colintimberlake.comTell her it wasn’t you…

TODAY’S TRAINING INSPIRATION:
KYLE MAYNARD

Today’s training inspiration is a man who has overcome a great deal in life to achieve some pretty remarkable things, and who will tonight be attempting something that may blur the line between courageous and farcical.

There was nothing farcical, however, about Kyle Maynard achieving what almost everyone would have likely thought impossible when – being born without arms below his elbows and with legs barely formed below his knees – he entered the realm of high school wrestling and succeeded.

Despite having to compete without fully formed limbs, Maynard went on to a 35-16 record on the mats and competed in the 2004 Georgia High School wrestling championships, also winning himself the ESPY Award that year as the Best Athlete with a Disability.

The feats for which we turn to him for inspiration do not stop there, however. Maynard also took up powerlifting and has been renowned as one of the premier performers in modified bench press and other strength feats in exercises made possible by equipment that allows him to display his deceptive strength.

Tonight, Maynard takes on a challenge that many consider inspiring and many consider ridiculuous. Time will tell whether it, too, is yet another reason we should aspire to emulate men like Maynard, but when he makes his mixed martial arts debut this evening, he will be fighting with no hands and no feet.

Much of the world does not know what to think about the upcoming match or whether it will be competitive or ill-advised. There is little disagreement, however, that Maynard has stones the size of Plymouth Rock and that he has the type of iron will that will not allow him to be told what not to do.

At first blush, allowing a man to fight in front of a crowd when he doesn’t have forearms or hands to defend punches, legs to stand on, hands with which to attempt submissions, or the ability to throw proper punches or kicks…sounds like a bad idea. But then again, if you had asked the same question about his taking up high school wrestling, you would have probably got the same answer at the time…and look at how that turned out.

ADDENDUM:
Well, now that the fight has occurred, we have even more evidence that Kyle Maynard is a man who is not going to back down from anything. Maynard lost a three-round fight by decision, but went the distance in his debut MMA match. What is particularly notable about this fight is that (apparently due to humidity in the arena) Maynard was unable to get his MMA gloves to stay on, and thus had to enter the cage without gloves.

This meant that during the match, he would not be allowed to throw strikes with his arms. Since Maynard is not exactly going to be pulling off any slick submissions with his incomplete limbs and inability to grab hold of his opponent to manipulate joints, that meant he was essentially left without his primary means of mounting an offense. He entered the cage to fight nonetheless, which basically means Kyle Maynard’s balls are bigger than your head. I am waiting to see what challenge this man takes on next.

HAMMERING THE ANVIL…

It is time for a dedicated back day. The weak points shall become strong points…

TODAY: BACK (5-0-5 / 5-1-5) and ABS

WIDE GRIP LAT PULLDOWN (5 sets)
150 x 7
120 x 6
- Switched to 1-1-2 Tempo
210 x 7
225 x 5
225 x 4 / 165 x 5

CLOSE GRIP LAT PULLDOWN (MACHINE) (5 sets)
150 x 8
150 x 7
170 x 5
170 x 6
200 x 4 / 150 x 2

BENT OVER BARBELL ROW (5 sets)
- 40-Second Rests and Fast Reps
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 8

CLOSE GRIP CABLE ROWS (3 sets)
100 x 7
100 x 6
120 x 5

SUPINE BODYWEIGHT ROW (SMITH) (3 sets)
BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 4

VERTICAL-GRIP BACK FLYES (PEC DECK) (3 sets)
70 x 8
85 x 6
100 x 4 / 70 x 2

HORIZONTAL-GRIP BACK FLYES (PEC DECK) (3 sets)
70 x 7
85 x 5
100 x 4 / 70 x 2

ABS
Decline 45 Degree Sit-Ups x 20
Decline 45 Degree Sit-Ups x 20
Decline 45 Degree Sit-Ups x 16
Suspended Twisting Crunches x 20
Suspended Twisting Crunches x 16
Suspended Twisting Crunches x 16

TRAINING NOTES

Early on, I decided to take the 5-0-5 tempo out of some of the exercises. Two sets into wide lat pulldowns, all I was doing was burning out my biceps, so I went for quick reps and mass the last three sets. I also opted to do quick reps and short rests for bent-over barbell rows.

Otherwise, it was long slow reps and business as usual.

Total Sets (Back): 27

BACK TO Index of Inspirational Role Models for Training