I shot 100 with 4 pars

Workout of the Day

In the AM:

18 holes of golf—booyah

In the PM:

5, 5, 5+ Deadlift & Strict Press

10, 10, 10, 10 hanging hip raises

Today got off to a roaring start as I hit the links with my grandfather for a round out at Cherry Island. Excellent improvement from my last foray a few weeks ago but still leaving much to be desired. Coordination and timing weren’t bad, but mentally I still felt like there was too much distraction inside my head, and it brought me to an interesting realization around hole 8. I was spending too much time over the ball before initiating the stroke. The reason I mention this is because it happens the same in Olympic lifting and powerlifting. I am easily at my strongest when my body is primed, loose, and not stuck in a stagnant position for too long. 3-4 seconds max, I’d say. All the mental stuff, the visualization, the checklist of technical things I want to remember; all that has to be done before I approach the bar. Or the shot, in this case. As soon as I stopped hovering over the ball I suddenly became more fluid, more coordinated—in short, more of an athlete. Sometimes we get in our own way by over-complicating the obvious. If you know what you’re supposed to do and how to do it, if you’ve done it a hundred times correctly before, then your absolute best bet on getting it right again is to stop thinking about it and just do it. Be an athlete.

This evening strength session was special. I was joined by both of my parents and we followed the same program. We took our time, watched every one of each other’s repetitions, and pushed ourselves together. It was really, really fun. I got 6 reps at 180 kg (396 lb) and 4 reps at 70 kg (155 lb) for each of the major movements. I was happy with the deads, but disappointed in the presses. Looking forward to a fair bit of soreness tomorrow.

Last thing, a couple shout-outs. Congratulations to Frank Passanante of Steelfit Strength for undertaking and completing his 2^nd triathalon in our nation’s capitol. His efforts the last few years have extended beyond himself as he’s coached and motivated underprivileged kids to participate in the event to great success. His picture is below.

Also, my good friend and training partner Jason Mulligan has put his cognitive capacity and humor to good use (finally) and started a blog. It is a blast to read and I encourage everyone to check it out at Consciousfit