Training Log: Entry 3671

GRAPPLING UPDATE

No hardware today, but I got 1 win out of my 3 matches, and my first ever win by choke, bringing up the number of submissions I know to TWO.

First match

Second Match (win)

Final match

The fingers in my left hand are swollen, so I won’t type much, but I weighed in at 194.4lbs for a weight class of 195 wearing a full set of sweats with my phone, wallet and keys in my pocket and a belly full of a typical weekend breakfast, so suffice to say I was undersized. Yet this was the first one of these competitions out of the 4 I’ve done so far where I didn’t feel overpowered by the competition. I moved dudes where I wanted them to move and made them not like tying up with me, and in the second match in particular you can see me really imposing my will while standing. I actually wanted to slam the dude when I got his back, but he fell as a defense.

I tapped early to both armbars: live to fight another day. I have some swollen parts, and Specificity Bravo is going to be interesting tomorrow, but considering I came in still undergoing physical therapy for my dorked up right knee and 2 weeks post pec strain, I walked away without much to worry about.

I grappled the same guy for match 1 and 3, which kinda sucked, because dude definitely had me figured out. But props to him: he was the better dude out there. I’m pleased that I never panicked while on my back, but maybe a little more scrambling would have been good.

I met my goal of winning at least ONE match, and did so going up a weight class and 2 age categories below where I should have been. The guy in the second match came up to me later and went “F**k you’re jacked dude!”, which is also cool.

40 years old, I grapple once a year, and I can still give someone a bad time: that makes me happy.

 Training Log: Entry 3670

PM WORKOUT (1400)

Buffalo bar squat
31x225

Notes:

• Got up at 0400, got ready to train, and realized I just plain didn’t want to do it. Competition is on Sunday, it’s the final workout of the program, I’ve already done the weights before, and I don’t see how 1 workout could make me better, but it could definitely make me worse. So I went back to bed and slept until 0515. I got off work early today though, and decided to get in something. My white whale is 50 reps at 225, and I felt like going for it today. Using the tacky shirt got me to overcome the normal difficulty of the bar rolling down my back, and I got an incredible leg pump from this, but I was struggling with how tight the belt was, and on rep 31 I felt something wanting to come back up, so I racked it. It’s still there waiting for me: I just need to come in with a strategy.

• Happy with how the knee and hip held up through this. Curious to see how I feel come Sunday. I’m not smart.

• Woke up at 86.0kg. 3kg gained in 6 weeks: solid.

• Got in a 1:18 timed hold last night. I went without a metronome, and that worked better by NOT knowing how much time was passing.

 Training Log: Entry 3669

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Deadlifts
16x405 (+1 rep PR, hell yeah)

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
5x8x230

Behind the neck barbell press
4x8x105

Axle curls
4x8x81

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset

3x15x360/3x10

Band pull aparts
1x75

Notes:

• 16 reps of 405 is a +1 rep PR from last time I pulled this.

  

• In a fair bit of irony, I was listening to “Somewhat damaged” from NiN’s “Fragile” album, wearing my torn up “somewhat damaged” sweatpants that have the words “broken, bruised, forgotten, sore” written on them, and right before the very first rep of the deadlift, the lever on my belt broke. The bottom half of the latch snapped off, so it was only secured from the top. Which means I actually pulled this without the belt fully latched, which is really pretty awesome. I had some more in me, but with the grappling competition on Sunday, I didn’t want to blow myself completely out. Right now, my left hip flexor is calling me an idiot, so it wa a good call to not completely send it.

• You’ll see that the lever belt also had a small mechanical issue in the middle of the set, so the irony continued. But my knee felt awesome.

• Stuck with the BtN presses. My pec is feeling pretty good, but, in turn: why push it on the last week of the program? I’ll continue letting it rest and heal and see what I can do in Specificity. BtN presses rock anyway. Same reason I cut out benches at the start of the workout.

• I DID manage a keg carry of 238.5 last night, but immediately after I went to Tang Soo Do and noticed that my knee, which had felt awesome all day, was tight and uncooperative. I’m going to read the tea leaves here and just put the Milo experiment on continued hiatus. If I can get my right knee recovered, I’ll be able to do more damage in the long run compared to if I keep hammering it. Also got a 1 minute hold.

• Weighed in at 85.0kg this morning. Growing well.

• Tang Soo Do on the schedule for tonight.

 Training Log: Entry 3668

AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie’s Alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 2

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• Ended up taking a total of 4 motrin yesterday, and as much as I didn’t want to, I think it was the right call, because my knee is feeling much better. Seriously felt like I had reset my rehab back to square one after yesterday. Zero issues on the rower, minus my hips feeling tight from sitting right after waking.

• Woke up at 84.7kg. I have until Thursday to decide my weight class/division for Sunday, and right now still no one else in my age/weight range, so unless that changes, I’ll be competing up a weight class and with the 30-35 year olds. Which, on the plus side, means zero worries about making weight.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. Weather is supposed to be warmer, so if my driveway has thawed I’ll take out the keg again.

• Valkyrie is going strong on ABF. She completed 15 ABCs on Sunday and 75 presses yesterday. She’s honestly outgrowing her bells, but we’re keeping it slow and steady for now.

 Training Log: Entry 3667

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm, very good night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x3x360

Axle strict press from rack
4x3x172

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Band pushdowns
4x21

DB rows
4x8x145

GHR
4x8x50

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Reactive slingshot push ups
60

Notes:

• Felt awesome in the training today. Knee was feeling smooth and springy, and I was able to get to depth on the final 3 sets without a break in motion. Pec has just the slightest bit of discomfort in it, and with the potential competition this weekend, I saw no reason to put it at risk, so stuck with the push downs.

• Valkyrie put the flannel sheets on the bed last night with the colder weather here, and it went a long way toward improving sleep quality.

• Push ups at the end were to get a little work through the pec. Cut out chins because it caused a slight amount of agitation.

• Regrettably, I slipped on the ice on the way in to work and really torqued my healing knee. Thankfully, the rehab has been going well enough that I managed to recover, whereas before I’m pretty sure I would have needed medical attention. Still sucks. On that note, the keg carry experiment may be on hiatus until conditions improve. But I did carry a 237.5lb keg last night with a 1:12 fat grips hold.

• Weighed 84.7kg this morning. There’s no one in my weight/age group currently, so I may just compete up a class and not sweat making weight.

 Training Log: Entry 3666

AM WORKOUT (1030)

10 minute EMOM sprawl and pummel drill

Notes:

• 4 sprawls, then just pummel until the minute is over.

• Got snowed in, so got creative. Not as exhausting as the sandbag workout, but still some decent stimulus, especially prepping for grappling. Got me used to that feeling again. Also, apparently my pec has healed, because I didn’t notice it on the sprawls.

• Sprawls were more burpees at the start, but by the 5th round I remembered how to do it.

• Got up at 0600 this morning: pretty decent sleeping in.

 Training Log: Entry 3665

AM WORKOUT (0530 wake up via dog)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 2, Workout 4

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat
4x6x337

Axle strict press from rack
4x6x161

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Band pushdowns
4x20

DB rows
4x10x135

GHR
4x10x40

ASSISTANCE

GHR
3x10

DB lateral dropset
35x10, 35x5, 35x2.5, 35xEmpty Hands

Band pull aparts
50

Chins during warm ups

Notes:

• Day off work, slept until the kid woke us up because the puppy wasn’t going back to sleep

• Pec is less “injured” and more “annoying”, but I’m fighting all my instincts to absolutely bury it with stupid training. But I’m also delighted that I haven’t skipped a beat as far as training goes. Pretty much only thing I’m limited on is horizontal pressing, and I noticed that the chins were bugging it a little as well, so I cut them out of the main cluster.

• The pushdowns were decently challenging. Honestly, triceps are a neglected muscle for me, so this might be something moving forward as is.

• Huge milestone: I had completely pain free sets of squats for at least the final 2 sets, and possibly earlier. I NOTICED it on the final 2 sets, which is to say, I noticed I WASN’T in pain, which is a hard thing to notice, as we tend to more note when we ARE in pain. But this was awesome. Between the PT and switching to flats, things are in a good way, and using the tacky shirt has helped cure the elbow pain as well. We’re really making barbell squatting viable again.

• Didn’t film the GHRs. The space I normally use to film in was hot to the touch and would have melted my phone.

• Got my keg carry in early: 235lbs. Yesterday was 233.5. Also a 1:05 hang yesterday.

• Weighed in at 83.0kg this morning. Thanksgiving was yesterday: did one meal, with both drumsticks, all the skin off the bird, the “Pope’s Nose” (which I learned the term for that from “Binging with Babish”), and a few odds and ends pieces that had fat/skin/something chewy attached, alongside a substantial amount of deviled eggs I made with sour cream, primal kitchen’s avocado mayo, greek seasoning and MSG, a spoonful of stuffing, corn casserole, and half a biscuit with some Amish butter. 5 hours later, desert of 2 wonderful slices of the Valkyrie’s pumpkin cheesecake. No better way to take in carbs, and dropping a kilo after eating like that is pretty clutch.

 Training Log: Entry 3664

AM WORKOUT (0357 natural wake up)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 2, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
6x236
5x236 (sprained/pulled my pec)

(2) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
1x405

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squats
5x10x205

Behind the neck barbell press
4x10x95

Axle curls
4x10x76

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/ab wheel superset
3x15x360/3x10

Band pull aparts
100

Handful of chins

Notes:

• On the 5th rep of the second set of benching, I felt that familiar cramp/crunch feeling of a pulled/torn muscle in my right pec. Racked the bar, still managed some chins, and decided to shut down the benching and live to fight another day. For my regular readers, I know your instincts will be to show me sympathy: please don’t. Nietzsche wrote in “Thus Spake Zarathustra” that one of man’s greatest sins is pity, and I fully believe that. I’m not a race horse: no one is going to shoot me. This is just a bump in the road that I’ll deal with. The fact I was able to finish out the rest of the session is proof positive of that, and I’ve already got a bunch of work arounds figured out based on how long recovery will take. I don’t really care about flat benching as it is, and I can still press overhead, which is the lift I actually DO care about. I’ve got plenty of toys in the gym, and a bunch of slingshots as well, so I’m in a good way. Specificity may be super bodybuilder friendly this time around, and that’s just fine with me. Chaos, as always, is the plan.

• That said, the workout continued off the rails on the mat pulls. 405 didn’t feel as heavy as 470, but it still felt much heavier than it should have, and I saw some stars. I’m thinking the CNS may just need a legit rest, and I may wave off next week and start the cycle over again when Grey Man ends and Specificity begins. I am somewhat tempted to shift to trap bar, since I have a max frame pull coming up in competition, but I also know that I specifically went back to ROM progression with a Texas Deadlift Bar because it always works for me. “And in a dream I’m a different me/
  With a perfect you, we fit perfectly/And for once in my life I feel complete/And I still want to ruin it/…Do you know how far this has gone?/Just how damaged have I become?/When I think I can overcome/It runs even deeper”

• Was pleased with the audible on the behind the neck press. Very juicy shoulder pump from that. That was originally the plan before I settled on weighted dips, so I may have just forced my hand on this.

• Lever belt squats continue to feel awesome having switched to flat shoes and bringing myself closer to the lever arm. Far more leg than hip.

• Ab wheel put a little pressure on the pec, but nothing terrible. Reverse hyper was actually more stressful. I’m a few hours post training now and more inclined to believe it to be a sprain/pull vs a tear.

• On the body POSITIVE news, I had my follow up physical therapy appointment yesterday. Knee pain is improving, but still present. Doc was pleased with my progress. Gave me some more stretches. I asked him, from an expectation management perspective, if pain free was a possibility for me, and he seemed pretty positive that, due to my muscle tone, I should be able to resolve the issue. He believes it’s primarily structural rather than musculature, and I just need to loosen up my hips and keep rolling out the IT band. Roger that.

• Carried a 231lb keg, fat gripz hold for 1:05 yesterday.

• Weighed 84.0 this morning. Can’t wait to feast tomorrow.

• Oh yes, I suppose I’ll have to see if I feel grappling ready in a week. Pecs are dumb, I’m just going to channel the spirit of Tra Telligman

• My editor has informed me that Tra Telligman is, in fact, not dead, and attempting to channel his spirit is, at the least, disrespectful.

 Training Log: Entry 3663

AM WORKOUT (0520 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 2, Workout 2

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• I actually considered doing some martial arts this morning instead, as I don’t find it terribly comfortable to go straight from sleeping to sitting in a rower. Tends to bug my hips. But it actually was ok this morning. I wonder if all the stretching is helping in that regard. I avoided stretching for years, primarily because, every time I did it, I’d get injured, but I’m thinking a more controlled/monitored approach will do well.

• Carried a 230lb keg, hung from fat gripz for a minute last night.

• Weighed 84.5kg this morning. I’m very much considering competing up a weight class come 7 Dec just to avoid having to worry about bodyweight. No one is currently in my age and weight class, and there’s some folks up a class, so that’d work well.

• Valkyrie completed another round of the ABF last night. That’s the 4th workout, and I think I’m going to cut week 2 there and get her started on week 3 next workout to compensate for our abbreviated schedule. She’s doing awesome with the progression. I actually think she’ll outgrow her kettlebells before the program is done, but I thankfully have no shortage of equipment.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. Basics/forms week, can be a good workout.

 Training Log: Entry 3662

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 2, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat
4x6x337

Axle strict press from rack
4x6x161

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x10x75s

DB rows
4x10x135

GHR
4x10x40s

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Chins throughout workout

Notes:

• All the protective measures I’m employing have been adding up. Using the tacky shirt is keeping my forearms happy, and the flat shoes are allowing my knee to recover more and more. I was also wearing compression shorts under my strongman shorts, since my hips were hurting yesterday, which made my belt magnificently tight. In general, I’m feeling my old self, as I’m training like my old self.

• I am excited for Specificity Bravo. I think something really clutch about Tactical Barbell is it’s interesting combination of doing the same thing all the time but switching things up frequently enough that it staves off ADD. I’m not bored of Grey Man so much as I’m tired of it: it’s hard training. It pairs well with big eating, but I can only do both for so long.

• With the flat shoes, I notice my warm up sets have me on my toes. I’ll need to work more on sitting back.

• Carried a 228.5lb keg last night and did a fat gripz hang for about 1:10.

• Weighed in at 84.3kg this morning. Didn’t carb up yesterday, and only had 1 meal, but it was a big one. Saving myself for this holiday weekend.

 Training Log: Entry 3661

PM WORKOUT (1215)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 6

10 minute EMOM sandbag sprawl and carry

Notes:

• 200+lb sandbag, sprawl 4 different directions, pick and carry

• This was a repeat of last week, but exhausted me more while also not beating the hell out of my elbows. I think using the grip shirt was the right move.

• Carried a 226lb keg yesterday and a 227.5lb keg tonight. Did a timed hold of slightly over a minute with Fat Gripz on my chinning bar. This should have even better carryover to my competition.

• Got up at 0615 this morning: kiddo brought me the puppy, because it wasn’t going back to sleep. That was still pretty much sleeping in.

 Training Log: Entry 3660

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 5

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat (flat shoes)
4x8x315

Axle strict press from rack
2x8x148
1x6x148
1x7+3x148

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
2x12x70s
11x70s
10+3x70s

DB row
4x12x125

GHR
4x12x30

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
2x10

Chins throughout workout

Notes:

• Came into this just completely exhausted. I think a back to back sparring night was more than I anticipated recovery-wise, when stacked with that stupidly heavy mat pull on Wed. Training motivation was shot: one of those where the only thing that got me through was the thought of being able to spend Friday night with my family vs in the gym, so I got it done this morning. However, I also forgot that on Monday I trained in the afternoon, so I was comparing myself against that baseline, and in doing so I actually progressed really well today compared to Monday.

• I learned a lesson that was a long time coming from the belt squat: I have less knee pain when I squat with flat soled shoes. Honestly, I’m pretty angry with myself. I learned about squatting with flat soled shoes back in 2005, when I read “Beyond Bodybuliding” and Pavel Tsastouline wrote to “ditch your sneakers on steroids” and squat in Chuck Taylors, and I started doing exactly that and it transformed my squat. The most weight I’ve ever squatted in my life was in a pair of Chucks, where I squatted 502 in a meet and then 525 for 5 with wraps in the gym. And then I got a pair of lifters in 2014 because I thought it would have good carryover into strongman, and though I think Pendlay Dowins are a quality product and I love how my feet feel screwed in to the floor with how grippy they are, it just never had the same comfort that a pair of flats did. When I switched to that mutant high bar style I used for a few years, they really suited it…but that style itself didn’t suit me. I’m flat out not built to squat, with a short torso and long limbs, which means I use the style of squat we see with Steve Goggins, Layne Norton and Mark Felix: lots of forward lean, not a bolt upright torso. Flat shoes suit me. Thankfully, I have lots of them, and today I wore my NoBull high tops.

• Exhaustion was hitting hard through the workout, so the presses fell off a little, but I made some great progress on the incline bench, mainly because I forgot what I did last time so I beat an imaginary standard. Cut out a set of abs just for the sake of time.

• Double sparring class last night, got in a lot of great rounds. Really trying to work on moving off angle and sending strikes from there. Caught the Valkyrie with an awesome off angle sacrifice spin hook kick. Just happy I can move like that. The stretching is most likely helping out.

• Carried a 225lb keg yesterday, and then a 1min 50sec hang.

• Weighed 84.1kg this morning.

 Training Log: Entry 3659

AM WORKOUT (0350 wake up via alarm, very good night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Speed: 3.5mph
Incline: 4.5
Distance: 5.25miles
Time: 90 minutes

Notes:

• This was the easiest ruck in quite a while. No real specific period of time where I was watching the clock. Found a docu-series to watch without commercial interruption and it went a long way toward distracting me.

• Knee doesn’t feel as awesome as it did on Monday, but my bad days are feeling better than my good days felt like before PT, so that’s a plus.

• Sparring last night was awesome. Made it to the finals without having to spar the Valkyrie, and beat our senior black belt in the second round. Last 2-3 in the final round against another black belt in a very close match. My mobility is improving with the stretching and reduced knee pain, but I’m noticing my connective tissue feels “loose”, as though it’s slipping in and out at times. We’re doing a double class tonight, so should be a good workout.

• Weighed 84.3kg this morning. Been a high sodium week with that kalua pig.

• Carried a 223.5lb keg, and got in a 1min 40sec hold immediately afterward. More challenging to hit the grip after the keg carry. Soon I need to dig out my rolling thunder and get to work on that.

 Training Log: Entry 3658

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
5x8x221

(3) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat pull
5+2x470

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
5x12x190

Dips/axle curl superset
3x12x60, 1x10+2x60
2x12x71, 1x10+2x71, 1x8+4x71

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset
2x15x360/2x10

Chins between sets

Notes:

• Training motivation was high. I genuinely look forward to the day I get to deadlift. That said, it was made clear to me today that I am exiting the realm of training and entering the realm of testing with the weight I am using on the mat pulls. I am proud of myself that I still somehow managed to break the weight off the mats and get reps in, but I keep trading more and more of my soul each week to make it happen, and I am surviving the sets rather than thriving. I have nothing to prove and nowhere to be, so I’m gonig to drop the weight back to 405 to finish out this cycle and try to beat my previous rep PR at that weight, then bring it up to 425 and just repeat and regrow.

• Bench weight was perfectly dialed in.

• If I wasn’t in a rush for time, I’m certain I wouldn’t struggle on the curls as much as I do. Using a lighter weight on deadlifts might also help there.

• Very happy I’ve figured out the belt squats. They went from destructive to therapeutic. I’m going to try barbell squats in my flats next workout. As much as I’d had to admit that I had it right all along back in 2007 and never needed a pair of weightlifters and just needed some Chucks (thanks Pavel), it may truthfully be the next step in mitigating knee pain. Be curious if I can squat deeper that way as well. I was never built for the movement, so maybe I need to break all the rules to make it work.

• Weighed in at 84.8 this morning. I’m feeling fluffier. That’s the goal.

• I hung from a bar for a little over 1min 45sec yesterday, without much difficulty. Going to try to ease myself back into grip training for a bit, but I think I’ve got a good shot there. I also re-read the rules and the hammer hold is a front hold rather than a side hold, and I thankfully have an oversized loadable hammer I won as a prize in a competition back in 2015 (my return to comp after ACL surgery), so that’s cool.

• Tang Soo Do sparring was really awesome last night. I got 3 matches, the final one against the Valkyrie. We went 1 to 1 on points, going into overtime. Typically, I leave some openings for her to chase/strike as a learning opportunity, but last night she scored a legit awesome final point with a spin side kick that had her foot turn in just such a way that she snuck it in between my guard, right into a floating rib. It was like a spearman finding the slats between the plates of armor. I said “oh, that was good”, fully acknowledging the point before the judges scored it, because I was just such a fan of how she sent that. We have another class tonight, and then doubling up tomorrow.

 Training Log: Entry 3657

AM WORKOUT (0515 natural wake up)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 2

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• Knee regressed a little, which is to be expected after a squat workout, but it regresses back to a better point than before. Moving forward.

• Sitting on a rower first thing in the morning is a little tight on the hips.

• Bodyweight was 85.3 this morning. Seeing some growth.

• Tang Soo Do sparring tonight.

• Did an official Day 1 of ABF with the Valkyrie last night. She’s really digging the program. Likes kettlebells, taking to it quite naturally. We did 2 rounds 2-3-5-10 and then 5 rounds of the ABC EMOM, along with a general warm-up and refresher on the movements.

 Training Log: Entry 3656

PM WORKOUT (1530)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x8x315

Axle strict press from rack
3x8x148
1x6+2x148

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
2x12x70s
9x70
9+4+2x70

DB row
4x12x125

GHR
4x12x30

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Notes:

• Was needed elsewhere this morning, so got this done after work. Moved quickly through the warm up and shaved off the chins to make some time up.

• Squats felt solid. I switched to wearing my tacky shirt so the bar would stay in place on my back, which should reduce my forearm pain.

• First time in forever I thought about actually squeezing my glutes on the press and it made a huge difference. I honestly think the physical therapy is helping there: I’m developing my glute meds and they seem to want to come out to play some more.

• Forgot my shoes for the GHRs/sit ups. Small impact on results.

• No weigh in this morning, but carried a 220lb keg yesterday and 221 tonight.

 Training Log: Entry 3655

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 6

10 minutes EMOM sandbag sprawl and carry

Notes:

• 4 sprawls each round, then pick and carry.

• Elbows were pretty achy on this, but seem to be doing better now.

• Was solid conditioning come the final rounds. Thinking this will pay off for grappling.

• Was woken up at 0525: dog wouldn’t go back to sleep. Feeling a little fatigued as a result.

• Knee continues to feel better as time goes on.

• Carried a 217.5lb keg yesterday.

 Training Log: Entry 3654

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 5 (final lifting workout of cycle)

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat (higher bar placement)
4x3x352

Axle strict press from rack
4x3x166

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x8x75s

DB row
4x8x125

GHR
4x8x40

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Lateral raise dropset
35x10, 35x5, 35x2.5, 35xEmpty Hands

Band pull apart
50

Chins between sets

Notes:

• I’m carrying a bit of “blah” coming into these workouts, which I think it honestly just carrying forward fatigue from the weekend/start of the week getting woken up so much. We got to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual last night, but also spent the evening at my kid’s school music program, which absolutely drained my introvert battery and had me exhausted when I got home. Woke up this morning to the alarm and told myself that this workout was going to be the hardest part of my day, so if I got it done now, it’d be over.

• It’s been less than a week since starting physical therapy, and the results have already been very positive. I noticed last night that I had no knee pain while walking my dog, whereas typically that was a major source of it. The boxer is still a puppy yet stupidly strong, so she pulls the entire time we walk, and it’s like running downhill the whole time trying to fight her. Every step would be agonizing, but yesterday it just felt like a normal knee. In turn, this morning’s squat workout still triggered SOME knee pain, but not nearly as much as before. I’m not expecting miracles, but I AM appreciating how quick this gradual healing is.

• I moved the bar up higher on my traps to reduce elbow/forearm pain, and since my knee is in a healthier state I was able to get away with that. It’s funny how the pieces all connect.

• Camera cut out during the transition to the GHRs.

• Got in sets of 7 on chins between sets. Started the cycle with 5s. May just continue to gradually progress, if training timeline allows.

• Carried a 216lb keg last night, and weighed in at 83.3kg this morning. I SHOULD be heavier, but signing up for that grappling competition has me on the fence. Thankfully, I’m in no rush to gain: I’m in this for the long haul, but this is also just something I have to be aware of. Competition typically drives me to improve myself, but it also hamstrings me when it comes to pushing my bodyweight up, because I’m always right on the cusp of weight classes.

• Yesterday was another 2 cup of coffee day. I’m really enjoying coffee again, which is probably something I need to watch out for, but thankfully there is enough research out there that I can validate that 2 cups is perfectly fine and actually PROMOTES health, so let’s hear it for reality sculpting.

 Training Log: Entry 3653

AM WORKOUT (0345 natural wake up)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Speed: 3.5mph
Incline: 4.5
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 90 minutes

Notes:

• This was even more painless than last week. First 4 miles just flew by. Valkyrie lubed up the treadmill belt last night (apparently it was loud enough that it was waking her up, so it was more for her benefit than mine) and I’m wondering if it helped make the experience less sucky in general. Also imagine my knee being in a better place helped.

• Which, on that note, I’m observing gradual improvement. Still pain, but less so. I’ve had a few drives in the truck where I realized my knee didn’t hurt, which it’s one of those things that you don’t notice until you’re ALWAYS in pain. Other times, the pain is there, but it’s less so. The stretching and foam rolling seem to be helping, and I’m trying to be diligent on the strengthening 2-3x a week as well.

• Carried a 215lb keg last night. Moved faster than previous few nights, which is interesting on the day I deadlift. Typically it’s one of my harder workouts.

• Tang Soo Do last night was a pure conditioning class. Not a stitch of martial arts done. I actually managed some jumping without knee pain: another victory there.

• Weighed 82.5kg this morning. Significant drop-off. Given I did 2 24 hour fasts leading up one big meal on Tuesday, I’m sure it’s impacting things. With my grappling tournament coming up on 7 Dec, it’s good to have some flexibility. I may have to compete up a class.

 Training Log: Entry 3652

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout …3?

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
5x3x246

(4) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
8+4+3x470

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
5x8x225

Dips/axle curl superset
4x8x80/81

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset
3x15x360/3x10

Chins between sets

Notes:

• Situation: Good night of sleep (we’ve finally figured out the puppy: we’re letting it share a crate with the other puppy, and that has pacified it significantly. No more 0200 wake ups) HOWEVER still spent the first part of the night with a stomach quite full of Brazilian BBQ. I was not quite “uncomfortably full”, but still very much “heavy digestion” mode, and, in turn, I’m feeling a little fatigued today. Alongside that, yesterday my hips were really aching when I stood for prolonged periods of time: the kind of pain I used to feel before I started Tactical Barbell. I’m feeling it a bit again post training, and I’m wearing compression shorts to help, but that is one of those signs of the beginning of the end. My elbows are also starting to ache again. The hips, I’m curious if sleeping on the floor for a few nights is the issue, or the sandbag workout, OR all the hip flexor stretching I’m doing as part of my PT. I’ll have to keep an eye on it. The elbows are a combination of low bar squats and sandbag work: I’m always stupid and do BOTH of those things at the same time. Need to get a little smarter.

• So all this said, my belt fit exceptionally tight today and I thought my deadlifts were going to be pretty awesome, but holy f*ck did they take a lot out of me. You can see the exhaustion and pain in the video. Once again: working miracles in that garage every single time I break it off the mats. I’m thinking next cycle will be time to reset the weight and try to beat some previous PRs. But I still got it done somehow someway. I do wonder if it would have been better without the aching hips. I still contemplate using my Spud break-in briefs, because they’re honestly pretty awesome. Biggest issue is the bar catches on them, which is why I wear the sweat pants to bypass my Cerberus shorts.

• Felt the elbows in the curls and the ab wheel, but the dips felt awesome, and I’m pleased with how I’m progressing on that.

• Carried a 213.5lb keg yesterday. Weighed 84.4kg this morning. I’m fasting through breakfast. Not out of martyrdom, not to punish myself for overeating at dinner yesterday: because I’m flat out not hungry. I’m still burping Brazilian BBQ, and it tastes more of blood than of meat due to what I imagine is an incredibly heavy iron content. I genuinely don’t want to think about food, and making my kid’s breakfast this morning made me slightly nauseous. Which I’d say, all-in-all, means I’m doing this whole “eat to gain” thing right. I’ve really been digging all the experiments with eating schedules, and, in truth, were it not for the family time aspect of it, I’d skip either breakfast or dinner and just do 1 meal a day. The trick is: you have to be capable of really putting it away at that one meal to pull it off. Which, as the Valkyrie remarked last night “I genuinely don’t know where you put that much food”

• We have Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s our 1 class of the week, due to schedule nuttiness. It’s Wildcard cardio night, so should get some manner of activity.

• Got the results of my X-ray back. Minor signs of arthritis in the knee, but nothing warranting PRP. I SHOULD be happy that I’m not as broken as I thought, but I liked the idea of some extra treatment. Next step would be to get an MRI to confirm a torn meniscus, but that’ll take some doing. In the interim, the PT is giving me relief. I’ll look into the celebrex I was prescribed, or the tumeric I was recommended, but I’d prefer neither.

• The numbering of the workouts is off for this week, as I’m not really sure what to consider yesterday to be.

 Training Log: Entry 3651

AM WORKOUT (0330 wake up via dog, 0520 training)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat
4x3x352

Axle strict press from rack
4x3x166

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x8x75s

DB row
4x8x125

GHR
4x8x40

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Lateral raise dropset
35x10, 35x5, 35x2.5, 35xEmpty hands

50 band pull aparts

Notes:

• Rough night of sleep. Kiddo got me up at 0330 because the puppy was being a pain. Laid down next to it’s kennel for about an hour, took it outside, came back in, got ready to lift, then dropped it off with the Valkyrie because her alarm had gone off so I could train. You can see in the video the fatigue is hitting me, but I was still able to put in an effort.

• The little bit of physical therapy I’ve been doing has been paying off. Experiencing less day to day pain, and it was easier to hit depth in squats.

• Forearms are giving me the telltale sign that they don’t care for these buffalo bar squats and sandbag workouts. It’s why I keep swapping squat movements. I should be able to make one more training phase and then onto the SSB.

• No chins between sets today. Was trying to keep the timeline tight, since I had a later start.

• Weighed 83.5kg this morning. Slightly different circumstances than usual for the weigh in with the different schedule, but close enough.

 Training Log: Entry 3650

AM WORKOUT (1000)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MASS Week 2, Workout 6

EMOM sprawl and sandbag carry

Notes:

• 200+ lb bag, carried sideways vs bearhug this time. I’m a bit better at that pick up, which made it move faster and get me some more reps. Still meeting intent here: feel like this will have decent carryover to grappling.

• Carried a 216lb keg this evening.

• I’m digging this long weekend’s theme of finding out just how many ribs I can eat. Yesterday was the full rack of pork spare ribs, today was lamb back ribs, tomorrow will be beef short ribs AND pork baby back ribs, and then tomorrow at the Brazilian steakhouse will be plate ribs (but, sadly, sliced off the rib). Shame Vince Gironda isn’t around: I’m sure he’d dig this theme. 

 Training Log: Entry 3649

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm, rough night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 5

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squats
4x6x320

Axle strict press from rack
4x6x158

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x10x70s

DB row
4x10x125

GHRs
4x10x30

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Chins throughout workout

Notes:

• Kiddo got me up at 0250 because the puppy woke up and wouldn’t go back to sleep. Laid next to the crate for 10 minutes, then inch wormed out the room and got back to bed around 0315. Alarm went off and I thought about every possible way I could skip this workout and none of the COAs worked, so I got up and trained. In turn, motivation was stupid low, and you can see in the video that I was hurting.

• Aside from the evening, last night at Tang Soo Do just took it out of me. We focused heavily on breakfalls, so it was a lot of getting on the floor and getting up from the floor. The latter is the real workout, which Dan John has pointed out among other authors. I actually saw a really decent looking prison workout the other day that was almost like a bodyweight turkish get-up that emphasized this point. An hour of doing that just had me floored. I also think I need to eat more, which is what these next 4 days will be about with our feasting.

• First set of squats had too wide of a stance. I’ll need to be aware of that.

• Carried a 212.5lb keg yesterday and weighed 83.5kg this morning.

• First physical therapy appointment will be later this morning. I’ll see if I get anything out of it.

 Training Log: Entry 3648

AM WORKOUT (0350 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Speed: 3.5mph
Incline: 4.5
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 90 minutes

Notes:

• Felt good again. Time passed pretty quickly, minus a few parts that felt like it sucked. Still keeping it reasonable and more in the realm of recovery vs an actual workout.

• Keg carry 211lbs yesterday. Weighed in at 82.8kg this morning. Been a lot of lean dinners this week. Pork tenderloin, chicken meatballs, and last night was venison ring bologna. But this extended weekend is going to have a LOT of feasting.

• Tang Soo Do was pretty low energy last night. One more class tonight.

 Training Log: Entry 3647

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
5x6x231

(5) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
10+5+4x470

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
5x10x205

Dips/axle curls superset
4x10x65/76

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset
2x15x360/2x10

Chins between sets

Notes:

• Last night, I had a subluxation in my right knee, the very knee my doctor yesterday remarked was “incredibly healthy for a 40 year old knee with no sign of damage) when locking out a kick in Tang Soo Do. It swole up a little and felt a little junky this morning, but as training went on it seemed fine. During the mat pulls, the weight felt a little heavier on the knee than usual, but zero issues during the belt squats. Honestly, switching to flat soled shoes has been a gamemchanger there, and I’m an idiot for not trying that sooner.

• Bench is perfectly dialed in weight wise. Rested 2 minutes between sets of that, then 1 minute on the squats. For the superset, I rested a minute after the superset was done, but had shorter rests between the dips and curls, just for the sake of time. I was moving slow today.

• Once again, I have no idea how I managed those mat pulls. It really is like a miracle every time it breaks off the mats, and then somehow I find 9 more reps, and then the next two pulls are easier than the first one. I have no idea if I’m on borrowed time on this, but I’m just going to keep riding it out as much as I can. When the wheels fall off, I’ll reset the weight and go for some rep PRs.

• Carried a 210lb keg yesterday, weighed in at 83.9kg. Funny to see the weight drop after eating 20 meatballs for dinner.

• Someone signed up in the weight class above me and 2 master’s categories below me for the grappling tournament, making him a young whippersnapper at the age of 31. However, I’m excited to have someone a little closer to my age, and this will mean I really don’t need to sweat making weight, so if no one shows up for my own category, there’s at least a chance I have someone to play with in Dec. It happens to be the same day as our Tang Soo Do holiday party, so it behooves me to move quickly.

• On that note: Tang Soo Do tonight as well. I’ll try to keep my knee in one place, although I truthfully wanted to experience a full dislocation just so I could have limped back to that doctor and been like “Hey, how about a second opinion now?”

 Training Log: Entry 3646

AM WORKOUT (0520 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm, rough night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 2

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20minute recovery row

Notes:

• Kiddo got me up at about 0330, informing me that the puppy wouldn’t go back to sleep. Laid down next to it’s kennel for about an hour, then inch wormed my way out of the room to go sleep off the rest of the night in my own bed. It was honestly a pretty good ab workout, as I’m in no way being hyperbolic about inch worming: if, at any point, my upper torso was not connected to the floor, the dog would wake up and cry. So I had to move only my lower torso to drag me slowly across the floor to create the illusion I was still sleeping next to the dog. Remember when Conan had to do the same thing to escape from the slumbering wolves? Yeah, me neither.

• Semi-related news, but I’ve rediscovered a love for coffee I didn’t know I had. The cold weather brings it out of me. I’m limiting myself to 1 cup a day, in the morning, a few hours after breakfast. I have a tendency to easily become addicted to things.

• I tried to make this workout slightly more intense than usual while still keeping it low intensity. Basically focusing on a smooth transition between phases of the row, rather than anything herky jerky.

• Had my annual physical today, and it was a let down. Wanted to get some imaging on my right knee, but the doc just did a hands on exam, remarked at the incredible shape my knee was in for a 40 year old, and then offered some Vitamin M (iykyk) as a solution. Told him I flat out was NOT going to get on a daily anti-inflammatory protocol, especially after hearing about Nick Best losing his kidney doing that, and when I informed him that alleve makes my bowels bleed, he was at least willing to entertain a physical therapy solution, so I have that in my future.

• Keg carry was 208.5 yesterday. Weighed in at 84.7kg this morning. Tang Soo Do on the schedule tonight.

 Training Log: Entry 3645

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Week 2, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat
4x6x330

Axle strict press from rack
4x6x158

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x10x70s

DB row
4x10x125

GHR
4x10x30

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Notes:

• Seemed to be running slow this morning: didn’t have time at the end of the workout for any additional assistance.

• Squats felt great. Very strong and smooth. Knee is in a good way. Bar placement was right. Got cold enough to wear a shirt, which meant the bar wasn’t quite as grippy.

• The lower rep sets bode well for pressing. Zero issues completing sets. Rested 2 minutes on the main, 90 seconds on the incline, 1 minute everywhere else.

• Keg carry yesterday was 207.5. I’m moving fast again with the lighter weight, and actually ended up tripping over my feet and tossing the keg to the ground on the return trip. Picked it back up and carried through.

• Called my weight pretty well this morning. Thought I’d be 84kg, was 84.1. Also, my resting heart rate jumped 5 points yesterday, from 39 to 44. Once again, this correlated with the day after I’ve had a large meal (the Brazilian steakhouse), which I feel points to a notion of NEAT increasing in the presence of increased food intake. I’ll get to repeat the experiment, as we booked another reservation on 11 Nov. It’s a great time to be gaining.

• On that note, family meal last night of spaghetti with piedmontese meat sauce, some sourdough fried in ghee, and a dessert bar of some leftover birthday pumpkin cheesecake, a banana bread minimuffin topped with some raw honey, and 2 of the Valkyrie’s peanutbutter Halloween cookies. She took some of the leftover chocolate candies we had, cut them up and threw them in the mix. Wonderfully delicious.

 Training Log: Entry 3644

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm, really good night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 5

MAIN WORK

Buffalo bar squat
4x8x308

Axle strict press from rack
3x8x148
1x6+2x148

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB Incline bench
3x12x65s
1x11+1x65

DB rows
4x12x115

GHRs
4x12x20

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Lateral raises
40x10

Notes:

• Squats felt absolutely incredible. Zero issues finding depth, knee only ached on the very first rep, smooth and strong. I always look at the video and don’t care for the depth, so I spend time during the squat in training ensuring that I’m going as deep as my body will allow. The low bar placement with my bizarre anthropomorphy just makes for ugly squatting. This was also technically less work than Monday, since I screwed up the reps on that workout, but considering I finally recovered from my DOMS, I ‘m good with that.

• Progress all around on the pressing. The GHRs also hit different doing it at the end of the workout vs breaking it up like I did on Monday.

• Tang Soo Do was challenging this week, and helped me identify that I’m dealing with two different issues with my knee, which is helpful. The tendonosis is resolving but the pain in the knee cap itself worsens with jump/snap kicks. Good to know.

• Keg carry was 203.5lbs yesterday. Weighed in at 82.9kg this morning.

• Going to get in some extra steps escorting my kiddo and their friends Trick or Treating today. They’re finally too old to trick or treat with dad, but at least willing to have a off in the corner chaperone while they’re out and about. I fully plan to “go as the Punisher” and don my skullshirt and leather jacket, just to make people think twice about messing around with that particular pack of kiddos.

 Training Log: Entry 3643

AM WORKOUT (0350 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Speed: 3.5
Incline: 4.5
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 90 minutes

Notes:

• This went really well. I’ve switched from watching television dramas/movies to documentaries, and it’s a gamechanger as far as steady state work goes. Dramas are formulaic in their delivery, which means you have awareness of the passing time as things move from first act to second act to third. Documentaries are a little more free form and, therefore, captivating. Before I knew it, the show was over and I was halfway done with my walk. It’s also nice to have a little lighter mood while I walk. Of course, this was also a lighter weight and lower incline than Operator, but it was a .5 increase in incline compared to last Grey Man cycle. I’m trying hard NOT to become the rucking champion of the world and to just make this a basic workout, but I can still make some small increases.

• My right knee feels the best it’s felt in a long time, so my experiment with the belt squat was a success. However, I’m noticing it has 2 different kinds of pain, and one seems like patellar tendonosis and the other seems like lacking cartilage, the latter triggered by the jumps we do in Tang Soo Do (which I did last night). I do something like a “Hatfield Jump” a s part of my warm-up on squat days, but maybe I should bring back just some basic jumps like I used to do in 5/3/1 and see if I can get myself reconditioned.

• On that note, Tang Soo Do was actually a decent workout last night. Had a different instructor than usual and he ran us through a solid lesson. Got to work some board breaks at the end too.

• Keg carry was 202.5 yesterday, and bodyweight was 82.9kg this morning. We’re going out to a new Brazilian Steakhouse for brunch on Saturday to extend my birthday (since celebrating on a Tuesday is hard), so I’m excited and so happy it’s gaining season. Also cashing in some birthday freebies on Friday: a sidekick of ribs at Texas Roadhouse and 6 free wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. Sign up for these places: they give out cool stuff.

• With the cold weather, I’ve rediscovered a love for black coffee. I am also still incredibly sore from Monday’s training. Dr. Chaffee would say those two things relate: curious to see.

 Training Log: Entry 3642

AM WORKOUT (0415 wake up via backup alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

Axle bench press
5x8x216

(6) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
10+4+4x470

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squats
4x12x180

Dips/axle curl superset
3x12x55, 1x8+3+1x55
2x12x68, 1x9+3x68

Notes:

• Had set my first alarm incorrectly. I need to set my back up alarm earlier, because I ended up shaving off some stuff out of this workout due to time constraints. Still hit the majority of the important stuff, but instead of 5 sets in the supplemental cluster, I went with 4. For a first week break in, I’ll take it.

• Weight is perfectly dialed in on everything.

• Once again, performing miracles with those mat pulls. The warm ups felt stupidly heavy, and I was feeling the DOMS, but when I went for that first pull it broke much easier than I anticipated it would. Kept the reps reasonable for a first week back.

• I had 2 minutes rest on the bench and 1 minute on the squats. Went too short on rests with the dips/curls, just for time.

• The belt squat felt a million times better switching from lifters to flat soled shoes. I also made an effort to avoid lockout at the top and keep tension in the quads. I used to do that all the time with my muscle building work: good to remember that.

• This workout was fueled by 2 slices of the Valkyrie’s pumpkin cheesecake last night. Could not ask for a better birthday cake, or better training fuel. Tang Soo Do was actually pretty low energy, but another class tonight.

• Keg carry yesterday was 201lbs. Weighed 84.0 this morning.

 Training Log: Entry 3641

AM WORKOUT (0520 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 2

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• Holy DOMS. It’s amazing how such seemingly small changes in programming can still create that novel stimulus, although I suppose along with a change in reps and sets I also changed from front squats to squats. I’m really digging this program/movement rotation I’ve come up with. However, it also meant that the recovery row was the absolute right move this morning. Anything more intense would have just been a detractor. Now I should be in a good way to train tomorrow.

• Carried a 200lb keg yesterday. Was tempted to refer to this as Operation MILO ago, but honestly logging that way was getting tedious. With winter coming soon, we’ll see how viable this remains.

• Woke up at 83.3kg this morning. Weight is still all over. Schedule is finally back to normal: had breakfast this morning rather than fast though the day.

• Tang Soo Do on the schedule tonight. They’ll most likely incorporate my birthday into it, so we’ll be doing 40 of things. A decent workout. We’re also doing a pumpkin cheesecake tonight and breakfast for dinner, because my wife is incredible.

• I'm 40 years old today.  I started this log when I was 19.  That's just wild to think.

 Training Log: Entry 3640

AM WORKOUT (0520 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

Buffalo bar squat
12x308
3x8x308

Axle strict press from rack
2x8x148
7x148
5x148
4x148

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
2x12x65s
2x11x65s w/2 rep rest pause on final rep

DB rows
4x12x115

ASSISTANCE

5 chins between sets of main work

Notes:

• We had late reporting for work to compensate for all the 12s, so I slept in, but Valkyrie apparently had her alarm set 10 minutes later than usual, so my schedule was still a little off. I cut out the GHRs and ab work for now, but we’re working a short day today, so I’ll knock them out when I get home before I mow the lawn.

• The reps are all screwy this workout, so I’ll explain. I mixed up specificity and grey man in my head on the very first set, so did a set of 12 on squats. It’s pretty cool I can do that though. Noticed my feet were really wide, so brought them in a bit closer for the final 3 sets. For the press, it’s most likely too heavy, but I just used the trick of taking as many sets as necessary to get the reps (Jim Wendler refers to it as the “Malcolm X method”). For the incline DB bench, I did something similar with a rest pause at the end. I’m not going to lower the weights: I’m going to force growth and eat big enough to make change happen.

• 2 minutes of rest on the big lifts, 90 seconds on the DB bench, 1 minute on the DB row.

• Once I do the GHRs, I’ll splice the video together and upload. I’m also resuming my keg carry experiment, starting over at 200lbs.

 Training Log: Entry 3639

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF” (Beginner)

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac vest

• Speed: 3.5

• Incline: 4.0

• Distance: 4.5 miles

Notes:

• Our tempo had cooled a little and I was able to come in an hour later today, so I finally got in some steps, because I’ve been chained to my desk all week. Felt nice, and the time passed quickly compared to the past time I was on the treadmill. Vest is lighter and incline lower, to coincide with the easier week.

• Weighed in at 83.4kg. Weight is still all over the place.

• Another good night of sparring last night. I actually rotated through the entire Dojang for king of the ring at the end. Was good to get in some activity that way.

 Training Log: Entry 3638

AM WORKOUT (0345 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 3

Deadlift
6x455

Notes:

• Was on track to get this for 10 this cycle, but that norovirus threw a small wrench into things. I’m feeling better, but my guts still refuse to hold onto anything I eat, and I spent this morning emptying myself before pulling, because otherwise this would have been a terrible event.

• All that said, I am incredibly pleased with my output as far as effort goes. That very first pull was a helluva grind, so to find 5 more reps after that was outstanding. When I dropped all that bodyweight 2 years ago, I shied away from this hard work because I was afraid of it, and it just self-perpetuated getting weaker. Tactical Barbell gave me a chance to recover well enough to get my hips functioning again, and this has been the longest cycle of successful pulls I’ve had in quite a while. It’s been awesome re-discovering my ability to grind through these reps.

• I was also completely annihilated after that set, which worked out well with me needing to just get in a short workout and get to work for my 3rd 12 this week. This timed out about as well as it could.

• Weighed in at 85.0kg this morning. I realized I’ve double my creatine dosage over these past 4 days to compensate for a few missed days while I was ill and to try to recover some lost bodywater, which could be part of the reason my scale is being wacky.

• Sparring last night actually went really well. I came in feeling dead from the shift, but once we warmed up I came to life. Got to spar our senior black belt and took us into overtime at 2 to 2, losing at the end but making them work for it. Had success with bodypunches and hook kicks to the head. Got complimented on my head defense. Had some great matches outside of the Dojang tournament as well.

 Training Log: Entry 3637

AM WORKOUT (0350 wake up via intestinal distress)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 2

“CHARON’S TRINITY” (Beginner)

3 rounds of

• 1 minute rower

• 1 minute KB swings w/24kg bell

• 1 minute burpees

• 1 min rest

Notes:

• Apparently I’m not fully out of the woods with this virus. Was feeling a little queasy in bed last night, and woke up about 10 minutes before my alarm with my guts rumbling. Wonder if my appetite returning means I have more food in the system for my body to continue passing. I’m still feeling good enough to train, so that’s a positive.

• However, this was definitely a hard effort, despite being the easier workout. First round of swings felt like it went on forever.

• Weighed in at 84.2kg. Bodyweight is going to be wild as I recover.

• Sparring last night went pretty well. Went against a senior student in the first round, and the Valkyrie in the second. Was able to stay pretty active and work more on angles.

• Noticed in the mirror this morning that the teardrop on my right quad is presenting smaller than the left one, which is typically the other way around since the left one is the knee I had surgery on. I imagine this is related to the knee pain I’ve been experiencing. Chicken and egg: I’m not sure if the pain is indicative of dysfunction which is limiting the ability of the teardrop to develop/be recruited, or if the teardrop weakening is what is leading to knee pain. Gives me an idea of focusing on it for my next training cycle. I’m thinking, if I bring back the belt squat, I’m going to reduce the weight and focus on perfect reps and muscular contractions. Make it less about just getting through the ROM and more about bodybuilding. Also considering using flat soled shoes vs my squat shoes.

 Training Log: Entry 3636

AM WORKOUT (0350 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
4x2x275

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
4x2x188

CONDITIONING

General Conditioning #5

3 rounds of

• 60 sec dip

• 90 sec rest

• 60 seconds push ups

• 90 seconds rest

3 rounds of

• 5 burpees

• 10 chins

Standing ab wheel
1x10 w/10 second plank

Notes:

• I love lots of things about my kid, but one of the best is that, when I ask them “Hey kiddo, what’s the plan?” Their response is “Chaos Dad”. And here we are, I thought this was going to be an unscheduled bridge week due to the norovirus, but my appetite came back last evening and I felt good this morning, so I got back to training. However, I’m still working 12s this week, so I’m going to make this an abridged training week. It already works out that this is the heavy week of Operator, so the volume is low and the conditioning intensity is easy. However, I’m planning on making this more like Fighter than Operator, getting in 2 lifting workouts with squat and press and then 1 workout of just deadlifts, as this should keep workouts very short and focused. Today’s wake up time worked, but I’ll need to get to work even earlier for the next few days, so I’m planning on 0335, which shaves off 25 minutes from my normal sleep time. Not awful. My conditioning days should give me a chance to recover some of that time, as they’ll be short. My step count is going to be low this week, and I’m at peace with that. It’s at least sparring week in Tang Soo Do, so I can get a workout there.

• As for the workout itself, it went really well. My right knee is feeling incredible, probably because I haven’t been carrying a stupidly heavy keg every day. That’s coming back, because “I’m f**king stupid, I don’t get a f–k about jail. That’s my business. That’s what I do” to quote Nicky Santoro. But in the interim, given how much fluid I’ve lost these past few days, I had no issue with headspins and was able to output exactly what I needed. Belt was fitting a little loose, but that’s to be expected.

• Conditioning took a small hit, nothing too awful. I still got GC#5 knocked out the fastest it’s been: 2:50. But part of that is I cut out all the extra chins I normally do, in order to save time.

• Weighed in at 82.9kg this morning. I’m happy to see I didn’t lose much weight form illness.

• I meal prepped for the week. First meal is 11.5oz of beef rib fingers, 3 hardboiled eggs and 5 egg white omelet. Second meal is the same, except 14oz of rib fingers. Since I’ll be eating at work, I won’t be taking photos of individual meals, but I’ll post up the photos I took from the process.

 Training Log: Entry 3635

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 5

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
5x5x245

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
5x5x168

CONDITIONING

20 round EMOM

• First 5 rounds: 15kb swings w/24kg bell, 10 push ups, 5 chins

• Next 5: 10 swings, 10 push ups, 5 chins

• Next 5: 5 swings, 10 push ups, 5 chins

• Final 5: 4 1 arm swings (2 per arm), 10 push ups, 5 chins

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Band pull aparts
3x50

Notes:

• My electrolytes are off: had a real bad case of the head spins in my first set of squats, and my right bicep kept cramping. Making sure to up my intake.

• Aside from that, good training day. My elbows are in pain, and at first I thought it was from the keg carries, but I realize we’ve been drilling staff work hard in Tang Soo Do these past 2 weeks in prep for the tournament, and that always jacks things up for me.

• I like the conditioning workout I’ve come up with. It’s like a version of Cindy without having to squat so much. Add 1 armed swings to the end as a means to continue keeping the heart rate up while maintaining the trend of reducing as time goes on.

• Weighed in at 82.6kg this morning (or .4, I keep forgetting which it was). It’s funny how there is a little bit of a satellite delay when nutrition changes. I was still gaining a little weight when I first dropped my food intake, and I remember at the start of the gaining phase I was dropping bodyweight despite eating more. Just more proof to trust the process.

• Tang Soo Do was moderate activity yesterday: just more drilling to prep for the tournament tomorrow.

• Keg carry yesterday was 275lbs: officially 100lbs heavier than the start of the experiment. This actually felt pretty good until the final 3 steps, where I went sideways and was afraid I was going to dump the keg or rupture my patella tendons. This experiment may come to a halt soon just with me picking up those 12 hour shifts next week, as I don’t intend to carry the keg at 0500 and I’m not sure I’ll be able to carve out the time in the evening after work, but it also IS just 1 quick trip a day, so I can probably make it work. One of the newer variables I’ve had to contend with is that the powder coating on the keg is abrasive enough that it tears open my shin each day. I tried wearing knee sleeves around my shin yesterday and that helped.

 Training Log: Entry 3634

AM WORKOUT (0415 wake up via second alarm: slept through first)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/45lb vest

Incline: 5.0

Speed: 3.5mph

Distance: 4 miles

Time: 1hr 8min 30sec

Notes:

First time I’ve ever slept through that first alarm. Part of me wonders if I just ended up shutting it off in the middle of the night. I woke up when I had 30 minutes left before it went off, but maybe in checking it that shut it off. Either way, this is why we have back ups. Cut a mile out of the ruck due to time constraints, but it was still a solid effort.

Tang Soo Do last night was more tournament prep. We ended the night with breakfalls and board breaks, which got a little activity. I broke one of our harder boards with a reverse punch, which was satisfying.

Keg carry yesterday was 273.5lbs. Today will be 275, which will mark 100lbs from the start of this experiment.

Weighed in at 83.0kg this morning.

I am glad I abandoned my 10k swing plans, as I will be working 12 hour shifts next week starting Tuesday and possibly through the weekend. It’s a great time for the lower intensity conditioning week/higher intensity lower volume week of TB, as I’ll need to get up earlier than usual to get to work on time. Will be doing meal prepping as well, with plans to eat my two meals at work rather than at home, which will save some time. Thankfully, carnivore meal prep doesn’t take much. I’ll be hardboiling a lot of eggs and most likely cooking up rib fingers or ground beef. Which, semi-related, my in-laws gifted me a bunch of ground venison from the farm in Iowa, so that’s awesome.

 Training Log: Entry 3644

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm, rough night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
3x5x245

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
3x5x168

(2) Texas Deadlift Bar mat Pulls
10+3+4x455

ASSISTANCE WORK

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel/band pull apart giant set circuit (no rest between exercises)

3x15x360/10/50

Lateral raise dropset
30x10, 30x5, 30x2.5, 30xEmpty Hands

Axle curls
1x50

Notes:

• Kiddo got me up at 0200 because the puppy had made a mess in it’s crate. Got things cleaned up and situated and then dozed until the alarm went off.

• All that said, my first set of squats felt rough, but after that things really clicked, and I was feeling VERY strong in my deadlift warm-ups. I feel that my drop off in reps is more a product of reduced food intake compared to anything else, but I honestly COULD have fought for more reps: I just recognized that I’d spend more than I’d earn from that kind of effort. Next week is pulling off the floor, and then the cycle rests, along with the nutrition. I just need to hold on. 10 reps was the goal for the first pull, and I nailed that.

• I found myself with a bit of extra time at the end of the workout, so threw in some curls, but decided not to push them too far because every keg carry is pretty brutal these days and I don’t want exhausted biceps to be the reason for a failure at this point. Don’t want to change too many variables.

• Which, on that note, yesterday’s carry weight was 272.5lbs.

• Tang Soo Do was very technical yesterday. Lots of focus on details in the open hand forms. Most likely going to continue like that through the week.

• Weighed in at 84.4kg this morning. Good signs for a post carb up weigh in.

 Training Log: Entry 3643

AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 2

“CHARON’S TRINITY”

5 rounds of

• 1 min rower

• 1 min 24kg kb swings

• 1 min burpees

• 1 min rest

Notes:

• Still a buttkicker of a workout, and makes the 20 minutes go by quick. I wasn’t hurting as much as I was last week: starting to adjust again.

• Weighed in at 84.0kg this morning. Was 84.4 yesterday. Tonight will be the carb up meal, which is off schedule, but the day before deadlifts, so that will most likely be nice.

• Keg carry yesterday was 271lbs. First time I legit thought I wouldn’t be able to complete the carry. Starting getting sideways at one point. Hitting it on the days I lift tends to he bard compared to on non-lifting days.

• Tang Soo Do on the schedule for tonight. This week is most likely going to be a bit lower energy, since we have our tournament on Saturday.

• Moving forward, absent any competitions to prep for, I feel like a good battle rhythm for Tactical Barbell is 3 weeks Operator, 3 weeks Mass Protocol, 3 weeks specificity, 1 bridge week. 9 weeks of training tends to be where I want to take a bridge week, and especially so after the final week of specificity. This also sets up a longer form of “Feast/Famine/Ferocity”, in that I can spend 4 weeks (bridge and Operator) eating leaner and 6 weeks eating bigger. This feels like a good “baseline” approach, from which I can modify as needed. I can extend the Operator cycles longer when it comes time for competition prep, or I can extend Mass Protocol longer if that’s the goal.

• With the above, the other idea/benefit is a core set of lifts that belong uniquely to each phase. Specifically: SSB front squat for the Operator phase, Buffalo Bar for the Mass protocol and SSB for specificity. Similar to conjugate, rotating the movement will keep me from getting too hammered doing the same movement week after week for too long. I’m feeling the benefits of using the SSB front squat as my knee continues to feel awesome and body is getting a break in general. I can do something similar with the pressing as well, using the log and the axle as needed.

• The one other part of this approach I dig is keeping the TMs tied to the protocols. Since Operator is a 6 week protocol, by training it 3 weeks at a time, it would be 20 weeks before I up the TM (2 full 10 week rotations). Allows adequate time to really settle in with the weight and master it.

 Training Log: Entry 3642

AM WORKOUT (0550 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm, 0730 workout)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
5x5x245

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
5x5x168

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

General Conditioning #5

3 rounds of

• 60 sec of dips

• 90 sec rest

• 60 sec push ups

• 90 sec rest

3 rounds of

• 5 burpees

• 10 chins

15 second standing ab plank

Notes:

• Had a rough night of sleeping last night and the day off work today, so I slept in and got the training done later. Fasted until noon, which was about a 22 hour fast from yesterday. Really digging the compressed eating window.

• This felt pretty good. Squats were smooth, press was strong. I cut the ab work short just to save a little time.

• Yesterday’s keg carry was 270lbs. Up 95lbs from the start of the experiment.

 Training Log: Entry 3641

PM WORKOUT (1430)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 1, Workout 6

10 minute EMOM of sprawl onto bag, then bag over bar

Notes:

• 200+lb bag, 50” bar

• Singles until the final round, then max reps over the bar.

• With the grappling comp in Dec, this seemed value added, and I was just in the mood for it. Wasn’t terribly challenging on the cardio: I can add more sprawls.

• Keg carry yesterday was 267.5, and today was 268.5.

 Training Log: Entry 3640

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 1, Workout 5

MAIN WORK

SSB Squat
5x5x215

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
5x5x215

CONDITIONING

20 rounds EMOM

First 5 rounds: 15 swings w/24kg bell, 10 push ups, 5 chins, then reduce swings by 5 reps every 5 rounds

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Notes:

• I like what I did for the conditioning. Got me 150 swings, 200 push ups and 100 chins. I think I’ll try to get more swings on the back end through the program.

• Weighed in at 84.4kg.

• Keg carry yesterday was 266lbs.

• Tang Soo Do was pretty low activity yesterday, but got some good feedback on one-steps.

• Getting the puppy today. Schedule will be a little whacky.

 Training Log: Entry 3639

AM WORKOUT (0355 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 1, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/45lb vest

• Speed: 3.5 mph

• Incline: 5.0

• Distance: 5 miles

• Time: 1hr 25min 45sec

Notes:

• Been a while since I’ve done a serious ruck. Went up 20lbs on the vest and 1 level on the incline, and I could feel it, because this sucked the entire time. Good to be able to get in some rucking again. Still a very tonic workout: came away from it feeling better than how I started.

• Weighed in at 83.9kg this morning: full kilo drop from yesterday, and 2.5kg drop from Tuesday. Definitely some wild fluctuations going on.

• We skipped TSD last night. Valkyrie was dealing with a bad headache all day, and a bunch of breakfalls didn’t seem like the cure for that.

• Keg carry yesterday was 265lbs. This marks a full 90lb increase from the start of the experiment. This was the hardest carry yet, which makes sense on the same day I did deadlift training. We’ll see what today brings. 100lbs is within reach.

 Training Log: Entry 3638

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 1, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
3x5x215

Axle strict press
3x5x148

(3) Texas Deadlift Bar mat Pulls
11+5+4x455

ASSISTANCE

3 round Giant set circuit (no rest) of

• Reverse hyper 15x360

• 10 hanging leg raises

• 50 band pull aparts

Lateral raise dropset
35x10, 35x5, 35x2.5, 35x Empty hands

Notes:

• Staying with the protocol of fewer sets on my deadlift day, and I eliminated chins between sets for a similar reason. Allowing myself plenty of energy to pull.

• Best I can describe this is performing strength miracles inside my garage, because I have no idea how I managed to get that bar moving on the mat pulls, and then somehow found 11 reps on that first pull, and I truthfully had a 12th in me if I was willing to sacrifice work downstream. Same with those follow up sets. I’m re-discovering that other gear inside of me that can just make stuff happen. It’s cool to find that part of me again.

• Right knee is already telling me it doesn’t much care for the squats, but such is life. I’m focusing on sitting back rather than down as much as I can.

• My pecs are quite sore from Monday’s GC5. Novel stimulus.

• I had an idea in my head to do Fran when this was all done, as a means to get in more front squatting and chins. That’s not entirely off the menu, but for this first week it certainly was. I’m also glad I put the stop to the 10k swing idea, because with the puppy coming into our lives and a host of other schedule silliness, it would have been non-viable. This flexibility is helpful.

• Weighed 84.9kg this morning. More crazy swings. Got in 20k steps yesterday as well: had to take my truck in for some work, so walked around while I waited.

• Keg carry yesterday was 263.5.

• Tang Soo Do last night was actually a decent level of activity. Drill components of the one-steps in isolation, which gave us a chance to hit the bags. Class tonight will most likely be low on activity, and we have a parent-teacher conference, so the evening walk is most likely not going to happen.

 Training Log: Entry 3637

AM WORKOUT (0515 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 1, Workout 2

“Charon’s Trinity”

5 rounds of

• 1 min rower

• 1 min 24kg KB swing

• 1 min burpee

• 1 min rest

Notes:

• It was good to come back to this, because it kicked my butt. Made it through all the rounds, but was definitely dogging it come time for the burpees. Lungs and heart were working hard.

• Right knee continues to feel pretty awesome. Recovery is going well.

• Weighed in at 86.3kg this morning. Significant jumps and swings: will have to see what my weight settles in at when things become a bit more stable.

• Keg carry yesterday was 262.5lbs.

• Haven’t been getting in my steps the past few days, due to schedule insanity. Should be able to resume now. We get our new puppy on Friday, which will change the schedule some more, but we’ll adapt.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s one-steps week, so a little lower in terms of activity.

 Training Log: Entry 3636

AM WORKOUT (0359 natural wake up)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 1, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
5x5x215

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
5x5x148

Sets of 5 chins between sets

CONDITIONING

General Conditioning Workout #5

3 rounds of
-60 seconds of dips
-90 seconds rest
-60 seconds push ups
-90 seconds rest

3 rounds of
-5 burpees
-10 chins

ASSISTANCE

Ab wheel/band pull apart superset
3x10/50

Notes:

• 2 min rest between lifts

• 3:30 to complete the second part of GC5

• Performed chins during the warm up as well.

• Felt good coming into this. Bridge week paid off. Right knee is feeling buttery smooth on those front squats. Bracing is really solid.

• GC5 is always great for an upper body pump. Hitting burpees after all those push ups sucks.

• Feeling out the program for now, although it’s going to be a short run anyway at 3 weeks before getting back to Mass Protocol.

• Woke up at 85.4kg. That’s the scale moving in the wrong direction, but lots of variables at play. I ate something that disagreed with me this weekend, and spend much of Saturday evening/Sunday morning getting rid of it. Alongside that, in-laws in town meant reduced activity and increased celebrating. I’m not too concerned, as I really just need to be below 185lbs on 7 Dec as far as weight goes, otherwise, I’m just eating to support training. Will still be reducing food intake as I go. Last week was 16oz of meat at breakfast, this week is 14.5.

• Last night was the family meal. Classic spaghetti and meat sauce, with some sourdough and 4 of the Valkyrie’s cookies with some local raw honey. Cut myself down from 5, because I’m the master of restriction like that. There is a little truth to that, because she made pumpkin oatmeal cookies, which basically hits all the right notes for me.

• Keg carry yesterday was 261lbs. It keeps getting heavy but manageable. At this point, I might let weather determine when I stop.