so I need something much simpler. The new blog is hosted on tumblr.
http://trainingtobomb.tumblr.com/
Monday, January 18, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Complacency Kills
"Complacency Kills!" was a sign that was littered all over Al Taqaddum Iraq. Everywhere you walked, drove, or worked there was either a barricade, HESCO, or a white with red letter sign warning you of the dangers of complacency. The lack of attacks on base, coupled with support units that rarely went outside the wire and P.O.G. temptations such as a nice PX, chow hall, gym all lulled an unsuspecting service member into a state of bliss and relaxation making them forget their mission, fellow troops, and the fact that they were in a war zone.
The fact is, complacency does kill. I am not talking about strictly in a war or combat sense. It kills in our everyday lives, especially when training the mind and body. As silly as it sounds, the times in my life when I have been complacent, times when my life is on a winning streak and I can deal with my emotions, seem to be the worst time for training. I fall into this trap of being satisfied with results and find myself cutting workouts short, not maximizing my effort, or at times, not even working out at all. It is counter productive to what Ia m trying to achieve- to stay healthy in the mind and body.
However, when my body senses adversity, stress, and a losing streak around the corner somehow I am able to put myself into overdrive and train harder, longer, and faster then I have before. I'll do pushups until I can't do anymore, run or bike until my muscles are begging me to stop and take a moment to rest. It is no coincidence that the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) was one of my favorite parts of training. One could take their built up aggression and anger out on a series of drills that lasted anywhere from 5-15 minutes (15 minutes being with Gunny Ynfante) only to get a 30 second rest and move onto another equally exhausting and challenging drill. By the end, you were exhausted, you muscles ached, but your mind was clear. Stress, gone. Mind, clear. Body, feeling great. It kept you on your toes and didn't make you feel complacent for one second.
Now I am coming down the final stretch of my academic career and my mind and body are already telling me there are roadblocks and speed bumps ahead. They know, they are warning me that there are issues to deal with, challenges to overcome, and life altering decisions to be made. Like a good Marine, I will bitch and moan my way through these last few months becoming overly salty and sarcastic, but it will all be beneficial to training. The last thing I need to is have my body become complacent because complacency kills.
Workout for the past two days:
Tuesday:
65 minutes on the indoor trainer
Physio ball pushups- 4X25
Leg raises- 4X25
Physio ball crunches- 4X25
Wednesday:
65 minutes on the indoor trainer
Currently reading:
http://soundonsound.tumblr.com/
Currently listening to:
Tom Waits and Crystal Gaye- One From the Heart
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Sunday/Monday Workout
Saturday:
20 minutes on the indoor trainer
Sunday:
60 minutes on the indoor trainer
4X25 physioball crunches
4X25 physioball pushups
4X20 regular pushups
Monday:
Weigh in/tape measuring
60 minute on the indoor trainer
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday 12/29
20 minutes at a hard pace on the indoor trainer last night. I was not as sore as I thought I would be this morning.
Workout:
-20 minutes hard pace on the indoor trainer
-Pushups- 4X10
-Plyoball pushups 4X10
-Plyoball crunches 4X15
-Leg lifts 4X15 (4 count)
Also, I am keeping two other logs tracking body change and eating habits. I will try to find a way to post those excel spreadsheets in time.
Monday, December 28, 2009
I'm not dead....yet
I have still been training but with work and school eating up most of my free time last semester I didn't really have time to give updates. I took December off and decided to concentrate on eating enormous amounts of unhealthy food and drinking the most noblest of hops.
Two new developments:
1) I finally piked up my bike- Trek 520
2) I picked up an indoor trainer so my bike won't corrode in the Burlington winter and I won't be restricted by a 30 minute time limit on a stationary bike at the gym.
-Training on Monday was extremely light. I am trying not to go all out and be out of commission for the next week due to soreness. The goal is to get back into the rhythm of working out daily and getting my old man muscles used to some activity. Here is the workout log below:
Plyoball Pushups- 4 X 10
Plyo Ball crunches- 4 X 25
Stationary bike- 20 minutes.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Saturday Ride Holmdel Park, fitness trail, and the death of my childhood.
Gunner man:
Friday brought the rain and thunderstorms, but it did not stop me from getting in a quick 6 miler to try and learn to ride with the weather instead of against it. 500 push-ups before bed, and a good nights rest in anticipation of killing my legs on the roads of Holmdel. Conspicuously absent from today's ride, Giggs.
There are some things I will always identify with my childhood and growing up in Monmouth County. Some of them are people: Mike the Barber, the guy who owned the shoes store near the Little Silver train tracks, or the old lady with the beehive who used to sit in the first pew at mass. Others are places, such as Dairy Queen in Lincroft and how we used to go after wins in Little League, the Eatontown Roller Rink, the CECOM building in Tinton Falls and how my father used to take us there when we were 15 to teach us how to drive. Unfortunately, few of the places and people still remain. Mike is still cutting hair next to his smart mouthed and surly coworkers, the shop still a testament to community, trust, friendship, and Monmouth County. Dairy Queen will always be a staple of Lincroft and Little League. Most of these things, however, are gone. The shoe store is long gone replaced by a pet store, the old lady with the beehive has probably since passed away, and the roller rink was closed in 2005 and then collapsed in 2009. CECOM was abandoned, and as Tinton Falls argued and debated over what to do with the acres of land, the entire structure became an eye sore for the community. Though, in a weird way, it always reminded me of home. Last month, construction crews began to tear down CECOM to make way for an age restricted community.
However, one place that will always remind me of the wonder of youth and childhood was the wooden playground in Holmdel park. This playground hidden in the woods, and made entirely of a dark, dreary wood, was an young child's fantasy come true. This playground with its hideouts, creaky bridges, miniature back hoes, gigantic metal slides, and 20 foot drops, was always crowded with children dreaming up new adventures. Countless hours of my youth were spent on that playground imagining I was Indiana Jones, or trying to dig through to China with the backhoe. There was nothing safe about this playground. Hell, there wasn't even anything inviting about this playground. The kids knew it, the parents knew it, and the park system knew it. But, it was a different time back in the 80's and early 90's. A time when our playgrounds were built to capture a child's imagination. To let them run around, scrap their knees and cut up their arms, and to enjoy the wonders of life. A time before we started handing out participation trophies, and no young child was able to fail. In essence, it was a time before the "Parents of America" (POA) softened this country with the coddling and over protection, and stopped allowing kids to enjoy their youth while still being able to grow and mature.
Why does any of this matter? Because today, on the bike ride through the hills of Holmdel we stopped at Holmdel Park to run the fitness trail. The first thing I notice as I am walking up the first hill towards the bowl is that the playground I once knew and loved, the playground of my youth, had been replaced by a colorful, padded, and inviting monstrosity. The type of playground that doesn't allow children to fall and get hurt (or cry) or test their imagination. A playground most likely funded by the POA.
Through the years, little pieces of my childhood have disappeared, and I always thought the wood playground of my youth would remain. As we finished our trail run and biked through the back hills of Holmdel, I could not help but think about the thousands of kids who had missed out on a playground that was so menacing, yet at the same time, so brilliant. Hey, at least we still got Mike and Dairy Queen.
Friday brought the rain and thunderstorms, but it did not stop me from getting in a quick 6 miler to try and learn to ride with the weather instead of against it. 500 push-ups before bed, and a good nights rest in anticipation of killing my legs on the roads of Holmdel. Conspicuously absent from today's ride, Giggs.
There are some things I will always identify with my childhood and growing up in Monmouth County. Some of them are people: Mike the Barber, the guy who owned the shoes store near the Little Silver train tracks, or the old lady with the beehive who used to sit in the first pew at mass. Others are places, such as Dairy Queen in Lincroft and how we used to go after wins in Little League, the Eatontown Roller Rink, the CECOM building in Tinton Falls and how my father used to take us there when we were 15 to teach us how to drive. Unfortunately, few of the places and people still remain. Mike is still cutting hair next to his smart mouthed and surly coworkers, the shop still a testament to community, trust, friendship, and Monmouth County. Dairy Queen will always be a staple of Lincroft and Little League. Most of these things, however, are gone. The shoe store is long gone replaced by a pet store, the old lady with the beehive has probably since passed away, and the roller rink was closed in 2005 and then collapsed in 2009. CECOM was abandoned, and as Tinton Falls argued and debated over what to do with the acres of land, the entire structure became an eye sore for the community. Though, in a weird way, it always reminded me of home. Last month, construction crews began to tear down CECOM to make way for an age restricted community.
However, one place that will always remind me of the wonder of youth and childhood was the wooden playground in Holmdel park. This playground hidden in the woods, and made entirely of a dark, dreary wood, was an young child's fantasy come true. This playground with its hideouts, creaky bridges, miniature back hoes, gigantic metal slides, and 20 foot drops, was always crowded with children dreaming up new adventures. Countless hours of my youth were spent on that playground imagining I was Indiana Jones, or trying to dig through to China with the backhoe. There was nothing safe about this playground. Hell, there wasn't even anything inviting about this playground. The kids knew it, the parents knew it, and the park system knew it. But, it was a different time back in the 80's and early 90's. A time when our playgrounds were built to capture a child's imagination. To let them run around, scrap their knees and cut up their arms, and to enjoy the wonders of life. A time before we started handing out participation trophies, and no young child was able to fail. In essence, it was a time before the "Parents of America" (POA) softened this country with the coddling and over protection, and stopped allowing kids to enjoy their youth while still being able to grow and mature.
Why does any of this matter? Because today, on the bike ride through the hills of Holmdel we stopped at Holmdel Park to run the fitness trail. The first thing I notice as I am walking up the first hill towards the bowl is that the playground I once knew and loved, the playground of my youth, had been replaced by a colorful, padded, and inviting monstrosity. The type of playground that doesn't allow children to fall and get hurt (or cry) or test their imagination. A playground most likely funded by the POA.
Through the years, little pieces of my childhood have disappeared, and I always thought the wood playground of my youth would remain. As we finished our trail run and biked through the back hills of Holmdel, I could not help but think about the thousands of kids who had missed out on a playground that was so menacing, yet at the same time, so brilliant. Hey, at least we still got Mike and Dairy Queen.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Off day
Gunner man:
I worked six hours yesterday and made less than $18. Throughout those six hours I had zero sales and a total of three or four customers come in. Needless to say I was not in any mood to go in at 10 today, work for eight hours, charm older ladies, deal with little kids screaming in my ears, and look at bunions all day. I consider myself to be a smart ass, however, while being a smart ass I still maintain a level of professionalism at work. It is pure saltiness at its finest. Today, my extra saltiness and surly demeanor might have cost me some sales (just like the lack of PEDS cost me multiple sales last week). By the time I got home, I was in no mood to bike. I put on my workout clothes hoping to do a short 10 miler, but after talking a big game I Giggs'd out to eat dinner with my family, go for a walk, and wash down the shit burger that was my day with a chocolate milkshake from Ryan's. Tim, this is for you:
I know I promised more writings about my experience and love for the Marine Corps, and I will get to that beginning this month when I can get more free time. Keep reading for that and when I finally pick out a veterans non profit I will start posting the details of our fundraising. Plus, my sister doesn't think this blog is funny enough, so I guess I have to work on that as well.
I hate days off, but I hate my laziness even more.
I worked six hours yesterday and made less than $18. Throughout those six hours I had zero sales and a total of three or four customers come in. Needless to say I was not in any mood to go in at 10 today, work for eight hours, charm older ladies, deal with little kids screaming in my ears, and look at bunions all day. I consider myself to be a smart ass, however, while being a smart ass I still maintain a level of professionalism at work. It is pure saltiness at its finest. Today, my extra saltiness and surly demeanor might have cost me some sales (just like the lack of PEDS cost me multiple sales last week). By the time I got home, I was in no mood to bike. I put on my workout clothes hoping to do a short 10 miler, but after talking a big game I Giggs'd out to eat dinner with my family, go for a walk, and wash down the shit burger that was my day with a chocolate milkshake from Ryan's. Tim, this is for you:
I know I promised more writings about my experience and love for the Marine Corps, and I will get to that beginning this month when I can get more free time. Keep reading for that and when I finally pick out a veterans non profit I will start posting the details of our fundraising. Plus, my sister doesn't think this blog is funny enough, so I guess I have to work on that as well.I hate days off, but I hate my laziness even more.
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