Saturday, April 25, 2009

MORNING WORKOUT

Throwdown ETC Renegade Boot Camp w/ Jason Mertlich

1.  Normal Warm Up

2.  “Bears” - 4 sets of 6 reps super-setted with 4 “Gassers”

3.  Shoulder Tri-Complex - 3 sets of 12 super-setted with 3 sets of 50  Body Weight Squats

4.  Rollouts - 3 sets of 10 reps super-setted with crunches (until a barbell opens up by your partner)

Friday, April 24, 2009

Last summer my personal trainer left the gym that he and I were working out at and moved to a new one.  This gym was completely new in town and had sort of an intimidating name - THROWDOWN ETC (ETC stands for Elite Training Center).  This gym was really intended for those people who were hard core fighters and those who wanted to become Ultimate Fighting Champions.  Well, I am in my 40’s, and knew that I did not match the target audience.  Plus, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the crowd that went there.  When my personal trainer told me he was moving there, I was a little nervous, but I went ahead and signed up for that gym so that I could continue working out with him.

I was determined right away not to ever get involved in any of the classes - I was a little scared that I would get hurt if I took Jiu Jitzu, MMA, Boxing, etc.  I’m too old to walk around with a black eye or worse yet - a broken hip!

Well, everything went as planned for awhile.  I worked out with my personal trainer only.  I went into the place, stayed to myself, and tried not to make any eye contact.  I couldn’t help but notice, though, that the crowd seemed a little tough.  They had muscles where I never thought you could get muscles, walked with an air about them like they knew they could “take” you, and were COVERED in tattoos.  I was none of those things!  So, I was more than happy to show up in the morning, work out, and leave - never thinking again about the new gym.

I’m not really sure what happened, but at some point there must have been a moment where I was momentarily possessed.  The fantasy of being some “old” man doing Jiu Jitzu or whamping someone’s A** in the “Cage” carried me away and I started looking at all the classes offered on the ThrowdownETC website.  Just looking at the names of the classes made my palms sweat.  But then I saw one that piqued my interest - Renegade Boot Camp.  I had always wanted to do a boot camp, and was pretty sure I was finally at a point physically where I could at least struggle through the rigors of a boot camp.  So, it was decided - I would try one of the Boot Camp sessions. 

The first day I went I was almost sick from anxiety and anticipation throughout the entire day!  I would be working, and suddenly I would remember that I was going to this Boot Camp!  It scared the bejeebeez out of me! Was I really going to do this?  Well, the time came, and I found myself checking in for the class.  I went to the designated area and started to stretch out.  I was getting cotton mouth.  Some other guys showed up early.  They were dressed in black T-shirts and camoflauged shorts.  I was decked out in all things Abercrombie & Fitch.  UGH!  It was obvious that I did not fit in!

The Instructor (Jason Mertlich) arrived, plugged in his iPod to the stereo system, and hard rock reverberated throughout the gym.  I was literally shaken to the core!  Was it too late for me to bow out?  Almost everyone else looked like they had been doing this for years.  There were one or two other people that looked “scared” like me - THANK HEAVENS! 

Jason started barking out the exercises, and everyone fell in line.  Some of the exercises I had never heard of before.  For example, he kept yelling “burpees”, but with the music and all I thought he was saying “herpes”.  For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why an exercise would be called “herpes” except for the fact that it was the hardest exercise, and something you never wanted to do!  You can imagine my embarrassment when I found out that he was not saying “herpes” at all, but rather “burpees” (to this day, I have no idea why they’re called burpees).

As the workout progressed, the gym heated up almost to unbearably hot.  Everyone pulled together drawn closer by the mutual suffering we were all going through.  Suddenly I was talking with “kids” and what’s even more unbelievable, they were speaking to me!  And guess what - they were all SO COOL!  I was really surprised.  I was forced to let go of my preconceptions.  Well, as the gym heated up, most of the guys took off their shirts to try to escape some of the heat.  That’s when everyone started to compare their “tats”.  There were skulls, spiders, zombies, japanese words, chinese words, cuss words, marijuana leaves, and one tattoo that took the cake.  When one guy took off his shirt, written in a font resembling a halloween font (blood dripping from the letters), were the words “Satan Loves You”, but the word “Love” was substituted for the shape of a “heart”.

Oh, he was the hit of the boot camp!  Everyone was slapping him on the back, and praising his tattoo.  And then there was me.  I stood in uncomfortable silence.  I was facing a predicament that I wasn’t sure how to handle.  I certainly didn’t want to offend anyone by criticizing the tattoo, but I also knew I was treading a very fine line with God at that very moment.  I was convinced that it was just by His grace that I was still alive, as the workout was so difficult.  I could see me saying something about how cool that tattoo was just to fit in, and then having God strike me with a heart attack right there on the spot!  Or I could say something against the tattoo, and face the wrath of all the guys in the locker room.  So, I stood in awkward silence. 

Fortunately, at that very moment, Jason barked out the next round of exercises.  No more time for chit-chat!  Get a move on!  Pain never felt so good!

MORNING WORKOUT

Strength Training - Back & Biceps

1.  Wide Grip Cable Row - 3 sets of 15 reps at 110, 120, and 130 lbs

2.  Cable Pulldowns - 3 sets of 15 reps at 110, 120, and 130 lbs

3.  Seated Lowerback Extensions - 3 sets of 15 reps at 315, 330, and 345 lbs

4.  One-Legged Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets of 15 reps at 30 lbs

5.  Hammer Curls - 3 sets of 15 reps at 30 lbs

6.  Concentration Curls - 3 sets of 15 reps at 25 lbs

Throwdown ETC - Renegade Boot Camp w/ Cheryl Wong

6 minutes of jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers and crunches

Cheryl totally wore us out this morning!  She likes to do a lot of circuit training type things, so that can be tough.  We did exercises such as using a sledge hammer to hit an oversized tire, pushups on a ball, and kettle bell swings.  Afterwards, we did sprinting on treadmill (7 mph) for 2 minutes, then wall sits for 2 minutes - 3 sets of these.  Went back and did more circuit training - 20 step ups with 10 lb medicine ball, then throw the ball as hard as possible at ground 20 times, then throw “bouncy” medicine ball at wall, catch it, do burpee with hands on the medicine ball (20 of these).  We did 3 sets of the last circuit training exercises.  Finally, ended with core - 100 bicycle crunches!  Whew!  What a killer!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

 The other day at boot camp, after the warm up, Jason Mertlich announced what we were going to do during the next portion of the class - GASSERS!  We were to do 10 gassers (which is 400 yards of “sprinting”).  In between each gasser, we were to do body squats and squat jumps and lunges and russian split jumps.  EVERY part of this work out was going to be nothing less than DIFFICULT!

When Jason shouted “Go!” everyone jumped forward and started the workout!  There are four lengths of the parking lot for each gasser (the parking lot extends 100 yards).  You end up running down and back twice.  Everyone pushes themselves hard on the first couple of lengths, and then you start seeing the group break into smaller groups based on skill and speed level.

There were a few “newbies” that showed up that day.  They were young, looked fit, and were ready to go!  They did the warm up well enough, and when Jason shouted “Go!” they were at the head of the pack - running with all they had.  I noticed one of them in particular ran like an Olympian!  He was so fast - for the first gasser.  I caught up with him while he was doing his lunges and russian jump splits.  As I was doing my lunges and russian splits, he and a couple of other people started their second gasser.  I noticed that he wasn’t so fast on the second one.  Then on the third gasser, I noticed that he was not running with the lead pack.  I looked around to see where he was, and he was sitting in the shade.  His strength was totally sapped - you could see it on his face.

When I finished my fourth gasser, I noticed that he was no longer sitting in the shade.  As a matter of fact, he was no longer anywhere to be found.  I put him out of my mind and fought through the pain - both mental and physical - and finished the 10 gassers and “rest” exercises.  When I finished, and was trying to catch my breath, I heard some people laughing and pointing over to the shade area where he was sitting.  Out of curiousity I asked what was so funny, and that’s when they told me how he had run himself so hard on that first gasser, that he had to go over and rest (which I knew), but then had lost it and vomitted all over the place!

Since I’ve started my journey to good health and fitness, I have seen it over and over again - people who jump into exercise programs, dieting programs, etcetera and overdo it, and then never return.  You must remember - YOUR WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE - YOUR JOURNEY TO HEALTH - IS A LONG TERM CHALLENGE - IT IS NOT A ONE DAY EVENT!  You need to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses.  And guess what!  Those strengths and weaknesses will change as you progress and get closer to reaching your goals.  So, just like the tortoise in the proverbial tale of the Tortoise and the Hare - pace yourself, be patient with yourself, and stick with it for the long run.  Don’t kill yourself in the first few moments of your challenge.  Be diligent, but be prudent.  Stick with it, and don’t hurt yourself.

Guess what - it has been an entire week since that guy came to our class.  I have not seen him back since.

MORNING WORKOUT

Strength Training - Chest & Triceps

1.  Smith Machine Bench Press - 3 sets of 15 reps at 115, 135, and 155 lbs

2.  Barbell Lying French Press - 3 sets of 15 reps at 65, 75, and 85 lbs

3.  Back Scratcher - 3 sets of 12 reps at 30 lbs

4.  Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets of 15 reps at 35, 40, and 45 lbs

5.  Tricep Extension machine - 3 sets of 15 reps at 85, 115, and 130 lbs

6.  Pushups - One Leg Raised - 3 sets of 20 reps

Cardio Training - Treadmill - 20 minutes

AFTERNOON WORKOUT

Throwdown ETC - Combat Conditioning (Lower Body) w/ Jason Mertlich

Started with the normal warm up of 6 minutes of jumping jacks, foot shuffles, burpees, and mountain climbers followed by 1 minute of crunches.

1.  Wall Sit - 5 minutes

2.  Body Squats - 100

3.  Wall Sit - 5 minutes

4.  Body Squats - 100

5.  Wall Sit - 5 minutes

6.  Body Squats - 100

7. 50 jump squats

8.  Broad Jumps

9.  Planks - Alternating Sides

10.  Crunches

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

While you’re on your journey to improve your health, lose fat, and gain muscle you might just be surprised at the way you inspire others to make goals and reach them, too!

For example, awhile back I was doing the Renegade workout.  We were doing gassers, and I was dying.  On the very last length of running I heard the footsteps of the guy behind me speeding up, so I decided to speed up, too.  We hit the finish line at the same time.  When I caught my breath, I huffed at him, “That was a great ending!  Thanks for pushing me!”  To which he responded, “Yeah, I just kept telling myself, ‘beat the old guy - BEAT THE OLD GUY!’” 

The OLD guy?!  I was NOT amused!  However, it occurred to me - compared to everyone else in these classes, I am the old guy!  So, now I embrace it!  and secretly think that I put pressure on the other guys in the class, as they secretly try to “beat the old guy”.

MORNING WORKOUT

Strength Training - Legs & Core

1.  Leg Extensions - 3 sets of 15 reps at 150 lbs

2.  Lying Hamstring Curls - 3 sets of 15 reps at 60, 70, and 80 lbs

3.  Seated Leg Curls - 3 sets of 15 reps at 150 lbs

4.  Rotary Calf Extensions - 3 sets of 15, 15, and 20 reps at 230, 270, and 300 lbs

5.  Scissor Kicks w/Medicine Ball - 4 sets of 30 reps w/ 8 lb ball

6.  Leg Raises - Both Legs - 3 sets of 20 reps
AFTERNOON WORKOUT

Throwdown ETC Renegade Boot Camp w/ Jason Mertlich

We did our usual warm up, then headed straight outdoors.  It’s starting to heat up now, so that added to the challenge of the actual workout.  We did foot work first which is a mixture of lunges, side steps, etc etc etc.  After we did that (which lasted about 30 minutes) we did 5 gassers.  That about sealed the deal for me.  Finally, we ended with core work.  These workouts are KILLERS!  But for some reason, I’m addicted!