Training Log: Entry 3740

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 4, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
4x8x231

(3) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
14x440

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
4x12x230

Dips
3x12x60
9+3x60

Axle curls
2x12x76
9x76
9+6x76

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hypers
3x15x360

Various ab work

Notes:

• Sleep continues to be less than awesome due to minor inconveniences. This was pretty funny though. At night, the kiddo knocks on our door and gives us the pug puppy when he starts acting up (the pup starts off the night in the kids room). I’m usually the one that wakes up to receive the pug. When my kid gave it to me, we didn’t exchange any words, just the dog, and I thought “the nightly pug deal”, and then I laughed to myself “hah! Pug deal. Like drug deal” And that amount of thinking unfortunately shifted my brain into “awake mode” for the next hour or so.

• This training day requires little motivation to get me to do it. I appreciate how little there is to it, yet how much at the same time. Anchoring off that set of deads is awesome. On that note, though I was 1 rep shy compared to last week, it was a moment of discretion being the better part of valor, because I was in no degree of pain but could feel my body giving me some warning shots there. Shut it down, walked away, felt great.

• And then I did a set of ab wheel and immediately triggered that familiar pain in my hips and forearm. So I’m going to just plain stop doing the ab wheel for the rest of this training cycle: juice isn’t worth the squeeze. I don’t feel any pain during my daily chins, minimal during squats, TONS during this movement, and there are like a jillion other ways to train abs.

• Breaking the weight off the mats for the deads was challenging but not miraculous. I think I have at least one more cycle in me.

• Weighed 82.7kg this morning. Despite only 1 meal yesterday, that’s a bump up in weight, but that one meal was a VERY sodium heavy meal of corned beef, so that tracks.

• Tang Soo Do was a moderate workout yesterday. Today is the 90 minute class. And I’m taking the next 2 days off work, so schedule is going to be a little off.

• I signed up for another charity strongman competition. It’s 8 Aug, and I’m currently signed up as a Masters LW of 220-. This event has 2 things I’ve always wanted to do: a caber toss and Dritvik Stones. What I love the most is that I’m excited about this competition. I had fallen out of love with strongman for a while, and these charity comps for fun are really bringing me back. It’s sorta like combat sports, how I’m having fun just showing up to competitions without actually training: I just want a pick up game. I’m already thinking about my training cycle for this, and picking up some new toys (to include a kilt). Details below.

 Training Log: Entry 3739

AM WORKOUT (0529 natural wake up, slept in)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 4, Workout 2

“VIKING RAID”

15 minutes

• 100m row

• 150lb sandbag carry

• Add 100m to the row each round

Notes:

• Finished the 600m row when the timer ran out. Finished the carry still. I had some lapping issues on the 3rd round, which ate into my time. Right elbow was being a little pissy, so I was moving slower. In general, my time is getting worse each week, and I imagine it’s navigating around the pain that’s a part of that, as the first week I was able to rip the bag off the floor. But this is why I cycle low bar squats, rather than keep them year round.

• Forgot to hit record. Oops.

• This is still a solid conditioning hit. I was thinking about it on the ride to work as well. I’m doing a solid job of leaning into this mass gaining phase, even if I’m not chasing scale weight. I’m staying conditioned “enough” without going stupidly deep into it, and prioritizing sleep seems to be benefiting my physique and strength. I’m not as fat as I anticipated being at this point in the training block. It’s really been more of a recomp phase at this point.

• Which, on that note, I weighed in at 82.4, which is the lowest I’ve been on a Tuesday/post carb up weigh in for this training cycle. Wild considering I had over 1000 calories in burger patties alone for dinner last night. I think that’s been my favorite part of this experiment: discovering maintenance, and just how much wiggle room it has. Especially as I’m fasting through today on my way to 12lbs of corned beef I have in my sous vide.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s “Wildcard/Cardio” week, and we’ll be attending a Saturday class as well, so lots of activity this week.

 Training Log: Entry 3738

AM WORKOUT (0345 wake up via dog, snoozed until 0400, but honestly a terrible night of sleep with windstorms)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 4, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x8x330

Axle strict press from rack
2x8x158
7x158
5x158

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB incline bench
2x12x70s
2x10x70s w/4 rep rest pause on final set

DB rows
4x12x125

GHRs
4x12x55

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
20

Notes:

• It’s absolutely bonkers weather right now. Wind gusts up to 50mph, tore the fascia off my neighbors house and heard it scrapping all night, made it hard to sleep. Still having really vivid dreams as well, so it’s honestly like a mixed blessing to not be able to sleep much.

• As much as sets of 8 suck, I continue to feel unjustifiably strong on the squat. I think my right knee was just holding me back for longer than I realized. It’s awesome feeling healthy again, and figuring out to use my grip shirt has gone a long way to make the low bar squat more viable. I feel really locked in.

• For rest periods, it was 2 minutes on the squat, 1-2-2 on the incline press, 1s on the rows and GHRs. For the press, I went 2-3-2, seeing if resting 3 minutes would let me get in all 8 reps on the third set. Since it didn’t, didn’t seem worth repeating. Next workout, I’ll rest pause to get all the reps if I need to, similar to what I did with the incline bench. I was running a little short on time due to some morning logistics.

• Elbows are feeling good enough. I have awareness of them, but no agony. I got through all 7 days doing 3x16 chins. I may only go 2x16/1x17 for this week. These past few goes, I’ve been focusing on moving my body by contracting the lats, rather than pulling with my hands, and it seems to help move through pain. I’m also noticing better body awareness on the rows as a result. My hips are doing decent as well.

• Weighed 83.2kg this morning. Teetering between these weights. Wonderful family meal last night: another go with sourdough crust pizza, topped with pancetta, bacon, leftover kalua pork, pineapple and black olives. We had it cafeteria style on a baking sheet. I had something like 5 or 6 slices, and then 5 cookies with some raw honey. It’s awesome to have sourdough in the house: the Valkyrie is experimenting will all sorts of recipes. In turn, I’ve been considering how to work a cyclical or targeting ketogenic diet approach. I also used a 10 minute rower workout post meal ala the 10 minute walk, and that felt pretty nice.

 Training Log: Entry 3737

PM WORKOUT (1400)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 6

“Fran” Crossfit WOD w/no-kip chins

Time: 7:35

Notes:

• I had already gotten in 2x16 chins earlier in the day, and figured I’d get in the rest and then some with a classic.

• Been a LONG time since I’ve done this one. Haven’t felt healthy enough for it in a while. My right elbow/forearm is still kinda pissy over it, but I think it will adapt.

• Used to get this done around 4 minutes. Used to weigh 20lbs more as well.

• Along with this, I got in a 3 mile walk with the puppy while I wore the 20.4lb tac carrier earlier in the day. Good day of activity.

 Training Log: Entry 3736

AM WORKOUT (0320 wake up via windstorm, snooze until 0400 alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Week 3, Workout 5

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squats
4x3x367

Axle strict press from rack
4x3x176

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB incline bench
4x8x75s

DB rows
4x8x145

GHRs
4x8x55

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
2x15

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

Band pull aparts
20

Notes:

• I felt really strong coming into today. Knee came ready to play, weights felt right, no significant sources of pain to contend with. I also skipped TSD last night: do wonder if there is a correlation there. But I’ve also been skipping that Thursday ruck to get in more sleep. I think I’ve just been making a lot of good choices.

• Elbow pain has resolved. I’m using a little more variety in my chin grip selection, which I think is helping. I’ve kept up 3x16 this week without interruption. I’m enjoying it, rather than feeling obligated to do so.

• Changed up the ab work to get the same rep total in fewer sets. Also had enough extra time at the end for a little more assistance work.

• Weighed in at 82.4kg this morning. I believe I have discovered maintenance. This FEELS really sustainable as well.

 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.

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