October 11, 2011:

Arms today. I cycled over, nice and slow to try and get my legs loosened up after a brutal session yesterday. I have a large blister on my big toe from pushing the sled across the floor in barefeet. Dane has a word for the move, which I cannot think of right now. Evan and Jason were there, as was Dan again, a black woman I have not met, and two other guys I have not met. Dane was out back with Evan and Jason throwing when I arrived on my bike, a bit early. I mowed the lawn this afternoon for my dad.

My workout started with some kettlebell stuff – swings and Turkish get-ups – while Dane finished up with the throwers. I did some pushups. He came up and had me warm up on the fat-bar flat bench. The fat bar is difficult, and sets with only 100 pounds on were tough. But I am extremely weak. These were alternated with climbing the skinny rope (he has two attached to a beam in the ceiling, one about the size of my wrist – skinny – and the other about the size of Dane’s forearm. The bigger one is decidedly tougher). Next I moved over to the decline bench (with a normal-sized bar) and alternated sets on that with pull-ups on the monkey bar. I had to use the band for assistance. But I am extremely weak.

I asked Dane what marathon time it would take to get on the “grinder board,” the whiteboard off to one corner of the gym that lists peoples names’ and their remarkable accomplishments. If your name goes on the board it does not come down. Examples are squatting 2.5 times your body weight – this would currently equate to 437 ½ pounds for me, on my 175 lb frame. To put this in perspective, I squatted 455 in high school when I weighed 255, which at the time was a school record. Dane told me a sub 3-hour marathon would qualify, so that is my new goal. Thank you Ash and Brian for inspiring me to get back into it – Mia and I are now signed up for two marathons next spring, one in Tel Aviv and the other two months later in Stockholm. Stockholm will be my target.

I moved then onto sitting military press with some ring pull-ups, and finished off the day with “miracle grows” (because it’s a miracle how much they grow your triceps!), fat-bar seated curls and the forearm device.

Afterwards I chatted with Jason and Evan about the gym. Jason was one of Dane’s first clients back when Garage Strength was actually in a garage. He and Evan are going to tell me some stories tomorrow when I have the computer there to record everything. I ran into Jason’s mom in the driveway on my way out. She actually was the one who found Dane, through Coach “T” at SV. Her daughter had been a state-champ sprinter, and Jason wanted to follow in her footsteps from the throwers circle. Still in 8^th grade and significantly overweight, Jason’s mom signed him up with Dane, and they bought into his program, gym, food and all. She told me it was convenient for them, as Dane’s was only a few miles away, and Jason spent some time working there in the summer. Win-win for all involved.