Consistancy

While things come and go, there are always a few constants that for the most part remain the same. Looking at it from a military perspective. The Air Force will ALWAYS have the ice cream after dinner. (me excluded) The Marines will ALWAYS take your girl. The Navy will ALWAYS be the wanna be cool kids, and the Army will ALWAYS be the lackey. I say this jokingly of course and I will always have nothing but repect for the men and women of the Armed Services of the United States.

One thing that will truly remain constant: I WILL train.

Rain, sleet, snow or hail. I will find a way to make it work. Luckily, the gym here is nice and I put in work. 5 days a week of focus, dedication and perspiration.

My Training:

Monday:
Some light (135lb) snatch work as a warm up.

Strength:
Front Squat 3x3
1) 285
2) 305
3) 295 (had to drop for safety, No bumpers)



Tuesday:

Felt really good going into and went alittle overboard.

For Time:
"Joshie"
40lb Dumbell Snatchx 21 reps with right arm
21 L-Pullups
40lb Dumbell Snatchx 21 reps with left arm
21 L-Pullups

8:50

Snatches were full squat

REST 10 MINUTES

30 Second Sprints on treadmill with 12 percent incline.
Repeat 8 times, rest 2 minutes between sets
In between sets four and five, rest 8 minutes and preform tabata pushups.
Speeds:
1-7.0
2-7.5
3-7.5
4-8.0

Tabata Pushups: 21, 21, 21, 17, 13, 13, 13, 13

5-8.5
6-8.5
7-8.5
8-9.0

REST 5 MINUTES: 4x15 GHD Situps, 3x15 Unbroken kipping pull ups

I cooled down with some parrallette work for about 5-10 minutes.


What have you done lately?

Shoe Review: Newtons

You know when ugly people say that true beauty is on the inside? Well, they are right in this case.

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon when I decide that it is time for me to buy some new running shoes. I have been suffering from Posterior tibial shin splints for over a year now, but I refuse to give up running. I walk into this renowned running store and this clerk measures me, asks me about my runs, all that jazz. He comes back with 3 pairs of shoes- Pearl Izumi(my favorite shoe brand), Mizuno(not a bad brand either), and Newtons(wtf?). He pulls the Newtons out first, and as soon as I see them, I'm like "Next!" no way would I be jogging around with these bad boys on. They looked so loud that I would hear the colors over my Ipod. Not to mention it costs about the same as a monthly payment for my car insurance, $168. So I try on the Pearls. Eh, they feel ok, probably a good replacement for my Brooks. I jog around in 'em, and I immediately feel my shin splints. I try on the Mizunos, same thing. Since I have been running with this injury for so long, I just accept it, and I decide to go with the Mizunos.

As I'm waiting for the clerk to get them ready, I take one last glance at that monstrosity of a shoe called Newton. I'm contemplating who the hell would charge that much for a shoe that looks like it was designed by Forrest, Forrest Gump. I try them on. "Whoa." It felt like the first time you enjoyed sex. You know how sex the first time kinda sucks? Well, putting on this shoe and jogging around in it, I was thinking "this is how sex- uh, running should be." And my shins felt fine. I bought them.

Throughout high school I was a cross country runner, a wrestler, a soccer player, and did indoor track running. If you already assumed that all these have running in common, yes we ran a lot in wrestling, then you are right. I have worn many different types and styles of shoes for each of these sports. Each shoe was a big brand name- Nike, Asics, Adidas, Mizuno, and New Balance. For the past 2 years I have tried to get into triathlon training and tried Brooks and Pearl Izumi for the first time, which in my opinion are better brands than most I've tried before. Now Newtons for me are by far the best.

For the past 20 years, distance running shoe companies, like the ones I just mentioned, haven't made many significant changes to their products. Mostly a few new gimmicks, for example who hasn't seen those skinny teeny ladies strutting their non existent asses in the Reebok easy tone shoe commercials? Maybe some style changes also, such as the Nike Air Jordans can come in any color now, because technology hasn't changed much these last 2 decades and the Jordans are perfect, so all they can change are the color, right?

Newton Running is a brand new shoe company that has reinvented the foundation for how we should run. They design a shoe that mimics barefoot running. The company CLAIMS that their shoes minimizes detrimental heel striking, promotes forefoot striking, increases speed, and may prevent injury. Not to mention they are incredibly light- 11 ounces.

So, I have been on 3 different run workouts this week with Newtons- 1 mile run, 1.5 mile run, and a 3.2 mile run. I feel amazing, my shins no longer cause me pain, which sometimes caused me to slow or even end my run before I finish. I am a medium arch foot type, and that is what these Newtons are, so that hasn't changed. I believe that what the company claims may actually be true. The colors are stupid, but I don't mind standing out from the crowd as long as I can perform. I just thank the Gods that they aren't pink.