Grow the Game®

old school vintage weightlifting dumbells press overhead
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Hot Pot: The Second Step Is The Hardest

I woke up this morning stiff and sore. I think it’s fair to blame the light work out I got in last night with a couple of MLL guys. Well, they worked out… I mostly tripped over the speed ladder, tried not to mess up the stick work drills, and dry heaved a little.

While I was clearly in the worst shape out of anyone on the turf, it was great to be back out there, just training and practicing, and trying to get better.

Mitch Belisle started the night off with a dynamic stretch. For me, this was a workout in and of itself. Then we moved on to the speed ladder, and my footwork definitely improved by the end, but it was far from solid. We then got in to stick work, and with only five guys, the line drills we did were fast paced, and exhausting. I almost made it to the end of that, before my awful conditioning caught up with me full force.

I relegated myself to managing the clock for the final session, which entailed a TON of wind sprints, and had almost regained my breath 15 minutes later, when Mitch, JJ Gilbane, Joe Moore, and Tyler Fiorito were finishing up their runs.

There were moments where I was straight up embarrassed at the shape I was in. I used to be able to do stuff like this for hours on end. Ten years away from the gym will do that to you. But at the end of the night, I really did feel good about myself. I challenged my current level of fitness, and pushed myself to work harder. I had fun.

That was the easy part.

The hard part will be getting in 2 or 3 more workouts before NEXT week’s training session. The hard part will be doing it on my own. The hard part is the SECOND step.

I’m sore. I can think of a thousand reasons not to work out again until next week. I can blame work, or life, or the cold wind that has been sticking around NYC lately. I could argue that my training goals aren’t the same as these MLL guys’ goals. But that won’t do me any good whatsoever.

The only thing that will help me is taking the second step, no matter how poorly conditioned I am, or how hard it is. It’s put up or shut up time for this blogger.