Training Log: Entry 3874

AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 3, Workout 4

"ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT"

14 chins

20 minute recover row for 4025m

15 chins
14 chins

Notes:

• This was supposed to be a ruck day with the Valkyrie, but we got flash flood warnings at 2300 and through out the night it sounded like our house was going through a car wash as we got pelted with rain, so we decided to just sleep in. Settled on the row to start my day. Still a leisurely/recovery pace. Chins as part of the daily total.

• Body is feeling pretty good. Got in some knee PT yesterday and that already seemed to reset me back to a good baseline.

• Tang Soo Do on the books for tonight. Should just be more hyung walkthroughs.

• Hoping things dry out enough to get in some more throws work.

• Weighed 82.6kg last night. That's what we wanna see. I actually made a point to wear my "Lift Weighs/Eat Steaks" shirt while making dinner last night to continue to lean into this gaining phase. As silly as it seems, I do find there's value in "living" the phase of training that you're in. When it's time to gain, I become "that guy", and it's all I care to read and think about (thanks for the inspo Bruce Randall!) When it's time to become more athletic/lean out, that's who I become.

Training Log: Entry 3873

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 3, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
4x3x268

(4) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
9x440+chains

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squats
4x8x295

Dips
3x8x85
7+1x85

Axle curls
2x8x98
6+2x98

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper
2x15x140

Ab triad
2 rounds

Notes:

• First Wed of the cycle where I could get in the mat pulls vs having to put it off until Thurs. The warm up with 335 was shaky, so I finally just sent it with 385 and that moved much better. I think I need be less ginger, as it creates a negative feedback loop wherein my body won't produce the necessary strength because I'm not committing fully. In turn, got in a 1rep PR with a longer ROM than last week and STILL didn't blow up my hip. I'm being a bit more intentional on the lockout.

• Bench is perfectly dialed in weight wise. Curls are heavy: going to repeat them next cycle. Right knee is telling me it's time to do PT again, and right forearm is letting me know it thinks low bar squatting is stupid.

• At Tang Soo Do last night, we identified I was turning over the wrong shoulder in the weapons hyung. Big game changer, especially right before the tournament. Otherwise, got some major props from my head instructor regarding my efforts to relax and flow in the open hands hyung. In general, I don't care about either one, but I want to represent the Dojang well. Which, on that note, Valkyrie and I both passed our written test, so we're all set to test for our next belts in Mid Nov, which will be the final belt before black. Wild to think. Class itself was pretty low energy: just walking through hyungs for the tournament.

• Weighed 81.7kg. Surprised given how much food I put away last night, but still trending in a good way.

Training Log: Entry 3872

AM WORKOUT (0450 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 3, Workout 2

"ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT"

14 chins

6000m row in 30:42

15 chins
14 chins

Notes:

• My kiddo has another XC meet today, so we got up a little earlier so the Valkyrie could get to work early and leave early, giving me a little extra time on the rower. Still kept the intensity low and in recovery mode. In full disclosure, my time was a little worse compared to last week because I stopped rowing a few times to skip an add on the youtube video I was watching.

• My forearms are presenting the pain typically associated with low bar squatting. I imagine the heaviest week put the greatest tax on them. I'll continue to monitor. This is exactly why I have 2 COAs for this Operation.

• Weighed in at 82.0kg this morning. That's more what we wanna see.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. Focus is most likely going to be on tournament prep for this weekend.

Training Log: Entry 3871

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 3, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar Squat
4x3x375

Axle strict press from rack
4x3x173

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB Incline Bench
4x8x70s

DB row
4x8x155

GHR
4x8x30

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
25, 10

Notes:

• This week is always the "easiest" week, despite being the heaviest. My right knee is being a little pissy, and given I haven't done my PT for about a month, I should probably start doing some again. I was remarking earlier this week how my elbows have been feeling great with the low bar, but today gave me some reminders, so I'll continue to monitor and see how they hold up.

• Very pleased with how strong the press felt. I walked my TM back 5lbs and that seemed to help.

• Trying to focus on specific muscle contractions on the supplemental work.

• Weighed in at 81.1kg, which is the lowest I've been in a while and definitely not what I anticipated after the weekend of feasting. There's a chance my metabolism is ramping up to meet the increased intake, and I do notice that my step count is subconsciously increasing as well. Little further evidence is that I was absoultely drenched in sweat when I woke up this morning, so body cranked up the thermostat. Not going to look the gift horse in the mouth: means I get to eat even more. But it also means that the squats this morning were substantially more than "double bodyweight", and that last weeks numbers were actually closer to that. I'm still mentally adjusting to being as light as I currently am.

• Valkyrie has expressed interest in bringing back ABF into our lives, so we'll see if that shapes up this week. We have our TSD tournament on Sat, so that willimpact things.

Training Log: Entry 3870

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 2, Workout 5

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar Squat
4x6x352

Axle strict press from rack
4x6x161

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB incline bench
4x10x65s

DB row
4x10x145

GHR
4x10x25

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
2x15

Notes:

• Motivation continues to be on the low side. I semi-dread these sessions the night before, but honestly the only thing that really sucks is the squats, and even those aren't all that bad. I just need to lean even more into the gaining phase of this. Jamie Lewis talks about that: when you've got a bunch of food in your system, you're more motivated to train because you want to turn it into something.

• This week in general is a nice one in the programs. 6s are better than 8s, while the 3s feel a little too easy.

• Took the press down 5lbs and that was Goldilocks territory.

• I lost the first round of sparring last night against one of the black belts, then went on to win the redemption bracket and beat our senior blackbelt in the final match of the night, so a good night of sparring in general. I'm feeling a little fatigued from it. Outside of sparring, my instructor wants me to address how my shoulders and hands don't seem to move independently of each other. Years of trying to protect my shoulder coming through. More stuff to work on.

• Got in some throws last night before the rain came (it's pouring, with no signs of stopping). Getting slightly better. I need to get something to actually throw OVER so I have some metrics to train against.

• Weighed in at 81.3kg this morning.

Training Log: Entry 3869

AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATIONAL TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 2, Workout 4

"GO RUCK YOURSELF"

14 chins

3 mile weighted vest walk w/20.4lb tac carrier in 49:54

(5) Texas Deadlift Bar mat pullls
8x440+chains

14 chins

Notes:

• The ruck was the focus for today, but I was able to get in that other stuff as well. Wore my running shoes instead of my bearfeet and was really able to motor. We shaved 3 minutes off our previous time.

• Just like last week: substantial improvement in ability on the mat pulls between yesterday and today. This may just be where I land as far as programming goes. I actually managed 3 reps more than last week, with a longer ROM. I paid attention to have the bar a bit further out ahead of me at the start, so I could get into a better position to initiate the first pull. Zero pain on the set, which is a huge plus.

• We actually got in a 3 mile ruck last night after dinner as well. Nice to get in so much activity while the weather is good.

• Weighed 82.1kg this morning. I finally understood the assignment last night with that mound of eggs and cottage cheese.

Training Log: Entry 3868

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 2, Workout 3

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
3x6x251
5+1x251

Mat pulls
Nope

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
4x10x270

Dips
4x10x62.5

Axle curls
2x10x88
2x7+3x88

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper
3x15

Ab triad
2 rounds

Notes:

• Jumping straight to the mat pulls: I felt a small twinge in my right side this morning, and my warm-ups were just heavier than they should have been. Went for 385+chains and though I COULD have broken it off the mats, doing so would take more effort than I should need. I'm going to do a repeat of last week and give this a go tomorrow, which, if that works, this may become a feature instead of a bug. Valkyrie and I are going to go on a ruck in the morning tomorrow, and after that I can give the pulls a go.

• On the topic of a ruck: Valkyrie has talked about doing the 50 mile ruck here in Sep next year. Game on.

• The bench moved decently. It's heavy, but a good challenge to compel me to eat more to overcome. Dips and lever belt were strong.

• The reverse hypers seem to help my back. May need to bring them back into the warm-ups. I imagine the low bar squatting is beating it up.

• Tang Soo Do sparring has changed to now have male and female brackets, so I walked away the champion of the male bracket last night. 4 matches total. We have a new student with a boxing background, and we got paired together during drills. It brought me back.

• Weighed 81.1kg this morning. I am VERY surprised to observe a drop after eating that Costco pulled pork, because that is a total sodium bomb. More food is needed, which, on that note, I employed my experiment of a very high protein/low fat post workout meal this morning. 10 egg whites, 1 whole egg, and a can of salmon, broke down to 90g of protein and 9g of fat, and roughly 440 calories. At 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight, that's half my needs in one meal: I'm still blown away that people struggle in that regard. We're going out for a "Chef's Night Out" at an Italian place that boasts a huge salad bar, so my plan is to go full Gaston mode on the hardboiled eggs, cheese, and other toppings.

Training Log: Entry 3867

AM WORKOUT (0450 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 2, Workout 2

"ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT"

14 chins
30:22 recovery row (6000m total)
5 min walk
14 chins

Notes:

• Schedule a little weird. It's my kid's first cross country meet today, so the Valkyrie got to work early so she could leave early and make it there on time. Meant I had a little extra time to play around this morning. Plan was originally just 30 min on the rower, but I was close enough to 6000m that I just closed it out. Which, 6000m in 30 minutes is like "timed with an hourglass" speed, but given this is a recovery row, it worked.

• Which, on that note, I go to bed with ambitions and wake up with reality. I felt like I could do more until that alarm went off and then I realized that a slow, easy recovery row was just what the doctor ordered. Again: Grey Man hits different, and I have to meet it where it's at. I do love how much I want to "be everything", as it means the fire hasn't died, but I still have to be smart with how I go about approaching it.

• It's sparring week in Tang Soo Do this week. Our instructor is going to play with a new bracket format, which should mean no more mixed gender sparring matches. Curious how it will play out.

• Got in some throws last night. They actually felt pretty solid. That "scoop" technique helps. From now until Feb at least gives me a LOT of practice time.

• Weighed 81.4kg this morning: .1kg drop from yesterday. I keep having Nicky Snatoro's voice in Casino going through my head on the weigh ins: "We're supposed to be robbing this place". Keep the goal the goal.

Training Log: Entry 3866

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 2, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x6x352

Axle strict press from rack
2x6x166
6x156
5+1x156

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB Incline Bench
4x10x65s

DB row
4x10x145

GHR
4x10x25

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
15, 10

Notes:

• In a poll of 1 American, 0% of the population wanted to do this workout this morning. But knowing I had a bunch of awesome fuel to burn through from last night gave me a little motivation. Which, on that note, my guts actually woke me up in the middle of the night with an urgent message, and I spent a lot of the night overheating, so I'm wondering if I may have eaten something a bit too ambitious for me at some point.

• How I felt about the squats (a panel from my favorite comic)

  

• Which is to say, despite coming into this not excited to train, I was "inhumanly strong". I dig the 6s week for just that. Depth never looks solid on the video, but I remind myself in the middle of the workout that I legit can't go any lower. If I wanted to make it DEEPER, I'd have to get my shins more vertical, but as far as ROM goes, I'm doing what I need.

• Presses are most likely just too damn heavy for the TM. I'm going to be a little stubborn about it for now and see if I can Bruce Randall my way through.

• Despite my frequent sweating and profanity on the video, I'm feeling slid though through this. Grey Man just plain hits different than Operator, which is why it's a hypertrophy program. I've actually considered being cute about Tactical Sleighbell and having phases of the operation, with this one leading up to Halloween being "Jacked-O-Lantern", since it's most likely going to time out that 2 cycles of Grey Man end there and then I could move onto "Gainsgiving" and "I'll Be Jacked For Christmas". I still might. It's a lot to write.

• Weighed in at 81.5kg this morning. This will be my first Monday baseline for the Operation, as last week started on Tues with a post travel day.

• I officially signed up for the comp in Feb. Currently as a Masters 220. Also the only one signed up. Events are a lever deadlift (first ever for me), max axle press, sandbag throw over bar, Heracles hold, and some sort of carry medley to end (still not fully fleshed out). I'll be able to spend some time training my throws, my grip, and working on my loading. I realized that I've been trying to pick up sandbags like deadlifts, which has been hamstringing me. I need to pick them up like stones.

Training Log: Entry 3865

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 1, Workout 3

14 Chins

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x8x330

Axle strict press from rack
2x8x153
6x153
5+3+2 (rest pause) x 153

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x12x60s

DB row
4x12x130

GHR
4x12x20

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
2x15

Notes:

• I didn't want to do this session so much that I literally had dreams about skipping it, but then I had a dream that I DID it and it was over and thought "I'm so glad I did that". Then the alarm went off and I made the decision to get it done, and again: I'm glad I did. I imagine the big issue is I've lifted 4 days in a row, due to the travel schedule, and I'm just feeling beat. My nutrition also isn't in place to support that, since I'm still trying to normalize after travel. But today, I knew we were going to eat a little light for dinner, so I came up with a post training breakfast, and that gave me a little motivation to get through. Moving forward with that, I'm going to experiment with a very high protein/lower fat post training breakfast and reverse the macros toward dinner, but for now we're just getting back into the groove of things.

• I felt weaker coming into today vs day 1, but again, being down 6lbs and 3 days of lifting in a row leading up to this makes sense. The squats still moved smoothly, which was the big W.

• We got our 4th stripe in Tang Soo Do last night: we're eligible to test for the next belt. For the Valkyrie and I, this will mean the belt before black belt (in our school, it's "Cho Dan Bo", which is effectively "black belt candidate", a solid blue belt). When I first joined, it was honestly kind of a laugh, but as I'm getting closer, I'm feeling more a sense of pride for this accomplishment. When it's done, I'll technically have a black belt in 2 different Korean martial arts, and given I married into a Korean family, that's honestly pretty nifty.

• Weighed 80.8kg is morning. Based on the past 2 days, it's likely this is where I've stabilized post cruise, which is about a 1.5lb weight gain, and given that I had effectively engaged in a 7 day campaign to undo the efforts of Noah's Ark by EATING 2 of every animal, that's pretty reasonable.

Training Log: Entry 3864

 AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 1, Workout 2.1 (missing portion from yesterday)

14 chins

(6) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
5x440+chains

14 chins

Notes:

• Valkyrie was recovering from some stuff, so I wanted to sleep next to her until she woke up for her day. I had 20 minutes to do something, and my back was feeling better, so I decided to get in the missing pulls from yesterday. Still took it easy on the back as I'm coming back into the training and still in a weird place post-travelwise, so I capped it once I started struggling.

• Warm ups felt MUCH better than yesterday. Still stiff, but much stronger and more confident. That first break off the mats was tough, but not insurmountable. I figure things will pick up over the cycle.

• Weighed 80.6kg this morning. I'm down 2.7kg from Tues, practically 6lbs for the imperial folks, in the span of 2 days. I'm also looking as lean as when I left, so I've shed the vast majority of the water weight/inflammation, and this was AFTER that dinner of ribs and brisket, which is typically a Friday treat. Next week should give me a more accurate baseline to operate off of.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. Wildcard/cardio.

Training Log: Entry 3863

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION: TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL 

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 1, Workout 2

MAIN MOVEMENT

Axle bench press
3x8x236
7x236

SUPPLEMENTAL MOVEMENTS

Lever belt squat
4x12x250

Dips
4x12x47.5

Axle curls
4x12x85 (rest pause final 2 sets)

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper
2x15x90

Ab triad
2 rounds

Notes:

• Lower back is incredibly stiff from travel and lifting. Warmed up on the mat pulls but listened to my body and backed down. Trying to pull was going to put me further behind than ahead, and I got a LONG training cycle ahead of me.

• Aside from that, feeling quite strong, especially given the circumstances. Things moved well today.

• Tang Soo Do was a decent workout last night. It's wildcard/cardio week, so we're staying active.

• Weighed in at 82.1kg this morning. Down 1.2kg from yesterday. Travel weight still stabilizing.

• Got the day off work today: final day of the vacation time.

 Training Log: Entry 3862

AM WORKOUT (0715 wake up via alarm, 0930 workout)

OPERATION TACTICAL SLEIGHBELL

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Grey Man, Week 1, Workout 1

Buffalo Bar Squat
4x8x330

Axle strict press from rack
2x8x153
2x6x153 w/2 rest pause

(3) Incline DB bench
4x12x60s

DB row
4x12x130

GHR
4x12x20

GHR sit up
2x15

Notes:

• Despite being incredibly jet lagged and only getting 6ish hours of sleep (which is actually pretty good for me), I decided to take this on. It went much better than I expected. All the eating most likely went well for my strength.

• On that note, weighed in at 83.3kg this morning. Post travel weight, will take a bit to stablize.

Training Log: Entry 3861

AM WORKOUT (0545 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm, 0900 workout)

WILDCARD

Buffalo bar squat
38+12x225 (Dan John's "to 50" approach)

20 minute EMOM of

• 5 chins

• 5 dips

• 10 band pull aparts

Cooldown walk around the block

Notes:

• It's a travel day today, I won't have access to my gym until 15 Sep at the earliest, and I've already tested out my maxes for Grey Man. On top of all that, I've just been wiped out this week and how low enthusiasm, so I decided to break out the Ironmind classic "Squat-dip-chin".

• I'm very pleased with that effort of 38 reps. 40 would have, of course, been more satisfying from a base 10 perspective, but those first 20 reps were cyborg perfection. Even with the grip shirt, the bar was getting too low toward the end, forcing me to hike it up, which put it in a weird spot on my back, causing the chest to collapse on the final few reps and triggering a vomit-like response. 50 is the white whale, I'll catch it one day, but at a bodyweight of 175lbs, this is my best effort on this.

• I was curious how that'd circuit at the end would go, especially after racking the bar and then getting in that other set of 12 to finish. I had ambitions of making the dips sets of 10, but my chest is actually pretty sore from benching, which is a fun novel stimulus. I really like that the EMOM structure in general to build up the volume, but also recognize it's not quite the hypertrophy stimulus that sets closer to failure would get me.

• Did a Dan John "to 50" squat AND a post workout walk. Wasn't 40 minutes, was more of a shuffle/lumber, but got some steps. Happy with that.

• No weigh in. Going into vacation with my lightest bodyweight on my mind so that I can just eat and enjoy.

Training Log: Entry 3860

AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Recon Week, Workout 3

3 mile ruck w/20.4lb tac carrier in 50:45

Crossfit "Cindy" WOD

20 rounds of

• 5 chins

• 10 push ups

• 15 squats

In 19:35

Notes:

• Valkyrie and I didn't want to get up, but we were good accountabilabuddies to each other in that regard. And though this is a harder workout than is prescribed in Mass Protocol, I think the juice is worth the squeeze, especially since I've deprioritized LISS.

• We pushed the pace today. I made a focus to not be the slow one in the pack.

• Cindy afterwards was a gameday audible. I was on the fence, but I had the time when we returned and felt good "enough". Ultimately, I am still sore as hell and feeling underrecovered, but I thought some bodyweight work would serve as a feeder workout. I genuinely may just keep this in the rotation in general. Thibs talked about how staying strong on bodyweight work during a gaining phase is a quick way to ensure body composition is staying honest. DeFranco had that idea too.

• In that regard, I weighed 79.8kg this morning, which is the lightest I have been through the entire training cycle and marks 5.2kg lost since the start of June. I had 2 meals yesterday as well, which historically shows a bump UP in weight, but this was a drop of .4kg, so I had another breakfast this morning, and am thinking a big meal tonight (my beloved ribs and brisket perhaps) and just officially kicking off "vacation mode eating" early, which will also make this my final weigh in.

• We have Tang Soo Do tonight. We also have a heat advisory of 106 degrees. Let's see how that goes. I am thinking of getting in 1 more weight workout tomorrow before the trip as well.

Training Log: Entry 3859

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Recon Week, Workout 2

15 chins

MAIN LIFTS

Axle bench press
2x8x236
7x236
6x236

Texas Deadlift Bar Deadlifts
12x405

SUPPLEMENTAL LIFTS

Lever belt squat
3x12x250

Dips
3x12x47.5

Axle curls
12x83
2x8x83

ASSISTANCE

Tactical Barbell Ab Triad
2 rounds

Band pull aparts
2x25

15 chins

Notes:

• Still piloting some maxes. Haven't flat benched in probably 6 months now (I could look it up if I really wanted to). I COULD have gotten the full 4x8, but with this being the recon week, it wasn't worth the squeeze. Similar sentiment for the rest of the workout, to include those deadlifts.

• Let's talk those deadlifts: my right glute is STILL incredibly deeply sore, which I'm not sure if it's from the deads, the tractor or the stone, but either way it was barking at me. That said, the weight felt LIGHT today, which is awesome when I'm not even a week away from a strongman comp, but, in turn, with me traveling this week, the last thing I needed was to be in crippling pain from a dumb set of pulls, so I took it until it felt sloppy and set it down. I'm REALLY happy to be in a place where I can weigh 175lbs and crank out a set of 12 reps with 405 in the middle of a workout fasted first thing in the morning.

• Wore my squat shoes on the lever belt squat, which is a sign of both of my knees being in a good way. My elbows are already mad at me, which MAY be from the buffalo bar squats, but could also just be from the strongman comp. I'll monitor. I've cut out the daily dips, because I'm getting in enough horizontal volume now, but sticking with the chins since I don't do any chinning during my normal workouts.

• Tang Soo Do wasn't too terrible aggressive yesterday, which is good, because we're in a high heat warning and it was our first session back in full dobak.

• Weighed 80.1kg this morning. Decided to have breakfast as a result. I ate "tapeworm" levels of food last night and lost .8kg. My body is chewing through nutrients, recovering from the comp AND the new demands of the training. Grey Man style training just plain makes me hungrier than Operator: positive feedback loop for gaining there.

Training Log: Entry 3858

AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkrie's alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Recon Week

"ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT"

15 chins
15 dips

15 minute recover row (2920m rowed)

15 chins
15 dips

Notes:

• I keep finding newer and newer ways to feel more and more sore. By not fully recovering from the comp before running a Grey Man workout, I'm really digging into that recovery well. So after coming downstairs like the Tin Man this morning I got in the row at a much lower intensity/speed than usual. Cut it short by 5 minutes because I had to get the kiddo out the door a little earlier for a school function.

• Humidity is still just absolutely stupid right now, and I imagine that's sapping me of energy as well. It was like 1830 last night and I was already contemplating going to bed.

• On that note, Tang Soo Do tonight, and we're back in full uniforms. It's going to be sweaty.

• Weighed in at 80.9kg. I'm eating well, and inflamed to hell.

 Training Log: Entry 3857

AM WORKOUT (0400 Wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN Recon Week

MAIN LIFTS

Buffalo bar squat
4x8x315

Axle strict press from rack
7x158
8,7,6x136

SUPPLEMENTAL LIFTS

(3) DB incline bench
3x12x55s

DB row
3x12x130

GHR
3x12

GHR sit up
1x20

Notes:

• Since I have these next 5 days to train before the cruise, I'm using this as an opportunity to pilot some training maxes and figure out what I'll be lifting when I get to Grey Man for real, hence this being "Recon week".

• In that regard, I feel like I was hit by that tractor we weren't able to move, which is most likely WHY I feel beat to hell. I am discovering new muscles to be sore in. I'm fairly certain my hair hurts. So there's a bit of a drop off on performance, and the humidity today is also absolutely bonkers. My heart rate was at 145 at the end of the workout, which is a number I haven't seen before. But it's also worth appreciating that I'm much lighter and underfed compared to where I normally am in Grey Man. This gave me a decent snapshot of a baseline.

• I cut the supplemental sets down to 3 for the sake of time, as I was meandering coming into the workout to get everything into working order.

• I'm pleased with those squats, after not having a bar on my back for like 15 weeks. Still have the mobility, and they felt strong. Knee held up well. The press was rough simply due to being exhausted by the time I got to it. Everything else was about right.

• Last week was a missed week for getting in all the chins, as they simply weren't a priority with the comp. Keeping the total at 72 chins this week, with 2x15 and 3x14 as the ideal protocol.

• Weighed 80.4kg this morning. Quite surprised at that number: was expecting 82 with how I've been eating and the inflammation from the competition. We did the family meal last night and I didn't hold back: 2 sourdough rolls with butter and garlic ghee, a generous portion of spaghetti with meat sauce, 5 of the Valkyrie's cookies (combinations of peanut butter and pumpkin oatmeal cookies) and 1 sourdough oatmeal cream pie, all with some raw local honey with honeycomb. Soon enough I get to return to gaining.

COMPETITION WRITE UP: “BACK TO SCHOOL BASH: CABERS, TRACTORS, AND VIKING STONES,OH MY!”

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF)

* I took 3rd place out of 4 competitors in the “þyngdarflokkur þrjú” division in an open weight charity competition.  This competition was a dream come true, as I’ve wanted to toss a caber ever since I was single digits years old.  I came to have a good time and I did exactly that.

 

BACKGROUND

* This competition was put on by the same guy that did my last comp in Feb: The Trials of Heracles.  I really dig this dude as a promoter: he’s a history and lifting nerd and he’s really focused on getting shows done quickly while still being fun.  These days, after competing for 13 years in strongman and 16 years in strength sports, that’s all I care about.  The fact that these events all support great causes is just icing on the cake. 

 

* This show was unique by combining strongman, highland games and Viking tests of manhood, and it was reflected in how divisions worked out.  There were no weight classes: you competed based on how heavy a weight you wanted to lift.  There was a bit of “honor among thieves”, with the assumption that 400lb behemoths wouldn’t choose the lightest class, but if worse came to worse, promoter had the right to move dudes.  It honestly worked well pretty well: we had a de facto female class, novice mens, light-middleweight mens and heavy class (going class 1, 2, 3 and 4), with appropriate viking names.

 

* I started training for the comp after having just finishing a mass building block of Tactical Barbell, comprised of Grey Man and Specificity Bravo, capped off with a cruise vacation of the Memorial Day holiday (that’s the end of May for my Non-U.S. readers), returning home at a bodyweight of 85kg, feeling large and strong.  Now I needed to become lean and athletic for the summer. 

 

TRAINING FOR THE COMPETITION

 

* I’ve already done 2 extensive write ups about my training leading up to the comp.  Give them a read here

https://mythicalstrength.blogspot.com/2026/07/program-check-in-tactical-barbell.html

https://mythicalstrength.blogspot.com/2026/08/program-check-in-tactical-barbell.html

* To sum up: I was able to employ Tactical Barbell’s “Operator Pro” program from the Green Protocol with very little modification to fit strongman.  The only event I didn’t train specifically for was the Caber Toss, due to lack of equipment and priorities for my time. 

* I took a bridge week leading up to the competition, which I filled up with weighted vest walks and Crossfit's "Cindy" WOD, just to keep blood flowing.

* Leading up to the competition, on 8 Aug, while coming down the stairs, I twisted something in my left knee (the one I blew the ACL out on) so badly that my knee swelled up like a grapefruit and spend the rest of the day clicking and falling out of the socket.  I lost the majority of my range of motion and dealt with a lot of pain, swelling, clicking and instability for the next few days, to the point that I had to reschedule a fitness test and seriously contemplated getting imaging done, as I was worried I had torn the ACL graft.  VERY slowly, over the next few weeks, with some aggressive icing employed, I was able to restore fullISH function to the knee just in time for the competition, but it definitely weighed on my mind, with me ultimately deciding that a charity comp wasn't worth blowing my knee out over, ESPECIALLY right before I went on a cruise where I was supposed to walk all over Europe.  Funny enough, the knee could perform well for strength work as long as I wore strong enough sleeves: it was lateral work that killed it, specifically when I trained martial arts.

 

NUTRITION FOR THE COMPETITION

* Similarly, I’ve written extensively about my nutrition approach, found here

 

https://mythicalstrength.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-roulette-diet-dont-gamble-on-your.html

 

* To sum: since it was open weight and a charity comp, rather than go with “GFH”, I used this as an opportunity to lean out over the summer for a cruise I have in the start of Sep and to set myself up for a good solid long gaining cycle through the fall/holidays.  It succeeded: I showed up stupid lean at a bodyweight of about 175lbs.  My nutrition approach was a combination of intermittent fasting and carnivore diet with 1 meal a week that included carbs.  Over the course of 12 weeks, I lost 11.5lbs, without counting/tracking, and saw PRs in my training lifts.

 

MORNING OF

* Though I did all of my training fasted, I had breakfast before the competition.  It’s a bit of a tradition to do so, and breakfast on weekends IS pretty typical for me, even during this training cycle.  I stuck with lamb and eggs: another tradition at this point, aping from Hercules.  Went with 5 lamb chops and 6 sunny side up eggs cooked in butter.  I ate nothing else throughout the competition, and relied on 1 cup of black coffee with breakfast and another cold brew coffee during the comp as my caffeine sources.  I don’t really need stimulants for competition these days, compared to my prior days of living off Rockstars and Poptarts.  I also made consistent use of electrolyte powders, rather than Gatorade, because, honestly, Gatorade sucks.

 

* It was a 15 minute drive to the competition site, which is another reason why I picked this one.  Crazy local with such good events.  Once I arrived, I set up tents and chairs for the family to relax and watch and proceeded to do my bare minimum warm-up of 1-2 reps with the lightest loads possible on the axle.  Ultimately, I was just testing out which set of straps I wanted to use, before settling on the “Why Our Way” straps, for reasons to follow shortly.

 

SUMMARY OF EVENTS

 

EVENT 1: Axle Wagon Wheel Deadlift for reps: 370lbs

 

As usual, I did no specific training for the deadlift event.  ROM progression cycle with a Texas Deadlift bar against chains: pretty much the opposite of this.  That said, I came in strong enough that it didn’t matter.  The axle was STIFF and that first pull felt slow as hell, but I settled into a rhythm.  There was no up command, so I took advantage of that and went touch and go for as many reps as I could, which got me to 20, when the mark to beat was 19.  The advantage of signing up first: you get to go last and know what to beat. 

I used my “Why Our Way” straps for this, because they were long enough to wrap around the axle.  The crowd had never seen anything like them before, which made me feel like a dinosaur because these were all the rage a decade ago when Chris Duffin used them to pull 1000lbs for 2.5 reps.  But, in turn, a lotta folks were struggling to get their straps to work on the axle, so points for me to be able to dig deep into the toolbox.

 

EVENT 2: Log press for max

 

I trained on a “12 inch” Titan Log, which is really like at 13-14” log.  Meanwhile, we competed with a 10” Black Widow log.  This is a lot easier to press, but the clean is a little iffy, as there isn’t as much to “roll” up the body.  In turn, when I’d get the log in place, I felt myself pretty off balanced.  You can see it in the video: I clean the log and stumble back and forth a bunch until I get settled, then nail a pretty simple press.

I was being strategic with my selection, remembering who got what in the deads, and noted my 2 closest threats picking 170 as openers.  I went with 180 for mine, to have a lead on them, and when they tried to follow suit, they both bombed out.  There was a 4th guy who hadn’t taken any attempts yet, so I knew I was up against a log ringer, so I just went for solid lifts at this point.  Called for 200, they couldn’t do that, so we did 195, which I hit.  We then got to 210, which I called for my third, while the other guy called it for his opener.  I got the 210, but so did he, followed by 220 for a chipshot, so I had second here.

 

EVENT 3: Caber Toss

 

This was my first time ever performing this event, and because I hate warming up, my first attempt WAS my first ever attempt.  Seriously, I can’t stand how shows take FOREVER because people want a million attempts before we start.  We effectively had a full event’s worth of warm ups before we actually started the event, and I was getting pissy over it.  In turn, I didn’t put that or the second one on film, but it was me learning the caber and failing to turn it, which is how you score 0 points in a caber toss.  All the other guys in my group were able to get a turn on their cabers during their attempts, so I knew I had no chance of placing above 4th on this, but I ALSO knew that if I didn’t get at least ONE turn on a caber, I’d get a 0 on the event, which means NO points vs 1 point.  THAT can change things.

 

On my previous 2 attempts, I actually got the caber shouldered pretty easily.  On this final attempt, it was a real bastard to me, but, in turn, I was able to put some real “f—k you” energy into it, because I was getting ANGRY with this caber for not f-ing turning when I threw it.  After what felt like a million years, I finally was able to get it into position and give it a very solid near 12 o’clock turn, securing me at least A point in the event.

 

EVENT 4: Tractor Pull

 

We were told this was going to be a speed and horsepower event.  Then the first guy went and couldn’t move the tractor an inch.  I got excited: I suck at tractor pulls, whereas MAYBE now I had a shot because it went from a speed and footwork event to a total grind.  However, dude 2 and 3 ALSO tried and ALSO didn’t make it move, so when I went up I said “It takes a special kind of crazy to see 3 other dudes fail this but for me to give it a go”.  Which I did…and I didn’t move it.  And neither did any of the heavyweights.  Less learned for all involved, but, in turn, we were all on equal footing on this one with last place.

 

I’m glad I didn’t try to train harder for this event.  All the prowler work was still awesome, and I didn’t try to get better at harness pulls.

 

EVENT 5: Natural stones to truck bed

 

I honestly had some high hopes for this one.  Been doing a lot of loading in training and feeling strong.  One guy picked a lighter stone than mine for my opener, and then we all settled in for 224 as the “Halfsterker” stone.  I was the first to go for it, and as you can see in the video, it was a struggle.  Damn thing just slipped a bunch and wouldn’t set right in my grip.  I was eventually able to load it, and then watched the whole field do it with far less effort than me.  So when it came for 250 on the next one, I still gave it a go, but just plain didn’t have it that day.  Perhaps I’ve lost too much bodyweight (trying to grab a stone that was now 75lbs heavier than me), or perhaps whatever I did to my knee 3 weeks ago had me taking it easy, but this excites me at the prospect of spending more time building up my loading. 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Looking at the scores, I secured 3rd place by half a point.  That’s the sort of crazy narrow margin I live for.  I’m pleased with how today went: I fought hard, I’m bruised, bloody and satisfied, I’m 40 years old and still giving it hell, and I am incredibly excited at the prospect of an off season where I put on some quality size and strength.  The promoter said he’s going to do another show in Feb, which times out incredibly well with my plan of coming back from the holidays with some Operator, so I may already have my schedule laid out.

 

Also ran into someone from the comp that recognized me from reddit, so if you’re reading this: great to meet you dude! 

 

Training Log: Entry 3856

AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie's Alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

Crossfit's "Cindy" WOD in 19:25 (17 second PR from previous)

Notes:

• Alarm went off early, Valkyrie requested sleeping in, more than happy to oblige. Exactly the kind of bridge week I needed. In turn, I had 20 minutes to do something today, so I picked Cindy over the rower. I like the rower in general, but it runs into the issue of being "seated conditioning", and as an office drone I spend enough time sitting that doing it during my workouts tends to make my hips stiff, and that's the last thing I need before a strongman competition. Cindy has also been good on getting bloodflow to my left knee, which is feeling pretty great these days. Very small ROM limitations. Hips are feeling good too. This is is probably the best I've felt before a comp in a LONG time.

• Decided to speed up the final round just to make a PR happen.

• Competition is tomorrow. No weigh in, because no weight classes. Not that it matters: I'm stupid light right now. I chased the leanness dragon again, even though I said I wouldn't, because I'm stupid and I don't give a f**k about jail. That's my business. That's what I do.

• After comp, I'll have 5 days of free training before I leave for my cruise. Part of me thinks "Work capacity week" and to just blow my brains out doing stupid challenging WODs, but the other part of me realizes that I'm going to be away from heavy weights for quite a while if I factor in this bridge week, then next week, then the cruise, then the return from the cruise, so I may use next week to pilot some training maxes for Grey Man and do a trial week 1, giving me a chance to push up against some heavy weights. I also like that because it allows me to still claim that I "did Tactical Barbell" for 2 years solid, as Sep marks the anniversary of me starting it. 3rd COA is to meet in the middle and do some stupidly challenging heavy workouts, like put 225 on my back and finally get those 50 reps and then spend Wed seeing how many reps I can get on 405 for the deadlift (my previous record is 23, which was set many years and many pounds of bodyweight ago).

• We've already decided on where to go for our victory dinner tomorrow. Place does an awesome 16oz ribeye with compound butter.

• Weighed 80.6kg this morning. I'm excited to see that number be higher this fall.

Training Log: Entry 3855

AM WORKOUT (0500 wake up via Valkyrie's Alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

"ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT"

15 Chins
15 Dips

1 mile row in 25:42 (15 second PR)

14 chins
14 dips

Notes:

• Alarm went off at 0410, Valkyrie requested sleeping in, more than happy to oblige. Been a good bridge week: knees and hips are feeling good.

• I don't NEED to set records on a recovery row, but why not. It continues to do the trick of being tonic, and I feel pretty accomplished rowing a mile first thing in the morning.

• Got nearly 20k steps yesterday between the morning walk, lunch time dog walk and evening walk with the doggos. Been getting in a lot of steps in general, which has been good for the knee recovery.

• Tang Soo Do tonight. Last class of the week, and last class for the Hyung challenge. Should shake out that my kid takes first, Valkyrie second, and I in third: whole family swept it.

• Weighed 79.9kg. I originally planned to not weigh myself this week, in concern that weighing heavy would get in my head, but I'm glad I reversed course on that because I appear to be undereating. I have a lot of leeway leading up to the comp. I already have my night before nutrition figured out.

Training Log: Entry 3854

AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via Valkyrie's Alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

3 mile weighted vest walk w/20.4lb tac vest in 52:23

Crossfit's "Cindy" WOD

20 rounds of

• 5 chins

• 10 push ups

• 15 air squats

In 19:42 (3 second PR from Friday)

Notes:

• Once again, tagging along with the Valkyrie on her morning workout. It's honestly addicting. I may see if I can make this a regular weekly event when I get back to training. We moved faster than last time, and I decided to use my remaining time to do another Cindy WOD.. It's really the perfect "when in doubt" sorta workout for 20 minutes. Solid amount of volume, decent conditioning hit, and no loading on my body.

• I'm looking trim in that thumbnail.

• Left knee continues to feel better. In truth, this is the week I should have done the fitness test, but I didn't want to have an interference effect with my bridge week. I AM noting that I feel just plain good in general going some time without loading my body, which is always well received. When you feel chronically in pain, it's nice to discover that it's something you're doing to yourself, and you can solve it by NOT training, rather than it just being something you live with.

• I was crowned the Dojang sparring champion of the month yesterday, beating out the Valkyrie by 1 point. The fact I did it in a knee brace last week is pretty cool there. Class itself was a decent enough workout. Still working on moving smoother. We're on a new schedule of Tues/Thurs/Sat as my kiddo works through cross country season, so no class tonight.

• Weighed 80.0kg this morning. Realized that my egg whites and tuna creation from Monday is 100g of protein in and of itself. Crazy to me how people struggle to reach these goals.

• Actually a pretty decent shot of me from last week's sparring.  Left leg is firmly planted because my knee was still garbage, pivot off the rear foot, punch fully extended and torso rotated: I'm happy with that. Meanwhile, dude is kicking at the belt line, which is a violation of our rules (have to be ABOVE the belt), so double whammy.

• 
  
  
  

Training Log: Entry 3853

AM WORKOUT (0500 wake up via Valkyrie's Alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

"ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT"

1 mile row in 25:57

Notes:

• We got up a little earlier than usual, so I rowed a little longer. Plan was 25 minutes, but saw how close I was to a mile at that point that I finished it off so I had a metric I could compare against in the future. This wasn't a hard mile at all: still a recovery row.

• My left knee has seemed to healed. Still some slight mobility restrictions, but it's at the point where it hurts as much as the right knee, which is symmetry at 40. Thankful this sorted itself out before the competition.

• I'm going to experiment with 5 sets of chins throughout the day vs 4, which shakes out to 2x15 and 3x14 to match the 72 I'd be doing this week. This experiment started with 2x15, so resetting back to 15s seems appropriate whenever it's no longer feeling effortless.

• Tang Soo Do on the schedule for tonight. It's the last week of our summer Hyung challenge. Looks like the whole family is going to take 1st, 2nd and 3rd on this. I'm going to endeavor to not hurt anything this week.

• Decided to still weigh myself: 80.6kg. I am curious what my weight is going to look like post cruise.

Training Log: Entry 3852

AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

BRIDGE WEEK

3 mile weighted vest walk w/20.4lb tac carrier in 54 minutes

4 circuits of 15 chins, 15 dips and 15 bodyweight split squats w/2 mins between circuits (no rest between exercises)

Notes:

• Bridge week before the comp, so I joined the Valkyrie on her AM workout and field tested what Base Building would be like. I actually had the idea to pivot my bridge week and scheduled vacation INTO a Base Building cycle, as it would time out about right as nearly 4 weeks of downtime and we'd be getting in a lot of walking during the cruise, but decided I didn't want to have to tie myself down to a training protocol while I'm on vacation. I think I'm just going to hit the fitness center on occasion and get in a stupid big pump to remind my muscles that they're still there.

• My knee is improving, to the point that I forgot it was hurt as I was walking to work today. Still not 100% ROM, but all coming back. I need to restart my physical therapy for my OTHER knee now: I have put it off because it stressed the left knee to do it.

• We moved at a good pace for the walk. Not a ruck, but not leisurely. The base building workout wasn't tough, but it's not supposed to be for week 1 day 1. Working up to 3-5x30 will be a different animal.

• No weigh in today, and most likely not for the rest of the week. Don't really need to get in my head about that on competition week. I'll be eating well and posting updates: already have the menu picked out. Trying to maximize the foods that I feel good with.

• Going to map out what training will look like upon my return. Definitely need to spend some time growing.

Training Log: Entry 3851

AM WORKOUT (0510 Wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2 [FINAL WORKOUT OF OPERATION)

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 3, Workout 5

Crossfit's "Cindy" WOD

20 rounds in 19:45 of

• 5 chins

• 10 push ups

• 15 squats

Notes:

• Technically Cindy is max rounds IN 20 minutes and what I've done is got the 100 chins, 200 push ups and 300 squats of Murph done as fast possible, but close enough. The big thing is that this is a pretty solid PR for me, with zero issues knocking out the chins every single round, which speaks to how much my general fitness has improved through this training phase alongside the pay off of my daily chins. Which, because I got 100 chins done during this workout, I owe no more chins for the day.

• This workout itself is a "deviation" from Operator Pro, as I technically was supposed to do the final workout of 2-3rm press, 5x5 front squats and 5 sets of loads, but my competition is on the 29th, I'm not going to get STRONGER from 1 more workout, but I can certainly get more injured and fatigued from it. This is giving my knee maximum time to recover, which, after a forced 2 mile run alongside some sparring yesterday, it will need. Still waking up swollen, but once I start moving it gets better. And I figured the 300 bodyweight squats from this would be "movement" enough. I also opted to prioritize sleep by choosing a shorter workout.

• On that aforementioned run: I was reflecting this morning on just how awesome TB has been for my general fitness, as I had zero cardio issues knocking out that run and could nasal breathe the entire time. The big thing was just keeping a pace so that I didn't feel like my knee was going to fall off the whole time. This is a great physical state to be in.

• Sparring last night went well for me, as I made it to the final round in a VERY close match against our senior black belt, eventually losing in overtime, but with him expressing a sentiment of "That was fun!" which I could only agree with. Very lively, despite my gimpiness, and the journey to the top was eventful as well. However, my penultimate match ended with me soundly defeating our resident "dojang bully" through a combination of a good offense and my own defense which drew fouls on him due to his lack of control, which he then went to the "redemption bracket" and punched the Valkyrie in the face during an exchange. Our rules forbid hand strikes to the head in general, let alone straight to the face. She handled it better than I would have, and it's most likely good that I wasn't sent to the redemption bracket to square off against the dude again, as I would most likely have had to force 12 people to have a serious philosophical discussion on the difference between martial arts training and "assault and battery". In light of that outcome, our head instructor has announced there will be changes to future sparring formats: more to follow.

• My kiddo is joining the cross country team, with practice starting next week. 5 days per week, which is going to shift our Tang Soo Do attendance to Tues/Thurs/Sat, as the connections are too tight otherwise. I semi-joked with my kiddo that, with a tight connection between cross country and Tang Soo Do, I was going to just give them a ketobrick to eat in the car so that they could take down 1000 calories in 2 minutes, but then thought "maybe that ISN'T a joke and I could get the company to sponsor us if I tell them how we're using it". Although I ALSO have a pack of Finibars in the basement that are only a few years expired too...

• Weighed 80.0kg this morning. I certainly didn't restrict myself last night, based on the photo of the meal. I'm at that point where the body has fully bought into "get lean" mode, and just burning everything like a furnace. It's a cool little data point that I'm always 12 weeks away from this state, and just how EASY of a 12 weeks it is to be this way. I feel a lot better than I ever have been operating at this level of bodyfat, as though my body is fragile/more injury prone, my mood/general disposition/level of fatigue are significantly better. I can certainly see these 12 weeks becoming an annual "reset", as this times out starting right after Memorial Day and carries me through the summer.

 Training Log: Entry 3850

AM WORKOUT (0420 Wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 3, Workout 4

18 chins
18 dips

"INDOOR POWER INTERVALS" w/rower

• 5 rounds, 2 minutes of max effort rower w/5 mins rest

18 min walk

18 chins
18 dips

Notes:

• Oh my goodness I had absolutely zero desire to do anything this morning. Only thing that got me up was that the Valkyrie was already going to get in an early morning session, and even then I legit contemplated getting up with her and then going right back to bed once she got on the treadmill. But indoor power intervals is honestly pretty easy to talk myself into: it's only 10 minutes of "work". I went with this over the prowler because I have my fitness test today and decided this would give my knee a fighting chance.

• Once I slow rolled to the rower and got started I found my drive and sent it. This was a good workout and hit the intent. I was breathing hard when it was done. The walk at the end was shorter than last week, because I took longer to get started, but I got in some steps as well. The knee actually feels better after rowing: I imagine it helps get blood flow and alleviate the swelling. I no longer experience clicking or instability, but it's still swollen as hell with limited mobility and pain when I try to push it beyond it's resistance point.

• I made it to the finals in sparring last night, squared off against the Valkyrie, then beat our senior Black Belt in the redemption bracket to face off against the Valkyrie in the final match of the night. She commented on how ruthless I've been against the other students these past few nights, and I informed her how, with the state of my knee, I want the matches to end as quickly as possible to prevent me from doing something stupid with it. I'd feel bad for the other students...were it not for the fact that I'm 40 with a bum knee while they're teenagers approaching their prime and I can still take them to school.

• Weighed in at 80.8kg.

---

Fitness Test

Height: 5'8.5 (I've shrunk half an inch. I blame squats and the yoke)
Weight: 176 (What have I become, my sweetest friend?)
Waist: 32.5" (down 1.5" from getting it measured last month), 20 points
Push ups: 52 in 1 min (max point value), 15 points
Sit ups: 50 in 1 min (max point value), 15 points
2 mile run: 16:54, 43 points (1 second away from 44 points)

Total score: 93.0 points

Considering I ran those 2 miles in a knee brace, I'm over the moon. I haven't run since my last 5k on Disney's Castaway Cay, and I was able to nasal breathe the entire time. I also watched some young bucks fail the test, which is just a sad state of affairs. That waist measurement is pretty nuts: I'm still taping the same as I did in college.

I've got an icebag on my knee (technically a bag of frozen mixed veggies) and popped 2 motrin (a rarity with how I respond to anti-inflammatories): this is how we celebrate at 40. Still planning on hitting Tang Soo Do.

Oh yeah: all of this was coffee fasted, so that's pretty cool.

Training Log: Entry 3849

AM WORKOUT (0400 Wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 3, Workout 3

18 chins
18 dips

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

Log clean and strict press away
3x5x175

SSB front squats
3x5x250

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

Deadlift
9x425+chains

ASSISTANCE

Axle curls
3x5x113

3 giant sets of 15x90 reverse hyper, 10 hanging leg raise, 25 band pull aparts

Notes:

• Again, knee swells up at night from lack of movement, but is feeling good through the training. I'll take it. That's a W for me. I was motivated for this workout because it's so short and I was going to get to pull from the floor.

• I'll talk to that part first: I'm very pleased with how this went. Primarily because I walked away without pain. Knee is fine and SI joint/IT band aren't barking at me. I played it slow and controlled and know I COULD have gotten a 10th rep if that was my goal, but with my fitness test tomorrow and my competition at the end of the month, I wanted to get NOT hurt from deadlifts.

• Log felt a little weaker than I'd care for. SSB squats were pretty smooth. Curls were better than I expected.

• I was the dojang sparring champion last night. 3 matches to get me there. Funny enough, because I was babying my left knee, I was more planted than usual, and got in a lot of strong "jolt punch" jabs straight down the pipe on many competitors. The Valkyrie commented on it when she came up from the redemption bracket to face me (and, of course, win). We have another night of sparring tonight. I feel like it's been good for my recovery.

• Weighed in at 79.9kg again, so these were sub 80kg pulls, and 2.43x bodyweight. I struggle mentally with being this light, but the QoL is fantastic. I also snapped a photo with a pump in some more anabolic lighting to capture lean "enough"

Training Log: Entry 3848

AM WORKOUT (0510 Wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 3, Workout 2

18 chins
18 dips

"ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT"

20 minute recovery row

Notes:

• Since it's the "hard" week of Operator, it's the easy week of conditioning. Recovery row, and based on distance, I came up 150m short compared to my typical pace, so this is what I needed.

• My knee was achy last night, but after the row it felt pretty solid. I think I injured it "differently" than I did 2 weeks ago, as it's not clicking or losing stability, but just feels swollen, and movement seems to help get fluid out of it. My theory is still that I've re-torn the meniscus, but after my competition I'll see about getting some imaging on it. But, as it stands (puns!) I can still perform with it: I just have pain and swelling.

• Valkyrie and I got in a 2.75 mile walk post dinner last night. She's been wearing her weight vest on these as well. Meanwhile, I'm shirtless trying to get in Vitamin D, so it means she's the hardcore one on our walks.

• Tang Soo Do tonight, and it's sparring week. Be curious to see how the knee wants to play.

• Weighed in at 81.0kg. Matches my lightest Tuesday weigh in on the training cycle. I'm at that point of leanness where I can see changes on the daily.

• Forgot to log it yesterday, but last week was successful with 7 days of 2x18/2x17 chins and dips, so this week is 3x18/1x17. Looking ahead with my cruise happening from 4-15 Sep, I'll most likely just try to hit chin/dip rep goals if applicable.

Training Log: Entry 3847

AM WORKOUT (0400 Wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 3, Workout 1

18 chins
18 dips

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

SSB front squat
2xBar
1x135
1x185
1x225
1x275
1x330

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

Log clean and strict press away
3x5x175
2x4x175

Loading to platform (1 min on/2 min rest)

• Rounds 1 and 3: 7x135lb stone of steel

• Rounds 2 and 4: 2/3x250lb keg

• Round 3: 3x200lb sandbag

ASSISTANCE

2 Giant sets of 30 seconds SSB front rack hold w/358, 10 hanging leg raises, 25 pull aparts

Notes:

• Absolutely zero motivation to train this morning. This is the final week of Operator Pro and I am totally ready for it. The biggest variable at play is nutrition for sure: I've exhausted whatever excitement there is to be had in getting leaner, and now I just want to build. My weight is freefalling as well, which tends to happen once I get to this level of lean, which most likely means I'm feeling a little more fatigue than usual. ...plus I got in 23k steps yesterday between walking the dog, mowing the lawn, and then the Valkyrie wanting to go on a post dinner walk. Which, in that regard, my hips were a little stiff coming into this.

• Which makes a 330 front squat pretty cool. I'm not calling it a PR because it's a single, and it was hard fought, but it was good to put a little chipshot extra weight on the bar.

• The log was rough on the first set, but after that moved really well on the cleans. No wasted energy. I COULD have fought for those 5th reps, but this close to the comp, there's no benefit.

• I almost had to get some stitches this morning on the load. For the first round of the keg, it slipped on the third rep, and I very slightly conked my eyebrow ridge on the loading platform. I thankfully had the awareness to pull back at the last second vs lean into it. Very grateful it's not worse: just some light bruising.

• Left knee was doing well until the sandbag. Feels like I stretched out whatever is bugging it. But it's not clicking and catching like it has been, so I'm hoping some ice will be enough.

• Weighed in at 79.9kg: lowest Monday/post carb weigh in for the entire cycle. Last night was spaghetti with meat sauce, some homemade sourdough rolls and then 4 of the Valkyrie's pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip butterscotch cookies (she makes them just for me) and a sourdough oatmeal cream pie, all with raw local honey. I've legit got no reason to get any leaner at this point, outside of our cruise coming up. I see myself upping food leading up to the comp.

Training Log: Entry 3846

AM WORKOUT (0400 Wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 2, Workout 5

18 chins
18 dips

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

Log clean and press
2xLog
1x150
1x170
1x200
1x220 (failed attempt at double)

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

SSB front squat
5x5x235

1 min rounds of loading w/2min rest

• Rounds 1 and 3: 6x135lb stone of steel

• Rounds 2 and 4: 3x250lb keg

• Round 5: 3x200lb sandbag

ASSISTANCE

3 giant sets of 30 second SSB front rack hold w/345, 10 hanging leg raises and 25 band pull aparts

Notes:

• Zero desire to do this today, but I knew it was the ticket I needed to punch to have my weekend. My knee feels shot at the end of the day but "normal" at the start, which is progress. I could still find ways to piss it off during the training (specifically trying to pick up the keg standing up vs laying down), so I didn't push totally into the redline, but in general this was a very solid and "normal" training day, and continues to bode well for my healing.

• Though I continue to only push out singles on the log, they are feeling better AND I'm doing this at lighter and lighter bodyweights (more to follow). The clean is getting less wasteful.

• Front squats sunk to the bottom without resistance. The faster I move on them, the less they suck.

• Happy with how loading went. I really like rotating the movement WITHIN the workout. I think that has some real legs to it.

• Tang Soo Do last night was pretty low energy, but we got some major kudos from our head instructor over a synchronized hyung we pulled off. The dynamic movements in class definitely test my connective tissue. My knee is good moving in a straight line, but all the lateral stuff is stressing it.

• Weighed in at 79.6kg this morning. Well bleep. Goal wasn't to see a 7 as the first number, but I'm certainly not starving myself and my strength is still holding on well. I'm going to be in an excellent position for gaining after my cruise. This is something Jamie Lewis talked about: as you get leaner, you can get away with MORE nutritional debauchery, and the body just seems to perpetuate more and more leanness.

Training Log: Entry 3845

AM WORKOUT (0420 Wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 2, Workout 4

18 chins
18 dips

"INDOOR POWER INTERVALS"

• 2 min "max effort" on rower

• 5 min rest

• Repeat for 5 rounds total

30 min walk

18 chins
18 dips

Notes:

• This is typically my prowler day, but woke up to the storm of the century. Raining sheets and arc lighting in the sky. Thankfully this workout is a total barn burner and does exactly what I need it to do, to the point that, outside of competition, I can definitely see this being a regular feature.

• Called it at 5 rounds because that's when quality was significantly dropping off. Got an outstanding conditioning effect, and then used some of the downtime to get in some steps. Walked up and down my basement stairs during part of that as well, to help build/test my knee. It's feeling more and more normal with each day. Gives me hope for my fitness test and comp at the end of the month.

• The "via Valkyrie's alarm" is because she's been getting up early to get in training these days as well. Been nice to not be the only one up and about at stupid early hours.

• Weighed in at 81.0kg. Looking leaner by the day.

• I kinda REALLY want this weight vest, but I'm curious if I want it for $190

• 

Training Log: Entry 3844

AM WORKOUT (0400 Wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 2, Workout 3

18 Chins
18 Dips

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

Log clean and strict press away
3x5x165

SSB front squat
3x5x135

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

(2) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
10x425+chains

ASSISTANCE

Axle curls
3x5x106

3 round giant set of 10 hanging leg raises and 25 band pull aparts

Lateral raise dropset

AM WORKOUT II (0830)

3.5 mile trail walk

Notes:

• It's been 1 week since I borked my knee, and I actually woke up feeling really good this morning. There's still some swelling and minor bits of pain, but definitely not "holy crap I tore my meniscus/ACL" dysfunction. I took my war up slow and steady and came in with a policy of "do what you can, don't do what you can't". Log and squat both felt strong.

• The mat pulls was the most controlled set of pulls I've had in months and, consequently, the strongest I've felt. I had more reps in me, but shut it down at 10 because it was the right and safe call, and as a result my knee AND my SI joint/IT band all feel awesome. First time in months I can say that. Lotta lessons to learn there.

• Curls were solid as well. Just a strong day in general.

• Got the day off work for the kiddo's first day of school, so after we dropped them off the Valkyrie and I got in a walk. Still coffee fasted at that point.

• Tang Soo Do was semi-active last night. "Cardio hyungs". Biggest thing is I'm doing exactly what my instructor says and taking them gently: no power in them. Tai Chi style. He came up to me in class and told me he noticed my efforts, and the big thing he gave me was "With your stature, even when you DON'T put power into the technique, it's powerful enough to have the desired effect". That was the feedback I needed. Ok: game on. He also gave me a compliment, demonstrating an elbow strike technique to the abdomen and saying "The intent here is to soften up the target with the strike", he then struck my abdomen and commented "Probably isn't going to work on you, but on OTHER people..."

• Weighed 80.3kg this morning. Roulette diet keeps working magic.

Training Log: Entry 3843

AM WORKOUT (0510 wake up via Valkyrie's alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 2, Workout 2

18 chins
18 dips

"FOBBITS" on rower w/Naihanchi Cho Don

• 2 minutes on rower

• 1 Naihanchi Cho Don

• 20 minutes total

Notes:

• This didn't feel terrible on my knee. A few clicks here and there, but I was able to put out the effort I needed to match/exceed previous weeks' work. I had more issues during the hyung portion, but even then it was survivable. I'm thinking I may have re-torn the meniscus rather than the ACL graft based on how quickly I'm recovering and how much the knee is clicking/catching. Swelling is pretty much gone, and I'm spending as much time OUT of a brace/sleeve as possible to promote blood flow to recover.

• This was still just a good conditioning effort in general. After 20 minutes, I'm feeling pretty taxed. Pulled up my garmin data and my RHR is back to 41 from 44, so things are moving in a good way, and that tends to correlate with how changes in bodyweight go.

• We have Tang Soo Do tonight. It's wildcard/cardio, but we're outside of physical testing requirements, so no more extensive push ups/sit ups. I'm also taking my hyungs slow in class, per my instructor's guidance, so not too much of a cardio hit. We're taking the day off work tomorrow for my kid's first day of school and getting lunch at our favorite BBQ spot, so schedule will be a little different. Still intend to get up early to train though.

• Weighed 81.7kg this morning. Been taking down a lot of fluids/electrolytes recently, as I can't get ahead of the cramping. Another issue I tend to experience as I get leaner.

 Training Log: Entry 3842

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 2, Workout 1

18 Chins
18 Dips

PRIMARY MOVEMENT

SSB front squat
2xBar
1x135
1x185
1x225
1x275
4x275

SECONDARY MOVEMENTS

Log clean and strict press away
5x5x165

Stone of Steel to Platform
5 rounds, 1 min each, 2 min rest, w/135lb stone

ASSISTANCE

2 giant sets of 30 second SSB front rack hold w/365, 10 hanging leg raises, 25 band pull aparts

Notes:

• Per the norm, I put on "Book of bad decisions" for this workout and sent it. I feel like Old Man Logan, as my knee is continuing to heal, just not as fast as I would like. That said, on Wed, it was legit clicking with every single step I took, which was also a limp and a lot of pain with no stability. Today, it clicked 3 times heading downstairs and then snapped back into place, and it felt fine during the squats. I still played it safe and kept it at a weight I can manage and didn't chase reps deep to failure. I'm a few hours post training and it legit feels like a regular knee again, so I'm thinking I made the right call.

• The log is feeling more explosive on the clean. Really trying to get it on the belly and then snap it into place. If I can save energy on the clean, I can put it into the press, and it tends to put me in a better ack position.

• Kept the weight light on the loading and focused on technique. I can tell I rely on my connective tissues to bear some load on these movements, and that's not smart right now.

• Weighed 80.1kg this morning. Lightest post-carb weigh in for the cycle, and I'm looking very lean at this point. This has been a great experiment in leaning out and supporting training. In Sep, I hit 2 years on Tactical Barbell, and I feel like I've got a solid handle on how "seasons" work for training now. I'm champing at the bit to start gaining again.

Training Log: Entry 3841

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

OPERATION CORNHISTERKUR Phase 2

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO Cycle 4, Week 1, Workout 5

TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO (Strength): 50 Rounds of 5 burpees, 3 dips, 3 chins (Work Capacity/SE)| New Window

“PAULIE CICERO”

50 rounds EMOM

• 5 burpees
• 3 chins
• 3 dips

Notes:

• Named this workout after the Goodfellas character, with the famous quote “F–k you: pay me”, because that’s ultimately how every EMOM workout works. Doesn’t matter how tired you are, if you’re hurt, if you’re slipping on sweat on the mats, timer goes off “F–k you: pay me”
• This workout itself is an audible. I woke up and my knee was feeling BETTER, but not 100% healed. I COULD have pushed it through a training session, but I recognized that the damage (not risk) to reward ratio was unfavorable as it related to being able to compete at the end of the month (which I now have a 3rd person in my division, counting me, so that’s cool). So made this a SE/WC workout instead.
• I haven’t performed this kind of training in a LONG time, but I’m not skipping a beat on it. That’s an excellent sign of how overall fitness is holding up. Reviewing the video, I’m also quite lean while my arms have kept their size, so I’m firing on some cylinders that were previously rusted. Really getting things figured out.
• Knee held out well through this. Just enough stimulus to remind it. And now I’m 250 burpees, 150 chins and 150 dips into my day.
• Tang Soo Do last night was low energy, but still got the physical testing requirements, and we’ve been given the task of incorporating Sais into our hyung for Oct, so we’re going to spend some months channeling our inner Raphaels.
• Weighed 80.3kg. Lightest I’ve been on a Friday all cycle, and that’s with a Wed lunch at a Brazilian steakhouse. Go Roulette diet.