love to all of you and a special thanks to all of you who take time to read my blog, etc. May this be a happy holidays for you and your loved ones.

Hang On

The Grip, that was the motto for todays training or at least it seems to feel that way. After a warm-up with the Indian Clubs and moving to the Clubbells the real grip training began. Today I had the great pleasure of introducing my good friend Mike to Ken Black and two other impressive men in Pete Diaz and Corey, the Iron Punk as well as some real heavy training with many odd instruments

We used the Indian/Clubbells, the rolling thunder (for serious grip and a lesson in just how much stronger one side is than the other), the blobs for more grip work, The Big Tire for some flipping and serious core, hip and hamstring drive, the 150 med ball which we pressed with all our might overhead, the 200 pound odd ball of sand the we shoulder, the Fat Bar deadlifts, grippers (#2), the rope climbs, the muscle ups, and some gymnastics on the rings ( a blast). I may have missed something in here but I think that about covers the variety of tools we used and just how taxed we were (speaking for Mike and I) after wards. Totally different feeling, all the fatigue in the grip, forearms.

What a great day we had, and since I cannot remember all the weights you can check out Ken or Petes Blog for their descriptions of this very cool day of fun lifting with a few good men. All this work was something I had little to no experience with and it made it all the worthwhile. I truly enjoyed the clubbells, tire flips and of course all the bodyweight stuff (climbs and rings). The Med ball presented its own unique challenges and I really enjoyed feeling strong. I have to say I was definitely motivated being around these men and just seeing everyone step up to the challenge and give it their best.

I love feeling strong.

Thanks to all the men for a wonderful day of training

Track work

Good day of track work with my buddy Carl

No ladder today but did an immense amount of dynamics and followed that up with line drills (forward, lateral, bounding) of all kinds. Tough on the CNS but really good work.

Finished with Tempo Runs
10x100

Good workout, solid and nice to run

keep moving

That is a good motto for me right now, and keep moving forward, progression. So today, sore, tired, low energy/hormone I hooked up with my pal Mike to do some KBs.

TGU lunge style
16/5/5x1
24/5/5x2

Snatch
32/5/5x5

Bend the knees and use the quads in addition to the hips to decelorate the bell and minimize load on back.

Military Press
32/5/5x5

Pull-ups
5x4

This Morning did 10 minutes of shadow boxing

Just felt good to do something and do some heavier work. My energy levels are way off and I am far from at the top of my game but I am pushing and doing something

This weeks training

Monday:
Not much but I did hook up for a quick workout with my Friend Mike

Kettlebells
Windmills
24/5/5x5

Clean and Press
32/5/5x5


Tuesday
Big Day, I did both yoga and Kettlebells

Yoga Vinyasa style for 1 hour at Yoga Source. This was very challenging, felt more like strength training but was a welcome meditation.

kettlebells with Mike
Swings
2hand
24/20x1
32/20x4

1 hand
24/10/10x5

DARC
32/20x3

This was awesome because I have not done a big swing session in some time. Feel the hammies today :-)

Today, Wed
Bodyweight conditioning for 30 minutes plus Joint mobility with Frank and the Team

All sorts of stuff but it was really good. I was tired but I pushed through worked up a great sweat and just fun playing around with Frank

So that is all for this week at this point. Tomorrow Track work and hope to do a yoga class or a meditation class.

Bodyweight Training

I have been ready an excellent book, The Warrior Elite, The forging of Class 228 all about Navy Seals in particular the BUDS portion. A motivating book for an aspiring athlete or just people in general. Just when you thought you were tough, particularly mentally read this book and see if your willing to go to this extreme and extreme it is. The funny thing is that I have a friend who made it through Wed of Hell Week before having to leave due to a major infection. He told me that it gets even more intense after the BUDS program as a true SEAL.

Nonetheless I just thought the body weight training would be a fun addition. So, I did my basics

Push-ups
20x5

Pull-ups
5x5

Super set style with minimal rest. In addition, earlier in the day I did a set of 5 and 8 pull-ups as I passed my pull-up bar.

Nothing hard but just a nice balance to the bells and everything. I did not want to do too much since I have had 4 straight days of training and thought this would be a nice little workout and that it was.

Your body is an amazing tool, practice using it with no weights andif interested take a look on line at some of the different SEAL type workouts and the requirements.