Training Log: Entry 3599

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN

Operation MILO Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Speed: 3.5
Incline: 4.0
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 1h 25m 45s

Notes:

• Slept in the extra 5 minutes and cut out the extra .25 miles. Worth it. Actually some really good sleep last night.

• This was a good walk. 2 weeks ago things were off and I was unable to zone out, but today went quickly and felt very tonic after my deadlift workout.

• Sparring last night went well. Got to defeat a senior student in the first round, and had a very good back and forth with the Valkryie before she took it in overtime. We broke for “king of the ring” at the end, and I was able to score on our senior black belt with some aggressive hand work. Decent workout as well.

• Weighed in at 82.0 kg this morning, which is a 1.2kg gain from last week’s Thursday weigh in. Things are trending in the right direction. Strength is matching, and my weight belt still fits well. And doing this completely carnivore, outside of 1 meal a week, is pretty cool.

• Keg carry was 203.5lb yesterday.

 Training Log: Entry 3598

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN

Operation MILO Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
5x8x216

(3) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
12+5+4x440/200kg

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
4x12x195

Dips/axle curl superset
4x12x37.5/63

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset
3x15x320/3x10

Chins throughout workout

Notes:

• 2 min rest between sets of bench, 1 min for everything else

• Bench weight is just right. Struggle on the last reps. Same with dips and curls. Lever belt may be a little on the heavy side, but I can get through it. Adding the spotter arm for support helped. I’m not using it like Hatfield squats, but more just to keep my torso upright and provide balance.

• Mat pulls felt VERY strong this morning. Good positioning and not much struggle to break off the floor. 12 reps wasn’t pushing me to the absolute limit, but I cut the final pull short at 4 reps vs 5, so as to not grind too much.

• Was feeling pretty wiped during the ab wheel. Think the dehydration was getting to me.

• Sparring again tonight. Last night wasn’t much activity for me, as I went up against the kiddo in the first round. Gave them a fight and let them get in their 3 points, but it worked out well, because they had an awesome match in the semi-finals with a beautiful ax kick, and then went on tot he finals and scored a point against one of our black belts.

• Keg carry weight yesterday was 202.5lbs.

 Training Log: Entry 3597

AM WORKOUT (0515 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN

Operation MILO Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 1

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• Realized this is actually the start of a second cycle, rather than week 4 of the first cycle, since the maxes have been reset. Mass protocol goes in 3 week waves vs 6.

• Hips didn’t bother me today like they have in previous weeks. In general, a good recovery day on the rower. Still have to fight the temptation to turn this into a real workout, but that’s what specificity is for.

• Keg carry was 201lbs last night. Tang Soo Do tonight. It’s sparring week, and we should earn our new belts tonight. Valkyrie and I will be 2nd Gups, meaning only 2 more belts before black and kiddo will be a 3rd Gup. Crazy how close we’re getting.

 Training Log: Entry 3596

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN

Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 4, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squats
4x8x300

Axle strict press from rack
4x8x143

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB incline bench
4x12x60s

DB row
4x12x115

GHR
4x12x20.4

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Lateral raise
50x10lb

Chins throughout workout

Notes:

• 2 min rest on main cluster, 1 min rest on supplemental, except final set of DB incline was 90 seconds

• Changed up the chins to do sets of 3 between sets of main work, rather than 1 big set at the end. Going to see how I respond. Should be gentler on the elbows to stay so far away from failure.

• Felt very strong for this workout, which is funny because I spent the weekend feeling physically exhausted. Between the heat and the martial arts testing, I was beat. But squats and pressing felt awesome.

• Weighed 82.5kg post workout. Last night was the carby meal: baked spaghetti, and 5 of the Valkyrie’s cookies (3 oatmeal peanut butter butterscotch, 2 vanilla cake with triple chocolate chips) with some raw local honey and a mug of fairlife skim.

• Yesterday’s keg carry was 200lbs.

 Training Log: Entry 3595

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN

Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week, 3, Workout 5

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat (low bar)
5x3x332

Axle strict press from rack
5x3x156

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x8x65s

DB row
4x8x125

GHRs
4x8x40lb vest

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit ups
3x10

Chins throughout workout

Notes:

• 2 min rest on main cluster, 1 min for rest

• 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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

 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.

* Keg carry weight yesterday was 187.5lbs.

 Training Log: Entry 3588

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN

Operation MILO Cycle 1, Week 2, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac vest

Speed: 3.5
Incline: 4.0
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 1hr 25min 45sec

Notes:

• 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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

 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.