Training Log: Entry 3402

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

**OPERATION CONAN** Occupation Phase

*Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol Grey Man* Cycle 3, Week 3, Workout 3

WARM UP 

Roll out on LAX ball

50x90 reverse hyper

Bodyweight squats, jumps, focus on fast, bouncy knees

Squats w/Bar, 85, 135, 225 and overwarm walkout w/365

MAINWORK

Buffalo Bar Squats

4x3x320

SUPERSET

Axle Strict Press

4x3x143

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER giant set

(3) Incline DB bench

4x8x70s

Weighted NG chins

4x8x20lb

Hanging leg raise

3x10

SUPPLEMENTAL EXERCISE

GHRs

4x10x22.5 (kettlebell held behind head)

TOTAL TRAINING TIME: 40…ish?  Minutes.

BREAKFAST

Short walk w/dogs

Notes:

* Kept rests close to 1 minute on everything.  Didn’t blitz through this quite as fast as Monday, but given the different circumstances (AM vs PM training), I’m pleased with the outcome.

* Gonna bloviate a bit: I woke up feeling absolutely incredible.  No hip pain, lower back fatigue was entirely dissipated, ready to rock.  I DID get to bed late, and didn’t want to get up to train because sleep sounded better, but I went through with it because I wanted to have a Friday evening with my family vs lifting.  That said, once I got into the garage and warmed up, I made probably the most mature decision of my life and STILL wore the belt for the squats despite NOT feeling like I needed it, and it’s because I realized that I had two choices: I could squat without the belt today, re-tax my lower back, and force myself to need that bridge week next week, or I could wear the belt, SPARE my lower back, and then allow myself the option to start Specialization Bravo next week if that was what I wanted.  So I wore the belt: I sacrificed today’s smug satisfaction of “not needing a belt” and beating myself to death for a bigger victory later.  Going with my Operation Conan metaphor, I lost today’s battle so I could win the war, as going beltless would be a true pyrrhic victory.

* On that, this experience with Tactical Barbell has been such an awesome study on the impact of fatigue management as it relates to continued training success.  My decision to alternate my ab work springs to mind, along with the value of the walks between workouts, reduction of conditioning to support continued growth, etc.  And with that, I had a BIG revelation about how the powerbelt fits into my training now.  Belts don’t protect the lower back, but they SPARE the lower back.  I’ve squatted without a belt for nearly 2 years now, and it’s made it so that my core is NOT the weak point in my squat, to the point that I really didn’t feel much stronger wearing the belt today vs not wearing it.  BUT, once the sets were done, my lower back felt a lot less fatigued than usual, and I’m feeling much better post training as well.  Before, my core WAS a limiter, and the belt acted as a band aid, but now I can see it being more a tool to promote training longevity, similar to wearing my knee sleeves to keep the knees warm and compressed.  I was initially training beltless as a means to get out of my head regarding strength “loss” as it correlated with bodyweight dropping, which is the same reason I changed my squatting style, but after 2 years I think I’ve proven whatever point I needed to prove and can bring the belt back into the training plan.  I think I’ll try to save it for the heavier weeks of a program, and still get in some beltless work on the lighter sets, but this can definitely serve as a fatigue management tool that can allow me greater training longevity on the plan, especially if I’m going to keep up my mutant squat style.

  

* One other final observation: I think those 4 sets of 33 GHRs on Monday were also a bit of a culprit for the fatigue I experienced, which is why I added weight this time.  22.5lbs is an unweighted KB handle from Ironmaster, and was just about perfect for sets of 10, so this will bode well for Bravo.  

* After all that other illuminating stuff, the rest of the workout was pretty standard fair.  Happy that I got all the chins without resting.  Tang Soo Do last night was a REALLY solid workout, which has also been a fatigue contributor.