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.

 Training Log: Entry 3635

PM WORKOUT (1330)

BRIDGE WEEK

57 burpee chins in 5 minutes (lifetime PR)

Notes:

• The whole time I was doing this, I thought I was moving SO slow. Around rep 14 I thought to myself “ok, it’s been a while since you’ve done this, and you’re missing a gear here, just focus on not stopping”, and at rep 22 it was “just because you’re recording this doesn’t mean you have to post it, if it’s a sh*t show, you can just delete it”, and at rep 35 I thought “ok, we might get to 50 before time expires”, and then when I hit 50 I wondered “did I forget to set the sound on my alarm?”, only to see that I had 38 seconds left, so I kicked it into gear and got that 7th rep at the end. It’s funny how the way we feel can be completely different from reality, but maybe I always felt like I was going “faster” because I really just felt like I was working HARDER because it WAS harder, and this time it was so easy it felt like I wasn’t putting in much effort.

• That’s a lot of analysis for some burpee chins, but I’m pretty happy that I turn 40 at the end of this month and I’m still hitting some PRs. After this, I was wiped out, went and mowed the lawn for about an hour, and caught my heart rate at 120 a couple of times.

• I really dug how this was a workout I WANTED to do. And no loading.

• I carried a 258.5lb keg yesterday and a 260lb one this evening.

 Training Log: Entry 3634

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

BRIDGE WEEK

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• Finally got smart and treated this bridge week right. Another night of sleeping in and a recovery workout. I absolutely caught myself wanting to get up and hit a Fran WOD instead. I have to interpret these things positively: it means I am recovering and excited to train hard. That’s exactly what a bridge week is supposed to do. The key is to not squander that: use it to perpetuate excellence in the follow-on training cycles, rather than waste it with stupid workouts during the bridge.

• That said, I gave myself permission that, if I’m really itching to train like a maniac again, I’ll do that during a cycle of Operator sometime. Get the strength work done, then follow it with a WOD. Easy Strength style.

• In the other realm of positives, I drove to work without knee pain today. Any prolonged sitting tends to really agitate my knee, and driving was always a surefire way to experience that. This re-affirms my suspicion that it’s something I am doing in training that is causing the issue, rather than this just being a forever issue. I still want to get some imaging, but it’s nice to know that solutions exist.

• Weighed in at 84.3kg this morning, down .7 from Monday.

• Keg carry was 257.5lbs yesterday.

• Tang Soo Do was a solid class last night. Drill some basics hard and got some kudos from the head instructor.

 Training Log: Entry 3633

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

BRIDGE WEEK

“Meat Eater II”

10 rounds of

• 10 KB swings w/24kg bell

• 10 burpees

• 1 min rest between rounds

Notes:

• I have abandoned the plan for the 10k swing challenge. Ultimately, I recognized myself going down those same old self-destructive pathways of the past. Intellectually, I realized that, since Operator is a static workout (same moves done 3x a week for 3 weeks), pairing it with a static assistance protocol ala the 10k swing challenge was going to lock me in and give me zero room for adaptability. Along with that, I remembered that the last time I ran Operator, I only budgeted 20 minutes for assistance, which meant I’d only be able to get away with the 25 swings EMOM protocol to make it fit my time budget. In doing so, swing technique was going to get sacrificed for the sake of time, which really meant not getting the benefit OF the 10k swing challenge in the first place, and I’d ultimately just be doing swings for the sake of accomplishing the challenge. And in doing THAT, I’d be violating the Dan John principle of “The goal is to keep the goal the goal”. I’m not doing Tactical Barbell so that I can do the 10k swing challenge: I’m doing it so that I can get the benefits of Tactical Barbell, specifically with the O-M-S protocol. Dan spoke to how the 10k swing needs to be done on his own, and he’s not wrong: it was going to take more than it gave with this approach.

• I will say, as far as proof of concept testing goes, I know that it CAN get done: just a question of “should”

• On top of all this, I realized my bridge week wasn’t really allowing me to recover with so many swings, also defeating the purpose. I trained hard: I need to recover so I can train hard again. It’s why I elected for another night of sleeping in. Stan Efferding talks about how it’d be better to sleep an extra hour than to wake up an hour early to train, so I went with that.

• Moving forward, I do feel my approach for Operator will be to finish the workouts and then end with a GC workout of my choosing. Operator will be static, conditioning will be dynamic. Should help prep me for grappling as well.

• Long preamble aside, this morning’s workout was solid. MEII is just a classic “no duh” workout. I fell on the first round of swings: just wasn’t balanced.

• Tang Soo Do was relaxed last night. We worked on tournament form presentation. It was the kind of night we needed. One more class tonight. My in-laws come on Friday and will be staying the weekend, so slight schedule changes.

• Keg carry yesterday was 256lbs. I’m feeling it more in my hamstrings these days.

• Weighed 84.5kg this morning. I think I may do daily weigh ins for the 4 week block. That’s a half kilo loss from Monday.

 Training Log: Entry 3632

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

SSB front squat
2x5xBar
2x135
1x185
1x205
1x255
2x288

500 KB swings

• 5 rounds of 10-15-25-50

• Rest periods of 30-30-60-120 seconds

• 2-3-5-5 dips between swings

• 24kg bell

Ab wheel/band pull apart superset circuit
3x5/25

Notes:

• The front squat was for max testing for my next cycle of Operator. The double of 288 was slow, controlled and rock bottom. I feel comfortable using a 300lb max. Also had a revelation about bracing, where it’s not just about a big belly full of air pressing against the belt but then also clamping down my abs on top of that. One of those things I understand in my head but would need quite a few more words to describe to someone else.

• I contemplated not doing the swings at all today, but settled on Dan John’s recommendation for how to approach the workout. Much nicer on my forearms. My grip and hamstrings are what seem to be the most impacted with these swings, which is probably a good sign. I’m still on the fence about doing the full 10k swing challenge over these next 3.5 weeks, but I think I can at least finish out the bridge week at this rate.

• Technically did more dips than recommended, but it didn’t impact my recovery. Dan’s recommendation of rest periods allowed me to have some more explosive swings, and kept my heart rate in a good spot.

• Keg carry was 255lbs yesterday.

• Tang Soo Do was a solid enough workout. The last thing I wanted to do was Bo/staff work, since my grip was fried…and it’s exactly what we did. But, it actually ended up helping get some life back into my forearms. We’ll see what tonight brings.

• Weighed in at 85.0 again today.