“Still Gettin’ Settled In…”

This Is Gonna Be A Long (4 Part…) Post…

Just Be Advised… I Was Under A Lot Of Stress & Just Needed To Vent…

Judge Me All You Want… But Just Know That I Stay Real… I Stay True…

1st Post…

You Like Me Or You Don’t…

That’s It…

I Could End This Post Right Now…

But I Won’t…

Why Do You Like Me?

Why Don’t You Like Me?

Why Do You You Like Me Sometimes?

But Other Times… Not?

Whatever Answer You Just Gave… To Any Of The Above Questions…

Guesss What?

I Care…

I’m Gonna Assume That You Thought That The Above Line Would Have Read…

“I Don’t Give A Fuck…”

But Guess What?

I Do Care`…

Yes… I Actually Do Care… About All Of You…

I Am Literally Sitting In A Hospital Chair… Staring @ Ryker In A Hospital Bed…

And I’m Still Thinking About Not Only Ryker… But All Of You…

RainCross…

Everytime I Post Something About “RainCrossStrong” Or “RainCrossFamily”…

That Isn’t BullShit To Keep You Coming Back…

RainCross Is… Well… Besides Danielley & Ryker…

My Life…

Literally… As I’m Typing This Up… My Eyes Keep Going Back & Forth From My LapTop Screen… To Ryker… To All These Fuckin’ Screens That Are Monitoring All His Vital Signs… And Then I Take A Sip Of Orange Juice…

I… Danielley & I… 100% Appreciate Your Devotion To Our… To Your Gym…

RainCross Strength & Conditioning…

Fuck Friends!!!

We Are A Fuckin’ Family!!!

A Strong Family!!!

THE STRONGEST FAMILY!!!

I’m Not Trying To Pat Myself On The Back… Never Have… Never Will…

It’s All Of You Who Make RainCross What It Is…

But…

Think About This…

I Could’ve Said “Fuck It”…

And Let Past Few Weeks & The The UpComing Weeks Just Basically Be…

An “Open Gym”…

Nope!!!

I Will Never Do That…

All Of You Have Invested Yourselves In Me… Have Entrusted Me… For Weeks… For Months… For Years…

And I Promise That I Will Do Everything I Can Do To Live Up To What You Expect Of Me…

I May Not Be There Now… But I Hope You Can Feel Me There…

RainCross Strength & Conditioning Is My Home Away From Home…

All Of You… I Don’t Even Like You…

But…

Isn’t That What FAMILY Is All About!!!

I’m Just Jokin’…!!!

But Seriously…

Think About It…

Cuz I See It…

You Walk In…

You Stare At The WhiteBoard…

Hands On Your Hips… Swaying Back & Forth… And Now Your Smiling/Laughing Cuz You Know I’m Right…

And In Your Head You’re Thinking…

“This MotherFucker”…

And Then Guess What?!?!

You Finish What You Thought Was The Un-Attainable…

You Just Proved Yourself Wrong…

You Lie On The Floor With… Sweat… Tears… Or Both… Dripping Down Your Bodies…

And Your Give Me A Hug…

I Will Never Ask You To Do Something Un-Safe…

I Will Ask You To Challenge Yourselves To Something That I Know You Can Do… But… You’re The One Person In Your Own Mind Who Is The Only Person Doubting… Well… You… Does That Make Sense???

I’m Getting Old… Shit Happens…

If I Program A WOD… I’m Gonna Be Smart How I Go About It For Myself…

I’m Not Programming WODs For Me… I’m Programming WODs For The Future… For You…

Do I Excel In Some WODs? Yes…

Do I Get Demolished In Some WODs? YES!!!

Can I Pick Up My Son? Can I Take The Stairs When Theres An Elevator/Escalotor? Do I Look Pretty Good Naked?

Yes!!!

Shit… 10.28.2022…

I Got Off @ The Wrong Bus Stop In Boston… Downtown Boston… Sketchy…

Put The Directions To My “Home” In My Phone … 22 Mins… Ran & Made It In 14 Mins…

With A DadBag On My Back…

What I’m Getting At Is…

You’re Gonna Have Good Days…

You’re Gonna Have Bad Days…

You’re Gonna Leave The Gym Happy Sometimes…

Sometimes… You’re Gonna Leave Pissed…

You’re Gonna Have Days When You Don’t Want To Get Stabbed In DownTown Boston…

So You Do What You Can…

And Guess What???

You Just Did What 99% of The World Wouldn’t Do…

Does That Make Sense?!?!

…”DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?!?!”…

There Are Many Things That I Took Away From The Marine Corps…

But… “Does That Make Sense?!?!”

No Matter How Much Of A BadAss My Marine Corps Drill Instructors Were…

They Always Ended Every “Instructional Period” With…

“Does That Make Sense?!?!”

Why?!?!

BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO KNOW THAT EVERYONE KNEW THE TASK AT HAND!!!

As Do I…

I Know You Can Hear Me Right Now…

“Alright Ladies & Gents… HUDDLE UP!!!”

Alright… Here We Go…

“Strength… Today We Got Back Squats… We’re Gonna Go Every Min On the Min For 5 Mins…5 Reps @ 60% of your 1 Rep Max… If You Don’t Have A 1 Rep Max… Let Me Know… And I’ll Give You A Safe Starting Point… But Make Sure You Write Down Your Numbers… Because I Ain’t Gonna Remember Them… Every Week… We’re Gonna Go Heavier & Heavier… No Guessing… You’re Either Gonna Hurt Yourself Going To Heavy… Or Your Going To Hurt Your Gains Going To Light… So Write Down Your Fuckin’ Numbers!!!”

“MetCon… Arlright… Wall Ball Shots .. 20lbs For The Gentlemen… 14lbs For The Ladies… & Burpee Box Jumps…. 24″ For The Gentlemen… 20” For The Ladies… If You Need To Go Lighter Or Lower On The Wall Ball Shots… Let Me Know… Samething For The Box Jumps… We Can Go Lower Or Perform Step Ups…

Once All This Is Done… I’ll Be Back…

And That’s It…

I Have Nothing To Prove…

I Believe That The Fact That All Of You Have Stayed True Is Enough To Know…

RainCross Is Here To Stay…

If Anything… I Have Grown As A Not Only A Coach… But…

A Human Being…

I Hope That The Next Chapter Of RainCross Strength & Conditioning…

I Just Hope It’s Gonna Fun…

3…2…1…GO!!!

Mando

Not A Quote….

But… From Me…

I Ain’t Fucking With You…

If You Want To Get To That “Next Level”… I’m Gonna Get You There…

If You Just Want To “Get In Shape”… I’m Gonna Get You There…

I Have Always Based My Coaching On “Whoever Comes In”…

Does That Make Sense?!?!

I Could Have A Noon Session With Some Elite Athletes… “In The Middle” Athletes… And… “Day 1′ Athletes…

Notice… ALL OF YOU… I Callled… ATHLETES…

Because That’s What You Are… RainCross Athletes…

Some Might Be More Experienced Than Others… Some Might Be Just Finding Their Groove… Some Might Be… Well… Day One…

Guess What?!?!

I Don’t Care!!!

Try This…

Whether You Come In Early… Or Stay Late…

Look Around…

If You’re Brand New…. Notice That… You’re Not The Only One “New”….

If You’re Someone Who Has Been Around For Awhile…

Remember…

You Were There Once… The “Newbie”…

So Cheer Them On… Help Them Out…

I Say It All The Time…

RainCross Strength & Conditioning…

The Biggest Smallest Gym In Riverside…

3…2…1…GO!!!

Mando

Alright… Onto The Next One…

2nd Post…

It’s 4:15AM Tuesday, 11.1.2022…

And I’m Staring At My Son… Thinking About Life…

When I Don’t Have Anything To Do…

That’s When My Mind Starts To Wonder In All Sorts Of Different Directions…

“Am I A Good Husband???”

“Am I A Good Father???”

“Am I A Good Son… Brother… GrandSon… Nephew… Cousin???”

“Am I A Good Coach???”

“Am I A Good Friend???”

“Am I A Good Person…???”

Am I A Good???

I Don’t Know… Insert Something Here…

Do I Try To Be “Good” At All Of The Above???

Yes…

Do I Succeed???

I Dunno…

I’ve Had A Lot Of Time To Think About Who I Am… Who I Want To Be…

But Also… Who You Think Of The Person That I Am… Who You Want Me To Be…

Who Do You Expect Me To Be???

If You’re Answer Is For Me To Be “Perfect”…

Welll… I’m Sorry…

Because I Have Yet To Mark A “Perfect” Day On My Coaching/WOD Calendar…

There’s Always Something That Comes Up…

But… I/We Always Make It Work…

Not Your Day For Snatches??? OK… Not The End Of The World… You’ll See Them Next Week… And… You Did Way More Work Than The Person Who Slept In Or Who Didn’t Show Up…

Can’t Run??? Cool… Then Bike… Row… Or Ski It Is!!!

The Possibilities Are Endless…

There’s Really No “Right Or Wrong”… There’s Just “Do Or Don’t”…

You Come In Knowing What You Have To Do… Or… You Come In Knowing That You Might Have To MODify…

But Guess What??? Either Way… You Still Came In!!!

I’ve Spent The Past Few Days Watching Numerous Doctors/Nurses “Argue” Over The Correct Path To Help Out Ryker…

Some… Very Loud Arguments…

Some… Just A Casual Back & Forth On How To Go About The Right Path…

But In The End…

They All Agreed On The Most Efficient/Safest Path…

AND…

In The End… Ryker Ended Up Strong & Healthy…

From My Time In The Marine Corps… From My Time Listening/Learining From Mulitiple Coaches… From My Time Listening/Learning From Multiple Doctors & Nurses…

From My Time Listening/Learning From All Of You…

I Think That I Have A Pretty Good Grasp On This Thing Called Being An “Adult”…

I’m Getting Old… I’m Almost 40… But In My Head… I’m Still 18 Years Old In The Marine Corps…

Young & Dumb…

Or…

Young @ Heart & Dumb Yet Smart?!?!

I’m Pretty Fit… I’m Pretty Strong… I’m Pretty Fast… I Can Do Some Stuff That Most Can’t…

Can I Find My Way Around Boston?!?! NOPE!!!

Can I Pretend I Know My Way Around Boston?!?! YEP!!!

Whatever “Strengths & Weaknesses” I Have…

I Love!!!

Notice I Didn’t Say Love & Hate…

Because Those “Weaknesses” That You Think You Hate… Once You Get Them Down… You’ll Love Showing Them Off!!!

So In The End… Trust The Journey… After all… It’s Your Journey… Have Fun Along The Journey… Celebrate Your Accomplishments… No Matter How Big Or Small… Hell…. I Got Super Stoked When I Drove “Home” By Myself From BCH Without Getting Lost… Or When I Took The Bus & Train Without Getting Lost!!!

To One Of The Loves Of My Life… To The Love Of Ryker’s Life…

Happy 9 Years “Officially”…

Today Is The Day We Had Offiallay “Tied The Knot” & Had Our Celebration…

But We Both Now… It Means… “Nothing… But Everything…”

Years Before That… Sitting In My Marine Corps Barracks Room… Talking On The Phone…

I Told You… “I Love You”… 

And As We All Know… No Lady Can Resist A Young Marine In Dress Blues!!! So You Said It Back… So… SCORE!!!

I’m Just Joking… But That Did Happen…!!!

But…

What I’m Not Joking About… Is…

This Guy…

Excuse My Language…

But…

The Shit That This Lil’ Guy Has Been Through… SINCE DAY ONE…

Is An Exact Replica Of How Strong His MOM Is…

Not Me…

Toss Me To The Curb… Call Me Trash… Beat Me Up… I’ll Take It… And Move On…

Do That To This Lil’ Dude’s Mom…

SHE WILL FUCKIN’ SLIT YOUR THROAT WITH THE DULLEST SPOON IN THE PANTRY!!!

That Being Said…

This “Anniversary” Post May Not Be All Lovey Dovey…

But To Those Who Get It… They Know…

The Love Of A Mother For Her Son… Her Child.. Her Family…

Goes Far More Than “A Dozen Red Roses”…

I Fell In Love With Danielley…

I Spent Numerous Nights/Months Away From Her…

I’ve Laughed… Argued… Cried… & Smiled… And Sometimes…

Shit… All Four Of The Above Mentioned Plus Some With Her…

And Still… Now…  At The End Of Night… I GET To Fall Asleep Next To Her…

This Beautiful Woman…

And… The Fact That There’s This Lil’ Warrior Next To Us…

Just About The Best Freakin’ Bonus Ever…

We Don’t Need A Fancy Dinner… We Don’t Need To Wine & Dine…

All We Need Is… US…

And You Know What… I’m Good With That…

Yes… Happy Anniversary My Love… But… Happy 2 Years & A LifeTime To… To Our Son…

Ryker…

Best Anniversary Gift A Dad… A Mom… A Family… A Community…

Could Ever Ask For… Is This Lil’ Man…

No… This Lil’ Man Who Is Gonna Grow Up To To The Strongest Man Ever…

Just You Watch!!!

3rd Post… 

We Arrived Back Home …

There Are Still Challenges Ahead…

This Upcoming Week… I’m Asking All Coaches To Keep Doing What They Are Doing…

But… I Do Plan On Dropping In Here & There… 

When?!?! I Don’t Know… I’ll Keep All Of You Posted Day By Day…

I Do Know That For This UpComing Monday… I Will Not Be In During The Any AM Sessions… Ryker Has An Appointment With His Pediatrican… 

And… Next Monday… I’ll Be Out The Whole Day… We Have An Appointment Out In San Diego With His Caridologidy…

After That However… I Should Be Back!!!

If Anything Changes… I’ll Be Sure To Let Everyone… Coaches & Athletes… Know ASAP!!!

Trust Me… This Isn’t Me “SandBagging”…

I Want To Be Back At The Gym… Danielley Wants To Be Back At The Gym… But…

We Can’t Risk Anything Happening To Ryker That Could Have Been Avoided If We Didn’t “Jump The Gun”…

Hoping To Witness A Lot Of “PRs” Next Week…

And Then The Following Week…

We’re Gonna Have Some “Fun”!!!

For Now… Here’s The Whole Week of 80% Week…

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Sunday…ALRIGHT… HERE WE GO!!!

Active Rest Day… GET OUT & DO SOMETHING!!!

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And 4th Post…

Monday…

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ALRIGHT… HERE WE GO!!!

Strength…

Back Squat

Every Min On the Min X 3 Mins:

3 Back Squats @ 80% of your 1 Rep Max

MetCon…

***Front Squats… No Racks!!! You Can Clean Your 1st Front Squat… Rx’d: M-185lbs/F-115lbs…***

***Box Jumps… Rx’d: M-30″/F-24″…***

***Double KB Reverse Lunges… Rx’d: M-53lbsx2… F-35lbsx2…***

—————————————————————————————–

For Time…

5 Front Squats

25 Box Jumps

4 Front Squats

20 Double KB Reverse Lunges

3 Front Squats

15 Box Jumps

2 Front Squats

10 Double KB Reverse Lunges

1 Front Squat

5 Box Jumps… TIME!!!

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Tuesday…

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ALRIGHT… HERE WE GO!!!

Strength…

Strict Press

Every Min On the Min X 3 Mins:

3 Strict Presses @ 80% of your 1 Rep Max

Push Press

Every Min On the Min X 3 Mins:

3 Push Presses @ 80% of your 1 Rep Max

Push Jerk

Every Min On the Min X 3 Mins:

3 Push Jerks @ 80% of your 1 Rep Max

MetCon…

————————————————————————–

For Time…

50 Calorie Row

25 Hand Release Push Ups

5 Wall Walks

40 Cal Row

20 Hand Release Push Ups

4 Wall Walks

30 Cal Row

15 Hand Release Push Ups

3 Wall Walks

20 Cal Row

10 Hand Release Push Ups

2 Wall Walks

10 Cal Row

5 Hand Release Push Ups

1 Wall Walk

1 Burpee… TIME!!!

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Wednesday…

**************************************************

ALRIGHT… HERE WE GO!!!

Strength…

DeadLift

Every Min On the Min X 3 Mins:

3 Single & Controlled DeadLifts @ 80% of your 1 Rep Max

MetCon…

***DeadLifts… Rx’d: M-275lbs/F-185lbs…***

————————————————————————–

For Time:

5 DeadLifts

15 Cal Row

10 Burpee Pull Ups

5 DeadLifts

13 Cal Row

8 Burpee Pull Ups

5 DeadLifts

11 Cal Row

6 Burpee Pull Ups

5 DeadLifts

9 Cal Row

4 Burpee Pull Ups

5 DeadLifts

7 Cal Row

2 Burpee Pull Ups…. TIME!!!

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Thursday…

**************************************************

ALRIGHT… HERE WE GO!!!

Strength… Rest Day!!!

MetCon… Tactical Thursday 140

————————————————————————–

For Time…

20 Burpees

200 Meter DB Farmer’s Carry

20 Double DB Hang “Snatches”

200 Meter DB Farmer’s Carry

20 Devil Presses

200 Meter DB Farmer’s Carry

20 Devil Presses

200 Meter DB Farmer’s Carry

20 Double DB Hang “Snatches”

200 Meter DB Farmer’s Carry

20 Burpees

20 Double Unders… TIME!!!

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Friday…

**************************************************

ALRIGHT… HERE WE GO!!!

Strength/MetCon…

***BarBell… Rx’d: M-155lbs/F-105lbs…***

————————————————————————–

For a Total of 5 Rounds:

15 Calorie Row

12 DeadLifts

9 Hang Power Cleans

6 Push Jerks… TIME!!!

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Saturday Sweat Sesh @ 9:00AM…

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And There It Is…

3…2…1…GO!!!

Mando