Eat Floor. High Fiber.

Still just kinda jackin around until Austin Celtic Festival is over this weekend. After that, I will start my off-season in earnest. Did a lot of overhead work today. Definitely zeroed in on a weak point - my shoulders. I can push press 225 most days, but I was struggling to strict press 165 today. Gotta target delts and triceps a little more these next few months.

Strict Press

45x10

95x5

135x3

95x10x3

Push Press

135x3

185x1

205x1

Speed Deads

275x5x3

Chins

10, 8, 6

Superset Standing Triceps Press/Upright Rows

12/10, 12/10, 12/12

Do I suck a lot more, or a little more?

Got a good week of training in last week, and I'm ramping up for the off-season fairly well. Hannah continues to rob the wife and I of precious sleep, so I have to make do with what level of rest I get. I got the "lift heavier" bug these past couple of sessions, so I loosened up the routine and kinda did whatever. Nothing wrong with testing myself a little to see what I lost over the course of the season in terms of top-end strength.

Cleans, snatch and deadlifts:

Squat variations and ugly, ugly, bench press:

I have been really getting into the idea of experimenting more with hard cider recipes, so I picked up the following at Austin Homebrew today:

• Bavarian Wheat Yeast
• Champagne Yeast
• 1 lb. Wheat DME
• 1 lb. Golden Light DME

...and then I forgot to get apple juice. It's tough to be this way. To be me.

Man, I totally had a kid! AGAIN!

Really the only thing of actual importance that has been going on with me is the birth of my daughter, Hannah Michelle Beech. Here she is just after being born:

Here she is making a grumpy, yet awesome face a few days later. Seriously, this kid is Queen Grumpface.

I have had a pretty successful season thus far making beer for Luke's big bad tailgate extravaganzas. The biggest hit so far has been a simple blonde ale that I really knocked out of the park. Hmm...replicating a batch; that should be easy in a garage brewery with no computers or skilled brewers.

My highlands game season is coming to a close. I have two more games in Austin and Salado, but I am kind of considering this last weekend's Celtober Cowtown Throwdown the official "end." So, re-capping my first year in the games:


- Competed in 9 games (will be 11 by year's end)
- Earned the right to throw with the A's by my 3rd ever games (north texas kickoff)
- Traveled out of state for a games (greenville, sc)
- Won my first overall games (sherwood forest faire)
- Gained 15 lb.
- Met and befriended throwers and ADs from all over
- Recruited 2 athletes to the sport
- Learned that entertaining and engaging the crowd is incredibly important for the sport

I can definitely live with that list. Let's look at the numbers now as compared to 11 months ago:

Braemar: 28'-1" --> 32'4"
Open Stone: 36'-2" --> 40'-10.5"
Heavy Weight for Distance: 17'7" --> 30'-9"
Light Weight for Distance: 36'-8" --> 62'-7"
Heavy Hammer: 54'-7" --> 68'-4"
Light Hammer: 87-7" (didnt throw this in 2011)
Caber: 12:00
Sheaf: 22' with 16# bag --> 24' with 20# bag
Weight Over Bar: 10' --> 13'

Looking those over, I'm supremely disappointed with open stone, especially given how much I work on it. Breaking 40 feet was great, but I am consistently stuck between 36 and 38 feet. Hammers are abysmal, but that's simply from lack of practice. Can't use that excuse any more. This off-season I will acquire every single implement so I can train how I need to.