Officer's Report - 120619

By now you have probably heard that Ensign Gould accidentally deleted all of our posts on this blog. And by now, you have probably heard that he has been asked to wear the "shirt of shame" for his egregious transgression. His penance will continue until 1235 tomorrow (a 24-hour penalty for his error), at which time he will be allowed to don his regular H2H t-shirt. We're sorry for the mess-up and promise to be more careful in the future!

Today we got underway at 0700. After serving each cadet a protein shake, some light yogurt & fresh fruit, a spoonful of almond butter and fish oil, the cadets cleaned up the training facility and got ready for a big day. I spent about an hour with the cadets teaching them how to correctly perform the shoulder press (one of the nine foundational movements of CrossFit). I even spent some time describing the difference between the shoulder press, the push press and the push jerk (other similar movements).

Between 1000 and 1200, Instructor Lash worked with the cadets on striking and kicking to get them ready to spar. The guys worked on a variety of combinations. Instructor Lash quickly learned that a couple cadets kicked like mules.

At 1200 we ate lunch. The meal consisted of cold cuts (smoked turkey & lean ham, about 4 oz per cadet), a flour tortilla, fresh fruit & vegetables, and almond butter. Again, we're sticking to a paleo-zone diet this week, low in sugars and processed foods, accompanied by an appropriate amount of lean protein (turkey, ham, fish and beef), complex carbohydrates (fresh fruit & vegetables) and monounsaturated fat (good fat - almond butter, nuts, olive oil, etc.). Here's a shot of the guys chowing down today:

After lunch the guys suited up and did some serious sparring. There's nothing like watching a bunch of young men "trading leather":

The guys sparred until 1600, at which time some cadets napped while others helped out with a special project - the installation of outdoor showers. Yes, that's right, your cadet is bathing in his swim suit under an outdoor shower connected to a hose bib. The officers are using it, too. Cold, but effective!

After nap time, I worked with the cadets on rope skills. I absolutely love to jump rope. When I travel on business I'll take my rope with me and combine a high number of successive double unders (a jump accompanied by two passes of the rope under one's feet) with pull ups, sit ups, squats and push ups - an easy way to train anywhere, anytime.

At 1800 we ate dinner. My wife Becky and my daughter Brittany cooked up chicken sausages and some lean beef hot dogs to serve with fresh fruit and vegetables. I ate mine without a bun. I even snuck a tablespoon of almond butter from the kitchen.

After allowing our dinner to digest, we took the cadets to CrossFit Charlotte for a brutal workout including lunges, reverse lunges, wind sprints, rowing, slam ball and burpees (everyone simply *loves* burpees, just ask your cadet). It's amazing how much work can be done in a 1-hour workout at a CrossFit gym.

At 2100 we took the cadets to the Comfort Inn for a swim. We returned to the training facility at 2200, cleaned up and it was lights out at 2300. Tomorrow's a well-deserved rest day.


Stay tuned for more updates (provided that Ensign Gould doesn't delete them!).