Stayed up late last night. We had tickets to see Penn and Teller live. My kid actually got called up on stage to help with a trick. Totally worth it. But it meant I came into the workout dragging.
Set the bar lower on my back for this one. There’s a relationship between how low on my back I set the bar and how good my right knee feels, as I trade off knee flexion with hip flexion at that point. I did the first workout of the week with higher bar placement: maybe I’ll make that a thing I do moving forward. Workout 1 higher bar, workout 2 lower bar. The tradeoff with the lower bar is that it places more stress on my forearms.
On that note, I’m thinking the prudent choice is to do 3-6 week cycles with the buffalo bar, then switch to SSB or SSB front squats for the 3 weeks of specificity or operator. Mixing things up, getting stronger and getting less beat up.
Incline benching is feeling stronger. Wonder if I just needed to relearn the movement.
Got our Tang Soo Do belt test tomorrow, so I’ll most likely not do the stone work. The tests tend to run for 2.5 hours in full uniform in the summer, so they’re a workout.
Last night’s keg carry was 196lbs.
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3594
AM WORKOUT (0355 natural wake up)
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN
Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 3, Workout 4
“GO RUCK YOURSELF”
Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac vest
Speed: 3.5mph Incline: 4.0 Distance: 5.25 miles Time: 90 minutes
Notes:
This felt much better than last week. Far less awareness throughout the process: was able to just shut off my mind and go for a walk. Right calf is kinda bunched up and crampy: most likely dehydrated.
Took my Thursday weigh in at 80.8kg, which is a 2kg drop from Tuesday but also a .2kg increase from last week, so I’m moving in the right direction, slowly but surely. It is nuts given the sheer volume of food I’m eating. It times out well, as my kid is now walking to school vs my driving them there, because my breakfasts are taking longer to eat these days and I’m making use of the extra time. I remember having a similar issue with Deep Water: you just run out of time to eat all the food you need to eat.
Tang Soo Do was an ok workout last night. Nothing too strenuous, but got the heart rate up. Which, speaking of, still clocking in around 37-39 for RHR.
Keg carry weight yesterday was 195lbs. 20lbs up from the start of this process.
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3593
AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN
Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 3, Workout 3
MAIN CLUSTER
Axle bench press 5x3x241
(4) Texas Deadlift bar mat pulls 12+5+5x440/200kg
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
Lever belt squat 4x8x227.5
Dip/axle curl superset 4x8x65/73
ASSISTANCE
Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset 3x15x320/3x10
Chins throughout workout
Notes:
2 minutes rest between bench, 1 min for rest of workout, 12 deep breaths between pulls on mat pulls
Unlike last week, my knee wasn’t feeling super awesome before this workout, but just the normal amount of discomfort. But, in turn, my mat pulls felt much stronger this week compared to last week. Interesting how that works out.
Lever belt squats were quite challenging. I want to bring back something to reach out and hold onto to help keep my posture upright. I’ll have to remember that next workout.
Dips were challenging as well. Weights seem well dialed in for this workout in general.
Keg carry yesterday was 193.5lbs. Tang Soo Do wasn’t too terribly challenging of a workout. We have one more class tonight, then skipping Thursday’s class and our belt test on Saturday.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3592
AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN
Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 3, Workout 2
“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”
21 minute low intensity row
Notes:
Just getting in the work here. Keeping intensity low and recovering from training. Body feeling pretty good. This tends to make my hips ache a little, just because it’s a lot of sitting for 1 time.
Didn’t weigh in yesterday, since it was weird schedule wise. Weighed in this morning at 82.8kg Quite a jump, but I don’t normally do Tuesday weigh ins, and I ate out quite a bit, so I’m not going to consider it a relevant datapoint.
Tang Soo Do tonight. Family seems healthy enough that we should be able to make it.
Monday, August 11, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3591
AM WORKOUT (1145, day off work)
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN
Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 3, Workout 1
MAIN CLUSTER
Buffalo Bar Squat 4x3x332
Axle strict press from rack 4x3x156
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
(3) DB incline bench 4x8x65s
DB row 4x8x125
GHR 4x8x40lb vest
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit up 3x10
Chins throughout workout
Notes:
Took the day off work, slept in and got this knocked out with the kiddo and Valkyrie had lunch.
Heaviest week and fewest reps, it moves fast. 2 minutes rest between sets on main cluster, 1 minute for everything else.
Went without weight on the sit-ups. I get a better ROM that way.
Putting the bar pretty high on my back for the squats for as long as I can get away with it.
Really trying to focus on pulling with my back on the rows. Could feel my right elbow being a little sensitive, so I’ll keep an eye on that.
Already did my keg carry today, 192.5lbs.
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3590
AM WORKOUT (0900)
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN
Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 2, Workout 6
EMOM Stone of Steel over bar >10 minutes >160lb stone >50” bar >4 reps on first 2 rounds, 3 reps for remainder
Notes:
Very first round my lower back felt stiff, but after that came back into my own. Really getting a solid conditioning hit out of this. Nice to let the weight be a little lighter.
Also got in some general activity today with lawn care and my morning push ups and squat
Friday, August 8, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3589
AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 2, Workout 5
MAIN CLUSTER
Buffalo Bar Squat 5x6x312
Axle strict press from rack 5x6x143
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
(3) Incline DB bench 4x10x60s
DB row 4x10x115
GHR 4x10x20.4lb tac carrier
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit ups 2x10x20.4 10xBW
Chins throughout workout
Notes:
* 2 minutes rest between main cluster work, 1 minute between supplemental/assistance
* Implemented my plan of doing 5 sets for the main work on this workout compared to the 4 on Monday, allowing for progression between the two workouts
* I honestly wasn’t feeling too awesome coming into this workout, but I performed well. Kiddo was sick earlier, Valkyrie has been down for a few days, there’s a chance that I may have something, or it could just be the stress of keeping all the plates spinning while the family is down.
* I realized in the middle of this workout that I completely biffed Wednesday’s workout. Along with doing too many reps on the main work, I did too few on the supplemental work: sets of 8 instead of 10. I jacked up that whole thing, but thankfully that’s my once a week workout. I can recover next week.
* Shucked off the vest for the final set of sit ups. Really want to focus on getting the abdominals to contract vs letting the hip flexors take over.
* Scrubbed TSD last night, but we should be good for next week.
This actually felt pretty rough today. It wasn’t exhausting or anything: I just never settled into a rhythm. Usually, after the first 2 laps, I can just shut off my brain and watch some television, but today I was aware of every step until about the 11th lap, and then I came back online around the 14th.
Was a little sedentary yesterday. Got caught in a rainstorm on my way into work and my boots were soaked all day, so I didn’t want to go on my lunchtime walk with waterlogged feet. We pushed off Tang Soo Do for one more night as well, to let the Valkyrie heal up.
Right knee is continuing to feel incredible. Wonder if going from 3x a week squats to 2x has been the difference maker.
Keg carry weight yesterday was 186lbs.
Weighed in this morning at 80.6kg. That’s a .5kg DROP from last week, along with a .9kg drop from the start of the week and a 1.3kg drop from yesterday. I did sweat a bit during this workout, but still, it’s fun to watch this happen as the food intake goes up.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3587
AM WORKOUT (0352 natural wake up)
TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN
Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 2, Workout 3
MAIN CLUSTER
Axle bench press 5x8x211 (supposed to be sets of 6)
(5) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls 12+5+5x440/200kg
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
Lever belt squat 4x10x210
Dip/axle curl superset 4x10x55/66
ASSISTANCE
Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset 3x15x320/3x10
Chins throughout workout
Notes:
Good night of sleep, just woke up slightly before the alarm and decided to make the most of it.
Body is feeling the best it’s felt in a long time. Right knee is pain free. We also skipped Tang Soo Do last night since the Valkyrie was still feeling sick, and I can’t ignore that correlation. I do think the 3 nights in a row of martial arts take their toll on me, despite this being not very intense training.
In that regard, breaking the bar off on deadlifts was a struggle today until I finished the first set of the mat pulls. The follow ups felt a lot more natural and strong. Not quite sure what happened there. Still not pushing to my absolute limit.
I mixed up my supplemental and main work set reps, and did sets of 8 on the bench, only realizing my mistake after set 4. Decided to just finish it out, and I’ll recalculate my max based on today’s performance.
Weighed in at 81.9kg this morning. Just gathering data points. Hydration is getting a little unique as weather changes.
Keg carry last night was 185lbs, marking 10lbs added since the start of this experimentt.
Tang Soo Do may get scrubbed again tonight.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3586
AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)
**TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN**
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 2, Workout 2
"ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BLOAT"
21 minute recovery row
Notes:
* The times on this workout vary based on how quickly I get downstairs to the rowing machine. In this instance, the Valkyrie was down sick yesterday, so when her alarm went off, I checked on her to see how she was doing and see if she needed anything. Since this is a recovery workout, a few minutes is pretty inconsequential.
* The sleeping in also helps make this a good recovery day in general. I'm really happy I've included this weekly. And my body is feeling pretty awesome as well. This is leading me to believe I was running Operator a bit too hard, but part of that too was that my nutrition was set up for making weight rather than building. Even though Mass Protocol is "harder" training, the recovery modalities are in place to make it work.
* Keg carry was 183.5 yesterday. Tang Soo Do may not happen tonight: Valkyrie is still feeling a little down, and it's one-steps night, so she's my training partner. I'm not too heart broken either way.
Monday, August 4, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3585
AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
**TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREYMAN**
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 2, Workout 1
MAIN CLUSTER
SSB Squat
4x6x312
Axle strict press from rack
4x6x146
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
(3) Incline DB bench
4x10x60s
DB rows
4x10x115
GHRs
4x10x20.4lb tac carrier
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit up
3x10x20.4
Lateral raise dropset
35x10, 35x5, 35x2.5, 35xEmpty Hands
50 band pull aparts
Chins throughout the workout
Notes:
* 2 min rest between main cluster work, 1 min rest between assistance
* I am excited to train, which is awesome. The training itself is still miserable, but being in a building phase my motivation is always turned up. Knowing that what you’re doing is contributing to growth just really inspires things.
* The squats felt smoother than last week. Sunk right to the bottom, rather than having a 2 phase eccentric. Focused on keeping the bar higher on my back, trying not to go fully low bar crazy. Did notice my feet have gotten a little wider, but I’m just going to use what come natural.
* It’s crazy how much faster this workout went. Cutting out those few reps in the main cluster really seems to pay out. It gave me room to get in those lateral raises.
* Yesterday’s keg carry weight was 187.5lbs. Also got in a 3 mile walk with the tac vest on, alongside mowing the lawn/various yard work. Sunday is just an activity day.
* Weighed in 81.5kg this morning, which is a .1kg drop from last week. Had my carb meal of bacon cheeseburger casserole: 1lb piedmontese 93% lean, 5 strips no sugar added Costco bacon, 1.5 cups shredded Tillamook cheddar, 1 pint of heavy cream, 1 pack of drum wheat pasta, some chopped up pickles, various seasonings, all prepped in a skillet. Served alongside 3 sunny side up eggs, and dessert was 5 of the Valkyrie’s cookies (3 peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip, 2 chocolate chip butterscotch) topped with raw honey with a mug of fairlife skim. I feel like, with each week I include the meal, my body’s ability to use the food improves. Metabolic flexibility.
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3584
**TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN**
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 1, Workout 6
Stone of Steel over bar EMOM
* 160lb stone
* 50" bar
* Triples for 10 rounds
Notes:
* Lightened up the weight, since I'm away from a comp now and it gives me a chance to heal, and it means more reps so greater conditioning effect. Was nice to get away from the sandbag for a bit and re-develop skills
* Keg carry was 181lbs today
Friday, August 1, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3583
AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
**TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN**
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 1, Workout 5
MAIN CLUSTER
Buffalo bar squat (low bar)
5x8x290
Axle strict press
4x8138
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
(3) Incline DB bench 55s
2x12x55s
10x55
11+3x55 (rest pause)
DB row
4x12x105
GHRs
4x12
ASSISTANCE
GHR sit ups
3x10
Various chins between sets
Notes:
* 2 minutes rest between main cluster work, 1 min between supplemental/assistance
* In reviewing the video, it looks like the GHRs/sit ups never recorded.
* Got in 1 more set on the squats compared to Monday. Wanted to get in 1 more set on the press as well, to make that the protocol between Mon and Fri, but 4 sets was definitely the limit. I failed on the 8th rep of the 4th set.
* Struggled with the incline DB benching as well. My right should has been a little buggy this week, so maybe that’s at play. I don’t want to tweak the maxes yet: I’ll see how next week treats me.
* My abs have been torn up since Monday. Those GHR sit ups have been a good slap in the face for me. Glad I brought them back.
* Bar slipped down my back on the third set of squats again. That seems to be the witching hour for me. I’ll have to remember to chalk up starting there in the future. It will eventually be cool enough that I can wear a shirt while I train again, which will help. I also made a point to sink these as deep as I could, so now I know, if it looks bad on video, that's just how my squats look.
* We ended up skipping Tang Soo Do last night: kiddo is under the weather.
* Keg carry yesterday was 178.5lbs.
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3582
AM WORKOUT (0353 natural wake up)
**TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN**
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 1, Workout 4
“GO RUCK YOURSELF”
Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier
Speed: 3.5
Incline: 4.0
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 90 minutes
Notes:
* So this is technically violating the conditioning protocols of Mass Protocol, as it says to ruck for 30-60 minutes, but the book ALSO says that those with experience with training and recovery can take conditioning protocols from Tactical Barbell II and apply them during Mass Protocol…which is what I did. In truth, with that natural wake up, I just made the most of the situation. If I COULD have slept more, I would have, and trained less, but I was already awake. In general, I’m not married to getting in 90 minutes of rucking a week, but if the opportunity presents, I’ll take it.
* I at least let the intensity go down a touch by setting the incline to 4 instead of 6. I do want to keep the goal the goal here, and create an anabolic environment for growth during this growth phase.
* Weighed 81.1 this morning, so a .5lb drop from Monday, and a 1kg drop from yesterday. I imagine I’m seeing the effects of inflammation with the weight spike, as it correlates with the DOMS I’ve been feeling. The ruck was good for getting my body feeling limber again.
* Tang Soo Do was a decent workout last night. We may be going again tonight, but the rest of the family seems to be coming down with something, so we’ll see. Also got in a 2.3 mile walk with the tac vest.
* Keg carry yesterday was 177.5lbs. Slow and steady. I’m actually considering getting a loadable hussafel stone for this little project of mine, as I feel like it would meet intent more. Something to think about.
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3581
AM WORKOUT (0356 natural wake up)
**TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL**
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 1, Workout 3
MAIN CLUSTER
Axle bench press
5x8x196
(6) Texas Deadlift Bar mat pulls (12 deep breaths between attempts)
12+5+5x440/200kg
SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER
Lever belt squat
4x8x192.5
Dips/axle curls superset
4x8x30/63 (final set of dips pushed to 10 reps)
ASSISTANCE
Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset
3x15x320/3x8
Various chins throughout workout
Notes:
* I continue to be a fan of swapping to the Mass Protocol. It’s nice to not barbell squat 3x a week, while still squatting 3x a week with that lever squat there. Just the break up of movements and variety seems to have my body in a good way. Funny enough, my lower back was feeling a little taxed/sore for this workout, but once I started pulling I really surprised myself with what I could do. I was going to be content with 10 reps on the first pull, but 12 came easy enough. I’m keeping myself from pushing deep into the recovery well on these, especially since I have the rest of the workout to get done once that pull is over.
* I went with 5 sets of bench instead of 4, since I’ll only be benching once a week with this approach. This is also my first time benching in about 6 months, so it was nice to not miss a step. Everything was dialed in just about right as far as weight goes for this workout.
* I’m using a more natural squatting stance for the lever belt squats, and it feels much better on my knees as a result. Still a little sheering force on the right knee, but not agony like before.
* No real plan on the chins, just want to keep it sub max to spare my elbows.
* We’re finally getting a break from the heat. Yesterday’s heat index was 115, but today we’re looking at a high of mid 70s and it should be that way the rest of the week, which will allow my garage to cool down a little.
* Carried 176lbs with the keg yesterday, using spacers to get 1lb added. Tang Soo Do was a moderate workout: going again tonight.
* Stepped on the scale and saw 82.1kg this morning: .5 gain from Monday. Be curious to see how things trend.
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3580
AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)
**TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN**
*Operation MILO* Cycle 1, Week 1, Workout 2
“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT” (Recovery row)
23 minutes low intensity rowing
Notes:
* Yes, it’s just the recovery row, but I’m giggling at that name I came up with for a Mass protocol conditioning workout. Recovery row was 100% the right call as well, as I woke up with some pretty decent DOMS in my quads and the rest of my body, which was a re-assuring sign that, despite my views on the depth of my squats from the video, they’re still effective for my intended purposes. And this functioned well FOR recovery was well, because my body is feeling awesome post workout. I’m sure just some time with lighter weights and higher reps in general is going to bode well for me. The cyclical nature of Tactical Barbell just continues to shine, despite the views of others that cycles should be avoided and we should just maintain a consistent rhythm until we die…
* I ended up mowing the lawn yesterday as my evening post dinner activity, with a heat index of 115. Was great for getting a good sweat going and getting in a little sun. Tonight is Tang Soo Do, which is a little more active these days as we get prepared for belt testing.
* Last night’s keg carry was 175lbs, carried one full lap in my driveway (1 length down, 1 length back), which I’ve calculated to be about an 80’ trip. I think I’ll keep that distance. I should be able to add just 1 lb by using the spacers for the keg and continue my gradual increase.
* Total of 90 chins, various grips this workout (15 during warm-up, then sets of 15 between main exercise changes)
* 2 min rest between main work, 1 minute between supplemental and assistance
* I didn’t test 1rms for this, and instead used what was leftover from the last time I ran the Mass Protocol. I increased everything by a little, and apparently too much on the pressing, so I’m going to walk that back down a touch. GHRs I went intentionally light, since it’d been so long since I’d run them. I feel confident adding weight to that next time.
* I came into this workout feeling so much better physically than I did the last time I ran Mass Protocol after a strongman competition, which I feel speaks to how awesome Tactical Barbell in general has been for my body.
* Looking at the video, I don’t care for the depth of the squats, but I realize it’s primarily because my knees are tracking so far forward. I know as far as ROM goes, I was moving about as far as I can. I may try to focus on sitting back more. Bar placement was higher than typical low bar for me, which was a plus. Had a little bit of sliding on the third set, so I chalked up for the 4th, which seemed to help.
* This is Operation MILO because my intent is to do a daily keg carry where I add 1-1.5lbs every day until I no longer can sustain it, ala the legend of Milo of Croton and the Bull. I feel like my choice to increase my bodyweight as I increase the keg weight should make this pretty sustainable, and I’m starting purposefully light at 175lbs. That’s going to get done in the evenings, after dinner. I also like how I've laid out the acronym, because it's all about "keeping the goal the goal". We're going to increase mass and overload our lifts. That's the goal. Conditioning is there to support those goals: not replace them. Bodyfat will do what bodyfat does.
* And on that note, unlike Operation Conan, I’m not going to employ the PSMF until dinner OMAD approach, but instead sticking with the Maximum Definition Diet set-up I’ve been employing up until this point with 2 meals a day. Also unlike Operation Conan, I won’t be relying on cottage cheese and pork cracklin to bring up my energy intake, but instead focusing primarily on meat and eggs. I’ll abide by the restrictions of the Maximum Definition Diet for the most part regarding limited dairy intake, but will be a little looser with cheese without making it a daily occurrence, as that tends to get dangerous with me. But I started off this morning with 1lb of air fried brisket alongside some beef liver and my omelet of 3 whole eggs and 5 whites topped with some ghee, so we’re off to a good start. The brisket was actually a corned beef, as our local grocer stumbled upon a bunch of frozen ones that they were heavily discounting, so I bought up a bunch and soaked it in water overnight to wash off the brine before air frying it. Quick and cheap way to get in some quality nutrition.
* Starting weight was 81.6kg this morning. Had a wonderful family meal yesterday, with a spaghetti casserole (very similar to lasagna, just using spaghetti noodles) and birthday cake. My starting weight before Mass Protocol in Sep was 79.1kg, so there's some year to year progress. I'll soon be on Tactical Barbell for a year, which is the longest I've run any program ever. It's got it's hooks in me.
Friday, July 25, 2025
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.
Thursday, July 24, 2025
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.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
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.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
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.
Monday, July 21, 2025
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.
* 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.
Friday, July 18, 2025
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.
* Incline: 6.0 for the first 2.5 miles, 7.0 for the next 1.5, 8.0 for 1 mile, 15.0 for the final .25 mile
Notes:
* With how brutal training has been, I opted to reduce the vest weight and focus on the incline today. Figured this would be more restorative. That final quarter mile at 15 was a fantastic challenge: at the end, my heart rate on my watch was showing 160, which, given than my RHR is 36, that’s quite a jump.
* Weighed in at 79.6kg post workout. Weight is in a very good place for the competition, and I got 2 ketobricks in the mail, which will most likely be competition fuel, so that bodes well.
* Tang Soo Do was an outstanding workout last night. We would roll a six sided die, and whatever the number was, we’d do that many forms/hyung/kata, and then we’d draw a card from a pack of exercise cards and perform that movement either for 10x the die roll in seconds or 10x the die role in repetitions. We rolled a lot of 5s and 6s, and people were making the smart call and picking seconds instead of reps. It came to me, I rolled a 6, and I drew a card that was effectively half a burpee (start in the push up position, bring your legs to your chest, kick them back out, do a push up, repeat) and I selected repetitions. 60 of those on top of everything else we did was a challenge, and then trying to do hyungs with blown out shoulders was an exercise in overcoming. We’ve got another class tonight, where I’ll be performing a hyung with my kid on my shoulders, so that should be a pretty solid workout as well.
* I’m definitely reaching some levels of burn out here. Did the thing where I woke up and tried to figure out if there was some way I could push this workout off and realized my schedule couldn’t support. That this was my deadlift day and the day I only have to do 3 sets of the main work tends to be enough to motivate met to get going, but it was a no sale. In turn, when it came time to pull the deadlifts, I was fried. The first rep was much harder than it should have been, so I shut it down. I’m 10 days out from comp, and grinding through a set I have no business doing won’t do me any good but will do me harm.
* Reading the tealeaves, this was something to expect. I noted that my output yesterday wasn’t as good as last week, and I had a REALLY good week last week on pulls, which most likely means I went further into my recovery reserves than normal to get that good outcome. Combine that with the oppressive heat we’ve been dealing with, and it just wasn’t the best day for pulling. Deadlifts are a sensitive lift.
* Highlight includes crushing the squat now that I have the correct weight loaded on it. 345 on the SSB was plenty heavy and these were challenging squats, which also most likely contributed to my deadlift, but it was awesome to get through them. Meanwhile, the press felt very light compared to Monday’s misload. I’m thinking I’ll finish the week off going 3-4x2 with the final week loads, to blend weeks 5 and 6 together before the comp. Planning on using next week Monday to do a set of pulls off the floor and from there head into the bridge week for the comp. Body can definitely use the break.
* Weighed in at 80.9kg. Weight is dropping and body is presenting very lean, and this coincides with INCREASING the fat and decreasing the protein. The alchemy explanation from the carnivore community is that a body fed high fat recognizes that we’re in a period of feast rather than famine, so it sheds bodyfat knowing that it no longer needs to store it for energy reserves, whereas when we feed the body lean foods and restrict fat, it stores fat because it thinks we’re in a period of famine. This, of course, directly contradicts the notion of a protein sparing modified fast, but I can’t discount how often this experience has run true for me. I seem to get my leanest when eating the fattiest foods, and Robert Sikes has presented a similar construct. Another less alchemical explanation is that ketones are muscle sparing, and protein requirements are reduced when the body is producing ketones, which is what tends to happen when fats are high and protein is moderate to low in the absence of carbs. All this to say, things are going well, rib fingers are delicious, and I’m really excited to start gaining after this competition.
* Tang Soo Do tonight. Last night wasn’t too terrible of a workout. I’ve got a good warmup going though: I’ve been doing my staff form 5-10 times in a row, and it really blows up my shoulders.
* Almost talked myself out of this when I woke up, thinking of opting for just an all rower workout, but was glad I settled on this again. It’s just incredibly effective. Didn’t have as high an output on the rower today as I did last week, but I imagine it’s because the training is much heavier for the weights.
* Was really sleepy yesterday. Got to bed early and got some good rest. Hoping that helps. I imagine the heat is part of that.
* Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s wildcard cardio week, we’re a month out from testing so physical testing requirements show up in class, and in general it should be a pretty solid workout.
* Physique is really looking sharp these days. I’m in a good spot to gain.
* I swapped a 55 and a 45lb plate between the axle and the SSB, unbeknownst to me until I was unloaded the bars and noticed. In turn, I was remarking in my head how my squat was continuing to climb while my press was regressing and wondering what mechanism was at play the entire time I was working through all 5 sets. It ended up turning this week into a hybrid of weeks 5 and 6, which is fitting given I’m skipping week 6 to take a bridge week before my comp. Also awesome is that I initially thought I was pressing 173 and struggling, and instead I was pressing a weight I haven’t pressed in a LONG time and absolutely crushing it. Really boosts confidence for the comp, as I’m now strict pressing MORE than comp weight. As for the squats, I think I’ll bring it up to the correct weight next workout and do the 3x5, and then finish out the week with 5x5. For the press, I might just keep it at 193 for the rest of the week and keep hitting doubles.
* I woke up really stiff this morning, and really throughout the weekend. Not sure what the specific cause is there. Possibly dehydration from the heat. We got some new couches/chairs for our sitting room that are MUCH more comfy than what we had before, so I’m hoping that helps.
* Weighed in at 81.5kg post workout, which is a significant regression from last week. Really just playing the razor’s edge with the bodyweight at this point, but I’m so excited to step away from competition for a bit and be able to just eat and recover.
* Between warm ups and post set chins, I got in 115 today. Had to cut the ab work a little short for the sake of time.
* Very first round was clownshoes, but after that I totally found my groove and hit a PR of 10 sequential doubles. Went for a triple in the final minute and hit the bar on the way up. Really took away a good lesson that the deeper into my hips I got the bag, the higher up I could get it over the bar. Previously, I was just barely getting the bag to my knees and trying to wrestle it over the bar, which was expending a lot of energy. Now, if I get it deep in the hips, it's higher up on my chest.
* I'm training with a grip shirt, but from what I've read in the competition rules we won't be allowed it for the event. Still, I'd prefer to train with the gear so that the training doesn't beat me up, because going without the shirt tends to force me to use my biceps more. I'll save that for show day.
* Getting in a Tang Soo Do class later today, and helping move a sectional into a minivan later as well, so be getting in some general activity.
* We ended up skipping Tang Soo Do last night because we had a tornado watch, baseball sized hail and 70-90mph wind gusts forecasted. In turn, when I went to squat this morning, I felt REALLY good. Much better than I anticipated. I thought for sure I’d need to cut the sets short today, but every rep felt incredible, fast and strong. However, the press was the opposite story: super grindy today, and I cut the last set short because I didn’t see any value in grinding out more reps. Part of it was being gunshy from my neck: it’s still not quite 100%, and I don’t want to keep re-tweaking it.
* Had to get to work a little early today, so I set a limit of 20 minutes for the Cindy WOD. I tried an experiment of performing the circuit EMOM, vs just blitzing through, thinking that taking the extra rest at the end of the round would allow me to finish faster than usual. I found out I was wrong: it still just sucks, and I was on pace to finish the same time as usual if not slower. Next time, I’ll just blitz though, but I’m glad I gave it a try.
* Will have to skip my lunchtime walk today, but I’ve been getting in a lot of steps this week.
* Got in an interesting mini workout yesterday. My kid and I are doing a “creativity open hand form” (hyung) for our dojang’s summer hyung challenge. We named ours “Two dogs in a trenchcoat”, because I put my kid on top of my shoulders like Master Blaster from Mad Max and they do the upper body movements while I do the lower body movements. It ended up being pretty sweaty work.
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3568
AM WOROUT (0355 wake up via alarm, rough night of sleep due to storms)
* Overcoming my instincts here and trying NOT to become the best rucker of all time with this workout. Just letting it be low intensity and restorative. Kept everything the same from last week, minus that final minute at a high incline. Just a final little challenge there.
* Weather has been sweltering, even inside with AC. In turn, I weighed in at 79.8kg post workout, with a lot of it being sweat I’m sure, but it’s why I weigh myself Mondays and Thursdays to get an idea of where I am at my heaviest and lightest. The definition diet is still working, and I’ve been eating a LOT of beef ribs this week, so that’s pretty awesome.
* On that note, walking to a grocery store during my lunch breaks might not be the best thing for me, as 2 days ago I bought that rack of beef ribs, and yesterday I bought 4 corned beefs and 6lbs of rib fingers. The corned beefs were on manager discount: $3.89 a pound. Couldn’t pass up the deal. I’m going to be in a good place when it comes to time to gain, as I’ve now got a freezer full of lamb legs and corned beef to slice into steaks. The rib fingers will be breakfast next week.
* Tang Soo Do wasn’t quite was active yesterday, due to very intense heat in the dojang. Still got in some activity. Will be going again tonight as well. Beforehand, Valkyrie and I got in a 3 mile walk in the VERY hot/humid sun. It’s beating us down pretty good, and my calves are cramping from dehydration.
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3567
AM WORKOUT (0355 natural wake up, snoozed until 0400)
(3) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls (12 deep breaths between attempts)
12+5+5x425
ASSISTANCE
4 rounds of
* 10x80lb rows
* 20x270lb reverse hypers
* 10x53lb axle curls
* 6 hanging leg raises
Notes:
* After having about 4.5 days off of work and my knee and back feeling really awesome and then coming back and the pain returning, I think I’ve identified that sitting too much at work is causing me issues. Going to try to work around that.
* Things felt heavy today, so I was glad it was just 3 sets. I’m thinking about making all of next week 3 sets, in preparation for the comp. I could also do 4-3-4, or 4-3-5 or play around in other ways.
* Deadlifts are really just feeling great again. It used to basically be a competition to see how long I could endure the pain of the deadlift, but now it’s just another exercise. Good to be back to that.
* Made it through the full 4 rounds of the assistance work. After those deadlifts, it’s exhausting.
* Weighed 81.6 again: same as Monday. That was after sweating quite a bit, but it also does mean I have a little wiggleroom for making weight. Balancing act of being confident I can make weight without losing so much that I get weak before the comp. Contemplating just brining a ketobrick to the competition and eating it post weigh in, to have one less thing to worry about.
* Tang Soo Do again tonight. One of our black belts is going to test for the next rank, and it requires being able to do 50 push ups, 50 sit ups and 50 jumping jacks at the end of the test, and we’ve been told we’ll be ending all classes with that same requirement until they test, so that we can all get stronger. That said, we completely didn’t do that last class, but maybe we’ll be held to it for the remainder. Be good to get in a little more fitness.
* This continues to be a really awesome conditioning workout. I appreciate how full body it is. Between all 3 movements I’ve got everything covered.
* I made a point to focus on making that 1 minute rest a workout in and of itself. Specifically, the goal was to get my breathing and heart rate back to normal. “Active resting”: instead of just dying for a minute, specifically focused on trying to slow down my breathing and calm myself. It’s a valuable skill in competition.
* On that note, my resting heart rate has returned to 38, according to my watch, and I even had a few days at 36 last week. I’m sure this vacation time was good on my recovery. I’ve been able to sleep in 5 days in a row now, which is pretty awesome.
* Yesterday was physically exhausting. After the workout, I ended up doing lawn work for around 2 hours in the sun during the hottest point of the day. Today we’ll be doing some Tang Soo Do.
* Did some quick calculations today and figured out I shaved off about 500 calories from my breakfast by switching from leg of lamb to piedmontese steak tips. Funny how that works out.
6 rounds on rower (30 seconds max intensity/1 minute rest)
Notes:
* Got the day off work, so slept in and split my workout. Got the pressing done before I had to get the kiddo up for summer program, dropped them and the puppy off at doggy day care, came back home and finished out the workout. Had the garage door open because I was waiting on some landscaping folks to come by and didn't want to miss them in case they showed up.
* My neck isn't 100%, but it's substantially better than it was on Friday. Annoying little tweak.
* Back in business in general. My folks made it back home yesterday and I'm back on the program. 19 days until my competition: I'm feeling good.
* Weighed in at 82.9kg first thing this morning, then 81.6kg post workout/BM. I've had slow digestion through the holiday weekend, and imagine things will even out over the next few days.
* Cut the conditioning on the rower once my power started to fade. Doing my best to make all training intentional. Be strong on the strength workouts, struggle on the hypertrophy workouts, be powerful on the power workouts.
* Fasted through breakfast and treated myself to a fantastic post training lunch of 2 piedmontese grassfed beef chuck bone-in short ribs alongside 3 pastured eggs, 5 whites and some beef liver
* Also finally hung up the flag I got from the renaissance faire.
* To keep it at basic level, I wore the lighter vest and kept the incline at 1. It was hard to fight my instincts to push harder on this, but I’m sticking with the protocol of easy conditioning to support the hard lifting. Helpful for recovery from that deadlift work.
* My right knee has been a little achy this morning: maybe it’s from Tang Soo Do.
* Schedule is going to be a little off the next few days with family and holidays. Fasted through breakfast this morning because I’m going to eat at a work BBQ for lunch. Still preferring 2 meals a day.
(4) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls (12 deep breaths between sets)
13+5+4x425
ASSISTANCE
4 round circuit of
* 10x80lb DB row
* 20x270 reverse hyper (skipped 4th round)
* 10x53 axle curl
* 6 hanging leg raise
Notes:
* Another morning where training just didn’t sound like an awesome idea, and it was just the notion of breakfast and not being able to fit this in anywhere else today that got me out of bed. The prospect of deadlifting excited me, and knowing it was the day of the week where I do only 3 sets made it a bit easier to negotiate. Was just feeling beat and blah though, and actually ended up figuring out a way to get MORE chin ups in during the warm ups BECAUSE I didn’t want to do them: instead of just a set of 10 before squats, I did a set of 5 before squats, a set of 5 AFTER squats and a set of 5 after chins, getting in 15 reps per warm-up round vs 10. Still cut it at 50 before the main work started, but this can help me accumulate some more reps in the future. Total of 80 for the workout.
* Trying to focus more on sitting back in the squat. I see myself on the video reverting to old habits of just sitting straight down and not loading the hamstrings. I’m doing this because my back is sore from the SSB squat, but in doing so I’m putting more pressure on my hips and knees. This, once again, speaks to the value of rotating the bar between cycles.
* The mat pulls moved incredibly well. I slid my knee sleeves down over my shins, and it made a significant difference in not snagging the bar on the concentric portion. Things just moved smooth, and none of the sets were taken to my absolute limit. Hip is feeling awesome on these as well: figuring out the starting position and pull has really gone a long way for my longevity.
* I cut that final round of reverse hypers on the circuit, primarily for the interest of time. I figured my lower back had seen enough work for the day.
* Another Tang Soo Do class tonight, and then we’re done for the week. My parents come into town tomorrow to celebrate the holiday, so schedule will be a little off. Also, we got our essay assignments for our belt test in August: “What is mental discipline, describe a time in your life when you have exercised it, and describe a time in your life where you failed to employ it and what you learned.” I am bummed we only have 1 page to cover the topic.
* 25 years ago today I made the decision to "turn the ship around". I was 14 years old, and had been a fat kid my whole life. Years later, I learned I was set up for failure, having been born at a low birth weight, resulting in my bottle formula augmented with cereal to bring my weight up, but I was also a product of poor decisions, like having Koolaid as my primary hydration choice and a lifestyle of processed/fast food. But on 2 Jul of 2000, I decided I didn't want to be that way any more, and set out only with effort and some stories from my dad as my North Star. I cut my food intake to a third of what it used to be, switched to water and diet coke, and used the money I had saved up to buy a standard weight bench with a preacher curl/leg extension/leg curl station and 2 spinlock dumbbells with 130lbs of weights and set about changing myself. I lost 20lbs that summer and came back to school radically transformed and learned that my physical fat was within my control, which was one of the most valuable lessons I ever learned.
* Hard week of lifting means basic week of conditioning. For the trinity, it means 3 rounds vs 5, but it certainly doesn’t mean that those 3 rounds don’t absolutely suck. Coming into this post carb up meal, I was definitely itching to go full throttle, and I was gassed at the end of that third round.
* I remain a fan of this modification to the original Devil’s Trinity as I feel like the rower helps answer a lot of the questions left from the swings and the burpees. This is very full body, and the order of the exercises also lends itself well to the rhythm of the conditioning.
* Tang Soo Do is on the schedule for tonight. It’s basics/forms week, which tends to be a pretty good workout.
* I’ll post my meals later, but I’m keeping up on those venison burgers for breakfast, and it’s honestly amazing how simple it is to make them. Take a pound of ground venison, break it in half, smash it flat into patties, cover with salt, put in the air fryer at 450 for 9 minutes, flip at halfway point. No real meal prep needed. I can see myself making use of this strategy for the future.
Monday, June 30, 2025
Training Log: Entry 3560
AM WORKOUT (0400 natural wake up…3 seconds before the alarm)
* I had a really good weekend, but it was really busy and, in turn, when I got up this morning, I tried to come up with a plan to be able to sleep in. It’s awesome I’ve become sleep seeking, but ultimately I let my breakfast and tonight’s dinner (we’re doing our family meal tonight, new recipe, carbonara style casserole and, of course, some cookies with honey) motivate me to get up and train.
* I got in 100 total chins, because I had 1 extra warmup set to get in a set of 10s, and then I threw in 2 extra chins at the end of my work sets to make it an even 100.
* My warm-up set of 315 on the squat was actually more challenging than the work sets. My back is getting beat to hell from the SSB squats, which I felt yesterday during the sandbag as well. It dawned on me that the last time I prepped for a strongman comp I used the front squat because it would reduce loading on my back to allow for more energy to be put into the event work. That was probably a smarter move. But here my thought was that the SSB would make me statically stronger for strongman in general, so I suppose we’ll test that theory. But either way, these workouts are getting heavy.
* Press moved very well. Felt strong there.
* The shoulder assistance circuit continues to totally blow up my shoulder girdle. I’m glad I brought this back. Great lesson I learned nearly 5 years ago. Made slow growth by adding a rep to the end 3 rounds, and to the raises and pull aparts.
10 minutes, doubles when I could, singles otherwise, 200lb bar, 50" bar
Notes:
* This was rough today. I was a day off schedule, and just felt beat to hell over the hard training week last week. Got in what I could. Re-discovered that I'm training with a bag that's 50lbs heavier than what I'll be using in competition, so that bodes well.
* Also got in 6 miles of walking today, 3 of it with a 20.4lb vest.
* In the middle of the night, I contemplated sleeping in and doing this workout later. I woke up 2 minutes before my alarm and strongly considered shutting it off and getting more sleep. I did some calculations on how I could possibly squeeze this workout in on the weekend sometime instead, then eventually bit the bullet and got out of bed. Heading downstairs, I told myself I could just do 3 sets instead of 5 and that would be fine. During the workout itself, I told myself I’d just go by feel. And then, I hated how each set of squats felt better than the previous one, and each time I said “I’ll see how this one feels and shut it down if it’s time”, I knew I could do another set. And suddenly 5 sets were over, the workout was done, and it was the best one of the week. It’s funny how that happens. Ultimately, I think the heat/humidity is what has been crushing me, alongside 3 nights of sparring, which has gone well, but is always exhausting in some way. And then my food intake is a bit lower than it’s been, which I’m sure is a factor. Ultimately, it’s awesome I’m still crushing my performance, but it’s clearly beating me down.
* Focusing on trying to move the squats as fast as I can, which is still slow, but not artificially slowed down. The faster I move, the better I feel.
* Cindy’s time was the same as last week, but set under significantly higher state of fatigue, as this was 5x5 with 40lbs more on the squat, alongside the heat/humidity and sparring fatigue. I’ll take that as a PR.
* Sparring last night was the best so far. Didn’t have to go up against any family members, which meant an opportunity to really go for it. Went 3-0 against a senior student, and then 2-3 against our senior black belt, losing in overtime on a close decision. Got in some free rounds as well: just a good workout overall. This was on top of over 24k steps that day: lots of activity.
* This continues to be the biggest favor I do myself each week. Woke up stiff and sore, finished off feeling good. Breathed through my nose the entire time and kept the intensity at the right spot. Still humid as hell, so lots of sweating.
* I've pretty much eliminated the daily chins from Operation Planet Mongo, just getting in the work on my lifting days. Been keeping the daily sandbag carries though, as they're playing toward my strongman competition. Balancing act continues to go well, keeping my body held together.
* Didn't try to set the world on fire with this workout. I haven't walked an incline since Mount Vesuvius, and that was more challenging than this, so it's good I've stayed in shape. Next week is the easy week, and I can evaluate from there. The fascia in my left foot finally healed from my 10 mile run, but I could feel it getting agitated from this workout, so I know to be smart here.
* Weighed in at 80.3kg post workout: a 2 kilo drop from Monday, and right back to where I was pre-cruise. This gives me a good buffer for the upcoming 4th of July holiday, with my parents coming to visit, so I intend to do some eating and celebrating.
* Another night of sparring tonight. Last night was a bit more active. Valkyrie and I were paired together in the first round, so that's as far as I went, but the class was small, the tournament ended quickly, and I got in some extra rounds afterwards.
* My hips were really sore yesterday, which I attribute to DOMS from the heavy SSB squats. I’m learning that, when things get heavy, I shift weight to my hips, which explains why they tend to be in agony during my heavier training cycles. They’re most likely where I hold most of my strength, but I can overload them in turn, so it’s something I need to watch out for. In addition, my Valkyrie kicked me square in the knee last night during sparring and completely dropped me. It’s the knee with the torn meniscus, and she got me in the most sensitive part of it. I applauded her for being able to drop a grown man with combat sports experience with one light kick: a testament to the effectiveness of what we’ve been studying, but it also became a psychological factor during the training session today. Once I warmed up, I was fine, but I still wanted to baby the knee a little. Previous lessons learned still apply: the slower I squat, the more my hips hurt, so I did my best to move the reps as quick as I could in spite of the heavy weight.
* I think I forgot to do the push press on the second set of presses, but I’m pleased with my ability to own the weight.
* Did sets of 10 chins during the warm up, getting me 76 chins total for today.
* The mat pulls didn’t move as well as they did last week, but last week as an afternoon training session, with this being my first AM session with these weights. Biggest x-factor is that the bar kept snagging on my knee sleeve. I’m wearing the sweats to try to prevent that, but I think next time I’m just going to roll them down like I used to and reduce drag. Still got in some awesome effort.
* More sparring on the docket tonight. Last night I went up against a junior student and then the Valkyrie before I was eliminated from the tournament. Tonight tends to be a smaller class, but it may mean more reps once our tournament is done.
* This is originally “Devil’s Trinity”, but I replaced the heavybag rounds with the rowing, hence the name change. It was a good change. It’s a little easier for me to dog the heavybag than it is the rower, since the rower has the immediate feedback on screen for my performance level. I was definitely feeling this when it was over, and the swings, rowing and burpees were a solid full body workout. Definitely want to keep this in the rotation.
* Left hip is a little pissy from yesterday’s workout. Can’t let that compound over time. Deadlifitng tomorrow.
* Tang Soo Do sparring tonight. Tends to be a solid workout.
6 round circuit (90 seconds rest between rounds) of
* Press (98lb trap bar, 95lb BtN, 93lb axle) sets of 10 first rotation, 5s for second
* Dips to failure
* 15x10lb lateral raise
* 15 pull aparts
Standing ab wheel
3x10
Notes:
* This was a challenging workout. I’m glad it fell the morning after I had the carby meal. The squats actually felt the best on set 4 of all things. I’m trying not to let my body fishing pole on these, but at this point it’s just a matter of getting the reps in. SSB makes me stronger in general, while other squats make my legs strong. This is why I’ll rotate the implements.
* I did sets of 10 for chins during the warm ups, so I managed 100 total reps when the workout was done.
* Got in the 6 rounds for assistance, but cut the reps short on the second run through. I’ll attempt to build up to a full 10 per. Controlling what I can for my upcoming competition, I can show up with the strongest shoulders possible and really blow away the press event if I prioritize this.
* Weighed in at 82.3kg this morning, post workout, which is dead on the exact weight I need to be for the competition. That bodes well. I’m still going to try to drop a little weight to give myself a buffer, especially with holidays and family visits coming up, as I want to be able to enjoy myself during that time. But it’s good to see the system working here. I got a little lighter than I needed before the cruise so I could come back right about where I needed to be.
* Cut out any additional assistance work, as the Valkyrie was heading to work early and I wanted to see her before she left. Truthfully, I was wiped out after Cindy anyway, and all I was really going to manage was some band pull aparts.
* Heat was a big factor. We’re starting up a heat wave today, and it was beating me down in the garage. I FLEW through the first 8 or 9 rounds, but started hitting a slump after that.
* Upper back was quite sore, and lower back was a little stiff. I’m sure that’s a result of deadlifting for the first time in 3 weeks. This entire week has been a re-introduction back into training after the hiatus. “Softening up”, ala John McCallum.
* I could tell my SSB squat was becoming very “Conan approved” ala Jim Wendler. Which is to say, I’m relying more on my back to carry me through vs my legs. Given this is my strongman prep cycle, that works totally fine for me, but also cements my idea that I should rotate between SSB front squats, buffalo bar and SSB squats as I rotate through cycles of Tactical Barbell. I really dig the idea of that approach. I’m far less married to particular movements these days, and I’m realizing the benefits of the different movements AND the benefits of not staying with one movement for too long. My last cycle with the buffalo bar demonstrated to me that I still “got” that low bar when I want to use it, and coming back to it every few cycles will help maintain that.
* On a similar note of rotating approaches, this week I’ve gone pure lean meat for breakfast (minus yesterday, where I fasted through breakfast), relying primarily on turkey breasts, with 1 day of canned salmon. This was primarily in an effort to “dry out” after 2 weeks of travel eating, but I’ll say I’ve enjoyed the experiment. I definitely don’t have the “dog with kibble” effect as I do when eating fattier meat at breakfast, but I am certainly still satiated. Possibly even moreso, because you can only eat so much dry turkey breast before you decide “I don’t really want to eat any more of this”. Walking away from the high fat meal, I was full and happy, whereas walking away from the lean meal I’m full but still “on”: alert and “lighter”. And I know, from an energy intake perspective, I’m taking in less with the leaner meal vs the fattier, even if portion sizes are equated. I’m considering re-introducing the “Feast, Famine and Ferocity” approach to coincide with Tactical Barbell’s “OMS” (Operator-Mass-Specialization) model, in that I’d have higher fat breakfasts during Mass and Specialization phases of training and leaner breakfasts during Operator blocks. And, of course, this is combining with the “Maximum Definition Diet” as well, because I tend to just blend everything together, which would mean 1-2 carb meals a week as well, and I’d include higher fat meals at dinner time so that I’m not running fats stupidly low. I really just enjoy the constant tinkering and experimenting: it’s fun to discover this stuff.
* Tang Soo Do last night was a decent workout. Lotta bodyweight works, running and forms/kata/hyungs.
* Got one of the photos from my trip, of me standing on the arena floor of the Roman Colosseum. Since it was a Disney trip, I actually wore nothing but Hercules shirts the entire time. It was a BIG hit with the locals: Italy and Greece both loved it, and it was funny who they both “claim” him. But I’m also posting because I’m flat out happy with how I looked. This trip was celebrating the year I’m turning 40 (my actual birthday is in October), and I remember how my dad looked at this age and it was NOT like this. And that I can look this way while eating the way I want to eat and living the way I want to live is ultimately hitting the hat trick of life.
...especially given that this is a photo of my TORN bicep, haha.
Axle strict press from rack 3x5x143+1 push press rep per set
(6) Texas Deadlift Bar mat pulls 15+5+5x425
ASSISTANCE
Circuit superset (no rest) of
Axle curls 3x10x53 1x8x53
HLR 2x10 2x8
Band pull aparts 1x70
Notes:
* My 15 year old pug passed (Yoshi) away last night, peacefully in her sleep. Work was awesome and gave me the day to grieve and get her affairs sorted, but in turn we didn't sleep much after we confirmed she has passed at around 0155, so rather than train at 0400 I slept in and got this done around lunch time. Kept it to the bare essentials, since the Valkyrie is still home and I want to be near her. This is pretty much how this day will run in the future anyway, I just intend to include more assistance work, and to perform chins in between sets of main work.
* I DID get in 40 reps of chins during the warm ups.
* Despite the circumstances, this was actually an awesome feeling workout, most likely because I got to train later in the day when I was more limber.
* Those mat pulls feel better and better each week. Specifically how I'm starting the pull with a leg press and finishing with a hinge, compared to my old injurious method of hinging from the start. As much as I hated pulling with the trap bar, I'm certain that helped regroove that pattern.
* Tang Soo Do last night was a decent workout, but we'll be skipping tonight.
* Rest in Peace girl
Pictured with steak and eggs, which I made for her 15th birthday
