Patience, and why you should have it.

Weightlifting can be frustrating at times. You will develop a Love-Hate relationship with the barbell and most of the time you are going to feel more hatred than love.  This relationship takes time to develop and does not come easy to anyone.  Ask anyone they will probably tell you the countless times they wanted to give up and never look at the bar again.  I know I have on more than one occasion been so frustrated I just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.  (Last week included) Patience is the name of the game.  Have faith in the process of lifting.  If you are a novice and are trying to learn this craft on your own, I strongly encourage you to either find a training partner or find a coach, because you will get nowhere and give up faster than you started without at least one of those things.

If you have both a training partner and a coach and still find it frustrating, don't fret.  That happens as well.  No one said this is going to be easy and if you thought it was going to be, you are way off.  You have to spend time working on your weaknesses.  This can get demanding and very aggravating because who wants to work on things they suck at?  Unfortunately that's the only short cut to getting better.  Improve your weaknesses to gain Strength.  Take your time with your working sets and make sure you are executing every rep to precision.  Your training partner or coach should be able to tell you when you are ready to kick it up a notch or take it back because you aren't getting it.  Be Patient with this process as it can be very tedious and stressful.

One thing I constantly hear which I think is just laughable is, "If CrossFit was around when I was younger I would be so good! I would be a professional (Insert Any Sport) by now."

Let me tell you why that's BULLSHIT! 

CrossFit is a great way to exercise and has introduced a lot of people to various exercises and routines.  Because of it's randomness and surprising approach to workouts athletes are constantly tested to their limits with every WOD. That's great and I am very happy that CrossFit exists, but if it was around when you or I were younger (Which for these purposes I mean if CrossFit Style gyms were more available, clearly that style was around it's just a type of circuit training) You would have quit that also and clung on to another trending fitness regiment.  Think about it, most people that say these things were involved in some sort of competitive sport, me included.  I played baseball.  Baseball camps were around, coaches were available to me, information was around why wasn't I good at baseball? Or some of you were into something else. Soccer, Football, Gymnastics, Dancing... whatever it was, all of the information and coaching was available to you at the time you were doing it.  All you had to do was stick with it and have patience and maybe by now you would be professional, however CrossFit boxes weren't around so that's why you failed? Give me a break. Many people excelled and broke records well before Crossfit was even an idea.  If you had patience and stuck with one discipline for longer than a half an hour you may have gotten somewhere with it, but instead it got to a point where it became too difficult and you lost interest.  I admit I am definitely guilty of those feelings. They are perfectly natural.  The people that excel in one or more disciplines are the ones that take the time to embrace the sticking points and work through them to better themselves.  

Another Patience issue is constantly fumbling around with your program.  If you are constantly changing your program style up and not sticking to one idea, but jumping around your progress will most likely be put on hold.  Stick with one idea for a little while make progress and then reassess the ideas after a certain period of time.  If you are constantly saying to yourself, "I have to try this or that" then your body will be too confused to make gains.  Be patient. Pick one thing at a time to improve. Improve the most basic parts and move on from there.  Constantly fighting your program will halt your gains in the gym.  If you are on a program but in the back of your mind are questioning the effectiveness of the program it definitely won't work because you don't want it to.  You have to have a positive attitude going into this otherwise you won't ever be satisfied.  If you walk up to the bar and have the slightest bit of doubt that you will be able to lift that weight, guess what it's not going to go well for you! You have to be positive and know what you want out of yourself! Know what you want, be positive and you will achieve!

Another example of needing patience is You have been stuck on the same numbers for a while and you don't know what to do! You have been hitting the same weights for over 4 months and they don't seem to be moving better.  So now you feel worthless because you go to the gym all the time and you put in all this work and what's the point if I'm not getting better? If you want to get better work lighter and perfect your lifts.  Work at a point where it isn't too heavy where your form breaks down and hit doubles or triples and Repeat! If you are constantly failing at 400lbs and all you do is try to squat 400lbs maybe you shouldn't be practicing with 400lbs!!! Take the weight down and work at a weight where you can control the weight and build some confidence! Work on things you are bad at! Things that frustrate you are the most important things to work on because when you fix them you will no longer be annoyed at the gym and everything will become more fun! It's work! It is not something that will happen over night and it does take time... unfortunately. But keep at it and it will work itself out! Don't expect to be the worlds greatest because you watched a bunch of videos online and joined a gym... you still have to put in the work!

If you don't spend time working on the things you're really bad at you won't make the progress you need to.  Take time and have patience developing the skill to perform in order to increase your strength overall.  Trying to rush things never works out for anyone, ever.  You have to put in the work to Earn the Strength!

Wednesday

Still on my DeLoad week.  I hit some light front squats on Monday and I benched a little bit trying to feel out best positions.  I have been trying to work on my arch in the bench... boy is that tough.  I think I'll stick to Oly for a little while longer... ha. Going to Bro-Out the rest of the week with some Strict Press and Some Arm exercises just for fun.  I also have been challenged by a few friends to do a few Crossfit workouts. I have three to choose from:

1) King Kong
           - 3 Rounds
               • 1 Rep 455lb/207kg Deadlift
               • 2 Muscle Ups
               • 3 Cleans 250lbs/115kg
               • 4 Hand Stand Push Ups (I think I will put my hands on some plates for fun.

2) Some Floyd Bennet Field Workout.
     5-3-1
 365 Deadlift
Muscle Ups

     9-6-3
335 Deadlift
Strict Chest to Bar Pull Ups

    12-9-6
315 Deadlift
Pull Ups - In Crossfit is that weird butterfly kip thing.... Whatever Haha

3) Some Other Deadlift Workout

30s Work. 30s Rest
3 Reps Deadlift
135-185-225-275-315-365-405
After the last 3 at 405, rest 30s Rep out 405 for a minute.
(This is all from Memory I forget if this is accurate.)

The Second workout I don't want to do it's going to take too long and I don't wanna do that many pull ups. HAHA The Pull Ups are the hard part in that work out.  I have some work to do next week.

Lebo you need to get the Camera Ready for it! I'll try to get video of whatever I do. The King Kong workout is the only one I actively wanted to do because of the cleans and deadlift... The other deadlift workout seems ok.  Kind of boring, but whatever.  See what Happens. Ok Bro Week Here I come!

Tuesday

This past week really took it out of me.  I stressed out super hard with my training that I almost didn't compete.  I am glad I settled down and lifted this weekend, because honestly it was the best I have ever lifted, even though I missed both of my third attempts.  I think the black magic I got from Beth Terranova really worked because the lifts I did make felt and looked solid, aside from the Jerk on 135, that was a little weird but I held it together.  My snatches felt great, if I didn't push the bar away from me on 112 (my third attempt) I would have nailed it.  I let it get away just a hair and lost the lift.  I felt like getting right back on that bar and just hitting the lift, I wonder if anyone would have cared? On my third Clean and Jerk, I smoked the clean, but somehow lost consciousness when setting up for the Jerk and blacked out.  Damn YOU BLACKOUTS!!! It's all a part of the game, you only get three attempts and I used them all at that point.  No big deal because I had a great time lifting next to some great lifters and warming up with the coolest guy I know, Wilfredo de Jesus! It's not everyday you get to work next to a descendant of a prophet! He actually kept me calm and it was just a lot more fun when you have someone to lift with who you trust, so thanks Fredo, hopefully we will work together soon.  

Marc Chasnov was watching a bunch of people that day, there from 7AM til 9PM and I happened to be one of the lifters he helped out! Marc I know you don't read this but thank you so much for helping me out, I'm going make it to some practices with you in the near future! 

Team Celeritas was there in the Morning shift, the Man Dan Casey and Mike Gui Basciano lifted next to some tough competition.  They rocked it out in the early session and continued through the rest of the day.  Beth and Sam Perez hit some monster lifts in their session and the team as a whole looked very solid.  It was awesome watching them on the platform and seeing them do well!

I'm all over the place with this post, but I'm almost done wrapping it up.  The long day came to an end with two bad ass lifters, Frankie Murray and Donny Shankle.  Honestly when I heard Shankle's name called for the weigh in I was standing right next to him and as he walked by me I didn't think it was him.  I thought it was some guy that kind of looked like him and as he paced around the room just watching the competition it was surreal to see him live because we only know him through internet videos.  He lifted like a beast this comp, and closed out the show hitting 140/180.  It was a lot of fun to see him lift.  If you haven't checked out my videos of him and Frankie lifting, check them out but it doesn't compare to seeing him do it in person. Shankle is probably one of the most intense people I have ever been around.  It was kind of amazing to be next to him in the warm up area.  I hope it's not the last time. Maybe I'll get good one day enough to do it again.  One can only hope. Until then I'll just keep lifting as should you!

Wednesday

It has been a weird week and a weird cycle for me, I think I have made a bunch of mistakes that I hope to correct in the future. First off I'm going to stop training like a Psycho.  I think these past couple of weeks I have pushed myself way too hard and got it into my head that that was the smart thing to do.  Training to the brink of destruction every time usually means you are going to erupt and have a bad day or two soon! Which is kind of what happened this past week leading to this competition.  I have been stressing hard about my weight and my lifts and everything has suffered horrendously because of it.  If I can find a way to just relax and treat this competition like a glorified practice it will go a lot smoother.  I have done this before and I should just let go and see what happens.  It should be a fun time nonetheless and I sure learned something from this cycle.  I will correct it with the next one.  Be Positive and Positive things will come.

Secondly I think I will try to focus more on lighter weights this next cycle as opposed to keep trying to hit it heavy every practice.  Sometimes I get caught up in what everyone else is doing that I want to put up big numbers in practice and when I don't I go into my self diagnosed "Baby Mode".  It isn't pretty and usually costs me a bunch of money and my friends usually make fun of me for it.  Be reasonable about your goals and they will come if you expect to just put up a shit ton of weight all the time you better get on a stack or two because that shit just isn't reality unless you've absolutely earned it and took your time getting to that point.  Don't rush it! Develop the skills and the Gainz will follow! I just have to listen to my own advice!

Last I need to have more fun.  Weightlifting is fun and when you start taking things too seriously the dreams fade and all you see is darkness.  When you're not having fun with it nobody wants to be around you and when you are everything will be going your way more people will want to see you lift and you will put up bigger numbers because of it.  So have fun with your lifting.  I am not saying you can't ever be serious but train yourself to be smooth and take it easy on yourself.  The world won't end if you miss that lift so chill the fuck out and just have some fun.  It's a sport and it's supposed to be fun GODDAMMIT!!

Tuesday

5 days until LBH Competition. I have a couple more lbs to lose or 1kg either way and I am going to chill out today and hit openers tomorrow.  I just need to relax a little bit and if I can get out of my head during the meet and just have fun with it I will be ok. Either way it should be a good time.  I look forward to seeing some familiar faces out there and seeing some good lifting.  Going to try and get my website up sometime soon, so I will keep you all posted.

If anyone isn't competing this week and wishes to, there is a meet in Connecticut in one month! Sign up  through connecticutweightlifting.com Its a good time and Gary Valentine does a good meet.

Power lifters should be taking it easy this week and take their time doing a deload week of about 50-60% of lifts.  Get into the gym at least once this week and move around.  I suggest "Bro-ing" out and hit some curls and bodybuilding exercises this week.  Light stuff and your homework is to Flex in the mirrror to show off your massive gains from this past weekend.  Extra points for Mirror Selfies!

Meltdown

So today I had a huge meltdown at my "competition simulation".  I certainly simulated it accurately because I missed just about all of my lifts and went into panic mode where I couldn't clean more than 127.  I had video of it but upon looking at my miss at 112 I smashed the phone against the floor and it no longer works.  So if you have tried to contact me and I haven't replied it's because I can't read my messages.  I have tried to reply best I could because my phone turns on and I can use the voice commands, however the screen is completely smashed and doesn't light up anymore. 

I apologize to anyone I ignored at the gym today and anyone who witnessed my idiocy.  I think better of myself and missing lifts like that shouldn't happen even though they do.  I will continue to work and see what happens next week.  I am considering not competing next week, in fact I most likely will not due to the nightmare of a practice that I had today... if I can't hold it together in practice how can I expect to do well in a competition?  I think I need to seriously rethink what I need to do and what I need to work on.  If I don't I will continue on this path downhill and it will be the death of me.  So once again I apologize to anyone who I may have annoyed at Greenpoint today.  I will try to be better.  I hope to have my phone situation fixed soon, but if you need to get a hold of me my facebook still works.  Thanks see ya soon.

Saturday

I took yesterday off also. I decided I needed the extra day to simulate my competition today, which is what I'm going to do. I'm going to hit the numbers I expect to hit next Saturday in today's workout this way there are no surprises next week. I have my warm up sets ready and my attempts.  Should be just another day of practice for me. I will get video and put it up later.

South Brooklyn power lifting meet starts today at 9! I will be gOing for day 2 and focusing my guys plan of attack for tomorrow.  Should be a great day of lifting.  I can't wait to see how everyone is doing!

Enjoy the weekend and your lifting session!

Stay tight!

Thursday

Been beating myself up these last few days. Today I am feeling kind of tired so I will be taking it easy today and try to relax because tomorrow I want to hit it hard. I'm going to try and simulate my competition tomorrow and drill those numbers.  I want to go 103,108,112 on the Snatch and 127,135,140 on the clean and jerk.  So I will try to hit it hard tomorrow and see what happens.  

This weekend is the SBWC Powerlifting meet. I'm excited to go back over there and see some good lifting and good friends.  Then my training will commence directly afterwards on Saturday Afternoon.  For now I will be taking it easy, working on getting my website ready for launch and putting all of the bells and whistles on it. It's not ready yet still waiting on a few things to work out all the kinks but should be done by end of month along with some cool videos from the meet. Hopefully Rocco will stop by again with his insight on the meet these next couple of weekends. I'll see if he has time.

Have a good day everyone,  Train hard.

"You can't do like me, I'm by myself
I do it so good, I don't need nobody else"

- Grover Cleveland, while answering the White House Phone.

So O.G. he served two Non-Consecutive Terms. Never Quit!

Tuesday

Snatched Yesterday twice had in total 8 Misses all at over 90% weights so not a terrible day, but I need to tighten it up a lot!

Today Squat Day

AM Session
Front Squats Triple Heavy as I can
Front Squat Pauses triples at 80% of top Triple

PM Session
Back Squat Triples
Pauses same way

Back Work/Abs

See what happens today.

Had a good session yesterday at Greenpoint with the Crew.  Bucky looks solid for his Powerlifting meet this weekend at South Brooklyn.  The Oly Crew had a decent workout as well. Should be an exciting weekend.

Had a conversation with one of the guys at Greenpoint about his programming. So I kind of took it as a challenge.  I am going to study a little before I put it out there but I will put some Conditioning stuff on here soon, if you want to follow it go right ahead if not whatever it will be a little experiment for me.

Stay on Track, No fear and commit to Progress!

Monday

2 Weeks out from Competition.

AM Session

Snatch today work up to a Heavy Double
Snatch Pulls

PM Session

Clean up to a Heavy Double
Clean Deadlifts
Strict Press

Warm up Accordingly

Powerlifting Meet this weekend at South Brooklyn Weightlifting Club

Powerlifters who are competing:

Openers today Repeat Once each.

Non- Competitive Powerlifters I have a Program I will Upload for you to follow. If anyone has questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Have a Good Training Day.

Friday Plan

I'm resting today,  but that doesn't mean you have to!

If you want to lift today here is my plan for you:

First warm up your shoulders properly with some PVC Dislocates. Throw in some presses also just to make sure your shoulders are prepared for overhead movements.

Then hit some Jerk footwork drills. There are three parts to the footwork drills that I use. I will try to post a video later for you guys.

After you do 3 rounds of that, the next drill you can do is:

Tall Jerks.

Start with the PVC then move to the bar. If you aren't familiar with these I will provide a video later on in the day for this also.

Then keep warming up with the bar and do a set of:

3 Strict Press
3 Push Press
3 Power Jerks
3 Split Jerks

Video later.

Take your time with these warm ups and make sure your footwork is decent. If you aren't getting some things, spend some extra time with the warm ups and really get the movement down.

Have fun with the Jerks today.  I will try and post some video instruction today! Thanks for reading.

Thursday

When talking to people about my gym and showing them videos of myself or the people I train with, the most common response I get is, "I can't do that."

Every time I hear that I laugh because of course you can't do that... yet! I wouldn't even try to teach you the Olympic lifts at all until you were ready and we got your training to an acceptable place for you to begin to learn these lifts.  I believe that most people who want to learn to lift need a Body building foundation.  Before you can safely do any Olympic Movements you need to get your body in the proper positions.  If you are unable to properly front squat or overhead squat well then you need to spend time working your body into these positions.

If you find it difficult to do a proper air squat without your body collapsing on itself, then it is safe to say you need to spend some time with mobility exercises and some basic strength exercises.  You need to get some experience with the barbell and it could take some time to develop that relationship.  Be patient and understand that you have been "training" without a barbell and doing things with your body for x amount of years and it will take time to bring it all together.  If this is new, embrace the experience and have fun in the fact that you are learning a new skill.

Learn a new skill and hang with the cool kids at Marble Weightlifting.  Everybody is doing it! I can show you the way!

"Bitch I'm fo sho wit it don't make me pop that trunk to the 'Lac
Bitch I will go get it and I ain't selfish I will let you and your hoe feel it"

-President Chester A. Arthur
1883 Congressional Address.

This was in response to Rutherford B Hayes' accusations that Chester A Arthur was bluffing about his tariff rates and his position on the Pendleton Act. I believe we all know what happened after this.

Tuesday

Had a weird day yesterday. Trained in the morning and hit some rough triples in the snatch at 100kg.  They were not my best.  in my PM session I hit some rough Back Squats at 145kg for sets of 5.  By the time I got to Greenpoint I had felt defeated and just exhausted from my two rough workouts.  I arrived and asked Louis Martinelli what he was working on today and he said Snatches. For some reason I woke up right away and decided to do some Snatch work with him and Kevin.  It worked out really well ended up working to a heavy single and hitting 120kg/265lbs on the snatch. Went for 270lbs but failed it twice.  I really didn't want it I don't think, I was content with hitting the 120, which is more or less a match of my PR.  So thanks guys for a great session yesterday, was a lot of fun.

Had another great AM Session with Ron Yellin this morning. Hit some decent Doubles on the Jerk at my 80% (120kg) Some Solid lifts and a little body building.  Was a great way to start the day. Later on I will hit some light conditioning and if I feel inclined some other Jerks but nothing too heavy.

I'm going to work on some Power Lifting Programs.  I will post it when I finish tweaking it a bit.  A small template for a beginner lifter or the more intermediate lifter.  I will keep you all in the loop.  Thanks for listening.  Thanks to the guys at Crossfit Greenpoint for great sessions these past couple days.  Continue on for Gainz!

Monday

Back to the Garage and the Grind.

If you are just starting out with lifting it is important to have a goal in mind to reach and to set up a plan to reach that goal.  It is just as important to do that when you are a more advanced student of lifting, but that goes without saying doesn't it?

If you are unsure of where to start I will lay out a plan for you to begin your journey.

Beginning Weightlifters.

It is important to establish your level prior to beginning some of the lifts.  You should have someone credible to assess your readiness for the lifts. i.e: Check your Front Squat, Overhead Squat, Strict Press and Snatch Grip Deadlift.

If you are having trouble with any of those movements it is important to understand why and to address those issues immediately before pressing forward.  A big mistake a lot of beginners make is not to address poor mobility and reinforcing the improper body mechanics.  DO it RIGHT Do it LIGHT!

Practice these 4 Movements 3x a Week and if you are having issues with them, you can ask someone who knows better (myself included). Train with a Partner who is around your level.  It is important to have someone to train with especially in the beginning because you will one, want to go to the gym to work on things and two you will be able to grow much greater with someone who has similar interests.

For the Lifters who have these movements down at least in a basic way.

Practice the Snatch, Clean and Jerks and Squats. Add some accessory work as well

Snatch twice a week
Clean twice a week
Jerk Separately once a week
Back Squat 1 a week
Front Squat 1 a week
Abs 3x a week
Back Work 2-3x a week

Your Week may look something like this:

Day1:
Snatch 3r3s
Snatch Pulls3r4s
DB Shoulder Press 5r3s
Ab work

Day2:
Jerks 3r4s
Back Squat3r5s
Good Mornings 6r4s
Ab Work

Day 3:
Cleans3r3s
Clean Pulls3r4s
Hand Stand Push Ups
Box Jumps

Day 4:
Snatch 2r3s
Clean and Jerk 1r4s Not a Max!
Front Squat 3r4s

The Squats should start around 70-75% as to be able to add 2kg (or 5lbs) Each week. Alternate the days of Back Squat and Front Squat Each Week.

This is a basic 4 day Template that can be used as a guideline to set your own Program. Use it if you want.  I Hope you have good luck with it.

I am working on a Basic PowerLifting Template. Will be back shortly with that.

Thanks and have a good day.

 

Sunday

Heading back to New York soon after a great weekend at Raleigh CrossFit for the USAPL Certification with Matt Gary and Suzanne Sioux-z-Hartwig Gary of SSPT (Supreme Sports Performance Training) I learned a lot from these guys and hope to see them at future events.  If you guys aren't familiar with these guys look them up, Sioux-z is probably one of the best if not the best squatter in the world so check her out on the YouTubes and I'm certain you will not be disappointed.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Brooklyn and continuing on my journey in this fitness world. All of the things I've learned this weekend I will begin to incorporate in my training as well as my coaching.  Everyday is a new day to learn and try new things so hopefully I am on the right track.  I still have a long way to go so I will keep at it and hopefully meet some more interesting people along the way.  See you guys tomorrow back at it in the Garage!

Sioux-z-Hartwig Gary 

Matt Gary (672lbs)

Friday

Had a great session coaching these guys last night at the Garage! A lot of energy, a lot of great lifts, everybody was on point and we again celebrated the great session with a trip to Roll n Roaster.  If you haven't checked out Marble Weightlifting seriously what are you waiting for? Whenever you do decide to check it out, I'll be here ready for you.

Anyway, heading out to North Carolina for a USAPL (Power Lifting) Certification today. Ten hours in the car, yeah! I better pass this test! Wish me luck. Thanks in advance for the support. As always I will keep you all posted on my experiences. I hope I get there in one piece. See you guys next week.

Thursday Thunderdome

Hope everyone is having a good week this week.  I am having an OK week. I need to sit down and really focus on my own programming, the problem I run into programming for myself is that I tend to write something down as a plan and certain days I will be side tracked and decide I want to do something else.  Does anyone else have this problem? I can write for other people easily as I will be there to make sure they do it and do it properly, but when it comes to doing things for myself I tend to go off on tangents or over push myself most days because I just feel I should, which I most of the time shouldn't.  I find it very difficult to train by myself with my own programming, I tend to train by feel most days and do what I think I need to work on.  I think it's important to take the time to develop a plan and stick with it even when you aren't feeling your best.  Use those days to train technique and master a skill as opposed to pushing yourself beyond your limits. I get side tracked easily because there is no one to give me structure.  It has been something I have been working on for a short while now and it still needs improvement.  I am competing in 3 weeks, but I am using this meet as a training meet and not going to put too much pressure on myself.  I want to hit my lifts and be more confident on the public platform.  I will try to structure myself and be more disciplined with my training because that is definitely where I fall short.  Sometimes stepping back and drilling is more important than hitting numbers just so you can post it on the web.  The best guys do not need that sort of satisfaction from showing off their practice skills, they get it from winning competitions.  

Big Players make Big Plays on Big Days.

Do you want to be a Big Player on a Big Day or a Chump who can't repeat that work in the Big Game?

No Fear, Train Hard, Train Smart.

`

Wednesday

Woke up early yesterday to train with THE RON YELLIN! He's a strong dude. Crisp, smooth lifter so it was a good session.  It is always a lot better to train with someone if you can who.  Training alone is fine but when you have a partner you can usually feed off of their energy and learn a little bit from one another as you train.  I find that training alone is fine for now, but I would much rather have someone I went in there day after day and kicked ass with.  That is the way you are going to become a better lifter is my having someone or people to train with that have the same goals as you and you push one another to be the best you can be.  Most of the time I will train alone, but that is not my preference.  I think I travel as far as I can just to train with people.  Crossfit Greenpoint is a minimum hour away from me.  When I was training at South Brooklyn Weightlifting Club (Not Working there just training) It would take 30-45 minutes to get there for me.  When I trained up in Westchester.... 60-90 minutes.  I drive all over the place looking for places to train and people to train with.  The drive out to these places everyday is mentally taxing also.  It's usually in the middle of the day and I am already tired, driving an hour to train can be exhausting, but to train with good people sometimes you have to sacrifice and find a way to make it work.

It's been tough finding training partners over the last few years.  5 years ago we would train 4 blocks away from my house.  I could have walked there it was easy.  Now I am traveling a minimum of 15 miles just to train with someone, unless someone comes to the garage which is super rare. haha Either way these are the tough times and if you have a place to go you can call home and a small family you can train with, that's what its all about.  You need that.  If you don't however, keep training and working and the partners will come.  Stay strong.

Today I will be training a light day, I may practice some Grip stuff on my front squat.  I will keep it light just to practice it.  and maybe some light power stuff.

I will be back at Greenpoint tonight to coach some cats.

Bruce Lee is pretty awesome.