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

[57bergstrm]

Weight: 241.

Got to the Rec Center and discovered it was closed for MLK. Rats.

So I declared victory with an easy day of walking around Lake on the Campus in 12F.

Average HR was 109 bpm @ 68% of MHR.

12F Thats well under -10celsius, Well done, [emoji106]

[Mark E. Hurling]

That's profoundly cold for this far South in the good old U S of A. Happens only for a day or so every 2-3 years apart. Cold enough to get me to put up the hood on my Carhartt hoodie. Which is really unusual for me.

I should add, the weight loss has had me feeling the cold absent the lost insulating fat layer.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 239.

More singles.

Push Press: 45-5, 75-5, 105-3, 135-1, 155-1.

High Pulls From Blocks: 75-5, 105-3, 140-1, 160-1, 180-1, 195-1, 205-1.

Cable Rotations: Sets of 5. 140-15-160.

Average HR was 119 bpm @ 78% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 238.

Tried something different today. I added in side to side hops. The rest was handball, SciFit, kicking the heavy bag, cable crunch, medicine ball toss, and stretching.

Average HR was 128 bpm @ 84% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Ball Cap.jpg

Alex, Emma, and Zach showed tonight. Alex was much improved in technique and managed to stay loose admirably. I explained tapping out and Zach announced as only an 8 year old full of bravado can that he would never tap no matter how much it hurt. I tried reasoning with him about it and he dug in, so I sent him off the mat. Then I (again) took him through why tapping was done and how it prevented injury. I then asked him if he would tap if he was uncomfortable and he agreed he would. This finished off with me telling him if he wouldn't tap, he wouldn't be learning from me.

Emma was drifty and distracted tonight. Maybe some lingering fatigue from school, hard to tell. She's talking about getting a gi. We'll see.

Average HR was 107 bpm @ 70% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 237.

Sets of 8.

Seated Press: 115-120-120.

Rope Handle Tricep Presses: 170 for 3 sets.

Rope Handle Curl: 200-205-210.

Average HR was 122 bpm @ 80% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 237.

Rounds of speed bag, medicine ball slam, rower, side bends, elliptical, and stretching. Along with some pull ups. Which were much easier 33 pounds lighter.

Average HR was 127 bpm @ 83% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Ball Cap.jpg

Sensei Wissmann, the Karate guy, came by tonight as agreed up earlier this week with some insights and videos on the efficacy and drawbacks to uppercuts. Using boxing and kickboxing bouts as examples. I am so fortunate to have him as a friend and partner in crime in this business. A really good guy.

I gave Ken and Ethan a slight change of pace. I went over ground technique and why it was bad to engage in it, and then went on to explain that falls and takedowns happen, but how to create space so as to get up and off the ground ASAP. This creation of space consisted of use of the feet and knees for kicks and pushes to the incoming attacker. Then I moved on to use of the hands in grabbing the balls, the sides, and the inner thighs as a sharp painful shock to move the other guy back for at least a second or so. Likewise putting the edge of the hand under their nose to snap their head back. Very painful, all of the techniques, and not well known to most people as vulnerabilities.

From there I had them work on intervening and deflecting and controlling attacks on others. The place to enter is from the outside of the hand in use for a grab, shove, or punch. This avoids a strike with the other hand. If possible, an approach from behind works well too. I showed them takedowns, arm locks, finger bars, and how to use them to steer an attacker away from their intended target and into any other attackers moving in to assist. I explained how context and the first aggressor can make all the difference. If you intervene on behalf of someone else and they started the fight, you might get arrested along with that guy too. So don't flail in blindly. Know what you are doing and why you are intervening.

Average HR was 108 bpm @ 71% of MHR.

[Cheesepuff]

That's profoundly cold for this far South in the good old U S of A. Happens only for a day or so every 2-3 years apart. Cold enough to get me to put up the hood on my Carhartt hoodie. Which is really unusual for me.

I should add, the weight loss has had me feeling the cold absent the lost insulating fat layer.

It was 4F outside and 31 in my garage for my workout. Fortunately, I have kept my thick insulating layer, and a space heater that got me another 2 degrees during the workout. Watch your hydration in the cold when walking. I misjudge hydration in cold, and have relearned that lesson too often. Getting down to -8F tonight.

Still jealous of the weight loss.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Thanks CP. This has been the easiest weight loss program I have ever embarked upon. All those empty calories in alcohol made me fat, stupid, and lazy.

Good advice on the hydration too. I've always been careless about that.