3.5 Weeks LEFT- Cookin With Gas Baby!!!

4/3 Monday- Did the AM grappling. Weight: 226 (OUCH!).Worked on getting out of bad positions when getting blasted in the ribs. And the face. Then did rowing machine sprints (800/500/300/200/100) with Jake yelling in my ear. I actually did Ok, was only a few seconds of his times in all sets. I was very sore from the long run yesterday and the rowing made me want to puke. I am glad I had a partner, as there’s no way I would have pushed myself that hard solo. Had Parkie doodle (my son) at work so met Lizz for some Chicken Katsu at the tempura whatever joint. Sometimes I get weirded out because she’s such a sweetheart… what’s the catch? I am grateful for her because I know that chicks seldom list “guys with kids out of wedlock” on their “must have’s fro a dream guy” list. dream guy. Geeze she is sweet. Man, I am sore. Went home, made a light crap dinner (pot pie) and enjoyed some wine. And 5 cigarettes. This will ensure that my lungs can perform at less than ideal oxygen levels.

4/4 Tuesday- Slept in, got to training around 11:30 and jumped right in. Did 7 HARD rounds of Jiu Jitsu with different opponents. Started from standing position to simulate the challenge of avoiding and/or performing takedowns. I did very well, no matter how tired I felt I listened to the inner voice that said; "push it!" and it worked. James Cook was there and right after Jiu Jitsu we did 4 rounds of shadow boxing, then 3 rounds of pad work. The sequence is consistent with each workout: focus on defense, basics, uses my great reach to set up stiff jabs, straights and kicks. After 3 rounds (14 including grappling and shadow boxing), I didn't feel that winded! Then we did the routine 60 kicks on the heavy bag, then hundreds of ab exercises…My recovery is improving, as I am ready to start each round fresh. This guy really uses positive reinforcement to make me work hard. I am developing significant power…. hopefully I will get to use it in the fight! Having completed the grappling and Muay Thai, I will likely CHILL tonight and try to eat clean and not smoke/drink. My mental state fluctuates on a daily bases, from warrior to weakling, based on how closely I deviate from, or STICK TO the plan. I watch a lot of fights and visualize constantly… I know I have the tools to do this. I have trained nearly every day for 3 years!!!! But emotion eclipses logic and the "fight" concedes to the "flight" sometimes. As of Thursday I will be 4 weeks out, when will I fucking put 100% into training? I have to quit making excuses and train as if my opponent is Tito Ortiz. I feel great but in 3 weeks I need to be a lean machine. Mediocrity is much worse than doing this fight; maintain focus on what you are training for. Poontang!!!! Not really. One more thing- I need to watch some Rocky movies n shit to get fired up…..

4/5 Wednesday- Went to MA session and did some Jiu Jitsu worm-up followed by 4 rounds of MMA with new opponents. I did very well, didn't get too winded! Jake was yelling positive demands so I pushed it the entire time. BUT, he tricked me! He was yelling "last round" so I gave all I had for 5 minutes and THEN he said "good job man, now lets do a rowing workout.!! BASTARD!! He had me do 6, 30/30 (seconds/rest) intervals. This made me want to puke but I gave it all I had as he was, once again, yelling superlatives in my ear. Went home and CHILLED, ate and conked out.

4/6 Thursday- Still 226 after breakfast…. um, one month out, time to shift gears… YIKES!!! I did some Jiu Jitsu and photographer Todd came in to shoot my standup session with James Cook, only it never happened, he showed up with 5 stitches above his eye from sparring (he forgot to use Vaseline on his face- a tried and true cut avoidance tactic). He invited me to train Saturday, which I will definitely do instead. So instead of standup, I had the privilege of doing 3, 5-minute MMA rounds with JAKE SHIELDS. Jake is training for the Rumble on the Rock WORLD TITLE in just 2 weeks. He will likely face Trigg in the finals and I think he will whup his ass! I actually did OK, tapped 2 or 3x and got a black eye, BUT he said he was pushing the pace and I never "broke." Once again I was pooped and dizzy so I opted to go home, invite buddies over for "ultimate fight night live" and have 3 beers. Fuck, now I have 4 weeks to drop 15. Doable…I think.

4/7 Friday baby!- slept in a bit and went to AM session. Worked with Travis, huge black belt guy with tons of MMA and Jiu Jitsu knowledge. I worked on my strengths (guard, sweeps, elbows and knees). Had a decent workout that ended with a hellish series of rowing intervals. 500/400/300/200/100. Did ok, one was there yelling at me but I still pushed hard and ended up retching on the floor…I know I should go kick box tonight but I just don't fucking feel like it so there. What a paradox- I am training harder than I have since I was 19 and its 40% les than I should be doing. I need to train Saturday and run Sunday and get into the 2x daily workouts for the next 3.5 weeks or I won't get there (weight). I know what I need to fucking do, just do it!!!!!

4/8, 4/6 WEEKEND! Ok, now we made some notable progress. After a mellow Friday evening, I woke up Saturday feeling great! Took Parkeeto back to SF on BART (poor fella, spent his spring break watching me train and on trains in the rain.) Showed up for noon MMA class, did 30 minutes of takedowns, than guard passing with strikes, then some MMA rounds, THEN Gilbert had be do 2 more MMA rounds…. Urghh!!! To my surprise, I felt GREAT! I tapped a black belt Dave Meyers, then went with 250lb. Rich something or other and whupped ass one more. Left the session at 219!!! Water weight but I think I am 3-4 down. Ate clean all weekend. Hung with Liz, wrassled nakkid, roamed the yuppie avenues, went on a great hikeHad 4 beers Sunday, not a big deal….

4/10 MONDAY! Urgghhhhh, hard to wake up, but made it to the Daily Planet by 09:00. Ate some Berkeleyesque healthy kashi bran cereal that tasted like tree branches and tam bark….cup o java and a light Cesar/chicken salad for lunch (can you say fucking cheese steak please?!?!?!) Trained at 11:30, after I was exhausted, had o roll with 2, 210 lb. guys that were strong as oxes…tapped one with triangles and other was neutral. Then did rows 500/400/300/200/100 sprints…. Felt better than ever. When you are about to do something that you know will make you nauseous, you have to disconnect mind from body and just project yourself forward to the point in time when the workout is over and you feel great about yourself, however light-headed you might be. Easier said than done but I am finding that once suffering becomes a habit, its easier to take one for the team (er, uh.. yourself). I am much like a battered wife in this way I guess. Lol! Oh yeah- the coolest part- I weighed 223 before my workout and 219 after!!! Woo hooo!!!! I set some target weights in weekly increments leading up to the fight: 4/14- 221 lbs, 4/21- 217 lbs, 4/28, 213 lbs. Let’s see how close I can come!