Special Post: Because LiveJournal were not working: Sacrifice

I realized something the other day. Seems I have been making a mistake about the concept of priorities. I have always thought of them as the things I do outside of eating, sleeping and such. I have made lifting a priority over the last three years and writing has gone by the wayside. I saw a video the other day about training. In the video the narrator (who is apparently talking to inner city athletes) says that in order to be successful you have to want whatever it is as much as you want to breathe. I am not geared that way, but he went on to say that "a lot of you want success but would rather spend time with your friends. You want success but you want to sleep more." He then goes on to tell them about the rapper Fifty Cent who was working on a movie and when he as not on set he was in the studio working on the soundtrack. Someone asked him when he slept. Fifty said, "Sleeping is for poor people."

And while a little hyperbolic, I immediately understood what I needed to do.

So, starting last Saturday I started to get up two hours earlier than I would normally would. The result:

Saturday: 1200 words
Sunday: I took off and will from here on out.
Monday: 1800 words
Tuesday: 2200 words
Wednesday: 1600 words

All on a brand new idea (that has been cooking for 17 years) and all as clean as I have ever written a rough first draft. All while the family slept so I was not taking any time away from anyone. All without hitting the snooze button once. My goal is 1500 words a morning. Initially it was a 1000, but that is a bit low. I'll stick with 1500.

Lost in a miasma of dissatisfaction with my life, I figured that I needed to something to change that life. It is not possible for me to go back to school right now. It would be too much to leave a job where I do a good work and am needed. I am not giving up lifting because it is too ingrained. Maybe I will never make it as a writer (and by "make it" I mean just scrape by a living doin' it), but I will never be able to do anything if I never do it and this is my response.

Of course, I have made such plans before and they have failed, but they have failed because of the priority factor. I was gonna write on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Other things like the gym, training, yard work, time with family, kept getting in the way. If nothing else, 5:15 to 6:45 am does not take away from anyone but me, and that is huge because I have always felt like writing when you have kids and a wife is an inherently selfish endeavor. All that happens is that my normal eight to nine hours of sleep gets cut to six or seven.

As of right now it is a price I am willing to pay. We will see if it pans out or not.

Then, as a side note, I had to skip the gym. Christan was chosen by one of the top ten students as one of their most influential teachers and was recognized at Honor's Night. I hate Honor's Night, but I was not going to miss it. Ten years ago, Christan received an award at Waycross College. I put up a stink and we did not go and I have never forgiven myself for it. I'll never miss another event.

Training Log: Two Bits of Good News and Bench Training for the Kiddies

1) My hamstrings hurt. This is a good thing.

2) Looks as if I might be making it to Men's Raw Nationals after all.

To the training footage... minus the footage.

Jacob: startin' from scratch!
Bench
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 10lp
155 x 10p
155 x 10... first 5 paused, second five tng.
155 x 6... first five tng, sixth paused
155 x 7fp

Close Grip
135 x 5p
140 x 5p
145 x 3p

Charles
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
175 x 5p
190 x 5p
200 x 4p... got out of the groove on the third rep and fought three and four all the way. Missed five.
200 x 4p... but the form was good.

3 board
215 x 3p... ugly
225 x 1p... no tightness at all.
225 x 3p... good boy.

Gage
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 2p
225 x 5p
240 x 5p
250 x 5p.. PR!!!

3 board
265 x 3p
275 x 3p... looked better than first set.
290 x 2p... close on a third.

Jacob was hurting, but we have to start him light and with lots of volume. Charles suffered from lack of tightness and focus. Gage is a benching machine.

Training Log: The Night of a 1000 PR's and Finally, A Good Workout

Charles
Squat
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
275 x 1
315 x 1
340 x 1... PR!!
365 x 1... PR!!!
380 x 0... misload
380 x 0... Gave it a good ride, but it was a little too much. I wanted him to go 375, but he thought he could get the 380.

Charles 365 x 1... PR!!!

(Video quality sucks. Took it off a smartish phone, but at least they go right to youtube.)

Deadlift

Jacob
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
335 x 1... PR... He hitched it, but I will take it. He has had a rough cycle.

Gage
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 5
275 x 2
315 x 1
365 x 1
410 x 1
445 x 1... PR!!
455 x 1... PR!!!

Gage 445 PR Deadlift

Gage 455 PR Deadlift

Logan
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 5
365 x 2
405 x 1
435 x 3... Easy
465 x 3... looked a little harder.
490 x 4... Just like old times. I was talking horrible shit too him and he was getting MAD at the weight!

Logan 490 x 4

Pete

I was so sore from Tuesday that I could not do body weight squats. I felt this was a bad thing.

45 x 10

135 x 8

225 x 5

315 x 3... started to feel right. 

405 x 2

475 x 2

525 x 5... Did not feel great. I had trouble setting the weight right on my back. 

525 x 5... This felt Good, but not as good as the video makes it look. 

  

                            Pete 525 x 5... first set

                           Pete 525 x 5... second set

On the second squat set, my hip was killing me. Just horrible every time I got under the bar, but I pushed through. Of course, after the set, my hip was a nightmare, but I tried to pull.

Deadlift: conventional
135 x 1... hip
135 x 5
225 x 4
315 x 3... finally loosening.
405 x 2
485 x 2... a bit slow on the first rep. Reset for second
485 x 2... better. Resets.

Deadlift: sumo: 90 seconds rest between sets
385 x 3... No Alibi, especially for the first one.
385 x 3... not much better
385 x 3... started to feel it
385 x 3 x 4... solid
385 x 3... FAST!

All in all a good night. Might have to give the hip a rest, but we shall see. I do not know why I squat better on Fridays in Blackshear than I do in Waycross on Tuesdays. Gonna bring the rack height up by one peg next week to see if that makes a difference. There was good energy tonight. It was fun.