Training Log: Entry 3426

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

**OPERATION CONAN** Spec Ops Insertion Phase

*Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol* Specificity Bravo, Cycle 2, Week 3, Workout 1

WARM UP

Roll out on LAX ball

50xBW reverse hyper

Hatfield bodyweight jump squats

Squats w/bar, 85, 175, walkout w/290

MAIN WORK

Buffalo bar Squat

5x8x290

Lever belt squat

5x8x250

Axle strict press

4x8x131 (rest pause final rep of final set)

Axle bench press

4x8x193

(3) DB incline bench

5x8x65s

Weighted dips

5x8x50

ASSISTANCE

HLR/Band pull apart superset

3x20/10

TOTAL TRAINING TIME: 62 minutes

BREAKFAST

No walk w/dogs (schedule)

Notes:

* I’m starting to think last week’s training ennui was a manifestation of recovery from the stomach bug, because after last night’s dinner of a full rack of beef ribs, and really this entire weekend of eating like a champ, I was ready to tear apart the weight room this morning.  It’s what I dig about gaining phases: the food motivates the hard training, which motivates the food.  It’s a self-perpetuating cycle of awesome.

* Kept rests at the strict 1 minute mark for the squats, which is to say, after 45 seconds, I turned around and set up under the bar, permitting myself 15 seconds for that.  The very first set was too slow, going back to old habits and being like Bambi on the ice.  I focused on moving faster on the follow-up sets, and it went a long way.  This is also probably my biggest accomplishment this training cycle, as I started off Mass Protocol 15 weeks ago with 4x8x285 squats with at least 2 minutes between sets and was in so much pain when it was over I thought I’d have to scrap the whole program, and one of my co-workers asked me if I had a herniated disk when he saw me walking around work that day.  Adding 5 lbs, 1 more set, and slashing the rest time AND being able to move right on to lever belt squats from there is a true testament to growth.

* Lever belt squat was brutal today, and I realized I was going back to old habits and folding more at the hips than the knees.  Need to keep that upright posture.

* Really pleased with how all the post strict press pressing went.  Typically I fade away there, but I showed up strong.   I cheated a little on the strict press by belting up, but I’ll save the power belt without the underbelt for next session.

* Let this training run a little long so I could get in the ab work.  I went too light on it last week: don’t want to make a habit of that.

* No walk with the dogs today, and no evening walk tonight.  It’s going to be a light week of evening activities, with Tang Soo Do canx for the holidays.  We’ve talked about getting in some practice as a family, but also a good time just to enjoy each other’s company.  The weather is supposed to be good, so we may get in some walks.

* This is the final week of Mass Protocol, and it’s my final weigh in, as I’ll be on a cruise next Monday.  I weighed in at 84.7kg, having started the program 15 weeks ago at 79.1kg.  This is a gain of 5.6 kg (12.32lbs) in 15 weeks, averaging .82lbs/.37kg per week.  It was a bit of a Christmas present stepping on the scale this morning, as I haven’t had a real weigh in for the past 2 weeks, having to cut weight for my grappling comp 2 weeks ago and then having the stomach bug drop me down to 80.7kg last week, but I had faith in the system and it paid off.  Once again this was with zero macro or calorie counting, eating one solid meal a day on weekdays, 2 on weekends, keeping it carnivore for all but 1 meal per week: doing it my way.  

* And on the topic of “doing it my way”, my big goal was to not rely on “carnivore junk” to get me there, and I succeeded on that.  I employed very little cheese in my meals, counting cottage cheese as a separate entity, and even then I used a quarter cup of it per meals.  Pork rinds/crackling were kept to a reasonable portion when introduced at meals, and “goal meals” were the ones that had so much meat and eggs that there was no need to include either of those things: like last night’s meal.  I stuck primarily with ruminant animals when preparing food at home.  And in that regard, I got the results I wanted: I felt good this whole training block, got stronger, and I kept “lean enough” through the process. I’m going on my cruise at the end of this week, and after 15 weeks of gaining, I’m not at all feeling “not beach ready”: I’m still shapely in the right spots and can still see my abs.  

* But I think the biggest thing is: I’m “over” feasting.  Having done it at practically every meal for the past 15 weeks, the novelty wore off LONG ago, and though I’m still enjoying all the food, I feel no need to binge at meals as I’ve done in the past, and I foresee myself not trying to set records on this cruise like I did before (although I’m sure my kid will egg me on.  Last night, at dinner, I looked at my plate of ribs and said “I may have been a bit too ambitious with this”, and they said “No, I think you got this”).  I noted at Thanksgiving that I walked away satisified but not uncomfortably full, same with my Birthday at Texas de Brazil, and I imagine our Christmas feast will be similar.  I wonder if this is kinda like the Amish “rumspringa”: get it out of your system and then it won’t seem so awesome.  I heard podcast with Mark Tourcotte yesterday that talked about a cyclical keto approach that allowed a once a week cheat meal where trainees were encouraged to “eat whatever you want”, and after 3 weeks of binging on junk, Mark observed trainees would naturally gravitate toward cleaner carb sources, as the novelty of eating junk would wear off, and they’d be sick of feeling like garbage after binging on junk and just want to not feel that way.  Matt Wenning actually proposes a similar idea about cheat meals, come to think about it.  Start with one every 3 days, then move to every 5 days, and trainees will naturally want to make that change, because after eating clean for long enough, their gut biome doesn’t handle the junk well.  Funny how it all ties together.