Training Log: Entry 3400

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

**OPERATION CONAN** Occupation Phase

*Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol Grey Man* Cycle 3, Week 3, Workout 2

Axle bench press

4x3x226

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER GIANT SET

Lever belt squat

4x8x225

Weighted dip

4x8x60

Axle curls

4x8x71

ASSISTANCE

Standing ab wheels

3x10

Low handle trap bar pull

1x405

BREAKFAST

No walk w/dogs (rained out)

Notes:

* The poison is the dosage.  My lower back is absolutely fried, even though I FEEL fantastic.  Last night was the best night of Tang Soo Do I’ve had in months.  I could BOW without my back feeling like it was going to snap in half, to say nothing of the fact that my lower back and hips actually unlocked enough that I could get my kicks above waist height and actually jump in the air for my jump kicks.  However, all the reverse hypers, along with the 4x33 of GHRs on Monday along with the squats all came to play today on the pulls, as even the first warm up felt heavy.  I set up for my first workset of 460, break one side off the floor a few centimeters and then just waved it off.  I then tried a set of 405 and decided it was a bad idea before I even tried to break it off.  I just could tell that the deadlift gods were going to be fickle today.  I also theorize I ran into the issue that I was so strong training in the evening on Monday that I pushed myself beyond my limits.  I ran into that issue back when I was using Surge: I could tap further into my potential and, in turn, deeper into my recovery well.  So I just went with the rest of my training, and at the end I was feeling a little froggy and decided to give 405 a ride.  I pulled one grindy rep on it and decided it was time to just shut it all down.

* From this, I feel like I’ve discovered what I really “love” about training: the puzzle.  I dig how I’m able to source what the issue is here, and I’m excited that I’ve come up with 2 possible COAs.  Most obvious one is to do the bridge week to recover from the accumulated fatigue in my lower back, then transition to specialization.  The only thing distasteful about that COA is that I have my cruise coming up at the end of Dec, which is going to be a forced bridge week.  With this approach, it will mean only 5 weeks of training between bridge weeks, so not enough to get in 2 full cycles of anything.  Second COA is to start specialization NOW, get in 2 full cycles, and then really lean into that bridge week on the cruise.  I LIKE the idea of the second COA more, as I feel like transitioning to lighter weights in general via specialization can support a fatigue recovery in and of itself.  No matter what, I feel like another part of the solution is to ease off the reverse hypers now, and truly make them tonic.  Maybe no heavier the 90lbs on non-RH days, and go back to doing heavy RH only once a week vs twice.

* Rest of the workout was solid enough.  I’m glad I got the lever belt squat in there to get in some manner of lower body work.  Ab wheel felt great: reducing frequency there has been helpful, and that’s most likely the lesson to learn from all of this.  I’m not a kid anymore: I don’t NEED frequency.

* More Tang Soo Do tonight.  Last night was a solid workout, and tonight should be the same.  Will be planning out my specialization phase regardless at this point.  Looks like this was a short occupation campaign for Operation Conan, as soon we move on to Spec Ops insertion.