A nice mention and picture of my fish with a couple tips to help you enjoy your fishing more and conserve our valuable natural resources.

Nice to be recognized in the Outdoor Community and the work VA DGIF does has always been and remains ahead of the curve.

Precisely why I wanted to join them, everyone likes being part of a solid well led team….and that includes me.

Have some fun yourself and explore Virginia’s fantastic natural resources, have some fun and go catch yourself a fish.

My bicycle – Time to show some love and ride it to the park.

Once in the Park, “Hook Upppppp.”

Add in a little dash of metal seasoning and I think I will have something simple/fun/organic and some times those fun workouts can smoke you.

Enjoy the pain, I will.

Russ Moon

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat“.

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

I have a passion for programming.

When The Chief says study Dan John or Geoff Neupert if you want to learn more about what the best do, then try your own. You do it, if you care, if you want to learn.

Safe to say I have been exposed to Master Neupert’s “Gamma Rays” at great length and that is part of my DNA. Period.

Master Dan John – I have been studying, but had not taken the full plunge.  Then I met him, he coached me on my snatch, The Chief said “study his work” and I got sold real fast.

Like many of you, I bought this book and Intervention is on the way.

The highlighter is still in the book and of course you do not get Stronger by just reading. LOL

I can hear Master Dan John saying “But you know what I really like….5 x 2.”

So I started dipping into this as I read the book, do not pass go, do not understand….”DO”.

I love 5 x 2 especially when it is correctly performed with a heavier weight on week 3.  DSFQ 5 x 2 with 40′s.

Not a world record but good for me.  It happened so fast I almost felt guilty, it was too easy, then I said “Hey man, that is why you bought the book and that is why you do NOT change the program.”

I am thankful for that coaching to study this programming, happy to get stronger, going to keep going.

That was worth the cost of the book right there to me.

Now it is time to move those 2′s towards 5′s, patiently.

We will return for the “Gamma Rays”, but that requires 5′s not 2′s….always another bridge to cross.

So for the record, to the person who did the Darth Vader on me saying “Embrace the DFSQ.”

I am and we will see if it really does “make my press go up.”

Master John – The Answer is SQUAT.

I really want that to be my experience so I am going to find out.

It feels like it is already helping my Double Clean, adding snap or the weight just feels lighter.

I don’t know yet, I don’t need to know, but eventually I will know.

Until then, note to self – read the book, and start implementing the “Donnybrook”.

This is like Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh (my personal favorite followed by Monet)

Honored to be on the first wave of Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Angling Instructors.  The value of a good coach and preparing your student to succeed is greatly underestimated.  Fortunately for me I started with the basics when I was 5 years old, learning to make and fish using a bamboo “cane pole”, then a closed faced spincast reel, then a flyrod, onto baitcasting tackle and spincasting reels.  Everything that was in the manual are fundamentals that will enhance anyone’s preparation to fish successfully and have a great experience.

Fishing is Fun !

Looking forward to giving back by sharing what I have learned in the last 45 years with children and adults alike who want to experience the great outdoors and the thrill of fishing.

And yes….my kettlebells go with me in the car when I go fishing and I use them to limber myself up prior to going after the Trophy Largemouth Bass.

Once you have swung or pressed a 48kg or two a couple times, a 5 pound fish seems alot more manageable.  No waiting for the machine to open, no trip to the gym, just open the car door make sure I am not being charged by a bull and get some reps in

Yes and watch for snakes like this Copperhead, which is abundant and poisonous.

No I don’t like them, but I have been known to fish while they swim around me…if they get too close my machete is sharp if needed.

Best to give them their space and allow them to slither back under the rock they came from, you can always come back another day more heavily armed if they truly become a problem.

Virginia has historically been progressive in their wildlife management programs and this is another step in the right direction.

Experienced a lifetime best of 14+ Largemouth Bass all caught old school …..from the bank.

No Trophy size fish but moving in the right direction – 8 pounds OR 22 inches – 2 18″ers, 1 20 “er…I actually took the time to measure and weigh them because by eyeballing them I could tell they were close.

Caught fish on 5-6 different presentations, so I had a chance to see how some of my newer approaches performed and what size of fish they consistently delivered. Very valuable.

I did fish a gigantic swimbait to swing for the fence but had no takers, an enormous swimbait that I believe only an enormous fish would attempt to eat.  Caught plenty of 3-5 pounders very healthy fish, 1 6 pounder and released them all to grow larger.  In another year or so several of those fish will be Trophy sized so that was encouraging to see.

Also very encouraged to see that some of my new custom dyed plastics, greatly outperformed the ones I made last year.  One new color accounted for the 6 pounder and 5 other fish, now that I am dialing in on the exact color shades and where I put them on the plastic it makes more confident that good times are ahead.

Like I said earlier in the year, sometimes lightening strikes and other times it can become a numbers game. You catch a large number of bass and eventually “El Gigante” is one of them. This year I have caught more bass but have not caught a Trophy size…yet.  I know from experience that when you start catching 6,8 or in this case 14+ bass you will catch a certain percentage of larger fish. So I am buoyed by my all time best performance of 14+ (evidence that my lure selection and ability to manipulate the baits is indeed improving)…I need to not panic stay patient and keep enjoying the hunt.  It only takes one and I stepped my game way up as the rods, reels, lines and baits I have been shuffling trying to crack the code are starting to deliver the goods.

PS – that’s not a color you can purchase so if you figure out the color combinations I used to make it….be my guest.  I started coloring my own last year and have further refined the process….I think before it is all over I will be pouring my own plastics in order to get the “flake” combinations I want in there or find another manufacturer who will make the prototypes for me. I did that for some time last year, but the plastic while near perfect but just a tad too tough….which made for too many fish lost while setting the hook.

As Richie White, a talented Trophy Guide at Lake Fork, has said “When you fish for Trophy Fish there are days when you might be only getting 1 bite.”  It takes extreme patience going for the Monster Fish, it can make you doubt if you “still have it”. Yesterday was great for me because I set a lifetime best on multiple lures, there is no doubt I can catch the bass from the bank.  That will make some of the days when the action is not as heated more bearable.  If all that was involved was casting and retrieving then everyone would be recording Trophy Award Fish.

Trophy fishing is a whole nother ball game, it is not about just catching a bass, it is about catching fish that are in the top 1% and they do not grow to that size by being stupid. They grow that size by being wary of anglers, not being easily fooled, being powerful enough to break your tackle if you are not prepared, throwing the hook if you fail to set it properly, wrapping your line around unseen underwater logs, rocks, stumps, brush if you are unable to put enough pressure on them to get them under control.  The large fish are capeable of incredible bursts of speed and power, one mistake and it is over.  The exact reason I enjoy the hunt for them so much.  There is some luck involved but to consistently catch large fish there is an equal amount of skill and experience that you earn the hard way. I have lost several large fish, not recently, but in the last three years and it is heartbreaking because you don’t have the opportunity often.  That’s all part of the game.

Ask any outdoorsmen and big game hunter, big difference between harvesting a deer and harvesting one with a mind boggling bodyweight and rack. The people that do that consistently are skilled. So I work on my skills every week to constantly experiment, improve and learn.

Skills which would serve anyone well in their chosen endeavor.

The opportunity to just get outside and on the water is worth gold in terms of the enjoyment of our natural assets here in Virginia.

God created all that and I am thankful everytime I can step into that outdoor wonderland and just relax, enjoy the smells, sights, experiences and learn something.

I encourage everyone to take some time and explore the outdoors in Virginia.

If you really want to feel alive, tie on a topwater lure and go catch yourself a largemouth bass.

Just remember, don’t pull the lure out of their mouth when they violently strike it, allow the fish to close their mouth and swim off with the lure.

When you feel the weight of the fish on your line and it is taut, THEN set your hook and turn the handle of the reel.

Russ Moon

That’s how things have been the last couple months.

Training -  “Remember…BE the Predator.”   Yes, Sir.  I received personal instruction from 2 of the most brilliant strength coaches on the planet Earth.  They were so good one comment would leap you 10 years down the road in your development.  They were so expert at their craft they could make it “simple”, because they were boiling down decades of experience into the essence of strength.  I also had the privilege of personally being de-sissified by Pavel himself and I thanked him for it   I am not saying that I looked pretty during the process, but I did enjoy it and it certainly had the impact of a detonated atomic device….in a good strong way.   Think down the lines of kettlebell Gladiator and you might be getting into the right zip code.  I remember telling him at one point “I cannot remember my social security number right now.” and then I started laughing, he smiled.  “Enjoy the Pain”….indeed.  No quarter was requested, No quarter was given – I am still alive to tell the story and the story does not end here…actually it starts here.  I have some further purification to endure and I will become even stronger physically and mentally by doing so.

I never “make it” by being gifted, pretty, talented and those are all honorable virtues if you possess them.  I make it by clawing it out until somehow, someway I limp/fall/collapse across the finish line.  Somehow I pick myself up and move on.  Not pretty, not easy but I do arrive and this will be no different.  I did listen very closely to every syllable that came from Pavel’s mouth.  Some things I am right on track with and others I have some work to do.  I am willing to do the work for things that matter to me and strength matters a great deal.  Not because of how much you can lift, but rather what you become along the way.  You do not have to like him for his wisdom to be correct, I happened to have the bonus of leveraging his wisdom and appreciating his sense of humor.  Call me sick, I liked him even when he was vaporizing me because….it made me stronger, it worked.  You have to pay a toll to cross that bridge. Time to start saving for the next toll gate, so I can pay to crossover.  It’s all good, closer to the goal line and like my MBA Thesis proctor said after what he thought was a slow start to my Thesis, which I made an A on…”Mr. Moon you have a strong endgame.”  In the red zone and the ball is going in, if I personally have to run over 11 men then so be it.

Master Instructor Dan John…..the man can teach/coach. Period.   He worked with me on my single arm snatch and darn near performed a miracle on improving my sequencing, that stuck through the next day. Major breakthrough.  It is one thing to be strong and that is totally honorable….Master Dan John is strong and can show you how…if you execute what he shows you. Blew my mind how strong of a teacher he is.  I recognize and appreciate virtuosity.   I will be investing in “Intervention”…why ? because he told me to start there. Enough said.  Genius.

Writing – final stages of e-book formatting prior to publication, that is is now in the hands of an expert as it should have been from the start….lesson learned. Outsource what you don’t do well or do not have the time to do well.  It will be a good feeling to have this first book finished, to know the feeling of the process and to take what I learned and pour it into the next one….and that story is already forming quite nicely.

Fishing – VA Deptment of Game and Inland Fisheries – started volunteer work in the Fishing Department at the Richmond Headquarters, will be attending Fishing Instructor Training later this month. 1 of 6 in the state and taught by somehow who can teach me a thing or two about catching Largemouth Bass so I am “all in”.  I do not see a Trophy Award Largemouth Bass Certificate on my desk for this year and that is going to change.  Narrowing the focus, Narrowing the lures and going to lay the big bass bait out enough times until lightening strikes.

Making progress on all fronts, feeling good, feeling strong and looking forward to delivering the message in Kenbridge on June 23rd.

God has been with me through it all, carrying me on his back at times and I felt it.  Totally grateful to serve such an almighty being whose power I cannot even comprehend.

Life is good.

Don’t get me wrong, I love these 40kg’s and and putting some time in with them.  Hit multiple PR’s in Double Swings, Clean and Presses, Double Front Squats….but it is time to cycle down.

Been heavy 4-5 months and I need to pause for the cause with some rep work (which I come to like as my conditioning goes up , a little active deloading, Time Under Tension via the rep counts and my favorite…..not…..putting everything on the gymboss.

The latest has been performing modified Tabata Conditioning Protocols – normally 20:10 for 8 rounds, going 50:25 for Double Cleans (“The Double Clean will smoke you.”) and the Double Front Squat (“The Granddaddy”) performed as a chain (shades of Master Neupert) 1 clean + 1 squat = 1 rep…..funny how that tricks your mind on the Total Volume a Jedi Mindtrick I presume.  Started at 21, now at 36 reps of the chain with the goal being 48….then we go back and “rest in the rack” ala Master Dan John…rest….okay….it does not feel like rest.Using 24kg, standard Russian issue, it has not become “too” easy…we will talk about that when the 48 with the rests in the rack are in the books.  30 days to get there

TGU’s – changed up from the 1-2 TGU with presses thrown in at each ascent point and went to starting from the top of the snatch.  Snatch to the top, descend, ascend.  My initial goal I committed to was 5L/5R w 40kg and got that one.  Now weaving in “The Beast 48kg” to build up to 5L/5R.  Making this practice into a mini-TGU centered complex.

TRX – all laughter aside, they are no joke it, worth it for the non-stop core work, but you can rack up Time Under Tension and I said my quads gain an inch while my Double Front Squats w 24′s went up 5 reps on my rep max.  That corresponded from increasing from 10-100 nonstop bodyweight squats.  Working on my form on this since last September, still not there but getting more depth, a little more upright and it works the stabilizers in and around your core pretty hard.

Started working in some pistols, just to practice the movement and I see the transfer to the kettlebell Double Front Squat, thanks Master Neupert.  I am not a pistol expert like yourself, but I was able to mimic the movement with the TRX and move my DFSQ upward.  You said it had helped yours and it helped mine.

Pullups/Chin-ups/Weighted Chins/Pulls – Improving, clawing my way to respectable and realizing this is going to be a TGU like long haul to get to the 48kg.   That’s okay the side benefits are enormous.

Deadlift – wrapping up Deadlift Dynamite Cycle – up +70 pounds at present, aiming for 30 more pounds in the next two weeks.  Getting close.  Good experience with the Deadlift and with the programming.  Of course I tried it pure from the book (it works) and tried my hand at modifying for my body (that worked).  Kept the guts of the Deadlift Dynamite and shuffled some of the assistance work with good results.  I’ll put this down and come back to it.  Rolling up on 2X bodyweight so I went from pathetically weak to underdeveloped. The gain is encouraging though because that strength came partially from all the swings and core/grip work. So I know that is working.

Grip – BU clean with 32kg onto the 40 kg with training wheels, BU Press w 32kg, nice milestone.

Push-Press – PR’d and going back to the Clean and Military Press.

Double Cleans – they are in the “Iron Lung” chain and getting back into those

Double Front Squat – in the “Iron Lung” chain, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, bumping up my volume when I hit my goal number bumping the weight.

Shuffling the cards to pull out some old school parlor tricks.

Inserting – Leopard Crawl w 20lbs an ankle and 5lbs a wrist 40 meters uphill…..feels like football conditioning

While the weights are strapped on, some Bulletproof Abs 2 Groundwork

Keeping – Standing Jacknife Pushup – went from 1-12 goal is 20. I will stop and go to something else as soon as I reach that one.

Weight – lost 5 pounds of chub, my fishing shorts for this year have already fallen off me so I am loosing alot of something but not weight.

Snatching is in the mix with the TGU work low volume heavier weight, because I need to get mentally secure with the “thump” at the top.

Back to the 32kg, same but different, we love chin-ups, we love chin-ups, we love chin-ups.

A little stretching really helps me move better and makes me stronger.

A little stretching helps tight muscles relax a little more towards “normal” in the sense of where they should be and how they should be functioning/feeling.

My foam roller was one of the best $25 purchases ever made.  Going to something denser for deeper stimulation after 3 years with the other one.

After 1 year+ of shoulder correctives, they still are not perfect but they have gained ROM, feel better, sit in the socket better etc…….now I am keeping the shoulder love going and addressing my hips.  The 4 knots, truth.

Grip work is the same as “Strength Work”.  Earn a stronger grip, be able to hold a heavier bell longer to do the reps your body was ready to do….you get stronger.  I do not feel guilty doing specialty all core or all grip sessions because I think for me they are that important.  If they are that important then my focus should reflect that.

Core and Grip get stronger – deadlift goes up, every time there is a significant increase it shows up like clockwork, which is why I now will up the intensity on core/grip further.

No more cold blustery days of hoping to get a bite and trying not to catch a cold.

It is Full Metal Jacket, Game On….

4 Last Trip, 2 This Trip have not landed “The Big One” (Trophy Award Fish) yet…have to be patient.