Training Log: Entry 3122

AM WORKOUT (0415 natural wake up, good night of sleep)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 6, Workout 4

100 complexes of the following with 20kg bells

* Push up onto KBs

* Single arm clean and press

* Single arm front squat

* Pull up

20 minutes of Dan John’s ladder (2-3-5-10) with Prisoner Squats and Push ups

* Legit don’t know how many I did: just grinded it.

BREAKFAST

Walk w/wolf while wearing 50lb vest

Notes:

* I woke up this morning fantastically sore in my shoulders and rear delts.  That Klokov press/pull apart combo was amazing.  I’ve definitely been sleeping on Klokov presses: they’re THE behind the neck press.  

* With the competition coming up on Sunday, it was good to pick a workout where the intensity wasn’t too high and the effect was a bit more tonic/restorative.  That said, kettlebells are always interesting in this way.  The entire time you’re using them, it feels ok, but as soon as you put them down you get hit with a truck.  It’s a very different kind of fatigue.  My heart and lungs were just fine through this, but once it was done I was exhausted.  Not wiped out, but just “done”.

* This was the complex I hit last week with a new addition with that pull up.  I like getting in the pull up, but it breaks up the rhythm a bit more than I care to as far as a smooth complex goes.  In the future, I might make this an EMOM with a pull up buy in to achieve a similar effect.

* 40 minutes was the original plan, but I was close enough to 100 that I just rounded it out.  Woke up earlier enough that I had a little bit extra time to play with, and now I’m way ahead on my 180 minute goal.

* That follow-on 20 minutes was absolutely brutal.  This has done a great job of really lighting up my front delts.  Between these bodyweight squats and my 3x a week breathing squats, my legs are pretty well taken care of too.  

* Thinking out loud for the future, some things I “miss” are dips, reverse hypers and GHRs.  Secondarily, I feel like I could use some more KB swings and rows of some variety.  Definitely room to play around, and maybe these will get factored into my next Famine.

 Training Log: Entry 3121

AM WORKOUT (0424 natural wake up, good night of sleep, wanted more)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 6, Day 3: “Tribute To The Great Warriors”

(4) Axle Mat Pull

5+3+3x405

20 minutes of EMOM axle Klokov Press (66lbs) and band pull aparts

Sets of 10 or 5 on the presses, sets of 10 on the pull aparts

Breathing Squats w/pull overs

20x240+chains

20 standing Wheel of Pain

10x115 Kroc row

Breakfast

Walk w/wolf (no weight vest)

Notes:

* Absolutely did not want to do any overhead work this morning, and honestly really only wanted to get after the breathing squats.  Sleep just sounded really good.  It’s awesome to be sleep seeking compared to how I used to be, but I was also satisfied once this was over.  Came up with the idea to hit up the Klokov presses in the middle of the night and that was an excellent choice.  In general, this may actually be THE ideal workout.  Heavy pulls to start, the Klokov presses and pull aparts completely blew up my shoulders, and when it came time to squat everything was lubricated and smooth and it moved really well, polished off with hard ab work, rows and walking.

* The story: this workout absolutely pays tribute to the great iron warriors before me.  We have Bob Peoples’ ROM progression deadlifts, Klokov in the presses, John McCallum and Randall Strossen in those breathing squats, and Louie Simmons and Dan John in the squats with chains.

* Doing Klokov’s with the axle adds even more of an element of suck to it, as the bar is placed even further away from center mass.  I forgot how to do them on the first set, but figured it out as I went.  Sets of 10 proved too ambitious, so I landed on some 5s for a while as well.  I know I got over 150 reps total, and even worked some muscle/power snatches into to the equation.

* Breathing squats are definitely finding my limits.  The chains have been a fantastic addition.

* Went without the vest.  This workout was heavy enough.

* Tang Soo Do last night went well enough.  Nothing too extreme, but good to get the reps in.

Training Log: Entry 3120

AM WORKOUT (0420 natural wake up, good night of sleep)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 6, Day 2: The Cimmerian Crucible

Log DT (5 rounds of 12 deadlifts, 9 hang cleans, 6 jerks) w/100lb log

Axle Grace (30 floor to overheads) w/136lb axle

Fran (21-15-9 Thruster and Kipping chins) w/95lb barbell

Isabel (30 snatches) w/20kg kettle bell (30 snatches per arm)

Total time: 40 minutes and 20 something seconds

16 minutes of Dan John’s ladder for Prisoner Squats and Push Ups (2-3-5-10).  No idea on rep total: something over 200

BREAKFAST

Walk w/wolf wearing 50lb weighted vest

Notes:

* Came up with this last night.  DT ALWAYS wrecks me, and the biggest reason is because my clean is just absolute garbage, to say nothing of my hang clean.  The log was a good way to overcome that, but I still had to scale the weight down quite a bit to make it work.  You can see in the footage that it still absolutely wiped me out.  I liked being able to have all the implements loaded ahead of time and being able to transition rather quickly between the workouts.  I definitely caught myself stalling a bit there, and there’s some room to clean it up, but this is pretty solid.

* My back was totally wrecked when Grace rolled around.  Threw on the belt in case I needed to continental, but was able to clean every single rep, which was outstanding.  I was trying to control the noise on the eccentric, which had me moving a little slower than I’d like to.

* Fran is always a miserable experience.  Really tried to focus on moving a bit quicker on the front squat portion of the thruster.  Isabel was just a target of opportunity: I saw how much time I had left for a 40 minute workout and just went for what was available.  20kg bell isn’t even half of the RX weight of 135, but it still gassed me at the end.

* Really tried to focus on moving fast on the squats and push ups.  Reps are good, but we can make this a workout as well.

* Weighed in at 174.8 after my shower this morning.  That’s the heaviest I’ve been in quite a while.  It’s outstanding to see that the protocol is working.  I’m building muscle, staying lean, and getting stronger on my lifts.  Really figured something out here.  Also glad I signed up for the correct weight class for my competition. 

 Training Log: Entry 3119

AM WORKOUT (0417 natural wake up, good night of sleep)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 6, Workout 1

*40 Minutes of Mainwork*

SUPERSET (press-chin)

Log clean and strict press away

3x165

3x175

2x185

Chins w/chains

3x7

GIANT SET CIRCUIT (press-chin/abs-pull)

Log clean and strict press away

10x3x165

Chins

1x10

4x9

Standing Wheel of Pain

1x10

3x9

Band pull aparts

10x14

Neck harness

*10% Corollary*

Breathing Squats w/pullovers

20x235+chains

Poundstone curls

100xAxle

Lateral raise stripset

5x20

10x10

15x5

20x2.5

25xEmpty hands

25 pushdowns

BREAKFAST

Walk w/wolf while wearing 50lb vest

Notes:

* The log performance continues to improve.  Was feeling very strong for it today, minus a headspin on the second rep of the first workset.  I wasn’t moving super fast this workout, taking my time to get set as the weight continues to climb, but I was crushing the lifts.  I’m going more Hepburn style with the assistance, adding a single rep total each workout vs per set, as I’m starting to reach a point where the assistance is taking more than it gives.  

* The squats were absolutely in the right spot for effort.  That’s technically a 3 rep drop off from previous efforts, but previous efforts were set later in the day, with meals in me, and first thing in the workout.  This was done AFTER 40 minutes of log work and it definitely showed.  My right knee was getting a little tricky on me, and during my 30 minutes of keg pressing workout last week I felt it twinge a little, so I had to slow things down a touch and decided to rack at 20.  As you can see from my body’s response, it was the right call.  And once again: I had a carb up meal last night and find it a little harder to push the next day.  I feel like it’s a sure sign I’ve become fat adapted rather than a sugar burner, and, in turn, when I don’t have enough fuel in me, it shows.

* It’s gotten cold.  We had our first real snowfall yesterday, and it was 17 degrees when I was walking the wolf.  I prefer the cold, but it does suck that I get less sun exposure now.

* In general, pleased with how this all went, especially this far into the program.  

* Bought a rash guard for my grappling tournament on Sunday.  It snuck up on me.  Thinking about doing some steak and eggs the night before the fuel for it.

 Training Log: Entry 3118

Last day of the long holiday weekend.  More awesome eating.

Training was GI Jane and Pukie Brewster WODs

GI Jane is 100 burpee chins, Pukie Brewster is 150 burpees

Got the 100 BCs in 12 minutes, 100 burpees in another 12, and finished in sub 30.  Excellent use of time.

Carb up meal tonight with some spaghetti and homemade sourdough, then back on the program.  Grappling tournament in a week: snuck up on me.  How crazy.

 Training Log: Entry 3117

Slept until 0730, prisoner squats and push ups, walked the wolf with a 50lb vest, great meals, and this fantastic training session

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** 150 rounds of the 1 armed Cimmerian Complex

Complex is as follows

Push up onto KB handles
Single arm clean and strict press
Single arm KB squat

w/20kg bell

25 conan curls

25 pushdowns

50 pull aparts

10 Wheels of Pain with a plank and hold for the final rep.

Also, my doe finished processing today and I brought home the meat.  I got a freezer packed with Venison.  Gonna be eating good for quite a while.

 Training Log: Entry 3116

Slept until about 0730, woke up and got in 50 prisoner squats and 50 push ups using Dan John's ladder

After a fantastic breakfast, did a burpee and alternating single arm KB clean and press w/20kg bell for 5 minutes followed by a 2 mile walk wearing a 50lb weighted vest with my wolf

Lived life, had a great lunch of about 7 burger patties and 2 slices of swiss cheese from Culver's working some fast food ordering wizardy, then did this workout when I got home.

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 5, Day 5: The Cimmerian Swears To Never Drink Again

23x230+chains breathing squats w/pull overs, into 30 minutes of cleaning and pressing a 100lb keg over my head (118 reps managed during that time)

And 20 standing Wheels of Pain

I feel the need to point out that I am RIDICULOUSLY sore from pulling 301 reps on the trap bar yesterday.  Specifically in my traps (go figure).  So holding that bar on my back was super fun, as was cleaning a f**king keg 118 times.

Chased it down with an amazing "meat and eggs" dinner of a turkey thigh and 4 fried pasture raised eggs with some grassfed sour cream.  Had a little more dark meat turkey after that.

I had two people comment today that I look bigger: one a random youtube commenter and one my Valkyrie.  The latter is, of course, the most significant, but both speak positively to the impact of this training and eating.  Been awesome validating this approach.  It also means I'm finally outeating my training, which has taken some doing for sure.

 Training Log: Entry 3115

Here's how I guaranteed an anabolic Thanksgiving

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 5, Day 4-Feasting Day Traditions

301x135lb high handle trap bar lifts

Not my all time PR, but a new one for this bodyweight.  And you can definitely see that the effort was real.

 Training Log: Entry 3114

Training this morning

Followed immediately with a 50lb weighted vest walk with the wolf

Post lunch workout

23x225+chains breathing squats with pullovers, then a 10 minute EMOM burpee chin/chain press, then 1 min of KB throws.

The squats are a great solution.  I can really push hard with these while keeping the pain out of my hips.  If I can keep the reps the same and add weight back up to 275, that will bode well.  

Also got in a 3 mile walk post dinner.  Been eating well, tomorrow I will feast, and old traditions will come through.

 Training Log: Entry 3113

AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 5, Workout 2-“Unscrouplous Mercenary Among Waring Empires”

40 minute workout

* EMOM, do a Viking thruster w/90lb loaded on axle

* Add a thruster each round

* Do Turkish get ups between rounds w/10kg bell

* When beat by the timer, re-start thrusters at 1

18 minutes of Dan John’s ladder for prisoner squats and push ups (200 total)

BREAKFAST

Walk w/wolf (no vest, very windy and cold day, had to move fast)

Notes:

* The story: In the midst of the war between the Aesir and the Ottomans resides our Cimmerian, who owes loyalty only to the coin. But the constant shifting of alliances and unending battles gradually consume him.

* Really had to convince myself to get up and train this morning.  Just feeling beat to hell.  Despite the feasting, I’m still pushing beyond my limits.  I settled on this workout because the get ups seemed like a way to challenge myself while keeping the load light.  I’m digging the idea behind a workout where I just get up and down off the floor a bunch.

* The story is cute there: Viking thrusters for the Aesir, Turkish get ups for the Ottoman.  I coulda brought in more cultures with some Russian vs American KB swings if I wanted to be goofy.  

* Took a bit to find my groove on the get ups, but after enough time it was starting to click.  My hip is still pretty pissed at me, which made the thrusters not super awesome.

* Was good to get in the bodyweight work afterwards.  It’s honestly the most tonic/beneficial stuff I do for myself, specifically those squats.  I have Tang Soo Do tonight as well, which will get me a little more.

* Weather was absolutely nuts today.  Crazy high winds.  My “wolf” is a 15lb pug, so I had to work to make sure she didn’t turn into a kite.  I went without the vest so we could move quick, and after an hour of solid training this morning, it seemed like I had done enough.

* My rings are falling off my fingers.  I'm losing a bunch of water and swelling.  I keep forgetting what the "after" is like on these carb-ups.  There's really an element of hormesis at play here I think.  I'm intentionally inducing inflammation when this happens, and then the body heals, rebounds and becomes stronger.  This is that "harmony disruption" piece I've spoke to earlier.  And it's the same side of the coin with the protein sparing modified fasting vs high fat intake.  And that seems like a spectrum on it's own.  Pure protein-high fat-high carb.  In the middle is the balance, and the extremes make it so the balance is harmonious.  Far out man.

 Training Log: Entry 3112

AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 5, Workout 1

*40 minutes of overhead*

SUPER SET (press-chin)

Axle continental and strict press away

5x156

3x161

4x161

Chins w/chains

3x6

GIANT SETS (press-chin/ab-pull)

Axle clean and strict press away

5x10x118

Axle clean each rep and strict press

5x5x118

Chins

5x9

Wheel of Pain

4x9

Band pull aparts

9x13

*10% Corollary*

Breathing Squats w/pullovers

15+5x280

25 Conan Curls

25 pushdowns

10 Tree of Woe shrugs

BREAKFAST

50lb weighted vest walk with the wolf

Notes:

* Gravity was turned on high this morning.  Because my schedule was all screwy last week, I was training a bit harder on the weekends than I usually do, and between that and the wild swing in nutrition, I imagine I rolled into this morning not quite as fresh as usual.  Those squats in particular snuck up on me.  I’m experiencing that same Super Squats hip pain on my right side that I had last year, which I need to be mindful of, since it took a LONG time to heal from that, but part of me thinks when I get my nutrition back to animal fuels it might sort out.  

* On the topic of the squats: I have an abundance of ways to succeed from here.  I’m in the 5th week of the program, which is a good run so far, and the OG strategy was to only do the squats twice a week anyway, so there’s room to play.  I’m thinking about dropping bar weight and adding chains, and going for reps beyond 20.  I might also do the SSB but with hands on the bar vs the handles, as that’s pretty brutal.  There’s also a possibility of changing gears and going MMS, putting bodyweight on the bar and just going for max reps.  Too many ways to win.

* I’m not able to get as much done in 40 minute as before, but I realize it’s because I’m adding reps as I go to the assistance work, which is going to eat into the main work.  Funny how it all balances out.

* Video is being screwy: will post it later.

* Something I'm needing to capture: I was really flat and lost a lot of definition when I was leaning really hard into the protein sparing modified fast, and since focusing on really upping the dietary fats I've noticed myself being far more defined and bulbous.  There's a few things I feel to take from this.  One is that I am most likely "fat adapted" at this point, which could explain why this morning's performance was a little subpar when I had just had a higher carb meal leading up to it.  The other is to ponder if the right call is to skip the protein sparing modified fasting (famines) OR if the famines prep me such that when I DO feast I'm able to really thrive.  I'm inclined to believe the latter over the former.  I feel like the sparse periods prep my body to really make solid use of these windows of high intake, but maybe it'd be worthwhile sometime to see how far I could push a high fat nutrition phase.

 Training Log: Entry 3111

Training from the AM

PM WORKOUT

 Training Log: Entry 3110

Got up at 0730, got in some push ups and squats, then a fantastic breakfast, then did this before taking the dog for a short walk

1 burpee, then cluster.  Each round, add a thruster.  Go for 5 minutes.  I was working on 9 thrusters when time ran out.

Got in a post lunch workout that I really liked.

Chaos Is The Plan: The Cimmerian Chronicle Week 4, Day 5-“Go Home Conan: You’re Drunk”

Original plan was a 15 minute workout, but I was so close to 50 rounds at the end I just finished it out.

100lb keg

Sprawl onto keg

One motion keg overhead

Overhead carry to crash pad

Drop

Repeat

The story: Our Cimmerian has taken in a bit too much of the drink and begins to cause a ruckus at the local tavern. Still quite the handful, it takes 50 of the town guard to be able to best our Cimmerian in his drunken rage.

Once this workout was over, I ended up doing 150 prisoner squats in 5 minutes, and I’m thinking that should be an intentional piece to this. Give yourself 15 minutes to get in 50 rounds, and for however many minutes more it takes you to do the 50, you are “sentenced” to that much punishment in prisoner squats. It’s fitting.

Also got in 20 Wheels of Pain and 50 pull aparts, then did a bunch of lawn work

Dinner was clutch.  Went to Culvers, got 2 double swiss cheeseburgers, added 2 patties to one of them

 Training Log: Entry 3109

AM WORKOUT (0310 wake up via alarm)

20x275 breathing squats with pullovers

Spent the rest of the morning hunting.  Walking woods, dragging carcasses, lots of general activity.  I've got Tang Soo Do tonight, and I think I'm gonna call that "enough" training for today.  I was happy to get that squat workout in first thing in the morning.  Legit roll out of bed, get in garage, do 3 reps of warm-ups and then hammer a 20 rep breathing squat.  That's clutch.

Should have about 60-70lbs of venison in my freezer soon.

 Training Log: Entry 3108

More crazy days, but this one a bit more uniform.

Slept until 0625, got up and did Tabata KB devil presses w/20kg bells

Lunchtime workout as follows

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONCILE** Week 4, Workout 4

(5) Axle Mat Pulls w/12 breath rest pause 6+4+3x405 Immediately into the "Horrifically Awful 30 Minute Overhead Anyhow Challenge" from Jamie Lewis' "365 Day of Brutality"

Using 143lbs (approx 85% bodyweight), I got 124 reps Finish with Kroc rows w/115 "He dwells on a great mountain. What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune! He is grim and loveless, but at birth he breathes power to strive and slay into a man's soul. What else shall men ask of the gods?"-Conan All you can ask for during that challenge is the power to strive and slay.

Ate a lunch most fitting for such an awesome workout

7 wings, air fried with spray duck fat and salt, pork cracklins, egg whites and grassfed sour cream

Planning on getting in some push ups and squats, and hopefully be able to get out hunting tomorrow.

I'm pleased with how this training went.  It's honestly the most "in spirit" of "Chaos is the Plan": just hammer that overhead until time runs out.

 Training Log: Entry 3107

Today was pretty wild.  Small family medical emergency.  Everything is fine, but my plans to go hunting over Wed/Thurs/Fri have turned into possibly just Friday.  While tending to the family, training got chunked out over the day.

AM WORKOUT (0623 natural wake up)

100 20kg KB throws in 5 minutes.

AM WORKOUT (1000)

20x270 Breathing Squats w/pullovers

PM WORKOUT (1400)

140 reps of 20kg double kettlebell clean once and strict press away in 20 minutes using Dan John's Ladders (2-3-5-10)

300 prisoner squats and push ups using Dan John's ladders

Notes:

* 25 minutes of overhead today: I'm happy with that.  It's fun to see what we prioritize when time gets compressed.  I knew I wanted to get in the breathing squats today, and anything beyond that was gravy, but I had the 5 minutes first thing this morning and made it worth my while.  The DKB workout was great, and always a victory to get in the daily 300.  A walk would have been nice, but I didn't want to be away from home for anything.

* It's worth appreciating that I have been putting weights over my head 5-7 days a week for almost a month now, and I just keep improving.  140 reps is a 25 rep density PR.  There is no overtraining: just undereating.  Speaking of...

* I made a fantastic lunch and dinner given my circumstances.  I just thawed some stuff out of my freezer in the morning and hit it up on the air fryer.  Lunch was lambchops, egg whites and pork cracklin, and dinner was pork ribs and more egg whites, both with a side of grassfed sour cream.

 Training Log: Entry 3106

AM WORKOUT (0417 natural wake up. Great night of sleep)

**Chaos Is The Plan: The Cimmerian Chronicle** Week 4, Day 2-"Wheel of Pain"

40 minute workout

* Zercher march in place with 103lb axle

* EMOM do an axle clean and push press away

* Add 1 rep each round until failure, then start over 

Got up to 9 reps 3 times. Failed going for 10 (getting 8-7-8 if I recall correctly)

20 minutes of Dan John's ladder (2-3-5-10), getting a total of 225 prisoner squats and push ups

BREAKFAST

Short walk with wolf

Longer hill walk solo (brought the truck in for repairs and walked while I waited)

Notes: 

* The story: Sold into slavery by a conquering tribe, the Cimmerian finds himself sentenced to the Wheel of Pain. His only "relief" is to be found in the brutal gladiatorial pits of his captors, wherein each evening he encounters a growing number of opponents. Each successive victory buys him a little less time at the wheel, but failure is met with more toil and pain.

* Came up with this in the middle of the night and its got some potential. My knees are a little sore so I didn't want to do thrusters, and with the grappling tournament coming up I figured zerchers and bear hugs will be valuable. Like the tree of woe, you suffer to avoid suffering. The further you can push those presses, the less time you spend carrying, but if you take too long to get the presses done, you wont be recovered enough for the next round.

* This would be an excellent workout to take to a track. Then you could even set distance goals. Marching in place certainly worked, but a real carry would be dandy. And this could also be a kettlebell front rack or keg carry workout too.

* Good finisher with the squats and push ups. The wheel wasn't a gasser for conditioning, but definitely drained me.

 Training Log: Entry 3105

AM WORKOUT (0445 natural wake up, day off work so I got to sleep in)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 4, Workout 1

*40 Minutes of Overhead*

SUPERSET (Press-chin)

Log clean and strict press away
3x160
3x170
3x180

Chins w/chains
3x5

GIANT SETS (press-chin/ab-pull)

Log clean and strict press away
12x3x160

Chins
5x9

Wheel of Pain
5x9

Pull aparts
10x12

Neck work
2 sets

*10% Corollary*

Breathing Squats w/pullovers
20x265

25 Conan Curls
25 push downs
12 Tree of Woe shrugs
Lateral raises

CONTINUE FASTING/SKIP BREAKFAST

Long walk w/wolf while wearing 50lb vest

Notes:

* Since I didn't get this workout done last week, I decided to just carry it into this one.  This week itself is going to be unique, as I'll be hunting on Wed-Thurs-Fri and there is a fair chance my training will get compromised on those dates.  But, with Chaos being the plan, that works perfectly.

* This is the strongest I've been on the log in a while, which I absolutely attribute to the approximately 300g of protein I ate in one sitting the afternoon before.  I've been fasting since that meal, not out of martyrdom but out of sheer fullness.  I'm basically going to wait until hunger returns before I eat again, which at this point is looking like a 24 hour fast at least.  Meanwhile, still trained like an absolute animal.

* The first squat is ALWAYS so rough and ugly, and it's usually by about rep 7 that I'm finally feeling pretty good and smooth.  Funny that.  Definitely hitting the challenge on these.  This isn't supposed to be Super Squats, but if I keep doing this 3x a week, what else is it really?

* I'm definitely seeing myself fill out from the training and eating.  It's a great season for feasting.  I'll need to weigh myself at some point when my weight has settled so I have an idea of what weight class I'll be in for the grappling tournament.  I've been eating big now, but it'll be light rations while I'm hunting.

* Since I had the day off, I went on a slightly longer walk with the wolf.

* This new shirt design from Irongods is so over the top and I absolutely love it.  Can't wait for it to drop.

 Training Log: Entry 3104

More weekend craziness.  Great breakfast, got in a walk, some push ups and squats, and then did this before eating my face off at Texas de Brazil

10 minute EMOM

* 4 burpee into log viper presses w/135lb log

Was able to get 4 per round until round 9, then it dropped to 3

Then I feasted.  It was glorious.

I signed up for a submission grappling tournament on 3 Dec.  I haven't grappled since 2005, so I signed up as a notice. That seems fair.  I have no plan to train grappling prior to the comp, so all I can do is show up strong and conditioned.  Game on.

 Training Log: Entry 3103

Lots of living and fantastic eating today. This was training. 5 minutes of overhead 

Texas de Brazil tomorrow

 Training Log: Entry 3102

AM WORKOUT (0455 wake up via alarm, day off work so slept in)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 3, Workout 4

*40 minutes of overhead work*

GIANT SET CIRCUITS (odd rounds: Press-dip-raise-pull, even sets press-chin-ab-shrug-pull)

BtN Press
10x10x88lbs

Weighted dips
5x3x105

Full ROM lateral raise
5x8x20lbs

Band pull aparts
9x10

Chins (various grips)
4x8

Standing wheel of pain
4x8

Tree of Woe shrugs
4x8

*10% Corollary*

Breathing squats w/pullovers
20x260

Poundsone curls
100xAxle

60 prisoner squats and push ups in 4 minutes

Short walk with wolf

Notes:

* Wasn't feeling the log this morning and I've been short on assistance work this week because of the schedule, so I changed things up and made this super pumpy.  Like how it worked out, and I'll work the log into my weekend conditioning.

* Tang Soo Do was all sparring tonight.  Nice change of pace.  Some actual combat training.

* Was active all day today, and this weekend is probably going to be similar.  Eating well and enjoying the company.

 Training Log: Entry 3101

AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm, great night of sleep)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 3, Workout 3: “Connacht’s Escape”

( 6) Axle Mat Pulls w/rest pause 5+3+3x406 into 

40 minutes of 

EMOM 

* 5 burpees 

* Clean each rep and strict press 20kg Kbs 

100 reps in 38:55, 104 reps total 

The Story: As Connacht escapes the prison, he uses all of his might to lift the portcullis, but that is only the beginning. From there, he must defeat 100 of the elite guard, lying in ambush before springing into action. Unarmed, he must rely on grappling them and throwing them overhead. Due to his leg injuries, there is no leg drive: just pure brute force.

Breakfast

50lb weighted vest walk w/wolf

Notes:

* In case it was not apparent from last night’s meal/photos: the famine has ended and the feast has become.  In the instance of Connacht, his escape was facilitated by a mysterious benefactor, who also ensured that a hearty joint of meat was provided in order to fuel his efforts.  

* Because Chaos is the Plan, I broke apart what should have been yesterday’s workout and chunked part of it into today, opening up with those axle pulls.  I really just dig the brutality of the axle, and it totally fits with the Cimmerian motif.  It’s nice to re-discover the gear in me that can grind these reps.

* Going straight into “Connacht” from there was a fantastic challenge.  Once again, this is Kalsu re-imagined.  5 burpees per round continues to be such an awful buy-in: level changes with a jump, and when combined with strict pressing vs thrusters, my front delts get absolutely murdered.

* Cleaning each rep is key on adding challenge to this in the absence of a full ROM thruster.  Instead of knee flexion, it’s triple extension each rep.  I went beyond 100 reps just to get in my 40 minutes.  This still wasn’t Kalsu level full body destruction, but it was definitely exhausting.

* I tore into this training this morning with that surplus of fuel.  This should be a wonderful sign of things to come.  I wanted to come into the prime of this training leaned out and ready to grow, and now I can really dig deep and maximize the opportunity here.

 Training Log: Entry 3100

Today was an unscheduled crazy day.  Minor crisis, under control, all is good, but schedule was disrupted.

...but CHAOS IS THE PLAN, so it didn't matter, because we had no plan.  So we did what we could.

Woke up and did 50 burpees before breakfast, had breakfast, did 6 Dan John ladders of Prisoner Squats and Push ups (120 total)

After lunch, did this

20x255 Breathing Squats w/pull overs

After that, came back and did 16 Dan John Ladders of Prisoner Squats and Push ups (320 of each).  So that totals me at about 490 air squats and push ups...I'll do 10 more and make that 500.

 Training Log: Entry 3099

AM WORKOUT (0422 natural wake up, GREAT night of sleep)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 3, Day 2: “Battling the Skrae with the Aesir Alliance”

40 Minutes 

* 20 Viking Thrusters w/90lbs loaded 

* 1 20kg KB Devil Press 

then 19-2, 18-3, etc. Go as far as you can. 

I was on rep 2 of 12 Devil Presses when time expired 

*13 minutes of Dan John’s ladder for prisoner squats and push ups (2-3-5-10)*

* 8 ladders complete

Breakfast

Walk w/wolf (no vest)

Notes: 

* The story: The Skrae are unholy demons called upon to defeat out Cimmerian, and his fragile alliance with the Aesir allows him to just barely hold on. As combat continues, the Skrae grow in numbers as the Aesir are cut down. Eventually, only the Cimmerian will remain.

* This is a typical “blackjack” workout, but the story helps make it awful.  Viking presses tie in the Aesir, which are a Viking like tribe in the Hyborian era.  The Skrae come straight out of Conan #4.  

 

* They are supernatural demonic creatures summoned by a witch to hunt down our Cimmerian.  Demonic ties well enough into those Devil Presses.  In turn, I have really the “perfect” overhead workout: one movement is accomplished via knee extension, the other is done via triple extension.  Similar to how thrusters and snatches play well together, I have a thruster, a snatch AND a level change all built in.  A harmony disrupter of some type may have been helpful, but I think I actually stayed pretty honest with my work here.  I was feeling the exhaustion from round 1 onward.

* Thrusters eventually collapsed into strict presses, and I need to make sure to stay mindful on the devil presses to keep that hip in there.

* Rounded out with the push ups and squats to make it a for real full on conditioning day.  And I figure I got in some squats with the thrusters and push ups with the devil presses as well, so I’m in a good way.  Went without the vest on the walk because today was so brutal with conditioning AND I should (in theory) get my combat training today with Tang Soo Do sparring, so that’s even more activity.

* Famine continues on, and I’m growing anxious for the feast.

 Training Log: Entry 3098

AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm, very good night of sleep)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 3, Workout 1

**40 minutes of overhead work**

SUPERSET (Press/Chin)

Axle continental and strict press away

5x146

5x156

5x166

Chins

3x5 w/chains

GIANT SETS (Press-chin/ab/neck-pulls)

Axle clean and strict press away

50 reps w/123lbs in 7 sets (misloaded, should have been 113, used the Malcolm X method to get the total)

Axle clean each rep and strict press

5x5x123 (by set 2 I realized the misload and just stuck with it)

Chins

5x7

Wheel of Pain

4x7

Neck harness

3 sets

Band pull aparts

10x11

**10% Corollary**

Breathing Squats

20x250 w/pull overs

25 Conan Curls

25 pushdowns

11 Tree of Woe shrugs

5 full ROM lateral raises

Breakfast

50lb weighted vest walk w/wolf

Notes:

* I can feel the lack of resiliency training this deep into the famine.  Ended up not getting a carb up meal yesterday.  Mrs ran her half-marathon and I felt like the last thing she needed was to be up on her feet in the kitchen whipping up a feast for us, so we did a pizza and wings run and watched the cowboys game.  So yesterday I had Metabolic Drive, egg whites, gelatin and electrolytes for breakfast, half a rack of pork ribs with some eggs/egg whites and pork rinds for lunch, and 10 wings w/eggs/egg whites and pork rinds for dinner, with a Metabolic Drive/egg white meal before bed.  Absolutely delicious and soul satisfying, but definitely not the cure for flatness.  I’ll ride the famine hard until about midweek this week, at which point we’re going to have multiple feasting opportunities and I’m going to live it up.  All this to say: came into the gym really not “feeling” the training.

* Can see some of the brainfog in the misload there.  I was curious why my supplemental work was feeling so heavy, but attributed it to the light rations.  Once I realized I had loaded the 5lb plate twice, it clicked, and then I celebrated how hard I worked to get there.  I’m sure that’ll make me grow.

* The very first squat of the breathing squats felt absolutely awful.  Apparently yesterday’s Riddle of Steel had me a little sore.  Once I got things moving, around rep 7 or so, it felt real smooth.  Crazy to see the growth on this while the food is so light: once the feast starts it’s really going to be pretty magical.

* 2 weeks in I’m noticing that my obliques are widening/thickening, yet given how the veins have shown up on them I know it’s not a result of adipose tissue accumulation.  It makes sense, and I’ve observed this similar phenomenon whenever I prioritize kettlebell work: putting stuff overhead a lot requires a thicker core to support it.  You notice the thick obliques on greek statues, and pressing overhead was the primarily form of training for strength in that era.  My shoulders/traps are growing well.  I am remaining quite lean.  Arms are showing some signs of growth/thickening as well.  Ultimately, it’s been a solid experience so far.

 Training Log: Entry 3097

Typical crazy weekend.  Lots of activity, great eating, kiddo crushed their Tang Soo Do belt test, and I got in a 4 minute workout on top of a bunch of walking, push ups and squats

Tabata, devil press w/20kg bells on the 20s, chins on the 10s.  I'm looking stupid lean already, had a LOT of carne asada and some birrira for dinner, and next week there will be some serious feasting.  Life is grand.

 Training Log: Entry 3096

AM WORKOUT (0425 natural wake up)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 2, Workout 5

**40 minutes of overhead work**

SUPERSET (press-row)

Log clean and strict press away
3x155
3x165
2x175 (log drifted away on the third rep)

DB row
3x6x115

GIANT SETS (press-chin/abs-pull aparts)

Log clean and strict press away
10x3x155

Chins
5x6

Standing Wheel of Pain
5x6

Band pull aparts
10x10

Log clean and push press away
4x155
Reps of 105 and 100

**10% Corollary**

Breathing squats w/pullovers

20x245

Lateral raise stripset until time runs out

Breakfast

50lb weighted vest walk w/wolf

Notes:

* Feeling absolutely hammered from the combination of famine and yesterday’s workout.  I like ending the week with this one.  “Chaos is the Plan”, and Tues-Thurs are the most chaotic days of the plan, but Mon and Fri are far more predictable, and there is solace walking into the gym and knowing what I am going to do.

* Log drifted away from me on the topset of 175.  Felt strong enough to have gotten it otherwise.  Minor headspins on the first set of 155.  Gonna attribute that to low calories.  I’m definitely famine lean already, so that’s a positive.   I also have QUITE the feast lined up for Veteran’s Day weekend (weekend after next).  We’re hitting up Texas De Brazil again on Sat, and Mrs is putting on another practice Thanksgiving on Sun.  That will be an excellent way to kickstart the feasting block, and plenty of fuel for gaining.  I’ll actually be hunting for the first time in my life from 15-17 Nov as well, which may in and of itself result in a mini-famine during the hunting days followed by feasting afterwards, so suffice it to say this is going to be an interesting and chaotic training block.

* Managed to get in a little extra overhead work with the extra time.  Meanwhile, the squats continue to be deceptive.  All is well until rep 16, and suddenly the gravity hits HARD.  Still not quite the full body murder I’d experience when I was low bar squatting, but I feel like this will make the protocol a bit more sustainable, especially over a longer duration.

* Brought the vest back out for the walk this morning.  It was exhausting, but I felt ready enough for it.

 Training Log: Entry 3095

AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 2, Workout 4-“Unbearable Suffering on the Tree of Woe”

THE WORKOUT:

For 40 Minutes…

* Hang from a pull up bar as long as possible

* Every 30 seconds on the bar: do 1 pull ups (this is a Dan John prescription)

* Whenever you drop from the bar, do a bear complex (clean into front squat into press overhead into back squat into press from behind the neck) with 95lbs

* Get back on the bar and repeat

* Add a bear complex each time you drop from the bar (so it’ll go hang, drop, 1 complex, hang, drop, 2 complexes, hang, drop, 3 complexes, etc)

I was on a round of 13 complexes when the timer ran out

16 minutes of

2-3-5-10 ladders of Prisoner Squats and Push ups (managed 170 reps total)

Breakfast

Walk w/wolf (no weight vest)

Notes:

* The story: our Cimmerian has been sentenced to hang from the Tree of Woe.  The carrion eaters are circling, and whenever he tries to escape he must fend off the bears that crave his flesh.  The longer he spends on the tree, the more beasts gather, hoping to overpower and consume him.

* This was so much more brutal than I anticipated.  I initially made it through 2 minutes before dropping.  Dan laid out a challenge for 3 minutes, so that’s something to shoot for in the future.

* There is genius in the sadism here.  Hanging from the bar SUCKS, but the longer you hang from the bar, the more time you have to “recover” from those Bear complexes AND the fewer complexes you have to do in total.  If you tap out to the Tree of Woe too quickly, there is no reward: only suffering.  So you have to suffer in order to prevent OTHER suffering.  Meanwhile, as those bear complexes stack up in number, your grip has more time to recover, so you have a chance of hanging longer from the tree.  That said, my hands got CHEWED up from the barbell, so this was just agony all around.

* More interesting to me was how much HANGING was gassing me out.  I would drop from the bar and find myself out of breath before the bears started.

* Got in some of my daily push ups and squats afterwards, because I was really too wasted to do anything else meaningful.  Same reason I went without the weight vest: I’d trained “enough” at this point.

* THIS workout has legs.  Definitely encourage others to give it a try.  It doesn’t HAVE to be bear complexes either: I picked those just to get in the overhead focus (by my count, I got in 71 complexes, which is 142 reps overhead w/95lbs).  Making this full on Dan John, Armor Building Complexes would fit perfectly, as would a simple thruster (barbell or KB), Devil presses (I originally wanted to do that, to simulate dying, going to hell, battling the devil and returning back to life again, only to find myself STILL hanging from the tree, but felt bears would get me more reps), or even the ever reliable and simple burpee.

 Training Log: Entry 3094

AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm)

**CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE** Week 2, Workout 3

(7)Axle mat pulls w/rest pause

5+3+3x406

20 minutes of KB ladders (2-3-5-10) w/20kg bells

115 total reps accomplished, 1 chin between each set of the ladder

Breathing Squats w/pullovers

20x240

Poundstone Curls

100xAxle

Breakfast

50lb weight vest walk w/wolf

Notes:

* Something of a dealer’s choice.  Heavy pulls are the one thing I’m lacking, so this slotted in.  Still hard for me to be at peace with how low my dead is these days, but I weighed in at 172.4 this morning, which is 30lbs below my “ideal” weight for heavy pulling, so that’s something I have to keep in mind.  This is a new body, and it works differently.  I can still hit the redline like I used to: the outcome is just less.

* I was pleased that, despite only getting 5 on the first pull, I managed triples on the follow-up.  I think that speaks more toward a lack of proficiency.  The axle is always a brutal choice too, and it snagged a little on my clothing.

* Original plan was some “Super Good Mornings”, but after the pulls and cleans my back was fried.  You can see me in the video setting up with 175lbs for what SHOULD be a warm-up rep and my body just flat out saying “no” twice.  Interestingly enough, these were the best the squats have felt since starting the program.  Knees were very pliable and springy.

* Satisfied with the density of the KB pressing.  Good use of the 20 minutes, and makes this approach pretty viable.

* You can hear the timer going off for a full minute on the Poundstone curls.  I violated my own standard, but it was worth it to get in the full 100.

* Upped the weight on the vest.  Making the most of the cold weather: if I can’t get a tan anymore, I may as well move some weight on these walks.

* I’m looking very lean at 172.  I’m shedding water, and my fingers in particular are showing that, as my rings are practically sliding off, which, in turn, leads me to believe that the bump up in weight I’m seeing is a sign of lean tissue growth.  Always a good thing: I could stand to have some more of that.