Jack's getting huge...

Friday, March 2, 2012
My son, Jack, is going through an interesting phase right now.  He’s 17 and still hasn’t really begun to develop physically even though he’s about 6’4’’ tall.  His brother has been pushing the weights pretty religiously for rugby and I think that got him started.  And once he gets his teeth into something, he holds on like a pit bull.  He’s changed the way he eats…giving up all junk food for smoothies, lean meats and as much protein as he can manage.  He wants to develop muscle.  He had me map out a weightlifting schedule, but is constantly looking for new and better ways to get the most from every workout.

Six weeks later, he’s added about 12 pounds of muscle…and its showing.  He’s walking taller and prouder and has become much more social.  He makes me mental with all the questions about what to eat and how to lift…but I love his enthusiasm.  The kid will probably fill out to around 200 pounds before the summer is over and with a 30” vertical, great athleticism and speed to burn; he ought to draw the attention of some coach at the high school…though I doubt he will.  He really doesn’t like team sports and has had some bad experiences and with the last name ‘Rolf’…well…let’s just say that certain coaches at Mayfield will go out of their way to avoid him.

I managed a short, fast run just because time was limited and I wanted to get as much as I could out of the time I had.  I ran a course that I’ve done in 30 minutes, but added in the big hill behind Squires Castle and still finished it in 32 minutes.  The hill was muddy and quite slippery, and so I was quite pleased to have turned such a good time.  Runs are like that for me.  It’s all about the attitude.  I started it thinking I felt good and would run well and whenever those thoughts go through my head, I execute.  The mind is a powerful tool in determining athletic performance…on principle, if ignored by coaching, that leads to many disappointing and underachieving outcomes for athletes.

Run Duration:  32 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 550.