SicFit Saturday

I had the opportunity to get some strength training in over the weekend and the newly opened SicFit Austin Gym with Coach Big Mike. I was joined by fellow CF'er Chris G. for some upper body strength work that went a little something like this:

1. Roll-out

2. Dynamic warm-up including: bear crawls pushing a 20-lb sandbell (cross between a sandbag and a kettlebell - super cool!) and burpee broadjumps (yes, I counted those towards the 100 Burpee Day Challenge total for the day), and the other typical CFC warmup moves

3. Mini-Metcon: 2 Rds, 5 Reps each: back squat (95lbs), decline push-ups from box, deadlift (135lbs), pull-ups

4. Sprint drill: Where we sprinted with resistance (Big Mike to be exact) down the length of the gym 4 times each.

5. Kettlebell circus: walks, presses, 1-armed snatch, and deadlifts up and down the length of the gym. I used 1 pood KB for all but 1-armed snatch (sub 14kg).

6. Bench press/Sledgehammer couplet: 5 rds: 5 reps bench press, 10 sledgehammer swings (5 each side). I used the following weights for bench press: 65, 75, 80, 85, 90, 85. Got about 2 good reps at 90 - totally failed on last rep.

And last but not least...

7. Dumbbell muscle snatch (15 seconds on, 15 seconds rest) for 3 minutes. 25lb dumbell doing all muscle snatches on one side for 15 seconds. I got in 11 on the first round and went down to 9 by the last round.

SicFit Austin Garage Gym

All in all, a great workout! It was really fun to play with new toys and learn new movements. Especially the things that aren't incorporated into our workouts at the box. I look forward to playing again soon!
 

Iron Mind

Just re-read a great article about the iron mind entitled, The Iron, written by Henry Rollins (originally published in 1993 in DETAILS Magazine). If you've never read it, or would like some insight on why a strong body and mind go hand-in-hand, read it here.

It took me years to fully appreciate the value of the lessons I have learned from the Iron. I used to think that it was my adversary, that I was trying to lift that which does not want to be lifted. I was wrong. When the Iron doesn't want to come off the mat, it's the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn't teach you anything. That's the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against will always work against you.  - Henry Rollins