* Past 2 days I’ve had this “on the verge of getting sick” feeling. Phlegmy, sore-ish throat, general malaise. Over the night, my throat got really sore and I felt stuff. I woke up this morning and thought I might skip today, but talked myself into the fact that this was the lightest day of the program and generally a pretty restorative one. I felt like fresh air would do me good, and the mornings ARE at least much cooler than our afternoons these days (we’re having a heat wave, heat index into the 100s, feels “dangerous hot” to be outside), so I went for it. I moved slow to start the morning, which is why I only managed 2.5 miles, but my walking pace was actually faster than usual, which was a plus. Really focused on rucking it vs leisurely strolling. By the time it was done, I was feeling better. Still crummy, but not intolerable. Tang Soo Do tonight may be a non-starter: we’ll see.
* My lower back has really been stiff/tight these past few days, and today was a great cure for it. Swings, walks, hypers and hangs. I really accidentally stumbled into a great tonic workout.
* Meal last night was wonderful. Whole drum wheat pasta spaghetti with bison meat no sugar added sauce, some garlic bread, and some of the Valkyrie's cookies with some raw local honey. The more I lean into this meal, the better the results.
* On that note, I booked an awesome evening for the 2 of us the day after my strongman competition.
* Alongside that, while I’m talking about exciting things, I found a food challenge that I actually think I DO want to take on
* I’m clearly ready to start gaining again. And while talking general excitement, I’ve picked out my hunting rifle, which will be available for purchase on 8 Aug through the end of the month. Which means even more meat. In general, my headspace is really awesome right now.
1 min of axle continental and push press w/1 min rest
3x176
3x4, 2x3x156
SSB Front Squats
4xBar
4x115
4x135
4x185
5x255 (bar slipped on 5th)
20x190 (5lb PR from previous)
ASSISTANCE
5x7, 5x6 chins (various grips)
3x10 standing ab wheel
15x125 SSB good mornings
27 axle shrugs against average bands
100xAxle Poundstone Curls
50 band pull aparts
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
* Was wasting a lot of energy on the continental today. Once again: don’t really have the pop first thing in the morning. Lower back was a little achy as well, which I realize my training got a little jumbled this weekend with me hitting Grace and sandbag work on the same day. One of the benefits of all that is my push press was coming along strong BECAUSE I couldn’t rely on strength to get me through.
* Didn’t make any progress from previous workout on the press, but I weighed in at 80.3kg/176lbs post workout, which is the lightest I’ve been for a while, and bodyweight definitely impacts my pressing. More to discuss on that, but I’m in a state where just maintaining the press is progress, to say nothing of seeing progress on my other lifts.
* Didn’t have as much bicep cramping on the front squat this time as last time, but still showed up a touch on the heavy set. Slippage due to sweating was another issue. 5 reps on the heavy set matches my last workout rather than shows progress, but the follow on widowmaker was a solid effort. I did have to do a re-rack on the 19th rep just because the bar slipped, but I moved quick enough that I got in the 20th without having a legitimate resting effort. I may consider bringing out my grip shirt on these workouts, but with how much I’m perspiring and how hard it is to clean it, I don’t want to overutilize it in training.
* I forgot my own protocol on the chins and went with more reps than I needed to, but I was moving good on them so kept up with it. Good to see it coming back. The Poundstone curls were a real slog. Everything else was what I needed it to be.
* Back to the bodyweight discussion: I’ve got 2 events coming up where I need to be a certain weight: a grappling tournament on 31 Aug where I need to be under 185, and a strongman competition on 14 Sep where I need to be under 181lb. My intention was to lean out a little before both events so that I could eat UP to them, rather than go the other way around trying to lose weight while getting stronger at the same time. I need to acknowledge that I have accomplished that mission, and now need to start INTELLIGENTLY reversing course. My 2 pitfalls right now: I LIKE leaning out, primarily because it’s easy, I’m good at it, and the feedback is instant. I just have to fast more and eat less, and I FEEL better when I do that because I don’t have a bunch of food in my guts, so I’m lighter and sleeker, and during periods of fasting I feel more alert/turned on due to heightened cortisol. This is a slippery and dangerous slope. My other pitfall is I’m a big dumb meathead who DOES like food, and I already caught myself thinking “ok, it’s gaining time, that means I can bring out more cheese and sour cream and pork rinds into my meals”. Those are treats: NOT food. I did that previously, and though I DID gain more weight by using that approach, I also just didn’t feel as good. Specifically, my aggression was turned down when the dairy was turned up. My alchemist theory was the presence of casomorphines just blunted me, but there’s also something to be said about hitting that dopamine trigger so hard and being “too happy”. I have a LOT of meat and eggs to eat: what I need to do is start eating MORE meat and eggs while keeping the dairy still in a limited capacity. I also have to keep in mind that I’m weighing myself post workout, which means I’ve lost a bit of water from sweat, but getting an 80.3kg weigh in on a Monday AFTER a weekend of high sodium eating out is a sign that my weight is in a good spot.
Sunday, July 28, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3315
Another great weekend. Slept in until 0700, 6 rounds of squats and push ups, Valkyrie made me an awesome breakfast, before heading out I did axle Grace
Time of 5:55. That's satisfying on it's own, and it's progress. I was getting lazy with the clean at the end and just pulling high and correcting, but it's good to see things improving.
Got errands knocked out. Had 10 smoked wings from Buffalo Wings and Rings (tomorrow is National Chicken Wing day here in the states, Thanks Buffalo New York!), got home and fought a war with my lawn. Grass was still wet and I've got an electric mower. Chewed through 3 batteries, and while waiting for them to recharge I got in some sandbag work
Looking at that video, holy f**k I've gotten lean. I'm a little too good at that: it's most likely why my press strength has fallen apart. But at least I know how to fix that. Got some ribs and steaks in my freezer calling my name.
Once that was done, made dinner for the family, and worked that into my meal prep my making a bunch of venison burgers to eat through the week.
Valkyrie is making bison spaghetti again tomorrow. The weekly carb ups have definitely been the right call. On Thursday we bring home the new puppy and I'm taking Friday off to help them adapt to the new home. It's going to be a good week.
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3314
Slept until about 0700, got in 6 rounds of prisoner squats and push ups, went out for breakfast, walked 4 miles as a family, came home and knocked out a mat pull workout
(6) Texas Deadlift BarMat pulls
13+5+4x425
I honestly had some more in me, but my right hip was on FIRE during the later reps. Seemed like my belt was in a poor spot, but I shut it down just in case it was actually the hips having issues. This bodes well though. I'm the lightest and leanest I've been in a while and my pulls are going strong.
We went out for Hawaiian BBQ, shopped at the outlet malls (I picked up some hunting pants for more than half off, so I think I'm getting excited for hunting season this year...especially since I have some venison thawing out to make burgers for tomorrow), came home and Mrs made me breakfast for dinner because she's way too amazing and I don't deserve her.
10 minutes EMOM of axle clean and strict press away w/136lbs
4-3-2-3-1-1-1-1-1-1
ZENO SQUATS (12 deep breaths between sets)
6x315
3x315
2x315
1x315
6x275
3x275
2x275
1x275
22x225
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
7x115lb DB rows
50 band pull aparts
50 band pushdowns
25 band curls
21 GHRs
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dog
Notes:
* 6.5 hours of Tang Soo Do in one week showed up this morning: I was just wiped out and had nothing in me for that press. I imagine my reduced food intake is part of that too. Plan was a bunch of 4s and 3s, but the fact I couldn’t even clean the axle into place showed that I lost all pop in me. Just grinded out what I could. I need to get smarter and wave these weights ala 5/3/1: it’s really the missing piece to this program. Can’t just keep hammering heavy weights.
* All that said, major victory on the Zeno squats. I used an overwarm in my warm-ups, which was a trick I picked up during my Super Squats run, and I think that was a good call. They were definitely tough, but not beyond my ability, and it was great to see growth on all sets. The widowmaker at the end is getting even more ridiculous. I’m feeling myself stall at the midway point of the squat, but given it’s beltless with the close stance, I’ll take it.
* Had nothing left in me for the assistance, so just went with what needed doing.
* More sparring last night. Valkyrie and I squared off in the first round of the first class AGAIN. Sucks when that happens: means I get fewer reps. Close fought match that she won with a body punch and went on to win the rest of the class. In the follow on senior class, I made it to the penultimate round and lost against the senior student. He’s super tall and lanky, and at one point I went in for a push kick and ended up tangled up in his legs. Interesting problem to run into. I was also just completely fatigued from this full week of training and could see some of that lack of explosiveness coming through. I’m not complaining at all though: I feel like a combat sports athlete again with so much training.
* Celebrating the Valkyrie’s birthday this weekend. Going to be some good food and doing whatever she wants to do. I imagine I can still get in my deadlift workout, but otherwise, just going to do some living.
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3312
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
**EVENTS Training**
Round 1
* Carried 150lb Bartos Power Keg .15 miles (3 laps of .05 miles), didn’t set it down, relapped as necessary
* Ran back to start, backwards drag unloaded prowler to keg
* Ran back to start, threw 30lb bag as many times as necessary for .05 mile distance
* Loaded keg onto prowler, reverse drag to start
* Threw bag back to start
Round 2
* As above, but bearhug carried keg .05 miles (so just 1 lap)
Round 3
* Carried keg .1 miles (1 lap down, 1 lap back), upon reaching start, set tabata timer and lap and load keg at tabata intervals
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
* Humidity was turned up on high and I was pouring sweat throughout this, but it absolutely answered the mail of what I was looking for: maximal misery exposure. I’m really doing well re-developing my capacity to slog through super long distance carrying. Just that ability to take ONE more step.
* The staggered grip carry is definitely the right choice for these max distance things. Bearhug just crushes my lungs, and trying to re-lap from there is just a pain. I still do it, just to get in some variety and strength from different angles, but on comp day it’s going to be a horizontal carry, which also means I probably didn’t need that grip shirt, but whatever.
* Did the lap and load at the end just to develop/improve my ability to quickly pick off the floor. The less energy I waste, the better.
* Still toying around with throwing mechanics. Finding little tricks and cues that seem like they’ll be useful.
* The double Tang Soo Do class was pretty intense yesterday. We had some fresh blood in both classes to spar against, and I ended up losing in the penultimate round while my kiddo beat my Valkyrie in the same, so I got to watch my kid go against the person I lost against. That person was about 6’4 and all limbs, and I about lost my mind when I saw my kid pull off a Johnny Cage by hitting a full squat underneath one of their high sailing roundhouse kicks. I SO wish they went for the groin punch…but that would be against the rules. My kid lost the match, but the instructor said they gave them points for style. In the advanced class, a senior student ended up punching my Valkyrie in the mouth during their match, and suddenly the switch went off in me. I ended up going through every opponent I had like a woodchipper because I wanted to get to this dude and make him see the error of his ways. At one point, I had him at -1 points because he received a penalty for presenting his back as a defense (cowardice essentially) and then excessive contact on a headkick. I eventually won with a 2 point advantage. When it was done, my Valkyrie referred to me as her berserker-king and said that, when I was going up against the person who punched her, all she could think was “Get him”. That was pretty awesome.
* Another double class tonight. These have been good workouts.
* Workout listed was the intended workout: fatigue showed up and wrecked a few rounds. Had some balance issues at one point on some of the zerchers, missed a rep on the inclines, missed some reps on one round of chins. Let’s me know I can repeat this workout next time it rolls around. Low food intake most likely showing it’s place.
* That said, major PR on the trap bar lift. 20 reps has been the goal since the start of the cycle, when I originally hit 8. Zero hip pain, warm-ups felt strong, and I just blasted through. Was concerned I was going to vomit at the end of the set: seems to be the limiting factor in most instances. Big takeaway here is how good I get at this when I limit myself to just 1 big workset. Same with the ROM progression. It’s a lesson I have to learn: BUILD the deadlift: don’t train it.
* Rest of the workout was just the essentials. Had a misload on the lockout hold: a 45 on one side and a 55 on the other. Was good chaos training, but resulted in a little less time on the bar than I cared for. Short walk with dog due to early work meeting.
* Valkyrie and I went against each other in the first round last night at Tang Soo Do. Took it to sudden death with one point each, went a LONG round, very defensive heavy, and she managed to get in a headkick at the end. She went on to win the tournament, defeating our senior student with a body punch. I redeemed myself by defeating that same student during some free sparring at the end of class. 2 more nights, and these next 2 nights are doubled up classes: the junior AND senior class. Be good to have some new blood to go against.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3310
AM WORKOUT (0405 natural wake up, snooze until 0410)
75 KB swings w/57.5lb bell
3 mile walk w/80lb vest at 3.0 pace
70x270lb reverse hypers
50 band pull aparts
Neck harness work
* No walk with dog today: Valkyrie’s car wouldn’t start, so I gave her a lift to work. Chaos is the plan.
* My walking pace was much speedier than it’s been the past few outings. I’ve most likely recovered from some fatigue, and maybe there’s something to be said about the benefits of the higher carb meal the night before. It was absolutely fantastic: wonderful drum wheat pasta, no sugar added pasta sauce, bison, some garlic bread, some fried eggs and 4 of my wife’s cookies with some fairlife skim and local raw honey. Settled and digested well, woke up looking leaner.
* It’s amazing how much I can’t stand doing the swings to start off this workout, but it’s a good bitter medicine to swallow. Swings always make me better in total. Meanwhile, the reverse hypers are the dessert: I have to finish off what’s on my plate to get to do them. And since I walked a little faster today, I had enough time to squeeze in that neck harness work as well.
* Tang Soo Do sparring tonight. This, in theory, is going to be a pretty decent workout week, because we have to double up on classes on Wed and Thurs to make up for attendance missed over the month. I can see if I can retain my “Dojang Sparring Champion” status.
* I got in my throws and hang yesterday. I went until 2:05 this time, but I didn’t complete the 4th chin after the 2 minute mark: I just went for a longer hang time to get in more time.
Log clean and push press away for 1 min (1 min rest between rounds)
175x1
5 rounds w/155 (mostly doubles, some triples)
SSB squat against doubled light bands
4xBar
4x115
8x165
15x125
ASSISTANCE
8x6, 2x5 chins
3x10 standing ab wheel
10x125 SSB good morning
28 axle shrugs against average bands
50 band pull aparts
100 Poundstone curls w/axle
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dog
Notes:
* Upon review, I realize I was actually supposed to viper press rather than push press, but today was challenging no matter how I approached it, so that’s a win. Actually had to deal with some head spins for the first time in a bit. I’m most likely dehydrated. Weighed in at 80.8kg after the workout, and I could see from the sandbag video I posted that I’m looking pretty lean, so the lighter bodyweight isn’t doing me much favors on my pressing.
* Squat performance went much better than I expected. Lower back was a bit stiff from sandbag and deads over the weekend, but still had the juice in me. Could have gotten in 1 more rep on that heavy set, but it did the job it needed. I’ll move up on weight next week. Meanwhile, widowmaker was really taxing.
* Lotta great assistance work in there. My left elbow is a little pissy, but my chinning ability has actually improved substantially with me focusing on the hang and chin vs just chinning. Part of that may also be fatigue management: I have less accumulated volume this way. But either way, it lets me know that I’m not getting WORSE by focusing on the hangs, and they’re most likely sparing my elbow, so I’ll ride that out.
* Gonna be some shorter walks with the dog this week: work schedule is pretty nutty.
* I’ll need to flesh this out later, but I’m looking downrange for future plans. It’s nice being so light right now with 2 weight class based comps coming up, but I’m really not a fan of how much my press is NOT progressing with how little food I’m putting away. I think I’ve got a real solid seasonal approach going now: lean out over the summer, then spend the winter gaining. Still use feast and famine to stay honest, but I could use the fall and winter to get back to DoggCrapp or something similar and dip back to getting bigger. Actually really wanna pilot my Mass Made Simple into Super Squats idea. That excites me, which is reason enough to do it.
* Carb up meal tonight: bison spaghetti and some awesome looking peanut butter cookies from the Valkyrie. I keep seeing that the more I lean into this meal, the better the results.
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3308
Wavetops, it's a great day.
Woke up, push ups and squats, great breakfast, 4 mile walk with the family, some errands and Culver's burger patties for lunch, got home, got in my sandbag work and throws
Took the 200lb sandbag for max distance carry, lapping as much as necessary. Then carried it, loaded it and bearhug carried it. Then carried it and did tabata lap and load. Then 5 throws with the 30lb bag.
Dinner involved me meal prepping 2lbs of piedmontese grassfed New York strip kabobs, alongside a grassfed sirloin for the kiddo and a piedmontese filet mignon for the Valkyrie
Which meant some awesome steak and eggs for dinner
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3307
Got woken up in the middle of the night to the dog throwing up on our duvet, but we dozed for another 2 hours after that, got in my push ups and squats, Mrs made me a great breakfast, I got in some axle deads
7+2x426
I am SO proud of that set. The 7th rep should NOT have happened, it definitely wasn't locked out, and I hitched the Hell out of it. Same with the second rep on the set set: LOOK at that first rep and tell me I had another one in there. This was a great day for grinding, especially the day after Zenos.
I also got in some throws and tried hanging from a bar again. Used hook grip...made chins a little tricky. 2 minutes remains my limit.
Drove to Lincoln and got some awesome Hawaiian BBQ. Got myself a loco moco and they actually put the gravy on the side, which was pretty clutch. I didn't ask for it that way, so even cooler. Had some kalbi ribs and BBQ chicken as well.
Got home and hit up Axle Grace before doing lawncare for 70 minutes
This was actually slower than last week's go. I'm going to blame it on those deads from before. Either way, solid effort.
Open with 1 minute of 176 axle continental and push press away (3)
Then 5 1 minute rounds of 155 axle continental and push press away (3-4-5-5-4 from what I recall)
ZENO Squats
5x315
3x315
2x315
1x315
5x275
3x275
2x275
1x275
21x225
2 1 minute hanging sessions
3x10 standing ab wheel
50 band pull aparts
Notes:
* Slept in because I took the day off work to be with my kiddo and it's been an awesome day.
* Split the workout in half: got half done with the Valkyrie got ready for work, other half when she left. It was honestly hard to find the drive to start back up again, so I was delighted with how the Zeno squats turned out. God, this thing ALWAYS works: I REALLY need to quit quitting it. It's just like ROM progression: any time I try something else, it's just not as good.
* Strugglebussing on the continentals today. Lower back was pretty stiff: think it was all the Tang Soo Do. Shirt was slippery as well. Maybe that grip shirt will be helpful. Once I got things in place though, I felt REALLY strong on the push presses. Starting to find my groove on them again.
* Satisfied with the depth on the Zenos and the strength in general. Getting a 1 rep PR on the widowmaker at the end was awesome. Went back to my old trick of counting 5s vs straight to 20. It works.
* Kept assistance work light, because I wanted to finish up before my kiddo got up. We had a great day together as a result. Got in a short walk with the dog. Didn't get in my throws: was rained out.
* Grip was fried when I tried to hang. Tested out hook grip. It kinda works: I'll have to look into athletic tape on my thumbs to really maximize it.
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3305
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
I’m going to narrate this one, because it was kind of involved. This was an events day sorta approach.
I took my 100lb keg, prowler and throwbag out to my prowler training space, that has a .05 mile straight away (which is about 265’ apparently)
I did this for 3 rounds: Walk the 100lb keg as far as I could carry it, turning when I’d hit the end of the straight away. Once I put the keg down, I’d run back to the start, take the throw bag, and throw it as many times as I needed to reach the keg. I’d then run back to the start, backwards drag the prowler to the keg, load the keg onto the prowler and backwards drag it back to the start, then run back to the throw bag and throw it back to the start.
The first round, I did a horizontal carry with the keg and made 1.25 full trips (so .125 miles traveled). Second round I tried a bearhug carry and only managed to get about halfway down the strip. Final round, I went back to the horizontal carry and managed to get all the way down and halfway back.
The bearhug carry seems non-viable for max distance: crushing my lungs while trying to carry something as far as I can doesn’t seem to work well for me. Additionally, we ARE allowed to re-lap the implement, as long as it doesn’t touch the ground, and the horizontal carry works better for me there. I’ll continue to train both styles still, but I’m finding my preference.
Had a real “ah hah!” moment with the throw bag and figured out how to let the bag’s weight throw ME through the 360 degree spin to generate more speed/momentum. It’s like riding a wave. That should be valuable for the future.
The backwards drags were nice. Always quad intensive, but sparing otherwise. My lower back was a little angry with me coming into this, most likely from some Tang Soo Do shenanigans, but at the end I was feeling pretty solid.
In general, I like all the stuff that was in this workout. Loaded carries, drags, and throws. Dan John would approve. It wasn’t terribly taxing on the conditioning, and I think for the future I’ll include some sort of burnout on it, but still easing into this and figuring it. Same reason I’m using such a light keg: I want to rebuild my ability to endure the suck first and THEN start going harder.
In that regard, I did pretty good on just plodding along for as long as I could. My initial run with the keg was over 4 minutes of carrying. Great impact on the grip too. The keg isn’t a sandbag, no, but the muscles involved in being miserable are the same.
Final Tang Soo Do class of the week is tonight. I’m taking the day off work tomorrow to take my kid out fishing and do some other stuff, so I’ll be able to sleep in.
* I’m in a weird spot with this workout, as I look forward to it because it’s the most consistent one of the bunch and I know what’s coming, but it’s also a total slog to get through. The EMOM keeps me honest, and these zerchers are definitely bringing up my everything. I think the Trap Bar chaser at the end is the most redeeming part of it. It’s like the dessert for the workout: I have to eat all my food off my plate before I get to have it, but the prospect of beating the log book on it each week is pretty awesome. This was a 1 rep PR, and puts me at 10 reps up from when I started, whereas the zerchers are up 10lbs from previous, dips are up 2.5lb, and chins are just wherever they fall on that particular day.
* Had a little bit of right hip pain this morning, which I thought was going to make the zerchers suck, but they ended up alright. It showed up more on the trap bar: didn’t feel right until rep 7. You can see I’m cutting the lockout a little short prior to that moment. I know I have an issue that, when I’m chasing a particular rep goal, I’ll short the earlier reps to save myself for the later. Have to watch for that, but I’m satisfied enough with the effort. Didn’t run into the issue of wanting to vomit during the trap bar this time, so that’s a plus.
* Assistance was light due to time, but got in the stuff I needed. I could have lasted a little longer on the trap bar hold, but I could feel my calluses starting to pull away, and I’m too early in the training cycle to deal with that nonsense.
* Tang Soo Do last night was a decent workout. Lots of bodyweight stuff.
* I actually went and pulled the trigger on a strongman grip shirt. Never thought I would, but Cerberus had a good deal on it, and I’ll admit that the design was just really cool. This should be good for my upcoming comp: between the axle and the carry, it will have some use, and I can see myself benefiting from it in my training as well.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3303
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
2 minutes hanging from a bar, chin every 30 seconds (3 accomplished)
75 KB swings w/57.5lb bell
2.85 mile walk w/80lb vest (average pace 2.9mph)
65x270lb reverse hyper
50 band pull aparts
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
* I’m moving slower on the walks these days. I’m going to attribute it to heat fatigue. We’re finally seeing a break in it. Yesterday, simply being in my garage for 5 minutes had me pouring sweat.
* Opening up with the hang was a solid move. Really want to get the most I can out of my grip while I can. May need to start experimenting with hook grip and see what I can do there. 2 minutes has been my limit each time. I’m sure I can build up.
* Swings AFTER the hangs was pretty interesting. Grip was fatigued so I had to use a lighter touch. Seemed to allow me to really focus on the hip drive.
* This is, once again, such a lackluster training day yet exactly what I need it to be. It’s the most tonic workout I can do: reset the hips with swings, restore with the walk, bring up the back with the hypers.
* Tang Soo Do tonight. “Wildcard/cardio” day. Should be some decent workout. Tomorrow I get to do my creativity hyung, which will be cool.
10 minutes EMOM axle clean and strict press away w/136lb
2x5
1x3
1x2
6x3
SSB Front squats
4xBar
4x115
4x135
4x185
5x255
20x185
Hang from bar, chin every 30 seconds
2 minutes total, 3 chins accomplished (dropped at the 2 min mark, did not complete chin)
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
15x115 Kroc row
25x115 SSB good morning
23xAverage Bands Axle Shrugs
50 band pull aparts
100 Poundstone curls w/axle
Neck Harness
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
* Stupidly hot in the garage this morning. Multiple triple digit heat days in a row with high humidity. You can see how much sweat I’m accumulating, and I was able to wring out all my clothing when it was done. I imagine some of that had a fatiguing effect on me.
* Original intention was to go 10x5 on the presses, but reality quickly hit me. Settled on triples. I can see Heburning this up: 10x3, then 1x4, 9x3. Then 2x4, 8x3. Etc. Just good to get in some volume. Everything else is going pretty well for me, but my pressing is falling off. I figure bodyweight is the biggest contributor there, but I also imagine I need more pressing volume than I do squatting/deadlifting volume. I think there may be something to the idea that the bigger/stronger muscles need less volume because they lift so much damn weight that they need more recovery, while the smaller muscles need more volume to make up for the lack of tonnage moved. Whenever I try to make things equal, it doesn’t work out.
* Progress on the front squats. 2 reps on the heavy set and the widowmaker. Still dealt with bicep cramping on the heavy set. May need to try a different rack set up. Sweat also just made it slippery. Still good effort and effect.
* Was good to bring in that Dan John special for the hang and chin. That should help with grip strength. My left elbow is feeling a little pissy, and I’m thinking not trying to push my chins on top of everything else is probably a solid idea. I’ll still get in volume where I can, but I need to keep the goal the goal and prioritize my ability to perform.
* Lotta leftover time for assistance, so hit a lot of stuff. Those Poundstones were brutal at the end: just exhausted and had to fight for every rep after 30.
* As I was walking yesterday, I was thinking about my goals. I’m really appreciating leaning out, primarily because it’s easy and I get nearly instant feedback on it. I eat less food, I get leaner. However, I know that, for my last strongman comp, I came in way too damn lean and didn’t have any of the strength I needed. In that regard, I think I’m going to keep leaning out for the remainder of this month, check what my bodyweight ends up at, and then allow myself to grow into the competition in September. I think I’m going to stick with the Dreadnought protocol, since it’s modular and working for my goals, but I can ramp up the good food to allow me to get a little stronger.
* In the evening, I worked some throws and did another 2 minutes of the Dan John hanging drill.
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3301
Another great weekend day. My Valkyrie slept until 0900, and I lay dutifully beside her, since I simply can't sleep that long. I actually woke her once we got to 0900, just because I knew she wouldn't want to sleep the entire day away, but it was about 12 hours of sleep, which she needed to help recover from her recent allergic response, so I was delighted. I got in my push ups and squats and we went out to breakfast at "First Watch": her favorite spot, I got a great omelet, some sunny side up eggs and some pork sausage.
I had to fight all my meathead instincts and take weight OUT of my sandbag, because it was a 250+lb beast, which was fitting when I was a 200lb athlete, but now I need it a little lighter for my current weight class, so I took 50-ish pounds out and took it for a test
You can see how much I'm sweating: It was over 100 degrees with our heat index, and just being outside had me pouring. I imagine some of that played into how awful this felt, but I'm also just out of practice. Couldn't get the bearhug off the floor, so I went with a cross carry off the floor and bearhug from a platform. Also tried some throws with the bag. The goodnews is, I'm so bad at throwing that I don't have to worry about accidentally throwing it into the street, so I can practice this at home for now.
Got in a 45 minute walk after this, and cooked up a wonderful steak dinner for the family. Piedmontese filet mignon for my Valkryie, piedmontese center cut ribeye for myself and piedmontese grassfed sirloin bavette for the kiddo. All well received.
This was a decent pilot week for the program, but I did a poor job prioritizing my grip training. I need to make a point of bringing that in. Simply hanging from a bar will go far.
Saturday, July 13, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3300
Actually a fair bit of training for a weekend. Slept until 0700, got up, did 6 rounds of squats and push ups, had an awesome breakfast and then got in some mat pulls
(2) Mat pulls: 8+4+2x426
Actually felt pretty strong for these. I think the week away helped. The warm ups were smooth, and I didn't hurt much compared to how I typically feel on these. May have gotten my hip pain managed.
I walked my dog after this, ran some errands, Mrs and kiddo had an appointment together, so I hit up axle grace and then went for a 90 minute walk in 100 degree heat
That's definitely a slow axle grace time for me, but I'm 10+lbs lighter than I typically am when I do my best on this. Just want to get more time with the axle, as it will be in my next comp.
1 min log clean and push press away w/175lb (1 rep total)
5 1 min rounds of log viper each rep (5-4-3-3-3) w/1min rest between rounds
ZENO SQUATS (12 deep breaths between sets)
4x315
2x315
1x315
4x275
2x275
1x275
20x225
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
7x6 chins, 3x5 chins (various grips)
20,10,10,10 Dips
Neck Harness work
50 light band pushdowns
25 miniband curls
26 GHRs
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
* This day turned out pretty clutch. I was curious how Zenos would go after hard press training, but the log in particular really had my hips pretty warmed up, so squatting went well. My right shoulder has been bugging me as a result of all the pry work I was doing during our deck project, and it was a little rough getting into squat position, but nothing terrible. During my warm-ups, I tried a low bar set up, and I can still do it, but it felt awful with that shoulder, so something to watch for.
* Walked the weight down on the log and still had some struggles there, although I’m also beltless. Biggest issue is just clean inefficiency. Since the log isn’t coming up in the competition, I’m not too worried: just want to include variety in pressing movements. The vipers were good for conditioning and some brute strength.
* Zenos felt so “right”. It’s been a while since I’ve done them, and it’s one of those where every time I come back I wonder why I stopped. This is my first time including them with my new approach to squats: beltless, high bar, full ROM. Workout 1 went well, but the real magic is the follow on. Adding 1 more rep to the start is going to result in more sets as part of a cascade effect. But I already observed the benefit of getting under the bar so often in one workout: by the end, the walkout felt light and tight.
* That set of 20 at the end was absolutely ridiculous. 20 WAS the goal at the start, but once I got to rep 6 I was thinking 8 would be a good number, then 12, then 15, and as I got to 17 I figured I may as well close it out. It’s good that I can reach those depths again. It’s not going to be the objective every Zeno workout, but on this first one it was a good way to makeup some volume.
* I also just realized at this very moment that my lower back wasn’t bothering me at all for this workout, whereas in previous iterations squatting on Friday was limited because of that, so that’s cool.
* Going Hepburn with the chins: just adding in 1 a week and letting it accumulate, and keeping it submax as well. Rest of assistance was some bitter medicine: all the stuff I needed. Those band pushdowns in particular were a right, as was the GHR. That said, I forgot to hang from the bar, which needs to be an objective of mine to continue to build my grip strength for the competition (both grappling and strongman). It’s the same reason I did that 225 static hold the other day. I’m thinking I might 2 birds/1 stone this and use Dan John’s “hang for 30 seconds and do a pull up” approach here so I can get in hangs AND chins.
* Since I’ve been talking about it so much, here are some “before/after” photos of the deck project. Hearing my Valkyrie tell me last night “we literally could not have done this without you: you were the only one strong enough to pull out those boards” was incredibly satisfying.
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3298
Today was pretty different. Valkyrie had a really bad allergic reaction to something and I already had the day off work, so I slept in with her and actually fasted until lunch, just to see how it would go, and to kind of help reset myself after some decent living yesterday (BBQ food truck for lunch and Texas Roadhouse ribs for dinner). Mrs. wanted some Taco Bell for lunch and I found out they'll sell you side orders of the protein for $1.50, so that was pretty clutch.
DID get in a very short bit of training with 2 rounds of max distance keg carries. Used my 100lb keg and tried two different styles. I have to prep for a 225lb sandbag eventually, but just wanted to get in some time under stress before I got stupid with it
Also mowed the lawn after dinner, so about 60 minutes of activity there
On yeah, and I got 28 10oz grassfed piedmontese New York strip steaks today, so that was cool
* I’ve come to appreciate this day because of how predictable it is. It’s nice to have something that I know what to expect. I also appreciate how my strength is coming along well on these zerchers. I’m up 25lbs from where I started. My pressing strength is still falling apart, but my pulling strength is going up, so there is some balance there.
* Kept the chins at submax. Just trying to build them back. And due to logistics, I’m not able to load them on this particular workout.
* The inclines were very much set-up dependent. When everything was set right, the bar would fly up, but if I had any sort of misgroove, I suffered it.
* Finally got a good grip on the trap bar, but just barely squeaked out a 1 rep PR. Things are getting tough there. Biggest variable seems to be holding in chow. I get close to vomiting at the end.
* I’ve definitely achieved leanness again. It’s become incredibly easy to accomplish with my way of eating. The one major change I did was to reduce my dairy intake, which is to say my cheese intake. The other thing was to eat to satiety rather than to fullness/pleasure. Similar to the Velocity Diet, learning how much food I actually need to continue to train and progress is pretty key. Mark Bell has talked about this a bit: we all tend to overestimate how much food we actually need, and the same can be said about protein as well. Of course, I say that as someone that makes pretty extensive use of Metabolic Drive...BUUUT that’s also under the approach of a protein sparing modified fast in particular, which at least coincides with the “not needing that much food” portion of the thought process.
* In theory, I’ll be doing 2 Tang Soo Do classes tonight, but we’ll see what the home project gods have in store for me. That said, my kiddo got their third stripe last night, so the whole family will be testing for new belts in early August, and after that we’ll all be moving on to the advanced class in our Dojang, so that’s pretty cool.
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3296
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
75 KB swings w/57.5lb bell
2.8 mile walk w/80lb weighted vest at 2.8 mph average
60x270lb reverse hyper
50 band pull aparts
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dog
Notes:
* Starting to feel the impact of the fatigue of a week of deck building. My walking speed is reduced, and my desire to get up this morning was pretty minimal. Were it not for the fact I was already pretty awake by the time the alarm went off, I most likely would have snoozed. It’s hard to get motivated to go for a walk, but I know that this is the most restorative and probably “healthful” workout that I do.
* The swings were actually pretty explosive this morning all things considered. I have noticed that, despite the long hours, the time away from the weights and more just working outside have my body feeling pretty well. Lotta nagging pain is gone.
* Tang Soo Do is most likely going to get scrapped tonight, as my in-laws are here for one more day and we’re going to do our best to finish up what we can on the project while they’re here.
Axle continental and press away (max in 1 minute), 1 min rest between rounds
5x171
6x156
6x156
5x156
5x156
2x156
SSB Squats
5xBar
5xBar+doubled light bands
5x115+doubled light bands
6x165+doubled light bands
20x115+doubled light bands
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
12x115 kroc rows
50 band pull aparts
20x115 SSB good mornings
100 Axle curls
26 axle shrugs against average bands
6x6 chins (various grips)
5x5 chins (various grips)
20,10 dips
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
* Starting a new phase, as the old competition is dead and I have 2 new ones on the horizon that will slightly alter my approach. Current way forward is to keep the middle day the same (zerchers and then alternate between incline axle and dips, then include chins done in an EMOM format, finish with a max rep trap bar pull), have the first day use a DoggCrapp style squat workout, final day with use Xenos, and then alternate between axle push presses, axle strict presses, and log vipers. Keep that 1 minute style approach to condition myself to perform under those conditions. I dig the thought process here: Monday is a size focus, Wed is a conditioning focus, Friday is a strength focus. Thursdays will do throws and carries, Tuesdays will ideally be walking, Saturdays will include ROM progression pulls and quite possibly axle Grace to get in more axle floor to overhead work, and can use Wed and Sunday to drill the farmer’s hold. Might also do more carries on Sunday.
* Walked the weight down a bit today to build up some momentum, since the competition is in 2 months. I’ve got a lot of time: no need to rush. Grappling comp will be in 6 weeks, and this should get in me in decent enough shape for that.
* Push press is coming back decent enough. When I focus on being snappy, it’s solid. Ran out of gas hard on the final set there: not sure what specifically happened.
* Those SSB squats continue to be awesomely murderous. Pleased I got in those 20 reps.
* Finished a little earlier than usual, so got in a lot of assistance work. Really trying to bring back my chins with more submax work, making it a point not to struggle on any set.
* I took an unscheduled deload since Wed’s workout. What SHOULD have been a 2 days home project turned into 5+ days of working 12-13 hours a day outside in the sun rebuilding our back deck, which is actually STILL not done yet, but very close to finished. The Mrs has the day off work and is finishing it up with my in-laws today. The previous folks that built this deck did a total DIY job on it, and they adopted “chaos is the plan” before I ever thought of it, because no two pieces were alike. Screws of all types, bolts, nails, etc. My talents were employed by means of destruction, and I took to that well, armed with some prybars and hammers, I pulled boards off both levels (it’s a double deck) over the course of 2 days, then took off stairs, posts, pretty much everything that WAS nailed down. The biggest meathead highlight was when I ripped some stairs out using a pseudo deadlift technique, only to discover they were NAILED into the concrete…which explained why I struggled so much to move them. My father-in-law also marveled at how I lifted the entire deck 2 inches with my prybar when trying to take out a particularly stubborn board. I’ve been working with my shirt off the entire time, trying to maximize my Vitamin D intake, and I have achieved a VERY healthy tan with no burn, which has been awesome.
* This deload coincided with a diet break, which has been great for many reasons, the biggest being that I am all too willing to get back to lean rations after a week of eating well. The other thing was that I didn’t go off the rails with the break: simply brought my portion sizes up and brought back in some pork rinds, primarily for the saltiness to help with all the sweating. I DIDN’T fall back on dairy like I typically do to get in extra calories, and I really think that’s been a great decision. I noticed that, with dairy removed, my aggression is back and my general mood/disposition is more positive and lively. It’s not “jerkish” aggression: more just a zest to get after it. I do wonder if the casomorphines in dairy have anything to do with this. If nothing else, it’s a good thing to know about myself. I also know that I enjoy cheese way too much: it’s absolutely a pleasure food, and it’s too easy for me to justify its consumption.
* I weighed in at 81.7kg this morning, which was pretty solid given the very high sodium meals I had yesterday (Panda Express for lunch and wings from a local pizza place for dinner)
Saturday, July 6, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3294
Sign of life. Been putting in 12-13 hour days building this deck. Working shirtless the whole time, no sunburn: just a VERY dark tan. Another one of those weird benefits of carnivore. This became the weirdest deload ever. Still got to Tang Soo Do today. The 1 week diet break has also been a clutch move. I'm not eating off menu: just eating MORE than I was before, and I'm already ready to get back to lean eating when we're done, but at the same time, I'm burning a LOT of energy with this construction and sun exposure that I'm not too concerned about the impact one way or the other.
Got a pretty solid way forward for phase 3 of Phryexian Dreadnought at this point.
Thursday, July 4, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3293
Been tearing out boards for the deck for about 8 hours today. Helluva workout, so helluva feast
Bacon Double venison burgers with grassfed sour cream/New Zealand grassfed cheddar on chaffle buns, alongside a Teton Ranch Polish Sausage. Happy Birthday America: a true melting pot meal
Spend remainder of day destroying/building a deck, with a Tang Soo Do class thrown in.
Notes:
* Life is busy right now with the construction project, so keep it on the quick. Zerchers felt really strong, which caught me off guard but I took it. Dips were solid. Chins are falling apart again. The trap bar lift is amazing; that's twice as many reps as what I started with. My pulling is growing well while my pushing is struggling, which makes sense because I weighed in at 80.8 kg this morning, and I tend to get better at pulling as I get leaner because my mechanics improve.
* STILL gripping the handles in the wrong spot on the trap bar, but I corrected early enough that I could get those 16 reps.
* Training is going to be a little iffy with the holiday, construction and family visiting, but I'll get what I can in. I'm getting in a lot of activity as it is.
* I talked about how yesterday was the anniversary of my decision to change myself, and what's ironic is, by weighing in at 80.8kg, I'm actually 1lb heavier than I was when I was 14, which, on paper, makes it look like I barely changed since then. It's amazing how much the scale DOESN'T tell. But while discussing scales, I was holding at 82kg for about 3 weeks and then finally had this breakthrough, but the entire time I've been getting leaner and leaner. This is a good data point for my upcoming comps: give myself 4 weeks so my body can spend 3 weeks unf**king itself and then actually start dropping weight.
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Training Log: Entry 3291
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
Treadmill walk w/45lb vest
Speed: 3.0
Incline: 6.0
Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 1 hr
50x270lb reverse hypers
Notes:
* Intention was to do some carries and throws, but we had some crazy storms last night. Sounded like my house was going through a car wash. Still raining when I got up, so went with a walk, which is my standard Tuesday workout anyway. Kept the incline high from the start and just kept it there. Solid enough pace, and I got to watch some episodes of X-Men ’97, so that’s cool.
* Upped the weight on reverse hypers. Really coming along now.
* Because of rain, no walk for the dog. Got Tang Soo Do tonight. Week will be disrupted with the 4th, so we’ll do Tues/Weds/Saturday. I’ll be doing some deck building on Wed until we’re done, so that will be some extra activity too.
* Had the thought that I should bring back Zeno Squats into Phryexian Dreadnought. Might be what I do on Fridays. Thinking DC style leg workout Monday, EMOM Zerchers Wed, Zenos on Friday.
* I've signed up for another strongman competition: Nebraska's Strongest on 14 Sep. Apparently, I don't learn lessons.
* 2 Jul is always a special day for me. When I was 14, it was the day I decided to "turn the ship around" as far as my health and fitness goes. I was a fat kid, living a fat kid life, and with no real idea of what the hell I was doing, I set off to transform myself. And considering I started this log when I was 18, that's pretty incredible to see the journey I've been on.
1 min of 185lb axle continental and push press (failed to get the press locked)
5x1 min of 156 axle continental and push press away (3x5, 1x4, 1x3) w/1 min rest between rounds
SSB Front Squat
5xBar
4x115
4x135
4x185
3x255
18x185+5x185 SSB squat
ASSISTANCE
5x6 and 6x5 chins (various grips)
3x10 standing ab wheel
50 band pull aparts
50 band pushdowns
16x115 SSB good mornings
10x115 Kroc rows
20,10 Dips
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dog
Notes:
* Sticking with the protocol for now. I’ve actually identified a competition in September that appeals to me and has events not unlike what I was training for (I’ll speak to that momentarily), so this style of training will still pan out well. I also don’t want to start on anything new this week: with my in-laws coming in and us working on the deck, flexibility is key and chaos is the plan.
* Came into this with some pretty heavy fatigue from the weekend. Pushing that yoke hard and all the outside work had me fatigued, alongside the lower calories. It took a few attempts to get 186 in place, not captured on camera. I tried without the power belt, but eventually had to relent and strap us to give myself a shelf. Wasted a lot of energy there and wasn’t able to put much into the press.
* After that, the 5 follow on rounds were good enough. I love how the thumbnail for the video actually looks like a decent triple extension. Not common to see that coming from me.
* Little miffed at how weak I was coming into the front squats, but celebrating that my lower back held out as well as it did. It was slipping a bit this weekend. I lost the widowmaker from having it fall forward, but redeeming it with that follow-on SSB squat was clutch.
* Thunderstorms this morning resulted in a short walk w/the dog.
* For future competition, I’m looking at “Nebraska’s Strongest 2024” on 14 Sep. It’s got these events
* I’d be the open MLW 181. A max 18” deadlift suits my ROM progression training, axle press ladder will play into my axle pressing work, max distance carry really appeals to me, I HAVE a throwbag now, so I can train that max distance throw (that’s going to be more like a hammer throw vs a bag over bar throw), and the farmer’s hold will be a combination of pain tolerance and grip strength. I may learn how to hook grip between now and then, but I’m also liking the look of this because I feel like training for it will benefit the grappling tournament as well. Max distance sandbag carry will really help develop some conditioning and ability manipulating a heavy unstable object, the farmer’s hold will be good for grip, sandbag throw explosiveness and rotational strength, and taking stuff from the floor and putting it overhead is always good stuff. I’ll need to sign up officially, but I’m thinking this will work. And there’s already someone in my weight class, so that should mean they WON’T cancel this one.
I came home and moved 65 16' long composite decking planks from my driveway to my backyard. I took them two at a time, on my shoulder, like a heavy sandbag. In gratitude, my Valkyrie said "I'm going to make you extra eggs tonight"
She did
Get you a spouse like that.
Already drafting up a skeleton of a training protocol. I'm thinking another dip back to EMOM work, 3x a week, with an emphasis on the axle instead of the log this time. Zerchers and horizontal press on the middle day, with the AMRAP trap bar pull. Part of me is thinking of stealing from SVR II as well, which may be an option.
Prowler is going to be swapped out with a carry and throw events day. On Saturdays, I'll keep the mat pull workout. Sundays, I can drill the farmer's hold, and will most likely include farmer's walks in there too.
