MN Breakaway vs. Manitoba Per 2

Second Period Action:

Day 87 - P90X - Skating Legs of Steel!

Yoga X

This a.m. workout was the moving portions of Yoga X.  I have come a loooonnnnggg way since I first started doing this workout.

The bitch is at the end = half moon, standing splits, twisting half moon.  These moves all put my hammies, my calves, and my arse muscles into some serious isometric muscle-building pain.  Powerful, powerful stuff.  Doing all of these workouts will definitely get you into that deep knee bend and athletic positions for power, strength, flexibility, and speed.

Here is a picture of my  Half Moon (it's the best I can do...Do your best and forget the rest):

Notice a few things:

1.If you don't have a yoga mat, you are really going to be limited (I bought my cheapie at Target and it works great).

2. My back leg is more like 45 degrees than at 90 degrees...it's the best I can do.

3. I am unable to hold this pose with my right arm straight.  I have to balance myself by placing it on my lumbar spine.

4. My arse muscles are on fire in this pose!  It's a tough bugger.

5. Notice I have pictures on the wall of Bobby Hull and Arnold Schwarzenegger for inspiration.  Also notice my "yoga blocks" (those are the paint cans -- they also double as push up bars).

5. Notice the fan...you have GOT to have one of these unless you REALLY like working out in a pool of your own sweat (see next pic):

MN Breakaway vs. Manitoba Per 1

D**N!!! I accidentally deleted the live blog! Sorry, I will make sure to do notes in periods 2 and 3

Period 1 Action:

Day 86 - P90X - What in the "h" is Your Athleticism?

Core Synergistics

Hot dang, is this a good workout! To be athletic...well...let's stop there and review:

To be the best official you can possibly be, you always need to push the envelope on your athleticism...

Here are the 9 Elements I am Pushing for being in the best shape and being the best athlete:

1. Cardiorespiratory Endurance (Plyos, Kenpo, Cardio X)

2. Stamina (Plyos, Kenpo, Cardio X, Yoga X, Core Synergistics, Legs and Back)
3. Strength (Chest/Back, Chest/Shoulders/Tris, Back and Biceps, Legs and Back, Yoga, Ab Ripper)

4. Flexibility (Yoga, Core Synergistics, Kenpo, X Stretch)

5. Power (Yoga, Legs and Back, Plyos)

6. Speed (Plyos, Kenpo)

7. Coordination (Core Synergistics, Yoga)

8. Agility (Plyos, Kenpo, Cardio X)

9. Balance (Yoga, Core Synergistics)

Core Synergistics really pushes the envelope with a number of these elements.  In fact, I will have a video coming out that is P90X complimentary and talks about hockey referee athleticism (I will put it in this link as a post-edit addition when done). But, I want you to notice in parentheses the P90 workouts that cover each area.

Note: I can almost do that d*mn Dreya Roll...I have one more chance to do it this week.  That's 6 months of work and no results = piss me right off!!

Game 1 - Blades v. Miss-Stover

View period 2 Here:



View period 3 Here:

Day 85 - Another Off Day...Hockey Season Conditioning

Here's what I have discovered to work best for me during the hockey season:

Train hard 4 days a week.  For me, its usually Tue through Friday.  Even if I am reffing games on Tuesday through Friday nights, I am still working out then.  I will workout on Monday, too, if I feel real spunky.  Otherwise, the 4 workout days work for me.  I am definitely pushing myself to get even more gains in athletic ability.  I won't just go through some stuff for maintenance.  I really don't believe in maintenance (do you think elite athlete's really believe in maintenance?  I am talking about something like riding a stationary bike for 30 -45 minutes?  Forget it!  I read stories about Wes Walz in his late 30's, skating for the Minnesota Wild, and running on a treadmill AFTER a game.  Or you hear about guys riding a stationary bike AFTER a game...there's no wimpy workouts in there).

To adjust for the demands I put upon myself on the ice (because I "Bring It" every game I work), I will lay off the gas pedal a bit by limiting the days I workout...no less than 3 and 4 seems to be the magic number.

REMEMBER: When I went through P90X the first time through, I averaged 3-4 workouts a week, and cut 2 inches off my waist, added two inches to my chest and 1/4 inch to my arms and legs.

So....see you in the workout room tomorrow!

(By the way, through my great friend and SWAT Teammate, Adam Shadiow, I now have been introduced even more to the Insantiy workouts.  That's what I am going to do next.  Gulp!)

Day 83 and 84 - Hockey and More Hockey

I have started to get into the hockey routine.  I will explain more about that in my next post.

Saturday - Off Day -- Reffed 3 Elite II games

I was much more pleased than two weeks ago when I did a High School 3 game set.  My legs were much better, had better jump, and better speed.

** A REAL PERSONAL NOTE: I am 37 yrs. old, planning on reffing competitively until I am 60 [see here - if Chelios can play NHL until he's 46, I can ref until 60!].  I won't make the claim that my skating is the best it has ever been.  I am not the same skater I was when I was 27 yrs. old, or younger.  However, I will make the claim that I am better than I was at age 30.  Proof enough to me that you can get results with hard work and dedication, regardless of what age you are.  I won't claim you'll skate like at 25 year old again, but you can certainly ref at a high, high competitive level.  By the way, the average age of the 4 refs who worked the Stanley Cup Finals this past Spring was 50!

Sunday - September 27 - No workout

Today I instructed the Level 4 Seminar in Duluth, MN.  That meant 5 hours of driving, an 8 hour seminar, and a couple of beers.  Not gonna stress the missed workout.  Besides, it is a Recovery Week and that means (2) Yogas, (2) Core Synergistics, (1) Kenpo, and (1) X Stretch.  I will choose to blow off the X Stretch this week.

Day 82 - P90X - Last Workouts of Week 12

"Two-a-Day" Day!!!

Back on the pond tomorrow!!

Cardio X

This is one great workout!  It gives a lot of the best of the following: Yoga - Kenpo - Plyos - Core

Wacky Jacks = "footprints in the snow" = fast twitch muscles = first-step speed = see this [link]



Back and Bi's

I think I might agree...this routine is boring (maybe it's all that "Inna Gada Davida" type music in the background.  They should have something like this (it would make me think I was back in the High School weight room at East Grand Forks Senior High!):





However, I did "Bring It" with the pull ups.  I kept thinking about Lorraine.  No....not that way (although the German accent is kind of cute).  I knew I had to match her efforts when doing pull ups!

{In my best Tony Horton voice}: "If that ain't P90X, I don't know what is!"

Day 81 - Life (parenting) Gets In the Way

No workout today.  Not much to say about that.  What can I say?

Here's what I'll say -- putting my belief in [Social Aptitude] to the test...

I had someone recently say they'd do all 6 of their workouts for the week or they won't ref the upcoming season.  Now that's putting it on the line!

I'll follow that motivation by saying I'll get my two in tomorrow or same deal.

Day 80 - 10 More Left! - I Kind Of Beat Lorraine

Chest and Shoulders

Way back when (actually on [Day 16]), I said that I wanted to beat Lorraine on the Chest and Back DVD.


Here is a picture of my results:

Anywhere you see a

Dive bombers at the end...forget it!  Toast!  I could only muster 2 of them!

Here are my oldest daughter's stats:

* Note of the day = What's your Motivation...some days I just want to "crush play" and do Plyos...sometimes I really want to do Yoga...sometimes the muscle building routines are all I want.  I will mix up a week to fit my needs, time frame, schedule, and, yes, motivation.  The thing I DON'T WANT you to do is say, "I ain't motivated to do anything..." = bad!

Day 79 - Contest Update

My ballpark guess is that most people who signed up for the [12 Week Transformation] are in their 8th to 9th week or so.

To further illustrate my talk about [percentages], here is the numbers for the SWAT Transformation Contest:

76 people were presented with the "Challenge"

29 people raised their hand and said they were "interested" (there's around 40% - that means 60% are doing nothing)

20 people actually signed up to participate (we just lopped off another group, so we've now got the top 25%)

8 people actually took the step to turn in their "before" and "after" pics, and do their daily accountability
(so now we are down to the top 10%)

And of those 8 people, my subjective opinion is that 5 are really, really "Bringing It" (the top 6%)

Where do you fall into this mix?  Care to comment?

Day 79 - Fat Guys and DQ

When you work out, do you have a particular thing you fixate on to motivate yourself?

When I was in high school, I was an All-Conference Guard on our football team.  Yep, I played guard.  Used to be a running back, but wanted more action on the line, so I demanded that I be put there.  Anyway, during the off-season training in our weight room in East Grand Forks (usually with some type of AC/DC music playing ...hehehe), I pushed myself hard by imaging all the "fat ass-es" I would be guarding on the line.  I imagined them being at the Dairy Queen rather than at the weight room.  When I pushed up the weights, I imagined pushing their fat ass all over the field.

When I was in college, and I was training hard to be the best referee, I imagined some guy in Alaska working hard and that I had to work harder than them.  I imagined working the Frozen Four tournament in St. Louis, MO or imagined working an IIHF tournament in Montreal.

Today = Plyos X

I imagined all the lazy, thumbsucking refs I saw this past weekend in Blaine (about 50% of them were worthless - or should I say, not worthy of the games they were working), and I pushed through my workout imagining out-performing them on the ice.

What do you think about? (Hopefully not that these workouts suck and can I get through as quick as possible).

Day 78 - Week 12 Starts tonight!

It's really hard to believe, but week 12 starts tonight.  I am on a new work schedule ever since the [BIG ANNOUNCEMENT] and I will be doing my workouts at night (because I am kind of OCD, which some people think is un-healthy, but not me...;)

Day 76 and 77- Days Off -Rest

After completing 6 workouts this past week (including our last and most successful treadmill sessions), I observed the North America Hockey League Showcase at Blaine, MN.

Not surprisingly, the vast amount of officials I saw fell into 6 categories:

1. Officials Development Program (ODP) Guys - Vets - get it, understand, do most of the small things right

2. ODP Guys who are Lazy, Thumbsuckers - There's about a 45%/54% split, with the 54% being the lazy, thumbsuckers.

3. 1% ODP guys who are new and were trying hard.

4. [SWAT Team] members, who were all giving a 100% honest effort, with professionalism and pride.

5. SWAT members (who are not paid members, but do it for FREE) who all were so-so or even below average.

6. Non SWAT Team guys/gals who were really good (that was about 3 or 4 people - that's it - no one else).

NONE OF THESE [PERCENTAGES] SURPRISE ME ONE BIT.  Commitment from people generally turns into commitments elsewhere.  We are creatures of habit and pursuit of excellence is a habit, too.

Day 75 - My P90 Non-Hype Testimonial

Legs and Back

The quiet feeling of satisfaction...that sense of accomplishment...the feeling of being a FINISHER!

I had to put it into words: