Pyramids Aren't Just for the Egyptians... Thursday, December 12

You'd think that owning our own boxing club and working full time at it would make it easy for me to get in my training.

Wrong... so wrong.

It WAS, back when I had circulation in my toes and my fingers weren't going numb, that is back before the winter chill took over.  We're clearly into winter and it's chillier here at Hulk's than most expect and there is absolutely no denying it.  Our coal heater thingy-a-ma-jiggy runs 24/7 with us coming in two hours early just to change its' coals. It is our main source of heat, beyond training that it. 

Training means sweating, an excellent source of heat if it weren't for the fact constant unpredictable disruptions keep me from being able to get my sweat on and get through a full workout. I'm talking about business calls, visitors, delivery men, and members coming to train -- obvious daily business things.  Of course members are going to come train, that's a no-brainer, but trying to fit in a workout before they do arrive or in between the mobs of members, now that's like trying to tap into some kind of psychic power.  It's pretty hard to predict. 

I could always train before opening hours because we do stop by two hours before opening to change the heater's coal.  Mind you, we then usually have to leave and run errands for the club.  Our "free time", as in our time off, is never free from things to do for Hulk's.  It's always time on for Hulk's, after all it is our baby. 

If I didn't love my job, I tell you, I definitely would have quit a long time ago.  I've never worked so hard and such long hours in my life, and for a paycheck I've yet to even see.

Many of our members train earlier now and they've caught on to the fact that we arrive early.  The other day I came at 2:01pm, a minute late to open, and four members were waiting for us.  Today two showed up at 1pm.  So training early is out of the question, especially considering we will be opening extra early, at 12 noon, once our public school kids start winter vacation.

What about training late, like after most members have left.  Good call, that is I've got energy leftover after training members and being on my feet for the past 10 hours and that's if I don't have any kind of meeting afterwards whether it's with my sponsor or a personal training client.  

Today I decided to start running to work. I recorded my route the other day and Hulk's is exactly 1.30kms from my apartment doorstep.  Today, with the added snow and ice, it took me just under ten minutes to boot it.  In addition to keeping up with my weekly runs and adding running to work into my schedule, lately I've been picking random members to train along with -- members who I make do MY workout that day.

Introduced one of our new Hulkies to the "wonderful" world of pyramid training tonight, and yes the quotes around wonderful were very much needed.

The basics behind my pyramid training is I pick 3-4 exercises and start at 15reps per each. After completing one set of 15reps for each, I do a lap run around the club and then do 14reps of each... then 13, 12, 11 and so forth down to 0.

Tonight's pyramid training:

One arm kettle bell snatches

Upright rows in a seated squat position

Kettle bell swings with squats

1 lap around Hulk's

By the end of the workout -- 26 minutes later -- we had done 240 arm kettle bell snatches, 120 upright rows, 120 kettle bell swings, and 15 club laps. And by the end of the workout my new Hulkie couldn't lift his arms above his head but boy did he smile.  He knew he had just rocked a great workout so I treated him to today's advent gift.

"I thought pyramids were only for the Egyptians in Egypt," he joked, "Now I know they're a piece of Hell!"