Training Log: Entry 3578

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

Treadmill walk

Speed: 3.5

Incline: 1

Distance: 5 miles

Time: 86 minutes

Notes:

* Final bridge week workout: competition is tomorrow. In turn, I kept it stupid easy and took off the vest.  Watched the majority of Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix.  It's ok.  Free was the right price, and it was a good distracter.  Barely sweat for this workout and still weighed 79.7 for post workout weigh in, so my weight is in a real good place for the comp.  As long as I don't eat too physically heavy of a dinner tonight, I should still be able to have breakfast in the morning before weigh ins, which is always a good thing.

* Sparring was fun last night.  Actually got in 3 rounds, taking down a senior student in the second round and having a spirited match against the Valkyrie in the third.  With the bridge week, my hips feel better, which meant I was a lot more active and had a stronger kick game.  

* Been adding a little more food to my breakfast, trying to keep my weight from submarining too much.

 Training Log: Entry 3577

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

"GO RUCK YOURSELF" (lightly)

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Incline: 1.0

Speed: 3.5

Distance: 5 miles

Time: 86 minutes

Notes:

* Started with incline 6.0 and it felt challenging compared to yesterday, so I dropped it to 1.  It's bridge week, and the point is to go into the competition feeling strong.  Don't need to turn this into workouts: this is just recovery.

* Sparring night was a little more active than yesterday.  I'm feeling healthier, so I'm a big springier and faster.

* Woke up at 80.2kg.  I tend to get this sort of free fall on these weeks, which I attribute to the reduced inflammation from the lack of training.  It's a balancing act now though: I don't want to show up TOO light.  As a result, I'll be including a little more food in my meals, and soon enough it's just going to be gaining time.

 Training Log: Entry 3576

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

"GO RUCK YOURSELF"

Teadmill Walk w/20.4lb tac vest

Speed: 3.5

Incline: 6

Distance: 5 miles

Time: 86 minutes

Notes:

* I'm pushing things a little harder this bridge week compared to last by including the tac vest and the incline, but I'm feeling really strong.  I kept wondering if I had set the treadmill wrong, because this walk felt incredibly easy.  Seem to be healing and recovering well.  Which, upon my reflection from yesterday's write-up assessing how the SSB for 5 sets was beating me up, I forgot to take under consideration that I was also training in a deficit state, which further contributes to difficulty recovering.  My engines are revved up to start growing again.

* Weighed 81.3kg post workout shower, again with a low sweat workout.  Weight is staying on point.  I'm at the point where I'm not concerned about fat gain but about physical mass in my guts and water retention, so dietary choices are made to impact that.

* Sparring was pretty low intensity last night: ended up going out in the first round and then the Valkyrie got hit with a foul shot in her own match that had me tending to her.  Got in as decent a workout as I could.  The AC has been broken in the Dojang, so we've been limiting activity, but it's supposed to be getting fixed today, so hopefully things will pick up.

 Training Log: Entry 3575

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

BRIDGE WEEK

22 minutes low intensity rower

Notes:

* It’s so hard to not push harder, as I’m so used to doing so, but this week is accomplishing exactly what it needs to.  My body really feels incredible.  Which has a 2 part benefit, as for one, I’ll feel great for my competition, but secondly, it’s good to know that the only reason I was feeling so beat up and hurt was because I was pushing myself too hard and needed rest.  I’m at the age where it’s hard to determine what pain is from training and what pain is just something I have to live with.  Bridge weeks are good, and this is a sure sign that it’s time to move away from Operator and onto Mass/Specificity so I can reduce the loads.  However, it also means I was most likely pushing too hard on Operator in general: it shouldn’t be beating me up.  I think, moving forward, if I prioritize the SSB, I’ll do so with a reduced volume approach to Operator: 3 work sets vs 5.  Save the higher work sets for front squats or buffalo bar squat.

* Weighed in at 81.8 post workout.  I’m not sweating much for these workouts, so those weigh ins bode well.

* Tang Soo Do sparring night tonight.  Have to make sure to avoid getting some sort of stupid injury from this.

 Training Log: Entry 3574

AM WORKOUT (0358 natural wake up)

BRIDGE WEEK

Deadlift

10x425

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac vest

Incline: 6.0

Speed: 3.5

Distance: 3 miles

Time: 51:30

Notes:

* I know it doesn’t seem very “bridge week” to pull a heavy set of deads, but this was the end of the ROM progression cycle.  I exercised discipline and kept it very controlled and did not push past my limits on it.  Very controlled on the concentric and eccentric.  In turn, 10 reps is a pretty significant drop off, but I’m please that I can still churn out that number in these circumstances.  That’s a good “every day strength” marker.

* Treadmill walk is what the rest of this week is going to look like.  Want to stay active, keep weight controlled, and promote recovery.  I walked 3 miles today because that’s what I had time for, but without the deadlift at the start of the workout, I’ll most likely get in longer distances for the rest of the week.

* My body is already feeling strong from the time away from squatting.  I definitely think 6 weeks is the longest I should run SSB as a main lift.  It got me strong, but it was beating me up, and this week of recovery and supercompensation will be good for me.

* Weighed in at 81.6kg this morning, same as last week.  It bodes well, as I didn’t sweat as much with this workout as I do on typical ones, so less water weight loss.  I had my carby meal yesterday: cheeseburger alfredo casserole, made with piedmontese 93% lean beef, drum wheat pasta, Tillamook cheddar, no sugar cured bacon, whole cream and parmesan, alongside 3 of the Valkyrie’s oatmeal peanut butter butterscotch chocolate chip cookies with some local raw honey and a mug of fairlife skim milk.  I absolutely could have eaten the entire casserole dish and many more cookies on top of that, it was phenomenal.  I continue to be excited at the prospect of no longer needing to meet a weight class.  Which, on that note, a 4th person has signed up for the weight class (counting myself), which is the largest competition I’ve had in quite some time.  I’m excited about that.

 Training Log: Entry 3573

PM WORKOUT (1300)

*Tactical Barbell Operator* Cycle 2, Week 5, Workout 5 (final)

EMOM Sandbag over bar

200lb bag, 50" bar

10 rounds of doubles

1 single

Notes:

* That's a PR for performance, hitting it perfectly on the training cycle.  I really found my rhythm on this these past few weeks.  I went without the long socks and it paid off, because I didn't get hung up on them.  I'll remember that come contest day.  

* I imagine foregoing the squats yesterday also helped on this, although to the surprise of absolutely no one, I am a bit sore from 300 burpee chins.

 Training Log: Entry 3572

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

300 Burpee Chins in 60 Minutes (5 EMOM)

Notes:

* This was supposed to be the final lifting workout for Tactical Barbell.  I woke up feeling really good and like it was going to be a good day.  When I get under 315 for the squat warm-up, I noticed how heavy it felt during the walkout, and how my lower back was saying “stop” when I started squatting, and I recalled how the deadlifts on Wednesday went and concluded that I’ve simply pushed myself to my limits and it was time to shut it down.  One more workout isn’t going to make me any stronger for my competition, but it can certainly mess me up, so the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.  At that point, I found myself with an abundance of time, and knowing that Cindy was only going to take around 23 minutes, I decided to do something I’d been wanting to do for a while that would require no external load on my body.

* Yes, the decision to having "Somewhat Damaged" on a loop the entire time was intentional and metaphorical.

* I originally was going to do just 50 minutes, but my schedule was pretty flexible this morning and I was able to push the workout a little longer into a far more satisfying full hour/300 reps.  I ended up spraining my right middle finger somewhere in the mid 40s due to a misgrab on the chinning bar.  That finger has been injured before, so this is a re-injury.  It’s already quite purple and swollen, but should most likely be good by the day of the comp.

* Tang Soo Do went well last night.  Kiddo and I knocked out our Hyung and got in a decent workout.  We’re going out for Texas Roadhouse tonight, so more steak and eggs on the horizon.