The Week Before Spring.

Since the Spring Semester begins in under a week, I figured I'd get my first post of 2009 out there. I had intended to write a lot during Winter Break, but that sort of thing always turns out to be a lot harder than I anticipate. With working out, working at Walker, hanging out with friends, hanging out with family, and spending some quality time with Jesse... well, let's just say that I didn't spent much time in front of a computer. Hopefully I'll be able to turn out more material at school.

This winter, I worked out harder than any other winter of my college career. Maybe it was the desperation of being in my final year and knowing that this is my last opportunity to contribute to the team that I love. Maybe it was the added pressure of being a captain and knowing that my work ethic needs to set the standard for all of the younger players on the team. Either way, I had very little trouble staying motivated to get in shape this winter. I got a one month membership to Gold's Gym and made a commitment to go every day. For the most part, I went with Jake and Jimmy (of Wisconsin) and Brian (of Colorado). We lifted seven days a week, alternating between leg days and upper body days. With such a rigorous schedule, it wasn't long before we started seeing some serious results. Probably our most pronounced results were in the amount of weight that we squatted. We started at a relatively low weight (I think 75 pounds on either side of the bar, so about 195 total) but eventually got to the point where every member of our little group could squat 300 for a set of 8. The most that I ended up doing was 315 on a set of 8, but I'm pretty sure that I could have done a little more. We also worked hard at power cleans, and exercise that I had never done previously but which I quickly learned to love. You can just feel your whole body working its explosive muscles when you do a power clean. It's fantastic.

Additionally, I also ran during break. After talking to a whole bunch of people regarding the right type of workouts for Ultimate, we have decided not to do any distance running this season. Instead, we are going to do a massive amount of short sprints with low recovery time. For instance, one of the running workouts that I have been consistently completing is 5 100 yard sprints with 30 seconds recovery between each sprint, 5 backwards and forwards shuttle runs with 30 seconds recovery between each set, and then 5 more 100 yard sprints with 30 seconds recovery. By the end of this workout, my heart is racing and I can really feel my cardio fitness improve.

Finally, I've been working hard on my core. I do a pushups and a fairly intense ab workout every day. My core is pretty strong right now (though it will certainly improve in the next few weeks) to the point that I can see a light etching of abdominal muscles through the layer of fat on my belly. This is an extremely compelling sign for me. It isn't that I am fat, but I am thickset enough that it is rather difficult for me to develop a sixpack. Perhaps this will be the first time that I get into good enough shape for my abs to push through and show the world how bulletproof they really are. We can only work and hope.

I am in Amherst right now because Jesse had to have some testing done for her ADHD. While I am here, I am trying to get some of my Ultimate responsibilities taken care of. I've been talking and emailing people regarding tournament bids, gym space, uniform orders, etc. Last night, we had a meeting in my kitchen to discuss our training plans for the first part of this spring. I was there, with Babbitt, Mitch, Josh, and Henry. We talked about what sort of training we would be doing and what our general attitude should be. I believe, and I think that the others agree, that the emphisis should be on getting in the best shape that we can possibly get into while working on fundamental skills. This fall, we were plagued by bad throwaways and drops. If we can learn how to throw and catch and mark effectively, and we are all in good shape, we will win the games that we need to win. It's that simple. We also decided to emulate the Wisconsin team and establish a buddy system for the coming season. We randomly paired each player on the team and emailed out the list. Every player is responsible for making sure that his buddy gets into the gym, and each player is responsible for pushing his buddy in practice and during workouts. By making every player accountable, we hope to prevent anybody from slipping through the cracks and not getting into the best possible shape. We need everybody to be working at full capacity this spring, and I really think that we can only do this if everybody is held accountable for their actions by the other players on the team.

My buddy is Keenan. I hope he's ready to work.

I know I am.