May 29, 2018 – Week 4, Day 1

5 Minutes Expresso Interactive Upright Exercise Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Goblet Box Squats
20x25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Axle Jerks
72x1
92x1
112x1
132x1
152x1
172x1
192x1
EMOM Style
212x1
212x1
212x1
212x1
212x1
212x1
212x1
212x1
212x1
212x1

Chest Supported Rows
100x10
150x5
190x3
240x2
280x1
330x8

Barbell Bench Presses
50x10
100x5
150x3
200x2
250x1
300x6
1 Second Pauses
250x6

Wide Grip Hang
bwx62.98 seconds PR+4.69 seconds

Stretching

Comments: Mind was not in a good place last week. Thankfully I was able to catch up on much needed sleep (I slept for 13.5hrs Saturday night) so while still not happy I was at least allowing myself a chance to recover. I think that the everyday pressing is getting to be too much for my pressing muscles as it wasn’t until after all this sleep that my triceps and shoulders started to get sore and twitch like crazy. Upper back was feeling like it needed to be cracked all day. Granted my hamstrings were a little too. Right knee a little swollen from the resting the power keg on it but no issues or pain as far movement. Left thumb is sore from the keg loads since that is the side with no handle. Not joint pain like my right thumb has had when doing circus dumbbell so I know it will heal up. But it was a good thing that I got all the time to sleep and relax as this day started off poorly. Due to poor planning on the cities part (I commute to work) I ended up having my normal 15 minute drive to work take over and hour. I live 5 miles away. By the time the work day was over, I really wanted to hit the gym haha. Still stupid humid in the gym. Picked a random course on the virtual bike. Not a wise decision as it ended up being a very “hilly” course. Heart rate got up to 162bpm. A bit more effort than expected here. Need to pick the one I did last time. On to the warm-ups. Started off upstairs as I wanted to avoid being in the sauna a bit longer. Calf raise stuff is still pretty easy. But they were very, very tight. Change made to the box squats. Advised to do them with a 20lbs kettlebell held goblet style. Same stance but push out the knees. Hardly noticed the added weight on these. Maybe it acts as a counterbalance? Meant to film these but didn’t bring the camera with me. The barbells upstairs were in use so downstairs for RDLs with a barbell. Some reps felt better than others. Some reps I think I was mimicking the squat more with knees out as opposed to hips back. Then more normal stuff like band rows and push-ups. These felt alright. Then a short plank hold. Easy but working on keeping everything flexed and tight. Sweat pouring by this point. Biceps stretches and then the hip swings out in the hallway. I was dripping sweat from my hands after this little warm-up. I had to wait a little after that for the power rack to be available to start the lifting part of the workout. Plan was to do axle jerks out of the rack. Warm up to 70% and then EMOM workout. I had thought about doing singles with 20lbs jumps or more reps with big jumps (44-25lbs jumps). The bumper plates I needed were in use so I did the 20lbs jump singles plan. Took a little bit to have the axle feel comfortable on my shoulders from the rack. Empty axle I was feeling like crap and worried that 70% was going to be 110% today. Left inner thigh felt tight on the “sploot” jerk but not painful. My twitchy right triceps cramped up on my last warm-up. Not good. I stretched and massaged it as best I could and hoped that it wasn’t going to be an issue on the workout. Jerks actually felt pretty good once I got going. I did have to rub my triceps and lat insert on a barbell between sets on some reps. Sweaty hands wasn’t helping with this. I think only one rep where I feel that I let the weight go in front of me too much. I miss these sessions from before. But there is a time and place it would seem. Rows after this. Usually this is volume sets but this time it was more like what I did with bench and floor press where I do what I need to work up to a decent set. Holding back obviously. 6-8 reps with something I could hit for 9-10. I figured the plate-quarter-plate jumps would be fine here. Second time doing these since the biceps injury and last time my upper back was wrecked from gardening. A little hesitant at the start of the sets but felt great and even my top set was easy. Well within the margins I’d say. Next was bench. The one bench downstairs I can use was in use. So upstairs with the weird plates. Same parameters as chest supported rows. I figured 5lbs more than last time wouldn’t be crazy. I was wrong. My right triceps was not helping today. Also my hamstrings kept cramping on me. I’m still drinking a lot water, eating a lot of potassium and 21gs of BCAAs a workout. They mostly stayed under control (unrack was a little less forceful). But the legs attacked me on the top set with 300lbs. Lost all stability and eeked out six reps. Not what I was planning, expecting or wanting. Down set went much better with pauses. I stopped at six to keep it matching. I was honestly just going to go for six unless I felt really good with the previous set anyways with how the triceps was feeling. Last thing for the day was the grip hang. I wasn’t sure what to expect here. My left forearm was very sore from the explosive pulling nature of the ejector seat keg clean the sweat from the axle had torn a callus on my right pinkie finger. Left thumb still sore too. This wasn’t the day I was expecting to break a minute. I did a longer count and I managed to get past the minute mark. But I wasn’t certain until I got to check the video. Finally got past it, now I can add some weight. Of course the day wasn’t complete as when I was taking the bar off the top of the power rack, a piece of it chipped off and fell into my eye. Had to flush it out with water and saline solution. I really just wanted to get home to stretch and eat my non-judgmental meatloaf.

May 26, 2018 – Week 3, Day 3

5 Minutes 35lbs Sled Walk (on turf)

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Keg Clean and Push Presses
27x2
80x2
100x1
120x1
Power Keg
146x1
171x1
195x1
221x1
243x1
269x0
269x0
269x0

Keg Load Over Bar
298x1 to 64”
298x1 to 64”
354x1 to 64”
354x0 to 66”
354x1 to 66” PR+4lbs & 1“
354x0 to 68”

Prowler 2 Drags/Pushes (turf, 60 seconds rest)
105x93’/93’
105x93’/93’
105x93’/93’
105x93’/93’
105x93’/93’

Stretching

Comments: Body is achy. Mentally a little bit better of a place now. Friday was scheduled to be busy but ended up being fairly calm for work. No walking as I wanted to get dinner over with so that I could try and get at least 9hrs a sleep. I set my alarm for normal get up for work time as I had a family thing in the afternoon that I needed to do. But I still slept in about 30 minutes after that. It was a hot one today. It was about 85 when I started but it was 91 by the time I finished up. The gym is open air so I was still inside for training. I didn’t want to use the exercise bike. So I found a light sled and looped some tow straps around my waist and walked with it on the turf for five minutes. Joints ached and muscles were sore. Calf raise stuff is easy. Nice and springy. Regular box squats after that. Knees ached. Most they’ve done on this day in the week that I can think of. RDLs with a barbell. Felt ok. Trying to get the hamstrings going good. Knees not so achy here. Band rows were great as were push-ups. Easy plank hold followed by the biceps stretches. A little tricky finding a space to do the hip swings. Eventually went outside to find a space. Not fun being out in the heat even for that little amount of time. Weight time. This workout was essentially replaced due to how much things sucked on Day 1. It was going to be yoke and block carry but now it was back to essentially a repeat of the first workout of the cycle on Day 3. So keg press to a top single again. Idea being to stay conservative. I’m really not good with that term it seems as I see single and I think go heavy. I was going to be trying to adjust my form on these so that it wasn’t like trying to do a big log press. I stink at one motions. Not sure but maybe my levers are too long for the keg that way? I have a hard time picturing it in my head rolling it up and the hand position. The plan was to try and get the keg to rest on my shoulder and side of my head. I had my “load style” and then there was another one I had seen. Prop the keg upright on the opposing knee and cross-body clean it to the shoulder. I had heard that someone at the gym does it this way (never seen it) but I had seen a women’s competitor on Instagram do it. It looked ridiculous but I figured I’d try anything that might make this more manageable. We’ll call is “ejector seat style”. So empty keg I did a rep with each style. Slow and steady for load and really fast for ejector seat. It took me a second to figure it out. Pulled out the lightest normal keg with weight and gave that a shot. Ejector seat still working ok. I did a second rep with the load to see. Ejector seat was weird but effective. So I figured I’d keep going up with this funky style and have my load setup as a backup. After 120lbs, I switched to the power keg. Couldn’t get 25lbs jumps to be exact as weight takes up space and have to remove spacers. I tried adding in fractional and smaller plates to try and keep the jumps more even. The big thing I noticed was that the bottom of the power keg is deeper so there is less surface area when I rest it on my leg for the ejector seat. Got a bruise on my knee from it. May need to wear a knee sleeve or something with padding next time. 221lbs went up really fast. Next jump ended up being 243lbs. Not bad. A little less stable but it went up way better than 240lbs did two weeks ago with the old style. I probably should’ve stopped here but I was curious. Granted looking at past video, my 250lbs from months ago leading up to Iron Goliath looked about as solid and that was a tough lift. 243lbs didn’t feel tough, just a little unstable on the press. So I loaded up the next weight and it came out to 269lbs. 6lbs under contest weight. Clean was a bit harder to get but got it up there. However, I never got stable with it and the thing was just rolling around up there. Never really got set and went to press it and it just wasn’t there. Pinky, ring and middle finger were aching after that missed attempt. Not sure what was different in placement in my hand from the previous attempts. Maybe time under tension? I reset things and figured I’d try the load style to see if that went any better. It did not. It is too slow on the transition and it results in a much harder finish to get it to the shoulder and side of my head. I shut it down when I got to that point as it was going to be a struggle to get it into pressing position, let alone pressing it. I then gave it another shot with the ejector seat but it wasn’t there this time and I stopped when it became apparent I was going to have to fight this one on to my shoulder too. Well at least 275lbs doesn’t seem so far out of reach that I was attempting a 19lbs PR. Up next was keg for height training. Plan was to go 2” higher than last time and try to bump up the height from there. Idea was to try and “push press” the keg up over the bar. Took a bit to setup things for this. Grip shirt and spandex again. Trying to cut down on friction on the pick and have the best surface to roll up the keg. I was to go right at contest weight from the start but I figured I should do 300lbs for a single to make sure I was good since I had been doing the ejector seat cleans for the keg most of the session. I also wanted to give the power keg some respect. It’s a loadable keg but it always feels harder to me. Like 300lbs keg feels easier than 300lbs on the power keg. It was a good thing I did do a single with about 300lbs (2lbs shy) as I just sucked. I had thought that laying the power keg on it’s side would make the pick less taxing. I was wrong. Made me have a wider stance and more lower back. My “push press” was nonexistent. I was pretty much pushing myself away as opposed to the keg going up. So I did another with the tilt pick style and that was much better. Volume not as high but more heavy weights lifted. 354lbs was the closest I could get it to 350lbs with the spacers I had. I didn’t want to be going under contest weight. 354lbs was heavy off the floor. Really working on keeping my right arm straight so not to stress the biceps too much. The bottom lip of the keg was digging into my left inner calf each time. I got it up and over 64”. A little discouraging how hard this felt when last time it felt easy and I was pretty much just walking the keg over. Never really had to work at height on loads. Yoke goes up by 2” so the next height was 66”. First attempt no go. I was about 2” shy. I added 200lbs to the yoke to make it more stable a base in case I ran into it. Didn’t want another knock to the noggin. It felt like an exercise in futility to try again but I did. Just told myself that I needed to get it higher up on chest. This seemed to work and I got it over this time. I had gone blind to what was around me (can’t see anything when I have it up that high and a man and his young daughter were walking down the hallway. I apologized (quietly) for dropping the keg in front of them but they weren’t moving and keg was still going. I’m shy and my warning to “look out” was also quiet and went unheeded. I had figured they didn’t realize how heavy the object slowly rolling to them was. Didn’t want anyone hurting themselves. Bumped up the height another 2”. I may not get it but it would still be doing a full extension. Hit about the same spot as missed attempted with 66” the first time. That was it for the day for me. Last thing was light conditioning. Sled drag into prowler push. Five sets with 60 seconds rest. Idea was to get blood flowing and good sweat going. So just 30lbs added to the prowler and that was enough. Length of the gym down and back. I was definitely moving slower than I would’ve liked but I was tired. Knees were aching by the end. Home to stretch and get ready for the rest of the day.

May 24, 2018 – Week 3, Day 2

5 Minutes Expresso Interactive Upright Exercise Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Deadlifts (suit/straps)
Straps Down
135x5
225x3
315x2
Straps Up
405x1
495x1
495x1
495x1

Stretching

Comments: Still feeling down on myself. Just not as bad. I had done chores at home rather than go for a walk after work. This too shall pass. Body is feeling pretty beat. Shoulders tight, triceps twitching, lower back and hamstrings getting tight. I look at the stuff I’m doing as far as the workouts and I don’t feel like this should be wearing me down so much. The fancy bike was available this time again. Rather than keep it at the training section where I just pedal with nothing, I picked a course. The course was better as the program had “other riders” and had fun overtaking them and deliberately riding the bike towards them. I know, childish but it made it interesting. Calves were tight but felt ok. Less wrist pressure this time. Regular box squats after that. Some knee ache but pretty much the best these have felt on this day during the week. Usually the roughest day. Right into the RDLs with a barbell. Knees were much more achy on these. More so than squats. Band rows were great. Push-ups were also good and transitioned right into the plank hold from there. Then the biceps stretches. Hip swings to get things moving. There is a discrepancy between the sides but it’s hard to say what. Workout was heavily modified from what was planned. Body is beat, not enough of a return after the brutally heavy contest in April. Body is rebelling. After rage quitting the last workout (quite rage but still rage) this week and next week’s workouts got changed to adjust the peak of the waves I’m riding. So today was stripped down to just one exercise; deadlift. I was to do deadlift today but parameters were changed. Suit, straps and belt on every set. So I had to do a little shimmying to get in the darn thing. Straps down to start. It’s been straps up this whole time. I’ve done strap down work before when I first got the suit. But it is awkward to have on the belt with just 135lbs on the bar. Plate jumps was the plan up to 495lbs After that was where I’d reach a crossroads. I was a little concerned about my hamstrings as they have felt tight and sore on and off. 135lbs felt easy. 225lbs was a little bit more heft to it. 315lbs definitely some heft to it. Straps up with 405lbs. It is really unpleasant getting to the bar and setting up with the deadlift suit fully on. With 405lbs, I pretty much had my answer where I was going but still had to see how 495lbs felt first. Maybe I’d get better as it got serious. 495lbs felt substantial. Now it was nowhere near a max. Suit doesn’t make stuff feel any lighter, just makes it move faster. My options had been to either stay at this weight for some singles or go up a jump or two if I felt strong. I had asked for clarification on how strong as I can be stubborn and I could probably get the next jump even on a bad day. Determination was more Jim Croce singing about Big Jim then feeling up like my usual tired after work day strong. So option 1 it was. Singles to keep working the suit with 495lbs. Goal was 2-4 additional singles. Again, caution to not overdo it. Just enough to get by. Each set I got the straps a little tighter as I was trying to see it that helped. Hard to say. Don’t know if I was putting myself in a harder start position or if I was just getting tired. Last one the suit was painful on my legs at the bottom of the lift. After that one I called it there. Hit the minimum and go home to stretch. Got burritos and then home for the night.

May 22, 2018 – Week 3, Day 1

5 Minutes Expresso Interactive Upright Exercise Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

12” Log Clean and Push Presses
105x1
125x1
145x1
165x1
185x1
205x1
225x1
245x1
265x1
285x1
305x0

Comments: Didn’t think anything out of the ordinary for today. I had gotten some good sleep Saturday night and relaxed on Sunday. So I was hoping that things would go well. The fancy bike was open so I used that one again. Heart rate at 144bpm this time. Then downstairs in the muggy gym. Really not getting any better. On to the warm-ups. Calf raises were easy. Some pressure in my right wrist. Not really any knee aches on box squats. I don’t think I felt any issues with my hip/groin this time. Hamstrings felt ok on the RDLs with the bar. Band rows were easy and so were push-ups. Plank got me sweating a little straining. Biceps stretch and then hip swings out in the hallway. Then the lifting. Log clean and push press up to a top single. My plan was to finally get over 300lbs on the log clean and push press. I first hit it leading up to Refuge Barbell last year and I haven’t felt like that lift did in a while. 20lbs jumps. I chalked up my shirt immediately to combat the sweat. I was trying to get a shallower dip in the leg drive to prevent the log from getting away from me. More of a “bump” press as opposed to push press. Stuff felt ok. Left hand was a little achy and hamstrings were feeling tight. 285lbs felt better than 290lbs did last week. So I figured 305lbs would be tough but doable. I was wrong. Rolled up my body and it felt ok but when I went for the press I hit a wall and there was nothing there. The weight coming back down on me crushed my spirit. Floored me. I was so depressed that I just couldn’t bring myself to do anymore of the workout. I was thinking what was the point. I’m beyond frustrated with my progress here as I see other people surpass me while I’m still mixing up with weights I’ve been hitting six years ago. Put everything away and went home to eat and sleep. I’m not sure what to do next and I feel that it’s going to take more than a good night’s sleep to get me out of this mental funk now.

May 19, 2018 – Week 2, Day 3

5 Minutes Misc Stationary Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Axle Clean and Jerks
45x7 (one clean)
75x1
95x1
115x1
135x1
155x1
175x1
195x1
215x1
235x1
255x0,1
275x1
295x1

18” I-Beam Farmer’s Walk (with drops)
117x100’ (drop at 50’) in 13.93 seconds
201x50’ (drop at 25’) in 10.68 seconds
267x50’ (drop at 25’) in 12.78 seconds
327x100’ (drop at 50’) in 29.19 seconds

Prowler 2 Pushes (turf)
170x93’
180x93’
190x93’
200x93’
210x93’

Stretching

Comments: Raining. Woke up and my right side of my upper back and shoulders were really tight and painful. Not sure why it was feeling like that now. Maybe taking Aleve and Motrin the previous day (for the lower back) had masked it. I may need to get an adjustment done. It’s been so long since this has been an issue but it seems to happen with heavy circus dumbbell. Used the car buffer to see if that helped at all. I hadn’t gone for a walk the day before as I was trying to get to sleep at reasonable hour as this day was going to be busy with training and social activities later. Caught the second half of the Arnold Africa before I finally went to go train. So already running a bit behind my planned schedule. Dropped off the Power Keg at the gym as well. Left hamstring got tight setting it down. I might be falling apart haha. Got out a foam roller to use on my upper back and hamstrings before I did anything. Used the uncomfortable exercise bike to warm-up and get ready to train. Calf stuff was good and easy. They were somewhat tight but felt springy. Box squats and the RDLs felt nice and easy. No joint aches here. Band rows, pushup and plank hold all felt good too. Biceps stretch I had a little issue figuring out which option was the best to use. Some stuff had been moved around since last time so there was a spot to do the hip swings. Getting better at them. Then it was to the weights. First thing for today was axle. Work up to a top single after warming up, doing 20lbs jumps. No restriction on top weight like last time but again, that was essentially my limit that day haha. My original plan was to try for 300lbs and hopefully go for 320lbs after that. But I made changes with what I had to work with. The axles at the gym are hollow and painted. There is another one with knurling and the other is 250lbs empty with fixed wheels on it. Hollow axles seem to throw me off on the clean sometimes as the weight goes up and I’ve never used one that is “painted”. So started really light and after that first set I went to what I started with last time I did axle at the Y with my solid axle. I was moving pretty quick and I startled a dog (the gym is very open about dogs) with how fast I moved. I took it as a good sign for the day. I felt like maybe I needed to put chalk on my hands after 235lbs. I learned that was a mistake. Apparently chalk on shirt is fine but chalk on hands is a no-no with the painted axle. I went for the clean and my hand on the under hand side missed the recatch with I flip my grip on the first part of my continental. I kind of looked at the weight dumbfounded. No way was I stopping at 235lbs. Took a few moments to collect myself and went for it again. Made sure I had it on my stomach and then popped it up to the shoulders and then jerked it. So I wasn’t feeling so hot after that little misstep. I wasn’t so sure that the axle was going to be great with the clean issue. But I figured I’d keep going and just track things in my logs about it. I had been trying different logs for log press so why not axles? 275lbs the clean was better but my body didn’t want to cooperate and my legs were stubborn. I didn’t want to have an out front push press like last week. Not much enthusiasm going for 295lbs. Contest weight again. Trying to keep everything crisp. Slow break off the ground with secure grip and accelerating into the second pull to the stomach with the hand flip and bumping it to the shoulders in one movement. The clean was way better than 295lbs last time. I really wanted to get a “split” jerk this time but with how I do it, it’s more of a kickstand/side jerk. Lockout was a bit tougher than I would’ve liked but way easier than last time. I watched the video and the clean was easy but I figured it wasn’t worth it to try for 315lbs with how the lockout felt. Don’t want and misses. Had to wait a little bit for a lane to clear up for the next thing. Farmer’s walk. The lanes got painted since I was last there with 5’ markers. Farmer’s today was no joke as far as what the end goal was. Essentially three work up sets and then do competition event. Two sets of I-beam farmer’s handles. The pair from the old gym was behind other stuff so I used this other pair. They looked bigger but I weighed one on a scale and it appears to be about 5lbs less than the other pair despite being 2” higher pick height. So I have another implement to track haha. Since I’m essentially doing deadlifts from the floor most weeks this training, I figured the higher pick height (and is probably the same as the contest) would be fine. The event for the show is 50’ down, drop and turn and taking it back 50’. The contest after this also has something similar to this event so this is going to be something that needs work. My pick up with heavy weights is terrible but I can hold on to things quite well. Empty implements for the first run. I was little concerned with how my hamstrings, hips and back would feel on these. I figured no issues with the actual moving on the back but more so on the pick up. Felt good. The drop and repick will be trouble if I go too fast. The implements will slide on the floor at this gym on these lanes and that will probably be the case at the convention center. The implement on my left hand kept splaying out a little bit and trying to pick and go was tougher on the back. The next set was half the distance with weights added. I used 25lbs plates so that it wasn’t all titled in on the pick up. I kind of gave up trying to get exact weights with these. This set was fast. More weight for another short run. Definitely felt like I had some weight there on the pickups so I knew that the top set was going to be rough. I didn’t have enough control on the drop at the end and the one handle fell over due to being top heavy. I knew I needed to have better control on the next set. I couldn’t have that happen on the first drop or that would kill my time. Tightened my belt for this last run. Just above contest weight. Rather be above than below. Took a bit of mental prep holding the handles before I actually lifted them. I felt slow and I kept seeing the end line and thinking that is just halfway and I got to pick these stupid things up again. Slowed down and followed the handles down. No tipping and no splaying. Everything was set for a good run back. My time from drop to repick was between 2-4 seconds each run so I knew that I needed to go but I always had just one shot to get it. I’m not very good at repeated picks on farmer’s walk. This only the second time I’ve done this style in training and once in a contest (it was low pick frame so not as much worry about control). A little over 4 seconds from drop to initiating repick. I knew I was going to finish after I stood up with that grinder of a pick. I got to the end and even with the collars on it, some weights popped off. Just over 12 seconds the first half and just under 13 seconds that last half. I was cutting things close so I moved on to the next thing, putting away my weights in-between sets. Prowler again. It was supposed to be sled last week but I didn’t read so good. So either sled this week or prowler again. It I did sled, then I would need to reverse it for the next time. It was easier to just do the pushes again as I didn’t want to try and figure out sled stuff especially since the “tunnel” was closed off on one end so if I had the two straps I couldn’t even get the full 93’. Tougher this week. I only bumped up the weight for all sets by 5lbs. Trying to keep fast feet and not reverting to full foot plodding style. Last run was definitely tough. Rushed home to put Icy Hot on my right side of my upper back before stretching and cleaning up for the rest of the day. Ended up having 3 minutes to spare in all haha.

May 17, 2018 – Week 2, Day 2

5 Minutes Expresso Interactive Upright Exercise Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses
Plate Loaded Dumbbell with Fat Gripz Extreme
(2 stage 2 second pauses)
37x1 R
37x1 L
72x1 R
72x1 L
92x1 R
92x1 L
102x1 R
102x1 L
112x1 R
112x1 L
122x1 R
122x1 L
Circus Dumbbell
132x1 R
132x1 L
142x1 R
142x1 L
152x1 R
152x1 L
162x1 R PR+10LBS
162x1 L
(competition style)
172x1 R
172x1 L
182x1 R
182x1 L

16” Front Box Squats
45x10
95x6
145x2
192.5x2
192.5x2
192.5x2

Wide Grip Deadlifts (straps)
135x3
225x1
315x1
405x1
495x1

Stretching

Comments: Sleep has been a precious commodity lately. Just not enough time in the day. A boring/stressful day at work didn’t help matters. And I knew this was going to be another late workout. Thankfully not as warm out so not as muggy in the gym but still unacceptable. Warmed up on the fancy bike again. 139bpm highest reading this time. My left quad wanted to cramp on me a few minutes in. Calves were tight, especially my right one. But the movement was easy. Regular box squats after that. Achy knees but not as bad as these sometimes are on the middle session of the week. RDLs also had achy knees but felt better as I did them. Good hamstring stretch. Band rows and push-ups felt good. I was expecting some shoulder tightness on the push-ups. Plank was easy. Then the biceps stretches. Wanted to get these as forearms and biceps were tight. Into the hallway for the hip swings. Felt pretty good. Pressing for today was circus dumbbell again. I knew what to expect this time so I was prepared for needing a metric ton of chalk. I added 2lbs to the weight as the plan was to do the pause style push pressing and then switch to contest style from there and get a little heavier than last time. My plan was to push up the weight on the push press if I felt good and aim for just 2lbs over last time if I felt good. Hard to tell with my current energy level. Last time I started light and took small jumps as I didn’t know how the layoff had effected me. This time I knew where I was at so I took bigger jumps to get up to 92lbs before I did the 10lbs jumps. Whatever form issues I was having last time with my right side seemed to be good. I also got a bit better with the hip loading with the push press style. I was also concerned that the big jumps was going to throw me off. It felt like it was going to but I seemed to settle. Had an issue with positioning the 122lbs weight on my right side. Getting to the circus bell, I noticed I was having an easier time cleaning to the right than to the left. Left side I think my arm was more fatigued from keg and log. I kind of surprised myself getting 162lbs push press style with my right side. Jerks were a little shaky. I think it is more just getting used to it after the push presses. I kind of want to move fast but I need to get stable with it to transfer the power. 172lbs with the right went up with no wobbly unstable lockout like last time. Matched it with the left. So why not go 182lbs for both then? A bit harder to get steady but it went up on the right side. Harder but not quite a max here. Not going to try any heavier on this side as it was 12lbs improvement. 182lbs went up ok. Lockout was a little harder to do but I wasn’t feeling like it was “alive” at lockout like 180lbs did last time. I watched the video and decided it was ok to stop here tonight for that side as well. Light front box squats were next. Really light as the plan was just to get back in the swing of things. Plan being about 50% for three doubles. Knees were aching like crazy on these. It has definitely been a while since I’ve done them. 50lbs jumps with higher reps to get used to it. First set felt a little rough as I wasn’t used to the breathing. Left hip and groin/thigh was a little achy. Much better on the second and third double with breathing and movement. On to the last thing. Deadlift with the “Shaw Stance”. Wide grip like I’ve been doing against bands. Warm-up and do singles with 50-90lbs jumps. My shirt felt like I was wearing rain poncho by this point. Maybe I’ll grow into it someday haha. Just a few reps with 135lbs was enough I felt to get ready to go. My plan was work up to 405lbs and then go from there from what I felt. Top single but not a max. This lift takes a little more prep in getting my breath at the bottom and making sure my hips and legs are in a good spot to fit between my arms. 315lbs didn’t feel so bad and I figured 405lbs was no question with doing the band work. I don’t use my usual deadlift belt on these as I have to get down further to the bar and that big ratchet bunches up so thinner prong belt like I use for overhead and moving events. 405lbs was ok but definitely felt it in the right hamstring. Got tight, not the full muscle just part of it. These deadlifts are strange in how much they stress the hamstrings and hips. It looks like a smooth pull but I can feel the shift during the lift from the muscles to the joints at lockout. I figured I had another pull left in me today before I was pushing it too much. I figured I’d go for another plate. Would technically be the most I’ve pulled with a wide grip on deadlifts. I’ve done reps with weights but never went about 475lbs. I was tempted to make it an even 500lbs but held off on that to stick with the jumps. More will come. That initial break off the floor is hard. My form broke slightly and I felt it in my right side of my lower back. Finished the lift and controlled it back down. But I knew I had a slight strain and it was going to need rest and recovery aids. Home to stretch and put on Icy Hot and massaged it. Hopefully it feels better soon as I got more to do this week. And the next. And the next.

May 15, 2018 – Week 2, Day 1

5 Minutes Expresso Interactive Upright Exercise Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

12” Log Clean and Push Presses
90x1
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1
250x1
270x1
290x1

Neutral Grip Pulldowns
110x10
130x10
150x10
170x10
190x10

Dead Floor Presses
45x10
95x5
145x3
195x2
245x1
295x8
3 Second Pause On Pins
245x8

Wide Grip Hang
bwx58.29 seconds PR+8.08 seconds

Stretching

Comments: This weather is torturous. The humidity with the heat is what is getting to me. Not including work related stress. Doing my best to “let off steam”. But sleep is suffering. Maybe 6hrs a night. Joints are achy. It got up to 90 and then a tornado warning and high winds knocked out the power at my job. No issues at the gym. Other than it being super muggy in the weight area. The temperature is ok but no air is circulating and it feels like a the air is “thick”. The fancy bike was open so I used that one again. Heart rate got up to 149bpm this time. Then downstairs in the muggy gym for the rest of the workout. On to the warm-ups. Calf raise stuff was ok. Calves were tight. Box squats still ok then followed by the RDLs. Not having the immediate soreness anymore so I think I’m getting better at adapting to it. My knees were achy on both though. But I had done a lot of prowler work on turf. Band rows were easy and pushups felt ok too. Easy plank set and then biceps stretching. The benches were in use so I had to do a different setup to stretch. Went out into the hallway for the hip swings. More air circulation and less crowded in the stairwell area. I think I’m getting better at these. On to the meat and potatoes. Log clean and push press up to a top single, with it being like the other pressing stuff with a conservative single or contest weight (315lbs) whichever came first. Seeing as how I’d missed 300lbs twice in a row (last heavy training and contest) contest weight wasn’t even a thought today. Empty log going up by 20lbs I really wanted to get 290lbs as the top single for the day. It was just so humid. I ended up using my spare shirt as a towel to wipe my face and arms. Knees were really achy on the first set with the empty log. But that is usually the case. It wasn’t feeling too bad as I was pulling the log into my body on the clean so even with the sweat it was still going up fine. A little lightheaded as I got up in weight. Breathing is key. So many things to be focusing on with log and the log making it hard to breath makes it tougher than axle or dumbbell to get things settled. Left forearm and shoulder was starting to feel beat as I got up to 230lbs. I started adding stuff on bit by bit. 270lbs the pick up to the lap was tougher than expected. My grip was slipping due to sweat. Probably would’ve been a rep to stop at but I don’t like thinking I have so much ground to catch up on with the overhead despite working on it so much. Chalked up my hands and my shirt for 290lbs. Shirt was soaked so chalk was sticking in clumps despite my best efforts. I would look really stupid if I missed this lift. Clean was ok, felt alright on my chest. Log actually went up and back this time. That might be a first. Little shaky at lockout. Close to a max. Easier than 295lbs was on axle last week so I guess that is something. Pulldowns next. These were a staple last cycle. This time it was with a neutral grip that was shoulder width. Same plan as rows from last week but obviously smaller jumps. I had to wait a little before I could use the one pulldown machine. Took a set or two get used to pulling with this attachment compared to a straight bar. Usually the neutral grip stuff is narrower. Might have underestimated myself on these. Grip and forearms were sore after these. Then floor pressing. Well not exactly. I had to wait about 30 minutes to use the power rack. Someone else was over there and I had left my chalk container and they accidentally dropped a bumper plate on it and launched chalk everywhere. On the floor, on the chair, on the walls. Took him, myself and another gym goer a bit to clean up that mess. I had more chalk haha. So floor pressing. Dead stop style. The new power rack has it maybe 2” higher than the old one does so it is a bit tougher to get the weight started and feel how best to break it off the pins. I figured that I wouldn’t be so tired this time from not digging a garden that the same weight I did for bench would work this time here. Definitely a close one that. Much closer to failure than this same weight for bench was. Underestimating how tough this variation is and overestimating how much I’ve improved in a week. The pause set was good. A little hard to pause this on the chest with the pins so I let it deload and let most of the stretch reflex dissipate before doing the next rep. This got tiring quick but felt good. Wide grip hang again to end the session. A callus on my hand from gardening had come off and my forearms were feeling toasty from the pulldowns. But “Footloose” came on the radio so I had to put in my best effort haha. Grip felt good. But I was counting faster than last time I guess. I knew I had beaten my time from last week but I assumed that it was well over a minute. Turns out it was just shy of a minute. So not yet to be able to move up in weight. But I do like how these feel. Got home to the new Power Keg that I’ll be taking to the gym this weekend. No more taping stuff to the heavy keg to get a heavier keg. Stretching, meatloaf and massage before going to bed.

May 12, 2018 – Week 1, Day 3

5 Minutes Misc Stationary Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Keg Clean and Push Presses
27x10
27x10
80x1
100x1
125x1
150x1
175x1
200x1
225x1
240x1

Keg Load Over Bar (62”)
250x1
275x1
300x1
325x0
325x1
350-325x1
350x1

Prowler 2 Pushes (turf)
165x93’
175x93’
185x93’
195x93’
205x93’

Stretching

Comments: Trying to out eat sleep and hard training it seems. Only slept in an hour past usual wake up time during the week for this Saturday. I had to get some things ready before driving out to the new training place. The app on my phone had me go a different route that might have taken longer than if I just went how I thought and the confusion of reading it I missed the exit the first time. I also wasn’t sure I was in the right place when I got there but it was. Took a good look around. I think this is going to be a better training place once I get settled in. A lot more strength stuff. Wish I lived closer as I think it would work for me doing all my workouts there. Not much in the way of cardio equipment but I only need that to warm-up. Not sure what kind of exercise bike it was but it didn’t really adjust to feel comfortable. But the elliptical machine and rower wouldn’t be so good with my hip/thigh I think. Felt good on my legs. Place was open air today so never got really muggy or stuff. Calf raise stuff is easy. Right side was really tight. Regular box squats after that. Felt good. As per usual, least amount of knee aches this day. RDLs with a barbell. Felt nice and easy. Band rows were great. Push-ups were ok. No cramping up in the pec this time. Easy plank hold followed by the biceps stretches. A little tricky finding a space to do the hip swings. I like how these feel on my hips, hamstrings and lower back. Better ankle mobility this time on the side to side. Then the weights. Today was essentially all about the keg with some sled work. I had hoped the power keg I’d ordered would’ve shown up this week but there were delays so I made due. Granted there were a lot of kegs at the gym so it really wasn’t going to be an issue for the first part. Keg clean and push press to start off the day. Plan here being to work up to a conservative single like the other press days. This is the one that I’m probably the furthest from getting at the contest at this time. This is the third time I’ve tried doing these in training and fifth time ever including contests. So still got a bit to learn. I did an empty keg for warm-up and I did it with staggered grip and alternated sides. I couldn’t remember if I went it my strong side or not last time as that was when I was dealing with biceps issues from the pull in January before Iron Goliath. Knees were a bit achy doing push press. I could essentially do anywhere from 5-25lbs jumps depending on the weight with the kegs here. All lined up like a dumbbell rack so I could just pull out the keg a I needed and put it back. I’m not sure what I did as far as my grip on the right hand that first keg but I managed to nick my thumb and had to tape it up to stop bleeding on everything. 150lbs was where I had some issues doing the clean and press style I had used last time. Just felt off balance and it took me a bit to feel secure to press. Clean wasn’t strong but presses felt okay. Like an even worse log press with the diameter of the keg and getting the lean back to engage the chest to help with the press. I’m not sure what clicked but I decided like mid set with 175lbs to try something different. Not going for speed as I’m not trying to one motion the keg. Treated it as if I was going to load the keg and then switched to pressing style. My go to was to switch my hand positon from what I was doing with the clean into a press style. Definitely will need some fine tuning. 225lbs went up well and that was about 90% of my current 1rm on this. 250lbs was not going to be a conservative max if I went for it. Luckily there was an in between keg of 240lbs. Figured that one was worth a shot. Balance was tough on this one. Definitely went down on my chest a bit away from my body when I finally went for the press. It was slow to lockout. Probably should’ve stuck with 225lbs but I don’t like the idea that I’m 50lbs off contest weight for this particular implement in the press medley. But I knew it was going to be tough when I signed up. Up next was keg for height training. Not working on max extension right now. Starting with the weight I stopped at for keg press and going up to contest weight of 350lbs on the keg. Yoke height was set to a height that if I had the keg up as if I were to press it, I could essentially just walk it over the bar. Turns out that height is 62”. Switched into my grip shirt and spandex shorts. Wanted to see how this worked on a keg as the grip shirt will be allowed at the contest. Hardest thing was just picking up the keg off the ground and lapping it. A lot of stress on my lats and trying to keep my arm straight so as not to stress my biceps. There was a hand truck at the gym so I was able to move the kegs around. I think it was more effort to move the kegs then to lift them. I then got to the heaviest keg at the gym of 325lbs. I didn’t respect the weight and I paid for it. I was lax on pulling it close to my body with how easy the previous weights were and I had thought it had went over the bar. It had not and with the momentum of having 325lbs that far away from my body I went down with it and it timed perfectly with the yoke recoiling back and hitting me in the temple. Knocked off my glasses and gave me a cut above my eye. Good thing I had my doo-rag on or it might have been a worse cut. 100lbs got added to the yoke to keep from being lifted so easily if I nudged it (I’m essentially going blind when the keg is up like that. I proceeded to get it easy after that. I was left with an issue in that I didn’t have a 350lbs keg. My options were either keep using the 325lbs keg and go up in height slightly or try and jerry-rig a one. I went with heavier. First attempt was to just put the 25lbs bag of lead shot in the lip of the top of the keg with the hopes that I would be able to keep it from falling out. Despite trying to keep it steady, it fell out at the very top of the load. So the next option was to use athletic tape and try and tape it into the lip of the keg. This time it held up but the bag fell out as the keg landed on the other side and the impact ruptured the bag so there was no more 350lbs keg for today. Really the pick up was the tough part. Obviously it will be more challenging once I start aiming for height and extension. It is normally something I don’t have to do in competition so this will be interesting to work on. And maybe having that kind of weight that high up on my chest will help my log and keg press. After that was sled work. I didn’t realize until I had one more set to go that this was to be sled drags and not sled pushes. Plan was fast feet, five sets of 100’. Well I had options as far as possibly using the alley/street leading to the gym for the course to get 100’. It was uphill the one way and it might take longer to reset. The other option was to use the long turf course. It was just shy of 100’ end to end but I figured this would make me work and I’d be using less weight. I was not expecting how much less as that first set I just put a pair of plates on it and it was already pretty darn tough. So very small jumps in weight. Just kept driving with my legs, keeping my drive on the balls of my feet and quick feet. Good first session (other than the cut above the eye, having to clean up the lead shot, doing the wrong exercise, getting bruises all over my arms). Had to do a bit more driving around Lancaster to find a place to get gas before heading home. Should be less of an issue next time now that I know where and what I’m looking for. And hopefully the power keg gets here. Home to stretch and eat. One week down, many more to go.

May 10, 2018 – Week 1, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor Stationary Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses
Plate Loaded Dumbbell with Fat Gripz Extreme
(2 stage 2 second pauses)
40x1 L
40x1 R
50x1 L
50x1 R
60x1 L
60x1 R
70x1 L
70x1 R
80x1 L
80x1 R
90x1 L
90x1 R
100x1 L
100x1 R
110x1 L
110x1 R
120x1 L
120x1 R
Circus Dumbbell
130x1 L
130x1 R
140x1 L
140x1 R
150x1 L (competition style)
150x1 R (2 stage 2 second pauses)
160x1 L (competition style)
160x1 R (2 stage 2 second pauses)
(competition style)
170x0,1 R
170x1 L
180x1 L

16” Box Squats
45x10
135x5
212x2
265x2
318x2
371x2

16” Rack Pulls (straps/suit)
225x1
315x1
405x1
495x1
585x1
650x1

Stretching

Comments: Feeling beat to hell already. Soreness everywhere. Warmed up on the stationary bike. The fancy ones were in use. 148bpm highest reading this time. No stairs for the rest of warm-ups. I had to check the thermostat as it felt really hot. Only 73 but the humidity was making it suffocating. Calf raise stuff is easy. Forearms and wrists ached a little. Regular box squats after that. Still a bit sore from the last time. But felt like it was less tender on the inner thigh. Or it could be that everything sore and I can’t tell the difference right now. Right into the RDLs with a barbell. A little more fluid I think this time. I know these and squats will improve. Band rows were great. Push-ups were ok on my shoulder but I felt my right pec wanting to cramp up. I didn’t do it like the last time it felt like that but that side of my chest stayed tight. Transitioned right into the plank hold from there. Then the biceps stretches. I was hoping these would also help with my tight right side of my chest. Had a bit more confidence in the hip signs this time. Side to side still some work as far as the ankle being engaged. Had messy rep on one side of them. Then the heavy stuff. Pressing for today was circus dumbbell. On its own, it takes a while when I get heavy enough to need to use the collars with the wrench on the big bell. With how muggy it was, I knew this was going to a workout that would be having me burning the midnight oil. Plan was to work up in singles like axle to a conservative single. Contest weight wasn’t going to be a conservative single for my good side so just going by how I felt. Now nothing set as far as starting point or jumps so I figured I’d start light and do 10lbs jumps to mimic the axle press work. What was different from axle was doing the pause and holds push press style to start as these have been very helpful with circus dumbbell. Work up to 80% like this and then switch to my jerk contest style. I just figured that when it felt like I’d miss the push press style that I would then switch to jerks. So sweaty. I resisted using chalk until I got to the actual circus dumbbell. I forgot how sore this makes my shoulders from the weight coming down on it from shouldering it and lowering it under control. Right side was lagging. That side is more technique dependent so I wasn’t really too concerned. Once I got to 130lbs I just showered the place in chalk. Chalk on my hands, chalk on my shoulders and chalk on the dumbbell. I didn’t have any big blocks of chalk left in my container so it got messy. Best I could do to combat the sweat factor. I will say this is the first time that my right thumb hasn’t hurt from doing these. It has been a long time. Push press actually felt good on the circus bell which it usually feels like crap on my shoulders the first time back. Right side copped out first and switched to jerk style after 140lbs. Left side felt strong still. First jerk on the right really sucked as it took me moment to get the weight settled but it went up easy. My dumbbell style when I jerk is tricky as something can feel like infinity pounds or nothing. Only thing that can really grind is my shoulder stabilizing it. 170lbs with my right was ugly. I rushed the first attempted and that really sapped my energy to try again. Much better but ugly and couldn’t hold it up there like I wanted. That’s the limit for now on that side. But this tends to improve quick (at least it did when I was training for Refuge Barbell last year). 180lbs for the left side. Enough weight I could put the end caps on. Felt substantial but it went up pretty well. Stabilizing it was tough. The initial drive up had me thinking 190lbs was next but the reality of it stabilizing it made me realize this was it today. Already had pushed it with the right side and with that grinder on axle Tuesday. I was already like 2hrs in at this point and I still had two more exercises to do. Light box squats were next. Back to the sit down and explode up style. Hope being these are less stressful on my hip/groin. Set percentages based off of my estimated 1rm. I was sore, tired and sweaty. Rest was pretty much however long it took to put the next weight on. No taking off weights to swap bigger plates. Of course I was concerned that something would be hurt or “go” while I was lifting but I just pushed it out of my thoughts. Knees were sore and I think I might have had the box too far back in the rack. No issues with the weights. Video suggests I was moving faster than it felt. Then quickly on to the next thing. Or at least I tried. 16” rack pulls with a suit. Sweat and suit are not friends. I will say that going from squats to the suited work is nice as I had something to use to hang from to get into the suit. Plan here being singles with 50-90lbs jumps up to a conservative max. Didn’t have to do the slow negatives this time but still stayed in position and control. Started at 225lbs as I didn’t have all night. My rest was essentially how long it took to take off the straps of the suit and belt, put on the next pair of plates and then put the straps back up and belt on. Dripping sweat. The 2” increase in ROM was noticeable. Felt a lot more hamstrings. Trying to get the straps as tight as they were for 18” pulls. Plan is to fight the suit with my upper back so that it doesn’t feel like it is pinching anything. 585lbs felt good but I didn’t feel like 675lbs would fell conservative. It wouldn’t be my best single but it would be tying the most I did without a hitch. I figured maybe 635lbs but I figured I’d just go for something in-between and did 650lbs. Really feeling the hamstrings on this one. Harder to get moving than I would’ve’ liked but it went up to lockout smooth. It was almost 9:00PM by this point and I still needed to get home to stretch and eat.

May 8, 2018 – Week 1, Day 1

5 Minutes Expresso Interactive Upright Exercise Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

16” Box Squats
BWx25

Shoestring Romanian Deadlifts
45x20

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx15

Bodyweight Plank
20 Seconds

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Front to Back Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Side to Side Hip Swings
BWx10/10

Axle Clean and Jerks
75x1
95x1
115x1
135x1
155x1
175x1
195x1
215x1
235x1
255x1
275x1
295x1

Chest Supported Rows
100x10
150x10
200x10
250x10
300x10

Barbell Bench Presses
45x10
95x5
145x3
195x2
245x1
295x8
1 Second Pauses
245x8

Wide Grip Hang
bwx50.21 seconds

Stretching

Comments: I needed the week off for sure. Body felt all beat up until like Friday. Spine was achy, knees were achy. My teeth hurt haha. Left shoulder perpetually feeling tight. Went back to doing my 2 mile walks on Thursday and I feel better doing those. Bigger appetite and not feeling like a sack of crap. Didn’t really help my rest by turning over about 100 square feet of earth for my mother’s garden. This was pretty much the best time to do this. I forgot how rough that is, especially the upper body. Considering this training cycle is going to pick up where the previous one left as far as overhead work, it was going to be rough. Trying new stuff to see if things can be improved and keep aches and pains to tolerable levels. Not enjoying this weather for sure. Warmed up on a different exercise bike. Better seat and more ergonomic as far as handle placement. I had the options of doing “virtual” courses but I just went with training to get blood moving. Heart rate got up to 137bpm. On to the warm-ups. Calf raise stuff is still pretty easy. A little tight but to be expected. Then the big changes. No more box touches. Regular box squats. First rep my quads immediately got sore. Really crazy how fast they can become detrained when not doing squats regularly. Still a little tender in the thigh on the one side but not as bad as it had been. Lot of reps. New exercise after that. RDLs with a barbell and trying to get a good stretch and possibly reach the tops of my shoes. This will take a bit I think. My quads were really sore from the box squats so it was a little bit of fighting them to get set. Then more normal stuff like band rows and push-ups. Felt pretty good. Then a short plank hold. Easy but working on keeping everything flexed and tight. While not on the list, I did the biceps stretches just for my own peace of mind. Then another new but not so new one with hip swings. I’ve done these in the past to warm-up. Replacement for the other hip drill. Felt good. Much easier to do the front to back style as far as technique. The side to side needs work as far as the ankle mobility aspect. Then on to the weights. Up first axle. Plan here was start with empty axle and do 20lbs jumps by singles to a top weight. Top weight to be either a conservative weight or contest weight, whichever came first. I figured that even with not doing much axle work, I’d still be able to hit the contest weight (295lbs) with stuff in the tank. I was wrong. Now things started out well. Fast and snappy on the continental and going right into the jerk from the rebound of catching the axle on the shoulders. This was working fine up until 255lbs. That was when the weight felt substantial and it didn’t fly up and I had to let it settle before driving. My triceps didn’t want to cooperate at this point and it made for a soft lockout. Really really didn’t want to call it there. I had been push pressing 290lbs last cycle with stuff in the tank every session and had done 280lbs for five two cycles ago with a clean for push press too. I had kind of set contest weight as what I was going to do and had to do. Wrist wraps on for 275lbs. Went out in front of me but I got it. With the bumper plates, I had run out of room so I had to tear down and add more metal plates. This gave me a little breathing room to decide if it made sense to go for 295lbs or not. Legs felt heavy. Honestly my quads were sore just getting into position with the axle. Clean was tougher, really close to missing it and having the weight spin out of my hands. Took my time to get settled. Much easier to breathe with the axle on the shoulders versus log. Legs felt like lead and it went up but I was able to bring it back in line some. Now normally this is good but my triceps were dead from that gardening work still. It was real struggle to get the weight locked out. But it did. Not how I wanted to start things haha. Next up was chest supported rows. Been awhile. Didn’t do them at all last cycle due to I think the biceps issue. I was also uncertain how this would go. Plan being sets of ten up to a decent set that I could maybe do 12-15 with but stop at ten. Starting with 100lbs and going up 50lbs to 300lbs seemed the best option. Definitely trying to think of my hands as hooks so that I’m not tugging with the biceps. Upper back was super sore. Again from garden work. I managed the 300lbs so I got what I wanted and no pain. But still cautious on any pulling exercise. Then on to benching. Goal here being a top set of eight but plenty in the tank. Like two reps. I really wasn’t sure how this was going to go with how my triceps felt. Shoulders still felt strong so maybe. Benching actually felt good on my back. Quads were sore so I felt it every time I engaged my legs haha. Low rep warm-ups. I did 245lbs for a single and felt like 295lbs would be doable today. It would be doable normally but with my jello arms, who knows. They were definitely tired but I managed to push through the reps with something left. Of course I had to then do another set with pauses. Taking all my stretch relax powers away haha. Dropped 50lbs and did the set of eight with something left. Last thing of the day was wide grip hang for time. Barbell on top of the power rack and hang there. I figure extra grip work that won’t tax my back and hips like farmer’s walk as well as prepare for hercules hold in September. The wide grip definitely puts the stress on the hands closer to that then say normal grip or a farmer’s hold. Goal being a minute and if I reach that I can add weight. I was getting close but I know that under strain I will count faster. It was close but still about eight seconds shy. I like it. Home for meatloaf, stretching, car buffering and then sleep. I always forget how sore I feel the first week back after a heavy contest when I take a break.