Couple Custom Pieces

A few quick pics of some custom sheaths I made for the neighbor. ESEE 3 and a Cold Steel Pusher

What do you carry

Cold Steels FGX Pusher is pretty sweet (here for details).  The neighbor brought it over and we worked out a couple designs, I love messing around with Kydex.  Horizontal carry attached to belt loop, cell phone was used for size reference.

The videos that Cold Steel makes jacking stuff up are sweet.

1st Class Done

12 weeks later and my 1st class is off to Ranger School.  My little babies are all grown up and leaving the nest.  All received slots, 1st Muscle-Ups were achieved and all left in fantastic shape.

The group energy is very similar to my Pre-Ranger class and we went straight through (although time at Ranger School is irrelevant, go pass, receive tab).  The vibe given off is success, I have a great feeling about them.

Good Luck to All

Break Your Plateau
JT

5 Weeks Down

Almost at the halfway point of my 12 week cut phase; I had a goal of dropping to around 209lbs but I am already there (vegetarian diet).  I feel stronger and still have pretty good size, current lifts are 475lb Deadlift, 245lb Push-Press and 10 muscle-ups.  Time to reassess; I will shoot for 195lbs.  At 200lbs I'll see how I feel and make corrections as needed.

Break Your Plateau
JT

Day 1

Day 35

Crossfit or Weightlifting

Maybe they are the same thing.  I love lifting weights but crossfit is totally awesome, but am I going to get ripped just doing crossfit....Universe is presenting me with a huge dilemma, a definite fork in the road.  The real question is how do I incorporate both....time to ponder.

FYI if I were a young 2LT living in a small hotel room with no dishwasher and limited ability to cook what would I do...I would definitely make a protein shake every morning and probably at night.  At this point in my life I am not washing dishes by hand.  All Blenders are exempted.

Fresh Tofu Salsa Mex

photo taken after eating a couple

I know, I know TOFU??WTF?  This recipe is so freaking good, you won't even know it has tofu except I told you.  This will go great with Corona.  The salsa recipe is from the fire roasted tomato can, it was my genius to add black beans, tofu and put it all together in a corn tortilla.

Prep time 15min
Cook time 20 min

1can black beans (drain and rinse)
1can fire roasted tomatoes (drain)
1/2 red onion (more than the original recipe, I like them)
2tsp fresh garlic
1 jalapeno (seeded)
salt
cilantro (small handful, I like cilantro too)
1/2pkg (8oz) Firm Tofu
1/2c cheese
juice from 1 lime (or 2tbsp)
                                               corn tortillas

Chop up jalapeno, garlic, red onion, cilantro and tofu into small pieces then add all ingredients to a bowl and let sit for 3-4 hours (overnight is best).  Warmup tortillas in a pan, until firm (prevents from getting soggy) add mixture fold over and hold with a tooth pick.  Fill up the pan with rolled tortillas then add remaining mixture over the tortillas top with cheese.  350 degrees for 20 minutes, top with salsa and serve with a Corona and lime.

Watch video to see it in action, fyi I didn't edit my video and I'm not an actor and in the video I forgot to add the lime, it was added later

Chest Workout Update

In sticking with strong man lifts on the Bravo workout day, I've been racking my brain for a strong man chest exercise.  Today at the gym after heavy dumbbells and hammer strength machine I thought of it (not sure if it would qualify as an actual strong man lift) plyo push ups. 

The last 2 exercise of the workout:

1.  place two 5lb weights in front of  where my hands would normally go for push ups, then push up and jump to the left ensuring the opposite hand hits where the 5lb weight is, then push up and jump back to center then to the right etc for 15 reps then 5 regular push ups (3 sets)

2.  I took the bumper 45lbs plates, stacked up 1 on each side and did 16 (2 count) push ups.  Narrow on the ground then jump up to the plate for a wide deep dip push up then back to the ground repeat.  Next stack up 2 plates 16 (2 count) next 3 plates 16 (2 count) then superset from 3 plates to 2 to 1 and max reps on each.  Platforms will work better than plates (6in, 12in and 18in).

I am always unsure if my ideas are hard or if I am just a pussy...good thing I have 10 2LTs that are going to be my guinea pigs on Monday.  This is crucial to ensure I keep pushing myself and Break My Plateau

JT

Diet Math 101 Part 2

Now you have a range of calories to consume a day.  What should you eat and how much of Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats.

First you need to figure out what are your goals.  Are you an elite athlete, a bodybuilder or regular person who just wants to trim up and show off your abs for summer.  A good rule of thumb for regular people who wants to trim up are 50%(Carbs) 30%(Proteins) 20%(Fats) of your total caloric intake.  Like everything else you need to try it then adjust on how you feel and the results you receive. 

Once you start reading labels you will notice that they report Carbs, Proteins, Fats (CPFs) in gram form but I only know how many calories to eat...well you will need to convert calories to grams.

First figure out your ratios for CPFs we will use 50%-30%-20% 

Next take the total calories you are going to consume (we will use 2,000 calories to keep the math simple).

Multiple each category by the percentage

2000 x 50%(.5) = 1000 calories of carbohydrates

2000 x 30%(.3) = 600 calories of protein

2000 x 20%(.2) = 400 calories of fat

4-4-9 Rule

Carbs and Protein equals 4 grams per calorie

Fat equals 9 grams per calorie

Now we will convert the number of calories of CPFs into grams that you will eat per day

1000 calories of Carbs / 4 = 250 grams of Carbs per day

600 calories of Pro / 4 = 150 grams of PRO per day

400 calories of Fat / 9 = 44.4 round up to 45 grams of Fats per day

Now you are ready to read labels and fill in your meals

Daily Totals

In our example we would eat each day:

2,000 calories

250grams of Carbs

150grams of Protein

45grams of Fats

Divide the totals by the total number of meals you are going to eat each day (we will use 5 meals per day).  You now have your guidelines on how to structure you meals

5 meals per day consisting of

400 calories – 50grams of Carbs – 30grams of Protein – 9grams of Fat

Break Your Plateau

JT

Send Comments and Questions Here

USSA Close Quarters Training (CQT) After Action Report

CQT – AAR

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):  The course was awesome (watch the video); we did everything in the video and more.  I went expecting to be placed in uncomfortable situations where someone was punching me in the face to see how I would react and receive guidance on what I could have done better.  USSA DELIVERED!

The instructors,  Michael Brown and Brandon Bennett were fantastic.  They knew the material; they practice the material and were able to deliver the information so each person could understand it.  The class demographic was very diverse with the oldest over 60 and the youngest around 13, yet they were able to tweak the course to meet the need of each individual.  Meaning it doesn’t matter if you were a high speed Green Beret or my Grandma, you’ll enjoy the class and Michael and Brandon will push you accordingly.

I can tell when someone is faking it i.e. not practicing what they preach (hundreds of hours of powerpoint by people who just read slides qualifies me).  Brandon and Michael don’t fake it, they don’t offer theories or tell you what you want to hear; they offer you real world strategies and the truth.  When asked about defending against a much stronger person Brandon said “It’s a fight and fighting is hard”;  He brought a realistic approach to the class (sobering, I’m sure for fans of movies or self defense classes where the instructor teaches 100lb females how to kick a 250lb male’s hind parts with punches to the face).  “There are no magic holds, no ninja death grips or secret moves to win; you have to work harder than the bad guy.”  Brandon Bennett.

The best part of the class was receiving a real understanding about what hand guns can and cannot do, and what happens if you introduce a tool (handgun or knife) into the fight at the wrong time. 

#1 you cannot extend the gun towards the person.  It is probably a natural reaction from hundreds of hours of shooting paper targets because everyone did it the first time.  The gun is going to jam and you are not going to tap and rack when someone is punching you in the face. 

#2 if you immediately go for your gun or try and hurry the draw, the gun is going to get taken or AGAIN it will jam and become useless.  

Seeing the following paragraph transpire was well worth the price of the class; you won’t believe it until you experience it, personally I didn’t which is why the first time I pushed the gun out just like I was shooting a cardboard target and of course it Jammed.

Overall the class was great, the material flowed smoothly I never felt over burdened or overwhelmed by too much material, it was just right.  The pace was good, I am in good shape and I went home extremely sore.  After every situation the instructors took the time to critique each student, they went over what you did that was good and gave you ideas to improve on based on your skill level body type etc.  The class environment was fantastic; Michael and Brandon did a great job fostering a positive and open learning environment, you can tell they love teaching and both have a knack for it. 

If you carry a gun, you need this course.

Break Your Plateau!

JT

Update to leg workout

My squat is lacking, so must squat more time to change up the Bravo Workout.

Leg Bravo Workout
Warm up
Back Squat 10(warm up) 135 then 5 sets of 15 reps with 225lbs
Lunge 135lbs for 20 lunges each legs(40 total) x 3 sets
Front Squat 5 sets of 5 reps 185lbs
Step up (24inch box stand) 100lb barbell 20 reps each leg(40 total) x 4 sets
Extensions 3sets 12 reps
Curls 3 sets 12 reps

Calves

The step ups kicked my ass, gives me a great idea for tomorrows Pre-Ranger workout...:)

Break your Plateau
JT

Cheat Meal

Fight Night and what better to eat than pizza, if you can't make your own crust your local store should have some organic crusts.

Homemade pizza crust
1can of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatos (use as sauce)
artichoke hearts
spinach
fresh mozzarella (fresh mozzeralla comes in ball form) just break it apart and place on pizza

Layer tomatoes then spinach then cheese and artichoke hearts last.  heat in oven @450 degrees for about 15minutes, rotate the pizza halfway through cooking and use a pizza stone if you have one.

Add a couple Sam Adams seasonal..complete