Remember guys, the wife is always right!

So, last year the main air conditioning/heating unit in my house went out. I have a nice $400k house that is nearly paid off (I paid for it, not my wife) no debt, but am semi retired and most definitely not rich. At one time I made very good money, but that was looooong ago. Today I work part time prepping mostly combat athletes and a few bodybuilders. I don't make much money any more. My wife is still working and doing very well, making six figures. During the winter I just sucked it up and, it being Texas, got by. But it is summer now. Did I mention I am in southern Texas where it is about a million degrees?

During this winter my wife said she only had $1800 for the HVAC unit, and I only had about $1200. But with her income we should have had the $6-7k we needed by now, as she promised to reighn in her Louis Vuitton purse habit and we should be fine once summer hit.

Well, summer has hit, and it is about a 150 degrees in my house today. Thank God the workers arrived last week, and I figured the house would be cool soon. However, the workers started painting the inside of the house and remodeling my fitness room. I ask my wife "sweetie, what is going on? We need our AC unit, not a remodel. The paint is fine and my clients don't care if the fitness room looks fancy, they care about winning championships. The paint is perfectly fine anyways"

My wife replied "we can't have them working out in that ugly room, the flooring doesn't even match the walls, and I can't look at that ugly beige anymore." I asked "um, sweetie, how much are you spending on this project?" She said "its cheap, only $4k! Plus, I have my portable AC unit in my office" where she also sleeps and watches her soap operas, which I cannot stand. "We are going to be fine. Anyways, its my money, and I have not bought a purse in 2 months." she said.

So I am buckling down for one hot summer!

Remember guys, the wife is aways right!

 

I can tell you on A.C. you have to keep that filter changed with good filters to .Weird enough the best filters in my area come from a local grocery store.Rember it has to pull air also so if you put in a new filter and you hear a whistling noise it's restricting the aire flow.You want a good ,quality filter that doesn't restrict air flow .I have only saw 1 A.c. system that was perfect .They all have flaws but a filter will make or brake you.

 

I use Pura2000 beat dam filters I've come across.

 

My uncle got a 1980 model G.E. and the bastard still running.

 

I know folks add a cap full of clorox to drain line once a month. I just flush mine 2 or 3 times a year. I pour clorox in about half a cup and let it sit for about 12 hours and drag the water hose through the window and flows it .My drain line is simple .It has a pvc cap threaded and I just pop cap and flush it with a garden hose . You want to get a good seal with your hand or towell and hit trigger wide open.

 

Clean your outside unit ,coils about once a year. I wash my house once a year and that's when I wash coils on same day

 

Keep a check on the inside unit to and keep it clean.

 

My dear, dear Bama man....all your HVAC advice is most excellent...but what I really need, is marital advice.

BTW, I see that you are a football fan. I know this is off topic, but my son led his team in tackles last year. My apologies for the blatant bragging, back to your usual channel.

 

Our unit was made around 1997...I figured it probably needs complete replacement, but will look into your advice. On a related note, the new paint looks spectacular

 

It's OK man. My 2nd cousin is a starting LB inthe NFL lol I was pretty good back in the day.

 

Yeah, here is the thing....he (my son) is still 14. Five eleven, 183 lbs and hits like a freight train. The problem is his 40 is not division 1 material. He actually has a better shot at a wrestling scholarship. My hopes are modest, I just want to defer some college costs. I was a wrestler so that is where my heart is, but you have to let kids build their own paths. He is a warrior. I have some of his matches from his freshman year (wrestled JV, went 20 and 4) post up over on mY IG account.

May I ask about you and your cousin? I do all my sons strength and conditioning program, and am always looking to learn from people with experience.

 

It's mental mostly. I could spit a 1000 words on what to do but If you ain't got it then you ain't got it

 

Funny...I work with a lot of combat athletes...mostly wrestlers BJJ, MMA guys, a lot of bodybuilders (although most are broke) and it is always the same answer: The key is mental. That is because it is. So you are absolutely correct there. I have been working with football players for about 3 years, so I am new here.

One area I have been focusing on is Off season conditioning, just having finished it with my son, and working on it with a few high school football players.

The trend now is to do a ton of different stuff, lifting but the current rage is "functional" training, and the argument is that the training has to simulate the sport itself. However, I tend to disagree. IMO, the key to the off season is primarily to get stronger on basic lifts especially squat and deadlift and for football players bench press. Yes, as the season gets closer we start working on conditioning and excercizes that replicate the demands of the sport, but I think a lot of this new "functional" stuff takes away from building strength. Sure as you get close to the season you start to do drills that simulate actual play (football, wrestling, etc.) but the best way to get better at the sport is to ACTUALLY PLAY THE SPORT.

For example, if you are linebacker starting the offseason squatting 350...and you end the offseason squatting 375 you have not increased your strength that much, no matter how many kettle bells you swing. Now if you finish the offseason squatting 450 (90% of my strength training focuses of a 5 rep schema....so you would be squatting 380 for 5 reps) then you come into preseason much stronger. Just throwing some thoughts out there. I think a lot of this new "functional" stuff is to just sell workouts.

 

You are so right....I have heard this story SOOO many times. A super star wrestler I was working with just threw away his 70% D 2 ride over perfume (a girl). Like Bama said...its mental. I am trying my best to teach my son this lesson. I try and tell these kids that if they get that degree there will be "pussy galore" but they don't listen. They only think with heir dicks, and think right now.

I am sure I don't need to tell you, but those are possible D 1 full ride numbers, especially if he could run that 4.6. He would be 220 easy (and naturally) in college. My son is on track to be that size, but I doubt he will run better than a 4.7, that is why I am pushing I'm towards wrestling. He has also excelled at MMA and has been offered a camp slot already, but not sure I want him going that route. I want him to get a degree, but as you and I have both seen, there are many obstacles on that road.

"Talent and speed and size and strength are the key factors but the kid has to want it, and want it more than anything." That quote is spot on. Would add to it "that desire must be sustained through high school and for at least several years after.

May I ask what your sons football training prior to high school was like? A big problem in wrestling is kids get pushed too hard too early.

 

Oh man....I would be PISSED if my son's coach was on the phone, especially if it risked his well being. All football coaches push wrestling because they know wrestling makes better football players. You did a smart thing by involving him in so many sports. Playing many sports will make you a better football player than concentrating on football only. It sounds like you were a Hell of a dad! You have my respect. The problem is wrestling scholarships are few and far between and unless you win a state title you have to fight for one, and even then it is a partial /D2. Plus you have to have the grades. I am in the South, and places like Iowa and Penn/Oklahoma know our wrestling is a step down (football is king here in Texas). I have my son wrestling with coaches from Oklahoma and Penn. He is getting bigger every day, still 14 and hit 187.5 lbs on the scale today and got 225 for 10 reps on squats and a PR on bench today. The last 3 months were dedicated primarily to strength and these 2 months (June/July) he is wrestling 4 days a week, lifting only 2. August starts football camp and preseason. He will be 15 and is expected to play Varsity Linebacker. He hits like a tons of bricks but personally I don't think he has the speed to go D1....but we will see. He grew an inch this week and shot up 6 lbs. You are right about conditioning and the 4th quarter.

I am sorry that your son got screwed over. You really need a good coach to represent him. Our school won the Texas state title 5 years back but has gone downhill. I do not have confidence in them. However I am very pleased with our wrestling coach. But again, Texas wrestling is WEAK!

How old is you son? Is he interested in continuing training? BJJ is a great choice for him. I used to teach in NY at a Renzo Gracie school and have some connections around the country if your son is interested in picking it back up. BJJ is more like a chess game and something that is easier on the body than wrestling and football, so it is great for older guys.

It sounds like you did everything right with your son. Remember, you don't need to play in the NFL to get a lifetime of benefits from sports. I nearly died from Rhabdo and a Tonic/Clonic seizure a month ago (right before my 60th birthday, LOL) but a lifetime of training is getting me back in the mix.

Here is something you will LOVE, check it out! 25 years ago I developed a training system for my first professional MMA fighter, and I learned it from dog conditioning. The HUGE mistake so, so many fighters (and EVERY other damn athlete I work with) is they MASSIVELY overtrain the last week before a fight. I had a guy in Japan (actually my first BJJ coach) doing hundreds of push ups the night BEFORE...(right f'n BEFORE) the fight. I learned from dog men that that is wrong, wrong, wrong. If a dogman had a dog in great shape (this should be about 10 days out) doing a crazy amount of work, say 4 hours of training, then 7 days out, he cut that work load down in half. Then couple of days later he cut it in half again and did say, one hour of high intensity work but no more. That would be about Wednesday. Thursday might be a brisk moderate intensity workout, and then Friday mostly rest, maybe just a decent walk. Of course making weight can change his, but that should also be done systematically. Dog men know their shit!

I never conditioned a dog, so I might be wrong, but I applied this philosophy to combat athletes, and it works like a charm. Now granted, most guys don't listen to me, and still overtrain, LOL, but if they do this they always come in stronger. I talked about this with Junior Dos Santos' trainer a few years ago and he said it was true, Junior lost a fight because he left his best fight in the gym. He overtrained.

Now me, I have terrible genetics, but I also compete in body building and apply this philosophy to bodybuilding and it works great. I cut waaaaay back on my training 9-10 days out. Even with the insane amount of drugs.

Keep in mind, I learned this from a dogman, crazy, huh. Put another way, dogmen are more advanced than some of the worlds greatest coaches, in the UFC, boxing, etc.

 

So to sum up, we both applied dog training to human training....and that is an incredibly smart and effective thing to do. Your son was blessed.

 

You are a bitch slapped cur