Training Log: Entry 2683
YESTERDAYS LUNCHTIME WORKOUT
Buffalo bar Squats
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320
1x370
9*x410 with a crunch
Notes: I have some video of this that I'll upload later, but I was coming up from the bottom of the 9th rep when suddenly my left inner thigh muscle/groin basically collapsed on itself. I had initially thought I had re-injured my hamstring, but it turned out to be the groin muscles which have been bugging me for about a month now. Most times, when I train through the pain my body adapts, but this time it won.
What sucked was that I was rushing this workout already so I could get to work, so I had enough time to fall down on the floor, do a quick assessment of the damage, put the weights and bar away, ice it for 15 minutes, grab a show and go sit at a desk for 8 hours, which was about the worst thing possible. I still did my best to get up and move around frequently, and I kept forcing my body to move through the painful parts of the ROM so that I wouldn't get totally locked down.
I'm fairly certain what I've done is muscular rather than connective tissue, as I CAN move through all parts of the ROM, just with significant pain. I'm very swollen at the moment but no bruising so far, but that may come in a few days like it did with the hamstring.
Injuries don't tend to upset me, as I usually earn them, but I'm a little miffed about this one because rep 9 isn't where I struggle on this particular squat workout. Were it on rep 12 or 13 and I was grinding it out this would have been completely acceptable, but this being on rep 9 makes it seem super flukey.
The things I have to acknowledge: I am very lean (for me) right now, and that is always when I get hurt. In about a month I've blown out the hamstring and the groin (and as an aside, I also hurt the left side of my abs from this, most likely as a result of collapsing with 410lbs on my back). When I blew out my ACL, I was also very lean. The correlation is clear. With no competitions coming up in the future and, quite frankly, me possibly just plain no longer caring about competing in strongman, I most likely need to start getting smart about my training. The solution is most likely going to be about making light weight feel heavy, at least for the most immediate way forward. I know that I have the ability to rapidly adapt to heavy loads when the time comes, and that should be what an intensification cycle is for.
For the immediate immediate future, my squat ROM is very small right now, so lower body training may boil down to very short ROM trap bar work for stupidly high reps and some manner of box squatting. Hatfield squats may appear on the menu, as that was effectively how I was squatting at work to get through the ROM.
I'm going to go back to what I was doing before as far as structuring my programming by book-ending my lower body workouts (so go squat-bench-press-dead-bench-press-squat), giving me longer to recover between heavy lower body workouts.
I don't see too much impact on my upper body workouts for the way forward. Might have to limit log work on the pressing, since cleaning it will suck.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Friday, May 29, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2682
AM WORKOUT
DARKHORSE-esque PRESS DAY
MAX EFFORT GIANT SETS (chin-press-wheel-boxing)
NG chins
5xBW
5x30
5x55
5x75
5x85
5x90
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x186
5x226
4x226
Standing ab wheel
6x5
Boxing bob-and-weave slipline drill
6x30 seconds
STRENGTH GIANT SETS (row-press-abs-boxing)
DB row off bench 105
3x8
Trap bar press 160
1x12
2x8
Standing ab wheel
3x8
Boxing bob and weave slipline drill
3x30 seconds
ASSISTANCE
Dips
1x40
1x25
1x18
1x23
1x14
DB lateral raises
6 sets with 20lbs
3 sets with 15lbs
Band pull aparts
9 sets
Mini band tricep pressdowns
5 sets
Body Action System boxing workouts
10 minutes of intervals (20 seconds on/10 seconds off)
Notes: 1:30 between all giant sets. Gonna do some explaining here to make everything make sense. First thing is that I borked the rep numbers for the strength work: had it in my head that it was sets of 8 on the 5s week, but it's sets of 10. The positive there is that 8 felt challenging but not like all I had in me, so next time I try this it should work out perfectly.
I cut out the dynamic effort benching due to time constraints. I may honestly make a habit of it, since I'm only running the program for 1 movement vs the press AND bench.
I've also already altered the program by mixing up my max effort movement and my supplemental movement. They're supposed to be the same, as that would make sense when it comes to calculating percentages to work with. I have 2 things going for me here, and one is that, BECAUSE I've been rotating between 3 different press exercises for so long, I'm very familiar with how one translates to the other in terms of percentages. If I had hit a weight with the axle, I can hit it 1 for 1 with the log, and with the trap bar I have to take off 15lbs. And the second thing is simply that I've seen so much success with training multiple press implements on the same day I don't want to abandon that yet. Specifically, I don't want to have a day where I DON'T press the axle, because keeping that "pressing in FRONT of the face" strength/technique is big for me. The log and trap bar absolutley make me stronger, but it's a little different with the neutral handles.
For the boxing conditioning I was doing at the end of each giant set, it was essentially a slipline drill like this
Except I was using the axle that was in the rack and slipping underneath it. Not really enough room under those constraints to move forward/backwards, so I was just planted in place and bobbing and weaving quickly. I started throwing punches at the end of the bob and weave to make it a little more fatiguing, and added more and more to the combinations as time went on and I found my rhythm.
I think next time I'm going to push the ab wheel reps up to 6 between sets on the strength work. I came in a little short of my usual weekly total on this. I just tried to match everything today to make it a little easier.
Weighted chins didn't bug my elbows much. They'll be a little easier when I get back some of the smaller plates I loaned to that high school kid.
Ok, let me explain the assistance work. I set a timer for 15 minutes, spent the first 2 minutes or so unloading some plates and then spent the rest of the time doing an unbroken workout that went like this
Do a set of dips, then raises, then pull aparts, then pushdowns, then back to pull aparts, then raises, then dips, then back to raises, pull aparts, etc. It made it so that the middle assistance work got trained more than the ends, which was the goal. I wanted the dips to fatigue the triceps, then to give the triceps time to recover with the shoulder work before I did the pushdowns, and then have the whole thing happen all over again. I dug this approach as a way to get in a lot of work over that short time. I may introduce some different assistance work through out the program, but I think this will be my style to allow for a great deal of work.
My initial impressions are positive. I appreciate how much work I'm getting in on this program, and it makes my drop-off of top level pressing strength easier to swallow when I'm using short rest times. I did 2 sets of 226 because the first set of 5 was a struggle but not quite max effort stuff, but I didn't feel like I could up the weight. The set of 4 that followed was honestly easier than the initial set of 5, and were it not for a misgroove on rep 3, I'm confident I could hit it. Being able to produce that kind of result with only 1.5 minutes of rest with giant sets was very pleasing.
I genuinely didn't feel too wiped out with the shorter rest periods. It was giving me that Building The Monolith vibe, but I actually rested even less when I ran that.
This program still ran longer than I would have liked for it to do, but I think I wasted some time just figuring out what I was going to do. I think if I'm diligent on the front end of it by prepping my training space and coming in with a gameplan vs figuring things out as I go, it may time out just about right. I'm definitely going to give it a full go and see what I can do with it, at least while my nutritional goals have me on the low end.
I'm planning on using something I did when I ran a similar approach with squats: doubling back to the axle for my max effort work. So with this week being axle for 5s, I'm thinking trap bar for 3s, axle for 1s, log for 5s, axle for 3s, trap bar for 1s, axle for 5s, log for 3s, you get the picture.
AM WORKOUT
DARKHORSE-esque PRESS DAY
MAX EFFORT GIANT SETS (chin-press-wheel-boxing)
NG chins
5xBW
5x30
5x55
5x75
5x85
5x90
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x186
5x226
4x226
Standing ab wheel
6x5
Boxing bob-and-weave slipline drill
6x30 seconds
STRENGTH GIANT SETS (row-press-abs-boxing)
DB row off bench 105
3x8
Trap bar press 160
1x12
2x8
Standing ab wheel
3x8
Boxing bob and weave slipline drill
3x30 seconds
ASSISTANCE
Dips
1x40
1x25
1x18
1x23
1x14
DB lateral raises
6 sets with 20lbs
3 sets with 15lbs
Band pull aparts
9 sets
Mini band tricep pressdowns
5 sets
Body Action System boxing workouts
10 minutes of intervals (20 seconds on/10 seconds off)
Notes: 1:30 between all giant sets. Gonna do some explaining here to make everything make sense. First thing is that I borked the rep numbers for the strength work: had it in my head that it was sets of 8 on the 5s week, but it's sets of 10. The positive there is that 8 felt challenging but not like all I had in me, so next time I try this it should work out perfectly.
I cut out the dynamic effort benching due to time constraints. I may honestly make a habit of it, since I'm only running the program for 1 movement vs the press AND bench.
I've also already altered the program by mixing up my max effort movement and my supplemental movement. They're supposed to be the same, as that would make sense when it comes to calculating percentages to work with. I have 2 things going for me here, and one is that, BECAUSE I've been rotating between 3 different press exercises for so long, I'm very familiar with how one translates to the other in terms of percentages. If I had hit a weight with the axle, I can hit it 1 for 1 with the log, and with the trap bar I have to take off 15lbs. And the second thing is simply that I've seen so much success with training multiple press implements on the same day I don't want to abandon that yet. Specifically, I don't want to have a day where I DON'T press the axle, because keeping that "pressing in FRONT of the face" strength/technique is big for me. The log and trap bar absolutley make me stronger, but it's a little different with the neutral handles.
For the boxing conditioning I was doing at the end of each giant set, it was essentially a slipline drill like this
Except I was using the axle that was in the rack and slipping underneath it. Not really enough room under those constraints to move forward/backwards, so I was just planted in place and bobbing and weaving quickly. I started throwing punches at the end of the bob and weave to make it a little more fatiguing, and added more and more to the combinations as time went on and I found my rhythm.
I think next time I'm going to push the ab wheel reps up to 6 between sets on the strength work. I came in a little short of my usual weekly total on this. I just tried to match everything today to make it a little easier.
Weighted chins didn't bug my elbows much. They'll be a little easier when I get back some of the smaller plates I loaned to that high school kid.
Ok, let me explain the assistance work. I set a timer for 15 minutes, spent the first 2 minutes or so unloading some plates and then spent the rest of the time doing an unbroken workout that went like this
Do a set of dips, then raises, then pull aparts, then pushdowns, then back to pull aparts, then raises, then dips, then back to raises, pull aparts, etc. It made it so that the middle assistance work got trained more than the ends, which was the goal. I wanted the dips to fatigue the triceps, then to give the triceps time to recover with the shoulder work before I did the pushdowns, and then have the whole thing happen all over again. I dug this approach as a way to get in a lot of work over that short time. I may introduce some different assistance work through out the program, but I think this will be my style to allow for a great deal of work.
My initial impressions are positive. I appreciate how much work I'm getting in on this program, and it makes my drop-off of top level pressing strength easier to swallow when I'm using short rest times. I did 2 sets of 226 because the first set of 5 was a struggle but not quite max effort stuff, but I didn't feel like I could up the weight. The set of 4 that followed was honestly easier than the initial set of 5, and were it not for a misgroove on rep 3, I'm confident I could hit it. Being able to produce that kind of result with only 1.5 minutes of rest with giant sets was very pleasing.
I genuinely didn't feel too wiped out with the shorter rest periods. It was giving me that Building The Monolith vibe, but I actually rested even less when I ran that.
This program still ran longer than I would have liked for it to do, but I think I wasted some time just figuring out what I was going to do. I think if I'm diligent on the front end of it by prepping my training space and coming in with a gameplan vs figuring things out as I go, it may time out just about right. I'm definitely going to give it a full go and see what I can do with it, at least while my nutritional goals have me on the low end.
I'm planning on using something I did when I ran a similar approach with squats: doubling back to the axle for my max effort work. So with this week being axle for 5s, I'm thinking trap bar for 3s, axle for 1s, log for 5s, axle for 3s, trap bar for 1s, axle for 5s, log for 3s, you get the picture.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
TKD lesson (1 hour)
I lost my cool a few times during this lesson, and I can't tell if I'm getting tired of my kid or if they're getting tired of me and it's coming through, haha. Biggest thing we're battling on right now is having a FRONT and a BACK hand when you are in a fighting stance. I'm all for a square stance ala Bas Rutten, but even then there's at least a SLIGHT twist of the shoulders so that you have a jab and a rear straight, and front and back hooks. My kid will have a front and back foot and then square their shoulders dead on straight, and it makes all the defensive stuff we're learning completely ineffective. Also had to deal with excessive bouts of giggles and the tongue being out of the mouth. I like to joke that my kid has "tongue to eye coordination", because whenever their focusing really hard the tongue comes out. I keep letting them know it's a good way to bite off their own tongue in a fight.
All that said, we drilled a lot on one steps using the blocks we've learned from the form. I actually turned the douhble knifehand block into a kick catch/shove, like this
Wasn't a bad drill.
Let the kid pick their own drill, and they went with roundhouses again. We got them looking REAL good today. Had my kid focus on turning their pivoted foot around so that the knee faced away from the bag at the end of the kick, and it totally transformed things. Really got their hips into it. I just need to get their punches good, because right now we're doing that whole "pick up fist and place at the end of arm" idea vs an actual punch with intent.
Heard back from the Tang So Do place and they offer classes for my kid's age. We may check in on them this weekend.
Training Log: Entry 2681
Monday I did grippers again. Got 5 reps with the 2.5, 18 reps with the 2 and 37 reps with the 1.
YESTERDAY'S AM WORKOUT
MAX EFFORT
(6) Mat Pulls
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x640
5x585
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin)
2 second pause deadlift 325
3x9
T-bar rows 150
3x9
NG chins (various grips)
3x6
Band pull aparts
1x50
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Little baby PRs from last week with a 5lb jump on the topset and a much faster set of 5 for 585. Biggest victory was zero issues with the hamstring and zero apprehension on the pull: was able to fully commit just like before. Did this workout after a 12 hour fast for my blood lipids, so that's pretty cool too.
Humidity has gotten nasty around here and my left knee is swelling up like a grapefruit. Hoping it will sort itself out, as it's getting in the way of stretching. Training in the garage can get nasty. I'll have to watch hydration.
Monday I did grippers again. Got 5 reps with the 2.5, 18 reps with the 2 and 37 reps with the 1.
YESTERDAY'S AM WORKOUT
MAX EFFORT
(6) Mat Pulls
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x640
5x585
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin)
2 second pause deadlift 325
3x9
T-bar rows 150
3x9
NG chins (various grips)
3x6
Band pull aparts
1x50
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Little baby PRs from last week with a 5lb jump on the topset and a much faster set of 5 for 585. Biggest victory was zero issues with the hamstring and zero apprehension on the pull: was able to fully commit just like before. Did this workout after a 12 hour fast for my blood lipids, so that's pretty cool too.
Humidity has gotten nasty around here and my left knee is swelling up like a grapefruit. Hoping it will sort itself out, as it's getting in the way of stretching. Training in the garage can get nasty. I'll have to watch hydration.
Monday, May 25, 2020
TKD UPDATE
TKD Lesson (1 hour)
Started off mixed. Warmed up with Chon Ji and things looked strong. My kid is still punching off center often. I'm pretty sure it's because they want to see what is in front of them, and they're uncomfortable having their own fist in the field of view. Punches looked much stronger though.
Wheels fell off a little when we ran into a problem I've dealt with before. My kid always jacks up the back stance and faces their torso the wrong way. I always correct it. However, my kid has now ingrained the incorrect way to do it into their motor patterns, to the point that they think that IS the right way to do it. Sorta like when you misspell a word so often autocorrect now defaults to the typo instead of the correct word. So today, when teaching a twin forearm block, I kept telling my kid to face their shoulders the right way into a backstance for it and they were ADAMANT that I was having them do the backstance wrong.
"Everytime I do the backstance, it's like this! How come we're doing it differently this time?"
"Because every time you do it, you do it incorrectly and I have to correct you. This time I'm trying to get you to start out correctly."
Wasn't received well, haha. It's the balancing act between letting things be "good enough" in the beginning to move onto more material vs everything being perfect from the get go. Something that has to be communicated to the student.
Speaking of twin forearm block, it's this.
So what the hell is this?
This is closing the distance and setting up for a diagonal downward elbow strike
Fun fact: that photo is actually from a school I trained at in Portland OR for a hot minute.
But yeah, that's how I interpreted it and taught it to my kid. We brought the front hand in a little closer to the body, but the idea is the either parry a punch and move to the outside OR just use the hand to jam and clinch, and then take that hand that is high up and use it to slam the elbow into the opponent. Taught my kid about going for the eyebrow/temple and opening up cuts. Showed them a scar over my right eyebrow and told them the story of how it got opened up by a headbutt, and then covered their eye and showed them how they couldn't see any attacks on that side.
Maybe not all children's martial arts programs talk about opening up cuts, blinding opponents and attacking them where they can't see, but what can I say: I'm unique.
We drilled moving forward into that stance, and did some elbow work on a thai pad and the kicking bag. Kid figured out to twist their hips into the elbow on their own. Proud of them for that.
That block was the next part of the sequence of Dan Gun. In the form, it's followed up by a face punch, which you could still do if you jam up the opponent, but having that backhand so high up makes it a little tough to generate power compared to just bringing down an elbow.
Wheels fell off again when we worked on transitioning stances. My kid has a bizarre habit where they act like a marionette the instant you touch them. My kid can balance on 1 foot on their own just fine, but if I hold their shoulders or feet to put them into position for something, they just collapse all their weight into my body and go limp. After they fell to the floor a bunch of times, I called off what we were working on and gave them some water. As much as I'm trying to let them get some little victories, I have to cool off too sometimes.
Mrs was home, so I got to show my kid how those "grab behind the back" brakeaways looked on an opponent closer to their size. They tried it on their own and enjoyed it.
From there, we worked the newly learned elbow strike onto a thai pad. This led to a discusison on infighting vs outfighting. Got to relay my warstories to my kid about always being an infighter. I then let my kid choose the next activity. They wanted to drill roundhouses and then the teep-roundhose combo.
From my kid "Roundhouses are my favorite thing to do"
Me "It's a shame that isn't from Tae Kwon Do", haha. My kid thought it was cool they were learning a variety of martial arts at least.
Finished the day with a "stand on 1 foot" challenge. Was cool to see my kid have some balance there. They did a great job. We even fired a few front snap kicks at each other.
After a little cooloff, whole family went for a 2.5 mile run with the kid on the bike. We got rained out yesterday.
And on the physique front, the wife gave me a hard time yesterday while we were getting ready for bed because my abs were still visible after a day of fake thanksgiving food, so that's a good sign.
TKD Lesson (1 hour)
Started off mixed. Warmed up with Chon Ji and things looked strong. My kid is still punching off center often. I'm pretty sure it's because they want to see what is in front of them, and they're uncomfortable having their own fist in the field of view. Punches looked much stronger though.
Wheels fell off a little when we ran into a problem I've dealt with before. My kid always jacks up the back stance and faces their torso the wrong way. I always correct it. However, my kid has now ingrained the incorrect way to do it into their motor patterns, to the point that they think that IS the right way to do it. Sorta like when you misspell a word so often autocorrect now defaults to the typo instead of the correct word. So today, when teaching a twin forearm block, I kept telling my kid to face their shoulders the right way into a backstance for it and they were ADAMANT that I was having them do the backstance wrong.
"Everytime I do the backstance, it's like this! How come we're doing it differently this time?"
"Because every time you do it, you do it incorrectly and I have to correct you. This time I'm trying to get you to start out correctly."
Wasn't received well, haha. It's the balancing act between letting things be "good enough" in the beginning to move onto more material vs everything being perfect from the get go. Something that has to be communicated to the student.
Speaking of twin forearm block, it's this.
So what the hell is this?
This is closing the distance and setting up for a diagonal downward elbow strike
Fun fact: that photo is actually from a school I trained at in Portland OR for a hot minute.
But yeah, that's how I interpreted it and taught it to my kid. We brought the front hand in a little closer to the body, but the idea is the either parry a punch and move to the outside OR just use the hand to jam and clinch, and then take that hand that is high up and use it to slam the elbow into the opponent. Taught my kid about going for the eyebrow/temple and opening up cuts. Showed them a scar over my right eyebrow and told them the story of how it got opened up by a headbutt, and then covered their eye and showed them how they couldn't see any attacks on that side.
Maybe not all children's martial arts programs talk about opening up cuts, blinding opponents and attacking them where they can't see, but what can I say: I'm unique.
We drilled moving forward into that stance, and did some elbow work on a thai pad and the kicking bag. Kid figured out to twist their hips into the elbow on their own. Proud of them for that.
That block was the next part of the sequence of Dan Gun. In the form, it's followed up by a face punch, which you could still do if you jam up the opponent, but having that backhand so high up makes it a little tough to generate power compared to just bringing down an elbow.
Wheels fell off again when we worked on transitioning stances. My kid has a bizarre habit where they act like a marionette the instant you touch them. My kid can balance on 1 foot on their own just fine, but if I hold their shoulders or feet to put them into position for something, they just collapse all their weight into my body and go limp. After they fell to the floor a bunch of times, I called off what we were working on and gave them some water. As much as I'm trying to let them get some little victories, I have to cool off too sometimes.
Mrs was home, so I got to show my kid how those "grab behind the back" brakeaways looked on an opponent closer to their size. They tried it on their own and enjoyed it.
From there, we worked the newly learned elbow strike onto a thai pad. This led to a discusison on infighting vs outfighting. Got to relay my warstories to my kid about always being an infighter. I then let my kid choose the next activity. They wanted to drill roundhouses and then the teep-roundhose combo.
From my kid "Roundhouses are my favorite thing to do"
Me "It's a shame that isn't from Tae Kwon Do", haha. My kid thought it was cool they were learning a variety of martial arts at least.
Finished the day with a "stand on 1 foot" challenge. Was cool to see my kid have some balance there. They did a great job. We even fired a few front snap kicks at each other.
After a little cooloff, whole family went for a 2.5 mile run with the kid on the bike. We got rained out yesterday.
And on the physique front, the wife gave me a hard time yesterday while we were getting ready for bed because my abs were still visible after a day of fake thanksgiving food, so that's a good sign.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2680
LUNCHTIME WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
1x10
1x9
1x7
Close grip axle bench 256
1x9
2x6
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
2x7
Dips
1x36
1x35
2x33
1x30
1x33
Standing ab wheel between sets of benching
8x8
Poundstone Curls
108xAxle
40 minutes of yardwork (weedeater primarily)
Notes: 2:05 between sets of benching, 2:00 between sets of dips. This was a significantly better performance than I expected, and it makes me wonder if my strategy of increasing dip sets as rest times drop is paying off. On that note, I got 200 reps in those 6 sets, so that's cool. Still alternating the swiss bar bench and close grip bench sets and that seems to be working well too. I think I may have found the tweaks I need to keep the train rolling on this workout. I've got a plan for running Darkhorse in the future for press and bench, but that's still going to be off the table while the family is home in quarantine.
Had to chase my dog around the yard while it chased after a baby bird that hadn't quite figured out how to fly. Less about me being a softie and more about not wanting to deal with the severe GI issues my dog gets whenever he eats a bird. Still some decent random cardio.
Contacted a Tang So Do place nearby to see what sort of class times they have. Would be really cool to be back in some sort of organized martial arts training again. There's actually a VERY good MMA school in my region, but I doubt my kiddo would be up for it. I may actually see if they have monthly rates and drop in on them once the world gets back to normal, just as a means to get some conditioning in, but again, it seems to all depend on if my connective tissue can hold up.
We're doing Thanksgiving in May today, just as something to take our minds off the craziness in the world. Looking forward to a big meal. We're gonna try to do a family run after that.
LUNCHTIME WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
1x10
1x9
1x7
Close grip axle bench 256
1x9
2x6
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
2x7
Dips
1x36
1x35
2x33
1x30
1x33
Standing ab wheel between sets of benching
8x8
Poundstone Curls
108xAxle
40 minutes of yardwork (weedeater primarily)
Notes: 2:05 between sets of benching, 2:00 between sets of dips. This was a significantly better performance than I expected, and it makes me wonder if my strategy of increasing dip sets as rest times drop is paying off. On that note, I got 200 reps in those 6 sets, so that's cool. Still alternating the swiss bar bench and close grip bench sets and that seems to be working well too. I think I may have found the tweaks I need to keep the train rolling on this workout. I've got a plan for running Darkhorse in the future for press and bench, but that's still going to be off the table while the family is home in quarantine.
Had to chase my dog around the yard while it chased after a baby bird that hadn't quite figured out how to fly. Less about me being a softie and more about not wanting to deal with the severe GI issues my dog gets whenever he eats a bird. Still some decent random cardio.
Contacted a Tang So Do place nearby to see what sort of class times they have. Would be really cool to be back in some sort of organized martial arts training again. There's actually a VERY good MMA school in my region, but I doubt my kiddo would be up for it. I may actually see if they have monthly rates and drop in on them once the world gets back to normal, just as a means to get some conditioning in, but again, it seems to all depend on if my connective tissue can hold up.
We're doing Thanksgiving in May today, just as something to take our minds off the craziness in the world. Looking forward to a big meal. We're gonna try to do a family run after that.
Friday, May 22, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2679
PM WORKOUT
DELOAD
GIANT SETS (press-dip-raise-pull aparts. Sets 1 and 4: trap bar, sets 2 and 5: axle, sets 3 and 6: log)
Axle strict press 156
1x12
1x11
Trap bar press 135
2x12
Log clean and strict press away 150
2x12
Dips
6xFailure
DB lateral raises 15s
6x15
Band pull aparts
6x13
Pull ups (various grips)
15x5
DB rows 105
1x17
Notes: 2:00 between giant sets. Got a REAL bad lat cramp on the right side during the second set of axle strict press at rep 7, so racked it for a second and came back after it. Otherwise, giant sets were solid. I've dropped the weight on the lateral raises and am really trying to focus on pumping up the shoulders.
Wanted more back work, so did sets of chins while putting away all the equipment. After that, the rows really felt gnarly, so I'd say it was effective.
Found out my fitness test has been pushed all the way to May of 2021, so now I really have zero reason to be lean. I need to get in some running between now and then, as this is typically the month I spend getting back into that. I wanna get in another race at some point, so that may help.
PM WORKOUT
DELOAD
GIANT SETS (press-dip-raise-pull aparts. Sets 1 and 4: trap bar, sets 2 and 5: axle, sets 3 and 6: log)
Axle strict press 156
1x12
1x11
Trap bar press 135
2x12
Log clean and strict press away 150
2x12
Dips
6xFailure
DB lateral raises 15s
6x15
Band pull aparts
6x13
Pull ups (various grips)
15x5
DB rows 105
1x17
Notes: 2:00 between giant sets. Got a REAL bad lat cramp on the right side during the second set of axle strict press at rep 7, so racked it for a second and came back after it. Otherwise, giant sets were solid. I've dropped the weight on the lateral raises and am really trying to focus on pumping up the shoulders.
Wanted more back work, so did sets of chins while putting away all the equipment. After that, the rows really felt gnarly, so I'd say it was effective.
Found out my fitness test has been pushed all the way to May of 2021, so now I really have zero reason to be lean. I need to get in some running between now and then, as this is typically the month I spend getting back into that. I wanna get in another race at some point, so that may help.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2678
PM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar Squat
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320
1x370
REST PAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
12x410
4x410
3x3x410
2x2x410
1x410
12x230
5 MINUTE REST
SUPER SETS (snatch-hyper)
Hang power snatch 95
4x3
Reverse hyper 360
4x23
NG chins
1x15
Notes: 2:00 between giant sets. Met the same amount of reps as last week. ZERO hamstring pain. Groin is still a little achy, but it'll heal up in time I'm sure. I made it the goal to get in more total reps than last time, as that seems to be working well. Got 30 vs 25. I'm getting the itch to try 5x10 with 410 and see what happens.
I upped the weight and cut the reps on snatches because, in truth, the 7.5kg plates I have are Pendlay MDUSAs and given that Glen Pendlay has ascended to Valhalla and the company is no longer around, I REALLY don't want to warp them. They're irreplaceable. So I'm using some heavier 25lb crumb plates that have a better chance to withstand the abuse. When I focused on moving fast, I had a few decent snatches in there.
On the training front, I'm kicking around stealing from Brian Alsruhe's programs for my bench and press in the future. Primary issue used to be time constraints, but I found myself with a decent amount of time with my new schedule. Right now it's not viable, since my family is quarantined with me and I wanna spend as much time as I can with them, but once we return to ops normal I may give it a go.
Played some frisbee with my kid today and tried to focus on being more athletic. Chased after bad throws, got some jumps in, moved, got my heart rate up. It was nice to remember what that felt like.
PM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar Squat
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320
1x370
REST PAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
12x410
4x410
3x3x410
2x2x410
1x410
12x230
5 MINUTE REST
SUPER SETS (snatch-hyper)
Hang power snatch 95
4x3
Reverse hyper 360
4x23
NG chins
1x15
Notes: 2:00 between giant sets. Met the same amount of reps as last week. ZERO hamstring pain. Groin is still a little achy, but it'll heal up in time I'm sure. I made it the goal to get in more total reps than last time, as that seems to be working well. Got 30 vs 25. I'm getting the itch to try 5x10 with 410 and see what happens.
I upped the weight and cut the reps on snatches because, in truth, the 7.5kg plates I have are Pendlay MDUSAs and given that Glen Pendlay has ascended to Valhalla and the company is no longer around, I REALLY don't want to warp them. They're irreplaceable. So I'm using some heavier 25lb crumb plates that have a better chance to withstand the abuse. When I focused on moving fast, I had a few decent snatches in there.
On the training front, I'm kicking around stealing from Brian Alsruhe's programs for my bench and press in the future. Primary issue used to be time constraints, but I found myself with a decent amount of time with my new schedule. Right now it's not viable, since my family is quarantined with me and I wanna spend as much time as I can with them, but once we return to ops normal I may give it a go.
Played some frisbee with my kid today and tried to focus on being more athletic. Chased after bad throws, got some jumps in, moved, got my heart rate up. It was nice to remember what that felt like.
Training Log: Entry 2677
PM WORKOUT
5 minutes of rope skipping
10 rounds on the BAS (2 minute rounds, 45 seconds of rest, boxing for the first round, boxing and kicks for all others,16oz gloves for first 5 rounds, MMA gloves for last 5)
5 minutes rope skipping
A few stray thai kicks
Notes: Filming from this angle was helpful as I realize how very little trunk power I'm using on the punches. If I start twisting a little, I'm bound to get some more out of it. A few short hooks and uppercuts looked solid, but I'm robbing myself of power. Surprised at how decent the right leg roundhouse was looking. I'm not turning my hip over as much as I'd like, but it's still decently fluid. Left is significantly less so, but that doesn't shock me.
Need to find kick range: was hitting with my instep a lot. My TKD is showing. Did throw some snappy roundkicks with the lead leg a few times in my combos.
Got a good sweat out of this, and the product holds up.
However, the most important part is I can still fit into my 2005-era Sprawl shorts without as much muffin topping
PM WORKOUT
5 minutes of rope skipping
10 rounds on the BAS (2 minute rounds, 45 seconds of rest, boxing for the first round, boxing and kicks for all others,16oz gloves for first 5 rounds, MMA gloves for last 5)
5 minutes rope skipping
A few stray thai kicks
Notes: Filming from this angle was helpful as I realize how very little trunk power I'm using on the punches. If I start twisting a little, I'm bound to get some more out of it. A few short hooks and uppercuts looked solid, but I'm robbing myself of power. Surprised at how decent the right leg roundhouse was looking. I'm not turning my hip over as much as I'd like, but it's still decently fluid. Left is significantly less so, but that doesn't shock me.
Need to find kick range: was hitting with my instep a lot. My TKD is showing. Did throw some snappy roundkicks with the lead leg a few times in my combos.
Got a good sweat out of this, and the product holds up.
However, the most important part is I can still fit into my 2005-era Sprawl shorts without as much muffin topping
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
TKD UPDATE
TKD lesson was great today. Too easy to let them run super long. This is the last week of school, so soon we can really drag them out.
Taught 2 new breakaways from a position of someone grabbing your shoulders from behind. Not the most threatening position, but I've actually legit used it when I was in middle school. Good way to get some dude messing with you to knock it off, and it led into a good discussion of how the trunk is the source of power when it comes to martial arts.
Basically, you can either reach your arm up high, turn toward that side and wrap up both of the dudes arms in your own (leaving you free to punch, elbow, headbutt, etc), or you can put your hands up in a fighting stance, lock them in place, and spin your trunk hard like a washing machine agitator to knock the hands away. Both work, and it's like a magic trick.
From there, I got to do something I'd really wanted to do for a while: have chambered punches make sense. I wrote a pretty long write up of this over on the combat section, and I'll link there for those interested in it
https://forums.t-nation.com/t/is-tae-kwon-do-worth-it/265032/34?u=t3hpwnisher
https://forums.t-nation.com/t/is-tae-kwon-do-worth-it/265032/35?u=t3hpwnisher
But basically: chambered punches aren't meant for prolonged stand-up striking fights. For that, you wanna use boxing. TKD style chambered punches are meant as part of a sneak attach offensive to quickly defuse a situation/create space. They work by taking your non-punching hand, grabbing the opponent with it, and then pulling them to you/off balance while you fire a short straight punch to the stomach/face/whatever.
This makes the forms make SO much more sense (why the hell do I have this arm out in front of me? OH, I'm grabbing the dude and pulling him into my punch), and it allows TKD style of punches to co-exist with boxing style. It also means training the chambering hand to move JUST as hard as the punching hand.
A lot of what I've been teaching my kid the value of keeping your balance and taking your opponent's balance away, so the premise of "pull them off balance and punch them while they can't roll with the punch" works so well. Having reconciled this in my brain makes it easier for me to teach these style of punches now.
Teaching TKD has really been awesome for me: I've been discovering a lot of the things I discarded before and able to make far more sense of it.
I let my kid pick what to do next, and that was HUGE for them. I'm going to do that every lesson. 5-10 minutes of whatever drill they want to do. I feel so stupid for not remembering that trick earlier: when you give students ownership of the lesson, they take it a lot more seriously. Now THEY are responsible for their own development, and it's a big moral victory when you get to do what YOU want to do. My kid picked stance transitions, which was great.
We finished off with push kicks, round kicks and roundhouse kicks. The round kick is now trickier for my kid, having been exposed to roundhouses, and I get that. The roundhouse slams into the target and has a wide arc, while the roundkick is very precise. Still good to have the diverse selection. Kid went to kick combos from there: push kick to roundhouse.
I swear, if I had a roundhouse like my kid does when I was there age, I NEVER woulda gotten as bullied as I did growing up, haha. I'm not at all worried if my kid ever has to scrap: only worried about the kind of trouble they might get into...
TKD lesson was great today. Too easy to let them run super long. This is the last week of school, so soon we can really drag them out.
Taught 2 new breakaways from a position of someone grabbing your shoulders from behind. Not the most threatening position, but I've actually legit used it when I was in middle school. Good way to get some dude messing with you to knock it off, and it led into a good discussion of how the trunk is the source of power when it comes to martial arts.
Basically, you can either reach your arm up high, turn toward that side and wrap up both of the dudes arms in your own (leaving you free to punch, elbow, headbutt, etc), or you can put your hands up in a fighting stance, lock them in place, and spin your trunk hard like a washing machine agitator to knock the hands away. Both work, and it's like a magic trick.
From there, I got to do something I'd really wanted to do for a while: have chambered punches make sense. I wrote a pretty long write up of this over on the combat section, and I'll link there for those interested in it
https://forums.t-nation.com/t/is-tae-kwon-do-worth-it/265032/34?u=t3hpwnisher
https://forums.t-nation.com/t/is-tae-kwon-do-worth-it/265032/35?u=t3hpwnisher
But basically: chambered punches aren't meant for prolonged stand-up striking fights. For that, you wanna use boxing. TKD style chambered punches are meant as part of a sneak attach offensive to quickly defuse a situation/create space. They work by taking your non-punching hand, grabbing the opponent with it, and then pulling them to you/off balance while you fire a short straight punch to the stomach/face/whatever.
This makes the forms make SO much more sense (why the hell do I have this arm out in front of me? OH, I'm grabbing the dude and pulling him into my punch), and it allows TKD style of punches to co-exist with boxing style. It also means training the chambering hand to move JUST as hard as the punching hand.
A lot of what I've been teaching my kid the value of keeping your balance and taking your opponent's balance away, so the premise of "pull them off balance and punch them while they can't roll with the punch" works so well. Having reconciled this in my brain makes it easier for me to teach these style of punches now.
Teaching TKD has really been awesome for me: I've been discovering a lot of the things I discarded before and able to make far more sense of it.
I let my kid pick what to do next, and that was HUGE for them. I'm going to do that every lesson. 5-10 minutes of whatever drill they want to do. I feel so stupid for not remembering that trick earlier: when you give students ownership of the lesson, they take it a lot more seriously. Now THEY are responsible for their own development, and it's a big moral victory when you get to do what YOU want to do. My kid picked stance transitions, which was great.
We finished off with push kicks, round kicks and roundhouse kicks. The round kick is now trickier for my kid, having been exposed to roundhouses, and I get that. The roundhouse slams into the target and has a wide arc, while the roundkick is very precise. Still good to have the diverse selection. Kid went to kick combos from there: push kick to roundhouse.
I swear, if I had a roundhouse like my kid does when I was there age, I NEVER woulda gotten as bullied as I did growing up, haha. I'm not at all worried if my kid ever has to scrap: only worried about the kind of trouble they might get into...
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2676
PM WORKOUT
MAX EFFORT LOWER
(6) Mat Pulls
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x635
5x585
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin-neck)
2 second pause deadlifts 325
3x8
T-bar rows 150
3x8
NG chins (various grips)
1x6
2x5
Neck harness 45
3x22
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Hamstring is definitely back in business. Still a little gunshy pulling with a bar in front of me, so was moving slow on 635 and didn't want to go any harder, so dropped it to 585 and went for broke. Got another one of my famous moonwalks on film. Good to see I still got it in me.
Giant sets were solid. Neck harness fits in.
Borked my blood lipids test. Forgot that fish oil would count against the whole "fast for 12 hours" thing, and my 5 tabs taken before bed resulted in a 50 point spike in my LDL from my previous test. HDL and triglycerides were still the same as before, so that bodes well, but doc advised me to come off the fish oil for 3 days, do a real 12 hour fast and then come back in. Will be getting that knocked out next week.
PM WORKOUT
MAX EFFORT LOWER
(6) Mat Pulls
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x635
5x585
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin-neck)
2 second pause deadlifts 325
3x8
T-bar rows 150
3x8
NG chins (various grips)
1x6
2x5
Neck harness 45
3x22
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Hamstring is definitely back in business. Still a little gunshy pulling with a bar in front of me, so was moving slow on 635 and didn't want to go any harder, so dropped it to 585 and went for broke. Got another one of my famous moonwalks on film. Good to see I still got it in me.
Giant sets were solid. Neck harness fits in.
Borked my blood lipids test. Forgot that fish oil would count against the whole "fast for 12 hours" thing, and my 5 tabs taken before bed resulted in a 50 point spike in my LDL from my previous test. HDL and triglycerides were still the same as before, so that bodes well, but doc advised me to come off the fish oil for 3 days, do a real 12 hour fast and then come back in. Will be getting that knocked out next week.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2675
PM WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
1x10
1x8
1x6
Close grip axle bench 256
1x10
2x6
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
2x6
Dips
1x40
1x35
1x30
2x35
Poundstone curls
106xAxle
Standing ab wheel between sets of benching
8x8
Notes: 2:45 between sets of benching, 2:00 between dips. I think I've accidentally gone full on martyr mode in my dieting. My muscles have been cramping all day, and for the past week I've gotten gnarly ab cramps. Legs have me walking like a toy soldier. This workout kicked my butt pretty good as a result. It'd really help if I had an actual end game for getting lean: typically around this time I'm doing it for a cruise and a fitness test I have coming up, but with the world put on hold I may have accomplished what I need. We're planning on doing Thanksgiving in May this weekend, so that might be a good head start in the right direction.
I got the attachment to my BAS today. I plan to set it up later tonight, after a dinner of a ribeye and some other good things.
PM WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
1x10
1x8
1x6
Close grip axle bench 256
1x10
2x6
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
2x6
Dips
1x40
1x35
1x30
2x35
Poundstone curls
106xAxle
Standing ab wheel between sets of benching
8x8
Notes: 2:45 between sets of benching, 2:00 between dips. I think I've accidentally gone full on martyr mode in my dieting. My muscles have been cramping all day, and for the past week I've gotten gnarly ab cramps. Legs have me walking like a toy soldier. This workout kicked my butt pretty good as a result. It'd really help if I had an actual end game for getting lean: typically around this time I'm doing it for a cruise and a fitness test I have coming up, but with the world put on hold I may have accomplished what I need. We're planning on doing Thanksgiving in May this weekend, so that might be a good head start in the right direction.
I got the attachment to my BAS today. I plan to set it up later tonight, after a dinner of a ribeye and some other good things.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2674
AM WORKOUT
SUPERSETS (press-chins)
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x181
3x206
4x231
6x206
NG chins w/30lbs (various grips)
2x9
4x8
GIANT SETS (press-dips-raise-pull apart: odd sets axle, even sets trap bar)
Axle strict press 155
1x12
1x10
1x7
Trap bar press 135
1x12
1x10
1x8
Dips
6xFailure
DB lateral raises 15s
6x12
Band pull aparts
6x13
Notes: 3:45 between heavy presses, 2:00 between giant sets. I'm hemorrhaging strength on the press, but before I go salt the earth on the program I have to keep in mind that, on top of losing 10lbs of bodyweight, I also haven't been afforded the luxury of 2 a day training since early March, and it was during those 2 a days I saw my strength explode on the press. My instinct is that the programming is still sound, but the effectiveness is reduced due to circumstances. I AM getting the itch to do some behind the neck pressing again, but my right shoulder is just not having a good time, most likely a result of the reintroduction of combat sports. I told the weights way down on the lateral raises and really focused on the muscles in hopes of that having an effect.
Workout finished and the Mrs hit me with "You look really veiny", so I suppose the diet has been worth it.
AM WORKOUT
SUPERSETS (press-chins)
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x181
3x206
4x231
6x206
NG chins w/30lbs (various grips)
2x9
4x8
GIANT SETS (press-dips-raise-pull apart: odd sets axle, even sets trap bar)
Axle strict press 155
1x12
1x10
1x7
Trap bar press 135
1x12
1x10
1x8
Dips
6xFailure
DB lateral raises 15s
6x12
Band pull aparts
6x13
Notes: 3:45 between heavy presses, 2:00 between giant sets. I'm hemorrhaging strength on the press, but before I go salt the earth on the program I have to keep in mind that, on top of losing 10lbs of bodyweight, I also haven't been afforded the luxury of 2 a day training since early March, and it was during those 2 a days I saw my strength explode on the press. My instinct is that the programming is still sound, but the effectiveness is reduced due to circumstances. I AM getting the itch to do some behind the neck pressing again, but my right shoulder is just not having a good time, most likely a result of the reintroduction of combat sports. I told the weights way down on the lateral raises and really focused on the muscles in hopes of that having an effect.
Workout finished and the Mrs hit me with "You look really veiny", so I suppose the diet has been worth it.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2673
TKD lesson went very well today. Warmed up with Chon Ji, so we could focus on all the basics. Still don't think my kid "gets" upper body attacks. We did some mit work and I caught that they were stopping before making contact. Taught them the whole "strike beyond the mitt". My kid asked "Doesn't that hurt?" And I go "The other guy, yeah." But that, I think, shows the issue: too focused on avoiding pain. I get it: the feet and shins are a lot hardier than the hands. We may do more gloved work so they can get comfortable, but I'd still like to see commitment when striking the air.
Taught them their first combination: front leg push kick-rear leg roundhouse. Biggest issue was landing that push kick in the right spot for the follow up roundhouse: my kid tends to bounce off the target and switch stances. Still, good enough for the day, and we got to have a conversation on how/why we'd employ that combo. Left leg roundhouses looked significantly better. Talked a lot about turning the hips over: showed my kid how you can get all your power from that even with a "slow" kick compared to quickly rushing out the kick and not turning.
Follow up squat workout
AM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320
1x370
REST PAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
12x410
3x3x410
2x2x410
2 minute rest
10x230
Notes: Significant improvement over the last week. I'm about 95% healed in the hamstring: could just barely feel it start to pull on that very last rep of the topset and decided to cash in on the victory. Left groin is feeling better too: still tender, but not like it's been sawn in half. My conditioning has dropped significantly under the heavy weights, so I nickle and dimed it to my goal rep total and then just got under the bar one more time to condition myself to get used to that feeling. It was actual those final 10 reps that sucked the most: connective tissue was not having it at that point.
Right before the workout, the kid wanted to know what a jump kick looked like. I did the first jump front snap kick I had done since about 2002 and just about retore that hamstring, haha. I at least had enough awareness to know it was a bad idea, so I didn't fully extend the kick, but could definitely feel the pull on it. All this time limbering up has been good: I can kick well above my waste to about shoulder/chin level, but I'm still not quite what I was. In time.
TKD lesson went very well today. Warmed up with Chon Ji, so we could focus on all the basics. Still don't think my kid "gets" upper body attacks. We did some mit work and I caught that they were stopping before making contact. Taught them the whole "strike beyond the mitt". My kid asked "Doesn't that hurt?" And I go "The other guy, yeah." But that, I think, shows the issue: too focused on avoiding pain. I get it: the feet and shins are a lot hardier than the hands. We may do more gloved work so they can get comfortable, but I'd still like to see commitment when striking the air.
Taught them their first combination: front leg push kick-rear leg roundhouse. Biggest issue was landing that push kick in the right spot for the follow up roundhouse: my kid tends to bounce off the target and switch stances. Still, good enough for the day, and we got to have a conversation on how/why we'd employ that combo. Left leg roundhouses looked significantly better. Talked a lot about turning the hips over: showed my kid how you can get all your power from that even with a "slow" kick compared to quickly rushing out the kick and not turning.
Follow up squat workout
AM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320
1x370
REST PAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
12x410
3x3x410
2x2x410
2 minute rest
10x230
Notes: Significant improvement over the last week. I'm about 95% healed in the hamstring: could just barely feel it start to pull on that very last rep of the topset and decided to cash in on the victory. Left groin is feeling better too: still tender, but not like it's been sawn in half. My conditioning has dropped significantly under the heavy weights, so I nickle and dimed it to my goal rep total and then just got under the bar one more time to condition myself to get used to that feeling. It was actual those final 10 reps that sucked the most: connective tissue was not having it at that point.
Right before the workout, the kid wanted to know what a jump kick looked like. I did the first jump front snap kick I had done since about 2002 and just about retore that hamstring, haha. I at least had enough awareness to know it was a bad idea, so I didn't fully extend the kick, but could definitely feel the pull on it. All this time limbering up has been good: I can kick well above my waste to about shoulder/chin level, but I'm still not quite what I was. In time.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
TKD lesson was nearly an hour today. We've got so much material now I have to actually break the lessons apart and only cover some of the curriculum each day, whereas before we could go over everything in half an hour.
Overall it was positive. We learned the first part of "Dan Gun"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUBLmf0_fvY
Specifically the block and punch on both sides. Was rather proud of myself: taught my kid that it was basically dirty boxing. You use the block to deflect a punch while stepping in to the inside, and then that whole "hand out, step forward and punch" part is grab the opponent (hair, clothes, whatever), pull them into you and punch them in the face.
I still don't think my kid really "gets" what a punch is. They're too focused on just getting the arm out. We drilled one-steps, and they were acting like a battering ram: lock the fist out, then run the body into the opponent. We took out the MMA gloves and focus mitts and I tried to get them to really give it a pop. Was still pretty lackluster, but getting there. I gave my kid permission to really punch me in the liver during one-steps, to see if they could generate any sort of power. Toward the end, it was kinda sorta happening, but still something to work on.
Their roundkicks in the air look real sharp. Seems they have an easier time with those vs front kicks. Got down in the basement and drilled the rear roundhouse on that inflatable bag I showed before. My kid has legit devastating kicks. Their roundhouse and push kicks are things I wouldn't want my connective tissue on the end of, which I know first hand because they like to kick me straight on my ACL reconstructed knee with the blown out hamstring.
That said, sh*t, those moves are Muay Thai, not Tae Kwon Do. Funny that...
Still struggling a bit with the psychology part of things. Once my kid gets frustrated, learning is pretty much over. However, my kid gets frustrated LEARNING things, so it's a bit of a cycle. Furthermore, once they get frustrated, they do this weird perpetual motion thing where they keep doing the thing they're struggling with worse and worse so that they can get more and more frustrated about it. That's hard for me to wrap my head around. It happened today when they were trying to change stances during the form, and it happened hard when I had them try throwing the roundhouse with their left leg as the rear leg instead of the right leg. That second part blew my mind: I legit didn't think that was a big ask, but they looked at me like I just asked them to eat the sun. They threw anything BUT a roundhouse at the back. Hook kicks, cresent kicks, front kicks, lateral knees, all things I hadn't taught them, but they were adamant they weren't going to throw a left leg roundhouse that day.
I tried to remember a lesson from last time, and had them end the session with those right leg roundhouses. They were rocking the bag there, which was great for them, but also blew my mind they couldn't do it with the left side. It wouldn't such a big deal in Muay Thai, where you can just be an orthodox or southpaw, but TKD is big on fighting from both sides.
Taught my kid the trick about throwing down the right arm to get the hip to turn in the roundhouse. They picked it up pretty well.
Overall it was positive. We learned the first part of "Dan Gun"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUBLmf0_fvY
Specifically the block and punch on both sides. Was rather proud of myself: taught my kid that it was basically dirty boxing. You use the block to deflect a punch while stepping in to the inside, and then that whole "hand out, step forward and punch" part is grab the opponent (hair, clothes, whatever), pull them into you and punch them in the face.
I still don't think my kid really "gets" what a punch is. They're too focused on just getting the arm out. We drilled one-steps, and they were acting like a battering ram: lock the fist out, then run the body into the opponent. We took out the MMA gloves and focus mitts and I tried to get them to really give it a pop. Was still pretty lackluster, but getting there. I gave my kid permission to really punch me in the liver during one-steps, to see if they could generate any sort of power. Toward the end, it was kinda sorta happening, but still something to work on.
Their roundkicks in the air look real sharp. Seems they have an easier time with those vs front kicks. Got down in the basement and drilled the rear roundhouse on that inflatable bag I showed before. My kid has legit devastating kicks. Their roundhouse and push kicks are things I wouldn't want my connective tissue on the end of, which I know first hand because they like to kick me straight on my ACL reconstructed knee with the blown out hamstring.
That said, sh*t, those moves are Muay Thai, not Tae Kwon Do. Funny that...
Still struggling a bit with the psychology part of things. Once my kid gets frustrated, learning is pretty much over. However, my kid gets frustrated LEARNING things, so it's a bit of a cycle. Furthermore, once they get frustrated, they do this weird perpetual motion thing where they keep doing the thing they're struggling with worse and worse so that they can get more and more frustrated about it. That's hard for me to wrap my head around. It happened today when they were trying to change stances during the form, and it happened hard when I had them try throwing the roundhouse with their left leg as the rear leg instead of the right leg. That second part blew my mind: I legit didn't think that was a big ask, but they looked at me like I just asked them to eat the sun. They threw anything BUT a roundhouse at the back. Hook kicks, cresent kicks, front kicks, lateral knees, all things I hadn't taught them, but they were adamant they weren't going to throw a left leg roundhouse that day.
I tried to remember a lesson from last time, and had them end the session with those right leg roundhouses. They were rocking the bag there, which was great for them, but also blew my mind they couldn't do it with the left side. It wouldn't such a big deal in Muay Thai, where you can just be an orthodox or southpaw, but TKD is big on fighting from both sides.
Taught my kid the trick about throwing down the right arm to get the hip to turn in the roundhouse. They picked it up pretty well.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2672
PM WORKOUT
Max Effort Lower
(4) High Handle Trap Bar Mat Pulls
5x155
5x245
3x335
1x425
1x515
1x605
1x695
1x765 (20lb PR)
1x775 (10lb PR)
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin)
2 second pause high handle trap bar pull 405
3x10
T-bar row 3 plates and a 10
3x10
NG chins (various grips)
3x5
1x14
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Video is a little weird because I got a surprise for my kid's birthday in the garage and didn't realize it had gotten on video. In the off chance my kid stumbles on my youtube channel, I didn't want them to see it. But still wanted to share the video because my hamstring felt great and I hit some crazy grinders on it. Low back was a little sore from bobbing and weaving during boxing yesterday, but not performance limiting.
I really think I've stumbled on something awesome with the pause deads. Seems to be going a long way. Same is true with reducing my squatting to once a week and focusing on hammering the back.
PM WORKOUT
Max Effort Lower
(4) High Handle Trap Bar Mat Pulls
5x155
5x245
3x335
1x425
1x515
1x605
1x695
1x765 (20lb PR)
1x775 (10lb PR)
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin)
2 second pause high handle trap bar pull 405
3x10
T-bar row 3 plates and a 10
3x10
NG chins (various grips)
3x5
1x14
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Video is a little weird because I got a surprise for my kid's birthday in the garage and didn't realize it had gotten on video. In the off chance my kid stumbles on my youtube channel, I didn't want them to see it. But still wanted to share the video because my hamstring felt great and I hit some crazy grinders on it. Low back was a little sore from bobbing and weaving during boxing yesterday, but not performance limiting.
I really think I've stumbled on something awesome with the pause deads. Seems to be going a long way. Same is true with reducing my squatting to once a week and focusing on hammering the back.
Friday, May 8, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2671
PM WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
2x10
1x7
Close grip axle bench press 256
1x9
2x6
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
1x7
1x6
Dips
1x45
1x37
2x33
Poundstone Curls
106xAxle
Standing ab wheel between sets of benching
8x8
Notes: 2:45 between sets of benching, 2:00 between sets of dips. My forearms are sore again. Lesson is obvious: benching day after squats causes this to happen. That said, they were sore to the point of agony: just a little reminder the whole time. I imagine the BAS is a bit of a culprit as well.
Had the realization that adding more sets of dips at the end is the obvious way to get in more volume on the back end of these workouts with the short rest periods. I might just add a set per day and then bring it back down to 3 sets when I get back 3 minute rests.
Stubbed my toe on my stair jumps today. Just kinda sucks, but nothing broken.
PM WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
2x10
1x7
Close grip axle bench press 256
1x9
2x6
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
1x7
1x6
Dips
1x45
1x37
2x33
Poundstone Curls
106xAxle
Standing ab wheel between sets of benching
8x8
Notes: 2:45 between sets of benching, 2:00 between sets of dips. My forearms are sore again. Lesson is obvious: benching day after squats causes this to happen. That said, they were sore to the point of agony: just a little reminder the whole time. I imagine the BAS is a bit of a culprit as well.
Had the realization that adding more sets of dips at the end is the obvious way to get in more volume on the back end of these workouts with the short rest periods. I might just add a set per day and then bring it back down to 3 sets when I get back 3 minute rests.
Stubbed my toe on my stair jumps today. Just kinda sucks, but nothing broken.
TKD UPDATE
Gave my kid orange belt today.
Had a VERY good lesson: much like Monday's. Things seemed to be clicking. We drilled footwork, focusing on keeping a strong stance while moving, which I think made one-steps and forms better. Thumbs still get crazy, but significantly less so than they were before. Punches looked strong.
After a 50-ish minute lesson, we did a 10 minute test in front of the audience of my wife. Demonstrated punching, snap kicks, push kicks against a pad, break aways, one-steps (defending against push kicks and punches) and the form. Only mistake I caught was using the wrong block for one of the one steps, but otherwise retention of material was solid and could be demonstrated on command.
I'm excited, as I'll be teaching them roundkick and knifehand from the TKD curriculum, along with thai roundhouse and hook punches, to add some circular attacks to all the linear ones they've learned. Will also be teaching them the second form (Dan Gun), which means learning high blocks and knifehand blocks. Those are...less exciting, haha.
Going to introduce pad work too. My kid seems to be able to keep form long enough that I think they can hit some pads without hurting themselves.
Gave my kid orange belt today.
Had a VERY good lesson: much like Monday's. Things seemed to be clicking. We drilled footwork, focusing on keeping a strong stance while moving, which I think made one-steps and forms better. Thumbs still get crazy, but significantly less so than they were before. Punches looked strong.
After a 50-ish minute lesson, we did a 10 minute test in front of the audience of my wife. Demonstrated punching, snap kicks, push kicks against a pad, break aways, one-steps (defending against push kicks and punches) and the form. Only mistake I caught was using the wrong block for one of the one steps, but otherwise retention of material was solid and could be demonstrated on command.
I'm excited, as I'll be teaching them roundkick and knifehand from the TKD curriculum, along with thai roundhouse and hook punches, to add some circular attacks to all the linear ones they've learned. Will also be teaching them the second form (Dan Gun), which means learning high blocks and knifehand blocks. Those are...less exciting, haha.
Going to introduce pad work too. My kid seems to be able to keep form long enough that I think they can hit some pads without hurting themselves.
Thursday, May 7, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2670
PM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar Squat
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320
1x370
REST PAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
8x410
4x410
2x410
1x410
1 minute rest
13x1x410 (30 seconds between sets)
SUPERSETS (snatch-hyper)
Reverse hypers 360
1x13
1x15
1x17
1x19
Hang power snatches 78lbs
4x5
Notes: Hamstring is feeling significantly better, but still not 100%. Stopped the topset at the point where it was threatening to snap again. The follow up sets weren't pleasant, but do-able. Got some pain in my groin on my left side because I've been leaning on the right to get me through the squats: used the singles to correct that and things felt much better. Reverse hypers were pulling on the hamstring a bit, so cut the reps down. Was actually decently explosive on the snatches.
Got a total of 30 reps in the squat, so progress from last week, and I didn't need to do any knee wrap voodoo this time. Very consistent improvement, even if the bruising keeps looking worse.
Also jumped up a full flight of stairs 3 times today on my left foot. Could typically only get through half a landing. Great to see that moving.
PM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar Squat
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320
1x370
REST PAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
8x410
4x410
2x410
1x410
1 minute rest
13x1x410 (30 seconds between sets)
SUPERSETS (snatch-hyper)
Reverse hypers 360
1x13
1x15
1x17
1x19
Hang power snatches 78lbs
4x5
Notes: Hamstring is feeling significantly better, but still not 100%. Stopped the topset at the point where it was threatening to snap again. The follow up sets weren't pleasant, but do-able. Got some pain in my groin on my left side because I've been leaning on the right to get me through the squats: used the singles to correct that and things felt much better. Reverse hypers were pulling on the hamstring a bit, so cut the reps down. Was actually decently explosive on the snatches.
Got a total of 30 reps in the squat, so progress from last week, and I didn't need to do any knee wrap voodoo this time. Very consistent improvement, even if the bruising keeps looking worse.
Also jumped up a full flight of stairs 3 times today on my left foot. Could typically only get through half a landing. Great to see that moving.
Training Log: Entry 2669
PM WORKOUT
5 minute rope skipping
10 rounds on the BAS (2 minute rounds, 1 minute off)
5 minutes rope skipping
Notes: In between the first 4 rounds, I skipped rope and wore MMA gloves. After round 5, I took the 1 minute off and had the 16oz gloves on. Skipped rope after the 10th round for a minute, then did a 5 minute cooldown. Really tried to focus on putting power behind the right hand and in the left hooks. Saw a video of Tyson hitting the pads at 53 years old and realized just how much hips matter in the hook, so tried to really get them in. Was a solid workout. Conditioning keeps getting better.
PM WORKOUT
5 minute rope skipping
10 rounds on the BAS (2 minute rounds, 1 minute off)
5 minutes rope skipping
Notes: In between the first 4 rounds, I skipped rope and wore MMA gloves. After round 5, I took the 1 minute off and had the 16oz gloves on. Skipped rope after the 10th round for a minute, then did a 5 minute cooldown. Really tried to focus on putting power behind the right hand and in the left hooks. Saw a video of Tyson hitting the pads at 53 years old and realized just how much hips matter in the hook, so tried to really get them in. Was a solid workout. Conditioning keeps getting better.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2668
Stretched in the AM. Hamstring is slightly tender again, but I'm following my normal healing process of set myself back but not as far as before so I can heal further. 2 steps forward, 1 step back, net gain.
PM WORKOUT
SUPERSETS (press-chin)
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
3x176
3x196
7x221
9x196
NG chins w/30lbs (various grips)
1x9
5x8
SUPERSETS (press-dip-raise-pull apart: sets 1 and 4: axle, sets 2 and 5: trap bar, sets 3 and 6: log)
Axle strict press 156
1x12
1x10
Trap bar press 175
1x10
1x6
Log clean and strict press away 150
2x12
Dips
6xFailure
DB lateral raise 30s
3x12
2x11
1x12
Band pull aparts
6x13
Neck harness 45
3x20
DB rows 105
1x21
Notes: 3:45 between heavy press, 2:00 between giant sets. The neck harness was tacked on to the odd sets of giant sets. The topset of presses wasn't bad. Wanted 9, but my strength seems to be settling at least. I also realized I haven't done one of my ultra grindy reps in a while, so I threw it in on the backoff set. Been eyeing neck harness work for a while, and think I may have found a way to work it in without making things ridiculous. Took it easy for today, since it's been a while.
My triceps were really being dumb on the log today. May need to get in some direct work on it, OR make my dips a bit more honest.
Stretched in the AM. Hamstring is slightly tender again, but I'm following my normal healing process of set myself back but not as far as before so I can heal further. 2 steps forward, 1 step back, net gain.
PM WORKOUT
SUPERSETS (press-chin)
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
3x176
3x196
7x221
9x196
NG chins w/30lbs (various grips)
1x9
5x8
SUPERSETS (press-dip-raise-pull apart: sets 1 and 4: axle, sets 2 and 5: trap bar, sets 3 and 6: log)
Axle strict press 156
1x12
1x10
Trap bar press 175
1x10
1x6
Log clean and strict press away 150
2x12
Dips
6xFailure
DB lateral raise 30s
3x12
2x11
1x12
Band pull aparts
6x13
Neck harness 45
3x20
DB rows 105
1x21
Notes: 3:45 between heavy press, 2:00 between giant sets. The neck harness was tacked on to the odd sets of giant sets. The topset of presses wasn't bad. Wanted 9, but my strength seems to be settling at least. I also realized I haven't done one of my ultra grindy reps in a while, so I threw it in on the backoff set. Been eyeing neck harness work for a while, and think I may have found a way to work it in without making things ridiculous. Took it easy for today, since it's been a while.
My triceps were really being dumb on the log today. May need to get in some direct work on it, OR make my dips a bit more honest.
Training Log: Entry 2667
PM WORKOUT
Max Effort Lower
(4) High Handle Trap Bar Mat Pulls
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x675
1x745
0x765
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin)
2 second pause high handle trap bar pull 405
3x9
T-bar row 3 45s and a 10
3x9
NG chins (various grips)
1x5
2x4
10 minute-ish rest
3 rounds on the BAS (2 minutes on, 1 minute "rest" of rope skipping) using MMA style gloves
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. The strength was there for 765, but my hamstring was a little angry after 745 and I could feel it trying to pull apart on 765. Got no reason to sacrifice it at the moment, so I pushed it to the redline and backed it down again. I find this helps the healing process, as so far my hamstring is feeling awesome.
Giant sets were fairly easy with the shorter ME session.
Went to Dick's Sporting Goods today since they're opened up and picked up a bunch of martial arts stuff. Just about returned everything when they wouldn't sell me the weight set they had because "we don't sell the display". Hey, here's a thought then: don't put a pricetag on it. Was looking out for that kid on the powerlifting team, so pissed me off. Rant aside, I now have the MMA style gloves, got my wife some 12oz boxing gloves, my kiddo some MMA style gloves (they already have boxing gloves) and I got some thai pads. Can really rock and roll.
I liked the MMA style gloves because they allowed me to skip rope between rounds easier than transitioning with the boxing gloves. It's definitely different using them, but for fitness purposes, they work well. May include some slam ball and sprawls in the future.
PM WORKOUT
Max Effort Lower
(4) High Handle Trap Bar Mat Pulls
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x675
1x745
0x765
GIANT SETS (dead-row-chin)
2 second pause high handle trap bar pull 405
3x9
T-bar row 3 45s and a 10
3x9
NG chins (various grips)
1x5
2x4
10 minute-ish rest
3 rounds on the BAS (2 minutes on, 1 minute "rest" of rope skipping) using MMA style gloves
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. The strength was there for 765, but my hamstring was a little angry after 745 and I could feel it trying to pull apart on 765. Got no reason to sacrifice it at the moment, so I pushed it to the redline and backed it down again. I find this helps the healing process, as so far my hamstring is feeling awesome.
Giant sets were fairly easy with the shorter ME session.
Went to Dick's Sporting Goods today since they're opened up and picked up a bunch of martial arts stuff. Just about returned everything when they wouldn't sell me the weight set they had because "we don't sell the display". Hey, here's a thought then: don't put a pricetag on it. Was looking out for that kid on the powerlifting team, so pissed me off. Rant aside, I now have the MMA style gloves, got my wife some 12oz boxing gloves, my kiddo some MMA style gloves (they already have boxing gloves) and I got some thai pads. Can really rock and roll.
I liked the MMA style gloves because they allowed me to skip rope between rounds easier than transitioning with the boxing gloves. It's definitely different using them, but for fitness purposes, they work well. May include some slam ball and sprawls in the future.
Monday, May 4, 2020
TKD Training Update
Stretched this morning. Single leg is good.
TKD lesson of 45 minutes had a BIG takeaway today. Wanted to document this. Shared it in the combat section too
So I had a bit of a revelation regarding TKD blocking yesterday after doing some reading, implemented it today and it worked fantastically. The whole "grab defense" thing has some merit, but really, calling them "blocks" just confuses things. They're hard parries.
The low block
Is just a stupid idea to block an incoming roundhouse kick OR to try to force on force stop a front kick (snap or teep)
BUT, if you step off to the side as you do it against a front style kick, it's just a parry , and should put you in a position to capitalize on a counter attack (assuming you circle to the back).
Same with the middle block
Not going to stop anything, but you step to the side and do it against a straight attack and it's a parry.
That picture is stupidly exaggerated, and we drilled keeping it close and just using it to move the punch off line, but it's making the first form a lot less stupid.
We did these for our 1 steps, and it was suddenly a MUCH more useful drill. My kid was getting me off center and had my back totally exposed. They remembered something I said from my previous lesson, because I said "If you're at my back, I can't block, I can't attack much, and I can't see what's coming" and my kid goes "So it's like Christmas for me?"
My wife goes "WHAT are you teaching our kid up there?!"
I was so proud. They were figuring out logical attacks from there. Figured out a front snap kick right between my legs from behind and a liver punch: total Bas Rutten style stuff. We suddenly went from doing things because it was tradition to doing things because it made sense: huge.
This became cool too, because we learned how all the blocks in the form are there to teach against all the attacks in the form. Great to see the material come together.
Forms looked amazing as a result as well. Strong punches, held the fist well. A few more lessons like that and I'll promote them to orange belt. From there, I'll be teaching angular attacks, as white belt has been all straight attacks. Plan is roundkick, roundhouse kick (Muay Thai style), hook punch and a knifehand strike. Will teach leg checking as a defense. I'll also have to look into the next form and find out what else needs to be taught from it.
Stretched this morning. Single leg is good.
TKD lesson of 45 minutes had a BIG takeaway today. Wanted to document this. Shared it in the combat section too
So I had a bit of a revelation regarding TKD blocking yesterday after doing some reading, implemented it today and it worked fantastically. The whole "grab defense" thing has some merit, but really, calling them "blocks" just confuses things. They're hard parries.
The low block
Is just a stupid idea to block an incoming roundhouse kick OR to try to force on force stop a front kick (snap or teep)
BUT, if you step off to the side as you do it against a front style kick, it's just a parry , and should put you in a position to capitalize on a counter attack (assuming you circle to the back).
Same with the middle block
Not going to stop anything, but you step to the side and do it against a straight attack and it's a parry.
That picture is stupidly exaggerated, and we drilled keeping it close and just using it to move the punch off line, but it's making the first form a lot less stupid.
We did these for our 1 steps, and it was suddenly a MUCH more useful drill. My kid was getting me off center and had my back totally exposed. They remembered something I said from my previous lesson, because I said "If you're at my back, I can't block, I can't attack much, and I can't see what's coming" and my kid goes "So it's like Christmas for me?"
My wife goes "WHAT are you teaching our kid up there?!"
I was so proud. They were figuring out logical attacks from there. Figured out a front snap kick right between my legs from behind and a liver punch: total Bas Rutten style stuff. We suddenly went from doing things because it was tradition to doing things because it made sense: huge.
This became cool too, because we learned how all the blocks in the form are there to teach against all the attacks in the form. Great to see the material come together.
Forms looked amazing as a result as well. Strong punches, held the fist well. A few more lessons like that and I'll promote them to orange belt. From there, I'll be teaching angular attacks, as white belt has been all straight attacks. Plan is roundkick, roundhouse kick (Muay Thai style), hook punch and a knifehand strike. Will teach leg checking as a defense. I'll also have to look into the next form and find out what else needs to be taught from it.
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Training Log: Entry 2666
Ok, first, I keep forgetting to add that I did a set of 20 NG chins at the end of my squat workout the other day. Really just trying to get my back back to where it was and beyond.
Did my 25 minutes of stretching and single leg work. Left leg continues to feel fine: just tender around the IT band.
AM WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
2x10
1x9
Close grip axle bench 256
1x10
2x5
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
2x8
Dips
2x40
1x35
Standing ab wheel between sets of bench
8x8
Notes: 3:05 between sets of benching, 2:00 between sets of dips. I alternated the close grip benching with the swiss bar benching. I definitely liked it more as a training approach: made the training seem much faster. Not sure if it necessarily is more effective, but it gives me some room to play around at least, and now I can make drop sets and other intensity modifiers a bit more viable.
Also interesting how much more gas I had in me for those dips at the end. I feel like that might mean something. My sternum was a bit achy, which is most likely from the weighted dips I did in place of log this week.
Putting on my knee sleeves made that left knee ache. Pain is around the IT band/very bottom of the hamstring, which is most likely where the tear occurred. I wonder if that's also the spot where they harvested my hamstring to make a new ACL.
Very slight pain in my right forearm, which I think is a product of the grip training, rather than squats. My upper body in general seems to be in less pain post squatting these days. I may have to take a lesson that, when bodyweight goes up, squatting transfers to SSB only, and when it goes down I use the buffalo bar. Wouldn't be the worst idea.
Ok, first, I keep forgetting to add that I did a set of 20 NG chins at the end of my squat workout the other day. Really just trying to get my back back to where it was and beyond.
Did my 25 minutes of stretching and single leg work. Left leg continues to feel fine: just tender around the IT band.
AM WORKOUT
Axle bench press 296
2x10
1x9
Close grip axle bench 256
1x10
2x5
Swiss bar incline bench 220
1x10
2x8
Dips
2x40
1x35
Standing ab wheel between sets of bench
8x8
Notes: 3:05 between sets of benching, 2:00 between sets of dips. I alternated the close grip benching with the swiss bar benching. I definitely liked it more as a training approach: made the training seem much faster. Not sure if it necessarily is more effective, but it gives me some room to play around at least, and now I can make drop sets and other intensity modifiers a bit more viable.
Also interesting how much more gas I had in me for those dips at the end. I feel like that might mean something. My sternum was a bit achy, which is most likely from the weighted dips I did in place of log this week.
Putting on my knee sleeves made that left knee ache. Pain is around the IT band/very bottom of the hamstring, which is most likely where the tear occurred. I wonder if that's also the spot where they harvested my hamstring to make a new ACL.
Very slight pain in my right forearm, which I think is a product of the grip training, rather than squats. My upper body in general seems to be in less pain post squatting these days. I may have to take a lesson that, when bodyweight goes up, squatting transfers to SSB only, and when it goes down I use the buffalo bar. Wouldn't be the worst idea.
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