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TODAY’S TRAINING INSPIRATION:
DAWN FRASER

Today’s Colin Timberlake Training Inspiration is a woman who has achieved some pretty impressive things in more than one stage of her life.

In her youth, Dawn Fraser was one of the most highly trained and competitive swimmers in the world.

She achieved a phenomenal feat in becoming one of only two swimmers ever to win the same Olympic event at three separate Games, as she won the 100m freestyle in 1956, 1960 and 1964.

This was merely the tip of the iceberg of her international achievements, as she would compile a total of eight Olympic medals (four golds) and six gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in swimming.

She also held the world record in the 100m freestyle for an impressive 15 years.

However, just last week she made international headlines once again, and this time for being one bad-ass granny.

Now 71, Fraser was at home when a would-be burglar assaulted her and grabbed her at her front gate.

The closest thing we might see in our lifetimes to the female version of Clint Eastwood in Grant Torino, Dawn Fraser grabbed his ear, kicked him in the groin and fought him off, making her not only an Olympic legend but the biggest elderly badass since Charles Bronson.

TODAY: LEGS (Fast Tempo, 90 Second Rests)

SEATED LEG PRESS (HORIZONTAL MACHINE) (5 sets)
300 x 12
500 x 10
500 x 8
500 x 6
500 x 5

SINGLE LEG SQUATS (per leg) (3 sets)
Body x 10
Body x 10
Body x 10

SEATED QUAD EXTENSIONS (5 sets)
150 x 12
240 x 10
240 x 10
240 x 10
240 x 8

SEATED HAMSTRING CURLS (5 sets)
150 x 10
240 x 5
240 x 5
210 x 6
210 x 6

TRAINING NOTES

Total Sets (Legs): 18

Today was a bit of a notable day in the gym, not because the workout was incredibly impressive. Just because a shift occurred that had to kick in at some point.

The last few days I’ve been dragging ass a bit, trudging through the workouts. The great motivator has been short of motivation. The last little while has seen a bit of tragedy. The world has lost some good people. Not Michael Jackson, not DJ AM. Not famous people, just plain old good people.

And when fate, or life, or chance – or whatever you want to call it – takes good people, invariably it leaves a wake of pain for other good people that are left behind. Because the good people tend to travel in packs…

And so, with this on my mind, I’ve been slugging through the workouts, doing little more than the bare minimum. And today started out the same way. For the first few sets, I was sluggish and pensive, and then something turned, and I started to get angry. And then I got angry strong. And then I probably looked like some sort of rabid beast pacing from one machine to the next and hammering out sets.

Some people find clarity on the beach, some in church, some in a bottle, some on an ice rink. I guess when you go to the gym long enough, it starts to become your cathedral or your confessional…

Dave Draper, one of the bodybuilding greats, once referred to the equipment in the weight dungeon as Brother Iron and Sister Steel. Well, these brothers and sisters don’t always have answers, but they will let you hit them as hard as you want and never speak a word of complaint.

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