I haven’t posted here in a while. Partly, that is because I’ve become enamored with Facebook as a platform: partly, it’s because I’ve shifted gears from writing my book, which is being edited behind the scenes right now. Now instead of researching learning, I’m trying to apply the lessons in my own life — namely to my own art. Here is one of the first steps along that journey:
Monday Sept 28, 2009
The Gauntlet Workout: link
Wednesday, Sept 30, 2009
Deck 3—PHASE 2, lower body workout: link
30 minutes of football
Friday, Oct 2, 2009
Deck 2—PHASE 2, upper body workout: link
30 minutes of football
Some of the poolees are also running 1.5 to 3 miles after the Wednesday and Friday workouts.
Bonus Workout: Saturday, Oct 3, 2009
The Gauntlet Workout +5. For the Saturday workout, 5 reps were added to each exercise: link
Monday Sept 21, 2009
The Gauntlet Workout: link
Wednesday, Sept 23, 2009
Deck 5—PHASE 3, lower body workout: link
1 hour of razzle dazzle
Friday, Sept 25, 2009
Deck 4—PHASE 3, upper body workout: link
Some of the poolees are also running 1.5 to 3 miles after the Wednesday and Friday workouts.
Bonus Workout: Saturday, Sept 25, 2009
The Gauntlet Workout: link
We had a few easy weeks (at least easier) because we had to build up a bunch of new poolees. Like clockwork though, everyone is acclimating to the workouts so we’ve been able to step it up to 3rd phase. It’s even been requested that we dust off the 4th phase deck, which is the only one that absolutely destroys me.
No one has shipped from the Harrisonburg for a while. Andrew and Justin P. did make it back from Parris Island then off to MCT. They took something like 19 lbs off Andrew. Since he was lean before he left, I’m sure he is going to want to put some meat back on his bones. For those, like Andrew, with a high metabolism, it’s difficult to get enough calories in to compensate for the constant movement at boot camp.
There are various members of the Fitness Platoon that have made their ways to MCT and their MOS schools. A few have graduated and gone on to their units. Rachel is currently in Afghanistan, being the first member of the Fitness Platoon to get stationed in a combat zone. No doubt, others will be on their way soon.
This has caused me to reflect that every minute spent strengthening and supporting these young men and women has been time well spent.
There are volunteers from every community in America preparing themselves for service in the military. I would encourage any veteran who has the time to make yourself available to your local recruiter as a mentor to help with physical training or anything else these young men and women might need.
Every Monday (and soon on Saturdays) the Marine poolees in Harrisonburg Virginia do a circuit course workout. Any one is invited to come if you’re in the area. We meet at 0600 on Mondays at the recruiting office and 0900 at Purcell Park across from James Madison University on Saturdays.
For those who aren’t in the Harrisonburg area, but would like to try the workout, here is how we set it up:
We set up 8 orange cones, evenly spaced around a 600 meter loop. Each cone has a note card taped to it with 3 exercises on it, one for each lap, making a total of 24 exercises.
Cone 1
Lap 1: 10 Atomic sit-ups (single count)
Lap2: 20 Flutter kicks (four count)
Lap3: 20 Hello dollies (four count)
Cone 2
Lap 1: 15 Push-ups (four count)
Lap 2: 10 Eight-count body builders
Lap 3: 15 Push-ups (four count)
Cone 3
Lap 1: 15 Side-straddle hops (four count)
Lap2: 15 Lunges (four count)
Lap 3: 15 Windmills (four count)
Cone 4
Lap 1: 25 Crunches (four count)
Lap 2: 25 Crunches (four count)
Lap 3: 25 Crunches (four count)
Cone 5
Lap 1: 15 Wide push-ups (four count)
Lap 2: 15 Diamond push-ups (four count)
Lap 3: 15 Wide push-ups (four count)
Cone 6
Lap 1: 15 Boot beaters (four count)
Lap 2: 10 Star jumps (single count)
Lap3: 15 Cherry pickers (four count)
Cone 7
Lap 1: 20 Ins and outs (four count)
Lap 2: 20 bicycles (four count)
Lap 3: 10 Burpees (four count)
Cone 8
Lap 1: 10 Eight-count body builders
Lap 2: 15 Diamond push-ups (four count)
Lap3: 10 Star jumps (single count)
Run as fast as you can between cones and keep your body in constant motion. It usually takes us a little over 20 minutes to complete the whole workout. The poolees after doing the workout dubbed it “The Gauntlet.” Run hard and use good form on the exercises to make it challenging. You’ll get out of it what you put into it.
Oh, and you probably don’t want to eat much if anything before you do this unless you want to see it again.
Drawings from my past keep showing up on Facebook. It’s a little surprising for me to see some of the pictures I had done years ago. In my memory, I’ve always drawn pretty much the same as I do now. Such is not the case though; I’ve improved over the years. Progress happens so slow that it’s imperceptible. In my art, I can’t feel any improvement from one picture to the next. Nevertheless, progress happens, and all we need to see the fruits of our labor, is the right perspective.
Here is a picture drawn my senior year in high school:
Here is one drawn last week:
Being born with talent would be a lot easier, but being ignorant of so many things myself, I find it more encouraging that skills can be learned.
Having issues with the blog. Hope to be back soon.
Here is the latest Officer Candidates School design that we’ve been working on:
Lots to do and still a ways to go.
