Looking for something new

Well, not really something new, but when I started this, my goals were pretty small. Just getting to a point where I could have realistically athletic goals was a bit of work.

I'm at a point now where I can choose a lot of things- VO2Max protocols with the kettlebell, bodyweight feats, powerlifting, even long distance running.

Several weeks ago I was hunting for a new set of goals and the forums suddenly were aflame with talk about a new book- Convict Conditioning. At first, I thought the description and hype was a bit over the top, but also... kinda moving.There's something to all that macho hard core stuff that appeals to me, my goals.

After reading threads and some reviews by people I trust, I went ahead and ordered it. It's not what I was expecting, but it's more than I was expecting- while being fairly simple.

Now, I'm not setting aside my goals with snatch progressions, but I'm putting them down for a bit while I work through the first parts of the Convict Conditioning program. My kettlebells aren't collecting dust, but maybe this program deserves a chance at center stage.

The Big 6 master steps are pretty intense stuff, but the progressions all start off almost painfully easy. Painful to your ego, going from working out inclined one arm pushups to.... standing up wall pushups?!?!?


Couple weeks ago:

Here I am, reading up on this book and it all sounds good, it's got plenty of meat to it, but my ego really doesn't want to give up my one arm pushup practice to lean on a wall. Still, I'll go ahead and try doing some reps on step 1 exercises to see how I feel about the range of motion.

Well, lo and behold, I'm actually needing to be on step 1 on a few exercises- bridges and inverted work especially. I give it a few sets on everything and then follow the directions.

The directions do not say you have to stick with any given step for any set length of time. So I'm going to do progression tests on anything I'm comfortable with tomorrow.


A few days pass:

No problem doing the progression tests in a few areas, don't feel like I'm cheating myself, I can definitely feel the burn from some exercises I never thought would have worked me out!

Now, I need a workout plan. I don't function well on 2 or 3 day a week programs. I need daily work or I stall out. The plans in the book are all fantastic- for traditional work/rest cycles of bodybuilding. I'm gonna have to roll my own Grease the Groove style plan.

Still, there's a fire in this book, it's got a method to achieve some serious results. I'm committed. I may have to mess with reps and cycles a bit, and I may not be willing to milk something on the first 3 steps of any given area just because I passed the progression test after a day or a week. But I'm going to own this program.