Training Log: Entry 3735

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

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 4

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• 3rd week in a row I’ve picked this over getting in a ruck, and I think this is just going to be a way forward during Mass Protocol. This makes a lot of sense. Train the muscles hard, do work to help recover from workouts, get in some daily activity, save the rucking for Operator. Before, the ruck was something of a means to control nutrient partitioning and keep control over the intake, but given that I fast on these mornings now, that seems more effective. My physique and gym performance is reflecting as such as well. I think the extra sleep is also giving me more benefits than the ruck would. If I had something more significant to train for, things may be different. I DO have a 10 mile race in a month that is most likely going to hit like a freight train, but I can deal with that.

• My hips are a little achy from deadlifts, but not cripplingly so. The row was definitely just going through the motions and getting some flood flowing.

• Weighed in at 83.0. Housing a bunch of corned beef is probably a great way to up sodium.

• Tang Soo Do was active for 90 minutes but not terribly intense. Breakfalls/rollfalls for the first 45 minutes and 1 step self defense for the rest. New belts are nice, because we get new material. I was also recruited to help test a choke defense the black belts were working on. It was the typical “psycho strangle” choke, where you straddle the person and wrap your hands around their neck. They were effectively supposed to chop my elbows at the joint to break the grab, but noted that my arms were so large that all it did was make the choke tighter around their neck. So, basically, the defense only works if you’re being attacked by someone smaller and weaker than you. Back to the drawing board.

• We’re skipping TSD tonight, as my puppy is getting neutered and we’re going to hang out with him and make sure he’s doing ok.

 Training Log: Entry 3734

AM WORKOUT (0352 natural wake up, snooze until 0400 alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
4x3x256

(4) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
15x440

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
4x8x250

Dips
3x8x80
7+1x80

Axle curl
4x8x88

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper
3x15x360

Ab wheel
2x10

Band pull aparts
75

Notes:

• Been having some wild/vivid dreams these past few nights. Jon Heck and I were trying to get out of an escape room. Can’t make that stuff up.

• Was excited to train. This is definitely my favorite lifting day of the program. My right hip was a little buggy in Tang Soo Do last night, but it showed up to play today. Funny enough, it was the ab wheel at the end that gave it a little trouble.

• Pleased to get through the benches without my pec acting up, and I actually had some more reps in me on the mat pulls, but I’ve been appreciating being able to progress week to week WITHOUT being in agony by pushing too far. “Enough”, per Dan John. The break off the mats is getting harder, but it’s not “strength miracle” levels yet like it was last training cycle.

• Belt squats are feeling better each week. Getting my knee in a good way has gone far.

• Weighed in at 82.3kg this morning. Down half a kilo after eating an entire chuck roast. I think I could sell this diet.

• 
  

 Training Log: Entry 3733

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

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 2

“VIKING RAID”

15 minutes

• 100m row

• 150lb sandbag carry

• Add 100m each round, max rounds in 15 minutes

Notes:

• Finished the 6th round this time and was starting the second when time expired. Further than last week, not as far as the first week.

• My elbows are a little achy: a telltale sign I’m pushing the daily chins too hard. I am notoriously stupid for always upping my chin volume at the same time that I reintroduce low bar squats into the equation. It made the bag picks a little more tender than usual.

• I came up with an idea to make this even MORE “viking raid-y”: I could incorporate some heavy bag/Body Action System work into the workout. Row, get off the rower and hit the bag, then do the carry. It would fit the story of rowing to the shore, fighting the locals, and stealing their stuff. I’d have to come up with a specific combo or something like that, since I don’t have a round timer going, but it could be a fun way to work even more variety into this, and I have all this gear in my basement. Another approach would be to include a bag over shoulder first, to simulate throwing an opponent.

• Tang Soo Do is tonight. It’s one-step week, which is low activity, but we should get the results of our belt test back.

• I think Stan Efferding and others have been on point regarding the value of sleeping vs training, as these shorter training days will more sleep seem to be doing me some positives. I also just plain like this training day in general because it includes the coffee fast post workout. This has been one of my better nutritional experiments. The every other day intermittent fasting gives my guts a rest from the food, the mornings that I coffee fast are excellent “high speed/low drag” mornings where I don’t have to do a bunch of dishes before I go to work, whereas the mornings that I DO have breakfast are mornings where I just plain look forward to getting to have breakfast. With it being every other day, I look forward to each day due to the unique reward it brings. On my fasting days I go to bed thinking “Oh good: I get breakfast tomorrow”, and on my fed days I go to bed thinking “Oh good, I have an easy morning tomorrow”.

• On the above, woke up at 82.8kg again this morning. I am thinking to just let this training cycle play out a bit more naturally and see where I fall.

• 
  

Training Log: Entry 3732

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x3x367

Axle strict press
4x3x176

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB incline bench
4x8x75s

DB rows
4x8x145

GHRs
4x8x55

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Notes:

• Got a little less sleep than usual, since the in-laws are in town and we stayed up a little later, but it was deeper sleep. Felt energized and ready. My right elbow is a little tender from getting it cranked in belt testing, and my right knuckle is the same from the board break

  

• As it was a backfist, and my instructor’s words were “They’re YOUR knuckles”. I said that, thankfully, I don’t have piano lessons any more.

• Boy I love this week. Triples are such a treat after 8s and 6s. Workouts go faster too. Felt strong, took the squats deep, knee is feeling solid. Managed to tweak something in my right trap putting the plates away overhead, so there’s a reason why you shouldn’t clean up after yourself.

• Incline DB benching felt the best yet.

• Weighed 82.8kg this morning, which means all those squats were over double bodyweight. That’s pretty cool. It’s been difficult for me to calibrate sub 400 to have any sort of significance, but those little reminders help.

• I picked today’s soundtrack because yesterday was the 32nd Anniversary of “The Downward Spiral”…and also the 33rd Anniversary of “Bevis and Butthead”

• Last week, I went all 7 days getting in 3x15 chins. I opened up today with a set of 16. We’ll see where this goes.

 Training Log: Entry 3731

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

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 5

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat
4x6x342

Axle strict press
4x6x166

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x10x70s

DB row
4x10x135

GHRs
4x10x45

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Notes:

• Crazy storms last night, woke me out of a sound sleep and woke up drenched in sweat from the high humidity. Less than ideal for training. It’s funny how I have weekly motivators to get me going. On Monday, it’s because it’s our 1 night of the week we get to relax, so I don’t want to put off training there. On Wed, it’s the deadlift day, and there’s no opportunity to slide the training to the evening. On Friday, I know getting this workout in on the morning punches my ticket to start the weekend when I get home. Whatever it takes.

• Progress all around. Got through all the sets of strict press. 2 mins rest on the main cluster, 1 min on DB row and GHRs/sit ups, 60-90-120 on the DB bench.

• Knee continues to be in a good way, to the point that I forget it was hurt. I’m just feeling very “normal” again.

• Weighed 82.7kg this morning. Upped my breakfast intake a little by including some cheese and sour cream, but also just was thinking on my way to work that I’m not really training for anything in particular at the moment. I like where my physique is at, I’m getting stronger, I like fasting through 2 breakfasts per week, and I’m not hungry for more food. I may just let this training phase play out intuitively and see what happens. Room to manuever, if nothing else.

 Training Log: Entry 3730

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

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 4

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• This is traditionally my ruck day, but with our Tang Soo Do belt test on Saturday, I know I’m going to have a 2 hour workout ahead of me, and didn’t feel the need to stack up on that. And being in a recovery state from the flu, this seemed prudent as well. I have a 10 mile race coming up next month, so it’d be good to get in some manner of mileage, but I may also just join the Valkyrie for some long runs here and there.

• Body is feeling much better compared to last week.

• Weighed 82.9kg this morning.

• In-laws coming in today for the weekend, so a little more chaos than usual.

• Still keeping up with the daily chins and no elbow pain. Really kicking myself for not figuring out this grip shirt thing earlier.

• After observing a 2.8kg loss over the span of 9 years, I think we can safely rule out the “Vending machine chicken samosa diet”

 Training Log: Entry 3729

AM WORKOUT (0335 natural wake up, snoozed until 0400 alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
4x6x241 (smashed j-hook on 4th rep of first set)

(5) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
15x440

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
4x10x225

Dips
4x10x65

Axle curls
4x10x81

ASSISTANCE circuit

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel
3x15x360/2x10

Notes:

• Despite the early wake up, I got good sleep last night. We’ve been getting to bed earlier these past few nights, as the family has been recovering from illness, and last night the kiddo came down with what we all had. So still netted about the same amount of total rest, and woke up feeling ready and recharged. I’m also over the flu, from what I can tell.

• Smashed the hell out of the j-hook on the first set, which is indicative of being out of practice with the bench. But also a great sign that the pec has healed, because that kind of chaos would have really torn it up otherwise.

• Those mat pulls were unique. The first rep felt rougher than last week: more a pull than a squeeze off the mats. And as that happened, I thought to myself “ok (tap), this is going to be (tap) a rough set (tap), so I’m just (tap) going to see (tap) how it goes (tap) but the big (tap) thing is that (tap) I need to not hurt my hip (tap) holy crap that’s 9 reps and I haven’t breathed yet (EXHALE tap), wtf is going on?(tap)” And suddenly I was 12 reps deep and matching last week’s 15 came relatively easy. As the set ended, I was at a crossroads, as I DIDN’T blow up my hip and I COULD have gone for another set…but decided discretion was the better part of valor, especially with our belt test at the end of this week.

• The curls continue to prove delightfully challenging. Despite my torn bicep, I may still have some room to grow here.

• We skipped TSD last night and are going to waive off the rest of the week unti lthe test at this point.

• Weighed 82.6kg this morning. I’m the second week in to the mass protocol:

  

  Threw in a tin of sardines onto my planned breakfast this morning.

Training Log: Entry 3728

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

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 2

“VIKING RAID”

15 minutes

100m row
Carry 150lb sandbag
Add 100m each round

Notes:

• Slower than last week: was carrying the bag after the 600m row when time ran out. Given I’m bouncing back from the flu, I’m ok with that.

• I threw myself a little pity party this morning when I woke up, telling myself I was going to just wait until the evening to do this, then I realized I felt just fine and got to it. Yesterday was ROUGH comparatively. That night, I took a night time Mucinex and, though I slept through the night, I woke up with a bad drug hangover and spent the day feeling sleepy. Last night I went without the meds, didn’t sleep as deep, but woke up feeling restored. But it could also just be that I’m on a healing timeline.

• My back felt much better this week compared to last, most likely because I’m further away from that strongman competition.

• In general, I’m a big fan of this. I like that I’m getting in the rowing and the carrying in a single workout. I may honestly move some more gear down into the basement to add some variety. It’s just nice to include carries as a regular thing, vs something I only do for competition prep.

• Weighed 83.0kg this morning. I’m still in a weird place between illness, but I think I’ll need to start intentionally upping the food intake to match the training demands.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. We’re skipping Thursday, since we’re testing for a new belt on Saturday. We’ll see how much the family can do tonight as it is, as the Valkyrie is still in a bad way with this flu.

 Training Log: Entry 3727

AM WORKOUT (0359 natural wake up)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x6x342

Axle strict press from rack
3x6x166
5x6x166 (failed the 6th)

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x10x70s

DB row
4x10x135

GHRs
4x10x45

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Notes:

• As I was doing the squats, I thought to myself “I have no right to feel this strong”. I spent the weekend healing like it was my job, FORCING myself to be inactive as much as possible despite really great weather and a strong desire to get in a walk or some manner of general exercise. It was the right call, for even though I currently sound terrible and am producing a log of phlegm, I’m feeling significantly better. I also took a night time Mucinex product that totally knocked me out, and I got up a minute before the alarm feeling quite refreshed.

• The squats felt strong, the presses didn’t feel bad, but I overextended on the 5th rep of the final set and didn’t put myself in a good position. I spent the weekend with headspins, so didn’t want to push too much harder for that final rep.

• Everything else was solid, especially given the circumstances. I tried calculating my weights for this workout yesterday, and woke up this morning discovering that they were all kinds of jacked up. Don’t mix math and over the counter flu medicine kids. Which, on that note, my guts were a little messed up this weekend for using a medicine that had sorbitol in it as an artificial sweetener, so lesson learned there.

• Weighed 83.2kg this morning, and had a wonderful family dinner last night of spaghetti, a banana bread muffing and 3 of the Valkyrie’s cookies with some raw honey. I’ve also been hammering electrolytes and hot fluids to help my recovery.

 Training Log: Entry 3726

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 5

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x8x322

Axle strict press from rack
2x8x156
2x5x156

(3) Incline DB bench
3x12x65s
11+1x65

DB rows
4x12x125

GHRs
4x12x35

GHR sit up
10

Notes:

• Yeah, I definitely have the flu. I was exhausted and sore coming into this (you can see how often I put my head on the bar), those presses were too damn heavy, and once I got to work I just immediately turn around and came home. My resting heart rate is also pretty jacked up. I’m going to rest like it’s my job and recover.

• I weighed in at 82.2kg and was the leanest I’ve been in months. Completely not the goal, but that’s usually what happens in the first 2 weeks of reversing course on the diet.

• Got to spar against the senior student and one of our black belts last night. Should have won the final match, but a point was missed by all 3 judges. Kicked the guy in the throat. We both acknowledged that it happened, as we stopped sparring and looked at each other waiting for the point to be called. Then we just shrugged and went back at it.

• I remember having more I wanted to log, but can’t remember what it was. Most likely a sign of fatigue.

 Training Log: Entry 3725

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

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 4

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

15 minute recovery row

Notes:

• I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. Perhaps it’s the jumping back into mass protocol immediately following a strongman competition while also engaging in sparring week, to include yesterday’s 90 minute class, but the Valkyrie has also been dealing with the flu, which the kiddo brought home, so maybe I have a touch of that as well. In either case, this was exactly what I needed: more sleep and a VERY easy workout to just get the blood flowing. I considered the option of NO workout, but figured it would actually be good to get some movement in this morning. And I still have one more night of sparring tonight.

• Yesterday’s class is worth discussing, because I’m going to count it toward conditioning. We did our physical testing requirements after our warm ups, which at my rank is 45 push ups (elbows tucked), 45 sit ups and 45 jumping jacks. I endeavor to actually do them with quality, rather than blitz through them. Prior to that, we did 30 reps of those via 2 sets of 15. At the end of class, we did another 30 reps, to make up for reps missed in the previous week. We also ran 5 laps around the Dojang, and then did sparring drills, sparring rounds, and rounds on the Wavemasters for the duration of the 90 minutes. As for sparring itself, I went up against the kiddo again, so not much opportunity for reps, but it gave them an opportunity to get to the finals again and square off against our senior black belt.

• Weighed 82.5kg this morning. I need to start mentally shifting gears to eat to grow, but it’s a balancing act to keep from jumping into the deep end. No shortage of awesome food though.

• I don’t want to necessarily bring back daily work, but I’m endeavoring to get in 2 sets of 15 chins daily, and have so far succeeded in that.

 Training Log: Entry 3724

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
3x8x226
7+1x226 (hit the j-hooks)

(6) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
15x440

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
12x180 (misload)
3x12x205

Dips
3x12x55
10+2x55

Axle curls
4x12x71

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/ab wheel superset
2x15x360/2x10

Notes:

• I am wonderfully fantastically sore. This happens every first week of Grey Man, and I still just can’t fully anticipate it. It also makes me thankful I don’t have to squat on this day.

• 2 minutes rest on the main cluster, 1 minute rest for the supplemental, none on the assistance.

• First time benching since I injured my pec several months back, and it seems to be holding strong, but I did my best to “bodybuilder” the movement and really FEEL the muscle contract vs just move the bar through space.

• Wore my flat shoes on the belt squats, but realized that I wore my weightlifters yesterday for the squats without any issues. Seems my knee has really come a long way. Trick is to not get lazy about that and keep an eye on it.

• In that regard, the deadlifts felt SO much better at this weight than before. I remember how every single workout with 440 felt like some sort of strength miracle, SOMEHOW managing to get the weight off the mats and then crank out the reps. Today, I got that much better “squeeze off the mats” feeling vs “yank off the mats”, and it moved really smooth. That said, my right hip offered up a playful little warning shot at rep 15, so I shut it down there. I know I could have fought for at least a 16th and, quite possibly, more, but I also know I don’t need to push my limits every time to grow.

• I had to get to work a little early today, so I cut the assistance short.

• Weighed 83.2kg this morning.

• Sparring last night was a decent workout. We did a lot of practice rounds before the tournament, and I felt like I was moving well and scoring some good shots. I made it to the second round, where I squared off against the kiddo. I showed them to stop circling in one direction by leading them right into a roundhouse to the skull, and left a few openings for them to capitalize on and advance to the final round. Prior to that, they earned their spot by taking on one of our problem students who decides to sling leather in a “no-contact sparring” sport. My kid respected the rules enough, but eventually gave the dude back as good as they were getting…and he did NOT care for that. Instructor pulled them aside and talked about control, my kid was very respectful and receptive to the information, but as soon as we got to the truck I told them I was proud of them for standing up for themselves and not letting someone bully them. My kid was great: “My one goal tonight was to beat that guy: I’m so glad I did!”

 Training Log: Entry 3723

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

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 2

“VIKING RAID”

• Row 100m

• Carry 150lb sandbag

• Add 100m to the row each round

• 15 minute time cap

Notes:

• I was about 3/4 done with the 700m row when the timer ran out.

• This is outside the TB framework, and just a refinement of a workout I came up with a few years ago, but it’s very similar to Fobbit intervals. It’s distance based, rather than time, and the row distance increases, rather than being at a fixed interval.

• This had a wonderful training effect. I was certainly getting a conditioning impact from it.

• I was struggling with the bag carry, which I imagine is partly recovering from the competition and the training from yesterday.

• In that regard, I woke up wonderfully sore, which is what always happens the first week of Grey Man, but this was actually quite tonic in that regard. Hit pretty much all the achy muscles and gave them a chance to get in some bloodflow. In general: this is a keeper.

• Weighed in at 83.2kg. Scale FIRST said 82.3, so it’s got dyslexia. Probably need to replace the batteries.

• Tang Soo Do sparring tonight. My favorite week.

• Meant to log this yesterday, but I was in such a deep state of ketosis that the ammonia on my breath was actually giving me a smelling salt reaction during my DB rows. I’ve never noticed it being so strong before.

 Training Log: Entry 3722

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat
4x8x322

ALTERNATE w/

Axle Strict Press
3x8x156
7+1x156

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB incline bench
12x70s
2x9x70
8+3x70

DB row
4x12x125

GHRs
4x12x35

Notes:

• 

• That’s exactly how I felt getting under the squat this morning. I started Tactical Barbell in Sep of 2024, and on the very first squat workout I was in so much pain that I thought I was going to have to quit the program after day 1, I immediately lowered my training max by 10lbs, and one of my co-workers who say me walking that day asked if I had herniated a disk. That was using 285lbs. This is 40lbs heavier, and I felt incredibly strong and stable under the load, my knee gave me no issues, hips are good, and the weight moved clean. And this is without having done a back squat in 7-8 weeks. The system really works: Operator into Mass into Specificity.

• The other variable at play, which I’m kicking myself for taking so long to figure out, is wearing my grip shirt so that the bar doesn’t move on the squat. Now, I COULD also just use a bar with decent knurling on it, but this is a far more comprehensive approach, because my entire BACK grabs the bar now, vs just a small portion with the knurling. This means my elbows don’t take on the load, and makes this whole process far more sustainable. Also means I can focus more on the squat itself.

• All that said, still an adaptation period coming into these higher reps, and they absolutely sucked. But that’s the point: change things up and get uncomfortable.

• I most likely could have gotten all the press reps with adequate rest/not unloading plates, but I was in a bit of a time crunch. On that note, rested 2 minutes on the main cluster, 1 minute on the DB rows, 60 sec or less on the GHRs, and 1-2-2 minute on the DB incline.

• Need to re-adjust DB incline maxes. It makes sense. I haven’t done any sort of horizontal pressing in a LONG time. My right pec was still being a little weird during the frame pulls in my competition, but I think it’s going to be alright.

• Which, oh yeah, I guess I DID do a strongman competition on Saturday, so coming into hard training on Monday will probably make things a little dicey too.

• Yeeted the ab work due to time. I can get more done later. Same with chins. I’m thinking about bringing back daily chins to get in volume. Now that I’m using the grip shirt, my elbows should be able to handle that. Also, “yeet” is apparently actually a word based on autocorrect.

• Weighed in at 76.6kg…so I said “that can’t be right”, stepped back on the scale and got 82.9 a few times in a row. That’s pretty nuts for a post carb up weigh in after a comp. Which, on that note, yesterday’s family meal was the most delicious tuna casserole I’ve ever had, because along with all the other quality ingredients we topped it with some raw grassfed cheddar I found. That and 4 of the Valkyrie’s cookies with some raw honey. I’m clearly ready to grow again, but I’m going to ensure I don’t eat like an a-hole to get there. I’m enjoying all these frequent trips into Mass Protocol for opportunities to refine the approach.

• Family made it through ABCs yesterday, and I joined them for a tonic workout, but I think we’re going to raincheck tonight’s training. Valkyrie and kiddo are both not feeling awesome.

 COMPETITION WRITE UP

2026 TRIALS OF HERACLES MEN’S MASTERS OPEN WRITE UP

Summary: Came in 2nd place, which was also last place. But it came down to 5 seconds in the final event, as up until then we were tied with 2 first plans wins. The dude I was against also weighed twice as much as me, so that’s something.

Biggest wins were not getting injured, not blacking out, and having the best showing in my press in a LONG time, going the full minute and not missing a single rep to get 9 in the round. I didn’t zero a single event, which is the first in quite a few recent competitions. In general, feeling like my old self again.

Events were:

Event 1: Frame deadlift

Went 455, 505, 555. Winner won with 605.

• I took 1 warm up with the empty frame, then one with 315 and felt dizzy on the second one. Every single one of these pulls felt heavy, but not insurmountable. I’d dig deep, break it off the floor, and feel it come to lockout. Everyone said they were impressed, probably because I made it look so hard. Felt strong, and I may have had a 600lb pull in me today. We both took 505 for a second, and I took my third at 555, not knowing what his intent was, but judging by the size of him, I wasn’t shocked.

Event 2: 185lb axle clean once and press away

I got 9 reps to beat the other guy’s 4.

• I went first, having no idea what the number would be to beat, so I just sent it. The continental was the strongest I’ve had in a long time, with no real wasted energy. I got myself set and felt pretty solid with each rep. In an ideal world, I would have cycled the bar each rep, but instead I settled in and got myself strong. On the latter reps, I had some good back bend, but I never missed a rep. I didn’t get near as much leg drive as I could have, but my knees felt happy with this.

Event 3: Carry medley (225lb sandbag, an engine block and 150lb iron cross)

Got it done in 55 seconds, to the winner’s 33.

• When I signed up for the comp, the sandbag was 150lbs. At some point, it got changed to 225lbs. I still trained with a 150lb bag the entire training cycle, and since this is a speed event rather than a conditioning one, I made peace that I wasn’t going to win it, and just wanted to get a completion. I have NOT been able to load ANYTHING for my previous few competitions, and getting the sandbag to the platform and having it miss the first time, I felt pretty pissed. I lapped it and got a REAL solid triple extension on it, found a spot on it and approached the engine block. I didn’t bother to practice on it during the warm-ups to figure out the handholds on it, so it was just raw when I got to it. It was less heavy and more awkward, but I got it carried, lapped and loaded. The Iron Cross was the end, and it wobbled my knees a little, but was otherwise just solid.

• Bit of comedy: they said we could request the implements to be set up any way we liked. I said “Yeah, can you turn the handles on the iron cross, get the engine block sideways, and then can you move the sandbag closer to the start?” They were like “Well no, we can’t move the sandbag because…hey waitaminute, you’ve done this before haven’t you!” Always one with a joke

Event 4: 35lb hammer hold

Held for 1:07, to the other guy’s 38 seconds.

• I’ve never lost this event in a competition, and that continued today. It’s just pain tolerance. I was shaking like a leaf, short breaths, tense guts. Pleased to have some thoroughly dominated it.

Event 5: Heracles hold (155lb per hand)

Held on for 1:44, to the other guy’s 1:49

• This was the sold reason I signed up for this event. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do this. We had 2” thick revolving handles on this, but all my timed holds on Fat Gripz paid off, because I felt REALLY solid on this. Biggest issue was simply not knowing what time I had to beat, as I went first. I do wonder if I could have held on even longer if I had a time to beat. But I felt strong and solid.

First competition in a LONG time where I walked away without regrets. I’m feeling my old self again.

 Training Log: Entry 3721

BRIDGE WEEK

PM WORKOUT (1400)

15 rounds of Armor Building Complexes, EMOM, with 10kg bells

4 mile easy run

Notes:

• It’s the start of the bridge week, and also a holiday, so I slept in, had another weekend style breakfast, and joined in with the family on the ABF. Used the Valkyrie’s bells during her downtime on the EMOMs. It actually felt tonic on my hurt shin/knee, which was nice. Immediately afterwards, joined the better half for a run. Kept it leisurely: definitely passed the talk test. Was a good test of my new shoes and how my knees would hold up. Things seem promising.

• Family meal tonight was spaghetti with piedmontese meat sauce, some buttered sourdough toasted in ghee, and then 2 of the Valkyrie’s cookies and a homemade banana bread muffin, all with some local raw honey.

• I am in a real good mental state, because I’m just one day into the bridge and already excited to get back to training. I REALLY want to get to building again, but I’m thinking that 3 more weeks of Operator pro makes the most sense. It means gaining all the way up to my cruise in May, which I can then continue feasting there and then kick into the summer on another bout of Operator to lean out. I’m thinking, with that one, if I don’t have a competition on the horizon, I’m going to do something I’ve been promising myself for a while and make it a Crossfit/WOD based run of Operator.

• Getting in the daily holds still. Curious how it will pay off for the Heracles hold.

 Training Log: Entry 3720

AM WORKOUT (0900)

TACTIACL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 6, Workout 6 (final workout)

“AXLE GRACE”

136lb axle, floor to overhead 30 times

Notes:

• This is a 3 second PR for the training cycle. Feeling lighter, leaner and lethal (Thanks Donnie!), and setting the mats a little further ahead meant I stopped running into the garage door motor.

• Press returned quick from the top and the cleans were explosive for the most part. Caught a few on the chest vs the rack, but I’m pleased and feel ready for my comp.

• This is the final workout of the training cycle. Bridge week next week, and then I’m deciding between 3 weeks of Operator Pro or going straight into mass protocol. I have 13.5 weeks until my next cruise, so it’s basically 3 weeks of Op Pro, 6 weeks Grey Man , 3 weeks Specificity, or lead with Grey man and finish with Op Pro. Somewhere in April will be a 10 mile race, so that’s something. I am excited at the prospect of growing and eating again, but I also know I already have the momentum going with Red Meat and Black Coffee and might just chase it to it’s logical end.

 Training Log: Entry 3719

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

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 6, Workout 4 part 1

Sandbag medley

3 rounds w/150lb bag

PM WORKOUT (1240)

PART II

SSB front squats
4x2x290

ALTERNATE W/

Axle strict press from rack
3x2x203
1x203

Chins w/1min rest
18,10,8,8,8

Notes:

• Today was a weird day schedule-wise. Since I knew I had a half day, I slept in and got the carries done, because they’re a quick workout. I got home and got the majority of the rest of the workout done while waiting for the treadmill repair guy to show up. He came in right before my final set of presses, so I finished that out after they left. Since I wasn’t warmed up any more, I about blacked out on the first rep, so I called it at that point. Honestly pretty pleased I can press 203 for a strict single cold.

• My right shin still hurts from last week, but those front squat reps were deep. I actually chuckled at “All Time Low” was playing during the set.

• Shaved off the chins between sets to make the workout move faster, so tried to make some up at the end. Also opened up with a set of 18.

• My lower back was STIFF going for the bag this morning (video is out of sequence btw, just for the sake of convention). My schedule is a little nutty, so hitting this workout after a deadlift PR was unique.

• Weighed in at 83.7kg this morning. When I first stepped on the scale, it said 80.9, which was unexpected and led me to step back on and get 83.7 more consistently. Something to track. But bodyweight continues to trend downward, per the goal.

• Tang Soo Do was not very intense last night. We’ll see how tonight goes.

 Training Log: Entry 3718

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 6, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

Deadlift
14x425

Unscripted moonwalk

ASSISTANCE WORK

Circuit of standing ab wheel/reverse hyper/band pull apart
3x10/3x15x360/3x33

Axle curls
53 unbroken

Band push downs
60

5 minutes cooldown pacing

Notes:

• 10 reps was my previous PR with that weight on deads. Came in wanting 15, but being at peace with 12. 14 was a nice compromise. The second rep was a bit too controlled, and I think if I blew that one out of the water it may have had a downstream impact for one more rep, but I am over the moon with how this went. Primarily because I’m not hurt coming out the end of it, and I definitely gave it an effort. It’s been a few years since I hit the etch-e-sketch and started back from ground zero, and I’m feeling like a much healthier version of my old self these days. Still got some hope to grow.

• All that said, I was strategic with this workout, knowing it was going to take a peace of my soul with it, so I made this week a Fighter vs Operator week, with plans to only squat and press twice and have this day be only a deadlift day. I allotted myself to do whatever assistance work I wanted to do afterwards, and it wasn’t much. I was blown away and just getting in a small pump.

• Weighed in at 83.8kg, exact match of last week’s Wed weigh in. Got in a timed hold of some amount yesterday.

• I was naughty in Tang Soo Do. We did a drill at the start where one person was in the middle and 4 attackers stood at all cardinal directions, each assigned a random number. The attacker would engage the person in the middle with any sort of attack, and it was up to the defender to defend. Since most folks there have only trained in Tang Soo Do, those were the attacks they used. I chose wrestling and, predictably, few people had a defense against it. I took down both of our black belts with a combination of thai clinches and single legs, and sprawled/gator rolled the bigger one. And when I was in the middle, after having experienced that, few people wanted to actually get close enough to engage me. At one point, both black belts were teamed up against me, and I managed to take one to the ground while warding off the other. I also ended up in a situation where I was teamed up against by a black belt and a smaller female partner, and I totally spun her around and grabbed her by the shoulders to use as a human shield against the other. 

• We’ll have another class tonight. My knees are a little sore from grappling on a non-grappling mat, but nothing insurmountable.

 Training Log: Entry 3717

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

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 6, Workout 2

“SPEED/ENDURANCE LADDERS” w/rower (easy)

400m row
40 sec rest
300m row
30 sec rest
200m
20 sec
100
10
100
10
200
20
300
30
400

Notes:

• Monday is my favorite night of the week, because I get to sleep in and wake up next to my Valkryie. However, I am finding it harder and harder to find the motivation to to this workout as a result, which is funny given how short it is. In truth, I feel like it’s the lukewarmness of it. It doesn’t blow me out of the water, so I wonder “why bother”, which is, of course, a juvenile mentality, but I like to say that I’m not 40 years old: I’m 19 with 21 years of experience.

• Having said that, this was the best output I’ve had on this particular workout, and I noticed last week that I was moving explosively there too, so things are improving and I’m becoming more of an athlete again. I’m doing the easy variant, since this is the hard week of training, but in turn I was able to put a lot of myself into the workout. My hips also felt alright going on the rower first thing in the morning.

• Weighed 84.7kg this morning, still showing very slight progression in bodyweight loss. Part of me wonders if I’m set up for a “whoosh” at this point. Also got in a timed hold last night, and was able to get 10k steps by pacing while flossing right before bed. None of the steps I get at work ever register, since I don’t wear my watch there, so this becomes an even bigger victory.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s one-step week, so not the most intense of exercise.

• Whole family finished up this week’s rotation of ABF last night getting in 60 presses total. Cool to see the growth happening.

 Training Log: Entry 3716

AM WORKOUT (0359 wake up via dog)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 6, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

SSB front squats
4x2x295

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
4x2x203+1 push press on last 3 sets

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag medley

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

5 minutes cooldown pacing

Notes:

• Was contemplating sleeping in a little, since this workout runs shorter with the reduced reps and sets, but my pup climbed on my face at 0359 and that convinced me to get up. Felt a little weak in the warm-ups, but once I got under for the top sets I was feeling sharp.

• This was just a solid effort all around. Pleased with the weights being moved. Glad I could bring back some push presses: had enough juice for them.

• Got in sets of 8 on chins during the workout and opened with 18 and sets of 5 in the warm-up.

• The medley has me more and more exhausted, as I approach it with more and more fatigue. Now that the weights have moved up so much in the competition, I’m less concerned with my performance on it, as I imagine it’s just going to be a slog. But I still like picking stuff up and moving with it.

• Got in a 1:13 hold yesterday.

• Weighed in at 84.8kg this morning. This is, technically, my lightest Monday weight in since starting Red Meat and Black Coffee. Doing it after some Superbowl debauchery is pretty cool.

 Training Log: Entry 3715

AM WORKOUT (0900)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 5, Workout 6

“AXLE GRACE”

Notes:

• Time was 4:02. This is a regression. Had some factors working against me, biggest being that I kept hitting the garage door motor at the top of the rep. Felt strong, knee is doing ok despite the swelling.

• Got in a 3 mile walk with the 20.4lb vest as well. And a timed hold yesterday of 1:18.

 Training Log: Entry 3714

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 5, Workout 5

MAIN WORK

SSB Front Squat
5x5x265

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
4x5x183
4x183

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag carry medley (3 lengths first 2 rounds, 2 lengths final round)

ASSISTANCE

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

Band pull aparts
35

Notes:

• Yet again: it being Friday motivated me to get up, but also having missed Tang Soo Do last night meant I was better rested. And performance was solid.

• I opened up my warm-ups with a set of 20 chin ups, and that’s the first time in a LONG while that I’ve been able to knock that out, let along so casually. I made it my goal to get back to this point about 1.5 years ago: been a long slow climb. Stuck with sets of 5s during the warm-ups, and 8s and 7s during the worksets.

• My right knee experienced significant swelling yesterday, to the point that when I got on my knee to do PT, I thought I was wearing my knee sleeves because my knee felt “padded”. I took 2 motrin before bed and woke up with reduced swelling, but still there. Not sure the cause. It had a small impact on squats, but nothing too significant: still smooth and strong.

• Presses were a victory. Best showing all week. And with my lighter weigh ins, this is now bodyweight for sets of 5.

• Got in a bit more carries than on Monday. Just a better showing all around.

• 1:26 hold last night.

• Weighed in at 81.0kg this morning. That was quite unexpected, especially given the pork ribs last night, as pork tends to be a bit inflammatory for me, and when you eat out you always take in way more sodium than you could ever get at home, and I know that these are going to have some degree of sugar in them. I weighed 89.1kg on 6 Jan, and now it’s 6 Feb and I’m 81.0. However, I realized I took the motrin last night, and it’s an anti-inflammatory, so there may be some manner of watery shennigans afoot.

 Training Log: Entry 3713

AM WORKOUT (0355 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 5, Workout 4

“RUCKED UP BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION”

Notes:

• Just gonna narrate this. Short story is the treadmill broke after 3.57 miles, at a pace of 3.5mph, incline 4.5, wearing a 45lb vest. The back right bolt dislodged and is currently MIA, so there’s no tension in the belt. It’s still under warranty, so I’m going to call that in and hope for the best. It’s the Valkyrie’s treadmill, so I feel sheepish that I broke it. Got in a decent ruck still, but not as far as I like to on this training day.

• Weighed 82.5kg this morning post ruck, which I’m not able to get a consistent compare to last week due to the deviance here. But still weighing light. I could technically make the 181s at this rate.

• No timed hold last night due to schedule, but the 90 minute TSD class went well.

• I’m not sure where else to post this, but it’s fascinating watching the “rats on a sinking ship” effect with Peter Attia and David Protein, among other online entities.

 Training Log: Entry 3712

AM WORKOUT (0359 natural wake up)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 5, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

SSB Front Squat
3x5x260

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
2x5x183
4x183

(2) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
16x425

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel/band pull apart circuit
3x15x360/3x10/3x33

Axle curls
66 unbroken

Band pushdowns
66

Notes:

• I continue to legitimately look forward to this training day, primarily because of how low volume it is. It’s like my reward for Monday and Friday. Only having to do 3 sets of the squats and press and 1 big deadlift set is so much more tolerable.

• I came in feeling weak, yet performed very strong. Squats were buttery smooth, and the presses were stronger than Monday, despite biffing on the final set. That was more a technique issue, as the first 2 sets I was able to get through without pause. In general, felt light headed and low energy, but each time I stepped up, I performed well.

• Trend continued with the deadlifts. Had to talk myself through it, but once the bar started moving I found my groove. Shaved off a rep from last week, but this is still an awesome performance. In general, I’m feeling strong again, as 16 reps of 425 doesn’t feel so far away from my effort of 495 for 15 that I pulled YEARS ago at a much higher bodyweight. I’m finding a decent balance between size, strength, and sustainability. And I managed to not blow out my hip again.

• You can see how fried I am after the deadlift set, so some light assistance work to closeout was perfect.

• Weighed in at 83.8 this morning. Down half a kilo from last week, and yesterday’s weigh in was also a half kilo down from last week’s Tuesday weigh in, so the trend is consistent. Gradual, sustainable, and no suffering: I dig this. Also got a 1:18 hold.

• Tang Soo Do was moderate activity last night, but once again my head instructor commented on how my movement is “night and day” different compared to just a few months ago. He’s really excited for how my physical therapy has transferred to improved performance. I’m excited that he’s excited. We have the long class tonight, and then we’re taking a break on Thursday.

 Training Log: Entry 3711

AM WORKOUT (0509 wake up via dog)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 5, Workout 2

“MEAT EATER II”

10 rounds of 10 swings (24kg bell) and 10 burpees w/1min rest between rounds

Notes:

• Really just wasn’t in the mood for the rower this morning. I think the rower is a great conditioning tool, but I don’t like waking up and then going straight to sitting. Doesn’t feel great on my hips. Meanwhile, this actually felt very restorative.

• Swings always FEEL good and then I watch myself on video and I look like Frankenstein’s monster.

• Now that my knee pain has resolved, I observed that I am MUCH more explosive in the burpee. Specifically the transition from standing to the floor. Instead of setting my hands down and popping my legs into a push up position, I was effectively sprawling to the floor and catching myself. Was cool to be able to bring that intensity back.

• Weighed in at 84.5kg this morning, seeing a continued slight downward trend. Got in a 1:10 hold yesterday. Tang Soo Do on the schedule for tonight.

• Coffee fasting day, and it’s funny how I look forward to both mornings. When I lift, I’m excited about the breakfast that awaits me, whereas on these days I’m excited about how fast/easy of a morning I have where I just have to make a cup of coffee for myself and have much fewer dishes to take care of. “High speed/low drag”. Alternating between the two is good on my sanity, as I always have something to look forward to, vs getting stuck in a rut.

• My kiddo took wonderfully to the ABF yesterday. 10lb KBs were the right call. It’s amazing the things you take for granted physically: I had to teach them how to sit their hips back in a squat because they were just pure knees. It’s also funny how, as soon as you put a KB in their hands in the goblet position, a LOT of problems get solved. I remember working out with my dad when I was a fat little boy trying to lose enough weight to be able to play Pop Warner football (spoilers: it didn’t work), and those are still some cool imprinted memories. Hoping we’re laying down a good foundation.

 Training Log: Entry 3710

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 5, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

SSB Front Squat
5x5x265

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
3x5x183
4x183

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag medley (2 trips each round)

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Notes:

• My training motivation continues to decline. I observe this trend in my “non-building” blocks of training. Jamie Lewis discussed this as the advantage of bulking: you’re motivated to train because you want to put all that food to use. I had a pseudo version of that, since our family meal was last night and I had enough motivation to put all of that to some use. But the weekend wasn’t quite as restful as I anticipated, as the puppy was a bit of a handful.

• I was curious how this workout was going to go when I looked at the weights listed. I was honestly quite pleased with the press, despite not completing 5x5. 3x5 is still within specs. I misgrooved a few reps, which resulted in an energy leak. I cut out the push presses to allow for enough recovery between sets to perform. Ultimately, this is just a great showing for me as far as recent performances go, and I’m strict pressing the comp weight for sets of 5.

• Squats weren’t quite as smooth as last week, but still better than usual. Some reps were 2 parters and some were clean throughout.

• The front squats clearly had a fatigue impact on me when it came time for the medley, and rather than groove slow reps, I just cut the rounds short. Still tried to focus on a good strong pick.

• Weighed 85.3. I actually called that before I stepped on the scale, down to the decimal. I’m gaining some good body awareness. This is a slight uptick from last week, but the post carb weigh ins are a wildcard.

• Got in a 1:15 hold last night. Did a good job getting in steps for the weekend as well.

 Training Log: Entry 3709

AM WORKOUT (0900)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 4, Workout 6

“Axle Grace”

Time: 3:54

Notes:

• This is a regression from last week, but an improvement on the previous 2 performances before that. I’m in a different state of fatigue due to my schedule, and it was painful cold in the garage, to the point that my lungs hurt from breathing in. I felt strong, but it was tough getting a grip with my hands going numb.

• Also got in my steps, and a 1:00 hold. Honestly hard to fight the urge to train MORE, but I gotta keep the eye on the prize, especially in a compromised state of recovery.

 Training Log: Entry 3708

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 4, Workout 5

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
5x5x230

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
5x5x161+1 push press per set

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag medley

ASSISTANCE

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

Band pull aparts
35

Notes:

• By Friday, I don’t want to train any more, but knowing that it IS Friday and training is what stands between me and Friday night with the family is strong enough motivation. Having an awesome breakfast to look forward to post training also helps.

• Knees were a little stiff coming into this, but by the end I found those smooth reps again. I attribute it to activity in Tang Soo Do last night. We had some lunges and tuck jumps, along with LOTS of forms work, and my knees held up the entire time. Good sign all around.

• These were some of the best picks I’ve had with the sandbag. The practice is paying off.

• Got in a 1:33 hold last night. New PR. Seeing trends moving upward. Should see some payoff in the Hercules Hold.

• Weighed in at 83.7kg. More accurate weight compared to yesterday.

I just re-checked my competition and they bumped the carry medley WAY heavier than before. From 150lbs to 225lbs on the sandbag and Iron cross. It’s a toss up, because the press is lighter for the masters class but the carry is lighter on the 80kg class. There’s no competition in the 80kg class so far, whereas just 1 other guy in the Masters.

Ultimately, this is a charity comp, so either way isn’t a big deal. But I’ll have some room to maneuver. And I’ll keep my eyes out to see if more competition signs up.

 Training Log: Entry 3707

AM WORKOUT (0355 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 4, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/45lb vest

Speed: 3.5 mph
Distance: 5 miles
Incline: 4.0
Time: 1hr 25min 40sec

Notes:

• Finally broke out the 45lb vest again. I’ve been hiding from it, but it honestly wasn’t terrible. Getting me in better shape for my 10 mile race in Apr.

• Left foot starts out upset but gets better as time goes on, which is the opposite of how it went in my old shoes, so that’s a good sign. Nose breathing the entire time. Have to make sure not to clench my jaw.

• In general, it wasn’t a terrible ruck, but I was pretty wiped out when it was done. I actually attribute it to Tang Soo Do last night. The 90 minute Wednesday classes are becoming wonderfully challenging. I actually get a taste of how I used to train in my 20s doing Muay Thai, as we can push the intensity a little more. But, in turn, I’m also now twice that age and don’t bounce back quite as well, and stacking that on top of the ruck seems to be interestingly exhausting. Still did a lot of jumps and my knees held up well, which is leading me to believe I should start including jumps in my training again.

• On the note of TSD stacked on the ruck, I weighed in at 81.4kg this morning, which is a substantial drop that I attribute primarily to water loss. All that said, on 6 Jan I weighed in at 89.1kg, so if I were to do an informercial for my “Red Meat and Black Coffee” protocol, I could claim that you can lose 7.7kg/17lbs in 23 days. Which also goes to show watery shenanigans, because my weight was artificially inflated from travel at the start and reduced from sweating here at the end.

• All THAT said, I’m going to keep an eye on things and be ready to pivot. I may reduce coffee fasting to 1 day per week, and this is making me think my timeline to begin gaining again has become accelerated and will start immediately post comp vs having a 3 week run of Operator Pro. As always: Chaos is the Plan.

 Training Log: Entry 3706

AM WORKOUT (0358 natural wake up, 2 min snooze)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 4, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
3x5x230

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
3x5x161+1 push press rep per set

(3) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
17x425

ASSISTANCE

Circuit of reverse hyper/standing ab wheel/band pull aparts

3x15x360/3x10/3x33

Axle curls
60 unbroken

Band pushdowns
60

5 minutes of pacing

Notes:

• This has become my favorite day of the program, simply because it’s so short and focused. It’s my reward for training Mon and Fri: I get to do just 3 sets for the squat and press, and 1 big deadlift set.

• These were the best feeling front squats in a LONG time. Knees were just buttery smooth hitting depth: no 2-part squat. Just sink to the bottom.

• Major victory today is that I did NOT blow up my hip on the deadlift set. I don’t consider myself a pessimist, but I had basically made peace with the fact that I was going to do that EVERY deadlift day, and it was just a matter of recovering in time for the next one. I DID lose 2 reps, and I caught myself coming down uneven, but much better to be able to walk away than limp. And this was still a high effort set, because it was like getting hit with a bomb when it was over. I wheezed and staggered my way through the assistance work and used some extra time just to get in some pacing steps.

• We did a lot of jumping last night in Tang Soo Do and my knees felt awesome. My instructor is really taking note in how much better I’m moving now. Physical therapy really just changed the game for me. We have a 90 minute class tonight.

• Weighed in at 84.3kg this morning. I’m seeing similar trends from last week. Going to keep on with the protocol and not make any changes and see how next week goes. My weight belt continues to fit better, so I’m seeing changes irrespective of scale readings.

• Got in a 1:15 hold last night.

 Training Log: Entry 3705

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

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 4, Workout 2

“SPEED/ENDURANCE LADDERS” on rower

• 400m row

• 40 seconds rest

• 300

• 30

• 200

• 20

• 100

• 10

• 100

• 20

• 200

• 30

• 300

• 40

• 400

• and back down to 100 again

Notes:

• This is the “advanced” version, where you just keep doing ladders. I like it. I need to really have the discipline to give it my all and not dog it on the rowing, but the skillset it is developing is valuable.

• Got in a 1:15 hold last night. My average is improving.

• Coffee fasting this morning. Nice to come back to it. I’m enjoying the time away from eating to have a break from digesting.

• Weighed in at 84.9: same as yesterday. Good sign. My clothes are fitting better, to include my weight belt.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s basics week, and our chance to get our final stripe so we can test for new belts in Mar. Doing so will put the Valkyrie and I 2 belts away from testing for black, and the kiddo 3 away. Our instructor keeps talking about WHEN we test, rather than if. It’s pretty awesome how far we’ve come.

 Training Log: Entry 3704

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

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 4, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

SSB Front Squats
5x5x230

ALTERNATE w/

Axle Strict Press from rack
5x5x161+1 push press rep per set

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag medley

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Notes:

• Really wasn’t super jazzed to train this morning: had some restless sleep. However, knowing I had an awesome breakfast waiting for me motivated me. One of the perks of this coffee fasting strategy: it makes the weight training sessions worth waking up for. I, historically, struggle with motivating during non-gaining training blocks, because I don’t feel like I’m “building” anything with the training compared to when I’m actually growing.

• Squats moved very smooth, and each day my knee gets better and less pain. I’ve noticed that my cycles with front squats tend to go this way, so I’m curious if it will continue when I get on back squats during Mass Protocol.

• I was moving slow on the conditioning toward the end, but focused on fast feet during the early rounds.

• Weighed in at 84.9kg. Good showing on a post-carb up weigh in.

• Got in a 1:18 hold last night. I have to start singing different songs in my head now, because I was learning how to pace myself off the old one, and it was preventing me from really digging deep.

 Training Log: Entry 3703

PM WORKOUT (1230)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 6

“Axle Grace”

Time: 3:37 (20 second PR from last week)

Notes:

• Biggest win, aside from the time, is ZERO pain in the right knee during any of the presses. First time I’ve felt that way in a LONG time. Allowed me to really push the pace: my lungs were absolutely broken after this.

• Belt also fit much better. Really seeing the benefits of the nutrition.

 Training Log: Entry 3702

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 5 (for real)

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Speed: 3.5mph
Incline: 4.0
Distance: 4.25 miles
Time: 1:12:50

Notes:

• This is the easy week of conditioning, and I took liberties with that by cutting the ruck shorter than usual. But what’s funny is that I actually felt really good about it and could have gone longer: I just didn’t have the time in the morning to do so. But that’s a good sign: recovery is on point.

• Also used my new shoes, and that helped with the foot pain I’d been dealing with. Which is good, because I have a 10 mile race in Apr I need to be ready for. My plan is to only run the distance between sandbags in training, and otherwise just condition myself through rucking.

• Weighed in at 83.8kg this morning. First time seeing 83 for a while. There’s a sweat element here, having done this after the walk. But on the note of sweating, it’s -30 with windchill today, so I won’t be getting in my lunchtime walk like normal.

• Got in a 1 min hold last night. Was scrambling for time, so not a great set-up.

• Sparring was ok last night. Got robbed due to angles of judges in my match against one of the other students, but got in good reps outside of the tournament. I’m feeling fatigue from being more active in the matches.

 Training Log: Entry 3701

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 5

MAIN WORK

SSB Front Squats
4x2x280

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
4x2x193+1 push press rep per set

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag medley

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

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

Band pull aparts
35

Band pushdowns
30

Notes:

• Back was stiff coming into this, and I’ve lost enough abdominal circumference that my belt isn’t as tight as it was at the peak of my gaining, so I don’t have as strong of a brace. Unique problems to have. 2 days in a row of coffee fasting most likely also gave me a little less gas in the tank, but by around set 3 I was feeling pretty solid.

• Push presses felt better, and this was another “good knee day” for me, as I didn’t feel any discomfort on the squats and just a minor amount on the push presses. My left hip feels healed as well.

• Was struggling on the pick for the sandbag. I actually had my best ones on the final round, when I was most fatigued.

• I don’t log it, but from Dan John’s “The warmup is the workout” approach, I also get in a fair amount of chins during the warm up. Opened up with a set of 18, and then did 3 sets of 5 throughout my warm-up sets of squats and press (5 before the squat, 5 after the squat, 5 after the press, load plates and go again). Been a way to sneak in more work. As my bodyweight drops, the chins get easier.

• On the topic of bodyweight, was 84.3 this morning, and confirmed I was 84.4 yesterday. Good to see a little consistency there. I’m seeing a bit more abdominal definition.

• Got in a 1:18 hold yesterday.

• Sparring class was really awesome last night. Wednesday has become a 90 minute class, whereas Tues and Thurs are 60, so we got to spend more time drilling techniques, combos, and free-sparring before actually getting into the school tournament. I’m trying out new tricks, and in particular finding ways to make my sidekick more viable. Squared off against the Valkyrie in the first round of the tournament and took us 2-2 before losing to her in a long overtime round. She went on to win the tournament. After the tournament was over, I pitched an idea to have one person in the center spar a 30 second round against a fresh opponent with the remainder of the class (5 opponents total, so 2:30 sparring for the center person). My kiddo went first and displayed some really impressive cardio. Our resident dojo bully went in the center. I call him the bully because he’s about 6’6 and built like Dhalsim from Street Fighter and knows how to take advantage of that in a “no-contact” event. So I bullied the bully by dashing in first thing and throwing nothing but body punches while chasing him into the corner of the arena, never letting him have an opportunity to employ his long limbs. It was satisfying.

 Training Log: Entry 3700

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

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout…4?

“SPEED/ENDURANCE LADDERS” w/rower

• 400m row

• 40 sec rest

• 300m

• 30 sec

• 200m

• 20 sec

• 100m

• 10 sec

Then back up again until 400m row after 40 sec rest

Notes:

• I REALLY like this workout. The rest times aren’t long enough to fully recover, so this isn’t a real deal “sprint” workout, but the attributes it trains are valuable for the activities I want to get good at, and it’s speedy. Something I can get done on these short mornings.

• The “advanced” version has you work the ladders multiple times, and I can certainly see myself giving that a go in the future. This is supposed to be the “easy” week of conditioning since it’s the hard week of lifting, and in the easy version of this workout you actually rest 2 minutes after the first 100m before resuming. And, of course, this is originally meant to be a foot race rather than a rower, but nuts to that.

• My left hip is feeling better. Not 100%, but I’m recovering faster and faster from the damage the deadlifts do to it each week. Weird “in my 40s” victories.

• On that note, sparring last night went really well even with the hip pain. I’m trying a “near year, new me” as it relates to my sparring, being lighter on my feet, trying new techniques, working angles, being less predictable. I got paired up against our Senior Black Belt last night, and I could tell it was throwing them off, and we went into overtime after tying 2-2. Lost it in the end, but gave a good fight. Cardio isn’t where I’d like it to be, but still more time to work on that.

• Got in a 1:18 hold last night.

• Weighed 84.7kg (or 84.4, I’ll have to look at my phone when I get the chance) this morning. Seeing significant trending downward. The coffee fasting is working. I’m doing it again today, which is a first time for back to back fasting days, but it’s just because my schedule has been wacky with the holidays. That said, yesterday ALSO helped me recalibrate my hunger/satiety cues. Eating out for 2 meals on a non-fasting day had my body a bit confused, whereas yesterday’s fast and feast got it knocked back into alignment. I’m still marveling over the impact of those beef cheeks. I think not trimming any of it went a long way. I DO realize I’m coming in a little light on protein with these 2 days in a row, but there’s a chance I’m barely hitting goals since I still include that yogurt and Metabolic Drive pre-bed meal.

 Training Log: Entry 3699

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 2

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

SSB Front Squats
3x2x280

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
3x2x192+1 push press per set

PM WORKOUT (1330)

(4) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
19x425

ASSISTANCE CIRCUIT

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel/band pull aparts
3x15x360/3x10/3x33

Notes:

• Had the day off work, so slid this into today’s training slot and also broke it into 2 workouts. In between AM and PM, I repaired my fence, that was damaged during a recent storm, so still some decent activity.

• I normally spend a little more time in the AM allowing my body to limber up, but I time crunched it this morning knowing that, if I hurried, I could get in half the lifting before needing to get my kid ready for school. Squats were a little stiff and press was a little weak on the first set as a result, but I found my groove.

• Those mat pulls felt incredible. Really feeling my old self on them. My left hip felt great going in, and then I felt where it twinges around rep 12. This whole cycle, I’ve been forced to cut those follow on sets off and, in turn, have been doing really awesome week after week, so I may treat this as a feature rather than a bug. I failed on an attempt at 20, but that was more because I knew fighting for it was going to do more harm than good.

• Off schedule, so coffee fasted today even with the weight training. With how stupidly cold it is right now, it’s been nice to have the hot beverage.

• Weighed in at 85.4kg. 2 days post carb up, and with eating out for both meals yesterday, I’m really in a good way as far as leaning out goes. This week will be a little screwy with nutritional schedule, but I’ll figure it out as I go.

• Tang Soo Do sparring tonight. Want to try some new stuff this year, with my knee in a better way.

 Training Log: Entry 3698

PM WORKOUT (1200)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 1, Part 2

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag carries

• Pick bag, carry there and bag, run there and back, repeat for a total of 3 times

Notes:

• Day off for the holiday, no weigh in, and a leisurely morning. Put away the Christmas decorations, went up and down the stairs a bunch of times, and then got this knocked out during some downtime.

• Coming in fresh allowed me to really get in some good picks and runs. Trying to focus more on moving the feet quickly under the load now.

• Got in a 1:30 hold tonight. Taking a break tends to allow for better results.

 Training Log: Entry 3697

PM WORKOUT (1730)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 3, Workout 1, Part 1

SSB front squats
4x2x280

ALTERANTE w/

Axle strict press from rack
4x2x193

Chins between sets

Notes:

• Chaos is the plan. I have Mon and Tues off work, and I realized that, if I got in my lifting today, I could lift on Tuesday and stretch it out to be able to deadlift later in the day vs speeding through it in the morning. I’m splitting this workout in 2, doing the lifting on Sunday and the carries on Monday. Then will squat and press in a workout and deadlift on another on Tues. Then play around with conditioning and lifting for the rest of the week.

• This went well. Squats felt great, knee is happy, hip is doing well, chins were strong. Bodyweight dropping helps. Belt is fitting better.

• Got in a 3 mile walk with a weight vest this morning as well, taking the puppy around. I’m able to move faster with my knee healthier.

• Been bad about getting in my daily hangs: need to bring that back.

• Tonight was the family meal. “American Goulash”, and then a small slice of the Valkyrie’s peppermint cheesecake and 2 of her cookies with some raw honey. Also, I’ve picked up some full fat skyr to continue my experiments with, and some “No Salt” potassium powder, per the recommendation of Jon Heck. …Jon Heck, Jon Anderson, John Meadows, Dan John…what is the “Jon/John” connection here with awesome advice.

 Training Log: Entry 3696

AM WORKOUT (1030)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 6

Axle GRACE

Time: 3:57 (tied last week)

Notes:

• We stayed up late last night, watching “Hadestown” and then having to drive home. Got to bed around midnight, dog woke us up at 0630, I took him to the couch and dosed until about 0830. Ended up skipping breakfast due to schedule, and hit this workout before heading out the door to Tang Soo Do. So despite trying last week, the context is such that this is a PR.

• Honestly had a logistic issue to contend with: the mats moved around enough that I was under the garage door motor and kept smashing it with the weights. Cost me some time. In general, this is working how I want it to: I’m getting more comfortable cleaning and being strong pressing an axle. Should ideally carry over to the comp.

• TSD itself was moderate physical activity.

 Training Log: Entry 3695

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 5

MAIN WORK

SSB front squat
5x5x250

Axle strict press from rack
5x5x173+1 push press rep per set

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of sandbag medley w/150lb bag

• Pick bag, carry back and forth, drop bag, run back and forth, repeat 3x total

ASSISTANCE

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

Notes:

• Wasn’t super jazzed to do this today, but was excited at the prospect of getting my weekend underway.

• Stuck with 6 chins bewteen sets during the workout, and got in 60 during the warm ups. Volume is building up.

• 2 minutes rest on the main work, then 2 and 3 minute rest on the conditioning.

• Front squats were a little dodgy at the start, but got under control. Primary issue is my right toe is incredibly bruised. We played a game I came up with in Tang Soo Do that was “board break HORSE”, and on the VERY first kick I struck improperly and went big toe first. Felt like I broke the damn thing. It’s just incredibly jammed, and I have a limp again (boo), but it was also so swollen that my weightlifting shoe didn’t fit properly.

• Focused on carrying the bag high on the carries and it made a big difference. I’m pleased that I’m getting in so many reps with this approach. I really like this breakdown of training.

• Weighed in at 84.7 this morning. Significant drops. This approach is working fantastically, and it’s so stupidly simple AND easy (those are different). 2 days of coffee fasting creates a weekly deficit. I’m going to be smart and NOT reduce my food further until I start seeing stalls in the weight loss.

• Skipped the timed hang these past 2 days due to time: need to get it back again.

• My right knee is effectively 100% again. I still have some elements of “jumpers knee”, wherein I’ll feel pain in the knee if it experiences a sudden sharp impact, but the more significant concern was the pain I was feeling when I was sitting. I legit couldn’t drive to work without ending up an agony, and going to watch a movie was torture. We had to always pick the outside aisle so I could stretch my leg out. I was considering voluntary amputation, and thought for SURE I needed a knee replacement. Turns out I just needed to roll out and stretch the damn thing. Absolutely wild. My walking stride is normal again and MUCH faster: I can get in far more steps during my lunch break. All positives.

• Left hip is feeling better as well. Cutting the deadlifts short was the right call.

 Training Log: Entry 3694

PM WORKOUT (1730)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 4

“Connaught Range 10 to 1s” w/rower

Row 100m
10 burpees
100m
9 burpees
…
1 burpee
100m

Time: 11:00

Notes:

• Slept in this morning, skipped the ruck, got in some HIC instead.

• The RX for this is a 100m sprint, but I wanted to use the tools I had with the weather we have.

• Good challenge, I was huffing. Right pec is still a little dodgy: may have to be more aggressive with the rehab.

• Weighed in at 86.0 this morning. Without training, that’s a good weight for me. Another coffee fasting day today as well: totally effortless.

• Tang Soo Do tonight.

 Training Log: Entry 3693

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

SSB Front Squat
3x5x250

Axle Strict Press from rack
3x5x173+1 push press per set

(5) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
19x425

ASSISTANCE

Circuit of reverse hyper-ab wheel-band pull apart

3x15x360/10/33

Band pushdowns
40

Band curls
40

Notes:

• I was excited for this training day. Making it only 3 sets of squats/press and a set of deads makes it super digestible. I’m actually considering splitting it, and doing the squats and presses in the morning and saving the pulls for the afternoon. Something to consider.

• The squats weren’t QUITE as silky-smooth as Monday, but still feeling solid.

• It took everything in my power to NOT go for more sets on the mat pulls, but my hip never recovered from last week and this workout definitely regressed it a little. Cutting it off when I did will allow me to heal more, and I have to remember that I’m training for a competition, so ultimately I need to be healthy when that rolls around. But my strength is doing AWESOME. Another week of 19 reps, where I had it in me to push for some more if I wanted to.

• Weighed in at 85.3kg this morning. Been so long since I had carbs that I got to experience that post carb up “whoosh”. Also a sign on of the effectiveness of the coffee fasting. My weight belt is fitting much better. I’m digging how simple and sustainable this approach is.

• Got in a 1:10 hold last night. Seems to be where I average out when training daily.

 Training Log: Entry 3692

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

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 2

“INDOOR POWER INTERVALS” (easy)

5 rounds of 1 min on/2 min off max effort rower

Notes:

• I am still in awful rower shape. Not able to get the power output I’d like in the minute on the rower. But putting in the effort that I can, and feeling healthy. Hip is still a little buggy, but knee keeps having really good days.

• Got in a 1:10 hold yesterday.

• Woke up at 86.2kg this morning: .2kg drop from yesterday, and a 2.9kg drop from last week. Think I’ve stabilized. Another day of black coffee fasting until dinner. It’s honestly like a cheat code.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s “Wildcard Cardio”, so ideally pretty active. I’ll be skipping Wed to meet a friend for dinner, and will make that class up on Sat.

 Training Log: Entry 3691

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR Week 2, Workout 1

MAIN WORK

SSB Front Squat
5x5x250

ALTERNATE w/

Axle strict press from rack
5x5x173+1 push press per set

Chins between sets

CONDITIONING

3 rounds of 150lb sandbag carry medley

• Carry bag there and back, set down, run there and back, repeat 3x. On the final round, the final lap was just 1 length rather than 2

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Notes:

• Felt better than I deserved coming into this workout. Hip is still a little achy, but otherwise feeling good, and these front squats were the best squats 'I’ve had in probably a year. Zero pain in the right knee: it just felt like squatting again. Could really sink deep and bounce down.

• Presses felt strong. Wanted to really try hard to get the leg drive in. That is still a source of some knee pain.

• Conditioning was even harder than the first time. I imagine coming into it having done more work beforehand contributed to it. Getting better at the pick technique.

• 2 minutes of rest on the main work, 2 and 3 on the the conditioning, 1 on the GHRs.

• Got 6 chins between sets on the main work, and a bunch of them during warm ups.

• 1:10 hold last night.

• Weighed in at 86.4kg this morning. Had my first carby meal since Christmas Eve last night. Funny how it just gets away from you. I honestly just plain like eating carnivore, but I do find it’s beneficial to load up on occasion, as I was looking really washed out and already appearing tighter this morning. Kept it simple with some spaghetti with meat sauce, and I limited myself to just 3 of the Valkyrie’s oatmeal peanutbutter monster cookies with some local raw honey. Still trying to keep the goal the goal here.