Next Time You Stub Your Toe and Decide to Skip a Training Session, Make Sure You Read This

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Things have been kicking into high gear at CP, and for me personally as well. First off, we just signed a new three year lease and will be adding another 1000 sq. feet of additional space to the facility. As part of the expansion, we’ll be adding a ton of new office space (including a treatment room for massage and soft tissue work) in addition to opening up the floor a bit more which will make things a little more practical for us as coaches.

Unfortunately, the Hot-Tub Time Machine I proposed didn’t make the cut. Maybe next year!

Furthermore, to say that Eric, Chris Howard, and myself have been busy trying to keep up with writing programs is an understatement. Couple that with distance coaching oblligations, writing articles, and trying my best to keep this blog awesome, time has been a rare commodity.

I kid you not, I dreamt that I was answering emails last night. WTF!!!! Why can’t I dream about anything cool like hitting a walk-off homerun to win Game 7 of the World Series, crashing the Victoria Secret Show (with x-ray vision), or I don’t know, having my own lightsaber?

Instead, my subconscious has to dick me over and make me dream about answering Johnny Q. Benchpress’s question on why his shoulder hurts. Great.

So, needless to say, as much as I wanted to not blog today, I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging. I was going to use today and post another “Exercises You Should Be Doing,” but when I woke up this morning I had this email waiting for me from “R” (a huge supporter of CP and an all-around awesome guy) and had to share it:

Guys

This is one of those stories you wish you did not HAVE to share; but since you have it, you HAVE to share it. At 11am Wednesday morning, I found out my job (and my publication) was being eliminated, effective Dec.17. Damn! Not the way I planned for my Front Squat Day to go.

I left the office and headed home to share the news with my wife. Seeing her car gone, I went inside, started to sulk and immediately thought, “Well, she’s at her gym. You cannot tell her ’til later, so what’s keeping you from squatting?” I ran out the house with no shoes and in a pair of dingy shorts and a t-shirt. In my haste to leave, I left my IPod and the clipboard containing my workout.

Once at the gym, however, I changed clothes, then realized my mind was blank–the news of the termination and all of the distractions that went with it sapped my brain and I could not for the life of me remember any of the exercises I planned to do besides A1, front squat.

I was steamed and inwardly embarrassed. So I left the gym to buy a half-gallon if ice cream, which I sat in my truck and ate.

No! Instead, I foam rolled, did my mobility drills, then found a shard of paper and a too-short pencil, which I used to create a suitable workout.

A1 Front Squat, 4×5

A2 Warrior Lunge, 3x15s/each side

B1 1-Arm, 1-Leg RDL, 3×8 each side

B2 Tall Kneeling Cable Lift, 3×10 each side

C1 GHR, 3×8

C2 Towel Plank Crawls, 3×30 feet

D1 Spiderman w/hip lift, 2×6 each

D2 Lying Knee To Knee Stretch, 2x30s

Was it my best workout ever? Hell no. I was admittedly distracted and it took a little longer than usual, but each rep was explosive. Damn HR!!!! But all of my weights and reps were in line with what I would have expected under normal conditions.Was I a little proud? You damn skippy. I can look for a job tomorrow, but letting some corporate MF kill my enthusiasm to train is NOT GONNA HAPPEN. Have a great day, guys.

Pretty much the best email I’ve gotten all year. Not in the sense of “R” losing his job, of course. Rather, it just speaks volumes to his character. When most people in his position would just sulk and eat ice-cream, he went and front squatted. So, the next time you have a headache, or just don’t feel like going to the gym, take a page from “R’s” book and stop making excuses.

Did what you just read make your day? Ruin it? Either way, you should share it with your friends and/or comment below.

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Plus, get a copy of Tony’s Pick Things Up, a quick-tip guide to everything deadlift-related. See his butt? Yeah. It’s good. You should probably listen to him if you have any hope of getting a butt that good.

I don’t share email information. Ever. Because I’m not a jerk.

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