Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[Mark E. Hurling]

Picked a brief series of 20 seconds hard/120 seconds active rest intervals for today. Rounds of speed bag, BoxingMaster, and medicine ball tosses.

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Average HR was 129 bpm @ 82% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Our internet provider was down in the entire state last night, so some catching up is in order.

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K executed his techniques with near flawless perfection last night, so I promoted him to blue belt 1st degree. Except he forgot his belt, so I'll do the formal honors next week. I promoted him sooner than I intended, given his previous promotion three months ago, but his hard work and dedication overcame my tendency toward Miyagi style traditionalism. Performance is where it's at, not slavish attendance to wax on/wax off sans explanation of the why from the outset. He described to me how he uses branches to simulate gripping the wrists to practice with. Clever idea. I am finding using the star set stepping drill as a cue for correcting foot placement issues very useful.

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Average HR was 108 bpm @ 70% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Some easier stuff today, rounds of the elliptical with cross arms, side bend, handball, rower, and stretching.

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Average HR was 126 bpm @ 81% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Checked the mailbox last night, and lo and behold! I got promoted to 2nd Degree Black Belt (Nidan).

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I have been carrying on correspondence with Master Bellman since I left California, keeping him apprised of my teaching and students and my learning about teaching and the art along the way. Promotion requires at least two years as a 1st Degree Black Belt (Shodan) and observation of learning and progress. My correspondence consisted of expanded versions of what I post in my log, and he has incorporated some of what I mentioned into the way the art is taught back at his dojo. I artfully placed the Obi over the names of the three senior signatories of the dojo, so as to preserve their privacy. I have mentioned two of their names here in the past. But given the trollery of some of The Departed and a few of those who haven't gotten banned and who still post here to stir shit, I figgered, why expose the men who I respect to more of the japery and shit talk of some lingering assholes with few accomplishments of their own.

This promotion happened in June which is 2 years from 2016, a year in one of the key turning points in my life. I was laid off effective April 1 (April Fools!), and decided ah, what the Hell, I was retiring in October anyway and we were already planning the sale of our house and the move back to God's country in Southern Illinois. It was a gift actually, because I got 20 weeks severance pay to make the ensuing 6 months easier to deal with if needed. Since the retirement, I was getting myself pummeled regularly in Jujitsu in hopes of making the cut for Shodan. Which happened in late June.

Earlier that June I competed in my last powerlifting meet, the USPA Raw Drug Tested Nationals in Atlanta. I took the gold in that meet and set a national record. They ran out of golds at that meet and it took the local meet organizer in GA over a year to replace the silver medal they gave me instead.

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Quite a year.

[Mark E. Hurling]

In all the excitement this morning, I almost forgot. The joys of bro-land.

Lateral Raise: Sets of 8, 105-110-110.

Rope Pressdown: Sets of 8, 190-195-200.

Hammer Curls: 135 for 3 sets of 8.

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Average HR of 126 bpm @ 82% of MHR.

[BrooklynJerry]

Congratulations Mark.

[Dave Klopp]

Congrats!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Thanks, gents.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Today was an experiment. I used very fast (10 seconds) rounds of really quick striking flurries on the speed bag and round bag interspersed with active rest on the rower and SciFit at very low intensity. It lowered my average HR about 5 % points to 77% of MHR. Even so, it was surprising that such brief bursts could induce such sustained elevated HR between rounds.

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[Mark E. Hurling]

Push Press: 45-3, 75-3, 100-3, 130-1, 150-3-3-3.

High Pulls Off "Blocks*": 95-3, 145-3, 175-1, 190-3, 195-2. Got too gassed to continue**

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Average HR was 129 bpm @ 85% of MHR. Woof!

*The "blocks" consisted of two Rogue 45 lb. plates stacked up on each sides. The Rogue purpose built blocks were no where to be found. I blame those sweaty scientologists (AKA cross fitters) for having damaged them from dropping their bars on every-single-rep(!) instead of lowering it like a damn adult. I remember when the US was an Olympic weightlifting powerhouse with the likes of Kono, Bednarski, and Schemansky. Those guys never dropped their lifts.

**The heat has been wearing me down all week. So I caved. It hit 100 yesterday and between that and the humidity, it was like breathing through a hot sweaty towel.