Monday, October 11, 2010

Chunky Breakfast Shake on Columbus Day


Today is the first of what looks like many three-day weekends around this place. Well, most three-day weekends turn into four-day "training holidays" once PT school starts.

This weekend, and today included, is mostly for cleanup around the house. The place is coming together, but it is clear that the gym side of the house was a higher priority than the rest of it. Although the backyard looks like a ninja training ground, the house was looking like a place where small dogs are brought to train to become efficient rat hunters. Boxes and piles were strewn all over, and with Petra gone a good chunk of last week there was zero to negative improvement in the neatness department. I did, however, get the mother of all squat stands, which now resides in the indoor portion of the gym.

Oh, by the way, here is the workout for yesterday:

3x5 Squat, Bench press, bent over barbell row. Warm up with jumping rope and some yoga and stretching. This is what the workout is going to be looking like for a while -squatting every time, alternating vertical pulls/presses with horizontal pulls/presses, and doing deadlifts every other time- as it is now time to put some meat on on the Chicken's bones. We can start talking about weights when they look respectable. I will still do metabolic conditioning, but the focus now is raw strength. That, and my new gas-powered weed wacker, of course, will find me feeling manly.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Solo Cindy

It's lonely at the top, or at least it's lonely at the house right now. Matt, gym builder extraordinaire, left Monday, and Petra went on a business trip to Denver the next day. So I am by myself for the next few days. Watch out for destructive behavior, chewing, anxious barking, gnawing at my own coat and skin, to follow.

The workout, all by my lonesome, to christen the backyard gym (aka, "The Complex," until a better name is suggested):

Cindy
As many rounds as possible (AMRAP) 20 minutes
5 Pull Ups
10 Push ups
15 Squats

10 rounds plus 5 pull ups.

An now I have to go, because this chicken is getting ready to start OBLC -medical officer boot camp- in about an hour. Today will start with just a weigh-in, but I'll let you know if anything interesting happens.

Monday, October 4, 2010

The Chicken is back in bidness!

The prodigal son has returned from a blogless (at least this blog) adventure in the Alps. Summary: Walked a lot, had some beer. I was fun.

Now I am in the Army, and back in the blogosphere to stay.

The wife and I now live in San Antonio, TX, and I will be in the Army's physical therapy program. Before that, however, there are a few things that need to, or have already happened. I got commissioned (or demoted to, as many ex-enlisted say) to 2nd LT in the Army. This happened on September 20th, and since then it has been getting the house in order -more on that below- before OBLC (Officer Basic Leadership Course), also known as boot camp for Army medical types. That starts Wednesday, and I will fill you in as it goes.

More importantly, Petra and I are back on a diet of pain in the form of a steady crossfit routine, and to make up for the fact that we are no longer able to saunter over to D-Town everyday, we have turned our backyard into a crossfit gym to rival many small boxes out there. Matt, of course, was both involved and somewhat abused in the process.

It started with a U-haul. Matt and I met in Denver, loaded my stuff into a slightly-too-small moving truck, and drove to San Antonio without stopping for anything more than some late night fear, bad food and gasoline.

We got into town 20 hours later, rested a little, and started a week-long project. I could go into details, but let's just say that we, without any injuries or death, although there was a jiu jitsu style clinch for a moment on the first evening, got some things done.

At this time there is a four-station pull up rig, two trapezes for hanging rings, a gorgeous 8-strand, 18 foot, self-made rope station, and an Olympic weight lifting platform in our back yard. Add to that 460 pounds of bumpers, two bars, two sets of wooden rings, and a squat rack and bench, and the only thing holding me back is reduced HGH levels, and that is no excuse, really.

I will try and get some pictures up.

Aside from that, stand by for the new 50-part series "The Chicken Goes to Boot Camp."

I will keep y'all posted.

R