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

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 230.

Rounds of speed bag, Turkish get ups, clap push ups, side ball toss, heavy bag, and stretching.

Average HR was 128 bpm @ 84% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Ball Cap.jpg

As I was coming down the stairs to the Jujitsu class, the kids at my class ran up to me and said Emma was hurt. This was before class started and I had arrived. Two others in the class were rough housing and Emma was trying to mediate. One of the two boys stumbled into her as he was getting up from the floor and bumped Emma's knee.

I went upstairs and the receptionist found a cold pack for Emma's injury. I applied the cold pack and had her sit and observe the class to let it rest.

This was the last class of the session so I gave them some latitude in the teaching and showed them the infamous dance of pain with Ethan, who was assisting me tonight. It consists of a deflection counter to a shove or punch through a series of wrist locks, finger bars, arm bars, and shoulder locks. The attacker goes through several gyrations up and down from the mat and while painful if not done carefully by the defender, it's a great demonstration of the parameters of the art.

Average HR was 103 bpm @ 67% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 228.

Seated Press: 135: 7-6-6. It's always a big stroke to the ego to put the big wheels on for reps.

Rope Handle Curl: 245-247-250 for sets of 8.

Pullover and Press: 105 for 3 sets of 8.

Claw Curl: 155-157-160.

Average HR was 121 bpm @ 79% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Ball Cap.jpg

Working with Ken and Ethan on their takedowns again. They are beginning to get them down better. I'll probably promote them in the next session at the beginning of April unless they completely space out on their progress gained so far.

For a change of pace, I showed them how to use a hand towel as an improvised weapon of defense. It's an excellent way of blocking a punch or kick, and can convert the block into a joint lock or takedown. Even into a strangle. The towel also is a distraction when flicked at the face, giving the defender a chance to follow up or get the Hell out of Dodge from the momentary startle reflex it induces, and at a greater more advantageous distance.

Average HR was 103 bpm @ 67% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 237.

1st Cycle, Week 4. Deload/Recovery. 5 reps 40%, 5 reps 50%, 5 reps 60%.

Bench Press: 85-105-125.

Hammer Row: 195-205-245.

Hammer Leg Press: 280-350-420.

Average HR was 115 bpm @ 75% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 229.

What a morning!

The tit-head cats started waking me at 4:30 for food. In spite of better sleep with the CPAP, I am getting ready to set a record in the cat-put. I resolved to get programmable self feeders to get these felines off my bed. Which I did later.

Our home scale has been getting erratic and inconsistent, and after the experience with that damn Tanita scale nearly 10 years ago, I gave it a few days and determined to give it the dump. I bought a digital scale at Walmart for a mere $24 which includes bioimpedance body mass measurement. Not that I have a lot of faith in the dead nuts accuracy of that particular technology, but it can provide some general data on trend. It's also a sort of parable on the decreasing cost of electronics. The Tanita scale was an expensive $140 Christmas gift those 10 years ago. Now, less than 10% of that. Amazing.

I took a stroll around Lake on the Campus in the snow. Very Robert Frost inducing. The freshly fallen snow revealed side trails that were entirely invisible to me with the woods in leaf and later when the leaves dropped. It also provided the blank canvas for the vivid colors of the bluebird and cardinals splashed across the open glades. A woodpecker provided the soundtrack, although I couldn't spot him.

The snow also revealed rabbit and raccoon tracks along with some solo canine tracks. Which is unusual, because there were no accompanying human tracks with them. It lead me to believe it might have been a coyote. Which turned out to be the case as I got back in my Edge and drove home. He was around 55 lbs. I'd guess. I lucked out and got a great photo of him . He was bold as brass and simply started at me instead of bolting. Sadly, the Powers That Be declare my phone's photos to exceed the capacity of SS. So I'll post it on FB.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight:230.

Today's activities were rounds of speed bag, SciFit, medicine ball toss, rower, heavy bag, and cable crunch.

The gym has a real cross section of people in it. There was a young guy in the West Weight Room with a great t-shirt saying "It Doesn't Matter What Size the Car You Drive Is, It's How Big Your Arm Is Hanging Out of the Left Window." A good sentiment in the 60's car cruising culture and it appears, still true today.

Then there was the diminutive Asian man a little younger than me in the Boxing Room while I was pummeling the speed bag. Lots of questions about how and why and finally asked for some instruction. He was not bad at it, although he would have done better had the bag been lowered about a foot. Something I diplomatically refrained from giving him a tip about rather than possibly offend him about his stature.

Average HR was 121 bpm @ 79% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 238.

1st Cycle, Week 4. Deload/Recovery. 5 reps 40%, 5 reps 50%, 5 reps 60%.

Push Press: 55-70-85.

High Pulls: 80-105-145.

Cable Rotations: 80 for 3 sets of 5.

Stretched.

I've decided that every other cycle I'll try for some 1 RM maxes. An interval of 12 weeks should allow for good recovery.

Average HR was 116 bpm @ 76% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 227.

On the way into the Rec Center, the guy driving a garbage truck waves me over. He wanted to know about the red Ford decal on the grill of my Edge. I told him I ordered it on line so DB could correctly ID my SUV. Current styling being what it is, there is enough similarity for many black SUVs to look alike. It was the most acceptable of another alternative, which was getting a red helium balloon and letting it out on it's tether to make it easier to spot the right vehicle. DB was not amused by this. So, the red decal was the answer.

Today was highland games related training comprised of the following:

General body loosening up with the same routine I use for Jujitsu. Lots of stuff for neck, back, shoulders, and hands. It worked well for this too.

Caber lift: I have discovered that using one hand for the low pick and the other to stabilize. I don't have to get down so low, which saves some stress on my lower back and it makes rising up easier too.

Dumbbell Push Press: More and more, I am concluding that my left shoulder is more stable and better suited for throwing. Next step is to do it lefty and check the results.

One Arm Kettlebell Swing: Done with the heaviest KB they have to get the movement down for the toss for height over the bar.

Concluded with the medicine ball toss and swinging a 25 lb. EZ curl bar to simulate the hammer throw.

Stretched.

Average HR was 133 bpm @ 87% of MHR.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 227.

Even the bro's need a deload. So, 3 sets of 8 with 75%.

Seated Press: 95.

Rope Handle Curl: 180.

Pullover and Press: 65.

Claw Curl: 100.

Average HR was 121 bpm @ 79% of MHR.