Training Past

Ok Martin you asked for this....you must know by now how I love to type :)

Where to begin? Even though I've always been overweight, I've always been into sports and training. I was in my school teams at football (thatll be soccer to you), rugby, hockey and cricket. Was never the star of any team - but never last picked either. After I finished school I used to go to circuit training classes with my mates - circuit training has always been my favourite type of training. This wasn't too bad as it goes either thinking back - there were plenty of big bang exercises, multijoint full body etc rope climbing and the like.

It closed down though and I got into a military type training program. Marine Commando!! Bought a Heart Rate monitor and from not being able to run a mile I completed a half marathon within 4 months. Got pretty "fit" then, but did no strength outside push ups and situps :)

I have also dabbled in a few Martial Arts - Boxing, Kung Fu and Thai Boxing. In fact it was when I was in Thailand for a 6 week thaiboxing camp a few years ago that my ideas about training started to change. A friend there lent me a book by Charles Staley on martial arts training - it talked about power cleans, snatches etc. Exercises I'd seen but never been exposed to here in N Ireland. Ones I'd always considered too dangerous to be trying on my own. Reading this book however made me believe that not only was I able to do them - but I NEEDED to do them!!

Anyway when I got back home I contacted Charles and got programs off him for a few months. Through his forum and interviews he does it started to open up this whole new world of training for me. Strongman stuff really interested me - functional training. I realised that I didnt want to be stuck in a gym doing barbell exercises. This article here really started to fire my imagination!!

Somewhere along the way I got into to Crossfit - their ideal of someone who may not be the worlds best at anything, but capable for EVERYTHING is what I want out of my training. The circuit style of their training appealled to. Space and equipment was an issue really for following crossfit - plus I was the walking wounded half the time. I knew nothing of back off weeks, periodization etc. Then I picked up a lot of Pavels stuff - thats when a lot of things kinda clicked. I did PTTP and added 40kgs onto my still very poor DL in no time. But I really wanted to sort out the body comp - so I got into KBs while still throwing in circuits and DL into the mix from time to time.

Weather sucks here but the beauty of KBs are that you can use them in little space inside (as long as you hold onto them ;) ) so thats why I decided to go after the ROP in Novemeber. I really want to hit those circuits outside though in the sun again though. Believe it or not this is the really short version haha. I'll post some of the circuits I have in mind up above.