WARM UP Roll out on LAX ball 50x90 reverse hyper Sets of 175 and 265 on low handle trap bar pull
MAIN WORK
Low handle trap bar pull 4x10x375
NG chins 12,10,8,6
Axle curls 4x10x73 (rest pause employed on final 3 sets)
GHRs 4x10x30lb (KB held behind head)
Reverse hyper 4x10x450
ASSISTANCE
Standing ab wheel/band pull apart superset 3x10/20
Notes:
* Holy cow I felt incredibly awful coming into this. I think it's the difference between giving the Mucinex some time to work vs coming in cold. Although I also speculate I may have actually underate yesterday, which is a funny thing to do on Thanksgiving. Either way, this was a VERY challenging workout, and I had to push the rest periods to 2 minutes for a good amount of it. I also cut the chins short, because I could tell I was doing more damage than good by trying to grind through it. I am very pleased to knock out this workout and stay on target through the holidays.
* I pulled the first rep on the first set of trap bars pure low back, and learned my lesson from there and brought my legs into play for the final 3 sets. I like the fact I can tell when I'm doing that and can correct. My body will default to it's strong suit when I'm not thinking, but because I'm combating low back fatigue, it's a less than ideal situation to rely on that. This is something I'll have to watch for the car deadlift in my competition.
* I can't load my reverse hyper much heavier than this. I'll get creative from here.
* No walk with the dogs: since I got up late, I took them right to doggie day care. Probably good to reduce activity a little.
WARM UP 50x90 reverse hyper Sets of bar, 85 and 175 for squats, w/265 walkout
MAIN WORK
Buffalo bar squat 4x10x265
Lever belt squat 4x10x225
Axle strict press 4x10x118 (rest pause used for last 2 sets)
Axle bench press 4x10x176 (rest pause used for last set)
(3) Incline DB Bench 4x10x60s (rest pause used for third set)
Dips 4x10x25 (rest pause used on final set)
ASSISTANCE
Superset circuit (no rest) of Hanging Leg Raise/Band pull apart 3x10/20
Notes:
* Delighted I got this in. I woke up sounding like hell: all the phlegm had gathered while I laid down last night, but once I got upright it drained and I started feeling better. Was helping out prep for Thanksgiving, and when we had some downtime, I managed to sneak this in.
* Kept the rest times strict 1 minute for the squats, but started to fall off that with the pressing, just resting long enough to survive, but keeping it under 2. Used every trick in the book too: belts on the squat and pressing, sleeves where I could.
* I'm going to blame some of the struggle on illness and medication. I took some prescription strength Mucinex, which is awesome, but dehydrates the hell out of me. I'm thankful that I didn't have a major coughing fit to deal with during the squats.
* Really pleased with how the squats went. I like my strategy of first workout beltless second one belted. I appreciate the belt, rather than rely on it.
* Still feeling sickish. Phlegmy cough and mucus generation is biggest issue, which impacts breathing slightly. Slightly out of my head and fatigued (reference the 1.5 hour nap yesterday). With all that, along with getting to bed late, I slept in as late as I could, knowing that this was going to be a quick workout. I cut out my traditional reverse hyper warm-up, and just did a brief walk before getting into the sprints. Also tried out a different hill. It's honestly tough to find steep hills here in Nebraska, so these are more like "incline sprints", but I feel like that's a better approach for me compared to a flat surface. It's good to have the road rise to meet my feet: seems to be a little gentler on my knees.
* Took a few runs to get my distance dialed in. First 2 sprints were more around the 15 second mark, but the rest of them were right about 18-20 seconds. Rested strict 2 minutes between rounds. 7 was how much I could get done within the 15 minute time cap.
* I am really enjoying this protocol. I feel athletic again getting in these sprints. It's also very hard to NOT turn these into complete and total burnouts where I blow out my lungs and want to puke, but it's a bit easier when I've turned the keys over to someone else and just trust the process. Because along with everything else, despite feeling sick, I physically feel the best I have in a LONG time. Got my hips, back and knees sorted out, very little pain, minimal stiffness, etc.
* That got to show through at Tang Soo Do last night. We did a double class, and at the end the Valkyrie and I both got new stripes on our belt. It's been awesome to be able to get in more jump kicks and other insanity again.
WARM UP Roll out on LAX ball 50x90 Reverse hyper Trap bar lifts w/135, 225, 295
MAIN WORK
Low handle trap bar pulls 4x10x345
NG chins 4x12
Axle curls 4x10x66
GHRs 4x10x27.5 (KB held behind head)
Reverse hyper 4x10x430
ASSISTANCE WORK
Standing ab wheel/band pull apart superset 3x10/20
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dogs
Notes:
* Strict 1 minute rests between sets. Especially challenging on the trap bar lifts, as usual. Really think there is magic happening there. The axle curls were actually challenging today as well.
* After watching video, I've changed up my GHR technique to try end the eccentric on a flat line rather than all the way forward. I've noticed my lower back is less taxed as a result. I think I was doing a combination back raise AND GHR before, and this is a bit more targeted. Should be good for mitigating fatigue.
* Chins are slowly improving, but I have to consider that I'm adding bodyweight as I progress through the cycle, so I'm not going to beat myself up over it too much. Do wonder if the torn bicep and lats are showing themselves these days as well.
* Got the day off work and a double Tang Soo Do class tonight, so walking may be on the menu, but not super high priority.
* Finally hung up the posters I got for my birthday. Gym wall is looking full these days. You can really see the influence of nerd culture in my upbringing.
WARM UP Roll out on LAX ball 50x90 reverse hyper Bodyweight jump squats Sets of Bar, 85, and 195 squats
MAIN WORK
Buffalo Bar Squat 4x10x245
Lever belt squat 4x10x210
Axle strict press 4x10x108
Brief intermission to tape my thumb after tearing a chunk out of it
Axle bench press 4x10x163
(3) Incline DB bench 4x10x55s
Weighted dips 4x10x15lb
ASSISTANCE
Superset of hanging leg raise and band pull aparts 3x10/20
Strict 1 minute rests, minus the time applying first aid.
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dogs
Notes:
* Those squats felt awesome. I actually woke up with my back feeling a bit stiff, and convinced myself it'd be ok to train with the belt today to spare my lower back, but as soon as I stepped into the garage I felt fantastic, and being able to move quickly through the set really allowed me to self-perpetuate that feeling. If I move quick, I move well. Even managed to keep the rest periods short, despite some signs of illness (you can hear me coughing a bit between sets).
* Legs were feeling pretty pumped in the belt squats. Press weight got challenging at the end. Tore a chunk out of my thumb putting weights away and was bleeding pretty badly, so had to bandage it before the bench. I've got a first aid kit in the truck, so I used that, but it gave me a bit longer rest than I preferred. Bench was still challenging though: kept the rests very short to compensate.
* Weighed in at 82.5kg, which is .3 less than last week but also feels like "truer" weight. Last week I was quite inflamed from so much pork products over the time period. Transitioning back to beef has me feeling a bit better. And this is also one of the many reasons I'm not big on counting calories or trying to force the body to grow in a linear, fixed and predictable patter. It's more like riding waves. I'm trending upward in general, but some weeks get to have these slight regressions so I can settle in.
* Labrum is feeling good enough. It gets a little pissy on the incline bench, but nothing terrible.
* Strict 1 minute rests for vast majority of workout. Sole exception was the final set of trap bar pulls, which I went with a loose 1 minute rest. Differnce between the two is, in the former, I will start preparing for the set after 40 seconds of rest, so that I BEGIN the set right at the 1 minute mark, whereas in the latter I let the full minute eclipse before I start getting ready. I also tried to keep it to 1 minute between exercises where applicable, which would be between the pulls, chins and curls. Because I have to travel for the GHR, there is a gap between that.
* Played around with exercise order and like this set up so far. The GHRs are a little taxing on the lower back (which they probably aren’t supposed to be, but such is life), and the trap bar pulls are, of course, compressive, so I went to get all that compression out of the way and then finish the workout with the traction of the reverse hyper. I also started hanging from a bar toward the end there, and that felt pretty awesome. That leads me to think that, in a situation where I used supersets, a solid idea would be reverse hyper chased with chins.
* I have to give props to K. Black, because the programming works. I was very much dreading this day, not in the “I don’t want to train” sense of dread, but in the “How am I going to do this?” sense. 4x12x290 with 1 minute rests was very tough, and 315 defintely didn’t feel good, but I got through it, along with the rest of the program. The pulls were a fantastic test of my ability, and I could absolutely feel the pump and fatigue all over. And knowing what I have coming up is inspiring me to eat to grow.
* On the topic of eating to grow, I imagine my slightly increasing bodyweight is playing into the chins being so rough, along with trying to hit them after that set of pulls. I’m not sweating it: I’m getting in the work I need.
* Brought back the neck harness because I realized I have a grappling tournament coming up real soon…should probably have a strong neck for that.
* We’ll be doing another Tang Soo Do sparring class on Saturday, but I also wanna get in one more HIC workout this weekend. And my kiddo and I are going to watch “Fight Knight” medieval combat on Saturday, so that’ll be a blast. Got my 20lb turkey thawing out in the fridge right now for Thanksgiving as well, and gonna see if I can sweet talk the Valkyrie into making a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert that day. I picked an awesome time for feasting.
* Kept rests to strict 1 minute intervals for vast majority of workout, with the exception of the final set of the incline DB bench and one of the sets of the lever belt squat. I thought I’d need to get in 2 minutes after Monday’s workout, but I found another gear today. I like my approach of starting the week with minimal supportive gear and then bringing out the belt and elbow sleeves for the second workout. There’s also something to be said about the “oh sh!t” factor of the first workout being such a nut-kick that I’ve been eating my faceoff to make sure I was ready for today. Building the Monolith and Deep Water had a similar effect on me.
* I WAS genuinely curious how I was going to survive today, since I’ve been so sore these past few days, but this really helped me work through it. Having that lower back fatigue dissipated has really gone a long way as well, and my hips are completely pain free. I’m actually feeling like the best I’ve felt in a LONG time.
* Misloaded the press for the initial set, but at least I realized it early, making this still a progressive workout. I think a little longer of rest would have had me. But thankfully the rest of the workout went without a hitch. Really focused on trying to move fast on the eccentric of the pressing movements. Knocking out all the incline DB benching and dips at the end was awesome and unexpected, and my labrum didn’t bother me during this workout.
* Squatting for 4 sets with strict 1 minute rests still sucks. Trap bar is going to really suck tomorrow.
* I had a great night of sparring last night. I made it to the final round, squaring off against the senior black belt student. I lost on something that still upsets me: whenever I parry his punches with my elbow, it’s interpreted as him scoring a point, since contact is made. But I need to just recognize that and be better. What was awesome, though, was getting a point on him with a hook kick to the head, considering he stands 6’2 to my 5’9. I used that same hook kick to the head twice on him later in the evening during free sparring, and once on the other black belt who is of similar height. It caught these guys off because my hips and back have been bothering me for the past 4 months and my kick game has been pretty lackluster, so they’d grown accustomed to my gameplan. Good to know I still got some surprises in my bag of tricks. Was proud of the Valkyrie for also scoring a point on the senior, and my kiddo has really learned how to keep up a strong guard. I also chased one of the black belts out of the ring, because they tried to play the game of just standing there and waiting for me to present an opening, and I countered it with a stupidly aggressive Dempsey Roll right into their midsection. That was rewarding.
* No Tang Soo Do tonight: kiddo has a performance at school we’ll be watching.
* I officially signed up for that competition in April. I’m genuinely excited about it, and I’m excited to BE excited, because strongman has been like a bad relationship with an ex for a while now, where I kept going back hoping to rekindle the magic and kept walking away disappointed. Having it in my own city WITH events I actually want to do is a win, and having weigh ins the day before is just clutch. I plan to take the day off work that day so I can just get that knocked out and have one less thing in the morning. I ALSO plan to use Tactical Barbell to get me there: it’s a solid enough system to base off of. I’m thinking a bridge week before the competition, then 9 weeks of TB1 programming leading up to it to re-develop strength and conditioning in a more strongman specific capacity, and from there I can reverse engineer what the rest of the programming will look like.
