I'm Baaack, Oh Wait, Did Anyone Miss Me?

The Mill:  Well, I'm going to try to knock off some rust here so stay with me this might take a while.  It's been a while since the last post, but that doesn't mean the Hammer Mill stopped or that I stopped for that matter.  A lot has happened in politics, weather, a wedding, World Series, and on talk radio over the past two months.  I have spent the last 2 months on the road for work which meant late nights, eating garbage (mostly coookies  and pizza for some reason), and basically just unhealthy living but only past 8:00 pm.  In that time I visited many different gyms in Pittsburgh, State College, and wherever else my rental landed me.  By the way I love rental cars for obvious reasons.  I would like to thank Victory Sports Performance for welcoming me in while I stayed in State College, PA. In those two months I stepped out of just training with Crossfit and into Core Athletics programming style.  It's something that I've tried to do in the past an it's worked out great.  Core is an all around training method for sport and life.  I was hesitant at first to switch from following Crossfit's main site, but I'm glad I did.  I needed a change.  The big 5 haven't moved anywhere in about a year.  Now before you get all up in arms about the numbers remember that improving each day is vital, and the big 5 really didn't improve much.  In September 2011 I pr'd my dead lift at 375 with JH, and I couldn't even come close to that over the last year.  That day I pr'd in something else like 5 rep max but I can't really remember.  The only lift to increase was my clean.  I get super pumped on cleaning days.  Cleaning not to be confused with house cleaning, those days I dread.  Power cleaning is like Christmas in the weight room.  You dream about it the night before and sometimes you get too excited to sleep only to wake up and have the real deal waiting for you.  Something that was the same, yet different, in September '11 and now is that I had a workout partner, and the training program was strength and conditioning.  Not just conditioning.  I thought that I was "over" conditioned and throughout this past year I could fly through workouts and crush previous times, but I wasn't getting stronger.  Strength takes longer to get back than conditioning does, and I know how conditioned I want to be.  Anyways, the common denominator's are workout partner and program.  I have been following the Crossfit main site for the last three years, but also implemented my own strength component, so for the CF following out there I still enjoy it for sure.  Just needed something else.  It's no secret that if you want to increase strength and speed you need to dead lift, squat, and press.

Last week I pr'd my dead lift at 385, box squat, bench and shoulder press while performing conditioning workouts as well.  For the record, I hate the bench and shoulder press.  Someone back in high school told me that benching was bad for baseball players so I didn't do it for the last 7 years.  So, my bench just surpassed my junior year mark.  That was in 2002.  But, training is a life long endeavor and not an overnight fix.  I'll take it.  Bench pressing, if done correctly and in moderation, is fine for baseball players.  Be an athlete and dominate.

CORE's program tests you physically and mentally throughout the training cycle.  I've recently bought a Butcher to do the training at home since it's a staple in the training.  And something that I've obviously missed out on.  It would take forever to post the last 2 months of workouts, but if you're interested in seeing the workouts just visit CORE's facebook page.

Traveling for the last 2 months allowed me to spend some considerable time with 2 of my 3 brothers (youngest of 4).  The third, closest in age, is in T-city spreading his knowledge and making sh@# happen.  My 2 oldest brothers live in the same town and work/run/operate/train/change lives at CORE Athletics.  I told you that to tell you this, I am now a huge believer in training partners.  I think before I just talked myself into that training alone was the best way simply because I train at an hour when no one else is in the gym.  Especially on a college campus.  Fact - the last 2 days I was the only one in the whole fitness center for about an hour or so.  I was able to hit 10 rep pr's, single pr's, and have an overall better atmosphere in the weight room with them as partners.  But, those times are over, back to training alone. That doesn't mean that training alone is for the birds.  It has it's place, but now I've found a balance. However, testing my limits with a partner will allow me to feel more comfortable testing them without.  Challenges in the weight room let us know that we're still kicking.  So, I've contradicted myself a little because prior to this post I was a firm believer in training by myself.  Now, I guess I'm soliciting for a potential partner.  Requirements - No lifting gloves. Period. Don't be that guy.  Outside of that all is welcome.  My wife is a great lifting partner, but our schedules don't quite jive for the weight room during the week, and JH and BM lift in the afternoon.

Also, I'm preparing a few youth athletes' training programs for the winter and if anyone is interested just shoot me a message.  Online strength and conditioning programs and consulting.  Email at hammer.mill.blog@gmail.com or leave a message on here.

I'm thinking of another Crossfit style Throwdown sometime after the first of the year.  Other items on the docket are basically for you to kick ass everyday in whatever you do.  Be the best person/human everyday.  Eat right, lift right, live right.  Maximize the day!  And most importantly enjoy your family/friends!


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A shout out to everyone...cheers!

  Stop waiting around and make it happen!