Training Journal: Bodyweight Conditioning and Awakened Training

I thought it would be good if—from time to time—I discuss what a training session looks like for me. All of these will be under the heading of "Training Journal".

Enjoy.

Bodyweight Conditioning and Awakened Training

Of late, I've been doing a lot of bodyweight training. (Read my earlier post on bodyweight training to understand why.) For today's particular session, I thought I would take the opportunity to also do what I call "awakened training." If you want to understand more about awakened training, then I have a couple of past posts on the subject. If you don't, then it basically goes something like this: Awakened training is my take on what used to be called "instinctive training" and has been called by the bodybuilding legend Dave Draper as "freestyling." For this kind of training to work, you must really know your body. You also need a firm foundation in "basic" training. Basically, with Awakened training, you just do it. As my old sensei used to tell me many years ago: "You must learn to fight without fighting. Let go of your mind—I have trained you enough where you already know what to do. Now, just do it!"

I got off work early today—yes, I do have a regular job as an industrial engineer for a manufacturing plant, in addition to the freelancing I do—so I decided it would be a great day to train however long I damn well pleased. On my drive home, I stopped by the gas station, picked up a bottle of "Naked" protein fruit juice—love that stuff, wish more places carried it—and a "Monster" energy "shot". I guzzled the energy shot, then spent the rest of the drive home drinking the juice.

I was "rarin' to go"—as we say in the south—by the time I got home. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, picked up my pair of 40 pound dumbbells, and went outside. Nice day to train outside—65 degrees or so, sunny.

I picked four exercises. The first was "Bulgarian squats". I did 15 reps each leg, don't know how many sets. I didn't count. I just did them. Six or seven sets (I think) later, I was ready for the next exercise:

Bodyweight squats. Here, I didn't count reps. I counted sets. I did three sets, don't know how many reps—75 to 100 if I had to guess.

My legs were pumped. I rested 5 minutes or so, then did some push ups alternated with dumbbell curls. Here, I couldn't tell you how many reps or how many sets I did on each exercise. I just trained them. Until my chest and arms were "pumped" to the max. Until a euphoric bliss set in. Until time and space fell away. And I lived in an eternal now. And there was only ever That.

The workout lasted about an hour and a half.

I went inside, drank a protein drink, decided to sit down and do a little writing.

All in all, it was a good day of training.

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