14 Aug Brandon Crabill: I’m back

Well, I’m back.

Going to jump right into the training, then if you wanna hang around for story time feel free!

Warm Up:

Kind of taking a page from Paul, dude is wicked smart, so I watch what he does.  As such, I’ve split up my warm up and maintenance work to have a specific focus on top of general protocol we all adhere to.

Here’s an example for Bench

Wall Slides, side lying windmill, band pull apart, half-kneeling tip-up press (very light), IYT, maybe some cobra press, and then into core work.  Most of these are done for 8-15 reps couple of sets, and I’ll vary what’s included just to keep it interesting.

Then it’s onto either Bird Dogs, McGill Curl Ups, STP, Plank variation, or the like.  Same idea here, varying sets and reps, sometimes the moves are timed or for higher volume.

Then usually some sort of loaded carry.

Again, I’ll go more into some of this during story time.

Bench –

Bar x 1-2 sets of 20-25 reps

135×8-10, 185×3-5, 225×3

Then work sets @ 265-275 3×3(~70-75%) and 2×2 @ 285/295 (~80-85%)

Backdown with 225×14

Incline DB Press 3×25

Cable Cross 3×20

Band Press Downs ss w/ Lying KB Triceps Extensions

4 sets 15-20 on Press Downs, 12 on KBs

A quick ride on the bike and done.

So last time we probably caught up, I was in the midst of completely going off the rails.  Brian knew it, family and friends knew it, I knew it.  As far as my personal life, it was a shit show.  A lot of hard lessons and work later, I think I came out, I don’t know, different.  Saying better sounds like a crock to me, so I will say I learned.  Some of it was good, a lot of it sucked, but that’s life.

Somewhere in the midst of that, I started law school and got the freshman 15.  But not in a cool way, I lost about 15-20lbs and got fat.  Also started smoking cigarettes and drinking like a fish.  Nothing says awesome like driving your car plastered with marathon and ultra stickers, all with a Marlboro hanging out of the window.  I disappeared from the gym and everything I used to thrive upon.  The catch is, it wasn’t all bad.

I made some amazing friends and started to build a group of people that I genuinely liked being around.  I stopped being so damn pessimistic and realized there’s a lot of stuff I’m good at and enjoy other than training.  If you hit my IG you’re bound to be inundated with guitar propaganda.  I became a better dad, I learned I’m not a dummy, I took the time away to deal with all the shit I’d kept avoiding.

At the end of it though, I missed it.  It being training, and the way it can make you so acutely aware of being alive.  I love sucking wind, waking up stiff, sore, knowing I earned those aches and pains.  I’m a little older now, more things crack and pop, swell up, take longer to get warmed up.  I have to think about what’s worth my time and what is just stupid.  I get a second run at this thing in a way that I could not have appreciated before.  I try to keep it more positive, that’s not always going to happen, but I try.  There’s still tons of fun to be had and I’m excited to approach things in a way I would not have been capable of not that long ago.  So if you’re an armchair warrior or a dude who used to do stuff…I’m your guy.  Hop on and join in, nothing I’m doing is outside of the realm of possibility for 99% of you.  You just don’t stop, one day at a time, a little bit better, even 1% over and over and over and over and over and over again…that’s how you do it.

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Brandon Crabill

Brandon Crabill is a proud bearer of the mark of the beast, completing the 666 Challenge unleashed an unholy torrent. Initially, the focus was on power and speed, but as time went along things shifted to further extremes. Brandon would go on to total Pro and Elite in multiple weight classes both geared and raw, all while knocking out marathons and ultras. In one 6 month period he would total 2150 equipped, 1705 raw, and run a 100K trail race with a top placing, all in a race that saw over half the field DNF. The stats are legit, the stories are real, and the lessons have come with a price.

Latest posts by Brandon Crabill (see all)

• Brandon Crabill – Back at it - August 30, 2018
• Brandon Crabill: I’m back - August 14, 2018