BEYOND STRONG: There's Something in the Basement

12/06/08- First bench press workout since June 08'.

Felt awesome to be back at the basement of pain training with the crew again.  Of course, Cullen and Big Lance were there.  I missed those big bastards a ton!  Old head Greg was there, he hasn't missed a beat and is still a strong old bastard!  There is also some new blood aboard, a young man named Elliot who is big and strong and has a very bright future is he can stay on track.

We started with 3 board presses.  I had no intentions of putting on my shirt, but that changed.  Worked up to 275 x 1 off my chest raw.  I have not benched with a straight bar free weight since the summer, so I was expecting this to be a lot harder then it was.  It came up decent, but I was a little shaky under the weight.  Then hit 315 x 1 raw off 3 boards.  Added the Rage X and did 345 x1, 365x1, and 405x1.  All of them were very easy and explosive and effortless.  Was going to go 455 and up, but decided 405 was decent for the first time back with the bench.  Dont want to get to aggressive too quick and get hurt.  Of course, Big Lance smoked 585, he hasnt been in a shirt since the summer either!  Elliot hit 455, once he gets his technique down he is going to be scary strong and well into the 600s very soon.

Beakers with kettlebells hanging were next, used 135 + 36 pound kettlebell hanging off each side with a mini jump stretch band.  X 5/5. x5/5, x5/5.

Kettlebell elbows out ext: 52s x25, x19, x13.

Chest supported row: 45 x20, x20, x20.

Done.

Had a great time.  They are going to the high school football finals next Saturday, so we wont be lifting till the following Saturday.  Stoked to be back to slinging weights!

Good to see an old friend Dan Cenidoza stop by.  We have had our differences in the past, but I would like to think that we can bury that hatchet and start new.

Beer thirty....

-Rick

Back in BLACK

Cullen sent me a text message letting me know that they are benching this Saturday at 9 am.  I am very excited about this...time to get back on the fucking bull and get my head on straight again.

The last 4 months of my life have been a complete and total whirlwind of ups and downs.  I bought a bike, got a bunch of tats, made advancements at work, came VERY close to getting a divorce, and had to say good bye to someone who meant a lot to me.  Very stressful and very painful.  Life goes on though...tomorrow is a new day.  The best way for me to forget and move forward is to get back under heavy ass weights, and that is exactly what my plan is.

No meets on the horizon, all of the abuse I have been putting myself through in the last few months will be hard to overcome.  I figure it will take a solid 3-4 months of consistent and heavy training to get back to where I am ready to start a meet cycle.  I am more stoked about getting back with the boys, Cullen and Lance!  I need those guys in my life right now, as incredibly gay as that sounds it is true.  They keep me on an even keel and I miss the hell out of them!

So starts another chapter in my crazy, sometimes out of control life.  I will start logging my workouts again after this Saturday's training session.

-Rick

Training

So I skipped the squats last week...had some plans on Friday and it is getting easy to just not go lift.  However, I did squat Monday.

First, let me say that I haven't squatted since August.  I mean, not at all.  Zero squatting.  That is 3 full months, 90 days.  So, I was expecting the weight to crush me.  135 x 10 was strange feeling.  Usually I have a ton of pop with 135 like it is an empty bar, and it actually felt like a bit of weight.  Not cool.  225 x5.  A little better, some pop.  Loaded it to 315 and did 3 sets of 5.  The weight felt like a ton on my back, but coming up out of the hole was easy money.  Tons of pop, felt like I could have done 10s.  By the 3rd set my ass and hamstrings were cramping with every rep and I knew I was going to be in some pain.  Some pain...yeah.  Here it is Thursday night and my legs hurt so bad I have to drop down to get to the toilet and walk backwards down the stairs!  I am loving it!!!!

Did chest Wednesday, and took today off.  70 today so I couldn't miss out on the last 60 minutes of daylight to ride the bike!  Tomorrow I will pull and do some back.  Good to be back to the gym feeling the iron again.  Baby steps, and I can tell you if we get some great weather again, like today, I will skip again and be right back on the bike. 

Tattoo is healing nicely.  Saturday after Thanksgiving I go in for more work.  Can't wait!

-Rick

Training again, new ink, and sunshine

I trained last week, 1 body part a day, 5 days a week.  I think I will continue this for awhile and try to get bigger and leaner.  I am still quite sore, but I was pleasantly surprised how much strength I maintained.  I did 475 for 4 sets of 10 shrugs nice and easy, but my traps were sore for 5 straight days!  Agonizing sore!!  It is good to be back at it and I am enjoying slinging a little iron again.

Got inked yesterday.  Started work on my other sleeve.  It was 4 hours under the gun, and there is much more to do.  The detail I am getting in this arm is very hard and very tedious. 

 

When it is done it will be well over $1000 and probably 16 or more hours under the gun. 

The snow has melted and the sun is back out.  Time to gas up the bike and hit the pavement.  I am not sure how many more days I will have like this, so I need to take advantage.  Squats and deads tomorrow.  Fun fun!!!

-Rick

Time to get serious again

I have spent more time since August getting drunk then I have lifting weights.  I think that this is something I have to go through.  Not sure why, but it started mid August when I took a week off from work for vacation and spent it on my front porch sucking down beer a thirty pack at a time for 7 straight days.  That kind of kicked it off.  Amazingly, I havent gained or lost any weight, just kinda rolling along.  I am at that point now where I no longer get hang overs and I wake up after a night of drinking craving a beer.  Some might call that alcoholism, I call it dedication to the cause.  As my friend and fellow biker Johnny says, "No one likes a quitter!"

My training crew is still involved in football, and the weekends spent slinging weight with them will once again roll around.  For now, I need to get up and dust myself off and get back to what I love to do. 

My training will be basic and brutal.  I will be doing the basic lifts: squats, deads, rows, benches, barbebll curls, overhead presses, close grip bench presses, etc.  3 days a week, for 3-5 reps 3-5 sets.  For cardio I will be using the prowler on off lifting days for 10 sets of sprints of around 30-40 yards alternating high and low hand holds.

I will get back to posting the workouts, just keep in mind, I have been away from the weight room consistently since August so I will be WEAK as hell.

And so it once again begins...the battle between good and evil.

Pay attention to the last few minutes of this.

10/20/08- Dear Blog....I trained today!

What a break through!  I actually went to the gym after work and got in a decent chest and biceps workout.  It was straight out of FLEX magazine, but it was a workout and I felt decent afterwards.  I have lost a ton of strength...no big deal.  I have learned from experience that strength comes back fast.  I am more interested right now in just getting back to the gym 3 days a week with some consistency.  It is turning cold, so the bike will be retiring until warmer weather is here again.  Don't get me wrong, if we get another warm spell, I will get 'er out again!

This winter will be spent trying to add some quality mass and getting back on track.  Looking forward to it.  I have a ton of shit going on right now, so training will be a huge stress reliever and maybe, just maybe, I can find that fire that got me training 19 years ago.

-Rick

Fall is nice, but I miss summer!

What's up all you BEYOND STRONG readers?!?  I was out last week, 40 hours of class room/practicum, and I am now officially a Hostage Negotiator, certified by the state of PA, and recognized by the F.B.I.  Wow.  That carries a huge amount of responsibility and I take it VERY seriously.  I could save a life, or cause a life to be taken.  That is huge.

The class was amazing, and the scenarios were out of this world.  A hostage situation is full of so much controlled chaos, sitting in that chair and talking to someone who holds another life in his hand is like standing in the eye of a hurricane.  People are running every where, checking intel, giving you info, writing, calling, etc.  Fucking nuts.  You learn a lot about people, but you also learn a LOT about yourself.

It is getting cold.  I got home today and took the bike out, and even with a hoodie and my leather jacket, I was still a bit chilled.  I am going to miss being on the bike this winter, but it will make me appreciate spring and summer so much more.  Also, the fall/winter months will allow me to get my ass back to the gym.  I am not sure how long it has been since I touched a weight.  I am thinking August...

If you have FX, check out the new series, Sons of Anarchy on Wednesday nights at 10.  Sweet show, and the lead character is Australian.  You know him Nick?

I am headed out again tomorrow.  Headed north for some cold Labatts and pool shooting. 

-Rick

Computer crashing and other fun shit

Been offline for 2 weeks.  Damn, I thought I would die without my net but it wasn't all that bad.  Between work, my bike, and other shit going on, I never even missed it.  Last Sunday I got home from my riding course to find my hard drive had a melt down.  $160 later, I am good to go.  Still trying to get the updates and everything else I am missing, but for now I am able to surf and shop, so things are good.

I have put nearly 500 miles on my bike already!  Can't get enough, it is so much fun.  I have even convinced my wife to get on and now she is addicted as well.  I told her I bought the bike to "get away" so she is going to have to get used to not always going with me.  Bike = Space.  When it gets to cold to ride, I will put it in the shop and start customizing it.  I am going to pimp my ride!

Training.  What the fuck is that????  The gym in town is moving and has been closed for the last 3 weeks, so I have been doing sporadic push-ups, pull-ups, and dips.  I haven't squatted in so long that I am not sure I would remember how and I haven't deadlifted in even longer!  I have been a complete and total bum, but for now I am good with that.  My training partners have 4 more football games, then we will most likely creep back into the weekend training again.  I won't go out on a limb and say I have officially quit, but I have certainly lifted far more 12 ounce cans then barbells and dumbbells this fall.  FAR MORE.  And my eating has been poor as well.  Fuck, I am going to hell on a shit cart! 

Work is going well.  This Monday I leave for Harrisburg for a week of training, it is always good to get away from the fence for a paid week.  It is hostage negotiation training, so it will be interesting to say the least.  More on your plate = more experience = more $$$.  And, of course, more $$$ means more motorcycles.  INDEED!

Here are some videos of a recent show my son's band played at in Richmond, Indiana.  He is the bass player (wood colored) with the long ass hippy hair and no beard.  He hates when I call him a hippy!  The lyrics are hard to hear, the recording is decent but it is hard to hear the singer.

Fucking METAL.  Good shit. 

Peace-

-Rick

Basic Rider Course

We were on the range today riding.  The bikes they use for the course are 500 cc Buell Blasts.  They are fun little bikes that you can lay right over at fairly high speeds and they respond well.  Great bike for a younger rider or woman starting out.

Today we did lots of cone weaving, stagger cone weaving, quick stops, sharp curves while shifting, and tight slow cornering.  Good times.  One class participant laid their bike down, I think she panicked and hit the front break while slow turning.

Tomorrow is the last day.  Obstacles, etc. as well as the road test and paper test.  In the end, I will have my license and will be able to fucking CRUISE!  Next summer is going to be a wild one, and I think from now on spring and summer will be spent on the open road instead of the weight room.

If you don't ride, you should really consider getting into it.  If you are considering it, take the Harley Basic Rider Course.  You won't be disappointed.

May I have your attention please: GAME ON

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=ap-armstrong-comeback&prov=ap&type=lgns

Things are about to get real interesting again.  I say #8 is a done deal...