* 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.
