Training Log: Entry 3826

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 3, Week 2, Workout 1

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

SSB front squat
2xBar
1x135
1x185
1x225
1x275
2x325

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

Log clean and strict press away
5x5x165

Power keg load to platform
5x5x210

ASSISTANCE giant set

SSB front rack hold
3x30 seconds x 325

Hanging leg raise
3x10

Band pull aparts
3x25

Notes:

• I was genuinely considering not doing this workout at all yesterday, simply because my IT band was in agony from driving for 8 hours on Friday, sitting on a floor all day during a martial arts tournament on Saturday, then driving all day Sunday, but I rolled the holy hell out of it with a LAX ball and found myself able to walk painfree this morning so I got after it. I was able to hold together long enough to get it done, but sitting here at work it aches again. Will have to keep at it.

• Pleased with performance overall. The front squat double stalled on the concentric at about the midpoint, but we made it. Matched last week's effort at lower bodyweight (to follow), and focused on the log clean.

• Played the keg safe by keeping the weight the same as Friday and loading direct from the mats vs the floor, just focusing on the triple extensions. My IT band appreciated that.

• Weighed 80kg on the dot this morning. Explains why I'm looking so lean. That's post travel weight, so nothing is fully set yet, but I did a lot of fasting on this trip and I think it had an impact. Will write up a full AAR at some point.

• It is "kill you dead" hot today: heat index 112. I was sweating as soon as I walked into the garage, so today's session was a big endurance test.

Training Log: Entry 3825

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 3, Week 1, Workout 5

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

Log clean and press away

1.5x220 (failed second rep)

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

SSB Front Squats

5x5x220

Power keg load to platform

5x5x210

ASSISTANCE

SSB Front rack hold

2x30 seconds x 325

Hanging leg raise

2x10

Band pull aparts

2x25

Notes:

• Got this knocked out in the morning on a travel day. Logging on phone, so sparse details.

• Wasted too much energy on the clean. Strength is there for the press.
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• Keg was a good effort. Mixing up where the reps start.
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• Weighed 82.5kg. High for a Friday, but leanness persists.

Training Log: Entry 3824

AM WORKOUT (0430 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 3, Week 1, Workout 4

17 chins17 dips

Prowler sprints

5 rounds total w/high handles, 90lbs loaded on prowler

16 chins16 dips

Notes:

Times broke down to 40, 40, 45, 40 and 50 seconds. Substantial improvement from last week, and as far as averages goes I think that beats my best effort. Really focused on maximal output despite fatigue, which seems to be the most valuable attribute here. Acknowledge that it sucks but keep going.

Decent sleep last night. Woke in the middle of a dream. Honestly, a "hack" I use for this workout is I load up the prowler and weights in my truck the night before. When the alarm goes off, I think to myself that the truck is already loaded, and no matter what I'm going to have to UNLOAD that damn thing, so I may as well get in the sprint workout too. Absent that, the temptation to roll over and go back to sleep would be pretty high.

I really SHOULD start doing harness drags to prep for my competition. Maybe next week. This still has some solid carryover, and I honestly want to keep it in the rotation in general. As I've noted, it's basically a hill sprint where I can dial a yield.

Tang Soo Do, despite being 90 minutes long, wasn't intensive yesterday. More tournament prep. But we got our physical testing requirements done (for our rank, 50 push ups, 50 sit ups, and 50 jumping jacks) and about 15 minutes of hyung practice done, during which time I accomplished 23 Naihanchi Cho Dons, which was pretty good for the hips and shoulders.

Weighed 82.5kg this morning, which despite my all time low yesterday, this is a pretty high weigh in on a Thurs. All that said, I spent time looking at myself in the mirror last night and I've achieved the desired amount of leanness I am pursuing. I can see the vein on my sternum, which is the telltale indicator of leanness, and I know that if I were to drop 10 more pounds I'd be at "anatomy chart" levels of lean, which, with it, tends to bring kitten levels of strength. I'm going to keep on through the remainder of this week and see how I'm feeling after our tournament.

On the above, yet again I found a way to achieve my goals while "playing the game how I want to play it". No counting or tracking, no being hungry, no being a martyr at the dinner table, still going out to eat with my family, still eating ribs. Biggest interventions were introducing extra intermittent fasting days and transitioning away from whole eggs and leaning more toward egg whites, which, in turn, means that when it's time to reverse course, I can bring back the whole eggs and add a breakfast back into the week. Also pretty awesome to be able to continue getting stronger during this training cycle while only eating 1 meal a day 4 days a week and only 1 meal a week with carbs, despite the internet saying all of that is impossible.

 Training Log: Entry 3823

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 3, Week 1, Workout 3

SECONDARY MOVEMENT

Log clean and strict press away
3x5x155

SSB front squat
3x5x220

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

(6) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
8x425+chains

ASSISTANCE

Axle curls
3x5x98

Giant set of bodyweight reverse hypers-hanging leg raise-band pull apart
3x15/10/25

Lateral raise dropset

Notes:

• Alarm woke me out of a sound sleep. Slept well last night.

• Everything moved really well EXCEPT that mat pull. I came into it feeling that best I have in a long time, but it felt like it was welded to the mats when I went to break it off. ROM progression with chains is unique, because the highest starting point is actually the heaviest of the cycle, and then it gets lighter from there as the ROM increases, but in general I imagine I'm in need of a bridge week and some increased food and neither is on the horizon for the immediate future.

• My hip was aching a little early in the set of mat pulls, so I played it conservative. Between that and not pushing the reverse hypers too hard, I think I'll be in a good way.

• Tang Soo Do last night was pretty low intensity as far as a class goes, as we were working primarily on hyung presentation/perfection, but we arrived early and absolutely smashed 20 minutes of hyungs before that, which was a good workout. Valkyrie and I both got a stripe on our belts as well. We're getting closer and closer. 1 more class tonight and then our tournament on Saturday.

• Weighed 81.4kg this morning, which is the lightest of the entire training cycle. Wednesdays seem to be my lightest weigh in days: 3 days after the carb up/family meal and 2 days of intermittent fasting leading into it. Good data point to have. And being this light also explains some deadlifting performances. I noticed my belt fitting looser.

 Training Log: Entry 3822

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

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 3, Week 1, Workout 2

17 Chins
17 Dips

"FOBBITS" on rower

• 2 minutes on rower

• 1 Naihanchi Chodon

Repeat until 20 minutes total

Notes:

• Only real motivation struggle with the workout today is that I honestly feel more compelled to just do 20 minutes of pure Hyungs than hop on the rower, but the rower is great for my whole body recovery and general cardio, so I compromise. Tuesdays are my favorite days of the week, just because I get to sleep in and wake up when the Valkyrie does, and this little 20 minute workout gets me in a good way, especially paired with the fasting.

• Continuing to really focus on deep stances and hip work. I've also established a precedent of getting 3100m rowed during the total rowing time, so I try to meet that each week.

• Hips/SI joint are feeling absolutely incredible. Being painfree is such a novelty at this point, so I'm definitely celebrating it. Going to continue to do the things that keep me this way, so I can continue to perform my best.

• Tang Soo Do on the agenda tonight. Only 2 classes this week, with a focus on tournament prep.

• Weighed in at 83.1kg this morning, which is an uptick from yesterday but still lower than I was this time last week. Yesterday was apparently a test of my gallbladder which I failed, but that's the kind of "to failure" that I can get behind.

 Training Log: Entry 3821

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 3, Week 1, Workout 1

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

SSB Front Squat
2x325

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

Log clean and strict press away
5x5x155

Power keg load to platform
5x5x200

ASSISTANCE (giant set)

SSB front rack hold
3x30 seconds x 325

Hanging leg raise
3x10

Band pull apart
3x25

Notes:

• Wasn't particularly jazzed to get this done this morning. Woke up at 0340 and was able to go completely back to sleep and have some dreams in the 20 minutes before my alarm went off. This being the next phase AND having eaten so well the night before helped convince me to get up and get after it.

• That 2x325 on the front squat is new territory, so PR by default. It was a helluva grinder on the second rep, but it's great that I'm pushing myself into uncomfortable territory.

• Really tried to focus on pressing fast and strong with the low/light reps of this program. Now is the time to really get GOOD at pressing, rather than just strong.

• I'm still pushing the weight on the keg as I continue to progress. It's a great loading implement: really allows me to just dig in.

• My hips/SI joint are feeling awesome. Seems I've gotten a real handle on them. Biggest thing is coming to terms with the reality that Tang Soo Do DOES impose recovery demands on me, and adjusting. I was sleepwalking through it for a long time, but it adds up.

• Weighed in at 82.5 kg. a .8kg drop from where I was last week, and .6kg from 2 weeks ago, making this my lightest Monday weigh in of the training cycle. The system is working. Increase the fasting DAYS while keeping meals the same size, playing around a little with composition (emphasizing protein) and I am seeing small gradual drops in weight/fat while my strength is ticking up.

• On the headspace side of things, I've really come around on rest days. I used to get anxiety over the thought of them, and also find a way to shoehorn in SOME sort of stupid intense workout. Now, it's the opposite: the weekend rolls around and I think "I need to make sure I don't do anything stupid so that I'm in shape enough to get through my training next week" I do feel like age is a part of that equation. When you're younger and can recover from just about anything, you feel like any available recovery is a wasted opportunity. You get older, and you feel like any SPENT recovery wastes FUTURE opportunities.

• Chaos is the plan. We leave for our Tang So Doo tournament on Friday, so I'm going to get my workout done in the morning of travel, then ride in a vehicle for several hours before attempting to do martial arts. I'm not smart.

 Training Log: Entry 3820

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 5

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

Log clean and press
2xLog
1x150
1x170
1x190
3x215 (+1 rep PR)

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

SSB front squat
5x6x245

Power keg load to platfom
5x5x185

ASSISTANCE

Giant set of SSB front rack hold/hanging leg raise/band pull apart

2x30 seconds x335, 2x10, 2x25

Notes:

• Felt like absolute hell for this. Thinking the heat is really beating the helll out of me. In turn, incredibly delighted to finally hit that triple on the log, and the front squats were moving smooth despite myself.

• Cut the assistance short, as I was moving like the last round in a Rocky movie and figured it wasn't doing me any good any more. Punched my ticket to earn my weekend: good enough.

• Pretty light intensity at Tang Soo Do last night, but that was what we needed.

• Weighed 82.0kg this morning, .5 up from where I was last week on Friday. I have been mainlining electrolytes to try to get ahead of all this cramping I've been experiencing, so there may be a slight bloat factor. I'm looking leaner, so there's that.