Slept until 0630, dog was going nuts, brought it downstairs, fed it, got in a Tabata squat and push up workout while it ate and immediately went on 2 mile walk with dog after that.
Came home, Valkyrie made amazing breakfast, signed up for 2 strongman competitions.
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30 SEP: Strength Games V at Johnston Iowa
14 Oct: QRF Strongman Invitational
Currently 11lbs below the lowest weight class and weak as a kitten: rock on. Already developed a way to make Easy Strength and MMS work for this. Boxing is most likely going to get hung up again while I shift focus toward events stuff, but this will be a small pivot. Will flesh it out when I have more time.
Had a lot of pork ribs and chopped brisket for lunch, came home, got in this workout
**DEATH BY STONING**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o6xVONVM14
EMOM, 20 rounds of 1 135lb stone to shoulder and 5 burpee chins, then went on a 2 mile walk with my kid
Already figuring out where to get in the events work.
Valkyrie made Crack Chicken for dinner. Made it with some real high quality ingrediants. Goat's milk cream cheese, grassfed New Zealand Cheddar, "Smart chicken" chicken breast (local company, uses air chiller technology, kinda unique), Trader Joe's brand ranch seasoning and Trader Joe's no sugar bacon. It came out amazing. Super anabolic. Told my wife and kiddo they have a job to fatten me up like cattle for this competition.
On that note: brunch tomorrow. Carnivore rather than Rampage. Will Rampage with steak dinner tomorrow.
Friday, July 7, 2023
Training Log: Entry 2998
AM WORKOUT (0418 natural wake up) FASTED
**MESS (Mass-Easy, Strength-Simple)** WORKOUT 3
Axle clean and strict press/weighted chin superset 3x3x136 3x3x30lb
* Overhead lockout down, rack walk back * Rack one side, hang the other, then switch * Farmer carry * Suitcase carry * Duck walk
Hang it up go straight into 2 mile 60lb weighted vest walk in time of 34:55 at 3.4 mph pace
Notes:
* This is straight out of the “Easy Strength for Fat Loss” playbook. Do the workout and then go straight out the door for a walk. In that, I feel like I’ve established a solid battle rhythm moving forward. Hitting up a “For Fat Loss” workout the workout BEFORE the “Mass Made Simple” workout is going to prime my body for growth, and it’s also going to serve very well into the purpose of a “rest” day, as this is very much tonic/non-taxing. Yeah, Dan would most likely consider this more in the realm of a recharge day, but for operating purposes, this fits really well. So the schedule can shake out MMS-Boxing-ESFFL-MMS-Boxing repeat. And that boxing day can slide into “hard WOD” day as desired.
* Less sleep than usual today. Got to bed late.
* Kept the weights the same as last time so I can really get a feel and “own them” ala Jim Wendler, who I was listening to on a Podcast while I walked and he had some very “Easy Strength” things to say regarding how he uses 5/3/1 with beginner trainees. It’s crazy how it all comes around.
* Getting a little better handle on keeping my head on the clean and press. Was able to fight through the spins.
* Chains were getting in the path of the plates on the pulls, forcing me to pull from a poor position, which is honestly great chaos training. Good for competition prep.
* I love that I can just wing the carries. It’s basically “structured play”.
* Stepped on the scale and saw 170.something. Good to see me trending upward.
Remember that these are supposed to be LOADED carries, put on 20lb vest, continue w/
2 trips keg shouldered (1 per side) 1 trip keg bearhug carry 1 trip keg crass body carry
*BOXING*
5 2 minute rounds w/30 seconds rest * Rounds 1-4 focus on technique and combinations, round 5 constant attack for full 2 minutes
*5 MINUTES OF CONDITIONING*
21 DKB front squats w/24kg bells 21 burpees 15 goblet squats w/24kg bell 15 burpees
Goblet squat until timer runs out
2 mile walk w/dog
THEN breakfast
Notes:
* Still getting a feel for where the program is going to go, but this was a fantastic proof of concept run. Got in the lifting, to include the carries, the BAS work, and a short conditioning workout. For that final bit, it was all based off time available, and then I also remembered how Dan said he couldn’t get the squat to work with Easy Strength so it was best to include it in the warm-up to keep the movement grooved, and I feel like this answered the mail. I also think I’ll stick with goblets whenever possible, because they rock, but in the heat of the moment I was just coming up with whatever I could to make my heart beat.
* Weights were much closer to the intention of the program today. Almost blacked out on the final set of the press, but ultimately that’s just early morning blood pressure stuff. No real way to overcome it. The weight itself wasn’t terribly heavy. Deads with chains are absolutely the way forward. Stupidly forgot the vest for the first set of carries, but after that things were good, AND I remembered the option of wearing CHAINS alongside a weighted vest, so now I have more ways available to “never repeat the same carry workout” per Dan’s instructions.
* It was good to hit the BAS again. It had a conditioning effect, and it got me moving my body through space. I have to make a concentrated effort to really let my hips get loose, let my arms extend, be fluid, move around, etc. Make the most of this tool and this training. But, if nothing else, it’s just good to “be back”. It’s also good to not really care about if I’m doing it right. I’m sure the internet will tear apart my technique and everything else. I WILL say that this is literally my first time every training in “this body”. I’ve never been this light while doing striking. I wrestled near this bodyweight, but was always heavier when I was training boxing. I FEEL lighter, and moving is a bit easier.
* Walking the dog was a target of opportunity. Didn’t think I’d have the chance. Gave me a chance to extend the fast. In that regard, I think “fasted” training is the way forward for me. I write fasted in quotes because I’m having a shake around midnight each night, so I’m really not far away from my last food intake, and in turn I’m not waking up hungry nor do I feel like my performance is suffering. I don’t get hungry in the middle of the workout like I used to. If that changes, I’ll change, but this seems to be working out well enough. I say all this while I’m technically running “Mass Made Simple”, so maybe I’m totally missing the point…but Chaos is the plan.
* Looking to get in another walk with the family this evening, and I’ll find some time for some push ups and squats.
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Training Log: Entry 2996
AM WORKOUT (0420 natural wake up) FASTED
**MESS (Mass-Easy, Strength-Simple)** Day 1, Workout 1
Axle clean and strict press away
3x3x141
Weighted chin
3x3x30lbs
Deficit double overhand axle deadlift
3x251
2x251
3x191
Standing ab wheel
1x10
Reverse hyper
75x180
COMPLEX A (row-clean-front squat-press-squat-good morning)
3xBar
3x95
3x115
High bar Squats
30x95
1.5 mile run
Notes:
* Day 1 of the mash-up. I was too heavy on just about everything, which is expected from being a meathead. I have to be at peace with how light of a bodyweight I am these days, and the impact that’s going to have on maximal strength. It’s why this is going to be a good program for me: developed strength at THIS size, and also try to IMPROVE this size. I specifically picked a very difficult deadlift variant so I could get out of my head with weights, although thinking about it I might even throw some chains into the mix next go round to really get my head out. It will also make loading simple. I really want to streamline this program and make it smooth, fast, simple and easy to execute, so I can leave the weights on the bar/platform between workouts and be able to just roll into the garage and nail a workout should the need arise.
* Dan says multiple times in his book that, if he had to do it all over again, he’d only do 3x3 with the program, so I am going with that for now. If the need arises, there are other ways to go about Easy Strength, but right now I’m appreciating keeping it simple.
* Sticking with the underhand grip on chins because I need to really keep stressing those biceps. Lesson I learned from tearing it.
* I’ve also decided to use a squat style I’ve literally never done before for the Mass Made Simple portion of this. I feel like that’s an excellent challenge and way to really make this program interesting. I could feel it too! 30 reps of 95 was a challenge. Getting my bodyweight for 50 by the end of the program will be a fantastic goal.
* My schedule is going to be tricky today, so I got in a run vs my dog walking so I could cover some ground. I’m starting my new (and hopefully final before retirement) job today, and learning the hours and expectations. Exciting times ahead.
* That Rampage meal I had may very well serve to be THE ideal model of what works for me, because my body has responded the best to that approach compared to any of the others. I woke up this morning GRAINY. My wife’s exact words were “You could be a statue”. I’ve never seen that before. And I actually had an appetite when I went to bed, and was ready to eat after my workout (and still had my wake and shake in the middle of the night). I wasn’t bloated to the point of discomfort, I wasn’t sweating Crisco and grease during the workout or feeling like I needed a cleanse, but I’m ALSO not flat from a lack of carbs and my energy feels strong. There was no junk in that meal, as even dessert was something from home made with quality ingredients. I ate meat to the point of bursting and had carbs from a lot of sources, but NOT to a point of absurd excess. I’ll definitely need to remember this and model after it. It’ll be a great working way forward. I’m enjoying this nutritional discovery so much. The tinkering is the best part.
* On the above, meal prep after that huge BBQ is pretty awesome. My lunch today is a smoked chicken thigh and 5 deviled eggs. Dinner will be leftover beef ribs. This is living.
* Tang Soo Do later today. Got the push ups and squats in while dinner cooked.
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Training Log: Entry 2995
Woke up at 0630 because dog was going nuts, got in a Tabata squats and push ups workout while it ate, and then pushed to get in the rest of the 300 before going out for a fasted 2.5 mile walk with the dog. Valkyrie was making me breakfast when I returned, so I returned to the smell of bacon cooking. That's just absolutely amazing.
Made deviled eggs for the first time as an appetizer while we worked through the day and for our cookout meal at home.
Did them "mexican style", using 1/4 cup of salsa, 1/4 cup of grassfed sour cream and some taco seasoning mixed with the yokes. It was Valkyrie approved, which is huge. I have a new side in my cookbook: that's clutch. I LOVE deviled eggs, and this is very much inline with how I eat. The salsa is technically "not-carnivore", but whatever, I'm no martyr over this stuff, it's all quality nutrition.
Made a TON of meat for the 4th of July. In total was 4 chicken thighs, 3 beef back ribs, 2 beef chuck bone-in short ribs, 2 bison burgers, 2 hamburgers, 1 grassfed burger, 4 polish sausages and, 2 hot dogs, all of it done on a Ninja Woodfire Outdoor grill, the majority of it smoke, with just 1 3 sausages, 2 hot dogs and 2 burgers grilled.
Somewhere in the middle, I got in a workout to celebrate independence day.
It was "only" 1 plate, because I put enough on it. 2 beef chuck bone-in short ribs, 1 chicken thigh, 1 double bison burger with goat cheese on homemade sour dough with a slice of raw local tomato and some raw local avocado alongside some zero sugar BBQ sauce, 1 smoked polish sausage, 1 local sweet potato with raw local honey on it, 1 homemade cornbread muffin (just the top), a bit of local sweet corn, some local apples and cherries and 3 "mexican style" deviled eggs.
Not pictured was dessert, which my kiddo made all by themselves. It was a mini-chocolate pudding pie inside of a cute pie dish. I ate the whole thing and told my kid what an awesome job they did making it. I loved being able to be that dad at that moment. This kid also got to learn the best part about smoking meat: watching youtube videos while you wait! They were a champion at that, as we watched "Erik the Electric" take on American themed food.
After the meal, I felt like Erik in one of his videos, so we all went on a 3 mile walk out in the sun. I moved from my third back down to my second trimester of food baby in time for us to watch some fireworks. Brings the evening to a close. 2 BIG meals, and probably like 300g of protein in that last one. Might actually be fun to tabulate sometime. My Mass Made Simple/Easy Strength mash-up begins tomorrow. Plan is to call it the "MESS" program. "Mass-Easy, Strength-Simple". Simply because the acronym fits it well, but, in truth, the more I listen to Dan, the more I think this is totally inline with how he'd structure things. Either way, this will be exactly what I need, because I'm still pretty damn sick and my strength is down. Time to swallow my ego, even MORE food, learn and grow.
Training Log: Entry 2994
Got up at 0700 because the dog was being a total pain. She didn't sleep well with all the fireworks going off. Took her downstairs to let my Valkyrie get her much deserved rest, did some Tabata squats and push ups while the dog had breakfast, and then went on a fasted walk. Longer than usual: Kentucky Windage it to 2.5 miles.
Got home, Valkyrie whipped me up a warrior's breakfast of 2 omelets (2 eggs, 1 white) and lots of meat, and then we sailed off for adventure. I sampled coffee at various locals for the majority of my hydration and caffeination, and we acquired many steps. At some point through it all, I got in more push ups and bodyweight squats to reach daily goals.
I effectively fasted between my morning and evening meal, rather than my typical protein sparring modified fast. As an aside: was listening to a Carnivore podcast the other day from a carnivore bodybuilder that spoke to a conclusion I drew: traditional fasting is popular in the carnivore community because most there are actively using the approach FOR fat loss because they're coming from it in an obese state. For a lean athlete: PSFM is the preferred style of fasting. A carnivore based one works (egg whites and lean cuts of meat), and my shake based one answers the mail as well. Honestly good to close the chapter on that, and proof of concept regarding why it's usual to be accumulating info/perspectives. That was one piece of info buried in 40 minutes of conversation, but a big piece.
I actually had a similar one in a Dan John podcast I was listening to while walking the dog: "LOADED carry" means carry WHILE under a load. Wearing a weight vest would be "being under a load". Hell, I've RECOMMENDED carries with a vest, and even done them before, but TOTALLY forgot about them while looking at Easy Strength. Definitely going to feature that in. I plan to do a write-up of my intended approach for this mash up soon.
**BACK ON TOPIC**
While out, we hit up a used bookstore and I scored an AMAZING find of Jack Dempsey's "Championship Fighting", along with a "Viking Warrior Operations Manual" and a $3 book on Scandinavian Mythology.
That's just plain ol' Kismet. Literally buying that book re-light a fire in me to get back onto hitting a bag again. I've got plans on working that into the training.
I also obtained a stupidly cheap single waffle maker. It's made by the same company that makes the little griddle I bring on work trips, so I know it's legit. One more attempt at chaffles is ahead of me.
We eventually obtained all the plunder we needed from our raiding and voyaging, so we feasted. I discovered that the tavern of Buffalo Wings and Rings was offering SMOKED WINGS. They sold them in 5s and 10s. I asked if they could do 15. They did 15.
I ate 15. And the tips of the bones and all.
We eventually returned from our voyage as heroes, warmly greeted by our beloved animal companion as we unloaded the vessel with our loot. At some point, I performed 25 burpees in celebration and the entire family engaged in a 3 mile walk outside in the warm sunlight, observing explosions of color and stardust all around us.
Upon my return, I prepared part of the next day's feast (the short ribs of a bovine rich in muscle) by using a sharp weapon to remove it's silver skin
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At one point, during the day, I told my wife that, flat out, if you were to ask me to describe a perfect day, yesterday would have been it. Some training, amazing food, lots of family time, some retail therapy, a lot of walking and a lot of peace.
Monday, July 3, 2023
Training Log: Entry 2993
Summary of yesterday
Got up at 0530. Wife set an early alarm to work on a masters paper. Used the opportunity to get in a hard workout with no real gameplan aside from just training my butt off before brunch so I could have the most anabolic brunch possible. Found out I had ZERO pull in me whatsoever during my warm-ups: gonna attribute it to my illness and that injury on my right lat starting to show itself again (feeling some clicks and pulls, most likely coinciding with reduced bodyweight meaning less supportive material around the injury site). Just played it by ear and did the following
21-15-9 of burpees into chins in hands wide SSB squat of 135
IMMEDIATELY INTO AMRAP 225+chains mat pull
As soon as I was done, my kid was awake, so to keep them from distracting the Mrs, we took the dog out for a 2+ mile walk.
Brunch was carnivore, which I loved. It was nice not to have to gorge myself "because". Just loaded up on eggs, and then restricted bacon to 2-3 strips per trip to the buffet line and limited the breakfast sausage just to keep the fillers low. Also scrapped the tops off about 7 different slices of pizza to get in a bunch of cheese alongside various processed meats. Made sure to walk away satisfied but not overly stuffed.
Did chores for a few hours, came home, mowed the lawn and then immediately upon finishing hit up a 5 minute burpee chins blitz
Biggest issue was overcoming the coughing that kept hitting me. But was good to get in that micro workout. Nice to do these things because I want to rather than because I feel an obligation to.
Hung around until Mrs finished her paper, which put us in a state of a later dinner, so we went out to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate, I ordered the full rack of ribs and for my sides "2 side salads, in the same bowl, hold everything but the eggs". Waiter HOOKED ME UP
And there were no survivors for the ribs
Also, while we were out, I bought the food for my next Rampage...life is different these days
I AM planning on adding alongside this some local honey, homemade sourdough, cornbread, and most likely a Finibar, as that worked out decently well last time.
I haven't worn any sunblock this summer, and have an incredibly deep tan from all this time outside. Also, all my plantar warts have healed: something I just realized the other day. Really wild the impact of this nutritional change.
